Title: For You I'll Die
Author: Maetel
URL: N/A
Rating: M 15 (Rating may change in the next few chapters)
Summary: Begins weeks after the ending of Sanctuary. When Mamoru's been captured, the senshi are left to fend for themselves against their enemies. What happens when Usagi does something that no one expects. (I'm working on the summary :p)
Chapters: 11 of ?
Status: Incomplete
Year Completed: N/A
Author's note: It feels like forever since I updated this one. A bit more action in this chapter. Still working on the ending and trying to figure out which song to use for the last one as it'll affect the last chapter just a bit. Have a tentative preview for those who want to be spoiled a little bit. Just let me know. Teehee!
Sometimes I wonder why I'm here at all
A thousand faces yet I'm feeling so alone
Your whispers calling me you speak my name
How can I save you when I couldn't save myself
-"Burden of Sacrifice" by Full Blown Rose
There was laughter dancing on the air as Endymion found himself lost in a forest. He knew the sound, though he couldn't place from where. The sounds of rapid foot falls drew near, and he moved to hide behind the nearest tree as he realized that there was someone heading towards him.
"You'll have to catch me first, Endy-sama!" he heard a musical sounding voice call from nearby. The prince almost smirked at the affectionate form of his name. It was so like Usagi's but different. The voice was happy. Full of life and exuberance. The way Usagi's should sound instead of the morose tones that colored her speech.
The footfalls stopped as a surprised squeal erupted from just beyond where Endymion stood.
"Got you," he heard a man whisper, drawing yet more laughter from the woman. "I thought you were through stealing the roses from my gardens. You know I'd gladly give them to you, along with anything else you may ever ask for."
"I know, but then, why would you chase me?" she retorted before no more words reached Endymion's ears. Moments later, the sound of soft moans and quiet rustling filled the air instead, only growing in frequency and volume.
The prince blushed as he realized what was happening and wished that he could have been anywhere else. He didn't particularly want to listen as the woman he'd been caring for made love with a man he didn't know. His silent wish was shortly granted as the scene changed around him.
Explosions rang out. Pieces of marble columns fell all around him as the building he was in crumbled beneath the force of the fiery blasts. Pure white stone threatened to crush him beneath its weight as he ran.
Where was he running to though? That was the one thing young Endymion couldn't figure out. He'd been running for so long, chasing the elusive girl who haunted him. Long silver blonde hair trailed behind her. The sound of rustling which echoed in the halls almost drowned out the sound of her swift footfalls. Almost.
He stopped at a junction, listening for the young woman as she unknowingly led him. He considered the idea and had to wonder if her guidance was unintentional.
A shrill cry—her cry—rang out. He ran to the left, following the sound of her exclamation. Every instinct cried out that she was in danger before he heard the noise, and now, he was sure of what he was feeling.
"Usagi…" he whispered as he dashed forward, racing unnoticed by youma and humans alike. "Where are you?"
"Endymion!" he heard her scream from nearby. The sound was one of anguish, of the horrors that came before a merciless death. A death he wasn't going to allow to take place.
Hold on, he thought as he raced through rubble that threatened to make him stumble. As he reached the peak of the incline he raced up, he spotted her. Her long hair pooled on the ground around her, silver in the light of the blue orb in the sky.
"Blue?" Endymion murmured to himself. "Earth? Then that means…"
He turned his eyes back to the girl he'd chased through the building.
"I'm sorry…" she sobbed aloud, though he knew that he was the only one who could hear her. "I'm sorry, Endymion…"
He took a quick step forward as he saw her delicate hand reaching towards the fallen sword nearby. The prince looked down for an instant and had a feeling that the sword was his own. The hilt was one he would recognize anywhere. He'd wielded it for as long as he could remember.
"No!" he shouted as he returned his eyes to the scene only to see the woman before him impale herself on the very sword he was holding. The bloody point of the blade protruded from her back, a river of blood flowing from the exit wound. Her pristine ivory gown was dyed a macabre scarlet as the liquid soaked into the fabric, leaving Endymion feeling like he was going to be sick. Slowly, she fell forward, her body stopping as the hilt of the blade hit the ground, forcing her to fall to the side.
Before his mind could register his movements, Endymion was racing over to her, and the fallen body, the head of which rested in her lap as though he was lying asleep instead of dead, was dressed in disturbingly familiar armor. Endymion shook his head mentally as he refused to recognize it. He stopped as the face came into view. There was no more denying it.
She'd not been calling for him. Usagi had been calling for the man for whom she'd killed herself.
There was a wrenching at Endymion's gut, dragging him from his surroundings and into a different world. He looked around himself, recognizing Tokyo. He looked down to see that he was still dressed in the armor he'd seen the other version of himself wearing.
"No," he murmured, willing the clothes to shimmer and change. Black jeans and sweater. A little more inconspicuous, if anyone noticed him.
He shivered lightly as a figure walked past—no, through him. He was incorporeal. Was that why no one had seen him before? Why Usagi hadn't heard him calling to her? He'd been there, but not.
"With a 30%, though, there's no way I can ask for something… And I already used my month's allowance…" She sighed and crumpled up her test paper only to toss it behind her with the quiet, defeated declaration of, "I'm going home."
"Oi, Odango Atama, that hurt!" he heard his voice call out as he watched his twin get hit with the paper. Endymion cocked his head to the side, wondering silently if this was the Mamoru she'd loved. Their relationship certainly didn't seem loving.
"A thirty? I think you should go study, Odango Atama," he commented, tossing the paper back at the blonde.
"Mind your own freakin' business," Usagi muttered softly to herself. "Baka."
Endymion watched as the two parted ways only to fade away, this time leaving the young prince not just wondering what was taking place, but angry that the knowledge he felt he was missing was leaving him at a complete loss. He was in the dark as to the connection of the two visions he'd seen, but knew that the answer lay just beneath the surface of his thoughts.
"Beryl is keeping something from me, but what—" Endymion started only to hear his own voice interrupt him.
"What happened to you?" asked the doppelganger.
The voice was distant, as was the laugh that answered it.
He followed his ears, letting his sense of hearing guide him towards his goal.
"I accepted the role of Sailor Moon. I let a cat give me the one thing that would change my life, and made the worst mistake of my life…"
Endymion stopped when he heard those words. Usagi was Sailor Moon? She couldn't be. She'd tried to save him. Sailor Moon wouldn't try to save an enemy. But she'd thought he was the young man she'd argued with. She thought he was Mamoru. If she'd protected him because of that, then…
Then he'd unintentionally been committing treason by aiding the enemy. By keeping her alive and hidden instead of presenting her head to Beryl, he'd been committing the most heinous act possible in the Dark Kingdom, short of an assassination attempt on the queen herself.
He wasn't truly sure if that was worse though, as he thought back to the past few… days? Had truly only a few days passed since he'd brought her to the Dark Kingdom? He'd been housing the enemy for such a short time. Was that why he felt no true remorse for his actions? For the way he couldn't regret healing her.
His twin was speaking again. The prince didn't care about his words though. Just hers. He had to get closer. To affirm that what he'd just heard was correct. That the petite blonde was truly the enemy he was to offer up to Beryl.
"Because when the time came. I couldn't save one life…" she'd said as he moved into a position where he could see her delicate features. There were tears reflecting the light of the moon running down her pale face. She looked almost sick as she cried, the pallor of her face so drastic to that which Endymion had grown accustomed.
He took a step forward as Mamoru wrapped his arms around the blonde. She sobbed against him, leaving a surge of jealousy ripping through Endymion's body.
"He died, Mamoru-san. I finally did what they kept telling me, and a little boy died," she explained brokenly. "Why couldn't it have been me… The others can save the world without me. The others could have saved that little boy."
Endymion recalled the way she'd said she'd seen too much death. That she'd seen the death of a child and then someone's dying for her. This must have been just after the child's death, but what of Mamoru? When had he died—
There was a change once more. A scene of Nephrite's mansion. Screams wailed from within the stone walls. Agonized cries of suffering and anguish. Usagi's cries.
"Endymion!" she screamed, echoing the version of herself that the prince had seen in his first vision. She couldn't be…
He raced forward, hoping to pass through the walls just as she'd passed through him earlier, but this time, something kept him back. Instead, a brilliant white explosion of pure energy erupted, sending Endymion flying back. There was a sound of a man's shout, Nephrite he guessed, and then silence.
There was a branch breaking just behind Endymion. He turned around to see his twin's face once more before he walked through him and towards the building. As he watched the young man walk, he realized one thing—He was wearing the same armor.
"Mamoru-kun?" he recalled her mistaking him, except he seemed to have been mistaken. Were he and the boy one and the same? Was this what Beryl had been hiding from him?
With hurried steps, Endymion followed Mamoru into the room, the barrier gone. He stopped as Mamoru knelt down beside Usagi and gently touched her cheek. He watched the twin's shoulders relax ever so slightly as her silvery eyes opened to look up at the doppelganger.
"Endymion, you're all right," she murmured.
"It's true…" Endymion muttered. "But why can't I remember?" He clenched his fists at his side, knowing that if he went to Beryl with this information, questioning her, she'd likely do something to make sure he never questioned the visions again. But worse than that, she'd figure out that there was something behind his sudden curiosity, and Usagi would be in danger.
He had to get her out of the Dark Kingdom, but how? With Beryl most likely monitoring his every teleportation given the way things were going not to mention the way she was demanding progress, getting Usagi out that way wasn't going to work. He could lie and say that he had discovered something on Earth, but how would he explain the fluctuation in the amount of energy he used. Even more, why would he return to Beryl? She'd most likely send Kunzite after him, and once more, Usagi would be in danger.
It all led back to that. It wouldn't help matters that Usagi was Sailor Moon.
He'd seen the way in which Kunzite had left her after their last battle. Broken and bloodied. The vengeful general would not allow the blonde to live a second time after the death of Zoicite.
"Help me," he heard her cry out softly from beyond the darkness that encompassed him. "Endymion-sama… Please… Help me."
This wasn't the voices that emerged from her in the visions. The voice was fainter. Terrified. Choked on the emotion that was overwhelming her. But why?
"Usagi…" he murmured before an intense pain rushed through him, originating just below his ribs.
"Traitorous bastard," he heard a voice snarl.
Kunzite. They'd been discovered.
"The queen wasn't enough for you? You had to enlist the services of a human girl?" he continued before snorting mockingly. "Given your history though, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised. The queen will not forgive you for this sort of dalliance, Endymion."
Endymion forced his eyes open, fighting sleep's sticky solution that attempted to keep him in the dark. He saw as Kunzite held Usagi off of the ground by her throat, her small frame looking beaten and tired.
He saw a soft glow encompass the remaining king's fist as he prepared a killing blow for one, though Endymion wasn't sure which would fall to it.
"Release her, Kunzite," Endymion commanded as he slowly rose to his feet. His ribs screamed in pain as every movement reminded him of the abuse the angered warrior rained upon him before he fully woke. "She's innocent in all of this."
"But she's proof that you are not, and that is all I need to be rid of you," Kunzite laughed. "Beryl will be shown that only those for whom she doesn't mourn are the loyal ones. The ones who truly deserve power when the Earth is overtaken and the senshi destroyed. Perhaps then, she'll use Metallia's power to bring him back."
"Beryl won't bring Zoicite back. He was a distraction for you, and I doubt she'll abide by you having one if you tell her that I'd found one," Endymion taunted, hoping to draw the energy that Kunzite was channeling towards himself.
"I'll be awarded with anything—"
"You'll be punished for ruining the queen's illusions," Endymion countered, unsure of where his words were coming from. His mouth was running on autopilot while he tried to figure out how to free Usagi from his rival's grasp. That was when it hit him. Their rivalry. "Just as Zoicite was going to be had he returned instead of being destroyed by Sailor Moon. And she was going to have me be the one to do it."
Endymion internally winced as he saw Usagi go flying from Kunzite's grasp as the final heavenly king moved to draw his sword. He infused the blade with his own energy before lunging at the dark prince.
Despite the remaining fatigue, Endymion managed to block the oncoming attack, which was aimed rather blatantly for his neck. He even managed to knock the enraged man back a few feet. Perhaps the words hadn't been wise, as now, Kunzite was out to kill. The mention of being chosen to destroy Zoicite had been enough to break the last bit of thread connecting the silver haired man to the already bare spool that was his sanity.
"Endymion-sama, watch out!" Usagi croaked as a bolt of energy ripped towards the prince.
He lunged to the side hearing the sound of the blast strike the ground as he shielded himself with his cape.
"Run, Usagi-chan!" he shouted, unintentionally shocking her with the use of the attachment. It had slipped without his consent, from the visions he'd been ripped from witnessing.
"Mamo-chan?" she whispered before slipping her hand into her pocket. He saw a small glimmer of hope enter her frightened gaze as her hand disappeared for an instant before reappearing holding a small trinket in its grasp. Her gaze hardened as she turned her eyes to their now mutual enemy.
"Oi, Kunzite!" she forced out, despite the pained sound of her voice. "You want revenge for Zoicite? Take it, if you can."
"No," Endymion muttered softly as she lifted her hand into the air and forced out a hauntingly familiar phrase.
"Moon prism power, make up!"
In a brilliant explosion of light, Usagi was transformed into the warrior he'd seen Kunzite almost kill in his earlier bouts of blind rage.
In her hand was a delicate looking crystalline crescent moon wand, with the ginzuishou placed firmly in its intended setting. Before she had a chance to even unleash any sort of attack, Kunzite fired off a burst of raw power at the delicate looking blonde.
She cried out as she was forced back a few steps. That was when Endymion noticed the soft flicker coming from the ginzuishou. The flicker quickly grew in intensity and a brilliant light encompassed Sailor Moon's petite form. As he watched her, Endymion felt an intense burn in the center of his brow. He had to escape, but he didn't dare leave her there.
"That's enough, Usagi-chan!" he shouted, hoping to break her concentration.
The call did its trick, and the power faltered. Both he and Kunzite were left panting at the intensity of which the dark energy within them rebelled against the light the crystal had emitted.
"You made a mistake in stopping her, Endymion… I'll destroy you both for that," Kunzite promised before turning towards the stronger looking of the two: Sailor Moon.
Kunzite slowly made his way over to the silver haired girl, raising his sword with the intention of quickly striking a killing blow.
"Sarabada, Sailor Moon," he snarled as he watched her cower before him, the use of the crystal having sapped most of her energy reserves. The look in his eyes of pure, venomous hatred only served to freeze her to her spot as she stood. She was going to die, she was sure.
She smiled, nevertheless, knowing that in the end, she'd gotten one last glimpse of her Mamo-chan.
He roared at the appearance of her smile and lunged.
Much to Sailor Moon 's surprise, the strike never hit.
"Iie, Kunzite," Endymion said as he moved between the two, his sword firmly implanted in Kunzite's midsection. "It is not time for her farewell, but yours."
"Bastard," Kunzite cursed at the prince before Endymion ended his life with one last burst of dark energy.
"Sarabada, Kunzite," Endymion spat before letting the man's body fall to the ground, lifeless.
He turned to look at Usagi who was looking up at him with wide eyes that were both fearful and relieved.
"Mamo-chan?" she whispered once more, leaving a soft wrenching in Endymion's chest.
He shook his head, a small frown marring his tired features. "Not yet," he said softly. "I don't know if I can be him again. Not after all that has happened."
"You can be," Usagi replied, her henshin fading. "I know you can. You protected me. Just as you always did before you were captured."
"I all but killed you before. You killed yourself because I died. How is that protecting you? How is that doing my duty unto you?"
Usagi shook her head. "Because you made me stronger in this life. I have survived because of you. Because of Mamo-chan and Endymion-sama."
"I'm not the Endymion you remember. I'm the monster which Beryl recreated in this life to serve her. The one who is sent out to destroy you and your friends."
Usagi reached up with a shaking hand to gently caress his face. "We're both monsters in this life, Endymion. You were sent out to kill, while I've done nothing but," she said, a trembling entering her voice. "I'd never seen you kill before this day. Only protect. Youma have been falling at my hand for months now."
Endymion shook his head. "Destroying youma does not make you a monster. They're mindless creatures created for the whims of their masters. Nothing more."
"But—" she started before being silenced by a finger placed against her lips.
"Trust me," he whispered before slowly lowering his head to hers. Just as their lips were about to meet, Endymion cried out and clutched at his head.