A Black Moon fanfic

"The Taking of Crystal Tokyo"

by aviatrix88@yahoo.com

*****

Part Two: Honour at War

*****

It took a while for Prince Diamond's words to sink in, but when they did, 
it felt as if the floor had dropped from underneath Alexandra.

 she thought, her eyes widening.  But the icy look in his eyes told her that he was 
deadly serious.

And then she also recalled that King Endymion was Neo-Queen Serenity's 
consort... Alexandra tried not to wince. The Prince's obsession with the 
Queen was notorious among those within the royal circles.

Though she managed to keep her expression neutral, Diamond must've sensed 
her apprehension, for he continued, "I realize that this will be a 
difficult task for you, but the attack on Earth should distract everyone 
sufficiently for you to enter the palace undetected. I have complete faith 
in your abilities, Alexandra." 

The Prince cocked his head to one side. "Sapphire has said much about your 
competency as a commanding officer," he commented, causing her to flush 
slightly. "And I believe him. I am sure you will do all in your power to 
accomplish this mission." His gaze hardened. "I will not tolerate failure, 
Commander."

"I will do my best," she managed to reply.

"See that you do," he replied; the ice in his tone made her blood run cold.

"That is all... You are dismissed."

She bowed deeply, automatically, and turned to leave. As she reached the 
door, Prince Diamond called out.

"Alexandra?" 

She turned. "Your Highness?"

"One more thing. I would also appreciate if you would keep the details of 
your mission a secret; especially from my brother." His stern, violet gaze 
met hers. "I trust you will do so." Alexandra inclined her head, casting 
her eyes to the floor. 

"Yes, your Highness," she answered, her voice low. Nodding, the Prince 
turned away.

Alexandra silently exited the War Room; it seemed sacriligious to 
dematerialize in the presence of her ruler. She then walked slowly down 
the hallway. 

She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't notice Sapphire 
standing in front of her until she almost walked into him. When Alexandra 
noticed this, she looked up, surprised.

"My Lord," she said uneasily, "Forgive me, I didn't see you over there. 
Please--"

"Alexandra, I need to talk to you," Sapphire said, abruptly cutting her 
off. 

Then, much to her astonishment, he took her arm and teleported them both 
to his office. As she reeled from the shock of this, Sapphire walked over 
his desk. He then leaned on it, staring at her intently. With a start, 
Alexandra suddenly realized she was being observed. She quickly came to 
attention. 

"Alexandra," he began, without delay. "You must tell me what my brother 
told you in the War Room just now." His eyes met her resolutely impassive 
gaze. 

"I can't," she replied quietly.

Sapphire's eyes widened. "What?"

"I was told by the Prince," she continued, trying to keep her voice steady,
"that it was be kept secret." 

"Even from me?" he asked, almost plaintively. There was a pleading look in 
his eyes. 

Alexandra dropped her gaze. "Especially from you."

Sapphire's expression hardened. "I see," he replied coolly, turning his 
back on her. 

At this, Alexandra's resolve softened; she felt she had to explain. 
"Sapphire, Prince Diamond specifically ordered me not tell you; he 
practically commanded it. As Commander of the Elite Guard, you know I can't 
break my word to my liege lord."  she added silently.

His back remained turned against her. Alexandra wondered if Sapphire would 
ever reply... After what seemed like an eternity, he sighed.

"Your loyalty to the Prince does you credit, Commander," Sapphire conceded 
wearily. "Although... I hope that, in this one instance, it isn't 
misplaced." He turned to look at her. "You are dismissed." She bowed under 
his gaze, relieved, then left the room. Sapphire watched her go.

He felt sorry for Alexandra for a moment; perhaps he should've told her 
that he was more upset about his brother keeping secrets from him, than he 
was at her. Hopefully, she would realize that herself... Sapphire then 
frowned, as recalled the scene in the War Room: Prince Diamond glaring at 
him, waiting for him to leave.

"Brother..." he murmured. "What are you up to?"

***

It was almost midnight on Nemesis. However, because of the perpetually 
twillight sky of the planet, it was difficult to tell if it was actually 
that late, or indeed, whether it was night or day.

In the darkened practice hall of the Elite Guard, a single figure still 
trained. Alexandra, a sword held in both hands, went through the carefully 
rehearsed movements of the fencer. She did not use her dark crystal blades;
she felt it was unseemly to use them for a mere workout. Instead, she used 
a katana, the Japanese longsword favoured by samurai. Methodically, she 
went through the thrusts, blocks and lunges of her exercises with a studied
grace, honed by years and years of training.

Suddenly, she sensed movement behind her. Whirling around, the sword swept 
through the air, slashing around at shoulder height. 

It stopped mere millimetres from the neck of the person who had just 
entered. Alexandra relaxed slightly, as she recognized who it was.

"Hello, Aquamarine."

"Commander." He glanced down pointedly at the blade at his neck. She took 
the hint, and moved it away. 

"You're up a bit late," she commented, shaking red hair from her eyes. 
Aquamarine raised an eyebrow.

"The same could be said for you." His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Is 
there something troubling you, Commander?"

"What makes you think something is troubling me?" she asked, examining the 
blade of her sword. 

"You only practice this late when you have something on your mind," replied 
her second blandly. 

Alexandra said nothing. Turning her back on him, she walked over to a 
stool; grabbing the towel slung on it, she mopped her brow, then wiped the 
towel deliberately across her sword. Aquamarine continued to watch her 
intently.

"I don't suppose that has anything to do with you having to assassinate 
King Endymion tomorrow," he said, quietly.

Alexandra paused in mid-polish; it was only her training that prevented her 
from dropping the sword in surprise. She turned and looked up sharply at 
Aquamarine.

"How did you--" He shrugged, and replied in his usual, level tone.

"When Prince Diamond wanted to talk to you privately in the War Room 
this afternoon, it seemed obvious that he wanted to send you on a special 
mission. Since your post is at the Crystal Palace, and in light of his 
obsession with the Neo-Queen, I surmised that that would be the most 
likely task you'd be assigned."

Alexandra stared at his cold, clinical analysis. Then she flushed as she 
realized that, against orders, she had revealed her mission, thereby 
breaking her word to the Prince. 

Aquamarine noticed her face redden. "Forgive me, Commander. I didn't mean 
to make you give away your orders..." His voice was apologetic.

"Never mind that," she muttered, irritated at herself. "It's my fault for 
admitting that you were right." Then a thought crossed through her mind. 


She sat down in the chair wearily, but not before taking care to set aside 
the sword. Aquamarine observed her silently.

"Your mission... It bothers you?" he finally asked.

"Of course it bothers me," snapped Alexandra. "I've been ordered to kill 
the King of Earth!" Aquamarine raised an eyebrow.

"Is that no less daunting than being asked to eliminate the Sailor 
Soldiers?" he answered archly. There was a pause, then a sigh. 

"I'm sorry," Alexandra said apologetically. "I didn't mean to belittle your
mission, Aquamarine, or that of the rest of the Guard, for that matter; 
I'm just tense, that's all. It's just that..." She stared off into space 
for a moment, trying to find the right words to voice her discontent.

"Well... When Sapphire told you to defeat the Sailor Soldiers, it was more 
out of necessity than anything else; to him, it was completely impersonal. 
However, when Prince Diamond looked me straight in the eyes and ordered me 
to kill King Endymion... I knew right then that he didn't just want the 
King dead; he wanted him completely wiped off the face of the planet... To 
never have existed."

There was a pause of silence. Then Aquamarine replied, "It is strange, how 
we can be controlled by our emotions... Thousands of years have passed, and 
it still manages to overwhelm us, and cloud our judgement. And love is a 
very powerful emotion. Even our Prince is not immune to its powers, it 
seems..."

"Yes..." Alexandra couldn't help thinking to herself, 

There was another pause. Then, Aquamarine cleared his throat delicately. 
"That being said, Commander... Perhaps you should take my words into 
consideration, as well." Alexandra's eyes narrowed. 

"Your meaning?"

"Just to be wary, Commander. And to not allow your own perceptions of...  
Someone... Be coloured by your emotions."

Alexandra gave him a sharp glance, but Aquamarine's expression was as 
impassive as always. It was unlike him to be so forward like this... She 
looked up at him, staring him straight in the eyes.

"I have never let my feelings get in the way of my duty," she said bluntly.

Though it was phrased as a statement, Aquamarine sensed the question behind
the sentence. Her searching eyes met his steady, sea-green gaze. Then he 
inclined his head, respectfully. 

"No. You haven't," he replied. 

She nodded briefly, satisfied. After a moment, Alexandra spoke. "Well, as 
you said before, Aquamarine, it is getting late... I should be getting to 
bed. After all, we have a long day ahead of us, tomorrow." She stood up, 
first carefully replacing the sword on a rack. Then Alexandra headed 
towards the door, turning to her second before leaving. 

"Good night, Aquamarine." His watchful gaze followed her as she walked out 
of the training room.

"Sleep well... Commander."

Alexandra had walked only a few steps down the hallway, when her 
second-in-command's voice made her pause and turn.

"Commander?"

"Yes?"

As she looked back at him, Aquamarine's brow wrinkled slightly, and she 
felt his uncertainty. Alexandra was disconcerted by this. Her usually 
impassive second-in-command showing even the merest trace of emotion was 
rather unnerving. Then his face smoothed into its usual, unexpressive 
state.

"Just... Be careful tommorrow," he murmured. Alexandra blinked in surprise, 
and then smiled wanly, touched by her second's concern.

"You, too. Thank you, Aquamarine." Then she turned around and walked down 
the hall, determined to catch what little sleep she could before the 
impending battle.

*****

On Earth, warning lights flashed all over the Crystal Palace. In the 
central Control Room of the palace, the ruler of Crystal Tokyo and her 
consort stood around a large computer screen, along with three of the 
Sailor Soldiers.

Sailor Mercury was tapping in buttons at the control panel before her. 
"I'm detecting high levels of negative energy at these points," she 
said, pointing at the large screen above the panel; it displayed a map of 
Crystal Toyko, with red lights blinking at four points around the city. 
"The negative energy is also being aimed at the Palace, but I'm doing my 
best to divert its flow."

"Can you figure out where it's coming from?" asked King Endymion.

"Not yet," she replied. "It may be a good idea if the other Sailor Soldiers 
and I check out the points, so we can find out exactly what we're dealing 
with here." The King nodded. 

Just then, Sailor Jupiter ran into the room. "I can't find Reenie," she 
said, worried. "I've looked everwhere inside the palace." 

"Wasn't she playing outside?" asked Sailor Mars. Neo-Queen Serenity paled.

"I'll go get her," said the Queen, determined. She turned to leave, but 
then stopped, as a hand touched her shoulder.

"Let us look for her," said Sailor Jupiter. The Neo-Queen looked uncertain.

"But--" Just then, Sailor Venus held her by the shoulders, and looked 
straight into her eyes.

"You're the Queen of the Earth now, remember?" she said sternly. "We have 
to keep you safe; we can't risk you going out there right now." The rest of 
the Sailor Soldiers nodded. The Queen looked defiant for a moment, but then 
hung her head and sighed. 

"I suppose you're right," she conceded reluctantly. The Sailor Soldiers 
then turned to leave, King Endymion taking Sailor Mercury's place at the 
control panel. Sailor Jupiter looked back and gave the Queen an encouraging 
smile.

"Don't worry, we'll find her." Mars nodded.

"Yeah, and then we'll check out those negative points of energy Mercury was
talking about." The four Sailor Soldiers then left the room. The ruler of 
Crystal Tokyo watched them go, her concern apparent on her face.

***

Moments later, Sailor Mercury was running towards one of the pillars of 
negative energy, a solid line of cold, black fire that reached to the sky. 
She hadn't realized just how immense it was... Though she had seen many 
unspeakable things over the years as a Sailor Soldier, this was certainly 
one of the worst. As soon as she reached the foot of the pillar of power, 
she stopped in her tracks.

As she looked up at it, she pulled out her tiny pocket computer, and began 
to take energy readings. There was an amazing amount of power here; it 
almost seemed to be sucking the life energy from the Earth itself...

Mercury was trying to determine its power source when suddenly, she 
noticed an anomaly in her analysis readings, indicating that it had 
detected a life force within the negative energy. She stared at her 
calculations in bewilderment, then looked up at the dark energy pillar. 

 she thought to 
herself. 

Uncertain, she flicked on her goggles and began to examine the dark energy 
with them. It only confirmed her theory. With some shock, she realized that
the power contained within it did indeed conceal someone... Or perhaps some
thing.

"Well done, Sailor Mercury. I am impressed." 

Sailor Mercury looked up in surprise, as black energy curled away from the 
pillar of dark power, like mist. It revealed a man with long, pale blue 
hair and cold, blue-green eyes, like the depths of the Arctic Ocean. There 
was a black inverted crescent marked upon his forehead.

"Then again, I would expect nothing less from the brilliant Sailor Mercury,
the legendary Sailor Soldier of Logic," he continued emotionlessly, without 
inflection. 

"Who are you?" she asked. He regarded her coolly, as he floated in midair.

"I am Aquamarine, second-in-command of the Elite Guard of Nemesis... 
And a warrior of the Black Moon Family."

***

Meanwhile, at the Crystal Palace, King Endymion stood at the control panel, 
examining the readings that flashed on the screen before him. At his back, 
paced Neo-Queen Serenity, wringing her hands. The King glanced back at her 
in concern.

"Beloved? Are you all right?" The Queen nodded, obviously preoccupied.

"Yes love, but..." She sighed. "I'm just so worried for them; Mars, 
Mercury, Jupiter, Venus. I wish could be out there with them, by their 
side, like in the old days. At least I'd know if they were okay."

King Endymion spared a moment of pity for her. She always cared so much 
about others; that was one of the reasons he had fallen in love with her.

Turning away from the controls for a moment, he clasped her in a comforting
embrace. "Don't worry... They'll be all right, like always." He smiled 
gently at her. "Why don't you go check on Reenie? I know the girls brought 
her back to her room safely." The Neo-Queen smiled back at him.

"You're right... That should make me feel better." Reaching up, she softly 
kissed the King on the cheek. Then she quietly left the room, as King 
Endymion turned back to his work.

Neo-Queen Serenity walked down a corridor, then pressed a panel on the 
wall. A door slid open.

"Reenie?" she called out, as she stepped inside. "I hope you're okay, 
honey, Mommy just wanted to see how you were..." Her voice trailed off, 
as she realized the room was empty.

"Reenie...?" said the Queen, her eyes widening.

***

Meanwhile, Sailor Mercury gazed up at the man called Aquamarine, as she 
contemplated upon the words he had just told her.

"The Black Moon Family...?" she repeated. Aquamarine nodded briefly.

"I hear that you are very learned, Sailor Mercury... I wonder how much you 
recall of history, as well? Long ago, the members of my clan were banished 
from Earth to Nemesis, for refusing to be purified by the power of the 
Silver Crystal." Mercury silently put away this information, and then 
addressed the blue-haired man again.

"You said you're from Nemesis... The legendary tenth planet of the Solar 
System?" 

"That is correct. It seems you are as knowledgable as they say, Sailor 
Soldier." His cool green eyes then narrowed. "But I'm afraid the time for 
talk has passed." 

After speaking these words, an ice blue trident materialized in his hands. 
As he pointed it at her, Sailor Mercury's eyes widened as icicles formed 
at the tips of the weapon; she leapt away just in time when three 
projectiles flew from it, striking the ground right where she had been 
standing. Warily, she got to her feet, while Aquamarine watched her, his 
face devoid of expression.

Closing her eyes, Sailor Mercury gathered her power around her, and with 
care, took aim...

***

Back on Nemesis, Sapphire carefully observed the progress of the battle, in
the War Room. On the holographic map of Crystal Tokyo, four of the crystal 
counters were glowing steadily, indicating that they were already in 
combat. He nodded in satisfaction. He then turned to the counter placed at 
the Crystal Palace. 

Sapphire's brow furrowed. "That's odd..." Perhaps it was just him, but the 
statuette of alexandrite no longer seemed to be at its original position. 
As he watched it closely, he realized that it was, in fact, moving.

"I thought I told Alexandra to secure the outer perimeter of the Palace," 
he muttered to himself. "She knows better than to leave her post." It was 
most unlike her to disobey orders like this. 

Suddenly he stiffened. He glanced at the counter once more, then stared. 
But there was no mistake; the counter's progress had just entered the 
Crystal Palace, and even now it was obvious that it was heading towards 
its centre. A horrible realization began to creep over Sapphire.

"Oh, no..." he breathed. "Brother, you didn't..."

***

Alexandra stood warily, flattened against one of the walls of Crystal 
Palace. Fortunately, she had not been detected yet... Though the stream of 
dark energy she had travelled in was aimed directly at the heart of the 
palace, Sapphire had tactfully teleported her just outside its walls.

Earlier, she had watched as the four Sailor Soldiers ushered Small Lady 
into the building, then ran out again, each headed towards one of points of
dark power; that was one part of her mission accomplished. Now, for the 
next phase...

Carefully, she reached up and pulled off her left earring, which quickly 
lengthened into a blade. Grasping the hilt in both hands, Alexandra slowly 
stepped away from the wall. Then, focusing her powers into the sword, she 
spun around suddenly and cried out, "Dark Lightning Strike!"

Dark bolts of energy crackled from the crystal blade and embedded 
themselves in the wall, which promptly shattered. Alexandra watched in grim 
satisfaction as the debris fell away. It perhaps wasn't the most subtle way 
of entering the palace, but at least it gave her the element of surprise. 

Immediately, she stepped inside the breach she had made, and started 
running into the building, her short, low-heeled boots making clacking 
sounds as they hit the floor. 

Not surprisingly, a couple of palace guards ran up to her, obviously to 
investigate the noise. She promptly ran the first one through with her 
sword; the second, she only managed to slash across the ribs. She ducked 
as his pike swept over her head, then dispatched him with another thrust 
of her blade.

They were many more guards after that. But Alexandra was Commander of the 
Elite Guard of Nemesis, and had earned her post for a reason. She managed 
to defeat all of them, while they barely made a mark on her. One of the 
palace guards made the unfortunate mistake of trying to attack her from 
behind; a dark crystal dagger had stabbed into his stomach, for his pains.

Alexandra wiped the blood from her dagger and replaced it, as it shrank 
back into an earring. She was very close to the centre of the palace, now; 
she almost could feel it. 

Cautiously, she picked her way across the hallway. The few people she came 
across now were unconscious, as the Black Crystal's power took its toll. 
She stepped into another corridor, and entered the heart of the Crystal 
Palace. 

Standing with her back against a pillar, Alexandra glanced around the 
corner.  she thought to herself, noting the 
large computer screen that dominated the opposite side of the room. Looking 
up at the display, she noticed an image of her home planet of Nemesis, with 
readings flickering along beside it.

In front of the screen, with his back turned against her, stood someone who
rapidly tapped buttons into the panel in front of him. He had short, violet 
hair and wore a long cape. By his stance, she knew he was male; most 
likely, it was King Endymion.

He turned for a moment, and she caught a glimpse of his masked profile. 
Alexandra nodded grimly.  she thought. She tugged 
off her right earring again, which immediately lengthened into a dagger. 
Holding it delicately by the tip, she steeled herself for the moment when 
she would throw the weapon into his unprotected back.

She found herself hesitating, and she snarled under her breath.  thought Alexandra irritably. 

Then she recalled her uneasiness as the Prince had given her her mission, 
and voicing her doubts to Aquamarine. 

 whispered an internal voice.  And Alexandra finally realized what had been bothering 
her.

 She looked back at the King. 


 Alexandra realized 
somberly.  Then a thought 
struck her.

 
Suddenly, she knew what she had to do. What she had in mind was far more 
risky, but...

The dagger in her hand shrank back to an earring, which she put back on. 


 Alexandra thought to herself, reaching for her other 
earring and drawing out her sword, 

***

Meanwhile, King Endymion was doggedly continuing his work at the control 
panel, determined to discover as much information on the invasion on Earth 
as possible. He was so absorbed in his work that he ignored the sparks 
that would occasionally crackle across the console's surface, beneath his 
rapidly tapping fingers. 

"King Endymion."

At the sound of his name, the King whirled around; the voice was no one 
he recognized, which immediately put him on his guard. Behind him, he saw  
a red-haired woman, her clothing bloodstained, though she herself seemed 
uninjured. In one hand she held a sword of black crystal, which seemed to 
pulse with dark energy even as he looked at it. He found himself reaching 
for his cane, which he gripped apprehensively.

"Who are you?" he snapped. "How did you get in here?" The woman shrugged, 
almost negligently.

"It should be obvious how I got in here," she replied, waving a hand over 
her blood-splattered clothes. "As for who I am..." She straightened
unconciously. 

"I am Alexandra, Commander of the Elite Guard of Nemesis, and Protector of 
the Royal Family of the Black Moon." Her eyes then narrowed calculatingly.
"And I have come to challenge you, King of the Earth."

As her words sank in, the King's eyes widened. "You can't be serious!"

"Deadly serious, your Majesty." The woman's stance had changed, with her 
sword held out defensively.

"You're in the middle of enemy territory," reasoned the King, trying to 
project calm in his voice. "Even if you did manage to defeat me, you'd 
never get out here alive." The woman's eyes narrowed.

"I am quite aware of that," she replied bluntly.

It was then that King Endymion realized the truth in her words: she was 
fully willing to die in this endeavor, if necessary. As he stood in 
hesistation, the one called Alexandra seemed to read his thoughts.

"Do not deny me this, King Endymion," she said softly, a threatening tone 
entering her voice. "I had the opportunity to kill you but a moment ago. 
Turn down my challenge, and you *will* die."

As their gazes met, the King saw a dangerous light enter Alexandra's eyes. 
With a sigh of regret, he pulled out his cane. 

"Very well." Holding out his weapon protectively, the two saluted each 
other, and the duel began in deadly earnest.

Alexandra began the fight with a quick thrust to the midsection. It was a 
predictable attack, but it was also a test, to see if King Endymion had 
become complacent over the years. However, he easily parried the move with 
his cane, thus living up to her expectation. The King then followed it up 
by twirling his weapon into her face, which she quickly deflected.

As the match went on, Alexandra immediately realized that Endymion was in 
excellent shape.  she thought resentfully. The Black Moon Family had always found 
that idea aborrent, and the commander was no exception.

Still, his youth had no direct bearing on his technique, and that had 
impressed her; a thousand years of living in peace had not diminished 
his abilities by any means. That was both a blessing and a curse; while 
a weaker adversary would be easier to defeat, she appreciated a worthy 
opponent even more, someone who could match her skills... And the King 
certainly could do that, if not more.

Before the match had begun, Alexandra had resolved herself not to use her 
magical abilities. She knew that in his youth, the King of the Earth was 
known for using his physical strength in battle, rather than the elemental 
powers used by the Sailor Soldiers; she intended to hold herself to that 
promise.

That being said, she aimed a front snap kick towards his face; the 
King reacted by stepping back, and shielding himself with his cape. The 
commander then completed the attack with a downward swipe of her sword, 
which was blocked by her opponent's cane in midair. 

As the battle continued, it seemed that they were both equally matched; 
every thrust was parried, every move blocked by the other. Yet Alexandra 
knew that one of them had to make a mistake eventually.

That moment finally came, and fortunately, it was in her favour. She had 
just jabbed her sword towards King Endymion's shoulder, while he had ducked 
and sidestepped to avoid it, as she knew he would. However, she was now 
close enough to follow up the move, and Alexandra swept her elbow backwards 
into the King's face. He had not been expecting this, it seemed, and her 
attack connected; he fell to the ground, dazed.

Turning around, the commander pointed her crystal sword towards the prone 
man. But as she looked down at him, her eyes widened.

The King lay there, watching her warily. It appeared that the force of the 
blow she had given him had not only hit his head, but had knocked off his 
mask, as well. Alexandra found herself looking into a face that was 
eeriely, almost painfully, familliar to her.

 she thought, staring in disbelief.  

Her thoughts were abruptly cut off, however, when she felt her legs being 
swept from underneath her; the King had turned the tables around, by 
knocking her off her feet with his cane. As she fell, he attempted to hit 
her in the head with the blunt side of his weapon, but she managed to duck 
and roll away. 

Rising to her feet, Alexandra mentally cursed herself.  

She cast an irritated glare at the King. Thankfully, he had managed to 
replace his mask while she had been down, but this was of little comfort to 
her; while she had to admit the King's appearance had been a bit of a 
shock, she refused to excuse herself from it.

 she recalled bitterly.  As the King awaited her next 
move, she focused upon him, with deadly concentration. 

 thought Alexandra firmly, taking an 
aggressive stance.  

***

King Endymion continued to deflect Commander Alexandra's attacks, which 
had increased over the past few minutes. Despite the fact that she was his 
enemy, he respected the skill that she displayed; he was finding her to be 
a formidable opponent. 

Suddenly, he found himself being backed into the control panel of the 
computer console; casting an inadvertant glance at the screen behind him, 
Endymion was astonished to see that it now displayed the planet of Nemesis 
pulsating with dark energy.  he thought, worried. 

Noticing the King's distraction, Alexandra took advantage of it and aimed 
an overhead strike to his head. But King Endymion managed to parry it with 
a high block, still wrapped up in his own thoughts.  Although he had caught her off guard before, he had a 
feeling that she wouldn't allow that to happen again.

Suddenly, an idea formed in his mind. It was risky... 

By this point, Alexandra had King Endymion up against the crackling surface 
of the control panel; only the King's cane stood between the edge of her 
sword and his face. He managed to shove her away with his weapon, then 
took a defensive stance as she quickly recovered. Holding out his cane 
protectively, he made sure that Alexandra was watching it, cat-like, for 
the next move he'd make...

Then he dropped it.

She hesistated for only a brief moment, but it was enough. As the woman 
lunged forward for the final thrust of her blade, the King had already 
taken hold of control panel behind him. Throwing his weight against it, 
he kicked out with both legs, barely missing the point of her sword, and 
caught Alexandra squarely in the midsection. 

The female soldier was thrown backwards from the force of the blow; the 
wind knocked out of her, the woman slid halfway across the tiled floor, 
until she lay, unmoving. 

Breathing heavily from the exertion of the fight, King Endymion turned his 
back on her and desperately punched in buttons at the already overloaded 
computer console, determined to increase the protections on the palace.

But unbeknownst to the King, Alexandra was still conscious. Slowly, she 
came to; opening her eyes, she found herself staring blearily at King 
Endymion. When she realized what he was doing, however, a surge of anger 
brought her immediately to her senses. 

 she thought in silent outrage.  Her eyes narrowed. 

As she got up stealthily, Alexandra found herself reaching for her dagger 
once again. Rising to her knees, she focused upon the most vunerable part 
of King Endymion's treacherous back, now fully intent upon killing him.

All of a sudden, a pulse of light burst from the computer screen above the 
King. Alexandra heard him cry out, saw him try to shield himself with his 
cape, but the energy surge overwhelmed him; she had to cover her eyes as 
the brightness flared, outlining Endymion's figure in shadow for a brief 
moment, before she was completely blinded by the light. 

When Alexandra was finally able to see again, the first thing she saw was 
King Endymion lying on the ground, deathly still. Warily, she got to her 
feet; when she realized that he was truly unconscious, she began to 
approach him cautiously, all thoughts of vengance gone from her mind.

While she was walking, she then stumbled, as the ground rumbled under her 
feet. As she glanced down at the floor in bewilderment, Alexandra found her 
gaze moving back up, as she realized that rubble was beginning to rain down 
from the ceiling. She managed to roll away before any of it could crush 
her; when she looked back, she saw that the fallen debris had partially 
blocked her path to the King, and she cursed under her breath. 

Now she was torn between two choices; she had to check if King Endymion 
was really dead, but the room was also starting to cave in. Hesistantly, 
she took step towards the body, but just then, another piece of the ceiling 
fell in. Self-preservation won out. Casting a last, uneasy glance at the 
King's prone form, Alexandra turned around and ran out of the room.

 she thought callously to herself, 
 Still, she couldn't shake the nagging 
feeling of a job left undone...

***

As the sound of the commander's footsteps faded away, a figure appeared 
in the shuddering Control Room. Ignoring the falling debris around it, it 
walked towards the unconscious King of the Earth, and knelt beside him. 
Gloved fingers touched his neck, looking for a pulse; there was a sigh of 
relief when it was found, faint, but present. 

Slender arms supported King Endymion, lifting him up, then reached down 
to pick up the staff that it had laid aside. Then Sailor Pluto, the Sailor 
Soldier of Time, summoned her powers and disappeared, along with the 
comatose body of her beloved King.

***

Meanwhile, out in the city, there was a brief respite during the battle 
between the two masters of water. Sailor Mercury took a moment to catch her 
breath, while her opponent, in contrast, looked barely winded. The black 
waves of water swirling around him settled.

"You have been a most worthy adversary, Sailor Soldier," complimented 
Aquamarine. "You are as skilled with your powers as you are with the 
knowledge you keep." His features then hardened, the first change of 
expression she saw pass across his face. "However... The game ends here." 

Aiming his trident towards Sailor Mercury, Aquamarine focused the full 
extent of his powers through it, and cried out, "Dark Aqua Tempest!" 

Immediately, dark, icy energy poured from the weapon, threatening to shower 
the Sailor Soldier with its power. Mercury tried to shield herself from the 
attack, but she had been already weakened by the previous battle; she could 
feel the cold, negative force bleeding through her defenses. 

 she thought despairingly, as hope seemed to bleed 
from her wounds, as well. But the feeling only lasted for a moment. 



Gathering up the remains of her own personal energy, Sailor Mercury called 
upon the power of her guardian planet, crying, "Mercury Planet Power!"

Instantly, her own swirls of energy, light to combat his dark, formed 
around her. As it was summoned, she directed its power towards the Black 
Moon warrior, and it poured forth from her hands.

Meanwhile, Aquamarine had noticed the change in his opponent's demeanour, 
saw the light energy heading towards him. Increasing the strength of his 
own attack, there was a splash of brightness as it collided with his own 
black power. For a moment, the two forces were held in check; but slowly, 
inexorably, the darkness was being pushed back.

Aquamarine tightened his grip on his trident, as he watched this turn 
of events in mute astonishment.  he thought, 
bewildered. For the first time in his life, logic had escaped him.  As he stared at the Sailor Soldier to 
determine the reason for this, his gaze met hers.

As he looked into her eyes, he saw the accumulated wisdom of a millenium; 
he saw someone who had fought no matter what the odds were, how much doubt 
there was in their own abilities.... And had survived. He saw a person who 
had put their life on the line, time and time again, just to protect 
others. In those eyes, Aquamarine saw his death.

The handle of the trident shattered in his hands, and the blue-white energy
washed over him. The cold had never hurt Aquamarine before; but now, its 
power overwhelmed him, so icy cold that it burned. It froze him, numbing 
him until the pain no longer mattered... Then, his body, no longer able to 
withstand the strain, was thrown backwards until he fell bonelessly to the 
ground. 

It took a moment for Sailor Mercury to realize her opponent was down. 
Catching her breath, she watched his prone body warily for a moment; 
then, she immediately turned and ran back towards the Crystal Palace, 
determined to warn the Queen.

However, Aquamarine was still alive, if barely. In the strange, occult bond
he seemed to share with the rest of the Black Moon Family, he felt the life
force ebbing away from his fellow members of the Elite Guard, as they too 
were defeated by the other Sailor Soldiers. With the last of his power, he 
reached out to each of them, pulled, then sent it away...

"Commander..." he murmured softly. "A... Alexandra. I'm sorry... We failed 
y..." Then, there was nothingness.

***

In the War Room of Nemesis, Sapphire frowned, as he stared at at the map 
of Crystal Tokyo. The glow of four of the crystal counters was no longer 
steady; rather, the pulses of light had become wild and erratic.

His frown deepened. This could only mean that the energy levels of the 
Elite Guard were fluctuating rapidly; he had made the counters very 
sensitive towards that sort of thing. His consternation only increased as 
the statuettes began to tremble in place.

"What in th--" He never got to finish the sentence.

Sapphire had just enough time to shield his face as the four statuettes 
shattered before his horrified eyes, filling the air with sparkling, 
multicoloured shards.


TO BE CONTINUED...

*****

Copyright Cherryne Edejer, 2000-01. Sailor Moon and all related characters 
are property of Naoko Takeuchi, and are used without permission. Alexandra, 
Aquamarine, Peridot, Topaz and Garnet are characters created by me, 
however, and may not be used without my permission. 

    Source: geocities.com/televisioncity/set/4341