Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Magic Knight Rayearth Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow of the Absent Moon ❯ The Magical Swordsman of Cephiro & the Guardian of Earth ( Chapter 10 )
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Magic Knight Rayearth Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Romance | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 01.30.2010 | Updated On: 01.30.2010 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.1K | Visits: 399 | Status: Work In Progress
Shadow of the Absent Moon
- The Magical Swordsman of Cephiro & the Guardian of Earth -
"Zagato... Emeraude..." The names echoed off the damp stonewalls of the little crown room. "Such a tragedy should never again have to be endured by anyone. I will end this with my own hands... The Legend of the Magic Knights."
Below the golden coronet of the Pillar of Cephiro, water trickled into a magical pool of water. Lantis gave the crown a parting look and turned his back on it, hopefully for the last time.
Nothing was going to stop him from ending the legend; not Eagle, not some mysterious lurking presence and not a fourteen year old blonde with powers unknown to the four countries.
That girl... Usagi... Who, or what, was she?
Usagi managed to slip out when Caldina and her group barged in and if Primera hadn't been there, Lantis could have followed Usagi. He could have found out what she was up to.
There was no chance Usagi would have gone back to her room, so there was only one other place in Cephiro that she could be.
Lantis followed the corridor that ended in one of the grand balconies Master Mage Clef fancied so. He could sense that she had been here. The aura of her higher form was there as well.
The wind was getting rough from the newest storm. Lantis shook his head. Cephiro was no place for storms. It should be full of light and happiness... wildflowers and the sweet scent of fresh grasses.
A quake trembled along the surface. Lantis hopped over the balcony's railing to land just as the quake settled.
"So, little rabbit, what are you up to now?" He called his spirit stallion, mounted and cut out above the crumbling land. The land fell away and the tower of stone near his destination grew taller. When he arrived at the kill site the only thing new was the faint aura of Usagi's higher form. Lantis recalled his spirit stallion and settled down to wait for her to return.
She was so desperate to get out into the wastelands of Cephiro, but why? Unless she was somehow affiliated with the oppressive shadow thing Lantis kept catching glimpses of. Could she be part of this shadow demon's army?
Sure she could, but what would running off into the wasteland every time she entered the castle gain her?
Nothing. Right.
Which just brings him back to "why?"
Magic Knight... If by some horrible god's decree she were summoned as a new Magic Knight, that would mean Cephiro had already chosen a new Pillar and that Pillar was about to die.
This was exactly what he had been hoping to prevent. It had to end. No one deserved it and Cephiro wouldn't survive it again.
Emeraude-hime... I wish that I could have done something earlier. And to you my beloved onii-san, gomen.
The world lurched in a wave of power. Lantis fell back a dozen steps, just barely managing to stay on his feet. When Lantis finally managed to look up, Usagi was facing a young man from about six feet away.
The first thing Lantis noticed was that Usagi had a huge blood slick down her right side. Her shoulder had been sliced open to the bone. Tears flowed freely down her face, but Lantis wasn't sure if it was from the physical pain or from something else. Pity and guilt raged in her features. Guilt seemed to be the victor as the young man took a step forward.
The man... Could this be the boyfriend Usagi claimed had been left out in the wastelands? He couldn't exist. Lantis would have felt his energy the day he'd rescued Usagi, wouldn't he have?
"Gomennasai," Usagi choked through her tears.
The man froze in confusion. "Usako?"
Usagi held her hands out to the man as if she were handing him something. Then a light flashed. Lantis pulled his cape over his head.
The man yowled and the light continued it's blaring. Lantis had to save this man. It seemed the rabbit girl tracked the man down only to kill him.
The yowling ended in a strangled, "I'm not strong enough!"
That was it. Lantis braced himself, dropped his cape and released his sword energy to point to where he'd last seen Usagi. She wasn't there. She was locked in a deep embrace with the man and she had taken on yet another form. This one left her hair silvery white. Her clothing had become a flowing white and gold gown.
Nothing was making sense anymore. Was she trying to kill this man?
A female scream scorched through Lantis' mind. Lantis felt as the horrible oppression of the lurking shadow presence before it fled into another plane.
Usagi held onto the man until he got himself righted, then she fainted. As the man lifted Usagi into his arms, she shimmered back into the form she was in the first time Lantis had seen her. He hugged her to his chest. "Usako, don't die on me."
The aching pain in the man's voice was too much for Lantis to deal with rationally. He said the first thing that came to mind. "So, there really is a boyfriend after all." It wasn't until after it was out that Lantis realized how rude it sounded.
The man looked up with tears in his eyes, but said nothing.
"You must be Mamo-chan." The only response was to turn so Usagi was further away from Lantis. There was fresh blood splashing on the ground. "She's hurt. I know someone who can help."
"You do?" Finally, a response! Even if it was laced with suspicion. Lantis nodded. "Who?"
"A... friend of mine." If Primera was anything it was a pest, but friend seemed a more appropriate word. "You must hurry. She grows weaker."