Chapter 14: FINAL!
Wish me happy birthday! It is my birthday today, October 14, 2002,
thanksgiving day!
Yes, the wiseman is an it in this fic.
I know it is the wise"man", but it is also nemesis, so how can a planet
be male or female? Thanks to all who
reviewed.
Usagi was having the strangest dream. She saw King Endimion fighting hand-to-hand with Demando. The two men were in the hallway, with bodies littered all around them. Endimion's cape was long gone, and Demando looked much the worst for wear.
She watched them for a while, hanging around like a wisp of air, grinning gleefully every time Endimion was attacked. Gods, how that man made her angry. How both men made her angry. She wished she had dreams like this more often.
But wait... Something caught at the edge of her vision. She glanced straight at it, and would have gasped if her mouth made any noise. The wiseman was there, somehow still sitting, hovering in the air much like Usagi was now. It was also watching the fight in earnest, though it was difficult to tell what it thought, its dark cloak obscuring most of its body.
Suddenly, the wiseman's head turned so it faced exactly where Usagi was hovering. The fact that it knew where she was when both of the men had been completely oblivious disconcerted her. But she had no more time to think on the oddness of the wiseman before she felt herself waking up.
Blinking, Usagi lifted her pounding head. She moaned, and this time it was audible, so she assumed she was truly awake now. The room was softly lit, and she could see that she was somehow gowned in a dress much like the one Neo-Queen Serenity had worn. It seemed that Demando's obsession with her had not diminished through time or alternate time-lines.
"Wiseman, she is awake," Demando's low voice said, nearby. Usagi glanced around, to see the Prince standing by the only door.
"Good," a voice replied. Demando nodded slightly, then moved to stand before the bunny.
"My dear Serenity," he whispered, eyes raking over her, taking in the dress with satisfaction. "You are mine now, my dear."
The whispered declaration angered Usagi(again). She was not a possession! How many times did men need to be told? She remembered Demando to be possessive, and very quick to anger. Not a good combination. But so had Endimion, and look how that had worked?
He caressed her face tenderly, as he repeated his declarations of love. He leaned in to kiss her, holding her tightly.
Usagi pulled away, glaring at the Prince. "What the hell do you want with me, freak?" she hissed, eyes- not angry, per se, but almost, thoughtful. As if the words she spoke were dictated to her.
He smiled, as if he could see she was already his. "I want you to be my Queen, to be mine, Serenity." He fingered the jewel in his forehead, light glinting off of it. He stepped away from her, and went to the door. "You have the run of the castle. Just don't get lost."
Usagi watched him go, wondering what he was doing. He attacked her friends, taking her, then let her go free? No, she thought, face pensive, he knows I cannot leave. Or at least, he believes I cannot. Perfect.
Run of the castle, eh, my dear Prince? Fun for me.
Usagi discarded the dress, getting rid of it distastefully. She used the little power she could pull from the crystal to clothe her in street clothes, also shrouding her in temporary invisibility. She left the room with its odd machines, slipping into the hallway. She now knew where she was, and sardonically thanked the Prince for bringing her somewhere where she could find her way around.
The ornate room with Safir was easy to locate, but instead of Rubeus also being with him, Safir was alone. Of course, Rubeus was killed, wasn't he? Not like what I remember.
The dark haired follower of Demando was staring at the floating sphere in front of him. Usagi caught glimpses of what looked to be a young Demando, before he turned and saw her. The images disappeared, but Safir merely looked at her.
His intense gaze made her uncomfortable, until he broke the silence that had fallen between them. "Come, I will not hurt you." His face was still, but Usagi felt deep sorrow in him. "I believe you wish to find your friends?" he asked, and she nodded.
He turned around, and images once more filled the globe in front of him. They were dark, but Safir pressed a button on a console and light gleamed, so that Usagi could see four bodies in it. Not a single one moved.
He pressed it again, and Usagi was able to recognize Ami, Makoto and Rei. The fourth was a decayed skeleton, held by chains in a corner. Usagi gasped, and would have moved closer, but Safir held her back. "It won't help them now, Queen. They are long dead. Not a single one of them lasted longer then ten minutes after they woke up." Images flashed again, and Usagi was treated to a view of her senshis deaths, also able to see the varied forms that watched in the corners. "Those people you see watching are the four Sisters. They took great amusement from watching your friends suffer." His voice was completely emotionless, and Usagi couldn't tell what he personally thought about the whole thing. "So do not bother searching for them. You will never find the room they are in."
Usagi glared at him, and spun on her hell, refusing to shed her tears in front of the man. He will pay, she vowed as hot tears streaked down her face. The wiseman will deal with consequences of the sins he has committed. I will personally deliver the justice.
She found one of the many dark corners, sitting down so that she would be unnoticeable to a casual glance. She painfully pulled the power of the Silver Crystal into her, before directing it to seek out the one thing that was completely opposite to itself. She met a solid mass of darkness, and she pulled it to her, letting the pure power of the crystal lure it to her.
Not only did the wiseman come, Demando followed it like a lost puppy. Usagi could almost see the leash on the Prince. "This is it, wiseman, or whatever it is you wish to be called," Usagi began, stepping up, still using the Crystal, letting it's warmth wash over her, reassuring her. "I will not allow you to mess with my life, and my planet. I will vanquish you!" she cried, and inwardly winced at the pathetic words. she hadn't been able to think of anything else, and the familiar words had just popped into her mind.
The wiseman laughed, a cruel sound that promised horrors to all who heard it. "I think not, my dear," it whispered. It lashed at her with an attack mush like the black fire of Demando, and the other three. Usagi evaded it, ignoring the gaping hole in the wall left from the attack. The fact that she could easily have been that hole was a distant thought, as her fighting instincts began to take over.
She sent her own attack, a weak attack compared to it's. It gave the feeling of grinning madly as it absorbed the attack. It immediately returned the favor, catching her off guard.
Demando jumped in front of the next blast, shielding the bunny from an attack she knew she would not have been able to evade. She saw the look of adoration in the dark eyes of the Prince before he too fell at her feet. The wiseman glared at its former follower, who seemed to have finally woken to his leader's plot. The thing cursed to itself, wondering how it was supposed to find more such devoted followers, and how it would keep them from falling in love with the prisoners.
So when the blast of light shot at it from Usagi, it was so surprised it couldn't do anything with it, and was immediately disoriented. It snarled at her, and disappeared, taking her with it. They reappeared in a dark room, and Usagi recognized it as the room her senshis had been held it. Their bodies were still there, but the skeleton was gone. She wasn't allowed any more time to think as the wiseman attacked again in earnest, seemingly taking power from the room.
Usagi desperately blocked what she could, but she was growing weaker. No matted how much she had trained on her own after leaving the senshis in Japan, she was still dependent on others to aid her. She fell to her knees, unable to bear the brunt of the pure evil any longer. As pain racked her body, she cried out unconsciously to her protectors, the only true constants in her troubled lives.
Cool ice soothed her pain as Ami's gentle voice spoke softly into her mind. "Usa-chan, all you needed to do was ask." Usagi stiffened in shock, and heard three others voices join the senshi of mercury. "Odango, why did you do this to yourself? All we wanted was to help you. So let us!"
Now she smiled as the passion of Mars filled her veins. As the strength of Jupiter cackled in her hands, she could hear Mako-chan speaking. "Yeah, girl, we waited for you, so let the wait have been worthwhile!"
As the ball of multicolored lightning streaked to the dark shape, one last voice added their own comments. "Finally. This guy it such a pain! Hey, where did that cutie go?"
As the world exploded around her, Usagi reveled in the feel of her friends once more. No matter the results now, she could die happy.
Usagi opened her eyes, wincing against the glare of bright lights. When seemingly shrill voices added to the pain, she groaned, closed her eyes, and tried to go back to sleep.
"Hey, she's awake!" someone said, close by her ear. Usagi rolled over, hitting the wall lightly. She moaned again.
"Usa-chan, wake up!" Once again, cool ice invaded her mind, and she sat up, feeling better immediately. There was quite a crowd in her room, and Usagi nearly fainted with shock. Every one was there, up to and including Endimion.
"How— I mean, what—" she stuttered, eyes wide. All of her inner senshis looked perfectly alright, and the generals were as alive as ever. If she hadn't distinctly remember each of them dieing, she would have believe them to have never.
Most of the group laughed, and Usagi blushed. "It seems your wish to save us allowed us to be reborn, Usa-chan. That is also why you were so tired and sore." Usagi thanked the gods for Ami's intelligence and bluntness.
Then she sobered. "But wouldn't that mean..." she trailed off, but Nefrite got her meaning.
"IF Demando and the others were reborn, then it is most likely that they were cleansed of their taint, much like we were. And Nemesis itself was completely destroyed."
"Ah."
What else could she say?
Don't hate me, please! It's longer, I think by at least twice! I am thinking of writing an epilogue, with a summary of the story, for those who were confused, (there seems to be quite a lot of you… *sweatdrop*), and maybe some in between scenes that didn't get added in. What do you think?
Wish me happy Birthday!
I now officially love all of the following people:
Princess2000204
MoonWonderer
Deny
Vilranda
Adyen
Wreath of Roses
ThePinkSpider
frosty
Arabella Silverbell
Slvrdrgn
tess-n34
natsumi
Lisa.F
PixiePrincess-wants-SUGAR
ShibbySpunkyChick
Tenko
Craft
Melody
G~baby
fan_rei
Emerald Eyes
Miko633
~Cassy~
Selene
Sorceress Usagi
LittleDragon5
Tine E. Telford
Silver moon starlight Angel
yehlowgurl
Animechick
victoria
Carolin Rocha
Marni
veronica
Goddess Pluto
eternal sailor moon
Lesli
wingnut
Louie
Luna2
Lady Dark Angel
Alexiel
Fires Goddess
Eo
Azalea
ScorpioNightShadow
Allure
Maddy
Scarlet Moon
Bonnie
Moonie chef
Serenity Aura Crystal Winner
Serena
keri carlson
Leia
Because they reviewed. Doesn't it make you happy to know you made someone else happy, just because you pushed a button? Wow, there's a lot of you... whew, that took awhile.