Chapter Four: The Dark Queen of Nemesis
"Serenity," Luna repeated in a voice barely above a whisper. The shock and disbelief was clear in her voice and the eyes of the feline as she stared at this dark parody off the young woman she knew. The Serenity of the past and the Usagi of the present had never been capable of the cold expression of hate and icy anger as the woman before her. Even when facing off against Beryl, neither incarnations of the gentle soul had looked so... heartless, for a lack of better word. Even the jealous and vain Beryl had seen some compassion in those cerulean blue eyes.
"Usagi, if this is your idea of a joke, it really isn't funny," Rei said, the fear in her eyes contradicting the anger tone in her voice. The Senshi of Mars prayed to her guardian planet that this was truly a joke, one in extreme bad taste, but even a bad joke was better then the truth that stared down at her without a hint of warmth. Yet in her heart of hearts, she knew the truth was that this was no joke.
"Do I look like I'm joking," asked the dark Queen, arching an eyebrow as her lips twisted into a cruel smile, that she would, as herself, never have been truly capable of pulling off in a million years. Even in the Snow White play, when she had been cast as the evil stepmother, Usagi had been unable to really capture the evil of the vain and murderous Queen.
She had no problem now.
"Usagi, what have they done to you," Minako cried, eyes filled with tears that threatened to fall. No, this couldn't be. This wasn't Usagi-chan. Her princess... her best friend... no, the girl she knew could not be this cold and heartless queen. Not willingly
"Those monsters," Makoto agreed, desperately wishing that the cackling green-haired hyena would show up so she could smash a fist into the smug face.
"Monsters," Serenity said with a delicate snort. "They're not the monsters. The Dark Moon gave me truth. They have removed the blindfold from my eyes and showed me the world as it truly is. You, who I foolishly thought were friends, were the ones who lied to me. You punished me for not being perfect, for not being the same woman I was in another life.
"What are you talking about," Red demanded. "We would never do that to you!"
"Liar," sneered Serenity. "And you're the worst one of them all, along with him. Both of you sneaking behind my back, cheating and plotting to get my crystal, that is mine by right of birth and blood. I HATE you! All of you! You and the rest of the people on this miserable planet… you have done nothing, but cause me pain! Well I'm not going to take it anymore."
She held out her right hand, palm facing up at them. An orb of black energy appeared before it began twist and shift, taking the form of long black scepter. The scepter was nearly as long as Serenity was tall, from her toes to the top of her ears in length. The bottom was actually larger version of the the black crystals that dangled from her ears, except this one gave the impression that if used correctly, it would slice an enemy open as easily as a sharp sword. The top half of the scepter appeared equally as dangerous with a black dragon, so black that it appeared to have purple tints to it, perched, almost in a dog-like sitting position, on top mouth wide open to show impressive sharp teeth, with it's wings spread out and its long muscular tail coiled sinuously around the staff. The Maboroshi no Ginzuishou lay nestled between the dragon's front claws, glowing with power. But like it's mistress, something was off and its glow was no longer a silvery white, but a black ominous light.
"DIE," the woman that had once been their cherished companion cried, as she pointed the scepter at them. A blast of dark energy shot out of the crystal towards them, but despite being in their civilian forms, all the training of their past lives and their current one allowed them to react and jump out the way. Mamoru grabbed Chibi-Usa and dodged the blast with the cats close at his heels.
"Transform," Artemis ordered.
"But Artemis it's Usagi-chan," Luna protested.
"And she's not holding back," the white cat replied bluntly. For all his joking ways, he could be serious when necessary and he understood the situation a lot better then the others. While he cared for their Princess, he was not overwhelmed by softer emotions like the females were nor did he hold a love for the Princess as Mamoru did, no matter how much the man said otherwise at the moment. "The Senshi won't be able to keep dodging any more attacks as they are now."
Makoto glanced at Usagi, no Queen Serenity of Nemesis, because to think that their beloved friend would attack them was unbearable and seemed impossible to comprehend. There was no kindess in that woman. Aretmis was right. "He's right. Transform. It's the only way we can survive and figure out what the Black Moon did."
The girls exchanged looks and then nodded. Transformation wands were pulled out of subspace pockets and they quickly shed their civilian forms and took on their Senshi identities, which brought them greater access and control to the powers they had been born with. Mamoru pulled out a rose, turning into his alter ego Tuxedo Kamen. He didn't know if he had it in him to fight against Usagi, even only in defense, but he could protect Chibi-Usa, the only one of them who lacked the power, agility, and speed to defend herself against such an adversary.
The Senshi quickly learned that facing off with the Queen of Nemesis would not be easy, even if she hadn't been their friend. Several blasts of dark energy, laced with traces of silvery white threads came at them. It took all their concentration and training to avoid the blasts, cringing inside to see the devastation to the area around them. It also hurt knowing that those blasts had been intended for them; their best friend was attacking them with the intention to kill.
"How can she believe that we would hurt her," Venus asked, when the attacks stopped as the dark Queen seemed to consider an alternate way to attack them would better results; whether she believed it or not, they just couldn't attack Serenity and there was no way of knowing what she thought of their inaction. It was so surreal, as if they were trapped in a nightmare, except the huge craters littering the area and the sweat trailing down her skin were cold-hard evidence that Senshi of Love was wide awake. Their friend and Princess was evil and hell-bent on killing them. How were they going to get Usagi back?
Mercury, her mind racing as it contemplated explanations and rejecting them, stared hard at the woman who had been her very first friend. Her heart filled with sorrow at the thought of having to fight Usagi, something so illogical that she never thought it could ever be a possibility. Yet behind the sorrow was cool determination; determination that they would win their friend back. It was determination that made her look into those once warm cerulean blue eyes, the eyes that been a window into Usagi's soul, but were now as cold and opaque… Opaque as if….
"They brainwashed her," Mercury cried. "Those bastards brainwashed her."
Everyone turned in shock to stare at the blue-haired Senshi who had never uttered a single profanity before, even at times when she had been highly vexed. Clearly this day was like having a lunar and solar eclipse on the night of the full moon of a Leap Year on Friday the thirteeneth, because that was the only explanation for their Princess turning evil and the ever calm and logical Mercury to be swearing and punching men.
"Look at her eyes," Mercury said. "Usagi's eyes have always given her away her emotions. It's why she always loses when we play poker. But her eyes are blank. That's how a brainwashed or drugged person's eyes look. It's the same way Tuxedo Kamen looked when the Dark Kingdom brainwashed him."
"Usagi, snap out of it," Jupiter cried, her forest green eyes staring up into those cerulean orbs and pleading with them to go back to normal. "The Dark Moon has brainwashed you. You have to fight it!"
"Brainwashed me," Serenity questioned in amusement. "No I think you're the ones who are trying to do the brainwashing. Wise Man has been honest with me, brutally honest in fact. He would never lie to his Queen."
"Usagi you have to return to normal," Chibi-Usa pleaded, feeling a fear that was a horrible and familiar as when she has seen her mother get hit in one of the Black Moon's attacks. "Please! You promised that you were going to help me save my mommy."
The little girl clasped her hands together and looked up at her heroine with beseeching eyes. A pale pink glow surrounded the child, causing everyone to gasp in surprise.
"Please remember the truth," Chibi-Usa cried. The pink glow that encased her shot out a blast of energy that hit Serenity. The dark Queen jerked back as if she had been slammed back by an eighteen-wheeler before sliding down onto her knees, still floating over the lake, her hands covering her ears as she screamed.
"Nooo," Serenity screamed. "Make it stop!"
In her mind, Serenity saw a vision of herself as she had once looked in Rei's room with the other girls. Books and papers were scattered around the room and she realized that it was a memory of a study session.
"Ugh," Usagi cried. "Let's take a break you guys. Maybe we could go down t
o the Crown Parlor and get something to eat?"
"No way Usagi," Rei replied. "You just took a break ten minutes ago."
"But I'm getting a headache," the blonde protested. "This stuff is soo hard."
"You'll never learn anything if you keep doing that," Minako scolded.
"Like you're one to talk," Makoto teased, as she reached over and pulled a manga out of Minako's science book. "Little Miss I'm-Pretending-To-Study-But-Is-Actually-Reading-A-Manga-Hidden-In-My-Textbook!"
Minako blushed bright red at getting caught as everyone laughed.
"Now get back to studying, Usagi," Rei ordered, when the laughter had died down.
"I don't see why we have to study now," Usagi complained. "We're not even in ninth grade yet. Why do we have to study for the high school entrance exams now?"
"Because Meatball Head," Rei replied. "Its better get a head start. And don't you want to get into the same high school as the others. If you don't study now with us, you might get into some other school with a whole bunch of people you don't know."
"And high school won't be as much fun if you're not there, girl," Minako said.
"Yeah," Makoto and Ami agreed.
"They did that because they cared," Serenity questioned herself softly, as the scene faded from her mind and she stared in confusion as the pink light faded away from Chibi-Usa. "Are they right? Did Wise Man lie to me?"
"Don't listen to them, my queen," Wise Man's voice boomed as the skies darkened ominously. A pillar of dark energy hit her. "They're lying to you. Like they always do. They don't care. They've never cared."
The same vision entered her mind again except this time the ending was different. Rei was telling her they were studying because they knew how stupid she was so that she would need lots of extra time. Then Minako said that she didn't know why they even tired since no amount of studying would help Usagi because she was so stupid and then Makoto and Ami agreed.
"Liars," she whispered. "You'll pay for your lies and the pain you put me through! I'll never forgive you! NEVER!"
Queen Serenity disappeared in a swirl of black petals, leaving her former companions to watch in pain and sorrow for being unable to bring her back to normal.
"How could they have gotten her to believe their lies," Jupiter demanded. "Usagi's stronger then that."
"She was," Venus replied quietly, "until our resident masked hero dumped her without a good reason and put a dent in her belief in love and the people who care about her."
Seven sets of eyes, each displaying varying amounts of anger and hostility, turned their stare onto Tuxedo Kamen. Mars's eyes burned hot like the fire she used and it was clear that she was considering turning the man into a human torch.
"This is your fault," she cried. "My best friend is on the bad guys' side because of you. How could you do that to her? How could you make her cry and hurt so bad that she would be willing believe to all the shit that Dark Moon brainwashed her with?"
Tuxedo Kamen looked down. "I can't tell you."
SMACK!
Tuxedo Kamen stumbled slightly from the force of the slap that Mars had laid on him.
"No we're not going to have none of that bullshit," she snarled. "You are going to tell us and you're going to tell us now us why you hurt the one woman who loves you with every fiber of her being. And then you're going to help us figure out how to bring her back to us. After she had returned to her normal self, I want to see you on your hands and knees, begging for forgiveness and going out of your way to pamper her. Capice?"
At first, Tuxedo Kamen looked angry and defiant. He wasn't a man who took well to being ordered around by anyone. Yet in the end he nodded; Minako and Rei were right. It was his fault that this had happened. In his effort to protect his Usako from harm, he had left her vulnerable and open for their enemies to take control of her. A chill went through him; maybe by breaking up with Usagi to protect her, he had helped make his dream come true instead…
"It all started shortly after Chibi-Usa showed up," he said slowly. "I kept having these visions of another place… a city made of crystal every time I touched her. And then the dreams came…"
"Dreams," questioned Mercury.
"Dreams of Usagi dying," he replied, the pain and horror evident in his eyes. "Every night, I watched her die and I couldn't do anything to protect her. The voice in my dream told me that Usagi would die if we were together."
"Let me see if I got this straight," Venus said. "You broke up with my Princess over a fucking dream?! A damn dream and she's out of your life like yesterday's news!"
Tuxedo Kamen flinched, as each of her words cut into with the razor sharp accuracy of her Venus Love-Me Chain. The same weapon she was currently holding and would have probably used to strangle him with if Jupiter hadn't wrestled it from her. Not that the Love-Me Chain being in Jupiter's hands was any better for his continued survival, if the expression on her face was anything to go by.
"Give him a break, Venus," said Mars. "You have to remember that dreams are what led him to Usagi in this life in the first place."
The Senshi of Venus let out a sound that sounded suspiciously like a snort, although no one in their right mind would accuse the avatar of the goddess of love and beauty of snorting, particularly since she happened to be highly pissed off with the Prince of Earth; it wouldn't take much for her to redirect her anger at another target.
"Okay so we know what caused the baka to break up with Usagi-chan," Jupiter said. "So how do we get Usagi back?"
"Simple," Mars replied. "Next time Usagi shows up, we hog tie her and combine our powers to debrainwash her."
"Chibi-Usa could help as well," Mercury added thoughtfully, staring at the little girl in question. "I don't know where that pink glow came from, but it seems that she had some sort of inner power that could help us reach Usagi-chan. It clearly had some effect on her before. If we add our strength, it just might be enough to get her back."
"Okay, so we have a plan," Venus said. "Now all we have to do is wait."
Wise Man waited as Serenity appeared by his side in a swirl of black rose petals. Anger burned in her eyes, although somewhere in those depths he knew there was pain. Oh he had hinted to her that all the pain would be gone once she accepted the dark power of the Black Crystal but he knew that he couldn't allow her to be completely unfeeling. She needed the pain to drive her so he could direct her to fulfill his plans.
"My Queen," he said, respectfully as she sat on a black marble throne, her scepter floating before her.
"I want my revenge Wise Man and I want it now," she said.
"Yes, my Queen," Wise Man replied. "But to do that you'll need to gain control of the rest of the Black Moon clan. Their abilities will aid you, but they all follow Diamund."
"Then Diamund shall die to set an example," said Serenity. "And then the rest will follow me if they treasure their lives."
"But there is a better way to win, my Queen."
"Explain yourself," she ordered.
"My Queen, as you know, I and the others come from the future," Wise Man replied. "Diamund fell in love with your future form, but since she was...naive to the treachery of those around her, she rejected Diamund in hopes that one day that Endymion would return to her. Her hopes were in vain and because of the treachery of the Senshi she lies sleeping in a crystal tomb until she regains the energy to free herself."
"I see," she replied. "Then I will make this Diamund, my consort and he and the others will be under my beck and call."
"Could you love Diamund," asked Wise Man.
"Who said anything about love," she said. "Love is an emotion for the weak. I will not be weak again. Call Diamund, Wise Man, so that he may greet his Queen."
"As you wish, my Queen," Wise Man replied. He waved a hand over his crystal ball and a few minutes later, a man with shoulder-length white hair and dark ice blue eyes entered the room. The man's uniform was entirely white and on his forehead was the insignia of the Dark Moon.
"You called, Wise Man," he demanded in a tone of voice that indicated his irritation for being summoned; but then a flash of silver caught his attention. He turned his head and eyes lit upon Serenity. "Who? How?"
"This is Serenity, Diamund," Wise Man explained. "She is the Queen of Nemesis and the Black Moon clan."
"Queen," Diamund repeated. "But she looks so much like-"
"Diamund, my love," Serenity said, approaching the Prince and gently cupped his face and drew him down so she could kiss him. She kissed him as if he was air and the man who had loved her elder self with an obsession responded despite his confusion at the situation. And as they kissed, the dark Queen tapped into the power of the dark Maboroshi no Ginzuishou and wove a spell around the Prince to entrap him so he would no longer question anything and do her bidding.
The Wise Man's eyes narrowed as he observed the scene and felt the power of the crystal. He hadn't expected this turn of events and wasn't particularly sure that his puppet was taking more initiative then he cared for. In truth, she had done nothing more then he had planned to do to ensure things ran smoothly, but somehow it put his back up that it had been Serenity to do it on her own.
The couple broke from their kiss. A satisfied smile graced Serenity's lips as Diamund knelt before her. He took the hand she offered him, kissing it before he raised it to his forehead in a sign of fealty. "I am at your service, my Queen. Just as the rest of my family and clan are yours to command."
"Rise, Diamund," she ordered; her voice a soft and seductive caress. "Rise and be my consort. Protect and obey me, my love and we shall rule the universe."
"Yes, my Queen. My love," replied Diamund as he stood, his blue eyes softening with love, not noticing the split second when her eyes revealed her scorn for him and the emotion he offered her. Diamund had fallen right into her web. A man in love was a fool.
"Diamund dearest," Serenity said, pressing herself against him. "Call me Serenity when we are in private. It's much more intimate then 'my Queen'.'"
"Serenity," Diamund said softly, testing the name on his lips. How he had longed for the pleasure of being able to call her by her name without any formalities or titles, but he had never had that chance back in the future.
"Diamund, there is something I need you to take care of for me before we can rendezvous with the Senshi again" she said softly, looking up at him with her cerulean blue eyes.
"I would do anything for you, Serenity," he declared.
"Good," she replied smiling. She rubbed her thumb against her fingers as if she was spreading a hand of cards and just like that there was beautiful clouds with the Dark Moon insignia on their back. She handed them to Diamund. "Retrieve those individuals."
"May I ask why, Serenity?"
"I'll tell you later, my love," she replied evasively. "Just have them brought to me as soon as possible."
'Soon the Senshi will pay,' she thought, as her plans played out in her mind. She anticipated the pain they would feel, the pain they had inflicted upon her. They would all pay!
'No, don't do it,' a voice whispered in her mind. 'Remember the truth, Serenity! Remember, before it's too late. Please, just remember.'
'Who's there,' she mentally screamed. 'Reveal yourself. What am I supposed to remember?!'
But the voice remained silent.
Final Thought Chibi-Usa:
What was that power?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am soooo sorry that this chapter took so long. I'm a librarian and summertime is such a crazy busy time at the library. Most of the time I come home and all I want is food, shower, a little time to read and then sleep. Hopefully as the summer is drawing to an end, I shall have more time to write and update (although I admit some of that writing will be towards the novel that's sitting in my head).
I want to thank everyone who took the time to review or favorited this story in some way. It is greatly appreciated and brought a smile to my day. =)
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Disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to Sailor Moon or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Takeuchi Naoko and anyone else she says has rights to it.