A Tangent in the Future

By Crystaldove

Chapter 14

"You can't do anything now Sailor Moon. If any of the sailors comes near, I will pop you like a melon…now, give me the crystal!"

"No…you're cheating…you…haven't…won."

Rubeus applied more pressure and she screamed while her ribs started to give way to the strain.

"STOP! Let her go Rubeus!" Jupiter shouted.

"No, stay where you are! I. Will. Kill. Her! Let's up the stakes shall we; either give me the crystal…or I'll kill your friends!"

As he finished his statement, shadow creatures appeared and attacked the remaining senshi, draining their energy.

"No…leave them…out of…this…let them…GO!"

"It's your choice, what means more to you?"

"I…surrender."

"Finally! I will be all powerful, I will rule the Dark Moon!"

He let the slightly weakened girls go and loosened the grip on Moon.

"Give it to me!"

Moon lowered her head in defeat and proceeded to call the crystal from her broach.

"Here, take it and leave!"

She extended her arm behind her and before he grabbed it…[PING] A rose flew throw the air and imbedded itself in Rubeus' hand and the crystal fell to the waiting hands of Tuxedo Mask.

"How could you be so stupid? I can't believe the fate of the universe belongs in your hands! You almost sacrificed the planet to save your friends! I can't believe you are the lunar heir? You are unworthy of the lineage of the Silver Millennium and unfit to bare the same Serenity!

Everyone looked to him incredulously; even Rubeus was dumbfounded by that revelation since he was under the impression that Sailor Moon wasn't in the future. To him, this explained a lot and he halted his revenge waiting on the outcome of this spat.

"I. Hate. You. Darien!" If not for the jealousy of your people, my mother would still be alive! No wonder your generals sold their souls to the Dark Kingdom. I would rather serve Beryl than you anyday!"

Tuxedo Mask blinked several times as he processed that unknown information. By this time Rubeus had grown impatient.

"Enough with the warm and fuzzy moments…someone helped you so you will die!"

He tightened the coils around her once more and shot up higher in the sky. Her screams pierced the atmosphere while Mask tightened his hold on the crystal and ran off.

"That bastard stole the crystal and ran off!" Mars screamed. "This is all his fault and he didn't try to help her, after all she's done for him! We got to save her!"

"Fire Stars!"

"Ice Dagger!"

"Lighting Sword!"

"Light Saber!"

"GUARDIAN PLANETS ATTACK"

This attack stemmed from the senshi natural abilities was hurled towards Rubeus. As it hit him, he released Sailor Moon and vanished.

"Damn them! I almost had the Silver Crystal!"

"Oh look at the mighty Crimson Rubeus… I daresay you failed in a mission you weren't assigned to carry out!"

Rubeus turned sharply behind him…

"Emerald! I knew I smelled a bitch in the area…what are you doing here?"

"Just bidding my time. Prince Diamond said that if you failed in capturing that rabbit and the Silver Crystal, he would demote you and the task would belong to me. I see that my wait wasn't long."

"What are you talking about?"

"I overheard the Prince talking to Sapphire about an overflow of the black crystal's energy levels… Diamond said something about you initiating an attack he didn't order. I thought I would tag along to see you fail…and to see how you are punished."

"I haven't failed, I had the crystal, if not for that Tuxedo Mask!"

He replied with fire in his eyes while he tended to his bleeding hand.

"Oh yes…it's not that hard to believe he's the future King Endymion, he was always so stupid; never could accept defeat. And what of the rabbit?"

"I thought that the Silver Crystal would be more important, we wouldn't need the rabbit if we had the crystal of the 20th century."

"I guess, but still…Diamond has this idiotic fascination with Sailor Moon, I suppose I should call her the younger Serenity. I don't think he wanted her killed, and you left her plummeting to her death. I wouldn't want to see him right now if I were you."

"You have a point…and you're coming with me."

"What! I dare not invoke the anger of my prince any further!"

"You forget, my dear, this ship is constructed for my use and obeys my command. You may have snuck on board, but only I can allow you to leave…so until Diamond cools off, make yourself at home."

The reason why Sapphire couldn't find Rubeus before leaving Nemesis was because he situated himself in a relatively obscure pocket of space called the 3rd dimension. Rubeus found the location of this dimension by reading ancient documents he found in the Black Moon Citadel. He stole the charts to that dimension, just in case he needed to hide out…which he was doing now.

Two weeks after the incident with Sailor Moon, Rubeus and Emerald returned to Nemesis and found that things had changed since their departure.

"Rubeus, I don't remember it being this bright here. We are too far from the sun to have a noticeable day."

"Do you think something happened?"

"Isn't that apparent?"

"I meant something drastic…it seems like our home has been… purified."

"Are you saying moon-witch was here?"

"There is only one way to find out."

The pair made there way back to the Citadel, and found that the normally ashen gray building had taken on a lighter color. From the looks of it, it appeared to now be a dull silver. Rubeus shook off his bad feeling to poor eyesight and headed for Diamond's throne room."

"You servant! Where is the Prince?"

A timid looking young man looked toward the irate red-head and in his most steady voice replied…

"The Prince and Lord Sapphire are in the 20th century."

"What are they doing in the 20th century, looking for us?"

"Oh Lady Emerald…I didn't notice your presence. The prince is looking for you Rubeus, but that is not why he went to the past."

"Has he enforced a full scale attack against the followers of the White Moon?"

"No, he is there with Princess Serenity."

"He is WITH that moon-witch?!"

"You lady, will not refer to the sovereign of our people with such disrespect!"

"You insolent little servant!"

"Be that as it may, I will strike those who speak against the princess in my presence…and I am not the only one."

Rubeus noticed that a small gathering of servants had entered the throne room. Glancing outside of the window, he also noticed several citizens ascending the Citadel steps.

"Calm down Emerald." He whispered harshly while thrusting her by the window.

Emerald wasn't a fool, she could smell trouble and for once heeded his warning.

"What do you mean, you aren't the only one. What happened while I was gone."

"Aside from the bounty for information of your whereabouts, after your unadvised attack on Sailor Moon, the Prince saved her from death. She was tended to by my wife during her stay here…"

"She was here? Diamond brought her here!"

"Yes, Lord Sapphire noticed an influx in power from the generators and alerted the Princes' attention. He never gave orders for a full attack and he never wanted Sailor Moon hurt…but you didn't see it that way. She was here until just yesterday. She questioned us on why we are here, and after several meetings with the Prince, she met with the entire populous. She is such a beautiful person, why she married that king is beyond me."

"You disillusioned little prick! How dare you speak highly of that oppressor in my presence! I am Emerald, Prince Diamond's right hand…I will be his queen!"

"Oh why don't you stuff it!"

Emerald turned to see a small child staring daggers at her. She was about to strike the child when she noticed that several hundred citizens had converged into the throne room.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"We don't like what you are trying to do. We have been pardoned by the Supreme Princess and she has rid this planet of all negative influences…and you aren't wanted here. Either leave immediately or be forced to leave. And I personally I hope you chose the second one…I've never liked your boisterous, disgusting and pitiful self anyway…and I'm not the only one."

Emerald formed a fist and prepared to shoot a blast that would end this humiliation, but was astonished to find out that she couldn't…she was powerless.

"Oh the mighty mouth can't punish me? I told you that Princess Serenity purged this rock of all negative influences…so the very essence you drew your power from, no longer exists."

With the last of his reserves, Rubeus grabbed Emerald and they teleported to the depths of the planet.

"Rubeus, I can't believe we are running from those powerless twits!"

"If you haven't noticed, we don't have any power and were severely outnumbered. I could have left you up there, but we are all that each other has…"

"Where are we?"

"Someplace safe for the moment."

"I can't believe all that has changed since we've been gone. Diamond has betrayed us; gone against our plans…and is with that…that moon bitch!"

"I don't think he went against the plans…I think this was his plan. If you recall our battle wasn't with Serenity, but the King. He was the one that banished us from Earth."

"So, that witch still put some spell over Diamond. Why else would he be in the 20th?"

While they were talking, they began to unconsciously rub their arms due to a cold chill that filled the small room. A mist began to pool around them and they began to hear voices.

"Traitors…"

"I don't know Emerald, but she would have something to do with it."

"Young traitors…"

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah…listen."

"I have the answers you seek, young traitors."

"Who are you?"

"I am someone who understands, someone who hates the white moon as much as you do. Someone who can help you."

Emerald's eyes glazed over and took a slightly yellow tinge. She walked toward the edge of the cavern and pushed a notch on the wall. She seemed to be floating as she passed through. Rubeus shook his head violently. He knew that something wasn't right, he was being poisoned but could resist the urge to follow Emerald down the shaft.

As they passed through, the wall closed and a spooky light lit a rocky stairwell. They walked for at least half an hour, descending about 200 feet deep into the core of Nemesis. When they reached the bottom, a thick gray mist surrounded them. Even in the poorly lit room, they saw the shadows sway with a mind of their own.

Emerald continued to walk and stopped when she reached a huge monolith in the center of the space. She felt the raw, negative power emit from it…power that was only suppress by the witch of the white moon.

"It's you, you are the true power of Nemesis. And she wasn't strong enough to defeat you."

"Who are you talking to Emerald?"

"Our true master…"

"You are very perspective Emerald. Diamond was a fool to underestimate you. You were correct Rubeus, he betrayed the plan. He only had his sights set on Serenity. But I see that I was appealing to the wrong individuals...you two are clearly the ones that can carry out the plans."

"But who are you?"

"I am your master, you can call me…Wiseman!"

end

Hee hee…I guess this wasn't the chapter you were waiting for. I know that you are waiting for Serena's reaction to Ayden's statement, that will be the next chapter.

Thanks to all that reviewed. To BenRG, you are one of those people that keep me writing. Hauntress, I'm sorry, I read the last chapter, I forgot to review. I will soon. I will have more thanks in the notes of the next chapter. And to my 115th reviewer…thank you sooo very much!

See you soon,

Dove