Chapter ten

Barren. Desolate. Lifeless. Such was Se'oh Domana. The ancient necropolis base of Lady Garnet and her demonic forces was ringing with the malicious, humourless laughter of the youma under the Time Mistress' command.

Rini opened her eyes and saw nothing but darkness. Darkness so black that it seemed as though the sun had died and left the Sol system in the darkest abyss itself.

The darkness was so complete that it would make night itself seem as though it were day. Rini shivered; where was she? Why wasn't she in the manor with the others? Where was she! Wherever she was, the stench of death, decay and demonic magic made Crystal Tokyo even in its ruined state seem to be Paradise itself. Yes, she had been right about Terra being a planet of death now, for she could feel nothing in the air but an aura so dark it seemed she was within the deepest bowels of Hell itself.

Rini started as she heard a door creak open. Yes, a door opened and light came streaming into the room. She knew that the light would normally have appeared extremely dark, almost non-existent, in normal circumstances, but in the current situation even the faint light seemed almost enough to blind her.

Rini looked up and found an extremely familiar figure standing in the doorway. The figure's short, violet black hair shone even in the darkness, as did her piercing dark violet eyes. The figure's glaive too shone in the darkness and a thick shawl was wrapped around her in order to keep the chill wind off her frail body. Yes, Rini knew this figure. This person was someone whom she had, until recently, thought to be a close, trusted friend.

"Hotaru?" Rini asked, not sure whether or not what she was seeing was real. The figure in the doorway nodded its head and stepped into the dark cell with Rini. The dark Sen of Saturn knelt down and smiled at Rini.

"Hoatrau!" Rini cried, momentarily forgetting everything that had recently happened and latching her arms around Hotaru's neck.
"Hotaru, why are we here? Where are we? Why are you here with me? Why…" Rini cried into Hotaru's shoulder.

Hotaru quietly silenced her and replied, "we're in Se'oh Domana."

"Where?"

"Se'oh Domana: it's the base of Lady Garnet."

And then Rini found the memories returning. Hotaru had joined Lady Garnet; she too had turned evil.

"Hotaru? Why did you do this Hotaru."

"Princess, I am no longer Hotaru; I am now Fluorite, servant of Lady Garnet." Hotaru's voice was so cold that Rini flinched to hear it.

"But if you're so evil, then why haven't you killed me?"

Hotaru laughed, actually laughed, as though Rini's statement was the most idiotic thing she had ever heard.

"You think I'd kill you, Princess? No, enemy or not, you were the first friend I had. And besides, I'm under strict orders from the mistress to prevent any harm that might come your way."

"Nani?"

"I'm taking you to her now, Princess," Hotaru smiled slightly. "Come now; we mustn't keep her waiting."

Rini nodded shakily. Hotaru wrapped a thick shawl around her shoulders as well and they headed out of the cell and out into Se'oh Domana.

Hotaru led Rini through the dark passages and catacombs of Se'oh Domana, repeatedly saying that it was far to dangerous for Rini to venture outside, even when the mistress had ordered that no harm was to come for her.

"Lady Garnet had been searching for you, Karma. Where have you been?"

"Karma?" Rini questioned: and then it hit her; the name that Tama, Gemmei and Sora had used for her was Hadesah Serenity Karma. Rini clasped her hands to her forehead; even with all this evidence to support what the Plutonians had told her, she still refused to completely accept the truth.

Rini was broken out of her thoughts when they suddenly arrived at a set of huge doors after their steep upward clime. The doors, Rini noted, were made of the same material as the ones on Hades. They were covered in pictures and runes; they told tales of a time long gone; however she knew not what they meant.

Hotaru stuck the doors with her fist and they swung open as silently as if they had been made of air themselves. Rini gasped at the sight that met her eyes; the chamber was made of polished, black obsidian and shining garnet and was lit by torches of dark, fiery light. Its walls bore ruined tapestries and broken paintings and mirrors. There was a raised dais at the end of the room on which a single, ornate garnet throne stood. In this dark throne, a beautifully dark, majestic woman with shining green hair and eyes the colour of her garnet throne sat.

Rini tried to gaze away from Lady Garnet's piercing gaze only to find hundreds of youma in the room, lurking in the shadows. Hotaru turned Rini's head back to Lady Garnet as she bowed, taking Rini down with her.

Rini found herself pulled to her feet again as Lady Garnet descended from the dais, seeming to be an archdemon in Hell. Rini found herself shivering; she knew that that demoness was Setsuna, and yet she seemed not to be Setsuna all at the same time.

Lady Garnet smiled. "Well, well, well. What have we here?" her voice seemed so cold that it put Rini in mind of the deepest depths of a Plutonian winter.

Rini stood in silence, staring at the woman who was once her friend, and noticed that they seemed so very similar. Both she and Lady Garnet possessed the same, garnet coloured, blood-like eyes, only Lady Garnet's were darker than Rini's, not in colour but in the life held within them. Their skin too was the exact same shade, and their faces the same shape. Their hair had the same, wiry texture and was exactly the same other than the obvious colour difference. Maybe, just maybe, what they had been saying all along was the truth.

Lady Garnet smiled, but her eyes remained cold as ice. She spoke in a tone that was warmer than before as she smirked and said, "welcome home, Hadesah Serenity Karma. Welcome back to us. Welcome back to where you belong."

Rini shook her head; she couldn't speak, she didn't want to risk it, she didn't want to risk any harm.

"What about the others?" Lady Garnet hissed, smiling. "Are you scared for them? Do you want to know what happened to them after we captured you?"

Rini nodded, scared about what she might find but she knew that not knowing would be far, far worse.

Lady Garnet clicked her fingers and the bodies of Neptune and Uranus appeared. They were burned; bloodied… they were dead. Rini's eyes widened and she threw her hands to her face in horror; how could this be real?

"Your beloved Uranus and Neptune are dead now," Lady Garnet laughed, smirking evilly. "They arrived here merely hours after you did. They, righteous fools that they are, would not surrender, join me and accept the truth, so I'm afraid that we just had to… do away with them.

"As for your pitiful quartet, they left the planet soon after you disappeared. They think that you're dead, the weak fools. They just left again for Psitau; they have no sense of honour, do they?

"My sisters left for Pluto again. They're with my mother. They left simply because they had given up hope on you; you were never strong enough to beat the dark side, Rini, never, not even after all of your training.

"You're the only one left now, Rini. They're either dead or they've left you. Will you accept my invitation, Rini? Will you accept the truth and follow me, Lady Garnet?"

Rini was staring transfixed at the bodies of Uranus and Neptune, which then disappeared.

"Rini, did you hear me? I asked whether you would accept my invitation and join me."

She shook her head slowly and pulled out her transformation broach, "MOON ETERNAL MAKE-UP!" Rini yelled. She felt warmth soak into her, power ignite in her veins. But just as soon as she began to feel her transformation working, she felt a stab of pain in her heart as the transformation broke and images began to flood into her mind.

---

(Flashback)

Setsuna held the tiny babe and smiled at her. The child had inherited her father's pale skin, but had her mother's deep red eyes. There was a mop of pale pink curls on her head, and a trio of golden crescent moons on her forehead; that was the symbol of her father's kingdom, the Dark Moon.

Only Setsuna, Sora and a girl with white/violet and burgundy hair and blood-coloured eyes and ondangos were in the room with the child.

Rini noticed that the ancient Queen's eyes were filled with tears, not of joy, but sadness.

"Mother, what is wrong?" the young Setsuna said quietly.

"Setsuna… nothing is wrong… you must rest", the Queen sighed, and she stepped put of the room without ever having looked at her granddaughter…

(End Flashback)

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(Flashback)

Setsuna was lying in her bed with the tiny child by her side. Queen Serenity stood in the door flanked by people whom Rini supposed were the other planetary Queens.

"Queen Sora, it is time" she hissed. "Even you cannot defy the timeline".

"What are you talking about", Amodeaus hissed.

"Well, who do you think would look after that child, with Setsuna at the Gates of Time?"

"I would" he replied. Queen Serenity shook her head and laughed coldly.

"We are taking this child to the Crystal Millennium", Queen Pyro of Mars said. "That is what must happen in order for time to keep its course".

"What do you mean?"

"She means that the only reason Queen Sora tolerated your love affair is because if this child had not been born, then the entire time-stream would be disrupted. She is one of the most important individuals that will ever be born", a new voice stated, and a familiar figure stepped out from behind the Queens. Rini had only seen her picture in Senshi history books, but she knew who she was; Senshi Metatron, the head Senshi of the Council of Gea, the base of the Galactic Alliance. Her skin was silvery in colour, her hair was the whitish grey colour of pure Ganamaedian silver, and her eyes were gold, and although she seemed young, those eyes betrayed the fact that to her even the ancient Plutonian Queen seemed an infant. Her fuku was purely silver, and styled exactly like the fukus of the Sol system, however a pair of metallic silver wings sprouted from her back and a golden aura surrounded her.

The Plutonian Queen's face became a contorted mask of loathing. She stood up and looked her silver haired, golden eyed senshi in the face.

"What business is this of yours?" Queen Sora growled. "Pluto is a Non-Galactas planet; we are Sen, we have no need for your alliance. You hold no power here, now leave!"

Senshi Metatron shook her head. "No, young Sora, I will not leave. As I said, we are to take the child to the future; she is needed there".

"I won't let you", Setsuna hissed.

"But you must; it is you who will pay the price if the child does not go back, you are the Gate Guardian now", Metatron hissed, her gold eyes glinting with malice. She took the child out of Setsuna's arms and she and the planetary Queens left the room. Amodeaus started to run after them, but was stopped by Queen Sora.

"Amodeaus, I tried to prevent this happening, but now I realise that whatever happens time must run its course". She left the room. Amodeaus was holding back tears and the girl appeared as shocked as Rini was: but when they turned to Setsuna, they saw that her very heart had been broken.

(End Flashback)

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Rini's eyes snapped open. She remembered; she knew it all. She was the tiny baby in that memory; the man there was her father, Setsuna was her mother. There was no question now, she knew the truth, and yet she couldn't trust herself to stand there unprotected against the dark creatures of Se'oh Domana.

"NEO LUNARA DARKNESS POWER!" Rini found herself yelling. She felt a power surging through her that she had never felt before. This power awoke something within Rini and when she opened her eyes again, she was shocked at what she could see reflected in the mirrored walls. Her fuku was pure white as were her skirt and collar. Her bows, knee-high boots, tiara and gloves were black, as were her hairpieces.

"Sendoma Neo Lunara," Lady Garnet smiled. "You see the truth now, don't you?"

Rini nodded; she could see the truth now. She could see why Setsuna became Lady Garnet, what had happened to turn her to the dark.

They all lied, didn't they?" Lady Garnet said quietly. "I tried to tell you; so did my mother; my sisters also, though they are fools. Will you join me now, Rini? I will never lie to you; not like they did."

No, Setsuna had never lied to her. She had never said that she was not evil, she merely hadn't shown it. Setsuna had never denied that she was related to Rini; she was simply under orders not to tell her. Setsuna had always been a friend to her, and even now, even now she was. She had never lied, she had merely been silent, the elusive, enigmatic time guardian.

Rini nodded and Setsuna took her hand. The power in Rini's veins, her new powers, did not ebb; no, they simply intensified as she let the darkness in her heart take her over.

Lady Garnet let took her hand from her daughter's heart. Rini looked up at her and smiled, "thank you, mother, for showing me the truth."
The Princess had been claimed. The senshi all were gone. The dark Sen had won. And thus was the fall of Crystal Tokyo.

Owari