Second last chapter! Woo! Chapter rating bumped up to an M

Thanks to: GalaxyStorm2013, Merangelgal, Miss Katrina Malfoy, usako, Princessa de Silence and LoveInTheBattleField for reviewing the previous chapter.


Title: Akai Ito
Author: Crystal Saturn
Rated: M
Chapter: 20 – Dark Horses

I made my mistakes
I seen my heart cave in
I got my scars
I been to hell and back again

I died that day. The day that the Dark Kingdom took me, I died.

Maybe it was only for a minute. Maybe longer, but all I know is that when I woke up from my slumber, I had only one mission; to steal the Silver Crystal and kill Sailor Moon. I owed my life to the Dark Kingdom, who had brought me back from purgatory, from nothingness, and I swore my allegiance to them. It was then that the dark energy surged through my veins and the false memories flooded my mind. It was then that I lost her, and she lost me.

Because the Dark Kingdom was responsible for bringing me back to life, I will always be evil. No matter how hard I try to suppress it, dark thoughts creep into my mind from my subconscious. A kind of shadow sits on my soul. I cannot be cleansed of this evil, and at this point of time, I don't want to be. Maybe one day, but not today. No, not now.

I lost her today. I lost her to them. She is the only one pure enough to save my soul. She is my light, my saviour, my only love, and it is this darkness in my heart that will bring her back. It is the only thing that can save her now. The very darkness that ripped me away from her loving arms will bring her back. I won't forsake her. Unlike me, she can never- she will never be lost to the darkness.

"Luna," Ami spoke through her communicator. "Have you cracked the tracking algorithm yet?"

"Not yet." Luna shook her head solemnly. "It seems like the computers we have at the command centre aren't fast or powerful enough."

"We have a reading for the magnetic north pole, but there is also a substantial amount of energy coming from the south pole region too." Artemis added in the background. "It seems like recent solar flare activity has interfered with our tracking signals."

"I will bring her back." Darien spoke up once more, powering up into his princely form. "I can still teleport into the Dark Kingdom."

"No." Luna snapped, almost immediately. "I won't risk it."

"We have neither the time nor the luxury of another choice." Endymion rose to his feet. He could feel the energy of the Dark Kingdom begin to seep throughout his body. Strength from stolen energy reached his muscles and his fingers twitched, itching to wrap around the grip of his sword. "Until you can crack the geographic location of the Dark Kingdom base, I'm the only one who can get in and out safely."

"Will you be able to get in undetected?" Lita asked.

"Probably not." Endymion exercised his will to control the dark energy flowing through his veins. "Not unless I've completely embraced the dark energy."

"You can't let that happen." Rei rose to her feet in protest. "If you do, then you'll be lost to the Dark Kingdom again. Who will save Princess Serenity?"

"I know." The light in Endymion's eyes flickered briefly. "I'm holding it at bay for now, but I don't know how long I can hold it back." He knew that it was only a matter of time before the darkness reached the deep depths of his heart, corrupting him once more. The pull toward evil would only become stronger as he stepped deeper into the Dark Kingdom palace. He only hoped that he could reach her before it consumed him.

"Just follow your heart, Prince Endymion." Mina reassured, laying a supportive hand on the warrior prince. "You'll find her."

"Bring our Princess back." Lita added. Endymion nodded, understanding the trust and faith the Sailor Soldiers had placed with him.

He teleported back to the Dark Kingdom realm in a flurry of dark burgundy rose petals. As he walked down the cold onyx tiled corridor, he could sense that he had breached the outer defences of the Dark Kingdom's protective barrier. They knew he had returned, and they were coming for him.

Faceless shadows lunged toward him from the darkness. Endymion drew his sword, slicing through their bodies with minimal resistance. His heart pounded in his chest and he succumbed to the surge of adrenalin and newfound abundance of energy that coursed through his veins. His eyes darkened with a grave determination as he stalked down the hallway and into the main hall. A whirlwind of dark energy engulfed Endymion's body, forcing him to his knees, unable to resist as Queen Beryl slowly approached from her place on the throne.

"I knew you'd come crawling back to me." She drawled. Her scarlet lips twisted into a bloodthirsty grin.

"I'm not here for you." Endymion cringed, fighting to control his body. He needed power and strength, this he could gain from the Dark Energy, but he needed to balance this and gain control of the darkness to ensure it didn't completely take over him again. "Where is Serenity?"

"She's safe." Beryl smirked as a curtained veil fell behind her, revealing the Moon Princess herself, trapped behind a thick pane of glass. Her piercing screams and pounding were absorbed by the glass which intermittently shocked her with Dark Energy.

"Serenity!" Endymion watched as a bolt of Dark Energy exploded in her hands, causing her to cry out and fall to her knees, her hands in searing pain. He struggled to rise up, using his sword as support as his body felt as though it was being weighed down by lead.

"Not so fast, little prince." Beryl summoned her staff, holding it up to draw energy. "I said she was safe, for now. But thanks to you, she won't be for much longer." She lowered her staff, pointing it in the direction of Prince Endymion. Flares of evil energy leapt forth, surrounding Endymion momentarily before becoming absorbed into his body. His blue eyes flashed an unearthly shade of red as the energy from the Dark Kingdom took hold of his heart once more.

"Endymion!" The sound of Princess Serenity's voice rang out loud and clear as the glass pane before her suddenly disappeared. In an instant, she found herself at his feet.

"Endymion, kill her, once and for all." Beryl ordered. Relaxing his wrist slightly to exhibit his sword skills, he wrapped both hands on the grip of the sword before lifting it above his head swinging it down with all his might. Princess Serenity rolled her body out of the way just in time as his sword came in contact with the bottom of her dress, tearing through it effortlessly.

"Endy, please stop!" Serenity cried out in vain as she watched her beloved prince lift his sword once more. "Endy, it's me, Serenity! Please snap out of it." She struggled to distance herself from him, slipping momentarily on her dress. "Listen to the sound of my voice."

"It's useless." Beryl's voice interrupted. "He's a pawn of the Dark Kingdom once more, and this time, he won't fail. With the Silver Crystal in his possession, you're useless to stop him." She let out a shrill laugh. "I've waited lifetimes for this. I watched you die thousands of years ago, and I'll watch you die again tonight. This time, mother dearest won't be there to give you another chance, Moon brat, and Endymion will finally be mine."

"No!" Tears fell from Serenity's eyes as she lifted her hands into the air, summoning her moon wand, adorned with the Silver Crystal. "It will not all be for nothing. Good will always triumph over evil." She watched as Beryl's eyes widened in shock at the appearance of the Silver Crystal. "I lost him once before in this lifetime, I will not lose him again. Moon Healing Escalation!" Through the shimmer and mist of the healing attack, Endymion stood completely unmoved. The attack did little to change the malice in his eyes.

With the simple flick of his wrist, he summoned a single black rose and hurled it toward Serenity. It sliced across her wrist causing her to drop the Moon Wand. Endymion followed up with his initial attack with a body blow, causing Serenity to cry out in pain as the armour on his body crunched with the force of the impact against her body. As she fell to the ground, a glimmer of gold rolled from beneath her. The lid of the golden star locket flipped open and its slow, haunting melody began to echo across the darkness.

Gaining a brief moment of consciousness, Serenity gasped for air, her chest felt crushed and she wheezed as she struggled to breathe through the pain. The glow of the Silver Crystal waned slightly and Serenity powered down into her Sailor Moon form to save energy. The soft tinkering sound of the locket seemed to distract Endymion for long enough for Sailor Moon to reach for her tiara. She knew that the locket wouldn't distract him for much longer. In the mean time, she needed to put as much distance between them as possible, while she thought of another plan to get through to him.

"Moon Tiara Action!" Sailor Moon coughed violently as she struggled to follow through with her attack. The golden disk sliced through Endymion's leg and he winced, growling in pain as he reached for his shin.

"Endymion, I want her dead! Now!" Beryl rose from her throne, evidently growing more and more impatient. At first, she relished every guttural scream and squirm of agony that came from Serenity, but now, she simply wanted her hands on that Silver Crystal, and the wait was beginning to fray on the last tether of her patience. It was becoming slowly evident that the brainwashing from the Dark Kingdom would never fully turn Endymion away from his beloved princess. He would never be anything more than a faulty underling. No amount of dark energy would ever erase her from his memory. It was only a matter of time, and time was not a luxury Beryl had.

A crimson aura surrounded the dark Queen as she summoned a jagged crystal shard, electrically charged and ready to dispose of her now redundant prince. More than anything, she had wanted him, but he would never be anything other than a liability, and she couldn't afford to have such a weakness exposed so close to her heart. With the flick of her wrist, she launched the shard at Endymion.

"Darien!" The glistening projectile caught Sailor Moon's attention and she staggered forward. Endymion turned to see the crystal shard leave Beryl's hand and he summoned a dark orb of energy, sending it spiralling back in return. The energy blast hit Beryl square on the chest and she fell back onto her throne, but not before Sailor Moon hastily shoved Endymion out of the path of the dark Queen's attack. The razor sharp crystal pierced through Sailor Moon's fuku, before becoming embedded in the soft tissue of her abdomen.

Endymion's eyes grew wide as he watched the leader of the Sailor Soldiers sacrifice her life for him. A flash of blinding white light pulsed from the Silver Crystal. White silk ribbons surrounded the wounded girl and as she reached for her stomach, she lifted her porcelain hands to see that they were stained red with her own blood. The offending shard soon dissolved, allowing the open wound to bleed out even heavier and the Moon Princess fell to her knees. Her tear filled eyes watching sorrowfully as Endymion moved to rush to her side.

"Serenity…" He lifted her limp body up, cradling her in his arms. "Serenity I'm sorry." His hands trembled as they reached to hold hers and he layered a torrent of hastily delivered kisses on her pale forehead and face. Her fingers were sticky, smearing her crimson blood onto his skin on contact and the air around them filled with a sickening metallic scent.

Her eyes fluttered open momentarily and a light groan escaped her lips. "I never gave up on you, Darien." Her whispered voice cracked as she spoke, "I'll never give up loving you."

"Serenity… Serena…" Endymion watched as Serenity's pure white dress slowly became stained with the blood of his own failure. "Why did you do that?" He raised his voice at her and it echoed across the cold hard marble of the palace. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Tears trickled from his eyes as the warm forgiving smile slowly faded away from Serenity's lips and her eyes languidly shut for the last time. "Serena, I love you." He held her body tightly and felt as every one of her muscles relaxed.

Endymion's eyes glazed over, darkening a number of shades as he gently placed his princess back down onto the cool onyx floor. Dark energy flared, emanating from his body as he slowly lifted himself up onto his feet. A dark misty shroud fell over him as he lifted his broadsword from its sheath and slowly stalked over to the Dark Kingdom throne. There, Beryl grasped at her throat, struggling to breathe as Endymion's previous attack had hit her hard, crushing her chest and piercing her lungs. Her garnet coloured eyes met his steel blue ones and she struggled harder, desperate to escape him. A part of him relished at the sight of her suffering, her eyes begging, pleading for mercy. It also repulsed him, and he lifted his sword up with one hand, the other resting on his pommel as he drove it ruthlessly into her heart.

Without looking back, he withdrew his sword and silently stalked down the halls of the Dark Kingdom in search of his next victim of revenge, all the while, letting Beryl's blood drip from the tip of his sword across the unforgiving marble floor of the cursed palace. He was determined to find and destroy absolutely anybody who dared to swear their allegiance to the Dark Kingdom. Exercising the power that they poisoned his body and mind with, Endymion would extinguish the Dark Kingdom from the face of the planet, and anybody who dared to stand in his way.

I lost her today. She was the only one pure enough to save my soul. She was my light, my saviour, my only love… Unlike me, she will never be lost to the darkness.

I died that day.


. . .

Dark, I know. I didn't expect or plan for this chapter to be so dark, but it sort of worked out that way. This chapter would probably bump the story rating up to M15+ huh? There's still one more chapter after this one, and I promise it won't be an emo angsty one. Please let me know what you thought by reviewing, and I'll see you all next week for the final chapter!

Crystal Saturn