Upon the cold marble floor stood another guise of the sun demon. Her skin was taught and pale as it stretched around a petite frame, deceptively innocent grassy green eyes gazing out the large window that revealed a white blistering cold outside. Flurries of snow blew across the expanse in swirls, a darkened sky contrasting drastically against the whites and grays of the ground. She idly watched with disinterest, her peachy lips curling into a small smile when she heard the patter of footsteps and the clinking of chains behind her.

Faceless soldiers dragged a tired woman to the center of the room, lifting her chains to tighten them between two vertical steel posts that were well out of her reach. They dutifully notched up the chain links until they couldn't be spread further, leaving the female prisoner hunched over on her knees while her arms were opened outward in a straight line. Matted wavy black hair obscured her face as her head hung low on the perch of her neck, tattered yellow fabric staring from small spaces in between her hair while black chiffon flared out near her barren knees, exposing bruised cream skin and naked feet with blackened arches.

Glistening green eyes turned to face her, blissfully drinking in the fragile and beaten form of her prisoner. Seeing her this way was always invigorating. It gave her the feeling of accomplishment, a sense of indestructibility, and a prolonged sense of security.

She parted her lips to say something biting, but withheld herself when an overwhelming sensation of ecstasy overcame her. She had seen this woman periodically for half a decade. At their first meeting this woman had been strong, hopeful and stared her down with those crystal blue eyes like she had power to defeat her captor. But she had been terribly mistaken. The green-eyed woman fiddled with the ends of her shoulder-length blonde hair and bit on the tip of her thumb in thought.

This moment, like many other moments before where this particular was involved, was perfect. She was standing triumphant in her world domination and at her feet was the infamous guardian and guide of the long destroyed Silver Millennium. This moment needed a perfect statement. Something that would destroy whatever hopeless dreams her prisoner still retained and would at the same time bolster her ego to new heights. She needed something bittersweet, something so true that there could be no rebuttal or clever statement that could possibly ruffle her good mood.

"You should enjoy your brief reign, Metalia. It will be over soon."

All expressions of mirth were swiftly betrayed by a bitter scowl. In a speed that was altogether inhumane, she found herself standing menacingly over the prisoner, her nails sharp as she roughly grabbed the woman's chin with bone-crushing force. She tauntingly raised the woman's chin until a pair of cat-like blue eyes emerged from behind black hair. They were still filled with that small light of hope that she remembered spotting in their first encounter. That light was nearly diminished, she could see it dying literally as she stood there. But the fact that it still remained, however small, bothered her.

"Such empty words shouldn't be spewed from someone in your position," Metalia said in a dangerous, low whisper. "It could be the end of you."

She dug her nails blindly into the creature's skin, making small crescent moon impressions until red steadily started to bleed out. There was no flinch in the prisoner as she kept her tired eyes on Metalia's burning green orbs. With a growl of dissatisfaction, Metalia threw the woman's chin from her grasp and spun on her heel, teeth gritting against each other as her eyes burned with rage. She pulled her hands up to examine them and scowled at the familiar fraying of skin along her forearms, unhealthy dark spots speckling various places indicating her vessel was weakening from the sudden exertion of supernatural strength.

She growled and snapped her fingers in the air expectantly. In the corner of her eye she could see a shadowed figure appear. "Get me another host," she demanded. Without another word, the figure was gone and back, bringing a beautiful young woman in a stark white dress who struggled fruitlessly against the figure's hold. She couldn't have been more than seventeen years of age.

The woman with the cat-like eyes winced, not realizing that her display of sympathy had encouraged Metalia. With a devious grin she sauntered towards the young teenager, playfully twirling a lock of platinum blonde hair between her fingers and leaning in to inhale the girl's scent.

"Smells like sunshine."

The girl squirmed in front of her, eyes hesitantly examining the scorch marks upon the skin of Metalia's current host. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, a hand clasped over her mouth to muffle her sobs. Metalia clicked her tongue, placing her hands on the girl's cheeks as she smiled sweetly, watching from the corners of her eyes as her prisoner struggled to stay detached from the scene. She silently dismissed the soldier that had retrieved this girl and stood staring into those tearing brown eyes with a sigh.

"It will only hurt for a small moment," she said gently brushing away tears with her thumbs.

The girl stood there helpless, tears still streaming as Metalia's face neared her own. The tips of their noses touched before their foreheads joined and Metalia's mouth opened wide as a dark smoke seeped wistfully from her throat, greedily accumulating into a larger mass as it traveled from one throat to the other.

The prisoner watched regretfully from the wayside, struggling against her restraints as she tearfully watched the last of Metalia's essence enter into this new girl.

Her old body crumpled to the ground, eyes dull and lifeless as the now platinum blonde Metalia dabbed carefully at the corners of her lips with an airy handkerchief.

"Much better," she said in a rich tone as she stepped over the soulless body on the floor. Her brown eyes flittered to the creature in chains and she smiled. "Now where were we?" In a second she was sitting in front of her captive, teasingly playing the edges of the creature's torn yellow dress.

"Will you be a good girl today Luna?" She asked, pouting slightly as she pinched Luna's nose affectionately before moving her hand to scratch the woman behind the ear.

Luna lashed out and snapped her sharp teeth at Metalia's hand, the pupils in her eyes dilating sharply in response. Metalia was momentarily awed at the gorgeous display and amusedly withdrew her hand. Luna tried to pounce on her, but the chains were too strong as they clattered in result of her movement. The sound only seemed to serenade Metalia as she gracefully picked herself up from the floor, her eyes teasing as they stayed trained on Luna's feral expression.

"What a shame. I was hoping you might be more open." She turned away from Luna and sighed, waving her hand in the air to signal the faceless soldiers back into action. They came forward immediately, loosening the notches from the vertical pillars that held Luna's chains and proceeding to lift the woman by her arms.

"The universe is not meant to be ruled by darkness, Metalia," Luna said, finding her strength as the soldiers roughly forced her to her feet. She hadn't known whether she was being heard but was encouraged when Metalia had stopped in her tracks, platinum blonde hair swaying behind her from an unseen breeze. "Your festering evil will be purged from this realm in due time like an infection that doesn't belong here. The universe will dethrone you."

Metalia laughed, the daunting echoes of the sound reverberating throughout the entire room sending a sharp chill through Luna's spine. She turned with mild interest, flippantly tossing her hair over her shoulder as she paused a moment to look Luna over.

"Oh Luna," she said with a deep sigh, "you are entertaining. Speaking of the universe as if it were a living thing. It is merely an object meant to be claimed."

For the first time since their meeting, Luna wore a genial smile as she scoffed in response, throwing her wavy black mane over her shoulder with the toss of her head.

"You may have stayed me and Artemis from awakening the protectors of this galaxy, but you won't be able to keep them dormant forever. The universe won't allow it."

The golden crescent moon upon the battered forehead of the dark-haired woman shined in a glittering fashion, erecting ire in Metalia's steaming brown gaze as she ground out her teeth. Large gothic double doors closed behind the retreating form of the would-be guide to the senshi, that small smile pasting itself to the forefront of Metalia's thoughts as she bitterly threw a ball of fire where Luna once stood.

To kill her on the spot would have eradicated any opportunity she had of finding the identities of the senshi. If not for the fact that Luna and Artemis were useful in that respect, then Metalia would have done away with them the moment she claimed her throne. It was with great revile that she acknowledged Luna was well aware of the reason she was still alive.

Standing stagnantly, chest heaving as she breathed, she reluctantly straightened herself and summoned a messenger with the wave of her hand. Luna's words still rung clearly in her ears and annoyance convoluted her otherwise soft features as she attempted to slow her breathing. Her anger was exhausting her and she was in need of rejuvenation.

"Your majesty." A man in a gray uniform knelt respectfully before her, awaiting her command.

"Bring me more energy and this time, don't leave any to spare."

He looked up to her with a knowing smile, nodding obediently before he disappeared into the void. Luna would pay for her poor tidings with the collection of bodies that would soon litter the grand halls of the Dark Kingdom.

…1 Month Later…

There were spots on the sun the day that the Gundams had been successfully released to be engulfed by the flaming beacon. Quatre could recall them perfectly as if they were the freckles of his own cheeks, which wasn't too difficult really. He only had about two or three just as the sunspots only numbered about a handful. He observed them in wonderment as he watched the Gundams sail through space into that molten surface of the sun.

A strange feeling overcame him, making him wince as he clutched his chest in apprehension. He was relieved to see the destructive machines disappear into the sun's core but this new sweeping emotion confused him as he stared plaintively towards the bright star. With mild dissatisfaction, he disregarded the feeling completely and returned home without hesitation.

He had forgotten about the strange occurrence as soon as the normal bustle around the Winner Corporation had resumed. He busied himself with paperwork, intergalactic affairs, Maganac Corps responsibilities and occasionally with friends. Rarely had he even paused to reconsider what he'd seen on the sun until he received a call from an unlikely person.

"Heero?" Quatre inched forward to the edge of his seat as the familiar voice responded on the line.

"Quatre there was an incident involving Duo and Wufei."

That was all that needed to be said for Quatre to know that his days of normal assignments had ended. When he got off the line he immediately prepped a jet to head out to the coordinates that Heero had sent him, memorizing them quickly as he plotted the quickest route and packed light.

Rashid met him at the port, bidding him safe travels before he departed into space and since then he had been piloting his ship to a place where he had a clear view of the sun. The darkened spots had expanded, spreading like a cancer across its surface. That eerie unease penetrated his chest once more. However, this time the effects lingered and were much more daunting than he remembered.

A small static sounded on his radio before clearing out into a recognizable voice, of which he was happy to hear despite the circumstances.

"Trowa, old friend," Quatre acknowledged with a smile, "It's good to hear your voice again."

Trowa regarded him in the same light, waiting patiently in his own ship for Heero's arrival. The ship that carried Wing Zero's pilot drifted towards them, a third voice joining in on their radio as they sorted through the scarce information provided to them.

The Sweepers had detected an odd magnetic pull near the sun, one that was interesting enough for Duo to want to investigate as he suspected there might be a junkyard of parts that he could hoard and take home to his colony for tinkering. Wufei happened to be sent to the same area by assignment from the Preventers when they detected the strange phenomena.

Feeling nostalgic Duo had suggested he and Wufei go together and the Chinese man eventually agreed. Their ship departed for that point at 16:00 hours Pacific Standard Time and disappeared from anyone's radar precisely an hour afterward. Analysts couldn't produce an answer as to where they had gone, but the Preventers had known enough to realize that the pair was not gone on their own accord.

Heero was contacted 24 hours after their disappearance and from then on the search and perhaps rescue plan was birthed with Trowa and Quatre as the only other recruits. They retraced Duo and Wufei's route in hope of discovering where it is their friends had gone, all within their own ships.

…

Duo felt a surging pain throbbing against his skull as his head heavily shifted on a stiff pillow. He could hear a small creak around him as he tried to pry his eyes open, which was proving to be difficult. A small groan escaped his parched lips before he tried once more to open his eyes. This time he was partially successful as his blurred vision slowly emerged from captivity. He sighed appreciatively when realizing the room was dimly lit and raised a heavy hand from his side to rub his aching head.

"Hey there stranger. Feeling better?"

Bright blue eyes sparkled with merriment as they peered into half-lidded violet. He scrunched his brow briefly before his mind suddenly panicked and threw his body up viciously to assault the blonde who deftly intercepted his surprise attack. She countered his blows with practiced hands and took advantage of his bewildering fatigue and pinned him to the ground beneath her.

A sharp pain shot through his middle as he tried to drink in his surroundings and formulate where he was and how he'd gotten there. Last he remembered: he was being sucked into a hole when everything went black.

Now he was in a bedroom, mauve brown painted on the walls as dreary gray and black made up the bed linens on a sensible twin-sized mattress with a metal headboard. He was half inclined to believe he was in prison with all these lifeless colors. When he looked to gaze at the girl on top of him, he was shocked to see royal blue eyes and golden hair that stood out immensely against the dim color pallet of the room.

She straddled his hips, his wrists tightly locked in her grips as she charmingly smiled down at him. His will to fight dissipated, comfort flowing in to replace urgency as a smug feeling of mischief arose.

"You're too weak to be fighting, you know? Besides, I have no intentions of hurting you as long as you're human," she whispered, amused.

Human? He found it to be a strange thing to say but before he could ask what she meant, her head had snapped upwards to look at the door, the sound of footsteps echoing closer. She hurriedly got off him, much to his disappointment, pulling him as he winced to his feet and shoving him into her closet.

"Don't make a sound," she whispered raggedly. She closed the closet door softly and ran to her mute-colored desk, throwing books open and grabbing a pencil to create the illusion that she had been studying. When she looked over her shoulder she caught a glimpse of a bright red ribbon and hastily scrambled to her feet to shove it beneath the covers of her mattress.

The door opened and she slipped into her desk chair just in time.

"Minako?" A middle-aged man with wire-rimmed glasses peered in curiously from the door, his dark sandy blonde hair slicked back from his face. He looked like the average salary man, a striped business shirt covering his top as pressed navy blue slacks covered his legs.

"Yes father," she replied sweetly, swinging herself in her seat to face him with a smile.

He frowned, scrunching his brow slightly before shaking his head in disdain. "You shouldn't be so bright. It's too dangerous."

Minako blinked, sobering up as she nodded contemplatively. In mere seconds her countenance flopped from beaming to meek, her eyes dimmer and expressions more controlled in a plaintive display.

"Better," her father said softly with a nod. From the closet his unknown audience gaped at the odd scene, shaking his head as he wondered what strange place he landed in. He shifted and accidentally caused a loose floorboard to creak, his heart stopping as he froze in place. Minako's eyes darted to her closet in slight terror.

"What was that?" Her father asked, stepping into the room and finally releasing his grip on the doorknob.

The brunette in her closet held his breath, as well as his body, his forearms shaking from having to hold himself up in an awkward position.

"What was what?" Minako asked, expression nervous as she tried to think of a way to distract her father.

"That sound Minako I know you heard it," he said, eyeing her suspiciously and moving towards the closet with his back to her. "I think it was coming from here."

Just as his hand reached the handle to slide the closet door open, there was a faint female voice that sounded from downstairs. Minako's father stood erect as his ears seemed to perk at the sound, his neck craning slightly to the side to listen more carefully. Then the voice came again.

"Its mom," Minako said, "she's calling for you." She tried not to sound too relieved but failed slightly and straightened up when her father pegged her with a wary look.

"Stay out of trouble," he said before shuffling out of her room and closing the door behind him.

She exhaled loudly as soon as he was gone and frowned at her closet where a light thump was heard in succession to the sound of small items toppling from the top shelf.

"Ouch," she heard. She couldn't help but laugh briefly, though she smothered the act completely before clearing her throat and going to open the closet. What greeted her was a tall brunette boy lying on the floor, his hair mussed in its braid and shoes piled on top of him. He frowned as he rubbed his head in pain, looking upwards at her as she stood struggling feebly to withhold a smile.

"Don't be too bright, Minako, it's dangerous," he said sternly, mimicking the voice of her father.

She rolled her eyes, smiling anyways, and stretched out a hand towards him, which he grabbed. With her help he pulled himself to full height and dusted off his clothes.

She watched him intently, making him feel uncomfortable. It was almost as though she regarded him as some otherworldly being with the way she examined him with those eyes. He himself thought she might be otherworldly with the scene between her father and the strange mention that she wouldn't hurt him as long as he was human. He was still keen to find out what she meant by that and furthermore, he wanted to know what exactly her father meant when he told her not to be so bright.

"So, you're father doesn't believe girls should be smart huh?" He asked shamelessly, not really knowing where to start but figuring it wasn't a bad question.

Minako scoffed. "You're not from around here are you?"

He looked her over and shrugged. "Is it that obvious?"

She didn't answer. Instead she just kept staring and resigned to sitting on her bed as he stood uncomfortably by her closet. Normally he'd jump on the opportunity to be in a girl's room without her father's consent with ample excitement, and try to sway her to do more interesting things that involved less talking and more touching. But with the unfamiliar air around him and the curious nature in which he arrived, he wasn't sure he wanted to do all that without finding out what kind of place he was in.

"So where're you from?" She asked, pulling him from his thoughts as his eyes traveled back to her.

"I'll tell you if you tell me."

"England," she answered quickly, "your turn."

He huffed. "L2."

She quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "Is that code for something?"

"No," he answered, "it's the space—

He squinted when he caught a glimpse of her clock and crept towards it for a better look. "Is this accurate?" He asked, pointing upward at the device.

She nodded blankly. "Yeah, why?"

"3:30?" he mused to himself, shuffling over to the window and looking confused when it looked black as night outside. "What, you guys stay awake in the middle of the night?"

Minako frowned, now finding his behavior very peculiar. "It's the middle of the afternoon," she said shaking her head.

He looked back at her in disbelief. "You're kidding."

"Sure," she said sarcastically, falling back onto her bed as she lost interest in the conversation. She tucked her hands behind her head and stared bored at the ceiling as though this were a common occurrence.

Duo stared questioningly outside, trying to spot something, anything that might clue him in on where he might be. When he tried to look at the sky he could see nothing, not even a small star. The walls around him felt like they were closing in on him rapidly and he forced his eyes close to calm himself. When he reopened them, the view of the room hadn't been much better than the view outside.

Minako watched him from the corner of her eye, taking in his small panic attack as he looked outside the window. She frowned thoughtfully, silently trying to figure out why he would react in such surprise. It wasn't like the black day was new to them. It had looked like that ever since the beginning of Queen Metalia's reign. Clearly he must have been on some pretty persuasive drugs to not notice this weather pattern prior to this day.

"So you were telling me what L2 means," Minako brought up again, sitting upright on her bed with her legs folded beneath her.

"It's a space colony," Duo replied with a small scoff as though he were offended that she didn't know what it was.

"A what?"

Duo turned to her quickly, examining her puzzled expression for any cracks and finding none. "A space colony," he repeated. "It's like a huge ship that floats in outer space with the capacity to house a bunch of people," he explained, using hand gestures to create the shape of the colonies and illustrating people using two fingers as legs that walked on the palm of his hand.

Minako just looked at him like he was crazy.

Duo didn't take that well.

"I gotta get out of here," he muttered, looking around and finding his shoes hidden in a far corner of her closet.

Minako raised an eyebrow in concern.

"And where will you go?" She asked. "It's not exactly safe for someone in your…" she eyed him warily, "condition to travel."

He looked to her squarely. "What do you mean?" Which reminded him. What had she meant when she first told him she wouldn't harm him as long as he was human?

She rolled her eyes in exasperation and threw her hands in the air as if to give up. "I swear its like you're not even from this world," she said, giving him an annoyed look before freezing when hearing her parents outside her door.

She stilled her movements, Duo uninhibitedly doing the same, and sighed in relief when their voices dissolved into their own bedroom down the hall.

Minako threw her legs over the side of her bed and climbed off, edging to her door cautiously while she slowly opened it to peer out into the house. She poked her head out and looked left, sighing again when spotting that her parents' door was closed. Relieved, she retreated back and jumped when she turned directly in front of the strange brunette's face.

Her cheeks reddened and she pushed him back on instinct. Unfortunately, he was rather strong and thwarted her attempt to create space and instead closed in on her, keeping her uncomfortably against the wall, one of his hands placed above her head as he leaned inward.

"How did I get here?" he asked sternly, that glint of playfulness in his eyes completely gone.

She frowned, feeling anger rise to replace her shyer demeanor as she scowled.

"I brought you here," she answered. "You should feel lucky. Taking in strangers is prohibited by law. I should've reported you to Metalia's England Representative when I had the chance."

"Who the hell is Metalia?" He asked, slightly caught off guard by the stunned expression she wore.

"How could you not know?"

He went to respond until her eyes strayed from him, glued in fascination to something outside her window. He turned curiously and blinked when three yellow streaks crossed the sky in the first display of light he had seen since he had awakened. Minako pushed past him in a daze, a reflection of the light glistening the pupils of her gaze as she pressed a hand against the window in wonderment.

"Shooting stars," she whispered softly, searching the sky longingly for more. "That's four in just two days," she muttered.

Too disoriented to make sense of her weird behavior, Duo gave up on trying to ask her more questions and tiredly seated himself on the edge of her bed, as she remained posted by the window. He tried hard to recall his last memory, his skull throbbing as a result of his laborious attempt for clarity.

He remembered being in space, that much was clear. There was some type of anomaly happening near the sun that piqued his interest so he set course for it as soon as his ship was ready. But what happened afterward?

He buried his head in hands with a sound of frustration, a pain shooting through his side to remind him of the injuries he sustained from an unknown event. What happened after he set course for the sun?

"You said you're from space?"

Duo looked up reluctantly to find Minako still placed by the window, her eyes focused outside.

"Yes," he replied.

"Are you an alien?" She asked, earning a boisterous scoff of disbelief from Duo who looked at her pointedly.

"Of course not," he all but spat. Her sprite blue eyes were on him before he had even noticed her change in position, and he froze in bewilderment at the serious expression she now wore.

"Then what are you?"

There was no indication made that he was extraordinary. But when Minako had come upon his body on her way home, she couldn't resist the curious pull he had on her. She tried to ignore him, to pass by like others were likely to have done when seeing him unconscious in the gutter, but for some unknown reason she couldn't.

She looked around her to see if there were any spectators, and when no one seemed to notice her, she proceeded towards him warily. He was handsome, that much was evident. Even as he sat there before her, slightly disheveled, he looked so appealing, but that meant close to nothing these days. People weren't to be trusted, not even family. And yet here she was, sitting with a complete stranger right across from her.

"I'm human," he answered after a pregnant pause. "What else would I be?"

He looked to the blonde in hopes of seeing something that would resemble a laugh but to his dismay, she looked stoic. He heard a large sigh before spotting Minako stand up from her temporary perch by the window. Of course he was human. He did, after all, pass all the tests she had administered to him while he was asleep.

"Looks like you're in luck then," Minako said as she walked to her closet to pick up the shoes from the floor and place them back on the shelf. She got on her knees and cleared a space on the floor of her closet, placing a pillow on one end and spreading out a sheet below it. "You can sleep here for tonight but tomorrow you're out."

Duo looked at her incredulously. "What?"

Minako groaned, facing him tiredly. "I told you once I wouldn't harm you as long as you're human." Duo scoffed at the insinuation that she could inflict harm on him. He was fairly certain he'd be able to handle her no problem now that he was fully alert, unlike the first time. "So the least I can do," she continued to say, "is let you have one night to fully recover before you've got to fend for yourself."

She didn't leave room for discussion as she beckoned Duo away from her bed and flopped onto it as soon as he got up.

"What makes you think I—"

"Just sleep," she demanded, waving a hand in the air as if it were supposed to signify that conversation was over.

Duo contemplated just leaving but sorely acknowledged the pain in his side and grudgingly occupied the open space Minako had created for him on the floor of her closet. He grunted when he felt a mass of soft plush fabric hit his legs and shook his head before grabbing the blanket and covering himself.

Minako observed him from the crook of her elbow, a pensive frown pressing through her lips as an onslaught of questions bombarded her mind. Bringing him here was foolish but that undeniable urge to assist him was ever present despite the fact that she had known this act alone could risk her safety as well as the safety of her family. Conflicted, she forced herself to switch off the lights, the image of the strange brunette gone from her eyes but not from her senses.

…

In the large halls of the Dark Kingdom, Metalia watched through slit eyes as three stars shot across the horizon. The glass in her hand shattered to a million sharp pieces, her breath hot like fire as her chest heaved with dangerous intent.

"Beryl," she cried out in a venomous tone.

"Your majesty," a red-haired woman said curtly upon arrival, head bowed.

"Find those stars and bring them to me."

I edited this chapter after seeing "immersed" in the places where "emerged" should have been lol. I am sure I missed a few more edits but I am satisfied for the time being that I've remedied that mistake. Progress on this story is very slow but I've recently gotten some free time so hopefully I'll be able to add something. My excitement for this story still remains. It is all just a matter of sequencing and pushing past laziness now I guess. Thank you to those who have taken time to read this and those who have reviewed. Any comments, questions, or suggestions are always welcome!

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