Author: Irongrip
E-mail:Irongrip62@aol.com
Rating: PG
A decently original Sailor Moon FanFic by Jesse Rozelle
Disclaimer: I ask that you awesome people who read this fanfic be patient with me, as I know just a little about Japanese culture and language, so don't be too harsh when I mess it up. To ease this, this fanfic will nearly be entirely in English, with a few simple Japanese words like "Senshi" and the like. This is the last time I'm putting this silly thing up, too.
The Father of the Moon Princess
Episode 3:
Enter Michael
Lara Fillipelli hurled her blaring alarm clock against the wall as she rose out of her bed, yawning. For a moment she wondered why she was waking up at this early an hour. Oh yeah, the mystery man. She stood up and stretched her arms and stood up. "Lights," she said wearily, and the room lit up. She groggily walked over and picked up her alarm clock- reading 4:30am -which by some miracle was still working, though the chirping had stopped.
Gotta love modern technology, she thought to herself. Voice-activated lights and indestructible alarm clocks.
She crossed the room in two steps across her small palace quarters and entered the bathroom, where she proceeded in an attempt to wash the sleepiness away with a nice long shower. She had a little time to spare, so she figured she might as well look presentable for the queen.
The queen.
Lara, also known as Sailor Umbriel, had only seen the queen twice before the previous day. Once, two years ago, when she had been introduced to her as a potential senshi candidate, and again, a year later, when the queen herself had awakened the magical abilities within her, gaining her the status of a sailor senshi, only the twentieth person on earth to do so. Now she was approaching her nineteenth birthday, she was already caught up in possibly earth-rocking events. Big, good-looking alien men with swords fighting each other, over the senshi and the queen. Sounds like the old Sailor Moon stories from the twentieth century, but I guess this is what you left Naples for, isn't it? she thought to herself with a smile as the warm water ran down her body, washing all the last of her fatigue away. But I wish they could deal with it at a decent hour of the day.
She finished her shower and dressed herself in casual attire, although it didn't really matter what she was wearing, since her senshi fuku would be all anyone would see anyway once she transformed. Hair dried and fixed up, she then proceeded to pull her senshi stick out of thin air, and said, "Umbriel Crystal Power!"
The image of Lara faded and shimmered in a black-blue light, then swirled around her body, centering around the places her fuku would appear. After a moment, Sailor Umbriel stood in Lara's quarters. As she exited her quarters out into the main hall of the palace, she felt exhilarated with renewed energy, a wonderful benefit of being in senshi form. As it always did, the transformation got her thinking about how exactly the magic did what it did to her.
At her testing, she had scored high in the areas of spirituality and magic, an obvious reason for being put under the tutelage of Sailor Mars. She was becoming something of an expert in how the senshi used their powers, and where they drew those powers from. It was very difficult and a sometimes frustrating task, but Mars had encouraged her to pursue it, expressing the importance her discoveries might be in the future.
Ah, well, she thought to herself as she approached the throne room, enough time for studies later. Now, I have to put on my Lara-be-good face.
She giggled as she entered the throne room, and wondered where the Throne guards, Sailors Triton and Nereid, were. When she entered, she instantly knew something was wrong.
Michael awoke with a start. Something was wrong. He sensed…something. Something twisted and dark.
Elethar!
He looked at the crystal door blocking his exit from Mars' office. Well, she could always get a new one.
He began drawing in power.
Umbriel entered the throne room, formally called the 'Crystal Throne' and saw something out of a nightmare. To her right and left were Sailors Triton and Nereid, crumpled and unmoving on the ground. In the center of the throne room stood a familiar black-cloaked man. He had a sword with purple gems in it, and it was drawn.
Elethar!
The queen still sat on her Crystal Throne, though the King was standing protectively over her. Sailors Mars, Pluto, and Saturn were between Elethar and the stairs to the Throne, and Mercury and Venus flanked him on either side.
Elethar was laughing. "Is this all there is to defend you, your majesty? I expected at least a slight challenge in reaching you. The palace guards never even knew I was there until they were already dead."
"You still have to get through all of us, Elethar," said Mars, her eyes stone cold, and flames dancing on her fingertips, "so you might want to rethink what you're doing, or we will put you down."
The auburn-haired man looked for a second like he was actually thinking about it, but then reared his head back and laughed that deep, hollow laugh which echoed through the Crystal Throne room. "No, my dear, I think I'll just kill you all as planned. Yes, I think that's what I'll do."
He's crazy, thought Umbriel to herself. She was now taking cautious steps towards the back of Elethar, hoping he hadn't noticed her entry yet.
He took a step forward, and suddenly the throne room lit up with energy as the senshi all launched attacks at him.
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"
"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"
"Mars Flame Sniper!"
"Dead Scream."
Saturn stood with her glaive at the ready.
Energy of all colors poured towards the man from all directions, and soon he was visibly lost in the explosions of fire and energy. Umbriel had to brace herself against the sheer force of the attacks. For a moment, there was silence as the energy faded and the smoke cleared. There was a shimmering in the middle of it all, and there, surrounded by a translucent purple globe, was Elethar, unharmed.
Umbriel knew what was coming. "Umbriel Shadowveil!" she shouted, and she disappeared from sight.
Elethar was grinning wickedly with a coldness that made even Sailor Mars cringe. "Now it's my turn," he said with a calm that spoke of death.
He whirled and threw two purple fireballs, one struck Mercury in the chest, sending her flying. The other missed a leaping Venus, but exploded against the floor and knocked her to the ground hard. He turned again and threw another fireball at the remaining three senshi.
"Silence Wall!" shouted Saturn. Her invisible wall stopped the fireball, but the force of it knocked her back onto the steps.
Elethar sprinted at Pluto, sword raised. He parried her staff thrust, and smashed his fist into her mid-section, knocking her all the way to the top of the stairs at the queen's feet, gasping for breath. In the same motion, he hurled a lightning bolt into Saturn's stomach. She screamed and tumbled to the base of the stairs, groaning in pain.
The last senshi still standing, Mars threw a punch at that auburn-haired head, with flames surrounding her fist. But with faster reflexes than she had ever before seen, he whirled and caught the fist in his much larger hand. For a moment he grimaced in pain from the fire, but then his eyes began to glow a rich purple, and he clamped on her hand, and hurled her clear across the width of the throne room.
There was a shimmering behind him. "Umbriel Shadowflame!" A ball of blue-black flame, thrown by a suddenly visible Sailor Umbriel, roared towards Elethar's back. The man whirled in surprise, but swung his sword like a baseball bat, and hit the ball back at Umbriel, who was knocked hard to the ground by her own attack.
"Stop it!" came a pleading voice from the queen's Throne. Neo-queen Serenity was standing, still being shielded by the king, and tears were in her eyes. "What do you want?"
The purple-eyed terror shifted his gaze to her, and pointed his sword at her. "Your death."
"Never!" shouted the king who pulled his own sword out of thin air.
"Oh, please," said Elethar mockingly, and hurled a large fireball at the queen's Throne. The ball exploded against her Throne, and Endymion was thrown head-first against his own, while the queen tumbled forward. . .to Elethar's feet.
At that point, a recovered Venus charged him in a desperation move, and tried a physical attack. Elethar simply ducked under her punch, and grabbed her by the throat, picking her up off the ground with one hand. "My my, another pretty one," he said with an evil grin, purple eyes still blazing bright. He squeezed harder, and she quickly lost consciousness, so he scowled and hurled her near to where Mars was struggling to rise. "Persistent, though." He turned back to the queen, and gasped as her met her angry eyes.
Umbriel picked up her head to see her queen instantly enveloped in a white light and extend her hands at Elethar. For a second, he blocked her incredibly strong attack, but his shield shattered and he was thrown back almost to the entrance doors, sword skittering away from him.
"I will not allow you to harm anyone any longer!" she screamed at him.
Elethar stood after a moment of gasping and wheezing. He suddenly screamed with rage, lightning and fire swirling about him. He clapped his hands together, fingers pointed up, and said, "No senshi has ever harmed me like that before! Now I know how you could have destroyed Galaxia."
Serenity gasped.
"No matter. Now you all die!"
With that, his hands slowly drew apart, and a purplish-black ball of energy formed between them. A low growl came from his throat, and the ball expanded until it peaked, as his hands stopped separating. His eyes were blazing like two small purple suns. "No being may take this attack and live!
"Thalaxian Spears SHATTER!"
The sphere contracted as several small pointed beams lanced out towards the queen, and would have hit her, had not Sailor Mars thrown herself in between them.
Mars crossed her arms before her as the beams impacted her, again and again. The spears of energy lashed against her, tearing both her fuku and her flesh. Before the last spear hit, her body was already limp and falling.
"Mars!" shouted the queen, who rushed to her old friend, cradling her barely breathing body. "Why do you always have to do that?"
Mars smiled faintly, but was too weak to say anything.
Suddenly Elethar was there, breathing slightly heavier, but still unscathed. "Impossible!" he said, noticing the rising and falling of Mars' chest, "The senshi of this world truly are something extraordinary. Oh well." He shrugged indifferently as he reached out, and his sword flew into his hand.
There was suddenly a new sound. Like the growling of a man and lion overlapping. Umbriel weakly turned her head, and saw another terrifying sight. Michael was in the doorway, eyes lit up blue, with energy swirling about him. And his face was enraged.
Elethar's face quickly lost all it's color. He turned back to the queen, and brought his sword down upon her- and impacted another sword.
In that instant, Michael had traversed the entire Crystal Throne and blocked the fatal blow with his own sword. The two mens' eyes met, one with fear, and one with rage. Michael roared again, and hurled a lightning bolt into Elethar's face, point-blank. The smaller man flew back as if he'd been hit by a truck, and landed against the far wall, a few feet from Umbriel.
Michael's eyes faded as he looked down at the queen. "Are you hurt?" he asked gently.
"No," she replied, eyes wide. "But the others…"
"Don't worry, I'll help them in a moment. But first," he turned back to Elethar's twitching form, "I have something to take care of."
Michael strode towards the rising shape of his foe. Elethar backed into the wall, panic clearly in his charred face. "No, please. You can't! Zeldelak will not allow-"
Michael closed in on him. "Nowhere to run this time delthalaxi. My hunt for you ends here. You were a difficult prey, but you will fall, just like the others."
Elethar's expression changed from fear to one of resentful anger, and charged Michael with his sword. Their blades clashed with a spark, and they continued to rain blows upon the other. Elethar was fully a half-foot shorter than Michael, but he seemed able to take the larger man stride for stride. Their blades moved with a blur, faster than Umbriel thought possible for a human to swing a weapon. Sparks flashed, lightning crackled from them, and their eyes were almost on fire they were so bright. Their duel took them around the entire throne room, up the stairs, behind the Thrones. The senshi who were still conscious struggled any way they could to get out of their way.
Finally, as their fight brought them to the middle of the Throne, Elethar ducked under a long swipe, and cut across the top of Michael's thigh. Umbriel gasped. But Michael seemed not to notice the wound, and brought the hilt of his sword down onto Elethar's skull. There was a horrible cracking sound, and the purple-eyed man crumpled to the ground, face up.
Michael crouched down and looked into Elethar's glazed eyes. "You forgot the eleventh rule of Combat, Elethar. 'If your cut will leave you off-balance, be sure to make it a killing cut.'" Umbriel doubted that Elethar could hear Michael, and wondered why he'd said it.
Michael then stood up, and turned his sword point down over his fallen enemy.
"Wait!" shouted Serenity, now rising from the steps.
But Michael did not appear to hear her, as he thrust his sword through the chest of his foe. The hilt-gems glowed brightly, and Elethar's body was engulfed in a deep blue energy, which matched Michael's glowing eyes. When the glowing stopped, ash was all that was left of Elethar.
Michael sheathed his sword, and closed his eyes. Umbriel rose unsteadily, and walked towards him, but Serenity was there first. She grabbed him by the arm, "Did you have to kill him? He was already down." Her face was none to pleased.
He opened his eyes and looked at her, confused. "Yes, actually I did. Don't worry, it has been a long time coming."
Serenity's eyes continued to flash angrily, something Umbriel had never seen on the queen's face before. "I don't care what he's done. There's always a chance to change. We could have at least locked him up. You hit him hard enough so that he wasn't going anywhere. We might have-"
Michael turned on her, towering over her, cold eyes boring into hers. But she did not flinch. "You know nothing of him! If I told you half of the things he's done, you would be sick for days! He would have killed everyone in this room the same as if he was breathing! There was no difference to him!" he backed away from her, regaining his composure. "Besides, he gave himself to the Madness a long time ago. There is no coming back from that. Ever."
Serenity was still glaring at him. But then she turned and ran to Sailor Mars, still laying still on the ground. The Sailor senshi of Mars was a sickly pale shade. Sweat beaded all over her body, and there were ugly black streaks just under the surface of her skin around the wounds she'd received from Elethar's merciless attack.
Umbriel came to stand next to Michael. "Aren't you going to help her?"
"Yes," he replied. "But first I must calm my spirit, or else I'll do more harm then good." He closed his eyes again and took deep breaths.
Umbriel was wide eyed with outrage. "You mean to tell me you're meditating while they all lay dying? Help them!" "You don't understand," he said very calmly. The rage which had occupied his face during the fight slid away from his features. It was almost becoming a different face. "I can't help them until-"
"Dammit! If you don't help them, I swear I'm gonna-"
He turned away from her. "I am ready."
She ground her teeth together, but didn't say anything. He had saved her twice in three days, and she was patient enough to at least see what he would do, no matter how much he was irritating her. If it wasn't good enough, she'd shove a Shadowflame right up his-
"She has been poisoned," he said gravely, assessing Mars' wounds. He frowned for a moment, and then walked over to the base of the steps to where Sailor Saturn lay, unconscious.
"Poisoned? How? What are you doing?"
Michael leaned down over Saturn, and put his hand on her stomach. There was a white glow, and after a moment, she screamed out. Then instinctively reached down and felt her healed stomach.
Umbriel remembered that feeling from the forest. He had healed her there, also. Not the most pleasant of feelings, but worth the shock of pain in the long run. She looked down at Mars again. The black-haired woman was breathing irregularly now, and her skin was almost a gray shade.
"Please hurry," Serenity pleaded to Michael.
He turned to look at Mars, scowled, and said to Saturn. "Use your powers to heal the senshi, please. I must attend to Sailor Mars."
Saturn slowly got up, confusion painted across her face. She looked at the queen, who nodded. Saturn then proceeded to Sailor Pluto.
Michael came and crouched next to the sickly-looking Mars. He examined her wounds, and then looked closely at her eyes. "There is still time. The poison has not touched her spirit yet." He smiled, as if remembering something. "She is strong."
He reached down and touched her forearms, and the white glow of healing enveloped them. Mars groaned, but obviously did not have even the strength left to cry out from the inevitable stinging of the healing.
Umbriel chewed her lip nervously, not even noticing when Saturn came up to her, and touched her head. Suddenly, her headache was gone, and charring from her own Shadowflame attack fell away from the newly healed skin. She looked to Saturn, and smiled with gratitude. Saturn smiled back, but looked worriedly at Mars. The rest of the senshi and Endymion were gathering around, all healed, if only weakened from the intense fight.
By the time Umbriel looked back at Michael and Mars, he had healed all her wounds except the deep gash on her upper thigh. He reached his hand to heal that ugly wound, but hesitated for a moment. Umbriel couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw his face color pink slightly from embarrassment. So you does have a soft side, she thought to herself. Maybe you're not such a cold and heartless hunter after all.
Michael's hand trace up the wound, leaving the faintest trace of a scar in its wake. The gash was longer than Umbriel had first thought, and Michael had to follow it all the way up to her stomach before it was finally closed completely.
Mars groaned and shifted herself on the floor. Her eyes opened weakly, and she smiled faintly at Serenity.
The queen smiled back at her, then looked at Michael. "Thank you. Both for saving her and the rest of us."
Michael's face was showing signs of weariness. "Do not thank me yet. Sailor Mars is not yet healed." He pointed at the dark streaks still under Mars' skin. "Spirit Poison destroys the bond between flesh and spirit. There are no known conventional ways to heal it."
Everyone looked down at the streaks, a chill going up every spine in the Throne. They seemed to be writhing beneath her skin now, or maybe growing. It was difficult to tell.
"Don't worry," Michael assured the group, "I can heal this, though you may want to stand back." Everyone immediately stepped back, except Serenity, who would not let go of Mars' cradled head. He put a hand on the queen's. "Please, you majesty. Stand back." She looked up at his eyes, and nodded sadly.
Umbriel followed the queen's face as she stepped away from Mars, gently laying her head back. Something passed across her face that no one would have noticed had they not been looking directly at her. Serenity's eyes held a hopelessness, a despair that contradicted her normally loving and joyful personality. It was like she had lost all will to hope. Umbriel felt fear- not the kind that Elethar inspired- but more like the kind an orphaned child feels when he truly realizes his parents are gone forever, and cannot help and protect him anymore. Umbriel chewed her lip again, though harder this time, and looked back to Sailor Mars.
Michael crouched over her again, and this time placed his open hand six inches above her chest. He looked at her, and said, "I'm sorry, My Lady. This is really going to hurt." Her eyes widened, but she nodded gravely.
"Go ahead," she said weakly.
He smiled briefly at her, then closed his eyes. What happened next was something Umbriel would never forget.
A white nimbus began surrounding Michael, faint at first, but kept growing brighter and brighter. His outstretched hand glowed as well, though it was more intense. A hum reverberated off of the walls, and also became more intense along with the white light. Soon the Crystal Throne room was ablaze with the white light, and Umbriel nearly had to shield her eyes from the glowing man.
After the brightness reached its apex, a white beam of light shot from Michael's hand into the center of Mars' chest. The humming became a roaring. Mars gasped and arched her back, her eyes wide with shock. The senshi took a worried step forward.
"NO!" It was Endymion. "Let him finish!"
The beam which linked the two became brighter, and the blazing nimbus around Michael became dimmer.
He's channeling it into her! Thought Umbriel. Ever the student of magic theory, she watched with fascination as the energies passed from one being to the next. It was a beautiful sight. And a horrifying one, she reminded herself, If he can do that to heal, imagine what he could do in a fight, if he wanted to. She shivered at that train of thought.
As the last of Michael's energy passed into Mars' writhing body, he slammed his palm down on her chest below her neck. There was a crackling like thunder, and both Michael and Mars screamed. She was struggling under his hand, trying to break free, but he would not relent, and held her down. Beams of light seemed to stream out from under her skin, first a few, and then dozens. Michael's eyes were blazing blue again, and he cried out once more.
With one last agonizing scream, Mars was bathed in the white light. There was a bright flash and a loud booming sound. Then all was quiet.
No one moved for a moment, but then Mars began to rise, eyes open and alert like she had never been hurt. Serenity ran to her and kneeled, giving her old friend a big hug. The other senshi came, also to lay a reassuring hand on her.
Umbriel also went to her mentor, and gave her a hug. Then she looked for Michael, and saw him laying on the ground a few yards away. She walked over to him, and was going to check for a pulse, when he started moving. He groaned wearily and rose to a sitting position, putting a hand to his head.
"Are you alright?" she asked, stepping back from him.
He looked up at her. His face was pale, and his eyes sagged from fatigue. "I will be. Nothing a long night's sleep won't take care of." He rose to a standing position.
"What exactly did you just do?" she asked, still keeping her distance.
"I healed her."
"I know that. But how?"
He looked at her wearily. Then realized that the rest of the senshi were looking at them. He drew a card from beneath his cloak. "This is my number of where I am staying," he said to them. "Call me tomorrow night. I will answer all questions then. For now, I must rest. Healing spirit poison is somewhat easier than lifting a building, and in an hour I won't be conscious whether I want to be or not." He began to stagger towards the door.
"Wait," said Mars. "You never told us who-"
He waved her to silence. "Tomorrow," he said, and then he was gone.
After another long moment, everyone looked to Serenity. Her eyes were no longer despairing as they had been, but a sadness remained nevertheless. "Let him go," she said. "We have enough to occupy us until tonight, like all the hurt people in the palace, and the press will be hounding us." She looked at the open door. "We'll deal with our new. . .friend, tomorrow night."
Next: Whew! Those were fairly fast-paced episodes. Wondering what in the world is going on? Well, you'll find out in the next episode, I promise!!
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