Disclaimer: I do not own any of Sailor Moon characters or story and they all belong to the amazing Naoko Takeuchi.
A/N: I'm not english native, but I have the tendency to write in english, so I apologize for any mispelling or confusing line.
A/N: I'd like to thank everyone that is reading, reviewing, following and favoriting the story. I appreciate your support!
Setsuna entered in a mysterious dark chamber. She walked slowly until a golden-reddish crystalized altar. She observed a unique star-seed kept inside that was shineless.
"You're still here." She said in a low tone
Then she touched the crystal barrier that revealed a secret compartment from where she retrieved two pendants that seemed that were two parts of the same object. Without looking back, she left the chamber.
It was early in the morning and Usagi was already awake. She was thoughtful and sadness could be seen in her eyes. She looked at Mamoru asleep and then around at the apartment. It seemed like she was struggling to recognize that place where she had been for so many years since she met Mamoru.
She looked at her engagement ring and tears fell down her face. She was hurt. She took it off and stared at it and memories came to her mind of their happy moments. She sighed and cried silently once more. Then she put it on the bedside table and her attention was taken when she noticed Mamoru waking up and she dried her tears.
"Usako, why are you crying?" Mamoru said still half-awake
"Because I am a fool to love you." She sobbed
"What?" Mamoru said sitting up
"My teenage dreams are gone, now I can see that I believed in a fairytale and thought my future was bright."
"Why are you saying this?" Mamoru asked puzzled and noticed her finger without the ring, "Where's the ring?" he asked
"There's no reason to wear it any longer. It's not me who you want to wear it." She said leaving the bed.
"What's wrong with you?" Mamoru said following her
"Give it to Coronis… or Reika. Pick one of them and be happy!" She said with irony
"Give it to Coronis or Reika? What are you talking about?" Mamoru said puzzled
"Now you are playing the innocent like every men just like Rei says!"
"Usagi, I'm not playing the innocent, I really don't know what you are talking about."
"Rei is right to not trust men… I should follow more her wisdom instead of believing in stupid fairytales with someone that doesn't really care at all about it!" Usagi said with tears in her eyes
"Usagi, what is really going on?" Mamoru said trying to touch her
"It's simple… you don't love me. You're just with me because of duty, not because you really want it. I'm not your priority and you take me for granted. You delay our marriage because you have other stuff to do and since last year, you are not being able to hide it anymore as you kept saying you needed a time just for yourself. Often getting distant from me, acting differently and having a weird behavior, calling out other women's names during your sleep not just once or twice, but several times especially in the last couple of months… So I did the math and realized that you don't love me and I was blind to believe you." She said disappointed
"It's not what you're thinking. I was trying to solve this riddle by myself and I admit that I was wrong for keeping it from you for so long. It's just that I didn't know how to explain it as it hurt me deeply. I was embarrassed of myself and wanted to stop digging it, but the dreams I couldn't control it and I still can't. But I don't know who Reika is. You have to believe me!" Mamoru said fighting his tears
"So Coronis is real! But I tell you… you are dreaming about your lovers and you should really be ashamed of it as you were engaged to me."
"Were?" Mamoru said asking for confirmation of what he heard
"Yeah… I still love you Mamoru, but I can't accept your indecision. As you said a few times why to be hurry if we are going to be together forever? So consider it as a pause for me to heal my wounds and for you to realize that no other woman can love you like I do… But I can't be with someone that is not with me…" Usagi said holding her tears and opened his apartment door
"Usagi, don't! Please you have to believe me!" He said holding her by her wrist
"I'm not the little girl you met and gave all of her to you and that you broke. You always liked strong women right? So I'm becoming one! I'm not glass made, but if I were, I'm broken, but remember, that broken glasses can cut." She said releasing herself from him
Mamoru tried to go after her, but felt a strong energy keeping him paralyzed. He could hear some noises like of snakes. He felt a sharp pain in his head and lost his consciousness.
Rei was at her shrine when she felt some dark presence. She concentrated to see where it came from and could see a figure wandering the trees. She decided to follow it with the help of her mates Phobos and Deimos.
"Show yourself spirit!" Rei said with a firm tone, but all she could see were black snakes coming at her way. Phobos and Deimos got restless and unexpectedly they turned themselves towards Rei who was taken off guard. They both held her while a big black snake approached Rei who looked scared. The snake crawled over Rei and stared at her in the eyes.
Rei's grandfather was at the Sacred Fire room when he saw the fire burning restless. He got scared when he heard Rei's screams and ran to help her. He got scared when he reached Rei and saw her and her mates lied unconscious on the ground. "What strong energy was that?" he thought with himself and guessed that the girls had been taken down by the strange presence.
The inner senshi reunited at their center after feeling the strange energy.
"Where is Rei and Usagi?" Makoto said worried
"I don't know, I couldn't contact any of them." Ami replied
"I wonder if they were taken by the presence." Makoto said even more worried
"No, I finished tracking Usagi's device and she is at her home." Ami said
"What about Rei?" Minako asked
"I couldn't track her device, but… I could track the strange energy coming from her shrine." Ami answered showing concern
"So Rei was taken…" Makoto said with a sad voice
"Girls, a new enemy must be around and we have to help Rei. So let's split up, I'm going to get Usagi and you go find Rei." Minako said
"Wait a minute." Ami said out of sudden
"What happened Ami?" Minako said
"I could track the energy in Mamoru's apartment as well."
"What?" Makoto and Minako said together
"I think Rei and Mamoru were taken by the energy and maybe that's why we couldn't contact Usagi. She must be devastated because of him." Ami said
"If she knew it she would've had contacted us, don't you think?" Minako said
"Maybe not. You know how she gets when he is the subject." Makoto said
"It doesn't matter girls. We are going to split up. I'll go after Rei and you go after Usagi and Mamoru." Ami said with a firm tone
"You are not going anywhere…" the girls were surprised by Setsuna's unexpected visit
"Setsuna!" The inner senshi said together
"Why did you say we are not going anywhere? There's a strange energy around that got Rei and Mamoru and possibly Usagi and you tell us to stay here?" Minako contested
"Usagi is fine. Mamoru and Rei are my concern even though there's nothing we can do for now." Setsuna said mysteriously
"What do you mean?" Minako asked
"There's a cycle ending and it must end without interferences. We have broken many divine rules and you all knew that it would have consequences even though they were broken for a good cause." Setsuna spoke
"And Mamoru and Rei are the new targets?" Makoto asked in concern
"Not targets" Setsuna said
"So what?" Minako asked
"Tormentors" Setsuna said with a mystery tone
"Tormentors?" Minako said worried
"So you're saying that…" Makoto couldn't finish
"The enemies?" Ami said looking very concerned and sad
"Not exactly. But she might become a foe…" Setsuna said finally expressing some emotion of concern
"Rei-chan… A foe" Makoto said almost voiceless
"Not our foe… His foe." Setsuna said giving a pause, "Our mission is to protect the future king and queen, but he has some pendent matters with the Princess of Mars from other past lives. They weren't still able to surpass it… and we have just one hope. But this hope will bring the strongest enemy we have faced so far. It will awake the Chaos in its ultimate form. All of us Sailors of the Solar System must prepare for it and work hard to get stronger because when this Chaos wake the Great War will start. Sailor against sailor should be expected. And just one tiny hope that happens to be involved in a complex karma. So from now on we all should clear out our differences and clean our hearts because that's where the enemy will start to target. And that's when I get concerned about out princess." Setsuna explained
"Why?" Minako asked
"Because she will feel betrayed and this might gloom her heart and soul."
"Feel betrayed…" Makoto said whispering
"Why this is happening now?" Minako asked
"Actually this was supposed to happen at any time." Setsuna said straight to the point
"Like when we became sailors?" Makoto said
"Something like that…" Setsuna replied, "But there's not much I can tell you now. You just have to understand that what is going to happen was expected from a long time ago and that the princess will need your support to handle it. I myself am going to talk to her at the right time. Today she's not ready to listen to anything. You guys go check on Mamoru and Rei. I have something to do." Setsuna said and left without giving further explanations
The girls looked at each other not knowing how to react about the mysterious words of Setsuna.
SCENE
"Epios, my beloved son, I promise you that your death wasn't in vain and it will be paid! I promise that one day you will reincarnate and we will be happy and We will be capable to protect you from the evil. I just hope you can forgive me for what I did to your mother… If she were still here maybe, it would not have happened... I love you." A very handsome redhead man and distinct blue eyes spoke looking very saddened while kneeled next to a crystallized golden-reddish altar.
END OF SCENE
Mamoru slowly regained his conscious as he was lying on his bed. He looked around and saw Ami and Minako entering in his bedroom
"Mamoru-san! I'm glad you're awake." Minako said looking more relieved
"Girls, what are you doing here?" Mamoru said sitting on the bed
"We sensed a strange energy and we tracked where it came from and when we got here we found you unconscious on the ground." Ami explained
"I see… thank you for your concern." Mamoru said and looked down
"Mamoru-san, what happened?" Minako asked in curiosity
He took a while to respond, "I felt dizzy and fainted." He said omitting some facts
"Why?" Ami asked
"I guess because Usagi and I had an argument and broke up. It was too much emotion for me to handle." Mamoru said looking sad
"You and Usagi broke up?" The two girls said together with widened eyes and Mamoru nodded, "Why?" they asked
"I guess she's tired of the current me. She can't understand the phase I'm going thru and I really don't know how to explain the memories I'm having lately…"
"Memories?" Minako said
"Memories of what?" Ami asked
"What started as dreams are in fact memories… my memories" he finished whispering
"That must be what Setsuna was referring." Minako commented with Ami
"Setsuna? She knows what is going on with me?" Mamoru said hopeful to finally have an answer
"I think she does, even though she didn't tell much to us." Ami answered
"What did she tell you?"
Before they could answer, their communicator rang
"Makoto?" Minako answered
"Girls, I'm here with Rei and things don't look good. How is Mamoru?" Makoto said worried
"He's fine. He is already awake. But what happened to Rei-chan?" Minako replied
"It's better you come to the shrine." Makoto said and hung up
"I'm going with you." Mamoru said leaving the bed and looked very determined
"We must find that forbidden star-seed no matter what and destroy it!" A female black shadow spoke with a haughty tone
"How are we supposed to find a star that doesn't shine indicating that it's lifeless? Are you sure that it has not been destroyed already?" Another shadow replied
"You fool. That star-seed is different of all of the star-seeds; it's the most unique one. That's why it's forbidden! We must take Apollo and open all of his memories to find it because he is the one who sealed it! Then we must get rid of him as well." The female black shadow replied annoyed
"What about the mother?" the shadow replied
"That fool? Even more useless because of her sealing. It must be broken so we can accomplish the goal!" the female replied
"We must increase the power of the miasma. However something always dissipates it." The shadow said
"That's what I don't understand. The forbidden start-seed never shines or I'd think that it's him who is protecting them." The female replied thoughtful, "Let's start the massive attack and unveil their sealings." She ordered and other shadows moved
"Ma'am, May I say something?" the shadow said
"Say it." The female said
"We should search the Ophiuchus Constellation one more time. I have a feeling…"
Well guys, that was it for now. In this chapter we finally were firstly introduced to the enemies. Who are they? Where do they come from? What they really want? We could also see a new memory of Mamoru, what did it mean? What about Setsuna? What is your guesses? Stay tunned!
