The Lost Princess

Part Nine: Behind Closed Doors

Serena: You've been listening to Sweeney Todd music…if that homicidal barber makes an appearance, I'll throttle you!

Starlily11: Hush…that won't happen.

"Seiya, open up! You've been hiding out in there for two days!" Yaten pounded on the door. "Come out… please. We're worried about you."

Seiya ignored his silver-haired friend. He didn't want to tell them what he knew…not yet. How could he look the Sol Senshi in the eyes and tell them all that their Princess was lost to them forever? She wasn't dead, but she was as good as. She had sealed herself into Hell. If she ever returned, she wouldn't be the same girl they all knew and adored. For the first several hours, he'd been convinced that she was dead, but then he realized that though her shine was almost impossible to see, it was still there. That didn't make the pain any less; she was still gone, doomed to torture and suffering that he couldn't even begin to imagine.

He turned his midnight blue eyes to the window, and to what had once been the brightest light in the galaxy. "Why, Odango?" he whispered. "Why didn't you find an alternative path? Why did you lose hope?" That was what haunted him the most; he remembered those days when his angel had begun to wither, when she wouldn't sleep or eat. He'd seen the dead look in her eyes merely twenty four hours before she'd sealed her fate. What on Earth had Lucifer done to crush her like that? If only he'd been able to help her…

There was the sound of wood splintering, and Seiya turned. "What?" The raven-haired male's tone was snappish and irritated.

"Excuse me for wanting to make sure you hadn't died on us!" Yaten huffed. "Get your head out of your ass and tell me what's going on. You've been holed up in here for days."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Too bad. I'm not leaving until I get some answers. Kakyuu-hime is worried sick, and Taiki's terrified that you're not going to pull through this funk you're in."

"Good luck."

Yaten's voice turned pleading, and his green eyes were anguished. "Please!"

Seiya sighed. He knew he should tell them something…he knew he was causing them pain. But what could he say?

Yaten could tell that he'd gotten through to Seiya on some level. "Kakyuu-hime said that when you got your memories back, it might be painful."

"She was right."

"So they've returned?"

"Yes."

"Do you know anything about where Sailor Moon is?"

Seiya forced himself to talk around the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. "I remembered…"

Yaten felt the depth of his friend's pain for the first time. It was overwhelming; the sorrow and grief Seiya was feeling nearly caused the silver-haired boy to drop to his knees. Things were coming to the surface… Seiya and the Moon Princess had been romantically involved. That helped clear some things up, but it didn't explain what had happened.

"Did something happen? Is she…?"

"She's not dead…but she's still lost to us."

"Did Chaos…?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"She's sealed herself into Hell."

Yaten gasped. "Are you sure?"

"Why else would she tamper with our memories and disappear like this?"

"How do you know? Were you there?"

"No. I just know."

"How are we going to tell Kakyuu-hime…and the others?"

"It wouldn't make any sense…the situation was incredibly complicated. You would all need to know the particulars, and as no one but me remembers…"

"I think Pluto knows now…" Yaten stated quietly. "They say she returned from the Time Gate yesterday and hasn't said a word since."

"I suppose I need to go find out."

~~~()~~~()~~~()~~~()~~~()~~~

"I see now what Queen Selenity meant when she said there were complications…I simply do not understand exactly what happened." Trista spoke her thoughts aloud, softly behind the closed door to her room. "It makes no sense…in all my years, I have never seen such a thing." She'd finally been able to view what had occurred, and with that, her memories had been restored. She also knew that Seiya had drawn his own conclusions. Things were still hazy, and details were missing, but she knew well enough what had gone down. Serena had accepted her fate and done what was necessary; but somehow, she knew that her Princess had escaped. Crystal Tokyo was still intact, but starting to flicker in and out of existence. If she were permanently trapped in Hell, that wouldn't be the case. Still, the time soldier could not figure out what had occurred.

"How can someone be in two places at once? The only way that could happen is if somehow she managed to clone herself…but I don't see how she could have done that without the help of the Crystal…"

Trista frowned slightly. "Could that be it? But how did she do it without my knowledge…every time the Crystal is used, we all feel it…"

"You know, Trista, it isn't a good sign when you start talking to yourself." Amara had opened the door and was standing in the doorway.

Trista jumped. How much had the sky soldier overheard? "I was simply thinking aloud," she stated calmly.

"You've been acting weird for twenty four hours now. Knowing you, it means one of two things; either we're all about to die, or there's some hidden information that you're not sure you should tell us. Which is it?"

"As far as I know, no one is going to die an untimely death. As for hidden information; there is none. You all know the facts; you just aren't aware that you know." 'Although an untimely death is possible; Serena's presence on Earth is extremely weak. But how can I let them know without forcing memories out?' Trista was having quite the dilemma. She needed to save her Princess, and needed assistance, but she couldn't force memories out; that could cause permanent damage to her comrades' minds.

"Seriously, what's going on? Did you get your memories back?"

"Yes," Trista admitted.

"Then do you know where our Princess is?"

Mentally, the time soldier cursed. How could she be honest but not give anything away?

"Amara, can you help me do the dishes?" Michelle called.

Amara replied, "Okay." The sandy blonde turned and went to help her lover. Trista wiped her brow and breathed a sigh of relief. A flash came to her mind. Seiya was on his way. He knew what was going on. The time soldier stood and quietly made her exit.

~~~()~~~()~~~()~~~()~~~()~~~

Seiya wasn't surprised when Trista met him as he headed to the Outers' home. He'd gotten used to how she always seemed to know what was about to happen. All it took was one look at Seiya's face, and Trista knew that he was aware of what had happened. Now the question was; did he know there was hope? No…she could feel the pain emanating from him. Well, at the very least, she could assure him that it was possible that she had found a way out of her situation.

"You've remembered," Trista stated, easing into it.

Seiya nodded. "You do, too. You know that she sacrificed herself to save the world."

"I do…but I do not think she is doomed. If my hunch is correct, there is a chance that she never entered Hell at all."

"What?" Seiya was taken aback. "How can that be?"

"One cannot live two destinies at once…there is something strange about it. When I was at the Time Gate, I noticed something peculiar. When she opened the portal, it appeared that she was reduced to ashes, but she was not. But there was something different about her; rather like another person appeared to take her place. "

"You mean she might have found a way around it?"

"It's possible. I do not pretend to know how my Princess thinks, but she is not half as empty-headed as she pretends to be."

"That is true."

"What I cannot figure out is what she did, or how she did it. She would need to clone herself, which is unlikely, or there is another player in this that none of us are aware of."

"You mean that someone besides her family and us knew about her?"

"That is exactly what I mean. I doubt Lucifer was involved."

"You know about that…the connection to her?"

"I know he sired her. I must say, it was a surprise. I think he knows there's another player, but I do not believe that he knew what the plan was. Besides, Serena's presence is still here on Earth. If she were in Hell, it would not be so."

"But she's fading, wherever she is."

"That is why we need to find her; and quickly."

"Where do we start?"

"Do you remember that the Powers came that night…when the boundaries between Hell and this dimension temporarily disappeared? Angels can perceive things that even I cannot begin to contemplate. And Arriane…the one who is a family friend. Even Fallen angels have amazing powers of perception. I think, if we asked her, she might know."

~~~()~~~()~~~()~~~()~~~()~~~

"Seiya got his memories back," Serena fretted. "Oh, man, he's going to hate me forever!"

"Chill out, Sere. Once he understands why you did it, he'll forgive you. Besides, he loves you so much he couldn't possibly stay mad at you for long." Katherine was confident about that.

"He'll be really mad, though. When he's mad at me, it hurts. He doesn't yell at me or anything, but it just hurts knowing I made him mad, because I know that under all that, I hurt him."

"Again…you were perfectly justified. He can't be annoyed with you for doing what was necessary. I mean, it's not like you murdered someone and baked them into a meat pie!"

"Eew."

"Sorry; I watched Sweeney Todd last night."

"I just hope he doesn't think I'm dead or something; because then I've really hurt him."

"Calm down. At least he didn't get sucked into Hell or watch what was supposedly you burn to ashes. That's what would have happened if you hadn't messed with his memories. You and I both know that he would have realized something was up and followed us. Then, he wouldn't have left your side, and he would have been in huge trouble or gotten seriously hurt."

"I guess you're right."

"Of course. I always am."

"You're wrong about one thing."

"Oh?"

"You actually like Sweeney Todd. What's wrong with you?"

"I think Mrs. Lovett is funny."

"She bakes people into pies!"

"She's a nutcase, but she's funny!"