Total Eclipse- Minako's story

Part Eight

By: Zellie

"No more talk of darkness forget these wide-eyed fears,

I'm here, nothing can harm you my words will warm and calm you,

let me be your freedom, let day light dry your tears,

I'm here with you beside you, to guard you and to guide you...

All I want is freedom, a world with no more night,

and you always beside me to hold me and to hide me..."

- All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera

by: Andrew Lloyd Webber

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The window in Kunzite's room was propped open slightly. He still stared at me shocked. I shivered again. I didn't care much. As long as he was there, I was happy. He was grinning like the Cheshire cat. I smirked at him and asked quietly. "Why are you smiling like that?" His smile grew broader.

"You seem so small in this place. So does that dress." I looked down and blushed. "How long have you had that dress? Years now?" I nodded sheepishly. He shook his head. "It's sleeveless, too." What a little pervert he had grown in to! I stood up. I set my hands on my hips to look more commanding.

"Who taught you how to act like this?" I said authoritatively. Then it hit e..."Jedite...Ooh! I'm going to teach him a lesson! Wait until I get my hands on him..."

"Hey now, Don't go too over board on him, he's not tamed." Kunzite said as he stood up and wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I still felt some what anxious with the way he was acting. Kunzite shrugged, and put his forehead to mine to look into my eyes. "What are you planning to do to him?" Kunzite asked. I placed my hand on his lips.

"That's something you'll have to find out when it happens." I smiled and turned towards the door. "By the way..." I said as I was near the door that connected our rooms, "Nice apron." I smiled and slipped into my room, shutting the door behind me. I grabbed one of the sweaters off the bed. It was soft and bright red. Kunzite knocked on the door as I was slipping the sweater over my head, he didn't wait for me to say anything.

"Oops." He said. I turned to look at him. I pulled my hair out from under the sweater. I bit my lip nervously.

"It doesn't really match does it?" He shook his head.

"No, you're fine...but we're going to have to get you better clothes...let's see what exactly did you bring?" He grabbed my bag and started rifling through it. I snatched it back from him.

"Do you mind?" I said pointedly. He grinned again.

"No...I don't, quite frankly." I sighed and gave him a strange look. I remembered that we would have to get to dinner soon.

"Oh no...dinner! I still have to find Makoto! I hope she didn't go and steal the cooking rights from the chefs!" I brushed some hair from my face. I walked up to Kunzite, hurriedly, gave him a quick kiss and went to leave, but he grabbed my wrist. He asked me questions with his eyes. "Look, it would look really weird if we came to dinner together. I know damn well they're trying to get us back together, but let's not make them too happy too soon." I winked and turned to leave. "See you at dinner!" *I just hope Makoto kept her big mouth shut...where am I going to find her anyways?*

I ran down the hall and made a sharp right at the corner. I heard her humming down the hall. I smiled. That was just like her, in one of her dreamy moods. I found her room and peeked into it. She was brushing her hair and staring at a bouquet of roses on the vanity.

"Mako-chan?" She turned quickly and I smiled. "Can I come in?" She set down her brush and nodded. I walked in and sat on her bed. Hers was soft and feminine too...now I began to wonder. She smiled. It looked like the entire universe was reflected in her eyes.

"Aren't they pretty?" She said, referring to the roses. I nodded and she picked one out and smelled it. "They're absolutely gorgeous!" She sighed. Makoto was the classic example of a young woman in love, she rather reflected some of the things that writers wrote, especially the poets. I couldn't help watching her and grinning. I was happy for her. It was great to see her like this, her more feminine qualities shining through more. I jumped off the bed, and checked my watch, which was still set to Lunarian time...that was pointless.

"Are you ready for dinner?" I asked quietly.

"Oh! I completely forgot!" She jumped up and grabbed her hair tie and put her hair up fast. "How much time do we have?" She asked as she perfected her hair.

"About five minutes 'till we have to be there." I guessed. I was in a vengeful mood. I was getting a kick out of seeing her panic.

"Drat!" She said. She looked around and sighed. "Fine... let's go." I smiled. She stopped a little. Makoto went to grab my wrist. I put it down quickly; she was catching on. She eyed me carefully. "Are you sure?" I nodded. She eased up a little and looked out the door. "Alright, let's go."

We hurried to the dinner hall. Yet again it was drafty. Luckily for me, not every one was there yet, but lots of them were. I stopped short and stared at the table. It was completely laden with covered dishes. This was at least three times bigger than the meals we were used to back home. Even Makoto looked a bit taken aback. I counted the number of forks. Six, including dessert forks. That wasn't too bad...I guess. Makoto came up behind me. "Did you get the number?" She asked quietly. I leaned back a little.

"Six...forks...I didn't get the rest." She leaned forward.

"Is that all?" I nodded.

"Would you two quit gawking?" A voice from behind us said. We both jumped and turned around. It was Endymion...I mentally hit myself in the head. "What's the big deal? It's just a couple of forks." I sighed and watched him.

"You're not in a good mood tonight, are you?" He looked me over. I stared back at him. He didn't phase me in the least. Growing up with 'tough boy' didn't lend that he could control us, too. I began to blush, though. "What exactly are you looking at?" I asked, as he didn't take his gaze off me.

"You're wearing Kunzite's sweater..." He said. "And that dress is awfully short, Minako." Now, he was getting to me. Makoto looked at him and tried to get him to shut up. By now, I was not only angry, but I was embarrassed.

"You're supposed to be a gentleman?!" I took a step forward, he took a step back. "If you weren't so involved with Usagi I'd slap you right now! But since you are, I can't touch you! Your place isn't higher than mine is, Mamoru, and you know it! We're both of the same status and I won't let you get away with you insulting me like this!" I was so angry now I was shaking. Makoto came up behind me and grabbed my shoulder. I was close to tears.

"Mina, stop...calm down you're making a scene." She said soothingly. She glared at Mamoru. "Why the hell did you do that? You're going to make her cry...I thought the idea was to help her! Not make her more unstable!" I wrenched free from Makoto's grip. I turned and faced them both.

"I'm not unstable!" I cried. Everyone was at the table, now. I saw Rei and Usagi standing in the corner of the doorway. I glanced at them, then glared at Makoto and Mamoru. "Who brought them here?" I asked accusingly. "You know what? This is ridiculous. I can't believe you guys, all of you." I walked past them to the door. Every one was staring. "Next time...don't bother trying. I'll work things out on my own. I don't need this on top of everything else!" I shot a glare at Usagi and Rei. I knew Ami had to be there somewhere too. I felt so sick with the whole concept.

Disgusted, I left. I stormed through the quiet halls back to my room. Immature I might have been, but they provoked me. Makoto's words echoed in my head. "Unstable." Was it really that obvious? Those words hurt. In the quiet dark of my room I found the bed and curled up on it. I was just not having a good time with men recently.

There was a quiet knock on my door. I got up and locked it. "What?" I snapped. From the noise that I heard in the hall, my guess was that they were all there.

"Minako..." It was Rei. Rei? Why did she care? She was leaning against the door. "Mina, he didn't mean it. "

"Rei, he was implying I was loose." Talking through the door was strange.

"I was not!" He said angrily. "Look, it was the wrong thing to say. I'm sorry." Rei sighed and spoke again as Usagi tried to calm Endymion down.

"Look...it wasn't my idea." I was calming down. She sniffed. "In fact...they wouldn't listen to me when I told them you'd react like this." I had Rei back... some what.

"Is that why you were so distant?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah..." She admitted. "I didn't like it from the start, but you were getting worse...and you wouldn't talk. So every one kinda came up with this plan to try and fix things. It was just a misunderstanding. But I'll tell you, you and your little boyfriend are both very stubborn sometimes. You wouldn't talk, he wouldn't listen. Can you believe we've been planning this stupid thing for two years?" She laughed. "Kinda silly, isn't it?" I unlocked the door. They all became quiet out side.

"So it took you two years to take action?" My anger wasn't gone completely yet. I head Rei murmur something to someone near her. I sighed.

"Well some things take a certain amount of delicacy." She replied.

"Rei...I was willing to talk. I just didn't say anything to you because whenever I tried you seemed to get angry. I just shut up eventually." I sat down with my back against the door. "It's hard to talk to someone who bristles when you come near them, even if they are your so called 'best friend'."

"Can we go back to dinner now?" Jedite asked loudly. That irked me.

"That's completely fine with me." I said.

"Aren't you coming?" Rei asked.

"Are you kidding? I don't have an appetite or the nerve to go back in front of those people today." There was a leaf by me on the ground and I picked it up, hoping it could calm me down.

"Minako...you have to come. You will get sick sometime. I'm serious, you're going to be malnourished." Ami pleaded.

"Ami-chan...I know you're worried." I said quietly. "But I'm still shaking so hard that I can't hold on to a leaf." Leaf? Where'd that come from? I looked around the still dark room. That was very strange. "I'd be a mess out there. I'll get something later, promise. Save something for me, will you?" Ami sighed.

"Alright. If you're that shaky...take a nap or something." She said sternly.

"No. Don't let her do that. She has to come out. I won't let her sit in there and sulk anymore. You've all indulged her long enough." Setsuna was even there.

"What exactly is going on?" There was a new voice out there. It was soft and feminine, and soothing. She was pleasant to hear. She sounded nice.

"Can't you see it? There's a little Venusian throwing a fit." The second voice was huskier, and almost manly. I thought I knew who that was. Now, I was definitely not coming out.

"I don't think she's throwing a fit. She's probably just feeling guilty after that little performance." Lastly, the third new voice sounded younger, almost child-like, yet at the same time intellectual and adult. All these new voices...I could only imagine who they were, being all women with Setsuna. Setsuna sighed and came up to the door.

"Minako, what happened to you to make you act like a stubborn six year old? Are you making up for your lost childhood or something? You've never been this immature. And do you want to know something else? I'm not going to let you get away with it. So events got messed up. But you're supposed to be the one setting examples and being forgiving of other people's faults because you're the leader! Now I'm not going to tell you again, stop being childish and come out here. You've upset enough people for the night, plus upset the dinner they were planning for...well that's not the point. Anyways, get up and come out here, and I want you to apologize for everything you just did to these people who are obviously trying really hard to help you and are very worried about you." She sounded like an angry mother.

I didn't care for any of this. I didn't know whether to lose dignity and listen to her or be prideful and make her angrier than she was. I hardly ever saw or heard Setsuna upset and when she was, it normally wasn't because of me. But I did know If I went out there, I would have to be wearing something different. I didn't want to be seen in this stupid dress ever again. I walked over to my bag and pulled out the one really long dress I had brought. To my wonderful luck it was wrinkled.

"I can't win." I mumbled. I slipped it on anyways and walked to the door. I opened it carefully, and just enough for me to come out. Everybody had left except for Setsuna and the people I didn't know. "What happened to everybody else?" I asked. Setsuna looked at me, with disapproval written all over her face. I looked at the floor. Setsuna stood off from the group a little. I was really ashamed, but...I did feel betrayed. They knew they messed up, too, or they wouldn't have come to my door like that.

"Gee, Sets...She's a lot different than I thought she would be. Gawky little thing." The huskier voice spoke again. I looked up at her...I didn't want to pick a fight but I didn't want to be spoken about like I was an object, either. Setsuna looked at her and didn't say anything at first.

"Haruka, she picked up on a lot of Lunarian traits. I know she's not what you expected...you expected her to look like her mother, didn't you?" I stared at them. My mother? I had never looked like my mother.

"What?" I asked. They looked at me then.

"But I do know that voice." The one with the soft voice spoke again. "She does have her mother's voice." I was bewildered...they knew my mother?

"How....what are you talking about?" I rephrased mid-sentence. Again they looked at me. Setsuna walked over to me...I wasn't tiny compared to her anymore...I was starting to catch up to her. She set her hands on my shoulder. "You knew my mother?" I was becoming interested in this. The child-like one giggled.

"Setsuna, you have to admit she does have her mother's temper!" Setsuna looked at them all.

"Alright, alright. Michiru, Hotaru...Haruka...we better stop comparing her...Mia's a little sensitive...aren't you?" Setsuna looked at me. I still didn't understand.

"What's going on here?" I asked. Setsuna sighed.

"Minako, this is Michiru Kaioh, Sailor Neptune, Haruka Tennoh, Sailor Uranus, and Hotaru Tomoe, Sailor Saturn. They are my...well I work a lot closer with them." She was making a little effort to talk to me more like we knew. Obviously, she hadn't seen me in so long that she didn't really know how to react to me.

"That doesn't explain why I'm being compared to my mother, Setsuna." I was a little defensive, I will admit.

"Hey chill, kid."

"Haruka! She's obviously not a child." Michiru interjected. Haruka snorted.

"Coulda fooled me. Maybe not physically...but mentally...I'd have to disagree..."

"Haruka, stop it. You're not being nice. First impression's over, you know." Setsuna said. I moved away from Setsuna's grip on my shoulders...it was getting uncomfortable. If any one was acting like my mother, it was them. They were starting to bother me. I stood up a little taller. "Look...I only brought you here, because of your questions. If you want answers, Haruka, treat her better, or I know she won't tell you anything. And you know, she's the only one left with those answers." Setsuna had changed so much. I shivered. She looked at me as I tried to stop. "No one told you about the weather, did they?" She asked. I shook my head. Setsuna sighed. "Figures." Michiru walked over to me. She stood close to me, but didn't over take me.

"Minako...what do you remember about your childhood?" She asked gently. I looked at her, confused.

"Not much. Each day was another day I didn't want to be living." I said. "I've tried to put it as far from my mind as possible. It's not something glorious I wish to relive." I shivered again. I thought back to my father's many beatings and the constant screaming.

"No one told me..." She left off suddenly. "Is that why they moved her?" She asked as she turned to Setsuna. Setsuna nodded. Michiru put a hand to her face. "He didn't..." Setsuna looked away.

"What?" I asked. Setsuna shifted. "What?" I repeated as the tension grew.

"It was never sexual." She said softly, as if trying to avoid saying it at all. Hotaru looked worriedly at Setsuna, while Haruka leaned against the wall, ignoring Michiru's questions.

"I hate him more than anyone, even more than Beryl..."

"Beryl?" Haruka snapped to attention, then. Michiru looked at Haruka, and she was quiet. I was getting annoyed with this little game of charades. I'd had enough of it.

"What do you want me to tell you?" I asked. "What is it that you're looking for?"

"After dinner. We'll all get together and discuss things, okay?" Setsuna spoke up and started walking for the hall. "Here." She threw me a shawl. I put it on and followed them. By the time we arrived in the dinner room, I had found that there were only a few chairs in the back left and the hall was a buzz with conversations and laughter. I was really lucky to avoid everyone stopping and staring at me. We ate quickly to catch up with everyone else. Apparently, we were to have a meeting after dinner was finished. I was uncomfortable all throughout dinner. I looked around me to all the "outers." They couldn't have been much older than I was. So why were they treating me like such a child? I was afraid of their motives, and it scared me being surrounded by them. The rest of dinner went by in a flash, though I didn't eat much.

Soon afterwards, all of us were gathered in the library, where there was a tiny bit more warmth than the rest of the drafty castle. Even Nephrite, Zoisite, and Jedite were there. I was kept by the outers, and stayed quiet for a while.

"Why did you bring us all here?" Makoto asked. She was playing with her hair, wedged between Ami and Usagi. All three girls looked uneasy. Mamoru was on the other side of Usagi, and Rei next to him. Haruka stood up and paced the little space in between all of us. Setsuna was sitting next to me, and kept a close watch on my movements. She made sure to sit close enough to me to leave room for Haruka, should there be need. I was sitting as still as possible. The "crew" was standing behind all the girls who were across from me. Michiru sat to my left, Hotaru next to her. Both girls sat quietly waiting for Haruka to start talking. Haruka finally decided on what to say. She stopped pacing and stood in the center, looking at all of us.

"In years past, when most of us were little, the outer planets were attacked."

"We know this." Usagi said plainly. She seemed to be getting increasingly nervous.

"Let me finish!" Haruka snapped. I cringed. She was loud. "As I was saying. Our planets, our homes were tainted by an evil force that's greater than our knowledge." She certainly had a way of brining out the bad in things. "We have reason to believe that this force is currently residing deep underground this planet...and this very castle is where it is concentrated mostly."

"That's impossible, I would have known about it by now, don't you think?" Mamoru interrupted Haruka once again.

"Not necessarily." Michiru interjected, to keep Haruka from turning on Mamoru as well. "This force conceals itself very well. And I think, Prince, that you may even know the force's source, without the knowledge that you do." She was speaking softly so as not to upset him too greatly and he was temporarily pacified.

"Now, one of our own has seen this force..." She paused for effect. All eyes were turned to her, wondering. "But she's not talking." Haruka looked at me sternly. I shrunk. Setsuna glanced at Haruka and she eased off a little. Soon everyone was staring at me. "Minako's mother did too, she also kept quiet." Haruka seemed to be almost respectful, and she was even speaking quietly. "Minako, your mother passed this information onto you, but you've never known." I looked at her, not knowing what to think.

"Minako. You're father, he's not..." Michiru started, gently. The group stared as us.

"Don't tell her now!" Kunzite stopped her before she got any farther. "She's barely capable of being in this room with all of you at once. Don't force too much on her." Haruka rolled her eyes. Everyone else looked at Kunzite questioningly.

"Minako, why do you think they started with you?" I swallowed. What was she talking about?

"I don't know what you mean." I said. "I'm not following you at all. I just know there's something weird going on. Something about my family, I obviously don't know." I crossed my arms defensively. Haruka glared at Kunzite. I looked at him myself, curious. "What is it that you want me to tell you? Stop beating around the bush and just ask it already."

"Tell us everything that happened when you disappeared." I swallowed. And I got cold...very cold. It felt as if there were icy hands running down the back of my neck. Suddenly, I turned startled. It was him. Haruka grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind her. "What do you want?" She said, narrowing her eyes. I stood behind her, staring at him. He had grown so. He was no longer lanky and skinny, but a well trained, toned young man. He was practically the mirror image of his brother, except his eyes held that dark essence to them...an almost brooding look, and his hair was cut short.

"Nothing in particular...I just want to join in on this little party here. How come I wasn't invited?" He asked in mock innocence. Haruka stepped farther in front of me. I could feel someone standing close behind me. "I just want to chat with your little shrew there."

"What?" I felt someone hold me back. I wanted to throw them off and slap his pretty little face hard. "What do you think you're doing here?" I cried, outraged. My emotions had just been running rampant that day. I felt so out of it. Kunzite slowly walked up to his brother. Then I realized that Adonis was taller than Kunzite, by just a half an inch.

"Adonis, I warned you once to stay away from her...I won't warn you again. Go on. Get back to your little 'snake queen' and take your spying-traitor self out of here! This is your last chance." Kunzite relaxed his hands, a habit he had established when we were little, training so long ago. It helped him concentrate on his surroundings and the energy in the air.

"What would you care? She's not yours to claim anyways. She's not yours, she's not mine." Ace was moving slowly closer to us. Kunzite hadn't noticed. "Besides, you left her. Someone has to take your place." Haruka was watching Kunzite's reaction, as was everyone else. I shrunk back as he came slowly, painfully closer. "She's just a child, remember? She means nothing to you." That statement really hurt. Had Kunzite really said all this? Had he really thought like that? I wondered all this as Ace crept increasingly closer. Kunzite narrowed his eyes. And then it happened.

"You'll never say that about her again! Do you understand me? I won't let you hurt her again!"

"I shouldn't have let you hurt her, brother." Ace said coldly. Kunzite grabbed him by the arm, enraged, and threw him against the wall. Everyone flinched when he hit the stone, and there was a sickening cracking sound. I covered my face with my hands. What had happened to them? They had been so close when they were younger...and I had come between them. Kunzite was shaking. Ace was lying unconscious against the wall, and the floor. It was too much. Kunzite could have killed him. The room fell silent except for Kunzite's quiet tears. I started to shake my head.

"Who was that?" Haruka barked. "What do you know about him? What ties does he have to them? How did he get in here?" She turned to Kunzite looking for answers to what she didn't get out of me. Meanwhile, I was breaking down.

"It's all my fault..." I whispered quietly. Setsuna put her arms around my shoulders and walked me out of the room. Mamoru had gone for Kunzite, after Michiru stopped Haruka's endless questioning. Setsuna directed me slowly towards the hallway. I swallowed. "Suna..." My eyes stared to water and I turned to her for a hug. Hotaru wasn't far behind and she set a hand on my back. That had really shaken me. "He'll be alright, won't he? Kunzite didn't kill him, right? Right?" I was shaking uncontrollably. "What's happened to them?" lt had all happened so fast. Setsuna hugged me tightly, trying to comfort me. Rei hurriedly walked up.

"He's okay for the most part...at least that's what Ami said. They took him to the infirmary." Rei said in a hushed voice. She looked around nervously. "You never told me Kunzite was that strong." She dropped her voice farther to a whisper. I shook my head.

"I didn't know myself." Setsuna looked at Rei.

"I did...I just hoped no one would ever bring that out of him. I saw it even the first day I met him." Rei looked almost as shaken as I was. She joined the hug.

"Thanks, Rei-chan..." I said. Words began to fail me. "I know he's a traitor, but...it's just...we can't just..." My voice faltered when I couldn't grasp the right phrase. The idea of actually killing someone left me unsure of what I really was. How I could I really kill another physical being? It was to much to handle at the time.

The hallway echoed those words in a strange reflection of the past event. It was like the castle knew something bigger was going to happen. The walls contained so many secrets. They were just paining to get out of them...and they saw the future. Vicious scenes danced throughout the halls like the glamorous parties they once held. The secrets of lovers, of warriors, and hundreds of years past and present were captured in a strange everlasting mirror-like tapestry that was the fabric of reality. It gave a whole new meaning to the saying, "if these walls could talk." The four of us just stood there, in complete shock...did we too have that power hidden within ourselves? We were just on the verge of finding out.

~Notes from Zellie~ It took me a while to get ideas for this one. Hope this one's a good one. I don't think it turned out as well as I hoped. Hmm...What does Kunzite really know? What do the outers know about Minako's family, that she doesn't? What do they want with her? All this and more in the next chapter! Hey, if you don't like it, keep me on my toes! Send comments/questions/inspirational tidbits to Lil_Venus@hotmail.com. Kisses! & more to come!

~Zellie