Chapter 17

Deathly Duel

Time seemed to have stopped and all was suspended in air. Everything happened so fast that I was amazed I had time to analyze anything. Usagi had somehow managed to get out of Luna's grip when Queen Selenity sent the Silver Crystal's beam at me, and I thought I was going to die on the spot when I saw that she was standing directly in front of me with the powerful light hitting her, and her voice filling the air. Everything was suspended in the air: Usagi, her scream, the energy, everything.

As soon as time started up again, Usagi collapsed to her knees, and I feared once again I was in for a nervous breakdown. Everything was still, and I think even Prince Diamond was in shock and filled with dread. Usagi had not been his target, far from it. There she was though, on her knees before me, staring at her mother who was still holding the Silver Crystal before her.

"Usagi, no!" I screamed out, my warning and protest obviously too late. I heard Diamond curse angrily as both he and I dashed to Usagi's side, the guard who had been restraining me not strong enough to hold me back.

Usagi wavered and fell to the ground before either one of us reached her, and I thanked all living beings that I got to her before Diamond did. I scooped her into my arms and held her to my chest, the action effectively causing Diamond to come to a halt before me. I didn't pay attention to him though. I brushed Usagi's hair from her face and searched for signs of life and damage. My hand went to her throat and beneath my shaking palm I felt her pulse, strong and steady. Her eyes suddenly fluttered open and she stared up at me.

"I'm all right," she whispered softly.

I very nearly lost control of my bladder at that moment and embarrassed myself in front of everyone present. Her tone was so soft, so comforting, so soothing, and my frayed nerves almost couldn't take the relief I was feeling. Now, though, was the time. I hugged her fiercely and brought my lips to her ear.

"Lean on your elbows," I whispered quickly. I felt her shift her weight as I pulled my face from hers, and noted a confused expression etched on her features. At least she was listening to me. Without any further hesitation I shot to my feet and slammed myself into Diamond, who was still standing in front of me. He gave a yelp of surprise as he stumbled backwards, and a look of shock scorched his face when the sound of sliding steel filled the room. I couldn't understand his stupidity; was he really so infatuated with Serenity that he would have put himself into such a vulnerable position? Apparently so. His mistake meant victory though, for now as he fell with an unceremonious clatter to the ground, I stood before him, his sword in my hand, a glare aimed directly at him. I heard the sound of another sword being drawn and from the corner of my eye saw Sapphire holding his blade. At the same time I heard the rustle of fabric behind me as Serenity shifted. She stood and the quick pattering of her feet indicated her retreat towards the bed, away from what was about to become a violent scene.

"I suggest putting that sword down," I called out to Sapphire as my own blade inched closer to Diamond. There was a moment of silence before the clatter of steel was heard, but I was not pleased with the situation when I noted that the sword had been thrown only a few feet away from Diamond. Before I could react, Diamond was rolling, and his arm reached for the fallen weapon. I moved into action quickly, but even my reflexes failed me when Diamond twisted and leapt to his feet, his brother's blade in hand. I didn't like the situation. So many people filled the room that it would be hard to maneuver around everyone.

Diamond started to circle around me, his eyes glittering. I needed to get out of the room, get his attention completely focused on me and not on the fact that Usagi was still free and inching closer to her mother while everyone's attention was fixed on Diamond and me. My eyes did a quick scan of the room. There was no way I could get out the main door, there were simply too many people in the way. Then I noticed the balcony door, on the other side of the bed, blocked by no one. I spun on my heel and prayed I wouldn't slip as I jumped onto the bed and made a dash for the door. It swung open smoothly and I ran out, grateful that the balcony was spacious and open. I could hear Diamond following me, and I spun around once more, just in time to stop his blade from slicing me in half. The clashing sound of metal on metal was almost deafening in the calm night air.

"You're not going to win this one," Diamond grunted as he pushed against my sword, causing me to take a few steps back. I had always thought he would be a man who was a courtier at heart and in actions, but his strength was more like that of a warrior than a courtly fop. I scanned the area and shifted my feet, testing the stone balcony. Smooth as it was, it gave at least enough traction for me to be able to move around freely.

Diamond's sword gleamed with the reflection of the stars, the blade moving around it's carrier with a deadly grace that only the Dark Prince could grant it. I shivered. This was not going to be an easy or pretty battle.

"Do you fear me already, Endymion?" he hissed, a menacing smile on playing on his lips. Spirits, how I detested that self assured tone of voice.

I could hear a slight commotion at the door to the balcony, but I didn't dare look to see who our audience was. I was sure it was someone who supported Diamond, for my men and the people of the Moon were being held by Diamond's power and commands.

We inched closer to one another, neither willing to make the first real move. I tested the proverbial waters by raising the tip of my sword into the air between us, but it was quickly swatted away by Diamond's weapon. He wasn't going to toy around with me.

I was grateful that patience was my virtue, since it allowed me to hold back long enough for Diamond to strike first. His blade cut through the air swiftly and unexpectedly, a desire for blood ringing in the air with its approach. I leapt back out of its reach and tried to follow it with my own blade, but the sword dodged mine and escaped to safety.

Diamond smirked. "You're slower than I thought you would be," he purred as he made a second attempt, this time lunging and allowing his sword to aim for my heart. I parried the move and reciprocated with a slash towards his arm, but he evaded my move easily, twisting out of harms way. I followed him this time, slashing at the air where he was supposed to be. This wasn't working, I had to be more defensive. Stopping my forward motion, I risked a glance to the doorway. A few men stood there with Sapphire, Artemis, and Luna. No one dared step in between the two deadly blades, and all watched. I prayed Serenity was all right as I directed my attention back to Diamond, who had stopped moving as well.

"You seem unsure of yourself," Diamond taunted. "I like to see that. It shows weakness."

"You're misreading my caution as uncertainty," I shot back. "I assure you, I do not plan on losing this battle."

"It seems we will shed blood here, one way or another. I propose a deal. We both put our swords down and sit, like civilized men, to discuss this and come to some sort of agreement," Diamond offered.

"Not a chance," I snapped as I lunged forward, ready to do all it took to make sure his blood paid the price of all the bad he had done. Diamond moved to the side and slammed his sword onto mine, blocking the attack. I had expected that, and had my next move already in action. My leg swung out and slammed into his ankles, causing him to fall to his knees with an surprised grunt. His sword slid up along mine and whether it was by luck or plan, the cold steel of his blade slid right across my hand, drawing blood. I hissed as I pulled my hand back, causing Diamond to completely lose his balance and drop to his hands.

The sound of rushed footsteps filled the air and I knew I had to act fast. "This is your redemption for all you have done," I hissed softly as Diamond tried to get up. His eyes came up and met mine, but they found no mercy within me. He had crossed the line of civility and rightness one too many times, and he would only do so again, given the chance.

I took that chance away at that moment on the balcony, with the stars witnessing my actions and just intentions.

Sapphires cry pierced the air, and I turned in time to see him lunging at me. We fell to the ground in a tangle, both of us flailing and trying to subdue the other. Sapphire I did not want to kill, I had not come to know him to be a snake as his brother, and I still had many questions to ask the he would eventually answer.

I felt his hands enclose around my throat, but his trembling and anguished cries did nothing for his strength. I flung my sword as far away from us as I could and at the same time noted that no one else was coming to help Sapphire. I did hear commotion going on within the room, and that worried me.

I managed to turn both me and Sapphire over so he was laying beneath me. I slammed my elbow into his stomach, causing his grip to loosen on my neck. I took the opportunity the fling his hands from my throat and pin them at his sides as he continued to thrash. I felt pity for him as I stared down at the tears streaming down his face due to the scene he had just witnessed. He was probably the only reason why I remotely regretted Diamond's death, but despite that I knew that Sapphire had sins to account for as well. He had been his brother's accomplice.

"Endymion!" I heard Motoki's voice cry out. I turned my head in the direction of the door and saw Motoki frozen there, surveying the scene.

"I'm here, and I could use some help," I called out over Sapphire's cries. Motoki ran over and crouched down next to me, helping me subdue the grieving man.

"What happened?" I asked quickly, considering the fact that the last time I saw him, he was still bound by one of the Moon guards.

"A few moments ago they all just passed out, all of the Moon people in the room. They just dropped. Things are being taken care of in there, and I came here to see if you were all right," Motoki replied quickly. By now more men were rushing out onto the balcony, my men who had earlier been held by the guards under Diamond's mind control.

"Where's Serenity," I murmured.

"Inside. She's fine," he replied as my men reached us. I relinquished my hold on Sapphire to them and stretched myself, rubbing my throat gingerly in the process. My hand was throbbing and I quickly slipped off my cape to wrap the bleeding appendage in it to slow the blood flow. I didn't even want to imagine the amount of damage done to my fingers.

I walked to the door and stepped into the room, met with what could only be called orderly chaos. Bodies of the Moon guards littered the floor, their minds and bodies released from Diamond's control. I spotted Usagi almost instantly, kneeling on the floor with her mother's head in her lap. Naru stood next to her, giving a series of orders to one of my men. I quickly strode over to the two as my men tried to clean up the mess and make sure everyone was all right, with Malachite calling out orders to everyone.

Usagi looked up at me as I approached and her eyes grew wide when she saw me. I must have looked like a mess with my hair tousled, my clothing bloodied, my hand wrapped in my cape. I crouched down next to her, hugging my injured hand to my stomach. "I'm ok," I reassured her quickly.

"Where's Prince Diamond?" she asked hesitantly.

"Out on the balcony still," I told her. For some reason I didn't want to tell her I had just killed a man. It wasn't a side of me that was pretty and that Usagi would like.

"Alive?" she asked suddenly.

I sighed and shook my head. Usagi nodded and brought her gaze back down to her mother. "I suppose he deserved this," she murmured. Despite the fact that Diamond had done her so much wrong, there was still pain in her voice. Her tenderness extended even to her enemies. I supposed that was one of the reasons I loved her so much.

I wrapped my good arm around her shoulders and kneeled, bringing my lips to her temple in a rough kiss. She leaned towards me slightly, still cradling her mother's head. I rested my forehead against her, feeling suddenly very tired, very relieved, and very much so in need for things to return to a certain level of normality.

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A cool breeze filtered through the room as we all sat down. Two weeks had passed since the night on the balcony, and things were finally falling into place.

Queen Selenity took her seat at the round table and motioned for the rest of us to sit as well. I sat across from her, flanked by Usagi and Motoki, with Malachite on the other side of Motoki. Between Usagi and her mother sat Luna and Artemis.

"I hope you all slept well," Queen Selenity said. "I know last night was my first real night of rest."

"We slept fine, thank you," I replied.

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. You'll need your energy for your trip back to the Earth later this afternoon, though I must admit I am sad to see you leaving so soon."

"We'll come back soon, mother, but we need to deliver the report of what's going on," Usagi replied.

I nodded and looked at Malachite. "You said you would give us an overview of what happened with Sapphire."

Malachite nodded and folded his hands on the table before him. "He's been speaking more and more. I already informed you of his information about Diamond's advisor, Wiseman, and we already knew from Diamond himself that he was leading Diamond's armies to the Moon. We also knew he retreated upon sensing Prince Diamond had been defeated. The new information we have now from Sapphire pertains to what the back up plans were for the Dark Moon. Sapphire is now the rightful heir of the Dark Moon, and as such we cannot keep him prisoner here long without there being an uprising from his people. He is calling out for war, and I don't doubt he will carry out his threats for it. Besides that, war will be waged to avenge Prince Diamond."

"We'll be ready for that when the time comes. I'm sure that we will get support from many of the other kings of the solar system once the situation has been explained to them," Artemis added in.

"What did Sapphire say about Prince Diamond's actions and plans when he took over the Moon?" Luna asked.

"There isn't too much to tell. Diamond posses his third eyes, and with it the ability to control people's minds. One day when Queen Selenity went to see him, he brought her under his spell, and once she was in his control, the rest of the Moon followed easily. For several months Prince Diamond planned Princess Serenity's abduction. He drew on the memories of the Lunarians to create a scene almost identical to what it had been prior to his imprisonment. His plan was to bring Princess Serenity back and change what had happened, mainly making her hate Endymion and love him." Malachite paused, glancing around to see if anyone had any comment.

"What I don't understand is how he did it though," Usagi murmured.

"By way of illusion. He used people on the Moon to make them look like those who had been present at the time of the visit," Artemis explained.

"Why didn't he re-create my Senshi though?"

"Everyone he had to create by illusion could not be the same as the real people. He feared that if he made illusions of Ami, Minako, Makoto, and Rei that you would be able to tell right away that it was not them. He had a story planned to explain their absence if you asked, but you never did," Artemis said.

Malachite nodded and continued. "The drawback to all of this was that it took a lot of energy on Diamond's part to create this massive illusion, as well as still control the minds of the people on the Moon. He calculated how much time he could spend creating the illusion, so that he knew how far back to go in time, so to speak. He wanted to lull the princess into a sense of security, one where he could woo her. Part of gaining her trust also meant making her fear Endymion, which is the reason Sapphire was here, to play the rold of Endymion."

"It's amazing what power he had over everyone," I muttered. "When we landed on the Moon, I would have never guessed that Queen Selenity and everyone else was under some sort of mind control."

"He did his deeds well. All of his plans had back-up plans, even how he would convince you that Princess Serenity was not on the Moon," Artemis murmured.

Malachite took over talking again and detailed more things Sapphire had revealed to him. I was glad to finally be getting answers. Queen Selenity had been able to explain some things once she and her people had regained consciousness, since they remembered everything they had seen and heard while under the control of Diamond. My two biggest questions, why I had lost my link with Usagi and why it had come back, had been answered right away. Since our link was formed through the powers of the Silver Crystal, in such a complex way that I don't even remember how, then the Crystal could bend the rules of that link. Even though the thread between Usagi and me was supposed to be there forever, the Crystal could mask it. However, when Usagi had been in real danger, even the Crystal was powerless to mask our link.

I had already sent word home that we had found Usagi and that we were all safe and sound. I could imagine the look on father's face when he read about the war that would soon take place, but I would deal with that when I got home. One thing that I found strange was that after things had calmed down a bit in the days following the death of Prince Diamond, I thought about what had happened on the balcony. I would have thought that I would be happy and relieved that the bastard was dead, and that I would have a feeling of satisfaction of having been able to punish him for his deeds. Instead, though, I found that I felt more sorry for him than anything. I still despised him for what he had tried to do to Usagi, but I pitied him. I could, in a way, understand his obsession for her , and after fighting for her the way he did... he had been defeated.

For now I was content, though, that the worst was over. I had Usagi back, and there was no chance that I would ever be separated from her in such a manner again. As I glanced at her and paused my mind from listening to Malachite, I couldn't help but smile at the knowledge that everything was going to be all right.

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--Disclaimer--

I do not own the rights to Sailormoon or any of the characters. That honor belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, and I am simply a lowly author who can use her characters for my plots.

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