Serenity stood frozen to the spot. She gasped at the triumph of thorns, the ironic equation -- pain over beauty, running the length of the stem, such a resplendent sight, triumphant bloom, a rose of a deep blood-red hue, vicious obsidian thorns, tearing at her delicate palms.
The blood, her lifeblood poured upon the altar of the fates, but which way would the winds blow, was it already too late?
~/~
Dark Visions
As she stared up at the dark monarch, with the same build as she, the odangos -- though these were night-black -- her oceanic-blue orbs tinted now with the luster of evil want and cruelty, the mouth hers, too. Now the smile was an arrogant smirk, almost contemptuous of the beauty and tranquility of night as she, Dark Serenity, laughed at the blue planet suspended in the night sky.
The dark queen's exposed chest heaved rhythmically with her laughter , her risqué countenance chilling her to the core as she watched this deadly shadow of herself on what had once been her bedroom balcony scoff at all she held dear.
The woman's body exuded a syrupy lust for power and craving for carnal pleasures. Serenity shuddered, seeing the killer instinct in those eyes that used to be, or might become her own. The contoured curves of her darker self in a body hugging black dress that exposed far more of her lithe form than Serenity thought lady-like, made her blush. This doppelganger of herself, albeit a darker manifestation, seemingly completely at ease with herself and her body, all the while smiling a malevolent smile as if a cat claiming its coveted prize, namely the transformation from a beautiful child-woman into a crazed tyrant.
In the Moon Forest outside Serenity City
The four men -- having traveled from Terra, on a possible one-way mission, these Prince Endymion's personal Shitennou guard -- sat silently in a row upon the huge gnarled log like ornamental statues. Each contemplating their upcoming assignment, none of them pleased to be part of what they considered a crazy long shot. Kunzite, chewing the end of a blade of Lunarian grass, lost in thought, suddenly looked up.
"What the hell are we doing here? I mean, come on, we've gotten ourselves caught up in this war and now the alliance between the White Moon and our world is at an end?" he growled.
"It’s for Endy," Nephrite put in and sighed.
"I know, like most of you, I too was skeptical about Serenity supposedly turning to the Dark Kingdom," Kunzite responded with a shrug. "He wants us to kidnap her, yeah right, try capturing a Neptunian Star Viper Endy, my naive young liege!" he said deadpan.
"Yeah, none of us saw that coming," Zoicite grumbled, turning to the other men who nodded their agreement.
"So, what do we do? She is at her full power and Endymion says not to kill her! What do we do, ask nicely, ‘Oh, Lady Dark Serenity, majesty, please would you stop being so wicked and all-evil and tell your minions to push off now and come back with us to Terra and dress up in those pretty dresses and try to look all innocent, sweet and bashful for Endy? Ha!" Zoicite laughed derisively.
"If we kill her, Ravensong will quickly take her place and we would have spent most of our resources and then that little bitch would come in fresh and take us down and all would be lost and we'd be no better off and we'd also be dead, big factor in the equation, don't you think, Kunz?" Jadeite said, shaking his head, as he watched a Lunarian hawk circling over the small moon forest a short distance away.
"I know, I know, but our best form of attack young Jadeite is to undermine her minders, and that is why playing off Ravensong and Serenity is the thinnest thread we have. If Ravensong is destroyed, dare I say it gentlemen? All bets are off and say good-bye to the rest of the alliance. We're pushed back to the outer worlds as it is and Princess Kakyuu is too far away to help and so too the Mauans who have enough troubles of their own with a new enemy so vast its threatening to overwhelm them at a moment's notice."
"By the Kamis when did that happen!" Jadeite shouted.
Kunzite sighed, "Luna and Artemis told me the news this morning on the com link to Mercury. The only consolation is the fact that Sailor Mau, believed by most dead, is in reality very much alive and incognito. She is safe on a neutral world far from the new enemy and Dark Kingdom. Kamis help us if those forces of darkness ever become aware of each other and unite, the cosmos would indeed be in dire peril… as if it weren't already," Kunzite spat out, kicking a stone. As it skipped along the ground, it frightened off a Lunarian rabbit, its magenta ears the only sign of its being there crouched behind a flowering Kioti-uma bush.
"So, General, what's the plan, Nephrite ventured, staring up at the stars, holding up his talisman to catch the starlight, and even though he was a celestial mage, he was a brilliant strategist and warrior and had never let Kunzite down yet, the many victories in battle were testament to that fact.
"We train the common people to fight. We set up a Lunarian underground. I have made contact with a lady, and my old friend, I believe you know her?" Kunzite grinned, as Nephrite's eyes lit up and he too grinned knowingly. "Lady Naru, she is most hospitable as you would know my friend, Neph... but I digress... The lady is not only comely and charming, but a keen observer and expert with the bow and crystal arrow and will join us in the fight for the White Moon and our Terran homeland. She has ears and eyes within the palace and knows Serenity, or knew her as the White monarch before she had a dark makeover, and she is bound to have a few tricks up her sleeve to help our cause, so what say you all to a visit?"
"Sounds like a plan, a plan I like most definitely," Nephrite chuckled, slapping Kunzite on the back.
"Okay, target practice!" Jadeite said, spotting a Lunarian buzzard swooping low over the windswept foliage, trying to escape the eye of the hawk, "But you didn't count on this now, did you bird, nor shall Ravensong when we take her down at the appointed hour!"
A stream of purple light shot forth from Jadeite's palms and struck the bird and it exploded into a ball of violet fire and vanished.
"Good shot, Jad, now let's make haste, never a good idea to keep any lady waiting!" Kunzite suggested, standing up, brushing off his uniform, and grabbing is pack and the others all smiled and followed suit.
As the moon quakes continued, they found the going a little more difficult, the tectonic activity was growing more intense with each passing moment.
"That was a bad one, any idea how much longer it will be before we reach Lady Naru's abode?" Zoicite asked, annoyed the stitch in his side was jabbing painfully beneath his ribcage.
"Not far now… Oh, there it is, look!" Kunzite proclaimed with a beaming smile. "Hot food, a bath and a warm bed for us all, and the company of a fine lady, what else could a Shitennou warrior ask for?" Kunzite said cheerfully as they descended the dusty rise and moved towards the welcoming sight of the Lunarian manor.
Princess Naru, a priestess of the Moon, a lovely girl with vermillion locks cascading over the white ruffled bodice of her dress and its flowing skirts that swished about her petite frame as she moved daintily across the stone veranda to meet them, holding out her hands to Nephrite and he placed a light kiss upon her cheek.
"Lovely to see you again, my lord Nephrite," she blushed, and then shyly looked away to her other guests before bringing her eyes back to his.
"Likewise," Nephrite smiled, noticing her apple-red cheeks glowing prettily.
Nephrite winked at a grinning Kunzite and bowed to Naru as did the others and in a swirl of white skirts, she ushered them inside.
As their eyes grew accustomed to the light and the radiance of the fire began to reveal the interior, the smell of Lunarian scones filling the air, a beautiful emerald-eyed girl with cat ears, and blonde hair in a pink and gold fuku, her tail wrapped around her body, its tip slapping her thighs, regarded them thoughtfully.
She sat demurely in a chair beside the fire and smiled before addressing the new arrivals, "Shitennou of Terra?"
"Sailor Mau!" was all Kunzite could manage and bowed, as did his retinue.
"Yes, my lords, now sit, there is much to discuss," she commanded.
