Chapter Eight. Guardian of Christmas Yet to Come

Krotan woke up and found himself back in his chambers once again.

"Ah!" Krotan yelped. He caught his breath before speaking up. "This dream keeps getting worse all the time. I am going to let my chefs know to never make that ham in such manner again!"

He leapt out of his bed as a dark purple glow started to fill his bed. "What the?!"

He looked at the glow and trembled to a corner of his bed in fear. "What's this now?!"

Another bright orb appeared which caused the prince to shield his eyes. Seconds later, he was able to see again and he looked to see a figure who appeared to be Sailor Saturn.

"Let me guess," Krotan glanced at the guardian, "you are the Guardian Saturn, the one who represents Christmas Yet to Come, correct?"

"That is correct." Guardian Saturn answered. "Come with me, Prince Krotan of Mongo."

She pointed her glaive at the prince, who walked to where she stood.

Krotan looked on in dread as he and Guardian Saturn were both surrounded in purple mist, which would take them to their destination.

-Defenders-Christmas-Carol-

Mandrake was at a coffee table with Atascadero and Lothar, having a cup of tea.

"So, when did he die?" Atascadero asked.

"Ming the Merciless?" Mandrake answered, "Um, he died in prison last night at the Planet Delta Phoenix 9."

"I thought he'd never die." Lothar replied with a grin. "It was a mere victory when Flash finally got him arrested but the fact that Ming died means that war is finally over."

"You can only hope, right?" Atascadero asked.

"What are you implying there, my dear?" Mandrake asked as he adjusted his hat.

"She's not wrong." Lothar answered. "There might one day be radicals who believe in Ming's ruling that might cause trouble on Mongo."

"Not to mention," Atascadero added, "that threat with Zorelda is still present. That's why the Sailor Guardians are still here."

"You're right about all that." Mandrake replied. "That is none of our concern at the moment. We should enjoy this moment while it lasts, right?"

"That's right." Atascadero chuckled.

"We need to head off to Mongo." Lothar announced. "It was nice to see you again, Atascadero."

"Yes, my dear Ata." Mandrake interlocked hands with the woman. "It has been a pleasure to see you again."

"It's been good seeing you again, Mandrake." Atascadero replied. The two proceeded to share a kiss.

-Defenders-Christmas-Carol-

"Father is finally dead?" Krotan asked in delight. "Then it must be a great future for me, correct?"

"It is not as simple as you might believe." Guardian Saturn answered. "There is another place that you must see for yourself."

-Defenders-Christmas-Carol-

Krotan found himself at the Planet Mongo at the Imperial castle too.

"So my father is dead." Krotan stated. "That means I am now the King of Mongo. Isn't that right?"

Guardian Saturn shook her head before she pointed her glaive towards the window, making the prince have a look for himself.

-Defenders-Christmas-Carol-

"I thank all of you for joining us on this Christmas feast!" Castra told the guests as her husband Tevrok was sitting next to her.

"Here's to a Merry Christmas!" Tevrok added as he proceeded to raise his glass.

"Um, Tevrok." Castra spoke up. Her husband saw the guests, feeling anything but merry.

She looked at the guests who all appeared before her. To her side, Flash sat next to her, appearing saddened as he was looking down at some sort vase. April seemed to be sad as well, but she wasn't really showing it. Sheila was next to him, feeling sympathy for him. Aura and Barin sat quietly, not knowing what to say, let alone what to feel at the moment. Mandrake and Lothar were also present, feeling sadness and sympathy for all that had happened. Next to them were Usagi, Mamoru, Ami, Makoto and Minako.

To her husband's side, Hadea was there feeling sullen. Next to her was the Phantom, appearing to be saddened too and Jedda as she had sadness etched in her face. Next to her at two high chairs were two babies, a boy with dark hair and a girl with blonde hair and they were both wriggling in their seats. LJ and Kshin were both seated next to them. Next to them sat Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, Hotaru and Chibiusa.

"My apologies." Tevrok put down his glass.

"It's all right, Your Majesty." Ami replied with a sniffle. "It's just on Christmas is when a lot of us think about Rick."

"Rick always looked forward to this time of the year." April spoke up. "He was always excited when it came to this holiday. It was the time when Dad and Mom would take time off from their missions on Mongo and we spend Christmas with them as well as our grandparents."

"Ah yes." Mandrake stated. "Rick was such a special boy. He always came up with marvelous inventions. When he passed away, it felt as if the brains of the team had left us."

Jedda sniffed, "I wish Rick could be here to see his children. He would have been proud of both of them both: Christopher Lowe Gordon, who I named Chris rather than Kit as the family usually does and Dale Jessica Gordon, who reminds me a lot of her father."

Jedda stated. "Rick was sweet and cared for all of us. I miss him so much."

Castra saw the two babies as they stopped playing, as they probably sensed their mother's sadness. Chris gave his twin sister a touch. Dale nodded and touched her mother on the shoulder, to give her some comfort. She knew that the twins were too young to understand what happened and why they don't have their father with them. In time, they would know.

"I should show you guys this." Flash shown the others the vase he was holding. "These are the ashes of my son. My parents and Hans insisted that I had him cremated. Baylin was a little cautious."

"That's Baylin for you." Aura replied.

Castra looked at the vase which had a picture of him smiling and it read

RICHARD "RICK" GORDON

BELOVED SON, BROTHER AND FATHER

DEVOTED HERO AND FRIEND

REST IN PEACE

Castra gave out a small smile, "It's looks nice. Flash, I must tell you something."

"What is it, Castra?" Flash asked.

"Two things, actually." Castra answered. "First: shortly before I heard Rick passed away, I had this dream that he was in heaven. He seems to be at peace and happy."

"He seemed that way in his last moments too." Flash replied. "Just before he died, he woke up one last time with me and Jedda in the room. That smile."

He choked a sob. "He died smiling."

"Not to mention," Sheila added as she gave Flash a comforting touch on the shoulder, "he looked peaceful in the funeral. Your dream vision powers are accurate, Castra."

"Also, I'm very sorry for what Krotan did to your son." Castra said with sadness and regret in her voice, "I can't believe he would murder him all over jealousy. All this contributes to the reason why Tevrok and I are now King and Queen of Mongo."

"Don't feel guilty about it, Castra." Flash assured her, "It wasn't your fault. It was Krotan's. He was the one who killed my son."

"Still I feel a bit of pity for ol Krotan though." Kshin stated.

"Why do you even say that?" Haruka asked. "You know he was nothing but a jerk and he got everything he deserved."

"The way he went out was brutal though." Kshin answered.

"Yeah." Michiru chuckled. "As soon as we learned about the revolution, there was no holding back Flash Gordon. He was the one who played a huge role in finishing off Prince Krotan."

"And many people were fed up with him and Ming." Rei added. "It indeed served him right, especially for what he did to Rick!"

The queen sighed and looked down, "I suppose you're right."

-Defenders-Christmas-Carol-

"No!" Krotan cried out. "No! This can't be! This just cannot be! They killed me!"

"Please," he pleaded to Guardian Saturn, "tell me Guardian Saturn, is this a vision of what might happen, or is this a vision what will happen?"