From Then, To Now, 'Til Later

Chp 3: An Interrogation Proceeds

Serenity sank back in the hot, hot water. Her body felt like one big bruise, black and blue and yellow all over. She had been up since dawn, more or less, receiving training from the princesses in things such as fire reading, strategy, etiquette, political maneuvering, and equitation. Her other studies had been in weapons, and tactics in fighting, not just battle strategy. Then her mother had dropped her little bombshell about her new betrothed, and that whacko guy had attacked her in her room. She deserved this.

The location of the Women's Bath was a gigantic sunken room. On one side of the room, three gigantic pools of water existed. The pool on the far right, almost hidden due to the steam rising off of it and the plethora of greenery (and reddery, yellowery, bluery, etc.) surrounding it, was the hottest. The temperature was almost scalding. This was the pool the Tsuki-no-Hime currently relaxed in. A tier below her, a luke warm pool sparkled silver, and below that a cold pool, around 60F for more masochistic bathers. On the other side of the auditorium sized hall, the actual bathing/showering pools had been placed. The heating arrangement was the same, but there were several smaller pools, and each had its own waterfall, as well as a run-off for the dirty water. The separation of clean water from dirty water was taken care of by some device that the clever current Princess of Mercury had thought up. At the very back of the Bath was an exercise pool and sauna. The whole room was granite, rose-and clear-shot quartz gleaming and sparkling when the sunlight hit it. Except for the beds of flora that beautified the room.

Across from Serenity sat Rei. The other Inner Princesses waited below in the cooler pool, as they preferred not to look like cooked crab. After five more minutes, Serenity finally moved. Her muscles had relaxed, thanks to the heat of the bath, and she felt good enough to move down to the comfortable pool. Rei moved from her granite formed seat as well.

"Serenity-hime," Ami said, voice as harmonious as snow drifting down upon a lazy winter's day, "Why are you so upset?"

Trust Ami, Serenity thought, to get straight to the problem.

"I'm upset because my mother has decided that I am to much a tomboy and not enough of a princess. Despite the fact that I speak Old Lunarian, Mercurian, Martian, Jupiterian, and seven other languages fluently, understand that in order to be a successful ruler one must know how to walk a tightrope, can quote three books on manner and decorum backwards and forwards, ride like I was born on horseback, and dance gracefully, despite the fact that I have all the skills needed to be a successful princess, she has banned me from training with you four in magic and the Princes in weapons!"

Makoto touched Serenity on the arm. "It's all right, Moon-face. I'm sure she didn't mean it."

The others made sympathetic clucking noises, agreeing with Makoto's suggestion.

"That's not all though! That creep in my bedroom?" The Moon Princess exploded, muscles tensing up again at the thought of the strange man.

Minako, Makoto, Ami, and Rei nodded.

"My mother has betrothed me to that baka Earth prince, Endymion. I don't remember him all that well, but didn't he look similar to the guy in my room?"

Ami frowned, concentrating. Little waves lapped at her sides in a pattern, attempting to soothe the mistress of water. "Hmmm...I think that you might be right, Sere-chan!"

"So you think that the guy in your bedroom is Endymion?" Minako hesitated. "Surely your mother wouldn't have engaged you to some monster!"

"And weren't you and Ares...?" Rei let the last of her statement drop off.

Serenity nodded, towel-wrapped hair falling loose in a silky waterfall. "My mother really needs this alliance with Earth, but she was allowed to marry for love! Why can't I?" she whined.

"Oh, Sere..." Her friends drew up around her in the water, commiserating with her in a huddle.

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The five men that had stayed with the unconscious intruder in order to have a chance at interrogating him currently discussed the changes in their normal outfits.

Shinigami gave a low whistle, distracting the others from the conversation.

"Whoa, Nanashi! I'm impressed!"

"..." Nanashi silently asked for an explanation.

Shinigami happily granted him one. "For the most part, you prefer to blend in at court, and while that works when the armor transformation occurs, this one is REALLY going to have all the girls drooling after you!"

"But Shinigami," Apollo reminded him, "Nanashi's change is much like ours."

"But my dear Apollo...the rest of us like being noticed, and normally don't mind the attention. Our friend Nanashi here is much more of a wall-flower...and he won't be able to stay that way with this transformation!"

Nanashi's change had been as dramatic as the rest of the gods. Rather than his normal silver green-shot armor, he now looked just as foreign as his comrades. A light fawn gold leather duster draped him in cloth from his shoulders to his knees. Underneath the duster, a tight-fitting, slightly metallic emerald green t-shirt clung to his upper body like a second skin. His pants also fit him well, but were sort of loose like Ares' new pants. They were made of a durable dark-blue cloth that had metal threads running through it. He, like his best friend Apollo, wore hiking boots, except his matched the fawn gold color of his duster. A quiver that had hung at his back when he first completed his transformation now rested next to his side. A brace of throwing daggers, much like the ones his sister--Reason--had taught him to throw, were slung across his hips, as were three--holsters. Nanashi had also found two other secret holsters, one at his shoulder, another by his ankle. In addition to all of that, two accessories completed his outfit. One was an upper ear clasp. The swirling jade of the design formed a unified symbol of Neptune and Venus. The second accessory was a forest green circlet made of some unknown metal that circled his brow.

"Hnnn..." Ares grunted.

"CAN WE GET BACK TO THE SUBJECT!"

"Calm down, Shen-man!" Shinigami laid back from his sitting position in mid-air. His braid flopped over one leather clad shoulder. "You should be more relaxed...like me!"

"DO NOT CALL ME SHEN-MAN, SHINIGAMI!" Shenlong yelled. He grabbed Duo's booted foot and flipped him up over the edge of the invisible recliner before the God of Death had time to react. A flash of total surprise crossed the Black God's face before he landed on his butt on the hard marble floor.

A dazzling wall of light blazed up between the two squabbling deities. "If we could please stop with the fighting, gentlemen, I believe our 'friend' is about to wake up."

Quatre's final words got the attention of the rest of the group. Sure enough, the blue-black haired man stirred. His eyelids parted to reveal dark blue eyes. At first disoriented, they quickly filled with ire as he attempted to stand.

His attempts were quickly cut short. "I think you should stay seated, friend," Shinigami purred, hands flexing lightly upon the other man's armor...at least it didn't appear that he struggled to dent the armor in ten distinct places.

"Wha...what..." The man jerked forward, trying to escape the indigo-eyed deity.

"You should not ask what, but who, little insect." Quatre's voice blazed with the intensity of a thousand suns yet he spoke in little more than a whisper.

"Hh...h....h...who, then?" The stranger quivered under the relentless gaze of five gods. One cut like a knife, reminiscent of the terror and horror that gazing at a field strewn with bodies can provoke. Another gaze promised all the horror that screaming in complete and utter silence, devoid of all senses except that of sight, can create. A third gaze appeared completely alien, scaring the already witless man, for while the others seemed more than human, this was simply...Other. No compassion, only flickers of anger. Mostly, the gaze made the stranger feel as if he were an interesting specimen ready to be dissected and examined.

It was this gaze that brought the terrified man back to himself. "LET ME GO! I AM..."

Here he was cut off.

"Look at that," Nanashi's silent voice commented. "It thinks that it can interrupt us before we tell it who we are."

"How terribly rude of it," Ares said blandly.

"I believe we can be magnanimous," Shenlong's voice had changed, it was clinical...detached. "We are..."

"Five to be watched out for." Apollo finished the Lord of the Dragons statement. "We protect the princess..."

"And her court, little man." Shinigami drawled. "Our names are..."

"Legion." The God of Silence finished. "If everybody agrees, I would like to be first."

The other four nodded, the introduction had been planned earlier. "Earthling, in order to fully understand whom you are dealing with, let me give you all of my titles. I am Trowa, Prince of Neptune, brother to the Heir-Apparent of the Kingdom, Michiru. My father is Triton, King of Neptune, Lord of the Seas. I am Nanashi, God of Silence."

Wufei went next. "Very impressive, Trowa," he murmured. "You forgot to mention your mother, your other sisters, and your betrothed."

Nanashi waved the comment away, "I didn't think that we wanted him to grow old and die before we finished."

"True..." Wufei turned back to the only actually armored occupant of the room. "I am Wufei, little man. Prince of Uranus. My sister is Haruka, Goddess of the Winds, and heir to the throne of Uranus. I am Shenlong, Lord of Dragons and Justice."

A silver blade flashed, then a gleaming point came to rest on the ground. "I am Duo, Prince of Saturn. Hotaru, god-child of the Queen and first in line for the throne of Saturn is my sister. My father is Hades, my mother, Persephone. My Grand Dam is Ceres, goddess of grain and harvest on earth. I am Shinigami, God of Death."

"I am Heero, cur. I am Prince of Mars and Heir to the throne of Fire. My sister is Rei, friend and protector of Serenity, as well as princess, chief priestess, and prophetess of the planet Mars. I am Ares, God of War."

Quatre stepped up, surrounded by a corona of light. "I am Quatre, King of Sol. My sister is Serenity, princess to the Empire of the Moon. My mother is Selenity, current Queen. My father is Helios. I am Apollo, God of the Sun." He paused. "Now, who are YOU?"

During the introductions, the stranger had been growing paler and paler. However, at the chance to introduce himself, some of the color came back.

"I am Endymion, Prince of the Earth, betrothed to Serenity." He declared haughtily.

Rather than gasps of surprise, shock, or remorse for their treatment of him, the five gods looked as if something unpleasant had just been confirmed.

Apollo sighed again. "Mother is not going to like the fact that she picked wrong."

"Maybe next time, she'll listen to me, and wait for all of the facts."

Wufei interrupted by asking Endymion a question. "Why did you come to Serenity-hime's room?"

"I wanted to see if the whey faced bit...witch was as malleable and sweet as they say."

"Anything else?" The harsh words stung the very air.

"Yea. I heard she was easy and..." He never finished his statement. No sound came out of his lips and the last thing the Prince of Earth saw was a fist hitting him in the face.

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Next Chapter: In which the Queen decides