PG13 History Will Not Repeat Itself Part Ten: Kingdom by:Shell Presto Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or any affiliated characters, Naoko Takeuchi does. I'm just borrowing them to keep the tale of an Earth prince and his Moon princess alive. "Where am I....?" Endymion whispered the question. His wide blank eyes were proof of his waning sanity. The heat of his body resulted in a cold sweat sopping into his clothes. "Nothing is........ home.... Where am I...?" His eyes locked on the floorboards, he realized he was sitting on dead trees, ones that were killed for no reason. He was scared. If trees had no value, did he? What if another assasination attempt was made on his life like in the past? Worse yet, what if he died there with no one to care? Did anyone even care about him? "Sere!" he called, his voice cracking, his temperature rising. "Princess! SERE!!! WHERE ARE YOU!?!" he screamed as tears spilled forth from his eyes. He stood up on shaking legs. "Sere! I NEED you!! PLEASE!!!!" He didn't comprehend that she was not within earshot, or for that matter, that she could not come to his aid. His grey eyes scanned the room for anything to anchor him back to reality. Bringing his hands up in front of his face, he saw how ungodly pale his skin was, even he was no longer familiar. His vision blurred, his knees gave out. Kneeling on the floor, he cringed. Tears formed a small pool beneath where his head was hung. "Please......." he begged. "I don't care if I'm supposed to be dead........ I want to go back home..... If I..... can't be with....... Sere I...... I want to go back." "She's abandoned you, and yet you still care so much....?" Endymion turned, instantly recognizing the voice, yet unable to believe it was with him. "Kunzite!" he exclaimed in joyful disbelief. "Kunzite! You're here!" Forgetting himself, and not giving his general a chance to respond, he nearly plowed Kunzite over as he embraced the man. It took several long minutes before Endymion, very embarassed by his own behaviour, quickly released his servant and kneeled before him. "Please, forgive me, I..." Kunzite still couldn't believe this was his prince. With a grave tone, he finished the prince's words, "You're not yourself. Get up. Never bow to me, Prince Endymion." Swallowing hard, Endymion rose to his feet. "Of course, sor.... eh... I'm not a child anymore, I forgot." "I'm no longer your prince. This world.." "Have you given up your position so easily?" the older man asked, ice blue eyes burning with intensity. "There's nothing I can....." Kunzite truly sympathized with his young ward, yet had to be unrelentless. If anything, he had to snap Endymion out of his funk. "I've taught you better than that! There's always something you can do. You are Prince Endymion of Earth! It brings shame to me that you could have for one moment forgotten that." Something ignited within the young prince, something long forgotten in this world of insecurity, his pride. "How DARE you scold me!! I'm your PRINCE!! I'm not a child and I......" Then it flickered. "I......" Then it died, as quickly as it came. "...but I'm not a prince anymore. I'm nothing..." A gloved hand brushed against the youth's forehead. "You're ill. Endymion......" Kunzite cupped his prince's chin, tilting his head so their eyes met. He was alarmed when Endymion's refused to focus, despite the viewer's effort. Endymion brought up his dinner from the previous night on the floor, himself, and the general right then and there, after which he collapsed in it. The only warmth making contact with his skin was the hand supporting the back of his head, keeping it above the surface of the cool water. He felt unnaturally hot, and every thought in his mind jumbled into one. At first, he couldn't make out anything at all. Then a dull mumbling entered his mind. A tan and white blur made itself apparent in the corner of his eye before the world turned black and cold once again. Kunzite was now petrified. Having spent years in the Dark Kingdom made him a better warrior, yet did not improve his skills in medicine. The dark skinned man quickly dried and dressed the youth before taking them both through a portal. Usagi bolted up the stairs as fast as she possibly could. She cursed her misfortune as the elevator was out of order. Her feet carried her up the stairs with blinding speed, much to her surprise. "Endymion!" she called as she burst into his apartment. Her lungs ached from running so fast, but when she sensed something negative from his directions, she couldn't help herself. What scared her was that she had felt his pain. "Where are you!?" She found the empty bathtub of cool water, but her prince was no where in the vicinity. Suddenly she blamed herself, and tears fell as she realized that he may have needed her more than she realized. She did have feelings for him, and wanted to help, although now she was the helpless one. "ENDYMION!!" she wailed, hoping anyone would hear her. A sharp bolt of lightning pierced the sky, starting a fault in the building's electricity. Usagi heard the television newscaster as the box was shocked on. He was giving a brief on a startling weather phenomenon of worldwide storms. It was as if the world had suddenly gone haywire. Worst of all, Usagi didn't know where Endymion was. The crystal on her necklace began to glow as she turned into Selenity. The Silver Imperium Crystal emitted a blinding light, and, as abruptly as it began, the enviornmental crisis halted. The freezing cold felt good upon his hot skin. Endymion was lying on his back in the middle of snowstorm. He was shivering slightly, however, between his bond with the Earth and his fever, the chill hardly had an effect. He moaned slightly as he pulled himself to his feet, that is, as much as he could. The snow was up to the middle of his thighs. He searched for any sign of color, only to find specs of nearly invisible black in the far distance. It was when he turned around that he found anything of interest. "You don't like standing in front of me, do you Kunzite?" The general couldn't help but laugh, "No, I guess I don't." The man, unlike his prince, was freezing. Cape and arms wrapped around him, he was shivering like crazy. It was only a small price to pay for Endymion's health. "I certainly hope you aren't hot anymore," he said, his words becoming visible condensation in the frigid air. "Not really... Where are we? I've never been here, have I?" The young man was in awe, never had he seen such a furious storm. The howling wind whipped at his pale skin, numbing it. The pain made him feel vigorously alive. Kunzite couldn't believe his liege's reaction. "We're in Antarctica, the extreme south of the Earth. You don't actually like it here, do you?" "I might!" Endymion yelled over the growing winds. The black dots became a subject of his interest. "I'm going to look around!" "Endymion! You'll get lost!" A quick glance and wry smile conveyed more trust than Kunzite could perceive. "You've never let me down before!" So off the prince went like a flash. Queen Beryl smiled, a chilling site even in the depths of the darkest hells. She had not expected it to be so easy, but as it was, Endymion trusted his general completely. She could tell by his expression as she peered into her crystal, he would follow Kunzite's every word. Of course, Kunzite followed her every word. Had anyone been in the castle with her, they'd have heard her malicious laughter of delight. As Endymion seemed to always be in this world, he was in shock. The black dots had come together to form the sea. He walked down onto the snow covered coast. Oil was everywhere. "Where is all of this from?" he asked as his protector caught up with him. "It must have washed up from a crash. Strange though, I never really thought any ships came this way," the man reasoned. Endymion strained his eyes to see out into the sea. As he looked, he noticed they were actually standing on a large piece of ice with snow on it, and not necessarily land, which had ended a few yards ago. "Are those...?" he pondered to himself. "I think.... they are.....! Kunzite, there are some kind of animals drowning in that oil!" Without waiting for a reply, the youth immediately took off to the rescue. At least, he tried. Kunzite nearly tackled his ward, bringing them both to their knees. "ARE YOU CRAZY!!?" he nearly screamed. "You'll die if you go in that!" "But..." "But nothing! Endymion, you CAN'T help. You'd either drown or freeze!" A pitiful, disheartening expression plastered on his face, Endymion spoke in a dull whimper, "But... I don't know what else to do. I know everything dies, Kunzite. I KNOW that, still, nothing like this ever happened, is never supposed to happen. I can't stop it. I'm not a prince anymore, I have no control over..." "Stop whining," Kunzite unmercilessly chided the youth. "I'm NOT whining! I'm stating FACT!" he protested. "If I COULD do something, I wouldn't have to complain! I'd do ANYTHING to drag my kingdom out of this hell hole it's in, but I don't have that option anymore!" "Anything?" the general questioned, almost reluctantly. It was the opening he had been instructed to wait for. "Of course...... Why?" Kunzite held steady the lump in his throat, how could he possibly do this, deceive his prince? "Actually, I've come in the first place, to tell you... We have been preparing to rebuild the Golden Kingdom." "We... Who?" "The generals, and.... well.... Come on. I'll show you myself." He led Endymion through yet another portal. They stepped out into a barren corridor filled with darkness. Endymion could feel nothing but fear as he tried to see anything. Eventually, it cleared to a point that he could see tall pillars, either white or black with a gloss. The darkness covered them as quickly as he saw them, making the young prince believe he may be hallucinating. However, his next vision was no illusion. The crystal ball was the only source of light in the room, casting an eerie glow over the demoness' already blood curdling features. "You've finally come, Prince Endymion. Or perhaps I should say future King?" "You.... You're..!" her original features were barely noticable, but Endymion could never forget the woman who delivered what was to be his finishing blow. "You're Beryl!" Endymion's arm reacted on its own to draw his sword, which, for better or worse, was still at the arcade. It took him a moment to realize he wasn't even in his armor, after which he stared at the one time woman helplessly. He was dumbstruck when she removed herself from her throne to bow before him. "I sincerely apologize for my treachery in the past, dear Prince. However, I have realized the error of my ways, and you know that time has changed us all. I hope I am not beyond your divine forgiveness. My Lord, we have been gathering energy to rebuild your kingdom, and now that you have come, we hope you will assist us by taking your rightful place on the throne and restoring the Earth to its true glory." She said it all with a sincere tone that stunned even Kunzite. Bravery regained, Endymion got up the nerve to address her, "You speak the truth?" Still prostrated in front of him, she held her head even lower. "Of course, My Liege." He turned to Kunzite, who nodded in affirmation. Endymion couldn't quite place what was going on, but he felt something was amiss. "You mentioned the generals? Where are they?" Kunzite lowered his head as he spoke in a dull whisper, "I'm sorry, my Prince, they are gone." "Gone!?" "They were destroyed trying to gather energy for the cause. At first, we tried to gather mass sums of energy from humans. Although it was the wrong thing to do, we knew there would be sacrifices. The Senshi would not listen to reason, and so they destroyed Nephrite, Jadeite, and Zoicite. By then we had plans to get the Silver Crystal, with that energy, we could easily revive the Golden Kingdom, and bring you to lead the Earth once again," Kunzite paused, searching his master's eyes. "We may still be able to do so, should you help us." He didn't know what to say. Endymion wasn't sure if he could trust Beryl, but Kunzite, he would always trust Kunzite. Moreso, he needed to do something about the position the Earth was in. He thought about Serenity. If he could convince her to help, then he could have his kingdom back? Yet, should she refuse, they would be enemies. "I accept. What do I have to do?" To be continued.... Pretty decent place to leave off, ne? I hope so (but then it's a cliffhanger so I'm sure you don't think so). I got this part done faster than I thought I would, and I'm making them longer, too (I think...). I'll try for the next part next week. Until then, email me ( mangetsu@email.com )!! Thank you for reading. -Shell Presto http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Bridge/3542/index.htm ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com