Before the Dawn
Book 1
I remember when I sleep
She awoke to several pairs of eyes, blue, green, purple, and orange. They were all just staring.
It took her a while to recognize the look on her friend's faces. There was a giant sigh of releif. If they were
around her that ment she was back home, right?
"Welcome back Minako," Artimist said. Minako turned her head. She couldn't speak. Her mind
was fuzzy, how did she get back.
"We were worried about you Minako," This was Luna. "It's been five days since you went to
sleep, or so Mamoru-san's told us.
"Five days?" Minako whispered. But on the astral plane it had only been a few hours. Why did
time pass so differently there. She mentally shook her head, what did it matter, she was back home, back
where she belonged, where she was apreciated.
"So, did you find anything?" Artimist asked as Minako slowly sat up. Her body was heavier.
"No, just a bunch of guys, Beryl's right handed men to be exact. A bunch of jerks." Rei smiled
and leaned against the wall. Minako swung her legs out of the bed and grinned.
"Minako?" Usagi asked hesitently.
"I'm hungry, what do you have to eat around here Mamoru?"
__________-------------------____________-----------------___________
"Wait!" She screamed. "Don't let go, just hold on a little longer!" It was a break between
worlds. She saw herself on Earth, standing firmly on the cool grass. She wore a flowing pale yellow dress
without sock, shoes, or even stockings. Her hair, without her trademark ribbon, was flowing freely as an
invisable wind surrounded her. Minako held onto a man's arms, but he had no face. He was dressed in a
tattered gray suit and his silver hair lay still around his shoulders. Who was this man? Well who ever he
was, she obviously couldn't let him go.
"I'm sorry," he said.
""Don't say that! You paid your price, we can be together." It was like being in a movie where
everything has been written out and she knew what she had to say and do, be she never rememberd doing
this before.
"No, we are still of two different worlds, Minako I can't."
"Cut the crap!" He chuckled.
"Since when did my little Goddess use such language?" Goddess, where had she herd that
before.
"We may be far apart physically, but are hearts are connected. We finally find ourselves
capable of being together and you still push me away."
"I remember when you would push," he said with a calm smile.
"You're working my nerves Kunzite!"
__________-------------------____________-----------------___________
She awoke with a start. Minako took in a deep breath and spied Artimist sleeping quietly on
his pillow at the foot of her bed. It hadn't been a nightmare but it still startled her. This time she was aware
of all the characters. Including Kunzite. But what did this all mean? She hadn't been acting herself, but then
again, the feelings were not fake. She felt everything that her other self felt. And then there was Kunzite.
He was smiling, but he was also pushing her away. The thought sent her mind back to her time spent on
the astral plane when he screamed at her to leave his room, and just like in the dream she didn't listen.
But in the end they were both in pain. His was physical, hers was mentally.
She slowly slipped out of bed and looked over at Artemist who was still asleep on the bed. It
was a good thing he was such a heavy sleeper. She went to her closet and grabbed a hat to cover her
pillow hair and threw on a pair of socks. She crept down stairs and, still in her pajamas, put on her
shoes and jacket. She stilled and listend for any movement in the house and when there was none she
walked out the front door, climbed over the wall separating her house and the main street, and
proceeded east. She let her mind wander as she passed the many 24 hour shops.
It was late, well past midnight, so the only people who were out where old drunks and a
couple of trouble makers. No one really paid her any mind. She was only half awake as she came upon
a long staircase. The Shinto shrine, where Rei lived. She began to climb the stairs. She wasn't sure what
brought her here, but her feet wouldn't stop moving. She had done it a thousand times before, so why
did her feet feel so heavy and at the same time unstopable.
She moved lifelessly to the front of the shrine and around the side to where Rei's room was.
She slid the door open and spied Rei sleeping peacfully with her head down on her table and her face in
a book. She had been up again, doing who knows what. Probably trying to make sense of another fire
reading. She kneeled behind Rei and threw her hands around her neck. Rei awoke with a start and
immediatly tried too turn. The clumsy movements by both girls sent them crashing to the floor in each
other's arms. In Rei's stunned state Minako rolled over to pin her down under her.
"Hey Rei..." Minako said in a harsh whisper.
"Jeez, Minako are you drunk? I could have killed you. I thought you were some crazy
stalker."
"No, It's just me." Minako smiled and raised herself up on her elbows to look down
at Rei.
"It's the middle of the night Minako."
"I know. I had a funny dream."
"About what?" Rei blinked and made herself sit up, pushing on Minako's arm. Minako copied
her and sat indian style while Rei lit a candle. Flipping the light would shine light right into her grandfather's
room and probably wake him. She came up behind Minako and put her arms around her shoulders and
pulled Minako into her chest. A comforting hold, as though she were her mother.
"I was there, but I wasn't me. I was watching myself. I looked older. Maybe it was the
past... or the future."
"Go on." Rei closed ehr eyes and lsitened, stroking Minako's hair lightly. Even though she
complained about Minako, she really loved her at times like this. It was real, her and Minako's need
for companionship. They were intimate like lovers, but gentle like sisters. Even though they were as
different as night and day.
"I was talking to someone," Minako stalled.
"Who?" Rei tilted her head sidways to watch Minako from the side, her raven hair pooling
on the floor and mixing with Minako's golden strands.
"A man, someone I knew." Rei's hand stilled and she frowned. She hated when Minako
thought of men.
"What did you say?"
"I told him to come with me, that we didn't have to be apart anymore. I asked him why he
continued to stay when we could be together after all this time..." Rei was silent and Minako continued.
"He was really irritating me, and making me angry because her wouldn't cooperate." Rei smiled and
started to pet her again.
"It's probably your conscious telling you that you need to cut ties. To stop holding onto
something that can never be regained."
"Maybe... But I knew his name... his face..." She held up her hand in front of her and stared.
"His touch. I was the third party... but I felt everything."
"Who? Who is he?" Rei asked with a slight hiss in her tone.
"Kunzite." Minako said flatly. Rei bolted up and Minako fell backwards onto the floor and
stared straight up at her friend.
"Kunzite!"
"Rei don't yell."
"Minako how could you."
"It's not like I asked for it!"
"Now your yelling." Minako sighed and sat up.
"I can't help it. I'm back from the astral plane, but I feels wrong... "
"What do you mean?"
"I feel like I should have stayed... He was in pain Rei... because of me, but I don't know
why. All I get it clips of what I think is my past, but I can't make it all fit."
"A puzzle... with missing peices..."
"Yeah, that's it."
"That's what the fire reading said today... I couldn't make sense of it... but now... now
I know..."
"Tell me the whole thing. Was it a prophecy?"
"Yes. 'One near and dear encounters a puzzle with missing peices. Within torment lies an
unfinished fate. Once destiny is fufilled and the time is served a gold brilliance will fade. However it will
not die. It will wait until the sun replenishes the flesh and brings to life what was thought to be dead and
gone.' That's the whole thing..."
"Rei..."
"Minako, I... You have something to do, but I know if you seek the answers to your
questions, I'll loose you. But I don't know what I'll loose to, and that scares me..."
"Rei... I have no idea what that prophecy means, but I do know that I can't sit around and do nothing.
I feel so messed up."
"Let me help you."
"No.. not tis time Rei... I know now. I can't pull you into this." Minako sighed as Rei sunk to
her knees, her eyes vacant. Minako pulled her into a tight hug, one that wasn't returned. "I'm sorry... I
have to see him again. I think -no- I know he is the one wo can set this all straight."
__________-------------------____________-----------------___________
Mamoru yawned and rolled over, completly unaware of a thin layer of opal crystal forming
at the corners of his room. They were hiding. They didn't want to be found and discarded. They wanted
to be able to grow so that they could recieve their master when the time came. And that time would be
soon. Very soon.
__________-------------------____________-----------------___________
AOUTHOR'S NOTE --- OMG!!! I'm finally done this... short chapter... ^_^; Sorry it took so long to
get out. I'm on winter break so I've had more time to write. Funny, no? Ok maybe not. I finally buckled
down after a riot banged down my door and held me at pitch fork point, demanding that I finish. Just
kidding. Actually my buddy Sere-chan reminded me that the story was unfinished and told me to finish
it (YES! Sere! Read her stuff - SerinitySparkle). Ok if you have read this thus far I'll tell you that Book
1 has one last chapter. The climax! Then I'll dish out Book 2 like a mad man, since it's finished already.
Ok ya'll. Peace OUT! Keep reading, Keep Writing.
Book 1
I remember when I sleep
She awoke to several pairs of eyes, blue, green, purple, and orange. They were all just staring.
It took her a while to recognize the look on her friend's faces. There was a giant sigh of releif. If they were
around her that ment she was back home, right?
"Welcome back Minako," Artimist said. Minako turned her head. She couldn't speak. Her mind
was fuzzy, how did she get back.
"We were worried about you Minako," This was Luna. "It's been five days since you went to
sleep, or so Mamoru-san's told us.
"Five days?" Minako whispered. But on the astral plane it had only been a few hours. Why did
time pass so differently there. She mentally shook her head, what did it matter, she was back home, back
where she belonged, where she was apreciated.
"So, did you find anything?" Artimist asked as Minako slowly sat up. Her body was heavier.
"No, just a bunch of guys, Beryl's right handed men to be exact. A bunch of jerks." Rei smiled
and leaned against the wall. Minako swung her legs out of the bed and grinned.
"Minako?" Usagi asked hesitently.
"I'm hungry, what do you have to eat around here Mamoru?"
__________-------------------____________-----------------___________
"Wait!" She screamed. "Don't let go, just hold on a little longer!" It was a break between
worlds. She saw herself on Earth, standing firmly on the cool grass. She wore a flowing pale yellow dress
without sock, shoes, or even stockings. Her hair, without her trademark ribbon, was flowing freely as an
invisable wind surrounded her. Minako held onto a man's arms, but he had no face. He was dressed in a
tattered gray suit and his silver hair lay still around his shoulders. Who was this man? Well who ever he
was, she obviously couldn't let him go.
"I'm sorry," he said.
""Don't say that! You paid your price, we can be together." It was like being in a movie where
everything has been written out and she knew what she had to say and do, be she never rememberd doing
this before.
"No, we are still of two different worlds, Minako I can't."
"Cut the crap!" He chuckled.
"Since when did my little Goddess use such language?" Goddess, where had she herd that
before.
"We may be far apart physically, but are hearts are connected. We finally find ourselves
capable of being together and you still push me away."
"I remember when you would push," he said with a calm smile.
"You're working my nerves Kunzite!"
__________-------------------____________-----------------___________
She awoke with a start. Minako took in a deep breath and spied Artimist sleeping quietly on
his pillow at the foot of her bed. It hadn't been a nightmare but it still startled her. This time she was aware
of all the characters. Including Kunzite. But what did this all mean? She hadn't been acting herself, but then
again, the feelings were not fake. She felt everything that her other self felt. And then there was Kunzite.
He was smiling, but he was also pushing her away. The thought sent her mind back to her time spent on
the astral plane when he screamed at her to leave his room, and just like in the dream she didn't listen.
But in the end they were both in pain. His was physical, hers was mentally.
She slowly slipped out of bed and looked over at Artemist who was still asleep on the bed. It
was a good thing he was such a heavy sleeper. She went to her closet and grabbed a hat to cover her
pillow hair and threw on a pair of socks. She crept down stairs and, still in her pajamas, put on her
shoes and jacket. She stilled and listend for any movement in the house and when there was none she
walked out the front door, climbed over the wall separating her house and the main street, and
proceeded east. She let her mind wander as she passed the many 24 hour shops.
It was late, well past midnight, so the only people who were out where old drunks and a
couple of trouble makers. No one really paid her any mind. She was only half awake as she came upon
a long staircase. The Shinto shrine, where Rei lived. She began to climb the stairs. She wasn't sure what
brought her here, but her feet wouldn't stop moving. She had done it a thousand times before, so why
did her feet feel so heavy and at the same time unstopable.
She moved lifelessly to the front of the shrine and around the side to where Rei's room was.
She slid the door open and spied Rei sleeping peacfully with her head down on her table and her face in
a book. She had been up again, doing who knows what. Probably trying to make sense of another fire
reading. She kneeled behind Rei and threw her hands around her neck. Rei awoke with a start and
immediatly tried too turn. The clumsy movements by both girls sent them crashing to the floor in each
other's arms. In Rei's stunned state Minako rolled over to pin her down under her.
"Hey Rei..." Minako said in a harsh whisper.
"Jeez, Minako are you drunk? I could have killed you. I thought you were some crazy
stalker."
"No, It's just me." Minako smiled and raised herself up on her elbows to look down
at Rei.
"It's the middle of the night Minako."
"I know. I had a funny dream."
"About what?" Rei blinked and made herself sit up, pushing on Minako's arm. Minako copied
her and sat indian style while Rei lit a candle. Flipping the light would shine light right into her grandfather's
room and probably wake him. She came up behind Minako and put her arms around her shoulders and
pulled Minako into her chest. A comforting hold, as though she were her mother.
"I was there, but I wasn't me. I was watching myself. I looked older. Maybe it was the
past... or the future."
"Go on." Rei closed ehr eyes and lsitened, stroking Minako's hair lightly. Even though she
complained about Minako, she really loved her at times like this. It was real, her and Minako's need
for companionship. They were intimate like lovers, but gentle like sisters. Even though they were as
different as night and day.
"I was talking to someone," Minako stalled.
"Who?" Rei tilted her head sidways to watch Minako from the side, her raven hair pooling
on the floor and mixing with Minako's golden strands.
"A man, someone I knew." Rei's hand stilled and she frowned. She hated when Minako
thought of men.
"What did you say?"
"I told him to come with me, that we didn't have to be apart anymore. I asked him why he
continued to stay when we could be together after all this time..." Rei was silent and Minako continued.
"He was really irritating me, and making me angry because her wouldn't cooperate." Rei smiled and
started to pet her again.
"It's probably your conscious telling you that you need to cut ties. To stop holding onto
something that can never be regained."
"Maybe... But I knew his name... his face..." She held up her hand in front of her and stared.
"His touch. I was the third party... but I felt everything."
"Who? Who is he?" Rei asked with a slight hiss in her tone.
"Kunzite." Minako said flatly. Rei bolted up and Minako fell backwards onto the floor and
stared straight up at her friend.
"Kunzite!"
"Rei don't yell."
"Minako how could you."
"It's not like I asked for it!"
"Now your yelling." Minako sighed and sat up.
"I can't help it. I'm back from the astral plane, but I feels wrong... "
"What do you mean?"
"I feel like I should have stayed... He was in pain Rei... because of me, but I don't know
why. All I get it clips of what I think is my past, but I can't make it all fit."
"A puzzle... with missing peices..."
"Yeah, that's it."
"That's what the fire reading said today... I couldn't make sense of it... but now... now
I know..."
"Tell me the whole thing. Was it a prophecy?"
"Yes. 'One near and dear encounters a puzzle with missing peices. Within torment lies an
unfinished fate. Once destiny is fufilled and the time is served a gold brilliance will fade. However it will
not die. It will wait until the sun replenishes the flesh and brings to life what was thought to be dead and
gone.' That's the whole thing..."
"Rei..."
"Minako, I... You have something to do, but I know if you seek the answers to your
questions, I'll loose you. But I don't know what I'll loose to, and that scares me..."
"Rei... I have no idea what that prophecy means, but I do know that I can't sit around and do nothing.
I feel so messed up."
"Let me help you."
"No.. not tis time Rei... I know now. I can't pull you into this." Minako sighed as Rei sunk to
her knees, her eyes vacant. Minako pulled her into a tight hug, one that wasn't returned. "I'm sorry... I
have to see him again. I think -no- I know he is the one wo can set this all straight."
__________-------------------____________-----------------___________
Mamoru yawned and rolled over, completly unaware of a thin layer of opal crystal forming
at the corners of his room. They were hiding. They didn't want to be found and discarded. They wanted
to be able to grow so that they could recieve their master when the time came. And that time would be
soon. Very soon.
__________-------------------____________-----------------___________
AOUTHOR'S NOTE --- OMG!!! I'm finally done this... short chapter... ^_^; Sorry it took so long to
get out. I'm on winter break so I've had more time to write. Funny, no? Ok maybe not. I finally buckled
down after a riot banged down my door and held me at pitch fork point, demanding that I finish. Just
kidding. Actually my buddy Sere-chan reminded me that the story was unfinished and told me to finish
it (YES! Sere! Read her stuff - SerinitySparkle). Ok if you have read this thus far I'll tell you that Book
1 has one last chapter. The climax! Then I'll dish out Book 2 like a mad man, since it's finished already.
Ok ya'll. Peace OUT! Keep reading, Keep Writing.