9 - Broken Trusts.
As Merula had deduced it was early morning in Tokyo, and Caliban was still sat on the bench in the park. A cold breeze fanned his blonde locks over his eyes, which had a reflective look to them. He hadn't been able to take his mind off Alexia's plan since she'd left and the more he'd thought about it the more he'd become convinced that it might just work.
"I may as well go, the worst they can do is tell me they hate me," he muttered. "Not that I expect them to say anything else…" He was staring out at nothing in particular when the streetlights around him flickered then went out. He leapt up, preparing himself for a fight when a familiar laugh echoed round in the emptiness.
"My, my, aren't we the tense one?" one of the streetlamps turned back on, and Lucilius was revealed, leaning against it.
"I wasn't expecting you, that's all." Caliban muttered, sitting down again. Lucilius smiled.
"I came to tell you to come back to my ship." he said. "I would like a word with you." Caliban felt his blood run cold - he must have been spying on them, after all.
No.
If he had been spying on them he would've struck them down while they had been together, surely…but what if he had already caught Alexia? Perhaps he was luring him into a false sense of security…
There was only one way to find out.
"Very well, my lord." he complied. Lucilius grinned, a devious glint to his eye. He beckoned the youth into the light, and as soon as he walked under it went out. A minute later when all the lamps flickered back to life they were both gone.
x x x x x
That morning arrived quickly for Alexia. It was an important day for her - the first rehearsal of the recital in the theatre where it would be performed. However, her mind was far from on ballet. Her stomach was full of butterflies as she entered the building, the prospect of seeing Caliban after the following night strangely nerve-wracking. Almost as soon as she entered the auditorium she was pounced upon by a distraught-looking Crystal.
"Alexia!" she exclaimed. "Have you seen Matthias?" her face was pale.
"No, why?" she inquired. Now she knew the truth it was easy to see that Crystal and Nerissa were one in the same person. She decided not to mention the fact that she had seen him the evening before, just in case she became suspicious.
Crystal bit her lip.
"He didn't come home last night."
Alexia felt like she'd just swallowed a boulder. She sat down on one of the seats quickly, suddenly feeling very faint - where was he? "Are you okay, Alexia?" Crystal's green eyes were wide and the Charonian couldn't help but feel slightly confused at how someone this anxious and concerned could be working for someone as evil as Lucilius.
"Y…yeah fine." she whispered. She felt terrible - Lucilius must have discovered his betrayal - what if he was torturing him right now?! Her head was swimming - if this was the case, then surely Nerissa would know about it already!
Something just wasn't adding up…
She opened her mouth, about to ask Crystal another question, when -
"Ahhh, Miss Risolto, here you are." Ms. Yakamori regarded the girl coolly. "Due to the unfortunate absence of Mr Reimo we will have to practise your pas seul and then the corps can rehearse their dances." Alexia nodded. "Come on, time for some warm ups." The still puzzled Alexia and Crystal walked to the stage together, both as worried as the other.
x x x x x
"Higher, Miss Risolto! That last gran battement was terrible!" Ms. Yakamori was on the war path. As much as Alexia tried to concentrate she kept thinking about her missing dance partner. Every move she made seemed to go wrong, her landings were heavy, her elevation was poor and she kept wobbling every time she attempted her arabesque. The music stopped as she messed up her final pirouette. "MISS RISOLTO!" Ms. Yakamori screamed; a group of girls who had been gossiping in the auditorium fell silent in an instant. "That was probably the worst performance I have ever seen! You are supposed to be our prima ballerina - yet today you seem to have the grace of an elephant!" there were a few sniggers in the audience of fellow dancers. "I have a mind to give your part to your understudy…"
"But, Ms. Yakamori!" Alexia pleaded.
"However," Ms. Yakamori cut her off with a sharp movement of her hand. "As I know you have wanted this opportunity since joining our school, and that you usually perform well, I will let you off this time. Please try and concentrate more on what you are doing."
"Yes, Ms. Yakamori. Thank you." she bowed gratefully to the now not so irate teacher.
"Right, let us try again." she nodded to Crystal, who began to play again. This time was much better - every move Alexia performed was precise and graceful. She spun and leapt to the music and Ms. Yakamori smiled approvingly. She got to the hardest move of the dance - the entrechat, and executed it perfectly…until she landed and slipped. She fell heavily, and banged her head on the ground, blacking out instantly.
"Alexia!" Ms. Yakamori exclaimed, as she ran to the unconscious girl…
…Princess Charon was in her beautiful blue garden, pacing uneasily up and down the paths.
"Where is he? He should be here by now." she muttered, playing with the ends of the long purple ribbons tied to her upper arms. There was a brisk breeze, making the princess's hair fly about her face. She now wished she had taken up Princess Venus's offer to re-plait it, as it was beginning to annoy her, along with the waiting. She sat on the marble bench and her eyes drifted to the delicate gold band on her left ring finger; it was combined with minuscule diamonds, sapphires and a pale purple jewel from Reimo which was very rare and very much sought after. Caliban had explained that he'd had the ring specially made and that it signified their first meeting - the diamonds were him, the sapphires the garden and the purple jewel Charon herself. It filled her with great excitement that in just a few weeks she would be married - future Empress of Reimo! Now if only he would hurry up…
Suddenly someone cleared their throat and Charon was brought back from her daydream - she raised her head sharply to look at Princess Mercury. Hiding her annoyance at the fact it wasn't her fiancé Charon smiled as the pretty blue-haired Princess walked in.
"Why, hello Mercury, how are you? Please, sit down!" Mercury smiled back at her fellow Princess and did as she was requested, resting a book she was carrying in her lap. "Oh, is that the book I gave you?"
"Yes, it is. I was looking for somewhere peaceful to read it. The palace is rather noisy today and so I could think of no other place better than right here." the Mercurian explained.
"Of course, and you are obviously welcome to stay here! I do hope you enjoy the book, I got it for you at my mother's recommendation." Charon told her, and then she could no longer hide her impatience. "Tell me - have you seen Caliban at all? I know his ship landed a while ago and he promised in his last letter that he would meet me right here as soon as he got here!"
"I'm afraid I haven't." Mercury replied. "I saw Florizel and Adia just before I came here but no Caliban." For some reason she couldn't explain the impatience suddenly turned into anxiety, however she expertly hid it from the other girl.
"Hmmm…that is strange. Oh well, I shall just have to find him myself." the dark-haired Princess stood up. "Happy reading!" Mercury smiled.
"Thank you Charon, and I hope you find Caliban quickly." she said, and opened her book.
Charon wandered away, her heart beating steadily as she looked around for any sign of her fiancé. Suddenly she spotted Queen Serenity and Princess Serena walking along, laughing gaily. The Princess of Charon stepped up her pace and caught up with them.
"Your Majesty." she hailed Serenity.
"Yes, Charon, my dear?" the beautiful queen inquired, immediately noticing the apprehensive look in her pale blue eyes. "Whatever is the matter?"
"When Florizel and the Reimo Guardian arrived, was Caliban with them?" she inquired, slightly hoping that the Prince had been unable to travel - although she was sure she would've received word by now if he hadn't.
"Why yes, he was. Have you not seen him yet?" the Queen replied, feeling rather puzzled herself as the girl shook her head sadly. The only reason the party from Reimo was there was because the couple had planned to travel from the Inner Moon to Charon together so that the Prince could meet his in-laws-to-be.
"Serena, have you seen him?" the Outer Moon Princess asked rather desperately, however the blonde Princess simply shook her head.
"I am sorry we cannot help you, Charon." Serenity said sympathetically. "I hope you find him soon. I am sure he cannot have gone far."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The girl curtsied politely and then continued her search, her heart now pounding in her ears.
She looked high and low for her love, checked and double checked every garden and every room in the palace - still no sign of him. She'd asked anyone she'd seen on her hunt - Luna, Artemis, most of the princesses and Estrella, who'd offered to help. They were about to give up when Charon spotted Florizel coming from the direction of her own garden.
"Floriiiizeeeeel!" she cried his name at the moment she saw him and, lifting her skirt slightly, practically sprinted to him.
"Charon do not run! It's not ladylike!" Estrella exclaimed, but Charon ignored her.
"Princess Charon, I am so glad I've found you!" The adviser exclaimed. He looked bewildered, like he'd lost something important. "Have you seen Caliban?"
So, he had lost something important…
Charon felt her heart sink, and tears sprang to her eyes as she realised something was very, very wrong.
"No, I haven't! I was about to ask you the very same thing." she whispered. Florizel looked concerned.
"I shall continue my search, I'll inform him that you were looking for him." he told her, she looked down at the ground despondently.
"Thank you, Florizel." she murmured as he walked away. Sitting down on the edge of the fountain they were next to she mumbled: "However, I don't think it's worth searching anymore." Estrella leapt up next to her.
"Don't give up hope, Princess." she said gently. "He'll turn up, I'm sure of it - and so should you be. You're usually so hopeful!" Charon shook her head.
"There's something wrong, I know it." she murmured sadly. Just then she heard a voice broke through in her mind.
Charon, I need to see you urgently.
She looked up, and Estrella tilted her head.
"Mars?" she inquired as the Princess leapt up wordlessly and ran away. "I told you once Charon - don't run!" the ginger cat yelled after her, albeit rather half-heartedly.
The Charonian moved through the palace grounds quickly, until she finally fell into the arms of Princess Mars.
"It's bad news, isn't it?" she whispered as she clung onto her friend's arms and stared her straight in the eye like her life depended on it.
"Yes." the black-haired Princess replied truthfully, not knowing how her friend was going to take her news. "Princess Jupiter told me what was happening, so I attempted to sense his presence in the grounds." she looked to the ground. "He's not here - not in the palace, not in the gardens…not even on the Moon."
Charon let out a strangled sob as Mars's words hit her, and then threw her arms around the girl, who allowed her to cry loudly into her shoulder. Princess Venus and Estrella arrived on the scene moments later.
"Charon? Mars? What is…" Venus was cut off by Charon, who had now thrown herself into her embrace.
"It's Caliban," she managed to speak between sobs. "He's left me…"
x x x x x
Alexia opened her eyes and lay still for a brief moment. What a strange dream, she thought, it felt so real…Suddenly a thought flashed through her mind - was that another flashback? Another flashback to her old life on the Moon? Her mind was replaying the events again - so many feelings!
"Alexia? Alexia are you alright?" Ms. Yakamori looked concernedly at her pupil as she sat up.
"Y…yes I'm fine." she looked around. "Just slipped, that's all."
"You've been out cold for almost half an hour!" Crystal exclaimed.
"Stand back, let me check her over." another woman shoved past Ms. Yakamori and Crystal and smiled gently at Alexia. "I'm Dr Masaki." she told the girl, "How does your head feel?"
"Absolutely fine, thank you." she replied as the doctor checked her eyes.
"I don't think she's concussed, but we'd better get her to hospital just to check." Dr Masaki announced.
"I'll get in touch with her mother." Ms. Yakamori said. "Don't worry, Alexia, everything will be fine."
x x x x x
"Wow, what a story!" Mina remarked as she packed plates in the picnic basket. The Scouts were, as planned, assembled at Alexia's house preparing for their picnic. Alexia, who had been to the hospital and been told she was fine, had told them about her incident at rehearsal, the disappearance of Caliban constantly preying on her mind. She hoped that it would turn out that he had just needed time by himself to think and that he would show up in the park.
She wasn't the only one with things on her mind.
The other Scouts were all feeling very excited about the picnic, not just because it was a lovely day but because of what Mina had told them all when they had been at her house the night before…
"Well, Mina? Are you ever going to tell us this plan of yours?" Lita inquired as she and the other girls sat around Mina's living room.
"Give me a minute, okay?!" The blonde exclaimed as she walked in, balancing five cups and a teapot on a tray. "Right!" she grinned as she placed the tray on the table and gave everyone a cup and then poured the tea. "Okay! Now I can tell you!" she took a sip of her drink, placed the cup down and then hugged her sides with glee. "Oh, it's just too darn perfect!"
"What, the tea or your plan?" Rei inquired with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"My plan, although my tea is good, isn't it?" she grinned. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you now. It's so simple - we want to help Florizel and Nerissa, right?" the others nodded. "And we want Alexia to be happy, right?" they nodded again. "So this is how we do it! We get Nerissa to come along to the picnic tomorrow and then we can explain to Alexia how she's on our side and how we're gonna capture Lucilius and get Caliban back to being the sweet, lovely person she fell in love with in the Moon Kingdom!" The other girls looked at one another, then broke into smiles.
"Wicked cool idea!" Serena squealed, voicing their thoughts perfectly.
"It is indeed a good plan, Mina." Amy announced. "I couldn't have come up with a better one myself."
"Wow, Amy, you better be careful - Mina might be getting smarter than you." Lita grinned.
"No fear, you'll always be the brains of the groups, Aims!" Mina said quickly and they all laughed, brightened by the idea of being able to help everyone they wanted to in one go.
Getting in touch with Nerissa had not been a problem, as she had left them a communicator to use if they needed her for anything. She had agreed to come along and thought it was a great idea. That morning the five Inner Scouts had met with Luna, Artemis and Estrella to let them in on the plan, and thus it had been all set.
"That was a flashback Alexia." Estrella confirmed, breaking the Scouts' thoughts. "That's exactly as I remember it."
"Can you explain how she could hear me in her head then?" Rei inquired as she passed some serviettes to Mina.
"That's simple enough," Artemis spoke up. "You both have psychic powers, and it was the same in the past. When you first met when you automatically clicked - and it turned out you had a very special telepathic bond."
"Telepathic bond?!" the girls exclaimed, Alexia almost dropping the knife she was holding.
"Yes, and it was a real pain." Luna muttered. "We never knew what you were thinking!"
"Princess Universe was telepathic too." Estrella couldn't help but murmur, a pain in her heart as she mentioned the name of the rogue Scout.
"I wonder…" Artemis remarked, turning the subject away from Universe as quickly as possible. "As almost everything else is exact - Alexia being as graceful as she was, best friends with Rei - could the bond still be there?" the girls looked at one another.
"Only way to see is to try." Luna replied.
"Alexia - try to concentrate on saying something to Rei." Estrella said. The girl nodded, and looked into Rei's eyes, concentrating greatly. After only a few seconds Rei looked over at Serena and snickered. She then looked back into Alexia's gaze and soon they were both reduced to fits of giggles.
"What? What is it?!" Serena exclaimed.
"I'm guessing it worked then?" Artemis inquired.
"Yes, it's amazing!" Rei replied excitedly. "Let's try it from different rooms!" she ran out of the kitchen and the others stared at Alexia expectedly. A smile crossed her lips, and Rei walked back in.
"This is sooo cool!" Alexia grinned.
"So come on, what did you say to each other?!" Lita asked. The two psychics looked at each other.
"Alexia pointed out that Serena had chocolate around her mouth." Rei announced. The group all stared at Serena, who looked very guilty.
"Serenaaaa…" Lita growled, stepping over to the blonde. "Just how many of my special double chocolate cookies that I spent all morning making so I could share them with all of my friends, are left, exactly?"
"Uuuuhh…" the Scout leader sweatdropped as she held out the empty box she had in her hands "They were just so yummy, Leet, I couldn't help myself…" The tall brunette's face went red with anger as the others laughed.
"Come on, let's get to the park before Serena eats everything else." Rei announced.
"Good idea, I'm starving!" Mina exclaimed, closing the basket lid.
x x x x x
Lucilius sat in his throne, a hideous smirk on his face.
"This is probably one of my best plans so far, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner." he said to Quintus, who was knelt in front of his master. "Well, what are you waiting for? You know what to do."
"Yes, my lord." Quintus stood up and bowed, a strange aura surrounded him like a black mist. Suddenly his whole form seemed to melt into a grey mass, then move around as if an invisible force were moulding him. The irises of his eyes turned white, then grey and thus the transformation was complete - Quintus had somehow morphed into a grand looking man, with grey hair and eyes identical in colour to Caliban's. His clothes were beautifully cut and embroidered and he had a glistening gold crown on his head, which was encrusted with blue jewels. He walked out of the room and as Lucilius watched him leave he sighed contentedly to himself. Quintus was the only person in the entire universe who had wanted anything to do with him after what Queen Serenity had done to him. He'd travelled everywhere – from the Nether to the Central Zones of the universe - looking for allies, but all he'd got were disbelieving looks and scornful laughter. Comments like 'Oh look it's Lucilius, isn't he cute?', 'Look at the little boy trying to be a man!' and 'Aaaaw, is Lucie-wucie going to cwy?' plagued his memory, and so it was just as Queen Serenity had planned. She had humiliated him, no one wanted to know the great and malevolent Lucilius now he looked like a mere child. However one day he happened across Kentrak – the Planet of Exiles. It was there that he'd met Quintus, a forgotten shape-shifter with strong powers of persuasion, who in his time had been in league with some of the most feared warlords in history, but in time he had too become a laughing stock, his old age making him seem pathetic. After exchanging stories the pair had decided to join forces, in order to prove to the universe that looks weren't everything. Lucilius smirked; to convince the ancient man to join him he had told him that they would be equal; however due to Quintus's seemingly endless devotion and respect for his 'partner' Lucilius soon managed to beat the old man into submission, until he was little more than his servant.
"You are an old fool Quintus." He sighed, shaking his head. "So blinded by your adulation of me that you don't realise that as soon as I become as feared as I was before that sanctimonious Queen Serenity did this to me," he looked down at his childish physique. "You'll be as dead as the Sailor Scouts will be…"
Meanwhile the disguised Quintus had made his way to the room where Caliban was waiting.
"Caliban." The old man announced in a deep thundering voice as he entered the chamber. The youth, who had been sat wondering what Lucilius wanted with him now, was shaken out of his reverie by the voice. He seemed to freeze for a moment, recognising the voice instantly but not sure whether he could believe it, before turning to stare at the man.
"My father…" he whispered, slowly getting to his feet. "Father, what are you doing here?" Quintus, obviously disguised as Emperor Caius, sighed solemnly, his eyes weary.
"My dear son, how I have missed you." he put his hands on Caliban's shoulders. "I am here to give you some grave news."
"What, what has happened?" he exclaimed, noticing how ashen his father's face was. 'Caius' looked downcast.
"The thing I have feared above everything else over all these centuries has finally happened," he said his voice trembling with fear and sadness. "Our home, Reimo, has been overthrown by Florizel and a group of girls. They somehow managed to assemble an army of rebels; not that they needed them. The girls did enough damage by themselves…" Caliban's eyes widened in horror.
"Who are they? These girls?" he asked quietly.
"The Sailor Scouts," the impostor said, his voice shaking even more, as if the mere mentioning of their name terrified him. "I just wish I had seen this all those years ago, when…"
"When what, father?" the prince helped his father to sit down. "Please, tell me!"
"When you were engaged to be married to Princess Charon – I am afraid it is she who is behind all of this…"
"No…" Caliban whispered, his grey eyes wide in disbelief. "I refuse to believe it, she would never betray me!" 'Caius' looked his 'son' directly in the eyes, and a black mist started to emanate from his body.
"It is true, Caliban." he said, the black mist filling the room. "The Scouts are now back on Earth, deciding what they shall do next. You must go there and capture Charon - I shall punish her personally. You may destroy the rest of the Sailor Scouts. Go, my son - for the honour of your planet!" the mist drifted around Caliban's head, but he didn't seem to notice it.
"Yes…" Caliban stood up; his eyes glowing strangely as he unwittingly inhaled the dark haze. "For the honour of Reimo…"
x x x x x
"Here we go, the perfect place for a picnic!" Alexia announced, throwing the blanket she was carrying onto the grass.
"Yeah!" Serena grinned, eyeing the picnic basket hungrily. "Let's eat!"
"Wait a minute, Serena!" Amy exclaimed. "We have to unpack first!" The girls quickly laid out the blanket and arranged the food and drinks.
"Buon'appetito, tutte!" Alexia declared, grabbing a plate.
"At last!" Serena sighed, shoving a rice ball into her mouth.
Mina looked at her watch - it was 12.58. Her eyes met with Rei's as she looked up again and they smiled at each other understandingly. Alexia was also keeping an eye on the time, and hoping that Caliban would come…
Nerissa was watching the girls from a sturdy tree branch high above them, thinking about how she would make her entrance and how Alexia would react. She was about to teleport to the ground and join them when a voice next to her broke her concentration.
"Hello, Nerissa." She turned her head to face Caliban, who was wearing a wicked grin.
"Caliban? Where the hell have you been?! And what are you doing here?!" she exclaimed.
"I don't know what you were planning to do, but I know that I can't let you do it." His smile broadened slightly. "This is my mission."
"What? No!" the orange-haired woman exclaimed, suddenly noticing the strange glow in his eyes. "What's happened to you, Caliban?!" It was a rather useless question as the answer was pretty obvious to her - Lucilius must have done something to him!
"I've had my eyes opened…I now realise who the traitors are…" swiftly he leapt off the branch onto one below, and drawing his sword from its sheath he pointed it towards the branch Nerissa was still sat on.
A ball of white light energy suddenly exploded from the tip of the blade, and before Nerissa had time to react there was a loud crack as the branch gave way, sending her falling to the ground below. Caliban smiled to himself with satisfaction as he jumped out of the tree to meet his challengers…
The girls all jumped violently as they heard a crashing sound from nearby.
"What was that?!" Serena exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise.
"I don't know, but it seemed to come from that direction." Amy remarked, unwittingly looking towards the exact place where Nerissa had landed.
"It was probably just some birds or something." Lita shrugged. Now, where's Nerissa? She wondered, looking around.
"Yeah…" Mina agreed, taking a sip of her drink as she too looked for any sign of the woman. Alexia couldn't help but notice how her friends kept looking at their watches and their rather impatient expressions.
"Um, do you guys have better things to do or something?" she inquired curiously. "You keep looking at your watches…" the others cringed slightly, having been caught out.
"Oh, no, it's just that the cats said they'd come and meet us at about one." Amy smiled, saving them quickly.
"Hmm, Estrella never mentioned that. Oh well, I wonder where they are?" Alexia responded, pretending to look around for Luna, Artemis and Estrella but really searching for a certain blonde-haired youth…
"A good day to you, Sailor Scouts." A sarcastic male voice greeted them.
Alexia's heart had almost leapt out of her mouth.
They all turned to face Caliban with astonishment.
"You!" Rei exclaimed, jumping to her feet.
"I don't believe we have been introduced.," the prince took a sweeping bow. "I am Prince Caliban of Reimo." Alexia stared at him, immediately picking up on how different he seemed. The strange look in his eye and the mocking smile on his face made her feel more than a little nervous. She wanted to call out to him and find out where he'd vanished to, but she knew this wasn't the right time to be asking questions.
"We know who you are!" Lita snapped. "What do you want?"
"I want you…to transform." he said simply, folding his arms across his chest.
"Fine by us!" Serena announced. "Come on, Scouts!" Alexia looked at her nervously.
"What about Alexia? If he realises she and Charon are one in the same person…" Mina commented quietly.
"Come on, he's obviously found out!" Rei exclaimed, looking at the green-haired girl. "You never accidentally said anything to him that might have made him work it out, did you?"
"No!" Alexia spluttered before she thought about it. I just lied to my best friend! She thought anxiously, suddenly feeling a twinge of guilt, but then decided she'd had no choice in the matter - if she'd told them the truth it would've destroyed the team there and then. She hesitantly pulled out her Transformation Pen.
"Mercury Star Power - Make Up!"
"Mars Star Power - Make Up!"
"Jupiter Star Power - Make Up!"
"Venus Star Power - Make Up!"
"Charon Moon Power - Make Up!"
"Moon Crystal Power - Make Up!"
The Sailor Scouts stood before him, prepared to fight him to the end…apart from one of them.
Sailor Charon stared at him, wondering what would happen next.
"Now, before we begin I would like to put a little wager on this fight."
"Name your price!" Jupiter yelled.
"If I win, Reimo returns to my father's hands." the Scouts looked at one another in confusion.
"What are you talking about?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Reimo already belongs to your father!" Sailor Mercury added. Caliban's eyes flashed with fury and Charon started to feel ill. What had got into him? This certainly wasn't the caring and understanding individual she'd fallen in love with!
"LIARS!" he bellowed, and fired a barrage of shots at the girls, who scattered quickly. Sailor Charon was close to crying as she rolled across the grass. It was as she'd feared - Lucilius must have caught him and brainwashed him into thinking he wanted to kill her and the others!
"That is it! Mars Fire - Ignite!" Sailor Mars fired back at him, however the prince simply leapt over the flames gracefully, and landed right in front of her.
"Stupid girl, do you think your pathetic sparks are going to defeat me?" he sneered. Mars looked him right in the eye.
"I'll do anything to remove you from our lives." She growled, her eyes narrowing. She looked over Caliban's shoulder and noticed Venus and Jupiter getting ready to team up:
"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!"
"Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!" Sailor Mars jumped backwards as the attacks combined and hit Caliban in the back. He fell to his knees, holding his lower back with a pained look on her face.
"Where is Nerissa?" Mercury hissed to Venus.
"I don't know - I tried her communicator again but all I got was static!" the blonde exclaimed, indicating the small round object in her hand.
Sailor Charon was watching Caliban as he got up again with a solemn expression on her face. He wasn't attacking them of his own accord, and she knew deep in her heart that if she could get to him somehow, talk to him, then she would be able to get through to him and break whatever spell Lucilius had put him under. Once again feeling the urge to call out his name, she took a deep breath and was about to open her mouth when he stared at her through narrowed eyes.
"You," he snarled, suddenly jumping back to his feet, his eyes ablaze with hatred. "You are the worst of them all - you double crosser!" he once again unsheathed his sword as he ran at her, and Charon felt what only could be described as a mixture of nausea and a strange sense of déjà vu. "It is time for you to die!" the golden-haired prince sneered like a mad-man. Charon closed her eyes, her legs hardly keeping her upright. She suddenly felt unusually warm and her mouth was dry as her head swam - she knew that if she continued to look at the sword Caliban was brandishing she would faint.
The other Scouts suddenly found themselves frozen to the spot, powerless to aid their endangered friend. Sailor Moon felt tears burn in her eyes as she screwed them shut.
"Please, oh please somebody help her!" she pleaded out loud.
Swishhh…
The sound of the rose cutting through the air, the thorny stem scratching Caliban's cheek as it passed him, was enough to bring the murderous prince to a halt just half a metre from Charon, who fell to her knees in relief. Everyone looked up and the Scouts were overjoyed to see Tuxedo Mask balancing on top of a lamppost, another rose poised in his gloved hand.
"A prince should be brave and stand up for what is right and good; not attack innocent people!" he said sternly, his eyes firmly on Caliban. "How dare you attempt to harm these girls without a valid reason!"
"Keep out of this!" the blonde youth yelled at him. "This has nothing to do with you!" He raised his sword, about to leap at Charon, who was now being guarded by her friends, when the rose that had been in Tuxedo Mask's hand landed just by the mad prince's foot. "I have had enough of your interference!" Caliban snarled, his sword now pointed at the gallant Earthling. "I see I will have to dispose of you first!"
"As you wish." Tuxedo Mask declared and leapt from the lamppost, his cloak fluttering behind him. As he landed with the grace of a cat his cane appeared in his hand. The two young men charged at one another and were soon embroiled in their fight.
"Charon, you see now why we don't want you to see him?!" Mars exclaimed.
"He's evil, relentless, cruel…" Jupiter added, however Charon still refused to believe it.
"No, you don't know him like I do." She said firmly, getting to her feet. "Please, just stop him without hurting him and I'll prove it!" The other Scouts looked at one another, then back at Charon's desperate face.
"She's outta her mind…" Jupiter muttered, folding her arms.
"We'll do it." Sailor Moon suddenly announced, her tone firm.
"Really?!" Charon exclaimed joyfully, holding onto the blonde's wrists. Sailor Moon nodded and smiled at her.
"And you are too!" Jupiter stared at the Scout leader. "Look at him, Sailor Moon! He's a complete psycho!" Sailor Moon did as she was told, then looked at Tuxedo Mask – the love of her life - and sighed.
"I trust Charon's instincts," She said quietly. "As much as I trusted that I would get Darien back when he was brainwashed by Queen Beryl…" her blue eyes were wide as she looked imploringly at her team-mates. "Don't you remember what he was like then?" she pointed at the duelling males. "He was just like Caliban!" she took a breath and glared at Jupiter. "And so as your leader you will do as I say!"
And no one could argue with her, not after that.
"Mercury, double-team with me!" Sailor Venus yelled to the blue-haired girl, who nodded immediately. "Venus Love Chain – Encircle!"
"Shine Aqua Illusion!" The attacks combined to form a frozen chain of hearts, which quickly wrapped around the blonde youth, tightening as they did so. He yelled angrily as the ice started to form around his arms, causing him to drop his sword on the grass. Charon stared Caliban straight in the eye as she, the other Scouts and Tuxedo Mask stood in a tight circle around him.
"Come on then Charon, show us we're wrong." Jupiter said sarcastically as the seemingly insane prince spat and snarled like a rabid dog. The green-haired girl just continued to stare at the youth in a trance-like state.
I know you are not yourself, I can see it in your eyes. She thought to herself, as if trying to speak to the prince telepathically. But how can I show them? How do I get the real you back? She felt her power start to increase deep inside herself at a rapid pace, and she reached up to remove her tiara. The others watched as a silver crescent moon appeared on her forehead, on the curve of which sat a purple heart.
"Hey, isn't that…?" Venus murmured.
"…The Symbol of Charon." Mercury concluded.
"Is she going to attack him?" Sailor Moon wondered out loud as she held onto Tuxedo Mask.
"Let's hope so, maybe she's finally realised what he's really like." Jupiter muttered. Sailor Mars just watched quietly as a beam of light shaped like the symbol on Charon's forehead fired out of it. As the beam hit Caliban in his own forehead he slumped to the ground, the ice instantly melting and the chain of hearts vanishing.
"What's she doing?" Sailor Venus inquired, awestruck by the spectacle.
"It seems to me that Charon is attempting to read his mind." Mercury remarked.
However Charon wasn't reading his mind; what she was actually doing was re-awakening all the memories which had been shut of by Quintus's powers of persuasion and removing the control that the old man had put on him for his master. The Scout felt her energy draining by the second as she came closer to freeing the prince from the shackles that held him. Finally it was done and, gasping for breath, Charon moved to where Caliban was getting up.
"My Princess?" he murmured, his vision clearing as he looked up at Charon's bright face. "My Princess! What are you doing here?!" He smiled brightly and Sailors Moon and Venus saw it instantly – the look of complete adoration in his eyes, adoration of the girl who now helped him to his feet.
"Caliban, do you remember now?" Charon whispered to him lovingly, her hands on his shoulders.
"Yes, Princess, Sailor Charon…Alexia." he slipped his arms around her waist and held her close to him, his eyes closed. The Scouts stood around feeling numb - he knew! Sailor Jupiter's green eyes were narrowed as she snorted in disgust and stalked off. The others chose to ignore it, each still trying to get over what had just occurred – one moment Caliban had been a wild monster, but now he was meek as a lamb! Sailor Charon was whispering reassuringly to him that everything would now be fine, still being held tightly in his arms when someone grabbed her shoulder, wrenching her away in order to turn her round. The next thing the Charonian felt was someone's gloved hand hitting her sharply across her right cheek.
"You liar!!" As she opened her eyes and rubbed her now aching, red cheek she found herself face-to-face with a furious Sailor Mars, angry tears sparkling in her dark eyes…