Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or the Arthurian Legends. I do, however, own Akebono and the creation of Avalon as a world in itself.
This is dedicated to Miki Chen, my best and truest friend. May we one day meet again.
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Chapter 11:
And it All Comes Crashing Down
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She had calmed down gradually, once she began to notice the eyes of the room's other inhabitants on her, and had blushingly sat down on one of the lounges placed strategically around the room. Most had ignored her other than the occasional questioning glance, except for two women that came to stretch themselves out indolently along a lounge directly across from hers, limbs and flowing clothing draped over each other. Makoto blinked at the two.
"So," the darker of the two drawled, eyes gleaming with ill-suppressed mirth, "You're the one that our dear Ake-kun has been sulking over. You're a pretty little thing for a human, I must admit."
Makoto bristled at the comment, feeling the insult behind the veiled complement. "And you're a petty little thing for a dragon," she hissed venomously.
"Oh, I like this one," she quipped happily, a smile stretching along her features. "She's got some bite to her. I'm Loki by the way, and you've already met Keikoku," she said after first pointing to herself and then the lighter of the two, with her nearly white colored hair.
Makoto stared for a brief second at the tan dragon, her dark curls of gold hair falling to frame her face, the features and angles of the other dragons she had met less prominent on her face, more rounded and childlike. Then slowly, recognition dawned on Makoto's face, and she smirked. "You're the one Ake was talking about... the juvenile, old hag..."
"Hag?!" The pretty blonde cried, outraged, as she stood, knocking her companion into an undignified heap on the floor. "That rusted, cast iron bastard called *me* a hag?! I'll rip those pretty, fucking wings of his off his scaly, fucking hide! *Me* a hag?! He's a dead dragon next time I see him!"
Makoto bit the inside of her cheek hard in an effort to hold in her giggles, but once she saw the light, blonde dragon stand up, white hair splayed in tangled messes the crown of her head, and clothes wrinkled from the position that Loki had thrown her in on the floor, Makoto lost the battle. Falling sideways across the lounge, half her body draped over the edge, she began to laugh uproariously. Twin pairs of flashing amber eyes regard her calculatingly, before the two female dragons smirked in unision.
"Oh, so we're funny now are we?"
"Find it amusing, do you?"
"Now that's not very nice of you..."
"... No manners at all..."
"Perhaps we should educate her..."
"... On the etiquette associated with dragons, hmm?"
"Marvelous idea..." Makoto managed to still her gasping breaths long enough to look at the two dragons, identical feral grins on their faces, and gulp noisily.
"Oh... Looks like she catches on quickly..."
"... For a human anyway..." The two leapt at her suddenly, movements as orchestrated as their banter. Makoto gave a shriek as she fell backwards, and the two dragons, fangs bared unmercifully followed her descent.
"Stop! No, no! Please! Stop! I can't take it!" By now a larger group of dragons had grouped around the struggling trio, Makoto writhing beneath the other two as she tried to use her fabled strength to break free.
"Teach you to make fun of a dragon," Keikoku growled viciously while Loki attacked from the side. The other occupants of the room looked on curiously, heads tilted as they watched the odd spectacle.
Then, the unexpected happened. Keikoku sat back on her haunches, panting from her assault on Makoto. Makoto, after long years of fighting, saw the opportunity immediately, and launched through the gap. Keikoku grunted as she hit the stone floor, only a decorative rug cushioning her fall. Makoto, now straddling her attackers thighs, began her own offensive, hands running mercilessly down her enemy's sides while she tried to catch her breath, small gasping giggles still escaping her. "Ha!" She cried victoriously, "Now who's laughing?" Loki joined her a moment latter, brushing the ineffectually twitching feet with her hair.
"Traitor!" Keikoku gasped between laughing, "You were supposed to be on my side... not taking up for the human!"
"Hey now!" Makoto said lightly, a smirk painted along her features. "You are at this *human's* mercy, so I'd be nice if I were you."
"Alright, alright," she cried, tears of laughter streaming from her eyes. "I concede, you win. Just let me go!" Makoto complied with a laugh of her own, waggling her finger at the panting dragon on the ground.
"That's what you get for underestimating me."
Keikoku made a noncommital noise at the back of her throat, still panting and glaring weakly at Loki. "Some friend... you... turned out to be..." Loki merely patted Keikoku's mussed head condescendingly.
"There now," she said patronizingly, as though speaking to a child. "You'll be alright." The white-blonde dragon growled, sitting up gingerly while clutching her stomach and making a pathetic attempt to smooth the wrinkles from her hair and dress. Odd strands stuck out haphazardly from her plaits and the loops of braided hair cresting her head. She struggled dizzily to her feet, wings rattling in agitation.
She attempted a glare again at both Makoto and Loki, but eventually gave up and let a smile stretch her features. "That's the most fun I've had in ages!"
Makoto gave a short laugh, before she too clutched her stomach with a grimace, and sank into the cushioned lounge with a weary, relaxed sigh. "No more laughing... please..." The two dragons that had attacked her with nimble fingers obliged, sprawling onto separate lounges as the other dragons began to drift back to their original positions.
Some drifted over to hidden alcoves where Makoto could see the steam rising in soft, lazy circles, a hot spring bubbling directly into the room. None of the dragons seemed particularly distressed about their lack of clothing, walking around and chatting before sinking back behind a stone that obstructed Makoto's view of the water. Of course, she realized belatedly, it was not like they wore clothes in their dragon forms either. The entire room reminded her heavily of a roman style bathing room, drapes of diaphanous silk hanging like curtains from pillars of carved stone and steaming pools scattered around the room. Ornate rugs and cushioned lounges dotting the stone room as well as scattered mounds of fluffed pillows. Makoto could just see a figure hidden within one pile, a book nestled in their hands lovingly, and reminding Makoto heartbreakingly of Ami. She turned quickly from the sight, instantly reminded of her friends and the worry she must be putting them through right now. Briefly, Makoto wondered whether she should feel guilty for not feeling any remorse about leaving to go find Akebono.
At the back of her mind, the link still pulsed regularly, a comforting weight on her mind, weak in its intensity, but still strong enough to let her know that her fellow senshi were healthy and unhurt.
Quickly, dispelling any worries or doubts, Makoto turned towards the two gold dragons, a tired smile curling her lips. "So," Makoto began, hoping to start a conversation with the two new acquaintances, wanting to become familiar with Akebono's friends. "How did you meet Ake? Friends of the family or something?"
The two female dragons quickly shared an incomprehensible look, a silent communication between the two. "No," Keikoku began slowly, eyes darting once to look at Loki warily, "We're from a different clan. Our mothers mated into this one and so we were brought to this mountain."
"We met Ake-kun before we knew who he was," Loki continued, uncertainly.
"Who he was?" Makoto asked, warnings going off in her mind.
"Er... Yes. A... um... a silver dragon." Keikoku finished, not looking at Makoto.
With narrowed eyes, Makoto stared at the two. "But the both of you are gold dragons. Those are just as powerful as silver dragons, I thought. And besides, how could you meet him and not know he was a silver dragon? Even in his humanoid form his hair is still silver."
The two shared another indecipherable look, and Makoto could feel her anger growing. "Well, you see..." Keikoku heaved a sigh, and Loki picked up for her, finally daring to look Makoto in the eye.
"He's going to kill me for telling you this..." Loki muttered, never dropping her eyes. "But someone needs to, and he's obviously too much of a chicken, a great leathery chicken." Makoto could not help but snort at that image. "Akebono's family has a long history. Stretching back further than all other dragons; his ancestor was the first... the first of our kind, the first child of Enmu. And Enmu has always favored their family far more than any other. Their family is the only one that Enmu has ever granted multiple children too. Akebono is one of the few silver dragons born to them in a long, long while, long even for dragons. There family was already so entwined with Enmu and his magic, that they never needed the silver power.
"But Ake-kun was different. I've never seen Enmu take to a dragon so well.
"First, you must understand: to us... Enmu is like a god; he is our god. And for Akebono to be so close and to be so loved by him, is the highest of honors, even more so than to be one of the crowned warrior-princesses of the silver millennium your human history. I'm sure you've heard of them, no doubt?" And Makoto had to struggle to keep her face blank so that they would not suspect anything. "They were merely granted power by the gods, but Ake-kun may as well be Enmu's child... so strong is their bond. But a taint lies on his family now...
"One they never speak of, but that haunts him... Which is probably why he has never spoken of it to you. It is a secret not known outside the clan of dragons, hardly any know of it outside this clan... Akebono had an older sister."
Makoto paused, mouth falling open, wondering why he had always told her that he was an only child... or had he always told her that dragons could only have one child? Had he purposely misdirected her?
Loki looked around nervously, as though merely saying this was blasphemous to the highest degree. "She is not spoken of because she betrayed this clan, betrayed it with the highest treason... She went over to their enemy.
"That in itself was strictly against this clan's Code of Honor, but if she had left because of a mate, her family would have understood. But that's not why she left. Her mate was within this clan, and she loved him dearly... and, yet, at the same time, she hated him with a passion equal only to her love; she hated him nearly as much as she hated herself.
"Akebono's sister was always different. She was the first friend we made, Keikoku and I. We ourselves have always been slight outcasts because of our mother's clan. It had not been on the best of terms with our father's, with this clan, but to soulmates, that doesn't matter. That was Chouka[1]'s problem. Her soulmate was part of her own clan, so she betrayed not only her clan, but her *soulmate*. He died from the grief, and his family line ended with his death since he had no children yet. Not only did she betray her clan, but she betrayed and killed her soulmate, killed an entire family that could have survived to see the end of time. And she did it all for the enemy, the same enemy responsible for her father's death, for Akebono's father's death."
"They don't speak of it, ever," began Keikoku, taking up her friend's story. "She has become dead to them, and for all we know, she could be dead in reality as well. No one has heard anything about her or from her since Akebono passed his first century of life, after their father was killed..."
"My kami," Makoto gasped in appalled and shared anguish.
"Yes..." Loki whispered, eyes once again downcast, "Betrayal of the worst kind. You understand now why it was too painful for him to even tell you."
"Oh kami, Ake..." Makoto whispered in a pained voice, a pang of some distant emotion tugging at her soul. "Oh Ake..." The tugging grew more forceful.
Then, Makoto realized, that the tugging was not at her soul anymore, but separating itself and building pressure at the back of her mind, a light, uncomfortable urging. Makoto's eyes widened in realization as she began to untangle the confusion and pain in mind.
"Usagi-chan!" She cried, standing abruptly as her mind recognized the pressure for what it was in dawning horro. Usagi, her princess, her friend, was hurt. The link in her mind that connected her with Usagi gave one final pulse before flickering and dimming, and Makoto succumbed.
***
A living wall of flames blocked their path, shimmering swirls of gold and red twisting in a macabre dance in front of their eyes. The senshi stood frozen at the threshold, a heat burning from the room that was not coming from the sconces flaming on the cavern walls. The dragon towering above them appeared to be made of fire, scales flickering with all the colors of flames and a fiery, wavering heat shimmering off its body. A ball of fire with twin pinpoints of cold emerald glaring from their nestled brow of spines, a ridge of bone and spikes jutting above them. The horns along the crown of the dragon's head were short yet deadly, worn with time and age and battle until deeps scars marked their sides and the point a dull, painful weapon. Uranus tightened her grip on her sword.
Slowly, like a dinosaur bending itself down to their level, the dragon lowered its neck until its frozen eyes were staring straight into those of the senshi. The noise began as a sibilant hiss, and gradually separated into recognizable words, words of an ancient long dead language that the senshi only understood because of their recaptured memories. "So, these are the great warriors and rulers of the Silver Millenium... Pitiful... No matter, I shall deal with you, and then be done with you. You are not even worth my trouble. I don't even know why you should come after Kochi's rulers. This is our business, Avalon's business, and none of your concern." The voice, obviously female, was not overtly threatening, but held an undercurrent of unspeakable wrath and danger, a subtle hint of promised pain and terror.
"It became our business," Sailor Mars began, eyes flashing dangerously, "When you brought us here."
"I did no such thing," the dragon said, once again raising to her full height, indignant. "I have no wish to bring more humans into Avalon, nor do I wish to bring more enemies, no matter how easily defeated they may be. I did not involve you in our affairs."
Sailor Moon blinked in confusion, curiosity masking any fear, "But that mage... in the blue robes... he said that the queen of this clan had sent for us."
The tall dragon snorted regally, "Oh yes, I thought it would be a simply *wonderful* idea to bring more enemies for us to fight, after all, the more the merrier. Why not bring the most powerful human monarchy into the battle? It would certainly turn things to our favor, wouldn't you say?" The queen said bitingly, anger and mockery in her every word.
"No need to be snippy," Moon said frowning.
The queen bared her teeth, hissing with the same shrouded threat in her voice. "Do not mock me, Moon Princess. I outlive even your Silver Millennium, and I shall outlive the rest of your short life by eons. Do not play the idiot Princess. I rule this mountain, these dragons. You are in the heart of *my* home, and do not presume that you have *any* power here. All around you are dragons, are my own flesh and blood and my followers, my kin and clan..."
A rumble behind the senshi, forced them to turn their backs on the flaming dragon queen. And there, outlined in the doorway by the licking flames of the torches, was a monstrous dragon. Blue eyes swirling with all the passions of the flames, a burning anger. It stepped further into the room, forcing the senshi backwards, closer to the center of the large room as it prowled along their edges, coming to stand beside the red and gold queen, patterns of gold flame dancing along its scales.
"... My family," the dragon queen finished morbidly, "My son. I am no idiot senshi, do not presume me to be. I will not underestimate the strength of the strongest humans, and I would certainly not involve them in a war that they knew nothing about and would not have interfered in otherwise, nor would I ever associate with humans. I left you the body of that mage. The one that brought you to Avalon so that you might save this world." The dragon gave a short bark of derisive laughter. "Save it from its saviors, from those who would purge it of all its filth, of the human life which taints Enmu's soil."
Mercury shuddered as she stared into the eyes of the two before her, one so cold, as though death had already stolen her soul-a tormented anguish only the dying can manage haunting her depths-and the other with eyes burning so brightly that the fire seemed to pale in comparison, vengeful blue standing out starkly against the gold light shining from his scales. "That filthy human thought that if he brought you to Avalon, brought you to the one place in all of our world where dragons and humans live in harmony," she spat the words forcibly, as though the very thought of them left a foul taste in her mouth. "He thought that you would aide the humans in their fight against the 'evil' dragons." The queen began to laugh. "As though it were that simple. He left you amongst his kingdom's enemy, knowing that our clan were Kochi's enemy as well as his own kingdom's, and thinking you would be friend to all, hoping beyond all reason that you would aide someone who you never knew and had no reason to help. I had not realized until now the depth that human idiocy goes..."
"My friend's friend is my enemy," Minako said sagely, anger burning in her eyes, as she attempted to contradict the flaming dragon. No one bothered to correct her misquote.
This caused the larger dragon by the queen's side to begin to laugh, and soon laughter was flooding the room from all directions as dragons began to filter in through the door. A loose circle of blue dragons, the gold flames dancing along their scales, surrounded the senshi, the odd green dragon thrown into the circle. Five dragons of varying sizes and shapes and colors stood along three sides of the senshi, the queen and her son took point, facing the nervously grouped humans.
"This was a bad idea," Uranus began to mutter, before Leysheynir picked up the mantra.
"Yes," the queen hissed, stepping forward from the circle, tail lashing behind her. "Yes it was. But we'll soon rectify that mistake." Swinging her long neck in a graceful arc, the dragon turned to look at the unconscious king and queen, sprawled in the stone thrones. "We'll rectify all mistakes." Two blue dragons moved forward, obeying the unspoken command as they lifted the royal pair with their prehensile tails and placing them effortlessly within the circle. The heavy weight of the heated air settled more firmly on Sailor Moon's shoulders, and she looked out at her enemies with grim determination. The senshi began to flank their princess nervously, their faces mirroring hers, drawing weapons or beginning to draw on long unused powers.
Serenity took a single step forward from the circle, most senshi looking ready to protest the attention she was drawing to herself, but they began to watch as the blue in her eyes darkened, an ancient knowledge coloring them to their depths. She reached forward, dark blue eyes automatically closing in concentration. The dragons looked on amused and not worried in the least.
The crystal at her chest began to glow with a silver light as Sailor Moon began to chant words in a long forgotten language, syllables floating like lyrical notes in the air. She extended a single finger and began to draw a shape in the air, whispering words into the suffocating thickness of the heat. "Silver Crescent..."
The shape she had drawn began to glow with an unearthly light, shining as though it were the very moon itself, burning with blinding intensity. A crescent moon formed in the air, a drop of liquid light pooling where her finger rested along the point before falling with a light 'ping' onto the ground. The entire room was plunged in darkness, a thick blanket of oppressive night falling upon the occupants. Serenity reveled in the sensation, the soft wind that caressed her face in her memories danced along the room, stealing away the dragon's roars of anger, as the delicate scent of snowdrops floated along the air. The dark side of the moon had always been a cold, frozen land, artificial light illuminating the frozen lakes where year round ice skating let Serenity fly unfettered.
The next word was whispered like the gentle caress of the wind, "... eclipse." And a gale swept through the shadowed cavern, the sound of a forceful wind rushing through their ears. The silver crescent shape began, once again, to burn through the darkness, carving a hole in the night as its pure light scorched the dark. Its thin curved shape appearing beneath the feet of the queen dragon who threw her long neck back, exposing her vulnerable underbelly as she screamed in agony. The room was once again pitch black as the light and pained cries died. Silence reigned.
Then, in an angry fury, the large dragon, standing by his mother's side, roared into action; a primal scream tearing from his throat as his mouth burned with flame, the room's draped ceiling catching fire.
A banner, now painted with golden flames, tumbled towards the senshi, its burning tail catching Sailor Moon. She fell with a pained cry, her world bleeding white.
***
A flare of white pain passed along her vision, highlighting the warm room into stark relief as a burning sensation flooded her nerves. With a gasp, Makoto sat up from where she had fallen to the floor, blinking blearily in confusion.
"Wha- what?" Then it hit her, as she saw the concerned faces of her new friends. Friends... concern... Usagi! Pain! Oh kami!
"Usagi-chan!" She cried aloud again, eyes wide in horror.
"Makoto-san! Calm down. What's the matter? Are you alright?" Keikoku stooped next to the heavily panting girl, a soothing hand running circles along her back in a comforting gesture. Makoto, heart still aching from hearing Akebono's story and soul crying for her friend and princess' safety.
"I... I- Help me up." She was pulled to unsteady feet, running a hand through her tangled hair, wishing that she had something to tie it back with. "I need out. I have to go." She was getting desperate, searching wildly for a way out like a trapped animal. Panic was setting in after the momentary flash of pain. The link had settled again, gone dormant while it was still trying to repair itself after years of disuse.
"You can't," Loki tried to reason with her. "The door's barred no doubt with Akebono-kun's magic as well as with force. A dragon, let alone a human, could never get out."
A deadly calm settled over Makoto face as she turned towards the solid oaken door. "Watch me." With face set into a scowl, Makoto came to stand before the door. The entire room watched in stunned fascination as Makoto laid a slender palm against the stained wood, closing her eyes in concentration. The wood thrummed beneath her fingers, the dead tree beating with life for the first time in centuries. She retreated deep within herself, where the fear for her princess dwelt, a gnawing pain that consumed her mind in despair. The wood groaned beneath her hand.
She latched quickly onto-the green light of a life, of living, breathing nature-the all encompassing warmth that burned from within, her birthright, her power, her destiny.
A symbol flared upon her forehead, flickering and strengthening like a beacon. An ominous creak sounded throughout the room.
The light grew steadily brighter, gaining in intensity and strength, then Makoto touched the light burning within her. Green exploded in the room, and the door shattered.
Makoto was gone through the opening before anyone could stop her, the green, three layered skirt of her eternal senshi form bobbing slightly in her wake, and a green crystal emblazoned on her chest and shining boldly.
Loki stood silent beside Keikoku in wonder as they watched the vines growing freely through the cracks in the stone, thriving without sunlight in the dark subterranean tunnels, flowers bursting into vibrant color as the final vestiges of the green light faded from their eyes.
Makoto took off sprinting down the hallways, winding her way deeper and deeper into the caverns, knowing, somehow from the tugging pull of her heart and soul, that Akebono was in the depths of the mountain, fighting to keep his mother from being captured by their enemy. He was the only hope that Makoto had of finding her friends quickly, of reaching the place where they were fighting before Usagi was hurt worse still, or even...
She let the thought trail off, pushing her flying feet faster along the ground, needing to reach her friends desperately, and the way to them being through Akebono.
No questions filled Makoto's mind, even doubts fled in the ferocity of her fear. A blinding, consuming emotion that left no room for her to wonder why Usagi was hurt in the first place. The sheer terror flooded her mind and body, until her limbs trembled under its onslaught and stone beneath her feet was tainted with its first tinge of emotion that had managed to touch its cool surface in over hundreds of millennia.
The air was still steadily growing warmer as she ran further down into the darkness of the mountain, and then sounds of fighting and cries of pain began to drift through her fogged brain, growing steadily louder as she ran still further downward.
And so, Makoto raced to find Akebono, who now lay in the midst of battle, never once imagining that her friends were trapped in a war against dragons as well, pawns in a larger purpose.
The heat had become unbearable now, indicating that Akebono or his fellow dragons had been forced to resort to breathing fire to protect their home or families, that combined with the stifling heat of being so far underground, so close to this world's molten rock mantle.
A blast of red-hot flame scorched the wall directly in front of Makoto, her form being blocked from it heat by a curve in the tunnel. Slowing now, Makoto stopped her mad dash, approaching cautiously and peering around the corner.
A loud crack sounded down the hallway, ignored by all, even Makoto, despite the sharp pain she felt in her knees as they hit the unforgiving ground.
"Oh God, oh God no, please no... Ake-chan..." A single tear rolled down her cheek, leaving only the salt behind to coat her cheek as the moisture was immediately evaporated in the mountain's heat.
Author's Notes:
[1] Chouka - (archaic word form) morning mist; morning glow
I've been typing like mad to get the last few chapters done. There are 13 and I've finished all of them. I knew that you would all kill me if I made you wait a week in between the cliffies I've left for you for each chapter. So I've been madly writing to get them all done relatively quickly. I'll be posting them one chapter at a time over the next few days when I can find the time (I've just recently started working again now that school is officially out). Once I fine tune the last two chapters they will be out as well. Don't expect too long of a wait, a few days or maybe a week at most I would say.
And hopefully the time shifts aren't too confusing. There is a lot of jumping backwards and forwards in time. If you are confused, feel free to review this story with any questions, leaving an e-mail where I can reach you, or e-mail me directly at fer584@hotmail.com.
Anyone who can guess the enemies that the senshi and Akebono are simultaneously fighting right now will get the next chapter early. Truthfully, I hope no one guesses right, as this is one of my main story points, and I had wanted it to be a huge shocker. Of course I've been planning their enemies from the beginning, but I hope I wasn't too obvious.
