FHOE-S2-C010
AN: You might be wondering why I've started including little quizzes at the end of chapters. This is due to reviews in previous stories that tell me that the reader may simply be skimming the content. While it is just fanfiction, when you skim the chapter, you may find yourself MISSING important elements to the story. I'm attempting to make active readers out of you. Active Reading Skills will certainly serve you well in the future. For example, when signing a legal agreement you want to be sure you read every word so as not to be swindled.
Chapter 10
When the phone rang at 2am the next morning, Andrew was tempted to ignore it. But groggily, he answered. "Hello? Darien!" He sat upright. "Where are you man? Yeah, I'll come pick you up and you owe me an explanation man."
Darien and Loof Merrow waited outside of airport. Loofy gazed with wonder at the things around her.
"And what are those things?" She asked pointing at what looked like a metal box with wheels. "Is it a sort of cart? How they pulled?"
"They're called cars," Darien replied. "They are powered by engines which run on gasoline."
"And that thing you used to talk to your friend? What was that?" Loofy asked.
Darien launched into the complicated explanation of telephones. It felt strange to be talking about something he grew up with and often took for granted. But he enjoyed it all the same.
He had just finished talking about the electric lights that lit up the area nearly as bright as day when Andrew pulled up in his small vehicle. Darien could see that Andrew was not entirely happy with him and he could guess why. Andrew had allowed Darien his secrets for this long but he supposed just coming home with a strange woman was the icing on the cake. It was thus a good thing that he'd decided to go ahead and bring Andrew into the fold. It was time.
Andrew opened his mouth to lecture his friend, practically his brother, only for Darien to stop him. "Andrew, before you say anything, let me introduce you to my wife, Loof Merrow. Loofy, this is my best friend in the whole world, Andrew."
Loofy smiled big. "Oh it's so great to finally meet you! Darien's told me all about you." She said as she pumped the other man's hand up and down in her excitement.
Andrew gave her a friendly grin. "I wish I could say the same. I was surprised to hear he got married, especially after only a week according to our mutual friends, Serena and Mina."
Darien chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah, there was a reason for it though and I'll tell you everything once we're in the car where prying ears cannot hear. But drive slow cause it's a long story."
Andrew nodded and popped his trunk so they could stow their belongings. On the way, Darien explained all of the secrets that he had been keeping for over a year. Andrew found himself speechless as Darien told him about being Tuxedo Mask AND the Prince of the Earth. Darien carefully DID NOT tell him about Serena and the others. That was not his place.
"And well, that's everything. Well almost but I can only tell you my part," Darien reasoned. "The rest is not mine to tell."
Andrew got the idea that Serena would know the rest and resolved to ask her. He looked back at his friend who sat with his new wife. "Why didn't you tell all of this before? Didn't you trust me?"
Darien fervently denied that assumption. "Of course I trust you Andrew but when it started, I didn't know what was going on. I wasn't sure if I could trust my senses because at first I'd black out when Sailor Moon was in trouble to become Tuxedo Mask. For the first few months, I didn't even know I was Tuxedo Mask. I had to figure out what I was doing first and during that period, I couldn't tell anyone outside of the Sailor Soldiers. It was against the rules."
Andrew frowned. "But you're telling me now?"
Darien nodded. "It's been long enough that I'm capable of choosing who to inform. Don't be mad Andrew. I wanted to tell you before."
Andrew sighed, feeling a little defeated. He couldn't be angry or insulted when Darien put it that way. "And your new lady?" He indicated Loofy. "I would have expected to at least get a wedding invitation."
Darien smiled. "Uh, dude, you're definitely invited." At the questioning look, he continued. "The only reason this happened as fast as it did was because it was the only way to free her people and her island from a curse that kept them trapped in perpetuity."
Loofy picked up the story. "Dark Plasman, Sorcerer and Emperor of the comet Coatl, wanted to marry me 5000 years ago and I refused. In retaliation, he cursed my kingdom. Well, I thought it was a curse but he actually saved us from the tidal wave that buried the rest of my country. But essentially, we were barred from the Time-Stream and stuck in the same day over and over again save for one week out of every year. And on that week, every year for 5000 years he would come in attempt to marry me. But this year was different. Darien and his friends shipwrecked on my island."
"But the rules of the curse included that the only way to break it was for her to marry," Darien concluded. "Believe me, I almost didn't. I almost made the biggest mistake of my life, again." He looked at his island princess. "And I almost lost her forever."
Andrew shook his head. Darien had changed over the last several months. Or rather had been changing over the last year or more. He had missed it somehow. The friend, brother, who had spent so long afraid of getting to close to anyone went and got married in just a week.
"But we're still going to have a wedding here in Tokyo," Darien said. "After all, we're only married by her kingdom's laws. We need to make it legal by Japan's laws. You'll still be my Best Man right?"
Andrew laughed softly. "Of course I will Darien. And um, Loof Merrow is it?"
"You can call me Loofy. All my friends do," the island girl said.
"Well, Loofy, I really hope you like it here. Japan is a nice place to live," Andrew told her.
Loofy smiled. "I'm sure. Darien's told me so much and I can't wait to see just how much the world has changed since the curse. I remember all the continents used to be one big land mass until the tidal wave."
Andrew nodded. "Yeah. We know about that. Pangaea is what it was called."
Darien shook his head. "That's what the books say but they're wrong. It was just called Gaea." Andrew looked at him. "Really. I remember."
"You remember?" Andrew asked incredulously. "Darien, you may be the Prince of the Earth but how can you remember thousands of years ago?"
"Hey, my teacher made sure I would remember his lessons," Darien told him. "There was Gaea, ruled by the five kingdoms. Boreas, of the North. Eurus, of the East. Notus, of the South. And Zephyrus, of the West. In the center was the Kingdom of Aura. It started out as one large kingdom but the first king, Aeolus had four sons and thus divided the Earth into five Great Kingdoms. The descendants of those sons are my most trusted guards and friends. You've met them already."
Loofy listened to her husband's lecture. She knew about the five kingdoms of course. Her parents had once hoped to betroth her to one of the four sons but would not for the world force her to marry one she did not love and she had not loved any one of them.
"I have?" Andrew asked.
Darien nodded. "Jadeite, Heavenly King of the East. Nephrite, Heavenly King of the West. Zoisite, Heavenly King of North. And Kunzite, Heavenly King of the South. Together they are as the Four Heavenly Kings, or the Shitennou."
Andrew's mind was reeling and it just barely 4 in the morning. "Those four? You're kidding! How many more of your friends are part of this secret?"
Darien simply looked out the window with a cryptic grin. "You'll have to ask elsewhere. I can tell you no more."
Andrew laughed. "Fine but I promise, I will do just that. In fact, I already have a pretty good idea who to ask. Here you guys go." He pulled up to Darien's apartment building. "Want some help getting inside?"
Darien shook his head. "We can get it." He got their meager belongings from the trunk and helped a now-sleepy Loofy from the back. "Thanks Andrew. See you at the arcade tomorrow?"
"Yeah, yeah," Andrew said. "Have a good night you two and try not to keep your neighbors up."
Darien glared at his best friend as he drove away. "Come on sleepyhead. Let's get inside and get to bed."
AN: Well, Darien and Loofy are home and Andrew knows Darien's side of things. Will Andrew be able to get the rest from Serena? Who will be the next Pure Heart target? When will we see more of the Chancellor and will Diamond be able to stand his ground about Serena? Find out next time. Read and Review please.
Quiz: Name the Five Kingdoms of Gaea and the First King.
