Authors Note: This is my very first fanfiction. I have always been a silent reader, but I wanted to give life to the thoughts bouncing around in my head.
Just wanted to let anyone who reads this know, that this fanfic is based in a slightly AU universe of sailor moon. It is loosely set in season 1. I recently watched Sailor moon crystal, and I liked that version a billion times better than the anime, but my world is a mixture of both. Any questions, let me know!
The prologue is set at the end of season 1 anime right before the final fight just as Mamoru's brainwashing wears off when he dies to protect Sailor Moon.
Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own any of the characters within this fanfiction, nor do I have any intention of making money off of this. Sailor Moon does not, nor will it ever, belong to me.
Enjoy! Also, please review!
Prologue
He fell to his knees with a sharp intake of breath as the memories flooded back into him. Hundreds of moments swiftly overtook his mind; the visions clawed their way back to the forefront of his subconscious where Beryl's fog had kept them locked away.
They were fleeting pictures of a young girl with bright eyes and a sweet smile. She was a whirlwind of sunshine with silky blonde hair. Usagi.
Then there were even more memories of the same girl, with gleaming silver hair this time, and a serene smile on her face, but still with the same compassionate whirlwind of emotion exuding from behind sparkling, sapphire blue eyes. Serenity.
Those beautiful memories were darkened by a slew of new memories; awful ones.
These memories were dark ones that did not belong, that should never have happened. What had he done? His hands trembled as the flashes of what Beryl had made him do cut into him.
He choked on the onslaught of emotions as he clenched his fists with disgust and anger. The very same fists that had, only moments before, been wrapped around the slender curve of her neck and choking the life from her.
His eyes focused on her broken, beaten, body beside him and a strangled cry lodged in his throat at the horrific sight. How could he have done this to her?
Her eyes were round, shining with unshed tears as they peered up at him, pleading with him, silently begging him to remember. How could they still be filled with so much hope and love after what he had done to her? He shuddered, filled with guilt, as he gazed upon the beautiful girl that he did not deserve, kneeling in front of him.
She flinched with fear as he reached for her and her body trembled as he pulled her into his arms.
He choked on a broken sob of dismay and buried his face in her hair. Her body sagged in relief against him with the realization that he was no longer Beryl's puppet.
"Sailor moon-" it was a strangled, guttural, sound that tore from his lips, all his pain and regret tinged in those two words.
"NO! Endymion! KILL HER!" He whipped around to face the source of the high-pitched, offending cry of rage.
In one swift movement, he jumped to his feet, and pulled Usagi up with him, as he lunged for his sword that had clanged noisily to the stone floor only moments before. He raised it menacingly towards the red-haired witch.
Beryl stood tall, her eyes widening in disbelief before her gaze darkened with unfettered rage and hatred. Her body radiated with a dark energy that poured off of her in suffocating waves. What felt like an eternity was only a couple of seconds that passed between them. Her pulsating red eyes flashed with fury, and he knew what was going to happen and what he must do.
The air in the dark kingdom where they stood was thick and heavy with evil. He could feel it, taste it on his tongue even, as he watched Beryl's lips curl into a sneer over sharp teeth as she eyed Usagi with seething, deep-seated hatred.
She lifted her arms up high, long claw-like fingernails curling upwards, and sinewy ashy arms tightening as she called upon the dark energy that lingered in the air here. Then, with a cry of rage, she aimed her attack at Usagi, and a beam of smoky black light burst from her hands. She aimed it directly at Usagi's heart.
His breath hitched in his throat, and his heart clenched painfully in his chest. "No!" The exclamation of anger bubbled up in his throat and tore from his lips. It was a desperate rasping sound that echoed in the darkened chamber around them. He wouldn't lose her like this.
It was a split-second decision that he did not regret. His movement was quick, as he leaned forward and widened his stance protectively in front of her. He had only a moment to look back at her. Her beautiful blue eyes wide and filled with horrified disbelief, slender, gloved fingers pressed to her lips as a strangled cry echoed around them. The sapphire blue of her gaze met the cobalt blue of his, and she shook her head with the realization of what was going to happen. He was going to sacrifice his life for her. It was the least he could do for her, his beautiful Princess, for what he had done.
I'm so sorry, Usako. I'm sorry that we have to go through this again. I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough to resist Beryl. I'm sorry that we didn't have enough time together in this life. I promise you that in the next one I won't be as stupid as I was in this one.
He hoped his pleading glance could convey the things that he did not have time to say, and he closed his eyes with an accepting sigh and prepared himself for the death blow that Beryl would deliver. He held his breath as he waited for the darkness to pierce into him, anticipating the pain, but it never came.
The noises and screams that had echoed off the stone walls moments before had gone silent. It was as if the sound was sucked from the room. He slowly opened his eyes, and they narrowed in confusion.
Beryl still stood before him; Frozen and unmoving. Her face was stuck into a contorted mask of hatred. The dark beam of energy that should have already pierced through his body had stopped and was suspended just inches from his face.
He twisted around to face Usagi that also stood motionless behind him. Her facial expression was filled with devastation and horror as her arms reached out to him as if she meant to pull him away.
"Usako?" He murmured, and the sound of his voice was deafening in the silence around him. His heart began to race as his brows drew together with disbelief. She did not move.
"She can't hear you," the sound of a voice, soft and lilting, rippled through the room. He tore his gaze from Usagi and whipped around to see a figure moving towards him from the shadows of the hall.
She was tall and regal looking, with long green hair flowing delicately behind her. She wore a white fuku, with a black pleated skirt, and a belt with shiny silver keys dangling from her waist. In her delicately gloved hand, she carried a long silver staff.
Another Senshi? He didn't recognize her.
"Who are you?" He demanded and leaned forward, poised to attack, to protect himself and Usagi from this new unknown.
"There is no need for that Endymion," she stated firmly, and her gaze hardened darkly, though it was tinged with wisdom and understanding that made him pause. "I'm here to change things. Do you recognize me at all?" She questioned with a tilt of her head, that sent green waves of hair tumbling over her shoulder.
He curtly shook his head. "No," he snapped, but there was a brief wisp of memory regarding this particular Senshi that flashed through his mind. Although, just like all of the memories that belonged to Endymion, it was dull and he couldn't quite grasp it.
She moved closer to him, and the heels of her boots clicked on the stone floor before she stopped abruptly and lowered her staff with a loud clang that echoed around them.
"I'm Sailor Pluto. I'm Guardian of time and soldier of change, and I need you to remember, Endymion," she commanded quietly, and her words sent shivers rolling down his spine. She didn't yell her statement, she didn't need to, it could have been whispered, and he would have heard the force behind her words.
He didn't have time to react before she lowered the staff again and a flash of light erupted from it, flooded the room and enveloped him in its bright shining brilliance. He lifted his arms to protect his eyes from the blinding light when something happened.
The mere flashes of his past life that he'd been privileged to glimpse before were no longer flashes. The memories that had belonged to Endymion flooded his mind, and in one instant he remembered every single moment of the life he'd lived thousands of years ago as if it were yesterday.
He released a strangled cry and covered his eyes to dull the ache pulsing through his head as his mind expanded and strained against the memories of two lives. It quickly passed, and he let out a breath of relief. It felt good to know, to finally remember it all. He'd spent so much time chasing down the wisps of things that danced around the edges of his mind.
He choked then as the very last memory clicked into place. It was of Serenity; her eyes wide as she screamed his name. He nearly stumbled with the intensity of it. God, he loved her. She was his everything.
The love that he carried for her in this new life was just the beginning. It was unfurling slowly as Usagi and Mamoru clumsily stumbled and waded through the complex emotions, but it was an echo compared to what it would become and to what it had been. That love exploded in him and expanded throughout the fibre of his very being.
He reached for her motionless hand and grasped at her in desperation. "Serenity," he choked brokenly, with the desperate need to hold her again and to feel her lips pressed against his. He clenched his eyes shut and let the emotion wash through him. It took a couple of minutes, but the raw intensity of it dulled until it finally subsided. He straightened his stance, no longer the confused, slumped over posture of brooding Mamoru, but with the confident, and proud attitude of Prince Endymion.
His gaze fell onto the Senshi of Pluto, and his eyes were weary as they carefully studied her. "I know who you are. You're a part of Queen Serenity's outer Senshi," he said, and his tone was steady and even as he faced her. "I thought you were a myth, Sailor Pluto. What are you doing here?" He questioned, his tone firm and harshly matter of fact. Everything that he'd been trained to be as the Prince of the Earth and all the knowledge that he'd been taught about the Lunar Kingdom now firmly embedded into memories that no longer felt like they'd occurred thousands of years ago.
Pluto's lips curled into a hardened smile, "You were about to die Endymion. Again. She would have brought you back this time, but something isn't right. The timeline in the future needs to change, and everything now depends on you to fix it," she stated vehemently, and he frowned and shook his head with confusion. He didn't understand.
He took a step towards her, "What do you mean?" He demanded, and she tilted her head with a patient stare that only the lonely guardian of time could have managed.
"I can't tell you everything. I know you hate riddles, Endymion," she chuckled as if recalling a private joke. "But we need to change this timeline. You're going to have to start over again," she declared, and his brows drew together in irritation now.
"I'm going to send you back to the beginning when Serenity -Usagi- first became the Moon Senshi," she said, and his eyes widened, bewildered and confused. She was going to send him back? "You're going to need to redo this timeline, but this time, you're going to remember everything. Listen to me carefully, this is very important; you need to save your Shitennou this time. It is imperative that you do so," she demanded, her tone laced with a fierce determination that made him shudder.
He inhaled sharply at her words, and Endymion's face fell as he recalled them; his generals, his mentors, his friends. Beryl corrupted them, one by one, in both of his lives it would seem, though she'd managed to find them first this time around.
"This is also important, Endymion, please listen carefully, I know this is going to be a difficult task, but it's imperative that Serenity's timeline stays as close to the original as possible. She must become the Moon Senshi in the same respect that she did before," she ordered, and it took him a moment before he understood what she meant.
His expression hardened, and he stepped back towards Usagi, that was still frozen in place. "I'm not staying away from her," he snapped, and a flash of frustration momentarily crossed Pluto's face.
She sighed softly and shook her head, her green locks tumbling gracefully over her shoulders.
"I know you won't; even if you tried, you wouldn't be able to. You've both always been so determined. Your attraction a magnetic force bringing you together, despite the consequences," her words were riddled with awe and a tinge of sadness. "I am not asking you to stay away from her. I know that you can't. I am simply asking you to refrain from changing her timeline too greatly. I know that it will be difficult but to have the most ideal outcome, she needs to become Sailor Moon, and she needs to remember you at the right time."
He frowned as he tried to process the request when the room suddenly began to shake. It flickered slightly, and the ball of darkness moved somewhat closer before everything came to a standstill again. Endymion nervously shielded Serenity and eyed the orb of darkness that should have ended his life with caution.
Pluto's form shuddered, as her brow furrowed in concentration. She was struggling to maintain control of the situation.
"I'm running out of time Endymion," she whispered and looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Save your generals and protect your princess," she stated, and he clenched his fists in frustration. He had so many questions to ask her.
"How do I save them?" he inquired desperately, and it was the first question that flew from his mouth.
She tilted her head, and her eyes shone brightly as she smiled at him. "Endymion, can't you feel it? You're Prince of the Earth and the powers you once held as that Prince is with you now, amplified even."
Even as she said it, he knew she was right. He could feel the golden power of his ancestors flowing through him. Centuries ago, the heir of Earth could inherit its powers. He'd once been its protector, and he could, at one time, connect with the energy that pulsated throughout the planet. It was a power that had been forgotten long ago. He'd only had minor access to it as Tuxedo Kamen, but now he could feel it pulsing through his fingertips. The ability to heal and the power to fight.
"It's time Endymion," Pluto whispered, and he could see her straining against the unseen power she was using to freeze time.
He could feel the panic set in, "Wait! You speak as if you know me. As if you know her?" He questioned, and Pluto smiled warmly.
"I do know you Endymion," she said, and he felt something pulling at his senses. It must have been her getting ready to hurl him back.
He struggled to keep his eyes open.
"Wait! How will I know if it worked?" He stammered out desperately, and she laughed. The sound was soothing, like a wind chime tinkling in the breeze.
"If it works then I will tell you myself when we meet again. Good luck your highness," she whispered gently as her figure and the scene before him flickered before it disappeared and everything went black.