Title : Wipe Out
Fandom : Sailor Moon (anime) Dark Kingdom
Pairing : Kunzite / Zoisite
Rating : a bit of violence and hints of sex
Copyright : Zoisite, Kunzite, Sailor Moon and the rest are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, if I recall.

Author's notes : it's the final chapter, actually. There will just be an epilogue after this. Still Kunzite narrating, mostly.


Chapter 13 : Rebels

The halls are rather quiet. I suspect that troops have been gathered on the Senshi's path. We can't teleport directly into Beryl's quarters. Like all the high rank officers ones, they are protected against direct intrusion. So we teleport nearby in a room big enough for us to gather, and attack from there.

The Queen's first line of defense only consists of casual youma. They don't worry me. The once flourishing ranks of Metallia's armies have been severely reduced by the Moon war, before the Deep Sleep. And the Senshi and the Queens took their toll on the remaining soldiers. But while the other Tennou worked in the front lines, my party didn't suffer much.

With nearly all my youma with me, we can outnumber and out power the low-ranked groups easily. As a matter of fact, none of them manages to keep us from moving forward to Beryl's quarters. When told what is happening, some even stop the fight and let us in, unsure of what side to take.

But then we face Beryl's own youma. More powerful, more determined, better trained. I'm opening the way with Saiyuki to detect and secure possible traps, so we're the first to be attacked. A winged youma bolts right on us with her claws extended. We both bow out of reach, I punch her against the wall on which Sayuki then pins her with her dagger.

One down, more coming.

I'm trying to save my energy for the real fights, in case we would have to deal with Beryl herself. So I'm mainly using my sword and pushing them towards my youma, who circle them and kill them.

The keyword is not stopping. Each new turn of the corridor brings a new enemy, hitting with tentacles, lianas, fire or wind, raw force or magic. I lose track of how many of them I've hit, and if my youma can dispose of them fast enough. The smell of blood and the traces of spells in the air remind me that Shiro has been her prisoner for more than a day, now, too long, way too long...

In my haste to find Shiro, I run alone into an open hall. A stupid thing to do.

I hear a familiar war cry at my left and instinctively reinforce my shield just in time to be protected from the blow, but the strength of it strikes me against the opposite wall nevertheless.

My sight has been blurred by the violence of the shock, and I smell sakura flowers before my eyes can actually see the lithe silhouette walking to me.

Zoisite. Not Shiro, Zoisite, in full Tennou uniform, radiating more power than he ever had, a sword in his right hand. But his eyes... Are not his. Red, yet looking blinded. And the cruel smirk, though he often had one, is not quite the same.

He sniggers, and even that is a deformed version of his usual snigger.

"Ah, Kunzite... I was wondering if you would bother to come for him."

That is Metallia's tone echoing in his voice. She possessed him again. And from the amount of energy he displayed in his attack, she increased her hold on him.

I clench my jaws and stand up, hiding how shaken I've been.

"But since you have... You know, you've always been my favorite. After all, you were the first Tennou I created. So, I'm giving you a last chance to live. And to save your little student. You know that if the Senshi win, you will both die. Go and kill the Senshi, and I may forgive your stupidity and take you back by my side. Both."

I tighten my grip on my sword, trying not to stumble. Now... there really is no hope left. That voice I once revered makes me nauseous, coming from my lover's lips.

"I can't follow you if I don't believe in you, Metallia."

She sneers.

"Then you only have one choice left, Kunzite. Let your pet kill you, or kill him with your own hands."

in the throne room

Sailor Moon is dropped on the throne room floor by the teleporting shield.

"Here you are, Sailor Moon. Welcome in the Dark Kingdom."

Beryl is standing regal, a cynical smile on her painted lips. However, her eyes betray nervousness.

Sailor Moon stands up to face her nemesis, half-hidden by the moving shadows of the room.

"You are Queen Beryl?"

"I am the one who destroyed your Kingdom centuries ago, Princess Serenity. Let me introduce you to my servant... Prince Endymion."

Shadows retreat to the walls, revealing Tuxedo Kamen in the Earth uniform he wore in Sailor Moon's flashbacks from their life in the Silver Millenium. He's kneeling by Beryl's side, kissing her hand. Sailor Moon stumbles back, shocked by the sight, as he stands up and faces her, with no expression on his face.

"No... It can't be true. Endymion, say something!"

Without a warning, Zoisite runs on me with his sword held high. I parry, and push him away with a Black Mist.

He raises a shield more powerful than I expected him to, resisting the magical wind. His powers have increased to match mine, if not more. I teleport on his left and bolts on him, knowing that he always was weaker in physical fights, and that he won't expect a direct attack from me.

Endymion stays silent as he suddenly brandishes his sword and pounces on her. She shrieks and avoids him by falling on the floor. She still can't grasp the awful reality of fighting the man she loves.

Infused with Metallia's power, though, Endymion doesn't have the same dilemma. He produces a black rose and drops it on Sailor Moon. The flower erupts in a net of lianas encircling her, striking her with electric shocks.

My maneuver caught Zoisite by surprise and I pin him against the wall with my whole body, then hastily cast a Binding spell. Roots blurt out of the rock, tying his limbs closely. I loosen my hold on him, wondering if I could break Metallia's control.

"Shiro, look at me, remember! Fight Metallia! You're way too unruly to let her control you. You don't want to fight me. Remember what we were..."

What we were... I don't even know what that was. Has Metallia wiped out his mind from the recent events? I get the golden frame out of my jacket and show him.

"It's you and I, together. I brought you from Earth as Shiro, and made you the Tennou Zoisite. You were my student, and more than that."

The rose withers and crumbles into dust once its energy is spent, leaving Usagi aching and weakened. She crawls to her Moon Stick, trying to reach it as Endymion slowly walks closer, raising his sword above his head for the lethal blow.

Sailor Moon turns and throws her Moon Tiara on him, stopping him. The sword falls down, followed by Endymion. Usagi can't take her eyes off him, panting and crying at the pain she had to inflict him.

But it's not over. Metallia's energy in him forces him to stand up again. Stumbling like a drunk man, he grabs his sword and once more raises it.

Chiming notes unsettle him. Sailor Moon is sitting at his feet, vulnerable, holding towards him the musical locket as her only defense, tears in her eyes.

"Remember, Endymion... You gave me this locket on the Moon. We were happy in that time, before Metallia ruined everything. We loved each other. Please, remember."

He struggles in his bonds. I hold his face and try to connect once more. I don't have a lot of time, chaos is raging around us and coming closer, knocking at my shield.

"Zoisite... Please, remember this..."

I hope to awaken memories in him with a kiss, and for a few seconds he stays still. But then he bites me viciously and I move back, shocked, tasting blood. I don't want to give up. I can't kill him. Even if we won't survive this day, I need to see him being himself once more, talk to him. I drop in a plea.

"Zoisite... Come back to me."

Hesitantly, Endymion reaches out, touches the locket. On the Moon Stick, The Ginzuishou sparkles, and a shower of light covers both Sailor Moon and Endymion, reviving their memories of the Silver Millenium.

The crystal power washes up Endymion's mind from Metallia's influence, crippling her magical tentacles in its purifying light. In her cocoon, Metallia shrieks as if burned and gathers her energy, deserting the dark corridors.

I feel ripples of power going through the Kingdom around us, like if something was absorbed by its center, a magical black hole. The red light in Zoisite's eyes flickers and fades, they return to their translucent dark green.

He looks up to me, vulnerable like he allowed only me to see him.

"Kunzite-sama? I could see but I couldn't do anything..."

I suppress the Binding and draw him into a tight hug.

"It's all right. Do you remember?"

I break the embrace just enough to look at his face, checking that Metallia's influence has completely disappeared from it, and happy to just be able to gaze at his beauty again.

He nods, with a shy smile.

"Everything. Even what the Ginzuishou had erased from my memory. And what happened since..."

I cut short into the explanations to kiss him. This time, he doesn't bite me. Not in an unpleasant way anyway.

The light fades, Queen Beryl is fuming on top of the stairs. She curses at the couple and conjures a big crystal, launching it on them. Endymion turns and throws a red rose that shatters the weapon and keeps flying right into Beryl's chest. Endymion protects Sailor Moon from the ice shards but is stabbed by one. Beryl's skin starts to crackle, and she phases through the floor to escape.

Sailor Moon tries to comfort Endymion, lying on her lap. They exchange sweet words, then he closes his eyes for the last time.

I hear steps closing by, and someone faking a cough.

We break up, and Saiyuki bows.

"Happy to see you safe and free, Zoisite-sama. Sorry to interrupt, Kunzite-sama, but the situation is not getting better here."

I look around, keeping my arm around Zoisite's waist. More of my youmas are coming in the hall, but the only other ones in sight are no longer a danger.

"Situation?"

"All youma have either deserted or been defeated. Sparse news from the Senshi indicate that there has been losses, but we don't know how much or who."

Another quake shakes the room. Zoisite snuggles closer against me. He won't let the perspective of an imminent death ruin an occasion like this.

"If they had lost, Beryl would be after us already. But it's not over yet, or we wouldn't be here to see it. Saiyuki, tell all my youmas to retreat in the mansion as soon as possible."

"We won't..."

"There is nothing more you can do here. It's only Beryl and Metallia left, and you're not powerful enough to fight them."

She frowns her scaly face, but won't dare talking against me, even now.

"What about you, master?"

"I will fight to get my revenge. Zoisite..."

"I'm coming with you."

He clings to me fiercely.

"You won't... I came here to give you a chance to escape."

"And you think I would live without you? Wherever you go, I will follow."

A little part of me still wants to protect him, even if it's against his will. But his words fill me with a fiery joy.

And as cold as ice, the Tennou in me tells me that with his reinforced powers, he's too valuable an asset to be sent away.

Saiyuki is back near us when we stop kissing once more. The walls start crumbling around us, and I set a shield to protect us.

"All the youmas are gone, Kunzite-sama. Do you still want?..."

"Yes, go with them. Celebrate while you can. You fought well. Thank them for me."

She nods and vanishes. No more time for kissing. Just revenge.

"Zoisite..."

"Where do we go now, Kunzite-sama?"

It wouldn't be safe to try to get closer from Metallia's old lair, so I teleport us to the surface. The North Pole infinity of white is tainted by a shadow that keeps spreading. Ice is crackling and suddenly bursts at a distance. It is... Can it be?

It looks like Beryl, but she's now ten times taller than before, and her skin is the same turkish blue as Metallia was when she still had a shape. Their energies have obviously fused into something even worse.

"Look Kunzite-sama! Sailor Moon!"

Zoisite drags my attention to the small silhouette walking in the snow, looking even more fragile compared to the giant Beryl. And alone. Are her fellow Senshi all dead? I wouldn't put my faith within her hands if she doesn't have their support.

Yet instead of the silly, scared little girl that I fought a few times, she now walks with self-confidence towards her death.

Beryl throws a bolt of pure energy at her, and the ice cover explodes on its path. We are too far to be in danger, but it won't do us any good if Sailor Moon is dead. I can't use the Ginzuishou to the scale required to destroy Metallia. It would kill me before her.

The battle isn't over. The ice melt by the attack has formed a sort of tower, and the top of it parts like a flower, revealing Princess Serenity. The Moon Princess has awakened once more, and she holds the Ginzuishou in her hands. Its light strikes Beryl, but she strikes back. The two flows meet halfway, and struggle in an instable balance.

I hope that Serenity remembers how I told her to use the Crystal when it would come to Metallia. I tighten my embrace on Zoisite.

"Ready, Zoisite?"

He nods, gives me for the last time his predatory smile.

"Yes Kunzite-sama. I want to make Beryl suffer."

I entangle a Black Mist spell with his Fire Storm. Both strike Beryl on her side, distracting her. The giant demon stumbles, surprised to have a new opponent.

Serenity's attention is suddenly caught by a mixed bolt of darkness and fire hitting Beryl's ribs. She howls and splits her attack to face the other front.

The princess recognizes Kunzite's signature attack, and his words flow back in her memory. He told her how her mother had managed to defeat Metallia with the Ginzuishou. Freeing all its power and combining it with her own life force. It's what she has to do now, she knows it.

She takes a deep breath, fighting her fear. She has a thought for Kunzite, wondering if he saved Zoisite. He will die, too, if she uses the crystal. But her friends have died to save the world, it's only right that she would take the same risk in their memory, and Kunzite knew what would happen to him when he offered them his help.

Ghostly hands join hers on the Moon Stick. Turning her head, she sees the faces of the other Senshi, encouraging her.

"Thank you, girls."

Beryl is dividing her attention to resist both our attacks and Sailor Moon's own. She's weakening, but with Metallia's full power in her, she is resisting step by step. Zoisite presses his arm around me, and we both increase the strength of our spells. It's too late to hold back. I feel my energy pulsing through my veins, flowing out of me, not unlike when I used the Ginzuishou.

It's the same urge here. Our bodies are strained by the effort, but we both keep standing.

I see the glow around Sailor Moon intensifying. The girl is risking everything, too.

The light going out of the Ginzuishou grows like a sun, sweeping back Metallia's attack like a feather in the wind, slowly expanding until it absorbs her in its blinding radiance. Then it seems to burst from inside, its roar covering Beryl's shout.

Ice is vaporized all across the battle field, in an explosion that no one can hear anymore…