sabina21: thanks and will do.
kera69love: perhapsā¦or maybe not. š
Princesakarlita411: yup and that's not all that's gonna happen either, just wait and see cause what's coming up next will be a shocker and a halfā¦I hope.
ShadowQueenGalactica: wow! That's a lot but I totally get the binge worthiness and I'm glad that you find my story binge worthy and that your hungry for more!
4 reviews, nice, I'm actually planning to make a sequel to this one thanks to those that asked for it, especially after how I decided to end this one. I just have to plan it out as it'll be during Ann and Ail's time frame, not skipping the doom tree as those two did have their crushes and that'll be fun to play with. Either way for this one let me know what you think, so read, enjoy and review!
The devil within ch.20
Princess Serenity POV
I'm beyond stunned and happy at what I see. There is my Endymion, looking haggard as anything, roughed up even but here he is, fighting his way to my side and now I know for sure that Metallia's smile will surely be changing here. She doesn't know yet that he's on MY side, not hers. My hope returns further as he puts his hand on my shoulder. For a moment she looks ready to see me die at his hands.
I can see the glee in her eyes at what she HOPES is about to happen. Yet as he gives me a comforting smile and we BOTH give equally glowing smirks to Metallia which pisses and confuses Metallia but good.
"What is the meaning of this?" she demands of him. "I can practically taste my powers on you." She can still feel the power deep in him.
"You are to follow MY orders, kill the moon princess! Give me the silver crystal!" she demands in a shrill voice that would put Beryl to shame...shockingly.
"I FOLLOW NO DEMON! I AM PRINCE ENDYMION OF THE TERRAIN KINGDOM!" He bellows out startling even her. "I may have your powers, but I will NOT follow nor stand behind ANYONE, or beside anyone, but my Serenity...my future wife." He points his sword at her. "You have skirted by for far too long by using others. You've caused enough destruction; your reign of terror is OVER!"
He sends a wave of nega-energy at her in the form of a powerful blast that gives me a few seconds of breathing room. That's when I see the smallest glimpse of the golden crystal trying to break through. Trying to be of service despite its carrier being filled with evil. He can't use its power to the fullest like I can with my crystal.
"That's not possible? HOW?! You're dripping with my own powers! I pushed them into you myself!" she demanded, sounding very upset and stunned that this was even happening.
"Easy..." he looks to me.
"The power of love," he admits, a smile on his face. He looks back to her. "Her love for me saved me from being your mental bitch. In my former kingdom no less."
That shocked me. It doesn't resemble what he's talking about but considering the time that has passed and decorative changes made to it, it's entirely possible for it to be that. Then something strikes me hard.
This very throne room, where his parents used to sit, where he would have once sat was now the home and thorn room of the enemy. So to be able to beat her here was very much poetic justice to his past life parents...to everyone that lost their lives here all those years ago. It helps to re-enforce so much as I can imagine all of those poor souls trapped here till this place is decimated for good.
He puts his hands up this time. "I need not a sword to help defeat you, demon," he tells her as she growls, "I knew Beryl made a mistake by keeping you as a pet, I thought maybe you'd be useful being the Terrain prince and the only living survivor that had access to your family's precious crystal."
She belts a powerful blast at him that he blocks with his sword, taking power away from me momentarily. I increased my attack just a little bit and feel her's increase back towards me.
"I should have simply killed you with the rest of your family back then."
Endymion grunts, "Yeah you should have." He used his own powers to fight against her. Stunning her as I start to hear struggling behind me. Jadeite and Malachite both come in through the darkness, pushing through it with much effort as they pull in with them the Senshi, giving them help to push through as well as the darkness is clearly suffocating for the lot of them.
Maybe that's part of Metallia's plan, to choke us out with her dark magic's so we can't fight her off too well.
"NOT possible!" Metallia screamed at us and using more of her evil negaverse energy to attack me.
Malachite responds, "It is when you have friendship and brotherhood to pull you back from the brink...and the love of a good woman to ground you."
Jadeite I can see nods his head in agreement.
Metallia in her anger unleashes even more powerful attacks on us all. The attack is nearly too much as my arms begin to bend from the pressure. That's when I hear, "Mars Power!", "Jupiter Power!", "Venus Power!", "Mercury Power!" as four sets of glowing powers strike at Metallia and give off four very distinctive powerful energy glows making her falter back even further than before. That's when I see both Malachite and Jadeite using their own powers of darkness to help us, the power signatures differing greatly.
It's quite a sight to see both good and evil powers working together in unison to stop a much more evil force at work. I look over to see the anger and rage on both Malachite and Jadeite's faces as they level their powers at her. Even though it's evil against evil, it's still a powerful attack being leveled against her. I almost want to laugh at the irony of those she gave her nega-energy to were now fighting not just FOR us but WITH us, ALONGSIDE of us against HER especially as she screeches in indignation.
"How dare you!" she glares at them, full-on glares with her green eyes that are somehow darkening as she talks, "I gave you more power! More than you could have dreamed of beforehand! I gave you a chance to be on the winning side as your commanding soldiers followed you to the death! You fools!"
She puts out more feelers as Jadeite erupts full of anger, "And that is something we will have to live with!"
We turn to see him as does Mars, "Something we will be paying for..for the rest of our lives, destroying you...is only the beginning!"
A surprising amount of power erupts from him, and judging by the anger level he's pushing out, it's part of his resentment from being locked away in the prison world he was in. I can tell by now as I can now hear Mercury's visor with communication from Luna and Artemis who are undoubtedly back at central control that the fighting out in the cities is getting worse.
Her evil influence is spreading out even further as she gathers more energy to combat us as we're starting to overpower her. She's avoiding losing at all costs. Knowing what I have to do I step forward a few steps, the barrier before he faltering as I move and call upon the last of my powers, letting the barrier fade out as I know I need the energy from it to finish this fight and see the reddish looking diamond above her eyes.
I look to Endymion as he sees it and nods. Knowing where I have to hit hard with the most of my power to date, I shout out, "Time to end this! Moon Crystal Power!" and send it all into her, hitting the diamond on contact with all of it. All of my energy all of my power as I feel more drained than ever before. This, however, as I allow the powers to lift me up pulls in the powers of the Senshi.
Seeing this, they send the rest of their energy to me as a massive energy ball the likes of which I've never seen before erupts from the silver crystal and delivers into her right as Endymion and his two generals send their own powers in to hit her as well. My arms span outwards releasing all of my energy into the blast and it shockingly feels almost freeing in a sense. I see her shadowy face as it hits her.
Like a massive ball as I let it go and watch as the last of the powers shreds her. The crystal continues its strike on her till there's nothing left but vapor before it stops blasting. The power, the energy all of it was obviously too much for her to handle as she screams out the last of her agony and dissipates. Once my feet touch the ground again, I feel how drained I am. I can barely stabilize myself.
I fall back and expect to hit the floor when I meet Endymion's arms instead and find myself back in my Senshi uniform, realizing how much energy I used up. Endymion I can tell wants to be gentle with me seeing as Metallia is gone but there's a rumbling going on now, one that doesn't' care if we're in here or not.
"With Metallia and Beryl both dead there's no one strong enough to keep this place going, we need to get out now," Malachite suggestively orders as he begins to direct everyone.
I nod and force myself up as all of us make our way out of the dark kingdom which isn't easy as pillars begin to fall, ceilings begin to crash down and walls begin to cave in. I have no time to even think about how worn out I am, or how I am ready to pass out. I'm positive if my eyes close for more than five or ten seconds I will be asleep. I'm only able to keep awake due to being pulled around corridors and hallways that are tumbling by Endymion as the other generals pulled the rest of the Senshi behind.
I'm torn between telling him 'I can handle myself' and letting him carry me out I'm that tired. Both my need to be an independent female and my need to let Endymion carry me are at war with each other. I must've run down at least a dozen corridors at this point as we make our way to the entrance, exit. I'm breathing hard and know the rest aren't too far behind me as I look back and see how even the generals are breathing hard.
I can tell that the energy usage was too much. We're damn near completely drained of it and instead of teleporting out of here we're running for our lives. It hits me then how badly this could have gone if things were different. If Mamoru hadn't managed to save his memories as he did, what COULD have happened IF things had gone down differently? Would we even be alive right now? That right there wakes me up more. Without Endymion and the general's help would we have survived?
Yes, we would have killed her, but would we have survived it? I'm not given the chance nor the time to even think about it before I get pulled through more endless seemingly hallways as we get directed out of the negaverse. The kingdom is falling apart and were practically abandoning a sinking ship. Once we make the breach past the exit or entrance we keep on running as the power that held the negaverse together crumbles upon itself.
The crumbling kingdom creates a massive explosion that reaches outward blasting anything and everything out of its path. I can only imagine the damage that will be done to it if there's anything left of it. We continue to run but soon enough it's not enough. The power that kept the place going finally erupts and sends a massive blanket of corrosive energy outward. Like a giant aftershock of energy hitting everything in sight and we're all caught up in it, getting tossed without warning and thrown like rag dolls.
I can feel the power hitting my face as the icy winds hit me too. We're at least twenty feet in the air getting thrown back when I feel a warm wave surrounding me. I open my closed eyes, as anyone would from getting tossed around, and see and feel Endymion around me, creating a barrier to block out the blast and protect not just me but those around us as Malachite and Jadeite do the same thing.
We all see the area, the blast vanishes from sight as we're transported nearly a few miles from there. As we land Mars is the first to get up, dust herself off and remark, "You couldn't have done that earlier?!" Her tone annoyed as even Mercury shoots her a look.
"They just saved our lives, don't push it."
That's when Jadeite comes up to her. "She's just upset at what COULD have happened," he says as she seems to think about something important making a choice as she first slaps him then hugs him.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again," the words whispered lowly yet here in the absolute quietness it's loud enough to be heard. "Why do you have to know me so damn well?" she nearly cries at him as she releases her hold on him. He still holds onto her, "Cause I love you and that will never stop."
She pulls back her tears knowing we're all around. "I'm not saying it back," she mutters stubbornly.
Normally this would sound cruel...even for her. Yet he gives her a small smile as if he knows she's lying through her teeth...maybe he really does know her better than she thinks he does. "I don't care," he tells her as she tries to stare him down into submission, yet he doesn't even the slightest bit get scared off by her. Unable to stop herself she lets out a strangled tear and pulls him in for a short, sweet yet epically intense kiss that has everyone stopping what their doing in recovering themselves.
No one even breathes on the off chance she'll stop as Jadeite tentatively puts his arm around her backside. My hunch is he's enjoying the few seconds of this he's getting before she stops it for all it's worth. She releases him as he gives her a look that says so much about how he feels about her and that kiss. I can tell she's trying to avoid thinking about her actions as she looks around seeing us seeing her. "Not a word."
No one even makes an attempt to breathe a word around her about it till I say, "Hate to break the bubble but we should make sure that the blast took everything out."
The others agree, and Mars looks ready to shelve what just happened for a later examination on her own. Once we return, we find something truly amazing. In where it used to reside in an incredibly jagged icy sculpture-looking thing that has taken over most of it but also left behind what could now double as a large lake if it were filled with water.
It was easily a few stories deep as we got closer to it and saw that NOTHING that resembled anything to do with the Dark Kingdom was in it. Mercury then remarked, "After two complete full scans, this place is free of evil."
I noted how she remarked, on this place rather than the occupants that were here with us.
"So it's really over Metallia and Beryl are really toast?" Jupiter remarks feeling the wave of relief were all feeling.
"I would say yes. This place before was dripping with evil and now, with the exception of those we know being with the nega-energy that they used to help us and save us, there's none left," Mercury confirms.
As happy as I am that this happened, I know what I told Endymion about healing him and honestly, it's not that I don't want to, but I don't know if I have the energy to do so at this moment.
That's when we see Luna and Artemis coming up to us looking beyond pleased at our accomplishment. It feels good to have all of us on the same side on this one. "I will be the first to say how shocked I am that this plan of yours worked." She directs her words towards Endymion. He nods and for the first time, I see a small amount of mutual respect pass back and forth between them.
"Yeah it was touch and go for a while but with the general's help we not only beat her, we decimated her," Mercury added.
Luna looked pleased till she looked at Endymion, "And what of Beryl?"
He smirked, "She's as must dust in the wind as Metallia is vapor in the air." Luna's eye twitches. "She's dead." he clarified.
"I can attest to that," Malachite adds helping yet Luna doesn't seem convinced.
"And the proof of that?" She nearly demands as Mercury steps forward, "Luna the only nega-energy signatures that I'm reading here or anywhere on earth, or near the earth for that matter is in the three of them."
I can see that Luna is now confronted with the truth that Endymion did indeed deliver as promised what he said he would do. She accepts this, "Okay, now it's your turn." she looks back at him. Then to me and orders, "Heal him."
It's now however that Endymion puts his hands up, "I think with the amount of energy used up we should focus more on getting home rather than that, we're already ridiculously drained of energy and this place, the giant ass crater beside us is proof of the amount of power and energy expelled."
Luna narrows her eyes towards him at this even though in all honesty I do agree with him.
"Luna, he has a point." Mercury stepped forward now, "We can't walk home from here, we're in the most remote portion of the Arctic. It's why Beryl had her kingdom out here."
That's when Endymion gave a disruptive cough, "Actually she had it out here cause this place, back in the days of the silver millennium, was the Terrain Kingdom. Beryl told me on her death bed."
"So that kingdom that just went down was the last remnants of what the Dark Kingdom turned from my old home. Metallia was sealed down there by Queen Serenity before Beryl woke her back up when she was reincarnated in this time too."
I can see this cause Luna to pause, "I'm sorry for that...I had no idea." I could hear the actual sympathy in her voice as he nodded his head in thanks for it.
"But using up the energy or not, transportation back to Japan or not, you all three need to be healed. Starting with you!" she snaps at him. He seems to be having had enough at this point as am I.
"Luna, at the end of the day you don't give the orders, my Moon Senshi does and right now, she along with the rest of us have barely enough energy to pull together to get us home," He stands above her.
"The healing can wait till we can recoup and recover," he starts to walk as we all do. "The first thing we'll do is get out of this cold then we can pass the hell out once we get back to the temple."
Even Mars doesn't object to that as she falls towards the back of the group as we get ready to teleport back.
"I know I wouldn't mind getting out of this frozen hell," Malachite mutters as even I nod in agreement.
It finally hits me that we've won. We actually did it. We fought hard and we won. Yes we're exhausted and in a little bit, we'll be even more weakened after we teleport back but having gone through everything we have gone through has been oh so worth it. I can't help but look up to Endymion as he wraps his arm around my shoulders, a comforting gesture I relish as he leans in to kiss me...only to suddenly look like he's just been placed in tremendous pain as I look back and am shocked by the sight before me.
Mars POV
Luna motions for me to hang back as she gives me a direct expression of 'you know what you must do!'.
Yet I sigh instead. Today has been incredibly hard, stressful, and painful even with all that we've endured and what we just experienced in there and out here with the youma we've fought and the monster we just faced off against. We fought hard, really hard...so much so that we quite literally decimated this whole area.
There was no sign there was ever evil even here and that was all US. We actually did it...we won. I know that we had a lot to thank for the generals that were with us. They could have at any point killed us but instead, they proved themselves time and time again in aiding us and killing Metallia. Beryl herself, I know I can feel it is dead. There's nothing left evil here other than what's brewing in the guys.
I know Luna wants them to be healed and she's right, no doubt, but...right now is NOT the time as Mercury and Endymion both have excellent points. We're damn near tapped out of energy and we still need to get back home. I'm not walking to the nearest city of people to SEE about getting a lift and explain WHY we do. This is the Artic, we're easily 25-50...maybe even 75 miles away from civilization.
Plus, we'd freeze or suffer some form of hypothermia so we need to conserve our energies so we can have enough power to transport ourselves back home. I couldn't blame Moon either for wanting to hold off. She expelled so much energy I know she's beyond drained and probably ready to collapse if given the opportunity, we nearly all are. So Luna's badgering persistence is unneeded right now.
I can feel the atmospheric pressure drop a bit as the winds lower down letting up on us as we get closer to where we came from.
"Were getting there, once we're in the area we should theoretically be able to use some of the residual energies to help transport us back," Mercury says as I nod, "That's good."
Luna once more bats at my ankle for my attention as I finally give in and hold back for a moment. Despite everything that's happened I'm not so sure how Luna's going to react to the generals and Endymion still being filled with nega-powers. My mind may have been opened up, but it doesn't mean hers has been. Luna was wrong on a lot of levels, and this is one of them. The battle is over and as I see the glare in her eyes for me to do the mission that she trained me for I can't bring myself to take back the sword and do it.
Endymion did as he said he would and delivered in spades. I look towards Venus as Malachite gently touches her arm and looks at him for a moment. Taking in the kind gesture as a way to think about new beginnings as I did earlier when I kissed Jadeite. It had been so out of character for me yet it felt so damned right to do that I couldn't even be upset with myself for it. So seeing Venus letting Malachite in just in those little bits I knew that she and I were in the same boat of taking things step by step.
That's when she saw my face and got a curious expression on hers. I winced for a second then she saw Luna by my feet. I could tell there was a debate on how to confront the matter as the fight was over now, yet I didn't want this win to be pulled down by this just yet. Let us enjoy this win...for a little while. I gave her an 'I'll handle her' expression as she just gave the feline a slightly angered glare before turning her back to her.
It was then that she purposely re-arranges the sword on her backside, the one that thankfully didn't have to be used, letting the glint of it catch Luna's eyes. Luna sees the sword attached to her back now. She's stunned by this and is obviously angry as she verbally berates me, as I suddenly understand what Usagi goes through with her.
"What were you thinking?!" she demands, her voice low.
"I was thinking that they've proven themselves time and time again."
She gasps.
"Look Luna, they are on our side. They had our backs in there and out here more times than I care to count," I admit, "Look I was on your side before all of this, but you weren't in there with us. You didn't see how they fought tooth and nail right alongside us. They aren't the enemy...not anymore."
It's then that an old Martian proverb hits me. "There is only good and evil in what we do Luna, not in the powers themselves. So yes, the darkness lives on in them, but they just got done helping us save the world. Give them some credit and a break...at least till we can rest when we get back home. Cause honestly we're tired and nearly tapped out. We've got just enough energy left to get home," I tell her as she gets in front of me.
Stalling me once more, "They cannot be trusted, once they're in the main populace they can spread the evil even further." Then she gets this mad look in her eyes. One that makes me wonder what she's thinking now. "What if THIS was his plan all along?"
She darts her eyes to him as if this is now a government conspiracy that only I can understand. Now I'm confused. "What killing Beryl and Metallia?" I asked not getting her point and at this point getting a bit frustrated as her reasons are sounding more and more outrageous.
"Yes! No, not just that," she corrects herself a few times over. "What I mean is what if THIS, killing those two, and 'helping us' do it was only part of his plan. What if evil Endymion wants to rule the world as an evil king with Moon by his side and he needed them out of the way to not only do it but to earn your trust so that you all are fooled by him and become HIS Senshi, thus making you evil to and corrupting the sailor Senshi?"
Her eyes look wilder now. "How did I not see it. He was resurrecting your loves from the past that way you'd be weakened by them."
I look around as I try to compute her words as they sound even crazier than before and now, I wonder how I believed her at all.
"Luna listen to yourself," I tell her, keeping my voice low as we still walk slowly with the group. "You sound like the screws have come loose in your head.
She scoffs at me, "Don't tell me that you're believing this crap they're spouting now to...Mars...?"
I keep walking forward as I try to catch up to the group. "What I believe is what I feel and see with my own eyes." she gives me an 'are you kidding me?' expression, "I know what I saw, and I know what my gut and my own intuition are telling me now. I feel that these guys are on our side and honestly, I do believe it."
I stop for a moment, "Endymion and the generals delivered on their promise, just because we're not healing them now doesn't mean we not healing them PERIOD!" I nearly raise my voice but lower it to be safe. "It just means we're too worn down TO do it now. We nearly died in there to get rid of Metallia and destroy the dark kingdom. We're all a bit tapped out. There isn't enough left to both heal AND teleport home," I snip at her.
It's like Luna's becoming obsessed with this notion and is getting worse with it. She's not even listening to the valid reasons why we CAN'T heal Endymion and the rest just yet. She's seeing it all as an excuse and that's not it at all. For the first time in listening to my gut I can and not just on battle strategies I can tell that everyone that survived today is someone I can trust to have my back during a fight and right now while some are still with nega-energy, I know Moon is damn near tapped out.
She can't teleport back AND heal all three at once. It's just not possible and to try to enforce it is simply encumber some. It's time to take a page from Usagi's book and tell Luna what needs to be said even if it's something she doesn't like. I look down at her feline form, "Get someone else to do your dirty work for you. This deceptive BS that you've been having me train to do isn't what we doā¦"
A sinking realization hits me. One that hits my gut. "It's not who we are...it's what THEY did, who THEY are," I tell her referring to the negaverse enemies we just got done dusting. I walk away from her and feel bad for how I said it, but I also feel good that I made my choice as it was the right call to make. I know Luna doesn't see it now, but she will later on when we do heal then guys up. I can feel the drain that has taken place and we all need to rest once were home.
I watched Moon fight today and saw her almost die to protect those she loves and cares for. I saw her get protected by Endymion, I saw him, Malachite, and Jadeite all fight against Metallia and help us all destroy her. We are walking away from this fight worse for wear BUT we are the ones left standing. There's no doubt in my mind that had things been different that we would NOT be walking away from this.
Moon isn't the only one that's grown from this. As I see Jadeite coming towards me giving me a small smile as he walks with me, I feel confident in my choice to give the sword back to Venus, it was never meant to be used by me unless both she AND Moon were down and that WASN'T happening. I know Luna might not like this choice I'm making but I know it's the right one deep down and I'm not going to feel bad about it.
That's when I feel a shift behind me. A magical shift that even makes Artemis's tail twitch out of placeas he sits on Venus's shoulder. I don't' know what it is that I feel but it's a strong current of it. Then it's like it all happens in slow motion as a flash of long, long dark curling hair rushes past me. My reflexes reach out but hit nothing but air by the time I reach out. Mercury is given a slight push out of the way.
She reacts the same as I. That's when I notice the sword from Venus's backside magically disappears and reappear in the slightly taller woman's hand that has rushed past me as she rushes past an unsuspecting Jupiter now. I go to call out trying to figure out what just happened as I look back and see there's no cat following behind us. I look forward once more. It doesn't click as to what's about to happen till it's too late.
Between us being beyond exhausted, and drained, coupled with having our guards down no one saw this coming. Yet considering the disagreement we just had, I felt I should have to some degree, yet I didn't. I don't know HOW as I've never seen Luna's form, nor did I think she could, but I just know that THIS woman is Luna in her human form. Even from the backside I just know it is. Yet what she does next is what stuns everyone there.
With no time to react or stop her, she wields the sword and jams it into Endymion's backside as he's about to kiss Moon. The strike incapacitates him as he cries out in pain and utter shock at the hit he just took. He bows over from the force of the blow as she pulls the sword out, now dripping with his blood. There's too much shock going around to stop her right now or to remove the sword still clenched in her hands.
We all stop to stare at her, at him in horror. The amount of madness that's glinting in her eyes is actually scary. He coughs up a little as he looks at her. Torn between 'wondering if he shouldn't seen it coming' to 'I helped you! how could you?'
"I am terribly sorry Prince Endymion, but the evil within you will change you." Everyone looks to her at her words which are sharp, forced, and yet angry as anything. "I hold no joy in this act only the fact that your parents weren't around to see what their son has become."
The words are harsh as she raises the sword up again. "I will NOT let evil walk the earth again, not after everything we've gone through already. We've already lost one world to that monster, it reigns inside of you the most, I refuse to let it reign further on earth!" That's when she prepares to strike again.
Malachite is the first to leave his stupor. He rushes Luna's human form, pulling her away, and as he avoids using his powers on her, locks her in place, arms down as Jadeite leaves my side to pull the sword from her grip as he gives it back to Venus. I wondered how he knew to give it to her when I recalled they had their memories. Jadeite knew who's sword it was. Venus took it without any preamble and shoved it back in place on her form.
Luna for her part, despite her lack of combat training, was giving him hell for keeping her down, fighting him like a wild hellcat that was being pulled away from hurting a bully, and yet in this case she was the one in the wrong.
"Let me go you evil brute," she snaps at him as she kicks out.
"Can someone please talk some sense into her?" Malachite asks as he granted is easily holding her down but doesn't want to have to.
She uses her powers to do something we never thought she could do. Something that makes Artemis look at her likes she's a whole other person. She makes a motion with her bound hands to grab and it causes both Malachite and Jadeite to start coughing. Malachite turns his head to the side as he does. Even when she's doing something devious herself, he's still being respectable in the sense of NOT coughing on her.
Endymion is still wounded on the ground as he's on bended knee. Moon is at his side as she tries to staunch the bleeding with her gloved hand. Malachite does his best to stay up since he's holding onto her both Jadeite is faltering for sure. As if he's been injured in the guts.
"I may not be that powerful in this form, but I do have some tricks up my sleeve," she snips out as I go to Jadeite's fallen form.
Just as Moon is at Endymion's fallen form and Venus goes to Malachite while he keeps Luna bound though I suspect that's not for long. Mercury tries to assess both Malachite and Jadeite but is also trying to work on Endymion's wound since that's something she can actually physically work on.
"Here." She gets up and goes to take a piece of her skirt when Jadeite rips the service cap he has off,."Use that."
She nods but before she can Luna snaps at her, "Don't. Stop."
Mercury looks at Luna and in a moment of Mercurian defiance, ignores Luna, grabs the cap, nods her thanks to Jadeite, and uses it to help Endymion. I hug Jadeite, closer to me as even when he's on the ground, in whatever pain he's in he's STILL ripping the clothes off his back to help out Endymion. No evil does that for the other.
Once the bleeding is slowing down she looks at the other generals. I can tell Mercury is stuck on how to help both of them as it's not something she can work on knowing it's a magical release and not something to physically work on. Artemis looks at Luna stunned as he jumps towards her.
"Luna! What is wrong with you? Release them!" he orders her as I watch Jadeite begin to cough and falter still.
Blood begins to come out of both of them as they fall further. Malachite is losing his grip on her and she knows it. I look at her and see that it's taking great amounts of magic to do this and maintain her human form at the same time. Sweat begins to bead on her forehead. "Just a little while longer and it'll be over," She tells them as they cough up louder. I can hear the coughing in their throats.
It takes me back to when I lost my mother. Not the fact that she was coughing BUT the blood that was coming out with the coughing. I remembered that so vividly now. I couldn't help but tear up just a bit. I felt like I was reliving that again. I knew we couldn't anything other than trying to stop Luna, but how? I didn't even know Luna could do something like this.
"Luna stop!" I grab onto Jadeite's shoulders to try to ease this for him but it's not helping and I have a gut feeling nothing but her release of them will.
"Lunaā¦," Endymion calls out to her, his wound making him sweat now.
She cringes a bit as she says, "I'm sorry. I really am but with that nega-energy in you, all of you guys, that chance can't be taken. I promise it'll be over soon."
What's killing me is that in all of this with all of us here, none of us have tried to rush her or stop her with force ourselves. And why haven't we? Cause this is Luna.
She's been there for us, teaching us, guiding us since day one. It's inconceivable to even see her doing this. That's when I see Endymion start to glow. A dark glow that makes Moon fear he's dying on her and frankly seeing him radiate like that makes us all fear it too.
"Please Endymion!" she screams even as the glowing continues. She turns her anger towards Luna and screams again, not asking, but screams at Luna in such a heart-wrenching voice that I begin to tear up, "Stop this NOW!"
Luna gives her a sympathetic warning expression that does soften.
Yet her words are anything but soft, "I tried to warn you of what could happenā¦this is only the beginningā¦I'm sorry it has to be this way but when this is all over with, you'll understand why I've done what I did."
Moon is beyond pissed now and jumps up from Endymion and aims herself at Luna in a very direct manner that'll put them at blows if need be. I've never seen Moon look so cutthroat beforeā¦other than when facing an enemy.