Innocence Lost
Chapter 5
Rating: PG
Author: Moonchild DJ
E-Mail: moonchilddj@yahoo.com
Website URL: www.angelfire.com/anime4/animehime
Disclaimer: As anyone reading or writing fanfiction should know, I have
no claim to the Sailor Moon characters, they belong to the various
companies who own them. I just write fanfiction about my favorite
odangoed heroine! ^_^ But I do have claim to this story and its plot,
because I'M the one who thought it all up! So please don't steal.
Author's Note: Hey there, minna-san! Moonchild DJ back with Chapter 5
to a long-neglected "Innocence Lost". Gomen for the long wait, but I
hope this chapter will suffice. Enjoy, and please review!
********
"Th-the cat...Luna TALKS...?!" Sammy squeaked as he stared at the black
cat that sat before them. Luna chuckled dryly at Sammy's shock, then
glanced at Serena's mother and father.
"Indeed I do, as does Artemis, here. He's is Mina's Guardian, as I am
Serena's. The girls speak the truth--Serena is Sailor Moon, among other
things..." At the Tsukino family's blank looks of confusion, Luna shook
her head ruefully. "That's another story. At this moment in time, you
must know of the circumstances regarding the birth of Sailor Moon."
She took a deep breath, her amber eyes half-closing in rememberance.
"When I reached this city, I began searching for the one who would
become the Champion for the Moon. I came across many young ladies in my
search, but none had the feel of the warrior I needed to fight evil."
"Feel? What do you mean?" Mrs. Tsukino murmured.
Luna sighed. "It's...hard to explain. When I came upon the girl, I would
automatically know. A...sense, if you will. I was so distracted in my
search that a group of schoolboys captured me and poked and prodded at
me as children do with animals. My moon mark was covered by a band-aid,
so my lunar senses were dulled. Serena came upon the children as she was
heading to school, and she shooed them away and took care of me. She
pulled the band-aid away, and my lunar senses came rushing back--I felt
something from the girl, but wasn't sure what. So I followed her
throughout the day, observing her and feeling more sure that this
contradictious girl was the one. She wouldn't have been my first choice,
but the senses do not lie."
She shrugged feline shoulders, smiling nostalgically. "I came into this
house and presented myself and my cause. She thought she was dreaming
and wouldn't believe me, which I don't blame her for. Who would believe
in a talking cat and the duty of becoming a super hero?"
Mr. Tsukino shook his head, pushing his glasses higher up his nose. "No
wonder Serena would talk to you as if you were another human being and
not just a cat. So, you recruited her to be Sailor Moon, Champion of
Love and Justice?" Luna nodded.
"Yes, I was her Guardian, and guided and taught her in her new role in
life. Poor dear, she just wanted to be a normal teenager, not fight
against evil, but she couldn't shirk her destiny. She was quite unsure
of herself, clumsy and scared--"
"Still is, Luna." Raye grumbled softly.
"--But she is much better and better prepared to fight back against the
Negaverse." Luna continued, giving Raye a warning look.
"N-Negaverse?" Sammy stammered, eyes widening.
"An ancient evil that's been around for as long as a thousand years,
when her mother last faced them." Artemis replied.
"Artemis!" Luna hissed at the white cat as confused looks blossomed on
the Tsukino family's faces.
"Whoops. Sorry, Luna." Artemis winced as he realized what he had said.
"Mother? Y'mean Mom was a super hero a thousand years ago?" Sammy
laughed, unaware of Mrs. Tsukino's warning glare.
"Er...not exactly, Sammy. Oh, whiskers, how can I explain this? Well...
Serena is not *just* Serena, but also the reborn soul of the Moon
Princess, Princess Serenity. She was called Princess Serena, and her
mother was the Queen of the Moon Kingdom, Queen Serenity, also known by
Earth legends as the goddess Selene. I was her Guardian then, and the
girls were her royal court and princesses of THEIR planets, Mercury,
Mars, Jupiter and Venus. They still are, actually..." Luna muttered as
green light surrounded Lita, orange-yellow light enveloped Mina, red
light bathed Raye, blue light glowed around Amy, and simultaneously
their planet symbols appeared on their foreheads.
Sammy's eyes widened at the rainbow auras surrounding his sister's
friends and the symbols on their foreheads. Was his sister like this,
too? How had she been able to keep all this a secret for so long?
"Girls," Luna called to them. "Transform!"
The girls each raised a hand into the air, some kind of wand of their
respective color appearing in their hands.
"Mars Power!"
"Jupiter Power!"
"Mercury Power!"
"Venus Power!"
Mrs. Tsukino put a hand over Sammy's eyes as the girls transformed,
briefly appearing nude as their powers whirled around them. Luna and
Artemis chuckled as Mr. Tsukino flushed and looked away, and in a flash
of multicolored light, Sailors Mars, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter stood
in the Tsukino living room.
"WOW!!" Sammy cried excitedly, racing around the Sailor Scouts and
poking at a bow here, a skirt there as if to make sure they were real.
"I can't believe it, my sister and her friends are Sailor Scouts!"
Then he remembered the seriousness of the situation..his sister was
missing, presumed to have been taken by the very evil she fought. He
believed them, now, knew that Serena was in big trouble. He frowned up
at Mercury. "Can you save Serena? Will she be okay? We don't always get
along, but I don't want her to get hurt."
Mercury smiled gently, not wishing the little boy to worry. "We'll get
her back and she'll be safe. Don't you worry, she'll be just fine." She
glanced at the others, and with a silent nod, they all agreed to not
tell them about the changes made to Serena's psyche. They had enough to
worry about without knowing their daughter and sister may now be a
totally different person than they once knew, and it might be difficult
to bring her back. She gave a weak smile to the family and nodded.
"We'll find her. You have nothing to worry about." She could only hope
that she and the Scouts could make that promise come true...she glanced
up at the moon as they left, and whispered, "Please don't leave us,
Serena. We need you. Don't give in to the darkness! Bring back that
light within you!"
******
Somehow, having an inner instinct of where to go in the shadowed
hallways, Serena stepped noiselessly on the marble floors, her golden
braided hair catching the dim torchlight and sparkling like liquid gold.
Her dark uniform and cape blending into the gloom, she looked like a
fallen angel in amidst the demons of the Negaverse. Her light blue eyes,
now tinted with a shade of midnight, told another story. She was no
angel this time, this was a dedicated warrior of the Negaverse, and she
would have no mercy for those who had hurt her love.
Sensing the presence of whom she sought(though she wasn't quite sure
how she knew), Serena stepped through a domed hallway and glimpsed the
Champion for the Negaverse lying upon a strange bed surrounded by
glowing rings that moved over his body.
"Darien...?" she whispered, tears filling those strange dark eyes.
Beryl said he had been hurt, but he was so still and pale..she didn't
realize just how hurt he'd been. She slowly made her way over to the
bed, reaching hesitant fingers toward the rings to his face--just to
insure herself he was still alive..
"Don't." snapped a low male voice suddenly, snatching her hand away
from the crackling rings. "Unless you want to be electrocuted. Only
Queen Beryl can manipulate those rings."
Serena turned, seeing behind her, his ice-blue eyes and white hair
fairly glowing in the blackness, the Negaverse General Malachite.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, completely at a loss as to why
Malachite had followed her. "Are you spying on me?"
Malachite frowned at the angry tone, unsure of how to handle this girl
who, up til now, had been his enemy and a thorn in Beryl's side. "Our
Queen asked me to..to keep an eye on you. She was worried about you,
about your well-being after your encounter with the Sailor Scouts."
There, that wasn't too far from the truth. He wasn't going to let her
out of his sight--powerful the Negaforce may be, but he worried that the
girl's internal lunar light would prove far more powerful and break his
Queen's spell, losing their advantage over the Sailor Brats, which would
lead to Beryl's fury and quite possibly his demise. The girl beared
watching, one never knew what could happen.
"She didn't have to worry, I'm fine." Serena spat, finding the strength
to wrench her hand away from Malachite, then glanced down at Darien
sadly. "I'm only worried about him. Will he be all right?"
Malchite blinked at the emotion that filled the girl's cold voice. He
knew she loved the unconscious man upon the bed, but he didn't realize
how much. Knowing of love by the emotion he had shared with Zoisite, it
almost felt wrong to use that love to make her do their bidding. But it
must be done, if he ever wanted his Queen to triumph.
"In time, with rest. The Scouts really did a number on him." His eyes
widened in surprise as Serena gave a low growl, clenching a fist.
"They will pay for hurting him. They will suffer like he is suffering.
They--" Serena halted in the middle of her rant, eyes widening at the
whisper she suddenly heard in her head.
-"Please don't leave us, Serena. We need you. Don't give in to the
darkness! Bring back that light within you!"-
"What..?" she whispered. That voice sounded familiar. But where was it
coming from? She glanced up as a soft glow glimmered out of the corner
of her eye. There..a moonbeam had somehow found a way through a crack in
the dark establishment and shone its light right upon her. The voice
seemed to echo from that thin beam of lunar light. But how could that
be?
Malachite stepped back in horrified fascination as the former heroine-
now-Negaverse-warrior seemed to give off a faint glow. He followed the
light with his eyes and found the source. Ah, so the Moon was against
them and trying to draw her back. Blast that Serenity! She was still
watching over the brat! Well..that could be easily rectified.
He raised his hands, called upon his power and formed his sharp energy
knives. With a mental command, the knives left his hands, took a sort of
mystical form and sliced their way through the moonbeam, severing its
connection to the girl. The light that was slowly forming around the
girl and in her eyes faded, and that sudden cut-off weakened her. She
went crashing to the floor in a flurry of golden midnight, a half-broken
dark angel.
Against his better judgement, Malachite rushed to her, suddenly
concerned for his former nemesis. He didn't know why, but he gently
picked her up, cradling her limp form in his arms. Why by the Negaforce
was he doing this? He felt guilt, concern, even a..fondness for his
stubborn once-adversary. He admired her courage, her loyalty, and he
genuinely cared for her well-being. He shuddered. Was he getting soft
like Nephlite had been? Why should he care if this girl was alive or
dead?
Something flashed in his mind's eye, just for a second, but he saw
himself standing on a balcony. He watched Endymion and this girl--their
Moon Kingdom selves!--kiss, and he felt jealousy flare inside him that
his..Prince..?..got to hold her, kiss her, while he wasn't worthy of
that honor. A sort of sad decision crossed his heart, and he knew that
Endymion had Serenity, not him.
Malachite blinked, his arms tightening absently around Serena. "What..
was that?" he whispered. Something like a memory? But..how could that
be? Did that mean that he'd had another life before belonging to Beryl?
It wasn't possible...
"Mmnh..."
She was awakening. Suddenly unsure of everything, he glanced down into
the hazy eyes of the girl, watching her make her way back to the land
of the living. Ice blue orbs warred with confused smoky blue, and she
frowned.
"What..where..?" The haze cleared, and the darkness shoved its way back
into her eyes. She growled and raised her arms to shove him away. "Let
go of me, you pasty-faced Nega twit! You may be a General, but you
forget your place. I am my Queen's heir, and you have no right to
manhandle me."
Serena got to her feet and staggered away, and Malachite felt the
wrongness of this plan heavily. He didn't quite understand what he saw
in that flash, but he knew everything was all wrong. Wasn't it? His head
spun in a total state of confusion as he too got to his feet, but was
briefly forgotten as an image of Beryl appeared before them in the murky
light.
"Malachite, Dark Moon, Endymion. I have a mission for you to carry out."
Endymion awakened at his Queen's voice, and all three got to one knee
before the image, Malachite more slowly than the two.
"What is it, my Queen?" Serena murmured respectfully, taking care to not
meet the eyes of her superior.
"I have found the Sailor Scouts. They are at an allies' establishment,
just leaving. Stop them and capture them. I want to see what's so
special about these girls that brings such difficulty to our plans."
"The allies?" Serena questioned, seeing an image of a tall, blue-haired
woman, a bespectacled man, and a little brown-haired boy. Beryl smiled.
"No use to us. Kill them."
"As you wish, m'Queen." Serena smiled.
********
~End Chapter 5~
Chapter 5
Rating: PG
Author: Moonchild DJ
E-Mail: moonchilddj@yahoo.com
Website URL: www.angelfire.com/anime4/animehime
Disclaimer: As anyone reading or writing fanfiction should know, I have
no claim to the Sailor Moon characters, they belong to the various
companies who own them. I just write fanfiction about my favorite
odangoed heroine! ^_^ But I do have claim to this story and its plot,
because I'M the one who thought it all up! So please don't steal.
Author's Note: Hey there, minna-san! Moonchild DJ back with Chapter 5
to a long-neglected "Innocence Lost". Gomen for the long wait, but I
hope this chapter will suffice. Enjoy, and please review!
********
"Th-the cat...Luna TALKS...?!" Sammy squeaked as he stared at the black
cat that sat before them. Luna chuckled dryly at Sammy's shock, then
glanced at Serena's mother and father.
"Indeed I do, as does Artemis, here. He's is Mina's Guardian, as I am
Serena's. The girls speak the truth--Serena is Sailor Moon, among other
things..." At the Tsukino family's blank looks of confusion, Luna shook
her head ruefully. "That's another story. At this moment in time, you
must know of the circumstances regarding the birth of Sailor Moon."
She took a deep breath, her amber eyes half-closing in rememberance.
"When I reached this city, I began searching for the one who would
become the Champion for the Moon. I came across many young ladies in my
search, but none had the feel of the warrior I needed to fight evil."
"Feel? What do you mean?" Mrs. Tsukino murmured.
Luna sighed. "It's...hard to explain. When I came upon the girl, I would
automatically know. A...sense, if you will. I was so distracted in my
search that a group of schoolboys captured me and poked and prodded at
me as children do with animals. My moon mark was covered by a band-aid,
so my lunar senses were dulled. Serena came upon the children as she was
heading to school, and she shooed them away and took care of me. She
pulled the band-aid away, and my lunar senses came rushing back--I felt
something from the girl, but wasn't sure what. So I followed her
throughout the day, observing her and feeling more sure that this
contradictious girl was the one. She wouldn't have been my first choice,
but the senses do not lie."
She shrugged feline shoulders, smiling nostalgically. "I came into this
house and presented myself and my cause. She thought she was dreaming
and wouldn't believe me, which I don't blame her for. Who would believe
in a talking cat and the duty of becoming a super hero?"
Mr. Tsukino shook his head, pushing his glasses higher up his nose. "No
wonder Serena would talk to you as if you were another human being and
not just a cat. So, you recruited her to be Sailor Moon, Champion of
Love and Justice?" Luna nodded.
"Yes, I was her Guardian, and guided and taught her in her new role in
life. Poor dear, she just wanted to be a normal teenager, not fight
against evil, but she couldn't shirk her destiny. She was quite unsure
of herself, clumsy and scared--"
"Still is, Luna." Raye grumbled softly.
"--But she is much better and better prepared to fight back against the
Negaverse." Luna continued, giving Raye a warning look.
"N-Negaverse?" Sammy stammered, eyes widening.
"An ancient evil that's been around for as long as a thousand years,
when her mother last faced them." Artemis replied.
"Artemis!" Luna hissed at the white cat as confused looks blossomed on
the Tsukino family's faces.
"Whoops. Sorry, Luna." Artemis winced as he realized what he had said.
"Mother? Y'mean Mom was a super hero a thousand years ago?" Sammy
laughed, unaware of Mrs. Tsukino's warning glare.
"Er...not exactly, Sammy. Oh, whiskers, how can I explain this? Well...
Serena is not *just* Serena, but also the reborn soul of the Moon
Princess, Princess Serenity. She was called Princess Serena, and her
mother was the Queen of the Moon Kingdom, Queen Serenity, also known by
Earth legends as the goddess Selene. I was her Guardian then, and the
girls were her royal court and princesses of THEIR planets, Mercury,
Mars, Jupiter and Venus. They still are, actually..." Luna muttered as
green light surrounded Lita, orange-yellow light enveloped Mina, red
light bathed Raye, blue light glowed around Amy, and simultaneously
their planet symbols appeared on their foreheads.
Sammy's eyes widened at the rainbow auras surrounding his sister's
friends and the symbols on their foreheads. Was his sister like this,
too? How had she been able to keep all this a secret for so long?
"Girls," Luna called to them. "Transform!"
The girls each raised a hand into the air, some kind of wand of their
respective color appearing in their hands.
"Mars Power!"
"Jupiter Power!"
"Mercury Power!"
"Venus Power!"
Mrs. Tsukino put a hand over Sammy's eyes as the girls transformed,
briefly appearing nude as their powers whirled around them. Luna and
Artemis chuckled as Mr. Tsukino flushed and looked away, and in a flash
of multicolored light, Sailors Mars, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter stood
in the Tsukino living room.
"WOW!!" Sammy cried excitedly, racing around the Sailor Scouts and
poking at a bow here, a skirt there as if to make sure they were real.
"I can't believe it, my sister and her friends are Sailor Scouts!"
Then he remembered the seriousness of the situation..his sister was
missing, presumed to have been taken by the very evil she fought. He
believed them, now, knew that Serena was in big trouble. He frowned up
at Mercury. "Can you save Serena? Will she be okay? We don't always get
along, but I don't want her to get hurt."
Mercury smiled gently, not wishing the little boy to worry. "We'll get
her back and she'll be safe. Don't you worry, she'll be just fine." She
glanced at the others, and with a silent nod, they all agreed to not
tell them about the changes made to Serena's psyche. They had enough to
worry about without knowing their daughter and sister may now be a
totally different person than they once knew, and it might be difficult
to bring her back. She gave a weak smile to the family and nodded.
"We'll find her. You have nothing to worry about." She could only hope
that she and the Scouts could make that promise come true...she glanced
up at the moon as they left, and whispered, "Please don't leave us,
Serena. We need you. Don't give in to the darkness! Bring back that
light within you!"
******
Somehow, having an inner instinct of where to go in the shadowed
hallways, Serena stepped noiselessly on the marble floors, her golden
braided hair catching the dim torchlight and sparkling like liquid gold.
Her dark uniform and cape blending into the gloom, she looked like a
fallen angel in amidst the demons of the Negaverse. Her light blue eyes,
now tinted with a shade of midnight, told another story. She was no
angel this time, this was a dedicated warrior of the Negaverse, and she
would have no mercy for those who had hurt her love.
Sensing the presence of whom she sought(though she wasn't quite sure
how she knew), Serena stepped through a domed hallway and glimpsed the
Champion for the Negaverse lying upon a strange bed surrounded by
glowing rings that moved over his body.
"Darien...?" she whispered, tears filling those strange dark eyes.
Beryl said he had been hurt, but he was so still and pale..she didn't
realize just how hurt he'd been. She slowly made her way over to the
bed, reaching hesitant fingers toward the rings to his face--just to
insure herself he was still alive..
"Don't." snapped a low male voice suddenly, snatching her hand away
from the crackling rings. "Unless you want to be electrocuted. Only
Queen Beryl can manipulate those rings."
Serena turned, seeing behind her, his ice-blue eyes and white hair
fairly glowing in the blackness, the Negaverse General Malachite.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, completely at a loss as to why
Malachite had followed her. "Are you spying on me?"
Malachite frowned at the angry tone, unsure of how to handle this girl
who, up til now, had been his enemy and a thorn in Beryl's side. "Our
Queen asked me to..to keep an eye on you. She was worried about you,
about your well-being after your encounter with the Sailor Scouts."
There, that wasn't too far from the truth. He wasn't going to let her
out of his sight--powerful the Negaforce may be, but he worried that the
girl's internal lunar light would prove far more powerful and break his
Queen's spell, losing their advantage over the Sailor Brats, which would
lead to Beryl's fury and quite possibly his demise. The girl beared
watching, one never knew what could happen.
"She didn't have to worry, I'm fine." Serena spat, finding the strength
to wrench her hand away from Malachite, then glanced down at Darien
sadly. "I'm only worried about him. Will he be all right?"
Malchite blinked at the emotion that filled the girl's cold voice. He
knew she loved the unconscious man upon the bed, but he didn't realize
how much. Knowing of love by the emotion he had shared with Zoisite, it
almost felt wrong to use that love to make her do their bidding. But it
must be done, if he ever wanted his Queen to triumph.
"In time, with rest. The Scouts really did a number on him." His eyes
widened in surprise as Serena gave a low growl, clenching a fist.
"They will pay for hurting him. They will suffer like he is suffering.
They--" Serena halted in the middle of her rant, eyes widening at the
whisper she suddenly heard in her head.
-"Please don't leave us, Serena. We need you. Don't give in to the
darkness! Bring back that light within you!"-
"What..?" she whispered. That voice sounded familiar. But where was it
coming from? She glanced up as a soft glow glimmered out of the corner
of her eye. There..a moonbeam had somehow found a way through a crack in
the dark establishment and shone its light right upon her. The voice
seemed to echo from that thin beam of lunar light. But how could that
be?
Malachite stepped back in horrified fascination as the former heroine-
now-Negaverse-warrior seemed to give off a faint glow. He followed the
light with his eyes and found the source. Ah, so the Moon was against
them and trying to draw her back. Blast that Serenity! She was still
watching over the brat! Well..that could be easily rectified.
He raised his hands, called upon his power and formed his sharp energy
knives. With a mental command, the knives left his hands, took a sort of
mystical form and sliced their way through the moonbeam, severing its
connection to the girl. The light that was slowly forming around the
girl and in her eyes faded, and that sudden cut-off weakened her. She
went crashing to the floor in a flurry of golden midnight, a half-broken
dark angel.
Against his better judgement, Malachite rushed to her, suddenly
concerned for his former nemesis. He didn't know why, but he gently
picked her up, cradling her limp form in his arms. Why by the Negaforce
was he doing this? He felt guilt, concern, even a..fondness for his
stubborn once-adversary. He admired her courage, her loyalty, and he
genuinely cared for her well-being. He shuddered. Was he getting soft
like Nephlite had been? Why should he care if this girl was alive or
dead?
Something flashed in his mind's eye, just for a second, but he saw
himself standing on a balcony. He watched Endymion and this girl--their
Moon Kingdom selves!--kiss, and he felt jealousy flare inside him that
his..Prince..?..got to hold her, kiss her, while he wasn't worthy of
that honor. A sort of sad decision crossed his heart, and he knew that
Endymion had Serenity, not him.
Malachite blinked, his arms tightening absently around Serena. "What..
was that?" he whispered. Something like a memory? But..how could that
be? Did that mean that he'd had another life before belonging to Beryl?
It wasn't possible...
"Mmnh..."
She was awakening. Suddenly unsure of everything, he glanced down into
the hazy eyes of the girl, watching her make her way back to the land
of the living. Ice blue orbs warred with confused smoky blue, and she
frowned.
"What..where..?" The haze cleared, and the darkness shoved its way back
into her eyes. She growled and raised her arms to shove him away. "Let
go of me, you pasty-faced Nega twit! You may be a General, but you
forget your place. I am my Queen's heir, and you have no right to
manhandle me."
Serena got to her feet and staggered away, and Malachite felt the
wrongness of this plan heavily. He didn't quite understand what he saw
in that flash, but he knew everything was all wrong. Wasn't it? His head
spun in a total state of confusion as he too got to his feet, but was
briefly forgotten as an image of Beryl appeared before them in the murky
light.
"Malachite, Dark Moon, Endymion. I have a mission for you to carry out."
Endymion awakened at his Queen's voice, and all three got to one knee
before the image, Malachite more slowly than the two.
"What is it, my Queen?" Serena murmured respectfully, taking care to not
meet the eyes of her superior.
"I have found the Sailor Scouts. They are at an allies' establishment,
just leaving. Stop them and capture them. I want to see what's so
special about these girls that brings such difficulty to our plans."
"The allies?" Serena questioned, seeing an image of a tall, blue-haired
woman, a bespectacled man, and a little brown-haired boy. Beryl smiled.
"No use to us. Kill them."
"As you wish, m'Queen." Serena smiled.
********
~End Chapter 5~