Serena sat, staring at the floor. In the other room she could hear Rei.
The Fire goddess had gone to grab snacks for the others who would be there
soon. Serena suspected that the real reason that Rei had left her here
though was that she was about as much fun to hang out with as a tree right
now.
Outside she heard a cheerful voice call out, "I've got kitties!"
A second later, Mina came bouncing into the room, a cat slung over each shoulder.
"Mina, you can put us down now. Please." a slightly nauseous Luna said.
"Told you that riding on Mina's shoulder was harder than you gave me credit for." Artemis said, jumping down from his shoulder to the ground with a sly look.
"So what is the news, ma petite?" Mina asked, plopping down across from Serena, "And where's Pyro?"
" 'Pyro' is standing right behind you with food that she is now considering taking back." Rei said from the kitchen entrance.
Mina bounced to her feet again and grabbed the food from Rei's hand, "Let me help you there."
Serena watched as Rei tried to glare at the blonde energy bubble that had invaded her temple, but somehow it just didn't seem as threatening as it should of. Mina, meanwhile, began telling them all about the show in Paris, going into miniscule details about some of her favorite new fashions. Her energy was so contagious that Serena began to let herself forget a moment about everything and get wrapped up in her friend's enthusiasm for life.
Suddenly her vision was blocked by a beautiful red rose.
"Darien!" she cried, whipping around to hug him, taking note of his somewhat rumpled appearance before kissing him.
"Damn girl. And I though Pyro caused some heat." Mina said.
Serena pulled away with a blush, shocked by her own reaction to the sight of Darien.
"Heh. If that's what I get for bringing you flowers, I'll have to remember to do it more often." Darien said with a slight smirk, holding Serena tightly to him when she had tried to pull out of their embrace.
It took a couple minutes for everyone to get comfortable. Darien sat with his back against a wall, pulling Serena down so that she could sit between his legs, leaning back against his chest. Rei had plopped down in a small pile of pillows and Mina lay on her stomach with Luna and Artemis perched on her back. All eyes were now on Serena and she cleared her throat, trying to remember everything that she had planned on telling the scouts.
"I found Ami. Her mother finally returned our phone call. She is going to school in Germany." she finally got out.
"That's wonderful!" Luna exclaimed.
Rei looked at her oddly for a second, "What's the catch Sere?"
Serena looked down at the floor and felt Darien's arms tighten momentarily around her, reminding her he was there, offering her his strength and comfort.
"What...what do you remember about the Moon Kingdom and the Silver Millennium?" she asked quietly.
"I..." Mina began, hesitantly, "I don't actually remember that much. I remember Venus more than the Moon. It's like the memories dealing with the war with Beryl are still hazy and I can't...I don't know."
Rei nodded, "I'm the same way. Memories that I have of Mars, if I close my eyes, are so real that I can still make out every detail, every emotion I was feeling at the time. But the Moon...I remember that like it was a story told to me a long time ago."
"How about...Beryl's four generals?"
"What about the..."
Serena watched Mina and Rei as a look of utter shock came over their faces. They both looked horrified and she could only guess that Darien's face was similar to theirs. It was like there was a curtain that had been ripped away before their eyes, allowing them to see something that they had never even dreamed existed.
"They...were...oh my god. Beryl's generals were..." Mina trailed off.
"They were once my generals." Serena, leaning against Darien's chest felt each word rumble out of him in an utterly emotionless voice.
"Why didn't we realize this sooner?" Rei demanded angrily.
"We..I mean, I...I guess I always knew. I just..." Mina looked helplessly at the others.
"We didn't want to think about it. Gods! What else have we missed?" Rei angrily said, glaring at something on the wall midway between Serena's head and the ceiling.
"So, you know." Serena finally said, breaking the silence.
Rei's eyes immediately focused down on Serena's, "And you've always known. What's going on Serena?"
Serena flinched slightly at the fire goddess's dangerous tone of voice, "Not always. It took a lot of time looking at my own memories to realize what was now there. But yes, I've known since before I found you all again."
Rei looked at her, a little of the anger fading as the shock began to fade, "So why are you bringing this up now?"
Mina looked speculatively at Serena and Darien remained silent at her back.
"I need to know what you guys remember. About the generals. We all had different encounters with them both in the Silver Millennium and then her on earth. I need to know what you remember because...I don't think they are dead."
"Merde!" Mina swore softly to herself.
The cats, who had been strangely silent up till this point, jumped off of Mina's back and walked over to stand in front of Serena, both of their tails lashing, showing their confusion.
"Why do you think that Serena?" Luna asked in her gentle voice.
Serena, looking down at her oldest friend and guardian felt her heart clench and she closed her eyes as she spoke, not wanting to see everyone's reaction, "Because I saw Zoicite. With Ami."
Even with her eyes closed, Serena could almost feel the wounds in her scouts souls being ripped open, wounds that they had thought healed over. Their pain and shock slammed into her and only the weight of Darien's arm wrapped around her kept her from fleeing the barrage of emotions.
* * * * *
Darien looked down at the top of Serena's head. He could feel her pushing back into him, almost as if she wanted to crawl into him and hide from her own words. Those same words that he was trying desperation to understand. But his brain was trying to protect him by not letting their meaning sink in. But slowly their meaning got through to him.
Zoicite.
Alive.
With Ami.
* * * * *
Rei's first instinct was to fight. To go out, find that bastard and send him back to whatever hell he had crawled out of. But she didn't know where he was and she couldn't seem to get out any words to ask.
The thought that kept circling around and around in her mind was Ami was in danger. She clung to this, used it to fight off all the other thoughts, thoughts of another general that might be alive. That she might have to fight. That she might have to kill.
Again.
* * * * *
Mina stared at her friend and princess. Her princess. Who had just announced that the scout's greatest loves and worst enemies might still be alive. And her only thought was why?
Why did the universe delight in this sick, twisted joke that was their lives? Why was she, princess of Venus, so called goddess of love, one of those who had love snatched away from her in every life time? Why was she, a protector of the moon, always forced to watch as the very woman she tried to protect died protecting her? And why was it that her friends and her must always be the ones to fight the pain that the universe threw at them?
Why?
* * * * *
Finally, Serena began to tell her story to the silent room, never once opening her eyes. She explained about finding Ami, about seeing Zoicite and about her doubts. She laid everything out for them and finally, when there was nothing left to say, let silence reign over them once again.
After awhile the others began to share their memories. It was slow, and halting at first with lots of pauses. But momentum slowly began to build up and the stories began to flow faster and the pauses grew fewer.
At first they talked about the battles on Earth and how they had never remembered who they were fighting. Then the battles during the Silver Millennium, and the anger and betrayal that had never been given reign to before was finally given voice. And then, slowly, hesitantly, they began to talk of before. Before the battles. Of the love and friendships they had all once shared.
And eventually exhaustion claimed them. Though they had not figured anything out, it was like they had made the first step. They had accepted their pasts. They had dealt with them. This didn't mean that everything was now magically all better but they were all over the initial shock. And that was all once could expect from them this night.
* * * * *
A/N: Hey all! Sorry this takes me so long to get out to you. Alright, immediate plans. It is getting to the point where I am going to have to bite the bullet and give you a chapter dedicated to my villians, explaining everything. You have no idea how scary this is because it took me awhile to figure out just who I wanted and when I did the first thought was "They're going to kill me" follwed quickly by "And how the hell would I fix that so it was a happy ending?"
So...um...if I ask nicely before hand, will you all promise not the hate me?
Okay, respose time:
Ginny_Star ~ I love the cats. Actually that whole thing was to placate a plot bunny that wanted me to do this story with Artemis imagining himself as a classic 50's gumshoe. The bunny is still hopping around but it was happy with the cat's parts in this fic.
BenRG ~ um...yea, to the teleport thing. I know I take some liberties with what they can do but ...um...artistic license? I hope you like how this meeting played out. Especially Rei's little 'must kill now' urges.
Random Reader ~ one word. Midterms. *shudder* But anyways, I hope you like this. And I really do try and get this stuff to you guys when I can. But right now I'm going insane trying to do everything. Writing is actually a breather for me. I love doing it and I really am glad everyone has been nice about it.
Venus Smurf ~ okay, just remember, you like complications. And I promis I will read your roommate sotry and actuall review soon! grrr. Life had been chaos personified with trying to get the sets for three differant plays painted, gaming on the weekends, midterms, papers and then dealing with my friends' mental breakdowns that I just haven't had time. Sorry! Really really really sorry! I still love your stories sooooo much!
MoonWonderer ~ thanx. And like my note said, I really do plan on spilling my guts about my villians soon. Hope you enjoy that.
Bluejello ~ hee, so any guesses on who my villians are. One package of mint oreos says you can't guess. hee hee. Okay, bad, no beting with the nice reviewer.
Codie ~ I understand evil computers. For instance, mine has decided that I not not have the authority to look at my e-mail. grr. Anyways, one update, just for you.
SJ ~ you can have the chapter only if you review. ;)
Silver Dragonfly ~ yea, that chapter was mostly a lot of little details to let you know more about the scout's lives. I was worried people wouldn't find them interesting but thanx for the wonderful feedback.
happygolucky111 ~ Thank you! I lvoe it when I see people put me on their fav lists. I usually try to get around to reading their stuff but life is super crazy so don't hate me if you don't hear from me. Anyway, I really hope you like this chapter. It was a little shorter than I like.
RKRBirdgirl ~ hee hee. Thanks for the enthusiasm there.
princessserena66 ~hee, sorry. No one actually got sent a note when I put that last chapter up. I was too pressed for time and never got around to it. But I promise to this time.
Kaji ~ *walks over and silently hands you a cookie* shhhh. *whisper* you get two more cookies for figuring out the other two. *looks aroung at the other reviewers* but don't tell them, okay. *in louder voice* Nothing to see here, go on reading. Nothing interesting going on here.
Outside she heard a cheerful voice call out, "I've got kitties!"
A second later, Mina came bouncing into the room, a cat slung over each shoulder.
"Mina, you can put us down now. Please." a slightly nauseous Luna said.
"Told you that riding on Mina's shoulder was harder than you gave me credit for." Artemis said, jumping down from his shoulder to the ground with a sly look.
"So what is the news, ma petite?" Mina asked, plopping down across from Serena, "And where's Pyro?"
" 'Pyro' is standing right behind you with food that she is now considering taking back." Rei said from the kitchen entrance.
Mina bounced to her feet again and grabbed the food from Rei's hand, "Let me help you there."
Serena watched as Rei tried to glare at the blonde energy bubble that had invaded her temple, but somehow it just didn't seem as threatening as it should of. Mina, meanwhile, began telling them all about the show in Paris, going into miniscule details about some of her favorite new fashions. Her energy was so contagious that Serena began to let herself forget a moment about everything and get wrapped up in her friend's enthusiasm for life.
Suddenly her vision was blocked by a beautiful red rose.
"Darien!" she cried, whipping around to hug him, taking note of his somewhat rumpled appearance before kissing him.
"Damn girl. And I though Pyro caused some heat." Mina said.
Serena pulled away with a blush, shocked by her own reaction to the sight of Darien.
"Heh. If that's what I get for bringing you flowers, I'll have to remember to do it more often." Darien said with a slight smirk, holding Serena tightly to him when she had tried to pull out of their embrace.
It took a couple minutes for everyone to get comfortable. Darien sat with his back against a wall, pulling Serena down so that she could sit between his legs, leaning back against his chest. Rei had plopped down in a small pile of pillows and Mina lay on her stomach with Luna and Artemis perched on her back. All eyes were now on Serena and she cleared her throat, trying to remember everything that she had planned on telling the scouts.
"I found Ami. Her mother finally returned our phone call. She is going to school in Germany." she finally got out.
"That's wonderful!" Luna exclaimed.
Rei looked at her oddly for a second, "What's the catch Sere?"
Serena looked down at the floor and felt Darien's arms tighten momentarily around her, reminding her he was there, offering her his strength and comfort.
"What...what do you remember about the Moon Kingdom and the Silver Millennium?" she asked quietly.
"I..." Mina began, hesitantly, "I don't actually remember that much. I remember Venus more than the Moon. It's like the memories dealing with the war with Beryl are still hazy and I can't...I don't know."
Rei nodded, "I'm the same way. Memories that I have of Mars, if I close my eyes, are so real that I can still make out every detail, every emotion I was feeling at the time. But the Moon...I remember that like it was a story told to me a long time ago."
"How about...Beryl's four generals?"
"What about the..."
Serena watched Mina and Rei as a look of utter shock came over their faces. They both looked horrified and she could only guess that Darien's face was similar to theirs. It was like there was a curtain that had been ripped away before their eyes, allowing them to see something that they had never even dreamed existed.
"They...were...oh my god. Beryl's generals were..." Mina trailed off.
"They were once my generals." Serena, leaning against Darien's chest felt each word rumble out of him in an utterly emotionless voice.
"Why didn't we realize this sooner?" Rei demanded angrily.
"We..I mean, I...I guess I always knew. I just..." Mina looked helplessly at the others.
"We didn't want to think about it. Gods! What else have we missed?" Rei angrily said, glaring at something on the wall midway between Serena's head and the ceiling.
"So, you know." Serena finally said, breaking the silence.
Rei's eyes immediately focused down on Serena's, "And you've always known. What's going on Serena?"
Serena flinched slightly at the fire goddess's dangerous tone of voice, "Not always. It took a lot of time looking at my own memories to realize what was now there. But yes, I've known since before I found you all again."
Rei looked at her, a little of the anger fading as the shock began to fade, "So why are you bringing this up now?"
Mina looked speculatively at Serena and Darien remained silent at her back.
"I need to know what you guys remember. About the generals. We all had different encounters with them both in the Silver Millennium and then her on earth. I need to know what you remember because...I don't think they are dead."
"Merde!" Mina swore softly to herself.
The cats, who had been strangely silent up till this point, jumped off of Mina's back and walked over to stand in front of Serena, both of their tails lashing, showing their confusion.
"Why do you think that Serena?" Luna asked in her gentle voice.
Serena, looking down at her oldest friend and guardian felt her heart clench and she closed her eyes as she spoke, not wanting to see everyone's reaction, "Because I saw Zoicite. With Ami."
Even with her eyes closed, Serena could almost feel the wounds in her scouts souls being ripped open, wounds that they had thought healed over. Their pain and shock slammed into her and only the weight of Darien's arm wrapped around her kept her from fleeing the barrage of emotions.
* * * * *
Darien looked down at the top of Serena's head. He could feel her pushing back into him, almost as if she wanted to crawl into him and hide from her own words. Those same words that he was trying desperation to understand. But his brain was trying to protect him by not letting their meaning sink in. But slowly their meaning got through to him.
Zoicite.
Alive.
With Ami.
* * * * *
Rei's first instinct was to fight. To go out, find that bastard and send him back to whatever hell he had crawled out of. But she didn't know where he was and she couldn't seem to get out any words to ask.
The thought that kept circling around and around in her mind was Ami was in danger. She clung to this, used it to fight off all the other thoughts, thoughts of another general that might be alive. That she might have to fight. That she might have to kill.
Again.
* * * * *
Mina stared at her friend and princess. Her princess. Who had just announced that the scout's greatest loves and worst enemies might still be alive. And her only thought was why?
Why did the universe delight in this sick, twisted joke that was their lives? Why was she, princess of Venus, so called goddess of love, one of those who had love snatched away from her in every life time? Why was she, a protector of the moon, always forced to watch as the very woman she tried to protect died protecting her? And why was it that her friends and her must always be the ones to fight the pain that the universe threw at them?
Why?
* * * * *
Finally, Serena began to tell her story to the silent room, never once opening her eyes. She explained about finding Ami, about seeing Zoicite and about her doubts. She laid everything out for them and finally, when there was nothing left to say, let silence reign over them once again.
After awhile the others began to share their memories. It was slow, and halting at first with lots of pauses. But momentum slowly began to build up and the stories began to flow faster and the pauses grew fewer.
At first they talked about the battles on Earth and how they had never remembered who they were fighting. Then the battles during the Silver Millennium, and the anger and betrayal that had never been given reign to before was finally given voice. And then, slowly, hesitantly, they began to talk of before. Before the battles. Of the love and friendships they had all once shared.
And eventually exhaustion claimed them. Though they had not figured anything out, it was like they had made the first step. They had accepted their pasts. They had dealt with them. This didn't mean that everything was now magically all better but they were all over the initial shock. And that was all once could expect from them this night.
* * * * *
A/N: Hey all! Sorry this takes me so long to get out to you. Alright, immediate plans. It is getting to the point where I am going to have to bite the bullet and give you a chapter dedicated to my villians, explaining everything. You have no idea how scary this is because it took me awhile to figure out just who I wanted and when I did the first thought was "They're going to kill me" follwed quickly by "And how the hell would I fix that so it was a happy ending?"
So...um...if I ask nicely before hand, will you all promise not the hate me?
Okay, respose time:
Ginny_Star ~ I love the cats. Actually that whole thing was to placate a plot bunny that wanted me to do this story with Artemis imagining himself as a classic 50's gumshoe. The bunny is still hopping around but it was happy with the cat's parts in this fic.
BenRG ~ um...yea, to the teleport thing. I know I take some liberties with what they can do but ...um...artistic license? I hope you like how this meeting played out. Especially Rei's little 'must kill now' urges.
Random Reader ~ one word. Midterms. *shudder* But anyways, I hope you like this. And I really do try and get this stuff to you guys when I can. But right now I'm going insane trying to do everything. Writing is actually a breather for me. I love doing it and I really am glad everyone has been nice about it.
Venus Smurf ~ okay, just remember, you like complications. And I promis I will read your roommate sotry and actuall review soon! grrr. Life had been chaos personified with trying to get the sets for three differant plays painted, gaming on the weekends, midterms, papers and then dealing with my friends' mental breakdowns that I just haven't had time. Sorry! Really really really sorry! I still love your stories sooooo much!
MoonWonderer ~ thanx. And like my note said, I really do plan on spilling my guts about my villians soon. Hope you enjoy that.
Bluejello ~ hee, so any guesses on who my villians are. One package of mint oreos says you can't guess. hee hee. Okay, bad, no beting with the nice reviewer.
Codie ~ I understand evil computers. For instance, mine has decided that I not not have the authority to look at my e-mail. grr. Anyways, one update, just for you.
SJ ~ you can have the chapter only if you review. ;)
Silver Dragonfly ~ yea, that chapter was mostly a lot of little details to let you know more about the scout's lives. I was worried people wouldn't find them interesting but thanx for the wonderful feedback.
happygolucky111 ~ Thank you! I lvoe it when I see people put me on their fav lists. I usually try to get around to reading their stuff but life is super crazy so don't hate me if you don't hear from me. Anyway, I really hope you like this chapter. It was a little shorter than I like.
RKRBirdgirl ~ hee hee. Thanks for the enthusiasm there.
princessserena66 ~hee, sorry. No one actually got sent a note when I put that last chapter up. I was too pressed for time and never got around to it. But I promise to this time.
Kaji ~ *walks over and silently hands you a cookie* shhhh. *whisper* you get two more cookies for figuring out the other two. *looks aroung at the other reviewers* but don't tell them, okay. *in louder voice* Nothing to see here, go on reading. Nothing interesting going on here.