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Ё Ђ Ѓ Є Ѕ І Ї Ј Љ Њ Ћ Ќ Ў Џ А Б В Г Д Е Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь Э Ю Я ўџџџўџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџў N a АT а џџџџџџџџ e x
И Т Т Т Т р=а/ а8 d Т џџџџ ат c XIV. Finality
If your hopes scatter like
The dust across your track
I'll be the moon that shines on your path
The sun may blind our eyes
I'll pray the skies above
For snow to fall on the Sahara
--"Snow On the Sahara"
That ain't love
I believe you've got the wrong emotion
That ain't love
At least it doesn't feel like love to me
As long as I say what you wanna hear
Do what you wanna do
Be who you want me to be
You think that's love
Well baby that ain't love to me
--"That Ain't Love"
Lost in a world of doubt and insecurity
Nothing that you hold sacred nothing you believe
Your life is a contradiction
While you thrive on manipulation
I fight to just hold on to what I believe
--"The Thing I Hate"
If you could only see the way she loves me
Then maybe you would understand
Why I feel this way about our love
And what I must do
If you could only see
How blue her eyes can be
When she says
When she says she loves me
--"If You Could Only See"
"My Wesley will always come for me."
--"The Princess Bride"
Sailor Pluto gazed for a moment on the Gate of Time, her eyes detecting the fine strands of webbing that served as wards. Her wards, easily plucked apart by her fingers, tigers of chronal energy turned to kittens by her touch. Her wards dispersed, she approached the door, shuffling among her keys ring to find the one key she used to unlock the door.
whispered a quiet, soft, fading voice in her mind. It was like an aftershock, the crying out of something distant, and it echoed around in her head for awhile. Her fingers fumbled, and picked up one single key unlike any other. It was darkened until the prongs, where it shown silver in the faint light.
It had been Wes's key, she knew now. His "return" had triggered the memories, slowly, of his time with her. It floored her, how happy she'd been. She remembered what it was like not to be so completely lonely, to have someone to really talk to. Knowing for a fact that her feelings for him were as strong has they had been.
Yet she kicked him out of her life. Completely.
she ordered herself, steadying her mind.
She let his key----drop, and found the one she had specifically enchanted for this mission. Just as she inserted it into the lock, a strong wave of...time...power...swept over her. She turned for a moment, to see if anyone had intruded on her territory. Nothing. Just in case, she swept her Staff around, for the Garnet Ball was "programmed" to detect intruders. It remained normal, the faint glow never darkening.
She still felt uneasy, though, as she turned back to the door, and unlocked it. Quickly and furtively she entered the room, letting the door fall shut behind her. The Stream-haven she'd made enclosed her, and her eyes slowly darkened, lids falling over them softly.
Her knuckles were white when she emerged, the grip on her staff so tight that she wondered if she'd shatter it, and a limpness hung in her eyes. Her return had been draining; she had done everything so quickly that she was nearly exhausted. Staggering away from the door, she moved out onto the dim plain, sitting down on a piece of the ice-rock that comprised most of her home. From here, the remnants of her castle were visible, bringing searing memories to her mind.
she thought. She shook her head.
"Troubled thoughts, Lady Pluto?"
She hadn't realized she was looking down, or that she was really that far out on the plain, until she looked up. There before her, cloaked in blue, the deep blue that exists just before black, was a familiar form.
"The Blue Seer..." she breathed. "But you disappeared with the Moon Kingdom."
"As did my mate, the Red Seer," she whispered back. As always, she could tell that the woman was smiling just by her voice. She'd seen beneath that cowl before--many times before...
"Yes, we used to meet on the plain...this very plain. Wes and you, Red and me." The hood sighed softly. "Such a long and beautiful time, wasn't it?"
"Yes," she replied quietly. Peace always followed the Blue Seer; Peace and Knowledge, though you had to ask for the second. The woman had power, tangible power, though identifying it was nigh impossible. She kept her cards extremely close to her vest.
"Until Beryl, when the Kingdom fell, and Wesley came with us. He was so sad," she added, along with another soft sigh.
"Yes," Pluto said softly, then started. "You took Wesley? But..."
"He felt that his presence here could cause problems, and could not see whether he was right or not. 'The Stream is gray,' he said over and over again. 'The Stream is gray.' So, he came to us for assistance. As you know, we also felt our presence to be...unsafe."
"Yes, I remember advising you on that," she murmured.
"He was so sad, and so quiet. I felt the sorrow on him. He would've stayed if he could've." Her tone was warm, and quiet, with that hint of a partial smile. "Not that I applaud what he did to you, but..."
"Actually, I should've known," she replied quietly. "We often spoke of the things ephemeral, and he made it quite clear that he would rather me be happy to the end. He did what he did because he wanted to help me." She stood up, feeling less worn.
"Yes, his heart is always in the right place." The hooded head was down, the words quiet and sincere, the emotion pure. Pluto wondered just how well her friend knew Wesley, how far she could see into him.
Then, pushed back her hood, and looked up.
Her eyes were nearly the color of her cloak, dark blue ice that bored right into her. "Lady," she said, voice dark, "why are you here?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why are you back at the Gate, when you must know what is happening down there?" Her eyes began to smolder slightly. "Something so important..." "It's...it's partially why I came here. I had to check, to see what could be done. And I'm not sure..."
"If you think you're not needed, you're dead wrong."
"Is the Guardian of the Gate allowed to take a part of such things?" she asked, a small, unhappy smile on her face. "We've had this talk before, Lady Blue, and you know we never came to an answer. The Stream is not muddled or gray now; it is dead clear. Is it right for the Guardian to go?"
"If there's any difference to be made, of course you should."
"Yet, if I go, there may be ripples..."
"Damn the ripples!" Her eyes were nearly burning now, the cold heat pressing against her soul. Her voice hushed, and she added, "The people you love are down there. How can you sit back and watch them rush into such a fate?"
"Yet if I leave, one of those ripples I should ignore could kill them all. I would be a slave to the Sea Prince. Can I risk such a thing?"
"That's one ripple, Setsuna." The use of her real name took Pluto aback; she briefly wondered if she ever even told the women it. "What about the countless others where you save their lives? Can you risk not going?"
"No," she replied softly. The faintest of breezes reached them, barely moving strands of hair. "No, I cannot risk such. However, I did need to have my doubts dispelled." She smiled. "Thank you, my friend. If I may, one more boon of you..."
"Yes?"
"Wesley. Is it possible that...he was clouded and...well, we need to talk."
"You will see him again," she pronounced solemnly. "I am sure of it." Then, a smile broke her features, and she moved into to hug her. Pulling away, she said softly, "Good luck, Sets. And please, come back alive."
The women nodded, whispering back, "I promise."
The man, known as "Bird" or "Red Seer" or many other things, appeared silently on the field, dark eyes alert. He scanned the region about him, and quickly his eyes narrowed upon his target. With a quick thought, he flared out, and appeared behind the man.
"She's gone, you know."
Wes flashed around, staff held across him, ready to fight. When he saw who he faced, he stood down, sighing. "Have a death wish?" he asked.
"Not one that you can fulfill," the man replied.
"You might be surprised," he grumbled. "And how do you know?"
"Mys told me."
"She was with Setsuna?"
"She had to talk to her on her own. The two of them are good friends, you know."
"But...well, this just makes my leaving all the easier."
"Your what?"
Wes's eyes sharpened. "I know what's happening down there. And I'm not apart of it."
"Who says?" the man fired back. "Besides, what about your post? And what about Setsuna?"
"Setsuna doesn't need me," he said in a very quiet voice, pungent with grief. Subtly he shook it off, and his eyes rose to hardness again. "Besides, I am not trained for this kind of combat. I nearly got myself killed by the Master." He turned away from him, and began to trek across the plain. "I have to get out of here."
"Sure. Fine. Leave. And LOSE."
Wesley spun around and regarded him with careful eyes. The man pressed back with his own dark eyes. Finally, he asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"Come here."
Wesley walked over, and as he watched, a streak of fire appeared in the air. A picture was superimposed over it, that of Sailor Pluto, standing just about the middle of the line. He looked at the man curiously.
"You know what this is?"
"Yea, sure, it's a continuum." He studied it for a moment. "Apparently dealing with Sailor Pluto."
"You're so bright."
He studied it some more, watching the figure move on it. She jumped a little to the right, and brightened; a little to the left, and darkened and shrunk. His brow furrowed, and he looked up. "Of her power?"
"Well, actually, her death."
"What?!"
The man smiled rather grimly. "It's her death, Wes, and the time left to it." The woman jumped to the left a little more, and shriveled just that much.
"Why the HELL are you showing me this?"
"Because you can help her, Wes. If you interfere, this continuum ceases to exist." His voice took on more of an edge. "However, the more time you take, the more time she loses." As if on cue, the figure jumped to the left again, and he gasped as her features darkened all the more.
"But...but I..."
"Oh look at that." The figure jumped again. "I'd say she has about an hour to live. Maybe a smidge more, if she fights valiantly enough."
Wesley looked at the line hard, at the face upon it, and then glared at the man. He started to make a sound, but was interrupted by, "60 minutes. 59 minutes, 59 seconds. 58. 57. 56..."
Wes's teeth gritted, and the staff flashed. In an instant, he was gone.
A moment later, a blue glow took its place beside the man, and he turned to it. Sweeping the still hooded seer into his arms, he kissed her fiercely, her eyes widening in surprise. When he released her, she gasped out, "What was that for?"
"For being alive."
She looked at the still flaming streak, watching it slowly fade out. "You showed him?"
"Yea." He sat down on the icy rock, feeling no discomfort. "He didn't take it too well."
"He wasn't supposed to."
"I just hope I didn't push him too hard," he sighed. "I mean, the guy is a friend."
"And friends can resent when someone is hard only them, even if it's for their own good," she replied, fingers sweeping back some of his annoying hairs. "I understand."
"How'd it go with Sets?"
"We'll have to see. She had some doubts...and I don't know if she'll go through with it, or just watch. She is inclined to the later."
He leaned into her, and she placed a hand on his shoulder. His eyes closed softly, and she messed with his hair, each trying to relax.
They stayed that way for a long time.
* * * *
Tux snarled at Priam, and spat out, "That isn't my name!"
"Oh, the pity. Endymion and I are matched. You..." he chuckled. "You are toast."
"We'll see about that," Tux growled.
"No seeing to be done...isn't that right, Serenity?" He turned, and a greenish nimbus formed about her. Before she could even give a sound of protest, she was fixed high in the center of the room, the green snapping into a shield about her.
"Serena!" Tux cried out, leaping towards her.
"Darien, no!" Sailor Moon tried, but no voice came out. She watched, horrified, as the shield reacted, green lancing out at him. He narrowly avoided it, and managed to land in a crouch on the floor.
"What have you done to her!" he demanded.
"Protected her, of course," Priam replied. At the puzzled look, his eyes widened in mock astonishment. "Why, you don't think I would let a Lady be on the sidelines of a fight, would you? She may just get hurt...and that would upset me very much." His smile turned nasty now, and his voice lowered. "However, I will give her the privilege of watching her love destroy you. Prepare to die, usurper."
"I will see you in Hell first," he spat back.
Priam tensed, as if to launch an attack, when suddenly a jumble of thoughts lanced across his brain. He stiffened, and stood straighter, turning towards the doorway. Tux, extremely puzzled, relaxed as well. What could be distracting him?
Priam thought, eyes closing. Green and purple waves formed about him, and he smiled to himself.
The power exploded from him, shushing the doors shut as it sped into the hall. Strange changes took over it; it thickened, gelled, and darkened, forming appendages of war. Finally, it touched the floor, separated, and began to wend its way towards the enemy with a slight hissing sound.
Priam turned about, and his eyes opened, deadly violet points. "Now, Tuxedo Mask," he said, "face your doom."
By the time the rest of the Senshi and the Generals had gotten to their feet, ten minutes had passed. It took an extra five to explain what had happened, and that Serena was back. Jupiter looked as if she was about to cry, and checked Nephrite for confirmation. He nodded slowly, and she took his arm, sobbing against it. Venus and Kunzite had allowed about two and half minutes before softly telling her that they needed to go. She nodded mutely, and with the help of Mercury's computer and their own abilities, they were able to make it to their enemies HQ.
"Come on!" Venus yelled, taking off. Jupiter followed hotly on her heels, and the two were out of sight before most had even caught their bearings.
"Ahhh...wait!" Kunzite called, but it was to no avail. Gesturing Nephrite to come with him, he looked to the others. "Jade and Mars, head out after a few minutes. Zoi and Merc, follow them soon after. Be prepared to give readings of the place, mental and physical." He looked to Nephrite, who gave him a rueful grin.
"But what..."
"We are going to go beat up some hotheads," Nephrite broke in.
"Catch up as quickly as you can!" Kunzite shouted as the two broke contact with the ground, and darted after the women.
"Just like Venus to lose her head," Mars sighed.
Meanwhile, the two women ran without stopping, each pushing herself as far as she could. It wasn't too terribly noticeable to a non-Senshi, but Venus soon realized that Jupiter was just not in the shape to be taking the pace this fast. She slowed up a hair, and Jupiter caught even with her, giving her a thankful glance.
The hallway began to curl, bends becoming sharper and sharper. The two slowed, and then finally had to check their speed completely to avoid hitting a wall.
"Brief stop," Jupiter said.
Venus didn't say a thing, merely nodded, leaning against the cool support of the wall and catching her breath. teased a voice in her head, and she ruefully nodded yes to it. It was then that she managed to get out, "Those two are going to kill us."
"Who?" Jupiter asked, turning about.
"Nephrite and Kunzite. They're probably on our track right now...I thought they would've taken off with us," she explained.
"So did I," Jupiter agreed. "But why would they kill us? I mean...well, you know."
A faint blush was her only reply, and Jupiter's eyebrows rose enquiringly. "Ahh, I see we are going to have a chat when we get out of this," she grinned, and the blush deepened.
"Well...I've caught my breath," Venus said. "Let's go again."
The two rounded the bend, went about fifteen yards, and then attempted to skid to a stop.
"Finally," hissed a watery looking form, slightly gelled and the color of aqua. The smell of seaweed rotting hit them hard, and they both doubled over, choking on the scent. "Food!"
Venus and Jupiter scrambled back, but the creatures they faced knew not what the word "friction" meant, and so skidded across the floor to them with ease. The smell came with them, and both women choked again, trying in vain not to smell it, but it clogged in their noses and mouths, spreading along the back of their throat. Their vision began to haze, and both knew, they knew...
That they were covered in gel.
thought Jupiter. She took a small whiff of the air, and realized that the smell had faded. Clumsily, she got to her feet, slipping once or twice in the goo. It came off of her in clumps, leaving no residue on her skin or her clothes. She could see Venus nearby, also rising, goo falling out of her hair.
It was then that she looked back in the hall, and her eyes fell upon two very grim looking Generals. Mentally she cursed, but physically she heaved a very large sigh. Unfortunately, that set her off on a coughing/choking fit as the scent of the air came back to her.
"Get up," Kunzite said brusquely, and the both of them attempted to scramble to their feet, except for the fact they were still in the area of frictionless goo, and couldn't find purchase. The two men looked at each other, and frustration built in her chest; she managed to get herself into a crouch, and sprung from that to land behind them. Venus soon accomplished about the same, and the two exchanged glances. Venus mouthed "dead" to her and she could not agree more.
The two men turned inward and around, and faced them with extremely serious expressions on their faces, eyes like flint. Both seemed extremely calm, except for the tell tale signs that both knew to read: the trembling of Neph's eyes, and the quirking of Kunz's mouth. The pairs stood there like that for just enough time to make both women squirm; once this had been accomplished, Kunzite began to speak.
"If you two ever, ever, separate from this group again without having direct orders to do so, I will strip your pens from you. You will be forced to watch fights without participating in them. Understand?" His eyes were a direct and clear gray, quite chilling when they were staring through you like that.
"You're enthusiasm has caused quite a split in our group. We don't have accurate readings on what's going on. All but two of us are running close to empty. You have placed us in quite a pickle, ladies." His eyes oriented on Kunzite now. "I believe we should not only strip them from fighting privileges, but hang them from a chandelier and beat them with pillows as well."
The change of mood swept over the ladies with a shock, and the two of them ended back down on the floor again. This time, though, two hands reached down to pull them to their feet, against them.
"If you ever..." Kunzite began, and his eyes were warmer now, touched with worry. She saw that the berating was heartfelt, and smiled at him.
"Shutup. I won't," she replied.
"I'm sorry, Nate," Jupiter said quietly to him. "I thought you'd be right behind me."
"I prefer to be beside you, but behind or in front works as well." He smiled, and brushed at her hair. "Just as long as I'm never away from you."
At that moment, more members of the gel party decided to show up.
"Ahh hell," Venus murmured, pushing away from Kunzite. "Love when smelly things ruin the mood."
"Smelly?" Neph asked.
"You...you can't...?" Jupiter questioned, the first waves of the odor assault already touching her.
"It doesn't matter," Kunzite said, hands beginning to turn blue. "Though...ugh, is that it?"
"Yes...VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" she cried out, and sent the chain through the pack of those approaching. These were more solid, and therefore had forms that invoked more terror, with clawed hands and some facial features. Still no match for Venus' chain, though, for it sawed right through most of them, which popped with a bubble sound. Gel fountained up to splatter the walls, the floor, and the still oncoming attackers.
"AUH! That is AWFUL!" Nephrite cried out, attempting to shield himself.
"Enough of this!" Kunzite yelled, and the blue on his hands fountained out at their attackers. In a moment, Nephrite added his own Star Power attack, and Jupiter and Venus combined their first attacks as well. The hallway lit up with energy, and then there rang out a large boom, sending bits of gel sliding along both way, along with the screams of the creatures. The four of them shielded their faces and bodies from the oncoming torrent, waiting for it to cease.
"Whoa," Venus said, looking at the two men.
"You are...incredible," Jupiter said. "I've never seen such..."
"Thanks, lov, but I think we'd better move on," he replied quickly.
"Shouldn't we wait for the others?" Venus asked, voice concerned but a touch pointed. "I mean, wouldn't separation cause more problems?"
"Perhaps, 'cept for one thing," Kunzite pointed out, waving around them. "The narrowness of these hallways could be quite a problem."
Jupiter snorted. "It's the enemy's HQ; it deserves property damage."
"Good point," Neph said.
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of yet more creatures hurrying towards them. Kunzite and Jupiter both cursed loudly, causing Venus and Nephrite to exchange glances; then, Kunzite gestured at Nephrite for a moment. Now it was Jupiter's turn to give Venus an odd glance, but the woman just shrugged and set herself in a fighting stance, preparing to take on whatever was coming.
"Hold up, ladies," Nephrite said, and they looked his way. Immediately, a flash of blue passed before their eyes, accompanied by the feeling of something being attached.
"What was that?" Jupiter asked.
"Shield," Kunzite replied. "Should help us attack these without..."
His voice trailed off as their enemy came into sight. They were completely solid, appendaged and clawed, carrying weapons and/or power blasts. Instinctively, the four knew they were in for quite a fight.
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM..."
"JUPITER THUNDERCRASH..."
"SMASH!" "ZAP!"
The first two attacks rang out in the air, accompanied by flying Senshi. The greenish electricity spun itself around the flying light beam, and cleaved through the first part of the ranks. Triumph flared over their faces for a moment, until those who had been cleaved started to reform.
Jupiter cursed; Venus took to the air again, swinging her chain. She managed to smash in among them, weaving about them with acrobatic grace. Wherever her chain touched, goo splattered from them, and they began to degrade slightly. Seeing this, Nephrite formed his spord, and flew into the enemy with a raging "KI-YAH!" Again, at the touch of his sword, the enemy degraded.
Between the two of them, though, it was taking a long time for their enemies to literally fall to pieces. Jupiter threw blasts of lightning wherever she could, trying to avoid hitting the two people closest to her; however, her attacks were sorely ineffective. As were Kunzite's, for he had not elected to get into close fighting, knowing that the two of them in there were hazardous enough. He'd predicted rightly that the narrow hallways would turn against them; worse than that, they would crack, but not budge.
"Damnit, we have to help them!" she cried out to him. He had just released a swirling blue whirlwind construct to suck away an reforming goo; he hoped it bought them some time.
"How can we, without the risk of killing them as well?" he called back, searching his mind desperately for another attack that would do more damage than he could.
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM!" shouted the woman, cupping her hands. A spear of light formed from it, and she cried out as energy was sapped from her in order to fix it in position. She leapt into the air and brought it to bear against two more of the creatures, her body shield sparking as it repulsed their smell. She could still feel it faintly beat on her, but chose to ignore it as she inexpertly slit them open. The aqua goo spilled out so slowly, yet this was enough to get them off her back. Turning, she faced another, this one who bore his own weaponry. They spared hesitantly with each other, each not knowing quite what to do with what they held. An energetic wind whipped up around her again, followed by the sounds of shrieking, and she knew Kunzite was still okay; the thought enabled her to press her footing against the beast, and ultimately destroy it.
she thought.
Nephrite, meanwhile, danced in and out of his enemies, cutting them down with ridiculous ease. he thought disgustedly. Of course, those were the real problem. The hallway was packed with these gel creatures, barely allowing fighting movements. If it wasn't for his spord, he'd have been swamped by now. It wasn't a thought he relished. He wove in and out some more, quickly slashing the torsos of the creatures and moving on, searching for some clue...wait, there it was! Green lightning whisked by him to annihilate a monster that was about to spear him in the back; as the creature writhed in temporary agony, he smiled. Somewhere in the hallway, Jupiter smiled back at him.
The four defenders held their own for awhile, but that was all they could do: defend, both themselves and their friends. They weren't going to emerged from this unscathed either, for both women had lost small pieces of their fuku, and the men were either bleeding or bruised. Slowly, the tide of aqua goo, hardened and empowered, pushed back at them, giving them no room to think. The amount present was causing their shields to decay as well, allowing more of that incapacitating scent to reach through to them. They all were looking for help, but the other four had not gotten to them yet, and it was uncertain if they would in time. Their mindsets had gone bleak, and the four of them stumbled back once more, now reduced to fightning against the force in a straight line, having no time to assemble themselves into something else.
Nephrite looked to Kunzite, and found his leader looking back. It was time...
"Venus, Jupiter, hold them off for a bit!" Kunzite yelled as he and Nephrite jumped back.
"What?! ARE YOU CRAZY?" Jupiter screamed, hurling two more packets of lightning at the creatures. She now thought of them more as tiny bombs than anything else, and managed to control where they exploded for maximum effect. Still, the four of them working together was barely stemming the tide.
"DO IT!" Nephrite roared back, hands crossing in front of him, eyes closing. He took one breath, and the power slammed into him from the sky, a thin string that fuzzed around him. It looked quite similar to Jupiter's first attack; 'twas what he based it off of, though in reality, this was much, much, much more powerful than that. "STAR POWER..."
"VENUS METEOR SHOWER!" screamed the Senshi, who then managed to take a second to look back at Kunzite. He was bent upon himself, touching the ground, body trembling from concentration. She watched, awed, as streams of blue power began to form around his body, building one on top of another.
"Venus!" Jupiter yelled, and she pivoted just in time to watch a creature start to bring a sword down on her. She slid out of the way, but came in contact with another monster, who leered at her. "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM!" she replied, ripping him open, but more monsters were on top of her.
"VENUS, NO!" Jupiter cried, leaping in with her friend. She piled up back to back with her, to face the incoming; however, they both knew that they were in a real pickle now. Each lashed out with power, but it was a trifle too late. And Nephrite and Kunzite had no clue.
The two men opened their eyes.
"venus."
"jupiter."
"MARS FIRE...IGNITE!"
"MERCURY ICE STORM...BLAST!"
The two forces slapped into the aqua creatures blocking the women, and both hopped out of the way. Along with that came a cloudy lightning that sent each monster into spasms, leaking goo everywhere, and enough crystals shards to make a chandelier.
The others had arrived.
"Now!" shouted another voice. "Now, while you are at your peak!"
"Mars, Mercury!" Venus cried out.
"MOVE!" Jadeite yelled back, soft blue bubbling from him furiously. "THEY'RE GOING TO...!"
"STAR POWER...ANNIHILATE!"
"ENERGY WAVE DISINTEGRATION!"
The room went strangely silent for one moment...
...before the two men released their attacks. Star power and sharp blue energy smashed through the ranks of goo creatures seemingly without effort, turning their forms to atoms before anyone even knew what was happening. The hall filled with a strange white light, and more of the creatures exploded, goo spilling out their sides. The light got intensely brighter, and all of them covered their eyes as horrific gurgles hit their ears, the sound of prolonged goo people death. Finally, the light dissipated, and the eight of them looked up.
There was nothing.
Mercury's computer was out in a flash, visor picking up readings. "That's quite an attack," she reported. "My computer shows no traces left of those monsters."
"I never knew it was that devastating," Nephrite said wearily, looking at his own hands. "I have memories of using it, but...
"Incredible," Jade said.
"You're telling me," Jupiter said, coming up to him with a smile. He smiled back tenderly, face pale; she automatically put an arm around him for support.
"How come you never let on?" Venus asked Kunzite.
"You know him. He doesn't talk much," Zoicite volunteered.
"Pot calling the kettle black," Jade confided to Mars, and she smiled.
"Are all of you all right? It took you awhile to get here," Kunzite said finally, voice soft, offering Venus a smile.
"No resistance, just a lot of messed up hallways," Mars admitted ruefully. "We were mostly led by the sounds of a fight."
"Good thing you got here when you did," Venus said. "We were..."
"Almost toasted? We noticed," Mars cut in.
"Just to think, if we would've let that go when you were there..." Kunzite whispered, voice slowly gaining strength. He shuddered at the thought.
"But you didn't. You let it go at the right time, and managed to destroy it all," Venus consoled. "Don't let it bother you."
"He didn't destroy it all."
The eight's chatter ceased then and there, mood changing with it. Mars and Mercury turned distinctively lighter, and Jade and Nephrite exchanged glances. "I know that voice," Jade said, a touch of growl in his own.
"Ay, remember mine?"
Six of the eight tensed, and the men's faces went darker.
"Apparently they do."
"Show yourselves!" Nephrite yelled. "Now, you cowards!"
Abruptly, a spark of white light lit through the room, followed by a flash of shadow. "I wouldn't say that, you know, for we just saved your lives," Hielo replied, arm tight around Katarina.
Hielo opened his eyes, blinking twice, and searched in his head. Yes, the link was still there, but so much fainter now. And there was something different about it, too, as if it had been locked into a box of some sort, its evil contained. No longer could he be poisoned by it.
He smiled; the light held heat now. He fought against it no longer, for it lived within him. His demons had been exorcised.
he wondered, looking down.
His eyes looked into Katarina's pale yet peaceful face, eyes still closed, head resting somewhat forcefully on his arm.
"Kat," he whispered, fingers brushing her cheek softly. "Kat, wake up."
Her whole body trembled suddenly, and her eyes opened slowly. Blearily, she looked at him, then sat up quickly. "It's...Hielo, could it be..."
He leaned over and silenced her with a kiss that he'd been waiting years to give her. She pulled back, blushing, and he smiled at her coyness.
"Yes, it's true, Kat. We're..."
"HEALED!" she crowed, and now leaned over and kissed him. It was short and sweet, and ended with both of them just looking at each other, grinning. Though it usually didn't knock its "victims" out, the crystal's healing always left one feeling euphoric and happy for an undefined amount of time. Usually, the more evil you'd been, the happier you were. And these two were extremely happy.
It took them a few minutes to get to their feet, between all the kissing and grinning, but within five seconds of their doing so they stopped, looking about. The sounds of a battle raged somewhere behind them, and though they knew not who fought, they knew what side they would fall on this time.
It was also then that they found a peculiar side effect to their healing. When Kat tried to cloak herself in the DF, she found it wasn't DF anymore, but a white substance that shared the same properties. Hielo's was still black, but not rank nor evil; it was a passive sort of shadow, really. Yet this wasn't the time to figure it out, and cloaking themselves again, they set off for the battle.
It had been Kat's light that had helped to decimate the remaining goo creatures, and they'd hovered above the eight of them afterwards, hoping to administer any sort of aid. They had always had guilty feelings about what they had done, especially when out of Priam's proximity for long periods of time; their conscience had just been repressed to the point of seemingly having none. Now, though, their horrors poured over them, and the chance to make amends could not be resisted.
So Hielo had spoken, and they had both cast off their cloaks of invisibility.
And had been immediately charged.
Sailor Mars led the way, eyes beaming with tears. "I can't believe you did that to me!" she screamed, jumping up and lashing out at Hielo. He made the scarcest movement away from her, and her punch grazed his chest and sent him back. She kept on, pushing him to the ground, swiping at him with fists and feet. He thought himself free when her attack began to break apart as she began to break down, Jade at her side; however, there was still Jupiter to contend with. Meanwhile, as he comforted Mars, a nimbus of cloudy blue was aimed at Kat. Neph was bitterly looking around for someone else, star power barely sparking from his fingertips; he was too weak to do a lot of damage. Zoicite stood his ground in front of Mercury, crystal brandished, she taking readings and looking quite puzzled. Even the last two held a grudge, for Kat had tried to take Venus, and Kunzite just didn't like Hielo.
The resistance didn't last overly long, especially when the others realized that their enemies weren't fighting back. They backed off, quizzically, exchanging glances. Finally, Jadeite turned to Mercury and asked, "What's wrong with them?"
"They're different," she replied distractedly. "Their readings...same person, different energy signatures. The last time I saw this was when Sailor Moon used to heal people...but she couldn't! She doesn't have the Crescent Wand anymore."
"She can still heal people," Zoicite said softly, a touch of grimness in his voice. At her look, he whispered, "I'll tell you later."
"So you've been healed?" Mars asked.
The two nodded.
"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL US?!" Jupiter exploded. "It probably would've stopped us from trying to kill you!"
"Would it?" Kat asked softly.
"We've changed on the inside, but on the outside we're still Hielo and Katarina," Hielo added. "We knew you'd only see that, and it's why we didn't fight back. If I were you, and you had done to me what I did to you..." He shook his head. "I would want to kill you. The hatred doesn't stop just because the killer has. It also doesn't stop me from feeling guilty for what I did. And sorry."
"Sorry does change what you did," Mercury said.
"It starts to," Jade replied quietly, cutting off any further arguments. He walked up to Hielo, who by now looked depressed. "You're right. I can't forget what you did...to Mars, or Mercury, or Jupiter." He looked to Kat. "Nor can I forget what you did to me. However, I can try to forgive...try." His face was pained.
Hielo nodded, and his face began to show some signs of cheer. "I am glad I healed you when I did," he said softly.
Surprise flashed over Jade's face, and he looked questioningly at him. "You healed him?" Mars asked, moving by his side.
"It was the Princess' influence, I admit," he said with a shrug. "She managed to..."
Suddenly Kat let out a small groan, and Hielo's eyes widened. The eight stared, until both Jade and Mars looked at each other, paling.
"Can you hear it?" she asked, and he nodded.
"Hear what?" Venus questioned.
"You're sensitives?" Hielo asked the two. "You must be, if you can hear it."
"What are you hearing?" Kunzite demanded.
Jade turned, but stumbled, and Zoicite suddenly touched his forehead. Before anyone else could answer, he whispered, "It's Serena. She's...calling us."
"No time to waste then," Nephrite replied.
"But where are they?" Venus looked to Mercury. "After all, we can't go running off without guidance."
"She's right," Jupiter chimed in, and Nephrite and Kunzite exchanged annoyed looks.
"Fear not about the guidance part," Katarina said.
"Huh? Mercury hasn't even scanned..."
"We will take you," Hielo replied quickly. "It is no ruse. Our former Master is as much our enemy now as yours."
rang through eight's heads, in some form or another; slowly, they all turned to look at Kunzite. He declined to meet each stare, instead turning inside himself.
It took him less than a minute to answer. "Lead on."
* * * *
The rose went flying, a missile of beauty and hope tipped with a killing point on the prowl for prey. At that moment, it was attempting to puncture a soft green spot that moved like tsunami ripple; however, this time, it would take it by surprise...
**thunk**
Priam smiled that irritatingly compassionate smile, eyes edged with glee. "Missed again, Endymion!" he called out. "Can't you do any better than that?"
"My name is not Endymion!" Tux growled, two more roses appearing.
"That's a pity," Priam sighed. "He could've presented a challenge. He always did." A melodramatic sigh, followed by a foaming green nimbus forming about his wrist. "You however...ARE WEAK!"
The foam shot off his wrist, and Tux evaded it...narrowly. He resisted the urge to look at Serena, knowing that it could cost him heavily. It made him even more tense though, for he didn't trust the Sea Prince not to use her against him. He had never trusted him, period.
Priam smiled again. "I can read you, Endymion," he chortled, dodging the roses thrown. He fired off two more shots, and watched his opponent dodge and duck both with apparent ease. He threw a couple more, closely packed together, and smiled at the surprise on Endymion's face when he maneuvered them to follow him. he thought grimly, shouting, "You die now!"
"Not today!" came the shout back, and a spread of roses flew, both at the bursts of power and at him. As he dodged he watched the roses absorb the power and explode; suddenly, a sharp pain flared in his stomach, and he doubled over with a gasp. The whole world came back into view with him on his knees, still gasping, the other gloating.
>Yes! Wa-HOO!< Endymion yelled in his head, and he had to smile. "Who is weak now, Sea Prince? So involved with your pretty explosions that you took your eyes off me." He shook his head, adding, "You idiot."
Rage flooded Priam, and he cried, "I am going to RIP you apart, Endymion!" as he slowly, slowly got to his feet.
he thought, twirling his case and looking for another spot to hit. He was more interested in getting out of there with both he and Serena alive than killing Priam; that wasn't his way.
>He never did,< breathed Endymion. >And if you think you're getting out of here without one of you dead, you're wrong.<
he growled back, cane striking out again and again. He managed to get another shot in his side, but the next try brought disaster. Priam's quick hands--the man was faster than he was--caught the cane, and with a half pained cry of anger he snapped it. The force of the blow threw him backwards, and Priam lunged, one glove noticeably stained. He managed to catch him and toss him back, but not far. Barely was there time for him to get back to his feet before the next charge came. He met it head on, the two locking together and grappling. He knew he was the stronger of the two, but also that this advantage was slashed by Priam's speed. He was an aqua and purple blur, a waterspout whirling his way. Their blows rang out fast and fierce, yet it seemed that every blow Priam struck (and that was bound to happen, no matter what; they were just too close) took a piece of him.
*Feeling weak, Endymion? I can take as well as give!* hissed the sibilant voice in his head. With a roar he broke away from the combat, breathing hard. His chest hurt, and he was unsure what kind of damage his ribs had taken. He was sure he had bruised Priam quite a bit...
The man stared back at him, breathing as hard as he did, but smiling. Smiling! He looked him up and down with those violet eyes, churning with hate and violence and so much pain.
"I will win, Endymion. Pitiful Tux! Pitiful Mask! You cannot stand against an ancient such as I!"
"I have stood against Jadeite and all of those, and those of the Black Moon. You are NO different."
"Idiots. All of them. Beryl, too. Their power would only be enough to be seen! I have the real thing! I am Priam, son of the Sea, and for Moon, I will punish you!"
His felt his eyes widen behind his mask, and his figure stiffened. Priam laughed again, and advanced, pointing to Serena. "This is an old battle, Endymion. You and I have always fought, whether in the before, now, or ever to come. And she...she is the prize. She has always come to you, sometimes before she has met me, sometimes after; it has always come to this. There is no time we will be friends, Endymion, NONE!"
He smiled maliciously, eyes alive with triumph. "And this time I win. I will have the Princess for my Queen, my Queen of Pearls and Shells, because I am more powerful than you! Now, I triumph Endymion! You cannot defeat me, and we all KNOW IT!"
"I will defeat you, Priam. I would die before I let you TOUCH her," he roared back.
Priam shrugged. "Fine. Let us both die. Let the cycle begin again. For if I do not succeed here, my descendants will carry on my quest. It is in their blood to want, to lust for, to crave the white of the Moon." His grin sharpened wickedly. "I believe you know of him, Endymion...his name is Dimando."
White hot rage ripped open inside of him, and he tore off his mask. His eyes bit into Priam, who seemed to brush off their touch without a thought. He trembled; his fists clenched. He was going to kill him. He was going to...
*...Darien...*
It was Serena, he could feel it. He watched as Priam looked up as well, startled; yet Serena looked down upon him. Him, and only him. He drew strength from her eyes, her soft, flinty eyes, and the movement of her lips.
She was mouthing a word.
"Never."
Now encouragement flooded him along with his rage, and an overwhelming sense of well-being. He could feel himself smile, grin even, as he looked upon Priam. The man had turned his eyes from Serena to him, and he could've sworn that he could see...shock...and more pain within them. Then they hardened.
Before he knew it, Priam was rushing him, each hand glowing with foamy power, aqua and purple. He leapt into the air, but Priam was there; he lashed out as fast and as hard as he could, and Priam caught it. Again, the man grunted in pain, but his face hardened into the most sinister smile he'd ever seen.
"Now, Endymion," he whispered, "feel my power."
Both powers surged into his leg, and at first, it merely numbed. He stared at him quizzically, but then the pain started. It began as a mere poking, and quickly enhanced itself into a ripping and tearing pain, just at his ankle. Soon, other pains attached themselves to his legs, locking into his flesh and tearing it away to the bone, working over the nerves surrounding that bone as if it was a skeletal harp, and finally crushing the strings. He screamed; it was probably the most intense thing he'd ever felt. His "death" had nothing on this, nor did Beryl's brainwashing, not even the emotional agony of Katarina and Selene touched this. He was being burned alive by an iceberg as a thousand pins and needles poked inside him; it was as if he'd swallowed something that was trying to chew its way out.
And this was only with Priam gently touching his leg.
The agony lasted for minutes, hours...time matters not to pain. It didn't stop when Priam dropped him, but only intensified with each touch of his body upon the floor as he writhed within it. He was dimly aware that someone was screaming, and it could've been him, or Serena; inside him, even Endymion was under attack.
Like a switch had been pulled, it stopped immediately, leaving him trembling as his shattered body tried to pull itself back together. He looked up dimly at the man who stood above him, who glared at his face...his wet face...his nose was bleeding, maybe. He reached up to touch it, and came back with fingers filled with blood. He longed to squeeze it shut and stop the flow, but he could hardly move his fingers, much less command repeated actions.
"Ahh, Endymion, underestimating me again," Priam gloated. "You see, she will be mine. The Power of the Sea is so beneficial, but torturous as well. I can burn you, crush you, drown you, poison you...and many other things as well." His eyes brimmed with glee. "And you thought you could defeat me with your roses and a few fancy moves. Poor Tuxedo Mask, so badly outclassed he could never realize it."
*Darien!*
Huh? What was...oh yes, Serena. His weakened state allowed her to reach out to him, even though she hung encased in oceanic hues above. He smiled to himself, remembering how pretty she looked, even during times like this; his heart throbbed with each beat, aching and bleeding to know that he could've been wrong.
*Love, I'm sorry, I'm so...*
Priam's boot lashed out, sending him sprawling. "Do NOT touch her mind with your filth again! She is mine, and I value her purity."
"But you don't value her." His voice was rusted as he slowly rose to a kneeling position. His eyes, pained as they were, shone with determination. Slowly, he managed to work his way to his feet, faltering a lot along the way. "You value what you see in her...no, what you saw in Serenity! It has been Serenity that you have been chasing all these years, and I am afraid you are going to be sorely disappointed." He worked his mouth into a twisted grin. "I love her for Serena, for Sailor Moon, and for Serenity. And that is why she chooses me. It is why if you cut off my life, you cut off hers." He grunted, but managed to half lift his arms in challenge. "So go ahead. She'll be dead before you have her anyway."
Priam's mouth tightened, and his fists bawled, anger breaking out all over his face in a mostly unprincely fashion. "You bluff, Endymion. And I am calling it," he replied fiercely, lowly, tightly, in a voice designed to chill him to the bone.
Power formed about him, greens flowing to blues flowing to purples, extending up his arms to his wrists. His eyes began to glow crazily, and the strands of his hair began to float off his head.
*Darien, please...*
*Take care, love. We'll be together soon.*
*NO! There's...*
*No way out? I know. And I love you.*
He could hear her sobbing, but it was the only sound in the room beside Priam's harsh breathing as he summoned all the power he could. He faced him down serenely, a sudden poise coming to him through the pangs of pain, and he prepared himself to take what was coming.
Then, under the soft crying and grunted breaths, came the words. "dead scream!"
The purple planet ball struck Priam on the shoulder, and as he turned, its companion smashed into his chest. The power around him protected him partially, but not enough to completely stop each blow; he went backwards five feet, staggered.
Wisps of green hair flew into his vision, as did the wine colored eyes of a friend. "Pluto," he whispered.
"My Prince, you are a disaster," she whispered back, and he allowed her to slip an arm around him and move him farther away. Across the room, Priam was recovering, yet she judged that there was time enough to begin a partial healing process. Her Orb glowed, and immediately wounds began to knit together, fat was burned, and energy flooded his body. He sighed, blinking twice, then forced himself to his feet.
"You must take the Princess and get out of here," she said without preamble, Orb still working.
"No. I cannot. I must face Priam and win."
"You're in no condition to do so."
"Are you?" He eyed her curiously. "You have this thing about..."
"No, no problems," she said hastily. "And I don't intend on dying, that's for sure."
"Neither did I, but I almost did," he replied. "He has some power."
"I know. It's increased, but I'm not sure..." She suddenly whirled around, saying "Garnet Shield!" and blocked the incoming fuscia blast. He stumbled back against the wall again, sliding down against him. He may have been partially healed, but Priam could rip you apart.
"Stand away from the Lady, Endymion. She and I have business," Priam ordered.
"I'm not in your way, unless you plan to hurt her," Tux growled back.
"Hurt her?" Priam threw back his head and laughed. "I intend to marry the wench!"
Both were caught off guard, and Pluto's shield collapsed. "Marry me!?" she cried out in surprise.
"Of course," he said, approaching with maroon flowers in his hand. Tux noted how Pluto looked suspiciously at them, and wondered if she had come up against this before. "In the ancient custom of the Sea, a man must have two wives, and a Prince more than that. It ensures that he will have heirs to his line, and plenty." His lips curled into a smile. "And I desire you to stand with Serenity at the altar of marriage. As the second wife, you would have less prestige...but only by a fraction. The combination of our powers would be brutal as well." His eyes took on a certain gleam she recognized, and she stepped back as he came closer.
Tux thought as he tried to move away.
"You must transform," Pluto whispered.
"I can't! Not without the Crystal!" he murmured back.
"Yes, you can! Just lose yourself to Endymion!"
"That'll take time."
"I'll stall."
"Be careful."
Pluto nodded, and slowly came closer to Priam. His smile turned into a lascivious grin, and he sped up. Just as Tux began to concentrate on Endymion, she smiled coyly at him.
he thought urgently.
Pluto, meanwhile, had the most irritating butterflies in her stomach. She knew what she had to do, and she didn't like it one bit. Yet she had to stall for time, until Tux could find Endymion in himself. she thought.
"So, my dear, what do you say?" Priam asked when they had gotten within five feet of each other.
"My lord, it is so soon."
"Don't play coy, Pluto. I know your mind, and I know that you will consider my offer. It is much better than any that has been offered to you," he near purred, violet eyes slick with lust. "I have been watching you for a long time."
"I guess then, that I have only one thing to say."
"Then say it." She looked down, and quietly whispered the words. "What, my dear? I couldn't hear you," he said, coming closer.
She whispered the words again.
"Please speak up, Lady," he said again, coming even closer. Now the two of them were within two feet of each other. Again, she whispered the words.
"My Lady, this pretense annoys me."
"Come closer then, my lord," she replied in a voice like a coo.
He smiled, eyes gleaming brighter, and came within another foot of her.
"Prince Priam, I decline your marriage offer on the basis that you are an arrogant, sex obsessed jerk with nothing to offer a girl besides your pretty looks and petty powers," she said, a bemused grin on her face as she looked down at the tiles. Looking up, her maroon eyes flashed at his surprised look, and she added, ever so quietly, "Pluto Garnet Orb Assault."
Her orb crackled maroon, and then heaved the streamers of power at him. He was caught completely off guard, and flew back into the wall. She pounced upon it, lips moving to mouth another attack...
...when suddenly a blast of aqua slammed into her. She fell to the ground with a shriek, sliding across the slick surface several feet. Instantly he was above her, and more power struck at her. She managed to get her staff in the way, but the recoil from the blast was enough to jam it against her ribs, and she cried out in pain. She rolled at the next blast, getting up to one knee, but he moved too quickly for her, scooping her up by the front of her Senshi uniform and throwing her across the room. She tucked her body in and barely made a landing, skidding and turning about. Her staff came up, but a blast of power slapped it aside, wrenching it from her grasp. Now Priam pounced upon her again, hand grabbing her bow and twisting, lifting her in the air.
"I give you the right to be second wife, and you refuse me! Refuse...ME! The Prince of the Sea!" he spat in her face, eyes roiling with intense fury and pain. "On what basis? For the underdeveloped whelp of last time, or for this nothing Prince here?" He jerked her closer. "I will have you, and I will break you! Woman, you are mine!"
She spat in his face. "Death first."
"I can think of things that feel so much better," he replied grimly.
Suddenly, a flash of light cut across her vision, and Priam screamed, dropping her. She fell to the ground in a crouch as Priam came down in a heap, a shape forming nearby her. Her heart filled her throat.
Wesley.
Blood, a dark ichor, was splashed upon the wiry ends of his staff, and as he stood, she could see the power he channeled there. Her eyes fell on his form with loving grace, and she felt her soul cry out in joy. Tears hit her eyes, and not just because her chest ached; he had come for her. He was really her.
But did he...
He looked her way, and trotted over. "Are you all right, Lady?"
"Yes," she managed, very lightly. "What did..."
"I slashed his back," he replied tersely. "Come on, let's get your staff and get out of here."
"We can't. The Prince and Princess."
His eyes grew worried, extremely so, and looked over to them. "We'd better hurry than. I don't know how long..."
"Not long enough, BOY!"
Priam rose heavily into the air, blood staining his gloves, and eyes eerily pointed. "You betray me, Lady Pluto," he heaved. "I would've given you the world, but you betray me for this whelp. I cannot forgive that! You will both DIE!"
It was at this moment that the Generals materialized inside the door.
And Pluto screamed.
"GET OUT OF HERE! GET OUT OF HERE NOW, BEFORE..."
But it was too late. The ripples overtook her; their fate was sealed. She sagged and sobbed against Wesley, as Priam turned to face his new enemy.
Kat and Hielo had led them right to the door, that was true. The problem was, getting through it.
It was obviously locked, and though Hielo and Nephrite and Kunzite heaved and hauled on it, it could not be wrenched open. Neither did Jadeite's spells or Zoicite's crystal attempts pry it open.
So they resorted to a combined effort.
"ONE! TWO! THREE!" Kunzite yelled. "NOW!"
Immediately, auras of attack erupted from them all, of various shades and in all styles, to launch themselves against the door. It was a pyramid style formation, with Katarina at the top, Kunzite and Nephrite beneath her, Hielo, Jade and Zoicite below that, and the Senshi at ground level. They concentrated against it for thirty seconds...a minute...a minute and a half...two minutes...
"HALT!" Kunzite yelled, and immediately he sagged, limply descending to the floor. Of the people who were attempting to get in, only Hielo and Kat looked anywhere near well; the Senshi weren't used to using their powers in this form, and the only General who hadn't been wounded was exhausted from defeating the goo things.
"How...the hell...are we...going to get in?" Jade asked.
"How do we even know this is the right place?" Jupiter asked. She pressed her ear against the door. "I can't hear a thing."
"It is enchanted that way," Kat replied. "No sounds in, no sounds out. They do not know we are here, but we know they are there."
"There's a battle aura, love," Nephrite said. "Feel it?" "Not really," she replied with a chuckle, pushing herself up against it.
"They're...right," Mercury said, fingers working slower than usual over the keys. Zoicite looked over her shoulder, tapped a few keys himself as she leaned against him, and then encircled her waist with a limp arm. "The door is enspelled, and there is a fight going on in there."
"Who is in there?" Mars asked.
"I read Tuxedo Mask's signature, plus what looks like the sig of Sailor Moon's new form, but there's an unknown one that I cannot identify."
"Priam," Katarina said softly.
"Priam," Zoicite echoed back.
"He'll kill Tuxedo Mask," Hielo reported definitively. "He hates him worse than anything."
"I'm sure Darien can handle him," Venus said semi-confidently. "He's developed a few new tricks over the years."
"Our former Master has increased his powers beyond reason," Kat said, shaking her head. "Unless he too has done that, there is no way he can defeat him."
Glances were exchanged among them all, especially among the Generals, and finally Nephrite asked, "Is there a spell that blocks teleportion as well?"
"No, it doesn't appear so," Mercury reported. "But..." her eyes widened. "You can't go in there alone!"
"We won't be alone," Zoicite replied gently. "The Four of us are used to working as a team, especially with Sailor Moon."
"Besides, we are the Prince's protectors, and he appears to need us," Jadeite said, looking at Mars. Her eyes held a special wistfulness for him, and he brushed her cheek.
"But he might..." Jupiter started, but Venus held up her hand.
"They have to go," she whispered. Looking at Kunzite, she added, "We cannot interfere with that duty, just as they cannot interfere with ours."
Jupiter stared daggers at her, then looked at Nephrite, eyes trembling. Finally, she turned away, nodding.
"GENERALS ASSEMBLE!" Kunzite yelled, and the four of them grouped around him. For a moment he paused, letting silent farewells go out, his own eyes locked on Venus. Then, they vanished into a haze of energy.
Immediately, Jupiter swung a punch into the door. "It's not fair!" she cried out. "That they have to go, when we can't get in without..."
"Jupiter..." Mars said softly.
"WHAT?!" she snapped, spinning on them, expecting a rebuff. However, what she saw was them staring at her. Or not her...she turned back, and her eyes flew wide.
There was a dent in the door where she punched it.
"I have an idea," Hielo said.
As soon as they were inside the room, Kunzite did a quick survey of the room. This was, of course, when Pluto screamed at them, calling attention to their position and the fact that they were here. Kunzite gritted his teeth; the Lady had always been so battle calm before, what happened now.
a tiny voice reminded him, but he brushed it off. They had to be fast now, for Priam, a great bloody slash across his back, was turning about now.
"Zoicite, find the Prince. See to him. Jadeite, Nephrite, with me!" His sword formed in the air, and he charged forward. A metallic whip came to Jade's hand, as the spord came to Nephrite's. Quickly, they flew into the air, spreading out over the room as Zoi disappeared.
"I'll come back to you later," Priam muttered, turning away from the two, and he phased out.
"Setsuna, Setsuna, what is wrong?" Wesley asked, shaking her.
"Oh Wes...they can't be here. It's a ripple, a possibility for me coming here, and it's going to come true. They're...they could die. They might...oh Wes, it's almost certain they will!"
"Then we'd better stop it, here and now," he said.
"How? Without risking..." Her eyes widened. "You don't mean?"
"Hold the thought, but let's try and free the Princess first. If things look..."
She cut him off with a swift peck on the cheek. "Right." Quickly she jumped to her staff, and then into the air, as he dazedly smiled. Then, coming back to Earth again, he leapt after her.
By now, Zoicite found the Prince, dazedly leaning against a wall. He whistled at the sight, immediately snapping a weak shield into place. "You're in bad shape," he whispered.
"Zoi?"
"One and only," he replied, forming a hexagonal healing crystal in his hand. He opened his gloved hand, and set it there. The soft yellow-green aura, the trademark of his healing, spread over Tux, and he sighed. A good sign, for it meant his body was responding to the magic. He concentrated now on forming two crystal spears, forcing a little energy into them in order to take more out of Priam. His eyes worriedly looked outside, quickly following the blurs that had filled the room. he thought as he watched Priam fend off Kunzite and Jadeite at the same time.
The stirring of fabric snapped his attention back to the Prince, and he knelt down beside him, saying, "No, don't move. Don't move. Works slower if you move. Come on, Tux, be a good man and listen to me on this case."
"Same old, same old," came the cloudy reply, and a smile surfaced on Zoi's face.
Pluto by now had managed to boost herself up to the Princess, who was watching with worried eyes the fight below. She barely managed to mouth a warning before the green struck, send her tumbling towards the ground; only a quick catch by Wesley managed to save her possible broken bones. "What?" he asked.
"She's shielded!" she gasped out. "Powerful, reactive...very Dark Trioish."
"You think they came up with it by themselves?" he replied with a smile. "Come on, we can beat that. It can only extend out so far, you know."
"Yes, I do kn..."
Her words were broken off as Jadeite sailed past them, headed straight for the wall. The aura about him was a flaming green as he tried to pull himself straight, barely getting his head away before smacking into the wall. The two barely exchanged looks before going over to him.
"So strong," he was saying as they knelt by him. "He's...hey Pluto. And..."
"Wes," the man quickly filled in. "Injuries?"
"Hurting all over help?" came the quip as he grabbed onto their arms, and with a groan raised himself from the floor. "Grr...he has my whip!"
A lance of green flew at them, and barely was Jade able to shield them before it struck. Though they were safe, the shield cracked open, and Jade's eyes fluttered towards close.
"No!" Pluto pleaded. "No, don't give up yet."
"What's wrong?" Wesley mouthed.
"His power depends on his own personal energy," she explained. "If he doesn't have enough, or can't get another source, he passes out!"
"Can we be his source?"
"Do you see a bed around here we can sleep on? He feeds on auras, and..."
"I know. That drains." He stood, his eyes hard, and his mouth set in a line. "We have to do it, Setsuna."
"There's still three Generals left!"
"They're not going to make it. He's too powerful. Can't you feel that?"
"We can't give up on them so soon! And we have to try for the Princess!" Her eyes watered slightly, maroon orbs pleading desperately for a little more time.
"I feel I will regret this, but all right. A little more time. Let's try again for the Princess."
"STAR POWER!" Nephrite called out, fingers working quickly as the threads of universal power filled his fingers. He grabbed the net and threw it at Priam, following it up with three more hefty blasts. Although he could never truly run out of power, he could get weary handling it, and now he was tired. His bruises from before ached; there was only so much a quick healing could do. Yet he fought on. He had to. For his sister, his princess, and the Prince he'd sworn to protect.
Kunzite came from the other side as the net draped itself over Priam, sword glowing from tip to hilt with blue energy. The net anchored itself to the floor as Priam turned to meet the charge with a blast of purple. It easily sliced through the net of star power, and Kunzite barely managed to reflect it off his sword. One of his shots of star power did manage to hit him, but nothing seemed to face him anymore. Nephrite knew for a fact that Jade had cut him, and Kunzite as well, but the man showed nothing as the blood dripped from his body. Nothing.
Swiftly, the man now flipped away, rapidly firing shots of mixed color foam at the two of them. They could only block so many, and their shields were at minimum; he felt the breath rush from his lungs as the power struck both sides of his chest. He stumbled against his spord, and looked to Kunzite, whose weariness was actually visible on his face.
Now, Priam smiled, a smile he was coming to hate readily. "You are no match," he said, as he had been saying since they'd engaged him. "No one can match me."
"Shut up," he replied.
"Make me."
He let out a loud yell and rushed forward, spord ready. He slashed, turned, stabbed, weaving in and out of Priam's defenses, hitting him at least twice. But there was no effect on the man, and the power blasts just kept coming and coming and coming.
He never saw it coming. From out of nowhere, a deep blue shard of foam knocked him in the head, and he went flying backwards. His managed to take the fall properly, but painfully, and as he rose he saw blood drip to the floor. He wiped it away, but it beaded back up again; he knew it. Looking about, he saw Jade sprawled against a wall, and grimaced; the overexertion must have been too much for him, and he was either passed out or just about there. Two flashes were in constant motion towards the ceiling, which must have been Pluto and whoever trying to crack the Princess out; he hoped they succeeded. However, he couldn't see Tux or Zoi, which was the only right thing that was happening, since it meant Zoi had shielded them.
Now there was a scream, and he saw Kunzite lurch. Quickly he teleported to his friend, and without thinking brought him out of the battle. From within the ground, hazy with power, he heard a laugh...and saw that his friend was badly slashed and oozing blood.
"Neph...let me go."
"You're really hurt, Kunz, and I need..."
"No, we've got to go back. I almost had him. Almost..."
"Kunzite, you're dazed. You need healing."
"Let me..."
"Yes, let him rush to his death," Priam said, walking from the mists, power curled about his wrist. "I will enjoy it. You four were always as disdainful as your Prince. And taking the fair company of the Senshi from those that deserved it...Jupiter is a lovely girl, and I'd love to reacquaint myself with the charms of Venus."
"Watch it," Nephrite growled as Kunz pushed up against his restraining hands, gray eyes afire.
"Sore spot, isn't it?" Priam laughed.
Floating above them, Setsuna and Wesley saw, heard, and felt the whole thing. And they knew it was time.
She looked to him, and his eyes found hers. Silently, they said their farewells and such, knowing that at this time any spoken emotion could distract them. Coming to the ground, they stood their staffs on end on the outside, and joined hands on the inside.
"Priam!" Pluto called out. "We must speak."
"There is nothing to say, Lady Slut," he replied.
Wesley tensed, but Pluto shot him a soothing look, took a deep breath to calm her own heated blood, and said, "Oh yes, there is. You have not finished with us, remember?"
"But I am about to kill two Generals who most deserve it," he replied, a touch of pleading in his voice.
"Priam..."
He sighed. "I can never refused a lovely lady anything, even a whore. And I have known my good share of whores." His dark eyes sparked at her. "You have a chance, still."
"And I still decline."
"What do you wish to speak about?"
At that moment, the door burst open, revealing four Senshi and Hielo and Kat. All looked that way, and all reacted differently.
Zoi cringed. Jade's eyes watered. Kunzite and Nephrite cried out to them. Pluto nearly broke her connection with Wesley. And Priam...smiled.
"More women after me, eh?" His eyes narrowed at the sight of the two former Trio. "Well, you two have betrayed me as well."
"We were healed of our former evil, and now we have come against you!" Hielo yelled.
"We wish to be rid of our affiliation with you!" Kat added.
"Oh, you do? Easily arranged." He snapped his fingers.
Both of them fell to the ground, spasming. He looked to Pluto, whose mouth had dropped.
"I broke the connection," he told her. "They will not die, but the pain will be intense." He smiled, a grim smile, fitting in with his blood stained and bruised figure. He took a step towards them now. "And now I shall dispose of you."
"Ready?" Wesley asked quietly.
"Yes," she whispered back.
Their eyes closed as Priam lunged.
Suddenly, the room went very still, as a clear, pulsing shield sprang up around the time of them. All were still, Priam stopped in mid leap, staring at the center of the widely expanding half globe of energy that cut through the floor. Slowly, those in the center began to rise until their feet were barely off the ground, staves now held firmly in their unattached hands, fingers wrapped close to their tops. The whole room held their collective breaths and the hair on their heads was ruffled, and then flew straight upwards, more of the white energy pulsating out from underneath them.
"Pluto!"
The cry came from Tux, who appeared at the very edge of the sphere, eyes wide with horror. Once the two had taken a journey together, a very dangerous journey, and she had told him something about this.
/"You can detach it?"/
/"Yes. Well, partially. I can take it off my staff, but I dare not actually handle the Orb itself. It is the purest essence of time and magic, and while I would have power beyond imagining, I would lose my form to the winds of time." A dark gleam in her eye. "It is a most dangerous and painful experience./
"No," he whispered. "Pluto, no!"
*Too late to argue now, eh Endymion?*
As he watched, as they all watched, a haze formed around the upper parts of the staffs. Time seemed to tick by on a millennial order as those metal bits that surrounded the piece of each staff began to liquefy and tear apart, flying away in strands of silver and golds. The onyx turned a brilliant clear, bits of purple blending into the aura; the Garnet Orb shone in the most brilliant maroon-purple color, hazily shifting between the two hues.
There was a pause, and the two in the center exchanged a subtle glance in the light of the glowing pieces, each skirted by metallic strands. Then, together, they faced forward, closed their eyes, and shouted one word.
Whatever it was, it was lost in what happened next.
The fly away strands of silver and gold seemed to sprung to life, each curling quickly around the staff it came from, including the fingers there. Both let out little cries of pain as their staves seemed to melt beneath the metallic onslaught, until the strands fused together. Now each held a great metallic staff, one silver, one gold, the auras on the top pieces brightening exponentially.
It was done. They had freed their talismans.
The white globe disappeared, and time resumed itself. Priam fell forward; Tuxedo Mask fell down. Each General sprang to their feet. Sailor Moon beat against the slim enclosure that held her from above. Hielo and Katarina took a pained breath. The Senshi stood there, powers on their fingertips, ready to release.
"What.." Priam started to say, rising.
"TO YOUR SENSHI!" Pluto screamed out hoarsely, pain tearing in her voice. Her whole body trembled from her linked fingers to those buried beneath the gold of the staff; sweat ran down her forehead, mixing with tears. "NOW!"
The Inners looked at each other in surprise, and stepped as one farther into the room. Pluto's eyes widened, and looked wildly for those who were supposed to guard them. she thought desperately, her eyes at last meeting Kunzite's.
Pain met pain, and understood.
"GENERALS, MOVE!" Kunzite cried out, scrambling over. Venus barely knew what was happening as he knocked her away, a shield springing to life about her. Similar things were happening with the others, though Nephrite and Zoicite did manage to refrain from the complete knock down. They turned....
Wesley and Pluto screamed. No one knows what they said, for the words were drowned out by the rising roar of power that echoed about the room. Light, a pulsating light, poured from their bodies and their staffs, golden and silver and maroon and excruciating white, and all of it slammed into Priam.
His eyes widened, and he cupped his hand, just as the power blast roared into him.
For a few moments, they could still see the two of them at the center, holding hands, other hand on the staff, screaming. And screaming. And screaming. The lines of their bodies seemed fuzzed, and the brilliant aura of both began to play about them...
Then the vision was shut out by the white light that filled the room. It struck the Generals, felling the four in one stroke, buzzing fiercely against the shields of the Senshi. It pushed Tux against the wall, his body fiercely ensconced within his cape, turned away. It tickled Sailor Moon, the green of her shield cracking and heaving with the effort of keeping her protected. There was one final wave of white light, so bright that it seemed as if a sun was being born in their mist, and then the sound of a candle being blown out.
Darkness came. No one stirred. The floor was cracked in pieces, the walls lined like veined leaves, the ceiling splintered, yet the room still held together. Of the pair, there was not even a scorch mark, nothing but two crossed staffs laying on the floor, smoking slightly. The room chilled as winds began to penetrate it from the outside, and it grew dimmer.
In this rubble, a form stirred. One gloved hand, torn and bloodied, pushed against the floor. Slowly, a body rose, aqua hair split into a thousand pieces, bruises lining the body. The form turned on its back, and began to laugh. The sound slowly rose and echoed throughout the dark room, bouncing off the walls, and into the ears of all others who were awake.
There were pitiful few of those.
"I...will..." Venus moaned softly, trembling, beginning to push herself up. "Oh God...hurt..."
"Shush," came soft breathing. "Shush."
"Mar...Mer..Jup?" she questioned quietly. "Where..."
"Shush, shush, shush..."
Abruptly, she realized that she wasn't hearing someone's breathing, but someone talking. "Who..."
"Venus?"
The voice came from the dark nearby her, and she turned in that direction. Dimly, she thought it was Mars, but wasn't sure. "Mar...Mars?"
"Oh God, I'm so...sore," broke out an abrupt voice through the pattern of "shushes" that seemed to form a backbeat in the air. Venus managed an extremely weak smile; that was Jupiter. Which only left one...
"Mercury?" she whispered lowly. "Does anyone..."
"Barely here," came the croaking reply through the chorus of "shushes."
"That's all..." she whispered. "Is...all?"
"Where?"
As if by agreement, the four women began to shift towards each other, scraping across cracked tile and fallen wall, driving up dry dust to hack on. Mercury touched Jupiter first, and they both stopped, letting out heavy breathes; next, Venus touched Jupiter, and finally Mars put her hand on the stack. They four sat like that, in the midst of ruin, for awhile, just breathing.
Then the room began to lighten. It wasn't white light, but a sort of shimmering blue mixed with a liberal dose of green, the color of a coral ocean. It began as a dot far away from them, and slowly spread out to touch every corner of the room with shallow, shallow light, as of that from a candle. Then, it brightened, becoming equivalent to a dimming light bulb. The women looked about, but the center of the light was just too bright for their eyes, and even shielded they could not see. However, the light was doing more than just illuminate the room; it seemed to poke through the head wound haze that had settled over the group. As one, they stiffened, eyes widening. For in the growing pool of light that was enveloping the room, they could see no trace of the Generals.
"Oh...no..." Mars breathed. "No...no."
"They have to..." Jupiter started, eyes trembling. "Somewhere."
"They...shields! I know...they had..." Venus whispered.
"Wait...listen..." Mercury said as fiercely as she could. Her hand struggled beneath the pile. "It's them...listen..."
And the shushing continued. Only now, they realized exactly who was making them.
"Got to..." Mercury struggled with, and they all let go. Each boosted themselves to their feet, and began to move, however slowly, towards the sound. Amazingly, they found themselves walking out of the doorway, away from the barely lit hallway into the aqua light of the room. Though it shaded them odd, it gave each a clear look at how the others were. It seemed that Mercury and Jupiter were the best off, and Mars and Venus the worst, because the latter had been much closer to the blast. They all had their share of bruises, though amazingly nothing was broken, despite the battering they'd taken. There was silence along with their grim determination, silence and the hope that those they kept in their hearts were all right.
They were not.
It was again Mercury who stumbled across them first, and fell to her knees. She gave a little exclamation, a pained "oh", that had the others turning about to see...
Four blood trails, of slightly varying color and no varying thickness. Four curvy arrows carved in red, pointing straight towards their direction. Scraps of cloth to litter the trail, torn to staunch blood flows or discarded due to the dragging.
Four men, hunched over another, hands tattered as they glowed faintly with the last of their energy. Four men, trying to serve and save another. Four men who made tiny sounds, soft shushing, as they worked, trying to force that much more energy out of themselves.
Four men who were dying.
"Oh God," Venus gasped out, and Mars began to cry. In slow motion, the men stood, and in an achingly slow way, managed to turn around. Cords of energy still bound them to the man behind them, eyes closed as his aura built up, tuxedo even more tattered than usual. They lifted their heads, and looked upon their women for the last time, eyes clear.
"Please, no," Jupiter said, stepping forward. She hesitantly reached out a hand for Nephrite, and he smiled at her, brown eyes melting her heart once more. His form then stiffened, and slowly, blacked threaded white power licked at his sides, and he dissolved away.
"Jade, no," Mars pleaded, coming close to him, and his eyes brightened upon the sight of her. He put his hand out, palm up, and she covered it hesitantly. He sighed, and in a cloud of blue melted away.
"I need you, please," Venus whispered, moving forwards, and Kunzite's eyes softened. He spread his arms wide for a hug, and as she let herself be enclosed by them, sharp blue sizzled, and he was gone.
Mercury scooted towards Zoicite on her knees, head down, tears falling down her face. He touched her head, and she came to her feet to see his green eyes, so soft that her heart began to weep. He mouthed "I love you" before his formed froze, and shattered away.
*Our last gift,* Tuxedo Mask heard as he opened his eyes to see the four Senshi in front of him, sobbing so softly and piteously.
And the light grew. It was now bright enough to let the entire room be seen in all it's strewn glory, as well as to see the bearer of the light. He still clung to the ground, and from within his darkened glove came the light, shafts of it escaping through his fingers. He slowly sat back now, and floated off the ground, gripping it even tighter. Carefully, cautiously, he floated over to them, that damned, damned grin on his face.
"It seems that I have finally freed four of the most beautiful women in the universe," he whispered. "Will you join me now?"
The women stiffened. Tuxedo Mask growled. The room retained its silence for one more instant.
"NEVER!" Mars and Venus roared out together, turning upon him.
"VENUS LOVE CHAIN..."
"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE..."
"ENCIRCLE!"
"SURROUND!"
The powers whipped at him, followed quickly by "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH" and "MARS FIRE IGNITE". Now the other two turned, their powers igniting upon their fingertips as they prepared to avenge those who had saved them.
"Ahh, poor ladies," he chuckled, opening his hand. Within it rested a lightly glowing, dark aqua crystal, light playing games within its textured surface. Without a word, the glow darkened, and the powers that the Senshi had thrown were sucked within it.
"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!"
"MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST!"
"When will you learn?" he said in a low, teasing voice, purple eyes gleaming. "I am protected now." The crystal glowed again, and the powers were once again sucked up into it. He floated closer yet, each woman backing away slowly. He looked each up and down in a calculating way, and sighed. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you would still fight me. However, I cannot afford to lose anymore beauty today, and therefore..."
"Oh, shutup," Venus growled. "Just...shut...UP! We will never become your whatever!"
"Venus is right! We stand on the side of good, of justice!" Jupiter roared.
"To take our loves from us...you will suffer for this!" Mars promised in a threatening voice.
"Prepare to pay, scumbag!" Mercury cried out.
"Ladies, ladies, ladies, you never will learn." He raised his crystal at them. "SEA TIDAL..."
They lunged as one towards him.
With one motion, he mowed them all down, crystalline power ripping through their bodies with ease. None screamed; none had time to before they fell, flat, cold, gone.
The room went dark once more.
It only stayed that way for a moment before filling to the brim with aqua light and high pitched, maniacal laughter. Priam stood now, hands cupped around the fiercely glowing crystal, laughing and laughing, even as blood spurted from his body, even as muscles spasmed and bruises blossomed all over him.
"Foolish...didn't I tell you?" he gasped out again, eyes brimming with tears. "And I won. I won! I told you, and I won! I have the power to beat them all...beat...them all!" His voice grew malicious, and the glow from the crystal subsided. Yes, he knew he was still out there, Endymion the coward! To let the Senshi die..."ENDYMION!" he shouted. "FACE ME AT LAST!"
"I am here, Priam," came the strong voice.
He whirled, and laughed again at the sight of the maskless Tux standing firm against him. "Like that?" he giggled, hand closing about the end of his crystal. "Oh, I don't think so!"
A hilt sprouted in his hand, and within seconds a dark aqua sword had grown from the crystal. He slowly pointed it down, the light within reflecting off his sinsterly dark and poison eyes, mouth slightly open and drawn into an evil grin. "You will be spitted like a pig," he replied. "No one, no one, can face my healer, my power, the Crystal of the Sea!" He took a few practice cuts as he advanced, leaving delicate trails of light aqua light, and still Endymion did not flinch. "And especially not you. Face it now--I...HAVE...WON!"
Tuxedo Mask tilted his head, and smiled a dark and knowing smile. "Have you?" he questioned lightly.
"You cannot beat me, and you know it."
"But you haven't faced me yet."
"What?"
An aura formed about him, and in a second, Tuxedo Mask had split into two forms. One wore a mask and a serious expression...and the other was Endymion, a challenging grin on his face. Slowly, the two recombined; with a snap of light, the two forms were merged, the effect quite dramatic. Tux raised his cane, and it became a sword, just a light and deadly as the one Priam held. "You haven't faced ME, Priam," came Endymion's voice from that dark grin. "Or should I say, US. For Endymion may not be able to defeat you, and Tuxedo Mask may not be able to defeat you, but together," he lightly touched the point of his sword to the man's, "we shall triumph!"
Priam growled, and lunged. Again, the fight was on.
Sailor Moon's eyes opened to the sounds of metal upon metal. She lay there for a second as her vision cleared, trying to establish where she was, who she was, and all the other fine points of waking up.
she thought as she stiffly attempted to get up. Falling back, she winced as her head contacted the floor; with that, her eyes widened, and achingly she rose to her elbows, looking around. She was behind a pile of collapsed wall at the far corner of the room, the stiff dust in the air carrying a faint metallic smell with it. The clanging could still be heard behind it, enhancing her pounding headache; slowly, wondering if she could hear her joints creak, she managed to sit up the whole way.
It was like a lightning bolt had struck her brain, and horrified she covered her mouth. The last thing she remembered was watching Pluto and that man work together to unleash a dreadful blow to Priam, and then...then this.
she thought. She half dragged herself over to the rubble pile, and up it, peering out at the room.
Priam and...well, it looked like a cross between Endymion and Tuxedo Mask, except he held a sword; they were fighting across the room. Everytime their swords touched came the distinctive metal clanging she knew so well, and arcs of sea foam and purple touched arcs of white and red. Her love, she noted, was masterfully using his sword against Priam, who was at somewhat of a disadvantage with the weapon. As she stood up and began to scramble over the pile, he sent his sword crashing down on Priam's, jarring the blade in the man's hand to the point of pain. He pressed on relentlessly as she dragged herself to the top, and managed to take off a good hunk of Priam's clothing as skittered to the bottom. It took her a minute to stand, and in that time, Endymion whacked viciously at Priam's head, skimming a piece of hair from it. Priam retaliated with a thrust, but Endymion was there, and his sword began to blur as he pressed on the man once more. Fear, for the first time, began to spring into Priam's eyes and face, but he kept on.
Just as she began to walk towards them across the floor, he cleverly wrenched the sword from Priam, sending it clattering across the floor. The man began to back up, but Endymion leapt towards him, the point of his sword slicing a line from the crook of his throat to his crotch. Blood welled up in the line as Priam let out a hoarse cry, and glared at him.
"You wouldn't kill an unarmed man," he panted, voice lined with genuine fear.
"Why shouldn't I? You've killed everyone else," came back the grim voice, and with a final crushing lunge, he speared Priam in the belly, hacking across. The man let out a gurgle, and a forceful kick sent him sprawling into the wall, where he lay, dazed and finally dying.
"Everyone?"
Her voice carried across the room, and Endymion whirled to face her. "Princess," he whispered, and in a twinkle was at her side.
"Everyone?" she whispered again. "He's taken...everyone?"
"Pluto and the man, the Generals, your Senshi," he replied in a low, sodden voice. "I am so sorry, my love..."
"The Generals? My brothers, dead?"
"Yes, love, I..."
"And my Senshi?"
"Yes."
"All dead," she whispered again, and her fists clenched. "All...dead..." Her eyes began to glow, tears running out, and she sucked in fierce breaths.
"NO!" she screamed. "I won't allow it!" In one motion, she wrenched the broach from her chest, crying out, "CRYSTAL!!!"
/She plunged.../
/She fell.../
/Liquid white surrounded and enveloped her, light as air, fluid as water, draining in and draining out of her./
/She stood before a woman, an ageless woman, features of crystalline pain, eyes of knowledge. >My child,< she whispered. >Why come to me?I know.Do you know what you ask?You ask for a sacrifice, child. Life cannot be given freely; there is a balance to be kept between that and death. To ask for their lives means you must give something.No.Not today, child, because there is more.< Casually, her hand waved, and the crystal panes about them filled with the images of each victim. Pluto. The man. Venus. Nephrite. Kunzite. Jupiter. Mars. Zoicite. Jadeite. Mercury. Serena's eyes streamed tears to see them all, staring serenely at her as if everything was all right./
/>The Generals would've died of their wounds, administered by Priam, helped by Pluto, finalized by their need to protect. The sacrificed what remained of their life energy to Endymion in order for him to win the battle. Thus, they are nearly in balanced, yet there is one thing you can do for them.Yield the Dark Crystal to me.The Senshi gave themselves out of love, and the rage, but also to by Endymion the time he needed to become what he is. However, their sacrifice is not complete; they must give more of themselves. They must lose a part of themselves.Are you sure they are ready to make such?Done, then.You have two more left, Pluto and her Wesley. They did the most damage they could to Priam, and if it were not for the Crystal of the Sea, they would've killed him.That Crystal serves its master's mind, and can augment his skills, focus his energy...but if he is dying, it can do naught but glow. It is very hard to explain...Yes, the chronal pair. They touched the true power of their staffs, and paid a great price for it. The pain of this sacrifice puts them in complete balance.It is all I can do, and it may not be enough.< The lady smiled, light brightening her from the inside. >I must take a bit of your own life force in order to help Setsuna and Wesley along...do not fear...you are...you are... she thought softly, her eyes tearing up again. She leaned into him, holding him tightly, and began to sob. He held her close, and they rocked in each other's arms.
He watched them across the way as he felt his body die.
It disgusted every fiber of his being, every fiber that had now begun to come apart, to rot and decay as his life slipped away from him.
He coughed, and tasted blood. The crystal was lifeless in his hand. He knew it would be; it was not the Silver Crystal, after all. The blood was red, and bitter, and he wanted to spit it all over them. Those two, that pair, they had killed him...
his mind whispered.
He struggled to get up, one hand on the viscious slice across his belly, making sure that all that was there stayed in. He had so little power left...so little...he was dying, fading, and it was NOT FAIR.
He should've won.
He should've had her.
It was HIS time to win! Endymion wasn't powerful, and she was within his grasp.
Oh, he loved her...
A sudden presence at his elbow, and he commanded his head to turn. There, as rotted as he was, was Selene, eyes thick with worry. He let a slip of a smile escape him as she leaned over to him, bruised and melted face cracking comfort at him.
Yes.
This was the key.
The key...
"I love you, Master," Selene whimpered to him. "I would never betray you. Never betray...you..."
"I...know..." he rasped out. "I...want...you...to...do..."
"Anything," she whimpered, a raggedly fleshed hand reaching for him. "Anything for you."
He began to channel his power to her, all of it that he could, his life ebbing away as he did. His eyes turned back to the pair, now split up, bent over the bodies of the others, checking them.
"Get..." he began to order as she stood. The world was rapidly becoming colder, and darker, and he struggled to whisper his last words. The coils of his intestines poked from his body as he feverishly tried to rise, to speak. Darkness cloud his vision. "Get..." he rasped out again as he watched Selene sway away from him, her body misting rapidly into energy, hiding what she had lost under the torch of Sailor Moon.
"GET..." he tried again, voice not making it above the faintest whisper. His life was finished, and he slumped back, watching her move, watching her aim...
No.
It was not fair.
his mind screeched as it shut down.
All went dark.
Serena was taken almost completely off guard.
One moment, she was kneeling by Jadeite, crying softly as she watched her once dead brother's form began to solidify and strengthen, the color sprouting on his face. She was just starting to stand when she heard the sound behind her, and whirled about.
It was...Selene! The one who had done so much damage to her loved ones! Except something was different about her...something really odd...her form was misty, and all about her was a cloud of aqueous energy.
she thought urgently.
Taking advantage of her form--she was still, and had been since the beginning, Sailor Moon--she twirled the Moon Rod in her hands. As her mouth opened to cry out her attack, she felt a sudden freeze come over her limbs. Selene smiled, her face a rictus of death as more of her body decayed away, forming into the energy she channeled.
"NOW...YOU..." she began.
"NO!" she shouted, and wrenched herself away, pulling partially out of the field that held her. She stumbled, nearly falling, attempting to scramble away.
There was no chance.
Selene opened her mouth to scream out the final word, but as she did, the rest of her body became the energy she channeled. In one final blinding blast, she dissolved away and struck out at Sailor Moon, Serena. It was only the last movement that saved her from the full force; still, a good piece of it clipped her in the shoulder. Her eyes widened, and in shock, she felt her head explode in a pain she'd never known.
All went dark.
this way about our love
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