Pavane For a Dead Princess
Saturn's Story from the Counterpart Arc
Part I
La Luna
He sat as he always sat the eve before a mission. His eyes turned upward toward the skies allowing the moon and her allies to dance through his head. Wide cobalt eyes drank in all of the stars as if they were the very essence from which he lived. He tossed his head sending a twisted rope of sable hair tumbling over his shoulder and then sighed.
"I wonder how long I'll be able to see the moon like this."
The young pilot let his gaze fall to the gundam that was currently being used as his reclining spot. His eyes slid shut as he contemplated the things of his new mission. Soft breathing came from his lips almost as if he were in a sleepy trance.
"You can see the moon like this forever if you so wish it..." a soft monotone, yet strangely seducing voice whispered.
Duo turned abruptly, shaken from his silent reverie. In place of the emptiness of the garage stood a beautiful young woman. Her body was petite and pale like the moonlight. He could see the curve of a long slender leg slipping from beneath the ornately decorated purple velvet of her robes. His eyes trailed back to her face. Deep violet tresses framed an eternally youthful face. Soft pale lips, soft amethyst eyes, framed by soft lush lashes, and almost undeniably soft creamy skin. Duo's mouth suddenly felt parched. The young pilot's eyes gleaned over her beautiful form again wondering how she got into the garage without him noticing. Her serious expression changed into an almost warm smile, but her eyes remained icy.
"Good evening Shinigami." The same soft voice roused him. "My name is Hotaru, princess of Saturn and goddess of destruction." Her cold eyes sparkled at the title. "I have been watching, and waiting for you. It is time for us to awaken our god of death. We, the goddesses of the millennium have been awaiting the time when our respective counterparts could reawaken." She smiled as she reached out to caress Duo's boyish face. "I have to say, I did not expect Shinigami to look this innocent and cute."
Duo grinned at her surprise. "I must admit I never expected a goddess of destruction, and definitely not a beautiful one." His eyes lightened a shade and seemed to smile at the now blushing face of destruction. "So let me get this straight. I'm your counterpart that you have been waiting for the right time so you could awaken me to do...what exactly?"
"Come with me!" she stated suddenly as if they were going on an adventure to the stars. She clasped his hand tightly between the both of hers. He gave her a dumbfounded look. "All will be explained in due time." Before he could offer an excuse she raised her small hand to his lips. "I know that you have engagements tomorrow. Go with me. When you return it will be as if nothing happened."
Duo looked at the petite girl. Her cold expression from earlier had melted into an almost childlike innocence. Duo gazed at her and found that he could not decline the softness of her voice, the impatient tug on his hand, the urging in her eyes. He smiled and raised himself to a standing position so that he stood a few inches over her. Hotaru smiled at the handsome face of her counterpart. His wide eyes and pointed slightly upturned nose and then a full pout, which was quite rare for a boy, twisted into a sunny smile. He nodded at her and allowed himself to be led away from his perch.
"Setsuna, we are ready. Open the gate please." Hotaru turned to Duo. "You might want to shield your eyes. The flow of time can be quite bright."
As said, the time-space continuum was exceedingly bright. Duo covered his eyes with his free hand. He could feel himself being led forward and he could hear the soft voice of Hotaru saying calming words. Once past the gateway Duo instantly felt the pull of time as the vacuum through the vortex sucked all the lost time wanderers into oblivion. He could feel her petite hand tighten around his and all he could do was reciprocate with the same action. The flow threatened to tear his hand from hers, but each held steadfast not allowing time to be dominant.
Suddenly the suffocating pull was gone. All that could be heard was the soft tinkling of wind chimes and the flow of water. Duo removed his hand and opened his eyes. He could see the most beautiful garden now. In the center stood an ivory tower of sorts.
"That's the Crystal Palace, and where we are headed. Come along." She was back to her cold unemotional voice as she pulled him along. "Selene will explain everything to you when we are seated for the Council."
Duo could see the silhouettes of people through the crystal walls. His eyes trailed back to the goddess of death that had currently stopped pulling his arm. "It always relieves me to find that the most beautiful place on Earth is still standing, despite the celestial wars." She turned to Duo with a tear in her eye. "Come let's go we are already late."
Duo felt her pull him along. He wondered why he had believed that this was happening. Of course he felt the need to get a little bit of fantasy out of life, but this was so surreal, and yet not. A goddess of destruction, a crystal palace, him a god of death? The questions all rose to his mind, but he forced them down, he decided he would just comply and play along with this little façade, maybe he would have more "adventures" like these if he continued to stare at the moon. His eyes widened as he realized that the amethyst haired goddess was charging full force at one of the quartz walls. Suddenly he tried to release his hand from hers, but her grip was steadfast. His eyes tightened as he expected to be flattened against the crystal, but it never came. He stumbled right through it. Warily his eyes opened. Bright cobalt depths took in the view of the palace. He drank in the sight of its rich crystal interior, expansive feasts, and scores of finely garbed inhabitants.
"I want to thank you for coming." A soft feminine voice echoed. "I am Selene, goddess of the moon, and this is my realm." She smiled as she walked toward him.
Duo gaped at the goddess. A soft feminine form with sun-gold locks that were neatly placed in two delicate buns atop her head then trailing down to the floor, bright sky blue eyes that rivaled even Hiiro's* in their intensity, a silver, sideways crescent moon rested in the center of her forehead, and two sheer wings peeked from behind her shoulders.
"Please take a seat and then I will explain the urgency of our situation." She motioned to the side with her hand.
Hotaru led him to a seat. Duo surveyed the surrounding occupants. When his eyes fell upon the other gundam pilots he nearly swallowed his tongue. Next to a platinum blonde sat the gentle pilot of Sandrock; the solitary dragon was placed frowning next to a raven haired beauty; a sable haired young woman sat beside the ever stoic Trowa; and next to Hiiro sat a blue haired girl that seemed to contrast to him in every way.
"Earth is in great peril from forces that are beyond our power to control. We desire the peace of our universe as well as the peace of others; however, that cannot exist if the people continue to fight. War fuels the prowess that controls the Negaverse. For a long time we have been able to keep this power from resurfacing, but the loss of our generals in the Silver Millennium and the constant war of the other dimensions has upset that balance of power greatly." She sighed. "Mercury if you please."
The blue-haired girl stood effortlessly. "Our power has decreased with each mini-battle that has broken out in the other world. By a lapse in the time space continuum your world was somehow connected to ours, in turn making it hard to keep others out of this fight. Since so much negative energy is radiating from your world we had to bring you here to control the balance. Our goal is to stop the forces of the dark moon before they have the chance to infiltrate your world, but we are losing strength and cannot do it alone. In my database I searched each of your abilities and attributes and found which of us that you mirror. All of you were chosen to fight by the higher powers that be. Since you are the counterparts of the goddesses of the respecting planets you are blessed with their protection and you have unlocked potential yet residing within you." She turned to Hiiro. "I'll start with the first subject, Hiiro Yui, the angel of the skies, why is he my entity? Well even though our physical attributes are pretty much opposite our mental capacities are equal. He is the entity of knowledge there as I am here. Next is Duo Maxwell. So how do you like knowing that your little fantasy of being the God of Death is real?"
Duo started slightly. Then closed his gaping mouth waiting for her to continue. The other pilots were shocked seeing as for once the generally talkative pilot was speechless.
"Obviously Saturn is the goddess of death and rebirth, the goddess of destruction, so naturally Shinigami would be her counterpart. Both hold an element of stealth as well seeing as no one would expect such from her fragile, healing form or his smiling, nonchalant personality." She stopped to take a breath. "Next is Trowa Barton. He's the power hitter of your group am I correct?"
The pilots all nodded slowly, except for Hiiro who simply narrowed his eyes.
"Jupiter is our powerhouse. She gives us the most offense, but is also well rounded in her defense, just as you are Peirot. In a sense you could call both of them the entities of strength."
The new information was starting to click. Duo had remembered something from mythology that he had been required to take. The class had seemed pretty interesting, but he had never expected goddesses of the planets, and much less expected them to exist.
"Venus is most known as the goddess of love. Quatre Winner is the kind leader of your group as she is of ours. He is open and can feel the pained heart of others. His desire for peace is what called so strongly to us." Quatre blushed slightly as he received thanks from her. "Last is Chang Wufei, the solitary dragon, and most graceful of you all. He is the counterpart to Mars. Both are extremely knowledgeable in the grace of fighting as well as the strength, and both are extremely stubborn and hot- headed." She added with a chuckle.
Duo laughed out loud agreeing to it and eventually caused laughing to ensue from others as the ebony haired pair frowned. Duo watched his counterpart as she joined in the hearty laughter. Her small frame shook as she giggled. He was happy. He noticed how incredibly small she was, yet how beautiful. The rest of the evening was filled with the voices of the group of them and music. A dance and a feast were also in order to this odd meeting. Duo decided to make the most of the evening and danced with his counterpart. He also noticed Quatre had delighted in a dance as well as Trowa, but Hiiro even, now that surprised him. Hiiro though, seemed to be dancing so that he could ask questions in private.
When Duo arrived back in the hangar the moon was still bright and just as she had said time stayed the same. Duo yawned his body spent from waltzes and wonderful food. Saturn smiled at him as she led him back. The chestnut haired boy took her hand.
"Since you seem so dedicated to it and it interferes with our world I'm more than willing to help. Thanks for the excellent meal and entertainment." He kissed her hand trying to act chivalrous, but failing because his lack of gravity.
"Thank you. Now sleep. You'll need the rest. I'll be coming for you soon enough." With that she was gone.
A/n: hey peeps another Hotaru fic in the works. I love getting inside her head. Anyway this is part of a series I'm doing, but I wanted to upload Hotaru's story first. I guess this is sorta fantasy like. Yeah, but sorry that it is so infodumpy, but explanation as to how and why was needed. I hope you guys enjoy this. These characters are not mine. There will be some 2xH stuff and some minor Shonen Ai, but these situations are part of the plot and will not be near as graphic as I normally write. Don't worry. Hotaru gets the man.
*Hiiro this is the more proper Japanese spelling of his name I decided since he was Japanese I would use this spelling instead.
Saturn's Story from the Counterpart Arc
Part I
La Luna
He sat as he always sat the eve before a mission. His eyes turned upward toward the skies allowing the moon and her allies to dance through his head. Wide cobalt eyes drank in all of the stars as if they were the very essence from which he lived. He tossed his head sending a twisted rope of sable hair tumbling over his shoulder and then sighed.
"I wonder how long I'll be able to see the moon like this."
The young pilot let his gaze fall to the gundam that was currently being used as his reclining spot. His eyes slid shut as he contemplated the things of his new mission. Soft breathing came from his lips almost as if he were in a sleepy trance.
"You can see the moon like this forever if you so wish it..." a soft monotone, yet strangely seducing voice whispered.
Duo turned abruptly, shaken from his silent reverie. In place of the emptiness of the garage stood a beautiful young woman. Her body was petite and pale like the moonlight. He could see the curve of a long slender leg slipping from beneath the ornately decorated purple velvet of her robes. His eyes trailed back to her face. Deep violet tresses framed an eternally youthful face. Soft pale lips, soft amethyst eyes, framed by soft lush lashes, and almost undeniably soft creamy skin. Duo's mouth suddenly felt parched. The young pilot's eyes gleaned over her beautiful form again wondering how she got into the garage without him noticing. Her serious expression changed into an almost warm smile, but her eyes remained icy.
"Good evening Shinigami." The same soft voice roused him. "My name is Hotaru, princess of Saturn and goddess of destruction." Her cold eyes sparkled at the title. "I have been watching, and waiting for you. It is time for us to awaken our god of death. We, the goddesses of the millennium have been awaiting the time when our respective counterparts could reawaken." She smiled as she reached out to caress Duo's boyish face. "I have to say, I did not expect Shinigami to look this innocent and cute."
Duo grinned at her surprise. "I must admit I never expected a goddess of destruction, and definitely not a beautiful one." His eyes lightened a shade and seemed to smile at the now blushing face of destruction. "So let me get this straight. I'm your counterpart that you have been waiting for the right time so you could awaken me to do...what exactly?"
"Come with me!" she stated suddenly as if they were going on an adventure to the stars. She clasped his hand tightly between the both of hers. He gave her a dumbfounded look. "All will be explained in due time." Before he could offer an excuse she raised her small hand to his lips. "I know that you have engagements tomorrow. Go with me. When you return it will be as if nothing happened."
Duo looked at the petite girl. Her cold expression from earlier had melted into an almost childlike innocence. Duo gazed at her and found that he could not decline the softness of her voice, the impatient tug on his hand, the urging in her eyes. He smiled and raised himself to a standing position so that he stood a few inches over her. Hotaru smiled at the handsome face of her counterpart. His wide eyes and pointed slightly upturned nose and then a full pout, which was quite rare for a boy, twisted into a sunny smile. He nodded at her and allowed himself to be led away from his perch.
"Setsuna, we are ready. Open the gate please." Hotaru turned to Duo. "You might want to shield your eyes. The flow of time can be quite bright."
As said, the time-space continuum was exceedingly bright. Duo covered his eyes with his free hand. He could feel himself being led forward and he could hear the soft voice of Hotaru saying calming words. Once past the gateway Duo instantly felt the pull of time as the vacuum through the vortex sucked all the lost time wanderers into oblivion. He could feel her petite hand tighten around his and all he could do was reciprocate with the same action. The flow threatened to tear his hand from hers, but each held steadfast not allowing time to be dominant.
Suddenly the suffocating pull was gone. All that could be heard was the soft tinkling of wind chimes and the flow of water. Duo removed his hand and opened his eyes. He could see the most beautiful garden now. In the center stood an ivory tower of sorts.
"That's the Crystal Palace, and where we are headed. Come along." She was back to her cold unemotional voice as she pulled him along. "Selene will explain everything to you when we are seated for the Council."
Duo could see the silhouettes of people through the crystal walls. His eyes trailed back to the goddess of death that had currently stopped pulling his arm. "It always relieves me to find that the most beautiful place on Earth is still standing, despite the celestial wars." She turned to Duo with a tear in her eye. "Come let's go we are already late."
Duo felt her pull him along. He wondered why he had believed that this was happening. Of course he felt the need to get a little bit of fantasy out of life, but this was so surreal, and yet not. A goddess of destruction, a crystal palace, him a god of death? The questions all rose to his mind, but he forced them down, he decided he would just comply and play along with this little façade, maybe he would have more "adventures" like these if he continued to stare at the moon. His eyes widened as he realized that the amethyst haired goddess was charging full force at one of the quartz walls. Suddenly he tried to release his hand from hers, but her grip was steadfast. His eyes tightened as he expected to be flattened against the crystal, but it never came. He stumbled right through it. Warily his eyes opened. Bright cobalt depths took in the view of the palace. He drank in the sight of its rich crystal interior, expansive feasts, and scores of finely garbed inhabitants.
"I want to thank you for coming." A soft feminine voice echoed. "I am Selene, goddess of the moon, and this is my realm." She smiled as she walked toward him.
Duo gaped at the goddess. A soft feminine form with sun-gold locks that were neatly placed in two delicate buns atop her head then trailing down to the floor, bright sky blue eyes that rivaled even Hiiro's* in their intensity, a silver, sideways crescent moon rested in the center of her forehead, and two sheer wings peeked from behind her shoulders.
"Please take a seat and then I will explain the urgency of our situation." She motioned to the side with her hand.
Hotaru led him to a seat. Duo surveyed the surrounding occupants. When his eyes fell upon the other gundam pilots he nearly swallowed his tongue. Next to a platinum blonde sat the gentle pilot of Sandrock; the solitary dragon was placed frowning next to a raven haired beauty; a sable haired young woman sat beside the ever stoic Trowa; and next to Hiiro sat a blue haired girl that seemed to contrast to him in every way.
"Earth is in great peril from forces that are beyond our power to control. We desire the peace of our universe as well as the peace of others; however, that cannot exist if the people continue to fight. War fuels the prowess that controls the Negaverse. For a long time we have been able to keep this power from resurfacing, but the loss of our generals in the Silver Millennium and the constant war of the other dimensions has upset that balance of power greatly." She sighed. "Mercury if you please."
The blue-haired girl stood effortlessly. "Our power has decreased with each mini-battle that has broken out in the other world. By a lapse in the time space continuum your world was somehow connected to ours, in turn making it hard to keep others out of this fight. Since so much negative energy is radiating from your world we had to bring you here to control the balance. Our goal is to stop the forces of the dark moon before they have the chance to infiltrate your world, but we are losing strength and cannot do it alone. In my database I searched each of your abilities and attributes and found which of us that you mirror. All of you were chosen to fight by the higher powers that be. Since you are the counterparts of the goddesses of the respecting planets you are blessed with their protection and you have unlocked potential yet residing within you." She turned to Hiiro. "I'll start with the first subject, Hiiro Yui, the angel of the skies, why is he my entity? Well even though our physical attributes are pretty much opposite our mental capacities are equal. He is the entity of knowledge there as I am here. Next is Duo Maxwell. So how do you like knowing that your little fantasy of being the God of Death is real?"
Duo started slightly. Then closed his gaping mouth waiting for her to continue. The other pilots were shocked seeing as for once the generally talkative pilot was speechless.
"Obviously Saturn is the goddess of death and rebirth, the goddess of destruction, so naturally Shinigami would be her counterpart. Both hold an element of stealth as well seeing as no one would expect such from her fragile, healing form or his smiling, nonchalant personality." She stopped to take a breath. "Next is Trowa Barton. He's the power hitter of your group am I correct?"
The pilots all nodded slowly, except for Hiiro who simply narrowed his eyes.
"Jupiter is our powerhouse. She gives us the most offense, but is also well rounded in her defense, just as you are Peirot. In a sense you could call both of them the entities of strength."
The new information was starting to click. Duo had remembered something from mythology that he had been required to take. The class had seemed pretty interesting, but he had never expected goddesses of the planets, and much less expected them to exist.
"Venus is most known as the goddess of love. Quatre Winner is the kind leader of your group as she is of ours. He is open and can feel the pained heart of others. His desire for peace is what called so strongly to us." Quatre blushed slightly as he received thanks from her. "Last is Chang Wufei, the solitary dragon, and most graceful of you all. He is the counterpart to Mars. Both are extremely knowledgeable in the grace of fighting as well as the strength, and both are extremely stubborn and hot- headed." She added with a chuckle.
Duo laughed out loud agreeing to it and eventually caused laughing to ensue from others as the ebony haired pair frowned. Duo watched his counterpart as she joined in the hearty laughter. Her small frame shook as she giggled. He was happy. He noticed how incredibly small she was, yet how beautiful. The rest of the evening was filled with the voices of the group of them and music. A dance and a feast were also in order to this odd meeting. Duo decided to make the most of the evening and danced with his counterpart. He also noticed Quatre had delighted in a dance as well as Trowa, but Hiiro even, now that surprised him. Hiiro though, seemed to be dancing so that he could ask questions in private.
When Duo arrived back in the hangar the moon was still bright and just as she had said time stayed the same. Duo yawned his body spent from waltzes and wonderful food. Saturn smiled at him as she led him back. The chestnut haired boy took her hand.
"Since you seem so dedicated to it and it interferes with our world I'm more than willing to help. Thanks for the excellent meal and entertainment." He kissed her hand trying to act chivalrous, but failing because his lack of gravity.
"Thank you. Now sleep. You'll need the rest. I'll be coming for you soon enough." With that she was gone.
A/n: hey peeps another Hotaru fic in the works. I love getting inside her head. Anyway this is part of a series I'm doing, but I wanted to upload Hotaru's story first. I guess this is sorta fantasy like. Yeah, but sorry that it is so infodumpy, but explanation as to how and why was needed. I hope you guys enjoy this. These characters are not mine. There will be some 2xH stuff and some minor Shonen Ai, but these situations are part of the plot and will not be near as graphic as I normally write. Don't worry. Hotaru gets the man.
*Hiiro this is the more proper Japanese spelling of his name I decided since he was Japanese I would use this spelling instead.