Chapter 4

It still amazed him just how vast the Crystal Kingdom had become in the few short years of its existence. It had started out as only a mere square mile around the crystalline formation that would become the Crystal Palace. However in its current state it was now easily three times the size of the original city of Tokyo. According to Sailor Mercury's estimates that would mean that the city of Crystal Tokyo covered over forty seven thousand square kilometres.

The most amazing, and by far encouraging, thing about the kingdom was that it was still growing at an accelerated rate even after four years. Every day it seemed more and more people were coming to the kingdom with the hope of living under Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endyimon's benevolent rule. Even more incredible was that several people who had assumed leadership roles in lands far away from the boundaries of the kingdom had pledged allegiance to the king and queen which effectively increased the peace and prosperity on planet Earth that had been prophesied by Sailor Pluto and Chibiusa many years ago.

Sean had never met Chibiusa as she had appeared around the time when he had been away fighting the demon species known as the War Wolves. He had heard a lot about her from Sailor Jupiter and the rest of the Sailors when he had returned to Japan and again after they had reawakened following their long sleep. Everyone was anxiously waiting the day when she would be born and thus be reunited with the team once again as it would mark the official start of the Crystal Millennium.

According to the prophecy Chibiusa would be born when Neo-Queen Serenity turned twenty-two years old. This meant that they had another two years to go before that grand event would occur if the prediction was accurate. Sean knew that all the Sailors were eagerly waiting for that day and their collective enthusiasm was definitely infectious as he found himself raring for that moment as well when he could meet the future guardian of the moon for the first time.

He was walking in an open field that lay on the outskirts of the kingdom's existing territory. He enjoyed coming to areas such as this whenever he could not just to patrol and watch for people travelling to the Crystal Palace but to enjoy the natural beauty that the Earth had created during the Great Sleep. All around him, the scenery and smells of the rolling landscapes reminded him of the calm and peaceful terrains that he had travelled through during his many years of globe-trotting in defence of the planet.

The field around him was teeming with wild flowers of various colours and grass that was high as his waist. A short distance away from him he could see a family of wild deer eating a batch of those flowers and some reddish coloured berries from a patch of thick bushes. In the baby blue sky above him a flock of birds flew silently towards the south as they headed towards the ocean or somewhere else. A gentle breeze blew over the land and caused the tall grass and flowers to sway back and forth.

A few yards in front of him the field rose up into a medium sized ridge that stretched a far distance outwards in both directions along the horizon. When he reached the base of the moderate sized elevation he jogged up the side and reached the top of it in less than a minute. He stopped and placed his red symbiotic-covered hands on his hips. He felt the breeze lightly blow through his short sandy blonde hair again as he stared out towards the east at the rolling hills and huge snow-capped mountains that lay far off in the distance.

He wanted nothing more than to travel the world with his wife and see more of what this planet had created in their long hibernation. However he knew in his heart that would not be happening any time soon. Sailor Jupiter's duty was to protect the King and Queen of Crystal Tokyo and that required her to remain within the kingdom's boundaries at all times. That also meant that he too would remain since he could not stand to be apart from her for any long period of time.

"I knew I would find you out here."

Sean turned around as a bright smile stretched across his face. His eyes lit up as he recognized the owner of the voice. His dark blue eyes focused in and locked with the radiant green eyes of Sailor Jupiter. She was standing on the top of the horizontal mound a few feet away from him. Her skills at stealth had improved by leaps and bounds since he had first met her as he had honestly not heard her approach behind him. She gave him a soft smile and her eyes quickly became glassy as the feelings of love and passion swelled up inside her as she looked at the man that she loved with all her heart.

"You are good at that. I am sure if you were blind you would still be able to find me!"

Sailor Jupiter didn't bother to vocalize a response to his tender remark. She instead walked slowly up to him and took his hands in hers. He intertwined his fingers with hers and held them up and against the thick red alien skin that covered his chest. They looked into each other's eyes and the love and closeness between them instantly magnified. She leaned in and gently pressed her lips against his. Upon contact, the touch of her soft lips caused an immediate surge of bioelectricity to flow through both of their bodies and sent tingles to the tips of their fingers and toes. The kiss lasted for about a minute as neither of them wanted the incredible moment they were sharing together to end.

When it finally did come to an end she broke the connection and tilted her head back which allowed Sean to see her entire face. He stared lovingly at her as his eyes scanned in all directions to take in all the natural beauty that her face radiated. He smiled at her like a person truly in love at first but, as he continued to study her face and the look in her emerald green eyes, his smile faded as his internal senses began to quickly pick up on something.

"What is wrong?"

"Neo-Queen Serenity has asked that you come back to the Palace right away."

"Okay, that is no problem. Let's go then."

Sean let go of one of her hands but still maintained a grip on the other one. He started heading in the direction of where Crystal Tokyo was located while getting pulling her along with him. Sailor Jupiter bit her lower lip and her eyes flared as internal conflict that raged inside her continued. She let out a sigh as she planted her feet firmly into the ground and used her exceptional physical strength to stop her movement. He was caught by surprise by the sudden exertion of physical force and he jerked backwards when his forward momentum was suddenly halted. He turned back to look at her with a look of confusion on his face.

"Why did you stop?"

"Sean, I need to tell you something…"

Sean's eyes lit up again as he saw the telltale signals that something big was going on. He quickly came to realize the seriousness of the situation and put his body into full alert mode. He first noticed the tone of her voice. It did not contain any of her usual joyous upbeats or her care-free energy. It was instead filled with sadness and more than a few hints of regret. When added with the rest of her body language, it backed up that observation as she was appearing to be very closed off. She was even turning her body away from him and she was unable to look at him directly for very long now. Another signal he had noticed was her use of his former name. Just like how she and the other Sailors had all abandoned their former civilian identities so too had he. They only used their former names in times of serious discussions or intense emotional outbursts and usually as a display of concern or happiness mostly.

"Makoto, my love, talk to me. What is troubling you?"

"The Queen wants you to go to the Palace so that she can purify you with the Silver Moon Crystal. There have been several reports of you losing control of your symbiote and she can't ignore them any longer."

"She wants to make sure that I am not tainted by the evil energy of the entity of Chaos?"

Sean let go of her hand and turned his back to her. She could tell that he was upset as she had predicted he would be. She could honestly say that she would feel the same way if their positions were reversed and he or one of their friends questioned her loyalty to the king and queen or the Crystal Kingdom in general.

"I guess that is what she wants to do. I am really sorry that this is happening. I tried to defend you and tell them that you are devoted to what this kingdom represents. I tried to convince them that your loyalties have always and continue to remain the same—"

"Well you clearly didn't try hard enough! I have been on the front lines for many of the major battles that this planet has incurred and saved it from destruction several times. I have risked my life countless times and faced monsters that would make even Sailor Uranus shiver with fear. I saved our queen from certain death from a lord of Hell and have been instrumental in building and establishing this kingdom from the very start. But all that apparently doesn't mean anything just because I lost my temper a few times while in the heat of battle!"

Sailor Jupiter looked at him with a look of complete shock and terror. After she had made her comment about trying to defend him his symbiote had reared up and covered his head to become the white eyed, large mouth and virtually featureless alien face of Carnage. He had then spun around and looked at her with an angry and almost predatory stare. It truly scared her when he looked at her with that look in his white pupil-less eyes and the rage-filled tone of his voice that he had yelled at her with. For the very first time she could now see what Venus and the others had been talking about earlier. Something was definitely wrong with her husband.

After a few intense seconds that followed his verbal outburst and stare down with Sailor Jupiter his body visually relaxed and the symbiotic skin around his head retreated and returned to its original resting place at the base of his neck. He shook his head as if he were shaking off a headache or a bad dream. When he looked back up at Jupiter and saw the look of shock and fear on her face he became remorseful as he felt his blood drop in temperature and body become numb all over. He rushed up to her but stopped a couple of feet in front of her. He reached out with his hands and took hold of hers. He waited for her eyes to lock with his before saying anything.

"Honey, I am so sorry! I don't know what came over me. I am fine now I swear. It really does mean a lot to me that you still believe in me when everyone else seems to have their doubts. If getting purified will mean that all this will be firmly put to rest and we can all get back to building and maintaining this kingdom I will gladly do it."

Sailor Jupiter let a smile appear on her face but it was small and somewhat forced. She knew that it was indeed her husband talking to her now and not the monster that she had briefly seen just now. She had to get him back to Neo-Queen Serenity as soon as possible because the anger or whatever it was that was causing these losses of control were clearly getting worse if he could lash out at her like he had just done. She took his outstretched hand and proceeded to follow him as they once again attempted to head down the hill and begin their journey back to the Crystal Palace.

"Ah, there you are! I have finally found you!"

Sailor Jupiter and Sean both spun around and looked back up at the top of the grass-covered mound. Standing where they had just been was a figure dressed completely in black clothing. It was clear from the tone and pitch of its voice that the figure was a male and of a young adult age. His face was mostly obscured by the over-sized hood he wore over his head. Even from the upward angle of their position and the bright mid-morning sunlight neither Sean nor Jupiter could clearly see his face.

"Who are you? What business do you have in Crystal Tokyo?"

The male figure did not verbally respond to Sailor Jupiter's demand. He instead outstretched his arms and his hands became visible as they extended beyond the edges of the baggy jacket. This further let both Sailor Jupiter and Sean see that the mysterious man was Caucasian. Almost purple and black coloured lightning crackled between his extended fingers. For Sean, it was hard not to see the resemblance between this potential enemy and his wife in terms of their apparent use of electricity. It also brought back images of an evil emperor he had seen in a series of movies about a great war that took place in outer space that he remembered watching as a young boy.

The power and intensity of the sinister looking lightning continued to noticeably build up until the smell of ozone became unmistakeable in their vicinity. Sean knew that there had to be something more to this person's abilities then just simply controlling a basic element of nature. If this person wished to cause trouble in Crystal Tokyo he would need more than the power of electricity to accomplish that. He was sure that this ominous had more magical powers which meant that he and Sailor Jupiter had to stay on alert.

The man raised his hands to the sky and dark clouds began to instantly form above him which turned the sky a dark grey like what happens during a thunderstorm. Within a matter of seconds, the surrounding landscape all around them grew dark as the sun's light became blocked by the clearly un-natural clouds. It was the exclamation point to the clear statement that evil had finally found its way to Crystal Tokyo.

Meanwhile, back at the Crystal Palace, Sailor Mars and Neptune jerked up from their spots in the Serenity Garden which was located at the top of the middle spire of the palace. Around them, the other Sailors were all there as well and were sitting around the tall central fountain that was the main focal point of the garden area. They had come there to wait for Sailor Jupiter to return with Carnage and also to give their king and queen some privacy. Each of them noticed the sudden movements of their two team mates and rushed to take positions on either side of them to see what had caused such a reaction.

"The sea is roaring. A great storm is upon us!"

"I feel an evil presence nearby. I haven't felt anything like this for a long time. This is very bad!"

"Then what are we waiting for. Let's move!"

In a flash Neptune and Mars stood up and turned towards the exit. Without saying a word, they both used their individual psychic abilities to hone on the source of the evil energy they were sensing. Close behind them the other Sailors ran behind them and kept pace with them as they exited the garden first and then the palace. Moving as fast as they could, they ran through the streets of the city as they head towards the eastern part of the city.

Back at the grassy field Sailor Jupiter and Sean were doing their best to hide their nervousness as they continued to closely watch their opponent. Sean covered his head in the symbiotic skin and once again transformed back into Carnage. High above them, the magically electrical energy that their enemy was manipulating between his hands was beginning to collect together and form a large white and blue flashing sphere of ominous-looking power above his head.

Then without any warning the man suddenly lowered his arms down and threw the energy orb directly at where Sailor Jupiter and Carnage were standing. Instinctively Carnage threw his body towards Jupiter and used his momentum to push her out of the way. However this noble act of selflessness left him directly in the sphere's path and it struck him full force in the centre of his body.

Sailor Jupiter felt Carnage push her to safety but couldn't stop herself from falling completely to the ground. In the darkened and dim area that surrounded them her eyes caught the unmistakeable flashes of light and her ears heard the scream that followed that told her that he had been hit by their enemy's attack. It was almost the exact same scream she remembered hearing when he had saved her from Gaap's hellfire breath. She quickly pushed herself up from her current position on her stomach and turned to look at where Carnage had just been. What she saw when her eyes fixated on the spot she had last seen him filled her first with shock and then intense anger.

Carnage was encased in the blueish energy sphere that looked more than a bubble now. From what she could see, the surface of the orb was semi-transparent which allowed her to see what was going on inside. He was suspended in its centre with his feet and hands not touching the internal side of the sphere. His body was tilted backwards and his arms were hanging straight down which showed her that his body was limp. This gave him the appearance that he was paralyzed or even unconscious and had no control over his body.

However Sailor Jupiter knew that he was definitely not knocked out as every few seconds, a surge of electrical-like energy shot out from the inside walls of the bubble and struck him from multiple directions at the same time. Each round of magical bolts caused him to scream out in a heart-wrenching tone that tore at the very fibre of her soul. She spun around and looked up at the man that was attacking them. She locked her bright green eyes on him and addressed him in a manner that clearly demonstrated the level of fury she was feeling right now after seeing her husband's current torturous state.

"Release him now!"

"No! I am enjoying this far too much! Your boyfriend has caused me too much grief for far too long now. I finally have the chance to repay him and the people of this kingdom that he foolishly protects back for his interference."

"Wrong answer you bastard! My guardian Jupiter! Brew a storm! Call the clouds! Bring down the lightning!"

Sailor Jupiter crossed her arms over her chest with her index and pinky fingers fully extended while the rest of her fingers were clenched tightly into a fist. As she mentally concentrated on gathering the necessary energy the tiny lightning rod hidden inside the middle part of her tiara rose up. High above her a bolt of lightning broke through the unnatural black clouds and rained down from the sky striking the tip of the rod. Upon the lightning making contact with it, the antenna's top crackled with the collected electrical energy. It was then that Sailor Jupiter threw her arms outward and shot the electric energy toward the sinister warlock.

"Supreme Thunder!"

The blast hit the heavily shrouded man with incredible-looking and violent force. However despite the impressive visual display, it did not kill him. Instead her attack only managed to stun him and cause him to drop down to one knee. Tiny pillars of smoke billowed up from his clothing as a result of the release of heat from the attack's impact. Other than that there were no other signs of any physical damage or signs that Sailor Jupiter's assault had any other effect on him.

The evil wizard lifted his head and for the first time since his initial appearance Sailor Jupiter could see more of his face. He was a white Caucasian male and he looked like he was in his late twenties or early thirties. She couldn't see the top part of his face but she could see his mouth and right now it was twisted upwards into a cruel-looking smile.

"You have accomplished nothing you silly little sow! You can't stop what has already been put into motion. Soon this kingdom will be bathed in blood and absolute panic. All that you stand for will be stripped away and the world you are trying to save will be restored back to its former glory!"

"I have heard similar boosts before and we have stopped everyone that has said them!"

"We will see if you are still so confident when you see what I have done."

Before she could respond to his snide remark a loud and beastial scream came from behind her. She spun around as she hoped that what she was thinking was not what had actually happened. She had been so focused on the man that was attacking them for the last few minutes that she had completely tuned out the screams of pain coming from her husband. This last howl was very different from the previous ones. She had heard her husband in pain before with the two most memorable moments being when he had saved her from the demon prince`s fire attack and when he was later captured and tortured by it. This inhuman bellow was much more animalistic and was perhaps what she would imagine would be the correct definition of alien-like.

When she turned around to look at what was happening behind her and if Carnage was alright a small gasp escaped her lips as her eyes took in the scene. The energy bubble was gone and had apparently disappeared completely from sight. Carnage was down on the ground on his hands and knees. From the way he had landed when the orb had vanished, it had caused him to be positioned with his body facing away from Sailor Jupiter. His head was tilted down much like what the average person might do if they were physically exhausted. He was breathing heavy and his torso visibly expanded outwards with greater than normal exertion.

She slowly approached him but was very cautious as she do so. As she drew nearer to him she could see his symbiotic finger claws digging deep grooves into the loose soil underneath him as he opened and closed them. She dismissed it as a physical coping mechanism for the pain she was sure was still racking the inside of his body. Seeing her husband like this caused her demeanour to change from the warrior-state she had just been in to the role of concerned friend and wife. When she reached him she knelt down beside him and placed one of her white gloved hands on his upper back.

"Sean, are you ok?"

She felt the large muscles underneath the symbiotic tissue tense up and flex beneath her palm. She looked towards the spot where her hand was to see what might be causing the sudden physical reactions that she was feeling. It was then that a sudden series of moments caught her attention and she returned her gaze back to his head.

The red symbiotic skin around his head began to swirl and flow faster than what was normal. She and instinctively took her hand off of his back as her body's 'flight or fight' response began to react to the overwhelming surge of fear that was rapidly building up inside her. She wasn't gifted with the psychic abilities her friends Neptune and Mars had but there was something inside her that she couldn't begin to explain that was screaming at her to get away from Carnage right now. Before she could physically respond thou her fears were confirmed as a series of words came from the one person that she had willfully and lovingly devoted the rest of her life too.

"Sean is gone. There is only Carnage!"

End of Chapter 4…