The Crystal Senshi

Savagekitty

Dedicated to those who are true senshi of the heart and spirit.

Chapter Eight

The Day of No Tomorrow

It was suppose to be Usagi and Mamoru's wedding day. They had planned it even before Caty and her friends had been found in Artemis's archives. No, today was a day mourning. Caty stood at the graveside of one of her friends, her jaw tight as she let the rain pour over her face, plastering her hair to her head and shoulders. Zien had tried to put an umbrella over her, but she wouldn't let him. She wanted the rain. She wanted it to wash away her sadness. She couldn't save Rei. She blamed herself for the death of the Fire Senshi. Usagi sat at the other side of the grave with Mamoru and Makoto. The last of the planetary senshi. Bonnie, Lauren, and Erin stood at Caty's back. Erin wasn't crying, but with this rain, it was hard to tell who was. She knew Lauren was by her whimpering. Erin never tried to hide she didn't like Rei. Now, Caty wondered how she really felt. The gravestone was pretty, granite, and set to rest next to Rei's parents, who had died when she was younger. The service came to a close and everyone shuffled off to go to the wake. Caty let Zien pull her to the car. She sat in the passenger seat, watching the water drip from her bangs onto her lap. Her glasses started to fog as Zien turned on the heater.

He looked over at her, starting the car and letting it run to warm the car up. He took her hand, squeezing it gently. A caring gesture when he didn't know how else to comfort her. So many of her friends had died. He had yet to ask how Rei had died. He knew it was in a monster attack, but the details were lost. The radio had come on and Caty looked at it as Depeche Mode's Precious wheezed from the tired stereo. She turned the radio off and wiped her glasses on her black blouse, but it only smeared the water. Zien gently took them from her fingers and wiped them with a dry handkerchief he always seemed to carry. She closed her eyes to the clean and warm smell of fabric softener, old spice, and something else she couldn't place. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, smearing her mascara. Zien passed her glasses back, "Where do you wanna go, Caty?"

She shook her head, trying to talk. She found her voice, "I don't care. Anywhere but the wake. I can't face them right now." She rested her head against the cool glass of the window as he drove out of the cemetery. They were on the highway heading to his apartment. She didn't say anything. She had been there a few times, but didn't feel comfortable staying for long periods. This had been her real first relationship, ever. So she wanted to take it slow. They had been going out for months now and had yet to have sex. Zien understood. Caty wanted to wait. What she had was precious and wanted it to be special. She was 22 now. She knew what she wanted and Zien liked that. He parked in front of his building and led Caty inside. They entered his small, but roomy apartment, removing wet coats. She sat on the overstuffed couch, folding her hands in her lap and letting her wet hair fall into her face like a curtain. Zien's apartment was small, like all apartments in Japan. He just lived there so it was basically a shoe box. His living room was also the kitchen and he had a bedroom and luckily his own bathroom. He was American, so he didn't like those apartments with communal toilets. He came out of the bathroom with two great fluffy towels and laid one gently over Caty's head. She took it, rubbing her hair, "Thanks," she said, the sound muffled by the terrycloth. He sat beside her on the couch, patting his face dry, he had changed into sweatpants and a sweatshirt that had his Boston university logo sprawled across the front.

She pulled her towel over her shoulders and looked at the floor. He looked over at her, leaning forward on his knees, "You need to talk about it."

"I know… It's hard. There's… A lot you won't understand."

"Want to try me? I've seen a lot of things in my 26 years of life."

She turned her head to him, to see if he was joking. His face was sad, making her want to know his secrets. But she had her own. She didn't want to add to that collection. She looked back at the floor and breathed in, "I feel like I've known you for years. I need to tell someone about this… its like… lets say I know how Clark Kent feels?"

Zien raised an eyebrow, "You're Supergirl?"

Caty leaned back, "Close. I…" She looked at him, "I'm Sailor Emerald."

Zien sat back also, his mouth opening a little as he blinked, "You're… Sailor… A Sailor… One of those fruit cake girls that protect the city?"

He shook his head, trying to clear that information into something he could understand, "Sailor Emerald?"

Caty nodded, "Sailor Emerald." She pulled her necklace from under her blouse. The emerald star hanging with the little smiling sun her mother had given her when she was 18. He looked at it and then into her eyes. He took her hands as she turned her body to face him, their knees touching,

"I'm so happy you felt you could trust me with this secret."

He smiled at her and she smiled back, "You don't think I'm a Looney Toney then?"

He shook his head, gripped her hands, "No."

"Zien…" She pulled at her hands, her jaw tightening as her brows furrowed, "Let go, you're hurting me."

"Hurting?"

He stood, yanking her to her feet, "Hurting you?"

"What the hell!" She felt something change in the air as she struggled. The air was thick as she blinked her tearing eyes, "Let go!" She kicked at his shins. He gripped her wrist now, she felt something tearing inside as she tried to brake his hold, "Zien, let go of me, NOW!"

Then, she saw it. His face had changed. His eyes were blazing hate now. His hair fell around his face, which wasn't the strong boned American she knew. It was softer and more feminine.

"Zoicite…" Caty breathed before she passed out.

It was dark and cold. Colder then it had been, but she knew she wasn't in Tokyo anymore. Stupid stupid girl, she shouldn't had said anything. She sat in the corner, curled up in the dark stone cell she had been tossed into. She didn't know how long it had been, but her body told her it was at least a day. She was hungry and had to go to the bathroom. Bathroom first, food later though, she thought, trying not to go mad from the quiet that closed around her. She had walked around but after she found one of Ami's earrings, she just wanted to curl up and sob. She stuck the little aquamarine earring into her pocket and sat in the corner. They had taken her necklace. She might be able to transform without it, like before. But that had been hard on her body and didn't want to risk it if she was stuck here. But it was an option if they drove her to it.

Somewhere a door opened or something shifted, she couldn't tell in the darkness. Kunzite stood in a sliver of light looking down at her. His hair glinted, silvery white. She could see his eyes filled with confusion and maybe hatred, she hadn't got good at reading people that well yet. Her arms folded over her drawn up knees, she looked up at him through the curtain of hair she used to hide her face. He wore his uniform, slightly different from the one he wore while in league with Prince Endymion. Soft gray breeches tucked into high polished black boots to his knees. A white dress shirt under a gray coat that fell past his waist. A high polished steel chain draped across his chest from one cape clasp on his left shoulder to the other. He didn't wear armor, she saw. Maybe he didn't think he needed, coming to see her. The helpless human female. She pushed her hair from her face, getting a clearer view of him, as much as the darkness would allow anyway.

"Come to see the freak show?"

He didn't say anything. Nothing to her needling remark. His face was still the stony coldness as it was every time she saw him. Except when everyone thought Erin had killed Zoicite.

"How's your lover doing?" She asked, not bothering to cover the poisoned tone of hate, "Did Amethyst make him a woman? Hm? Or could you not find anyone quite like me you had to turn to men?"

That did it. She was on her feet as he angrily pulled on her arm, gripping the bicep in a hold that would have seriously hurt her if she hadn't started working out to shape her body. His mask fell away to one of heated anger, "I don't KNOW you, but you haunt my dreams. You are the enemy!" He pushed her away and she laughed, "Boy did they do a number on YOU!" She laughed, walking in a wide circle, rubbing her sore arm. That would be a nasty bruise, she thought as she said, "You don't remember do you? "

"I remember killing Sailor Emerald on the moon. Somehow the bitch came back."

Caty snorted, rolling her eyes to the ceiling, "He calls me the bitch." She looked back at him, "My Life for Yours, Kunzite. You don't remember that? Of course you don't. I'm not surprised." She walked around him slowly, "We were lovers. Well. You and Emerald. In this time I am Catherine. Nothing can change that. I am who I am, not who I used to be." She stopped, holding her head. What was that? She didn't mean to say that. She shook it away, "On the Moon, the Silver Millennium. I was guardian. You were guardian." She shrugged, "It happened more then once. A kiss here, a night together there. Plans to be together after the Prince and Princess wed. And then you had to go and play house with Beryl." She spit at the name and came to rest with her back in her corner.

He had followed her path around him and he finally settled his eyes on her as she settled back in the corner, "Lies. I would have remembered you…Emerald. Surely."

"Not really. My memories haven't been altered."

"Mine haven't." He spat.

"Why do you dream of her then? Not those funny dreams when you fly and kiss bears, I bet." She crossed her arms, "Dreams so real you feel that real life is the dream, that you're dreaming you wake up, huh?"

He blinked at her and then turned, disappearing into the shadows. She slid down the wall and curled up again.

Was it tomorrow yet? She didn't know or could be sure. There was no time or space in this universe. She could feel it. She was ravenously hungry. How long could a person go without food? Longer then without water, she knew that. She was so thirsty it hurt to swallow, or would hurt if she could. She blinked slowly at her watch. A thick banded digital she loved and had for years. It was dead now. In this place where there was no time. Having it made her feel better, though. Like there would be time again. Time to sleep. Time to eat. Time to write and draw and talk to her friends and see Zien. No. No. Zien wasn't real. Zien was just a figment. A hoax. She thought she had it figured out. Zoicite had needed to know where they were after they all split up and used the Zien disguise to find out. Come to think about it, they weren't too smart breaking up. More people died quicker then they had before Caty and her friends had shown up. They drop like flies. Somehow that made her giggle. When Kunzite came into the room, he found her in a fit of mirth that was frightening. She looked up at him from her corner, tears streaming down her face. He smiled,

"Given up?"

She coughed and wiped her face, "You're trying to break me then? No, I just thought of something funny." She stood, trying to straighten her crumpled clothing, "I have a question though."

He waved a hand as if to say, ask away.

"Was Zoicite pretending to be my boyfriend the whole time? I mean, if he was, bully for him, he can actually pull off being a man. Didn't think he had it in him"

Kunzite straightened, his face growing red, "Why you…"

She clicked her tongue, "Tsk tsk. No striking the prisoners, if that's what you had in mind. We could cause a riot."

Kunzite put a hand over his eyes and growled, "That wasn't Zoicite… It was me."

Caty widened her eyes and put a hand to her cheek in mock surprise, "No."

He blinked at her, "What?"

She shrugged, "Yah, I knew it was you. That last surprise though, was a loo loo. I think being tired and hungry makes me think clearer... clearly...is clearer a word? I don't think so...it doesn't sound like a word." She started to walk around him in a circle, "Yah, i knew. I mean, come on. Zien Kut? That's an anagram for Kunzite, you boob. You shouldn't have spelled it, unless you meant for me to figure it out. Because if you were, you must think I'm mental retarded or something. Why was Zoicite pretending to be Zien?"

Kunzite turned his back, "He wasn't. Zoicite is dead. That was a youma Zoicite had made to look like Zien. It changed its facial features to surprise you. It had… come to call me back to the Dark Kingdom when I went into the bathroom to get us towels. It took my place."

She blinked at him, "You knew all along who I was. But you didn't give us away."

He turned, "I was taking my time."

"Time to kill each one of us off. You must find that we Guardian Senshi don't die so easily, hm?" She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes, "Bastard."

Kunzite sighed, "Well… Here then. I came to give you this." He held out his hand and she looked at him wearily as she took a small object from his hand. It was a small rose shaped earring. She blinked at it. It was pink, a delicate porcelain that was well taken care of and very old. Makoto's favorite earrings. She looked up from it, blinking at him, "You…"

Kunzite turned and was gone as Caty screamed until she couldn't breath.

Only Usagi was left. Usagi and Mamoru. Lauren, Bonnie, and Erin rallied around them as they buried another of their friends. Caty was still missing after weeks of searching. They knew she left with Zien, who had disappeared also. They had checked his apartment, finding traced of negative energy. Something fowl was in the works. The remaining senshi sat around in Artemis's shop as Usagi and Mamoru talked with the white headed advisor. Finally, Usagi turned to the others, "We need to act. If any more of us are killed… we will not be able to defeat the Dark Kingdom. With or without the Silver Crystal… we will have to face the Dark Kingdom head on."

Bonnie stood slowly, "Usagi, that's suicide."

Usagi looked at Mamoru, holding his hand for support, "It's all we can do for now."

They left the small shop and went home. Each reading themselves for what lay before them. The day seemed to never to fade into night. It was tomorrow before they each knew it, and tomorrow wanted to bring them closer to their deaths.

End Chapter Eight

The Day of No Tomorrow