Chapter Twenty Four
Crystal Power
Her Generals were either dead, weak, or on the side of the enemy. Alexandrite was dead, Azariah was weak and pathetic, and Kaiba and Kanejiro had joined the side of the Sailor Scouts. The old Queen stared hard into her pool of reflection. There were many things to be done and not enough man power to do them. Sailor Mars was still alive, The Moon Prince was not hers, and process to rebirthing Crystal Tokyo was not in motion yet. She gripped tightly the black crystal that she always held with her. The time was close, but it wasn't now. There wasn't enough evil energy transferred into the crystal quiet yet.
"Mother?"
The Queen didn't turn around at the sound of her daughters voice, but a wide smirk grew on her face. "Yes, Morganite?"
The daughter of Beryl with bright pink hair and red eyes stepped forward coming over to her mother's side. "Are you alright?"
"I am quite fine, darling." Beryl said. "Tell me, dear, what you see in the pool."
Morganite looked over the hazy waters. "I see nothing, mother. Will it tell me my future?"
"Yes, it will in fact give you your future, my dear."
Morganite kneeled down. She peered over the waters for a few moments, but still saw nothing. She inched her face closer and closer to the water, staring into it hard. Suddenly, she felt a hand on the back of her head, and she was pushed into the water. She fought and kicked to bring her head back up out of the water, but she wasn't strong enough.
Beryl laughed. With one hand she forcefully held her daughter's head under the murky waters while Morganite flailed her limbs madly. Soon, her arms stopped, and Morganite lay lifeless on the ground with her head in the water. When the girl died, the crystal started to glow, absorbing the energy of the horrible deed of a mother killing her own daughter. "Yes, indeed it will give you your future."
Other emotions were stirring in the Negaverse. The young fire General lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling. She couldn't believe what had happened to him. The cold and merciless General of Ice had joined with the Sailor Scouts, and most of all, he was now with that mortal girl. She thought of the young blue haired Sailor Scout then shot a fireball at a pillar of ice. "If I can't have him, no one can!" She sat up from her bed. "Kaiba is mine!"
She held the diamond crystal in her hand. Queen Serenity gave it to her when they were saved from Beryl. It was the Moon Crystal—a separate crystal that held the life-force from the Moon back in the days of the Silver Millennium. Darien looked at it, but still didn't understand it. He was no where near the strength or power of the other Tuxedo Warriors. He was supposed to be their leader, but he was the weakest of them all. It clearly frustrated him, but Serena understood and only tried to comfort him.
Ami walked into her kitchen. He was sitting at the table doing nothing while a large stack of books lay in front of him. "You're supposed to be doing your homework."
"Finished," he said casually.
"Finished?" She questioned. She opened up the book with a stack of papers shoved in them. All the papers were finished, and the answers looked right. She looked over at Hayate. "You know, I really wonder if you're not a genius sometimes."
"Genius?" He shrugged his shoulders. "I can't even do half the stuff people my age can do."
"Yes, but you've learned to become fully literate in a few months." She put the papers back. "It usually takes the average person 16 years to just read the newspaper here in Japan."
"Well, since I'm done, do you want to go for a walk?"
She pondered for a moment. "Where to?"
"I don't know. Maybe the park or something?"
"Sure."
Without permission, she left the Negaverse and traveled into the mortal world. The Queen might kill her for such an action, but it didn't matter to her. Once she would complete her mission, she would back in the good graces of Queen Beryl. She was going to kill Sailor Mercury and bring back Kaiba. With her keen senses, she discovered the position of the former General, and followed him. From behind a line of trees, she poked out her head and carefully watched as he strolled through the park. He was in mortal clothes and had a different aura about him. He didn't seem to be the same person anymore. His arm came up and rested at the lower back of the young blue-haired woman. She gently bent over to throw a piece of bread to the ducks in the lake.
Azariah frowned. His hands were on that other girl instead of her. Fire kindled into a ranging inferno as her eyes locked on the blue haired girl. She couldn't handle it anymore. She charged forward, flying across the grassy lawn of the park, and she crashed into Ami. Azariah's hands grabbed a hold of Ami's arms, burning them at the same time. Ami screamed from the burning sensation until the cool water of the lake touched them. Azariah released Ami once they flew into the lake. Azariah jumped out of the water, only having to dodge ice attacks from Hayate.
"Kaiba, what are you doing?"
"My name is Hayate!" He threw more attacks.
She dodged them all then landed on the sidewalk next to the lake. Ami swam back to the edge, and Hayate helped her out of the water.
"What do you want with us?" Hayate hollered. "Just leave us alone, and we'll leave you alone!"
Azariah pointed toward Ami. "What are you doing with her? You're mine, and mine alone!"
Hayate shook his head. "Azariah, that's not who I am anymore."
The fire General's aura flared up. Waves of raging fire surrounded her body. "You are mine, Kaiba! How dare you refuse me!"
"He's clearly with me!" Ami stepped forward, very angry. "Hayate has turned to the good side! So go away!"
Hayate looked over and smirked. He loved it when she was bold and fiery, and it was for him.
Azariah laughed. "Kaiba good?" She shook her head. "Kaiba is nothing but evil. You obviously don't know who you're dealing with!"
"He's changed!" Ami hollered.
"He hasn't changed. He's a cold-blooded killer and a loyal subject of the Negaverse!"
Ami shook with rage. Tears started to flow down her face. "Hayate is not that person anymore. He'll never turn back to the Negaverse!"
Azariah laughed again. "Oh, I get it. You love him!"
Ami shook harder, more tears coming down her face. "So what if I do? He's still not going with you!
The fire General grinned widely. "You are so naïve. At least, he didn't have to give me all that mushy lying about love when he slept with me."
Hayate closed his eyes. His past deeds haunted his soul and made him ache with guilt constantly. There were no secrets—he had told Ami the things he had done, including the things with Azariah, but guilt still ached him to hear it again.
"Be silent now and leave," Ami said sternly.
"Not likely!"
Ami reached for her Sailor pen, but Azariah had moved too fast. This time, she attacked Hayate, and knocked him into the lake. Swimming was no problem for him, but she had learned a new trick. While he was distracted, she performed her new attack. It was Fire Liquid. The fiery liquid, much like molten lava, surrounded Kaiba's leg s then quickly hardened. It felt like his legs were dipped in cement. He instantly sank to the bottom of the lake. Ami had just finished her transforming process. She looked around frantically for Hayate, but didn't seem him. Suddenly, she was hit from behind with a fireball, and she fell into the lake.
She was naturally an excellent swimmer, but as Sailor Mercury, she was superb. She swam as fast as she could towards Hayate. He was trying to break free from the molten lava, but he couldn't. He fainted underwater, and stopped fighting. Frantically, she swam toward him, and tried to remove the lava. It wouldn't work. Suddenly, her body was jerked backwards, and she was punched in the face by Azariah. More punches and kicks soon followed. They were body numbing and painful. Her mind went dizzy and hazy. She was jerked back and forth in the water, but couldn't do anything to move her body. She then felt the warm molten lava surround and encase her body. It hardened and stiffened her body then she sunk to the bottom.
Everything was hazy. It was peaceful and quiet as she slowly drifted down to the bottom. She looked up, seeing the rays of sunlight seep down into the depths of the water. It was the last light she would see as she felt she was dying. Her chest started convulsing for air, but she couldn't get any. Her molten feet crashed onto the bottom of the lake. Her head jerked, and it knocked her to sleep. It felt like she fainted, but she was still conscious. After a few moments, alertness returned. She was still alive. Her chest didn't convulse anymore. She could breathe—underwater. She fluttered her eyes open. In front of her was a small glowing light. Her eyes looked up. It was the stone on her tiara. Her entire body relaxed and loosened. Instead of fighting for strength and power, by relaxing and letting it flow, power surged out from her body breaking the molten lava off her body. She was free. It felt like rivers of power gushed out from within her.
She looked over at the lifeless body of her lover and quickly forgot the feelings she was having. She pushed toward him, but was propelled forward strongly. She could swim much stronger and faster and with greater force. It was amazing. With two pushes, she reached Hayate. She slammed her fist into the molten lava on Hayate's legs, and it cracked off. She grabbed him around the waist then pushed against the bottom of the lake as hard as she could. She couldn't believe it. The push sent Hayate and her skyrocketing out of the air and into the air. They went up so high that she was able to angle then to land on the ground. When she hit the ground, she instantly laid Hayate on the ground. He started to cough and choke up water. She helped him to start breathing again, and he fluttered his eyes open.
"Ami!" He gasped for air. He glanced over her, also realizing that there was a huge change in her.
"He's mine!" Azariah flew at Sailor Mercury.
Sailor Mercury turned to look at Azariah charging. She flung her hand forward. A huge wave of water came up from the lake and crashed into Azariah. It sent the fire General flying back, and the general landed in the grass. Hayate managed to stand up, and he stood behind Sailor Mercury.
"Impressive," He said.
Azariah stood back up, not so impressed. She tried charging again, but this time Sailor Mercury and Hayate worked together. She again waived her hand, causing a large wave to come up while Hayate blew out cool air from his mouth. Instantly the wave froze, trapping Azariah. She fell like an ice cube into the water, and started sinking to the bottom. Hayate reached down and put in his finger in the water. The lake froze over.
Sailor Mercury ran over to Hayate, and grabbed him in her grasp when he stood up. She hugged his cold wet body tightly. "I thought I lost you for a moment!"
He gently put his arms around her. "But you saved me." He glanced over her, feeling the complete change in her spirit that just had taken place. "Ami, you're so different now."
She pulled back a little to look at him. "I feel different now." Boldly, she stepped forward and kissed him.
"So this is what you do on Sailor business?"
Sailor Mercury jerked her head back, slightly embarrassed as the other Sailor Scouts stood grinning and smirking.
"Well, I…" Sailor Mercury trailed off.
"Anyway," Sailor Jupiter stepped forward. "Are you two alright?"
Sailor Venus giggled. "They looked more than alright."
Tuxedo Zorro looked over the water, seeing that it was completely frozen. "Cool," He muttered while gazing over the ice. His eyes rested on a reddish glowing spot beneath the surface. He peered closely, but suddenly, the ground started to rumble. The Sailors and the Tuxedo Warriors braces themselves. The ice cracked, and Azariah shot up out of the frozen lake. Her body was engulfed in flames, her skin burning furnace red, and steam poured out of her nostrils and ears. Angrily, she huffed and she puffed while hovering in the air.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" She screamed while flying towards Sailor Mercury. She grabbed a hold of the blue warrior and slammed her palms into Sailor Mercury's shoulders. She pushed Sailor Mercury so hard into the ground that it tore a path into the grass. Hayate had chased after them and transformed into Tuxedo Knight. While Sailor Mercury lay stuck in the ground, Azariah turned around and dodged an attack from the Excalibur of Tuxedo Knight. She punched him in the face, fists burning with fire, and sent him flying.
Everyone stood in awe of the red headed warrior. She stood, still flaming with rage, while she gazed at everyone. Her anger, rage, and jealously had made her more powerful than they could have imagined. She eyed everyone. "Kaiba is mine!" She turned around and slammed her foot a top of Sailor Mercury's chest. Sailor Mercury screamed and choked for air at the same time.
"Leave her alone!" Sailor Moon charged first, throwing her tiara while running towards the Fire General. The attack was no match for the strength of Azariah, but with Sailor Moon's determination and love, she threw it so perfectly that it did manage to scratch Azariah's cheek. Furious, the Fire General turned her head and looked at Sailor Moon. She took her foot off Sailor Mercury then charged forward at Sailor Moon.
"Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask leapt forward to try and protect Sailor Moon. As he reached her, throwing his arms around her waist to pull her away, Azariah had pulled back her fist to strike. Azariah punched her fiery fist at the two, but was blinded by the sudden burst of light that came forth. Everyone shielded his or her eyes from the bright glowing light. Only Tuxedo Samurai seemed to be unaffected by the brightness. After a few seconds of the blinding light, Tuxedo Mask's arm was up, blocking the punch of Azariah. He took the liberty to returning the attack on Azariah, and she went flying backwards.
"What happened?" Sailor Mars asked.
Tuxedo Samurai smirked. "Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask has discovered their powers."
Azariah charged again at Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, but Sailor Moon held up her hand, causing another flash of blinding light. Azariah covered her eyes and screamed from the pain of the flash. She stumbled around while trying to regain her sight. After a few moments, she was able to open her eyes and face the daylight.
"Just go home, Azariah," Tuxedo Knight said sternly.
"NEVER!" She stumbled around. "I'll never leave! You're mine! You're mine!" Her anger and jealously shook her body so hard she started to cry. "You can't leave me! You're mine!"
"Azariah, please. Just go home." Tuxedo Knight stepped forward. "I'm not the same person anymore."
Azariah had collapsed to her knees. She looked around. There was too many of them to fight off. She grabbed her ankle. "I can't move. I hurt my ankle."
"What do you want us to do?" Tuxedo Knight asked.
He looked up for a moment and sat silently. "Please, help me."
Tuxedo Knight nodded and stepped forward with Sailor Mercury right behind him. They walked over to Azariah and kneeled down next to the wounded Fire General. Sailor Mars was baffled. Tuxedo Samurai was a healer, why wasn't he helping her? She glanced over at him, and he was starting to draw his weapon and step forward.
"Let me see your ankle," Sailor Mercury said. Within the wrappings of her leg, Azariah carried a small knife. She never used weapons, but this time she made an exception. Pulling out the small knife, she quickly stabbed toward Sailor Mercury. Tuxedo Knight saw the attack coming and tried to save Sailor Mercury. Instead of being stabbed in the chest like Azariah wanted, Sailor Mercury was stabbed in the shoulder.
"AMI!" Tuxedo Knight caught her in his arms. Azariah was knocked away from them as Tuxedo Samurai charged into battle. Azariah and Tuxedo Samurai started fighting.
"Sailor Moon! Heal Ami quickly!" Tuxedo Samurai yelled.
The soldier of the Moon ran over to Sailor Mercury. She placed her hand over the bloody wound and started using her new powers to heal. Just like Tuxedo Samurai, Sailor Moon had the exact same powers of healing and light.
The emotional berserk of Azariah was even troubling Tuxedo Samurai, the greatest of the warriors, second only to King Endymion. He would block and attack, but her attacks were doing more damage and were striking him frequently. Sailor Jupiter charged in with Tuxedo Ninja and started attacking. Tuxedo Ninja was able to strike her while she was focused on Tuxedo Samurai, and Sailor Jupiter was able to use her new Electric Shock powers to immobilize Azariah.
The warrior flew back a few feet from the electric current, and landed in the grass. She was lifeless and didn't move. Everyone stared for a moment wondering if she was finally dead. It seemed like hours had passed, and she didn't even move at all. It didn't look like she was breathing or anything.
"Do you think she's dead?" Tuxedo Zorro finally spoke up.
"I don't know." Sailor Moon uttered sadly. She shook her head in sadness. "Such jealously has led her to this disastrous place."
Sailor Mercury looked at Tuxedo Knight. She knew he was saddened because of his involvement with Azariah. She took a hold of his arm and leaned against it to comfort him.
"She's not dead," Tuxedo samurai said sternly.
"What?" Tuxedo Mask looked over at Azariah then back to Tuxedo Samurai. "She looks dead to me."
"Are you sure?" Tuxedo Zorro walked over to the body. He walked straight up to Azariah and kicked her in the side. She didn't move. He looked back to the others. "She's dead!"
Before they could even blink, Azariah evaporated from her position on the ground, and appeared behind Tuxedo Zorro. Her arm went around his neck, and she held her small knife to his throat. "Come any closer, and I'll kill him!"
"Diego!" Sailor Venus jumped forward.
"Okay, she's alive!" Tuxedo Zorro said while choking from the arm around his neck.
"Azariah, let him go!" Tuxedo Knight stepped forward.
The Fire General took a step back with Tuxedo Zorro. "Leave her, and come back to me!"
"Azariah!" He hollered sternly.
The Fire General smirked widely. She pressed her knife into his neck, drawing a little blood.
The wind (which wasn't strong that day) started to blow violently. Everyone looked around for the cause of the sudden storm. Their eyes rested on Sailor Venus. The orange stone on her tiara started to glow along with the orange Planet Crystal that she carried with her. Her long blonde hair flapped violently in the wind while she stared Azariah down. She held out her hand, closed her eyes then stretched her fingers. A huge gust of wind shot out from her hand. Tuxedo Zorro flew out of Azariah's grasp. While flying through the air, he grabbed his whip and snapped it at a lamppost while flying by. He anchored himself to the post while Azariah kept flying on. Soon, she fell into the ground, and Tuxedo Zorro came down from his flight.
Azariah got back up and charged again. Sailor Venus did the same thing to her. Azariah stood up again, but didn't charge this time. She stood pondering for a moment while looking over all the Sailor Scouts. After thinking for a few moments, a large smirk appeared on her face. She started to laugh wildly which caused the Sailors to feel uneasy. She held her hands up and clasped them together. She kept laughing and laughing as she slowly unclasped her hands. A small red ball of energy formed within her hands. She started to levitate above the ground and floated up above the Sailors.
"What are you laughing at?" Sailor Jupiter hollered, very annoyed with Azariah's cackling.
Azariah kept laughing. "It I can't have him, no one can!" The red ball grew bigger to about the size of a basketball. "I'll destroy you all!"
The Sailors got on guard. Sailor Jupiter shot out her lightning, but the lightning was absorbed into the red ball.
"Nobody attack!" Tuxedo Knight yelled. "It'll only feed her ball!"
"What is it?" Tuxedo Ninja asked.
Tuxedo Knight took a step forward, looking up at Azariah. "It's her signature attack. The Fire Bomb."
"What do we do?" Tuxedo Samurai asked.
"Brace yourselves!" Tuxedo Knight hollered, seeing that Azariah's ball was ready.
While still laughing, Azariah threw the ball towards the ground. It sunk deep into the earth. The Sailors stared down at the place where it entered. The ground started to rumble. The entire area the warriors stood on was engulfed with exploding flames. It was as if a sinkhole appeared under them swallowing them up into a sea of fire. Azariah laughed even harder as the tortured screams of the warriors rose above the flames. Their powers protected them from burning too fast, but their powers weren't matching to the power of the Fire Bomb. As they painfully and slowly burned, they screamed louder and louder.
Lying on the ground, she gasped for air. Her body was scorching and burning. It was so hot that tears leaked from her eyes, but would instantly dry up off her face. She looked around. Her friends were dying. She heard his scream. Her only true love was dying. She closed her eyes, wishing for strength, and it was then she felt it come to her. Suddenly, she wasn't hot anymore. In fact, the raging fire seemed to energize and fuel her. She managed to stand up. She held her arm straight in the air and opened her palm. Slowly, the burning flames started to move towards her hand. All the flames turned back into a red ball of energy that now Sailor Mars controlled.
Azariah was laughing and laughing. She looked down into the sinkhole and noticed the flames were gone. "Huh?" She floated over the sinkhole to look, but suddenly, the red energy ball flew at her. It exploded on contact and sent her flying into the ground. She hit the ground hard, breaking her arm and hip in the process.
Sailor Mars levitated out of the sinkhole. Discovering their powers, the other Sailors managed to do the same. Soon, everyone was out of the sinkhole, and ready to fight Azariah. Azariah managed to stand up, but she was obviously in great pain. A trickle of blood dripped from her lip, her arm was completely sagged, and she was favoring only her left leg. Sailor Venus raised her hand to give Azariah some of her new power, but Tuxedo Knight reached out and put her hand down.
"What are you doing?" Sailor Venus asked. "Now is our chance!"
Tuxedo Knight shook his head. "She's already defeated. She's no threat to us now."
"We should get her before she gets us back," Tuxedo Mask suggested.
Sailor Mercury stepped forward. "She is our enemy,"
Tuxedo Knight shook his head. "And I was once your enemy!"
Sailor Mercury nodded. "You are right." She looked back to Azariah. "We don't have the right to take her life if we don't have to."
Azariah stood for a moment, listening to them deliberate about her life. She stared at them for a moment then disappeared from their sight.
After their battle, everyone had transformed back into their street clothes. They were all so excited to have unlocked their powers from the Planet Crystals. It seemed as if the past and the present were no longer a disjunction. They all had their past memories, they all had found love, and they have unlocked their new powers. However, Hayate was in a sorrowful mood. He had walked off by himself for a while, refusing to be accompanied by anyone—even Ami. While everyone else had disembarked for their homes, he had stayed in the park. Ami stayed too, but from a distance. He sat on a bench along the tree line while she sat on another bench under a lamppost in the grass. Hour after hour passed until the sun sank in the sky, and the stars had illuminated. She had almost fallen asleep on the bench when he finally came over to her.
She jolted awake at the sound of his footsteps. "Hayate," She gasped, clearly worried. She sat down next to her in silence. "Are you alright?" She asked.
He only gently nodded.
"I was so worried about you." She tried to embrace him, but he pulled away from her. Hurt washed over her face as he pulled away. Tears started to come to her eyes. "Hayate, what's wrong with you."
He looked at her, tears starting to form in his eyes. "You shouldn't be with me."
"What you mean?" She shook her head. "We've been over this. You're not one of them anymore." She looked frantic. "I love you."
His tears were heavier. "You shouldn't." He looked away from her. "You shouldn't love me."
"Why not?" He uttered, choking on her tears.
He tried to wipe his tears away. "I've done horrible things. I know I've told you already, but I've slept with Azariah…" He shook his head. "I don't know even how many times. And it wasn't just her. There were others—so many others. I don't know how many times I have been with other women."
"But, you haven't been with any of them since we've been together, and that is what counts." She put her hand over his. "That was General Kaiba." She squeezed his hand. "You are Hayate, and Hayate has never been unfaithful to me."
He shook his head. "You don't understand."
"Then tell me."
He looked over at her. "It is difficult for me to…" He trailed off and looked away, almost embarrassed.
"What?"
"I want you, and I know I shouldn't." He pulled his hand away from her. "I only want things to be pure. I don't want to treat you like some kind of object."
Ami was silent for a long time. "It is only natural when you're in love to feel that way…" She paused. "Or so I've read."
"What do you mean?"
"Didn't you tell me yourself that being with those other women meant nothing to you? Wasn't it just to feel something?"
"Yes," He uttered.
"Well, what do you feel now…with me?" She asked, nervously.
He looked up at her. "I love you," He blurted out. "I just want to be with you for the rest of my life."
She nodded. "That sounds completely different to me."
He was silent. She grabbed his hand again. "I've never told anyone this, but it's difficult for me too." She blushed. "I want you too." She paused for a moment. "I dream about the day that I marry you quite often."
"Marry me?" He looked over at her.
She nodded, blushing deeply. "The day that I'm yours forever; the day I give myself to you," She whispered to him. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes, feeling comfort rush into his soul. "I love you, Ami-chan. Please know I only want to think of you purely."
She nodded her head gently. "I know."