Chapter Eleven

Feelings

They managed to laugh despite the difficult times. Ami was still gone with no trace, but they found some happiness in each other's company. They giggled as they watched the mysterious woman devour her lunch. The woman looked up from her sandwich, mayonnaise smeared above her lip. "What?"

Michelle faintly laughed, shoulders shaking while covering her mouth. "It's nothing." She giggled. "We've just never seen you this hungry, Trista."

"I'm eating for two, remember?" She took another bite.

Serina grabbed the cherry off the top of her ice cream sundae and licked it. "Two? It looks like you're eating for ten."

"Like you can talk, Serina!" Raye spat. Trista had looked up, but Raye had blurted out the comment before she could say anything.

"What do you mean by that?" Serina glared at Raye, but the waiter came by. "Ah, yes, I have another plate of French fries, please."

Raye rolled her eyes. "How can you even ask?"

Amara cleared her throat. "Anyway, I suppose we should get down to business."

Lita nodded and sat up in the booth. "Right. What progress have you made?"

Amara jug into her jacket pocket, and Michelle dug into her purse. Together, they each pulled out a crystal and revealed it to the others.

"Wow!" Mina exclaimed while gazing over the Planet Crystals. The crystal in Michelle's hand was a very light blue while the one in Amara's hand was a bright yellow. "Have you figured out how to use them yet?"

Michelle shook her head. "No, we have no idea."

Trista shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea either. I didn't know that was what happened to the life-force when the Rebirth happened." She sighed then moved on to her salad.

"There's so much that does make any sense." Lita pondered deeply. "We don't know how Beryl is still alive, we don't know who this Moon Prince is that they want, and we don't know where Ami is…" Lita started to choke up.

Trista looked up from her salad. "Moon Prince?"

"Yeah, the Negaverse keeps asking for some Moon Prince." Lita shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea what they're talking about."

"They want the Moon Prince?" Trista dropped her fork and stopped eating. "Of course he would have been reborn too." She covered her forehead with her hand.

"You know him?" Mina asked.

"Well, I know about him."

Serina looked over into Trista's eyes. "Trista, I don't understand. I thought I was…" She trailed off for a moment. "Who is he?"

"Back in the Silver Millennium, you had a brother…"

"A brother?" All the Sailors gasped.

Trista nodded. "Yes, a brother, but he wasn't your biological brother. He was actually your cousin."

Serina looked down to the table. "My cousin."

Trista continued. "Your cousin on your mother's side I believe. Yes, that's right. He was the son of your mother's younger sister, Princess Charity. I don't know much else except for the fact that Queen Serenity adopted him after the death of his parents."

"So that would make him a Moon Prince?" Mina asked.

"Well, he was already a Prince in his own right. He was second to the throne, only to Princess Serenity herself. In the Silver Millennium, he was actually general of the Moon Kingdom Army and the Moon's Greatest Champion."

"Do you know who he is?" Lita asked.

Trista shook her head. "I assume he was reborn just like all of you."

"So the Negaverse wants the reborn Moon Prince." Amara stated.

"But why?" Serina asked. "I don't understand why they're obsessed with finding him? What good is he for them?"

"I don't know," Trista said.

Serina rubbed her temples. "None of this makes any sense."

The four Generals had been called into the courtroom. They stood silently as Beryl hovered over the pool in the center of the room—her back turned to them and tension filling the air. They waited, pain staking moment after moment for her to move, but she did nothing.

"Queen Beryl, why did you call us here?" Azariah stepped forward, walking straight up to Beryl.

The Generals jumped in surprise as the dark Queen spun around and grabbed a hold of Azariah's neck. She lifted the Fire General off the ground and dug her long nails into the girl's neck.

"My…my…Q…Q…Queen…ah…" Azariah barely gasped. "P…Pl…Pl…Please!"

The rest of the court stood silently. A mix of pleasure and fear washed over the rest of the generals. Of course they hated Azariah, but knowing that Beryl could turn her rage against them made their hearts pound.

The Fire General started to turn purple in the face from the lack of oxygen. She coughed and choked hard while kicking her legs.

"Your majesty, perhaps you shouldn't do that." Alexandrite spoke up. "After all, our plans are not complete yet."

Beryl squeezed harder then threw the girl to the ground. "My plans will never be accomplished with incompetent fools such as this! Did you think you'd get away with it?"

Azariah looked up at the Queen, gasping for air.

"SAILOR MARS IS STILL ALIVE!" Beryl screamed, making the cave shake. She kicked Azariah in the stomach, making the girl cough even more. "You lied to me! And liars shall be punished severely!" Beryl motioned to the guards. "Take her to the Pit!"

The guards grabbed the Fire General and dragged her weak body of the room.

"A few days in there should straighten her out."

The Generals stood hesitant. Kaiba bit his lip while he pondered. The Pit was the worst torture imaginable. Kaiba glanced over at Kanejiro, the possessed General. Kanejiro's condition was the result of the Pit. The thoughts even made him shutter.

"Alexandrite!" The Queen hollered.

"Yes, Majesty?"

"You will be sent into battle next. Strategize and plan. I want the Moon Prince, and I want Sailor Mars dead."

Alexandrite bowed. "Yes, majesty."

"Go now."

The General of Wind bowed and made her exit from the room. The Possessed General left behind her, leaving Beryl and the Ice General alone in the courtroom. Kaiba looked to the floor. Spattered drops of blood rested on the floor from Azariah's wounds to her neck. The dark Queen ignored his presence and turned back to the opal colored waters.

Kaiba stepped forward. "Queen Beryl, I…"

"Do you know why these things are important, Kaiba?" She asked, gazing deeply into the water.

"They ensure the survival of the Negaverse—of you, Queen Beryl."

"Exactly! And I wonder if your failures reflect on your attitude towards me…"

"My Queen, I would never!" Kaiba interrupted, which clearly annoyed the Queen.

"Azariah lied to me. Sailor Mars is still alive."

"I am not Azariah, my Queen. I wouldn't lie to you."

"Good." The dark Queen looked to her side to see her apprentice standing next to her. "I'm glad to see we have an understanding between us."

Kaiba nodded. "In that respect, would you tell me the truth?"

The Queen gazed on him, interested. "And what would that be?"

"Who am I? Where did I come from?" Kaiba looked into the pool. "What is my name?"

The Queen looked away. She pondered silently for a few moments then sighed. "You don't have a name-only what I gave you. You are a creation of the Negaverse. No soul, conscious, or spirit—you are a machine only created to kill."

Kaiba shook his head. "Yes, I know that, but I don't understand. Why do I have these feelings, these urges…"

The Queen jerked her head towards Kaiba. "Feelings?"

"I…I…mean…not feelings…no I…" Kaiba shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm imagining things."

"Understandable you want to mimic the humans around you. You've been spending too much time in the mortal world. It's obviously not been good for you."

"Perhaps you're right." Kaiba nodded.

"I am right." Queen Beryl kept her eyes on the pool. "Go to your room and sleep. Then when you feel better, go execute a few prisoners and see how you feel."

"Yes, thank you, your majesty." Kaiba bowed and exited the room.

The old Queen pondered hard for a few moments. "Guard!"

One of the guards walked over from the entrance of the courtroom. "Yes, Queen?"

"Watch General Kaiba closely for the next few days."

"Yes, My Queen, and what if your suspicions are correct?"

The Queen thought to herself for a moment. "Then we'll just have to throw him in the pit too."

Meanwhile, Ami quickly scurried around the room looking for supplies. If she had any chance to escape, it would be now. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest, but her fears came true when the door screeched open. She dropped her bag and hit behind the ice stalagmites in the room. Again, the man came into the room furiously punching and kicking the walls. With every blow into the ice wall, he would scream and moan. Frequently, he would grab his head then in frustration hit something else.

She peeked out from the ice wall and watched the tortured man. Instead of fear, sympathy ached in her heart. "What is wrong with him? Why is he acting like this?" She wondered to herself. Compassion gripped her heart even more. "What happened to him?" She kept watching silently as he completely destroyed the bedroom. Another scream escaped his mouth, and he punched the ice wall as hard as he could. He screamed again. His arm had gone through the wall and the sharp jagged ice cut his arm, but he couldn't feel the pain. He pulled his arm out of the wall and moaned again.

Without thinking, the Sailor stepped out from her hiding position and timidly walked out into the light. She gazed at the wounded man for a few seconds—he hadn't noticed her yet, then she spoke. "Are you alright?"

He uncovered his face with his hands and looked at the girl. He slowly held out his bleeding arm. "Why can't I just feel something?" He fell to the ground and cracked his head into the wall. "Why?"

Ami rushed down to his side and grabbed a hold of his arm. "Come on now. Let me see this. You've hurt yourself badly."

He sat silently as the girl started to work on cleaning the deep cuts on his arm. She held down cloth on them to keep them from bleeding anymore.

They had sat in silence for many hours after she had wrapped his wounds. He merely sat on the floor in the same position starting in wonder at his wrapped arm. She was on the floor too—at first she was next to him, but after time had passed, she was slowly backing up from him.

She bit her lip. Over and over she practiced how to say one little sentence, but she couldn't manage to speak. Finally, she gulped and opened her mouth. "How is your arm?"

He looked at it, gazing over the wrapping. "It's fine, Mizuno-san. Thank you."

"You remember me?"

"Of course. How could I forget the worst student I ever taught?" He looked over at her with a smirk on his face. She couldn't help but laugh. A laugh—how she hadn't laughed in what seemed like weeks. She stopped herself in shame. Fraternizing with the enemy? She should have let him hurt himself. Perhaps he would have died, and she could have escaped. She shook her head. "No, that isn't the Sailor way. I must always be honorable," She thought to herself.

"Do you wish me dead?" Kaiba spoke up.

Ami jumped. "No,"

"Your thoughts are an open book to me."

"You can read minds?" Ami asked, hesitantly.

Kaiba shook his head. "Almost, but not quite." He looked back over at her. "I can sense your feelings, but not the exact dialogue in your mind."

"But you can control my mind, can't you?"

"No, only the weak minded."

She gulped again and spoke weakly, barely finding the strength to utter the words. "What did you do to me when we were alone in the classroom?"

He looked her in the eye for a few moments. "I read your soul."

The answer almost wanted to make her cry. Remembering the misery it caused her, she bit her lip to keep from crying. "Why did you do that to me?" Her efforts were of no avail, tears poured from her eyes. "Did you realize it hurt me? It hurt me more than anything in the entire world?" He looked away—she wondered if it was guilt, but continued to press him with her eyes for an answer.

While he looked away, he pondered deeply for an answer. "It only hurt because you have never let anyone into your soul before."

"What are you talking about?"

"You've never learned to love or to trust anyone enough to let them into the deepest part of your soul. Your heart is walled like a fortress, and letting someone in is painful."

"And what makes you think you had the right to force yourself into that place?" Ami asked, tears pouring down her cheeks and anger seething in her voice.

Kaiba looked over with a smirk—his arrogance made her even more irate. "Expressing your true emotions will be your first step."

Her anger slightly relented. He was right. She expressed her anger to anyone, and now here she was, venting her anger to someone. "Why did you kidnap me and bring me to the Negaverse?" She paused for a moment to reflect then she looked back to him. "And why did you save me from the guards?"

He was silent for a few moments. "Because I feel something when you're around."

"Feel something? What do you mean?"

"I always feel so cold and empty, but when you're around…" He looked at her. "I feel calmed. I feel peace. It's like a storm that subsides when you're around."

"I don't understand." Ami shook her head. "I have friends, family, a life back on Earth. I can't be here with you! I don't want to be here with you!"

Kaiba looked to his feet. "Your relationship with your mother is lacking, your friends don't understand you, people think you're stuck up, and that loser boy you like isn't man enough…"

"That's enough!" Ami snapped, angry that he knew those things. "You have no right to snoop into my life!"

"Those are things I just observed." He shook his shoulders. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"Just stop! Stop pretending like I should feel sorry for you!" Ami stood up off the ground. "The Negaverse tried to kill Raye, you've attacked innocent people like Shoji and Daita, and…and…you're nothing but pure evil!"

The Ice General sat silently for a few moments. He stared at the palms of his hands. "Yes, I am a monster."

Wishing she wouldn't have been so harsh, she thought of kinder words to say but nothing could come to mind to erase the blow. "Look, I'm sorry…I…"

"I have shed so much blood. It screams at me—haunting me in my dreams nightly. I'm supposed to kill—kill unmercifully, without hesitation, but I…" He paused for a few moments. "I'm supposed to be evil and heartless, but why do I feel the guilt about to swallow me whole?" He paused again. "I never used to feel this way. I was just always cold and empty, but now I feel it—guilt, remorse, shame."

"When did you start feeling like this?"

He looked up. "When I met you."

"Those aren't exactly good feelings, you know."

He looked at her with intensity and passion, as almost as if he were going to cry. "But they are feelings. All my life I thought I was born to kill—that I merely existed for destruction, but when I met you, I felt guilt and remorse for the things I have done. If I truly am a killer, then I should have no regret for my nature—for what I was created for. But since I do, then I must not be what I thought I was. I must be something else…" He paused. "Maybe I'm good."

Ami pondered at the General's logic. Were we not all created for a specific reason? Wasn't destiny written in Heaven? She looked over at the General. "You're right. All are called to live lives of good, not evil."

They sat in silence for a few moments. As she reflected, tears started to come to her eyes again. After a few moments, the General noticed the small trickles she tried to hide from him. "What is wrong?" He already knew, but figured it would be better to ask.

"Yes, my relationship with my mother is strained, but I still love her. I miss her more than anything." The tears streamed. "I miss my friends."

"The Sailor Scouts."

She nodded. "Yes."

Kaiba leaned his head back again the wall. The dark blue locks of hair fell over his face. He closed his bright blue eyes and thought for a few moments. Ami kept her eyes on him. He looked different now. What was once her nemesis, her torturer, seemed so different than before. As she stared at the man, she scolded herself for her thoughts and shook her head.

He opened his eyes and gently turned his head toward her, locking his eyes with hers. "Mizuno-san, I shall take you home."

"Home? You'll take me back to Earth?"

He nodded.

"But, I don't have my Sailor pen."

"I'll get it."

"How?"

Kaiba sighed. "I'll have to steal it."

"From Beryl?" Ami gasped. "If she finds you, she'll kill you."

Kaiba shrugged his shoulders.

"Kaiba," She uttered his name.