It's summertime! That means a chapter for the summer. Tada!!! The long awaited chapter 8! Next chapter will be co-authored by Asirainis! You all will love it!
DISCLAIMER:
Labyrinth and all that is connected to it belongs to someone other than me!!!
Though the characters not appearing or named in the movie or any other work of fiction are of my creation.
Then … Now … and For Eternity
Chapter Eight:
The Summer Solstice and New Trouble is Brewing
Sarah groaned as she sat up on the morning of Solstice Eve. It felt as if she hadn't slept well, but she knew the baby had let her sleep through the night.
Jareth sighed as he rubbed his wife's arm. "Lay back down and rest my love. We won't be expected until after lunch."
"Yes, but our daughter is hungry." Sarah explained with a tired chuckle.
Then came a knock on their bedroom door. Jareth growled, and Sarah smiled at him. "Come in."
Hoggle and the couple's head maid came in with food. "We figured ya two would be hungry and tired both. So we's brought ya breakfast."
"Thank you Hoggle, and you too Gribly. How are sis and bro?" Sarah said as she sat up so Hoggle could lay her breakfast before her.
"Same as the two of you – drained and grumpy. I's already got the parades ready for the move to the catacombs." Hoggle reported.
Jareth nodded at the news. "Excellent job as always Hoggle. Are the armies ready to defend the celebrations on their schedules?"
"Yes sire. All the two of you need to worry about is resting for later and taking care of the wee one. We'll leave ya's to yer breakfasts." And with that Hoggle and Gribly left.
Sarah was delighted to find her favorite breakfast – cinnamon roll French toast, sausage patties, and milk. But when she saw broiled peaches drizzled with honey, Sarah gave a dirty look over to her husband. "Peaches? Do you want to have a fight this early into our marriage?"
"One: peaches are very good for my wife and unborn daughter, two: they remind me of the single best fifteen minutes of my life before you summoned me back into your life, three: they are my favorite fruit." Jareth smiled over at her.
"One: I will give you that point, two: I'll admit that I had fun too, and three: the one Hoggle gave me was my favorite one of all." Sarah smirked as she popped a peach slice into her mouth, allowing a little honey drip down her chin.
Not allowing a beat to be lost, Jareth seductively licked up the warm peach flavored honey from his wife's chin. When Sarah opened her mouth in a sigh, and Jareth took full advantage of it. Covering his lips with his own, Jareth stole a little of the fruit Sarah had put in it. When he pulled back, they were both chewing and Sarah was giggling.
Three hours later, Sarah looked at her swollen belly sticking out before her under the beautiful gown of gold and silver silk. For the first time she worried about her looks. What if her big belly turned off Jareth? What if he found a thinner and prettier paramour?
Almost sensing his beloved's fears, Jareth snuggled behind Sarah and wrapped his arms around to rub her belly. "If it wouldn't leave you and our baby in danger love, along with insulting some good friends who helped us in our time of need, I would be disrobing you and reminding you how you got in this way."
Sarah couldn't help but smile and blush at that. Jareth wanted her … like this! "She'll be born in three weeks. And a few days later you can remind me all you like my King."
"Count on it my darling." Jareth blew against her ear from behind.
Sarah was all smiles as Jareth guarded her tummy while they walked to the common throne room. She needed a little exercise and they wanted a few last moments alone, so Jareth begrudged his wife's request to walk rather than teleport.
Arriving, they saw Molly giggling as she and Nephrite looked over the various groups and excitement in the city below them.
"Having fun yet, Mol?" Sarah asked.
The other couple turned in a start. "I can't believe the clamor going on down there!"
"Well our subjects are a little bit excited." Nephrite explained.
Both ladies looked at him with a confused look on their faces. Jareth grinned. "Well, after all this year is a very different year."
"Right, little brother. This year is the girls' first." Nephrite added in.
Jareth winked. "And our first as married men."
"The first I have celebrated openly since I returned." Nephrite agreed, gaining a hug from his wife.
"Adding on that the girls' being pregnant during this celebration is seen as a blessing." Jareth rested a hand on Sarah's swollen abdomen.
"The fact that both of our ladies got so during our honeymoons being an added blessing too." Nephrite enjoyed how both Sarah and Molly blushed at their talk.
Molly sighed. "So, this year is more exciting."
Sarah nodded. "Though some of the excitement we have gone through I could have lived without."
The girls were each sat on a bench next to their husband to make it easier on their bodies. Both Jareth and Nephrite were expected to give a speech, the people were hoping that the Queen and Princess would feel well enough to say something – but it was not anticipated.
A spell was cast so that all of those could hear whoever stepped forward to speak. Sarah had decided earlier that she was going to say something, but she had thought of a single word and it made her heart race. Glancing at Molly, she saw that her new sister-in-law too had made the same decision and felt the same.
Jareth stepped ahead of them, standing tall and every bit the monarch Sarah remembered and the subjects were looking for.
"Once again the mid-summer is upon us all. Yet this time, we celebrate that not only my wife, your Queen … but also for my sister-in-law, your Princess. We also are celebrating that both your Queen and Princess are expecting shortly. The Lady has blessed us for all of the trials we have faced.
"May she and the Lord guard and bless your festivities. With their blessings we shall all be reunited in this life after mid-summer with no more contests to our kingdom. Yet, if there is, I know that all of you will do everything in your powers to defend and support our kingdom and its rulers. Go maire tú agus go gcuire Dia an t-ádh ort!"
The crowds cheered and applauded, as did Jareth's family. With a flare he returned to his wife's side. Knowing that Sarah wanted to speak, he helped her to her feet. In the lull, she sent to him, ^Honey, what did you say at the end?^
^May you live long and may God put luck on you. Are you sure you feel like speaking? You don't have to.^ Jareth saw that his wife was a little pale.
^I'll be fine. I'm just afraid that I'll make some awful mistake.^ Sarah barely hid her wince from Jareth. She decided that she would talk with Morgan first chance she would have.
"As this is my first mid-summer celebration here in the Underground and in the Labyrinth, I have nothing that I can compare this to. But this is a celebration I am sure that I will never forget. Hopefully we will all be reunited once the festivals are over without any more battles between now and then." Sarah felt a wash of relief flood her body as the creatures of the Labyrinth and Goblin City began to cheer and applaud.
Molly and Nephrite too made similar speeches, but Sarah couldn't focus on anything past her abdomen. For the third time in an hour she was cramping, and she had felt a slight pressure in her belly. Given that she had never been pregnant before and all that she and this child had gone through, Sarah wasn't sure if this was normal for a Fae. She smiled up at her husband's worried look, relaxing him slightly … still she wondered how soon she could talk to Morgan.
The parade into the tunnels began with the tiny gnomes of the Labyrinth riding all sorts of animals. Sarah and Molly were both amazed by the gifts the groups' leader and his wife gave them both for their marriages and their unborn daughters.
For their weddings were wooden rings tied together with an intricate knot with leather straps on either side (they had been intended to be worn as gift for the brides from the gnomes, but with the swiftness of the announcement to the actual wedding the gifts were not completed until the prior night).
Both babies were given a tiny blanket (the size needed for a preemie or a small doll).
The came the junk people, who gave each couple something the King and Prince's grandfather had thrown out centuries before. To each lady was returned her old family crest from the time of the moon kingdom. To each of the men was returned a small portrait of their lost mother.
Each group brought gifts to the couple. The Fieries made both Sarah and Molly laugh as they rolled by on their heads! Molly whispered something to Sarah after the two four-headed door guards went past and Sarah shook her head in defeat.
^What is wrong, my Queen?^
Sarah looked up to see that Jareth's face showed that he was worried once again. ^Nothing is wrong. Molly simply pointed out something I should have seen when I was solving the Labyrinth.^
That had Jareth's curiosity. ^Oh? Do enlighten me.^
^Well, she pointed out that I should have known both door guards were lying since they agreed in their explanation to me when I asked how I could get out of that part of the Labyrinth.^ Sarah explained.
One by one the groups moved into the tunnels. The parade ended with three friends Sarah was grateful to at last have in her life full time – and they were at having her as their Queen. All three had managed to convince Jareth to let them come along to guard on the way, in case returning they all found that they would have to fight their way into the Labyrinth.
When Sarah agreed and added she would feel better for their chances with trio helping, Jareth agreed.
Once both couples threw a crystal at the opening, it shimmered until it looked like the rest of the Labyrinth. Two transports later they were on Avalon.
Sally rushed about getting things ready. She knew that Sarah's party would be tired enough from the drain on their energies, but even more so from the transport to the island. Plus, Sally wasn't sure but something felt wrong – and it had something to do with Sarah.
Once she was satisfied with the arrangements, Sally rushed out to meet Puck at the docks.
"Low, my beautiful bride joins me at last?" He chuckled as she curled into his arms.
Sally loved how it felt now that she was his wife. Every chance they had the pair was off cuddling and petting. She was surprised that she hadn't gotten knocked up yet, but Morgan had assured her that it was only a matter of time.
"Yeah, now that the final details are finished. I'm worried about Sarah. Something feels off, and it has me worried." To be honest, Sally was in a near panic.
"All is going as it should Princess Sally." Came a familiar voice behind the couple. Morgan had sensed Sally and Sarah's distresses and thoughts of visiting their favorite teacher. "Queen Sarah still has some time before her daughter will be born. Being here should strengthen her. But she will not birth her child until she is back in the Labyrinth."
Sally became visibly more at ease. More so when her eyes saw her best friend appear. "Sarah!"
"Hey Sally!"
The friends grabbed a hold of one another in a split second. Both of their husbands smiling at the sight they made. Yes it was out of protocol, but such matters were dropped between close friends.
Then Morgan stepped forward. "It is a good thing the Goblin Queen is so happy. I wouldn't want to see what would become of you Jareth if she weren't. I may not be her teacher anymore, but I still hold Sarah as one of my prized pupils."
"Sarah's happiness is my top priority, old friend." Jareth grinned as his wife curled back into his arms devotedly.
Morgan knew the pair was perfect for each other the moment Sarah first grabbed Jareth's attentions. She also knew that destiny had to play out as it did – for the sakes of all concerned. "Hello Princess Molly and Prince Nephrite. It is good to finally see you here for the celebrations, Nephrite. Though many single women who have not heard of your nuptials will be devastated that you are taken."
"If they have any doubts of that, I'll clear them up." Molly decreed as the others fought hard to keep from bursting out with laughter.
And then the alarms rang out. Instantly the trio surrounded the ladies of the Labyrinth, while Jareth, Nephrite, and Puck joined the others at the water.
Thankfully it was only a single boat with two frightened children on board. However the second Sarah and Sally saw the children and their worried expressions all was alert again. "Sally. It's Wendy and Mark!"
"And their upset big time!" Sally agreed as she rushed off to her husband's side.
At first her guards weren't going to let Sarah go. "Guys, it's okay now. Sally and I both know those kids."
"But, it could be a trap milady." Sir Didymus continued to stand in Sarah's way.
Hoggle too refused to budge. "It could be shape-shifters."
"Hoggle how would anyone from the underground know a couple of kids I worked with at Summer Camp two years ago? Not even you three know them." Sarah reasoned.
"Not … safe." Ludo too was defensive of his Queen.
Sally talked to both children once they were taken off of the ship. With a smile she let the kids cuddle in her arms for a moment and then called back to the trio. "It's safe. They just confirmed who they are. Only they, Sarah, and I would know the fact they just told me."
Begrudgingly the trio escorted Sarah down to the waterside. The second they saw her, both kids rushed into Sarah's arms crying.
In that moment Jareth saw that his wife was going to be an even better mother than he had previously thought. She let the children cling to her for safety and comfort as they slowly calmed down. She rubbed their backs, and rocked them slightly.
Once the kids calmed down, Mark went over to Sally and Wendy began explaining things to Sarah. Jareth disliked how upset it made his Queen.
"Jareth, I don't like what she's telling me. Something that is slimy, furry, covered in places with fish-like scales, with gray hair, glowing red eyes, all black, a mouth full of yellow fangs, claw like fingernails chased a group of deaf students who were on an overnight fieldtrip. The skiff appeared out of a fog when the creature had separated these two from the group who are hiding on the bus. Mark and Wendy jumped in and it brought them here."
Jareth, Nephrite, and Puck stiffened and growled. Morgan had her harsh face on, the one that scared both Sarah and Sally all through senior year. Whatever it was, both women (and even Molly) knew it was bad.
Hoggle gasped at Sarah's explanation. "Only one could fit that description."
"Grendal!" Ludo groaned fearfully.
Sarah instantly knew that name. "As in the villain from the Beowulf saga?"
"Exactly Queen Sarah." Morgan explained shortly.
Didymus growled. "That fiend! If he dares come near the Queen!"
"He won't." Sally declared unprompted.
Sarah's eyes glowed angrily, which frightened the children even more. So she forced herself to calm down. "And why is it you are so sure that I'm not going to take down this Grendal myself for scaring and maybe hurting the kids?"
"Number one – you are too weak right now to attack anyone. Number two – you have an island full of people who would stop you in a heartbeat. And most obviously number three – you are pregnant, not me." Sally counted off on her fingers.
But before Sarah could say a word, Puck butted in. "And what makes you think that I would let you go into this, my Sally?"
"Because I know sign language. And because these kids know me." Sally showed in her body language that she wasn't going to back down, not even from her husband.
"Sally …" Puck shook his head. When his wife felt she was needed, nothing could stop her.
"Please love. The kids might not trust you guys, but I know that they will trust me. And Sarah, who will be here for Mark and Wendy if the two of us both go?" Sally sighed.
Sarah groaned in response. "I just remember the stories humans have told for centuries. Jareth, I'm afraid. If he gets here or home …"
"He won't my Sarah. Avalon and our Labyrinth are safely withdrawn from the mortal world, and Grendal should be bound away as Beryl was. The only way he can get in is with help from the inside. Now please promise me that you will remain on Avalon while we go take care of this." Jareth was worried. He knew how stubborn and hardheaded his wife could get.
"Alright. Just be careful." Sarah hated to let him go without her, but their daughter was still a ways from being born. She wouldn't risk the angel they had fought so hard to regain from that she-demon Beryl.
Jareth smiled. He knew that Sarah would guard their unborn daughter rather than follow him. He looked over at the trio with his royal mask firmly in place, though they knew he was proud that the Queen had chosen so well in friends. He wondered what title he could give the three after the baby was born – no doubt their little Princess would call them her uncles in private at the least. "I doubt that I have to order the three of you to guard well your Queen and unborn Princess."
"No, you don't sire." Didymus answered for them all.
Jareth nodded at that. Sarah had chosen her friends very well indeed. He focused in on the babe in his wife's belly. How close they had come to losing her – but never again. "You be a good girl, Myrna. Let your mommy rest."
And with that he, Nephrite, Oberon, Puck, and Sally were off in the skiff.
After the trio insisted on her leaving the docks in case the worse of fates happened, Sarah took the kids deeper into the island. Mark and Wendy were excited. They had been told by Sarah and Sally all about Avalon, and were able to pick out certain features on their own.
Sarah took them to see the golden apple orchard (though the apples weren't ripe yet), the oak grove, the Tor, and then decided to rest by introducing them to the Fae Queen she knew Wendy adored.
"Queen Tatiana, I'd like you to meet Wendy and Mark." Sarah smiled as they came in sight of her friend – mostly because she was exhausted. She then smiled down on the children and signed Tatiana's introduction – predictably gaining wide-eyes and open mouths.
And then Tatiana knelt down and extended her arms to the two stunned deaf children. Wendy nearly knocked the woman down in her rush, but Avalon's Queen knew it was as all children looking at their heroes would act. After a beat, Mark did the same.
"They have much energy, Sarah. And please, outside of royal functions, simply use my given name."
Sarah smiled as the kids snuggled into the mythical Queen's arms. "Of course. Guess that I don't have to explain that they adore Avalon, and that Wendy adores you even more."
"No, you don't. They are without hearing then? Let's see what we can do about this – at least so long as they remain on Avalon's shores." Tatiana kissed each child's forehead and grinned as she rubbed their backs in the form of a magickal symbol. "Now, how is that little ones?"
Wendy and Mark almost seem to stop breathing for a moment – they were stunned. Tatiana smiled sweetly at them. "Yes, you may speak as clearly as we do, but only for as long as you visit this isle."
Then Sarah got one of the greatest gifts in her life. Wendy gasped in shock, "Ms. Sarah, I heard her! And I heard myself!"
"I hear you too, Wendy! This is so cool!" Mark shouted in his excitement.
Sarah smiled up at her friend. Tatiana simply smiled back with a soft nod. The kids went back to Sarah and snuggled into the embrace of the Goblin Queen. Wendy looked up at Sarah with soft blue eyes shimmering with love and joy. "Ms. Sarah, will you tell us a story?"
"And later sing us a song?" Mark to gave her dark brown pleading eyes.
Sarah knew they just wanted to hear her voice, and she wasn't going to disappoint these two. "Let's find a place to sit. I'll tell you about how I met my husband and what we went through to get to today."
For over an hour Sarah explained about how she and her stepmother didn't get along at first, how she had transferred her frustration and hate onto her little brother one night and wished him away to the Goblins. How Jareth had allowed her to try facing the Labyrinth for Toby, and how she had won. How not long after she realized what he had been saying at the end was the truth. How just before her graduation she found out that he, her friends from her quest, and Queen Morgan le Fay protected Sarah from danger.
How Sarah fell in love with Jareth and married him the day she graduated from high school. How she and he met their unborn daughter when an evil fake Queen stole the baby from Sarah's belly. And how Sarah's baby was due in three weeks.
Both kids applauded the story, and they weren't the only ones. While Sarah had been telling the story Sally and the men had returned.
"Jareth! Why didn't you tell me that all of you were back?" She blushed hotly in embarrassment.
He sat next to his glowing wife once Mark and Wendy rushed into Sally and Puck's arms. "You were telling the story so wonderfully, and I wouldn't want to barge into your time with the children you haven't seen in so very long."
Wendy and Mark were chuckling. Sally looked at them both in wonder and started to sign, but Sally interrupted her. "We can hear now Ms. Sally. Queen Tatiana said so."
"As long as we are on Avalon." Mark corrected.
Hearing the kids' voices stunned everyone but Sarah and Tatiana. Wendy gave the newest Princess of Avalon the sweetest puppy dog eyes ever. "Ms. Sally can we visit a little longer?"
"Yeah, we'd like to hear what happened with the monster." Mark added with his own look of please.
Sally smiled over at her mother-in-law with a new sense of appreciation and thankfulness. "I guess that would be alright."
Both kids cheered with joy.
Riding in the center of the skiff, Sally had never been so frightened in her life. But there were others who needed her right then. Inside she knew this was why she hadn't gotten pregnant yet, because she had to come into this battle.
Behind her was her strength and reason for living now. Puck was faithful, kind, loving, everything Sally had ever dreamed in a husband. And now he was seated very close to her on the skiff, protecting her from anything that dared to take his wife from his side.
In front of her, Sally easily saw that the Goblin King was tense and nervous. She wondered if he knew the stories she and Sarah had heard in high school. Well this certainly wasn't the time or place to discuss it. She only hoped that she knew what she had forced herself into.
Before they even got through the mists, she heard the kids' various pitched squeals of terror and screeching metal. Now Sally was beyond angry, as were the men before and behind her. No one was allowed to attack children when they could stop it.
The second the skiff docked they all got out and rushed towards the bus. The kids weren't the only ones to see them. Mark and Wendy's description was close. They forgot how it moved like an oil slick and stunk to high heaven! Sally stayed back from the men, waiting for an opening to get to the kids.
Jareth's magic brought up winds to blow away the noxious fumes the monster was creating. "Grendal! Those children are under our protection!"
"You're weak now, Goblin King. Even you are feeble, Prince Nephrite. You both will be easy to conquer!" Grendal's voice reminded Sally of metal crunching into metal. And his breath was actually worse than his body odor – as if that was physically possible. But then things went worse. "One of the pretty previously human brides. Yum, crunching into you will be fun and tasty too I'd bet."
"You will not touch my wife, Grendal." Puck growled and attacked.
Grendal pounced like a cat towards Sally, who was running for the bus signing for the kids to open the doors for her. Then a force he believed would be weakened – as promised – struck the monster.
"STARLIGHT ATTACK!"
"Impossible! You are weak now! You can't hurt me! Neither of you brats can hurt me!" Grendal groaned. Nephrite's attack had hit at his full force and then some.
Then a few friends walked out of the shadows, including their leader. "Guess that would have something to do with my being here, Grendal! I am Sailor Moon, the Champion of love and justice. And in the name of the Moon, I will guard those who cannot protect themselves from slimy smelly creeps – and that means you!"
"No, you're dead! Beryl removed you all!" Grendal slid back a few spaces.
Mars grinned as she stepped forward. "That was what she thought too. But we just keep getting right back up! In the name of Mars I will punish you!"
"NO! You were to be MINE!" Grendal growled and leapt towards Mars. But this group was ready for that.
"VENUS LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!"
"MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY!"
"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP CRASH!"
Mercury's water attack added to and empowered Jupiter and Venus' electric attacks. Feeling stronger and angry at the way this monster had upset Sarah, Jareth froze Grendal with a crystal and then courtly bowed before the Moon Princess and future Queen of all the Aboveground. "I believe that will help you, Sailor Moon."
Moon bowed her head as was expected of her. "Thank you King Jareth. Now to make sure this slime-ball knows to leave these kids alone! Huh?"
Before anyone could move, Grendal vanished. That worried Jareth. With his powers strengthened by the Moon Princess' presence, he contacted one of the guards on duty to discover terrible news. Conal had invaded his kingdom and was already probably sitting on his throne. But planning for the fight back home would wait, he saw there were several children smiling up at him. He raised an eyebrow at that. "Sally …"
She smiled as she glanced at little Heather, who spoke up for the others. /We know who you are./
"Is that so?" Jareth asked, thankfully Sally interpreted for him.
/Yes. You are Jareth the Goblin King. I remember from the picture in Ms. Sarah's book. Now I know why she love you so much, you are really cute./
Jareth gave the girl a smirk, and she giggled. "Well, I'm sure that my Queen will be in complete agreement with you."
Heather looked at him with an expression similar to one of those at the end of their long ago game. It unnerved Jareth – what if their daughter inherited that look from her mother? He would be in deep trouble. Heather walked right up to him without fear. /I didn't know that you have a Queen. It wasn't in the book./
"I was only recently married … to your Ms. Sarah." Jareth enjoyed the look of joy in Heather's eyes. /Ms. Sarah got her dream? Yay!/
Heather rushed off and told the news to the others, who got as excited as she was for their former daycare teacher. Alice went over and hugged Sally tight. /Missed you Ms. Sally./
"And I missed you guys too." Sally chuckled. /You look pretty, Ms. Sally. Just like a Princess./
Sally smiled up at her husband. Yes, she was a Princess … thanks to him. "That is because I am now – thanks to him."
Alice shied toward Sally as Puck came over. /Who is that, Ms. Sally?/
"My Prince and husband. Alice this is Puck." Sally chuckled as Alice's face shot into recognition. /Like in the play you were in? He's cuter than the other guy!/
Sally and Puck both chuckled at that. "I agree, and he is much more a gentleman."
Nathan rushed over to Sally excitedly. /Where did you come from?/
"From Avalon." She loved the look of shock in the little boy's face.
Sally looked over and saw that a large part of the group were hugging and basically mobbing the Scouts and Tuxedo Mask. But then she also noticed how serious Jareth's face was as he spoke to the group, a look that spread onto their faces as they all nodded. Something was very wrong.
Nathan tugged on Sally's dress to get her attention. /Can we go with you to Avalon? Please?/
Most of the kids echoed in with his begging. Sally looked over at Oberon, who smiled and nodded. "Fine. But, best behavior … all of you!"
Sarah gave them all a look of suspicion. "Then where is the munchkin patrol, as Sally and I call them?"
"HI MS. SARAH!!!" Came from a chorus of little voices.
Sarah instantly had tears in her eyes as the group swarmed around her. She was hugged and kissed and loved as they always did to her. Jareth saw again that his love was going to be a wonderful mother. He also knew that the children were willing power from themselves into Sarah so she would be stronger. Once she picked up on it, Sarah put a stop to it. "Okay you guys, crisscross applesauce."
The adults (except Sally) looked at Sarah strangely, that was until all of the kids sat around her with their legs crossed. She shrugged her shoulders with an innocent look on her face. "It always worked before."
She told them stories, sang a few songs (to her husband and friends delight), and took the group on a tour of the island similar to the one that Wendy and Mark had gotten earlier. Yet all good things do have to end sometime.
Sarah this time accompanied the group back to the campsite Aboveground. Once the men finished casting spells to protect the children, she and the ladies and the kids got out of the skiff. Slowly she tucked in each child, and she and Sally said their goodnights and goodbyes to the little angels in sign – as the spell that had given the group of their former daycare students the ability to talk and hear wore off the moment they exited the skiff. One last glance back at the sleeping children and she returned to her life as a Queen, and the Solstice celebrations.
In the Artic …
Queen Beryl's former base on Earth was worn and crumbling from being empty for so very long. In a storage room a man saw as the room slowly came apart around him. Yet, he could do nothing to save himself. He was still imprisoned in a crystal.
Jadeite had thought that eternal sleep meant not knowing what was happening around him. Unfortunately, what really happened was that he never really slept. He was frozen in time. All he could see was in front of him. He couldn't feel, or breathe, or move, or even hear. Something had happened in his peripheral vision some time before, but what he never found out. He wished Beryl, rather than this, had killed him.
Suddenly some of the ceiling above him collapsed onto his prison, cracking the crystal deeply. He was stunned. For a moment he felt a shifting around him. When his crystal slid and crashed on the floor, causing another couple of cracks … making more vibrations stimulate Jadeite's body. It gave the former Negaverse General hope for the first time in far too long.
Slowly he built up his remaining magic. He had enough for just one blast – this had to work. Hard as he could he send the blast outwards, and felt … his world opened from the cramped tight crystal to the outside world. How long had he been trapped? It felt like he was just born. Jadeite curled up and rocked himself. His senses were all weak, so he had no idea what was happening around him at that moment.
A very few youmas were left after the defeat at the hands of Sailor Moon. All were weak, and all had seen their Queen escape her rightful death to only leave them behind. Soon they would perish, and for nothing at all.
"Master Jadeite never would have left us behind as she has." The highest-ranking youma growled in he frustration.
The youngest and frailest of them took pity on their good Master. "He will perish soon … he's too weak from freeing himself, and the elements are chilling his flesh to the bone."
Yet there were those who trusted none but their own kind. "Let him. We'll die if we help him at all."
The young one accepted her fate. "It would be a better thing to die knowing I had helped rather than destroyed."
Before any of the rest could stop her, the young youma (who had always adored and respected Jadeite) gave him all of the little energy she had and collapsed beside him. It straightened out all of Jadeite's senses and gave him the strength to get up and move. He saw the young one laying beside him, and instantly understood what had happened. "Why did you do this?"
"You needed me. I would have perished before long anyway. Better that you survive, and I do good for once in my long existence, than to die without ever doing right in this life. Farewell my Master." The youth smiled gently and exhaled for the last time as her eyes rolled back and she gave up her life force.
Jadeite was touched that one so young had put his life above her own. Such was never known to happen in the Negaverse. He saw how young she had been … meaning that she hadn't been as polluted by their ways as the majority. He saw another young one he remembered giving to his favorite student was weeping not far from him. "Why are you crying?" He snapped at her.
"My master is still trapped. I'd give my life too … if it would save him from this awful fate." She wept.
No, not Tanzanite! Jadeite had ordered him to hide himself among the other minions and not risk Beryl's wrath if he himself failed in his mission. But Jadeite slowly and painfully stood and made his way over to the youma to see it was true – his student … closer to his own son than anything else … Tanzanite. "What happened to him?"
"While Beryl was watching Sailor Moon come for the last battle, he was certain that she would not feel him go to free you from your prison. He was wrong … she roared that if he wanted to be like you so much that he could share your fate. She did this to him!" The young youma collapsed into harder sobs.
Tanzanite had been trying to free him? Foolish boy … he still held his loyalty to his teacher higher than Beryl. And this was what that loyalty gave him. Jadeite knew that the boy could see him, and he felt the boy give up his hope of freedom because of his teacher's disapproving look.
Jadeite shook his head and look at the crying youma at his feet. "Do you truly wish to free your Master?"
"Yes." The young youmas sighed with determination and held out both of her hands. Jadeite took them both into his left hand and drained her enough to shatter the crystal.
Tanzanite collapsed into his beloved teacher's arm, and the young youma collapsed against Jadeite's leg. Her Master was free at last! Tears of joy poured down her face. "Master!"
Jadeite laid Tanzanite on the ground and then fell unconscious beside him. Neither had the strength needed to survive. Yet, their bonds as friends, teacher/student, and truly father/son turned their hearts. None of them would survive for more than a few weeks. Yet, they knew that their memory would survive in their Masters minds and hearts if they sacrificed themselves for the pair. One by one each gave whatever they had – which was really very little, but enough to wake the two. With a goodbye from their lips in unison, they all vanished into whatever laid beyond the veil for their kind.
Jadeite and Tanzanite were stunned by this burst of generosity. Something had to have poisoned the youma while they were trapped … that was it.
I took over an hour for them to recover enough to get away from the Artic in one transport … but Jadeite was certain that was as far as they could go. Where they would end up was uncertain at best. They combined their limited power and left the long forgotten base. They ended up on top of a small mountain. But they were so weak that they both collapsed and started rolling down the slope. Hitting trees, being scraped by brush and stones, all the time unable to stop themselves. In the end the fell from a cliff edge down six feet to a flat plateau and finally came to rest. That was all that they knew.
***
"Alicianne! What is going on out there?" Ekaterina called out from the kitchen. It sounded like part of the mountain had crashed into their back yard.
"I'm not too sure." the brunette said, gazing at her sister in worry. She had hoped that they would have a peaceful day, but it was not to be.
The younger sister had been relaxing in the den while her sister finished making dinner. The open window like area between the rooms made it easy to see that her elder sister was worried. Without saying a word, both went to the back door and outside to a strange sight.
Walking out back they saw traces of blood, or at least, it seemed to be blood but it was green! And when they saw the two frail bodies, the sisters couldn't help but feel concerned for them both. Then they saw that the bodies were two handsome men. Men who took their hearts without a single word.