UNNECESSARY PUNISHMENT By: Darkpower RATING: R/TV-14 DVLS DISCLAIMER: Everything belongs to their respective companies. E-MAIL: darkpowrjd@aol.com NOTE: This is a rewrite to the Unnecessary Punishment fanfic that I submitted long before, back in August. After I got some rather unfortunate feedback of the many mistakes that the August me made, the CURRENT me decided to do something about it. Oh, and one more thing (I know you hate these notes, but bare with me here). Very great thanks to CapZman for pointing out that the August me sucked ass. Thanks a bunch, and I will be very happy for any further help in the future. ____________________________________________________________ The High Crimes Court. Something that would scare even the most hardened criminal, traidor, or anyone in the Moon Kingdom who thought they were above the law there. Maybe it was because the sentencing there sometimes went a tad bit overboard for the crime. Robbery, for instance, would normally got at the most a few years in a holding cell. However, one person got life for doing such a thing. They were careful. A little too careful. Yes, people would think twice before doing something stupid, but exactly how much of that lesson do you need before you learn from the mistakes you made? To some, NOT ENOUGH! Treason, one of the highest crimes there, had a max of life in the cell. However, two people got executed because of such acts. This was definitly not necessary to the many people watching the trial that day. Not even Queen Serenity condoned the sentence, and knew that they were going too far with the sentencing. And she would've said something about it, except for one tiny little detail. A long time ago, she signed a deal that prohibited even her from getting in the way with the sentencing or verdicts in any way what so ever. Doing so would get her in some hot water, since it going back on a contract that she had signed to. However, something had to be done about this. They had rebuilt the kingdom since the attack by the Dark Kingdom of the Negaverse. The Moon Kingdom had learned that since the reinvention of the castle, the Dark Kingdom had returned. Somehow, Beryl was able to revive her Dark Kingdom after an unknown wizard, who dissapeared into obscurity soon afterwards, resurrected the Dark Kingdom. However, the Kingdom had also learned that ever since then, there were major changes to the Dark Kingdom. Sanikite, the newest general, had changed Queen Beryl a lot. For the first time, she had loved someone, and that person was Sanikite. In her mind, that was the light bulb that said that she was doing something wrong. They had since desroyed the Dark Force, which was Queen Metallia for, and had started a 180 degree turnaround in everyone's eyes. However, that wasn't all that had happened. A new princess was born there. They had named it Princess Seryl of the Dark Kingdom. She had just turned four by now, and everything was well. And it was apparent that Beryl cared so much for her princess. In fact, the destruction of the Darkforce came because Queen Metallia, the woman in the Dark Egg, said that Beryl couldn't have a daughter, and thus tried to kill Seryl. Beryl opposed to this, and actually took the shot that Metallia shot directly at her. Beryl survived, but not before suffering major pain. This was the attitude Beryl showed towards her daughter. She would let the Sailors destroy the Dark Kingdom, if it meant keeping Seryl alive. Even more so, she would sacrifice her own life to save Seryl, if it came to that. And, so help her, if someone tried to kill her daughter, the things she would do to them. One already tried to go after the daughter, which everyone knew that was going to not be a good move to make. He had severely hurt Seryl. You should've seen the Queen. She was not happy, to say the very least. "You hurt her. I'll hurt YOU," were the last words he ever heard before Beryl killed the attacker. That was justifiable. No one knew why it was, but it was, notherless. As Seryl got cared to, Beryl thought that Seryl would die because of this person's cowardliness. Beryl was so sad that, for the first time, someone actually saw her shed a tear in her life. She had ran away to not be seen, probably because she knew tears were flowing, and she didn't want to be seen looking like hell because of her daughter. This was understandable, as well. However, really, Sanikite was the only one who felt her pain, or who would want to. Although many had seen this, they didn't want to believe the things that were going on there. Some people even went as far as saying that she was trying to pull them into a trick of feeling sorry for them, and then attack them again when they least expect it. That couldn't of been further from the truth, however, as Beryl really was felling pain and sadness at the time. Beryl soon got her daughter back safe and sound. The very next few hours were a sight to see. Beryl, on her throne chair, with her daughter in her lap, comforting her, almost putting her to sleep. Beryl told everyone to leave the room for the moment. Although a few stuck around to see this remarkable, if not surprising, expression of feelings coming out of someone so cold and evil, who didn't really know what feeling were. And there she was, with Seryl, as happy and relieved as possible, almost in disbelief that this daughter was the one she almost lost forever. No one knew what would happen, though. The High Crimes Court still wanted to nail her for what had happened. Even more so now that she was happy. This didn't fit well with a few people, one of which was a brother of Serena's, named Casto. He was the only one to really feel the pain of what Beryl went through that wasn't in the Dark Kingdom. However, he knew she had to be punished somehow, if it was even a little sentence as to sign a contract to not attack anymore. Casto knew that Beryl wouldn't think twice then to put her horrid past to rest once and for all. So why wasn't he so content with the HCC's strategy? It was probably because they had the balls to nail her now. He thought 'why the hell do they have to ruin something so wonderful for Beryl by bringing her past back up?' He wanted them to let it go and move on. Needless to say, they didn't. One day, all hell broke loose in the Dark Kingdom. Soldiers from the HCC came and arrested Beryl. The only words that Beryl needed to hear was, "You are under arrest for destroying the Moon Kingdom," for her to be puzzled, as well. Why did they have to arrest her for something that she knew they could put to rest? They were arresting her for something that, to the rest of the witnesses, they could take it as the past, and move on. However, to everyone's sadness, she was taken away. Some people tried to stop them, and, needless to say, they failed miserably. The last words that Beryl said to Sanikite were, "Take care of Seryl for me, and tell her I'll love her always." Sanikite said he would with a nod, and then, she disappeared into the portal. However, that wasn't the end of it. A few minutes later, Seryl came in, and immediately asked, "Where's my mommy? Daddy," pulling on Sanikite's uniform, as he was the one who conceded her, "where's my mommy?" In a blink of an eye, Sanikite could see Zoysite shed a tear, something she never did before. Zoysite didn't want Seryl to be without a mother. Sanikite, however, knew that he couldn't dare tell Seryl what really happened, because that would scare her greatly, and he didn't want to do that. That's the last thing he wanted Seryl to be. Scared. He knelt down to her and said, "Mommy's had to do something. She'll be back soon." Seryl, however, knew that was a lie. She was only four, but she wasn't stupid. "No she's not. Something happened to mommy. Please tell me." Sanikite looked in her face. He didn't have any balls to tell her what really happened. However, he found it within himself, somehow, to tell her what was going on. "Seryl, I'm about to tell you something about your mommy. You may not like it, but I want to tell you something. Your mommy, a long time ago, did something that she regrets doing now. She did something bad. She destroyed someone's home." At that moment, Seryl was dumbfounded. She didn't want to know this about her mommy. She would've been more contempt about taking the lie as the truth. Sanikite continued, "You're mommy did that, but now they're okay again, and mommy wanted to patch things up with the lives she messed up. But they don't want to let it all go away. They want something to happen to mommy." Sanikite knew Beryl had regrets for what happened that day...and those regrets couldn't be measured by a scale of any sorts. She wanted to tell them "I'm sorry" for what she did, or tried to do, anyway. Seryl started to ask questions, as any child would do after hearing something this hellish. "What's gonna happen to mommy?" "They'll probably try to patch things up with your mommy." Immediately, he thought, 'I hope.' "Will she be okay?!" "Yes, she'll be just fine," said Sanikite, although he really didn't know if there was truth in those words or not. He would find OUT, because the next day, the trial took place. Everyone was there. All of the Sailors were there, Serenity and Edmonton was there, Casto and The Vulture that he had (he was the only male Sailor of the entire group, Sailor Vulture, and the Vulture was more than a power or a guardian, it was a part of his soul), the two cats, and about all of the people in the courts attended Beryl's trial. People knew that this would be something to see. The sentence of the one person who had the guts to destroy the place, although she had regrets for what she did to them. "This court meeting will come to order," said Judge Carl Reinheart, the high judge, a big, buff guy who looked as if he could kill with a single punch, and had a cold stare which told just the same. He was also...THE EXECUTIONER. He was the one to carry out a death sentence if that was the case...THE MAIN GUY. And he was a true bastard in executions. He loved every second of it. Once, when killing a man, making him bleed, he went so far as to taste the blood of the man. He loved to execute, and loved the agony and the pain that went with it. He even goes so far as to make some slow and painful, with each minute ticking away to their death. That was just the kind of man this guy was. However, he wouldn't execute a man if he wasn't guilty of something. He wasn't that kind of guy. He knew that he was a fair guy. If the man wasn't guilty, then he, or she, was free to go. "This case is against Queen Michelle Beryl for destroying the Moon Kingdom ten years ago. Michelle, this court has reviewed the documents that say the case, and we have reviewed them. The case against you is very incriminating. I don't know if there is anything that could save you from being found guilty. However, we understand that you have the right to defend yourself in this courtroom. With that being said, do you have anything to say on behalf of your case," he said. Beryl did have a lot to say. Beryl started, "I do, council." She now spoke to everyone there. "Ten years ago," Beryl started, "I did something that I will regret for the rest of my life. I had destroyed your home. There is no punishment great enough for what I did. However, I have turned my life around. I have a husband that I hold dear to me, a daughter that means very much to me, and all of the people there have made me realize that I was doing the enough things. I stand before you now, to say that I, am sorry. I know that won't be enough. If I am found guilty, then all I want as a punishment is to say that I will never do it again. I will not hesitate to sign any type of contract that says so. That is all," and with that, she sat back down. "Well, Queen Beryl," started the judge, "I see that you are component that you want these people to forgive you for what you did to them. You presented your case pretty good. You had changed greatly. This court applaudes you for doing that." Beryl was getting a smile on her face. "HOWEVER!!" That word all of a sudden brought Beryl's smile out of touch, and a worried look came on her face. She knew she wouldn't get the sentence that she wanted if she was found guilty. She wouldn't get a plea bargain. She listened. "Your crimes can never be forgiven. Your crimes will never be forgotten, and the crime will not go unpunished to the highest extent that I can, maybe further that even that. Queen Michelle Beryl, on behalf of this court, I find you...GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES!!!!!!" A few people clapped their hands in acceptance, thinking that this would finally be the end of their troubles. "Now," he continued, "I have also thought of the sentence to carry out if you were found guilty. We thought to execute you. That wasn't enough. We had thought to exile you to a place of Hell forever, but that's not enough. Not even is that suck-ass effort about a contract deal enough. I had thought about it. Michelle, there is something that you hold very dear to you. Someone that you care about more than anyone here." She was thinking about her new husband, Sanikite. "Go ahead. Kill him if you must. I deserve it. You should if that is to be my punishment. He would be more than willing to die if it meant for me to move on," she said, knowing that she should be punished. "HUH?!! HIM?!! Who said anything about a HE?!!" Reinheart had said that with great stride. Serena was there that day as well. "What's he talking about, Casto," she asked to her brother. "I don't...," Casto stopped, now seemingly knowing what he's going to say, "Oh my God!!" "What is it," Serena asked. "Take a listen," Casto said. Beryl also knew what he was going to say. Immediatly, she started to worry, with tears starting to flow down her cheek. "No, Judge!! You CAN'T!! WHY HER?!" Carl Reinheart went on. "You hold your daughter so dear to you that it's amazing. I can't believe how much you really love Princess Seryl, Beryl. However, as your punishment, we shall...EXECUTE HER!!!!!" All of a sudden, everyone turned straight at the judge in disbelief of this sentence, Casto more than any other. His quickness in standing up told the whole story with his sudden thought of the matter at hand. "I OBJECT TO THAT SENENCE!!" Everyone turned to Casto, who was absolutely screaming that. No one had done this before. No one held enough guts to question a sentence like this before. "Now I know that Queen Beryl did some very bad things in her life. Some very bad decisions, but the sentence that your asking. Why kill her daughter?!! She has nothing to do with this." "Casto, I suggest you sit down before I throw you out of the courtroom." "I don't care if you throw me..." "Casto," Serena started, "let it go for now. We'll find some way to convince them." "NO, I WILL..." Casto was interrupted by some guards who escorted him back to his seat and directed him to sit back down. "And to teach you a lesson, we are ordering you to watch the execution." All of a sudden, the doors to the courtroom opened, and two guards were holding one hand each of Princess Seryl. 'How the hell did they find her,' Beryl thought?! "Mommy," Seryl said when she found her mother, "what's going on. I'm scared, mommy. HELP ME MOMMY!!" "GIVE ME BACK MY GOD DAMN DAUGHTER," Beryl pleaded to the guards. No such luck. "You can kill ME!! I'll DIE if I have to!! But PLEASE let her GO!!" A guard came over to her. "Shut the FUCK up," was the last thing she heard before a stinging slap came before her face. She would've retaliated, but in fear that they would kill her daughter right then and there if she tried anything, she decided against it. "MOMMY, HELP ME PLEASE!!" Seryl was crying and screaming to the loudest her lungs could allow her. Beryl was also scared of what they were doing. "PLEASE let her go. I'll do anything you WANT!! I'll be your slave for the rest of my fucking LIFE!! LET HER GO, THOUGH!!" That was the last thing she said before Seryl disappeared from Beryl's eyes, maybe for the last time before she had to see her die, and at the executions, Beryl knew that the true bastard behind Reinheart, the true him, came out then. Casto was also staring dead at the door, with a cold look. He couldn't believe they were going to do this to Beryl. Sure, she did some very evil things, but, in Casto's mind, not even Queen Beryl deserved what this sentence was asking for, which was that this was the only way she could be punished effectivly. "Execution will occur tommorrow. This court is adjourned." And with that, it was over. Just like that. No jury, no testimony, nothing. Usually, Reinheart was also a fair judge, and heard both sides of the case. But something possessed him to not be fair this time. Like he almost wanted her to be guilty of this. After the trial was over, Casto went right into Queen Serenity's room. "HOW COULD YOU LET THEM DO THAT," he screamed into her face. Obviously, he was very angry at what had happened at the trial. King Edmonton was also there, as well. "You shall never speak to your mother in that..." Serenity knew, though, why he was angry at her. He deserved an explanation as to why she didn't intervene, as he knew nothing of the agreement that she and the courts made about her not interfering in the trials. She interrupted her husband, "It's okay, my love. He's as angry as I am right now at all of this. He has the right to be angry at me. I'm angry at myself for this, as well." "What?" the king said. "I know what Beryl did was wrong, but I would've been happy for what she wanted. I would be happy to let everything go to rest in the past by doing what she wanted. But I don't think taking her only daughter she has ever had away from her is the right way. This is not necessary. Unfortunately, I can't do anything about it." "And why is that," Casto screamed angrily at her. "Because a long time ago, I signed a contract, stating that I wouldn't interfere in the court's decisions in any way. If I would've intervened then, I would breech the contract, and they could...find me guilty." Casto looked at her dumbfounded. "Mother, why are you letting them control you? No one can do that. Your the queen of this kingdom, for God sakes. Why did you let them take control of you like that?" "Because, I was...stupid. I didn't think twice when signing it. At the time, I didn't know that they would do such a thing. But don't worry Casto. So help me, I am not going to let them go though with this sentence." "I would hope not," he said in response to her comment. It was night time in the Dark Kingdom. Beryl was in her bedroom, and slowly, she began to feel a quick tear running down her cheek. She then thought of the times when she was like this. She would be in her bedroom, thinking about how her life was almost ruined because of what she did, and she would start to cry. Then her daughter would come in and see her mother crying into a pillow. And then she would say, "Mommy, what's wrong?" Beryl would look into her eyes, crying over something. Seryl was the only one to see these emotions out of Beryl. "It's okay, mommy," she would say. "Don't cry, mommy. Everything's okay." Then she would get onto the bed with her, and hug her. This would comfort Beryl to know that no matter what she was feeling, her daughter would love her mommy. Beryl slowly would go and give her back the love that Seryl would give her. Seryl knew nothing about what Beryl did, and Beryl didn't dare tell Seryl what she did to the Moon Kingdom, although those regrets would always be what brought her to tears. "It's okay, sweetheart. Everything okay with your mommy," she would say. And Seryl was the absolute only one that Beryl would talk to in that way. Calling her "sweetheart" and all. She would do this to let her know that everything was okay. She then came back to Earth, in a matter of saying, and now, knowing that those times might be taken away from her, she started to get puffy cheeks from sadness. You could see her eyes litterly shining because of the tears that she was trying to hold back. 'I can handle this,' she thought. 'I'm strong. I don't have to cry over th...wait a minute, what the hell am I thinking. This is my DAUGHT...' Her thought was quickly cut off by a quick sob, and then another one, this one longer than the first. And then, she felt a tear slowly rolling down. That was all it took for her to completly lose her endurance to hold back her feelings. She buried her head into the pillow that was on the bed there, and she just started crying. The sobs were loud, and she was soaking the pillow in tears, although she would be damned if she cared about that right now. And then, without even thinking twice, she blurted out about the HCC, "YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!!" She yelled out those words as loud as she could possibly get. Then she buried her head back into the pillow, and started to cry again. Sanikite seemly heard those words, as well, as they were yelled that loud. He quickly came into the room to see what was going on with his wife. "What's going on," he said. He hadn't attended the trial, so he didn't know about the sentence, but he did see the guards kidnap Seryl. "GET AWAY, SANIKITE," Beryl commanded to him. "Tell me what's wrong, and I.." "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME RIGHT NOW," she said, not realizing who this was that she was saying this to. "Okay, then, I'll..." Beryl then realized what she said, and quickly felt guilty. Her emotions had taken over, and she needed someone to take it out on. Sanikite was there, so she belted on him, without realizing that he knew nothing of the trial. "Sanikite, don't go. I'm sorry," she said. Sanikite heeded command, although it wasn't really a command, just a request. "Sure," he responded. "Just tell me what's wrong. You yelled so loud I could hear you from out there in the throne room." Beryl fought to get the words out. "They found me guilty." "OH MY GOD," Immediatly, Sanikite knew that she was talking about the trial earlier. Then he linked that with Seryl being kidnapped. "What happened with Seryl?!" "There gonna use her as my sentence. They're gonna...KILL HER to teach me a lesson!" Sanikite could be seen with his jaw opening his mouth uncontrollably, and now he was the one holding back tears. He starred at Beryl in disbelief as what she just said "I...don't...believe...it." He said those words as if he was fighting to find those words out of the anger and sadness he was feeling right now. She was talking about his daughter, too. Beryl then uttered some words that Sanikite knew he would never forget for the rest of his life. She let her emotions now take control, and just blurted out what she thought was happening. "There gonna take my daughter away from me. Seryl, my princess, everything that I had ever tried to turn around my life for, is gonna be taken away by those FUCKING bastards!! DAMN THEM!! They're NOTHING to me. Serenity was sorry for me, too!! She wanted to do something, but I knew she COULDN'T!! DAMN THEM FOR MAKING HER BE UNDER THEIR CONTROL!! And NOW, Seryl is gonna DIE because those Courts don't know how to be FAIR!! DAMN THEM ALL!! DAMN THEM ALL TO FUCKING HELL!!" Sanikite was about scared to death at those words. Never has Beryl talked talk way before. Sure, she used the word damn before, but never in such succession, and never in the way she used them, either. But he knew why she was saying such phrases. He felt the same way, too, but his emotions hadn't taken control of him yet. Her's has now. She was saying words about what she felt. She tried to fight them, but she couldn't. She had to tell someone about what she felt. She had to let it out. And Sanikite let her just air out what she needed to let out. He then took her by the shoulders. She started to speak again, realizing now who she said those words to. "Sanikite, I'm sorry. I'm letting everything go to my head, am I?! I'm chewing you out for my problems, am I?" "No, your not," he responded. "You're not doing anything wrong. She's my daughter, too. I feel the exact same way you do, my love. I wish that I could say the same things that you just said to them in their face. They would think twice before killing her. Beryl, let it out. Don't let your emotions build up inside of you. Please, if this is the way you feel, then say it to me. You don't have to hide it from me. Beryl, I love you. I don't want to see this happen anymore than you do. If this is the way you feel..." Beryl cut him off at the pass, "Yes, I do feel that way. They're gonna take my baby away from me for their gain. She was the only one that I would die for. If she was ever taken away from me, I wouldn't know what I would do. Sanikite, I'm SCARED that they're gonna do it. I don't DESERVE this. I WANT SERYL BACK!! IN MY ARMS!! I WANT TO SAY THAT EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE OKAY!! MOMMY IS HERE FOR YOU!! I'M NOT GONNA LET ANYTHING HAPPEN TO YOU!! I'm not gonna get that chance AGAIN to comfort her. I want to SEE her again!! That's all that I want, and those BASTARDS. They won't LET me. They said that it was to teach me a LESSON. They've already DONE that. I'll do ANYTHING for them. I JUST WANT MY DAUGHTER, THE ONLY PERSON THAT I HELD DEAR TO ME, BACK WITH ME!! MY GOD, THERE GONNA TAKE MY SWEETIE AWAY FROM ME!!" That was the LAST thing she said before burring her face into Sanikite's shoulder and started to cry some more. She held him tightly, and she almost broke his back at the grip that she had. However, he didn't care. Her emotions were the only things that were being felt right now, and she needed to be comforted right now. She needed someone to speak to. Someone who would cry with her. Sanikite started to stroke her hair peacefully, telling her that it was gonna be okay. Her hair was smooth, and he liked doing this for her. He then felt her get a hold of some of the fabric on his uniform to strengthen the comfort of his body against hers. He didn't mind it a bit. He took his lips to her forehead and started to kiss her on the head, trying as hard as he possibly could to comfort her more. He lied down with her on the bed, and he did nothing else that night but just hold onto his love while she let everything out. She had been crying now for about an hour, and no longer did she fight back the tears. And in a way, he was holding onto her to comfort him, as well. He was saddened, as well. He had said to her that everything would be okay. Now he knew that it was a complete lie. They were going to murder Seryl because of something that they could've forgave his wife for now. He decided not to think about what could happen, and what was happening right now. He was able to not think about the awful stuff that could happen, but his wife didn't. He helped Beryl undo her dress and took it off of her, so she would feel more comfortable physically, at least. He continued to stroke her hair and kiss her on her temple. He then heard Beryl stopping the geyser that was her crying. He then looked on her face. She was asleep. She had cried herself to sleep, lying right on her lover's chest. Sanikite smiled, knowing that she was comfortable right where she was, on him. He stayed where he was at, until he fell asleep himself. This was the kind of thing that would happen after they had a night of passion. After a night of them showing that they really did love each other, although they knew tonight wasn't one of those nights, so he had to show it another way, and this was the way. To just stay with her tonight. They were then sound asleep, bodies touching one another. Casto went to the Courts in the middle of the night, hoping to see why Reinheart was so impatient to find Beryl guilty in the first place. He thought that even that was suspicious. He went to where the judges sat. Mistakenly, they had left the documents for the case there. On it was the one statement that would justify his suspicions about Reinheart and the case. He didn't know what it was, but he had a feeling it was from one of his private records and files that they kept under lock and key. It read, "I HATE Queen Beryl for what she did. That new attitude of hers was only a mask. She doesn't care about her daughter, although, yeah, she makes us that. It is my duty to make sure that she gets punished to the extent of not the law, but of what I believe is right. And let's see how she really cares about Seryl when I get a taste of her blood. Not only will I make Beryl watch it, but I'll make her watch me get a little sample of that four year olds..." He couldn't read any more. He thought this was sickening to even think about wanting that. The message that he recieved churned his stomach to the point of where he was gonna vomit because of what Reinheart really wanted to do. He didn't find her guilty of destroying the Moon Kingdom. Casto figured that Carl couldn't care less about that. Carl found her guilty of a personal vendetta against Beryl. Reinheart wasn't fair. And what was more, he didn't, and maybe wouldn't ever figure out the motive behind his madman antics, much less what he was reading right at the time. He didn't care, though. He just wanted to put an end to this rage before this issue went further than it had to, and slowly, but surly, it was getting to that point. And that note as it was showed that he was serious, for whatever reason he wrote it. He then got down to the bottom portion of the note he wrote. It read, "I am also real happy that that bitch, Queen Serenity, can't do anything about it. I really wish, though, that she would do something foolish, so I will have a reason to kill her, and get a taste of her blood. I already got a taste of her blood once before, though, and it tasted so good She was very..." "OH MY GOD!!" Casto blurted out those words. Either Reinheart was a vampire, or he had hurt Serenity before. He couldn't believe this sick and twisted mind of his. It was truly revolting to him. He immediatly went back to Serenity's room. He woke her up, and showed her that note. Immediatly, a surprised look came over her, and she started to cry. "Mother, what's wrong?" "That's how he got me to sign that damn thing," she said. "You mean he threatened to kill you if you didn't sign that contract." "YES!! Beryl is right. He IS the sickest bastard that ever walked the face of the Moon." He never heard Serenity talk about anyone this way. In fact, he never heard her talk this way period. "What did he do to you," Casto blurted out. "He slapped me in the face, and then he punched me where he slapped me. I had a cut in my lip. I was bleeding. He then took a finger and got some of the blood that was seething down my face, and, to my sickness, he took that finger into his mouth." "WHAT?!!" Casto was about to stop her right there. That enough was enough to tell her to stop this right now, before he got to becoming sick to his stomach. It was one thing to hit Casto's mother in the male Sailor's eyes. However, the tasting of the blood went too far by his standards. He would think that Reinheart had a little bit of class. A little bit of reasoning of when he was taking things too far. But he knew then that Reinheart didn't. There was more than met the eye for that sick and twisted mind. More than what Casto wanted to know. "It's true," Serenity continued. "I don't know what possesses him to do such a thing, but he does it. I finally gave that son of a bitch what he wanted, which was to sign it. But you look at it. I was shaking when I signed on that dotted line. And then, he left without saying a word. I cried myself to sleep that night, not knowing what possessed him to do such a thing." "Mother, why didn't you stop him? I know that you are powerful enough to stop that guy from hurting you." "I would have, but there was one problem." She continued to cry, trying to get out all that she could. "He also threatened my family if I didn't sign that contract." "WHAT?!!" "He said that he would kill my whole family if I didn't sign it. I almost retaliated with the punch to my face, but I thought that if I did, my family would be murdered by that bastard. I took the blows, knowing that if I didn't, it would be you and Serena taking them, and no one, and I mean no one, hurts my family and gets away with it." Casto understood what she meant by that. He knew that, beyond normal, his mother would do anything to protect her family. Her husband, son, and daughter. Serenity continued. "Now I am stuck with him as a judge, jury, and executioner. He wasn't too bad of an executioner till I saw his face on one. He's not human. He loved every second of that damn thing. And I thought that that was all that he did, until I saw that I wasn't the only blood that..." Casto stopped her right there. As soon as she said blood again, he knew exactly what she was talking about, and he really didn't have the stomach to handle another tale of the vampire-like tale of him and his blood-tasting. It was already churning as it was. One more mention of it, and he wouldn't have been able to hold back what he wanted to do. Serenity understood what he was feeling about that blood-tasting tale. "I know, it's kinda sick, and it's kinda revolting. But that's the kind of man he is...if you want to call him a human." Casto didn't want to. However, now he realized something that could've turned the tide of this whole ordeal. Using people was a high crime, as well, and now he had the judge for something. If he could bring this up in the courts, not only would Reinheart definitly be guilty, but Seryl would be saved, and Serenity would be released of any contracts that he made her sign, under law. Casto, however, knew that this would have to be quick, because the execution of Beryl's daughter was tomorrow. That tomorrow turned into today. Seryl was in a prison cell, not knowing what was going on. "Mommy, where are you. I'm so scared. I need you, mommy." Seryl was so scared she was shaking. She was on the bench, curled up in a ball, shaking in fear. So scared she was, and so frightened from that cell. They had locked up her in that cell, and it would be scary to a grown man alone. Imagine what would it do to a four year old girl, who didn't know what was even going on, or why she was in there. In many eyes, she deserved an explanation, and more than that. She needed Queen Beryl there. Her mommy. She wanted her mommy to comfort her. To be there, telling her it was okay. "Hey, kid, you have a visitor." The guard said that like he was gonna croak if he was excited at all. Seryl was hoping that her mommy was coming. The guard wasn't allowed to let her have any visitors, but the reason that he did this was the person. Casto was the visitor. Seryl quickly gave up all hope then. He was let into the cell. Seryl all of a sudden backed up to the back wall of the cell. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!! YOU'RE ONE OF THEM!!!" "No, I am not," Casto tried to tell her. "I am here to help. I want to tell you what's gonna happen, and I want to know a few things." "Start talking." "How can I put this? Do you know why they have you here?" "No, I don't." "Do you want me to tell you?! It might scare you." "Please tell me." He tried to tell her in word that wouldn't scare her as much as she was already. "The judge wants to do something to you to teach your mommy a lesson. He wants...to kill you." He knew saying that would scare her, but, for some reason, those words blurted out. And it did scare her. She started to whimper a little. "Don't be scared, Seryl. I'm not gonna let those bastards do this to you. But I need for you to do something." "Please let me see my mommy." "I will, Seryl, but what I need from you is to tell me what happened. How exactly did they kidnap you." "They just took me. My daddy tried to stop them, but he couldn't. They said for me to stay with them." "Those bastards. Okay, that's all I needed to..." All of a sudden, Reinheart came into the part in which the cell was. He didn't expect Casto to be there. "What the hell are you doing here, Casto," he said. Casto went right into his face, and started to scream. "What I want to know is, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO KILL HER LIKE THIS?!! SHE DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT!!" "I have a duty to uphold the law, and you're in the way of me doing that." "Well, I know that it wasn't that she DESTROYED THE MOON KINGDOM THAT MADE YOU FIND HER GUILTY!! IT WAS THAT YOU DON'T LIKE HER!! I ALSO KNOW THAT YOU HURT MY MOTHER, AND FOR THAT, I'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET BUSTED!!" Reinheart was surprised, because no one knew that much about him. "YOU BASTARD!! GET OUT OF MY WAY BEFORE I HAVE TO KICK YOUR ASS!!" Reinheart went and punched Casto in the face. Casto fell to the ground in extreme pain. "COME WITH ME, CHILD!!" He grabbed Seryl by the hand and dragged her out of the cell. He didn't care if Seryl was a child, a newborn, or whatnot. He wanted to do this. "Come...back...uh...here with...her. You...won't...get..away...with...this...you...son-of-a-bitch," were the last words that Casto could get out of his beaten body before he passed out on the prison cell floor. Casto came to in a chair in a room. He then looked up after rubbing his eyes. What he saw was the most heinous thing ever to him. He saw Princess Seryl, there an eletric chair. A basic form of execution, and here was the four year old, scared half to death, not knowing what was going on, and here she was, tied up, restraint from even moving, ready to die. "What the hell...?!," He said out of the blue. A door opened up. Two guards were there, each dragging Beryl by one arm each. "LET ME GO," she said, with no one even listening. They then brought out a special chair for her, in which they put her in. They restrained every part of her body, down to the eyelids, so she wouldn't be able to close your eyes to not witness it, and the neck still so she wouldn't turn her head from her daughter. You could see her eyes become glittery from the tears she was letting out. Everyone else that was forced to watch came in. Reinheart appeared on the other side of a plain sheet of glass which was held by a wall. It was a two way glass, so Seryl and Beryl would see each other, or be able to, at least. "MOMMY," she screamed. "SWEETIE, I'm here," Beryl responded. "MOMMY, I'M SCARED!! WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO ME?! TAKE ME HOME!! I WANT TO GO HOME!!" That was all it took for Casto to lose his cool, if he didn't lose it enough. Reinheart started to speak. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, Beryl is sustained to watch, and you all have been brought here to watch. So, let's get going." Reinheart went to the lever. When he pulled it down, Seryl would be subjected to a lot of electricity, and be dead within minutes. And he was gonna do it. No one was going to be able to stop him, either. He got halfway down with the lever, when Casto couldn't take it anymore. This was it for him. The breaking point. He had tried to subdue this for so long, but this was it. He had reached the breaking point. Something had to give in him. "STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!" Casto jumped up right from his seat. Reinheart quickly went back up. "THIS IS ENOUGH!! BERYL HAS LEARNED HER LESSON ENOUGH! STOP THIS!!" "And what are you gonna do about it?!" The next words surprised everyone there. "I want to drop all charges on Queen Beryl." People were heard of saying "Is he out of his mind?" Or "What did he say?!" Everyone turned to Casto, and looked dead upon him. Reinheart looked that way, too. No one did such a thing at that point. "Don't tell me you want to do this now." Casto said something even more surprising. "Queen Beryl doesn't deserve to have her daughter killed like this. Please stop. We can find another way. You're nothing but some greedy, sick son-of-a-bitch to be seeking revenge this way." "No way, Casto. You have no idea what Beryl having a daughter will do to us." "Do I, or do you? Seryl has nothing to do with anything that Beryl did. All I want is for you to stop. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, THIS IS NOT RIGHT!!!!!" At this point, Beryl was thinking that Casto was a savior to Seryl. She was relieved that he has taken as much as this as he could possibly see before he has reached the boiling point. Reinheart thought nothing of his request, though. "No, Casto, and if you have the fortitude to do that again, I'm gonna kill you..." "I agree." Someone just interrupted him again, but no one knew who it was. They looked for the owner of the voice. It was King Edmonton, who had also seen enough. "I'll admit, I didn't see it at first, but you, Reinheart, are a poor excuse for a judge. If you kill her now, we will never forgive you, and damn you for all eternity. Let her go. I'm dropping the charges, also." This coming from the first one who would want to see Beryl punished. All of a sudden, Serena, who was also in the room, stood up to join her father and brother in their efforts. Then, to Reinheart's surprise, everyone stood to join the three. They had all said, one at a time, what they wanted to say, with the words that told him that they wanted to drop all charges that was on the Queen. Beryl had a rally going to let her go free. Reinheart, however, said nothing about it, and went back to the lever. They couldn't believe it. They had all rallied against this, yet here he was, not even listening to them. He was about to pull the final two inches, when a staff hit his head, and the lever swung back up. He looked up, and to everyone's surprise, Queen Serenity was there, holding that staff on his head, and she was shaking in anger, with the worst angry look that she could possibly give someone. "LET HER GO, OR I'M GONNA ABSOLUTLY KICK YOUR ASS," she said, without thinking twice. Reinheart didn't know what she was doing. "QUEEN SERENITY!! What in the world do you think your DOING?!" "You know damn well what you did to me, you fucking bastard." "NOW WAIT A MINUTE!! I didn't do anything to you." And Casto thought he heard the worst of what Serenity could say last night. Everyone was surprised of what words were coming out of her mouth. She had never been this angry before. "You THINK, YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!! Take her off of that chair right will, and I will NOT tell everyone what you did to me. Casto already knows. I TOLD HIM!!" With that, she pushed Reinheart to a wall, and lifted him up on the wall by his chin with her staff. "Now, are you gonna let him go, or am I gonna have some fun tearing you up into SHEADS?!" "CASTO, tell her to LAY OFF!! She's CRAZY!!" Casto just looked on in happiness. "Do it, or I'll HELP HER!!" "Help her do what?" As he was saying this, neither Casto nor Serenity saw him pull out a knife. The next thing they saw was him sticking the knife right into Serenity's heart. Serenity screamed, and fell limp to the floor. "MOTHER," Casto screamed to the top of his lungs, as he exited the witness room, and entered the execution room. He held Serenity's body up, to see the paleness of her face. It was too late. She was murdered by Reinheart. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Casto looked straight at him with a cold stare. Reinheart was ready now to kill Seryl. "Now, to you, Seryl," he said. Beryl, however, was busy doing something else. She was busy getting the restraints off of her. She was done with the arms, and now she could get the rest undone. Serena entered the execution room, only to see Serenity's dead body. Within a blink of the eye, Serena had enough of what was happening, as well. Any person who has saw Serena's temper flare up could tell you that it would rarly do so, and it would happen if you hurt someone she really cared about, and Serena cared for her mother. Reinheart punched Serena as she went after him in great rage. She fell to the floor, and the two siblings were helpless to what would happen next. And what would be the most hellish thing that would happen, in the witnesses' eyes. As Beryl got the last of the restraints off, Reinheart did something that would stick in her mind forever. He pulled the lever. And this time....IT WENT DOWN!! "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY, HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!," Seryl screamed in pain and agony. "SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYL!!!!" At thsat moment, Beryl took her staff and smashed the glass with it. She launched herself over the wall. "DON'T DIE, SERYL," Beryl screamed . This was the loudest she had ever gotten. "NO, SERYL, DON'T DIE!! DON'T DIE!!! DON'T DDDDIIIIIIEEEE!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Beryl then broke the chair in which Seryl was in. Seryl fell to the cold ground. Beryl then went to her and held her daughter close to her. "Seryl," Beryl screamed as she let out a loud sob, "DON'T DIE!!" Beryl then took a pulse, and afterwards...she found that there was nothing there. She then check for breathing...she wasn't. Then, Beryl faced that horrible truth. That horrible thing that she was fearing. Seryl...WAS DEAD!!!!!! Her face was so pale, and Beryl felt the cold skin that was coming to her. And then Beryl started to cry. "NO, SERYL, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE MY LIFE!! I LOVE YOU, MY PRINCESS!! DON'T DIE!!" But it was no use. There was no use in telling her anything now. And Casto and the rest of the people there couldn't believe it. "OH MY GOD, NO!! SWEETHEART, I'M SORRY I WASN'T THERE!! I'M SORRY!!" Then, she took a cold, hard look at her executioner. And then, one word that Beryl had said told the entire story for her. "MURDERER!!!" That was the only word everyone else needed. No one dared to stop Beryl now. No one wanted to. Reinheart has a smirk on his face. To everyone there, it was the most sickening display could laugh at to, and there he was, laughing. Beryl came up, and now she was breathing heavily, her whole body shaking, and her voice trembling the words she was speaking. "I HATE YOU, REINHEART!!" Those words stung in people's hearts, because everyone knew she meant those words. "I FUCKING HATE YOU!! YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER!! NOW, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!" No one wanted to stop her, either. So Reinheart had to beat it before she carried out her promise. "I'm OUTTA HERE!!" And with that, he was gone, out of the door and had escaped from the room. But he gotten his wish. Beryl had suffered a great loss. "NO, REINHEART, YOU COME BACK HERE!!! FUCK YOU, REINHEART!!!!" Beryl then swung her staff angrily at anything she could break. The lever was broken. Next, she almost tore apart the wall separating the two rooms. Everyone hurried out of the room. Beryl then fell to her knees, weakened by the sadness, and then she ended up crawling to Seryl's limp, dead body. "No, Seryl. You can't be dead. You can't be dead...." She repeated that last sentence for about a minute, and then she picked the body up, and hugged it, like she was asleep, and, Indian style, she sat down on the ground with her, and put her on Beryl's lap. Then she stated to rock her, like she was rocking Seryl to sleep. This site was so sad to see for everyone, as Serena buried her head in Casto's shoulder, avoiding looking at that site. What Beryl did next was a earful. She started to sing to Seryl, like she would do to put her to sleep when she was a baby. No one knew exactly what she was singing, or made out what words she was singing, but they figured she was singing something to Seryl. She didn't want to believe that she was dead. And no one could move her, get her attention, or anything. She stayed that way, rocking, singing, and sometimes kissing her limp daughter, the only one person that she showed this side of her to. Beryl didn't care who saw her now. She didn't even realize what she was doing. She was only thinking about what had happened. Over and over again, people tried to get Beryl's attention, to no such avail. Beryl looked more and more like hell itself as the time went along. What was surprising was, no one saw this side of her before. They had seen the most evil side of Beryl that anyone could see. They saw her happy side, but they have never seen anything like this coming out of Beryl, of all people. Everyone was in tears over this. They then decided to just let her go. Let her do this. She ended up doing that all night, not getting even a wink of sleep. She had stayed wide awake all night, just singing and rocking Seryl. Her voice was to a hum now, and when it came to morning, she was just holding that cold body, rocking it still, not wanting to believe that Seryl was actually dead at all, and that she was only sleeping. Serena woke up the next day, hoping that what had happened the night before was just a bad nightmare. That she would see Seryl, alive and well, and that Beryl would be as happy as can be. When she went down to the cells, however, she saw Beryl, still sitting in the exact same place she was the night before, rocking Seryl. "Uhh...Beryl...I'm so sorry." Beryl then finally woke up from what was like a trance to her. She had heard Serena's words. 'I'm so sorry' was what she said to her worst enemy. Beryl couldn't find the strength to acknowledge her, though. She just uttered the words, "please don't be," and left it at that. Sanikite came in a few moments later, and instantly, he was shocked to see what had happened. "OH MY GOD, NO!! SERYL!!" Beryl somehow found the strength to look towards him, but only to say, "They took her away from me. They took my baby away from me. MY GOD, SHE'S GONE!!" Sanikite came over to her, and sat down next to her. "Beryl, I don't know what to say. No words can express the anger, the sadness, the guilt of what I'm feeling right now." The next three words that came out of Beryl's mouth shocked both Serena and Sanikite. "My life's over." Sanikite want to make sure he heard that right. "WHAT?!" "YOU HEARD ME, YOU DUMB SON OF A BITCH!! MY LIFE IS THROUGH!! SHE'S DEAD!! SHE'S FUCKING DEAD!! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY?!!!" "Beryl, CALM DOWN!!" "I CAN'T CALM THE FUCK DOWN!! THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED!! THEY KILLED HER!! THOSE BASTARDS KILLED MY ONLY DAUGHTER!! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO NOW!!" Serena tried to calm her down. She was ready for this. She knew the stages of how a person will deal with such a death. First, sadness, then came the anger. She was at her second stage of dealing with this. "EVERYONE, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!! I CAN'T FIND IT WITHIN MYSELF TO CARE ABOUT ANYONE ANYMORE!! DAMN YOU ALL!! YOU ALL CAN GO TO HELL!!" "NO, BERYL, DON'T SAY THAT!!" "YOU FOLLOW ME, SO HELP ME, I'LL KILL YOU RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!!" "BERYL, PLEASE...," Sanikite cried out. Serena stopped him. "Sanikite, let her go. She needs to get this out of her system. I guess that's the only way to express her anger towards what happened here." He let Beryl go outside. Beryl had ran and ran and ran for about twenty minutes, as far as she could go, until she stopped, and broke down crying again. A few minutes later, Sanikite appeared. Beryl knew who it was. "Sanikite, I'm sorry I acted that way. I'm sorry I told you to go to hell. I'm sorry for everything." "Beryl, you don't have to apologize to me. I understand why you said those things. Personally, that's what I want to say right now. Not really in that way, but that's basically what I'm feeling right now." Sanikite held Beryl tightly. Beryl felt like she was gonna sink into Sanikite's chest. She did, too. But she didn't feel like sleeping. She just wanted Sanikite to hold her. To comfort her. To tell her how he felt. Beryl then had something come to her head. "Sanikite, tell me something Was Seryl the only reason why I turned good?" "WHAT?!!" "Was Seryl the only real reason why I destroyed the Dark Force?" "No, she wasn't. You destroyed it to start a new life. You wanted to put your past behind you. It was for Seryl. She was only one of the many reasons you turned your life around." Although the Dark Force statement he said was a complete lie, and he knew it, he felt that saying it that way would comfort her, because he was fearing that she might turn back into the evil Beryl because of all of the events that had taken place. "Thanks, Sanikite. I needed to hear that. Please, I must do something. Don't come after me." She broke his hold and went off. Sanikite heeded request not to follow her. On a table was a gun that someone from Earth on a visit there left there by mistake. One bullet was remaining in the magazine. Beryl was staring at the gun. She then wondered a lot of things. "Sanikite," she said, "I am sorry for what I want to do. Seryl is dead, and my life is though because of it. I don't want to live my life without Seryl with me. She was my princess. My little baby. I want to join her. I want to rock her to sleep again. I can't do that now. That was my whole argument. I can't live with that pain inside of me. I love you, Sanikite, but this is too much for me. I want to join Seryl. I would die for her. When I sung that song of mine to her, I figured that I wouldn't be able to do it ever again." She looked at the gun, and picked it up, cocked off the safety, and pointed it to her skull. It would kill her the minute she pulled on that trigger. What was scary, though, was that she had that look in her eyes. That she didn't care what that thing would do to her. She had enough of everything that was going on around her. "Seryl, I'm coming to comfort you once again. In heaven, Hell, whatever. I don't care where I go, as long as I'm there, holding you close to me. You have to be scared by not having me there." And with that, she pulled the trigger right to her brain. Sanikite was near the Kingdom when he heard a gunshot go off. "OH MY GOD!!" He ran into the Moon Kingdom as fast as he could. As soon as he went into the room in which the gunshot echoed from, his mind just went blank of all other thoughts. Beryl had committed suicide with that gun. "BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYL!!!!," he screamed. The next thing that Sanikite remembered was everyone gathering around the limp body of Beryl. Some people knew why she did it, while some people still questioned it to this day. The answer was explained to everyone from Sanikite. He told them that because her daughter was dead, she didn't think she had a life anymore. Her daughter was her light. It was her star shining bright. Seryl was not just the Princess of the Dark Kingdom, but Queen Beryl's personal princess. Her little pride and joy, and when she saw her dead before her, she thought that there wasn't anything left that she could do to ease the pain. Sure, Sanikite loved her, and she knew that she still had him, but she would be damned if she had forgotten about Seryl's death. She couldn't live with it. In her mind, the only way to ease the pain was that permanent solution. The shot to the head was all it took. A quick second for her to kill herself. And she was in heaven, Sanikite hoped, with Princess Seryl. Somehow, some kind of message came to him that Beryl had actually made it into heaven. Seryl was her star. It was her light. Beryl, after years of belonging in Hell, had finally did something right, and had made it. Sanikite knew that when his time came, he would meet her again, and their daughter. But for now, he had a new mission. Find Reinheart, and kill him. Reinheart disappeared after that day, and hasn't been seen since from anyone. Casto was named the new High Judge of the High Crimes Court. He never has executed anyone to this very day. But he swore to God that if Reinheart ever showed his face there again, he would suffer the same fate as Seryl did to show him how that felt the hard way. But for right now, that electric chair still is broken, and no one will be ever allowed to fix it to make it work again, to make sure that the horrors of that day stick in everyone's mind, and to teach a lesson to everyone. That lesson was that life is a precious thing, and someone else's life shouldn't be treated like a toy. And, in a way, it was in memory of Princess Seryl, to say that it didn't have to happen that way. THE END...FOR NOW!! ______________________________________________________ The rewrite is now done. Once again, I give condolences out to CapZMan (at "capzman@aol.com") for giving me the ability necessary to restructure this fic. Did I do a good job with it? You decide. E-Mail me at "darkpowrjd@aol.com" with your opinions.