Chapter Eight - the Moon Princess
The Hitachi Temple - present
It was a clear and cloudless night - though incredibly
cold. The full moon was directly above, and the stars
glinted. The Milky Way was directly above the temple, like
a veil of stars. Rei stood in the main courtyard of her
grandfather's temple. Her Grandfather and Chad were away on
a 'back-to-nature' camp out in the wilderness (or as close
as they could come to it), which was why they'd chosen the
temple for what they had to do tonight. Rei stared up at
the sky above. Her eyes immediately sought out the moon -
as her thoughts had - and her mind refused to do anything
but think of what it stood for.
Tonight - tonight, they would seek to free Princess
Verena, the Princess Serenity. Of all the missions that Rei
had been part of as a Sailor Scouts, this was the first time
she'd ever felt so... *helpless*. That was a word Rei
didn't want to even have a passing acquaintance with. At
least when the safety of her princesses was at stake. Rei
looked around the courtyard, wandering if by night's end,
whether they would all be there. Tonight - tonight...
Everything seemed to hinge on this night, when the lives of
two princesses were at stake. And the worst thing was that
she could not do *anything* to change the outcome. Rei
shook herself mentally, and forced herself to stop thinking
morbid thoughts. *Everything will go well tonight.* she
told herself firmly, *It HAS to.*
Lita walked into the main Praying Room where the Holy
Fire was burning brightly. Michiru and Haruka were seated
there together, both far away, in their own world. Lita
kneeled down in front of the Holy Fire, eyes closed in
prayer. Ami and Mina slipped onto the praying cushions next
to her. There was only the crackling of the Fire, and the
soft murmurs of conversation from the courtyard.
"Do you think praying will help?" Artemis asked softly
as both girls looked up from their separate prayers.
"I'm willing to try anything that would help." Mina
said, standing up and picking Artemis up almost
unconsciously.
"I feel so helpless I don't know what to do." Rei said
as she joined the little group, "And what makes everything
worse is that Serena could die tonight... and we wouldn't
be able to do anything about it." She slid to her knees
next to her friends, and shivered, "There's nothing we can
do. Jason - Guardian - says that the Moon Sapphire and the
Imperium Crystal are only amplifiers of energy. It's
Serena's energy that they draw on, and her will that pushes
them. You saw how she was with Darien! She *knew* that she
didn't have enough energy to heal him, but she just went on,
she took the energy WE gave her, and continued healing him
even as she collapsed. What if she runs out of energy
tonight? What will happen if she tells the stones to go on?
What will we do?" She looked around, "WHAT CAN WE DO?" her
words were a wail more than anything else.
"Nothing, except be there for her, believe in her. Hope
for her, pray for her." Haruka said, "Be her friends, and
stand by her now like we always have."
The girls stared at each other helplessly; fear, anger and
hopelessness warring in their eyes.
"Haruka is right." a soft, familiar voice said.
They all turned as Serena made her way softly towards them.
Ami stared at the girl who'd become her first friend.
Serena had been a major klutz, and a scatterbrained teen
then, but she'd shown Ami how to have fun, and given Ami the
chance to make more friends. *She looks so old.* Ami
thought in surprise. For the first time, Ami thought of the
connotations of Serena's change from the 'meatball'
hairstyle to the simple, neat braid that hung half way down
her back. The change was over a month old. It made her
look old - and yet, not old, ageless, more like the Princess
Serenity. In fact, the way she walked, talked, stood and
spoke reminded Ami of the Princess Serenity. Something
prickled at the back of Ami's eyes, and she shivered
inwardly, *Why am I suddenly so uneasy? Why is it as if
Serena Tsukino is slowly dying, and being replaced by -
somebody else? Not the Princess Serenity after tonight, but
perhaps the Princess Serena of the Moon Kingdom?* Ami shook
away the thoughts.
"I wish I could help you - I wish I could take away the
burden that rests on your shoulders." Michiru said in the
silence suddenly.
Serena turned the older girl, and smiled sadly, "I have to
take up the duty sometime Sailor Neptune. You guys have
protected me and helped me for a long time, it's a long time
past since I started taking up my duties as leader of the
Sailor Scouts and Guardian of the Moon." she made as if to
say some more but her face paled and she stumbled slightly.
Rei and Lita were at her side almost immediately, helping
her stay up.
"What's wrong?" Mina asked worriedly, "Artemis - what is
wrong with her?" she demanded.
Luna was the one who answered, padding into the main prayer
room as Lita and Rei steadied Serena, "The last time two
minds were trapped within one body, something terrible had
made them so." The guardian cat said in her solemn voice,
"The minds slowly pulled apart as each tried to control what
the body would react and do." Luna shuddered, "That the two
princesses have stayed together for so long, is a sign of
how close they were. But now that they are separating,
Serena will be slowly pulled apart. Headaches are the first
sign, dizziness and weakness the last. She will die soon if
we do not do something." She spoke so softly that what she
meant didn't register on the girls' mind for several
seconds.
"Die?" Ami swallowed and even Haruka looked strained.
"You don't need to make it so melodramatic and desperate,
Luna." Serena said standing unsteadily upright, "Is
everything ready for the ceremony?" she asked, wavering
slightly, "It has to be finished soon." For an instance,
the shield cracked and Serena looked scared and tired. Than
the mask returned, and Serena held out her hand and said the
words: "Moon Crystal Power!" and Sailor Moon, then Princess
Serenity stood there.
They all transformed quickly, silent as they followed
Princess Serenity outside into the courtyard.
***
Agein stared out at the clear night sky from the
apartment window. The curtains had been drawn back, and he
hadn't bothered to flick the lights on when he'd entered, so
the only light was from the stars and moon. It was a
beautiful night, almost as beautiful as that one night so
long ago when he'd first since Arien. Agein clenched his
fists tightly, he'd been so full of hope that night, the
first time he'd seen his true love, the first time he'd felt
hope in a long time...
*She was everything I'd ever truly wanted for myself.* he
thought, *God Tranquis - perhaps the irony is justice enough
that she is the only thing that I can never have.* Agein
thought sadly.
A bright red spark exploded from his knuckles and he
held up his hand, fingers splayed. Blood dripped from under
his fingernails for a second before he forced healed
himself. The sickness was becoming worse. Agein gritted
his teeth as the dizziness distorted the world.
"Agein?"
He froze, had she seen? No, she couldn't have... "What is it
Arien?" he snapped, turning around and ignoring the way the
room swam.
"I - I just wanted to know if I could go out - " Arien
whispered softly, her large eyes worried. *What is wrong
with him tonight? He looks so pale - and sad? Is he ill?*
she wondered, and then felt surprise at the pang of horror
at the thought of Agein being sick and hurting. *Oh God -
please don't let me fall in love with him. Please. I can't
live with being forced to do everything by somebody else. I
can't protect myself from Agein's commands if I love him.*
she pleaded inwardly.
Agein felt a twinge of guilt but shook it away, "After
your betrayal to Prince Endymion, I think not." He said
curtly, "Go to bed, Arien. Before I truly loose my temper."
He leaned against the wall non-challantly, as if the entire
world wasn't whirling and jumping up and down and his
stomach wanted to twist itself into little flies and self-
destruct.
A tear ran down Arien's face but she left. Just in time to
miss seeing sweat run down Agein's face, and his skin turn
gray.
*How much more can I take before this kills me?* Agein
wondered as he straightened, and woozily walked out onto the
balcony. The cold breeze did nothing to help the nausea.
"Mage-Lord Agein." The voice came out of no where, but
Agein didn't blink an eyelid.
There was a waver in front of him, and a translucent man
appeared. He knew without having to ask, that only he could
see this illusion. *Or HALLucination.*
"Mage Lord Agein."
Agein sighed, he knew that the man would continue talking
until he acknowledged that he could hear him.
"What is it?" he snapped.
"Mage Lord Agein. The sickness of your body is slowly
progressing. Even the life span and powers of one of your
line will not last under such circumstances. Have you
spoken to the Lady Arien of what you have done?" the man
asked.
Agein shook his head, closing his eyes as everything spun -
every time this happened, it got worst, not better. But
then, he knew what he'd done when he'd fallen in love.
"Mage Lord Agein, have you forgotten that those of your
line must be wed by their thirtieth year?" the man demanded
almost haughtily.
Agein sighed, "Yes, Aide." He said - his kind did not age,
but in human years, he would be reaching his thirtieth year
in another three weeks.
"And that if you do not wed, your sickness will digress
till you die?" Aide started pacing - before, Agein had
never allowed the spell to go this far, but he was too weak
now to gather his concentration and banish the warning
mechanism he'd set so long ago, "Mage Lord Agein, you must
find your soul-line before the thirty years is up."
"I have already found her, Aide." Agein muttered.
"Why, that is terrific, milord!" Aide said, "Then there
is hope! Have you told her?"
"She loves another." Agein gave up hope of remaining
upright, and sank down to the floor, resting his head
against the balcony railing.
Aide kneeled down anxiously, "Milord, your condition has
digressed to critical levels. There is only another full
moon before you shall be comatose. The time to bond
yourself is now." He said firmly.
Agein shook his head, "Don't you think I've tried a thousand
times?" he asked dryly, "I cannot stop the degeneration if
she doesn't want to help. For as long as she is still in
love with that other, I cannot ask her for anything."
Aide opened his mouth to speak, then halted, wavers ran down
the almost transparent form, "I detect high energy magic,
milord." He reported, his voice rose slightly as another
waver ran through him, "The source of this energy is two
Planet Stones, milord -" Aide suddenly vanished as the
ripples in the energy field around them became stronger.
Agein struggled to his feet, his eyes gleaming slightly
as he started a finding spell. His dark brown eyes widened
in surprise, "Not only the Silver Imperium Crystal but the
*Blue Sapphire* as well? I thought both of them were
destroyed in the Last Battle on the Moon." He strained his
spell slightly, testing around the edges of the energy
distortions, and felt a shiver creep down his spine,
"Princess Serenity's energy - and two Planet Stones - all
directed into one spell. And only the Planet Guardians to
protect her. With all this power..."
He straightened. Now was the time to strike. In one single
night, the last connections to Arien's love would be gone,
and then, perhaps, he could start trying to win her love.
Maybe... the chance was slim enough to be non-existent, but
he could try...
"Arceaenon Dosterris Monaei!" Agein murmured, holding
out one hand towards the full moon overhead.
He looked up, ignoring the pain that was twisting through
him. He was a Mage-Lord trained, he could withstand pain.
He felt his cloths change as the transforming spell on them
dissolved. The black blouse, leather plants and long, red
cloak he'd worn so long ago flowed around him. He saw the
distorted reflection in the silver cuffs around his wrists,
and grimaced as he saw the two crescent moons - black with
an eclipsing red - shimmer. Then the black vanished,
totally eclipsed by red. He knew what that meant, and for a
second, he paused, then shook his head. It was too late to
turn back now.
***
Cold wind blew and ruffled through the hair of the
circle of people standing in the center of the courtyard. A
blond girl stood in the center of the circle; her blond hair
was tied up in two balls on top of her head. A shimmering
golden necklace with a blue sapphire hung from her neck, a
white crystal was cupped in her hands. She stood quietly -
as they all did - staring up into the sky at the full moon.
"Mother." The Princess Serenity whispered, holding the
two stones together, "Mother, I need your help. I don't
have the energy and the power alone." She murmured, her
voice loud in the silence.
***
Mistress smiled in victory as she watched. "YES! I
have WON!" she said as she gathered her powers around her,
and sent them shooting towards the far away girl.
She could feel the Crestmoon's distinctive energy as her own
surrounded Serena. It 'burnt' her slightly, but she ignored
that as she 'pulled' the energy, copying it, draining it -
*Now all Verena needs do is to capture the Silver Imperium
Crystal.* Mistress thought satisfied as her energy
completely took over the Blue Sapphire, *Everything is going
as per plan.*
***
Darien stood opposite Jason in the circle, ignoring the
cold wind as it made goose bumps rise on his arms. The dark
shirt he wore made him look like some specter from beyond
the grave, but he didn't realize that. A blue glow was
beginning to surround the Princess Serenity, spreading from
the Blue Sapphire and around her body till it was almost as
if she was surrounded in a shimmering shield of energy.
"Mother." One last whisper from the princess's lips then
her eyes closed as energy flared from first the Blue
Sapphire, then the Silver Imperium Crystal.
"Tonight, you are destroyed!" the words echoed through
the silent courtyard and the Sailor Scouts, Star Guardians
and Darien jerked their heads up in horror and stared at the
floating figure high above.
The red cloak flapped in the wind as Agein laughed again,
the raw angry sound reminiscent of another enemy they had
faced. *An enemy whom we defeated.* Darian reminded
himself.
"Agein." Sailor Mars was the first to speak, "You are
the man the fire showed me."
The man bowed, "My pleasure Sailor Mars - or should I say
Rei Hino?" he laughed, "And Mercury, Venus, Jupiter,
Neptune and Uranus." Darien felt a shiver creep down his
back - the two moons on Agein's forehead that had been black
and red were now two red moons. "So, Prince Darien lives."
Agein turned his eyes at Darien, "I would have thought you
would at least have the decency to die against unbeatable
odds - but your luck, like your brother's, is incredible."
He shook his head, "Well, no matter. You will die all
tonight." It was only then that he saw the Princess
Serenity, his eyes widened, "The power stones." He made
as if to reach for them and they all snapped out of the
startlement that had froze them.
"Sailor Scouts attack formations!" Luna and Artemis
shouted together, as the two, as one, leapt up to attack
Agein. Giving the scouts the precious time to react.
They were stopped before they even reached him, thrown by a
shimmering force field of pure energy.
"JUPITER LIGHTNING!"
"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE!"
"VENUS LOVE CHAIN SURROUND!"
"EARTH SHAKING!"
"NEPTUNE TSUNAMI!"
"MERCURY ICE BUBBLES FREEZE!"
"EARTH SHATTER!"
Agein shrugged away the attacks as if they were nothing more
than an insect.
Darien had transformed to Tuxedo Mask, then to Prince
Endymion, and he drew his sword then, "Touch her and die."
He whispered.
"Oh so brave." Agein said dryly and blasted out a red
beam.
Darien didn't even flinch as the red beam was absorbed by
his black armor; it made his armor gleam ruby red for an
instant, and left a scorch mark. His sword shimmered in the
moonlight as he brought it up and around in a long unknown
and unseen spell.
"Earth, I call upon thee now in the time of my need,"
Prince Darien, born in the house of Endymion, and heir of
Earth's throne, whispered the words that hadn't been spoken
in over a thousand millennia, "Grant me the gift of your
power. I, your subject/ruler ask/beg of you."
For an instant, it was as if everything froze. In that
timeless second, Earth shuddered, and seemed to shake
herself slightly, as if waking from a long sleep. Time
exploded and Prince Darien Endymion was consumed in flame,
water, air and earth all at the same time.
They all rocked as they heard something they didn't know,
and many did not understand. It was like being overwhelmed
by the sound of a million throats. But it was only Darien
who heard the yelled/whispered words: the
flames vanished first, then the water, then the air, then
the earth. Like onion skins peeling away, leaving behind it
a form. Darien - standing there, in full Prince armor, only
he was stronger, and there was a remote, almost glazed look
in his eyes as he turned to Agein.
"You'll have to go through me if you want to touch her,
Negaverse scum." He said, flinging out a barrage of roses
that turned into burning, thorny missiles aimed at Agein's
heart.
The two red sickle moons on Agein's forehead blazed a sickly
glow as the force field shimmered, stopping the burning
roses - but barely. Dimly, in the part of his mind that
wasn't totally focused on controlling the power that his
mother planet had gifted him, Darien noticed that the white
star that had been in the circle left by the two moons, was
almost gone.
"So you've learned new tricks." Agein shrugged,
"Doesn't matter, it might take me longer but you will all
die!" he laughed bitterly then, and lifted his arms above
his head, "Arise, Blood Sickle Monsters!" he shouted.
Like zombies in a B grade horror movie, the 'blood sickle
monsters' rose up from the ground. They were dark, and
bulky, and their eyes gleamed a frightening bloody red.
"We obey, Mage-Lord Agein." They murmured as one, and
moved to attack.
"Star Guardians attack!" Jadeite shouted, and leapt up
in the air, avoiding the red beam one of the monsters shot
at him, "Guardian protection beam!" he pointed one finger
at Serena's still form, and a gleaming, pure white circle
appeared below her, shielding her form in a veil of white
power, burning away anything that came near her.
Guardian Jadeite gasped as the energy left his body, he drew
his sword then, and stood next to Prince Darien.
"Just like on Earth, your Highness." He said with a
tight smile.
Darien nodded, "Only this time, perhaps, you won't be the
one who leaves, Jadeite." He murmured as he killed a
monster.
"WATER OPAL TIARA POWER WASH!" Sailor Mercury shouted,
"TIARA DESTRUCTION INITIATION!" the powerful, new tiara
answered her call and blazes of electric blue water swept
through one monster.
"MARS FIRE TIARA FLAME!" Sailor Mars's voice was barely
heard over the din of battle, but it didn't matter, the
tiara would have heard her voice if she was mute, "MARS
PHEONIX ASHES!" a bird of fire swung around the courtyard,
burning up the seemingly everlasting flow of Blood Sickle
Monsters.
"Neptune... Tiara... Arctic... Current!" white light
erupted from Sailor Neptune's tiara, freezing, then killing
the monster.
"Uranus Tiara Embraced Earth Quake." Sailor Uranus
whispered, wrapping her arms around herself as she said the
words.
Several monsters were suddenly wrapped in brown earth which
disintegrated back into the ground, leaving behind 'monster
dust'.
"JUPITER TIARA DRAGON DESTROY!"
"VENUS LOVE CHAIN TIARA ROAR!"
Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus combined their attack
together. The monsters crumbled, and some stayed crumbled
but as for the rest, they kept on rising from the ground,
fresh ones, or the dust of the old ones coming back together
after they were destroyed.
Agein closed his eyes, pain wracking his entire body.
The sickness was getting worse. But, then, he'd known that
it would. Every time he had to restrain Arien from
something, his heart slowed slightly, till it was almost
down to a beat every minute. His magic could hold the slow
destruction of his body for a while. But life-bonds weren't
supposed to work that way. Two hearts were supposed to work
together, when a mage life bonded. Unfortunately for him,
his life-bond didn't want to be life-bonded. Didn't even
know what had happened. And so, his body suffered. And all
there was in the future for him was death, so why bother
fighting the pain? He opened his eyes, releasing the spells
that were keeping the majority of the pain at bay, sent the
energy in those spells to bringing forth more and more
monsters. Sooner or later, they would all die. But for
what purpose? Arien would never love him, never would have
loved him even if Caraein had never existed.
*But at least you will have your revenge - kill off those
who knew Caraein... The one who had left the most perfect
woman he would ever truly love and gone off with another
woman. Caraein Endymion, who had broken Arien's heart.
Kill them off, revenge yourself.* a voice whispered to him.
He stood there and let the pain wash over him, knowing that
even if he won, he would die this night. Nothing could save
him now. Nothing at all.
***
Arien woke up, bold upright, the dream that she knew
wasn't a dream, still fresh in her mind. She had been in
Agein's mind. It was like being a hitch-hiker through his
memories. She had been watching herself in the Moon Palace,
dancing, eating, talking, and laughing. For the months that
Agein had been there, all he had done was watch her.
*Goddess, he really, truly loves me.* Arien thought,
licking her lips as she pulled herself out of bed and
hurriedly changed into clothes. The dream had shown her the
past millennia, through his eyes. And his thoughts, clear
and bright as day, in the last scene she had seen: *Nothing
can save me now. Nothing at all.* He had done something to
himself, something that meant he would die tonight... Arien
frowned as she ran out of the apartment building, his
thoughts had been muddled there. she didn't know what he
was dying off, only that he'd loved her, and also that
Prince Caraein - the man she had loved so long ago, and
*stopped* loving equally as long ago - had been, in Agein's
eyes, worthless and a traitor.
*Agein! Oh Agein... Don't die tonight. Oh Goddess, I
love you. I was willing to give you my love a long time
ago, if you'd just asked for it instead of demanding.*
Arien thought sadly.
Agein hadn't been a monster to her in all the millennia
they'd been together. He'd protected and given her
everything she'd wanted, it had only been on Earth that he'd
used his hold on her through the power-ring to stop her.
And she knew why now. Oh god, she knew why now. *If only
you'd asked. I would have told you I loved you. I stopped
caring for Caraein other than as an infatuation, a long time
ago. Agein. Oh Agein.* her mind shrieked.
The world blurred and Arien came to a stop in surprise as
she realized she was outside the Temple that she'd seen in
her dream. *I'm coming Agein.* she thought, and ran
without caring, into the temple.
***
"WHITE ATTACK!" Prince Darien shouted, and a brilliant,
white light shot from the point of his hand, destroying a
row of monsters towards Agein.
The man looked almost in pain now, though his attacks were
none the weaker.
The fight was beginning to become desperate. The Sailor
Scouts and the Star Guardians were keeping their own -
almost. Neptune and Uranus were leaning against each other
in exhaustion, the attack words whispers and the energy
shots weaker as they were slowly, erroneously drained from
their attack. Half of Mercury's skirt had been reduced to
tatters where a monster managed to claw her before Venus
destroyed it, the other half was burnt. Star was already
down, unconscious. Jupiter's arm was dripping in blood -
both her's and the various monsters she'd had to come in
close to destroy - and Venus's face was pale, which only
made the three long scratches straight down her left cheek
all the more visible. Mars was lying next to Star, her
uniform had been torn, showing a deep wound that chances
were, she would be dead from. Red and Comet were both
keeping their own on either side of Guardian and Prince
Darien, but even their blasts were becoming weaker.
And in the center of their ring, Serena blazed, the light
steadily becoming brighter and brighter. Something was
happening, Darien knew that much, but he also knew that at
this moment, Serena was at her weakest, most vulnerable.
Agein's strength didn't seem to be diminishing as time
passed, and sooner or later, he would overpower them all by
sheer exhaustion on THEIR part. Then all he needed to do
was get through the shield Jadeite had set up around Serena.
One clear shot from Agein and Serena would die. And that
thought scared Darien more than anything else would ever,
could ever. He caught another glance of Serena, and saw her
serene face changed. Her eyes were wide open, her mouth
open in a silent scream.
*She's dying! Oh God, Serena, don't go - I'll die without
you. Serena, I love you!* but he knew she couldn't hear
her, *If she dies tonight, I will be alone.* came the
thought.
Darien threw himself at the monsters, not caring anymore,
anything as long as the monsters would leave and he could
gather Serena in his arms and - and what? *Die with her.
Give her my energy.* He wasn't thinking anymore.
Serena screamed - but nobody could hear her. She was
in a bright place - alone. The pain was incredible. It was
like something was trying to pull her apart. *NO. . .
PLEASE NO.* she screamed in agony. So many times now, she
had wanted to give up, to sink into the light and stop
thinking, but always there was the thought that her friends
were waiting for her. That there was something important
for her to do.
She felt her energy fall away, slowly, and knew that she had
to do that something soon - or she would die, and her
friends would have suffered for nothing...
<*Serena. I love you.*> the voice, dark and deep, her
soul mate, her life mate, her heart's bond. <*If she dies
tonight, I will be alone.*> a touch of despair, <*I will
die with her.*>
*Darien?* thought came slowly to Serena.
She no longer flowed with the energy. The energy was no
longer pushing her, controlling her destiny - SHE was the
one now who held it.
*Verena.* she imagined her sister in front of her, and, in
this place where thought was as real as actions, Verena was
there. Her face was serene, the pain which both of them
were feeling controlled and held in check from her face as
she stood there. This was one of the few things which they
had always differed in back when they had been two. Serena
had always been open with her emotions, where as Verena had
hidden herself - except to Jadeite. But they had never
hidden what they felt from each other.
<*Serena, the pain - *> Verena whispered, <*We have to
separate. We pushed it too long. If we don't, we will both
die tonight.*>
<*Darien will die tonight then. He's vowed that he will
die if I do.*> Serena replied touching her sister's face.
<*We've been together for so long.*> Verena murmured,
holding her sister's hand, <*Since the end of the Moon
Kingdom - since the start. . .*>
<*It's time for us to part, sister. We can't be together
forever.*> Serena pushed aside her emotions, wiping away
her tears, <*We have to give this up - never being alone,
never being apart. . . Always knowing that another loved
you with all her heart.*>
<*We both have our duties, Serena. You are destined to
become more than what you are.*> Verena said solemnly,
<*Remember me, sister. Remember me always.*> something
thrilled down Serena's back.
<*What -?*> something was wrong.
The tugs became stronger, and stronger, and suddenly, she
was back in the real world.
Only this time, she was not alone. For Verena stood there
now as well.
"WHITE MOON EXCALATION BEAM!" Princess Verena - the
Princess Serenity - shouted, holding in her hand the Moon
Sapphire.
Time froze, and a beam of white light exploded outwards,
washing over everything. The Blood Sickle Monsters crumbled
and disappeared forever. Agein screamed and clutched his
head; the small star between the two crescent moons
shimmeredand started to glow.
"Verena!" Jadeite whispered and ran to her, falling down
onto his knees before her, "Verena - oh God." He whispered
in awe, "You've returned to me." he whispered, taking her
hand almost as if he was scared that she was a ghost, and
that his hand would go straight through her.
"Jadeite." Verena looked down at her former love, and
smiled sadly, "It's worth everything, knowing that you loved
me after all." She said, before twisting in front of him to
catch the beam of power that seemed to come from no-where.
Jadeite turned, as if in a dream, twisting to throw her away
from the path of destruction even as he saw the light coming
from Agein's star.
The star vanished as Agein screamed in agony and Verena
crumbled to dust in Jadeite's hands, her last words,
drifting in the wind: "Full circle. I was not meant to live
past the last battle. Serena has more to fulfil. Not me.
Because of me, she was drained and died on that fateful day.
Only I was supposed to die. But it happened, I died, then
lived, now I die once more. Full circle."
Jadeite's scream of loss - torn from his throat - echoed in
the suddenly silent night. The leader of the Star Guardians
fell down onto the ground, tears fell from his eyes into the
ground as he lay unmoving. Not caring that he'd just laid
himself open to any attack.
Serena stood still, staring at the place her sister had
stood. It happened so quickly that Serena didn't have
time to feel anything - no pain, no loss, no sense of
betrayal. Just an aching emptiness where once somebody had
been. She stood in the middle of the courtyard, staring.
Darien approached warily, "Serena? Your Highness?" he
asked, coming closer, "Serena, can you hear me?"
It was like the world had frozen except for Jadeite's sobs
and Darien's steps. The Sailor Scouts and the Star
Guardians stood (or lay) in silence, too exhausted to do
anything but watch.
"Princess Serenity?" Darien asked.
It was those words that snapped Serena out of it. Princess
Serenity - the title given to the heir of the Moon Kingdom.
It had belonged to Verena, except Verena was dead. *Dead.
Gone forever from me.* the ache in her grew, and she
slammed a wall between the emotions threatening to explode,
and her mind. There was no time to feel pain and emotion
now. She had to *know* first. Know *why* he had done this.
"You killed her." Serena whispered, bringing the hand
that held the Silver Imperium Crystal, up to be clutched
against her chest, "She never did anything to you. *None*
of us ever did anything to you. But you killed her, and you
hurt us all." A single tear escaped from her eye and
trailed down her cheek, "What did we ever do to you?"
Agein straightened painfully, the two blood moons glowing
sickly on his white face, "I don't know." He said finally,
"At first it was because you were the last people who knew
Prince Caraein. I thought if I killed you, then Arien would
forget him, and fall in love with me." he shrugged, and
winced, a thin trail of blood seeped a bloody path down his
forehead, "Foolish of me, I guess. But if I'd admitted that
there was no hope for her ever loving me, then I would have
died." He laughed dryly, "Of course, now I'm going to die
anyway, so it doesn't matter."
A funny look came onto Serena's face, "What do you mean
you're going to die? How do you know for sure?"
Agein looked at her, surprised. Then he shrugged, as if
nothing mattered to him anymore. Almost politely, with a
flicker of the courtly manners that bespoke a time when such
behavior had been the core of life for him, he spoke, "You
have forgotten a lot, your Highness. I am a mage-lord from
the Staraen Galaxy. My kind has a thing called a life-bond.
When a mage bonds with another, he becomes stronger but more
vulnerable at the same time. Both bodies are supported by
either body. But by itself, one or the other of the life
bond would die, like a body without a mind or a heart." He
paused and swallowed, wiping away the trail of blood
unconsciously, "I came to your Mother's court. An
ambassador. While I was here, I bonded with another - not
that she knew. The time between when the life-bond is
admitted by both, and when the life bond is only known to
one, is long, but not forever. My time is up, and she still
doesn't know, doesn't understand. My body has been taxed,
and I cannot keep it going anymore. I will die by tonight."
He shrugged, there was a bloody smear across his face.
"Agein?" the words were gasped out.
Agein's head snapped towards the girl that stood in the
entrance way of the courtyard, "Arien?" he asked
disbelievingly.
"Agein - oh Goddess. I thought you'd died already." she
whispered, running towards him tearfully, "Agein - Agein,
what's wrong? You're bleeding." She rushed towards him,
one hand out as if to touch him.
Agein froze at first, then relaxed, bringing his arms around
her slowly, "I never thought you'd let me hold you
willingly." He said roughly, "I love you Arien. With all
my heart." He took a breath as if what he was saying pained
him more than anything else, "You're free to go if you want
to. I shan't stop you. I can't." he pulled away from her,
and grimaced, "I guess I should tell you before I vanish.
God knows I don't want to be like Prince Caraein. Leaving
without an explanation, without a thought." He shivered;
though the night wasn't that cold, he obviously was, "I'm
dying, Arien. The literal truth to 'dying of a broken
heart' you could say." he sounded so bitter, so tired that
Serena felt her own heart twist in answer to his.
"Die?"
Agein looked down at Arien, "Don't tell me you care?" he
asked hopefully.
Arien opened her mouth as if to speak, but stopped as
Agein sagged in her arms. His head leaned against her
shoulder, and then rolled away, leaving a bloody mark from
the blood moon. For it was a blood moon now, not just two
sickle moons. His eyes were blank and glazed.
"Agein?" Arien whispered, "Agein? Agein!" tears were
pouring down from her eyes.
*No, there has been too much sadness this night.* Princess
Serenity thought, and brought up the Silver Imperium
Crystal, "MOON. . . HEALING. . . POWER!" she called.
The world vanished as she fell down onto her knees - she had
forgotten how drained she was from the ceremony. But it was
too late to stop the healing. . . And she didn't want to.
Love - *true* love was so rare, and if a life bond was as
special as Agein had said, being drained was worth anything,
compared to seeing them together again.
***
Arien felt something try to pull her away from Agein
and terror struck her. *No! I'm never letting him go!* she
thought, holding tightly to him. The pull ceased slightly,
and instead she was pushed to him, and she felt his arms
tighten around her. *What? Is he alive?* she thought,
hardly daring to hope.
"Agein?" she whispered, hoping, and at the same time,
not hoping, because it hurt.
"Do you really love me, Agein? Or were you just saying
that?" A familiar voice whispered into her ear.
A tinge of fear touched him, reverberating down through
the link that now held strong between them. Relief poured
through him as he felt that bond - *At last. . .* he
didn't know what he had done to deserve her after all this
long years of waiting, but whatever he had done, *Goddess
thank that I managed to pull it off.*
"Yes, I love you Arien. I'll always love you. No matter
what happens." Agein promised, and opened his eyes.
They were surrounded by a glowing white light - and vaguely,
she could see Princess Serenity kneeling on the ground (the
ground which was several meters *down*, now that Arien
thought about it), the Moon Wand outstretched in her hands,
the white light that surrounded them, streaming from it.
But Arien didn't notice anything else because Agein was
ALIVE. She'd *felt* his skin cool beneath her hands, felt
him stop breathing. She'd sworn she'd felt his heart falter
and stop. But here he was, breathing, talking. She stared
at him, "Agein?" she whispered again, "Am I dead? Are you
an angel?" how could he still be alive, she'd felt him die.
"No." Agein grinned, almost boyishly, "I don't think I'd
fit the requirements to become an angel, beloved." He said
softly, touching her face reverently, "I was dead - I could
see the light stretching forward, and then - something
pulled me back." He said in wonder, "You - your voice. You
called to me, you said you loved me. Something I haven't
dared hope at all." He brushed her forehead, where the two
crescent moons had been - the dark one had represented his
holding a power over her, and she knew, almost
instinctively, that the dark, eclipsing crescent moon was
gone, leaving only the single star. Arien noticed as well,
now that the blood moon had vanished from Agein's forehead,
it was replaced by a single, shining bright star. As if he
felt her interest, he touched the star on his forehead.
"The sign of my power." He said, "The sign of your power
over me, actually." He grinned, "It shows that the life-
bond between us is complete."
Arien smiled, knowing what he said was true - she could feel
HIM, inside her, inside her soul. And she knew that he
loved her as much as she loved him... no matter what.
***
Darien watched the two figures, surrounded by the pure
white light of the Healing. He could feel their love,
radiating like waves. Something twisted inside him, and he
wondered whether anybody would ever love him as much as
Arien loved Agein.
Suddenly, Agein and Arien turned, looking down at the
courtyard below.
"Thank you." Agein spoke first.
Never had Darien seen a person change so much. The Mage's
face was transformed - where bitterness had carved lines
into skin, now a handsome face laughed. One hand was around
Arien's waist protectively, "I can never thank you enough -
nor can my entire Kingdom ever fulfil the debt we owe you
from this day onwards." He said solemnly before gesturing
behind him.
A giant portal of light blazed forward in the air behind
them.
"Agein?" Arien asked nervously, staring at it.
"You'll never have to fear anything while I'm around, my
love." He said, "We would stay, and thank you properly -
but - my family awaits me after so long. They long to meet
the life bond which I am finally blessed with." he glanced
at Arien, a smile playing on his lips.
"Thank you." they both mouthed, and then vanished.
There was a muffled moan, and Darien whirled around just in
time to catch Serena as she fell onto the ground. The
Sailor Scouts and the Star Guardians moved then, as if
they'd been released from a freezing spell.
"Jadeite." Mina's voice drifted on the wind as she
touched Jadeite's shaking shoulder, "Jadeite, it is over."
she kneeled down next to him, and he looked up at her, pain
and horror playing across his face.
"She is dead." He said numbly, "I touched her, and held
her." His face was dry, but there was a nothingness in his
eyes.
"It's better for you to let out the anguish, Jadeite -
Jason." Mina said softly, holding out her arms.
"I failed to protect her. She died taking the blow meant
for me." he said in a soft voice.
"She took it willingly. We all heard her, Jason. She
knew she was meant to die tonight. That she was meant to
have died a long time ago." Mina corrected him softly, "Cry
Jason. Cry like we all will, it helps to ease the pain."
Her bright blue eyes were too wise for her 15 years, but
then, as a Sailor Scout she had seen and experienced more
than any ordinary teenager should ever need to.
Jason stared at her, not as the General Jadeite, nor as the
Guardian, and boyhood companion and bodyguard of the Prince
Endymion - but as Jason, the man, and he wrapped his arms
around her as she did around him, and they cried their loss.
***
Darien vaguely noticed that Mina moved to Jadeite's
still form and had managed to get him to answer to her where
even his own friends hadn't been able to do. But whatever
that meant, he didn't care to think of, because Serena was
lying there, barely breathing - and this time... this
time... maybe she wouldn't push him away when she woke up.
IF she woke up - no! He wouldn't think of what happened if
she - if she didn't wake up.
