The sun streamed in through Rei's bedroom window, signaling the arrival of morning. The raven haired shrine maiden grumbled and rolled over to block the light.
"It can't be time to get up yet…" The buzzing of her alarm clock proved her wrong, as it did every morning. Rei grumbled once more and sat up, reaching over to turn off the alarm before reluctantly freeing herself from her warm bed. The chores weren't going to do themselves, after all, and Rei was expecting company. Usagi, Ami, Makoto and Minako were coming over to discuss plans to take down the Dark Kingdom once and for all. Minako had also said she had something to tell the rest of them that might affect how things played out later.
"What could it be?" Rei murmured into the silence, hoping it was something useful. She quickly finished her chores, then glanced up at the clock, seeing she only had ten minutes before the others arrived. She wondered how much longer it would be after that before Usagi showed up, and chuckled to herself. She decided to boil water for some tea, and began rummaging through the cabinets for cookies or something to serve with it. She made a mental note to go shopping in the next few days after she was unsuccessful. Just as the water finished boiling, the others arrived.
"Rei, we're here!" Minako called out cheerfully. Rei smiled to herself as she listened to her friends chattering, and was surprised to hear Usagi's voice among them. She walked out to greet them, carrying a tray with the teapot and five cups, and set it on the table.
"I'm surprised to see you up so early, Usagi" she teased, poking her friend playfully.
"Hey! I can be on time when I feel like it" she pouted. The others giggled and gathered around the table.
"I thought I'd bring over some of the cookies I made yesterday" Mako offered, setting them on the table next to the tea. After everyone had a chance to catch up, Artemis cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.
"Alright, ladies. Minako has something she would like to share with you all." The girls turned their attention to the blonde girl, who suddenly seemed much more nervous that usual. She looked down at the floor for a moment before looking up at them, and cleared her throat nervously before she spoke.
"Well…you should all know that I haven't been completely honest with you. Everything I said about the past was true, but there was something I failed to mention."
"What is it, Minako?" Rei asked. When Minako's eyes met hers, she knew instantly, but chose to let her explain.
"Beryl's generals…they're not really hers. The four of them once served Prince Endymion, before she kidnapped and brainwashed them."
"What?" the others, minus Rei, gasped.
"They're not our enemies?" Makoto asked, trying to make sure she was understanding this right.
"That's right. In fact, they're really…" Minako stopped talking as Rei rose to her feet, and watched as she left the room without a word.
"What's up with her?" Usagi asked through a mouthful of cookie.
"She knows what it is I'm about to tell all of you. Endymion's generals were once the lovers of Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and myself."
"I knew they seemed familiar…" Ami mused.
"Why would this upset Rei so much?" Makoto asked. "She's never struck me as the type to care much about this sort of thing."
"That's who she was molded to be now, but back then, Jadeite was the only one who could possibly distract her from her responsibilities. She loved him more than anything, and the two of them…"
"What is it?" Luna asked.
"The two of them were to be married…she never mentioned it, but I knew. I saw him propose to her."
"No wonder it hit her so hard…" Usagi sighed, sitting up a moment later and slamming her fists on the table. "That settles it. We've got to get them back, no matter what it takes. Im going to see if Rei is okay." Usagi rose to her feet and walked down the hall to Rei's bedroom, knocking softly on the door. "Rei? can I come in?"
Rei sat on her bed, staring down at her hands, which were cupped in her lap. Nestled inside them was a sparkling ring. When she heard Usagi call her name, she jumped slightly and looked up, hiding the ring and forcing a smile.
"Sure" she sighed. Usagi came into the room and shut the door behind her before joining Rei on the bed.
"Minako told us everything. I'm so sorry, Rei. I promise, we'll get him back, no matter what." She looked down at Rei's hands, noticed the ring in her hands. "What's that?"
"It's the ring Jadeite gave to me…when we were reborn, my memories about it were altered, and I grew up thinking this belonged to my mother. Now, I know the truth about it…" Tears began to roll down her cheeks, and Usagi quickly wiped them away before pulling her into a hug.
"Come on, this isn't the Rei I know. I'm sure Jadeite wouldn't want you crying over him either, would he?"
"He wouldn't" Rei sniffled, smiling a bit. "He'd say he wasn't worth it, but I think he is. I just want him to be okay."
"He will be" Usagi assured her, pulling back to look her in the eyes. "As your future queen, I give you my word that he will come back to you."
"Thank you, Usagi. I guess we should get back to the others now, huh?" Usagi nodded and stood up, reaching for Rei's hand. "I'll be out in a minute, you go ahead." Usagi nodded and walked out of the room. Rei stared at the ring a moment longer, then got up and walked over to her jewelry box. She found a plain silver chain and slipped the ring onto it before putting it around her neck. Before she left the room to rejoin the others, a strange vision flashed in her mind. She saw herself in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by people she had never seen before. Each one of them had some sort of emblem on them. Before she could see anything more, the images disappeared from her mind.
"What was that?" she murmured. She quickly shrugged it off and left the room, twirling the ring in her fingers.
Meanwhile, in a completely different universe, a guild of young wizards was going about their usual business. Some were looking at jobs they could do to earn jewels, others were doing their part to keep the guild running smoothly, and others…
Natsu, the fire dragon slayer, and Gray, the resident ice wizard, were scouring the board for jobs. They both reached for the same one, which ended up starting a full-blown war, as usual.
"Hey! Get your hands off that flyer, frosty! I saw it first!" Natsu shouted.
"Make me, dragon breath" Gray muttered.
"Say that to my face, you overgrown popsicle!"
"I think I just did." Before anyone could intervene, the two wizards were engaged in a full on fist fight. On the other side of the guild, where it was safe (for the moment), Mirajane and Levy were talking amongst themselves.
"Where's Lucy? I haven't seen her at all today" Levy asked, brushing a strand of blue hair behind her ear as she looked around for her friend.
"Master said she was home sick with a cold. I got her some medicine, I just haven't had a chance to take it to her yet" Mira explained.
"I can take it to her if you'd like" Levy offered, and Mira gladly accepted.
"Thanks, Levy! I would have done it, but I know the minute I left, this place would be a pile of rubble" she giggled. Levy chuckled and nodded in agreement.
"If Erza were here, she'd put a stop to it for sure." She took the medicine and headed out the door to Lucy's apartment, knocking softly on the door when she got there.
"Who is it?" Lucy weakly called out. Levy carefully opened the door and smiled at her friend.
"Oh, Lu…you look awful" she frowned, immediately rushing to Lucy's side to take care of her.
"You don't have to do this…I don't want you to get sick."
"I don't mind, really. I was coming by anyway to drop off some medicine from Mira."
"That was sweet of her" Lucy said softly. Levy nodded and handed her the bag.
"There are a couple different things in there. I'll let you figure that out. Call me if you need anything, okay?"
"I will. Tell everyone I said hi." Levy nodded in response as she reached the door.
"I will. Feel better soon." With that, Levy returned to the guild.
"How is she?" Mira asked.
"It seems pretty bad, but I'm sure she'll be back on her feet in no time."
"Yes, she will. Did you tell her not to mix the two medicines?" Levy looked at Mira, confused.
"No…you never mentioned that. What will happen if she does?"
"It's nothing too serious, it just might cause her to have strange dreams, that's all."
"I guess it could be worse" Levy chuckled. Natsu and Gray had finally worn themselves out, and things were finally quiet again.
Lucy had finally gotten up enough strength to take the medicine Levy brought to her, and she sat up in bed, staring at the bottles curiously.
"I guess I'll just take a little bit of each…it can't hurt." Soon after taking the medicine, she fell asleep, and found herself in the midst of a strange dream. An unfamiliar woman with long dark hair had come to the guild for help, explaining she had ended up there from a completely different dimension. Before she could find out who this woman was, the dream faded. Lucy sat up in her bed and looked around, confused.
"Well, that was weird…"