The inner senshi were gathered around a campfire outside of the cabin they were residing in, untransformed and accompanied by the Three Lights.
It was well into the evening by that point and Rei's cousin, who they had rescued earlier, slept inside and would most likely forget the events that had happened earlier that day once he would wake in the morning.
Nonetheless, things were still not resolved, as they were still missing two members of their party.
Everyone stood quiet as the wind whistled in the air.
Ami nervously checked her watch again.
Seiya began to speak up.
"That's it, I can't just wait here and do nothing. I'm going out there again to look."
He only had to take but a few steps until the familiar, blonde pigtails, illuminated their way through the darkness of the brush and into the campsite.
"Usagi?!"
The inner senshi gasped in unison.
Seiya hurriedly approached her.
"You had us all worried, you weren't hurt out there, were you?" he asked her.
It wasn't until he got closer to her that he could see she was carrying Chibi Chibi in her arms and before Usagi could even respond, he turned back to the group and yelled:
"She found the little Odango, everyone, they're both okay!"
Chibi Chibi looked up to Usagi.
"Chibi Chibi? Odango?" she asked innocently as she pointed to herself.
Usagi's eyebrow twitched with irritation at this.
Rei, followed by Ami, Minako and Makoto came to her side and each expressed their relief to see that she had been able to find the small child who continued time and time again proved to manage on her own in these dangerous situations.
Usagi lowered Chibi Chibi down and allowed Ami to take her inside the cabin along with the rest of the girls, except Rei who stayed behind with her.
"Why did you run off like that?" Rei asked in a hushed voice to Usagi as Seiya was still within earshot of them.
She could tell Rei was mad at her for her actions earlier.
Earlier, when she, as Sailor Moon, alongside Sailor Mars battled the Phage whose identity was discovered to be Rei's cousin, Sailor Moon was forced to rehabilitate him back into his human self using 'Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss.'
While Sailor Mars went to tend to her cousin who was in a weakened state, Usagi took advantage of the distraction and abruptly transformed behind her back and ran into the woods without a word leaving her alone to take care of her cousin. She couldn't blame Rei for being confused as to why she would do this, but it was something she couldn't let anyone know. Usagi had to return to Tohru and help him in whatever way she could.
"Listen, I'm sorry." she answered in the same lowered tone. "I was just so worried about finding Chibi Chibi that I just wasn't thinking..."
It wasn't a complete lie, it just wasn't the whole truth.
Rei softened her expression. "Just give me some kind of warning next time, okay?"
Usagi nodded in agreement and felt relieved that she believed her as Rei more so than anyone could usually see right through her.
After Rei followed the rest of her friends inside, it was the just the Three Lights who remained outside and Yaten soon called out:
"Seiya, now that this has all been resolved, we need to get back! Don't forget we have to finish filming in the morning!"
"Yeah, yeah! Can you give me a few minutes?" Seiya asked as he tilted his head in Usagi's direction.
Yaten frowned but Taiki calmly gestured that they oblige and enter inside the cabin with everyone else.
"Fine, we need to grab the costumes we took from production anyway." Yaten said reluctantly before they went inside, leaving Seiya and Usagi outside alone.
Seiya turned to Usagi to find that her arms were folded as she glared at him.
He scratched the back of his head and nervously chuckled, "My little prank seems to have caused a bit of trouble, eh?"
"A little?" she scoffed.
"I know, I know, I screwed up." he held up his hands defensively. "To be fair, there was no way to know that there was an actual monster in the woods."
Usagi approached the campfire and stared into the flames while she let out a long sigh.
"You always try to mess with me and you not only caused me trouble this time but also-"
She thought back to Tohru who was beaten relentlessly by the angry Phage because he had chosen to help her find Chibi Chibi.
The flames of the campfire trickled in the reflections of her blue eyes that seemed far away as Seiya watched her.
"Odango?" he called to her.
Her eyes blinked as she realized that she had become lost in her thoughts.
She cleared her throat, "What I meant was...what would I have done if I had lost Chibi Chibi out there because of one of your stupid pranks, hmm..? How would I explain that to my parents?"
"Please accept my apology. I promise, I'll find a way to make it up to you." he said in absolute seriousness.
Usagi sighed.
"For now we can start simple, and stop with the constant teasing." she said.
He nodded before displaying a charming smile.
"I'll try to be a respectable gentleman from now on."
She stared back at him blankly but before long they both dropped their serious demeanor's and broke into laughter.
He looked upon her as she giggled.
"You know what, Odango. The fire light really suits you."
Her smile quickly left and she yelled "For the hundredth time, don't call me that!"
He chuckled. "Fair enough. But the fire light really does compliment you, Usagi-chan..."
She turned her head away from him, now feeling embarrassed.
"I should go collect my band members." he chuckled.
Usagi nodded in agreement and they made their way to the cabin.
He went ahead climbing a couple of steps that led to the front door and turned in front of her and extended his arm for Usagi.
"As my first act as a proper gentleman, allow me to help the lady up the steps." he said as he bowed down.
She rolled her eyes but playfully took his hand, "It's going to take much more than that to make up for earlier."
Just then, Chibi Chibi opened the front door with a sudden force that caused Seiya to fall on top of Usagi and she yelped out as they both landed with a hard thud.
Everyone inside gathered around the entryway to find Seiya on his knees bent over as Usagi lay flat beneath him. As they looked into each other's eyes, their faces were so close that their noses nearly touched and Usagi could feel the warmth of his breath on her lips.
Her heart raced and both of their faces blushed an obvious shade of pink as their friends looked upon the scandalous scene before them.
Meanwhile:
Sapphir dragged his injured brother along the path back to their cabin, which was still half a mile away.
Demande was surprised at how calm his demeanor was considering who he found him with just now. But the quiet was becoming much too uncomfortable for him, more so than the injuries that were inflicted on him by the Phage.
"I think it's been long enough, let us teleport back now." Demande suggested.
"No, no, no..that would be much too risky." Sapphir answered in a sarcastic tone. "The senshi could still be around here and detect our energy. We wouldn't want that to happen."
"We're seriously going to walk the entire way back?" Demande complained.
"It's better to be on the safe side, don't you think? I mean, after all, we are supposed to be taking every possible precaution with the senshi."
Demande let out an exasperated sigh.
He knew Sapphir wasn't going to let this go and probably had a fight in store for him when they returned to their lodgings.
The best thing would be to rip the upcoming argument off like a band-aid and move on from this as quickly as possible, for all their plans are finally about to come into fruition and they can't allow any more obstacles to take place.
"I have something to show you when we get back that you may find interesting." Sapphir said suddenly.
"And what is that?" Demande asked.
"You'll see," he answered. "We're almost there."
When both men finally made it inside their cabin, Sapphir released Demande and he immediately collapsed to the ground . Every muscle in his body ached, with his entire dorsal region in pain from where the creature's hammer struck.
Unbeknownst to him, there was an open tear in the back of his shirt that was wide enough to render the dark bruises visible to Sapphir who couldn't help but widen his eyes when he saw the extent of his injuries inflicted upon him. Nonetheless he was angry at his brother for being involved once again with 'that woman' and thought it was almost well deserved.
"I need..my earrings.." Demande pleaded, feeling intense pain with every breath he took.
"Not just yet." Sapphir answered. "Look at the surroundings you see before you."
Demande stared ahead of him to what looked like a mess of pages of paper scattered all over the floor.
"What? What is this?" he asked impatiently.
"Go on, take a look." Sapphir tilted his head in the direction of the mess of paper.
Demande snapped, "Sapphir, dammit, can't you see that I'm hurt? I can barely move as it is!"
"Then crawl if you have to. It's no more pathetic than how you appear already, involving yourself with 'her' yet again. A woman who will lead you nowhere but to your downfall."
Demande got up on his feet and glared at his brother. "Enough!" he screamed before he knelt back down in pain.
Sapphir sighed and pulled out the dark crystal earrings from his pocket and threw them to Demande.
He caught them and put them in place before his eyes glowed a sharp purple as did the inverted family crest of the Black Moon on his forehead.
The intensity of the pain was already starting to dull but it would take a whole night's sleep to heal all the damage that had been done.
"Now that we have no more distractions, I ask you again, brother, to please look at these drawings." Sapphir said.
Demande let out a groan of frustration but ultimately did as his brother asked despite his fury towards him and his pompousness.
"Surely you don't think I had anything to do with this? It looks as if they were drawn by a child."
"They were," he answered. "That little girl did this while I was in my room resting. She was in our cabin the entire time after I fell asleep."
Demande wrinkled his brows.
That was impossible. He had seen her in the complete opposite direction when he left Sapphir to go after her. However, he couldn't have Sapphir know that was what led him away.
"I know that she was separated from the rest of her group but I didn't know she came to our cabin. A Phage came and attacked me while they happened to be out looking for her, can't you see that I had to defend myself?" he said, clutching his fist.
"For that I do not blame you. But somehow you never fail to be entangled in their matters and put our identities at risk." Sapphir shook his head and let out a small laugh, "You think you're so in control of the situation…"
Demande challenged him, "And what makes you think I'm not?"
"Because she knows who we are."
"Who?"
"The girl." Sappir answered
"Nonsense." was all Demande said.
"It's true! That little girl knows of Nemesis, just as she knows of all of these other planets, their satellites..I could go on."
Sapphir looked down to the edge of where the drawings ended, where Pluto was drawn and he noticed for the first time that the drawing of their home planet wasn't in view anymore.
He bent down and examined the rest of the display and shook his head but somehow he wasn't completely surprised.
"It's missing now..but she clearly drew Nemesis among all the rest of these planets and even knew where to place it. She must have taken it while I wasn't looking,. but she made it a point to show it to me when I discovered her in our cabin."
Demande interjected. "None of these pictures are labeled, it could have been a drawing of anything and you interpreted it that way.
"I'm telling you, whatever it was, it emitted a strange energy from the page unlike all the other drawings. It was an Omen..a warning to us."
"She's just a child, you're being over dramatic."
Sapphir shook his head again.
"Look around you! We both know, that is no ordinary child."
Demande began to feel lightheaded. Most likely due to a mixture of exhaustion and the power of the dark crystal coursing through his veins.
"Please Sapphir, I promise I will discuss this with you later, but I'm tired and need to sleep this off.
"Don't worry, I grow tired of this discussion as well. It seems I'll be on my own once again, left to nothing but my thoughts."
Sapphir walked out the cabin without saying another word.
Demande slowly paced in and around where the pictures laid, looking more thoroughly at each and every detail but eventually pulled his gaze away and shook his head before heading to his room.
She could have copied all this from a book for all they knew, it proved nothing.
As he approached his temporary bedroom, he noticed the door was already halfway open.
He wrinkled his brow as he closed the door behind him; he was sure it was closed when they left to go collect the firewood.
For some reason he all of a sudden felt uneasy and walked to the end table and opened the drawer.
He pulled out Takemine's journal and as far as it appeared, it hadn't been disturbed.
That was when it suddenly occurred to him that Sapphir would have had to enter his room to retrieve his earrings that he left on top of the end table.
He let out a sigh of relief and let the book drop from his fingers on top of his bed.
Demande entered the wash room and removed his torn shirt. He tensed up when he lifted his arms as his shoulders cried out in pain. When his shirt was removed, he looked at his body in the mirror; the discoloration and bruising was immediately apparent and there was a darkness that amassed his entire upper back.
His entire frame then reflected back a purple glow that surrounded his entire being. This reassured him that the powers of the black crystal were working to regenerate his wounds and he would be back to normal by tomorrow.
There was a thought that lingered in the back of his mind that when he would wake in the morning, he would possess a power unlike ever before. A strength he hadn't even known on Nemesis. The thought was both thrilling as it was frightening .
After changing for the evening, he entered his room to find that the book he had left on his bed was open now.
He was sure it was closed before so he approached it cautiously.
The feeling started to take hold now. It was just like that first time as he felt that familiar urge to cater to the book's whims as it beckoned him to continue the story of it's author as now was the time he was needed.
Demande positioned himself on the bed and carefully handled the tattered journal and felt his eyes suddenly grow heavy until they drew to a close.
When he opened them again the setting around him disappeared and was nothing but a void of endless darkness.
Suddenly he could hear the sound of a faucet of running water in the distance which caused him to sharply turn around.
That was when he found that he was now inside what appeared to be a small hotel room that was dimly lit inside.
The door opened and a man emerged from the washroom, using one hand to rub each of his eyes as his long, dark hair fell around in messy waves reaching to touch his collarbone.
When he brought down his hand and looked ahead, seemingly into nothing with his bloodshot eyes, Demande was shocked to see this disheveled man before him was his ancestor.
A far cry from the polished, well dressed, clean shaven man who was never surrounded in anything other than upscale accommodations. The once aspiring scientist whose violet colored eyes seemed so full of life the last he saw him, now listless and devoid of any emotion.
A half empty bottle of sake, sat on the end table next to the bed with a glass sitting in front of it and he went to take a sip.
'It was on this day when I had sunk into the lowest point of my existence. I had begun this new way of life as a bright eyed, handsome youth of 26 with the world at my fingertips. Never again would sickness touch me, and with time at my disposal now, along with my parent's large inheritance, I truly felt invincible.'
'However, things had not gone the way one would expect when given an extended lifespan. Originally it was my sole intention and ambition to advance my knowledge in my scientific career and make a name for myself. And at first that is exactly what I did.'
'After only a few months after the Silver Crystal's power was released to the world, I had left Japan for Germany. There, I worked as an understudy to a new professor and changed my research into the sect of Molecular Biology and would soon become world renowned in the scientific community.'
After the trial period of this new existence, it seemed that the essence of time became less and less important, and I soon fell under the spell of satisfying my indulgences and putting my career further in the back of my mind because, what could be done today, could certainly be done tomorrow. And the next day. Until those days turned to months, those months to years and soon, even decades.'
'With money at my disposal, I traveled the world in luxury; with my handsome looks, I bedded many women; with immunity to disease and illness, I poisoned my body with many substances and even took up smoking just because I could. I'm addicted now, but that's alright, cancer was a thing of the past.'
However, I would eventually lose it all. I dared to fly closely to the sun when I took my research toward discovering what the Silver Crystal's components were. The problem with this, is it was illegal for anyone outside the royal family to possess this knowledge and it cost me my career and reputation.
'As the years went by, all I had managed to accomplish in the end was to squander away my father's fortune and was now down to the last few hundred thousand yen left to my name. No doubt my father would have been disgusted with me, and I hated to admit it but, he would have every right to be. Because I already felt this way about myself. In his limited lifespan he had founded his own enterprise and amassed millions before dying at the premature age of 56...and here, you see me now in this state..''
Junsei Takemine downed the last of what was in his cup and abruptly threw the glass in the direction Demande was standing in. The glass shattered behind him before he had even realized what had happened. It had gone right through, without him feeling anything at all.
'The year is 2058 and despite my youthful appearance, I am 56 years old. '
'I sit here at this time in a cheap hotel in Hong Kong drinking myself into a stupor as I wallow in self pity. Hours before this moment, I had placed a phone call that was missed to someone I hadn't seen or spoken to in all this time but felt was the only person I felt I could turn to even though my pride made it extremely difficult. '
Takemine laid back on the bed and placed an arm across his forehead as if he were shielding his eyes from a bright light, even though the room was barely lit at all.
He suddenly jolted up and sat stiffly upright as his eyes widened.
Demande started to question what he was seeing, because his violet eyes started to glow and then fade back to normalcy in a steady pattern.
When Takemine placed two fingers against his left temple, and his eyes stayed glowing permanently to a bright purple, and he spoke aloud:
"Tomoe-san.."
His demeanor shifted to that of a sober man.
"I know it's been a long time..but I'm coming back to Juuban and was hoping to visit while in town. It's short notice and I know how your schedule must keep you busy but-"
He stopped speaking and listened as the invisible voice responded and then started to actually smile.
"I know, I feel the same...I've always had nothing but the utmost respect for you and the Professor and I'm looking forward to seeing the both of you in a few days, it's been long overdue"
He nodded his head.
"Yes, I remember where it is. Three o' clock on Sunday is fine. I'll see you then."
"Goodbye."
He pressed at his temple again and the glow in his eyes faded back to normal.
'After this night, I would never touch alcohol again and decided instead to focus on regaining my reputation and turning my life around. This soft feeble drunkard of a man was something I prepared to leave behind.'
Demande felt himself being pulled away as the dark and dingy surroundings of the motel room faded and transformed into a living room of a large manor.
He looked around the room which was dimly lit with flower bulbs placed throughout that created a pleasant glow that emitted around the man and woman seated across from each other, sipping slowly on a steaming cup of tea.
"Will Professor Tomoe be joining us?" the man asked.
This man, who 24 hours beforehand, was wasting away in a drunken stupor, was now the spitting image of his former self, wearing his finest clothes with his dark hair trimmed and combed meticulously, enhancing his fine features.
"I'm afraid it's just me today. Father had really wanted to be here but already had this conference scheduled." she answered.
Based on her response, he could only conclude that this woman was none other than Hotaru Tomoe because to say that this woman was unrecognizable in comparison to when he last saw her would be an understatement.
Hotaru Tomoe had completely changed from the woman he had last seen almost 30 years beforehand.
At that time, she would have received the eternal gift around the age of 40 and it appears the effects of the silver crystal were quite generous with her, as she looked more youthful than ever. Any traces of gray that used to streak her bobbed hair, was reverted to her natural black that was grown long as it topped down past her back.
Back when he had worked under her father, Hotaru was already widowed and lived her life modestly, not putting in the extra time into her appearance in terms of wearing makeup and wearing any jewelry other than her old wedding ring which he noticed she no longer wore. All her focus had always been for caring for her elderly father and running Mugen Academy in his stead when she took over as headmistress.
And yet the woman that sat before him had pearls that dangled from her ears and were embroidered all throughout the dark vest she wore as they clung around her arms like sleeves. The only familiarity he could tell from the Hotaru he used to know was her affinity for dark clothes that now transferred to the makeup she wore.
"Is he still...the same?" he asked with hesitancy in his voice.
She then softly giggled.
"Oh, Junsei, not at all. After the silver change, father's motor and cognitive functions improved to the point where, after being bed ridden for years, was able to come out of retirement and work in the lab at Mugen again and expanded it to reaches we never thought possible."
Takemine looked genuinely pleased by this news.
"I don't know what to say, that makes me so happy. I'll have to set up a meeting with Professor Tomoe as soon as I can."
Hotaru gave a gentle smile. "He was really happy when I told him you called. We had both waited for this but knew you would decide to do so when the time was right."
Takemine shifted his eyes away at first before he looked straight into Hotaru's.
"I had lost sight of what was important in life and I want to set things straight. The truth is, I'm not just visiting Japan, I plan on staying here for good."
"I'm so glad to hear this. I'd love to offer you your old position at Mugen if you haven't found work yet?" she suggested.
"You're too kind to have me after how I've been. I will gladly accept your offer."
"Excellent!" She exclaimed. "You can start as soon as you like. I know Mugen will be in good hands with you back on staff."
He smiled.
"I'm really glad you returned my call."
Color rose to Hotaru's cheeks and she appeared to be at a loss of words to say.
The chimes suddenly went off on Tomoe's antique grandfather clock.
"I should go back to my hotel, I know that you're busy and I've taken up too much of your time."
He set down the saucer on the coffee table and began to stand.
Hotaru then stood.
"Wait. Would like to join me for dinner this evening. I have the rest of the day off and would like to catch up and pick your brain on some of the subjects we're currently researching at Mugen. If you're free, that is."
"Sounds better than spending my first evening in Japan alone," he replied.
"Let's move this to the dining room. I'll let our maid know to set another place at the table."
She touched his shoulder and gestured for him to follow her into the next room.
Demande's surroundings started to blur around him and he was once again whisked away to a different location.
Met with sudden bright lights, he now stood inside a laboratory.
Hotaru Tomoe and Junsei Takemine stood together near a counter covered with sets of test tubes and a large microscope.
Takemine held a tablet and appeared to be taking notes as Hotaru gave him instructions but her voice was too low for Demande to hear what exactly she was telling him.
Takemine soon shut the tablet off and put it away.
"I can't thank Professor Tomoe enough for allowing me access to his private lab. You don't know how much this means to me."
"To be honest, it even surprises me that he would hand over his pass codes over to someone when this place used to be virtually forbidden for anyone to enter for so many years. But with how successful you've been in the 5 short months you've returned to Mugen, and with this new opportunity he's been secretive with me about, I guess he won't be using this place for a long while, it'd be a shame to let it go to waste." she commented.
"Also..," she lifted her head towards him and kissed his cheek. "It doesn't hurt that you've made his daughter a very happy woman."
Her eyes suddenly glowed purple on and off just as he had withnessed with Takemine back in the cheap hotel.
She placed two fingers to her temple.
"Tomoe speaking." she said aloud. "Yes, I'm just finishing up with things here. I'll head over now. See you soon."
She looked to Takemine.
"I have to head to the school. We have an important board meeting."
He smiled affectionately to her as he walked behind her and removed the lab coat she wore and placed a gentle kiss on her neck.
"Thanks, Hotaru, I can look after things from here. I'll meet you for dinner afterwards."
"Sounds great. I'll leave you here to get acquainted with everything."
She walked up a set of stairs that led to the exit and closed the door behind her.
Demande crossed his arms as he watched on.
He felt that this display Takemine was putting on was some kind of act as it was out of character to everything he's seen of him so far. It was hard to believe that a man who was normally so cold and had lived so selfishly up to this point could suddenly change into this.
Takemine suddenly spoke aloud.
"You're right not to trust me, you know."
Demande looked around him and couldn't see anyone else in the room that he would be talking to, but when Takemine suddenly turned and faced directly towards him, he knew that it was him he was speaking to.
He uncrossed his arm and felt unease.
"What I plan to do in this lab will alter the course of this seemingly normal life I am living. It is here that I will come to find out the secrets of the Silver Crystal and this will be the start of what will cause me to be banished away from this planet. But for now this is all I can show you as you have received too much of the dark crystal's power this day to see anymore."
"What is it exactly that you want from me? Why is it that you're showing me all of this?" Demande confronted him.
"I told you this before, I want everything that you want. The Ginzuishou and the Jakokusuishou must be joined and reset the course of history to prevent what will soon happen. You must unite the powers of the White Moon with the Black Moon. With this, we can defeat the current threat and create a kingdom that surpasses the Silver Millennium. King Endymion is dead now, there is nothing that can be done about that. You will be the new king of Earth."
"When you wake, you will finally possess the power you need to bring back your fallen comrades and with all your powers combined, will be able to obtain everything it is you desire. However, I know that you do not yet completely trust me and I want to gain your trust by showing you how Nemesis would come to be and why it is I did the things that I did. With each time you gain this knowledge, you will get more and more powerful and accomplish what I couldn't in the past. Once the journal has been fully read, you will reach a level that has never been seen before, but a mere mortal such as yourself can only take a small amount each time or you would surely die."
Demande had no words for the man, and still felt unsure.
"There is a problem that threatens this plan."
Demande looked up.
"You're losing control of Sappir and must let me step in."
"That is something I can't allow. No matter what it is I want, if it means that Sapphir is harmed in any way, than it is out of the question." Demande said sternly.
"Not at all. Sapphir is a key player in this game and we need him. You will lose him completely soon if you continue to pursue the Queen, that is unless you allow me to step in a take control of his memories as I have done before."
Demande's eyes widened.
"His memories..?" As his words trailed off he recalled the other day when Sapphir seemingly forgot the large argument they had the day before.
Demande stepped towards Takemine and grabbed the collar of his lab coat,
"What did you do to him?"
Takemine's expression remained the same.
"Nothing. Just something you are unable to do which is to control the situation because as you said, what I want is what you want. You want to retain a relationship with your brother but also gain the love of the Queen which in the end, you and I both know, you can't have both and will eventually have to choose."
Demande loosened his grip and soon let go of him.
"Sapphir will conveniently forget everything thing that has angered him today and only retain the fun memories you spent together on this trip. When you return home, the plan will resume and you and he shall work to bring back Esmeraude and Rubeus. This is what you want to happen, isn't it?"
He held out a hand to Demande just like he had the other time.
"Once again, let me ask you, will you allow me to help you achieve everything that you ever wanted?"
Demande even though, still not fully convinced, reluctantly took the man's hand, feeling as though he were making a pact with the devil, and once they were joined, everything faded into blackness.
Author's Note: Happy New Year! My New Year's resolution is to hopefully put out more chapters to this series if you all are still interested. You may be wondering..did I just hook up Mistress 9 with The Black Moon's founder? I did. I love Hotaru and wanted for her to have a part in this story. Also, did I also just rip off the microchip phone technology from Black Mirror? I did. I know, I'm crazy. Now that we clarified this, stay tuned for the next chapter and let me know your thoughts!