Moon Blood
Shall the thirst for life exceed your portion allotted, my child?
Will you drink from the well of regret?
Swords are but tools for the Dark Mother, crescents unborn and spent, seasons in flux,
Have courage and meet the gate keepers with an open mind and heart, for the Furies weave the thread of pain and death, love and joy, and you are one amongst their company,
Dance on the shaman’s mirror, sing the song unclaimed, your tribute -- precursor to a new dawning,
We are the living dream, the refracted hope of yesterday and tomorrows unspoken love,
Our carnal passions will yield unseen universes, these star fields sewn with our wishes,
Men and women folk, children of the stars, we fall to ground to be reabsorbed and to ascend once more,
But as sacrifice we are not forgotten at the maiden’s table, reciprocity in a smile and a kiss,
Shall we celebrate as the bounty of the Kamis revivifies us?
Take the rose, inhale tomorrow, and your destiny
Queen Demeter of Myola (Silver Millennium)
~/~
“Why the sour face, you look so much more beautiful when you smile. Now, don’t worry, I plan on coming back. Just be sure if anything does go wrong, you bring the children to Terra.”
“Yes, my love; I will do as you say, but please, be careful!” she whispered.
“You know, it is so refreshing to have a woman actually care if I am dead or alive,” he chuckled, and he pulled her close, “Now, let’s make the best of the time we have left over the next few days before I take my leave of you, my beloved, Sámi !”
Dark Moon Palace Medical Clinic
Palace Med Tech, Sunny Aiello, a tall, young pretty-faced woman with long plum locks tied back in a neat ponytail smiled cheerfully as she entered the ward to discover it filled with the unmistakable scent of Lunarian roses. Humming a Lunarian lullaby, she lightly brushed the soft white petals with the tips of her fingers as she moved towards the console.
“Good morning Sere, how are you feeling?” she said in an even tone.
“What’s good about it, Sunny,” was all the disgruntled Dark Queen could manage in a neutral tone.
She smiled back at the queen, whose expression was unreadable, and quickly began her work, her hands sliding over the cool crystal touch screen as she examined the images of the unborn baby Serenity hadn’t been aware she was carrying until two months ago after reporting stomach cramps, and putting these down to bad imported seafood.
Sunny looked up, examining the room with renewed interest as her eyes adjusted to the dim light. She caught sight of the countless vases filled with flowers left by Lord Diamond for the queen to enjoy. Sunny smiled. She loved flowers, a passion both women shared. The white blooms were everywhere; no shelf spared. Vases filled with fresh roses were in plentiful supply this day. Sunny drew the sweet air into her lungs, and sighed with contentment. She loved the scent.
She arched an eyebrow as she took in the sight of the girl with the flowing ebony odangos, her glossy tresses falling over the side of the bed, reminding Sunny of a curtain of limp seaweed and suppressed a giggle. Serenity’s feet bare, complexion pale, and a distinct pout taking pride of place on the young monarch’s face was a parody of her usual demeanor.
Sunny had known this girl since she was, the White Princess, a stab of sadness unbidden, rose to the surface at the cherished memory, but she pushed it aside and put on her best professional smile.
Dark Serenity presented a sulky contrast that most Lunarians would never see. The Dark Queen, in that moment, appeared uncertain, vulnerable and innocent. Though Sunny smiled inwardly at the thought, Serenity of the Dark Moon was anything but innocent or defenseless according to those who had come through the clinic on a regular basis, being on the receiving end of the Dark Queen’s wrath, having lived to tell the tale.
The dark clad monarch sat uncomfortably on the bed, swinging her legs unconsciously like a little girl, but for the metallic red nail polish on her toenails matching the long nails of her girlish hands. Once more, Sunny bit her lip as the thought of the ‘spoilt royal brat’ danced before her eyes, a picture of utter incongruity. She shook herself and studied Serenity’s blood work and genetic matrix carefully as a welcome distraction from these unsettling thoughts.
After compiling her report and calculating the data, she chanced another look at the forlorn figure of a girl who was staring at her exposed pregnant belly, her splayed fingers pressing the bloated bulge with nervous curiosity, having unbuttoned the shift and mumbling under her breath as she began to knead her milk-laden breasts.
“Your Majesty, it will be all right. The child is perfectly healthy, and has your father’s strength, Mauan genetic make-up and its associated psychic gifts! The child is due in… let me see now,” she paused, and looked at the screen once more. Serenity remained silent, playing with a strand of her hair. “Three months. You hid it well, but Mauan kittens are smaller and revert to their human form upon their third day of life and gain weight to the tune of 25% of their human counterparts,” she said cheerfully, puzzled by the lack of enthusiasm coming from the Dark Queen and made a mental note to scan for any signs of depression.
Serenity brightened suddenly, as if a switch were flicked on, this made Sunny feel a little suspicious and uncomfortable, for the queen was adept at shifting her moods when it suited her. This made it very difficult to know what she was thinking or feeling at any given time and was the way Serenity liked it and only the court and staff knew of her bizarre idiosyncrasies.
“Great, I am with child, the blessings of motherhood,” she muttered and sighed, buttoning her shift. “But an heir to the throne, a second child…hmmm,” she mused.
Sunny’s anxiety peaked, for she knew on some level that this new child, could be in great danger. Dark Serenity was good at deceiving those around her, and this, Sunny knew all too well. But she was not only the queen’s medical guardian, but an Empath from Celestra and knew the Dark Queen loathed Mauans and made a mental note to have Jasperina and Sámi watch the child day and night, on the off chance Serenity tried to harm the kitten. She might not, but as a med tech, Sunny was sworn to protect the innocent from harm wherever possible and she wasn’t about to let anyone lay a hand on the infant, even the Dark Queen herself, other than to care for, and have the baby suckle at her mother’s breast.
Terra - Atlantari
With Sailor Serenity Moon and Queen Demeter’s forces pinned down in Myola City, the task was a challenge to say the least. She knew something was terribly wrong the moment she felt a significant reduction in her powers emanating from her Star Seed and knew this was because the spirit of her daughter from the alternate universe was no longer present on Terra, or for that matter, in their universe . She had voiced her concerns earlier that morning , but Demeter told her the Senshi of the inner and outer planets would lend her strength and this gave her some comfort. But she was worried, for her lessened powers would have an immediate impact on her efficacy in leading the attack against The Dark Kingdom.
“I feel so helpless, and how did they catch us napping?” she growled as Umino stood silent, a short distance away, an apologetic look on his face, “What is the news you bring, Umino?”
“It’s bad, Lady Serenity Moon,” he paused, reluctant to go on. But he knew he must, “Diamond’s forces are on the outskirts of the Atlantarian capital. He is still on the moon, but will be joining his forces in the next few days according to our contacts within the Moon palace. We fear the Atlantarians will soon be under siege, and to make matters worse, we’re struggling to regain contact with our operatives within Solaris and Arjirea’s Court. The fifth column and Helios’s reinforcements won’t make it in time to defend the city. I was fortunate enough to have a vision last week, I was paid a visit by Serenity of the other realm. She passed on vital information from one of our young cadets who gave his life to get this information to us in time. We were lucky, majesty, this time. But we’re hoping we can save the royal house of Solaris from being slaughtered.”
“And what of the Outer Senshi?”
“Venus and Mercury have met with Jupiter and her mother, Queen Hera. The king is still fighting the Scorpiona youma force attacking Saturn and Endymion is with them. But the armada is on its way, and Endy will return with them, though the fleet is not at full strength just yet, it should nonetheless push the war back in our favor once again,” he finished, winning a reluctant nod from the angelic Senshi queen, her wings aglow with silvery-blue light.
“All right, then, we must bide our time. But Umino, I want you back in Atlantari.” Before he could protest, a violet flash consumed the chamber and he was gone, “Sailor Teleport!”
Demeter entered the auditorium, come war room, “Ah, Umino, he is a fine warrior, and I have news…”
“Any news, that is, so long as it’s good -- and I get that from your tone, my friend -- is welcome. Please speak,” she said as the dark haired Demeter allowed herself to sink into the soft comfortable cushions of the divan.
“Enki of Orion has sent us a taskforce of powerful warships to fill the gap in the fleet, they will be here on the morrow. But unfortunately, as there is always a drawback in these matters, time is not going to help us save Solaris and Arjirea I’m afraid.”
Dark Moon Palace
Diamond’s movements were like those of a large panther: stealthy, swift, and deliberate as he followed the leggy attendant into the alcove leading to her bedchamber.
“Sámi?” he ventured, “I wish to speak to you in private, do you have a moment?”
He stood tall and majestic, his long white hair gleaming as it cascaded over powerfully built shoulders, framing his handsome face, the uniform, its silver metal armor, the fine linen cloak accentuating his masculine beauty in her eyes, and she was staring at a veritable god.
“Y-yes, my lord,” she said, shaking again as she always did in his presence.
(Why does he make me go to mush every time he speaks to me?)
“I want to ask a favor, and it won’t wait. Can we talk alone?” he repeated, taking her elbow, whilst looking over his shoulder. She could barely walk, but she managed somehow as he escorted her inside her room.
He stood at the very center of her bedchamber, the glory of the Dark Moon personified, a man whose very presence excited and frightened her. She stared expectantly up into his deep blue eyes and waited for him to speak, “I am leaving the moon in three days, and I am in need,” he said, smiling down at her sweet face, delighting in the tremble of her full lips.
“What exactly is it you need, my lord? You only need ask and it is yours,” she said, almost in a trance, her eyes bright with unspoken desire.
“Take care Sámi , for you’ve not heard me out and you might not have time to back out if you agree too soon. But I promise you this, you won’t want to and that is my personal guarantee.”
She began to feel the hot flush surging from the pit of her abdomen, uncontrollable spasms of desire like slippery fiery serpents rippling over the skin of her bare legs all the way to her blushing face as she dropped her eyes. “Lord? I’m sorry, I don’t quite follow,” she murmured, and suddenly stood very still.
Sámi couldn’t quite believe what was happening to her. She could scarcely breathe. But as she reeled from the swirling passions threatening to burst their banks, he continued to look at her with an intensity that made all reason fly out the window, comprehension an alien concept at that moment, and her actions not her own.
He untied his belt, and in an easy fluid motion, set aside his bejeweled sword. Diamond’s movements precise and deliberate, almost as if a Lunarian Ballet instructor had choreographed the action as he approached her, flinging off his cloak, as if his grand finale.
He was steadfast and resolute as he trapped her within his magnetic gaze, “As you know, Sámi , your queen is with child and she has been pregnant for over eight months now. I have been patient, and with Lunarian women -- as you know – sex is not possible after five months, so… I was,” he broke off, waiting for her reaction.
She stood there, her mouth open, unable to speak, and despite herself, she was smiling like a baka, “Oh, my Lord, I-I,” she sputtered, shaking violently now.
He cupped her cheek. She leaned into the warmth of his large calloused hand and kissed it, still shaking. “It’s all right, relax Sámi , you’re beautiful and everything a man could ever want and more besides,” he said huskily, sliding his hand between her knees that like her heart, she felt might shatter with terror, and something else, lust. He pressed his advantage as his index finger slid bit by bit in an upward motion between her quivering thighs, plunging her into a blazing cauldron of pleasure.
Without realizing it, her panties fell to the floor. But she was only partially aware of what she was doing as she stepped daintily out of them and kicked off her crystal sandals.
As he continued, Sámi felt the watershed of her desire rise like evening tide upon the Lunarian Sea and her eyes shot open with shock and embarrassment as she felt the hot flow between her legs pouring over his hand, “B-but… I can’t, you…can’t, and Sere will kill me!”
Seeing the fear and alarm in her eyes as his finger slid under the hem of her butter-yellow colored shift, he smiled and kissed her forehead and spoke with a seductive, yet calm tone, “I haven’t had a lover for a long time, since before Sere was with child. I’m only Lunarian, and so are you. We need each other, and,” he whispered in a seductive cadence, licking her earlobe. She sighed as the wetness between her legs gave way to the touch of his fingertips on her soft and tender epicenter of sexual arousal. Diamond parted the dark silken pubic down, and sought the flower therein as the sensation of his touch as he slipped inside her sent her into paroxysms of orgasm. He cradled her in his arms as she whimpered with the sensation. “Hush little flower, hush now, trust me, she won’t hurt you. Don’t you think she knows I take a lover occasionally?” He grabbed the shift and with one powerful movement, tore it free from her lithe body. She stood there shivering, naked and beautiful. Diamond looked at her with fierce determination in his eyes as he cupped her sherbet-pink breasts in his huge palms and began to massage them. She closed her eyes, his breath hot on her face as he kissed her, her own mouth he found delightfully sweet and hot.
She, all of a sudden, helped him tear off his clothes and he laughed, kissing her as she breathed rapidly through her nose as she showered his body with her kisses. Sámi’s emotions flying like a flock of Lunarian doves. She shuddered, “But…,” she said, as he ran his practiced hands down the smooth skin of her flanks and over her back and felt her well-rounded rump. He untied her ponytail and let her soft locks tumble free in a gentle waterfall of thick black waves of silk adorning her shapely figure. He pulled her to him, luxuriating in the texture of her full breasts and her abdomen against his iron-hard body.
She pressed her hands against his chest and breathed in deep gulps of air to stem the tide of desire threatening to push her over the edge of all reason. Sámi ran her hands over his muscular chest, exploring his abs, hips before taking his hardness in her hands, bringing him to the verge. Without warning, she leapt into his arms. Sámi’s lips seeking his, their kiss deepening as she locked her long coppery-gold legs about his waist. She would make the most of this night, and give her all, of that, she was certain. In the past, she’d only dreamt she'd ever touch him, her Diamond, the sound of his name on her lips thrilled her to the core. But here she was, laying claim to part of this incredible warrior, and this was more than she could have ever wished for and she savored the moment.
She groaned as the orgasms came like pounding breakers upon the shores of her soul as he pressed her against the cool marble as the rod of a different hardness plunged into her fathomless depths.
He fell like a leaf caught upon this goddess’s all-consuming whirlpool into her well of molten honey and they were lost in a state of perpetual bliss.
Later, as she lay with him naked upon her bed, the moonlight draping their entwined forms, she whispered, “I love you, but I know my love is but a petal on a larger flower. I am contented with that, my Diamond!”
“You are the heart of that flower, you know, Sámi . I will come back for you. Sere will grow tired of me eventually and she won’t care whom I am with in the final analysis. I want you to take care of my child, and if you fall pregnant yourself, she will have a sibling for company. Promise me, you’ll protect them and take Endymion’s child, Gaea away with you as well, if you can. Sere may fall so far into darkness, she might destroy all she loves. Trust me on this, for this is the way of Chaos, a serpent forever swallowing its own tail. Promise me!” he demanded, deep emotion lacing his tone.
“I promise, you know I will, I love you!” she cried, sobbing into his embrace, pressing her head against his shoulder as he stroked her hair.
(But why does it sound like he’s never coming back? Oh, by the Kamis, I just found you, and you’re going to be taken from me? Please no!)
“Why the sour face, you look so much more beautiful when you smile. Now, don’t worry, I plan on coming back. Just be sure if anything does go wrong, you bring the children to Terra.”
“Yes, my love; I will do as you say, but please, be careful!” she whispered.
“You know, it is so refreshing to have a woman actually care if I am dead or alive,” he chuckled, and he pulled her close, “Now, let’s make the best of the time we have left over the next few days before I take my leave of you, my beloved, Sámi !”
As they performed the sacred love rite, all thoughts of the future, at least for now were placed on hiatus.
Terra - Atlantari
Demeter and Serenity Moon’s forces were bogged down on the Myolan line, two thirds of the massive supercontinent was in enemy hands, but they were slowly pushing them back. Sadly, elsewhere on Terra, the news wasn’t so optimistic. As the first waves of the Dark Queen’s armies lay waste the lands of the Atlantarian agricultural centers, it looked from space as if the entire continent were ablaze.
The forces of Solaris and Arjirea were stretched to the limit. Endymion and Setsuna were able to strike back, but this met with only limited success. The fact was, there were simply too many of them. Setsuna knew the coastal communities lay mostly undefended, but she and Endymion couldn’t generate enough power even with their combined strength, to ward off the relentless onslaught. Whole cities were set alight, and it was all the local authorities could do to put out the fires, let alone wage war against a merciless enemy. The other major problem was the toxic fumes from explosions in the industrial quarter, the mass evacuations, the outbreak of deadly disease, alien plagues, murders and abductions, the youma raids, and many more would die before this was over.
The suffering stretched over several oceans, as other major Terran cities suffered heavy losses rivaling the death and destruction-taking place in Atlantari. Winged youma, like migrating flocks of pterosaurs, blackened the skies. People ran in fright and panic, children were taken from their screaming mother’s arms, older children injured, adults barely managing to escape. The elderly were easy prey, even the horses and cattle were fair game. These maniacal creatures flew in vast swarms, mostly at night. The screaming and death seemed never to end. Fires had been lit to scare these monsters away, but sadly, more often than not, people would die from the fires as these spread to houses and buildings, the rural regions especially vulnerable as the structures were mostly fashioned from wood and other equally flammable materials, the inferno claiming the skyline.
~*~
Diamond smiled, and growled his deadly war cry as he unsheathed his sword. He’d seen the blow coming, but skillfully jumped aside and struck the older man down, his blood pouring over his boot as he fell heavily at his feet.
“Solaris, my love! No!” a woman’s voice screamed, as her husband, the king of Terra, died right before her eyes.
Arjirea fell to her knees and passed out. But before Diamond could take advantage of her vulnerable state, he felt a sharp claw tearing its way down his back, the pain excruciating and paralyzing. He spun around to find a youma, but it wasn’t one of his foot soldiers.
“What are you doing! You fool, you have struck your overlord, and you shall pay with your life!” he bellowed, the fire bursting from his hands dangerously.
“No, Lord Diamond, I am not one of, how you say…one of ‘your’ youma, I am a free spirit and I belong to no-one but the free youma of Vega 15… Die!”
Diamond jumped aside, but the severity of his wounds were slowing him down, he was bleeding profusely and now, the winged vampire youma that were feeding on the corpses of the Atlantarians were swooping low, waiting, waiting for him to die so they could feed on his blood and devour him.
He launched his Fire Blade Surge, but the youma had shielding of an energy source he couldn’t identify, but it was a moot point for he knew his time was up.
In that chilling moment, he thought of Sámi as his tears began to flow, it was then he felt the light of the Ginzuishou flooding his heart.
(Your debt is almost paid, Lord Diamond, but one more embodiment before you are ready to take your place with the Lords of the Scimitar!)
But then he saw the golden haired woman. But she was translucent. He didn’t recognize her, but she was powerful beyond compare. She was extremely beautiful and her body appeared as if it were cut from a clear piece of crystal. She approached him then, time, as he knew it, had somehow been suspended. She touched his cheek and spoke in his mind.
(I will be waiting, your lover, Sámi and Serenity’s child, Gaea, and Reika -- your little girl to be born in the spring will live long and happy lives -- die in peace, child of the moon!)
“No! He cried out in agony and shock and fell to his knees, his last words came with one final gasp, as he swayed on the edge of unconsciousness.
At first glance, the weapon appeared too heavy for her and she almost lost her balance. But her grief and rage gave her strength to kill Solaris’s slayer.
“You bastard! You shall die at my hands, Kuroki, leave him to me!” Arjirea demanded and the youma fifth columnist leapt into the air to beat back the vampire youma to give the Terran Queen her moment of revenge and justice.
Finally, in one last stroke of defiance, the woman he’d sought to slay was about to take his life, disbelieving that this petite Terran monarch was capable of bringing him down, but it was true and as the realization hit, she plunged the huge crystal sword into her hated enemy and murderer of her husband. The evil looking faces of the vampire youma, all bore the same contorted grimace of frustration as the blood of Lord Diamond flowed freely upon the white marble courtyard, but they wouldn’t have to wait too long now.
Diamond hadn’t felt a thing, and as he stood disembodied, staring at his mortal remains, now a crumpled bloodied heap, as the huge winged monsters fought for his blood and organs, he turned away from the grotesque sight and wept.
Arjirea, her long coppery tresses flying out behind her , brought down the blade with such ferocity she decapitated the dead prince. Bending over, she picked up the severed head and spoke to the lifeless face, “A message for your mistress, spirit… we shall come for her and I shall avenge my husband, even in death!”
She threw the head by its long white silky hair into the air and the airborne youma caught the macabre object and feasted. Then Arjirea, the beautiful queen of Atlantari, grief stricken, produced a small golden dagger, and before Kuroki could stop her, she had pressed the point of the blade at the base of the ribcage and thrust it deep into her heart with words of love, “Solaris, my love! I shall join you now,” and soon she stood beside Diamond and the spirit of her husband and they all stared in shock as they began to glow a brilliant silvery gold. Suddenly, a sense of peace and awareness dawned upon them all and they were gone, leaving the thirsty youma to their feast. Kuroki returned to his unit.
