Hey there, back again.
Sorry, sorry, sorry for the super long wait. Midterms and essays crept up on me in the way that you tend to ignore them until they're glaring at you behind your back.
I just want to say that over the weekend I downloaded Whisper of the Heart directed by Hayao Miyazaki. For those awesome people that know who he is and have seen some of his unimaginably great works please watch that movie if you already haven't. I'm just a little bit obsessed with it right now. But I digress...
Back to the story... HERE COME THE GENERALS!
"Holy freaking crap it is cold."
The echo of Usagi's obvious statement bounced around the cold and dark room. Not a ray of light was penetrating any of the walls. She was cut-off now just as she had been when she came there before...except this time it was pitch black too. Deciding not being able to see was her top priority, Usagi opened the bag that was strapped to her back and produced a compact flashlight. Fumbling for an awkward moment, light suddenly blared in the room. Her shoulders relaxed slightly upon knowing she could now see what was around her.
Usagi swung her head and the flashlight around to take in the giant cavern that she had appeared in. It had been years since she had been here; not that she was counting. How could she? This was the place that saw the demise of her scouts, her boyfriend, and almost the Earth itself. Now she was back because of another demise to her scouts, her boyfriend, and possibly the Earth...again.
Usagi took a deep breath. She was past that now. It was just another hurdle; a big, ugly, scarier-than-death hurdle that she had managed to overcome. "That's right," she whispered more to herself than the cavern, "I kicked your ass once, and in a few weeks my foot will have a reunion with said ass once more."
The drip of water somewhere in the dark recesses was the only response. Sensing a shiver creeping up, Usagi decided it was enough talk, and she needed to start moving around.
Shining light across the whole cavern, Usagi located an archway that led to another room. 'Good as any place to start' she thought while shrugging her shoulders.
The first feature she noted was the throne. It sat alone on a pedestal which barely came off the ground. Usagi crept closer. Once again, dark thoughts entered her mind of her old battle. She could have sworn she heard the faint echo of Beryl's laughter radiating from the darkness. 'She's gone. I destroyed her. She's gone. I destroyed her.' She chanted.
Usagi moved her gaze from the throne and took in the throne room. "Now if I was something that Beryl wanted locked up, where would I be?" Her question had her checking everywhere, but it was impossible to know. She never knew of Beryl to hide anything.
Usagi closed her eyes. If Beryl had hidden it, there was no sense in looking. Usagi knew very little about this place, and finding a hiding spot was not likely to happen. She would have to feel her way to them. The immediate sense of feeling closed in crushed upon her. Her heart was beating quickly. Faint traces of evil were pushing at her focus; evil still lingering after Beryl had long gone.
Taking a deep breath, Usagi focused on the men she was supposed to find. They were here somewhere. The four men that would help find her scouts and save the world. Her mind briefly focused on the girls still lying in Mamoru's apartment. Although she couldn't sense them, she could remember what it felt like to sense them. 7 years constantly battling with her best friends had engraved them into her mind. A flicker of something broke her concentration.
Usagi focused on the faint beat that pulsed to her right. It was a light feeling beat; almost similar to her scouts but deeper; more masculine. Opening her eyes, Usagi flicked the flashlight towards the pulse. A smaller archway grew out of the shadows. Usagi walked to it, but didn't stare around; instead, she stared down. It was a staircase. Taking a gulp, she put one foot after the other.
The staircase took her quite awhile to walk down. As Usagi reached the bottom, she could feel sweat tickling her armpits and feet. Knowing her snow suit had taken her as far as she could bear to wear it, and having the feeling she was closing in, Usagi decided it was time to power up.
"Moon Eternal Power!"
Bright lights and feathers danced around the basement for several moments before fluttering away into the dark. Left behind was Eternal Sailor Moon.
The moon power she felt coursing through her body immediately put her at ease. It also strengthened the tug she felt pulling her heart into the darkness in front of her.
The click of her high heels, and the light from the flash light bounced around the room, but the click stopped as Sailor Moon did.
In front of her was a small pedestal table made out of glass. The light shown on it, bouncing the reflections in random angles, but what held onto the light were the 4 small stones nestled together in the middle.
Sailor Moon walked up curiously.
She could feel the tug pulsing from the rocks, and she picked them up still unsure about just what she was staring at. Each rock glittered faintly in varieties of green except for one which stood out as pale lavender. Turning them over in her hands, Sailor Moon looked for any other markings, but the only thing noted was that they felt warm to the touch.
'This has to be what Luna was talking about.' She thought dramatically while remembering Luna's words about the Generals being in a caged form.
Setting the rocks back on the pedestal, Sailor Moon pulled out her moon wand.
Pointing the crystal covered rod at the rocks, she muttered the healing words.
"Moon Healing Escalation"
The silver and pink dust floated onto the rocks coating them. As Sailor Moon watched, the dust slowly vanished as it was absorbed into the stones. When the last fleck vanished from sight, the rocks glowed brightly and began to vibrate.
Sailor Moon stepped back as the light expanded to encompass the whole room, and she shielded her eyes. As the shaking began to subside, sudden shouts emanating in the room made her throw her eyes open.
Lying face up with the small flat of the dias poking into his back was a man with long, brown hair. Groaning loudly at the awkward and painful position he was in, the man rolled sideways and yelled again as he crashed to the floor and on top of two other men.
"Get the fuck off me dummy" Growled a man with long, silver looking hair while he shoved the fallen man off of his chest.
A shout from where the brown haired man had fallen indicated another person being abused, "Don't push him on me" Mumbled another, smaller man who attempted to push the brown haired man off of him. "Geez Neph, how much did you put on? You weigh a mega-ton."
"Shut-up pint size. Last I checked, it was pretty hard to gain weight inside a rock. It is possible to get dumber, like you're clearly demonstrating."
The smaller man punched the man after the rude comment, but kept silent as he refused to argue below himself. The silver-haired man kept a glare on his face as he surveyed the argument. A millennia stuck inside a rock with only 4 people to speak to had really gotten on his nerves. He stood up and dusted his shoulders. "Nephlite, even if Zoicite did happen to look some of his intelligence, which" he spoke louder, already seeing Nephlite go to make another smart-ass comment, "is extremely unlikely, he would still be kicking your dumb ass in the quiz category."
A laugh broke out from behind the men, and the three turned to see a woman surveying the scene with a smile on her face. The sudden attention towards her slipped the smile off of her face.
"Sorry to interrupt. I'm just... I'm not used to you guys being so... un-evil."
All three men stared at her blankly for several quiet, awkward minutes.
Sailor Moon stared back just as awkwardly.
The sounds of water dripping down from the ceilings echoed loudly and shook the four out of their stupor.
Immediately, the three men kneeled and stared at the ground. "Your highness."
Sailor Moon blinked repeatedly at the scene before her. "Uh, what are you doing?"
The silver-haired man's head raised up, "We bow to our princess."
An awkward laugh came out from the woman. "Haha... yeah. I'm not really... you guys don't need to... ummm this isn't the time that you think, so I'm not your princess... yet."
At this, all the shittenou raised their heads slowly and came to their feet. The brown-haired man came forward, "What exactly happened while we were gone?"
"You mean you don't know?"
Nephlite shook his head, "None of us do. The last we can remember about being in the world was the battle erupting on the moon. From then, we've been trapped in the stones."
"How exactly is it that you aren't questioning who we are? You seem to be familiar with us, yet you claim this is another lifetime, and we've been locked away." Said Zoicite.
Sailor Moon bit her lip. 'They don't know what happened to themselves' she thought nervously. 'How can I tell them what they did?' "Well, I just uh... I remember you guys from the Silver Millenium, but speaking of which... we need to get going. Lots of work to do and battles to be won."
The shittenou stared at each other. "We can't leave without Jedeite."
"Oh yeah..." said Sailor Moon. "How come he wasn't revived along with you guys? I had his stone placed with the rest of yours."
None could answer her question. Instead, Sailor Moon walked past them to the pedestal where the rocks had fallen onto. Picking up each stone, she noted that three of them no longer hummed with the warm energy from before. The last stone did. Sailor Moon showed the stones to the shittenou.
"These were where you I found you guys. All of them are now dormant except for this green one."
The shittennou each picked up a stone and analyzed it while Sailor Moon stared at Jedeite's. 'He must still be locked inside.' She thought, 'but why?'
"I'll try it again. Maybe this time it will work." Muttered Sailor Moon.
She set the stone back on the pedestal.
"Moon Healing Escalation"
The dust floated down, and, once again, the stone absorbed it, but it didn't glow.
Sailor Moon frowned. 'What is wrong with this stupid rock?' Nephlite seemed to agree with her train of thought since he stormed up to the pedestal and grabbed the rock. "What the hell do you think you're doing in there, Jedeite? Get your scrawny, lazy, foul smelling ass out of there RIGHT NOW"
The last part of Nephlite's sentence echoed in the room. Sailor Moon could hear Zoicite mumbling to Nephlite that yelling at a rock wouldn't change much, but she stopped paying attention when Nephlite chucked the rock into the darkness with a scream of frustration.
Kunzite stormed up and grabbed Nephlite by the collar, "Idiot! Over a thousand years, and you still won't drop your damn bickering with Jedeite. Stop hindering the princess and start looking for that rock."
All four of them soon fanned out in the general direction Nephlite had thrown the rock. It was quite hard to depict which rock was correct since A) it was pretty dark despite Sailor Moon's flashlight was the only source of light and B) there were rocks all over the cave bottom.
Sailor Moon stood still, and waited for the tug to pull her in the right direction. It pulled her across the room to a dark corner.
Pointing the flash light into the darkness, the light reflected back at her instantly.
'Ice?' Sailor Moon thought quizzically. 'Why would a random corner be covered in ice?'
Stepping up, she felt the wall, but her hands did not get the shivers of ice. It had the look, but not the feel. She shone her flashlight directly into the glass.
Jedeite's body stared back at her with a frozen look of fear.
"What do you mean we're leaving now? What about Jedeite?"
Sailor Moon glanced back at the corner before answering Nephlite, "I have to get you guys back to Tokyo. I'm coming straight back for Jedeite, but I need to be alone to retrieve him."
The men looked at each other, but the stern glance from Kunzite showed that there would be no arguments. "Very well."
"Everyone hold hands." Sailor Moon said as she reached out for Zoicite and Kunzite. The group became a circle, and Sailor Moon tuned in to the crystal. Calling on it more strongly than normal in order to bear the extra persons, she waited until she felt the tug pulling tightly before shouting the phrase.
"Sailor Teleport"
They landed in the living room of Mamoru's apartment. A quick glance from Sailor Moon showed that the girls were in the bedrooms. She didn't want the men seeing them just yet; too much happening.
"Luna, Artemis."
The cats ran in from down the hallway.
"Usagi, Oh I'm so glad you're back. How was it? Are you okay?" Luna questioned per usual.
Sailor Moon smiled and nodded that she was fine, but she side stepped in order to show the cats who she had brought back.
The 3 turned to see the men staring out of Mamoru's balcony door at the modern city of Tokyo in amazement. Upon hearing the small cough from Sailor Moon to get their attention, they turned around.
"Usagi, where's Jedeite?" Artemis questioned.
"Holy shit that animal spoke." Nephlite gasped.
"Amazing" stated Zoicite.
Kunzite just stared.
"Oh yeah, um this is Artemis" she pointed to the white feline, "and this is Luna." She repeated to the black cat.
"Pleasure to meet you all aga- uh, gentlemen." Luna said as she walked towards them.
Sailor Moon bit her lip at Luna's almost slip. It wasn't the time to tell them about their other selves that had been taking over Tokyo years ago; just another secret on the list. As she heard Luna go into her speech about telling an blurred version of what had happened and is happening, she remembered that she had to go back.
"Luna, I have to go back to get Jedeite. There was a complication, but I'll be back soon. Can you take care of them, and get them sorted out?"
Luna nodded, "Be safe."
Sailor Moon nodded and transported back.
She stood in front of the blockage with a puzzled look on her face. Her flashlight was hovering over the imprisoned man's horrified face. 'Beryl did this to him... probably unsuspectingly.' She thought sadly. His arms were raised as if to protect himself from her magics. 'Cowardly woman' she thought disgracefully. 'Breaking those men, and turning them into beasts for her army.' She stepped forward and stared more intently at the man.
'This must be right after he failed for the last time. Beryl had had enough of his attempts by then. I guess, if he was frozen right after the battle, this must be Jedeite's evil split half.' Her look at the uniform confirmed that nothing had changed on him since the last day she had seen him. 'I guess his stone didn't activate since he wasn't technically 'whole' yet.'
'Well' Sailor Moon pulled out her moon wand. 'Third time's the charm.'
"Moon healing escalation"
Once again, the dust floated across the block, but it didn't absorb as quickly as the rocks had. Sailor Moon could feel the echo of Beryl's curse reverberating back to her. She steeled herself even more.
The dust began to soak in, and the block began to vibrate. The echoing sound of Beryl's haunting screams echoed in her head. Remembering the evil witch for what she was, and all that she represented, the beam from her moon wand intensified. Within seconds, the block glowed brightly and began to dissolve.
When the light died down, Sailor Moon looked, but no evidence was even there that the block existed. No chips, no water, and no body.
As Sailor Moon walked around, trying to locate rock that Jedeite should be in, the sound of another rock being kicked broke her concentration.
"Who's there?" she shouted into the darkness.
The beam of her flashlight was beginning to fade, and it was difficult to breach the faraway darkness. No one answered back.
"Is anyone there?"
Again no answer, but the pinpricks on the back of her neck told Sailor Moon that she was not alone.
Tucking her wand away, Sailor Moon stood still as she waited for a hint of direction. It came soon. The quick scuffle of running feet came from her left. Something slammed into her quickly and heavily.
Her breath left her body momentarily, and she swung her head dizzily. The heavy breathing of what could only be a youma drifted in the dark. Sailor Moon got to her feet, but gripped the wall to gain her sense of direction.
"What do you want?" she said.
The running came again, but she reacted too slowly again. This time, a slash was felt across her cheek. Sailor Moon caught her cheek in defence, feeling the flowing heat that could only be blood.
"Your death" Came the reply now to her right.
Sailor Moon laughed. "Get in line. You're not the first, and you won't be the last. I have much bigger fish to fry."
"He has sent me."
Sailor Moon pondered what that meant. "Who's 'he'?"
"The one that will soon be taking over this world."
"Pyrite." She said with disdain.
"Correct. My master has sent me to ensure his victory by taking care of a few minor things, but it appears that you have come to hinder them. In order to follow through with his orders, I must destroy you."
Sailor Moon listened half-heartedly as she was busy getting a lock on where the voice was coming from. "Why would he need you to come here? Watching over an empty cavern seems like babysitting type material to me."
"It is an honour. I will ensure the Dark Moon's victory by destroying Earth's first and last hope. Despite the silence that had reined over the Earth's gods, my master felt it necessary to ensure that that silence remains for eternity."
'What the hell is she talking about?' Sailor Moon thought. She was pretty sure the youma was to her left, but she wanted to judge the distance. Her first attack could be her last in this darkness. "Well I know about being a babysitter, and trust me, you're being one. Sorry to have stolen your task, but I need it, and you're not having it back."
A growl sounded to her left just a few steps away. Perfect.
Sailor Moon swung her right leg around hoping to hit the youma in the face. The smack of her foot connecting with a body confirmed her action. Turning around and swinging her left leg now, she sought to deliver another one.
The youma grabbed her leg, used the momentum, and tossed Sailor Moon across the room. Sailor Moon smashed into the floor hard. Rolling over, she went to get up, but the youma had landed on top of her, pinning her arms at the elbow and holding them above her head.
The hot, putrid breath of the youma stung her nostrils. Her eyes began to water at the pain. Sailor Moon struggled, but the weight alone of the youma held her whole body down completely. She was stuck.
"I would love to present you to my master. I'm sure he would enjoy seeing the light fade from your eyes, just as I am about to, but time is of the essence."
"Well you sure seem to be taking your damn time!" Sailor Moon spat out. The youma had pushed her down further, and a rock under her back was pushing into her spine. She squirmed again to try and dislodge it, but all she managed to do was bring her hands closer to her head.
"Fine then" the youma gloated. Letting go of her captive's hands, she quickly brought them around Sailor Moon's neck quickly and harshly.
Sailor Moon felt the huge urge to heave as the lack of oxygen registered in her head. She grabbed at the arms, but the angle she was at didn't allow her pry them off.
The youma breathed more hot air into its captive's face. The body of this enemy will grant her eternal life with her master. Never again would she have to fear her death. As she felt the mirth bubble up inside her, she also felt the vibrations humming from her victim's throat.
"A last word?"
More vibrations ticked her hands.
The youma leaned in closer despite the darkness blocking her victim's face; she wanted to hear death claim her. Slightly releasing the intensity of her grip, the youma awaited the final words of the warrior below her.
"Speak"
"Mmm Rrrrrrr Nnnnn"
The youman lessened her grip once more, but not enough to let the victim shove her hands away. "Let's try this again, weakling. Quickly before you die."
"I... said... Moon Tiara Action"
A light emitted from underneath her. The youma's eyes widened.
Sailor Moon felt the heat radiate from her forehead. The light strengthened so much, that she made out the horrified facial expression of the youma just before the tiara flung from its resting place and into the body above her. The scream echoed around the cavern then quickly died out as it disappeared.
Sailor Moon relaxed her body as the danger dissipated. Her right hand hung limply on her forehead where she had released the tiara earlier. Taking in deep breaths, she calmed her heart down. 'Thank the Goddess above'.
The tiara came back to her, but the light did not fade. Sailor Moon held it in her hands and sat up. Glancing behind her with the light of the tiara, she picked up the rock that was digging into her back. It hummed as she picked it up.
Her eyes widened as she realized fate had actually tossed her a bone. "Thank you" she said to no one in particular before picking up the stone and quickly transporting home.
Usagi flung herself onto the kitchen bar stool the second she had landed in the apartment. Immediately, her mentors and the three shittenou had gathered around her. Luna looked up with worried eyes at the utterly spent figure in front of her.
"Don't worry, Luna. I just had a guest to greet first."
"Oh thank the stars. You never should have gone back alone though."
Usagi smiled. "Yes, I've heard that before, but I'm still here aren't I? Besides, lookie what I got?"
She pulled the stone out and placed it on the kitchen bar.
Everyone gathered around and stared.
"Are we sure this is the one?" Artemis questioned.
Usagi nodded, "Yepp. I can feel the energies in it."
Both felines stared at each other then nodded together. "Alright then" Luna said, "let us be done with it."
The three men stepped back with curious looks on their faces as Usagi stood up and pulled out her moon wand. Waving it over the stone with the incantation said, the rock vibrated and lit just like the others had. The light shot out into the room, and everyone shielded their eyes.
A moment later, the shout of a man sounded, and everyone looked back. There, on the counter, sat Jedeite in all his blonde glory staring right back.
Everyone was silent for a moment before Luna cleared her small throat and stepped forward. "Welcome Jedeite."
Jedeite didn't move, but instead stared at the shittenou with a huge glare. Luna looked between the two before trying again. "I, um, I know that you might be a little, well, frazzled at the moment, but everything will be explained shortly. I should introduce you to everyone. I am Lu-"
The cat was cut off as Jedeite leapt from the bar and tackled down Nephlite.
"You asshole!" he cried as he wrestled with the other on the carpet. Both seemed to be fairly even.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Nephlite struggled out. He wrapped his leg around Jedeite's waist and flipped the two around, now sitting on top.
"I called you an asshole. You left me alone in that stupid, black abyss."
Zoicite went to step forward, but Kunzite held him back. "Why are you taking it out on Nephlite if we all are to blame?" Kunzite questioned.
Jedeite growled in anger. His struggle with Nephlite was too much since he had just came out of his small prison. He gave up.
"Nephlite was the last one that was talking to me before you all vanished. I was talking to myself for twenty god-damn minutes before I realised you were gone."
Nephlite leaned back and stared at Jedeite before erupting in laughter. "Ah you stupid idiot. How I wish I was there."
Jedeite mumbled and pushed Nephlite off of him. Kunzite and Zoicite stepped up to the two. Kunzite crossed his arms in his usual trademark style. "This is the real world again, Jedeite. It's been awhile since you've been back to Earth, so let me tell you that you're going to die if you keep up your childish games."
Jedeite glanced down in embarrassment.
The dirty-haired blonde standing beside Kunzite held his hand out to Jedeite. "Or at least upgrade your games to middle school age."
Jedeite grinned and accepted the hand.
Standing up, the four men clasped backs and laughed. "How the hell did we manage this?" Jedeite laughed out.
"We didn't." Kunzite stated.
Jedeite laughed again, "Well who cares. We're free from an imprisonment with no food, no drink, and no women. Let's celebrate."
The men smiled but didn't answer. Instead, they turned to glance at Usagi.
Jedeite looked and gave a big smile. "Hello, beautiful."
Usagi pursed her lips. It felt awkward considering her first major enemy was now flirting with her. Instead, she gave a weak, lopsided smile. "Hi."
Jedeite grinned and went to walk forward, but Kunzite grabbed the back on his tunic and held him back.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Nephlite laughed. "Did you leave your brain behind in the abyss as well as your maturity?"
Jedeite glared at him.
Nephlite walked forward to stand beside Usagi. "You just made a move on your King's lover."
Jedeite blanched as he stared at Usagi and made the connection. He kneeled quickly and suddenly. "Your highness, I had misplaced myself. Please forgive me."
The now even more surprised Usagi looked down at Luna for direction. She had not been queen in her lifetime.
Once again, Luna took the initiative. "Jedeite," she said softly as she stepped in front of the kneeling man, "although you remember her as a princess, this is a different lifetime."
Jedeite's head popped up at the statement. Silence ensued for several minutes until he finally spoke.
"Is that a youma?"