ass if I didn't finish it and to Blair, whose email made me realize that people actually
read this thing. Feedback's the only thing that keeps me writing. Email me, people.
@-}-} @-}-} @-}-} @-}-} @-}-}
The flood of memories halted abruptly
and Venus gasped in shock.
She was still staring into those amber
eyes and her body began to tremble
as she placed a name to those eyes. Nikko.
Beloved. Traitor!
Oddly enough, it was Mercury who
reacted first, lunging for the man
standing to Nikko's right.
"Damn you. Damn you! You promised! You
were supposed to be there. You
said you'd always be there! You said you'd
stand by my side! Liar! You left
me to die!"
She swung back and slapped him soundly
across his face. He didn't evade
the slap although Venus had no doubt that
he could. The sound cracked through
the charged air. Tears streaked down Mercury's
face and her chest began to heave
in big sobs. In a detached part of her
mind, Venus thought that the fact Mercury,
out of all of them, was reacting so badly
to this made perfect sense. After all,
Amy never had the casual crushes. Her
intelligence always set her apart from
the other girls so it was extremely difficult
for her to connect with a decent guy.
Love was the one dream she kept close
to her heart. Now Mercury discovered that the
one man she ever loved, in all her lifetimes,
had betrayed her. Venus could relate.
Sailor Moon crossed over to Mercury
and gathered her into a comforting hug.
She stared at the General over Mercury's
shoulder. His hair was the same color as
Darien's, but this man's eyes were more
of a bluish-green. Like the color of the ocean.
She fished a name out of her memories
to put to the face. Mizu. The man met her gaze
with a beseeching stare. Moon looked away
at the other Generals standing there, naming
them as she went. Kaze was still kneeling
on the ground, watching Jupiter. Nikko was
standing on Mizu's left, locking eyes
with Venus. Mars was staring at the man on Nikko's
left, Kaji. Wind, Light, Fire, and, swinging
her eyes back to Mizu, Moon added Water to the list.
The perfect matches to her Senshi. The
Senshi's soulmates. The men who left them to die.
Sailor Moon's eyes hardened as she looked
down at her weeping friend. Turning that
fierce gaze to the Generals, she said,
"State your business with us."
Nikko tore his eyes away from Venus and answered her.
"We've been looking for you."
"Why?" Sailor Moon's tone was steel.
"Because we meant to be there."
Jupiter angrily stepped forward.
"What, did you lose your invitation?
Get lost on the way and your male pride
wouldn't let you ask for directions?"
Kaze weakly got to his feet. There
were scratches on his face from where Jupiter's
oak leaves had cut him. His eyes were
dark, the color of frozen silver.
"No. We were on our way from Earth
when we got caught in the crossfire."
Mercury finally pulled herself together
and released Moon. Still not looking at
the Generals, she walked back to the other
Senshi. Moon followed, her pigtails swaying
slowly. She stopped in front of them and
the Senshi fell back, forming a loose line
behind her. The Generals unconsciously
reacted to this, forming a line of their own.
There was a gap in the middle, a place
for their Prince. Unfortunately for them, the
Prince was stuck in a Physics lab.
They would have to deal with the Moon Princess on
their own. She met Nikko's gaze again
and demanded, "Explain."
Nikko sighed and ran a hand through his
hair, a familiar gesture that caught at Venus's
heart. His eyes seemed weary with
a touch of sadness.
"You'd have to come with us so we could show you."
Venus spoke for the first time. "No. We're not going anywhere with you."
Her voice was flat and emotionless. Pain
flashed in his eyes and then vanished as quickly
as it came. He took a step forward and
the Senshi automatically assumed a defensive stance
around the Princess. The Generals' faces
reflected their shock. Mizu spoke, "You must know we could never
hurt you. Any of you."
It was Mercury who responded, bitterness
coating her voice.
"So you'd let someone else do the
dirty work for you? Actions speak louder than
words."
Before any of the Generals could reply, Sailor Moon spoke again, "Where would you be taking us?"
Nikko responded, "Our ship. We have
documentation to prove our stories. It's a complicated story
and some visual aids might ease the telling
of it."
Sailor Moon cocked her head to one side
as she considered the matter. Finally, she said,
"Return here tomorrow at four o'clock.
We will confer and give you our answer then.
Until that time, you will all stay away
from the Senshi, myself, and Darien. Is that clear?"
"Yes. We will respect your wishes."
The Generals each gave a short bow, locking
eyes with their Lady one last time. Then,
suddenly, they vanished.
Jupiter immediately turned on Sailor
Moon.
"Why the hell did you tell them
to come back? I don't want to EVER see that TRAITOR
AGAIN!"
Serena de-transformed and replied,
"Calm down, Lita. I was there too, remember? At least you were all gone
before I died! I had to feel you leave me, hear your screams! And then
Endymion...she was taking him
right before my eyes!"
Tears began to
flow down her face as the newly awakened memories danced through her
mind.
"I'm angry at
them too, and God knows how Darien's going to feel...but maybe
they do have an explanation. Before...before
the end, they were loyal. I owe them
the chance to explain."
"Is that your Royal Decree, Princess?"
Serena's eyes flashed at Venus. Out
of the corner of her eye, she could see Mercury
and Jupiter de-transforming. She spoke
to Venus, "No one said you have to go, Mina. I'm sure Darien will
go with me. It's your right to choose."
Venus rolled her eyes.
"Such a noble Princess. So forgiving."
"Damn it, Mina, stop being such an
ass! What, do you think I couldn't possibly
know how you feel? Darien tried to kill
me, remember? The Generals may have disappeared,
but at least they didn't attack you themselves!
At least you didn't have to watch
the man you love try desperately to destroy
you! For another woman!"
Serena's eyes closed for a moment
and she shuddered. She could practically
feel Darien's hands around her throat
again, squeezing tightly. The look in his eyes,
it had almost been delight as he watched
her struggle for breath. Opening her eyes
again, she continued on her tirade.
"Yes, I forgave him! How could I
not? He was brainwashed by the Negaverse and
what he put himself through when he remembered
was worse than any punishment I could've
dish out. Most importantly, I forgave
him because I love him! Because without him, I'm
missing a part of myself."
The words hung in the air for a moment.
Serena went on, a bit more quietly.
"You loved them. You all loved them.
I may have been wrapped up in Endymion,
but I could still see how much in love
you were. And they loved you. With everything
within them. Are you really going to throw
that away over something that may not
have been their fault?"
Serena waited, but her Senshi seemed too
stunned to reply. Sighing, she said softly,
"I'm going to go find Darien at
the college and let him know what's going
on. I'll call you tonight."
She turned and walked down the Temple
steps, for once not tripping at all.
The girls stared at her as she left, their
minds still reeling.
Darien rushed out of his Physics
lab, intent on finding Serena. Something had
happened this afternoon, he could feel
it. Suddenly, he heard someone call his name
and he whirled around. Serena hurried
up to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him off
the Quad. He followed her silently, guessing
it must be Senshi business. They stopped
when they were standing in a little shaded
corner, the trees blocking them from the
people passing. She let go of his arm
and backed away a few steps. He watched her
carefully.
"Serena, what is it?"
Her blue eyes were concerned as she looked
at him. She flicked her gaze away for a
moment as she breathed deeply and then
looked at him again.
"The Generals are back."
Alarm began coursing through him.
"Beryl's Generals? I thought you-"
She was shaking her head.
"No, Darien, not her Generals. Yours."
He looked at her, confused, but she raised
a gentle hand and laid it on his cheek.
He stared down into her eyes and then,
then he remembered.
A lifetime of memories flashed through
his eyes and she watched as he
remembered. She was still feeling disoriented
from her own remembrance. It was hard
to tell where Serena began and Serenity
left off. He gave a jerk when the flow
stopped and he took a moment to sort them
all out. Finally, he leaned down and kissed
her with all the passion that had laid
dormant for the last thousand years. Tears
leaked from his eyes and trailed down
his cheeks. She delicately wiped them away,
never breaking the kiss. Finally, Darien
pulled away slightly, resting his forehead against
Serena's. He asked in a hoarse voice.
"What are we going to do?"
She whispered back.
"Find out why."
The Scouts remained motionless long
after Serena had disappeared from sight,
each weighted down by their own thoughts.
Finally there was a bright flash of golden light
as Venus de-transformed. Only Mars still
stood there in her fuku. She looked at the others,
opened her mouth to speak, and then closed
it again. She simply shook her head and leapt
away. Mina watched her go. Already those
men were bringing disunity to the Scouts. How
could Serena invite them back? Still,
it was her duty to be there, to protect her Princess.
She was startled out of her thoughts,
when Amy said flatly, "We have to go."
Mina nodded.
"I was just thinking that. We have
be there for Serena."
Lita indicated her assent. Silence fell
again until Lita said softly,
"Do you think she might be right?
Serena, I mean? That we should forgive them?"
Amy spoke again in that same lifeless tone.
"He promised me. And he wasn't there.
That equates betrayal in my book."
Lita replied, "But what if she was right? They loved us. Maybe they didn't mean to-"
Amy's voice sliced through Lita.
"How many bruises did Kaze give
you? How many times did I have to patch you up after
one of your 'training' exercises? For
God's Sake, Lita, you fell down the side of a mountain
because of him."
Amy's steel gaze swung over to Mina.
"How many times did Nikko cancel
plans because he had some vitally important
matters to take of? How many times did
he leave you standing on the ballroom floor because
he was called away on urgent business?"
Mina dropped her eyes and Amy looked up
at the sky, tears thick in her voice.
"We talked about books, art, plays,
everything, he and I. Maybe that's what tripped me
up. When he told me he loved me, I assumed
the words were enough. I didn't check to see if the
emotion was behind it."
She glared at the other girls again.
"I'll go to be there for Serena.
But I'll be damned if I let him in again."
Her words hung in the stillness of the
air. When no reply was forthcoming, Amy strode angrily away.
Lita watched her go and then asked, "Mina,
what do you think?"
Mina sighed before answering.
"When I looked at him, just now,
my entire body strained for his. All I wanted was to
feel his arms around me again. It was
like I found the missing part of my soul. But I kept thinking,
if I need him this much, if he's really
part of me, how can he not feel the same way? And if he
does, how could he leave me alone for
all those years?"
She rubbed her arm across her eyes awkwardly
as she said,
"If he does have an excuse, a reason,
it would have to be a very good one. A very good
one. Look at him, at all of them. They
already have us fighting with Serena, with each other. And
there are just so many unanswered questions.
I really don't know. I just don't know."
Lita didn't say anything. Mina turned to
go, but paused. Turning back, she said softly,
"But, just between us, admist all
the confusion, there's a tiny kernel of hope."
Lita couldn't help the smile. It spread
across her face, and lightened the deep green of her eyes.
Mina gave an answering smile and walked
away. Lita was left alone at the top of the temple
stairs, watching the sunset, a gentle
wind caressing her face. A single day had gone by and
with its end, everything that she held
to be truth was in turmoil. And yet, yet despite all the
confusion, there was hope.