Angelus felt like he was being ripped in thousands different direction at the same time. He was using a ridiculous amount of power to guide everyone in the quest they were undertaking. It wasn't even near the amount of power he could wield, but to use it in so many places at the same time… It was hard. And it was the reason he could not keep on doing this for longer than a night and a day. But even that was far longer than anyone was able to do today. The gift to be able to direct the huge amounts of power without lethal results had been breed away even long before the Silver Millennia came to be.
Echoes of what was going on at the places he divided his conscious between floated through his mind, and without seemingly taking a real effort, he kept them separated and did was what needed from what he heard.
Taking a pause in the constant information directed to his mind as he did every fifteen minutes, he concentrated at one group only for a few moments.
Metalia was hassling with her minions, trying to figure out who was blocking the access to her vessel and therefore to the world. Heads were literally flying as the poor minions failed to bring her the facts she needed. Angelus smiled tensely and checked the seals on his shield around Metalia. It was going well on this front.
Usagi and the others had reached the North Pole safely, he gathered from Minako. The senshi of love seemed a bit worried about their princess though, and Angelus found himself have a questioning thought about Usagi's presence of mind. This was hard for her after all. They were hunting the killer of her mother, the one who had turned her love and destroyed the world after all. He couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. Nevertheless, he had faith in her ability to manage the mission appointed to her.
A short check on the time senshi told him that they were well on their way to the temple. They had found Endymion in his apartment and knocked him out with a combination of Buffy's banish attack and Setsuna's energy one. For as Setsuna so primly laid it out, why leech on the power he needed to heal Endymion when they could banish Beryl's influence on him themselves. When he had last had a report from the Time Senshi, they were five minutes from the temple, and he expected them at any moment now.
Then he checked on Hotaru, who he had asked to put up a shield around the temple just a moment ago. And what he found there frightened him more than his soul mate dying again. A fact that expressed the severity of the situation than anything else could have.
She was ready. Just another word, and the power would be out. No more calling, no more distracting itch. No more feeling of loss. Saturn smiled at the though and resolutely burrowed her glaive into the stone floor as if it was water, preparing to speak that last word.
"Re…" she triumphantly started, an expression of glee on her pixie face. Only to feel her power drain away, pulled into a warm cocoon of another power, protecting, keeping it back. The loss was unbearable.
"NO!" she screamed, her head thrown back and mind searching desperately for the power taken from her. "No…"
Saturn almost sobbed. It was gone. She sank to the floor, the sign on her forehead flashing a last time before disappearing, taking her fuku with it. Only Hotaru was left, lying on the floor, coughing blood.
"Help…" she hoarsely whispered, the tang of blood sharp on her tongue. Warm hands immediately righted her carefully, stroking loose, black hair out of the way and comforting with their strong presence.
"Hush, Hota-chan," a voice softly said. "Lean back into me. Let me heal you."
And she did. Tenshi would take care of her, Tenshi would help her. Slowly, she felt her lungs stop aching, stop causing her to cough. Hotaru relished in taking a deep breathe again. Only to have it transform into a sob.
"I'm so sorry!" she wept, her purple eyes looking pleadingly into Tenshi's. "I didn't mean to! I…"
"There's no need to cry, Hota-chan." He comforted her. "No one blames you. I should have guided you, helped you. It's not your fault. So shed your tears and let the guilt go with them. Like them, it has no place in you."
She smiled a little at that, and looked tentatively into his brown eyes.
"Arigatou, Tenshi-sama," she sincerely said, using his title as a way to convey her feelings.
He smiled at her.
"Dou itashimashite, Hotaru," he seriously said before reverting to English once again. "Are you all right now?"
The young girl nodded.
"Yes," she confirmed. "And if I'm not mistaking, Buffy and the others are arriving with Endymion now. We should go and greet them."
Tenshi grinned.
"That we should," he said, inwardly merging the two locations into one. Then he took Hotaru's hand and walked with her to take the next step in the battle.
Mamoru felt more tired than he had in his entire life. It was as if he had been sleeping for years and only had woken up minutes ago. Shaking his head, he tried to make something understandable from his jumbled thoughts. The last thing he remembered was being knocked out at the fight and…
No, wait! That wasn't right. He had been taken to someone. A woman with long red hair. She had talked to him, tried to explain something to him. He hadn't listened to her though, and even now, the memory brought a wave of revulsion over him. It had made her angry, and then the glass thing she kept beside her was filled with light. And he had…
He remembered now. She had gone into his mind, brought the memories of an old life to the surface. Not all of them though, only those of betrayal, evil and an alliance with a hideous demon queen. She had forgone memories of a laughing girl, three years younger than him that he loved immensely – his sisters. Of the beauty with silver hair that shared his passion for roses. But now he remembered. He remembered Endymion, his sister Briseis and his love, Serenity. However, with the good came the bad. The mind possession from Beryl, his betrayal, the killing of his mother.
Then a calm presence.
"Endymion," it said. "Wake up. You are needed."
And the memories receded, merging with the ones of Mamoru Chiba, becoming less vivid, less painful. More bearable, He woke up.
Mamoru sat up, looking around him. At first, he didn't recognize the faces before him, but then the memories resurfaced, filling in the blanks.
"Lord Angelus," he bowed his head. It didn't matter that he hadn't seen the vampire for over a millennia. He still inspired the same awe as then. And even if they didn't know each other in this time, he had a feeling that they easily would regain the camaraderie they had then. "Setsuna, Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru."
Then he paused, looking at the petite woman before him. His throat swelled, and he had to fight to keep his tears back. And he could see that she had to do the same. It was his sister! The sweet, golden haired child whose innocence had made him protect her so many times. The beautiful woman who made him smile with her witty remarks and warm ways.
"Bri…" he whispered hoarsely, a lonely tear falling down his cheeks. "Sister…"
And then she launched herself at him, attaching herself tightly around his neck. His arms surrounded her just as quick, and for a few moments, they just stayed that way, holding each other tightly. But then they separated, and Bri looked him in the eyes, her beautiful green eyes full with unshed tears.
"Brother…" she breathed, then seemed to have to gather herself together, a grave expression on her face. "Do you remember what is happening?"
Searching his so suddenly extended memories, he found what she asked for, immediately realizing the seriousness in the situation. He nodded.
"Good," she said, squeezing his hand gently. "We have launched an attack to stop it. Usagi and the Inners are in Beryl's palace at this very moment, making their way to that bitch to take care of her once and for all. They will need your help."
He nodded without hesitation.
"Understood," he softly said. "Will you open a portal for me?"
Bri nodded.
"Yes," she said. "We don't have much time."
They rose together and walked over to an unoccupied area of the room. Once again, they hugged, not saying a word. Then she murmured a few words, and a shimmering gateway opened before him. And with a last time at his sister's pale face, he walked through.
It was dark. Cursing slightly, Mamoru fought to remember how to transform into his form as an Earth Guardian. It took a few second, but then he felt the telltale tingle of magic. Swiftly conjuring a glowing orb, he started to walk swiftly into one direction. He could hear the sound of battle coming from that direction, and as he seemed to remember that Beryl's throne hall lay in that direction, it was likely that Usagi and the others had taken that way.
Soon, the tall warrior found himself standing in an up-lit corridor, staring at a larger skirmish. The senshi was fighting a group of five fire youma, and Rei was cursing her attack fiercely. It seemed like the old saying 'fight fire with fire' wasn't quite right to apply here. Usagi's, Makoto and Minako's powers didn't seem to work too well either, and so it was Ami who did the real work. But even though she handled the odds well, it went too slow.
Gathering his power, Mamoru conjured a rose, throwing it with precision at one of the youma. Hitting it in the back, the creature screamed as the energy of the rose made it explode in a rather artistic show of colorful blasts.
Immediately, five pairs of eyes were trained on him, and he could see relief shining back at him. Usagi put it into words though.
"Mamoru!" she breathed with what he concluded to be relief and a small amount of satisfaction. With a rather roughish wink, he helped Ami fight off the rest of the youma, only to be attacked by four enthusiastic senshi.
When the hugging thing finally was over, he found himself facing Usagi, who was looking at him with seriousness in her eyes, as well as affection. Reaching down to touch her cheek, he gave her a small smile.
"We have much to talk about, haven't we," he murmured softly, never releasing her blue eyes.
She touched his nose teasingly before smiling slightly.
"We sure do," she quietly agreed. "But we will have to wait until after the battle. Try to stay alive until then, protector-mine."
He chuckled slightly at her ancient pet name for him.
"I will, if you do the same," he replied. "Lady Knight."
She smiled. And as one, they turned to the others, determined to finish the battle.
"The throne hall are this way," Mamoru simply said. "Just follow me."
And they did.
TBC
