Episode 5: Jadeite's Last Stand
For 14-year-old Shingo Tsukino, his routine had changed for the relatively and decidedly strange. For example, his family had adopted a stray white cat that had taken a liking to the eldest child of the family. As far as the rest of the family knew, this cat was named Artemis. Also worth mentioning were his two newest companions, a genius prodigy named Ayato Mizuno and a priest known as Ryu Hino. What no one except those involved could possibly know was this: that the aforementioned cat could talk and that all three boys were secretly samurai – the golden Zangetsu, the aquatic Uzumaki, and the fiery Honoo – meant to protect the world from the onslaught of the Dark Kingdom.
After Honoo's awakening, Jadeite, their recurring nemesis, attempted to drain energy from park-goers, but seemed to get sloppy as these disappearances continued to be noticed by the public. While investigating, Ryu and Shingo found each other constantly embroiled in arguments over the smallest things, mainly because Ryu believed himself to be a better leader than the blonde, while Shingo thought that the priest was too overbearing and obnoxious for his own good. Eventually, the team was able to defeat the youma responsible, but that was still not the last they had seen of the evil organization.
The next plot was a little more sneaky, as it had taken place on a boat cruise of Tokyo Bay. Incidentally, Ryu had won tickets for that very cruise. Seeing as he did not have a girlfriend, he asked Ayato to accompany him, partly to spite Shingo. Out of both jealousy and curiosity, Shingo used his Kabuki powers to disguise himself as one of the crew. Onboard, Jadeite, disguised as the ship's captain, attempted to drain the energy of the passengers with another youma providing assistance. Unfortunately for the Shittenou, Zangetsu made a surprise guest appearance, creating such a distraction that both Ayato and Ryu were able to sneak away and don their armors in secret. Though the youma proved to be tougher than the others, it went down at the hands of the trio just the same.
Shingo couldn't help but notice that these plots had grown more and more elaborate, as though Jadeite was getting desperate. Whatever the case was, things would soon grow to critical mass...
To say that Jadeite was in trouble would be a grand exaggeration. The spotlight shone on him as Queen Beryl looked at him with disgust in her eyes. "Jadeite," she admonished, "You have collected a large amount of energy on Earth. Unfortunately, you also have a great many failures upon your head."
This rankled the once-great Shittenou. After all, how was he supposed to know that armored samurai would be dogging his every step? Hell, the last time they interfered, they killed one of Her Majesty's personal youma! Saying their constant trespassing in his plans were his own fault felt like an insult.
"First, Tsuki no Zangetsu, a warrior we had heard nothing about, appears in place of Sailor Moon. Now, he too has his own versions of Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars: Suisei no Uzumaki and Kasei no Honoo. Despite the great power at our command, you have yet to vanquish them," Queen Beryl ominously continued.
"Please, listen, my Queen...!" Jadeite began, fear showing in his eyes.
"I have had enough of your excuses!" the angry Queen interrupted; Jadeite stood silent. "You will go forth and kill the three Samurai that stand in our way! If you fail this last time, then you shall sleep forever more..." This pronouncement caused a shiver to run through the amassed crowd of youma; when she spoke like that, she could mean a punishment of Eternal Sleep, or much worse... "Jadeite," she continued, not noticing nor caring of the murmuring in the crowd, "I hope you understand the consequences of what I have just announced. Depending on how badly you perform, I might not be so forgiving as to give you the Eternal Sleep, for that is just one possibility open to me."
Jadeite took a couple of deep breaths, his hands shaking in fear, the terror remaining in his eyes...
Gazing upon the night sky...
"There's Cygnus..."
...were Shingo and Artemis, via the former's bedroom window...
"...Sagittarius..."
...and the boy had taken to pointing out the constellations to help pass the time.
"...Libra..." he continued, pointing out the formation of stars that signified that of the scales of legend. However, when looking upon the constellation of Cassiopeia, the woman, his mind drifted to two girls that currently occupied his thoughts. The first was the blonde woman in white. Ever since the incident at the Hikawa Temple, Shingo's dreams were constantly haunted by both her eyes and her request to "search" for something. He had no idea why he kept constantly dreaming about the woman. Was she perhaps some sort of mental image from a fairy tale he had been told? If so, why couldn't he remember clearly what story she came from?
The second was far easier to discern, as it concerned the enigma that was Tuxedo Mask. All throughout his adventures and battles, the mysterious cross-dressing woman kept intervening, protecting the samurai as they fought against the Dark Kingdom. Who was she really, and why would she go so far as to protect the three of them? Even that, her main motivation, was obscured from truth's light.
"Hmm?" the cat muttered. "Why'd you stop, Shingo?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing, Artemis. Just thinking..." Shingo replied.
The boy gazed upon the night sky once more, unable to puzzle out the riddles that lay before him. The biggest problem was that he didn't have a clue how either the woman in white nor the woman with a mask were important to him.
After but a moment, an evil, sinister chuckle echoed throughout the surroundings. Shingo's eyes widened as the blasted visage of Jadeite shimmered in the night sky above.
"I am Jadeite!" the Shittenou thunderously announced to the people. "I hope you're listening... Tsuki no Zangetsu... Suisei no Uzumaki... Kasei no Honoo... I have grown weary of your continued existence, pests. Thus, I hereby issue a demand for formal combat. As for time and place, come to Haneda Airport at 1 AM tomorrow, specifically, Runway F. If you do not accede to my demands, well..." He snapped his fingers; in a flash of light, it seemed as though all of Tokyo had been set ablaze. Another snap from Jadeite's fingers returned everything to normal. "Relax, that was merely an illusion. But if you do not face me at the appointed time and place, I will burn down the city of Tokyo for real! So choose wisely..." he threateningly added before disappearing, once more leaving the night skies clear.
Shingo and Artemis could only look at the stars in shock. In a mere day, all three Samurai had to meet Jadeite's demands or be faced with a massacre...
In almost no time, Shingo had contacted both Ayato and Ryu. Since the Hikawa Shrine was mostly hidden from the outside world and the only other person that could have conceivably stumbled onto their secrets was an old man, the trio had selected it as a permanent meeting location.
"I just know that Jadeite has more than enough power to carry out his threat to destroy Tokyo," Artemis fretted.
"So what do we do now?" the blonde asked aloud.
"I say we take the fight to him," Ryu proposed. "This is our chance to take out one of the enemy's ranking commanders."
"But this whole set-up must be a trap," Ayato reasoned. "Jadeite's not the type of person to fight fair."
Shingo made no noise, merely thinking to himself about the possibilities.
"It's a risk we'll have to take, Ayato," argued the priest. "How about you, Shingo?"
Shingo closed his eyes in thought.
"Shingo, your take matters just as much as mine. What's your opinion?" Ayato asked his friend.
Shingo's eyes remained closed, still deep in thought. "...Honestly, I don't know what to do," he finally said, his eyes open once more. "I know first-hand that Jadeite is not to be underestimated..."
Deep in the bowels of Shingo's mind, doubt about his skills and luck swirled, unbeknownst to the others...
It was morning in the Tsukino household as Kenji once again sat at the kitchen table having breakfast, listening carefully to the news over the radio.
"Concerning the mysterious announcement last night, the Metropolitan Police have decided to regard the whole incident as some sort of elaborate prank intended to scare the populace with its utilization of strange images in the sky. However, the police are not taking the threat of arson very lightly, and plans are being made to assign police officers to the vicinity of Haneda Airport tomorrow night."
"This is not good," Artemis whispered as he crouched behind Shingo: the latter was currently leaning against an open window in his classroom at school trying to listen to the former over all the usual din. "If the authorities attempt to intervene, they could very well get hurt." Shingo said nothing. "Hey, what's up?"
"I just don't know what we should do, Artemis," the boy sighed. "I mean, I know it's probably a trap, but there's no proof Jadeite actually has that kind of power. Don't get me wrong, I'm not scared of him... I'm just afraid of what'll happen if we get ourselves killed..."
"Hey, Shingo!" another voice called, forcing the white cat to vacate the premises. "What's your opinion on this whole arson thing?" It was Naru and the rest of her regular clique, Pochiya and Umino.
"I think it's some sort of prank, like they said on the news!" the chubby girl exclaimed.
"I think not!" Umino interrupted. "I declare that thing to be an alien! It was warning us corrupt beings that just so happen to inhabit this planet!"
"Umino," Naru face-palmed, "I think you've been reading too much sci-fi lately."
"Either way, it sounds like fun!" Pochiya assumed. "Why don't we all get together at the airport tonight to see what all the fuss is about?"
"Now hold on there!" Shingo interjected. "We don't know for sure that it's really a prank. Why don't we just all stay home and let the police do their job?"
"Mr. Tsukino has the right idea, for once," a new voice announced; it was Haruno-sensei. "Really, you should be ashamed of yourselves, thinking of breaking curfew!"
"Guys, going there is just not worth it. Stay home, it's too dangerous," the blonde warned.
"Why is it dangerous?" Pochiya innocently asked.
"Well... you see..." he mumbled.
"Mr. Tsukino," Haruno-sensei pressed, "do you happen to know anything about this?"
"No!" Shingo protested. "Besides, it's better to do something safer at night if you really want to, like homework, or studying for exams!"
"Shingo..." his teacher gaped, stepping forward. "This is the most serious you've been for all the time I've known you!" She then raised a hand to his forehead, as though trying to feel if it was hot. "No fever... Is there anything you want to talk about? I'm always here if you want to get something off your chest."
Silence then reigned for a few moments before Shingo's irritated facial expression popped into being. "You think it's strange for me to be worried about my friends?" he yelled. "Even I can be serious when I need to be!"
Everyone continued to stare at the irate blonde helplessly.
Motoki just laughed.
"You agree with me, don't you, Motoki?" Shingo asked. After school, Shingo headed down to the arcade, which was where the boy could always unload his burdens to the bright clerk; after all, the two were good friends.
"Of course I do. You and your teacher are right in trying to keep your classmates away from the airport tonight," he brightly and wisely stated. "Then again, it isn't really like you to agree with her in the first place."
"...huh?" was all Shingo could mutter.
"The Shingo Tsukino I know is too brash and confident most of the time to let an incident like this get him down," Motoki elaborated, gently placing a forefinger on the blonde's forehead.
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" the boy angrily asked.
"Look, all I'm saying is that acting so deadly serious is just too out of character for you. Lighten up, live a little," the clerk sagely advised.
Easy for you to say, Motoki, Shingo bitterly thought. You have no idea how much is really at stake... "See you later, Motoki," he waved as he headed off for home. The boy closed his eyes as he walked down the street, his attention focused on his thoughts...
...which was not a very good idea, considering he had, soon enough, planted his face into a certain someone's ample cleavage.
"Well, isn't this a fine 'how-do-you-do'?" a snide, yet flirty, voice remarked. It only took Shingo a glance to realize that he had once more accidentally run into the Raven herself, which in itself usually meant humiliation.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" he demanded after he got himself some space.
"Well, I was miding my own business when a certain boy who wasn't looking where he was going decided to take a trip to Marshmallow Hell..." she responded. "...did that answer your question?"
"Grrr..." the boy grumbled. "That was an accident! And that's not the point! How come you show up all the time to make my life miserable?"
"How should I know?" she huffed, placing a hand to her head as though suffering from a migraine. "Jeez, why are boys nowadays so confrontational?"
"Hey, I'm a red-blooded male! Being confrontational is pretty much in character for me, or so I've been told," Shingo retorted.
"Well, whoever told you that must have been an idiot," the Raven snarkily responded.
"Lay off him! He happens to be a friend of mine!" he yelled.
"'Birds of a feather flock together...' Did I get that right... porcupine?" she returned.
At this point, steam was literally pouring out of the boy's ears, angry that the Raven was insulting one of his friends.
"I can take your names... and I can take your attitude... but the one thing I cannot overlook are insults to my friends! GET LOST!" Shingo shouted, muscling his way past the irritating woman and storming off in the process. Many of the on-lookers could only gape at the scene as it unfolded; who in their right minds would be so temperamental at this time of day, they wondered. The Raven could only look at where Shingo was once standing and blink in puzzlement.
As night fell, the police swarmed over Haneda Airport, on the lookout for the culprit of the previous night's events. Watchful eyes scanned over every nook and cranny of the complex; from the entrance, to the lobby, all the way to the boarding areas. Their vigilance was all for naught, however, as an intruder had mysteriously appeared out of thin air atop the air control tower, and the guards were none the wiser.
"I have no quarrel with gentlemen like yourselves..." the blonde, ice-eyed stranger quietly announced. "...have a nice nap..." With that, Jadeite thrust forward his left palm, arm outstretched, which summoned an odd mist. In no time at all, the guards' eyes drooped as they collapsed and slumped to the ground on which they once stood. The only man awake, the one who called forth the Mists of Slumber, stepped into the lobby to appreciate his work, chuckling sinisterly all the while. "I hope you're ready... Come, Samurai... and meet your end!"
"Faster, Shingo!" the priest yelled.
"I'm going as fast as I can, so don't you tell me what to do!" the blonde snapped back.
"We don't have time to be arguing among ourselves, guys!" Ayato mediated.
At present, all three of the boys and Artemis were racing up the stairs that led to the train for Haneda, desperate to get to their destination before time was up, and the city itself was razed to the ground. Everything stood silent... including, unfortunately, the train.
"Damn it, this was the fastest way to the airport!" Shingo pointed out.
"Looks like we're gonna have to get a taxi," Ryu suggested. No sooner than he had spoken those words, however, when the doors to the train mysteriously opened.
"What the-?" Shingo wondered.
"What's going on?" the white cat asked in confusion.
"From the looks of it, I'd say that our enemy is offering us a ride," the priest pointed out, starting to head inside. "I'm not gonna look this gift horse in the mouth, no matter how many Greeks it contains."
"Hey, hold up!" the blonde called out, he and the genius following not too close behind. When the entire party had entered the compartment, a sudden noise caught their attention; one quick look told all of them that the doors had closed, while a slight rumble and lurch was indicative of the fact that the train had started moving; it seemed as though they were expected. On and on the train went, the three boys staring out the window, watching the city-scape scroll by.
"Call it a hunch," Artemis piped up after a while, "but I think that we're just falling deeper into his trap."
Trap or not, Shingo told himself, taking a quick glance at his cat, we still don't have any choice in the matter. I won't let that monster of a man hurt my friends.
When the train reached Haneda Airport, the boys and cat rushed up the stairs into the sub-lobby; they peeked around the corner to see the police still standing in position.
"Didn't expect to see this many policemen on duty at once," the blonde remarked in wonder.
"Nothing's happened yet, thank the Gods," Ryu observed.
"Nevertheless, we should still be on our guard; we never know what might happen," Ayato cautioned. Unfortunately for the three, however, two shadows that looked like policemen had snuck up on them...
…! "I sense bloodlust!" Ryu cried out; it was extremely fortunate that the priest had managed to sense the danger in time. Shingo and Ayato cast quick glances at their unforetoseen attackers, and both reacted in an instant: Shingo elbowed the one behind him in the gut while Ayato rammed the back-side of his heel into his assaulter's crotch. Both men gave off groans as they fell to the ground, with one being more high-pitched and squeaky than the other.
"Ouch..." Shingo noted in a constrained voice. "Ayato, did you really have to go for the joy department?"
"I didn't have time to think," Ayato reasoned in a low tone. "I just... moved..."
"Yeah, well," the priest pointed out (delivering a haymaker to a third policeman), "a few more 'reactions' like that might give us a little more help."
"Maybe, but... why are the police attacking us?" the blonde pondered.
"No time! This way!" Ryu ordered as he ran off into the complex. Shingo and Ayato followed, and it was not long before more officers began chasing them.
Damn it, what's with these guys? The blonde thought furiously as he ran. Aren't the police supposed to "protect and serve"? Last I checked, it wasn't "maim and murder"!
EYECATCH
The officers chased the trio of boys onto the runway itself, the former groaning like zombies all the while. Neither of the three, nor the cat accompanying them, bothered to look back for quite some time. It wasn't until Ayato turned around that he noticed something.
"Something's off about them... I don't like it..." the genius muttered. "No choice, then... KUCHIRIKATABIRA!" In a flash, light enveloped his body, the lightly-armored cyber-suit now his main garb. "BUSOU! SUISEI!" he then yelled, summoning the shattering scrolls that equipped the Suisei no Yoroi to his Kuchirikatabira. When the spotlight shone, the armor's faceplate closed over his mouth, showing nothing but those brilliant water-blue eyes of his.
"Let's do this!" Ryu exclaimed, his passion for battle burning. "KUCHIRIKATABIRA! BUSOU! KASEI!" Once more, the scrolls burst into sakura petals; Ryu, in the spotlight, wore the flaming-red Kasei no Yoroi, complete with mouth-concealing faceplate.
"Great, leave the most magnificent for last..." the blonde muttered as the zombie-like guards watched on helplessly. "KUCHIRIKATABIRA! BUSOU! TSUKI!" Once more, Shingo gathered a ball of energy, which crackled in ferocity. In his mind's eye, he saw the golden Tsuki no Yoroi in a sitting position. With a grunt of effort, he held the ball of energy out in front of him as scrolls unfurled around his body. As they soared ever higher, Shingo continued to concentrate, and at their apex, they turned into petals of light and elegantly fell to the ground.
As they did so, some of the petals swirled around Shingo's legs, soon solidifying into armored greaves. The same thing happened to Shingo's arms, forming gauntlets. The body armor soon followed, and, with a mass of light petals in hand, Shingo lifted his right arm, and in a flash of light, they turned into a helmet, which he then placed onto his own head. As soon as he did so, a metal faceplate closed over the lower half of his face, obscuring his mouth and part of his nose from view.
All three having donned their armors, an orange visor lowered from the brim of Uzumaki's helmet, which began to display computer readouts. His scanner fed the information to his pocket computer, which all but confirmed his suspicions.
"They're not human..." the blue samurai announced. "They're nothing more than Haniwa!"
"Haniwa...?" Zangetsu questioned. "You lost me..."
"Haniwa were clay soldiers that were buried along with respected nobles during the feudal era," Honoo explained. "They were meant to guard the deceased on their journey to the Sanzu River. ...do you not pay attention in history class?" he added in response to the golden samurai's blank look.
"Now's not the time for this, you two!" Uzumaki added, seeing that his two friends were about to get into one of their usual shouting matches.
"In any case, now that we know they're not human," Honoo went on, summoning his bow into existence, "that means we can blow 'em away without a second thought! HI..." the crimson samurai cried, placing the notch on his glowing arrow into the string of his bow. "YA!" He let the arrow fly after aiming it at the group of Haniwa; its head struck true, flames spreading to the others in the group. Within moments, and with a low groan, the haniwa were reduced to cinders. Honoo merely nodded at the cinders; Zangetsu and Uzumaki did the same. For a while, they stared at the smoldering remains of the Haniwa... until a loud, harsh laugh drew their eyes up to the Air Control tower; standing there in full view was Jadeite.
"Tsuki no Zangetsu, Suisei no Uzumaki, Kasei no Honoo! I must thank you for that wonderful show, considering that I now know who you really are!" he crowed; three samurai plus one white cat gazed upon him in shock.
"Not good, not good, not good...!" the golden samurai muttered in worry.
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to remember you from time to time with a glass of wine," he snidely boasted. "Because today... you die!"
Die...? Shingo thought to himself. I'm... gonna die? Me?
"It will be a pleasant day on the Sanzu River indeed the day I die!" the red samurai retorted. "But if I'm going to die here, I might as well take you along for the ride!"
"He's right!" Uzumaki echoed. "We were entrusted with a mission. Our deaths here would further our cause if necessary, but we still have the will to live!"
"So... you're prepared to die..." Jadeite pronounced. "In that case... perhaps you wouldn't mind if I served as your ferryman to the River Styx!" He closed his eyes, concentrating on one of the airfield's many jumbo jets lying unused. Reaching out with his mind, Jadeite took control of it and mentally directed it towards the samurai.
"I must be dreaming... I must be..." Zangetsu muttered. "Somebody, pinch me..."
"There'll be time for that later!" Artemis commanded. "RUN!"
All three samurai plus cat did an immediate about-face and started running as fast as their legs could carry them. However, as they passed a second plane, it too turned to run them down.
"Aww, come on! You gotta be kidding me!" Zangetsu cried out as the team came to a halt.
"Maybe if I use my Hi-Ya..." Honoo pondered.
"If you blow one of those up," the white cat argued, "then we risk drawing in unarmed civilains, no matter what the police's standing orders are!"
"Well, that's true..." Zangetsu nodded.
"I didn't even consider that..." the red samurai paled.
"Then there's only one option left remaining," Uzumaki noted.
"And what would that be?" Honoo queried.
"WE RUN!" the blue samurai shouted, racing down the runway as fast as he could; the others quickly joined him, being chased by both planes all the while.
"Goddamnit...!" shouted Zangetsu. "Of all the ways to go out, I never thought it'd be at the hands OF A FREAKING JUMBO JET!"
"Guys, I hate to tell you this..." Honoo yelled, "but... END OF THE ROAD!" And indeed, it was, as there was nothing but sea on the horizon. With nowhere left to run, the three were forced to halt. They turned around.
Jadeite triumphantly laughed in the distance. "Fare thee well, samurai!" However, something flashed before his eyes, somehow terminating his control over the jumbo jets. Without his guiding hand, they came to an immediate stop.
"What the...?" the boys all wondered aloud.
"Only the worst of scum bullies schoolchildren," a feminine voice called out; it was her rose, after all.
"I should have known you'd show up, Tuxedo Mask," Jadeite ruefully admitted, turning around. "I'll make sure that you enjoy Hell just as much as those three will!"
"I think not," Tuxedo Mask countered, revealing herself from the shadows. "After all, the weakest dog barks the loudest. Deceitful men such as you shall always get what's coming."
"Tuxedo Mask!" Zangetsu cried out in relief, spotting her up on the tower where she was staring Jadeite down.
"About time she showed up!" Honoo complained, but it was mostly bluster at this point.
The two stared each other down for a moment. Yelling, "Die!" Jadeite fired lightning from his fingers; Tuxedo Mask gracefully leaped into the air to avoid it. Jadeite followed, hopping from building to structure. He eventually caught up to her. In a tackle initiated by Jadeite, he and Tuxedo Mask fell, entangled, into the water their brief clash had taken them to.
"Tuxedo Mask!" Zangetsu shouted in fear; the three samurai ran up to the water to provide assistance. Before their very eyes, a single red rose floated up to the surface. Fear and dread immediately filled their eyes as Jadeite telekinetically lifted himself out of the water, hovering in mid-air.
"What'd you do to Tuxedo Mask?" Honoo bravely demanded.
"That won't quite matter in a moment..." Jadeite gloated as he floated back behind the trio, landing on the tarmac as light as a feather. "...because you're about to join her! After all, you're nothing compared to that woman!"
"Shut up..." Zangetsu growled.
"What's the matter?" the evil blonde taunted with an evil laugh. "Did you have some sort of crush on her or – "
Jadeite was suddenly cut off when the golden samurai instantly filled his vision. It was so quick that he didn't have time to put up his force field. "I said..." Zangetsu commanded rearing his fist back – "...shut UP!" – then delivered a devastating uppercut to the man's chin. Jadeite was sent soaring into the air; when he crashed to the ground, struggling to get back up, blood seeped from his lower lip. "She gave her life to help us... to protect us!" Zangetsu lectured. "Yet you insist on trivializing her death! If there is one thing we must not do, it is to belittle death. It speaks ill of us to speak ill of the dead."
"You barely even knew her," Jadeite countered. "You hardly even know what death is like! How can you, one who not yet has blood on his hands, know what it's like?"
"I know more than you could possibly understand!" Zangetsu roared back. "It weighs heavily on our minds, death. We all know it will come for us one day. For instance, maybe it's my time to die tonight. It takes a certain special quality to acknowledge and move forward despite death staring us in the eye. A quality that I know I have right at this very moment. The quality known as courage!"
"I see..." the Shitennou muttered, wiping the blood from his lip. "And just where does this bravado come from? Certainly not that warrior woman, I can tell you that much."
"Isn't it obvious?" Zangetsu rhetorically asked as he spread his arms wide, gesturing to his two comrades. "It's my friends. Just as I look out for them, they look out for me."
"That's right," Uzumaki agreed. "He helped me to open up to other people. I'm still shy, but no longer am I without friends!"
"And without that boy," Honoo chimed in, "I would just be a cold, cynical loner. I wouldn't go so far as to call him a friend, but there is no denying the fact that he has had a profound effect on me!"
"As long as we remain friends, our courage knows no bounds! But you, Jadeite... you prefer to stand alone, hiding behind disposable minions or underhanded tactics. Such things are the signs of a coward!"
"You dare..." Jadeite threateningly whispered, "...call me a coward?"
"Yes, I dare!" Zangetsu claimed. "It's people like you that are the cause of all the sorrows in the world. And it's people like you... that don't deserve to know our real names!"
With that, the fierce battle began. All three samurai had summoned their weapons while Jadeite materialized a large, cruel-looking curved saber from thin air. Thrust, riposte, parry... Jadeite continued scoring glancing blows on the three, trying to divide and conquer. And yet, every time he tried to do so, one of the others would come interfere in order to keep that from happening: Honoo would shoot an arrow as a distraction while Uzumaki snuck up for a killing blow. Jadeite would sense his presence and dodge in time, inadvertently moving into range of Zangetsu's Daisharin, which he wielded with ferocity. How...? Jadeite furiously thought to himself as his frustration mounted throughout the battle. How can they work together like that to put me on the defense? They're just schoolchildren!
"NOW!" Zangetsu suddenly shouted, surprising Jadeite.
"HIDEN..." came a loud war-cry from behind the villain; as he whirled around, Jadeite saw Uzumaki raise his glowing Jumonji-Yari into the air. "...KASUMI!"
Before Jadeite could even move to stop him, Uzumaki slammed the shaft of his weapon into the tarmac, releasing the infernal mist that had beguiled many a youma. As he looked around, the shapes of the samurai disappeared one by one. Where'd they go? Jadeite wondered as he continued looking in the mist. After a short while, a faint noise reached his ears... a familiar noise. It can't be... No! he realized as one of the planes he had taken over came screaming for him. The noise only intensified as two more joined the first. Why are they chasing ME now? Jadeite furiously and inwardly asked as he ran out of range of the Hiden Kasumi. As he looked over his shoulder again, he saw the three samurai, each perched on top of a different plane... and each plane had a strip of paper that read "Begone, Evil Spirit" in Japanese attatched to the windshields of the cockpits.
"It's over, Jadeite," Zangetsu called out coldly, his gigantic throwing blade glowing alight. "You lose. GEKKOU DAISHARIN!" With great force, the golden samurai threw the blade at the Shittenou, his eyes widened in fear... but before the blow connected, Jadeite suddenly disappeared. With a quick gesture, Honoo brought the planes to a halt.
"He got away again!" Zangetsu cried in frustration.
"No, I think this time was different," Uzumaki theorized. "To me, it seemed like the transport was a little forced, and I don't think he was in a state of sound mind to be retreating in such a fashion, anyway."
"But if that's the case..." Honoo questioned, "then who teleported him out?"
All three humans and cat fell silent as they looked at the spot where Jadeite had stood not but a moment ago.
In a flash of violet light, Jadeite reappeared in Queen Beryl's throne room, ragged and exhausted. He looked up, locking his sights on the furious queen's eyes. "M-My queen..." he stuttered, staggering forward. "I... thank you for-"
"I did not bring you back here out of the kindness of my heart," she sniped. "You had the gall to lose in a direct confrontation with the samurai. You've just squandered you last chance."
"P-Please wait, my queen!" Jadeite fearfully pleaded. "I... I have new information regarding the samurai! I know who-"
"ENOUGH!" Queen Beryl roared, shooting a white light from the orb of her scepter at the disgraced general.
"Please! Let me ex-!" Those were Jadeite's last words as his entire body was transformed into crystal. The subjects gathered around Queen Beryl's throne were left muttering, as they expected her to sentence Jadeite to the Eternal Sleep. The Eternal Sleep typically encased its victim in a much larger crystal, not turn them into one.
It was then that the most astonishing thing happened: the queen lifted herself off of her throne, grasping her scepter tightly in her left hand. Calmly, she glided down the steps towards Jadeite's crystalized form. Without so much as a warning, she stabbed the sharp shaft of her staff into the statue's midsection. Cracks started to form from the point of impact. With one last withering glance, Beryl removed the scepter from the crystal, then turned around to walk back up the steps to her throne. As she did so, the crystalized Jadeite was overcome with growing fissures, shattering completely soon after. The fragments and crystal dust fell into a pile on the floor, whereupon the Shittenoh's remains vanished without a trace.
All were shocked into silence, for their queen had given Jadeite a fate worse than that of the Eternal Sleep. Despite the name, the Eternal Sleep was not impossible to break, if one's magical potential was high enough and strong enough. The Crystal Death, which Jadeite had just succumbed to, was a far more permanent sentence. As the name implied, the victim was first transformed into a crystal statue. The caster would then shatter the statue, killing the victim in the proccess. What made the Crystal Death so dreaded was the fact that the crystal separated the victim's soul from the cycle of death and rebirth, and death in such a crystallized state essentially removed the possibility of them being revived or reincarnated. It was complete and utter destruction of body and soul.
"I hope you will not fail me like he did," Queen Beryl announced to the shadows after she had returned to her throne. "After all, his duties are now yours."
"You need not worry," a deep and suave male voice answered back from them, his eyes glowing red. "Jadeite was merely a fool. You have only to leave matters in my hands, and I shall provide the master with the energy she desires..."
The three samurai looked upon the stretch of water that Tuxedo Mask and Jadeite had fallen into.
"Tuxedo Mask," Zangetsu eulogized, "we may not have known each other for very long, but we were grateful for your assistance."
"I'm sure she would be grateful," Artemis noted, "but the only thing we can do for her now is to keep fighting the Dark Kingdom in her place."
"I know," the golden samurai answered back.
"Actually, I believe that rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated," a feminine voice from behind the small group announced. The three turned around, and saw Tuxedo Mask, alive, well, and none the worse for wear.
"Tuxedo Mask," Zangetsu asked of her, "how did you survive?"
"Trade secret, I'm afraid," she responded.
"In that case," Uzumaki piped up, "why do you always come to assist us?"
"And while you're at it," Honoo added, "you mind telling us who you really are?"
"Sorry, but I cannot reveal my identity yet," Tuxedo Mask apologized. "As for your second question, it is my duty to assist whenever I can. No more, and no less."
She then turned around and walked away, cape fluttering in the wind. "Tsuki no Zangetsu," she called out, "Suisei no Uzumaki. Kasei no Honoo. Continue to value the bonds of friendship that you have forged. Until we meet again!" With that, she disappeared into thin air, and the three samurai knew that it was useless trying to pursue her. At the very least, Tuxedo Mask's enigmatic departure only left their questions unanswered, with only the promise that their questions would be answered one day. But... when would that day come...?
Ayato: Hey, Shingo, have you heard about that new millionare that just came into town?
Shingo: Who...?
Ryu: His name is Masato Sanjouin, and I've heard that he's a master socialite.
Shingo: Whatever, I'm busy with Naru doing something- wait, did that tennis racquet just turn into a youma? And who are you, tall, dark and gruesome?
?: The instrument of your demise. What else would I be?
Shingo: Oh boy. Next time, on Tsuki no Zangetsu: "Game, Set, Match! The Threat of Nephrite"! For the sake of the moon, I'll defeat you!
A/N: My god, I am sooooo sorry for being late with this chapter! I've had all sorts of real-life things happening to me ever since the last update, not to mention the fact that I've published two new fanfics in the interim. If you're wondering where Samurai #4 is, that will be a while yet.
A couple of comments: to me, putting a character into a coma, or an over-glorified one, just seems like a "writer's trap-door", or a way for the writer to bring the character back should they need them again. However, since Jadeite never showed back up in the anime, I felt justified in killing him off deader than dead. Plus, it has the bonus effect of showing that Queen Beryl DOES NOT just mess around. As for how the boys got the plan together so quickly without talking to one another, they just communicated telepathically using those kanji symbols that I showed you a glimpse of last chapter. Thoughts tend to be lightning-fast, so it didn't take too long for them to plan it all out.
Anyways, I will update when I am able, so I'm not making any promises on when the next chapter will be up. Remember, don't be a maniac: that's a sure way to end up behind bars one day! (J/K)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any characters associated with Sailor Moon, its creator, Naoko Takeuchi, or any of the animators or publishing companies. For the most part, this story is my own personal universe that just happens to use these characters.