Kevin
kissed Zoe's neck as they watched Jason and Nick chasing around a three and a
half year old girl. At nineteen the two
of them were living in Japan. Since
they had found each other at fifteen and regained all of their old memories and
skills they had capitalised
on them to build themselves a base for the future. Before being joined by Zoe the three boys had been part of an
accelerated learning program hosted by their school. When Zoe, who had been participating in a similar course in her
old school, had joined them they had teamed up to finish high school nearly two
years ahead of schedule. After he had
graduated Kevin had continued the education he been undergoing at training
courses in security and management, such as the one he had met Zoe at. He
was currently employed as a trainee at TekSek, a firm that specialised in corporate
espionage and providing professionals who could deal with it.
Zoe herself was studying technology and
computer systems supported by a scholarship that was funded by the same
company. Nick was halfway through the
apprenticeship that would make him a chef but, aware that he would need extra
training so he could attend to his duties, he also attended several training
courses recommended to him by Kevin. Jason was the one who had surprised them all. He had gone from a joker to a businessman in a little over six
months. He had completed a business
degree and, with his stepfather's aid, acquired a promising position in a
multinational corporation that dealt in things from computer chips to potato
chips.
Four years before none of them would have
thought that they'd end up in Japan but when Nick's ability to read the stars
had finally matured they had pointed him to Tokyo. As both Kevin and Zoe had had offers for both employment and
training there the pair had moved into a small flat together. Several months later neither were any closer
to discovering why it had been so important in Tokyo. Then Nick and Jase had turned up on their doorstep, knowing
nothing more than that they were needed there. That very day while Kevin and Zoe were showing their friends around the
city they had stopped for lunch in the city park. While the others were finishing their food Jason had caught a
flash of gold out of the corner of his eye. He had turned to see a toddler wandering on to the road. As his friends had watched in horror, Jason
had yelled and reached the child barely in time to get her away from the bus
that would have killed her.
Like the reborn Guard, the girl's worried
parents had been alerted to her danger by the blonde man's yell. As her parents reclaimed her and his friends
crowded around them, a brilliant golden crescent glowed for a moment on the
child's forehead. The four stopped
babbling for an instant, speechless but a quick glance at the young couple
fussing over the child showed that they had not seen it. That was how they'd met Bunny. Her real name was Serena Tsukino, she'd been
the eighteen-month-old daughter of Ilene and Kenji Tsukino and the brilliant
crescent moon insignia that only the Guard could see told them that she was
also the girl they had been searching for.
Jason's action had quickly gained the gratitude
of the parents and, never one to let an opportunity pass, he had quickly
charmed the couple. By the time both
Jason and Nick had had to return home all four warriors were fast friends with
the young couple. Ever since both Kevin
and Zoe had served as eager baby-sitters, joined by Jason and Nick on their
frequent visits.
As Kevin and Zoe watched on, Jase and Nick
played tag with the energetic and sunny girl. She had grown to be both fast and cheerful, though slightly clumsy, and
her long golden hair was twined with the roses they'd helped her pick. As they both watched the girl stumbled again
to be quickly caught by the pursuing Nick. Behind the couple a feminine sigh sounded and both Kevin and Zoe turned
to face Ilene. The woman saw their look
and smiled patting her swollen abdomen.
"I was just hoping that this little one doesn't
have as much trouble staying upright at that age as Bunny does." she laughed.
Kevin winked at her and Zoe grinned while
saying, "Maybe your little Moon Bunny just finds the gravity on Earth a little
difficult to deal with."
As the
two women chuckled Kevin looked back to the rampaging trio. Nick was carrying Bunny on his back and both
were chasing after Jason at full speed. Gales of childish laughter mixed with the deeper guffaws of her adult
playmates rang out around the park. The
thought that the gravity on Earth might be the cause of the girl's awkwardness
seemed strangely apt. Bunny looked like
she was delicate enough to break if she was so much as touched. At times she seemed so ethereal, as if she
would just blow away.
Suddenly Ilene gasped behind him and Kevin
whirled. He saw Ilene leaning over in
pain with Zoe hovering at her side anxiously. Zoe looked up at him and mouthed, "It's time!"
Kevin's eyes widened in shock and he whipped
around and started to sprint across to the ice-cream stand where Kenji Tsukino
was buying several cones. The young man
looked up in astonishment to see his reserved friend in such a state. When he saw that he the expectant father's
attention Kevin began to point frantically back to where Ilene stood now
attended by Jase, Nick and her daughter as well. Kenji understood after a moment's pause and then he instantly
shoved his ice creams back into the vendor's hands and shot off across the
grass to return to his wife.
The vendor scowled at Kevin, and Kevin sighed
ruefully as he paid for the forgotten ice creams and collected them. He carried them carefully back to the
gathering where he gave the smallest one to Bunny and distributed the others to
his friend, giving two to both Nick and Jase after correctly assuming that
neither Kenji nor Ilene still wanted theirs. The pair were trying to pack everything and Zoe was hurrying to
help.
Kevin placed his hand on the flustered
husband's shoulder and said calmly, "Don't worry Ken, we'll grab it all and
take care of the angel as well. She can
stay with us for the night, or even the next couple of days if you wish. You just get Leenie to the hospital."
The man nodded gratefully and hustled his wife
in the direction of their car. The
little girl and four adults watched them go and Jase yelled out, "Don't forget
to ring us to tell us how it goes!"
Kevin stole Jase's extra cone and took a bite
out of the melting treat as he sat down. Bunny climbed into his lap, leaving sticky handprints in her wake, and
made herself comfortable before returning to finish off her melting
ice-cream. Zoe, Nick and Jase laughed
at the mess the girl was making of the normally immaculate silver haired
warrior.
Zoe dug around in the bag of kid's stuff the
Tsukinos had left and found some damp wipes. She began to clean up a protesting Bunny.
Bunny began to squirm in his lap and Kevin
rubbed her shoulder, "Hush now Angel, you're going to be a big sister now. That means you're going to have to be a big
girl to help mum out and keep yourself clean.
"I'm a big girl, see?" the blonde cherub
stopped fussing and sat perfectly still as Zoe finished wiping the last of the
ice-cream of the child's face. As soon
as Zoe moved back Bunny twisted and looked up at Kevin, "See, I'm gonna be the
bestest big sister ever!"
"Yeah you are Angel," Kevin smiled down at her.
"What about you? Are you a big boy?" Bunny asked.
Kevin looked at her in confusion, "I guess so,
why?"
"Cause then you gotta let Zoie clean you
up! You got ice-cream all over you!"
Kevin laughingly submitted as Zoe grabbed
another damp wipe and began to mop at his face.
***
Two
hours later the four were quietly packing the small girl and all the picnic
things into their car. Jase and Nick
hopped in the back with Bunny sleeping in Jase's lap. As Kevin slipped behind he wheel Jase's mobile rang. Zoe picked the phone off of the dash where
it had been left earlier and answered.
"Hi this is Zoe at Guardian babysitters, how
can I help you?" Behind her Jason
choked and Nick chuckled. Kevin looked
at her cheerfully only to have his good mood disappear as her face paled.
"Yeah I'm her... Oh... Oh no!... What... Yeah we'll be right there... thank you," she hung up the phone and
motioned for Kevin to start up the car, "We've got to hurry, there's been an
accident-"
"Where to?" Kevin questioned as he pulled out
of the parking lot.
"What happened?" Nick and Jase said
simultaneously.
"Juuban General. There was an accident, Ken's dead and Leenie's lost the baby...
and we might lose her as well."
Kevin pressed down a little harder on the
accelerator and none of them spoke as he rushed through the traffic with an
ease that had to be arcane. Fifteen
minutes later they pulled into the hospital car park and all rushed out. Bunny had woken five minutes before and
though she had sensed the tension in the car she had not become difficult. Jason swung her onto his hip and the group
quickly entered the hospital and was directed to the critical care unit. A tall pale doctor awaited them and ushered
them along the hall.
"I'm Doctor Peter Fitzpatrick. I'm glad you made it so quickly, I'm afraid
she's not going to last much longer and she's been asking for all of you since
she came in."
"What happened?" Nick demanded softly.
"Some idiot decided to go for a joy ride in a
stolen car with over half a bottle of vodka in him. He ran the Tsukinos right off the road, along with another
car. Mr. Tsukino died immediately but
Mrs. Tsukino's injuries, though just as fatal, were less immediate. In fact the miscarriage damaged her more
than the accident did," the doctor stopped beside a closed door and turned to
them, "Normally we would only allow close kin see her but she's explained her
circumstances and we've made an exception. She doesn't look too bad so it should be OK for her daughter to see her
but be careful and don't upset her."
They stepped into room as the doctor opened the
door for them, shutting it gently when they were all inside. There was a single bed in the room and Ilene
Tsukino lay on it looking very frail and white. On the other side of the bed a nurse was standing with a man in a
business suit talking softly to the dying woman. When her friends began to ring around her bed and Jase carefully
placed Bunny next to her, Ilene looked up at them with red-rimmed eyes. One of her hands moved slowly to rest on her
daughter then she turned her attention back to Kevin and his friends.
"Thank you for coming," she whispered.
"It was no problem Leenie," Zoe murmured softly
touching the woman's hand. The men nodded
in grim agreement and Ilene smile halfheartedly.
"I'm afraid I have something to ask of you..."
"Anything," Jason swore.
"You know that neither I nor... Ken had any
relatives. That means there is no one
to take care of Serena when I'm gone. She'll go to an orphanage unless-"
"Never!" Jason blurted.
"He's right Leenie. We would never let that happen to our Angel."
"You mean that?" Ilene breathed and the four of
them nodded emphatically, "Thank you... oh thank you, you have no idea how much
this means to me... This is Paul Fitzpatrick, he's the brother of Doctor
Fitzpatrick and he's going to witness my handing legal guardianship of Serena
over to you. He'll organise all the paperwork
and everything for you."
The suited man cleared his throat and added
sympathetically, "All I'll need is for you to formally state in front of my
brother, Nurse Greenly and myself that you accept joint guardianship with all
the rights and responsibilities that accompany it. It will take me only a couple of minutes to write up a written
statement and have you all sign it but lets do it all verbally first."
Kevin and his friends nodded. "We will take full responsibility for
Serenity Tsukino," Kevin stated clearly.
"Don't worry, Leenie, we'll never abandon
her. We'll watch over her for as long
as we live," Jase swore softly.
Ilene closed her eye, tension leeching out of
her face. When she opened her eyes
again she looked to where her daughter lay besides her. "Did you here that Bunny? Kevin, Zoie, Nicky and Jase are going to be
taking care of you now," she whispered softly.
The little girl sat up and looked down at her
mother, "Great! ... But what about you
and Daddy Momma? Are you coming with
us? And the baby, I'm going to be a big
sister remember?"
Ilene's eyes began to tear up and she weakly
lifted one hand to cup Bunny's cheek, "Oh Bunny I love you and your Daddy does
too but I have to go away."
"Where?" the childish voice demanded.
"To heaven. Your little brother and daddy have already gone there and I'll be
joining them soon."
"When will you be coming back?"
"I can't..."
"Not ever?" the girl's voice lowered and began
to tremble.
"Not ever, I'm so sorry Bunny." Ilene sobbed.
"Why can't I come with you? I wanna go!" Bunny cried loudly.
Ilene began to shake as her tears intensified
and Jason answered for her.
"But what about us Angel? Will you leave us all alone? You're our Guardian Angel Bunny, who's going
to save us if you're gone?"
"I... I am?" she hiccupped.
"Yeah," Nick added, kneeling beside the bed so
he could look her in the eyes, "With out you we don't know what we'll do."
"We need you Angel," Zoie whispered and Bunny
threw herself off of the bed and into their arms. Zoe caught her deftly and hugged her to herself tightly.
The girl having been soothed the adults began
the process of legally transferring her custody. They all talked softly and quickly, hoping to finish it as fast
as possible. Ilene began to dictate her
will, the old one no longer applying to the circumstances. Paul Fitzpatrick was in a frenzy trying to
get everything down on paper as both dying woman and Guard discussed the little
girl's future.
Bunny quickly bored of it and squirmed in Zoe's
arms. She excused himself and led her
out of the room towards a vending machine. Bunny was gently placed onto the ground and Zoe selected some sweets
that would occupy her. A noise coming
from down the corridor attracted her attention and she began to wander
off. At that moment a man approached
Zoe and, mistaking her for a nurse, began to demand immediate service. He wouldn't give the grieving general time
to correct his assumption and so she didn't notice as Bunny crept into a room
several doors down.
Bunny entered the room slowly while she looked
around for the source of the noise. When she examined the bed she could see a small boy a couple of years
older than her sobbing into his pillow. She bit her lip and padded across the room until she could reach out to
touch the boy's hand. At the strange
touch the boy started and jerked up. Dark indigo eyes, puffy from crying, met sad crystal blue ones.
The boy sniffed and dragged his unruly black
hair back from his face to reveal a bandage around his forehead. "Wha... what do you want?" he questioned in
a cold voice.
"Why are you crying?" she replied shyly.
"Cause my dad is dead. Some stupid car hit us and killed my dad."
"My Daddy's gone too," she said as she used a
nearby chair to climb onto the bed. When she'd gotten there she hugged the boy, "My Momma said that he'd
gone to heaven with my little brother."
Hesitating slightly he hugged her back, "I
forget what happened. The doctors say I
have 'nesia. Momma told me that he was
dead but I don't remember. I don't even
remember what Dad looked like." As he
said this his eyes began to water again.
Bunny's arms tightened for a second before she
wiggled out of his arms. She began to
fiddle with her hair and he watched she untangled the forgotten roses from her
pony tales. She handed the still fresh
blooms to the boy who took them in surprise.
"Don't worry you'll remember. And I bet your Momma has a lot of pictures
that'll show you what he looked like. These roses will cheer you up."
"Thank you." he whispered, accepting the
flowers carefully.
Zoe followed the sound of children's voices to
the open door. Looking in she was
relieved to see Bunny sitting on the single bed in the room with a black haired
boy of about six. As she watched Bunny
pulled the flowers out of her hair and gave them to the boy. Zoe smiled and both children looked to the
door. Dark blue eyes met her own and
Zoe gasped in recognition. In her
experience those eyes were unique.
"Endymion," she breathed.
"Do I know you?" the boy asked.
"... No, I'm just after your friend here, come
on Angel it's time to go."
The girl nodded and before climbing off of the
bed she hugged the boy a last time. As
Zoe started to lead her out of the room Bunny turned and smiled at the other
child.
"Don't worry, everything'll turn out OK. Bye!"
"Bye..." he trailed off, his face beginning to
brighten.
Zoe smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, you'll
meet again, you can count on it." His
sudden, brilliant smile stayed in her mind as she shut the door behind them.
***
Pluto watched the little girl and the woman walking
down the hall with interest. For some
reason she could have sworn that she'd met them before. She shrugged the feeling off and walked into
the room. Six-year-old Darien Chiba
looked up from the bunch of flowers he was studying.
"Oh, hi Setsuna," he greeted her, if not
cheerfully, then not with the gloom she had expected.
"Hi Dare, you remember me? You mother said you might have lost a few of
your memories because of the bump on your head."
"Yeah, you're Momma's friend Setsuna
Meiou. You make clothes."
"That's right... what have you got there?" she
replied, relieved that the boy's memory loss seemed to be minimal.
He looked down at the flowers and when he
looked back at her shone her a bright smile, "Roses see?" and he held them out
to her.
She bent forward to smell them, inhaling their
sweet scent in gratitude. She thanked
Chronos that the accident had not been worse. The death of Terrence Chiba was tragic but it could so easily have been
worse. It was Darien's sixth birthday
and the only reason that Cassie Chiba hadn't been driving with her husband and
son was that she and Setsuna had been baking a cake. Darien could easily have been orphaned that day or have received
total amnesia, both occurrences Setsuna as Sailor Pluto wouldn't have been able
to change. As she watched the boy
smiling over his roses she deliberately refused to even consider the
possibility that Darien might have died. He was too important and not even the Guardian of Time could change the
past.
***
The weather suited the occasion, a constant
drizzle soaking the mourners who had come to attend the Tsukinos' funeral. The priest watched as the mourners began to
disperse, all except for the woman and three men with the little blonde
girl. They stood gazing at the single
tombstone that marked the three graves. Their murmuring voices roused the man's curiosity but he honoured their privacy and
left them to mourn in peace. If he had
decided to stay he would have seen something his faith would have classified as
a miracle.
Nick watched as the priest walked off before he
looked at the tombstone again. It was a
simple affair with three plaques recording the names and dates and an
inscription at the top. He crouched
down on Bunny's left, as Jason did on her right, and pointed to the
inscription.
"It says, 'the light they have given to the
world will bring us all hope,'" he quoted to the child.
"What does it mean?" she whispered back.
From behind the trio Kevin answered, "It means
they had you for a daughter,"
She craned her neck around so that she could
see him where he stood with Zoe, "I don't get it,"
Kevin looked at his fellow generals, one by
one. Ever since they had met Bunny they
had debated the way they would tell her of their past, of the future and of her
destiny. They had no wish to rob her of
her childhood but she would need to prepare, to be trained and that would have
to begin early. They had decided to
accustom her to magic through small tricks, which were to be secret between
them. When she was a little older they
then would have begun teaching her to fight, had already gained her parents
approval for her to learn self-defense.
Now things were different. She would be living with them, all four of
them and their private lifestyle was very different from their public one. Both Zoe and Kevin had decided to return
home to Australia and move back to the Ice family estate where both Nick and
Jase had lived since the elder Ices had passed away. The four of them found living together more convenient, easier
for them to keep their differences a secret and less stressful than living a
lie. When Bunny came with them she
would see the side to them that they dared let no one else see. Things that she already would inclined to disbelieve. They needed to
introduce her their world and to convey the importance of keeping it a secret.
He saw the acknowledgement in each of his
sword-sibs' eye and returned his gaze to Bunny in acceptance. "It means that
one day the whole world will be very, very happy that you were born."
"Why?" she questioned.
In answer Kevin gathered a globe of golden
light into his hands, Jason called a small fireball, Nick held sparks that
looked as if they were stars and between Zoe's palms spun a small whirlwind
full of brilliant petals. Bunny's mouth
opened in delight and as the adults watched in astonishment, she frowned and
her own hands glowed silver. She
stepped forward and touched the tombstone, the silver spread from her hands to
engulf the memorial. She stepped back
and the generals shook off their surprise to spill their own handfuls onto the
graves, last gifts for their dead friends. The silver faded from the stone, leaving it looking as it had before
except for the crescent moon now engraved above the inscription.
Even as the last of the light faded, Bunny's
knees gave way and she fell into a startled Jason's arms. He stood, scooping her up as he went. The others gathered around in worry but were
reassured by Zoe. Examining the child
closely she smiled in relief.
"Don't worry she's only tired. Her little stunt used up a lot of her
strength."
"We're going to have to teach her to be more
efficient with her energy," Kevin commented from her side.
Bunny's eyes flickered and she yawned as she
returned to the conscious world.
"What happened?" she asked sleepily.
"You did magic Angel," Nick answered.
Her eyes went wide and she struggled upright in
Jason's arms, "I did!" she squealed, "I did magic... and so did you!"
"So you did Angel, and that is what makes you
so special," Kevin replied. He looked
one last time at the tall marble marker before motioning for the others to
precede him to the car. He smiled sadly
as Bunny took a look at her parent's graves that would probably the last for
many years.
***
Setsuna watched as ten-year-old Darien Chiba
fidgeted with the bunch of roses. He
had picked the flowers for Lita Kino who would be coming home with his mother
that day. When Cassie had told her son
of the young orphan who would be staying with them from then on he had wanted
to do something to cheer her up. Darien had chosen roses. Setsuna
wondered if he had chosen them because some part of him remembered being
Endymion, the Rose Prince, he could certainly find a flowering bush no matter
what time of year it was. Or if it was
simply he remembered the stranger who had given him some of the sweet smelling
blooms the day his own father had died. Setsuna sometimes wondered at that, at times it seemed that destiny
meddled more than even she did.
Darien looked up at the sudden rattling at the
door handle. It turned and opened the
door to allow a tall black haired woman and a young girl entry. Setsuna watched her prince's reaction to his
new guest rather than examine the girl herself. She already knew that Lita was a seven-year-old girl, tall for
her age, with brown hair, shading into red. She had known of the death of the girl's parents but had been unable to
intervene it what would be a critical event. All she could do was as she had, ensure the girl's existence came to the
attention of the correct person. In
this case, Cassandra Chiba, mother to the Terran Prince reborn and a woman with
an extremely soft heart.
This served two purposes, first it gave the
young girl a new home. Second, and more
telling to Pluto's perspective, it united the prince and his protector Sailor
Jupiter. Through a little meddling and
a great deal of luck Darien had already become acquainted with several of his
reborn guardians; Neptune, Uranus and even the infant Saturn. Pluto ground her teeth at the thought of
Saturn, another stupid accident that had cut her previous life short and
leaving her very little time to mature in this one. She pushed her worry to the back of her mind and returned her attention
to the present.
Lita hung behind Darien's mother shyly and eyed
everyone present, including Cassie, warily. Darien slowly stepped and cautiously held out the roses for her. She looked at him and back at the roses in
confusion, not noticing when both Cassie and Setsuna stepped back to give the
pair room.
"I'm Darien," he said, still waiting for her to
take the flowers, "I picked these for you,"
"Why?" she asked suspiciously, taking them in
timid hands.
"'Cause when my dad died someone gave me some
roses and they made me feel better," he paused for a moment and took a step
closer. When she didn't retreat he
continued, "I'm sorry your parents died but they're in heaven now and that
doesn't mean you're alone. You have me
'n' Mom, Setsuna, and I'll show you to Ruka 'n' Michi 'n' even Hota though
she's just a kid." He reached out his hand.
She stared at it before placing her own empty
one in it. "I like roses," she
whispered.
He grinned at her brilliantly, "So do I they're
the best flower but the thorns can hurt... do you want to see my garden?"
She smiled shyly in return and nodded, laughing
slightly when he began to tug her out of the room towards the back door and the
rose garden. More laughter, louder and
surer, drifted back from both children moments later as Darien showed Lita the
bushes he himself had planted.
Cassie smiled at Setsuna, "I don't know how he
does it, she wouldn't talk to anyone except Doctor Mizuno's little girl and now
she's out there giggling!"
Setsuna smiled back and lead Cassie into the
kitchen where she had tea and cookies waiting. "You might want to see if Doctor Mizuno would allow her daughter to
visit. The more friends she has, the
better for her."
"Yes," sighed the other woman as she sat down
and accepted the tea her friend poured, "She hasn't had much luck so far."
Setsuna nodded in agreement, technically it
should be called luck when Sailor Pluto interfered, but not by Sailor Pluto
herself. What Cassie Chiba didn't know
was that Setsuna had deliberately disrupted the airports seating so that the
Kino's had been assigned to certain seats. She had also ensured that the accident would take place sooner rather
than later, the plane had crashed close to the eastern coast of Japan rather
than in the middle of the Pacific. Lita
and her parents had boarded the plane and Pluto had made an effort to dissuade
them, although she knew it to be in vain. The jet's engines had exploded, killing over half of the passengers
instantly but not the Kinos. They had
survived in the freezing water protecting their daughter for two hours before
they had been rescued, a searcher just happening to look in the right direction
at the right time. Not in time to save
the parents but soon enough that they little girl could survive.
"But I must say that I'm coming to pity my poor
son," Cassie's musing voices disrupted Setsuna's train of thought. Setsuna looked at her companion in complete
confusion, not understanding the other woman's nonsequiter .
Cassie smiled wryly when she saw her friend's
bewilderment and explained, "Think about it Sets, everyone around him seems to
be female. Haruka, Michiru, young
Hotaru, you, me and now Lita, and add young Amy Mizuno to the collection and
you'd have to agree that he's being completely over run."
Setsuna suddenly grinned, "He is collecting
quite a harem, isn't he? It's going to
be rather interesting to watch when they all hit puberty."
Cassie stared at her for a couple of minutes
before she covered her face in only partially feigned horror. "You are evil Sets, pure evil. Using my future troubles as amusement."
Setsuna grin remained but she was forced to
hide its slightly brittle quality behind her mug of tea. Evil? No, she had merely learned to enjoy ludicrous situations when they arose. She truly hoped Cassie would never see real
evil but with her son being who and what he was that was all too unlikely. Evil beings would come looking for them and
neither she nor Cassie had any say in the matter.
***
Forty-eight
years. The woman examined her works
carefully. It had been forty-eight
years since she had be given another chance and been reborn and now she was
ready to enter the final stage of preparation for her grand destiny. Nearly thirty years before a group of fools
had showed her purpose. True it hadn't
been what they'd meant to do, they had been halfwits and dabblers who had
played at being magicians but they had touched on something that meant true
power, and Beryl had know what to do with it. It had taken her a decade of research and experimentation before she
discovered what she was after, a way to ultimate power, and years more of
searching before she found her goal. In
unknown ruins in the middle of the Arctic Circle she finally found the Queen of
Darkness.
She summoned her and in payment she had
discovered her whole life had been a lie. Kindness, friendship and love, they had all been tools of the green
haired Sailor Witch who had desired to keep her from her rightful destiny. Until that day she, too, had been a
dabbler but from the moment the last words of the Right of Summoning had left
her lips she had been a power. It had
been nearly fourteen years since that day, Fourteen years of study and
sacrifice but now she was a strong as she had ever been. She was Beryl, chosen handmaiden of
Metallia, and she would rule all. She
was Beryl, sorceress supreme.
Now it was her forty-eighth birthday, if such
things mattered, and it was time to build her army. The last time she had attacked Earth she had done so with only
four enslaved warriors and the Shadows given to her by Metallia. Even so she had almost been victorious. This time she would plan more carefully on
how she would meet any challenges. Her
forces would not be composed solely of Shadows and her generals would be
creatures loyal to her from the instant they were created.
She surveyed the massive chamber in which she
had based the creation of her army. It
was over a kilometre
long and almost as high as it was long. The walls were lined with row after row of generation capsules, in which
a new breed of monster gestated. They
were part Shadow, part animal and completely evil and there were thousands of
them. It would take them years to
mature completely but that would give her time to prepare the greatest of her
creations.
Millennia ago, she had approached Prince
Endymion and then his Guard, entreating them to join her. Prince Endymion had spurned her not once but
twice and since his very existence threatened her plans his continued presence
could not be tolerated. His Guard, the
four mindless fools who followed him were just as obstinate but, unlike him,
were in no way foretold in the prophecy that spelled the way for the Shadows'
defeat. That had meant that the risk of
enslaving them was worth it if she gained four such powerful warriors for her
cause. However even when compelled the
Guardians of the Magic of Earth, the generals of Dragon, Phoenix, Unicorn and
Gryphon, had still found a way to resist her. Their power was such that, supported by herself and Metallia, they
should have easily triumphed over the Scouts. Yet they had died and done so willingly to escape her grasp.
This time her chosen subordinates would be
hers, mind and body. Yet the original
Guard had still served their purpose, they had in the end slain Endymion, his
father and all of the Scouts but Pluto. The sorceress looked at the blank form on the platform before her and
smiled maliciously. Her power had grown
since Queen Serenity had defeated her and she was now capable of much more than
a few hybrid monstrosities. With this body
and three others Beryl had a definite objective in mind.
She called forth her power to blaze from the
crystal atop her staff and began to imbue it in the featureless body before
her. Her memories of Kunzite, General
of the Dragon, first of the Guard came and she twisted them, molding her golem
to suit her will. The silvery-white
hair, ice blue eyes and aristocratic face formed on the body exactly as she
remembered on the man himself. His
powers she tried to shape accordingly as well but when the Dragon's brand began
to appear on the creation's aura she balked. If she continued as she was then her creation would indeed be as
powerful as the original but also as intractable, bound as it was to the
Dragon's ideal of honour. Beryl erased the brand and reconfigured the
replica's powers along different lines so that they would be as similar to that
of the originals as possible and just as strong but not confined by the demands
of the original's guardian dragon.
Slowly her efforts came to fruition and one by
one her four generals of the Dark Kingdom were completed. Each was a masterpiece of sorcery, capable
of becoming thinking beings once awakened. When she was finished she stepped back and examined them for flaws. Each copy looked as she remembered the men
themselves being and she smiled anticipating the consternation that would
follow, if her enemies had been reborn, once they met her Dark Kingdom
Generals.
With a thought Beryl teleported herself to her
throne room and seated herself on her throne. Another thought called the clones to her and they hung upright in
midair, placed in a semicircle around her. Beryl then closed her eyes and called for the power Metallia had given
her, four Shadows
materialised between her and her creations,
restlessly testing the bonds that held them. Beryl opened her eyes and with care released a single ward on each
Shadow, allowing it only one path of retreat. Each immediately followed that path to the destination Beryl
desired. As the Shadows passed into her
new generals Beryl smiled to herself feeling very self-satisfied.
One by one she called their names, demanding
their attention, "Zoicyte," the smallest general awoke and knelt to her as she
watched him.
"My Queen," was all the slight man said but the
devotion in the words caused Beryl's lips to curl in further delight.
"Jadeite,"
The general with the short blonde hair smiled
evilly as he awoke and joined Zoicyte on his knees, "My Queen."
"Nephrite,"
The tallest of the generals with long reddish
brown hair awoke and knelt silently and watchfully. His voice was unflinching, "My Queen."
"Kunzite," at this last name her voice crackled
with exaltation. In ages past he had
been the most difficult of the quartet to tame and now he was hers.
The silver haired general's eyes opened and he
began to radiate threat as his deadly character awoke. He knelt. "My Queen, we are yours to
command."
***
On the
other side of the world a blonde girl suddenly looked up and shivered.