From Then, To Now, 'Til Later
Chap2: Who's he?
By AutumnHime
"SERENITY!" Heero broke off in mid-sentence. Immediately the gods spun about and began sprinting to the Tsuki-no-Hime's room. Apollo and Nanashi joined Shinigami, Ares, and Shenlong on their frantic race to Serenity's suite.
A door, cherry in color with delicate silver filigree inlays came into view as another scream, this one slightly different pierced the air. Without breaking stride, Ares and Apollo, one of the new-comers, hit the door together.
It splintered, slivers of wood flying everywhere as five deities in full protect mode burst into the Royal Suite of the Heir, only to stop, mouths agape at the scene that met their eyes.
Outfit slightly torn, eyes murderous, and hair in shambles, Serenity stood over a man with blue-black hair, both oblivious to their audience. Her pale gold slipper had been daintily placed upon the man's armored chest. It did not remain their long as the man on the floor struck quickly. He pulled on Serenity's ankle, causing her to fall to the floor before bending down and sneering, "Better get used to rough treatment, Serenity!"
The man never knew what hit him. Apollo took the lead here. His white trenchcoat whispered, and before the other man could react, the next sound heard in the room was the satisfying crack of the stranger's head snapping back.
Heero ignored the man now writhing on the floor. He strode to Serenity, eyes as fire-glazed ice.
"What the devil happened here, Sere-chan?" He demanded. "We heard you scream."
"Yes, sister, are you all right?" Blonde-haired and blue-eyed Quatre asked, concern for his sister winning out over his 'ultra' personality Apollo for a moment.
Serenity ignored both her friend and her brother for a minute. She had just gotten up off the floor with the help of Trowa, also known as Nanashi, god of Silence and the Forge, son of Neptune, brother of Mercury. She stalked over to the fallen stranger drew back her foot and let it fly. It clanged with a dull thud as it struck the armor.
"OWIE!!" The petite blonde screeched, forgetting that kicking metallic objects while having only lightly shod feet is probably not a good idea. She danced around the room, hopping on one foot.
Being the only person to look around, Duo noticed a tiny smile playing about Ares' lips. At least, that was what he thought, until the five-foot two female stomped up to Heero, and kicked him in the shin.
"And that's what you get for laughing at me, Hee-chan!" She pouted sulkily.
Ares only laughed...and then frowned as he realized that the Tsuki no Hime still hadn't answered any questions.
"Serenity...SERenity! SerENity! SerenITY!" The normally calm, patient, and kind Apollo shouted.
"What is it Quat-chan?" Serenity turned to face her brother...and gasped. "What happened to you normal armor, Apollo?"
Apollo curently wore a silk sky blue dress shirt tucked into white khakis. A white leather trenchcoat that hung to his ankles hid both the scabbard he wore strapped to his back and the two daggers at his sides. There also appeared to be a sheath for another weapon. His feet were shod in ankle-high brown hiking boots. On his finger, a garnet carved in the shape of the combined symbols of Mars and the Sun rested in a platinum band. A platinum circlet crowned his head.
After she had inspected her brother's new outfit, she spun about to get a good look at the rest of the gods. "For that matter, what happened to all of your transformations?"
"Forget that, Serenity." Heero ordered.
"Yeah! We want to know who the devil the guy on the floor is. And how the devil did he get past the guards? And what the devil happened. And...and...and...why the devil am I out of questions?" Duo shouted, arms flailing about like a madman.
The four other over-protective males in the room joined in as a not quite so heavenly chorus to Duo's questions, each demanding answers in a tone that stated quite clearly, 'Answer now, or face twenty guards every time you exit this room in addition to teeth-jarring rattling!'
Serenity shrugged. "The bastard there surprised me. I screamed, he grabbed at me, I kicked him how Mako-chan taught me to, he screamed, I shoved him away, and he went boom!"
The five men simply looked at one another. Duo opened his mouth to ask more questions, but stopped, gaping fish-like at the sound of four sets of feet dashing down the marble hallway. Four young women dressed in varying ways burst into the room.
"SERENITY-HIME!!!" an electrifyingly melodic voice shouted, before a chestnut haired Amazon skidded to a halt.
Following her, a golden blonde dashed into the room, with a fiery black- haired miko and an icy-blue haired tactician hard on her heels.
"Are you alright, Serenity?" The leader of the group asked, blond hair falling from its normal braid and cerulean blue eyes clouded with worry.
"I'm fine," the teenaged princess sighed and related her story to her friends: the princesses of Venus, Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter.
"I'm glad you learned those moves, Sere-chan!" Mako--aka the Princess Makoto of Jupiter--commented.
"And this guy should be glad he's unconscious," Wufei drawled, "or else..."
However, Wufei spoke to soon. The well-dressed young man on the floor began to stir, eyes fluttering open. He fixed his gazed upon the Princess of the Moon and scambled to grab at her.
"Why you stupid bitch! How DARE you..."
The stranger's tirade ended quickly as he finally noticed that besides the golden-silver haired witch's, there were nine angry and hostile faces surrounding him. Perhaps he realized it as he felt the points of four swords, one knife, an icy dagger, a scythe, a lightning bolt, and an unstrung arrow at his neck just waiting for him to make a wrong move.
"Never, EVER, call the Tsuki no Hime a name like that again," a dark, sinful voice full of unearthly promises caressed the back of the stranger's neck.
"Who are you?" The cold and mysterious voice of the Princess of Mercury stabbed at the man.
Before he could answer, the Moon Princess chose that moment to get involved. She stepped up and daintily socked him in the nose. The stranger blacked out again, blood trickling down from his now broken appendage.
"SERENITY!" In unison, the voices of the five male royals in the room rang out, and the questioning began all over again.
When the five male deities in the room began interrogating Serenity again on who the man was and why he was there, Minako, Princess of Venus, decided that the only people her princess needed rescuing from were her 'royal cousins'. Mina casually stepped over the prone body in the middle of the floor.
"So what's up, Serenity?" She calmly interjected between a "TELL ME!" and an "I WANT ANSWERS, Moon-face!"
The rest of the Inner Princesses caught on quickly. They surrounded the Tsuki no Hime, and by the time that Ares, Apollo, Shinigami, and the rest had caught on, the four teens had deftly maneuvered Serenity through the remnants of the shattered doors.
"COME BACK HERE!" Ares' command rocked the Moon palace on its foundation.
Rei, the Martian Princess and Chief Fire Priestess, elected herself to answer. "Sooo sorry. It's her Highness's bath time. Maybe later." With that, the royal bodyguards turned the corner to the Women's bath.
Frustrated in their attempt to wring answers out of the Moon hime, the five deities turned to the next best thing. The man on the floor.
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Serenity heaved a sigh of relief as her fellow princesses and she rounded the corner. She really hadn't wanted to deal with her brother Apollo, or his friends' over-protective urges. Most especially, she hadn't wanted Ares to know how close her struggle with that black-haired bastard had really been. If he hadn't thought she was delicate and unassuming, well...
"Odango Atama? Are you all right?" Rei, her best friend and worst enemy, asked.
"I'm fine, Rei-chan. Just a little stressed." Serenity replied, ignoring Rei's unflattering nickname, as they continued onto the baths.
And that, she hoped, would be that. Hopefully, her friends wouldn't interrogate her about the situation. However, Serenity knew she hoped in vain.
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Are we more in favor of this one? Or did y'all like the other one better?
AH
