How Crystal Tokyo Came About
Chapter 16
*~*
The air smelled delicious and it was the first thing Reenie inhaled when she set foot on the plush lawn of Elysian. "Oh my god. It's so good to be back. How did you ever keep me away this long?"
The priest of the Golden Crystal looked at her strangely. "I didn't try and keep you away. Your father did."
She sighed. "Well, it wasn't him, not really. After what we pulled at the ball last year…"
"But isn't that over with yet? Can't he just forget about it?"
Reenie winced. "He doesn't forget things like that easily."
"I'll say." Helios frowned. "You'd think we'd have at least – well – maybe we did go a bit far."
She giggled. "But it was fun, wasn't it?"
Cutting off his answer was the golden arrival of King Endymion. "Reenie! What are you doing here?!"
Her eyebrows arched delicately. "What are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about, young lady! Don't play games with me!"
She tried to work up an answer but before she could, there was a silvery-pink flash of light and Neo-Queen Serenity stood next to him, looking pretty angry.
"ENDYMION! We are in the middle of a peace treaty here and you left for… THIS?" Her eyes settled on her daughter. "Oh, hello, sweetheart."
"Hi mom." She chirped.
The king looked properly chastened. "But Serenity," he started to protest.
"But nothing. We're leaving. Have fun you two," she winked at Reenie and suddenly they were gone.
"Whoa." Helios said. "Your mother doesn't let anything get between her and the peace treaties, huh?"
***
Haruka stared at Trista. "You're just letting her go off with Helios like that? What if he takes her to Elysian or something? How are we going to explain that to her parents?"
An unusual smirk found its way on Trista's lips. "They're already forbidden to be together – ah, just let them have their fun."
Michiru's eyes bugged out. "WHAT?! Do you even know what the King's going to say when he finds out?"
The Guardian of Time made a tsking noise. "You two really need to calm down. Do you know what your blood pressure's like right now?"
Both the senshi of Sky and Sea gawked at their oldest friend.
Trista leaned back to Ami, "it's the wedding. It's making them all "mission-y" again." Then she straightened her clothes and walked out of the apartment.
Silence was roaring in the room when Hotaru jumped up and followed her guardian. Then Haruka and Michiru sat down.
"What's going on?" Lita asked, nervous about all of the outer senshi's behavior.
Ami shrugged. "It's like Trista said. The wedding's doing strange things to people. I expect we'll be next."
***
Serena shifted from her position on Darien's couch to stretch more fully and, in the process, woke herself up. She blinked a few times. "What am I doing here?" And with sharp pain, it all came back to her. Wedding. Darien. Generals that they weren't allowed to talk about. Reenie. Rei; having nightmares. Ami finding out that they were all in love with the generals they weren't allowed to talk about. Wait. She wasn't there for that one.
"Oh man. There's gotta be an easier way to remember all of this."
Darien moved his arm and looked down at her. "So you finally woke up. I was wondering when you were going to."
"How long was I asleep for?"
He glanced back at the clock over her head. "Let's see. If you came over around four… and now it's about 7:30… I'd say for a good, solid three hours."
"Wow." She closed her eyes and was wincing when they opened a few seconds later.
"What?"
"Rei," she winced again, "Rei is going over to Ami's… and she's, um, sorta, well, really, really mad."
***
A loud banging on the door startled the three inners out of their contemplative silence.
"AMI! AMI, OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!"
Ami looked at Lita and Mina. Mina backed into the couch and Ami started to sit with her, while Lita rolled her eyes and rose to answer the door.
She barely had enough time to clear the door when Rei came barreling through, yelling every step of the way. "How could you have had a senshi meeting without me? About me? What is WRONG with you people???!"
The blue-haired genius tried to stand up, but Mina, who was thoroughly scared by now, yanked her back down on the seat and motioned for her to "zip her lips." Which left Lita dealing with the fiery Priestess, and though she was more than able to do so, she was just sort of standing there, in the middle of the room, watching her.
"—and, ARE YOU GUYS EVEN LISTENING TO ME??"
With a shake of her head, she circled Rei's wildly ranting form and took in the dark circles under her eyes, the off centered clothing, and small charm around her neck. It was a dark red, almost black, ruby, in the shape of the Mars symbol.
"Rei," she asked distractedly, with such a lilt to her voice that it made even Rei pause, "where did you get necklace?"
The raven-haired woman looked down and fingered the jewel around her neck casually. "What, this? You guys all have one of your own. J—"
Clunk.
Fortunately, her head landed under a pillow that Ami tossed to the floor.
***
(5 Minutes Later.)
With a groan, Rei tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. It was probably better to just lie on her back right about now. The colors in this room were of muted blues and the ceiling looked to be a comforting shade of cerulean. She was resting – at Ami's probably – and didn't know how long she had been out for.
Mina's concerned head – at least, that's what she thought the yellowish-blob with blue spots over her face was – peered at her and from very far away, Rei heard her say: "You guys, I think she's waking up."
Someone strong – Lita, was it? – helped her sit so that she could lean against the back of the couch for support. All of a sudden, her vision cleared and she could see them sitting, worried, on the couch across from her.
She opened her mouth to speak and closed it a few times, like a fish, before she realized she had nothing to say. "How… how long was I out for?"
"About five minutes or so." Ami's muffled voice did not sound so far away this time. She popped up from digging in her bag. "Here, take this. It should help with the disorientation." She handed her a glass of water and two green circular pills.
Rei took them gratefully and tossed the pills back in a smooth motion. "Now. Where were we?"
"Well, you came in here, ranting and raving about us having a meeting without you, and then Lita distracted you by asking about your necklace and then—OW!" Mina clutched her side, glaring at Lita. "That hurt!" But Lita brushed her off and continued watching their pale friend.
Rei's face went classically blank – an expression usually seen on Serena, though not lately – before clearing suddenly and warping into one of anger with an ease only she could have. She shot up from her chair without warning.
"Jaedite! When I get my hands on you, I'll make you wish you had never breathed. You're going to pay for this one, buster, oh yes you are, and—" She fell silent abruptly and they all could hear a faint, mocking laugh of a man that Ami and Rei immediately recognized as Jaedite. Mina sat back in her chair with a smile all too familiar and flung her hair over her shoulders, while Lita held a finger to her lips, ever thoughtful.
Quick as a flash, a brief image of Rei, standing with the man everyone now identified as Jaedite filled their conscious, before fading to leave the sight of her all by herself, back in Ami's apartment.
The fierce senshi of Mars' face voided of any expression and without warning, turned whiter than Antarctica at noon. She shuddered. "What…" Her eyes searched the room bewilderedly. "What was I talking about?"
The other girls did not meet her eyes and she felt the embarrassment of having made a huge scene bubble up inside her. This was a feeling she did not like, and before it could reach her mouth, it transformed to one she liked quite a bit, and identified with pretty well – anger.
"What?!" Rei exploded.
Ami, ever the model of calm and level-headedness, rose and met Rei's troubled eyes. When her arm reached her, Rei swore she felt a level of calm seep through her veins until her heart stopped pounding at marathon speed.
"You've been resting. I diagnosed you with a form of amnesia; but that was before I found out what it really was. We didn't disturb you because you needed rest – badly – and so called the senshi meeting for everyone but you, Serena, and Darien. Reenie was here, but Helios took her to Elysian, and since she's been there, the outers left. But before they showed up, we found out a most unpleasant fact. We think the generals are alive. And we think…" she colored, Rei noted with interested, "we were in love with them during the Silver Millennium." Her last words came out in a rush.
Rei looked nonplussed. "That's it? I knew that already."
Sweat drops appeared on Lita and Mina's heads while Ami stared at Rei as if she would like to strangle the life out of her. The Mercurian senshi glared at her counterpart a bit longer – Rei stood her ground, unaffectedly – and then threw her hands up in exasperation.
"I give up!" Turning on her heel, she yanked the door open and stormed out.
Two sets of eyes – one sky blue, one forest green – regarded Rei silently.
For about the millionth time that evening, Rei asked, "What?"
***
It was the pounding on the door that drew them out of their moment of staring into each other's eyes. Serena jumped out of her chair with a yelp, acting much like the immature woman she was, and Darien leapt up from his couch and ran a hand through his hair before opening the door.
In flew Ami, red-faced and ranting. "I tried to tell her what was going on. But did she listen? Nooooo. Never thought that quiet little Ami knew what she was talking about. It's only her medical field of expertise, after all. What does she know?"
*When Ami starts talking to herself, we're in trouble. Back away, Darien. Back away like you would from a cobra ready to strike.*
He shot his fiancée a sour look, but slowly headed towards her anyway.
"—And of course, she has to know about the generals already. She has to. Because her general's been in frequent contact with her. Her general's the one who started this whole big mess, and her general is making us go insane! Have I heard from my general? Have I heard from Zoicite? NOOOO! Do I even know if he's alive? Not at all! Am I worried sick? Hell yes! But do I come ranting into people's apartments? Absolutely not! I am not a drama queen like Rei is, and that is one fact she can't get over. I would never, ever, come ranting into people's apartments. In fact, I would rather die than do such a thing, because that is just plain ru—"
For the first time she noticed Darien and Serena backed up against the couch. "Oh, hello." She waved. Then her face paled as she mentally reviewed what she had just said and sank down onto the plush carpet with a cry.
"Oh, no."
***
"So you're telling us that Rei suddenly remembered the past few months' events and was blaming… Jaedite?" Serena asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.
Ami nodded, and sipped her cup of cocoa. "I know it sounds strange, but all facts point to that conclusion. Trust me, even I have trouble believing this hypothesis, but there really is no other answer that would come remotely close to sounding correct."
Darien nodded, and stood up. He started to pace the length of the room. "It's really not that far fetched, Ami. From what I remember of their bond, it was the strongest of all of you. Kunzite and Mina gave them a run for their money a couple of times, but ultimately, Jaedite and Rei had them beat, hands down. It only makes sense that he would be trying to contact her through her dreams and using their link to get to her." His lips pursed in amusement. "Although I can't say I'm not going to relish the verbal beating Rei's going to give him when they meet up again."
Darien shook his head, remembering them in the Silver Millennium. "If all of this has proved one thing, it's that their bond hasn't diminished in the slightest… nor has Rei's temper when it came to matters dealing with Jaedite."
Serena's brow puckered. "Are you saying that they're going to encounter each other… and soon?" This new development brought Ami's head around to stare at Darien.
"Well, yes," he said matter-of-factly. "It would seem the next logical move on the chessboard, so to speak. I wouldn't be surprised if it happened before the wedding," and Ami flinched, not really thinking she was ready for such a meeting in the rapidly approaching week and a half.
Serena took one glance at Ami's pale face and shot Darien a dirty look. "Come on Ames," she grabbed her arm and hauled her in the direction of the guest room in Darien's apartment. "You should get some rest. I'll have… someone go clear out your apartment."
Ami departed inattentively into the room and crashed onto the bed, fully clothed. Serena shook her head, but let her sleep. Her friend had had more than an exhausting day. With a start, she realized she had been about to say Rei when she spoke of clearing out Ami's apartment, and shook her head. Even she relied on Rei as the decision maker of their group. It was a position that really belonged to Mina, but the other bubbly blonde in the group happily delegated it to their forceful best friend.
*Forceful friend who's being haunted by a general who's been dead for over a century. It makes me wonder if any of us are right in the head.*
*That's my best friend you're talking about, Serena.*
And Serena jumped, forgetting that her thoughts were no longer only hers. By that time, she was back in the living room and Darien was waiting for her with a smirk on his face.
She rolled her eyes and came over to him for a hug. While encircled by his arms, Serena looked up and asked him what had been on her mind ever since he'd revealed that he believed the generals coming back. "You don't think they'd… crash the wedding, do you?"
He stepped back from her with alarm. "I'd like to think they have better manners than that!" The look she gave him, with that cat's half-smile and quirked eyebrow, made him reappraise his opinion. "Well," he conceded, "I hope they have a better plan than that. Coming to the wedding is one thing, but arriving in the middle of it…"
***
Queen Serenity breathed a sigh of relief at the way things had unfolded and then turned on the four generals, especially Jaedite. "Are you CRAZY?! You almost ruined everything! You might as well have announced when we were planning on showing up. Ami's got her doubts; Darien's sniffing pretty close!"
Kunzite walked over to her and laid a hand on her arm. "Your majesty, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I think it's safe to say that they're pretty much in the dark about our arrival."
She sighed and nodded. "You're right. I need to get some rest. Goodnight." And she headed for a small room on the other side of wherever they were.
Shaking his head, Kunzite made his way back over to the guys. They were having a pow-wow of sorts. He got there just in time to hear Nephrite talking.
"That Rei," Nephrite whistled, "I forgot she was such a firebird. I do not envy you, Jaedite, when she gets mad because—"
"You forget," Jaedite interrupted him smoothly, "that Ami gave Red quite a run for her money this evening." Heads swiveled towards Zoicite. "In fact, the last time I saw her that angry, Zoicite had forgotten that—"
Zoicite's hand clamped over Jaedite's mouth. "What he's trying to say guys, is, uh…"
The only dark haired general in their group rolled his eyes and put a hand on Kunzite's shoulder. "You okay, big guy? You haven't said a word since we got here and Jaedite restored Rei's memories again."
The leader of the group opened his eyes slowly and half-turned to look at the arguing Zoicite and Jaedite. A corner of his lips quirked up in a smile and his eyes swung to meet Nephrite's. "Yes. I am looking forward to seeing Mina. It has been far too long since I've seen her last and…" he sighed, losing some of the formal stance. "Frankly, I miss her," he concluded bluntly.
Nephrite thought of his own Amazon goddess and closed his eyes in remembrance. "You're not the only one."
***
And the next chapter is the wedding. I swear. I'm not beating around the bush any longer. Wedding and then an epilogue, I think. And I really have to get my butt in gear with Coffee. It's irritating me. Chapter 13 is holding me up for reasons I can't understand.