Crystal Shards

Title: Crystal Shards

Author: kazeko

Chapters: 13 and epilogue

Show: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

Series: no

Couples: Usagi/Mamoru, (Uranus/Neptune)

Time: SMR immediately following Every Cloud

Summary: The last seven episodes of Sailor Moon R, but a little different.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, Takeuchi Naoko, Toei & Kodansha do.

Author's Note: in the manga, Kiral and Akiral were servants of Emerald, though I'm pretty sure they never became minotaurs.

Chapter 3: Rabbit of the Moon

Emerald watched behind her red-feathered fan as Wiseman manipulated the Princess of Crystal Tokyo and called her to his side. She sneered at the child's simplicity as she took Wiseman's hand trustingly and vanished into the mists. Emerald waved her hand, calling her most trusted servants, twin minotaurs who knelt before her, heads bowed to their queen. Kiral and Akiral were nearly identical, save for the ornamental bands they wore around their horns. Kiral wore white strips of cloth that wound around his horns and ended in a tiny emerald embedded in molten gold at the end of each ivory horn, while his twin wore black cloth. Their dark eyes glinted red in the light, though the underlying color was their queen's green, and they each wore a green baldric across their dark brown chests, their pants black and their feet hoofed.

"I have a special mission for you two, my pets. Wiseman has captured the Rabbit, a mission you were promised, and I need you to infiltrate the Crystal Palace to keep the senshi busy while I deal with this new problem."

"Problem, my queen?" Kiral knew the question was expected, and he easily posed it.

"Yes, problem. You simple Bull Brothers cannot understand that I cannot let the Rabbit return to the Black Moon. However, I cannot simply kill her; instead, I will use her arrival to dispose of another problem. You two return to your Human forms and become injured citizens or even our escaped prisoners—chose the story you like. Make sure those stupid senshi do not come to rescue their princess—they succeed far too often for my tastes. If you can, coax them back into their own time, but do not be obvious."

The two bulls nodded, their forms shimmering and fading into that of two tall human men, one with black hair and one with white. A second of concentration hid the black moon marks on their foreheads, and Emerald nodded in approval of their disguises. Kiral, the leader of the pair, took his queen's green-gloved hand and kissed it, dark eyes averted respectfully. "My queen, is there anything in particular we simple servants should know before embarking on this journey?"

"Tuxedo Kamen is especially dangerous because of his ridiculous attachment to the child queen. The senshi of Mercury does not fight, she defends and analyzes. The Senshi of Venus is not as powerful as her counterparts, but she has been fighting the longest. The Senshi of Jupiter fights with powerful lightning, but her passion is not as great as that of the Senshi of Mars. That one is as attached to the child queen as the earth prince, and her power grows as her anger grows. Do not get on her bad side. And if you can destroy the crystal coffin that encases the queen, do. I hate her as much as I hate her past self. Now, go, my most trusted and loyal servants." The men bowed and vanished, headed for the crystal palace on the surface of the earth, and Emerald smiled. If this plan worked, then Prince Demando would have to declare her queen. Smiling, she vanished.

When Usagi woke the second time, she was no longer confused. She slipped out of bed and walked around her room, amazed at the high, vaulted ceiling and the stone floor that was somehow warm. She left her broach on her bed, knowing that it was powerless, and headed for the jeweled door.

The door opened before she reached it, revealing a member of the Black Moon Family she knew very well. "Emerald," she whispered, backing away. She had no power, no means to defend herself, and she clenched her fists at her sides. "Leave me alone."

Emerald laughed as she lifted her hands. "Today you die." Black lightning flew from her fingers to envelop the princess, who stood there, eyes closed, refusing to scream. She fell to her knees, tears streaking her cheeks, and she whispered one last thing before her strength faded.

"Mamo-chan . . ."

"HOW DARE YOU?" Emerald was knocked to the floor, her power dissipating as Prince Demando loomed over her, his own power ready. With a curse, she vanished, leaving the seething prince alone with his queen.

Demando reached down and brushed a lock of hair out of Usagi's closed eyes, sighing when he found her still breathing. She was weak, but she was alive. Her sleeping state would be better for what he had in mind, but he would kill Emerald if he ever saw her again. How dare that upstart attack the woman he had chosen as queen? Gently, wary of harming the golden-haired beauty, Demando lifted the child queen and carried her out of the room, heading for the reactor room.

Wiseman was waiting for him, the pink-haired Rabbit unconscious in his arms. "I caught her, Prince. And the spell is ready. What is your wish?" Now that was how a servant should address a master! Not like Emerald. Demando nodded as he laid the slight child on a long table that curled around the edges, linked directly to the Black Crystal.

"Cast your spell on her, and give me full control of her memories. There are many that I must alter if she is to be my queen. Make the Rabbit open to suggestion and entirely devoted to and dependant upon my queen. That should require very little power. Leave her sleeping until I am done, and keep everyone out of here while I am busy, especial that traitor Emerald!"

Wiseman waved his hands, and a black aura enveloped Usagi, causing her to gasp in her sleep. The robed spirit vanished with the Rabbit, leaving Prince Demando alone with his intended. Smiling, he sat beside the long table and placed his hands on the surface of the dark energy. He would possess the blue-eyed queen.

Mars found Tuxedo Kamen outside the castle, staring at the night sky. "She loved to sit and watch the stars," he whispered. "She might have been a little absent-minded and she really didn't try as hard as she could in school, but stargazing was her passion. She knew every constellation and most of the myths behind their names. She knew more star names than I do, and she even knows the schedules of the planets. She told me once that she watched stars from when she was a little girl. I think she knew, even then, that she came from out there."

"She's alive, Mamoru-kun."

"I know; I can feel it. But she's near something that sucks her power away, and I can't reach her." His face fell into his hands, and he sighed. "What if she doesn't come back? Ever? I can't live without her, Rei."

Mars rested a hand on Mamoru's shoulder. "I know. I know how you feel. But you aren't the only one who loves her, and we'd give our lives to protect her. Besides, you have another princess who needs you right now. Where's Chibiusa?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen her since she ran away. Isn't she still in the palace?"

"No, the king can't find her. He says this is the only way out of the palace since the attacks, except for Pluto's Time Gate, and she hasn't seen the girl."

"I haven't seen her." Tuxedo Kamen stood, reaching deep inside himself to the cord that linked him to his beloved, finding a secondary one to Chibiusa. That one ended just as abruptly as Usagi's, and he sank to the ground. "She's been captured," he whispered. "By the Black Moon Family. I failed them both."

Mars dashed back inside the castle, desperate to have the king prove Mamoru wrong. She stopped in the room that held the queen, staring at the burned Luna Ball in Venus's shaking hands. It was true. The other two senshi stared at the item their leader held, desperate for the evidence before them to be wrong but knowing that their wish was foolish. "Chibiusa was captured," she whispered. "We failed both of our princesses."

The holographic king spun to face his wife as pain filled his link. Inside her crystal prison, the queen was turning paler, fading from the mortal plane. The senshi gathered around her, unable to help, watching in horror as the golden moon on her forehead began to change. It turned black and inverted, changing back and forth until the black took over, the golden crescent only appearing every now and then. The king clutched his side in pain as he lost control of his hologram and began to vanish. "No," he whispered. "Usako! Serenity! Fight, my love! You must fight." He vanished.

Rei laid her hands on the crystal coffin, shrinking away from the evil that filled the facets, staring at the tiny black shards as they began to grow. Pulling out a tiny piece of paper, she whispered a quick chant. "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, zai, zen. Akuryou Taisan!" She slapped the ward on the crystal, and the black glow vanished, leaving a Moon Queen with a black moon mark on her forehead and tiny shards of black crystal hovering near the surface of the coffin. For the moment, her ward would hold.

Makoto caught Rei as the Senshi of Fire staggered and fell, exhausted by the amount of energy it had taken to hold the queen. "Rei-chan, what happened?"

"Evil," she whispered. "So much, invading her entire being, changing her. We can't let her free until we heal our Usagi. What have they done to her?"

Mercury pulled out her computer, unable to hide her shaking hands at the thought of her princess and little Chibiusa in the hands of their enemies. "Um, it says that her aura has changed drastically. She's evil, and if she breaks out of that coffin, history will change. The only reason it hasn't already is that we can still save her. I think. I hope."

The sound of boots ringing on the marble floors reached the senshi, and four women appeared in the doorway, staring at the four senshi and Tuxedo Kamen. The Senshi from the past stared at their future selves, noting the change in fuku—the double skirts, the long white gloves with bands around the wrists, long white boots, ribbons hanging to their feet, the star in the center of their choker and front bow—and the new aura of power and certainty. "What have you done? You let something happen to the queen! What was it?" Future-Mars narrowed her flashing eyes, fastening them on Tuxedo Kamen. She glanced at Future-Mercury, raising an eyebrow. "I forget this part—what time do they come from?"

"Right after Mamoru-san makes up with her."

"Oh." Future-Mars ignored the young girls for a moment as she walked over to examine her queen. "The mark of the Black Moon," she whispered, horrified. "What happened?"

"They took Usagi," Rei whispered.

"And you let them? What kind of Senshi are you? How could you let this happen?"

"We didn't," Mars argued, unable to form coherent sentences in such close proximity to her future self. She couldn't help but notice their minor physical differences, most notably that Future Mars's hair had lightened to a crimson red with hardly any purple highlights while her own was raven-black with deep purple accents. "We tried to protect her, but there were crystal shards in her blood, and he linked to that."

"He'll turn her," Future-Mars hissed, stalking toward the girls. "She's weak right now, uncertain if her prince even cares, and Prince Demando wants her badly. That's why we locked her in that crystal, to protect her from him."

"Hey! It wasn't our fault! We had no idea that she had crystal in her blood that he could hone in on! Back off!" Jupiter decided that she was tired of these older women, despite the fact that they were their future selves, and she clenched her fists as she prepared to fight her future self. Her future self who seemed to have green hair.

"Enough!" both Venuses cried at the same time. "For Serenity's sake, it was not their fault," Future-Venus continued, taking Mars's arm. "Please, Rei, we have to help the younger ones find her."

"They aren't powerful enough," Future-Mars whispered, a tender note in her voice. "They can't help."

"They're the only ones who can," Future-Venus whispered. She lowered her voice so the younger senshi could not hear. "Rei, my love, please trust me. We must work with them if we wish to regain our queen."

"Oh, Minako. I don't remember any of this."

"I know. It's so hard, not being able to remember. If only Pluto wasn't so stubborn! We cured her of most of that, but she was adamant about keeping our encounter with the Black Moon Family a secret. Come, they don't know that they're in love, and we're not allowed to tell them."

"Why not? It would make the next half-dozen years so much nicer."

"Or worse. We promised Setsuna-san."

Future-Mars snorted as Future-Venus walked forward to face her past self. "I am Sailor Star Venus, your ultimate form. These are Sailor Star Mars, Sailor Star Jupiter, and Sailor Star Mercury. The others—" Star Mars placed a finger over Star Venus's mouth and shook her head. "Anyway, we'll have to band together to save Serenity and Small Lady. Where did King Endymion go?"

"He vanished when the moon mark changed. I think his link with her hurt him. Will Mars's ward hold?"

Star Mars waved her hand and a second evil ward appeared on the crystal, making the tiny black shards shimmer and shrink in size. They still remained, but they were less of a threat the smaller they were. "That's the best I can do. Akane would be able to do more, but she is certainly nowhere nearby." The current senshi knew better than to ask who Akane could be, but Rei did take a moment to wonder who could be a more powerful miko than her own future self.

"She's not entirely lost to the Black Crystal, or the future would have changed," Star Mercury deduced, confirming her past self's words. "All we have to do is get to her and change her back before it's too late."

"How could this have happened? Usagi's the strongest one of us; how could he turn her so easily?"

"Isn't it obvious, Jupiter? She might say she's okay, but she's still suffering from her break-up with Mamoru-san. If I remember correctly, she cried herself to sleep a lot after that. She needs time to adjust to being with Mamoru-san again, but she was tempted by a nice man and kind words at the crucial moment. She succumbed; it's not her fault."

"It could have happened to anyone," Star Jupiter whispered, green eyes dark.

Jupiter looked at her future self skeptically. "When did you become such an expert on love, anyway?"

Star Jupiter looked at Star Mercury and both blushed, but neither responded.

Jupiter cleared her throat and looked around. "Um, where's Mamoru-san?"

Chibiusa began crying as she looked around and found herself in a strange room and a strange bed. "Mama? Papa?"

The door opened to reveal a blonde woman she knew very well, dressed in a black silk dress she had never seen before. "Small Lady? Are you awake?"

"Mama!" Chibiusa jumped into Usagi's arms, crying, and the older woman soothed her with soft words and gentle hands. She looked up and touched the crescent moon on her mother's forehead. "Mama, it changed."

"I know. I like this one better. The ginzuishou deserted us, Small Lady, so we serve the Black Crystal now."

"I don't care as long as I can be with you." She snuggled deeper into Usagi's arms, and the blonde stood, carrying her daughter out of the room. A crown sparkled from her head, matching the strings of gems decorating her black dress and the gemmed boots she wore. Strings of black diamonds hung in her hair, slivers of the powerful crystal dangling from her ears, but her eyes no longer sparkled. Those blue depths were dead, empty, and the smile she wore when she looked at her child never reached her eyes. She was an empty shell of her former self, memories warped, deleted, reconstructed, and altered to suit Demando's will.

She met her prince outside the small room, smiling as he patted Chibiusa's head. "She's cute. What power do you have, child?"

"I don't have any power," Chibiusa whispered. "Who are you?"

"He's Prince Demando. He saved me, Small Lady, and has asked me to be his queen. He's going to conquer the Earth. Would you like to help?"

Chibiusa looked out of the portal they were standing beside at the blue and white sphere that hung there in space, so calm and innocent. So fragile. "They called me names, Mama. They teased me, said you weren't my true mother. They hurt me."

"We'll punish them; don't worry. And we'll punish the senshi who called me names and teased me and were never strong enough to beat even one youma on their own. All they ever did was call me into battle, force me to defeat their enemies, and now I will see how they fare alone."

"Mamo-chan? What about Mamo-chan?"

"He broke my heart and left me to suffer alone. He deserves no mercy. What do you think we should do?"

"I just want to be with you, Mama. I don't care about them." In her mind, her memories altered themselves to fit her determination to stay with her mother, and she frowned. "I don't think they ever liked me, anyway. But I don't have any power. When I tried to touch the ginzuishou, it vanished. Then the people attacked and I went to the future. I can't be of any help."

Usagi held her daughter to her chest, smiling at her prince. "Just stay with me. You give me strength, Small Lady."

"Ready to conquer Earth, my queen?"

"No, I think there's two of them. But what are they doing out here?"

Star Mercury walked forward, leaving Star-Jupiter to answer Venus's question, as she scanned the two men. The one with long black hair sat up first, eyes scanning fearfully for any threat, and the man who might have been his identical twin but for his white hair stared up at Star Mercury. "Is he gone?"

"Who?"

"Prince Demando, the one who captured us. He kept trying to get us to tell him how to get to the queen, but we never said a thing. Then he just dumped us here." The man with white hair pulled his brother up, standing to face Sailor Star Mercury. "I'm Kiral, and this is Akiral, my twin. What happened to the city?"

"It was destroyed. You had better come inside before he attacks again." Star Mercury led the twins into the castle, ignoring the glances her fellows gave her. "They need our help," she hissed as she passed her wife, hoping that Star Jupiter would understand. She usually did.

"Very well, Ami, but I'm keeping an eye on them."

All eight senshi looked up, shocked, as a familiar laugh filled the wind-scarred air. They froze as a whirlwind of black revealed Prince Demando and an odango-ed woman in black silk and sparkling gems, her blue eyes colder than sapphires, her little pink-haired daughter in her arms. Usagi laughed again, and the senshi cringed. "Hello, my friends," she greeted mockingly. "How are you?"

To be continued