A/N: Faith-based story, as usual. Don't be shocked. Mars x Jadeite ship.
"Wh-what are they doing here?!"
"Calm down guys, it's okay."
"Are you serious?! They're our enemies! Why are they here, alive?"
Usagi and Mamoru calmly walked over to settle their friends down. Ami was pretty calm the whole time, though the others were really difficult to work with and were almost throwing fits.
"They can't be trusted! I don't care what you're about to say!" Rei screamed as Mamoru held her back from going and assaulting the four men, though he struggled to keep a grip on her. She definitely got stronger when she was mad.
"All right you guys, cut it out!" Artemis and Luna ran over to stop the scene. "You don't honestly think we'd allow them to be here right now if they were a threat, do you?"
They sighed in unison. "I guess not."
The four men stood there calmly and silently that whole time – men who were defeated years ago and who had almost killed them all on multiple occasions.
"Please just tell us what's going on!" Minako demanded.
Luna walked up and sat in front of them. "Look into the crescent on my forehead, and your questions will be answered."
The four girls kneeled down, a bit confused, and stared into the cat's crescent with amusement. It started to glow and sent out beaming lights. They were all taken on a blast to the past; a full lifetime of memories filling their heads in a matter of minutes.
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A beautiful kingdom on Earth.
A peaceful palace on the moon.
An elegant queen, a beautiful princess, a noble prince.
Four faithful guardians, four charming generals.
A life full of happiness and romance.
Serenity and Endymion.
Venus and Kunzite.
Mars and Jadeite.
Jupiter and Nephrite.
Mercury and Zoisite.
Deception and destruction by a red-haired witch.
Betrayal.
A kingdom in flames and ruins.
Ten star-crossed lovers fighting to the death for the masters and kingdoms they served.
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"We'll give you guys a minute," Mamoru said. Everyone stepped outside Usagi's house, leaving the four girls alone to process things.
They were completely silent for what felt like forever, holding back the tears and the nausea that filled them all. Their heads started hurting; it was a lot of information to pour out to them at once. Finally, Minako spoke up softly.
"What… happened to them?"
"They're traitors! That's what!" Rei stood up, angry tears filling her eyes.
"It can't be that simple," Ami cut in.
"She's right," Makoto added. "Beryl must've really deceived them for them to suddenly turn on us like that."
"I don't care what she did! They shouldn't have done it! If they can be deceived so easily, why trust them at all?" Rei walked over and looked out the window, down to where the Shitennou were standing in the distance. "They think they can just come waltzing back into our lives like this? Guess again!"
"How did they come back, anyway?" Makoto asked.
"I suppose we should go get them now?" Ami started for the door. "They can answer that."
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"I brought them back through their stones," Mamoru pulled out four large gems. Kunzite, Nephrite, Zoisite and Jadeite. "When they were defeated, they were sealed inside of these. With combined power, Usagi and I were able to bring them back."
"But why would you do that?" Makoto asked, partly mad and partly sorrowful.
"Because they're good people. And they've agreed to serve me again."
"Good people?!" Rei sneered. "Are you forgetting all they've done? How they betrayed YOUR kingdom? Any 'good' that was ever in them is long gone."
"You don't understand, Rei," Usagi cut in. "That wasn't their fault. It was Beryl. We brought them back because she's gone now and they're completely free from her grasp and her demons."
"Oh, what do you know?" she retorted. "You were in the same boat as us when they were here before, and during the Silver Millennium you hardly knew them at all. What makes you think you can trust them now? You're so ignorant!"
"Rei, why do you always have to be so nasty?!"
Mamoru sensed one of their little bickering sessions beginning to fire up, so he jumped in. "Rei, she can trust them because I said so. After all, I knew them better than anyone else during the Silver Millennium. And I say they deserve another chance."
He turned back to the four men who were standing there patiently and quietly. "Gentlemen, you can make your case."
Kunzite stepped forward, bowing respectfully. "No words or apologies can possibly suffice for what we did to you all, in both this life and in the last." He stood up straight and looked at them all with honest eyes. "But I hope and pray that one day, you will all be able to find it in yourselves to forgive us. That wasn't us back there. It was her evil inside of us. But that doesn't excuse the horrendous deeds that we did. We don't deserve a third chance, but it was graciously given to us by our prince." He turned back to Endymion for a moment. "We have vowed to serve and protect him with our lives, no matter what is at stake. We will not be deceived again."
The other three bowed in agreement.
"We will not forsake you this time," Nephrite said.
"You can hold us to that until our deathbeds," Zoisite added.
"And we hope you know that you all mean just as much to us now as you did during the Silver Millennium," Jadeite said, looking at Rei.
The pain in her heart was too much. She looked away and refused to look him in the eye the rest of the day.
"We waited until now to bring them back because we were constantly fighting new enemies before," Mamoru added. "But now that we are free from that and don't even sense a new enemy coming, we have the time and emotional strength to reconcile, which we wouldn't have had if we did this sooner."
"We know you all need time," Jadeite said. "And we completely respect that. Take as much time as you need."
"We appreciate that," Ami nodded. She was blowing the others away with how chill she was about this whole thing.
Usagi walked the Shitennou and Mamoru out. After they were gone, she returned to four sorrowful souls who had nothing to say to her. It was going to take time.
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When Rei returned to school the next day, the vibes felt different. Of course, she normally wasn't as happy-go-lucky and upbeat as a lot of her classmates generally were, but in her angry state, their happiness seemed to have multiplied, and it really irritated her.
How can people be happy in a world where others can deceive you, betray you, and rip your heart out?
She sat alone during lunch under a tree. A guy approached her – a guy she couldn't stand.
"What's up, Rei? Why the long face?"
"Get lost, Yuki," she snarled.
"Hey I'm just trying to help. You look sad," he sat down next to her.
"Who gave you permission to sit?" she asked, looking disgusted.
"What's wrong? Tell me about it."
"Go away before I beat the daylights out of you!"
"Aww, well since you asked so nicely," he stood up. "How about after school? I could buy you a coffee and we could talk?"
"In your dreams, loser."
He let out a sigh and walked away. Rei turned and watched him return to his buddies, listening to them carefully.
"Ha! I told you she wouldn't go for it," one of the friends said loudly. "You lost the bet, so pay up!"
Rei angrily rolled her eyes and turned back around, leaning against the tree.
I hate men. They can't be trusted. None of them.
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On her way home, Rei took a detour. She stopped by the arcade to try and let some steam out. None of the other girls were there, which was unusual. She decided to play the racing game that Usagi and Minako seemed to love so much. However, that was also the game that caused them to rage the most.
Rei took a seat and started the game. Someone else took a seat next to her during the car selection. She turned to find Haruka there, giving her a friendly look.
"I can't remember the last time I saw you here," Haruka said with a smile.
"Yeah well… I just felt like trying something different today."
"Your friends love this game… although, I'll be honest with you, they're not very good at it."
This made Rei laugh a little. "That doesn't surprise me."
"Well, perhaps I'll be in for a good challenge today?" she winked at her.
They started up the game. Haruka was a pro. Rei was just trying to get used to the game, when suddenly she got a powerup and passed half of the CPUs.
"BOOYAH!" she yelled. "Take that, suckers!"
She launched an attack at the car in front of her. "See ya later, slowpoke!"
Haruka looked over to her, amused at how much more she was like Usagi and Minako than she realized, at least in this case.
Rei was gaining on Haruka, getting confident about winning the race. "Better watch out! I'll beat you at this on my first try!"
She moved closer and closer until they were neck-in-neck. That's when Haruka launched the powerup she was holding onto the whole game: a large land mine. Rei drove over it, not having any time to dodge, and her car flipped in the air multiple times and stalled for a while.
"WHAT?! NO!"
She slowly started moving again, but all the other cars were able to pass her before she got her speed up, leaving her in last place as the race ended.
"Are you kidding me?! That's some bullcrap right there! I was winning! This stupid game is rigged!"
Haruka laughed and turned to her. "You're not too angry with me, are you?"
Rei let out a heavy, angry sigh, and then turned to her and smiled; the visible anger suddenly gone.
"Nope! Just mad at the game. But that really helped me let off some steam, which is what I was going for. Thanks!"
"Any time. Maybe we can race again someday?"
"For sure! Well, I should get going now. Bye Haruka!"
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Heading home, Rei was in a trance. A million thoughts were running through her head about lots of different things, which was intentional since she was trying to keep her mind off certain people at that point. She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings and suddenly bumped into someone.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" the woman shouted out.
Rei turned her head, still walking. "Oh? Sorry…" and she bumped into another person while she had her head turned.
"Sorry! I'm a klutz today!"
She looked up to find familiar green eyes. Short blonde hair. A sweet smile.
"No worries, Rei."
Her bad mood came back instantly. "Oh. It's you."
"Are you doing all right? Is there anything I can help you with?" he picked up her briefcase and handed it to her.
"I'm fine, thank you very much," she said in a snarky tone, taking the briefcase back. "I don't need a man in order for me to live my life."
He sighed, though his face didn't change. "Look, I know you're not comfortable with us yet, and we understand that. But you really don't need to worry."
"Don't act like you know me! You may have known Mars back then, but you don't know me!" she started walking past him
Jadeite laughed quietly. He knew better. This was the exact same girl he fell for in the Silver Millennium.
"Oh really? Well in that case, surely Usagi won't tell me otherwise…"
She turned around. "What did you just say?!"
"Yeah, I'm sure she can tell me all about how much you long for me… how much I make you melt inside, and how you wouldn't ever admit it to anyone else. She and I should start hanging out. We'll be best friends in no time!"
"Over my dead body!" she screamed. "And she won't tell you anything like that because it couldn't be farther from the truth. You disgust me. I'd rather date Richard Simmons than you!"
"So if you're so sure, you won't mind me hanging out with Usagi, right?"
"You stay away from her!"
He was doing this on purpose. During the Silver Millennium, she hated it when he or any of the other Shitennou came near Serenity. It was her strong protective instinct that she didn't always recognize was in her.
Rei started to storm off, when Jadeite called out to her.
"Rei!"
"What?!"
He walked up to her again. "Hey, I'm just messing with you. You know that, right? We used to have fun with our bickering and banter back then…" he paused for a moment. "I'm sorry if I was too intrusive. I know you need time and space. Just know that I'm not that monster anymore. We've been purified. All of us."
Without another word, she walked away, not looking back.