Divinity: Fates and the Afterlife

Chapter Fifty-Six


Sailor Pluto was walking through the long corridors of space and time until she stopped in front of a large door she knew by heart. Behind it, she knew a different life followed its course—a peaceful one, a melancholic one. One she didn't belong to anymore.

Her garnet colored eyes looked at it in silence, knowing that if she crossed them again it would break a taboo. "Father..." she whispered softly as her fingers softly traced the intricate designs on the heavy titanium gates, "If only I could go back and see your face once more, listen to your voice once more—I need your advice. I cannot do this alone." Pluto leaned her head on the closed door and closed her eyes, allowing her to mourn her father's absence for the first time in centuries. Being the senshi of time and space required much more determination, courage, and loyalty, than any other soldier to fulfill her duty as commanded; often forgotten and labelled as a nymph of mystery, Pluto managed to stay strong during the tragic events during the Silver Millennium and its future course with much self-control and without interfering but if she missed something, if she could choose and had the permission to do it, she would take that door and walk through its halls haunted by the past just to see the lord of time again and seek for answers for the present.

After the attack with Asteria, Pluto decided to take her post again at the gates of time and space and use her garnet talisman to look for open loops in the time continuum hallways to close them and prevent for anyone else to cross to the present, and to earth. While she could not control other realms, it was her duty to prevent intruders to play with the strings of destiny and break the taboos of the universe.

As she stood in front of the gates as the titaness of time, she thought about the words her father said before departing into oblivion:

"You will be witness of the awakening of a very strong warrior, one that has a duty similar to yours—" she muttered his words and shook her head. "It is then when you will be granted the permission to break taboos." Pluto sighed heavily, "Father, who were you talking about?"

Like an answer to her silent and desperate prayers, Chronos' words finally started making sense and the mystery around them suddenly became clear when she felt a strong pull in the continuum alerting her that another being with a power as strong as hers had crossed to her dominion. Her garnet eyes widened in shock when the truth stood there right before her eyes as she remembered her father's words:

"There will be darkness, and it is going to be one you are not going to be able to fight alone. The warrior who can needs to fall now in order to prepare itself to fight it in the future. This war is not meant to end in this present time… be prepared my dear Pluto, and be of great help to that warrior. It is then when you will be granted the permission to break taboos."

"It's you..." Pluto muttered with both surprise and admiration "You are the warrior my Father predicted..."

O—o—o—o—O

Sailor Neptune turned to see a very silent Sailor Uranus still hiding in between the tree's foliage looking down at the scene in front of them. She did not need much to know she was still trying to grasp and process what they just witnessed since it happened in a matter of minutes before she could join the battle and participate. Her face was pale and her hands curled around the branches were trembling both with fear and anger—she was enraged. Neptune knew that even when Uranus had said that she was not going to support the situation she cared for the princess because she was her princess after all and she had been taken hostage—to Inferno.

Her dark blue eyes quivered with tears that threatened to fall as she heard Venus' laments in the distance. The senshi of skies jumped down from the tree the minute she saw the prince moved from the ground and turned to the shitennou who started to wrestle with him to prevent him from doing something she did not know what but she did not care. Her heart was clouded with rage and her eyes showed the desperation for having lost her right before everyone's eyes, right before hers.

"You can't do anything if you are in this state!" Kunzite tried to reason with the prince who was still lost in his own anger and pain, "I am going after her—"

"This is your fault, you did this," Uranus interrupted. The terran prince turned over his shoulder to look at Sailor Uranus and narrowed his stormy eyes as he watched her coming close to him. Uranus cracked her fingers and frowned, "I knew this awakening of yours was going to bring disgrace to her life, I knew you were going to become a threat to us, this is your fault!" She said with disdain.

"Uranus!" Neptune caught up with her and shook her head, "Don't say that! He's our prin—"

"That demon is not my prince! I do not owe him any respect—he's a monster!" Uranus narrowed her eyes and pointed an accusing finger at Endymion, "He is a spawn of evil and she has been dragged to hell because of him!"

Endymion clenched his jaw and turned on his heel to walk away, completely ignoring the senshi's words. The silent and almost careless action only ignited her rage even more and went after him like a beast hunting its prey until and stepped in front of him with rage in her eyes to stop him from going away, "Coward, don't you dare walk away! I am talking to you!"

Endymion turned over his shoulder and glared at her but remained stoic to her remarks, silently warning her to step aside. "Uranus!" Neptune tried to reason with her lover, so did the inner senshi, "Uranus... this is what they want! You can't give in to their wishes!" Venus frowned, "We have to stay united! We are going to help her, we will bring her back!"

"Nothing good can come out if we all fight with each other!" Mercury joined Venus as she helped her leader stand up from the ground. "Please Uranus, we are all frustrated... we are all scared and angry, please do not fall for their taunts!" Mars stood next to Mercury with hopeful eyes, trying to make her reconsider.

"Now is not the time to be divided!" Jupiter raised her voice, "Stop this!"

"How can you all be so stupidly blind?!" Uranus clapped back without breaking eye contact with him, "How can you continue to be on his side when he is clearly linked to all that has been happening! He's a damned curse! He's a mons—" her eyes widened when she saw the prince's eyes change into a stormy shade of blue, darker than before. Kunzite and the other shitennou stood next to him but Endymion extended his arm to give a silent command to stop any attempts to attack her, "I don't have time for this, Uranus." His voice was calm but low and threatening—very threatening, "Step aside,"

Uranus shook her head and blocked his path when he tried to take another step, "I curse the moment Princess Serenity laid eyes on you," she fisted her hand, clearly summoning for her power and taking everyone by surprise, "Uranus! What are you doing?! Stop this!" Neptune yelled with desperation, feeling frustrated for not being able to control her rage anymore. Uranus kept her ground in front of the prince with a challenging posture, "I am going to put an end to you and the curse of your existence once and for all!"

"Uranus, no!" Neptune yelled with horror, "Nooo!"

"Uranus!" Sailor Venus tried to run towards the senshi of skies but was stopped by Nephrite; she turned to look at him with both horror and desperation, "What are you doing?! Let me go!" Nephrite shook his head, "There is nothing you can do to stop the anger boiling in both of them—she will come to terms, step aside."

"She is very strong, even more than I am," Jupiter shook her head with disbelief, "How can you allow this Nephrite!?"

"As Shitennou, I have to comply to my Master's wishes—I cannot step in between this obvious and inevitable confrontation." The northern general muttered, "I cannot stop him, at this point he is too far from being the prince you think you knew so well and right now, he is on the very edge of losing his patience."

Mars widened her eyes and turned to the general, "W-What do you mean?"

Jadeite nodded, agreeing to Nephrite's words "It means that whether she likes it or not, Endymion is a Polemarchos and unlike us, he has set a mission in his head and he will not show any mercy considering the gravity of the situation. If they need to confront one another so he can continue with his task, it needs to be done," he tilted his head low, "The prince is low on patience and he hates wasting his time with banal things. We cannot meddle into that quarrel, there are more important things to attend—" he turned to Zoisite who was taking his sword out of his sheath, "Master!" Zoisite looked at the prince with disbelief, "She is challenging you—dragging your name and honor into disgrace, we cannot allow that!"

"My honor is the last thing I care about Zoisite, to me it's pointless. I don't have time for this, Serenity is in danger and I need to bring her back," Endymion said without taking his eyes off Sailor Uranus, "Lay down your weapons—don't be dragged into this. This is between her and me." He peered at Jadeite over his shoulder showing his authority of leader they learned to respect and obey since two thousand years ago. "Clear the area, check for possible warp holes, purify the land with Zoisite's help and take everyone out of here, block the path."

"Master!" Zoisite shook his head and looked at Sailor Uranus running at full speed towards him and ready to give the first blow with her fist, one Endymion dodged and blocked with his arm, "Now! There is no time to waste!" he growled at Zoisite who in a quick response just nodded and turned to follow Jadeite. Sailor Mars looked at the blonde general walk away in silence and turned to watch Uranus throwing another punch aiming for the prince's jaw. Endymion jerked his head to the side, clearly avoiding the spectacle as he dodged the next punch and frowned, "I told you I don't have time for this! Step aside!"

"The only way I will step aside is when I see you beaten on the ground, you damn monster!" she said with confidence in her fighting abilities as she raised her knee to hit him on the ribs, "Your tainted nature has been a curse to her, you can never compare your powers to hers or ours, you, insignificant mortal."

Endymion's eyes widened and lost all the patience and sympathy that remained in them. In all his life, Prince Endymion had learned to value the definition of mortality. During his childhood, his mother was a constant reminder of the fragility of their lives and also the importance of never take anything for granted. He knew he was destined to die, no matter how great, no matter how much good or bad he did in his life, there would come the day where his body would give in and cease to exist and up to some point, he had to come to terms with it even when proclaiming his eternal love to his beloved goddess, Serenity.

But with time, he grew tired of the word and consequently hated the way those with divine blood in their veins commonly addressed to them as lower beings. He agreed that as mortals they were not equal to them but they were no lower beings either, they all had strengths and he grew up believing that one day that discussion would be settled once and for all. The way Uranus rolled the word off her tongue charged with so much disdain and disgust ignited his anger, pulling him out of the usual image they knew of him.

Uranus flipped and attempted to kick him on his wounded leg but Endymion moved faster, blocking her attack and return the blow before pushing her away. As he watched her fall to the ground, he narrowed his Prussian blue eyes, "Memento Mori—remember you have to die. Those are the first words I learned in Latin when I was a child. I lived and carried the weight of those words on my back until I had to learn to accept it. I accept it—death—to me is no sin or a disadvantage." He began to walk towards her, who was still trying to stand up and recover from the blow, "But what I will never accept is your stupid and vague knowledge of mortality—the way you use it to mock those granted with it."

"Then why don't you die already and free the princess from your cursed shadow?" Uranus jumped and threw her fist at him but Endymion quickly stopped it with his hand. Uranus' fist shook against the prince's strong grip and gritted her teeth with rage and frustration, "I remember clearly, the Gods talking about the abomination living on Earth—the monster—it was you... all this time it was you. If I knew this sooner I would have killed you a long time ago."

Endymion arched his brow and pushed Uranus's fist away with force making her lose her balance and fall flat to the ground again and looked at her as she struggled to get back on her feet, "Like I said before, I have no sentimental attachment to the word Monster or Hybrid, but I will not allow you to use it so nonchalantly to address to me—you haven't earned that right." Uranus looked up with rage and summoned for her power, "Right? You don't get to tell me what I can or cannot earn! You are no one to tell me what to say!" she stood up and raised her hand, "World—Shaking!" she bent down and punched the ground, sending a strong blast of energy at the prince. Endymion dodged it away and turned to block another punch coming from her; the more effort she put into hurting him the more annoyed he became because this is not what he was supposed to be doing at this time of crisis. "You are wasting my time, Sailor Senshi!" he growled with anger and sent her away with force again, sparking her anger even more.

"Uranus, stop this—please!" Sailor Neptune tried to reason again with her lover, "Stop it!"

It took more time for Uranus to stand up as she bitterly admitted her force was being surpassed by his with much ease. She could sense a different energy coming from him and it was until now that she noticed that he was not wearing his usual tuxedo anymore. The man before her was not Tuxedo Kamen, Sailor Moon's constant savior but the famous terran monster. "I am going to annihilate you!" she screamed with the last remains of her sanity.

"Interesting choice of words, sailor senshi, those are mine to use," Endymion narrowed his eyes with his patience practically gone at this point. Uranus' take on solving things in the name of justice was only making things worse than they already were. He never really had anything against the sky soldier, in fact, he trusted her more than she ever could imagine because of all the girls, she was the one who took his protective place when he was studying abroad and when Seiya was around. He admired her strength and always centered mind but he was also aware that Serenity occupied a very special place in her heart and her kidnap was sprouting the worst in her, but, also it was about to sprout the worst in him as well. "I'm intrigued... to see what you can do." he murmured with sarcasm.

Sailor Uranus raised her hand up in the air and summoned for her power again. All senshi, including Neptune and Megumi, watched with wide eyes of horror and pure panic when they saw her precious and deadly talisman appear before her, waiting for her command, "My magic tool, Talisman!" she grabbed the heavenly sword tightly, "Show thy power and protect me!" she extended her arm and raised the sword above her head, channeling her energy into the weapon, "Space Sword—"

Neptune shook her head and cried with anguish. She felt like her heart was being pulled out of her chest just to see her lover fighting for the wrong causes; she knew that just like her, Haruka was frustrated for failing to protect the princess from all danger while keeping enemies at bay but this was the worst way to channel that anger. This battle was the result of the sum of every failure and frustration brewing in Haruka's ego and what hurt Neptune the most was how aware she was of what was needed to be done, in order to end. "Uranus... please stop..." Michiru hung her head low and began to sob with a heavy sentiment, waiting for the madness to stop.

"—Blaster!" Sailor Uranus commanded and sent her attack, directly at the prince who, at this point was fed up with the senshi's blind approach to solve things. Much to Uranus surprise, Endymion ran towards her and avoided all the blasts of energy as he jumped high with his golden sword shining in mid-air, right above his head and slit through every charge of energy thrown at him. "Where is the divine power you like to presume so much, sailor senshi? Are you done?"

Sailor Uranus widened her eyes and turned to look behind her at the prince pointing his sword at her. In a fit of anger and losing all the sanity left in her, clashed her sword against his, "I wanted to believe you... I wanted to believe you were one of us!"

Endymion narrowed his eyes and blocked another clash of Uranus' talisman against his sword, but her lack of knowledge in the art of mastering the weapon was starting to betray her and putting her in an abysmal disadvantage against the skilled prince. "It's enough, Uranus," he demanded in a low tone, "You don't know what you are doing, you are acting out of rage—stop this tantrum of yours already!"

"No! Not until my hands are tainted with your blood! I want you dead! I want justice! You need to die for us to live in peace!" Uranus swung her sword again and managed to make a cut on Endymion's hand. He dodged another swing and clashed his sword against hers again with strong force, "Enough," he murmured on the verge of losing control.

"Space—" Sailor Uranus growled with rage again, Endymion frowned and moved his sword away abruptly making her lose balance and control of her position, "Enough..." he warned again in a much lower tone. Uranus shook her head and swung her weapon one last time, "Sword—"

Neptune covered her face with horror, "Uranus!"

"Blaster!"

"I said—ENOUGH!" Endymion grabbed her by the collar, pulled her close to him, and knocked her down against the ground with force while the power coming through her and her weapon backfired and trapped them in a big and flashy explosion. Megumi, Mars, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter stood perplexed and horrified at what just happened while Neptune looked at the intense light of the attack with a pale face. Soon after, Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite, and Jadeite ran back with urgency and looked at the debris and pieces of concrete and ash flying all over due to the intensity of the attack.

"Endymion..." Kunzite muttered with slight relief when he saw the prince walking away from the cloud of dust carrying Uranus over his shoulder.

Once out of danger but both affected by the attack, Endymion lay Uranus on the ground next to Neptune and slid his sword back in the sheath secured in the leather belt around his waist before turning to walk away without saying another word to the sky senshi. Uranus opened her eyes, realizing what just happened and pounded her fist on the ground with anger, "Why didn't you kill me?" She looked up at him disappointed by the outcome of the battle.

Endymion stopped mid-track but didn't turn to look back at Uranus, which only frustrated her even more, "You had the chance to finish me then and there—why didn't you?! Aren't you supposed to be the famous monster everybody has talked about for thousands of years?! Aren't you supposed to be a trained assassin?!" Haruka looked up with tears rolling down her cheeks, at this point, her emotions were catching up with the reality and as much painful it was to realize the truth, she wanted to be reluctant to accept defeat to the man she accepted as her princess' lover and who she believed was inferior to them in terms of strength for so many years. Her ego was crashing with both disbelief and wonder to see who he really was, to admit that he knew how to fight better than she ever imagined. Uranus shook her head and dried her tears with her hand in a brusque movement, "Why didn't you let me die or take my head like I know you have done in the past, don't you want justice!?" she broke into sobs of frustration and pounded the ground once more, "ANSWER ME!"

"Your perception of justice differs from mine," Endymion looked over his shoulder at her with indifference, "Taking your head is pointless to me—just like this little theatrical display of yours." his stormy blue eyes changed to a more sapphire shade, "I am not expecting you to grant me your loyalty, sailor senshi—Serenity is your princess, you owe that to her, not me." He narrowed his deep blue eyes, "You are right, I am not your prince, you don't owe me any respect—I never put my life on the line to save yours and I never fought or did anything for your sake. You don't need me and I don't need you, but Serenity does, and whether you like it or not, Serenity is my wife and this tantrum of yours has taken too much of my time to go to where she is and bring her back. I don't have time for stupid games or stupid displays of ego—I'm past it." With a frown furring his brows, Endymion crouched in front of her and looked at her straight in the eye in all seriousness, "No, Sailor Uranus, we are not the same. We do not have the same power. Yes, I am a mortal—a hybrid—like everybody has been calling me these days. Yes, I am a monster—a trained assassin... my hands are stained with the blood of many both innocent and guilty; I have taken too many lives and I will probably be continuing doing so to protect what is important to me, that is my fate. Is that what you wanted to hear? Is that what you so desperately wanted me to admit? There, my confession is yours, do whatever you want with it, I don't fucking care." He stood up and walked away, leaving a very conflicted Uranus dealing with the pain not caused by her wounds but from his blunt and truthful words that completely crushed her pride.

"Endymion," Kunzite caught up with the prince and widened his eyes, "You are bleeding,"

Endymion wiped the trail of blood trickling from his hairline and shook his head, "It's nothing, pay no mind to it. There are more important things we should be putting our full attention right now,"

Kunzite nodded and turned to Zoisite coming their way, "The area has been cleared but at this point, I am not sure for how long," the blonde stepped into the conversation and walked beside the prince.

"I will call for medical help," Venus joined right after, with Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury following behind. "There is no trace or any distortion that would lead us to a point where the princess might be taken." Mercury said as she continued to scan the area with her vision goggles, "There is no continuum to grab on..."

"She's been taken to the Underworld,"

All eyes rested on Mars, who stopped and looked at the prince with fearful eyes, "Hasn't she?" the tremble in her voice startled Jadeite and the rest, "Mars..."

"Hasn't she?!" Mars insisted without paying attention to the others. The stern look in the prince's face was more than enough to confirm her suspicions but she wanted to hear it from him—she needed to hear him say the words. "Yes, Mars." Endymion nodded and turned to Kunzite and gave him a silent command, one the leader of the shitennou understood to perfection and turned to follow the order to the letter without asking more questions or saying anything else.

"W-Wait, where are you going?!" Venus turned to Endymion who turned over his shoulder to look at her when he felt her hand on his arm, making her best attempt to stop him. He frowned with frustration, "Serenity is in the Underworld, Venus, I can't waste more time, I need to go after her,"

"But how are you even attempting to do such thing?!" Venus tried to stop him again, not paying mind of his cold glare, "The Underworld is not a place easy to find! The Underworld is hell itself,"

Endymion turned to look at her, "Exactly!" he said in an exasperated tone, "Serenity is in hell... but I am not afraid of it, what I am afraid of is not to see her again!" he sighed and shook his head, "I need to figure out a way to get there, I don't have—" Endymion trailed off and widened his eyes with realization, "Time..."

"What?" Jupiter frowned, "What is it?"

Endymion gave one strong glance at the shitennou, then at the senshi, one that made clear he was not up for any more debate, "I don't know what other vicious tactics Asteria has under her sleeve but I need you to stay here and I need you to be alert," he turned to Jadeite and Zoisite, "Create a barrier—whatever is necessary to prevent more shadows to spread further from this place—it's deeply contaminated. It reeks of decay." He then turned to Nephrite, "Aid Kunzite, I need you to be his support while I'm gone—confide Jadeite's your thoughts and work with him on a short and long-term strategy."

Nephrite nodded with a clenched jaw, "Master... please allow us to be of service—"

"Nephrite, the stars are corrupted—I know, but I can't waste any more time. I need you to step aside and let me do what I know I have to do," Endymion took a deep breath, trying his best not to discharge his fury at them. They were all under the aftermath of a failed mission and the princess' kidnap but he was the most affected because he knew it was done to hurt him directly and break him for their benefit. "I cannot allow them to do whatever they want with us and this planet—not anymore. I have to follow the fate imposed on me and you better than anyone knows this." The dark-haired shitennou nodded, understanding what the prince meant. It was true, him better than anyone knew his duty and now that he has seen him in control of his powers, it was only a matter of time to be summoned. Kunzite was next and bowed his head, "Master,"

"Kunzite—" Endymion narrowed his deep colored eyes, "Whatever the outcome, whatever happens... annihilate them." Kunzite nodded, "We should wait for God Ares, Endymion, doing this by yourself is too reckless. How are you even attempting on going there? It is madness!"

"This is the opportunity to set things straight and it's on me to do it." Endymion shook his head, "Madness would be to let them win, Kunzite. I am not of those who wait for someone else to tell me what to do, they have used us one too many times for their convenience, it's enough. I have to bring her back... I know you understand because you would do the same if you were in my place,"

Kunzite mentally put himself in the prince's place and accepted every word he just said, it's true—he would do the same. He would go berserk and kill whoever dared to put Venus' life at risk, he would trade his life with the reaper itself in order to safe her and that is what frightened him the most, the measures the prince would take in order to bring the moon princess back safe and sound. This the solid reason of why he was afraid of him going to the Underworld, because that the long battle could end with him staying in hell for the rest of eternity.

Without saying anything else, the prince turned on his heel and stopped when he saw Megumi standing a few feet from him in silence and with tears streaming down her eyes, "Megumi..." He said slowly, clearly troubled to see her in such state. Megumi walked toward him but avoided eye contact, she was too afraid, she had so much shame, "I should not have had allowed her to leave... I should have woken you up, I should have known better..." she hung her head low and started to sob again, "It is because of me that she is gone, it is beca—"

"Megumi,"

"I am responsible for this!"

"Megumi, please, look at me,"

The maiden obeyed and looked up into his beautiful prismatic blue eyes, so full of determination and power. Endymion cupped his cheek and shook his head, "Remember when you told me that I should always fight for her? Remember when you told me to never give up? —You always had faith in me and if it wasn't for you... I wouldn't be able to do this. You brought me back, Megumi, you made me remember—you brought my life back. If it wasn't for you, I would still feel useless and confused. I would still be in a fog of doubt, denying my true nature and my family." He leaned closer and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a protective embrace, "I have to go and fight not as the prince of this planet but as its guardian—your guardian. Megumi, the woman I love is in hell—the people I care about are in danger... it's up to me to put an end to this once and for all. I have to fight Megumi—it's who I am."

Megumi nodded with tears in her eyes and returned the hug with trembling arms, "We will win this Megumi..." she heard him say softly into her hair and nodded, "I believe in you, My Prince." she pulled back and sniffed, "I have always believed in you—" she finally dared to look up at him and gave him a soft, warm, smile, "Ad invenire principis nostri, et rursus eius," (Go find our princess and bring her back,) she pulled his hand and placed the pendant in his palm and closed it tight, "Amabo, facient ea..." (Please, be careful...)

Endymion nodded and wiped her tears with his hand, "Ego promitto." (I promise.) he walked away and closed his eyes for a moment as a wave of nostalgia washed over him.

-O-

"Mama… mama…"

The terran queen was reading a book in her room and turned to look at her son with endearment the minute she heard his playful voice, "Hello dear, how was your day?" her hazel-colored eyes gleamed with love as she watched standing by the door with curious eyes. She closed her book to give him her full attention and patted the spot on the bed next to her.

Seven-year-old Endymion smiled at his mother and walked inside, "Obelix taught me how to pray!" Gaia blinked with surprise, playing along with her son's enthusiasm "Oh, he did?"

Young Endymion sat on his mother's bed without a care in the world and showed her his chubby hands, "He told me that I needed to learn how to channel my energy into positive things," he fixed his piercing blue eyes on his mother and smiled, "He said I should learn to pray to the gods in order to look after our protector,"

Gaia smiled and ruffled his midnight hair playfully, "That is correct my dear, you have to learn how to control your energy—it is vital," her words made the young prince frown with curiosity, "Why Mama?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do I have to learn how to pray?"

Gaia licked her lips and gave her son a soft smile, "Well, because you are a very special young man," Endymion lowered his gaze and pouted his lips, "But, sometimes I hurt Obelix… sparks come out of my hands and I cannot control them and I end up hurting him… I do not like that," he shook his head in shame, "Mama… am I a monster?"

Gaia widened her eyes and shook her head "Do not ever say that again, of course not!" The queen leaned closer to her son, "Endymion, why are you asking me such a thing?"

Endymion shrugged his shoulders and kept looking down at his chubby hands and widened his eyes when he saw his mother's hands taking them with gentle care and a warmth he felt in no one else, "You are very special… those sparks you see coming from your hands are not a curse but a blessing from the Sun; you and me… we have a little piece of the Sun in our hearts."

Endymion blinked his eyes wide with surprise as he looked up at his mother, "A little piece of the Sun?" he looked down at his hands again and then pointed out the window, "That Sun?"

"Yes, Endymion, that Sun," the queen of earth nodded, "Do not be afraid of those sparks, it is what makes you unique and different from everyone else. Always keep your head up high and feel proud my darling prince because you have a special light in your heart that will always guide your path." she put his hands together and closed her eyes, "There is one special someone that will always listen to our prayers, my darling prince... he will always grant us his blessing and power." the queen opened her eyes and looked into her son's prismatic blue ones. "Do not let go of my hands, close your eyes…" Gaia said softly and gave him a soft smile, "Now, repeat after me…"

-O-

"Time..." Endymion opened his eyes and looked up at the sky, "Tempus Custos! Scindite seorsum caelum, et aperuerit spatium-vicis ostium mihi!

(Time Guardian! Tear apart the sky and open the space-time door to me!)

The sky began to rumble with a thundering sound; a strong gust of wind crashed against them with supernatural force. The senshi and shitennou watched with wide eyes at Endymion raising his arm to ask the heavens to open a vortex for him to cross. Venus frowned with panic, "What is he doing?!"

Kunzite couldn't mask the look of shock on his face when seeing the majestic force from the prince manipulating the sky to his command, "He's praying..."

"Voco verum nomen omnipotens Titanus Tempore quia Custodis Pater! Chronos! Mihi fecísti vias lucem!"

(I call the true name of thy almighty Titan of Time, the Time Guardian's Father! Chronos! Reveal to me the path of light!)

"No! No! No—Mamoru what are you going to do?!" Venus shook her head and ran after the prince, "What are you going to do!? No! Wait, you can't..." she looked up at the sky roaring with incredible force, "What the..." she mumbled with a pale face and turned to Kunzite who had the same shocked expression "This is his power..." he mumbled with as much awe as her.

Megumi looked up and could not help to smile sadly when remembering the warm feeling of the energy flowing at the prince's command. "Yes..." she muttered in response at the general who was now standing next to her. It was like history was repeating itself once again but this time, she had to wait behind. It was right there and then, when she acknowledged his power and made the promise to always keep his honor and memory intact, no matter the obstacles, no matter the danger ahead—she was proud to be from Elysion and she was proud to have him as her prince.

Fresh tears began rolling down her eyes as she saw him walk into the intense light parting the skies and disappear seconds after. "Please be careful, my Prince."

O—o—o—o—O

The echoing sound of the strong gusts of wind crashing against him bounced on the infinite space pulled Endymion out of his trance and made him open his eyes and realize he was no longer on Earth, proving the prayer his mother once taught him had worked—once again. He looked around and saw he was standing in the middle of nowhere where it seemed to never begin and never end. Unlike his previous journey in the past, this time, he had no direction except the desperation in his heart to find his precious wife.

As he walked forward, or at least what he considered it was forward, the terran prince began to feel the havoc of traveling through realms, clearly remembering the dizziness and the heaviness from that time when he travelled to the Moon two thousand years ago and closed his eyes to try to use his power to keep himself grounded and clear his mind. He made a pause after walking for an uncertain amount of time, to him, it felt like hours but in a place so complex like the dimension between worlds it could have been just a couple of minutes, even seconds. Endymion stopped and tried to take deep breaths, silently cursing the weight pulling his body down, "Serenity..." he thought as he shook the confusing haze that was starting to play with his mind while trying to sense her energy and trust the powerful bond between them.

"Come on baby, tell me where you are... please tell me where you are," he mumbled and frowned as he tried to locate her ki and pull their string of fate, the same one that connected them every time they were in battle and alerted the other they were in danger. The same one that made him take his identity as Tuxedo Kamen every time Sailor Moon made an appearance.

"...mion..."

"Endy... mion..."

"...Endymion..."

He opened his eyes wide and looked around when he heard a soft echo calling his name. He turned both sides, wondering if his imagination was playing tricks on him. The singsong tune in which his name was being called enhanced its familiarity as he continued to move in its direction. His lips parted with amazement when he saw a light orb floating ahead of him, bright enough for him to follow with ease, "Endy... mion..." he heard the soft echo call for him again and felt it pull him towards its direction involuntarily.

Endymion followed the path the orb was showing him without paying attention to anything else, his mind was set in finding the gate that would lead the way to his destination. His chest felt a strong tug with every step he took made him feel certain that it was the lunar princess that was silently calling for him from wherever she was being imprisoned.

He felt like he had crossed thousands of paths and felt different energies but his eyes kept looking at the orb moving in front of him and noticed it was starting to wear out, like a candle softly melting in front of his eyes. "No..." He muttered with panic tainting his warm voice and picked up the pace, trying to reach for it and keep it shining somehow. Minutes after, the light finally gave in and vanished but instead of feeling desolated by its consumption, his eyes widened with surprise when he saw where he had been led to.

In front of him there it was, the gate he was looking for and right in front of it—its guardian. "It's you..." Pluto muttered with both surprise and admiration, "You are the warrior my father predicted..." it was then when she noticed he was not wearing his usual tuxedo but a dark armor over his black military uniform that confirmed that in fact, he was the warrior she was supposed to wait. This is the very moment Pluto realized the man in front of her was not one that moved in the shadows but the future king of earth.

The energy was unmistakable and so was his strong and imposing presence, she had felt it before—now it all made sense. "It's so clear now—his words..." Pluto bowed her head in respect and looked up at him, "I sensed a strong distortion in the space-time continuum that obliged me to remain in my post after I did my job here, I knew it was coming... that warrior." Her garnet eyes widened again when she noticed that he was alone and immediately feared the reason behind his presence.

"They took her, Pluto—Athamas, and Asteria," Endymion answered her silent torment, "Asteria opened a portal and dragged her to the Underworld."

Pluto tightened her grip on her long key-rod feeling impotent and enraged for having such responsibility and for being needed at such solaced place, "The distortions are strong. I have managed to close several warp holes along the space-time corridor but..." she closed her eyes and shook her head, "Asteria is a force to be reckoned with and she is going out of control—I have managed to close the doors but I don't know for how long I can prevent her from filtering her army of shadows into Earth once again,"

"The Shitennou are working on several strategies for that, they are prepared and they know how to deliver... I put my trust in their hands completely." Endymion looked at her with unbreakable conviction, "Pluto, I am here to take Serenity back," Pluto widened her eyes and looked at into the prince's prismatic blue eyes full of willpower, he frowned, "I need to go to the Underworld—let me pass the Gates."

"That would be going against divine law—it would mean breaking taboos I am not allowed to forge." Pluto said softly, Endymion narrowed his eyes, "Divine law—I deny such thing. It has tormented my kind and my family for too long to owe it some sort of respect." His deep Prussian eyes locked with Pluto's garnet ones with authority but also, respect for her. "Pluto, I need you to lend me your power and allow me to cross the gates... I do not want to go against you too."

Pluto's eyes widened, she knew what his presence in the divine world would cause; despite the calmness in his voice, the indomitability nested in his eyes was clear enough to understand that it was going to be a murderous visit. She grew up knowing the legend of the soldier neglected by the gods, her father constantly made mention of the soldier with enough power to cause a ruckus in the immortal world and she always felt curious to know if that soldier truly existed. Now she could see it did, and now, he was angry, very angry and resolved to take matters into his own hands.

"Be of great help to that warrior, one that has a duty similar to yours. It is then when you will be granted the permission to break taboos—there are still a few of our kind my child..."

She looked up at the prince "The gates of the Underworld are in the deepest part of the Alpha Galaxy—the journey is tough and dangerous, those who cross into the realm of the death are bound to never return," her hand holding her rod began to shake nervously, "By granting you permission I cannot ensure your safety or return..." Pluto shook her head with fear and lowered her head, "I feel like I would be betraying my princess... I feel like I would be betraying you."

"Keeping her hostage in such horrendous place is the last straw. I can't let them have her Pluto—not her," Endymion tilted her chin up to look at him, "And if I have to go to hell, so be it. I am not afraid, I am enraged. They have taken the most important person in my life and they will pay for that."

Pluto hesitated but had to come to terms with how destiny played its cards. She never questioned her father and now after so many years, his words became a reality. Thinking that this is what he meant when he said he had to aid his kind. Turning to the gates, she called upon the power of her talisman, the garnet stone sitting at the top of her rod and unlocked the large doors and pushed them open with a loud thundering echo, allowing them to hear the sound of indistinctive echoes coming from the other side. Pluto turned to look at the prince with a serious face when he came close to the rim and both looked down, "This is the fourth dimension—once you cross these gates you will travel to the Alpha Galaxy—Hades' territory..." she took two keys from her belt and handed them to the prince, breaking her laws, as her father warned, "Once you find her, use these to return—please be careful Prince Endymion."

Endymion grabbed the keys and looked at void spiraling at the other side of the door, "There is something else I must ask of you, Pluto—" he turned to look at her over his shoulder, "One last favor if you will..."

O—o—o—o—O

"We need to go after him!" Sailor Venus shook her head as she looked into the direction the terran prince was standing just minutes ago. Sailor Mercury typed some things in her supercomputer with evident anguish in her face when her attempts to establish a connection showed any results, "It's like he vanished into thin air—there is no trace as to where he must have gone."

Sailor Venus turned desperately to Kunzite, "We have to go after him! You are his guardian! The first in command! You can't allow him to go and lost himself in hell!" Kunzite looked at his beloved and shook his head, "Venus, I have orders... I cannot leave my post."

"But you must—"

"We talked about this." Kunzite shook his head, interrupting her. "I am the prince's right hand—first in command, yes, and as such, I have to stay here and take his place. The decisions made concerning the safety of this planet rely on me for as long as he is away, that is my duty." He turned to Zoisite and Nephrite who were returning from a second revision of the perimeter, "The barrier has been created, the area is contaminated—just like he said but I will take care of it." Said the blonde.

"Citizens are beginning to regain consciousness—help is already on its way," Zoisite turned to Mercury, "Still nothing?" The bluenette shook her head with exasperation, "No, nothing... there's nothing."

Sailor Mars shook her head, still in shock for what just happened, "I didn't know he had that kind of power... he did by himself what we can only do by linking our powers together,"

"That is only a fraction of what he can do..." Jadeite sighed, "You have underestimated him for quite too long," he turned to look over his shoulder at Sailor Uranus still stumbling her way up from the ground with the help of Sailor Neptune. Mars frowned and shook her head, "We never did, it's just that... we never knew." Jadeite turned his attention to the priestess and shook his head, "I was not talking about you—"

"Oh..." Mars blinked surprised, understanding what he meant. The amazon senshi sighed heavily and looked up at the afternoon sky again, "So, what now?" she turned to Nephrite, then Venus, "Are we supposed to stay here and do nothing?"

"I have never felt so useless in my life," Venus rubbed the bridge of her nose, "I feel so helpless..."

Mars took a hasty breath, "I must alert Father, I must tell him what just happened... he can raise his army and—"

"Endymion has important reasons to go to that place," Kunzite interrupted the priestess, "He is aware of the dangers and the things he has to do. He knows the enemy is using this excuse to their advantage."

"Pluto..."

All eyes were on Sailor Uranus, who was still dealing with the pain of her lost battle carved in her body, "Sailor Pluto—she has the key to every door and every realm in the Universe."

"It's not as easy as it sounds, we could get lost in the time paradox—reaching the fourth dimension is something only Sailor Pluto can do as the daughter of the Lord of Time." Mercury frowned, "Without her help, we can't go... not until I can find a warp that could lead us there." She sighed softly and shook her head, "And even if we could go there, how can we find her in a place so infinite?"

"My talisman can find her—" Sailor Neptune said, "Our three talismans are linked to each other and they resonate together. I can call for her with the power of the Deep Aqua Mirror."

"Again, what are we supposed to—" Jupiter widened her eyes when she felt a sudden cold breeze and saw the sky began to darken while it was still the middle of the day, "W-What—"

"Earth is starting to resent the absence of its guardian..." Nephrite said softly and looked up, "Despite being here to protect it, we are not its life force—we do not have the crystal." he turned to the thunder senshi, "The planet is vulnerable... we cannot leave our post."

"What do you mean?" Venus frowned and turned to Kunzite with panic, "Nephrite is right, while we are taking Endymion's place in protecting it—this planet is resenting his absence. If he does not return soon, it will suffer the consequences—if he dies, this planet will meet its demise too."

Kunzite's words finally made sense to Venus. After all this time, their tactics of overprotection towards their prince finally explained their side to the love story between the prince and princess and why they took a more aggressive stance against it. They didn't want to risk him because if his life got compromised the whole planet would suffer the consequences, "That is his power..." she mumbled and shook her head, "That is why you were so overprotective of him... why you didn't approve their love," she turned to Kunzite, "Because you knew what their relationship was going to cause. You knew it would be condemned not because of his mortality but his other... nature."

The tight clench on Kunzite's jaw was enough for Venus to understand and clear the doubts that secretly fell upon them when they were trying to keep their royals apart. Jupiter frowned and turned her teary and frustrated gaze to Nephrite, then to Kunzite "So what? Are we supposed to wait here while the prince is in god knows what dimension? Are we supposed to do nothing?! Is this what you are telling us?"

"Even if we tried, Jupiter, our powers differ from yours—we are not blessed with divinity like you are. Our powers are granted by Endymion's energy and the crystal—as a loan." Nephrite narrowed his eyes, "We cannot leave, even if we wanted to. The best we can do is to stay here and do the best we can to keep the shadows at bay—we do not know when that damn gate will open again."

"You are aware of what will happen to him if he enters the Underworld, right?" Mars gave the leader of the shitennou a frightened glance, then turned to Jadeite with hurt, "How can you allow this?! Aren't you supposed to protect him?!"

"Mars..." Jadeite sighed heavily and shook his head slowly, "Your loyalty towards our prince is very much appreciated, but, you still do not understand," he looked up, "It seems it is still too difficult to all of you to grasp the idea that Endymion is a trained warrior—he will take drastic measures to accomplish a mission, regardless of whatever happens to him."

"I will go after him—"

All eyes turned to Sailor Uranus, "I will go find him—and bring the princess back."

"Oh, what an interesting paradox," Jadeite arched his brow and crossed his arms, "You?"

"I stand by Jadeite's words this time, you?" Mars frowned, ignoring completely the blonde's blatant shocked look on his face, "After what just happened? You just went against him—you cursed him and denied him as monarch and now you are going to look for him in hell?" The priestess looked at her perturbed, "You tried to kill him!"

Uranus closed her eyes for a minute and shook her head, with a much calmer mind and with her ego in check, she finally understood why the princess was so in love with the terran prince. It went beyond his looks, it went beyond his declarations of love or the way he spoke to her; he was far from being an accessory—like she dared to think more than once. Their romance was not just a rebel act against the gods, it was love—the pure kind, the true kind. The man she encountered just moments ago was the man she wanted to see in full glory since the very beginning, the one that was meant to be by Princess Serenity's side and rule as king in the future.

Sailor Neptune could see through Uranus' determination and came to the conclusion why she had commissioned to do such a complex and dangerous task. They were used to it, as outer senshi, they were used to put their lives at risk for the sake of peace, for the sake of the princess' security and they always worked alone. Neptune silently agreed to the mission without really needing to go deeper to justify her companion's reasons, all she cared about at the moment was that her lover was finally back into her senses and not acting out of unjustified rage.

"Yes, me—like I said: the talismans can link to each other—the aqua mirror, the space sword, and the garnet rod. I can use the power of my sword to connect with Pluto—she can open the gates for us, or tell us if she has seen..." she took a deep breath and exhaled, "...Tell us if she has seen Prince Endymion."

"We will go too, we need—" Venus suggested but was immediately stopped by the senshi of the skies, "You can't go."

"What do you mean we can't go? We are also Sailor Senshi!" Jupiter stood by Venus' side with a defiant look in her forest green eyes, "Unlike you, we want them back—both of them!"

"Going to the fourth dimension is not as simple as it sounds Jupiter, and even to attempt to cross to the Underworld is an act of suicide," Neptune said in her always calm and regal tone, "What the prince just did is not something even us can do by ourselves—we cannot summon the Titan of Time to open a path in space and time for us like he did. With us, it's much more complex and the talismans are our keys to do it—we are not even sure if we can cross those gates ourselves, we need Pluto to lend us her power and help us find him,"

"I feel like I haven't asked this enough," Jupiter crossed her arms, "What are we supposed to do? Just stay here and wait?!"

"The prince is right, this is not the end, we will hear from her, that I am sure. We also tend to forget she has a pawn and a very strong one," Neptune tightened her grip on her mirror and looked at Megumi's worried face and felt the turmoil she must be going through.

"Athamas..." Sailor Mars muttered, Neptune narrowed her deep aquamarine eyes and nodded, "We need to be prepared and we need to be everywhere. This planet right now is unbalanced with its guardian away—we need you to stay to protect it while the Shitennou strengthen their barrier against the shadows."

"What about Sailor Saturn? Where is she?" Mercury asked once she put her computer down. Haruka tilted her head low, "Saturn is probably trying to persuade Hades or whoever is in charge—not even her is allowed to be long enough in the Underworld for what I have heard in the past."

"This is the best we can do at this moment of crisis—we need you here. We will use our talismans to find Pluto's way and return with both prince and princess." Neptune reassured, "This is our only shot to do this... and we must act now."


The Divinity Series is rated M. Violence, cursing and intimacy may happen.

I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters.

A/N: Hello all, how's your summer going so far? Enjoy.