Author's notes are at the end!
*******************
"The Quest"
By Meara
Chapter Seven
"I want to have you by any means." Prince Demando, episode 83
*******************
There was no up or down, no left or right, no backwards or forwards.
There was only the pain and the smothering darkness. One moment they
were being crushed, the next pulled with such force that it felt as
if they were being torn into small pieces. One moment of agony
blended into the next until time itself ceased to have any meaning.
How long that hellish torment went on, no one could be sure. What
they did know was the exact moment it ended.
A brilliant, ruby light penetrated the agonizing sea of night. The
light brought shelter from the nightmarish storm, wrapping them all
in a cocoon that sheltered them from the darkness that sought to
consume them. At the heart of the light was a woman, riding the
turbulent tides of this place with great effort. Setsuna, Sailor
Pluto raised her head, her eyes eerily reflecting the light in her
garnet orb.
"We have to form a shield," she called out, lifting her staff high.
Her voice was distorted by this place and those around the Soldier of
Time heard her words more in their minds than in their ears. "Use the talismans!"
Uranus held her Space Sword aloft. A thin line of golden fire raced
from it towards the garnet orb. Neptune called on her Aqua Mirror,
the light that came from it the color of raging seas. It joined with
the other two talismans and formed a triangle. Sailor Pluto took her
staff in both hands and thrust the butt end of it into the roiling
mire beneath her feet.
The staff shimmered then burst into song, discordant at first. The
dissonant harmonies slowly changed as Setsuna focused her will. One
by one, the grating, harsh notes resolved into a single, clear tone
and the chaos abated. The Senshi fell to the blessedly solid ground.
For a long moment there was only the sound of labored breathing as
they tried to shake off the trauma they had just endured.
Still trembling from the effort that had saved them, Setsuna lifted
her head and looked around. They were surrounded by a writhing, misty
wall that featured jumbled snippets of faces and events beyond
counting. The strange, conflicting scenes would play until they were
swallowed up by a new set of images. The bizarre tableau went on and
on, one reality melting into another in an endless and eternal storm.
Oh no," Setsuna's heart went cold in her chest as she looked around,
then up. The seamless walls formed a cylindrical pocket of subspace
that kept out the lethal forces that had almost torn them asunder.
Using her staff to help her stand, Setsuna tried to deny the truth
but knew that this place was much more than a shelter – it was a
prison.
"Master of Life, have mercy," Setsuna whispered with cold dread,
"We're in The Well."
***************************************
It was a long, slow climb back to consciousness for Usagi. The light
pulsed strangely in her half-awake mind, odd colors and star bursts
that came and went with no discernable pattern. The only constant was
the pain. It felt as if someone was very slowly driving a dull blade
through the back of her head. That ache was what convinced Usagi that
she was finally awake. Her body was sluggish and her hand was slow to
obey her as she tried to press it to her throbbing head.
"You're awake," came a deep male voice across the room. Out of the
shadows walked Demando, Prince of the Black Moon Clan. "You were
sleeping so soundly that I was sure that you'd be out for a few more
hours."
Usagi sat up abruptly. That turned out to be a mistake as it only
made the pounding in her head worse. "Where am I?" she asked, in a
tight voice that reflected the pain she was in. Usagi had a sinking
feeling that she knew exactly where she was.
The White Prince moved at a measured pace towards the woman on the
bed. "Welcome to Nemesis, Serenity, and to my castle. I'm sure you'll
enjoy your stay with us," he said with a smile.
"Where is…" she bit back the name Mamoru at the last moment. If
Demando didn't know that Chiba Mamoru was also King Endymion, Usagi
was not about to clue him in. "Where's Endymion? Where are my
friends? What did you do to them?"
"Endymion was fine the last time I saw him," the White Prince gave a
dismissive wave of his hand. "Mind you he was a bit annoyed that I'd
managed to coax you into coming with me, but physically he was just
fine."
Usagi's eyes narrowed with outrage. "You didn't 'coax' me into doing
anything! You kidnapped me!"
"Kidnap is such an ugly word, Angel. I prefer to think of it as
liberating you from Endymion," Demando replied in a calm voice that
implied that his actions had been totally reasonable.
Usagi swung her feet over the edge of the bed. She felt dizzy and
weak, her head pounding in time to the beating of her heart. "Excuse
me, but knocking someone unconscious and carrying them off is not
'liberating' them!"
"Semantics…" Demando said with a shrug. "Once I've freed you from the
spell Endymion has you under, you'll thank me for rescuing you."
The room was still moving around Usagi but she gritted her teeth and concentrated. Cupping her hands, she called the Ginzuishou to her.
The light filled Usagi, giving her the strength to face Demando.
"I'll thank you to show me the door," Usagi opened herself a little
more to the mystic fire. Her body pulsed with a silver aura. The
pain in her head melted away as the healing energies of the
Ginzuishou flowed through her.
"I mean it, Demando. Show me how to get back to my husband and
friends or I'll bring this place down around your ears." The
statement was a bluff, but Usagi hoped that Demando didn't know that.
She absently wondered what kind of destruction the silver crystal
could inflict if she set her mind to it.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Angel," Demando said in a
nonchalant manner. He opened his link to the Jakozuishou and felt the
dark energy roar to life, greedily consuming the silver light and
wanting more. "All you're going to do is exhaust yourself."
He was right, Usagi knew with building dread. She could feel the
power of the Ginzuishou being leeched away as fast as she called on
it. Her headache pounded to life again with a vengeance and Usagi
could feel the strength given her by the healing power of the
Ginzuishou drain out of her like water. Reluctantly, Usagi let the
mystic stone fade away to sleep inside her once more.
Usagi sat back down on the bed, trying to hide from Demando just how
shaky she was. "Please Demando, I want to go home."
The pain in her eyes made the White Prince sigh. "I'm sorry,
Serenity," he said with real regret. "But that's not possible right
now. Even if I had decided to let you go, there been an accident…"
***************************************
"The S'Eyre call this place 'The Well'," Setsuna started out. "When
Saffir opened his Proto-Gate on top of mine they both ended up trying
to occupy the same space at the same time. God doesn't like having
the fundamental law of physics flouted like that and the reaction
was, to say the least, catastrophic. The fabric of the fourth
dimension was torn and we were thrown into a kind of… subspace, for
lack of a better term."
"I've got a better term," Makoto grumbled while massaging the back of
her neck. "I think 'hell' describes it quite nicely."
Michiru still held the Aqua Mirror in a hand that shook slightly. "It
felt as if I was being torn apart."
"We were," Pluto replied grimly. The garnet orb at the top of her
staff pulsed, casting a crimson glow. "It's only the power of our
talismans combined that allows me to shield this small pocket."
His head finally cleared enough for Mamoru to remember what had
happened just before everything went to hell in a hand-basket.
"Usako, where is she? Demando had her when…" his face went ashen.
"Setsuna, what would have happened to Demando's Gate?" His eyes
begged her to tell him that his beloved was not dead or lost in the
hell they'd just endured. He reached for the bond he shared with
Usagi and found it frighteningly still within him.
Pluto was looking at what lay just beyond the light cast by her
staff. "They're safe, Mamoru, and most likely on Nemesis but I'll bet
it was a wild ride. Because my Gate was opened first we took the
brunt of the accident. To be honest, I'm very surprised that we're
not all dead. I'm also quite sure that Demando's misbegotten, jury-
rigged, piece of junk, proto-gate," she spat with venom, "fried every
relay it has, so they won't be making any more trips. If we can
manage to get home at least you know where Usagi will be."
That wasn't much comfort for Mamoru. Demando wouldn't kill her, he
told himself in an effort to keep the panic he was feeling under
control. Right now he had to focus on getting back to Elysion. Once
he did that Chiba Mamoru had every intention of paying the White
Prince a call. If he had hurt his wife then, the future be damned, he
was going to make Demando pay.
Uranus came to stand beside Setsuna. "What do you mean 'if' we can
get home?"
With a resigned sigh, Setsuna gave a wave of her hand. "Look around
us. Do you see all those images? They're other realities, other
universes all over lapping each other."
Ami's visor popped into place and she gave a sharp hiss of surprise
at the readings. Mercury turned in a slow circle then began to look
up. They seemed to be at the bottom of a very large shaft that was
surrounded on all sides by blurring, shimmering doorways of every hue
and shape. She could see why it could be called a "well" - and they
were at the bottom of it.
"This is some kind of inter-dimensional nexus," Ami said, awed by the implications. "There must be thousands, no hundreds of thousands, of
different universes all converging here."
Looking around, Minako knew this was all too much for her to
comprehend, so she chose to concentrate on something a bit simpler.
"That's all very nice but we have enough problems as it is. Just open
the portal to Elysion so we can get back there, re-group then go and
kick Demando's royal posterior."
"I don't think you understand," Pluto said slowly. She looked up at
the countless doorways to countless dimensions. "We're in a void
where I have no points of reference, no sense of 'direction'. It's
like being dropped into the middle of the ocean and told to swim for
land. You pick a direction and hope that you've chosen wisely or you
drown."
"Then how do we get back to our Earth?" Rei wasn't sure she wanted to
know the answer.
Setsuna gestured to myriad portals, "By trial and error. Praying
wouldn't hurt either because we're going to need all the help we can get."
"There's more bad news, isn't there?" Rei asked suspiciously.
Uranus gave a snort of agreement, "There's always more bad news."
Setsuna continued to look up at the endless array of images, a shiver
of trepidation running through her, "The chaos just beyond those
barriers can't be held back by the power of our Talismans forever.
Those walls will collapse eventually. If we're in The Well when that
happens we'll most likely be ripped to pieces. If we're in one of the
other realities when it happens, then we'll be trapped there."
"The S'Eyre have been making and using Gates for over a thousand
years," Ami said in a reasonable tone. There was always a way out of
a trap. You just had to find the right key. "So what have other
Gatekeepers done to get themselves out of here?"
Setsuna's golden skin blanched. "That's the problem. Out of all the
Keepers who have had the misfortune to be trapped here only three
have made it out alive and only one of them was more or less sane
afterwards. That Gatekeeper claimed that it was sheer luck that he
walked through the right portal and into the right universe."
"Luck?!" Rei seemed outraged by the idea. "I don't know about the
rest of you but I have no intention of entrusting my future to the
whims of fate."
Mamoru cupped his hands, a small golden star appearing between them.
"Mars is right. We have a powerful array tools both mystic and
intellectual at our disposal. Let's try and use them to find the way
home as quickly as possible."
Pluto looked up at the endless array of realities that extended
beyond her range of sight. She couldn't resist the wry smile that
came to her lips. "We have a lot more to work with then the average
Gatekeeper would, Mamoru-san. Quite a stroke of luck, ne?"
***************************************
The work bench was littered with singed and blackened circuitry.
Usagi reached out and took a piece, turning it over and over in her
hand. Examining the part helped give Usagi something to do while she
dealt with the shock of seeing Saffir again. He was dead; no, she
corrected herself, he would be dead at the hands of Wiseman in the
future.
"Endymion launched some kind of attack at us when I opened the
portal," Saffir said. Serenity kept glancing furtively at him, making
Saffir oddly nervous. "That overloaded most of the control relays. We
were lucky to get back here in one piece."
"I shielded us with the power of the Jakozuishou," Demando had his
arms folded neatly over his chest. There was no braggadocio in his
tone, just a statement of the facts. "Without it we would have been
lost forever in the chaos of that place."
Usagi's mind was racing. Where was Wiseman? His lust for the
Ginzuishou had driven him to extremes in both the past and the
future. If he was here on Nemesis, why hadn't he moved to try and
take it from her?
"But you can fix the Gate, can't you?" she asked nervously.
"It may take some time," Saffir said slowly. The truth was that he
wasn't at all sure that he could repair the alien device, but
Demando had told him that Serenity mustn't know that – not yet anyway.
"And while you're my guest here on Nemesis, this will give you some
time to get to know us better," the White Prince gave Usagi his
most charming smile. "We of the Clan aren't the ogres Endymion has
made us out to be."
"I have news for you, Demando. Drugging people unconscious then
hauling them off like a sack of potatoes makes a very poor first
impression," Usagi snapped. She had to stay angry, she knew, or the
fear that she would never again see Mamoru and her friends would take
control of her.
Serenity was beautiful when she was angry, Demando thought. Her
cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled. After a life time of
having women fawn over him, the White Prince found Serenity
refreshingly candid. "I'll make you a deal, Angel. If you agree to
keep an open mind while you're here, then I promise that when the
Gate is working, that I'll ask if you want to stay here or go back to
Endymion."
Crystal blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. She gave Demando a long,
hard look. "You'd really do that? Just let me go if that's what I
want?"
It was hard for Demando to keep a smile from his face. Her naiveté
was utterly enchanting. "I'm many things, Serenity, but I've never
broken my word. If you hold up your end of the bargain, then I
solemnly vow that I'll ask you if you choose to stay here or leave."
There was a long, quiet moment as a whirlwind of conflicting emotions
and thoughts danced inside Usagi's mind. That Demando and the Black
Moon Clan were here had to be proof that she had somehow managed to
escape from Nemesis, didn't it?
If Earth had never awakened from the spell of crystal sleep, then
they couldn't exist. Usagi reached for the bond that connected her to
Mamoru. He'd always been more sensitive to it but she would have felt
it if the tie had been shattered by his death. It was quiet, sleeping
inside her like a rose in the winter, waiting for the warm kiss of
spring.
The knowledge that Mamoru was at least alive didn't diminish the
panic that clawed at Usagi's soul. She had a flash of memory, the
fear making it sharp and clear. Pluto had said something about
Nemesis existing outside the normal boundaries of time. While Usagi
wasn't sure exactly what that meant, she had a nasty suspicion.
Time flowed differently here. Whether she found a way to escape
Nemesis on her own or whether Mamoru and her friends found a way to
get to her, there was no telling how long she'd be trapped here. It
could be a week, a month or longer. Usagi was being forced to do the
one thing she had never done well; be patient.
Perhaps by agreeing to Demando's proposition she could buy the needed
time to find that avenue of escape. She looked into the amethyst eyes
of the White Prince. If nothing else, she believed that he was as good
as his word.
With a sigh Usagi held out her hand, "I'll agree to your deal,
Demando."
The White Prince took her hand in his, turning it over so he could
place a genteel kiss on the back of it. His eyes brimmed with
amusement and mischief, giving him a boyish charm. "Thank you, Angel.
I know that you'll find your stay here with me most enlightening."
***************************************
"So let me see if I have all the facts correctly," Trista Meiou
paused, her warm alto voice not managing to completely hide the
disbelief she was currently feeling. "According to you, my father was
the King of Pluto and my mother was an alien Princess from some far
flung empire no one has ever heard of. Serena has been carted off by
Prince Diamond who, by the way, is traveling through time due to some
mysterious happenchance. You and the others are going from reality to
reality, trying to find your way home."
Meiou Setsuna, Sailor Pluto, returned the look of scorn in a flawless
imitation of this universe's version of herself. "Am I this
patronizing in most realities or is it just you?"
Never one to back down from a challenge, Trista Meiou locked eyes
with her double. "You know, you haven't quite managed to hit on all
the trite and clichéd ideas I can think of. So, which one of you has
the evil twin sister?"
"Lorilei is not evil," Setsuna hissed back, "She's a musician
The dislike of music was a trait shared by all the various Plutos.
Trista rolled her eyes in disgust, "Well, that sounds evil to me.
How much worse can this get?"
"Cousins? You pass yourself off as cousins? Open the closet, girl,
and come on out."
The outrage in Haruka's voice stopped the bickering between the two
Plutos. Haruka's face was flushed with amazement. Amara's face had a
similar florid rush but hers was due to embarrassment. Michelle and
Michiru looked at each other and gave a sigh. The Sailor Scouts all
had a confused look on their faces. The Senshi had a slightly smug
look to counter it.
"Okay," Amara said slowly, "So we're not really cousins."
"Then why do you live together?" Amy Anderson asked. The question was
no sooner out of her mouth then the truth of the situation dawned on
her. It was her turn to blush. "Oh, I see…"
Raye folded her arms across her chest, looking quite annoyed. She
hated surprises; like having your doppelgangers from another universe
suddenly show up. "Are there any other tidbits of information you'd
like to shock us with?"
Makoto gave a pragmatic shrug. "Hey, that revelation is nothing. We
ended up in this one reality where there was this man in a Sailor
fuku. The poor guy was being pursued by a masked hero named 'Under-
dressed, Over-sexed Kamen'."
Ami put a hand to her brow where she could feel the headache
starting. "We followed the two of them into a place called," she
paused and looked nervously at Rei, "'Crazy Hino's Magical House of
Hosiery."
Rei narrowed her eyes and muttered darkly to herself. "That masked
moron put the moves on me."
"And?" Raye asked her counterpart. She had a pretty good idea of what
had happened but curiosity got the better of her.
Hino Rei let the power of Mars flow down her hand and into a single
finger. A burst of fire danced above the raised digit. "I gave him a
little bit of Fire Soul Love." An evil smile came to her lips
"At least the talking gerbil, Omelet, was sort of cute," Minako
added, "In a lecherous kind of way. You know, Sailor Drag Queen
wouldn't get so many odd looks if he'd just learn to shave his legs
properly."
"This is way more information than I need," Lita shuddered bringing
her hands up to her ears.
Trista Meiou gave a loud sigh. "It sounds as if you've run into the
bane of the multi-verse. A being so twisted and feared that the
housing values in entire solar systems crash after he moves in for
even a short stay," she looked at her counterpart with annoyance.
"He's called by many names but the best known is Lord Chaos."
"Oh Pooh," Setsuna mumbled unhappily. "He's been here too? I'd give
much to know just how is it that Chaos manages to slide between
realities so easily."
Setsuna closed her eyes for a moment, trying to feel if she was able
to align the portal to the Timegate and get back into the Well. It
was getting more difficult with each jump they made. She felt her
Gate at last falling into alignment with a jarring physic "bump". If
they couldn't find their way back home soon, they were going to end
up stuck in one of these alternate universes.
Even as she prepared to open her Gate, Setsuna could sense a whisper
on the temporal winds. It lasted only a heartbeat, but in that brief
moment Setsuna could have sworn that she felt a tugging along the
lines of the bond she shared with Lorilei.
The whisper faded away, swallowed up so fast that Setsuna wondered
if she had imagined it. She looked over at Mamoru, debating if she
should say something to him. The quiet desperation in his eyes as he
looked at this world's Moon Princess was answer enough. Until she had
more to go on, Setsuna was not about to add to his misery by raising
false hopes.
"What is it that I call you in this other world?" Serena asked
softly. She could feel the Sailor Pluto from the other reality
staring at her. No, she amended hastily, staring at the man who
looked so much like her Darien. Her own Prince, Darien, was
definitely on edge but Serena could sense that these strange visitors
posed no real threat.
"Mamo-chan," Mamoru replied softly.
"Mamo-chan," Serena repeated. Impulsively she leaned over and on
tip-toes gave a feather light kiss on the cheek to Mamoru. "Please,
don't loose hope, Mamo-chan."
Darien slipped an arm around Serena and she glanced up at him as she
spoke. "I've walk through hell itself to get my Prince back. If your
Usagi loves you as much as I love Darien, then nothing on Earth can
stop her from getting back to you."
***************************************
Demando was not a happy man. The White Prince was as annoyed and
frustrated as Saffir had ever seen him. He'd stomped into the younger
man's workshop, muttering darkly to himself as he flopped into a near
by chair. Saffir paused, taking a moment to look at his older brother
before going back to work on the circuit he held in his hand.
Experience told him that Demando would talk about was bothering him
when he was good and ready and not before.
"What does it take?" Demando finally mumbled sullenly. His hand
snaked out to snatch up a piece of scrap paper. He began to
methodically rip it into bits as he spoke. "I show her the palace, I
show her the jewels, I show her some of what I can do with the power
of the Jakozuishou and is she impressed?"
Saffir bent his head to peer closely at his work. "I gather we're
talking about Serenity."
"Of course I'm talking about Serenity," Demando snapped. "I show her
everything that makes us great and she just smiles and nods her head."
Saffir closed one eye as he tinkered with the delicate circuitry.
"Really, smiling and nodding? How awful. I can see why you're mad at
her."
"It's not her I'm really angry at. It's him…Endymion," the White
Prince snarled the name. "Each time she smiles and nods her head ever
so politely, I can tell that she's thinking of him. I've managed to
steal her from Endymion and take her to a place he can never find and
that miserable bastard is still here – still firmly between Serenity
and me."
With a grunt of total frustration the scraps of paper were thrown
away, raining down to the floor. "What can he possibly have that I
don't?! A woman of our Clan would be flattered, no more than
flattered, to receive the kind of attentions I'm lavishing on
Serenity."
Saffir put down the piece he was working on. Do you want some
suggestions or are you here to vent your frustrations? Mind you, my
track record with the opposite sex isn't very good."
The White Prince folded his arms across his chest in a dour fashion.
"I'm open to suggestions."
The shadows in a cold corner of the room gathered together and
coalesced. A pair of banked coal eyes burned in the darkness. "If you
desire Serenity then take her, Prince Demando." Wiseman's voice was
harsh and grating to listen to. "She is yours by right of conquest; a
tool to be broken to your will."
If Wiseman's sudden appearance un-nerved the Prince, he didn't show
it. "That seems a bit…crude to me. I've never needed to force my
attentions on any woman before and I don't intend to start now,"
Demando didn't even bother to turn his head to look at the odd, dark
man.
The mottled hands never ceased to endlessly circle, yet never touch,
the crystal ball that was Wiseman's constant companion. "Serenity is
unlike any woman you have ever known. The power she possesses, when
added to the might of the Jakozuishou will help you to gain the
revenge that you were born to mete out. You must make her yours."
"You forget your place, Wiseman," the White Prince snapped, "Do not
presume to lecture me on my duty. If I want your advice I'll ask for
it."
The exchange made Saffir's blue eyes narrow. His dislike of the
shadowy shaman was growing by the day. "You know, Onii-san, if you
think about it, showing Serenity the wonders of Nemesis really
shouldn't impress her all that much. She all ready lives in a palace,
has jewels and a crystal of her own which, despite the spell Endymion
has her under, is capable of great power, too."
"She was born a Princess," Demando mused aloud. He nodded his head
as if things finally made sense to him. "No doubt she was surrounded
by the finer things from her earliest memories. And I'm quite sure
that the cage Endymion keeps her in is lavishly gilded," the White
Prince sat back in the chair amethyst eyes narrowing as an idea came
to him. "But if power and jewels don't catch her attention, then
perhaps it's time to try a different approach."
Saffir recognized the look on his brother's face. "I take it you have
an idea?"
A feral smile slowly came to Demando's lips. "Do you know where
Mother's old sketchbook is these days?"
***************************************
It was a scene straight out of a nightmare. The images were so sharp
for a moment, so real that it broke Mercury's heart to witness it. It
was what could have happened but hadn't. In the space of a heartbeat
Earth was lost.
~Mamoru held a lifeless Usagi in his arms, rocking back and forth in
anguish. He was so shattered by his grief that all Mamoru could do
was moan softly. Usagi's pure heart had been ripped out of her by a
daimon then stolen by Sailor Uranus in her desperate search for the
talismans. The shining reflection of Usagi's soul finally crumbled to
dust in Haruka's hands just as Usagi breathed her last. The Soldier
of the Sky couldn't know that by letting Usagi die she had just
doomed humanity to extinction. The Silence was coming and now there
was no Messiah to stop it.~
"This is absolutely amazing," Ami said to Setsuna softly. "Now
there's a reality I'm just as pleased never to think about again. If
you look at the horizon you can see the Silence getting closer,
destroying everything in its path." She turned from the sight and
looked into another of the thousands of portals that made up the
endless walls of The Well.
~Usagi ran across the cobblestone courtyard of the Hikawa Shrine, her
eyes bright with tears of joy as she ran into the arms of the one who
had always loved her – Rei. The Soldier of Fire was there to greet
Usagi, senses set aflame by her Princess's sweaty charms.~
That remark startled Setsuna enough that she turned sharply to look
at the Soldier of Wisdom. Ami was making a slow, precise turn, taking
in the array that played out around them. She was, Setsuna was
further stunned to realize, mentally sorting them out as she went
along. "You can See into the portals, can't you? You can look beyond
the surface images."
~Usagi boarded an airplane. The nasty things her so-called "friends"
had said about her crushed Usagi's heart like a damp Dixie cup. Her
true guardians and friends, the Outer Senshi, followed her as she
prepared to head for a new life in Canada.~
"Well yes," Ami took a second to glance at Pluto, mystified by her
tone. "It's easy if I just let go and allow the images to run through
my head. Is that so unusual?"
~This was the end. The Senshi were beaten, and badly, by the
cosmically powered villain. He laughed at their imminent defeat when
a bolt of power stronger then even than that of the Ginzuishou cut
through the night. It Mamoru's lost twin sister – Sailor Earth!~
"Actually, that skill is very rare, even among the S'Eyre. If we
manage to get back to our universe I'd like to have you tested. You
may be latent Gatekeeper." Pluto concentrated on Mercury rather than
watch the debacle playing out before her eyes. Some realities were
better left to die out.
~This was the end. The Senshi were beaten, and badly, by the
cosmically power villain. He laughed at their imminent defeat when a
bolt of power stronger then even that of the Ginzuishou cut through
the night. It Mamoru's long lost cross dressing brother… Sailor
Earth!~
"Really? Just because I See inside the portals? I can hear the sounds
the portals make as well. It's strange but I feel the tones with my
body instead of my ears. Can that be right?" Ami cringed at the
eality writhing through the mists around them.
~…Mamoru's lost long cousin, twice removed and her transgender twin
– Sailor Earth and Sailor Sun!~
"Besides the kind of Sight I just mentioned, all Gate Keepers have
good musical 'ears'. It comes with the job, but lucky me, I have
perfect pitch," Setsuna replied. "I can tell when a singer is a
quarter note sharp or when the second violin in the orchestra is
slightly flat. That's why I'm not fond of most music. Unless it's
done perfectly it's like slow torture to listen to."
~…Mamoru's long lost, sister with multiple personality disorder,
Sailor Earth and Sailor Sun! The villain was going to be trounced
eventually but seemed content to wait for his end while the girl
argued with herself over which of her incredibly powerful aspects got
to act.~
With a shudder, Pluto waited for the images to change once more. "The
problem is that those tonal signatures are altered inside the Well.
This, I suspect, is why no one has been able to find their way out of
this place. You don't know until you're in that other reality if it's
the right one or not. And since you have to be here in The Well to
open a portal that crosses into other universes…"
It all came together for Ami. "If the barrier collapses while we're
in a universe that's not ours, we'll be trapped there. We may be safe
enough but Usagi will remain ensnared for all time with Demando.
Without her to break the suspension our Earth will be doomed to the
spell of crystal sleep forever."
***************************************
Usagi sat in the large chair, her feet tucked up under her while she
gazed quietly out the window. The curious, muted light that gave
Nemesis it's "day" casting long shadows on everything it touched. The
wind was up again, causing curtains of the gritty soil to rise and
undulate in a chaotic pattern. Usagi sighed heavily, feeling as bleak
as the world she was trapped on.
For the first few days she'd been able to stay angry at Demando. That
kind of intense, raw fury was very draining for Usagi and at last the
anger finally faded away. Usagi tried to keep up hope that Mamoru and
her friends would find a way to rescue her from this place, but that
hope was growing fainter as the days wore on. The stark reality of
her situation was becoming painfully clear.
Setsuna was more correct then she could have guessed. Time did indeed
flowed differently on Nemesis than it did in the rest of the
universe. Over twenty years had passed for Demando and his people
since the rebels had fled Earth for this small, dark world. Time
enough for the White Prince to grow into a man.
A man bent on a quest for revenge.
When Usagi had left Elysion, Earth was still under the healing spell
of crystal sleep. Was it really possible, Usagi wondered, for Demando
to drastically change the way the future would unfold? Was there a
chance that when she was finally able to leave this inhospitable
world, that Mamoru and her friends would be gone forever? Would
Demando and his people be immune to the changes they caused in the
time-stream or upon leaving the safety of Nemesis fade away into the
abyss of temporal anomaly?
Usagi put a hand to her head. It throbbed miserably the more she
thought about the "what-ifs" and the "maybes". The nightmare
scenarios followed her into her dreams and she found no peace in
sleep.
Exhausted, Usagi had numbly followed Demando as he showed her his
castle, no doubt trying to impress her with its wonders. She smiled
when appropriate, nodded her head every now and then, all the time
dying inside. It was so hard not to give in to the despair that
dogged her step even more persistently than Demando. She knew that
the White Prince could tell that something was wrong with her. His
concern for her, the gentle way he treated her was the one bright
spot in Usagi's world.
Demando wasn't the monster others wanted him to be. At least she'd
been right about that. The White Prince was a man who had been raised
to believe his destiny was to rule Earth and gain vengeance for the
shattered dreams of his ancestors. Vengeance, in Usagi's experience,
took as bloody a toll on the one meting it out as on the one it was
extracted from.
Usually when she was frightened and unsure what to do, Usagi would
hear Mamoru's voice, encouraging her to be brave. Perhaps it was
because she was so completely cut off from him, or perhaps that what
Usagi needed more than encouragement was a psychological kick in the
butt. Whatever the reason, it was Rei's voice that popped into her
head and a very loud and very annoyed voice it was at that.
~Don't just sit there and wait to be rescued. You're Sailor Moon, the
Champion of Freakin' Justice, for Kami's sake, so act like it! If
Demando can channel off the power of the Ginzuishou, then try using
it when he's not around, baka Usagi!~
Cupping her hands in her lap, Usagi carefully reached for the great
power of the Moon Kingdom that slept inside her. With the kind of
finesse that would have been impossible even a few years ago, Usagi
molded the mystic energies. A small ball of silver light came and
danced at her summons.
"Moon healing escalation," she whispered softly to small star between
her cupped hands.
A pulse of the eldritch fire ran through her. Usagi let her eyes
close and her head tilt back. For the first time since she'd awakened
on Nemesis, Usagi felt strong and sure of herself. She allowed the
healing balm of the Ginzuishou to wash over her and smiled with
delight at the sweet, gentle song the power sang to her.
"You shine like a star in the darkness, Serenity," Demando walked
into the room. "But you play a dangerous game. The Black Poison
Crystal can absorb any energy, even the light from your Ginzuishou."
There was no drain, Usagi noticed despite his words, no sense of
the ravenous darkness that had been unleashed when Demando had used
the power of the Black Poison Crystal against her.
"So why isn't it doing that right now?" she asked daringly.
His laughter surprised her. "The power is my servant and acts
according to my commands, Angel." Even as he spoke, Demando could
sense the dark power stirring, beginning to notice the bright,
shining light of the Ginzuishou. "As long as you don't threaten to
wreck my palace you can play with your crystal all you'd like."
The White Prince sat on the arm of the large chair Usagi was in, a
rakish grin on his face. He leaned slightly forward, enjoying the
game he was playing with her immensely. "Actually, I'd think I'd
like watching you play with your crystal."
"You would, wouldn't you?" Usagi's cheeks flushed red at the ribald
inference in Demando's statement. With a flip of her hands she let
the silver crystal fade away to sleep safely inside her.
"Is there a reason for this visit or did you just come here to annoy
me?" Usagi asked. She silently prayed that the White Prince wouldn't
drag her on yet another tour of his dark palace.
"Actually, I have something I want you to see." Demando opened the
rough edged book he carried. A single piece of yellowed paper was
removed carefully and handed to Usagi. "I've been trying to show you
who I am, Serenity but I think I've been going about it the wrong
way. I want you to get to know me, not the ruling Prince of Nemesis,
not the True Prince of Earth, but me; Demando."
Cautiously Usagi took the sheet and when she looked at it, blinked in
surprise. There were two children in the sketch, a little boy of
about five with silver hair that fell into his eyes. In his lap was a
chubby, dark haired toddler who was smiling broadly.
Crystal blue eyes glanced up at Demando then back down at the
drawing. "This is you, isn't it; you and Saffir?"
"I was five, Saffir just over two when this was done." He reached
again into the portfolio, this time producing a drawing of a boy on
the edge of puberty. "And this," he pointed to the picture of the
gangly, young prince who was all arms and legs, "was done on my
twelfth birthday. I was trying my best to look regal and princely. As
you can see I still had to work on that some more."
"These are wonderful," Usagi said softly as the White Prince handed
her another page. The artist had managed to capture the look of
childish glee on Demando's face as he chased his younger brother in a
game long forgotten. "Who drew these?"
That prompted the White Prince to reach into the book and with great
care pull out a large piece of parchment. "My mother," he said
handing it to Usagi. "Her name was Amethyst and she was the most
extraordinary woman you'd ever want to meet. I owe much of what I am
to her. She died a few weeks after my thirteenth birthday," he
paused, the pain of loss still lingered after all these years. "I miss
her a great deal."
"She was beautiful," Usagi said, still looking at the drawing. The
woman in the half completed portrait had luminous, silver hair that
was loose around her shoulder. Her delicate features were accented by
the large, almond shaped purple eyes that held a light of
intelligence in them. The way Amethyst tipped her chin up reminded
Usagi immediately of Demando. "You look a great deal like her."
"I was lucky enough to favor my mother but poor Saffir ended up
looking like his father," Demando said, reaching for another picture.
"The Regent was a difficult man to please. I was just as happy not to
be his son. He could be very demanding."
Usagi took the sketch. She hadn't missed the significance of what had
just been said and peered closely at the unfinished picture. The
facial features of the Regent were in pencil and still rough but
there was something about the eyes that drew her attention. "Don't
you and Saffir have the same father?"
"Gods no," the White Prince laughed lightly. "Why do think I'm called
by the title Prince and Saffir isn't?"
Usagi's hands shook slightly and she found herself staring at the
indistinct face on the paper. Her mind began to turn in furious
circles and she actually went pale. "Then who…who…?"
Demando seemed puzzled by her reaction. "You really don't know do
you? No, of course you don't. Endymion could hardly admit that he
wasn't the one True Prince and still claim to be King of Earth."
"Demando, please," Usagi laid a hand on his arm, looking up at him.
Her eyes were so beautiful, Demando thought, so deep and endlessly
blue as the skies of Earth were said to be. He found himself unable
to refuse her.
"The Elders wouldn't discuss him with me, other than to say that he'd
done his duty and no more. Mother didn't like to talk about him
either but on my thirteenth birthday she finally told me the truth.
Until Endymion showed up he was considered by many to be the True
Prince and was the best hope of his generation. His name was Goruden
Kobushi but my people called him the Black Prince."
"Goruden Kobushi? Goruden Kobushi was considered the rightful True
Prince?" the name tripped off of Usagi's lips and she stammered
slightly. He was supposed to be in love with Minako. What could
possibly have happened that he would turn against her so totally as
to take up with the rebels?
The anguish and confusion on her face bothered the White Prince.
Demando gently took her hand and smiled. "It's all right, Angel. I
know that you're as much a victim of Endymion's madness as any of our
Clan. You have nothing to fear from me or my people."
Taking the hand, he raised it to his lips and placed a delicate kiss
on it. "When I'm at last King of Earth, I'll take very good care of
you."
***************************************
Setsuna drifted in a gray world of shifting shadows. A part of her
knew that she was in a state halfway between sleep and wakefulness.
There was pain at the edges of her consciousness; pain that wanted to
pull her fully awake. Even more insistent than the pain was a murmur
on the faint breeze in this world of dreams, one that called to her.
Kayashan
It was the name of her soul. In that one word was everything Setsuna
was and everything she'd ever hoped to be. It was the sum total of
her life with every pretense stripped away. Only one other living
being knew that secret, sacred name; the one who shared it with her.
Following the thin murmur Setsuna saw that there was a shape trying
to form in the misty realm she now occupied. It was Lorilei, she
realized. She'd felt the faint pull along the lines of the bond she
shared with her twin several times but it had always faded away so
quickly that Setsuna had wondered if she had imagined it.
Lorilei's mouth was moving but no sound came from it. Even though her
body flickered in and out of focus, the frustration was easy to read
on her face. At last she held out her hand, palm up in a gesture that
she knew Setsuna would understand.
"We are two but we are one," Pluto said evenly. Her hand was raised
to meet her twin's. She laced her fingers through Lorilei's and
pulled them closed. She felt Lorilei's hand grow solid for a moment.
We are Kayashan, Lorilei's voice filled Setsuna like the sun in the
sky at dawn, full of promise and beautiful beyond comparison.
In the moment when their souls touched a burst of images filled
Setsuna's mind. She saw Helios on his knees in prayer. One hand
reached down to touch the soil of Elysion and a golden aura shone
brightly around him. He looked up and held out the other hand in a
silent yet desperate invitation.
Lorilei abruptly faded away and Setsuna felt herself falling. She
woke with a start, the pain convincing her that she was back in her
body. The room was only dimly lit, Pluto noted as she slowly shook
her head to clear the last of the cobwebs from her mind. She raised a
hand to her head to find that her wrists were manacled and chained to
the wall.
"Pluto? Are you awake?" said a rough voice from a darkened corner.
"I…I think so." Setsuna blinked hard, trying to force her eyes to
hurry adjusting to the gloom. Sailor Jupiter sat with a still
unconscious Ami's head on her lap. A quick glance found Venus and
Mars huddled together in another corner, still and unmoving.
The chains rattled as Makoto shifted slightly. She looked at Pluto,
an odd half smile on her face. "As you see we've run into a small
problem in this reality."
"How 'small' a problem?" Setsuna wasn't sure she really wanted to
know right now.
From out of the fourth dank corner came a voice that made Setsuna's
head snap around at the sound of it. A figure stirred in the
darkness, leaning forward into the paltry light to be better seen.
Her long, green hair matted in places with dirt and blood, her face
bruised Sailor Pluto never the less gave a sharp bark of cynical
laughter.
"Nothing too dire," this world's Pluto told her counterpart. "It's
just that on this Earth, the Dark Kingdom rules supreme."
***************************************
The piercing cold of the floor he lay on was what finally forced
Mamoru awake. The biting chill seemed to eat into his bones, made his
body stiff and unresponsive. For once he was glad of the heavy cape
he wore as Tuxedo Kamen and pulled it closed with clumsy fingers in
an attempt to warm himself. Even as Mamoru dragged himself into a
sitting position a sound came out of the shadows around him. There
was the steady click, click, click of heels on the highly polished
marble floor.
"Who's there?" Mamoru managed to stumble to his feet.
"Who's there?" came the mocking echo. Laughter began, bitter and with
an edge of insanity to it. "Who's there? Better you should ask where
you are, fool."
A figure became slowly visible. The shadows lingered on the form,
slowly, hesitantly falling away as the man began to walk with a
unhurried step towards Mamoru. He stopped for an instant at the place
where the dim light in the chamber was at its brightest. With a final
step, he became visible and Tuxedo Kamen couldn't stop the gasp that
escaped from his lips.
The ebony armor seemed to swallow the light, the cape attached at the
shoulders little more than a mass of night that moved and slithered
as if alive. Eyes gleamed golden in the semi darkness as Endymion,
King of Earth looked at his counterpart. A predatory smile split the
handsome face, fangs evident.
"Welcome to hell, Chiba Mamoru."
**************************************
Authors Notes:
First and foremost I want to apologize for taking so long to get this
chapter out. To say that my life in these last few months has been
crazy is like saying that is like saying that Prince Demando has only
a passing interest in Neo-Queen Serenity. At any rate, I promise that
it won't take me another four months to post chapter eight. If, that
is, anyone is still even remotely interested in reading this story at
this point…
Many thanks go out to my beta-readers, Masked Maiden and Donnar-I
(note to the Exalted Editor - I want to see the lap dance scene!) for
taking time out of their incredibly busy lives to help me. There's
something to said for public humiliation, but I get enough of that on
a regular basis as it is. If you'd like to take a whack at
castigating me, feel free to write to me at [email protected].
I also want to thank Lord Chaos for his kind permission to abuse him
mightily in this chapter. If you haven't read his "When Magical Girls
Go Wrong" series, then I suggest you do. It's just like the man who
wrote it – delightfully twisted and wickedly funny. One of the
alternate realities that makes a cameo appearance is taken from
LeVar Bouyer "Moon Revenge". It's an excellent story and I highly
recommend it.
Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the attendant
characters to which valid copyright laws apply. The S'Eyre (although
they only get a passing mention), their Imperium and the way I have
Gates work are my intellectual property. Please ask permission if
you'd like to use them.
*******************
"The Quest"
By Meara
Chapter Seven
"I want to have you by any means." Prince Demando, episode 83
*******************
There was no up or down, no left or right, no backwards or forwards.
There was only the pain and the smothering darkness. One moment they
were being crushed, the next pulled with such force that it felt as
if they were being torn into small pieces. One moment of agony
blended into the next until time itself ceased to have any meaning.
How long that hellish torment went on, no one could be sure. What
they did know was the exact moment it ended.
A brilliant, ruby light penetrated the agonizing sea of night. The
light brought shelter from the nightmarish storm, wrapping them all
in a cocoon that sheltered them from the darkness that sought to
consume them. At the heart of the light was a woman, riding the
turbulent tides of this place with great effort. Setsuna, Sailor
Pluto raised her head, her eyes eerily reflecting the light in her
garnet orb.
"We have to form a shield," she called out, lifting her staff high.
Her voice was distorted by this place and those around the Soldier of
Time heard her words more in their minds than in their ears. "Use the talismans!"
Uranus held her Space Sword aloft. A thin line of golden fire raced
from it towards the garnet orb. Neptune called on her Aqua Mirror,
the light that came from it the color of raging seas. It joined with
the other two talismans and formed a triangle. Sailor Pluto took her
staff in both hands and thrust the butt end of it into the roiling
mire beneath her feet.
The staff shimmered then burst into song, discordant at first. The
dissonant harmonies slowly changed as Setsuna focused her will. One
by one, the grating, harsh notes resolved into a single, clear tone
and the chaos abated. The Senshi fell to the blessedly solid ground.
For a long moment there was only the sound of labored breathing as
they tried to shake off the trauma they had just endured.
Still trembling from the effort that had saved them, Setsuna lifted
her head and looked around. They were surrounded by a writhing, misty
wall that featured jumbled snippets of faces and events beyond
counting. The strange, conflicting scenes would play until they were
swallowed up by a new set of images. The bizarre tableau went on and
on, one reality melting into another in an endless and eternal storm.
Oh no," Setsuna's heart went cold in her chest as she looked around,
then up. The seamless walls formed a cylindrical pocket of subspace
that kept out the lethal forces that had almost torn them asunder.
Using her staff to help her stand, Setsuna tried to deny the truth
but knew that this place was much more than a shelter – it was a
prison.
"Master of Life, have mercy," Setsuna whispered with cold dread,
"We're in The Well."
***************************************
It was a long, slow climb back to consciousness for Usagi. The light
pulsed strangely in her half-awake mind, odd colors and star bursts
that came and went with no discernable pattern. The only constant was
the pain. It felt as if someone was very slowly driving a dull blade
through the back of her head. That ache was what convinced Usagi that
she was finally awake. Her body was sluggish and her hand was slow to
obey her as she tried to press it to her throbbing head.
"You're awake," came a deep male voice across the room. Out of the
shadows walked Demando, Prince of the Black Moon Clan. "You were
sleeping so soundly that I was sure that you'd be out for a few more
hours."
Usagi sat up abruptly. That turned out to be a mistake as it only
made the pounding in her head worse. "Where am I?" she asked, in a
tight voice that reflected the pain she was in. Usagi had a sinking
feeling that she knew exactly where she was.
The White Prince moved at a measured pace towards the woman on the
bed. "Welcome to Nemesis, Serenity, and to my castle. I'm sure you'll
enjoy your stay with us," he said with a smile.
"Where is…" she bit back the name Mamoru at the last moment. If
Demando didn't know that Chiba Mamoru was also King Endymion, Usagi
was not about to clue him in. "Where's Endymion? Where are my
friends? What did you do to them?"
"Endymion was fine the last time I saw him," the White Prince gave a
dismissive wave of his hand. "Mind you he was a bit annoyed that I'd
managed to coax you into coming with me, but physically he was just
fine."
Usagi's eyes narrowed with outrage. "You didn't 'coax' me into doing
anything! You kidnapped me!"
"Kidnap is such an ugly word, Angel. I prefer to think of it as
liberating you from Endymion," Demando replied in a calm voice that
implied that his actions had been totally reasonable.
Usagi swung her feet over the edge of the bed. She felt dizzy and
weak, her head pounding in time to the beating of her heart. "Excuse
me, but knocking someone unconscious and carrying them off is not
'liberating' them!"
"Semantics…" Demando said with a shrug. "Once I've freed you from the
spell Endymion has you under, you'll thank me for rescuing you."
The room was still moving around Usagi but she gritted her teeth and concentrated. Cupping her hands, she called the Ginzuishou to her.
The light filled Usagi, giving her the strength to face Demando.
"I'll thank you to show me the door," Usagi opened herself a little
more to the mystic fire. Her body pulsed with a silver aura. The
pain in her head melted away as the healing energies of the
Ginzuishou flowed through her.
"I mean it, Demando. Show me how to get back to my husband and
friends or I'll bring this place down around your ears." The
statement was a bluff, but Usagi hoped that Demando didn't know that.
She absently wondered what kind of destruction the silver crystal
could inflict if she set her mind to it.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Angel," Demando said in a
nonchalant manner. He opened his link to the Jakozuishou and felt the
dark energy roar to life, greedily consuming the silver light and
wanting more. "All you're going to do is exhaust yourself."
He was right, Usagi knew with building dread. She could feel the
power of the Ginzuishou being leeched away as fast as she called on
it. Her headache pounded to life again with a vengeance and Usagi
could feel the strength given her by the healing power of the
Ginzuishou drain out of her like water. Reluctantly, Usagi let the
mystic stone fade away to sleep inside her once more.
Usagi sat back down on the bed, trying to hide from Demando just how
shaky she was. "Please Demando, I want to go home."
The pain in her eyes made the White Prince sigh. "I'm sorry,
Serenity," he said with real regret. "But that's not possible right
now. Even if I had decided to let you go, there been an accident…"
***************************************
"The S'Eyre call this place 'The Well'," Setsuna started out. "When
Saffir opened his Proto-Gate on top of mine they both ended up trying
to occupy the same space at the same time. God doesn't like having
the fundamental law of physics flouted like that and the reaction
was, to say the least, catastrophic. The fabric of the fourth
dimension was torn and we were thrown into a kind of… subspace, for
lack of a better term."
"I've got a better term," Makoto grumbled while massaging the back of
her neck. "I think 'hell' describes it quite nicely."
Michiru still held the Aqua Mirror in a hand that shook slightly. "It
felt as if I was being torn apart."
"We were," Pluto replied grimly. The garnet orb at the top of her
staff pulsed, casting a crimson glow. "It's only the power of our
talismans combined that allows me to shield this small pocket."
His head finally cleared enough for Mamoru to remember what had
happened just before everything went to hell in a hand-basket.
"Usako, where is she? Demando had her when…" his face went ashen.
"Setsuna, what would have happened to Demando's Gate?" His eyes
begged her to tell him that his beloved was not dead or lost in the
hell they'd just endured. He reached for the bond he shared with
Usagi and found it frighteningly still within him.
Pluto was looking at what lay just beyond the light cast by her
staff. "They're safe, Mamoru, and most likely on Nemesis but I'll bet
it was a wild ride. Because my Gate was opened first we took the
brunt of the accident. To be honest, I'm very surprised that we're
not all dead. I'm also quite sure that Demando's misbegotten, jury-
rigged, piece of junk, proto-gate," she spat with venom, "fried every
relay it has, so they won't be making any more trips. If we can
manage to get home at least you know where Usagi will be."
That wasn't much comfort for Mamoru. Demando wouldn't kill her, he
told himself in an effort to keep the panic he was feeling under
control. Right now he had to focus on getting back to Elysion. Once
he did that Chiba Mamoru had every intention of paying the White
Prince a call. If he had hurt his wife then, the future be damned, he
was going to make Demando pay.
Uranus came to stand beside Setsuna. "What do you mean 'if' we can
get home?"
With a resigned sigh, Setsuna gave a wave of her hand. "Look around
us. Do you see all those images? They're other realities, other
universes all over lapping each other."
Ami's visor popped into place and she gave a sharp hiss of surprise
at the readings. Mercury turned in a slow circle then began to look
up. They seemed to be at the bottom of a very large shaft that was
surrounded on all sides by blurring, shimmering doorways of every hue
and shape. She could see why it could be called a "well" - and they
were at the bottom of it.
"This is some kind of inter-dimensional nexus," Ami said, awed by the implications. "There must be thousands, no hundreds of thousands, of
different universes all converging here."
Looking around, Minako knew this was all too much for her to
comprehend, so she chose to concentrate on something a bit simpler.
"That's all very nice but we have enough problems as it is. Just open
the portal to Elysion so we can get back there, re-group then go and
kick Demando's royal posterior."
"I don't think you understand," Pluto said slowly. She looked up at
the countless doorways to countless dimensions. "We're in a void
where I have no points of reference, no sense of 'direction'. It's
like being dropped into the middle of the ocean and told to swim for
land. You pick a direction and hope that you've chosen wisely or you
drown."
"Then how do we get back to our Earth?" Rei wasn't sure she wanted to
know the answer.
Setsuna gestured to myriad portals, "By trial and error. Praying
wouldn't hurt either because we're going to need all the help we can get."
"There's more bad news, isn't there?" Rei asked suspiciously.
Uranus gave a snort of agreement, "There's always more bad news."
Setsuna continued to look up at the endless array of images, a shiver
of trepidation running through her, "The chaos just beyond those
barriers can't be held back by the power of our Talismans forever.
Those walls will collapse eventually. If we're in The Well when that
happens we'll most likely be ripped to pieces. If we're in one of the
other realities when it happens, then we'll be trapped there."
"The S'Eyre have been making and using Gates for over a thousand
years," Ami said in a reasonable tone. There was always a way out of
a trap. You just had to find the right key. "So what have other
Gatekeepers done to get themselves out of here?"
Setsuna's golden skin blanched. "That's the problem. Out of all the
Keepers who have had the misfortune to be trapped here only three
have made it out alive and only one of them was more or less sane
afterwards. That Gatekeeper claimed that it was sheer luck that he
walked through the right portal and into the right universe."
"Luck?!" Rei seemed outraged by the idea. "I don't know about the
rest of you but I have no intention of entrusting my future to the
whims of fate."
Mamoru cupped his hands, a small golden star appearing between them.
"Mars is right. We have a powerful array tools both mystic and
intellectual at our disposal. Let's try and use them to find the way
home as quickly as possible."
Pluto looked up at the endless array of realities that extended
beyond her range of sight. She couldn't resist the wry smile that
came to her lips. "We have a lot more to work with then the average
Gatekeeper would, Mamoru-san. Quite a stroke of luck, ne?"
***************************************
The work bench was littered with singed and blackened circuitry.
Usagi reached out and took a piece, turning it over and over in her
hand. Examining the part helped give Usagi something to do while she
dealt with the shock of seeing Saffir again. He was dead; no, she
corrected herself, he would be dead at the hands of Wiseman in the
future.
"Endymion launched some kind of attack at us when I opened the
portal," Saffir said. Serenity kept glancing furtively at him, making
Saffir oddly nervous. "That overloaded most of the control relays. We
were lucky to get back here in one piece."
"I shielded us with the power of the Jakozuishou," Demando had his
arms folded neatly over his chest. There was no braggadocio in his
tone, just a statement of the facts. "Without it we would have been
lost forever in the chaos of that place."
Usagi's mind was racing. Where was Wiseman? His lust for the
Ginzuishou had driven him to extremes in both the past and the
future. If he was here on Nemesis, why hadn't he moved to try and
take it from her?
"But you can fix the Gate, can't you?" she asked nervously.
"It may take some time," Saffir said slowly. The truth was that he
wasn't at all sure that he could repair the alien device, but
Demando had told him that Serenity mustn't know that – not yet anyway.
"And while you're my guest here on Nemesis, this will give you some
time to get to know us better," the White Prince gave Usagi his
most charming smile. "We of the Clan aren't the ogres Endymion has
made us out to be."
"I have news for you, Demando. Drugging people unconscious then
hauling them off like a sack of potatoes makes a very poor first
impression," Usagi snapped. She had to stay angry, she knew, or the
fear that she would never again see Mamoru and her friends would take
control of her.
Serenity was beautiful when she was angry, Demando thought. Her
cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled. After a life time of
having women fawn over him, the White Prince found Serenity
refreshingly candid. "I'll make you a deal, Angel. If you agree to
keep an open mind while you're here, then I promise that when the
Gate is working, that I'll ask if you want to stay here or go back to
Endymion."
Crystal blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. She gave Demando a long,
hard look. "You'd really do that? Just let me go if that's what I
want?"
It was hard for Demando to keep a smile from his face. Her naiveté
was utterly enchanting. "I'm many things, Serenity, but I've never
broken my word. If you hold up your end of the bargain, then I
solemnly vow that I'll ask you if you choose to stay here or leave."
There was a long, quiet moment as a whirlwind of conflicting emotions
and thoughts danced inside Usagi's mind. That Demando and the Black
Moon Clan were here had to be proof that she had somehow managed to
escape from Nemesis, didn't it?
If Earth had never awakened from the spell of crystal sleep, then
they couldn't exist. Usagi reached for the bond that connected her to
Mamoru. He'd always been more sensitive to it but she would have felt
it if the tie had been shattered by his death. It was quiet, sleeping
inside her like a rose in the winter, waiting for the warm kiss of
spring.
The knowledge that Mamoru was at least alive didn't diminish the
panic that clawed at Usagi's soul. She had a flash of memory, the
fear making it sharp and clear. Pluto had said something about
Nemesis existing outside the normal boundaries of time. While Usagi
wasn't sure exactly what that meant, she had a nasty suspicion.
Time flowed differently here. Whether she found a way to escape
Nemesis on her own or whether Mamoru and her friends found a way to
get to her, there was no telling how long she'd be trapped here. It
could be a week, a month or longer. Usagi was being forced to do the
one thing she had never done well; be patient.
Perhaps by agreeing to Demando's proposition she could buy the needed
time to find that avenue of escape. She looked into the amethyst eyes
of the White Prince. If nothing else, she believed that he was as good
as his word.
With a sigh Usagi held out her hand, "I'll agree to your deal,
Demando."
The White Prince took her hand in his, turning it over so he could
place a genteel kiss on the back of it. His eyes brimmed with
amusement and mischief, giving him a boyish charm. "Thank you, Angel.
I know that you'll find your stay here with me most enlightening."
***************************************
"So let me see if I have all the facts correctly," Trista Meiou
paused, her warm alto voice not managing to completely hide the
disbelief she was currently feeling. "According to you, my father was
the King of Pluto and my mother was an alien Princess from some far
flung empire no one has ever heard of. Serena has been carted off by
Prince Diamond who, by the way, is traveling through time due to some
mysterious happenchance. You and the others are going from reality to
reality, trying to find your way home."
Meiou Setsuna, Sailor Pluto, returned the look of scorn in a flawless
imitation of this universe's version of herself. "Am I this
patronizing in most realities or is it just you?"
Never one to back down from a challenge, Trista Meiou locked eyes
with her double. "You know, you haven't quite managed to hit on all
the trite and clichéd ideas I can think of. So, which one of you has
the evil twin sister?"
"Lorilei is not evil," Setsuna hissed back, "She's a musician
The dislike of music was a trait shared by all the various Plutos.
Trista rolled her eyes in disgust, "Well, that sounds evil to me.
How much worse can this get?"
"Cousins? You pass yourself off as cousins? Open the closet, girl,
and come on out."
The outrage in Haruka's voice stopped the bickering between the two
Plutos. Haruka's face was flushed with amazement. Amara's face had a
similar florid rush but hers was due to embarrassment. Michelle and
Michiru looked at each other and gave a sigh. The Sailor Scouts all
had a confused look on their faces. The Senshi had a slightly smug
look to counter it.
"Okay," Amara said slowly, "So we're not really cousins."
"Then why do you live together?" Amy Anderson asked. The question was
no sooner out of her mouth then the truth of the situation dawned on
her. It was her turn to blush. "Oh, I see…"
Raye folded her arms across her chest, looking quite annoyed. She
hated surprises; like having your doppelgangers from another universe
suddenly show up. "Are there any other tidbits of information you'd
like to shock us with?"
Makoto gave a pragmatic shrug. "Hey, that revelation is nothing. We
ended up in this one reality where there was this man in a Sailor
fuku. The poor guy was being pursued by a masked hero named 'Under-
dressed, Over-sexed Kamen'."
Ami put a hand to her brow where she could feel the headache
starting. "We followed the two of them into a place called," she
paused and looked nervously at Rei, "'Crazy Hino's Magical House of
Hosiery."
Rei narrowed her eyes and muttered darkly to herself. "That masked
moron put the moves on me."
"And?" Raye asked her counterpart. She had a pretty good idea of what
had happened but curiosity got the better of her.
Hino Rei let the power of Mars flow down her hand and into a single
finger. A burst of fire danced above the raised digit. "I gave him a
little bit of Fire Soul Love." An evil smile came to her lips
"At least the talking gerbil, Omelet, was sort of cute," Minako
added, "In a lecherous kind of way. You know, Sailor Drag Queen
wouldn't get so many odd looks if he'd just learn to shave his legs
properly."
"This is way more information than I need," Lita shuddered bringing
her hands up to her ears.
Trista Meiou gave a loud sigh. "It sounds as if you've run into the
bane of the multi-verse. A being so twisted and feared that the
housing values in entire solar systems crash after he moves in for
even a short stay," she looked at her counterpart with annoyance.
"He's called by many names but the best known is Lord Chaos."
"Oh Pooh," Setsuna mumbled unhappily. "He's been here too? I'd give
much to know just how is it that Chaos manages to slide between
realities so easily."
Setsuna closed her eyes for a moment, trying to feel if she was able
to align the portal to the Timegate and get back into the Well. It
was getting more difficult with each jump they made. She felt her
Gate at last falling into alignment with a jarring physic "bump". If
they couldn't find their way back home soon, they were going to end
up stuck in one of these alternate universes.
Even as she prepared to open her Gate, Setsuna could sense a whisper
on the temporal winds. It lasted only a heartbeat, but in that brief
moment Setsuna could have sworn that she felt a tugging along the
lines of the bond she shared with Lorilei.
The whisper faded away, swallowed up so fast that Setsuna wondered
if she had imagined it. She looked over at Mamoru, debating if she
should say something to him. The quiet desperation in his eyes as he
looked at this world's Moon Princess was answer enough. Until she had
more to go on, Setsuna was not about to add to his misery by raising
false hopes.
"What is it that I call you in this other world?" Serena asked
softly. She could feel the Sailor Pluto from the other reality
staring at her. No, she amended hastily, staring at the man who
looked so much like her Darien. Her own Prince, Darien, was
definitely on edge but Serena could sense that these strange visitors
posed no real threat.
"Mamo-chan," Mamoru replied softly.
"Mamo-chan," Serena repeated. Impulsively she leaned over and on
tip-toes gave a feather light kiss on the cheek to Mamoru. "Please,
don't loose hope, Mamo-chan."
Darien slipped an arm around Serena and she glanced up at him as she
spoke. "I've walk through hell itself to get my Prince back. If your
Usagi loves you as much as I love Darien, then nothing on Earth can
stop her from getting back to you."
***************************************
Demando was not a happy man. The White Prince was as annoyed and
frustrated as Saffir had ever seen him. He'd stomped into the younger
man's workshop, muttering darkly to himself as he flopped into a near
by chair. Saffir paused, taking a moment to look at his older brother
before going back to work on the circuit he held in his hand.
Experience told him that Demando would talk about was bothering him
when he was good and ready and not before.
"What does it take?" Demando finally mumbled sullenly. His hand
snaked out to snatch up a piece of scrap paper. He began to
methodically rip it into bits as he spoke. "I show her the palace, I
show her the jewels, I show her some of what I can do with the power
of the Jakozuishou and is she impressed?"
Saffir bent his head to peer closely at his work. "I gather we're
talking about Serenity."
"Of course I'm talking about Serenity," Demando snapped. "I show her
everything that makes us great and she just smiles and nods her head."
Saffir closed one eye as he tinkered with the delicate circuitry.
"Really, smiling and nodding? How awful. I can see why you're mad at
her."
"It's not her I'm really angry at. It's him…Endymion," the White
Prince snarled the name. "Each time she smiles and nods her head ever
so politely, I can tell that she's thinking of him. I've managed to
steal her from Endymion and take her to a place he can never find and
that miserable bastard is still here – still firmly between Serenity
and me."
With a grunt of total frustration the scraps of paper were thrown
away, raining down to the floor. "What can he possibly have that I
don't?! A woman of our Clan would be flattered, no more than
flattered, to receive the kind of attentions I'm lavishing on
Serenity."
Saffir put down the piece he was working on. Do you want some
suggestions or are you here to vent your frustrations? Mind you, my
track record with the opposite sex isn't very good."
The White Prince folded his arms across his chest in a dour fashion.
"I'm open to suggestions."
The shadows in a cold corner of the room gathered together and
coalesced. A pair of banked coal eyes burned in the darkness. "If you
desire Serenity then take her, Prince Demando." Wiseman's voice was
harsh and grating to listen to. "She is yours by right of conquest; a
tool to be broken to your will."
If Wiseman's sudden appearance un-nerved the Prince, he didn't show
it. "That seems a bit…crude to me. I've never needed to force my
attentions on any woman before and I don't intend to start now,"
Demando didn't even bother to turn his head to look at the odd, dark
man.
The mottled hands never ceased to endlessly circle, yet never touch,
the crystal ball that was Wiseman's constant companion. "Serenity is
unlike any woman you have ever known. The power she possesses, when
added to the might of the Jakozuishou will help you to gain the
revenge that you were born to mete out. You must make her yours."
"You forget your place, Wiseman," the White Prince snapped, "Do not
presume to lecture me on my duty. If I want your advice I'll ask for
it."
The exchange made Saffir's blue eyes narrow. His dislike of the
shadowy shaman was growing by the day. "You know, Onii-san, if you
think about it, showing Serenity the wonders of Nemesis really
shouldn't impress her all that much. She all ready lives in a palace,
has jewels and a crystal of her own which, despite the spell Endymion
has her under, is capable of great power, too."
"She was born a Princess," Demando mused aloud. He nodded his head
as if things finally made sense to him. "No doubt she was surrounded
by the finer things from her earliest memories. And I'm quite sure
that the cage Endymion keeps her in is lavishly gilded," the White
Prince sat back in the chair amethyst eyes narrowing as an idea came
to him. "But if power and jewels don't catch her attention, then
perhaps it's time to try a different approach."
Saffir recognized the look on his brother's face. "I take it you have
an idea?"
A feral smile slowly came to Demando's lips. "Do you know where
Mother's old sketchbook is these days?"
***************************************
It was a scene straight out of a nightmare. The images were so sharp
for a moment, so real that it broke Mercury's heart to witness it. It
was what could have happened but hadn't. In the space of a heartbeat
Earth was lost.
~Mamoru held a lifeless Usagi in his arms, rocking back and forth in
anguish. He was so shattered by his grief that all Mamoru could do
was moan softly. Usagi's pure heart had been ripped out of her by a
daimon then stolen by Sailor Uranus in her desperate search for the
talismans. The shining reflection of Usagi's soul finally crumbled to
dust in Haruka's hands just as Usagi breathed her last. The Soldier
of the Sky couldn't know that by letting Usagi die she had just
doomed humanity to extinction. The Silence was coming and now there
was no Messiah to stop it.~
"This is absolutely amazing," Ami said to Setsuna softly. "Now
there's a reality I'm just as pleased never to think about again. If
you look at the horizon you can see the Silence getting closer,
destroying everything in its path." She turned from the sight and
looked into another of the thousands of portals that made up the
endless walls of The Well.
~Usagi ran across the cobblestone courtyard of the Hikawa Shrine, her
eyes bright with tears of joy as she ran into the arms of the one who
had always loved her – Rei. The Soldier of Fire was there to greet
Usagi, senses set aflame by her Princess's sweaty charms.~
That remark startled Setsuna enough that she turned sharply to look
at the Soldier of Wisdom. Ami was making a slow, precise turn, taking
in the array that played out around them. She was, Setsuna was
further stunned to realize, mentally sorting them out as she went
along. "You can See into the portals, can't you? You can look beyond
the surface images."
~Usagi boarded an airplane. The nasty things her so-called "friends"
had said about her crushed Usagi's heart like a damp Dixie cup. Her
true guardians and friends, the Outer Senshi, followed her as she
prepared to head for a new life in Canada.~
"Well yes," Ami took a second to glance at Pluto, mystified by her
tone. "It's easy if I just let go and allow the images to run through
my head. Is that so unusual?"
~This was the end. The Senshi were beaten, and badly, by the
cosmically powered villain. He laughed at their imminent defeat when
a bolt of power stronger then even than that of the Ginzuishou cut
through the night. It Mamoru's lost twin sister – Sailor Earth!~
"Actually, that skill is very rare, even among the S'Eyre. If we
manage to get back to our universe I'd like to have you tested. You
may be latent Gatekeeper." Pluto concentrated on Mercury rather than
watch the debacle playing out before her eyes. Some realities were
better left to die out.
~This was the end. The Senshi were beaten, and badly, by the
cosmically power villain. He laughed at their imminent defeat when a
bolt of power stronger then even that of the Ginzuishou cut through
the night. It Mamoru's long lost cross dressing brother… Sailor
Earth!~
"Really? Just because I See inside the portals? I can hear the sounds
the portals make as well. It's strange but I feel the tones with my
body instead of my ears. Can that be right?" Ami cringed at the
eality writhing through the mists around them.
~…Mamoru's lost long cousin, twice removed and her transgender twin
– Sailor Earth and Sailor Sun!~
"Besides the kind of Sight I just mentioned, all Gate Keepers have
good musical 'ears'. It comes with the job, but lucky me, I have
perfect pitch," Setsuna replied. "I can tell when a singer is a
quarter note sharp or when the second violin in the orchestra is
slightly flat. That's why I'm not fond of most music. Unless it's
done perfectly it's like slow torture to listen to."
~…Mamoru's long lost, sister with multiple personality disorder,
Sailor Earth and Sailor Sun! The villain was going to be trounced
eventually but seemed content to wait for his end while the girl
argued with herself over which of her incredibly powerful aspects got
to act.~
With a shudder, Pluto waited for the images to change once more. "The
problem is that those tonal signatures are altered inside the Well.
This, I suspect, is why no one has been able to find their way out of
this place. You don't know until you're in that other reality if it's
the right one or not. And since you have to be here in The Well to
open a portal that crosses into other universes…"
It all came together for Ami. "If the barrier collapses while we're
in a universe that's not ours, we'll be trapped there. We may be safe
enough but Usagi will remain ensnared for all time with Demando.
Without her to break the suspension our Earth will be doomed to the
spell of crystal sleep forever."
***************************************
Usagi sat in the large chair, her feet tucked up under her while she
gazed quietly out the window. The curious, muted light that gave
Nemesis it's "day" casting long shadows on everything it touched. The
wind was up again, causing curtains of the gritty soil to rise and
undulate in a chaotic pattern. Usagi sighed heavily, feeling as bleak
as the world she was trapped on.
For the first few days she'd been able to stay angry at Demando. That
kind of intense, raw fury was very draining for Usagi and at last the
anger finally faded away. Usagi tried to keep up hope that Mamoru and
her friends would find a way to rescue her from this place, but that
hope was growing fainter as the days wore on. The stark reality of
her situation was becoming painfully clear.
Setsuna was more correct then she could have guessed. Time did indeed
flowed differently on Nemesis than it did in the rest of the
universe. Over twenty years had passed for Demando and his people
since the rebels had fled Earth for this small, dark world. Time
enough for the White Prince to grow into a man.
A man bent on a quest for revenge.
When Usagi had left Elysion, Earth was still under the healing spell
of crystal sleep. Was it really possible, Usagi wondered, for Demando
to drastically change the way the future would unfold? Was there a
chance that when she was finally able to leave this inhospitable
world, that Mamoru and her friends would be gone forever? Would
Demando and his people be immune to the changes they caused in the
time-stream or upon leaving the safety of Nemesis fade away into the
abyss of temporal anomaly?
Usagi put a hand to her head. It throbbed miserably the more she
thought about the "what-ifs" and the "maybes". The nightmare
scenarios followed her into her dreams and she found no peace in
sleep.
Exhausted, Usagi had numbly followed Demando as he showed her his
castle, no doubt trying to impress her with its wonders. She smiled
when appropriate, nodded her head every now and then, all the time
dying inside. It was so hard not to give in to the despair that
dogged her step even more persistently than Demando. She knew that
the White Prince could tell that something was wrong with her. His
concern for her, the gentle way he treated her was the one bright
spot in Usagi's world.
Demando wasn't the monster others wanted him to be. At least she'd
been right about that. The White Prince was a man who had been raised
to believe his destiny was to rule Earth and gain vengeance for the
shattered dreams of his ancestors. Vengeance, in Usagi's experience,
took as bloody a toll on the one meting it out as on the one it was
extracted from.
Usually when she was frightened and unsure what to do, Usagi would
hear Mamoru's voice, encouraging her to be brave. Perhaps it was
because she was so completely cut off from him, or perhaps that what
Usagi needed more than encouragement was a psychological kick in the
butt. Whatever the reason, it was Rei's voice that popped into her
head and a very loud and very annoyed voice it was at that.
~Don't just sit there and wait to be rescued. You're Sailor Moon, the
Champion of Freakin' Justice, for Kami's sake, so act like it! If
Demando can channel off the power of the Ginzuishou, then try using
it when he's not around, baka Usagi!~
Cupping her hands in her lap, Usagi carefully reached for the great
power of the Moon Kingdom that slept inside her. With the kind of
finesse that would have been impossible even a few years ago, Usagi
molded the mystic energies. A small ball of silver light came and
danced at her summons.
"Moon healing escalation," she whispered softly to small star between
her cupped hands.
A pulse of the eldritch fire ran through her. Usagi let her eyes
close and her head tilt back. For the first time since she'd awakened
on Nemesis, Usagi felt strong and sure of herself. She allowed the
healing balm of the Ginzuishou to wash over her and smiled with
delight at the sweet, gentle song the power sang to her.
"You shine like a star in the darkness, Serenity," Demando walked
into the room. "But you play a dangerous game. The Black Poison
Crystal can absorb any energy, even the light from your Ginzuishou."
There was no drain, Usagi noticed despite his words, no sense of
the ravenous darkness that had been unleashed when Demando had used
the power of the Black Poison Crystal against her.
"So why isn't it doing that right now?" she asked daringly.
His laughter surprised her. "The power is my servant and acts
according to my commands, Angel." Even as he spoke, Demando could
sense the dark power stirring, beginning to notice the bright,
shining light of the Ginzuishou. "As long as you don't threaten to
wreck my palace you can play with your crystal all you'd like."
The White Prince sat on the arm of the large chair Usagi was in, a
rakish grin on his face. He leaned slightly forward, enjoying the
game he was playing with her immensely. "Actually, I'd think I'd
like watching you play with your crystal."
"You would, wouldn't you?" Usagi's cheeks flushed red at the ribald
inference in Demando's statement. With a flip of her hands she let
the silver crystal fade away to sleep safely inside her.
"Is there a reason for this visit or did you just come here to annoy
me?" Usagi asked. She silently prayed that the White Prince wouldn't
drag her on yet another tour of his dark palace.
"Actually, I have something I want you to see." Demando opened the
rough edged book he carried. A single piece of yellowed paper was
removed carefully and handed to Usagi. "I've been trying to show you
who I am, Serenity but I think I've been going about it the wrong
way. I want you to get to know me, not the ruling Prince of Nemesis,
not the True Prince of Earth, but me; Demando."
Cautiously Usagi took the sheet and when she looked at it, blinked in
surprise. There were two children in the sketch, a little boy of
about five with silver hair that fell into his eyes. In his lap was a
chubby, dark haired toddler who was smiling broadly.
Crystal blue eyes glanced up at Demando then back down at the
drawing. "This is you, isn't it; you and Saffir?"
"I was five, Saffir just over two when this was done." He reached
again into the portfolio, this time producing a drawing of a boy on
the edge of puberty. "And this," he pointed to the picture of the
gangly, young prince who was all arms and legs, "was done on my
twelfth birthday. I was trying my best to look regal and princely. As
you can see I still had to work on that some more."
"These are wonderful," Usagi said softly as the White Prince handed
her another page. The artist had managed to capture the look of
childish glee on Demando's face as he chased his younger brother in a
game long forgotten. "Who drew these?"
That prompted the White Prince to reach into the book and with great
care pull out a large piece of parchment. "My mother," he said
handing it to Usagi. "Her name was Amethyst and she was the most
extraordinary woman you'd ever want to meet. I owe much of what I am
to her. She died a few weeks after my thirteenth birthday," he
paused, the pain of loss still lingered after all these years. "I miss
her a great deal."
"She was beautiful," Usagi said, still looking at the drawing. The
woman in the half completed portrait had luminous, silver hair that
was loose around her shoulder. Her delicate features were accented by
the large, almond shaped purple eyes that held a light of
intelligence in them. The way Amethyst tipped her chin up reminded
Usagi immediately of Demando. "You look a great deal like her."
"I was lucky enough to favor my mother but poor Saffir ended up
looking like his father," Demando said, reaching for another picture.
"The Regent was a difficult man to please. I was just as happy not to
be his son. He could be very demanding."
Usagi took the sketch. She hadn't missed the significance of what had
just been said and peered closely at the unfinished picture. The
facial features of the Regent were in pencil and still rough but
there was something about the eyes that drew her attention. "Don't
you and Saffir have the same father?"
"Gods no," the White Prince laughed lightly. "Why do think I'm called
by the title Prince and Saffir isn't?"
Usagi's hands shook slightly and she found herself staring at the
indistinct face on the paper. Her mind began to turn in furious
circles and she actually went pale. "Then who…who…?"
Demando seemed puzzled by her reaction. "You really don't know do
you? No, of course you don't. Endymion could hardly admit that he
wasn't the one True Prince and still claim to be King of Earth."
"Demando, please," Usagi laid a hand on his arm, looking up at him.
Her eyes were so beautiful, Demando thought, so deep and endlessly
blue as the skies of Earth were said to be. He found himself unable
to refuse her.
"The Elders wouldn't discuss him with me, other than to say that he'd
done his duty and no more. Mother didn't like to talk about him
either but on my thirteenth birthday she finally told me the truth.
Until Endymion showed up he was considered by many to be the True
Prince and was the best hope of his generation. His name was Goruden
Kobushi but my people called him the Black Prince."
"Goruden Kobushi? Goruden Kobushi was considered the rightful True
Prince?" the name tripped off of Usagi's lips and she stammered
slightly. He was supposed to be in love with Minako. What could
possibly have happened that he would turn against her so totally as
to take up with the rebels?
The anguish and confusion on her face bothered the White Prince.
Demando gently took her hand and smiled. "It's all right, Angel. I
know that you're as much a victim of Endymion's madness as any of our
Clan. You have nothing to fear from me or my people."
Taking the hand, he raised it to his lips and placed a delicate kiss
on it. "When I'm at last King of Earth, I'll take very good care of
you."
***************************************
Setsuna drifted in a gray world of shifting shadows. A part of her
knew that she was in a state halfway between sleep and wakefulness.
There was pain at the edges of her consciousness; pain that wanted to
pull her fully awake. Even more insistent than the pain was a murmur
on the faint breeze in this world of dreams, one that called to her.
Kayashan
It was the name of her soul. In that one word was everything Setsuna
was and everything she'd ever hoped to be. It was the sum total of
her life with every pretense stripped away. Only one other living
being knew that secret, sacred name; the one who shared it with her.
Following the thin murmur Setsuna saw that there was a shape trying
to form in the misty realm she now occupied. It was Lorilei, she
realized. She'd felt the faint pull along the lines of the bond she
shared with her twin several times but it had always faded away so
quickly that Setsuna had wondered if she had imagined it.
Lorilei's mouth was moving but no sound came from it. Even though her
body flickered in and out of focus, the frustration was easy to read
on her face. At last she held out her hand, palm up in a gesture that
she knew Setsuna would understand.
"We are two but we are one," Pluto said evenly. Her hand was raised
to meet her twin's. She laced her fingers through Lorilei's and
pulled them closed. She felt Lorilei's hand grow solid for a moment.
We are Kayashan, Lorilei's voice filled Setsuna like the sun in the
sky at dawn, full of promise and beautiful beyond comparison.
In the moment when their souls touched a burst of images filled
Setsuna's mind. She saw Helios on his knees in prayer. One hand
reached down to touch the soil of Elysion and a golden aura shone
brightly around him. He looked up and held out the other hand in a
silent yet desperate invitation.
Lorilei abruptly faded away and Setsuna felt herself falling. She
woke with a start, the pain convincing her that she was back in her
body. The room was only dimly lit, Pluto noted as she slowly shook
her head to clear the last of the cobwebs from her mind. She raised a
hand to her head to find that her wrists were manacled and chained to
the wall.
"Pluto? Are you awake?" said a rough voice from a darkened corner.
"I…I think so." Setsuna blinked hard, trying to force her eyes to
hurry adjusting to the gloom. Sailor Jupiter sat with a still
unconscious Ami's head on her lap. A quick glance found Venus and
Mars huddled together in another corner, still and unmoving.
The chains rattled as Makoto shifted slightly. She looked at Pluto,
an odd half smile on her face. "As you see we've run into a small
problem in this reality."
"How 'small' a problem?" Setsuna wasn't sure she really wanted to
know right now.
From out of the fourth dank corner came a voice that made Setsuna's
head snap around at the sound of it. A figure stirred in the
darkness, leaning forward into the paltry light to be better seen.
Her long, green hair matted in places with dirt and blood, her face
bruised Sailor Pluto never the less gave a sharp bark of cynical
laughter.
"Nothing too dire," this world's Pluto told her counterpart. "It's
just that on this Earth, the Dark Kingdom rules supreme."
***************************************
The piercing cold of the floor he lay on was what finally forced
Mamoru awake. The biting chill seemed to eat into his bones, made his
body stiff and unresponsive. For once he was glad of the heavy cape
he wore as Tuxedo Kamen and pulled it closed with clumsy fingers in
an attempt to warm himself. Even as Mamoru dragged himself into a
sitting position a sound came out of the shadows around him. There
was the steady click, click, click of heels on the highly polished
marble floor.
"Who's there?" Mamoru managed to stumble to his feet.
"Who's there?" came the mocking echo. Laughter began, bitter and with
an edge of insanity to it. "Who's there? Better you should ask where
you are, fool."
A figure became slowly visible. The shadows lingered on the form,
slowly, hesitantly falling away as the man began to walk with a
unhurried step towards Mamoru. He stopped for an instant at the place
where the dim light in the chamber was at its brightest. With a final
step, he became visible and Tuxedo Kamen couldn't stop the gasp that
escaped from his lips.
The ebony armor seemed to swallow the light, the cape attached at the
shoulders little more than a mass of night that moved and slithered
as if alive. Eyes gleamed golden in the semi darkness as Endymion,
King of Earth looked at his counterpart. A predatory smile split the
handsome face, fangs evident.
"Welcome to hell, Chiba Mamoru."
**************************************
Authors Notes:
First and foremost I want to apologize for taking so long to get this
chapter out. To say that my life in these last few months has been
crazy is like saying that is like saying that Prince Demando has only
a passing interest in Neo-Queen Serenity. At any rate, I promise that
it won't take me another four months to post chapter eight. If, that
is, anyone is still even remotely interested in reading this story at
this point…
Many thanks go out to my beta-readers, Masked Maiden and Donnar-I
(note to the Exalted Editor - I want to see the lap dance scene!) for
taking time out of their incredibly busy lives to help me. There's
something to said for public humiliation, but I get enough of that on
a regular basis as it is. If you'd like to take a whack at
castigating me, feel free to write to me at [email protected].
I also want to thank Lord Chaos for his kind permission to abuse him
mightily in this chapter. If you haven't read his "When Magical Girls
Go Wrong" series, then I suggest you do. It's just like the man who
wrote it – delightfully twisted and wickedly funny. One of the
alternate realities that makes a cameo appearance is taken from
LeVar Bouyer "Moon Revenge". It's an excellent story and I highly
recommend it.
Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the attendant
characters to which valid copyright laws apply. The S'Eyre (although
they only get a passing mention), their Imperium and the way I have
Gates work are my intellectual property. Please ask permission if
you'd like to use them.