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Usagi’s venturings into Phenakite’s strange world have given her precious information – but as it turns out, she’s not the only one who has found that some secrets are just not able to be concealed.

"I warned you about this," said an unfriendly voice, matched well by a pair of venomous eyes. "Just what in the hell do you think you’re doing, Phenakite?!"

"Would you shut up already, and pass me that bloody crystal!"

"What am I, your slave?"

"Shove it, youma-boy!"

* * *

"It’s just not possible," said Usagi, looking at her hands, for she dared not meet the gaze of the other Senshi – in particular, Minako and Rei. For different reasons.

And of course, Rei launched straight into bitch-mode, an easy task for the fiery red Senshi. "Why the bloody hell didn’t you tell us in the first place?! I mean, it’s not every day you run into a Dark Kingdom lackey! Especially not some general! Usagi-chan no baka!"

"Rei!" snapped Artemis, eyes blazing. "Would you shut up already! Usagi-chan wasn’t the only one who with held the facts, Luna and I knew just as much as she did!"

"But you didn’t just sit on it – you acted on it, tried to find out anything about her!"

"Bitch!" screeched Usagi suddenly. "I found Phenakite’s diary – I didn’t just forget about her! I tried to find out more stuff on her too!"

"Fat lot of good it did!" flared back Rei, itching for a really good blow out. Yuuichirou was just no good for that these days, he had gotten too adept at avoiding her and her broom.

Ami cringed, and went back to tapping at a tremendous speed on her mini data computer. When Rei and Usagi got like this, sometimes it was just better to ignore them – or let Artemis and Luna deal with it.

"ENOUGH!" shrieked the small black cat, then she prayed that neither Rei’s grandpa nor Yuuichirou had heard the loud, irate voice of an unfamiliar female. The doubt didn’t last long – her anger was greater. "Would you two just deal with it? You’re both idiots!"

"Now it’s getting scary," said Minako ominously, and then shut her mouth, muted by the scathing glare her comment had earned from both cats. Mako-chan smiled, though. It sounded as if Minako was getting back to normal, even though things were definitely getting scary.

Artemis and Luna had filled the other Senshi in with all the gory details relating to Phenakite’s story, and somehow, that had released Minako’s pent up emotion. What had poured from her mouth had been a bitter tirade none of them could place to Minako, but it was over now, whatever it was. Artemis appeared to have a far idea of what was going on, but he didn’t say anything about Minako’s words. All he said, in a low voice to himself, was ‘exorcism.’

None of them could recall Minako’s speech word for word, but they had gotten the gist of it. The underlying tone of her voice had been pure hatred, and her eyes had snapped with evil blue fire as she spoke. Generally, it had been about Phenakite, and something she called ‘Angelikarma.’ Then, of course, had come the ominous words about the hourglass of eternal spirits. From what had been said, the Senshi and the guardians had realised that it wasn’t anything good. And neither was Phenakite.

"She seemed so nice…" muttered Usagi helplessly, and Luna’s eyes softened to hear the tremble in her ward’s voice.

"It’s okay, Usagi-chan, I know this must be awful…it’s difficult to have your trust betrayed like that. But, really, you shouldn’t have believed her so easily! She is, after all, a member of the Dark Kingdom."

"Still, though…" as her voice trailed away, Ami’s dark head snapped up.

"I’ve found something…" her hands were trembling violently, but there was only a slight quaver in her voice. "I’ve managed to find out what the hourglass of eternal spirits is…and Angelikarma."

"So they’re from earth?"

"Oh, hell no," Ami replied, and the others were shocked to see she was almost in tears. It was from shock.

"I was just…puttering around, looking for information, when this file popped up out of nowhere. I opened it…and this message came up. All it said was ‘I am who I am but I am not me. Because beyond my hopes there are no feelings.’ Then, all this stuff about Phenakite came up…out of nowhere. My computer can’t put a trace on the source…it says there was none! IT CAME FROM NOWHERE!" Her voice was steadily becoming more and more hysterical, and Mako-chan had to leap over Minako to hug Ami protectively. The blue-haired Senshi was obviously scared senseless by this anonymous help, and she didn’t blame her. Looking at the files on the tiny screen just plain gave her the willies.

It was Luna who finally read the writings, and her black face paled, if that was possible. Looking at it, she turned to the Senshi, even more worried.

"You know already what we found out," and she looked at Minako strangely. The blonde girl claimed to remember nothing about her mysterious, rancorous outburst earlier. "Phenakite was telling the truth. Central Control told us about-"

"Hey, I thought Artemis was Central Control," interrupted Usagi, picking at the sleeve of her school uniform. Luna gave her one of her evils, and Usagi swiftly shut up. ‘Nuff said.

"I’ve got to get my information from somewhere," supplied Artemis helpfully, though he didn’t indulge to them any additional info. Not that Luna would have let him.

"We found that she was a Princess…in a deeper part of the Dark Kingdom, even further from Beryl and Metallia’s power than even Alan and Anne. But as you know, their influence reached them, and they took Phoebe, and made her into Phenakite. She was to have a great honour bestowed on her head, she was to become the second non-youma female to be a part of Beryl’s court. But she declined, none too politely either. But Beryl refused to get rid of her, instead giving her free rein throughout the Dark Kingdom."

"After that, Central Control doesn’t know much," put in Artemis. "All we do know from then on is that Phenakite loved Kunzite, but he had eyes only for Zoisite."

"This glass of eternal spirits is much more dangerous I had anticipated," Luna added grimly. "Central Control warned us that Phenakite would have it at her fingertips, and that she could use it. They didn’t tell us much about its powers, except that it’s Angelikarma."

"And that spells SHIT with a big fat S," muttered Artemis, but everyone heard him fine.

"Basically, based on what this article says, the hourglass of eternal spirits is some sort of unholy temple – it houses the dead who died without finishing what they set out to do."

A shiver spun through Usagi’s heart, pulling it tight. "And that would be…"

"All the Kings," said Makoto with a flash of understanding. "And…oh, frigging hell, Beryl too…"

"I think I know what Phenakite’s up to," said Luna darkly. "But even though she is the princess, she doesn’t know what the fuck she’s doing."

"What is this…does it have something to do with Angelikarma?" asked Minako curiously.

"Oh yes," replied Luna, not letting Artemis speak. Besides, he seemed deeply engrossed in his own problems. "The royal family which Phoebe belonged to was the embodiment of this force, not unlike Usagi’s moon family. They had Angelikarma, which, as far as I know, is an exceptionally powerful force that is present throughout the universe of the Dark Kingdom. But most especially, it is concentrated at one point. The temple of Breccia, mistress of Angelikarma. But that’s the least of our worries – Angelikarma can only be used by a pure hearted member of the royal bloodline. I believe Phoebe has been tainted enough by Beryl and her Kings, so that she can’t have anything to do with it."

"But what about this hourglass crap?" asked Makoto, looking at Minako uneasily. She had fallen into brooding silence, and it was making her uncomfortable.

"It can resurrect the dead – and to Phenakite, that would have to be Kunzite. What she doesn’t understand though – at least, I don’t think she understands, otherwise she wouldn’t be doing it – is that it doesn’t bring one person back. It releases every spirit trapped inside. Basically, that would be Beryl’s court."

"How convenient," snorted Usagi, ignoring the glare she got from Luna. "Why only Beryl and co.? Surely there would be others."

"I don’t think so," said Luna slowly, with a sideways glance at Artemis. "The hourglass is…well, the Dark Kingdom’s afterlife, as such. Any one that dies is sent to the glass, to await return. To await vengeance."

"But what makes you think that Phenakite doesn’t want to wake up the entire Dark Kingdom?" argued Rei.

Luna smiled crookedly. "Well now, then she would be waking up Zoisite, wouldn’t she? Wouldn’t that just ruin everything she worked for?"

"She could just kill him and keep Kunzite for herself," said Rei, sounding pissed.

But Luna wasn’t finished. "And you think that Kunzite would let her touch his beloved Zoisite? You saw how protective they were of each other. I doubt Phenakite would get within a hundred feet of him before Kunzite killed her."

"Enough with the talking, time for action," snapped Minako suddenly, leaping to her feet. "If what you say is true, we should be trying to do something about it."

"Are you sure you want to come?" asked Artemis carefully, not wanting to upset her further.

She shook her head impatiently. "Look, I’m glad you’re worried about me, but I’m fine. I don’t even slightly remember what happened, but it’s over. For days after Phoebe died, I was torn between sadness for my friend, and some weird…hatred that I knew wasn’t mine. But it’s gone now…I’m fine!"

"What we really need is A Circle of the Planets," said Artemis, looking at Luna, who sighed heavily.

"Are you girls ready for this?"

"Ready for what?" asked Usagi suspiciously.

"We have to go to the Dark Kingdom, you odango atama!" snapped Rei, but all that earned her was a punch in the arm from Makoto. Luckily for everyone, Ami interceded before the two Senshi could get involved in an all out cat fight.

"Let’s just go, huh?"

No one could argue with that.

* * *

"I told you not to put that there, you baka! Now look what you’ve done…"

"You’re not listening to me, princess. It’s about the spirits…"

"Damare! Enough! I know what I’m doing…"

* * *

"I hate this place," moaned Sailor Moon, looking at the cavern and not liking it. "I mean, look! The walls look as if they’re alive!"

"They probably are," said Mercury absently, and Sailor Moon turned huge eyes on her. But Mercury was engrossed in her computer. The three other Senshi were standing around nervously, Venus appearing to be the most jumpy of the three. She continuously looked around, as if expecting to be jumped at any second.

"As far as I can see," said Mercury, reading the screen, "The vicinity is deserted, we’re alone."

"So Phenakite’s here?"

"Probably," said Mercury, still tapping. "She could be anywhere, my computer’s range isn’t that great. And this place is huge."

"Then why don’t we have a look around?" suggested Venus, and she was instantly backed by Jupiter.

"Yeah! Who knows where those Dark Kingdom kisama are – besides, I feel like kicking ass!"

"I guess we should start looking," said Artemis, then turned in shock to see Venus vanish down a hall.

"Gotta book it!" she called over her shoulder, and was gone.

"Now where is she going?" asked Artemis, perplexed. Before anyone could stop him, he ran after Venus.

"I guess it’s decided – we’re going down that hall," sighed Luna.

"By the general consensus of the group," muttered Mars, but she grudgingly followed the group.

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Venus stood alone in a dark room, her skin rippling as she felt the negative vibes penetrating the very fibre of the air itself. She had no idea what had brought her here – some force in the hallway had simply overtaken her, and it had been here that it had released her. Now, she stood alone, uncertainly waiting for it to return to her.

Like a breath of dark wind, it did, wrapping itself around her heart, before moving into it. At first, Minako had found the whole experience horrifying, and highly awful, but slowly, she was beginning to accept it. It was like being two people at once – though one lay dormant, the other controlled the body. Minako sat back in her own mind, not exactly happy to let this entity control her, but she knew that it was something she had to do.

‘NO!’ snapped a voice inside her head, and she started. This was the first time it had directly spoken to her. ‘You must stay at the forefront – otherwise, you will see nothing!’

‘Nothing?’ she queried back, using the same thought flash. The being sighed impatiently.

‘I am giving you a vision, human – shut up and watch it already!’

The voice echoing in her head sounded oddly familiar – a very pissed off male, with a slightly effeminate twinge to his words.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ he snapped, but there was a degree of…what was it? Melancholy? ‘Names are unimportant now.’

Moving to the front, Minako found herself beside the voice – and it whispered in a language she didn’t understand, and suddenly, her world was filled with pain, it seemed to crush on her from all sides, but most especially, her chest…

"Oh Zoisite," came a tear-choked voice from far away, and she heard it through her pain. "I’m so sorry…Queen Beryl should have punished me for not teaching you to be more patient…I’m so sorry I’ve failed you…"

The voice took on form as she opened her eyes – and a part of Minako screamed out in terror – it was Kunzite!

But she was part of a show now, and to her surprise, love filled her heart as she opened her eyes to gaze on her love, no rancour in her heart.

"Hold me," she said softly, and Kunzite obeyed, tenderly wrapping her in his arms. She noticed for the first time that she wasn’t wearing her fuku – or even her body, for that matter. She was…

Taking a breath, the body carried on before Minako could sort out the jumbled words. "The only one who failed was me, Kunzite…you told me not to seek revenge, but I didn’t listen…"

She could feel his tears on her skin, and his guilt emanated from him like a painful aura. But her physical pain was much greater. She knew she was going to die. "Promise…just promise me one last thing, Kunzite."

"Anything," he said calmly, though she could tell his heart was in his throat, breaking into a zillion pieces as he watched his lover pass on to the great beyond, go where he could not follow.

She raised a shaking head, but her strength failed her before she could get it high enough to stroke his face one last time. "Don’t…forget me."

Her energy lost, she fell back against his chest, and Kunzite sighed as he wrapped his arms around her. The blossoms were falling through the heavy air…the time had come.

"I would never," he said softly as he still held her, and as he finished, a chill wind whipped his cloak around her dissolving form…and she was gone.

"Goodbye, my love…"

Minako closed her eyes and floated on the air, departing with Zoisite.

Three words rang in her head… "I am dead…"

______________________________________________________________________________________

Jupiter sighed, looking down yet another corridor. "I don’t think she’s down there either, guys."

"She can’t have gotten far," panicked Artemis. "Oh shit, I knew this was a bad idea!"

"Excuse me, but I was the only one who said we shouldn’t come," complained Sailor Moon.

"Only because you’re the world’s biggest coward," said Mars snidely, but Jupiter surprised the hell out of them.

"Ummmm…I think I hear something. I’d better check it out. See ya!" She took off down the hallway, leaving three startled Senshi and two cats in her wake.

"Well, she’s cracking up," said Mars, almost conversationally. "I guess it had to happen sometime."

______________________________________________________________________________________

Jupiter paused outside a large door, made of the same, greenish organic material as the walls. Sailor Moon was right when she had said it seemed to be alive. One almost expected it to move squishily down the corridor.

It suddenly clicked to her that she didn’t know what in the hell she was doing here – she had just abandoned the Senshi, as Venus had done, and was standing alone in a world she knew nothing about.

"I wouldn’t worry overly about that," came a voice, and she had to shield her eyes against a celestial glow, as millions of light particles suddenly compressed to form the shape of a handsome young man. As the glow faded, his features become more apparent. It was a few moments before she could look at him without squinting, but even though he had stopped transforming, a dim glow outlined his body.

He was dressed entirely in white, a radiant angel. Though his sapphire eyes were troubled, and his auburn mane of hair slightly mussed.

"Who are you?" she asked, confused. This couldn’t be some kind of youma – it had an aura that was too heavenly, and besides, he was far too cute to be a demon!

"He’s got a great butt," she sighed wistfully to herself, then blushed a brilliant shade of red when she realised she had spoken aloud. The man didn’t appear embarrassed – he simply rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Of all the Senshi, I had to pick the boy-crazy one…"

______________________________________________________________________________________

"So you’re not getting any readings?"

"No, I – no, wait, hang on," Mercury paused mid-sentence in her reply to Mars’s question. "I’m getting something…from over there. I don’t think it’s Venus, Jupiter or Phenakite…but it’s worth checking out."

"Wait," hushed Luna. "I can hear…" she turned abruptly, and ran to a door. "In here!"

"What is it, Luna?" asked Mercury, but Mars simply kicked the door open. Now was not the time for thought – not when thoughtless action was the better deal.

Lying sprawled on a bier at the centre of the room, was Sailor Venus.

______________________________________________________________________________________

‘Get real,’ snapped the obnoxious voice in Sailor Venus’s mind. ‘I’m the one who died, you twat! That mind mesh was just to show you how I felt – so you could feel my pain!’

‘Really?’ she asked groggily. ‘I’m not dead then?’

‘No!’ he replied, still pissed off. It seemed to Venus that the dead owner of this voice was perpetually pissed off.

‘Not getting enough of the good stuff, huh?’ she replied, in a very un-ladylike way.

‘Oh, fuck you too,’ the voice replied, but it sounded…lighter, somehow. As if Minako’s slight joke had somehow began to melt the ice between the girl and her deceased visitor.

It seemed on the verge of saying something more when a door slammed open.

‘Chikso!’ he cursed, and fled Minako’s body with barely a second thought. Venus found she could sit up again without her friend in her mind, but she felt weakened by what she had just endured. After all, she had just lived, vicariously, someone else’s death.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Jupiter continued to watch the man with a mixture of admiration and suspicion. "Who are you?"

"I am Nephrite…the second king."

"Really?" Jupiter took a second to wonder why this revelation didn’t bother her in the slightest, then brushed it off. "What happened to you?"

"It turns out I had enough pardon to beg Angelikarma’s absolution," he said cryptically. "When you die in the Dark Kingdom, you don’t really die. Somehow, you’re still very much a part of the world. Just not a very tangible part. Almost unreachable, in fact."

"Is your phone bill really high then?"

He smiled sarcastically, the expression at odds with his celestial body. The he shrugged. "The price is high, no doubt about that. But his only matters because it is what Phenakite is using to bring back Kunzite."

"You know about that?" she asked in surprise.

Nephrite looked annoyed. "Of course I do! What did you think I’d do? There isn’t exactly a lot for a dead Dark Kingdom warrior to do except watch people! I had places to go!"

"Showers to attend," added a snide voice, and a gathering of particles revealed another king, this time, one Sailor Jupiter recognised.

She decided that Zoisite hadn’t really changed – same uniform, same hair, same cruel green eyes. But he was dead, and talking up a storm – something wasn’t right.

"How are you two here?" she asked suddenly, but she realised they couldn’t hear her. They were too busy arguing.

"What the hell did you mean by that, ‘showers I had to attend’!?"

"Naru-chan?" he replied sweetly, in that effeminate, sarcastic voice. "I seem to remember one certain sad and lonely dead King going for a little walk and…"

"I don’t care what you say, I did NOT spy on Naru-chan in the shower!"

"Really?" Zoisite moved closer to the King, and to Jupiter’s surprise, Nephrite didn’t move away, instead he allowed him to speak. "Then what were you doing in her mirror, my good friend…" He smiled wickedly. "Your stars aren’t the only ones who know everything."

Jupiter, fascinated, watched the dead pair, and their arguing continued unabated for several minutes before she interrupted.

"HOW THE SMEG ARE YOU TWO ALIVE?!" shrieked the green Senshi, and Zoisite turned in surprise, a weird smile on his features.

"Oh, but we’re not alive, my dear."

"This just gets weirder and weirder…" sighed Jupiter. "If you’re not alive, then how come…"

"The Hourglass," said Nephrite softly, looking at Zoisite oddly. He looked away, and Jupiter could sense an unusual undertone. From what she had been told, the pair couldn’t stand each other – Zoisite’s murder of Nephrite sort of being the main contributing factor. But then why was he…

"Phenakite’s already altering the time lines – and she holds him in an eternal balance. She believed that it would leave the rest of us trapped – but she underestimated the power of time."

"Just a tad," whispered Zoisite, and to the shock of both, he vanished.

Nephrite turned to Jupiter. "Could I ask a small favour of you?"

______________________________________________________________________________________

Jupiter had been hesitant at first – it wasn’t exactly your everyday, ordinary type of question. When someone asks you for your body, you tend to consider it rather sharply.

She still didn’t understand why she had agreed – she had to believe that it was because of the weird feeling in her heart, the feeling that once, long ago, she had trusted this man with her life.

"Now," he warned, looking seriously at the former princess of Jupiter, "This is gonna be weird for you. I’m going to manipulate your body to mimic my old one – it just makes things easier for me, okay? Don’t worry, your body will return to normal. Well, it should."

Jupiter gasped as Nephrite stepped into her without warning, and she felt so weird, so different…

She looked down in shock and surprise. "Oh, so this is what it’s like to have one of these!"

Nephrite sighed. "Of all the Senshi…"

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