A NEW SONG -by: the Yarnspinner- the_yarnspinner@yahoo.com A Sekkushiaru Roman featuring characters from the anime "Sailor Moon" Rated: H > Chapter 5 - Never Turn Back < Serena lay on the floor of Rei's room, her eyes closed, deep in meditation. Out in front of the sacred fire, Rei opened up her senses, readying herself for their latest training exercise. Rei had brought in the other girls, along with Luna and Artemis, telling them only that she and Serena thought they could backtrack the link that told Tuxedo Kamen when Sailor Moon was in danger. Luna and Artemis had both praised them for their initiative. Now, Ami watched Serena's slow breathing, and counted the time. She nodded at Lita, who struck the floor right next to Serena's head with a stick, producing a loud crack. The first time they had tried something like this, Serena had nearly gone through the roof, but this time she hardly flinched. Rei smiled inwardly, and prepared for the hard part. A psychic projection such as she was about to try did not come easily for her, and was virtually impossible for her without the fire as her focal point. It required extensive preparation time. Two earlier scheduled attempts had to be canceled because the Senshi had been needed, interrupting her preparation. She reached outward, focusing herself on Serena, to test how she would react. Rei sensed only vague and disjointed emotions, but even with her now heightened awareness, could sense no clear thoughts from Serena. This struck her as odd, since Serena shouldn't have gotten that good in such a short period of time. As Rei focused in more, she could sense Serena's presence, but still no thoughts, then encountered a screen that blocked her. Within the screen, she saw two glowing objects, one golden and one silver, that seemed to be slowly circling each other. 'That's odd,' Rei thought. 'Serena only mentioned the golden glow. Could the silver one be the ginzuishou?' The screen complicated matters. This clearly represented a very strong natural resistance to psychic probes, and it held Rei away from where she really needed to be. Already Rei was tiring and she certainly was not up to trying to force her way through the screen. Maybe another surprise test would work. 'Hey! Meatball head!' she mentally screamed. Immediately the glows took on a blinding intensity. Mina and Artemis were watching Rei, hearing a sudden gasp. Rei's body suddenly lifted off the floor and was hurled like a limp rag doll across the room. "Rei!" Mina cried, shocked. "What happened?" Lita asked from the other room. "Serena's having some sort of a seizure." "Is Rei alright?" Luna asked. "I don't know yet," said Mina. Rei blinked her eyes open, but had trouble focusing. Only once before had she been hit that hard, and once again she felt lucky to be in one piece. "She's waking up," Mina called. "Good," said Ami, who was moving back and forth trying to check up on both girls. "Yeah," Lita agreed. "Serena's stopped flailing. Good thing, too. I don't think I could have held her down any longer." "Rei? Are you alright?" Mina asked. "I will be. Eventually," she said softly, slowly sitting up and rubbing her temple. "I just have a killer headache." "How are you, Serena?" Lita asked, in Rei's room. "I'm OK," she insisted. "But what about Rei?" The girls all gathered in front of the sacred fire, as Rei seemed the least mobile at that moment. Ami brought glasses of water for Rei and Serena, and insisted they both drink. "What happened?" Luna asked. Rei rubbed her temple once more. "Serena has a very strong natural resistance to psychic probing. It kept me from getting as deep as I wanted to. So, I basically just shouted at her." "Shouted is right," Serena declared. "It felt like a loudspeaker right against my ear!" "Well, the resistance is good news, isn't it?" Lita asked. "Not necessarily," Rei replied. "The link she has with Darien is much deeper, inside her barriers. If she gets into a fight with the shadow Endymion, that's where we can expect him to strike." "What more can we do?" Artemis asked. "Well, I can keep drilling Serena on these mental exercises we've been doing, but anything more would need someone with a lot more psychic knowledge and ability than I've got," Rei said. "What's wrong, Luna?" Ami asked, noticing the black cat staring off into space. "I thought I remembered something," Luna said quietly. "Ooh, there are times when I really hate that our memories are not yet complete! I'm certain that there is something I should know about this sort of thing that would help you, Rei." "Maybe you should try some meditation of your own, Luna," Artemis suggested. "Might help you bring it back." "I'll consider that," Luna said. "But now, how are you two girls doing?" "I'm doing OK, Luna," Serena said. "Well, based on past... Uhm, based on how I feel, I think I'm going to need about an hour before I'll be ready to do much," Rei said. "Then I think we should call it an afternoon, and confine ourselves to just regular Sailor training tomorrow," Luna said. "Serena and Rei, you can't help Darien if you push yourselves too hard." - - - - - - - - - - Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter reached the Juuban Land amusement park to find that Mercury had just rescued her friend Greg and the other former nijizuishou carriers from Tuxedo Kamen, who promptly declared that he would recapture them as soon as he had gotten rid of the Senshi. "You wanna bet? You picked the wrong enemy!" Sailor Moon told him. Jupiter and Mercury attacked Tuxedo Kamen jointly, knocking him off balance. "Moon... Healing... Activation!" Sailor Moon cried, as she turned the power of the ginzuishou and the crescent moon wand on him. She could feel the glow brightening within her. Darien felt it as well. As her healing power tried to wash away the shadow Endymion, Darien joined the effort by adding to the flood of emotions and memories. Endymion struggled, but Sailor Moon only increased the power she was throwing against him. She dug deep into her reserves, letting the power of her love for Darien pour not just through their link, but through the ginzuishou as well. The glow within her was fully as bright as the crystal. Rei's training was paying off as she could feel the shadow Endymion weakening. Sailor Moon was vaguely aware of Luna urging her on as she put all her effort into the healing love and energy washing over Darien. Finally, it was over, as Tuxedo Kamen reverted to Darien, who collapsed to the ground. "You did it, Sailor Moon! It's the old Darien!" Jupiter exclaimed. Swept with joy, but physically and mentally drained, Sailor Moon sank to her knees. She just needed a moment to catch her breath, she knew, and then she would take him in her arms, never to lose him again. "Way to go, Sailor Moon," Luna said. Just then, tendrils of dark energy swept around Darien, enveloping him and teleporting him away. "No! Not again," Serena gasped, her heart breaking. In desperation, and ignoring her exhaustion, she reached deep for the glow within her. She quickly felt Darien's pain as Beryl once more subjected him to her treatment. He was almost as drained as she was, quickly retreating back within himself, and struggling to reestablish his barriers. Serena poured her strength into him, with no regard for herself. Ami, Lita, and Luna watched, puzzled, as Serena sat on the cold ground, a look of deep concentration of her face. The ginzuishou was glowing in her hand. "What's she up to now?" Lita wondered. "I have no idea," Luna answered. - - - - - - - - - - As Darien struggled to protect himself as he had done before, he realized that at least the shadow Endymion would have no knowledge of being attacked from any other source than Sailor Moon's crystal and wand. Darien had launched his own assault only after Sailor Moon had unleashed the healing power of the crescent moon wand. This meant he was safe for the moment, if his barrier held against Beryl's brainwashing. If she had suspected he was not fully within her control, she would surely dig until she found every last part of him. - - - - - - - - - - Serena returned to Darien's apartment, where she collapsed on his bed and let the tears pour out of her. It had all gone so perfectly. Mercury and Jupiter had weakened the shadow Endymion, lowering his resistance just as Rei had thought would be necessary. Serena had then used the crescent moon wand and her link with Darien to break through Beryl's programming. But then, so casually, Beryl had reclaimed him, taking him away while Serena and the others watched helplessly. The pain in her heart was almost unbearable. As she lay there, she knew that Darien had successfully protected himself, as he had done before. But how could they rescue him once and for all if Beryl could simply sweep him back to the Negaverse? Then it occurred to her. The Senshi would have to attack the Negaverse, carrying the fight to Beryl, rather than waiting for her to come to them. Only by destroying Beryl could Darien's freedom be assured. Her jaw set as Serena saw Darien's face in her mind. "Beryl is toast!" she growled. - - - - - - - - - - It did not prove as easy as Serena had hoped. She sat on the floor in the temple, trying to determine Darien's location. While she could sense the glow within her, and through that could sometimes communicate with him, she found his homing sense stubbornly refused to work in reverse. "Maybe it's because he's not on Earth," Mina suggested later. "That could be," said Luna. "Ami, any luck on your scans of that warp hole?" Artemis asked. "It's still too soon to say for sure," Ami answered. "But it is at least looking hopeful." For several days, they had tried to trick the Negaverse into thinking the Senshi were kicking Sailor Moon out, in the hopes that she could gain access to the Negaverse. Though it had initially appeared to be working, the plan had to be aborted at the last moment as Sailor Moon and Malachite each became suspicious of the other, but not before Malachite had opened a warp hole that he said led to the Negaverse. "What are you thinking?" asked Luna. "I'm convinced Rei and Serena have the right idea. We have to take the fight to Beryl, both to defeat the Negaverse and to rescue Darien," Artemis said. "Serena healed him once, so Beryl won't let Darien out of her sight again if she can help it." - - - - - - - - - - Darien could sense the shadow Endymion chafing at the restriction. Endymion was a warrior who wasn't being allowed to fight. Meanwhile, his rival, Malachite, indicated he was on the verge of bringing Beryl's plans to fruition. Endymion was remarkably vulnerable at that moment, Darien realized. Beryl had greatly increased the power of her spell in order to make it harder for Sailor Moon to use her crystal and wand on Endymion, but his internal resistance was considerably less than it had been. More proof that Beryl mistakenly thought she owned him entirely. Despite this opportunity, he rejected any thought of trying to regain control on his own. Although he had little doubt that he could now succeed, especially since he could count on a flood of power from Serena as she caught on to what he was doing, defeating Endymion would leave him drained, and still on hostile ground where he would have to face all of Beryl's forces. Odds like that were a little too long for his liking. Thoughts of Malachite brought back more memories. Instead of being adversaries, Malachite was Prince Endymion's senior aide. He remembered Malachite, joined by his other aides, Jedite, Neflite, and Zoisite, offering their congratulations when Endymion and Princess Serenity had privately announced their engagement. Later, Malachite had volunteered to lead a special force to destroy the Negaverse's portal to Earth. It would be a near suicide mission. Already, reports were coming back of humans being enslaved to join the forces of the Negaverse. "Be careful, my friend," Endymion had told Malachite. "If Beryl were to enslave you with her power, our cause would be seriously weakened." "Don't worry, your highness. She won't find me an easy victim. But I have plans in case we should fail." Malachite had produced a small blade he had brought back from a trip to Japan. Endymion knew the samurai carried such a blade to commit suicide if they were beaten in battle. "I hope it won't come to that," he said. "So do I," Malachite laughed. He quickly grew more serious, leaning closer to the prince's ear. "I do have a request to make, however." "What is it?" "If the worst should happen, and I am forced to betray you, your highness, I ask that you kill me with your own blade. I have some knowledge of these spells such as Beryl must be using. My only true release would be in death," Malachite said. Endymion wanted to argue with his friend, but understood what he was asking and why. Malachite was an honorable man above all else. Being forced to betray his prince would, in Malachite's view, completely and irreparably strip him of that honor. "If it comes to that," Endymion told him quietly. And the worst had happened. Malachite had walked straight into a trap, but still managed to inflict heavy losses on the Negaverse before being captured. Endymion had presumed him dead until Malachite appeared with the forces attacking the Moon Kingdom. Now, through the shadow Endymion, Darien understood that though Malachite had been the first of the Earth generals captured, he had been the last to succumb to Beryl's reconditioning. A voice inside Darien urged him to free himself and grant the good Malachite's wish. He held himself under control. Beryl was the immediate threat. Once she was destroyed, assuming Darien survived, then he could go home. Home, to his Serena. - - - - - - - - - - Serena collapsed into bed. Between Luna's intensified Senshi training, and the psychic exercises with Rei, she was completely exhausted. Darien, however, was feeling more optimistic that if the Senshi could break into the Negaverse, he could overcome the shadow Endymion. Meanwhile, Artemis had reviewed the results of Ami's scan of the warp hole, and suggested that he may have found a very promising lead. Maybe this could all be over soon. As Serena sought sleep, the glow within her brightened, and she seemed to feel Darien's soft, soothing touch all over her. The warmth surrounded her, penetrating to the depths of her being. She was vaguely aware of her nipples growing hard and aroused, and of a different warmth growing within her and moving down toward her thighs. Asleep, she dreamed he lay in bed with her. He had removed her pajamas and snuggled her head against his shoulder. Her body longed for more, but his strong arms held her in place, while his voice whispered to her gently. All awareness seemed to fade as she drifted into a deeper, more restful sleep. - - - - - - - - - - At the temple, Rei was now teaching all the Senshi her mental exercises, helping them to focus and increase their powers. Mina was demonstrating some tricks she had acquired while Sailor V, and Ami was reviewing the data she and Artemis had uncovered on the Negaverse. Lita had taken charge of physical training to help the girls increase their endurance. Serena outlined the basic information she had learned from Darien. They were preparing for the anticipated final showdown. Only a week earlier, Artemis had announced that he had found an existing portal into the Negaverse. The Senshi had found themselves in a maze of tunnels. While Luna and Artemis went one way, the Senshi went another, eventually encountering Malachite and then being swept away to the ruins of the Moon Kingdom. There, the spirit of Queen Serenity had shown them the final attack by the Negaverse, and her own self-sacrifice to save her people. Moved to tears, the Senshi were returned to the tunnels, finding Malachite attacking Luna and Artemis. Once again, Malachite proved an overmatch for the Senshi until faced with the power of the ginzuishou. He had hurled two scythe-like blades of energy, which Sailor Moon easily deflected right back at him. The wounds proved fatal. To her surprise, Serena found Darien expressing relief for Malachite. Luna and Artemis told the Senshi they had found Beryl's staging area high up in the arctic. Clearly, the invasion was imminent. Returning to Tokyo, they had stepped up their training, delaying as long as they dared, knowing that each additional day would make them that much better prepared to face Beryl. - - - - - - - - - - Sailor Moon stood alone on the ice. Behind her, the other Senshi lay dead, each having sacrificed herself for her. Even now, their spirits were urging her on to face Beryl. Within, she felt the glow from Darien. He too was somewhere ahead, waiting for her to free him. "Beryl is a goner!" Sailor Moon declared. Soon, an energy globe enveloped her, carrying her into the Negaverse. "Sailor Moon. How nice of you to drop in. Welcome to my Negaverse," said Beryl. "You're Queen Beryl." "Yes. And you remember Prince Endymion." The shadows melted away from Beryl, revealing Endymion kneeling and kissing her hand. "Prince Endymion, I want that ginzuishou. Now!" "Consider it done, my queen. It's been sweet, Sailor Moon," Endymion said, leaping to the attack. Within, Darien raged in impotence. Beryl had poured considerable power into Endymion for this fight. Unless he was considerably weakened, Darien would not be able to fight him. "Darien! No!" Sailor Moon cried, both aloud and through the link. Unaware of Darien's predicament, she readied the crescent moon wand and turned its power on Endymion, with no noticeable effect. Even Darien's glow hardly responded. "It's no use!" declared Beryl. "You can't heal him! Not even your crystal can break the spell I cast. Prince Endymion is mine, now and forever!" Endymion vaulted toward her, striking Sailor Moon hard with the flat of his sword, and knocking the moon wand away. As an injured Sailor Moon struggled to retrieve her wand, Beryl declared her triumph, ordering Endymion to finish Sailor Moon off. 'Just one chance,' Sailor Moon thought, doing her best to look far weaker and more vulnerable than she really was. 'I know she's wrong about you, Darien. You're not evil.' As Endymion raised his sword for the killing blow, Sailor Moon rolled suddenly and hurled her tiara at him. 'Please, let this work,' she prayed silently. Gasping in pain, Endymion fell to the floor, while within, Darien sensed his opportunity approaching. "I warned you," Beryl said, as Endymion struggled back to his feet. "You can't turn him against me. His mind belongs to the Negaverse now. He'll never turn against his queen." "Goodbye, Sailor Moon," Endymion growled. "Darien, she may have your mind, but your heart belongs to me," Sailor Moon said, flooding her memories of him through the link. Immediately, she felt Darien's strong presence, ready to act. "You are the enemy!" Endymion declared. "No. I'm not," she said, holding out the star locket, and making no move to defend herself. "Look. It's our locket. Don't destroy it. Remember. It's *our* locket. The symbol of everything we shared. Don't let her destroy it. It's me, Darien. Princess Serenity." Darien made his move, feeling power flowing from her. Endymion was still strong, but Darien gradually gained a slight advantage as Serena's words continued to wash through his heart. "I remember," Darien said, struggling to make his hand reach for the locket. At the first contact of his finger, light, both gold and silver, flooded through him, washing away the shadow Endymion, the twisted, dark image of the noble prince Darien had been in his former life. Beryl screamed her outrage as Darien dropped his sword and collapsed to his knees in front of Sailor Moon. She quickly took him in her arms. "Thank you," he said, his voice weak. A red rose fell beside him. "I'm free." "I know, Darien. I know," she said, holding his head to her breast, tears of joy streaming down her face for the man she loved. "This Sailor brat is not going to insult me in my own place!" screamed Beryl, hurling a huge rock spear at them. With blinding speed, Darien threw a rose which shattered the spear, then impaled itself in Beryl's chest, its magic stabbing her to the core. In the same move, he pushed Sailor Moon to the floor, shielding her from the rock fragments with his own body. "You haven't seen the last of me, Sailor Moon," Beryl said weakly, as she disappeared through the floor. "Oh, Darien. Can you hear me?" Sailor Moon asked, seeing that he was seriously injured. "Answer me." "I'll find a way back to you," he said, knowing their love had outlasted one lifetime already. "Hey, you can call me meatball head," she said, drawing a soft chuckle from him, before he died in her arms. 'Beryl is going to pay for this!' Sailor Moon thought. She made her way out onto the ice, where she saw Beryl, now greatly enlarged, her hair green instead of auburn, and obviously possessed by the Negaforce. Reveling in her power, Beryl was laughing. "Better enjoy that laugh, Beryl. It's the last one you'll ever have. You'll never rule the universe as long as I live," Sailor Moon declared. "We better get this over with then," Beryl said. "Let's get to it." "You don't know what you're up against. Goodbye, Sailor Moon!" Beryl screamed. She struck Sailor Moon with a massive wave of dark energy, encasing her in a huge pillar of ice. Suddenly, however, the top of the pillar split, flattening out into a plateau. "I *will* defeat you, Beryl. In the name of the moon!" Serena said, now in the form of Princess Serenity. "You?! Pitiful little Princess Serenity?" Serena raised the crescent moon wand as Beryl launched another barrage of dark energy. "Cosmic moon power," Serena cried, the ginzuishou's brilliant silver glow holding Beryl's energy back. "I am not letting you win this one, you witch. My friends are counting on me!" The spirits of the other Senshi joined her, offering their help. "I do need all of you. Please." They joined their power to hers. "Cosmic moon power, unite!" Serena cried, as her own power, that of her love for Darien, and the combined power of the other Senshi joined together, releasing a massive ball of energy. "This can't be! Nooo!" Beryl screamed, as the ball swept inexorably over her, destroying her. Serena poured every bit of herself into the crystal, leaving her physical body to fall to the ice, dead. Her consciousness merged into the crystal as its energy spread across the globe. 'I want everything to be peaceful, and back to normal, like none of this had ever happened.' The crystal translated that wish into reality. As the Negaverse was destroyed, all traces of it were erased from the Earth. Her friends were restored to their normal lives, with no memories of each other or the Senshi. Darien, too, was sent back to a normal life, with no memory. Yet still it was not finished. Overwhelmed by the raw power flowing from the crystal, Serena was no longer truly aware of what was going on. Somewhere in the back of Serena's mind, as with her mother, Queen Serenity, before her, was a faint concern about future evil. Responding to this, the crystal left Luna and Artemis the only two beings unaffected. Finally, the ginzuishou returned Serena to her body and sent her home like everyone else, with no memory of the great deeds she had accomplished. The next morning, Serena woke up to realize that she was late for school yet again. < To be continued >