Chapter 25: The Crystal Prison

On the way to Pluto's car, Sailor Venus told me about her time battling thugs and monsters in London...the real version of it, since I didn't finish the Sailor V comics she gave me the first night we met. She did most of the talking, but she didn't seem to mind. Mina had so many stories and hadn't even gotten to when she and Artemis joined the other Scouts. I wished I had been a part of all that. The line between good and evil seemed so clearly defined then. And the bad guys seemed a lot more creative. Thanks to Artemis, I didn't get to hear more stories once Sailor Venus started driving...

"Mina, slow down! You're swerving!" Artemis leapt between the front seats and cried.

"I'm not swerving! He's such a backseat driver!" Venus complained. "Sweetie, could you see if there's a map in the glove compartment?" she asked me. I opened it up and found one. "Good, can you throw it in the back? There, you can navigate, Artemis!"

The map only bought us five seconds of silence. "There's a left turn coming up, you should have signaled earlier! And you're holding the wheel too tight!" Artemis' hairs stood up as she went into the turn. "Go easy on the brake! And turn gently, Mina! You're driving like a madwoman!"

"Artemis! If you don't stop complaining, I'll pull over and throw you out of the car! We'll see how much you like walking the rest of the way in the snow!" fumed Venus.

"Maybe you could let him take the wheel," I teased. Artemis stayed quiet the rest of the way, but he jumped out of the back seat and landed eagle-spread into the snow when she stopped.

"Hey, guys!" Sailor Venus called out to the others. Sailor Moon, Mercury, and Jupiter were waiting for us up ahead. "Raye and Rini stayed with Trista and Hotaru. I wish Artemis had stayed too."

"The Spymaster's teaching a class at his dojo. Luna stayed behind to keep an eye on him. Darien went ahead to look for ways in," said Sailor Jupiter.

"That's Luna Ball!" noticed Sailor Mercury. "How come she's following you, Logan?"

"Rini loaned Luna Ball to him. Isn't she sweet?" Sailor Venus beamed.

A mischievous smile crawled onto Sailor Jupiter's face. "Somebody's growing a crush," she teased.

Sailor Moon was not amused, however. She raised a fist and shouted. "That little weasel! First she hogs all my time with Darien, now she's got her sights on Mina's boyfriend!" she fumed.

Jupiter waved an arm in the air as she tried to retract her joke. "Calm down, Serena! I was kidding!"

I looked past the other Sailor Scouts and down the hill overlooking the Spymaster's version of the palace. When I saw the white domed mausoleum, flashes from the same recurring dream I had just before I met Serena came back to me. "I didn't grow up in the Palace," I said to myself, but I said it loud enough to attract the attention of the others. "I was old enough to remember the first time I saw it."

"It would have been suspicious if royalty started disappearing for months or years at a time," said Artemis. "The Shadows must have been recruited from..."

"Non-royalty?" I asked when he struggled to come up with the right word. I got the feeling he was looking for something nicer to say than 'common people'.

"Yeah, non-royalty," he agreed.

"I figured, they don't seem to like us too much," sighed Sailor Moon. She faced me and said, "we don't remember much about our past lives, either. Just a few bits and pieces here and there."

Darien darted up the hill. He had ditched his disguise in favor of his usual black tuxedo and cape. "I couldn't find another way in. Their version of the Palace has no windows or balconies, it's like a prison."

"Maybe you shouldn't go alone, Logan," suggested Artemis. "We have no idea what's in there."

"I'm not alone, I've got Luna Ball," I pointed to Rini's toy hovering around me, but everyone traded nervous glances. "I have the best chance of getting in and out undetected if I go in by myself," I elaborated.

"Uranus and Neptune may have been captured - or worse, the Shadows may have found a way to control them. Either way, we need to find out what happened to them," said Artemis. I saw Sailor Venus uncomfortably holding her elbows: we hadn't told them that I had figured out how to control minds, too. I knew we had to tell them eventually, but I wasn't looking forward to that conversation...

Sailor Moon handed me a photograph of herself with another pretty girl in their school uniforms. She had wavy brownish-red hair, blue eyes and a green ribbon in her hair. "That's my friend, Molly. The Spymaster said Melvin's here too: he's a genius with enormous glasses and brown hair that he's allergic to combing. But I understand if you don't have time to look for them," Sailor Moon frowned.

"I'll keep an eye out for them," I promised.

"What if you run into Shadows? You can't beat them on your own," Sailor Jupiter reminded me.

"I don't need to. I can stun them long enough to get away," I answered. "Did Luna leave the disguising pen with you guys?"

"You want me to disguise myself as a Shadow again? I thought you were going in alone," said Tuxedo Mask when Sailor Moon pulled out the pen.

"You can follow me more closely. We might find another way in, and I might need a distraction," I suggested.

"So I'm just your doppelganger now?" he asked.

"Oh I get it: you only want to help beautiful women," I taunted.

Tuxedo Mask opened his mouth, but before he could object, Sailor Moon clasped her hands together and beamed. "Logan, you're so sweet! Darien, do whatever he says!"

"Unbelievable," sulked Tuxedo Mask.

"You'd better get moving. Good luck, Logan," said Sailor Mercury.

"We'll be here if you need us," offered Sailor Venus. To get down faster, I dropped to the edge of the hill and slid down. I realized halfway through that this was something I never would have done before I learned I was a Shadow; I hated heights. I tumbled into the snow below and scanned my surroundings for possible ambush points and hiding places. It looked like a clear run to the palace, but I crouched just in case.

As I approached the Palace, I noticed strange light blue energy beams adorning the dome, like crystal skyscrapers spiraling upwards. A single spire towered the highest, like a rocket ship pointed towards the moon. When I came across the frozen lake in front of the palace, I had another flashback from my first visit to Silver Millennium, over a thousand years ago according to the others...

Like phantoms from the past, I saw transparent, ghost-like figures ice skating on the lake. I was mesmerized when I first saw them, like I had never seen so many people happy at any point in my life before. "Silver Millennium is everything I dreamed it would be!" I recalled myself saying. "How could anyone hate this place?"

I cringed when the Spymaster's voice answered me: "Not everyone in Silver Millennium lives in a Palace." Thankfully, it was just a memory. Even then, he was trying to get inside my head. "Wait here. If anyone talks to you, bow and be polite. Do not tell them you're from Earth, and don't mention Beryl's name."

The thoughts came together in my head: I was born on Earth at a time when personal relations were forbidden between the people of Earth and the Moon Kingdom. That's why Princess Serenity kept sneaking around to visit Prince Endymion. But with each answer, I only found myself with more questions, like what made me special enough to bring to the Moon Palace. I figured they were questions for another time.

I stood on the frozen lake and tried to walk slowly across. I wobbled and landed flat on my face, embarrassing myself in front of dozens of royals. First I heard a girl laughing, then I could see a transparent pair of white ice skates glide over and stop right in front of me as I lay face-first on the ground.

"Skating without skates? Sounds like something Princess Serenity would try!" the girl said with a faint echo. Princess Serenity...I remembered that was what they called Serena back then. I crooned my neck to look up at the figure greeting me. "I haven't seen you around the Palace before. What's your name?" She was a blur, but her blonde hair, blue eyes and fair complexion slowly came into focus...

"You're shy, aren't you? It's OK. Queen Serenity's waiting for you. Your friend in the robes told me where to find you!" Sailor Venus' younger apparition grabbed my arms and started lifting me off the ground. So I met Mina the first time I came to Silver Millennium. Either she was on the verge of or had just reached the start of her teenage years at the time. So I met two of the Sailor Scouts before...

"Get up, Charon!" another woman's cold and commanding voice jolted me back to reality. The transparent, ghost-like figures all vanished. I stumbled up and swung around to face her, only to find a fizzling ball of energy where Luna-P used to be. Trista's less-than-welcoming figure stared me down through it.

I threw my hands up in the air at the sight of her. "And you were worried about ME spying on YOU?!"

Trista looked down and glared at me. "I am trying to help you, Charon," she said in a frustrated tone.

"What happened? Is Logan OK?" Rini - dressed back in civilian clothes - rushed in to join Trista's side.

"I just fell," I said.

"You were lying there for a while," said Trista.

"I'm fine!" I insisted.

"I forgot to mention we could stay in touch with Luna-P. Sorry," apologized Rini.

"It's OK. I'm not mad at you," I said to reassure her. Being more careful to keep my balance, I crossed the frozen lake, walked past the white marble-like fountains, and stood before the main door. Noticing a keyhole, I thought of using dark magic to burn a hole through the lock, but I realized that would make noise. If there was anyone inside, not being heard was as important as not being seen.

Noticing a keyhole, I turned to Luna-P and asked, "I don't suppose you can turn into a lockpick?" Luna-P's smiling face just stared back at me blankly. I tried to recall the words that Rini had told me to use if I needed something form her. "Luna...Ball...Kitty Magic!" I called out. Luna Ball jumped up into the air, burst into a cloud of pink smoke, and a golden hook pick fell onto the ground. I picked it up and began raking the lock. Ugh, this only takes a second on TV, I should have asked for a key, I complained to myself. After a few seconds I was able to turn the keyhole and slowly pushed the heavy door open. I scanned the corners as I opened the door slowly, careful not to make a sound, then looked up to see if there was a Shadow perched above. There was no sign of anyone...

"You're lucky you ran into Princess Venus first," Henry's voice echoed in my mind again when I entered the Palace. "Other royals might take offense if you don't answer them."

"It's no trouble at all, really! He can get away with it because he's cute," Venus' voice echoed in return. I shook my head. I had to stay focused on the present.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a figure decked out in silver armor down the corridor to my left. Fortunately, his back was towards me. My eyes darted around the white, marble-like columns, then I dashed behind one of the columns. I saw an open courtyard with some green plant life sticking up through the snow with the darkening sky above, but an energy field glimmered over it. I saw a second floor and balconies surrounding the courtyard overlooking the garden. The roof was raised too high to jump onto it from the balcony, so it wasn't an escape route. Still, the energy field is too high to keep someone from getting in, I thought.

As quietly as I could, I ran across the garden and hid behind another white column, stopping when I saw another figure wearing silver armor to my left. Neither of them looked too heavily armored or armed, but I didn't want to take any chances fighting them and ran for one of the white doors. I was able to turn the handle without picking the lock and I opened it just enough for me to slip through. I flipped open my communicator. "I found an open courtyard. I won't be able to climb out of it, but you might be able to come in through it."

"I'll check it out, Logan," said Tuxedo Mask over the communicator.

"I saw two figures wearing silver armor," I said. "I think the Shadows are using them as guards. Probably under mind control."

"Henry's sick," muttered Sailor Jupiter's voice. "Are you sure you still want us to hang back?"

"No Shadows yet," I said as I sneaked through the marble-white halls. "I can handle the guards."

"If he's still got it, no one will ever know he was there," Vigil chimed in. "Uranus and Neptune are nearby. It's hard to get an exact fix tracking their communicators, but it looks like they're on the second floor."

"Thanks Vigil," I replied. I sneaked over to another column. There were no guards on my floor, but I saw one standing on the second floor near the spiral staircase. There was another overlooking the handrail on the second floor across from me. When he turned around, I was able to climb high enough on one of the pillars to dangle on the edge. After peeking up to make sure no one saw me, I was able to lift myself up and climb over the rail.

The guard in front of me turned around just as I darted into a nearby room with Luna-P following close behind. I opened the door and leaned against the wall as I heard his footsteps approaching. He gasped when he noticed that the door was open, so I gave him a quick karate chop to the neck. Stunned by the blow, he only made a quick 'oommpphh' sound before I grabbed him under his right arm and placed my right arm behind his head, flipped him onto the ground lying on his back as quietly as I could, then covered his mouth with one hand before ending his muffled screams with a blow to the head.

I peeked outside the room to see the other guard had turned away from me. I noticed there was a larger pair of doors at the end of the hallway. The guest room, my instinct told me. That had to be where Sailor Uranus and Neptune were 'staying'. As I opened the door, I saw the edge of an armored guard facing me in the marble white room adorned with golden furniture. I quickly abandoned stealth in favor of speed: I grabbed the wrist of his right hand, kneed him in the stomach, then sent him to the ground with a headbutt. From behind the guard, Sailors Uranus and Neptune turned around in shock.

"Charon!" exclaimed Sailor Uranus.

"Are you here by yourself?" asked Sailor Neptune. Her voice carried full emotion, and neither of their eyes were glazed over. There were no dark magic force fields or torture devices holding them either. Either Uranus and Neptune sneaked in (which, as Vigil said, wasn't their strong suit), or they were staying here voluntarily. If the latter was true, I was in serious trouble...

To Be Continued

A/N: Hey everyone! After such a hard time writing the last chapter, this one came to me a lot easier! I decided to split it in two, but that means you won't have to wait long to see what Uranus and Neptune have to say for themselves!

I've wanted to delve into Charon's memories of Silver Millennium for some time now. I decided to mix in parts of his past into the story as opposed to writing entire flashback chapters. Hopefully it's not too confusing and it's easy to see the transition between past and present.

P.S.: I'd forgotten how addicting the music that plays during Sailor Chibi/Mini Moon's transformation scene is. It's stuck in my head.

P.P.S: Made a few slight edits; no major changes. The biggest change was making the flashback scene stand out more so it's less confusing to see the transition between past and present. Hope it helps!