Setsuna, who had been resting in the
back of the room with her eyes closed, hearing what these people had to say,
suddenly sat alright, her eyes snapping open.
"Chibi Usa!" she cried involuntarily.
The scouts turned to her, alarmed at
what she said.
"What about her?" Venus asked, eyes
wide.
"I-I don't know… but
something-something's gone wrong. She's going to be in a lot of danger if we
don't find her and help what she's doing." Pluto took a few short breaths and
stood up.
"She's right… Something's going to
happen… It's going to happen real soon." Mars whispered.
"What?!? What's going on?!?" Jupiter
demanded.
"I… I have no clue… but we better find
her before it does…" Mercury checked her status computer—the back had a cute
little mercury symbol on it, but it was one of the most intelligent computers
ever made.
Emerald held onto Sapphire.
"Ebony…" she whispered, and bit her
lip.
Diamond had long left the chamber where
Serenity remained, after apologizing a million times. He wandered around, half-searching for Ebony, but mostly just
looking around, seeing how beautiful the palace really was.
He heard voices from another room. At
first, he stood frozen, not knowing where they were from. There were doors all
around him, and the sound almost seemed to come from all of them, but he knew
that couldn't be.
"Are you ready?"
"It's time."
Opening a door, he was greeted by
startled screams, and a group of people who jumped up at the sight of him. He
let out a noise of surprise and took a step back.
Suddenly, a laugh was heard, and then
was accompanied by another. His view snapped over to see a few familiar faces.
"Diamond!" Sapphire laughed, and began
walking over to him.
"Sapphire! Emerald!" Diamond breathed a
sigh of relief. Glancing over, he saw a group of women in sailor uniforms. "You
must be the Sailor Senshi—glad to have met you. The queen sent us all to look for you quite a long time ago!"
"Yes, we were talking to Sapphire and
Emerald about Ebony—and how wonderful of a person she really is!" Minako
smiled.
Diamond was suddenly stricken with pain
and grief at the thought of Ebony, and what she had done to him.
"There are… things… things you don't
know about Ebony… things I don't know
about Ebony… Things I didn't want to know…" His expression became so sad, so
painful, that Sapphire broke away from Emerald to walk up by him.
"Wh-what do you mean, Diamond?" he
asked lightly. Diamond shook his head, but spoke once more.
"I-I saw her… with… another man…" He
gulped, then took a seat.
"Oh, Diamond…" Emerald's face turned
compassionate as she walked to the others.
"Who was, it, prince?" Mars questioned,
putting her hand to her mouth.
He shook his head, but this time said
nothing.
"No, she didn't." Setsuna stated
matter-of-factly.
"I saw her, Sailor, uhhhhhhh…" He
thought for a moment, then Sapphire leaned and whispered something into his
ear. "-Sailor Pluto. I saw her, Pluto… With my own eyes, in Ma-in another man's
arms. And intimately…" He bit his lip.
Setsuna smiled and shook her head.
"No, you didn't."
This angered Diamond.
"How do you know what I have and have
not seen? I walked into a room and there they were! They were moving, and she
was… Nevermind… but I saw her… and-and…"
"Chibi Usa would never do that." Her
look remained calm, but determined.
"Maybe you don't know her as well as
you think you do. I thought I knew her…" he trailed off, standing up to pace.
Setsuna was outraged by this.
"Prince Diamond! I believe out of
anyone, I know the child, or the woman better than you do. She has been my best
friend for over five hundred years, and her acts and knowledge of respect goes
beyond that. She's got more dignity
than that, prince, and I think that I've known her a bit longer than you have,
and I know her well enough by that to tell you that she is not the person who
would do that! Think of any other excuse you will, but I will not tolerate you
disrespecting her, of all people, with your assumptions!" She yelled to him.
"What else am I to think?!? I have so
many feelings for her, and I go into another room to see her and Mamoru making
love!" He shouted, then covered his mouth and turned away, blushing to the
gasps in the background.
Setsuna looked at him, and laughed.
"Oh, Diamond, now I know that it's a hoax. Chibi Usa, or
Ebony, would never get with her father, no matter how far her obsession led
her, or how able she was to do so. She has more self-control and self-respect
than that. As I said before, think
about what else it could have been—it wasn't her, I can tell you that."
Diamond thought for a moment.
Hm…
It could be something else, I guess… maybe, it was somebody else with
her! He frowned.
That doesn't make it any better… Maybe it was somebody else with Mamoru! Or,
perhaps, it wasn't real at all! Maybe, like a picture or some kind of
projection! …That's not very realistic… but Setsuna, Ebony's best friend, says
what I saw isn't true… and I don't think someone as solemn as her would lie to
me… So… what could it have been?
"Those bad feelings again… they're so
strong…" Rei muttered, her eyes closed in a trance.
"Try reading fire. Maybe it'll tell you
what you need to know." Venus suggested, rubbing Mars on the back. She nodded.
"Mars Fire… Ignite!" she called out
suddenly. A flame blazed from her fingers, and fell to the tile of the room,
flickering impossibly with no source. Staring into the flame, she leaned
closer.
"It's… it's something… I can't really
tell… Don't know what it is… A black cloak… Endlessly black… Two shining eyes,
brighter than stars, are showing from the darkness… A voice, a voice like
thunder… And… a woman… a dark, dark woman… A lot of pain, and death… Suffering,
and-and heartache…" she muttered on, reading her fire like a foreign book.
Two
eyes from a black cloak… Oh, no! Wiseman!!! Diamond
thought, then it all flooded in with incredible realization, and a pang of
guilt. Ebony!!!
"Ebony!" He shouted before he could
stop himself.
The fire died with a start.
"Oh, sorry, Mars!" He blushed in
embarrassment.
"It's okay, Diamond… but we still don't
know what we need to about the danger that's coming." Rei sighed, and blew
softly on her fingers to cool them down.
"I do." He replied simply.
"What?!?" All of the scouts, and his
brother and Emerald cried in unison.
"The description you gave—of the fire,
and the eyes, and the darkness…"
"…Yeah?" She asked.
"It's Wiseman." He told them, and
looked disdainfully to Sapphire, who's eyes grew wide, gasping with recognition
of the description.
"Diamond, I thought that you…" he
trailed off, then put his head into his hand, shaking it. Emerald took his hand
and looked at him thoughtfully. "No! No! No!"
"Wiseman… and I think Ebony…" Suddenly,
Diamond was filled with the image of Ebony and Mamoru's embrace… and for the
first time, realized what had happened.
"Oh, god… What-what have I done?" He
stepped back.
"Diamond, what's wrong?" Sapphire asked
him firmly.
"What happened?" Emerald chimed in,
walking to his side.
"I-I…. Oh, no! Oh, Ebony!" His headache
rushed back to him, but this time in guilt of what he had done, and not the
drunkenness which had controlled him before.
"What have you done, Diamond? Damn it, tell me!" Rei lost patience and
shook the man by his shoulders, shaking him up, but not scaring him. He laughed
for a moment.
"What I saw, Setsuna was right
about. It must have been some kind of
hologram or projection that Wiseman was trying to persuade Ebony with, since
she used to like him. But, after seeing that, I-I ran into her in the hall,
and… I yelled at her for being with him, thinking she was just telling me lies
about it so that she could use me, I don't know…" He shook his head and a deep
breath.
"So… Ebony thinks you think she was
with Mamoru, when what you saw was a hologram…?" Sapphire pondered, then put
his hand on his hip.
"And maybe after you did that, she felt
without you, she couldn't go on… and joined Wiseman…" Emerald trailed off,
understanding at last.
"We have to get her back." Rei
announced gravely. "If we don't, there's a chance we're all going to die."
"What are you talking about?!?" Emerald blurted in a panic.
"Something's not right- not right with
Ebony, not right with these auras that are all around. When she came to the
palace, I didn't feel what I feel now. Something's going to happen. I know it. Tell me more about Wiseman."
Diamond opened his mouth to speak, but
Sapphire interjected.
"Wiseman's manipulative, unkind,
uncanny, and he will do anything for more power. He holds revenge like no one
you could ever imagine, and Serenity banished him. He told Diamond he wouldn't give
up the mission, whether it meant to continue on his own or not, and he meant
it. He's probably here to take his revenge."
There were many gasps to those who had
not known Wiseman.
"We've got to get the queen- we have to
keep her safe at any cost." Minako projected.
They nodded and, all together, left the
room as silently as possible.
Serenity glanced up. She heard sounds
of many people clambering around. Whipping in the door's direction, she picked
up her crystal and wearily moved to the door.
At the frame, she peeked around the
edge to see who was there.
Two eyes stared straight into hers,
blinking blue.
"Aaaahh!!!" she shrieked and jumped
back, pushing her arms out in protection. The opposite person reacted in the
same way, bolting back, but this time ramming into a group of people.
"Oh, geez, Mina, it's only the queen!"
Makoto rolled her eyes and stood up.
"Oops—sorry for scaring you, Serenity."
Minako's face turned red and sheepish.
"Heh- that's okay. As long as it's just
you." She laughed, relieved.
"Queen, we have to get you to a safer
place. You're in a lot of danger, and you can't be left alone." Diamond looked
to her sternly, and pointed in back of him with his thumb.
"Wha…? Why?" She asked, confused.
"A man named Wiseman is here. You know,
the one you banished from-"
"Yeah, I know who he is!" She shouted
in alarm, then her facial expression softened. "Sorry, Mars."
"Anyway, we have to stick together on
this one, with as many people as we can gather, to keep you safe." Rei
continued.
"That's a bit to the extreme, don't you
think? I'm the Queen of the Moon—am I not independent enough?" she looked hurt.
"No, Serenity, it's not that. Wiseman's
a very powerful person, and he's got force unlike anything you've ever seen. We
just don't want you to be hurt." Ami pleaded with her eyes.
Serenity nodded.
"I understand, and thank you." A smiled
broadened on her face, and she held the Ginzuishou tightly in her hands.
"We also have something else to tell
you. Your daughter might be in danger—she might have joined Wiseman." Emerald
spoke quietly, not trying to offend.
"Why?!?" The queen demanded.
"It's really my fault, Serenity. I
didn't know Wiseman was here, and saw something like a projection of Ebony and
another man, and I thought it was real. That's why I initially came and sat
with you…" He left the rest to her to figure out, looking to her with an
apologetic glance, then looked away. "Anyway, I saw her before I came in with
you, and I yelled at her, asking her what made her think she could do that to me,
when she really didn't. I didn't know, of course, but it doesn't matter whether
I did or didn't'—I still yelled at her. Mars saw in her fire that Wiseman was
here, and he had a woman with her. That could be none other that Ebony, for no
other person would join him unless she was really hurt." His eyes closed for a
moment, pained that he hurt her.
"So… she's helping him? And she can be
hurt?!?" The woman's mother asked frantically.
"Perhaps even killed."
"No!!! My baby!!!" she protested.
"Only if we kill Wiseman before freeing
her soul. His power's flowing through her, and a bit of his soul is in her
body, making her evil. If we destroy Wiseman, then that bit of soul will be
killed off as well—but since it's connected to her, it will kill her." Diamond
explained.
"And-and we have to free her before
killing Wiseman? Won't that give Wiseman time to kill us? How can
we free her?" Serenity questioned him with a pained tone to her voice.
"I-I don't know… But I'll do whatever
it takes to get her back… I was on the dark side with Wiseman for a while, and
Ebony freed me of that. Maybe I can turn her loose… In any case, we'll all need
to stick together to have maybe a couple people work with Ebony, and the rest
hold Wiseman off until we've freed her." Diamond went on, his voice turning
more serious at the end.
Serenity nodded, and glanced to
Diamond.
"We seem dedicated." She stated, more
asking a question than anything else.
"I told you I care about her." His eyes
bore into her with the love he felt for her daughter, and she suddenly knew he
would give his life to save her. Nodding again, she smiled.
Rei looked to Serenity, then to
Diamond, then back to Serenity. She noticed the understanding they both had in
their eyes, and that they shared something—their love for Ebony—and that was
keeping them all together… wasn't it?
Suddenly, a loud crash came from the
other room, followed by a loud scream that faded into laughter.
"What the hell was that?!?" Emerald
clutched onto Sapphire.
"Stay close, everyone." Diamond warned,
and took lead beside Serenity, who gave him a knowing glance and continued to
hold the crystal to her body.
Creeping up to a doorway, the group
hushed as another loud noise sounded off.
"Everyone…" Serenity whispered. "…stay
close to me, but behind me. We're going to go in." The senshi nodded, and she
readied herself.
With that, they burst into the room to
find they could barely breathe in a wicked aura so strong, even the Ginzuishou
faded. However, Serenity stood up, eyes glaring through a fog.
"Wiseman!" She shouted.
The fog began to clear to reveal
Wiseman and Ebony. Wiseman was recognizable, but Ebony looked different.
Instead of the black dress adorned with red ribbon she wore before, Her entire
body was covered with a black, spandex-like material body suit, with black
patent leather boots and gloves; boots reaching to her mid-thighs, and gloves
to her elbows. Her eyes were still thin and slanted—beautiful, Diamond
noted—but instead of the mature sexy look, they looked glazed-over, and her
pupils faded with her eyes, giving her a more deviant appearance.
"Ebony!" Diamond called to her, sighing
in relief that she was unharmed.
Surprisingly, the woman ignored him and
turned her head viciously to Serenity.
"Serenity. Come here." The words hissed
from her mouth in a voice that wasn't hers.
"No, Ebony. I will not subdue to your
feeble attempts to lure me." She stated simply, pulling her crystal close to
her heart to give her strength.
"Then you will die trying to reject
them." A nasty smirk brushed Ebony's face. "I'm stronger than you, Serenity.
You know what I'm saying is true, you can't even try to deny it."
"You can't be. I fight with love, and
with my heart, and you are not leading with your heart, you evil woman.
Something's gotten into you." Serenity went to take a step to Ebony, but
Diamond held out his hand in front of her.
"Serenity, I wouldn't attack her just
yet. She's under Wiseman's influence, remember. She's got the power of the Dark
Crystal on her side, and that's a hell of a lot of power. Plus, the sheer
unkindness of her soul is enough to distract one long enough for her to attack
someone, and kill them, if necessary. And for her, right now, under Wiseman's
power, it's necessary."
She looked to him pained, and shook her
head.
"Then what do we do, Diamond?" He
glanced to Ebony, who shot him a vicious glance, then back to the queen.
"I don't know yet. Just protect
yourself at all cost." He patted her on the shoulder, and walked over to
Emerald and Sapphire. Leaning to his brothers ear, he hesitated, then began
telling him a plan he had just conjured up while talking to the queen, but
didn't want to tell her just yet before running it by Sapphire first.
"What the hell are you going to do,
Diamond? You can't possibly go up to Wiseman alone!" Sapphire barked at him in
a hushed whisper.
"Have more faith in me, Sapphire. You
know as well as I do I come up with better plans last-minute than I do thinking
for a while. And you also know I don't like you to challenge me, and if I can
complete a task or not. So just have faith in me, brother, and all will work
out in it's way."
Sapphire sighed.
"I just hope you know what you're
doing, Diamond. I don't want to see you get hurt."
Diamond let out a smile and embraced
his brother tightly.
"Of course I know what I'm doing—and
right now, getting Ebony is all that matters to me." He smiled a bit less
happily, but with intention.
"I'm right behind you, Diamond." He
nodded his head, and pulled Emerald to him.
"Emerald, you keep my brother safe, you
hear?" He grinned once again to the little woman next to his brother.
"Of course." Her face broke into a
smile just thinking about the irony.
"Then I'm off." He took a deep breath,
then turned around to face Wiseman.
Sapphire stepped off to the scouts.
"Diamond's going to try and talk to
Ebony. You all try and hold Wiseman off, but don't kill him until Ebony and
Diamond kiss. Try and keep the queen safe at all cost, but you all know that
already." Sapphire whispered in a hushed tone, and added, "Good luck, senshi."
"You, too." Mars uttered, and the
scouts smiled in approval.
Each heaving step felt like a mile to
be walked to Diamond, for he never thought he would be fighting the man he had
been scheming with for nearly his entire life; 19 of his 27 years. It seemed
like a dream, and that nothing was real, that nothing could hurt him. Even
though he knew that was a load of something nasty.
Coming within a few feet of Ebony, he
realized how voluptuous she looked in the outfit of black, shimmering and
shining, yet with a cold look to her. It made Diamond's body want to melt in
hunger for her, but he knew better, so he pressed on, walking to her with
strong vibrant steps, hoping to catch her eye but not Wiseman's.
"Hey Wiseman!" Someone shouted.
His glance shot over to the scouts, who
glared right back at him.
"Get the hell out of the palace, you
asshole!!!" Makoto shouted, lightning crackling in her palms.
"Don't talk to me like that." He
hissed.
"What way should I talk to you,
fucker?" She took a step forward, her hands shaking with the force inside her
hands, waiting to erupt.
"Not like that." The man's crystal ball
began to glow in the slight darkness, a deep and hazy purple.
"Eat shit and die, you creep! You like
that better?" She grinned a snarling smile.
"No, I don't." He replied simply, his
gaze turning to be as cold as hers.
"Well, come and get me then! Or do you
like being called an ass goblin?"
"Gladly." A burst of energy shot from
his hands and crystal ball, knocking Makoto to her feet, still projecting
energy.
"A little help, a little help!" She
shouted, and the other scouts ran to her side, giving off their energy as well.