Hey guys! Wow it's been AGES! I am so sorry guys! Work and more work has gotten me running around like crazy! But I have had some time to get some ideas on where to get this story! :D I'm hoping you all love what I've got planned (big grin).

Disclaimer: Naruto, Sailor Moon, and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles, their characters, settings, etc., belong to their respective creators. All original characters, settings, etc., belong to me!

Chapter 35: The Return of the King

Gaara was stressed…not the normal type that came with the Kazekage job…no…this stress came in the form of a little Uchiha girl.

Gaara recognized Sarada immediately as she walked into Suna flanked by Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna, though she looked a bit different and appeared a few inches taller. She also carried about her an odd aura, one that even gave him the chills.

What was he to do? Any day now a very pissed off Sakura and an equally pissed off Sasuke will no doubt be breaking down Suna's walls in search of their beloved daughter. Even Naruto's calming nature wouldn't deter them this time…

Gaara retired to his bed…each day the weight upon his shoulders was growing heavier…How will this madness affect relations with Konoha? He needed guidance…anything, anyone…

As his eyes closed for the night, his mind drifted back to dreams…Eylsion, Helios…Those names kept appearing in his mind. If Priest Helios was indeed real, Gaara actually wished the dream guardian to give him at least one night's peaceful respite…To ease his troubled mind.

Darkness took him into slumber and he welcomed it. However, the darkness was soon replaced by the warm glow of day. Had it already become morning? Gaara opened his eyes and immediately noticed the lush green fields, beautiful trees swaying in the wind.

He was definitely not in Suna.

Rising Gaara looked around this new place and he wondered just how he managed to get here without himself knowing it. His calculating mind quickly surmised he had been kidnapped but the idea was quickly washed away by the waves of peace practically enveloping him.

Yes…This place gave off an aura of peace…tranquility.

"Welcome to Elysion, my new king."

A young man was behind him, but somehow Gaara knew the young man was much older than he looked. The young man's wise eyes were staring at him gently while his white hair swayed in the wind. He wore odd robes, carried himself well, and gave off a 'priest-like' presence.

Wait…

"You…are Helios." The words fell out Gaara's mouth.

The young man smiled and fell to one knee in a great bow.

"I am Priest Helios…your ever faithful servant, half soul of the king."

Helios guided Gaara into Elysion, the place were dreams are kept.

"The Golden Crystal noticed its master's weariness and brought you here, my liege." Helios explained. "In the hopes the glow of Elysion might ease your troubled mind."

So that's how Gaara came here. The half of the Golden Crystal summoned him here to try and help him. Maybe he could ask Helios to stop sending him such horrendous, nightmarish dreams.

"Please do not confuse memories with dreams, my liege." Helios spoke up as if reading Gaara's mind. "Your memories run deep…I cannot stop their flow." He gave a sad look. "I am sorry you are remembering such horrors…" He placed a hand upon his heart. "The king and I, our souls are intertwined by fate. His memories are my own…I can only imagine what memories are coming to you."

"Perhaps you can help explain them to me." Gaara said then spoke the one question he wanted answered ever since this whole mess started. "Was the king an enemy or an ally?"

Helios paused for a long moment.

"At one point, he was both…" Helios explained. "It was frequent that he was kidnapped by an evil presence and forced to turn upon his allies." He smiled. "Yet the love he held for the Moon, and the princess that came from it, was always much stronger than any spell placed upon him."

The first thing that came to Lord Kazekage's mind was 'what a weak minded idiot'. The king was always kidnapped? Did he not learn from the very first time such a thing occurred?

A sudden thought occurred to Gaara…If the king was the one who was always captured then that time he left the walls to help the Celestial Guardians…

"Yes…" Helios nodded, confirming Gaara's suspicions. "His mind was taken…by the swirling red eyes."

Of course…the Uchiha that attacked the Crystal Lands ensnared the king into the Sharigon's gaze. It was a perfect plan…Ensnare a ruler with the stare and the lands were yours for the taking. Dread hit then, and it hit hard. A person under the Sharingon could be made to do anything…including kill. This sudden realization made him think the Celestial Guardians…had lied…

It wasn't the red swirling eyed man that killed the Inner Guardians that fateful day…And this made Gaara frown deeply.

"He was the one that killed the Celestial Guardians."

A slow nod from the priest.

"When the Outer Scouts encountered him, he was bathed in the blood of the Inner Soldiers and running mad with rage. It was Small Lady that called upon the Outers to save her father, who nearly killed her if it were not for the Outer Guardian Uranus."

His stomach immediately churned. Such a tragedy…No wonder Selene couldn't remember such a thing. Why though would they lie to him? The half of the king's soul? Did the Celestial Guardians not want him to remember such a day? Perhaps they were just trying to do their job…protect the royal the family of the Moon. Another thought occurred to Gaara.

"Why can't Selene remember the past?"

"I was asked through prayer that if the queen is ever reincarnated, that she not remember the past…" Helios stated. "This was the innocent wish of Small Lady…I could not deny such a request from her. My powers are limited though; however having the power of the pink crystal was helpful in creating the memory seal."

"Pink crystal?"

"Yes…The crystal belonging to Small Lady…" A hint of adoration hit the priest's eyes. "She desperately wished for her mother to have a peaceful life…" He sighed. "However, seals do not last forever…In time she will remember all there is to remember."

It was as Gaara suspected…a seal was placed on Selene's memories or rather the Neo-Queen's memories...Through time, seals could become weak and eventually fall. Gaara had an odd sense of dread envelope him…What would happen when Selene learned the truth?

"She will need your guidance once the memories return…" Helios told him as they came towards a temple-like structure. "It will be hard for her to accept what was done so many eons ago."

"What happened that day? After he killed the Inner Scouts?" Gaara asked.

"You will know…" Helios gestured to the temple. "Come…The other half of the king's soul wishes to grant you the rest of the memories."

The prince was here? Indeed he was, standing at the edge of the steps leading to the temple-like structure. The two regarded each other cooly, as leaders of other nations did when seeing each other.

"Lord Kazekage…" Prince Apollo of the Land of Crystal smiled at him. "Elysion is an amazing place, is it not?"

"Yes…You come here often, Prince Apollo?"

"Indeed…" Prince Apollo stated. "I only wish my sister was able to come here…In time she will." He looked at Helios. "Is all prepared?"

Helios gave a bow. "Yes, my liege."

"What is going on?" Gaara asked.

Prince Apollo stared at him. "We both love my dear sister greatly…however, in this state, being halves of souls…we cannot fully protect her. I am to rule my country one day, I cannot have memories of the past impeding my decisions…" He gave a light chuckle. "I fear if the memories continue, once I take my father's place, I will demand my sister to return to the Crystal Lands immediately so that she may stay by my side for all our years. That is how deeply King Endymion loved the Neo Queen. However, the memories are attached to our souls, therefore in order to be rid of them, I must relinquish my soul."

A frown. "You mean to die?" Was the prince insane?

"No…Merely a change in souls…" He looked at Helios. "Begin…"

A nod and Helios was down on one knee in a prayer-like gesture. Before Gaara could speak another word, a bright flash of white light consumed him and the prince. Gaara had to cover his eyes from the intense glow. There was a brief moment when he felt the presence of someone near him, someone he didn't know but it was gone in a flash.

Then suddenly, he gripped his chest and fell to his knees…Something pierced right through him, almost like a knife. It hurt worse than any wound Gaara inflicted upon himself and others.

Then came the pain…It was like something was trying to tear him apart and putting him back together again. It was a pain of the soul…The pain was replaced by memories that flashed before his eyes; he saw them all…every memory in every detail, down to the very first fated meeting of an Earth Prince and a Moon Princess and ending upon the day when a king under the spell of an enemy, destroyed his comrades.

He saw the Neo-Queen and recognized her immediately. Though she was older, it was still the same woman who Gaara saw in his nightmarish memories that had plagued him constantly. The look of sheer fear and terror was plain as day in her face and eyes. Tears fell from her beautiful blue eyes.

"Endymion…Why?" Those words were spoken with a trembling voice.

"Must…kill…the denizens of the Moon…" The words fell out of Gaara's mouth before he could think to say them. He felt the heavy weight of a blade in his hand…saw the red staining his clothes.

"Father! No!" A pink haired teen was between him and the queen, her eyes determined to stop him. "Please! You must get out of it! You can do it!"

"No…" He pushed the girl away with an unknown force. "Not this time…" He felt himself raise the blade above his head and felt it swing down.

Gaara jilted awake, sweat practically pouring out of every pore. He held his head to calm his breathing, calm his heart from the erratic nature they were in. He heard his door swing open and instinctively his sand attacked the perpetrator.

"Ack! Lord Kazekage, please! Calm yourself!"

Hearing the strangled cries of a Suna ninja, the sand receded and Gaara's beating heart calmed along with his breathing. His breath restored, the ninja was at his side immediately.

"Lord Kazekage, are you okay? I heard you screaming and came running."

Gaara looked at the Suna nina as though he had three heads. When did Gaara Sobaku EVER scream from dreams?

No…those were not dreams…they were memories.

Gaara spoke not a word as he disappeared in his sand, reappearing at the home in which Selene and her current guardians made their home. It was morning, the only one awake was Michiru who was in the kitchen the moment Gaara appeared.

"Lord…Kazekage?" She was surprised to see him so early in the morning. Haruka came bounding down the stairs at that moment, frowning at seeing Gaara in the middle of the room.

He stared at tom-boy senshi with a determined look. Haruka stared back, seemingly knowing what was going on.

"Which of you killed me?" He asked and the silence became heavy. Deep within his heart he already knew the answer but he wanted to confirm it. When Haruka stepped forward, he knew his suspicions had been correct. She had been the one to kill Endymion before his blade could come down upon the Neo-Queen.

For a moment Gaara closed his eyes; he decided that this time around, he would NOT be tempted by the darkness.

"I swear to be stronger this time." He gazed at the woman. "The seal is breaking…"

"You spoke to Helios…" Haruka's hardened gaze turned sad. "How long do we have?"

Gaara paused.

"It is only a matter of time."

The final member of the Outer Scouts appeared out of the hallway. Gaara hadn't spoken to the young Uchiha since she came to Suna. Even then he only got a brief glimpse of her before rushing to his office to prepare for the backlash that was to come.

"Hotaru…" Haruka gave the girl another name. No longer was she Sarada Uchiha; there was proof of that in the way she spoke and even walked. She was taller than her former self but still was a child, probably a pre-teen now.

She regarded Gaara was a smile that even creeped him out a bit. That little girl knew more than someone her age should.

"A leadership role has always been your calling, your majesty…I see your soul has been put back together again…"

"Hotaru…What do you mean…?" Haruka asked.

"Gaara…? Oh…Good morning…"

All turned to see Selene at the top of the stairs, the last in the household to wake.

"Well good morning sleepy head." Michiru smiled.

Confusion hit the princess' face. Normally Gaara stayed out of their semi-official 'girl's only' home. Stepping down into the space she went to her future husband.

Gaara didn't miss a beat. In his heart he knew it was the right thing to do.

"An Uchiha did not kill the Inner Celestial Guardians." He waited for a brief moment to let it sink in…He prepared himself for the worst and he was sure the others in the room were as well. Gaara wasted no time for Selene to speak.

"I killed them."

He saw those blue eyes go wide, the hidden meaning behind his words striking her ancient soul. The Crystal Princess' form shook…

When the scream hit, all hearts broke.

Next Time: The Gathering