Petra: This is your holiday present. I'm sorry I'm late. I'm sorry I can't write more. I'll write more in the next chapter.
DEDICATED: To everyone who lives for someone other than themselves.
WARNING: Shojo-ai and shonen-ai. It is definately hinted here that they are doing more than just kissing so, if you don't like that idea... um... well... you either got to stop or deal with it, sorry. Cussing, always cussing... *sigh* I hate writing this...
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon. I do not even own a goon. I do not own Gundam Wing. All I have is this pretty sapphire ring.
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CHAPTER SIX: DREAMS, SOULMATES, AND OATHS
"Will there ever be an age without war...? Dreams and magic have no meaning without a civilized world..." -Final Fantasy IX
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Heero was pissed... he was pissed and edgy... and his talkative lover wasn't helping. "And no wonder I didn't hit her when I fired at her! Here I was thinkin' that I was losin' my shot!" the American let out a loud laugh and Heero tried not to flinch, watching as Trowa walked back to his and Quatre's room.
"Duo..." Heero said, a threat underlying the words. Duo looked at him and then flinched away, but Heero smiled as he saw the laughter in Duo's eyes.
"I'm sorry... I just don't know what to do! We're trapped a thousand feet under the ocean! I know, I checked! We can't get to our Gundams so how do we know if a mission comes in and, not to mention, what's happenin' with OZ!" Duo, frustrated, sat down instead of pacing as he had for the last hour, putting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.
Heero moved over to Duo and sat next to him, his hand on his lovers shoulder. Duo looked up and smiled at Heero, a smile that only Heero ever had the privilege of seeing. Heero smiled back, watching Duo's smile grow wider, and couldn't help but wonder what the upbeat and happy American pilot saw in him, the subdued and gloomy Japanese pilot.
Duo leaned against Heero as the Japanese pilot slipped an arm around the pilot's slim waist. Duo let out a contented sigh as he closed his eyes and Heero could feel his lover's head bend to rest against his shoulder. "I'm sorry..." Duo whispered against Heero's neck. "You're probably worse off than I am, I mean, you live for your mission..."
"I'm okay," Heero murmured, "Be worse off if you were out there too..." Heero could feel the American smile against his neck and an answering smile crossed his normally hard features.
"I love you," Duo whispered. Heero grabbed his lover's hand and squeezed, unable to answer him verbally. Suddenly, he felt Duo's shoulder start to shake and, was that laughter?
"Duo?" Heero asked, wondering what his lover found so funny.
"Sorry," the American managed to stammer out. "It's just that... I was thinkin'... at least Relena won't be able to find us!" Heero let out a surprised chuckle as Duo burst into hysterical laughter again.
Heero pulled himself into a standing position, dragging his lover with him. "Lets head off to bed." Duo smiled.
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Flames surrounded him... and then he was one with the flames and suddenly he wasn't fighting any longer, instead he was joining in the their dance, singing their fiery song... and then it was gone. Wufei opened his eyes and found he was sitting cross-legged in front of a beautiful woman, her long black hair fanning out behind her. Her eyes were closed and she was making symbols with her hands... 'Just like the symbols I made... that one day...' In fact, if he wasn't mistaken, this was Rei...
She opened her eyes and he found himself held still by dark purple, almost black, eyes, which widened in surprise, only to turn to multicolored lights as she faded away, the back of his mind still engraved with her startled expression. The multicolored light glowed and pulsed, moving in complicated patterns until it formed a butterfly that was pulsating with light. Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash and when Wufei could see again, a brilliant woman stood in front of him. A long white sleeveless gown bared her shoulders and hid her feet. Her silver hair was done up in a peculiar way, twin buns placed evenly on either side of the top of her head, with long streamers hanging down to well past her feet. Butterfly wings flapped gently behind her and she was looking at the ground so her facial features were hidden.
"Who are you?" Wufei whispered, a little in fear, somehow sensing the immense power emanating from the woman in front of him.
"I am the Queen of the Universe of the future, Neo-Queen Serenity." Her voice was calm and reminded Wufei of crystal bells and butterfly wings. "I was a young woman known as Usagi. I am the lover, mother, and wife, Usako. I was once the warrior named Sailor Moon. I am the butterfly still, Super Sailor Moon, but the angel no longer, Eternal Sailor Moon. I was the princess of the moon and daughter of the queen to the moon, Princess Serenity. Now, though, I am the goddess, and I live, my punishment and reward, but I will never truly be the goddess I once was, because I have lost my wings." For a moment, Wufei saw not the butterfly wings behind the woman, but large angel wings... and then they melted away to reveal the butterfly wings and, though she didn't show it, Wufei felt her pain as if it were his own... and perhaps it was.
She looked up and Wufei almost felt his breath stop at this woman's immense beauty... She looked him in the eye then, drawing him in, and suddenly he felt like running away from her, while at the same time, coming even closer. Her silver-blue eyes seemed strangely familiar, not as in he had seen them before... it was the look in them that seemed familiar... And as he looked into her eyes, he realized that this woman had had never been sane, nor insane, but was, and still is, impossibly, stuck in the middle. She is neither good nor evil, but stuck always somewhere in between. Though she appears to glow with life and light itself, if you look closely along the edges you can see that she does not repel the darkness, but instead binds with it. Her life itself is unorthodox, unfeasible, and a living impossibility. This woman is trapped, in life and in death...
Suddenly, Wufei realized with a pang, that the look in her eyes was familiar... because it was the same one that was in those strange women's eyes. ...And for some reason Wufei realized that this too was his fate, to live... a living death... He lifted his head up to the sky and started when he felt two drops of water land on his hand. Was it raining...? He opened his eyes, only to realize that one tear was his own, and started as he saw the water glowing, mixing together, and realized that the other... was the woman's, this Queen.
"Love, love for me while you can, for I have lost the will. You still have some life left..." The tears that now fell freely from her eyes landed on the floor as crystals... and Wufei realized that they were no longer in the black nothingness. They were standing in on the balcony of a palace that was made of crystals, and out, as far as the eye could see, was a brilliant city. "This is what I live for now..." She swept her hand out but even as she did so, black flames suddenly consumed the city, and these flames scorched his skin, burning it cruelly.
The last word he heard her say, "Sumimasen..." 'Sorry... she's sorry... not for the fire... for... my... fate...' And then, without realizing it Wufei began to lash out with his power, to push the fire away...
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Setsuna was the first to break out of her sleep as she felt the walls begin to shake around her, unbearable heat breaking through even her shields. 'WUFEI!' Her mind screamed and without a second thought she was henshined and in Wufei's room. He was lying on scorched sheets, his body tense, sweat making his body glow from the light of the fire surrounding him.
{It is a dream... Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru... I need your help. Contain his magic; I will try to wake him.} Instantly she felt shields center the heat into the room and almost gasped at the heat. Power suddenly filled her and she smiled, sending gratitude back to Hotaru, even as she strengthened her own shields. She walked through the flames and reached out, her fingers lightly brushing over his shoulder, but drew back in pain as her fingers burnt. They healed instantly and she took a deep breath, shoving her pain to the back of her mind, then grasped his shoulders and began to shake him. After a minute and he still didn't awake she pulled away, her hands healing instantly. With little thought, a bucket of ice-cold water appeared in her hand and she dumped it over the man's Asian features. His eyes opened, widened, and then closed as he fainted.
The four pilots burst into the room, toppling on top of one another, and it was obvious from their position they had been trying to get in. "He will be alright. He had a dream and lashed out with his powers unknowingly," Setsuna said, as they got up.
"Powers?" Duo repeated blankly.
"I will explain later, when everyone is awake," Setsuna said, pushing them out the door. Duo was the last to be pushed out and, before the door could close, he looked behind him so see Wufei, on a now clean and dry bed, glowing a slight red... but no... it must have been his eyes...
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All the soldiers except Wufei were sitting at the dining room table eating their breakfast when a voice, hard yet soft, cold yet warm, broke through the silence. "Uranus-sama, Neptune-sama, Pluto-sama, and Saturn-sama. Greetings, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you so before." Wufei stood at the doorway, one hand on the frame, watching them with eyes that were no longer a deep black... instead they were a blood red, almost black, and filled with too many emotions... and standing out on his forehead was the slightly glowing red sign of his planet, Mars. His walk was full of grace, no longer that of a teen, and as he sat down in the seat a coffee cup filled with coffee appeared in front of him, followed by a plate laden with eggs and bacon.
"Greetings, Ares-kun," the four women said at once, watching as the symbol disappeared from his forehead. Setsuna then leaned forward and said, "Are you ready to hear of your pasts, lost ones?" The four young men stared up at the older woman, Wufei staring pointedly at his plate, a little fear in their gazes but replied, "Yes."
Setsuna sat back and began to talk. "It began before recorded history, before people even thought the world had started. Before dinosaurs, before man as we know them today, there was the Silver Millennium, a great time of peace. Long ago the planets thrived, each harboring life, using the magic of a crystal more powerful than you could imagine. The Silver Illusion Crystal, held by the most powerful woman in the universe, Queen Selenity, queen of the moon and the whole universe, kept life on the planets and the universe thrived..."
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Four hours later Hotaru finished the long story, "And so each bore a child, all around the same age except for Trowa, who was a year old when they were introduced to the world." This caused confused looks to be pointed at Trowa, making it obvious that he had not told anyone of his age, if he had even known of it. "Of course, there was confusion surrounding the births because it had always been the women who were firstborn and the women who inherited. There had never, since when Pluto can remember and that is a long time, been first-born males. Then of course, human blood had never mixed with Lunarian blood before and the affects are still unknown, although Ami finds it constantly interesting and has spent thousands of years on it. After Chiba-Usa was born and showed no sign of power, it was thought that their first-born had inherited and, in his own way, was a Sailor Senshi. Then, when she finally did awaken into full power, and proved to be as powerful, if not more, than the queen, people accepted her." Hotaru sighed and sat down her cup, watching as the liquid rippled. "But you are also, and still, soldiers with unknown powers, as Chibi-Usa once was and still is. Now your strength is needed in our time or all will be lost."
There was a silence as the young men looked thoughtfully, mostly blankly, down at the table. The sudden jump of Setsuna made them all look up, a little dazed and more than a little nervous. Setsuna turned to them and gave them a quirky smile, "You have a mission." Heero immediately jumped up, happy to take his mind off anything other than the fact that he was now heir to a world, and looked expectantly at Setsuna.
"Wait," Michiru said, standing up slowly and gracefully. "There is something more that I must tell you." All five teens looked up expectantly, a little fear in their eyes that could be clearly Felt by the women. "You are right to feel fear, for what I tell you is not something that you will be able to accept bravely. You are Oathbound to the Earth, to your kingdom, and to Heero." Heero unconsciously shifted toward Duo, watching them with well veiled eyes... not well enough though, for the four women could easily read the uneasiness the statement brought him. "You were Oathbound the day you were born and there is no way to break it unless by your own death. If any of those three souls perishes, your life is forfeit and you will die. That is why you fight with your Gundams because, even here and now, you feel that pull... that need to protect those three souls."
"But... how could you hold us to something we agreed to when we weren't even a day old and why those three?" Quatre asked, his blue-green eyes now blue with worry.
"Because we looked in your hearts and saw the answer there. We did not need words..." Haruka smiled slightly. "And as to why those three? Because their souls are connected and one soul cannot live without the other."
A laptop computer suddenly appeared on the table. "Now, I will let you see what your mission is and leave you some time to think..." Setsuna turned and walked away, followed by all but Hotaru who watched the young pilots before murmuring, "I know this is hard to accept but you are in fact blessed. I was also a young girl once and I found out whom I was when another person living within me took over my body. I was not blessed though, I was cursed as Sailor Saturn, the Senshi of destruction... the Senshi to be feared..." Her eyes turned as cold as the planet she belonged to as she remembered that day. "People still fear me. When I walk in a room, it becomes uncomfortable and stuffy, people quiet and unnerved. When any of the other Senshi walk into a room it brightens and people rush to talk with them. I know what is going through your head, that you are cursed. I tell you now, you are not, you are blessed with untold powers, even more so than Chibi-Usa, for you are the first-born..." She walked out, leaving the room in silence.
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Quatre chewed on his bottom lip, watching as Trowa began to do his regular number of push-ups. "Trowa-kun..." Trowa grunted to show he was listening and Quatre felt another flash of unease. Ever since their past had been revealed, along with the fact that Trowa was sixteen, the pilot had been acting more distant that usual. "What's wrong?" Quatre blurted out, watching with slightly frightened eyes as Trowa slowed down and then stopped completely before sitting back on his heels.
"What do you mean?" Heavyarm's pilot asked, his emerald green eyes carefully guarded.
"You've been acting really... strange..." Quatre said, standing up and sitting down on the floor next to his lover.
"I have?" Trowa said, trying not to look like he was scooting over. Hurt flashed through Quatre's eyes as he turned away, trying to hide his tearing eyes.
"No... I'm just being silly... Sorry..." Quatre stood up quickly, avoiding Trowa's comforting hand. "I need a drink." He almost ran to the door, opening it quickly and then slamming it shut. He ran into the living room, throwing himself down on the couch, hiding his sobs in his arms and a pillow. Warm arms suddenly encircled his shoulders, bringing him up to cry into the comforting shoulder of Michiru.
"I am sorry...." Michiru stroked his hair, running her long fingernails soothingly through the soft strands. "I did not want to tell you... but I had to. You had to know your destiny. I might not have, if you were living your lives as normal children with caring mothers and fathers, but the fact is you are anything but normal. All you have lost your adoptive parents, some have never even known them, and you have all lived your lives as soldiers not as children." A sad smile crossed her pale pink lips as her eyes became distant. "I know that life all too well... I was about your age, a little older perhaps, when I first discovered who and what I was. Unlike you though, I had no one to lean on until I found Haruka, my soulmate, almost a year after." Quatre looked up at Michiru in surprise. "I know, quite a shock. I am sure Duo-kun already knows, he does have the blood of the goddess of love running through him and if the powers have not awakened yet, our close proximity will hasten the process along."
She pushed him gently off her shoulder until he faced her and she looked straight into his eyes. "You are a caring person, Quatre-kun, but the war is not kind to those who care. Ami, your mother, learned that the hard way."
"I never even knew my adoptive mother," Quatre choked out. "What's my real mother like?"
"Just like you, Quatre, the kindest person I know. Sometimes when you talk, I could swear it was her and I even look up, expecting to see her kind blue eyes and short blue hair."
"Blue hair?" Quatre laughed weakly, leaning back against the pillows.
"Yes, it looks almost black though and it was easy to pass as human. Anyway, let us start at the beginning... She was born to a painter and a doctor who later divorced and, I do not know about this dimension, but divorces were rare and far between in twentieth century Japan. That made her a loner from the start and, because she could not handle the pain, she buried herself in her schoolwork." She paused for a minute, a little smile passing over her face. "She has a three hundred I.Q. so she was very easily able to bury herself in her work, getting more than ten chapters ahead and easily staying there. She loves computers and learning, and when she was a child, dreamed of being a doctor. Of course, she is a doctor now, and very good one, who has discovered many ways to save many people's lives. Everyone in Crystal Tokyo already has expanded life spans because of the Silver Illusion Crystal, but they still get sick. Thanks to your mother though, many of the diseases have been quickly and efficiently cured."
Michiru began to run her fingers through his hair and watched as his eyelids drifted shut. "She is a very sensitive person, and cares a lot about other people's feelings, to the point that sometimes she lets people walk over her. It is strange..." She watched Trowa appear in the doorway out of the corner of her eye. "How Makoto and Ami are best friends even though they are opposites... They were really close... Trowa-kun was there when you were born Quatre-kun; he was peering into the cradle when you fell asleep. It was so funny how he looked down at you and then up at Makoto and said, 'Mama, why is he so small?'" At Quatre's confused look she explained, "You could talk extremely early, due to your brains which adapt extremely quickly; we believe that it is a side-effect of the mixture of blood. To continue with the story, Makoto looked down at her son and said, 'Because this is how babies tell us, without words, that they need protection.' Trowa-kun looked back down at you and said, 'I will protect him.' It was then that we knew you two had a bond..." Quatre had fallen asleep long ago and by now she was telling the story only for Trowa's benefit.
"What kind of bond?" Trowa asked, walking over and picking up Quatre, watching her with intent green eyes.
Michiru raised one elegant eyebrow and replied, "A bond that transcends death, time, space, and sex." She paused, an almost dreamy smile on her face. "You are soulmates." She tried to hide a smile as Trowa jerked, almost dropping the still sleeping Quatre, who, at the movement, nuzzled closer into his lover's shoulder. "Even I could See it when I first met you two. It is a surprisingly strong bond..."
Trowa stared at her for a few minutes and then nodded, starting to walk away when he was stopped by Michiru's dead serious voice saying, "Oh, and do not hurt Quatre-kun, because if Ami finds out, the fact that you are Makoto's child will not stop her." Trowa nodded again and then carried his soulmate to their bedroom, suddenly realizing that, no matter how much he didn't believe it, it made a little too much sense for his taste.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: For those of you that wish it, DUE TO MY SPORADIC postings, I am offering you, the readers, A MAILING LIST to sign up to. When I finally UPDATE, I will SEND OUT AN EMAIL informing those of you that are on the list that I have finally updated. I need you to EMAIL me, telling that you wish to sign up, and whether it's for ORIGINAL FICTION or FANFICTION. I WILL NOT accept those people that ask to be up on it in a review because I can't be sure that email is real. The mailing list will ALSO OFFER the TITLES of those works that I am posting, the COUPLES (if any) that are in it, which FANDOM it is from, and whether it is a SEQUEL to anything.
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Petra: Totally random comment: I WANT ICO AND FFX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh yeah, that and the Tenchi Muyo OVA series...
Kati: Only two more chapters to go after this!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^_- Thanks for reviewing:
Piscesangel: I'm working on it... slowly but ever so surely...
"I dream of a day when I can open my eyes, and my dreams won't disappear."
-Rose Marie Ledam aka Selenay
~Petra Megami Assari~
*The Gentle Tiger Goddess*
DEDICATED: To everyone who lives for someone other than themselves.
WARNING: Shojo-ai and shonen-ai. It is definately hinted here that they are doing more than just kissing so, if you don't like that idea... um... well... you either got to stop or deal with it, sorry. Cussing, always cussing... *sigh* I hate writing this...
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon. I do not even own a goon. I do not own Gundam Wing. All I have is this pretty sapphire ring.
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CHAPTER SIX: DREAMS, SOULMATES, AND OATHS
"Will there ever be an age without war...? Dreams and magic have no meaning without a civilized world..." -Final Fantasy IX
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Heero was pissed... he was pissed and edgy... and his talkative lover wasn't helping. "And no wonder I didn't hit her when I fired at her! Here I was thinkin' that I was losin' my shot!" the American let out a loud laugh and Heero tried not to flinch, watching as Trowa walked back to his and Quatre's room.
"Duo..." Heero said, a threat underlying the words. Duo looked at him and then flinched away, but Heero smiled as he saw the laughter in Duo's eyes.
"I'm sorry... I just don't know what to do! We're trapped a thousand feet under the ocean! I know, I checked! We can't get to our Gundams so how do we know if a mission comes in and, not to mention, what's happenin' with OZ!" Duo, frustrated, sat down instead of pacing as he had for the last hour, putting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.
Heero moved over to Duo and sat next to him, his hand on his lovers shoulder. Duo looked up and smiled at Heero, a smile that only Heero ever had the privilege of seeing. Heero smiled back, watching Duo's smile grow wider, and couldn't help but wonder what the upbeat and happy American pilot saw in him, the subdued and gloomy Japanese pilot.
Duo leaned against Heero as the Japanese pilot slipped an arm around the pilot's slim waist. Duo let out a contented sigh as he closed his eyes and Heero could feel his lover's head bend to rest against his shoulder. "I'm sorry..." Duo whispered against Heero's neck. "You're probably worse off than I am, I mean, you live for your mission..."
"I'm okay," Heero murmured, "Be worse off if you were out there too..." Heero could feel the American smile against his neck and an answering smile crossed his normally hard features.
"I love you," Duo whispered. Heero grabbed his lover's hand and squeezed, unable to answer him verbally. Suddenly, he felt Duo's shoulder start to shake and, was that laughter?
"Duo?" Heero asked, wondering what his lover found so funny.
"Sorry," the American managed to stammer out. "It's just that... I was thinkin'... at least Relena won't be able to find us!" Heero let out a surprised chuckle as Duo burst into hysterical laughter again.
Heero pulled himself into a standing position, dragging his lover with him. "Lets head off to bed." Duo smiled.
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Flames surrounded him... and then he was one with the flames and suddenly he wasn't fighting any longer, instead he was joining in the their dance, singing their fiery song... and then it was gone. Wufei opened his eyes and found he was sitting cross-legged in front of a beautiful woman, her long black hair fanning out behind her. Her eyes were closed and she was making symbols with her hands... 'Just like the symbols I made... that one day...' In fact, if he wasn't mistaken, this was Rei...
She opened her eyes and he found himself held still by dark purple, almost black, eyes, which widened in surprise, only to turn to multicolored lights as she faded away, the back of his mind still engraved with her startled expression. The multicolored light glowed and pulsed, moving in complicated patterns until it formed a butterfly that was pulsating with light. Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash and when Wufei could see again, a brilliant woman stood in front of him. A long white sleeveless gown bared her shoulders and hid her feet. Her silver hair was done up in a peculiar way, twin buns placed evenly on either side of the top of her head, with long streamers hanging down to well past her feet. Butterfly wings flapped gently behind her and she was looking at the ground so her facial features were hidden.
"Who are you?" Wufei whispered, a little in fear, somehow sensing the immense power emanating from the woman in front of him.
"I am the Queen of the Universe of the future, Neo-Queen Serenity." Her voice was calm and reminded Wufei of crystal bells and butterfly wings. "I was a young woman known as Usagi. I am the lover, mother, and wife, Usako. I was once the warrior named Sailor Moon. I am the butterfly still, Super Sailor Moon, but the angel no longer, Eternal Sailor Moon. I was the princess of the moon and daughter of the queen to the moon, Princess Serenity. Now, though, I am the goddess, and I live, my punishment and reward, but I will never truly be the goddess I once was, because I have lost my wings." For a moment, Wufei saw not the butterfly wings behind the woman, but large angel wings... and then they melted away to reveal the butterfly wings and, though she didn't show it, Wufei felt her pain as if it were his own... and perhaps it was.
She looked up and Wufei almost felt his breath stop at this woman's immense beauty... She looked him in the eye then, drawing him in, and suddenly he felt like running away from her, while at the same time, coming even closer. Her silver-blue eyes seemed strangely familiar, not as in he had seen them before... it was the look in them that seemed familiar... And as he looked into her eyes, he realized that this woman had had never been sane, nor insane, but was, and still is, impossibly, stuck in the middle. She is neither good nor evil, but stuck always somewhere in between. Though she appears to glow with life and light itself, if you look closely along the edges you can see that she does not repel the darkness, but instead binds with it. Her life itself is unorthodox, unfeasible, and a living impossibility. This woman is trapped, in life and in death...
Suddenly, Wufei realized with a pang, that the look in her eyes was familiar... because it was the same one that was in those strange women's eyes. ...And for some reason Wufei realized that this too was his fate, to live... a living death... He lifted his head up to the sky and started when he felt two drops of water land on his hand. Was it raining...? He opened his eyes, only to realize that one tear was his own, and started as he saw the water glowing, mixing together, and realized that the other... was the woman's, this Queen.
"Love, love for me while you can, for I have lost the will. You still have some life left..." The tears that now fell freely from her eyes landed on the floor as crystals... and Wufei realized that they were no longer in the black nothingness. They were standing in on the balcony of a palace that was made of crystals, and out, as far as the eye could see, was a brilliant city. "This is what I live for now..." She swept her hand out but even as she did so, black flames suddenly consumed the city, and these flames scorched his skin, burning it cruelly.
The last word he heard her say, "Sumimasen..." 'Sorry... she's sorry... not for the fire... for... my... fate...' And then, without realizing it Wufei began to lash out with his power, to push the fire away...
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Setsuna was the first to break out of her sleep as she felt the walls begin to shake around her, unbearable heat breaking through even her shields. 'WUFEI!' Her mind screamed and without a second thought she was henshined and in Wufei's room. He was lying on scorched sheets, his body tense, sweat making his body glow from the light of the fire surrounding him.
{It is a dream... Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru... I need your help. Contain his magic; I will try to wake him.} Instantly she felt shields center the heat into the room and almost gasped at the heat. Power suddenly filled her and she smiled, sending gratitude back to Hotaru, even as she strengthened her own shields. She walked through the flames and reached out, her fingers lightly brushing over his shoulder, but drew back in pain as her fingers burnt. They healed instantly and she took a deep breath, shoving her pain to the back of her mind, then grasped his shoulders and began to shake him. After a minute and he still didn't awake she pulled away, her hands healing instantly. With little thought, a bucket of ice-cold water appeared in her hand and she dumped it over the man's Asian features. His eyes opened, widened, and then closed as he fainted.
The four pilots burst into the room, toppling on top of one another, and it was obvious from their position they had been trying to get in. "He will be alright. He had a dream and lashed out with his powers unknowingly," Setsuna said, as they got up.
"Powers?" Duo repeated blankly.
"I will explain later, when everyone is awake," Setsuna said, pushing them out the door. Duo was the last to be pushed out and, before the door could close, he looked behind him so see Wufei, on a now clean and dry bed, glowing a slight red... but no... it must have been his eyes...
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All the soldiers except Wufei were sitting at the dining room table eating their breakfast when a voice, hard yet soft, cold yet warm, broke through the silence. "Uranus-sama, Neptune-sama, Pluto-sama, and Saturn-sama. Greetings, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you so before." Wufei stood at the doorway, one hand on the frame, watching them with eyes that were no longer a deep black... instead they were a blood red, almost black, and filled with too many emotions... and standing out on his forehead was the slightly glowing red sign of his planet, Mars. His walk was full of grace, no longer that of a teen, and as he sat down in the seat a coffee cup filled with coffee appeared in front of him, followed by a plate laden with eggs and bacon.
"Greetings, Ares-kun," the four women said at once, watching as the symbol disappeared from his forehead. Setsuna then leaned forward and said, "Are you ready to hear of your pasts, lost ones?" The four young men stared up at the older woman, Wufei staring pointedly at his plate, a little fear in their gazes but replied, "Yes."
Setsuna sat back and began to talk. "It began before recorded history, before people even thought the world had started. Before dinosaurs, before man as we know them today, there was the Silver Millennium, a great time of peace. Long ago the planets thrived, each harboring life, using the magic of a crystal more powerful than you could imagine. The Silver Illusion Crystal, held by the most powerful woman in the universe, Queen Selenity, queen of the moon and the whole universe, kept life on the planets and the universe thrived..."
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Four hours later Hotaru finished the long story, "And so each bore a child, all around the same age except for Trowa, who was a year old when they were introduced to the world." This caused confused looks to be pointed at Trowa, making it obvious that he had not told anyone of his age, if he had even known of it. "Of course, there was confusion surrounding the births because it had always been the women who were firstborn and the women who inherited. There had never, since when Pluto can remember and that is a long time, been first-born males. Then of course, human blood had never mixed with Lunarian blood before and the affects are still unknown, although Ami finds it constantly interesting and has spent thousands of years on it. After Chiba-Usa was born and showed no sign of power, it was thought that their first-born had inherited and, in his own way, was a Sailor Senshi. Then, when she finally did awaken into full power, and proved to be as powerful, if not more, than the queen, people accepted her." Hotaru sighed and sat down her cup, watching as the liquid rippled. "But you are also, and still, soldiers with unknown powers, as Chibi-Usa once was and still is. Now your strength is needed in our time or all will be lost."
There was a silence as the young men looked thoughtfully, mostly blankly, down at the table. The sudden jump of Setsuna made them all look up, a little dazed and more than a little nervous. Setsuna turned to them and gave them a quirky smile, "You have a mission." Heero immediately jumped up, happy to take his mind off anything other than the fact that he was now heir to a world, and looked expectantly at Setsuna.
"Wait," Michiru said, standing up slowly and gracefully. "There is something more that I must tell you." All five teens looked up expectantly, a little fear in their eyes that could be clearly Felt by the women. "You are right to feel fear, for what I tell you is not something that you will be able to accept bravely. You are Oathbound to the Earth, to your kingdom, and to Heero." Heero unconsciously shifted toward Duo, watching them with well veiled eyes... not well enough though, for the four women could easily read the uneasiness the statement brought him. "You were Oathbound the day you were born and there is no way to break it unless by your own death. If any of those three souls perishes, your life is forfeit and you will die. That is why you fight with your Gundams because, even here and now, you feel that pull... that need to protect those three souls."
"But... how could you hold us to something we agreed to when we weren't even a day old and why those three?" Quatre asked, his blue-green eyes now blue with worry.
"Because we looked in your hearts and saw the answer there. We did not need words..." Haruka smiled slightly. "And as to why those three? Because their souls are connected and one soul cannot live without the other."
A laptop computer suddenly appeared on the table. "Now, I will let you see what your mission is and leave you some time to think..." Setsuna turned and walked away, followed by all but Hotaru who watched the young pilots before murmuring, "I know this is hard to accept but you are in fact blessed. I was also a young girl once and I found out whom I was when another person living within me took over my body. I was not blessed though, I was cursed as Sailor Saturn, the Senshi of destruction... the Senshi to be feared..." Her eyes turned as cold as the planet she belonged to as she remembered that day. "People still fear me. When I walk in a room, it becomes uncomfortable and stuffy, people quiet and unnerved. When any of the other Senshi walk into a room it brightens and people rush to talk with them. I know what is going through your head, that you are cursed. I tell you now, you are not, you are blessed with untold powers, even more so than Chibi-Usa, for you are the first-born..." She walked out, leaving the room in silence.
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Quatre chewed on his bottom lip, watching as Trowa began to do his regular number of push-ups. "Trowa-kun..." Trowa grunted to show he was listening and Quatre felt another flash of unease. Ever since their past had been revealed, along with the fact that Trowa was sixteen, the pilot had been acting more distant that usual. "What's wrong?" Quatre blurted out, watching with slightly frightened eyes as Trowa slowed down and then stopped completely before sitting back on his heels.
"What do you mean?" Heavyarm's pilot asked, his emerald green eyes carefully guarded.
"You've been acting really... strange..." Quatre said, standing up and sitting down on the floor next to his lover.
"I have?" Trowa said, trying not to look like he was scooting over. Hurt flashed through Quatre's eyes as he turned away, trying to hide his tearing eyes.
"No... I'm just being silly... Sorry..." Quatre stood up quickly, avoiding Trowa's comforting hand. "I need a drink." He almost ran to the door, opening it quickly and then slamming it shut. He ran into the living room, throwing himself down on the couch, hiding his sobs in his arms and a pillow. Warm arms suddenly encircled his shoulders, bringing him up to cry into the comforting shoulder of Michiru.
"I am sorry...." Michiru stroked his hair, running her long fingernails soothingly through the soft strands. "I did not want to tell you... but I had to. You had to know your destiny. I might not have, if you were living your lives as normal children with caring mothers and fathers, but the fact is you are anything but normal. All you have lost your adoptive parents, some have never even known them, and you have all lived your lives as soldiers not as children." A sad smile crossed her pale pink lips as her eyes became distant. "I know that life all too well... I was about your age, a little older perhaps, when I first discovered who and what I was. Unlike you though, I had no one to lean on until I found Haruka, my soulmate, almost a year after." Quatre looked up at Michiru in surprise. "I know, quite a shock. I am sure Duo-kun already knows, he does have the blood of the goddess of love running through him and if the powers have not awakened yet, our close proximity will hasten the process along."
She pushed him gently off her shoulder until he faced her and she looked straight into his eyes. "You are a caring person, Quatre-kun, but the war is not kind to those who care. Ami, your mother, learned that the hard way."
"I never even knew my adoptive mother," Quatre choked out. "What's my real mother like?"
"Just like you, Quatre, the kindest person I know. Sometimes when you talk, I could swear it was her and I even look up, expecting to see her kind blue eyes and short blue hair."
"Blue hair?" Quatre laughed weakly, leaning back against the pillows.
"Yes, it looks almost black though and it was easy to pass as human. Anyway, let us start at the beginning... She was born to a painter and a doctor who later divorced and, I do not know about this dimension, but divorces were rare and far between in twentieth century Japan. That made her a loner from the start and, because she could not handle the pain, she buried herself in her schoolwork." She paused for a minute, a little smile passing over her face. "She has a three hundred I.Q. so she was very easily able to bury herself in her work, getting more than ten chapters ahead and easily staying there. She loves computers and learning, and when she was a child, dreamed of being a doctor. Of course, she is a doctor now, and very good one, who has discovered many ways to save many people's lives. Everyone in Crystal Tokyo already has expanded life spans because of the Silver Illusion Crystal, but they still get sick. Thanks to your mother though, many of the diseases have been quickly and efficiently cured."
Michiru began to run her fingers through his hair and watched as his eyelids drifted shut. "She is a very sensitive person, and cares a lot about other people's feelings, to the point that sometimes she lets people walk over her. It is strange..." She watched Trowa appear in the doorway out of the corner of her eye. "How Makoto and Ami are best friends even though they are opposites... They were really close... Trowa-kun was there when you were born Quatre-kun; he was peering into the cradle when you fell asleep. It was so funny how he looked down at you and then up at Makoto and said, 'Mama, why is he so small?'" At Quatre's confused look she explained, "You could talk extremely early, due to your brains which adapt extremely quickly; we believe that it is a side-effect of the mixture of blood. To continue with the story, Makoto looked down at her son and said, 'Because this is how babies tell us, without words, that they need protection.' Trowa-kun looked back down at you and said, 'I will protect him.' It was then that we knew you two had a bond..." Quatre had fallen asleep long ago and by now she was telling the story only for Trowa's benefit.
"What kind of bond?" Trowa asked, walking over and picking up Quatre, watching her with intent green eyes.
Michiru raised one elegant eyebrow and replied, "A bond that transcends death, time, space, and sex." She paused, an almost dreamy smile on her face. "You are soulmates." She tried to hide a smile as Trowa jerked, almost dropping the still sleeping Quatre, who, at the movement, nuzzled closer into his lover's shoulder. "Even I could See it when I first met you two. It is a surprisingly strong bond..."
Trowa stared at her for a few minutes and then nodded, starting to walk away when he was stopped by Michiru's dead serious voice saying, "Oh, and do not hurt Quatre-kun, because if Ami finds out, the fact that you are Makoto's child will not stop her." Trowa nodded again and then carried his soulmate to their bedroom, suddenly realizing that, no matter how much he didn't believe it, it made a little too much sense for his taste.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: For those of you that wish it, DUE TO MY SPORADIC postings, I am offering you, the readers, A MAILING LIST to sign up to. When I finally UPDATE, I will SEND OUT AN EMAIL informing those of you that are on the list that I have finally updated. I need you to EMAIL me, telling that you wish to sign up, and whether it's for ORIGINAL FICTION or FANFICTION. I WILL NOT accept those people that ask to be up on it in a review because I can't be sure that email is real. The mailing list will ALSO OFFER the TITLES of those works that I am posting, the COUPLES (if any) that are in it, which FANDOM it is from, and whether it is a SEQUEL to anything.
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Petra: Totally random comment: I WANT ICO AND FFX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh yeah, that and the Tenchi Muyo OVA series...
Kati: Only two more chapters to go after this!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^_- Thanks for reviewing:
Piscesangel: I'm working on it... slowly but ever so surely...
"I dream of a day when I can open my eyes, and my dreams won't disappear."
-Rose Marie Ledam aka Selenay
~Petra Megami Assari~
*The Gentle Tiger Goddess*