Demons of the Negaverse
Jupiter woke up with a throbbing pain in her head, but when she twisted her neck, she found she couldn't move it. 'Where am I?' Jupiter wondered as she looked out into the darkness. She could feel the cold, metallic bonds on her wrists, ankles, neck, and a large, thick metal chest plate that kept her strapped down to a cold piece of stone.
"I don't see why we don't get on with it," a woman said in a clipped voice.
"You're entirely too anxious." This time, Jupiter recognized the speaker of the casual, smooth response. 'Tuxedo Kamen?' Jupiter thought wildly. 'He's here? I'm . . . oh no! That no good bastard Kunzite took me to the Negaverse!'
Jupiter tried to calm her racing mind a she focused on the voices in the distance. "She's going to be worthless. We pump her full of energy, and for what? So she tells us how to open some damned box? Why can't we break it open?"
"The princess of Jupiter must do it. You know that. She closed it, and she can damn well open it again," Tuxedo Kamen replied impatiently. "Come, let's wake her up."
Jupiter's heart began to race, and she began to try and twist out of her bonds, but the metal did its job and held her tight. Out of the corner of her eye, Jupiter saw an ethereal purple light bob into the room. "Good of you to wake before we had to do it for you," the woman replied, and now that she stood in front of Jupiter, the senshi realized she knew her.
"Yumemi?" Jupiter asked as she stared at the girl, who looked the same as before expect that now she wore the grey outfit of one of Beryl's generals. The grey uniform seemed to transform the girl from a mousy, eclectic artist into another presence. Looking into her eyes, where the purple color seemed to take on a manic, but steely, energy, Jupiter found herself literally looking at the other side of a split personality.
"You really aren't the bright one, are you?" the girl said mockingly. "I am Binah, stupid girl.
"That's not possible," Jupiter whispered. "That . . . how did you do that?"
Tuxedo Kamen chuckled, and Jupiter turned her head to stare at the grinning face of her former friend and ally. The prince leaned over Jupiter and whispered, "I think you've got other things to worry about, Jupiter. It's fortunate Kunzite, who seems bent on incompetency otherwise, was swift enough to grab you. See, I happen to know you know something quite valuable to us."
"And I would tell you why?" Jupiter spat, but Tuxedo Kamen only laughed at her.
"I like that spirit. You're going to need it. Raise the wheel." Immediately, the stone table on which Jupiter lay rotated upright. Juipter found herself looking down on her captors, and then, above her head, she heard a crackling sound. Jupiter looked up to see a large, round ball shooting out blue sparks.
"I believe it's fortunate I think you're going to live through this," Tuxedo Kamen commented casually, "because I don't think most people would. Throw the switch."
"No!" Jupiter screamed as a bolt of blue energy streaked down and struck her. She saw nothing, heard nothing, and only felt the hot power of the energy inside of her.
When she opened her eyes again, both Tuxedo Kamen and Binah stared up at her. "I don't think it worked," the general-youma commented.
"Do it until it does. You'll know when," Tuxedo Kamen said, and Jupiter didn't have time to scream before another crackle of energy shot down to her.
Ami stood by the crane and wrapped her arms around her shoulders to keep from shivering. Luna and Artemis curled around her feet. She stared up at the dark sky, where the lights of the city obscured all but the brightest stars. A breeze whipped down upon them, and the cats' fur fluffed up into the air and tasseled around by the wind. Ami looked up when, out of the shadows, ran two figures.
"The area is clear," Rei whispered as she approached Ami. Behind her came Usagi, who tucked her hair into the back of her jacket and wore a floppy hat on her head. Rei turned to Usagi and quipped, "Is that silly hat really necessary?"
Usagi wrinkled her nose and huffed. "They're not supposed to know I'm around! I'm going to not transform, so I have to hide. It's called being in disguise."
The petulant blonde stuck her tongue out at Rei, who simply ignored her. "Minako said she's ready," Ami told Rei. "She's going to transform out in that parking lot, where they've started construction. We hide here, and when they come through, Rei and I blitz the opening."
"Uh huh, got it!" Usagi said as another gust of wind blasted the girls, and they ducked even closer to the crane.
'I wonder how Minako plans to let them know she's here,' Ami wondered as she stared out at the deserted parking lot. 'She was acting so strange when she ran away from us. I wonder what she wanted to do that we couldn't help her with.'
"There she is," Luna whispered, and Ami squinted into the darkness. Sure enough, a dark figure began to cross the parking lot and came to a stop in the middle of the deserted space. 'Is that Minako?' Ami wondered because it was too dark to make out who stood in the middle of the lot.
"Moon Prism Power, Make Up!" Minako shouted from the center of the lot. A dazzling burst of pink and white illuminated the night, and when the transformation ended, a very convincing replica of Sailor Moon stood in the middle of the lot. Then, the pseudo Sailor Moon grabbed something and lifted it up into the air. 'That can't be the crystal,' Ami thought, but a burst of silver light illuminated the lot and the surrounding sky like the blast from a bomb.
"I am Sailor Moon! Defender of this world! Here I am, Kunzite! You've wanted to find me, and if you see everything, like the Negaverse claims, come get me now!"
Venus's shouting echoed into the night, and along with the sparkling light, made quite the impression in the still night. Ami bit into her lower lip as time ticked by while nothing happened. Then, on top of one of the buildings, Ami saw a crackle of darkness through the blinding beams of glittering light.
"Sailor Moon," Kunzite drawled, "are you upset we have your friend?"
The light dimmed when Venus lowered it, but there still was enough of it streaming from the pseudo-crystal for Ami to be able to see. Venus tilted her head up and shouted, "Don't be such a coward! Come down here and face me!"
"Very cute of you, but I don't come when called. If you want to fight, you should come up here . . . unless you're going to give me the ginzuishou. Then I might come down."
"Not a chance – unless you've got Sailor Jupiter with you!"
Kunzite chuckled. "Now that is funny. Why did you really call me here, Sailor Moon? Do you want to see your precious lover?"
Usagi gave a squeak, but Rei whispered, "Shh! Usagi, don't blow this."
Then, to the left of the crane, another crackle of darkness opened up, and another person stepped out of it. 'Another general? That can't be! We've taken down so many of them already!' Ami thought as the grey clad figure with its back to them advanced upon Venus.
"This isn't going to work," Ami hissed as she pulled out her transformation pen. "Mercury Power, Make-Up!"
As Ami changed, she heard Rei call upon her powers. With the power of Mars to aid her, the senshi pulled down her visor and stared out at the scene. 'Venus is losing power really quickly, and that's not the ginzuishou. I wonder how she's doing that,' Mercury thought, but as he grey figure raised a spear made of sharp, green crystal, Mercury charged out from behind the crane. "Sabao Spray!"
The light became obscured by the dense mist of bubbles, and from above the field of battle, Kunzite taunted, "Of course I knew you wouldn't come alone."
There was a flicker on the building, and then, through the mist, Mercury spotted another spot of dark energy. "Sailor Moon, you're losing power!" Mercury shouted as she read Venus's energy signs through her visor. Then, from in front of her, a shadow moved through the mist, and Mercury dodged the spear as it thrust towards her.
"I know you're there," the general snarled.
"Yumemi!" Mercury gasped as she recognized the voice.
"You silly scouts don't get it," the girl said in a harsh, clipped voice, "I'm not that whiny earth girl. I'm Binah, the youma, and now, the general of the Negaverse. Do you like my promotion?"
"You evil woman!" Mercury shouted as the mist cleared and she found herself face to face with the sneering face of her former friend. "You changed that poor girl, and for what?"
Binah gave Ami a mocking pouty face. "The best part is," the general said in a teasing voice, "you don't even know what we did. You have no idea how to stop us."
"I have an idea," Mars said as she came from behind the general. "Fire Soul!"
Binah leapt into the air, and Mercury dodged the fire heading towards her. The general landed not far from them, and the two senshi faced her, and formed what appeared to be the base of a triangle in the stand-off. The general sneered at them as she raised her spear. Suddenly, Mercury realized the lighting had dimmed again to almost complete darkness. 'Oh no! Where's Venus? Usagi should have followed her.'
"Fire Soul!" Mars shouted as Binah threw her spear at Mars. Both girls dodged each other's attacks, and the general made a quick dive to pick up her spear. Mercury took the time to frantically search for Venus, and then, she spotted her on the other side of the lot.
"Luna, help her!" Mercury shouted as she prepared herself to attack. "Sabao Spray!"
The area once again became filled with fog, but this time, the increasing darkness made it difficult to see anything. Mercury looked through her visor and saw, by her energy readings, where Mars and Binah stood. As Mars raised her hands to attack, the general opened a dark portal. 'This is my chance!' Mercury realized as she ran towards it. Just as she reached it, the dark energy fizzled away, and she found herself standing alone with Mars in the mist.
"We almost had it!" Mercury shouted, and Mars made her way through the clearing fog to the other senshi. "We were so close, but we should go help Venus! I think Kunzite went after her."
Venus knew what a gamble her stunt had been from the start. To her surprise, Usagi's transformation pen lit up like a beacon, every bit as bright at the ginzuishou, and Venus used it to buy time. When she heard a dark portal open behind her, she knew she'd done it. Just as she went to turn, a flicker on the roof, and Kunzite moved to stand right in front of her.
"Well, Sailor Moon, here I am."
Venus started, went to bolt away, but then, she steeled herself and kept her feet still. 'Well, this is the plan. Let's see how far much time I can buy them.'
"Love me Moon Beam!" Venus shouted as she fired a modified version of her crescent beam at Kunzite. The general flickered away, and Venus leapt forward just in time to feel the brush of a sword against her back. She heard the energy blast and fell do the ground so it smashed in front of her.
Venus rolled over and stood up, facing the silvery haired general once again. "Losing your lover really put you into shape, Sailor Moon," Kunzite sneered as he took several slow, measured steps forward. Venus didn't move, but stood, feet spread apart.
They both moved at the same time. The blur of gray came at her, but Venus already had her hands raised. "Love me Moon Beam!"
She didn't know how he dodged it, but the next thing Venus felt was a kick that knocked the breath out of her and sent her sprawling on her back. She rolled across the ground before the sword came down on right where her body had been moments ago. As she sat, catching her breath, she heard the icy laugh of the general. "Come now, Sailor Moon, use your crystal. If not, just give it to me."
"Do you have Jupiter?" Venus hissed as she looked up at the general while she brought herself to her feet again. 'Damn it, I can feel my energy draining. This isn't going to hold much longer. Those girls better get into the Negaverse soon.'
As she faced the general, Venus watched his eyes wonder down to her hand. Then, his eyes widened, and she realized he knew. She raised her hands to attack, but Kunzite was faster. He blasted her off her feet. Venus landed with a hard thud on the ground, and as she struggled to stand, she heard, "What stupid trick is this? Which one of you is foolish enough to try and deceive me?"
'Better own up to it sooner than later,' Venus thought as she focused on shedding the remaining energy from Usagi. The last flicker of light from the transformation pen fizzled, and only the lights from a nearby building lit up the scene. Venus could just make out Kunzite's figure, which looked more like a statue only illuminated by the distant fluorescent lights.
"You will give back Jupiter," Venus hissed. "I am Sailor Venus, and I will stop you."
Kunzite's chilly laugh came out of the darkness with the eerie effect of wolves howling in the distance. "Venus. I should have known. You have a history of being a raging moron."
Venus scowled as she pulled herself to her feet, even though she felt as if her entire back might be one, large bruise. "At least I don't have a history of being a soulless monster," the senshi retorted as she bought herself more time to try and pull any last power she had.
"I'm flattered," Kunzite sneered. "I once doubted you could kill anyone, actually, with powers as weak as yours, but alas, you surely proved me wrong."
"What are you talking about?" Venus snapped.
The general chuckled, and Venus's eyes had adjusted so she had a better idea of where he stood. "It's fortunate for us that you're even stupider since you're ignorant about your pasts. Don't worry, we will – "
"Fire Soul!"
Before Kunzite could finish speaking, the blast of fire lit up the night, and the general leapt out of the way. Venus dodged the blast, but when the fire fizzled out after charring a brick wall, the area was empty, and none of the generals were present.
"Did any of you get in?" Venus asked as she walked over to Mars.
"We were close, but they brought reinforcements," Mars sulked. "Let's go before they come back."
'Damn it!' Venus thought as she walked over to the crane. She handed Usagi back her stick and promptly turned to leave.
"You did really well, Venus!" Usagi shouted after her. "Don't feel bad! We'll get Makato back!"
'No we won't. That stupid Kunzite was right about one thing. We're totally ignorant, and I doubt Luna or Artemis know much more than they've told us. If they do, why would they keep secrets from us that could help us beat the Negaverse?' Venus wondered as she strode through the deserted streets. She never stopped walking, even as she disrobed as Sailor Venus, until she reached the door steps of her house.
As she plopped down on her bed, Artemis came over and rubbed against her legs before jumping up into her lap. "Minako, you were very brave," Artemis said as he looked at the down cast face of the senshi. "I mean it. We'll help Makato."
Minako nodded absently to make Artemis happy. She stroked his back for a while before she said, "I want a bath."
The cat jumped off her lap and curled up on her bed. Once she found herself in the soothing bubbles of the hot water, Minako found herself able to relax. She sighed as she stared up at the white ceiling.
A strange wash of energy, like when she'd held the transformation pens, washed over Venus, and the entire world seemed to stop. Venus suddenly found herself, the sun shining on her back, staring out at a large, sparkling lake.
'Where is this? What am I wearing?' Venus wondered as she stared down at her long, flowing daffodil-yellow gown. The gauzy yellow fabric shimmered in the sunlight. Then, Venus realized she walked arm in arm with someone. Turning to that person, Venus felt absolute shook when she looked at another girl who appeared almost identical to the person she saw in the mirror every morning.
Instead of blurting out a scream, Venus heard herself laughing. 'What? Do I not have control over my own body?' Venus wondered as she continued to move even though she wanted to stop and run away.
"Pollaria, I think I will take another turn of the lake on my own," Venus said as she let go of the other girl's arm. The other girl, who wore a long, lacy lilac gown, leaned in and kissed Venus on the cheek. "Artemis wants you anyway."
"Well, Castoria, I shall envy you, outside on this fine day, while I attend to my lessons!" the girl, her doppelganger Pollaria, said as she turned and sprinted up the path. The lilac gown fluttered behind her like butterfly wings, and only when she disappeared completely did Venus continue walking.
'Castoria? Is that my name?' Venus wondered as she passed under a grove of trees. She reached up and pulled down a large, magenta fruit that was totally foreign to Venus, but Castoria giggled as she took a bite of it, and a sweet sticky taste like eating pure apple butter and cinnamon filled Venus's mouth.
'This is really, really good,' Venus thought, and she felt glad Castoria had enough sense to pick another fruit and take it with her. Venus strolled out of the grove and came across a bend in the path, and an entire vista opened up before Venus. A castle stood out across the lake that sparkled in the sun like a mountain of glittering stone and quartz rising from the earth. A light stone, the color of sand, seemed to make up most of the castle, but in the sunlight, it looked almost like bleached bone. The tips of the domes and the spires glittered gold like giant unicorn horns in the sun.
'Is this . . . is this my palace?' Venus wondered as Castoria continued her path down to the lake shore. When her head turned, Venus noticed someone sitting down along the edge of the lake, and if she hadn't gone off the path, she wouldn't have noticed him at all because he was hidden quite well behind a tree that leaned out over the water.
As Venus approached, she got a better look at the man. 'Kunzite! Shit! Run! Damn it, Castoria! Run!' Even as Venus wordlessly shouted at herself, Castoria approached until she stood on the other side of the tree. The general didn't seem to have noticed her, though, and Castoria took a moment to peer around the trunk to stare at him. Venus felt her stomach do flips as Castoria's gaze continued to linger.
"I find the view is better over there."
At first, Venus thought she'd spoken, but then, she realized it was Castoria who said those things. 'Oh gods, she is me! She sounds just like me!' Venus panicked, and her internal panic seemed to mirror the visible panic that flashed across Kunzite's face as he looked up and saw her.
"Your highness," he muttered as he stood up and gave her a clumsy bow.
Castoria giggled. "Come, now, there is no one around for which to be so formal," Castoria said. Then, she swept out her dress with a flick of her wrists and returned the bow with a curtsey. "The open air does not care for formalities, and I think you realize how hidden this spot is. Sit down. I disturbed you."
Venus watched out of her own eyes, completely dumb struck, as the future general took a seat at her orders. Then, seeming to forget that she was in a dress, Venus plopped herself down on the ground right beside the man. "Have you tried these?" Castoria asked as she held out the bright, magenta fruit to Kunzite.
"I do not pick from your gardens," he said evenly as he kept his eyes fixed on the lake.
"Well, I picked it, and I'm giving it to you," Castoria said as she practically dropped the fruit into the man's lap before he finally took it. Castoria looked over at Kunzite, who simply held the fruit in his hands without taking a bite.
Then, biting her lower lip, Castoria asked, "Would you mind telling me your name? I believe you are the ambassador, are you not?"
"That is correct, and I am called Anaximander," the man said gravely as he looked from Castoria to the fruit. 'Anaximander?' Venus wondered as she heard yet another name she didn't understand. 'Well, my name was Castoria, so I suppose Kunzite's name could have changed.'
"You see, I could tell you were the ambassador because the people of our planet never dress so drearily," Castoria teased, and Venus realized Anaximander wore an outfit which was almost completely black except for the grey waist coat underneath his dark, drab jacket, which complemented his ebony trousers and boots. Unlike Castoria, Anaximander wore no lace or frills, and he almost reminded Venus of a priest with his solemnity and his jacket's high, black collar.
When Anaximander didn't respond to her teasing, Castoria sighed. Then, in a gentler voice, she said, "I can tell you're upset. I was wrong to disturb you. Have a good day, Anaximander."
As she began to stand, the man murmured, "My brother, Lir, died recently. I have not been fit to be around for a while."
'Lir!' Venus shouted in her head. 'Lir! I knew he was connected somehow!'
Even while Venus was still in shock, Castoria sat back down and continued to stare at Anaximander. "You should try the fruit," the princess finally said in a soft, song bird voice. "It cannot bring your brother back, but it is good. And the sunshine and the water and the air and the earth cannot bring your brother back, but they're good, too."
As he stared out over the lake, Anaximander took a bite of the fruit. Then, his eyebrows shot up, and Venus felt her lips curl up in a smile. "I told you it was good," Castoria muttered.
The image broke apart as fast as it happened, and Minako found herself staring up at her ceiling. She expected the water to be cold, but it seemed just as warm as the moment she left to become part of Castoria. 'That happened in seconds,' Minako realized as she remained in the tub. She didn't trust herself to stand because she could feel herself shaking. 'I was a princess. I knew that, but to see it! And Kunzite . . . Anaximander was Lir's brother!'
A/N: Thanks for all the people who've started to support this piece! It's really a fun thing to write and a break from my more serious things in real life. It's something I started a long time ago and wanted to finish because I had it all mapped out anyway. Why not finish it? Anyway, I decided to leave the ending a bit open, but don't worry! Rei is coming back next chapter, and another scout is coming into the season who doesn't normally appear until later in the series! Who is it? And why are they showing up? Hint: it's NOT to help the scouts!