Blood on the Moon

By Lydiby

Chapter X

The moment was over entirely too soon. Entirely too soon, I stood on the roof of Mr. Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel, surveying the wreckage I could see through the smoke. Just as Haruka had reported, a group of people clad in pure white stood about two kilometers from the hotel. Watching them for a moment you could tell by their movement they were vampires. They milled about in no order and otherworldly speed. At times their numbers seemed to be around eight hundred, at others two or three.

"That fucking bastard is commanding them," a regal voice pronounced impassively.

"Rei?" I asked, startled. Jerking around, I saw she was wearing a fuku.

She laughed at my shock and for that brief duration everything stopped. My head pounded as I glanced at the void above and/or behind the White army.

"I thought it high time I pledge fealty to my leader."

"Well—" I whispered, "I'm really not much of a leader."

"Cut it, Serena," she murmured with a hint of laughter beneath her natural sophistication.

She touched my brow lightly and knelt before me.

"I, Hino Rei, Princess and Senshi of Mars, renew my dedication to the Princess of the Moon, in life, death, and beyond. Unto eternity so be it."

Her solemn mouth twitched into a grin over the words death and beyond, before returning to a straight line.

"One in spirit, many in heart, strong together, the Senshi will never part. Unto eternity so be it," I replied. When I touched her brow the sigil of Mars blazed. A small light in the darkness of this newly christened battlefield.

"The last time I heard those words, they were from your mother's lips," she muttered, panic in her dark almost-violet eyes. She turned and disappeared before I could demand an explanation.

Despite the evident panic before she left, I noticed something.

'She's enjoying this.'

"She's a warrior," Tuxedo Kamen said dismissively. Then he added humorously, "and you must understand, at one time Rei was betrothed to Devin."

"No wonder," I laughed, bleakly.

"Princess Serena," a poisoned voice whispered, "the city is mine, but if you want to fight me for it,by all means. My army is dying to meet you."

'Oh, what wit, Devin,' I thought, 'amazing. How many enemies have I fought? And none of them can even phrase a challenge with finesse.'

"Finesse?" the voice asked.

The mob instantly drew into immaculately spaced ranks. I had eight Senshi, not an army of vampires. Drawing a blank, I turned to my Tuxedo Kamen.

'I need to think about who I'm mocking—but then I was thinking—" I cut off the thought while I was still ahead.

Taking off one white glove, he conjured one of his roses and stepped to the edge of the roof. He dug the steel tip into the palm of his hand and cupped it. Holding it out beyond the roof the blood overflowed. It dripped down, down, down to the ground. Clutching Luna, I stumbled as a blast of displaced air swept over the roof. Pushing my hair from my face, I discovered the streamers coming out of my 'odango's were suspended in midair. The atmosphere was so electrically charged that I resembled a mad scientist.

'On second thought…'

Turning around I had discovered a mass of vampires clad in routine black, covering the roof completely. I was surrounded by Reis—hundreds of Reis—and the multiplicity of her intense aura was pungent, almost overwhelming.

Squeaking involuntarily, I sagged against the wall.

"Hullo, Miss Tsukino, glad to see you again," a pleasant face blonde greeted me. I stared at him.

"Zoisite?" I choked out in disbelief.

"Yes, I believe you've met most of my generals. Zoisite, Nephrite, Malachite, and Jadeite," Tuxedo Kamen smoothly cut in. Except he wasn't wearing a tux anymore, he was pretty damn resplendent in black armor. That is, if you ask me.

Zoisite and Nephrite were clearly human and respectively Malachite and Jadeite vampire.

"Oh-kay," I sighed, wide eyed, "that's a lot of vampires."

"Not enough, Endymion," Malachite said with a cool anger, "Your father let the race go to ruin."

"And there is nothing I can do to change his neglect. Save your anger for where it's needed Malachite," he returned, calmly.

"Endymion," I whispered.

'The Silver Millennium.'

The memories washed over me in a warm breeze. Everything came back, my childhood with the Senshi, our training, the rigorous meetings with ambassadors trying to prevent war, the alliance arrangement, Endymion, Beryl, our deaths.

"Oh stars," I gasped as my hands spread my enormous white skirt. The memory of a sword driven through my abdomen made me shudder.

"I killed myself," I whispered. I pressed my hand to the bodice to make sure I wasn't bleeding to death from the wound that I could remember so vividly.

And it had been nothing to the internal wounds I had suffered that day.

"Usako?"

"Mamo-chan, I—I—" stuttering, I looked down at myself and bewildered touched the crescent on my forehead.

I was the princess.

Even with all the memories, it was so hard to believe. All those years I'd spent searching.

Searching for myself!

No wonder we'd never found her. Not under my nose, but my nose!

"You have the Silver Imperial Crystal, Princess Serena," a young voice cut in.

"No Hotaru!" Haruka cried, pushing to the fore of the crowd, "not yet."

"She will know if her time comes, Haruka," another woman said. She was dressed as a senshi, but I didn't know her. Her garnet eyes seemed to hold everything in them, but I didn't have much time to think about this.

I studied the figure that had caused panic in my most impassive senshi. She was a girl-sized vampire. Her black garments stirred as she moved to kneel before me. The black eyes that shined out of her childlike face were the saddest I'd ever seen. The grave contrast of sorrowful wisdom and youthful innocence was a terrible and awesome effect.

"Lady, I am Hotaru Tomoe, Senshi of Saturn and last to come to your aid; may it always be so."

"Hotaru, Setsuna please, Serena doesn't need to know about this now," Haruka appealed quickly.

"Haruka, this is not under my jurisdiction," the unknown, majestic Senshi replied gently.

I hesitated a moment as all eyes fell on me.

"I want as few nasty surprises as possible. And Tomoe is the name of the greatest living expert of vampire mythology, or so I thought. Exactly how old are you?" I asked, perplexed.

"Approximately three thousand five hundred and twenty, your majesty, although I have lost track over the last five centuries," she replied.

"Why bother publishing your papers for humans?"

"The human race has ceased to be a puppet state over the last six centuries. It is not for human knowledge, but the endurance of vampire history. As a pattern our nature does not allow a developed independent society (brutality and pride often rule the youngest). Yonder you view them in idiocy, rejecting the true ruler. But wisdom brings strength, and wisdom only comes with passing years, therein lays our history and the folly of humans. How else could our child sovereign wield such power at three years of age? This was not his first lifetime." She gestured to the White army and my Mamo-chan respectively.

I surveyed the White army and seemingly in response they raised a war cry: blood. A chilling death chant. The void rippled and full night descended on the ruins of Tokyo.

"What does Haruka fear?" distantly, I asked.

"That we should fail and I shall be called upon to end all life with the dropping of the Silence Glaive."

Turning my back on the White army, I looked at the army gathered beneath the blood washed moon. It was stained with the blood of those who had already died and only more carnage would follow.

"They are advancing," Jadeite reported.

"To your posts," Endymion commanded.

"Mina, Haruka, you have command," I told them.

In a moment the rooftop was empty, except for Endymion, my Mamo-chan.

"Promise—"

"I'm in no condition to promise anything except that I will always love you, Usako."

I couldn't help it when my eyes flooded. As his lips brushed the tears away, I felt the crystal react within me.
"I'm leading the charge, Usako. Immortal is no less a misnomer than homo sapient."

"Then I will be next to you."

He looked at me sadly, but I knew he respected me too much to try to stop me. We went into battle hand in hand; as equals.

Rei drew first blood; cleanly severing Devin's head from his body with one fluid blaze of silver. He was not worthy of a death by her hand. As with everything else she did, it was elegant.