| Chapter VI ~ Enemies Revealed |
| Deep in a cavern a man stooda silent vigil, hungrily watching an equaly silent and unmoving woman. He stood outside the circle and watched his love perform the ritual that might save them all. He watched her as she poured all of herself into the weapon. And he knew that soon, if she was forced to continue much longer, she would make a mistake, her exhaustion catching up with her, and that mistake would cost her her life. So he stood vigil, helpless, outside of the circle in which she worked. He could remember exactly how they had met. And yet, somehow he had always known her. Somehow. She was a part of him, the other half of his soul. When he had first come to the Negaverse, his past had been a complete blank, but she had been there from that first moment, laying next to him. She had been watching over him, taking care of him when he was helpless. He remembered just staring at her, in complete awe of the woman that lay next to him, having collapsed there from exhaustion. Her beautiful hair, tied into two long tails down her back, and the form fitting dress had captivated him. When he was being honest with himself, he knew that the so called Wiseman had lied to both of them. Years of living with that person had taught him not to trust anything he said. But the Wiseman had still been his only link to the past. His only link to her. And so he clung to the things that the Wiseman had told them. He believed what he had been told of how he had been helping the Wiseman to fight against the tyranny of Queen Serenity in Crystal Tokyo and how during one of the battles, the Queen's special guard had attacked them and the result of that battle had been the loss of both of their memories. He had doubted that until he had watched as Sailor Moon's power ripped through the Wiseman's armies of demons, eventually hitting the Wiseman himself. Wiseman had linked himself to his demon's, determined to defeat Sailor Moon once and for all with this all out attack. That link had cost him his life while the snake Rubeus had been able to survive, ruthlessly sacrificing the lives of the four sisters to hold off Sailor Moon's attack. He and his love had survived by combining their energies to form a barrier between them and the blast. Their barrier had been what had saved the few demons that had managed to escape back to them. But it had cost them dearly to do so and when they had recovered, they had been horrified at the destruction all around them. They had spent the next several months trying to figure out what to do. The Wiseman had mentioned allies in the future but only Rubeus knew who they were and he was unable to contact them. They knew that sooner or later Sailor Moon would find them and try to kill them again, so they had to find a way to fight her. And it was his love that had found the reference to the Dark Crystal in an old tome of the Wiseman's. But it had required them to gather energy from human's again, risking fighting with Sailor Moon again. But they had decided that it was their only course. And then, if they could defeat Sailor Moon, they had a chance to prevent Queen Serenity from taking control of this world in the future. He sighed and focused his thoughts on his love again. He remembered how she had been so angry when he had first talked to her. She had hated the world and had wanted revenge for all her pain. He had been the only one who had been able to make her smile and slowly he had been able to erase some of her bitterness. He knew that to others she still appeared as a cold and cruel woman, but when she was with him, when they were alone, he saw a light in her, a spirit that he had fallen in love with before he had even understood what it was to love. He had given her the nickname Little Lady, referring to how short she was compared to himself. She hated it. And that's why he called her that. She was so beautiful with her eyes flashing in frustrated anger, her hair twirling around her as she whirled around to glare at him after he had said it. And he loved to get into arguments with her, her sharp wit and sharper tongue always challenging him to keep up with her. And now, in order for them to be safe, she endangered herself. For them to finally know peace, they ran towards battle. The irony of their lives was not lost on him. And still... There was something that he still distrusted about this whole situation. There was something that the Wiseman had always hid from the two of them. The stories he had told of their pasts had always rung false and yet, he could never figure out what the truth was. He knew that she still hid parts of her past from him. Her own reasons for fighting along side Wiseman. Pain filled memories that he knew, someday, she would tell him if she could. But for right now... His attention was brought back from the past with a snap as he saw Rubius standing in the doorway, smirking. "What?" he growled at this unwelcome intruder. "Nothing, just checking to see if you were still alive." Rubeus said, turning and leaving Helios and Rini alone again. * * * * * Rubeus smirked as he left the pair in their cave. He was the only one who knew the truth anymore, the truth about those two. After all, he had been the one who had captured Queen Serenity's daughter and delivered her to the Wiseman. And Helios had apparently come to try and save her. Rubeus didn't understand exactly who the man was but the Wiseman had said that he was some kind of guardian and brainwashing him to join their side was something really special. Something about this man having access to some mirror. Rubeus didn't really give a damn who he was. All he knew was that those two were a pain to deal with. The Wiseman had had difficulties corrupting the man's mind and Helios had been able to reverse some of Rini's corruption in a way that had baffled the Wiseman. And now those two seemed to think that Rubeus was working for them. Well, he'd show them. Once he figured out the identity of Sailor Moon, he would destroy her himself without their precious crystal. And then, after that pair had exhausted themselves to create the weapon, he would kill them and take it for himself. It wouldn't be long now. There was no one left to stand in his way. Even Diamond couldn't touch him. That arrogant little prince hadn't even been born yet in this time. * * * * * Serena stood outside, her head thrown back and eyes closed so that she could bathe in the light of the moon. A slight breeze caused the leaves to rattle on the trees surrounding Rei's shrine and the sound of insects provided a soothing white noise. She wasn't thinking about anything, allowing her mind to grow peacefully blank for the first time in days. All of her worries and fears were shoved off to the side for the moment so that she could enjoy this perfect night. * * * * * Ami smiled up at the sky. There was something about seeing the moon, even during the day that comforted and inspired her. Shaking herself out of her reverie, she turned to the man walking beside her and smiled before loading him down with all her books. After all, what good was a boyfriend if you couldn't get him to do all your heavy lifting. * * * * * Zoicite grunted as twenty pounds of books were thrust at him and with a resigned, pitiful sigh, shifted to add them to his own stack of books. Someday he'd get her back for all the work she made him do. Someday soon he thought, thinking about his plan. * * * * * In an alley, a woman stretched and groaned, feeling muscels pop all over her body as she finally got out of work. At least the night had been fairly quiet. Waving to a couple of her employees, she headed home. Glanceing at the night sky she picked out the moon and then the planet Jupiter. She smiled as she thought of her old teachers drilling the planets and constellations into her head. * * * * * Momentarily, the sitting figure heard the angry voice of her love, her concentration split for a mere second. But that second allowed some of the energy, the smallest minute fraction to twist and warp out of her control, curling up into a tight coil inside of the crystal. But the woman was too tired by now to deal with it immediately and decided to allow the slight imperfection to remain until she was stronger. So more and more energy was forced to obey the woman's command, being shoved again and again into the crystal she was making. This new energy slowly covered the slight imperfection until it was unnoticeable and eventually the creator forgot about its existence. * * * * * Darien woke up and looked around for Serena. After a momentary heart attack at finding her missing he saw her outside and padded silently outside. He slid his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on top of her head, sharing in the moonlight with her. Together, the two figures stood in silence, waiting for the dawn. * * * * * The next day found three women, one dark haired man and two cats sitting outside one a the front steps of a temple. All around them were cherry blossom trees, swaying lightly in the breeze under a perfect blue sky. And up above, on the temple roof, two ravens watched everything. "We've said pretty much all there is to say." Artemis finally said, looking at the group. "Yeah. But that doesn't mean we know what to do." Rei snapped, her frustration with the situation apparent to all there. "We need more information. Which means..." Serena looked at her friends. "We go to Germany." Mina finished the sentence for her. "I'm all for going right now. The sooner the better." Rei said, standing up as if she were going to leave them all behind if the took another second. Darien sighed and looked up at the dark-haired scout, "At least let us pack first." After another few minutes of discussion, the group agreed to meet back at the temple in two hours, giving everyone plenty of time to make their excuses and pack. * * * * * "Hey, mind if I just grab some of the stuff I've got stashed at your place? It's closer." Darien asked, looking at Serena as they left Rei's temple. "You need to ask?" Serena said, raising an eyebrow at him. "Moron." "Meatball-head." Darien retorted, trying desperately to keep from grinning. He had missed talking to her while in the States. "Jerk!" Serena yelled, her eyes flashing playfully in anger. "Klutz." * * * * * Rei hadn't actually have that much to pack and decided to do a quick fire reading. Maybe they could get some answers this way. She settled herself down in front of the sacred fire and began to concentrate. Slowly, after several minutes, pictures formed and began to move. Their speed kept on increasing until Rei was only able to glimpse a few details. She saw mostly faces, faces of people she both knew and those she didn't recognize. Feelings of hope and despair, anger, betrayal, love and joy swept over her as fast as the pictures themselves. Finally, everything stopped, leaving her as confused and frustrated as ever. Only one thing had been clear. Something big was happening. And they were running out of time. * * * * * Mina teleported to her London home and pulled out a small duffel bag from under her bed, digging through clothes and shoes to get to it. Once it was open on her bed, Mina grabbed her cell phone and called Alex. As she waited for him to answer, she continued walking around to different dressers and her closet, throwing the things she wanted to bring in the general direction of her bag. "Hey Alex, it's me. ... Yea, I know. ... Really? That's great. ... Actually, I have a sort of emergency right now. ... No! Not a shoe type emergency! A real type emergency. ... I know I said a shoe emergency was a real type emergency last time ... Look, I need you to finish everything up there. ... Alex, don't make me tell that red-head your dating about ... See, I knew you do this for me! You're so awesome. ... Okay, I've got to run. ... Yep, tell ya all about it later ...Yes, shoes and everything ...Bye!" She clicked off her phone and threw a few last remaining things in her bag and zipped it up. Checking her watch she saw that she still had plenty of time as she grabbed her keys to lock up. * * * * * Once everyone was gathered together again, they all teleported together into the alley that Serena had used before. From there they checked into a local hotel, Rei's German far more fluent than Serena's had ever been. "Let's split up." Serena said once they were all settled in, "Rei, Artemis and Darien, you three see if you can track down Zoicite. Luna, Mina and I will find Ami. Don't attack him Rei. I want to know if he remembers who he is or not." Rei glared at her princess for a moment before nodding and heading out the door with the other two members of her group. She knew they needed information. She knew Serena was right. But that didn't mean that she had to like it. Mina watched the others leave before turning to Serena, "Are you sure that sending Pyro to find Zoicite was the right thing to do?" Serena looked after where her friend had headed out, "I trust her." Shaking her head as if to clear it, she looked at Mina, "Rei knows this is important and she won't screw it up. Besides, she's got Darien and Artemis with her to do damage control." Mina laughed, "Alright. We better head out then too. Where do we start?" * * * * * Zoicite sat in the back of a large lecture hall and thought about his plan. It was perfect. Everything was ready and had been planned out. He pulled out a small ring and looked at it critically. He wondered if he really should have gotten the traditional band and stone like the guy at the jewelry store had suggested. But this had somehow seemed more appropriate, more meaningful. He was still amazed that he had actually been able to find a rock that match Ami's eyes. The band was a play on his name that he knew Ami would understand immediately and would appreciate. But the zoicite did give a darker feeling to the ring. He sighed as he re-pocketed the ring. He knew he was going to give it to Ami someday, and he had made a thousand plans for how to do it but every time he tried something stopped him. It was like he was being torn apart, one part of him urging him to give the ring to her now, before anything happened to take her away from him, while another part held him back, almost as if he knew that giving her the ring right now would be...arg! He didn't know! All that he knew was that he needed Ami in his life. He had known that she was the one from the moment he had first set eyes on her. And he was sick of all these silly, stupid feelings that something was going to jump out of the shadows and steal her away. He was just being irrational. This time he wasn't giving himself a chance to back out. In two days, he swore to himself. In two days. * * * * * Serena and Mina, carrying Luna, walked up to Ami's house. This time there was no one lounging on the front porch to greet them. "Okay, one last time, what's the story?" Mina asked as they walked towards the front door. "We're keeping it simple. You two went to the same high school as she did and are new here. You were hoping Ami could help you get oriented." Luna said. Mina nodded and knocked on the door. After a few tense moments, a very disheveled woman opened the door and blinked sleepily at them. Mina immediately introduced herself and asked if Ami was there, or at least that was what Serena thought she was saying. In any case, the end result was the girl at the door turning around and yelling into the house. Moments later Ami appeared at the door, a curious expression on her face, while the other girl disappeared back into the house. * * * * * Ami looked at the two girls in front of her. She had actually expected it to be Zoi. Not many other people came looking for her at her house, at least not unexpectedly. Both girls were blonde, while the one with the weird pig-tails had a cat sitting on her shoulder the other one had a red ribbon braided into her hair. The other one introduced them as Mina and Serena. While Mina was talking a mile a minute, the other girl seemed to stand a little ways back and just quietly listen. Well, that was no wonder. Mina was talking so fast and enthusiastically that no one else would have stood a chance at trying to get a word in. When they explained that they were from Ami's old high school, Ami remembered something her mother had called about. Maybe she had misunderstood. Maybe this had been what was meant. Not a high school reunion but a couple old classmates looking for her help while they were new in town. That made more sense to her. Finally, it seemed like Mina was winding down. "So, it would be great if you could help us find our way around. We are so lost. Everything is really different and neither of us familiar with Germany at all. Oh, and do you mind if we talk in Japanese from now on. Serena's German isn't too good. Actually, it's horrible. Don't tell her I said that okay? Anyways, will you take us around? Please? I'll love you forever and ever." It took Ami a second to realize that the human ball of energy in front of her had stopped talking and another couple seconds for her brain to finally catch up and process everything. "Um...sure. I really should be studying but..." Ami said hesitantly, switching to Japanese for the benefit of the other girl. "Great!" Mina cheered, and Ami couldn't help but smile as Mina swung around towards Serena and held up two fingers, forming a 'V'. Ami could have sworn that for a second she saw the cat on Serena's shoulder shakes it's head. * * * * * Deep in the shadows a shadow separated its self and, after one last glance at the pair of girls it had been following, disappeared. * * * * * Darien watched Rei as she charged ahead and shook his head. "Rei!" he yelled, managing to get her attention. "What?" she asked, managing not to snap at him as she stopped walking. "Where are we going?" Rei opened her mouth to retort and then realized she had no clue. They didn't know anything about where to find Zoicite or even how to start looking. Looking around madly she saw a university library and smiled as an idea hit her. "We're going in here!" she said pointing, "First order of business, figure out that guy's last name." After a hour of searching through the schools directory they were able to find not only Zoicite's last name, Itsu, but his phone number, address and class schedule. Apparently the guy was here on some sort of outstanding scholar award and was studying in the school of Medicine. The three then put their heads together to plan out their next move. "Well, he supposedly has class right now. We could go follow him after he leaves class." Darien suggested. "We could also go check out his place, since we know he isn't there right now." Rei suggested. Darien thought about it for a second, "I'm not sure. It might be hard to find him later. But I can see where we might find more interesting things at his apartment. What do you think Artemis?" Artemis looked at the two of them. "Let's find Zoicite first and try and figure out who's side he's on first. Then we can try breaking into his apartment." "Rei?" Darien asked. "Sounds fine to me." Rei nodded. Darien breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like the fiery priestess had calmed down. He could tell that she was still angry but she was thinking now as well. She was like a little sister to him and he hated seeing her in pain. And she was. Rei had always masked her feelings with anger. The way she constantly yelled at Serena some days was just Rei's way of showing how much she cared. He had also heard Serena complain about Rei enough times he knew, in a way, it was because Serena respected the other girl so much. And if he were to guess, the reason those two fought so much wasn't because they hated each other, but because they cared so much about each other. But she also masked pain and hurt with anger too and Jadeite's betrayal had hurt her deeply. And now those old wounds had been ripped open anew. Maybe they could finally be healed? * * * * * Rubeus listened in delight as the dark demon in front of him reported. "And you were able to tract their energy signature back to it's origin?" he asked. "Yes master. It originated in one of the temples in Japan." "Wonderful. I want you to go back to watching the blondes. One of them is Sailor Moon. I know it. You and you!" he said pointing to two other demons crouching against the wall, "One of you watch this shrine while the other finds the other three that teleported from Japan to Germany." The red haired man chuckled as the monsters under his control scampered off. His net was slowly contracting around Sailor Moon and soon he would have her. He wouldn't make the same mistakes everyone else had made. This time around he had no intention of fighting Sailor Moon. No. This time he would kill her. And he would never even give her a chance to fight. Rubeus pulled the hood of his cloak up once again and wandered off, deeper into the maze of caverns, lost in thought. * * * * * |
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