Rei was angry. No, angry wasn't the right word. Rei got angry when Minako butchered her latest euphemism or phrase. Rei got angry when Makoto burned their food while daydreaming about her latest crush. Rei got angry when Ami drowned herself in whatever scientific text she herself wrote, edited, and published, and every response was a disinterested grunt. Rei got angry when the Haruka and Michiru did their lone wolf routine. Rei got angry….well, you get the general idea.
Right now, Rei was furious. And she wasn't the only one.
"So, let me get this straight," Minako began, her sing-song, perky voice betrayed by her slightly shaking fist, held firmly at her side, "You waste the energy of both the Silver and Golden Crystals to resurrect four magically endowed traitors, without a word to anyone, namely me, who would have had a mandatory round the clock search on all of them to ensure that they wouldn't do anything suspicious, and expected us to be pleasantly surprised because of some orgy that the Inners had with them over a millennia ago?"
Usagi was frightened; Minako had completed an entire sentence without one misquote. It didn't help that Mamoru was sitting on his throne, a complacent, easy, and for intents and purposes, infuriating smile on his face.
"Why, yes Mina-chan. Your keen mind has once again been put the task and drawn all the correct conclusions."
Usagi scowled behind her hands; Neo-king or not, he was pushing his luck.
"Don't patronize me, you-Your Majesty," Minako amended quickly. "I say this out of concern for you and Usagi, and Chibi-Usa. How safe can you possibly be from them? They were corrupted by Beryl and Metallia."
"How safe can we be from you; you were corrupted by Galaxia and Chaos."
The series of sharp, intakes of breath was the only sound that penetrated the now heavy atmosphere. Everyone in the room glared at him, the look he received exactly the same; you went too far.
Ami was the first to break the silence. Normally cool and controlled, even she was having trouble keeping a tight reign on her temper.
"My king….my king, with all due respect, those were completely different circumstances than the ones regarding the Shitennou; your analogy was hardly….fair."
"No it wasn't," Mamoru agreed, still pleasant. "In fact, I would say that it was borderline hypocritical, all things truly considered. I know that you didn't have any more choice in the matter than I did, which is precisely my point."
Now it was Makoto who ventured to speak. "Mamoru," she ignored the glares her fellow senshi gave her; they were alone, and he owed them after that cheap shot, damnit!
"Mamoru," she began again, her argument picking up in both speed and volume as she continued, "I don't think you understand what we are saying here; to put it bluntly, they are trash, Dark Kingdom trash at that. It was because of them that the Silver Millennium was crushed; it was because of them that we lost everything we had a right to in the past; It was because of them that everything went….so…horribly….WRONG!" Screw priorities and appearances, who was Mamoru to put them through this?
"And now you bring them back, do you honestly expect us to deal with them, work with them, live with them, LOOK at them, without completely, absolutely, loosing it?"
Rei smiled; Makoto had said everything that was burning in her own mind and from Mamoru's posture in his throne, it seemed that finally got through to the lovable yet thick-headed idiot.
Then Mamoru sat up and Rei visibly gulped at the look on his face; she wasn't the only one.
"Finished?" Mamoru asked icily. Everything about his body language screamed that it would be a very bad idea to verbally answer that question, just as it screamed that it would be a very bad idea to not answer it, leaving Makoto completely at a loss. She merely nodded her head slowly, respectfully, and then hung it in shame.
"Good." Mamoru rose from his throne, and suddenly this was no longer Chiba Mamoru, friend, comrade-in-arms, husband and father; this was Neo-King Endymion, co-ruler of Crystal Tokyo, Slayer of Metallia, Master of the Golden Crystal, and Guardian of the Earth. And currently, RPO: Really Pissed Off.
"Then I am going to answer your question. All four of you WILL NOT act on your baser instincts, nor will you provoke them in any way unless given acceptable cause, and you all know the definition of that. I do not say that you have to make them feel welcome, or even interact friendly with them, regardless of your past relationships, but you will respect them and work with them. Have I made myself clear?"
Four heads nodded in internally defiant, yet externally meek submission. Rei, conscious that she was the only one of the four who had yet to speak, felt obligated to ask the unasked, unanswered, lingering question;
"Why? Why did you two do it?"
The figure slunk back into his chair, Mamoru once more. He sighed with exhaustion, and suddenly they remembered what Mamoru just accomplished; the resurrection of four, extremely powerful magical beings who had been dead for centuries. Even if he had some help from Serenity and the Silver Crystal, Mamoru was probably enduring this interview on sheer will alone. The Inner Senshi felt a sudden wave of guilt; their king should be in bed resting, not here subject to endless questions, justified as they were.
"No one knows what happened, or why they turned. Did they do so willingly? Or were they like so many of Beryl's victims; completely and utterly helpless against her and Metallia's wraith? As incorporeal beings inside their own spirit stones, they would not be forthcoming no matter how I alluded or probed. I…loved them. Gods of Light help me, I still do. They were…are my brothers."
When Mamoru looked up again, it wasn't a stern monarch, but a young man who had everything ripped from him, and the chance to get it back was tearing him up inside, leaving unshed tears in his eyes.
"I have to know the truth; I have to know, are they traitors? Did the four beings who were closer to me than all but one betray me? If so, then why? I also have to know, is redemption truly beyond anyone?"
Rei was speechless. The combination of royal rebuttal and choking emotion left her without anything to say; what could they say after that? Usagi, with a look that expressed both undying love and empathy, grasped Mamoru's hand before shooting a glare at her Inner Court, a hint of the Neo-Queen in her eyes. Rei wanted to speak, but her throat refused to work.
Once again, Minako responded for them. "My King…even if all you say is true, and I have no proof to doubt that it is, what if they aren't looking for redemption?"
Mamoru looked at her with a smile. "That is where we want you four to come in."
Rei gasped; over-grown, pompous ass, he just told them they didn't have to-before she knew it she was on her knees with the rest of her friends, chanting in ritualistic tone;
"Our honor to serve and obey," Then they rose and left as one.
"That wasn't so bad," Usagi joked.
In spite of himself, Mamoru grinned. His humor lasted only a moment, though. "Four down, four to go." He steeled himself, but he didn't think he was ready for what was to come.
And he doubted he ever would be.
"Jadeite, if you don't stop pacing, I swear I'm going to stick those boots of yours right up your…"
Kunzite sighed, not bothering to listen to the end of that sentence. Having lived with the same group of unchanging morons….err, comrades, you pick up on a few things about them; namely, their reactions to certain situations.
Example…
This is a highly stressful situation that they had no control over. He was in the corner, half in shadow, his cape fluttering in the nonexistent wind (his friends still didn't believe he wasn't using magic to give off the intimidating look); meanwhile, Jadeite, the ever plotting, ever manipulating, would be pacing simply because this was a situation that, again, they had no control over. Nephrite, ever dependable, ever loyal, ever emotional, would sit there and grow angrier and more frustrated by the minute, his friends' discomfort and Jadeite's pacing only succeeding in making him angrier. It was only a matter of time before Nephrite blew his top and lashed out at Jadeite, who would, in turn, respond with some snide comment, prompting a verbal sparring match between the two.
And then there was Zoisite.
Sweet, adorable, lovable Zoisite. The undisputed baby of the group; the three of them fussed over him almost as much as all four fussed over Endymion. A slight frown crossed his features at the sudden thought of his monarch….no, no; concentrate on what Zoisite will do in this situation.
That was easy enough; pull on his braid nervously, twiddle his thumbs, trying desperately to will away the unavoidable clash of his two elder 'brothers', and when it came, he would try to end it.
Nephrite, of course, would be the first to turn on Zoisite, angrily yelling at him (there was a time that arrogance and anger were the only two emotions that Kunzite thought Nephrite capable of feeling) and Jadeite would back him up with an ever cynical remark about Zoisite's effeminate appearance.
Kunzite, at this point in his musings, looked up to see events proceed according to his predictions. Now Jadeite and Nephrite would look at each other, shocked beyond belief that they had agreed on something, slow horror would dawn on their face, and they would then look at Zoisite, whose face easily revealed the pain those words caused him, as well as the failing effort to mask it. Nephrite would be the first to apologize…..now.
"Zoi, err, I didn't mean…what I mean to say is…Kunz, you want to help me out here?" Nephrite turned a pleading look at his leader, who only snorted in response. Jadeite rolled his eyes and grasped Zoisite's arm, giving it a squeeze that spoke an apology no words ever could. Zoisite then placed a hand on Nephrite's chest and smile up at the taller soldier, causing the stocky shadow-mage to squirm endlessly.
"There is no need to apologize, old friend. This is a stressful time, for all of us."
Believing himself unnoticed in his observations, Kunzite was slightly shocked when Jadeite called him out.
"I thought it was my duty to observe and manipulate the masses Kunzite, trying to oust me of a job?"
Kunzite tried to pretend that sarcasm behind that voice was just usual Jadeite cynicism; tried, and failed miserably. "Merely confirming a theory, Jadeite," he replied.
"Oh, and that would be?"
"I've known all three of you too damn long."
Nephrite and Zoisite suddenly exchanged looks. There were only two times Kunzite ever swore or joked; in the presence of (or thinking about) Endymion or…other people equally as dear. He never did either in any other situation, and never both at the same time. It meant something, and both doubted it was the proverbial sword about to be removed from his…
"Nervous?" Jadeite asked, unable to keep the concern from his voice.
The pitiful look of utter despair their pillar of strength shot at them was enough to shock the three junior generals down to their very core.
"Terrified," Kunzite replied. "Absolutely, utterly, terrified."
At that moment, the door opened. A uniformed servant stood in the open portal, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. "Sirs, their Majesties will see you now."
Jadeite scoffed only to assume a neutral expression betrayed only by blazing eyes.
Nephrite's anger was quickly glazed over by his almost ever-present arrogance.
Zoisite…well, remained Zoisite, except there was an aura of happiness about him, as false as the smile plastered on his face.
Seeing his brothers-in-arms place on their masks, Kunzite decided it was time to don his own. Closing his eyes and inhaling, he imagined the Sphere, an impregnable bubble in his mind. Silently, he willed the bubble to expand, pushing worry, fear, doubt, all his emotions away, leaving only the Self. Those emotions tried to bombard the Sphere, but rolled off it harmlessly, ensuring that the Self would remain untainted by emotion; only the rational, the logic dictated the mind now. In the age of the Golden Kingdom, most soldiers and warriors worth their salt knew of this trick; it was appealing because it left one able to assess a situation without any emotions to lead necessary decisions astray, without feelings of pain and exhaustion to prevent the body from doing what needed to be done. It was rarely used, however, because in order to gain full effectiveness, one would have to maintain the Sphere almost constantly, as Kunzite often did. Only later did the user learn of the horrible price for doing so, for there was one, terrible feeling that could be pushed aside, but not cast out of the Sphere.
Loneliness.
The feeling of being utterly, completely alone had driven many fine warriors to suicide, and if not for his duty, his companions, Endymion and…others, Kunzite would have joined them long ago. Thus the reason for the Sphere's other two, well-earned names: The Mind Trap, and the Emptiness.
Kunzite exhaled. What had taken the inventors of the technique several minutes to accomplish, Kunzite achieved completion of the Sphere within a second with practiced ease. Turning to the servant, he made a most courtly bow.
"We are always at their majesties' service."
Whew, that was a not-so-quick update. Don't worry, others will be significantly slower. One of the things I felt I didn't explain properly was that if both Silver and Golden Crystals were used, why is it that only Endymion is tired and Serenity is visibly fine? The fact is that I have no idea, so just you all chalk it up to the Shitennou's souls being tied to the Golden Crystal like the Senshi's to the Silver, and all Serenity could really do was give Endy a power boost. A slight power boost. Anyway, enough of that now read and review.