Another Crystal Tokyo

A/N: In honor of the winter finale of Once Upon a Time, I am proud to present chapter 8!

Originally this chapter was a part of chapter 7 but after some consideration I decided to let it stand on its own.

Please note that some things in this chapter may be considered a bit disturbing—but it is necessary to convey Allura's character.

Without further ado, let the story commence!

Disclaimer: This is the last time I will say this for this fic because it's getting on my nerves…I do not own Sailor Moon or Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter 8: A Heart Crystal Teeming with Darkness

Feeling the Silver Crystal's power pulse within her, Serena let out a sigh of relief as it declared her the victor. "It's over Jadeite," she announced.

Jadeite didn't get a chance to respond as Allura let out a shriek of outrage that had everyone jumping in fear. All eyes falling on the witch, they watched as she rose to her feet; her expression furious. A moment later, the throne she had been sitting on exploded in a blast of black fire as she stalked across the room. Immediately Jadeite was on his feet running away from the witch. Finding his actions to be wise, Serena ran to her friends and called on the power of the Silver Crystal to free them.

Their gaze falling on Jadeite, they found the man approaching the exit of the chamber when Allura held one hand out and beckoned him toward her; her fingers sparkling with black magic. "Get back here you spineless wimp!" she snarled.

To their great surprise, Jadeite's body betrayed him as he began to walk back toward the witch. From the scared look on his face, the group could guess that the witch had him under some sort of spell that was causing his legs to move him toward her. "No, no, no!" he cried out in fear as he approached her, "I'm sorry! I swear I can do better!"

"SILENCE!" Allura roared, moving him directly in front of her with another wave of her hands. "When I freed you, I told you that I accepted nothing but results and yet you give nothing but failure and disappointment!"

Jadeite's body trembled as he shook his head. "B-b-but you al-also said that if I failed you that you might still have some use for me," he said, in a small voice.

Allura's furious expression morphed into sadistic smirk that was even scarier than her fury. "I did, didn't I?" she asked to herself more than Jadeite. "We'll just have to see, now won't we?"

The group barely had time to process the comment when Allura drew her arm back. Horrified, they watched as the witch thrust her hand into Jadeite's chest; making him cry out in agony. From what it looked like on their end, her arm phased right through his chest rather than broke into it but was obviously just as painful. A moment later, Allura pulled her arm out; bringing with it what appeared to be a heart encased in purple light.

Jadeite falling to his knees in agony, Allura turned toward her captive audience with that same smirk. "You asked before how I robbed Jadeite of his free will, well this is how," she explained, holding the heart out.

Immediately, Serena and the others felt their breakfast trying to come back up and wrestled to keep it in its place. They had seen some horrible things in their fights against evil but this took the cake.

Ignoring their looks of disgust, Allura turned back to look down at the pained face of the still alive Jadeite. "When you hold a heart in your hand, you control it," she continued, "More specifically, what I hold in my hand is the magical essence of Jadeite's heart: a Heart Jewel. But that is of little importance, what matters is that with a person's Heart Jewel, I can control their every move—make them kill even the one they love most."

"B-but it was still in his chest," Artemis argued, regaining his voice first.

Allura looked at him condescendingly, holding the heart out toward them once again. "That may be true, but when I freed Jadeite from his prison I placed a spell on his heart to ensure that he would obey me but I didn't take his heart," she replied. With her free hand, she waved it over the heart, "But now I remove my spell."

Slowly, the purple light began to fade as Allura did just that. Beneath the veil of purple light was a pitch black jewel shaped like a heart with a kind of otherworldly glow to it. From where they stood, the group could barely make out magic swirling within the object. Seeing the heart, the others looked perplexed as they had anticipated the heart to be red and bloody yet it looked just like a gem.

Allura on the other hand, looked at it like it was the most precious thing in the world to her. With a tender smile, she ran her hand over it. "Beautiful, simply beautiful," she murmured.

Her words filling him with hope, Jadeite looked up at her with a smile. "Does that mean I'm still useful?" he croaked.

"Perhaps," Allura said, building up his hopes, "But let's take a gander at what lies inside your heart!" She didn't wait for a response as she tossed the jewel into the air and threw a blast of magic at it. "Show me your Dream Mirror! Show me your Heart Crystal!" she yelled with a sadistic grin.

The blast connecting with the heart, Jadeite let out a howl of agony. The blast passing through the heart, it came out as two separate orbs of light before the heart fell back into Allura's hands. Jadeite's cries fell silent as the pain of the separation caused him to pass out—as the scouts were accustomed to when someone had their Heart Crystal or Dream Mirror extracted.

The light from the blast fading away, it left in its place an ordinary Dream Mirror and an unusual heart crystal. Unlike normal Heart Crystals that were red and had light pulsing in them, Jadeite's Heart Crystal was as black as his heart with darkness pulsing within it. From their experience with the Heart-Snatchers, the scouts knew that the brighter the light in the Heart Crystal the purer the heart. Considering how black Jadeite's heart was and how dark his Heart Crystal was, it didn't take a genius to guess that Jadeite there was nothing good about Jadeite.

Her eyes on the Heart Crystal, Allura grinned as she used her magic to draw it toward her; ignoring the mirror as it floated down and back into Jadeite's heart. "Oh yes," she purred, "This is just what I needed, a Heart Crystal teeming with darkness."

Her words snapping them out of her trance, Sailors Pluto and Neptune attacked; unleashing their blasts right at the witch. Seeing the blasts, Allura's pupils glowed violet in retaliation. The two attacks barely sailed five feet toward the witch when they imploded on themselves.

"Mars Flame Sniper!"

"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!"

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"

"Supreme Thunder!"

"Uranus World Shaking!"

"Death Ribbon Revolution!"

Her pupils glowing silver, Allura halted the attacks directly between her and the scouts. Not giving them a chance to retaliate, she stomped her foot and summoned ribbons of darkness to bind them.

Releasing the Heart Crystal, Allura left it to float where she was while she walked toward the struggling scouts. "You're actually trying to save the man who killed our people during the siege of the Moon Kingdom?" she asked in disbelief, stopping a few feet away.

Serena glared at the witch. "He may have done some horrible things in his life, but he doesn't deserve to die the way you're planning on making him," she snarled.

"Serena is right!" Darien yelled, "The only reason he's the way he is is you!"

Allura rolled her eyes at the statement. "All I did was exploit the darkness in his heart—and considering the state of his Heart Crystal I'd say that it was pretty much filled with it," she retaliated, "But you are right, he doesn't deserve to die the way he is right now."

Her words surprised the scouts. They had expected her to say something along the lines of yes he did deserve to die this way, not that. Speechless, the group watched as the witch walked back to the Heart Crystal.

Taking the Heart Crystal in her free hand, Allura turned back to the group and held out the heart once more. "When I said that holding a heart in your hands gave you control of its owner, I meant it," she said. Turning back to Jadeite she nodded her head. "On your feet lackey!"

To their great surprise, the scouts watched as Jadeite slowly rose to his feet and blinked open his vacant eyes. Never before had they experienced someone getting up after losing their Heart Crystal—Mina didn't count because she technically held on to it for a bit before collapsing from exhaustion—and this was a first for them. Aside from the dead look in his eyes, Jadeite looked completely normal. If the power of a holding a heart could do that and Allura could hold it, then they were in serious trouble.

Turning back toward the scouts, Allura nodded her head at Serena. "Since she won this duel, be a lamb chop and give her what she's won."

Nodding wordlessly, Jadeite turned toward the scouts and made his way toward them. Thoroughly creeped out by Jadeite's state of being, Serena tried in vain to break free of Allura's hold on her. Stopping in front of her, Jadeite shuffled through his deck for a moment before producing two cards. Allura's magic lifting her arms up, Serena watched as Jadeite placed Queen Metalia and the Great Ruler ritual card in her hands in addition to a transparent Locator Card.

"Now come back here." Not even giving Serena or the scouts a second glance, Jadeite turned and walked back toward Allura. Jadeite had barely gotten halfway to the suspended attacks when Allura nodded her head at him. "Stop," she commanded, making him stop. "About-face!"

Jadeite facing the scouts, Allura moved to stand before the suspended attacks. Releasing her grip on the Heart Crystal, she waved her free hand in a circular motion to trap the attacks in a bubble. Their eyes fixed on the attacks, the scouts prepared themselves for Allura to send the attacks back at them and wipe them out.

Eyes filled with admiration, Allura placed one hand on the bubble surrounding the attacks. "Such power you possess," she commented, "Fire, ice, electricity, wind, light, even destruction. There is beauty in it, yet their beauty is wasted on defending good."

Jupiter glared at her. "That's because we actually have hearts and care about people!"

Allura ignored her outburst and gazed at the heart she held. "Intriguing things hearts," she began. "They are extremely powerful objects. They are the source of our very beings: our emotions, our hopes…even our dreams. They are our very essence. And yet they are so very fragile."

She held the heart up in admiration. "Hearts are so easily broken— or shattered—beyond repair. They may heal over time, but they are never as strong as they once were."

Tearing her gaze away from the organ, Allura gave the scouts a wicked smirk, telling them that things were about to get really ugly.

"Just as the heart, the Heart Jewel is just as fragile. Removing the jewel strengthens it so that it can exist outside the body. It is impervious to everything but the actions of man. When you hold it, you influence that person's essence and that influence is translated back to the person; hence why holding it gives you control over that person. And when you destroy the Heart Jewel, you destroy everything that makes up a person's being; ending their life."

All eyes on the heart, the group was filled with dread as they realized what Allura was planning on doing. She was going to crush Jadeite's Heart Jewel, thus killing him.

"But I have always wondered about whether or not extensions of a person are capable of destroying a Heart Jewel," Allura continued, her gaze falling on the trapped powers within the bubble.

The group's dread turned to complete and utter horror at Allura's implication. Not only was she going to kill Jadeite, she was going to use their powers to do so.

"No," Venus breathed.

Chuckling, Allura moved her free hand in a circular motion once more. In response, the powers contained within the sphere were combined together and whipped up into what looked like an atom. At least the powers would have looked like an atom if there was a nucleus in the center of it, but the rings of power revolved around a vacant space.

Her gaze falling on the contained attacks, Allura grinned sadistically. "You were right when you said that letting him die through the loss of his Heart Crystal and Dream Mirror—it wasn't my place since I was the one who put him on this path. But dying by the hand of those he has wronged is a fitting end; wouldn't you agree?"

Serena shook her head. "No! Don't!"

With a maniacal laugh, Allura bounced the heart in her hands; her gaze fixed on the trapped powers. "Farewell Jadeite. Thanks for your Heart Crystal!" she yelled, throwing the jewel into the bubble.

"NO!"

Ignoring their pleas, Allura waved her hands over the bubble in a colliding motion; unfreezing the powers and letting them loose on Jadeite's Heart Jewel.

Bound by Allura's magic, the scouts could only watch in horror as their own powers were used to murder. The heart becoming the nucleus of the atom, the rings of power began to revolve around it at high speed; becoming a blur. While they spun, they produced a glow that grew brighter and brighter with every second. After about a minute, the powers collapsed in on the heart.

The powers had barely brushed his heart when Jadeite fell to the ground like a deadweight; his eyes rolling back as he hit the dirt. The mere brush of the powers caused the heart to being disintegrating into black dust. Though the process only lasted a few seconds, to the scouts it felt like hours as they watched their own powers kill someone in the worst ways possible. When the process was complete, a pile of black dust on the ground was all that was left and Jadeite lay on the ground beside it, dead.

Waving her hand, Allura popped the bubble and walked over to Jadeite; completely ignoring the horrified expressions of her prisoners. Kneeling down beside him, Allura waved her hand over the Duel Disk Jadeite wore and made it vanish in a puff of red smoke. With another wave—this time over Jadeite's body—she caused the corpse to dissolve into a mass of grey dust.

Rising Allura smirked at the scouts. "That was just a taste of what I am capable of," she told them. "If you tango with me, I guarantee things will get even uglier." Her expression turned serious. "With that said I will only give you this choice once: hand over the Silver Crystal and I'll let the lot of you live, refuse and will destroy you if it is the last thing I do."

Serena's eyes lingered on the dust that had been Jadeite; feeling sorry for the man. While he wasn't a good man, he was an innocent bystander who got killed in the crossfire between them an Allura's vengeance. She would gladly give up the Silver Crystal if it meant her loved ones would live—even if she wouldn't—but her memories of the witch told her better. Allura couldn't be trusted; she was as slimy and tricky as a snake.

Tearing her gaze away from Jadeite's remains, Serena glared at the witch. "The Silver Crystal will never be yours," she spat, "You may claim that you'll let us live if I hand it over, but you can't be trusted. You're a nothing but a heartless monster."

"That's right!" Luna growled, "There is nothing good or honest about you!"

Frowning in disappointment, Allura summoned the stolen Heart Crystal to her hand. "Then prepare yourselves for your last battle," she sneered, "Because this is one fight that you will not walk out of alive dearies."

Artemis looked at her haughtily. "You said that once before and it ended with you sealed away in the Negaverse."

Allura glared at the man. "That may be true, but it also ended with the end of the Moon Kingdom and Queen Serenity's death," she shot back. "And unlike last time, I have a better, full-proof plan to get the Silver Crystal."

"Bring it on witch!" Uranus snarled.

"Indeed I shall," Allura said. She smirked arrogantly at Serena, "A little word of advice: if you see someone beckoning you to follow them, it'd be wise to follow or else I might just start picking off your loved ones one by one."

Though worried by the mere idea, Serena kept her expression stoic rather than giving the witch the satisfaction of seeing her squirm. She couldn't show her any signs of weakness.

Turning her back on the scouts, she walked away a few feet before stopping and turning back to give her a wicked smirk. "Until we meet again, keep your friends close, your daughter closer and your precious Yami closest of all."

Yami and Rini's lives threatened, Serena's expression morphed to full blown panic. Allura knew full well how to hurt her.

Getting the reaction she wanted, Allura let out a cruel laugh. Turning away, she lifted her hand and brought it down in a pumping motion before vanishing into thin air.

The witch gone, the group was relieved to find their binds vanishing with her. Their relief was short lived, though, when a shattering sound filled the room. Looking up, the sight of the glass ceiling shattering filled them with dread. Hearing a crumbling sound, they looked around to find the room around them falling apart. The room crumbing around them at an alarming rate, they had absolutely no time to use the Sailor Teleport to reach safety.

Not going down without a fight, Jupiter sprang into action. "JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!" she screamed, aiming her attack at the falling glass.

Following her lead, Mercury, Mars and Venus aimed their attacks at the crumbling structures around them. "Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" "MARS FIRE IGNITE!" "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!"

To the scouts' great surprise, the attacks sailed right through their targets as if they weren't even there. A moment later they understood why when the pieces of the room began breaking up into orbs of light; the scene behind them the walls of an alley. The room they were in was nothing more than a product of Allura's magic—an illusion. They were actually still in the alley.

Their worry fading away to relief, the scouts waited as the illusion crumbled around them. Within minutes, the illusion had faded away to leave them in a dank and dirty alley. The threat of danger over, the scouts reverted back to their civilian forms as their minds drifted back to what just happened.

Her expression grim, Trista stated, "We have our second enemy."

Luna nodded, "I just didn't think it would be someone as twisted as Allura."

"Who was that nutjob?" Mina asked, not knowing Allura.

"Yeah!" Lita agreed.

"She was the last court sorceress of the Moon Kingdom," Artemis explained. "She was once revered and loved for her magical abilities but then she started using her powers for evil and was banished to the Negaverse for eternity the crimes of treason and treachery after she tried to take over the Moon Kingdom."

"How powerful is she?" Raye asked, worried.

To their surprise, Serena was the one to answer. "The job of the court sorcerer or sorceress was to defend the Moon Kingdom and the royal family so that the Silver Crystal wouldn't have to be used."

"How do you know that moon-face?" Amara asked.

"She must have remembered it when she was speaking with Allura," Trista said, "But she is correct, that was her job. And she was the most powerful sorceress the Moon Kingdom ever saw; she could do things not even her teacher could do."

"Like rip out people's hearts?" Darien asked.

Luna nodded. "Exactly like that," she confirmed, "In fact, she was so strong that there is not a doubt in my mind that she could have stopped the destruction of the Moon Kingdom single handedly."

That had the group flinching in fear. Galaxia had been a nightmare to deal with, but she didn't wield power anywhere near as terrifying as Allura's. Now they had to deal with a psychotic witch who got a kick out of causing misery. They just couldn't catch a break.

"I'm afraid that right now, the only person capable of even remotely dealing with her is Serena," Luna continued, "And that's only because she has the Silver Crystal."

They had to give the cat that. Serena was the only one capable of dealing with Allura and even then it could cost her her very life. It was their job to protect their princess, not the other way around. If they were to stand a chance against Allura, they were going to need to get stronger.

"We need to get stronger," Michelle said.

Hotaru nodded in agreement. "The way she manipulated our attacks proves that she is too powerful for us in our current forms," she agreed, "There has to be a way for us to get stronger."

Artemis sighed. "I'm afraid Luna and I can't help you there girls," he said, "We were pushing it when we upgraded your power-sticks but since Helios and Hotaru boosted your strength, it's beyond our ability."

"There has to be a way," Serena said, desperate. "We can't let that witch win."

"And we won't," Lita assured her.

"That's right," Darien agreed, "The fact that the Rini we met last night exists means that there is a way to defeat Allura."

Serena had forgotten all about that. Considering that Rini said that Battle City was where she and Atem got back together and that Allura was using Battle City for her evil, that meant that the only way that the second Crystal Tokyo could exist was by going through Allura. That meant that there had to be a way to be a way to stop her. She wondered if Rini could spill on how to do it.

Her intentions must have been written all over her face because Trista shook her head. "Don't even think about asking Rini," she warned, "The girl knows enough about time travel to know to let things happen on their own."

Well, so much for that plan.

"I think the best course of action would be to call up Diamond, Sapphire, Emerald and the Four Sisters tonight and discuss the situation with them," Amy suggested, "They know more about the future than any of us—minus Trista of course—and aren't as tightlipped as Trista—no offense."

Trista waved off the comment. "None taken," she replied, "And that does sound like a viable course of action."

The group murmured in agreement. While their friends from Nemesis might not know anything about the second Crystal Tokyo or its history, they might at least know how to boost their strength. And considering the power that Allura had just displayed, they were going to need it.

"Then we have our plan," Hotaru stated.

"Indeed," Trista confirmed, her distant tone worrying them. "But in the meantime I believe it would be a wise idea to return to Battle City; we've been gone roughly an hour and Yami's duel is surely over by now."

Serena flinched at the mention of her soon-to-be-again-boyfriend. Despite Allura's threat against him, she had completely forgotten all about him. If Crystal Tokyo was going to happen at all, the two of them would have to spend some time together so that they could get to know one another and fall in love again.

Mina nodded. "Good idea Trista, we don't need them getting suspicious about us," she said.

Turning around, Amara gestured toward the other intersection. "Considering that he only saw Serena, Darien, Hotaru and Trista enter the alley it's probably best if we split up as to not draw any suspicion."

Serena nodded in agreement. "Good idea; I already have to explain to him what happened I don't need to have to explain how four people went in and our entire party came out."

Interested by the explanation, Darien looked at her curiously. "And what are you doing to tell him?"

"I have to admit, I'm interested to hear that myself," Luna confessed.

All eyes on her, Serena shrugged. "No idea; but obviously not that a psychotic witch is after me," she commented. "I'll just give him the cliff-notes version; I was lured into a duel and won."

"And if he asks for details?" Raye pressed.

Serena glared at her friend. "I don't know, but I do know that every minute we're here is another that I have to spend explaining what just happened to him."

"Good point," Raye agreed.

Agreeing with the two, the group split up; agreeing to speak more about their dilemma later that night.

A/N: And there you have it!

In regards to the heart, I dubbed it a Heart Jewel because the hearts in OUaT look like they're jewels—plus I read a fanfic in which the heart was called that and decided to stick with it. And the idea regarding how holding a heart in your hand controls it, I thought of that off the top of my head and it actually made sense.

As for the Dream Mirror residing within the heart, that came from something I heard when I was a kid: that dreams are a reflection of the heart's desires. Thinking back over the Dream Arc/SuperS Arc of Sailor Moon, it actually made perfect sense considering that all the dreams that were revealed were something that someone held dear to their heart.

The spell Allura used to control the heart while it was inside Jadeite was entirely mine and I'm proud of it!

Until next time, please let me know what you thought in a review!