Earth Guardian Prince Endymion

By Senshi of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi

Act Sixty Three Recap:

(Mamoru’s POV)

“Zoisite?”

“You know me this way?”

Mamoru nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off of him.

“Then” Seiichi took a breath, “Then you can explain?”

Mio sent Youma to attack Kisho and Seiichi as she felt that they were both vulnerable without their transformations. She couldn’t have got this more wrong. Kisho, despite being unable to transform into his Tennou self, was still able to take the lives of the Youma sent to kill him. Seiichi, too, I discovered can transform.

“You tell me all this and then expect me to act as though nothing has happened?”

“Yes” Mamoru said before he could stop himself and then corrected himself by saying, “No. I don’t know.”

“Well I can’t. This…” he gestured to his transformation, “I do not doubt that what you have told me is true, but…” he stood up and Mamoru saw that he was shaking, “I just can’t deal with this right now.”

“I know and I’m sorry. If I had known that the Youma would come after you then I would have tried to spare you this. Seiichi.” He caught hold his arm and added, “Please de-transform.”

“Is that an order?”

“Of course not.”

“Well it sure sounded like one.”

From our brief, and very tense, conversation I was unable to determine what, if any, memories had been restored. Then Shina came back and I thought it best to let him be. There would be plenty more opportunities to explain, or so I thought.

As they did so, Mamoru went up to Usagi and gently pulled her to one side. He still felt a great deal of concern, but had constantly reminded himself that Usagi had the Ginzuishou to protect her. However, this didn’t mean that he didn’t want her to be careful.

“I will” Usagi assured him, but even her assurance didn’t ease the worry in his heart and Mamoru forced a smile whilst shaking his head and saying:

“Usagi. I mean it. Please don’t take any stupid risks. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”

“I’ll be fine. We all will be” Usagi smiled and wrapped her arms around him, “And once minna have their henshins back we can end this and go back to living our normal lives.”

The girls departed for the Tokei-ji shrine in Kamakura today, too. With them gone and only myself, Taro and Masaki being able to fight, I knew, deep down, that it was only time before Mio made her next move against us.

“What do you want?”

“The same thing I wanted last time. You.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Your precious Shitennou die.”

“Don’t you ever learn from your predecessors mistakes?” Nephrite sniped, “Mamoru won’t give in to you and you cannot kill all us. Mamoru will be able to take out most of the Youma before you can so much as breathe.”

I didn’t share Nephrite’s confidence. How could I with the lives of my friends at stake? I tried to talk to her, I tried to make her see that this wasn’t the way to do anything but cause more pain. She did not listen and it ended up costing Kisho his life.

“Stop!” Endymion cried out as the Youma reached him, “I’ll go with you.”

Mio’s smirk widened even more and she again offered him her hand.

So I went with her, I gave in to her demands and in the end… in the end she decided to kill them anyway…

******

Act Sixty-Four:

“You have no choice. It is your destiny and we both know it. Come with me or…” she let the rest of the sentence hang, and signalled to a Youma with a flick of her wrist.

Kisho clenched his mouth firmly shut as the blade entered him, even when pain lanced out from the wound and when he heard one of his friends cry out his name. This pain, however, could not match his own internal struggle as he fought desperately against the spell that forced him to keep his weak civilian form for so long now. For too long he had feared what might happen and the pain of attempting to transform but, coupled with the agony that this new wound inflicted upon him and knowledge that, slowly, as he felt the blood flowing freely, he was dying. The realisation of this terrified him, but more so was the knowledge that, with his death, his friends would follow him and Mamoru’s sacrifice would be for nothing.

Slowly, he raised his head to meet Endymion’s gaze and almost smiled at the half teary expression on his friend’s face as he gingerly covered the wound with his own palm. This touch gave him strength, strength in the knowledge that Endymion wanted to help him, to do anything he could to take away the pain. Although, in reality, Kisho knew that nothing could help him and still he fought against Mio’s spell. He didn’t want to die like this. He didn’t want to die without saving the others first.

“Don’t” he whispered as that only Endymion could hear, but Kisho could see the grim determination in the Prince’s eyes and he mouthed softly: “I’m sorry” before getting up and crying out, as the Youma went for Jadeite next.

“Stop! I’ll go with you!”

But Mio, even in the past life, had always been the deceitful one. Even as her teleport took their Prince from their side she uttered the parting orders that gave Endymion the ultimate despair:

“Kill them.”

Kisho, aware of the shouts coming from his friends, forced the seriousness of the situation from his mind as he closed his eyes. Blocking out all the different emotions that were surging through him, he focused inwards, thinking back through the events that caused his transformation to be snatched away from him, searching for the darkness that he knew lay veiled inside his soul. The darkness that even Rei had been unable to release.

Kisho grunted in pain as it seized him by the shoulders, using the momentum and its own body weight to slam him back into a tree behind him. His head snapped back, striking the trunk with a force that caused the world to flash black and white before his eyes. Using this to its advantage, the Youma drew back a clawed hand and then slammed it forward, into Kisho’s stomach. A scream escaped him as he fought to free himself, to focus on transforming but the extra agony that this induced… he could do nothing against this… the burning sensation that came with this new wound was too great, even after the Youma released him, teleporting away in a flash of white light.

At that moment… that moment his transformation had become cut off from him… Kisho poured all of his concentration into this moment and he found what he was looking for. He could now see, clearly, the spot of darkness. The darkness inside of him that fed on the pain that his loss of his Tennou self had cause. That darkness had shrunk considerably since he had accepted his inability to fight as Kunzite and had embraced his destiny in different ways. Kisho knew that all he had to do was will this one final obstacle to be gone.

The pain of his fatal wound ignited the darkness, causing it to flare up as he pressed a hand to his stomach, now taking control of his agony and forcing it inwards, controlling it as he did so and willing the darkness to leave his soul.

Uttering a cry, Kisho felt the pain magnify and then shatter and he slumped forward completely as he felt the darkness leave him.

******

“Stop!” Endymion cried out as the Youma reached him, “I’ll go with you.”

Mio’s smirk widened even more and she again offered him her hand.

Jadeite wanted to say something as Endymion took her hand in his own. He wanted to shout at Endymion to stop, as he knew that was what Kisho would have done, but he couldn’t. He knew that he would have to hold his silence, to allow Endymion to make this temporary sacrifice otherwise how else would they be able to free him?

Zoisite, too, realised this, but Nephrite was still struggling, all the while his gaze directed at his fallen friend.

Jadeite did not look at Kisho. He couldn’t look at him, not when tears burned in the backs of his eyes and it took all of his willpower not to lash out, to try and free himself and somehow make Mio pay. To do this would be suicide and they would all die for his foolishness.

All Jadeite could do was watch as Mio’s hand closed around Endymion’s as a teleport took hold of them both, but not before she uttered her last order to her Youma: “Kill them.”

Jadeite wanted to think that he would be as stoic and brave as Kisho as the Youma approached him once again. The one holding him tightened its grip as he started to struggle, wishing desperately that Nephrite’s constant shouts of protest would silence. He couldn’t bear to look at them, any of them. Despite having swords to their throats, Jadeite knew that this way they would suffer more and their suffering was what she craved for so much more than perhaps even Endymion.

The Youma paused in front of him, the tip of the sword now pressing lightly against his chest, over his heart. Jadeite inhaled deeply, wanting nothing more than to look away but a slightly morbid sense of calm had overtaken him and he regarded the sword almost coolly as though he felt no fear. The latter was not true. Jadeite was afraid. Since his awakening four years ago he had feared such a moment, but he also felt relief. He did not have to watch Nephrite and Zoisite die. He knew that this relief was selfish, but he didn’t think he stand it.

Again, the grasp that the Youma had on him strengthened and Jadeite felt himself tense up, his gaze holding steady on the sword until, suddenly, it was gone. He blinked, feeling his knees weaken as the Youma holding him let go and leapt back as its comrade, the one that intended on killing him, fell, its sword arm cut clean off at the shoulder by a foreign blade.

Jadeite’s eyes widened further when his gaze slid passed the Youma to the man who now turned his attention to the Youma who held Nephrite and Zoisite captive, sending twin deadly accurate bolts of blue energy at the Youma and incinerating them on the spot. The two Tennou who were now freed also stumbled, although Nephrite more from shock and Zoisite from weakness.

Paying them no heed, Kunzite directed his next attack to the remaining Youma, killing them all before they had a chance to defend themselves.

Still feeling weak with relief, Jadeite again stumbled as he made his way to Zoisite’s side, quietly requesting to know if he was okay. Zoisite nodded slightly, but gave no indication as to his thoughts; thoughts that Jadeite was sure matched his own mixed together with his own doubts and fears concerning the situation that they had been faced with.

Casting a glance at Nephrite, Jadeite saw that the red haired Tennou was leaning back against the wall and his breathing was a little faster than normal as he said softly: “How the hell did you do that?”

Kunzite sheathed his sword back at his side and shook his head and Jadeite’s gaze travelled down to where his fatal wound had been. There was some dried blood on his clothes but when Kunzite pulled the fabric aside only smooth skin was beneath it. It was as though he had never been stabbed at all.

“We can’t heal” Nephrite said, possibly for Zoisite’s benefit or perhaps to try to assuage his own confusion, “You said so yourself many times before. We cannot heal. If we are fatally wounded then we die just like normal people. How did you do that?”

Kunzite did not answer him straight away. Instead he turned away, keeping his back to them as he closed his eyes, focusing on de-transforming into his civilian self. Finally, when he turned back around, he gingerly touched the place where his wound had been. Still there was no evidence of there ever having been a wound to begin with.

“Four years ago” Kisho started softly, “Four years ago when we awakened our powers were only at a third of their potential. Now as the enemy grows stronger these powers are starting to awaken.”

“So you are saying that as the enemy is stronger our true powers will awaken to match this enemy in strength?” Zoisite enquired, again his voice giving nothing away.

Kisho smiled appreciatively as he saw the confused look on Nephrite’s face, a look that matched Jadeite’s own.

“In the past life the training that we endured as the Shitennou awakened our true potential. In this world the enemy was considerably weaker so there was no need for us to tap into the power that lay dormant inside all of us. I admit I did not even know that such power still existed. As we are now” he gestured to his civilian self, “I had thought that our potential had already been reached, that our powers could never be as strong as they were in our previous lives. I was wrong. My true power has awakened and, soon, so will yours. Once we have all awakened we will be stronger than we are now.”

“Stronger than we are now” Jadeite repeated, not sure what really to say to this. In his Tennou form, he was well aware that he was most probably the weakest, but as Jadeite he felt strong. To have more strength was almost unimaginable.

Nephrite, it seemed, shared his sentiment and was the first to de-transform out of the three of them, Jadeite hurriedly following his lead and, after a few minutes, so did Zoisite.

This action led Masaki to feel more than a little regret. After Mamoru’s sacrifice he knew that they should try to find Mio, to try to free their friend, but Masaki also knew that such an action would be foolhardy and instead he turned to Kisho for leadership.

Guessing what he was thinking, Kisho stated softly that the only thing they could do now was go home.

“Mio will not hurt him” Kisho added, “He is safe as he can be for now.”

Masaki nodded but this didn’t make him feel any better. In some ways he felt as though, despite Kisho’s words, that they should be doing something. He hated feeling this helpless.

“Kisho’s right” Taro said quietly, “Mamoru will be okay for now. We should just go home.”

Masaki didn’t like it, but knew that to action any rescue attempt, they had to plan things carefully. Mio was still a formidable enemy and they would be foolish to underestimate her again.

Instead he said to Taro that he would come back to his apartment with him as he had left his jacket there. Taro forced a smile at this and suggested that they could also see if they could catch the end of the game. Of course, Masaki knew that, in reality, the game couldn’t be further from Taro’s mind and that he just needed something to distract him from the seriousness of the situation.

“Kisho? Seiichi?” Taro then requested to know if they wanted to also come back with them. Both declined, Seiichi stating that he was a little tired and that Shina would worry if he were gone for too long.

“I’ll walk back with you” Kisho offered as Seiichi turned to leave, “My home isn’t that far from yours.”

“Kisho?” Taro frowned, “What are you talking about? You don’t live anywhere near-- Ouch!!” he cut off when Masaki deliberately stamped down on his foot to shut him up. Only Seiichi himself was unaware of this fact and Masaki knew fully well that Kisho just wanted a chance to speak to Seiichi without them being present, which Masaki thought was a good idea. His friend had not looked at all comfortable as his Tennou self and, if he were unable to fight, Masaki knew that Seiichi would not be willing to admit this to a group of them.

Giving no sign that he had heard Taro, Seiichi was content to leave with Kisho. Masaki hesitated slightly before following Taro’s lead. He still felt uneasy. He had this feeling that something else was going to happen.

******

“She’s watching you again, Master”

Endymion frowned uncomfortably as he broke off mid-parry and allowed Kunzite to again knock the sword from his hand. Wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, Endymion’s frown turned into a scowl as Kunzite retrieved the weapon and handed it to his Prince, whilst nodding slightly in the direction of the palace entrance.

Endymion did not have to look around to know whom Kunzite was referring too. Courtier Beryl had been absorbed in watching him practice his swordsmanship for weeks now. Each afternoon she would come to watch him and most of the time he would quickly lose concentration as he lacked the patience and the skill of his older and more experienced mentor.

Being nearly eleven years, Endymion already felt the pressures on him and the kingdom. His father was in ill health and, so Kunzite had warned, would not be around for much longer. When his father died, Endymion would become king. When he was younger he had longed for the day when he would be granted rule over his kingdom but now, as that day fast approached, Endymion was secretly dreading it and what it would mean. His Shitennou knew this too and the lessons he had to attend had increased. Each morning and first thing in the afternoon, Kunzite would request that Endymion practice his swordsmanship in the palace grounds. All the Shitennou taught him various skills that he would need in order to become a successful king, but swordsmanship was the one that Endymion loathed above them all. It didn’t help that Kunzite was so scornful of him every time he made a mistake. Again a frown marred his handsome face as Kunzite prompted him to take up the sword again.

Refusing and sheathing the blade at his side, Endymion glanced at the nearby sundial and pointed out that he only had a few minutes until his next lesson.

“And you will not be late” Kunzite answered him, “Take up your blade.”

Ignoring Kunzite, Endymion stalked back inside the palace, brushing off the attendants that were waiting for him and hurrying down the corridors to his own private chambers. Once there, he stripped off his dirty uniform and pulled on a pair of light blue trousers and a matching shirt with the kingdom’s emblem stitched in silver on each sleeve. Such clothes, or so Kunzite was constantly telling him, were not fit for a Prince but seeing as his father’s health had slipped further in decline, Endymion had deemed that he was practically king anyway now and could decide himself how he wanted to dress for lessons.

Looking back over these years, Endymion would later realise that he had entered a somewhat rebellious stage as the pressures on him mounted up and the Shitennou had decided it best to simply let him get it out of his system.

As Endymion came out of his bedchamber and into the large and lavish lounge, which was more or less off-limits to anyone who wasn’t of royal blood, the walnut door opened a crack. Endymion heard it then shut gently behind him and turned around, transfixed by the young woman who stood before him.

It was the woman, Beryl, from the grounds. Endymion gauged that Courtier Beryl must be about five winters his senior and why she would take such an interest in him Endymion did not know. She was very pretty he thought to himself, taking in her porcelain like face and mass of curled red hair that framed it. She was wearing a simple blue dress that clung to her body and made a soft sweeping sound as she moved towards him and then kneeling awkwardly before him.

“What are you doing here? No one is allowed in here.”

“Forgive me, Endymion-sama” her voice was soft and she kept her gaze averted from looking him directly in the eyes, but there was a hidden undertone that gave him cause to be apprehensive and when she didn’t comment further he prompted her to continue.

“I’m Beryl, I’m one of your father’s courtiers.”

“I know who you are. You’ve been watching me practice every single day.”

She cracked a smile but it somehow reminded Endymion of the way the cook’s cat would stare at a mouse right before it pounced. She held that same look of smug satisfaction about her and Endymion didn’t like it.

“Indeed I have. You are going to make a fine King… and husband.”

“Husband?”

She nodded, still not relenting that smile, “I came here because I needed to speak with you. Your father is dying, Endymion-sama. When he is gone, you will become the King.”

“I don’t need you to tell me of my destiny.”

“Forgive me” she repeated, appearing humble but Endymion got the feeling that she was anything but so inwardly.

“I’m going to be late for my lesson,” he stated, but she stood between him and the door and quickly held up a hand.

“Please hear me out. I come to you because I have been speaking with your father. He is worried about you. You are so young and yet soon the entire kingdom will be under your command. He is afraid that you will not have the support you need and he so desperately wishes to see you happy before he departs from this world.”

“What do you mean?” Endymion asked, suddenly unsure of himself and this spurred Beryl on to continue:

“I have been speaking to your father and he agrees that the best way to secure your future and gain the support you need is for you to be married. Of course, you are too young at the present time, but he has already found a suitable bride for you. Someone who has the experience and who can rule in your place until you come of age. Someone who will be content with a long engagement until you are the age of the marriage.”

Endymion took a step back, confusion flooding his mind. Kunzite had always told him that if his father died before his time then Endymion would become king but the Shitennou would give advice and assist him in ruling the kingdom. Endymion had always been happy with this agreement, as there was no one that he trusted more than the Shitennou. Why was this courtier suddenly changing things? Endymion didn’t understand and said so.

Beryl nodded, pretending to appear sympathetic, “I know this is coming as a shock to you and is a great burden for one so young which is why your father is doing this. He cares deeply for you and only wishes to secure your future happiness.”

“So who is my future bride?”

“I am, Endymion-sama.”

Very much taken aback by her nerve as much as whether or not she spoke the truth, Endymion did not answer. Indeed Beryl was beautiful, but he didn’t want to marry her. He didn’t want to marry anyone and especially not in order that she could rule until he was of age. Unsure of his silence, Beryl started to prompt him when the door opened.

“Master” Zoisite started but paused when he saw Beryl and his tone changed, “What are you doing in here?”

“Forgive me” again she kept up her polite pretence although Endymion could see how tightly her palms were clenched and the dagger like glare that was directed in his guardian’s direction, “I wished to speak with Endymion-sama for a few moments.”

“No one is permitted into the Master’s chambers unless given express permission to do so” Zoisite stated, pretending to be completely oblivious to Beryl’s rage, “Leave. Now.”

She nodded and bowed to both Endymion and Zoisite before doing as told. Once she had gone, Zoisite shut the door and crossed the room to Endymion’s side.

“What did she say to you?”

Endymion shook his head, very much frightened by what Beryl had told him and somehow thought that if he mentioned it to anyone then it would come true. In any case, if she was speaking the truth, there was nothing that Zoisite could do about it. Instead, Endymion resolved to have a word with his father tonight.

“Nothing of importance” he said to Zoisite, “Shall we go and have my lesson now?”

Zoisite stared at him for a few minutes, but would not question Endymion’s answer and finally agreed to then both returning to the music room.

He never got to speak with his father, Mamoru mused as he went back over this recollection of his previous life. By the evening the King’s health deteriorated further and within hours he was dead. When he died it had been deemed that the King’s trusted advisers should rule until Endymion was eighteen and his training had intensified until, finally, he had gone to live in the Moon Kingdom for many years. The Shitennou had accompanied him although this was not their first visit to their creator’s home. During his absence Beryl’s conversation with him had been forgotten, but when he returned she was waiting for him. Endymion however had already found love; the Moon Kingdom’s Princess, Serenity had captured his heart and there was no room for another and so he had made clear. His father had not known what he was saying in his final hours and Beryl was a fool to take the words of a dying man so seriously, and so he told her. Beryl had left the palace and Endymion had hoped that her talk of marriage would end. Little did know what destruction she would bring when she finally did return.

“So. You do remember” Kuroki Mio stated softly from her position on the end of the bed. Mamoru stood as far away from her in the chambers as he could, keeping his back turned to her as he fought back the urge to transform and make her pay for all the pain she had caused.

His Shitennou were dead. Kisho, Seiichi, Taro and Masaki were dead and he might as well be. He couldn’t even take comfort in his memories of Usagi, not when he knew that he would never see her again.

“You were promised to me” Mio continued, “You disobeyed your father’s last wish. Instead you allowed yourself to be seduced by that Moon Kingdom whore.”

“Don’t call her that” Mamoru whirled around at this insult but it only gave Mio cause to smile in satisfaction at the reaction that speaking ill of Usagi had invoked in him.

“Why must you only show me anger?” Mio slid off the bed and started to come towards him. Mamoru backed away further, now making no secret of his hatred:

“You killed them. You killed them despite knowing that I would go with you. Why?”

“I couldn’t take the risk that they would come after you and we both know that they would have.”

“So you killed them,” Mamoru repeated bitterly, determined not to allow her to see any more of his pain so he hid it behind his anger towards her.

Kisho… Seiichi… Taro… Masaki…

Turning his back to her once more he stated softly, “I will never show you anything more than anger and I will never forgive you for their deaths.”

Mio chuckled slightly and left him be and only then did Mamoru’s fierce resolve to be strong break down.

The past life and the lives that they now led. Why did it constantly lead them to this? Why had he been unable to save them? Each time that the sadness of the past repeated, he was powerless to stop it. Powerless to save his friends.

******

“We cannot heal. If we are fatally wounded then we die just like normal people. How did you do that?”

“Four years ago. Four years ago when we awakened our powers were only at a third of their potential. Now as the enemy grows stronger these powers are starting to awaken.”

For a while Kisho and Seiichi walked in silence, each lost in their own individual thoughts. Kisho’s mind was constantly reliving the evening’s events, and one hand was almost constantly pressed against his stomach, his fingers brushing the fabric of his shirt, feeling where the wound once was.

In the past life the Shitennou could heal, this he had recalled since his awakening, but only physical wounds. In the present, Kisho had accepted that their powers would never truly be at the strength that they were before, but he was wrong and what a helpful time to be proved wrong. He shook his head slightly in amusement at this. Had he been correct in this assumption then he would be dead. Now all that remained was to help his friends also awaken their true powers. Helping Taro and Masaki would present little problem, but… Kisho cast a glance at Seiichi, taking in the concern in his eyes and how quickly he averted his gaze when he realised that Kisho was watching him. Kisho wasn’t sure if Seiichi was even capable of fighting at the moment, hence his reasoning behind walking back with him.

Kisho had also though it best, to begin with, to let Seiichi speak first but when this became apparent that he had no intention of commenting on tonight, Kisho decided to force the issue.

“I didn’t know that you could still transform” he commented lightly as they paused to cross an intersection. “It must seem a little strange, ne?”

“A little” he allowed.

Kisho frowned realising just how worried Seiichi was and hence he was reverting to the person he had been four years ago.

“This is not the time to close yourself off from everyone” he advised quietly, “We need you, Seiichi.”

“I know.”

“I don’t think you do.”

They had crossed the street now and Seiichi came to a halt as Kisho said this, for once looking him straight in the eyes and Kisho got a glimpse of pain and anger before his shield was up again.

“I know” Seiichi repeated, somewhat shakily, “I know because I can remember. The past life at least.”

Zoisite was on his knees, his right hand pressed against his forehead in pain and the Youma was knelt down in order to keep the blade to his throat, its free hand around his chest, keeping his left arm pinned down at his side.

“During the battle?”

“Certain things are a little vague, but I know enough. My duty is to Master Endymion, that much is clear.”

“What about this lifetime?” Kisho asked quietly.

Seiichi hesitated slightly and then shook his head, “Occasional senses of déjà vu but nothing I can recall in any detail or description” then his voice changed from off-hand to angered as he added, “Why is it I can remember my past life and not my present one?”

Kisho had no answer to this. What could he say? He wasn’t a doctor and, in any case, Seiichi could not speak of the past life to anyone outside of the group.

“You cared a lot for the lifetime that once was” he said at length, knowing that Seiichi needed to hear something to reassure him, “And you were transformed. I am not surprised that your past life memories are restored.”

Seiichi nodded, but Kisho got the feeling that there something else. Something that he was afraid to ask. He realised what this was a few seconds later when Seiichi asked, whilst returning to his casual and off-hand manner, how his wound was.

“Gone” Kisho replied carefully, “Healed.”

“You healed yourself?”

“I can’t heal you. Your injury isn’t a physical one.”

“I wasn’t going to ask that of you.”

“You didn’t have too. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want you to pity me. I don’t want you to be concerned about me. We have to focus on what is important; the mission and rescuing Mamoru.”

“And we will” Kisho assured him. He was confident that Seiichi, despite being shaken up, would be able to sort through things in his own time. The last thing he needed was Kisho constantly going over it, but there was one thing he had to make sure of first.

“But you are okay? You want to fight?”

Seiichi nodded, “Of course.”

Kisho held his gaze for a moment and then, satisfied that Seiichi was being honest, despite his obvious apprehension, smiled and added, “I almost forgot to give you this” as he handed Seiichi a mobile phone. “I’m afraid the old one was pretty much destroyed when you were attacked so we had to replace it. We programmed most of your numbers back in but of course there will be people that you’ll need to add.”

“Thank you” Seiichi replied slowly, not understanding quite why Kisho was giving him this now as he could easily get a new phone.

“It is nothing really, but we have this rule about not fighting alone. Our numbers are all programmed in so if you see any Youma all you have to do is call one of us.”

“I see” he answered and said no more on the subject. Kisho relaxed slightly at this and changed the topic, knowing that Seiichi was sensible enough to take on board just how serious matters were without him keeping having to accentuate it.

Still, even as they talked, Kisho was thinking of the mission and how they were going to go about rescuing Mamoru.

******

“Mamoru”

Ami jumped slightly as Usagi sat straight up, her eyes opening wide and losing all trace of sleep from them.

“Usagi-chan?” she prompted softly as her friend’s gaze became one of the confusion as she looked around the almost deserted streets, “What is it?”

“I don’t know” Usagi smiled and shook her head, “Nothing… I think.”

Not wanting to press her, Ami cast another glance towards the entrance of the Tokei-ji shrine. It was after dark and, under street light, they had waited for the staff to close for the night before trying to sneak inside.

Earlier in the evening, Makoto, Minako and Rei had paid the admission and gone inside to get an idea of exactly where the sword was. Rei and Minako were waiting around the corner as they felt that four teenage girls together would arouse unnecessary suspicions. Makoto had managed to hide inside the shrine when it was closing time so that she could try and find a way to let them in. It all hinged on Makoto being able to do this. If not they would have to wait another night or risk going for the sword during the day and Ami did not want to have to do either of these things. Despite still feeling weak and the constant ache in her heart that her baby’s death had left, Ami was determined to fight at Taro’s side. She owed her child that much at least.

Of course, no sooner had they sat down on the bench to wait for the others had Usagi fallen asleep. On the train her friend had been lively enough but Ami knew that Usagi was still very worried about Mamoru and Ami herself was concerned for Taro.

This is the best way, she reminded herself. According to Minako, all four Senshi and the Princess had to be present when they attempted to retrieve the sword. To stay in Tokyo, Ami also knew, would be even more dangerous. In Kamakura things felt different. From Taro, Ami knew that Youma had targeted the city years ago, but now it held a sort of purity about it. Youma had not walked its streets in a long time, Ami knew and she wished desperately for things to stay that way.

This might not be possible, she reminded herself. If Mio guessed that this was where they were heading…

She can’t know, Ami argued with herself. How could she know?

“Ami-chan?” Usagi whispered when she saw the troubled look on her friend’s face, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine” Ami tried to answer but in truth she wasn’t sure. The concern was slowly eating away at her and she shifted her position on the bench slightly.

“Don’t worry” Usagi smiled brightly, “Mako-chan will find a way inside.”

“I know she will.”

“Then what is it? Don’t you want to fight?”

“I do” Ami assured her, “I was just thinking of all we’ve lost to get to this point. I was wondering if, perhaps, it was karma.”

As soon as these words escaped her, Ami couldn’t doubt that they were true. She, as Dark Mercury, had done some terrible things before she met Taro when he was held captive in the Dark Kingdom. Why should they be granted a second chance without having to pay for what they did in some way?

“Ami-chan” Usagi shook her head, “You can’t believe that. You weren’t such a bad person, even when you were under Beryl’s control.”

Ami bit her lip and looked away, “Perhaps not” she ventured at last, “But what about Minako-tachi?”

Usagi had no answer for this and Ami didn’t expect one as now, she felt sure, that she knew the terms of obtaining the Senshi Sword.

“The sword is a gift, it cannot be found just by want alone”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. I think… I think we have to find it ourselves. We have to earn the right to henshin again.”

“We allowed our henshins to become corrupted” Ami whispered, recalling, with a painful ache in her heart, the day that they turned against their Princess, “The Queen would not grant us this second chance without somehow making sure that we wouldn’t make the same mistakes again.”

Usagi shook her head, “You’re wrong. The Queen wouldn’t do that.”

“If she didn’t I would be very surprised. Queen Serenity was a great ruler. To think that we would be allowed our henshins so easily would be foolish on our behalf.”

“Minako-chan?” Usagi whispered as she and Ami both turned to face their leader. Ami could sense that Usagi felt a little annoyed that Minako had waited so long to share this fact with them and, from Rei’s expression, she guessed that the Miko was, too.

Ami herself had mixed emotions regarding the subject. She felt some anger, but mainly apprehension. If they were to confront the Queen, Ami simply did not know how she would justify her actions. How could she say that she was simply brainwashed when they all knew that death should have been preferable to what they did?

It wasn’t as though we had a choice… was it?

No! We would never have done what we did willingly. I loved the Princess too much to betray her.

Ami shivered slightly and again Usagi enquired to know about her health. “I’m fine, thank you.”

Sensing the other girls’ want to change the subject, Minako then stated quietly that they had come to find them because Makoto had found a way for them to get into the shrine.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Usagi demanded, her determination in turn giving Ami strength. “And even if you do have to face some sort of test to prove yourselves, don’t forget, minna, that I’ll be there with you.”

“Usagi” Ami smiled appreciatively, but her friend was already leading the way towards the shrine. It was just like Usagi to be so sure about things and Ami only wished that she and the other girls shared this certainty.

******

“Baka” Taro whispered softly to himself as he paused outside his apartment to put in the code to the outer door before stepping inside, almost forgetting Masaki who walked in silence behind him.

All the way from the scene of the battle all Taro could do was constantly replay what had happened, trying to decide if he could have done something different in order that Mamoru wasn’t forced to make the sacrifice he had made.

“What kind of guardians are we anyway?” he murmured as he stomped up the stairs, making as much noise as possible as though to somehow make his dark mood leave him, “We are supposed to be protecting him and yet we seem to get him in even more trouble than if he were still fighting alone.”

Taro’s frown deepened when he saw Masaki’s slight smirk and he halted whilst grumbling, “And I don’t know what you’re grinning about. This is serious.”

“I know” Masaki shook his head.

“Then why do you find it so funny?”

“I don’t. I just think that what you’re saying does have a certain sense of irony about it.”

Taro sighed and fumbled around for his key as he reached his apartment. “You’d think by now that we’d have it covered. I mean how difficult can protecting one person be?”

“Evidently very difficult. Especially when every single enemy that we’ve fought seems to have an infatuation for him.”

“That’s another point. Why do they all go after him? Was it like this in the past life, too? Perhaps back then in can understand as he was the Prince, but now?”

Masaki shrugged, “Mamoru will always be the Prince in Mio’s eyes, and Beryl’s, too.”

Taro sighed and finally located his key. Slipping it into the lock and twisting roughly before pushing the door open with considerably more force than he needed to, he said, “Do you want to stay for a beer seeing as we can’t do anything else for Mamoru at the present?”

This was another factor that infuriated Taro, that he couldn’t even do anything to help his friend.

“Sure” Masaki answered to his question, trying his best to sound nonchalant, but Taro could tell that Masaki wasn’t exactly ecstatic about the current situation and was as tense and angry as Taro himself was feeling. How Kisho could simply block out these kinds of feelings was beyond him.

Pushing the door open and stepping inside, Taro sighed when he saw that the TV was still on, and beer cans and various empty snack packets littered the floor. Masaki’s grin widened when Taro flicked the television off and started to gather up the rubbish.

“Ami has you well trained then?” he quipped.

“Believe it or not I don’t like living in a pig sty either” Taro growled in response and went through to the kitchen to throw the cans and packets in the bin before going to the fridge and discovering that there were no beers in there.

Slamming the door and scanning the small kitchen, Taro spotted a couple of cans set out on the sideboard, obviously put there for consumption before their evening was ruined. Thinking of this, Taro found it difficult to believe that not long before they were sitting and watching the game with Mamoru and if then he had been told of Mamoru’s capture, he would not have believed it.

“I’m afraid the beers aren’t going to be cold” he called out to Masaki, “Unless you want me to put them in the fridge for ten minutes or so?”

Masaki answered that he would prefer Taro to do this, which he did. Turning back from the fridge, Taro nearly collided with someone on his way back to the front room. His eyes widened in surprise and then his gaze turned to anger when he realised who was standing before him.

“How the hell did you get in here?” he demanded as Kuroki Mio gave him a cruel looking grin, which turned into a slight smirk when they both realised that Taro had jumped back when he had seen her.

“Taro?” Masaki called from the front room, some concerning edging his voice and, moments later, as Mio awaited his arrival patiently, he opened the adjourning door.

“You?” Masaki started, his expression displaying as much, if not more, anger and hatred as Taro’s own.

Mio’s smirk widened and she held out a hand, black energy lancing from her palm to strike him the chest. Masaki was thrown backwards by the force of the attack. He struck the wall in the front room and collapsed unconscious to the floor.

“Masaki!” Taro made to go to his friend, but Mio stepped between him and the door.

Pausing Taro regarded her warily, knowing that she wouldn’t simply turn up here to gloat. She wanted something from him.

Still, not giving her an opening, Taro concentrated on transforming when Mio held up a hand, “Don’t. I only want to talk to you.”

Hesitating slightly, Taro glanced at Masaki, who was still unconscious, and then back at Mio, “Talk? What do we have to say to each other?”

“I have plenty to say to you” her expression narrowed at the hostility in his voice, “But this is not the time nor the place for our petty battles. Just remember that I killed you once before, and I was far weaker than I am now.”

Taro knew better than to ignore her warning and nodded, before saying, “Then what do you want?”

Mio went straight to the point, “I want you to tell me the location of the Senshi Sword.”

“I don’t know.”

Mio laughed, “Is that so?”

“Yes” Taro replied without hesitating. If she knew…

Ami… the girls’ second chance would be ruined…

“That’s a shame,” Mio said silkily as she took another step towards him, “If you did just tell me it would make things so much easier for both of us.”

“I can’t tell you what I don’t know,” Taro answered steadily, trying to keep his unease to himself as he expected an attack at any moment.

He was right. As Mio raised her hand, Taro struggled to transform but the dark energy that flowed from her palm struck him before he could even think of anything but the pain as he was slammed into the sideboard behind him.

Taro bit his lip to stifle a cry of pain as her powers kept him pinned there, unable to move, as she came over to him. He flinched as she placed a hand on his forehead, brushing his fringe back from his eyes with an almost gentle expression on her face until it hardened into one of hatred.

At the moment her expression changed, did his pain deepen. Taro was unable to fight back a scream as he felt her powers raging inside of him. He screamed again and Mio allowed him to collapse to the floor as the agony that tore through his head became too much. He couldn’t see, the pain blinded him to anything else, even the fact that Mio was knelt over him, her hand again on his forehead as she again repeated her demand:

“I want you to tell me the location of the Senshi Sword.”

“The Tokei-ji shrine, Kamakura City.”

What am I saying? Why am I telling her this? It isn’t me… What has she done to me?

Mio’s grin only widened and she stood:

“Thank you, Taro-kun, you’ve been most helpful.”

With this she teleported away and the pain ceased.

Taro inhaled deeply, for a moment unable to move as fine tremors racked his body. He pressed his head up against the sideboard as sickening waves of vertigo crashed into him until he could stand it no longer, doubling over and vomiting. This action appeared to do some good in that he now wasn’t trembling as badly, although he lacked the energy to stand.

“I want you to tell me the location of the Senshi Sword.”

“The Tokei-ji shrine, Kamakura City.”

He shuddered at the realisation that he had just betrayed them… had betrayed Ami…

But that wasn’t me. I couldn’t help it. Something took hold of me… something made me give away the Sword’s location.

“Taro?” he was vaguely aware that Masaki had come round and was knelt at his side, though he was bleeding from a small gash in his head where he had fallen.

“Taro? What did that bitch do?”

He shook his head, feeling his eyes sliding closed and he managed to whisper, “She knows where the girls have gone” before everything went black.

******

Act Sixty Five Preview:

Venus stood, her gaze locking on her fellow Senshi as she spoke, “We must go. One of us must get to Beryl.”

“What do you think happened?” Mercury dared to ask, concern for the Shitennou clear in her eyes.

Venus shrugged. They wouldn’t have betrayed them, would they? Of course not. Zoisite was not the type and, in any case, he wanted Beryl dead as much as Venus did.

“They must be dead” she said out loud and, indeed, there was no other explanation.

“Dead?” even Mars seemed shocked at this prospect.

A guardian dying was unheard of in the Silver Millennium and, so Venus believed, here, too.

“They are dead” Venus repeated, “They are dead and we must continue the mission for the sake of both our worlds.”

Jupiter, Mercury and Mars nodded in agreement, now all turning to their leader as they waited for the order to attack.

~~~~~~

“Let me go” Minako commanded softly, but Ami did not release her grip on her, forcing Minako to struggle. She didn’t know what she could do but she had to do something to help… perhaps if she could get to the sword.

Then she was free, pulling roughly away from her friend, Minako ran from the protection that Kunzite and Sailor Moon were offering and ignoring Rei’s screams for her to come back, she ran towards the sword.

“Fool” she heard Mio’s soft utterance before the ground at her feet exploded in an array of colours. Minako screamed and fell back, hitting the ground with a painful thud that knocked the breath from her body.

Mio, taking her eyes off Nephrite for a moment, called up another ball of energy before letting it fly straight towards the helpless idol.

“Minako!” Rei screamed.

~~~~~~