Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sailor Moon or any of the canon characters. Derek, Drake, and the others are my creation, however.
Author's Note: This is set during the Sailor Moon R break-up, when Darien is having the nightmares and breaks up with Serena. However, I have decided to make Rini a little older. She's now about ten years old, instead of four, just because of the plot line. Also, the other scouts are older, as everyone is now in high school except Hotaru. But, hey, this is AU. Also, when I refer to the five divisions of Terra, I refer to them by their direction from Elysian, thus North and South America, being to the East of Elysian, are the Eastern Division, Africa and the Middle East are the Western Division. Europe, Russia, Greenland, and Iceland are all the Northern Division, while Australia, Antarctica, and the Pacific Islands are the Southern Division. The rest of Asia would be Elysian. Galaxis High School is my creation, here. Its sort-of replacing the school Hotaru, Michelle, and Amara attended during the Heartsnatchers episodes, but since that isn't happening, I gave them a new school. (Too I can't remember the name!) This would be the school that Serena, Jason, Zack, Amara, and Michelle are attending.
Chapter Thirteen: Deadly Time
Two dark haired figures stood at the edge of the lake, in Juuban Park. Both stared out over the water, watching the sun as it sank below the horizon.
Midnight blue eyes focused on the water. "So, when are the five of you coming back?"
"I thought we explained this to you yesterday, Darien. We can't return to your service. Not yet," stated Drake, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We are in the service of Princess Serenity, until she releases us."
The ebony haired man turned to him. "Then ask her to release you. You five belong by my side."
"We can't ask. Serena needs us more than you do."
Darien looked at him, incredulous. "Serena needs you more? What about me? I need my generals back."
The general of the netherworld wrapped his hand around his pewter skull, fiddling with it. "I'm sorry, Darien. We cannot ask to be released from the vow. It doesn't work that way. We have to wait until Serena agrees."
"By the way, how did the four of them come back from the dead, anyway?" A frown crossed Darien's face. "According to Helios, they could only have been brought back by the Golden Crystal. Yet, I've never used it to summon them."
Drake shrugged. "I'm not sure how it happened. Somehow, the Silver Crystal brought them back. They are bound as much to the Silver Crystal as they are to the Golden Crystal. I don't understand how, but they are."
"Well, if it weren't for the fact that Jedite is as bound as the others, I'd say it was from the marriage vow they took in the Silver Millennium," stated Trista, walking up to the pair. "Their lives were bound together by the vow. Jedite never took that vow. He never married Rei."
Drake nodded. "So, that can't really be the explanation. Not unless Jedite found another way to give the vow, without marrying her."
Darien bent his head, twisting a rose between his fingers. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he examined the connections between his generals and the Golden Crystal.
"You are right, though. I do still feel all of you connected to the Golden Crystal, but only Aaron isn't torn elsewhere," he remarked. "Although, your connection is stronger than the others."
Midnight blue eyes met crimson ones as Drake rubbed his chin. He was about to make a response when Aaron came running up to them, his dark eyes wide and terrified.
"Darien, something's coming! Something terrible. I don't know what." The teenager panted, bending over and placing his hands just above his knees.
"How right you were, little one!"
The four people whirled to see the youma that had materialized behind Aaron. She had long white hair, held back with a rainbow colored ribbon. A belt of skulls wrapped around the waist of her copper armor. When she smiled, a mouth full of shark teeth emerged.
"What in the world?" Drake yelped, stepping backward. "It looks like a combination of several youma."
"I am created from those who were killed by you and your kind," declared the youma.
A rainbow whip shot from her hand and caught Aaron, sending him flying backward and into Drake. The two brothers fell back, into the lake.
A lavender wand dropped into Trista's hand. "Pluto Star Power!"
In less than a second, Trista Meioh had vanished and Sailor Pluto stood in her place. She lifted her Time Key Staff before her, as the two men climbed out of the water, dripping onto the ground beside Darien.
"Pluto Dead Scream!" The ball of energy shot from her staff, but the youma jumped over it easily.
Darien drew out his rose as Drake removed his skull from its chain and Aaron lifted out his obsidian dagger from his pocket.
"Cerberus of Terra!"
"Terran Wyvern of Obsidian!"
Three of the city's masked heroes in tuxedos stood beside Sailor Pluto. Roses flew from Tuxedo Mask's hands as the generals both summoned their own staffs, a silver one topped with a pewter skull and a plain ebony one.
"Shadow Darkness Surround!" Tuxedo Wyvern's staff spun around, sending black shadows towards the creature.
Tuxedo Cerberus swung his own staff into the air, pointing the skull at the youma and sending dark grey, skull shaped energy blasts out. "I summon the power of the Netherworld. Cerberus Soul Tremors!"
To their complete amazement, the youma avoided both of their attacks, something that had never happened to either of them. Their attacks had always connected and done damage.
"Fine. Our turn now! Breezing Deep Shaking!" Sailor Neo-Uranus came running up behind the youma, her attack also being deflected.
"Try this one on for size," yelled Neo-Neptune, appearing beside her partner. "Tidal World Submerge!"
And still the youma avoided the blast of energy.
The tiny scout known as Neo-Saturn walked out of the shadows, her glaive lifted high. "Dark Glaive of Silence!"
Her glaive descended towards the youma and passed right through it. The monster was unfazed by the weapon, sending an attack right back at the Neo-Scouts.
Another figure, also dressed in a sailor fuku came jumping up from a boat on the lake. Her black skirt and sailor scarf fluttered in the wind. White gloves ended in black cuffs, just above her wrists. Part of her pale, green-grey hair was pulled up in a bun at the back of her head, the rest of it falling to her knees.
"What's this? Another new player?" The youma laughed and flung long red fingernails at the new arrival. "Care to dance, pretty one?"
The new scout smiled, garnet red eyes flashing. "I am Sailor Neo-Pluto, and I will not back down!"
A ball of crimson energy appeared between her hands and she pulled it back. Using both hands, she formed it into the size of a baseball and pitched it forward. "Dead Unworldly Scream!"
The ball smashed into the youma's stomach, temporarily winding it.
A high pitched laugh echoed across the park. A pale woman, with ebony hair flowing past her feet, sat on top of a light pole. Her long black velvet dress was trimmed in crimson silk, which matched her glowing eyes.
"How do you kill something that's already dead?" The woman's laughter filled the air.
Tuxedo Cerberus took a step towards her, a look of horror appearing as his crimson eyes widened behind his mask. "Persephone? What are you doing?"
"Persephone?" Tuxedo Wyvern moved to stand beside his brother, looking at the woman. "But you can't reallly be here! You couldn't have been called back like I was, and Hades is the only one of us who didn't die!"
Persephone ran her hand through her hair, looking down her nose at the two of them. "Whoever said anything about my still being alive? I'm as dead as the youma I've sent to destroy you. Now, let the game continue. Take them all down, my pet."
"Gladly, Mistress Persephone." The youma unleashed another shark-like smile.
Sailor Pluto turned to her companions. "We have to stop Persephone. If we take her down, the youma looses its power and we can stop it, before it hurts anyone."
"She's right." Tuxedo Mask nodded. "We have to take down Persephone."
Tuxedo Cerberus merely shook his head, unable to take his gaze off of the woman. "I will not attack my little sister, Tuxedo Mask. I cannot harm her. Not when I swore that I would do all I could to protect her."
"Tuxedo Wyvern, can you handle it?" Sailor Pluto asked.
The young warrior stared at the ground. "No, I can't attack Persephone. It wouldn't be right. She doesn't deserve that kind of behavior from either of us."
"Well then," declared Neo-Uranus, walking over with Neo-Neptune and Neo-Saturn right behind her. "We shall try to take down Persephone and the youma."
The pale, green-grey haired scout known as Neo-Pluto shook her own head, turning to face Neo-Neptune.
"You aren't strong enough, Neo-Uranus. Not even Neo-Saturn has enough power to take down Persephone," she stated, her ruby eyes meeting the aquamarine ones in Neo-Uranus's face. "I have to be the one who takes Persephone down. I'm the only one with enough power to do it."
Neo-Saturn reached up and placed her hand on Neo-Pluto's arm. The older scout bent down so Neo-Saturn could whisper in her ear.
"I have faith in you, Neo-Pluto. The question is, do you have faith in yourself?" The littlest scout's voice was barely loud enough for Neo-Pluto to hear her.
Neo-Pluto nodded and rose back to her feet, summoning her attack energy as she moved.
"Dead Unworldly Scream!"
The attack spun at Persephone, who batted it away with her hand. "You'll have to do better than that, little one."
Two pairs of crimson eyes met as Neo-Pluto drew in a deep breath.
She's really leaving me no choice. I don't want to have to do this. I'd much rather have left this all to Hayden. He'd know what to do, Neo-Pluto bit her lip as she thought. Well, no use complaining. Hayden isn't here. So, what would my dearest older brother tell me to do if he could? That's right. Take down Persephone. And use that attack to do it. I just have to get us both in the right positions.
Neo-Pluto leapt into the air, past the worried Tuxedos Cerberus and Wyvern. Her hair whirled around her as she lured Persephone off of the light post and onto the ground, until she was finally directly in front of the ebony-haired woman.
"I really hate to have to do this," whispered Neo-Pluto. "But the shadow in your soul gives me not other choice."
A soccer ball sized orb of garnet energy appeared in Neo-Pluto's upraised right hand. "Dead Nightmare Charge."
She pressed the energy inside of Persephone, her own hand disappearing inside the woman. Neo-Pluto's eyes narrowed as she released the energy and took a grip on Persephone's soul. The shadow was blasted backward, leaving a now translucent woman behind, looking down at Neo-Pluto with hope in her crimson eyes.
"You actually did it, little one. You've saved me as your friends have saved the others." A genuine, soft smile crossed Persephone's face. "Now it is time to reseal me. You know how to do it, little Neo-Pluto."
The shorter girl nodded and released her grip on Persephone's soul. A garnet orb dropped out of her sub-space pocket and landed in her hand.
"Aunt Persephone, guide my soul. Neo-Cerberus Power!" Red light grabbed Persephone and pulled her inside the orb.
Unlike the other times that people had been sealed, the orb continued to glow, altering itself. The light pulsed until the orb was no longer so smooth. Neo-Pluto lifted the former orb, revealing a garnet skull. A pulse of light jumped from the skull and into the red crystal in the front of Sailor Neo-Pluto's uniform, transforming it into a skull, also. Her gloves lengthened to cover up to her elbows, but the cuffs lightened from black to dark grey. Her sailor scarf and her skirt lightened as well, while the two crimson bows on the uniform darkened to black. The only color left on her uniform was the red skull nestled into the front bow. Only her tall black boots didn't change
She looked up, holding out the former orb that held Persephone's soul and a small silver key. Both rose into the air, swirling around each other. In another flash of light, they became a staff, similar in form to Sailor Pluto's, but topped by a large skull instead of her garnet orb inside the lavender cage.
"I am now Sailor Cerberus, Sailor Scout of Death and Keeper of Souls, Guardian of the gates of Deadly Time," declared the former Neo-Pluto. "This time, you will not escape my power."
She turned to the undead youma, holding the staff across her body. "Unworldly Deadly Shriek!"
A crimson edged ball of pewter colored energy sped from the top of her staff, directly into the youma's open mouth. It shuddered several times before it finally collapsed.
Sailor Cerberus dropped to her knees, her uniform fading around her, leaving behind a knee-length black skirt, a black no-sleeved t-shirt, and a pair of black combat boots. Trembling, she forced herself to her feet, pulling a long black leather trench coat from her sub-space pocket and wrapping it around her.
The Neo-Outers rushed over to her, pulling her arms over their shoulders and letting her lean on them.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Now, let's get out of here."
The four young girls vanished into the approaching night, surrounded by shadows summoned by Neo-Saturn.
Across the city, at Cherry Hill Temple, a small, fourteen year old boy, with ebony hair, ducked inside the Fire Room. The flames reflecting in his blue-violet eyes, he stared into the fire, letting his mind wander. The visions came and went, passing swiftly through his mind, just letting him get a taste of what needed to be said. He sighed and walked away from the fire.
Nothing's changed, yet, he thought, running a hand through his hair. Not yet. We still haven't gotten to the bottom of it. And there's still nothing to tell me how Adonis survived and came back to open the Vault of Souls. I have to find the answers, and quickly. Time is running out!
Author's Note: I was really hoping to have this up a lot sooner than what I did. Still having to work off of my sister's computer! She's so picky about letting me onto it! The sooner I can get my own fixed, the better. I do apologize for any misspellings and stuff like that. The spell checker I'm using is a little odd. It kept underlining only half a word and calling it incorrectly misspelled, so I didn't really trust it. I hope to get the next chapters up soon. I'm only planning on about six more to finish this part of it. Enough rambling from me. Get down there and drop me a review. Please?
Okay, and if you're waiting for the next chapter, it will be a little bit. I'm putting this one on hold in order to write the real beginning of this, which you'll find under the story Hearts of Le Lune! Please, do me a favor and read that one! It'll answer a few questions about Vault of Souls!