Chapter 27
Saphir Dies: Wiseman's Trap
As the Malefic Black Crystal continued to grow, so that the Dark Gate could be opened, news reports began flooding the television screens of every home, as well as immediate evacuation orders. In the Tsukino Residence, Usagi, Sora, and all of their friends sat before the TV Screen.
"This has become a major disaster," said Luna.
"Do we have a plan in mind?" asked Makoto.
"First we have to find out how powerful that Giant Malefic Black Crystal is before we're able to come up with any sort of countermeasure," replied Ami.
"So that means we'll have to wait and see what Mamoru and Artemis will have to discover," said Minako.
"Until then, there's not much to do except stand by," added Rei.
Usagi however, was still upset at how Chibiusa was now corrupted by the darkness.
"These TV reports are making me worried. Perhaps we should be evacuating like everyone else," said Keiko, who arrived with tea for everyone.
"Mom, what's that?" Usagi asked.
"Huh, what? This?" she asked.
She counted everyone that was present.
"Oh dear, I brought out an extra cup," she said.
She was puzzled as to why she brought the pink teacup, but the others knew it was Chibiusa's cup as Keiko walked back to the kitchen.
"With Luna P gone, memories of Chibiusa should have been erased from everyone's minds," said Luna.
"Do you suppose that deep down, they still remember her?" asked Makoto.
"You guys, do you think it's wrong that I actually miss her?" Usagi asked somberly.
"What do you mean?" questioned Sora.
"Now that Chibiusa's gone, everything's back to the way it should be. There's no one jumping on my bed and bugging me, but this house feels so empty without her," she said sadly.
"I know," replied Luna.
"We all do, Usagi. But, I think all of us miss Chibiusa a lot more than we realize," said Sora.
"It's gonna be alright, Usagi," Rei assured everyone.
"But how?" she asked.
"We'll work together. We'll find a way by combining our powers. I'm sure we can free her evil, and bring back the girl we all love," replied Rei.
""Rei's right, Usagi, you have to believe," added Sora.
"Believe?" Usagi asked.
"Exactly, believe. I thought it was all over for me, but a friend of mine looked me in the eye and said, 'You don't believe that.' And I still believe there's good in Chibiusa's heart, no matter how much she tries to deny it," replied Sora.
"That's just like you, Sora. You can sense a tiny sliver of light within someone's heart, just like we can," agreed Minako.
"Yeah. You're right. I just wish I knew what to do," Sora said, as he felt sad about Chibiusa being a pawn of the darkness.
"We all do, Sora. But, there's one thing I should tell Usagi and the others, which concerns my past," replied Riku.
"Your past?" asked Rei.
"Yes, I've been where Chibiusa is now, Rei. And I did terrible things, than you or anyone else could believe. When Sora walked down the path of light, I went down the dark road, because I thought he turned his back on me for new friends. I gave into the darkness once, and ever since it's chased me around in one form or another. The seeker of darkness who stole my body. He tried to use it to take away everything that I held most dear. After everything I did, I was afraid that I'd never forgive myself. But it wasn't just him alone, I did some of them of my own volition. And because of the pain I caused Sora, he still forgave me of my actions. But, there were others who once went down the dark road, they were Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer. Both embraced the darkness so that they could gain power, but in the end they saw the light of redemption. And I know that we can help Chibiusa rediscover her lost light," explained Riku.
"Did you forget? Twily and Terra felt the same way as you did, Riku. And by working together, all of us, we can call Chibiusa's heart back from the darkness, as one united force of light," said Sora.
"Thank you," replied Usagi.
"O' emptiness, O' silence, obey me! Swear your allegiance to the almighty Death Phantom! The one who shall rule the Realm of LIght, is not someone like Prince Demande, with his fleeting dreams of power! But someone like the Death Phantom, who wields absolute power! Oh foolish Prince Demande, you shall do my bidding and bring on silence and chaotic baroness, and then bestow true power upon the true conquer of this world,the Death Phantom! Purge the Realm of LIght of all impurities, like the living, so that only emptiness prevails everywhere," Wiseman said.
But he didn't know that Saphir was listening to his raving, until he quickly darted away. Now he knew that Wiseman had been using his brother the entire time, and cursed the dark sorcerer's name as he reached the core.
"There's been an unnatural surge of energy in the crystal. Wiseman again, I bet. I must stop this," he said.
He approached the Malefic Black Crystal, and a conduit suddenly emerged from the ground. Then the control board parted, and Saphir took the very piece that he needed, which shut down the reactor.
'That's better, I can't let the reactor get out of control. It needs to cool down," Saphir said quietly.
He was about to leave, when Wiseman caught him in the act.
"I order you to put that back, right now," he said.
"You cannot order me to do anything. I will talk to my brother first and then decide what's best," countered Saphir.
"Oh, Saphir, Lord Death Phantom, the one who shall rule all the realm of light, after he takes control of Kingdom Hearts, is giving you an order, and you must follow it to the letter. However, if you are to disobey him, you'll end up being killed, or worse, turned into a Heartless for your betrayal," said Hyena R. Droid, who appeared alongside Wiseman.
"You've referred to him before. Who exactly is this Death Phantom?" demanded Saphir.
"He is a supreme god who intends to restore silence and crystal clear emptiness to the Realm of Light. In time, he will eliminate everyone of you filthy creatures," replied Wiseman.
"W-who are you, really?" Saphir asked, his eyes having a slight glimpse of fear.
"It is not time for me to reveal that information," countered Wiseman, who fired an energy blast at Saphir.
"Wiseman, you monster!" he cried out.
"You shall perish without finding what you seek!" yelled Wiseman.
But Saphir quickly teleported away.
"He managed to get away, but it doesn't matter, I know exactly where he's going," Wiseman said.
He turned to Hyena who was chuckling.
"Hyena, you will follow the traitor Saphir and observe his every move. If you encounter Sora, Sailor Moon, and their friends, you must kill them all," he said.
"Don't worry, Death Phantom, I'll be sure to do what's necessary while I pursue that wretched fool," replied Hyena.
Meanwhile, on his own vessel, Black Lady and Prince Demande were now gazing at the Malefic Black Crystal that would be used to open the dark gate.
"The dark gate is coming along quite nicely," she said.
"Very soon, the reactor will have reached its peak energy output. Then, if we're able to send it through…" replied Demande.
"This world will fall to darkness. A new history will be written," finished Black Lady.
"I agree with your statement, Black Lady and Prince Demande. However, I can sense that Sailor Moon and her cursed friends may try to medal in your affair on this matter. I would recommend caution, in the slightest," replied Maleficent.
The three of them chuckled as they watched the people of Juban struggling to leave the city, despite being told by the police to keep calm and maintain order. But, the four Spectre Sisters, Koan, Berthier, Petz, and Calaveras were surprised to see what was going on.
"Should we leave?" she asked.
"Well, it looks like everyone else is," answered Berthier.
We'd better pack up our shop and get out of here too," agreed Calaveras.
"Right," said Petz, but she noticed someone was limping through the city streets, making her realize that it was Saphir.
"What's wrong, Petz?" asked Calaveras.
Limping badly, Saphir had just managed to reach Juban park and leaned against a tree so that he could rest.
"Brother, don't do it. This is exactly what Wiseman…" he said, but he collapsed to the ground.
Then he suddenly felt the scent of grass which suddenly began to bring back memories of his childhood. Back then he saw his first flower with Demande which seemed beautiful but unusual, especially since life on Nemesis was very difficult for them, until Demande that he and the rest of the clan would launch a full-scale attack on Earth, so that they could have a garden of flowers to tend together. Saphir seemed relatively happy about wanting to get their world back, until Wiseman beckoned Demande to come with him, making him furious yet suspicious about his motives, trying to convince his brother that Wiseman was manipulating him. But when he awoke, he found himself in bed, even as he clutched at his arm, which had been bandaged.
"Where am I?" he asked.
His answer came when Petz came into the room with food and drink.
"I'm glad you're awake, Master Saphir," she said.
"Petz, is it really you?" Saphir asked the eldest Spectre Sister.
"Yes," replied Petz.
"Where am I?" Saphir asked the same question he asked himself.
"In my home, on Earth," she answered calmly.
"That's right, I was told that you and your sisters decided to live in this world, after you betrayed us," said Saphir.
"I will accept my punishment, but please Master, you must forgive my three sisters. I take full responsibility," replied Petz.
"You have nothing to worry about. I didn't come to this world to punish you or your sisters," Saphir assured her, making her surprised.
Koan and Berthier quietly shut the door having heard everything.
"Why is she tending to him? Last I heard she hated all men," saiid the youngest Spectre Sister.
"We should get out before he gets better. What if he changes his mind and wants to punish us?" replied Berthier.
"I think we're going to be alright. Right now, let's leave them alone for a little while," Calaveras assured them.
"Do you know something that we don't?" asked Berthier.
"The truth is, not so long ago, Petz loved him," explained the second oldest Spectre Sister.
"What's that?" Demande asked in shock and disbelief.
"Saphir has gone mad. He removed the control module from the reactor to stop it from functioning. We must get it back, and he must be eliminated immediately. He has fled from this world, betraying us, and all of our people," replied Wiseman.
"Ridiculous, Saphir would never do that, there must be a reason" Demande said defiantly.
"Oh, is that so? Well sorry to burst your bubble, Demande, but Saphir's a traitor and he's gotta be dealt a lot of harsh consequences, unless of course you want Wiseman to think that you wanna shut down this whole operation," said Pete.
"Well, I…" Demande tried to say.
"Nonsense, I will take it upon myself to retrieve the module for the reactor," said Black Lady.
"Very well, then. Do what you must, Black Lady. I will inform Sephiroth of what Wiseman has said," replied Maleficent.
The two of them nodded and vanished into the darkness, while Wiseman quickly retreated to his fortress.
"I just can't believe it. Why Saphir?" Demande asked himself.
Back in her apartment, Petz and Saphir were alone, but at the same time, things seemed different between them since their previous encounters in the past.
"Would you like some?" she asked, offering the man she loved some food.
Saphir accepted it, but sensed something different in the woman he loved, yet he wasn't sure why he was more relaxed and comfortable with Petz.
"Oh, I guess that's because I'm very content with myself right now. I've come to learn trust and kindness from Sailor Moon and her circle of friends," she said.
"Sailor Moon, huh?" mused Saphir.
"While it's true there are some difficulties living in this world compared to Nemesis, it's filled with warmth and joy, we're grateful to have been given the chance to experience this. I like how the people seem to be able to care about one another. I'm finding it quite a wonderful way to live," replied Petz.
Saphir smiled at her, but he became serious when he remembered questioning the idea of destroying the world being the right thing to do, even when he kept quiet about it because of Wiseman's manipulation for survival. Despite Petz' concern Saphir knew in his heart he had to leave and meet with his brother despite his injuries.
"How typical of you, always putting Prince Demande before yourself," she said.
"I'm sorry, I need to go," Saphir replied apologetically.
"You can't leave in this condition," Petz countered, her voice filled with worry.
""He needs to know about Wiseman's true intentions right away," he argued.
Petz didn't want him to go as she hugged him tightly.
"But Petz," he tried to say.
"I get it now, I know who hurt you. If you go to Prince Demande in this condition, you won't have the energy to stand up to him, and you could…" Petz said as she started to cry.
Petz," Saphir said quietly.
"If something should happen to you…" sobbed the eldest Spectre Sister.
"I have to go and make him do the right thing," Saphir said in a firm but gentle tone.
Petz looked into his eyes as the tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Put yourself in my place. If one of your sisters was going down the wrong place, would you just turn away and ignore her?" he asked.
Petz was saddened by what she heard.
"He's all I have. Prince Demande and I are all that's left of our family," said Saphir.
"But…" Petz tried to say.
"Don't worry, I'm just going to talk to him. That's all that's going to happen," he said.
Petz nodded sadly, making Saphir smile at the woman who loved him, but he promised her that they'd see each other again, after things had settled down between the two brothers of the Black Moon Clan, and Petz agreed to wait for him, as she held his jacket after he left, knowing that things would be all right between them.
"Why did Petz just let him walk out of here all alone? He was so injured" Wondered Koan.
"Shouldn't we follow him and be his back up?" asked Berthier.
"How? We can't. Not anymore. You're forgetting that we don't have any powers. I'm afraid we'd just get in the way. All we can do is wait, and hope he returns safely," replied Calaveras.
Koan however, decided to contact Usagi's home, through the phone.
"This is Usagi. Oh, Koan," Usagi said.
"Usagi, please, help us," replied Koan.
Outside in the alleyways, Saphir bravely walked to try and find his brother. As he looked at the Malefic Black Crystal, he heard Black Lady's laughter, and knew that she was waiting for him.
"How nice of you to show up. It saves me the trouble of having to go look for you," she said.
"Don't interfere, Black Lady. I have business to discuss with my brother," replied Saphir.
"That's too bad. Sorry to say, you'll be dead before you see him!" Chibiusa's dark side said sadistically.
She was about to attack him, when Sailor Moon, Sora, and their friends arrived.
"Hold it right there!" they said.
Saphir and Black Lady glanced at them.
"Stop Chibiusa! Don't try and make another move to harm him. Please snap out of it Chibiusa, Wiseman has brainwashed you," Sailor Moon said.
"I don't know what you're talking about. This is the real me, I'm not brainwashed," remarked Black Lady.
"Chibiusa, I know you're angry, but it's not too late to renounce the darkness. The Black Moon Clan can be stopped and we can end this here," said Riku.
"Silence!" snapped Black Lady.
She soon transformed Luna P into a dark mirror, and fired a burst of darkness at them, but they quickly evaded it as Sailor Venus fired her Crescent beam at her, only to have it deflected away from her. Sailor Mercury unleashed her Bubble Spray to create a fog bank, while Sora and his friends fought off the Heartless that tried to catch them off guard.
"Why are you protecting me?" Saphir asked.
"Saphir, now's your chance. Talk to your brother while she's distracted," Sailor Mars said, as she and Sailor Jupiter stood their ground.
"Wait, how did you know about that?" he inquired.
"I don't know, Koan and her sisters asked us to help you out, and that's what we agreed to do, dude," replied Sora.
"Wait, did you just call me, dude?" Saphir asked, making Sailor Jupiter laugh a bit.
"He sure did, Saphir. You can call us crazy all you like, but springing traps so that we can fight our way of them, is kind of our style. It's something we've embraced from Sailor Moon," said Roxas.
"I couldn't agree more, Roxas," smiled Sailor Mars.
"And trusting people we meet for the first time, even if they are bad guys, is also another hobby of ours. That's why Sora and Sailor Moon are more alike than you realize," added Kairi.
"You thought you could stop me? This isn't over," sneered Black Lady as she transformed the mirror into a fan, and blew the fog away.
"Chibiusa, become your true self," called Sailor Moon.
"Darkness isn't the heart's true essence," added Sora.
She tried to use the Crystal again, but Black Lady blocked it with her umbrella as a shield. Then she turned it into a serving racket and sent the badminton towards them, leaving Sailor Venus confused as her Love-Me Chain was halted, just as Sora jumped clear from the barrier that formed from the birdie and sent dark lightning at them.
"Don't worry about me anymore, you'd better hurry and help your friends," said Saphir.
Sailor Mars was about to protest, but she knew he was right.
"You were asked to get me safely to my brother, and you've accomplished that," he continued, looking up at Prince Demande who arrived.
But Demande had a look of disappointment on his face, even as he watched Saphir telling the other Sailor Guardians and their allies to help those they cherished, then he bravely walked to his brother.
Saphir, why did you betray me?" he asked furiously.
"I've done no such thing! Brother, Wiseman has been deceiving us all along!" called Saphir, as Black Lady caught everyone else in a dark barrier via another birdie.
"Stop talking nonsense. You're wrong. But if anyone, including you dares to interfere with-" Demande said furiously.
"Brother! Wiseman is the one who came up with this plan, not you! He's just using you! Try to remember! Was this what you and I were wanting to achieve!? What we were fighting for!?" interrupted Saphir, causing Demande's eyes to be filled with confusion.
"I'm tired of all this dramatic nonsense, just die," Black Lady said, but a rose sent her third birdie out of her hand, followed by two more that saved the Sailor Guardians from certain death.
"Stop this Chibiusa," Tuxedo Mask said.
Then he turned to Demande and asked him to listen to his brother, as Saphir was aware of something about the future he never knew.
"Fine then. Saphir, I will hear you out," said Demande.
Saphir was relieved, but suddenly a beam of pure darkness surged towards him and struck at him, making everyone shocked and appalled at what was happening to him.
"Oh no!" gasped the caped crusader.
"Saphir!" cried Demande.
He turned to the very person that hurt him, and saw Wiseman.
"Saphir is a traitor, I am just sparing you the task of having you to execute your own brother," said the dark cloaked figure.
"Brother, Wiseman, he wants to erase the future," Saphir tried to say.
But Wiseman unleashed another dark energy beam that struck Saphir again, as everyone called to him.
"SAPHIR!" screamed Sora, lunging at Wiseman.
But the dark sorcerer summoned a dark blade stopping his attack.
"Why him!?" demanded Sora.
Wiseman forced him back to the ground, but Sora still got up, his eyes streaked with tears.
"Why!?" Sora asked again.
"Because he is a traitor to both light and darkness, and must be banished to the void from whence he came," replied Wiseman.
"SAPHIR!" yelled Demande.
"Foolish young man. He allowed himself to be tricked into believing that nonsense from those cursed blights," said Wiseman as he recovered the control module.
"You're the blight, Wiseman!" shouted Sora, his anger steadily increasing with even greater intensity.
"Ah, Vanitas lives within you, Sora Lucis Caelum," Wiseman said observantly.
He then signaled both Black Lady and Prince Demande to follow him as they would finish they're battle with their foes at a later time, and vanished into the darkness.
"Fine by me," said Black Lady, as she disappeared into the darkness.
But Demande looked sadly at his fallen brother, who was being looked after by Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and Sora.
"I-I'm sorry, I couldn't protect him," the caped crusader said sorrowfully.
"Petz, I'm sorry…" Saphir said, causing Petz to sense that he was dead.
"Saphir, no! You can't die! You just can't! What about Petz!? You can't leave her alone! Saphir, wake up!" cried Sailor Moon.
Demande slowly walked to his fallen brother, then carefully picked up Saphir in his arms, but his eyes were soon etched with anger at Wiseman for killing him in cold blood, then vanished into the darkness.
"Sailor Moon, I… I'm so sorry. I know Saphir loved his brother, but he didn't need to go out this way. I'm sorry," Sora said somberly.
But Sailor Moon hugged him.
"Don't blame yourself, Sora. We all did our best to protect him, as well as let him talk to Demande, because Petz knew there was good in his heart just as you did," she said.
As Sora hugged her back, Petz sat alone as the jacket that Saphir wore disappeared, just as Calaveras walked into the bedroom.
"I'm sorry Petz," she said.
"It's alright. Somehow, I knew this would happen. I felt it the moment I let him leave," replied Petz.
Koan, Berthier and Calaveras all looked sadly at Petz, as the memory of Saphir still lived on in her heart, for all time.