Chapter 2 "Mamo... chan?" The words uttered were unbelieving and scared. The Starlight's just stared at the figure not believing their ears.
"Hello my love, my Odango Atama. Gomen, I did not mean to hurt you, only to separate him from you." Mamoru answered calmly. He appeared dressed in his armoured suit, his cape fluttering in the gentle breeze.
'This? This is her Mamoru? How can that be, he is supposed to be in America, not here attacking us. He fights for the right, not for the wrong. He is her protector. Her love.' Keeping his questions to himself Seiya looked over to Sailormoon curiosity filling his eyes.
"Why? What's wrong with me helping him?" Sailormoon questioned, slowly rising to her feet and walking over to him.
"Everything is wrong Usako. Me, him, this world. Nothing is ever right." He replied gently taking her hands.
As she took in his words, something, something she couldn't quite put her finger on, was bugging her about him calling her Usako. It just didn't seem right now, though he called her that all the time.
Regarding his hands she noticed something wrong, terribly wrong with his wrists. "No," she whispered. No, this couldn't be. Her Mamo-chan couldn't betray her. He wouldn't do this, ever, yet she found herself asking the question, "Why?"
"I did this for you Usako. To protect you, so I could keep and eye on you." He responded as he looked at the golden bracelets on his wrists. His source of life and power now.
"Keep.. an eye on me? You don't trust me?" She asked as a single tear slid down her face. This was not her Mamo-chan. He trusted her always, never doubting her. But, this person was only her Mamo-chan on the outside, and maybe a little corner of him on the inside, but never would he ever really be her Mamo-chan. Not fully. Not ever.
"I trust you. I have always trusted you." He looked over at Seiya, "But him? Never will I trust him. This deserter. He who won't stay to fight for his Princess."
Seiya looked over at Mamoru, puzzled and angry about his assumptions. "I only left my world to follow and protect my Princess. Never did I desert or not fight for her."
"Yes, but she was never, your Princess she was someone else's, never yours." Mamoru returned.
"What do you mean 'not mine'?" Seiya questioned.
"Enough with the lies. I have spent to much time running around in circles with you. I must return to my new Queen." Turning he started away, still holding Sailormoon.
Struggling to break free of his hold, tears streamed freely down Sailormoon's face. 'This isn't right. This isn't my Mamo-chan.' "Let me go. Seiya! Anyone, please, help me." She cried out purely terrified now. "Please. Someone. Help..."
As the Inner Senshi and the Starlight's stared at the struggling pair no one moved to help. But as her last pleas escaped her mouth Seiya started to advance quickly. "Usagi! No! Leave her alone! No, Usako!" Though the last word was foreign to his mouth it seemed right, like it was always supposed to be uttered by him.
Looking back to Seiya, hearing him call her Usako, seeing him trying to help her brought on a new flood of tears. Tears of fear. Tears of desperation. Tears of a long forgotten love.
Soon the rest of the Senshi and Starlight's were running to help their friends. But as they neared, a blast of black, electric energy was sent their way, knocking them all back. Seeing the red telephone booth- trademark of Galaxia's anima-mates- appear in front of Mamoru and Sailormoon, Seiya was immediately, though thoroughly injured, back up, running towards Sailormoon, screaming her name over and over again, not hiding his total desperation.
As he reached the booth the doors slammed shut. "Let her go!" he screamed.
Suddenly Mamoru's face contorted into one of pain as the three words drifted through the glass walls of the booth, stunning everyone, especially the Inner Senshi, "I... hate... you!"
Sailormoon pushed through to appear in the door. Pounding the glass frantically she cried out as she saw Seiya's grief filled face slowly fading out as the booth vanished.
"No! Usagi. Please come back, please! Usako!" Seiya looked in disbelief at the empty space where the booth had once been. "No..." He whispered as a solitary tear left a trail on his cheek.
All of the Senshi were gathered around him now, disbelief written on their faces. Not believing that this was the same Mamoru that they had known. The one that had died for her countless times before, that now would rather kill for her instead.
The frantic clicking of computer keys cut through the gentle sobs of crying from Seiya. As he turned to regard Mercury he got up to see what she was doing. Going to stand behind her he saw the screen as it flashed from picture to picture, zooming in at points.
Answering his unasked question Mercury told him "I'm tracing her locket. But something's blocking me from pinpointing the exact location. The closest I can get is a ten block area of where she could be."
"Okay, so how so we go about searching this ten block area?" Seiya asked impatiently.
"That's what I don't know. There might not be a way to search all of the buildings without alerting Mamoru-san." Mercury sighed and shook her head.
"I can't believe he's doing this. It's just not him." Mars said despairingly.
"I think we should all go home to inform our parents that we will not be home tonight, possibly not tomorrow, then meet back at the temple?" Maker offered, looking at Mars as he suggested the meeting time.
"Yes that would be fine. What do you guys think?" Mars said as she looked around the group.
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Okay, but I think the Outer Senshi need to know what's going on." Jupiter said with a grim face.
"Their not going to be to pleased with Mamoru-san." Venus said with a slight giggle of nervousness.
A few hours later, everyone was seated around a room in Rei's temple, keeping the small talk up, trying to stay off the topic of Mamoru and Usagi while awaiting the Outer Senshi's arrival. This was mainly done for Seiya's sake, though he didn't pay much attention to any of the conversations going on in the room anyway.
He sat off in the furthest corner of the room his head resting on his knees as he wondered about what Mamoru had said about his Princess. 'Won't stay to fight for his Princess' 'never your Princess' 'someone else's.' As these words implanted themselves into his memory, quick flashes of pictures flashed behind his closed eyes. Pictures of a palace behind acres of flower gardens and fountains. Of a Princess silouetted in front of the Earth. Then of a battle fading away as he left his home to find help.
Jolted awake as the door to the room flew open, the dreams stuck in his mind. Looking up to see what the fuss is about, he spotted Haruka storming through the frame. Hearing giggles from Minako and Rei he assumed that they had guessed Haruka's reaction to their predicament, and got it right.
Behind her, Michiru came in, an amused smile playing on her face. Trailing her were Setsuna and Hotaru, looking a little more than slightly dishevelled, most likely from the speed Haruka had chosen to drive at, he guessed.
They soon settled down around the table to discuss what they could do in the few hours they had to get ready. As the talk went on Seiya excused himself for a minute to go outside.
Once outside he sat down on the edge of the walkway to stare at the stars. They were familiar in some way, yet he was seeing them in a different angle then he used to. His gaze slowly drifted over to the moon. 'God it's beautiful tonight, he thought. So full and silvery, like a painting of innocence.' Like her soul, her spirit. Thinking of her brought tears to his eyes. And images. Images of his past, not his recent past. Of his past. Of memories long forgotten. Of a love, a home, lost to him for a time, but now found. And then lost again. But this time he couldn't wait, he had to protect his love from being lost to him, to everyone, forever.
He looked back over his shoulder to the slit of light around the door, silently asking forgiveness for the things he had to do, knowing that if they knew what he was he was about to do they would try to stop him. But no one understood him, or why he would do it. They didn't know the truth.
He then silently slid into the night with one thought taking control. Protect the Princess. Protect your love, your heart. Your soul.
Seiya never looked back, and if he had, he would have noticed the pair of lavender eyes watching him from the door. As she watched him leave Rei smiled to herself, a smile of happiness, because her friends would truly be happy once again. But it was also a smile of saddness, because what this was turning into was a battle between friends, a battle between rivals. Rivals for the same love. And she knew someone was going to get hurt. And that someone wouldn't heal.
As the figure slowly melted into the black of the night, she turned her head back to the group, rejoining the conversation.
She was walking out of the ballroom, her dress trailing behind her. She had just recieved a note from someone to meet her behind the palace immediately. She knew who it was, but she was surprised that he didn't just come in, join in the festivities, so it also worried her. As she rounded the corner she glanced around, looking for movement or something else to tell her that he was here. From the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of light reflecting off metal to her right, but he usually came from the left so this was unusual. As she turned back to look to her left, a hand cut through the darkness. Knowing it was him before he uttered a word she took his hand.
"Sere."
"Seiya." She returned the greeting. "Why did you want to meet here?"
"I had to tell you something, something that couldn't be discussed in there." There was a matter of urgency in his voice that shook her, scared her.
"Are you leaving again?" She pleaded silently that that was it. He usually ran small errands for her mother, going to different planets, sometimes a different galaxy. But they only lasted a maximum of three weeks.
"Yes, but I'll be gone for a while, longer than usual." He took a deep breath and continued, "Your mother needs me to travel to the Fireball Princess. I need to ask for help, for their forces to join with ours to defeat Queen Metallia."
"Queen Metallia? Why?"
"Because she's planning to attack us and without help, we won't win."
"When do you leave?" She asked dreading the answer.
"Tonight."
"Oh. Do you have time for one last dance?"
"Yes, I have time for a dance. But it will not be our last, I promise."
- - -
As her eyes fluttered open Usagi thought about this last dream, this memory. She let out a little sound that was a cross between a laugh and a sob. "You broke your promise, Seiya. You said it wouldn't be our last. But it was."
Suddenly she was aware of her surroundings. She was lying on a cot placed in the middle of a large room. It looked almost like a warehouse. As she looked closer she saw that the cot was surrounded by a ring if roses, black roses, emitting a strange light. She slowly got up and went over to investigate. she stuck her hand out to touch the light and as soon as her hand hit it a large jolt of electricity sent her flying back into the cot.
"I wouldn't have done that if I were you my love." His voice came from all directions from the echo of the building so she was surprised when he separated himself from the darkness right in front of her.
"Why have you done this? I know my whole past now. It was never you. You only pretended to be my Prince, you lied to me." Tears were streaming down her face as she continued. "I gave you my love, but it never belonged to you. You stole it."
"I never stole it. It was mine from the beginning. He stole it." His voice was beginning to rise as his rage began to build again.
"He never stole it, it has been his and always will be."
"It will be mine, even if it doesn't come voluntarily. You will be mine." He stated.
As she watched him, fear and hatred grew in her. Hate for him thinking he could force her to love him, and fear because she knew he was gathering a large amount of energy. And as he lifted his hands she knew what he was going to do, and she couldn't do anything to protect herself from this attack. This would be the one to take her life from her.
As the twin golden lights hit her she let out a pain filled scream. One that filled the night, A scream so heart wrenching that no one would be able to block from their memories.
- - -
As he walked through the night, the scream echoed off the walls finally reaching him. When he realized what this meant he begged that it wasn't true. Running now to the source of the sound, he started calling to her, "Usa, please, don't leave me. I love you. Don't go...."
A single tear trickled down his face, and as it fell off his cheek it began to glow a bright silvery color. Within a blink of an eye, Seiya was in the warehouse staring at his love as her life left her.
"What have you done to her?" Seiya demanded as he watched Mamoru take her star seed from her.
"Made her mine. She belongs to me now Seiya. She will never again belong to you." He said as he grasped her star seed, mild surprise registering on his face.
Seiya rushed over to her as she fell, cushioning her fall. As he looked at her, her eyes opened. "You came."
"Of course, I couldn't leave you again."
She smiled a sad smile, "I know this is a lot to ask, but please, please kill me, I don't want to live like this."
'Live like this' he looked at her carefully, knowing that she was dying. But as he ran his eyes over her they came to rest on her wrists. Oh. Oh no. No, no, no, no. Please not this. Anything but this. Please no.
End Chapter 2 So, what do you think. I'm having a bit(a lot) of trouble on chapter 3. If any of you have any suggestions please feel free to e-mail me at scout_venus@sailormoon.com. ANY comments or questions are welcome. And please don't forget to review. Thanx!