Chapter 7: Elysion and the Garden of Dreams

He ran, throwing everything he had at the enormous creature that strode purposefully through the city of thorns, but to no avail. It barely responded, even as he fired a concentrated beam of golden light from his rose sword. It just got faster, moved farther from him, and no matter how hard he ran he was getting farther and farther behind. He jumped, he flew, but he was batted away effortlessly with one swing of its gigantic tail and landed hard in a thicket of briars. Trapped, he slashed with his sword, kicked his way towards the path of destruction in its wake, ripped and pulled against how his clothing stuck to the thorns and held him back. He couldn't let it reach the castle. Everything pushed him back, the briars grew thicker before him - with every step forward he moved three steps back, and still, the footsteps of the monster boomed and shook the land around it. It yelled a challenge, deep voice bellowing, and people - humans - screamed. He had to help them! But the vines grew thicker, blocking out the light -

"Endymion!" someone called, but he knew it was a trick. If he joined hands with her he would gain the power to aid the monster, not destroy it. He pushed on, struggling against the press of thorns and the pull of the voice from the darkness behind him.

"Endymion!" it called again, but the voice was different - deeper, less feminine - and as his sword was ripped from his hand and moved beyond his reach, he did not follow its progress with his eyes. He had to ignore the voice, to focus on the enemy. His hands open wide, palms out, he threw another blast of energy outward, but the plants only grew -

"Mamoru!"

He paused - the enemy had not used his name, only his title - but it was his folly, as in pausing a hand reached out from behind him, clasped his shoulder, and pulled. He fell back into the dark, the thorns disappearing alongside the light…

And suddenly he was in a vast field of flowers, the ethereal light soft about him, thousands of whispering voices moving like the wind through the air all around. Where had he just been? He turned, not quite willing to accept the sudden peacefulness of his new surroundings, suspicious of a threat hiding just beyond his sight - but instead of monsters or friends he couldn't lead to truth, he found a twilit sky and an idyllic forest, before which was a structure carved of white stone. It was familiar, though the roses that grew around it, the vines that crept up its pillars and around its arches were new, rather than something out of his memory. Barely within the structure stood a figure that, for all the world, looked like he would prefer to rush towards him but held back, his appearance half-hidden in the fading light.

Calm as opposed to apprehensive, Mamoru stepped towards him. As he walked, fireflies took off all around, taking to the sky as hundreds of stars to light his way, and the figure in the gazebo relaxed his stance, disappointed, but stood taller and waited patiently for his arrival. Firefly light reflected off of the golden horn protruding from his head, and Mamoru recognized him all at once: Helios. As he stepped up the stone stairs to the platform beneath the crossing white archways the fireflies dispersed, their light filling the fields with a soft glow and reflecting off the peacefully still lake between this structure and the castle far beyond.

"Mamoru," Helios greeted with a slight bow to his head. In just his name alone, Mamoru knew this was not his Helios, but rather the guardian of Crystal Tokyo's time. Which meant this was Elysion, just as the familiarity suggested.

"Elysion is beautiful," he replied, moving to rest one hand on the stone railing as he looked over the lake, only to find his hand wasn't entirely there; he could see through it as easily as they had seen through the High Priest's form back in the castle. His heart sank, and he tried to push past the disappointment and despair the realization brought.

Helios joined him, his form solid, his footsteps resounding against the wooden floor beneath them. "Thank you," he replied, amber-colored eyes forward, "It took some time to restore it to its original state, and more to transform it into the paradise you see before you, but it was a labor of love."

"I can feel it," Mamoru replied, taking a deep breath of the cool air in an attempt to calm the bitter emotions building in his chest, but no amount of deep breathing, even in this atmosphere of peace and tranquility, would ever overcome the knowledge that he had failed them.

Helios turned to him as though sensing it. "Are you alright?" he asked, placing his solid hand on Mamoru's ghostly shoulder and somehow Mamoru felt it.

He turned away from the sight of the lake and the castle beyond, "As well as could be expected, given the circumstances," he replied, unable to keep the note of sourness from his tone. He was dead, Elysion now his own personal Elysium, made so through the connection he had to it. Would the others meet him here, eventually? Sooner, perhaps, rather than later, thanks to him? … should they try to visit him before that time, would he be able to interact with them, or would he be a ghost? Obviously Helios could speak with him - the ability of his sort of priest? Through him, he could at least apologize for not being more careful, for not being able to carry through with their plan. For letting them down. For leaving them. For leaving her. "Do they know?" he asked, his heart a stone in his chest.

"Not yet -" Helios began to say, but Mamoru interrupted.

"It'd be better to let them know now, rather than wait," he said, his hand curling into a fist on the railing. "Maybe in your time they've grown past this, but Kaito thinks better knowing all the pieces and Khalid would need to change whatever plan he had in the works to include that I wasn't coming back. Try to give Nero something to punch and Yuu somewhere to go. They'll get past it, but it'd be better hearing from you than hearing from Metallia or Beryl or one of their lackeys."

"So Beryl has turned?" Helios asked.

Right. Information. He nodded his head curtly. "Metallia took advantage of her feelings towards me and the Moon Kingdom and Serenity and worked up a story around them. She hasn't completely transformed, like the three others in the videos, but she's beginning to."

"Has she spoken of Metallia's origin?" Helios asked.

"The version she made for Beryl, in any case," Mamoru replied, reporting, "She said she was the original guardian of the Sun, and that when the Moon Kingdom was settled they sealed her away to usurp her power. She said that she sent her soul gem to Earth before it could be sealed away so it could be joined with Earth's gem to create the Golden Crystal, to protect Earth in her place." Helios sucked in a breath and Mamoru turned to face him, his brows furrowing, his report stopped. The pale guardian's mouth was in a tight line, a crease in his brow; his hands were in fists by his side, and the confidence Mamoru had in the story being false suddenly wavered. "Is it true?" he asked, afraid for the answer to be true and find that not only was the Moon Kingdom foreign to the system entirely but that Serenity's predecessors had entered the system as enemies.

"It is not her story, no," Helios stated carefully, the calm in his tone backed by hot anger. "Not entirely, in any case. But from it, we can glean the bits of truth she hid to make it more believable." Helios turned and leaned his back against the railings of the gazebo, his elbows propped as he considered.

"What parts aren't her story?" Mamoru asked carefully.

"She was never the guardian of the Sun," Helios stated, "Metallia was not responsible for sending its soul crystal to combine with Earth's, and that process was done long before the Moon Kingdom was settled."

He had questions.

"The Golden Crystal isn't of Earth, then?"

Helios shook his head, looking towards him, "It is entirely of Earth, don't confuse yourself - it is simply additionally protected by the Sun."

"But what does that -"

"Nothing," Helios interrupted with authority, but as Mamoru looked to him the guardian's eyes softened. "The Sun's protection is passive, it is not something you can harness, so tuck that information away for what it is - a miscellaneous fact."

Mamoru turned more to face him, the quandary still jumping around in his head. Protected by the Sun? Could he have… … but that was all irrelevant now, wasn't it? "And how did you learn of this 'miscellaneous fact', if it is from so long ago?" Mamoru asked in an effort to refocus himself on things he could potentially help with, rather than chasing a rabbit down holes that would lead him nowhere.

Helios fixed him with a critical stare before cautiously replying, "I was there." To Mamoru's incredulous look, he shrugged, adding, "Kind of." His gaze shifted to the field of flowers Mamoru had come from and stated, "Your miracle on the battlefield that night was not the first time souls have been reincarnated; mine just so happens to come from a little further in the past."

"A little?" Mamoru repeated, in his own opinion taking the revelation quite well.

Helios smiled, "Well, maybe a lot further. A couple millennia, give or take. And no," he said, sliding his gaze back to Mamoru, "Your Helios has not realized that yet, so try not to mention it to him."

He nodded absentmindedly, putting pieces together - "It was you, then?" he asked, but to Helios's confusion, he elaborated - "You were the guardian of the Sun?"

Helios's eyes dropped, staring at the pale planks of wood at their feet. He shook his head, "No," then added, wistfully, "but we were friends." He paused, "In the end, he did sacrifice himself to combine his Sol crystal with the crystal of Earth, but it was not to protect Earth against the Moon Kingdom, but an enemy far more dangerous and ancient." Helios cleared his throat, "He had no regrets and was not sealed away. That Metallia knew that the crystals combined, though, means it - she - whatever knows about that," he looked up thoughtfully, "else could sense the sun's power in the Golden Crystal and made up parts of a tale that coincidentally was close to the truth."

Helios had known the guardian of the Sun and his reasons for doing what he did to protect Earth... "Did you choose to be reborn?" he asked, drawing the Priest's attention from the purple sky above.

"I did," he said, fixing his gaze on Mamoru. "He loved this planet so much he forfeited his soul towards its protection; the least I could do is stick around and offer what guidance I can to his successors." He half-smiled, but that smile soon faded, "And protect that memory. Metallia probably doesn't know about that old enemy, but the part of the story about the Moon Kingdom is probably true - it may have been sealed away by them, thus the grudge it has against them, and the Queen by extension.

He paused, "So Beryl was manipulated due to how recent the fight against Diana and the Moon Kingdom was, in your time? An ancient grudge against the Golden Crystal would make more sense than the reason Diana had, wouldn't it?" he mused, "And Beryl's loyalty would align her with Metallia, in Metallia's telling. Were you able to confront her?"

"Yes and no," Mamoru replied, crossing his arms. "She wouldn't believe anything that I said; Metallia convinced her that both the Earth and I am under the Moon's influence, and until that influence is erased I'll do and say whatever it takes to protect Usako, or Queen Serenity or Princess Serenity or whomever she's imagining as the person holding the strings."

"Ah," Helios said, nodding his head, a scowl on his lips, "Right. That would carry weight with her in that time." He let out a breath and grew quiet, considering.

"But not this time?" Mamoru asked, prompting an answer, anxious to hear what had become of their dynamic in Rin's time. Helios gave him a look, as though reminding him it wasn't good to know too much about the future, even if it was no longer his, but he was dead. There was nothing he could do with that information, no path he could damage. He reasoned, "If she knew of her place in this future, of how she herself fared, maybe she can be convinced that Metallia isn't completely truthful. She would trust her future-self's judgement - Khalid could use that in an attempt to convince her to give up Metallia. If the Beryl from this time is awake, and not comatose somewhere like everyone else is, her appearance could be enough to tip the scales -"

Helios shook his head; while thoughtful, he took the time to briefly explain, "That's not possible."

Mamoru waited for further explanation, but when none was forthcoming he had to assume… "She died?" His stomach lurched. She had had no soul - if she had died… he may be stuck here, but at least he was still himself. He was still experiencing things, he had an 'afterlife', but she…

"No," Helios denied, looking over at him sharply and punctuating the answer with a short shake of his head, repeating, "No, she's not dead. She's just… elsewhere."

"Elsewhere?"

"Not on Earth or the Moon. She met someone and is travelling with them - happily, from what her letters have suggested." Travelling? … through space? "She found love and is spending the years exploring with them; there is no way to contact her now, but even if we could, she would never be able to make it back here in time. But that... " he considered, "maybe we could use that." He turned to him, nodding, moving on - "Where are you being held?"

Being held? His body? He shook his head; even if they wanted to recover it he couldn't be much help in locating it. "Somewhere in space," he said, the last word sounding as incredulous out of his mouth as it had in his mind. "It was moving - a meteoroid, maybe? It wasn't large, from the perspective I could see, anyway. No physical horizon outside the room I was being kept in. It was dark, so potentially moving towards the Sun and inner system? If it was passing by planets, none were so close that I could make them out among the stars." He breathed out, "That's where Metallia and Beryl are; she was draining me, had Beryl believing that we were 'sharing' the energy because the golden crystal was originally hers. I don't know how we got there, but, unless they left as soon as I died, she's not on Earth. There's no time to worry about recovering my body, though -"

"Mamoru," Helios interrupted warily, straightening up to put his hand back on his shoulder, leaning in sincerely as he said, "You're not dead." He…? Helios straightened, using his free hand to indicate the world around them. "Elysion is, currently, a land of dreams. You're just dreaming - the first dream you've had since you left. I was able to pull you out to speak with you. You're still alive, and we'll figure out where your body is and bring it back as soon as we can. While you're here, you're safe; King Endymion has spread his protection to every soul sheltered here, including his younger self's, it seems." He released him, looking up and to the left, as though getting ready to go leave, "I'll keep you apprised of what is going on up there, but for now I'll tell them what you were able to tell me and see what we can do with it. Thank you," he said, turning back to him. "This could help -"

"Let me go back," he said, steeling his resolve. If he was alive, he could help. He had more options to try. "I can try again - I can work on convincing her -"

Helios immediately shook his held, taking hold of his wrist as though to keep him in place, "No, Mamoru. If you're here, you're safe; if you go back she just may drain you of everything, and then where would we be? Stay here -"

"No," Mamoru said, shaking his head, pulling his arm free of the Priest's grasp. "I'm not leaving everyone to face this while I just sit out on the sidelines, safe and sound. I can still try to help." He implored, "If I can stop them before Metallia's ready to return to Earth, then she won't be able to attack Crystal Tokyo again." He could tell Beryl where the Golden Crystal really came from, about why Metallia had to go to the past to find her because her future self knew better than to ally herself with a lie. He'd just have to figure out a way around the energy drain. "If I run into trouble again, I'll just… start dreaming again," he said, as though he had any control over that. How many times had he passed out, only to dream that last time? "I can tell you what I've learned, you can use it to prepare, or modify the plans you guys come up with while I'm away." He caught his eye, "We need all the help we can get. Let me keep helping."

Helios returned his gaze steadily… but then took in a breath and let it out, conceding. "Just deciding to dream around her isn't exactly something you can control, but there may be another way." He walked down the short stair, leaving the canopied gazebo, and stooped to pick a single red rose before returning. "Jadeite says you have one of Pluto's keys. If you must return instead of staying safely here, then use it immediately to escape next time your life is threatened. No matter what happens because of it, don't die there."

He nodded. The key. He hadn't felt it on his person, hadn't seen it in his reflection, but he had not given it to anyone - it must still be with him somewhere.

"I still think this is a bad idea," Helios said, "Are you sure?" He nodded again, taking a breath to prepare himself. Helios offered him the flower, and he took it. "Treat that as a talisman," he instructed, "Keep your thoughts trained on it, and you'll find the strength to move. Now wake up," Helios said, pulling hard on the arm that held the flower to throw him off balance. As he fell over the steps of the raised structure, Helios whispered when he passed, "Good luck."

He awoke in an entirely different place than he had before. It wasn't Elysion. His body was solid. It wasn't a dream. But he was in a coffin of some sort and that wasn't entirely reassuring. Focusing on the thought of the rose Helios had offered, he pushed out with his hand, but the clear, domed lid rose easily from atop him and he sat up. He was in a chamber made of eerily shaped stone, the walls looking like they were veined, as was the floor around the dias holding the coffin he was in; before him, enormous, glowing deep orange-yellow with darkness pulsing at its center, was some sort of bulb made out of the rock itself, like a seed suspended between floor and ceiling, and the energy it gave off gave him chills -

"Endymion!" a voice called gratefully, but he couldn't take his eyes off the evil mass. Was that Metallia?

"YOU SEE, MY CHILD? I BROUGHT HIM BACK. FOR YOU. I WOULD NEVER DO YOU HARM," a voice like an earthquake resounded in the chamber, making it shake - or, rather, making him shake. He breathed carefully, moved carefully, not quite sure of what was going on or if he could use whatever was happening to his advantage in trying to convince Beryl to listen to the truth - She was there, suddenly, her eyes nearly as orange as the glowing orb behind her, her hair a deeper, brighter shade of red, her face shallower, more angular. Her shoulders… there was something wrong with there, a protrusion, sharp and pointed, like a horn or a fang - she cupped his face, bringing him closer to her; he moved with her rather than fight her, not sure yet whether Metallia realized she had not, in fact, brought him back, but Helios had sent him back. If she believed the former, maybe he could -?

"Endymion!" Beryl repeated, and even her voice was a little different - deeper, wider, somehow. "Are you alright?!"

"HE WILL BE FINE, THOUGH UNABLE TO ANSWER YOU FOR A TIME," Metallia answered for him, and something pulled at his hand, dragging it to move - he let it happen. Let Metallia believe what she would; it would give him time, at least. His hand encircled Beryl's wrist, and she smiled, stepping back to give him room. His body moved to get out of the raised case; it was an odd sensation, like he was some sort of puppet, but he worked with it. "SOON HE SHALL BE FREE OF THE MOON'S INFLUENCE. TAKE HIM TO HIS ROOM, AND WE WILL MAKE FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR THE FINAL STEP."

Final step? His heart hammered; he didn't have much time.

Beryl pulled him along and he followed, a door suddenly appearing in the chamber wall where none had been before. As it closed behind them, sealing them away from the sight of the formless mass that was Metallia, she spoke. "I thought I lost you, but Metallia was able to reverse the mistake. Rest - once you've rested you'll feel better -"

He thought of Elysion, pictured the red rose, and fought back against the puppeteering force and slowed. She held up, looking back at him quizzically, and he went for it. He shook his head, as though just waking up, and croaked, his voice breaking from strain, "She's lying to you."

Her brows furrowed, "What? No… Endymion, you're not thinking clearly, remember? The Moon -"

"The Sun," Mamoru interrupted, imploring her to listen, taking her hand to force her to stop and pay attention. The correction had given her pause and he tried to use it - "The Sun's soul stone did combine with Earth's, but it wasn't Metallia that initiated it - Metallia wasn't the Sun's guardian, and the change happened long before Metallia." Beryl's mouth started to open and he implored further, "This isn't about the Moon, Beryl. This is about the Sun and the Earth, and a force that is lying to you to get you to do what it says." Her lips closed, brows furrowing further - "Can you take me somewhere where we can see the sun?" he asked, both to keep them moving and her focused and well as to orient him a little more. Her head tilted, looking up at him to examine him, and he held firm under her scrutinizing gaze. "We don't have much time," he said, and she swallowed, glanced back the way they had come, and pulled him onwards, changing their direction to a new stone-encased path.

"You know she went back in time to get you," he bid as they walked. She no longer held on to him, "But do you know why?"

"... to show me what my future was supposed to be," Beryl said quietly, "What it would be, if I helped her free you and the Earth -"

"Because she knew she couldn't get to the you that is here," he pushed. "You're powerful, Beryl, and Metallia knows that, but the you from this time is happy and content - if what Metallia says is true, would you have overlooked something so devious for so long? If there was something substantial to what she said - if the Moon were really in control of me and held sway over the Earth, would you have been blind to it for so many years? I trust you more than that," he said, catching up to her to look her in the eye as they walked. Her orange irises glanced up at him and then quickly away, red brows still furrowed, though in anger or thought was unclear. "You trust yourself more than that, don't you?"

Ahead of them sunlight beamed through a break in the wall to their left, blinding in the corridor, and he slowed her down, just outside of its intense glow, and took her by the shoulders, avoiding the pointed horn protruding from the curve of either - "She's using you by lying to you and manipulating you into working with her willingly - don't let her. She's seeking revenge against people who sealed her away and destroying life on Earth in the process. That's not something you would ally yourself with, Beryl. I know that about you - the lengths you've gone to to protect Earth stands testament to that. Don't let her change you. Renounce her and come with me."

He let her go, stepping into the blinding light, and held out his hand to block the orb of the sun to see clearly. Ahead of them, a blue star shone brightly, and he inherently knew that it was no star. It was Earth. To far away still to make out as a disc or a crescent, but close enough to pick it out from the background of stars. He felt at peace being able to see it, but that they were so close brought up new potential problems: how fast were they moving? Was this meteor on a crash-course?

"We can stop her," he said, turning back to Beryl. "Will you help me?"

The ground shook beneath his feet and his body started to fall to it, but Beryl remained standing and he realized it wasn't the ground - it was him. Metallia was pulling from him again. He thought of the rose, kept it focused in his minds' eye. "We have to go, Beryl," he pressed, reaching out for her, straining against the immense weight that pulled him down. Where was the key?

She stepped forward, hesitantly. "Endymion… No, Mamoru… I almost made a huge mistake," she said, but took his hand. Relief swelled within him, but as the force increased, his free hand patted against his pocket, his chest, searching for the literal key to their escape.

"The key…" he managed to groan as he was forced to his knees, Beryl's concerned expression over him suddenly turning to understanding. She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled it out - Pluto's little golden key, and he took it and her hand as well, focused on the rose, and raised it high, as he remembered Rin having done.

"Oh Lord of Time and Space, Chronos!" he called, his voice shaking with strain, and then the entire rock did start to shake, throwing Beryl off balance beside him, but he kept his hold on her and pressed on - "Listen to my call! Guide us to the Guardian of the Door - Sailor Pluto!"

The key exploded with light, enveloping them in a glow entirely different than that of the sun, and then…

They were gone.

A/N: Thank you for your reviews and likes and follows, everyone! They give me LIFE! :D

This, unfortunately, was the week I finally caught up to myself XD Things got really busy and I haven't been able to write as much as I'd like to - BUT I WILL PRESS ON! Know that if I miss next Sunday's posting, I will have the chapter the following Sunday! Spring break is coming for both the high school where I work and the university I'm attending, so that week I'm going to try my hardest to push ahead!

BUT I THOUGHT IT COULD BE FUN TO ASK YOU, MY BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL READERS:

Do you think Beryl has really renounced Metallia, or will she betray Mamoru in the end?

I ALREADY HAVE THE ENDING IN MIND (and there aren't that many chapters left! :O) BUT I'M ALWAYS CURIOUS! XD

As always, thank you for reading Cardinal King!