FOUR
"I remember eyes that shined as they looked so hard back into mine/
Now it's just a memory so I'll set you free"(The Bangles, "I'll Set You Free")
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You wanted to see me?" Vegeta leaned against the wall, throwing a small energy blast from his hand up in the air like a tennis ball.
The entity known as Chaos had no form-she only swirled aroun in a red mist. "I want you to get the Universe stone from Sailor Sun and that sidekick of hers, Sailor Demeter."
"What's in it for me? I've got better things to do than chase little girls around."
"You fool!" Chaos propelled Vegeta against the wall with a show of force. Vegeta looked up, startled.
"What the hell was that for?" Vegeta snapped.
"The Universe stone has great power," Chaos snapped back. "Its holder is the most powerful being in the universe. I want that stone!""
"I still don't see what this has to do with me," Vegeta said.
"You want power, don't you? This stone has it."
"Fine," Vegeta said. "But you had better not be lying."
"Are you daring to threaten me?"
"I'm a Saiyan," Vegeta snapped. "I'll threaten who I please."
Interlude
Jade woke up in Jennifer's bed. "I must have fallen asleep," Jade said to herself. She left the room and wandered down the halls of the huge mansion. It wasn't long before she ran into Raven.
"I was just coming to look for you," he said. "Some of Don Giovanni's men are going to see Phantom of the Operatonight and I wondered if you wanted to go."
Jade's eyes widened. "I've always wanted to see it. Are you going too?"
The don and I have some business to attend to," Raven said. "But they're leaving in an hour, so go find Jennifer and tell her you're going."
"Okay," Jade said, skipping down the hall. "Tell the don I said thanks a bunch!"
Raven simply laughed as Jade ran back down the hall.
Jade, meanwhile, went back to Jennifer's room. Soon Jennifer joined her.
"Did Raven tell you where we're going tonight?" Jennifer asked.
"Yeah! Do you have something I can wear?"
"Hmm, let's see..." Jennifer rummaged around in her closet, tossing various articles of clothing on the floor. "Ah-ha!" she found an orange dress with thin straps and tossed it at Jade.
"It's gorgeous," Jade said.
"It'll look good on you."
Interlude
"Isn't this great?" Jade said during intermission from her seat in the don's private box. "It's everything I thought it would be, and better!"
"Ha ha ha...I'm glad to hear that," a sarcastic voice said.
"What? Who said that?" Lou, the man Raven had snapped at a few days ago, sat up in his seat. He found himself grabbing his gun as a man in strange-looking armor flew in front of them.
"Now do you REALLY think that gun can stop me?" the man threw a blast of energy at Lou, which propelled him backward.
"Jade, we should transform and get this guy!" Jennifer whispered, grabbing her medallion.
"Not here," Jade whispered back. "Everyone will know who we are. Besides, I can feel this guy's power; it won't do us any good."
"Give me the universe stone!" the man demanded, looking directly at Jade.
"Not again," Jade groaned. "Whatever that thing is, I don't have it," she snapped. "Dammit, why couldn't Raven be here?"
"Fine, we'll do it the hard way," the man snapped. "Pathetic humans-this will be all too easy." He gathered a ball of energy and tossed it at Jade and Jennifer, only to be surprised by...
"Barrier!" Jade found herself yelling. A huge bubble of enrgy surrounded the group and the blast bounced off.
"Damn!" the man said. Then he grinned. "Try this-big bang attack!"
Jade closed her eyes and mentally strengthened the shield. Beside her, Jennifer was cursing a blue streak. The blast easily bounced off.
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..." Jennifer muttered.
"What the hell?" the man yelled. "Only a Saiyan could have deflected that blast!"
"Saiyan..." The word echoed in Jade's mind and memories flooded through her head. "In the name of the Saiyan sun kingdom of Aurora, I demand you explain yourself!"
The man looked at her, stunned. "I am Prince Vegeta. How could you be of Aurora's royal family? They were killed centuries ago."
"Wouldn't you like to know," Jade said. "Would you kill a fellow Saiyan, then?"
"Bah," Vegeta said. "Woman, you aren't worth my time." With that, he flew out of the building.
"Um..what's a Saiyan?" Jennifer asked. "Jade?"
Jade found herself collapsing from the draining effects of the energy shield. In seconds, everything had gone black.
Interlude
"You didn't tell me she was a Saiyan," Vegeta said in accusation.
"I didn't know," Chaos snapped.
"Ha, the all-powerful Chaos didn't know? How could you overlook something like that?"
"Insolent!" Chaos propelled Vegeta against the wall again.
Vegeta got up and laughed. "You can hurt me, but you can't kill me. I'm just as evil as you are, but you're only a substance-an emotion. You cannot and will not make me kill my own kind."
With that, Vegeta sailed away. Chaos was left, cursing herself and Vegeta both.
Interlude
Jade woke up in a guest room in the Giovannis' mansion. Minerva was perched on a chair. Jennifer was pacing the room.
"Jennifer?" Jade asked warily. "Minerva?"
"Jade, thank God!" Jennifer said, rushing over to the bed. "You've been out for a week. What did you do, anyway?"
"That shield..it drained a lot out of me. That Vegeta is one powerful character," Jade said.
"I'm sorry," Minerva said. "I didn't realize that you were a Saiyan. Your parents appointed me your guardian after they sent you to the planet Thoth, so I didn't know your true identity."
"Do you know anything about Saiyans?" Jade asked Minerva.
"I know that they're a powerful warrior race," Minerva answered. "When the moon is full, they can transform into giant, uncontrollable monkeys-if they have tails."
"Tails? I don't have a tail," Jade said.
"Your parents must have cut it off," Minerva said.
"What if my tail comes back now that I've tapped into my Saiyan power?"
"That would be weird," Jennifer said.
"Hey, maybe someone should tell Raven about all this," Jade said.
"Tell me what?" Raven said as he entered the room. "Are you all right?"
"Fine, no thanks to you," Jade snapped. "Why weren't you there when we needed you? That Vegeta guy could have killed us!"
"I told you, I had business to attend to," Raven snapped. "You're the all-mighty Saiyan; protect yourself."
Jade was stunned. "I thought you cared about me," she whispered.
Raven narrowed his eyes. "So you had a pretty face and I had a soft spot. Big deal. I may have saved your life, but that doesn't mean I love you, kid."
Jade tried to hold back her tears and said, "How..dare you! You arrogant bastard! Jennifer and I could have died!"
Raven's face changed from annoyance to fury. "Do you realize who you're talking to?"
"Um, Jade?" Jennifer said. "Maybe it's not wise to make him mad."
"Why?" Jade asked. "He's just a man."
Raven flew at Jade and pressed her against the wall. "Don't you dare mess with me, little girl," he whispered, twisting her arm. "You don't know a damn thing about the real world."
"Let go of my arm," Jade said.
"Raven, let her go, dammit," Jennifer said. She ran over to help her friend, but Raven knocked her back.
"FATHER!" Jennifer yelled. Minerva flew out the window. "Damn bird," Jennifer cursed.
"He won't be back for a while," Raven said.
"Then how about this?" Jennifer said. "Ursa Galaxy Power!"
Raven turned around and aimed a burst of enrgy at Jennifer, which she dodged.
"Paralysis bind!" she yelled.
"Fool," Raven hisssed, pushing her back. "I'm too strong for that."
"Sun Cosmic Power!" Jade yelled, transforming into Sailor Sun.
"What do you think you can do?" Raven asked. "You know damn well I'm too strong for you."
Sailor Sun knew he was right, but found herself asking, "Why are you doing this?"
"I do what I please," Raven hisssed. He began powering up a dark energy blast, and..
"Sun Fire Wall!" Sailor Sun yelled, releasing a wall of fire to protect herself and Sailor Demeter. Raven's blast was released seconds later and the shield held-barely.
"Next time, you're mine," Raven hissed. "Maybe I'll just take the universe stone for myself, eh?"
"I don't think so," a familiar voice hissed.
"Prince..Vegeta," Sailor Sun whispered, letting the shield down and collapsing next to Sailor Demeter. Minerva flew in and perched on the bed.
"How did you get HIM to come?" Sailor Demeter asked.
"Never mind that," Vegeta snapped. "Big bang attack!" An explosion rocked the room, and Raven flew out into the hall. Vegeta went after him. Sailor Sun staggered into the hall.
"Fool woman," Vegeta grumbled. "What kind of Saiyan are you? You could have destroyed him yourself."
"I didn't know I was a Saiyan until a week ago, prince," Sailor Sun said.
"Bah," Vegeta said, bending over Raven's battered body. "I'll do it, then."
Sailor Sun put a hand on Vegeta's shoulder and said, "Prince Vegeta, please don't."
"Why not?" he snapped.
"Because many years ago, he saved my life. He was a different man then, I suppose. I ask in the name of Aurora that you spare his life."
"Bah, you're too soft, woman," Vegeta scoffed.
"I never said you couldn't make him suffer," Sailor Sun added.
"Now you're talking," Vegeta said. "But I do expect you to tell me what's going on here."
"Just let me...catch my breath," Sailor Sun gasped.
"How are we going to explain you to my father?" Sailor Demeter asked Vegeta.
"Your problem, not mine woman," Vegeta snapped. The Sailor Sun woman had her head on his shoulder and he was tempted to shake it off. Soft or not, she was Saiyan royalty and she had power. And he was getting a funny feeling in his stomach sitting next to her. He looked down and noticed something that hadn't been there before.
Sailor Sun had a tail.
"I remember eyes that shined as they looked so hard back into mine/
Now it's just a memory so I'll set you free"(The Bangles, "I'll Set You Free")
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You wanted to see me?" Vegeta leaned against the wall, throwing a small energy blast from his hand up in the air like a tennis ball.
The entity known as Chaos had no form-she only swirled aroun in a red mist. "I want you to get the Universe stone from Sailor Sun and that sidekick of hers, Sailor Demeter."
"What's in it for me? I've got better things to do than chase little girls around."
"You fool!" Chaos propelled Vegeta against the wall with a show of force. Vegeta looked up, startled.
"What the hell was that for?" Vegeta snapped.
"The Universe stone has great power," Chaos snapped back. "Its holder is the most powerful being in the universe. I want that stone!""
"I still don't see what this has to do with me," Vegeta said.
"You want power, don't you? This stone has it."
"Fine," Vegeta said. "But you had better not be lying."
"Are you daring to threaten me?"
"I'm a Saiyan," Vegeta snapped. "I'll threaten who I please."
Interlude
Jade woke up in Jennifer's bed. "I must have fallen asleep," Jade said to herself. She left the room and wandered down the halls of the huge mansion. It wasn't long before she ran into Raven.
"I was just coming to look for you," he said. "Some of Don Giovanni's men are going to see Phantom of the Operatonight and I wondered if you wanted to go."
Jade's eyes widened. "I've always wanted to see it. Are you going too?"
The don and I have some business to attend to," Raven said. "But they're leaving in an hour, so go find Jennifer and tell her you're going."
"Okay," Jade said, skipping down the hall. "Tell the don I said thanks a bunch!"
Raven simply laughed as Jade ran back down the hall.
Jade, meanwhile, went back to Jennifer's room. Soon Jennifer joined her.
"Did Raven tell you where we're going tonight?" Jennifer asked.
"Yeah! Do you have something I can wear?"
"Hmm, let's see..." Jennifer rummaged around in her closet, tossing various articles of clothing on the floor. "Ah-ha!" she found an orange dress with thin straps and tossed it at Jade.
"It's gorgeous," Jade said.
"It'll look good on you."
Interlude
"Isn't this great?" Jade said during intermission from her seat in the don's private box. "It's everything I thought it would be, and better!"
"Ha ha ha...I'm glad to hear that," a sarcastic voice said.
"What? Who said that?" Lou, the man Raven had snapped at a few days ago, sat up in his seat. He found himself grabbing his gun as a man in strange-looking armor flew in front of them.
"Now do you REALLY think that gun can stop me?" the man threw a blast of energy at Lou, which propelled him backward.
"Jade, we should transform and get this guy!" Jennifer whispered, grabbing her medallion.
"Not here," Jade whispered back. "Everyone will know who we are. Besides, I can feel this guy's power; it won't do us any good."
"Give me the universe stone!" the man demanded, looking directly at Jade.
"Not again," Jade groaned. "Whatever that thing is, I don't have it," she snapped. "Dammit, why couldn't Raven be here?"
"Fine, we'll do it the hard way," the man snapped. "Pathetic humans-this will be all too easy." He gathered a ball of energy and tossed it at Jade and Jennifer, only to be surprised by...
"Barrier!" Jade found herself yelling. A huge bubble of enrgy surrounded the group and the blast bounced off.
"Damn!" the man said. Then he grinned. "Try this-big bang attack!"
Jade closed her eyes and mentally strengthened the shield. Beside her, Jennifer was cursing a blue streak. The blast easily bounced off.
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..." Jennifer muttered.
"What the hell?" the man yelled. "Only a Saiyan could have deflected that blast!"
"Saiyan..." The word echoed in Jade's mind and memories flooded through her head. "In the name of the Saiyan sun kingdom of Aurora, I demand you explain yourself!"
The man looked at her, stunned. "I am Prince Vegeta. How could you be of Aurora's royal family? They were killed centuries ago."
"Wouldn't you like to know," Jade said. "Would you kill a fellow Saiyan, then?"
"Bah," Vegeta said. "Woman, you aren't worth my time." With that, he flew out of the building.
"Um..what's a Saiyan?" Jennifer asked. "Jade?"
Jade found herself collapsing from the draining effects of the energy shield. In seconds, everything had gone black.
Interlude
"You didn't tell me she was a Saiyan," Vegeta said in accusation.
"I didn't know," Chaos snapped.
"Ha, the all-powerful Chaos didn't know? How could you overlook something like that?"
"Insolent!" Chaos propelled Vegeta against the wall again.
Vegeta got up and laughed. "You can hurt me, but you can't kill me. I'm just as evil as you are, but you're only a substance-an emotion. You cannot and will not make me kill my own kind."
With that, Vegeta sailed away. Chaos was left, cursing herself and Vegeta both.
Interlude
Jade woke up in a guest room in the Giovannis' mansion. Minerva was perched on a chair. Jennifer was pacing the room.
"Jennifer?" Jade asked warily. "Minerva?"
"Jade, thank God!" Jennifer said, rushing over to the bed. "You've been out for a week. What did you do, anyway?"
"That shield..it drained a lot out of me. That Vegeta is one powerful character," Jade said.
"I'm sorry," Minerva said. "I didn't realize that you were a Saiyan. Your parents appointed me your guardian after they sent you to the planet Thoth, so I didn't know your true identity."
"Do you know anything about Saiyans?" Jade asked Minerva.
"I know that they're a powerful warrior race," Minerva answered. "When the moon is full, they can transform into giant, uncontrollable monkeys-if they have tails."
"Tails? I don't have a tail," Jade said.
"Your parents must have cut it off," Minerva said.
"What if my tail comes back now that I've tapped into my Saiyan power?"
"That would be weird," Jennifer said.
"Hey, maybe someone should tell Raven about all this," Jade said.
"Tell me what?" Raven said as he entered the room. "Are you all right?"
"Fine, no thanks to you," Jade snapped. "Why weren't you there when we needed you? That Vegeta guy could have killed us!"
"I told you, I had business to attend to," Raven snapped. "You're the all-mighty Saiyan; protect yourself."
Jade was stunned. "I thought you cared about me," she whispered.
Raven narrowed his eyes. "So you had a pretty face and I had a soft spot. Big deal. I may have saved your life, but that doesn't mean I love you, kid."
Jade tried to hold back her tears and said, "How..dare you! You arrogant bastard! Jennifer and I could have died!"
Raven's face changed from annoyance to fury. "Do you realize who you're talking to?"
"Um, Jade?" Jennifer said. "Maybe it's not wise to make him mad."
"Why?" Jade asked. "He's just a man."
Raven flew at Jade and pressed her against the wall. "Don't you dare mess with me, little girl," he whispered, twisting her arm. "You don't know a damn thing about the real world."
"Let go of my arm," Jade said.
"Raven, let her go, dammit," Jennifer said. She ran over to help her friend, but Raven knocked her back.
"FATHER!" Jennifer yelled. Minerva flew out the window. "Damn bird," Jennifer cursed.
"He won't be back for a while," Raven said.
"Then how about this?" Jennifer said. "Ursa Galaxy Power!"
Raven turned around and aimed a burst of enrgy at Jennifer, which she dodged.
"Paralysis bind!" she yelled.
"Fool," Raven hisssed, pushing her back. "I'm too strong for that."
"Sun Cosmic Power!" Jade yelled, transforming into Sailor Sun.
"What do you think you can do?" Raven asked. "You know damn well I'm too strong for you."
Sailor Sun knew he was right, but found herself asking, "Why are you doing this?"
"I do what I please," Raven hisssed. He began powering up a dark energy blast, and..
"Sun Fire Wall!" Sailor Sun yelled, releasing a wall of fire to protect herself and Sailor Demeter. Raven's blast was released seconds later and the shield held-barely.
"Next time, you're mine," Raven hissed. "Maybe I'll just take the universe stone for myself, eh?"
"I don't think so," a familiar voice hissed.
"Prince..Vegeta," Sailor Sun whispered, letting the shield down and collapsing next to Sailor Demeter. Minerva flew in and perched on the bed.
"How did you get HIM to come?" Sailor Demeter asked.
"Never mind that," Vegeta snapped. "Big bang attack!" An explosion rocked the room, and Raven flew out into the hall. Vegeta went after him. Sailor Sun staggered into the hall.
"Fool woman," Vegeta grumbled. "What kind of Saiyan are you? You could have destroyed him yourself."
"I didn't know I was a Saiyan until a week ago, prince," Sailor Sun said.
"Bah," Vegeta said, bending over Raven's battered body. "I'll do it, then."
Sailor Sun put a hand on Vegeta's shoulder and said, "Prince Vegeta, please don't."
"Why not?" he snapped.
"Because many years ago, he saved my life. He was a different man then, I suppose. I ask in the name of Aurora that you spare his life."
"Bah, you're too soft, woman," Vegeta scoffed.
"I never said you couldn't make him suffer," Sailor Sun added.
"Now you're talking," Vegeta said. "But I do expect you to tell me what's going on here."
"Just let me...catch my breath," Sailor Sun gasped.
"How are we going to explain you to my father?" Sailor Demeter asked Vegeta.
"Your problem, not mine woman," Vegeta snapped. The Sailor Sun woman had her head on his shoulder and he was tempted to shake it off. Soft or not, she was Saiyan royalty and she had power. And he was getting a funny feeling in his stomach sitting next to her. He looked down and noticed something that hadn't been there before.
Sailor Sun had a tail.