DISCLAIMER: Sailor Moon and its characters are not owned by me, blah blah blah, and other legal junk. Sparrow Migoto is owned by my friend Christina, and used with her permission.
Author's Note: This fanfic is a direct sequel to Looking Up To You, a Sammy/Ami romance fanfic that I wrote about a year ago. It's still on my profile, so I recommend that if you haven't read Looking Up To You, it would be best to stop, don't pass GO, don't collect $200, and go immediately to my profile to check it out. Otherwise, you'll be kinda confused.
Second Author's Note: This fanfic takes place after Sailor Moon Sailor Stars. (Serena, Ami, Rei, and Mina are 17. Lita is 18. Sammy is 14. Darien is older than all of them.) Also, if you're confused about some of the Senshi's attacks, that's because they got a whole set of new ones in Looking Up To You. So like I said, go check it out.
---
Sailor Mercury continued to embrace Sammy for several minutes, until he finally stopped sobbing. Sailor Mercury had also cried, not from Sparrow's death, but from the intense feeling of sadness she received from Sammy's greed and guilt.
"No one... should have to go through anything like this..." Sailor Mercury thought. "I promise I'll get that Dark Crystal out of you, Sammy..."
The two stood up and continued to face each other, Sailor Mercury's hand wiping the last of the tears from Sammy's face.
"Ami," Sammy said, fighting the urge to turn away, "If you have to... to destroy me to get rid of the crystal, then-"
"No..." Sailor Mercury immediately replied. "I cannot allow that to happen, Sammy... I love you, and I don't want to lose you! Not even if.... not even if..."
"It causes the end of the world?" Sammy said, finishing Sailor Mercury's sentence. "Ami...."
"Ami won't have to make that decision," Sailor Moon said, walking up to Sammy and putting her hand on his shoulder. "I will use my own Silver Crystal's magic to remove the Dark Crystal from your body... I just hope it'll work..."
Before Sammy could reply, a loud rumbling began to shake the entire room, and rubble began falling from the ceiling.
"Jekelai's not here anymore... no one's here to steer the palace!" Sailor Mercury shouted. "It's like a giant flying ship, and without Jekelai's magic to control it, it's going to disintegrate in the Earth's atmosphere!"
"We've got to go, now!" Sailor Jupiter shouted. The five Senshi immediately linked hands and gathered in a circle, Sammy squeezing in between Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury.
"Sailor... Teleport!" shouted the five Senshi, teleporting out of Jekelai's throne room just as the huge, floating island began to disintegrate.
---
The five Senshi and Sammy reappeared in the middle of a deserted street, just outside of downtown Tokyo. The sky was dark, lit only by the clusters of stars that filled it at night. When the Senshi and Sammy looked up, they could see a large shooting star, rapidly streaking through the sky as it disintegrated.
"There's Jekelai's fortress..." Sailor Moon said as she pointed up at the comet-like object. "Goodbye, Sparrow..."
"We'll get her back, Sammy," Sailor Mercury said, trying to comfort Sammy as he thought about his fallen friend. "As soon as we get rid of that Dark Crystal, we'll-"
"We have to do it right now!" Sammy shouted, stepping away from the Senshi and facing them all, a serious look on his face. "Sailor Moon, activate your Silver Crystal and zap the Dark Crystal out of my body! I won't let any of my friends be hurt again! I won't let the people I love be hurt again! I won't let that crystal make me hurt anyone else... not ever! "
"Hold on, Sammy," Sailor Moon said, holding up her hand. "That's just the problem... the crystal needs time to activate..."
"Just hold still, Sammy," Sailor Mars said. "Even after all these years, we still don't fully know how to activate the full extent of the crystal's powers... it hasn't been used to do something like this since we beat Sailor Galaxia more than a year ago...."
"Sammy, you're going to need to bring out the Crystal's energy," Sailor Mercury said, walking over to Sammy. "I know it hurts you to bring it out, but... one last time, you have to, so the crystal can sense the presence of evil and-"
Suddenly, a bright flash in the sky over the buildings of downtown Tokyo immediately caused the Senshi to look up, and Sammy to turn around and look up as well. The flash dimmed, and suddenly, a large, flashing object, sparkling like a star, came into view. It began to grow larger in the sky as it drew nearer to the city, and the Senshi and Sammy immediately dashed down the street, desperate to get to the object as it floated ominously toward the city.
"What is that thing?" Sailor Venus shouted. "I thought we already got rid of Jekelai..."
"This is something different," Sailor Moon replied. "Sammy, didn't Jekelai say once that he had an employer of some sort?'
"Yeah, but...."
Sammy gasped.
"Of course," Sammy thought. "Jekelai couldn't get the Dark Crystal, so now his employer has come to do the job himself!"
The object hovered over the largest structure in the city, the huge Tokyo Tower. It appeared to be a floating, dome-like structure, and as it stopped over the tower, panicked civilians began fleeing down the streets, heading in the opposite direction of the Sailor Senshi. The bottom of the dome was covered in bright, shining red lights that illuminated the dome's blue, metallic facade.
"It looks like a UFO," Sailor Moon said, still running toward the tower. "Sammy, maybe you should head back home... we'll take care of this thing... but if you have the Dark Crystal, you shouldn't be headed right for the enemy's headquarters!"
Sammy ignored his sister's advice and continued to run. Sailor Mercury, however, agreed with Sailor Moon, and grabbed Sammy by his arms, stopping him in his tracks. The other Senshi stopped and watched as the two began to speak.
"Sammy, she's right," Sailor Mercury said, looking straight into Sammy's eyes.
"But I-"
"Listen, Sammy," Sailor Mercury said firmly. "You can't deliver that crystal right into the hands of the enemy..."
"And you can't deliver yourselves into the hands of the enemy! If you guys go, you'll be captured, and then when I show up, you'll be tortured, and-"
"Oh, ye of little faith..." Sailor Mars said. "C'mon, Sammy... we're the Sailor Senshi! We've beaten tons of bad guys before..."
"Sammy, it's not that it's just dangerous for you... it's dangerous for all of us," Sailor Mercury said. "But... you've got the Dark Crystal, and that's gotta be what they're going after...."
Sammy looked down, and then nodded dejectedly.
"If I... if I fight again... I could hurt someone else, just like I killed Sparrow," Sammy said sadly.
"That wasn't your fault," Sailor Mercury replied.
"The Dark Crystal's presence within me is too strong," Sammy said. "I... I should sit out this one, shouldn't I? But.... but promise me that... you already have, Ami... I know you guys will be okay."
"Thank you, Sammy," Sailor Mercury said, kissing Sammy on the lips. "Go back home, and protect your mom and dad... we'll be done shortly."
"Oh, Sammy will come to my fortress... I insist on it!"
Standing in the middle of the street was a tall man with spiked black hair, prominent blue eyes, a youthful-looking appearance, and a suit of shining black and red armor that covered his body from his neck down to his legs. In any other circumstances, the Senshi would have considered him handsome, had they not sensed the enormous amount of evil energy radiating from his body. Sammy was the first to step forward and confront the man, his sword drawn.
"It's... it's you, isn't it?" Sammy asked. "You're... you're the guy that hired Jekelai!"
"Precisely," replied the man, "and I would like to say that I'm very pleased of your recent victory. You've done a great service for me, something I never could've done myself... I'm proud of you, Sammy Tsukino. You've been such a fine vessel for my precious Dark Crystal."
"You sick fiend... how dare you exploit an innocent child's emotions and wage war on his loved ones!" Sailor Mercury shouted, stepping forward as well. "I swore to Sammy personally that I would make you pay, and liberate him from the Crystal's control!"
"And so far, you're doing a fine job, Miss Mizuno," the man said with an evil glint in his eye. "Though your death would've been such pleasure for me, I'd much rather extinguish you in my own way. Ah, and how rude of me, I've yet to introduce myself to you fine ladies... my name is Cestari, and everything you thought you knew about me or my methods is completely wrong. First of all, I did not intend to have Jekelai live at all. In fact, though his power is incredible, even surpassing my own, he was merely a pawn in the scheme of things... never to receive the true prize."
"Can it, Jekelai... I'm really angry right now," Sailor Moon said, her henshin stick once again transforming into the Sword of the Moon. "In the name of the Moon... your evil deeds are through!"
Sailor Moon charged at Cestari and slashed her sabre across his face, making a large gash across his right cheek that caused him to stumble back. He quickly recovered, however, and responded with a furious punch to Sailor Moon's face that knocked her flat on her back. Sammy gasped, and immediately, his dark energy aura began to resurface.
"Sailor Moon!" shouted the other Senshi as their fallen leader struggled to get to her feet. Cestari leaned over Sailor Moon and gripped her tightly around the throat, slowly squeezing the air out of her windpipe.
"Do you want to be the first to die?" Cestari asked, a smile forming on his lips. "Because that can be arran-"
The stem of a rose slashed across Cestari's face, and his hand flew from Sailor Moon's throat to his left cheek, where a cut almost as big as the one Sailor Moon had made had just appeared. This gave Sailor Moon time to recover, and she quickly stood up and walked back over to the other Senshi. Tuxedo Mask leapt down in front of Cestari, his cape flowing in the night wind.
"You could've showed up while we were fighting Jekelai's minions," Sailor Mars thought, hesitant to show even the slightest bit of anger to someone besides Cestari.
"So you are the fiend who has been torturing Sammy and his friends for the last two weeks," Tuxedo Mask said. "Well, today it's time to pay for everything you've done!"
"My true motivations will all be revealed in due time... I just came here now to assure that I'd get an audience with Sammy back at my palace," Cestari said. "And of course, the Dark Crystal as well."
Cestari smiled, and as he turned his head, neither Tuxedo Mask, Sammy, nor any of the Senshi were hesitant on determining the identity of Cestari's latest target.
"Sailor Mercury!" shouted the Senshi, and Sammy immediately rushed to her defense.
"Don't touch her," Sammy said, holding out his katana with the Dark Crystal's energy aura flaring about him. "Don't even look at her!"
"Out of my way, foolish boy!" Cestari shouted, smacking Sammy hard in the side and knocking him out of the way. In a second, Cestari had grabbed Sailor Mercury, and was quickly flying toward his fortress, his arms wrapped tightly around Sailor Mercury's own as she furiously thrashed against his grip. "You will come, Sammy, if you ever wish to see your precious Sailor Mercury alive again!"
"Sammy, no!" Mercury screamed. "You have to go back home and let the other Senshi take care of Cestari! Don't drop the Dark Crystal into his lap! Don't let him-"
Sailor Mercury was cut off by Cestari's hand clamping tightly over her mouth, allowing only muffled screams from the Senshi of Water as Cestari flew up and disappeared in the darkness.
"You cowardly asshole!" Sailor Jupiter shouted angrily, shaking her fist up into the sky. "You won't get away with this!"
"AMI!" Sammy screamed, dashing down the street in a desperate attempt to catch up to Cestari. "No..."
Sammy fell to his knees, sobbing on the cold ground as the Senshi and Tuxedo Mask crowded around him. Sailor Moon put her hands on both of his shoulders, and could sense her brother's sadness as he trembled on the ground, shivering in the both the cold wind and the frigidity of his own despair.
"Sammy... we'll get her back," Sailor Moon said, desperately trying to comfort her sobbing brother. "We-"
Sammy stood up wordlessly, with only tiny wisps of dark energy emanating from his trembling form. He walked past Sailor Moon, and then all of the other Senshi, not toward the tower, but back toward Juuban... back toward home.
"I can't believe he's not trying to go off to the tower..." Sailor Moon thought, silently reaching out to him with her arm extended.
"Serena... I'm going to go rescue Ami," Sammy said, turning his head toward Sailor Moon and the other Senshi. "I promised I'd keep her safe, and I'm not about to break that promise. But first... I have some thinking to do."
Sammy dashed off down the street, as quickly as he could. For a brief moment, the Senshi and Tuxedo Mask contemplated going to the Tokyo Tower to mount an attack on Cestari's fortress. But something in all of their minds told them to wait for Sammy... as if he was the only one who could defeat the vicious evil that had Sailor Mercury trapped in its clutches. They dashed off in the other direction, ready to follow Sammy wherever he went.
---
Sammy ran all the way back to Crossroads Junior High, still under repair. He ran up to the roof using the same route he and Ami had taken just a couple of hours ago, crawling through an open window and dashing up several flights of stairs to get to the fenced-in roof. The Senshi and Tuxedo Mask started to follow him into the building, but were stopped by Sailor Moon, who stood in front of the window and looked up to the roof.
"Guys... whatever Sammy's doing up there, I think we need to leave him alone..." Sailor Moon said quietly.
"What's he doing up there?" Sailor Mars asked.
"He's going up there to think about what he has to do... to save Ami," Sailor Moon replied. "To save us all."
Sammy paced about the roof, thoughts racing through his head. He was trying to keep his negative emotions from swelling to the surface... he wanted to save Ami while still in full control of himself and his abilities.
"Ami," Sammy said, taking out his sword and performing practice swings, slashing across the air several times, "I promise... I'll do for you exactly what you did to me... I'll pull you from the abyss, Ami... I won't let the dark forces take control! I'll do whatever I can to get you out of Cestari's clutches!"
Sammy looked up to the sky, ignoring the cold winds whipping around him.
"The Dark Crystal... will NEVER control me!" Sammy shouted. "Do you hear me? NEVER!"
With a loud scream, Sammy released a huge wave of dark energy from his body, blasting the chain links from the roof's metal fences. The Senshi looked up from the ground below, and as the dark waves rushed outward from the roof, they decided that they had seen enough.
"Sammy... he's lost control!" Tuxedo Mask shouted.
"Darn it... we've got to go hurry and help him!" Sailor Moon said. The Senshi and Tuxedo Mask began to rush into the school through the window, but they were stopped in their tracks as Sammy stepped out of the building, smiling at all of them. His dark energy aura had died down, to merely a tiny glow surrounding his body.
"I'm ready..." Sammy said. "I'm ready to take on Cestari... but I'm going to need all of your help."
"Thank you, Sammy," Sailor Moon replied. "But... are you sure you want to do this? Sailor Mercury said-"
"I'm in full control.... don't worry, sis," Sammy reassured her. "At least... I think I am..."
---
Cestari had taken Sailor Mercury to a large room in the center of his domed citadel that was hovering high over the streets of Tokyo. The walls, ceiling, and floor of the room were a deep, oceanic blue color that shined as the lights of the room dimly illuminated their surfaces. Sailor Mercury herself had been placed in the very center of the room, entrapped in an egg-shaped, transparent casing that appeared to be made from some form of ultra-sturdy plastic. The casing was about ten feet tall, and was attached to the roof itself, fastened into a depression carved in the roof's metallic frame.
"You're not restrained, Sailor Mercury...." Cestari said, looking up at the Senshi from his safe observation point, far below her on the ground. "I thought you would be banging on the walls of your prison by now, frantically attempting to escape."
"You underestimate me, Cestari," Sailor Mercury said, a fierce expression on her face. "I am not afraid of you, and I know that my friends are coming..."
"If Sammy doesn't come, I'll have you killed on the spot," Cestari said, causing Sailor Mercury's face to show signs of panic.
"Why do you want him here so badly?" Sailor Mercury shouted. "What's so important about him and the Dark Crystal? Is it just power you desire, you fiend?"
"You don't even begin to understand, do you?" Cestari asked. "Don't you even remember him? Not Sammy Tsukino, the boy that exists now... but Shingo Nakiyura, the peasant boy from the great Moon Kingdom of the Silver Millennium."
Sailor Mercury's gaze turned puzzled, and Cestari sensed this, continuing on with his story.
"My dear, your powerful Queen Serenity didn't just send you girls and King Endymion forward in time, no... she selected several more people, some of the most important of your civilization, to be reborn here on Earth. Sammy was one of them."
"How do you know that?" Sailor Mercury shouted. "And how can I know you're telling the truth?"
"Would I lie to someone I'm about to sacrifice?" Cestari asked. "I'll continue. The boy you know as Sammy was not in any way related to Queen Serenity... he was merely a peasant in your kingdom, still treated with civility by your benevolent ruler, but a peasant nonetheless. One day, however, when you, the princess of Mercury, visited the kingdom, he caught a glimpse of you, and... well, it was love at first sight. He was even with you until the end, Sailor Mercury... you had only met him when he snuck into the ball that you were attending. You found him charming, but paid no more attention to him than you did to your many other suitors attending the ball that day. Destiny had turned its back on Shingo.... but he was determined, and when Queen Beryl attacked, he drew up a sword and rushed her in a futile attempt to save your life. Do you know what happened to him, Sailor Mercury?"
"He... was killed, wasn't he?" Sailor Mercury asked, images forming in her mind of what Sammy could possibly have been like in the Silver Millennium of her past.
"Of course he was... but noble Queen Serenity admired his determination, and thus, decided to have him reborn in your modern-day world, in a role she thought most-suited for possibly meeting his lost love again... as her brother," Cestari said. "That way, when the five Senshi reunited, young Shingo, now of course named Sammy, would have to find you again one of these days... and find you he did. But, of course, when you go against the forces of destiny, there are... consequences for those choices, aren't there?"
"Sammy... taught me not to believe in destiny," Sailor Mercury said confidently. "You make of your life only what you strive to make happen..."
"Destiny would have paired you with Urawa, the most charming and noble of your suitors... reborn here on Earth as Greg," Cestari said. "But I admire your rebellion... because I too have been given the proverbial shaft by the fickle goddess known as Fate."
"In... what way?" Sailor Mercury asked. "Is that why you want to take your revenge upon-"
"Precisely," Cestari replied. "But... I do not wish to repeat myself once the Senshi and that pathetic boy arrive. Instead, I will wait for their arrival... I hope that you are comfortable while you wait. Because soon... you won't be."
---
The Senshi, Tuxedo Mask, and Sammy quickly hurried back to the Tokyo Tower, now abandoned as panicking mobs had fled the tower after Cestari's fortress had begun hovering atop it.
"You don't think he's going to pull an Independence Day and blast the tower while we're in it, do you?" Sailor Venus asked nervously as the group took the tower's elevator to the top floor.
"Somehow, I don't think he's going to," Sailor Moon said. "If he kills us, Sammy and the Dark Crystal will be of no use to him..."
"I won't be of use to him anyway," Sammy said. "I'll make sure of that!"
The elevator arrived at the top floor, and the Senshi, Tuxedo Mask, and Sammy stepped out into the tower's observation deck.
"Alright, we've reached the top of the tower," Sailor Jupiter said, looking around. "But how are we supposed to get to Cestari's fortress from here?"
"I wish Cestari was more like Kaori Night... she was actually willing to fight us inside the tower," Sailor Mars said. "We might have to climb to the top of the antenna and make a jump for it..."
"Cestari's fortress is hovering at least twenty feet above the antenna," Tuxedo Mask stated. "We'd never make it...:
"Looks like we'll just have to wait for it to come closer," Sailor Moon said.
"We can't wait any longer!" Sammy shouted, glaring angrily at the Senshi. "We've got to get to Ami right now! Who knows what Cestari could be doing to her right now!"
"I haven't done anything.... yet," came a voice from outside the tower's observation deck. Suddenly, a glowing, red energy rope dangled down just outside the observation deck's window. "This is the only path into my fortress... if you want to get up here, you'll have to climb."
"How do we know if we can trust you?" Sailor Mars shouted angrily.
"We don't," Sammy said. "But it's the only way we're going to get Ami back."
"Stand back," Sailor Moon said, beckoning Sammy and the other Senshi away from the window. "Yah!"
Sailor Moon fired a blast of magical energy at the window nearest the rope, causing the window's glass to shatter. Sammy immediately ran at the window and leapt out, grabbing the energy rope and grabbing on for dear life.
"Sammy, you could have been killed!" Sailor Moon shrieked.
"Hurry up!" Sammy shouted back at her, beginning to climb up the energy rope. "It's not that big of a jump to make!"
Sailor Jupiter ran out and jumped, along with Sailor Mars. Both of them caught the rope and began climbing, and were followed by Tuxedo Mask, who began climbing as well. Sailor Venus was the next to jump to the rope, leaving Sailor Moon standing alone in the observation deck.
"Sailor Moon, come on!" Tuxedo Mask shouted. "It's not that big of a jump... you can make it!"
Sailor Moon looked at the rope for a moment, and her lip began to quiver. Her legs shook, and sweat began pouring down her palms.
"I can't do this... I'm terrified of heights!" Sailor Moon thought. "No! I have to do this... this is for Sammy! And for all of my friends!"
Gathering all of her courage, Sailor Moon leapt out to the energy rope. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept it just out of Sailor Moon's reach, and she couldn't find her grip on the rope. Just then, Tuxedo Mask reached out and grabbed her hand, gripping it with all of his might.
"I'll pull you up, Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask yelled, calling out to the screaming Senshi.
"Hurry up, you guys!" Sailor Venus shouted from her position below Tuxedo Mask on the rope. "The others are getting way ahead of us!"
Sailor Moon reached out with her other hand and allowed Tuxedo Mask to pull her in, and after kissing him on the cheek and thanking him for saving her life, she climbed over him on the rope and began following the rest of the team. Soon, all four Senshi, Tuxedo Mask, and Sammy had climbed into Cestari's fortress. The energy rope disappeared, and the small hole that had opened up to allow them to come inside closed, sealing the six warriors inside a small, brightly-lit room with tan walls. They looked around, and saw a large door at the back of the room.
"Should we...." Sailor Moon began before Sammy ran past her, dashing through the doorway and motioning for the others to follow.
"Hurry!" Sammy shouted. "Ami needs us!"
Without hesitation, the Senshi and Tuxedo Mask followed Sammy, who was now running fearlessly through the rooms of the fortress.
---
"You know, they should get here fairly quickly," Cestari said, pacing around the room underneath the transparent prison holding his captive, Sailor Mercury.
"Not if they have to fight their way through your army," Sailor Mercury said, a hint of anger in her voice.
"I don't have one," Cestari said. "You, me, Sammy, and the Senshi are the only souls in this structure right now."
"But what about that one you sent to burn down Sammy's house and attack his school?" Sailor Mercury shouted. "That was one of your-"
"Every one of the creatures I sent after Sammy I created myself, right here in this citadel... that was my role in the old kingdom... I was a brilliant researcher, and a man of great importance to our civilization," Cestari said, a proud smile on his face.
"Your... civilization?" Sailor Mercury asked. "Surely you couldn't mean-"
"The Moon Kingdom?" Cestari replied. "I-"
Cestari was interrupted by the sound of the two doors at the front of the room opening, and Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus, Tuxedo Mask, and Sammy rushing into the room, ready for an epic confrontation.
"Alright, Cestari... we've got you cornered now!" Sailor Moon shouted. "You'd better give up while you still have the chance!"
"But Sailor Moon, I was just about to explain the story of my past to our guest, Sailor Mercury... surely, you'd like to hear it as well, correct?" Cestari said, pretending to have been offended by Sailor Moon's interruption.
"Ami, are you alright?" Sammy shouted up at her, a look of worry on his face. "Has Cestari hurt you?"
"No," Sailor Mercury said, shaking her head. "Sammy, I... I told you not to come..."
"Ami, I had to... you know that, Ami," Sammy said, looking longingly into her eyes. "I love you... and I can't let you get hurt... no matter what the risk is, I can't let anything happen to you!"
"That's certainly a touching response, Sammy," Cestari said. "I assume that you're prepared to fight for Ami's life."
"As prepared as I'll ever be," Sammy said, unsheathing his sword. His dark energy aura flared up, but instead of feeling the sense of rage and fury like he'd felt against Jekelai, he was being fueled purely by determination, and his affection for Ami.
"Sammy, we're here... you don't have to fight him alone!" Sailor Moon shouted, holding out the Sword of the Moon. "We're all ready to kick this guy's butt!"
"Before you.... kick my butt, I would really appreciate the chance to tell you why I'm doing all this, and what the Dark Crystal really is," Cestari said. "But if you're not willing to listen-"
"No," Sammy said, keeping his gaze fixed on Cestari. "We'll listen. But make it quick."
"As I've already told Sailor Mercury, you, Sammy, are a citizen of the Moon Kingdom, reborn into this world as the brother of Sailor Moon. You were not her brother in the past, but you did fight for her kingdom... or rather, you fought for your beloved Ami. You attacked Queen Beryl, but were quickly killed as her powerful forces swept over the Moon Kingdom. It was... quite a brave act, to say the least."
"Wait... I was what?" Sammy stammered, looking back toward Sailor Moon. "You guys... never told me I was-"
"I never knew," Sailor Moon said, looking at Sammy. "There were... others reborn in this world?"
"Most of the friends you have now, in fact, were in some way involved in the history of the Moon Kingdom," Cestari said. "They were reborn into this world just as the Senshi were, in paths that destiny would eventually lead to cross with yours... in fact, you likely have not met most of them. However, that is not the point of what I wish to tell you."
"Wait," Sailor Mars said, her brain struggling to fathom what Cestari had just told her. "You mean, nearly everyone we've met-"
"Only important people... with a few exceptions," Cestari said. "Sailor Moon, the people whom you know as your parents were not among the people from the Moon Kingdom... neither is Rick, or Mika... or Sammy's late, great teacher, Miss Haruna."
Sammy's dark aura flared up as he remembered Miss Haruna, and the pain of her death.
"How do you... know all this?" Sammy said, his teeth clenched in rage.
"I've been watching you... all of you, for quite some time," Cestari said. "Your battles, your defeats, your triumphs... Sailor Moon, you know that I've been speaking of the Moon Kingdom... the Silver Millennium, as you call the era of time in which you and your allies ruled the Solar System... you think of it as a wonderful time of love and prosperity for all. But... not all people in the Solar System shared your happiness. They say history is written by the victors, Queen Serenity... and they would, in fact.... be correct."
"What do you mean, Cestari?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Let me finish," Cestari replied, hostility growing in his voice. "You see, most Earth historians remember the time one thousand years ago as the Dark Ages, a time when most of humanity was living in disease, poverty, and squalor, fighting wars over the best way to worship their gods instead of fighting to improve life for their people. But... Earth also was home to four great kingdoms, marvels of advanced civilization, forced to form an alliance in order to counter the growing threat from our own Moon."
Sailor Moon gasped, as she began to realize the truth behind what Cestari was speaking of. Memories of her past life as Queen Serenity began to flood back, and recollections of incredible wars and unspeakable bloodshed began to fill her mind.
"These four kingdoms were different in many ways, and alike in others. One of these kingdoms was a vast civilization that filled the plains of what you now know as South America, in a region known today as Nazca. The mighty kingdom formed a great harmony with the native peoples of the region, and those to the north as well, and together lived a life of peace, prosperity, and brotherhood, as the two cultures exchanged technologies and resources. The next kingdom was a kingdom of the sea, lying at the bottom of the ocean... which you now recall as the mythical kingdom of Atlantis. Its beauty and incredible architecture was envied throughout the Solar System... envied by you as well, Queen Serenity."
Sailor Moon was speechless, but immediately, the other Senshi spoke up on her behalf.
"You're lying!" Sailor Mars snapped. "Sailor Moon would never be envious of another culture... the Moon Kingdom was a wonderful place, and I'm sure that every other culture of the time was allowed to flourish alongside it!"
"That's right!" Tuxedo Mask shouted. "And what about me? As King Endymion, I reigned over the Earth during the Silver Millennium, and-"
"And you were a tyrant to our kingdoms, every one of them!" Cestari shouted back. "You were the one who finally persuaded the Moon Kingdom to attacked us... the blood of a billion people is on your hands!"
Now Tuxedo Mask was rendered silent, allowing Cestari to speak once again.
"The third kingdom resided in the sky, flying freely over the oceans and continents, its people joyously celebrating each new day with great festivals that lasted for hours on end," Cestari said nostalgically.
"Didn't any of them ever fall off?" Sailor Venus said bitterly through gritted teeth, quiet enough for only the other Senshi to hear.
"And finally, there was the fourth kingdom... mightiest of all, with the most advanced technology... this was a kingdom in space, rotating around the Earth at a distance of only five hundred miles," Cestari said. "We lived on a giant, spherical planetoid, with a circumference of about fifty feet... we could've almost been a separate planet had we not decided to align ourselves with the other great Earth kingdoms. We kept a vigilant watch over your Moon, always prepared for the day that we knew would come... the day that your kingdom would attack.... when our days of peace and happiness would come to an end."
"We didn't strike first!" Sailor Mercury shouted, finally deciding to break her silence as she listened to Cestari from her prison suspended at the top of the room. "Queen Serenity would never have attacked another kingdom... she wished only peace for her people... for all people! All of our kingdoms did!"
"I lived there, I saw it happen!" Cestari shouted. "I fought in the wars... the wars that lasted nearly a year... I saw 250,000,000 soldiers from your armies and the armies of Nazca die on those blood-drenched plains! I saw the armies of your kingdom of Mercury, diving down to puncture holes in the shields surrounding Atlantis, drowning millions of people! I saw the glorious kingdom of the sky as it was shot down... and I saw my own kingdom... the very planet on which I lived... I fought so hard... but I failed... and I saw it vaporized before my eyes!"
"You're lying..." Sailor Moon said, stepping forward to confront Cestari as her own voice was replaced by the soft, wise voice of Queen Serenity, and her sailor fuku transformed into a flowing white gown. "I... I remember it all now. It was your kingdom in space that fired the first shots of the war... your kingdom that destroyed Nazca, Atlantis, and the great floating city in the sky just to kill a small number of our own soldiers. And it was you, Cestari.... you were a member of that group who fled your planet in a tiny space colony, and you destroyed hundreds of other colonies that could have been used to evacuate the rest of the people on your planet before it was destroyed. You're nothing more than a war criminal, Cestari..."
Cestari smiled.
"But our wars did accomplish one thing," Cestari said, smiling. "The great war left the Moon Kingdom exhausted of resources... and while you and your allies celebrated your victory, Queen Beryl was able to come in and destroy everything quite easily. And though you sent some of your friends and family to the future, I was able to send myself in a time machine possessed by our kingdom. I sent myself to the very day you discovered your powers, Sailor Moon... and then I merely watched and waited for the day that I would have my revenge. For I left something else... a relic of my civilization, one that I created with my own, bare hands..."
"The Dark Crystal," Sammy said quietly, looking down as his chest.
"Precisely," Cestari replied. "Though I didn't place it in you, Sammy... during my travels before the war, I came across someone else who I thought would serve as a suitable vessel for the Crystal's power... a young warrior named Lazuli, fighting an entirely different, distant war in the name of the mighty Moon Kingdom. "It was then that I planted the Crystal within his body... and its power began to grow. To ensure that the Crystal would survive on throughout the ages, I enchanted it with magical energy that would allow it to pass on to the firstborn child of its carrier. Thus, it passed down to Scion, who then passed it to Alexis... and then, something very strange happened, Sammy. Don't you remember, about six months ago, when Alexis died and passed his powers along to you, Sammy?"
Sammy gasped.
---
"I don't blame you…" Alexis whispered. "I don't deserve anything except to burn in the deepest, darkest regions of Hell…"
"No one deserves that," Mercury said. "I… Alexis… I forgive you…"
"Mercury?" Sailor Moon said.
"Ami," Sammy said weakly. "Everything he's done to you, why…"
"If I hated him, I'd be just as bad as they are…" Mercury said.
"I don't deserve… your forgiveness… Ami…" Alexis stammered. He coughed. "Please… avenge… Letine…"
Alexis gasped, and then shone in a brilliant black flash for a split-second. Then, he was gone.
"Did he teleport again?" Sailor Moon said. "Oh no…"
"No, he's dead… I felt it," Mercury said.
"Good," Ninjetti said. "Such a weakling."
"You sick fiend!" Jupiter shouted.
"Why are you so angry? Letine and Alexis have been your mortal enemies for the past three weeks. You should be happy they're gone," Ninjetti said.
"You wouldn't understand!" Mercury shouted. "It wouldn't matter if it was them or anyone else! The way you killed them was horrible! You… you're a vicious monster!"
"Are we going to play a name-calling game, or are we going to fight?" Ninjetti asked.
"You're going to PAY!" Mercury shouted. "You've hurt us, you've hurt Sammy…"
"I'm fine," Sammy said. He was standing right behind Sailor Mercury, holding Alexis' katana in his hand.
"I saw a big black flash, and then I was completely healed…"
"Sammy, your power is incredible!" Mercury said. "I can feel it!"
---
"That black flash was my Crystal, going from Alexis' body into yours, Sammy..." Cestari said, a smile appearing on his face. "It's a good thing Alexis had a change of heart and decided to give you his powers before he died... otherwise, my Crystal would have died with him."
"No..." Sammy thought, and Sailor Mercury was thinking the exact same thing as she listened to Cestari speak.
"So that's how... the Dark Crystal got inside Sammy," Sailor Mercury thought. "And that's what the Dark Crystal was designed for... revenge against the Moon Kingdom... it's all becoming clear to me now..."
"And there's only one way to get rid of the Crystal, besides killing yourself and passing it onto someone else," Cestari said.
"I know exactly how to do that," Sammy replied. "You created the Crystal... when I destroy it, it's going bye-bye!"
"We'll see about that," Cestari said, extending his arms and channeling a magical energy aura around himself. "My power may not match Jekelai's... but it's still incredibly strong."
"You're not dealing with just Sammy, you know!" shouted Sailor Moon, running up and standing next to her younger brother. "You're also dealing with me..."
"And me," Tuxedo Mask said, standing next to Sailor Moon.
"And all of us!" shouted the Senshi, rushing up to confront Cestari alongside their friends.
"Don't worry, Ami..." Sammy said, looking into Sailor Mercury's eyes from just below her transparent prison located above the Senshi's heads. "You'll be out of there soon... Cestari and this crystal are both going down!"
---
Well, this chapter was a bit shorter than the others... but don't worry, the final one will be a true doozy... and I've got one final twist in store that will shock everyone! So remember to read... and review! ^_^
