AN.(as written to the SMRFF list) Minna-san, gomen, gomen this took longer than 
I thought.  I did a LOT of 
re-writing to get it right.  ;;  A LOT.  I think I sacrificed a few school 
letter grades, but hey, what's really important in life?  School?  I don't 
think so.  (Plus, I'm a senior). 
Also, if you are reading this, it means Meredith got Will of Heaven out!  So, 
wait a minute, why the heck *are* you reading this?  Go read W.O.H for crying 
out loud!
     Then, when you come back and read this, and say "This is nothing compared 
to Meredith's stories," at least email me okay?
^_-


On a Wing and a Prayer
By Antigone 2000

Part six: Namida (teardrops)

	Queen Serenity stood, stately and calm, only her eyes betraying the deep 
pain inside of her as she stood aside with Venus as Princess Serenity lay on a 
soft bed nearby.  On her back, among the pure white sheets and lace, the 
princess looked so little, dwarfed by the amount of people surrounding her.  
Candles lined the bed, their flickering, spooky light making Princess Serenity 
look paler and sicker than she was, even as she slowly wasted away.  Incense 
and magic, medicinal herbs and ointments filled a table nearby.  
	Slumped by her bedside, Venus sat, holding Princess Serenity's hand 
loosely, trying not to tremble too much.  On the other side of bed, Mars still 
kept the post she had for days, breaking from desperate psychic readings only 
to cry by her princess's side.
	To see Mars crying was a scary sight, but Venus knew none of the senshi 
were taking this much better.  What would the kingdom do without their 
Princess?  Whatever would the senshi do without their little Serenity-chan?
	Mercury approached them silently, bowing with downcast eyes.  "Venus-
san," she murmured gently, "it's your shift in the communications room."
	 Not looking up, Venus nodded.  "Before I leave," she swallowed her fear 
at the answer, "did you find anything new out from the medical staff?"
	The water senshi was quiet for so long that Venus forced herself to look 
up into Mercury's eyes for the answer.  What she saw there broke her heart.
	"Her life," Mercury said, "is slowly ebbing, and we can't figure out how 
to help-" here her voice broke, "oh, Serenity."
	Neither senshi had the strength to comfort the now sobbing Mercury.  They 
both knew Serenity was dying.  Everyone knew.  But to hear it said out loud, 
echoing in their ears...
	In disbelief, Venus brushed a hand down Serenity's soft cheek.  So 
cold...  This precious, precious girl... she was still breathing, light and 
soft against Venus' hand, but the bright silvery eyes had not opened since she 
first fell lifeless into Jupiter's arms.
 	["V-chan, what do they say angels look like?"]
	"Oh, angel," Venus couldn't help letting two hot tears escape and run 
down her face, 'Dear little Serenity-chan, what happened to your wings?  Why 
don't you fly away from this?'
	Reluctantly, the senshi of love stood to leave.  As she walked slowly 
toward the door, she stopped before Queen Serenity, bowing slightly.
	"My Queen," she said softly, voice soft and sympathetic.  The elder 
Serenity's eyes lifted slightly.
	"She should not have been able to harness the power of the crystal," the 
Queen murmured, shaking her head, "how...?"
	"Is there any way, at all, we can get her to stop channeling it?"  Venus 
said, aware of the stupidity of the question.  If there was a way, they would 
have done it.
	"She has to have the desire to stop," the Queen said, frustration barely 
under her smooth melodious voice, "she has to chose.  I am not even sure she is 
aware she is doing it."
	Quickly, Venus turned toward her princess' small body, for the first time 
in days feeling something akin to hope, "Once she regains her strength enough 
to wake herself up, we can explain what she is doing to herself, to make her 
stop!"
	"Convince her to sacrifice him?"  Queen Serenity looked into Venus' eyes, 
her own silver eyes wide and trembling, "To hand Endymion over to Beryl's 
forces?"
	Venus lowered her eyes, understanding.  Princess Serenity would die 
before she did that, her little angel would die.  "Damn Endymion!" she choked 
out, "damn those monitors, why did she have to fall in love with him?"  
Covering her face with her hands, the senshi fought tears with all her might.
	"Even if she stopped channeling the crystal," Mercury said, softly, "it 
wouldn't help."
	"What do you mean?"  Both the Queen, Venus' and Mars' eyes were now 
trained on the small blue senshi before them.
	"Evil and darkness of that power have matter, which, you know, can never 
be destroyed.  Just changed."
	She took a deep breath, shut her eyes against the shimmering of tears, 
"To take the evil away from Endymion, do you know what she has been doing with 
it?"
	In shock, Venus turned to look at her frail princess, "It's inside 
her..."
	Mercury said, her body trembling, "The crystal is the only thing keeping 
it from eating her alive.  Yet it is also slowly killing her."
	Serenity stirred slightly, eyelashes fluttering against porcelain cheeks, 
but she did not wake.  
	"Does she even know what she is doing?"  Mars said, her voice barely 
concealing the anger inside, "sacrificing her life just for his?"
	["Will Endymion ever believe in m-in us?"]
	Venus shook her head, "I don't think she realized it at first, even what 
she was doing...."
	[Serenity screamed at the top of her lungs, and a flash of white light 
appeared at the end of the sword, and suddenly it was harmlessly embedded into 
the wooden floor, to the left of the prince's shoulder.]
	Mercury brushed white-gold hair back from Serenity's face, pressing a 
soft, cold cloth over the glowing crescent symbol and her feverish forehead.  
Stirring again, the Princess' eyes fluttered, and all present gasped slightly.
	"Serenity-chan?"  Mars asked, leaning over her friend, intense concern in 
her violet eyes.
	"Endymion," she whispered through dry lips, "is..." seeming unable to 
finish her question, she just looked at Mars pleadingly, half-lidded eyes 
struggling to stay open.
	Heart sinking, Mars wondered if Serenity even knew she were there.  "He 
is fine," Mars said bitterly, "just fine."
	"Promise?" the girl asked, desperately reaching for Mars but barely 
getting her hand an inch away from the bed.  Before Mars or anyone could 
respond, she had slipped back under, fast asleep again.
	["Do you think she loves him?  Truly?"]
	Slamming her fist into the bed, Mars stood, fire in her eyes and her face 
flushed and marched out the room, slamming the door hard behind her as she left 
the room for the first time since they brought Serenity there.
	'Even if she did know,' Venus thought, sadly, 'even if she knew, she'd do 
it again.'

~~
	"You haven't been eating," Beryl said, her voice sickeningly sweet, as 
she lay a tray of hot food covered with cloth on a nearby table.
	Endymion stood silently, unmoving by his window, on arm resting on the 
glass.  He didn't answer.
	Tsking a little with the tongue, the woman joined him at the large 
balcony doors, leaning her back against them and watching Endymion with 
delight.  "You should really start taking better care of yourself, you know," 
Beryl said lightly, "a war will take a lot of energy."
	"If you don't leave my chambers," his voice was quiet and extremely dark, 
"I will have you killed."
	Blinking for second, Beryl look a bit taken aback, then she burst out 
laughing.  "You do that, and you'll be dead in a second as well!"
	"I know."
	Whatever answer she was expecting, that wasn't it.  Her laughter cut off 
abruptly and she glowered at him.
	"Would you care to know what's been happening outside your chambers?  
Holing yourself up in here after calling me a liar and threatening my life in 
front of your ex-generals is no way for you to win supporters."
	He didn't answer.  
	"I have something that might be of interest to you-"
	"Get out."
	 "Would you like," she lowered her voice and said mockingly, "to know how 
your precious little princess is doing?"
	Endymion glanced at Beryl from the corner of his eyes.  She smiled, 
knowing she had latched quite effectively to his one weakness. 
 	The Prince of Earth had been nothing but stony silence after his outburst 
when Beryl had triumphantly informed him of Serenity's condition.  He 
threatened her with capitol punishment for lying to the Crown of Earth, yet the 
evil Lady had easily recognized the distress in his voice.  It was then that 
Kunzite lifted his icy eyes and handed the Prince one of the reports from the 
large unread pile on his desk.  With an unreadable look that could not have 
been sympathy, yet not glee, the general handed Endymion the proof of Beryl's 
words.  Moments after reading the words, Endymion ordered everyone in the room 
to vacate his presence.
	He had not left his chambers since.
	It did indeed delight Beryl to watch him suffer so, but at the same time 
she trembled with jealous anger that her Endymion would respond so to the 
impending death of a worthless princess, from the *moon* no less, and no more 
than a silly little child.  There were times when Beryl wondered what was 
possibly whirling behind those tortured blue eyes.
	Tossing red-black curls behind her head, Beryl stepped back slightly from 
Endymion's taller form, and pressed her fingertips together.  "Little Serenity 
is actually fighting," she let out a breathy laugh, "fighting with all she is 
worth just to survive this long.  Can you imagine?"  She was very amused, "Her 
very life energy is draining before her eyes, she must know she is dying.  And 
yet the little fool seems to think she actually has a chance!" 
	Beryl laughed again, watching him.  She was baiting him and she knew it.  
Still, she felt the dark power swirl around inside her, and although her body 
was physically smaller than his, Beryl was suddenly aware of how much she 
controlled and what she could do.  She was also very acutely aware of his 
clenched fists and taut mouth, knew he was barely concealing his despair and 
rage.  His self-control was so ragged at the edges lately.
	She knew what he could be capable of, if pushed to it.  Endymion was 
dangerous, and powerful, but so was she.  It was delicious.  She ran her tongue 
over her lips.
	"Endymion-sama," she said seductively, putting her hand on her shoulder, 
"I-" her voice cut off with a strangled cry of pain as he grasped her hand 
tightly between the bones of her fingers, lifting it away from him.
	Shocked and angry, Beryl struggled to free her bruised hand and looked up 
into his face to retort, or order him to release her.
	She froze when she saw his eyes.  
	They caught hers, fierce under unkept black strands of hair falling over 
his face.  Slightly red-rimmed, trembling, and the deepest dark blue she had 
ever seen them, they reflected more anguish  than any of the furthest recesses 
of Metalia's  power, shone at her with vehement fury.
	Endymion threw her hand down, nearly causing her to lose her balance, yet 
he never unlocked his eyes from hers.  
	And then she understood: he was suffering beyond anything she could ever 
imagine in her loveless, evil, corrupt life.  
	She smiled.
	"How do you know?" he asked her, narrowing blue eyes.
	"Know?"
	"About Se-" his voice faltered, "about the Princess of the Moon's health.  
How can spies possibly tell you so much?"  His voice was now demanding, he 
stepped back, suddenly a Prince more than man again.
	She blinked, "Of course, my operatives have easily infiltrated the palace 
and medical staff of the Moon Kingdom."
	Endymion went white.  "You witch," he whispered, hatred burning behind 
his eyes as he watched Beryl smirk and raise her eyebrows at him.
	Suddenly, though, she found herself with a sword point directly at the 
base of her neck.  
	"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she told him, feeling her power swirl 
and gel at the tips of her fingers.
	She expected a snappy retort, but instead Endymion just quickly shifted 
the sword in his hand, his movements furious.
	"What did you *do* to her?"  He demanded grabbing her arm so tightly she 
nearly cried out.
	"What?"  Forming a ball of swirling blackness in her free hand, she 
struggled to get out of his grasp.  Knowing she could destroy him was a 
wonderful feeling, yet it was also not possible for her to yield this power to 
the Prince of Earth.  After all, he was her conquest, was he not?
	However, the sword was suddenly alarmingly closer, and Endymion was 
enraged beyond what she had ever seen him, "What did you do to Serenity?!"
~~
	The sound of the door slamming into the wall was like a clap of thunder 
to the three silent figures around Serenity's bedchamber.  Jumping up, Venus 
turned to face a breathless Jupiter, eyes panicked and filled with tears.
	"Come quickly," the taller senshi managed to choke out between breaths, 
"the communications room."  
	Quickly, Mercury and Venus exchanged glances, the gravity of the 
situation reflected in their faces.
	"Now," Jupiter pleaded, still slightly gasping for air, "Mars is there.  
We must... you must see this..." bowing quickly, "your majesty."  Jupiter 
addressed the Queen, standing at the foot of her daughter's bed.  "This is a 
dire circumstance.  We must all be there!"  But with that impassioned 
statement, Jupiter turned and ran out of the room again, followed by Mercury 
running lightly behind her.
	Queen Serenity turned, silver-blue eyes meeting cornflower blue as Venus 
lifted her eyes to her Queens'.
	"We must go," Serenity said, eyes sad but wise with the burden placed 
upon her, "it is our duty."
	The door closed behind the Queen, and Venus turned to give her sick 
little Princess one last, tear-filled glance before exiting the room. 
	"Let no one in here!"  The leader of the senshi barked an order to the 
guard outside the Princess' chambers, "Understood? We should return soon.  
Remember, no one without direct order from me!"
	"Hai," the man said, bowing quickly.
	"On your LIFE!"  She cried, startling him, before taking off as quickly 
as her feet would carry her.

	The silence was heavy, thick and shocked as Venus entered the 
Communications Room, unnoticed, and joined her fellow senshi and Queen before 
the monitors.
	She felt a sinking feeling deep in her stomach as she saw the ashen faces 
of the people around her, felt their fear ebbing from their ragged breaths as 
Endymion and Beryl shouted at each other.
	"What is it?"  Venus asked Jupiter, quietly.  'What is important enough 
to leave the side of my Princess?'
	The two words Jupiter answered chilled the blonde senshi the bone, as she 
turned her horrified eyes back up to the monitors.
	"They know."
	~~
	Twisting out of his grasp, Beryl took a few steps back, her eyes black 
with anger.
	"You will regret th-" but her murderous anger suddenly dissipated and 
Endymion narrowed his eyes warily.  There was a moment of silence between them 
as the pure power flowing from Beryl's body slowly ebbed, and she stood before 
him, the picture of calm.
	"You think *I* did this?"  She asked, a familiar barely-concealed smile 
on her ruby red lips.  
	Endymion just stood on guard, not letting the sword out of his hand.  He 
could still feel his heart beating heavily in his chest, each pounding in his 
ears a reminder that he was alive.  That he was alive, and Serenity was dying. 
	"Who else?" he asked, harshly, determined to do anything, however 
desperate or violent, if it had the slightest chance of helping his angel in 
any way.  However, he felt dread sink in his stomach as he realized Beryl's 
face held the same cruel delight from two nights ago.
	Beryl sighed piteously and dramatically, "I'll tell you, Endymion-sama," 
she began spinning her spidery hands around each other, black strings 
collecting and combining, forming a gluteus mass of darkness that lightened in 
the middle, glimmering slightly. 
 	Feeling a little afraid at Beryl's half-smile, Endymion felt something 
inside him beg him not to look or listen to her, yet he resisted the feeling.  
After all, Serenity was fighting, Beryl said, struggling with all her life and 
strength and love just to stay alive.
	["I desire life only if it means being with you."
	"Believe in me."]
	He believed in her, he swore to himself, he believed in her with all his 
heart, and every jilted faith his life had ever brought him.  But faith 
wouldn't bring her back to him.  He had to be strong on his own to fight for 
her.
	"You see Endymion," Beryl's voice called him away from his thoughts, "you 
see," the darkness streamed and danced between her hands, hypnotizing in its' 
movements, "this is the evil, pure and powerful.  Do you feel it?"
	All he could do was nod, eyes locked on it, darkness reflecting in his 
eyes.
	"Do you know this power could all be yours?  Inside you right now, 
feeding you, making you stronger, making you *mine*?," her mouth rolled the 
last word around, stretched it out, made it sound as if it was something anyone 
in the world would desire more than life itself.
	"I don't understand," he said, lifting his eyes to Beryl's, "answer my 
question!"
Endymion stepped back, unable to break away from her eyes, his heart pounding 
too loudly in his ears.  The darkness broke into points of oily light, and he 
saw a small image in the blackness.  Serenity falling, lifeless, into a taller 
girl's arms.  The feverish, tiny girl being watched over on a medical bed in 
the palace.  The people crying, the beautiful Queen bowing her head.  
	He saw himself, reflected back through the liquid black, eyes dark as 
night, wrapped in Beryl's arms.  In the reflection, she lifted his head and 
pressed her lips slowly and deeply to his, and he did nothing to resist.  
Suddenly, a bright light, (Serenity!, his heart cried) broke the reflection 
into a million different pieces that faded and burned away to dying embers.  
And a simple mirror stood before him, in Beryl's hands.
	"You wanted to know, Endymion-sama, who did this to her?"

	~~
	Venus was the one who broke the silence, her voice quiet as she spoke to 
the Queen, yet still audible in the soundless room.  
	The senshi slowly got down on one knee, bowed her head until golden 
strands of hair shone on the cold white marble of the floor.  
	"Gomen nasai, your majesty," she shut her eyes against her tears, "we had 
no idea."  'Oh, god, Serenity...  I had no idea you wanted him to believe this 
badly, that you would actually run away to Earth.  If only I knew, if only I 
could have stopped this...'
	The Queen's face was unreadable.  "She loves him."  It wasn't a question.  
"She broke the law, went to Earth."
	"Hai," Venus choked out, "and now he loves her, too.  And Beryl...  
Beryl..."
	"Wants to destroy us."  The Queen said, her hand slowly put to her 
forehead to hide her silver eyes, shimmering with tears.  'Serenity, daughter, 
how could you do this?'
	Her throat constricting, Mars wrapped her shivering arms around herself 
as she watched Endymion and Beryl broadcasted through the room.  
	She needed no psychic powers to know, what everyone present knew: This 
was the beginning of the end.
	
	"Endymion-sama?"  The 'sama' was as disrespectful in tone as the word was 
meant to be honorable, "you haven't answered me."  Beryl advanced on him, 
backed him to wall.  He was still staring at her, horrified.
	"Go ahead," she laughed, placing her hands on his arms, "resist me.  
Drain Serenity more.  Keep backing away from me," she followed him until he 
slammed into the wall, terrified, "keep killing her.  Keep killing her...  
Endymion-sama."
	Slowly, Venus' eyes left the floor and watched the wicked woman walk 
closer and closer to her Princess' true love.  "Do something," she begged, not 
sure who she was speaking to, not sure if she was talking about Endymion, 
Serenity, Earth or her own home of the Moon.
	It didn't matter.  No one would do anything.
	All four would be destroyed.
	Wide-eyed, Endymion watched Beryl as if in a daze, disbelief wretched in 
his eyes, shaking his head slowly, tormented by her words.  Slowly the 
disbelief faded into utter despair and defeat as he slumped against the wall, 
Serenity's voice echoing in his mind.
 	["You will survive.  I promise."  I promise.  Aisuru...  I promise.]
	Endymion's eyes focused on a point far away, dull and defeated.  He 
didn't move at all as Beryl pressed her lips to his.
	And the senshi didn't even have time to cry out as the screens in the 
communications room went black.
~~~~

When Beryl opened her eyes, the shadows in the room had hardly moved.  
Confused, she put a hand to her head, bewildered at her fuzzy memories.  She 
had kissed Endymion, or tried to, but it was seconds before... what?  Beryl 
wasn't sure, blackness, she didn't remember anything after that.
	She stumbled as she swayed back onto her feet, green eyes sparkling with 
anger. 
	"Queen Metalia, what happened?"
	I'm powerful, dammit!  What happened?  Where is Endymion?!  She whirled 
around, but the room was empty.  Had he knocked her out?  Cut off her 
connection to Metalia?  Created some sort of shield?
	"You fool," Metalia's voice was like acid in Beryl's mind, and the girl 
cried out in pain, putting her hands to the side of her head, "you under-
estimated him.  You should not have kissed him!"
	Frowning, Beryl twisted sinewy fingers through her glossy, gorgeous waves 
of hair.  Eyes lit up, slightly.  'Think what you want, Metalia', she thought, 
lightly, not focusing too much should the Queen of Darkness overhear her 
thoughts, 'Endymion will be mine.'
~~
	The room was dark as the sun set over the Earth's horizon through the 
small tower window.  The stone wall was lined with unlit torches, it was plain 
for a room in the castle, yet each side of the room was lined with shelves upon 
shelves of dusty parchment scrolls, charts, taboo writings, lost volumes, magic 
that should never be touched by human hands.  So full was the room with these 
priceless troves of forbidden information that all four walls were covered, 
with only a small opening for a window. 
	With a loud creaking sound, a small rectangle door opened in the floor, 
and Endymion quickly climbed out, slamming it shut and coughing.  Looking 
around, he scrubbed the hair away from his face.  It had been a long, long time 
since he had last set foot in the secret archives, and he had sworn he would 
never would again.
	"Chalk it up to every other promise," he muttered, one strong hand 
violently ripping down an entire shelf, "I've broken."  The crash from the wood 
and scrolls slamming into the floor shook the whole room, the dust and books 
scattered.
	His movements frantic and disjointed, he pulled out a scroll from a deep 
hole behind the fallen bookcase, yanking it open and walking up to the window 
to lift it to the dying sunlight.
	The light fell across his face, giving shocking illumination to his wide-
eyed frantic expression as blue eyes quickly scanned the silver scribed words 
on the paper, the strange symbols dull with age.
	Endymion tightened his fist on the paper, it crinkled behind his fingers.  
This is what he came here for.  What he was going to do was completely and 
utterly forbidden, but that thought never crossed his desperate, panicked mind.  
He wasn't entirely sure what the strange golden light was that threw Beryl off 
of him, but he was grateful for it.  He had run from the room with one thought 
and one thought only chasing through his mind.
	Finally, after he had digested every word of the scroll, he tore it 
quickly, four times in each direction and threw the pieces in the round rack 
for a torch on the wall.  They fluttered into the cast-iron belly, as the last 
light from the sun glinted off the silver script.
	Lighting the torch, Endymion watched it burn, the fire reflecting yellow 
and red across his face, the fire reflected in his eyes, the paper crinkling in 
the flames.
	The moon rose peacefully over the silent grassy hills.

~~
	The balcony beheld a view so breathtakingly lovely that it was near 
impossible not to become completely enraptured with the scenery surrounding it.  
The Earth was amazing, hanging in the sky, curls of white over emerald and 
lapis lazuli, the brilliant stars sang to all below.  The lakes gleamed with a 
soft blue light reflected from the Earth, the gardens shimmered with magic, 
trees fluttered in soft breezes causing light to dances and tumble over the 
marble statues and terraces down below.  Yes, the Princess' balcony truly had 
more beauty visible to it than other place in the entire Moon Kingdom, as could 
be found no where else in the universe.
	Endymion barely glanced at it.

~~
End part six.



A.N I was going to end it as the monitors went black.  But I thought, what the 
heck?  Let's not be evil twice in a row.

	A few people had questions, because that part was confusing, but I am 
really too frustrated with this part to fix them.  I'll just answer now:  Yes, 
Endymion is on the moon, he got there using the magic from the scroll, which is 
forbidden for anyone to know about, or use.  Okay?  Hee, hee. 

Anyway, I'm such a softy... how am I going to handle to too-sad ending every 
Silver Millennium fic must have?  

Oh well.  ;;


Please email me!  Or I won't write part seven.  It's not even planned...