"I am the queen of darkness, Black Lady. I was chosen by the ruler of darkness, the Wiseman. I have been reborn as the queen of Nemesis, the planet of darkness." - The Black Lady, Act 21

Lost, alone, and afraid, Small Lady Serenity (aka Chibiusa) was wandering around inside the space-time warp. She came across a hunched old man in a black cloak, whose eyes shone like stars from under his hood.

"Well, well," he said. "Look who's come all the way out here. Looks like you're lost."

"Who are you?" she asked.

"The cloaked spirit of darkness," he answered. "You can't come any farther without saying goodbye to your world. Take my hand." She hesitated briefly.

"I am what you've been looking for," the other said gently, persuasively. "Come with me. Take my hand." Slowly, she put her small hand in his cloudy one. Blinding light flashed, and the universe shuddered. Chibiusa had become the Black Lady.

The Black Lady is tall and elegant, with the lithe and slender figure of her mother the Neo Queen Serenity. She dresses in a low-necked, form-fitting long black gown with a black veil; chunky jewels decorate her collar and cuffs. Her pale pink hair retains its cone-shaped odangos, but now it drifts in long strands to the floor, and parts over her forehead to reveal the upside-down crescent of the Black Moon. The Black Lady is arrogant, smug, and secure in her power. Her demeanor is sly and sensual, a complete change of pace from the spunky, kawaii little child that she used to be.

As the Black Lady, she had almost limitless dark powers. She created shards of Evil Black Crystals from thin air, and hurled them miles away to embed themselves in the earth.

She could also control the minds of others. Her childhood desires fresh in her mind, she summoned Tuxedo Kamen to her side, to be her lover and faithful servant. (Can we say "Electra complex?" Father love... oy.) Triumphantly, she paraded her new trophy in front of Sailormoon. (Mamoru's eyes are completely black, which is why you know he's not quite himself. This happened before, when they were fighting the Dark Kingdom.) Predictably, Sailormoon was just a little upset. As Diamaund said to the Black Lady, "You have love taken by force. That is one way to get it."

The Black Lady's immense power became evident when she (and Wiseman) soundly defeated the senshi. At the Black Lady's command, Tuxedo Kamen knocked Sailormoon to the ground. He grabbed her brooch and tore it from her fuku, forcing her to transform back into Tsukino Usagi. She fell to the ground in shock, and he extracted the ginzuishou from her brooch and handed it to his mistress.

The Black Lady received it, and then took out the ginzuishou of the future. She had a split second to gloat. Then Diamaund smacked her and grabbed both crystals. He started to touch them together, an action which would destroy the universe.

In desperation, Sailorpluto lifted the Garnet Orb and stopped time - an action forbidden to her. Having violated that law, she gave up her life. In the endless space between moments, the Black Lady's hold on Tuxedo Kamen was broken, and his eyes cleared. "Usako..." he whispered. The Black Lady shook herself free of the spell, and fell to her knees for a moment. Usagi took the crystals from Diamaund's hands, removing the immediate danger. Then they all turned to mourn over Sailorpluto's dying body.

Sailorpluto smiled weakly at them all, and reassured them. "Small Lady..." she whispered, with the last of her breath... and died.

The Black Lady froze in place, as memories overwhelmed her... of how she once ran to Sailorpluto for comfort and friendship... of how Sailorpluto promised to look out for the lonely little princess... Pluto, I love you! the Chibiusa of the past announced. You're my only friend! The Black Lady's eyes filled with tears, even as she marveled at the fact. In anguish, she cried out Pluto's name.

Her earrings shattered, and she was surrounded by light. Out of that light, the little girl Chibiusa came forward - transformed into a senshi, Sailorchibimoon. Overjoyed that she'd finally come into her power, she turned to share it with her only friend. "Pluto, Pluto, look!" she cried. "I finally transformed!" She knelt by Sailorpluto's body, and wept. "I finally transformed... But I'm not happy at all..."

It was really unfortunate that it took the death of Chibiusa's closest friend to break the evil spell that Wiseman had thrust upon her. But we all have to grow up someday.

(Side note: The Black Lady's hair must be extremely long. According to the odango shrine at Hitsuji's page, it takes six to seven feet of hair to make Chibiusa's odangos. Add to that the five or so feet needed for the remaining hair to reach the ground, and you've got about twelve feet of hair there! I shudder to think of her shampoo costs... <grin>)