Failure

          Karin rounded the last corner, saw Cynthia, and flew into the narrow street. The group of news reporters she'd seen on television were now huddled toward one end, along with police officers, and every person that lived on the street was now poking his or her head out a window. "Quasar! Neutron!" she called, racing toward the crowd. Several reporters and officers turned at her cry, but Karin never made it to them. Instead, she saw a dark flash next to her, something green, and felt herself trip. The momentum of her sprint sent her sailing toward the crowd, and the instant sensation of doomed flight sickened her. A surprised cry went up from the group, and the people closest to her made a vain effort to rush forward and catch her, but the ground reached her first. In the next instant, Karin heard the sickening slap of flesh against stone, accompanied by several cracks and pops from... somewhere, then everything seemed quiet until the pain roared through her. She gasped in shock and immediately regretted it as the pain reinforced itself sharply around her right rib and arm.
          A few steps back, where he had appeared just at the right moment, Rax grinned widely at the scene. His timing had been perfect. He'd recognized this girl just as she came around the corner, and had known that if he didn't stop her, things might end up a lot differently - and even more against his favor - if she was successful. But everything now seemed to be going pretty well, despite the sentinel's short-circuiting. Forcing himself to look away from his triumph, he watched as the news reporters, now all completely confused by the action, turned every which way, trying to ask every possible question. The police officers were still stunned, although three of them had an unconscious Saphrina bound by handcuffs. The fools. Tonight, he decided, would be the night he redeemed himself with her. Another dark grin spread across his features.

          Claire walked slowly, numbly down the long corridor toward her own quarters. The entire revelation from Dain had been everything she'd wanted to hear, and everything she didn't want to hear. How in the universe, especially after all he'd just experienced and explained, could he still say that the Black Moon was a part of him!? Here was a man who, hundreds of years before, had unknowingly captured her heart. The news that he had betrayed everyone had just about destroyed her. She'd built her life around him, trained for him, volunteered to defend him... and then had sat out the next millennium or so waiting. Thankfully it had mostly been in a stasis sleep, otherwise she'd probably have gone insane. The most bitter knowledge was that the Black Moon didn't even exist in the present yet! Dain, the King and she had been the only ones who knew the truth behind the horrific attacks against the kingdom, but when they had kidnapped him... Claire made a valiant effort to push the memory aside, not wanting to dwell on those events again, and stepped into her quarters. The room was spacious enough to be uncramped, and propped in one corner, a star-topped staff glowed faintly.
          "What?" Claire asked aloud, walking toward the instrument. A fine layer of dust covered it from top to bottom, a consequence of the long years of disuse. She ran a finger across the body of the star, removing the dust...
          "...currently being trained as soldiers and guardians. They've been wanting to meet you for sometime now, to test their skills and techniques, and mostly because of how much my daughter has told them about you."
          Claire bowed respectfully to Queen Serenity, and smiled warmly as the three young women were shown into the throne room. She'd heard that Serenity was training three new star guardians. She herself had been trained by the elite planet guardians that were the princess' personal protectors, and had always wondered if there were to be others...
          "...just wanting to know why you have a huge staff, and we have... well, nothing yet." The curious glint in the pulsar orphan's eyes brought a laugh from Claire, and she turned the staff so that the star spun.
          "I don't know, actually. I think it has something to do with our positions and our abilities. This seems to magnify my attacks by huge amounts, and if I ever tried to wield as much power as this thing does, I'd probably burn myself right out."
          "What else does it do?" This from the actual princess of the group, who had an amazing braid sweeping her knees...
          "Oh no..." Claire gasped, jerking herself from her reverie.

          Karin tried to pull herself to a sitting position, and collapsed back to the cold cobblestone. The pain through her right side and right arm was just too much. In the distance, she was vaguely aware of an emergency siren.
          "We have to get her help, now!" The same man that had helped Trina aside earlier was now crouched over Karin, trying to keep her still.
          "It's coming! What else do you want us to do?" someone protested.
          "Get something to cover her with! It's not exactly warm out here!" A moment later, a warm trenchcoat, smelling of women's perfume, was placed over her. Karin groaned in agony.

          Rax watched with interest from the shadows as the frenzied group tried to help these three strange girls in short-skirted sailor outfits. They were about as effective as flies stuck in honey, for all the good they were doing, and none, save the three dazed police officers, were watching Saphrina. It was time. He stepped out from the shadows, and strode confidently toward the now-stirring woman. The confusion was such that no one seemed to notice, much less care, about where he was going. In a few short moments, he was crouched down next to Saphrina and examining the prominent bruise on her cheek and ear.
          "YOU!"
          Rax jumped at the voice he immediately knew was directed at him, and looked up, scowling. "What?" he sneered in return.
          Sailor Quasar stepped away from the chattering reporters, and met him glare for glare. Rax felt the slightest of goosebumps prickle his arms from the cold hatred in her tear-red eyes.
          "I recognize you." Rax grinned up at her. "You're that loser from the dance club. You're behind this, aren't you?" she spat.
          He laughed. "What will you do if I say yes?"
          Quasar clenched her fists and stood before him, trembling with rage. "What shouldn't I do if you say yes?"
          The police officers that had handcuffed Saphrina turned at the sound of Quasar's voice, hands ready to reach for guns. Behind them, Sailor Neutron had finally quieted her sobs, and now watched.
          "Hey! Step away from her!" one of the officers demanded.
          Rax sneered at all of them. "Don't you have other, more serious matters to attend to?"
          "Not at the moment," Quasar replied, ice cold. The jewel on her tiara began to glow a hot white.
          "Stop." A sharp clack reverberated through the narrow street. Every person that had been chattering, filming, helping or watching focused their attention to yet another woman in a yellow sailor suit. But she was different looking, somehow.
          "Sailor Quasar, control yourself. This is not the time."

          Erika felt her mouth drop open in disbelief, and more rage flooded through her. How many times was she supposed to fail tonight!? "Says who!?" she shouted.
          At her feet, Rax laughed to himself, but loudly enough for those near to hear it.
          "I do. It's time for this to end tonight."
          "NO!" Erika cried. "Not when I'm this close!" She ripped the tiara from her forehead, and felt the white-hot energy course from her body to the jewel.
          "Sailor Quasar..." the woman said sternly.
          "QUASAR ENERGY INCINERATE!!!" A white hot glow burst from the jewel on her tiara, followed by several deafening shots. But instead of consuming and burning the two figures in front of her, it turned and grew to engulf her, Trina and Karin all at once. And everything faded to white.

          Dain sat on the cot, looking at his hands. Inside his heart and mind, a war raged between two people - one from aeons past, the other his present self... or was it? Everything he had told Claire was true. Everything. Even the part about not knowing if he wanted to give it up. But Claire's last question had hit something inside that seemed to howl when he thought of it. "...strange to think that everything you were after with the Black Moon are things, positions, powers you already had, isn't it?" That question, alone, was harrowing. Now that he had stepped away from it, now that he remembered his past, it was becoming extremely difficult to hold on to the reasons he'd had for centuries. The power, the control...
          "Dear God, what have I done?" he whispered. "Why? Why did I do this?" He pushed his mind even deeper, farther back into the memories, past the Blackmoon initiation, past the humility, the beatings...           "I do not bargain with criminals, I hang them," his father's strong voice cast a dead silence over the small assembly in the room. Dain, standing quietly proud at his father's shoulder, watched the expressions of the "delegates" sour. They had come petitioning for an alliance - strangers who had never been known of before, and who now clearly wanted an impressive show of force with his father at their side.
          A woman stood tall on the other side of the king, also watching the scene. She had been the one who uncovered the delegation's real purpose, and she knew as well as they what ultimate price an alliance would bring.
          "Your actions and flattery were truly convincing... at first," the king paused, letting the implications sink in. "But the reason they failed is because you've schemed all along to manipulate us against one of our foremost allies. Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice?" It was true... the king had come to Dain in a frenzy one evening, after the delegation had laid the flattery and compliments on quite thick. He had confided deeply in his son about his suspicions, and Dain had sent his personal guard, that same woman, out to discover what was truly going on. What she had uncovered had been horrific.
          The expression of the man who stood in front twisted into one of cold fury at the king's accusations, and his eyes seemed to flash. "A terrible loss, your highness," the man sneered. "We were so hoping to have you as allies to our cause, to help you see the truth of what is..." he paused, smiling wickedly, "...and what's to come." With the last few words, a black, inverted crescent appeared on his forehead, and before either Dain or the woman could move, the king was staring down the point of what looked like a sword of ice.
          "NO!!!" Dain roared, grabbing for his own sword at his side.
          "Ah, ah," the man waved a condescending finger in front of his nose. "My dear boy..." Dain fumed. He was anything but a boy. "You stand at an important crossroads. You see, your father has refused to see the truth and desperation of our cause. He knows too much to be left... unattended. For this reason, he must come with us."
          "You can't take him. I won't let you." Dain saw his father glance in his direction, a desperate look in his eyes.
          The man threw back his head and laughed wildly. "And exactly how do you think you can stop me?" The room shifted, melted away, leaving all in attendance and the four at the throne on a black barren plain. The stars overhead looked sickly, and the cold wind was stale. "Is this how you would like your world to look? Your haven of stars? Your pantheon? Then by all means, please, make your feeble attempt to rescue your father."
          Dain wilted. The beauty of their kingdom was his father's ultimate pride, and his father was Dain's ultimate pride. A dour and sickening thought crossed his mind, one that he knew would be filth to utter... but what else could he do?
          "Take me," he offered, sheathing his sword, and swallowing the bile that jumped into his throat. The woman shifted, stiffening even more, and looking like a coil ready to spring.
          "Why?" the man smirked. "How honorable of you to offer yourself in you father's place. But, really, why should that interest me? You're not the one with the power."
          The words his Dain like a punch to the gut, but his mind raced. "Because I am his son. What other bargaining tool will you ever find more effective?" The king winced at his son's words, cold sweat beginning to drip from his forehead.
          "No, Dain-" he began, but was cut off by the pressure of the sword blade at his throat.
          The man grinned coldly. "I like the way you think, boy." He lowered the sword, and made a slight move toward Dain. "But you're a fool to think that I can be swayed so easily!" The man lunged with the sword, toward his father's throat once again, the very tip of the blade finding a home in his neck only barely before being swatted away with a clang. The shallow cut on the king's neck began to drip in the instant before the man howled in pain, grasping his bruised hand. Opposite Dain, Sailor Nebula brandished the Astral Staff, and assumed a defensive pose. Dain re-drew his sword, and felt the beginning of a long forbidden secret surge through him.
          "You're a fool to think that I won't die before you take my father," Dain growled.
          The man nodded toward his companions. "Then we'll do exactly that," he replied.
          Sailor Nebula glanced over at the prince, praying that they would all come out of this alive, but seeing the devastation flashing in his eyes. No...
          Dain felt the energy building, and tossed his sword off to the side. Forbidden... so what. He didn't care anymore.
          "Dain, no..." his father breathed, knowing full well what was happening.
          The ice sword had reappeared in the man's hands, and he stepped closer, brandishing the weapon.
          "Your highness..." Nebula began, her gaze flickering between the king and the enemy. Quickly she stepped in between them, raising her staff just in time to deflect the first blow... and the next, and the next. The man was advancing with terrible strength, and Nebula suddenly could not gain enough presence of mind to recall one of her non-staff-wielding attacks. "Oh no," she gasped, and watched helplessly as, in an instant, the sword blade slid dangerously close past her side... and right into the king.
          "NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" She screamed, spinning and catching the crumpling man in her arms. The expression on her face was one of complete pain as she cried out, finally, with the one thing she could remember. "Final Retreat!" A burst of color engulfed her and the king, just as the sword blade passed through the space again. But they were out of the way.
          Dain had hit the breaking point. "BLINDING DEATH!!!" A tremendous amount of hot white energy instantly covered his body and exploded outward in a blinding ring. The black crescent people that stood in front of him didn't stand a chance as the energy vaporized every one of them, leaving nothing behind. Mind whirling, sweat pouring, and anger sending hot tears down his cheeks, Dain watched as the ring continued to travel outward, gradually fading as the energy spent itself. He squeezed his eyes shut at the mental image of his father falling... "Home," he whispered, using the same forbidden energy to bring himself back to the throne room, and took off at a dead run.