CHAPTER 3
As Minako rushed to school, she did not even have time to think about her dream. Like most dreams, it is fact that no one completely remembers their dreams (only bits and pieces) unless they've had the same reoccurring dream. She didn't even have time to properly secure her signature red bow in her hair. In her hands were her lunch and book bag and in her mouth was the ribbon that she'd later put in her hair.
As she ran, she turned the corner running into a large figure that propelled her back. She looked up rubbing her nose to see, Kaitou. He was wearing similar clothing as last night, except his hair was in a ponytail. He was also wearing what she assumed were his reading glasses. His gray eyes were staring right at her, piercing into her soul.
"Good morning, Minako. Where are you in a rush to?" He asked, holding in a chuckle.
"Sorry, sorry, Kaitou! I am…" her voice trailed as her thoughts trailed off as well.
"… going to school? I'm assuming."
"Yeah… school. What about you? Aren't you supposed to be in school too? Or do you not have classes today? Must explain why you aren't in a uniform." Minako didn't realize that she was rambling until she heard Kaitou laughing adorably at her.
"You're amusing, Minako. I am really glad that I ran into you. This has truly been a wonderful morning." She couldn't help but smile at his words. He picked up her book bag and ribbon that fell to the floor and walked behind her. She was curious as to what he was doing behind her and until she looked on the ground and saw his shadow tying the bow into her hair. She wondered how he knew exactly where to tie it. When he was done, he walked into her front view and smiled. "There you go. Come on, Minako. Let's get you to school."
As they walked together, he still had her book bag in his hand, slung over his shoulder. It was quiet for a little. Minako didn't mind but she just didn't know what exactly to say to him so she decided to ask him things about himself.
"So Kaitou, why aren't you in school right now?" He grew nervous.
"There… was no school schedule for today."
"Oh. What school do you go to? I wish I didn't have school today either."
"I don't know if you've heard of it. It's – "
"The high school, huh? Because you don't look like a junior high student." He felt relief.
"Ummm… yeah. The high school. I'm in high school." Minako began to feel a bit nervous. She couldn't imagine herself talking to an exceedingly handsome high school student when she herself was still in junior high. She looked ahead and saw she was almost nearing her school. Her stomach began to rumble really loudly.
"Sorry," she spoke.
"Minako, did you eat breakfast?" He asked her with concerned eyes.
"No. I woke up late." She replied looking down.
"Well, I saw this nice café before you ran into me. If you want to go eat before you go to school?" He asked in a hopeful tone. Minako was surprised by his offer. She couldn't believe that he was asking her to breakfast.
"Sure. I'd really like that." She replied with a smile on her face.
"Good, because I wasn't going to accept 'no' for an answer." He smiled cockily at her and she playfully stuck her tongue out at him.
At the café, Minako ordered herself a short stack of pancakes with a side of eggs and bacon. Kaitou ordered himself a cup of coffee and a pastry. Minako felt a little embarrassed for ordering more than him but she was hungry. They sat at a table outside since it was such nice weather with a fair breeze that blew in every now and then.
As Kaitou talked to her, he noticed how she resembled someone that he once knew. Her voice, her smile, and how her eyes lit up whenever she talked about something she was excited about. He was getting lost in her. He began to wish how she wouldn't go to school and they could just stay there while she talked and he admired her from across the table. Unfortunately, it came time to bring her to school. She couldn't miss the whole day.
As Minako got up from her seat and looked at Kaitou, something clicked in her head. The way he got up and the light of the sun rays shined down, hitting him in the right direction, made her realize who he resembled. His figure blocked the sun from blinding her. As she got a better look at him, everything about him was familiar to her. He looked like… General Kunzite. She was shocked but concealed it from him. She grew confused about the fact that the guy she was having a wonderful time with is the same one who tried to blast her off the tower last night. She had to think of a way to get away from him.
"Ready to go?" He asked her.
"Yeah… I think I better hurry though. You don't need to walk me." She insisted.
"Oh. Well, it was nice having breakfast with you and seeing you this morning," he replied in confusion to what she said. He didn't want to part with her yet.
"Yes, thank you. I got to get going. Bye, Kun – Kaitou!" She almost slipped.
As Kunzite watched her run from him, the way her golden hair swayed back and forth brought a feeling of familiarity upon him. He felt like he was being hit with déjà vu.
"Kunzite, where are you? Return here as soon as you can. We have something to discuss with you." Nephrite called to him telepathically. Kunzite stuck his hands into his pockets, let out a sigh, and headed back to the dark castle. At the same time, he wondered what Minako was up to.
Back at the dark castle, Kunzite was dressed in his uniform and met with the other generals. They were in the room where Tuxedo Mask was in again. The rest of the men seemed like they were talking about something important before he walked in.
"There you are Kunzite. Where have you been all this time?" Jadeite asked.
"I was out looking for the princess. I followed a few leads." He lied.
"And have you found her?" Nephrite jumped in.
"No. Nothing to report back on."
"Interesting. Maybe if you weren't busy wasting your time with some blonde school girl you would've." Nephrite commented.
"Don't talk to me like that, Nephrite. Were you spying on me?" Kunzite growled.
"Of course I was. Now, let's inform about the things we all talked about earlier." Nephrite said to Jadeite and Zoisite.
"We think that Queen Beryl is hiding something. Something bigger than what it is she has trying to do. I have been feeling wrong about the things she has us do," Jadeite spoke. Everyone sympathized with what he said for a while but none of which felt the need to say thing about their feelings for their tasks.
"Have the rest of you noticed how she spends a lot of time in that chamber in the catacombs of this castle?" Zoisite questioned the others.
"I have. Is she there right now?" Kunzite replied.
"Yes, I saw her walking down there not too long ago."
"Men, let's go down there and figure out what she's up to," Nephrite initiated. The four men found the door to the passage and followed it down. They caught up with Queen Beryl without being noticed and took cover trying to figure out what she was up to.
"I never knew there was a deep path down here," said Jadeite.
"Where does it lead?" Nephrite asked. Queen Beryl made her way to large doors and entered them.
"What are those doors?" Zoisite questioned.
"Just be quiet and follow me," Kunzite instructed the others. They proceeded to the doors as well, which were still opened so they hid behind one. In the room, they all saw this large, purple force radiate from what it was contained in.
"That's our Great Ruler…?" Zoisite puzzled.
"She has materialized that much? What's that mark on her forehead?" Nephrite retorted. On the being's forehead was a reddish, pink cross. Its eyes were a luminous blue and held a sinister smile on its face. They all listened in at the conversation between it and Queen Beryl.
"Queen Metalia," Queen Beryl began, "we have concluded that the Legendary Silver Crystal that was absorbed by Tuxedo Mask has indeed vanished. There is no sign of it."
"Then get rid of him. The Legendary Silver Crystal must be with the Princess." Queen Metalia replied.
"There is still an opportunity to use Tuxedo Mask. Please leave him to me."
"Queen Beryl, we still need more energy to take over this world. Now that the Princess has completely awakened, there's not a moment to lose."
"I will settle this soon before my subordinates, the Four Kings, regain their lost memories…"
Suddenly, a force of light was emitting from each of the men's foreheads. Each with a jewel of a different color. None knew of what was happening to them. Before they knew it, they were sharing the same memory.
In a vibrantly colored and decorated room, the four men stood in arrangement all similarly dressed in a uniform that Kunzite wore, lifting upward firmly.
"Jadeite, the Knight of patience and harmony."
"Nephrite, the Knight of intelligence and comfort."
"Zoisite, the Knight of purification and healing."
"Kunzite, the Knight of purity and affection. We will protect you, Master, even if it costs us our lives." They were all speaking to the same man who stood before them.
"I'm counting on you. For our peace and prosperity." The man spoke.
"Is this our memories?" questioned Zoisite.
"We were the Knights who served our master, the Prince of Earth, Endymion." Nephrite declared.
"We were born on Earth again to find our master," Jadeite stated.
"But we fell for her schemes before we could regain our memories." Kunzite spoke in realization.
"So you remembered it all…" Queen Beryl spoke.
"Queen Beryl. What's the meaning of this?" Kunzite demanded.
"Did you use us?" Zoisite did the same.
"That's right," the evil, manipulating queen confessed without hesitation. "You are all merely disposable pawns to obtain my goal."
Kunzite clenched his fist, declared "Curse you!" and lunged at her with the others following his lead. Queen Beryl twirled her staff in the air and struck it to the ground, letting out a dark energy that rendered the four men defenseless against. All let out a scream of pain.
"I'm not finished with all of you yet," she declared. "Until the day we build the Dark Kingdom and make this planet my very own."
"Stop!" Kunzite winced in pain, "That's not what we were reborned for!"
"Dispose of the Princess and the Sailor Guardians, then take the Legendary Silver Crystal." She ordered the men. They submit and stood up straight. Their jewels on their foreheads turned dark and the color of their eyes radiated a crimson red.
"As you wish," Kunzite said.
Minako was with the others in the control room under the Crown Arcade. There have been readings in regards to the movement of the Earth's crust recently. Minako thought of Kaitou. She had been pondering the idea of him actually being Kunzite all day. She hasn't told anyone about her thoughts yet. Interrupting her thinking, alerts appeared on the computer screen showing that the town has been covered in ice. Her and the others transformed into the Sailor Scouts and headed to the source of unexpected winter.
When they arrived, she saw Kunzite and the others mid-air protected by a green force field.
"I will turn Tokyo into an icy desert!" Kunzite cackled.
"Kunzite!"
"You are late, Princess." He replied to Sailor Moon.
"Are you trying to turn Tokyo into the North Pole?"
"Indeed, so that our Great Ruler can revive at any time." He replied.
Sailor Moon began to ask questions about Tuxedo Mask. Sailor Venus was still trying to decipher if her claims were true or not. As she looked up at Kunzite and tried to feel the same connection with him that she felt with Kaitou, nothing sufficed. I caught a look in his eye. He must have figured out that she is wearing the Silver Crystal around her neck. Kunzite launched an orb of energy at Sailor Moon. Instinctively, the others and I jumped in front of her and deflected it.
"Everyone! Protect the Princess and the Legendary Silver Crystal!" Minako ordered. They each took on a knight of our own, leaving them distracted so Sailor Moon remained in safety for the time being.
Sailor Mars against Jadeite; Sailor Mercury against Zoisite; Sailor Jupiter against Nephrite. Minako was running and Kunzite was chasing after. He levitated more orbs from his hand and tossed them at her. Venus ran up the side of a building and called out to Kunzite as she hovered in mid-air.
"Kunzite, stop! Return to how you used to be!" The words escaped her mouth. At that moment she came to terms and decided that Kaitou was Kunzite. A fragment of her memory clicked in her head and realized she was true. The other scouts were caught off guard by her remark to Kunzite. "Everyone! They are not out enemies. Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite… They were the brave knights wo served Prince Endymion!" Simultaneously, they all recalled the same memory. In a grass field near a tree, the scouts all stood across from their respected male counterparts.
"That's right… We met before in our past lives," Sailor Mercury stated, coming back to reality.
"One day, when the Princess wet to Earth to see Endymion, we followed her," said Sailor Mars.
"And we were fascinated by the beauty of the Earth," Sailor Jupiter commented.
"Then we fell in love," Sailor Venus spoke out. The four knights were still under Queen Beryl's spell and launched an electrical beam to them. Sailor Venus did not want to fight Kunzite so she let her fighting stance down, bringing her hands to her sides. She knew what came next.
"No… I can't fight with them," Sailor Mars cried out.
"This is too cruel!" Sailor Jupiter screamed in agony.
"Please, remember who you were!" Sailor Mercury pleaded.
"They are under my control," Queen Beryl cackled. "Sailor Guardians, you shall be killed by the men you used to love!" The scouts fell to their knees while still being electrocuted. All of a sudden, the pain of the shocking stopped because of Sailor Moon, but to Sailor Venus, nothing hurt more than feeling betrayal.
"How dare you attack girls in love?" Sailor Moon questioned. Sailor Venus turned around to face Sailor Moon to get her to stop. "The Pretty Guardian in a Sailor Suit. Guardian of Justice and Love, Sailor Moon! In the name of the Moon, I will punish you!"
"Princess, I will kill you first, then!" Kunzite shouted.
After the twirl of her moon stick, Sailor Moon was enclosed in yellow gold energy and launched into the air where she stopped the icy coldness created. Sailor Venus and the others got to their feet.
"Everyone, we are proud Sailor Guardians who fight for the Princess!" She stated.
"Right, we can't be daunted here!" Jupiter agreed.
"We shouldn't always be protected by Usagi-chan!" Sailor Mercury declared.
"Let's combine our powers and blow away the evil enemy," Sailor Mars initiated. The scouts held their palms outreached forward channeling their energy into Sailor Planet attack. Sailor Venus pleaded for them to wake up, but deep down she was hoping for her voice to reach Kunzite. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful.
"Sailor Guardians," Kunzite began, "we shall have more fun next time." And just like that, they disappeared.
"It was so close," Sailor Venus panted, trying to catch her breath. She felt so defeated. So useless. The memories continued to flood back to her. She kept her composure and hoped that next time, they have better luck breaking the spell caste upon them.
All she could do now, was wait.
Greetings! Okay, so I know I said that I'd only update once every week but I was just so inspired to write after I watched Act 10 of Sailor Moon Crystal.
BONUS: I made it super long because unfortunately, I really have to focus on my classes this week and the week after... It's easy and very unwise to procrastinate in college... Especially if you have exams to study for. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. FAVORITE AND REVIEW.