Author's Notes:
If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi.
Crystal Hearts
When The War EndsChapter 7: The Lost Souls
Venus collapsed on her knees, breathing heavily. In a kind of irony, she had been so worried about her memories of Allan and Katarina, she had not given a thought to her other memories, ones of the Dark Kingdom.
Arms supported her to a chair and she looked up into a pair of blue eyes, light sapphire and full of concern. "Artemis," she whispered and cried into his shoulder.
Artemis wrapped his arms around his charge. He alone had realized the strength of her decision to go to England. Ever since the war had started and they had begun searching the other continents, he had been the one to hear her fears about going back to England.
When the tears stopped, he put his arm around her waist and helped her walk to the medical bay. Mars was already there. She looked up as they entered and gave a small smile at her leader, noticing the tear marks, but attributing them to stress rather than their true cause.
"Where are Mercury and Jupiter?" she asked.
"They aren't back yet. Mars was the first to teleport here. The others haven't shown up," said a voice behind her. Venus immediately recognized that of Uranus.
Artemis set her down in a chair and the blonde Senshi approached her and kneeled down to look into Venus' eyes. Venus gave her a look of weary confusion.
"Are you all right?" she whispered.
Venus caught Mars' gaze over Uranus' head. Apparently she had asked this of the Soldier of War as well. Looking back into her anxious green eyes, she smiled. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Just very tired."
"Did you fight Kunzite?"
Venus looked again at Mars, but Mars wouldn't meet her eyes. Still gazing at the child of war, she said in a strong voice, "Yes. Yes, I did. And I won."
Mars' head snapped back to her, but Venus had looked back at Uranus and did not see. "I won."
Uranus smiled. She liked the Inners a lot and respected them for their beliefs, even if she didn't share some of them. "That's good. We shall have to wait for Mercury and Jupiter. Did you get the stone?"
Venus handed it over and Uranus, standing up, gave it Luna. Luna, in turn, put it on a table next to another stone, this one green. It must be the jadeite that Mars went to find, she reflected.
"It could be a while before they arrive," Pluto told her as she entered the medical wing. "You might want to rest. Mars already has, although she had been forbidden to get up from her bed."
"Why?" asked Venus, bewildered.
"Because we don't want her to teleport out to get Mercury and Jupiter," was the dry reply. "'I want them to hurry up and get here' I believe is her exact words."
Venus chuckled. "Did you get a power-up as well?" came the Senshi of Time's voice again, but it sounded very far away to her. She barely had time to nod before she was asleep.
Artemis picked her up and put her in a medical bed to rest. He gave her a fond look and went to talk with Luna on the other side of the room.
Jupiter staggered and leaned against the wall of the crystal palace teleportation room, clutching her arm. The blood still flowed freely. She cursed. She had only just gotten out of there in time.
Makoto had left the ruins behind, but only for a few minutes before three creatures attacked her. One had had no arms, but four legs and shot fire out of its mouth; another had had two legs and long, gray leathery wings that wrapped around you and sucked out your life energy; and the last had had two small sets of black wings and arms with claws for hands that dripped poison.
Even with her power up, she knew she couldn't fight them and she didn't want to go back to the ruins, in case they followed. That would be sacrilegious to her. But she also knew she needed to save her power to teleport back to the palace. She had just managed to start the teleportation process when a shot of fire had caught her arm. Fortunately for her, once the process was started, it could not be aborted and she had managed to leave in time.
Walking slowly and dripping blood on the floor, Jupiter stumbled down to the medical quarters. Halfway there, she met up with Neptune, who gasped at the sight of her.
Wrapping her arms around her injured companion, the Senshi of the Depths dragged Jupiter to the medical room. Venus was still asleep and Mars, shocked at Jupiter's condition, had to be restrained. "What happened? Did Nephrite do that to you?" she cried.
Jupiter, who had been put in a chair and was having her arm dressed in bandages, looked at the red Soldier in surprise. "How did you know I fought with Nephrite?" she asked, wincing, as Luna pressed on the wound hard. She fought to pull her arm from the woman's grasp, but Uranus' hands were like iron on her shoulders, holding her still.
"I fought Jadeite and Venus fought Kunzite. I think it's reasonable to assume that we all fought one of the Kings."
Jupiter shrugged. "I fought him, yes, but he didn't do this. Three creatures attacked me as I was teleporting. Did you know that I'm Zeus' daughter?" she asked excitedly.
Mars smiled. "Cool. I'm Ares' daughter."
Jupiter smiled back. "Did you also know that Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn are the daughters of Chronos, Ouranos, Poseidon, and Hades?" she asked shrewdly.
"You're kidding!" she exclaimed.
"And I'm willing to bet that Venus and Mercury are Aphrodite and Hermes' daughters as well."
"Who would have thought? Does that mean that Serenity is the daughter of Selene, the Moon Goddess? No, wait, that can't be because Queen Serenity was her mother. Could Selene be her grandmother then?"
Jupiter shrugged. "Ask Mercury when she gets here. OW!! Watch it Luna!" she screeched as Luna tied a knot in the bandage and added some adhesive tape.
Uranus let her go when her bandage was on and helped her to a bed. She pried the nephrite from Jupiter's clenched hand and put it on the table next to the other stones.
Jupiter glanced at Venus who was still asleep. "Is she all right?"
Mars nodded. "She's just asleep. She was exhausted when she showed up. And really upset."
"Why? Because she fought Kunzite?"
"I guess so."
They watched as Venus tossed on her bed, none knowing the reason she was so upset being that she had forced herself to kill her soulmate.
Mercury walked into the medical room like she owned it, which, indeed, she did.
"Mercury!" cried Mars happily. Chibiusa whirled around from the window. She had only been there for ten minutes, but she, too, was soon caught up with the anxiety of waiting for the Senshi of Wisdom to return. She smiled happily.
"Are you all right? What happened to you?" questioned Jupiter, seeing the tattered fuku.
"Zoisite and his stupid but effective flower petals, that's what happened," she replied dryly. She quickly detransformed and transformed again. Her fuku was no longer ripped and frayed. It was whole, complete, and new looking. "That's better."
Venus, who had woken up at the time that Chibiusa had entered, stood up. "Did you get it?" Mercury nodded. "Good. That means we have all four stones. Um, does anyone have an idea of what we're supposed to do with them now?"
The Senshi looked at each other, none voicing a word. They looked at Luna and Artemis. They shook their heads. They looked at Mercury. Mercury cleared her throat and began to type on her computer. A few minutes later, under their stares, she sighed and shook her head. She didn't know either.
"Well, bring the stones near each other," Mercury said at last. "Maybe I can see something about them that's unusual, but I doubt it."
"Then why do it?" Mars asked.
"Because Selene specifically said these kinds of stones so there must be a connection with it," she answered, wincing at the lame answer.
However, when the stones placed next to each other, they erupted with light.
Jadeite thrust his arm forward toward the now wide crack with all his strength. Light flooded his vision and air touched his face. He smiled in relief, finally reaching that crack. He didn't understand why he'd felt it was so imperative that he did so, but now that it was done, he was ready to rest again. However, the unusual sensation of air on his skin and light all around him did not strike him as the same place he had been in for so long. He opened his eyes, but didn't get much time to look around. In his immediate vision was something far more important than the scenery. He figured at the sight before him that he wouldn't be resting any time soon.
The stars around Nephrite burst into light at a fever pitch. He threw his arm over his eyes to block it. He felt a tugging on him and was thrown forward into blackness. The blackness opened up into brightness in a second and his feet hit hard ground. He almost stumbled, barely able to recover and not fall on his face. He was completely disoriented and kept blinking at the bright light he now recognized as sunlight, something he had not seen for a very long time. Pulling his arm down, his eyes met a very hate filled pair of green eyes surrounded by locks of dark brown hair held up by a ponytail.
Zoisite's blackness flashed once and he found himself in a room with many beds in it. But what drew his attention was the women in front of him. He backed up slightly at the glares from them. A woman in bright blue raised her arms threateningly and narrowed her sapphire eyes at him. He had no idea what made her so angry with him, but he had a feeling that it was not an advisable idea to stay in her vicinity with her so furious.
Kunzite was ready to give up on finding the voice when a circle of light flared at the corner of his eye. He held up his palm to it to block some of the brightness and slowly walked closer to inspect it. Suddenly, light tentacles grabbed his body and he tried to fight free of them. He didn't succeed and was pulled into the ball of light. When he blinked again, ten angry people surrounded him, nine women and one tall man with white hair and blue eyes.
He backed up and his back abruptly hit someone else's. Both he and the person he had hit turned around and he felt his face split into a true smile. "Zoisite," he said in a comradely fashion. "Do you know what's going on?" he added quietly.
The women and man dropped into attack stances and instinctively he and his friends, for he recognized Nephrite's long red-brown hair and Jadeite's short blonde, dropped into defensive stances.
"Who do you think will win?" asked Diana to Chibiusa as they sat on stools and watched as the Senshi and Luna and Artemis get ready to fight the Dark Kingdom Shitennou. Chibiusa couldn't transform, but either way, neither Diana nor she had the same hatred of the Kings anyway.
"I won't bet on who will win, I'll bet on how long the Shitennou will remain alive," retorted the princess.
Diana smiled. "Well, I give them ten seconds."
"Ten? You must be really optimistic. I barely give them five," answered Chibiusa. "I mean, really. Look at the Senshi! I haven't ever seen them that angry! Even back in the twentieth century. I think the only way they would look like that, like they're going to rip someone apart limb from limb, would be if someone threatened Momma and Dad in a really bad way."
"I guess you're right and we've all heard the stories of the Moon Kingdom and the Silver Millennium. I guess you're right. I would be that angry too if I saw the person that destroyed my entire way of life and my family and friends show up again. And not only that, but they just fought them not an hour ago!"
Chibiusa nodded and turned her attention back to the situation, which she was sure would have a fight break out in any second.
"Who are you and why are you threatening us?" asked Kunzite.
However, the question seemed only to aggravate them further. A tall woman with short blonde hair and green eyes yelled, "You have the temerity to ask that! After what you did?!" She didn't wait for an answer but gave a scream of frustration and held her arm high into the air, her palm facing toward the ceiling. Another quick hand pulled her arm down jerkily.
"Hey, what do their outfits remind you of?" Jadeite asked suddenly.
Kunzite and the others looked again. "They looked like the Senshi's, but I can't be sure since I've never actually seen them," replied Nephrite.
"How can you say that you've never seen us!" shrieked a green clad woman. "You destroy our homes, our families, then come back a thousand years later and cause a ruckus! Then in the middle of a war you come back a century or more later! We fight you again and when we're certain we must have beaten you for the last time, you show up again! Why can't you stay dead?!"
"I assure you," Nephrite began, entirely flustered. "We have no idea what you mean, nor have we ever died before. We are simply guards and the protectors of Prince Endymion—"
"Endymion!" interrupted Jadeite. "Where is Endymion?!"
The Shitennou looked around them frantically for their friend, but because of the circle of women, they didn't see much.
"Burning Fire Strike!" yelled a woman in red.
Jadeite dropped to the ground, barely able to evade a stream of flame obviously meant for him. Kunzite, Nephrite, and Zoisite reluctantly pulled out their swords to defend themselves.
"Wait!" yelled a woman's commanding voice. It was obviously not any of the women in the circle as they all whirled as one to look behind them. Zoisite was the first to see her, already facing in that direction.
Her hair was a light blonde and fell to her feet, in the style of the Moon Family, and her dress was white with a set of wings in back that was so long, it trailed on the floor. She wore a crown on her head and wisdom in her blue eyes.
Next to her was a tall man with midnight black hair and dark blue eyes. He wore a black suit with an elaborate pendant on the lapel, designed with the symbol of the Terran Royal Family. His face was one that the Shitennou would never forget even if they lived a thousand lifetimes. He was…
"Endymion!" exclaimed Jadeite.
"Momma! Dad!" cried a young girl with pink hair in a style like that of the lady only with elongated buns. The streamers of hair fell down to her shoulders. She wore a white dress that looked remarkably like the gown that Princess Serenity wore. She ran up to Endymion and the woman beside him, pushing past their legs and making them wobble precariously.
The woman dropped to her knees and, with tears in her eyes, welcomed her into her arms. "Oh, Chibiusa, are you alright?"
The young girl, Chibiusa, nodded with tears streaming down her own cheeks. Endymion knelt and hugged the girl tightly. Then Endymion and the woman stood up again.
"What's going on here?" demanded Zoisite shakily. "Endymion, what…?"
The lady by his side ignored the Shitennou for a moment and turned to the woman in red. "Mars, please use your power and determine what I think I know is true. Are they possessed of Queen Metallia's energy?"
She looked long at hard at the Kings and especially Jadeite, as Kunzite noticed. She shook her head, a dumbfounded look on her face. "No, nothing. I don't believe it. But I just fought him and he was full of it!" she protested.
The woman turned to someone in an aquamarine outfit. "Neptune, please look in your mirror and tell me what you see."
The person she addressed pulled out a very strange mirror. Its handle and all around the glass was gold. The edgings were very elaborate and beautiful. She stared deeply into it and then shook her head.
"Mercury, scan them with your computer."
A woman dressed in a light blue outfit opened a compact computer and began typing on it. She looked up after a moment and she, too, shook her head. "My readings don't show a thing, nor do they show that they once had been possessed, if these are really who we think they are," she added, giving them a dark look.
Kunzite looked at all the women in strange clothes and found only one pair of eyes that held something other than loathing. A woman dressed in orange with bright blue eyes stared at him. She seemed to be fighting hatred, anger, and sadness.
"I thought so," the woman in the white dress said.
Kunzite turned his attention to her. "What? Could someone explain to me what is going on?" he questioned, putting his sword away. The other Shitennou followed his example.
She looked at him. "First, please tell us who you are."
With confusion, he introduced them. "I'm Kunzite; this is Zoisite, Nephrite, and Jadeite. I am the head guard under, and one of the protectors of, Prince Endymion, heir to Golden Kingdom, Elysian."
End Chapter 7
Ouranos is another way of spelling Uranus. I thought it would be better to use the different way of spelling it so it would be easier to differentiate between father and daughter.