Chapter 4
Not the start we were hoping for Minako grimaced. They had literally just finished awakening the planet when Rei notified them she felt an evil presence. The girls rushed to the scene and were shocked to find it was none other than Sol's house. The ensuing battle was harder than she anticipated after seeing the monster fly from his doorstep with Sailor Jupiter in its grasp. Luckily, my Venus Love Me Chain was there to make sure Mako-chan still had a face Minako thought, smiling to herself. That poor boy, Sol, who had just lost both his parents cried like she had never heard anyone cry before. She knew Makoto felt his pain, having lost both her parents as well. No one protested when Makoto helped him stand and guided him away from the battle scene. Most likely she was going to take him back to her apartment.
The rest of the afternoon unfolded without incident, so they went their separate ways. Was this an omen to the start of The Dark Moon Kingdom? Minako was only speculating, but the thought sent a shiver up her spine.
Already they were hearing people cheer for the Sailor Senshi, praising them as saviours. She walked up to an empty park and sat down on a bench. Evidently, the Silver Crystal didn`t just help awaken everyone, but it also restored everything to its original state before the world had frozen over. Water and electricity flowed back to individual houses. Cars that had their axles seized from long exposure to the ice moved freely again. It was almost like nothing had happened. But something has happened. Some people have changed. She could feel it in the air, see it in certain people`s eyes. Most went about their day like nothing happened. But some lurked in dark corners, avoiding the bright light of the sun, casting suspicious glares at anyone who walked too close. Sitting on the bench she noticed someone walking fast, head cast down, shoulders slumped. He bumped into someone coming the other way, knocking them down. Minako heard some words exchanged, none of which sounded very friendly. The one that knocked the other down turned suddenly and hurried off.
Well no use sitting here speculating she thought finally. The slim blonde girl stood then, and proceeded to return home. Her parents greeted her as she entered, and she hurried to her room. Artemis was waiting on her bed, curled into a small ball of white fur, obviously sleeping. As she closed the door, he raised his head and yawned, mouth opening wide.
"Ami-chan's computer has linked with the Crystal Palace. Now we can access all the data that was stored on it easily." The white cat informed her. Minako crossed the room to and sat at her makeup table. Looking into the mirror she saw her tired blue eyes looking back. She reached up and untied the red bow that held her hair out of her face. Long golden blonde hair fell around her shoulders. When she was sitting here, her hair touched the floor. She reached for a brush lying on the table. "Well that's probably a good thing. All the data we gathered from fighting the Dark Moon Kingdom the first time should come in handy. I have a feeling we will be seeing them again."
"You don't think Sailor Moon will be able to cleanse them?" Artemis asked turning towards her as she brushed her hair. The brush stopped then and she looked over her shoulder at her faithful companion. Spinning around on her chair so she faced him head on she replied "I really don't know. Judging by what happened today, I would say that there is still darkness residing in this world. Some people are uneasy about how things have turned out. Maybe she can cleanse them though. Like you said, we have the data from fighting the Dark Moon Kingdom at hand." Artemis sat back down on the rumpled sheets of her bed. They both looked around the bedroom, deep in their own thoughts. Minako returned herself back to the mirror, resuming her brush strokes "Only time will tell."
-/-*-\-
The fire was ablaze inside of Hikawa Shrine praying room. Rei sat in front of it, eyes closed, hands clasped together in front of her face as she concentrated. Show me the evils that invade the hearts of man she pleaded. An image appeared in the fire, showing the Earth. Darkness encroached upon it, slowly spreading. The light of the earth tried to fight back, but to no avail. The darkness was too powerful. Darkness spread methodically across the globe, finding its way into every crack and crevasse. The voice of hope snuffed out by unrelenting darkness. She knew they had to do something about this, or else everyone on Earth would succumb to this all consuming evil. If they did nothing, many innocent live would be lost. Those who refused the darkness would be ripped about. It seemed fate had dealt them a hand they had to play.
She heard Yurichiro enter the room quietly behind her. "Rei-chan it's getting late. Maybe you should rest for a while." Rei let her hands drop to her lap. She had seen enough to know what it meant. No point wasting her time watching the same images appear for the rest of the night. Perhaps in the morning she could narrow the search down, and find individuals who needed their help. "You're right Yurichiro." She stood and walked over to him, looking up. She could barely see his eyes under his black bangs that hid the top half of his face. "If I'm not around and something happens, I need you to protect grandpa." Yurichiro looked confused for a few seconds, and then a nervous smile spread across his face under Rei's intimidating stare. "Your grandpa can probably protect himself better than I can."
"Just promise me, ok?" Yurichiro nodded quickly then stood straighter like a guard on duty. Rei leaned in and wrapped her arms around the taller boy. "Thank you Yurichiro. I'm glad you're someone I can count on."
-/-*-\-
Makoto led Sol down the hallway towards her apartment door. She knew it was still unlocked, turning the knob and gesturing for Sol to enter. He shuffled forward, a distant sad look in his hazel eyes. After the ordeal Makoto had urged him on, hoping that getting him away from the scene might help his current depression. They had walked in silence until Makoto asked where the monster had come from. "It was my father" was all he said in an almost inaudible whisper. Makoto had suspected as much, and her heart sank at hearing that he truly had just lost both parents.
Sol walked past the entryway and continued inside the dark apartment, not bothering to take his shoes off. He finally stopped in front of the window that overlooking the street outside. Cars whizzed past and people milled about, going on with their everyday lives. Makoto turned the lights on and noticed the dried blood smeared all over his hands. That's right; he cut his left hand pretty bad on that monsters fangs. She headed towards the sink and turned the hot water on. It was strange for her to be moving around her own apartment still as Sailor Jupiter. Luckily no one had been in the lobby or on her floor. Anyone watching outside would just assume this was his apartment and she was merely an escort.
She rinsed the clean cloth under the warm water and headed to where Sol stood. She looked at him from the side as he stared off into the star riddled sky. "Can I clean your wounds?" He only continued to stare, so she gently took his left hand into her right. Carefully she wiped away the dried blood, not wanting to open the fresh wounds. But as she cleaned, she couldn't find any new cuts on his hand. All that remained were light pink embellishes on his skin, like the wounds had closed up long ago and were well on their way to healing nicely. It was like he was healing as fast as... Us?
Makoto paused, staring at his hand. Now that she thought about it, he had been pretty much fine after slamming into that car was well. He shouldn't have been able to walk away from that, let alone stay conscious. And the speed in which he closed in on the creature was alarmingly fast, the force he crashed into it would have rendered anyone but a Sailor Senshi with a broken collar bone. She looked up suddenly, realization coming over her.
"Sol, how did you feel after you left the Crystal Palace?" Sol continued to stare into the dark sky, in a dream like state. He turned to face her then, some light coming back into his eyes "I've never felt more alive. I felt I could do... Anything." Just like I felt when I was awoken as Sailor Jupiter. Could he have been affected by being so close to all that power? "Thank you for saving me" he said suddenly. "If you hadn't have shown up, I would be dead now." Makoto dropped her eyes from his intense stare "Your welcome." She realized then that they were still holding hands and she abruptly pulled hers back, blushing slightly. Luckily in the dim light he couldn't see the rosy colour spreading on her cheeks.
"Why don't you come and lay down for a while" Makoto offered "it's been a long day for you, so you must be tired." Sol nodded in approval and followed her as she led him towards her bedroom. There is going to be a boy sleeping in my bed she thought and then immediately scolded herself inwardly. Now was not the time to be thinking of such things, he had just lost both his parents, his world turned upside down. She knew the feeling all too well. After her parents had died in a plane crash, she bounced around a few foster homes while the courts decided the best course of action. Finally an Executor was appointed to the small fortune her parents had left as an inheritance, and she was set up with a moderate apartment. She didn't have to worry about paying the bills, that's what the Trustee was for, and he made sure she was given enough to buy food and have some spending money for herself. She was independent enough to handle the funds on her own now, but the courts said she had to wait until she was 18 to receive the full amount in her name only.
Sol reached out and put his arms around her then, burying his face into her soft brown hair "You're being so kind to me, and I've never even met you until today. I've just been a burden to you. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." He cried, tears flowing anew from his eyes. Makoto's heart went out to him in that moment. "You're not a burden, none of this was your fault" she said softly into his chest as he held her tight.
"I couldn't save her, I couldn't do anything. I was frozen with fear. If I... If I could have..." He trailed off, mouth moving wordlessly, face contorted in emotional despair. Makoto pushed herself off him slightly, and stared into hard into his crying eyes, taking his head in both her hands "It's not your fault Sol. It's not anyone's fault. Darkness found its way into your father's heart. Normally when Sailor Moon uses her powers, people are cleansed of the evil inside them. For your father to turn to dust means he was no longer your father. All that was left of him was an empty shell, a vessel for evil. I think if there was anything left of your father, he would have probably wanted it like that before he hurt anyone else." Sol smiled through teary eyes, and nodded in understanding.
Makoto pulled out of his embrace and gestured towards the bed "it's getting late Sol. You need to rest now." He didn't protest as he pulled the covers of the cleanly made bed back and crawled in. It wasn't long before Makoto could hear the steady breathing of deep sleep. She changed out of Sailor form, and went into the bathroom to take a shower. At least I don't have to wash the clothes of the Sailor suit she thought as she turned the taps. She checked the water with her hand and when she was satisfied it was at an appropriate temperature, she stepped in. That monster really dragged me through the dirt she thought as she cleaned the dirt and debris off her skin. But more importantly I need to tell the others about Sol's... Condition. She finished quickly, and peeked her head out to make sure Sol was still asleep. The light snoring coming from the other room told her was sleeping soundly so she put a towel around herself, and another she wrapped up in her hair. She crossed the room swiftly and grabbed the cordless phone. As she dialed she wondered if this turn of events was a good or bad thing.
-/-*-\-
Usagi hung up the phone after saying good-bye to Makoto. Luna stared at her with a look of astonishment on her cat features. "This is bad. This is very bad" Luna warned. "For a normal boy to get infused with the power of the Silver Crystal is a very bad thing."
"I was just a normal girl when you came to see me Luna" Usagi replied looking sad. Luna jumped onto Usagi's lap, looking hard into the young girls blue eyes "That was different. You were destined to become Sailor Moon. This isn't the same at all."
"Mamoru-chan was just a normal human before he came to Silver Millennium. After Queen Beryl and Queen Metalia attacked, he was blessed with the power of the Silver Crystal right?" Usagi asked, uncharacteristically insightful. Luna was taken aback by the response, Usagi never said such things. Try as she might, she couldn't argue the logic behind Usagi's argument. Usagi, clearly taking pleasure in her friends discomfort stood, as Luna fell to the floor "And look at how much of a valuable ally Tuxedo Kamen has become to us. He's always saving us when we're in a pinch" she continued, feeling like she was on a roll. Luna sprang back up to her feet, ready to unleash a tirade on the happy-go-lucky blonde girl, but no words came. Usagi started to laugh loudly as she paraded around the room in triumph "I'm right and you know it! The pretty sailor suited soldier who fights for love and justice prevails again!" Luna exhaled audibly at the smiling girl standing in front of her. "Well you still need to tell your parents that you're Neo Queen Serenity. You can't be the queen of the planet and still live at home." Usagi stopped her victory march and looked down at the black cat. "I suppose you're right Luna. I guess I'll talk with Mamo-chan about it tomorrow. And maybe mom, dad, and Shingo can come live in the palace with us" she said, stars sparkling in her eyes. "It'll be so romantic, living in a palace with my Mamo-chan" hands clasped together beside her head, she started mumbling, obviously in a day dream.
"Usagi-chan! First we have to meet with everyone and discuss what to do about Sol. He could pose a threat with this new found power. He might blame us for killing his father. He could even go so far as to blame us for awakening them in the first place and losing both parents. Now that he seems to be infused with some power from the Silver Crystal, your attacks will probably have little to no effect on him." Usagi thought for a second, and then looked at her bed. "It's getting late and I'm sleepy. We can worry about this in the morning. Besides Luna, we should be happy that the Crystal Palace is built, and we've saved everyone."
Usagi walked towards her closet and changed into pink pajama's with little crescent moons adorned in seemingly random spots. She crawled into the crumpled folds of an unmade bed. Luna settled herself in between Usagi's feet. She looked out her window into the star filled sky. I didn't know that was Sol's father as tears formed in her big blue eyes. I didn't want to lose anyone like that. Now Luna talks of him being a possible enemy. We should be helping him, and righting the wrong we've committed. But how do you right something like this? She tossed and turned, sleep evading her as she thought of Sol and the way he cried uncontrollably after the ordeal of today. I'll make this right for you Sol... Somehow she vowed to herself as sleep finally came to her.