Just a quick note. I'm sure anyone keeping track of this story has noticed how rarely it's being updated. For that I apologise, but I have assessment of various types coming out my ears. I have two months until my holidays begin and hopefully I'll be able to do better then. This story will be finished, in fact already is, and only the writing of the third and final is holding it up as I don't want to post something that might need changing as the story develops.
Once more I say sorry and thank you to everyone who has reviewed or emailed me. I'm more than grateful for the encouragement.
One last thing, if you see any discrepancies can you let me know of them. I planned a lot of them and want to explain them in the last story but it's been a while and so I'm afraid I'll forget some.
Thank you for all help and I hope you enjoy.
Draegyn
The Guardians of Selene: Chapter three
The second in the Book of the Renewal.
By Draegyn
Dragynne2000@yahoo.com.au
It was hard to think of himself as Tranquillity on Earth, in spite of the fact that the persona of Andrew had been well and truly put aside. Even Motoki, maybe especially Motoki, was too dangerous for him to answer to. So if anyone had found their way to the secret chamber beneath the arcade they would have found a winged alien answering to the same name as the young man whose family owned the arcade just as often as the alien did to his birth name. For the same reason, neither he nor his companions used audible speech instead a constant mental conversation ensued.
*So we believe Anger to have concealed itself somewhere within the Middle East-* The statement was from the green eyed, white haired guardian that stood before the large holographic projection of Earth. Several spots across the transparent globe were coloured red to denote out breaks of unusual aggression, one of the largest was near Israel. Once upon a time Artemis had been one of Andrew's teachers now he and his life-mate were guardians who supported the Law Keeper in her duty.
Rita broadcasted a burst of disgust. *Where else? It's always the Middle East... Well either that or the former Soviet Union.* Tranquillity reflected that she would know, she was the seeker while he was the warrior. She, more than he, was responsible for monitoring world events.
*We have been made aware of the difficulties you face under normal situations Lady Reika,* Luna replied. She brushed her sable hair out of her way as she turned from her computer consol to allow her sky blue gaze to catch the other female's eyes. *Yet this is no normal situation, even the most peaceful of Earth's inhabitants are vulnerable to the spears, the people of the Middle East no more or less so. Indeed, it is the abrupt cessation of peace talks that have alerted us to the problem.*
*But Luna, there are always failed peace talks in that region.*
*Where even the United Nations mediators cannot control their anger? I think not, the manner in which their peace talk was administered suggests outside influence. From beginning to end it was little more than a brawl and the last word were from the English speaker telling one and sundry that 'he washed his hands of the bloody fools and would advise his government that a purge of the entire area was what was needed.*
*Stars! I didn't realise that it had been that bad.*
*You were recovering from the energy expended in saving Serenity. I believe you may be excused from such a small lapse.* Luna turned back to her monitor in an attempt to conceal the tears in her eyes but they were obvious from her mental tone. Andrew's sister was more than just Luna's princess, former student and fellow guardian. She was the daughter that Luna and Artemis had never had.
*So what else do we have?* Andrew asked into the following silence.
Artemis shook himself and continued, *Pride has been more difficult to locate as there are several fresh military incursions which have threatened to become full scale invasions before long and the motivation of most is fundamentally pride. Certain governments need help but refuse charity and that leaves them only war as an alternative. Others believe themselves to be slighted and small misunderstandings have grown all out of proportion. Many of the poorer soviet states have their eyes on richer European neighbours, which I gather is normal. What isn't, is the way Indonesia is eyeing Australia and an armed force of Mexicans have crossed into America.*
*Which are the larger problems? No that's not the right question to ask... which is the most sudden development? The spears could not have preceded Usa by much, that gives us the three days in which she's arrived to work with.* Andrew considered the problem, for the two and a half days his sister, and Darien, had slept he and the other guardians had not known what they were up against. Finally they had a more accurate summary but that still didn't help when the population of Earth was considered. *Oh Stars!* he groaned and slapped his forehead. *What about non-humans? Have there been any reports in the media about the strange behaviour of wildlife or pets. Even plants and as far down to bacteria are affected by the presence of a spear!*
Rita's response was instant excitement. *And by cross-referencing such reports with suspected hiding places we can locate the spear itself! Heart Lover, why didn't I think of that? I'm supposed to be the seeker in our partnership!*
*Even us dumb warriors are allowed flashes of insight occasionally.*
*There's a small plague in Jerusalem and it's not limited to humans!* Luna cried, *Doctors report that normally benign intestinal bacteria inexplicably became lethal.*
Rita moved to look over Luna's shoulder and read the medical reports. *From this I'd say that the bacteria were conducting their own little wars to the detriment of their hosts.*
*Check that, Jerusalem and the Middle East for Anger.* Andrew sighed and watched as Artemis turned that particular area black on the hologram. *OK, what about Pride?*
*The rainforest of Northern Australia and Indonesia seemed to be experiencing unusual phenomena but reports are sketchy. Wait a second I want to check something, sorry Luna.* Rita reached past the dark haired guardian and tapped at the keyboard. *I thought so!* she exclaimed and straightened. *There's a little media conflict going on at the moment, reporters are on strike, apparently the owner of one of Australia's larger media networks has alienated his entire staff of two thousand! He made some comments that mightn't have been so bad if only he hadn't taken the opportunity to broadcast his opinion countrywide. The reports from a rival station are all vicious, there's not much objective reporting happening and the tone of many reports doesn't stop short of outright gloating. It's like an overpopulation of egos.*
*In other words quite a few people have gotten too big for their boots,* Luna commented. *Also there have been a string of violent incidents involving neighbours, things like small everyday disputes getting out of hand when no one involved will back down.*
*Pride then.* Artemis concluded and turned Indonesia and northern Australia green. *What about Lust?*
*Nothing concrete,* Luna answered, *There have been no incidents which can be attributed to Lust-*
Rita snorted. *Well there is the scandal in Washington but it's the third time that particular politician's been caught sleeping around. He'll be out next election or I'll give up hope on the American public.*
*Sexual indiscretion does not mean incompetency,* Artemis scolded but his own thoughts were disgusted as he processed the details Luna sent him.
*In this case it does, he's botched so many things I'm surprised he hasn't been thrown out on his ear by his own party!* Rita retorted.
*Alright!* Andrew sent before she could begin a familiar tirade, *So Lust is still unknown, keep looking, we'll eventually turn something up, it's not the most subtle of the seven.*
Luna nodded but slipped away from the consul. *I agree but someone should be with Usagi, she should not be alone. I would be more than happy to check on her.*
*I know and I'm grateful Luna but Darien is more than capable of caring for her at the moment and she's safe at my place. The wards were built into the building and I have them at full power, the spears won't be able to find her.*
Artemis looked at him as if to ask were he kidding. *You really believe that a human, no matter how powerful, is able to manage your twin? Usagi is one of the worst patients in history, she'll be itching to get moving!*
*I'll wager she won't.* Andrew replied, amusement trickling into his companions' minds. *One, Darien'll tie her up with his questions. Two, she'll want an explanation for why Darien can remember her at all. Three, if her own condition doesn't slow her down then Darien's will, she'll be obliged to see that he at least eats before she tries to leave. Four, if she reacts to Darien the way I do then his very presence will calm her and increase her patience. Five, most important, I know that she knows the spears were sent to kill her. She knows that and she knows that she's in no condition to fight them, she won't try to run until she's completely recovered so give her a couple more days before she bolts.*
*I hope you are right Tranquillity, the queen would be most displeased if your twin tries to track the spears herself.* Artemis' tone was grim and Andrew sighed. Telling his sister that she was effectively grounded until the last three spears had been destroyed was not something he was anticipating. In fact he planned to corner Darien before he did so and use his friend as a bribe. It was risky, she was dangerously fascinating to mortals it was obvious that not even Darien could remain unaffected by her. Bringing them together had the possibility to spark undesirable consequences but between them they were the two people he trusted above nearly everyone else. He held on to that trust with a grip of iron and prayed that they could keep each other out of trouble.
*Toki hurry, Lust is here!* The thought burst into four minds in a shriek of fear and desire. The combination made Andrew swear as he and the other guardians jumped into action. She had been found so soon and of all the spears to find her it had to be Lust, the one Darien was most vulnerable to when near her. His sister might have been protected from the influence of a spear but, from the emotions that had flavoured her sending, she was in no way impervious to Darien. So much for his intention to trust them.
He flashed a quick image of the bedroom in his apartment to Luna and Artemis and then tried to teleport only to rebound off a tangled skein of energy lines. He reappeared back in the hidden room under the arcade.
*The proximity of the spear has thoroughly skewed the energy fields around the building. We'll need to get into the building before we can actually teleport into your quarters.* Artemis immediately analysed the situation and turned to Andrew. *My prince we need disguises and a place near the building to teleport to.*
Andrew nodded and thought quickly. *There's an alleyway in between my building and the next. It's dark, it's shadowed and no one'll see us if we appear in there. As for disguises you and Luna go as cats, you'll find that you'll have more freedom that way and since it's a shape-change your magic won't be limited.* He sent a picture of the location in question and once more the four attempted to teleport. When Andrew appeared in the shadowed space he automatically reinstated his disguise. Rita and two cats, one black, one white, were with him and the single element which indicated their otherworldly origin was the gold crescents of guardians which remained on their foreheads no matter what shape they changed.
Without a word the four trotted from the alley and towards the entrance to the building. There was no one around to watch as the cats darted off on their own or as Andrew and Rita entered the foyer. What they found there both distressed and worried them. They were Lunarian and by nature less inhibited concerning their body, when one could alter their form at will it the nakedness of one such shape longer seemed important. Yet the sight of a security guard copulating, there was no other word for the act in such circumstances, with a middle-aged woman in plain sight was nauseating.
Andrew heard Rita whimper, choked with pity for the hapless humans who had been caught in Lust's spell. Ordinary, decent people would be forced to live with the memory and consequences of their madness.
*Lover...* She had to pause in her sending to compose herself. *Lover, you go to Usa, she needs you but I'm of more use here. When Luna and Artemis find the spear there are going to be a lot of traumatised people...*
*Memory spells?*
*On everyone affected. I think it would be for the best, your security guard is married as is the woman he's with.*
He nodded and left her, he had his own miracle to perform. He teleported to the bedroom in his own apartment and discovered his best friend and his twin sister wrapped in each other's arms. Serenity looked up at him as soon as he finished materialising and he staggered at the raw emotion that she and Darien were projecting between them.
*I am so sorry fy braud, I did not know that I had done this. Not even the spears have done such a heinous thing.*
*I don't understand Usa…* It was obvious from both his sister's mental state and the fact that the building was still there that Lust had not succeeded – if it had then the resulting explosion of energy from her would have destroyed at least the block… at least. So what had happened between them? What could she possibly have done to send the human into such a broken state? Even as the thought formed in his mind, her own fragile mental barriers were lowered and he saw all that had happened. With knowledge came comprehension and, for a moment, pity which was quickly replaced by concern. Not quickly enough.
His mind still in contact with Serenity's Darien felt his friend's well-meaning emotions and the man who had done everything in his life to avoid weakness rebelled. He wrenched himself from Serenity's embrace and lurched off the bed. Andrew saw him catch a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror and stiffen. Though Darien's cheeks were dry his eyes were those of a man who had endured more than he could bare and for a moment had succumbed to the weight of his burdens. Such vulnerability was not something that the human would want anyone, even one who had been his closest friend, to witness.
"Where are my clothes?" he demanded.
Even as he watched the cold, reserved stranger that Darien had become over the past few years once more returned. Sadly he answered, "On the shelf in the bathroom. I had them cleaned yesterday."
Indigo eyes narrowed. "Yesterday! How long was I out?"
"Three days." The answer would tell Darien nothing of the fear Andrew had felt in those days. Fear not for his sister whom he knew was recovering but for the human who had drained his spirit to the dregs to rescue her. The echo of that fear was still with him even with its subject before him but none of this was revealed to Darien.
Darien remained oblivious to the emotions behind Andrew's calm façade. "Alex and the generals will be worried. I have to go." With that abrupt comment he turned in the direction of the apartment's bathroom but before he take more than a step Serenity cried out after him.
"Darien…" Worry and fear were blatant in her voice and they caused the human to stiffen.
"I'll be fine!" he snapped at her so harshly that she recoiled.
"Darien," she repeated in a wounded whisper.
With perceptive eyes Andrew watched some of the man's newly repaired shell crack and let the old Darien through. He turned back and smiled at her gently from across the room. "I'll be fine," he assured her again, "Trust me. I'm stronger than you seem to think."
She looked sceptical but she allowed him to go. As soon as he disappeared from the room Andrew crossed the space to go to his sister. For a moment they shared their concern for the uncommon mortal both had become fond of, accepting and giving comfort to each other as they could not with their human friend. Yet in such times this moment of peace could not last and both brother and sister drew away from each other.
"What of Lust? And where are the others?" she asked, her tone strictly professional.
"Luna and Artemis are trying to try and find Lust while Rita is going to see to the humans in the vicinity," he replied just as seriously, "We would have been here sooner but there are tangles in the energy fields that are going to take months to sort out. Lust has been here long enough to affect the environment quite deeply."
Her grimace deepened. "That sounds right, with my senses so weak it took me a while to realise that it was here. I wouldn't have known at all if I hadn't seen the spell in Darien's mind."
"It wouldn't matter if you'd known this was going to happen for a week," he told her, "You're too weak for battle right now and besides, Mama has given orders that you're to stay hidden until the last spear is dealt with."
"What?!" she hissed, outraged, "That could take months, years!"
"I notice that you are not questioning the reasoning behind the command Princess!" a white cat commented as Artemis and Luna appeared in the room.
She opened and closed her mouth for a moment and Andrew knew that she could not deny the necessity of keeping her safe. "You can't say that you didn't expect it Usa," he interjected, "They were sent to kill you, of course we wouldn't leave you on the firing range."
"Yet they've already found her," Luna murmured and changed back into her Lunarian form.
Serenity looked up sharply. "Did you find it?"
Both guardians shook their heads and Luna moved to sweep Serenity into a fervent embrace. "Sorry Princess," Artemis apologised, watching, "It was gone by the time we'd arrived. All that was left was for us to break its spell."
"If all that's true, she can't stay here then." Darien's voice surprised them all and Andrew looked away from his frustrated sister to the human who stood in the bathroom doorway. His face was expressionless and his voice neutral but he could not control his eyes. They seethed with so many emotions that probably not even he could interpret them all but his fear for Serenity's safety was obvious. Whether it was fear for the Speaker's heir, the destined bearer of the crystal or a beloved was another mystery and one that the Lunarians would not be permitted to solve. Whatever his motives, his words were true. Andrew's apartment was no longer a safe haven, Lust would return and when it did it would bring its fellow spears with it. "How was she found in the first place?" Darien went on to ask.
Artemis, still in feline form, jumped onto the bed and seated himself. "I noticed that there are a great many built in wards around the building, not to mention several aspects of the construction have certain non-human elements." His eyes were sharp and Andrew winced, he had hoped that no one would notice.
Luna tilted her head at the blonde in her arms and became faintly exasperated at something she felt in the other's mind. "No it's not all right Usa! What if the building had fallen into the possession of a talented human? There must be no indication of his presence on Earth or ours on the Moon!" she scolded aloud.
Serenity's face was rebellious but it was Darien's who Andrew was most interested in. The human male looked thoughtful and Andrew had to remind himself that it wasn't necessary to keep every secret any longer. While his sister began to argue that he and Rita had needed a safe house Andrew shrugged at Darien's raised eyebrow and approached him.
"Well I did," he said, referring to the idea of a safe house. He kept his voice down, not wanting to interrupt the argument between Serena and the other guardians.
Darien stared at him blandly. "I'm sure," he retorted dryly, "What I'm more interested in is the fact that your wards are inbuilt. That would imply that you were someone else before you were 'Andrew', this building is twenty years old after all."
"I've been on Earth for nearly five hundred of your years Darien, I can't be the same person all the time." He watched his friend for a reaction but was disappointed when he only received a mild nod.
His let down must have shown because Darien smiled slightly but did not explain. Instead he asked, "So where will she go now?"
"Probably the control room under the arcade," Andrew answered and Darien frowned. "What?" he demanded of the dark haired man.
Indigo eyes examined him coolly. "Although I would love to know more of this control room," he murmured calmly, "That can wait. Would I be correct in assuming that the control room was something else you built?"
Andrew nodded, of course it was.
"Like this building?"
What was Darien getting at?
"With wards?" the irritated human finally prodded and Andrew finally understood.
"Oh..." he mouthed. Darien was right; Serena couldn't go there either. Where on Earth would there be wards strong enough to hide a being as powerful as his sister? More to the point where could they find wards that did not stand out as so glaringly foreign as those of the guardians did? A thought struck the blonde man and he considered it carefully. It should work but would anyone go along with it?
Andrew glanced at the silent human as innocuously as he could. "Ahhh Darien?"
***
Darien wasn't sure what he felt as he wandered through the aisles of the general store in the search for chocolate. Somehow Andrew had not only convinced Darien to shelter Serenity but also to go along with the charade that she was his girlfriend, Serena, and Luna was her pet cat. As far as his neighbours knew they were a couple happily in love and Darien gritted his teeth at the emotions that that particular pretence had roused. For a very short time he had felt whole only to discover it was a lie. The hurt had faded to a dull ache and he had the false emotions themselves under tight control but a burning resentment was growing in him. He had been if not happy then at least content but that was before a certain angel had barged her way into his life. However unintentionally she had done so she had roused feelings in him that he had long thought dead and now he would have to conquer them again.
He slammed a tin of fruit into his trolley and ruthlessly returned his mind to his current task. Aside from the fact that he was a chocoholic himself, his new flatmate also had a fetish and his supply was critically low. If he and Serenity, both of them still requiring energy to recuperate, were going to last a day in his apartment they needed more food than the two-minute-noodles that were currently the staple of his diet. A colourful box caught his attention and he wondered if Serena had tried cocoa pops the last time she was on Earth. Two boxes went into the trolley he had already half filled as did a jar of chocolate spread, three bottles of milk - he'd found the drink mixes ten minutes earlier - and a half a dozen assorted packets of biscuits. He ran through his mental checklist, absently tossing a few cake mixes into the trolley as he did so. He winced when he realised that he was acting as if he really were her devoted boyfriend trying to please her. Quickly he made his way to the fresh food section and bagged two kilos of carrots solely because he was fairly sure that she didn't like them. He was only fairly sure because, he admitted to himself, she was right when she had said that they didn't know each other well.
After that small act of rebellion against his persistent affection and content that he had found the most essential items he steered his shopping trolley towards the checkout. His mind whimsically thought of Serena who, at that moment, explored the small apartment he lived in. Situated on the tenth floor of an attractive building in Manhattan, its location and amenities made up for the size and expense. Even more important, were his own magical wards woven into the fabric of his apartment, wards created by a scion of Earth and indistinguishable from the materials with which the building was constructed.
The line moved interminably forward and Darien's mind drifted further and further from the real world into a bored trance when a ponderous groan brought him back to reality. His eyes flicked around the shop, searching for the source of the noise, when the ground rumbled. He staggered and recovered his balance quickly. The other shoppers looked at him with varying levels of worry and curiosity and he realised that not one of them had heard or felt either rumble or groan. With a thought his perceptions reached out to read the energy patterns of the area.
What he found almost made him stagger again. He recovered his wits and thought quickly.
"Damn! Forgot the cheesecake," he muttered, loud enough for the next person, a man in his thirties, in line to hear him. "She'll kill me if I don't have any of that!" The other man looked at Darien in sympathy as he left the line.
"Women and their cheesecakes eh?" he commiserated.
Darien nodded with faked weariness and strode back into the labyrinth of shelves. He gave a brief thanks that even shops open until late weren't packed so close to midnight and abandoned his trolley in a shadowed nook. Then, with a quick glance to ensure that he was unobserved and a thought that cheesecake might be a good idea after all, he flew up, through the skylight and into the night.
The faint sounds of battle reached him almost immediately and an instant later it was Tuxedo Mask cutting through the air in search of creatures who could rouse the Earth herself. When he did reach the fight scene, for a moment he just hung in the air, totally stunned by what he saw. He shook his head and pointed his cane at the abomination. A blast of golden fire shot out of the end and set his target on fire. The monster's opponents glanced up and Tux noticed the relief that they felt but the three of them focused on their enemy before talking with each other. It had taken the humanoid barely a moment to extinguish the flames but its scarred skin was further marred by grievous burns, still bleeding slashes and one of its... 'hands' had been crushed.
A wave of water appeared out of nowhere and bowled the creature over. Three roses pinned it to the ground. Then the earth exploded. When the dust cleared all that remained were several small lumps that dissolved even as the trio of warriors watched.
After a moment of silence Tux turned to his companions and said in disbelief, "That was Freddy Krueger!" The woman with aqua coloured hair nodded silently while her blonde partner shrugged. Tux shook his head and repeated, "Freddy Krueger, the killer from 'A Nightmare in Elm Street'! One of the American film industry's horror classics!"
The blonde rolled her eyes. "We saw Coz, we know that already."
The beleaguered man took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. After all he had an angel who was the future ruler of the universe and her shape-changed alien cat staying with him at the moment and there were three all-powerful monsters that also happened to be cardinal sins hunting her. Why shouldn't a horror movie villain be rampaging through New York City? "Couldn't it at least have been a Japanese villain?" he asked the world at general. If he had to fight a fictional baddie couldn't it be one he'd grown up with and knew the weaknesses of?
"You'd prefer Godzilla to stomp its way through the business section?" the blonde retorted, voice laden with sarcasm. The mere thought made Tux shudder and he banished it quickly before he returned his attention to his companions.
Before him stood two sailor scouts, although they did not regard themselves as team members of the scouts that protected Tokyo. Sailors Uranus and Neptune were commonly referred to as the 'outers' by their fellow reincarnates, for despite the fact that they wore the same uniform as the 'inner' scouts the two groups did not mesh well. With an age difference of three years between the outers and the inners, the 'take no prisoners' approach of the outers and the more flamboyant style of the inners it didn't surprise Tuxedo Mask that there was so much friction between them.
Neptune's strangely hued hair, part of her magical disguise, fell in waves to her shoulders and matched her eyes exactly. Her magic was almost as powerful as Tux's had been before he had met Serenity the first time and was closely associated with the ocean, not surprising for someone who had been the elected ruler of Neptune in her previous life. Sailor Uranus, with cropped sandy blonde hair, turbulent blue eyes and a lean figure was an adept with earth and air of power equal or greater to her partner's. She was almost the opposite of her collected lover. Where Neptune was calm, Uranus was tempestuous, Neptune was patient, Uranus rash, Neptune was the epitome of feminine strength and Uranus' brash demeanour rivalled the most masculine of sergeants. Yet for all of their differences they complimented each other perfectly.
"So, where the hell have you been for the last few days Coz?" Uranus demanded and Tux sighed, he'd forgotten that she'd been with him when he'd sensed Serena's uncontrolled entry into Earth's atmosphere. He was saved from having to answer by a distant scream.
Neptune frowned slightly. "That sounds like it's coming from the direction the generals went," she advised him after a moment.
He winced. "We'd better go and see if they need help then," he suggested as he summarily grabbed a hold of both women and took to the air. Neptune's gasp was the only indication of the unexpectedness of Tux's action and when he glimpsed at Uranus from the corner of his eye it was to find her grinning in exaltation.
"I love this!" she shouted when she noticed him staring at her and he rolled his eyes. He shouldn't have expected anything else from his adrenaline-crazed cousin. He returned his attention to the ground below them and it took him only a moment to find sign of his quarry. He paused, hovering in the sky over the scene, and watched the figures below with bemusement. It took only one glance to see that the scream had not come from any bystanders or even one of the generals. Instead it had come from a giant pair of lips with legs that was even then arguing with one of Tux's allies while three other men laughed helplessly.
"I'm a motor mouth?" Jadeite protested loudly, "Me?! Are you kidding me? I'm not the giant gob with legs!"
The whole situation only went to prove how much emotion a person's mouth revealed, Tux mused as he watched the lips sneer.
"And you say that I am? That is a case of pot calling kettle black you blabbermouth!" the lips screeched in return.
"Blabbermouth?!" Jadeite turned to his hysterical comrades. "Do you lot think I'm a blabbermouth?"
None of the other three men had breath to reply so Uranus decided to answer in their stead. "Yes!"
In the shock of her bellow almost shattering his eardrum, Tux dropped her and only barely kept his hold on Neptune. Jadeite let out an undignified squawk when Uranus landed on him and his three fellow generals started laughing again. Even the giant lips stopped talking long enough to cackle in amusement.
"She's not going to let you forget that," Neptune observed while both she and Tux watched the blonde pair disentangle themselves.
"It's her own fault," Tux returned, completely without sympathy. "If she hadn't nearly deafened me she'd still be up here… And she wonders why I refuse to just take her for a joy flight."
Uranus spent a moment scowling up at them but forgot about them in favour of the lips. Her eyes narrowed in concentration and Tux felt the changes in the energy fields that heralded the physical manifestation of the spell she was casting. A gust of wind blasted through the area but Tux, forewarned, had landed rather than endure the tempest in the sky. The lips, on the other hand, had no idea of what had been set in motion. They were caught totally unprepared by the gale-force winds that gusted straight into its open mouth and filled it like the sails on a boat. Events went on to proceed in a satisfactory manner from there. Well for Sailor Uranus at least, the lips probably found absolutely no satisfaction in being hurled over a hundred metres to collide with some powerlines and explode in a shower of sparks.
"Now that is how you get things done!" Uranus declared smugly before she turned to Jadeite. "What the hell do you think you were doing? Arguing with it? You not on the debate team! Our job is to destroy pests like that, not encourage them!"
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he responded defensively. "It was a giant mouth for crying out loud! With no teeth to boot! What was it going to do? Suck me to death?"
"It'd spit him out after the first taste!" Uranus jested dryly and Jadeite grinned at her with a perverse pride.
Tux sighed as he took in his argumentative friends with a single glance. There was Jadeite, his blonde haired, green-eyed friend. He had an almost malicious sense of humour and, as a powerful telekinetic, was more than able to indulge in his penchant for practical jokes. Then again, Tux had to admit that his own less than tolerant demeanour since they had met was almost tailor-made to rouse the man's mischief. Nephrite, a brunette man with light blue eyes, was a mystic with the personality of one. He would never be straightforward if he could be oblique, something which could send the younger Zoisite into a fit of rage. Even so Nephrite seemed to regard the smaller, almost feminine, youth as a father would and would react as such should anyone threaten the boy. Last and most dangerous was Kunzite. Pale haired, pale-eyed and the eldest of all the reincarnates he was second in power only to Tux and far more ruthless.
It was Kunzite who had gathered the four men together to form the warrior team now called the generals after Tux and the inner scouts had destroyed Beryl and Metallia. Each of the males had been marked by Beryl and it was only her timely destruction that had saved them from slavery. Even so Kunzite had gained far greater intimacy with the inside of a slave collar than even the lowest of criminals should dream of. With Beryl's death he had sworn to never be a pawn again and had taken every measure he could to ensure that he kept his oath. He had sought out the other men like him whom Beryl had been stalking and together they found a strength that they did not possess alone. The only indication of Beryl's impact on their lives had been their warrior aliases; in defiance of the stone queen they named themselves after gemstones.
"Anyway it wasn't like the situation was life threatening," Jadeite continued, breaking Tux's chain of thought.
The dark haired man sighed. The blonde had to stir the whole subject up again, didn't he? Now Uranus would seize the opportunity to argue with him, something that was her favourite hobby whether as civilians or reincarnated warriors. Why could he just have let it lie? There were better things to do than stand around quibbling over minor details.
"Uranus, it's for Kunzite to rebuke him if necessary, not you."
The woman looked expectantly at the man in question who shook his head calmly. "I saw no danger in it."
"But-" she started to argue and Tux groaned.
"Is that all of them?" he interrupted tersely, "Yes? Then goodnight!" He would much rather spend the night talking to Serena than listening to another verbal war but before he could make his hasty getaway both Kunzite and Uranus rounded on him.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Hey Coz, you still haven't told me what happened the other day!"
"I am going home and I don't have to tell you anything Coz!"
"Darien…"
"Alex…" he mimicked sarcastically.
The blonde scout reddened and the other reincarnates stepped back to watch the show as the temperamental woman started to berate her cousin. "You vanish in the middle of a violent storm and aren't seen for three, count them, three days and you expect me to just let you go with that?! I think not! Apart from the fact that we were worried about there is the added consideration that the whole problem started with you and a vision, a combination that tends to mean trouble in the very near future. I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with tonight's outbreak of nightmares-"
Tux blinked, when he thought about it he wouldn't be surprised if there was a connection as well.
"You owe us an explanation!" Uranus finished bluntly.
Tux stared at her for a moment. She wasn't going to let it lie and she was stubborn that way. It was something they had in common. "Not tonight," he eventually said. Uranus opened her mouth to protest but he forestalled her. "Look, I'm tired and hungry plus I have some things to take care of. I tell you what it was all about later." Yes, later, after he'd had a chance to figure out how to explain Serena to them.
He didn't wait for them to agree. Instead he shot off into the air, secure in the knowledge that none of them could fly.
***
A quiet click at the door roused Luna into full awareness. Her mind instantly sought out the invader, prepared to administer a psychic strike to protect her sleeping princess should it prove necessary. To her relief it was not and her protectiveness decreased a little as she monitored Darien as he wandered around his kitchen. For all of their sakes she hoped he had bought food and was relieved when a quick check informed her that he was busy shelving some very interesting items. Yet even with a few dozen intriguing new foodstuffs tempting her, the human held the shape-changed Lunarian's interest once more.
As he was not an active telepath she could not pick up his thoughts but the overtones of his mind were strong and clear. Too much so for a human and that was a telling indication of the effect the royal twins had had on him. She would have to speak to the pair about that. Telepathy with non-telepaths was a dangerous business and Darien's mind seemed to have made the adjustment altogether too easily. Without moving from Serena's side, she delicately probed the man's aura and was astounded by what she found. She remember her princess telling her that not only was Darien the strongest of the reincarnates but also that his power was almost beta level even if most of it was latent. What she found was not a mage who verged on beta but rather an adept who was almost an alpha warrior. If it wasn't for the fact that the colour of his magic was a deep crimson with only the slightest overtones of gold she could have believed him to be the stranger that had saved the prince and princess during the Darkmoon crisis.
Luna looked up from her comfortable position at Serena's side as Darien quietly entered the bedroom. In the darkness the human didn't notice her where she lay curled by her princess' hip and he silently retrieved some clothing from his wardrobe. Without making a sound, he efficiently shed what he was wearing and changed into something that Luna guessed was the Terran equivalent of nightclothes. An absent observation noted that the silk… the word escaped her grasp for the present but whatever they were looked nice and she wondered if they felt as good as they looked. Her life-mate would appreciate them if they did. The shirt was made of a less fine material but it hugged Darien's torso in such a way that she had to admire her charge's taste.
Her lazy musings came to a halt when Darien didn't leave the room as she expected. She watched warily as he tentatively approached the bed. There was more than one reason that she had been assigned to guard Serena. He lightly perched on the edge of the bed next to the sleeping woman and softly traced the line of her jaw. Luna stayed perfectly still, her eyes mere slits, and the man did not notice his observer. After a moment he bent down and tenderly kissed the blonde's forehead before drawing himself away. He left the bedroom and Luna heard him moving around a couple of rooms away as he made himself a makeshift bed on his couch.
He was angry that his being had been meddled with and yet none of that anger was directed to the princess who had done the meddling. What he believed to be counterfeit love was tightly controlled and what Luna believed to be genuine affection was unveiled. He was finding peace within himself and the guardian wondered if he would learn the same lesson that Serenity had not grasped. The Hearts, including the one that now slept at her side, could only cause a soul to feel attraction, the wellspring of both love and hate. The soul itself would make its own decision as to which way that attraction would evolve. If Darien had not wanted it then the love that had grown within him would have withered before it had bloomed.
Serenity had no experience with such a love, Tranquillity had relied on his sister's perceptions and neither had seen truly. All three would find the truth in their own time and it seemed as if Darien's time was sooner than that of the twins. Yes, he was a very remarkable young man... it was a pity that his very real love was doomed to be denied.
***
Her back was towards him, its graceful curves covered only when a gust of wind blew a length of her silver-gold hair to tangle around her. He padded towards the distracted angel quietly. Her body hid what ever had caught her attention and his curiosity grew. He did not stop until only the smallest gap separated them, her slight shiver betraying her awareness of him. He smiled broadly and craned his head so that he could peer over her shoulder but before he could move more than a fraction the oranges and reds of Jupiter's scenery swirled around him and everything disappeared.
All that remained was darkness and his heart leapt into his throat. His lover had vanished and no amount of frantic searching, mental or physical, could find her. Hours or maybe seconds flew by; he could not distinguish between them in such a featureless place. He was dreaming again, he knew this and did not care. His dreams of his lady had often been interrupted yet never in such a manner. Even his untutored talent knew that his current situation was due to outside influences and as his panic increased so did his anger.
There was no noise or change to indicate anything different yet he whirled anyway, summoning his magic to him instinctively. A chuckle echoed through the nothingness around him and he growled.
"Where I am I? What have you done with her?" he demanded furiously. The chuckle only grew louder. "Damn you!" he screamed, "Show yourself!"
The laughter stopped but the voice that replaced it was worse. It was hollow and old, darkness danced within it, and his anger drained away at the sound of it.
"Tick tock…
"A mortal's clock…
"Runs 'til he is dead!
"Each man
"A mortal span
"And yours is near fled!"
There was a pause where he could do no more than stand stiffly, and then the voice said from somewhere around a centimetre from his ear. "Thy time is almost up. I am coming for thee!"
***
Darien bolted upright. He remembered only a little of what he had dreamt, not necessarily a rare thing in itself but he felt an unmistakable certainty that it was more than just an ordinary night's fancy.