End of the Millennium
A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Almost twice the size of the last book now, and
nowhere near done! I'm surprised I haven't received any reviews since
chapter 10 was posted, but it's not altogether unexpected. FF.net's
Sailor Moon Crossover section tends to be flooded with Sailor
Moon/Harry Potter crosses. Besides, how many people think of Phantasy
Star anymore... especially when reading fanfiction?

Anyhow, Thanatos realizes he should explain himself to the king since
the duel would probably get him in trouble, and give a good reason for
Zoicite to quit... but will he?

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star.
If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares,
Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade
and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow
this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck
with my shit.


The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 19:

As Samuru and Amilia walked back to the castle, an uneasy silence hung
in the air. Thanatos didn't mind the silence normally, but that was
because silence was only present when he was alone. He had company
that hadn't uttered a word since they'd kissed. Was she regretting it,
having watched them fight? Did she feel differently about them now?
"Amilia..."

"Sam... Thank you."

He blinked. "For what?"

"I froze up from Zoicite's accusation. I dislike conflict, and with
keeping your identity a secret, and with my... liking you..." she
forced back a blush at that. "When he accused me of doing that, I did
feel ashamed... OH! Not of the kiss!" she quickly tried to correct
herself when he didn't seem to react at all. He still didn't. "Just...
of how we're going about this. Father should know."

"I intend to tell him about what I'd done."

"I mean about hiding who you are."

Silence invaded their air once more, and she pulled at the arm
escorting her to get him to stop and look at her.

"Thanatos... I want him to know. If he were to find out after the
fact..."

He placed a finger against her lips and closed his eyes, only nodding
at her words. "Very well, Amilia... for you... for us, I will tell
him."

She drew her arms around his neck as he lifted her, a heartfelt hug
being all they dared when in the open.

Some short hours later, when the two of them returned to the castle
grounds, the guards escorted them both to the throne room.

"Lord, Sotanaht." The king spoke. He noticed the king did not speak
his first name, something he'd grown accustomed to, so he knew
something was definitely amiss. He certainly didn't look like he was
in a very patient mood. "I give you the opportunity to explain your
actions this afternoon."

Had the observer caught up with him while he and Zoicite were dueling?
Perhaps with the hug? "May I inquire, my lord, as to what actions you
wish me to explain?"

"The actions against his daughter." came a familiar voice, and Zoicite
moved from behind the king's throne.

Samuru glared at Zoicite and supressed the urge to sneer at him. Had
he told the king anyway, despite their agreement? Did this man have no
honor? "My lord, indeed I can explain. Your daughter and I care about
each other, and for a brief moment, we expressed it. This arrogant
speck has obviously told you already, despite our agreement."

"Agreement?! He claims to have caught you in the forest molesting my
daughter after evading your observer with an illusion!" The king
positively roared, anger flickering in his eyes like poisoned daggers.
Samuru grit his teeth. He would never! Once this fool Zoicite was
dust, he would rend the man's soul to ribbons! But before he could
retort, the king quickly stood and fired an icebolt at Lord Sotanaht,
who slammed his cane's foot on the floor, a purple wall-shaped shield
protecting both him and the princess. The blast crystallized on the
energy wall, and he released the defensive shield, the king stupefied
by the act as the frost dropped harmlessly to the floor.

Samuru attempted to resume his calm, but had difficulty keeping it out
of his voice. The man not only just attacked him, but could have
harmed his own daughter as well! "Your majesty, as I stated, a tender
moment was shared, nothing more. This jealous courtier wishes to
undermine me in order to raise himself in a competition he has
forfeited."

"Forfeited! What grounds do you have to speak of such nonsense!" the
king spat.

"He spoke dishonorably upon both myself and the princess, and when I
challenged him to a duel, he insisted it remain in the forest, where
there were no spectators save the princess herself. The rules were
simple: if he lost, he would give up his courtship. If I lost, he
could report what I had done. He lost upon the three ground rules of
dueling combat: first blood, proving your word means naught, and
dropping your weapon. The slice upon his cheek was my mark. The blood
is still on my blade, if I must prove it."

"Your majesty! I attacked him when I caught him in his act, and tried
to stop him! I got the slice when he fought back, and I teleported
here to inform you!"

The king only glared at Samuru. "Can you prove there was a duel? The
blood means little if he was trying to stop you."

The lies! But he realized, lies were all of what this was about. He
himself was a lie. He might as well play the game. "I doubt a mighty
general of Earth, and such a skilled warrior, would run at the first
cut upon his face, and not even try to stop an attack upon the girl he
was courting with all his might. I bear no such marks myself, and as
you can see, he IS carrying his sword." Samuru said smugly. Zoicite
sneered from behind the throne, and the king looked slightly amused,
his anger diminishing. Perhaps he already believed him? "Yes, indeed
there is a way to prove the duel took place. Many ways, in fact. But
I'd rather not make your daughter defend me. After all, since he
claims I have done her ill, I could be 'coercing' her. Zoicite, you
say you teleported directly to the king, correct?" He glared at
Zoicite, who didn't answer, and smirked. "Then cast your illusion upon
me."

"W-what?" Zoicite stammered.

Samuru turned back to the king. "Zoicite couldn't have teleported to
find you. When I was dueling him, one of the ways he lost was to go
back on his word." he explained. "I convinced him to refrain from his
illusions, but even though he swore not to, I did not trust him. I
cast a spell to seal his magical abilities, then agreed to also not
use my abilities. He broke his word by trying to use his illusion
after he claimed I tricked him. It would be impossible for him to
teleport here, because his abilities are still sealed. I imagine he
probably had a horse nearby that allowed him to come here before us,
since we returned straightaway. An ability like that would require
more concentration than would be available were I molesting your
daughter, as he claims." he explained to the king, then turned his
head to Zoicite. "What are you waiting for? Prove me wrong! Cast your
illusion!"

Zoicite found himself unable to do so. He only stared at Saturn's Lord
in horror, trying to figure out how he could explain it.

"You see, your majesty, he cannot. If he tries, he will be in a
tremendous amount of pain, and his spell will fail anyway. He fears
his own pain more than your wrath, apparently. But then again, he
can't exactly escape, because his teleportation is restricted as
well."

The whole time, Amilia remained on Samuru's arm, silent. The king's
angry gaze now burned into Zoicite. "It... it disproves almost nothing
of my accusation!" was his only defense. But it was a powerful one.

"Quite right... remove your enchantment, Lord Sotanaht." King Marcus
ordered him. While it was not proven that Lord Sotanaht HADN'T
molested the princess, the 'witness' was proven to be not entirely
credible. Samuru nodded, a wave of his hand was all that he needed,
and Zoicite instantly felt the lingering pain from earlier fade. "Now
then, do you deny casting a spell of illusion to evade your observer?"

"I do admit that in part. I generated the energy for the spell in
order to teach your daughter some defensive capabilities, but it was
originally to teach her the use of her body's energy. With a simple
ice spell, her use of the energy caused a fog. We then ran off, as
though we were escaping an enemy, just as I was showing her.
Unfortunately, we had both run too far, and I'd forgotten the
observer." Samuru knew about leaving the observer behind. He simply
wanted to teach him a lesson, in that he was following far too close.
But it was honest in that he hadn't intended to LOSE the observer
altogether, only to simply put distance between them.

Finally, the king's piercing gaze fell on his daughter. "It's true,
father. I had completely forgotten about our observer, and I'm pretty
sure Lord Sotanaht did as well."

"Then tell me about your 'tender moment'." he demanded, expecting her
to be too embarrassed if Zoicite spoke the truth.

"We shared a kiss, father. A kiss that was interrupted by Zoicite.
Everything else happened as Lord Sotanaht said."

King Marcus raised an eyebrow. Her eyes shone like they always had.
She wasn't embarrassed to tell her father something so personal?
"Hnn... You know that such a thing was improper, Lord Sotanaht, no
matter the process afterward."

Samuru lowered his head. "I understand, your highness, and I am
willing to accept any punishment you deem necessary... but I would
certainly not force your daughter to do something she did not want."

"My daughter, is what he says true?"

She looked up to Samuru, a small smile pulling at the corners of her
mouth, the blush from earlier creeping back into her cheeks. "It is...
because I choose him."

"NO!" Zoicite shouted, using his released powers to summon a sword of
ice as he suddenly leapt from the king's throne area. Samuru was so
distracted from her confession of her feelings, that he only looked up
in enough time to raise an arm to defend himself and the princess from
the attack, and to step away slightly. It wasn't nearly enough time to
raise his shield again.

His arm hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Samuru clutched at the remains of his forearm, trying to stop the
blood and pain from flooding his nerves. Never had he felt such pain!
It was all he could do to stop himself from screaming, but scream he
did. The scream of death himself became a primal roar, echoing
throughout the halls, around the planet, and beyond, all the way to
Mars, where his brother Ares heard his cries. The volume of his voice
shook the very foundation of Mercury's castle until he managed to
silence himself and concentrate. Thanatos' mind searched frantically
for his medical magic, but he realized, even if he cast Nares, or had
Noah here to cast Medice, his arm would still be off. Nothing could
fix such damage. The guards made to haul off Zoicite even before the
king had shouted for them to take him away, but with his powers
restored, he teleported in a swirl of petals, blood still dripping
from his icy sword. It was the last thing Samuru saw before he blacked
out.

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

Death himself, maimed?  Such a thing shouldn't be possible, right?
Then again, he DID become mortal for Amilia. What does this mean for
things happening later? Stay tuned to find out!