Earth
Guardian Prince Endymion
By Senshi
of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi
Act Twenty Four Recap:
(Usagi’s POV)
Civilians were running from the Dark Senshi and those who were too slow had already collapsed, their energy stolen. Usagi felt her heart clench at the sight, though a part of her was amazed that the television studio had continued to record throughout this. Then the camera swung back to the stage, just in time to see it collapse. Usagi gasped softly even as the camera cut and switched to a studio reporter.
“Hina!” Mamoru-baka repeated and jumped up from his seat.
“Where are you going?” Usagi called after him as he raced
towards the door.
“To find Hina!” he called over his shoulder before
disappearing outside.
When the Dark Kingdom targeted the last day of the Cherry
Blossom viewing Chiba Mamoru’s fiancée, Hina, was attacked.
“Usagi…” he began, but found himself at a loss for words.
She looked up, her eyes meeting his own as she reached out
with a trembling hand and touched the white mask across his eyes.
For what seemed like an age, she simply kept her hand on
this, as though seeking permission from the man before her.
Tuxedo Kamen simply waited. His heart was pounding so hard
in his chest that it hurt and he could do nothing but return her gaze as,
slowly, she pulled the mask away.
Chiba Mamoru was Tuxedo Kamen? I know I had, had my
suspicions, but to have it confirmed. My heart was broken. He has a fiancée.
Hina-san is so beautiful and I can’t compare in the slightest!
Tuxedo Kamen braced himself, subconsciously wrapping an
arm around Sailor Moon’s shoulders and once again preparing to shield her from
the worst of the attack.
Still… he continues to save me and I don’t even understand
why. He’s so cold, but when he’s Tuxedo Kamen it is different somehow. It is as
though I know him from another lifetime…
Venus, realising that they had gone, sank fully to the
ground, her weapon clattering lifeless at her side as another scream shook the
night air.
“No!” Sailor Moon cried, roughly pushing between Tuxedo
Kamen and Zoisite to reach the Dark Senshi’s side. “Venus!” she cried miserably
as she knelt down beside her, gently rolling her onto her back and brushing
some of her hair from her eyes.
“I’m sorry…” Sailor Moon whispered brokenly, “I couldn’t
save you…”
The Senshi were my allies, too, in another life. Now Venus
is dead and it is all because I wasn’t strong enough to save her. I can’t do
this anymore… I just can’t!
*******
Act Twenty-Five:
Venus, realising that they had gone, sank fully to the
ground, her weapon clattering lifeless at her side as another scream shook the
night air.
“No!” Sailor Moon cried, roughly pushing between Tuxedo
Kamen and Zoisite to reach the Dark Senshi’s side. “Venus!” she cried miserably
as she knelt down beside her, gently rolling her onto her back and brushing
some of her hair from her eyes.
Venus stared up at her with a mixture of understanding and
calm. “Sailor Moon?”
“I’m sorry…” Sailor Moon whispered brokenly, “I couldn’t
save you…”
“Daijobu…” Venus smiled slightly as her eyes slid closed.
“Venus?” Sailor Moon placed a trembling hand on her
shoulder and shook her. Nothing. She was gone.
Tuxedo Kamen turned to Zoisite, not sure what to do next
and saw that his Prince had not taken his eyes off of the fallen enemy.
Following his gaze, Tuxedo Kamen gasped softly as the aura surrounding Sailor
Moon and Dark Venus began to glow…
******
Sailor Moon couldn’t breathe. It was as though someone was
sitting on her chest and crushing the air from her lungs. She could only stare
helplessly down at the fallen Dark Senshi, tears welling up in her eyes at the
realisation that she had failed her.
Her mission was to free the Senshi and this was what she
had achieved. Had she been stronger… Sailor Moon bowed her head as tears
dripped from her eyes and onto the pale cheek of the Dark Senshi.
Venus was training, as were her fellow Senshi. Her love-me
chain struck its wooden target many a time and from different angles. Mars was
to her left and Mercury to her right and Jupiter beyond her. They were
surrounded by beautiful gardens and rolling hills. The sun shone down brightly
upon them and illuminated the atmosphere in a warm and comforting glow. Venus
paused, wiping the sweat from her brow as she sensed the presence of another
person behind her. She whirled around, holding her chain in one hand as a
weapon and looked up to meet Serenity’s approving gaze.
The Princess smiled dutifully as the other Senshi turned
to acknowledge her presence.
“Princess, you startled me,” Venus admitted when Serenity
asked her if she had done so.
“You train for so long” Serenity commented, “Why not come
back inside and greet our guests?”
Venus shook her head and Serenity noted that her eyes
narrowed ever so slightly at the mention of these unwanted visitors.
“The threat of Metallia draws ever closer” Venus replied,
quietly and without much feeling, “We must keep up our strength if we are to
defend our kingdom.”
Serenity nodded sadly, “I understand. The Prince of Earth
said that his guardians also are--”
“Princess” Venus cut her off mid-sentence and Serenity
winced as her protector started to give her the same speech as before. “You mustn’t
get too close to the Prince of Earth. To do so would result in…
Consequences beyond my imagination…”
Sailor Moon whispered as she opened her eyes. She suddenly felt calm as she
climbed to her feet, her Sailor fuku glowing white for a second and then simply
disappearing to be replaced by a beautiful white gown. She knew this well as
she knew what Venus would have told her.
“I am… Serenity” Sailor Moon whispered,
her gaze falling upon Venus once more.
“Sailor… Venus… the leader of the Sailor
Senshi… My Senshi…”
“Sailor Moon… she has awakened…” she
heard Luna gasp, but Serenity ignored her as she focused upon the fallen Senshi
before her. Her eyes closed once more as a silver light pulsed out from her
being and engulfed everything…
******
Deep in her Queen’s chambers, Beryl felt
something shift. A new power was awakening… Metallia was growing stronger… it
could only mean one thing… the illusionary Ginzuishou’s shine!
*******
Tuxedo Kamen was momentarily blinded by
the white light that seemed to be coming directly from Sailor Moon. He shielded
himself as best he could with his cape and took a hesitant step forward at the
same time. What was this? Sailor Moon… Princess Serenity…
As his eyes gradually adjusted to the
brightness, Tuxedo Kamen lowered his cape once more, almost desperate to see
what fate had befallen the Senshi of love and justice. His heart hammered
loudly in his chest as he took in the scene before him. Kunzite, Jadeite and Nephrite
stood a little way away, all seemed unable to move as their gazes locked upon
Sailor Moon’s form. Jadeite and Nephrite appeared to be stunned by this
unprecedented event, whilst Kunzite glared, almost hatefully, at the girl.
This made Tuxedo Kamen uncomfortable and
he looked away, his gaze now focusing on Zoisite-sama. His Prince stood to his
left, he too was shielding himself with his cape, but looked anything but
surprised at the events that had unfolded before their very eyes.
He knew… Tuxedo Kamen realised and he felt
a flicker of annoyance at this fact. Why hadn’t Zoisite-sama said anything?
Still, he didn’t have time for such
thoughts. Averting his gaze once more, Tuxedo Kamen now stared fully at Sailor
Moon. No, Princess Serenity, he reminded himself. So beautiful… so pure… He bit
his lip in dismay at these thoughts. He loved Hina… or so he tried telling
himself and if Sailor Moon was the Princess… he cast another glance at
Zoisite-sama. Then that meant…
“The Ginzuishou” Kunzite’s words
distracted him from such thoughts and Tuxedo Kamen gasped again at the
shimmering jewel hovering in front of Serenity. Tears were still wet on her
cheeks as the stone took a form and the glow seemed to engulf the fallen Dark
Senshi for a moment until it cleared and Venus slowly opened her eyes.
“Sailor Moon…?”
“Daijobu?”
Venus nodded slowly and Serenity smiled
even as she whispered, “I’m glad…”
The leader of the Dark Senshi did not
seem to know what to make of this and simply nodded mutely keeping her eyes
focused on her former enemy the entire time.
“Princess!” Kunzite snapped, cutting
through the suddenly calm atmosphere as he pointed the tip of his sword in her
direction. Serenity looked around, her eyes narrowing slightly and for some
reason this caused a chill to shudder down Tuxedo Kamen’s spine. If Kunzite
angered her…
“Leave it” Nephrite urged quietly as
Kunzite took a step in Serenity’s direction. Annoyed, the older man shrugged
off Nephrite’s restraining hand and raised his weapon once again.
“Princess, surrender the Ginzuishou
unless you wish to see her die again” he indicated Dark Venus as he spoke.
Tuxedo Kamen was horrified at these
words. What was Kunzite doing? This wasn’t like him… was it?
Serenity stood, carefully, and as she
did so the Ginzuishou disappeared. She smiled shyly at Kunzite before taking a
tentative step in Tuxedo Kamen’s direction, holding out a hand as she continued
to walk towards him.
Tuxedo Kamen could only stare at her,
watching her drawing nearer as one hand rose to his face to pull his mask away.
“Princess…” he whispered, placing his
free hand on his forehead as a sharp pain gripped him. He hissed softly in
agony and staggered slightly.
“You must listen to me! The Princess will only bring
destruction down upon this world! Using that, Metallia will…”
“Princess…
All of this… how many more will suffer? Jadeite, Nephrite, your own people!
When will it end?”
“Are you Usagi-chan’s boyfriend?”
“No. I just gave her a lift here.”
“Princess…” Tuxedo Kamen whispered, his
aching mind struggling to grasp those hazed visions, but then they escaped him
and became nothing more than a hazed memory of what had been…
“Mamoru!” he heard one of the others cry
out, he wasn’t sure which one, but then the pain stopped.
Tuxedo Kamen looked up to see his Prince
standing before him, his hand clasped tightly around Serenity’s own.
The Prince and the Princess were lovers. It was their love
that destroyed the planet…
“Zoisite-sama--” he was cut off as
Jadeite and Nephrite hurried to his side whilst Kunzite remained where he was,
his gaze locked on that of Serenity’s. Tuxedo Kamen winced as he saw the hatred
burning in his friend’s eyes.
“Princess” Zoisite-sama whispered, and
then in a louder voice, “Usagi…”
Serenity paused, her gaze lowering to
Zoisite’s hand, which was still tightly clutched around her own.
“The Prince…” she murmured softly and
slowly Zoisite released her. They stared at each other for a moment and then
Serenity glowed white. Blinded again by the intenseness of the glow, Tuxedo
Kamen blinked and when he was able to look back he saw Tsukino Usagi standing
before them once more. She met his gaze and then her eyes slid closed. She
would have fallen had Tuxedo Kamen not raced forward and caught her before she
hit the ground.
Usagi…
*****
“The Prince…”
Zoisite watched Tuxedo Kamen catch
Serenity as she fell and the masked man gently lowered her to the ground as she
de-transformed and became Tsukino Usagi once more. The Princess had awakened
and the Ginzuishou had appeared. Zoisite knew it wouldn’t be long before Beryl
heard of it, if she didn’t know already. His gaze flickered to Venus, still
lying helpless before them.
“No” Tuxedo Kamen snapped when both
Zoisite and Kunzite took a step in her direction. “Let her live.”
“But she knows who the Princess is”
Kunzite protested, but stepped back, content to heed Tuxedo Kamen’s words.
Zoisite, too, decided to yield to this
request, much to the others shock. “She was once a guardian, too” he allowed
though he did not entirely agree with the wisdom of Tuxedo Kamen’s decision.
Venus, as he said these words, stumbled
to her feet. Her gaze wandered to Zoisite and then the fallen form of Tsukino
Usagi with Tuxedo Kamen leaning over her. Then, without another word, she
teleported away.
As she left it was as though a spell had
been broken. Jadeite hurried to Tuxedo Kamen’s side and tried to pull him away.
“Get away from her” he snapped, and when the other man asked why, Jadeite
replied in a softer voice, “I don’t know.”
“She’s only a child, really” Tuxedo
Kamen pointed out, “And she needs help.”
“That child” Kunzite indicated her with the hilt of his sword, “Helped
destroy the planet”.
“Leave her alone!” Luna cried, reminding
the kings and Prince of her presence and she raced to Usagi’s side. “She is not
alone in blame” the plushie glared at Zoisite as she spoke and suddenly all
eyes were on him.
“Is that true?” Tuxedo Kamen asked, “Did
your love destroy the planet?”
Zoisite hesitated, unsure of what to say
and then finally settled for an almost inaudible ‘yes’.
“Did you know that Sailor Moon was the
Princess?” Tuxedo Kamen continued.
Again Zoisite hesitated before replying:
“Yes.”
“But he was hoping that she didn’t know
that” Nephrite quipped, earning a couple of glares from his fellow kings as he
did so.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Jadeite wanted
to know, taking a step towards his Prince as he did so.
“What would you have done if you had
known?”
None of them had an answer to that.
Zoisite had lost count of the number of times he had thought of raising a hand
against the Princess whilst she was helpless, yet he had done nothing. How
could he? How could he harm a young girl?
She is not innocent he struggled
to remind himself she is capable of more destruction than even Metallia can
bring forth. She must be dealt with.
Tuxedo Kamen was still staring warily at
him and Zoisite realised that he would not be allowed to hurt Tsukino Usagi
even if he wanted to and to do so would be a foolhardy move as the Shitennou
were fast losing any respect they had for him.
“What now?” Tuxedo Kamen wondered, more
to himself than the others, but Jadeite and Nephrite looked at Zoisite anyway.
“Take her home” he nodded towards Usagi,
“She needs to rest.”
“What about the Ginzuishou?” Kunzite
demanded, “We can’t leave it with her!”
“We don’t know where it went” Zoisite
replied, “Take her home before Beryl sends Youma to finish her off.”
“Why don’t you?” Kunzite challenged,
“You are the Prince.”
Zoisite did not have any answers to this
so chose to say nothing. He invoked a teleport before they could stop him, just
hoping that they would do as he asked. Still, Zoisite didn’t even know if it
was the right decision.
Confused, he decided to go to the
hospital and see Tetsuya, thus his teleport taking him straight to the room
where his manager was being kept in over night. As it was night there were few
nurses on duty so the chances of him teleporting into the room when someone was
in there were remote. Still, he was a little wary when he did appear in the
room and waited a few moments before de-transforming.
Tetsuya had been asleep when Seiichi
arrived in the room, but must have sensed something as he awoke as soon as
Seiichi’s de-transformation was complete.
“You don’t understand.”
“I do”
“No, you don’t.”
“Don’t I, Zoisite?”
“Seiichi-kun?” he called out softly,
though he couldn’t have been able to see who it was in the dark. Seiichi
replied, keeping his voice low so as not to cause any nurses to come into the
room. The last thing he needed was to explain his presence in a hospital well
after visiting hours.
“I thought it was you” Tetsuya replied,
“Are you okay?”
He must have a sense for magical powers,
Seiichi thought. He had only ever met one other person who could sense who he
truly was and she… he snapped off this line of thought and replied to Tetsuya’s
question with:
“I just wanted to see how you were.”
“This late? Seiichi-kun, visiting hours
are over. Did something happen?”
By ‘something’ Seiichi knew that Tetsuya
meant his true life.
“No. I don’t want to talk about it.”
Tetsuya accepted this and wanted to know
if all the CDs had been signed.
“Some” Seiichi was glad of a change of
topic, “I’ll get the studio to send them out tomorrow. They have all the names
and addresses.”
“You sound tired. You should go back to
the hotel.”
“I’m fine.”
“You have that television interview
first thing, remember?”
“I had forgotten.”
Tetsuya laughed, “The sooner I get out
of here the better. I am told it will be another couple of days and then I have
to take things easy. I was going to ask if you want me to get a temporary agent
to cover for me as you obviously need someone to remind you of these things.”
“No” the last thing Seiichi needed was
someone else to lie to.
“Okay” Tetsuya sighed, “Will you drop by
tomorrow and let me know how the interview went?”
Seiichi agreed that he would and
transformed again to teleport back to the Okura. When he arrived back there Artemis was waiting for him.
“So” he said, “The Princess has
awakened.”
Seiichi nodded wearily and sat down on
the bed as the plushie raced over to him, the pain in his eyes saying more than
words ever could.
“Venus still lives” Seiichi assured him,
answering this silent question, “The Princess healed her.”
“Where is Sailor Moon now?”
“Mamoru-san is taking her home.”
“Mamoru? What were you thinking of? You should go back there! Mamoru
must not be alone with--”
“I know that! What else could I do? They
wouldn’t have let me near her!”
“You could have told one of the others
to take her home” Artemis pointed out reproachfully.
Seiichi sighed, knowing that what the
cat said was true. He didn’t quite understand his actions himself. He had been
prepared for Sailor Moon’s awakening and had even debated killing her before
she could complete her transformation into Serenity, but when it actually
happened he had found that he couldn’t do anything. His loyalty to Mamoru had
prevented him from completing the mission and Seiichi hated himself for it.
“Seiichi?” Artemis called as he turned
away, the concern clear in his voice. “You didn’t hurt her… I was afraid you
would… I’m glad.”
“I should have killed her. She will
destroy us all.”
Artemis shook his head, “You can’t.”
“If I recall correctly our deal included
the safety of Venus and not the Princess.”
“Usagi is my Princess.”
“And Mamoru is--. Look” Seiichi snapped,
“I made some mistakes today because the Shitennou do not trust me enough to let
me decide what is best for all of them.”
Artemis sighed and hurried out of the
room. Once he was gone, Seiichi sat down on the bed to ponder his actions of
today. He had messed up and they both knew it.
But the fact remained that the Princess had awakened and was very much alive.
More importantly she had the Ginzuishou and Seiichi knew he would do whatever
it took to take the Ginzuishou from her.
******
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…
“So” Beryl said coldly, struggling to
keep her emotions muted somewhat below the surface as she addressed the
remaining Senshi before her. Mercury and Jupiter appeared shaken at the death
of their leader, though Mars seemed pleased at this turn of events.
Beryl was no fool. She knew that Mars
had aspirations of leadership and she also knew that it was one thing that she
could never allow. The Senshi were all fools and she had been mistaken to trust
them for this long. The only person that Beryl could count upon was Metallia.
The Senshi were the pawns in her plans and nothing more. They would continue to
fail and the Shitennou would grow stronger. They had failed to harvest energy,
they had failed to bring her the Ginzuishou, they had failed to destroy the
Princess and they had failed to bring Beryl her Prince!
“The Ginzuishou’s shine has helped feed
Metallia’s powers. She grows stronger by the day and Metallia’s strength will
grow with her.”
The Senshi did not reply. Beryl knew
that they were waiting for her to choose a successor to Venus. Of course, Beryl
was well aware that the Senshi of unrequited love and vanity was still alive.
She knew that the Ginzuishou had healed her. Venus still had a part to play,
but not as the leader of the Senshi. It was almost time for Beryl’s shadow to
awaken to her true purpose.
Regardless of what Beryl had said about
the Princess feeding Metallia’s powers, the true strength lay in the
Ginzuishou. The Ginzuishou was vital for the Dark Kingdom’s triumph. This time
there could be no failures.
******
“What now?”
“Take her home. She needs to rest.”
“What about the Ginzuishou? We can’t leave it with her!”
“We don’t know where it went. Take her home before Beryl
sends Youma to finish her off.”
“Why don’t you? You are the Prince.”
An uncomfortable silence followed
Zoisite-sama’s departure and for what seemed like an age all Tuxedo Kamen could
do was stare down at the unconscious form of Tsukino Usagi whilst he debated
his Master’s orders.
He could feel the hostility towards her
radiating from the other Tennou and this caused Tuxedo Kamen some anger. She
was only a girl! No matter what Zoisite-sama or Kunzite said, she was still
Tsukino Usagi. She was still the bubbly, clumsy and happy-go-lucky teenager
that Tuxedo Kamen had grown deeply fond of.
“What now?” Nephrite was the first of
them to break the uneasy silence. His voice was quiet, though his anger was
clearly readable. They were all disappointed with Zoisite-sama, Tuxedo Kamen
realised and he promptly stood, de-transforming as he did so.
“We do as he said” Mamoru replied to
Nephrite’s questioning. “I’ll take her home.”
“Wait” Kisho, also de-transformed,
stepped forward, grabbing a hold of Mamoru’s arm as he knelt down beside Usagi
once more.
“Where did the Ginzuishou go?”
“I don’t know.”
“She must have it.”
“Leave her alone!” this was Luna again
as she raced between Kisho and her Princess.
“He won’t hurt her” Mamoru assured the
plushie, “We’ll take her home, that is all.”
Luna was silent for a few minutes,
debating this and then, deciding that Mamoru was going to honour his word, she
stepped away.
Gently, Mamoru knelt down and scooped
Usagi up in his arms. She was so light, he thought with some amusement,
considering all the sweets she ate. As he did this, she started to stir, though
Mamoru pretended not to notice and started to walk away.
His friends let him go, either stunned
by his compassion or angered that he would choose to heed Zoisite-sama’s
orders, Mamoru did not know.
He felt Usagi tentatively wrap her arms
around him, her head pressing against his cheek. She was offering no
resistance, though one hand now tightly grasped her transformation locket.
“I won’t hurt you” Mamoru said, a little
coldly, “Despite what you are.”
Usagi nodded and relaxed against him,
her head raised slightly to meet his gaze. Mamoru could see the trust in her
eyes, burning with something else… something that they both recognised but were
afraid to admit to.
******
Luna, despite her fears for Usagi, did
not go with Mamoru when he took her Princess back home. The plushie was in
shock. Even though she had known who Usagi truly was from the beginning, she
hadn’t realised that her awakening would happen so quickly. She really cared
for the Senshi, Luna knew and the cat also knew that this would bring her
nothing but pain and would lead to her ruin.
This was why, when Mamoru left with
Usagi and the remaining Tennou also left the scene, each going his separate
way, Luna did not follow her Princess and, instead, took a very different
route.
When she arrived at her destination, she
found him sitting outside the hotel staring up at a window near the top floor.
Luna knew whose hotel room that was. She had been there many times, when he
thought that he was alone. The Okura.
“Artemis” Luna purred softly in a
greeting and couldn’t help but nuzzle him gently, like a real cat, as she
stepped up to him. Artemis returned this affection, before his bitter
countenance was set firmly back into place, but not before he offered a soft
reply, filled with affection: “Luna.”
“It has been a long time,” the black
plushie stated.
“Too long” Artemis agreed sadly, “I
missed you, Luna.”
“And I you.”
“So” he said, breaking the familiarity
with words tingling with bitterness, “The Princess has awakened and has
obtained the Ginzuishou?”
“Usagi-chan has awakened, yes, and guards the Ginzuishou.”
“Luna--”
“Come home, Artemis. Believe in
Usagi-chan.”
He shook his head, “The Princess is
strong… she destroyed the world before. She allowed Venus to--”
“Venus will be saved. Usagi will save
her!”
“She will fail. The Princess’s heart and
love for the Prince will overcome her.”
“Stop this! You are a guardian, too.
You’re place is with our Princess. Why must you force me to fight you?”
Artemis smiled bitterly, but offered no
reply.
Luna bit her lip, “So instead you will
side with our enemy? Zoisite will kill Usagi if he gets a chance and you and I
both know it! You must come back with me and help protect our Princess!”
“My mission is the same as yours; to
protect this world and I am serving the cause as best I can. You know my true
loyalty always lay with Venus! As much as I loved Serenity, what Venus and I
had--” Artemis broke off and added in a quieter voice, “And you’re wrong about
Seiichi. He won’t hurt the Princess.”
Luna gasped softly, seeing for the first
time what she had been blind to from the beginning. “You’ve grown fond of him,
haven’t you?”
“No” Artemis snapped, “Seiichi and I
have an agreement! He will help me free Venus and in return…” he broke off and
hissed angrily, “You know how much I hate the Shitennou.”
Luna nodded, “You used to. I could see
the loathing in your eyes when you looked at him. Now that loathing has gone.
You used to call him Zoisite and now he’s Seiichi to you. You see him as your
responsibility as I do Usagi, whether you care to admit it or not.”
Artemis turned away, seemingly angered
that Luna would realise what he had been denying for so long, thus confirming
her suspicions. Artemis would not help her protect the Princess, not if his
loyalties now lay with the man who wanted to kill Serenity.
“I won’t help him” Artemis said at
length, though his words sounded hollow to Luna’s ears, “If he decides to take
the Ginzuishou then I shall not aide him, but I will not help Usagi, either.”
“So, I am right after all?”
“What do you want me to do, Luna? My
paws are tied! I made a deal with him and I fully intend to honour my side of
the bargain as he has his.”
“He didn’t protect Venus from Kunzite’s
sword” Luna pointed out angrily, “He has already broken his promise.”
“That wasn’t his fault and Venus lives.
The Ginzuishou healed her.”
“Then there is nothing more to say.”
Luna turned away, but Artemis shouted
after her, “You don’t know what it feels like to see your friend fighting for
the wrong side, watching her serving the enemy that we had once fought against!
You don’t know what it is like to lose your best friend!”
But I do, Artemis, I do…
******
When Mamoru reached Usagi’s home, Usagi
was horrified to find that Ikuko had waited up for her and her mother was
greatly distressed by her daughter’s disappearance. Needless to say, when
Mamoru turned up on the doorstep with a semi-conscious Usagi in his arms, Ikuko
fussed all over him, after making sure that her daughter was safely tucked up
in bed with a mug of hot chocolate.
Usagi deeply regretted worrying her
mother and knew that once the shock had worn off, that Ikuko would punish her
and she deserved to be.
“No! Venus!”
“Sailor Moon?”
“I’m sorry… I couldn’t save you…”
“Daijobu…”
“Venus?”
“Usagi-chan?” Luna whispered, as she
climbed through the partly opened window and jumped down onto her charge’s bed.
“Luna” Usagi smiled slightly, setting
down her mug to pet her guardian with one hand.
“Usagi-chan… Princess Serenity…”
Usagi lowered her gaze, “Did you know?”
“Yes” Luna admitted.
“How much more do you know that you are
not telling me?”
“Mostly everything vital for the success
of the mission.”
“Why didn’t you tell me I was a
Princess?”
“When I first met you, you were so
against the mission. How could I drop that on you too? What kind of friend
would I be if I did that?”
“Friend?” Usagi repeated, uncertainly.
Luna nodded, “The Guardian Cats were
always a friend to the Princess and her Senshi. Since the time of the Silver
Millennium we have stood side by side.”
“I see” Usagi whispered, “Then why is
Artemis--?”
“Artemis has his own agenda” Luna said,
speaking a little coldly of her fellow guardian, “He made his choice a long
time ago.”
“A Princess…” Usagi murmured. Then at
least it explains my dreams…
She shivered slightly at the cold look
that Zoisite had given her. He was the Prince and together they had destroyed
the planet.
No, our love destroyed the planet, Usagi reminded herself.
It was always dark in them so Usagi could never see the
man’s face. Sometimes they were walking hand in hand across a meadow, laughing
happily together and sitting down on the grass to simply enjoy each other’s
company. Sometimes they were walking down a moonlit beach, always together and
always hand in hand.
Then the dream would shatter as though a breaking mirror.
Usagi’s hand would be torn from his own and she would find herself surrounded
by flames. She tried calling out to him on several occasions, but she did not
recall his name.
“Zoisite… Tuxedo Kamen…” Usagi whispered
bitterly. It was obvious with whom her heart truly lay…
“Usagi-chan! Please!” Luna cried out in
anguish, “For the sake of the planet! Stay away from the Prince and Tuxedo
Kamen!”
“For the fate of the planet” Usagi
echoed.
For then it is true… all love ever brings you is despair.
Slowly she unfastened her transformation
locket and cupped it in a hand. With the other she slowly undid the golden
clasp and it snapped open to reveal, set inside, a shimmering silver stone…
Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter… this will now be my
mission… I shall set you free again… My guardians will be returned to me… no
matter what the cost…
******
Act Twenty Six Preview:
“Brave words, Sailor Moon”
Usagi jumped slightly, whirling around to face the source
of the voice and her heart clenched when she recognised the figure standing
before her.
“Dark Jupiter…”
“You may have fooled Venus with your trickery, but I am
different. Queen Beryl wants the Ginzuishou.”
“No… Jupiter… we’re friends! You are supposed to protect
me!”
“I serve Metallia-sama and the Dark Kingdom now and my
Queen needs the Ginzuishou.”
~~~~~
“I see” Mamoru nodded and then added in a louder voice,
“What is this all about? I thought we agreed to take a few days to get our
heads around what happened?”
“You agreed.” Kisho pointed out, “We didn’t.”
“Kisho, I don’t want to fall out with you over this”
Mamoru stated softly, “But I won’t hurt Usagi.”
~~~~
“Why are you here?” he demanded at last, trying to keep
his voice neutral.
“I don’t know” she admitted, “I worry about you.”
“About me? Why?”
Mercury bit her lip and looked away, a blush spreading
slowly across her cheeks as she spoke, “I don’t know.”
~~~~
“Youma!” Usagi heard Jupiter command, “Bring me the
Ginzuishou and kill Sailor Moon.”
~~~~
“I know it isn’t easy… being alone.”