Broken Melody
Chapter Three: Hurt
Disclaimer: If I owned this I wouldn't be writing fanfic now would I?
Anything may be betrayed, anyone may be forgiven, but not those who lack the courage of their own greatness.
- Ayn Rand
Ami
It was one of their greatest achievements really. A multi-faceted resonating crystal created by an amalgamation of each planet's powers, forged in the fiery depths of the solar core in order to properly fuse the power. Saturn, Pluto and herself had worked to for a solid week on the design alone, ensuring that none other than the Moon Queen and those of her bloodline would be able to use the crystal. It had taken all of Venus' charm to convince the others (particularly the far-from trusting Mars and Neptune) to contribute a tiny portion of their powers to the final effort. The effort was worth it, Hermia mused, rolling the large crystal about in her hand, examining how the light refracted through it, this thing truly is a part of each of us, yet separate. I hope that the Lunar appreciates this.
Setting it back down in its case, she closed the box and stuck it in her cloak pocket. She needed to get going if she was going to make it to council on time. Unlike the most recent councils, this one would be face-to-face, with each of the planetary leaders meeting on Jupiter. The purpose of this final council was to demonstrate the final product before it was presented to the Moon Queen. In a swirl of blue light, she vanished from her workroom, headed towards her destination.
Minako
It was really quite interesting, being trapped in one's own past life, Mina mused to herself. She felt like this had been going on for quite some time and was getting worried that the same amount of time was passing in the real world. What'll my parents think? I've been here for weeks already watching my own life. This is too freaky!
She was just starting to work herself up into a full-fledged panic when she was interrupted by a familiar voice, "Aphrodite? We need to get going. Remember, this was your idea."
She looked up smoothly to see the Lady Mars heading down the hallway to her. "Of course Enya," she replied, "I was simply waiting for you."
Mars arched an eyebrow in response and Mina felt herself colouring. "Well, then, now that you have finally arrived Lady Mars, shall we be off?"
Her only response was a faint chuckle as Mars turned around and headed back the way she came. All Mina could do was scramble to follow her friend.
Their teleportation point took the two women directly outside the grand ballroom of the Lunar Palace. It was here that they met up with the remainder of the Planetary Rulers. They had decided amongst themselves that since it was Venus who had the initial idea to create the gift for the queen, it would be her who spoke as the main representative. Venus took her place at the front of the group and held the crystal case tightly, awaiting their announcement into the ballroom.
"The Council of Eight"
Venus winced. They rarely, if ever, used that archaic title to describe themselves. That the Moon Steward used it now could be considered an insult to them. Taking a quick peek over her shoulder, she was glad to see that the majority of her peers were expressionless at this oversight. Schooling her own features into her trademark bright smile, she turned back around and swept into the ballroom, the others following in a diamond formation behind her, heading up to the dais where the pregnant queen sat and giving a customary curtsy. "Your Highness," Venus began, "On behalf of the Planetary Council I would like to offer you our congratulations and present you with this token."
The Moon Queen bestowed a benevolent smile upon her guests, "My kingdom is honoured to have the birth of its heir blessed by the Council. We welcome you most graciously and offer our sincere thanks for this gift."
Internally, Minako rolled her eyes at this. Sheesh, Queen Serenity could lay it on thick back then. I still can't believe how much older we actually were than Usagi.
Queen Serenity opened the case and the crystal, recognizing the person it was meant for, gave off a soft glow and rose out of its' box. The queen gave a soft gasp, "It's lovely, but, what is it?"
At Venus' nod, Mercury stepped forward, "We called it the Illusion Silver Crystal Your Highness. In actuality, it is a focusing and amplifying tool that will boost your latent abilities to a higher level, allowing you to protect your planet without assistance from the Terrans or ourselves. We tuned it specifically to your genetic code so that no one could use it save for your bloodline. In fact, the more you work with it while pregnant, the stronger it will resonate with your child."
"This is a wonderful gift indeed," Queen Serenity replied, not taking her eyes from the shining crystal before her, "Most wonderful."
From the corner of her eye, Venus saw Mars, Pluto and Neptune exchange fleeting, dark looks.
Author POV
It was so slow, so unexpected, and so insidious that none of them saw it coming. It started small, one day, an attack would have less power and the woman utilizing it would chalk it up to fatigue or lack of concentration. Then, a few weeks later, an attack that would level a mountain would barely make a mark. A spell that one would use on a daily basis would cease working. Three months since the creation of the crystal had passed and the Planetary Council was so reduced in power that they had reverted to their first-stage abilities, ones that they hadn't used in over a hundred years. Even their appearances and experienced a regression to that first-stage, leaving them in what would be considered their late teens in Terran terms. At this point, they had no problem figuring out the source of their troubles.
Rei
"It's the Lunars, It has to be!" Sora, Lady Uranus shouted, banging her fist down on the council table.
"We don't know that for sure," Venus said quietly.
"All evidence points at her," Mars grimly replied, "This regression didn't happen until we gave her the crystal. It was created by our powers. She may have found a way to exploit that connection."
"Impossible," Mercury interjected, her face flushed, "I triple-checked that the thing was no longer tied to our specific abilities. There should be no way for anyone to re-forge those connections."
"What if she isn't tying into our specific abilities but the wellspring of our power," Saturn questioned, "If she was able to sort out our individual planetary signatures from the main fusion, she might be able to tap into our power directly."
"We fused them in the solar core;" Pluto replied hesitantly, "For her to be able to do that, she would have to have been a higher lever magic user than what she presented to us."
"That's assuming she did this on purpose," Venus put in firmly, "What if all of this is some big misunderstanding?"
The faces around the table were alternately doubtful and suspicious. I didn't expect this, Rei thought, Could Queen Serenity have betrayed us all?
"Based on the rate that our abilities have been disappearing, the likelihood of this being one being one big misunderstanding is pretty small Aphrodite," Neptune said softly, not meeting Venus' eyes.
"I can't believe it," Venus replied, "She's my friend. I sensed nothing wrong whenever I spoke with her. I trusted her."
"We have to confront her," Mars stated, "That's the only way we'll know for sure. Is everyone agreed on that?"
Nods came from all around the council table. "Should we wait until the Princess' naming day celebration?" Saturn asked.
"No," Venus answered firmly, "We need to do this now. Before any more power is lost."
Author POV
The Moon Queen Serenity was seated in her throne, her newborn daughter sleeping in a bassinet by her and the Moon Wand, holding the silver crystal, clutched in her hand when the Planetary Council arrived. The pleasant smile never left her face as the hostile looking group of eight approached her without proper protocol. "The Council of Eight," she said placidly, drawing her eyes over each of them, "You're all looking quite well. To what do I owe the honour of this visit? It is most unexpected."
Uranus snorted in disbelief and the Queen narrowed her eyes at her. "I think you know full well why we're here, Your Highness," Mars answered tersely.
"Oh my," Serenity responded, "Such rudeness. However, I'm willing to overlook that since you have all arrived here to pledge yourself and your planets to my rule. So thoughtful of you really, wanting to re-create the alliance with me at its head."
Most of the women just gaped at the pure arrogance that the Queen radiated with this statement. It was Mars who recovered first, "Pardon me but…WHAT?"
Serenity sat forward in her chair and brought the wand before her. The crystal flashed and suddenly the entire council was on their knees. "I've had some time to think since we last met and you presented me with this lovely little trinket. As it turns out, I was able to use this amplifier to enhance my magical ability enough that I could sort out your powers within it. Once I could do that, all I had to do was slowly draw it out and bind it to my own. The more power I drew in, the more it amplified, the more I could take in from you. The beauty of it is that since I was using your own power against you, you wouldn't notice until it was too late."
Incensed, the Council attempted to get to their feet. The crystal flashed again and they were wracked with intense pain, prostrating them on the floor before the Queen.
"I wouldn't do that again," Serenity warned, her tone still eerily calm, "I don't want to hurt you. We are friends after all. So here's what's going to happen. You are going to make an announcement at little Serenity's naming day ceremony stating that you are integrating the Moon into the Planetary Council and have voted me as Head Consul. You will all swear fealty to me and my kingdom. Venus, Mars, Mercury and Jupiter, the four of you are to be the guardians of my daughter, her senshi. Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn, you will act as the System Defence. It will be up to you to protect the Sol System from outside threats. Pluto, you are hereby banished to the Gates of Time that your people love so well. You will be allowed to retain your first-stage abilities and that is all. You will report to no one but me. If you serve me well, I might allow you to access your second stage. Attempt to disobey me in any way, I will drain you completely of your powers, cutting you off forever from your planetary connection, and leave you in the asteroid belt for eternity. Your people will be enslaved and used to serve the Lunar peoples and our army. Anyone who does not fall in line will be executed while you will be alive to witness their deaths, knowing that it is all on your heads. You have the two days until the ceremony to make you decision. Now get out of here, it's time for the Princess to be fed."
With a wave of her hand, all eight women of the council were transported from the throne room in a demonstration of the Queen's new power.
Every display and information centre on the Eight Alliance Planets was locked on the transmission coming from the young Lunar Princess' Name Day Ceremony. Commerce was halted, schools were closed, and people stayed in, reeling in the shock of the announcement they had just viewed.
"I, Lady Aphrodite Calais Venus, in accordance with all members of the Council of Eight of the Planetary Alliance, representing the vote of each member, do hereby announce the entry of the Lunar Kingdom into the alliance, hereby renamed the Silver Alliance. In addition, through the council, each planet here swears fealty to the Lunar Kingdom and its' Queen, the new leader of the Silver Alliance. We ask our planets' cooperation in this time of transition."
Rei
Swing, duck, thrust, parry, Mars thought to herself as she went through the sword drill for what seemed like the hundredth time.
Since Serenity's announcement she and the other three inner senshi (as the queen deemed them) were expected to live at the Lunar Palace and devote themselves to the protection of the Princess. Never mind that we have our own planets to worry about, she thought angrily, I miss home, I miss Phobos and Deimos. I hope running things isn't too hard on them.
She was interrupted by the now sixteen-year-old Princess Serenity running up to her. Watching her expectantly, Mars' patience was rewarded as the young woman tripped over the long hem of her gown. Rather than rise again however, the Princess sat there, the beginnings of a pout evident on her features. Mars shook her head and walked over to her charge, dropping to the ground beside her. "Did you need me for something Your Highness?" she inquired.
Serenity gave her a haughty look for a second that soon disappeared, "Why do you always have to be so formal Mars? Why can't you just call me Serenity? None of you do. It's always Your Highness, or Princess, or My Lady…I'm sick of it!"
"We are your guardians my lady," Mars replied patiently, having been asked this question numerous times before, "It would be inappropriate for us to address you as anything else. Is that all you wanted to ask me?"
"No Mars," Serenity answered, stressing her planetary title, "It seems that my mother has decided to betroth me to some Terran Barbarian. You need to stop it."
"I beg your pardon my lady?" Mars asked incredulously.
"You heard me," Serenity complained, "You four are my guardians, my protectors. Protect me from this wedding or else."
"Or else what my lady?" Mars ground out.
"Or I'll tell my mother you've been lax in your duties towards me and have allowed me to run roughshod over the staff," Serenity replied smugly, "And, the second the crystal is mine, you'll really regret not listening to me. I heard mother say that the crystal is what gives you your 'spectacular powers.'"
Mars' eyes narrowed at this threat. It seemed as though the Princess was becoming more like her mother day by day. Her selfish disregard for anyone other than herself had been fostered by her mother since day one. Her four guardians had always been on hand to snap to whenever the Princess wanted anything and she viewed this situation as nothing different than the norm. Mars doubted she even noticed that her guardians hadn't aged a day since she had known them. In fact, they currently appeared only a year or two older than their charge. However their charge didn't have that much power yet and both Mars and Serenity knew it. "Or, I could just go straight to your mother with this information myself and spare both of us a lot of trouble," Mars told the petulant young woman, "Just meet him Your Highness. Who know? You might end up liking him, you never know."
"You suck you know," came the immature reply, "All four of you gave me the same answer. Always sucking up to my mom's decisions."
You have no idea yet Princess.
Makoto
She stood with the other inner senshi, arranged slightly behind their charge, their eyes averted to the ground. Her internal nature protested at this but she had long since learned the price of disobedience to Serenity. Makoto, observing this from within and feeling what she felt back then was disgusted at the whole situation, and had a feeling that it wasn't going to get any better anytime soon. Suddenly, a flurry of activity at the entrance to the throne room drew her attention up from the floor. Shooting a glance at her comrades, she grimly noted that they all wore the expressionless looks they had long ago perfected within Serenity's court. The Princess' face, however, was one of tense anticipation. "He's here," she hissed out of the side of her mouth to her guardians.
Queen Serenity glanced over at their group, eyeing the guardians with disapproval, as though they were the ones to breach protocol. She returned her attention to the entrance and signalled to have their guests brought in.
"Crown Prince Endymion of Elysian and his Guard, King-General Kunzite of the North, King-General Jadeite of the East, King-General Nephrite of the West, and King-General Zoicite of the South."
Following this announcement, the Prince himself entered, flanked by his guardians. Dark-haired, blue-eyed and clad in ceremonial armour, the Prince created quite a stir among the Lunar court as he strode forward and sank into a bow before the throne. "Your Majesty," he began, his voice a rich baritone, "Thank you for welcoming us to you kingdom. I hope that today marks the beginning of a long alliance between our peoples."
Here's hoping what she did to us doesn't happen to you, Makoto thought to herself as she turned slightly for another peek at Serenity, "I guess not everything is different. She's certainly smitten with Endymion.
Returning her attention to the court niceties playing out before her, she locked eyes with the brown-eyed King-General across from her.
Ami
"Hermia, talk to me," Zoicite pleaded, "Help me to understand. None of this makes sense."
"Just drop it Zoicite," Mercury replied, her expression pained, "Please."
"I can't," He answered her, following her across the empty library, "I've been doing my research, Endymion didn't want to go blind into this alliance. What I found doesn't make any sense and I had to do quite a bit of digging to find what I did. Why did you suddenly give up your sovereignty to follow Serenity? Why give up that kind of power? To guard the Princess? I mean, no offence, Endymion has come to love her in these past months but still…"
"You can't understand Zoicite," Mercury crumpled down onto the floor, "You can't know. You have to forget this, forget what you found. If Serenity found out…"
"I want to try Hermia," he replied, "You're hurting and it makes me want to cry. These past few months here have revealed something to me sweetheart. I love you. I want to help you, to understand you. Please let me in."
Mercury looked up at him through tear-filled lashes, indecision and love clear in her eyes. Finally, she took a deep breath and seemed to find her resolve. Looking around, she formed an opaque bubble around the two of them to ensure privacy and began speaking, "It all started with a crystal…"
Rei
"We can't keep meeting like this," Mars said quietly, as she tried to burrow closer to her companion, his meagre cloak covering the two of them as they lay beneath the starlight in a small clearing in the Lunar Woods.
"I know," came her lover's reply.
"If Serenity found out…"
"For God's sake Enya, stop living your life in fear of that woman!"
"I can't Jade," she replied sadly, "She controls us. Until the end of time."
"Don't talk like that," Jadeite replied, bringing her closer against him, "We'll find a way. Even if Endymion won't help us."
"You told Endymion?" Mars demanded, bolting upright, "You gave your word. You know how he feels about the Princess."
"No," Jadeite answered slowly, "We haven't told him. He does love Serenity, and the Golden Crystal of Elysian ensures that her mother cannot have power over him. One of the court mages, Lady Beryl, thinks she might be able to help us. She doesn't know everything but Kunzite has met with her already and we're all going to go see her when we return to Earth at the end of the week."
"Are you sure about this?" Mars asked, "I'm getting a bad vibe about this. I don't think we should involve anyone else."
"We're sure," Jadeite replied, giving her a soft kiss, "I love you, just like Kunzite loves Venus, Nephrite loves Jupiter, and even Zoi loves Mercury. It's that love that will set you free from this slavery. All will be well."
Author POV
"We're under attack! Under attack!"
The formal engagement festivities ground to a halt as the two Mau advisors to the Queen, Luna and Artemis, came charging into the ballroom, shouting the previous words. They skidded to a halt before the Queen. "From where?" she asked coolly, her eyes straying to the four guardians at the side of the ballroom.
Surely none of them would be so foolish as to attempt rebellion. "A dark cloud heads at us from the Earth. All the other planets are already under attack!"
All eyes swung to Endymion, who stood at the centre of the ballroom, the Princess in his arms. He looked mildly panicked. "It was under control," he told the gathered crowd, "We'd been having difficulties with a force calling themselves the Dark Kingdom but they aren't that powerful. We'd managed to defeat them in every battle. I left my guardians to deal with them."
"Something must have happened to them then," Artemis said coldly, "Clearly since one can only deduce that this 'Dark Kingdom' of yours is headed directly here."
His words were punctuated with a large blast that rocked the palace. Queen Serenity took charge of the situation, "Endymion, get my daughter out of here. Senshi, gather the army and meet these invaders head on. I'm heading to the Prayer Room to focus the energy of the crystal."
Venus hesitated for a moment, "Your Majesty, we're still first-stage…"
"And first-stage is where you'll stay," the queen replied, "If you can't defeat this enemy at first-stage then you deserve whatever you get."
"Of course Your Highness," Venus spat out, turning on her heel, "Let's go ladies, time for us to do our duty."
The remaining three senshi eyed their queen coldly before following Venus out onto the battlefield.
The scene outside was chaotic. Most of the Lunar army had already deployed but the enemy was utilizing troops that were far from human. Their numbers were severely outmatched and dropping steadily as the battle wore on. The senshi took position at the head of their forces, their most elementary attacks clearing swathes from the enemy side. Suddenly, their foe paused, and began to retreat, heading over a hill to their rear. The Lunar troops began to cheer, believing that they had driven the enemy back but the four women who led them knew better, and moved into better defensive positions to wait. They didn't have long to wait. No sooner were they in position when four figures became apparent at the crest of the hill.
"Kunzite."
"Nephrite."
"Zoicite."
"And Jadeite," Mars finished, "It not them, not anymore."
A cackling filled the air around them, as a figure rose up into the air behind Endymion's former generals. "How clever," a sinister voice said, "The little firebug recognizes the hand of Metallia upon them. But I wonder if she realizes why? These four little darlings came to me, begging for my assistance in freeing their beloveds from mean, old Serenity. So I, the soul of generosity, am giving them the assistance that they so desperately craved. You'll be free all right. And they will be the ones to do so. Shitennou, destroy these four."
"Yes Queen Beryl," the four replied as one, advancing on the women they loved, their eyes now black as the night surrounding them.
Queen Serenity stumbled out of the Prayer Room to survey the carnage wrought upon her kingdom. She had felt the deaths of all the senshi, inner and outer, their losses channelling more power into her crystal. With that power she had been able to seal Metallia, Beryl and the Dark Kingdom but it had cost her more than she expected. Her daughter was dead, her kingdom was in ruins and she could feel her own life slipping away from her. Still clutching the Moon Wand, she collapsed against a fallen pillar and began to sob. Everything she had worked for was gone. Something warm nudged against her hand. She turned her head to see Luna and Artemis watching her expectantly. "It can't end like this. I won't let it end like this."
With her last breath, Queen Serenity made a final wish and released the Moon Wand, the crystal using the power of the nine planets to make that wish come true years into the future.
Rei
Gasping, Rei shot up from the floor, the memories she had just re-experienced dancing across her eyes. She could hear the others around her, gulping in air. Glancing at the clock, she was shocked to find out that only three hours had passed since they had cast the spell, it had felt more like three lifetimes.
"Well, that certainly wasn't what I was expecting."
AN. Oooookkayy. So, again, it's been a while, but my computer decided to bite the big one and it took forever to repair. Also, I haven't been in the best frame of mind lately. A lot's been happening and none of it good…or, very little of it good. I know this chapter skips over huge chunks of time but I think this is like, the longest chapter I've written ever, and I wrote it straight through over the course of four hours, just sat down and started typing. I decided to post it because I know there are people waiting to see it. I'll probably do a revision if enough people get annoyed with my 3 am grammar. I was inspired to write for this story after watching the entire SailorStars season on YouTube. Especially at the end where the inners jump in front of Sailormoon and the Starlights, taking the killing blast for them. That's why everyone betrays Usagi stories annoy me. I mean, honestly, Rei took the bullet for her. Whatever, review if you like it. F- - - yourself if you don't. I'm tired. I need reviews to keep writing. You might see chunks of what happened in between the time jumps and the outers in flashback later in the story if I get enough feedback. CIAO.