Disclaimer: I wrote this for a random Writer's Test, and I liked it so much I just had to post it up here. If you can believe this, I wrote this whole thing in a little less than two hours!

Frozen Prisoner

The chilly air slapped against the window, trying in vain to
enter the warm cafe that the glass protected. Sitting alone at one of the
booths was a young woman with long green hair that cascaded past her
shoulders to rest snugly at her waist. She wore a warm turtleneck to protect
herself from the frigid air awaiting her, and her delicate hands were
hugging a cup of hot tea. She lifted the glass and rested it to her lips.
Before she could take a drink, however, something stopped her.

What's this? she thought. I feel... but that's impossible. It can't be... He
can't be back...

A creeping sensation danced on her spine like sharp needles. She closed her
eyes and tried to ignore the evil vibrations she was sensing, hoping that
this wasn't what she thought it was.

---

A prison, frozen forever in a moment. A look of horror etched on his
features. One word frozen in his mind: failure. It echoed and resounded, his
only companion in the quiet. He saw their faces as well. Haunted with no
means of escape from it. Not dead, but forced into a torturous limbo that
seemed much worse than death could possibly be.

Let me die! Someone end my misery, I beg you!

But no one heard him in the void. Even if his words could be voiced, they
would never escape his icy prison.

Like a breath of air after drowning in water, a tingling warmth greeted his
frame. He could feel the barrier that kept him in perpetual torture begin to
melt away. Was he dreaming, hallucinating in his pain, or... did he dare
accept it as truth? The ice was melting quicker now, or perhaps he only
imagined that. Either way, it was gone from his body before he could prepare
for it. His limp, wet form fell to the ground.

Every inch of his body wet and freezing, he laid there shivering on the cold
hard floor. He blinked off droplets of water that clung to his eyelashes. He
could feel every ache in his body and knew that this was not a dream. How
and why he did not know, but he was free.

---

The cruel ice of winter melted away to allow flora to sprout again,
heralding spring. Found breathing in the fresh air was a girl with vibrant
red hair and her companion, a boy with mousy brown hair and large round
glasses.

"Isn't this a beautiful day, Melvin?" asked the girl in her York accent.

"It sure is, Molly!" agreed the boy cheerfully. The girl giggled at her
boyfriend's enthusiasm and slipped her fingers into his.

As they walked through the park, they unexpectedly came upon the limp form
of a man. The couple paused in their stride, observing the form with a
mixture of fear and concern. The man was stretched out on the grass, his
blonde hair sticking to his head and his body clad in a blue outfit that
clung to his body.

"Is he okay?" wondered Molly in a hushed whisper. Slowly she began to inch
towards him.

"Careful, Molly!" warned Melvin. "He could be dangerous!"

"He could be hurt," she retorted. She came up to the man's limp body and
knelt down next to him. Suddenly one of his hands shot out and grabbed her
ankle. She let out a shriek of surprise. Hearing his lady love in danger,
Melvin sprung into action.

"Don't worry, Molly! Tuxedo Melvin will save you!" In an instant he had
transformed into his "alter ego". Poor Molly could only roll her eyes.

"Melvin, I'm okay. I was just surprised." The annoyed expression she wore
started to fade. Her eyes became heavy; it was hard for her to stay
conscious.

"Stop, fiend!" shouted Tuxedo Melvin. "Leave her alone!" He rushed forward
to deal the offender a blow. The man, looking so helpless only moments
before, lifted his other hand and somehow blasted the boy off his feet.

"MELVIN!!!"

---

"Hey, I'm picking up some weird vibes," hissed Raye. She, Serena, and Amy
were taking a relaxing stroll through the woods. They hardly got any days
like this one now that they were in high school, even without their duties
as Sailor Scouts keeping them busy. Naturally, hearing Raye make this
declaration did not put Serena in the best of moods.

"Always the herald of bad news! Can't you sense something good for a
change?"

"Lay off, meatball head! We've got a serious situation on our hands!"

"Don't call me meatball head!" But Raye wasn't listening; she had already
transformed. Seeing that Raye was serious about this, Amy did the same.
Serena let out a heavy sigh. "There goes our peaceful afternoon! Moon Crisis
Power!"

The three senshi rushed into battle. Mars led the other two to a section of
the park with a fountain trickling water. They first spotted Tuxedo Melvin,
lying unconscious on the grass. Not far from him was Molly in the same
condition. Sailor Moon knelt down next to her two friends to make sure they
were all right.

"Their energy's been drained," reported Mercury. "Look at this!" She pointed
to a spot of grass where the blades were bent. "Someone has been here
recently!"

"I'm still here..." It was a voice all three of the girls recognized, but it
couldn't possibly be him. Slowly, cautiously, the girls turned to face the
person speaking.

Standing before them with his wet hair clinging to his head was none other
than Jedite, one of Queen Beryl's four generals. The girls stood with their
mouths gaping open. They were certain that he had died; how could he have
come back, and why now, so many years after they fought him?

"Jedite!" they shouted in unison.

"You'll pay," he rasped. "You'll pay for it all. Every second I spent being
tortured... You'll pay." Before they could recover from the shock of him
being there, he attacked.

He went for Sailor Moon first, shooting a wave of negative energy at her.
She barely danced away. Jedite didn't even seem to notice; he kept pelting
her with attacks. Mercury stepped in to help her friend and she too was
subjected to multiple blasts of negative energy.

Meanwhile Sailor Mars stayed in the back, her mind working. She had noticed
something about Jedite that puzzled her: his eyes no longer held the steel
coldness she remembered so well from the time he had worked in the temple
under the name Jed. Instead, his eyes now held... sadness. What could it
have felt like to be damned into eternal torture? What did he go through
while he was locked away? She couldn't believe it, but she found herself
sympathizing with her enemy.

"Stop! Stop it! Mars Fire Ignite!" The column of flame shot out from her
fingertips and blasted her two friends.

"YEOWCH!!" shrieked Sailor Moon. She and Sailor Mercury plunked into the
nearby fountain to douse the flames. They sat there for a moment, their hair
partially singed. Jedite paused in his attack; he stared over at Sailor
Mars, looking puzzled. Sailor Moon was first to recover.

"Raye, what's the big idea?! Jedite's the enemy, not us!"

"No, he isn't," she said quietly. She kept her eyes on Jedite, not wanting
to see her friends' reaction. Her dark orbs swam in his blue ones, so much
like a storm at sea. Jedite slowly lowered his hands.

"Raye?" he asked. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," she confirmed, changing back into her school clothes.
Sailor Moon scrambled out of the fountain and went up to her friend, shaking
the other girl on the shoulders.

"Have you gone mad? Don't you even remember what this guy did to us?" Raye
sighed and shrugged of Sailor Moon's gloved hands.

"Don't you remember all the enemies we've forgiven over the years?" Sailor
Moon opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Raye moved passed her
to face Jedite again.

"We did what we had to do to protect our friends. What happened to you
wasn't our fault; that was Beryl's doing. I'm sorry you had to go through
it."

"Why are you saying this?" asked Jedite. Why is she being so nice to me? Why
is she looking at me like that? Her eyes were on him, as if searching for
his sins. Having her speak to him with such kindness made him painfully
aware of them all. He didn't want her to see.

"Jedite, you can be our friend if you want," she continued. She moved
towards him. He instinctively backed away.

"No, I can't! Get away!" She gave him a hurt look, her dark eyes shimmering
with sadness. Don't look at me! He had to get away from her. He turned and
teleported away.

"Jedite!" she shouted. "Come back!"

---

So can you tell me
So I can finally see
Where you go when you're gone

---

He couldn't stop thinking about her, and how she had reached out to him with
no questions asked. Why? Surely he deserved nothing from her save hatred.
Why, then, did her eyes gaze at him with kindness? Why did she even care?

He stood in the shadows, watching her kneel before the flames. He had seen
this before but she was younger then. Her features were more mature now,
more beautiful. He watched her shadow leap on the walls and couldn't take
his eyes off of her.

"Raye..." He spoke her name in a whisper. Her dark eyes opened and she
turned to him. Her lips curled into a smile. His insides sank to his toes.
Why was she acting like he was a friend instead of an enemy?

"You're back," she said.

"Why did you--"

"I saw it in your eyes," she responded.

"My... eyes?"

"Yes. Your eyes were sad." She stood up and walked over to him. To his great
surprise, she took his hands in hers. "I know how it feels to be alone. But
you don't have to be."

"Yes... I do," he said sadly. "I'm sorry." He had no control over what he
did next. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed her lips.
He pulled away, his face bright red.

"Goodbye, Raye."

---

If you want to
I can save you
I can take you away from here
So lonely inside
So busy out there
And all you wanted was somebody who cared



~End