A Light in the Dark

Chapter 1

It was a lazy day, even for Elysion. The musical song from nearby birds filled the fresh air mingling with the tinkling sound of the river as it raced to the waterfall. The glittering stars far above shone with the light of their dreamers; each twinkle an individual dream watched over and protected by this realm and its guardian.

Then one star winked out.

This was not unusual. Dreams come and go, wax and wane with their dreamers; but there was something different about this particular star. Its dreamer had grown up thinking only of this dream, pushing aside anything that could possible hinder their chances of their dream a reality. For it to wink out so abruptly…

Helios gazed at the dark hole in the dream galaxy curiously. This had been happening more often than it should in recent times. He felt a foreboding he had only felt once, when the lady with long black hair came for the Golden Crystal so long ago. But that had been at the height of the Golden Kingdom when people of power were not uncommon. In these modern days, magic had been relegated to childish fantasies and slight-of-hand in favor of science and technology which was all well and good.

However…

Solemn golden eyes turned away from the sparkling constellations to the Sanctuary he called home. A herd of while horses were grazing sedately in the fields near the Crystal Forest to the right of the Sanctuary itself. The Fountain tumbled from the cliff high above and behind the Sanctuary spilling crystal clear water into the natural lake. Water lapped at the stone pathways winding their way through the Sanctuary. The white stone Sanctuary itself was open, airy, and spacious allowing the fresh Elysion air to blow through rustling the sheer curtains cordoning off the private quarters.

Helios sighed and ran a hand through his windblown white hair, careful not to brush the golden horn there and turned back to the Crystal Forest. The Maenads were most likely flitting around Elysion, probably chasing the few souls resting here. He could afford to have this day to himself.

The hike to the top of the Falls was a welcome distraction from the foreboding growing in his heart. It helped clear his clouded thoughts and renew his energy. The view from the top was breathtaking no matter how many times he saw it. The numerous dream stars lighting up the sky glinted off the crystal growths, refracting into rainbows of dancing color. Birds of many colors darted freely through the sky.

The young priest made himself comfortable on his favorite boulder jutting out into the rapid flow of water and began removing his shoes. The hike may have been nice but the cool water soaking his feet felt just as good if not better at the moment. Comfortable and at peace, Helios lay back and closed his eyes.

He had only just begun to fall asleep when he felt a chill. Disconcerted, Helios opened his eyes and sat up. There on the far horizon was a giant, multi-colored thing. It resembled a tent with bulbous colored caterpillar wrapped around it. Ice cold fear like he had never felt before gripped his heart. For a moment, there was silence and stillness as if the entirety of Elysion held its breath, waiting for whatever would happen next.

Then the first bolt struck. Jagged black lightning leapt from the tent to the Crystal Forest below leaving behind a crater and blackened landscape covered in what looked like spider webs. Again and again the vicious bolts brazenly attacked the sacred ground. Each impact froze Helios' heart like a physical blow. There was no time to react. It was over within a matter of seconds leaving Helios in a terrified, twitching heap.

The priest curled his slender body protectively around his aching chest. It felt like his heart was freezing from the inside out. The cold seeped through his bloodstream burning him. It took much more effort than it should to force himself back up to his feet. He staggered to the cliff's edge and stared down in horror as creatures that by all rights should not exist attacked the Sanctuary far below.

He had to run. If they were here, whoever they were, then they were probably powerful. There was no reason to attack a peaceful and sacred realm such as Elysion unless whoever it was wanted the Earth, which Helios would not let happen, or the Golden Crystal, which Helios also could not allow. He could not be caught.

Taking a deep breath, forcefully banishing his sickening fear to a tolerable level, Helios raced back to the boulder. He quickly pulled on his shoes and took a quick drink of water and ran into the trees. He knew this land well, it had been his homes for thousands of years. This new enemy was not as familiar with it. Hopefully, Helios could find a way to fight back and save his beloved home before it fell to utter ruin.

But for now, he had to run. He felt like a coward, but it could not be helped. He had power, yes, but it was limited. The Golden Crystal may be in his possession but he could no more utilize its immense powers than a child could forge a sword. He was the Crystal's protector, the High Priest of Elysion, and the Guardian of Dreams, nothing more. He was a pacifist by nature. What hope could he possibly have fighting head-on against an enemy such as this? With no warning, no preparation, nothing, he was helpless.

So he fled.

The creatures, he discovered from days of playing a dangerous game of hide-and-seek, were called Lemures and they seemed to only be interested in him. They hunted him with a vicious single-mindedness that would haunt the Guardian of Dreams nightmares for years to come. He barely escaped capture at least twice before finally falling prey to a particularly clever Lemure who managed to possess his own shadow trapping him in the darkness of his own mind.

The struggle back to reality was an uphill battle. His thoughts were fuzzy and slow coming. His eyelids were too heavy to open, although that may have been for the better. He calmed his frayed nerves and just listened the muted noises around him steadily became clearer. He vaguely heard footsteps moving away before his head was lifted and placed gently on something soft and warm. Fingers combed through his hair avoiding his sensitive horn.

Was this a friend? Had someone saved him? But that could not be. He felt evil everywhere; it permeated the very air he breath with a thickness that was almost suffocating. He felt like a tiny, wavering flame in an intensely dark room. His own fingers twitched as the adrenaline began racing through his veins in anticipation of what was to come.

"Ah, waking up I see," a voice so musical, so utterly, terrifyingly familiar, all but whispered in his ear. "Open your eyes, my dear, and behold your Queen."

He did not want to. He absolutely did not want to, but his eyes betrayed him and opened. He lay sprawled on his side on the cool stone floor in a dark hall of which he could see no end. The floor appeared to simply drop off into an endless abyss mere feet from his position. His body was still heavy from the abrupt possession and the evil which continued to eat away at his soul little by little.

The next thing he saw was a flood of ivory and black silk pooled around him and beneath him, someone's dress perhaps. Fingers continued to comb tenderly through his hair, delicately untangling the knots and plucking out what felt lick small leaves and twigs. So he was on someone's lap, but whose? Fighting the weakness in his body he turned his head and felt the icy grip on his heart clench.

There, hovering above him was the most beautiful and evil face he ever had the misfortune to see. He breath shuddered as a frayed whisper fell from his quivering lips, "Nehellenia."

"Hello again, my Helios."

A/N: Since the new Sailor Moon remake series premiered two weeks ago, I've been on an old Sailor Moon anime/manga marathon. I basically rewatched the Super S series in both English dub and sub because I absolutely adore Helios. He's such an interesting and underrated character who needs more love and attention. But it was Mangaka-chan's amazing fic Return to the Past which finally kicked me into gear and inspired me to write this story. This story will cover the events leading up to, during, and slightly post the Super S season, aka the Dream/Pegasus Arc. I will be drawing inspiration for this from the manga, the original anime, and bits and pieces from the live action series PGSM. This could be considered a side story to the Shitennou series I've been working on but had to take a break from due to school and life: Tomorrow, it Begins (TiB), Our First Breath of Life (OFBoL), and Tainted Hearts, Caged Souls (THCS). No, you don't have to have read the previous fics in order to understand this one, but it'd be nice if you did. Plus, it might help clarify a few things in here that may not necessarily make sense otherwise. These will be minor but just in case.

Also, this will follow mostly Helios' side of the events as we all know the Sailor Senshi's side. I want to delve into Helios' character, see what makes him tick, and find out what will happen. All the pairings present in this will be canon such as Mamoru/Usagi, Helios/Chibiusa, Luna/Artemis, etc. I will be delving into Nehellenia's curious obsession with Helios as well which was heavily hinted at in the original anime and obviously bothered both Helios and Chibiusa to an unsettling degree.

On that note, no, there will not be rape in this fic. There will be other things which I will put warnings for if/when they occur, but no matter what, there will be no rape. That's a bit of a sensitive subject for me. If you want that, look elsewhere. That said, let me know if y'all have any questions or if you spot any mistakes. I tend to write these late at night when I'm tired and the inspiration hits, then immediately post. I go over everything later the next day, but I can and do still miss things. Otherwise, enjoy and goodnight.

7/18/14 - 12:40am