Broken Melody

Chapter Four: Valley of Dying Stars

Disclaimer: If I owned this I wouldn't be writing fanfic now would I?

The eyes are not here

There are no eyes here

In this valley of dying stars

In this hollow valley

This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms.

-T.S Eliot, The Hollow Men, v. 53-56

"Well…that was unexpected."

All eyes swung to Setsuna, the speaker of that fitting statement. "It's my fault," Minako choked out, tears gathering in her eyes, "It's all my fault. God. I can't believe I was so stupid."

"Minako, get a hold of yourself," Michiru told the younger girl firmly, "Serenity fooled us all. I had reservations back then, but they weren't strong enough that I acted on them. This is just as easily my fault, or Ami's fault, or Haruka's fault or anyone else's. None of us is without blame but there's nothing that can change that."

"The question is," Rei said thoughtfully, "What do we do now?"

"I think the battle against Galaxia weakened the crystal's hold on us," Hotaru replied, "That much is obvious. Usagi doesn't have the same level of control over the crystal that her mother did so she must not realize that the power is returning to us, especially since she upped us to our fourth-stage transformations. Her mother would never have allowed us to retain that much power. When she sent us she ensured we would never question Usagi's place."

"With our power levels this high and Usagi's ignorance and inexperience with the crystal we should be able to sever the crystal's connection to us completely," Ami put in excitedly.

"What would happen if we did that?" Makoto questioned.

"The crystal would shatter and our full power would be returned," Setsuna replied calmly.

"And Usagi?" Hotaru asked, hesitation evident in her voice3.

"Theoretically, she should be fine," Ami assured her, "The crystal wouldn't be drawing on her live force like it has done in the past. She would simply revert to the basic illusory powers her mother possessed all those years ago."

Haruka nodded in acceptance of this answer, "Let's do it then. We're here, we're focused, and we're even seated in a circle. Let's reclaim what's rightfully ours."

Mamoru Chiba's Apartment

"Usako? Are you all right?" Mamoru asked his fiancée when she stumbled slightly on her way in.

"She's been getting weaker," Luna put in worriedly, coming in with Artemis directly behind the princess, "The crystal has been growing dimmer this past month and Artemis and I…well…"

"Well what?" Mamoru demanded, gently helping Usagi to his couch.

"We think the senshi might have something to do with it," Artemis finished.

"That's ridiculous," Mamoru replied facing the two cats, "The senshi are the most loyal individuals I know."

"Mamo-chan's right," Usagi added in, "I can't believe they would betray me like that."

"Then where are they?" Luna questioned, "Why haven't they shown up to investigate what is going on? They should have reported to you hours ago."

"Luna," Usagi replied, "The senshi don't report to me, we have meetings and discuss things as a group…"

She was cut off as the crystal flashed, sending her to her knees, clutching at the broach that held it. Mamoru was instantly by her side, supporting her. "What is it?" he cried.

"It's like something is trying to suck the power from the crystal," she answered through gritted teeth, focusing on keeping the power contained, "I'm not sure if I can stop it."

"You have to concentrate Usagi," Luna ordered, "Push the intruders away."

"Mamoru," Artemis asked, "Can you use the Golden Crystal to see who our enemy is?"

"I'll try," Mamoru replied, drawing his own power source out, "I'll try to shield Usako at the same time."

Grasping his beloved's hand and closing his own eyes, Mamoru sank into his power, guiding it to the energy of the Silver Crystal. What he found there was chaos. Opening his magical senses, he could see the pulsating core of the crystal, greatly diminished from its former glory. Surrounding it were streamers of various colours spiralling in all directions. Looking closer, he could see that the streamers originated from the centre of the crystal and clearly were the source of the loss of power. Focusing his energy, he created a golden shield around the core, severing the ribbons of power. That completed, he turned and picked up one of the loose streamers before it could fade from existence. This streamer was a dark red in colour and was undulating in his grasp making it hard to hold on to. Strange, he thought, extending his senses even further, It feels familiar…almost like…Rei.

Disturbed by this thought, he dropped the red streamer and it vanished from his sight. Immediately, he turned and snatched up another streamer, this one an icy blue, scared at what this would reveal to him. Ami. He repeated this again and again, finally confirming his worst fear. It's true. Luna and Artemis were right. The senshi have betrayed Usagi. They will pay for hurting her.

Unnoticed by anyone in his apartment, the four stones that he kept on his desk gave off a faint glow and vanished.

Residence of the Outer Senshi

"What the fuck was that!" Makoto swore, picking her self up from where she had been thrown.

"Backlash," Hotaru grumbled, "Someone's trying to protect Serenity."

"Endymion," Rei confirmed grimly, "I can still taste that Golden Energy. He's definitely pissed but he can't stop us for long."

"A little longer," Setsuna amended, her gaze unfocused, "He's coming, and he's bringing Usagi, Luna and Artemis."

"Fantastic," Haruka snarled, "I want to have a few words with them."

"As long as it's just words," Ami pleaded, "Remember, this is a new life and Usagi isn't completely guilty."

"She stood by and let her mother treat us the way she did," Minako said coldly, "She never even bothered to learn that we had names apart from our titles. That makes her guilty by association and ignorance."

Even as Minako finished speaking, a golden glow began to fill the centre of the room. Before it could fade, Hotaru raised a hand and spoke a single word: "Shield."

Mamoru, Usagi, Luna and Artemis appeared to find themselves surrounded by a translucent purple wall, the rest of the senshi watching them with grim faces from the other side. "What is the meaning of this?" Luna demanded, "Saturn, drop the shield now, that's an order!"

"I'm sorry, I don't take orders from minions," Hotaru replied, her voice as cold as ice.

"As for what's going on, I think that should be fairly obvious," Haruka drawled, "Considering that you and Artemis have known for a while exactly what was going on."

"Attacking Luna isn't going to solve anything," Mamoru said firmly, "What I want to know is why you have launched an attack on Usagi. Why are you trying to steal the crystal's power."

The senshi burst into laughter, infuriating Mamoru even more, "Have you all lost your minds? This is mutiny! High Treason!"

"More like we've regained them," Rei said scathingly, all traces of amusement gone, "And you're right, it is High Treason, just not on our parts."

"I don't understand," Mamoru continued, sounding less angry and more confused.

"Stop this," Usagi pleaded, "Why are you doing this to me? What have I done to you?"

"You still don't remember do you, princess?" Makoto sneered, "Why don't you ask Luna to enlighten you?"

"Luna?"

"Ignore them Usagi," Luna coaxed, "They've gone power mad. They're trying to steal everything from you. They want the earth to be destroyed."

"Enough!" Mamoru bellowed, transforming into Endymion, "This is getting us nowhere. Just answer our questions!"

To emphasize his point, he swung his sword around to hit the barrier that surrounded him. To his shock, the barrier merely shimmered and remained in place with Hotaru showing no ill effects. "Try that again," Haruka growled, "I dare you."

"The amount of power…" Artemis breathed, unable to finish.

"Her power," Rei confirmed, stepping closer to the barrier.

"It can't be," Luna said, sounding lost, "It can't. Queen Serenity ensured it."

"So you do remember everything," Setsuna put in, eyeing the two cats, "And you did your best to make sure we never would."

Mamoru, now recovered from surprise demanded, "Just answer me before I use my crystal and bring this entire house down!"

"Queen Serenity stole our power and forced us to serve her."

"WHAT?"

AN. This chapter is definitely shorter than the last but I wanted to get it out and look! It ended in a sort-of cliffie! What will happen next? What about those mysterious disappearing stones? I've already got the next chapter mapped out so all I need are reviews! I only got three bloody reviews for my last chapter! C'mon people! Okay, I need less caffeine, you can tell by all the exclamation points I used, but seriously, I need more reviews or I won't be able to continue on…at least 5? Ten would make me really, really happy…Okay, back to work on B & S (hint, hint).