Act eleven: Endymion
'I'm sorry... I couldn't protect you this time… just like last time… you need to come back… I'm starting to forget…'
"-ny… Bunny…" came the whispering voice. Bunny turned over in her bed and cracked an eye open. "Bunny… wake up, you're going to be late," Luna said. Bunny's eyes opened fully.
"The hell? It's just you, Luna." She groaned, turning over in her bed. Luna looked offended at that.
Bunny looked at her pillow, where the Moon Watch lay. It had stopped working when they returned from the Moon. Bunny wondered if that meant that Mamoru was dead. She felt terrible that Kara wouldn't get to see him again. Even though she was dead and, technically, much older than her former lover, it still made the princess feel bad. Kara deserved that at least. She heard Luna hop up onto her desk.
"Oh, don't mind me. I was only trying to help." She sighed unhappily. Bunny went over to her and picked the cat up to hug her.
"I'm sorry, Luna. I love you. I'll get up," she said, kissing her friend on the bald spot. Luna opened her jewelry box and picked up the Ginzuishou in her teeth.
"Bunny, don't forget this," she said. Bunny turned around and lifted it away from her. She held it up to the light to watch it glint. 'Maboroshi no Ginzuishou… on the Moon, the queen said it follows the heart of 'she who will become queen'… but how do I use its power…?'
Her father and Goten were sitting at the bar, gossiping amongst themselves. Trunks was flipping through the paper at the moment while Goten was drinking a bottle of water.
"Okay, Goten-oji. I'm ready to go." She went to the door to slip her shoes on, waving to her father. "Bye papa, I'm gonna go see the girls." With a smile, she ran out of the house to wait on Goten.
"Looks like she's back to normal again," Trunks commented. "Your cat really cheered her up."
Goten laughed as he made it to the door. "Yeah, but what IS normal for her?"
He left the house to catch up with Bunny. Luna looked to the two of them and once they arrived to the Tokyo area, she hopped out of Bunny's arms.
"I'm going to the command room. Terra, Selene and I are going to investigate that stone sword," Luna explained. Bunny nodded and watched the cat take off and waved. Goten was getting something to drink from a vending machine when he heard the distinct sound of Bunny hitting the ground.
"Ow!" she yelped, though it was mostly her pride. The Moon watch clattered on the sidewalk and when the three turned around to see the 'attacker' round a corner, they gasped.
"Is that…?" Goten wondered.
His stance, the way he moved… 'He looks like…like Mamoru… that's impossible. He's gone. Geeze, I'm seeing things 'cause of that dream this morning…' Bunny thought, standing up. Her heart was pounding in her chest. As she took a step, she kicked the watch by mistake. She picked it up and her eyes went wide.
'Tuxedo Kamen's watch is… working?!'
Two men walked down the sidewalk towards the arcade.
"So, tell Reika-san…" one began, while the other, exasperated, tried to shut him up. Both stopped to see a well-dressed man standing in front of the arcade, staring at it through his dark sunglasses.
"Hey, Furu-chan, who's that guy in front of the arcade?" the first man asked. Motoki shrugged. The man turned his gaze to the two friends.
"Pardon me," he began smoothly "do you work here?". Motoki nodded.
"Uh… yes. Is there something I can help you with?" he asked. The man motioned over his shoulder to the building.
"I merely wanted to get inside," he said. Motoki's face lit up.
"Oh! You're the new part-time employee?" Motoki asked. He motioned to the 'Help Wanted' sign. "You must be the one dad sent. I'm Furuhata Motoki. My dad owns and runs the place, so I'm a part-timer, too. Nice to meet you. What's your name? Are you in college?" Mamoru pulled the sunglasses from his face.
"Hey… aren't you… that's right! You're Bunny-chan's friend! Chiba Mamoru, now I remember. I thought you looked familiar!" Motoki said in realization.
"Bunny…"
"Hey, Endou, you go on ahead," Motoki said, tossing his friend the key. Endou got the door open, just as Mamoru's eyes glinted. His body crumbled away as Motoki looked on in horror. Mamoru turned his gaze to Motoki and the same flash blinded him for a moment.
"From now on, I'm your best friend Endou. Nice to meet you."
About a half an hour passed before the door to the arcade opened up again. Reika stepped in, holding a book in her hand.
"Furuhata-kun," she said as she looked inside and pushed some hair behind her ears. "I have your book. You left it in the club room again."
Reika walked around the corner to see Motoki standing with someone she'd never seen before. The man was picking out something from a vending machine when he looked up and grinned at Reika. She blushed.
"Well hey there. You're new, handsome. What's your name?" she asked. Motoki grinned and stood next to Mamoru.
"What do you mean 'new'? This is Endou, remember?" Motoki asked. Reika looked a little confused as she carelessly held onto her book.
"Endou-kun…?" He didn't look a thing like the Endou she knew. Was it a coincidence? At about that time, she lost her grip on her book and it fell open. Endou's eyes went wide and he knelt down to look at it more closely.
"What's up, Endou? Are you interested in stones, too? Reika's really into them," Motoki explained. Endou picked it up to look at it. The page had landed on a description of Jade and Beryl. Reika smiled a little and went over.
"You look so serious." She giggled. "Do you like Jade? See, there are two types of jade. There's the hard Jade, called Jadeite, and the soft kind, Nephrite. There are many colors of Jadeite, actually. Nephrite is a dark green stone, though." Reika flipped through the book for him, stopping at another page.
"This pink Spodumene is called Kunzite. It's a beautiful pale stone. Oh, and this blue-violet Tanzanite is also referred to as Blue Zoicite. It was first introduced by Tiffany's!" She continued before blushing. "I'm sorry! I'm babbling on like this…"
Endou smiled. "Don't be. It just so happens… I have these exact four stones."
The bell rang to let the girls out of class for the day. Bunny had finished up with Gohan an hour ago, so now she and Goten were standing at the gate to Juuban Junior High, waiting on Makoto and Ami.
"Whee! This is so exciting, Goten-oji! We get to see Ami's home today!" Bunny giggled. Makoto sighed at her enthusiasm.
"Hey, this is a serious thing! We're having a Senshi meeting today," Makoto reminded. Bunny didn't seem to care. She saw Minako coming around the corner, holding the sword. She ran forward to greet her.
"Sorry we're late, V-chan!" she greeted. Minako groaned.
"Bunny, please don't call me V-chan. It's embarrassing," she whined. Goten just watched and kept moving forward towards the Hikawa Shrine, where Rei was meditating. The girls were busy with their girl stuff –boys, clothes, hair— so Goten would go get Rei and see if she would be the sensible one today. He peered in to where she was.
"You alive in here?" he asked. Rei looked up and nodded.
"I'll be right there," she said as she stood and looked out to the setting sun. "Shadows in the fire of the sun are a bad omen… just like my reading," the priestess said with a frown. Goten looked to her.
"What were you trying to find out?" he wondered.
"Trying to figure out what happens next. I didn't get a very good result."
"So, this means in the next fight… we're at a disadvantage?" Goten asked.
"I don't know…"
The Senshi and Goten arrived to see Kara and Terra waiting on them outside of the Penthouse Ami lived in with her mother. Kara looked excited.
"Ami, I can't believe you live in such a huge penthouse!" Kara gushed. Bunny looked at her.
"Actually, Kara, we call these Okushon, because you can't get one for simply a hundred grand," Bunny explained. Kara blinked. Being American, she didn't understand a lot of Japanese words. All she knew, she learned from one of her own.
"The Japanese word for 'Penthouse', as you obviously know, is 'Manshon'. 'Man' can mean 'Hundred Thousand'. Replace that with the word for 'Hundred Million', 'Oku', you get 'Okushon'," Terra explained to her. Kara blushed and went inside with the others.
They all marveled at how big it was. Bunny was used to this kind of thing.
"And the entrance is all marble! Be careful, Minako, to not drop the sword!" Kara warned. She was worried about scuffing something so pretty. Unfortunately, her warning came too late. As soon as the words left her mouth, Minako tripped and watched as the sword put a scratch in the marble. Bunny stared.
"V-chan scratched the marble! It wasn't my fault!" she said quickly. Goten helped Minako to her feet as Terra took the sword from her. She was used to handling one, as the sword was her weapon of choice. Minako looked to Ami.
"Ami-chan! I'm so sorry!" she cried. Makoto sighed while Ami simply tried to calm her down.
"Don't worry. Marble is soft, so it scratches easily. Besides, I was going to tell you about that stone sword. Bunny, did you bring what I asked?" she asked.
Bunny dug through her pockets and produced a beautiful diamond ring she'd bought the other day. Ami took it.
"This is a diamond. It's the hardest substance in the world. Terra-san, since you're holding the sword with ease, please try to break the diamond," she advised, handing it to Terra.
"Should be that the sword will bat the diamond away." Terra said. With that, she tossed the diamond into the air and swung the sword at it like one would with a baseball. Not many could have hit such a tiny target, but Terra was an expert.
The sword made contact head on and the diamond shattered like glass. Everyone stared. Terra knelt down to retrieve the remains of the ring and handed the sword off to Bunny. She didn't like touching it, it felt wrong to her.
"So, as you can all see, even the so-called hardest substance crumbled like nothing. This sword isn't made of normal stone. Luna and I examined this sword and a piece of the shrine that we brought back from the moon. Both are made from an unknown substance. Or rather, they were formed into this," Ami explained. "What's more, it's quite poisonous should it come in contact with an open wound." Makoto sat down.
"After Bunny and Kara… that is, the princesses… died the last thing I remember is being wrapped in light," she explained.
"The Moon Castle standing in the Mare Serenitatis… your once beautiful crystal palace… the entire kingdom…the Moon didn't used to be such a dark and lonely place," Terra explained. "It used to glow with the same light as the Ginzuishou. It was so beautiful from Earth. A bright and shining star. Did we change it into a planet of death…?"
She looked over to where Bunny was and saw that she was asleep. "And she ruins the mood."
"Not her fault. She does this all the time when things start getting serious," he warned, carefully lifting her up into his arms. "You got a bed in here?" Ami nodded and led him to their spare room for the rare occasions that her father came to visit.
"With Tuxedo Kamen and meeting her mother from her previous life on the moon… she's just stressed out," Makoto explained. Goten put Bunny in the bed and covered her up before shutting off the lights and closing the door behind him. He got back to where the group was.
"We never got around to asking mom the most important question—how do we seal away the enemy?" Kara asked.
Terra searched her memory. She didn't know. Her memory was strong, but unfortunately, she had no knowledge of how to properly seal it away. She had only seen the incorrect method that the queen had used, and that would be useless this time around. They were expecting it, not knowing it wasn't the proper way. She took the sword once more and looked it up and down. Could this sword be related to…?
"So this is the legendary sword that protects the princesses… even if I took you to the Dark Kingdom to face the Great Ruler… how would you be able to use this heavy cursed blade?" she asked, tossing it to Minako. She grabbed it, but Goten had to help keep her from falling.
"How do we defeat the enemy and seal it away…?"
Bunny's eyes fluttered open and she looked around. She gripped the sheets.
'I remember… when Tuxedo Kamen… Mamoru… saved me, I woke up in his bed, just like this… and just like now, I watched the sunset from his room. I wish I had remembered then. If I had known, we could have talked about so much, just like we used to… about Selene… Lady Earth…'
She wiped her eyes and got up. 'I feel like playing a video game to blow off some steam…'
She snuck out the front door without alerting the Senshi and without Goten or Terra hearing her. Ami wasn't too far off from the Crown Center. Bunny made sure she had the crystal, her com unit, and her brooch on her as she walked up to the door.
'It's strange… I just had to come here.' Her heart pounded with that same intensity as if she knew danger was around the corner. 'Why am I nervous? Because of that guy this morning? Oh… there's someone already on the Sailor V game… it looks like Motoki is with them.'
She walked into the arcade. Motoki looked up from where he was; a strange look on his face.
"Hey, Bunny-chan," He greeted. Bunny saw who was with him, her eyes went wide and her pulse went through the roof. It was him! Mamoru! He was sitting right there! He was alive! Mamoru looked up at her.
"So you're Bunny," he said, walking over to her to run his hand through her hair. "You have the same Odango style as Sailor Moon. It must be popular," he decided with a grin. Bunny's face was red. How could he be here? Motoki walked over as well.
"Bunny-chan, this is Endou, one of my best friends. He started working here part-time." Bunny was let down. Was he NOT Mamoru? Endou grinned.
"I go to the same university as Motoki-kun. I'm a freshman," he explained. "Charmed."
'You're not really… Mamoru? But… that voice and that face… all the same… just like…' Endou smiled, though it sent chills up Bunny's spine.
"I hear you're really good at the Sailor V game. Could you show me how? I'd like to learn from an expert."
'Such a cold smile…'
Back at the meeting, Minako was writing something down when her pen started an alarm. Goten blinked.
"You're running out of ink, or…?"
Artemis looked up, frantic. "Minako!"
Minako looked freaked. "Someone's going through the levels of the Sailor V game as an inhuman pace." She shuddered. "I'm going to the arcade!"
Goten got up to go with her, he could get her there faster. Minako skidded to a halt when she noticed that Bunny was missing from the room they'd put her in. Goten looked upset, but a quick scan told him that Bunny was at the arcade, too. That freaked him. Was the enemy using her?!
He grabbed the girls into close range, excluding Kara and Terra, and teleported to the alley next to the arcade. They all ran in and Minako nearly swallowed a lung.
'Bunny and… Chiba Mamoru?!' she thought frantically.
"How'd he…?" Minako asked, looking back to the girls as though they had an explanation. Ami shrugged. Perhaps Terra could tell them how this was possible. Goten looked a little more disturbed. It was the same Ki. The exact same Ki. But he'd felt it fade away during the battle at Tokyo Tower. Had he been wished back to life? No, his dad would have said something about the Dragon Balls being taken from the house.
"This's the guy we passed this morning… he knocked Bunny over…" Goten whispered to them. "But his eyes are different from Tuxedo Kamen's… but their Ki is identical. That can't be possible…"
A few days passed. Bunny hadn't been going to tutoring or training regularly. Trunks was upset at her for it, but all Bunny said was she had to be someplace. Trunks knew it was the arcade, just like every other day. But what could he say to her? She seemed so happy when she came back.
"I looked into that arcade. I think it's that new part time worker there," he explained to Goten one day. "I think Bunny has a crush on him."
Goten was upset over this, but he just wrote it off to Trunks as his being an overprotective father. He followed Bunny after she left the house, carrying Luna with him.
"Bunny! You're going to that arcade too much!" Luna chastised. She stopped, but didn't look at them. Goten frowned at her attitude. If he had been his mother, Bunny would have regretted that. Luckily for her, he wasn't.
"He isn't Chiba Mamoru. He can't be. Bunny, are you listening to me? It's not-" he began, before Bunny interrupted him.
"I know that." She just kept walking, leaving them behind. Goten sighed. There was nothing else he could do. Trunks would have to handle this, but out of respect for his daughter's privacy in public, he never went anywhere near her without giving her warning. He couldn't do that to her.
"It's like it's really Sailor V who's fighting," Motoki said as he watched Endou play the game. Endou grinned.
"No. It's more like someone somewhere is controlling Sailor V through this game," he said. The doors slid open and Endou looked up, smiling.
"Ah, we were waiting on you, Bunny," Endou greeted. Bunny walked over to him and sat down in the stool he gave up for her. Endou leaned over her shoulder to watch. "You really are good," he complimented. Bunny nodded a little.
"You're good too, Endou."
"It's like you're one with Sailor V. Like you know everything about her."
"Uh-huh. Kind of. She's a really good partner."
"You act like you've met her. I saw her once myself. She was really cool." He admitted, leaning in over her again. Bunny nodded, though her heart was pounding again.
"Yeah… she's a lot more reliable than me." Bunny said. Endou chuckled.
"More than Sailor Moon?" Bunny's heart skipped a beat when he said that. Did he know?! "That hairstyle… you look exactly like Sailor Moon with it. I wonder where Sailor V and Sailor Moon are when they're not fighting. Do they have some sort of control room?" he asked.
Bunny snapped to her senses. It felt wrong… like he was trying to get into her mind. Like someone else forced him back out, other than herself.
"I should be going… I have to meet with my uncle…" she whispered, grabbing up her bag. He grabbed hold of her free hand.
"Bunny. Come again tomorrow. I want to know all of your secrets… Bunny," he said. That feeling came again. Something was being forced out of her mind. She could FEEL it!
"I… I have to go!" she said, before rushing out. Endou looked mad.
"She didn't fall under my spell?!"
'What should I do? Those cold eyes make my head spin… it's like he's trying to get inside my head… but something is blocking him. But I'm afraid that if I stay too long I'll just start talking. He's exactly like Mamoru. Usako… please, call me Usako…' She just went on her way towards Capsule Corp to try and apologize to her grandfather for missing so much training. The girls watched from a distance as she left. Endou and Motoki left the arcade, and they heard a woman's complaining voice.
"Glued together at the hip AGAIN? Honestly, Furuhata-kun… when did you make friends with such a cute guy?" Reika demanded to no one. Makoto went up to her.
"Uh, sorry, but… are you a friend of Motoki-kun's? Do you know about them?" she asked. Reika looked at her, a little startled.
"Oh! Well, yes… my name is Reika. I'm in the same club as Furuhata-kun. I don't know this Endou, though. I've never seen him before. Furuhata-kun DID have a best friend named Endou… but he was way different. Kind of a geek with big glasses. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him around recently," Reika realized. "Furuhata-kun must have just made friends with this Endou. No one at the university knows who he is."
"You can't let him play the Sailor V game anymore," Terra demanded. She and Minako were in the control room together. Terra looked a little uneasy over what she'd been told. "He's trying to get in here."
Minako crossed her legs, looking at a monitor. "If he really is Tuxedo Kamen… Chiba Mamoru… then we have to be careful." She said.
Terra nodded. "And if this is what I think it is… it's just a matter of time before…"
The girls entered the control room, along with Goten. Makoto stood there, waiting for them.
"Mako-chan, what's wrong?" Rei asked. "Why'd you call a meeting?"
Makoto looked to Bunny. "Bunny! I've been waiting for you to get here. You have to keep away from him! He's the enemy! He was after you and your sister all along!" she shouted. Bunny blinked as Terra moved her way to the front.
"He…? You mean Endou? But… how do you know he's the enemy?" Bunny reasoned.
"He's evil! What are you going to do if the Ginzuishou is stolen?!" Makoto demanded. Terra didn't like the look in her eye.
"But I keep it with me at all times. See?" Bunny asked, holding it up. "There's nothing to worry about." The alarms in the room went off at once. Minako was looking around for an enemy, but Terra lunged at Makoto a split second before she dove for the Ginzuishou. Terra kicked her aside into the wall and stood defensively in front of Bunny.
"Out of her head! You have no place there!" Terra cried, putting her hand to Makoto's forehead. Then she turned around. "Just as you have no place in this location!"
"She almost got the crystal for me. Guess I'll have to do it myself," came the familiar voice. Everyone turned to see Kara being held hostage by Tuxedo Kamen. She struggled to get away, but for some reason, she couldn't.
"So the control room was directly under the Sailor V game? The shield kept me from finding it," Motoki realized. Bunny was freaking.
"No! This can't be happening!" she shouted. She didn't want it to be true!
"But she fell under my spell so easily and led us straight here," Mamoru said. Terra growled and went to attack him again. She was knocked aside.
"Everyone! Transform!" Minako ordered, holding her pen into the air. "Venus Power, Make Up!" Sailor Venus kicked Motoki away as he went for Bunny.
"Sailor V Kick!" She unhooked the chain around her waist and held it aloft. "This is the chain of love! I'll force you to open your eyes!" Goten went over to help Bunny once Motoki was out of the way. He couldn't fight in here; he could damage the room too easily!
"Venus Love-me chain!" It descended on Motoki and knocked him out. Her sixth sense went off and she turned to see Mamoru shooting his own blast at her. She was hit and knocked into a console. Goten went and grabbed his arm to stop another attack, but was thrown away as well. Mamoru saw the Ginzuishou which Venus had been holding on to and grabbed it. Kara didn't want to fight against Mamoru, and neither did Bunny.
"Ha! I've finally got the Ginzuishou!" he shouted in triumph. Goten sat up, rubbing the back of his head.
"Bunny! You've gotta transform and fight! You can't let him have the crystal!" he demanded. "You too, Kara!"
But both girls were just cowering.
"Why is Tuxedo Kamen fighting with Sailor V-chan?" Bunny whispered. Luna turned her attention to the princess.
"Bunny, what on EARTH are you waiting for?! You have to fight!" Luna demanded.
"Fight with Tuxedo Kamen?" Bunny asked as he laughed. "It can't be real… Tuxedo Kamen was captured by the Dark Kingdom," she reasoned.
"Bunny, snap OUT OF IT! Don't be fooled!" Luna ordered, jumping onto Tuxedo Kamen's shoulder to bite his shoulder. Her eyes flashed like they had with Trunks when he was under the enemy's spell. Tuxedo Kamen snarled and threw her aside.
"What are you doing? Get out of my way!" Luna struck a console and everyone heard several bones break and blood went everywhere. Kara's eyes went wide and she became nauseous. Just like Star… just like what Terra had done to Star so long ago! Terra looked to her.
"Kara!"
Goten was sick as well. He ran over to the cat and picked her up as gently as he could. Her Ki was fading! "Luna! Talk to me! LUNA!" He screamed. There was no response. Kara stood up.
"He's not Endymion anymore… By the Power of the Moon!" She shouted, transforming at the same time as Bunny. Sailor Moon looked to Luna and began to scream at the top of her voice. The Ginzuishou began to light up and the mark on her chest began to burn.
"Sailor Moon! Use the Moon Wand to heal Luna and Makoto!" Mercury shouted. Moon didn't have to be told twice. The light descended on the two and Luna's wounds closed up. Her Ki stabilized, but it would be a while before she was back to full strength. Goten hugged his cat.
"I won't forgive you! Fake Tuxedo Kamen… you can't seduce me! You're not my old friend anymore!" Moon roared. "After all, I am Sailor Moon, and on behalf of the moon, I will punish you!" She used the Moon Wand against him.
Terra gasped and knocked the wand upwards before it could be used. Moon looked to her like she was crazy but then noticed what had made her do that. A dark portal opened behind him and a woman stepped out.
"I can't believe… she'd come here…!" Terra gasped. "That explains why Tuxedo Kamen could use such a similar power to my own against Makoto…"
"Well done, Tuxedo Kamen." The woman said with a smile. "Now that we have the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou , we have no need for you. This will be your end, Sailor Senshi!" She laughed. Moon glared.
"Who are you?!" She demanded. Behind her stepped something else. Two small figures wrapped in light. Their forms were impossible to make out, but Terra held her head as though she were in pain.
"Heh… Princess Serenity… you were always young and weak… don't you remember me? Ah. That's right… I'm not like I used to be," she taunted. Venus's eyes went wide. She remembered that day on the Moon. This was the same woman who was with Lady Earth the day they stormed the castle.
"This is Queen Beryl, ruler of the Dark Kingdom…" Terra whispered through the pounding headache.
"Princess Serenity… you would enjoy being killed by Prince Endymion, wouldn't you? Your best friend in the system… and for young Princess Selene to have her existence ended by her old lover… heheh…" Moon and Neo Moon looked over to Tuxedo Kamen.
"Prince Endymion?! No… you can't really be… Mamo-chan!" Moon cried. Terra reached with a free hand held her arm to keep her from moving towards the prince. She frowned. His eyes were too cold. This wasn't a true resurrection. This was an experiment for them.
"You're alive! Endymion, don't you know me?" Moon shouted, trying to get over to him. Terra wouldn't let her; she'd shatter every bone in Moon's body if she had to. "Why have you been toying with us?! Why have you joined the Dark Kingdom?! Taking sides with Beryl… she's the enemy!" Moon screamed, still trying to break free. Terra was older and stronger. And she knew what would happen.
"He's the enemy. After the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou…" Terra whispered, glaring at Beryl. Moon shook her head.
"No! It can't be! Look at me, Tuxedo Kamen! Mamoru, please you're my friend!" Moon screamed again. Terra slapped her across the face.
"Get a grip, Sailor Odango!" She screamed back. "It's not Endymion anymore!" Terra warned
"But isn't he just under a spell? Terra, if we defeat Beryl-" Neo Moon began, before Terra turned her gaze to her.
"The Lord Earth we knew no longer exists. She poured the energy of the Ginzuishou into his corpse, but it did nothing. This isn't Endymion's soul, this is a false one. Just like what they plan to do with their false Sailor Omega," Terra said. She didn't like mentioning Omega to Neo Moon, but she had to get her point across.
"You are correct, Lady Earth, as brutally honest as always," Beryl said. "Our Great Leader, Queen Metallia, reanimated Prince Endymion. Just like you, he received her power and has taken your place as the Dark Kingdom's strongest warrior."
Terra growled. "They Resonated wrong! You didn't control me, you fucked my system up! My… system? What…?"
Terra knelt down, trying to make sense of it all while Moon's mind was racing. She couldn't believe he had truly died. She didn't want to believe it. She couldn't save him, just like the last time! He raised a hand and Terra got in front of the Senshi. Neo Moon stood in front of Goten, knowing that since he had Luna, he couldn't defend himself so well. The blast flew for the girls, but Terra suddenly held her hand up to hold it back. She was surprised at how powerful it was.
"Damn, too strong for me," she cursed.
"Terra, no! You'll destroy our control room!" Mercury shouted. She and Jupiter noticed Motoki still lying on the ground. They grabbed him and Jupiter used her power to teleport him away to safety. This was her first attempt, though, so she could just move him barely outside the fight radius. He came too and noticed what was going on. He freaked.
"What's happening?! My dad will kill me for this!" Jupiter and Mercury just smiled.
"Don't worry about it, Motoki-kun. We'll save the arcade," Jupiter said before going back to the action. Luna was back on her feet by this time and Goten was at the computer with her.
"Luna! Get me the temporal axis calculations!" Mercury said. "I'll form a shield, or else this whole area'll be blown away!" She placed her goggles on her face and began to type rapidly. Once the information was up on her screen, she raised her hands.
"Hyperspace Area Formation!" The shield surrounded the entire battle, protecting everything outside of it. Beryl just laughed.
"You won't win! No matter where we fight!" She said. Her hair lashed out and entangled Bunny within it. Goten tried to get to her, but couldn't get past Mercury's shield. He could only watch helplessly.
"I've been waiting for this for so long… tell me! What is the secret of the Ginzuishou's power?" Beryl demanded. "Where is its boundless power?! I will use that power to become immortal… to become invincible!" The hair tightened, Bunny could scarcely breathe.
"Princess!" Venus cried out.
"I have waited so long… since that angel descended upon the Moon and the Earth… bearing with her the Ginzuishou, the Golden Crystal and Lady Earth!" Beryl shouted.
"That wasn't an 'angel'!" Terra warned, despite the confusion in her head from her rebirth. It felt wrong to use the word 'Angel' at that moment.
"The dawn after that strange meteor shower, in that fateful year. Born in the Sagittarius Zero Star… falling from an enormous gas pocket in the sun, an evil dark spot… it fell to Earth along with the meteors. It was the birth of the goddess of evil," she said.
Terra was too busy searching her memory. She hadn't died since the attack on the Moon, so she should remember. How long ago had that been?!
"'Bring me the power… attack the Moon… take the power of the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou and this planet, this universe will be ours!' I have been waiting since the time I first kneeled to our great leader, Queen Metallia!" Beryl laughed.
"Metallia?" Venus demanded.
"Queen Beryl of the Dark Kingdom… I demand you release my sister!" Neo Moon shouted, standing defiantly before her. Venus put a hand on her shoulder, but she slapped it away. "Queen Beryl of the Dark Kingdom… it was you."
"Princess Selene?" Mercury asked.
"She's the one! She tricked Lady Earth into raising the people of the Earth against the Moon! She ruined everything! I can remember it, just like it was yesterday. I remember when this woman killed my love, Endymion, and me!" she shouted. She grabbed the sword and went to strike Beryl with it. "How could you be reborn here, too?! You're the one who attacked us in America! You're the one who took Keiko's power and gave it to your demon! You had Terra kill me! You don't deserve to be here!"
"I died with victory in my grasp. And that meddling Queen Serenity imprisoned our Great Leader, Queen Metallia. But it seems the stars have seen it fit to revive us once more…" she laughed.
"Beryl, you're just another pawn to that demon!" Venus warned.
"Now that I have the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou, and both Princesses here, I don't need to wait for the Great Leader's rebirth. I, Queen Beryl, will rule this world! I will be queen with my new escort by my side… Prince Endymion!" She laughed. Terra went to free Moon as Neo Moon continued trying to attack.
"Princess Serenity! Princess Selene!" Venus cried out. "Venus Love-me chain!" She tried to wrap the chain around Moon to pull her to safety. The chain touched Beryl and recoiled in an instant. Venus was thrown aside.
"Venus!"
"Now I'm really mad…" she whispered, holding her hand out. "Sword of the Moon! Holy blade that protects the Princesses! Come to my hand!" She went to lift it up, though it was still heavy to her. Terra stood up and snatched it away.
"Gimme!" she ordered. With a fell swoop, she sliced the hair that was now encircling Moon. She could breathe for a moment before it moved of its own accord and wrapped around her throat. Neo Moon stopped attacking and tried to pull it off her. She couldn't die yet! Not like she had! Venus took the sword back.
"Bright Moon! Our beloved Silver Millennium! Send your strength to my hand!" Venus called out.
"I can't die before I get you both back! Selene! Endymion!" Moon rasped. The Ginzuishou began to glow brightly. Venus took the sword and rammed it into Queen Beryl. As she did, the poisonous stone crumbled away from the blade and it began to shine brightly. As bright as the Ginzuishou!
"This sword… the light… could this be… a sword made of the Ginzuishou?" Terra asked. Beryl's body began to crumble as the two figures in light vanished. She reached for Endymion.
"Just when I finally had you… Prince Endymion… I always… loved you…"
With that, her body turned to dust and her crown fell to the ground. Writing appeared on the blade of the sword. Venus tried to make it out.
"When this sword… shows…"
"'When this sword shows its light the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou follows the heart of she who would become queen. Take the completed crystal and release the Great Power of the Moon. Give service to the Moon's Holy Tower and bring peace once more to our kingdom…'" Terra whispered.
"Terra?" Neo Moon asked.
"The engraving on the sword?" Mercury asked. "She who would become queen… that must mean Princess Serenity?"
"That must be the method of sealing!" Mars said. Venus fainted from the power. Endymion, still under the Dark Kingdom's spell, rushed at her and grabbed both her and the sword before jumping into a dark portal.
"V-chan!" Moon cried, going in after them.
"Sailor Moon!" Neo Moon shouted, trying to go after them. The portal closed.
"They're gone?! Where did they do?! Quick! We have to follow them!" Goten shouted as the shield faded and he could get inside. He was royally pissed at this turn of events.
"I'll take us," Terra said.
"I can't see anything… it's so cold…" Moon whispered. "Where are they? V-chan… Tuxedo Kamen…" She looked around before spotting a point of light.
"There. A point of light. That must be the light from the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou."
"Can we trace them?!" Goten demanded. Luna shook her head.
"Too much interference with the computer. I can't get any form of a lock on Sailor Venus or Sailor Moon," Luna said weakly. Goten pulled her back into his arms and scratched behind her ears.
"I can take us right there," Terra finally said, standing up to her full height. Her tail swished dangerously behind her. Kara looked at her with sadness in her eyes.
"Just the same way you attacked us, Terra. Right?" she asked. Terra nodded a little and reached behind her to hold her tail. When had she received this? Beryl's revelation had brought serious doubts to her mind. She wasn't born a Saiyan. She knew that. Why did she have a tail? Maybe if she went back, her questions would be answered.
"Yeah. I can still open a dark portal into the kingdom. It's been a long time since I've done this, though," she warned. Goten went over to her.
"You were once an enemy of the Sailor Senshi, you killed one of them, can we really trust you?" He demanded. Terra just grinned.
"There's a lot about myself I don't know. But I do know that when I give my word, I never back down from it. I give you my word."
"Then let's get ready!" Mars said. "Let's go get them back!"
The others all nodded. Goten sat Luna back down.
"I'll take you to my parents' once we're done. I bet some rest in the mountains will do you a world of good," he assured. Luna nodded before turning her gaze to Terra.
"Get the Princess back."
Terra said nothing to that and thrust her hand out to her side, palm wide open. Dark energy pulsed out from her hand, like a heartbeat. It Resonated with the air, with the traces of Dark Energy left behind by the portal Beryl had made earlier.
"Damn. It's fading fast. We won't get a direct route into the Kingdom itself; I'll take us as close as I can before it collapses. Everyone in!" she ordered. No one had to be told twice, the Senshi all jumped in, as did Goten. The portal closed behind them.
True to her word, Terra took them as close as she could. They appeared once more in the normal realm, hovering above Point D of the North Pole. Goten held Mercury in his arms, Jupiter had Mars. Terra felt funny, but she dismissed it as memories of her time here. Regret? Was she regretting something? Her joining of the Dark Kingdom, or perhaps her abandonment of it…?
"There's no land here, just the ice fields," Mercury point out. "Now where… what? Mist?" she asked as something dark began to encircle them.
"This isn't just mist. It's distorting space… spreading an evil feeling…" Mars explained. "It's telling us to keep away…"
"We're close. There!" Terra pointed out to the only formation of land anywhere. "We're going in."
'It's so dark and cold…'
"So you followed me here…" came the voice of Prince Endymion. Sailor Moon looked up to see her friend towering over her. She heard more breathing and looked around. Laying at his feet was Sailor Venus and the Moon Blade. Sitting – no, more like slumping – against the wall was someone Sailor Moon had seen once before.
She had dark blue hair falling down well past her feet, a nasty scar running down the entire left side of her face. It passed through her left eye, which was red while the other was ice blue. There was a look of no emotion on her face as she sat there in a Senshi Uniform styled as a Furisode Kimono with a skirt like her own and knee high boots. Endymion moved closer to her and that brought her attention back to him.
"Tuxedo Kamen-sama," she whispered with pain on her face. "Endymion… it's me… Princess Serenity…" She wanted for him to remember so badly, for him to suddenly say 'It's okay, Usako! I'm just kidding!' He leaned in as though to hug her, but instead, his hands went around her throat and she was violently lifted into the air, gasping for breath.
"Speak! If this is the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou, then where is its power?! Is there another, more powerful Ginzuishou other than this little fragment and the sword?!" he demanded.
"No…" she squeaked.
"What is the 'Great Power of the Moon'?! Another Ginzuishou?! Where is it?!" Moon kicked futilely.
'This can't be happening…' She thought. 'He wouldn't do this…' Her hand reached out, shaking violently, and went to touch the Ginzuishou. She felt something awaken in it and it flashed brilliantly, throwing them both back. It was at that time that her saviors arrived in the Dark Kingdom, still led by Sailor Earth.
"Bunny!" Goten shouted, running for her. He skidded to a halt when he saw Endymion stand.
"Princess… that power… was that you? You can control it?" he asked. An evil black shadow formed behind him, one whose power Goten could barely feel. It was on a scale beyond what he was used to. He'd met evil in his time, he'd been told of great evil beings, but this thing was a class of its own. And yet, Goten could feel that it was only a little fragment of something greater…
"And so you have returned to me, Sailor Earth," the echoing voice acknowledged. Terra didn't act surprised or shocked. She just stood there as the shadow poured out around Endymion's feet.
"This is Queen Metallia," she said, not bothering to turn around to face the others. She couldn't. "This is our greatest enemy." Those words were barely out of her mouth before Endymion went to attack them. Terra threw her own attack at it.
"Bunny!" Luna's voice called. She appeared before the leader of the Senshi. "His strength is from the light of the Ginzuishou that you placed in him." Neo Moon nodded.
"Listen up! The words on the sword must be the method of sealing! To imprison this evil thing, the Ginzuishou must be complete! Sere, you have to take the light back and put it back into the crystal!" she begged. "The time is now! I love Endymion so much, but I love this world and you even more! I don't care that it will kill him! One life to save a billion more!"
Metallia only laughed.
"Shut up! This is the power that will end you!" Terra warned.
"Yes, my weak princess. The runaway. Release the power of the moon! I'll transfer myself and leave your corpse to rot forever in the Dark Kingdom!" Metallia laughed. Mars powered up her attack.
"Akuryo Taisan!" she called, sending the flames into Metallia. It did nothing.
"What do we do?! How can we win? We can't even handle Tuxedo Kamen!" Jupiter shouted. Venus looked to her.
"He's been remade! He's the same as Metallia! We have to get the Ginzuishou back! My planet of love, Venus! Give me your power!" Venus cried out. A glowing heart appeared in her hands. "Rolling Heart Vibration!"
Moon cried out for Venus to stop, but Endymion knocked the attack aside. With a shaky hand, Moon pulled her weapon out.
"Moon Healing Escalation!" she shouted. Endymion's eyes narrowed. Her heart cried out, her mark ached. 'I can't save him… I have to defeat Queen Metallia… but to do that, I have to take the light back from him… do I have to kill him?'
"No… NO!" she shrieked. Endymion and the Crystal began to react. Goten covered his ears to protect his sensitive hearing and Terra began to fade. The mysterious Senshi began to move.
"Luna, what's happening?!" Mars asked.
"Tuxedo Kamen and the Ginzuishou are reacting to the confusion in Bunny's heart!" she realized. Moon looked up at Tuxedo Kamen, then to Neo Moon. Neo Moon was dead and gone. Tuxedo Kamen was dead. Moon was still here. There was no fairness in that.
She dropped to her knees in her despair and covered her face with her hands. "Someone… help me. Queen Serenity, I can't do this." Her voice was full of tears. "I am the champion of Justice, Sailor Moon. There's no other way…"
She grabbed the Moon Sword and walked up to Tuxedo Kamen. "This is the only way! Because this is why we were reborn!"
She brought the sword down in a fluid and elegant stroke, cutting him down. "We were born to die!"
"SERE, STOP!" Neo Moon screamed. Terra tried to get up and stop them, but she was unable to move.
"Not again!"
Moon didn't hear any of them. She turned the sword in on herself and ran it through her heart.
