Relax. Prepare your mind. Take your time.
And imagine....
-------------------------------------------------
*THE GOLDEN CRYSTAL*
by Mamolove
*Chapter 3*
In the peaceful surroundings of the Hikawa
Shrine, four young girls and two cats were
pondering on the strange eclipse which occurred
the day before. Sitting in the centre of the
fire chamber was Rei Hino, priestess and Senshi
of Fire. Surrounding Rei were Makoto, Minako and
Ami. Luna and Artemis were lounging on the
comfortable and warm wooden floor. A girl with
golden hair was standing, her smooth, delicate
hands flapping around anxiously.
"It's not everyday that Mamo-chan mutters
something unconsciously," Usagi Tsukino said
worriedly. Then again, Mamo-chan has mumbled
some cute things when he was sleeping... Usagi
thought absent-mindedly as her mind suddenly
flitted to the cute moments of watching Mamoru
asleep. Oh, the words he would mumble!
Usagi suddenly leered.
"I wouldn't have called all of you to come
if it wasn't urgent. I was meditating this
morning when Phobos and Deimos pinned down this
card," Rei said as she showed her friends a card
bearing the title, "Eclipse". Three other
Senshis nodded seriously. Three. Rei's eyes
narrowed into slits.
"Usagi, did you hear what I said?"
"Huh?"
"It's referring to yesterday's eclipse??"
Ami asked loudly after successfully foiling the
temperamental priestess' mission of pounding her
blonde friend to bits.
Rei suddenly turned serious again after
dislodging Usagi's powerful palms and feet off
her face. She nodded solemnly, "*ahem*... I'm
afraid so. There was evil when it occurred, when
Mamoru-san collasped," Rei frowned as she recalled
yesterday's scare.
Hazel brown eyes quivered as she thought
of the tall man who had hair as black as hers.
Somehow Mamoru fared the worst among all of
them. While they merely felt dizzy from the
aberration cause by the eclipse, Mamoru had a
kind of seizure-- full-blown compared to their
slight discomfort. It was not wise to
ignore these two strong omens. If they could
detect the source early, they'd stand a better
chance avoiding unnecessary trouble and chaos.
"Minna, help me..." Rei urged finally.
She was mildly surprised when she felt a
soft hand touch her shoulder. "We'll be with you,
Rei-chan," Usagi said, immediately plopping down
behind Rei as the rest followed suit. Rei couldn't
help but smile at the moon princess. They may
squabble like mad, but her friendship with an
individual had never been as strong as with this
one.
The Senshi of Fire started muttering a
mantra, immersing herself deeper and deeper into
the spirit world. Before her friends knew it,
she was already in a deep trance, determination
and years of practice helping her.
Usagi closed her eyes as she channelled her
concentration towards Rei. She felt the heat of
the great flames and a surge of power as Rei
began to open the doors of the spirit world.
Usagi knew that only another person had an
ability much like Rei's-- Mamoru...
After a few minutes, Makoto opened her
eyes in shock as she felt a slight tremor in the
ground. Her startled gaze met Minako's eyes, but
they both closed their eyes again to
concentrate. Seconds later, everyone except Rei,
opened their eyes in fear as a bigger tremor
reverberated through the floor.
"God, please don't let it be..." Luna
whispered.
Usagi's eyes darted left and right, noting
that Rei was oblivious to the tremor. Suddenly
she cried in terror as the ground beneath shook
uncontrollably. Her friends followed suit as
they realised what was happening.
An earthquake.
************************************************
Mamoru was still throwing stones into the
lake when he first noticed the water shaking.
His eyes narrowed into slits as he saw the
ripples growing bigger and bigger. Warning bells
started ringing distantly in his mind, and he
gasped in shock as the ground beneath him shook.
The magnitude of the tremor suddenly
erupted into full fledged terror as screams of
terrified citizens started filling the air.
"Shimata! Earthquake!!" Mamoru realised in
shock. Nearby Mamoru saw a building shaking and
on the verge of collapsing. The tremor continued
mercilessly, ignoring the cries of horrified
office workers, and pedestrians.
Instinctively he dropped down to the
ground.
But then, it happened again.
Mamoru gasped as his chest suddenly
tightened. He tried to control his breathing
and pain, and bit his lips to suppress himself
from crying out as a new wave of spasm attacked
his heart.
Unbeknownst to the blue-eyed man, they
were in rhythm with the earthquake's tremors.
While Mamoru gritted his teeth hoping the
seizure would pass, something new happened. He
began to see bright flashes of a white unicorn.
A beautiful one, lying inside a cage.
Mamoru froze over as recognition hit him.
But before he could think any further, a
whimper escaped his lips as a sharp pain stabbed
his heart.
After what seemed an eternity, the seizure
began to ebb away. Nearly passing out from the
seizure, the black-haired youth sprawled on the
grass gasped weakly as he let the breeze blow
through his hair. It was only moments later that
he realised something.
The wind was whispering something into
his ears. With heart beating with trepidation,
Mamoru listened to the strange call. It was
something he had never thought of, not even in his
wildest dreams....
"Find the Golden Crystal, Endymion-sama."
************************************************
"Earthquake!" The girls around Rei
screamed. Rei suddenly received a vision at that
very moment, and opened her eyes hastily. It was
not because of fear, but because of shock and
urgency.
"We have to go!" Rei shouted to her friends
who were instinctively reaching for a nearby table
for shelter.
"How about your grandfather and
Yuuchirou?!" Ami asked anxiously. She hated
earthquakes. They'd never experienced one for
the past 8 years, since the Kobe earthquake!
"They're not here! They'd be okay. There's
no time to lose!" Rei was already running towards
the exit of the fire chamber.
"What's going on Rei?" Makoto urged the
moment they ran out into open space. The ground
beneath them shook violently but Rei was already
beginning to transform into Sailor Mars.
"Demon attack!"
The girls did not need any further
explanation. Usagi and the rest of them
transformed gracefully amidst the ruthless chaos
enveloping the shrine grounds and the rest of
Tokyo.
************************************************
The air whipped through Sailor Moon's hair
as the Senshis raced towards the spot where
Sailor Mars said the demon had appeared.
Fleeting footsteps and paws travelled through the
dishevelled grounds of the Juuban district,
bolting past citizens in terror with hearts as
heavy as lead. All but the cats had difficulty
balancing themselves while running over the
rubble. As much as they wanted to help, the
citizens of Tokyo were currently better off with
the special task forces. They, on the other
hand, had to reach the demon. *That* had to be
dealt by the senshis.
Running through the earthquake, Usagi
forced herself to clamp down her instinct of
dropping to the ground like what they had been
practising every year for as long as she could
remember. The frightening sounds of buildings
first cracking, then collapsing with deafening
crashes, accompanied with the sight of formerly
mighty highways now broken like splintered wood
jammed into Usagi's senses. Moreover, the screams
and tears of terrified people were hard to ignore.
Don't slow down. I'm Sailor Moon now
Usagi pressed down on her terrified mind.
But a drill was totally different than the
real thing, wasn't it?
Finally Sailor Mars slowed down. Sailor
Moon looked ahead and saw the source of the
priestess' distress.
There, a few metres away from them and
just a block or two from Usagi and Mamoru's
favourite lake garden, crawled a hideous-looking
monster around the size of two landrovers side
by side and two times her height. Nearby she
heard Sailor Jupiter gasp as she too laid her
eyes on the monstrosity. This was totally, so
horribly different from the youmas that they had
encountered before.
"What... *is* that?" Sailor Moon gasped.
"Seems to look like a... spider," Sailor
Mercury quickly started punching her computer.
"From the readings I'm getting, it's projecting
a certain kind of wave-- Somewhat similar to a
sonar wave."
But what's the wave for?? The
blue-haired girl thought. Her sharp eyes caught
something else, "Look! It must have crawled out
from that crack in the ground!" Sailor Mercury
pointed to a massive chasm in the middle of the
road.
"Start moving before it starts tearing
people apart!!" Sailor Venus shouted as the
demon suddenly stretched its spiny and hairy
legs towards petrified citizens. In an instant
the demon caught hold of an man, and to their
horror, poised to tear the man's chest apart.
"VENUS LOVE ME CHAIN!!" Sailor Venus
hurled her glowing weapon to wrench the spider's
legs away from the powerless man just in the
nick of time. Too stunned to move, the man just
lied there, catatonic, with tears leaking out
without his knowledge. Luna and Artemis pounced
towards the man to coax him to move to safety.
"Everyone stay away!" Some policemen urged
the crowd to distance themselves to allow more
battle space for the senshis.
The battle had begun-- in broad daylight,
in front of scores of shocked citizens.
"MARS FLAME SNIPER!!" Sailor Mars shot her
flaming arrow towards the demon. It shrieked in
pain as the arrow quickly burned into its flesh.
Large hairy body turned to face the senshis, and
started charging towards them. To the girls
horror, countless of tendrils appeared from the
demon's mouth to counterattack the senshis. A
tendril shot around Sailor Mar's neck, and threw
her into the shop-lot nearby.
"SHIMATA!" Sailor Jupiter yelled as she
dodged one tendril which embedded itself into
tar road due to its sheer force. "YOU'RE
DEADMEAT!! LIGHTNING SUPREME..... ATTACK!!!" The
tall fighter viciously blasted the tendril into
smithereens. The demon pulled back but almost as
instantly sprang a few more tendrils to catch
Sailor Jupiter by the leg.
"JUPITER! SHABON SPRAY!" Fog appeared and
Mercury began to run towards releasing Jupiter
from the frozen tendrils. But before she could
do anything else, two other tendrils grabbed her
by the waist and brought her to the air.
"Mercury! Jupiter!!" Sailor Moon cried in
distress. With trembling hands she raised the
moonstick, but before she could summon out the
crystal's power, the monster caught the unaware
senshi by the foot and the moonstick fell out of her grip.
Sailor Venus shrieked in horror as she saw
the strong, merciless tendrils pulling the
princess towards her death.
************************************************
Disorientated, Mamoru slowly pushed the
ground with his elbows in an effort to get back
to his feet. With trembling hands he pushed his
bangs out of his face. It was then that he
realised his tear-streaked face, and a chest
which was heaving in attempts to stop gasping.
"What's-- happening-- to me?" The confused
and pained man whispered weakly to himself in a
shuddering breath. Suddenly he began shivering
as chilling cold overcame his frail frame.
Mamoru shakily moved to lean on a nearby tree
and wrapped-- no, hugged his body with his
arms in an effort to warm himself. He nearly
doubled over in the process as the coldness
overwhelmed his senses.
Even the act of rubbing his arms could not
make the chill subside. Mamoru bit his lips
again as he tried to heal the coldness he was
feeling through his touch, but the glow in his
hands was so weak, it hardly made any
difference.
Something else did. Mamoru felt a familiar
calling, a tightening pull of a thread
surrounding his heart, and it meant only one
thing-- Usagi was in danger.
Without thinking of the cold Mamoru
blindly followed his instincts and teleported to
Usagi.
************************************************
"NNNOOO!!!!!" Sailor Venus screamed, and
instantly slammed her chains into the spider's
body. She violently pulled onto her weapon, and
yanked out a chunk of meat from the monster. It
gave a blood-curling moan, and immediately let
go of Sailor Moon, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor
Mercury. Due to the immense pain all tendrils
were retracted, and the demon howled in rage.
"MARS FLAME SNIPER!!!!" The Senshi of Fire
called out from inside the wreck that was once
the shop-lot. But the demon dodged the flaming
arrow.
And it caught sight of.... the one.
Sailor Mars' eyes dilated in horror as she
realised that the demon was looking towards
Sailor Moon's direction. Time seemed to stop as
the demon lunged towards the prone blonde....
As it stretched out sharp, hungry fangs...
As a flash of black scooped Sailor
Moon in his arms....
Carrying her to out of harm's way...
Just in the slightest of seconds before
the demon found its teeth lodged in the
pavement.
Time came back to normal to the priestess
before she realised who saved Sailor Moon. She
should never have doubted.
************************************************
"Tuxedo Mask!" Sailor Moon could barely
breathe due to the closeness of death she barely
escaped. She clutched the velvet black cape
which had always provided protection to her and
brought her forehead to rest on the familiar
chest, her own heaving with relief. It was not
long when she noticed the shaking of his body
and the trembling gasps he was taking.
"Mamo-chan..." Sailor Moon asked in panic.
She gasped in consternation as the formerly
steady hands gave way, as Tuxedo Mask dropped to
his knee.
"Cold...." he whispered, not
bringing his eyes to her, not even allowing her
to see through the white mask.
He suddenly turned and roughly pushed
Sailor Moon away, moments before the demon
rammed into him.
"NNNOOOOO!!!!!!" Sailor Moon screamed as
she realised what he had just done. She knew,
from the position of the demon's legs, what it
was planning to do. They had all seen it
earlier, when it attacked one of the man in the
crowd.
Tuxedo Mask was seeing double due to the
impact, and just as his vision returned, he saw
one sharp and spiny claw rising up above him,
ready to strike. His muscles instinctively
reacted, and he rolled away just in time before
the demon could impale his chest. He quickly got
up to his feet, but due to the icy cold he was
currently feeling, his alertness dipped,
allowing the demon to throw him off balance
again with a spiny leg. It was then that he
heard the sound of a swinging rod...
"Dead Scream." The Senshi of Time blasted
the demon a few feet back.
"SUBMARINE REFLECTION!!" Sailor Neptune
burned the sight of the beast, blinding it.
"SILENCE WALL ATTACK!!" The reborn Sailor
Saturn rendered the demon helpless.
"SPACESWORD BLASTER!!!!!" The slim figure
of Sailor Uranus thrusted the blade into the
demon without a hint of hesitance or mercy.
"Sailor Moon! Now's your chance!!"
Without hesitation Sailor Moon grabbed
hold of her moonstick, and gave the final
attack.
"MOON GORGEOUS MEDITATION!!!!!"
Ripples of pure light blasted through
the demon, shredding its very being into
non-matter. The demon gave one last shriek, as
it tried to escape the unforgiving light that
was the Silver Crystal's power. Finally the
light subsided, and all that was left was the
wreckage the demon and the earthquake prior to
its appearance, had created. By this time
Jupiter and Mercury were on their feet, and in
silent acquiescence, every senshi-- Inner and
Outer, nodded. Keep the reunion they all
desperately wanted away from curious eyes of the
public.
Sailor Moon went near Tuxedo Mask, and
her eyes narrowed as she saw that his state had
not improved.
"Mamo-chan, what's wrong?" Sailor Moon
gently whispered to him as the senshis began to
gather around them. She knew about how much he
hated to be coddled, in front of the public, and
especially in front of the senshis, so she
gently put her hand on top of his, and suggested
that they all teleported away. Her anxiety grew
as the only reply she got was a hasty nod.
"SAILOR TELEPORT!!!" In front of astounded
onlookers, the fantastic fighters disappeared in
a spectrum of light.
************************************************
Mamoru regretted teleporting. The very act
of shifting his matter in that process took away
the remnants of heat he had left in him. As they
arrived in the privacy of Rei's temple, he
staggered unsteadily, and shook his head quietly
when he felt Usagi's hands on him.
I'm alright He thought at her, answering
her unspoken question. At the same time he tried
to ignore the cold that was encasing his body,
which was making him feel as cold as.... death.
At the thought of death, Mamoru suddenly
gave out a choked cry when he was assaulted by
the same seizure he had experienced in the stadium
and in the park. How it could be worse, was
unimaginable. But it was. Now, not only was
he rendered hopeless with pain, images, flashes
and random thoughts, he was also gripped with
chilling, bone-shattering, ice-forming cold.
And he could not do anything about it. He
was lost. Totally lost in cold and pain.
"What's wrong, Mamo-chan?!!"
PainElysionPainPainColdUnicornElysion
CrystalElysionGoldenCrystalColdElysionGolden
Crystal... Mamoru's mind was suddenly jammed
beyond thought with flashes, images, random
noises, sensations...
Mamoru automatically shook his head. I'm
alright, I'm fine. He vaguely heard what Usagi
was saying, what the girls were speaking, for
he was too caught up trying to ride through the
pain and remain conscious.
I must not collapse. Mamoru stubbornly
thought to himself.
He even tried when he found that he could not
breathe anymore.
"Mamo-chan!! Are you alright?!!"
He was totally lost. In pain, cold, more
pain, more cold. Lost.
"I... I'm alright-- Usako..." Mamoru gasped.
The seizure. The pain. The unicorn. The
recognition. Elysion.
"Can't.... breathe..." Mamoru weakly clutched
Usagi's shoulders. He could not breathe, and could
not even cry to release the agony. Before he knew
it, his knees gave way and he collapsed limply to
the ground, into total darkness.
Mamoru Chiba could not keep the act up any
longer.
************************************************
The cold wind blew through the area,
serenading with the trees in a hollow rhapsody,
playing through long and wavy brown locks of
hair of a man. He grimaced as he noticed the
nature of the wind. Occasionally he gazed at the
roses, but they were not comforting at all-- not
with the state they were all in.
He tilted his head to face a man with silky
white hair.
"This is not good, Kunzite," Nephreite
finally said, breaking the disturbingly silent
atmosphere. He could sense Zoicite's and Jadeite's
anxiety, and all waited for their leader's
answer.
Kunzite merely kept silent. His eyes gave
the area a thorough sweep, afraid to misjudge
the malice behind what he was seeing. He just
could not believe his sight. But certainly four
pairs of eyes could not make the same mistake.
Not in something like this.
Not in *this*.
A deep sense of dread crept up to Kunzite
as he looked around Elysion.
Gone were the beautiful gardens with
abundant red and white roses, and lush greenery.
Gone was the comforting wind. Gone were the
beautiful blue skies and white clouds, which
used to mingle together seamlessly in a
beautiful collage of blue and white. Gone were
the beautiful rays of the sun and the silvery
shine of the moon. What Kunzite's heart wanted
to see again, his sight would not allow.
Now, in place of those delicate flowers
were ugly, hard and black roses. Blood red mixed
with black to form the sky, and the wind was now
like an angry spirit, never stopping its hollow
and lonely howl. Since all this began, the Four
Generals had yet to see any trails of light-- be
it from the sun or the moon.
As though hearing Kunzite's thoughts,
Jadeite sighed, "The only light we have now is
from the Temple."
Immediately Kunzite glanced at the Temple
of Elysion, the very heart of the place. It seemed
to be the only thing not affected by this...
curse.
Kunzite shook his head violently. Why?!
They had just discovered Her. Why in the name
of the gods did this have to happen? It was a
miracle they discovered themselves in Elysion.
None of them were even aware of her existence. It
angered Kunzite to see such beauty disintegrating in
front of them. His memory flitted back to the
time they came into Elysion. Zoicite had
reasoned out that they were in the final phase
of their spiritual existence, thus having much
more ethereal contact with their birthplanet.
Although he could remember their time in the
Silver Millennium, Kunzite's memory of them
coming into existence was at best, hazy.
But what Kunzite knew was that *this* was
Endymion's birthplace. Endymion. The Crown
Prince of Earth. The only one. Nephreite was
right in expressing his fear. Kunzite felt it
too.
"Endymion-sama must know of this," Kunzite
finally said. He could feel the rest of the
generals staring at him, countless of questions
grazing their minds.
"We can't go to him unless he calls for
us," Jadeite bristled. "And you do know that our
powers are diminishing, so, should we want to
reach him, we must decide when. Wisely," the
blonde general decided to emphasise on the last
word.
"But Kunzite's right. We can't stall the
inevitable forever. Our powers may be limited,
but so is our time here with Endymion," Nephreite
spoke.
The white-haired general nodded silently
as he acknowledged his friends' thoughts. This
could never happen at a worse time-- they were
all clinging to their stones that were their
namesakes by a thread. But like Metal, which was
his element, Kunzite was extremely stubborn.
"We still have our duty. We must ensure
that Endymion rises to be king," he persevered.
The three other generals slowly nodded as
they looked on at the man who had guarded Endymion
since the prince was just a child, who guided and
befriended the prince with well-concealed love,
but undisguised loyalty. Zoicite looked into
Kunzite's eyes, and tried to give a reassuring
expression. They were all like brothers, and
deeply regretted not being able to live with their
prince like the senshis were doing with the princess.
On restless nights they could feel the fear
and turmoil in the prince, further adding to their
guilt of submitting themselves to Beryl's command.
Zoicite winced at the memory, and he knew
Kunzite would never forgive himself for leading
them to that mistake. Hence, it was no wonder
that Kunzite was the most intense of them all in
his quest to protect Endymion. Zoicite could feel
it-- the loyalty Kunzite swore again to their
master, after Beryl and Metallia were defeated
by the prince and princess. Again, a flare of
guilt flashed in Zoicite.
But what could they do? Lately it was
insanely difficult to connect with Endymion, and
as much as they wanted to give support and
guidance to their master, they just could not.
Somehow their stones were not responding to
Endymion's calls as automatically as they used
to. Adding to the hurt Endymion felt, their
conversation with him had to be kept extremely
short.
What was more, only Kunzite had enough power
left in him to converse with their master. The
rest could only be treated with the sight of
their maturing prince. Zoicite inwardly sighed.
They all had a protective instinct over the prince,
though it was with respect and not because they
condescended to guard him. It was brotherhood.
To be unable to guide Endymion through a time
like this was not what they had planned. He
inwardly smiled as he remembered how the prince
hated people fussing over him. No, the prince
would not like it if he knew just how protective
the Four Generals felt towards him. Now that their
powers and time were at a compromise, Zoicite had
to refrain from seeking the prince every time they
encountered something fearful which could undermine
the prince's future.
Zoicite had to trust the faith Kunzite seemed
to put into Endymion's strength. But he knew what
Kunzite feared.
Endymion's fate might end up to be the same
as Elysion's.
As though the devil heard his thoughts,
Zoicite's head shot up as he sensed Endymion
giving out a terrified soul-cry. Kunzite and the
others gasped as they felt it too-- so clear and
distinct, it was unmistakable.
The Four Generals' worst nightmare had come
true.
------------------------------------------------
~26th December 2000~
Author's Notes:
Ah.... Hope you gained some faint sense of
satisfaction through this instalment. I'll
try to improve my writing style. Thank you
for being so patient with me!
The Four Generals are a group which I have a
soft spot for, especially when they communicate
with Mamoru, or appear to look at him when he's
unaware of them. The idea of them staying in
their stones to stay with Endymion is among the
main elements that made me start this story.
Watch out for more of this theme in the future
chapters!
I also think that Mamoru isn't someone who likes
to be seen as weak, or vulnerable. Despite the
pain that he experiences, he appears to have only
one priority, and that is Usagi's wellbeing. I
think this is especially evident in the Golden
Crystal saga of the manga sigh. Sorry
Mamo-chan, I'm not going to stop the angst...
Please understand that I'm a very die-hard fan of
yours. So don't misunderstand *naughty grin*!
Now, the honour roll:
Tiffany, you're a gem! Destiny Rose, hope you
enjoyed a white Christmas! Goddess Moon, thanks
a bunch for reminding me to write *toothy grin*.
Evee, how's life? Christine, best wishes to you!
Andrea, Caleyndar, Lady Spring, Goddess Moon,
Alicia Blade, Lady Starra and Nishi, you guys
are wonderful webmistresses. I worship your
diligence and creativity.
Here are some authors who are _great_: Antigone,
Lilac Summers, Chris Davies, Laura Hudson, Sidnei,
Alicia Blade, Aimee and W. Bymeeh! Do read the
fics that these people have written. They are
so good. sigh I'll never even match up to
half of their stature.
Check out "MAMORU FANFICTION" at
http://www.crosswinds.net/~mamolove
for the reviews of the best Mamoru stories ever
written!
Lastly, PLLLLEEEEEAAAASSSEEEE write to me! I
love to hear your opinions, and feel free to
contact me if you want to enquire more deeply
about certain aspects of this fanfic. I have been
known to write back long, detailed discussions!
Flames will be used to fully barbeque my
lunch. *laughs*! WRITE TO ME!!! Make me know
that _somebody_ noticed my story...
Cheers to you, my dear reader,
Mamolove
david_duchovny@hotmail.com
"MAMORU FANFICTION"
http://devoted.to/mamorufanfiction
Sailor Moon is copyright (c) 1992 Naoko
Takeuchi/Kodansha,
TOEI Animation. English Language Adaptation (c)
1995 DIC Entertainment.
And imagine....
-------------------------------------------------
*THE GOLDEN CRYSTAL*
by Mamolove
*Chapter 3*
In the peaceful surroundings of the Hikawa
Shrine, four young girls and two cats were
pondering on the strange eclipse which occurred
the day before. Sitting in the centre of the
fire chamber was Rei Hino, priestess and Senshi
of Fire. Surrounding Rei were Makoto, Minako and
Ami. Luna and Artemis were lounging on the
comfortable and warm wooden floor. A girl with
golden hair was standing, her smooth, delicate
hands flapping around anxiously.
"It's not everyday that Mamo-chan mutters
something unconsciously," Usagi Tsukino said
worriedly. Then again, Mamo-chan has mumbled
some cute things when he was sleeping... Usagi
thought absent-mindedly as her mind suddenly
flitted to the cute moments of watching Mamoru
asleep. Oh, the words he would mumble!
Usagi suddenly leered.
"I wouldn't have called all of you to come
if it wasn't urgent. I was meditating this
morning when Phobos and Deimos pinned down this
card," Rei said as she showed her friends a card
bearing the title, "Eclipse". Three other
Senshis nodded seriously. Three. Rei's eyes
narrowed into slits.
"Usagi, did you hear what I said?"
"Huh?"
"It's referring to yesterday's eclipse??"
Ami asked loudly after successfully foiling the
temperamental priestess' mission of pounding her
blonde friend to bits.
Rei suddenly turned serious again after
dislodging Usagi's powerful palms and feet off
her face. She nodded solemnly, "*ahem*... I'm
afraid so. There was evil when it occurred, when
Mamoru-san collasped," Rei frowned as she recalled
yesterday's scare.
Hazel brown eyes quivered as she thought
of the tall man who had hair as black as hers.
Somehow Mamoru fared the worst among all of
them. While they merely felt dizzy from the
aberration cause by the eclipse, Mamoru had a
kind of seizure-- full-blown compared to their
slight discomfort. It was not wise to
ignore these two strong omens. If they could
detect the source early, they'd stand a better
chance avoiding unnecessary trouble and chaos.
"Minna, help me..." Rei urged finally.
She was mildly surprised when she felt a
soft hand touch her shoulder. "We'll be with you,
Rei-chan," Usagi said, immediately plopping down
behind Rei as the rest followed suit. Rei couldn't
help but smile at the moon princess. They may
squabble like mad, but her friendship with an
individual had never been as strong as with this
one.
The Senshi of Fire started muttering a
mantra, immersing herself deeper and deeper into
the spirit world. Before her friends knew it,
she was already in a deep trance, determination
and years of practice helping her.
Usagi closed her eyes as she channelled her
concentration towards Rei. She felt the heat of
the great flames and a surge of power as Rei
began to open the doors of the spirit world.
Usagi knew that only another person had an
ability much like Rei's-- Mamoru...
After a few minutes, Makoto opened her
eyes in shock as she felt a slight tremor in the
ground. Her startled gaze met Minako's eyes, but
they both closed their eyes again to
concentrate. Seconds later, everyone except Rei,
opened their eyes in fear as a bigger tremor
reverberated through the floor.
"God, please don't let it be..." Luna
whispered.
Usagi's eyes darted left and right, noting
that Rei was oblivious to the tremor. Suddenly
she cried in terror as the ground beneath shook
uncontrollably. Her friends followed suit as
they realised what was happening.
An earthquake.
************************************************
Mamoru was still throwing stones into the
lake when he first noticed the water shaking.
His eyes narrowed into slits as he saw the
ripples growing bigger and bigger. Warning bells
started ringing distantly in his mind, and he
gasped in shock as the ground beneath him shook.
The magnitude of the tremor suddenly
erupted into full fledged terror as screams of
terrified citizens started filling the air.
"Shimata! Earthquake!!" Mamoru realised in
shock. Nearby Mamoru saw a building shaking and
on the verge of collapsing. The tremor continued
mercilessly, ignoring the cries of horrified
office workers, and pedestrians.
Instinctively he dropped down to the
ground.
But then, it happened again.
Mamoru gasped as his chest suddenly
tightened. He tried to control his breathing
and pain, and bit his lips to suppress himself
from crying out as a new wave of spasm attacked
his heart.
Unbeknownst to the blue-eyed man, they
were in rhythm with the earthquake's tremors.
While Mamoru gritted his teeth hoping the
seizure would pass, something new happened. He
began to see bright flashes of a white unicorn.
A beautiful one, lying inside a cage.
Mamoru froze over as recognition hit him.
But before he could think any further, a
whimper escaped his lips as a sharp pain stabbed
his heart.
After what seemed an eternity, the seizure
began to ebb away. Nearly passing out from the
seizure, the black-haired youth sprawled on the
grass gasped weakly as he let the breeze blow
through his hair. It was only moments later that
he realised something.
The wind was whispering something into
his ears. With heart beating with trepidation,
Mamoru listened to the strange call. It was
something he had never thought of, not even in his
wildest dreams....
"Find the Golden Crystal, Endymion-sama."
************************************************
"Earthquake!" The girls around Rei
screamed. Rei suddenly received a vision at that
very moment, and opened her eyes hastily. It was
not because of fear, but because of shock and
urgency.
"We have to go!" Rei shouted to her friends
who were instinctively reaching for a nearby table
for shelter.
"How about your grandfather and
Yuuchirou?!" Ami asked anxiously. She hated
earthquakes. They'd never experienced one for
the past 8 years, since the Kobe earthquake!
"They're not here! They'd be okay. There's
no time to lose!" Rei was already running towards
the exit of the fire chamber.
"What's going on Rei?" Makoto urged the
moment they ran out into open space. The ground
beneath them shook violently but Rei was already
beginning to transform into Sailor Mars.
"Demon attack!"
The girls did not need any further
explanation. Usagi and the rest of them
transformed gracefully amidst the ruthless chaos
enveloping the shrine grounds and the rest of
Tokyo.
************************************************
The air whipped through Sailor Moon's hair
as the Senshis raced towards the spot where
Sailor Mars said the demon had appeared.
Fleeting footsteps and paws travelled through the
dishevelled grounds of the Juuban district,
bolting past citizens in terror with hearts as
heavy as lead. All but the cats had difficulty
balancing themselves while running over the
rubble. As much as they wanted to help, the
citizens of Tokyo were currently better off with
the special task forces. They, on the other
hand, had to reach the demon. *That* had to be
dealt by the senshis.
Running through the earthquake, Usagi
forced herself to clamp down her instinct of
dropping to the ground like what they had been
practising every year for as long as she could
remember. The frightening sounds of buildings
first cracking, then collapsing with deafening
crashes, accompanied with the sight of formerly
mighty highways now broken like splintered wood
jammed into Usagi's senses. Moreover, the screams
and tears of terrified people were hard to ignore.
Don't slow down. I'm Sailor Moon now
Usagi pressed down on her terrified mind.
But a drill was totally different than the
real thing, wasn't it?
Finally Sailor Mars slowed down. Sailor
Moon looked ahead and saw the source of the
priestess' distress.
There, a few metres away from them and
just a block or two from Usagi and Mamoru's
favourite lake garden, crawled a hideous-looking
monster around the size of two landrovers side
by side and two times her height. Nearby she
heard Sailor Jupiter gasp as she too laid her
eyes on the monstrosity. This was totally, so
horribly different from the youmas that they had
encountered before.
"What... *is* that?" Sailor Moon gasped.
"Seems to look like a... spider," Sailor
Mercury quickly started punching her computer.
"From the readings I'm getting, it's projecting
a certain kind of wave-- Somewhat similar to a
sonar wave."
But what's the wave for?? The
blue-haired girl thought. Her sharp eyes caught
something else, "Look! It must have crawled out
from that crack in the ground!" Sailor Mercury
pointed to a massive chasm in the middle of the
road.
"Start moving before it starts tearing
people apart!!" Sailor Venus shouted as the
demon suddenly stretched its spiny and hairy
legs towards petrified citizens. In an instant
the demon caught hold of an man, and to their
horror, poised to tear the man's chest apart.
"VENUS LOVE ME CHAIN!!" Sailor Venus
hurled her glowing weapon to wrench the spider's
legs away from the powerless man just in the
nick of time. Too stunned to move, the man just
lied there, catatonic, with tears leaking out
without his knowledge. Luna and Artemis pounced
towards the man to coax him to move to safety.
"Everyone stay away!" Some policemen urged
the crowd to distance themselves to allow more
battle space for the senshis.
The battle had begun-- in broad daylight,
in front of scores of shocked citizens.
"MARS FLAME SNIPER!!" Sailor Mars shot her
flaming arrow towards the demon. It shrieked in
pain as the arrow quickly burned into its flesh.
Large hairy body turned to face the senshis, and
started charging towards them. To the girls
horror, countless of tendrils appeared from the
demon's mouth to counterattack the senshis. A
tendril shot around Sailor Mar's neck, and threw
her into the shop-lot nearby.
"SHIMATA!" Sailor Jupiter yelled as she
dodged one tendril which embedded itself into
tar road due to its sheer force. "YOU'RE
DEADMEAT!! LIGHTNING SUPREME..... ATTACK!!!" The
tall fighter viciously blasted the tendril into
smithereens. The demon pulled back but almost as
instantly sprang a few more tendrils to catch
Sailor Jupiter by the leg.
"JUPITER! SHABON SPRAY!" Fog appeared and
Mercury began to run towards releasing Jupiter
from the frozen tendrils. But before she could
do anything else, two other tendrils grabbed her
by the waist and brought her to the air.
"Mercury! Jupiter!!" Sailor Moon cried in
distress. With trembling hands she raised the
moonstick, but before she could summon out the
crystal's power, the monster caught the unaware
senshi by the foot and the moonstick fell out of her grip.
Sailor Venus shrieked in horror as she saw
the strong, merciless tendrils pulling the
princess towards her death.
************************************************
Disorientated, Mamoru slowly pushed the
ground with his elbows in an effort to get back
to his feet. With trembling hands he pushed his
bangs out of his face. It was then that he
realised his tear-streaked face, and a chest
which was heaving in attempts to stop gasping.
"What's-- happening-- to me?" The confused
and pained man whispered weakly to himself in a
shuddering breath. Suddenly he began shivering
as chilling cold overcame his frail frame.
Mamoru shakily moved to lean on a nearby tree
and wrapped-- no, hugged his body with his
arms in an effort to warm himself. He nearly
doubled over in the process as the coldness
overwhelmed his senses.
Even the act of rubbing his arms could not
make the chill subside. Mamoru bit his lips
again as he tried to heal the coldness he was
feeling through his touch, but the glow in his
hands was so weak, it hardly made any
difference.
Something else did. Mamoru felt a familiar
calling, a tightening pull of a thread
surrounding his heart, and it meant only one
thing-- Usagi was in danger.
Without thinking of the cold Mamoru
blindly followed his instincts and teleported to
Usagi.
************************************************
"NNNOOO!!!!!" Sailor Venus screamed, and
instantly slammed her chains into the spider's
body. She violently pulled onto her weapon, and
yanked out a chunk of meat from the monster. It
gave a blood-curling moan, and immediately let
go of Sailor Moon, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor
Mercury. Due to the immense pain all tendrils
were retracted, and the demon howled in rage.
"MARS FLAME SNIPER!!!!" The Senshi of Fire
called out from inside the wreck that was once
the shop-lot. But the demon dodged the flaming
arrow.
And it caught sight of.... the one.
Sailor Mars' eyes dilated in horror as she
realised that the demon was looking towards
Sailor Moon's direction. Time seemed to stop as
the demon lunged towards the prone blonde....
As it stretched out sharp, hungry fangs...
As a flash of black scooped Sailor
Moon in his arms....
Carrying her to out of harm's way...
Just in the slightest of seconds before
the demon found its teeth lodged in the
pavement.
Time came back to normal to the priestess
before she realised who saved Sailor Moon. She
should never have doubted.
************************************************
"Tuxedo Mask!" Sailor Moon could barely
breathe due to the closeness of death she barely
escaped. She clutched the velvet black cape
which had always provided protection to her and
brought her forehead to rest on the familiar
chest, her own heaving with relief. It was not
long when she noticed the shaking of his body
and the trembling gasps he was taking.
"Mamo-chan..." Sailor Moon asked in panic.
She gasped in consternation as the formerly
steady hands gave way, as Tuxedo Mask dropped to
his knee.
"Cold...." he whispered, not
bringing his eyes to her, not even allowing her
to see through the white mask.
He suddenly turned and roughly pushed
Sailor Moon away, moments before the demon
rammed into him.
"NNNOOOOO!!!!!!" Sailor Moon screamed as
she realised what he had just done. She knew,
from the position of the demon's legs, what it
was planning to do. They had all seen it
earlier, when it attacked one of the man in the
crowd.
Tuxedo Mask was seeing double due to the
impact, and just as his vision returned, he saw
one sharp and spiny claw rising up above him,
ready to strike. His muscles instinctively
reacted, and he rolled away just in time before
the demon could impale his chest. He quickly got
up to his feet, but due to the icy cold he was
currently feeling, his alertness dipped,
allowing the demon to throw him off balance
again with a spiny leg. It was then that he
heard the sound of a swinging rod...
"Dead Scream." The Senshi of Time blasted
the demon a few feet back.
"SUBMARINE REFLECTION!!" Sailor Neptune
burned the sight of the beast, blinding it.
"SILENCE WALL ATTACK!!" The reborn Sailor
Saturn rendered the demon helpless.
"SPACESWORD BLASTER!!!!!" The slim figure
of Sailor Uranus thrusted the blade into the
demon without a hint of hesitance or mercy.
"Sailor Moon! Now's your chance!!"
Without hesitation Sailor Moon grabbed
hold of her moonstick, and gave the final
attack.
"MOON GORGEOUS MEDITATION!!!!!"
Ripples of pure light blasted through
the demon, shredding its very being into
non-matter. The demon gave one last shriek, as
it tried to escape the unforgiving light that
was the Silver Crystal's power. Finally the
light subsided, and all that was left was the
wreckage the demon and the earthquake prior to
its appearance, had created. By this time
Jupiter and Mercury were on their feet, and in
silent acquiescence, every senshi-- Inner and
Outer, nodded. Keep the reunion they all
desperately wanted away from curious eyes of the
public.
Sailor Moon went near Tuxedo Mask, and
her eyes narrowed as she saw that his state had
not improved.
"Mamo-chan, what's wrong?" Sailor Moon
gently whispered to him as the senshis began to
gather around them. She knew about how much he
hated to be coddled, in front of the public, and
especially in front of the senshis, so she
gently put her hand on top of his, and suggested
that they all teleported away. Her anxiety grew
as the only reply she got was a hasty nod.
"SAILOR TELEPORT!!!" In front of astounded
onlookers, the fantastic fighters disappeared in
a spectrum of light.
************************************************
Mamoru regretted teleporting. The very act
of shifting his matter in that process took away
the remnants of heat he had left in him. As they
arrived in the privacy of Rei's temple, he
staggered unsteadily, and shook his head quietly
when he felt Usagi's hands on him.
I'm alright He thought at her, answering
her unspoken question. At the same time he tried
to ignore the cold that was encasing his body,
which was making him feel as cold as.... death.
At the thought of death, Mamoru suddenly
gave out a choked cry when he was assaulted by
the same seizure he had experienced in the stadium
and in the park. How it could be worse, was
unimaginable. But it was. Now, not only was
he rendered hopeless with pain, images, flashes
and random thoughts, he was also gripped with
chilling, bone-shattering, ice-forming cold.
And he could not do anything about it. He
was lost. Totally lost in cold and pain.
"What's wrong, Mamo-chan?!!"
PainElysionPainPainColdUnicornElysion
CrystalElysionGoldenCrystalColdElysionGolden
Crystal... Mamoru's mind was suddenly jammed
beyond thought with flashes, images, random
noises, sensations...
Mamoru automatically shook his head. I'm
alright, I'm fine. He vaguely heard what Usagi
was saying, what the girls were speaking, for
he was too caught up trying to ride through the
pain and remain conscious.
I must not collapse. Mamoru stubbornly
thought to himself.
He even tried when he found that he could not
breathe anymore.
"Mamo-chan!! Are you alright?!!"
He was totally lost. In pain, cold, more
pain, more cold. Lost.
"I... I'm alright-- Usako..." Mamoru gasped.
The seizure. The pain. The unicorn. The
recognition. Elysion.
"Can't.... breathe..." Mamoru weakly clutched
Usagi's shoulders. He could not breathe, and could
not even cry to release the agony. Before he knew
it, his knees gave way and he collapsed limply to
the ground, into total darkness.
Mamoru Chiba could not keep the act up any
longer.
************************************************
The cold wind blew through the area,
serenading with the trees in a hollow rhapsody,
playing through long and wavy brown locks of
hair of a man. He grimaced as he noticed the
nature of the wind. Occasionally he gazed at the
roses, but they were not comforting at all-- not
with the state they were all in.
He tilted his head to face a man with silky
white hair.
"This is not good, Kunzite," Nephreite
finally said, breaking the disturbingly silent
atmosphere. He could sense Zoicite's and Jadeite's
anxiety, and all waited for their leader's
answer.
Kunzite merely kept silent. His eyes gave
the area a thorough sweep, afraid to misjudge
the malice behind what he was seeing. He just
could not believe his sight. But certainly four
pairs of eyes could not make the same mistake.
Not in something like this.
Not in *this*.
A deep sense of dread crept up to Kunzite
as he looked around Elysion.
Gone were the beautiful gardens with
abundant red and white roses, and lush greenery.
Gone was the comforting wind. Gone were the
beautiful blue skies and white clouds, which
used to mingle together seamlessly in a
beautiful collage of blue and white. Gone were
the beautiful rays of the sun and the silvery
shine of the moon. What Kunzite's heart wanted
to see again, his sight would not allow.
Now, in place of those delicate flowers
were ugly, hard and black roses. Blood red mixed
with black to form the sky, and the wind was now
like an angry spirit, never stopping its hollow
and lonely howl. Since all this began, the Four
Generals had yet to see any trails of light-- be
it from the sun or the moon.
As though hearing Kunzite's thoughts,
Jadeite sighed, "The only light we have now is
from the Temple."
Immediately Kunzite glanced at the Temple
of Elysion, the very heart of the place. It seemed
to be the only thing not affected by this...
curse.
Kunzite shook his head violently. Why?!
They had just discovered Her. Why in the name
of the gods did this have to happen? It was a
miracle they discovered themselves in Elysion.
None of them were even aware of her existence. It
angered Kunzite to see such beauty disintegrating in
front of them. His memory flitted back to the
time they came into Elysion. Zoicite had
reasoned out that they were in the final phase
of their spiritual existence, thus having much
more ethereal contact with their birthplanet.
Although he could remember their time in the
Silver Millennium, Kunzite's memory of them
coming into existence was at best, hazy.
But what Kunzite knew was that *this* was
Endymion's birthplace. Endymion. The Crown
Prince of Earth. The only one. Nephreite was
right in expressing his fear. Kunzite felt it
too.
"Endymion-sama must know of this," Kunzite
finally said. He could feel the rest of the
generals staring at him, countless of questions
grazing their minds.
"We can't go to him unless he calls for
us," Jadeite bristled. "And you do know that our
powers are diminishing, so, should we want to
reach him, we must decide when. Wisely," the
blonde general decided to emphasise on the last
word.
"But Kunzite's right. We can't stall the
inevitable forever. Our powers may be limited,
but so is our time here with Endymion," Nephreite
spoke.
The white-haired general nodded silently
as he acknowledged his friends' thoughts. This
could never happen at a worse time-- they were
all clinging to their stones that were their
namesakes by a thread. But like Metal, which was
his element, Kunzite was extremely stubborn.
"We still have our duty. We must ensure
that Endymion rises to be king," he persevered.
The three other generals slowly nodded as
they looked on at the man who had guarded Endymion
since the prince was just a child, who guided and
befriended the prince with well-concealed love,
but undisguised loyalty. Zoicite looked into
Kunzite's eyes, and tried to give a reassuring
expression. They were all like brothers, and
deeply regretted not being able to live with their
prince like the senshis were doing with the princess.
On restless nights they could feel the fear
and turmoil in the prince, further adding to their
guilt of submitting themselves to Beryl's command.
Zoicite winced at the memory, and he knew
Kunzite would never forgive himself for leading
them to that mistake. Hence, it was no wonder
that Kunzite was the most intense of them all in
his quest to protect Endymion. Zoicite could feel
it-- the loyalty Kunzite swore again to their
master, after Beryl and Metallia were defeated
by the prince and princess. Again, a flare of
guilt flashed in Zoicite.
But what could they do? Lately it was
insanely difficult to connect with Endymion, and
as much as they wanted to give support and
guidance to their master, they just could not.
Somehow their stones were not responding to
Endymion's calls as automatically as they used
to. Adding to the hurt Endymion felt, their
conversation with him had to be kept extremely
short.
What was more, only Kunzite had enough power
left in him to converse with their master. The
rest could only be treated with the sight of
their maturing prince. Zoicite inwardly sighed.
They all had a protective instinct over the prince,
though it was with respect and not because they
condescended to guard him. It was brotherhood.
To be unable to guide Endymion through a time
like this was not what they had planned. He
inwardly smiled as he remembered how the prince
hated people fussing over him. No, the prince
would not like it if he knew just how protective
the Four Generals felt towards him. Now that their
powers and time were at a compromise, Zoicite had
to refrain from seeking the prince every time they
encountered something fearful which could undermine
the prince's future.
Zoicite had to trust the faith Kunzite seemed
to put into Endymion's strength. But he knew what
Kunzite feared.
Endymion's fate might end up to be the same
as Elysion's.
As though the devil heard his thoughts,
Zoicite's head shot up as he sensed Endymion
giving out a terrified soul-cry. Kunzite and the
others gasped as they felt it too-- so clear and
distinct, it was unmistakable.
The Four Generals' worst nightmare had come
true.
------------------------------------------------
~26th December 2000~
Author's Notes:
Ah.... Hope you gained some faint sense of
satisfaction through this instalment. I'll
try to improve my writing style. Thank you
for being so patient with me!
The Four Generals are a group which I have a
soft spot for, especially when they communicate
with Mamoru, or appear to look at him when he's
unaware of them. The idea of them staying in
their stones to stay with Endymion is among the
main elements that made me start this story.
Watch out for more of this theme in the future
chapters!
I also think that Mamoru isn't someone who likes
to be seen as weak, or vulnerable. Despite the
pain that he experiences, he appears to have only
one priority, and that is Usagi's wellbeing. I
think this is especially evident in the Golden
Crystal saga of the manga sigh. Sorry
Mamo-chan, I'm not going to stop the angst...
Please understand that I'm a very die-hard fan of
yours. So don't misunderstand *naughty grin*!
Now, the honour roll:
Tiffany, you're a gem! Destiny Rose, hope you
enjoyed a white Christmas! Goddess Moon, thanks
a bunch for reminding me to write *toothy grin*.
Evee, how's life? Christine, best wishes to you!
Andrea, Caleyndar, Lady Spring, Goddess Moon,
Alicia Blade, Lady Starra and Nishi, you guys
are wonderful webmistresses. I worship your
diligence and creativity.
Here are some authors who are _great_: Antigone,
Lilac Summers, Chris Davies, Laura Hudson, Sidnei,
Alicia Blade, Aimee and W. Bymeeh! Do read the
fics that these people have written. They are
so good. sigh I'll never even match up to
half of their stature.
Check out "MAMORU FANFICTION" at
http://www.crosswinds.net/~mamolove
for the reviews of the best Mamoru stories ever
written!
Lastly, PLLLLEEEEEAAAASSSEEEE write to me! I
love to hear your opinions, and feel free to
contact me if you want to enquire more deeply
about certain aspects of this fanfic. I have been
known to write back long, detailed discussions!
Flames will be used to fully barbeque my
lunch. *laughs*! WRITE TO ME!!! Make me know
that _somebody_ noticed my story...
Cheers to you, my dear reader,
Mamolove
david_duchovny@hotmail.com
"MAMORU FANFICTION"
http://devoted.to/mamorufanfiction
Sailor Moon is copyright (c) 1992 Naoko
Takeuchi/Kodansha,
TOEI Animation. English Language Adaptation (c)
1995 DIC Entertainment.