By Yohann DeSabrais
a.k.a. Technuma Saturn
Yeah, I know, I know.
Although this is the very first Sailor Moon fanfic I ever wrote,
it`s nonetheless episode number three in this story line.
The explanation is quite simple: when I started out writing these,
I had no idea it would take a life of its own until my characters
(those I invented, that is) wrote themselves in more and more of my
fanfics up to a point when I could no longer ignore the continuity
in their existence.
Let's just say that things have a way of working themselves out.
* * *
CYCLES OF LIFE: EPISODE 3
SWIMMING IN DARK WATERS
Everyone came to what was going to be Usagi`s happiest day in her
life, wearing their most beautiful clothes. The church was packed to
capacity, although only the bride`s family and closest friends had
the privilege of sitting in the first rows. All waited in
anticipation for the magic moment to arrive when Usagi would unite
her life with Mamoru`s for ever. Dressed in a stunning white tuxedo,
he waited at the altar with feverish expectation.
Then Usagi appeared in her wedding gown, glowing in happiness. Never
before had she looked more like a princess than today, not even when
she reclaimed the silver crystal or defeated the evil Queen Beryl.
The entire audience held its breath as she gracefully walked down to
the altar, but she paid attention to no one but her husband to be;
her gaze was locked in Mamoru`s who found himself entranced by her
divine beauty. Throughout the entire church, not a word was
whispered- only Minako`s tears of joy could be heard. Weddings
always had that effect on her.
"Usagi dearest, I have waited a millenium for this day."
"So have I, my love."
Unable to wait any longer, she moved forward and gave a long,
passionate kiss to the man she loved so much. Suddenly, he began
resisting and squeeled in a high-pitch voice:
"Leave me alone, meatball head!"
"Huh...?"
Usagi slowly arose out of her comatose sleep only to discover she
was smothering and covering with kisses the now VERY uncomfortable
Chibi-Usa.
"YOU! What are you doing in MY bed, you little SPORE?!?"
Usagi`s frantic screaming instantly sent the sleeping Luna in shock
as if she`d used an hydrogen bomb for an alarm clock.
"I was sleeping until you started giving me a french kiss, that`s
what!" answered the pink-haired girl. "If I had known, I wouldn`t
have come in your room to begin with!"
That makes two of us, Luna thought to herself.
"You don`t care for me, you never have, meatball head! I`m going
to my room, now." said Chibi-Usa who hopped out of bed and ran out
of the room with her Luna ball hovering behind.
"You do just that!" Usagi yelled in response. "Why me, Luna? I`m
a princess, aren`t I? I shouldn`t have to deal with that little
fungus!"
"You`re forgetting again, Usagi- she`s not just some kid you`re
babysitting, she`s a refugee from the future seeking protection from
dark moon thugs! Her mom and dad are in grave danger and she came
here far from home to save them. Remember your promise to Sailor
Pluto and promise ME you`ll be nicer to Chibi-Usa tomorrow morning."
"Okay, Luna, I promise... but she better not mess up my hair like
she did yesterday!"
With that final comment, Usagi went back to sleep in a flash. Luna
looked at the alarm clock; it was still two hours away from ringing
seven o`clock to wake up Usagi who probably wouldn`t do so until
way past eight.
"I bet stuff like this doesn`t happen to Artemis." commented a
rather discouraged black cat.
* * *
At the same moment, Artemis was vainly trying to escape from the
inextricable choke hold of the sleeping Minako`s heavy arm.
"Humpfff... could you move... your arm please?... I`m choking
here..." pleaded the white cat, crushed mercilessly by the blonde
girl`s right arm.
"Mmmmm... yes, I`m single... I`d love to go on a date..." mumbled
Minako through her dreaming haze, deaf to the cat`s desperate cries
for help.
"I bet stuff like that never happens to Luna." he thought.
Artemis finally managed to fall asleep at that point and it was very
unfortunate because it prevented him from witnessing the blinding
flash of pink light that announced the spontaneous formation of a
time portal near Minako`s home. From the swirling mass of light and
energy emerged a lone warrior.
Dressed in black leather, his brow was covered by a headband reading
"Ryusenshi". On his belt hung a strange whip made entirely out of an
unknown metallic alloy chain; one skillful swing of this weapon could
surely kill a man instantly.
The time passage closed behind him, abandonning the warrior to the
ancient city he learned about in old history books, twentyeth
century Tokyo. He was indeed a stranger in a strange land. He looked
at his necklace, a small golden key identical to the one Chibi-Usa
wore herself. This trinket had the potential of making and destroying
worlds, he thought, and he`d need that kind of power if his mission
was to succeed. Right now, however, he had to get moving; his
huntress was surely tracking him down like a blood hound searching
for game. He had to reach the sailor scouts BEFORE she did,
otherwise his whole mission would fail.
He had to act fast, as always. His informations were not as complete
as he`d hoped, but the circumstances of his departure were less
than favorable for the kind of preparation he would have needed.
He walked away from Minako`s house never knowing he was so close
to one the sailor scouts.
* * *
The following morning was just like any other- that is, Usagi woke
up late for school yet again.
"EIGHT FIFTEEN? I`M SOOOOO LATE!!!"
She then proceeded to breeze inside her school uniform, wolf down
breakfast and pick up her lunch in five minutes flat, a personal
record. Afterwards, she started her daily dash towards school,
ignoring a snyde remark of Luna as she left home. Usagi was so
absorbed by her race against the clock that she barely noticed the
strange leather wearing man she almost charged head-on. She avoided
him by mere inches and went on her way, nearly breaking both her
neck and the sound barrier.
The time traveler continued his search for the sailor scouts,
trying to find a place where he could meet them. It then occured
to him that the Shinto temple on Cherry Hill was their usual
meeting place; this meant, however, that he`d lose even more time
waiting until they came back from school. With every hour, she was
this much closer to finding him. The minute she knew where he was,
she`d materialize in Tokyo and put a stop to his mission. He
couldn`t let that happen, no matter the cost.
* * *
The rest of the day proved uneventfull. The girls went to their
classes as usual; Ami aced her calculus exam while Usagi flunked
geography. The scouts then went to their meeting at the temple,
except for Ami who had her extra classes and Usagi who was held in
detention.
Rei swept the temple`s porch, waiting for the others to arrive. She
understood that Ami couldn`t get there right away, but Usagi? That
girl had no excuse. Why was SHE the moon princess? Sure, she did
good against Beryl, Metallia and the doomtree, but she was so
irresponsable! The only way she this could make sense was if the
earth had been the butt of a cosmic joke.
She saw the strange man enter the temple grounds and wondered wether
to welcome him, send him away or cower in fear. She got weird vibes
from him that she couldn`t make sense of at all.
"Excuse me, sir, but the temple is closed until tomorrow."
"Are you Hino Rei?" he asked.
"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"
"I must discuss with you and your friends about a matter of grave
importance."
"Hum, I`m afraid I can`t help you right now. If you come back
tomorrow, I`m sure my grandfather could..."
"NO!" the traveler cut Rei roughly. "I must speak with you, Sailor
Mars. And your friends, too."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. I know about you and the sailor scouts. That is
why I came here."
Makoto and Minako walked in, much to Rei`s relief. If a madman was
going to get violent or something, she could sure use some
reinforcements.
"Ah, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus. I`m glad you are here. Am I
right to assume Sailor Moon and Mercury will be delayed to your
meeting?"
The girls nodded, amazed he knew so much about them. Who was he
anyway?
"I don`t have much time so I`ll get right to the point. My name is
Ryusenshi and I come from your future, a very bleak one. Tokyo has
been replaced by a city called Crystal Tokyo; it`s not the utopia
you`ve been told about by Sailor Pluto, however. Most of the sailor
scouts are dead or would be better off if they were. The only chance
Crystal Tokyo has at a good future is the good and fair Queen
NeoSerenity whose very life is in danger. I happen to know that I
have to protect Sailor Mercury`s life in the past to save my queen
in the future. Being the queen`s personal bodyguard, I had no choice
but to come here. Nothing else matters to me." he explained.
"Why should we believe any of this?" Makoto asked with scepticism.
"Yeah, what proof do we have that you do come from the future?"
added Rei.
He looked at his watch.
"In exactly four minutes, a medium-sized earthquake will strike
Tokyo. I think it has something to do with excessive temporal
stress being released. I didn't really pay attention to Sailor
Pluto's explanation, to be honest." answered Ryusenshi. "If you`ll
excuse me, now, I must leave. It`s dangerous for me to remain in
any place for too long."
(author`s note: In japanese, Ryusenshi means "dragon soldier")
* * *
Her class over, Ami met with Usagi who was waiting for her.
"Detention again, Usagi?"
"Yeah... who knew mimicking miss Haruna in class could get me in
trouble?"
Before Ami could tell Usagi how much school is important for her
future, the ground shook violently for a few brief instants wich
seemed to last forever to Usagi.
"WHAAAA! Earthquake!!!"
"You can stop crying now, it`s over. I believe this one was a five
on the Richter scale. Not enough to cause real damage, just enough
to get our attention." Ami noted.
"Rei`s gonna be a full ten on that scale if we take more time to
reach the temple, let`s go!" said Usagi.
She started running but came to a grinding halt only a few steps
further after she collided with someone on her way.
"Hey, watch where you`re going!" she snapped after she painfully
landed on her behind.
She stared up and noticed it was Mamoru who was standing there.
"Oh, it`s you, muffin..."
"Don`t call me that, you know we`re through, Usagi."
Ami watched silently, uneasy about this situation.
"But I still love you, you can`t just ignore me and what we had!"
"Leave me alone. We`re finished and that`s the end of it."
Mamoru turned his back to the crying Usagi, clenching his fists as
every one of her tears tore him apart a little more. He would like
so much to tell her his true feelings, to hold her in his arms again
but he couldn`t take that chance. Not with those visions of her
death haunting him every night.
"I`m so sorry, Usagi..." he mumbled to himself.
* * *
The two girls eventually made it to the temple and learned about the
mysterious visitor and his apocalyptic predictions. Ami was
especially troubled since she seemed to be so critical in the chain
of events that would lead to a catastrophic future. In so much doubt,
Rei decided to make a fire reading about him.
Kneeling in front of the fire, Rei concentrated intensely on the
red-golden flames wich looked like they responded to the Shinto
disciple`s prayers. The other girls knelt some distance behind her,
watching silently in the deepest respect.
"Oh great fire, bring us your knowledge and wisdom, enlighten us
about the one who calls himself RYUSENSHI!"
The flames danced around in front of Rei, bringing visions to the
young apprentice and leaving her friends to wonder what she might be
seeing. After a while, Rei opened her eyes.
"This is weird. Ryusenshi is a mass of contradictions in every aspect
imaginable. What he told us was true, yet for every piece of
information he offered us he held one more back. He could be trying
to deceive us. His heart seems to be good, though there is something
thoroughly evil in his being! Furthermore, I keep seeing Usagi and
Ami in the fire. They are both linked to him in an odd mix of
respect, fear, love and hatred. I can`t make heads or tails about
it."
"Let`s be careful, then." said Ami.
"I`d hate to have him as our enemy, he`s cute." commented Minako.
"Yeah, he reminds me of my ex-boyfriend!" added Makoto to no one`s
surprise.
* * *
Somewhere downtown, Ryusenshi walked around in the crowd, occasionaly
attracting a few surprised looks. The sun had set long ago, leaving
the gentle moonlight glow mixed with harsh streetlight to brighten
the evening. He was walking slowly, believing that he probably had
at least a few hours before his huntress would show off, time enough
to catch a glimpse of the town that would one day be replaced by a
wondrous city of crystal.
Wrong.
A huge bolt of pink light streaked across the sky- she was here.
Cursing his own carelessness, he ran as fast as his legs would allow
to Ami`s house where he thought she would try to find her. He felt
lucky he knew Ami`s home address, as he desperately needed to beat
his huntress to the punch.
Wrong again.
* * *
"Endymion, help me!!!" shrieked Usagi.
Her piercing voice froze Mamoru`s heart in horror as he could do
nothing but watch his precious princess get torn apart and
incinerated by the powerful blast that took out Crystal Tokyo`s
heart.
"USAGIIIIII!!!" he screamed in pain.
No, she couldn`t be dead! How could he live without her???
"NOOOO!!!" he screamed as he woke up covered in sweat.
The same dream yet again. Always the same, with a warning: "If
you do not stay away from princess Usagi, she will DIE because
of you."
Why was he having those dreams? He couldn`t believe he was going
to be the cause of Usagi`s death. He loved her so much, it made
no sense that he could hurt her.
He needed some air to change his thoughts, so he picked up a rose
from a vase on his table and in a flash of light changed into
Tuxedo Kamen. A second later he was gone, leaping swiftly into
the night.
* * *
The streak of pink light stabilized in a dark alley, forming another
time portal. Upon opening, a woman stepped out, dressed in a low-cut
strapless black leather dress with matching jacket and spiked-heel
boots. Just like the other traveler, a heavy chain whip hung from
her waist. Looking as nasty as she was beautiful, she was both angel
and demon, a futuristic vision of heaven untouched by the ravages of
time. It was Ami, as she would be in a thousand years.
She looked back into the swirling portal; on the other side stood the
ageless Sailor Pluto.
"Do not worry about Ryusenshi having tricked you, Setsuna my old
friend. You came forward to me admiting your mistake and that`s what
counts. I will capture him and have him pay dearly for his horrible
crimes, you have my word on it." she said, her face stiffened in
rage. "He shall pay in BLOOD!" she added with resolve.
The portal closed and the future Ami left in the ancient city where
she would find her prey.
* * *
Chibi-Usa felt really bad about fighting with Usagi in the morning,
so she wanted to appologize for coming in her bed without permission.
She knew Usagi was probably with her friends at the temple, so she
was on her way over there right now. She sure spent a lot of time
over there with Rei and the other girls doing who knows what;
Chibi-Usa simply had to find out what the girls were hiding from
her, but that was a matter for another day.
The little girl was really surprised to meet Ami on her way there,
as she was dressed completely unlike her usual sober clothes. Since
Ami seemed to be heading to the temple as well, she followed from
a distance. Chibi-Usa was very curious about Ami`s obvious contempt
for teenage fashion; she also remembered that curiosity killed the
cat, but decided she wasn`t a cat and followed anyway, very
discreetly. The more she followed, however, the least she was
convinced that this was the REAL Ami.
Ami did go to the temple and entered the front gate just as the
five girls were about to leave and go home.
"It appears I got here just in the nick of time!" she said to the
bewildered scouts.
"A second Ami? Now THERE`s something you don`t see every day!" said
Usagi.
"Ami," said the time traveler to her younger self, "today is the day
you will die if you return home- Kuromizuno Ryusenshi lied to you
all, he did not leave his post as the royal bodyguard to protect
you, but to destroy me by killing you!"
"This is starting to confuse me..." said Makoto.
"He betrayed the entire city; he already murdered the king by
bombing his shuttle and now he`s waiting for you to return home
and kill you there. If you die, you will not be there to prevent
him from killing the queen as well! If the queen should die, the
dark moon will take over Crystal Tokyo. Ryusenshi is their slave,
if you look under his headband, you`ll see a dark moon symbol on
his forehead."
"He must be stopped! " said Minako.
"Yeah! " said the scouts all at once.
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER... MAKEUP!"
"MERCURY POWER... MAKEUP!"
"JUPITER POWER... MAKEUP!"
"VENUS POWER... MAKEUP!"
"MARS POWER... MAKEUP!"
"SCOUT POWER!!!" screamed all five girls.
In a rainbow of celestial colors, they all transformed into the
mighty sailor scouts, champions of love and justice.
"Before you go," said the future Ami, there is something critical to
my own future I have to tell Sailor Mercury. She must stay behind
with me, for no other than her may hear what I have to say."
"I`ll catch up with you later, go now, sailor scouts!" concluded
Mercury.
As the scouts left the temple, Chibi-Usa finally made it and had
the biggest surprise she could possibly have: Sailor Mercury was
standing next to someone who looked exactly like her! She couldn`t
hear what they were saying so she moved in closer.
(author`s note: Kuromizuno means "of dark waters")
* * *
The sailor scouts reached Ami`s house quickly and found Ryusenshi
waiting for Ami to arrive. Sailor Moon went forth with her usual
speech:
"Kuromizuno Ryusenshi! We know of your evil intentions and will not
tolerate dark moon scum in our city. I am Sailor Moon, I fight for
love and justice and in the name of the moon, I will punish you!"
"I am Sailor Mars, I will see you burning in the raging inferno of
truth!"
"I am Sailor Jupiter, I am here to shock your system in the name
of justice!"
"I am Sailor Venus, I fight for love everywhere!"
Ryusenshi began to panic. "How do you knnow my full name?" he
asked.
"The Ami you`re trying to destroy told us everything! We refuse
to see you change the future like you plan... VENUS CRESCENT
BEAM SMASH!"
A thin beam of golden light soared from Sailor Venus`s extended
finger and knocked the warrior down, but not out. Seeing the other
scouts starting their attack moves, he drew his whip, ready for
action.
"JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!"
"FIRE SOUL!"
"MOON TIARA MAGIC!"
The trio of magical blasts surged towards Ryusenshi with lethal
precision. In a single swing, he repelled all three attacks back
unto the scouts who were knocked down by the sheer force of the
explosive burst. The shock also ripped off Ryusenshi`s headband,
revealing a black upside-down crescent moon on his forehead. His
secret out in the open, his last hope of success vanished.
"DAMN! How can I convince them I`m on their side now?" he thought.
* * *
"Sooo..." said Ami, trying to break the ice with her future self,
"I see we dress pretty wildly a millenium from now."
"Actually, this is considered very conservative. Besides, I thinks
it makes me look good."
"It really does! I can`t wait to look as good as you."
"Funny you should say that, I have something that will help you
be just like me!" said the time traveler as she took a small jewel
from her pocket and presented it to the younger Ami. "All you need
to do is place it on your forehead, you will see the difference
right away."
Ami looked at the small ruby and took it reluctantly.
"Go ahead! Put it on your forehead!" said the older Ami.
Ami slowly removed her sailor tiara and and hesitated to place
the jewel.
"What are you waiting for, darling? This is just what you always
wanted; I should know, I`m you! It can give you everything."
Still, Ami hesitated, so her older self grabbed her hand and
forced the jewel on her forehead where it stuck- a huge amount
of dark energy began swirling around Ami and entering her body
through the glowing ruby. Unable to withstand such a mad rush of
power, she fell down.
"What... is... happening ... to me?" she uttered.
"You`re becoming my own glorious self, honey." answered the older
Ami.
Chibi-Usa, who had found a good hiding place in the nearby bushes,
was paralyzed by fear; was this strange woman one of those sent by
the dark moon to capture her or some other freak job getting ready
to trash Tokyo? She couldn`t say for sure- she couldn`t move either,
for that matter. The little girl could only listen to the terrible
secrets revealed by this insane woman.
"You see, after today your personality will change radically, though
you`ll keep it secret for a while. You`ll also change your name to
Kuromizuno, it`ll fit you better. Yes, that DOES mean that Ryusenshi
is my son. When he was sixteen, I had his father killed. The king
wanted to find a way to comfort him, so he immediately accepted my
suggestion to have him trained as the royalbodyguard in order to give
him a focus, a goal. After a few years, I killed the king as well
and my son became the queen`s shoulder to cry on. As she fell in
love with my son, I could easily control the queen through him."
she explained, carefully setting up herself to become the evil
woman she had turned out to be.
"So... why... come... here?" Ami said with great difficulty as
the dark energy broke her mental barriers one by one.
"Intelligence is genetic as we both know and my son is no fool.
He quickly understood my little game and warned the queen about
my intentions, but I managed to destroy his credibility. He came
here to stop me in the past, but I`ll kill him and be done with
him. You probably wonder how I`ll control the queen now, don`t
you? Simple: I killed her too, so now I can take her place after
I blame Ryusenshi! It was surprisingly easy to do, I just had to
reveal the dark moon symbol on his face I had kept hidden since
his birth, much like I can hide mine."
She gently patted the head of Sailor Mercury as wave after wave
of dark energy infused in her body.
"Plus I had to be here to make sure you followed my plan, didn`t
I? Don`t worry, the pain will subside as soon as the metamorphosis
is complete."
Chibi-Usa heard every word. Her parents were dead? How could she
return home now that she had no mom and dad waiting there? She
started to cry uncontrollably and suddenly her moon beam shot right
into the sky, alerting the scouts, Ryusenshi and the evil Ami of her
presence.
* * *
Sailor Moon suddenly stopped fighting Ryusenshi and looked up in
the sky; shecould hardly miss the golden beam of light Chibi-Usa was
sending in her moment of distress.
"Chibi-Usa is in danger!!!" she said.
"How's that possible? Our enemy is right here!" said Venus.
"That`s what I`ve been trying to tell you girls but you wouldn`t
listen! I`m not the menace here, my mother is!" he said in
exasperation; fighting against the greatest living legends earth
had ever known was not his idea of a good time.
"YOU are her son? Why would she be chasing you?" asked Sailor
Moon.
"Because I wouldn`t collaborate on her plan to manipulate the queen.
Now she`s probably corrupting her own past self with dark energy,
she`ll become part of the dark moon- that`s why I have this symbol
on my face, it`s my own twisted birthright!" he said in a single
breath. "She sent you after me so you wouldn`t stop her!!!" he added
in flaring anger, showing the temper he inherited from his mother.
"We must help Ami, now!" said Sailor Jupiter.
* * *
Dark Ami pulled her heavy whip and went towards the bushes, dragging
the chain along the ground; like a hornet cobra, she was ready to
strike.
"So a little rat is spying on me, is she?"
Chibi-Usa was terrified; no way this was Ami! the Ami she knew was
sweet, gentle and caring. The woman coming her way was a homicidal
maniac who murdered her parents!
"Time to say goodbye, now." said the evil woman.
She swiftly extended the whip in the air, forming a lethal arc that
was aimed at the young girl`s head. Ami had killed many times over
in her thousand years of life and many strong men had perished
under her fierce assaults; Chibi-Usa could not possibly survive
such terrible damage. A fraction of a second before she brought
the whip down, a red blur slashed her hand, forcing her to drop
the weapon.
A beautiful rose had done this.
Tuxedo Kamen was standing on the roof of the temple, watching
over Ami who was holding her wounded hand. A couple of tears were
going down her cheeks, messing up her mascara. She did not look
pleased.
"Attacking my friends, are you? You should know better than to sow
the wind unless you`re ready to reap the whirlwind." said the masked
man.
"That`s big talk from a man who still dresses like the charleston
was the latest dance craze; let`s rumble, cape boy!" she replied.
Ignoring the pain in her hand, she picked up the whip and began
spinning like an olympic gymnast in the ribbon competition.
"DARK RAIN SLASHER!" she screamed. Energy flared along the chain
and formed a cluster of black lightning bolts that flew straight
towards Tuxedo Kamen who barely leapt out of the way.
As he flew down to the ground, Tuxedo Kamen pulled out his cane
which he extended into a swordlike weapon. The fight truly started
as the two weapons clashed over and over; Tuxedo Kamen was not doing
good, though, as his opponent had centuries to hone her combat
skills. After several narrow misses, he could not avoid the heavy
chain that sent him reeling all the way across the temple grounds.
"Is that all this puny era has to offer? I was hoping to break a
sweat." said the evil Ami as she turned her attention back to
Chibi-Usa. "I`ll just have to break your neck, instead."
Ryusenshi arrived with the scouts before the evil Ami could murder
this girl who knew of her plans. Ryusenshi instructed the scouts to
help Sailor Mercury fast. He would take on his mother all by
himself.
"About time you got here, you ungrateful turncoat!" she barked at
her son. "I could have given you everything, Ryusenshi, but you
turned me away!"
"I love the queen and she loves me; there is no room for your evil
schemes in Crystal Tokyo." he answered.
"You`re too late, I`m afraid. Before I left, I took care of her.
You know what? When my whip crushed her throat, I read YOUR name
on her trembling lips- she was calling for you, but I made sure
no one could hear! The best part is, by revealing your dark moon
symbol, I blamed her death on you! "
"You killed her?! You`ll pay, you vile monster!" yelled the
warrior in heartbreaking pain.
Their whips struck each other as they fought bitterly over the
death of so many people, shaking the ground with each hit. Over
the next few weeks, scientists would try to locate they point of
origin of these "earthquake aftershocks" and be at a loss over
their meaningless findings.
Away from this fight, the scouts were trying very hard to remove
the ruby from Mercury`s head.
"Sailor Moon, use your scepter!" said Rei.
"Right! MOON SCEPTER HALATION!"
Under the scepter`s force, the ruby shattered into small specks of
dust and the evil energy got cleansed out of Ami`s body. Although
she was very weak, she was all right.
"Thank you, Sailor Moon." she whispered.
A horrible shriek of pain came from Kuromizuno Ami as she faded
into nothingness like an echo with no point of origin. Her dark
birth had been averted, her entire existence erased. Being born
at a much later time, Ryusenshi faded much slowly. He had time to
give a final message to Chibi-Usa.
"Soon I will disappear like mother did. The future will fix itself
and the royal family will live again. Do not despair, little rabbit,
you can still save your mom and dad. Goodbye, sailor scouts, and
good luck."
And so he was gone.
Everyone prefered to return home without comments, taking time to
reflect on the consequences of letting the lust of power take over.
Tuxedo Kamen left without even seeing Usagi, knowing his presence
would only stir her emotions back to the surface. He did not want
to do this until he could avert her tragic fate for sure.
* * *
That night, Chibi-Usa crawled into Usagi`s bed again. She cuddled
to Usagi and mumbled during her sleep.
"Oh mommy... I love you so much... I`ll help you... I promise."
Instead of getting furious as she always did, she instead kissed
the sweet little girl and fell asleep. She didn`t know why, but she
really felt close to Chibi-Usa, like she`d known her for years or
something. Luna was so touched by the scene that she cuddled to
Usagi as well for what would be a very peaceful night of healing
slumber.
Maybe things would work out for the moon princess after all.
The End.
a.k.a. Technuma Saturn
Yeah, I know, I know.
Although this is the very first Sailor Moon fanfic I ever wrote,
it`s nonetheless episode number three in this story line.
The explanation is quite simple: when I started out writing these,
I had no idea it would take a life of its own until my characters
(those I invented, that is) wrote themselves in more and more of my
fanfics up to a point when I could no longer ignore the continuity
in their existence.
Let's just say that things have a way of working themselves out.
* * *
CYCLES OF LIFE: EPISODE 3
SWIMMING IN DARK WATERS
Everyone came to what was going to be Usagi`s happiest day in her
life, wearing their most beautiful clothes. The church was packed to
capacity, although only the bride`s family and closest friends had
the privilege of sitting in the first rows. All waited in
anticipation for the magic moment to arrive when Usagi would unite
her life with Mamoru`s for ever. Dressed in a stunning white tuxedo,
he waited at the altar with feverish expectation.
Then Usagi appeared in her wedding gown, glowing in happiness. Never
before had she looked more like a princess than today, not even when
she reclaimed the silver crystal or defeated the evil Queen Beryl.
The entire audience held its breath as she gracefully walked down to
the altar, but she paid attention to no one but her husband to be;
her gaze was locked in Mamoru`s who found himself entranced by her
divine beauty. Throughout the entire church, not a word was
whispered- only Minako`s tears of joy could be heard. Weddings
always had that effect on her.
"Usagi dearest, I have waited a millenium for this day."
"So have I, my love."
Unable to wait any longer, she moved forward and gave a long,
passionate kiss to the man she loved so much. Suddenly, he began
resisting and squeeled in a high-pitch voice:
"Leave me alone, meatball head!"
"Huh...?"
Usagi slowly arose out of her comatose sleep only to discover she
was smothering and covering with kisses the now VERY uncomfortable
Chibi-Usa.
"YOU! What are you doing in MY bed, you little SPORE?!?"
Usagi`s frantic screaming instantly sent the sleeping Luna in shock
as if she`d used an hydrogen bomb for an alarm clock.
"I was sleeping until you started giving me a french kiss, that`s
what!" answered the pink-haired girl. "If I had known, I wouldn`t
have come in your room to begin with!"
That makes two of us, Luna thought to herself.
"You don`t care for me, you never have, meatball head! I`m going
to my room, now." said Chibi-Usa who hopped out of bed and ran out
of the room with her Luna ball hovering behind.
"You do just that!" Usagi yelled in response. "Why me, Luna? I`m
a princess, aren`t I? I shouldn`t have to deal with that little
fungus!"
"You`re forgetting again, Usagi- she`s not just some kid you`re
babysitting, she`s a refugee from the future seeking protection from
dark moon thugs! Her mom and dad are in grave danger and she came
here far from home to save them. Remember your promise to Sailor
Pluto and promise ME you`ll be nicer to Chibi-Usa tomorrow morning."
"Okay, Luna, I promise... but she better not mess up my hair like
she did yesterday!"
With that final comment, Usagi went back to sleep in a flash. Luna
looked at the alarm clock; it was still two hours away from ringing
seven o`clock to wake up Usagi who probably wouldn`t do so until
way past eight.
"I bet stuff like this doesn`t happen to Artemis." commented a
rather discouraged black cat.
* * *
At the same moment, Artemis was vainly trying to escape from the
inextricable choke hold of the sleeping Minako`s heavy arm.
"Humpfff... could you move... your arm please?... I`m choking
here..." pleaded the white cat, crushed mercilessly by the blonde
girl`s right arm.
"Mmmmm... yes, I`m single... I`d love to go on a date..." mumbled
Minako through her dreaming haze, deaf to the cat`s desperate cries
for help.
"I bet stuff like that never happens to Luna." he thought.
Artemis finally managed to fall asleep at that point and it was very
unfortunate because it prevented him from witnessing the blinding
flash of pink light that announced the spontaneous formation of a
time portal near Minako`s home. From the swirling mass of light and
energy emerged a lone warrior.
Dressed in black leather, his brow was covered by a headband reading
"Ryusenshi". On his belt hung a strange whip made entirely out of an
unknown metallic alloy chain; one skillful swing of this weapon could
surely kill a man instantly.
The time passage closed behind him, abandonning the warrior to the
ancient city he learned about in old history books, twentyeth
century Tokyo. He was indeed a stranger in a strange land. He looked
at his necklace, a small golden key identical to the one Chibi-Usa
wore herself. This trinket had the potential of making and destroying
worlds, he thought, and he`d need that kind of power if his mission
was to succeed. Right now, however, he had to get moving; his
huntress was surely tracking him down like a blood hound searching
for game. He had to reach the sailor scouts BEFORE she did,
otherwise his whole mission would fail.
He had to act fast, as always. His informations were not as complete
as he`d hoped, but the circumstances of his departure were less
than favorable for the kind of preparation he would have needed.
He walked away from Minako`s house never knowing he was so close
to one the sailor scouts.
* * *
The following morning was just like any other- that is, Usagi woke
up late for school yet again.
"EIGHT FIFTEEN? I`M SOOOOO LATE!!!"
She then proceeded to breeze inside her school uniform, wolf down
breakfast and pick up her lunch in five minutes flat, a personal
record. Afterwards, she started her daily dash towards school,
ignoring a snyde remark of Luna as she left home. Usagi was so
absorbed by her race against the clock that she barely noticed the
strange leather wearing man she almost charged head-on. She avoided
him by mere inches and went on her way, nearly breaking both her
neck and the sound barrier.
The time traveler continued his search for the sailor scouts,
trying to find a place where he could meet them. It then occured
to him that the Shinto temple on Cherry Hill was their usual
meeting place; this meant, however, that he`d lose even more time
waiting until they came back from school. With every hour, she was
this much closer to finding him. The minute she knew where he was,
she`d materialize in Tokyo and put a stop to his mission. He
couldn`t let that happen, no matter the cost.
* * *
The rest of the day proved uneventfull. The girls went to their
classes as usual; Ami aced her calculus exam while Usagi flunked
geography. The scouts then went to their meeting at the temple,
except for Ami who had her extra classes and Usagi who was held in
detention.
Rei swept the temple`s porch, waiting for the others to arrive. She
understood that Ami couldn`t get there right away, but Usagi? That
girl had no excuse. Why was SHE the moon princess? Sure, she did
good against Beryl, Metallia and the doomtree, but she was so
irresponsable! The only way she this could make sense was if the
earth had been the butt of a cosmic joke.
She saw the strange man enter the temple grounds and wondered wether
to welcome him, send him away or cower in fear. She got weird vibes
from him that she couldn`t make sense of at all.
"Excuse me, sir, but the temple is closed until tomorrow."
"Are you Hino Rei?" he asked.
"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"
"I must discuss with you and your friends about a matter of grave
importance."
"Hum, I`m afraid I can`t help you right now. If you come back
tomorrow, I`m sure my grandfather could..."
"NO!" the traveler cut Rei roughly. "I must speak with you, Sailor
Mars. And your friends, too."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. I know about you and the sailor scouts. That is
why I came here."
Makoto and Minako walked in, much to Rei`s relief. If a madman was
going to get violent or something, she could sure use some
reinforcements.
"Ah, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus. I`m glad you are here. Am I
right to assume Sailor Moon and Mercury will be delayed to your
meeting?"
The girls nodded, amazed he knew so much about them. Who was he
anyway?
"I don`t have much time so I`ll get right to the point. My name is
Ryusenshi and I come from your future, a very bleak one. Tokyo has
been replaced by a city called Crystal Tokyo; it`s not the utopia
you`ve been told about by Sailor Pluto, however. Most of the sailor
scouts are dead or would be better off if they were. The only chance
Crystal Tokyo has at a good future is the good and fair Queen
NeoSerenity whose very life is in danger. I happen to know that I
have to protect Sailor Mercury`s life in the past to save my queen
in the future. Being the queen`s personal bodyguard, I had no choice
but to come here. Nothing else matters to me." he explained.
"Why should we believe any of this?" Makoto asked with scepticism.
"Yeah, what proof do we have that you do come from the future?"
added Rei.
He looked at his watch.
"In exactly four minutes, a medium-sized earthquake will strike
Tokyo. I think it has something to do with excessive temporal
stress being released. I didn't really pay attention to Sailor
Pluto's explanation, to be honest." answered Ryusenshi. "If you`ll
excuse me, now, I must leave. It`s dangerous for me to remain in
any place for too long."
(author`s note: In japanese, Ryusenshi means "dragon soldier")
* * *
Her class over, Ami met with Usagi who was waiting for her.
"Detention again, Usagi?"
"Yeah... who knew mimicking miss Haruna in class could get me in
trouble?"
Before Ami could tell Usagi how much school is important for her
future, the ground shook violently for a few brief instants wich
seemed to last forever to Usagi.
"WHAAAA! Earthquake!!!"
"You can stop crying now, it`s over. I believe this one was a five
on the Richter scale. Not enough to cause real damage, just enough
to get our attention." Ami noted.
"Rei`s gonna be a full ten on that scale if we take more time to
reach the temple, let`s go!" said Usagi.
She started running but came to a grinding halt only a few steps
further after she collided with someone on her way.
"Hey, watch where you`re going!" she snapped after she painfully
landed on her behind.
She stared up and noticed it was Mamoru who was standing there.
"Oh, it`s you, muffin..."
"Don`t call me that, you know we`re through, Usagi."
Ami watched silently, uneasy about this situation.
"But I still love you, you can`t just ignore me and what we had!"
"Leave me alone. We`re finished and that`s the end of it."
Mamoru turned his back to the crying Usagi, clenching his fists as
every one of her tears tore him apart a little more. He would like
so much to tell her his true feelings, to hold her in his arms again
but he couldn`t take that chance. Not with those visions of her
death haunting him every night.
"I`m so sorry, Usagi..." he mumbled to himself.
* * *
The two girls eventually made it to the temple and learned about the
mysterious visitor and his apocalyptic predictions. Ami was
especially troubled since she seemed to be so critical in the chain
of events that would lead to a catastrophic future. In so much doubt,
Rei decided to make a fire reading about him.
Kneeling in front of the fire, Rei concentrated intensely on the
red-golden flames wich looked like they responded to the Shinto
disciple`s prayers. The other girls knelt some distance behind her,
watching silently in the deepest respect.
"Oh great fire, bring us your knowledge and wisdom, enlighten us
about the one who calls himself RYUSENSHI!"
The flames danced around in front of Rei, bringing visions to the
young apprentice and leaving her friends to wonder what she might be
seeing. After a while, Rei opened her eyes.
"This is weird. Ryusenshi is a mass of contradictions in every aspect
imaginable. What he told us was true, yet for every piece of
information he offered us he held one more back. He could be trying
to deceive us. His heart seems to be good, though there is something
thoroughly evil in his being! Furthermore, I keep seeing Usagi and
Ami in the fire. They are both linked to him in an odd mix of
respect, fear, love and hatred. I can`t make heads or tails about
it."
"Let`s be careful, then." said Ami.
"I`d hate to have him as our enemy, he`s cute." commented Minako.
"Yeah, he reminds me of my ex-boyfriend!" added Makoto to no one`s
surprise.
* * *
Somewhere downtown, Ryusenshi walked around in the crowd, occasionaly
attracting a few surprised looks. The sun had set long ago, leaving
the gentle moonlight glow mixed with harsh streetlight to brighten
the evening. He was walking slowly, believing that he probably had
at least a few hours before his huntress would show off, time enough
to catch a glimpse of the town that would one day be replaced by a
wondrous city of crystal.
Wrong.
A huge bolt of pink light streaked across the sky- she was here.
Cursing his own carelessness, he ran as fast as his legs would allow
to Ami`s house where he thought she would try to find her. He felt
lucky he knew Ami`s home address, as he desperately needed to beat
his huntress to the punch.
Wrong again.
* * *
"Endymion, help me!!!" shrieked Usagi.
Her piercing voice froze Mamoru`s heart in horror as he could do
nothing but watch his precious princess get torn apart and
incinerated by the powerful blast that took out Crystal Tokyo`s
heart.
"USAGIIIIII!!!" he screamed in pain.
No, she couldn`t be dead! How could he live without her???
"NOOOO!!!" he screamed as he woke up covered in sweat.
The same dream yet again. Always the same, with a warning: "If
you do not stay away from princess Usagi, she will DIE because
of you."
Why was he having those dreams? He couldn`t believe he was going
to be the cause of Usagi`s death. He loved her so much, it made
no sense that he could hurt her.
He needed some air to change his thoughts, so he picked up a rose
from a vase on his table and in a flash of light changed into
Tuxedo Kamen. A second later he was gone, leaping swiftly into
the night.
* * *
The streak of pink light stabilized in a dark alley, forming another
time portal. Upon opening, a woman stepped out, dressed in a low-cut
strapless black leather dress with matching jacket and spiked-heel
boots. Just like the other traveler, a heavy chain whip hung from
her waist. Looking as nasty as she was beautiful, she was both angel
and demon, a futuristic vision of heaven untouched by the ravages of
time. It was Ami, as she would be in a thousand years.
She looked back into the swirling portal; on the other side stood the
ageless Sailor Pluto.
"Do not worry about Ryusenshi having tricked you, Setsuna my old
friend. You came forward to me admiting your mistake and that`s what
counts. I will capture him and have him pay dearly for his horrible
crimes, you have my word on it." she said, her face stiffened in
rage. "He shall pay in BLOOD!" she added with resolve.
The portal closed and the future Ami left in the ancient city where
she would find her prey.
* * *
Chibi-Usa felt really bad about fighting with Usagi in the morning,
so she wanted to appologize for coming in her bed without permission.
She knew Usagi was probably with her friends at the temple, so she
was on her way over there right now. She sure spent a lot of time
over there with Rei and the other girls doing who knows what;
Chibi-Usa simply had to find out what the girls were hiding from
her, but that was a matter for another day.
The little girl was really surprised to meet Ami on her way there,
as she was dressed completely unlike her usual sober clothes. Since
Ami seemed to be heading to the temple as well, she followed from
a distance. Chibi-Usa was very curious about Ami`s obvious contempt
for teenage fashion; she also remembered that curiosity killed the
cat, but decided she wasn`t a cat and followed anyway, very
discreetly. The more she followed, however, the least she was
convinced that this was the REAL Ami.
Ami did go to the temple and entered the front gate just as the
five girls were about to leave and go home.
"It appears I got here just in the nick of time!" she said to the
bewildered scouts.
"A second Ami? Now THERE`s something you don`t see every day!" said
Usagi.
"Ami," said the time traveler to her younger self, "today is the day
you will die if you return home- Kuromizuno Ryusenshi lied to you
all, he did not leave his post as the royal bodyguard to protect
you, but to destroy me by killing you!"
"This is starting to confuse me..." said Makoto.
"He betrayed the entire city; he already murdered the king by
bombing his shuttle and now he`s waiting for you to return home
and kill you there. If you die, you will not be there to prevent
him from killing the queen as well! If the queen should die, the
dark moon will take over Crystal Tokyo. Ryusenshi is their slave,
if you look under his headband, you`ll see a dark moon symbol on
his forehead."
"He must be stopped! " said Minako.
"Yeah! " said the scouts all at once.
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER... MAKEUP!"
"MERCURY POWER... MAKEUP!"
"JUPITER POWER... MAKEUP!"
"VENUS POWER... MAKEUP!"
"MARS POWER... MAKEUP!"
"SCOUT POWER!!!" screamed all five girls.
In a rainbow of celestial colors, they all transformed into the
mighty sailor scouts, champions of love and justice.
"Before you go," said the future Ami, there is something critical to
my own future I have to tell Sailor Mercury. She must stay behind
with me, for no other than her may hear what I have to say."
"I`ll catch up with you later, go now, sailor scouts!" concluded
Mercury.
As the scouts left the temple, Chibi-Usa finally made it and had
the biggest surprise she could possibly have: Sailor Mercury was
standing next to someone who looked exactly like her! She couldn`t
hear what they were saying so she moved in closer.
(author`s note: Kuromizuno means "of dark waters")
* * *
The sailor scouts reached Ami`s house quickly and found Ryusenshi
waiting for Ami to arrive. Sailor Moon went forth with her usual
speech:
"Kuromizuno Ryusenshi! We know of your evil intentions and will not
tolerate dark moon scum in our city. I am Sailor Moon, I fight for
love and justice and in the name of the moon, I will punish you!"
"I am Sailor Mars, I will see you burning in the raging inferno of
truth!"
"I am Sailor Jupiter, I am here to shock your system in the name
of justice!"
"I am Sailor Venus, I fight for love everywhere!"
Ryusenshi began to panic. "How do you knnow my full name?" he
asked.
"The Ami you`re trying to destroy told us everything! We refuse
to see you change the future like you plan... VENUS CRESCENT
BEAM SMASH!"
A thin beam of golden light soared from Sailor Venus`s extended
finger and knocked the warrior down, but not out. Seeing the other
scouts starting their attack moves, he drew his whip, ready for
action.
"JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!"
"FIRE SOUL!"
"MOON TIARA MAGIC!"
The trio of magical blasts surged towards Ryusenshi with lethal
precision. In a single swing, he repelled all three attacks back
unto the scouts who were knocked down by the sheer force of the
explosive burst. The shock also ripped off Ryusenshi`s headband,
revealing a black upside-down crescent moon on his forehead. His
secret out in the open, his last hope of success vanished.
"DAMN! How can I convince them I`m on their side now?" he thought.
* * *
"Sooo..." said Ami, trying to break the ice with her future self,
"I see we dress pretty wildly a millenium from now."
"Actually, this is considered very conservative. Besides, I thinks
it makes me look good."
"It really does! I can`t wait to look as good as you."
"Funny you should say that, I have something that will help you
be just like me!" said the time traveler as she took a small jewel
from her pocket and presented it to the younger Ami. "All you need
to do is place it on your forehead, you will see the difference
right away."
Ami looked at the small ruby and took it reluctantly.
"Go ahead! Put it on your forehead!" said the older Ami.
Ami slowly removed her sailor tiara and and hesitated to place
the jewel.
"What are you waiting for, darling? This is just what you always
wanted; I should know, I`m you! It can give you everything."
Still, Ami hesitated, so her older self grabbed her hand and
forced the jewel on her forehead where it stuck- a huge amount
of dark energy began swirling around Ami and entering her body
through the glowing ruby. Unable to withstand such a mad rush of
power, she fell down.
"What... is... happening ... to me?" she uttered.
"You`re becoming my own glorious self, honey." answered the older
Ami.
Chibi-Usa, who had found a good hiding place in the nearby bushes,
was paralyzed by fear; was this strange woman one of those sent by
the dark moon to capture her or some other freak job getting ready
to trash Tokyo? She couldn`t say for sure- she couldn`t move either,
for that matter. The little girl could only listen to the terrible
secrets revealed by this insane woman.
"You see, after today your personality will change radically, though
you`ll keep it secret for a while. You`ll also change your name to
Kuromizuno, it`ll fit you better. Yes, that DOES mean that Ryusenshi
is my son. When he was sixteen, I had his father killed. The king
wanted to find a way to comfort him, so he immediately accepted my
suggestion to have him trained as the royalbodyguard in order to give
him a focus, a goal. After a few years, I killed the king as well
and my son became the queen`s shoulder to cry on. As she fell in
love with my son, I could easily control the queen through him."
she explained, carefully setting up herself to become the evil
woman she had turned out to be.
"So... why... come... here?" Ami said with great difficulty as
the dark energy broke her mental barriers one by one.
"Intelligence is genetic as we both know and my son is no fool.
He quickly understood my little game and warned the queen about
my intentions, but I managed to destroy his credibility. He came
here to stop me in the past, but I`ll kill him and be done with
him. You probably wonder how I`ll control the queen now, don`t
you? Simple: I killed her too, so now I can take her place after
I blame Ryusenshi! It was surprisingly easy to do, I just had to
reveal the dark moon symbol on his face I had kept hidden since
his birth, much like I can hide mine."
She gently patted the head of Sailor Mercury as wave after wave
of dark energy infused in her body.
"Plus I had to be here to make sure you followed my plan, didn`t
I? Don`t worry, the pain will subside as soon as the metamorphosis
is complete."
Chibi-Usa heard every word. Her parents were dead? How could she
return home now that she had no mom and dad waiting there? She
started to cry uncontrollably and suddenly her moon beam shot right
into the sky, alerting the scouts, Ryusenshi and the evil Ami of her
presence.
* * *
Sailor Moon suddenly stopped fighting Ryusenshi and looked up in
the sky; shecould hardly miss the golden beam of light Chibi-Usa was
sending in her moment of distress.
"Chibi-Usa is in danger!!!" she said.
"How's that possible? Our enemy is right here!" said Venus.
"That`s what I`ve been trying to tell you girls but you wouldn`t
listen! I`m not the menace here, my mother is!" he said in
exasperation; fighting against the greatest living legends earth
had ever known was not his idea of a good time.
"YOU are her son? Why would she be chasing you?" asked Sailor
Moon.
"Because I wouldn`t collaborate on her plan to manipulate the queen.
Now she`s probably corrupting her own past self with dark energy,
she`ll become part of the dark moon- that`s why I have this symbol
on my face, it`s my own twisted birthright!" he said in a single
breath. "She sent you after me so you wouldn`t stop her!!!" he added
in flaring anger, showing the temper he inherited from his mother.
"We must help Ami, now!" said Sailor Jupiter.
* * *
Dark Ami pulled her heavy whip and went towards the bushes, dragging
the chain along the ground; like a hornet cobra, she was ready to
strike.
"So a little rat is spying on me, is she?"
Chibi-Usa was terrified; no way this was Ami! the Ami she knew was
sweet, gentle and caring. The woman coming her way was a homicidal
maniac who murdered her parents!
"Time to say goodbye, now." said the evil woman.
She swiftly extended the whip in the air, forming a lethal arc that
was aimed at the young girl`s head. Ami had killed many times over
in her thousand years of life and many strong men had perished
under her fierce assaults; Chibi-Usa could not possibly survive
such terrible damage. A fraction of a second before she brought
the whip down, a red blur slashed her hand, forcing her to drop
the weapon.
A beautiful rose had done this.
Tuxedo Kamen was standing on the roof of the temple, watching
over Ami who was holding her wounded hand. A couple of tears were
going down her cheeks, messing up her mascara. She did not look
pleased.
"Attacking my friends, are you? You should know better than to sow
the wind unless you`re ready to reap the whirlwind." said the masked
man.
"That`s big talk from a man who still dresses like the charleston
was the latest dance craze; let`s rumble, cape boy!" she replied.
Ignoring the pain in her hand, she picked up the whip and began
spinning like an olympic gymnast in the ribbon competition.
"DARK RAIN SLASHER!" she screamed. Energy flared along the chain
and formed a cluster of black lightning bolts that flew straight
towards Tuxedo Kamen who barely leapt out of the way.
As he flew down to the ground, Tuxedo Kamen pulled out his cane
which he extended into a swordlike weapon. The fight truly started
as the two weapons clashed over and over; Tuxedo Kamen was not doing
good, though, as his opponent had centuries to hone her combat
skills. After several narrow misses, he could not avoid the heavy
chain that sent him reeling all the way across the temple grounds.
"Is that all this puny era has to offer? I was hoping to break a
sweat." said the evil Ami as she turned her attention back to
Chibi-Usa. "I`ll just have to break your neck, instead."
Ryusenshi arrived with the scouts before the evil Ami could murder
this girl who knew of her plans. Ryusenshi instructed the scouts to
help Sailor Mercury fast. He would take on his mother all by
himself.
"About time you got here, you ungrateful turncoat!" she barked at
her son. "I could have given you everything, Ryusenshi, but you
turned me away!"
"I love the queen and she loves me; there is no room for your evil
schemes in Crystal Tokyo." he answered.
"You`re too late, I`m afraid. Before I left, I took care of her.
You know what? When my whip crushed her throat, I read YOUR name
on her trembling lips- she was calling for you, but I made sure
no one could hear! The best part is, by revealing your dark moon
symbol, I blamed her death on you! "
"You killed her?! You`ll pay, you vile monster!" yelled the
warrior in heartbreaking pain.
Their whips struck each other as they fought bitterly over the
death of so many people, shaking the ground with each hit. Over
the next few weeks, scientists would try to locate they point of
origin of these "earthquake aftershocks" and be at a loss over
their meaningless findings.
Away from this fight, the scouts were trying very hard to remove
the ruby from Mercury`s head.
"Sailor Moon, use your scepter!" said Rei.
"Right! MOON SCEPTER HALATION!"
Under the scepter`s force, the ruby shattered into small specks of
dust and the evil energy got cleansed out of Ami`s body. Although
she was very weak, she was all right.
"Thank you, Sailor Moon." she whispered.
A horrible shriek of pain came from Kuromizuno Ami as she faded
into nothingness like an echo with no point of origin. Her dark
birth had been averted, her entire existence erased. Being born
at a much later time, Ryusenshi faded much slowly. He had time to
give a final message to Chibi-Usa.
"Soon I will disappear like mother did. The future will fix itself
and the royal family will live again. Do not despair, little rabbit,
you can still save your mom and dad. Goodbye, sailor scouts, and
good luck."
And so he was gone.
Everyone prefered to return home without comments, taking time to
reflect on the consequences of letting the lust of power take over.
Tuxedo Kamen left without even seeing Usagi, knowing his presence
would only stir her emotions back to the surface. He did not want
to do this until he could avert her tragic fate for sure.
* * *
That night, Chibi-Usa crawled into Usagi`s bed again. She cuddled
to Usagi and mumbled during her sleep.
"Oh mommy... I love you so much... I`ll help you... I promise."
Instead of getting furious as she always did, she instead kissed
the sweet little girl and fell asleep. She didn`t know why, but she
really felt close to Chibi-Usa, like she`d known her for years or
something. Luna was so touched by the scene that she cuddled to
Usagi as well for what would be a very peaceful night of healing
slumber.
Maybe things would work out for the moon princess after all.
The End.