Divinity: Fates and the Afterlife
Chapter Eighty-Two
The sound of the engine roared, there was no other way to do it; regardless of the attention, it would get. Motoki had to stick to the plan and take these people as far away from the zone of terror as possible. Despite having to leave his beloved friends behind.
Once sure everyone was in the large van, Endymion walked out of the warehouse with Sailor Moon and stood on the side of the driver's window. His prussian gaze fixed on the darkness ahead floating in the air like debris, "When you get to your safe point send Mercury an alert with your location,"
"And you?"
Motoki's breath was shaky, he was nervous. He knew this was the moment that would change their lives forever. That after this, a new tomorrow would come not just for his friends, but for him and everyone around him too. His eyes widened when he saw the strange shapes moving in the sky, like thick smoke moving around who he knew was the enemy.
"Me?" Endymion turned to look at him with a faint smile "I may need some serious stitching after this."
The way Mamoru stood beside him made his words resonate in his mind, he was really going to do it; he was really going after the enemy's throat.
Sailor Moon's eyes were glossed with worry when she saw the strange shadows lurking behind the thick curtain of fog in the sky. The ribbons of lighting working as a backlight to give shape to the demons invading their world; giving a reason why the shadows were acting more aggressive and fed on people's energy, leaving some almost like carcasses on the ground.
It was the eeriest image Usagi had seen in her life; with a different enemy, there was a different approach and reaction. They always found human energy a valuable source, and for a reason but these were not regular youma or malevolent interdimensional entities from Tau Star System; these were demons straight from the cursed pit of hell. A place not even gods allowed themselves to even think about.
"They're coming to the surface," she peered from the corner on her eye the red gleam of the demon's eyes focusing on them; she took a deep breath, "We will clear the way for you,"
Endymion clenched his jaw; his eyes already settled on his target "Once it's done, do not look back." He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, "And do not pay mind to whatever bump you run into in your way... don't stop to try and figure out what it was,"
Motoki took one quick glance over his shoulder at the people then back on the road, "I think it's better if I don't ask,"
Endymion shook his head and gave his friend one last glance before bumping his fist with his as a brotherly gesture that this would be their point of departure and that each of them would do whatever it took to see each other again.
From this moment on, he would be passing the torch over to him to take care of those trapped in the middle of chaos while he went the other way to deal with the root of it all. Motoki took one sharp breath but before he could retort to his best friend's signal, Endymion had already turned his back on him and started to walk away. Sailor Moon turned to Motoki to give him one more smile and walked away.
The thick fog in front of them shifted, revealing a mass of shadows with their glossy red eyes full of murder glaring at them. Motoki felt a strong chill that pierced through to his bones; this were the things Mamoru had said he wasn't allowed to see and yet, he was going to. Things he would immediately know were not benign. The things they were all going to fight against with every drop of strength. He was scared; petrified. He had chosen this; to be in the battlefield, and now, he had a bigger task at hand—to save lives.
"W-What the hell is that?" He heard a woman's cry in the back. Motoki tightened his lips and ran his tongue time after time as a mechanism to stay focused. To stay sane. He had never felt so much dread in his life, and now that he was seeing what his friends had to face on an almost daily basis for years, it added a superior level of respect for all of them. This was just way much more than being a super hero. They weren't super heroes, they were guardians. The ones born and chosen to fight these treats.
As he watched Endymion walking further away, a sudden realization came to Motoki and understood the meaning behind the ancient responsibility he was born with and why he didn't really care for a crown upon his head; why normalcy was sacred for him. Endymion's job wasn't tied to a throne. Maybe in the past it was, but this was a prince that had evolved and adapted to the needs of modern times and didn't believe in archaic ways of leading a kingdom—this wasn't a kingdom; this was a planet. His job was to keep all dangers away and crisis at bay, to be a truce between humans and divines. His job wasn't exactly to magically govern a world and solve everyone's problems—that was everyone's job.
Maybe Mamoru would find a smart approach to politics the same way he learned and did to keep up with his family's business and bring logic to all that has happened and work as a cohesive force. Maybe, he would change his name and get acknowledged as a monarch, maybe not, that, it didn't matter much anymore; all he wanted was his friends back safe and sound. Motoki understood this is what Mamoru meant when he said he wanted to keep his privacy, this is what it meant for him to live and give Usagi the life she deserves—normalcy, within their possibilities.
The best way for him to work was not by showing off a crown upon his head but by being at the same level as them. Be a part of civility. Being human and live as a normal human being because after all, when putting his ancestry aside, and in his words, that is all he was.
—o—
His grip on the wheel tightened, his heart rate went up. Beads of sweat trickled under his messy ash blonde bangs as his eyes registered the inhuman creatures coming right at them. Their movements were odd, almost as if they skipped seconds in time, each turn was different, like a frame by frame motion picture. The screeches they made as they moved, the creepy sound of their bones cracking. It was unnatural. Unsettling.
Impressed by his velocity and accurate target, Motoki watched Endymion stretch his arm out at the shadows and not sure of what he shouted—it was more to him than to the demons ahead—a strong beam of light burst from his palm that caught great part of the herd crawling at impressive speed toward them. Before it subsided, Sailor Moon stepped into action by using her own power against the creatures. Like a perfect leader and a perfect partner in battle; she moved in perfect synchrony to her husband's moves, dodged at the right time, and took charge at the exact moment he made a pause or change in his course of action. She raised her hand in the air and followed suit by calling her own power to manifest. In a flash of light, clearer than Endymion's, a long silver tiare appeared above her. Sailor Moon didn't wait, she didn't waste time; she knew what she was doing. She was prepared for this.
For a moment he couldn't move, Motoki tried to shake his stiff body but it was like if weights were keeping them still; he felt a stronger force approaching. Not sure if he was supposed to feel any of this, this is where his sense of humor peaked through making him think that maybe some of Mamoru's power had rubbed onto him and he had some too. After his long conversation with his friend, he knew this wasn't true or how things work but yet, he chose to believe it so he could stay with his mind on focus.
"What is going on?!"
A man asked with a strained voice from the back of the van; his panic was clear "Why aren't we moving?!"
"He's fighting—he's really going to fight for us!"
"Sailor Moon too!"
"She's amazing..."
"They're both amazing..."
Motoki chewed his lip, nervous, panicked. He watched the blasts of light piercing through the dark creatures. Another woman moved close and widened her eyes, "W-What's happening?!"
Motoki licked his lips, "We need to—" his eyes widened when he saw Endymion resting his hand over the hilt of the sword he was warned not to touch and gaped with shock. Serenity's words echoed in his mind as he watched him pull it out of its onyx sheath and let catch the gleam of the specks of energy still flickering around him and his wife.
"That sword... he doesn't know how to use it... he masters it."
Endymion exchanged a quick glance with Sailor Moon and charged after the shadows at an impressive speed while Sailor Moon called for the power of her tiare to clear the path for him to come closer. Her power served as a blessed shield for him to move through the darkness and glide his weapon through the demons with quick strikes leaving streams of tar and gore in his way. With a flick of his wrist, he changed the angle of his blade and let it drip the poison from it; he turned over his shoulder at Motoki with a frown "Go! Now!"
With a shaky hand, Motoki turned gears and was ready to take off when he saw someone approaching. A man. He raised his hands up in the air as if he wanted to catch his attention making him think he might be someone he left behind and quickly put the car on parking again.
Endymion felt a sharp pain in his chest alerting him that something else had crossed to this realm; someone stronger. An aggressive change in the magnetic field of earth; it was sickening, maddening, and it only meant one thing. It didn't take him long to notice the instant effect and turned over his shoulder again after he took care of another shadow before turning to the van still parked. His eyes locked on the shadow blocking the blonde's way but the large mass of darkness was coming close was making it hard for both of them to move. He clicked his tongue with annoyance and aimed his hand at the shadow before Sailor Moon would turn and stood back to back with him and aimed her tiare at the opposite direction, silently covering for Endymion while he took a shot at Motoki's threat.
"Smoking Bomber!"
"Moon Healing Escalation!"
Their combined powers shot at both directions with chain effect, bursting through the shadows. Motoki didn't hesitate and quickly turned the key on the engine and drove the other way; following the plan.
"We need to keep moving," Endymion lightly tightened his grip on her wrist. The look in Serenity's eyes was enough for him to understand the hesitation in her moves, "It's okay, he's covered. He can do this." He leaned down to grace her ear with his lips and closed his eyes for a brief moment, "This is his war too and he's here to fight it. His mission is different than ours but no less important."
Sailor Moon smiled, feeling much more secure. Endymion was right, Motoki got this. He was smart, witty and also, he wasn't alone. This was something they came to agree on: parting ways and fight on their own was part of a well-planned strategy. She turned to the shadows approaching and felt a strong pull in her chest; Serenity started feeling lightheaded, almost nauseous. Her eyes started to lose focus and her mind felt foggy; disoriented. Desperate to regain composure, Sailor Moon took a deep breath to recover and turned to look around, trying her best to find the culprit of her sudden condition.
Endymion felt the shift in the air and the magnetic waves keeping earth's balance disrupt its natural course. Earth was alerting him of the intrusion. The ground pulsed, the air became aggressive dropping the temperature even more. This only meant one thing; the rim between Tartarus and the Underworld had been breached and the darkness from the pit of Tartarus had found its way into this galaxy. It didn't need to be confirmed that Hades' had failed and that the curse of Tartarus had touch ground.
"We need to get away from this point and meet with the others," His hand automatically found her gloved one and held it tight as they started to run the opposite direction Motoki just went. Sailor Moon quickly caught up with Endymion's pace and ran fast like the wind; she looked down at their hands and saw a faint gleam and was impressed by how despite still feeling weak and beyond exhausted, he could still fight with a deep wound that was still healing on his lower abdomen. No matter how fast, no matter the obstacle ahead, his grip on her hand was secure, reassuring her that no matter what they were going to overcome this together.
The ground shook again with brutal intensity. Sailor Moon noticed it was similar to the time when Endymion wasn't on Earth. The time when she had to flee her home to save her life. Her blue eyes widened when she saw a mass of dark silhouettes rising from the ground and felt her husband's fingers wrapping tight around her wrist, while the other held his sword with a secure grip "Current situ—ad 5.2 lineam longitudinis gradus, minuta 17.7, 22.5, latitudo orientis punctus temporis ad 32 gradus, minuta 18,3 ascendit Boreas—declinatio rursus, tumultus confirmavit."
Sailor Moon caught Endymion mumbling something under his breath. She recognized some of the words—cardinal points—she thought. He was chanting, maybe praying for the ground to respond. She felt a rush of warmth flowing into her and looked up at the parting sky. Silently, he was preparing her for what was about to come next.
Endymion closed his eyes for a minute. He heard them; strong and steady footsteps. A strong thud after another crashing debris and carcass of equal, demon and human bone; the ones that gave in to the midst of angst and madness.
The taste of death felt thick in his palate and throat. It was the same scent, the same feeling of desolation. There was no doubt that it was not just Earth was trapped in a vortex from the Underworld, but the whole Milky Way—if not the lengths of the universe by now.
Chaos had arrived and with him, a tangent silage of forces from both sides could be felt. Good and Evil.
Sailor Moon couldn't describe what her eyes were seeing, there were no words for it. There was no definition for this breakage into their reality. Loud growls echoed from all directions. It was like being dragged to hell once again. The shine and safety she had on earth were gone, what she had protected with her friends and husband was now close to being extinct. In a matter of seconds, desolation turned their beautiful planet into a graveyard of demonic entities and putrid matter. This was worse than the poison infiltrated from Pharaoh 90; worse than being thrown into the cauldron of stars.
Endymion muttered under his breath; Sailor Moon didn't catch his words. As soon as they jumped and dodged another attack from a shadow, he peered over his shoulder and narrowed his prussian gaze. Taking more information from his quick monitoring of earth when they focused on a moving figure in the distance. At this point, their direction was as ambiguous as the future itself. Sailor Moon was more than certain that they had lost their way. She frowned and quickly turned to throw a high kick to one of the shadows that tried to pull her away from Endymion; her heart rate sped up, her breathing fastened—her nerves were starting to play jokes on her. She turned around and kick another one bigger than the last and took a sharp breath to recover, "They're stronger and they take less to respawn,"
Endymion half turned on his axis and used the force of his elbow to hit a demon in its face and quickly threw his fist at another to knock it aside, "Ictos!"
Sailor Moon immediately recognized the word and ducked her head to let Endymion move and knock another shadow with the sheath of his sword and turned, "They're not the same kind of entity. These are not the same shadows we've fought in the past," he tightened his grip on his wife's hand and moved to stand back to back again, "Nor is the one commanding them to hunt for souls,"
From the swirls of thick smoke and decay, the silhouette moved closer and to better focus. Serenity felt a cold chill all over her that instantly took over the progress she had made ever since her husband had returned. She had feared this, she knew this moment was going to happen and yet, she couldn't focus until the moment itself found its way to get to her and break her like a porcelain doll.
Serenity didn't know how much Athamas had broken her until she saw his livid image come to view, once again. She didn't know how much anger and fear she could harbor inside of her until this moment, and it was bad, it was really bad. He had done more damage than she could fathom.
Endymion felt it, like a glitch disrupting their sacred connection. He felt it and quickly turned to check on her, trying his best not to panic "No..." he shook his head, "No, no, no... don't—don't!"
"H-He's..." Sailor Moon's eyes gleamed with tears; her jaw clenched. She was close to having a mental breakdown. Endymion put his hands on her shoulders to keep her steady, his eyes desperately trying to find her gaze "Look at me,"
"He's..."
"Look at me,"
"It's..." She shook her head, denying herself the right to cry "He's... he's..." she started to shiver, frantic to break free from Endymion's hold.
"Sprinkles,"
"I-I..."
"Look at me!" Endymion pressed his fingers on her skin, hating being one to cause her any pain. He tried to bring her back but the damage was already done, the trick was well played and it had her under its spell. Athamas had gotten inside her head, or at least, what he represented.
A thick chuckle broke his little moment with Serenity and made him turn slowly over his shoulder. His eyes darkened when Athamas' face finally came to view. While looking the same as always, it was strange—it felt strange, then Endymion confirmed it when staring into his eyes.
Athamas wasn't entirely himself; it was worse.
So much worse.
O—o—o—o—O
At the other side of tow, Motoki kept his foot down and heavy on the accelerator. This was the first time he drove this reckless but for the sake of humanity, it was more than necessary. He was getting close to his destination when he felt it, the same wave of uncertainty and dread.
"Where are we going?" One of the passengers asked with worry. The blonde turned leaned on the wheel as he made an abrupt turn, "Safe point—we're going to a safe point." He said between clenched teeth, "Safe point." He repeated with hope as he made another abrupt turn. He was close to his destination when he saw the dark sky and thick clouds shifting color and form, "What the—"
"What is going on?!" He heard a woman ask with terror "What is that?"
Motoki felt a chill down his spine and used that fear to step on the break and quickly pull the gear shift to reverse and find another route to get away. His moves were fast, automatic, clearly showing his skills under stressful situations but he wasn't counting that the same dense fog was wrecking everything in its way. Including the control over the vehicle.
Motoki stepped on the gas and nothing happened. The battery had died. Panic arose and so did confusion. His first instinct was to try again, nothing happened. Then again, with no results. By now, people started to notice something was wrong.
"Why aren't we moving?!"
"Something's coming..." A woman cried as she held on to her child, "I can feel that something is coming."
"We need to get out of here! We need to run!" An elder man turned and tried to turn the lock on the door to slide but Motoki was fast enough to press the lock again and turned over his shoulder, "No one leaves this van!"
"Are you insane!?" The man pointed at him, "We are—" his eyes went wide with panic, then his face twitch with horror, "W-What—"
Motoki quickly turned to look through the windshield and turned pale at the brutal thunderstorm bursting right after the long strings of light crossing all over the sky. He had never seen anything like it, the way the clouds moved along with the thick fog hovering them; he knew this wasn't right, this wasn't an act of nature, this was something more and he had to figure out a way to escape.
He turned again and turned the key on the engine, praying the force from the rumbling would somehow pass some charge to the battery or whatever was keeping the vehicle dead. He took a deep breath and thought through his options—not that he had many at this point. He leaned on the wheel and closed his eyes for a moment wishing to have some sort of epiphany or a cosmic connection with Mamoru to have an idea of what to do. To at least know if he was going in the right direction.
"What are we going to do..."
"How are we going to get out..."
"We need to get out..."
"Let us out!"
Motoki heard the people's cries rise in anger and terror and he too was close to falling on their side. He was close to feel he had failed his mission before it even has begun, on how he was letting his friends down. He frowned and looked down thinking how did he get there in the first place, "I—"
"Get us out of here!"
"We need to get out!"
"Let us get out!"
"I—" Motoki looked up and tried to turn the engine again when saw the impossible. He couldn't move. He could barely breathe. His green eyes widened when he finally came close to them and felt his blood run cold in his veins. The headlights flickered and hit right to the man's face leaving Motoki completely stunned. His throat instantly went dry and his eyes gleamed with tears once he finally could see with detail on who was standing in front of the van.
The shock was too great for him to take back control over his body and the longing and grief was too big to give way to reason break the bondage in his mind.
"Otōsan..." He mumbled with emotion, "Otōsan..."
The man outside of the vehicle stood without moving, his deep forest green eyes looking intensely back at Motoki. After an unmeasurable period of time, he finally raised his hand and waved it at the blonde inside his car in a gesture he instantly recognized and made him break into tears.
How long it has been since he last saw that face; that smile. How much he had missed him. It was no secret to his friends that he had a soft spot for the memory of his father. To Mamoru, it was no secret that Motoki lived to honor his memory with every single thing he did. Makoto knew perfectly well how the man had carved his existence with his passing. They all knew Motoki has done almost the impossible since his father passed away to be worthy to pay tribute and make him feel proud of him from wherever he was. Motoki always had the feeling his father was looking after him, and deep down he wanted to believe he had become his guarding angel. All he has wished was to be the exemplar man he wanted him to become when he got older, the version he didn't get to see—until now.
Furuhata Kaito was proud of his son until the very last breath he took as a living human being and sadly, for Motoki, he wasn't there on the moments he felt were the most important to him. His graduation, when he scored his job, his engagement, his marriage. If he ever became a father, he was not going to be there to see him scold his child for doing things he once did as a kid. He was not going to be there to spoil the kid and tell embarrassing stories about him. He wasn't going to be there at all.
Tears started rolling down Motoki's cheeks and one choked sob managed to break through his tight-pressed lips; he missed the man. Motoki didn't know how much he missed his father until he saw him standing in front of him with that smile he so much missed to see.
The man stretched his arm as if asking for Motoki to get out of the van and walk with him and Motoki felt like he should. His body began to shake with desperation and all this uncertain and inexplicable feelings started to arouse; emotions he didn't even know he had. He felt fear, and he felt disgust happening at the same time, abandon and anger came to manifest as well. He wanted to escape, Motoki felt a desperate need to leave and not ever look back to whatever he had done in his life. He didn't want to be alone anymore; he has had enough loneliness.
He didn't care. He had to leave.
Suddenly all of his memories started to shift in his mind, changing to a completely different spectrum. Just by seeing the image of his father calling out to him, Motoki suddenly forgot all the things he had done with his life after his passing. His achievements, experiences, adventures and also, his failures. In a matter of seconds, they had started to vanish like smoke.
"Come... my son..." The man's grin widened, "It's time to leave."
"Otosan..."
"You don't belong here... you belong with me... my boy, you belong with me..."
Motoki widened his eyes, "With... you... I—"
"Come along, my son... it's time..."
"It's time,"
"It's time my son..."
"It's time..." Motoki took a deep breath, "It's time..."
He didn't care for the people inside the vehicle with him. He didn't care whatever happened to him. He didn't even remember how he got there in the first place.
"What are you doing!?"
"Get us out of here!"
"Help!"
"Help!"
"I—" Motoki mumbled, his shaky hand slowly sliding down to look for the door handle to open it and get out, his eyes completely focused on the man standing in the dark, lit only by the intense blast of light coming from the van.
Right at the moment, Motoki was about to open the door, he felt a bolt of reality strike him. The image of his wife smiling at him quickly came to his mind; her long beautiful reddish hair flowing in the breeze and her sparkling green eyes always with mischief and love just for him. Reika, his beloved Reika, who was also fighting her own battle while waiting for him to return. And then, little by little, his past started to weave with his present until the moment he stood at the altar right in front of her with a smile not even he could dissimulate and tears streaming down his eyes, all while professing his deep love for her.
"Reika..." He mumbled, "I can't..."
Then more pieces of his life started to float around him like ribbons of film, showing him his life; and then it came: clarity. Companionship. Truth.
He could see it, playing like a movie in his mind all the things that made him stand where he was now and as a last quick reminder, his best friend came to mind. His best friend, the very one that somehow filled that blank his father had left after he passed on. The brother he never knew he needed in his life.
His eyes opened, finally realizing why he was so close to Mamoru—why he always felt he was different from his other friends. It wasn't because he acted like a father with him, but because he knew life could be unfair and kick you down but always encouraged him to strive for more.
Mamoru always gave his support to Motoki no matter the situation and he was always there to pick up the pieces when he felt his worst. To deal with his bad humor when he got discouraged about something or listen to his rants when life didn't go the way he hoped it to go. Knowing failure and pain himself, Mamoru didn't sugar coat things for him, sometimes he told him the things no one wanted to tell him in fear of breaking his usual charisma, and sometimes he didn't even say anything to make him feel better. There were times Mamoru just stood in silence next to him until Motoki could think clearly and realize his mistake and learned how to move on. Mamoru was the level to Motoki's impatient nature and he was one of the few, if not the only one besides Reika that knew when to say no to him, just like his father used to. And this time, it was not the exception.
"Something is about to happen. Something will enter the atmosphere and will try to break you mind—do not let it control you. He will manifest, Motoki, and he will play with the darkness in your mind if you let him. He will come to stand right in front of you and will try to trick you. He will try to take control of you to do his will but you have to be strong. You have to stay grounded Motoki—for Reika, for Unazuki, and for everyone you have close to your heart, even him."
"My son, come... it's time to leave... you don't belong here... your soul... give it to me..." The man's voice echoed in his head against his wishes. Motoki frowned with anger, "You son of a bitch... How dare you take his form?" He looked up with tears still streaming down his eyes, thinking really, when has he ever been alone? And how stupid he needed to be to believe his father would rise from hell, of all places? Since when he asked for his soul?!
"No..." he muttered and closed his eyes, "No... you aren't real." He shook his head, "You aren't fucking real!"
As if a heavy cloak was lifted off his shoulders, Motoki blinked the remains of confusion clouding his reason and stared at the man and while he saw the impeccable resemblance to his dead father, he also noticed the decoy. Mamoru's words had made sense: whatever entity was coming it would feed on your deepest thoughts, the one thing that could mend you or break you and use it against you. This was the power of the human mind.
"Everybody lay low and don't look up! Don't look up!" Motoki took off his seatbelt and went to check on the people in the back, thinking about Mamoru's request to put his charisma to good use. With a grin, he clapped two times to get everyone's attention "Alright, let's sing!"
"What?!"
People looked gave him weird glances and turned to look at each other greatly confused; Motoki clapped again, "Okay, who would like to start?" He arched a brow, "Anyone? No? Alright, I'll—"
"Are you insane?" A man raised his voice, "What the hell is wrong with you?! We're in the middle of a crisis! You're getting us killed!"
"Death will come if you let them get into your mind!" Motoki pointed his finger at him with authority, "I need a plan and this will help me keep my mind occupied. Insanity is the only thing we can rely on right now so we might as well take advantage of it." He scoffed, "Normalcy has leveled up its standards, what we knew of it, exists no more—there are people with supernatural powers fighting for our sake, but we must not let them do all the work. It's something we all must do together if we want to come out alive from this. So, if I am telling you to sing, is because we need to fucking sing!"
"Is that man your friend?" The man looked at Motoki with wonder from the back of the van, "Is that why you defend him so much? Why you are so confident?"
"I'm terrified. He's more than just a friend, he's family to me." Motoki arched a brow, "But to leave things clear, in case they aren't, he's more than a cosmic monarch. He's a warrior."
"Can they really fight this?"
"His wife is none other than the incredible Sailor Moon, so what do you think?" Motoki said with pride, "I know they can. It's proven how strong they are; they have been fighting for peace for years and now, they have to win because just as you, they deserve to live in peace."
"What is out there?" A young woman asked with a shaky voice, Motoki shook his head, "Nothing you need to see or hear other than our singing, come on! Let's sing something while I look for a way to get us out of here!" He looked at the man still with a deadpan look in his face and clapped to snap him out of his shock, "You, come on! Sing a song!"
"What song?!"
"Any song! Imagine you're in a karaoke, drunk, or whatever,"
The man blinked, "Aah..."
"Sing!"
"S-Such a feelin's comin' over me... there is wonder in 'most ev'ry thing I see. Not a cloud in the sky, got the sun in my eyes... aaannd I won't be surprised if it's a dream..."
Motoki arched his brow, "Well... if that works for you... okay, good—suitable," he clapped to set the rhythm for the others, "Keep it going, now, everyone! Come on!"
Everything I want the world to be
Is now comin' true especially for me
And the reason is clear, it's because you are here
You're the nearest thing to heaven that I've seen...
Motoki took a deep breath, with a clearer mind he had to give it a shot and think of options—any options to get out of there and do it fast. He sighed as he went back to the driver's seat and keep trying to work on the engine, "Louder! Sing louder!" He turned the key on the engine, "I'm on the top of the world lookin' down on creation—"
His eyes widened at the mere thought of a cosmic connection. He turned his head and found it; their way out "Keep singing—on repeat, on repeat! Louder! Don't stop singing!"
Surprisingly for Motoki, everyone in the van was more than familiar with the song, thinking he had never ever felt this grateful for karaoke in his life and how he should also give his step-father big kuddos for supporting Unazuki's idea of adding a karaoke bar to the Crown parlor. This sure was a good story to tell his friends once this is all over since it was the song that always made him and Mamoru roll their eyes with annoyance whenever they went lend a hand at the parlor when it was short on staff.
And the only explanation I can find
Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around
Your love's put me at the top of the world.
He popped the communication watch and tapped it to activate it, hoping the signal would reach its destination, he bit his lip nervously, "Come on... come on... pick up... pick up..."
"What's the status?"
Motoki sighed with relief, "Thank goodness, Mercury. I'm in a van with people canned like sardines with me. I followed your directions and rescued them from a warehouse but with this sudden wave of strange things flying all over, the vehicle stopped working and things just gave a shitty turn—"
"Yes. We have a code red situation right now. I'm with Zoisite, we got another coordinate from Endymion—" Mercury's voice competed with some static probably from the abrasive energy flowing outside, "Stay inside the vehicle and—wait, is that...?"
"Yes, yes, it is." Motoki turned over his shoulder and waved his hand to encourage people to keep singing loud and on repeat and groaned, "Of all songs..."
"Your idea?"
"Just the singing part, the song was totally their choice,"
"Oh, the irony,"
"Yeah,"
"You're dying to tell him, right?"
"Of course,"
His eyes squinted when a blasting light in the distance pierced through in sparkling ribbons of energy that made the ground rumble with the same intensity as it did in the sky, he grinned with pride, "You guys never cease of amaze me—I will send my status when I arrive at the safe point and head back,"
"Got it. Be careful."
"You too, Sailor Mercury."
There is only one wish on my mind
When this day is through I hope that I will find
That tomorrow will be just the same for you and me
All I need will be mine if you are here
"Keep singing!" Motoki smiled at Sailor Jupiter as she turned and blasted another group of shadows crowding around them with Nephrite, Mars, and Jadeite all into action. The later turned on Motoki's direction and saw the shadow standing closer to them and raised his new bow, "Sailor Jupiter, throw me a blast!"
Jupiter turned on her axis and threw another ball of lighting, this time aiming the sleek weapon held up high, "Sparkling—Wide Pressure!"
The blast moved fast enough for Jadeite to jump and caught the charge with his arrow and aimed it on the pavement close to the vehicle. The rumble alerted Motoki of the general's tactic and turned the key on the engine when he felt the van shake with force, "Keep singing! Keep singing!"
"What is going—"
"KEEP SINGING!"
I'm on the top of the world lookin' down on creation
And the only explanation I can find
Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around
Your love's put me at the top of the world!
His eyes focused on the man still standing in front of the van and put the gear shift on drive. His brows knitted together, "You're not my father asshole, so you better get out of my fucking way," feeling empowered he tightened his grip on the wheel and shouted, "Grab on! We're getting out of here! Keep the song going!"
I'm on the top of the world lookin' down on creation
And the only explanation I can find
Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around
Your love's put me at the top of the world!
"Again! On repeat! -Such a feelin's comin' over meee. There is wonder in 'most ev'ry thing I seeeee. Not a cloud in the sky, got the sun in my eyes... aaannd I won't be surprised if it's a dream..." Motoki stepped on the gas and rammed the van over the man, instantly dissolving its decoy and took the road opposite to where he was driving at all speed when he felt the tires heavy, and imagined why but at this point he just continued ramming the van over the creatures rising from the tar stained ground. From this point onward, Motoki was more than clear what he had to do and that he had the character to handle it. His friends trusted for a reason and he was going to deliver. He was going to save the day; he began singing the song that had annoyed him for years with so much content that he was now considering making it his anthem.
This moment would be printed in his mind forever. The pinnacle of his career. As he drove away, he gave one last glance at his side mirror and saw Jupiter blasting another herd of shadows with her lighting powers like the badass he always knew she was and grinned, "I still got work to do... thank you, everyone... See you soon."
O—o—o—o—O
Like a prophecy, her words became a reality—a living nightmare. Just as she asked Endymion with so much fear and anger, Athamas was there before her once again, like the madman he is.
Without realizing it, she started to shiver thinking no matter how angry she felt or how desperate she was to get rid of him, he would always find his way back to torment her. No good sentiment could come out of her just rage, mad anger, and sadness; so much sadness.
She had gone through so much and it was linked to him. She had suffered enough, and he was part of that pain. Both lifetimes, Athamas intervened in her life like a poisoned arrow with the sole purpose to make her feel miserable and break her spirit, and what was worse, he had done it when she was most vulnerable to fight back. He played her, he tangled his presence along with her emotions and sanity and it was taking a horrible toll on her. For the first time in her life, the moon princess felt the burn of hatred in her heart.
Serenity blamed him from the bruises still aching in her body and the insecurity cradled in her soul. She blamed him for staining the devotion and love for her husband, she blamed him for her bitter thoughts.
His eyes were like two orbs of nothingness. It was like staring into a bottomless pit; lost in his own darkness. Athamas was his own curse and the energy emanating from him was clearly not the same from months ago; it was clear he was different but so was she.
With a flick of his hand, the shadows moved around Athamas like an armor of dark energy proving his total control over them in synchrony with his vile intentions.
Endymion's first instinct was to shield his wife and moved to stand in between the Andromedian and Sailor Moon with his arm across from her to protect her from the dense energy surrounding them.
"How is that you are here?" Athamas' eyes twitched, clearly angered by the unexpected events "I left you to rot and die in hell, you damn Hybrid... I saw your body being drained..." He growled with displeasure, "Are you that cursed to be able to crawl back from that putrid hole?!"
Endymion narrowed his prussian blue eyes, "We've past the point of reason, Andromedian. If I am dead or alive should be the least of your concerns but how I am going to take your head and throw it along with your soul to the wasteland you belong to."
"I cannot understand," Athamas stared with allure, his eyes now fixed on Sailor Moon, "Why you so feverishly try to keep yourself tied to this bastard, Serenity? A creature so grotesque that goes in and out of hell unscathed?" He blinked, almost as if he was disconnected from reality, "It is clear then, we are both cursed—both damned by your existence." His chapped lips pursed "Then it's you the one that needs to die,"
Endymion took a step closer with a low growl but he was quickly pulled back by Sailor Moon's hand tugging on his belt to stop him. She knew she could count on him; many times, they have talked about this and came to an agreement. Many times, they have sworn their love and promised to meet at the other side of the tunnel but this was something she had to face on her own in order to feel she was still in control of her life despite being a total mess, fairly, for much deeper and different causes.
Athamas was an obstacle, but also, a string from her past that wouldn't let go of her no matter how much time she ran, no matter how far she tried to step away.
He was an abuser; back then, and now. Athamas was a man that had believed power was gained by inflicting others fear and pain. Not only that, and what was worse, his tactics only became darker because he had always had tried to impose himself onto her. Serenity had been his victim of both mental and physical abuse for thousands of years that it was up to her to put a stop to it.
Her conversation with Endymion made her think more of her challenges as a senshi and how she had faced countless enemies and won; all in her own way. She knew she had Endymion's bottomless support, that wasn't even a question. She knew he didn't need to be asked to step in and take matters into his hands but this was not going to stop if she didn't face the man herself. This was her fight too and she had to prove none other than to herself that she could still be in control of her life. That her destiny was up to her on which way was best for it to go.
"And you?"
Sailor Moon said slowly, her face tilted low while she still put tension from pulling Endymion's belt. Her hand was shaking, she barely felt any strength but even still, she dared to take a step forward, "You talk about curses when you have sold your soul to the worst merchant there is. You wanted to be King, but up to what extent?" She finally looked up "You would only have failed right after getting your precious crown by the fault of your poor negotiating skills. Then what would have been your fate when there is no kingdom to rule? When nobody trusts your word." The soldier of mystery tilted her head up and raised a brow, "You would have gone back to your usual whining self, crying over the things you lost and others you couldn't have... as typical of you."
Endymion smiled and gave a sidelong glance at his wife. This was the side of her that always made his heart flutter in his chest, the marvel that it was to see the many sides of her. How despite knowing there were limitations or that she felt scared of the unknown, she would always strive for more—she pushed herself to be more, and she always did, she always succeeded.
"Is that all?" Athamas said in a mocking tone, "Is Her Highness done with her weak speech?"
"It's been long since your words mattered," Sailor Moon frowned, "Since you mattered. It's the aftermath of your actions what still disgusts me up to this day."
"Are you going to blame me from bringing two kingdoms to failure?"
Sailor Moon narrowed her eyes "The only failure I see is standing right in front of me. You are archaic, Athamas, always have. Your idea of success is as limited as you are in the extent of power and authority. Failure, you say? Says the man that has had everything on a loan? Your title, your status as a soldier, the power to break the laws of nature and travel back and forth from hell. That's not success, that is the power of manipulation over you. Your mind is a playground for others. That's how much of a failure you are."
Angry by her remarks and mocking tone, Athamas didn't wait and snapped his fingers to command the shadows to act under his silent command and pull Sailor Moon away from Endymion, a quick strategy attempting to shatter her snappy attitude and unexpected confidence.
Endymion moved quick but Athamas was a step ahead and in immediate action, he kept the prince away by rounding him with demons spurring from underneath the ground. All hungry and desperate to take him down. Long limbs and oil slicked hands wrapping around his legs, pulling him to feed on his soul.
Sailor Moon wasn't given much time to process what was going on; she widened her eyes as she was brutally pulled in Athamas direction and noticing Chaos' presence manifesting within him in his movements and level of force. It wasn't like the other times she encountered him proving he was completely lost in his own dark sentiments. This time Athamas was in a much darker place, far away from his own control.
As she was being pulled, an old but effective plan came up in her mind. Her shaky fingers quickly rummaged through her silvery hair and pulled one of the shimmering barrettes pinned on each side of her hair buns she forgot over time she could use as actual darts and used the sharp end to cut through the dark strings wrapped around her legs and waist to free herself making a thick grunt as she rolled over the broken asphalt brusquely scraping and cutting the sides of her thighs and arms of her milky skin. Ignoring the burn and blood as much as she could, she slowly turned over her shoulder, also red from the friction of her skin against the burning asphalt, and let out a short hasty breath, "Predictable,"
"Bitch..." Athamas growled and stretched his arm to shot another load of shadows to capture her. Sailor Moon with no time to pay mind to the pain on her body, she took another roll on the ground and jumped back, leaping through the ground until she found a safe spot for her to stand at a considerable distance from him that would give her enough visual and time to plan an attack.
Impressed of the whole scene played, Endymion smirked as he turned to slash another shadow grabbing on to his waist. His eyes fixed on a second on Athamas, then on Sailor Moon who was already on the second stage of her counter attack plan, "That's my girl..." he muttered with a subtle prideful smirk, turned and hit a demon with his elbow right on its face, grabbed the blade backwards for better handling and cut its throat and move through the darkness to get to her.
Athamas aimed another blast of dark matter but before it could reach its target, Sailor Moon was ready to counterattack. She raised her hand and in a gust of light, her moon tiare appeared gleaming through the darkness surrounding her, ready for her first command "Moon Healing Escalation!"
A gust of light merged with the strong energy from Athamas and surprisingly for him, the beam was strong enough to compete with his. Athamas threw another blast, one Sailor Moon knew she needed to fight back with equal or stronger force to buy her more time to recover. He was fast, merciless, but also desperate. His movements while tactical, were rushed. He had a rush to own her and she was not going to give him that.
She was not going to surrender, no matter how much he tried, no matter if she ran out of ideas, no matter how many times he re-spawned. She was not going to back down and run away.
In an authoritative command, her royal tiare was charged with more energy, "Moon Princess Halation!"
The clash of both energies was strong enough to take the shadows around into its luminescent vortex, some disintegrated while others caught up in the gusts of wind were thrown away. Athamas could sense the power on her had escalated and that it was different from the previous times he had fought with her. He increased the force in his attack and threw a side blast at Sailor Moon that made her stumble and lose aim, granting him enough time to catch up to her.
Finally, once within his reach, the andromedian wrapped his arm around her neck and pressed his hand on her mouth to suffocate her, his hoarse breath crashing on her flushed cheeks, burning like shards of ice.
"I will admit you learned a trick or two from your endeavors, Serenity..." his eyes darkened and forced her to look behind her, "But things remain the same, you cannot stop madness with love. You cannot defeat the darkness with light and stardust... from this point on, there is nothing you can do." He smirked with pleasure, "Are you fearful, my beloved, now that you have realized the truth?"
Sailor Moon widened her eyes when she lost sight of Endymion and felt a rush of panic creeping in her chest; the same uncertainty as before and Athamas noticed. He tightened his arm on her neck and grinned, "As expected... the Hybrid is the source of your insolence but also the trigger to unleash your deepest fears. That cursed mortal is your greatest weakness."
Sailor Moon's eyes glossed with tears, searching desperately for Endymion in the darkness ahead, her anxiety taking advantage of her again, "No," she tried to free from his brusque hold, "No!"
"No?" Athamas scoffed, "Where is your precious guardian now? You are alone... completely alone... in a world that will eat you alive. A world that rejects your mere existence. A world you cursed the very moment you decided to explore alien grounds,"
"No!"
"Face it, Serenity... your light cannot reach the depths of darkness, you are just a speck of dust in this war,"
"No..."
"The beauty which made you desirable to any man is long gone," Athamas hissed in her ear, "You are tainted; worthless. You are the vessel of a woman... useless and impure." He turned and licked her cheek "But even so... I still desire you. I still want to erase all trace he has left in you and make you mine. I cannot stand knowing he has you. I cannot stand knowing he has touched your immaculate body when I know it should have been me."
Sailor Moon closed her eyes and let her tears stream down her face, worthless. The word was so strong, it resonated in her mind and has marked her long enough to believe it but she also knew well nothing that came out of Athamas' mouth could be taken as a solemn truth. Her emotions, her insecurities, her guilts, and her pain was her to deal and share with her husband, not the man holding her hostage. She didn't own Athamas any of that.
In the depths of her depression and vulnerability, she had to hold on and persevere and with that thought, courage bloomed, "I've come a long way to let you have control over me," her eyes gleamed with fearless determination and rage despite running out of air, "I don't need anyone to speak for me. Don't ever touch me again," she extended her arm, in a quick flash of light her eternal tiare appeared in her hand and swung it down with force, hitting his face to break herself free from him.
"Moon... Healing... Escalation!"
A strong beam of light burst, weakening Athama's hold on her and making it easier for Sailor Moon to apply the self-defense techniques she learned along the way; one leg went straight to kick his stomach and her elbow aimed straight to his throat to cut his air flow and finally moved away from his grasp. Serenity couldn't leave it here, the rage bottling inside of her was too strong to control. She turned on and threw a high kick on his jaw and another quickly aimed for his head, cutting his cheek with her heel as she spun around.
Her first instinct was to count her options once she freed herself, then where she could hit to gain enough time to run away and get closer to Endymion, whom she was more than certain was busy fighting a large herd of shadows. Athamas made sure of it.
In one swift move, Sailor Moon turned on her axis and kicked Athamas again and swung her tiare secured in her hand and hit him in the face with so much force she was sure she felt bones crushing and made him lose more than one tooth. She turned, still fueled by anger and punched him again "You are the curse," She said between pants, "You are the vessel of failure..." gasping for air, her eyes caught a gleam in the distance feeling certain of its source and felt sure of what to do next to clear the way and move past Athamas who had taken too much of their time.
She still needed to find the girls and shitennou and she had to do it fast in order to move to the next part of the plan. Another flash of light burst from the dark mass ahead, clearly, Endymion was using his energy to burn the demons to find her faster, making this her perfect opportunity to hit two birds with one moonstone. Pun intended.
Athamas' loud growls made her turn but before he could get within her reach Sailor Moon took a deep breath and turned to catch the light of Endymion's attack making the royal symbol on her forehead gleam and aimed her rod at him, "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"
The beam of light bursting was strong enough to lift the fog surrounding them and keeping them clueless of their location. To her surprise, Atahamas vanished right in front of her eyes and appeared behind her, getting a hold on her again, this time, tighter and harder for her to break free. He pulls her back and leaned his face to be in par with hers and grinned, "Are you done flashing your useless tricks at me?" He scoffed, "Is this all you got?"
Sailor Moon fidgeted more to measure what parts of her were free to use than to actually break free. Athamas turned and licked the long streak of sweat trickling on her side of her face and grinned, "You still think sparkles and moon dust is what going to set this planet free? Love, hope, redemption... None of that exists in a land that has birthed a monster, Serenity, you have been living a lie. You are just like your mother... weak and terribly predictable," he scoffed, "No wonder why she is dead."
Sailor Moon opened her eyes and gritted her teeth. Disgusted by the sound of his voice, she couldn't let her efforts going to waste. She couldn't let all her experience vanish just by a few words from a man that deserved nothing but punishment. Her hands felt cold, likely for the lack of circulation; her body was starting to feel numb leaving her with little time to come up with something to break from his restraint when her eyes focused on the shadows moving behind the thick mantle of debris and spotted Endymion throwing a high kick at a flying shadow aiming at him.
From their position, he felt a pull in his chest—her calling. He stabbed his dagger in a shadow's head and turned quickly to find her; their eyes locked, clear blue and indigo, and that was more than enough. More than Sailor Moon needed to take back control.
Athamas was enjoying the moment, both parties affected under his influence and suffocating in the darkness surrounding them, he tightened his arm around her shoulders, so tight it was causing her a shortage of air and compromising her focus. With a grin he looked at Endymion surrounded by dozens of shadows that kept respawning by the second and then down at her, "Is this the culmination of your awakening as a sailor senshi? A woman that depends on others to unleash her powers?"
Sailor Moon frowned and caught Athamas' hand between her teeth and pressed hard, making him yank his hand away giving her an opening to reach out to her husband and secure the course of her plan. Endymion felt a stronger pull in his chest, alerting him Sailor Moon was in danger and turned with wide eyes. Close to lose all consciousness, Sailor Moon frowned, "In—" she took a hasty breath to find her voice, "Insidiis!"
Endymion heard the command loud and clear. Impressed by her tactics, he turned and charged into the shadows with his back to knock them out of his way and ran towards her. As he was coming closer, he widened his eyes when he realized what she was about to do once she recovered and focused on clearing the way for her to move and counterattack the andromedian soldier with precision.
Sailor Moon was focused, determined to bring him down; her fear was her fuel and her desire to move past this moment, her motivation. She took a deep breath and stood still, feeling less affected by Athamas' dark influence over her and with all the security in the world, channeled her inner fourteen-year-old self and screamed at the top of her lungs to activate the orbs pinned on her hair buns and take advantage of the supersonic waves bursting out to mess with the shadows and piercing Athamas' ears to a point he started to scream in pain.
Endymion, knowing the painful effect of the attack firsthand, flew his hands to cover his ears and ran out of the way while the screaming and consequent aftermath was still in vigor and channeled his energy to manifest when he saw another herd of shadows was going after Sailor Moon, "Sacrum terram: rugiens rugiet super imperium meum, conteram incantatores, ut nos redimeret de manu tenebris,"
(Sacred land, roar on my command, break the spell, free us from the claws of darkness,)
The prayer loud and clear to respond to its master's command flowed underneath in an enchanting pattern of light and fire through every crack in the asphalt giving the prince the opportunity to take advantage of gravity to pin them down to get close. Sailor Moon turned and hit Athamas with her tiare again and kicked him down.
With harsh and forced breaths, she looked at him with so much anger glistening in her beautiful eyes, "I believe in benevolence. I believe in the goodness of people and the benevolence of deities across the universe. I believe there are others just like me that want to see creatures like you pay for their crimes. I believe in justice and I have wanted nothing more than to prove its worth. I believe in love because it's what gives sense to our actions and gives sense to my life; I am a soldier of justice, bearer of light. I use light to wash away the darkness and that is what makes me different from you, and any other soldier in the universe. I am the legitimate daughter of the Queen of the Moon, descendant of the Olympian Goddess Diana, and Goddess Selene. The rightful heir of the crown of the Lunar Empire, Serenity. I am Sailor Moon, the Soldier of Mystery, I fight for love and for justice. I am not a murderer; I do not take lives for pleasure or because I want power. I do not fight for revenge, I do not claim blood for victory. I believe in goodwill and second chances..." Her crystal blue eyes squinted, "But I do not believe in you,"
Athamas looked up at Sailor Moon and widened his eyes by her determination and the cold tone of her voice; sensing a strong aura coming from within her. Sailor Moon arched a brow, "Do not mistake things, Athamas... I have mercy, but I am not my mother. Unlike her, I will rely on those who have tasted death and fight wars to restore peace when it's necessary. I have gone through enough to learn how to find more than one way to fight back and just because I believe in goodness it does not mean I want to save your soul. You have taken more than you know, Athamas, and what's worse, I do not give one single care for your fate once your pact with Chaos is over. You've proven more than once how disgraceful you are... but to me, you have proven how much the universe is not in need for your soul to find redemption; you're past it."
Athamas scoffed "Are you threatening to take my life? You? With what? Your precious silver crystal?"
"No, you do not deserve such considerations. I will punish you with something that will cause you much more pain than the light of the Moon." Her crystal blue eyes narrowed, "Polemarchos," she said more like a command rather than a request without flinching or moving.
"Yes, Sailor Moon?"
"Be my weapon,"
The sound of footsteps coming close alerted Athamas that just like her, the terran prince had found the way to break his spell. He leaned his weight on his arms and tried to push himself off the ground but he was quickly thrown back down by Sailor Moon who had stabbed her high heel on his back, pressing him to the ground and frowned "I never granted you permission to move."
Athamas cracked a chuckle, "You barely can hurt an insect, Serenity, let alone take a li—"
"My point exactly," Sailor Moon interrupted, "This is what I mean when I say I do not care for your fate. Things have changed, Athamas, and I have too, but it is your own failure what will put closure to this mad story. Doing it myself would only feed this vicious dark feeling nested inside of me asking me to listen and deliver but I am aware that far from giving me a resolution it would only give you more power than you actually have and I'm done. I am not going to give darkness the pleasure of seeing me fall into its trap but that doesn't mean I will let pass your wrongdoings. That doesn't mean I will ever forget the pain you have caused." Her crystal blue eyes narrowed "I want you to feel the desperation of those whose lives you've ruined. How many innocent souls you've tortured and taken to serve for your own selfish acts, children died because of you... entire families were destroyed because of you. The people that once put their trust in your hands all were met by your betrayal and abandon. Justice is not served by eliminating you but it is to make you feel the pain and the desolation they felt. That is your punishment, Athamas, the burden of empathy. And to be fair, I am not the only one who wants justice for all of the crimes you committed... the Moon is not the only realm you messed with and my family was not the only one trampled by your ambition. Although his approach will be a little more savage because, after all... he's a hybrid monster... right?"
Athamas widened his eyes with shock "Serenity,"
Sailor Moon moved her heel off Athamas' back and turned to Endymion, giving him a silent command to take matters into his hands "This is the last time I am seeing your face, the last time I will grant you a word."
"Serenity!"
"May you face the consequences of all the pain you caused in the afterlife, Athamas." She turned to walk away without a single trace of emotion and closed her eyes when he heard his hoarse voice calling with desperation, already aware of what was coming next.
"No! Serenity!"
In one final desperate attempt to stand up, Endymion came close and kicked him in his ribs and stomach. He bent his knees and grabbed him from his hair and threw him back to the bloody ground with force "Clamabo vim Solis tuis ut benedicat Terra gestaret. Et pascat in tenebris, et devorabit omnia in eius exitium."
(I call for thy sacred power of the Sun to bless this ground on Earth. Feed on its darkness and burn everything to its demise.)
Athamas fought to gasp for air as much as he tried to run away; for a fraction of a second, his eyes met Endymion's and watched them turn dark like a stormy ocean and saw it—Asteria's same fate was now his. His blood ran cold in his veins when he saw Endymion's hand glowing with specks of energy pressing it against his head, feeling dread for the first time in two thousand years "Noooo! Serenity!"
"Incaendo,"
Athamas widened his eyes when he saw golden specks of light spark in his hand and ignite in streams of mad fire feeding on the dark tar left by the shadows, engulfing him into flames and screamed with horror "N-No... Noo! Nooooo! Serenity! Serenity! Nooooo!"
Sailor Moon couldn't help feeling like she could break into tears any moment now; she was shaking, feeling all sorts of sentiments as she watched Endymion mouthing the words that would unleash an unforgiving attack that would put Athamas into a frenzy of pain; true, suffering was not a card in her arsenal nor was in relying in others to do these brutal things for her but she had reached her limit. It was one of those situations where it boiled down to either save a lost soul or save herself and this time, she put herself first.
She didn't know if she had done the right thing—that, right now, she didn't care. If she had gotten her mother's support, if she was now as vile as him, if it's something queen Gaia would have done. She only trusted her heart at this point and went with what she felt was best to do. Serenity was not merciless or cruel, but she was broken, she was desperate, she was human, and she had never felt more pain in her life.
Athamas had done so much damage, no light in the universe could spare his heart from the corruption possessing it. If she didn't do anything, in the end, it would have been Hades or Ares, who were also after him; it would have been the worst side that could sprout in Endymion, or it would have been Chaos himself. As horrible as it sounded in her head, this was the best way for him to be stopped.
As she saw his body being caught up in flames, Serenity couldn't help remembering the first she met him; the first time she saw him smile and be all charming, giving her nothing but compliments and considerations, making her wonder, if any of that charm had been true at least once. She remembered how she actually believed he was the one; how she once wanted him to be the one. How she once dreamt to be with him, whom she thought was the great love of her life. Maybe in other circumstances, if he hadn't played with destiny and risked his chances the way he did, perhaps Athamas could have been a good partner; a good friend. A good leader to his army.
All the ifs of what could have happened flashed in front of her as she watched him squirm in pain under such degrading circumstances and thought how different things would have been if she had surrendered to him and his abuse, if she never left the Moon and met Endymion or if the terran prince hadn't survived the war and infection Athamas aided to break free on Earth.
"Taking an oath as Queen is not just changing to a higher status and wear a beautiful and shiny crown over your head. It is a title that demands attention, time, guts, and dedication."
This was the first time Sailor Moon condemned someone to be punished under these conditions. This was the first time she didn't want to save someone's soul. The first time she would have to make one decision that would step away from her life as a soldier and more of a future queen. As she found herself falling down a spiral of emotions, Gaia's soft and warm voice echoed in her mind as if pulling her out of the painful remorse trying to take over.
"You have to make difficult decisions—painful decisions not everyone will understand or approve. Not everyone will agree with you and not everyone will want to support you but you must stay rooted in what your gut tells you and carry on. You must carry on, Serenity."
True, she wasn't a murderer, but she wasn't naïve either; not anymore. She had gone through enough to understand evil existed and how mercy wasn't always the solution and she also came to understand how sometimes her power was not was going to put the final period in a story. Evil could not be redeemed or forgiven; hatred could not be let go as much as pain could never be forgotten and she still had a long way to go to let go of hers.
No matter how horrible it was to be the witness of someone's demise, Athamas' fall was not even a fraction of the battle they still had ahead of them and the pain and suffering it still, up to this day, it caused. Her eyes finally regained some clarity and met with Endymion's once he was within her reach and let go a deep breath, breaking down and giving up to her emotions. She let her tears stream down her cheeks but she didn't want to acknowledge she felt sorry for Athamas' misfortune and his poor choices in life. She didn't want to feel responsible, nor guilty, yet, she did.
"They're not..." Sailor Moon wiped her cheek with a shaky hand, "Not for—"
"It's all right,"
"I can't feel at peace... I can't..." Sailor Moon shook her head "I don't know how... or if I will ever—"
"You will," Endymion tucked a loose piece of platinum hair behind her ear and pulled her closer, "Deep wounds take time to heal, but you are not alone. We—" his eyes widened when he felt a weight in his body. He bolted to look behind them, feeling as if they were being observed with very big eyes.
Sailor Moon looked in the same direction as him with confusion "End—"
Endymion frowned. He turned to Sailor Moon and urged her to follow him in silence. Without questioning his motives or even asking for an explanation, the tension in his face was enough to let her know he had noticed something she couldn't due to her clouded mind that was still wrapped in so many confusing emotions. She felt a change in the air, not sure how she could explain it but it was dense, as if she was breathing in smoke. She felt dizzy, disoriented, confused.
Endymion frowned. He turned to Sailor Moon and put his arm around her to help for support as they walked away. Without giving one last glance at Athamas still scorching and begging for his life with insufferable pain, Endymion tightened his grip on his wife's hand with concern; his blue eyes turned dark with realization, "Venenum hoc modoconfirmat quae transiit in his societatem civium. Tu es quasi latentem morbum aura vestra palpabilis est, haud dubie vertunt id est, vos, qui circum nos sunt sequentes… susurro dementiae."
(This poison only confirms you have crossed into this realm. You are lurking like a disease, your aura is palpable, unmistakable that is, you who have been following us around, whisperer of dementia.)
Divinity is a long series and it's rated M (for a reason). Violence, cursing, and intimacy ay occur.
I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters.
***Credits for the song are totally from The Carpenters.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you did, leave me a nudge! (if you didn't, that's fine, just leave it as it is and carry on.)