Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Crystal Dreams ❯ Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Serin stood in his landing spot for a moment or two longer after Cagnazzo disappeared, to insure that there were no tricks, then sighed, allowing his full exhaustion to show. Snapping his head back up, he quickly sheathed his sword, and then ran over to his friends. Quickly inspecting them, he let a short breath of relief escape his lips afterwards. Just as he began inspecting the room for anything to use in getting them out, a soft moan caught his attention.

Snapping his gaze over in that direction, the swordsman saw a shifting white dress just beyond Endymion's form, and quickly headed in that direction. Once he got there, Serin gently rolled over the form, and ended up staring in Princess Small Lady's face, who was blinking her eyes, attempting to get used to the light.

"Wh...huh?" she asked.

"Princess Small Lady, I presume?"

Small Lady blinked once more, then focused her eyes on her rescuer. "Wh...who are you?"

Serin shook his head, then jerked it in the direction of his comrades. "Never mind that now. I need some help getting them out of here. Do you think you can lend a hand?"

Small Lady slowly sat up and turned in the indicated direction. She blinked again, then nodded. "I'll...help however I can, at least. I'm not exactly a powerhouse."

Her companion nodded. "That's okay. If we have to, we'll make two or three trips. See if you can get your father, okay?"

The princess nodded, and attempted to stand, only to hiss in pain as she grabbed her side.

Serin was at her side in an instant, asking, "Hey, princess, you all right?"

Small Lady blinked once more, then turned her ruby-red eyes on him, and cocked an eyebrow. "I've been captured by a totally ugly monster, trapped in a bubble, and on top of it all, I was roughed up. How do you think I feel?"

Grinning, Serin wiped imaginary sweat off of his brow. "Good. I thought it was something serious." At that, he barely had enough time to jerk back out of the way of a light-hearted slap.

Upon insuring that the princess was okay to assist him, Serin looked back at Jupiter, and then gently picked her up, putting her in a cradle carry. Turning back to his companion, he saw that she was able to get her father over her shoulder without much difficulty. Turning to the stairs, they quickly got back to ground level, and headed outside, to find the airship hovering only a few feet above the ground. Small Lady, naturally, was a bit hesitant to approach, but Serin called out for some help, and Cid, along with a couple crewmembers, hopped out of the open hatch, and scurried forward to take Jupiter and Endymion from them. As soon as that had been accomplished, Serin jogged back inside the building, after making it somewhat clear to the crew that he would be returning.

Predictably, Small Lady followed the airship's crew as they carried her father and honorary aunt inside the vessel. Once inside, she was tackled by a small, furry bundle that meowed as it hit, shouting, "Small Lady!" The princess laughed as Diana positioned herself on Small Lady's shoulder, who followed the crewmen as they took her father and friend to what was obviously the medical wing, where the patients were fed some sort of thick, bluish liquid that they half-swallowed, half-coughed up. After swallowing the viscous liquid, though, the princess had to admit that they actually looked better. Once this registered, she heard a shuffle from the entranceway, and turned to see Serin staggering in, carrying Sephiroth over his shoulder, and barely managing to dump him on a bed to receive the same treatment their comrades had gotten. As soon as he had been placed in the appropriate area, the medical team took the opportunity to exit, passing by a familiar figure leaning against a support beam next to the exit. Pushing off from his resting area, Ryuhi dropped onto a bed of his own, then slowly closed his eyes until the princess asked, "Are they going to be okay?

Turning his gaze on her, he nodded. "Yeah, they'll be okay. Bed rest and another dose of potions are required, but other than that, they're in good shape." Wincing slightly, he grabbed his side. "Damn, that bastard hit hard. I couldn't believe he stood up to my double Kaio-Ken attack. I'd been saving that for a time when I ran into something that could handle the punishment you guys were pouring into it. Guess I'll have to work on something stronger."

Small Lady glanced around, then frowned as she noticed something. "Hey, where's everybody else? Makoto doesn't often travel without the other Guardians."

Serin bit his lip, then shifted his gaze to Ryuhi, who had his eyes closed, with his chest rising and falling rhythmically. Looking back to her, he answered, "They...well, I'll tell you later."

Nodding despite a frown of suspicion, Small Lady slowly sat down in a nearby chair, where she could keep silent watch over her father. Sighing in relief as he began to relax, Serin suddenly blinked, then looked back down at Ryuhi. "Hey, I thought I told you to remain with the airship."

Ryuhi turned back, then smirked. "Since when did I obey orders from you?" Deliberately, he rolled back over, and soon his breathing patterns indicated deep sleep.

'Why you arrogant son of a bitch.' Serin thought. Shrugging inwardly, he mentally added, 'Well, he did err on the side of good this time. Still, what is he up to?' Shaking his head, Serin took a seat beside Jupiter's cot, and before long, despite his uncomfortable position, he found himself nodding off.

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Meanwhile...

Neo-Queen Serenity snapped her scepter in two as her spy drone reported on the defeat of Cagnazzo. Though somewhere inside she was glad that Endymion and Small Lady had been rescued, that didn't mean she was willing to let Jupiter and the rest get away with everything else that they had been doing.

Taking several deep breaths, she slowly managed to calm herself, and think things through in a rational way.

'Okay, before they changed their plans, they talked about going to a place called Skyhaven. Could that be where the Paladin that everyone's been talking about be dwelling?'

It was worth checking out, at least. And at this point, there was only one Fiend who could quickly and efficiently search for and destroy a floating city.

Serenity grinned malevolently, and called forth her third warrior.

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The next morning, Cid informed the ship via the intercom system that they would be arriving at Skyhaven within an hour. The intercom's volume had the added benefit of waking up the patients and observers who were sleeping at the time. After the initial shock wore off, they all laughed and slowly got to their feet, while making sure that the rest had, in fact, healed them. After insuring that everyone was fine, they were guided to what passed as a mess hall aboard the airship. Though attempts were made to make something resembling a normal breakfast, everything still came out looking like lumps of unidentifiable paste. Still, looks weren't everything, as the party found out, and they quickly downed most of what was put in front of them, with Serin and Sephiroth playfully fighting over each other's food in order to satisfy their monstrous appetites. Ryuhi, however, was a spectacle in and of himself, as he downed 15 platefuls of the food in record time, only stopping when he found out that he had nearly single-handedly cleared the pantry. After everyone had finished, Endymion put down his fork, and cleared his throat loud enough to get everyone's attention.

Smiling slightly at everyone, he began, "While I and my daughter are extremely grateful to all of you for saving our lives, as well as assisting Guardian Jupiter in her endeavor, I do have one particular question that has to be answered...and no matter how much it may hurt, I want the truth."

At those words, everyone around the table suddenly grimaced, and started to fidget, appetites forgotten. Serin fidgeted most of all; he had been dreading the moment that the king would ask this question, and since the leadership mantle appeared to have fallen on him, he was expected to answer. Briefly, he considered delegating, but it didn't seem fair in anyone's case: Jupiter was having enough trouble dealing with the fact that Serenity was in danger, or on the side of evil, already-forcing her to tell the account of what had happened would be tantamount to cruel and unusual punishment. Sephiroth didn't seem the type for speeches, and as for Ryuhi...

'Hell no.' thought Serin. Sighing mentally, he looked directly at Endymion and Small Lady, then began speaking.

He told them everything, beginning with when they had left Crystal Tokyo for the peace conference in Old Athens, to the casual dismissal of the Guardians, to the unusually harsh new decrees, to the other Guardian's capture by Serenity's new 'special forces'. It was at this point that Sephiroth spoke up and put in his two cents about what he knew of their detainment; that they were fine for now, and that they only had eight more days before the purpose for which Serenity was saving them was nigh. Of great surprise to everyone was his startling revelation that Sailor Saturn no longer had to deal with the cancer of evil within her body. When asked how it had happened, the general blushed fiercely, and mumbled that she had merely learned to suppress it.

Finally, with all of the details out of the way, Endymion lowered his gaze to the table, remaining silent. Small Lady, for her part, was holding up remarkably well, though there was a noticeable river of tears running down her cheeks, punctuated by the occasional sniffle. Diana whispered in her ear, trying to calm her, as Endymion finally sighed, and looked up at his companions.

"So...you're sure of this? My wi...Serenity has turned to the side of evil?"

Serin shook his head adamantly, silencing everyone else before they could even utter a syllable. "No. There are a lot of unknown factors in this whole scenario, Your Highness, but that's something I'm certain of...that it is not Serenity who's behind all of this. There is something, or someone, else doing all of this. We just have to find out who."

Jupiter piped in at this point. "And the best way to do that is to find out where the Paladin of legend is. My guess is that Urawa can help us in that. That's why we're on our way to Skyhaven now."

Endymion blew out an audible sigh of relief, though some fear was still evident in his blue eyes. "Well, then, I believe I will accompany you in this matter. If it does turn out to be Serenity at the bottom of this, maybe I can get through to her without things boiling to a fight."

Serin looked over at the others, raising an eyebrow as he did so. "What do you think, guys?"

Their responses were cut short by another audible cough as Endymion slowly rose to his feet. Placing his hands palms down on the table, he looked everyone in the eye before coming to rest on Serin, his gaze hardening slightly. "I think you misunderstood, Serin...it wasn't a request. By my authority as the king of Crystal Tokyo, I am hereby stating that I am joining you on your journey...whether you like it or not. Do you understand?"

Serin matched his gaze for a brief moment, then almost automatically straightened up, and smirked as he snapped off a crisp salute. "Yes, SIR! Joining us, SIR!"

After the cacophony of groans and roars of laughter, Endymion told everyone, "For now, we don't have to stand on ceremony. When it's just us, feel free to call me Mamoru. It seems to me that you've earned enough trust for me to give you my real name." Cocking his head, he added, "Which reminds me, I don't know anyone here...save for Jupiter and Serin, of course."

Sephiroth bowed formally from the waist, and stated, "Sephiroth, former general of Crystal Tokyo's forces, and former general of SOLDIER...uh, I mean, former soldier."

"Ryuhi. No rank. Formerly of the Desert Fox clan."

Endymion nodded politely at both, though he idly wondered about Sephiroth's slip of the tongue. 'It's obvious that there's more to him than he's telling us.' His reverie, however, was cut short by another voice joining in.

"Dad? I wanna come, too!"

Endymion turned and knelt down to his daughter's level, his kind smile betraying some of the anxiety that he felt. Tousling her hair, he shook his head. "No, not this time, Chibi-Usa. This is way too dangerous for you, even though you're a Senshi in your own right now."

Small Lady pouted and folded her arms over her chest. "This isn't dangerous. I was in more danger when I traveled through time, 'cause I wasn't a Senshi then. Why can't I go now?"

Endymion placed both hands on her shoulders, and looked her sincerely in the eye. "Because, my daughter...if things go...bad...I want you to stay safe. And the only place you'll be safe is here, on the airship. Okay?"

The princess lowered her gaze, her eyes brimming with tears as she jumped forward, glomping her father in a tight hug, as she said in a cracking voice, "Okay, Dad...just...be careful, okay? And take care of Mom, too."

Diana piped in at this point, saying, "Don't worry, Small Lady. Everything will turn out all right...you'll see. You've just got to have faith."

Serin smiled at the warm-hearted display between king, his daughter and her advisor, and glanced to the side, only slightly surprised to see Jupiter lean over and take his hand.

Just then, in the spirit of wonderful timing, the call came over the intercom that they had arrived at the floating city of Skyhaven.