©2000-2003 by Stacey Padjune (Serena CrystalMoon)
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, it is a wish of mine though...
Authors Note: Okay, I'd like to say a big THANK YOU! to everyone who reviewed my first 3 chapters, especially LadyKoneko and Caroline Rocha. Your reviews have really gotten to me and I'm very glad you all like my fic so far! Thank You ALL so very much!
Okay, now on to Chapter 4!
The wind blew softly and the sun sank lazily down into the sky casting hues of orange, pink and purple as the animals of the nocturnal world began to awaken and start their search for food.
Feeling the chilly nighttime breeze Serenity awoke to find herself laying atop a beautiful bed of flowers, next to her the ever so handsome Endymion slept on. Looking around Serenity noted it was just after dusk. "Mamoru? ... Mamoru? Wake up!" She called lightly to her sleeping friend.
Slowly Endymion arose, his vision clearing as he gazed up into the huge enchanting bright cerulean-blue eyes of Serenity. "Usagi…" he said right before his vision began to spin. Oh, my head. he sighed as his head throbbed painfully.
"Mamoru, Mamoru! Are you ok?" Serenity urgently started asking as Endymion's eyes's spun and he laid back down
"Yeah, my head just hurts a lot, must be the after effects of the wine..." Endymion mumbled
Wow! Man am I glad that Mothers crystal has already started adapting to my body, otherwise I'd probably be worse off than poor Mamoru right now! She thought as she looked down at the severely sick Endymion. "Mamoru... what happened? I remember us having a few glasses of wine, I don't think we had that much and I can't remember anything else..."
"Nor can I, Usagi." he mumbled from his scrunched up position on the ground.
Looking at him with concern, Serenity laid her hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. She felt a calm reassuring presence as she sighed and helped him up onto his feet. "Come on, we have to start moving..." she said quietly as she slowly helped him along to where Storm had been laying in the shade.
Sitting upon Storm, feeling safe in the quiet darkness they set off again, leaving behind them the beautiful island in the clear lake, the full moon shining brightly overhead.
"So how exactly are we supposed to find Endymion and the Princess?" Jadeite asked as he and his friends walked down a dirt path through a patch of woods
"We're on our way to Mossflower now. We're gonna go to all the nearby towns and ask around to see if anyone has seen people who fit either of their descriptions. Remember though, I'm sure they've found ways to hide who they really are, and keep an eye out at all times, either of them could be anywhere. We have to find them." Kunzite replied solemnly
"Kunz is right guys," Zoicite said "We have to try our best, our Prince and the Moon Princess are out there somewhere."
"What could have possessed them to just leave?" wondered Nephrite as he looked up at the starry sky to the full moon
"I don't know Neph, I don't know..." Jadeite mumbled as he shook his head slowly
"Pluto, tell me, can you let us know anything of our current situation?" Queen Serenity asked the Guardian of Time
"No, I cannot your majesty. I am very sorry, for I even do not know... This isn't supposed to be happening. Beryl shouldn't have started her attacks for quite some time and the Prince and Princess should have never ran away... We are going against the time line now, and I cannot see the other end..." Pluto told her Queen, a shred of worry behind her wise eyes.
"Could this be happening because of our children's disappearance?"
"No, I'm afraid not, for the Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity were never meant to run away, that was against the time line... they couldn't have broken it by themselves..."
"Then what do you think happened Pluto?"
"I'm not sure...but I have a hunch..."
"Well, what is it Setsuna?" Queen Heisui of Neptuine asked
"I'm not certain, but Beryl wasn't supposed to find a way out of her prison for quite some time, and I'm not sure how she escaped, but she did... When she escaped, and broke the time line, then a new path must have started, and I cannot see this path..."
"But how did she escape...?"
"I'm not sure Tennousei, but there must be a powerful force behind it helping her..."
The crack of thunder could be heard as the nighttime sky flashed with light. Trees burned and smoke ascended far into the sky, casting a dark eerie gloom over the skirts of what used to be a well developed city. The smell of burnt flesh could be noted from miles away and what used to be houses were now blackened clumps of charred nothingness.
High pitched laughter rumbled across the silent desolate area as the evil queen floated in a black-ish bubble above what once was the town hall. Her flaming red hair fell down to her mid-back in a strangled mess. Her purple dress clung to her like a second skin, the top coming down to a sharp V showing off her ample cleavage and the blackish-purple crystal she wore around her neck. The bottom of her long dress was torn and ragged.
She looked around in absolute bliss at the destruction caused from her own hands. Her evil violent piercing dark purple eyes appeared almost black as she turned and surveyed the rest of the carnage around her.
With one last satisfied look around, the evil queen disappeared as she made her way to the next place that would feel her wrath.
It was now sometime around mid-morning and the sun had already risen into the sky to start a new day.
Riding down a beautiful wooded road in comfortable silence, Serenity hung onto Endymion and rested her head gently against his back as she closed her eyes, listening to the sweet sounds of nature. The horses gallops. The birds' singing. The wind blowing though the trees. The not so far off gurgle of a stream. It was all so relaxing...
"Usagi..."
"Hmmm...?" she murmured softly
"We're coming up on another town soon, would you like to stop and find some food?"
"Yes that would be very nice..."
"Good." Darien smiled as Serenity laid her head on his back and closed her eyes
"Are you sure Serenity?" Queen Reinah of Mars asked, worry evident in her violet eyes
"Yes, Reinah. We must attack, and as soon as possible. She cannot be allowed to have the upper hand in the battle, we must strike now." Queen Serenity replied
"Serenity is right dear, it could be devastating if Beryl were to have her way in the battle. We must attack now, while she's not expecting it." King Kasei assured his wife while gently rubbing her hand.
Queen Reinah nodded her head slightly, showing she understood.
"Good. Then the war will begin...but what can we do to stop Beryl?"
"Very good question Lohvia," King Dosei of Saturn answered the Queen of Venus "Beryl is at this moment, already wreaking havoc on the Terrans. We must stop her before she ruins the Earth and moves on."
"Dosei is right, if Beryl were to conquer the Earth she'll move onto another planet of our system and soon she would be unstoppable, especially if she got her hands on the Ginzuishou and Kinzuishou!" said King Tennousei of Uranus
"Which is why we must plan our attack and strike as soon as possible." Queen Litanna told the others
"Good, then are we all in agreement? We must attack Beryl soon, ne?" Queen Serenity asked her fellow royals as she looked around the conference room
"Yes, but how do you suggest we handle this war? We need strategy, a plan."
"You are correct once again Kasei," Queen Serenity told the man not sitting far away, "I believe we should take a stand now, united."
"What must we do first?"
"First, we must try to get all of the Terrans, as far away from any trouble as we can..." Queen Mariella spoke up, "With the pure extent of this war, the number of human casualties could be disastrous to our future..."
"Yes, with the advancing and possibly growing power of Beryl, our alliance and our future are no longer safe..." Serenity sadly stated, "and we must take measures to assure a safe environment for our children and our people. I have plans...and I believe they could work rather nicely..."
"Oh, what should I do? What should I do?" Queen Emerald said worriedly as she paced the floor in the throne room for the hundredth time. Hearing a crash, she turned to a nearby window and looked out at the town below her. Hmm...all fine... she noted then ripped her head up to gaze at the surrounding area as another resounding crash echoed through her ears.
Smoke started to rise high into the air and screams could be heard faintly. Beryl must be attacking not too far from here... she thought as she turned away and began pacing again, Diamond better get back here soon...I don't know how long it will take for her to get here...Oh no no no no no no no! I shouldn't have to worry about this, I got what I wanted... her thoughts trailed off as she realized she got almost all of what she wanted, He'll be mine. I'll make him mine... Just like I did with his father! Looking up with a mischievous grin, Emerald walked over to the her throne and sat down, loving the luxurious fluffy dark green velvet under her. Picking up a tall crystal glass of wine one of the maids had brought for her earlier, she slowly took a sip, licking the delicious taste from her full red lips as she swirled the sparkling liquid around in the glass.
"Ivy Friendship: The Place Where Friendship Spreads Like Wildfire." Venus read from the sign in front of her. "Well, sounds like a...friendly...place."
The four girls walked into the town, making sure to let nothing escape their sights. After walking around and looking for a while, they went into the nearest inn. As they stepped through the door they were met with a cloud of thick smoke. They looked at each other and slowly made their way through the masses of heavy know-it-all men and giggling scantily-clad women. Walking up to the bar, Jupiter called to the server.
"Yeah, what'll ya have?" he barked out
"You got a minute?" she asked
"For a pretty thing like you? Sure!" he chuckled as he made his way over to her, "So who are you fine ladies?"
"I'm Makoto," Jupiter said, "and these are my friends, Minako, Ami and Rei." she finished as she pointed to the other girls
"So what can I do for you pretties?" he asked , implications clear as he looked each of the girls up and down
Sickened, Mercury turned her head toward Mars, her face screwed up in utter disbelief and disgust. After seeing Mercury's face, Mars' tried her best to stifle a giggle, but failed as she looked over at Venus and Jupiter to find them looking back at her with the same expressions.
"No, no! Nothing like that!" The Raven-haired beauty laughed, "We wish to know is you might have seen either of our friends. One has long silvery-blond hair with bright crystal blue eyes, she's of medium height and is very skinny and the other has short rich ebony hair and dark cobalt-blue eyes, he's fairly tall and has a mysterious look about him."
Crestfallen, the bar-tender looked at the four beautiful girls. They were exquisite, their eyes shined with hope and their lips curved upwards forming slight seductive smiles. They looked on, hope and pain both evident in their eyes, he hated to disappoint them. "I'm very sorry girls but I haven't seen anyone as of late who fit either of those descriptions..."
"Oh, alright then. Thank you for your help anyway..." Mercury replied sadly as the girls turned and began to walk away.
"Y-you're welcome..." he muttered as he watched the four retreating angels
Queen Serenity stood with the other planetary royals on transportation gates of Earth. She slowly lead the now normally dressed group from the platform and into the heart of Earths biggest city.
"This is your plan?" sneered King Tennousei of Uranus as he looked up at the big yet average house in front of him.
"Yes, it is." Serenity replied sharply. "We will live like commoners, a family, here on Earth for a while and keep our identities secret. This way we can spy on Beryl, and size her up, with less chance of being detected. Once we know what we're dealing with we can attack."
"Well done Serenity." King Kasei replied surprised as he smiled at her. "What a well thought out and quite strategic plan."
"Why thank you Kasei!" Serenity replied as she opened the door to their new house and led her new "family" inside.
"Now what?" Jupiter asked as she looked over to her friends sadly.
Mercury sighed tiredly as she looked up from the dirt path they were walking. "Onto the next town I guess."
"You guys..." Mars began worriedly, "what if something happened to Serenity?"
"Don't think like that Mars, Serenity can take care of herself, plus, she has Luna with her remember?" Venus replied with a reassuring smile. "Serenity will be fine! We'll find her soon, I promise. "
"So this is Mossflower, eh?" Jadeite said as he and the rest of the Generals walked down the dirt road running through the small town. "I guess it's okay..." he laughed as he looked over to the red-headed beauty leaning against a tree. She was looking straight at him, her dark auburn hair up in a high bun with small tendrils cascading down around her face. She was pretty, but no where near as beautiful as that fiery raven-haired Senshi! He thought as he looked the girl up and down, she had an ample bust, her light yellow dress had a plunging neckline to show it off as much as possible. She was curvy and quite skinny, her dress clung to her just the right way, accentuating her best parts. He smiled, making a note to visit with her later as he followed his comrades further down the road and into a dimly lit restaurant.
The restaurant was a bar and the bar was noisy; filled with rowdy guys all hitting on some woman or another. Throughout the place your could see groups of people singing old songs or making conversation through the thick smoke clouding the over crowded room. Kunzite and his friends walked over to the bar, sighing happily as they sat down. "We'll have four cold beers, ice cold!" Nephrite said to the beautiful girl bar-tender. "Sure thing sugar!" she laughed as she turned to him and winked, her dark blonde hair falling down over her face as she bent down to grab 5 mugs and filled them with the cold liquid. "Here ya go!" she said cheerily as she handed the four men their mugs.
A radiant couple descended from the stairs unnoticed and made their way to the bar. They squeezed in between two grisly looking men and sat down as the bar-tender made her way over, "And what can I get for the two of you?" she smiled as she looked them over.
"How about two iced tea's and two chicken finger platters..and what do you have for dessert?" Serenity asked politely as she gleamed up at the lady happily.
"Sure thing toots! I'll be right back." the waitress laughed as she handed Serenity a dessert menu and skipped away to place the orders
"Hey, sweetie what you doin' later?" Endymion heard a seemingly familiar cocky voice call out amid a clutter of chuckles, looking over to the other side of the bar he could faintly make out the outline of a tall man through the smoke. The man moved a bit, sidling up to the young woman next to him.
"Why so interested?" the girl asked seductively as she linked her arm with the man beside her. The man wrapped his arm around her as some of the smoke cleared. "Jadeite!" Endymion gasped lowly as he glimpsed the young mans face. As the smoke cleared more he recognized the three other men seated next to Jadeite. "Oh no...!" he gasped.
Serenity looked up to her companions now pale face, "Mamoru? Mamoru, what is it? What's wrong?" she asked, looking into his worried face.
"Uh..nothing..it's...noth-" but Serenity didn't hear the rest, her gaze was fixed to the door that had just opened. A powerful light had flashed in, drawing her attention to the door. There, standing in front of the door were four beautiful young women, her most loyal and best friends. Serenity's heart froze as she stared at her friends across the room. Her heart quickly melted and a tear formed in her eye but was blinked away as panic struck her.
She had been found.
I don't think so. She thought to herself as she grabbed Endymion's arm and dragged him out of the bar and to their rooms. She grabbed her backpack with Luna inside then latched onto Endymion's arm once more and dragged him out the back door of the inn and out into the bright sunshine.
They talked little as they retrieved Storm from the nearby stables and hurried down the dirt road out of town. Serenity wrapped her arms around Endymion's waist, her long hair flowing out behind her as Storm sped them to the next town.
They rode through the town knocking people out of there way as they made their way to the planetary gates. Hopping off of Storm at the gates, Serenity looked up into Endymion's eyes. She knew there was a reason why he was shaken up back in Mossflower. She could tell he knew something was wrong with him as well. But as they stared into eachothers eyes they realized, it didn't matter.
"Earth?" Serenity asked her companion lightly
"Earth." he agreed as he held out his hand to her and she climbed back onto Storm. Wrapping her arms around him once more, Serenity sighed as Storm trotted through the town on their way to the portal gates.
Authors Note: Wow you guys, It's been absolutely forever since I've updated this thing! Sorry! Anyway...I hope you liked it! Please review and tell me what ya think!
12-31-03
Serena CrystalMoon