Hey I would like to give a shout out to a few people. A big thank you goes to Robyn and Janai who both gave me loads of support. Also to Robyn again for her helping put a little more depth to it. Thanks to all those who reviewed, VO1, Lady of Flame, Bryn GoUrL, Kaze, Anime sister, Claudia, and The FireFaery, thanks loads, I hope you all enjoy this installment.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. I do however own Therra, and the
Term Draken. If you would like to use any of this, please just email me.
I really don't mind. Thank YOU.
Jason starred at the kingdom that he helped rule as he stood on his balcony. To him it carried little love or life but then for four thousand years it had been this way. It would not change for another four either. Being immortal had it's drawbacks one of those being you lived way past the years you should have. To him it seemed as though he was destined to a life without love, for a life without Aurora, was no life. The only joy in his life anymore was the fact that he had the ability to fight the snake that had taken her. For the rest of his life, he was dedicated, heart, mind, body and soul.
Her strength had been increasing lately, much to his horror, but he was confident that they would win anyway. The sacrifice that had been made four thousand years ago would not be remembered in vain. Their lives would be worth something and the lives that they had given would not be wasted. He would see to that, he and the other four who guarded their memories with a silent vigil that could never be shaken or shattered.
Therra watched Jason as he paced and felt her heart go out to him. She understood her grief, for she shared it, she was one of the few who did. Today though brought the pain back as fresh as it had been that fateful day. Today was the anniversary of the day they had gone on their suicide mission. Today was the day that the girls had left them forever; it was the day that Ianna, her sister, a piece of her soul, had died. It was the one-day of the year they wished they could skip. Therra put a hand up to the necklace that was the only thing of Ianna she had left. Closing her light blue eyes she sighed softly. Immersed in her own grief she hated to bring him out of his, but protocol demanded it. She had always hated protocol from the way it stated to she should wear a dress, to the fact that it was just plain stupid.
" Jason." Therra called softly. The blond turned his head and looked at her. Her eyes softening at the blood shot look in his eyes she blinked back the tears that threatened to overcome her.
" Endymion has called a meeting. He says that we are all needed there immediately. Something about the crystal acting up." At his questioning look she shrugged. She had no more of a clue than he did, Endymion may be her brother but that didn't mean he ever told her anything. No, that would be too easy.
Jason walked into the counsel room and stopped dead as he stared at his best friends. Watching them he shook his head and wondered if he looked as dejected as the other three. Zavier looked as if his best friend had hit him over the head. His green eyes looked almost dull, not the intelligent spark he was used to seeing looking back at him. His vibrant hair hung limp around his head and he looked ready to crawl into a whole and never come out.
Nathan looked exhausted which led to the belief he had been starring at the stars all night trying to find answers. Like he did every year, but instead of being a dead look there was almost a spark of hope. That confused him, Nathan for the last 4000 years had never once allowed hope to show in his features so whatever this was it had to be big. Against his will he felt his interest sparked.
Then there was Kris. His stony silver eyes had turned even harder after Ianna's death and the little emotion he had once shown was completely bottled up. He had become a walking, breathing stone since that fateful day. He very rarely talked before, but now the only one who could get him to speak was Endymion. Not even Serenity could force a word out of him. The only one who even acted like they understood him was Rox. But then again they were brothers and were as close as twins.
Serenity, the silver haired princess that Aurora had loved more than anything else; more than life, more than him, it wasn't that he blamed her. He would have done the same thing for Endy, had he been given the choice, but it did little to ease the ache in his soul, the only thing that could fix that would be for Aurora to return to him. After four thousand years though he had finally come to accept that it would never happen. None of the long nights of wanting to hold her, or the longer days of wishing to see her smile once more could change that. He had tried, and he knew the others had as well.
Endymion stood up and Jason did a double take. There was almost a suppressed excitement in his blue eyes that caused Jason to tense. Endymion had never ever shown excitement, well except for his wedding day, fear suddenly creep deep into his stomach. What ever it was, Jason had the feeling that it was going to change his life forever.
" Serenity and I have been doing some research." Endymion explained as his eyes searched every one of them looking over their features as if fearing but hoping for a reaction. " We asked Nathan to double-check our findings and he agreed. We believe that Ianna, Juno, Aurora, and Athena have been re-born. And we also believe that Setsuna had a hand in it."
Jason felt like he had jumped into a frozen over pond, the way his limbs numbed over. Aurora was alive. After four thousand years, how could this be? How could Setsuna do this to him? If she really had done this how could she have made him wait this long? Confused Jason shook his head, thoughts were poring into his head and he was confused.
" Are you sure?" Zavier questioned his voice hoarse. His face had gone pail and his eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head, he was doing a very good impression of Serenity right now, Jason thought in amusement.
" Yes," Serenity said softly, her large silver blue eye filled with tears. "We are as sure as we can be. They are alive somewhere out there. But be warned, if we know then it won't be that long before Beryl finds out. We must find them before she does, or all will be lost again. We can not afford for them to slip through our fingers, for more than one reason." By the end of her speech tears were streaking down her face in rivulets. She needed the girls more than the guys did. For them they were their soul mates, for her they were the reason she lived, the reason she fought, and the reason that she had been able to keep Beryl back. For it was ultimately Serenity's power that keep her at bay. They were the strength. The girls had been the keys to the ultimate power. That was why Beryl was coming back. Without the Senshi there was no force to back Serenity.
A strangled sob interrupted their thoughts a few seconds later and Jason's head snapped up in time to see Therra fly out of the room. All the men's faces softened with understanding. She out of all of them wanted Ianna back the most. Jason wondered if even Kris had looked for her as long as Therra. One look at Kris put those doubts to rest though.
But Therra had given a piece of her soul to Ianna, the women who would die a thousand times to save another. They had made a vow before she died, no one was quiet sure what it was but he knew that she lived by it and would until the day someone managed to finally kill her off. Of course that wouldn't be happening any time soon, with Endy and Rox to guard her back no one would be getting close to the Princess of War.
~*~
Minako starred at her step- mother and nodded her great blond head as if listening. In fact she was wondering if Rei had managed to secure the horses, if Ami had gotten the blankets, or if Mako had gotten the food. If they hadn't they were sunk. She was looking forward to her day of sunshine and play if they had to go hungry and tromp through the weeds; well they had gone through worse. She snapped her attention back when she noticed that she was expected to answer, again.
" Mum, we shall all be careful, and we promise not to go to deep into the woods. Besides it high noon and we should be back well before dusk okay?" Her stepmother heaved a sigh and Minako wondered if she had said the wrong thing. Or maybe she had seen the crossed fingers behind her back?
" Be careful Miko, you know this little trip of your is dangerous. The woods have just been crawling with vampires lately."
" Alright, I get the picture, I understand. Be home before dusk not a problem." Minako promised all the while planning the excuses she was going to have to come up with later. Her mother was really going to have to find a new line. She had used that one about eight times already.
" All right go on then." The woman finally agreed. Minako smiled hugely and gave her a kiss on the check before she flew outside to join her friends. Rei frowned slightly at her but then grinned as Minako turned her smile on her. Their plan had worked.
" Do you think you mother suspected?" Ami asked once they were a good distance from the village. Nothing was around except them and the wild life. They all loved the outdoors. It was there peace and quiet from the normal day. And they treasured that.
" Nope," Minako gaily answered, her bright grin causing the others to smile in return. " Mum may be bright, but she is blind to some things."
" Luckily the stable boy has a crush on Rei so we were able to snatch those fine horses." Makoto teased.
Rei frowned darkly at the taller girl. " He does not have a crush on me. Besides you guys know how I feel about him and men in general." All the women got a good laugh because they knew far to well what she meant. Rei was a man hater and had been for years, ever since the first boy broke her heart. She decided that men just weren't worth the pain.
Shaking her head in amusement Minako grinned, her smile one of pure joy. "Okay you guys enough fooling around. It's time for a day of fun in the sun so what are we waiting for?
~*~
" Okay Ames it's almost dark. What do we do now?" Rei demanded. They had been eating a picnic lunch when their horses had decided to bolt. They had been wondering around since then trying to find the path they had strayed from. To say the least they were tired, dirty, sore and ready for a hot bath.
" I guess we should climb the highest tree and pray that no one or anything sees us." The smaller girl suggests her while biting her lip in thought.
" Oh sure that should work." Makoto mummered sarcastically. "Biting height."
" It's better than being on the ground in open sight." Minako argued even as she started the climb. She hoped her dress wouldn't be ruined to badly, then again she always seemed to destroy her dresses.
"Up we go then." Rei stated with a shrug and she began to long climb upward as well. By the time all of the girls we comfortable in the tree it was pitch black out and there was only the sound of crickets to comfort them. It wasn't long though before the girls exhausted bodies revolted on them and they were fast asleep.
Rei had no idea how long she had been in the tree when she heard the first scream, feeling Ami stiffen next to her she came fully awake. Rei listened as dread filled her. The sound was coming closer. After what could have been minutes or hours to her tense mind and body Rei realized she could see shapes. Blinking she frowned to herself, it almost looked like a women. And she was being carried by a bunch of men. Reaching out Rei felt for Ami's hand in the darkness. This could not be good. The sickening realization hit a few moments later as a fire was made. They were vampires and they were going to feed. Gritting her teeth Rei forced herself to concentrate on anything but letting herself retch.
Her eyes seemed to stay stuck to the spot as the vampires killed the girl in a ritual that sent her stomach to the ground. She managed to rip her eyes a way when they brutally raped the poor thing, but the screams stayed with her. She desperately wanted to vomit and listing to Ami, as she let loose her stomach, didn't help much.
Rei was so caught up in her thoughts she almost missed the head that turned in their direction. The vampire hissed and then the sickening realization hit her, they knew they were up there. Looking over at the sleeping Minako and Mako she made a fast decision. There was no other option if the others were going to survive. Rei jumped out of the tree and ran.
~*~
Jason walked along the forest deep in thought. Zavier was to his right and Kris was somewhere about. Nathan has stopped some time back to study the stars, hoping for a clue to where Juno was. Not that he blamed him. If he had such a talent he would also be starring at the sky till his eyeballs fell out. Who wouldn't? Every since Endy had made his announcement they had been going crazy as they searched for the girls. Therra had been gone for some days now, they figured she was out hunting. Something the girl hadn't done in two thousand years. She was hunting for Ianna.
He had gotten the impression of a large group of Vampires out here and since he was in the mood to kill, it seemed fitting to take it out on them. He had also gotten the feeling they were hunting something. He refused to allow them to kill while he could stop them, and as long as they were in his territory, then he could stop them.
He heard the sound of sticks breaking and shouts of vampires as they closed in on there prey. He could only wonder what could be so interesting that they would chase it so long. Vampires were stupid and normally gave up the chase if the prey was too hard to catch. He moved ahead with lightning speed, one of the bonuses of being immortal. They had all the Vampires talents, only they used them for good.
Jason frowned as he watched the mongrels, by the looks of things they had managed to eat. Nasty scum they were probably on catching this one to save for later. He caught a glimpse of dark hair as a figure tore by him and shock riddled through him, it was a woman. He would worry about her later. Right now he had some dirt bags to take care off.
Jason smiled a feral grin, his fangs dropping out of his mouth easily, as the group approached him. "Going somewhere mongrels?" He questioned. They backed up uneasily. One of them opened its mouth, to reply to the insult, when it was hit from behind. Zavier mixed up with them for a few moments, easily taking them out. Normal minions were no match for the royal guard.
" I wonder who they were chasing?" Zavier questioned as he moved away from their piles of dust. A slight scowl etched across his features. He had been looking for more of a fight.
" Who knows," Shrugging Jason turns in the direction she had gone. "But we had better find her, before something else does. It is dangerous out here."
" Yes, well, you had better retract those fangs or she will probably faint." Zavier said dryly. Jason laughed but did as he said as they picked up the trail that the girl had left. It was wide and easy to follow, as she was obviously terrified, he could practically taste it on the wind. They needed to find her fast, for with such an easy scent; Vampires could pick up on it for miles around.
~*~
Kris moved through the forest and sighed as he noticed horse tracks. They looked fairly new and… yes there they were, but no sign of the riders. By the looks of things they appeared to be female. Hmm…there had not been any female's around here for a long time. He scanned the area but could find no sign of them. He shrugged it off. There was little he wanted to do to help a human. Not any more, at least.
~*~
Nathan watched the stars and practically could hear them screaming danger. Juno was in danger, he could feel it and, the stars were practically shouting it at him as they tried to get the point across, Juno was in trouble. Where was she? But it wasn't Juno anymore she had a new name. A name was being branded on his heart to go beside Juno's. Where are you Makoto?
~*~
Serenity sighed as she looked out of the window and at the moon. After four thousand years she was going to be getting her Senshi back. She closed her hands around the crystal and felt it pulse an answer back at her. She smiled softly and wondered why it had taken so long. For although she needed them, her love for them paled in comparison to the men who cried out for them daily. Looking once more at the moon she sighed.
"Why, Setsuna, why did you let them leave me?"
~*~
Therra looked at the sister hood necklace that she held. Once again someone would hold the other part and, she would finally be able to soul bond herself to Rox, Kris' younger brother. She had loved him for a lifetime but could not until Ianna returned, she had sworn, sworn that she would be by her side. Besides someone had to drop the knife, with a grin, on Rox's foot. And no one could pull such a stunt off like Ianna could.
Finally her family would be complete. Not that she lacked for companionship; between Rox and Endy she had never been alone. Especially for those first couple of hundred years after their deaths, they had been worried she would go after them. She had wanted to of course, she loved them as much as the guys, and she needed them as much as the guys. Especially Ianna, she needed her and she needed her back soon. A person could only live without a part of one's soul for so long. Pulling on her 'battle gear' she grinned slightly. It was time to find Ianna, before Beryl did. She had already lost her once, and she wasn't about to do it again. Even if it meant taking on the bitch herself.
