AN: Heylo there, I'm back. Couple things:

1) I may not be able to update as quickly due to school. *hits head on nonexistent desk* (I do my writing on my beanbag chair with my laptop on an elevated lap desk in front of me.) hehe ;)

2) There's a bit of swearing in this chappy. Sorry.

3) There's a clue to the Shitennou's past, aka the horrible thing which they try their best not to speak of. The …that… if you know what I mean. ;) Yay, finally things become clearer.

4) I have a question for y'all at the end of this chapter.

And now…

Chapter 20

Kunzite walked despondently through the garden surrounding the queen's gazebo to the large greenhouse like one who wasn't quite all there. And Jadeite figured his leader's mind was probably somewhere else, or to be specific, with someone else. All the youngest Tennou could do was be a steady pillar for his friend. Though, in truth, he felt his heart go out to Zoisite as well. I mean if all Mercury and those two advisor people said was true than how can I blame Zoisite for the way he's been acting. He has been acting a bit off lately, but I thought…I thought…what did I think?

He glanced at Kunzite again but kept his silence. There was nothing that could be said. But then again, what needed to be communicated didn't have to be verbalized. After all, the Shitennou's first form of communication was through telepathy amplified through the sense of touch. Perhaps he could…

Upon entering the greenhouse, he removed his gloves and caught Kunzite's hand in his and practically dragged the still dazed Ice King through the weaving paths until he found the small bench he'd often come to when he wanted a moment to himself away from Mars. He liked it because of its seclusion in the leafy foliage. It reminded him of home. He sat down pulling his leader close to him. But before he knew it, he was the one crying.

Curse it all! This wasn't supposed to happen. Kunzite was suppose to cry, not me! I HATE being the youngest. But he couldn't help it. He'd been born the youngest this time 'round and with being the youngest came some perks and…not so perky perks. And so he just buried his head in Kunzite shoulder and wept his heart out. Nephrito. Nephrito. I love you so much. Damn Endymion! Why did he do this? Why? What did we ever do to him?

He must have said those things aloud because Kunzite tightened his hold on him and murmured gently, "I don't know, Jadeite. I don't know. We'll find a way out of this, I hope."

The blonde snorted into Kunzite's shirt. "I doubt that. He can compel us to marry those bitches if he really wanted to."

"Yes, he could. But I highly doubt he would. He gave us his word he would never use the compulsion on us, and he wouldn't give such an oath lightly. No one would."

"And yet he found that going behind our backs and betrothing us to some foreign women was perfectly alright!" Jadeite hollered pushing away from his leader to stare challengingly into Kunzite's eyes. "I hate him, Kunzite! I hate him!"

"Watch your tongue, Jadeite. Whether we like it or not, Endymion is our Master with all the powers thereof and we owe him our respect," Kunzite coolly admonished.

"I can respect him from a distance well enough. Just like I respect a snake for catching a rat," the blonde added venomously. Then his shoulders slumped and all his fury drained out of him and he looked just about as despondent as his elder. "I wunna go home."

"We can't. Not until Endymion is ready to return," Kunzite said, taking off his own gloves and gently pulling Jadeite back into his embrace. He needed touch right now. They both did.

"To hell with Endymion," Jadeite said, but there was no power behind his words, just endless exhaustion. "I'm tired. Can I sleep on your lap, Kunzito?"

Smiling quietly, Kunzite nodded and the youth curled up on the bench with his head on Kunzite's lap and tried to fall asleep. It didn't take long for him to succeed.

Kunzite looked at the sleeping face and couldn't help seeing the age mixed in with the youthful features. Stuck in the body of a teenager but with the memories of a millennium's worth of lifetimes, Jadeite struggled to face each day with the same exuberance as the one before. After a while immortality could wear on a person's soul. Memories of previous friends, loved ones, all dead and gone, some who were probably nothing but dust by now, would haunt their minds. Painful memories, happy memories, melancholy memories, random memories, silly memories, sad memories, they all had a place in each Shitennou's heart. No memory was meaningless.

The memory that hurt Kunzite the most was of Saer. The first human he'd ever met. The hunter had taught him how to speak verbally like humans, how to set traps, how to fight to an extent, and had been a father-figure to him. Of all the people he had known and loved through the years, Saer was the closest to Kunzite's heart. He missed those gentle calloused hands, that soft spoken baritone voice, that ever present pipe, the cabin in the mountains, everything.

What would Saer do now in this situation? Probably better than Kunzite was doing. He always knew what to do. He had been the one person Kunzite had ever dreamed of becoming. In a way, Kunzite had worshiped the hunter like a student worships his master. He wished with all his heart that Saer could be here now and tell him what to do. He felt so helpless. And he hated feeling helpless. He needed a purpose. Serving Endymion was the reason for his existence, but…what about himself? What about his needs? His wants? All he'd ever thought of was Endymion's needs and wants. Was it so wrong to want something for himself for once?

Bowing his head, Kunzite ran his fingers through the sleeping Jadeite's curly blonde hair and started thinking.

XxX

Mars paced back and forth. Jadeite had been gone longer than expected and she was getting annoyed. Listening to Venus rant endlessly about Kunzite's charms wasn't helping her keep her temper in check any. On the contrary. She'd finally sought the more welcome presence of Jupiter. They had sparred for a bit until she'd felt slightly better. But her annoyance at Jadeite's continued absence was beginning to make her nervous. Did something happen during his meeting with Queen Selena? Maybe—

"Mars?"

The Senshi of fire nearly jumped out of her skin when Jupiter's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Yes?"

"Someone's coming," the Senshi of thunder said nodding in the direction behind Mars. Turning, the raven haired princess saw Artemis striding towards them with an almost feline grace.

"Greeting, Princess Jupiter, Princess Mars," he said bowing deeply when he was close enough to speak. "Lord Nephrite and Lord Zoisite have returned to Terra and Queen Selena requests all of you to come to her gazebo immediately. There has been…some rather disturbing news she would like for all of you to be aware of."

"What sort of news?" Jupiter asked pointedly.

Artemis shifted his feet uncomfortably. "It's not my place to say. I suggest you hurry though, Princess Venus is already on her way. It involves the Shitennou." After a moment Artemis shifted into his feline form and scampered off back the way he'd come leaving two bewildered princesses in his wake.

Mars had a bad feeling about this. A very bad feeling.

XxX

Nephrite stood in his stargazing chamber calmly listening to the silence and watching the stars flicker above his head. No matter what time of day it was outside, the Star Chamber always showed the stars in the exact positions they were in in the sky at the current moment, sun or no. It made reading the celestial bodies much easier. He didn't have to wait for nightfall to make a reading.

Taking a deep breath and calming himself, he whisper, "The stars know everything."

Gathering his power around him, Nephrite summoned the Dark Star into existence. The dark grey orb appeared suspended in the air with numerous smaller flickers of gold swirling around it like comets caught in never ending orbits. He needed to know what would happen. Something bothered him. The past star readings had been disturbing to say the least, but after today's events he was hesitant to look into the future for fear of what he might see.

"Oh stars, grant me your mysterious powers," he chanted.

The Dark Star pulsed with light, slowly increasing in speed until a slender beam of golden light sprang from its heart to Nephrite's forehead granting the Shitennou its knowledge.

XxX

Her first chance to capture Nephrite had finally presented itself. Mentally, she berated herself for not thinking of looking for the elusive Tennou in the Star Chamber. But now, with Zoisite asleep in his room and Nephrite held completely in thrall by the power of Stargazing, Beryl seized her chance.

She summoned her staff and the nephrite stone to her hands. As soon as she felt the cold solid stone appear in her hand she began pouring Metallia's energy into it. She watched as the entranced Tennou jerked as if struck from behind. His face screwed in agony but he was helpless to resist. His mental barriers had been lowered to allow the Dark Star's power to give him the knowledge he sought, but in doing so he had also unknowingly given Beryl complete access to his mind.

She smiled in perverse pleasure at the sight of the twitching brunette. When she had his mind firmly in her grasp she struck him with a mental whip and his terrified mental cries of pain instantly fell silent and the body fell limp held aloft only by her power alone. She buried her seed of darkness deep into the inner depths of Nephrite's subconscious, erased his memory of the events, and released her hold. The body sprawled on the floor like a limp doll.

Pleased with her success, Beryl rolled her shoulders and left the room. Finally, she had all four Shitennou under her control. With Metallia's help she would wait for the opportune moment during the three day Constellation Ball and strike. The poor Shitennou would be captives in their own bodies, and the moon people would never know what hit them. She smirked. Then she'd have both Endymion and the throne to both the Golden Kingdom and the Silver Millennium. She would rule over the united Dark Kingdom with Metallia backing her and Prince Endymion by her side.

She certainly hoped he be a better lay than King Elis was. She shivered. All that old coot seemed to be fairly decent at these days was sex. Flipping her long dark red hair over her shoulder casually she dismissed her staff and the nephrite stone and headed for the king's chamber. She'd have to pick something interesting to wear tonight if she wanted some action. Well, at least she didn't have to be abstinent while she waited for her coup to take place.

XxX

King Elis waiting anxiously as his servants brought out the painting he had spent every day since the Masquerade searching for. It was a portrait of the four original Shitennou done by a fabulous artist who remained anonymous to this day. However, the names of the four Shitennou sundialwise from the top right were scribbled on the back of the painting near the elaborate gold frame.

He remembered seeing the painting hanging on the wall between two columns in the ballroom when he was child. He only remembered bits and pieces of the Shitennou who served his father though. He remembered playing with the two youngest Shitennou who were occasionally joined by the two eldest. All he could remember for certain was the feeling of safety whenever those four were nearby. Safety and joy. He'd loved the Shitennou.

So he couldn't understand why his father had attacked and banished them. He'd been too young to understand then why his father had had any and all evidence of the Shitennou during his reign erased. It was as if they hadn't even existed. To a boy who had practically been raised by the Shitennou and who had grown to love them like his own family, it was a horrible blow.

His nurse and a few other servants, with the help of a visiting priest from the Sanctuary of Elysian, had successfully hidden this one portrait from King Elis' father. It hadn't been destroyed with everything else that reminded the former king of the Shitennou. It had survived, and now…

And now…

King Elis gazed at the painting in awe and fear. That night during the Masquerade he'd seen something in the current Shitennou he'd recognized. It had been when they had walked on the chandeliers and when the globe of magic had burst. He remembered seeing the Shitennou of his time perform a similar trick for him, on a smaller scale of course. But still. All he distinctly remembered was being 'it' in a game of tag and being unable to track down his favorite Tennou Zoizoi.

He recalled running up to his father's throne to see if the elusive Tennou was hiding behind it when he'd turned around to see all four Shitennou leaping from chandelier to chandelier laughing the whole time. He'd stamped his foot and pouted like the little four-year-old boy he was. Nephy had to come down from his perch to pick him up. The next thing he knew, he was also sitting on the chandelier with the other Shitennou who began amusing him with little magic tricks, of which the bursting globe was one of them. He remembered that one especially because it had been his favorite.

Never in his life would he have ever guessed it. But now that he thought about it, it made sense in a confusing paradox sort of way. Nephy. Jadey. Kunkun. Zoizoi. Childish names for his four favorite people. The same four people who were painted with elegant and loving strokes on the canvas before him. The same four people who called themselves the Nephrito, Jadeito, Kunzito, and Zoisito today.

In the picture, all four of the Shitennou wore the offical Shitennou uniforms: the long sleeved cream shirt trimmed in gold, the dark brown pants with the gold chains on the right thigh, the marroon and gold boots that came up to their midthighs, and the floor length crimson velvet cape. The Shitennou were arranged so that Kunzite stood on the right with Zoisite kneeling before him and Nephrite stood next to Kunzite on the left with Jadeite kneeling in front of him. Kunzite's left hand cupped Zoisite's left cheek from behind while his right hand rested on Jadeite's shoulder and his eyes met Nephrite's. Nephrite's left hand rested on Zoisite's left shoulder while his right hand rested on Jadeite's chest over the blonde's heart. The brunnette Tennou's blue eyes were sparkling with barely concealed joy as he met Kunzite's gaze. Jadeite's right hand rested on top of Nephrite's hand on his chest while his head rested fondly on Kunzite's hand on his shoulder. His left hand was clasped in Zoisite's right and his eyes gazed at the ground as a slight smile danced on his lips. His green eyes closed in a peaceful expression, Zoisite pressed Kunzite left hand against his cheek with his own left hand. His right hand was held firmly in Jadeite's.

So much emotion was revealed in this simple frozen moment in time. But it was the title of the painting which brought to mind the reason why King Elis' beloved Shitennou had been banished by his father.

Love's Tangled Web.

He'd been too young at the time to understand and it wasn't until the night before he was crowned Heir Apparent by his father almost fifteen years later that he was told the whole story. Apparently, his father had discovered the Shitennou's secret love lives and had been sickened. He had dragged all four of the offending Tennou out onto the patio just outside the ballroom in plain sight of the world where he publicly humiliated them and attacked them magically. They had retaliated in self defense, but they hadn't been able to block the attack completely. The youngest of the Shitennou had almost died that day, his life being saved only by his lover, the eldest of the four. The third Shitennou had escaped relatively unscathed physically, but mentally was another story. It was said that he had nearly gone insane and had tried to attack the king for harming his friends. He had been stopped by the second eldest who also happened to be his lover and the four of them were banished from Elysium till their deaths. No one knew where they had fled to, but they had been hunted relentlessly until their followers had completely lost track of them.

Looking at this painting now, King Elis may not have known where the Shitennou had fled to then, but he knew where they were now. They were the personal guardians of his son, Endymion, and the betrothed of the Silver Millennium's Sailor Senshi.

The part that frightened him the most was the fact that none of them seemed to have aged a day. Who are the Shitennou? What are they? Are they even human?

These thoughts haunted him as he had the painting brought to his room where it would stay until he could gather some more servants to hang it up in its old place in the ballroom. He wondered what the current Shitennou's reactions would be when they saw the picture.

XxX

Tick…tick…tick…the last one has been captured…tick…tick…tick…the past becomes clearer…tick…tick…tick…but old wounds don't always heal perfectly…tick…tick…tick…will the four sufferers fight on…tick…tick…tick…or give in to the darkness that beckons to them?…tick…tick…tick…time is running out…tick…tick…tick…not much longer now…tick…tick…tick…

A/N: Hope y'all enjoyed that. I had a bit of trouble writing it, mostly trying to tell a lot with giving away too much. Does that even make sense? *scratches head*

Question: Did anyone understand why I named the portrait of the Shitennou Love's Tangled Web? Cookies for those who get the answer. If you're reading Our First Breath of Life you'll understand it as the story progresses.

Glances at watch. 1:42am. Fabulous. *that was smart-elick BTW* Good morning. :o ZZZZZzzzzzz......

RATE AND REVIEW!!!! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!! :)