Hi all, normal spiel → please give comments and opinions.
The guardians of Selene
By Draegyn
Serenity had been wandering around for what seemed like hours and had gotten herself thoroughly entrenched in a barren wasteland. She paused, only a moment to examine, a baby gargoyle that had dropped out of the sky. It was such a darling little creature that she could not bear to leave it by itself so she had bent to pick it up. She straightened once more, gargoyle in her arms, turned to continue and shrieked in alarm.
A man robed entirely in black stood within centimetres of her. His white face was grim and almost gaunt. He had come silently out of nowhere and exuded an aura of definite menace. Serenity prudently took a step back yet he followed her. For a moment she felt her weakness keenly and all too aware of her vulnerability and then his persistent invasion of her personal space began to irk her. Annoyed, she glared into his dark eyes and then she frowned, all irritation fled.
At first it seemed as though his eyes were perpetually shadowed but as she looked closer the darkness became a blue that, like space, was so endless that it seemed eternally black. The silence stretched between them yet she did not noticed, too caught in the spell the she wove unknowing as she peered into the vastness that was his soul. Gold began to swarm her senses and it was as if an immense force was pushing her into his arms. Her entire soul seemed to ache for something and uncontrollably she reached out and opened herself to him. All of her mental shields fell away like fog.
His soul crossed the final distance between them and with infinite tenderness cradled her. Distantly she noted the vastness of his being and knew that he was a Divine Star. Vaguely she saw the immensity of the time he had lived and understood that he was probably, barring only the Speaker, older than any other being in the universe. And tied to that immeasurable gold was a light so bright that all she could see of it was pure white.
For a moment she stared with her mind's eye, almost losing herself within something that really was immeasurable and then its presence registered with her conscious mind. With an agonised cry she wrenched herself out of the spell and out of his arms. The little gargoyle cried out in fear and she cradled it much the way the soul of the Star before her had done to her own. She focused on soothing the tiny myth, deliberately ignoring the god and all of the hopes and emotions that had just been roused.
A pale hand, brimming with the will, magic and physical strength that was so reminiscent of its owner placed itself lightly on her shoulder. She attempted to shrug it off without looking at the god but it turned her inexorably back to face him. Another hand on her chin forced her to look back into those bottomless blue eyes and shame flooded her. To not only have lost control of and throw herself at him, but to do so with one who could only be Morpheus was almost unbearable.
*Who are you Precious One? Why have you come?* Tenderness resounded in the question but the mind it came from was unrelenting and demanded an answer. His telepathy enveloped her mind and once more she felt as if she wanted to do no more than bury herself in his embrace for all of eternity. Desperately she threw up shield after shield in her mind. Anything to prevent the return of more heartbreak.
Regret and comprehension flitted through his eyes, quickly followed by apology and his mental presence retreated. Yet his purpose was not forgotten and in a voice as implacable as his thoughts he repeated aloud, "Who are you? Why are you here?"
"Lord Morpheus, I am the Guardian of Selene," she answered and then more hesitantly added, "I am her daughter, Serenity."
The male looked as if her were about to call her something else but then changed it to, "The Speaker's heir." It wasn't a question and she didn't bother responding although she had not thought the Renewal to be widely known of. He nodded to himself. "And you have come seeking your mate to be."
She looked at him in shock and felt the blood rush to her face until her cheeks must have glowed silver. "No, I apologise for imposing on you in such a manner, it is just that I… that you… I just appeared… I need to know why there are dreams wandering around New York." It had been many years since she had been rendered so inarticulate. She made an effort to gather her composure.
"Why would you think I would be here looking for a mate?" she rushed out. So much for composure.
He looked at her strangely. "Were you not aware that, before he was murdered, you mate was to have been my Guardian?" She stared at him, dumbfounded, and his expression softened. "You were not, were you?" he questioned sombrely.
She shook her head mutely. Murdered? How could this be? How could she have been born into this universe if there was no hope of being whole here? Her whole body went numb.
Distantly she saw his hand wipe a tear from her cheek. Distantly she saw the gargoyle climb onto her shoulder to nuzzle her neck in sympathy. Distantly she saw her entire world go grey. Morpheus continued to talk but only some of his words entered her shocked brain.
"Kaos' minions… a war engineered to kill him… not yet a Guardian Star… wait until other duties… he was still mortal."
"Mortal?" her surroundings came into focus once more. "He was mortal?" she demanded, not caring that the being she harassed could have crushed her with a thought. Morpheus nodded and Serenity shook her head in denial. "Then why did my father not inform me? He must have passed through to Death so my father should have known. Why did my parents let me wait all this time for nothing?"
She jerked away from the god, angry tears pouring from her eyes. "For so many centuries, I waited, and for nothing! Better that I had no hopes rather than this." She wrapped her arms around herself. She was going to be alone forever.
It was so hard to breath.
Strong arms surrounded her and golden warmth soothed her. A flash of memory momentarily engulfed her and even drowned out the agony of loneliness.
Golden radiance; golden flood… gold. "He's not dead!" she exclaimed suddenly and looked up at Morpheus with fresh relief. "He can't be dead! He was the one who helped me create the world-shield during the Darkmoon Crisis. I felt him. He was gold just like you!"
"I saw his body," Morpheus disputed harshly.
Serenity laughed gaily and touched the Star's pale cheek. It was impossible for her to be formal with this distant being for, unwittingly, they had shared too much. "It doesn't matter. Papa would have told me if he had found him. Besides, it has been foretold that silver and gold would unite to create white. He's not dead, I don't know why he hasn't shown himself but he's not dead. Not in any way, shape or form."
"You are so certain?" he murmured and Serenity realised that his agony of waiting almost equalled hers.
"I felt it!" Her laughter rang out, never again would she lose patience, and without words she opened her memory to him. It took only a moment for him to live through it and when he had his eyes shone with a vigour that they probably had not known for eons.
"Elysion." It was only one word but it was enough. In those few, simple syllables all of the old god's hopes were placed.
After a moment the male cleared his throat and looked at her thoughtfully. He donned a serious expression but Serenity easily recognised it as the mask it was yet she did not point out the futility of either of them attempting to hide from the other. Accident or no, they had come too close to each other to erect barriers now. Much the way Darien had, Morpheus had carved a place for himself in her heart. In fact the more she considered it, the more alike both god and mortal seemed to her.
"My subjects wander the physical dimensions, specifically your domain?"
The male's question recalled her to her duties. "It is not my domain and not really even Selene's. She is only guarding it until the Terrans return to the starways and then she will return to Mystery."
"Or perhaps join Saetan in Death. By then your brother should be able to succeed her," he commented. "Yet that is not the issue. The trespasses against both Law of Selene and my own ban must be dealt with."
"So it is dreams that are causing the trouble in New York?"
He nodded and then motioned for her to follow him. She did so, steadying the little gargoyle when he almost lost his balance. "I thought so," she told her companions, "But for as long as I've been a guardian I've always been told that none can pass into the realm of Dream. That even Stars come here at their own risk."
"That is true," the dark being admitted. "But did you ever consider the why of it?"
"Yes, but I never found an answer."
"I am old."
For a moment the Lunarian wondered if her companion had changed the subject and then she realised that what he was saying had everything to do with it.
"Like the Speaker I have long wished for Renewal…"
"And when Elysion was 'killed'…"
"I was angry," he admitted, "Nay, I was furious. I had left a gem in the keeping of mortals and they had betrayed my trust so I withheld the greater part of my realm from them."
"Something facilitated by the damage caused by the Fall," she expanded in understanding, "Then along come the Spears and they're tearing at reality."
"Holes have formed between the realms," Morpheus agreed and the pace of his stride quickened.
The landscape changed around them in a haze of colours. "So how do we stop it?" she enquired. For a moment he did not answer and in a flash of insight the younger Star realised that he was as ignorant as she. "You don't know?" she breathed, silently begging for him to say otherwise.
"No." His reply was short and clipped.
"Oh." Serenity felt a ball of dread form in her stomach. They travelled in silence for several moments. "So where are we going and why are you in such a hurry?"
"There are trespassers within Dream," he answered. Very briefly looked over his shoulder at her and she caught another glimpse of his incredible blue eyes and saw the flash of wry amusement in them. "Rather, there are more trespassers. Before we work to seal the rifts we must ensure that there will be none caught on the wrong side."
A fragment of memory surfaced and she frowned. "You will not kill them will you?" It was his right to rule his realm as he pleased but the thought of Morpheus taking life did not sit will with her.
There was a ripple of amusement in his voice when he answered. "Aye." Her unease grew only to be replaced with interest as he continued, almost as if he were talking to himself. "Their invasion was as inadvertent as your own. They too were caught in a rift but unlike you they did not manage to free themselves of my wards. Aside from one tenacious male, they were unconscious before they knew where they were, and even he subsided in the end. The young man had much raw potential and I had considered keeping him rather than disposing of him with his companions."
He chuckled and the noise rumbled through her with the impact of a super nova. Serenity had no idea of why he continued to affect her so and, as pleasant as it was, she could not help but wish he would stop it. It was rather distracting. He was rather distracting.
"However I do not believe killing his friends while binding him to my service would have endeared me to him and I have no desire to gain his enmity. Better, I thought, that he remain with his companions even in death rather that I find myself with a resentful alpha warrior in my service. Mortals, pah!"
Her breath caught, surely not… "Alpha warrior?"
"Aye. In fact I was about to see to his end when I felt your rather elusive presence wandering about my domain. I fear that I rather forgot about him after that."
Serenity loosed a silent sigh of relief.
"If nothing has interfered then he should still be with the others where I left them."
"Oh good," she managed to reply casually, "Because if they are who I think they are, if he is who I think he is, then there would have be some very irritable Stars converging on you once they heard of what had happened. Me not least of them."
Before he could respond to her enigmatic comment the setting twisted and reformed itself as an endless green field and sure enough the figures that lay on the grass were familiar to her. She sighed as she saw them and quickly sought out one in particular. Morpheus followed her as she hurried to the unconscious human's side.
As she knelt down in the soft vegetation the little gargoyle croaked curiously. She spared a moment to rub her cheek against it but then her focus was solely on the man before her. "Baka!" she whispered to him and carefully brushed his overlong ebony hair from his eyes. Behind her she could feel the Lord of Dream patiently waiting for her to explain this one mortal's significance. She knew that if she turned around his face would be calm, if not completely emotionless but that did not prevent her from perceiving his own curiosity.
"It's strange," she informed her two companions. "Mortal or not, stubborn, objectionable, impossible and overbearing as he is, Mamoru is one of my touchstones. Without him I think I would be that much more vulnerable to just losing myself in magic." She looked up and deliberately caught those dark, mysterious eyes that held within them the knowledge of eternity."
Morpheus' face became mask-like but that did not stop her from sensing his deep sadness. "Who is this mortal that has stolen your heart?"
"Stolen?" Surely he was jesting but everything about him said that he was perfectly serious. "He is a dear friend no more. My heart is still unattached and it will remain so until your mysterious Elysion appears and proves that he is the one I have been waiting for."
Midnight blue pools of darkness flared with an eerie knowing. "You may hide the truth from yourself precious one but never from me."
What did he see when he looked into her soul? What was there hidden in her heart of hearts that she refused to see? That she was in love with Mamoru? Surely not. Even for Lunarians purely mental communication on a handful of occasions was not enough. She barely knew him.
"I'm not in love with him," she said again and she wasn't. She was positive of it. All there was between him and herself was that strange bond that meant he would do anything to keep her safe and she would do anything to see that he was never disappointed with her. That wasn't love… was it? Besides, she couldn't have fallen in love with him when what he felt for her was not real. "It's just because I've accidentally merged minds with him once or twice. He also helped me to use the Imperium Silver Crystal so there is a bond there. It's just not… it's not that kind of bond."
Morpheus' eyes widened with almost imperceptible surprise. He hesitated a moment as if searching for words before he asked softly, "Has he given you the Imperium Silver Crystal yet?"
"You know of the Crystal?" she shot back instantly, grateful that he had abandoned his previous line of questioning.
"I was there when the Speaker forged it."
Who was Morpheus of Dream? More than a Divine Star undoubtedly. A moment of epiphany came. "You're-" She started to gasp but a strong finger pressed against her lips and silenced her.
"That is neither here nor there. Now there is much for us to do. Traces of Anger were apparent on your mortal friends and within the boy keeper's dreams I see darkness gathering. The spear has tasted their power and seeks more. It will come for them, it will follow them here and we cannot allow it to find you."
"But…"
"Trust me Usagi."
How did he know that name? Was what was in her soul so obvious to those who looked that she would consistently be linked to an usagi? To be linked to life… To creation?
"In a moment I will awaken him and you need to quickly calm him. Now that I search I can feel Anger working through the cracks of my reality. It will be here soon and to save both realms I shall require mortal aid." He cupped her cheek with in his hand gently. "Hush Usa, all will be well. I promise."
All of her worries and all of her fears fled. He spoke of far more than the coming confrontation and she believed him implicitly. Anger, Kaos, Earth, the Speaker, Elysion… Darien, it would all work out. The being who could almost have been the other half of her soul told her so and she believed.
***
Tux's eyes opened with a not quite audible snap. Unfortunately for him the first thing they saw was his blonde haired angel looking at the stranger responsible for his unconsciousness with an expression of utter love. Any fight, any defiance that existed within him should have vanished at the sight but if anything they only grew. He snarled softly and was slightly appeased when Serenity, she was no longer Serena, immediately turned to him.
"Frog-face, you're awake!" She smiled brilliantly at him and for a moment the darkness inside of him lightened. But only for a moment and as he glanced over her shoulder at the strange man it returned full force. The man's eyes were shrouded in darkness but the set of his chin and a subtle twist of his lips increasingly made the human certain that, whoever he was, the stranger was laughing at him. Amused that a mere mortal would dare to covet a gem such as Serenity, even when it was obvious that he could never hope to measure up to a god.
The stranger said none of that aloud of course. Instead he merely whispered urgently, "Usa we need to make haste."
Usa? How dare this upstart be so familiar with Tux's angel?
Serenity nodded and the human made an attempt to suppress some of the fury he felt building in him in the face of her obvious concern. "Darien, we're in Dream. We each fell through one of the rifts that have been allowing the Dreams to go to Earth. That isn't the main problem though, Anger's coming."
That statement shocked him out of his brooding. Immediately fear for her rose. "What are you doing here then? You should be with Kian and Luna!"
"Her corporeal body is situated in the centre of a rift. Until the damage done to my realm is healed then she cannot return."
Tux glared at the stranger. His realm? This must be Morpheus then, it figured. Who more likely to deliver a threat via a dream then he? But if this was supposed to be Serenity's soulmate then why the Hell hadn't he gotten her to safety? "She can't stay here," he snapped instantly.
"No she cannot," the other agreed. The woman in question looked more than a little disgruntled at being discussed as if she weren't there but was not given the opportunity to protest.
"Usa, wait near the rift. You will know when it's time to pass through. Take Grissle with you, if anything should come, he will protect you."
Tux barely had the time to notice the little, gold lump on his love's shoulder before she disappeared. "What the-"
"She will be fine," Morpheus interrupted coldly. "Unlike you if you do not escape the trap you are placing yourself in."
"Trap?" Tux growled.
Golden fires erupted in the shadows under the god's brow. "Yes, trap. With every passing instant you allow her enemies to gain a stronger hold on you and, through you, your world." Tux glared at him venomously and Morpheus sneered in contempt. "Anger, boy, Anger."
So the spear had returned but at that particular moment Tuxedo Mask did not give a damn. Injustice grated at him and he hissed in return, "And I don't have reason to be angry? She is everything to me and I can't have her! And you, you come into my dreams and threaten me! 'Tick tock, a mortal's clock' in, bloody, deed! It's not enough that she's yours to love and to hold for eternity but you have to gloat over it as well? Yes, damn right I'm angry." Tux stood fluidly and, in a heartbeat, had a grip on the front of the god's cloak. "In fact, I'm bloody furious." No matter how hard he tried though, he could not move the deity. It figured.
"And with your anger you doom not only your planet, o' Endymion of Earth." Morpheus' knowledge of his past identity shook Tux but not as much as his next statement. "But you condemn Serenity to oblivion as well."
It was as if a rush of freezing water flooded over him. The anger remained but it could not compete with the absolute terror that the thought of harm to the Guardian gave him.
"You are a telepath," the god continued harshly, "And as such you cannot ever afford to allow your emotions to descend into chaos."
"I am not," he denied desperately but in the depths of his mind he was forced to admit it. He had been hearing more than an affinity for Serenity's mind could explain. First Andrew and then Luna had been both heard and replied to.
"A telepath," the god repeated implacably, "A broadcasting telepath in Dream."
"I don't…"
"Every sleeping mortal mind is vulnerable to you here and now and in that vulnerability and in your weakness you are making them pawns of Anger. It grows stronger every moment and soon not even I will be able to defeat it. Mortals will slip into slumber yet they will not awaken and each one will make it stronger as your madness propagates within them."
Tuxedo Mask released the god and stepped back in horror. "I… I…"
"The damage is done," Morpheus warned and he turned to stare into the distance, "Anger comes and it is too strong for me to triumph over. You had best waken your fellows for when I fail there shall only be you between it and Serenity." With that the dark figure walked away.
"But we're no match for it!" he called out to the departing god.
"Perhaps," the reply floated back, "Then again, perhaps not."
The young man fell to his knees. How could he have allowed this to happen? If it was true, and he had no reason to doubt it, then it was he who had given the Sin the strength to defy a Divine Star. Yet what could be done to undo the damage he had caused? Even when he wrestled with his own temper he was not destroying the anger within him, merely controlling it and even if, somehow, he could do the same to Anger it would not solve the problem. Sooner or later he would slip and the spear would take advantage of that.
The problem was that a mortal's anger fed the Sin and he had made it so that thousands, if not millions, of mortals were currently supplying Anger. Taking away that source would be a start but not enough. He needed to weaken the spear so that Morpheus could destroy its physical manifestation but what would not only stop the angry dreams he had started and also drain power from the Anger?
Tux straightened in disbelief. "It couldn't be that easy…" he said to his sleeping friends, "Could it?"
***
Luna's mind arrowed back to her body with a furious haste. Her mental alarms had gone mad and apprehension had flooded her. Mind and body rejoined with dizzying force. For an endless moment sensory input from her mind and body warred but with ruthless haste she forced her being into order only witness disaster strike.
Even as she watched, withdrawn, sensible, aloof Kian had his lips pressed to her sleeping princess' with apparent enjoyment. The faint scent of male lust tinged the air as the stronger, more repellent taint of Lust polluted the energy fields. Luna cringed but before she could act to forestall disaster once more, Kian himself drew back from the brink of a precipice.
His face was horrified as he hurled himself away from Serena but before Luna could even blink reality tore and her sleeping princess' mind vanished from her worn body. Luna wasted no time cursing instead she immediately set her priorities. Kian's mind reflected an aversion equal to or greater the spell that Lust was attempting to trap him in but a mortal could not stand fast for much longer. Serenity would have to take care of herself for a while; the danger to the princess physically was now and therefore more immediate than the potential danger offered by an impromptu spirit walk.
Her objective decided she instantly applied her formidable mind to the task. The first thing she noted was that Kian had been specifically targeted. For some reason among a population of several trillion mortals in the surrounding area alone, several million of them human, Lust had singled him out. Possibly because, beneath the stoic exterior he affected, Kian possessed emotions that ran as deep as the ocean and, judging from the sheer strength of the human's dread, it was a very likely possibility. This did not surprise Luna in the slightest, after all, she had watched as her princess had painstakingly revealed the man's inner self over the course of the afternoon. It only made the shape-changed Lunarian more aware of the sheer power Lust would gain should Kian give in.
No, it was not the strength with which Kian felt but the emotion that bewildered Luna. What, by the Stars, repulsed the mortal so greatly about Serena that he could fight off a Sin?
She was not given the opportunity to find the answer. Kian's aversion to the blonde princess became almost palpable in the small apartment and his magic flared in an unconscious attempt to ward of danger. Whether that attempt was targeted towards her princess or the Sin, Luna never discovered for Lust materialised within the close confines of the room and Kian stumbled back in even greater horror.
The human was emitting a flood of what had to be almost the complete opposite of Lust and even as she watched Luna saw the abomination weaken. It was a monster that twisted and then fed on physical attraction and whatever exactly Kian was feeling it had nothing to do with attraction. Lust seemed to be torn between the unconscious form of its target and the mortal who was injuring it, unable to decide which figure to crush first. Luna however had no such difficulties.
Lust shrunk further and focused entirely on Kian. Its power rolled over the silver-haired reincarnate and it fought to return a measure of its previous strength but Kian was not cooperating. He fought with every iota of his being but he was mortal and not even he could hold off one of the spears of Kaos for more than a moment. Yet that moment was all Luna required. The instant Lust concentrated on the human it was vulnerable to her and she struck. Millennia worth of gathered power, of painstakingly built strength and of disciplined will combined with her own revulsion for what, to her, was a perversion of everything that she valued.
Kian was too intent on the battle for his soul to notice outside concerns but if he had been paying attention he would have seen Serena's small black cat blur into a willowy, black-haired woman with a slender-bladed sword in her hand. Even if he had been paying attention though he still wouldn't have seen that blade come up and be brought down in a two-handed blow that cleaved Lust from tip to bottom, so fast did it happen.
For an entire second there was utter silence as even the universe stopped to comprehend the enormity of Luna's feat. Then Lust shrieked, an eldritch, inhuman sound, and caused both Kian and Luna to cover their ears. As the last of that terrible scream faded to nothing so did the sin, defeated by a mortal and a guardian.
The two who were left straightened slowly, still shocked by the sudden turn of events. Kian stunned by the appearance of something so monstrous, Luna by her ability to destroy something so monstrous. In the end it was Kian who recovered first, his was the lesser shock after all. He shook off his distraction and concentrated on the stranger who stood near the woman he had promised to protect.
Wavy black hair fell to her knees from two strange arrangements of buns that were strikingly similar to Serena's. Blue eyes stared into the space where Lust had been and a pale face was marked by a completely dumbfounded expression. It was plain to him that she was the reason they were still alive and it was equally as plain that she didn't quite believe their good fortune herself. The final obvious fact to the reincarnate was that there was a very formidable woman, with a sword in hand, standing near Serena. In other words, Darien was going to kill him.
Kian's sudden change in demeanour did not escape Luna's notice. His sudden switch from terrified to ominous would have been clear to a moron on a bad day and Luna was anything but. Through her complete astonishment at what she had accomplished she felt the danger to her and she brought herself back to the here and now in time to hear his softly threatening words.
"Who are you?"
This from the man she had just saved? Did she deserve this after everything else? She sighed and flicked her blade. It didn't need cleaning, the shearing blow had been so fast that none of the spear's blood had even touched the metal, but it was habit to do so after a fight. She hoped she wouldn't need to do so again in the next few minutes. With another sigh she sheathed the blade and tilted her head to the side as she examined the man across from her.
In truth she wasn't particularly worried. In a few short moments he would not have even the faintest of memories of the last half an hour. For prudence's sake she thought it might be best if she blocked any recollection Kian had of kissing Serena as well. After the fiasco with Mamoru it would not do to have another human walking around with the potential to remember what they shouldn't. Of course there was something she had to know before she performed the spell.
"Oh calm down Kian," she murmured thoughtfully, "It was only the elemental manifestation of Lust and I am only a shape changing cat. From your reaction one would think that this was enough to flap the unflappable Kian. Although I have to admit that your deportment throughout the entire ordeal was above reproach. You did not only hold off Lust on your own but you weakened it. I am very impressed… albeit in a rather bemused manner. What, by the Speaker, is it about Seren… a that would cause such… revulsion in you?"
His brows lowered darkly but she refused to allow him to become hostile to her. She transfixed him with her blue gaze and the same non-magical power that she'd used on him as a cat. Silently she padded towards him and, caught by her eyes, he was unable to move. A gentle hand reached up to touch his cheek and his mind opened to hers.
*What about Serenity made you fight against Lust so hard?*
*Lust? Serenity? I don't know… Saved from solitude/bitterness… Light/love/beauty so soft to touch… Monster/darkness/evil trying to force him… Light/love/hope his for the taking… Have it all… Only if gave everything in return… He would be tied to the light, forever bound, no place to hide, no privacy, everything demanded of him… Like Beryl…*
Luna's mind retreated with the answers she'd sought and she looked at him with purely physical eyes. Icy blue eyes were wide with surprise all of the unfriendliness having disappeared the moment she touched him. She smiled gently and hesitantly he returned the expression. Then she loosed her magic and somehow Serena slept through it all.
***
At first Tuxedo Mask had wondered how he was going to pull what he had in mind off. It was not like he had trained for this after all. In fact he could safely say that everything in the last couple of days was well and truly beyond the meagre training his long dead mage teachers had given him. Then he had just shrugged his doubt away. It would definitely have been easier if he had been a trained telepath, as it was he wasn't quite sure of what he was doing. Well, when in doubt just stumble on regardless. So he did.
Amongst the sprawled bodies of his friends he made himself comfortable and then slowly and deliberately he opened his mind as widely as he knew how. He had no idea as to whether or not he was accomplishing his goal. Privately he doubted the effectiveness of everything he was attempting yet he had to try.
It was his emotions that were the problem. A rather ironic happenstance when he considered the time and effort he had invested into rigidly controlling those same emotions. For all that he prided himself on his discipline it was his anger that was rousing the rest of the Earth to fury. It was his anger that was trapping sleepers in dream. It was his anger that was feeding the spear of Chaos. So he stopped being angry.
At first he struggled to find the calm that he was trying to project to the rest of the world. He had more than enough difficulty finding his own inner peace without adding the extra complexity of sharing it with a world full of other souls. It felt as if everything was working to make him fail and it most probably was. Kaos had no doubt done everything within its power to ensure that its spears succeeded in killing Serenity and it still might succeed if he did not find his own equilibrium.
Thoughts of the silver angel who had hurtled into his life so passionately made him unbalanced. He loved her with all that he was and yet that 'all' could never be enough. She was not only destined for another but that other had, to Tux's mind, blatantly claimed her in front of him. His emotions roiled at the thought of them together. Of that other even touching his Serenity, his Usagi and of that darkness possessing the light that was within the Guardian. Of it unleashing the power within her and fulfilling her, as he was unable to do. He rejected the image of his beloved in the arms of another with all of his heart but he could not stop the accompanying thought.
She would be whole.
The thought was agonising. It was heart rending.
It was… magnificent.
He could see her, as she would be then. Her beautiful hair still bound in those ridiculous buns and pigtails, silvery limbs unmarred by scars and slender fingers used to heal rather than harm. Her soft rose lips curved in a smile, her crescent insignia glowing with power and her eyes… Her glorious sapphire eyes would no longer hold such loneliness. They would be at peace. She would be at peace.
He could almost taste the peace… the Serenity she would be and, unknowing, he shared it. His magic yearned for the peace he could see there. Crimson and gold swirled around the image and projected it into the very fabric of the cosmos. Dream shuddered with the force of one young human's magic. It reverberated in symphony to his dream of love.
Serenity:
A golden haired angel with an impish temperament and a burden of duty that would crush another.
Serenity:
The long awaited and forever treasured light of hope for the future.
Serenity:
The defence against Anger.
Serenity:
His Usagi.
***
Morpheus, garbed in shadow, stood opposite the vileness that was Anger. The death of Elysion had taught him fury. The failure of Earth had shown him madness. The loss felt by the Speaker had planted wrath. The lord of Dream knew Anger in all of its forms and he knew its weakness. He waited for the distant human to understand that knowledge and make use of it.
And then it came, as he knew it would.
Dream pounded with the magic of a single human. It was an orchestra of magic and emotion, of soul and heart conducted by one who moved through Dream as if he were born to be there. Morpheus knew the source of inspiration for the song that raged throughout his realm. He knew the truth of the crimson-gold that sang the music with such a soul-felt yearning.
He knew and he laughed in joy as his realm responded in kind.
Nightmares were soothed and fantasies comforted. Billions of sleeping dreamers, not just on Earth, smiled at their dreams of peace. The souls of Earth's sleeping sisters danced in harmony that strengthened their embattled sibling.
Anger faltered.
Morpheus smiled.
No sword did he draw. No dagger or spear or glaive. Power of purest gold was raised in all its splendour. White stars in the depths of eyes of midnight blue flared. A gold awareness of the peace of eternity joined and strengthened the immature power of gilded crimson.
"Tell thy master that once more has he failed. The Renewal will come. Now leave abomination, you are not welcome within my realm."
Mortal souls glowed with peace and Sin could not persist. Anger drained from the universe and was once more lodged within the Darkheart.
Morpheus paid no more notice. Gently he guided his mortal aide in his manipulations of the realm and together god and man healed the fabric of reality. All was as it should be and should always have been.
***
The mortals below should have feared as the three angels battled the demon in their skies. They should have cowered from the titanic forces unleashed above them. The magnitude of the war being fought should have inspired panic of those in the combatants' shadow. None of these things happened.
Earth calmed her children.
God's angels had inspired them.
And Dream united them.
In the depths of a million souls serenity rose, supported in hands of crimson and gold. A million souls saw the truth of that image and it was engraved on their hearts for the remainder of time. A million souls sang with peace and hope. The universe answered.
Sin withered under the onslaught of all that it was not.
Three blades keened as they spliced air.
Rage exploded in the atmosphere but it was a helpless rage. Pride was defeated and, mere moments after another guardian destroyed its sibling, it was banished back to chaos.
The three angels hung in the air for a moment longer and the people below them basked in the relief the divine trio radiated. Not one could accuse them of Pride. It was a profoundly staggering realisation, to those who had the perception to understand, that even the Prince had been unsure as to the outcome of the battle. Yet, still he had fought. It did not surprise them for though the angels were not omnipotent they strived towards that elusive ideal of perfection that all souls tried for.
Without a word being spoken an elderly man began to clap in a slow and stately rhythm. A moment later a young mother two blocks away joined him, then a horse still hitched to a buggy began to raise and lower its fore-hoof against cobblestones. There was not a single hoot or whistle as over a thousand birds flapped their wings without taking to flight. One-by-one, group-by-group and then mass-by-mass, no matter the species and each in their own manner, the souls of Paris applauded. Still not a word passed human lips, no growl emerged from canine throats, or hiss from feline but the ovation was all the more profound for its silence. With actions not words were the angels thanked for their deed.
It was in that thunder that three angels took their leave of the people of Paris. The light of the stately setting sun wrapped them in its brilliance and when the distant orb sank below the horizon the three figures were gone.
No new mythos arose from that day's event though the effects were wide spread. Christianity prospered no more than any other religion, yet all who believed were possessed of new faith. Of those who did not follow a church some joined and others went on to live their lives with a sense of purpose that they had lacked before. Perfection was not attained but none regretted that and instead continued striving. And not one soul present ever spoke a word of what he, she or it had experienced in the presence of the angels. They lived with it and, without words, shared it with those they loved but the miracle was hidden within memory. Never would those who had seen allow their memories to be sullied and so the 'what' was forgotten and all that was remembered was that it had happened.
It was enough.
***
She saw the gold dance in the aether around her. Sparks of crimson flared and faded and she felt as if a blanket of purest love surrounded her. She welcomed it, luxuriated in it and returned it whole-heartedly. Through the power she felt three specks of evil fade from perception and she knew that she was safe.
Before her a rift waited and, for a moment, she hesitated. A small form twisted in her arms and fell away. The tiny bulk grew, wings stretched and friendly eyes filled with regret. Gentle claws nudged her and her balance was gone. Unwittingly she stumbled through the rift. Darkness reached for her and gold comfort fell away.
Once more she was alone.
***
She did not open her eyes. She was back in the realm of the waking, she was on Earth and Darien, her Mamoru, had saved her but she did not open her eyes. Luna was sitting with Kian and having her fur stroked by the human man. Both radiated warmth and companionship yet she did not open her eyes.
She was in love.
He was mortal.
She was in love.
He was not her soulmate.
She was in love.
He was her Mamoru.