Earth Guardian Prince Endymion
By Senshi of Ruin and Mizu no Senshi
Act One Recap:
“All life on this planet has no purpose but to give their
energy to the Great Ruler. Their existence is meaningless.”
“Meaningless?” Mamoru repeated, “Motoki?”
The black haired man took a step back, not liking the look
in his friend’s eyes.
“Even you” Motoki explained, “You, too, shall sacrifice
your energy.”
Outwardly, Chiba Mamoru is a typical college student
studying to be a doctor, but lately he has been having dreams about the
illusionary Ginzuishou. Mamoru struggled to forget about them, but when a Dark
Kingdom Youma possessed his friend, Motoki, Mamoru awakened as Tuxedo Kamen, a
masked hero with a desire to fight against the Dark Kingdom and find the
Ginzuishou.
A beautiful heroine named Sailor Moon also joined Mamoru
in his fight, a fight that Mamoru does not wish to be a part of. Will he change
his mind and embrace his destiny or will Sailor Moon be doomed to fight alone?
******
Act Two:
“Tuxedo Kamen? Sailor Moon?”
Dark Mercury trembled as the red haired Queen repeated the
name of the foes that had bested her energy-harvesting plan at the local
karaoke parlour. She knelt awkwardly on the cold, stone floor of the Dark
Kingdom, her neck craned upwards so that her gaze was directly at Beryl’s chin.
She knew better than to look Beryl in the eyes. No one who had dared do that
had ever lived.
The Queen took a
purposeful step forward, her purple dress rustling as she moved, her fingertips
scratching at the white crystal set upon her dais. Her face set in a frown and
Mercury waited for the impending explosion. Beryl did not take kindly to those
who ruined her minion’s plans. The ever-volatile red haired Queen had been
furious to learn of one enemy and now that two more had appeared… Mercury
shook, despite herself. She would not like this…
“Continue with the gathering of energy” Beryl’s response
shocked her and for a moment all Mercury could do was stare. Continue with the
mission? What of the enemies?
“We shall test them” was the explanation offered, “We
shall see if they are truly worthy opponents. Kill them if you get the chance.”
Of course, Beryl was a master strategist, after all and
Mercury voiced her agreement to this plan and quickly hurried from the room.
Despite her many faults, Beryl knew what she was doing and that was why Mercury
served her.
The Great Ruler needed energy and she knew a perfect place
to obtain this. Mercury smiled, it would be a test and her foes would fail.
Soon there would be no resistance on Earth and the Dark Kingdom could truly
take its hold on the planet…
******
Mamoru was very apprehensive as he pulled his motorbike up
outside Juuban District College* on Monday morning. He was tired, dark circles
marred the underneath of his eyes and Hina had wanted him to call in sick that
day. Mamoru smiled at the memory of her brushing his hair back from his eyes
and taking his temperature. It was not that kind of sickness. He had been kept
awake all night, tossing and turning as he relieved the events of the weekend
over and over. Part of this was the fear of the dreams that had renewed their
ferocity the night before. It had been different somehow. The woman’s pleas had
struck a cord inside of his very soul. Mamoru had almost awoke in tears at the
forlornness in her voice and the fact that she was placing all her hopes upon
him alone. Mamoru had begun to wonder if there weren’t some truth in his dream
after all.
Before Saturday he would have, however, laughed at this
notion. Now it filled him with a child-like dread that sickened his very soul.
He did not want to be this Tuxedo Kamen. He was Chiba Mamoru and wanted to stay
that way.
Sailor Moon… the Senshi of love and justice, or so she had
called herself. Mamoru couldn’t fathom why he had saved her. It had been like a
knife in his heart when he thought that she could possibly get hurt and he had
reacted without even knowing why. This also added to his confusion, and his
fear.
Mamoru stumbled up the steps to his college, carrying
various textbooks under one arm. He felt as though his life had slipped into
one huge daze and that he was simply going along for the ride. Nothing that was
normal seemed real anymore and everything that, on the surface, would seem to
fantastical to possibly be true was indeed so.
Mamoru was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t look
where he was going until it was too late.
“Watch where you are going” the young man snapped as
Mamoru knocked into him, sending books and papers flying all over the floor.
Blushing furiously, Mamoru apologised and knelt down to help him retrieve his
things. The black haired man was really embarrassed that he could let himself
be distracted so easily. He was not normally like this at all.
He gathered up a few pens and pencils, but the other man
was quicker and had managed to recover most of his things himself and was
looking more annoyed than anything. Mamoru stood back up, frowning slightly as
he failed to recognise the youth before him. He had brown hair with hints of
black among the tan. His eyes were wide and a rich chocolate colour, though
they glared disapproving at Mamoru. He was not very tall, only just being able
to look Mamoru in the eyes. He was thin, almost to the point of being
unnaturally so. He wore a pair of dark Levi jeans and a white T-shirt with a
name of an American rock band etched across the front in black lettering. A
black leather jacket was slung over his shoulders. He held Mamoru’s gaze for a
moment longer before turning away and disappearing into the crowds of people
that already filled the halls.
Shrugging to himself, Mamoru turned away as well when he
felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Mamoru-kun!” he spun round and found himself staring into
Chino Takara’s eyes. Chino Takara was a Japanese-American he had recently come
to the college to study. Mamoru did not have any lectures with her, but she was
teaching a group of them, including Mamoru, to speak English. Mamoru had only
been to three classes, but he was really keen on learning other languages,
especially as he hoped to go to England to study one day.
Chino Takara, being a Japanese-American, had pale skin and
dark hair, a stark contrast, especially with her midnight blue eyes peeping out
from her long bangs. Takara was an avid music fan and as her father was in the
record industry she had, had the privilege of meeting quite a few stars. Today,
for instance, she wore a pink and white T-shirt signed by teenage pop-star
Kuroki Mio. To most people, Takara seemed to be somewhat of a flake, but Mamoru
had taken the time to get to know her and she was really a lovely person.
Takara was the sort of girl who did things that no one would expect and was far
too hard on herself. Because of this she often put herself down in front of
others, despite the bubbly teenage frontage that she put on around most of the
students and today was no exception.
“I didn’t expect to see you here” Takara exclaimed in
delight whilst Mamoru shrugged:
“I have a lecture today, where else would I be?”
Takara ignored the note of annoyance that had managed to
enter his voice and continued, “I know, but you often miss lectures nowadays. I
was starting to get worried” she gave him a gentle smile after speaking.
Mamoru was touched by her concern, but it was not in his
nature to act upon this and simply explained that he had, had more important
things to do. He could tell that Takara was slightly put off by this. What
could be more important than college?
Deciding to change the subject, Mamoru enquired to know
whom the youth was that he had knocked into.
Takara thought for a minute and then brightened, “You mean
Ueda Masaki? His family just moved here from Kyoto. He managed to get into a
fight on his first day. If you had been here last week you would have seen it.
Looks can be deceiving, he may seem like a push over, but he really nailed the
other guy.”
Mamoru nodded to himself. Why did Takara always have to
give too much information? He just wanted to know who he was! Sighing, the
black haired youth resigned himself to hearing more about the new student, much
more than he really wanted to know.
*****
For Mamoru, the day passed in a haze, as it had begun. He
managed to muddle through class, but was disappointed that his thesis on the
human brain was only given a D+ by his sensei with a note to ‘drop by for a
chat’ after class. Mamoru couldn’t face this today and decided to ignore it. He
knew he had not been putting much effort into his studies as of late, but who
could blame him? Not with so much going on outside of college.
For this reason, Mamoru decided to skip Takara’s English
class. At one time he had been very keen on learning the language, but nothing
normal seemed important anymore and Takara would understand, or at least he
hoped that she would.
“Moon twilight… flash!” Mamoru leapt backwards; narrowly
avoiding being caught with the Youma as a third person joined this strange
gathering, sending an attack of light straight at the beast. The Youma winced
in pain and fell back, away from Mamoru as the girl announced her presence.
“I am the pretty suited soldier of love and justice,
Sailor Moon. In the name of the Moon I will punish you!”
“Sailor Moon?” Mamoru whispered as she struck a pose after
speaking. Had Mamoru seen her before his own bizarre transformation, he would
have been stunned. As it was, he felt that he was accepting the situation with
apparent calm and that, in itself, was frightening.
The memories of the weekend hit Mamoru
again as he pulled up outside Crown Karaoke. Clenching a fist, Mamoru forced
down these thoughts. He did not want to think of such things today. He could
not yet deal with the memories and what they might mean. The answer he was
searching for was so close and yet Mamoru was not sure that he now wanted to
know the answer.
He stepped up to Crown’s doors and found
it shut. Peering through the glass, Mamoru could see Motoki inside, cleaning up
the disasters of the weekend.
His friend smiled when he saw Mamoru and
hurriedly opened the door and ushered him inside. Motoki was still shaken by
the attack, but Mamoru was confident that he would be all right. Motoki was
stronger than he sometimes appeared.
Mamoru asked how the clean up was going
and if the police had caught the robbers yet, though he knew full well that the
latter would never happen.
“It’s going fine” Motoki replied
cheerfully “It is taking longer since I am on my own, but I can’t complain. I’m
getting some new security cameras fitted tomorrow and a double lock on the back
entrance. The police think that whoever did this came in the back door.”
Mamoru nodded, “Do you remember much
about the attack?”
Motoki frowned, “Not at all, but the
strangest thing is that nothing was taken. They made a huge mess, but left the
cash register untouched. I really don’t understand it.”
“Perhaps you scared them off?” Mamoru
suggested.
“Perhaps” Motoki repeated unhappily, “I
just don’t understand it” he shook his head. The lack of memories was obviously
disturbing him, but Mamoru was glad that he did not remember. Someone had once
said that ignorance was bliss and, in this case, Mamoru knew it to be true.
“Why don’t I give you a hand?” he
suggested, feeling slightly guilty for his sudden exit on Saturday. “I should
have been working, too.”
Motoki smiled, “You explained that you
had somewhere else to be. Don’t feel bad about what happened, Mamoru-kun.”
“I don’t” Mamoru shrugged pretending
that this was so, “I just thought that you might want a hand” he then berated
his off-hand manner, but Motoki was used to it and simply replied that some
help cleaning up would be nice.
Mamoru knelt down and started collecting
some CDs from off of the floor glad, for once, to have a distraction.
*****
Chino Takara hurried down the silent corridors of Juuban
District College, hating the sound that her shoes made on the polished floor.
Every little noise made her jump and she was sure that someone was following
her. This, of course, was stupid as her English class had finished an hour ago
and the College was locked up for the night. Takara had been to the library to
get some books for her next class tomorrow and had forgotten the time. Luckily
she had a key to the building as she taught a class in the evenings, so getting
out and locking up again would not be a problem.
Even so, she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck
begin to tingle. Someone was following her.
Takara paused, peering down the gloomy hallway and
brushing her bangs out of her eyes. She couldn’t see very much of anything,
except that there was a shadowy figure standing at the end of the corridor,
blocking out the moonlight from the window.
“Hello?” she called warily, taking a step back despite
herself, “Can I help you with anything?”
Slowly, and purposefully, the shadow started to move
towards her. Takara took another step back and repeated her question.
Again, no response.
Now she was beginning to feel afraid. Her body started to
shake and Takara darted away, dropping her books all over the floor in her
sudden desperation to escape.
She ran, her breath coming out in short, ragged gasps as
she raced along, her shoes slipping on the newly polished floor. Takara fell,
letting out a surprised shriek as she struck the floor and rolled. She slammed
into a row of lockers, the breath suddenly knocked from her body.
She could only lie there helpless as the shadow loomed
over her, reaching down to wrap a hand around her throat. Takara barely had
time to scream before unconsciousness claimed her.
*****
Mamoru woke up the next day to the usual sound of the
alarm clock playing the Moonlight Sonata and he resisted the urge to
throw the thing across the room. He had, had a good night’s sleep for once and
was loath to get up any earlier than he had too.
But he was wide-awake now and, try as he might, he could
not will his body back to slumber for even a few more minutes rest. Cursing
under his breath, Mamoru got up. Hina, from the sounds of it, was already awake
and no sooner had he selected a pair of jeans and a black shirt from his
wardrobe, did she come hurrying down the hallway and into the room.
“Good morning” she greeted him with a kiss on the lips and
a joyful smile.
“Good morning” Mamoru replied, with less enthusiasm than he
had originally intended, but if Hina noted this she did not say anything.
Hina carefully took a sip from the cup of coffee that she
was holding. She was wearing a pair of cut-off white denim jeans and a pink
blouse, indicating that she did not have to be at the hospital today. Mamoru
had another lecture at college but was considering giving it a miss.
“You missed your English lesson last night” Hina said
softly, “And you’re grades haven’t been as high as they should be. Is there
anything the matter? If there is, I would like to help you.”
The concern in her voice was real, but, to Mamoru, it
sounded as though she were lecturing him. Fragile and confused, he sniped back;
“Don’t treat me like a kid. There is nothing wrong. I don’t always have to get
straight A’s and I don’t have to go to class if I don’t want too.”
“I know” Hina began, taken aback by this, “I was just
saying…”
“Well don’t!”
Suddenly college didn’t sound like such a bad option.
Angrily, Mamoru stormed out of their apartment, ignoring Hina’s protests for
him to come back.
******
Mamoru drove wildly, and this frightened him, as he was
usually such a careful driver. His motorbike veered all over the road and it
was a miracle that he reached college in one piece and did not have the police
on his tail.
He didn’t understand why he was so horrible to Hina this
morning. She was only concerned about him, but Mamoru supposed that it had
always been his way. He had always kept people at a distance. With Hina it should
be different. They were getting married! If he couldn’t be honest with his
fiancée then whom could he be honest with?
Mamoru almost laughed at this. What could he tell her
anyway? That he was having dreams about a beautiful woman who begged him to find
an illusionary gemstone? That his friend, Motoki, was attacked by a Youma from
the Dark Kingdom and he had transformed into Tuxedo Kamen and fought alongside
the Senshi of justice Sailor Moon.
Hina would not believe that, not when Mamoru himself did
not.
Mamoru hurried up the steps to the college, deciding that
he may as well focus his energies on studying. As he pushed open the double
glass doors, he paused, a frown etched across his face. The college felt
different. He wasn’t sure how as it appeared to be the same as it always was.
There were students leaning up against lockers, talking among each other or
moving towards their classrooms in groups. The noise level was as it should be,
but Mamoru found the hairs on the back of his neck tingling and this filled him
with a great sense of unease and dread.
It was the same as last time…
As he took off his helmet and took a step towards Crown’s
doors, Mamoru was suddenly struck by a sense of foreboding. He paused, frowning
in confusion. He could see nothing wrong. Motoki was inside, talking to
Kamekichi as he normally did. The Moonlight Sonata was playing on the sound
system at full volume as per usual.
“What is this?” Mamoru whispered.
“Mamoru-kun!” he jumped slightly when Takara rushed over
to him. “You missed my class last night” she said reproachfully and Mamoru
scowled. Was everyone checking up on him? It was a stupid class! It was not the
end of the world.
“I had things to do” he did not like the way she had
grabbed a hold of his arm. Mamoru shivered and pulled forcefully away.
Takara smiled, “That’s ok. I can forgive you this time.
I’m having another one in the library tonight. Will you be there?”
“I have things to do.”
“Such as? Say you’ll come. Please.”
Mamoru sighed. There was just no saying ‘no’ to Takara and
for some reason he had no wish too.
“I’ll be there,” he promised.
Takara seemed satisfied with this and left to talk with
some of her other friends. Mamoru shook his head, and also turned away. As he
did so, another youth brushed passed him causing Mamoru to stumble slightly.
Looking up he saw Ueda Masaki walking away from him with a
girl called Takoto Maya. Mamoru did not know Maya very well; only that she was
a friend of Takara’s. They seemed deep in conversation and Mamoru had no reason
to follow them, had he not began to feel once again uneasy in the building.
Maya laughed at something that Ueda-san said and he
casually slipped an arm around her waist. She liked this contact and leaned
into it, giggling again at an unheard joke.
Mamoru shook his head, as though doing so would assuage
these feelings of concern, all directed at Maya. This action did nothing to
help him and Mamoru ended up moving down the corridor after them.
Unfortunately as it was the period before the first
lecture, the corridor was packed and with Ueda-san being a little under average
height Mamoru managed to lose sight of them.
He did, he truly felt as though something was guiding him.
Mamoru found himself outside in the college grounds. The
grounds consisted of a huge playing field and a couple of concrete classrooms
that were built away from the main building. His gaze scanned the empty scene
for signs of the couple.
His gaze locked upon a shape on the ground. Mamoru broke
into a run, his heart pounding loudly in his chest, but he knew before he
reached Maya’s side exactly what he would find.
The lively girl with short brown hair was sprawled across
the grass, her face was pale and her breathing came out in uneven gasps. Mamoru
knelt down beside her and rolled her over onto her back, urging her to wake.
She did briefly, her eyes flickering open and staring into his own.
“What happened?” Mamoru whispered, his own breathing
suddenly uneasy as she uttered her reply before passing out in his arms.
“Monster…”
*****
Maya’s collapse was blamed on exhaustion and she was sent
home to rest, though her faint set the tone for the rest of the day. Mamoru,
being the one who found her, was heralded a hero. This was attention that he
could really do without, especially as he wanted to find the culprit as soon as
possible.
All life on this planet has no purpose but to give their
energy to the Great Ruler. Their existence is meaningless
Mamoru recalled, with a chill, Motoki’s words when a Youma
had possessed him. Energy… Maya had come around in the college infirmary and he
had managed to speak to her about her collapse.
She had no knowledge of any monster and had laughed when Mamoru
had told her what she had said to him. Maya hadn’t been sleeping very well and
the nurse was happy to blame her faint on that. The girl was extremely tired
and Mamoru reasoned that if something had stolen her energy then she would be
so.
Now he was at a total loss. The Tuxedo Kamen part of him
wanted to find out where the Youma was before it could hurt anyone else, but
the Chiba Mamoru part of him was content to leave it to Sailor Moon.
Mamoru was not a coward, far from it, but did not wish to
get involved in something that did not concern him. His life, as it was, had
its problems, but he liked it. He was not willing to risk it for something that
really had nothing to do with him.
Then there was Ueda Masaki. He was new here, Takara had
said. It was a weird coincidence that Ueda-san was with Maya and then she
collapsed. Of course, he had not been at the scene. If he had of been then
Mamoru was confident that he would have seen him.
Why had Ueda-san abandoned Maya? If he weren’t to blame
then surely he would have helped her? Could Youma be normal people too? Mamoru
frowned. He knew nothing of these creatures and the Dark Kingdom that they were
from. This was nothing to do with him.
Still that did not stop him from approaching the male in
question as he left the college for the day. Ueda-san was slouched up against a
wall smoking a cigarette with total disregard for the college’s ‘no smoking’
policy. He was wearing the same clothes from the day before, but his expression
appeared to be one of boredom. Mamoru berated himself as he approached and
Ueda-looked up as he joined him.
Without speaking, he offered the packet of cigarettes to
Mamoru. The latter shook his head and the pack was tucked back into Ueda-san’s
jacket pocket.
“You’re the one who knocked into me yesterday” he
commented coolly.
Mamoru wasn’t sure what to make of him at all. He appeared
confident, but that could be a frontage. He just didn’t know what to think. He
could certainly sense something about the young man, but his aura didn’t appear
to be that of a Youma, but then again Mamoru had only ever fought against one
such creature.
“I was having a bad day,” Mamoru snapped back defensively
to Ueda-san’s comment, deciding that perhaps he should simply wait and see. If
Ueda-san were a Youma, then his true form would show itself sooner or later.
Ueda-san smiled slightly and put out his cigarette, “That
was obvious.”
“You are new here,” Mamoru said as Ueda-san made to walk
away, “Where did you live before?”
“Kyoto”
“I was told you got into a fight last week. Do you often
fight?”
Ueda-san shrugged, “I know how to take care of myself if
that’s what you mean. Why are you so interested anyway?”
“Just making conversation. What happened to Takoto Maya?”
Again he shrugged, “I don’t know. She said she wanted to
get some air. The next thing I heard she had fainted.”
“You don’t seem very concerned?”
“Should I be?”
“Well, you were talking to her and I thought--”
Ueda-san laughed, “There’s nothing going on if that’s what
you mean. Look” he leaned forward, “Maya-chan was having some trouble with an
ex boyfriend. He’s the one I got into the fight with. She’s a nice girl and I
was helping her out. He thinks we’re an item and will keep away as long as he
thinks we are together.”
“Are you really that lonely?”
He did not like this. Scowling, Ueda-san walked away, but
Mamoru let him go, convinced that he had found the Youma.
****
“With English grammar and spelling you really need to
remember that--”
Mamoru sighed, his head resting on his arms as Takara
droned on about the importance of using correct English spelling and grammar
when writing the language. Usually, he found this interesting, but at the
moment all he could think about was the possibility that the Dark Kingdom had
targeted the college.
Just to make his life a little easier, Mamoru found that
Takara had managed to talk Ueda-san into attending her classes. Mamoru was glad
of this and had kept an eye on the young man all evening. From the way he was
sitting, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded across his chest,
Mamoru decided that he was finding the class boring as well. Or he was thinking
about other things…
“Maya-chan was having some trouble with an ex boyfriend.
He’s the one I got into the fight with. She’s a nice girl and I was helping her
out. He thinks we’re an item and will keep away as long as he thinks we are
together.”
“Are you really that lonely?”
Where had that come from? Mamoru wondered to himself. If
Ueda-san was an enemy then Mamoru knew better than to rile him.
He cursed softly under his breath. Why was he even here?
This did not concern him! No… something did trouble him about the entire
situation. Mamoru felt compelled to keep an eye on the new student, for reasons
that he could not fathom.
“Now” Takara continued, “You really have to pay attention
now or you will never be able to master the English language. Mamoru-kun,
Ueda-san, you need to listen as well.”
Mamoru sighed and looked up at his friend. Ueda-san, too,
raised his head, his eyes widening when he looked upon her.
Takara’s eyes were glowing a pale blue, a cruel smile
twisting her lips as one by one Mamoru’s classmates slumped over onto the desk,
their life energy being conveyed to Takara’s body in an instant.
“Chino-san? Daijobu?” Ueda-san called out, even as he
slumped forward on the desk, his eyes beginning to close.
Mamoru managed to avert his gaze and jump up. Takara did
not like this and flung out a hand, blue energies lancing out from her palm to
strike Mamoru in the chest. He gasped and slammed against the closed door of
the library, even as he felt the familiar wave of power start to overtake him.
Mamoru shut his eyes, willing away the transformation that
took place regardless of where he was and what he wanted. When he opened them
again he was once more the Tokyo hero, Tuxedo Kamen.
“Chiba-san?” Ueda managed to choke out in shock as he had
witnessed the whole thing. As he did so, Takara fell to the floor unconscious
and, as Mamoru expected, in her place was a Youma. It was brown and appeared to
be made out of a clay-like substance. It walked on two legs like a human and
had arms in the same places, too. Its head was square and its eyes were cut
into slits rather than ovals. It was not as strong as the one that Sailor Moon
had defeated, but Mamoru knew it was just as dangerous to civilians.
“Run!” Mamoru commanded the stunned youth and Ueda-san
turned to do just that as the Youma lunged at Mamoru.
He leapt backwards, slashing at it with a black and white
cane that had appeared in his hand. Another effect of the transformation,
Mamoru thought bitterly and how he hated it.
The Youma ducked, it was surprisingly agile and it reached
out with a hand and tore the cane from Mamoru’s grasp. Turning his own weapon
against him, the Youma slashed a harsh blow across Mamoru’s face, knocking him
back down into the wall.
“Chiba-san!”
Ueda-san was still here! Mamoru was stunned by the sudden
display of bravery as Ueda-san tackled the Youma from behind, pulling it away
from him.
He growled in fury and struck back, catching Ueda-san
round the face. He fell down and at that precise moment Mamoru felt a sharp
pain in his own head. He cried out and pressed a hand to his forehead, trying
to assuage the sudden flow of, what he could only describe as, memories from
pouring forth.
“You must listen to me! The Princess will only bring
destruction down upon this world! Using that, Metallia will…” another man
cried, this voice was unfamiliar to Mamoru.
“Jadeite? Do you agree with this?” Mamoru demanded.
The blond man shrugged and turned away, unwilling to
answer.
Mamoru opened his eyes and stared at Ueda-san, seeing for
the first time what had drawn him to the other man.
He stood, trembling, retrieving his cane from the floor
and called out in an equally shaky voice:
“Jadeitou!”
Ueda-san gasped upon hearing that name and, with a sudden
burst of strength, threw the Youma off of him. As he did so the entire room lit
up in a red light. Mamoru leapt backwards, shielding himself with his cape when
it became too bright. The glow seemed to be coming from Ueda-san.
The Youma howled in pain, writhed in agony and then
shattered, sending millions of tiny clay particles all over the carpet.
Slowly, Mamoru lowered his arm and then gasped again.
Ueda-san slowly lowered his hand, staring silently down at himself and the
transformation he had undergone.
He now wore a dark blue, almost back uniform, consisting
of a long jacket that was decorated with a red piping, silver clasps holding
the flaps closed, and red beads embroidering the right sleeve of the jacket. A
black cape that came down to his waist was fastened over his left shoulder in
fancy gold stitching. He wore a pair of black boots, which his trousers tucked
into, making him appear taller somehow. A silver dagger with a blue handle was
sheathed into the belt around his waist, but the most shocking feature was his
hair. The dark brown colour had been replaced by light blond. His hair was
slightly shorter and curled more so than it usually did. Mamoru couldn’t take
his eyes off of Ueda-san, realising that he knew the strangely bedecked man
before him. He knew him from a life that he no longer remembered.
“Jadeite?” he repeated uncertainly, taking one step
towards him.
Ueda-san frowned and clutching his head in almost agony as
he muttered, “What is this? What are these memories? Metallia? The Princess?
What is this?”
“I don’t know” Mamoru managed to reply, as he moved to
Jadeite’s side, “I know as much as you.”
Jadeite raised his head to meet Mamoru’s piercing gaze,
“You are--?”
“Chiba Mamoru, Tuxedo Kamen… I don’t know.”
“Our mission” Jadeite continued, stumbling away from the
tuxedoed hero, “Our mission is to find the Prince.”
“The Prince?” Mamoru repeated doubtfully. “What about the
Princess?”
Jadeite shook his head, his blue eyes suddenly widening in
a look of horror at even uttering that word.
“No. Not the Princess. The Princess will bring destruction
upon this world…”
Act 3 Preview:
“I wanted to thank you” he started out by saying.
Ueda-san looked up, surprised at this, “What for?”
“For killing the Youma. It was my first real fight alone.
If you hadn’t of been there I do not know what would have happened.”
Ueda-san shrugged, “It was no problem.”
Again the silence overtook them before Mamoru forced
himself to speak, “Are you all right? I bet you feel pretty shocked about the
entire thing, don’t you?”
“Not really.”
“It shocked me.”
“I always knew… even if my consciousness hadn’t awakened
too it.”
~~~~~~
“If we can contain humans in the same place we can collect
a million times more energy” Mars smirked, obviously pleased with herself, “As
we speak, my Youma is transporting humans to another dimension and sapping all
their life energy. I will collect enough to revive the Great Ruler and my Youma
will take care of the enemy.”
Beryl nodded, “Then do it, but be warned, I will not
tolerate failure.”
~~~~~~~
“Kimi-kun!” Motoki’s annoying voice rang out across the
arcade, “You don’t have to mop the floor quite so hard. If you do then the
polish will come off!”
Sighing, Taro stopped what he was doing to wave the mop
under Motoki’s nose and snarl threateningly, “If you think I’m doing such a bad
job then you can do it yourself!”
~~~~~~
“I don’t know what the hell you are, but I’ve had a really
bad day and you really do not want to make me angrier!”