Sailor Moon Silver Legacy

Act IX: Comrades in Arms (Part 3)

Minako closed her eyes, trying to focus her thoughts despite the increasing pain her full powers were causing her. Three Youma, a former Dark Kingdom lieutenant and the "daughter of Queen Beryl"? She wasn't inclined to believe Beryl had really birthed a child. It humanized their old nemesis somehow. Even so, Morgan did resemble her. It might also help explain Jadeite's presence.

Still, if this woman was connected to the Dark Kingdom, she should have perished along with it. Did that mean she got powers some other way after Beryl's demise? But then how did Jadeite survive? It was worth finding out, if only to learn a little more about the Blood Moon Alliance. Besides, Minako wasn't going anywhere right now. Her attempts to free herself from Jadeite's mental hold had been unsuccessful so far.

"I don't think we ever met, Jadeite," Sailor Venus started, "I heard you bit the big one years ago."

The edges of Jadeite's lips curled upward. "I'm afraid rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated."

"Went into hiding after the Sailor Soldiers kicked your butt, did you?" Venus taunted, careful to keep her voice even to disguise the fact she was suffering.

"Hardly," the man replied airily. "I was prepared to give my life in service of defeating your dead comrades once and for all. Sadly, Queen Beryl had grown tired of my failures. Rather than end my life, she sentenced me to Eternal Sleep, a torturous existence sealed inside a crystalline tomb."

Minako didn't want to interrupt the man's flow when he was so willing to share, but he had said something particularly puzzling. 'Dead comrades?' Plural? What had he meant by that?

"So, that's how you survived?" Venus asked.

"That's right," Jadeite confirmed. "When Queen Beryl was murdered and denied her rightful throne, everyone and everything empowered by the Dark Kingdom also perished. Everyone that is, except me. My prison protected me from death. Ironic, isn't it?"

Venus didn't answer. She was too focused on keeping her cool as her bones started to ache.

"If it were not for my mistress, I would have remained that way forever," Jadeite lamented.

Minako wanted to test the theory she was developing. "I suppose you weren't happy to find the other soldiers gone when you finally woke up, huh?" she said.

"Indeed," said Jadeite. "It would have been satisfying to enact my revenge. Perhaps I should be thanking you?"

"Thanking me?" Venus followed up eagerly.

The man chuckled to himself. "For using the Silver Crystal to wipe out your team mates along with an invading force... You could say we owe you a debt."

There it was. The Blood Moon Alliance didn't just mistakenly believe Minako had inherited the Silver Crystal when Sailor Moon died. They also thought she had used it against those aliens and killed the other Sailor Soldiers in the process. Ignoring the pang of guilt this memory evoked, she realized it meant they didn't know about Mercury.

Morgan stepped forward. "Enough. It's my vengeance you should be concerned with, Sailor Soldier!" she said, her red brows furrowing in anger. "You people took my mother from me... If you're the last, then you will be the one to feel my wrath! That said, I'm not without a heart. If you hand over the Silver Crystal without resistance, I will make your death swift."

"No dice," said Venus, fatigue beginning to settle in.

"In that case, I learned some pretty nasty magic from my mother's old spell books, including how to shrink a barrier around an enemy and crush them within. You no doubt encountered my barrier when entering this place. I presumed you would be able to penetrate it using the Silver Crystal's power, but I can shrink it at any time.