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Foramen gave Chibimoon a quirked smile at her words. He'd thought she'd stay, though he hadn't expected a response quite so grown-up, more of an 'I'm not leaving my daddy!' He was reluctantly impressed, enough so that he crouched down - not kneeling, certainly not that - and ripped off part of the star-studded material forming his skirt.

"Here," he said, holding it out. "I think your glove is more blood than material at this point. Wrap this around your wounds instead."

It was likely not the most efficient bandage (even if it was the prettiest). But it would do for now.

And when Endymion began talking, Foramen forced aside the complaint of how tired he was and pushed himself back to his feet. He positioned himself slightly in front of Chibimoon, while not blocking her view of her father. "Something is very wrong with your father," he said, over his shoulder to the girl barely an inch or two shorter than Foramen in heels. "No matter what he says, it is important that you don't go to him. If you want to help him, you have to stay with the senshi who need you."

Foramen didn't count himself among that number, really. But he'd gone through hell and back with this tiny princess' grandmother (possessing Chronos). So no one was killing or corrupting Chibimoon or Chronos on Foramen's watch.

He gave Neso a way, considering look. The yellow-clad, bare-chested senshi seemed all too entirely taken with Endymion. This could spell lots of trouble, if Endymion started ordering that Chibimoon be turned over to him...


***


Birhan always knew she followed the best leader in the entire world. And that if she was good and followed orders, eventually Ares would let her slug that b*****d Endymion a good one.

It seemed that Birhan had been a good girl today. She gave Ares a feral grin after the wrist-tapping ceased.

Message understood.

They would wait, but they were waiting like a mousetrap prepared to spring closed around this poor imitation of what a prince should be. Birhan raised her fists, settling into her fighting stance.

The smile she shot Endymion was confident and taunting. 'Just try it, a*****e,' she thought.

And there it was, a chip of hope, falling into the pit of nothingness. Chibimoon was safe. Why would the prince demand her to return to his side? What threat were her followers, her fellow senshi? What kind of threat were they?

Stepping back, Castor considered his options. Fight the prince, demand answers. What was his loyalty? To earth? What earth? The earth wrapped in darkness, or an earth untouched? Conflicted, Castor could only pull back his hand, blue eyes looking at brown. "Her planet-" A step back. "Isn't just Earth." Castor was nervous, his internal conflict showing in his frown. "It's the moon as well." Kunzite had been trained with a blade. Trained to kill. The prince could be the same. "Her kingdom is also OUR kingdom." s**t, he hoped it wasn't true. That the prince didn't view THEM as the threat. It was just a mistake..right? "The Moon Kingdom." Ares words, he didn't want to consider. He was not Serenity, but he was important to Chibimoon. Still his words had him at a loss. Until...until- as the prince spoke the eternal realized what was a greater risk now.

What was great, powerful, golden, and had it's guardian as one of their own? The Golden Crystal. Facing it, he faced Helios. Pegasus. "Helios! Protect the Crystal! Something is wrong!" Something stank in Elysion. And he doubted it was the roses.

Scylla had made it through most of the drama in the shadows, staying out of the main part of the fighting, and this time, trying not to make a target of herself in Elysion. And so far she was doing fairly well, after she'd wiggled her way out of the group of people who had ganged up on her. Her powers were already exhausted by the effort, affected by her mental and physical exhaustion. All that was left was Scylla's physical strength, and that waned as she bled into the waters, those clear waters that had reflected space.

The events that had transpired boggled the mind. Everyone on the senshi side had seemed so excited to see him, so eager, as though his presence was going to make such a huge difference. It could have, she acknowledged, but on the other hand she was oddly irked to discover that her original thoughts about him not being on their side-- warriors of Earth, please!-- were correct. A point which had been proven when the Caped Weirdo had pushed the Zodiac Princess towards the enemy.

Oddly, the Negaverse seemed just as disgusted by this action as the Senshi were. It seemed that everyone came slowly to the realization that the Prince they had been praying for was not what anyone had expected. But why? He spoke out against the senshi, shouldn't the Negaverse have taken him into their bosom? Still, when the violet-haired general vanished instead of harming anyone else, Scylla hissed out a sigh of relief. Slowly, ever so slowly, she waded her way through the battlefield towards the Blood Moon and the other senshi that were slowly gathering around the Prince of Earth. she slipped into place with the rest of her court, briefly brushing a hand against Birhan's and Ares' shoulders, silently letting the women know she'd reached her magical limit before stepping into place.

Oh hell no. If this enemy of theirs took a Crystal, even this one that the senshi hadn't necessarily known was within their protection-- this was Helios' place, after all-- that would be a blow that would put the Senshi back, and not just one step. She tensed, hissing through her teeth, hating the tug in her gut that had her wanting to just bowl the Prince over and stab him with his own sword.

That wasn't politic at all.

For a long time, Helios had been silent. She had not risen from the kneel she had taken as the Prince of Earth, the Prince she had sworn her life to a lifetime ago, had appeared. Whether it was due to the raging emotions that suddenly made her chest flutter like a thousand fearful birds or the shear physical toll it took on her to stand, one hand stayed clasped tightly to her knee, the other wrapped around her injured ribs as she braced herself there, the water so holy to her seeping into the folds of her pure white dress, staining it pink with blood. Even as the word TRAITOR rang out, her only response was to lift her head from where it had been bowed, gaze flicking automatically in Tanzanite's direction, fully assuming the snarled words had been for her.

The truth, however, was far worse. Far worse than even Tanzanite knew. The scene that unraveled was something out of her own worst nightmare, and for a moment she wondered if perhaps the last eight months had all been Tartaros' twisted facade, her body in a hospital bed miles away. Or perhaps her whole lifetime had all been nothing but a contorted nightmare, and she... he... was still hanging upside down from the pretty little birdcage Nehelenia had made for her pet, for her hostage, having never left the Parallel world at all. And as the seconds ticked by, each moment worse than the last, she was praying for captivity of Tartaros. Anything but this.

Anything but her Prince tossing Princess Chronos into the ravenous clutches of the Negaverse's Death Bringer herself.

Anything but those monstrous claws wrapped around the throat of her princess, wrapped around her very starseed itself.

Anything but Endymion being a traitor.

Anything.

Helios could not rise as bodies brushed past her knelt form, senshi and negaverse alike rushing to the aid of their respective leaders and friends, although it seemed she had thankfully been forgotten but for a few who seemed adamant to protect her, should the need arise. Instead, she could merely watch. It was only after the Negaverse had left, and the threat had passed that that hand tightened on her knee, and Elysion's protector rose slowly... shakily... to her feet.

"You are not its keeper."

As always, there was no waver to her words, but the tone was distant, as if she were afraid of what might happen if she allowed herself to be any closer. Firm though those words were, there was a shake to her body, every muscle tightened. She did not dispute that Chibimoon belonged at his side -- how could she protest? How could suggest that it should not be the Princess standing beside the Prince, but her standing beside Chibimoon? She did not look over at the pastel pink form as she continued.

"You are its owner. I am its keeper."

Whether prompted by Castor's cry or merely the disastrous occasion, she stepped forward towards the pedastel with which the Golden Crystal hovered, already straining against the energy the fought to keep her from it, both arms raised, struggling to take it.

"It is no longer yours to take!"

Sassolite had noticed that most of the fighting had stopped, to be fair she was slightly grateful that nothing else seemed to be happening but at the same time she had reason to stay where she was. She was hearing the words come out of this guys mouth and she saw Helios trying to grab the crystal. It seemed Mica had the right idea and Sass smirked and headed around the other way so she would be opposite Mica.

This crystal was theirs.

She had an arrow in hand, if Helios got the crystal she would stab her and they would take it. This golden crystal was going with the negaverse.

------------

Sirius stayed beside Birhan and Ares she didn't know the message that went between them but she was ready to move if needed. Scylla soon arrived next to them but she wasn't acknowledged and so she stayed where she was listening to what this man had to say.

The surprise wasn't really the fact that he just wanted the crystal it was already really quite obvious that he wanted little else. He was on no-ones side, Ares was right about that. The surprise came when Helios spoke. Sirius had thought she would have been loyal anyway but apparently not. There she stood trying to take the crystal. It was beautiful and seemed in a way to go with the guardian's hair. Though Sirius would admit that was possibly be the strangest thought to have at that moment.

-The children had scattered in the chaos, but Polaris had remained, simply watching them cautiously. With the purple haired terror of the negaverse gone and the children heading towards large groups of senshi, she assumed they were safe enough, her eyes still watching them mildly from a far.

When Helios to her left finally rose she stepped back in surprise, watching the weak guardian began to make herself towards the Prince and the crystal. The words struck her, but in the end she fell back behind the preistess. She didn't follow, Eutrupe had handled that. Instead she stood, arm spread apart gently, watching for the moment's notice. In anyone tried to turn a metallic attack on Helios, Polaris was more than ready to turn their weapon right back on them.

"Traitors." Chronos echoed the word, cerise eyes hardening as she looked at Endymion, gaze burning furiously at the insult. It was not only her he referred to, but the other Senshi as well. Those who had died in battle; Eon, Aries, Sagittarius, countless Senshi, and even one of Endymion's own, Kunzite. Those who would have protected Endymion, protected his daughter, without any thought. Those who had fought to keep the Earth safe, to keep civilians alive. "Do you not remember who I am, Prince Endymion? Let me tell you this once again, I am Princess Chronos of the Zodiacs, Lady of the Seasons, and we held the line. We fought to keep Chaos monsters out, to protect everyone, every planet, even Earth. I am Princess Chronos, and I am Princess Serenity's cousin; the Princess Serenity who is the mother of Chibimoon, your daughter." Eyes narrowed and fists clenched as she continued on, unable to stop this tirade. "You would call us traitors? These people here, who would fight to protect your daughter as they are doing right now, to protect the people of the Earth whom those of the Negaverse rip lives out from?"

"Forgive me for saying this, but you are not the Prince Endymion, I knew." Princess Chronos added, taking a deep breath and gazing appreciatively towards those who had moved towards Chibimoon protectively. "A Prince does not blindly throw out accusations. He does not suddenly appear and demand things, even if they do belong to him, without an explanation. Even the Negaverse condemned your actions." She left that sentence hanging, letting those gathered around make their own interpretation of the matter. She did not mean to insult Chibimoon's father, but she simply could not tolerate how he seemed to misunderstand everything.

"Even Helios, whose loyalties lie with you, does not believe you." She finished softly after the Guardian of the Golden Crystal declared her stance. "I am sorry, but neither can I." This seemed to be directed towards Chibimoon than Endymion; Chronos' eyes held an unspoken apology towards her cousin. It was a while before she broke the gaze, and then moved, striding towards where Helios was, and as she did, a flash enveloped her. Her staff and fuku disappeared, replaced by a long gown and butterfly wings. "I have no intention of taking the Golden Crystal." She stated, giving Helios a grim smile. "But I cannot let it fall into your hands, when even your Guardian proves you unworthy."

Princess Chronos was not sure if she could properly utilized the power of the Opal Crystal to hold him back, but she was determined to try.

He was honestly hurt, and he watched his daughter stay put, rejecting his side and being convinced by the people around her instead of her own father. Just a few moments ago, she had been in his arms, and he wished they could go back to that. That he had held her just a while longer back then before he knew that, for now, she would not rush to his arms again. She was not on his side and he remained alone. A Prince of Earth without his guards.

"I want what is best for our kingdom, and I think you should readdress your loyalties." He breathed deep. The words of the senshi around him had little impact, but his daughter did. "…I want you by my side as my daughter. I always promised to protect and support you. Sadly, I cannot do so now when you make such unwise choices. Do not let yourself become confused." He glanced around at last at the senshi around him. "…and I hope you keep your faith in me as you did before."

He turned about, his cloak billowing behind him as he turned to step towards Helios. "Helios, you are the priestess of Elysion and are keeper until I need it's power. In times of need, that power belongs to me. Going against me is going against the royal family and against your duties." He continued to move towards the golden crystal, moving up to the point Helios was at. The barrier did not push back.