To Love Again
Chapter 2
Gathering
The remains of Beryl's castle had frozen over the years and the dark energy it had once emitted had disappeared. Apollene stood at the base of the castle where the frozen doors stood. Not to far away she could see a pillar of ice. The same one Serenity stood upon when she defeated Beryl and the energy still lingered here.
'Jadeite is around here somewhere,' she thought. 'The question is where.' She closed her eyes searching for his familiar aura. Hopefully he was still alive and if he wasn't then she'd have to rescue him along with the others. She possessed enough psychic abilities to locate people within the area and it hadn't taken her long to locate Jadeite. From what she could guess he was somewhere below the castle.
She held onto the feeling of Jadeite's aura and pulled out a golden compact. Now she had to figure out how to get to him. Teleportation was always a possibility, but not a safe one. Fragment (consider revising) She'd have plenty of though. Opening the compact inside was a small screen and a keyboard.
She began to type and a map appeared on the screen along with colored dots. She was the golden one. The red ones were most likely youma, how they survived she didn't know but she'd figure it out. Finally, the blue dot must have been Jadeite. Her guess was right Jadeite was a few feet below her and the youma were above him. 'No problem,' she thought, 'some exercise will be good for me.' She said something in a language that was lost in this era and a sword made entirely of light appeared in her hand. She sliced through the imposing gates and went through prepared for whatever would be coming her way.
Deep in the dungeons of the castle a column of ice stood. In the center, a young man was trapped inside. He had short blonde hair and his eyes closed. He appeared to be dead or in a deep sleep but that wasn't true. He was very much alive.
He was sentenced to this eternal prison because he had failed his queen. In his first few months of imprisonment he'd been angry and was close to vowing revenge against the Sailor Senshi, but for some reason he found himself thinking, 'Why exactly have I been serving her?'
Now normally he wouldn't have delved into this question. If he hadn't been sealed here, the thought would have been pushed aside and forgotten. At first, he tried doing exactly that but the thought kept popping back into his head. Eventually he gave in to his thoughts beginning to wonder how he had gotten here. When he tried to remember, he found that nothing came to mind. As the months passed, he found that he was desperately searching for some form of a memory. Something before he destroyed the Moon Kingdom. It was as if a barrier had been put up in his mind and it wasn't going to budge. Eventually he gave up prepared to face the many years ahead with nothing to comfort him.
Days later the ground around him shook and parts of the castle fell apart. Unfortunately, nothing fell on his imprisonment and he was still stuck here, but some good did come out of it. He'd seen something in his mind. It was memory or that's what he'd hoped. He'd seen a group of people. Only two figures were clear to him and both of them had raven hair. That's all he could remember and he couldn't force out anything else.
He'd come up with countless stories for this piece of memory. He was in the middle of thinking up another one when something came crashing down to the floor. It took a while for his eyes to adjust. He hadn't opened them in years. He opened his eyes and saw that a youma had fallen through the ceiling but how'd that happen. Then he'd noticed that the entire room he was in had frozen. 'What's going on he thought.'
A young woman then appeared a few feet in front of the youma sword pointed at its throat. Her back was turned to him so all he could see was her golden hair. She wasted no time, a golden ball appeared in her hands, and she sent it towards the monster. The youma was unable to doge the blast, was hit, and disintegrated. She stood there for a few moments before turning to him. Jadeite was a bit confused. How had a single girl managed to get into this castle without being killed by the millions of youma? Then for the first time he'd noticed something, he could no longer sense Beryl. Where had she gone? Had those Senshi defeated her?
The girl turned towards him. She had hazel colored eyes and appeared to be what these earthlings called a teenager, but her eyes held wisdom beyond the age she appeared to be. Who was she? She smiled and walked confidently walked towards him. When she came to the column of ice, she placed her palm on it and a golden light surrounded it. Slowly the ice began to crack and he found he was able to move a little. Jadeite realized what she was doing and tried pushing on the glass helping her.
Finally, the ice chamber gave in and the Jadeite fell through. The pillar collapsed and so did the ceiling above them. 'I finally get out of there only to die afterwards,' he thought. Suddenly the girl took his hand, the area around them faded, and they'd landed on the floor of a strange room. "I have to work on my landings," the girl said aloud.
He looked around and noticed there wasn't much in the room. The walls were painted gold and it contained a bed, a table, chairs, and a dresser. On the dresser were five watches and five pens. Before he could examine them further, she suddenly said, "We'll be leaving soon so don't get to comfortable." She then asked, "Are you hungry?" He nodded noticing it for the first time. She nodded and left the room. Who was she and where had she taken him.
Moments later, she came back with a tray filled with food. She set the tray down on the table and she signaled for him to come over. She took a seat at one end and he sat at the other. "Go on ahead I'm not eating anything." He slowly started eating. She watched him carefully as if trying to figure something out.
"What is it," he asked. She shook her head and urged him to continue with his meal. Once he was done he began asking questions. "Where exactly are we?"
"In the Crystal Palace. You are now within Crystal Tokyo ruled by Neo Queen Serenity."
'Serenity? Wasn't that the name of that Moon Princess? The Sailor Senshi must have found her and defeated Beryl,' he thought. "Why did you release me anyways?
She smiled, "No. I released you because I need your help. Crystal Tokyo and the Tokyo of the past are in danger. We are currently dealing with a new enemy and he's managed to kill the King. In return for your help I will give what you want the most right now."
"What would I want?"
"Your memories back," she stated simply. "I know that's what you want more than anything right now and once you get them back you're going to want something else. I can help you. All I need in return is your help." She paused and then continued, "There is no need to rush in your decision, but if you decide not to go you'll never get what you truly desire."
He sat there silently for a moment. She was right, but why should he trust her, but what did he really have to lose. He nodded his head and she smiled. "Great and welcome to the team general Jadeite. Now we'll be going to the past in the a few days. I'll explain why as we get ready."
If you ever want to see this girl again, hand over the Black Crystal.
Zoisite
A man with brown hair stood in a room, the note in his hand. He couldn't believe the audacity of that man. Why would he care for that girl? She was just a mere tool only around for his convenience. If she died it wasn't his problem. Even as these thoughts went through his head he knew that they weren't true. He cared for Naru even if it didn't show and it would be his fault if she died tonight.
He crumpled the paper in his hands and flames consumed it. He'd have to save her there was no choice in the matter. He'd be walking right into a trap but at the moment he didn't care. He was going to leave when a voice said, "So you really are going to rescue her."
He turned around to see a woman standing on the balcony. Her golden hair was pulled up into a ponytail. Her face was in shadow and she stepped inside of the room. He instantly suspected her as one of Zoisite's cronies even though he hadn't recognized her. She saw the look of distrust on his face and put her hands up in a signal of peace and said, "Hold on a sec. I'm not here to fight."
He stood his ground ready to attack if she gave the slightest hint of suspicion. "So are you going to save her," she asked ignoring the look he was giving her.
"That is none of your business," he said coldly.
"Actually it is," she said nonchalantly. "The truth is if you go and meet them tonight you'll both die. Now is that what you really want?"
He stared at her. Did she really think that he'd believe her? "What proof do you have? How do I know that your really not one of Zoisite's minions?"
She looked at him and laughed. "Do I really look like one of those youma? I mean look at me. As far as I can see my skin isn't an unnatural such as green and I definitely don't have vines springing from my arms."
He shrugged, "As far as I'm concerned you're in disguise."
"How about I prove it to you." He looked at her strangely but nodded as if she could actually prove him wrong. She smiled happy that she'd be able to take him down a few pegs. "Okay then let's see. Can your average youma do this," she held her hand out palm up and a ball of light appeared illuminating the room. "Do you know what kind of power this is?"
"No, should I?"
She shrugged and continued, "Its Lunarian. Is that proof enough for you?" He answered no she thought about what she could do to convince him, but came up with nothing. "How about this can you sense any traces of dark energy in me."
He looked at her strangely. She had him there. "Well no…" but she interrupted him.
"Well then there you go. Now back to my point, how exactly are you going to save her?"
"I don't know," he said flatly.
"So you're just going to storm in there without a plan and just hope that you survive. No wonder you died. Here's my offer. I'll help you rescue the girl if you help me."
"Help you with what?"
"I'm going to be honest with you. The truth is Beryl isn't going to survive this. The senshi are going to find their princess and ginzuishou, so in other words you're fighting for a lost cause. Do you even know why you're siding with Beryl?"
Her question threw him off, "No, but why does it matter?"
"In some cases it doesn't, but why fight for a cause you don't truly believe in. You'll only be angry with yourself in the end."
"What are you talking about? I completely support my lady's purpose for ruling this world."
"And that would be what? Why exactly is she trying to rule this world? Why do you support her? What caused you to despise this planet so much that you would wish for its destruction? Can you even answer these questions, Lord Nephrite of the Northern lands?"
The girls question struck something within him and he even found himself thinking over these questions. He couldn't answer her and that angered him! What did all of this mean! 'Lord of the Northern lands,' he thought. It sounded so familiar, but what it meant was out of his reach. Something or someone was preventing him from remembering, but whom?
His thoughts must have been visible because she said, "You don't have a clue. You don't remember any thing. Do you know why? It's because of that woman you adore so much. Your wonderful lady Beryl sealed your memories away."
She didn't wait for his response and continued, "You were once one of the best swordsmen on this planet and part of the royal guard. What happened? Why did you throw it all away?"
Nephrite head was pounding now. Why couldn't he remember? None of this made sense. There was a flash of light and he saw a girl. She had brown hair pulled up into a ponytail and around her stood a group of people. All of them were cast in shadow, but he could recognize them. The image suddenly disappeared and he was back in Naru's room. He was breathing heavily but the pounding in his head had receded a little. "What was that?"
"I don't know. Why don't you tell me what you saw?"
He hesitated at first still not trusting her, but he ended up telling her everything he saw. "It wasn't much; most of it was a blur. There was a girl though and she had brown hair."
"It was a memory then. I can help you, recover your memories I mean, and as a bonus I'll help you save Naru."
"How can you help me save her? She's probably dead by now…"
"Not true! If we hurry we can still save her."
"How?"
The girl leaned forward and pulled a piece of hair out. He rubbed his already sore head. She then began to chant in some foreign language and as she chanted the piece of hair glowed. There was a loud pop and a pillar of golden smoke appeared in the center of the room. When it cleared a Nephrite look a like stood there.
"How did you do that?"
"Lunarian magic, remember. Now this guy here is an exact copy of you the only major differences are that he's a bit stronger and that when he bleeds its green. Oh and don't worry they won't be able to tell it's not you." She then turned to the copy and said, "Find Zoisite, rescue the girl they have captured, and keep her safe."
The look alike disappeared and she turned back to Nephrite, "So are you ready to go?"
"I never said I was going to help you, but I will. Once I'm sure Naru is safe."
The girl nodded her head accepting his answer and extended her hand. "Let's go. The safest way for you to find out if she's safe is to come with me."
He shouldn't have trusted her so easily, but what choice did he have. Slowly he took her hand and they vanished from the room. They appeared in the living room of another house scaring the young man that was resting there.
"Do you have to teleport everywhere you go," he asked irritably. He was now on the floor his shoulder length blonde hair in disarray. Nephrite stared at him, feeling as if he'd known this man from somewhere.
The young women however ignored him and took the remote from the table. She turned on the television and pressed a green button on the remote. On the screen was the Nephrite clone and in his arms he was carrying Naru. They watched as they talked under a tree in the park and continued watching until the end. When the clone had completely faded away or died in the senshi and Naru's eyes, the young girl turned off the television. "Are you satisfied," she asked. When he nodded, she turned back to the young man on the floor. "You do know that you don't have to be disguised while in the house, right?"
The boy on the floor smiled and his appearance changed. His shoulder length hair shortened and his eyes went from brown to blue. "Jadeite," Nephrite shouted. How had he gotten here? Beryl had sealed him away for eternity.
Jadeite on the other hand wasn't phased by Nephrite's appearance, as if he'd known that he would be coming. "I'm guessing that you haven't informed him about the entire plan."
"No I haven't. Lord Nephrite please take a seat. I need to explain a few things before we settle down for the evening," and she began to tell part of her tale.
Two days later Apollene left for the future to check on Enalin's movements. She returned two weeks later with an unconscious Zoisite. A young man had just come through the door when they appeared. He had short brown hair and brown eyes. He removed his watch and his appearance changed. His short brown hair grew longer and his eyes went from brown to blue. Nephrite, former dark kingdom warrior, now stood in the doorway. He'd just been out for a walk when the sky grew dark. Sensing the amount of dark energy he hurried home, only to find Zoisite and Apollene in the living room.
"What happened," he asked.
"He wouldn't come willingly so I knocked him unconscious," she sounded irritated so Nephrite didn't ask her anything else. A bead necklace appeared in her right hand, how she did it he didn't know, and she clasped it around Zoisite's neck. It glowed for a moment and when it finished Apollene took a seat on the couch and looked out of the window. "I believe it would be wise if you and Jadeite would stay away from the living room, it would only make things when he awakens." Nephrite, knowing Zoisite's personality, left the room and went to see what Jadeite was up to.
A few minutes passed and Zoisite began to awaken. When he opened his eyes he noticed that he was no longer in Tokyo Tower. Instead he was now in someone's living room. He sat up straighter and across from him sat the girl from before.
Before he could question her she said, "You've got two choices. You can sit and listen to what I have to say quietly or you can be forced to listen to what I have to say."
Zoisite couldn't believe the audacity of this human. "What makes you think I'd listen to someone like you?"
"Considering the fact that if I hadn't come you would be dead right about now."
He laughed. What was she talking about? There was no way Beryl would have killed him, and there was no chance of those Senshi killing him. He'd followed Beryl's orders exactly. They now had all seven rainbow crystals. Yeah he was planning on killing Tuxedo Mask, but she wouldn't have cared. He'd gotten the crystals back. What did she need that cape fighting idiot for?
"You don't believe me do you? Weren't you planning on killing Tuxedo Kamen?"
'How did she know that,' he thought. Aloud he said, "That is none of your business."
She picked up the remote that sat on the table in front of her and turned on the TV. The screen was black until she pressed another button on the remote and images appeared on the screen. She then pressed another button and the Zoisite was on screen facing the hole in which the elevator Tuxedo Mask and that girl was in would appear. He watched as flames erupted from his hands and fire went spiraling down the cords.
"What is this? This never happened," Zoisite yelled as he watched the screen.
She paused the screen and said calmly, "I sent a clone of you in your place. This is what would have happened if you would have stayed there. This should prove what I say is true."
Zoisite turned back to the screen and watched as his previous destiny played before him. He watched an ice crystal pieced through Tuxedo Kamen's heart. He watched as Sailor Moon turned into Princess Serenity, and as she blasted him into the wall. He continued to watch as Kunzite appeared and took him back to the Dark Kingdom, only to have Beryl finish him off. Apollene turned the TV off and turned towards him.
"What do you have to say now," she asked calmly.
"This is ridiculous! You just made that entire thing up," he shouted. His words sounded fake even to himself, but there was no way she could seen all of this happen.
"How so?"
"For one that twit Sailor Moon could never be a princess."
"Think about it. What's the best way to hide something, to hide it where whoever is searching for it would most likely look. Who would ever think that the princess would turn out to be a warrior."
"There's no way you could have caught all of that on video." 'Hah I have her there,' he thought.
Apollene held out her hand, palm up and a golden orb appeared in her hand. It was glowing and when the light died down in her hand sat a small bat. "I used this. I have one in the Dark Kingdom and another floating around town. It's a robot and it can change form."
Zoisite to the robotic bat from Apollene's hand. So what she was saying about him was true, but was to stop him from going back to Beryl. 'The fact that she'll kill me if I return,' he thought dejectedly. He handed it back to her, wondering what he was to do now. "What exactly do you want from me? You must want something in return."
"Yes actually I don't want much from you. I just need your help with something, and to be truthful you gain more then I do."
"What do you mean by that," he asked. What could he possibly gain from going with her.
Apollene, even though it didn't show on her face or in the way she spoke, was a bit tired of this speech. This was the second time she had to go through this process. Once again she began asking questions that would hopefully bring up some form of memory that would help her convince him. When she said the words ' lord of the European lands' he seemed to go into a trance. His hand went to his head, holding it in pain. She watched him, waiting for his mind to come back to the present. When he finally came back to the present she asked him what he saw.
"A girl with blue hair and man in armor. He had raven hair and blue eyes. What does this mean," he asked her.
"That was a fragment of your memory. If you work with me, you'll be able to get them all back. All I ask for in return is for you to offer your help. So will you?"
He thought about it for a moment and decided to help her. Where else could he go. "I'll help you."
"Great! Oh and I have something else to tell you but first…," she stood up and walked toward him. She bent over him and unclasped the beaded necklace that was around his neck.
"What was that?"
"Something to control you just incase you got out of control," but she didn't give him any more information. She walked away from him towards the hallway and yelled up the stairs," Jadeite! Nephrite! Get down here! I need to explain something!"
'Jadeite? Nephrite? Aren't they dead. I watched that man die,' he thought. Apollene had walked back over and stood before him. "You can get off the floor and take a seat on one of the couches. I've got some explaining to do." He followed her instructions. 'She must have saved them from dieing also,' he thought.
When the other two Shittenou had come down the steps and taken a seat she began to speak. "Over the weeks I have been gone I have learned something important. I said before that by living here with me you will eventually gain your memories," she paused and looked at each of their faces making sure they were paying attention. "I have just learned that just living outside of the Dark Kingdom and an area filled with negative energy will not be enough. Instead you will have to filled with enough pure energy and not fight it." 'I'll have to visit Lord Kunzite tonight or else my entire plan will be ruined.'
A man with silver hair laid on the floor, his face covered in sweat. 'Stop it,' he thought. 'I don't want to see anymore!' Another flash of light came and he saw a girl with blonde hair, the one that plagued him in all of these visions, she was standing in front of him sword pointed to his throat, and he knew he was smiling. There wasn't any anger on her face just a smile. "You've finally defeated me," he heard himself say. The blonde merely smiled and said, "Surrender my lord. You have lost."
The image faded only to be replaced by another. This is how it had been ever since he'd returned from the fight with Sailor Moon. At first it had only been one or two but as the time passed they were coming rapidly and he felt pain in his heart, if he had one. His whole body hurt, which was why he was on the floor. He could only hope that know one came in at this time. Unfortunately, he wasn't so lucky.
A girl appeared before him. At first he thought it was the one that was in those visions but then he noticed her hair was a darker blonde and her eyes were a hazel color. She knelt beside him placed her fingers over his head. Slowly the pain began to recede and he was able to sit up straight.
"I see I made it in time. Listen to me carefully because my power won't hold the crystals power back for long. Don't fight these memories. If you do it will kill you and trust me it won't be quick."
"Why should I listen to you," he demanded. "And how did you get in here?"
"That isn't important," she hissed. "You must listen to me," but she knew that what she was saying wasn't going to get through to him. As far as he was concerned he was better off dead. As far as he knew Zoisite was dead and if he died he'd be with him and not in this place. Before he could react she had chanted something in a language unknown to him and he had unconscious, the visions filling his dreams.
When he awoke his head was pounding and he was now in a strange room. The visions from his dreams from his dreams filled his mind. 'That girl had called them memories and if what she said was true…," but he was unable to finish the thought the girl entered the room with a tray of food.
"I thought you would be awake by now. How do you feel?" She set the food down on a table across from the bed he was on and turned to him.
He looked at her suspiciously. "What did you do to me."
"I thought that would be obvious. I knocked you unconscious. It was the best way to get you to willingly accept the memories. So how much of it do you remember."
His face didn't show any of his thoughts but he answered her. "All of it."
"So I was right. Well anyways the others will be happy to hear that your ok when they return."
"What others?"
"The rest of the Shittenou. I rescued them all. Oh and before you say anything yes I know you saw 'Zoisite' die, but that wasn't really him. In truth I created a look alike. Luckily it was good enough to fool Beryl."
"Where are they," he asked , happy that the others were also alive, though it didn't show on his face.
"At D-point awaiting for Beryl's destruction and the energy that the crystal will emit once she's defeated. Unlike you they were willing to remember and I didn't have to knock them unconscious." She walked to the door, "I have a long day ahead of me, so if you would excuse me," and she left him to his thoughts. His head hung as he wondered how he could betray his liege and once soon to be wife.
AN: Konnichiwa minna. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I would like to thank the following people for reviewing
SailorSenshiSupreme0050
kimmy
and moonladyserenity
Please review and see you next chapter!