Earth
Guardian Prince Endymion
By Senshi
of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi
Act 3 recap:
(Mamoru’s POV)
“Our mission. Our mission is to find the Prince”
“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.”
I really envied Ueda-san. He seemed to be accepting our
mission with relative ease. I still had my doubts and didn’t even notice that…
“Kimura Taro. You can call him Kimi-kun.”
“You bastard! Have you given me a funny name?”
Motoki’s new cleaner was one of us though his true powers
did not show until he was in danger. Now there are three of us, but we cannot
control our powers properly so how can we battle the Dark Kingdom and complete
our mission? And now the enemy is after the Ginzuishou, too. Can we really
trust Sailor Moon? Is she really on our side? I just don’t know what to do
anymore…
******
Act Four:
“This is unforgivable” Beryl’s voice echoed off of the
walls of the Dark Kingdom, and she noted, with some satisfaction, that the two
Senshi before her quailed under her wrath. It was. The outsiders were still
alive and now had one more in their group. This was no good… Metallia would…
Beryl clenched a fist, wincing as her nails dug into her
palms. After centuries she had finally awakened to the mission to fully revive
Metallia and conquer the Earth realm. There had been centuries of fear,
indecision and hate. Beryl no longer remembered the past, only that these
outsiders were somehow connected with it. She could no longer recall the reason
for the Dark Kingdom’s banishment to the depths of the Earth, though the very
thought of it filled her with an almost incisive hatred and fury.
But little by little, the memories were coming back to
her. She remembered the Ginzuishou. The Ginzuishou was vital… The most powerful
tool/weapon in the universe and Beryl knew that to fully awaken Metallia, and
defeat the enemy she needed the Ginzuishou. Then perhaps her memories would
return.
“Go” she ordered the two Senshi before her, “Find the
illusionary Ginzuishou. The Ginzuishou is vital to our mission. Do not fail
me.”
“We won’t” the Senshi curtsied obediently and left the
throne room.
Once alone, Beryl sighed to herself as a fleeting image
flashed across her mind’s eye. It was almost clear… if only she could remember
what it was. The most precious of things to her and she could no longer recall
his name…
****
“Kimi-kun” Motoki waved a hand in front of Taro’s face,
jolting out of thought as he carefully dipped the mop into the bucket of water
and then started to clean the floor again.
“What is the matter?” Motoki continued, concern clear on
his face, “You haven’t broken anything yet. Are you ill?”
Taro shrugged, even choosing to ignore the horrible
nickname and continued with his work, tuning out his Boss’s voice and focusing
on the events of the day before.
“Nephrite?”
He frowned. The remainder of that day had passed by in
such a haze. Ueda-san had helped him home and thankfully that strange uniform
he had been wearing had disappeared from the moment he stepped through the
portal and found himself back in the Juuban District. The same thing had
happened to the other two, though Sailor Moon remained as her Senshi self and
she left to help the missing girls home.
A Youma that was what Ueda-san had called it. A Youma from
the Dark Kingdom. They stole energy from humans to feed the awakening of the
Great Ruler. Ueda-san had also told him that their mission was to fight these
Youma but, more importantly, to find the Prince and obtain the illusionary
Ginzuishou. It did not make any sense to Taro and he had been up for the
remainder of the night trying to align his thoughts into some logical sense. He
did, however, know that he was glad for it. Unlike Chiba-san, he found himself
at ease with his transformation. Now he had a purpose, Taro did not feel quite
so angry, though that could all change, he added to himself darkly as Motoki
once again attempted to find out what was wrong.
“Are you sick?” he prompted, “Would you like to go home?”
Taro shook his head. It would be another half an hour
before Ueda-san and Chiba-san finished college. They had agreed to meet at
Crown to discuss the mission and what their next move would be.
Taro suspected that neither of them knew where to even
start looking for the illusionary Ginzuishou and as for the Prince… Ueda-san
had only had a brief flashback and Taro certainly did not remember any such
things. Then why was he compelled to believe them? He supposed it could be that
he wanted so badly to be someone, like his brother, but this? It was something
that Taro knew deep down inside of him. It was his destiny to fight.
“Kimi-kun?” Motoki waved a hand in front of his face, “Why
the silent attitude?”
Taro sighed to himself. It was going to be a long afternoon…
******
“How was he when you left him?” Mamoru asked, having to
almost shout above the usual dim roar that was made up of two hundred or so
college students leaving the grounds for the day. Masaki shrugged lightly to
this question and lit a cigarette as they stepped outside into the fresh air.
“A bit confused. It was hard to tell.”
Mamoru studied his friend’s face, trying to work out what
Masaki really meant behind those words. He doubted that the other man was as
cold as he let on and was simply reluctant to voice his own opinions before
hearing others.
“He seemed to accept it well enough” Mamoru decided to
add, trying to hide the envy in his voice, “Was he ok to meet us at Crown?”
“He works there doesn’t he?”
Mamoru sighed; he was finding Masaki’s sarcasm a little
hard to get used too. In a way he was glad that there was one more of them.
Perhaps Masaki would be less averse to putting his own thoughts across if there
were three of them.
Not voicing this, they walked in silence again, Mamoru not
sure what to say and Masaki content to say nothing.
“Mamoru-kun!” he halted when he heard his name being
called and Takara hurried towards him, a bright smile etched upon her face.
Mamoru was pleased to see that she had recovered from her ordeal a couple of
days ago.
“Here” beaming she handed him a pink and white flyer.
“What is this?” Mamoru asked, sounding a little suspicious
as he phrased this question.
“It’s Maya-chan’s birthday tomorrow. I was given
permission to hold a birthday party for her here in the college. You’ll both
come, won’t you?”
“I don’t know…” Mamoru began. He had been hoping to have a
quiet night in with Hina. His girlfriend had been feeling a little neglected at
late and for this Mamoru felt bad.
“Oh you must come” Takara urged, “And you should see the
present that Maya-chan’s parents have got for her. I know I shouldn’t really
say, but you won’t tell anyone will you?”
When Mamoru shook his head, Takara continued, “It’s this
huge gemstone. I’m not sure what it’s made of, but it’s almost like a diamond.
It must be really rare. Maya is so lucky. I wish my parents would buy me
something like this.”
Mamoru and Masaki exchanged glances, “We’ll be there”
Mamoru told the patiently waiting girl in front of them, “Can I bring a friend
along?”
“Sure” Takara flipped a stray piece of hair over her
shoulder, “It starts at 7. I’ll see you both there.”
With that she disappeared into the crowd.
“Do you think that the gemstone could be this Ginzuishou?”
Masaki questioned, “Could it lead us to the Prince?”
“Perhaps” Mamoru murmured, his thoughts now turning back
to his dream, “Perhaps once we have the Ginzuishou…”
Masaki frowned, “Then what?”
“I don’t know” Mamoru shook his head, “I can’t remember.”
****
“I’m taking my break now” Taro announced as Mamoru and
Masaki entered Crown, both calling out greetings to Motoki before disappearing
into the room that they had used the day before.
When Taro received no reply from his Boss, he frowned
angrily and threw down the mop to stomp towards him. Motoki was leaning across
the counter, staring intently at the television screen.
“Hey” Taro sniped waving a hand in front of Motoki’s face,
“I said I was taking a break!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, Kimi-kun” Motoki brushed his hand
aside, “Just be quiet would you?”
“Why? Taro demanded, “What are you looking at?”
He turned his attention to the television screen as well
and sighed. Not that stupid entertainment channel again. It was all Motoki had
on in Crown, but Taro rarely watched it himself. Taro studied the screen, half
recognising the young man talking to the female news reporter. He had light
brown hair and a long fringe that almost brushed his eyes. They, too, were a
light brown colour, but it was the gentleness in his expression and his easy
smile that kept Taro’s attention.
The young man in question was seated in the studio on a burgundy
sofa. He wore a pair of black jeans and a cream coloured jumper. He appeared at
ease with the situation, though he spoke quietly but clearly in response to
each question that the reporter asked.
“Taro-kun?” Masaki stuck his head round the door and
called to him, “Are you coming?”
“Hai” the spell was broken, and when Taro looked back at
the television set the interview was over.
“Where are you going?” Motoki demanded when he took a step
in Masaki’s direction.
“I’m taking my break now” Taro said, with a little more
patience than usual.
Motoki nodded and turned his attention back to Kamekichi.
The Karaoke room that Taro entered was smaller than most
of them in Crown. It contained a small white round table with five chairs and a
coffee machine in one corner. The walls were also white and the various Karaoke
equipment lined them. Masaki and Mamoru were seated on two of the chairs,
whilst Taro opted for the red over-stuffed sofa slightly away from them and
nearer the door.
“How are you?” was Mamoru’s first question.
Taro was sick of people asking him this, but when he
raised his head to meet Mamoru’s gaze, he saw real concern in his eyes.
“A little confused” he allowed himself to admit, “But
relieved at the same time. A part of me always knew… that this was…”
“You think the same as Masaki” Mamoru said a little sadly,
“Do you not want to be a normal person?”
“I am” Taro frowned, “We are more than that. You said that
our mission is to find the Prince.”
Masaki nodded to this, “It is.”
“We don’t even know where to begin to look” Mamoru added,
“I don’t even remember him.”
Taro did not reply. For a moment he had… he shook his
head. It was gone and so were those feelings that came with this half-memory.
“But” Mamoru continued, forcing Taro to focus on the
matters at hand rather than a few fleeting recollections, “We were told that
there is a party at the college tomorrow night and the party gift is possibly
the Ginzuishou. If we can get the Ginzuishou…”
“You think that it will lead us to the Prince” Taro
finished for him. It certainly made sense, but what was this Ginzuishou? What
was the importance behind it?
“What of this Dark Kingdom?” Masaki wondered out loud,
“What do they want?”
“The same as us I supposed” Mamoru replied. “The
Ginzuishou.”
“Then they will be looking for it, too” Masaki said.
He felt a hot burst of light rush forth from his palm. The
sensation was so dizzying that he fell back against a tree, black and white
spots dancing before his eyes.
Taro shrugged, “More Youma? I think we can deal with them.
The Youma are not what we have to worry about.”
“Then who?”
“I don’t know” the cleaner replied, “Some one…”
“So it’s decided?” Mamoru chose to ignore his confusion,
“We will go to the party and see if this present is the Ginzuishou?”
Masaki looked at Taro and nodded, as did the other man.
“How will we know?” he wanted to know, “If it is the
Ginzuishou?”
“I will know” Mamoru replied and Taro did not doubt his
words. This was strange in itself and for some reason it made him uneasy.
****
“Mercury!” Dark Mars’s voice rang out across the endless
caverns that made up the Dark Kingdom. As her harsh voice echoed off of the
walls, a drop of rainwater fell from the ceiling and landed on Mercury’s cheek.
She winced at this ice-cold touch and raised a hand to brush the droplet away.
She then turned, as the black haired Senshi walked towards
her. The swagger in her gait indicating that, despite her last failure, she was
confident in their new mission.
“We must find the Ginzuishou” Mars said, taking to pacing
up and down in front of the blue haired Senshi, “Beryl-sama was most displeased
with our failings. The outsiders will also be drawn to the Ginzuishou. We can
use this to kill them.”
“And what of Sailor Moon?” Mercury demanded quietly.
Mars hesitated slightly before answering, “I said all the
outsiders will die. Sailor Moon has been raiding the local jewellery stores
looking for the Ginzuishou. She will come and die with them.”
Mercury nodded, thinking back over the times that she had
watched the blonde girl leaving the aforementioned stores only to have the
supposed Ginzuishou stolen from her by another man. Another outsider who worked
alone. Beryl would not be happy if she knew this, which was why Mercury had
kept it to herself. In the Dark Kingdom it was safer not to mention things that
Beryl did not want to hear, unless it were unavoidable.
“I have gotten word from the Earth realm” Mars continued
to speak, “Of a human birthday party being held at Juuban District College
tomorrow night. The girl’s birthday present is a valuable gemstone. It could be
the Ginzuishou. I shall send a Youma to investigate and steal that crystal.”
Mercury agreed with this, content to let Mars do most of
the work. When she failed Beryl would be more lenient if she thought that
Mercury had nothing to do with it. And Mars would fail. This Mercury was sure
of. The outsiders were not defeated as easily. It would be best to deal with
them one at a time and when the timing was right. At the moment it was best to
concentrate on the Ginzuishou. If the enemy obtained that… well Mercury dreaded
to think of Beryl’s reaction.
*****
“Usagi-chan” Luna shook her head disapprovingly as her
young charge slumped down on her bed dejectedly, tossing down her report card
as she did so. Skipping school and sneaking out at night had taken its toll on
her already barely acceptable grades and now she had even been banned from
going out after the school day had ended. Ikuko was just worried about her, but
this was something that Usagi would have to do. Luna could see no other way
around it.
“But, Luna?” the pigtailed girl murmured sadly, “What is
my mission? Why do I need to find the Illusionary Ginzuishou?”
Luna sighed. These were questions that she refused to
answer; Usagi was not ready for the truth, not yet. All the black cat plushie would reveal was that she had been
searching for Usagi-chan since she was transmigrated to Earth and that Usagi
had to find the Ginzuishou. This was a mission that certainly had more downs
than ups. Every time Usagi got near to finding it, he would appear to
challenge her for it. And now it seemed that Usagi had fallen in love with the
enemy.
“Tuxedo Kamen is no good for you” Luna had told her often
enough. They knew nothing about him or his two comrades. Who knew whose side he
was on?
“The Ginzuishou is a powerful weapon” Luna settled for
saying, “And if the enemy get their hands on it I dread to think what will
happen. Look.”
She indicated a rather crumpled poster that she had found
blowing around outside. “There is a party tomorrow at Juuban District College.
You must transform into a college student and sneak in to investigate.”
Usagi’s demeanour brightened at this as she loved using
the cell phone to transform, “And perhaps Tuxedo Kamen will be there” she added
dreamily. Luna sighed; that was not exactly what she had in mind…
******
Taro had to admit that he felt more than a little self
conscious as he followed Mamoru and Masaki through the crowds of dancing
students that filled the college main music hall. On the stage a live band
played, and at the back of the room was a buffet table. A huge banner reading
‘Happy Birthday Maya’ hung down from the ceiling.
Each time they pushed passed another ground of students;
at least one turned and greeted Mamoru. Of course, Taro could expect that they
would say nothing to him, but it was feeling slightly out of place here.
There were some tables and chairs at the back of the room
by the aforementioned buffet and this was where Mamoru led them. Back here
would provide a good vantage point, Taro supposed and he decided to turn his
attention to keeping an eye out for the Ginzuishou instead. As he studied the
array of dancing students, Taro wondered if the Prince was among them. Could he
be a normal person, too? This would be a fair assumption, but one that he was
loathe to voice lest it sound stupid. The Prince was their Master. To think
that he was a normal person was stupid!
“Taro-kun” Masaki interrupted his thoughts by placing a
can of beer down in front of him.
“Masaki” Mamoru frowned in some disapproval as the young
man opened his own can and took a prolonged sip from it, “We are meant to be
looking for the Ginzuishou.”
“So?” he grinned, “It’s a party. Who says we can’t have
some fun as well?”
Taro smiled, he had to agree with this and picked up the
can that Masaki had given him.
“I just don’t think--” Mamoru began but trailed off
mid-sentence.
He stood up, his face creased into a frown. Masaki paid
him little heed and finished the beer before lighting a cigarette.
“Mamoru?” Taro asked, setting his drink down and following
his friend’s gaze, “What is it?”
“I thought…” Mamoru trailed off before standing. “Wait
here” with that he was gone, ducking in and out of crowds before Taro could
stop him.
“Where’s he going?” Masaki wanted to know.
Taro shrugged; “I’m not sure” he sat back down and took
another sip from the can. He couldn’t see any sign of the Ginzuishou or the
girl that was supposed to be receiving it. They might as well, as Masaki said,
have some fun first.
*****
Half an hour later and there was no sign of the Ginzuishou
or Mamoru. Still the evening had not been a complete waste. Taro found that
Masaki, despite his shyness, was quite easy to talk too and they seemed to get
on well enough. Masaki had moved to Tokyo with his parents when his father
received a promotion. It did strike Taro as a little odd that Masaki would
still want to live with them, but his reasoning that it was cheaper than trying
to afford rented accommodation and college plus bills made sense. Masaki didn’t
like to talk about his parents much, which was fair enough, Taro supposed, as
he did not mention his failings where university was concerned.
“I suppose we should look for him,” Taro voiced at last
when it became clear that Masaki was unwilling to take the initiative. He
seemed to naturally look to Mamoru to lead and Taro also found that he was
content for Mamoru to be in charge. Taro had no recollections of the Prince or
the Ginzuishou or even the Princess that Masaki said would destroy the world.
“He might have found something,” Taro added as an after
thought. He really had no idea what they were supposed to do once they found
the Ginzuishou. Mamoru said that it would hold the key to everything, but Taro
was not so sure. He currently thought that finding the Prince was much more
important.
He stood up, hurrying towards the double doors that Mamoru
had exited through half an hour before. There was now a choice. They could go
right or left, each corridor leading to classrooms and such like.
“Which way would he have gone?” Taro asked Masaki, not
knowing the college at all and where each different corridor led.
“I don’t know” Masaki took a tentative step towards the
corridor to their left. He frowned, “Can’t you feel it?”
Taro shivered and nodded. It was the same sort of aura as
before. Dark and somehow familiar. It coated the hall and as they walked down
the corridor, the noise from the party dimming as they moved further away, Taro
found himself growing more and more agitated.
“Youma?” he finally managed to voice his suspicions “I felt
like this before…”
Masaki nodded and the two were suddenly on guard. In the
dark, a Youma could be hiding anywhere and without knowing whether or not he
could transform, Taro felt very vulnerable.
Then it happened. A scream cut through the silence causing
both men to jump. Taro recovered himself first and ran towards the source of
the scream; ignoring the painfully loud thumping of his heart as the aura
around them became darker. The corridor ended and Taro halted, almost causing
Masaki to run into him.
The girl, he could only assume was Maya, lay on the floor
unconscious, a Youma kneeling over her. It stood on two legs that were black
and its body was a bright green. It reminded Taro of a cactus plant. Its body
was divided into segments and the top half, where its face would have been was
red. It ‘saw’ them and stood, a velvet jewellery box clasped in a humanoid
hand.
“The Ginzuishou? The Dark Kingdom also seeks it?” Masaki
wondered, but they had no time to do anything else as it sprang towards them,
making a mad dash for the corridor beyond. As he said this, Taro grabbed a hold
of its arm as it raced passed and threw it, with some considerable force,
against the wall. It made noises that sounded like surprise and leapt back up,
taking a fighting stance. It held out a hand and a greenish vine shot from its
open palm and wrapped itself around Taro’s throat. Gagging, he fell down to his
knees, unable to do anything except claw helplessly against the sticky green
vine.
“Taro-kun!” Masaki had taken a step back, just out of
reach of the other snaking vine that sought to ensnare him, too. He couldn’t do
anything, Taro realised dimly as his vision began to fade. If Masaki got any
closer it would get him as well.
Choking, Taro found his consciousness drifting back to
that day.
A part of me? My powers… I am…
Taro gasped as he slumped fully to the ground, realising
the truth that had been staring them in the face for so long now.
Shaking, Taro reached out with a hand and clenched the
vine around his throat tighter. As he did so, a burst of flame shot from his
palm and travelled up the length of the vine. The floor in front of the Youma
exploded in a burst of white light and the bind around Taro’s throat went lax.
“Nephrite?” Masaki raced to his side, “Daijobu?”
Nephrite stood, shakily, as he stared at the fallen Youma
and then down at his familiar transformation.
“How did you do it?” Masaki whispered as he retrieved the
box, “That was you, wasn’t it?”
Nephrite nodded, “These powers… they are a part of
ourselves. We can control them. You just have to will it to be so.”
“Well…” Masaki said, still obviously shaken by what
happened, but movement from the supposed dead Youma caused him to break off
before finishing his sentence.
It
was changing; no changing was probably the wrong word. It was glowing a funny
white and then it stood, its outline becoming distorted for a moment before the
light faded and standing at its side was an identical creature, the only
difference was that this one had a blue head.
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.”
Nephrite followed Masaki’s lead as they ran back down the
corridor. Unluckily, as Masaki had the velvet box still clasped tightly in one
hand, the Youma ran after them.
******
Muttering ‘excuse me’s’ under his breath, Mamoru pushed
through various groups of people in his struggle to reach the door. In his
desperation he had even forgotten about the mission.
It was her, but that was impossible, wasn’t it? All Mamoru
had caught a glimpse of was a girl with long black hair and wearing a white
frilly party dress, but the aura was the same.
“Princess…” he breathed softly without even realising it.
He suddenly knew for certain whom it was that disturbed his dreams at night.
The Princess…
Though he had only seen her for a second, Mamoru would
never forget her stance. Not for an entire lifetime.
“Matte!” he had tried calling out to her, but she was no
longer there. The hall was deserted.
This had been half an hour ago and still Mamoru wandered
the halls, unable to accept that she had been so near that he had missed her.
His heart ached at this thought so he continued to search. It was, as though if
he stopped he would never find her. Even the mission had been pushed to the
back of his mind.
“You must listen to me! The Princess will only bring
destruction down upon this world! Using that, Metallia will…”
That could not be true. The Princess had no evil aura surrounding
her. Mamoru sighed to himself. He just didn’t know anymore.
As he turned down yet another corridor, Mamoru paused. He
wasn’t sure what forced him to stop, but he couldn’t take another step in that
direction. It was as though he had no will of his own and no matter how hard he
tried to move forwards he couldn’t.
“What is this?”
He could hear shouting now. It was coming from the
stairwell to his right. That stairwell led to the roof. Mamoru took a tentative
step in its direction and found that he could move freely again. Something had
been guiding him and the black haired man knew better than to ignore such
things. Breaking into a run, he raced for the stairs as the shouting became
clearer. It was Taro and Masaki.
*****
Usagi pushed through another crowd and then out through
the double doors that led into the music hall. She looked down at herself, clad
in white and giggled. She felt like a Princess. It was just too bad that Luna
was tucked under her arm and nagging her about the mission as usual. It wasn’t
fair! Usagi was going to get into enough trouble as it was and now Luna
wouldn’t even let her enjoy the evening.
“We are here to find out if the party gift is the
Ginzuishou” Luna reminded her sternly, “You must not get distracted.”
“I know” Usagi replied sadly, “But where to look…?” she
trailed off as she turned around yet another corner. She was unfamiliar with
the college at the best of times, but in the dark everything seemed more
foreboding.
Clutching Luna tightly, Usagi wondered how accurate the
cat’s information was. Suppressing a yawn, she requested that they stop for a
moment. Luna made a small noise that sounded like a protest, but Usagi did not
care. She was tired and her feet hurt from walking in high-heels.
She sat down on the floor and took them off to rub at her
swollen ankles. The things she did in the name of love and justice!
Luna jumped down onto the floor as well, suddenly on
alert. “Youma… it can’t be! Usagi-chan! Transform!”
“Youma? Here?” Usagi leapt to her feet, her eyes searching
for danger and seeing none frowned, though obeying her guardian’s words.
“Moon Prism Power… make up!”
Once transformed into the Senshi of love and justice,
Usagi followed Luna’s lead and raced down the corridor in search of the Youma.
*****
Masaki found that their flight from the Youma led them
onto the roof of the college. Once realising that this was where they were
headed his heart sank, as there was only one way up and one way down. Now he
paused, just as the Youma reached the top of the staircase and lashed out with
their vines again. Managing to dodge them, Masaki ran out onto the rooftop, now
unsure what to do and how to fight them.
Again, Nephrite hurled a ball of fire at them, but this
time, instead of multiplying when one went down the other two simply healed it.
“Kuso” Nephrite growled angrily, “Why are they so
strong?”
Masaki didn’t know what to say as they were forced
backwards across the roof and finally came to the edge. This was it… In
desperation, Nephrite rushed at them with the idea of drawing them away from
the possible Ginzuishou. This did work and two of them went for him, whilst the
third had its gaze locked on Masaki.
Was this true? Masaki didn’t know. Tentatively he closed
his eyes and tried to focus, despite the presence of the Youma drawing ever
nearer and Nephrite’s furious shouts as the Youma continued to fend off his
attacks.
A part of myself? As is my destiny… My destiny is to
protect the Prince and obtain the Ginzuishou, but is it really?
Masaki barely felt the change that his body went through.
He only knew that when he opened his eyes he felt calmly and in control as he
raised a hand, sending crackling energy at the Youma approaching him. It
screamed in pain as it became trapped in the purple magics as though in a
barrier of some sorts. Jadeite found that he could control this barrier,
causing the Youma to writhe in agony. He poured more of his energies into it
and it shattered. The Youma howled a final time and fell to the floor. As the
others turned to come to its aid, Jadeite repeated the process, trapping the
remaining two before they could heal the fallen one. Nephrite turned and
promptly incinerated the first one in a flash of red energies.
Jadeite released the final two and Nephrite finished them
off just as Mamoru, in Tuxedo Kamen form, appeared.
“I was coming to give you a hand” he said with a smile,
“But it looks as though you didn’t need it. Did you get the Ginzuishou?”
Jadeite nodded and
turned to the edge of the roof where he had placed the box before transforming.
It was gone.
“Where?” he turned around scanning the rooftop, just as a
figure stepped out from the shadows.
“Sailor Moon?” Nephrite gasped and true, the girl who
appeared before them was wearing a similar fuku to that of the Senshi of love
and justice, shaded in red and purple instead of blue and pink, but the
similarities ended there. She had long black hair that cascaded down her back
in waves. Her eyes were brown and cold and they narrowed when she looked upon
them, the corner of her mouth tugging upwards in a pleased smile as she showed
off her prize.
“The Ginzuishou!” Tuxedo Kamen gasped in horror as she
snapped open the box and took out a violet coloured gemstone on a golden chain.
Her pleased expression faded as she stared down at the jewel.
“This isn’t the Ginzuishou!” she cried, almost accusing
the men before her, “How can this be?”
“Its not?” Jadeite whispered. The others were obviously
also annoyed that they had been chasing the wrong thing, but nothing could
describe the fury and anger etched over the woman’s face. Giving a cry she
hurled the box over the roofs edge before teleporting away, leaving behind
nothing save a trace of dark magics.
Jadeite watched the jewel sail towards the edge of the
roof, knowing that neither he nor his companions could do anything to catch it
and not really caring anyway. After all, it was not the Ginzuishou.
Then another female cry caught his attention. Whirling
round, Jadeite was in time to see Sailor Moon diving forwards arms outstretched
to catch the falling object.
“Baka!” Tuxedo Kamen shouted, “You’ll never make it!”
But Sailor Moon did make it. Landing right on the edge of
the roof with her prize clasped tightly to her chest. She wobbled dangerously
for a few seconds before her weight finally tipped her over the edge. She had
only time to utter a surprised scream before she fell.
*****
Tuxedo Kamen raced forwards as Sailor Moon fell. All he
could think about was saving her and did not give a thought to his own safety
or the cries from his friends as he lunged forwards to grab the sailor suited
soldier by her left arm. She gasped as he leant far over the edge, struggling
with her weight as well as his own. Then it was over. He felt himself slip and
Sailor Moon let out another scream as they fell.
Even as they began their downwards decent to certain
death, Tuxedo Kamen did not let go of Sailor Moon’s hand. She gripped onto his
just as tightly and in the other she held her Crescent Moon Wand. As she held
this, the silver moon began to glow until a pinkish light covered them both.
Tuxedo Kamen gasped as their fall slowed until they were being lowered down the
side of the building.
Sailor Moon gasped and then started to hum the Moonlight
Sonata as their feet touched the ground. Such a silly girl, Tuxedo Kamen
thought with a smile as she ceased her tune and looked adoringly up at him.
“Thank you” she whispered shyly. “You saved me again.”
“It was nothing” he replied a little coldly as Jadeite and
Nephrite had, by this time, managed to get down off of the roof to find them
both safe outside.
“Thank Kami-sama for that” Nephrite muttered whilst
Jadeite added:
“Don’t do anything like that again, ok?”
Tuxedo Kamen nodded and turned back to Sailor Moon, “It is
not the Ginzuishou” he said, “Perhaps you will return it to its rightful
owner.”
“It’s not?” Sailor Moon cried out in despair.
Tuxedo Kamen sighed and turned away even as she called out
“Are you also after the Ginzuishou?”
“It will help us with our mission,” he allowed, “And make
no mistake, I will do whatever it takes to get it.”
“Whatever it takes” Sailor Moon repeated brokenly, “But I
thought you were on my side?”
Tuxedo Kamen did not reply. He would not reply and simply
walked away.
*****
“You fools!” Beryl snarled, turning angrily upon the two
Senshi before her. “How could you allow yourselves to be tricked so easily?”
“We’re very sorry” Mars cried, obediently kneeling down
before her Queen, “But we have no memory of this Ginzuishou. Perhaps once we
do…”
“Silence! I will have no more talk of the past!” Beryl
commanded. This had struck a cord inside of her and her own feelings of
confusion were beginning to surface again. The most precious of things to her…
it was not the Ginzuishou. It was something else…
“I give you the chance to redeem yourself, Mercury” Beryl
said at last, “The Great Ruler needs more energy.”
“Beryl-sama!” Mars cried in protest at this, “She has
failed you before!”
The Queen of the Dark Kingdom smirked and replied: “Then
it is her chance to succeed at something. Now go, both of you.”
The Senshi bowed and left the throne room, leaving the
Queen to her bitter half recalled memories…
*****
Act Five Preview:
“I see” she smiled again and stood up.
“Are you working today?” Mamoru asked, also getting up as
Hina pulled on her coat.
“Only for the morning. Perhaps we could meet for lunch and
go somewhere nice this afternoon?” this would appear to be a simple and
innocent enough suggestion, but Mamoru could detect the hidden depths beneath
this phrase. He had been neglecting her of late.
“That would be nice. We could go and see a movie?” he
volunteered. Mamoru had to admit that he missed the little things like that
since he found out that he was Tuxedo Kamen.
After speaking he drew Hina into a quick embrace, planting
a kiss on her lips.
~~~~~
“Huh?” Motoki blinked, “You didn’t know? But, Kimi-kun, we
have his music playing in here all the time! You have cleaned CD’s with his
picture on! How can you not know?”
Taro scowled at the nickname, “Who is he?” he demanded a
little impatiently.
“Komoro Seiichi” Motoki sighed and shook his head, “The
star pianist.”
“Komoro Seiichi…” Taro frowned.
~~~~
“Youma!” Mamoru realised their error and hurried to
Motoki’s side, pulling the terrified man aside as the Youma reached for him.
“What is that?” Motoki cried, reaching for his camera,
“That is the strangest turtle I have ever seen!”
“Baka!” Mamoru ducked as it swiped at his head. He felt
the wind whistle passed as the arm slammed into the tank behind them.
~~~~
The Youma was now advancing on them both. Tuxedo Kamen
stood, unsure of what to do. He could hardly leave Motoki, but what could he
do?