Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Simple Knock ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Hehe!! Thanks to all those who reviewed. I know that I don't say it all that much, but I love knowing that people like what I write. Gives me inspiration and a feeling that I am making someone's reading experience a little more enjoyable when I see that someone likes what I write. Anyways, kisses and hugs to all those who reviewed! Ok… I've been listening to too much stuff from Sheki Music. Oh well!

Title: A Simple Knock
Author: Maetel
Email: maemaechan@yahoo.com
URL: http://www.angelfire.com/moon2/multifaceted/
Rating: M 15+
Summary: Once again, I am back to no summaries. I suck at summarizing so meh.
Chapters: 12/16
Status: Incomplete
Year Completed: N/A

"So Kunzite wants to help us free Usagi-chan?" questioned Rei as she and the other senshi as well as Mamoru sat in the living room of Ami's mother's apartment.

"Hai," said Minako as she looked down at the bandaged ankle which she was longing to scratch. Turning her attention back to her fellow senshi who was sitting at the end of Ami's couch, next to the feet of the recuperating blue haired girl. "The party Ami and Makoto were told about. He said that the power controlling the princess would be at it's weakest."

"I don't think it's actually the princess being controlled," Mamoru interjected. "I think that it is Usagi who is under their control."

"Usagi is the princess. How can the princess be free while our friend is under the control of the Dark Kingdom?" questioned Makoto from where she leaned back against a wall.

"The two sets of brain waves I was detecting on the Mercury computer," Ami murmured.

"The ones you thought were Usagi and possibly a second set which emerged while she was Sailor Moon?" questioned Rei.

"I remember you telling us about that. You started noticing them more after Usagi hurt her head during a battle. Are you saying that the second set belonged to the princess?" Makoto inquired.

"It's not just the injury that could have caused it. Usagi's broach was cracked as well. It's not… It's quite likely that it could have done something to whatever has been keeping our memories held back," the blue haired girl explained.

"That would make sense," Artemis said. "The power which could have been released might have been enough to awaken the princess sleeping within. It was enough to alert Venus and I to the fact that something had happened when Luna had tried to repair it."

"But that isn't our main concern right now. We need to try and see if what Kunzite said was the truth and if so, what do we do?" Mamoru stated. "Beryl's powers over Usagi may be weakened but how do we heal her?"

"The princess. We saw that she had regained control during the last fight," Minako proposed. "If she can retain control then…"

"The personality which Usagi possess now could possibly be too strong for that to work for very long," Rei said with a sigh. "When we first went against her, she was completely different. She argued with what Kunzite had said. She had destroyed an entire school. We are thinking on the terms that there is a shred of Usagi left in this version. She may look like our friend. She may act like our friend around others. She may say our names. That does not make her the same girl."

"Then we need the crystal," Luna sighed.

"But the crystal was supposed to be revealed once the princess was, wasn't it, Luna?" questioned Makoto.

The kuro neko nodded solemnly. She looked down thoughtfully as she tried to come up with some sort of a way to free her young charge.

"I have a feeling that whether or not the party is a trap, it is going to be our best shot at getting Usagi-chan back," said Mamoru. "Where else is she going to be surrounded by influences of the life she's lived without being blocked off from it by walls? Kunzite might be right in saying that the spell Usagi is under might be at it's weakest when-"

Endymion… he heard a very familiar voice whimper in side his mind. Tatsukete… Onegai.

"Mamoru-san, daijobu?" questioned Rei when she saw the look of surprise and worry grow on the dark haired man's face.

"I- It's…" he stammered as he tried to think of some way to tell them that he was hearing the princess' voice in his head.

Beryl continues to think that her warrior is in charge and has given me permission to go to Earth for now. Endymion, I-I need to see you. Usagi is weakened for now, and this might be the only chance I have… Her voice cracked with barely suppressed fear.

'What about the other senshi?' he thought. He wasn't sure if she heard the thought, but figured that since she was sending her thoughts to him why couldn't it work the other way around.

No! she exclaimed. If the senshi are there then Beryl might subject me to that machine which she used to coerce Usagi… I don't want to go through that… Please…

'I… I understand,' he told her silently.

At sunset then… At the area in which I saw you earlier. I… If I can, I'll try to keep Kunzite from following me, Serenity informed him as the voice in his mind grew faint.

"Mamoru-san, what's happening?" questioned Luna.

"It's the princess. I-I need to go see her," he finally said. "None of you can come though. She said that-"

"How can you tell that it isn't a trap?" asked Ami. "Usagi-chan, or Serenity as she is now, has never shown any sign of telepathic ability. How are you sure that Beryl has not influenced Usagi to use who she is to get to you?"

"Because she called me Endymion," he said simply as he looked at his watch. There was an hour until sunset and he knew that the school was a good twenty minute walk. "I've got to go. You are all to stay here unless I call."

Minako stood up shakily and walked in front of him. "Demo, Mamoru-san-"

"Serenity herself asked me to come on my own. Are you going to go against the wishes of your princess, Venus, leader of the senshi?"

The blonde sighed as her shoulders slumped. He had made his point.

"We are to stay here, senshi. Mamoru is going to go on his own. If any of you chooses to go after him, I will not hesitate to execute my power as leader and strip each of you of your powers for a short while," Minako commanded softly.

"But-" started Makoto.

"You heard her, Jupiter," said Artemis. "Unlike the rest of you, Minako has her full memories and knows how to carry out her threats." 'Even if not even I know how to carry out those threats,' he thought curiously.

'At least he didn't point out I was bluffing,' Minako thought thankfully.

"Arigato," Mamoru said before he walked past the blonde and out through the door.

"Luna, Artemis, I want you two to follow him. If there is any sort of trouble, call us," Minako told the two felines.

"Are you sure, Mina-chan?" inquired Artemis.

"Mamoru-san said the senshi were not to accompany him. He never said that the two cats in the room could not trail him," she replied simply as she walked over to the window and opening it in time to see Mamoru walking out of the building. "Get going you two."

The two cats nodded before running and leaping out onto the nearby fire escape.

"How did you know that we wouldn't go with him even though you threatened to take our powers?" Rei questioned after a few minutes.

"One, Usagi is your friend. Two, Serenity is your princess. Three, I pulled that threat out of my ass too many times during the Silver Millennium. I knew that you would fall for it. Your friendship with the princess was strong, but your will to protect her was stronger. You would have given life and limb to make sure that she was protected. That protection meant also that you would give anything to make sure that she was happy. There were too many times that you allowed her to sneak off to Earth to see Endymion… even if it was for only a few minutes."

"How could you be sure that we would still be the same as we were back then?" Ami asked.

"It is simple I suppose. Mercury is still the carrier of knowledge of all things. Jupiter is still the protective strength who was ordained by her very bloodline to be the protective elder spirit sibling to all of the senshi just as her ancestors were. Mars is still the one who speaks to the spirits. Serenity is still the kind hearted girl who sees the good in others. I… I'm the… I'm probably the one most changed. Artemis likes to point that out whenever I screw up… I guess this is just one of the times when he couldn't think of one without having each of you turn against him if only for a small amount of time," Minako explained with a sigh. Her blue eyes shone dimly before she blinked back the sadness that crept into them. "We need to try and think of a way to get the princess back."

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Mamoru stood where he had last seen his love. He had arrived at the school almost an hour before, and had been waiting for almost thirty minutes. He had on some level expected her to be late. That was what had caused him to fall for the blonde in the life she now lived.

"Endymion?" came the soft voice of the blonde haired beauty. Slowly, he turned and gazed at her beauty. She was wearing the school uniform, and her hair was slightly disheveled as though she had been lying down recently.

"It's really you," he breathed quietly.

Slowly, Serenity nodded as she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. She breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of roses and the aftershave he wore. Tears sprang to her eyes as she thought of the last time she had seen him in their old life, and how they were once more being ripped apart.

"Endymion…" she sobbed softly as one of her hands clutched to the shirt he was wearing.

Gently, the dark haired young man wrapped his arms around the trembling blonde and tenderly kissed the top of her head.

"I'm right here," he whispered to her softly, unsure of just what to say exactly. "Talk to me, Serenity. Please."

"I've been so scared, Endymion. I've been trying to stop her from hurting the others without revealing myself, but I've not been strong enough. She… You have to stop us…"

"Serenity, what… What are you saying?" he asked incredulously as he looked down at his love.

"This is why I needed to see you. You don't know what she has planned for the night of her birthday celebration, and if fate works out the same way, this will be the night in which Beryl wins. Beryl… She and Usagi are planning to take the energy of everyone who comes to the celebration. And after that is done, and Beryl's master is freed… She plans on killing Usagi and taking over this planet. You have to stop us before that happens. I… I don't want to hurt anyone," Serenity said as she buried her face in the material of his shirt.

"Serenity, we are coming up with a plan to save you and stop all of this. We aren't going to let Beryl win. We will be together." His voice was filled with a quiet confidence that the blonde needed.

"No… You don't understand. That night, Usagi is planning on using every ounce of her power to make sure that the energy makes it to the Dark Kingdom. That includes… That includes the power of this," she explained as she pulled far enough away to allow her hand to move between them to reveal the ginzuishou. "I need… I need you to take this and… Give it to Venus. She is the only one who might be able to use it, or at least destroy it. Usagi will still be able to control it to an extent but as long as someone with the blood of the royal family of the moon carries it, that person will have more control over it."

"What if we cannot destroy it?" Mamoru asked.

"Then…" Serenity struggled with the words as she tried to come up with a way to put her thoughts to words. "Then you are to use it to snuff out my existence. Usagi and I are too much of a liability should we not be freed by the time needed."

"Can you not rid yourself of the evil within your body? She darkness controlling Usagi?"

The blonde shook her head as tears once again fell down her cheeks. "I'm not strong enough yet. I… I don't think I can. Even now I struggle to maintain control as Usagi begins to awaken within me."

"What about… What if you try to do it before the plan is set into motion? What if you manage to obtain control? Could you do it if the senshi and I were there to give you our strength?" he asked, his thoughts turning desperate as the idea of having to kill his love filled his mind.

"I… I'm not sure. But Usagi would have to be completely unconscious. I would need complete control over myself in order to try and rid myself of the evil placed within me," Serenity admitted. "I… I don't know if you could do that. It took fighting something that was as strong as she was to do so this time."

"We'll find a way," Mamoru stated surely before he saw his love's face turn from one of slight hope to inner struggle.

"You must go," she ordered painfully.

"Serenity, are you going to be all right?" he asked as his hands gently yet firmly gripped her shoulders.

"Yes, but… take the ginzuishou and go," she told him as she gave him the crystal quickly and shoved him away.

Mamoru realized just what was happening and knowing that it would be the last chance before the next battle, he pulled Serenity against him and crushed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss.

As he pulled away, he whispered, "I love you."

The blonde's eyes shone with tears as she looked at him.

"I love you, Endymion," she told him softly before he felt something go through him, and an instant later, he found himself standing in the living room he had left less than two hours ago.

He fell to his knees as he once again felt the weight of the world bearing down on him. He looked down at the priceless gem in his hand before he felt sobs rip through him.