I should've known. Should've known it was Wiseman doing all of this. He gives me shudders, cold shudders.
It's hard to believe Wiseman had killed Esmeraude under our nose. As much as I despise her, he has no right to do such a thing to a high member of the Dark Moon Clan. And if he can kill Esmeraude so easily, who knows what he can do to Prince Demando.
Saphir drunkenly staggered his way to the control room where the black crystal hung from the ceiling, absorbing energy. His head was throbbing, but he would take care of that later. More importantly, Saphir knew checking on the black crystal was an excuse to get rid of him.
He appeared before a dazzling spectrum of color. Underneath a glaze of darkness, colors twisted and knotted into a frightening beautiful display. Saphir paid no mind to the fascinating crystal before him. He reached out a gloved hand over a block of gray marble. It responded to his command and rose out of the ground. The marble split into several pieces, reveling a transparent blue card. He snatched it out of the air and glared at it.
"It's working perfectly."
If only the Sailor Senshi wasn't there to stop us every time. They killed Rebus, my friend, and foiled Esmeraude's plans. We have underestimated humans of earth.
A wave of blind rage fluttered inside his chest. Saphir's azure blue eyes squinted. They became steely and bitter. He clenched his fist around the card.
I need to do something. What am I doing, wandering the hallways like a ghost? I'm a prince, I have power. I will construct several droids to kill them for me, ones that will attack essential areas.
Saphir disappeared, and appeared in his chambers. His footsteps echoed in the cold dark room. He had a new spring in his step as he strode toward the table infested with notes and documents of the mind, brain, and body. Several books of the study of psychology that his numerous tutors and trainers had given him lay sprawled across the floor. Books on doctoring, biology, study of the human mind, everything that came to constructing droids spilled off his table. Nibs of pencils and dead pens lay underneath his desk.
He took one look at the mess and instantly knew what he had to look for.
"I will need to attack the areas of the body, the heart, lungs, and brain. If I can kill one of those organs, then it's good bye sailor senshi. No fancy method or strange powers, one hit is all it takes..
As Saphir scurried around his desk, flipping books open and scribbling unreadable notes. He snatched up a large file of paper. To his bewilderment, a crimson hand print stained the light tan of the file. Catching him by surprise, Saphir gasped and dropped the file. It exploded in a cloud of notes on the sleek marble. He whipped his hands to his face, and saw his gloves were soaked red with blood. Dumbly staring at his wound, the pain hit him in the chest.
He ground his teeth, wondering where in Nemesis did he get that wound. As he tore off the bloody mess of gloves, small beady drops of blood landed on his files like small insects. Saphir took one look at his hand and groaned when he realized where it came from.
He had been gripping the card so hard, it ripped away his silk gloves and cut into his flesh. A large gash across the palm of hand was bleeding heavily. It ran down his arm and dripped onto the ground in little drops. Saphir's white pants were stained with blood, and he had a wide smudge across his cheek. The passionate anger he once had seemed like years ago. It had drained itself out of his body.
Saphir sucked in his breath. Something made a sound.
Or was it his own imagination? No, it was quite real. It was quiet at first, like the sounds of a wing beat, but got louder and louder. Someone was screaming, screaming his name.
"SAPHIR! SAPHIR! ANSWER ME!" In a horrific second, Saphir realized who was calling his name.
"NI-SAN!" Demando was in trouble.
Saphir tore through his room. He burst open the door, his own voice sounding hysterical.
"NI-SAN!"
He whirled around the hallway, looking for the blinding whiteness of Prince Demando. Instead, he found the endless corridor that led to nothing but darkness.
"SAPHIR!"
His voice sounded so close... too close, as if he was bellowing in his ear. Right next to his ear... Saphir became conscious of the absurdness of the situation. If Prince Demando was in trouble, all the people of Nemesis would sacrifice himself to save his life. Any droid, humanoid, anything would get in the way of the attacker. If Prince Demando had enough time to come dashing to Saphir for help, it must be an illusion.
A vicious illusion.
Right next to his ear. It sounded so close. Saphir blinked.
Right next to his ear.
Saphir seized the jewel that hung from his earlobe. He yanked them off and sighed in the immediate relief. Demando's voice was gone. At once, Saphir took notice of the earrings. He recalled the day when Demando had commanded him to create a pair of earrings made of black crystal to dramaticly increase his powers to the highest capacity. He had given him shards of black crystal, and Saphir was honored to do so. He had tried on the first pair, and it had given him a headache later that day. He felt a surge of idiotic recklessness when he put them on, and yet he also felt his fingertips tingle with his own dominance. Saphir recalls forming impossible missions, asking for unanswerable questions. He also forgot who and why he made the earrings for in the first place.
He forgot, that is, until Prince Demando himself had surfaced in his work chambers.
Saphir recalls Demando's smile as he walked to his side and put a hand on his shoulder. He would have recoiled at someone reaching over to touch him, but he didn't move a muscle. Instead, he hoped Demando would not feel his trembling.
"You did well, Saphir." He reached his hand out to take a pair from the desk.
Saphir stared at his elder brother put the earrings on. Once the second earring had secured itself, he saw immediate results. Demando's eyes grew large; his pupils shrank down to small dots.
"I can feel it running in my blood." He paced the room, staring at his hands. "It's in my hands, coursing down my legs... I need to..." Demando never finished his sentence. He strode out of Saphir's room, leaving him alone.
Before he could finish his thoughts, a woman turned a corner and saw Saphir standing outside his door in a bloody mess. She shrieked and let dropped the vase she was holding, shattering the delicate pottery and the flower design. Water spilled over his shoes and washed drops of blood off the floor. Flowers crashed onto the ground, ruining their perfection. A huge purple and yellow iris fell on the ground. The petals fell off.
It was in that simple move that Saphir awoke from his daydream.
"Saphir-sama!" the woman squeaked, "Someone heard you shouting in the hallway and sent me to check up on you! I didn't think you'd be all bloodied." She stared at his hand.
Saphir looked up. The woman obviously was frightened by his bedraggled appearance. Looking up at her with blank eyes, he murmured,
"I don't need help. Clean up this mess and leave me be."
Saphir silently picked up the crushed iris. He stroked it with one hand, then carefully set it on the ground.
He then turned and disappeared in a flash of sapphire blue.