Earth Guardian Prince Endymion
By Senshi
of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi
Act Twenty-Nine Recap:
(Usagi’s POV)
“You’re still here?”
Usagi nodded, “I was worried.”
“There is no need.”
“But I do…” she smiled shyly and indicated the steaming
bowl in his hands, “Are you going to drink it?”
Komoro Seiichi is Zoisite, the Prince and the man whom I
destroyed the world for in the past life. I still can’t believe that my
destined is Komoro-san. Naru-chan would be so jealous if she knew.
“In hospital?” Usagi repeated. She could literally feel
the colour draining from her face as she uttered these words. “Why? What
happened?”
“No one knows” Rika answered sadly, “A passer by found her
outside the tube station. She was still unconscious when Haruna-sensei told
us.”
But Naru-chan is in hospital. I feel so guilty. If I
hadn’t have met with Venus then Komoro-san wouldn’t have collapsed and Naru
might be all right. Perhaps my Prince is right. Maybe I am weak. I can’t even
remain faithful to him as I still have strong feelings for Chiba Mamoru.
“Usagi-chan! You must stay away from Zoisite and Tuxedo
Kamen.”
“Why? With Zoisite I can almost understand, but Tuxedo
Kamen? Luna, we could become allies. I don’t understand why…”
“The Shitennou were the Prince’s court in the old Earth
Kingdom. They did not approve of the love between the Prince and Princess. They
will do anything to stop the past from repeating.”
“Are you saying that Tuxedo Kamen might hurt me?”
It doesn’t matter what Luna says. I know Mamoru would
never do anything to hurt me. I trust him and he protected me even though it
meant defying his Prince. That has to mean something, doesn’t it?
*******
Act Thirty:
“How dare she do this to me!” Haru screamed and Masaki
winced as his father hurled the empty bottle of Vodka across the room. It
smashed against the opposite wall and scattered glass shards all over the
carpet. Masaki didn’t want to be here. It was bad enough that he had run out on
his friends when they needed him, but when Haru had called him… Masaki didn’t
want to think about what would happen if he had refused him.
Tori had left. According to Haru she had run out on him
and was with a neighbour. She had packed some things and left after Haru came
home drunk out of his mind after being given a verbal warning at work about his
behaviour.
“After all I’ve done for her! That ungrateful, little
bitch! Tell her if she doesn’t come home then she’ll have nothing. I’ll see her
sleeping in the gutter!”
Masaki shook his head and stepped backwards, out of the
path of a second Vodka bottle. “Haru, just calm down” he pleaded with his
father. Haru was gradually turning a vibrant shade of purple and was leaning
heavily against the closed door, another half empty bottle of wine in one hand.
“Perhaps this is for the best,” Masaki reasoned when his
father turned to glare at him.
“For the best? For the best! I’ve given you and your
mother everything and this is how you repay me? By siding with her!”
“No” Masaki shook his head and shrunk backwards as Haru
stalked towards him. As much as he hated to admit it, Haru still frightened
him… even now.
The rage was uncontrollable… if Tori stepped foot inside
the house when he was in this kind of mood. Haru would kill her, Masaki knew
this for certain.
“She is nothing without me” Haru continued, “She’ll come
back and when she does I will make her pay. If she was a better wife I would
not be reduced to this!” he hurled the bottle across the room to join the other
two.
Deep down, Masaki knew this was partly true. Tori had no
family, nowhere to go… she would come back and if Haru was still like this…
“Father” he took a tentative step towards him, “I’m sure
she will come back. She just needs a bit of space.”
“Space? So now this house isn’t big enough for her?”
“No, not at all. Mother appreciates everything you do for
her, we both do and I know she will be back.”
Haru paused, “She will? She has too. We belong together.
She has no one else to take care of her.”
Masaki nodded, hating himself for it and not being strong
enough to protect Tori, but, deep down, no matter what the man had done he was
still Masaki’s father.
“You” Haru whispered as he staggered towards Masaki and
placed an arm clumsily around his shoulders, “You’re a good boy. I’m always
telling them at work how good you are.”
“Why don’t you sit down?” Masaki suggested, managing to
shrug himself free, “I’ll make you some coffee so that you can sober up a bit.”
Haru nodded, the rage flooding from him. “You’re a good
boy” he called after Masaki, “You understand that this is all you have. You
understand that you are nothing aside from a member of this family.”
Masaki pretended not to hear him and hurried into the
kitchen.
Masaki had used to think like this but now he knew better.
He had another life now.
“Drink this and get some sleep” he instructed Haru as he
came back in with a cup of coffee. “I’m sure Tori will be back in the morning.”
And she would be, Masaki knew, but a part of him deep down
really wished that she wouldn’t be.
*****
Seiichi replaced the receiver and sat back down on his
bed, one hand lightly tracing the pattern on the duvet as Artemis enquired to
know how Tetsuya was.
“Fine” Seiichi replied softly, though, if the truth were
known, Tetsuya had sounded far from fine. When Seiichi had got back to the
hotel, he had found that he had three messages from Tetsuya asking him to stop
by at the hospital straight away. Seiichi hadn’t really wanted to do so as he
still felt a little unwell and had settled for calling him instead.
Unfortunately, Tetsuya had spoken to Masaki and the latter
had let slip about Seiichi’s ‘panic attack’ and Tetsuya had all but insisted
that Seiichi cancel the rest of his work load for the week and get some rest.
Seiichi was glad to do this as the last week or so had
just been a disaster as far as the mission was concerned. The Princess had
awakened and now had the Ginzuishou, the Shitennou no longer trusted him and it
would seem that Mamoru was in love with Sailor Moon. The only good thing, as
far as Artemis was concerned, was that Venus now had her memories back.
“Seiichi-kun?” Artemis broke into his thoughts and the
plushie jumped up onto the bed beside him, “Does Venus remember me?”
“Why don’t you go and ask her?” Seiichi snapped. He was
sick of the constant questions. First from the Shitennou and now from Artemis.
His head was pounding and after the events of today, Seiichi really didn’t want
to be bothered with the plushie anymore.
Artemis recoiled at his harsh tone which was unusual and
the cat jumped down from the bed and up onto a nearby chair.
“I can’t help it if they found out who you were” he sniped
back, “That was your own foolishness, Seiichi, and no one else’s. I told you
not to---”
“I know! But it might not be such a bad thing after all.
They may not trust me as my true self, but as I am now…”
“And what about Beryl?”
Seiichi shrugged, “We both knew I couldn’t hide from her
forever.”
“If she suspects that you--”
“She won’t.”
“You don’t know for sure!”
“I do. We discussed what would happen if Beryl ever found
out before they were ready”
“You don’t mean that!”
Seiichi turned away, signalling that the conversation was
over and was glad when Artemis left the room.
“Queen Beryl wants me alive and, I suspect, that death
would be preferable to whatever it was that she had in store for me.”
Seiichi exhaled sharply, suddenly aware that he was
trembling even as he walked over to the window to shut the curtains. He could
already see Artemis making his way down the well-lit street.
“You don’t know for sure!”
“I do. We discussed what would happen if Beryl ever found
out before they were ready”
“You don’t mean that!”
“The mission” he whispered to himself, “The mission is all
that matters.”
******
“Usagi doesn’t hate you” Naru assured her with a smile as
she helped the other girl to her feet, “And if Usagi says that she didn’t run
away then I believe her. I don’t know why you think Usagi-chan doesn’t like
you, Mio-chan.”
“It is terrible, Naru-chan” Usagi whispered as she sat at
her friend’s bedside. She had come straight from school to see her best friend,
managing to escape detention and the horrible taunts of her classmates.
Mio-chan and Rika-chan had told everyone how Usagi had ‘run away’ and left them
at the mercy of the monster so now no one in the school was speaking to her.
Usagi had lunch on the rooftop with Luna. The plushie was also concerned by
this turn of events, but seemed distracted somehow.
Usagi sighed sadly. Naru-chan was her best friend and she
couldn’t even confide in her about this latest turn of events. Naru was in a
coma, or so the doctors said. No one seemed to know what was causing this or
how to bring her round. Usagi knew. The Dark Kingdom must have got to her. It
was the only explanation she could think of and one that brought about immense
sadness for the pigtailed girl.
“Naru-chan, please wake up. If anything happens to you…”
Usagi broke off as the doctor hurried back into the room.
“Visiting hours are over” she said curtly.
“But I’ve just got here” Usagi protested, “Please, let me
stay a while longer.”
“Her family want to see her” was the equally brusque
reply.
“I see” Usagi sighed, “Bye, Naru-chan.”
The girl lying in the hospital bed gave no answer and
Usagi did not expect one. Naru was so pale… it almost looked like she was dead.
Usagi shuddered at this thought. How many more would suffer because of her and
the mission?
“Zoisite, daijobu?”
“I-I’m fine” he whispered through gritted teeth, even as
he fell further forward until he was on his knees. Usagi stumbled with this
added weight and fell down beside him. “I’m fine,” he repeated, even as his
eyes slid closed and he lapsed into a faint at her feet.
Usagi left the hospital feeling even worse than when she
had first got there. Naru-chan… Komoro-san and what made the latter worse was
that Usagi didn’t even know if he was okay. Zoisite had saved Venus’s life,
after all, and Usagi hadn’t even been able to thank him for defending them.
She walked passed a couple of girls from her class and
Usagi flinched at the names and insults that followed her. Coward… it
was true. She had left Rika and Mio. She shouldn’t have done that. She should
have transformed in front of them so that they could see who she truly was.
There were too many lies, Usagi thought bitterly and when would it stop? She
lied to her mother, to her friends and even to Luna. She had promised the
plushie that she would come straight home and instead she was wandering the
streets of Tokyo alone in her misery.
Pausing outside a newsagent, Usagi picked a magazine off
of a rack and started to mindlessly flip through it whilst debating her
options. She could go home. Indeed that was what she should do, but if she did
then she would have to face Ikuko and Luna. She could also go to Crown, but
Mamoru-baka and the others would be there and Usagi would end up feeling worse
than she already did.
Usagi sighed, “So there are my choices” she whispered as
she glanced down at the open magazine in her hands.
“Komoro Seiichi?” his name caught her eye and Usagi
couldn’t help but smile when she saw the interview and the fact that she had
flipped open the magazine at that exact page.
“It must be fate,” she whispered as she scanned the
article. It was a few days old, but the most important piece of information was
that Komoro Seiichi was staying at the Okura. The Okura was one
of the places to stay in Tokyo and Usagi was well aware at just how
luxurious it was. A five star hotel that catered for upper-class business men
and the rich and famous.
Usagi smiled, her first proper smile of the day. She could
go and see how Komoro-san was. Usagi was deeply concerned for him and wasn’t
really sure that she brought the story about him being exhausted. If there was
something more to it than that….
“I have to go” Usagi said to herself, “Just to see if he’s
all right.”
With this decision made, she hurriedly went into the
newsagent’s and got directions to the Okura. It would mean a couple of
bus journeys and would probably take most of Usagi’s allowance for the rest of
the month.
Still, that didn’t matter to her, though the pigtailed
girl was a little nervous of showing up at the hotel unannounced. They probably
wouldn’t let her inside to begin with!
The shrill ring of her mobile phone jolted Usagi out of
these thoughts. She quickly fumbled through her bag for it and saw that it was
Luna. Usagi allowed it to go through to voice mail. There was no way Luna would
approve of her going to see Komoro Seiichi. Still it gave her an idea.
Luna had shown her a while back how her phone had a power
that allowed Usagi to change into whoever or whatever she wanted. She could use
this power to get access to the hotel! Of course, Luna was very strict about it
being used for missions only, but going to see Komoro-san was to do with the
mission, Usagi reasoned and Luna didn’t have to know.
She smiled to herself as she turned the corner towards the
bus stop. On her way passed, Usagi hurried into a bakery and spent a little of
her money on two pieces of chocolate cake. After all, she couldn’t go into the
hotel without a get well present for Komoro-san, could she?
Still, when Usagi arrived at the bus stop she was dismayed
to see a sign saying there would be a ten-minute wait. Slumping down on a bench
Usagi felt her stomach rumbling in complaint at this. Opening the bag she
dipped her hand inside and pulled off a piece of the chocolate icing from the
first slice of cake. It was so good and Usagi found it too difficult to resist
and pulled off an even bigger piece and then another and another…
****
Staring through the shimmering crystal, Beryl watched the
people leaving the ten-floor building. It was afternoon and the hotel was
emptying nicely as she had planned. Of course, there were some new arrivals,
but that couldn’t be helped. It felt strange to watch the humans going about
their mundane and insignificant lives. She was standing at the edge of a cliff
and was about to jump, or at least that was what Beryl felt like. She had
strived to reach this point for so long and now it was finally here. The Prince
would belong to her, as he should have done all those years ago. Beryl recalled
bitterly every adoring look that passed between the Princess and the Prince.
Every kiss that the hateful girl stole that should have belonged to Beryl. It
would not be repeated. Beryl would make sure of that.
She had waited so long for this moment and now it was a
matter of hours away. She was standing at that cliff edge, knowing for certain
that she was going to jump. There would never be a time like this again. Each
second counted and seemed longer than the last.
“Beryl-sama?” Jupiter interrupted her thoughts and caused
the Queen of the Dark Kingdom to glare down at the four Senshi gathered before
her. Mercury seemed uneasy, Venus full of hatred for the Queen she had once
been proud to serve. Mars appeared determined, despite her recent failings and
Jupiter only acted bored. Her Dark Senshi, the Senshi who had once protected
the Princess and now belonged to Beryl alone. They were hers to do with as she
saw fit and would be forever more.
“Beryl-sama?” Jupiter repeated, “Why have you summoned us
here?”
“Why?” Beryl repeated, and why indeed? “Because I want you
to share this moment. The starting of a new era.”
Jupiter and Mars exchanged glances, “A new era?”
Beryl frowned. They did not appreciate the moment as it
was. The moment before she righted the wrongs of the past life and her Prince
finally became hers.
“Leave” she snapped, “Do not disturb my silence any
longer.”
“Beryl-sama--” Mars murmured, but trailed off again and
silently left the throne room.
Beryl had no need for the Dark Senshi this time. Her Youma
was already in the Earth realm. The Youma would take care of things.
Hot tears poured down her cheeks, her breath coming out in
ragged gasps as she fled down the marble steps of the palace. All she could see
was the image of her Prince in the arms of another. All she could hear was the
sweet laughter of the unforgivable Princess who had tempted her love away. The
Princess. Beryl’s heart clenched in rage as she thought of her. Then she
turned, just to look at them once more, though it hurt her so much to do. Beryl
glared daggers at the back of the Princess until she slowly turned around, a
smile on her lips as their gazes met…
“Princess… it will not be like this again.”
*****
Mercury hurried down the tunnel, her boots clicking loudly
against the stone as she shivered and this had nothing to do with the cold.
What was Beryl plotting? Mercury was almost certain that it had something to do
with the Shitennou and their Prince.
“That day. You said you helped me because you didn’t want
me to die, but you are quite happy to attack my friends.”
Mercury frowned. She knew she should warn Taro, but warn
him of what? Beryl-sama had not said what she was planning, but all this talk
of a new era made her uneasy. Had Beryl truly lost her mind?
“She is after the Prince” Venus called, stepping out from
the shadows. The blonde seemed better today, but still there were hints of
fatigue in her eyes and Mercury recalled their last conversation. Venus now
served the Princess… the Princess who had destroyed the planet.
“The Prince?”
Venus nodded, “Of course she will fail.”
Mercury turned to leave, but she suddenly felt Venus clamp
a hand around her arm. With a strength that she didn’t realise that their
former leader possessed, Venus swung her round and slammed her into the wall.
“What are you doing?”
“Stopping you.”
“Do you want Beryl to succeed?”
“No and she won’t. You recall what happened last time?
He’d rather die than be taken alive.”
“He saved your life” Mercury pointed out, “Does that mean
nothing?”
Venus looked away as she spoke, “I serve the Princess. The
Prince will bring her nothing but pain and will be the cause of her own
undoing. I must protect her.”
“By allowing Beryl to win?”
“If the Princess and the Shitennou try to stop Beryl this
time then they will die. I will not allow my Princess to suffer.”
Taro-kun… It is him I love. I know it will hurt him, but
she is right. If the Shitennou try to intervene then Beryl will kill them.
“Mercury. Do not stand in my way” Venus threatened, “The
past must not be repeated.”
“I do not intend on doing anything” Mercury replied
coldly, “The Princess is no longer whom I serve and nor is Beryl. Their
fighting does not concern me.”
Venus held her gaze for a moment longer before teleporting
away. Mercury watched her go feeling, for the first time, some remorse, but the
blonde was right. To fight Beryl would mean death. Mercury had no loyalty to
the Prince. It was Taro whom she loved and she would do whatever it took to
protect him.
*****
Luna pawed the coverlet on Usagi’s bed nervously as she
awaited her charges return from school. All day Luna couldn’t stop thinking
about the Ginzuishou and Usagi’s words of the day before.
Although Usagi did not know it, her words disturbed the
plushie. Zoisite was wrong about her. Usagi did have a strong heart and stuck
to her beliefs no matter what. This was worse, Luna though uncomfortably. If
Usagi just listened to her it would make things a lot better, but at the same
time Luna was secretly proud of her for not doing what everyone told her. It
showed strength of character and another side to Usagi that most people,
including those who were close to her, didn’t often see. Usagi refused to see
bad in anyone and, whereas some saw that as a weakness, Luna knew it was
another strength inside the childish and sometimes selfish fourteen year old.
“Are you worried about her?” Artemis inquired softly. The
white plushie, unknown to Usagi, had spent the night under her bed after coming
to the Tsukino household late yesterday evening. Luna knew that something was
bothering him, despite the fact that he had just said that he wanted to talk
about the mission and she was pretty sure that his concerns had to do with
Komoro Seiichi and not the mission.
“Usagi-chan should have been home by now,” Luna admitted
as Artemis sat up and came to her side.
“Do you want to look for her?”
“I’ve left a message on her phone. I’m sure she’s just at
the hospital with Naru-chan.”
“Luna---”
“Artemis, why are you here, really?”
He shrugged, “I miss what we had on the Moon.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Believe what you want. I should go.”
“Is it Zoisite?”
“No.”
“It is. Artemis…”
He looked away, and the despair in his eyes said it all
and Luna’s suspicions were confirmed. Artemis still missed Venus, but now his
loyalty lay with the Shitennou, even if he wasn’t yet ready to admit it to
himself.
“It is nothing… it is probably nothing… We both know the
truth, don’t we?”
“That Zoisite isn’t---”
Artemis nodded.
“You’re not saying that he’d…” Luna trailed off, feeling
secretly horrified as she recalled what Usagi had described had happened when
the Dark Kingdom had got hold of Kimura Taro. If they captured Zoisite and
found out the truth he would die. This wouldn’t have bothered Luna before,
indeed it shouldn’t have bothered her now, but she could see the pain and
torment in Artemis’s eyes.
A thousand years is a long time, Artemis. I loved you for
all of this time and even now our loyalties are divided. The Princess still
needs us… she cannot fight alone… she is not that strong…
“Usagi-chan…” Luna whispered, a chill running through her.
Usagi was always late, but never this late.
“Artemis.”
But the white plushie had already gone and Luna raced
after him, dread threatening to overwhelm her as she tore down the streets, no
longer caring who saw them.
*****
Seiichi hated this. He hated waiting around inside the
hotel for the inevitable. Even Artemis’s company would have been preferable to
this silence he was now becoming accustomed too. He couldn’t go outside. In
fact to do so might prove a foolish move on his part. Seiichi didn’t want the
Shitennou involved in this. It was too dangerous. Now that the Dark Kingdom
knew who he was (and Seiichi was almost positive that they must know as he
assumed that at least one of the other Dark Senshi was watching the incident in
the park) it was only a matter of time before they made a move against him.
Beryl wanted her Prince and would kill anyone who stood in her way. Of course,
he did not want them to capture him, but if Mamoru died defending him… Seiichi
knew it was better this way, even if Artemis was starting to think otherwise.
He was distracted from such thoughts when there was a
knock on the room door. “Room service!” a child-like voice called out when he
asked who it was. Seiichi frowned and hurried over to unlock the door. He
hadn’t ordered anything.
Seiichi’s heart sank when he opened the door and was met
by the smiling face of Tsukino Usagi dressed in her school uniform and carrying
her book-bag under one arm.
“Konnichiwa!” she chirped cheerfully and scurried into the
room without being invited and sat herself down on one of the wicker chairs.
“How are you feeling now?”
“Fine… thank you” Seiichi said slowly, as he shut the
door, not sure what to make of this funny girl at all, especially when she had
crumbs all down her front and chocolate round her mouth.
“How did you get passed security?”
Usagi grinned and held up her mobile phone, “Luna gave
this to me. I can use its power to disguise myself as anything I want. Neat
isn’t it?”
Seiichi shrugged, “What do you want, Princess?”
Her cheerful demeanour faded and she glanced down at the
floor as she replied, “I was worried about you, Komoro-san. When you collapsed…
It was my fault, wasn’t it? I shouldn’t have made you fight those Youma alone.”
“You didn’t ‘make’ me do anything, Princess.”
“So you wanted to help us?” she looked up hopefully.
Seiichi didn’t reply and Usagi added, “I had bought you a
little something to make you feel better” she blushed furiously and indicated a
crumpled brown bag she was holding in one hand, “But I was waiting at the bus
stop for so long and got hungry so I thought I would eat my piece now and
then…” her blush deepened, “I accidentally ate yours, too.”
Seiichi laughed softly at this. He couldn’t help it. She
was so ridiculous with her chocolate covered face and stupid hairstyle. This
girl would destroy the planet? Had Seiichi not remembered the horrors of the
past life he would find this unbelievable.
Usagi giggled, too, at this and slipped the paper bag into
her satchel. “I’m glad you’re not angry with me, Komoro-san.”
“Princess, why are you here?”
“I told you. I’m worried about you” Usagi stood, walking
towards him as she spoke, “In the past life we were--”
“You don’t know anything about the past life.”
Usagi lowered her gaze sadly, “What are you so afraid of?”
“Nothing. I think you should leave.”
“Are you feeling unwell again?”
Seiichi shrugged, suddenly anxious. If the Dark Kingdom
found him here with the Princess…
“Komoro-san---”
“Please, just go.”
Usagi shook her head and pouted, “No. I travelled all this
way to see you and I’m not even going to get an autograph. Do you treat all
your fans this badly?” she cracked a small smile after speaking.
Seiichi sighed, “An autograph?”
Usagi held out her notebook, “Can you sign it twice? One’s
for my friend, Naru, she’s in hospital at the moment.”
He agreed and hurriedly scribbled his signature down
twice. Usagi smiled happily and stuffed the notebook back into her bag.
“Thank you.”
She’s always smiling… even if I’m horrible to her.
“What?” Usagi cried, when she caught him staring at her.
“You have chocolate round your face.”
Her cheeks flooded bright red and she hurriedly scampered
into the adjourning bathroom. Seiichi glanced up at the clock. It was nearly
five and he was anxious to get her out of here as soon as possible. Picking up
the telephone he dialled room service with the intention of getting a taxi for
the Princess as quickly as possible.
The phone simply rang and rang so Seiichi hung up and
tried to call the studio instead. They could send a car for her… this line of
thought trailed off when he got nothing but static on the other end of the
phone. Slamming the phone down, Seiichi jumped up from his seat just as Usagi
came back from the bathroom.
“Better?” she asked, indicating her now clean face.
Seiichi didn’t reply and grabbed hold of her hand, pulling
her towards the door.
“Hey! What are you doing?” Usagi demanded as he started to
drag her down the corridor and to the stairs.
“You’ve got to get out of here.”
“I know! You’ve made it pretty clear that I’m not welcome,
but there’s no need to do this. Let me go, you’re hurting me!”
Seiichi did stop, and not because she had asked. As they
raced down the flight of stairs to the lobby Usagi ceased her protests. The
receptionist lay sprawled across her desk, frozen solid. Several other people
were at various places around the lobby, standing with their hands out in front
of them, silent terror depicted on their faces as they tried to shield
themselves from what had taken place here.
“What is this?” Usagi whispered. “Those poor people…”
Seiichi ignored her and ran to the front door. It was
frozen shut. He couldn’t open it. They were trapped.
******
Masaki walked slowly along the road towards the Okura lost
in his own thoughts. Tori had come back early this morning as he had predicted
and, again as he had predicted, Haru had been almost sickly nice to her,
promising that he would get help and that they could start over. A huge bunch
of red roses capped off this apology, but Masaki knew it would never last. Haru
always lied…
This didn’t make Masaki feel that much better. He had
debated calling into Crown on his way to the hotel, but, despite their recent
fighting, he was anxious to see how Seiichi was. Tetsuya said that the young
star didn’t get panic attacks. Perhaps Seiichi had managed to hide them from
him? Masaki wasn’t sure. In fact, he didn’t really know what he believed
anymore.
Still, he made no effort to disguise his shock when he
reached the hotel and found Mamoru approaching from the opposite direction.
“Konnichiwa, Mamoru-kun” he greeted him with less
enthusiasm than he would normally and Mamoru picked up on this.
With a slightly awkward smile he nodded towards the closed
hotel doors, “You were worried, too, right?”
Masaki shrugged, “He is our Prince. I was concerned,” he
allowed.
Mamoru smiled, “It sounds as though you got to know him
pretty well.”
“As I said, he’s the Prince” Masaki said, a little coldly.
Mamoru shrugged, “Suit yourself. We’ll go in together,
ne?”
Without waiting for consent, Mamoru took hold of one of
the door handles and pulled. The door refused to open. Frowning, their leader
tried the other door with similar results.
Masaki walked up to the door and peered through the glass,
thinking that he might be able to see any signs of people within the building.
The glass was misted over and reminded them both of condensation or a thin
layer of snow.
“I can’t see anything” Mamoru complained, “Do you think
the hotel is closed for maintenance or something?”
Masaki shrugged, “Seiichi-kun told me that unless he said
otherwise he would be staying here.”
“Then there’s something wrong” Mamoru decided. He pressed
a palm against the glass and shivered, “The door is cold. I don’t like it.”
“Shall we look for a back way in?”
Mamoru nodded, but handed Masaki his mobile phone, “I’ll
go and look. Call the others. I don’t like this.”
“But--” Masaki protested, knowing that this was Mamoru’s
way of trying to clear the air between him and the other kings, but this really
wasn’t the time or place. If Seiichi was in danger… Mamoru had now disappeared
around the side of the building and it looked as though Masaki didn’t have much
choice. Sighing, he quickly dialled Taro’s number. He just hoped his friends
weren’t too angry with him.
******
“Komoro-san” Usagi whispered as she gazed around the
frozen lobby. Her heart cried out when she saw the ice statues that had once
been living people. People with hopes and dreams… now gone. Who could do
something so terrible?
“Princess” she jumped slightly when Komoro-san called her,
“You must find a different way out. Come on, there isn’t much time.”
He’s protecting me, Usagi thought happily as
Komoro-san led her from the room and down another corridor. Perhaps he does
care after all…
Hurriedly, Usagi struggled to keep up and was glad when
the corridor finally ended at a fire exit. Komoro-san again tried the door and,
thankfully, it opened.
“Come on” he urged her, “Quickly.”
Usagi nodded and took a step towards the door and freedom.
Then she halted when she saw him turn away to go back the way he had come.
“Komoro-san?”
“Go. Quickly before the Youma arrives.”
“Youma? What? Aren’t you coming with me?”
“No.”
“Well” Usagi pouted, “If you’re going to stay and fight
you’ll need some help.”
“No. You must leave now. If they find you here with me…”
he trailed off, “Just go.”
“No” Usagi shook her head, “You helped me and Venus so I’m
going to stay and help you. We can fight--”
The door slammed, cutting Usagi off mid-sentence and she
darted back into Komoro-san before she even realised what she was doing. The
air started to swirl around them, becoming colder and when Usagi breathed she
could see her frightened breath in front of her face. Stalactites started to
grow on the ceiling and the floor began to ice up under their feet.
“Princess!” she heard Komoro-san shout and then she felt
herself being pulled aside, just as a razor sharp ice crystal flew past her
head and imbedded itself in the wall behind. Usagi gasped softly and looked
around, taking in the fact that he had saved her life again. She blushed
slightly when she also realised that she was huddled beside him and that
Komoro-san had his arms around her.
“T-thank you,” she stammered.
“Transform” Komoro-san commanded in a tone that matched
the iciness of the room and he released her and stepped aside so that she could
do as he asked.
“Moon prism power…” Usagi twirled her hands above her head
in her usual pose and felt the magical power of her locket and the Ginzuishou
inside begin to work… and then it stopped. The locket went dark, the light
fading from it.
“What? What is this?” Usagi cried, panicked, “Moon prism
power… make up!” she called again, but nothing happened.
“Komoro-san, I can’t transform--” she started, but trailed
off when she realised that he wasn’t either. As she stared he started to glow
white, signalling that the transformation was starting, but then, like Usagi’s
locket, the glow would fade leaving him standing as he always looked.
Usagi was now more than a little frightened and stumbled
over to his side once more. Her heart was thumping so loudly in her chest that
she was surprised that Komoro-san couldn’t hear it.
“Moon prism power… make up!” Usagi called out again, her
voice almost hoarse from fear and from shouting the familiar words.
“Princess, it’s no use” Komoro-san snapped, “Something is
blocking our powers. This is no Youma. You must leave… now!”
“But” Usagi shook her head, even as Komoro-san dragged her
towards the closed doorway, “You can’t fight like this either!”
“Idiot! It’s me they want!”
Usagi shrieked as a cloud of snow and mist started to
swirl in front of their eyes and she found herself being pulled back again,
away from this as a figure slowly appeared out of the cloud and took a form… a
form that Usagi recognised and sent shivers of dread down her spine.
“Beryl” Komoro-san whispered and the Queen of the Dark
Kingdom nodded, a smile forming on her lips as her eyes took in the pair of them.
“Zoisite, I have longed for this day since the beginning
of your kingdom and now it has finally arrived. The day when you will belong to
me and no one else. The day when I would finally make you my own.”
“I’ve told you before, I’d rather die than serve you”
Komoro-san shot back and Usagi could have sworn that she saw a flicker of
sadness in Beryl’s eyes before it was replaced with blazing anger. She raised a
hand and another crystal formed in her palm. Before Usagi could react, it was
hurled from the illusion, breaking through the mist and came flying towards
them. She cried out as it grazed Komoro-san’s shoulder, causing him to drop to
his knees in pain. A thin trickle of blood seeped from the slash in his jacket
that the blade had created. The blood splashed down onto the white floor and
became a stark contrast on this wintery landscape.
“You won’t die” Beryl hissed, “I won’t allow that. No one
can escape my dark winter. You will tire soon enough and when you do…” her gaze
now locked on Usagi, even as Komoro-san stood again and pushed the pigtailed
girl behind him, “Princess… you will now know the humiliation of losing the man
you love. You will know how it feels to have him snatched from your side…”
Usagi didn’t hear anymore of this. Komoro-san grabbed her
hand and ran, pulling her along with him even as Beryl screamed after them:
“You can’t escape me this time! Your guardians cannot get
in and you cannot get out! It is over!”
It is over, Usagi thought numbly, it is
over and it’s all my fault…
******
“This past life is all that matters. My life in this world
is meaningless. Why else do you think I kept my identity a secret for so long?
I was trying to protect our planet. If Queen Beryl finds out who I am then we
will all suffer for it. The Shitennou are the guardians of Earth along with the
Prince. The Princess destroyed the planet in the past life because of Beryl and
what she did.”
“I will consider your words. You speak passionately about
the mission, but your motives are still unclear.”
Kisho was surprised when Masaki called him. He hadn’t
expected to hear from the younger man for at least a week after the revelation
that Masaki had been keeping Zoisite’s identity from them came to light. Still,
despite the secrets, Kisho was not angry with him, as he grudgingly reassured
his friend. In fact he was almost sorry that Masaki had to be placed in that
situation to start with.
“We can’t get into the hotel,” Masaki had said, referring
to the reason he had called, “Will you come?”
“Of course” Kisho had replied, “He is still our Prince.”
This was true, Kisho knew. Their mission had been to find
their Master and now he was in danger and, as the strongest of the Shitennou,
Kisho knew he would protect him, despite the differences that separated them.
Transforming now, as he reached the hotel, Kunzite saw
Nephrite waiting for him around the front of the building. The streets were
silent. Not even pigeons dotted the landscape. Kunzite didn’t like this. He
didn’t like this one bit.
“Jadeite and Tuxedo Kamen are looking for another way
inside” Nephrite filled him in on the situation as he led him around the side
of the hotel.
“Why not simply teleport in?”
“We can’t. Something is blocking our powers.”
“I see” Kunzite nodded, detecting the increasing alarm in
his friend’s voice as he spoke. “And Komoro-san is inside?”
Nephrite nodded, “And the Princess. Luna and Artemis are
here, too.”
Kunzite cursed under his breath as they joined the others.
Jadeite and Tuxedo Kamen were struggling to force open a side door that must
lead into the hotel’s kitchens whilst both plushies looked on anxiously, though
they stopped with the arrival of the other two kings.
“It is no use. Something’s jamming all the doors shut”
Tuxedo Kamen stated, the defeat clear in his voice.
Kunzite ignored him and stepped up to the door. He could
see a faint outline of ice surrounding the doorframe and lock.
“Nephrite” he called, and when the red haired king stepped
up beside him, Kunzite indicated the door with hand. The other king understood
and hurriedly pressed a palm against the glass. His hand glowed bright red as
he willed his magics to flow into the door. The glass panelling groaned under
this heat and, after several minutes, gave way.
Kunzite hurried inside. The first thing that shocked him
about the kitchens was not that they were coated with a thick layer of ice, or
even the bitter coldness that this wintery landscape brought about. As Kunzite
stepped inside, he suddenly felt drained of his energy. He gasped at the
dizzying fatigue that overtook his body as he fell to his knees.
“Kunzite!” he dimly heard Tuxedo Kamen shouting and then
he felt the other man at his side.
Forcing his eyes open once more, Kunzite looked shakily
around him and saw Taro and Masaki, de-transformed and lying beside him. Mamoru
was knelt in front of them, in his normal form once more.
“What is this? My powers…” Kisho trailed off as he
struggled to force his transformation and found that not even the slightest
trickle of magics would come forth to aid him.
Mamoru helped him to his feet and then turned to Masaki
and Taro. “Daijobu?” he asked, seeking assurances from the other two men that
they were fine.
“This…” Taro whispered, “It feels familiar.”
“I know” Kisho replied darkly, sensing the evil surged
through the very fabrics of the building and caused him to shudder. “Mamoru, if
we cannot transform here…”
“Usagi-chan” Luna whimpered, and Artemis ran to her side,
nuzzling her in an act of compassion.
Kisho ignored the cats and took the lead, stepping out of
the kitchen. As he did so a scream cut through the silence of the hotel.
“Usagi-chan!” Luna cried, just as Kisho heard Mamoru
whispered the Princess’s name.
Both plushies took off down the corridor and Mamoru
started after them.
“Mamoru!” Kisho shouted after him. If they became
separated… but Masaki and Taro had also ran after their leader. Kisho cursed
under his breath and followed them. He was almost certain that they were racing
into a trap.
*****
Seiichi ran, practically dragging Usagi with him as
Beryl’s laughter echoed all around them. He ignored this and the aching pain in
his shoulder.
Seiichi had thought that it would be a relief when Beryl
finally made a move against him, but it was not. As much as he hated to admit
it, he was afraid. Her voice drove tiny stabs of terror into his heart and he
dreaded to imagine what would happen if she did succeed in catching him alive.
Usagi shirked, stumbling over her own feet as he increased
his pace and she fell, almost pulling Seiichi down with her.
“Princess” he hissed, his breath coming out in shaky gasps
as he fought to regain some control of the cracking tenor of his voice, “Get
up.”
“Why are you helping me?” she asked, her eyes downcast and
saddened as she spoke.
Seiichi didn’t reply, he couldn’t reply.
Usagi stood, shakily, as she cradled her transformation
locket in the palm of her hand, “Why won’t it work? My powers have never failed
me like this before. I don’t understand…”
“Queen Beryl is far more powerful than you, as Sailor
Moon, could ever be” Seiichi snapped, a little coldly, but he was past caring
about being polite.
“As Sailor Moon” Usagi repeated, opening the locket to
stare down at the Ginzuishou. The crystal shimmered in the light and Seiichi
could almost feel its power from where he was standing, “As Sailor Moon” Usagi
said again, reaching to take the stone in her hand.
“No” he surprised them both by racing to her side,
knocking the locket from her hand. Usagi winced as it fell to the ground,
clattering loudly on the icy floor.
“I don’t understand… the Ginzuishou could defeat her…”
“This” Seiichi shouted, picking up her locket and dangling
it in front of the Princess’s face, “This destroyed our planet. Are you so
foolish to think that you could control its power? You are only a child!”