Mars moved angrily around the room. What was up with that Universe chick? Who did she think she was? In fact who the heck was she? Why did Venus get a power upgrade? Venus had never gotten a power upgrade nearly as powerful as this new one. Mars could've actually been on Mars and still felt the powerful vibes she got off of her. 'Maybe I should ask Aries about her. Maybe there's something I don't know. Maybe he could even tell me who Universe is. I have the feeling that she's important somehow.' Her eyes moved around the small temple that was dedicated to Aries. This was one of the few that he had designed himself and it was nothing like she would have ever imagined. In the far corner the was a small portrait of his father, and even though Zeus was told to have a temper to be reckoned with, in this picture it showed what looked to be the gentlest man she'd ever seen. Under the picture was a small flame, that would burn eternally in order to show that Aries would always watch over his followers. Opposite the flame was a small statue of a teenage girl her hair flowing behind her as if it was a water fall. The girl had a look of innocence over her face as if nothing that anybody could say or do could make her lose it. "That's Artemis, my sister. She's always been there for me even when I wasn't there for her. That definitely doesn't run in our family," Aries said coming up behind her. Smiling, she turned to him and asked, "Why does she look so innocent? I thought she was the goddess of hunt." Aries' eyes lit up for a moment as he remembered the times when he was little and she would take him hunting. "Oh she is! But she's not only the goddess of hunt, but she's also the virgin huntress. Have you ever heard the Greek legends?" Mars shook her head, beginning to become curious. "Artemis is one of their legendary goddesses, one of the few that was actually accurate. Legend tells this tale: Long ago there was a Queen, one of the greatest in the Universe. This Queen fell in love with Zeus. Zeus at the time didn't have a wife, and he desperately wanted children. Some say that they didn't even think twice, but Dad says otherwise. Anyway, later that year the Queen had twins, and each one was enormously powerful. The first-born was Artemis, and since she was born first she became the heir to all of the Elysian Fields, or sometimes known as Mt. Olympus. The second-born was Apollo, and even though he was second-born he was just as important as Artemis. "Most don't know this, but if Apollo or Artemis dies then the other dies as well. Their very souls are attached to each other." Pausing he got back on track. "The first few years of their lives went on without any problems, but about 40 years after they were born the Queen became pregnant again, this time, though, it was a baby girl. Her name Aphrodite. Unfortunately, a few months after she was born Zeus was forced to marry a ruling goddess from one of the neighboring Universes. She was the jealous type, and was by far more powerful than Zeus. "When she found out that he already had three children by another woman, who happened to be a mortal, she blew up. She cursed each child in a different way: Aphrodite was to never grow up, Apollo would never find true love, and Artemis would be forced to protect the mortal nations until they were destroyed. Fortunately, for the most part, it didn't work. Zeus managed to find a way to help Aphrodite grow up, and he even managed a way for Apollo to find love, but there seemed to be no way to break the spell put on Artemis. But Metallia, Zeus' wife, would not be stopped. When she found out that he had broken two of her three spells she cast two more. The first forced the twins to both live in the mortal realms until they were destroyed. The second killed the realm that the Queen lived within. "At that time Zeus was in her Universe working out some final agreements, and he had no way of saving the Queen. And she was the only one he would ever truly love. The queen herself had amazingly found a way to defy Metallia. Before she was killed, she managed to find a way to send Metallia's mortal focus into the realm between life and death." He paused for a second to catch his breath. "Zeus was unable to do anything against the spell, but he did give them a gift. Since the three had yet to receive their training to learn to focus their powers as gods he managed to put the knowledge into their minds before they were sent forward into time. "Metallia was put into a deep sleep that she was unable to wake from. It's said that the day will come when Metallia will find someone to turn against the Princess of Gods, and when she does she shall try to destroy every one of her kingdoms. It's also said that when that does happen the Princess shall triumph over the Queen as long as she realizes who she truly is." Aries finished. Mars looked over at him, his eyes glistened with unshed tears, as if he was remembering something that hurt him deeply. "What do you mean who she truly is? Doesn't she know that she's Artemis?" Aries frowned, "She knows. She's known since before the rebirth of the realm. But there's something she doesn't know about, something she's hiding from herself, and whatever it is will allow her to reach her full power." "Does that mean she doesn't know of her powers yet?" Mars was in one heck of a curious mood. "No, she knows of them, and she's by far the most powerful goddess. When she gains full power she will be stronger than anyone or anything in this Universe, and probably any other Universe also." He replied. "Then why is she still under Metallia's spell?" Aries sighed. He could tell this mortal knew nothing of the magic of gods. "The spell was put on her before she learned to control her own magic, so if she wishes to break it she must first fight Metallia face to face." "But how? If Metallia is in a deep sleep how can she fight her?" Mars continued questioning. "She can't. She must wait for her to awaken, but unfortunately Metallia can still control her minions from the deep sleep she is in." He finished, and before she could ask another question he left the room in a cloud of red fire.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ "Bye Darien, and don't worry, the family meetings usually last a whole day. The time in the Elysian Fields is different from the time in the mortal realms," Mina said while exiting Darien's apartment. "She should be back in no time, just watch Terra and go to bed. I promise she'll be back before you know it." Darien closed the door and went back into his small apartment. Sure, she could say all that, but it still didn't make Darien feel any better. There was just something in the air, something that just felt wrong. 'Come on Dare. Now you're just being paranoid. She's with her family, and they'll definitely take care of her.' Sadly, that thought gave his mind no ease as he remembered the conversation that he had earlier with Lita. 'What did she mean by 'you've got it'? Does this mean that she is a direct descendant of a god? How's that possible? We know her origins. She is the daughter of Queen Serenity.' Even as he thought it a voice in the back of his mind was telling him to remember it took two to make a child. 'That's right, it does. So who is her father? Is he a god?' Deciding to ignore the thoughts that were making their way to his mind he got Terra ready for bed. Changing her small pink dress to a pair of bunny pajamas. He smiled at how cute she was, every little thing had its own amount of cuteness. "You do know that if you sit there staring at her for thirty minutes you're never going to get her to bed, right?" Serena asked, coming up behind him. Darien's smile widened as he gave her a quick kiss. "Yes, but she reminds me so much of you." A small blush made its way to her pale face. "Yes, but she needs to be in bed!" Taking Terra from him, she took her hair down from its meatballs, and gave it a quick brushing before putting her in the crib that Darien had already assembled for her to sleep in. Giving her a quick kiss she plopped down on the bed. Through the whole process Darien's eyes never left her, and with a snap he realized that she wasn't the same Serena that had left him so long ago. She was more mature, more caring, and more thoughtful. All of it made him realize how much he would have liked to be with her through the process, but he knew it wasn't possible, and it was all his fault. "What are you thinking about? You haven't moved in fifteen minutes." Serena said stirring him out of his thoughts. He looked up at her with new eyes, he knew that no matter what she had been through she was still the girl he loved and he knew that she would always love him. "I'm thinking about how much I love you." Smiling, she kissed him on the cheek, "I love you, too. Now, can we go to bed? I'm exhausted, and I want to be up in time to find out how Lita and Andrew's date went." He nodded and led her to the bed.
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Andrew looked over at Lita nervously. What he was about to do was going to take a lot of nerve. "Andy, what's wrong? Why are you so pale? Are you sick? Should we go home? Maybe we should call Darien. He's a doctor after all." Lita asked worriedly. Andrew smiled at her antics. "Don't worry so much. I'm fine, just a little nervous." Confused, Lita asked, "Why should you be nervous? You've been out with me a thousand times." "Yes, but I've never asked you this before." Pausing, he got down on one knee and pulled a small velvet box from the pocket of his pants. "Lita Kino, I've loved you since I realized you were more then just my best friend, and no matter what, I will always love you. Will you marry me?" Lita smiled as wide as her mouth would allow, and happy tears began to flow unchecked down her face. "Yes. Yes. A million times YES!" Smiling, just as wide as she was he kissed her for as long as his lungs would allow. "You're not going to take that back are you?" "Not as long as you don't try to cook. I love you, but honestly, you cannot cook!" She smiled. Feigning hurt he said, "Well, fine then. You just don't try to pick the movies. You have awful taste!" Smiling the two continued to tease each other as they finished their date.