**First Meetings**, chapter 8: Anecdotes
by Lily.
lilian413@yahoo.com
**********
"Mom, where are you going?".
The eleven year old Mercury princess, her tiny hands clasped on the front of
her dress, was the picture of fear.
"My daughter, I must go and fight among my people. I can't stay here, while
my troops are fighting for their lives".
Her analytical mind understood.
The child she was, did not.
"But Mommy, I want you to stay with me. I'm scared".
A rumble echoed in the distance, like thunder. The floor shook.
Young Princess Mercury ran to her mother, and clang to her leg.
"Please Mommy!".
"Daughter, act like a Princess. I must go and help our army with my powers...
the Moon army will never arrive in time to help us. Now, stop crying, and be brave".
Young Mercury wept silently, scurrying away from her.
Why was Mommy being so mean?.
It was then that the Queen became a mother.
"I'm sorry, sweetie. But this are hard times, and I must stay strong.
So do you. Please, don't cry anymore. Nothing will happen to you in here. I
will be back in no time, and then, all of this will be over".
But she did not need to worry. Her daughter had understood.
She was mature, she was all grown up. She would no longer act like a
child. She wiped the tears away, and nodded.
"Yes Mommy. I'll wait here. Please come back soon".
"Of course I will, my munchkin".
With those words, Queen Mercury left the room, praying that she wasn´t too late.
Young Princess Mercury was now alone. She looked through the window, tears
falling down her cheeks as she saw the destruction her home planet was
receiving.
{Why does everyone has to fight?. Can't there be peace?}.
Another deep rumble was heard, and she saw as a high tower, just a couple
of miles away from the palace fell to the ground. Even at such a great
distance, she could hear the noise it made. She could feel the tears coming,
but she gritted her teeth, and managed to keep them inside.
{Mommy, I'm scared. Where are you?}.
SLAM.
The door burst open, and she turned around, joy in her eyes, calling for her mother.
Her bubble burst into a thousand pieces.
But she did not scream.
Princesses did not scream.
The three hairy, disgusting, smelly figures who had entered the room
weren't even human. Standing over the heavy wood door, which now laid
on the floor, were three... boars, was the word her childish mind
found to describe them.
"$5gfsjf iugn Mercury fgyr&5df, mjyg".
Ami had studied all the languages in the universe, since she was old enough to
read and understand, and her excellent mind recalled this dialect.
It was ancient Moldavian.
"So, this is the Mercury princess".
"W... what do you want?".
She was deathly afraid, but she managed to stand proud and somehow
brave, as she tried to stare down at the intruders.
Which was very hard, considering they stood seven feet tall, towering
above her small four foot five frame.
"We'll take her with us. This planet will pay us very well to get their princess
back. Or, we can sell her to some slave dealer. She is pretty, some king
will use her as his personal toy".
Mercury shivered, and felt as tears threatened to leave her eyes again.
She had heard tales about how the Moldavians did not spare women nor children nor
elders... and those who were left alive, wished they hadn't been forgiven, for their fate
was much, much worse than death could ever be.
"I will not go anywhere. Now leave, before I call security".
A nasty laugh was all the answer she got.
"Those pitiful men outside the room?. They were almost too easy to
kill".
She gasped in horror.
And the realization that she had no escape was almost physically painful.
They were ten times stronger than she was, and struggling was no worth. She
would only hurt herself. Even though this pessimistic thought plagued her
mind, her own will fought them back.
{I must fight. If I can hold them back, Mommy will come and make them leave}.
She slowly backed away, approaching the window.
The Moldavians answered by approaching her.
So focused she was in staring at the three of then, that she
never saw the fourth one, who, faster than she could ever think, had her
by the neck, and was pointing a gun at her face.
"Don't move, little princess. You'll regret it".
She froze in place. The evil eyes of the alien boar were
red, and flashing. She was hypnotized by them, and couldn't move.
Only the silent tears gave any sign that she was alive at all.
"Let her go".
The voice broke the spell, faster than a bucket of cold water
would have. Ami turned her watery eyes towards the door. And what she saw,
made her widen them like she never had before.
Mother was there, her dress torn and in shreds, but apparently with no
serious wounds.
"Well, Queen Mercury. We meet again".
"I told you, let her go. Or else".
"Or else what?. What will you do?. Spank us?. You no longer have energy to
fight, so leave before we kill you. You spent all your energy trying to
reinforce the magic planet shields".
"This is my last warning, leave, now!".
They say genes carry more than just DNA information.
That they also carry feelings, emotions and desires.
Maybe they do, maybe they don't. What we *can* say though, is only this.
Like mother, like daughter.
Queen Mercury was so distracted looking at the alien she was
talking to, that she didn't notice as another one appeared from behind her,
and grabbed her violently from behind.
Young Mercury was so surprised that she could not do a thing. What could she
have done anyway?.
The picture displayed in front of her was horrifying. The alien was grabbing her
mother from her long, silky blue hair, so much like her own.
Her face was a grimace of pain. Her mother...
'Mommy'.
Her mother. Her mother who wanted nothing but peace. Who had fought
against her will, just to save her people. To save *her*.
Because of her, her mother was suffering. If only she could protect her...
Gods, if she wasn't so weak!.
Something stirred inside her.
The third alien grinned, and taking out a laser gun, pointed it towards the Queen.
"You should have left when you had your chance".
Evil laughter filled the room.
It echoed in her ears.
It stirred harder. Straining to get out.
She felt so powerless. Her mother was going to die in front of her eyes, and
she couldn't do a thing to stop them. She would watch, weak, and crying, as her own
mother was killed, right in front of her...
'That's not true'.
{Who... who are you?}.
'An old friend. Do you really don't know who I am?'.
The voice was awakening some old memories. About eleven years ago,
when she received a gift ...
{God Mercury?}.
'I'm glad you remembered. I'm here to help you'.
{Are you going to save my mommy?}.
'No. *You* are going to save her'.
the voice was reassuring... so full of warmth... so loving...
{Me?. How?. I can't do anything, I'm just a kid. I don't even have my
Mommy's powers}.
'That's what you think. But search inside you, and you'll find them'.
{Inside me?. What do you mean?. God Mercury, where are you?}.
'Search inside you. You have the power'.
Then, the presence receded, and she was alone. Again.
No. Not alone. A strange force was burning inside her. A wild force.
It called her, urged her to dive in it. It was like a friend, something she always had,
but never acknowledged. All her body was tingling in power, as she accepted what
was rightfully hers. She accepted the power, and it enveloped her
completely.
The creatures didn't notice.
Her eyes were shinning with bluish light... they opened, slowly.
She did not need to hurry.
The battle was already won.
She was a Senshi now.
Absently, her eyes locked onto the gun. She saw as the alien's finger tightened; he
was about to pull the trigger.
Her eyes flickered, and something tangible went through her like an electric bolt.
The alien shook.
And then he screamed.
His arm was frozen, along with the gun he was holding. Ice
was spreading through it, running up, and up, and up, like a white
sea of impending doom...
The scream turned into a gurgle, when the ice froze his vocal cords.
And his throat.
And he died.
Frozen.
By her.
Wild eyes turned to her, fear and awe in them.
She saw none of it.
The image of her mother suffering under the hideous hands of the Moldavians
was imprinted with fire in her mind... and right now, it was driving her power through
the roof.
"Leave my Mommy ALONE!".
The sign of Mercury appeared in her forehead, shining blue.
And the world exploded in white light.
When the dust cleared and the light receded, four piles of dust were the only thing
left of the aliens.
Queen Mercury stood by the door, alone and amazed.
Young Mercury stared at her, her eyes wide and unseeing.
It was then, that she realized what she had done.
With a heart-wrenching sob, she ran to her mother, and burying her face in her leg,
wept. Queen Mercury lifted her up, and hugged her, fiercely.
"Thank you, munchkin. Thank you for saving my life".
"Mommy, you are not mad at me?".
"Of course not. You've done it, darling".
"Done what?".
"You have unleashed your power. You have become a Sailor Senshi... ".
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Her voice quieted into a whisper, and soon, he could hear no more.
There wasn't anything more to say, though...
"Wow. I had heard of the Moldavian invasion to Mercury,
but never thought that it had such an importance".
Her knees uncurled from their tightness against her body, and she stretched them
out.
"Well, it was kept secret. Neither my mom nor I wanted it to be known.
Only her and I knew, and now... well, now so do you".
"Why did you tell me?. Why me?".
She had to look away, her cheeks were reddening so hard.
"I--I-- well, I-- It kind of slipped away I guess. You won't tell anyone, will you?".
He placed his hand over his heart, and replied.
"Of course not, Mercury. Nothing if what you have told me today, will ever be heard
from my lips. Cross my heart".
She couldn't help but giggle at his seriousness.
"Thanks, Zoisite. Now it's your turn to tell me something about you".
"Who?. Me?. I got nothing spectacular to tell".
Bad thing to say. He had just ticked her curiosity.
"Oh, come on. You must have something. For example, when did you meet Endimion and
your other friends?".
He looked at her, the spark of real *true* curiosity in her eyes, the glint
of life... of youth... he knew when he was defeated. He knew when to surrender.
"That's a boring one. It was more fun when we had to
convince Queen Gaia and King Chronos that Endimion should start learning
how to fight. He was fifteen, making us about seventeen more or less . . .".
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease Kun, please".
Endimion was the Crown Prince of Earth. Since childhood, he had been taught
to act 'princely'. Formality. Chivalry. Diplomacy. Style.
Endimion, Crown Prince of Earth, was now whining.
"Your highness, you know I can't do it without your parents permission".
Kunzite had tried everything to get rid of the little pest, but nothing
seemed to be working. So, he had to turn to the ultimate technique: parental fear.
Unluckily for him, it wasn't working this time.
"But what they don't know won't hurt them, will it?".
He tried again.
"Your majesty, are you asking me to train you in secret, to hide it by lying to the Royal
Family, to break my oath of loyalty to them, and to put you in unnecessary danger?".
Logic was *not* the way to get rid of him. It never was, and never would be.
"To put it simply, yes".
Kunzite couldn't help but sigh soundly, realizing this was not looking good.
An angry Endimion was something to be wary of... and right now, he was going to
become the focus of a huge load of anger.
"I'm sorry my prince, but I can't do that".
It was then that Jaedite, whom had been watching the scene from a safe
distance, decided to intervene.
"Oh, come on Kunzite. It's not like you are betraying anybody. Just train the
little runt".
Their friendship had evolved, allowing them to refer to their younger Prince as 'runt'.
"I will ignore that one Jed, just because I think you are trying to help me".
Jaedite snorted.
"Please Kun. Teach me how to use the sword?".
The white-haired general shook his head, and closed his eyes in refusal.
"No, your majesty. You will have to ask your parents first".
"But Mom will never let me train. She wants me to be a scientist, so I can avoid
more wars on Earth. That's not what I want".
"I said my last word, prince Endimion. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to
go and check on the army".
Bowing gracefully, Kunzite turned on his heels, and left, leaving behind a
fuming Prince. Which, as we said before, was *not* good for his health. You think that after
seven years of pulling pranks on each other, he would've learnt... not.
"You'll pay for this Kun. Believe me you will".
Jaedite and Nephlite sighed, knowing too well that
something really ugly was going to happen to their friend. However,
to their surprise, Endimion simply sat with them, and asked them
to play cards.
They began getting suspicious when he began loosing. Endimion
never lost. And if he did, he always managed to turn the rules around,
and ending up with him as the winner.
Besides, whenever Endimion decided to pull a prank, he always
disappeared for a couple of hours, to appear later with a bright smile on
his face.
When night was crawling over Earth, and Jaedite and Nephlite had
already forgotten about the incident, Endimion stood up. He yawned noisily,
and stretched out, soothing the ache of stiff muscles.
"Thanks for the game, guys. I'll beat you next time".
That's when Zoisite entered the room. His nose was buried in a thick book,
but he managed not to trip on anything... it was a technique his friends had always
wondered about.
"Hi. What's up?".
"Nothing. We were just playing. Good night".
Endimion just shrugged, and smiled. Zoisite couldn't help but shiver.
There were Cheshire cat's smiles... and that one. But, Endimion did not give him
time to consider it long, for he left, waving behind his back.
"Is it just me or Endimion has something in his mind?".
Two pair of shoulder shrugging was all the answer he got.
"That Endimion, he's never going to change" . . . .
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Zoisite, Jaedite, Nephlite and Endimion were having breakfast together, as usual.
Though there was something different this time.
"It's strange, don't you think?".
"What?".
Jaedite still had sleep in his eyes, obviously a tell-tale sign that he had stayed
up late. He couldn't even think straight. And what the hell was wrong with his
breakfast?
"Well, usually Kunzite is here about three hours before us, and
now... well, he's ten minutes late".
Jaedite couldn't get the towel taste out of his mouth... maybe it was all that wine
from last night.
"You are right. I guess he just over-slept".
Even in the very early dawns of the morning, Zoisite did not release his books.
They went with him everywhere.
"I personally don't think so... ".
Endimion's voice was mockingly disgusting. It was the voice of a three year old,
who just fills *sooooo* good at knowing things grown-ups do not.
The three generals looked at their Prince in
amusement. It was then that Zoisite noticed there was something wrong with Jaedite.
"Ahem, Jed, I hate to break it to you, but... you're munching on the napkin".
{Ooops!}.
Without breaking his cool, he simply removed it from his mouth.
Before he could make a smart-ass comment, a scream of rage echoed through the Palace's
halls.
The Generals jumped in their seats, spilling their cups of coffee into the table and on
themselves. Only Endimion remained on his seat, slowly drinking, and smiling to
himself.
His fellow generals blinked, and were only able to stay there, frozen in
surprise, until a hurricane blasted through the door.
"JAEDITE!. THIS TIME YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR!".
Kunzite's eyes were flickering with anger, and his fists clenched and unclenched at
super-human speed.
"Me?. I haven't done anything!".
{Great!. For once in my life I *know* I'm not guilty, and here
I am, being blamed... again}.
"ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME THAT *THIS* ISN'T YOUR
FAULT?".
"What are you talking about?".
"LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO MY HAIR!".
Kunzite pointed to his head, his chest heaving in inhuman fury.
Jaedite gulped, and followed his finger.
And he then proceeded to laugh his ass off.
His usually white-silvery hair was now pink.
Pink.
Tutu-pink.
Rosey-pink.
Lipstick-pink.
It was still wet, and stuck to his face, making him look almost too funny.
It was clear that *pink* hair didn't mix with his tanned face and blue eyes.
Besides, the bewildered look in his face added to the mix. As Nephlite, Zoisite
and Jaedite laughed so hard they fell on their butts, Kunzite was taken back. But the energy
anger gave him, made him gave them such a furious/killing/keep-on-laughing-and-you-will-meet-your-painful-and-untimely-death look that they
stopped immediately.
"SO, ARE YOU STILL DENYING WHAT'S OBVIOUS, GENERAL COMMANDER JAEDITE?".
"But, Kun. I didn't do anything. I swear".
His giggles didn't help him with the 'I'm-so-innocent-you-just-gotta-love-me'
thing he was trying to pull off.
"JAEDITE, DON'T YOU DARE LIE TO ME!".
He was beginning to panic. As Kunzite advanced on him, he was beginning to
understand the 'looking at the face of death' thing.
"But it's true. I was up all night, ask Princess Mai, she was with me!!".
His defense somehow managed to break through Kunzite's haze of anger.
"Then, if it wasn't you, there's only one person left... isn't there PRINCE ENDIMION?!?".
Everyone turned to Endimion, who had wisely backed away to a relatively safe position.
He was grinning, and the glint of mischeviousness in his eyes reminded them of
his fairy ancestors.
"I guess you caught me, Kun".
"DON'T 'KUN' *ME*, YOU LITTLE PRINCE. YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS ONE!".
Kunzite threateningly moved towards the Prince of Earth, death in his eyes.
Luckily for Endimion, he was saved by the bell.
Or his mother, for that matter.
"What's going on in here?. Why is everyone yelling?".
Kunzite and the other Generals bowed immediately.
"You may raise, generals. Now, Endimion, do you have something to do with General Kunzite's change of hairstyle?".
Zoisite, Jaedite and Nephlite could barely avoid giggling, and just muffled a
soft laugh.
"Yes Mother".
"Well, in that case, you will be forbidden for a month to watch them
practice, and don't even think about training. Your study hour will be
increased from two per day to three. And by the end of the week, I want
you to know everything about diplomacy relations between planetary rulers.
Is that clear?".
"But Mom... ".
"No begging. You have gone too far this time. I hope that from now on, you
will obey my orders, and not learn how to use a sword... ".
It was then that Endimion conjured up the courage to answer up to his mother.
"But that's not fair, they all know how to fight, I'm going to look like a geek or
something ... ".
"Let me finish, young boy. You will not train on how to
defend yourself, unless your behavior is more than excellent. When your
punishment month is over, we will talk about this again".
Endimion's eyes flickered with hope, but said nothing.
Queen Gaia grinned a bit, and turning to Kunzite, grinned even wider.
"Lord Kunzite, please forgive my son. He has the impulsiveness of his father. He promises
never to do this again".
Kunzite just nodded. This was a better punishment that any he could come up with.
"Of course my Queen. Prince Endimion is forgiven".
"That's good, now, let's do something with that hair of yours... ".
Queen Gaia gracefully moved her hand up and down, creating a pattern in the air... and
allowed her magic to surround the general. His hair waved for a couple of moments, and
suddenly turned as white as it used to be.
Kunzite immediately ran his hands through it, relishing in his silvery locks.
"Thank you so much, your Highness. I don't even want to think how long it would've taken
me to get that ugly color out of my head".
"You're welcome, General Kunzite. Now, if you'll excuse me... ".
Everyone bowed again, and heard as the Queen steps left the room.
When she was a safe distance away, the Generals and the prince stared at each other,
and specially and Kunzite's half-naked body... he had ran so fast, and so angry from his
room, that he never noticed he was only wearing a towel tied around his waist... which by now
was pretty much soaking.
It was then that they began laughing again.
Anger forgotten Kunzite turned to Endimion, and rubbing his head, asked.
"Hey, kid. That was a good trick. How did you do it?".
Endimion just shrugged. He knew Kunzite would finally see the joke behind
the prank--- hopefully before he killed him. Thanks to his mother, he had not had to grovel
and beg for forgiveness like last time.
"Easy. I replaced your shampoo with some colorants I found
in the lab".
The chief General grinned wickedly, and turned to the others. His voice was deadly
serious.
"Hmm, nice way to shut you up when you get too noisy...".
Nephlite took his cue, and stopped the conversation from going onto dangerous grounds. No need to give them any more ideas... they managed to come up with some insane pranks on their own. Besides, what he had in mind was much more interesting---
"Jaedite, what was that deal with princess Mai?. The *whole* night?".
Four pairs of predatory eyes turned to stare at the blond general.
He began sweating.
God, he had blown it!. Mai had warned him... she had ordered him not to tell a soul...
after all, she was a married woman... oops, oops, oops!!. But, it had been worth it!. Who
would've thought you could actually *bend* that way?. And the many uses you could put your
thighs to...
His daydream about silken sheets and desirable naked female bodies was rudely
interrupted.
"Jaediiiite...".
He focused back on reality, only to find them still staring at him. And, he did what he
did best in situations like this: he panicked.
"Ehhh---well... you know--- I was just... gotta go, bye!".
He scrambled out of the room, hoping to escape interrogation.
No such luck.
They were all hot on his tail, chasing him through the Palace, as he screamed
'non-guilty' to unhearing ears, who only wanted all the juicy details...
*******************
TBc....
by Lily.
lilian413@yahoo.com
**********
"Mom, where are you going?".
The eleven year old Mercury princess, her tiny hands clasped on the front of
her dress, was the picture of fear.
"My daughter, I must go and fight among my people. I can't stay here, while
my troops are fighting for their lives".
Her analytical mind understood.
The child she was, did not.
"But Mommy, I want you to stay with me. I'm scared".
A rumble echoed in the distance, like thunder. The floor shook.
Young Princess Mercury ran to her mother, and clang to her leg.
"Please Mommy!".
"Daughter, act like a Princess. I must go and help our army with my powers...
the Moon army will never arrive in time to help us. Now, stop crying, and be brave".
Young Mercury wept silently, scurrying away from her.
Why was Mommy being so mean?.
It was then that the Queen became a mother.
"I'm sorry, sweetie. But this are hard times, and I must stay strong.
So do you. Please, don't cry anymore. Nothing will happen to you in here. I
will be back in no time, and then, all of this will be over".
But she did not need to worry. Her daughter had understood.
She was mature, she was all grown up. She would no longer act like a
child. She wiped the tears away, and nodded.
"Yes Mommy. I'll wait here. Please come back soon".
"Of course I will, my munchkin".
With those words, Queen Mercury left the room, praying that she wasn´t too late.
Young Princess Mercury was now alone. She looked through the window, tears
falling down her cheeks as she saw the destruction her home planet was
receiving.
{Why does everyone has to fight?. Can't there be peace?}.
Another deep rumble was heard, and she saw as a high tower, just a couple
of miles away from the palace fell to the ground. Even at such a great
distance, she could hear the noise it made. She could feel the tears coming,
but she gritted her teeth, and managed to keep them inside.
{Mommy, I'm scared. Where are you?}.
SLAM.
The door burst open, and she turned around, joy in her eyes, calling for her mother.
Her bubble burst into a thousand pieces.
But she did not scream.
Princesses did not scream.
The three hairy, disgusting, smelly figures who had entered the room
weren't even human. Standing over the heavy wood door, which now laid
on the floor, were three... boars, was the word her childish mind
found to describe them.
"$5gfsjf iugn Mercury fgyr&5df, mjyg".
Ami had studied all the languages in the universe, since she was old enough to
read and understand, and her excellent mind recalled this dialect.
It was ancient Moldavian.
"So, this is the Mercury princess".
"W... what do you want?".
She was deathly afraid, but she managed to stand proud and somehow
brave, as she tried to stare down at the intruders.
Which was very hard, considering they stood seven feet tall, towering
above her small four foot five frame.
"We'll take her with us. This planet will pay us very well to get their princess
back. Or, we can sell her to some slave dealer. She is pretty, some king
will use her as his personal toy".
Mercury shivered, and felt as tears threatened to leave her eyes again.
She had heard tales about how the Moldavians did not spare women nor children nor
elders... and those who were left alive, wished they hadn't been forgiven, for their fate
was much, much worse than death could ever be.
"I will not go anywhere. Now leave, before I call security".
A nasty laugh was all the answer she got.
"Those pitiful men outside the room?. They were almost too easy to
kill".
She gasped in horror.
And the realization that she had no escape was almost physically painful.
They were ten times stronger than she was, and struggling was no worth. She
would only hurt herself. Even though this pessimistic thought plagued her
mind, her own will fought them back.
{I must fight. If I can hold them back, Mommy will come and make them leave}.
She slowly backed away, approaching the window.
The Moldavians answered by approaching her.
So focused she was in staring at the three of then, that she
never saw the fourth one, who, faster than she could ever think, had her
by the neck, and was pointing a gun at her face.
"Don't move, little princess. You'll regret it".
She froze in place. The evil eyes of the alien boar were
red, and flashing. She was hypnotized by them, and couldn't move.
Only the silent tears gave any sign that she was alive at all.
"Let her go".
The voice broke the spell, faster than a bucket of cold water
would have. Ami turned her watery eyes towards the door. And what she saw,
made her widen them like she never had before.
Mother was there, her dress torn and in shreds, but apparently with no
serious wounds.
"Well, Queen Mercury. We meet again".
"I told you, let her go. Or else".
"Or else what?. What will you do?. Spank us?. You no longer have energy to
fight, so leave before we kill you. You spent all your energy trying to
reinforce the magic planet shields".
"This is my last warning, leave, now!".
They say genes carry more than just DNA information.
That they also carry feelings, emotions and desires.
Maybe they do, maybe they don't. What we *can* say though, is only this.
Like mother, like daughter.
Queen Mercury was so distracted looking at the alien she was
talking to, that she didn't notice as another one appeared from behind her,
and grabbed her violently from behind.
Young Mercury was so surprised that she could not do a thing. What could she
have done anyway?.
The picture displayed in front of her was horrifying. The alien was grabbing her
mother from her long, silky blue hair, so much like her own.
Her face was a grimace of pain. Her mother...
'Mommy'.
Her mother. Her mother who wanted nothing but peace. Who had fought
against her will, just to save her people. To save *her*.
Because of her, her mother was suffering. If only she could protect her...
Gods, if she wasn't so weak!.
Something stirred inside her.
The third alien grinned, and taking out a laser gun, pointed it towards the Queen.
"You should have left when you had your chance".
Evil laughter filled the room.
It echoed in her ears.
It stirred harder. Straining to get out.
She felt so powerless. Her mother was going to die in front of her eyes, and
she couldn't do a thing to stop them. She would watch, weak, and crying, as her own
mother was killed, right in front of her...
'That's not true'.
{Who... who are you?}.
'An old friend. Do you really don't know who I am?'.
The voice was awakening some old memories. About eleven years ago,
when she received a gift ...
{God Mercury?}.
'I'm glad you remembered. I'm here to help you'.
{Are you going to save my mommy?}.
'No. *You* are going to save her'.
the voice was reassuring... so full of warmth... so loving...
{Me?. How?. I can't do anything, I'm just a kid. I don't even have my
Mommy's powers}.
'That's what you think. But search inside you, and you'll find them'.
{Inside me?. What do you mean?. God Mercury, where are you?}.
'Search inside you. You have the power'.
Then, the presence receded, and she was alone. Again.
No. Not alone. A strange force was burning inside her. A wild force.
It called her, urged her to dive in it. It was like a friend, something she always had,
but never acknowledged. All her body was tingling in power, as she accepted what
was rightfully hers. She accepted the power, and it enveloped her
completely.
The creatures didn't notice.
Her eyes were shinning with bluish light... they opened, slowly.
She did not need to hurry.
The battle was already won.
She was a Senshi now.
Absently, her eyes locked onto the gun. She saw as the alien's finger tightened; he
was about to pull the trigger.
Her eyes flickered, and something tangible went through her like an electric bolt.
The alien shook.
And then he screamed.
His arm was frozen, along with the gun he was holding. Ice
was spreading through it, running up, and up, and up, like a white
sea of impending doom...
The scream turned into a gurgle, when the ice froze his vocal cords.
And his throat.
And he died.
Frozen.
By her.
Wild eyes turned to her, fear and awe in them.
She saw none of it.
The image of her mother suffering under the hideous hands of the Moldavians
was imprinted with fire in her mind... and right now, it was driving her power through
the roof.
"Leave my Mommy ALONE!".
The sign of Mercury appeared in her forehead, shining blue.
And the world exploded in white light.
When the dust cleared and the light receded, four piles of dust were the only thing
left of the aliens.
Queen Mercury stood by the door, alone and amazed.
Young Mercury stared at her, her eyes wide and unseeing.
It was then, that she realized what she had done.
With a heart-wrenching sob, she ran to her mother, and burying her face in her leg,
wept. Queen Mercury lifted her up, and hugged her, fiercely.
"Thank you, munchkin. Thank you for saving my life".
"Mommy, you are not mad at me?".
"Of course not. You've done it, darling".
"Done what?".
"You have unleashed your power. You have become a Sailor Senshi... ".
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Her voice quieted into a whisper, and soon, he could hear no more.
There wasn't anything more to say, though...
"Wow. I had heard of the Moldavian invasion to Mercury,
but never thought that it had such an importance".
Her knees uncurled from their tightness against her body, and she stretched them
out.
"Well, it was kept secret. Neither my mom nor I wanted it to be known.
Only her and I knew, and now... well, now so do you".
"Why did you tell me?. Why me?".
She had to look away, her cheeks were reddening so hard.
"I--I-- well, I-- It kind of slipped away I guess. You won't tell anyone, will you?".
He placed his hand over his heart, and replied.
"Of course not, Mercury. Nothing if what you have told me today, will ever be heard
from my lips. Cross my heart".
She couldn't help but giggle at his seriousness.
"Thanks, Zoisite. Now it's your turn to tell me something about you".
"Who?. Me?. I got nothing spectacular to tell".
Bad thing to say. He had just ticked her curiosity.
"Oh, come on. You must have something. For example, when did you meet Endimion and
your other friends?".
He looked at her, the spark of real *true* curiosity in her eyes, the glint
of life... of youth... he knew when he was defeated. He knew when to surrender.
"That's a boring one. It was more fun when we had to
convince Queen Gaia and King Chronos that Endimion should start learning
how to fight. He was fifteen, making us about seventeen more or less . . .".
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease Kun, please".
Endimion was the Crown Prince of Earth. Since childhood, he had been taught
to act 'princely'. Formality. Chivalry. Diplomacy. Style.
Endimion, Crown Prince of Earth, was now whining.
"Your highness, you know I can't do it without your parents permission".
Kunzite had tried everything to get rid of the little pest, but nothing
seemed to be working. So, he had to turn to the ultimate technique: parental fear.
Unluckily for him, it wasn't working this time.
"But what they don't know won't hurt them, will it?".
He tried again.
"Your majesty, are you asking me to train you in secret, to hide it by lying to the Royal
Family, to break my oath of loyalty to them, and to put you in unnecessary danger?".
Logic was *not* the way to get rid of him. It never was, and never would be.
"To put it simply, yes".
Kunzite couldn't help but sigh soundly, realizing this was not looking good.
An angry Endimion was something to be wary of... and right now, he was going to
become the focus of a huge load of anger.
"I'm sorry my prince, but I can't do that".
It was then that Jaedite, whom had been watching the scene from a safe
distance, decided to intervene.
"Oh, come on Kunzite. It's not like you are betraying anybody. Just train the
little runt".
Their friendship had evolved, allowing them to refer to their younger Prince as 'runt'.
"I will ignore that one Jed, just because I think you are trying to help me".
Jaedite snorted.
"Please Kun. Teach me how to use the sword?".
The white-haired general shook his head, and closed his eyes in refusal.
"No, your majesty. You will have to ask your parents first".
"But Mom will never let me train. She wants me to be a scientist, so I can avoid
more wars on Earth. That's not what I want".
"I said my last word, prince Endimion. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to
go and check on the army".
Bowing gracefully, Kunzite turned on his heels, and left, leaving behind a
fuming Prince. Which, as we said before, was *not* good for his health. You think that after
seven years of pulling pranks on each other, he would've learnt... not.
"You'll pay for this Kun. Believe me you will".
Jaedite and Nephlite sighed, knowing too well that
something really ugly was going to happen to their friend. However,
to their surprise, Endimion simply sat with them, and asked them
to play cards.
They began getting suspicious when he began loosing. Endimion
never lost. And if he did, he always managed to turn the rules around,
and ending up with him as the winner.
Besides, whenever Endimion decided to pull a prank, he always
disappeared for a couple of hours, to appear later with a bright smile on
his face.
When night was crawling over Earth, and Jaedite and Nephlite had
already forgotten about the incident, Endimion stood up. He yawned noisily,
and stretched out, soothing the ache of stiff muscles.
"Thanks for the game, guys. I'll beat you next time".
That's when Zoisite entered the room. His nose was buried in a thick book,
but he managed not to trip on anything... it was a technique his friends had always
wondered about.
"Hi. What's up?".
"Nothing. We were just playing. Good night".
Endimion just shrugged, and smiled. Zoisite couldn't help but shiver.
There were Cheshire cat's smiles... and that one. But, Endimion did not give him
time to consider it long, for he left, waving behind his back.
"Is it just me or Endimion has something in his mind?".
Two pair of shoulder shrugging was all the answer he got.
"That Endimion, he's never going to change" . . . .
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Zoisite, Jaedite, Nephlite and Endimion were having breakfast together, as usual.
Though there was something different this time.
"It's strange, don't you think?".
"What?".
Jaedite still had sleep in his eyes, obviously a tell-tale sign that he had stayed
up late. He couldn't even think straight. And what the hell was wrong with his
breakfast?
"Well, usually Kunzite is here about three hours before us, and
now... well, he's ten minutes late".
Jaedite couldn't get the towel taste out of his mouth... maybe it was all that wine
from last night.
"You are right. I guess he just over-slept".
Even in the very early dawns of the morning, Zoisite did not release his books.
They went with him everywhere.
"I personally don't think so... ".
Endimion's voice was mockingly disgusting. It was the voice of a three year old,
who just fills *sooooo* good at knowing things grown-ups do not.
The three generals looked at their Prince in
amusement. It was then that Zoisite noticed there was something wrong with Jaedite.
"Ahem, Jed, I hate to break it to you, but... you're munching on the napkin".
{Ooops!}.
Without breaking his cool, he simply removed it from his mouth.
Before he could make a smart-ass comment, a scream of rage echoed through the Palace's
halls.
The Generals jumped in their seats, spilling their cups of coffee into the table and on
themselves. Only Endimion remained on his seat, slowly drinking, and smiling to
himself.
His fellow generals blinked, and were only able to stay there, frozen in
surprise, until a hurricane blasted through the door.
"JAEDITE!. THIS TIME YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR!".
Kunzite's eyes were flickering with anger, and his fists clenched and unclenched at
super-human speed.
"Me?. I haven't done anything!".
{Great!. For once in my life I *know* I'm not guilty, and here
I am, being blamed... again}.
"ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME THAT *THIS* ISN'T YOUR
FAULT?".
"What are you talking about?".
"LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO MY HAIR!".
Kunzite pointed to his head, his chest heaving in inhuman fury.
Jaedite gulped, and followed his finger.
And he then proceeded to laugh his ass off.
His usually white-silvery hair was now pink.
Pink.
Tutu-pink.
Rosey-pink.
Lipstick-pink.
It was still wet, and stuck to his face, making him look almost too funny.
It was clear that *pink* hair didn't mix with his tanned face and blue eyes.
Besides, the bewildered look in his face added to the mix. As Nephlite, Zoisite
and Jaedite laughed so hard they fell on their butts, Kunzite was taken back. But the energy
anger gave him, made him gave them such a furious/killing/keep-on-laughing-and-you-will-meet-your-painful-and-untimely-death look that they
stopped immediately.
"SO, ARE YOU STILL DENYING WHAT'S OBVIOUS, GENERAL COMMANDER JAEDITE?".
"But, Kun. I didn't do anything. I swear".
His giggles didn't help him with the 'I'm-so-innocent-you-just-gotta-love-me'
thing he was trying to pull off.
"JAEDITE, DON'T YOU DARE LIE TO ME!".
He was beginning to panic. As Kunzite advanced on him, he was beginning to
understand the 'looking at the face of death' thing.
"But it's true. I was up all night, ask Princess Mai, she was with me!!".
His defense somehow managed to break through Kunzite's haze of anger.
"Then, if it wasn't you, there's only one person left... isn't there PRINCE ENDIMION?!?".
Everyone turned to Endimion, who had wisely backed away to a relatively safe position.
He was grinning, and the glint of mischeviousness in his eyes reminded them of
his fairy ancestors.
"I guess you caught me, Kun".
"DON'T 'KUN' *ME*, YOU LITTLE PRINCE. YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS ONE!".
Kunzite threateningly moved towards the Prince of Earth, death in his eyes.
Luckily for Endimion, he was saved by the bell.
Or his mother, for that matter.
"What's going on in here?. Why is everyone yelling?".
Kunzite and the other Generals bowed immediately.
"You may raise, generals. Now, Endimion, do you have something to do with General Kunzite's change of hairstyle?".
Zoisite, Jaedite and Nephlite could barely avoid giggling, and just muffled a
soft laugh.
"Yes Mother".
"Well, in that case, you will be forbidden for a month to watch them
practice, and don't even think about training. Your study hour will be
increased from two per day to three. And by the end of the week, I want
you to know everything about diplomacy relations between planetary rulers.
Is that clear?".
"But Mom... ".
"No begging. You have gone too far this time. I hope that from now on, you
will obey my orders, and not learn how to use a sword... ".
It was then that Endimion conjured up the courage to answer up to his mother.
"But that's not fair, they all know how to fight, I'm going to look like a geek or
something ... ".
"Let me finish, young boy. You will not train on how to
defend yourself, unless your behavior is more than excellent. When your
punishment month is over, we will talk about this again".
Endimion's eyes flickered with hope, but said nothing.
Queen Gaia grinned a bit, and turning to Kunzite, grinned even wider.
"Lord Kunzite, please forgive my son. He has the impulsiveness of his father. He promises
never to do this again".
Kunzite just nodded. This was a better punishment that any he could come up with.
"Of course my Queen. Prince Endimion is forgiven".
"That's good, now, let's do something with that hair of yours... ".
Queen Gaia gracefully moved her hand up and down, creating a pattern in the air... and
allowed her magic to surround the general. His hair waved for a couple of moments, and
suddenly turned as white as it used to be.
Kunzite immediately ran his hands through it, relishing in his silvery locks.
"Thank you so much, your Highness. I don't even want to think how long it would've taken
me to get that ugly color out of my head".
"You're welcome, General Kunzite. Now, if you'll excuse me... ".
Everyone bowed again, and heard as the Queen steps left the room.
When she was a safe distance away, the Generals and the prince stared at each other,
and specially and Kunzite's half-naked body... he had ran so fast, and so angry from his
room, that he never noticed he was only wearing a towel tied around his waist... which by now
was pretty much soaking.
It was then that they began laughing again.
Anger forgotten Kunzite turned to Endimion, and rubbing his head, asked.
"Hey, kid. That was a good trick. How did you do it?".
Endimion just shrugged. He knew Kunzite would finally see the joke behind
the prank--- hopefully before he killed him. Thanks to his mother, he had not had to grovel
and beg for forgiveness like last time.
"Easy. I replaced your shampoo with some colorants I found
in the lab".
The chief General grinned wickedly, and turned to the others. His voice was deadly
serious.
"Hmm, nice way to shut you up when you get too noisy...".
Nephlite took his cue, and stopped the conversation from going onto dangerous grounds. No need to give them any more ideas... they managed to come up with some insane pranks on their own. Besides, what he had in mind was much more interesting---
"Jaedite, what was that deal with princess Mai?. The *whole* night?".
Four pairs of predatory eyes turned to stare at the blond general.
He began sweating.
God, he had blown it!. Mai had warned him... she had ordered him not to tell a soul...
after all, she was a married woman... oops, oops, oops!!. But, it had been worth it!. Who
would've thought you could actually *bend* that way?. And the many uses you could put your
thighs to...
His daydream about silken sheets and desirable naked female bodies was rudely
interrupted.
"Jaediiiite...".
He focused back on reality, only to find them still staring at him. And, he did what he
did best in situations like this: he panicked.
"Ehhh---well... you know--- I was just... gotta go, bye!".
He scrambled out of the room, hoping to escape interrogation.
No such luck.
They were all hot on his tail, chasing him through the Palace, as he screamed
'non-guilty' to unhearing ears, who only wanted all the juicy details...
*******************
TBc....
