Earth
Guardian Prince Endymion
By Senshi
of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi
Act Forty One Recap:
(Mamoru’s POV)
This pain… Endymion felt it far greater than the loss of
his Kingdom. His guardians… his confidants… he had always known that he would
pay the price for being in love with the Princess of the Moon but never before
had Endymion suspected that the price he would have to pay would be this high.
Will you allow the third one to die?
A scream caught in his throat as Endymion’s eyes followed
that of Beryl’s. The demon Queen’s cruel smirk had twisted into the form a
delighted grin when Endymion’s third guardian stepped between her and her
much-desired prize.
“Nigette!” Endymion shouted, his voice cracking, revealing
the despair and pain that ravaged his soul.
He would not step down… the Shitennou were bound to
Endymion… until the end… until they died.
“Nigette! Nigette!” Endymion screamed again and again…
The Shitennou… will they continue to be bound to me, even
now? Why can’t they understand that I don’t want that? I didn’t want them to
die for me then and I certainly don’t now.
“Usagi” Mamoru whispered, causing her to look up, but his
gaze slid from her face and to the person lying behind her.
“Seiichi!”
Shock had rendered him immobile when he had first glanced
upon the carnage and Mamoru staggered to his friend’s side, his legs giving way
as he knelt down beside him.
“Seiichi?” he shook him, at first gently, but when he
gained no response, Mamoru shook him harder. Still nothing.
I don’t want them to die for me. I never wanted this. I
know I said I would never choose between Usagi and my friends but now… now I
don’t know. My mistake of letting her keep the Ginzuishou may well have cost
two of them their lives.
*****
Act Forty-Two:
Usagi stood alone in the centre of a smoking crater, a
single tear running down her cheek. She held her transformation locket by its
chain. It swung back and forth in the wind. This was the only movement in the
barren landscape.
Most of the park had been destroyed. The grass, the trees;
all had been burned to a crisp.
“Usagi” Mamoru whispered, causing her to look up, but his
gaze slid from her face and to the person lying behind her.
“Seiichi!”
Shock had rendered him immobile when he had first glanced
upon the carnage and Mamoru staggered to his friend’s side, his legs giving way
as he knelt down beside him.
“Seiichi?” he shook him, at first gently, but when he
gained no response, Mamoru shook him harder. Still nothing.
The Shitennou were bound to Endymion… until the end… until
they died.
This thought stopped Mamoru cold. He
couldn’t think straight… he couldn’t focus upon anything else. If he died… The
pain of losing any of them far outweighed the agony of the past life. As Mamoru
had stated often enough, the Shitennou meant so much more in this world. They were
his friends and he had failed them again.
“Seiichi?” he felt Taro kneeling down
beside him. “It’s okay” Taro whispered in relief, “He’s breathing.”
Mamoru let out a breath that he didn’t
even realise that he was holding and sank backward, as, indeed, he could now
see the rise and fall of Seiichi’s chest. The relief was almost dizzying and
Mamoru couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. He was all right…
he lived…
Even as he watched, Mamoru saw Seiichi
starting to stir. Weakly, he opened his eyes, keeping himself still as he
looked around. His gaze first fixing on Mamoru and then turning to the
smouldering crater and Tsukino Usagi standing in the centre of it.
Mamoru watched, feeling an icy stab of
dread in his heart, as Seiichi’s somewhat calmed expression faded before his
eyes. He pushed himself up onto his knees, taking in a ragged breath as he did
so. His eyes had become muted, as though he was struggling to keep his
composure as he turned to Mamoru and asked quietly:
“Master? Where’s Masaki?”
“Masaki?” Mamoru frowned, not
understanding, or wanting to deny, the truth of the situation and why Tsukino
Usagi had not moved from her spot and was now weeping silently at the mention
of his friend’s name.
Taro and Kisho, too, were glancing
around, frowning when they couldn’t see any sign of their friend.
Mamoru swallowed hard and opened his
mouth to speak, but no words came out. In any case, Kisho beat him to it.
Kneeling down beside Seiichi, the oldest of them demanded to know what he
meant.
“What happened?” he snapped when all
Seiichi could do was shake his head.
Looking again at Usagi, Mamoru took in a
deep breath and walked to her side, placing his hands on her shoulders as he
murmured gently, “Usagi? What happened?”
She looked up; her eyes shining with
tears and Mamoru cursed himself for simply wanting to pull her into his arms.
“I…” she broke off again, uttering a choked sob as she did so.
Mamoru looked around, helplessly,
turning to the others for help. Seiichi refused to meet his gaze, even when
Kisho again asked him what had happened.
“There was a battle” he stated at last,
“The Princess…”
“What did she do?” Mamoru whispered and
then louder, this time directed at Usagi, “What did you do?”
She shook her head, uttering another
choked sob before answering, “I… the Princess… she…”
“She what? Tell me!” Mamoru shook her,
roughly, though he was secretly stunned and horrified that he was acting this
way. His panic and concern for his missing friend was escalating into something
more. He couldn’t think of anything else.
“She killed him”
Mamoru released Usagi and took a step
backwards, gazing upon her as though he was seeing a monster and not the girl
he loved.
“He tried to stop her,” Usagi cried, her
own tears falling much faster now, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t” Mamoru snapped, “I know you think I am wrong to
believe in her, but you cannot judge her by who she was in the past life.”
“He’s right” Taro replied, speaking to Masaki and Seiichi,
“And even if you don’t believe it, you should trust Mamoru’s decision.”
Mamoru smiled, grateful for, at least, one of his friend’s
support.
“If she had killed us” Masaki said, suddenly, “Would you
still want to believe in her then?”
Mamoru drew back as though Masaki had struck him. He had
no answer. The thought of losing his friends pained him, but Usagi was… Mamoru
shook his head slightly. He couldn’t choose.
“You won’t even answer me?” Masaki snapped, the disgust
clear in his eyes, “Then…” he turned away, heading in the opposite direction to
Kisho as he called back over his shoulder, “Then I guess you will betray us
after all.”
If he had just taken the Ginzuishou…
Mamoru looked away, unwilling to meet his friends’ gazes. Masaki was dead. He
was dead because of Mamoru’s foolishness.
“Mamoru?” Usagi reached out with a hand,
as though she could somehow take away his pain. She couldn’t, not when she was
the one who was the cause of it.
“Get away from him” Kisho snapped,
trying to sound angry, but Mamoru could easily detect the wavering in his
voice. No matter how strong Kisho’s resolve was, he couldn’t help but allow
them to see that he, also, felt the loss heavily.
“I’m sorry” Usagi again cried, “I didn’t
want to hurt Ueda-san. He stepped between the Princess and the Youma. There was
nothing I could do!”
“Nothing you could do?” Kisho raged,
“Had you given us the Ginzuishou from the start then this wouldn’t have
happened. If it weren’t for you then Masaki would still be alive!”
“But I---”
“Do you think by crying that you can
make this go away? He is dead! There is no going back from here on,
Tsukino-san. You have killed someone. You did it. Just you. No matter how you
may try to dress it up the fact is that Masaki is dead and it was you who
killed him.”
The colour slowly drained from Usagi’s
face as his words sunk in. Slowly, she turned, first looking at Kisho’s furious
countenance and then to Taro, who had remained strangely subdued throughout,
then to Seiichi and Motoki, who was knelt down beside the star obviously unsure
of what exactly was happening and then finally to Mamoru.
Mamoru looked away. He couldn’t meet her
eyes, not when she had killed.
Seeing this, Usagi let out a strangled
cry and turned, fleeing the scene. Kisho made to go after her, but Mamoru
grabbed his arm, halting him in his tracks.
“Let her go.”
“Why?”
“Just let her go” Mamoru repeated
softly.
Kisho paused for a moment or two and
then nodded, though the fury did not die from his eyes.
“Mamoru?” Motoki called, very
hesitantly, as he and Taro helped Seiichi to his feet, “Why don’t we go back to
Crown?”
“Do you think by crying that you can make this go away? He
is dead! There is no going back from here on, Tsukino-san. You have killed
someone. You did it. Just you. No matter how you may try to dress it up the
fact is that Masaki is dead and it was you who killed him.”
“Then I guess you will betray us after all.”
“I’m sorry” Mamoru whispered to no one,
“You were right. I suppose I will always betray you in the end.”
*******
“No, we’re not. And you’re Mamoru’s friend, but even if
you weren’t it wouldn’t make any difference. I don’t like seeing anyone in
pain.”
“This coming from the girl who destroyed the planet?”
“That was someone else. I love this planet and would never
do anything to harm it.”
“Then why won’t you give up the Ginzuishou?”
“Mamoru believes that I can overcome this. That I am
strong enough to control the Ginzuishou. No one else shares his confidence, but
that doesn’t matter. If something is difficult then you can’t just give up.”
“Perhaps…perhaps Kisho was wrong about you.”
“Usagi-chan! Matte!”
She ran, ignoring her guardians’ cries for her to come
back. Usagi felt sick. Her entire body was trembling uncontrollably as the
day’s events continued to repeat themselves over and over in her mind.
“Ueda-san!”
She had killed. There was no way to
describe the agony that tore into her soul at this knowledge. Tamura-san was
right. Usagi could continue to blame the Princess, but, deep down, she knew
that it had been her. Why hadn’t Mamoru-san taken the Ginzuishou? If he had
then this wouldn’t have happened! Usagi shook her head, coming to halt
suddenly, tears burning brightly in her eyes though they refused to fall. This
was somehow worse. She couldn’t shed a single tear because it hurt so much and
even if she could no amount of crying would ease the terrible sense of guilt
that bore down upon her heart. It wouldn’t bring Ueda-san back either.
His screams echoed in her head, blotting
out all other sounds. She would hear it for eternity, Usagi knew. Each time she
closed her eyes she would hear his screams and see Mamoru’s pain filled
expression when he learned of his friend’s death.
She could blame Mamoru. A part of her
hated him for not taking the Ginzuishou when she offered it to him, but that
was just burying her head in the sand, as Tamura-san had told her.
“Do you think by crying that you can make this go away? He
is dead! There is no going back from here on, Tsukino-san. You have killed
someone. You did it. Just you. No matter how you may try to dress it up the
fact is that Masaki is dead and it was you who killed him.”
No going back… Usagi cried out in anguish at this. He was
right again. She had killed someone. There was no going back on that and there
was no way of making things better… except for…
Usagi raised her head to take in her surroundings. The
harbour… she stood on the waters edge, staring down at her reflection in the
murky water as she, slowly, unclasped her transformation locket. The water was
deep, deep enough, perhaps, to hide the Ginzuishou at the bottom of its depths
from Beryl and anyone who would wish to harness its powers for evil.
“Usagi! Don’t!”
“Princess, stop!”
The cats cried out as she dangled the locket over the
water and, at that second, the current seemed to quicken slightly, as though
excited at the prospect of concealing the illusionary gemstone.
“I have to do this” Usagi answered them, “I crossed a
line. I took a life. There is no way back from that.”
“You don’t know that!” Artemis pleaded, “Perhaps the
Ginzuishou--”
“Can heal him? There wasn’t even a body. It destroyed him
and that Youma. There was nothing left!”
“Seiichi’s still alive!” Artemis shouted, “Princess,
please trust me. Don’t let the Ginzuishou go!”
Usagi turned a tearful gaze towards him, not quite
understanding the cryptic message behind the cat’s words. She had almost killed
Komoro-san, too, but the fact that she had killed one of them… had he died too
then Usagi might well have contemplated her own rest at the bottom of the sea
also.
“I have to do this” Usagi answered, struggling to keep her
voice steady as she spoke, “Please understand this, Artemis. I have to let it
go before I kill again.”
Turning back to the water, Usagi prepared to let the Ginzuishou
fall from her fingertips when a new voice rang out across the harbour.
“Sailor Moon?”
“Dark Jupiter?”
********
It had been an hour since they had arrived back in Crown,
an hour that seemed to last a lifetime. Seiichi sat in the meeting room, the
bowl of tea that Motoki had given him upon arrival had long since gone cold
without him drinking it. Finally noticing this, Seiichi set the bowl back down
upon the table, this movement going unnoticed among his fellow Tennou. No one
had spoken and Motoki, being uncharacteristically quiet, had simply let them
stay here, each lost in his own thoughts.
Seiichi had been grateful for this quiet. His body needed
rest. He sat on the dark blue sofa, glad for this period of silence, but, more
than anything, he just wanted to get back to the apartment. He also knew that
he couldn’t do this. The loss of Jadeite had hurt the Master and Chiba-san
needed him. Even Taro had been subdued, which concerned Seiichi slightly as he
had expected Taro to also be after Sailor Moon’s blood.
“She killed him”
Seiichi drew in a harsh breath, causing the Master to
glance up at him. Chiba-san was sat at the table, clutching tightly to his own
bowl of tea. Kisho was pacing up and down the room and Taro was leaning against
the closed door, staring at the floor. They were upset, this was only natural,
Seiichi reasoned, but they had to remain focused on the mission. One of them
had to go and find Sailor Moon. With the Princess this upset she was a
liability.
“She killed him”
He lowered his gaze. A part of Seiichi, deep down, felt a
pang of guilt for what happened. Had he not told Jadeite to stop her. No, he
couldn’t afford to think about that. If he did then… Seiichi stood, trembling
slightly as he did so and this had nothing to do with his injuries.
“Where are you going?” Taro asked quietly. He sounded so
weary as he spoke. They all looked that way, too, as though they had given up.
“Back to the apartment” Seiichi answered, unwilling to
look the other man in the eyes as he spoke.
“So you’ll just leave?” Kisho demanded bitterly, “You will
leave us to pick up the pieces as you always do?”
“There is nothing I can do.”
“It is not about what you can do. It is what you could
have done.”
“What exactly are you implying?”
“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!”
Seiichi took a step backwards, torn between leaving and
staying, unsure of which was the best option at present.
“It was because of that Youma, wasn’t it?” Mamoru asked
quietly.
“Master--” Seiichi whispered, silently willing the Prince
to drop the subject. This wasn’t about the mission anymore. As the minutes
ticked by, Seiichi began to feel even more uncomfortable. Why were they all
suddenly turning on him? This wasn’t his fault! It was the Princess who…
Seiichi bit his lower lip as his last words to Jadeite
came back. He had told him to stop the Youma. Jadeite was a fool to get
between the Princess and it; Seiichi crushed this thought by telling himself.
“Was it the Youma?” Mamoru demanded, his voice betraying
no emotion and this made Seiichi feel somehow worse.
“Yes, Master”
Mamoru exhaled deeply whilst Taro said:
“What Youma?”
“I told you I
would help you” Mamoru ignored Taro’s question and spoke to Seiichi instead,
this time making no effort to hide the disappointment from his voice.
“I know” Seiichi shrugged, “It… I…” he shook his head, “I
don’t know.” How could he have expected that of the Master? Endymion was too
kind hearted, especially in this world. Seiichi, as much as he respected and
was loyal to the Master, knew that he couldn’t count upon Endymion to do what
was necessary for the safety of the planet.
“What Youma?” Taro repeated, his voice rising slightly in
annoyance.
Mamoru glanced at Seiichi, unwilling, even now, to go back
on his word, but Seiichi knew that if the remaining Tennou did not trust in
their Prince then the war against the Dark Kingdom would surely be lost.
He gave them a vague description of what happened the day
he awakened, leaving out all details of Zinan, simply explaining about the
Youma.
They were silent for a moment or two, and then Kisho
spoke:
“So” he said, purposefully walking towards Seiichi, his
eyes narrowing in anger as what the younger man was saying slowly began to sink
in. “You are saying that once again you have been keeping secrets?”
“No” Seiichi replied, managing to keep his voice steady.
“That’s what it
looks like to me!”
“That Youma had nothing to do with the mission” Seiichi
responded quietly, “It has nothing to do with you… any of you.”
“I doubt if Masaki would agree with that” Kisho snarled,
pushing Seiichi backwards against the wall, “Had you told us everything from
the beginning then he would still be alive!”
“I won’t take responsibility for his death. It was the
Princess--”
“Oh yes, the Princess. Another one of your lies! You knew
who Sailor Moon was all along and you didn’t think to mention it! It was a game
to you, wasn’t it? You enjoyed pretending to be the Prince and feeding us those
half truths about Beryl and the mission.”
“No. I was trying to protect the Master!” Seiichi shoved
Kisho back, with a force that he didn’t realise in his current state that he possessed.
“You’re a liar!” Kisho pushed him again and Seiichi nearly
lost his balance had the wall not been there for him to lean against.
“Kisho, stop it” Mamoru shouted, getting up from his chair
and stepping between them. Seiichi could see the unshed tears in his Master’s
eyes and his guilt deepened. Kisho was right. It was his fault, though he would
never openly admit it.
He smiled appreciatively at Mamoru as Kisho backed down,
but the Master’s reaction to this was totally unexpected.
“Don’t thank me. Had I thought it would do any good I
would gladly have him try to beat some sense into you.”
“W-what?”
“You heard me” Mamoru said coldly, “I had thought we
understood each other, Seiichi-kun, I guess I was wrong.”
“I told you before. I won’t take the blame for Jadeite’s
death.”
“Why are you so tied to the past life? He wasn’t just
Jadeite. Masaki was my friend, your friend.”
“Master--”
“Stop it! My name is Chiba Mamoru. Why can’t you call me
that? Why must you always call me ‘Master’?”
“Because that’s who you are.”
“In the past, perhaps, but not in this world, Seiichi.
Things are different! What are you so afraid of in the present?”
“Nothing--”
“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.”
Mamoru slumped back down into his chair, the strength
seemingly leaving his body as he spoke again, his voice heavy with regret, “It
doesn’t have to be like this, Seiichi.”
“Yes” Seiichi answered him, before walking slowly towards
the exit, “It does.”
*******
Zoisite sat in the empty room, mulling over his Master’s
words. At first he had tried to brush them off, pretending that Mamoru did not
know what he was talking about, as he did not recall all his memories. Yet in
his heart Zoisite knew that this wasn’t true.
Zoisite stared down at the white uniform he was wearing,
one hand toying with the end of the cape, whilst his other clasped a photograph
tightly in his hand. It had been taken just before he awakened his powers.
When Zoisite stared at that photograph… he saw strangers
staring back… himself, Yasuo, Etsu, Shina… Zinan… They were a world apart from
how he was now.
The mission is all that matters. Anything that I do in
this life is irrelevant.
Was it? Was it really?
Who are you really? Are you Komoro Seiichi or Zoisite?
Zoisite.
“I don’t know” Zoisite whispered bitterly, once again
feeling the despondency eating away at his soul. The mission was all that had
mattered…
“No. I’m asking you as a friend.”
“A friend? As I said before, you are pretty full of
yourself if you think that we are friends. We have only just met.”
“Why are you so tied to the past life? He wasn’t just
Jadeite. Masaki was my friend, your friend.”
Hot tears spilled forth
at the recollection of the Master’s words and his first meeting with Masaki and
Seiichi could do nothing to stop them or his de-transformation. Staring down at
his normal self, he uttered a low sob and hurled the photograph against the
wall.
It shattered as it made contact with the plaster.
“Why are you so tied to the past life? He wasn’t just
Jadeite. Masaki was my friend, your friend.”
He was a friend, Seiichi knew and his sorrow deepened as
he realised that Mamoru was right. The mission had taken him over and
now it had cost him everything.
********
“Jupiter?”
Dark Jupiter stared coldly upon the Princess of the Moon
Kingdom, making no effort to hide her disappointment and sorrow. Their Princess
was within an inch of throwing away the one chance that Jupiter and Mercury
had. She was going to throw it all away and for what? The death of one of the
Shitennou?
The Shitennou meant nothing and, as far as Jupiter was
concerned, they were the enemy as much as Beryl was. The Shitennou had not helped
save Mars and Venus. They were gone and, perhaps, Mercury, too, if something
wasn’t done to save them.
Why was she here? In all honesty Jupiter didn’t know. Her
memories of the past life still plagued her and, deep down, she felt a small
ounce of loyalty to the Princess of the Moon Kingdom. Not to the same extent
that Venus did, but, somewhere inside, Jupiter took pity on her. Hence her
reason for coming here now.
“Don’t destroy it” Jupiter answered, referring to the
Ginzuishou, “You might regret it in the end.”
The Princess shook her head, tears still staining her
cheeks as she replied to this, “The only regret I have is not doing this
sooner. If I had then Ueda-san would still be alive.”
“This is war,” Jupiter said coldly to this, “He knew the risks;
they all do.”
“Why? Why must it always be like this? I destroyed the
planet in the past life. If I’ve killed one person in this life then what is to
stop me killing more?”
“There are other ways to fight.”
“How?” she asked tearfully, “I cannot see anyway back from
this.”
“Will destroying the Ginzuishou make you feel any better?
Will it bring him back? Will it make the Prince love you?”
“No?”
“Then don’t be such a coward” Jupiter snapped.
“I-I’m not. I’m trying to be strong.”
“By throwing away your only chance to save this world?”
“Then what do you want me to do?”
Jupiter smiled. Why had she come here? Was it some fear
driven drive to protect the remaining Senshi? Or perhaps it was just an attempt
to understand the past life that dominated them all? Suddenly Jupiter felt
confused. Taking a step away from the Princess she simply said:
“Venus believed in you. Isn’t that enough?”
Then, ignoring her protests, Jupiter teleported away.
*******
It was strange, Kisho thought to himself, that Seiichi’s
departure didn’t make him feel any better. It didn’t ease the agony of Masaki’s
death and it certainly wouldn’t bring him back, but Kisho had just wanted to
lash out. Seiichi was the obvious target. It was because of him that Masaki had
given his life to start with. Kisho hated the lying, too. Lies always caught up
with you, this he knew from experience, and the results of Seiichi’s
half-truths had more or less destroyed them all.
Mamoru, too, was to blame, though Kisho was pretty
confident that Mamoru blamed himself far more than the others ever could and so
he kept silent. He didn’t even know why he was here. He no longer fought with
them but now… with Masaki’s death it would seem that they might have to start
building bridges. At first Kisho had been mortified, and furious, at Mamoru’s
forgiveness for his betrayal in the past life, but now that paled into
insignificance. Their arguing seemed petty now and Kisho was beginning to
regret every minute of it.
“Perhaps I should go after him?” Mamoru broke the silence
at last, referring to Seiichi.
“Why?” Taro demanded wearily, “You just said what we were
all thinking? He killed Masaki as much as Sailor Moon did.”
Mamoru had nothing to say to that and lapsed back into
silence. Kisho glanced at Taro, feeling slightly concerned. Like him, Kisho had
expected Taro to be angry, to scream at the Princess and then Seiichi for what
happened, but Taro was subdued, keeping to himself and not voicing his true
opinions on the subject. Kisho wasn’t sure he liked this. Taro was easily the
most temperamental of them and to see this anger so muted was unnatural.
“Mamoru-kun?”
They all looked up as Motoki entered. Seeing only the
three of them he looked slightly confused but did not say anything on this
matter.
“What happened?” Motoki asked the question that Kisho knew
was coming and he didn’t have the heart, or the want, to respond to this.
“Nothing” Mamoru said, but Motoki pouted at this and
answered:
“I saw what happened, too. I know enough to understand
that this is not something that happens everyday.”
“You got that right,” Taro muttered under his breath
before standing, “I’m out of here.”
“Ayame will be wondering where I am,” Kisho added,
deciding that this situation was one best left to Mamoru. Motoki was his friend
after all.
Mamoru glared at the two of them, but was too upset to
truly be angry and instead said that he would call them later.
Kisho nodded, but neither replied. Everything seemed only
semi-real at the moment. It was as though time had stopped and Kisho hated
feeling this way. Of course, he had been prepared for causalities in this war,
but, as the leader of the Shitennou, he felt as though it was his responsibility
to protect them. He had failed in the past life and in this world, too.
“Nii-san?” Kisho looked up, shocked and surprised to see
Ayame standing in Crown’s reception.
“What are you doing here?” he asked softly.
“Something happened at the park didn’t it? I was worried
about you.”
She always had been perceptive, even when she was very
young. Without a word, Kisho nodded, and the two of them left Crown together.
Ayame offering no words of compassion, but her presence bringing Kisho more
comfort than any words ever could.
*******
For once, Taro was glad when Kisho left Crown with Ayame.
Usually he reviled solitude and very much preferred the company of others, but
not now. Not after what happened. Walking slowly back from Crown gave Taro
plenty of time to dwell upon what happened. Too much time. His friend was dead.
No matter how many times Taro repeated this to himself he just couldn’t bring
himself to quite believe it had happened. Despite recent events, Taro had
always thought that they would defeat the Dark Kingdom together, the five of
them, and then go back to their normal lives. Now, even if that were true
Masaki would not have a life to go back to and Taro doubted that theirs would
ever be the same again.
Like Kisho, Taro dearly wanted to lash out. To hurt the
two people who had been the cause of this, but for some reason the pain was too
great. It differed so much that it blanketed out his persona and made him feel
truly numb inside.
He wished that they had done things differently. A part of
him even wished that he hadn’t supported Mamoru’s every word. Perhaps had he
not been content to take Zoisite at his every word, to allow Mamoru to
lead them despite him being blinded by his own emotions towards Tsukino Usagi.
But there was no room in his heart for such regrets, only sorrow at what had
taken place.
And now? Taro couldn’t think of what would be next. His
friend was dead and Taro just couldn’t see past that. He didn’t want to think ahead.
All he wanted was for Masaki to be alive and well again, but that would never
happen.
“Monster!”
A schoolgirl screamed, racing round the corner and almost
knocking into him. Taro jumped backwards to avoid her flight, cursing angrily
as he did so.
Youma… even now the Dark Kingdom would not allow him to
grieve. Not caring who saw him, Taro transformed and ran in the direction the
girl had been coming from, but he skidded to a halt when he was greeted by a
barren landscape. The remainder of park that Masaki had died in, that had not
been destroyed by Sailor Moon, had been turned into a wasteland. The grass was
brown, the trees and flowers were dying and even the small pond’s water had
been turned dark and murky. A gardener and a few other visitors to the park lay
near the gates, at first seemingly unconscious, but when Nephrite knelt down
beside the gardener, he realised that this was very different to the usual
Youma attacks. The gardener’s eyes were wide open and blank, not reacting at
all when Nephrite waved a hand in front of his face. Still, Nephrite could see
him breathing so he knew that he wasn’t dead.
Standing, Nephrite looked up and saw the creature standing
a few metres away, watching him.
“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.”
Kisho frowned and concentrated. After a few seconds he
shook his head, “Neither can I.”
From a first glance, Nephrite would have thought that it
was a normal Youma. Indeed it didn’t look any the different from ones that he
had fought previously. Its body was a pale blue and gold colour, though it
shone slightly as though it were metallic somehow. Its skin was hard and seemed
to be acting as armour of some sort. Its face was white and expressionless,
though as it gazed upon Nephrite he felt as though it could see right through
into his soul.
He shuddered slightly, his right hand reaching for his
sword and Nephrite realised that he was shaking as he did so. The Youma, too,
carried a weapon; its own broadsword that shone in the sunlight almost blinding
the red haired Tennou.
As it stood poised and expecting an attack, Nephrite felt
as though it was beckoning him to come closer and he did so, feeling almost in
awe to it.
“Those Youma will continue to appear as her vassals in
this world until she awakens fully. The Ginzuishou is her anchor in this world.
It is the Ginzuishou that feeds these Youma.”
“A part of Metallia?” Nephrite whispered, raising his
sword against the Youma. It blocked it and the force of its counter blow nearly
threw the Tennou backwards. He bit his lip to suppress a cry of pain when it
struck a second time, this time its upward blow knocked Nephrite’s sword from
his hand. It swiftly landed a well-aimed kick to his chest, sending him back
onto the concrete.
“She killed him”
“Why are you so tied to the past life? He wasn’t just
Jadeite. Masaki was my friend, your friend.”
“Then what was it like? Masaki’s dead because of you!”
Twin vines shot forth and Nephrite jumped backwards,
barely managing to avoid being caught by them once more. Angrily, he hurled a
fireball in the red one’s direction, but it managed to block the attack.
“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.”
As he recalled, with agony, the hurt and fury of the past
few hours and the first time that he had fought properly with his friend,
Nephrite felt something inside of him snap. It was as though the smallest
restraint that he had on his anger had finally been cut free. He stood,
snatching up his sword once more as he raised it against the Youma once more.
He felt nothing. The anger was blinding him and blotted
out his emotions and pain.
Nephrite fought as though he was caught in between a dream
and a nightmare. The Youma was stronger, easily knocking him down and blocking
every one of his attacks. Yet he didn’t care. He didn’t care when he felt a
fierce pain in his arm, which caused him to drop his sword. He didn’t care when
it sent his attack of red magics hurtling back into him, to knock him to the
ground again. He just got up, he just kept attacking. He couldn’t stop…
He couldn’t stop thinking about the last time he had
spoken to his friend. Masaki had wanted to tell him something, but what? Could
it have made a difference? Had Nephrite just asked him out right about the
bruise on his face? Had he just stayed with him instead of going to work? Why
hadn’t he done those things? Had he done then Masaki’s death might have been
avoided.
“You could come to Crown, too, if you would prefer”
“No, I’m fine here. I think I’ve got a lecture this
morning anyway.”
Nephrite liked to think that they were close, but perhaps
Seiichi was right after all? Perhaps keeping a distance from each other was the
best thing after all? If they were close then why couldn’t Masaki tell them
what was happening to him? Why couldn’t Seiichi explain about that Youma? They
weren’t close at all, Nephrite realised and this thought stopped him cold. The
Youma snarled and caught him a blow around the face, slamming him back into a
nearby tree.
They weren’t friends… not anymore. The past life had torn
them apart. Nephrite had been torn apart by a life that he didn’t even
remember!
“Damn you, Beryl” he snarled, his gaze darkening as he
glared at the Youma. It was raising its sword above his head and yet Nephrite
felt calm. Perhaps if it killed him he would be reborn again without the agony
of the mission? Mamoru was right. It would have been better to continue in
blissful ignorance than this.
“Mercury aqua… mist!”
The Youma leapt back as the attack blanketed the park in
an eerie greyish fog. Confused, Nephrite saw it teleport away, obviously
disorientated by this latest turn of events. He sank down, his back scraping
painfully against the tree trunk until he was sitting beneath it, his eyes
closed as fine tremors racked his body.
“Taro?” Mercury cried, kneeling down beside him and then,
only then, did Nephrite realise that his transformation was no longer in place.
He felt a gloved hand on his cheek, forcing him to look up
into her gentle brown eyes.
“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?”
“She killed him”
He didn’t want to cry in front of her… he didn’t ever want
Mercury to see him so weak again, but Taro couldn’t help it. He just wanted his
friend back. He just wanted everything to go back to how it was before…
“What happened?” the harshness in her voice softened when
she saw his tears.
“Masaki died” Taro answered, keeping his gaze averted or
he knew that he would truly break down, “The Princess killed him.”
He expected her to make a comment about there always being
causalities in war so he was surprised when she simply wrapped her arms around
him and drew him into an embrace.
Taro leaned into his contact, the humiliation still there,
but somewhat muted, as he cried.
*******
“Venus believed in you. Isn’t that enough?”
Luna watched Jupiter teleport away and then dared to gaze
up at her charge. Her heart cried out when she saw Usagi’s tears. Unlike the
Tennou, Luna did not blame Usagi for Ueda-san’s death; she blamed herself for
not preparing Usagi better. Had she just been honest with her from the start
then this wouldn’t have happened and perhaps Venus and Mars would also still be
alive. If Usagi was weak then it was her guardians who were to blame.
“Venus believed in me,” Usagi whispered, breaking the silence
as she stepped away from the waters edge and knelt down beside Luna.
“She did” Luna answered softly, “But, Usagi, you have to
believe in yourself, too.”
Usagi shook her head, “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.”
“Usagi-chan…” Luna murmured, but neither of the cats made
any attempt to go after her. Usagi had made her decision and, for once, Luna
was going to respect that.
******
Kuroki Mio smiled to herself as she carefully shut the
door behind her and stepped fully into her own private quarters. Her rooms in
the Dark Kingdom were only fit for an animal, she thought furiously, her mouth
turning upwards in a bitter sneer as she thought of the Princess and recalled
the lavish palace that she had lived in on the Moon.
Cursing Tsukino Usagi, Mio crossed the room, feeling tiny
droplets of water splash down onto her cheeks and hearing her boots splash in
the puddles of collected rainwater.
Her room consisted of nothing more than a double bed with
silk purple coverlets and veils hanging around the sides to give her some
privacy from the few curious Youma that continued to keep a close eye on
Beryl’s shadow. Mio rarely used her room in the Dark Kingdom, very much
preferring to live among the filthy humans and be treated as a God whilst
masquerading as a pop idol. Humans were a fickle race, Mio thought to herself.
They were so absorbed in themselves that they did not stop to realise her true
face. This gave her some delight to know this and watch their innocence. Mio
could understand why Beryl did not wish for the Earth to be destroyed. The
planet, instead, could simply be moulded to her own tastes. Recreated in her
image. Mio smirked at this. At least that was one thing that she and her Queen
had in common, despite their visions being somewhat different.
Pausing by the bed, Mio glanced down at its occupant, a
cruel smile now spreading across her lips as she gazed upon him. The Shitennou,
another thing that she and her Queen did not agree on. Beryl thought Mio to be
a fool not to allow the Princess to kill him. Weakened, the remaining Tennou
would be easier to destroy. Mio could see the wisdom in her Queen’s words, but
she also saw the value in teleporting both Jadeite and the Youma away as the
attack struck.
Of course the blonde, de-transformed and very weak, would
need time to recover, but weakened Mio could already feel the evil essence of
the kingdom beginning to take root in his soul. He would be a useful ally, she
mused to herself, for the time being at least.
The Youma, too, had its uses. Again, Beryl failed to see
why Mio would keep it locked up in the Dark Kingdom’s dungeons, knowing the
truth about it and the second strongest Tennou. Mio had debated simply killing
it, but she intended to play every card to her advantage. For there was one
person that Beryl had never suspected would betray her; herself.
*******