Earth Guardian Prince Endymion
By Senshi
of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi
Act Forty Two Recap:
(Luna’s POV)
Slowly, the Princess looked up, her expression as
heartless and cold as it had been the other day as she stood, poised holding
her sword tightly in a gloved hand.
Then, again slowly, as though she had all the time in the
world, she started to walk towards them, her sword now pointed at her enemy.
The Youma, panicked, threw another attack of fire in her
direction, but the Princess simply raised the sword above her head, catching
the attack and sending it flying back at her foe.
Usagi-chan lost control of the Ginzuishou and allowed the
Princess to take control of her again. The Princess in the past life destroyed
the planet, but I, deep down, did not think that Usagi-chan was capable of
hurting anyone.
“I… the Princess… she…”
“She what? Tell me!”
“She killed him”
But Ueda-san was killed trying to stop her and now
Usagi-chan refuses to fight anymore.
“I can’t. I killed, but Jupiter is right. Destroying the
Ginzuishou is not the answer. Mamoru-san doesn’t want it. He is afraid of it
and its power and so I am.”
“Then what will you do with it?” Artemis demanded.
Usagi sighed, “I don’t know, but I shall not fight again.”
“Demo--”
“Artemis, please don’t force me to change my mind. Venus
didn’t want me to fight, either and I refused to listen to her. I won’t make
that mistake again.”
“But you’re the Princess!” Artemis shouted.
Usagi smiled sadly, “Mamoru-san, Kimura-san, Komoro-san
and Tamura-san can fight for this world. I am Tsukino Usagi. I don’t want
Ueda-san’s death to be in vain” she set the transformation locket down in front
of Luna and started to walk away, calling back over her shoulder, “I’m sorry,
Luna, I can’t do this anymore.”
I can’t blame her. Usagi-chan is not a monster, no matter what
the remaining Tennou might think. I can’t blame her, not when I blame myself.
I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to say to
comfort her, not when she is hurting like this, but I also fear for the fate of
our world. Ueda-san’s death has torn the Tennou and Mamoru-san apart. If
Usagi-chan won’t fight anymore then what will happen to our planet?
********
Act Forty-Three:
“Ueda-san!”
Fire… all around him… burning him. The screams, his own
included, were drowned out in the roar of the flames. Blood welled up in his
throat, either a result of the searing tenor of his voice or his injuries as he
fell to his knees. He was going to die.
Then… then nothing…
It was not the constant pounding in the back of his skull
that awoke Masaki from his slumber, and nor was it the chilling cold that
soaked through his clothes and attacked his body with a sudden ferocity, but,
as he slowly became aware of his senses once more, Masaki could hear the steady
dripping of water splashing down onto a stone floor somewhere nearby.
Masaki opened his eyes and, for a moment or two, he was
content to lie still, focusing on the pain that now attacked his entire body,
searing into every cluster of nerves and every bone. He lay there, feeling the
soft mattress beneath him and shivering, biting down hard on his lower lip to
keep himself from crying out. The pain did not fade, but gradually it became a
little more bearable.
Masaki could still taste blood in his mouth and, as he
drew a rasping breath, he gagged and this ended in a coughing fit. The sound
echoed around the darkened room, seemingly louder in such an empty space. From
what little he could make out, the bed he was lying on was the only piece of
furniture, which seemed strange, even to his clouded mind.
He called vaguely recall what happened. The Princess… she
had… Masaki winced as he tried to sit up, but his weakened body would not allow
him to do so and he slumped back down on the bed, feeling utterly exhausted.
Who had saved him? Seiichi? Mamoru? Kisho or Taro, or
perhaps Usagi-chan?
Then, as though guessing his thoughts, the figure seated
beside his bed spoke:
“Konnichiwa, Masaki-kun”
Masaki raised his head, still weakly, to gaze upon the
girl. A girl and yet she was so much more. An icy stab of terror penetrated his
aching mind as the realisation dawned upon him. He was in the Dark Kingdom.
“Mou” Mio pouted, “There is no need to look at me like
that, Masaki-kun. Not when I saved your life.”
“You?” he croaked out, “Why?”
What does she want? Information? For me to betray my
friends? I can’t withstand what Taro went through… I’m not that strong…
She did not reply in words, instead reaching out and
placing a hand on his forehead. Masaki shied away from her touch, but her other
hand clasped his chin in her palm, holding his head still. It was strange…
though her touch reviled him, Masaki started to feel calm at the same time.
Even his pain subsided somewhat.
His eyes started to close, but Masaki forced them open
again. He couldn’t fall unconscious again… he couldn’t let his guard down
around her.
Masaki couldn’t answer that question; in fact, he suddenly
didn’t even care to know the answer. Her mere presence was starting to lift
some of the emotional and physical agony he was in.
“Just sleep for now,” she said softly, leaning forward to
whisper this into his ear and Masaki heeded her words, allowing his eyes to
slip closed.
“You’ve been through so much” Mio continued gently, “You
didn’t deserve it… you didn’t deserve their betrayal.”
“Then I guess you will betray us after all.”
Had they betrayed him? Masaki didn’t know. He drifted into
unconsciousness once more, now lost in these thoughts. Had his friends betrayed
him?
********
“One step at a time” Mio whispered to herself once she was
sure that Masaki was asleep. “One step at a time.”
She had planted the seed of doubt in his mind, but the
rest was up to him. His confused state of mind, his own mental anguish and with
Metallia’s presence coursing through this very room, Mio knew that Masaki would
come to, what he thought, were his own conclusions.
Her forcing him into serving the Dark Kingdom wasn’t
enough, Mio thought to herself. Simple brainwashing wasn’t half as effective as
a misguided human who thought that he was acting upon his own free will.
*******
“So…” Motoki said slowly, his voice betraying his
disbelief, “You are some kind of Prince from a Kingdom that no longer exists.
Usagi-chan is a Princess from the Silver Millennium, which was a Kingdom on the
Moon? Kimi-kun, Tamura-san, Ueda-san and Komoro-san are your guardians
and the Earth is under attack by a woman called Queen Beryl of the Dark
Kingdom?”
“I told you that you wouldn’t believe it” Mamoru snapped.
He hadn’t wanted to explain anything to Motoki, but his best friend had
insisted. He had even closed Crown early and they had gone back to Motoki’s
house so that they might talk undisturbed. Mamoru, his heart still weighing
heavy with the loss of his friend, had not been in the mood to argue and simply
explained everything and now Motoki was looking at him as though he should be
in an asylum.
“I didn’t say I didn’t believe you” Motoki said slowly,
“You are asking a lot, that is all.”
Mamoru shrugged, biting his lip to suppress more tears as,
again, Motoki asked him about the Shitennou.
“They were my responsibility. I let them down” he
whispered, “I let Masaki down.”
Motoki had no answer to this and nor did Mamoru expect
one. His friend had no idea of the pain of the past life or the mission and
could offer no comfort. The fact remained that Masaki was dead and that Mamoru,
when giving the Ginzuishou back to Sailor Moon, might just have well as killed
him himself.
Sensing that Mamoru just wanted to be alone, Motoki put
aside any questions he might have had and announced that he was going to the
store to get something for dinner. Mamoru felt sick inside. He couldn’t even
begin to think about eating or doing anything normal again. First Hina and now
Masaki. When would it end?
“Why didn’t you call for us when the Princess appeared?
Did you decide that you wanted to play the hero and then Masaki turned up to
try and save you when it all went horribly wrong?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Then what was it like? Masaki’s dead because of you!”
When Motoki had gone, Mamoru picked up his phone and
called up Seiichi’s number on the display. He sat looking at it for a few
minutes, recalling, with real fury, how his friend refused to show any emotion,
taking Masaki’s death as calmly as though he was a complete stranger.
Mamoru had thought, obviously mistaken, that he had really
started to get through to Seiichi. He had promised to help him and yet Seiichi
did not trust him. The bitter irony that came with his thought caused Mamoru to
cancel the number from the screen and set his phone back down. Seiichi had
always been the most loyal and yet he refused to trust Mamoru. His father’s
death obviously hurt him much more than he would ever care to admit and Mamoru
knew, sadly from his own experience, that this pain would never go away.
Stop making excuses for him. He is as much to blame as you
and Usagi are.
Usagi… Mamoru hadn’t wanted to choose between his
Shitennou and his love, but there was no choice to make. She had killed one of
them and yet still he loved her. He loved her and this very fact almost
disgusted him to the point of vomiting. He could blame the Princess that she
had once been, but that in itself would be a denial. As much as Mamoru wanted
to believe in her the facts were clear to see. She had killed Masaki because
she was not strong enough to resist the will of the Ginzuishou and the
Princess, a Princess that Mamoru had loved.
*******
When Taro finally reached his home he felt exhausted, both
mentally and physically. He slumped down on the sofa, his head in his hands,
trying to put his racing thoughts into some kind of logical order.
Kanaye appeared to have gone to bed early and for this
Taro was glad. He had spent the afternoon with Mercury talking about the
mission. It was strange, but Taro found that he could open up to her and say
exactly what was going on inside his head without any room for doubt or fear
that she would think him a fool. Mercury simply listened to him, making
observations and comments where she felt it was appropriate, but otherwise see
did not judge him. Taro was able to tell her how much it hurt that his friend
was dead and that he felt somehow responsible for not listening to Masaki when
he had obviously needed a friend.
Taro could also tell her how he blamed Mamoru for not
being strong enough to keep them all together and how he felt that they were no
longer friends and that he didn’t think that they could ever get over Masaki’s
death, not whilst the past life continued to haunt them all.
Mercury had said that it was up to them, as individuals,
to make up their own minds about the past life. Taro didn’t understand this.
They already had, hadn’t they? Seiichi lived as though the past life was still
relevant in the present and Kisho sought to stop the past from repeating by
killing Sailor Moon. Mamoru had denied the past completely and it had ended up
costing Masaki his life and Taro had supported Mamoru’s decisions one hundred
percent because, he now knew, he was afraid to make his own decisions. That
would not happen again.
The shrill ring of the telephone interrupted his thoughts.
Taro didn’t really want to speak to his ‘friends’ right now. He needed some
time to think, to get his head around a few things, but he was also concerned
that the phone would wake his brother so, against his wishes, he answered it.
“Hello?”
“Taro? It’s Tori, Masaki’s mother.”
Taro was silent for a few seconds, his mind now racing.
What the hell was he supposed to tell her? How could he tell her that her son
was dead?
“Taro, is Masaki there?” she was whispering, as though she
did not want to wake her husband, but Taro suddenly had an inkling that there
was much more to it than that. Tori sounded almost afraid.
“No” he forced himself to reply, “He’s not.”
“I see” she said, her voice strained, “Do you know where
he is?”
“He…” Taro knew he should tell her… he knew he should, but
he just couldn’t bring himself, too. Not on the phone. How could you tell a
mother that she had lost her only child on the phone?
“He went away” Taro settled on finally, hoping that Tori
didn’t pick up on the pain in his own voice as he said this, “He needed some
time to think.”
“I see” Tori paused again, “I expect he told you about
Haru. You must think I’m a terrible mother.”
“It’s not my place to say.”
“I know, but… he’s never turned on Masaki like that
before. I thought--- Sorry, I shouldn’t be bothering you with this. I just
wanted to speak to him… to tell him… It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry to have
bothered you, Taro-kun.”
“It’s no bother” Taro stammered out and then all but
slamming the phone down after she had hung up. He ran a hand through his hair,
struggling to assuage the fresh waves of sorrow that threatened to overtake
him.
Taro had always thought Haru was a little unstable, but
violent? He supposed he should have asked more questions when Masaki was staying
with him, but his friend hadn’t really wanted to talk about it and Taro had
been too preoccupied to really feel too much concern.
That was just it, they were all too preoccupied to ever
notice, Taro thought uncomfortably. Masaki always seemed to get overlooked,
right from the beginning and now Taro was deeply regretting this. He had liked
to think that he knew Masaki a bit better than the others, but now it was
appearing that he didn’t know him at all.
*******
For Taro, the next day came far too quickly. He woke up
and, for a few precious seconds, he had the wonderful feeling that the last
twenty-four hours had been a dream. Then he awoke fully and reality kicked in
again.
The pain hadn’t dulled, in fact it seemed to have
magnified somewhat whilst he had been sleeping and Taro suddenly had no wish to
go to work. He had no will to do anything anymore.
Then Mercury’s face flashed before his eyes. The look she
had given him when she thought he was going to be killed, so full of pain and
suffering… Taro didn’t ever want to be the cause of her pain again. Just
because he was carrying on with his life didn’t mean that the pain had
lessoned. He just had to get through today; a normal day.
Then his mobile started to ring.
“Kisho?” Taro was surprised to say the least when he heard
his friend’s voice.
“How are you?”
The concern was clear in his voice, though this was
definitely unprecedented.
“Not good” Taro admitted quietly, “Tori was on the phone
last night.”
“I see. What did you tell her?”
“That he’d gone away. I know we’ll have to tell her the
truth sooner or later, but how could I do that to her? How could I tell her
that he’d died?”
Taro faltered off, when he felt himself begin to lose
control again. He leaned back against the wall, taking a few deep breaths
before adding, “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it” Kisho answered, “If we have to tell
her anything, you don’t have to be the one to do it.”
Taro bit his lip, hesitating upon asking Kisho the question
that had been bothering him ever since he learned of Masaki’s death. Taking a
deep breath, Taro decided to ask him anyway, even for his own peace of mind.
“Kisho, are we friends?”
“What do you mean?”
“I always thought we were all pretty close, but Masaki had
some stuff going on. Stuff that he didn’t feel he could tell us. Seiichi, too,
has things that he didn’t feel he could talk to even Mamoru about and…” he
trailed off, suddenly feeling a little foolish. They weren’t schoolgirls! They
didn’t have to tell each other everything!
“I don’t know” Kisho answered him, his voice only showing
concern, not contempt or anger, “There are too many secrets” he decided at
last, “That is a bad thing.”
Too many secrets… For a few seconds Taro debated
telling Kisho about Mercury. His friend was right, he hated secrets, too, but
what else could he do? Mercury was, in their eyes, an enemy. After what
happened with Usagi and Mamoru, Taro knew that none of them would ever be able
to accept Mercury and him.
“Are you coming to Crown?” Kisho asked next.
Taro sighed, “I don’t know” he admitted, “Will Mamoru be
there?”
“I rang him first and he said he would be” Kisho answered,
“The Dark Kingdom will not go away because we are grieving. Mamoru understands
this as well as we do.”
“I know” Taro assured him. “So it all comes down to the
mission,” he added, a little bitterly.
Kisho had nothing to say to this and simply said that he
would see Taro at Crown.
Taro wasn’t angry with his friend. If anything, Kisho’s
call had restored some of his faith in the remaining Tennou and their Prince.
Still it would be even longer before trust was restored, Taro knew and even now
he felt a little on edge when speaking with Kisho.
This feeling did not dissipate, even when Taro tried to
tell himself that it would take time. Then again time was a luxury that they
didn’t have.
Taro grabbed his coat and was almost half way out the door
when Mercury’s voice stopped him.
“Baka!” she cried, her voice trembling in places as she
gingerly touched his bleeding shoulder, “What were you doing?”
Taro looked away, feeling humiliation burning in the
depths of his soul as tears stung at his eyes.
“It could have killed you!” Mercury continued, “What were
you doing?”
Impulsively, Taro reached out and drew her into an
embrace, realising, for the first time, how much his actions must have
frightened her. Yesterday she had helped him home, cleaned his wounds and then
left, her demeanour somewhat muted by his near death. Taro’s anxiety increased
at this. He hadn’t truly wanted to die. He had just been hurting and his pain
had come out in that way.
“I’m sorry” he whispered to her, “I’m so sorry.”
*******
Mio stood facing her Queen, the tenseness in the
atmosphere almost impossible to ignore, despite attempts from both sides to
make it so. Mio was positive that Beryl could sense their conflict of interest
where the Shitennou and Endymion were concerned and she secretly feared what
the Queen might do if she guessed her shadow’s true intentions.
Not even Beryl really understood where Mio came from and
her true form. Mio herself hadn’t been quite sure, not for a long time. Yes,
she was Beryl’s shadow but she was also more than that. She was her own person,
too, and as her own person Mio had no desire to serve the Queen.
“Jadeite” Beryl said at last, breaking the uneasy silence,
“Has he woken?”
Mio shook her head, “Only briefly. He falls in and out of
consciousness. I’m not sure if he truly realises where he is.”
“I see” Beryl answered thoughtfully, Mio not liking the
darkness in her eyes one bit.
“Metallia’s power is strengthening,” she continued,
casting a wary glance to the depths of her throne room as she spoke, as though
afraid that the Queen would hear her, “Soon she will consume this planet.”
“Which is why we need the prisoner” Mio answered,
struggling to keep the suspicion from her own voice, “But not yet. He is too
weak. To act now would only bring Metallia’s wrath down upon the both of us. I
advise that we wait awhile longer. The remaining Tennou and Endymion will keep
Metallia at bay… for now.”
Beryl nodded, accepting the counsel of her shadow and Mio
dismissed herself from the throne room.
Once far enough away, she allowed a pleased smirk to wash
over her face. Beryl had agreed to everything that Mio wanted her too. To
destroy Jadeite now, even to be free of Metallia’s control, would be a
foolhardy move. Mio knew she, despite being strong, could not take on Beryl,
the Tennou and the last two Senshi alone. In the Dark Kingdom it was more than
likely that, even if she managed to kill Beryl, she would be stabbed in the
back by someone around her. Mio needed an ally. Someone whom she could trust.
Already poisoned by his own bitter thoughts and the negative presence that the
Dark Kingdom invoked, Mio knew that Jadeite’s hurt and fury towards the Tennou
and Mamoru could be useful to her. She could use him to kill the Tennou, Senshi
and the Princess.
But he was still terribly weak, Mio mused as she entered
her chambers, coming to pause at her bedside so that she might stare upon its
occupant. She had healed his wounds, but his body had been put under an immense
strain and Mio still feared that he would not regain his full strength quickly enough
to be of use to her or that he might recover too quickly and decide against
helping her. She knew she had to be careful. If she said one thing wrong then
it would make all the difference and could influence his decision either way.
It had to be Masaki’s decision, she knew. It was important that he was still
under the illusion that he was acting under his own free will.
He was awake again, for now at least and Mio gave him a
sly smile as his gaze turned to her.
Masaki looked away, but she could see the hint of tears in
his eyes as he asked:
“Why did you save me?”
“Why?” Mio answered, taking a step closer, “Would anyone
else have?”
Masaki did turn to look at her, his eyes narrowing in
suspicion; “You can’t judge them on that one mistake. It wasn’t their fault.
Seiichi couldn’t have done anything…”
Mio nodded, feigning sympathy, “Of course not. I’m sure he
didn’t mean for this to happen. He is just so focused on the mission that
individual lives mean nothing to him, to any of them.”
“That can’t be true” Masaki whispered softly, his own
voice wavering with doubt as he spoke, “Mamoru never cared for the mission…
only the…” he paused and then his tenor darkened slightly, “The Princess. He
only ever cared for the Princess.”
Mio shrugged and gave him another supposedly gentle smile,
“Endymion always had been blinded by his heart.”
“He betrayed us,” Masaki murmured, clenching his fists at
his sides as he spoke, “He betrayed me. He was my friend. I trusted him.”
“You can’t blame Mamoru-kun alone for this” Mio pointed
out quietly, wondering how far she dare carry this, but Masaki seemed lost in
his own rage and seemed not to notice the poison behind her words. It would
seem that the Dark Kingdom had already tightened its grip on his soul.
“Seiichi would have quite happily let me die for him”
Masaki seethed, “He sent me against the Princess knowing full well what she was
capable of.”
“He is a coward” Mio agreed, “He only ever cared about
Endymion’s well being, and his own.”
“Kisho always used to ignore me. I was nothing to him. He
would always treat me with indifference, as though I didn’t matter. The leader
of the Shitennou and he didn’t even care to acknowledge my existence half the
time”
Mio could sense his rage building as his voice gained
strength and for this she was pleased. Soon it would be time…
“I wanted to talk to Taro. I thought he could help me, but
he didn’t want to know. He was too focused on his brother and his job to notice
what I was going through. Because of him I had to face Haru alone. I wanted his
help and he didn’t care enough to hear me out!”
For a while Mio did nothing, but simply let him vent his
anger. Anger was good, anger would blind him to her true purpose, if it were pent
up anger that was.
“Sleep” Mio urged him, once again placing a hand on his
forehead, sending out a whisper of her power, just enough to force his body to
do as she asked. “When you awake I will help you to get revenge upon them, but
only if you wish, Masaki-kun.”
He nodded, weakly, as his eyes slid closed.
When he awoke again, Mio knew that he would do her bidding
alone.
******
For Kisho, the events of the past twenty-four hours had
truly caused him to question the mission itself and his position where it was
concerned. He still feared deeply for a repeat of the tragic past and, for that
reason, he knew that they might very well have to destroy Tsukino Usagi.
Masaki’s death was a constant source of pain for him.
Although he had not known him as well as perhaps Taro or Mamoru, Kisho still
felt the loss heavily and, as leader of the Shitennou, he felt as though he was
somehow responsible. Had he concentrated on uniting them in the mission instead
of using it to drive them apart then perhaps Masaki needn’t have lost his life
over it?
This was Kisho’s reasoning for calling Mamoru and Taro and
requesting that they meet in Crown that morning. He knew that he would have to
swallow his pride and admit that he had been somewhat in the wrong and that
they needed to fight together from now on.
Well… mostly together…
“If we are to defeat the Dark Kingdom we must not dwell on
the past or, yes, it will repeat. Who are you really? Are you Komoro Seiichi or
Zoisite?”
“Zoisite.”
“It’s taken you over! Can’t you see? You had a life before
you met Artemis, I know you did. You told me!”
“It wasn’t real.”
“It doesn’t have to be like this, Seiichi.”
“Yes. It does.”
Kisho hadn’t called Seiichi. He honestly felt to do so
would cause more harm than anything else. Kisho had been forced to see that
being divided and having ones own agenda would not solve anything. Seiichi, he
knew, would never be able to accept this. Kisho needed to speak to Mamoru and
Taro first, and then they could try and make Seiichi see this.
He paused, about to cross the road to get to Crown when he
saw the girl who had also stopped, a few metres away from him. Kisho felt his
anger surfacing again when he stared at Tsukino Usagi, dressed in her school
uniform, a book bag slung over one shoulder. She was alone, though her gaze
slid passed Kisho and took on a saddened and forlorn expression. Kisho glanced
over his shoulder and saw Mamoru entering Crown, oblivious to both their
presence.
Usagi took a step in Crown’s direction, but Kisho blocked
her path.
“Leave him be. You have caused enough damage, Princess.”
Usagi stopped, tears flooding her eyes, but Kisho knew
better than that. She grieved because she had taken a life. They grieved
because they had lost a friend. Usagi had never known Masaki, not really, so
how could she ever begin to gage their loss?
“I-I… how’s Komoro-san?” she whispered, her voice choked
with emotion and Kisho was appalled at the slightest bit of sympathy that broke
through his stoic wall. Firmly crushing it with the images of the destruction
that followed Masaki’s death, Kisho answered:
“Resting.”
“But… he’s okay?” she ventured, “How’s Mamoru-san?”
“Grieving. You’d do best to leave him alone, Princess.”
Usagi nodded, “I’m sorry.”
“So you keep saying, but it won’t bring him back, will
it?”
“I know, but…” she trailed off and said again, “I’m
sorry.”
Kisho frowned, and let her turn and run back the way she
had come. It was strange, he thought as he crossed the road and entered Crown,
struggling to put the conversation behind him, but he felt somewhat the bad guy
in all of this.
Angrily cursing Kisho stormed passed Motoki and entered
their meeting room. Mamoru was there alone and without the others it seemed
empty and hollow together with a forlorn sadness about it.
Kisho took a seat opposite Mamoru at the table, requesting
to know how he was feeling as he did so.
“I don’t know” Mamoru admitted, “First Hina and now
Masaki… everyone I care about is… its because of me, isn’t it? That is why you
called us here?”
“No” Kisho said, allowing his expression to soften, “You
were trying to do the right thing. I have decided…” he broke off, knowing that
once he had said what he had to say there would be no going back. “I have
decided that, whereas the past is important, that we should learn from its
mistakes. Had we not been so focused on our past lives then perhaps this could
have been avoided.”
Kisho looked up, meeting Mamoru’s gaze, trying to gage his
reaction. Kisho knew it was too little too late on his behalf, but he so
desperately wanted to make things right, they owed it to Masaki to try.
“Well, it’s about time”
Kisho looked up as Taro entered the meeting room, and had
obviously heard every word of what had been said.
He smiled slightly as he took a seat next to Mamoru,
though there was a hint of sadness in his eyes as he added, “It’s about time
the three of us started working together again.”
Kisho nodded, recalling, with a great deal of regret, the
early days of the battle against the Dark Kingdom. Even then they had spent so
much time at each other’s throats, but now that no longer seemed important, not
when they had lost one of them.
Silence reigned again. There was still a certain
awkwardness, Kisho knew, but they all needed time. The pain of losing their
friend wasn’t going to lesson over night and then there was still the Dark
Kingdom. That was a war that had to be won at all costs.
**********
Mercury exhaled deeply, her eyes closed as she leaned back
against the tunnel wall for moral support. The cool rock, combined with
rainwater, soothed her somewhat, though she was constantly replaying those few
seconds when she materialised in the park when Taro was almost killed.
He was hurting, Mercury knew, but a part of her was still
furious at him for being so selfish. If she lost him… if she lost him then she
would truly have nothing. Taro had quickly become her life and living without
him was simply too agonising to think about.
Mercury bit her lip so hard that she tasted blood in her
mouth. Despite her own feelings regarding the other Tennou, Mercury knew how
deeply Taro had cared about them. Losing Jadeite was just as painful to the
Shitennou as when Venus and Mars died. That, and Taro’s near death at the hands
of that Youma, simply reiterated the very real possibility that Mercury could
lose him.
“Mercury?”
She whirled around at the sound of her name. Jupiter took
a step towards her, her gaze somewhat guarded as she stared upon the weakest of
them.
“Jupiter” Mercury whispered as a reply suddenly unsure as
the taller girl reached her side.
“You have been seeing one of the Shitennou” Jupiter stated
coldly, “You have been consorting with the enemy behind Beryl’s back.”
Mercury felt her blood turn cold at Jupiter’s words. How
had she found out? They were always so careful. But, more importantly, what did
Jupiter intend to do about it?
Finding her voice, Mercury answered carefully, “I didn’t
set out to deceive Beryl-sama. I just didn’t tell her, that is all.”
Jupiter cracked a small smile, “Do you think I care for
your deceit? I only worry about you, that is all.”
“Worry about me?”
“If Beryl finds out she will use it against you”
“I know” Mercury answered, struggling to keep the fear
from her voice, “I know.”
“I don’t think you do” Jupiter replied, somewhat gently,
as she placed a hand on Mercury’s shoulder, “Beryl no longer wishes to be under
Metallia’s thrall. She does not wish to destroy the planet, but simply mould it
to her own purpose. Endymion is still a part of her ambitions whereas we, the
Dark Senshi, are not.”
“What are you saying?”
Jupiter held her gaze, “You know.”
Mercury nodded. Beryl no longer considered them useful
allies. They were no longer essential to her plans. That would mean that their
time was short.
“What should we do?” Mercury asked, turning to the
stronger Senshi for help. Could she leave the Dark Kingdom? Where would she go?
The Senshi, as they were now, had no place on the Earth. She couldn’t expect
Taro to protect her. How could she ask that of him? Mercury was no going to do
that, or leave Jupiter to her fate.
“I don’t know” Jupiter admitted in answer to her question,
“I don’t know.”
*******
It was late afternoon when Mamoru finally left Crown and
the company of his two friends. After the initial discussion, they had talked
about other things, things that weren’t related to the mission. Whereas in the
past Mamoru would have been glad of this normality, he now only felt guilty and
wished desperately that Masaki could have been there, too. That things could
have been different, that things were back to how they were before. Of course,
Mamoru knew that to dwell upon what might have been in the past would not help
them in the present, but right now he couldn’t honestly say that he would ever
find a way out of this depth of despair that Masaki’s death had left in his
soul. Losing Hina had been hard enough, but Mamoru, in all his naivety, had
never thought that he might lose one of the Shitennou, too.
“It’s about time the three of us started working together
again.”
There wasn’t three of them, Mamoru thought uncomfortably.
There were four of them…
Anger clouded his mind as he thought of his other friend.
Seiichi’s betrayal hurt him; it hurt because Mamoru hadn’t expected it. He
hadn’t expected Seiichi to continue to fight with them and yet alone at the
same time. Mamoru had thought that Seiichi understood how they needed to work
together. He supposed that he had thought wrong.
“I can’t be held responsible for them,” Mamoru murmured to
himself as he entered his college. Since Hina died he had been missing
lectures, opting to collect the work from his sensei afterwards instead. Mamoru
didn’t even know if college was what he wanted anymore. Since his awakening,
his true awakening, he hadn’t known what he wanted anymore.
Mamoru frowned to himself, realising just how lost in
these thoughts he had become as he stepped inside the college. It was quiet,
even considering how late in the day it was, and this quiet was somehow eerie
and off-putting.
The hallways were silent and Mamoru’s footsteps echoed
loudly as he walked down the corridor, towards his sensei’s room.
It was strange, he again thought, as he placed his hand on
the doorknob, how he had not encountered another student as of yet. Usually
there were later classes or even just a few who where late to go home.
“Watch where you are going” the young man snapped as
Mamoru knocked into him, sending books and papers flying all over the floor.
Blushing furiously, Mamoru apologised and knelt down to help him retrieve his
things. The black haired man was really embarrassed that he could let himself
be distracted so easily. He was not normally like this at all.
He gathered up a few pens and pencils, but the other man
was quicker and had managed to recover most of his things himself and was
looking more annoyed than anything. Mamoru stood back up, frowning slightly as
he failed to recognise the youth before him. He had brown hair with hints of
black among the tan. His eyes were wide and a rich chocolate colour, though
they glared disapproving at Mamoru. He was not very tall, only just being able
to look Mamoru in the eyes. He was thin, almost to the point of being
unnaturally so. He wore a pair of dark Levi jeans and a white T-shirt with a
name of an American rock band etched across the front in black lettering. A
black leather jacket was slung over his shoulders. He held Mamoru’s gaze for a
moment longer before turning away and disappearing into the crowds of people
that already filled the halls.
He mentally winced at the bitter memory of his first
meeting with Masaki in this very same corridor. Until now, Mamoru had tried to
assuage the torrent of memories, painful ones, but being in this empty
building… he shook his head. How could he not help but feel this way?
“I wanted to thank you” he started out by saying.
Ueda-san looked up, surprised at this, “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.”
Ueda-san shrugged, “It was no problem.”
Again the silence overtook them before Mamoru forced
himself to speak, “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.”
Mamoru shook his head, brushing the memories aside as a
lump formed in his throat. He knew that if he broke down completely again then
he doubted very much if he would be able to continue the fight against the Dark
Kingdom. Instead he pushed open the door to the classroom and stepped inside.
There Mamoru stopped in his tracks. The classroom was by
no means empty. His classmates were still at their desks, slumped over their
books, pens still clutched in their limp hands. His sensei lay on the floor at
Mamoru’s feet, his eyes wide and staring, though from the rise and fall of his
chest, Mamoru could tell that he lived.
Stumbling further into the room, Mamoru leaned down and
shook Takoto Maya gently, but she refused to wake.
“This is just like…” he trailed off as his now panicked
mind called forth yet another memory.
Mamoru was about the reply when a car shot around the
corner, veering all over the road and then headed straight towards them. Kisho
pulled Mamoru backwards with him and Taro as it smashed into a lamppost right
outside Crown.
Kisho smirked slightly when Masaki leaned back into the
passenger side, letting go of the steering wheel and sighing in relief.
“Master? Daijobu?” Seiichi shouted climbing out of the
backseat. Both were obviously shaken.
“I’m fine” Mamoru answered him, though the man looked a
little pale. “What happened?”
Masaki climbed out of the car and shrugged, indicating the
unconscious driver, “As we turned the corner he just collapsed.”
“It’s the same
here” Taro informed them, “But it seems to be concentrated in one area. I don’t
understand it.”
“Youma?” Masaki wondered.
“There is a Youma aura,” Kisho said.
Seiichi nodded, “It seems to growing stronger with each
passing minute, but I can’t seem to locate it.”
Mamoru frowned. His friends had been right. He couldn’t
sense a Youma in the college. It must have drained his class’s energy and left
before Mamoru arrived, but the aura… it was strong. Stronger than perhaps they
had realised.
In any case, there was nothing Mamoru could do for his
fellow students now. They would not wake… not until the Youma had been
destroyed.
********
When Taro got home, he was met by a silent house, which
was slightly unusual seeing as Kanaye had mentioned that he had the day off today.
Taro sighed to himself thinking that perhaps they went out as he took his shoes
off and walked into the kitchen and got himself a glass of water. A part of him
was glad that Kanaye was still out. Even after what had been said, Taro still
felt very uneasy. He had wanted to tell them about Mercury. There should be no
secrets now, Taro knew, but after what had happened between Mamoru and Usagi he
just couldn’t bring himself to voice his feelings for the Dark Senshi.
Taro hadn’t told them about the Youma either. How could he
admit to losing control like that? He often lost his temper, but this had been
different somehow. His grief was private and Taro had no wish for them to see
how vulnerable he had been.
But they saw before? They saw the state I was in when the
Dark Kingdom captured me.
Taro shuddered to himself at this recollection. Of course
it had meant the start of his relationship with Mercury, but this didn’t mean
that his time at the mercy of Beryl was one of his fondest memories. He still
woke up some nights, thinking he was back there and he had often slept with the
light on since then. No matter how good friends Mamoru might claim them to be,
there were some things that Taro just didn’t want to talk about and this was
one of them.
Did you decide that you wanted to play the hero and then
Masaki turned up to try and save you when it all went horribly wrong?
It hadn’t been bravado or selfishness that had caused
Seiichi to put Masaki’s life in danger. He had been afraid, Taro knew as he set
his empty glass down and went upstairs. His anger towards the forth member of
their group was still there, but Seiichi had helped him when he was feeling at
his lowest and, from the look on Seiichi’s face when Mamoru lashed out at him,
Taro couldn’t help but feel that Seiichi was in a similar space now.
They were all hurting each other and now, Taro knew, this
would do nothing but pave the way for their own destruction.
So lost in his thoughts was he that Taro opened the
bedroom door thinking it was his own and then stopped dead when he saw Kanaye
and Michie together in Kanaye’s bed.
“Sorry” he stammered, blushing furiously, but neither of
them reacted to this. They remained lying side by side, seemingly staring up at
the ceiling, the duvet pulled up to their chins.
“Nii-san?” Taro called, taking a step further into the
room. Still he gained no reaction.
“Kanaye? Michie-san?”
Taro felt wild panic gripping his soul as he hurried to
the bed, placing a hand on Kanaye’s shoulder and shaking his older brother
roughly. “Kanaye!”
He did not respond. It was as though he was dead, but
Taro, of course, knew better. It was the same… he thought bitterly… that Youma…
There was nothing he, or any other human could do, Taro
knew, but it didn’t stop him from racing back down stairs to call for an
ambulance.
The Dark Kingdom… first this cursed war had taken away his
friend and now it had taken away his family. Taro wanted to fight, but to save
his brother he might have to give up the girl he loved…
*******
Beryl stood in front of Metallia’s chambers, almost
blinded by the pulsing red light that her Queen emitted. Metallia’s form on
Earth was getting stronger. Soon she would consume this world.
“It will be… how it was in the past,” Beryl whispered,
picturing the Princess’s destruction together with her own sealing beneath the
Earth.
“The past will repeat and Endymion is powerless to stop
it.”
******
Act Forty-Four Preview:
“They betrayed me and you saved me. You never did tell me
why?”
“Because we’re the same. No one ever truly cared for us.
No one cared for our suffering.”
“You suffered?”
Mio nodded, “I tried so hard to make Endymion love me in
the past life. All I ever wanted was for him to return my love, but he spurned
me for Serenity. It is the same in this world. He rejected me in favour of
Tsukino Usagi.”
~~~~~~
“Mamoru-san” Tetsuya greeted him warmly, though the relief
on his face was obvious as he ushered him inside. “How are you?”
“Fine, thank you” Mamoru answered, declining the tea that
Tetsuya then offered him, “Is Seiichi here?”
Tetsuya’s face fell, “No. I thought you’d know where he
is.”
~~~~~~
“Could we defeat it together?”
Taro hesitated slightly before answering, “No. I don’t
think the three of us are strong enough.”
“That’s ridiculous” Kisho declared haughtily, “No matter
how strong it is it is just a Youma!”
“No” Taro replied quietly, “It’s not.”
~~~~~~
“I saw your letter” Masaki continued, “Tetsuya-san seemed
to think that you would be here.”
“I didn’t think he knew” Seiichi answered honestly, before
adding, “I wanted some time to myself.”
Masaki smiled, “I thought that was probably the case.
Tetsuya-san did, too, but he was happy for me to come and see you.”
“How did you survive?” Seiichi asked, wincing at the
suspicion that had suddenly entered his voice. Masaki was his friend and he
knew that he should be relieved that he was alive, but all he could think of
was to ask questions to ease his own sense of guilt.
Masaki shot him another cold smile, “This isn’t really the
place to be talking about the mission, is it?”
~~~~~~
“Baka! Why didn’t you transform?”
Seiichi looked up, his eyes widening in surprise at
Endymion’s anger, but he offered no explanation for his actions.
“It could have killed you! What were you thinking?”