First and foremost, I must thank all the people who have given The Winning
Losers very positive encouragement. Without you, this story would never
have gotten as far as it has. Thank you. You give me much inspiration!
And for those who have sent me flames...I wish that I could say 'I'm sorry,' but I can't apologize for my sense of humor...blame the influence of my family...
Gassy2: I couldn't ask for a better beta-reader!
PrincessRei-PrinceJed and uasgirl: Thanks for making me a favorite author!
Trupana: Many thanks to you too!
What pen name are you under, V-babe? I tried to look you up but I couldn't find you.
Author's Notes: This is it, kids...the last chapter of The Winning Losers set in the past! It took a very long time (don't hurt me!), but be glad, because all chapters after are set in the present.
K.Wyse- I really shouldn't assume the reader will know what I'm thinking at the time I'm writing, huh? That's one of my bad habits. I wasn't quite clear when I was describing Kunzite's situation...I'll make sure to make a reference to this in this chapter. Thanks for the suggestion!
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or any of its rights, but I do own three DVDs of the S season! God, I have no life. *-_-
' denotes thought
AN: =author's notes
denotes mental messages
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The Winning Losers
Chapter 9: Good Riddance!
**Past continued**
"Careful with that pocketknife!" cried Jadeite as Nephrite, Kunzite, Endymion, and Zoisite were cutting their friend loose from the willow branches.
"Shut up, Jed. Be thankful we even answered your mental distress cry," retorted Nephrite.
"Stop moving around!" ordered Zoisite. "Or else I'll 'accidentally' cut you on purpose!"
Kunzite was shaking his head in shame. "I can't believe you walked into her trap! How could you accept the invitation without calling us for backup first? A Shittenou should know better!"
Unfortunately for Jadeite, his leg was still tied down, so he couldn't kick Kunzite. "You shouldn't be talking Mr. I-got-my-hair- prematurely-white-because-I-picked-on-girl."
"Go to hell, tree boy!"
"Too late, I'm already there!"
The argument was getting on Endymion's last nerve. "Would the both of you just shut your mouths? All four of you have given me and Usa...Princess Serenity too much to worry about. Are you happy now? Be glad that you haven't started an intergalactic war by now."
"That's a low blow, Endy," Nephrite said. "You haven't been in our places. Those Senshi girls haven't tortured you. You were lucky!"
"Yeah!" agreed Zoisite. "Your vacation wasn't a nightmare like ours has been so far. You got to play with a kind-hearted princess, and who do we get stuck with? The four witches of the Apocalypse!"
"Alright! I get the point," surrendered Endymion. "First, you guys are fighting each other, the next you all gang up on me. I give up."
Snap! Endymion cut the very last willow branch, and Jadeite fell forward, smacking his face into one of the tree's roots. "I really don't like this tree," came his muffled complaint as he spit chunks of soil out of his mouth. "And look! I'm gonna have bruises on my wrists and ankles for a long time."
"You guys asked for it," pointed out Endymion. "Cousin Rei is very loyal to her friends. Mess with one of them and suffer her wrath. Two wrongs don't make a right, but you guys really did push it this time."
"Traitor," growled the rest of the group.
"This traitor just ordered more clothes from Earth for you guys. It should be delivered up to your rooms in an hour."
But clothes were the last things on Jadeite's mind. During his time wrapped up against the Great Willow Tree, he had already started plotting his retaliation.
"Good afternoon, Rei-ko," greeted Phobos as Rei was about to enter her room.
"Hi Phobos!" Rei replied cheerily.
"I see you are ridiculously happy."
Rei smiled. "Yes, very much."
"You've been bad today, haven't you?"
"Sometimes Phobos, playing nice will only get you stepped on."
"If your parents knew how I was taking care of you, they'd have my head."
"But that's why I love you! You understand me."
Phobos sighed. "You're such a handful sometimes. Anyways, your friends are inside the room waiting for you."
"Okay. Thanks Phobos."
Before Rei could even turn the doorknob, Makoto opened the door from inside and quickly grabbed Rei into the room. Phobos could only laugh and continue her business.
"Alright," began Makoto, "now spill."
Ami, Minako, and Usagi were sitting around the low table eating cookies and drinking milk.
"We've been waiting for you to return forever! We want to hear it all."
"I'm just here for the cookies," said Usagi.
"Phobos?" called Rei. "Could you bring us some more cookies and milk? This is going to take a while..."
The girls listened intently to Rei, and by the time Rei had finished her narrative and divulged every single detail, the girls had gone through a gallon of milk and two bulk boxes of baked goods. Usagi consumed half of the load.
"Bravo!" cheered Makoto.
"Genius!" complimented Ami.
"I'm so proud of my baby!" exclaimed Minako.
"Delicious!" rooted Usagi.
"Usa-chan, are you talking about my plan or about the cookies?" questioned Rei.
"Both?"
"Good job, Rei-chan," extolled Makoto again, "but I expected more from you. I mean, you know you could have gone further than that."
"I know, Mako-chan," Rei acknowledged. "In fact, I wanted their nights for the rest of their lives to be haunted by this vivid memory, but they are Cousin Endy's friends." For a moment, she paused and took a small sip of her milk. "I respect my cousin and love him like the brother I never had, and for his sake, I will show mercy."
Although Ami thought that the Shittenou boys would now think twice before offending them again, new doubts began to culminate in her calculating head. "Rei-chan, aren't you afraid that they are going to try to get back at you?"
"I'm not afraid because I *know* that at least one of them is going to try to get me good. I'll be extra cautious, even though boys are stupid and unoriginal in their schemes. Trust me--I know every trick in the book!"
His back was aching, his feet were killing him, and his eyes were forgetting about their interminable vigilance.
He was hungry too.
Prince Jadeite had been hiding behind one of the enormous 5th century gold Martian vases directly outside Princess Rei's private temple for nearly three hours. Although he had already figured out what he was going to do, he had no idea how he was going to do it. He needed some way to get past the first entrance of the place of worship.
The first few minutes went by quickly as he admired the opulence and elegance of the temple's exterior decorations. He never imagined that such an exotic and breathtaking place was located in the silver-and-snow palace of the Moon. It was built across from the grand Hall of Mars, and he was surprised that he did not notice it before during his mad dash to the princess's room earlier.
The smooth, colossal double doors were made of shining black obsidian, which was meant to allow a visitor to see the purity of their reflection before entering the sacred temple. All along the edges of the doors, ancient Martian hieroglyphics were carved in gold. Written in the sinuous characters was a charm that protected the temple from evil intruders, and in the center of the two doors was the symbol of Mars, encrusted with intensely scarlet rubies. A curtain of black diamonds, rubies, and gold beads hung loosely across the top and all the way down the sides of the doors, glittering and winking in the dancing torchlight. In front of and to the sides of the entrance were torches that were over ten feet in height. One of the torches had a fierce dragon wrapped around the pole, and the other was decorated with a beautiful phoenix with its long, luxurious tail circled around its post. The flames were almost hypnotic, luring Jadeite into it.
But the only thing he was truly interested in was the little girl inside who was performing her daily prayers. 'Curses, more like it,' he thought sulkily. He waited for the perfect opportunity to carry out his master plan, and after hours of bone and mind numbing waiting, he saw the pieces of his scheme falling into place. The angelic guardian he had encountered before was gliding towards the entrance of the temple with a tray of the princess's special and exclusive tea. Jadeite tried not to snort. 'Is she too good for regular tea, now?' He quickly pushed the thought away as he remembered his intended mission. It was now or never, and now gave him the perfect opportunity.
He got up from his hiding place and approached the dreamily attractive young woman. "Good day, my lady!" he said gallantly. "How nice it is to see you again!"
The young woman just stared blankly down at him. Her lovely blanket of ebony hair swept to one side of her graceful figure as she tilted her sweet heart-shaped head to one side. "I'm terribly sorry, dear boy," came her gentle voice, "but I do not remember ever meeting you."
Jadeite's eyes went wide. "But my lady, I met you earlier this afternoon."
"Surely you must be mistaken," she replied, "for that is impossible. I just came back to the Moon palace an hour ago."
For a second there, Jadeite thought that she had hit her head hard and gotten amnesia. "I'm Prince Jadeite Amerveille. Don't you remember, Lady Olivus?"
Realization struck her right away, and she laughed gleefully. "Oh, I see now! You think I am Phobos, correct?"
He nodded his head in dumb confusion.
"Well, young prince, do not worry yourself. You are not the first to make this simple mistake. Phobos is my twin sister. I am Deimos Olivus, another guardian of Princess Rei's."
Jadeite was tempted to kick himself in the ass. "Thank goodness. I thought I was going insane." He didn't add that he thought that she was insane, too. "Glad to make your acquaintance, my lady," said he as he bowed formally to her.
"Now," Deimos continued, "how may I help you?"
In Jadeite's head, he could hear himself laughing evilly. "You might have heard that your princess and I have not been on good terms. I came here to apologize to her after a recent incident and make peace with her. Would you mind if I took that tray of tea to her?"
"Of course," she replied enthusiastically. "Be my guest." Then, she handed the tray with the dainty teapot and cups to him. "I hope everything goes well between you and my small lady."
She walked away after Jadeite had thanked her, leaving him alone to watch the soft firelight glow on the tray in his hands. Hurriedly, he set the tray silently on the ground and opened the top of the pot. He reached into his breast pocket and took out a small paper envelope filled with white powder. He poured the powder into the teapot and made sure that it completely dissolved in the hot liquid before he replaced the lid. Taking in a deep breath, he picked up the tray and opened the door.
The entrance led him into a small, empty room, and in front of him was a Japanese style sliding door. He could see the glow of a large fire through the semi-transparent rice paper of the door.
"Thank you, Deimos, just put the tea outside of the door," called Rei from within. Jadeite did as she asked and tiptoed out the first door, hoping that the lack of verbal response would not raise her suspicions. It took all his will power not to jump up and cheer once he was outside again. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked back to his room, grinning like a Cheshire cat the whole time.
The Sacred Fire burned steadily as Rei prayed and chanted, her eyes in that custom glazed, spellbound state. Her white and red priestess robes swallowed her small body, for they were made for a full-grown princess. Every crown Martian princess was trained as the Oracle from the time she can walk to adulthood, when she would then pass down the rights and the traditional robes to her successor. Rei's mother before her wore the same red and white robes, and her grandmother before that. The powers of prophecy were only passed down noble bloodline to the first-born daughter.
Her endless violet and black hair was tied back with a white ribbon to keep it from getting singed by the scorching kisses of the flames. The extreme heat did not affect her, but the pure energy-consuming exertion caused beads of sweat to trickle down her face.
Despite Rei's youth, she was far more gifted in the art of foretelling than most people twice her age. Many priests predicted after her birth that she would do many great things, but the power inside of her was still too great for her mere twelve years of life experience to fully manage. Everyday, she meditated and tried to unlock the many remaining mysteries of her powers. It wasn't one of her more fruitful days today, so she decided to take a rest and enjoy her favorite afternoon tea.
She slid the door open, took the tea tray, and walked back to her spot in front of the Sacred Fire. The tea steamed as she poured some inside her cup, and she gingerly picked it up, inhaling the sweet yet spicy aroma. Before she brought it to her lips, a violent alarm went off in her head and she instinctively dropped the cup to the ground, spilling the tea all over the mat.
As if corresponding to her action, the Sacred Flame burst so powerfully that it scorched the high ceiling of the shrine. Little Rei shook herself from the grasp of fright and took the opportunity to put her born gifts to good use. Rei focused her full concentration on the fire, and the deeper she fell into its wrathful core, the larger the flame grew. Time was lost to her, but when the flames finally reached a point where it couldn't grow any bigger without starting a holocaust in the palace, images suddenly flashed across the center. Just as suddenly, the images stopped, but enough information was revealed to justify Rei's suspicions.
The gigantic Lunar stadium was large enough to hold five swimming pools, two tracks, an ice skating rink, ten different sports fields, fifteen miniature gyms, thousands of strength-building apparatuses, and several shooting ranges, but the whole center was only occupied by a pair of boys. Sitting on the bleachers was Zoisite, who was scribbling furiously on a pad of paper on his lap. Kunzite was currently busy on the hardwood floor fencing with a highly skilled holographic opponent. Although the stadium's super computer synthesized the image of his adversary, Kunzite felt every parry and thrust. He was thoroughly impressed with the technology the Lunarians used for training, and he was seriously enjoying the experience. There were even sound effects imitating the sound of clashing foils (AN: the thin swords used by fencers). Clang! Ding! Ching!
"Touché!" cried Kunzite triumphantly once the tip of his foil finally touched his opponent's chest. The hologram then bowed and disappeared in a fabulous show of green light. "Should I be disappointed that the hologram was more of a challenge to me than all of you guys put together?"
"It's not that we're horrible fighters," said Zoisite, "it's just that we don't bother trying."
"If you keep that attitude up, what will happen if we get caught in a real battle?"
"You will die an honorable death on the battlefield, and we'll be using your body as a shield."
Over the years the boys had known each other, Young Kunzite had learned that it was futile to argue with his soldiers, who took advantage of their friendship. Sure, they trained and took orders from him, but they were boys, and when they really didn't feel like working, they did exactly that--they didn't work. It was still a functioning relationship, despite how imperfect it was.
Kunzite knew that Jadeite, Zoisite, and Nephrite all had the potential to become as skilled and as powerful as he was, but he also knew that they were all a bunch of lazy jackasses who just wanted to enjoy their youth to the fullest. He sympathized with them; it was not easy to have the future of Earth resting on their young shoulders, and he too secretly longed to live just one day without stressing over duty. Kunzite hoped that once they had all gotten older and were made kings, they would take their responsibilities much more seriously.
"What are you doing there, Zoi?"
To Kunzite's surprise, Zoisite groaned, snapped his pencil in two, ripped out the sheet of paper he was writing on, crumpled it, and threw it over his shoulder.
"I don't think the custodian will appreciate your litter."
The agitated boy was not amused. "Damn it! How did she do it? I was so close to figuring it out...but there's something that's eluding me..."
"What are you babbling about?" demanded Kunzite.
"Your hair, man! I was trying to calculate how she made your hair actually grow out white. That's impossible, but that midget psycho scientist made it possible."
"Do I sense jealousy, Zoi?"
Zoisite narrowed his eyes bitterly at his friend. He continued: "Yesterday, I ran some more tests on one strand of your hair. You can't even dye over it! The hair somehow will not absorb any hair dye. It would just wash off right away. What's even more amazing is that there was absolutely no magic essence emanating from the hair. Pure science, pure genius, pure evil!"
Kunzite patted his disheartened friend on the shoulder. "Don't get yourself all worked up over it. You did your best to try to help me find a counter formula and think of ways to cover it up. I don't picture myself going to a hairdresser every month for a hair-coloring appointment, though. But it doesn't matter anymore; I'm kind of used to my hair now."
"Thanks, Kunz," said Zoisite with a grateful smile. Still, the fact that the eleven-year-old, four-eyed, stubby-limbed, blue-haired princess had outwitted him a second time was eating him alive.
"Now watch the mouse carefully," instructed Ami in her private laboratory. She and Rei were dressed in the lab-friendly fashion: clean, white lab coats with rolled-up sleeves, closed-toed shoes, bulky goggles, and hairnets. Rei thought the whole outfit was a little too much for their experiment, but Ami remained adamant in being dressed appropriately for any possible and even unlikely lab hazards.
A few minutes earlier, Rei had just brought the remaining tea from her pot to Ami. She continued to describe the events that led up to the dropping of her cup of tea and explained her strong suspicions about the cause of it all. By this time, Rei was no longer suspicious--she was down right certain that Jadeite was the source of her trouble.
Ami was more than happy to have something to investigate, so she grabbed Rei and rushed her to her laboratory. There, she proceeded to study a drop of the tea under her state-of -the-art microscope, observed the reactions that occurred when added to different mixtures, and poured it into a machine that analyzed the contents of it. When she had finally gathered sufficient information, she announced, "It's a very fortunate thing that you have an unusually strong ESP, Rei-chan. I don't think the palace would still be in one piece if you had drunk the tea."
"Tell me, Ami-chan, what discoveries you made about the stuff. Is it poisonous? Is it some kind of magic potion? What is it?!"
"First of all, calm down. I've never seen you this anxious before, and it really worries me. Secondly, we will watch the effects of the tea on one of the lab mice. The results have shown me that some kind of white powder was poured into your teapot, which dissolves on contact. I also learned that it's not fatal. It's not even truly harmful, but it really is a mean thing to do. Here, hand me that beaker."
Rei did as she was asked, and Ami used a dropper to extract some of the leftover tea and put three drops of it into the water supply of the tiny mouse. Ami watched the mouse in interest, but Rei was a silent nova of unease. Slowly, the mouse drank some of its water. For a while, it just sat in the same spot blinking its red eyes at the two young girls. Then it happened.
The mouse sprouted gaudy red devil horns behind its ears. That's right--devil horns.
All the blood drained from Rei's face and her fists clenched so tightly that it looked like the bones of her knuckles were about to pop out of her skin. In an attempt to distract her distressed friend, Ami said, "You see...it's not that bad. It only lasts about a week and a half, but thanks to that blessed intuition of yours, you avoided it. The worst is over, so let's go to the Recreational Room or something...Rei-chan? Rei- chan?!" Ami waved her hand frantically in front of her friend's face but could not break Rei's implacable staring at the nonexistent point on the blank wall in front of her.
"I'M KILLING THE BASTARD!" Rei suddenly screamed, frightening Ami so badly that she swore she lost ten years of her life.
Ami was unexpectedly strong for someone of her miniature stature, but it was no match for the rancorous force that was propelling Rei. Because Ami would not release her hold on Rei's wrist, she was practically being dragged across the room. To Ami's great relief, Minako and Makoto walked through the door.
"You guys, help me stop her!" cried Ami, and without hesitation, Makoto and Minako jumped on top of their raging Martian friend. They had no idea what was going on, but it was obvious that Rei was in one of her rare but terrifying tantrums. Ami maintained her hold on Rei's arm, Minako wrapped her arms around Rei's legs, and Makoto, the strongest of them all, was pushing Rei backwards. Although Rei's fury was boosting her with unyielding strength, Makoto was still much stronger and could endure more, so in a quick sweep, Makoto had Rei over her shoulder.
"Put me down!" demanded Rei. "I have to get him! You don't know what he tried to do to me!"
"Damn, girl, cool it!" ordered Makoto, "and stop kicking me!"
"Let me go, Mako-chan! Lemme go!"
"If you talk this over with us first and stop thrashing around, I'll set you down." Rei reluctantly obeyed, and Makoto unceremoniously dropped her on the floor instead.
Although her backside was aching, Rei was still determined to wring Jadeite's neck, so she sprang back up and dashed toward the door.
"Venus Love Me Chain!" yelled Minako, predicting Rei's plan of action and successfully renstraining her. "Now what is the meaning of this?" she asked, directing the question at Ami. Quickly yet thoroughly, Ami elucidated the state of affairs and pointed out the lab mouse as Rei sat moodily. Makoto and Minako listened intently to the whole story, and they offered Rei their full and faithful commiseration. When Rei was her calm and composed self again, Minako retracted her Venus chain.
"Sorry I had to do that to ya, Rei-chan. I understand the feeling," shared Minako, "but you looked like you were about to really kill him."
"That's because I probably was going to kill him," admitted Rei guiltily. She vowed to spend a lot more time meditating to mitigate her temper, but part of her guilt was due to the fact that she had lost control and didn't plan first.
Makoto nodded her head. "If this happened to me, I would have reacted the same way. Thank goodness that it didn't happen, or else you guys wouldn't have been able to hold me back. But now what do you plan to do, Rei-chan?"
"You know me too well to even ask," she replied, "and nothing's gonna stop me."
"Not even me?" questioned someone from the door. The four girls whirled around and saw Prince Endymion standing in the doorframe.
"Prince Endymion!" they exclaimed.
"What are you doing here, Cousin?" asked Rei.
"Why Rei, I can't even visit my favorite cousin without a reason now?"
"You know what I mean. You never come to this part of the palace. What's up?"
Makoto stood up from her seat. "Here, have a seat."
"No thanks," said he, "I'll only be a minute. I hope I'm not interrupting you girls."
"Not at all," assured Ami.
Rei was growing impatient. "Of course you're interrupting! Excuse me--" she said, but before she could walk past him, he caught her arm and held tightly.
"Cousin Rei! Don't do anything to Jadeite!" Endymion finally pleaded. That managed to stop Rei in her tracks.
"Is that why you're here? To stop me? Look Endy, I know he's you're friend and all, but do you know what he tried to do? He tried to give me devil horns! Devil horns! I would have had to walk around with a big and annoying hat to cover them up if I drank the spiked tea. It's a capital offense to harass me on the Moon, worthy of an execution! And you're here to defend him?" she added incredulously.
The ever-faithful Makoto jumped into the conversation. "Prince Endymion, doesn't it concern you that your friend tried to do this to your first cousin? The cousin who has been your playmate since early childhood, and the same cousin who has looked up to you as an older brother. Does family blood mean anything to you? You should be ashamed of yourself!"
Having his loyalty to his family being doubted deeply offended him, but he would not quarrel with the Jovian princess. "It is only because I care about Cousin Rei that I ask her to stop. When I first overheard Jadeite bragging about his trick, I sentenced him to a good beating by Kunzite and the boys. Yes, he is one of my very best friends, but I couldn't let him get off the hook that easily. I guarantee that the next time you see him, you won't recognize him under all the bumps and bruises. You are just causing more trouble for yourselves if you carry this on, and I don't want this stupid war to go any further."
"We wouldn't have to fight back if your friends didn't terrorize us so!" Minako testified as she pumped her arms for emphasis.
"I'm sorry for their shameful behavior. I hope you will feel better knowing that I have ordered them to stay in their rooms for the rest of their stay and not to get within a hundred yards of all of you. If I find out that any of them pull another prank, it's off to the official Terran Juvenile Prison for them."
"That's not enough!" Rei protested. "You know that I have almost too much evidence to support a case against that son of a cow, and be thankful that none of us have pressed charges yet, even though we could have easily done that." The other three girls nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, and I'm glad. Listen Rei, if you won't do this for yourself, could you at least consider peace for me?"
"That's a low blow, Endymion," hissed Rei. Her resolution began to crumble as she remembered what she had said earlier: 'I respect my cousin and love him like the brother I never had, and for his sake, I will show mercy.'
A small part of Rei still wouldn't give up. "But..."
Endymion was quick to cut off her protest. "And if you won't help me, then help Usako. Did you know that your dear Princess Serenity was close to tears today? She talked to me about how she wished you all would stop fighting but how she didn't want to let you girls down."
Seeing the girls look down sorrowfully made Endymion laugh inwardly, for he knew that the knowledge of their best friend's sadness would kick their loyalty into overdrive.
"Did she really say that?" questioned Ami dejectedly.
He simply nodded his head.
After a moment of earnest reflection, Little Rei made up her mind, and she gently patted his arm. "For you, cousin, and especially for Usa- chan, I will discontinue my crusade against your friend."
"Thanks, Rei," he said as he gave her a hug and mussed her hair. "You're the best."
"If anything goes wrong, I'm taking his head."
Endymion chuckled. It was the best he could get out of her.
The next few days passed by peacefully. The girls spent a lot of time playing in the garden, going to the cinema, studying their lessons, and teaching Princess Serenity self-defense. The boys entertained themselves in their room with cards or garbage basketball.
Oftentimes, Prince Endymion would train with the girls and establish his own camaraderie with them, making his Usako overwhelmed with joy. She would visit him and his friends and bring them cupcakes. She made sure not to bring cookies. Nephrite was still a little shell-shocked.
Luna and Artemis, who were aware of the feud between the children, were surprised to discover that four days went by without a disturbance. It was quite a relief; they didn't have to make up lies to the queen about the behavior of the children and make excuses for their absences anymore.
"See?" said Artemis smugly. "I told you that they would work out their differences."
"I don't think they are on good terms," Luna contradicted. "I think the arguing has stopped because Prince Endymion and the princess must've said something."
"The important thing is that there's no more chaos. Though I must say, it's a little boring now that the action has ceased."
"Artemis!" she scolded.
"What? It's true! Besides, the ordeal was a good learning experience for the girls."
"What the hell are you saying, you numb-skull?! You actually want the girls to get involved in such wicked and immature scraps?"
"Think about it! The plans that they thought of all by themselves...it was good practice in offensive techniques. And the sneakiness they used to pull off their schemes...that's good exercise in espionage."
Luna was flabbergasted.
Artemis was oblivious to her disgust. "Admit it. You were also impressed with the thinking skills the girls used in their retaliations."
She was close to strangling him.
The man didn't know when to stop. "Yup, those girls take after me." He turned around to face Luna. "Hey, where are you--AHHHH!"
The door against his face was a very willing listener.
"Oh Gwen, must you really leave so soon? I thought you were going to stay for a month and a half!"
The queen of Earth stirred sugar into her coffee, but the lack of enthusiasm in her wrist motion signified her disappointment. "I know, Serenity, I know. In fact, I wanted to extend my vacation, but fate would not let me have my way."
Queen Serenity took her friend's hand. "But why? Why the sudden departure?"
"My planet needs James and me," answered Queen Gwendolyn glumly. "My husband has received news that invaders are trying to establish a colony on Earth."
"How awful!" gasped Serenity. "Who is responsible for this crime?"
"Our sources tell us that the people come in the name of Metallia, their sovereign."
"What do you and James plan to do?"
"We aren't sure yet. We do not know if they are harmless or evil, but if they come in peace, we will try to negotiate with them and grant them a small colony in exchange for their loyalty."
"I hope it all goes well, Gwen."
"So do I, Serenity, so do I."
"So you leave tonight?"
"Tonight."
"Have you told Endymion and his friends yet?"
Gwendolyn sighed and held Serenity's hand tighter. "Yes, and it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Endymion's a good boy, and very smart. He understood the importance of our presence on Earth, but he was fighting back tears at the same time. I don't remember seeing him cry since he was just an infant."
"My little Sere will be so heartbroken. She's really attached to her friends, and she loves that boy to death...just imagine her reaction when I tell her 'he's leaving, Honey.' How *can* I tell her?"
"Sere is also a bright child. She will be hurt, but she'll understand."
Packing was not a problem for the boys since much of their clothes and things were stolen. Despite this setback, packing their luggage had never brought so much joy to them. The thought of returning to their home planet where they could roam around freely lifted their spirits above the clouds.
Jadeite was jumping on the bed, grinning from ear to ear. "Ha! I've been losing my mind trapped in this cage! Freedom! Freedom!"
"I think you lost you mind before Endy forbid us to go outside of our rooms," postulated Nephrite as he set one of his smaller bags next to the door. "Where's Kunzite?"
"He's with the queen and king helping with travel arrangements."
"Okay, then where's Zoisite?"
Right when Jadeite shrugged his shoulders, he heard the tap of a rock hitting the window. "Speak of the devil," he said as he watched Zoisite dangle from the second story balcony. "What the hell...?"
Nephrite opened the door that opened to the balcony and ran over to help Zoisite over before he would have to scrape the remains of his insane friend off the cement. "What are you doing outside of our room without permission?" demanded Nephrite.
The response he got was a mixture of wheezing and laughter. Zoisite plopped himself on one of the ottomans and slapped his knee repeatedly. "Before I leave," he answered after the loudest of his guffaws died down, "I had to leave my mark on the Moon palace."
"Oh God," sighed Nephrite. "What did you do?"
"Nothing, nothing at all," Zoisite smiled.
"Zoisite..."
"Oh, I just organized half of the Lunarian Library by color."
"You've got waaaay too much time on your hands, Zoi."
"Aren't you scared Endy's gonna kill you for pulling another prank?" asked Jadeite.
"Like you are?" Zoisite retorted. "I know that you snuck out and hid itching powder bombs in places that the princesses are likely to go."
"At least I'm not scaling the walls like a drunken monkey."
"Bite me."
"I don't bite drunken monkeys."
The verbal ping-pong match continued for an hour. Nephrite just pretended to be deaf.
The sky was an uncommon, dismal gray, and the clouds cast an unnatural shadow over the happy landscape of the Moon. For the first time in a long time, the inhabitants of the Moon would witness nature's hidden inclement tendencies and remember that even the heavens could not perpetually keep a sunny disposition. The gods of the sky thundered their opposition to the departure of good friends, loudly demanding for redress. Two sorrowful children stood in their wake, ignoring everything around them but each other. They held each other's hand as if it was the only tangible thing that held them to the reality of fate's cruel humor. The portal of the Moon's temple taunted them. The angels in Heaven wept for them.
The queen of the Moon stood beside the queen of the Earth, but their grand titles meant nothing to them at the moment. They embraced each other like two sisters who had just found each other but had to be torn apart to go their separate ways once more, not knowing if time would permit another reunion. For the sake of their children, they held back their persistent tears, but they felt that their hearts, heavy with sadness and pain, would weigh them down into the ground.
King James also gave Queen Serenity a nice brotherly hug. He then wrapped an arm around his wife and rubbed her back consolingly, knowing full well that she needed as much of his support as possible. Queen Gwendolyn looked frighteningly pale. The gravity of the situation on Earth as well as the grief of their leaving was taking toll on her. The Moon queen looked little better.
Along side the elder royals were the four young inner planet princesses and the high princes of Earth. The girls had rejoiced when they first heard that the Earth princes were finally being removed from their lives, but the reason for their parting cut their celebration short. They, who hated the Terran princes with a strong passion, wished the boys a safe return to their home planet and hoped that matters on Earth would settle peacefully. The honest concern the girls had displayed had shocked the boys to no end. For a fleeting moment, Kunzite and his fellow princes felt despicable and unworthy.
The tentative treaty between the young guardians made Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion smile, but the scene was too bittersweet to swallow. 'The only day they all can be civil to each other is the very last day,' thought Little Serenity wistfully. She turned to look at Endymion's solemn profile. 'Is he crying?'
Endymion sensed that his companion was staring at him, so he quickly ran his hand across his face and pretended to cough. 'Crying won't help her feel better,' he told himself forcefully, 'and boys don't cry.' He turned his face to look back at her. Two clear beads made their way down her plump rosy cheeks.
"Endy..." she sniffed, "...I don't want you to go..."
He squeezed her tiny hand tighter. "I don't want to go either." He wanted her last minutes with him to be happy and light-hearted, like before.
"Will I ever see you again?" she asked hopefully.
"Of course," he replied. "I couldn't make a friend and never visit her again, right?"
"But from what I've heard, I might not see you for a long time."
"The important thing, Usako, is that we'll always be bestest friends. Don't cry, okay? I'll see you again someday. Until then, you have to take good care of yourself, and don't forget about me."
"You're stupid, Endy. I couldn't forget about a friend. But will you promise to remember me?"
"Now who's the stupid one?" he asked playfully.
Time was running out quickly. "Endymion," his father called. "It's almost time."
Endymion nearly fell over when his princess flung her arms around his waist. For such a minute girl, she could really bowl one over with the force of her hugs.
"I'll miss you, Endy! [Sob] Take good care of yourself [sniffle] and your parents and your friends for me!"
He didn't care anymore; he let the tears flow freely. "I'll...I'll miss you too, Usako."
She knew she was completely soaking his shirt with her tears, but all she could do was hug him tighter.
"Usa....Usako....you're...I...can't...breathe...."
She still held him tightly, and he could only smile down at her as he hugged her back with equal strength.
The adults watched the touching picture before them: two childhood friends saying goodbye with their whole heart and soul as they cry their little eyes out. Two thousand words could not describe the feeling behind that picture.
"Endymion," whispered Queen Gwendolyn. "It's time."
The two children reluctantly released each other. Little Serenity ran over to her mother as he walked the opposite direction toward his parents. In a spectacular light show, the portal appeared in front of them. King James and Queen Gwendolyn waved at their hosts, their friends. Endymion never broke eye contact with Little Serenity as he backed into the portal's blinding white light.
Jadeite, Zoisite, Nephrite, and Kunzite bowed respectfully to Queen Serenity and her misty-eyed daughter. Next, they maturely shook hands with the four future guardians of the Moon princess. When all the formal farewells were over and done, the princes followed the royal family of Earth into the curtain of light, and when the glow of the door disappeared, all that lingered were memories.
The hard feelings remained, but the juvenile princes and princesses unconsciously knew that this would not be the last time they would engage in battle. The twinkle of an untold challenge lie ahead, and although they wouldn't admit it, they were eagerly looking forward to it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
My comp froze on me while I was typing this up last week and I had forgotten to save, so I lost about 75% of what you just read. I don't like machines, machines don't like me.
Now don't kill me for this, but I may need to go on a brief hiatus. My plans for the present time of this story need a little revision. New ideas have popped into my mind...Be afraid...So I need time to rethink and find a different approach.
Extra notes:
If you are reading this, Joanna, thank you for taking the time to try and make things clearer to me. I'm not the brightest kid that one will ever meet and I do hope that the only reason my submission was rejected was simply because of incorrect format, though I'm pretty sure that A Sailor Moon Romance does not accept *all* submissions, as you say. For now, I will only post for my dear readers at ff.net, and if I ever actually finish this story, I might try again at A Sailor Moon Romance.
Thanks again, and biggest thanks to all reviewers!
And for those who have sent me flames...I wish that I could say 'I'm sorry,' but I can't apologize for my sense of humor...blame the influence of my family...
Gassy2: I couldn't ask for a better beta-reader!
PrincessRei-PrinceJed and uasgirl: Thanks for making me a favorite author!
Trupana: Many thanks to you too!
What pen name are you under, V-babe? I tried to look you up but I couldn't find you.
Author's Notes: This is it, kids...the last chapter of The Winning Losers set in the past! It took a very long time (don't hurt me!), but be glad, because all chapters after are set in the present.
K.Wyse- I really shouldn't assume the reader will know what I'm thinking at the time I'm writing, huh? That's one of my bad habits. I wasn't quite clear when I was describing Kunzite's situation...I'll make sure to make a reference to this in this chapter. Thanks for the suggestion!
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or any of its rights, but I do own three DVDs of the S season! God, I have no life. *-_-
' denotes thought
AN: =author's notes
denotes mental messages
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The Winning Losers
Chapter 9: Good Riddance!
**Past continued**
"Careful with that pocketknife!" cried Jadeite as Nephrite, Kunzite, Endymion, and Zoisite were cutting their friend loose from the willow branches.
"Shut up, Jed. Be thankful we even answered your mental distress cry," retorted Nephrite.
"Stop moving around!" ordered Zoisite. "Or else I'll 'accidentally' cut you on purpose!"
Kunzite was shaking his head in shame. "I can't believe you walked into her trap! How could you accept the invitation without calling us for backup first? A Shittenou should know better!"
Unfortunately for Jadeite, his leg was still tied down, so he couldn't kick Kunzite. "You shouldn't be talking Mr. I-got-my-hair- prematurely-white-because-I-picked-on-girl."
"Go to hell, tree boy!"
"Too late, I'm already there!"
The argument was getting on Endymion's last nerve. "Would the both of you just shut your mouths? All four of you have given me and Usa...Princess Serenity too much to worry about. Are you happy now? Be glad that you haven't started an intergalactic war by now."
"That's a low blow, Endy," Nephrite said. "You haven't been in our places. Those Senshi girls haven't tortured you. You were lucky!"
"Yeah!" agreed Zoisite. "Your vacation wasn't a nightmare like ours has been so far. You got to play with a kind-hearted princess, and who do we get stuck with? The four witches of the Apocalypse!"
"Alright! I get the point," surrendered Endymion. "First, you guys are fighting each other, the next you all gang up on me. I give up."
Snap! Endymion cut the very last willow branch, and Jadeite fell forward, smacking his face into one of the tree's roots. "I really don't like this tree," came his muffled complaint as he spit chunks of soil out of his mouth. "And look! I'm gonna have bruises on my wrists and ankles for a long time."
"You guys asked for it," pointed out Endymion. "Cousin Rei is very loyal to her friends. Mess with one of them and suffer her wrath. Two wrongs don't make a right, but you guys really did push it this time."
"Traitor," growled the rest of the group.
"This traitor just ordered more clothes from Earth for you guys. It should be delivered up to your rooms in an hour."
But clothes were the last things on Jadeite's mind. During his time wrapped up against the Great Willow Tree, he had already started plotting his retaliation.
"Good afternoon, Rei-ko," greeted Phobos as Rei was about to enter her room.
"Hi Phobos!" Rei replied cheerily.
"I see you are ridiculously happy."
Rei smiled. "Yes, very much."
"You've been bad today, haven't you?"
"Sometimes Phobos, playing nice will only get you stepped on."
"If your parents knew how I was taking care of you, they'd have my head."
"But that's why I love you! You understand me."
Phobos sighed. "You're such a handful sometimes. Anyways, your friends are inside the room waiting for you."
"Okay. Thanks Phobos."
Before Rei could even turn the doorknob, Makoto opened the door from inside and quickly grabbed Rei into the room. Phobos could only laugh and continue her business.
"Alright," began Makoto, "now spill."
Ami, Minako, and Usagi were sitting around the low table eating cookies and drinking milk.
"We've been waiting for you to return forever! We want to hear it all."
"I'm just here for the cookies," said Usagi.
"Phobos?" called Rei. "Could you bring us some more cookies and milk? This is going to take a while..."
The girls listened intently to Rei, and by the time Rei had finished her narrative and divulged every single detail, the girls had gone through a gallon of milk and two bulk boxes of baked goods. Usagi consumed half of the load.
"Bravo!" cheered Makoto.
"Genius!" complimented Ami.
"I'm so proud of my baby!" exclaimed Minako.
"Delicious!" rooted Usagi.
"Usa-chan, are you talking about my plan or about the cookies?" questioned Rei.
"Both?"
"Good job, Rei-chan," extolled Makoto again, "but I expected more from you. I mean, you know you could have gone further than that."
"I know, Mako-chan," Rei acknowledged. "In fact, I wanted their nights for the rest of their lives to be haunted by this vivid memory, but they are Cousin Endy's friends." For a moment, she paused and took a small sip of her milk. "I respect my cousin and love him like the brother I never had, and for his sake, I will show mercy."
Although Ami thought that the Shittenou boys would now think twice before offending them again, new doubts began to culminate in her calculating head. "Rei-chan, aren't you afraid that they are going to try to get back at you?"
"I'm not afraid because I *know* that at least one of them is going to try to get me good. I'll be extra cautious, even though boys are stupid and unoriginal in their schemes. Trust me--I know every trick in the book!"
His back was aching, his feet were killing him, and his eyes were forgetting about their interminable vigilance.
He was hungry too.
Prince Jadeite had been hiding behind one of the enormous 5th century gold Martian vases directly outside Princess Rei's private temple for nearly three hours. Although he had already figured out what he was going to do, he had no idea how he was going to do it. He needed some way to get past the first entrance of the place of worship.
The first few minutes went by quickly as he admired the opulence and elegance of the temple's exterior decorations. He never imagined that such an exotic and breathtaking place was located in the silver-and-snow palace of the Moon. It was built across from the grand Hall of Mars, and he was surprised that he did not notice it before during his mad dash to the princess's room earlier.
The smooth, colossal double doors were made of shining black obsidian, which was meant to allow a visitor to see the purity of their reflection before entering the sacred temple. All along the edges of the doors, ancient Martian hieroglyphics were carved in gold. Written in the sinuous characters was a charm that protected the temple from evil intruders, and in the center of the two doors was the symbol of Mars, encrusted with intensely scarlet rubies. A curtain of black diamonds, rubies, and gold beads hung loosely across the top and all the way down the sides of the doors, glittering and winking in the dancing torchlight. In front of and to the sides of the entrance were torches that were over ten feet in height. One of the torches had a fierce dragon wrapped around the pole, and the other was decorated with a beautiful phoenix with its long, luxurious tail circled around its post. The flames were almost hypnotic, luring Jadeite into it.
But the only thing he was truly interested in was the little girl inside who was performing her daily prayers. 'Curses, more like it,' he thought sulkily. He waited for the perfect opportunity to carry out his master plan, and after hours of bone and mind numbing waiting, he saw the pieces of his scheme falling into place. The angelic guardian he had encountered before was gliding towards the entrance of the temple with a tray of the princess's special and exclusive tea. Jadeite tried not to snort. 'Is she too good for regular tea, now?' He quickly pushed the thought away as he remembered his intended mission. It was now or never, and now gave him the perfect opportunity.
He got up from his hiding place and approached the dreamily attractive young woman. "Good day, my lady!" he said gallantly. "How nice it is to see you again!"
The young woman just stared blankly down at him. Her lovely blanket of ebony hair swept to one side of her graceful figure as she tilted her sweet heart-shaped head to one side. "I'm terribly sorry, dear boy," came her gentle voice, "but I do not remember ever meeting you."
Jadeite's eyes went wide. "But my lady, I met you earlier this afternoon."
"Surely you must be mistaken," she replied, "for that is impossible. I just came back to the Moon palace an hour ago."
For a second there, Jadeite thought that she had hit her head hard and gotten amnesia. "I'm Prince Jadeite Amerveille. Don't you remember, Lady Olivus?"
Realization struck her right away, and she laughed gleefully. "Oh, I see now! You think I am Phobos, correct?"
He nodded his head in dumb confusion.
"Well, young prince, do not worry yourself. You are not the first to make this simple mistake. Phobos is my twin sister. I am Deimos Olivus, another guardian of Princess Rei's."
Jadeite was tempted to kick himself in the ass. "Thank goodness. I thought I was going insane." He didn't add that he thought that she was insane, too. "Glad to make your acquaintance, my lady," said he as he bowed formally to her.
"Now," Deimos continued, "how may I help you?"
In Jadeite's head, he could hear himself laughing evilly. "You might have heard that your princess and I have not been on good terms. I came here to apologize to her after a recent incident and make peace with her. Would you mind if I took that tray of tea to her?"
"Of course," she replied enthusiastically. "Be my guest." Then, she handed the tray with the dainty teapot and cups to him. "I hope everything goes well between you and my small lady."
She walked away after Jadeite had thanked her, leaving him alone to watch the soft firelight glow on the tray in his hands. Hurriedly, he set the tray silently on the ground and opened the top of the pot. He reached into his breast pocket and took out a small paper envelope filled with white powder. He poured the powder into the teapot and made sure that it completely dissolved in the hot liquid before he replaced the lid. Taking in a deep breath, he picked up the tray and opened the door.
The entrance led him into a small, empty room, and in front of him was a Japanese style sliding door. He could see the glow of a large fire through the semi-transparent rice paper of the door.
"Thank you, Deimos, just put the tea outside of the door," called Rei from within. Jadeite did as she asked and tiptoed out the first door, hoping that the lack of verbal response would not raise her suspicions. It took all his will power not to jump up and cheer once he was outside again. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked back to his room, grinning like a Cheshire cat the whole time.
The Sacred Fire burned steadily as Rei prayed and chanted, her eyes in that custom glazed, spellbound state. Her white and red priestess robes swallowed her small body, for they were made for a full-grown princess. Every crown Martian princess was trained as the Oracle from the time she can walk to adulthood, when she would then pass down the rights and the traditional robes to her successor. Rei's mother before her wore the same red and white robes, and her grandmother before that. The powers of prophecy were only passed down noble bloodline to the first-born daughter.
Her endless violet and black hair was tied back with a white ribbon to keep it from getting singed by the scorching kisses of the flames. The extreme heat did not affect her, but the pure energy-consuming exertion caused beads of sweat to trickle down her face.
Despite Rei's youth, she was far more gifted in the art of foretelling than most people twice her age. Many priests predicted after her birth that she would do many great things, but the power inside of her was still too great for her mere twelve years of life experience to fully manage. Everyday, she meditated and tried to unlock the many remaining mysteries of her powers. It wasn't one of her more fruitful days today, so she decided to take a rest and enjoy her favorite afternoon tea.
She slid the door open, took the tea tray, and walked back to her spot in front of the Sacred Fire. The tea steamed as she poured some inside her cup, and she gingerly picked it up, inhaling the sweet yet spicy aroma. Before she brought it to her lips, a violent alarm went off in her head and she instinctively dropped the cup to the ground, spilling the tea all over the mat.
As if corresponding to her action, the Sacred Flame burst so powerfully that it scorched the high ceiling of the shrine. Little Rei shook herself from the grasp of fright and took the opportunity to put her born gifts to good use. Rei focused her full concentration on the fire, and the deeper she fell into its wrathful core, the larger the flame grew. Time was lost to her, but when the flames finally reached a point where it couldn't grow any bigger without starting a holocaust in the palace, images suddenly flashed across the center. Just as suddenly, the images stopped, but enough information was revealed to justify Rei's suspicions.
The gigantic Lunar stadium was large enough to hold five swimming pools, two tracks, an ice skating rink, ten different sports fields, fifteen miniature gyms, thousands of strength-building apparatuses, and several shooting ranges, but the whole center was only occupied by a pair of boys. Sitting on the bleachers was Zoisite, who was scribbling furiously on a pad of paper on his lap. Kunzite was currently busy on the hardwood floor fencing with a highly skilled holographic opponent. Although the stadium's super computer synthesized the image of his adversary, Kunzite felt every parry and thrust. He was thoroughly impressed with the technology the Lunarians used for training, and he was seriously enjoying the experience. There were even sound effects imitating the sound of clashing foils (AN: the thin swords used by fencers). Clang! Ding! Ching!
"Touché!" cried Kunzite triumphantly once the tip of his foil finally touched his opponent's chest. The hologram then bowed and disappeared in a fabulous show of green light. "Should I be disappointed that the hologram was more of a challenge to me than all of you guys put together?"
"It's not that we're horrible fighters," said Zoisite, "it's just that we don't bother trying."
"If you keep that attitude up, what will happen if we get caught in a real battle?"
"You will die an honorable death on the battlefield, and we'll be using your body as a shield."
Over the years the boys had known each other, Young Kunzite had learned that it was futile to argue with his soldiers, who took advantage of their friendship. Sure, they trained and took orders from him, but they were boys, and when they really didn't feel like working, they did exactly that--they didn't work. It was still a functioning relationship, despite how imperfect it was.
Kunzite knew that Jadeite, Zoisite, and Nephrite all had the potential to become as skilled and as powerful as he was, but he also knew that they were all a bunch of lazy jackasses who just wanted to enjoy their youth to the fullest. He sympathized with them; it was not easy to have the future of Earth resting on their young shoulders, and he too secretly longed to live just one day without stressing over duty. Kunzite hoped that once they had all gotten older and were made kings, they would take their responsibilities much more seriously.
"What are you doing there, Zoi?"
To Kunzite's surprise, Zoisite groaned, snapped his pencil in two, ripped out the sheet of paper he was writing on, crumpled it, and threw it over his shoulder.
"I don't think the custodian will appreciate your litter."
The agitated boy was not amused. "Damn it! How did she do it? I was so close to figuring it out...but there's something that's eluding me..."
"What are you babbling about?" demanded Kunzite.
"Your hair, man! I was trying to calculate how she made your hair actually grow out white. That's impossible, but that midget psycho scientist made it possible."
"Do I sense jealousy, Zoi?"
Zoisite narrowed his eyes bitterly at his friend. He continued: "Yesterday, I ran some more tests on one strand of your hair. You can't even dye over it! The hair somehow will not absorb any hair dye. It would just wash off right away. What's even more amazing is that there was absolutely no magic essence emanating from the hair. Pure science, pure genius, pure evil!"
Kunzite patted his disheartened friend on the shoulder. "Don't get yourself all worked up over it. You did your best to try to help me find a counter formula and think of ways to cover it up. I don't picture myself going to a hairdresser every month for a hair-coloring appointment, though. But it doesn't matter anymore; I'm kind of used to my hair now."
"Thanks, Kunz," said Zoisite with a grateful smile. Still, the fact that the eleven-year-old, four-eyed, stubby-limbed, blue-haired princess had outwitted him a second time was eating him alive.
"Now watch the mouse carefully," instructed Ami in her private laboratory. She and Rei were dressed in the lab-friendly fashion: clean, white lab coats with rolled-up sleeves, closed-toed shoes, bulky goggles, and hairnets. Rei thought the whole outfit was a little too much for their experiment, but Ami remained adamant in being dressed appropriately for any possible and even unlikely lab hazards.
A few minutes earlier, Rei had just brought the remaining tea from her pot to Ami. She continued to describe the events that led up to the dropping of her cup of tea and explained her strong suspicions about the cause of it all. By this time, Rei was no longer suspicious--she was down right certain that Jadeite was the source of her trouble.
Ami was more than happy to have something to investigate, so she grabbed Rei and rushed her to her laboratory. There, she proceeded to study a drop of the tea under her state-of -the-art microscope, observed the reactions that occurred when added to different mixtures, and poured it into a machine that analyzed the contents of it. When she had finally gathered sufficient information, she announced, "It's a very fortunate thing that you have an unusually strong ESP, Rei-chan. I don't think the palace would still be in one piece if you had drunk the tea."
"Tell me, Ami-chan, what discoveries you made about the stuff. Is it poisonous? Is it some kind of magic potion? What is it?!"
"First of all, calm down. I've never seen you this anxious before, and it really worries me. Secondly, we will watch the effects of the tea on one of the lab mice. The results have shown me that some kind of white powder was poured into your teapot, which dissolves on contact. I also learned that it's not fatal. It's not even truly harmful, but it really is a mean thing to do. Here, hand me that beaker."
Rei did as she was asked, and Ami used a dropper to extract some of the leftover tea and put three drops of it into the water supply of the tiny mouse. Ami watched the mouse in interest, but Rei was a silent nova of unease. Slowly, the mouse drank some of its water. For a while, it just sat in the same spot blinking its red eyes at the two young girls. Then it happened.
The mouse sprouted gaudy red devil horns behind its ears. That's right--devil horns.
All the blood drained from Rei's face and her fists clenched so tightly that it looked like the bones of her knuckles were about to pop out of her skin. In an attempt to distract her distressed friend, Ami said, "You see...it's not that bad. It only lasts about a week and a half, but thanks to that blessed intuition of yours, you avoided it. The worst is over, so let's go to the Recreational Room or something...Rei-chan? Rei- chan?!" Ami waved her hand frantically in front of her friend's face but could not break Rei's implacable staring at the nonexistent point on the blank wall in front of her.
"I'M KILLING THE BASTARD!" Rei suddenly screamed, frightening Ami so badly that she swore she lost ten years of her life.
Ami was unexpectedly strong for someone of her miniature stature, but it was no match for the rancorous force that was propelling Rei. Because Ami would not release her hold on Rei's wrist, she was practically being dragged across the room. To Ami's great relief, Minako and Makoto walked through the door.
"You guys, help me stop her!" cried Ami, and without hesitation, Makoto and Minako jumped on top of their raging Martian friend. They had no idea what was going on, but it was obvious that Rei was in one of her rare but terrifying tantrums. Ami maintained her hold on Rei's arm, Minako wrapped her arms around Rei's legs, and Makoto, the strongest of them all, was pushing Rei backwards. Although Rei's fury was boosting her with unyielding strength, Makoto was still much stronger and could endure more, so in a quick sweep, Makoto had Rei over her shoulder.
"Put me down!" demanded Rei. "I have to get him! You don't know what he tried to do to me!"
"Damn, girl, cool it!" ordered Makoto, "and stop kicking me!"
"Let me go, Mako-chan! Lemme go!"
"If you talk this over with us first and stop thrashing around, I'll set you down." Rei reluctantly obeyed, and Makoto unceremoniously dropped her on the floor instead.
Although her backside was aching, Rei was still determined to wring Jadeite's neck, so she sprang back up and dashed toward the door.
"Venus Love Me Chain!" yelled Minako, predicting Rei's plan of action and successfully renstraining her. "Now what is the meaning of this?" she asked, directing the question at Ami. Quickly yet thoroughly, Ami elucidated the state of affairs and pointed out the lab mouse as Rei sat moodily. Makoto and Minako listened intently to the whole story, and they offered Rei their full and faithful commiseration. When Rei was her calm and composed self again, Minako retracted her Venus chain.
"Sorry I had to do that to ya, Rei-chan. I understand the feeling," shared Minako, "but you looked like you were about to really kill him."
"That's because I probably was going to kill him," admitted Rei guiltily. She vowed to spend a lot more time meditating to mitigate her temper, but part of her guilt was due to the fact that she had lost control and didn't plan first.
Makoto nodded her head. "If this happened to me, I would have reacted the same way. Thank goodness that it didn't happen, or else you guys wouldn't have been able to hold me back. But now what do you plan to do, Rei-chan?"
"You know me too well to even ask," she replied, "and nothing's gonna stop me."
"Not even me?" questioned someone from the door. The four girls whirled around and saw Prince Endymion standing in the doorframe.
"Prince Endymion!" they exclaimed.
"What are you doing here, Cousin?" asked Rei.
"Why Rei, I can't even visit my favorite cousin without a reason now?"
"You know what I mean. You never come to this part of the palace. What's up?"
Makoto stood up from her seat. "Here, have a seat."
"No thanks," said he, "I'll only be a minute. I hope I'm not interrupting you girls."
"Not at all," assured Ami.
Rei was growing impatient. "Of course you're interrupting! Excuse me--" she said, but before she could walk past him, he caught her arm and held tightly.
"Cousin Rei! Don't do anything to Jadeite!" Endymion finally pleaded. That managed to stop Rei in her tracks.
"Is that why you're here? To stop me? Look Endy, I know he's you're friend and all, but do you know what he tried to do? He tried to give me devil horns! Devil horns! I would have had to walk around with a big and annoying hat to cover them up if I drank the spiked tea. It's a capital offense to harass me on the Moon, worthy of an execution! And you're here to defend him?" she added incredulously.
The ever-faithful Makoto jumped into the conversation. "Prince Endymion, doesn't it concern you that your friend tried to do this to your first cousin? The cousin who has been your playmate since early childhood, and the same cousin who has looked up to you as an older brother. Does family blood mean anything to you? You should be ashamed of yourself!"
Having his loyalty to his family being doubted deeply offended him, but he would not quarrel with the Jovian princess. "It is only because I care about Cousin Rei that I ask her to stop. When I first overheard Jadeite bragging about his trick, I sentenced him to a good beating by Kunzite and the boys. Yes, he is one of my very best friends, but I couldn't let him get off the hook that easily. I guarantee that the next time you see him, you won't recognize him under all the bumps and bruises. You are just causing more trouble for yourselves if you carry this on, and I don't want this stupid war to go any further."
"We wouldn't have to fight back if your friends didn't terrorize us so!" Minako testified as she pumped her arms for emphasis.
"I'm sorry for their shameful behavior. I hope you will feel better knowing that I have ordered them to stay in their rooms for the rest of their stay and not to get within a hundred yards of all of you. If I find out that any of them pull another prank, it's off to the official Terran Juvenile Prison for them."
"That's not enough!" Rei protested. "You know that I have almost too much evidence to support a case against that son of a cow, and be thankful that none of us have pressed charges yet, even though we could have easily done that." The other three girls nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, and I'm glad. Listen Rei, if you won't do this for yourself, could you at least consider peace for me?"
"That's a low blow, Endymion," hissed Rei. Her resolution began to crumble as she remembered what she had said earlier: 'I respect my cousin and love him like the brother I never had, and for his sake, I will show mercy.'
A small part of Rei still wouldn't give up. "But..."
Endymion was quick to cut off her protest. "And if you won't help me, then help Usako. Did you know that your dear Princess Serenity was close to tears today? She talked to me about how she wished you all would stop fighting but how she didn't want to let you girls down."
Seeing the girls look down sorrowfully made Endymion laugh inwardly, for he knew that the knowledge of their best friend's sadness would kick their loyalty into overdrive.
"Did she really say that?" questioned Ami dejectedly.
He simply nodded his head.
After a moment of earnest reflection, Little Rei made up her mind, and she gently patted his arm. "For you, cousin, and especially for Usa- chan, I will discontinue my crusade against your friend."
"Thanks, Rei," he said as he gave her a hug and mussed her hair. "You're the best."
"If anything goes wrong, I'm taking his head."
Endymion chuckled. It was the best he could get out of her.
The next few days passed by peacefully. The girls spent a lot of time playing in the garden, going to the cinema, studying their lessons, and teaching Princess Serenity self-defense. The boys entertained themselves in their room with cards or garbage basketball.
Oftentimes, Prince Endymion would train with the girls and establish his own camaraderie with them, making his Usako overwhelmed with joy. She would visit him and his friends and bring them cupcakes. She made sure not to bring cookies. Nephrite was still a little shell-shocked.
Luna and Artemis, who were aware of the feud between the children, were surprised to discover that four days went by without a disturbance. It was quite a relief; they didn't have to make up lies to the queen about the behavior of the children and make excuses for their absences anymore.
"See?" said Artemis smugly. "I told you that they would work out their differences."
"I don't think they are on good terms," Luna contradicted. "I think the arguing has stopped because Prince Endymion and the princess must've said something."
"The important thing is that there's no more chaos. Though I must say, it's a little boring now that the action has ceased."
"Artemis!" she scolded.
"What? It's true! Besides, the ordeal was a good learning experience for the girls."
"What the hell are you saying, you numb-skull?! You actually want the girls to get involved in such wicked and immature scraps?"
"Think about it! The plans that they thought of all by themselves...it was good practice in offensive techniques. And the sneakiness they used to pull off their schemes...that's good exercise in espionage."
Luna was flabbergasted.
Artemis was oblivious to her disgust. "Admit it. You were also impressed with the thinking skills the girls used in their retaliations."
She was close to strangling him.
The man didn't know when to stop. "Yup, those girls take after me." He turned around to face Luna. "Hey, where are you--AHHHH!"
The door against his face was a very willing listener.
"Oh Gwen, must you really leave so soon? I thought you were going to stay for a month and a half!"
The queen of Earth stirred sugar into her coffee, but the lack of enthusiasm in her wrist motion signified her disappointment. "I know, Serenity, I know. In fact, I wanted to extend my vacation, but fate would not let me have my way."
Queen Serenity took her friend's hand. "But why? Why the sudden departure?"
"My planet needs James and me," answered Queen Gwendolyn glumly. "My husband has received news that invaders are trying to establish a colony on Earth."
"How awful!" gasped Serenity. "Who is responsible for this crime?"
"Our sources tell us that the people come in the name of Metallia, their sovereign."
"What do you and James plan to do?"
"We aren't sure yet. We do not know if they are harmless or evil, but if they come in peace, we will try to negotiate with them and grant them a small colony in exchange for their loyalty."
"I hope it all goes well, Gwen."
"So do I, Serenity, so do I."
"So you leave tonight?"
"Tonight."
"Have you told Endymion and his friends yet?"
Gwendolyn sighed and held Serenity's hand tighter. "Yes, and it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Endymion's a good boy, and very smart. He understood the importance of our presence on Earth, but he was fighting back tears at the same time. I don't remember seeing him cry since he was just an infant."
"My little Sere will be so heartbroken. She's really attached to her friends, and she loves that boy to death...just imagine her reaction when I tell her 'he's leaving, Honey.' How *can* I tell her?"
"Sere is also a bright child. She will be hurt, but she'll understand."
Packing was not a problem for the boys since much of their clothes and things were stolen. Despite this setback, packing their luggage had never brought so much joy to them. The thought of returning to their home planet where they could roam around freely lifted their spirits above the clouds.
Jadeite was jumping on the bed, grinning from ear to ear. "Ha! I've been losing my mind trapped in this cage! Freedom! Freedom!"
"I think you lost you mind before Endy forbid us to go outside of our rooms," postulated Nephrite as he set one of his smaller bags next to the door. "Where's Kunzite?"
"He's with the queen and king helping with travel arrangements."
"Okay, then where's Zoisite?"
Right when Jadeite shrugged his shoulders, he heard the tap of a rock hitting the window. "Speak of the devil," he said as he watched Zoisite dangle from the second story balcony. "What the hell...?"
Nephrite opened the door that opened to the balcony and ran over to help Zoisite over before he would have to scrape the remains of his insane friend off the cement. "What are you doing outside of our room without permission?" demanded Nephrite.
The response he got was a mixture of wheezing and laughter. Zoisite plopped himself on one of the ottomans and slapped his knee repeatedly. "Before I leave," he answered after the loudest of his guffaws died down, "I had to leave my mark on the Moon palace."
"Oh God," sighed Nephrite. "What did you do?"
"Nothing, nothing at all," Zoisite smiled.
"Zoisite..."
"Oh, I just organized half of the Lunarian Library by color."
"You've got waaaay too much time on your hands, Zoi."
"Aren't you scared Endy's gonna kill you for pulling another prank?" asked Jadeite.
"Like you are?" Zoisite retorted. "I know that you snuck out and hid itching powder bombs in places that the princesses are likely to go."
"At least I'm not scaling the walls like a drunken monkey."
"Bite me."
"I don't bite drunken monkeys."
The verbal ping-pong match continued for an hour. Nephrite just pretended to be deaf.
The sky was an uncommon, dismal gray, and the clouds cast an unnatural shadow over the happy landscape of the Moon. For the first time in a long time, the inhabitants of the Moon would witness nature's hidden inclement tendencies and remember that even the heavens could not perpetually keep a sunny disposition. The gods of the sky thundered their opposition to the departure of good friends, loudly demanding for redress. Two sorrowful children stood in their wake, ignoring everything around them but each other. They held each other's hand as if it was the only tangible thing that held them to the reality of fate's cruel humor. The portal of the Moon's temple taunted them. The angels in Heaven wept for them.
The queen of the Moon stood beside the queen of the Earth, but their grand titles meant nothing to them at the moment. They embraced each other like two sisters who had just found each other but had to be torn apart to go their separate ways once more, not knowing if time would permit another reunion. For the sake of their children, they held back their persistent tears, but they felt that their hearts, heavy with sadness and pain, would weigh them down into the ground.
King James also gave Queen Serenity a nice brotherly hug. He then wrapped an arm around his wife and rubbed her back consolingly, knowing full well that she needed as much of his support as possible. Queen Gwendolyn looked frighteningly pale. The gravity of the situation on Earth as well as the grief of their leaving was taking toll on her. The Moon queen looked little better.
Along side the elder royals were the four young inner planet princesses and the high princes of Earth. The girls had rejoiced when they first heard that the Earth princes were finally being removed from their lives, but the reason for their parting cut their celebration short. They, who hated the Terran princes with a strong passion, wished the boys a safe return to their home planet and hoped that matters on Earth would settle peacefully. The honest concern the girls had displayed had shocked the boys to no end. For a fleeting moment, Kunzite and his fellow princes felt despicable and unworthy.
The tentative treaty between the young guardians made Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion smile, but the scene was too bittersweet to swallow. 'The only day they all can be civil to each other is the very last day,' thought Little Serenity wistfully. She turned to look at Endymion's solemn profile. 'Is he crying?'
Endymion sensed that his companion was staring at him, so he quickly ran his hand across his face and pretended to cough. 'Crying won't help her feel better,' he told himself forcefully, 'and boys don't cry.' He turned his face to look back at her. Two clear beads made their way down her plump rosy cheeks.
"Endy..." she sniffed, "...I don't want you to go..."
He squeezed her tiny hand tighter. "I don't want to go either." He wanted her last minutes with him to be happy and light-hearted, like before.
"Will I ever see you again?" she asked hopefully.
"Of course," he replied. "I couldn't make a friend and never visit her again, right?"
"But from what I've heard, I might not see you for a long time."
"The important thing, Usako, is that we'll always be bestest friends. Don't cry, okay? I'll see you again someday. Until then, you have to take good care of yourself, and don't forget about me."
"You're stupid, Endy. I couldn't forget about a friend. But will you promise to remember me?"
"Now who's the stupid one?" he asked playfully.
Time was running out quickly. "Endymion," his father called. "It's almost time."
Endymion nearly fell over when his princess flung her arms around his waist. For such a minute girl, she could really bowl one over with the force of her hugs.
"I'll miss you, Endy! [Sob] Take good care of yourself [sniffle] and your parents and your friends for me!"
He didn't care anymore; he let the tears flow freely. "I'll...I'll miss you too, Usako."
She knew she was completely soaking his shirt with her tears, but all she could do was hug him tighter.
"Usa....Usako....you're...I...can't...breathe...."
She still held him tightly, and he could only smile down at her as he hugged her back with equal strength.
The adults watched the touching picture before them: two childhood friends saying goodbye with their whole heart and soul as they cry their little eyes out. Two thousand words could not describe the feeling behind that picture.
"Endymion," whispered Queen Gwendolyn. "It's time."
The two children reluctantly released each other. Little Serenity ran over to her mother as he walked the opposite direction toward his parents. In a spectacular light show, the portal appeared in front of them. King James and Queen Gwendolyn waved at their hosts, their friends. Endymion never broke eye contact with Little Serenity as he backed into the portal's blinding white light.
Jadeite, Zoisite, Nephrite, and Kunzite bowed respectfully to Queen Serenity and her misty-eyed daughter. Next, they maturely shook hands with the four future guardians of the Moon princess. When all the formal farewells were over and done, the princes followed the royal family of Earth into the curtain of light, and when the glow of the door disappeared, all that lingered were memories.
The hard feelings remained, but the juvenile princes and princesses unconsciously knew that this would not be the last time they would engage in battle. The twinkle of an untold challenge lie ahead, and although they wouldn't admit it, they were eagerly looking forward to it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
My comp froze on me while I was typing this up last week and I had forgotten to save, so I lost about 75% of what you just read. I don't like machines, machines don't like me.
Now don't kill me for this, but I may need to go on a brief hiatus. My plans for the present time of this story need a little revision. New ideas have popped into my mind...Be afraid...So I need time to rethink and find a different approach.
Extra notes:
If you are reading this, Joanna, thank you for taking the time to try and make things clearer to me. I'm not the brightest kid that one will ever meet and I do hope that the only reason my submission was rejected was simply because of incorrect format, though I'm pretty sure that A Sailor Moon Romance does not accept *all* submissions, as you say. For now, I will only post for my dear readers at ff.net, and if I ever actually finish this story, I might try again at A Sailor Moon Romance.
Thanks again, and biggest thanks to all reviewers!