Dancing with Darkness - Chapter 8
Title: Dancing with Darkness
Chapter 8
Summary: In a twist of time and fate, the Senshi find themselves enslaved to Metallia while the Shitennou were reborn to fight alongside of Endymion. Not everyone is who they appear to be, or fighting for what they claim but they are all seeking the Silver Crystal.
“We are making a mistake,” Sailor Mars spat looking in Kunzite’s direction. “You should let me kill her and be done with it.” She stood in front of Queen Beryl with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Kunzite stood off to the side near her, facing Beryl with his face a mask of stone. Beryl sat perched higher up on her throne, her long fingernails tapping impatiently against the armrests. She leaned to her right, crossing her legs slowly.
“Now now, Mars,” Beryl smiled wantonly, “it’s a little soon for this type of talk. I would at least like to hear what Kunzite has to say first.” She turned her eyes to Kunzite. “Now please, tell me why I am going to let her live.”
Kunzite stood tall with his arms crossed in front of him. “She is strong and I believe she knows the whereabouts of the P -“ he paused to correct his thought, “the Silver Crystal.” Beryl had never openly admitted to her falsity and he had so far opted not to directly address the issue with her. “If we kill her, the secret dies with her.”
“She will turn on us again, my Queen,” Mars countered.
“She will be under my watchful eye,” Kunzite shot back.
“Among other things I suppose,” Mars drawled maliciously.
“Had I lost my charge I might be bitter as well,” his eyes narrowed in amusement.
Mars turned her head to the side to look at Kunzite, pointing her arm at him in a swift motion. “If it’s a fight you’re looking for -.”
“Enough!” Beryl shouted, putting an end to their bickering. “For now, she stays.” Her eyes looked from Mars to Kunzite. “One misstep on either of your parts though, Kunzite, and you will regret your decision. It would be for the best if all three of you learned how to work together. I won’t stand for anymore of this dissention. Am I understood?” Mars and Kunzite glared at each other, neither speaking. “Am I understood?!” she shouted. Kunzite smiled cruelly and Mars turned on her heel and stalked out of the room. Beryl turned her eyes towards Kunzite once again. “One mistake, Kunzite - that’s all I’m waiting for. She has been a distraction to you as of late and I’m hoping that having her here and under my control will alleviate the issue.”
“There will be no issue, my Queen.” Despite his normal indifference towards her he bowed before walking out of the room.
“And, Kunzite,” her voice rang out, echoing in the spaciousness of the room. He turned back to look at her. “I would like for you to do me a favor. It shouldn’t take you very long at all.” A smile tugged at the corner of her lips and he knew that this was her first test of his loyalty.
We would like to be what we are and live together. We would like to make our future the way we are. No matter how tough, I want to live this life.
‘I want to live this life….’ Mina thought sadly as the memory faded.
Exasperated, Kunzite walked down the hall heading towards his room, annoyance clearly written on his normally stony features. Beryl had requested that he complete menial tasks that served no other purpose than to make sure he was willing to listen and obey her orders. Normally he would have paid her little heed but he was not going to give her the excuse to ruin his vendetta.
He entered his quarters to find Mina laying face down on his bed, by all appearances still asleep in her orange and white fuku. Yet her breathing seemed too irregular for her to have been sleeping very long. Cautiously he peered around the room and upon finding no one, sat down next to her, resting his hand on her back. He could feel her heart beating strongly as she rolled over to look at him. “Why is your heart beating so fast?” he asked her.
“I was dreaming before you arrived. It was a sad memory.”
“Was someone in here with you?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I need you to tell me everything that you know, Mina. Where are the Princess and the Crystal?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Why did you turn your back on Endymion? Earlier you were fairly adamant about not betraying him.”
“I wanted to be back with you.”
“There is more that you’re not telling me.”
“You appear to know more than I do,” her voice took on a defensive tone as she sat up to face him.
“I need you to prove your loyalty to me, Mina, as it seems that you are not going to be welcomed back with open arms. This puts me in a difficult position because I need all of your memories intact and exposure to Beryl’s dark energy may cause you to forget certain things of great importance.”
“I just sold my soul to the devil to be here with you. If that’s not enough for you then I don’t know what is.” She moved to step off of the bed but was stopped when he grabbed her arm, pulling her forcefully back towards him. As she landed on her back he kneeled on the bed, placing one hand menacingly over her neck as he leaned over her.
“I recognized your Guardian - tell me what he’s doing here,” he pressed her for information.
“He told me everything. I know how this battle is going to end, the same way as it did last time, with you dead at my hands.”
“I thought you said that I killed you,” his eyes narrowed.
“One by one my Senshi killed you and your fellow Shitennou - Rei killed Jadeite, Jupiter killed Nephrite, I killed Zoicite, and together we killed you.”
“And what of Beryl?” his hand released her neck, although his other hand still firmly pressed against her chest holding her in place.
“I killed her,” she spat. “Apparently twice was not enough to keep her that way.”
“Metallia?”
“Serenity and Endymion fought her, and with the power of the Silver Crystal she was defeated.”
“So then why are we here again?”
“I never had the opportunity to find out. What I do know is that we need to finish this ourselves to make sure that we don’t keep repeating this reality.”
“And how do you propose that we do this?”
“I think you already know the answer to that. Isn’t that why you’ve been feeding me information?”
“To an extent.”
“Good. Then I believe that we are almost done. There are only a couple more obstacles to go.”
“But this still leaves us on opposing sides when all is said and done.”
“I don’t know about that….” She drawled, leaning up to kiss him. “We can cross that bridge when we get there.”
“So you do have your own agenda,” he responded slyly.
“I am here at your mercy, Kunzite,” she smiled seductively, gesturing towards her current position under his grasp. “By all appearances I seem to be your prisoner.”
“What else is it that you are holding back from me?”
“Nothing.”
“Then if I were to make you forget all of your memories there would be nothing lost right?”
“I loved you in the Silver Millennium and I cherish those memories of us. But if it means being with you now I will gladly give up all of them.”
“Minako,” his eyes softened for a moment and he gently kissed her forehead. When he looked back into her eyes she saw that there was nothing but cruelty staring back at her. “When did you become so weak?” His hand pushed against her chest and she could feel a surge of dark energy pouring through her body. Her mouth opened but no sound came out. It felt as if the air in her lungs were being pulled from her body leaving her to slowly suffocate. A topaz stone appeared on her forehead, shining brightly in the dimness of his room. With each passing second the brilliance of the gem started to lose its luster as she started to succumb to the darkness invading her vision. Her body glowed as her transformation lost its ability to hold and her fuku disappeared leaving her nude body in his grasp.
“This is the end for us isn’t it?” Venus asked Kunzite as he leaned against the large tree trunk with his hands in his pockets. They stood alone on the Moon, as far from the Moon Palace as they could go. Overhead the Earth shone brightly as if it were a reminder of the distance growing between them, despite the close proximity of their bodies.
“It doesn’t have to be, Minako,” his voice was gruff despite the gentleness of his words.
“I would never betray my Princess the way you have forsaken your Prince,” she spat, trying to hold back the flood of emotions threatening to take over. “What happened to you?”
“The people of Earth fear those of the Moon and I can’t leave them to believe they have been left by those who are sworn to protect them.”
“You can dispel those rumors if you so chose to. Why is it that you don’t want to stop this battle?”
“I don’t have a choice in the matter. This is my calling.”
“You’ve sold your soul to the Devil that’s what you’ve done,” her eyes narrowed accusingly.
“I’m doing what is best for my planet and its inhabitants! Don’t accuse me of doing the wrong thing. If the people of the Moon were to rebel against those of Earth where would you stand? Would you stand by my side and turn your back on them? Or would you do everything in your power to protect them?”
“There is nothing to protect them from. You know that we have no interest in hurting anyone. We are ruled by a peaceful sovereign who wants nothing more than harmony for this Universe.” He did not respond to her words and instead stood silently with his arms firmly crossed. Her hands were clenched into tight fists and she fought against the urge to physically lash out at him.
“I don’t want to lose you, Minako, but I don’t have a choice in the matter.”
“Kunzite, please, talk to me.”
“I can’t talk to you anymore. This is for the best that we do this now.” He reached forward and enveloped her in his arms, closing the distance between them. She fought against his grasp but he held firm not wanting to allow her to break their contact. Despite her strength he could tell that at the same time she was battling against herself to allow him to be so near to her. He leaned down and gently kissed her eyelids, pulling her head against his chest, where she finally stopped resisting.
They stood pressed up against the tree, trying to stay hidden from view. Her hair fluttered in the breeze and his brown blue-lined cape wrapped around their bodies. This attractive couple would normally be hard to miss except that they took every precaution when ducking away to make sure that no one would be able to follow them. For as long as time allowed they relaxed in each other’s arms, glad to be able to share in this moment with each other. It was growing late and the air was becoming cooler and the woman shivered ever so slightly as the air ruffled the orange skirt of her fuku that no one would have noticed, save for him who could see through every look she gave him to know its true meaning. His hand pulled tighter against her waist, covered by a white top with orange bows and she allowed him to hold her closer. No one could ever touch this Goddess save for this one heavenly king who breathed in her scent and knew that he would never let her go, not as long as she allowed him to love her. Which was all the more reason why she would have to stop loving him now while she still had a chance to resist him. A darkness had started seeping into him that he could not explain, and for some reason he was afraid to confide this detail to her. This revelation startled him as he realized that this was the first time he had ever truly been afraid - of anything.
“I have to go now.” He stepped back from her and started to walk away before his resolve faded.
“Will I see you again?” she called after him.
“I hope not,” he answered so quietly that his words were carried away by the wind and never reached her ears.
She watched unmoving as the surreal moment continued to pass before her eyes. There was a change in him - that much she could sense. His uneasiness affected her and she couldn’t help but to reflect the same emotion. Despite the battle that was surely raging inside of him, his outward appearance seemed unchanged. His gait was strong and even as normal; his shoulders remained squared as his cape fluttered behind him. The feeling of his arms around her lingered on her skin even as their physical distance continued to grow.
Mina opened her eyes and found herself lying in a strange bed, its owner nowhere in sight. She attempted to sit up but found herself tangled in a set of maroon sheets with a delicious scent reminiscent of Kunzite. ‘What was it she was dreaming that would have made her toss and turn so extremely?’ she wondered. Slowly she extracted herself from her sheets and stretched her arms over her head feeling refreshed as though she had slept for days. Her eyes cast downward to see that she wore nothing underneath the sheet. Strange, she didn’t recall falling asleep with no clothes on, yet she didn’t seem to remember falling asleep at all either. Unhurriedly she pulled herself from the bed with the sheet trailing after her, allowing it to collapse in a silken heap on the floor. Her arms reached over her head and in flash she was suited up in her white fuku that now reflected the upgrade in her powers. No longer were her feet adorned in a pair of orange heels - now she wore a pair of white boots that stopped at her knees, the tops trimmed in orange. A feeling of power washed over her and she felt comforted by her newfound strength.
She exited what she assumed to be Kunzite’s room and strolled through the dark hallways. Everywhere she went it seemed that all shadows were oozing with the same dark energy that now flowed through her veins. What did seem odd was how no one was in sight. It seemed plausible that Rei would be keeping her distance seeing as though they had a score to settle. Danburite, however, was always lingering around whenever she was in the Dark Kingdom. Although with Kunzite here she assumed that he was off sulking somewhere, plagued in his own selfish desires to care what was going on around him. He had been jealous of Kunzite since she first made contact with him. Hopefully he had moved past his ridiculous resentments and would be more willing to work with her now that she was back.
Deciding that she was bored with walking around in apparent isolation, she attempted to teleport herself back to ground level in search of amusement, but was shocked to find that she could not. She even attempted to open a portal with no success. Something was keeping her trapped in this dungeon and she found herself growing angrier with each passing second. She screamed out a cry of frustration, only to hear the echo’s of laughter filtering back to her ears. Her eyes narrowed as she looked around trying to locate the source of the inane laughter until she recognized the voice. “Danburite,” she called sweetly. “I’m not really in the mood to play hide-n-go-seek with you.”
He appeared behind her, gently placing his hands on her arms. “But that’s always been a favorite of ours,” he pretended to be upset by her comment.
“Why am I trapped here?” she made no effort to hide her frustration.
“Has no one told you what happened?”
She turned her head to look at him. “No, I have been unable to find anyone in these twisted halls. What is going on?”
“You are going to have to speak to our beloved Queen for that answer. Maybe even your Princess if she decides to make an appearance for us today.”
“I have no interest in talking to Beryl. Where is my Princess?”
“Hmm….” he said walking away from her. “That is always a good question.”
“Tell me, Danburite,” Venus warned as she followed after him.
“She is with Kunzite I would assume. They have been spending quite a bit of time together as of late.”
“And why would that be?”
“I told you, my Aphrodite, great power calls to great power. It was inevitable that they would find themselves together.”
“I see,” she chewed on her lower lip contemplating his words.
“Beryl has asked me to retrieve you, so without further ado….” His voice trailed off as he smiled and opened a portal in front of them.
Venus stiffly walked through the portal and emerged in front of Beryl. She half expected Danburite to follow her, but quickly realized that as was typical of him, he was nowhere to be found. “My Queen,” she bowed her head.
“My Venus, you’ve finally been returned to me.”
“Have I been gone long?” she tried to disguise her disinterest under innocence.
“Come here,” Beryl gestured for her to come closer. Venus moved closer to kneel in front of her. Beryl reached over and cupped the younger girls chin in her hand. “Endymion stole you from me, but not for very long. What did you learn while you were with him?”
“Nothing,” she looked up at the pale woman before her. “He is even worse off than we are now that he is down to his last Shitennou.”
“As you are down to your last Senshi?”
“Not for long, my Queen,” she replied in a sing song voice. “I do want to tell you about Usagi though. She has been very troublesome to me lately. Why do you keep her? I can do her job just as well if not better.”
“She is the only one who can wield the power of the Silver Crystal unless you have been miraculously returned to me with Lunarian blood flowing through your veins.”
“Wouldn’t that be lovely?” she said thoughtfully, her voice dripping with sweet sarcasm. “Are you sure she’s even really capable of wielding the Crystal once we have it?”
“Why would you suggest otherwise?” Beryl asked bitingly, pulling back from the blonde and reclining in her seat.
“Why would I believe that she holds that power when she’s so powerless?”
“She defeated you.”
“I thought I was fighting my Princess at the time. My loyalties would prevent me from harming her.”
A thin smile spread over Beryl’s lips. “I see. It’s her identity that you question. By all means, I encourage you tell her your thoughts. Tell her that I sent you. It’s quite the interesting story.”
“If that’s what my Queen asks of me than that is what I will do,” Venus smiled sweetly, bowing her head.
Beryl laughed in response. “The words on your tongue are so much sweeter than the meaning behind them. You may go now.”
“And what of my powers?”
“You may come and go as you please now. But I will ask that you stay away from Endymion until I tell you otherwise. I also want you to keep an eye on Kunzite for me. It seems as if his motives are his own as of late.”
“I will make sure that he is taken care of.” Venus rose from her kneeling position in front of Beryl and stepped back into a portal, leaving Beryl to smile in the girl’s wake.
“I’m sure you will,” she spoke out loud to no one in particular.
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Nighttime had long since fallen on Tokyo leaving the city to be illuminated only by the lights of the nightlife. Kunzite hovered over the Tokyo tower revealing in the darkness around him, thinking how much better pitch blackness would suit his mood. His Minako had finally been returned to him, and for that he felt satisfied. Although his encounter with her had exposed him to knowledge of their current situation that he would not have expected. What a dangerous turn things had begun to take and he had not been able to stop himself from wondering what would happen next. Over the past few days, several pieces of this puzzle had started to come together, which was why he started to pursue the surviving Senshi. It was a shame that his Shitennou had decided to become nuisances, but to fulfill his mission for his Queen they had become expendable. But now with Minako’s memories embedded into his mind, he started to question what he thought he knew.
A small hand could be felt on his shoulder and his eyes turned to meet a familiar set of blue ones. “Why must you insist on following me?” he asked coldly.
“You are so very interesting to me,” Sailor Moon drawled running her hand down the length of his arm. “I’m intrigued as to why you decided to pay Endymion a visit.”
“It seems as though there were some things that needed discussing.”
“You have your lover back from him - I can’t imagine what else needed to be said.”
“I told him to stop loving you.”
She laughed and the sound echoed in the stillness of the night. “He stopped loving me a long time ago, Kunzite. Let me tell you a story about love. Once upon a time there was a Prince, who dearly loved his Princess, but then darkness fell and they were lost to each other. With her dying breath she promised to love him forever and so when they met again she instantly recognized him, their love renewed in her heart. For a time she thought that he would love her in return and so she was happy,” Sailor Moon said dreamily, dancing away. She turned to face Kunzite, the smile now gone from her face. “Instead he fell in love with another. She was so much like his Princess, that even though he could see through her disguise he still desired her. What was his Princess to do but follow after him hopelessly, waiting for him to remember her? When the time came for her to stand strong and fight she found herself weak and alone.”
“So what happened to this Princess?” he asked.
“For all intents and purposes, let’s say that she died on that day.”
“It does not say much for their love if he was so easy distracted by another.”
“It has been said something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world.”
“She was weak.”
“You don’t know the first thing about what I am or the price I have paid for it,” she hissed angrily. “You and I are different from the rest of them. We know that we are being punished for our previous lives, unlike your other Shitennou who blindly follow where ever they are led.”
“You’re not really here,” he looked her over.
“I am as real as they come, sweetheart,” she leaned towards him, pressing her body against his own. “Or can you not tell from where we stand?” His eyes locked on hers trying to see what secret she was hiding. He thought he understood what she was but maybe he was wrong. “Tell you what,” she pushed herself back a couple of inches, “when you decide that you are tired of her, come talk to me.” She smiled like a Cheshire cat and faded away from sight. He contemplated her words until flashes in the distance caught his attention.
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Mars and Jadeite had slipped from the Venetian ballroom to stroll the inner Palace gardens reserved for the Royal family of Venus and its visiting dignitaries. They were not completely alone as they traversed the endless aisles but they had managed to find a dark corner where they could be unaccompanied for at least a few minutes. Mars explained to Jadeite the story behind the gardens, which much to his displeasure did not include alcoves of hidden love dens as many claimed to be a prominent feature on the planet. She quickly dispelled all of the rumors surrounding the Planet of Love but somehow managed to not dissuade him from making his own allusions as to what they could be doing while out here on their own. And so they found themselves tucked away in an embrace, lips locked in a kiss, their bodies slightly illuminated by the artificial lighting blended into the flora around them.
“Jadeite,” Mars exhaled between kisses.
“Rei,” he answered breathily, pressing his forehead against her’s.
“We should probably get back,” she managed to squeeze the words in before he silenced her with another kiss.
“We have time,” he murmured.
“Venus will notice I’m gone.”
“Kunzite will handle it.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“You saw what I saw in the garden that day, Rei,” he chuckled, brushing her hair away from her face adoringly.
She laughed in return. “She still won’t talk to me about what happened.”
“And we shouldn’t be talking now,” he pressed his lips against hers, his arms wrapped possessively around her slim waist.
“Jadeite,” she mumbled against his lips. “I have a present for you.”
“There’s only one thing I want from you right now.” She could feel his lips smile against her own and even in the darkness could see his eyes filled with mischief.
“Give me your hand,” she said. He moved his right hand from around her waist and shifted it up the length of her torso, then ran his fingers down her arm leaving a trail of goose bumps from the sensation, stopping when their fingers were intertwined. “You did that on purpose,” she smiled at him.
“Maybe just a little.” She extended her other hand to reveal a golden object in her palm. His eyebrows scrunched together trying to identify the object glinting in the darkness. “What is this?”
“I got it from Mercury. It’s for the next time that you visit the Moon Palace and need to find your way around.”
His hand encased hers, wrapping both their fingers around the object. “Maybe you should keep it so that I have an excuse to find you. Otherwise I think I would really be lost then.” He leaned in to kiss her again.
“Then perhaps it will help you to find me after the ball is over.”
“If you say it, I will believe it.”
Mars laughed at his response. “Then I fear you will believe anything. After all, you believed the stories about what goes on in the gardens of Venus.”
“Then we’ll just have to make those stories true,” he grinned while pushing them further into the shadows and out of sight.
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Mars sat on the couch at Kai’s apartment, her heel clad feet rested upon the coffee table still strewn with papers and books. She had come here to wait for Venus’s return, there was going to be a show down between them and this seemed as an obvious enough place as any to draw the girl out. She couldn’t help but to distrust the blonde, despite Kunzite’s urgings of her returned loyalties. Between the two of them they made a very dangerous pairing that even Beryl would not be able to control should they realize that their servitude to the Dark Kingdom had become unnecessary.
“Beautiful Rei….” a melodious voice sang in her ear. She could feel a pair of hands pull her hair from around her shoulders, carefully bringing the long dark strands to rest down the back of the couch. “Always my rival, but a wonderful rival all the same,” Venus purred kneeling behind the couch. She continued to play with the strands of the other girl’s hair, running her fingers through the length.
“A compliment, Minako? I would have never expected one from you.”
“It didn’t have to be this way, Rei. Although now it is what it is, but for what it’s worth I’m pretty sure you started it.” She pulled sharply on the raven locks before resuming her playful petting of the soft tresses.
“I think if things were different we would have been friends.”
“Maybe if we did not have to answer the call of being Senshi, but we did and we always will. Tell me, my pretty phoenix, why did you turn against me?”
“You turned against me. Why would you choose Endymion over me?”
“Did I choose him?”
“We all saw you fight alongside of him.”
“I don’t know what happened, but I assure you it was never of my choosing. Endymion is for the Princess to play with, just like Kunzite is mine.”
“It’s not Endymion that she pursues, Mina. You should be careful in what you believe and who you trust.”
“Should I not trust you?” she asked sweetly.
“No.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I think we both know that only one of us is going to walk out of here.”
Venus sighed dramatically and stood from her crouched position, allowing Mars’ hair to fall from her hands. “Then I suppose we should get started then.” She pointed her finger at the couch and started to glow with power. “Crescent Beam!”
Mars jumped from the couch an instant before it exploded from the impact, leaving a pile of wood, fabric, and stuffing. She crouched down to catch her foot before standing up and releasing an attack of her own. “Burning Mandala!”
Venus jumped out of the way and the attack flew forward singeing the wall on impact. “Is this fun yet?” she laughed.
Her answer came in the form of another attack. “Flame Sniper!”
As the attack sped forward, Venus called upon her own attack to counter. “Love and Beauty Shock!” The two attacks collided, resulting in a powerful explosion. Both women braced themselves in the wake of the aftershocks, one watching in horror while the other watched with crazed amusement. “Love Me Chain!” At her beckoning the chain flew forward off of Venus’s waist and launched itself at Mars, stopping only after it pierced through her chest. “I’m sorry, Rei.” With a yank, Venus pulled the glowing chain back and held it in her hand like a rope, watching as the red clad senshi dropped to her knees. “But I will be merciful and end your suffering. Rolling Heart Vibration!”
A brilliant flash filled the room and when it faded Venus found Kunzite standing beside her. “Are you here to congratulate me or are you here as a spy for Serenity?”
“You shouldn’t have done that, Mina,” he put his hand on her shoulder.
She stepped away and turned to face him. “I don’t answer to you, Kunzite. Now what is it that you are doing here?”
“I’m here to clean up after you.”
“I don’t need your help,” she spat.
“We were supposed to be working together.”
“You made your decision, Kunzite. You chose her, and now I’m going to start making some choices of my own. I’m finally free from all of you! No longer will I be controlled by a Prince who’s kingdom is long dead, or a Princess who is not my own, or you who is the King of deception. No longer will I obey any of you.”
“You think that Beryl will let you go so easily?”
Venus laughed. “Beryl allows me to do whatever it is that I so choose to. It seems that as long as I don’t interfere with her plans I am free to do as I please.”
“I’m not going to let you walk away.”
“You can’t stop me,” she replied in a sing-song voice. With a smile she blew him a kiss and leapt up into the air, fading from sight.
Kunzite crossed the room and picked up the deep red ruby that rested on the floor. He put the stone in his pocket and looked around at the items strewn around. These items were of his past life, a life that he had tried to separate himself from but somehow managed to fail in succeeding.