The following week was filled with battle after battle. Every day- sometime more than once a day- they had to fend off attacks from Metallia's shadow beasts. Eliana would return to Sanctuary to watch over them and Sailor Black Hole whom she still had under forced sleep.
Apollo on the other hand and joined the battle field, apparently not limited to non-combat as Sailor Sun was. While his attacks were not on the same level as the Senshi- he proved he was clearly able to hold his own and watch their backs for them.
Hajime stood back, sheathing his sword. Transforming did nothing to augment his darker self. Using his sword without touching his power helped him to help the others. Inky black corpses littered the landscape around them, slowly dissolving into nothingness. It was the seventh day, and there had been several attacks already. Hajime was just as bone tired as everyone else, and he walked over to each one of them, making sure that they were okay. As each nodded and affirmed, Hajime felt a little bit more relief. Something was coming, he could tell. But what it was, he wasn't sure. Suddenly, a pain lanced through his heart, and he fell to his knees, struggling against the sudden very powerful surge of his darker self against his control. Apollo ran over, pinning Hajime to the ground, immediately guessing that something had gone wrong. Asteroid Ice rushed over, being the first to see Hajime fall. Venus followed, wondering what her hurry was. Starfire was hesitant, feeling something dark pulsing from that direction.
Eliana appeared before them, hovering in the sky, wings of light unfurled behind her radiating a glow that swept the area. "We have to go, now!" she told them, holding her staff before her. Her light seemed to be helping Hajime but not by much. "Close your eyes, you'll need to see the moment we arrive," she told them.
When the light faded, she settled onto the pale ground below them, the sky suddenly starry. She'd taken them all to the Moon.
Hajime's hand went to his chest as another lance of pain went through his heart. A giant creature was attacking the crystal that held Serenity and Dymion captive. Each hit produced that lancing pain in his heart, and each time, his control over his darker self grew a bit weaker.
"Metallia..." he growled, his voice not his own. Asteroid Ice gave him a concerned look, but motioned to the others.
"It looks like we will need to work together to get this," she said, and the others nodded. All of them held up their hands, whatever they used in their attacks appearing in their palms. On a count of three, their combined powers were unleashed upon the creature. While it made it take notice and howl in pain, it literally did nothing else. Annoyed, the giant turned, its tail striking the crystal, causing Hajime to fall to his knees once again from the pain lancing through his body. He was slowly losing the battle against his darker self, but no one was noticing as the inky black giant advanced, and then swung its hand, throwing the Senshi in all directions, making them hit various bits of columns that stuck out of the rubble.
Eliana had hung back with Hajime, torn between watching the girls and watching him. Their attack did nothing. Hajime was going to lose to himself soon just from the pain the crystal being attacked caused. The crystal would break soon- and Queen Serenity and King Dymion would be killed. She had no choice.
'I'll pay the price,' she thought to the universe. 'I'll pay the price- but I HAVE to use my power. You HAVE to let me,' she stepped forward, feeling a tingle run through her as her power began to grow.
"Sailor Sun NO!" Apollo cried.
The wings of light appeared again, brighter and hotter than ever before. She stopped, standing before the giant beast. He swung at her she blocked it with a raise of her staff, causing it to roar in pain. "Super Nova!" she cried and light flashed brightly and in an array of colors. They could hear another roar that faded quickly into nothing more than an echo, a pulse followed the light that knocked anything standing over.
When the light faded Sailor Sun stood before a large crater when the giant had been, on the other side, the crystal was the only thing standing- completely unharmed. Sailor Sun was turned calmly and looked, seeing that all her companions were okay. She smiled, before tears spilled down her cheeks, and then with a burst of darkness- she vanished.
"NO!" Apollo ran forward to where she'd been, but he'd been too late.
The ground slowly began to rumble. Asteroid Ice was slowly picking herself up, and this concerned her. Why would a celestial thing such as the Earth's Moon start to tremble? Looking around, she realized what was causing the ruins of the Moon Kingdom to crumble even further. Hajime was surrounded by darkness, his hair turning dark red, his eyes pure black.
"Metallia!" His voice was not the voice of the Hajime she'd met, but of someone else, someone darker. "You will pay for everything that has been done to us!" He spoke in plural, as if he were speaking of many beings. "Our vengeance will be swift! YOU WILL NOT LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER DAY!" At this, Hajime actually rose into the air, his uniform clothing his body, staining an even darker black as his power began to wrap around him. Metallia was pulled from where she was hiding as Hajime held out a hand, and she was pulled, choking on the deadness of space, to hover right in front of him. "You are the seat of our problems. You will die." Holding Metallia even higher above him, he watched as she slowly suffocated. Letting her corpse plummet to the Moon's crust, he looked around. "All has not been avenged. We will destroy everything!"
"Ha-Hajime!" Rosemary called, taking a step back. This wasn't Hajime, this was the darker self they'd been warned off. It seemed the loss of Sailor Sun had caused the last strand of his control to snap. How could this have happened?
"The prophecy... it's coming true after all," Apollo whispered, looking up at Hajime where he hovered above them. There was nothing any of them could do to stop this. Maybe Sailor Sun could have- but even that would have been difficult or her- and she was no longer here...
Things started to shimmer as space itself began to unravel. Even Sailor Saturn could not have done this much damage.
"All the wrongs, all the destruction! Nothing shall harm us again! We shall start anew, far more powerful!" Hajime's hoarse voice echoed across the barren landscape. Unnoticed by him, the crystal that held Serenity and Dymion began to crack, little beams of silvery light filtering through. As Hajime held out a hand, focusing on the nearer celestial bodies, he didn't notice as the crystal broke open. Serenity stepped free, shaking bits of sparkling crystal dust from her long hair, looking around. Dymion stepped out behind her, looking around as well. Serenity looked at the little of stone bodies around them, saw their infant, and closed her eyes, turning to Dymion. Dymion held her close, but soon something else attracted their attention. Looking up, Serenity saw Hajime. Her eyes widened. How did she know this boy? Had her spirit wandered while she'd been trapped? Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she held her hands in front of her. Her form began to shimmer, and Dymion stepped back, knowing that she was doing something very important. In a few seconds, she was transformed. Her silver tiara sat atop her head, her long hair trailing, just barely brushing the ground. It was loose, as it had been when she'd been trapped in the crystal. A short white dress, strapless, had two sheer blue underskirts, and she had a pair of sheer blue wings stretching from her shoulders. A pair of blue glass-like heels covered her feet, and she took a step forward, a staff appearing in her hand. Opening her eyes, she looked up. The wings upon her back began to move, and she flew up into the air, facing Hajime.
"Prince of the Moon, listen." Her beautiful voice echoed, just as Hajime's had, and he turned to her. "This is not the time. Nothing is permanent, and history repeats itself." Serenity was startled to see tears upon Hajime's angry face. "Give me the crystal, I will purify it."
"Never!" he said hoarsely, and held out a hand, a blast of power threw Serenity back, drawing an outraged yell from Dymion. He unsheathed his sword, ready to jump into the fray, knowing that there was no way for him to get there. Serenity looked up at Hajime and smiled sadly, the same sad smile that her spirit had smiled the first time he'd come to the moon. Hajime was startled into stillness, and Serenity took the chance. Holding out her staff, she caused the silvery light to encompass him, and purify him, as well as the crystal. During this process, Hajime fell unconscious, nearly dead, and the silvery light expanded, going through out the universe, repairing damage. It brought Sailor Sun back. As the process ended, Serenity floated back down to the surface of the Moon, Hajime going with her. His broken body lay upon the dust and rubble, looking cold as the light faded. Serenity sagged against Dymion, feeling severely weakened. Sailor Sun winked into existence exactly where she disappeared, looking down at Hajime, lying prone in the middle of the crater.
Sailor Sun stood for a moment, looking around confused.
Apollo rushed her, purring loudly as he rubbed against her nearly knocking her over.
She laughed lightly. "Apollo what's gotten into you?" she asked, reaching down to pet his head. Her eyes fell on each person. She didn't understand. "What happened here? King Dymion, when did you and Queen Serenity break free of the crystal? Who are all these people?" she asked, looking to the other Senshi. Based on outfits and the feel of energy she recognized a Sailor Venus and Sailor Earth, but she didn't know who the others were. And she didn't know who the boy on the ground was either.
"Sailor Sun, can you offer a bit of help? Everyone's pretty exhausted." Dymion told her, holding his wife gently in his arms.
Sailor Sun thought a moment, trying to decide if that would be allowed. She didn't even know how she'd ended up on the Moon. But feeling that her power wasn't being restricted currently- which was odd- she nodded, still very confused. "Apollo do you know what happened?" she asked quietly, her light wings forming behind her again.
Apollo seemed rather worried. "You don't remember anything?" he asked. She hadn't seemed very concerned with Hajime. He might not want to admit it, but he knew she loved him. So why- and she didn't seem to know who anyone was either. "We'll talk later," the giant cat told her, trotting over to Hajime and lying down. He could feel that he was going to need more energy than the others. He was barely alive as it was.
Dymion was already replenishing his wife's depleted energy- which caused Sailor Earth to feel an odd tugging on her power. She went to him and crouched down, just watching him.
Sailor Sun rose into the sky and a soft warm light filled the sky. "Sailor Earth, if I take everyone back to Earth you can use its energy to assist in healing them. I'm only able to easy pain and offer some replenishment of their drained energy. Healing their injuries would be up to you."
Mikoto looked up at her, a bit confused herself. Why was she acting like that? Eliana had always been so concerned for everyone's safety, but now it was as if she didn't care for them at all.
They all reappeared in an empty field on Earth, soft specks of light almost like snow fell over the area, created by Sailor Sun, who still hovered in the sky, the sun behind her.
Mikoto got to her feet. "I need some sort of barrier around them to contain the field..." she muttered, trying to figure out how to do that with only one knife.
Dymion laid Serenity down gently and got to his feet. His formal attire changed to the armor he'd worn as Moonlit Archer, bow in hand. He notched arrow after arrow, shooting them all into the ground around the little group. "Karin and I used to do it this way for the girls all the time," he told her, a sad smile on his lips. His sister was gone now, he knew that, and he missed the feeling of his twin in his mind.
Mikoto smiled at him. "So you are Kazuma. Grandma told me stories about you that HER Grandma told her," she was about to say more, but decided against it. Her friends needed her help right now. She found the center of the circle and then stuck her knife into the ground, warm pulsing spread out from her, resonating with the pulsing from the arrows.
Once it seemed everyone was going to make it, Sailor Sun floated back to the ground, her light yellow cape fluttering behind her as she approached Apollo and the boy. He and Queen Serenity were by far the weakest in the group, and Dymion was already tending to his wife, so she went to check on him, Apollo shifting a bit as she approached.
Something about the boy's face struck Sailor Sun, but she couldn't place what it was, or even why. As far as she knew she'd never seen him before. She knelt down, laying her staff on the ground and touched his forehead, then drew her hand back. It was very faint but she could feel a radiance of her power coming from him. 'How?' she wondered, and then caught sight of the gold ring on his hand. She could feel it held a small portion of her power, but the ring was cracked and dark, barely even whole anymore.
"Apollo- why?" she asked quietly, before putting her hand back on his forehead to finish giving him enough energy to regain consciousness.
"What do you remember?" he asked back.
"Last thing I remember before I appeared on the Moon was..." she thought a moment, her memory hazy. Her memory was never hazy. Other than about her life before she became Sailor Sun. "We were... we were watching, waiting for the crystals to reappear... Metallia had broken free and destroyed the moon... we were waiting... and then I felt the Silver Crystal reappear but... something was wrong." She furrowed her brow, a frown on her lips. "Something was wrong and-" She couldn't remember anything else.
Serenity watched as Dymion helped her. She let her gaze fall on each of the girls. They all seemed so strange and new, but there were two that were rather familiar. Venus and Earth. They seemed to be the only two that were a call back to her own time. Looking over at Sailor Sun as she seemed to struggle, Serenity sighed and looked up at Dymion. She was feeling stronger, so she sat up.
"It was a terrible price..." she said quietly, nodding towards Sun. "I had to make an exchange. There was a Senshi in Sanctuary, one with terrible power. She seemed to be suffering though... And Sun was gone." Serenity shivered, remembering feeling the nothingness that Sun had been in. "I had to give the Galaxy Cauldron Sailor Black Hole in order to bring Sailor Sun back... As it was, Black Hole was an anomaly because of the Prince." Looking over at Hajime, Serenity felt a little sorry for him. "There was an additional price..." She looked from Hajime to Sun, and then back to Dymion. "Sun's memories had to be erased in order to get her back. She doesn't remember anything about these girls... Nor her love for the Prince. She will have an ache. But she won't remember him." Sighing, she looked down. "But something else happened too. The Silver Crystal, in apology for making the Prince its vessel for vengeance, made him immortal." She looked up at Dymion. If Sun can regain her memories... I think she would be happy for once in her long life. The Prince would be able to be with her."
Dymion kissed her gently, his arm around her shoulder. "It was a hard choice to make but I think you made the right one," he told her. "Even without memories- if the feeling was real then her heart will still remember it. Who knows? Maybe with some time she won't even have to regain her memories." He kissed her forehead and then helped her to stand.
Apollo sighed shifting back into his smaller form. "A lot happened since then. You have been living in the human world for months under the name Eliana. You helped him- the Prince of the Moon to gather his Senshi and keep his power in control."
Eliana grew a little paler. "He was the Prince of the Moon? The prophecy-"
"-was averted thanks to Queen Serenity. And kept at bay for quite a while by you. You helped keep his power in check.." Apollo sighed again. How could he even start to tell her she'd been in love with him? Perhaps... it was for the best if he didn't tell her... they would just return to sanctuary and live their lives as they had been...
Serenity kept hold of Dymion's hand, and just watched. This was something that she felt had to happen without interference. The others watched as well. Megan was holding Mia, both of them being affected by the image of Hajime's prone form. Andromeda felt like she was out of place, but that she needed to be there to witness something. Soon enough, Hajime began to stir. Serenity looked up at Dymion, squeezing his hand. Sitting up, Hajime put a hand to his head, shaking it. Looking around, he realized that he was back on Earth, the Moon far above him. Finally looking in front of him, he could not believe his eyes.
"Eliana!" he gasped, but wasn't strong enough to move from the semi-sitting position that he was in.
She blinked a bit started by his sudden outburst, a hand resting on his shoulder to steady him. "Yeees..." she said slowly. "And you are... the Prince of the Moon correct? Apollo just told me. Sorry... I don't know your name... even though you seem to know mine." Her lips twitched into a very small smile of apology. "I would recommend not trying to move much. You seemed to have lost a lot of energy- and it will take you a long while to recover it," she told him, getting to her feet, taking her staff up from the ground.
She turned to Queen Serenity and King Dymion. "The Moon is hardly habitable at the moment; would you like me to take you to the Earth Palace to rest for now?"
Hajime gave Apollo a confused look as she moved, but he didn't say anything. He was more relieved than anything at the moment that she was still alive. The last thing he remembered before he'd passed out was that she'd disappeared. Serenity looked at Sun, then at Dymion. At a small nod from him, she nodded too.
"That sounds wonderful. My energy went out to the far reaches of the universe to repair it, so it will take a little while for it to reach the moon and fully repair it. Staying at the palace should be fine. I'm sure that Karin had the guest room set aside for us," she said softly. Hajime had been surrounded by the others, and was busy reassuring them that he was fine. "Perhaps you should stay with the Prince. Just in case," she added, motioning at Hajime.
Sailor Sun looked back at the man, currently surrounded by his Senshi. "I don't feel any negative energy coming from him. Whatever it was that you've done appears have been effective. But- I suppose it is better safe than sorry." She held out her staff. "Close your eyes." And then in a flash of light the three were gone.
Sailor Sun saw that The King and Queen were situated before returning to Sanctuary. She did a slight search and then went to an apartment she could only assumed belonged to the Moon Prince. Apollo was there, keeping an eye on him while the girls had all returned to their own homes it seemed.
"I apologize for intruding into your home," Sailor Sun told him, giving a slight bow. "Would you mind if I stayed close for a short time?"
Apollo had told him that Eliana had lost her memories, but somehow her aloofness still hurt. Hajime nodded, standing and guiding her to the room that she'd had before.
"Here's the guest room," he said said, opening the door for her. "Make yourself at home." He went to sit on the couch again, still feeling rather weak. He wouldn't be going to school until he felt better, so he was just fine with Eliana being there to keep him company.
Serenity curled up with Dymion in their bed after having dinner with the Queen. They had been distinguished guests at the dinner, and the Queen's youngest children seemed to be in awe of the two living legends sitting at their table.
"We didn't even get to see our child grow..." Serenity said forlornly.
Dymion swallowed back his own pain at the memory of their lost child. He kissed the top of her head. "I know my love," he whispered. "And I wish we could change that."
Eliana was a bit confused. 'Guest room?' she thought. She didn't need a room really... it wasn't like she needed to sleep or anything. 'But I suppose having a stranger standing about in your living room would be awkward.' She conceded following him. She stayed in the room, sitting on the edge of the bed after a moment. She didn't know what to do with herself here in the human's realm. 'Apollo said I'd been living in this realm... wonder if it was nice,' she thought, thinking about what she'd observed. 'Well I suppose I at least know something about living in this world from what I've watched,' she sighed, getting to her feet again and starting to pace a bit. She stopped, seeing some clothes. Out of an idle curiosity she did a light search of the room, finding that while there wasn't a lot there were things in the room. Things that probably belonged to a woman. "Um... excuse me Prince?" she asked, coming out of the room. "You said that this was a guest room but it appears someone is actually living in here... I don't have to sleep or anything, so I can be pretty much anywhere... I don't wish to intrude..."
"Call me Hajime," he said, motioning for her to sit next to him. "And those are your things in there. You'd been staying with me before..." He trailed off, shuddering. Even while he'd been shunted away by his darker self, he'd seen all that he'd done. It had been terrible. He'd even hurt the Queen! "Well. Anyways. Those are your things. Don't worry about imposing on me. I don't mind at all." He smiled slightly, wondering what in the world he would do.
Serenity looked up at Dymion, somewhat sad, but somewhat happy.
"We could try again, now that we have a chance," she whispered. She kissed him gently.
"Oh... Hajime..." Saying his name stirred something in her, but she didn't know what. "So I was staying here?" she started towards him, and then stopped, her staff having thunked on the ground, cape rustling behind her. "So... those clothes are mine then?" she asked to be excused a moment and went into the room, coming back out a minute later in a tank top and shorts. She wasn't used to how the felt- and yet somehow it was almost familiar. She settled onto the couch. "How long was I living here? It's odd really- to think of living among humans. I've done it twice before- but that was only for two days at most."
Dymion smiled softly and shifted so he could whisper in her ear. Despite the somewhat serious nature of their discussion he couldn't help the comment. "Yes we can, and I would love to try a few times with you."
"You've been here for a few months. We were very good friends," Hajime added softly. He smiled as she sat next to him. "You seemed to really enjoy it too. You especially liked eggs."
Serenity felt a shiver go down her spine.
"I'd like that very much," she whispered back, kissing his neck. Smiling, she looked up at him.
"Hmm..." was all she said as she searched her memory. But it didn't bring anything to mind. How had she simply forgotten the last several months? Especially if she was living as a human again. She knew her responsibilities but that didn't stop her from every now and again wishing to live as the other Senshi were able to. "And... why did I live here? Was I worried about your power then?" she asked, turning a bit on the couch so she could look at him.
"Well. You started out living on your own," Hajime said. "But then you came to live here as my power became more and more unstable." He sighed, closing his eyes, remembering vividly what had happened on the Moon. "You had good reason to worry..." he finished quietly. The conversation ended there, and silence descended as they watched an old movie. About an hour later, an excited sounding knock sounded at the door. Hajime stood and answered the door, and was astonished to see Mikoto standing there. "Hello there Princess," he said amiably, his usual greeting for her.
And as usual she gave his arm a light slug. "Mikoto," she told him, but grinned. "I'm here to deliver an invite to you and Eliana. We're going to be having a ball at the Palace in honor of the return of the Queen and King of the Moon," she told him, stepping inside. "It'll be in three days. Hajime- why don't you be Eliana's escort for the night?" she suggested with a smile. "And tomorrow Eliana- me and the girls are taking you out shopping for an dress." she declared.
"My Fuku should be fine as a formal," she tried to assure her, but it did no good.
"You are not wearing your fuku to a ball. You may not remember it but we are friends. And a friend of mine- or Mia for that matter- is not going to a party without a ballgown."
Sailor Sun looked between the two of them a moment. "Very well but... what if Pr- Hajime has someone else he'd rather attend with?"
"I would love to escort you," Hajime said with a warm smile. He was actually quite grateful for Mikoto stopping by and inviting them. "It sounds like fun. We'll be there when it starts. What time is that exactly?" he asked. He had an idea of what he would be wearing for the ball. Looking over at Eliana, he smiled again. "The girls will be sure to take care of you tomorrow, so you don't need to worry."
Eliana considered for a moment, and then nodded. "Then I leave myself in your care Princess."
"Mi-ko-to," she said slowly, a 'I will NOT back down on this!' look in her dark eyes.
"Mikoto," she gave a soft smile. "I will keep in mind you don't wish to be addressed formally."
"Good," Mikoto declared with a little nod. "Now. I've got to go and tell the other girls the news. See you at the station in the morning then? Say, ten o'clock?"
"Yes, of course. See you then," she agreed once the girl was gone she sighed. "I'm sorry you seemed to have been looped into being my escort. Are you sure you don't mind? I'm sure you'd rather go with your girlfriend." He was handsome and kind from what she could tell so far- so it seemed perfectly natural to her that he would.
"I don't have a girlfriend," Hajime said, looking at her with a rather sad expression. In an instant, it was gone, and he smiled warmly again. "Besides, since you have stayed behind to watch over me, it's only right that I return the favor. I don't mind taking you at all. It'll be fine," he added cheerily.
The next day dawned bright and warm, and Mia waited impatiently with Megan, Andromeda keeping her seemingly infinite icy calm, as they waited for Mikoto to show up with Eliana.
"This is going to be so much fun!" Mia burst out, jumping a little, and Megan had to laugh.
For a moment Sailor Sun wondered if she'd somehow struck a nerve with her assumption he had a girlfriend, but the sad expression was gone quickly enough. She returned the smile a bit shyly. "Then I look forward to being in your care."
Rose had told them she'd meet up with them later, needing to do some shopping with her boyfriend before she went shopping with them.
Eliana headed out in the morning and meet up with Mikoto, who led her onto a train where they got off at a high end shopping center. Mikoto grinned when she saw the other girls. "Ready to commence the operation?" she asked, excited. They girls would all be getting their own dresses today, but when she'd stopped by to tell them last night they'd also decided they would use the chance to try and play matchmaker a bit. No one had said anything or asked but they all knew that Eliana and Hajime had started dating before the fiasco on the Moon. Now that Eliana had lost her memories, they'd decided to try and help the couple get back together.
Eliana tilted her head slightly. 'Operation?' she wondered silently. But decided maybe that was just how this girl talked.
"Ready!" Mia cheered, looping arms with Eliana. "We are going to get you the prettiest dress for the ball!" she said. Leading the way into the biggest department store, Mia began to point out golden dresses that might suit Eliana perfectly.
Eliana said that they all looked nice, but she didn't seem comfortable in any of the puffy dresses that they stuck her in. It wasn't until they found a dress with a loose skirt and an overcoat of gold that she seemed more at easy. Walking easily in the dress, it suited her much better than the other dresses before had. "Is this alright?" she asked, playing with the skirt a bit.
"It looks perfect!" Rose declared, having just arrived. "Aww did I miss all the fun already?" she asked, giving her friends a quick hug.
"Perfect!" Mia gushed, having just found hers, a pretty orange and blue number that suited her frilly personality well. She did a few poses in the mirror, then waved hello to Rose. "You didn't miss much. We were focused on finding a pretty dress for Eliana, so that she can dazzle Hajime." She grinned, twirling about in her dress. "Just found my dress! Now we need to find one for Andromeda and Megan, and you as well!" she said happily.
Rose grinned. "I found I dress that I want but I decided to hold off on getting it till I could show all of you," she told them.
"Why would you want me to 'dazzle' Hajime?" Eliana asked, clearly perplexed by this.
The girls exchanged looks. "Because- you should always try to dazzle whoever you go to a party with," Rose answered. "Come on. You mean you don't want him to think your pretty? Not even a little bit?"
She was about to answer no- but at the odd reaction her heart gave to the idea she fell silent. Why would she care if he thought her pretty or not? But for some reason some part of her DID seem to care... She looked back at her own reflection in the mirror. Was she pretty? She thought the girls were pretty... but she didn't really know how to judge such a thing in herself. She'd never had to as far as she knew. Something flickered at the back of her mind- like a faint, distant echo of something that had happened before. But when she tried to grasp at it, her head started to point, and she dropped to her knees, her head in her hands as she took a sharp, pained breath.
"Eliana?!" Rose rushed to her, dropping beside her to put her arms around her shoulder. "Eliana are you alright?"
She'd stopped trying to find out what that echo had been, and the pain her head began to dissipate. "Yes... I'm alright," she answered slowly, her hands falling away from her head. She was shaking slightly.
Rose looked to the others. "Let's take a little break. Maybe get something to eat," she suggested.
Mia nodded, giving Megan a worried glance. The other girl seemed to be frowning, as if she sensed something amiss. When she noticed that Mia was looking at her, she smiled, shrugging.
"Lunch sounds good," she said, and Andromeda nodded.
"I feel that something to eat would be good, as I myself and feeling rather faint from hunger," Andromeda said, then shrugged when Mia gave her a look.
"And after lunch we can find dresses for the rest of us," Mia added. "Eliana, I think that Andromeda would love your opinion." Andromeda nodded enthusiastically.
"I think your opinion would be most welcome on the dress I have chosen. I have not bought it yet because I wanted to know what you thought," she said with a smile.
Eliana gave them a weak smile and nodded silently, letting Rose help her to her feet before changing out of the gown and back into the clothes she'd found in the spare room that evidently belonged to her.
The girls ate and then went back to shopping. Eliana smiled when Andromeda showed off the dress she'd found. "It looks lovely," she told her. "And it suits you very well."
Hajime smiled warmly at Eliana. She looked radiant in her dress, and he was glad to be taking her to the ball. He himself was dressed in silver armor, inlaid with gold and pearl accents. A dark blue cape hung from his shoulders, and the cloth underneath the plates of his armor was the same color. The inner paneling of the cape was the same pearl color on his armor. A belt hung crookedly across his waist, braided gold, silver, and pearl rope, holding a silver scabbard and his sword sheathed neatly inside it, pearl inlaid upon the hilt of the weapon. His hair, though mussed as usual, seemed to have some sort of neatness to it, being held back by a silver circlet, a pearl and gold crescent moon prominent at the front, signifying his standing as the Prince of the Moon. They had gotten to the ball without trouble, and now they were waiting to be introduced, because Mikoto had wanted all of her friends to be announced. All too soon, they were announced, and they entered the ballroom, Hajime being a perfect gentleman and holding Eliana's hand. Once on the ballroom floor, Hajime led Eliana to the thrones, bowing low to King Dymion, Queen Serenity, and Queen Katherine as Eliana curtsied. Dymion seemed to be wearing a similar uniform to Hajime, while Serenity and Katherine drew striking figures in their ballgowns.
"Hello Prince," Serenity said softly, smiling at him. She came off of her throne and kissed him once on each cheek. Eliana felt a jolt of unfamiliar emotion as this happened, but thought nothing of it. When Serenity retreated, Dymion nodded and grinned roguishly.
"Have fun tonight Prince. I think you'll enjoy our little surprise," he said. Hajime looked taken aback, but nodded. A woman arrived just behind them, being introduced as Lady Cosmos. Serenity looked slightly irate, but not at all out of composure. Hajime took that as his cue to leave. Serenity and Cosmos seemed to have a long conversation, while Dymion looked to stay purposefully out of it, seeming angry. Hajime led the way over to where their friends were sitting at a table, all looking quite pretty in their dresses.
"Hello girls," he said with a smile. They all proceeded to gush over how handsome he was, and how beautiful Eliana was, how good the two looked together. "Now, now, that's enough." He was blushing, and Eliana was struck by the fact that she seemed to like it. As the ball wore on, Hajime took her out onto the dance floor a few times, and she found herself enjoying herself more and more. At about ten, the ballroom fell silent as Queen Serenity and King Dymion stepped forward. Lady Cosmos had been given a throne and was sitting conversing quietly with Queen Katherine.
"We know that we rule a different kingdom, but this is the perfect place to make our announcement," King Dymion said. "Prince Hajime, please come forward." Hajime blinked in surprise, but did as the King asked, walking up and bowing to the couple. "Prince Hajime, my wife and I have spoken many long hours about this, and have come to an agreement. We shall adopt you as our son. Although you are a Prince of the Moon, you are not required to become ruler after we are gone. We have a feeling that you will be needed elsewhere. Instead, we just wish you to know that you have parents, and we will always be here should you need it." Hajime was stunned into stillness. After a moment, Serenity stepped forward, and she gave Hajime a hug. Hajime hugged back, and the entire ballroom erupted into cheers. Eliana cheered too, feeling as if this was incredibly important. Pain erupted in her head, so she ceased trying to grasp at the memory. In that instant though, an inky black creature dashed forward, stabbing at the King, Queen, and Prince. Understanding flashed through Eliana's mind, and some of her memories came back, painlessly. Hajime shoved Serenity back and Dymion caught her as Hajime drew is sword, the people in the ballroom running, fear for their lives telling them to evacuate. The creature was strong, and he seemed to throw Hajime back.
"Stay back!" Hajime shouted as he saw his friends surge forward to help him. "This one is powerful!" He fought relentlessly, and in the instant the creature stabbed him, he had it. Holding a hand out, a white light erupted from his palm, searing the creature through. A screech of pain erupted from the creature, and it fell to ashes. The scene had imprinted itself upon Eliana's mind, and she found herself remembering something, another, far more frightening image superimposing itself upon the one playing out in reality. Hajime, in that darker image, looked evil, vengeful. The true Hajime looked far from that, as far as anyone of the Moon could be. In that moment, all of her memories came whirling back, everything. And in that moment, Hajime fell to his knees, holding a bloody wound in his side.
"Hajime!" she screamed, running forward, getting to his side as Queen Serenity and King Dymion did. Serenity looked far too calm. Eliana had her hands on Hajime's shoulders, tears trailing down her face. "Don't you dare! Don't you dare!" she gasped. "You can't leave now!" Her breath caught as Hajime looked up at her, a smile on his face. That smile...
"I'm not going to leave, I promise," he said quietly. Serenity smiled at Dymion, who had been healing the wound that had been rapidly healing on its own. "Somehow, I think I've survived." Pulling his hand away from where the hole in his side had been, Hajime revealed clean, un-scarred skin.
"It's because you're immortal Hajime," Serenity said. "The Silver Crystal has strange ways of apologizing. This was how it did it." Eliana gave her a look of wild hope, and Serenity nodded. Eliana tackled Hajime to the floor, planting a firm kiss on his lips, feeling a wild abandoning of all restraint, something that she had never felt before. Hajime held Eliana close, and after the kiss ended, both were breathless.
"I think I accept the apology," Hajime gasped gratefully.