Kingdom Comes Again

Chapter 17

Once the time comes, and you have found the Senshi, the Princess… and if my Scrying is correct the Prince of Earth, remind them that you need not be their only allies, and that they can help you as much as you do them.

The Knights of Luna, of the House Honor, of Atlantis, and of the Crown's Duty were second only to the Senshi in respect, if not power. The first two were of the Kingdom, the Knights of Luna being in service to the Queen's Court and the House Honor serving each planetary kingdom individually. The magic that strengthened them was a pale version of the Senshi's own enhancements, but would not be an insignificant boost.

Of the Knights of Atlantis and the Crown's duty, the mightiest of them was the Earths Prince. He was the only man to ever earn title in both orders, and neither honor was conveyed because of his birth. His power nearly rivaled that of a Senshi, between his gifts in Earth Magic, healing, and Knightly prowess.

Ahh, but you might think only a King or Queen could knight you? I point out their Father and Mother are dead. The Prince and Princess in truth, are not that. They are a King and a Queen only awaiting a rebirth of their just kingdoms.

You might need to remind them of that.

Mamoru Chiba, aka Tuxedo Mask, the reborn Prince of Earth Endymion was going to die. He Knew it, he felt it, and he accepted it. And he moved on.

Instead he focused on the Car the Youma gripped, and the screaming mother and child, clutching each other. The Mother, even in the last moments of her life, moved her daughters head to her bosom, wrapping her arms around the girl to protect her. Mamoru refused to let that be the last thing the woman ever did.

With one hand, he threw his cane, his primary melee weapon. With the other, he threw his Rose, even as the Youma reared back for it's throw, the puss filled nodules on it's belly bursting with the strain. It barely began moving forward when both struck, each taking the kneecap of the unholy creature from underneath. He was gambling that the Youma had nerves like a human.

His gamble paid off, as it screamed, and collapsed, the car dropping with it, and folding over the monster's head before bouncing on its suspension and flipping onto its side next to the beast.

Tuxedo Mask ran to the car, and punched the windshield, once… twice. "Climb out. I'll distract the monster. Run!" Then he jumped over the car into a blind tackle, knowing from it's roars the beast wasn't down.

It was waiting for him, however.

Mamoru felt the claws wrap around him. The grip was adamantine, and he was sure for a moment that the creature intended to rip him in half. Instead, it hurled him into the air, towards a taxiing airliner half a kilometer away.

He had enough time, in the intervening seconds, to realize how much hitting it was going to hurt, then he blew through the side of the jet in a shower of sparks, metal, and pain.

Usagi found herself drifting out of the conversation happening around her. Something felt off… her hair was standing on end, but she didn't really know how to explain what, or why. She wasn't sure of that herself.

"Usagi, pay attention. This is going to be on Mr. Kaga's test." Ami said, pulling her back to the study session.

"Thinking about tall, dark, and top hatted sugar?" Ukyo asked, with a grin. Akane, Ukyo and the reluctant student Shampoo had joined the girls in a study session at Rei's temple.

"What? Oh… no… Just…" Usagi shook it off, and shrugged. "Never mind. Just feeling a little out of it I guess. What were we doing?"

"Explaining why There isn't Their or They're… which thankfully is as confusing to native English Speakers as it is to us." Akane explained.

"Right."

Tuxedo Mask came to, though he wasn't sure how long he'd been out. The two men on whom he had landed were either unconscious or dead as well, shrapnel having caught them as the magical warrior burst through the aluminum frame of the airplane.

He didn't have much more time to gain his bearings as with a roar, the Monster burst through the hull of the airliner a few meters away, ripping through the emergency door, barely giving the most of the handful of people near it time to dive away, apparently having started to get up when Mamoru had burst onto the scene.

The only exception was a little girl, blond with blue eyes on her first plane ride. She couldn't scream, she was so terrified as the monster picked her up, it's other claw spreading to eviscerate her.

Tuxedo Mask stood. The sight and the rage it caused to build in him took over. "Get your hands off of her!" He screamed and with a burst of magic like he never had released before, the monster was blown away from the girl, who somehow was captured by the golden energy, pulled towards Mamoru instead of away from him.

She looked up and gasped. The man holding her wore black armor with Grey and Silver trim, a pair of sigils glowing on each of his breasts. A sword filled one hand, while the other held her gently, but with a quiet strength. Endymion reborn set her down. "Get behind me." He instructed. Then he stood, bringing his sword to the fore as the monster stood, ripping its way out of the remains of the plane's galley.

"You die here, monster." He growled

"Endymion…" Usagi cried out as she stood, and started running. The girls watched in shock as she changed, without speaking a word, into her Sailor Moon form and took off running through the paper doors of the Temple. Rei followed, and gasped. "There's a fire… I think it's the airport!"

"I'll call the others." Ami said, the other Senshi transforming, while the Martial Artist girls took off after Usagi.

The strength flowing through him was like nothing he'd ever felt before, as he brought his blade up and parried the monsters blow. He snapped out with a round house kick, simple but direct, and drove the monster off the plane, through the door a steward had opened moments before having to dive out of it to avoid the monster flying towards him. Endymion followed, sword raised and ready for battle.

The Monster, not sure what had changed, ripped up a section of Tarmac and threw it at the Prince of Earth, who instead of dodging, threw a rose into the projectile. A burst of golden energy flared and the stone exploded into dust and pebbles, obscuring the monsters view, and harming no one.

Mamoru burst through the dust and managed to score a hit across the Youma's side with his sword, the wound smoking like with Kaga's sword. The beast deflected the back swing, however, and drove a closed fist into the chest of the Earth Prince.

Endymion rolled with the hit, coming up on his knee, the sound of concrete on metal screeching, deafening him as sparks spat up from his grieves. He threw another rose, hand guided by instincts honed in a hundred battles now, the explosion stopping the monsters jump half way to him, sending the beast tumbling to the ground.

Unfortunately for Endymion, the beast landed on a baggage cart, which it quickly rolled off of, then kicked towards him. Again, he threw a rose but this time the explosion set off the fuel in the car, the fireball blinding Mamoru, sending him tumbling once more.

Before he could recover the youma was on him. One claw grabbed him, the other knocking his sword away, before pulling back to gut the warrior.

It screamed in pain and terror as a spinning disk of energy cut that claw off at its elbow. The monster looked up to see Sailor Moon perched on a nearby wall, a cold look in her gaze.

That is why it didn't see the sword fly back to Endymion's hand. It felt the weapon, as he drove it through the youma's heart.

In a burst of golden light, the monster exploded, turning to dust and leaving Endymion kneeling there, breathing hard.

"Thank you Sailor Moon."

"I think I owed you a few saves… but I'm sorry… I don't have a poem ready."

Mamoru laughed, causing Sailor Moon to smile. "I'll lend you one of my books." At her look of surprise he laughed again. "What, you thought I came up with that on the fly!"

The Sailor Senshi and Nerima Wrecking crew found the two of them hugging and laughing by the time they arrived.

"Tuxedo Mask is Endymion." The Dark Emperor said, staring at the television screen.

"I… assume so, My Lord." His Shinobi replied.

"Find out who he is. Send the spies. Send the assassins. I want him dead."

"Of course, my lord…. But… why the change? You ordered us not to do that just days ago."

"Because I didn't know he was reborn. I don't know who he is, and he is a threat to me. Kill him. Now."

AN: Now why, oh why, would that link only work one way?