In the Hands of Fate
By Mask of Twilight
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Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all of it's characters do not belong to me, but to the wonderful Naoko-sama. I am only borrowing her extravagant cast of super-heroes and villians for this little fic of mine. ^_~
AN: I am well aware of the fact that I changed the last little bit of chapter 8. The reason for that change is that I didn't mean to put the last little bit in chapter 8. As you can see, the beginning of chapter 9 is the same as the edited bit in chapter 8. So, I am sorry for the inconvenience...here's chapter 9!
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Chapter IX
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Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There's a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road we've been so many times...
~Pink Floyd
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"Sailor Pluto! What are you doing here?" asked Minako.
"I thought you couldn't leave the Fourth Dimension," Ami pointed out.
Pluto smiled sadly. "No Ami, I can't, but as you can see, I am still there." The Senshi looked harder at the woman and realized that she was actually a holographic projection like unto King Endymion's. She must be projecting it from where her real body was in the Fourth Dimension.
"Pluto, you said that the enemy had either taken Sailor Moon, or...or destroyed her," Mamoru said, with some effort. "Do you know what happened to her? Please tell us!" Tears shimmered in his blue eyes, silently praying that his love was still alive...
Pluto smiled sympathetically. "I wouldn't bother coming here if I didn't." Her smile disappeared as she walked over to the sleeping Chibi-usa, as she stroked the little one's pink locks. Looking back up at the others, she began to speak, her voice and expression grave. "No, Sailor Moon is not dead, but do not let that comfort you. She has been taken and seduced by the White Prince of Nemesis."
"Seduced?" said Makoto, narrowing her eyes.
Sailor Pluto nodded, then looked directly into Mamoru's eyes. "She willingly went into his arms."
Mamoru sank to his knees. Was this true, all that he was hearing? Usa-ko would never...But then he remembered the look in her eyes when she had returned to them, after she had been kidnapped by Demando before. He recalled her confusion and fear, which had then turned to something else...
"Willingly?!" cried Minako. "What do you mean? Why would she-Wait! I know! She must be under a spell!"
The others rolled their eyes at their slightly airheaded friend. "This isn't a fairy-tale, Mina-chan!" Rei said, annoyed.
"Actually, Minako seems to be on the right track," said Pluto.
"See?" Minako said, nodding her head knowingly. "You should listen to me more!"
"I'm not exactly sure what happened, but Demando does seem to have some sort of unnatural influence over Sailor Moon," Pluto explained.
"Influence?" Mamoru echoed. "You mean, like brainwashing?"
Pluto shook her head. "I don't know. But the issue at present is not how he did it, but that he succeeded at all." She sighed. "And I'm afraid much more than simply Sailor Moon's fate is at stake." She glanced at Chibi-usa.
King Endymion followed her gaze. "Chibi-usa..." he whispered. He now realized the horror, to its fullest, of all that had happened. Slowly the others began to understand.
"Oh my god..." whispered Rei. Suddenly, she leapt forward towards the little girl. "Chibi-usa?!" she cried, shaking her young form. The others watched anxiously, but the child didn't wake.
"What's wrong with her?!" exclaimed Mamoru. But he knew the answer. In the future, Usagi and Mamoru would create Chibi-usa out of their love for each other. But now that future had been altered, thus...Chibi-usa could no longer exist.
"She's not gone yet," said Pluto. "But I'm afraid she'll never wake again unless we can somehow get Sailor Moon back. Otherwise, the life will drain out of her, and her body will fade."
"No..." Ami said softly.
"Well, then, what do we do?" said Makoto. "I say we figure out a way to save Usagi and go for it!"
"But how?" asked Minako. "We don't even know where she is."
"No, but I do," said Pluto. "Demando has taken her to the planet Nemesis. The Black Moon has a small palace located there, and that is where all of their attacks have originated."
"Nemesis...But how will we ever get there?" asked Minako.
"You have the power. I will take Sailor Moon's place in order to use Sailor Teleport," said Sailor Pluto. "Perhaps we will have enough energy to transport Mamoru as well. I believe he will be needed, if you are to rescue Sailor Moon."
The Senshi nodded, and began to transform.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saffiru scowled at the door that separated himself from his brother. Demando had been hidden inside that room all morning, doing who knows what. It was a room that branched off of the prince's quarters, and was primarily used as a "guest room", or, more correctly, a prison cell for the more wealthy prisoners. Currently, to Saffiru's knowlegde, the room was empty of any guest, but perhaps that wasn't so...
Normally, Saffiru would never be so bold as to disturb his brother, but now, for some reason, he felt the need to. As of late, Prince Demando's thoughts had been elsewhere, when they should be focused on the plan for revenge above all else. The Wiseman had noticed, and become angry. At first, Saffiru had thought his brother's advisor was simply over-reacting, but now...
Saffiru raised his white-gloved hand and knocked softly on the dark wooden door. It was made of dethwood, a particularly dense form of wood, which came from one of the only species of trees on Nemesis, and so his knock hardly made a sound. Knocking louder, Saffiru heard no answer at first. But then, after a moment, the door opened slightly, and Prince Demando appeared in the small opening. Saffiru couldn't help but notice that his brother's shirt was off, and that the button and zipper on his pants were loose.
Clearing his throat, Saffiru looked his brother in the eye and spoke. "I'm sorry to disturb you, My Prince..." His voice trailed off. He was unsure of what to say, and he thought he heard a sound coming from the room beyond. 'Oh well,' he thought, 'better not to ask questions.'
Demando raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Saffiru? What is it?"
Saffiru sighed. "Brother, you haven't had your mind on the mission lately! Where do you go all the time? You're never here, and when you are, you hide in your chambers! Where is your pride?! You let Esmeraude fall, and gave no thought to her demise!" He looked pleadingly into Demando's crystal violet eyes. "What happened to the brother and leader I once knew? Have you given up?" he asked softly.
Demando stood silently throughout this tirade of words, frowning at his younger brother. It was rare that Saffiru expressed his feelings in such a violent and emotional manner. After a moment, Demando spoke, his words so soft and full of emotion that Saffiru could barely catch them.
"No, Saffiru, I have not given up," he sighed. "Do you want to know what I've been doing all this time?
" He stepped back, opening the door wider. Saffiru peered into the room beyond, curious to know what his brother was talking about. As he did, his eyes grew wide. There, lying naked amidst a tangle of crimson sheets, was Sailor Moon. She was fast asleep, her hair loose around her face, her eyelids quivering slightly, as if she were in the midst of a bad dream.
Saffiru looked quickly at his brother. "Demando..." he whispered.
Demando's eyes never left Saffiru's as he spoke, his voice trembling, as if he might weep. Saffiru had never seen his brother in such a state; it frightened him. "I love her, Saffiru," Demando said softly. "I love her as I've never loved anyone before; more even than I love you." His gaze rested on the sleeping girl, then he leaned against the door frame, his face resting in one hand. "I heard her speaking in her sleep," he said, his voice slightly muffled by his hand. "She spoke the past name of Endymion." He looked at Saffiru mournfully. "She doesn't love me, Saffiru...yet, look what I've done to her..."
Saffiru looked at his brother sympathetically. He had never been in love, and so felt that it was impossible for him to comfort Demando. He could find no words to help the situation.
The prince looked down at his brother and placed his hands firmly on the smaller man's shoulders. Looking Saffiru directly in the eye, he spoke, "You've always been full of words, Saffiru. Tell me what to do. Have I made a mistake?"
Saffiru hesitated. In truth, Saffiru thought that falling in love with the Queen of Earth was folly to begin with, let alone all of the steps Demando took to capture her. But as he looked at his older brother, he knew that if he spoke his thoughts, Demando's heart would shatter. And in doing so, all of his drive to remake history, to create a better world for the future, would be lost.
Saffiru shook his head. "No, My Prince, you have made no mistake. You love her Demando, I can see it your eyes." He looked at the sleeping girl, silently wishing none of this had happened. But to comfort his brother, he continued, "And in time, she will come to love you as well."
Demando's gaze followed his brother's to look at his love. She was so beautiful, lying there... "I believe you are right, Saffiru."
Saffiru watched as Demando's eyes changed from wistful to determined. Saffiru bowed to his prince, and, his objective complete, took his leave.
Demando strode over to his sleeping angel, and sat beside her on the bed. He stroked her hair lovingly, then kissed her forehead lightly. Saffiru was right...She would love him, eventually. How could she not, when he loved her more than life itself?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Mask of Twilight
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all of it's characters do not belong to me, but to the wonderful Naoko-sama. I am only borrowing her extravagant cast of super-heroes and villians for this little fic of mine. ^_~
AN: I am well aware of the fact that I changed the last little bit of chapter 8. The reason for that change is that I didn't mean to put the last little bit in chapter 8. As you can see, the beginning of chapter 9 is the same as the edited bit in chapter 8. So, I am sorry for the inconvenience...here's chapter 9!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter IX
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There's a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road we've been so many times...
~Pink Floyd
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sailor Pluto! What are you doing here?" asked Minako.
"I thought you couldn't leave the Fourth Dimension," Ami pointed out.
Pluto smiled sadly. "No Ami, I can't, but as you can see, I am still there." The Senshi looked harder at the woman and realized that she was actually a holographic projection like unto King Endymion's. She must be projecting it from where her real body was in the Fourth Dimension.
"Pluto, you said that the enemy had either taken Sailor Moon, or...or destroyed her," Mamoru said, with some effort. "Do you know what happened to her? Please tell us!" Tears shimmered in his blue eyes, silently praying that his love was still alive...
Pluto smiled sympathetically. "I wouldn't bother coming here if I didn't." Her smile disappeared as she walked over to the sleeping Chibi-usa, as she stroked the little one's pink locks. Looking back up at the others, she began to speak, her voice and expression grave. "No, Sailor Moon is not dead, but do not let that comfort you. She has been taken and seduced by the White Prince of Nemesis."
"Seduced?" said Makoto, narrowing her eyes.
Sailor Pluto nodded, then looked directly into Mamoru's eyes. "She willingly went into his arms."
Mamoru sank to his knees. Was this true, all that he was hearing? Usa-ko would never...But then he remembered the look in her eyes when she had returned to them, after she had been kidnapped by Demando before. He recalled her confusion and fear, which had then turned to something else...
"Willingly?!" cried Minako. "What do you mean? Why would she-Wait! I know! She must be under a spell!"
The others rolled their eyes at their slightly airheaded friend. "This isn't a fairy-tale, Mina-chan!" Rei said, annoyed.
"Actually, Minako seems to be on the right track," said Pluto.
"See?" Minako said, nodding her head knowingly. "You should listen to me more!"
"I'm not exactly sure what happened, but Demando does seem to have some sort of unnatural influence over Sailor Moon," Pluto explained.
"Influence?" Mamoru echoed. "You mean, like brainwashing?"
Pluto shook her head. "I don't know. But the issue at present is not how he did it, but that he succeeded at all." She sighed. "And I'm afraid much more than simply Sailor Moon's fate is at stake." She glanced at Chibi-usa.
King Endymion followed her gaze. "Chibi-usa..." he whispered. He now realized the horror, to its fullest, of all that had happened. Slowly the others began to understand.
"Oh my god..." whispered Rei. Suddenly, she leapt forward towards the little girl. "Chibi-usa?!" she cried, shaking her young form. The others watched anxiously, but the child didn't wake.
"What's wrong with her?!" exclaimed Mamoru. But he knew the answer. In the future, Usagi and Mamoru would create Chibi-usa out of their love for each other. But now that future had been altered, thus...Chibi-usa could no longer exist.
"She's not gone yet," said Pluto. "But I'm afraid she'll never wake again unless we can somehow get Sailor Moon back. Otherwise, the life will drain out of her, and her body will fade."
"No..." Ami said softly.
"Well, then, what do we do?" said Makoto. "I say we figure out a way to save Usagi and go for it!"
"But how?" asked Minako. "We don't even know where she is."
"No, but I do," said Pluto. "Demando has taken her to the planet Nemesis. The Black Moon has a small palace located there, and that is where all of their attacks have originated."
"Nemesis...But how will we ever get there?" asked Minako.
"You have the power. I will take Sailor Moon's place in order to use Sailor Teleport," said Sailor Pluto. "Perhaps we will have enough energy to transport Mamoru as well. I believe he will be needed, if you are to rescue Sailor Moon."
The Senshi nodded, and began to transform.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saffiru scowled at the door that separated himself from his brother. Demando had been hidden inside that room all morning, doing who knows what. It was a room that branched off of the prince's quarters, and was primarily used as a "guest room", or, more correctly, a prison cell for the more wealthy prisoners. Currently, to Saffiru's knowlegde, the room was empty of any guest, but perhaps that wasn't so...
Normally, Saffiru would never be so bold as to disturb his brother, but now, for some reason, he felt the need to. As of late, Prince Demando's thoughts had been elsewhere, when they should be focused on the plan for revenge above all else. The Wiseman had noticed, and become angry. At first, Saffiru had thought his brother's advisor was simply over-reacting, but now...
Saffiru raised his white-gloved hand and knocked softly on the dark wooden door. It was made of dethwood, a particularly dense form of wood, which came from one of the only species of trees on Nemesis, and so his knock hardly made a sound. Knocking louder, Saffiru heard no answer at first. But then, after a moment, the door opened slightly, and Prince Demando appeared in the small opening. Saffiru couldn't help but notice that his brother's shirt was off, and that the button and zipper on his pants were loose.
Clearing his throat, Saffiru looked his brother in the eye and spoke. "I'm sorry to disturb you, My Prince..." His voice trailed off. He was unsure of what to say, and he thought he heard a sound coming from the room beyond. 'Oh well,' he thought, 'better not to ask questions.'
Demando raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Saffiru? What is it?"
Saffiru sighed. "Brother, you haven't had your mind on the mission lately! Where do you go all the time? You're never here, and when you are, you hide in your chambers! Where is your pride?! You let Esmeraude fall, and gave no thought to her demise!" He looked pleadingly into Demando's crystal violet eyes. "What happened to the brother and leader I once knew? Have you given up?" he asked softly.
Demando stood silently throughout this tirade of words, frowning at his younger brother. It was rare that Saffiru expressed his feelings in such a violent and emotional manner. After a moment, Demando spoke, his words so soft and full of emotion that Saffiru could barely catch them.
"No, Saffiru, I have not given up," he sighed. "Do you want to know what I've been doing all this time?
" He stepped back, opening the door wider. Saffiru peered into the room beyond, curious to know what his brother was talking about. As he did, his eyes grew wide. There, lying naked amidst a tangle of crimson sheets, was Sailor Moon. She was fast asleep, her hair loose around her face, her eyelids quivering slightly, as if she were in the midst of a bad dream.
Saffiru looked quickly at his brother. "Demando..." he whispered.
Demando's eyes never left Saffiru's as he spoke, his voice trembling, as if he might weep. Saffiru had never seen his brother in such a state; it frightened him. "I love her, Saffiru," Demando said softly. "I love her as I've never loved anyone before; more even than I love you." His gaze rested on the sleeping girl, then he leaned against the door frame, his face resting in one hand. "I heard her speaking in her sleep," he said, his voice slightly muffled by his hand. "She spoke the past name of Endymion." He looked at Saffiru mournfully. "She doesn't love me, Saffiru...yet, look what I've done to her..."
Saffiru looked at his brother sympathetically. He had never been in love, and so felt that it was impossible for him to comfort Demando. He could find no words to help the situation.
The prince looked down at his brother and placed his hands firmly on the smaller man's shoulders. Looking Saffiru directly in the eye, he spoke, "You've always been full of words, Saffiru. Tell me what to do. Have I made a mistake?"
Saffiru hesitated. In truth, Saffiru thought that falling in love with the Queen of Earth was folly to begin with, let alone all of the steps Demando took to capture her. But as he looked at his older brother, he knew that if he spoke his thoughts, Demando's heart would shatter. And in doing so, all of his drive to remake history, to create a better world for the future, would be lost.
Saffiru shook his head. "No, My Prince, you have made no mistake. You love her Demando, I can see it your eyes." He looked at the sleeping girl, silently wishing none of this had happened. But to comfort his brother, he continued, "And in time, she will come to love you as well."
Demando's gaze followed his brother's to look at his love. She was so beautiful, lying there... "I believe you are right, Saffiru."
Saffiru watched as Demando's eyes changed from wistful to determined. Saffiru bowed to his prince, and, his objective complete, took his leave.
Demando strode over to his sleeping angel, and sat beside her on the bed. He stroked her hair lovingly, then kissed her forehead lightly. Saffiru was right...She would love him, eventually. How could she not, when he loved her more than life itself?
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