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Disclaimer: Can't forget this now, can we. Yadda yadda ya, don't own GW or SM or anything else that might bring me the slightest amount of money.
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Puppet Master
Chapter 8 - Faulty Loyalties
'Wake up, foolish human.'
Philip groaned in protest. The kid who's definitely not a kid had nearly killed him and now they wanted him back up and running? Yea right.
'Philip.' The thought seemed to vibrate warningly in his skull.
Not now, he pleaded but could do nothing to stop his aching but awakening muscles. Eyelids flashing open, Philip's first thought was that it was morning. Sun glared in his eyes as though to prove the point.
"Ugh, where am I?"
"The same place you've been all night."
Philip whirled- or he tried to but ended up face down on soft, fresh smelling grass. Not that he actually needed to see the person to know who it was. "Heero."
"Hn." The sound of shifting grass named Heero as standing or sitting right in front of him.
"What happened?" Philip forced himself to a sitting position and tried to clear his searing headache. "Last thing I remember is…hey! You nearly killed me!"
Heero smirked at the accusation but made no move to contradict the statement. He was indeed standing, more like leaning against a tree, just watching as the sun arose. His clothing had changed so he now wore a crisp black suit but wore it in a more casual then formal way.
With his dark hair blowing in the cool morning breeze and his eyes fixed straight ahead, Philip couldn't help but think that Heero was the most terrifying person he'd ever met. Just the glimpse of the kid's power was enough to prove the point beyond doubt in Philip's opinion.
"Philip."
"Yea."
Heero turned his eyes to stare right into the blonde's dark verdant eyes. "You will tell me everything I want to know as well as anything that might attract my interest of this place." His tone warned Philip that any mistakes now would cost him his life.
Philip gulped with fear and lowered his eyes. "Yes…master."
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What are you doing here? You better have a really good reason for waking me up" Serena hissed. It was barely 7 in the morning and someone was ringing the doorbell. Trust her mom to be out already with Sammy and her dad to be at work, leaving her to be the one who had to get up and see who it was.
"Heero told me to come."
Serena rubbed her eyes. "Who's Heero?"
The little girl standing in front of Serena's door giggled. "From last night? Remember?"
"Last night…OH!"
The girl laughed aloud as Serena nearly fell down in shock. She stopped as soon as Serena leaped back up and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Um, I'm Rachael."
"You're his sister, aren't you!"
"What!" Rachael screeched. "No way, I just met him yesterday!"
"Then why was he hanging out with you. Come on, spill it. Why are you here?"
"I don't know, ok! I just met him yesterday at the park when he was heading over to the witch tree and he took me out to eat. By that time, it was already dark and Heero bought me a chocolate rose this big!" Rachael stretched out an arm.
"Augh! You're as big as Rini and as annoying!" Serena ignored the urge to get herself a chocolate rose 'that big' and shook the girl once more. "You're not telling me something!"
"SERENA!"
Gulping, Serena turned to see her mother, mouth hanging open with shock, and her brother giving her the 'you're in trouble' look. The brown paper bags Serena's mom had been carrying now lay on the floor and a sick yellow goo was oozing its way free.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING YOUNG LADY! YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXPLANATION OR I'LL-"
"Good morning Mrs.," Rachael politely interrupted. "I'm sorry for interrupting but my name's Rachael and I go to the school with Rini. I'm her friend and I'm spinning the night. Is that ok with you?"
Mrs. Tskino had her mouth open in mid-speech. She gawked a moment before regaining her composure and turning back into a nice home mother. "Of course dear. Rini was at a friend's last night but she'll be back soon. Why don't you go inside and make yourself comfortable?"
"Thank you. You're the greatest," Rachael beamed at her, making her blush and walk inside bashfully.
Sammy made a face and followed.
Serena held her breath and when her mom didn't come rushing out with a scream, exhaled anxiously. "That was close." She gave Rachael a close look. "I didn't know you knew Rini."
Rachael did a twirl. "'Course I don't. Never met her before in my life!"
Serena's mouth dropped open. "What! How'd you know she's as old as you?"
With a smile, Rachael shook her head. "You told me so. Besides, every orphan learns to read between the lines. You told me everything I need to know. Well, I did my part. Heero said he'd come get me later so you just got to figure out a way to keep me here until then." The girl skipped inside and shut the door behind her.
Serena stood outside in her pink bunny pajamas in shock. The thought of having two Rini's in her house was…Heero was coming?
With a scream, Serena ran inside and up to her room. Got to get ready!
Her mom's voice rang through the hall. "Serena! You're friends are calling again!"
"Tell them I'm not here!"
"Ok. By the way, who is Amara? She wants you to call as soon as possible."
Serena groaned. So now the Outers were in on it too? She really didn't want to bother with anything having to do with the Sailor Scouts but the Outers always understood.
Later, she vowed, closing the door to her room behind her. I'll talk to them later. Now, what to wear…
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Sydin nearly jumped when the bushes behind him moved but relaxed as Philip's blonde hair pushed its way through. Turning back to look at the shrine, he asked, "What took you so long? Did you find the kid?"
"What happened?" Philip asked, ignoring the question.
Shrugging, Sydin pointed at the shrine. "From what I can tell, the Outers left- the interesting thing being that they were in the company of four boys. The boys stayed in the car the entire time except for one. That one confronted the Outers when they left the temple and during their conversation, he told them that he didn't understand anything that was going on. Not in those exact words but the way he said it spoke of his ignorance that reminds me of Heero's ignorance."
"Heero's ignorance?" Philip asked, disguising a shudder.
"Yes. Heero had no knowledge of anything of this world- including the Scouts. The conversation inside the temple was so obvious that any bystander would have guessed who they were talking of yet this boy -and his companions- had no clue. I think it's possible that the Scouts had brought some more of those…Pilots, they were called from Heero's world as a possible defense."
Philip's ears perked up as Sydin's voice trailed off in indecision. "But…"
"But," Sydin started off again, pushing away stray silver hairs behind long ears. "When the boys first met the Outers, the Outers expressed serious shock and perhaps a little hostility at their arrival." Sydin sighed. "There's someone else behind all this. I do not like how everything is falling."
"Um, what else has happened? Where are the Inners?"
"Where else?" Sydin answered with an uncaring shrugged. "They wept at the accusations made of them by the Outers and decided to stay together and gain support from each other's presence. Nothing else to report except for the disappearance of the Sailor Scout of Destruction."
"So the 'Inners' as you call them are currently emotionally weak which will also affect their physical strength."
Sydin shoot up into the branches, sunlight shining off of his withdrawn scimitars. "Who's there?"
Heero's intelligent eyes seemed to glisten in the dark underbrush. Sydin hissed as Heero's presence made itself known. It was as though the world had gone still in Heero's appearance, his very presence silencing the once cheerfully singing birds and putting down the calm flow of wind.
"What are you doing here?" the dark elf seethed viciously.
Heero smirked but it was lost in the bush's cover.
Sydin glanced at Philip, shocked to see the man cowering and pale with fright. "Philip?"
"Is none of your concern," Heero answered in short, stinging tones.
"I didn't address you, puppet!" Sydin spitefully replied.
"Puppet?" Heero asked in a tone that sent Philip into a fit of shudders. His head tipped to the side in askance.
"Yes. That is all you are, a puppet brought to this domain to free the Mistress."
"Sydin," Philip whispered warningly.
Heero smiled bitterly. "If you stop now, I'll pretend I didn't hear that," he stated to the fae.
Sydin snorted. "You cannot harm me. I'm under Serne's own protection." As soon as the words left his mouth, Sydin found himself hitting the side of the temple's wall.
"Where's Serne when you need her," Philip muttered. Heero glared at him before calling up a magnificent black blade and stepping from the clearing to face the fallen elf.
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"What was that?"
The four Sailor Scouts, still dressed in their pajamas and half asleep, raced to see what the noise was. Artemis stretched lazily before also following.
Outside, what looked like a cloaked figure was struggling to stand. With a gasp, all four turned back and closed the door behind them, nearly trampling the white cat in the process. "Sorry Artemis, Mina apologized as she picked up the dazed cat and raced back into the relative safety of Ray's room.
"Guys, remember that whole enemy thing the Outers were talking about?" Amy reminded.
The others looked to Ray who sighed. So this is what leadership feels like? "Let's not take any chances. We better transform."
"Right!" Amy, Mina and Lita echoed, reaching for their pens as one.
"Mercury Crystal Power!"
"Jupiter Crystal Power!"
"Venus Crystal Power!"
"Mars Crystal Power!"
A flash of light filled the area and within moments, the Sailor Scouts of Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus stood in place of their daily counterparts.
Mars turned to the others, raven black hair brushing into her face. "Let's go guys!"
Overhead, a pair of ravens called out in warning. Mars looked up and mentally thanked them. An enemy was nearby.
Outside, the figure threw away his cloak with a cry of outrage, reveling long silvery hair and a definitely masculine stranger. Mars looked to Mercury who nodded and pulled out her mini-super computer. The sound of unnaturally fast typing filled the air.
"Got it!" Mercury announced triumphantly. More typing filled the air followed with Mercury's explanation. "Check this out. That guy's not even human. It says here he's some sort of alien."
"What kind?" Artemis asked from his spot next to Venus's boots.
"I'm not sure. The computer says he's a Dark Elf. Do you know what that is?"
"A dark elf!" Artemis screeched, attracting the attention of the said person. His power could be felt from this distance and Mars had an uncanny feeling that the 'elf' in question was sneering at them. "That's impossible! Dark elves were banished from the Earth millions of years ago, right about the time Queen Serenity was born!"
"But that's what he is," Mercury argued.
"Do you think he got left out," Venus speculated.
The elf started staggering, holding one of his arms in apparent pain.
Artemis shook his head. "No way. Dark elves were banished for a reason- they loved violence. The Moon Kingdom took special precautions to make sure that all of them got caught."
"Maybe the-"
"We have time to speculate later. Right now, we know that there's a Dark Elf who seems to be causing trouble. It's time to fight," Mars interrupted, throwing an apologetic look at Jupiter. Jupiter nodded bashfully. Mars glanced at Artemis. "How strong are these guys?"
"I don't really know. There's rumors of them being stronger then the Queen herself, of being strong enough that both the Earth's Kingdom and the Moon's were barely enough to stop them. Just be careful."
"They'd have to be pretty strong to attract the attention of both Kingdoms," Mercury added.
Mars gave the stumbling figure a calculating look, forming a plan. Her eyes widened as the glint of steel caught her attention. Swords, so he's close ranged. "Ok, listen up, he looks injured. Someone else must have been fighting him. As far as we're concerned, any enemy of this guy's a potential ally for us. Sailor Mercury, give us some defense with your Bubble Spray. Everyone else, attack when you get the chance. Try to stay as far away as you can. I think he's better at close ranged attacks then anything else."
"Why do you think that," Jupiter risked asking as Mercury already called up her Bubbles.
Mars replied in a casual voice, "I saw the swords he's carrying. The rumors may be true but they're probably only because the elves attacked in force. This is one against four. The odds are all for us. This should be no problem."
Venus and Jupiter gave Mars suddenly confident smiles. "Not quite four against one," Mercury said with sudden typing of her computer. "It seems like the guy who was attacking just joined us."
"What!"
Mercury waved a hand, clearing away the Bubble Spray.
Behind the wall of fog, a buy dressed in a black suit was attacking the elf viciously with swipes of a sword that left no room for mercy. Rakish dark brown hair fell before his face, covering him but doing nothing to pose a problem for his attack. The elf whipped out his own scimitars and the two danced around the Temple, nearly falling down the steps dozens of times. The mysterious guy looked as though he was barely holding his own, mostly on the defensive as his blade swung through the air like an extension of his arm.
The elf, looking shocked by his own skill, suddenly became smug and slashed at his opponent with exaggerated attacks, meant for torturing and harrowing enemies to the point of exhaustion. With each sweep, his blades came that much closer to the killing blow. The elf laughed as the other began to sag with weariness, the other's blade nearly falling from hand until it finally did, hitting the concrete with a solid thud. The elf nearly stumbled in surprise but recovered quickly enough. He began a final sweep of his sword, prepared to kill.
The Scouts watched in astonishment. Lita whistled, bringing everyone back to reality. Mars cleared her throat and ordered, "Let's go! That guy needs our help!"
With a nod, the four pressed forward. Mars unleashed her Flame Sniper, scoring burning scores along the elf's side while Mercury brought out her aquatic harp to attack with her Water Rhapsody. The elf howled in rage. His clothing was burned and then frozen over but from the look in his eyes, the battle was far from over.
"Jupiter!" Artemis shouted. The Dark Elf charged toward the Scout who brought up her hands and focused her energy. "Jupiter…Oak, Evolution!" she screamed as hundreds of sharp, electrifying leaves were sent into the air to embed themselves deep within the fae's skin.
"Venus, Love-Me Chain!"
Before another step was taken, the elf was restrained by Venus's attack and the four moved in to see what this new enemy was capable of. Mars kicked away his blades contemptuously. "Who are you?"
The elf sneered.
"Don't…try to talk to him," a weak voice called out. The Scouts turned to see the nearly defeated figure leaning heavily upon his sword. "Al- already tried to. Sydin won't listen."
"Traitor!" the elf Sydin snarled and began twisting in his chains. He turned to face Venus. "Let me go!"
"To be a traitor, one would have to be an ally first," the man continued. His breath was taken away with a hacking cough. "I…was never that."
"Are you ok?" Mars asked hesitantly, moving towards him. Her heart fluttered as his dark eyes glanced up at her uncertainly, revealing a mirror image of her own fear. He was handsome, as handsome as they come. There were a few scars on his face but her eyes traveled down his now torn suit, mouth drying as blood could be seen coming from several rips. Just the sight of his young face with its dark beauty sent shills of pleasure down her spine. He couldn't be much older then herself.
"Yea. Just need…a little rest." He slumped forward, sword falling from his grip to hit the concrete once more.
"Augh!" Mars leaped forward, barely catching him before he landed beside his blade which, up close, proved to be magnificent. She glanced at her fellow Scouts with panic in her eyes. "Let's get him inside. Now!"
"What about him?" Venus asked, nudging the indignant Sydin with her foot.
"Keep him tied up. We'll ask questions later and it'll do us no good to let him loose again. Mercury took a look at his wounds and pressed her lips together while hurrying into Ray's room with Lita and Mars following.
Venus nodded, focusing her energy to strengthening the chain she held around him. His eyes narrowed. "You shouldn't be able to do this," he accused her.
"W-What?"
"You shouldn't have enough power by yourself to hold me," he said again. As if the answer was found, his eyes widened and he sneered at her. "See?"
The chain broke. As the golden energy fluttered away into glowing dust, the elf stood and wiped away the dirt from his clothing. Ignoring Venus's stupefied stutters, Sydin began to walk away.
"Wait! Get back here! Venus, Love-Me Chain!"
Sydin waved the attack away. "I will come back to visit you and your…new 'friend' very soon. Warn him of that," he taunted and disappeared.
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"So you caught on?" Philip stated.
Sydin glowered. "Of course. It might have helped had I been warned."
Philip shrugged. "If you knew, you wouldn't have acted sincerely. To destroy the Scouts, Heero needed to be accepted by them."
"So," Sydin said, "you told him Serne wants him to destroy the Scouts. Will she accept his way?"
"I don't know. Does it really matter?"
"No. I just wish to know one thing?"
"What?"
"How strong-"
Philip shuddered. "Far stronger then you can imagine."
Sydin quieted a moment before a wicked smile appeared on his face.
Philip glanced at him then shook his head. "You're not still planning on…"
"Of course I am. Imagine that much power beneath your palm. To own Heero would be greater then any I've owned before. None that I've controlled before will compare."
"Sydin, you will never own Heero," Philip replied to the legendary elven Slave Master who'd escaped the Kingdoms' pursuit. "Such a thing will never be."
Sydin laughed. "The greater the challenge, the greater the prize. Owning and breaking this one will be the one event of my life that sets me apart as a God to my race. Heero…yes, even now, I can taste him."
As the two walked through the forest, Philip hid a knowing smirk at his brother's ramblings. To own such a power. If only they knew exactly how much power hid itself beneath Heero's dark gaze.
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"Hotaru."
No, I'm not going back.
"Hotaru!" the voice took up a warning tone but she pushed it out of mind.
Hotaru glanced at her surroundings. She was back in the dream world haven she'd been visiting frequently. The still glowing moon silhouette lit the skies while hiding behind dark clouds. Dark clouds that currently matched her own mood- restless, fearful and angry.
Memories had been returning in full force. Usually, Amara or Michelle and once in awhile Trista would be there to explain the memories in detail, giving her a broader glance of the life she'd lived before. They said it was a cycle that she had to remember so she could learn. They could even slow those memories down, helping her understand each memory as it came instead of being trouncing her at once. Michelle once whispered that when her memories had returned, it took nearly a year to understand everything and to continue on with her current life. Without any of them here, the memories fell in pangs, flashing through her mind with startling clarity before another replaced it.
Hotaru breathed deeply, trying to slow them down and live each by itself as Amara had trained her to. It was a funny thing, the memories seemed to attack in legions whenever her mind wandered but whenever she truly focused, they disappeared.
This one, Hotaru thought sadly, was of her time on Saturn. Those were always filled with sorrow.
Living alone on her planet, revered as the First Daughter of the Great House of Saturn, Hotaru was too important to be bothered with such things as friends or even acquaintances. All around her, the whisk of a wind or an unnatural breeze announced her hulking guards, waiting wherever they could hide for her every command. Such was the life of a princess. Her only hope was to be picked, like her mothers before her, as a personal guard to the Moon Princess. Though, because her planet lay on the outer reaches of the Kingdom's rule, she would never have the closeness that the First Princesses of the closer, inner planets like Mars of Venus would have with the princess, there would be a friendship that she never had before.
At the moment, Hotaru was contemplating hanging around her brother. His carefree attitude always cheered her up.
But Dyad was too busy hanging with the Star Prince to bother with such a lowly person as his sister. He'd never admit such a thing but she knew her presence caused a strain whenever his friends were concerned.
Hotaru smiled slightly at the thought of the Star Prince, taking dainty steps to avoid puddles from the newly fallen rain. She was going on her daily walks though the parks of Saturn, letting her thoughts wander. Black hair brushed against a casual purple dress. The prince was one of few words but what he didn't say, he made up in looks. A prince was expected to be handsome but Astral took it to extremes.
Usually, members of the Star family were fair in appearance with blonde hair and pale skin. Astral's sister, Cosmic, had inherited those traits with her pale skin and long, sandy blonde hair. His brother, Regal, also had platinum blonde hair that cascaded beyond his shoulders and a pale, elegant figure. Both took after their ancestors, believing in peace without conflict and preferring to talk rather then battle but appearances could be deceiving.
Hotaru knew that both would be prepared to fight should their decision be taken away and the power they held was immensely strong. Add the most intelligent commanders, allies and advisors and the Star Kingdom, though peaceful, was turned into the most powerful Kingdom existing.
Powerful enough that they could afford to appear weak.
Powerful enough that they could afford not to take over planets and set up Houses to rule over, as the Moon Kingdom did.
Astral seemed to have taken off the conventional path, the first of his rather unusual traits being his appearances. Dusky, wild hair shadowed his enigmatic dark blue eyes. Everything about him seemed mysterious, obscure and shrouded by a veil few could ever see through. His skin wasn't as pale as his siblings, evidence of his outdoor activities most nobles turned down. And while his brother and sister surrounded themselves with friends and allies, Astral kept only a chosen few in his circle of confidence. Dyad, from her own Great House, was one of those.
Hotaru closed her eyes. Who else was in Astral's group?
Kiln, from the Great House of Mars was one. Hotaru frowned at the thought. Kiln, with his onyx orbs and sleek black hair was too proud for her own taste. And he wasn't truly a prince in the sense that his parents were currently ruling the planet. The only reason he was recognized as a person of high authority was because his line, the one that had previously ruled the planet, was totally destroyed when he was a child. The next in line had adopted him in a way, taking him into their custody but leaving him with his true name and line.
Callous was also involved in Astral's confidence. The silent prince of Jupiter's Great House was nearly as quiet as Astral but had none of the Star Prince's dark looks. Instead, the tall prince had a casual, indifferent look to him, handsome in his own way. Callous was also an extremely talented athlete, Astral's mentor and the two could be called brothers.
The blonde haired Rue from Mercury's wise Great House could have been mistakenly thought to be from the Star Kingdom, was perhaps a lost child or distant bloodline. The whole of Mercury's current ruling family line seemed to be taken straight from one of the Star's vein. Rue was fair headed with pale skin and whose philosophies of peace came from a close experience of violence. His father was killed while protecting his family from a raid during a mandatory visit to the Moon Kingdom. His mother had died years before and he was the only male of his family line. Rue ruled Mercury with an air of kindness and justice though rumor told of him soon giving his position up to another line.
Astral's last friend, and his worst choice in many of the Royals' opinion, was Hotaru's own brother Dyad. Hotaru wondered at the choice herself but never questioned it. Dyad was fun, loved life and had already pledged never to take up his rightful position as King of Saturn's Ruling House. Unusual was one of the more understanding words used to describe Dyad's decision. But then again, Dyad wore his hair long and in a braid, a bizarre hairstyle especially in these days where the popular style was to have your haircut short and clean. Hotaru protected her brother and his habits whenever she could, but it was becoming too much for even her.
As though he'd heard her last thought, Dyad busted through a nearby bush, spraying water droplets on his sister as he raced by with a gleeful expression. "Sorry sis," he called without turning. "Try to keep Astral busy, ok? Just distract him!"
"What?" Hotaru asked, shaking off the water. She turned to where he had run off. "Dyad?"
The bush shook once more, catching her off guard again as Astral ran through with an angry look in his dark eyes.
Hotaru let out a shocked yell and tried to move from his way but got barreled over.
Astral immediately jumped up and helped her to her feet. "I'm sorry princess," he murmured as he helped her shake off fallen leaves from her hair. "I didn't see you."
Hotaru raised a muddy hand, disgusted by the grime, and did the only thing she could think of.
She wiped the mud across Astral's face.
He blinked, utterly confused for a moment before she suddenly realized what happened and began laughing. Astral gave her a shocked look before a slight smile also broke across his face.
"That's what you get," she began but was silenced as her reached down and threw mud across her already soiled dress.
It was her turn to be shocked.
Within minutes, Dyad came back to see the muddy and hysterically laughing forms of his best friend and his sister, rolling around in the mud and throwing whatever they could at each other. "Did I miss something?" he asked innocently.
Mistake. A moment later, the two mud creatures had attacked him with loads of mud and had changed the once-clean prince into one of their own. The mud fight lasted nearly an hour before Cosmic had come to announce Astral's departure, a smile twitching at her mouth. They had left…
Hotaru breathed deeply as the memory departed and was relived when the onslaught seemed to stop. The latest memory had information she needed. Astral…
Was Heero. Her first memory of the Star Kingdom had come when she'd first seen Heero. But that memory had been…much more personal.
"Hotaru, you can't stay here."
Hotaru sighed. I know. But I can't go back knowing that Heero's there and that he's going to be attacked. Attacked and I can't do anything about it.
"Hotaru, your friends are worried."
Hotaru looked up to see the apparition of her long dead mother. Her mother, a near look alike to the late Queen Serenity had taken form from her daughter's memories, the same way Serenity could reach out from the past to Serena. Ignoring the chiding look her mother gave, Hotaru turned back to look at the glowing moon.
I always wanted to be…loved. I can remember how lonely I always felt. My mother had been picked to guard Queen Serenity and had died while doing that, just after my birth. All of the women in my line did the same, living long enough to give birth to a girl or boy before being dying for the currant ruler of the Moon Kingdom.
My mother was special. She lived long enough to give birth first to a boy, my brother, then to me about a year later.
"Hotaru, please. You mustn't stay here. Perhaps you can help Heero gain the memories you both share and stop a fight before it happens."
Hotaru shook her head. It's not that I don't want to help, it's more like I know I would be more of a stumbling block. I still can't come to the extent of my full powers and with my training halted…
"Hotaru, you will leave this place now." Her mother frowned at her and shook a finger. "You would rather stay here and feel sorry for yourself then try to be useful to your friends. If you make me, I'll kick you out of here and not let you in until you learn better."
You can't do that!
"Watch me."
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Duo leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the table, oblivious to the glares the three 'Sailor Scouts' were sending him. "I think I heard this story one too many times for my liking." Violet eyes traveled over to Trista's shocked face. "In fact, you were the one who told it to us."
Amara glared at Trowa. "You said that neither you or your companions knew anything of the Moon Kingdom."
"I only said that because we were being watched. To have said anything else while caught in the act of spying by another spy would have been too risky." Trowa took a sip from the warm tea Michelle was passing out.
The group was currently resting at Trista's apartment building, a first class suite as the top of the complex. The apartment was strangely empty of everything. Nothing, couches, beds, refrigerators included, was in the apartment. At least, Duo could've sworn there was nothing until a minute ago. Trista had said something then turned on the lights and the room was suddenly turned into one of those Hollywood dream rooms. Chandeliers, pushrag carpeting and huge, glass windows all over the place. Most of the coloring was a dark green and there were a lot of weird things all over the place.
One room had even been converted into a science lab. Trista's metal staff leaned against a counter in the corner, the huge key-like thing just waiting for an unsuspecting person to trip over its inclined form.
"How would you know if we were being watched?"
"Come one, we're Gundam Pilots," Duo drawled to the aquamarine haired Michelle. "We were trained to know these things. The question should be how could you not know."
"Quiet Maxwell. You did not know of this intruder until Trowa pointed him out," Wufei voiced
"Enough of this," Quatra announced. "We're getting nowhere." He gave everyone a pleading glare. "There are two important people missing and the sooner we trust each other, the sooner we can find them. Please everyone, we shouldn't be fighting among ourselves."
Trista stood and glanced at her fellow Scouts. Her back was leaning against a dark wall. "I have to admit that my future sense doesn't seem to be working," Michelle whispered something and Amara nodded her head grimly. "This means that the future has been changed greatly from some recent event- the bringing of your friend here would explain that."
"I'm the Sailor Scout of Time, which means that all things should be known to me. This loss of ability hinders me immensely."
Duo laughed. "You mean you know the future? You're other' self forgot to mention that!"
Trista shook her head. "I don't see the future. In a sense, I'm in every time, so I'm continually experiencing everything- the future and past included. This has never happened before. The future had already happened when your friend came over. He somehow tainted that future until it became too clouded to see. My presence, from all times, is now being trapped in this time period. It is dangerous because I need to be other places to perform other things."
"Couldn't you just go back into the past and fix it so Heero didn't come?" Quatra asked.
"No. It is forbidden."
"What do you mean 'forbidden'? Will you get punished or something?"
Trista glared hatefully at Duo. "I have the ability to freeze time. I used this ability, though it was forbidden, to save my friends so that a great evil would not be unleashed onto the Earth. As a punishment, I was given the knowledge of the Moon Kingdom's destruction. I knew it would end for thousands of years before it even began. I even knew the exact moment Queen Serenity would give up her last breath."
"Trista," Michelle murmured. The green haired woman glared at her viciously, eyes brimming with forbidden tears.
"I could have done something," Trista cried, falling against the wall with tears streaming down her face. "I could have warned the people, whispered some hint of what was coming so the battle wouldn't have been the slaughter it was. I knew, but then my future self used the power to save the world and I was left without the power to save anything. When I use such power, it always backlashes against me, its own punishment."
"Trista, stop." Amara stood and started for the weeping warrior.
Trista moved back. "You must understand that you, with all your power, have nothing to fear of destroying the world because you accidentally moved a rose petal before its time. Such small acts seem just those, small acts to you. To me, the slightest pebble falling into a stream will start a civil war resulting in the death of the beheading of innocents just because they were walking down a street at the wrong time. But now, I don't know what my actions will do! I don't know if this tear," a finger wiped away the crystalline liquid from her cheeks, "will be the only thing preventing a bird from falling and dying on the street, distracting a taxi driver to the point where he accidentally kills a three year old child walking home with her mother."
"Is that what you worry about," Trowa whispered. He stalked past Amara and took Trista by the shoulders. "You worry that you cannot control everything, that you can't protect everyone. But that's just the thing. You can't! Nothing you do will prevent the infant whose mother doesn't even want him from being thrown into a garbage can at 2 am. There are some things you can't control, no matter how long you try! If you try too hard, you'll end up just like this- nearly dead from exhaustion and weeping because a flower petal fell from the table a moment before it should have. Not everything can be planned. Not everything can be prepared for. The only thing you can do is follow your emotions," Trowa winced at the remark, "or so a good friend once told me. I'm going to follow my instincts and try to find that friend as soon as I can. You can stay here and worry about things you couldn't do anything about or you can get back to living the life you were born for."
Trista stared at him. Everyone did.
Duo broke the tension by chuckling quietly. "Trowa, I didn't know you could say so much!"
Wufei trembled with near rage. "Is that all you can do, baka? Laugh?"
Duo's answer was to laugh harder as Wufei's face grew red.
Quatra cleared his throat. He glanced at everyone. "I think we should go now and find Serena. And the other girl…"
"Hotaru," Michelle supplied, still watching Trista with concern.
"Thank you. Since we have no idea of what Serena looks like and I can hardly remember Hotaru, we should all split up into two groups- Trista, Trowa and Duo in one, the rest of us in the other."
"Since when did you become leader?" Amara demanded.
Quatra smiled timidly but it was Wufei who came to his rescue. His eyes blazed as he nearly shouted, "We have continually shown our intentions are clean as well as our own skill great enough to match if not overboard yours. If you prefer to fight us we will separate and find Heero on our own." The Chinese glared at the Scouts and pointedly leaned against the door.
Michelle actually smiled. Nudging Amara, Michelle walked after Wufei. "I agree," was all she said as she walked to the door and opened it.
Everyone was completely caught off guard when Michelle opened the door to see an aggravated Serena with a young girl hanging on her arm. "Do any of you know someone named Heero? Real cute guy dressed in complete black? Was at the candy store last night?"
When no one answered, Serena looked around in bewilderment. "What!"
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"What's your name?"
Heero blinked, feigning weakness. "Heero Yuy."
"Heero." The now detransformed Ray rolled the name on her tongue. She was wiping at his forehead with a damp rag, careful not to get him too wet. His shirt and black suit jacket lay in a pile near the door, taken off when she started to treat his wounds.
There were a dozen scars on his body but nothing recent.
That someone her age would have scars like that…she winced as she traced a particularly deep one lying across his cheek. It made no sense, but then again nothing seemed to make sense anymore.
"Do…you know where the Scouts are?"
Ray drew her hand back in shock. "The Scouts? What are you talking about?"
Heero's troubled eyes found her and he replied evenly, "I was in a battle and saw the Scouts before I collapsed. Where did they go?"
Ray went back to sponging his face. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said nervously, hoping he couldn't tell she was lying. "Me and my friends woke up to you on the Temple steps. You were hurt so we brought you in. are you all right?"
Heero's eyes closed. "I must find the Scouts," he whispered dryly. "Master…slave on the loose. Need help…" his voice trailed off and his breathing changed into deep, painful intakes.
Ray sighed and grabbed a nearby blanket, tucking it around him. She hoped the hastily set up cot would suffice and, after giving Heero one last look, walked out the door.
Heero waited a moment longer and opened his eyes, the Prussian pools sparkling with excitement.
Serne had ordered him to destroy the Scouts. So, to keep up appearances, he would do just that. These girls were terribly weak so he would train them into a powerful fighting force. Then, when the time came, he would allow his friends to find him and would reveal the truth to them.
Astral smiled softly. If Serne only knew the seriousness of her mistake, if she only knew the truth behind all this…memories came at will and Astral/Heero sighed. The world was once again spinning into chaos. The Star Kingdom was needed once more, though this time the Kingdom's full force would be shown. This evil dared to destroy one of the Kingdom's own, an act that would call for an attack none could withstand. To corrupt a Star Kingdom heir would call for utter annihilation. To attempt to do so called for nothing less.
The others would need to be awakened, Astral thought as he walked to the door. And the Sailor Scouts would prove invaluable in this task.
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Author's Note:
None, nothing, nada. I'm cool. Just review, por favor (AUGH! My spanish lessons are really coming in handy! Gracias,
de nada)