Earth
Guardian Prince Endymion
Act Forty Six Recap:
(Mamoru’s POV)
Masaki’s betrayal left us all shocked and divided over
what we should do to help him. None of us wanted to fight our friend, but what
else could we do?
“What do you want?”
“To warn you.”
“Warn me?”
“Jadeite intends to kill you.”
When Dark Mercury came to warn Kisho of Masaki’s plan to
kill him when he left for the community centre that morning, we decided to use
this to our own advantage. Perhaps if we were able to capture him then we could
get him to see how foolish his actions were.
“He’s not coming” Seiichi answered, “Mercury was not
telling the truth.”
“Shouldn’t we wait a little longer?” Mamoru asked softly,
“He could be late.”
“No” Seiichi shook his head, becoming increasingly
agitated as he spoke, “There was a reason behind this.”
Mercury had lied to us. Indeed I felt stupid for even
believing the word of a Dark Senshi to begin with. The Senshi are the enemy in
this world. Mercury had lied and Masaki was attacking Taro as we spoke.
Masaki raised his head, a feral smile on his lips as he
transformed. Taro reeled backwards, realising his error too late. Jadeite
conjured a ball of blue energy in his palm and hurled it straight at him. It
slammed into Taro’s chest, hurling him back against the concrete. His head
struck the pavement and stars danced before his dazed vision. The only thing he
was able to make out was Jadeite walking slowly towards him, and then kneeling
down beside him as he conjured an ice blade and raised it above Taro’s chest…
Sailor Moon appeared to help him, but when we arrived she
had transformed into the Princess.
She ignored him, a tear trickling down her cheek as she
struggled to regain control of the Ginzuishou. This was a losing battle…
Nephrite knew and, as he watched, Sailor Moon’s fuku transformed and, when the
glow of the Ginzuishou died and enabled him to see clearly again, it was the
Princess standing before them once again.
The Metallia Youma appeared, too, and Taro risked his life
to stop Usagi.
“Usagi! Stop!” Nephrite shouted, racing forward as Masaki
had done once before. Suddenly his own life seemed so insignificant when
compared to his friends.
“Taro!”
Nephrite reached her, grabbing hold of her sword hand and
pulling the weapon down.
Thankfully Taro lived, but Masaki has returned to the Dark
Kingdom once more. I don’t want to fight him, but unless he has a change of
heart then it looks as though we will have no option…
******
Act Forty-Seven:
“You bitch. You set us up! You were working with the Dark
Kingdom all along.”
Mercury couldn’t breathe when she reappeared in the caves
of the Dark Kingdom. Tremors shook her body as she fought to regain any
composure that she might have had left as Kunzite’s words continued to echo in
her mind. She collapsed onto her knees at the memory of the pain in Taro’s
eyes. She hadn’t betrayed him… she had been set up! Jupiter had come and
warned her of this and thus she had appeared before the Tennou again, to make
sure that her lover still lived.
This was somehow worse than death, Mercury knew. Taro
hated her… he thought that she was just like Venus… a traitor.
“Mercury” Jupiter’s voice penetrated her thoughts now and
she felt her fellow Senshi place a compassionate hand on her shoulder as she
spoke. “I warned you” Jupiter continued, “I warned you that Beryl would use
your feelings for Nephrite against you.”
Mercury nodded bitterly. She had been so foolish… so blind
and Taro might have easily paid for this with his life.
When she had appeared before them and seen Taro on the
ground… it had been as though someone had torn out her heart. The intensity of
the pain that she had felt couldn’t ever be matched and would never truly fade.
Mercury stood, leaning back against the cave wall as
Jupiter stated quietly:
“I’m leaving the Dark Kingdom.”
“What?” Mercury was shocked, her shock momentarily causing
her to forget about her own situation, “Why?”
“The Dark Kingdom is crumbling, even if Beryl cannot yet
see it. We have no place here anymore. That is my decision.”
“I see. Where will you go?”
Jupiter shook her head, “I don’t know” she admitted, “The
Dark Kingdom is all that we have ever known in this world, but it is not all we
have. I feel sure of this.”
Taro was all I had and now… now he doesn’t even want to
look at me.
“Come with me” Jupiter urged, “What is keeping you here?”
Nothing… there is nothing keeping me here, but nothing is
calling me to leave, either.
“No” Mercury shook her head, “I will not leave.”
Jupiter smiled sadly and turned away, “Then so be it, but,
before you lose yourself completely to despair, talk to him. Perhaps he loves
you enough to listen to what you have to say.”
If he loves me… Mercury frowned to herself.
Right now she was scared of the answer to that question.
******
“Usagi! Stop!” Nephrite shouted, racing forward as Masaki
had done once before.
~~~~~~
“All you ever cared about was your precious Master. The
rest of us were just pawns to you, weren’t we? All apart of this past life that
no longer exists.”
“The past life is---”
“All that matters? You’ve kept telling yourself that for a
year, but deep down you know that this is the real lie and you’re scared.
You’re scared of facing up to who you are in this world. Pretending to be
Zoisite is easier for you, isn’t it? But really that is all it is! A pretence,
a lie to cover up how scared you really are.”
“You would have gladly traded my life for your own. You
knew what the Princess could do to me!”
“No. I didn’t want you to get hurt. That was the last
thing I wanted!”
~~~~~~
“No. I’m not your friend and you
were never mine.”
“What?”
“Where the hell were you when I
needed my ‘friends’? You were too obsessed with yourselves or the mission to
give a damn about me! Who saved me from that psycho-bitch, Sailor Moon? Not
you. Not my friends, but the enemy! The Dark Kingdom--”
“Seeks to use you to further
their ambitions. They care nothing for you.”
Masaki gasped in pain at the memories that flooded his
mind. Before they had only served to infuriate him the more, but now they
brought him pain. Both physical and mental anguish ravaged at his soul. He had
been so sure that they had betrayed him but now… now Masaki found himself
remembering things that he had long since firmly forced to the back of his
mind.
“I wanted to thank you”
“What for?”
“For killing the Youma. It was my first real fight alone.
If you hadn’t of been there I do not know what would have happened.”
“It was no
problem.”
“Are you all right? I bet you feel pretty shocked about
the entire thing, don’t you?”
“Not really.”
“It shocked me.”
“I always knew… even if my consciousness hadn’t awakened
too it.”
~~~~~~
“No way” Nephrite breathed as it repeated its duplication
process and a third one, this time with a yellow head, joined the ranks.
Again he tapped into his powers, but Masaki pulled
Nephrite’s hand down at the last minute causing the attack to strike the floor.
“They’ll just keep duplicating! Do you really want to
fight anymore?”
“Not really” Nephrite admitted as again they were forced
to move back to avoid the vines, “But what do we do?”
Masaki shrugged, “I don’t know. Running sounds like a good
idea though.”
“Despite the concept sounding cowardly, I have to agree
with you.”
~~~~~~
“I told you. Mamoru-kun asked me to see if you were ok.
Are you?”
“I will be,” he allowed at last. “I suppose you are also
here to tell me that I shouldn’t have gone in alone.”
Masaki shrugged, “Why would I do that?”
Kisho smiled, “Of course, I forgot you don’t like to tell
others what you are thinking.”
Masaki met his gaze, “You read people well.”
“I have to. I also know that you wouldn’t have come here
did you not also feel some concern.”
~~~~~~
“I take it you’re not the piano tuner, then?”
“No.”
“Then who are you? Don’t tell me you’re another obsessed
fan who managed to sneak in the back door.”
“I did sneak in through the backdoor” he admitted, “But I
don’t know about being an obsessed fan. It seems to me that you have a too high
opinion of yourself, Komoro-san.”
Seiichi laughed, “Then why did you sneak in?”
“I was bored of waiting. What is the delay anyway?”
“The piano tuner is late. I had thought you were him, what
did you say your name was again?”
“I didn’t. It’s Ueda Masaki.”
Stop it! Masaki ordered himself. They betrayed you! They
didn’t realise about Haru and they allowed the Princess to almost kill you!
They didn’t know about Haru. How could they? You didn’t
tell them! As for the Princess, it wasn’t their fault. Mamoru just did what he
felt was right. None of them meant for this to happen.
Masaki drew a sharp breath, not knowing what to think. If
he chose to believe that Mamoru-tachi were his friends after all then it meant
that he had betrayed them. He had almost killed Seiichi and Taro. Gods, they
probably hated him. Then it was easier to force himself to believe that they
had betrayed him. That they were the enemy, but this didn’t feel right anymore.
How could he continue to fight them knowing that he had the doubts that he did?
“Masaki-kun?”
He whirled around as Kuroki Mio stepped into the room, a
cruel smile etched across her fine features as she did so. Masaki shivered
slightly and took an involuntary step backwards. She ignored this and came
closer still, reaching up to caress his cheek with a hand.
Doing his best to appear undisturbed by her contact,
Masaki quietly enquired to know what had become of the Tennou and the Princess.
“They live” Mio said sullenly before giving him another
sly smile and adding, “But that doesn’t matter. Beryl is now convinced that
Mercury is the traitor and will kill her. As long as we watch our backs then
soon we shall achieve our own desires.”
“Your desires” Masaki corrected her quietly.
Mio frowned and stepped back, glaring reproachfully up at
him, “I thought what we wanted was the same?”
“You would do well not to assume anything of me” Masaki
answered her softly before turning and exiting the room.
He needed time to think… time to decide whose side he was
truly on…
******
“He is starting to realise the truth behind our
intentions” Mio said quietly, keeping her head bowed low as she spoke. Beryl’s
mood had grown considerably darker these last few days. This was owing to the
fact that Endymion still had feelings for Serenity, that the remaining Dark
Senshi were no longer loyal to the Kingdom and that Mio had failed to kill the
Tennou and win this war against Earth.
Beryl was on a knife-edge and Mio knew that she had to
watch her step. If she did anything to antagonise her Queen then it could
result in turning the tables on her own dark desires.
Mio was also aware of her hold on Masaki slipping. The
incident with Kimura Taro and caused him to start questioning his actions. This
was not good. Soon it wouldn’t be long before he, too, turned against her. With
this in mind, Mio now knew that she had to focus on the next stage of the plan;
Metallia.
Beryl had also explained, with some fear, that Metallia’s
presence on Earth was growing stronger. Soon she would attempt to take the
planet for her own. This neither Beryl nor Mio could allow.
“She is at her weakest in this dimension,” Beryl was
explaining, keeping her voice low, lest the slumbering demon hear her betrayal.
“Her energy is focused on her shadow on Earth and thus she is truly unaware of
her surroundings here in the Dark Kingdom. Now is the time to act. Once she is
sealed away in a human then we can strike against her.”
“But” Beryl continued, “There is still one more matter we
have yet to discuss; Mercury.”
******
“You gave me this and it is very special to me. I have
stayed away because I also wanted to give you something special.”
“You don’t have too. It was a gift.”
“I know” she held out a palm towards him, “This is the
seal of the old Kingdom.”
Taro, hesitantly, took the small, engraved stone from her,
marvelling at the intricate detail which was carved into the stone.
“The four symbols on the outside represent the four
Senshi, us, and the crescent Moon in the centre represents our Princess. It is
the last remaining link to our past lives. The past that Beryl has sought to
hide from us.”
“Then how did you get it?”
“I found it long ago… long before I remembered the past
life. Venus warned me to keep it hidden. If Beryl ever found it. There is no
telling what she would do.”
“And you are giving this to me?”
Mercury nodded, “It represents the past life and I give it
to you to show you that the past life means nothing to me in this world. I do
not look to the past, but to the present. The present that I share with you.”
Taro clenched Mercury’s gift to him tightly in one hand as
he relieved the day that she had given it to him with a mixture of hurt and
anger. All night he had thought of nothing else, but her betrayal and how he
had nearly paid for his mistrust with his life.
How long had she been a traitor for? Had she always been
this way or had she simply been turned against him by Beryl later on, as had
Venus. If so then why hadn’t Taro noticed the change? If he loved her then how
had he failed to realise what had happened to her?
Or had she been using him since the beginning?
He could feel it… his consciousness was slipping away
again… even as Dark Mercury leaned forward, her lips brushing against his ear
as she whispered softly:
“Just hold on for a little longer… your friends are
coming…”
Had that been nothing but pretence? It couldn’t have been.
Why else would she have looked after him? Was it really only so that she could
use him in this way? Was all they had truly a lie? Taro didn’t know and the
more he thought about it the more it pained him.
Mamoru had wanted him to meet them in Crown later on
today, but Taro wasn’t sure if he could face it. How could he when Mercury’s
trap would be the topic of conversation? How could he look at them knowing that
he had been with her for so long and not told them? Especially now that it
appeared that Mercury was still working for the Dark Kingdom.
He hadn’t said no to his friend, but he hadn’t exactly said
that he would be there either as part of Taro knew that they had to all be
united, now so more than ever. If they were to have any chance of saving the
Earth then the Metallia Youma had to be defeated, but how to go about this,
Taro did not know.
For a few minutes he thought of how strong the Youma was
and how they could possibly defeat it as this took his mind off of Mercury and
his own pain. The Youma was strong but, perhaps, a group attack could hurt it
at least?
Or, to defeat it, would they have to first journey into
the Dark Kingdom itself and attack Metallia’s true form?
The latter seemed a reasonable assumption but what if by
killing Metallia they also caused the Senshi to die… why did he even care?
Again he was thinking of her. She was a traitor! She deserved to die… didn’t
she?
Taro stood, furious with himself for bringing his thoughts
back around to her. “She betrayed you” Taro whispered to himself as though, by
saying this aloud, it would make it a little easier for him to accept. It did
not and Taro left his front room, walking though into the kitchen he caught
sight of the dirty dishes that had piled up since Kanaye was taken into
hospital. His brother was always so fastidious and without anyone to complain
about the state the house was in Taro had saw little point in keeping the place
as spotless as it was usually. They were facing the end of the world, after
all, so who would care for a few dirty dishes? Taro had to grin at his thought,
but his smile soon faded as he glanced up and saw the sombre reflection staring
back at his own.
Taro whirled around, transforming as though somehow by
doing this it would grant him extra strength. Mercury’s mere presence was
enough to make him want to hold her… to kiss her…
But this was all wrong. She was a traitor, or so Nephrite
tried again telling himself, but seeing her so hesitant and afraid he was
beginning to have doubts.
“Taro” Mercury took a step nearer, causing Nephrite to
snap out:
“Keep away from me.”
Her gaze filled with tears and she reached out with one
hand to caress his cheek. Nephrite leaned into this contact for a second before
slapping her hand away, “I said keep away, traitor!”
She stumbled back, almost falling to her knees, “I… I
didn’t betray you… I love you.”
“Then why did you set Kisho and the others up like that?
Masaki could have killed me!”
“I didn’t. I overheard Kuroki Mio and Jadeite talking.
They said that they were targeting Kisho. They set me up.”
Nephrite shook his head. Could he believe that? He wasn’t
sure. His faith in her had all but been shattered. If he were to believe her
now and she was lying… Nephrite just didn’t know what to do. He wanted to
believe her. This want was so strong that it almost hurt, but how could he
trust her?
“Why would they set you up?” Nephrite asked finally,
struggling to appear impassive as he did so.
“They found out about us”
“There is no ‘us’, not anymore.”
It pained him to say it and the heartbreaking look in her
eyes as those words escaped him was almost enough for Nephrite to cast aside
his doubts and pull her into his arms. He did not do this and took another step
backwards, tensing as though dreading her response.
“Taro, please. I didn’t betray you.”
“How can I take your word for it? We were nearly killed. I
can’t risk my friends like that again.”
“I know” Mercury trembled slightly and Nephrite saw one
gloved hand tightly clutching at the pendant that he had bought her. “I can’t
prove that I’m telling the truth, but if you really believed in what we had
then you would realise that I am not lying to you.”
“I did believe in us! But after Venus…”
“I am not Venus!”
Nephrite turned away. He wanted to believe her. The very
mere suggestion that he didn’t believe in what they had pained him no ends, but
what else did she expect him to do?
After a few seconds that seemed to last a lifetime,
Mercury spoke again, “I understand why you cannot believe me. You care for them
as I care for Jupiter and the others and two of them are gone. I am unable to
prove that I was set up, but, perhaps, I can prove what is in my heart.”
“What do you mean?”
Mercury took a deep breath, “You asked me once to stay
with you; to leave the Dark Kingdom. This is what I intend to do. You have my
word.”
********
“If we don’t do something soon then it will drain the
energy from everyone in Tokyo” Mamoru stated softly, as he glanced warily at
the closed meeting room door. Since Masaki’s capture and brainwashing, the
unnerving knowledge that his friend, or a Youma, could appear at any given time
or place to attack them, was starting to tell upon him. The added strain of
being the leader did little for his nerves as it was and Mamoru could only feel
the overwhelming pressure to do something about the present situation crushing
between his shoulder blades and almost suffocating him in its presence.
On his way to Crown Mamoru had seen three people being
carried inside an ambulance; all unconscious from the effects of the Youma.
It was the same everywhere. The staff at the community
centre where Kisho worked and the workers at Seiichi’s studio had all gone down
with this ‘mystery sleeping virus’ or so it had been dubbed at present.
“It must be killed” Kisho agreed quietly, “But we are not
yet strong enough to even hurt it.”
This being admitted by the most powerful Tennou was almost
enough to lead Mamoru to despair. If Kisho was talking in such a way then what
hope was there for the rest of them?
“There must be a way,” Seiichi answered to this, as though
sensing Mamoru’s despondency, “Perhaps brute force is not the answer.”
“What are you saying?” Mamoru winced at the near
desperation in his voice, but he was getting desperate and clung to this brief
spark of hope, as though it was all he had left.
Seiichi paused, looking up as the door opened and Taro
entered. Mamoru was glad to see that his friend had recovered from his ordeal
yesterday and murmured a greeting when he sat down opposite Kisho. No one
called him on his tardiness and Mamoru was glad of this.
Once Taro had sat down, Seiichi continued, “Every time we
have fought it, it has been on its own terms. It has always appeared when we
are not ready to fight it.”
“It always caught us off-guard” Taro agreed catching on to
Seiichi’s suggestion, “We need to lure it to a place on our terms and then
fight it.”
“How will that help? It doesn’t seem to matter where it
fights?” Mamoru enquired.
“It has one weakness” Seiichi answered him, “A weakness
that all Youma seem possess. When it steals energy it goes into a trance like
state. That is the time to attack it.”
“So we need to use a civilian as bait” Mamoru shook his
head, secretly appalled at this mere suggestion, “I don’t like it. What if
something went wrong?”
“Not a civilian” Kisho replied, “One of us.”
“One of us” Taro repeated quietly.
“It was my suggestion so---” Seiichi started, but Mamoru
cut him off with:
“I’ll do it.”
“Mamoru” Taro protested, “You don’t have to do this. Let
one of us do it instead.”
“Why? Because I’m the Prince?” Mamoru demanded. He wasn’t
angry with them, just tired of hiding behind the Shitennou all of the time. If
he was the leader and the Prince then it was high time that he started taking
these risks instead of allowing his Guardians too.
“That’s exactly why” Kisho answered to this, “It’s too
risky for you.”
“So I am supposed to sit back and watch one of you risk
your life instead, is that it?”
“Yes” Kisho snapped without hesitation, “That is our
duty.”
“I hate seeing you all risking everything for me. It won’t
be dangerous. You just need to attack it together, once, right?”
“One hit should be enough to weaken it considerably,”
Seiichi confirmed. Mamoru was secretly surprised that the pianist had refrained
from commenting on this. He had thought he would be the first to object.
“Without Masaki we’re not as strong” Mamoru pressed them,
“I don’t have the magical abilities that you do. With only two of you you’ll be
weaker still. This way makes more sense.”
“It does” Seiichi said slowly, “But I don’t like it.”
Spurred on by this unexpected support, Mamoru said, “Then
its decided. I’ll go to the middle school; it’s been closed as this Youma has
attacked all the teachers and there shouldn’t be any civilians there. You three
can follow me whilst I pretend to look helpless until it attacks me.” He added
the last sentence in as a joke and Taro obviously couldn’t help but reply:
“What do you mean pretend to look helpless?”
This brought about a strained laugh from the group, but
Mamoru could still detect the underlying tension between them. No matter how
confident he tried to appear to them, it was dangerous, Mamoru knew, but he was
adamant that they should stick to this plan… no matter what.
******
“Usagi! Stop!”
“Usagi-chan” Luna whispered compassionately as her
charge’s look of misery deepened as they both recalled the events of yesterday.
Wincing, Luna remembered her Princess’s words of pain as they left the scene
together.
“I shouldn’t have transformed” Usagi said softly, reaching
out to pet Luna on the head. School had been cancelled as all the teachers were
in hospital and Luna knew that this was not a good thing as it served to remind
Usagi that she was not just a normal girl anymore, that no matter how much she
tried to resist it her destiny would always be there… and there was no escape
from it.
“You saved his life” Luna pointed out, “Ueda-san would
have killed him.”
“Yes, I saved him and then I nearly killed him! He nearly
died because I couldn’t control my powers!”
“Then why didn’t you just walk away?” Artemis snapped from
his position curled up on Usagi’s bed, “Why didn’t you leave the Tennou to his
fate?”
“Artemis--” Luna started, but Usagi cut her off with:
“How could I do that? How could I leave him to die?”
“Usagi-chan” Luna soothed, secretly angry with Artemis for
being so harsh with their Princess. “It’s okay. No one’s blaming you.”
“They don’t have too” Usagi whispered as she threw herself
down onto her bed and buried her face in a pillow, “I blame myself.”
Luna sighed miserably and turned away. Was there nothing
she could do for her Princess after all?
Wordlessly Artemis padded to Luna’s side and nuzzled her
cheek as a gesture of comfort. Luna purred slightly and leaned into this until
she felt he aura of the room suddenly change. Pulling away, Luna looked up in
horror as Dark Jupiter appeared and took a step towards them.
******
“Mercury is a traitor. Find her. Find her and kill her.”
Mio hurried back down the dank corridors of the Dark
Kingdom, keeping herself completely focused on what Beryl had said. Mercury
must die. Time was running short. Now that Masaki no longer trusted her, Mio
knew she would have to act quickly lest Beryl discover the extent of her own
treachery.
Masaki no longer trusted her, but perhaps he could be
useful for one last time. The human mind, after all, was weak and Mio had
preyed on his weakness for so long now. Perhaps he could be manipulated just
once more.
A little apprehensively, Mio pushed open the door to her
quarters and, with shock, she stepped into an empty room.
“Masaki-kun?” Mio called hesitantly.
“They live. But that doesn’t matter. Beryl is now
convinced that Mercury is the traitor and will kill her. As long as we watch
our backs then soon we shall achieve our own desires.”
“Your desires”
“I thought what we wanted was the same?”
“You would do well not to assume anything of me”
She had thought that he would come back here. He had
nowhere else to go. Mio frowned. It would appear that she had been
underestimating him after all.
His disappearance was no matter. Mio could still sense his
aura, darkened by Metallia’s hold. She knew where he would go and she was
determined to follow. Mercury could live for now. Mio had much more important
matters to attend too.
******
“The Dark Kingdom is crumbling, even if Beryl cannot yet
see it. We have no place here anymore. That is my decision.”
“I see. Where will you go?”
“I don’t know. The Dark Kingdom is all that we have ever
known in this world, but it is not all we have. I feel sure of this.”
Jupiter took a step towards Tsukino Usagi, even as the
plushies raced between them as though they could somehow come to her aid. They
were wrong, Jupiter thought in slight amusement. She had no wish to harm the
Princess; not anymore.
“Luna. Artemis. It’s all right” Usagi said softly as she
sat up, rubbing the tears from her eyes as she gazed up at her former Guardian
like an trusting child, “You haven’t come to hurt me, have you?”
Jupiter shook her head. In truth she didn’t understand why
she was hear at all. No matter how strong her resolve she always found herself
returning to the Princess’s side.
Venus… Mars… both were gone and yet the Princess remained.
Still she would not fight. Would she not fight for this world?
“The Ginzuishou’s powers are growing stronger” Jupiter
stated quietly, “As is Metallia’s strength.”
“I know” Usagi whispered, a stray tear rolling down her
cheek, “And it’s my fault, isn’t it? The Ginzuishou feeds Metallia’s powers.”
“It does, but only for as long as it controls you.”
“I’ve tried, but I just can’t” Usagi protested, “I’m not
that strong.”
“Just because something is difficult it doesn’t mean that
you give it up. In the past life you defied even your own mother to be with
Endymion and in this world you will not fight for him?”
“How can I? There’s been so much pain! Hina-san, Ueda-san…
how can we be together?”
Jupiter reached out and wiped a tear from her Princess’s
cheek. Remnants of the past life that had been haunting her for so long had now
surged forth and overwhelmed her. The Princess did love the Prince, but Usagi
was more than the Princess she had been. Tsukino Usagi loved Chiba Mamoru. They
met and fell in love before their true identities were revealed.
“The world is crumbling around you even though you are
apart” Jupiter answered her, “But you are not the first. Kimura Taro loves
Mercury and even Venus… she…” Jupiter broke off, not wanting to speak of her
dead friend’s somewhat guarded heart.
“Kimura-san and Mercury” Usagi whispered, “They… they love
each other?”
“They do”
Usagi smiled sadly, “I didn’t know… does Mamoru-tachi?”
Jupiter shook her head, “They were afraid, as are you but
perhaps if you had known sooner then it would have given you the strength to
fight for what you and Mamoru had.”
“And now it’s too late” Usagi replied brokenly.
“No. Never too late.”
Jupiter turned away as more tears sprang into Usagi’s
eyes. It had been good… to see the Princess one last time.
The Dark Kingdom is all that we have ever known in this
world, but it is not all we have. I feel sure of this.
She had so wanted to find her place in this world but, as
she was now, Jupiter knew that was impossible. The Senshi were the celestial
guardians of the Moon Princess, but here on Earth she no longer needed them.
She was strong, no matter what she said.
Elsewhere, Jupiter could sense a battle raging. The
relentless tide of evil that harboured in Tokyo was gaining in strength. One by
one they had fallen and soon nothing would be able to stop it unless…
Why were they reborn? Was it truly only to fight for
Beryl? If so then why did they recall the tragic past?
Long ago they had been captured and forced to server Beryl
but now, in this world, they could shape their own destinies. Jupiter was only
sorry that her own could not follow the path of the Princess’s for much longer.
As it was, she could at least do this one thing for her.
Reaching forward, Jupiter pulled the Princess into a quick
embrace. Tsukino Usagi returned this comfort, uttering a small sob as she, too,
realised that this was for the last time.
Then, forcing herself to release her Princess, Jupiter
teleported away ignoring Usagi’s plaintive calls for her to come back.
She had been under Beryl’s influence for too long and now
Jupiter intended to atone for the wrongs that she had done, both to the
Princess and the planet.
******
Mamoru walked quickly and quietly into the grounds of
Juuban Middle School. Despite it being daylight, the emptiness of this place
appeared to make everything seem so much darker and the atmosphere was almost
oppressive. Shivering, Mamoru zipped his jacket up and put his hands in his
pockets.
His friends were following at a distance, already
transformed, but this knowledge did little to ease the fear that was slowly
eating away inside of him.
As he had left, Taro had quietly mentioned that if he
wanted to back out then no one would blame him and that Taro himself was quite
happy to go in his place. This Mamoru would not allow. His Guardians always
risked their lives for him. It was about time that he protected them for once.
“We’ll hold off for thirty seconds after it attacks you”
Kisho had said as they left Crown, “That will give it time to go into a trance.
If we attack too soon then our powers will have no effect on it.”
Thirty seconds, Mamoru repeated silently to assure himself
of this. His entire body was shaking now as he moved further into the grounds,
so that the building over shadowed him. He knew he had no reason to be afraid.
He trusted Kisho-tachi with his life, but fear was not rational and it was
threatening to overwhelm him now, even as he suddenly sensed the aura around
him changing.
This was it… Mamoru braced himself, forcing away any
desire he had to transform as the Youma stepped towards him.
It appeared to have gained yet even more strength and
Mamoru feigned not realising what exactly was standing before him as he moved
backwards, his back hitting the wall behind him as the Youma reached out with a
hand pointed towards him.
Something was wrong… Mamoru sensed it at the last minute
and leapt to one side as jagged spikes shot from its fingertips and embedded
themselves into the brickwork.
Mamoru glanced wildly up at the Youma as it penetrated his
guarded expression and rooted him to the spot. He couldn’t move… there was a
weight crushing between his shoulder blades, forcing him to stand still as it
raised its hand again, this time above his head. As it brought its hand down it
uttered his name:
“Endymion.”
Mamoru gasped, realising his error too late. It realised
his true form and would not be fooled! It did not want his energy. It simply
wanted to kill him.
Then something else slammed into him, knocking him to the
ground, away from the Youma. Mamoru gasped again, this time in relief as he
looked up and met Nephrite’s gaze. Looking passed his friend; Mamoru saw
Kunzite and Zoisite already in battle against the Youma.
“What happened?” Nephrite demanded, whilst helping Mamoru
to his feet.
“It attacked me”
“We kind of figured that part. I meant why did you let it
nearly skewer you?”
“I didn’t let it! It… you should know… you’ve felt its
power, too.”
Nephrite nodded uneasily, “It felt as though it was
looking directly into my soul and I---”
He broke off as his gaze turned back towards the battle.
For a brief second, Kunzite and Zoisite had seemed to be gaining the upper
hand. The Youma’s sword lay discarded in the ground and it was defiantly
appearing to be having trouble from fending off blows from both Tennou. Working
together, one blocked its attacks whilst the other struck it from behind, but,
as they watched in increasing horror, the tide turned on them.
With surprising speed, the Youma lashed out with a fist,
catching Zoisite around the face and knocking him to the ground. As he fell, it
whirled around, its free hand slamming Kunzite into the wall, his sword falling
from his hand as its grip tightened.
“Kunzite!” Mamoru shouted, transforming and drawing his
sword.
The Youma, using its free hand, reacted to the sound of
his voice and hurled a wave of dark magic directly at them. It slammed into
Endymion, knocking the breath from his body and he fell again, Nephrite landed
beside him, the latter’s sword hand bleeding as the magic tore across his skin.
Helplessly, Endymion pushed himself up onto his knees,
crying out again when he saw what was taking place before his eyes.
Endymion could see Kunzite’s energy being drained,
transferring to the Youma as he watched. The oldest king struggled for a
moment, before the Youma’s powers overwhelmed him and he succumbed to them,
de-transforming as his eyes slid closed.
The Youma stepped back, allowing Kisho’s still form to
fall to the ground as it rasped: “Energy” before taking a step in Zoisite’s
direction. Leaning down, it gasped the still dazed Tennou by the throat and
hauled him to his feet, black magics wrapping around his body, sapping his
energy as it had done to Kisho.
“Zoisite!” again Endymion shouted, although his cries
served little purpose and both he and Nephrite started towards the Youma.
“Stay back!” Seiichi pleaded as his own transformation
dispersed and the Youma threw him aside. The younger man hit the ground next to
Kisho, his eyes now closed.
“Seiichi… Kisho” Endymion whispered, tears burning
brightly in the backs of his eyes. They should never have tried this! They were
like Kanaye and the others now… he had lost two more of them.
“Mamoru” Nephrite grabbed hold of Endymion’s arm, pulling
him back behind him as the Youma turned to them.
They couldn’t leave them, Endymion realised. If they did
then the Youma would kill them. But why had it tried to kill him straight out
rather than stealing his energy?
“Its magical energy it wants” Nephrite answered, as though
guessing Endymion’s thoughts, “Even transformed you don’t possess the same type
of power that we do. If it gets enough energy then it will be able to destroy
the world.”
“Then get out of here,” Endymion ordered.
Nephrite shook his head, “Its already too powerful. I’ll
have to fight it.”
“No--”
“There is no other alternative now.”
“Yes there is. De-transform. It can’t steal your magical
energy in your terran form.”
“If I do that then we’ll both die.”
Endymion glanced frantically from Nephrite to his two
friends lying unconscious before him. What could they do? He just didn’t know…
and the Youma was still walking towards them…
******
Masaki stood watching from his position on the flat roof
of the school building as the two strongest Tennou fell. It was strange how he
felt so detached from the scene, despite the furious ache in his heart at the
current situation. He wanted to help them and almost transformed as the Youma
attacked Nephrite, but he couldn’t. It was as though he was rooted to the spot.
Unable to do anything and yet at the same time silently screaming out that he
wanted to help them.
Tears blurred at his eyes at this and the realisation that
Mamoru-tachi were his friends and that he had betrayed them. How could he have
been so foolish to think anything else? They were his friends and he had nearly
killed two of them. This knowledge was the only thing that held him in place
now. Masaki was afraid. Even if he managed to save Taro and Mamoru now, they
would not forgive him that easily, if at all. They would hate him for what
happened…
“Masaki-kun?”
“Kuroki… Mio…” he glanced up upon hearing his name being
called and Beryl’s shadow’s smile widened as she took a step in his direction.
“They never cared about me did they? They were too wrapped
up in their own lives to care about what happened to me. For that they must
pay.”
“I will help you to take your revenge” she promised him as
she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Masaki and pulling him towards her
she crushed his lips against her own in a fierce kiss.
Making no effort to hide his sense of revile as he
recalled the memory of her lips against his own, Masaki moved backwards, but he
was now at the roof’s edge. There was nowhere else to go.
“Why did you leave?” Mio asked quietly, “Why did you leave
the Dark Kingdom?”
“Because I don’t belong there.”
“And what makes you think you belong here with them? You
betrayed them. What makes you think that they will forgive you? What makes you
think that they will welcome your presence once more?”
“I know they will be angry, but I’m prepared for that.”
“Are you? Are you truly prepared for their coldness?”
Masaki nodded. He would not let her manipulate him again.
Mio’s smile faded at this realisation that he would not be
swayed and she took another step towards him, until she was directly in front
of him. Masaki shivered slightly, glancing around for a way out and finding
none. Below him, Nephrite had fallen and now nothing stood between Mamoru and
the Youma.
Masaki turned away, knowing that he had to help his
friend… no matter what….