Panting, feeling the weight of the poor, nameless, dying boy in her lap, Serenity – Princess of the Moon Kingdom – prayed that at least Prince Endymion would be able to come back to her alive. She didn't know what she could do for the boy, or where he'd gotten the crystal-topped staff that he'd tried to use to protect them, but Serenity knew that she owed him for that. She owed him more than simply watching him die in her arms after he'd only tried to help protect her.
Endymion would have probably felt just the same, if he wasn't… if he hadn't…
Sobbing, Serenity found herself leaning over the nameless boy dying in her lap, tears dripping down onto his still face, almost as if he was crying, too…
Usagi woke up crying, though it wasn't the first time that something like that had happened. But, it was the first time she hadn't had Trevor-nii to hold her, to sit with her while she struggled to regain her composure, to talk to her with his soft voice and help her to see that things were going to be okay again.
"Usagi-chan."
"Luna-sensei," she sniffled, reaching out to stroke the cat's soft fur. "I miss them, and I'm really worried about what might be happening."
"I know you are, Usagi-chan," Luna-sensei said, putting a soft paw on her left knee, and Usagi sniffled again as she reached down to gently stroke the cat's head.
"We're going to find them," she said again, just like she'd said to Rei-chan, when they'd all been together at the shrine. "We're going to find them, and we're going to bring them home."
"We are," Luna-sensei said, and even in the dark, Usagi could see her nodding.
Feeling as good as she could, since she was looking down at the empty futon where Trevor-nii should have been sleeping, Usagi settled back down and tried to get what sleep she still could before she had to wake up and go to school again. Before she had to face the prospect of a morning – and maybe even a whole day – without Trevor-nii by her side. A whole day without her big brother to talk to.
A whole day of their family worrying, and not being able to tell any of them what had happened.
~SM~
The next day at school wasn't as bad as Usagi had been expecting. Nephrite-kun had told Naru-chan what had happened, and Usagi found herself more and more grateful that he and Jadeite-kun had managed to escape from the Dark Kingdom. Still, even those thoughts led back to Trevor-nii, because he had ultimately been the one to make Nephrite-kun's escape from the Dark Kingdom possible in the first place. He'd been willing to use himself as bait, to test if Nephrite-kun had really been willing to leave the Dark Kingdom behind.
Trevor-nii had always been willing to risk himself, if it would keep another person from suffering.
"Hey, Usagi-chan, class is over," Naru-chan called softly, bringing her attention back from where it had clearly wandered.
"Naru-chan, if your friend is really feeling down, maybe you should take her to that new hair salon that opened in the Juuban District!" one of the other girls – someone whose name Usagi had forgotten, if she'd ever known it in the first place – called happily, and Usagi found herself missing the times when she could have been that carefree. "It's owned by Kariko Tokoyama, the winner of last month's World Hair Design Contest! Not only that, she's offering free haircuts for her grand opening!"
Usagi remembered how she would have once been as excited as the girls all around them; before the Dark Kingdom, before Jadeite-kun – for all that he'd been forced into it – had set so many traps using just the sort of things these girls were talking about. Naru-chan seemed to know what she was thinking, and suggested that the both of them look into the salon, just in case it was some kind of a Dark Kingdom trap. Usagi figured that it couldn't hurt, particularly since she didn't know just what Kunzite was going to do.
And, she didn't know what Zoisite was going to do, now that there were no more Rainbow Crystals for him to hunt; now that she'd found the Silver Crystal they'd all been searching for.
With classes over for the say, she and Naru-chan made their way to the Hikawa Shrine, Naru-chan to meet up with Nephrite-kun again, and Usagi herself to talk to the rest of the Sailor Senshi about investigating the new hair salon that the girls at the school she, Naru-chan, Ami-chan, and Mako-chan all went to had all been talking about. Splitting off from Naru-chan when the both of them made it to the warded part of the shrine, Usagi thanked her for the suggestion she'd made, and smiled as she told Naru-chan to have fun on her date.
"Hey, Usagi-chan!" Mako-chan called, once she'd made it close enough for the rest of the rest of the Sailor Senshi to catch a glimpse of her. "That's a serious look on your face," Mako-chan continued, once she'd made it over to where the rest of their friends were all standing together.
"Yeah," she said, sighing. "Some of the other girls at school were talking about this new salon, with some famous person running it."
"You think we should investigate it?" Rei-chan asked, the look on her face suggesting that she was happy with what Usagi had just suggested.
"I think it might be a trap by the Dark Kingdom," she said, looking to the building where Jadeite-kun and Nephrite-kun were staying; the thought of what Jadeite-kun had been forced to do was particularly sad and she didn't like to dwell on it, so she didn't talk about what had brought on the suspicion she'd been having about the salon all the girls in her and Naru-chan's class had been talking about.
"Yes, that sounds like something they would do," Rei-chan said, then bit her lip. "Do you- I mean, are you hoping we'll have the chance to find out where Trevor-kohai and Mamoru-kun are being held?"
Usagi sighed, finding herself faced with the one thought she'd been trying to avoid; though it had been hard, with the rest of her family beginning to worry about Trevor-nii, too. "I don't really know what I'm hoping for, Rei-chan. With Nephrite-kun and Jadeite-kun hiding here… With what we know the Dark Kingdom can do to people…" she stifled a sob as best she could. "I really don't know."
"Right, I shouldn't have brought it up, I'm sorry," Rei-chan said, smiling as best she could, with everything that was happening.
Everything that had already happened.
"I'm just glad to see you're acting more like the Moon Princess we need," Artemis-sensei said kindly. "Now, you just need to keep practicing with the Silver Crystal, and I'm sure you'll be able to lead the rest of the Guardians in defeating the Dark Kingdom."
"Yeah," Usagi said, smiling as best as she could.
"Hey, Usagi, do you want me to come to your house? Maybe see if there's something I could do to take your mind off of things?"
"Thanks, Mina-chan," she said, smiling a bit wider, feeling warm with all of the concern her friends were showing for her.
Even though they all did fight together to save the world, it was also nice to know that they liked Usagi for herself, too.
~SM~
When she and Usagi-chan made it to the other girl's house, Minako was a bit surprised to find that there was no one at the door to meet them, but since Usagi-chan almost seemed to be expecting that, Minako didn't let herself worry too much about what was going on. Usagi-chan knew her parents better than Minako did, after all.
"You know, I think it might help you to try a new hairstyle," Minako said, smiling at Usagi-chan as the both of them made their way inside. "Given what we're going to be investigating, I mean."
"I guess," Usagi-chan said, though she still didn't sound quite like she was back to herself, yet.
Still, considering everything that had happened – both to them, and to the boys she cared about deeply – Minako found that she could understand. Following Usagi-chan up to the room that she and Trevor-kun shared, Minako went over and put her right hand on Usagi-chan's shoulder as she saw the other girl look over at the futon rolled up next to the Western-style bed. Probably where Trevor-kun slept, given the look on the other girl's face.
"We'll find them, I'm sure of it," she said, smiling to try and make Usagi-chan feel better.
"Yeah."
"I mean it," she said, seeing the sadness in Usagi-chan's smile and wanting to help her actually feel better. "We're going to find them, and if the Dark Kingdom did capture them, then we'll save them, just like we saved Nephrite-kun and Jadeite-kun."
"Thank you, Mina-chan," Usagi-chan said, smiling in a way that looked a lot more real than the last smile Minako had seen on her face.
"Come on, you just let Big Sis Minako take care of you from now on," she said, smiling all the wider as she guided Usagi-chan to sit down in front of her, then started taking out the other girl's more elaborate hairstyle. "You know Usagi-chan, sometimes talking about a person you miss can make you almost feel like they're still with you. So, why don't you tell me more about Trevor-kun? I think it could help you feel better."
"Trevor-nii…" Usagi muttered, and it almost sounded like the other girl was starting to smile more naturally again.
Minako was happy for her, both since she wanted Usagi to feel better, and because she was honestly more than a little curious about the boys who had been so ready and willing to fight beside them; it reminded her more than a little of Danburite, honestly.
~SM~
At the heart of the Dark Kingdom, standing over the pair of specially designed pods that Queen Beryl had placed the schoolboy and their other captive – who she insisted on calling Endymion, a name that made Kunzite more uneasy the more he heard it – Kunzite looked down at Zoisite as the younger man peered into the faces of their slumbering captives.
"Isn't it wonderful, Kunzite-sama? We finally managed to the schoolboy, and we even managed to capture one of the Sailor Guardians' other allies, as well," Zoisite said, embracing Kunzite and leaning more heavily against him. "He really does look like Jadeite, doesn't he Kunzite-sama?" Zoisite asked, reaching down as though
"I suppose, if one looks close enough," he said, finding his focus drawn more towards the distinctions; the schoolboy's skin had been darkened by the sun, and while the underlying bone structure did resemble Jadeite's, it was a great deal softer than Jadeite's had ever been.
"Kunzite," Queen Beryl said, making her own way into the room where he and Zoisite were standing, looking for a moment at the schoolboy and the she insisted on calling Endymion. "You and Zoisite must claim the Silver Crystal from Sailor Moon at any cost."
"Of course, Queen Beryl," he and Zoisite said as one, and Kunzite could feel the younger man bowing, even as he did the same.
"I've been looking into the memories of the schoolboy," Queen Beryl said, making her way over to where the schoolboy himself was laying, reaching down to caress the schoolboy's left cheek, standing between the pair of pods where the pair of them continued to sleep. "It seems as though Sailor Moon is not only fond of the boy, but actually lives with him."
"He knows her, personally?" Kunzite asked, finding himself more interested than he'd ever been in the schoolboy.
"The boy has lived with Sailor Moon since they day he survived the fire that killed the rest of his family," Queen Beryl said, chuckling softly. "Her name is Usagi Tsukino, and she cares deeply for her older brother. He has also become rather close to the rest of the Sailor Guardians: Rei Hino, Sailor Mars; Ami Mizuno, Sailor Mercury; and Makoto Kino, Sailor Jupiter," Queen Beryl's expression smoothed out, though she still continued to stroke the schoolboy's cheek. "The only one he was unaware of, in fact, was Minako Aino: Sailor Venus. He'd barely met her, before you and Zoisite were able to take him. However," Queen Beryl narrowed her eyes, looking more than a little displeased. "It seems as though Nephrite and Jadeite have survived, and decided to fully betray the Dark Kingdom. The both of them have been sharing information with the Sailor Guardians."
"Do you wish for us to lead an attack on the Sailor Guardians?" he asked, finding himself more than a little annoyed at the prospect.
He'd thought that Nephrite had been forced into cooperating with the Sailor Guardians, but to find out that Nephrite was a traitor and that Jadeite had somehow been extracted from Queen Beryl's just punishment…
"No," Queen Beryl said. "Sailor Mars and her troublesome grandfather – who was actually one of the Seven Great Youma – have managed to fortify themselves and their home against any attempts at teleportation. That also explains why I haven't been able to see anything that occurs in that area."
"So, how do you wish for us to handle this new situation?" Kunzite asked, restraining himself from folding his arms, not wishing to appear insolent in front of Queen Beryl.
"You'll need to gather a force of youma to launch an assault," Queen Beryl said, turning to look back down at the schoolboy, a considering expression on her face.
Bowing, Kunzite turned and guided Zoisite to follow him out of the room; whatever Queen Beryl had been thinking, as she had stared down at the schoolboy's slumbering face, that was her own concern. Kunzite had far more pressing concerns of his own, considering everything that had happened. And everything that was about to happen.
~SM~
She'd volunteered to make the first approach to Tokoyama-san's hair salon, and Mina-chan had offered to go right along with her, but it all just seemed so… so normal. It seemed like Tokoyama-san was just celebrating the opening of her new hair salon with a special sale, and all of the people there were just her customers. Tokoyama-san didn't even react much to Luna-sensei, just telling Usagi to make sure the cat behaved herself and stayed out of everyone's way.
And so, as Luna-sensei curled up in her lap, Usagi let herself relax, just a bit. She didn't know just how long this peace of theirs was going to last, and she was doing her best to take her mind off of what had happened to Trevor-nii and Mamoru-kun. Even Mina-chan had encouraged her to take things easy for as long as she could.
Even Luna-sensei had agreed, considering everything that had happened.
And so, Usagi relaxed and let herself be taken care of, and tried not to laugh when she heard Tokoyama-san telling her employees not to get distracted by Luna-sensei. Since Luna-sensei was a cute kitty, Usagi could understand the temptation. Luna-sensei seemed to be enjoying what attention she was getting, so that was a nice thing, too.
Just as Tokoyama-san had dried her hair and wrapped it up in a new towel, the front windows of the salon were smashed in, and Usagi found herself and the rest of the people in the salon being swarmed by what looked entirely too much like a big group of the Dark Kingdom's youma. Seeing Zoisite at the back of the group let Usagi know that this wasn't the kind of situation she and the rest of the Sailor Senshi had gotten used to dealing with.
This wasn't like when Jadeite-kun would set traps for them and other girls to wander into, or like when Nephrite-kun had been hunting for certain types of people; it wasn't even like when Zoisite himself had been searching for the Rainbow Crystals, since that had almost been like dealing with Nephrite-kun again.
She wondered if this was going to end up being what fighting Kunzite was going to be like, but only for a little while, since she was busy transforming into Sailor Moon, since Mina-chan had evacuated the people who might have seen her doing it. Zoisite didn't wait for the rest of the youma to clear out of his way before he started attacking, so she quickly used her Moon Tiara to clear them away.
Ducking out of the way of a blast of the sakura petals that Zoisite always seemed to use when he fought, Usagi commanded her Tiara to trap him, then raised the Moon Stick.
"Moon Healing Escalation!"
~SM~
Finding himself confronted by the remainder of the Sailor Guardians on grounds that had so obviously been prepared to repel the Dark Kingdom, Kunzite found himself more and more irritated. Not only by the Sailor Guardians who were attacking him, but also Jadeite and Nephrite. The fact that the both of them had managed to escape Queen Beryl's just punishment was troublesome enough, but the fact that both of them had chosen to betray her was infuriating.
Leaping out of the way as Nephrite's construct of Taurus charged at him, Kunzite ground his teeth as he began to hear the sounds of someone else coming up to the battlefield. Turning, another weapon already materializing in his hands, Kunzite found himself confronted by the one person he thought would never betray him.
"Kunzite-sama, stop!"
Snarling outright, furious at Sailor Moon – Usagi Tsukino, who was carrying Zoisite on her back – Kunzite was forced to brace himself as Zoisite tried to knock him off his feet. Finding himself pinned down by the rest of the Sailor Guardians, with Jadeite and Nephrite joining their traitorous efforts to Zoisite's own.
~SM~
Pausing to let Zoisite-kun down from her back, Usagi took a deep breath as she turned her attention back to Kunzite again. She was still worried about where Trevor-nii and Mamoru-kun had ended up, but she was starting to resign herself to the idea that they had been captured by Beryl. It would probably hurt less if she expected it, though nothing could really stop the idea of having to fight her older brother and someone she was just starting to realize how much she… cared about from hurting.
But, expecting something like that could at least make it hurt less; at least, Usagi hoped so.
Still, for the moment Usagi focused on subduing Kunzite with the help of the rest of the Sailor Senshi, as well as Nephrite-kun, Jadeite-kun, and Zoisite-kun. Eventually, she and Rei-chan were able to pin Kunzite down between the pair of them, with Rei-chan managing to paralyze him with one of her talismans.
"Moon Healing Escalation!"
~SM~
She was going to lose them; there was no question of it anymore. However, the four of them always had simply been a means to an end. And now, now that she possessed the very man she had been searching for for such a long time, Beryl was perfectly pleased to turn her attention from Kunzite and his futile battle with the Sailor Guardians to Endymion and the Mercurian boy who was still sleeping. Leaving her scrying crystal behind, Beryl made her way back into the chamber where the pair of them were waiting.
The schoolboy sat up nearly as soon as Beryl had made her way into sight of them, but Endymion wasn't far behind.
"It's all right," she said, making her way into the room as the schoolboy's bright, amber eyes fell upon her at last. "You've recovered from your injuries," she continued, recalling with some amusement the sight of the fool Mercurian boy falling to the ground, pierced through the heart by one of her own crystal spires. "Though I must confess, I only found you once you had lost consciousness, and so never learned your name."
"My name is Ikaros," the boy said, fingers brushing lightly over the spot on his chest where – as far as he would be able to remember – he had been pierced and injured by a black spire of crystal. "Thank you for saving my life."
~SM~
Finding himself standing in a strange, dark room with two people – one of whom he could only recognize as the boy he'd last seen dying on his back with a spike through his chest – Endymion could only wonder just who the strange woman claiming to have saved Ikaros' life actually was. It was true that both he and Ikaros himself owed her for saving the latter's life, but Endymion still found himself curious.
However, as he listened to the story the woman who had introduced herself as Beryl was telling him – that he was a General of the Dark Kingdom, that Beryl had brought Ikaros' dying body hear to heal as soon as she'd found him lying on the ground – for some reason, it didn't feel right. Yes, nothing about it sounded untrue, at least according to everything that Endymion could remember, but… More than anything, Endymion found himself wanting to speak to Ikaros alone.
Away from Beryl, and the strangely hungry expression Endymion could see in her eyes the longer she spoke.
Once Beryl had finished speaking, Endymion thanked her for her actions in helping Ikaros – though he still suspected that she'd had her own reasons for doing so – and then paused for a moment as Ikaros asked her where they were going to be staying. It was a logical question, which gave Endymion at least some idea about Ikaros' personality and what to expect of the other boy, even if it was still ultimately a simple request. As the pair of them made their way to their respective quarters, Endymion sidled close to Ikaros.
"What do you make of her?" he asked.
"I… Truly, I'm not certain," Ikaros said, after a moments' pause, seemingly to gather his thoughts. "She seems to have acted in my best interests, and yet…"
"There's something about her," he said, finding his own thoughts echoed in Ikaros' expression and tone, and narrowing his eyes in thought.
He hesitated to say such a thing aloud, even when the pair of them seemed to be alone, but he was pleased – at least as pleased as he could be, under the circumstances – to know that Ikaros agreed with him. However, the question of what the pair of them would be able to do – isolated as they both seemed to be – remained unanswerable for the moment. For the moment, all Endymion could think to do was watch and wait.
He and Ikaros might very well owe Beryl for the latter's life, but there was little enough trust between them and her.
~SM~
Sitting next to Kunzite-kun as he recovered from everything that had happened to him, Usagi found that she could still smile. She'd wondered, when she'd first managed to free Zoisite-kun from Beryl's brainwashing, if the love he'd seemed to share with Kunzite-kun was like the love she felt for Trevor-nii, or more like the one she could remember Serenity feeling for Endymion. Now that she was seeing it in person, Usagi thought it was a lot more like the love she could remember from Serenity and Endymion.
It was nice, that the both of them had managed to find each other, without the horrible things that Beryl had done to them – and had been making them do – hovering over them.
Usagi was happy for them, she really was, but she couldn't help being reminded of the way that Trevor-nii and Mamoru-kun had been taken by Beryl. She could tell that the other three Shitennou had been trying to put on their best brave faces for her and the other Sailor Senshi, but in the end Zoisite-kun had just come out and said it: there was no chance that Beryl hadn't taken such a perfect opportunity to brainwash Trevor-nii and Mamoru-kun as soon as she had taken the pair of them away. Jadeite-kun had laughed, in that way people did when there was nothing funny at all, and asked if this was some kind of punishment for the four of them having escaped at all.
Rei-chan had gone over to slap him, and then told him to stop saying stupid things like that, of course.