Author's Note: This part will be a little confusing. Some of this happened before some of the events in the last chapter. You'll get it, I hope. I'll explain it more later. I only got this idea now rather than before I wrote the last chapter. Oh well.
SW=AU
GW = 7 years after Endless Waltz
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing. ::sob::
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Chapter 4 - Getting to know each other
AC 202: September 17
Location: Ceres Point
"There have been some changes made to the assignments. Team Wyvern is now assigned to stay here at Ceres Point to help the Preventers. I'm sure you all know what to and not to disclose." Kyle announced, looking in the direction of the 15 person Elemental team. A chorus of nods were his answer. He replied with a short nod of his own. "Team Trickster is to return to the Academy. Director Ryuuno is expecting a full report as well as help in forming more teams. Team Starlight, you are to return to Belior's Point. The Triad requests that you pick up more information from sector 49. All other assignments are the same."
Heero stood up beside his partner at the podium. All assignments, unless the teams needed to know right away, were announced during the first meal of the day. The Triad always assigned a team to head a group and it was their responsibility to make sure all teams under them knew their assignments. Kyle's and Heero's team were constantly assigned as the leader of such excursions. Of course, it was easier when all three of them were together.
"One more announcement before we can let you go." Heero said, his voice easily dropping back to his cold emotionless voice. The Teams knew better to think he was as cold as he made his voice to be. "The Dark Kingdom is gaining strength. We are still unsure where they gather energy, but be careful. It has been reported that we have lost five teams within the last month to them. Keep your guard and senses up. Magic users, make sure your charms are in full working order."
He looked around at everyone, his tone warming. He had gotten to know many of them rather well. "Be careful everyone. We don't want to lose any of you."
Kyle clasped Heero's shoulder. "You are dismissed."
Several chairs could be heard moving back as the two Yuys made their way back to their breakfast table where Team Starlight and the Gundam Pilots were sitting. The Pilots' significant others and the Senshi were at different tables discussing some things in a low tone. Lady Une, Mamoru and Relena were in a conference with Catherine. Heero had been slightly surprised at the Triad's decision in putting her as the three's contact person. Then again, Catherine knew more about Une and Relena than any of the others in the group aside from Heero himself.
"Hey, Heero ... wanna go out and talk with us?" Duo asked. Trowa's, Quatre's and Wufei's eyes were focused on him. Indeed, there was quite a few things they needed to catch up on. Only Kyle and Tenshi knew how much he had missed his fellow comrades.
"Don't worry bout us, Heero." Kyle said lightly. "Jade, Blaze and I are going to join Trickster and Silence for some karaoke."
"You're going, after the last time?" Heero asked incredulously. Jade roared with laughter.
"You can always join us later, Yuy." Jade taunted, looking at him slyly. "You know you want to."
"Maybe. I'll be out with Duo, Trowa, Quatre and Wufei for a while." He replied, glaring back at Jade.
"We'll be at our usual spot, Hee-chan." Blaze said as she smacked her partner, Jadeite.
"What did Kyle mean when he said you guys were lifemated?" Duo asked curiously. That had been on all the ex-Gundam Pilots' minds since the end of the meeting the other day. Neither of the Yuys were forthcoming on it then, perhaps now they could get the answer from their silent comrade.
"Yeah, Yuy. Your partner almost gave Quatre a heart attack with that declaration." Wufei stated. Heero gave a low chuckle.
"It's what he said, we are lifemated but not in the sense you were thinking." He sat back in his seat, cradling his drink. "Each team are formed for life. It's like we are married to one another, we're family. We're that close. Each of us would gladly give up our life for the sake of a team member. Some teams form a more lasting bond."
"Like you and Kyle?" Quatre asked curiously. Heero rolled up his right sleeve and displayed a 3 inch scar on his forearm.
"Kyle and I blood-bonded and took my last name." The Elemental smiled softly, reminiscing about the blood bonding ceremony they held. He shook his head looking at him. "It was strange to meet him the first time, he was so much like me in attitude."
"Woah ... another Heero?" Duo teased, smiling at the changes in his friend. "We're glad you found more to life than missions, Heero, even if we did miss you during the past years."
"You will keep in touch when this is over, right Heero?" Quatre asked. Seeing the new Heero had brought hope to what he had thought would be desperate times.
"I will try." He honestly granted. With what his team had to do, there was no guarantee that he would be able to keep in contact with his friends. Friends. He could freely admit that was what his comrades were and still are.
"That's all we ask, Heero." Trowa commented softly. He leaned forward. "Now tell us ... how have your life been?"
From there on out, they shared stories of what the others had missed in the last seven years of their life. There was funny stories, sad. In each one, they realized just how much the other had changed, for the better. Not one of them held any trauma from the wars they had been in. It seemed that the people they met had healed them of their pain.
"Hilde! Mina! Wait up!" The two some turned to watch as Ami and Sally ran to catch up with them. Laughing, the foursome made their way towards the pool. Someone had told them that the house had one and it would be a perfect spot for them to catch up on things.
At the pool, Rei and Yuuchirou were already relaxing. Somehow, Yuuchirou had been able to calm down his fiery wife. Right now, the priestess was relaxing in the water while her husband was swimming laps. Her eyes were shut to the world, inwardly brooding over things that she didn't want to worry her other half about.
"Rei!" The shout broke her out of her reverie. Her eyes snapped open and an arm rose from the water to give them a welcome wave. Minako bound over to her, blue eyes dancing. "Rei, when did you get it?"
Violet eyes blinked in confusion as she stared up at Minako and Ami (who was standing beside her in curiosity. Sally and Hilde were stripping down to their swim suits a few feet away from them. "What do you mean?"
"Your memories of the Senshi." Ami stated quietly. "I got mine when I had a bit of a lab accident."
"And I got mine during a space accident." Minako added, kneeling down by the pool. Rei's eyes slid close against the pain that threatened to overwhelm her. They didn't know. No one knew except Yuuchirou and Makoto. Their deaths, Usagi's, the endless solitude.
"I always had mine, Minako-chan." She whispered in replied, slipping easily back into her native tongue. Her eyes opened again to gaze up at her friends. "Yuuchirou, Makoto and I never died."
With that she rose gracefully from where she was lounging in the water and swept out of the pool. Quickly, before the other two could question her, she gathered her towel and went inside. The Senshi of Love and of Wisdom stared at each other in horror.
"They lived for over three thousand years?" Minako whispered in anguish. The loneliness she felt when she recovered her memories could not compare to what those three lived through. Her eyes rose to land on the single figure that was doing laps within the pool who seemed oblivious to what had just transpired.
"That would explain their attitudes during Crystal Tokyo." Ami commented lowly so that her blonde companion would hear. "We died when we went up against Jaaku and his henchman, but they never did. But, how did Yuuchirou live that long?"
"They kept me alive." A warm male voice answered for them. Two pairs of blue eyes looked at the man that was standing in front of them. They were half expecting to see shaggy hair covering most of his face. Eyes of gray-green stared back at them. "They asked after I married Rei and you had gone. They shared their life force with me and it's been that way ever since. I guess you can say the three of us soul bonded to help each other."
"How did you guys survive all those years?" Ami asked in curiosity.
"We lived. We knew that you guys would be reborn again. Next thing we knew everyone got together during Crystal Tokyo. Then you guys died and we were still around. We just stayed alive knowing we would see you again." Yuuchirou said with a shrug. "We had our businesses to keep us occupied during the intervening centuries."
"The Kumuda Industries?" Minako guessed. He nodded.
"And Mako's Silver Rose restaurants." Their eyes widened.
"*The* Silver Rose restaurants??" Minako squeaked. "They said it had been around since Crystal Tokyo, but we would never have guessed it was hers!"
Yuuchirou chuckled, nodding. "Yeah, Mako-chan did well in her cooking."
Soon, the three were swapping stories about what they had missed in each other's lives ... that is before Hilde pulled them into the pool and a water fight went underway. Sally made sure that her medical mentor (Ami) was relaxing and having fun for the short time they were allowed.
When Rei had stalked into the house, Makoto peeled herself away from the wall by the door and strode down the halls by her side. Neither said a word, none was needed. They knew each other well enough to know what the other wanted without having to say a thing. Their soul bond would have communicated the distress of the other.
As they made their way to the rooms they were given, they came across Setsuna who was staring at a portrait. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that it was a younger version of Setsuna in the picture with a man's arms around her waist. The couple looked comfortable and happy. On the painted Time Guardian had an expression that she couldn't believe that life was this wonderful. On the man's was the happiest smile, his eyes showing he was content and how much love he had for the person he held.
"Setsuna?" Makoto called out gently after a few moments of silence. A soft sigh greeted her words as the Time Gates' keeper turned to face them. Sorrow filled those ageless eyes and suddenly she looked much older, stooped under the heavy burden of duty.
"I was so happy then ..." Setsuna whispered in agony. Makoto and Rei enfolded her into a comforting embrace. A comfort Setsuna took as she hung on to the two. It was only during these times, when the three of them were alone, was there a role reversal. Setsuna being the younger, seeking knowledge and comfort from the elders. Rei and Makoto were the older ones, giving guidance to someone younger than them. They didn't know when it happened, it just did. Perhaps it was because of how many times Setsuna had died when they continued to live through the years. They understood her position more than the other Senshi. They knew her loneliness she had experienced between the downfall of the Moon Kingdom to when the Senshi were called upon to protect the Earth.
"You'll find happiness again, Setsuna." Rei said gazing up at the portrait again. "We all will before all of this is over."
Heavy breathing permeated the air before the sound of a soft thud was heard as a body met the mat. The body rolled away before the fist came down to come into contact with the ground. They had been at this for an hour now and neither looked ready to end it. The two continued hit and block, trying to find an opening. The two spectators on the benches made no moves to break the fight. They realized both needed this.
However, after watching them fight out their aggressions, Michiru couldn't help but comment on it. "It appears we will need to find Sally or a medic to take care of those two."
"I wish they did not keep their need for revenge for this long." Sighed Noin shaking her head at the two combats. The aqua haired woman peered at her blue haired companion in curiosity.
"What happened between them?"
Noin gestured to the two who were still going at it. "They were the best at the Academy. Haruka took it for fun, Milliardo did as part of his revenge against the ones who destroyed the Sanq Kingdom. Those two competed for everything. Where one excelled, the other struggled. It got to the point where they challenged each other nightly ... that was until Haruka disappeared."
"So they are still trying to settle old differences. Or in this case, going back to their rivalry." Michiru stated. "And it seems that it was partly my fault that she had disappeared from the Lake Victoria Academy. We needed her and when we found out where she was, we lured her away."
"Lured?"
The Senshi of Neptune grinned at her, showing that she did have a mischievous side to her serious nature. "You cannot believe how easy it was to do so with the prospect of a car race and the promise of giving her enough money to build her dream car."
"Really?" Noin chuckled. It was hard to think that was all that they needed to lure away such a dedicated student like Haruka, then again she was never there to become a soldier like the rest of them were.
A yelp drew their attention to the combatants to witness Hotaru down Milliardo. Haruka was already on the ground looking up at her 'daughter' in surprise. There was a dark foreboding and serious look to her eyes. Just as sudden as she came, the Senshi of Death and Rebirth was bounding away as if chasing something. Something that only she could see. Alarmed, Michiru was chasing after her and Noin was right there with her.
Hotaru had been wandering around the house ... well, it would be better described as a mansion with the amount of acreage and floors the place had. It didn't bother her one bit since in allowed her to think about what was currently happening. The decoration proved to be as thought provoking as anything any of the Elemental she ran into said.
This lifetime turned out to be kinder to her than her previous ones. She had a relatively normal life until she reached high school when she watched her best friend die by a stray bullet. She remembered how angry she had felt then, felt the intoxication of revenge take over her. At the time there was a gang shoot out down the block and it was there the bullet originated from.
The power of Saturn called to her, telling her to shoot it's deadly rays at the people who killed her friend. A calming silver light spread across her mind, telling her that her friend was in a better place. It calmed her enough out of her thoughts of revenge. When she came back to herself, she had felt anguish at the thought that she been close to killing several human beings! Instead, she fled to the nearest house to call the police. Since then, the happiness she had felt for the majority of her life ebbed away.
Hotaru shook her head, clearing away that memory. She hated dwelling on the emergence of Saturn. There was one thing that she liked about this life time compared to the others -- she was actually closer to the other Senshi in age.
She turned a corner to start heading back to the main level when a shadow caught her eye. There was no one there and she was about to turn away when she realized it was darker than the other shadows and it possessed red eyes. Baring her teeth at it, she called upon her planet to give her power and she was after it.
The Shadow took off down the hall, twisting her through the labyrinth of halls. Hotaru refused to let her eyes drop from it. It didn't feel like a youma but it wasn't something the Elementals told them about that would be wandering around the safehouse. Yet, if had a familiar feeling to it. The Shadow felt like her power, her death magic. She frowned as she chased it, it was better safe than sorry with the Dark Kingdom here.
It lead her into the training hall, and giving no regards to who was there, she instantly attacked as soon as she saw an opening. She heard a grunt and a yell, but her mind was too focused on the entity in front of her. When it left the Hall, she remained in pursuit. It lead her a merry chase through the hall until they reached the basement. The Shadow had disappeared into the darkness and the red eyes were no where to be seen.
"They saw it."
"I know they did and he's not going to be happy about it either."
"He knows better than sending one of them while the Senshi and the Gundam Pilots are here."
There was a pause, followed by a chuckle. "I think he's eager to see her again."
A sound of a smack. "You think?"
"Ouch! How did I manage to rate such an abusive partner?!"
"Humph. See if I help you get out of any more fixes. It's not my fault you managed to be on their bad side when they were assigning people to teams. Not that they really needed you on a team or anything."
"Yeah, yeah. C'mon. We'd better join the others before they start wondering if something ate us."
"Only *you* would make fun of my cooking."
"Maybe if you made things edible ..." There was a laugh and then pounding of feet fading in the distance.
Later that night, everyone met in one of the meeting halls. Catherine and Heero were teasing Trowa about how well he sang at the karaoke bar. Who would have guessed that the Silencer had a magnificent baritone voice? The other female Tricksters had commented on how sexy it sounded. Trowa parried their teases easily with teases of his own. Didn't his sister know how to sing? When did Heero start singing love songs?
Duo and Kyle were swaying side by side singing and laughing. "... I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt, so sexy it huuurts ..."
Wufei, Blaze and a couple other Tricksters were laughing and commenting on the things that happened at the karaoke bar. Jadeite was sharing jokes with the last of the Tricksters as they entered the room. The gaiety ceased the moment they realized how somber the Senshi were. The Tricksters, except Catherine, and Team Starlight beat a hasty retreat. Blaze and Jadeite citing that they needed to catch the next flight out.
The Gundam Pilots, Kyle, and Catherine exchanged looks before studying the others. "What's wrong?" Kyle asked.
"We had a bit of an incident. There was a Shadow here that was sneaking around here." Noin replied quietly. Kyle groaned, his hand rising to cover his eyes. Heero was hard put not to join him in groaning, but he did close his eyes.
"I guess it slipped our minds to warn you, including you Catherine since it seems you will be working with our group this time around." Heero commented, his eyes opening to look at them all. He gestured for the pilots to have a seat. "What you saw was a spirit. They do some reconnaissance for us, but it's limited since they're not really supposed to leave their realm. It was probably here to pass on some information to us."
"Spirits, Heero Yuy?" Setsuna asked, deceptively mild. She leaned away from Makoto, who she was sitting next to. "You have permission from the Lord of the Underworld to use them?"
"To an extent." Heero replied, making a mental note to yell at his best friend's father for that slip up. Then again, he would probably do the same thing if he hadn't seen his wife in just as long. "His representative made it quite clear to us where their boundaries are and that the spirits we use were of his own pickings."
"We rarely use them. Most times when we do, it's because of some dire need. They tend to speak in riddles than anything, making them unreliable at best." Kyle added. Just then, the screen blazed on. The Yuys and Catherine turned to face it, the others looking on intently.
No one could see who it was that communicated to them with the static so bad. The voice was cutting in and out as well. "...Yuy ... need ... crystal ... report ... Trick ... find ... Academy ..." And just as suddenly the screen blinked out.
By the time it registered on everyone's minds, Heero and Kyle were already down the hall. Catherine followed close behind. Then everyone else. They followed down to the communications booth.
"Jared, where did the call originate?" Kyle was busy asking the dispatcher. Heero was at another console, his fingers flying across the keyboard, intent in finding out what the message was.
"It was relayed at South Point. I don't know the origin, nor does South." Jared replied in bewilderment. "It just went through before I can screen it."
"Kyle." Heero barked out tersely. "We need to get to the Academy. They're expecting an attack there." He looked grimly at his partner before looking at Catherine. "Cat, you're team is Point. Hilde, Milliardo, Noin ... it would be best if you stayed here with Lady Une. She'll need your support now than ever. Yuuchirou you ..."
"I'm going where ever Rei goes." Yuuchirou interrupted. He exchanged glances with Rei and Makoto. "Besides, I'm not completely helpless."
Heero scowled, easy giving him the cold stare he had back during his Perfect Soldier days. He'll let Tenshi deal with it if and when they met up. Hilde was looking mad at the prospect of being left behind until her eyes came in contact with Duo's. "Fine. Everyone pack up. We're going to L7."
"L7?! Are you out of your gourd, man? Everyone knows that's just a myth!" Duo burst turning to stare incredulously at Heero. He got a smirk from all the Elementals in the room.
SW=AU
GW = 7 years after Endless Waltz
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing. ::sob::
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Chapter 4 - Getting to know each other
AC 202: September 17
Location: Ceres Point
"There have been some changes made to the assignments. Team Wyvern is now assigned to stay here at Ceres Point to help the Preventers. I'm sure you all know what to and not to disclose." Kyle announced, looking in the direction of the 15 person Elemental team. A chorus of nods were his answer. He replied with a short nod of his own. "Team Trickster is to return to the Academy. Director Ryuuno is expecting a full report as well as help in forming more teams. Team Starlight, you are to return to Belior's Point. The Triad requests that you pick up more information from sector 49. All other assignments are the same."
Heero stood up beside his partner at the podium. All assignments, unless the teams needed to know right away, were announced during the first meal of the day. The Triad always assigned a team to head a group and it was their responsibility to make sure all teams under them knew their assignments. Kyle's and Heero's team were constantly assigned as the leader of such excursions. Of course, it was easier when all three of them were together.
"One more announcement before we can let you go." Heero said, his voice easily dropping back to his cold emotionless voice. The Teams knew better to think he was as cold as he made his voice to be. "The Dark Kingdom is gaining strength. We are still unsure where they gather energy, but be careful. It has been reported that we have lost five teams within the last month to them. Keep your guard and senses up. Magic users, make sure your charms are in full working order."
He looked around at everyone, his tone warming. He had gotten to know many of them rather well. "Be careful everyone. We don't want to lose any of you."
Kyle clasped Heero's shoulder. "You are dismissed."
Several chairs could be heard moving back as the two Yuys made their way back to their breakfast table where Team Starlight and the Gundam Pilots were sitting. The Pilots' significant others and the Senshi were at different tables discussing some things in a low tone. Lady Une, Mamoru and Relena were in a conference with Catherine. Heero had been slightly surprised at the Triad's decision in putting her as the three's contact person. Then again, Catherine knew more about Une and Relena than any of the others in the group aside from Heero himself.
"Hey, Heero ... wanna go out and talk with us?" Duo asked. Trowa's, Quatre's and Wufei's eyes were focused on him. Indeed, there was quite a few things they needed to catch up on. Only Kyle and Tenshi knew how much he had missed his fellow comrades.
"Don't worry bout us, Heero." Kyle said lightly. "Jade, Blaze and I are going to join Trickster and Silence for some karaoke."
"You're going, after the last time?" Heero asked incredulously. Jade roared with laughter.
"You can always join us later, Yuy." Jade taunted, looking at him slyly. "You know you want to."
"Maybe. I'll be out with Duo, Trowa, Quatre and Wufei for a while." He replied, glaring back at Jade.
"We'll be at our usual spot, Hee-chan." Blaze said as she smacked her partner, Jadeite.
"What did Kyle mean when he said you guys were lifemated?" Duo asked curiously. That had been on all the ex-Gundam Pilots' minds since the end of the meeting the other day. Neither of the Yuys were forthcoming on it then, perhaps now they could get the answer from their silent comrade.
"Yeah, Yuy. Your partner almost gave Quatre a heart attack with that declaration." Wufei stated. Heero gave a low chuckle.
"It's what he said, we are lifemated but not in the sense you were thinking." He sat back in his seat, cradling his drink. "Each team are formed for life. It's like we are married to one another, we're family. We're that close. Each of us would gladly give up our life for the sake of a team member. Some teams form a more lasting bond."
"Like you and Kyle?" Quatre asked curiously. Heero rolled up his right sleeve and displayed a 3 inch scar on his forearm.
"Kyle and I blood-bonded and took my last name." The Elemental smiled softly, reminiscing about the blood bonding ceremony they held. He shook his head looking at him. "It was strange to meet him the first time, he was so much like me in attitude."
"Woah ... another Heero?" Duo teased, smiling at the changes in his friend. "We're glad you found more to life than missions, Heero, even if we did miss you during the past years."
"You will keep in touch when this is over, right Heero?" Quatre asked. Seeing the new Heero had brought hope to what he had thought would be desperate times.
"I will try." He honestly granted. With what his team had to do, there was no guarantee that he would be able to keep in contact with his friends. Friends. He could freely admit that was what his comrades were and still are.
"That's all we ask, Heero." Trowa commented softly. He leaned forward. "Now tell us ... how have your life been?"
From there on out, they shared stories of what the others had missed in the last seven years of their life. There was funny stories, sad. In each one, they realized just how much the other had changed, for the better. Not one of them held any trauma from the wars they had been in. It seemed that the people they met had healed them of their pain.
"Hilde! Mina! Wait up!" The two some turned to watch as Ami and Sally ran to catch up with them. Laughing, the foursome made their way towards the pool. Someone had told them that the house had one and it would be a perfect spot for them to catch up on things.
At the pool, Rei and Yuuchirou were already relaxing. Somehow, Yuuchirou had been able to calm down his fiery wife. Right now, the priestess was relaxing in the water while her husband was swimming laps. Her eyes were shut to the world, inwardly brooding over things that she didn't want to worry her other half about.
"Rei!" The shout broke her out of her reverie. Her eyes snapped open and an arm rose from the water to give them a welcome wave. Minako bound over to her, blue eyes dancing. "Rei, when did you get it?"
Violet eyes blinked in confusion as she stared up at Minako and Ami (who was standing beside her in curiosity. Sally and Hilde were stripping down to their swim suits a few feet away from them. "What do you mean?"
"Your memories of the Senshi." Ami stated quietly. "I got mine when I had a bit of a lab accident."
"And I got mine during a space accident." Minako added, kneeling down by the pool. Rei's eyes slid close against the pain that threatened to overwhelm her. They didn't know. No one knew except Yuuchirou and Makoto. Their deaths, Usagi's, the endless solitude.
"I always had mine, Minako-chan." She whispered in replied, slipping easily back into her native tongue. Her eyes opened again to gaze up at her friends. "Yuuchirou, Makoto and I never died."
With that she rose gracefully from where she was lounging in the water and swept out of the pool. Quickly, before the other two could question her, she gathered her towel and went inside. The Senshi of Love and of Wisdom stared at each other in horror.
"They lived for over three thousand years?" Minako whispered in anguish. The loneliness she felt when she recovered her memories could not compare to what those three lived through. Her eyes rose to land on the single figure that was doing laps within the pool who seemed oblivious to what had just transpired.
"That would explain their attitudes during Crystal Tokyo." Ami commented lowly so that her blonde companion would hear. "We died when we went up against Jaaku and his henchman, but they never did. But, how did Yuuchirou live that long?"
"They kept me alive." A warm male voice answered for them. Two pairs of blue eyes looked at the man that was standing in front of them. They were half expecting to see shaggy hair covering most of his face. Eyes of gray-green stared back at them. "They asked after I married Rei and you had gone. They shared their life force with me and it's been that way ever since. I guess you can say the three of us soul bonded to help each other."
"How did you guys survive all those years?" Ami asked in curiosity.
"We lived. We knew that you guys would be reborn again. Next thing we knew everyone got together during Crystal Tokyo. Then you guys died and we were still around. We just stayed alive knowing we would see you again." Yuuchirou said with a shrug. "We had our businesses to keep us occupied during the intervening centuries."
"The Kumuda Industries?" Minako guessed. He nodded.
"And Mako's Silver Rose restaurants." Their eyes widened.
"*The* Silver Rose restaurants??" Minako squeaked. "They said it had been around since Crystal Tokyo, but we would never have guessed it was hers!"
Yuuchirou chuckled, nodding. "Yeah, Mako-chan did well in her cooking."
Soon, the three were swapping stories about what they had missed in each other's lives ... that is before Hilde pulled them into the pool and a water fight went underway. Sally made sure that her medical mentor (Ami) was relaxing and having fun for the short time they were allowed.
When Rei had stalked into the house, Makoto peeled herself away from the wall by the door and strode down the halls by her side. Neither said a word, none was needed. They knew each other well enough to know what the other wanted without having to say a thing. Their soul bond would have communicated the distress of the other.
As they made their way to the rooms they were given, they came across Setsuna who was staring at a portrait. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that it was a younger version of Setsuna in the picture with a man's arms around her waist. The couple looked comfortable and happy. On the painted Time Guardian had an expression that she couldn't believe that life was this wonderful. On the man's was the happiest smile, his eyes showing he was content and how much love he had for the person he held.
"Setsuna?" Makoto called out gently after a few moments of silence. A soft sigh greeted her words as the Time Gates' keeper turned to face them. Sorrow filled those ageless eyes and suddenly she looked much older, stooped under the heavy burden of duty.
"I was so happy then ..." Setsuna whispered in agony. Makoto and Rei enfolded her into a comforting embrace. A comfort Setsuna took as she hung on to the two. It was only during these times, when the three of them were alone, was there a role reversal. Setsuna being the younger, seeking knowledge and comfort from the elders. Rei and Makoto were the older ones, giving guidance to someone younger than them. They didn't know when it happened, it just did. Perhaps it was because of how many times Setsuna had died when they continued to live through the years. They understood her position more than the other Senshi. They knew her loneliness she had experienced between the downfall of the Moon Kingdom to when the Senshi were called upon to protect the Earth.
"You'll find happiness again, Setsuna." Rei said gazing up at the portrait again. "We all will before all of this is over."
Heavy breathing permeated the air before the sound of a soft thud was heard as a body met the mat. The body rolled away before the fist came down to come into contact with the ground. They had been at this for an hour now and neither looked ready to end it. The two continued hit and block, trying to find an opening. The two spectators on the benches made no moves to break the fight. They realized both needed this.
However, after watching them fight out their aggressions, Michiru couldn't help but comment on it. "It appears we will need to find Sally or a medic to take care of those two."
"I wish they did not keep their need for revenge for this long." Sighed Noin shaking her head at the two combats. The aqua haired woman peered at her blue haired companion in curiosity.
"What happened between them?"
Noin gestured to the two who were still going at it. "They were the best at the Academy. Haruka took it for fun, Milliardo did as part of his revenge against the ones who destroyed the Sanq Kingdom. Those two competed for everything. Where one excelled, the other struggled. It got to the point where they challenged each other nightly ... that was until Haruka disappeared."
"So they are still trying to settle old differences. Or in this case, going back to their rivalry." Michiru stated. "And it seems that it was partly my fault that she had disappeared from the Lake Victoria Academy. We needed her and when we found out where she was, we lured her away."
"Lured?"
The Senshi of Neptune grinned at her, showing that she did have a mischievous side to her serious nature. "You cannot believe how easy it was to do so with the prospect of a car race and the promise of giving her enough money to build her dream car."
"Really?" Noin chuckled. It was hard to think that was all that they needed to lure away such a dedicated student like Haruka, then again she was never there to become a soldier like the rest of them were.
A yelp drew their attention to the combatants to witness Hotaru down Milliardo. Haruka was already on the ground looking up at her 'daughter' in surprise. There was a dark foreboding and serious look to her eyes. Just as sudden as she came, the Senshi of Death and Rebirth was bounding away as if chasing something. Something that only she could see. Alarmed, Michiru was chasing after her and Noin was right there with her.
Hotaru had been wandering around the house ... well, it would be better described as a mansion with the amount of acreage and floors the place had. It didn't bother her one bit since in allowed her to think about what was currently happening. The decoration proved to be as thought provoking as anything any of the Elemental she ran into said.
This lifetime turned out to be kinder to her than her previous ones. She had a relatively normal life until she reached high school when she watched her best friend die by a stray bullet. She remembered how angry she had felt then, felt the intoxication of revenge take over her. At the time there was a gang shoot out down the block and it was there the bullet originated from.
The power of Saturn called to her, telling her to shoot it's deadly rays at the people who killed her friend. A calming silver light spread across her mind, telling her that her friend was in a better place. It calmed her enough out of her thoughts of revenge. When she came back to herself, she had felt anguish at the thought that she been close to killing several human beings! Instead, she fled to the nearest house to call the police. Since then, the happiness she had felt for the majority of her life ebbed away.
Hotaru shook her head, clearing away that memory. She hated dwelling on the emergence of Saturn. There was one thing that she liked about this life time compared to the others -- she was actually closer to the other Senshi in age.
She turned a corner to start heading back to the main level when a shadow caught her eye. There was no one there and she was about to turn away when she realized it was darker than the other shadows and it possessed red eyes. Baring her teeth at it, she called upon her planet to give her power and she was after it.
The Shadow took off down the hall, twisting her through the labyrinth of halls. Hotaru refused to let her eyes drop from it. It didn't feel like a youma but it wasn't something the Elementals told them about that would be wandering around the safehouse. Yet, if had a familiar feeling to it. The Shadow felt like her power, her death magic. She frowned as she chased it, it was better safe than sorry with the Dark Kingdom here.
It lead her into the training hall, and giving no regards to who was there, she instantly attacked as soon as she saw an opening. She heard a grunt and a yell, but her mind was too focused on the entity in front of her. When it left the Hall, she remained in pursuit. It lead her a merry chase through the hall until they reached the basement. The Shadow had disappeared into the darkness and the red eyes were no where to be seen.
"They saw it."
"I know they did and he's not going to be happy about it either."
"He knows better than sending one of them while the Senshi and the Gundam Pilots are here."
There was a pause, followed by a chuckle. "I think he's eager to see her again."
A sound of a smack. "You think?"
"Ouch! How did I manage to rate such an abusive partner?!"
"Humph. See if I help you get out of any more fixes. It's not my fault you managed to be on their bad side when they were assigning people to teams. Not that they really needed you on a team or anything."
"Yeah, yeah. C'mon. We'd better join the others before they start wondering if something ate us."
"Only *you* would make fun of my cooking."
"Maybe if you made things edible ..." There was a laugh and then pounding of feet fading in the distance.
Later that night, everyone met in one of the meeting halls. Catherine and Heero were teasing Trowa about how well he sang at the karaoke bar. Who would have guessed that the Silencer had a magnificent baritone voice? The other female Tricksters had commented on how sexy it sounded. Trowa parried their teases easily with teases of his own. Didn't his sister know how to sing? When did Heero start singing love songs?
Duo and Kyle were swaying side by side singing and laughing. "... I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt, so sexy it huuurts ..."
Wufei, Blaze and a couple other Tricksters were laughing and commenting on the things that happened at the karaoke bar. Jadeite was sharing jokes with the last of the Tricksters as they entered the room. The gaiety ceased the moment they realized how somber the Senshi were. The Tricksters, except Catherine, and Team Starlight beat a hasty retreat. Blaze and Jadeite citing that they needed to catch the next flight out.
The Gundam Pilots, Kyle, and Catherine exchanged looks before studying the others. "What's wrong?" Kyle asked.
"We had a bit of an incident. There was a Shadow here that was sneaking around here." Noin replied quietly. Kyle groaned, his hand rising to cover his eyes. Heero was hard put not to join him in groaning, but he did close his eyes.
"I guess it slipped our minds to warn you, including you Catherine since it seems you will be working with our group this time around." Heero commented, his eyes opening to look at them all. He gestured for the pilots to have a seat. "What you saw was a spirit. They do some reconnaissance for us, but it's limited since they're not really supposed to leave their realm. It was probably here to pass on some information to us."
"Spirits, Heero Yuy?" Setsuna asked, deceptively mild. She leaned away from Makoto, who she was sitting next to. "You have permission from the Lord of the Underworld to use them?"
"To an extent." Heero replied, making a mental note to yell at his best friend's father for that slip up. Then again, he would probably do the same thing if he hadn't seen his wife in just as long. "His representative made it quite clear to us where their boundaries are and that the spirits we use were of his own pickings."
"We rarely use them. Most times when we do, it's because of some dire need. They tend to speak in riddles than anything, making them unreliable at best." Kyle added. Just then, the screen blazed on. The Yuys and Catherine turned to face it, the others looking on intently.
No one could see who it was that communicated to them with the static so bad. The voice was cutting in and out as well. "...Yuy ... need ... crystal ... report ... Trick ... find ... Academy ..." And just as suddenly the screen blinked out.
By the time it registered on everyone's minds, Heero and Kyle were already down the hall. Catherine followed close behind. Then everyone else. They followed down to the communications booth.
"Jared, where did the call originate?" Kyle was busy asking the dispatcher. Heero was at another console, his fingers flying across the keyboard, intent in finding out what the message was.
"It was relayed at South Point. I don't know the origin, nor does South." Jared replied in bewilderment. "It just went through before I can screen it."
"Kyle." Heero barked out tersely. "We need to get to the Academy. They're expecting an attack there." He looked grimly at his partner before looking at Catherine. "Cat, you're team is Point. Hilde, Milliardo, Noin ... it would be best if you stayed here with Lady Une. She'll need your support now than ever. Yuuchirou you ..."
"I'm going where ever Rei goes." Yuuchirou interrupted. He exchanged glances with Rei and Makoto. "Besides, I'm not completely helpless."
Heero scowled, easy giving him the cold stare he had back during his Perfect Soldier days. He'll let Tenshi deal with it if and when they met up. Hilde was looking mad at the prospect of being left behind until her eyes came in contact with Duo's. "Fine. Everyone pack up. We're going to L7."
"L7?! Are you out of your gourd, man? Everyone knows that's just a myth!" Duo burst turning to stare incredulously at Heero. He got a smirk from all the Elementals in the room.