Crystal Tokyo prepares to celebrate the 30,000th Anniversary of the Golden Kingdom. Everyone in the palace is bright and abuzz with activity and excitement. Everyone except the King Himself. Manga canon, but functionally this can also (mostly) count as Crystal canon too. Post-Stars.
Rated: T - Drama/Angst/Friendship/Hurt/Comfort/Family - Words: 2,504 - Mamoru C./Darien S./Tuxedo Kamen, Setsuna M./Sailor Pluto, Ittou A., King Endymion, Shitennou/Generals, Neo_Queen Serenity, Helios, Sailor Quartet, Michiru K./Sailor Neptune, Usagi T./Serena/Bunny/Sailor Moon, Diana, Jadeite/Jedite, Kunzite/Malachite, Nephrite/Neflite, Zoicite/Zoycite, Haruka T./Sailor Uranus, Queen Beryl, Galaxia, Wiseman, Black Lady/Wicked Lady, Prince Endymion, Inner Senshi/Inner Scouts, Minako A./Mina/Sailor Venus, Ami M./Amy/Sailor Mercury, Rei H./Raye/Sailor Mars, Makoto K./Lita/Sailor Jupiter
Alone in his and Serenity's chambers, Endymion stood before the night stand, his sword discarded upon the bed, catching the last vestiges of the setting sun.
He had returned here immediately after departing the Space-Time Corridor, leaving explicit instructions to Diana, Asanuma, and anyone else he encountered that he was not to be disturbed.
To his mild surprise, they had respected his wishes and he had remained in the quiet of the room for almost half an hour, staring daggers at the drawer, trying (and failing) to mentally prepare for what to say to any of them. The guilt of seeing his friends in the spectral states they had been reduced to was too painful for him. What was worse… he knew they would forgive him. They would say he had nothing to apologize for in the first place. Somehow, that only made Endymion feel worse.
His guilt mingled with shame as he remembered Setsuna's undeservedly kind words to him. Particularly her claims that he was brave. No. Usa was brave. Chibi-Usa was brave. He had run away from this moment for weeks now. But he didn't have to keep running.
Endymion opened the drawer.
There, still shrouded in shadow, lay the four stones. Endymion's mind was blank, the vague, half formed words he'd tried preparing utterly forgotten. To make matters worse, with his mind empty, it was clear his friends could not 'hear' him and come to his summons. He'd have to say the words out loud to bring them before him. Harder though that would be, he knew what he had to do, having made the decision back in the void. He extended a trembling right hand into the drawer, his thumb connecting with the edge of-
He was in a cold, unfriendly room with a checkered floor, three glass caskets laying at its centre. Regret and grief ached within him as he beheld the shriveled, pitiful corpses within the caskets; each garbed in what was once a crisp, grey military uniform.
"And the Shittenou… Have been reduced to one."
At that moment, nothing short of a witch seemed to be almost conjured from the shadows themselves. Her red hair levitated above her, rippling through the darkness like a river of blood. Far worse were the utterly white, yet somehow still malicious, eyes she fixed upon him. Somehow though, her malefic gaze was preferable to her voice. There was no mistaking the command and authority when she spoke, but her words were carried upon a rattling breath; like a chill wind through a graveyard.
"Kunzite, my commander of the Middle East. Reviving your comrades would be a simple matter. If we had the Mystical Silver Crystal…"
The Crystal. The Crystal had manifested from Sailor Moon's… no… from the Moon Princess' tear. A tear she shed for that fool who had intercepted his attack and now lay dying in her lap.
This was his chance, he could take the Crystal at last… if not for his failing energy barrier. He heard a noise behind him, like the air itself being torn apart. He whipped around to behold:
"Queen Beryl!?"
Like him she levitated in the skies surrounding this so-called Tokyo Tower. To his astonishment though, so too did the Dark Kingdom's sanctuary itself!
Warm silver light flooded the cold room, illuminating the three glass caskets. Exposed to the holy light, the sunken skin of the bodies within the caskets grew soft and supple. With a crash, the cases shattered, glass shards flying outwards but leaving the bodies within unharmed.
Zoisite was the first to sit up from his casket, holding his head in his gloved hand. His eyes were not yet fully awake, however, when his body began to rapidly decay once again. The other two swiftly followed suit until all that remained of them were three stones clattering the bottom of each casket.
For some time, he had watched the witch conversing with their demonic Supreme Ruler. But it was only when she had been inches away from touching his unconcious master that he made his presence known.
"Queen Beryl." The witch barely moved her head to look over him, her hand and body still poised over his master's form like a grotesque vulture preparing to feast. "You told me… that once we obtained the Mystical Silver Crystal, the Four Heavenly Kings would be restored to life."
Her face remained as cold and still as a statue as she straightened up, mercifully putting a little distance between herself and his master. "I can't help it if they let their flesh wither away…"
With a gasp, Endymion recoiled from the drawer!
Panting, he gripped his wrist with his left hand and darted his eyes between it and the inanimate stones. This didn't make any sense! He had presumed in his current mental state his psychometry might run away with him in a big way. But that was why he had made sure he was wearing gloves before opening the drawer. So how could he have just experienced Kunzite's memories!?
A glint of gold light caught the corner of his eye. Shifting his gaze, he spotted the sword upon the bed, the sunlight still reflecting off of it's blade. Then he looked back at his hand and saw a neat, tiny opening in the worn fabric that should have covered his thumb.
The mystery resolved, his mind now raced with what he had just seen and heard. It raced and raced before reaching the inevitable, horrible conclusion. He had not just failed his friends in his first life, but in his second, too. There had been a chance, brief as it might have been, to free them, revive them with Serenity's crystal. But his window of opportunity had come and gone.
If only he had known at the time! He could have saved them! He could have…
The sun was almost completely set now, but through the window, Endymion spotted something in the sky. Something that in a few hours would sparkle bright silver, but for now was tinged with the last golden rays of dying daylight. Staring out at the Moonrise, Endymion automatically raised his palm to his chest.
With the same wild drive that had carried him to the Space-Time door, he raced back to his daughter's room and retrieved Michiru's mirror. Peering into it, he saw Usa, along with four others. The sight of them further fuelled Endymion's imagination. They were in front of a building Endymion recognized; a building definitely not of Lunarian design. His cape flapping behind him, Endymion fled the room and headed out of the palace, locating the nearest patch of grass he could find. Hastily removing his glove with his teeth, he practically slammed his bare hand upon the ground and concentrated.
Yes! They were indeed back on Earth, he could feel them, he knew exactly where they were.
"Helios!" He yelled, drawing confused stares from the already baffled palace staff.
As if riding upon the sun rays themselves, Pegasus galloped through the sky, coming to a land in front of Endymion, Helios jumping down and taking a knee.
"My King?"
"Helios, The Queen has returned to Earth, she and the Inner Senshi are visiting Sailor Mercury at Harvard University. Go there immediately and tell them I need their help right now. Do you understand?"
Helios clearly didn't understand, but he did as Endymion ordered all the same, mounting Pegasus once more and taking flight.
Watching him vanish into the distance, Endymion couldn't help but wonder if he was setting himself up for disappointment. But he also knew he couldn't live with himself for the next 30,000 years if he didn't take this chance.
By the time they had assembled in the palace courtyard, night had fully descended upon Crystal Tokyo.
"Is everyone ready?"
"Yes," replied Sailor Jupiter.
"If this is really what you both want, I am prepared," said Sailor Mars.
"And remember, this time is just an experiment, we can potentially try this again if it doesn't work." Sailor Mercury's words were directed at the centre of the room, but her eyes nevertheless darted over to Sailor Venus as she spoke.
"No. I have faith. This will work." Venus spoke quietly, but her tone was laced with determination all the same.
Endymion, however, barely registered the responses. His attention was firmly fixed upon the woman directly in front of him at the centre of the courtyard. Even after all these years, she appeared to him as Moonlight made flesh, a sparkling, sapphire eyed, silver fairy.
"I promise to do my best, Mamo-Chan," she whispered.
He took her face into his hands and planted a soft kiss upon the crescent Moon adorning her forehead. Even before he'd had a chance to fully withdraw, she was removing his gloves for him. Discarding the garments, they laced their fingers together and, in perfect synchrony, began to concentrate. A second later, the inner Senshi joined their own hands, encircling their King and Queen.
A veritable rainbow of light illuminated the room, its energy linking all of them as if they were an electrical circuit. Serenity was the centre of the circuit, receiving power from her four best friends…And from the glowing, golden lotus levitating before Endymion's chest.
"I think maybe… the Golden Crystal is inside you Mamo-Chan!"
Mamoru eyed Usagi over his shoulder.
"Inside me?"
Usagi looked up at him, her smiling face the brightest, most beautiful sight in all of Elysium.
"It has to be! The Golden Crystal has been sealed inside you all along!"
Mamoru raised his hand towards his chest and stared down, almost searching himself. 'The Golden Crystal… is inside me?!'
"No but… That's impossible," he finally replied.
Usagi clutched his hands, bringing both to rest upon his chest. "I know that's where it is!" she implored, locking her gaze with his. "You've always been the one giving me the power to fight. Your power is my guiding force. It's always been the light that's directed my Silver Crystal's power. That power must be coming from the Golden Crystal!"
Long ago, when his wife was merely fourteen and not yet fully experienced, her crystal helped rebirth the Moon Kingdom itself.
At age twenty-two Serenity had reshaped the world into a glittering utopia.
Could it be that at an 'older age' (as she liked to put it), his wife could use that same power, power inherited from the light of the Galaxy Cauldron itself, to transmute four stones to flesh?
The mere awakening of her Star Seed had breathed life back into three of the Shittenou when they had rotted within the Dark Kingdom's lair. True, they had completely disintegrated moments later, but their bodies had been tainted by Beryl and Metalia's evil at the time. More importantly, Usagi had not been trying to revive them.
Well, now she was. Guided by Endymion, Serenity's thoughts were focussed utterly upon the stones, each of which lay in front of one of the four Senshi. And, linked as they were, Endymion's psychometry suddenly kicked in. In brief, almost disorientating snatches, he was able to see and feel through everyone in the circuit, though he focused upon the impressions he picked up from the Inner Senshi.
It was working.
The stones glowed, each projecting the faintest outline of a body. A moment later though those outlines matured into rippling silhouettes. Moments more and those ripples became more consistent, almost more solid. Endymion did his best to maintain his concentration, unwilling to celebrate prematurely. Alas, just as soon as the shadows had begun to manifest more form, they all started to fade, turning translucent again. All, except for the ghost standing before Venus and Endymion thought he knew why. Whilst Mercury, Jupiter and Mars were concentrating solely upon channeling their power to Serenity, through the link they now shared, Endymion knew the Inner Senshi's leader had her attention slightly divided. Specifically between Serenity in the present and nights spent with a certain Heavenly King in the past.
He pried no further, but through his heart and soul begged the other Senshi to follow their leaders' suit. One by one, first Jupiter, then Mercury and eventually Mars, did as he implored, the shadows from the stones solidifying. Endymion allowed himself to feel the faintest thrill of joy, or perhaps it was Ami's joy he was feeling, or Makoto's or-
Ice entered his chest. Rei was shocked, even… afraid. To be sure, the shadows had gained more substance, but they were caught in a horrific limbo state. Their bodies were not yet truly solid, vacillating between ghosts and something much more substantive. But when they were closer to corporeal form, they were as shriveled and pitious as the husks Endymion had seen within Kunzite's memory.
Guilt and despair hit him like a freight train. Was this it then? Was he doomed to be set back to square one, or else condemn his oldest friends to living death; and traumatizing his new ones along the way?
A plea for more power began to form in his mind before dying with a whimper. He was giving everything he could and he could feel Serenity and the others doing just the same. The Mystical Silver Crystal might have had the power to revive his four comrades when they still had bodies to work with. But now they were less than corpses, even fueling it with half a solar system's worth of energy wasn't enough to conjure them new forms practically out of thin air or turn back time to when they were strong and healthy. In truth, it was a miracle they had even come this far… it just hadn't been far enough.
If only he could make a physical connection with them, he could try to heal them as he had healed his arm from that soccer game long ago. With another mental whimper, he conceded the impossibility of such a thing. Moving from this spot would break the connection altogether. Even if that weren't so, the stones were positioned too far apart from him to touch all of them at once. Not to mention, as skilled as he had grown in his healing powers over the centuries, he knew fully restoring them would be far beyond him.
With a heavy heart, he closed his eyes and dropped his arms, bringing Serenity's arms down along with his. Tears welling behind his mask, his right hand slackened, its fingers beginning to release his wife's. Then, finally, the connection was broken… but not by them.
Endymion's eyes snapped open, his gaze filled with the vision of another fairy, only this one was not silver but rather vivid pink. A glowing, crystalline flower of an identical hue manifested from her chest, its light mingling with that of its auric and argent parents.
"Helios," she grunted simply by way of an explanation.
Still dumbfounded, Endymion barely registered the clicking of footsteps upon the courtyard steps. He was, however, far more alert to the four young women who had abruptly inserted themselves amidst the Inner Senshi's circle. Sailors Ceres, Vesta, Juno and Pallas now expanded the 'circuit', each of them having positioned themselves between one of the Inner Senshi. Endymion felt the confusion and curiosity at the back of their minds, but they had apparently deduced enough to now channel their own energies into their Princess, who was, in turn, further fuelling her Mother and Father.
Their powers combined, the four stones within the circle took on full, consistent substance, but were still malformed. They levitated limp in the air, far more than shadows now, but also still far from alive.
So close, and yet still so far.
Endymion believed they might just have the power to make the difference now; if only they could apply it. He still couldn't break away from the centre of the circle; he was at the very heart of the entire process. He, Serenity and… Chibi-Usa…?
He felt sapphire and ruby eyes fix upon him. He searched first his wife's determined face, then his daughter's more apprehensive features, understanding dawning upon him through the connection they shared.
Connection? Yes. Chibi-Usa was the connection. The heir to two kingdoms. Her mother's daughter. And his too. She was the best of both of them, and through that combination was both familiar… and unique. As were her powers.
It was time to see if her training had paid off.
Chibi-Usa gulped, then closed her eyes. Endymion did the same.
His vision remained completely black for merely a second, before being consumed by a flash of brightest pink. The next thing he knew, he was suddenly seeing through eight eyes at once. More than that, with his psychometry magnified far beyond its old limits, the visions were consistent, clear as day, almost as if he were all eight of them simultaneously.
Through their shared link, the Inner Senshi and Sailor Quartet followed his instructions like clockwork. Each member of the Quartet simultaneously released their hold on their elder counterparts' right hands. However, they maintained physical contact, sliding their own left hands up their respective Inner Senshi's arm before finally coming to rest upon their shoulder. Hastily, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus, removed the glove of their now free right hands and in equal synchrony to the Quartet, stepped forwards to make contact with the four floating bodies.
Back at the centre of the circle, Endymion flexed a particular mental muscles, the 'flex' now 'transmitted' through his daughter, to the Quartet, into the Inner Senshi before finally transferring to…
The courtyard was consumed by an explosion of golden light!
Endymion wasn't sure if the light had been so bright that the Inners and Quartet had been blinded, or if he had simply lost the connection and the surrounding darkness was merely his own closed eyes. He got his answer following a gentle squeeze upon his shoulder.
Holding his breath, he opened his eyes, released his wife and child, and slowly turned around.
"... M-my Prince…" Stuttered Jadeite.
"You… You actually did it," said Nephrite breathily.
"Thank you. Thank you…" Zoisite's voice had begun to crack. "... My King." He sobbed.
"Master." In contrast to the others, Kunzite's voice was steady and strong. "I think I speak for all of us when I say this." He stared Endymion straight in the eyes. "Even if we had not sworn eternal loyalty to you long ago, you would have more than earned it this night. My King… My friend…" With a flutter of a black and midnight blue cape, Kunzite took a knee. "How may we serve you?" The other three knelt in equal deference.
Endymion said nothing, merely taking a knee himself and grasping his old friend by the arms. He tried to speak but found no words came to mind.
"Well, you know…" Endymion glanced over his shoulder, finding Serenity smiling out at them all. "... there is this party we're throwing…"
Music filled the air as guests mingled in and out of the palace and its grounds.
"Who was that woman with green hair from a moment ago?" Asked Jadeite, leaning against one of the torches adorning the courtyard.
"Michiru?" replied Mars.
"No, the other one?"
"Oh, Setsuna! I didn't realise she'd taken time off after all."
More partygoers flooded through the palace entrance, though there were two men who hardly noticed, their vision obscured by the floral display flanking the doors.
"Asanuma, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, and you're Nephrite?"
"Jupiter has told me so much about you", they chorused.
"Look at the size of that ice sculpture!" Exclaimed Zoisite.
"Sailor Mercury had a hand in that!" Piped up Diana.
Mercury blushed, her cheeks so hot they might have melted the sculpture altogether.
From a balcony overlooking the dance floor, Kunzite peered down at the assembled crowd.
"I take it those two are…?" he nodded coolly in the direction of where Helios and Chibi-Usa were dancing.
"Like we used to be?" offered Venus, an eyebrow cocked.
"I was going to say like the King and Queen used to be," he retorted with a smirk.
"As a matter of fact, they are."
Kunzite and Venus looked behind them and found Serenity and Endymion approaching with flutes of golden liquid.
"I hope you aren't going to get all over protective now?" Serenity exaggeratedly placed her hands on her hips, partially spilling some of the drinks she was holding.
Kunzite shrugged. "Apologies my Queen, although it is my job."
"She's got people handling it," added Venus, bobbing her head towards the food table where the Quartet were chowing down.
"Well then, it seems you're all I've got to worry about, Master." he shot another smirk in Endymion's direction.
"Me, and the rest of the Solar System."
With that, he offered Kunzite a flute of champagne, Serenity doing the same for Venus.
"To old friends." Endymion said.
"And to the Golden Kingdom." Venus added.
"New beginnings?" offered Kunzite.
"To 30,000 more parties!" Finished Serenity.
The four of them clinked their glasses together before making their way outside to the very top of the palace steps, breathing in the warm night air. Endymion let out a satisfied sigh as he scanned across the palace grounds, catching Michiru and Setsuna waving at him amidst the cherry trees that flanked the sparkling promenade.
As the Sun finally set, turning the palace, and entire city, into a kaleidoscope of colour, Setsuna and all the other Senshi and Shittenou steadily traversed the steps to join Endymion and his three companions. Helios, Asanuma and Chibi-Usa weren't far behind, vying for space as they collectively gazed upwards. Soon the palace glittered with the light of golden fireworks blazing across the black night sky.
"Happy anniversary, Mamo-chan," whispered Serenity.
In that moment, Endymion didn't need psychometry to feel the love of each, and every member of his family.
A/N: I know that in a few of the flashbacks/visions I didn't entirely recreate the scenes, combining a few moments as if they happened immediately after one another. I did that to keep the flashbacks focussed upon the parts that were relevant, with my own justification being that our memories often cheat and who knows how accurate psychometric visions may or may not be, right?
Anyway, I have to admit this story was a bit o a beast. I am not as well read on manga canon in general, but for some reason this story proved particularly challenging and I owe a MASSIVE debt to the Moonlight Legends discord for helping me with research. I already thanked Lin Lamont for betaing this, but she also reminded me of Mamo's reckless side from the dark kingdom arc which helped facilitate SO MUCH of the rest of the story and got it flowing finally.
Originally, this fic was going to be my manga canon Shittenou tribute fic. Like basically it was going to be a ficlet, drabble, or something like that, from the Shittenou's POV wherein they are revived in Crystal Tokyo and reunite with Endymion and the Inners.
I am hoping (but not promising) to do a fic for each of the Shittenou anyway, and touch on the Sen/Shi ship here and there in other fics, rather than make it the focus of any one story. In other words, consider this story the major 'Endy and his boys' tribute story whilst also being a tribute to manga canon Mamo overall; with my main method being to just pull in near damn everything I could think of that didn't apply to the anime version.
I hope you all like how it turned out; me I'm just glad it got done at all!
Alright, onto the next fic!