Hi, everyone! I'm actually going to completely re-write the first four or so chapters of this story since my writing style has changed quite a bit over the past two years. I'm not going to change anything plot-wise; rather, I'm just going to put a new coat of paint on the first couple chapters (or so to speak). I'll add a note before each re-written chapter (like the one below) to let you all know which ones are completed. Thank you!
This chapter has been re-written.
After the Rain
"Do you like the changes I have made to this century, Sailor Moon?" The man drawled, then quickly added: "And you Sailor Venus and Tuxedo Kamen?"
The foreign man stood swathed in an elaborate white suit that was riddled with sumptuous embroidery and the finest of diamonds. From his shoulders flowed a cape of richest violet that brought out the malevolent gleam in his eyes as he brazenly took to leering at Usagi. On his lips, a dastardly smirk played.
"We could change the future even more," he purred. "Depending on you."
On those lips that smiled so, he dragged his tongue as, revealing two rows of gleaming white teeth. A predator, he was, with his sights set on his next meal. He stared at the warrior of golden hair and cerulean eyes as if he could already taste her blood running along his tongue, as if he could feel her supple skin against his lips.
Glaring with as much venom as he could hope to muster, Mamoru shoved Usagi behind him, spreading his arms ever so slightly to express that the man would not touch her without a fight. His actions, however, appeared to do little to faze the arrogant man; the fiend merely raised a thin brow as if amused by the action. A child would have shown more concern than he did.
Usagi's fingers curled around the silken fabric of Mamoru's cape, crimson and ebony material spilling through her fingers. Over her protector's shoulder, she peered at the malevolent man, feeling no braver than a frightened child. Seeping into the muscles of her own shoulders, the burden of tension that was as thick and lofty as an iron curtain added additional dread to that which already plagued her body. Those violet eyes stared at her so intently, so maliciously, so lasciviously. The man was already devouring her with his eyes, and they had yet to exchange any words.
"Who are you?" Mamoru growled.
Chuckling, the man tilted his chin up slightly. In those violet pools, amusement blazed alongside a lust that refused to temper. Smirking, he brushed Mamoru's question off. "I can be many things. Forceful, wicked, powerful, cruel, and sometimes, even gentle."
"Who are you?"
He inhaled dramatically, as if the breath itself took all of his energy to claim. At his side, the shadowy figure that accompanied him whispered lowly, speaking words that seemed to be nothing more than the chatter of specters and purrs of darkness. Cadaverous hands roved over the surface of the opaque crystal. All the while, the man, as if truly engaged for the first time in his life, nodded at length with his eyes never once leaving Usagi's. And his gaze was so unnerving to the former Moon Princess; in the violet swirled a maelstrom of dark emotions that grew by the second. Amongst them: malice, animosity, lust. Such a gaze told her that merely a simple brush from his fingertips would corrupt her in the most wicked of ways.
The silence that had settled between the parties—the patron of winter and his ally of shadow and the remaining warriors of virtue—was deafening. In Usagi's ears roared the hot blood that pulsed in her head, the hot blood that coursed through her veins, the hot blood that seared her insides with anxiety. Affected too by the curse of quiet was Mamoru, who spread his arms even more, gorgeous blue eyes alight with hundreds of sparks. And behind Usagi, she sensed the tension radiating off Sailor Venus and the apprehension creeping forth from King Endymion.
It continued for many moments thereafter—the standoff—before a shadow of recognition swept over the man's face and the unsettling whispers of the creature at his side subsided. Slowly, slowly, his violet eyes widened in tandem with the eager grin that spread across his thin lips. And slowly, slowly, those lips pulled back to unveil those awfully white fangs of his, which gleamed even in the absence of light and the presence of smog and smoke clouds.
"I do believe that you've just brought me what I wanted…"
The snarl that came from Mamoru was unlike anything Usagi had ever heard. Gripping his cane tightly in his hand as if it were the most fearsome of swords, he pointed it at the malevolent man who stood opposite to the group.
"I won't let you lay a hand on her." He said lowly.
His adversary was not threatened in the slightest. Briefly, his violet eyes flickered away from Usagi, lust making way for the annoyance that followed. Tilting his chin to a cautious incline, he assessed Mamoru with a look that did little to mask his disgust.
"Do you believe you have the authority to stop me? This is my Earth."
As the last syllable left his lips, Mamoru charged, brandishing his cane. Sailor Venus followed with her chain coiled tightly around her clenched fist. But even as the pair advanced, the man remained still, beholding them as though they were merely children running forth.
Only when they drew close enough to inflict damage did he move, sidestepping as a storm of violet silk roared around him. In the chaos, he was lost, leaving nothing more than ominous air in his wake. Instantly, his disappearance struck horror into the warriors, whose nervous eyes pored over the eclipsed sky and the surrounding ruin. And they found nothing, not a single trace of their adversary, nor evidence that he had ever existed, save for the wolfish laughter that echoed around them.
It was as malignant as the gaze of Medusa herself, petrifying Usagi and unleashing a war of chills on her spine. More frightening than any nightmare she had ever dreamt—for those had always promised the chance to escape into reality—that laughter was the melody of fear itself. There was no evading it; the sound pierced her skin and rattled her bones.
"Show yourself!"
The laughter ceased.
"A word of advice, dear Endymion and Sailor Venus," the man chuckled. "It isn't wise to leave your princess unprotected. Someone may come and...seize the opportunity."
A hand clamped over Usagi's mouth, an arm snaking around her waist. Startled, she cried out, but her scream was left muffled and weak.
"Usako!"
The next events flew by so quickly that Usagi's brain could hardly distinguish the. In a flurry of pumpkin and gold, Sailor Venus sprinted forward, only to be violently tossed away by an invisible barrier as she drew close. Her unconscious body slammed against the parched earth below with a muffled thud.
Tuxedo Kamen swore, stealing a glance at Venus' limp form to ensure that she was in fact still lashed to the world of the living, before rushing towards the devil and his captive.
A rich purple cape swirled around Usagi, cocooning her in violet, and soon she found herself staring into a pair of hypnotic orbs.
"Sailor Moon! Don't look into his eyes!"
Nothing more than dust in the wind, King Endymion's warning was carried off and lost to time forever. Haze descended upon her mind, slowing her thoughts and plunging her into a mindless abyss. Spellbound, her body lost its resolve, muscles caving to gravity but somehow never collapsing entirely. She wavered, gravity coaxing her form to lie, while the heavens clawed at her soul, begging to tear her from her mortal form. And she conceded, allowing her body to be shackled to the earth as the sky ripped her from her flesh prison and enveloped her in clouds.
Below, there was a weak, helpless girl, who had once again failed those who she loved. She wondered if perhaps surrendering was in everyone's best interest: her beloved friends and family would be safe, darkness would not claim any more innocent lives. All he wanted was her, after all, and all she had to was sleep.
Her lashes began to flutter, body slackening and falling against her captor, who was more than eager to hold her close. But, before she could yield herself completely, there was a brief lapse in his control, and it offered her an opportunity of defiance. In that fraction of a second, she shoved him away, hurtling backwards and toppling to the ground. Landing on her rear, she wasted no time in scrambling from the dirt and rushing to Mamoru's side.
Short lived, but never without sweetness, their reunion culminated with a light brush of fingertips and gentle smiles.
However, infuriated by her rebellion, the man snarled, venom dripping from his gaze. Around him, shadows and glowing auras collected and congealed, forming an incandescent halo that warned of his capacity for malevolence. In the distance, thunder growled, his anger given form.
Menacing as the man was, Mamoru found himself bereft of any fear or cowardice, instead, burdened with righteous fury. With incredible strength sourcing from the conflagration within, the dark haired man launched himself at his foe, brandishing his cane as though it were a sword. Against his adversary's visage, he landed a staggering blow, jarring the man to the point where he fell back, clutching his fractured jaw. He spat a mixture of blood and saliva onto the dirt and wiped his tainted lips with the sleeve of his jacket.
Blinded by rage, consumed by emotion and unthinking, Mamoru advanced, swinging his weapon with all of the force he could muster. But, his opponent would not be caught off guard again; the man delivered a powerful kick to Mamoru's shin. Ebony locks fell to conceal his anguished gaze as he bit down on his lower lip, drawing blood in the process. Though his gait wavered, he pushed through the biting pain that gnawed at his leg.
"Vexed, are we, Endymion?" The man mocked as Mamoru shambled forward, teetering dangerously with every step. "Are you afraid that I will carry her off? Afraid that I'll ravish your little princess? Or, perhaps, that I will show her what a real man can do..."
Scarlet flooded Mamoru's skin, his cheeks flushed red with hatred.
"But, surely you've satiated your hunger time and time again." He raised a knowing brow.
Silent, Mamoru fell prey to an even fiercer shade of crimson.
"Oh, Endymion!" The man roared with laughter. "How hard it must have been for you to restrain yourself! She's so intoxicating. I can't imagine how those golden locks must look splayed out beneath her, or how her fair skin must look against mine."
It was the straw that snapped the camel's back in two. Conjuring a storm of curses, Mamoru hurled himself at the man, throwing punch after punch at the demon that he so desperately wished to see dead at his feet. And, of course, the villain evaded every last one, grinning wickedly, but never once speaking a word. The fury, however, that had overtaken him was far more powerful than any drug; futile his efforts may have been, they satisfied the savage part of him that wanted nothing more than to grind every last bone, every last muscle beneath his heel.
"Mamo-chan! Behind you!"
Swept up in the storm of anger, Mamoru had not realized that the man was no longer before him until he turned just in time to swerve out of the way of a dagger hurtling towards the small of his back.
"Coward!" He growled. "You can't even fight me face to face."
"I had no intentions of fighting you." The man chuckled, as though he was stating something as obvious as the color of the sky. "All that I am here for is her."
Shadows spun another blade, and with a lazy flick of his hand, the man sent the dagger soaring towards Mamoru. Quicker than the dark haired man, the knife grazed his cheek with its keen edge. Droplets of blood beaded on the thin line.
"Is that the best you can do?" He panted, swiping at the dagger, which fell to the ground, limp.
The corners of the man's lips curled upwards in a sadistic smirk. "No."
"Mamo-chan!"
A cloud of smoke collected behind him, seething and forming little wisps of shadow that licked the air around. Slowly, those tendrils began to transmogrify, forming a constellation of obsidian daggers.
And with no hesitation, the blades rained down on Mamoru's vulnerable form.
A blood-curdling scream erupted from Usagi's throat. She collapsed, falling to her knees, clutching the sides of her head.
Impaled by hundreds of crystal blades, Mamoru lie motionless, face down. Blood spilled from every wound, staining the ground a dark shade of ruby and coaxing a relentless wave of nausea from within her. Head pounding, blood rushing in her ears, muscles plagued with tension, she remained still. Her cerulean eyes were affixed to the grisly scene before, her every thought, her every last ounce of energy spent on her wounded protector. Weakly, she crawled towards him, heaving her body next to his.
"Mamoru." She whimpered and guided him onto his side.
Dazed, he wavered between consciousness and unconsciousness, dark lashes fluttering and blue eyes flickering from point to point. Feeble, his hand reached for her face, but was struck down by gravity but a second later. "Usako..."
Tears began to fall down her cheeks, and she grasped for his hand, holding it flush between her own. "Stay with me, okay? I'll get someone to help. I'll..."
She looked to the fallen bodies of her comrades: Venus who still hadn't risen, King Endymion who was but a shower of pixels crumpled into a heap. There was no one else, no one left in the thirtieth century who could possibly be capable of helping them. And she still had the wolf behind her, who slowly advanced, feasting greedily on the carnage before him.
"I'm feeling benevolent, Endymion." The man drawled. "Perhaps you should know who I am, who was the cause of your ultimate demise. I am Prince Demando, ruler of Nemesis and this Earth."
"Demando," Mamoru hissed through his clenched teeth. "You won't get away with this. I won't let you take her."
"Oh, but I will. All of my desires shall fall into my hand, including her."
Strolling slowly, back straight and chin up, triumphant smirk displayed on his lips, Demando made a show of advancing to claim his prize. Glaring defiantly, Usagi clutched Mamoru's body, digging her toes into the ground. Amused, Demando's smirk only grew as he came to a stop a few feet away from her. He beckoned her forth with his hand, and she snarled a rare curse at him, which only bolstered his amusement. Throwing his head back, he roared with laughter before repeating the same motion again.
Strings, invisible but indestructible, chained themselves to her appendages, gaining control of her form. A puppet on strings, she was forced to drop the body of her lover and rise, though she haplessly struggled. Small, shaky steps her legs took, each bringing her another inch closer to Demando, whose fingers moved expertly at manipulating her form. She conjured a glare, but he merely laughed it off, amused with her defiance.
"You're a beautiful thing, aren't you?" He purred, drawing her into an embrace. His fingertips flirted with supple skin of her cheek, tracing a line all the way down her neck. "Young, but beautiful."
"What do you want with me?"
He grinned. "Many things. There's much that you do not know of yet. But, in time, you'll learn every last thing you need to know. Especially about me."
"I don't want anything to do with you." She hissed, as the pads of his fingers skimmed her lower lip.
He grinned wolfishly. "Oh, but I want everything to do with you."
On his forehead, that hideous third eye opened. Sickly yellow light enveloped her mind, entrancing her. The antipathy, the anger, the defiance melted from her features, eclipsed by a hollow look.
He hugged her tight to his form, their torsos flush against one another's. Gently, he stroked her golden mane, dipping his head down and bringing his lips to her cheek. Against her skin, he placed a gentle kiss and whispered: "And what fun we'll have when you're ready."
End
I swear that re-writing chapters is more difficult than actually writing one from scratch. I guess it's because I have to follow a certain sequence of events and be mindful of what happens in later chapters. Nevertheless, it was a pleasure, as always, to write for anyone who has taken interest in this story! I will see you all soon for the re-written chapter two and chapter eighteen. Thanks for reading! Would you kindly review and tell me how the re-write went?