Chapter Three.
" She what ? ! " Amy exclaimed.
" She took all of my transformation wands after she called me a slut and I punched her. " Leta elaborated.
" She called you a slut and you punched her . " Amy repeated, bewildered.
" Yep . "
" And she kicked you out of the Sailor Scouts . "
" Yep . "
" But we need you Leta . "Amy whined on the verge of tears.
" According to Serena you don't . " Leta retorted glumly.
" Oh Leta . " Amy cried.
" Hey don't worry Amy. I can take care of myself , " Leta assured her blue haired friend. " and if you need me, call me and I'll be there . "
When Amy looked up Leta continued. " That goes for all of the Scouts. Serena might have taken away my transformation wands but I'm still a Scout at heart. Plus she left my communicator in my purse . "
Silent tears trickled down Amy's cheeks.
" You know I've been meaning to try out a few new recipes that I've concocted . " Leta began. " Wanna be the official taste tester ? "
" Sure ." Amy smiled.
" Okay, on to the kitchen . "
Laughing they went into the kitchen and Leta began to make her little experiments. Amy helped out where she could and waited when she couldn't. Leta made cream puffs with different types of cream filling ( strawberry , pistachio , chocolate , peppermint , and carmel ). Dumplings with various fruit fillings ( strawberry , banana , pineapple , apple , peach , mango , and lemon ) , various fruit spreads and melt in your mouth shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate about halfway. Everything was delicious. Even the breakfast that had almost burned.
" Leta we should call the others . "
" Why ? "
" Look at all of this food ! " She exclaimed. " We can't eat it all by ourselves . "
" Okay . " Leta agreed. " you want to call them ? "
Amy nodded and headed over towards the phone. As she was calling the others Leta cleaned up the kitchen and arranged the food on the table.
" They're all coming over . " Amy said. " They'll be here in about twenty minutes. Even Setsuna, Haruka and Hotaru are coming . "
" Wow, that's great. " Leta replied. " I'm going to go clean up a bit. I'm a mess . "
" Okay , " Amy nodded. " I'll keep an eye out for them . "
Leta emerged from the bathroom 10 minutes later, all cleaned up. Her hair was in a delicate French twist, her face freshly scrubbed and she felt a lot better. The doorbell rang two minutes later.
" Ding Dong ! " It sang.
It was Setsuna and Hotaru. Rei, Mina and Renee arrived next, followed closely by Haruka, Michiru, Seiya , Yaten and Taiki.
" Hi you guys! I thought that you were still on tour ? " Leta exclaimed when she saw Michiru and the Starlights.
" Hi Leta . " They all said cheerfully before Taiki explained. " We got homesick and decided to cancel the last three stops due to Seiya's flu bug . "
" Yeah I've got the flu . " Seiya said pretending to be sick.
Leta laughed. " Yeah sure, whatever. I'm sure you all know why we're all here so let's go to the kitchen . "
" Food ! " Seiya exclaimed rushing in to the kitchen. " I'm starving . "
The others just shook their heads and followed Seiya to the kitchen.
Chapter Four.
' Excellent. Everything is going according to plan . ' Someone thought to themselves.
" My Lord. She has arrived . " A servant announced.
" Show her in . "
" My Lord, I understand that you have an assignment for me . " The woman said .
" Yes I do . " He said with a wicked smile. " You are to go to Earth and pose as the senshi of Jupiter . "
" What happened to the old one ? "
" That's not important ! " He snapped. " Here is everything you will need. This is a transformation wand, it will transform you into Sailor Jupiter. This communicator will allow you to talk to me whenever and will connect you to the Scouts. This package will explain everything else that you could possibly need . " Handing the woman a large manila folder. " Good luck and Do Not Fail ! "
" Yes sir . " She said before teleporting away.
' Your end is near Zeus. Clara will be mine and your precious little daughter too . ' He thought as his evil laughter filled the palace.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
In a cave on the outskirts of Tokyo a young man with silver hair struggled to his feet. His alert grey eyes scanned the cave methodically. Taking a few weary steps he began his slow journey out of the cave and into the light. He stumbles several times but the thought of his love waiting for him kept him going.
' I'm coming , Mina my love . '
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Three figures lay motionless on the floor of what had been the great hall of the Dark Kingdom. One of the figures slowly and painfully opened his blue eyes. His hand brushed his scraggly blonde hair off of his face. His eyes darted around the room before resting on the translucent figure of her. Her black hair was spread around her like a flame. Her violet eyes were empty and lifeless, her white and red sailor fuku was stained with blood.
" Oh god Rei ! What have I done . " He started to weep.
Hearing someone cry out in agony Nephrite cautiously opened his eyes and turned his head in the direction of the sound. Closing his eyes in pain he suddenly saw her smiling at him , love shining in her emerald eyes. Her auburn hair floating in an invisible breeze.
" Come back to me , my love . " She said.
" I'm coming . " He said, once again opening his eyes.
Gingerly he got to his feet and began to walk towards his weeping friend. He didn't get too far before he tripped on something and fell flat on his face. He landed on a bed of dead cherry blossoms. Still in shock he looked at the cause of his fall.
" Zoicite ? ! " He cried. " Zoicite wake up !"
Someone was calling his name. Slowly he opened one blue-green eyes and then the other. The thought of his blue haired beauty calling him instantly warming him in the cold room. He looked up and couldn't believe that he was alive.
" Amy ? "
" Nope. It's just me . " Nephrite said. " Sorry to disappoint you . "
" Nephrite ! ? "
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
That was delicious ! " Taiki exclaimed before asking. " Are these going to be in your bakery or restaurant soon ? "
" I don't know. " Leta shrugged. " Maybe . "
" Well they should be . " Seiya said. " Then we'd be cancelling a lot more concerts because of my flu bug . "
" Oh really. Won't your fans be disappointed ? " Leta laughed. " I'll have to talk to my staff first and see what they think . "
" Consider them part of the menu . " Renee declared.
" They're all to die for Leta . " Setsuna complimented.
Nods of agreement quickly followed Setsuna's statement from everybody.
" Hey where are Serena and Darien ? " Mina asked. " Didn't you call them Amy ? "
All eyes turned to Amy. She nervously glanced at Leta. Her head was down and she was fighting back tears. Gently Amy put a comforting hand on Leta's shoulder.
" Do you want to tell them or should I ? " Amy asked.
" I'll tell them . " Leta sighed. " Serena didn't come because she is furious with me and Darien is trying to talk some sense into her . "
" Serena's mad at you ? " Rei repeated in shock. " Leta what happened ? I thought that I was the only one that she got mad at . "
" Well you're not . " Leta snapped before apologizing. " Sorry Rei. I guess I'm still pretty upset about it . "
" What happened ? " Hotaru asked.
" Darien needed someone to talk to, so he came over and we talked about his problem ." Leta explained. " It was very late by the time that we finished talking. I gave him my opinion but told him to still talk to Serena about it . And since she was coming over in the morning anyway I suggested that he sleep in the guestroom and talk to her first thing in the morning when she came over . "
" Serena came over and I slept in. I answered the door. She saw me in my pyjamas, Darien in his wrinkled clothing and got the wrong idea. " Leta continued. " We argued, she took my transformation wands , kicked me out of the Scouts and called me a slut. Needless to say I lost my temper and punched her just like I have done before to anyone that called me a slut. She called me a bitch, I slammed her against the wall and she left. I told Darien to go after her and he did. Amy came over to see what all the noise was about, I told her what happened and the rest you know . "
" Wow . " Haruka murmured.
A dead silence followed for a few minutes. When Leta could no longer stand it she asked. " Anyone want something to drink ? "
" No thanks Leta . " They all declined.
" Are you okay ? " Rei asked.
" I'm fine . " Leta lied. " I'll be fine ."
" That doesn't sound like Serena at all ." Renee murmured. " But I believe what you said Leta and I'm sorry . "
" Thanks Renee . " Leta smiled. " Oh and before I forget I'm moving in a couple weeks into my new house. I had some key chains if anyone wants one. You know just in case I need someone to look after the house while I'm out of town or you need a place to crash if something happens . "
" Cool, I'd like one . " Hotaru said.
Leta smiled and gave the key chains to all her friends. ( They were little key chains in the shape of the Jupiter symbol . )
" Awesome . " Renee whispered.
" Where'd you find them Leta ? " Mina asked.
" I had them custom made by a friend of mine in the key chain business . " Leta explained.
" What's your new house like ? " Yaten asked, finally speaking.
" It's pretty average . " Leta said. " It's two storeys , got five bedrooms , a basement and an attic. A humungous Front yard with a little fountain , a flower garden and a cute little white picket fence. The backyard has a swimming pool with a fish tank border, a gazebo , a little vegetable garden and a patio. It's huge and I love it . "
" That sounds really neat Leta ! " Renee said in astonishment. " But is there any grass ? "
" Renee there is tons of grass there. There's a couple trees, some bushes , and flowers everywhere . " Leta assured her.
" What colour ? " Mina asked.
" The house is white with dark green trim and a grey shingled roof . " Leta replied.
" I like it already . " Hotaru smiled.
" I still can't believe that she kicked you out of the Scouts . " Rei murmured.
" I can't either but , " Leta replied. " she did . "
" I'm sorry Leta . " Rei whispered.
" It wasn't even in the timeline or I would have known about it . " Setsuna frowned.
" We need you Leta . " Mina cried. " How could Serena do something like that ? "
" Hey it's not so bad . " Leta smiled. " I mean it's not like there are any new forces of evil out there that we're in the middle of or anything. Plus it's not like I'm the difference between life and death. The Outer Scouts and the Sailor Stars are stronger than I could ever hope to be . "
" I'm not so sure about that Leta . " Haruka said. " There have been plenty of times that you have saved all of us form death to some degree . "
" Yeah Leta. Haruka's right . " Rei agreed. " You're a life saver and you're the only one of that can defeat a youma on their own besides Sailor Moon . "
" The Outers can too . " Leta protested.
" But our powers are all combined when we defeat a youma . " Michiru said. " You can kill them with just your powers alone. You don't need to combine your attacks with anyone else's . "
" But . . " Leta began.
" But nothing Leta . " Amy interrupted. " I agree with Michiru , Haruka and Rei . "
" We all do ." Renee spoke for the others.
" Maybe Darien can talk her out of it . " Taiki said hopefully.
" Of course he can. Serena listens to Darien more than she does anyone . " Hotaru rolled her eyes.
" Anyone with the exception of her stomach." Rei muttered.
Shaking her head Leta disagreed. " Even if he could convince her that nothing happened I doubt that she'd forgive me for hitting her."
" Serena can be very unpredictable but she's very forgiving." Seiya said dreamily.
" Thanks you guys." Leta smiled. " But I'm not going to hold my breath."
" She what ? ! " Amy exclaimed.
" She took all of my transformation wands after she called me a slut and I punched her. " Leta elaborated.
" She called you a slut and you punched her . " Amy repeated, bewildered.
" Yep . "
" And she kicked you out of the Sailor Scouts . "
" Yep . "
" But we need you Leta . "Amy whined on the verge of tears.
" According to Serena you don't . " Leta retorted glumly.
" Oh Leta . " Amy cried.
" Hey don't worry Amy. I can take care of myself , " Leta assured her blue haired friend. " and if you need me, call me and I'll be there . "
When Amy looked up Leta continued. " That goes for all of the Scouts. Serena might have taken away my transformation wands but I'm still a Scout at heart. Plus she left my communicator in my purse . "
Silent tears trickled down Amy's cheeks.
" You know I've been meaning to try out a few new recipes that I've concocted . " Leta began. " Wanna be the official taste tester ? "
" Sure ." Amy smiled.
" Okay, on to the kitchen . "
Laughing they went into the kitchen and Leta began to make her little experiments. Amy helped out where she could and waited when she couldn't. Leta made cream puffs with different types of cream filling ( strawberry , pistachio , chocolate , peppermint , and carmel ). Dumplings with various fruit fillings ( strawberry , banana , pineapple , apple , peach , mango , and lemon ) , various fruit spreads and melt in your mouth shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate about halfway. Everything was delicious. Even the breakfast that had almost burned.
" Leta we should call the others . "
" Why ? "
" Look at all of this food ! " She exclaimed. " We can't eat it all by ourselves . "
" Okay . " Leta agreed. " you want to call them ? "
Amy nodded and headed over towards the phone. As she was calling the others Leta cleaned up the kitchen and arranged the food on the table.
" They're all coming over . " Amy said. " They'll be here in about twenty minutes. Even Setsuna, Haruka and Hotaru are coming . "
" Wow, that's great. " Leta replied. " I'm going to go clean up a bit. I'm a mess . "
" Okay , " Amy nodded. " I'll keep an eye out for them . "
Leta emerged from the bathroom 10 minutes later, all cleaned up. Her hair was in a delicate French twist, her face freshly scrubbed and she felt a lot better. The doorbell rang two minutes later.
" Ding Dong ! " It sang.
It was Setsuna and Hotaru. Rei, Mina and Renee arrived next, followed closely by Haruka, Michiru, Seiya , Yaten and Taiki.
" Hi you guys! I thought that you were still on tour ? " Leta exclaimed when she saw Michiru and the Starlights.
" Hi Leta . " They all said cheerfully before Taiki explained. " We got homesick and decided to cancel the last three stops due to Seiya's flu bug . "
" Yeah I've got the flu . " Seiya said pretending to be sick.
Leta laughed. " Yeah sure, whatever. I'm sure you all know why we're all here so let's go to the kitchen . "
" Food ! " Seiya exclaimed rushing in to the kitchen. " I'm starving . "
The others just shook their heads and followed Seiya to the kitchen.
Chapter Four.
' Excellent. Everything is going according to plan . ' Someone thought to themselves.
" My Lord. She has arrived . " A servant announced.
" Show her in . "
" My Lord, I understand that you have an assignment for me . " The woman said .
" Yes I do . " He said with a wicked smile. " You are to go to Earth and pose as the senshi of Jupiter . "
" What happened to the old one ? "
" That's not important ! " He snapped. " Here is everything you will need. This is a transformation wand, it will transform you into Sailor Jupiter. This communicator will allow you to talk to me whenever and will connect you to the Scouts. This package will explain everything else that you could possibly need . " Handing the woman a large manila folder. " Good luck and Do Not Fail ! "
" Yes sir . " She said before teleporting away.
' Your end is near Zeus. Clara will be mine and your precious little daughter too . ' He thought as his evil laughter filled the palace.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
In a cave on the outskirts of Tokyo a young man with silver hair struggled to his feet. His alert grey eyes scanned the cave methodically. Taking a few weary steps he began his slow journey out of the cave and into the light. He stumbles several times but the thought of his love waiting for him kept him going.
' I'm coming , Mina my love . '
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Three figures lay motionless on the floor of what had been the great hall of the Dark Kingdom. One of the figures slowly and painfully opened his blue eyes. His hand brushed his scraggly blonde hair off of his face. His eyes darted around the room before resting on the translucent figure of her. Her black hair was spread around her like a flame. Her violet eyes were empty and lifeless, her white and red sailor fuku was stained with blood.
" Oh god Rei ! What have I done . " He started to weep.
Hearing someone cry out in agony Nephrite cautiously opened his eyes and turned his head in the direction of the sound. Closing his eyes in pain he suddenly saw her smiling at him , love shining in her emerald eyes. Her auburn hair floating in an invisible breeze.
" Come back to me , my love . " She said.
" I'm coming . " He said, once again opening his eyes.
Gingerly he got to his feet and began to walk towards his weeping friend. He didn't get too far before he tripped on something and fell flat on his face. He landed on a bed of dead cherry blossoms. Still in shock he looked at the cause of his fall.
" Zoicite ? ! " He cried. " Zoicite wake up !"
Someone was calling his name. Slowly he opened one blue-green eyes and then the other. The thought of his blue haired beauty calling him instantly warming him in the cold room. He looked up and couldn't believe that he was alive.
" Amy ? "
" Nope. It's just me . " Nephrite said. " Sorry to disappoint you . "
" Nephrite ! ? "
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
That was delicious ! " Taiki exclaimed before asking. " Are these going to be in your bakery or restaurant soon ? "
" I don't know. " Leta shrugged. " Maybe . "
" Well they should be . " Seiya said. " Then we'd be cancelling a lot more concerts because of my flu bug . "
" Oh really. Won't your fans be disappointed ? " Leta laughed. " I'll have to talk to my staff first and see what they think . "
" Consider them part of the menu . " Renee declared.
" They're all to die for Leta . " Setsuna complimented.
Nods of agreement quickly followed Setsuna's statement from everybody.
" Hey where are Serena and Darien ? " Mina asked. " Didn't you call them Amy ? "
All eyes turned to Amy. She nervously glanced at Leta. Her head was down and she was fighting back tears. Gently Amy put a comforting hand on Leta's shoulder.
" Do you want to tell them or should I ? " Amy asked.
" I'll tell them . " Leta sighed. " Serena didn't come because she is furious with me and Darien is trying to talk some sense into her . "
" Serena's mad at you ? " Rei repeated in shock. " Leta what happened ? I thought that I was the only one that she got mad at . "
" Well you're not . " Leta snapped before apologizing. " Sorry Rei. I guess I'm still pretty upset about it . "
" What happened ? " Hotaru asked.
" Darien needed someone to talk to, so he came over and we talked about his problem ." Leta explained. " It was very late by the time that we finished talking. I gave him my opinion but told him to still talk to Serena about it . And since she was coming over in the morning anyway I suggested that he sleep in the guestroom and talk to her first thing in the morning when she came over . "
" Serena came over and I slept in. I answered the door. She saw me in my pyjamas, Darien in his wrinkled clothing and got the wrong idea. " Leta continued. " We argued, she took my transformation wands , kicked me out of the Scouts and called me a slut. Needless to say I lost my temper and punched her just like I have done before to anyone that called me a slut. She called me a bitch, I slammed her against the wall and she left. I told Darien to go after her and he did. Amy came over to see what all the noise was about, I told her what happened and the rest you know . "
" Wow . " Haruka murmured.
A dead silence followed for a few minutes. When Leta could no longer stand it she asked. " Anyone want something to drink ? "
" No thanks Leta . " They all declined.
" Are you okay ? " Rei asked.
" I'm fine . " Leta lied. " I'll be fine ."
" That doesn't sound like Serena at all ." Renee murmured. " But I believe what you said Leta and I'm sorry . "
" Thanks Renee . " Leta smiled. " Oh and before I forget I'm moving in a couple weeks into my new house. I had some key chains if anyone wants one. You know just in case I need someone to look after the house while I'm out of town or you need a place to crash if something happens . "
" Cool, I'd like one . " Hotaru said.
Leta smiled and gave the key chains to all her friends. ( They were little key chains in the shape of the Jupiter symbol . )
" Awesome . " Renee whispered.
" Where'd you find them Leta ? " Mina asked.
" I had them custom made by a friend of mine in the key chain business . " Leta explained.
" What's your new house like ? " Yaten asked, finally speaking.
" It's pretty average . " Leta said. " It's two storeys , got five bedrooms , a basement and an attic. A humungous Front yard with a little fountain , a flower garden and a cute little white picket fence. The backyard has a swimming pool with a fish tank border, a gazebo , a little vegetable garden and a patio. It's huge and I love it . "
" That sounds really neat Leta ! " Renee said in astonishment. " But is there any grass ? "
" Renee there is tons of grass there. There's a couple trees, some bushes , and flowers everywhere . " Leta assured her.
" What colour ? " Mina asked.
" The house is white with dark green trim and a grey shingled roof . " Leta replied.
" I like it already . " Hotaru smiled.
" I still can't believe that she kicked you out of the Scouts . " Rei murmured.
" I can't either but , " Leta replied. " she did . "
" I'm sorry Leta . " Rei whispered.
" It wasn't even in the timeline or I would have known about it . " Setsuna frowned.
" We need you Leta . " Mina cried. " How could Serena do something like that ? "
" Hey it's not so bad . " Leta smiled. " I mean it's not like there are any new forces of evil out there that we're in the middle of or anything. Plus it's not like I'm the difference between life and death. The Outer Scouts and the Sailor Stars are stronger than I could ever hope to be . "
" I'm not so sure about that Leta . " Haruka said. " There have been plenty of times that you have saved all of us form death to some degree . "
" Yeah Leta. Haruka's right . " Rei agreed. " You're a life saver and you're the only one of that can defeat a youma on their own besides Sailor Moon . "
" The Outers can too . " Leta protested.
" But our powers are all combined when we defeat a youma . " Michiru said. " You can kill them with just your powers alone. You don't need to combine your attacks with anyone else's . "
" But . . " Leta began.
" But nothing Leta . " Amy interrupted. " I agree with Michiru , Haruka and Rei . "
" We all do ." Renee spoke for the others.
" Maybe Darien can talk her out of it . " Taiki said hopefully.
" Of course he can. Serena listens to Darien more than she does anyone . " Hotaru rolled her eyes.
" Anyone with the exception of her stomach." Rei muttered.
Shaking her head Leta disagreed. " Even if he could convince her that nothing happened I doubt that she'd forgive me for hitting her."
" Serena can be very unpredictable but she's very forgiving." Seiya said dreamily.
" Thanks you guys." Leta smiled. " But I'm not going to hold my breath."