Oak Evolution

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A statuesque woman of fearsome build yet feminine beauty strode through the halls of the Netherworld in purposeful agitation. Her features were angular and her hair a tangle of reddish brown curls that tumbled to her mid-back. The simple white shift she wore appeared ghostly against the shadows of the corridors.

With a flash her eyes, which were more silver than they were green, she disregarded the goblin-like creatures standing at the great doors of the realm's inner chambers.

"I'll announce myself," she said to them dismissively.

They squawked as they yet tried to stop her, ever the faithful servants to their mistresses who dwelled on the other side of the doors.

"Lady Jove" they began to warn, only to be nearly fried by the electricity that cracked about the goddess as she stared at them from down her nose. It was not quite a sneer but it did just as well.

"As I said," she continued archly. "I shall announce myself."

She strode through the doors, expecting to find three old women bent over a bubbling cauldron of green and gold. From the stories she had heard, she presumed that the women were akin to the witches of old. Instead, she found them only a little ways off beyond the doors, as if waiting for her. Witches indeed.

"I see you were expecting me," Jove said, folding her arms.

"Fate, Chance, Destiny," she nodded to each of them in acknowledgement, though she could not tell them apart. They were dressed in charcoal colored cloaks that covered most of their faces. Jove had heard that these women were truly faceless, but they seemed to smile. In unison, they tilted their heads slightly and leaned forward in a near bow.

"Lady Jove," they said. Their voices were as gravelly as their appearance seemed ancient. Jove suppressed a shudder. They were ancient. She was standing before some of the oldest and most powerful goddesses in the realms, and Jove had dared to barge in uninvited to their domain. "We trust that the Lady Mercury has told you the news."

"She is the messenger, is she not?" Jove bit out sardonically, and immediately regretted her tone. "What I mean to say is—"

"You are here for information," said one of the Fates, breaking away from her sisters to turn away. Jove could not tell which was which. She could be speaking to Fate herself for all she knew. Or it could be Chance or Destiny speaking. The three were identical, and their joint power was mighty to behold.

"You search for a name," said one.

"You search for a location," said another.

"You search for a means to reach out," said the last.

One of them cackled. "You could have visited your sister, the Lady Mars."

Jove stiffened. "I needed to hear it from the source," she said honestly. "I need to know."

The three were silent. Two of them regarded the young goddess, and the third seemed to stare in space. It was then that Jove noticed that it was not open space she was staring at, but streams of light energy in different colors that coalesced to form what looked like a river.

The River of Life, she identified as she recalled the stories. Each strand in the River represented a living creature. The Fates used this to alter the course of history, to entwine some paths with others, and to end others when they deemed it time.

The River was magnificent to behold. And terrifying. Jove struggled to grasp the notion that her life, and that of her avatar's, were mere strands of light in a great collection that meant seemingly nothing to the Fates. Their lives were truly theirs to tweak and prod at their own pleasure.

"Please," she prompted, unable to keep the desperation from her voice. "I need to know."

The third was silent as the other two finally responded. "His name is Nephrite, a lowly village boy from the North. He is of royal birth though he knows it not. He is one of Gaia's chosen ones."

Jove nodded, taking in this information. Again, they tilted their heads in a fashion that made Jove's skin crawl. "But this is not the question you came here to ask."

Jove took a breath, knowing that the Fates had been gracious enough not to throw her out at this point. They owed her nothing, especially when she was guilty of rudely intruding in their domain. She was a mere toddler compared them.

"Will he," she stopped and cleared her throat. Her voice was caught. "Will he truly mean the death of my avatar?"

The Fates considered. They regarded her almost pitifully, even the third who still stood off to the side. They generally held no attachments to the pieces that they played with, for that is what all creatures were to them. They were puzzle pieces and toys with which to tinker and see what happens.

"Your avatar should guard herself well," they said quietly.

And with that, a force shoved Jove out the door through which she came. The force sent her flying through the realms and back to the outer reaches of the universe, to the entry point she had used to portal to the Netherworld.

And all the while, though ashamed and indignant, Jove could only feel the tears that slid down her face.

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"You barged into the Netherworld and demanded an audience with them?"

The Earth goddess, Gaia was incredulous. She was rarely surprised, and there were very few things that could spark such emotion from the deity.

The goddess gazed at a desolate Jove who was curled into the base of an oak tree somewhere in the Northern region of Earth, and sighed.

"My dear, what possessed you to do such a thing? Those immortals are far your superiors. You had no business there."

"Of course I did!" Jove cried with impassion. Her auburn curls flailed about her. "They mean to twist the life of my avatar!"

A surge of electricity snapped about her as she broiled in rage. Jove balled her fists in a clump of grass to dampen the force of her electricity. Even Gaia would be severely electrocuted by her emotional state if she was not careful.

"She deserves better," Jove growled.

Gaia sighed once again. "Why don't you tell me what this is about? I haven't a clue what you're speaking of."

Jove blinked in surprise. Slowly, she unraveled herself from her fetal position. "Mercury hasn't told you?"

"The Lady Mercury," Gaia said, her voice filled with the soothing patience of a mother. "Has been visiting Earth quite frequently lately. But it certainly hasn't been to visit me. What news is there?"

Jove frowned. "The Fates have let it be known that this age, the Silver Millennium, is reaching its end. And that the love between our avatars and your chosen men, will mean their doom."

Gaia raised a delicate eyebrow and considered. "Well, isn't that a dramatic twist in their grand design."

"Is that all you have to say?" Jove cried incredulously.

Gaia looked at her patiently, as a mother would to a child who did not know better. Indeed, Gaia, with her long mahogany tresses and olive green eyes, could pass for Jove's mother if she had one. They even shared a love for nature that was unparalleled in the realm of immortals.

"Lady Jove," Gaia began, stirring Jove from her thoughts. "You are the patron goddess of Jupiter, and your dominion is thunder and lightning. Mortal and immortal men alike in this galaxy and beyond tremble at your name. Your avatar is known no less. Do you truly fear something so…base?"

"But the Fates said—"

"The Fates," Gaia intoned sharply. "Like to play. What they say is always true, but you will never know what version of the truth they are telling you, nor where that truth lies in the context of the bigger picture. Be wary of that."

Jove digested this. "Selene has mentioned that you don't care much for the Fates…" she hedged.

"And for good reason." Gaia replied. She patted Jove's hair affectionately, unafraid of the sparks of electric charge that lingered as the deity of thunder calmed down. The Earth goddess truly considered all the young immortals to be like her children. Jove was no different, though if Gaia admitted to herself that even she had favorites, Jove would be among them.

"But do not let my reservations trouble you," she hummed, making light braids in Jove's hair. "If it is as such that the Fates have decreed, why not see to this man they have chosen? Although, if it is who I think it is, he is far more a boy than a man just yet," she added thoughtfully with a chuckle.

Gaia noted the trusting eyes with which Jove gazed at her, and smiled encouragingly at the younger woman. "Perhaps learn who he is. And if your avatar is to fall at his hand, at least learn why that may be. Arm yourself with knowledge, my dear. It is your greatest tool when dealing with Fate, Chance and Destiny."

She looked at the young girl solemnly. "Remember that."

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Nephrite stared up at the summer sky. Even in his dreams he stared at the clouds thinking of what lay beyond them—civilizations, technology, cultures. The oak tree that stretched out above him rustled in what had become a usual scene when he entered his dreamland these days, particularly after a long day helping his uncle at the bakery.

"Does it ever rain where you come from?" he idly asked his companion. He could not make out her features, but he was sure she was beautiful. Her hair was a shade of brown lighter than his, and she was rather tall for a lady.

"Where I come from, there are magnificent storms that last for years," she responded, her voice soft and measured as always. "I like to dance in the rain when the thunder is particularly grand," she added wistfully.

"Huh," he said. "That's what they say about Jove, the goddess of Jupiter."

His companion sat up. "What do they say about her?"

Her query did not sound out of the ordinary, but there was something in her voice that would have alerted his senses if he were paying attention. But even in this dream world, his attention was elsewhere, in the clouds above them.

"She's the goddess of the storm," he said with a light shrug. "A fearsome one. She commands thunder and lightning. And yet," he added thoughtfully. "Her avatar is known to have plant-based powers as well. I wonder how that happened."

His companion laughed. "I believe I know a story about that," she said amusedly.

"Do you? Tell me!"

"Well then!" she cried in mock indignatiom. "What is this tone, young man?"

Jove could not deny that young Nephrite was a charming boy. With Gaia's help through Elysian, the goddess was able to slip into the young man's dreams and converse with him. It allowed her to appear undisguised, without the lad learning her true identity. As it was his dream world, she considered him as authentic, perhaps even more so, as he would be in waking life.

When Jove had first found him in his dreams, he was staring up at the sky, counting the clouds.

What sort of boy dreams of clouds? She had wondered. And that very question kept her coming back again and again. At first merely observing him, but eventually introducing herself as a friend that he had always known but just did not remember. He was easily bought. He was, of course, a young boy in his own dreams. There was no reason for him to be on guard.

Mercury had spent months with her 'mortal man' before he eventually cut her off after suspecting her immortal nature. Jove wondered how long she would have with this young boy in his dreams before he realized something was amiss.

"Do you know of the goddess Gaia?" she asked, feigning an idle tone as she did in all their conversations.

"Of course!" he exclaimed, taking his gaze away from the clouds above to look at her skeptically. "Everyone knows her. She's our patron goddess. She looks after us when the other gods are being mean."

Jove chuckled at his understanding of Gaia's role. He was not far off from the truth. Gaia had helped her when no one else would, or could.

"Indeed," she nodded. "Your goddess is very brave. She protects little cubs like you from being eaten by bad wolves. Anyway, it turns out that Gaia and Jove are actually really good friends."

Nephrite looked at her with wide eyes. "Really? Friends?"

"Well," Jove said, thinking about the truth of her statement. "Gaia is very old. She is one of the first gods to ever exist, you know. She considers all the younger gods and goddesses as her children, just as Earthlings are her children. And Jove is very much younger than her."

"Wow," breathed Nephrite as he digested this. "But what does that have to do with Sailor Jupiter? That's the name of Jove's avatar, isn't it?"

"My, my, don't you know a lot," Jove remarked in surprise.

"Everyone knows about the Senshi," Nephrite said in the imperious matter-of-fact tone of a boy his age. "In the North and the West they are known as the Sailor Scouts. They're the avatars of the goddesses. Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars—"

"Yes, yes, I get it," Jove said interrupting him. "Well, as I said, Jove and Gaia are friends. Sort of like a mother and daughter. Gaia is a mentor. In the early days they spent much time in the Elysian gardens so that Jove couldn't harm anyone with her lightning."

The boy shivered. "Lightning is scary."

"It can be," she nodded solemnly. "It took a long time for Jove to master it, and Gaia one day noticed that Jove was rather partial to the oak tree. It gave her balance."

"So Gaia gave her a gift?"

Jove chuckled. "Of sorts. Jove wanted to give her avatar balance, for thunder and lightning can easily consume. Jove has no power over plants, but her avatar does," she said with a wink. Nephrite could not see it since her facial features were blurred, but he could sense that she was sharing a secret with him.

"Because of Gaia," he said wonderingly. "Gaia's gift."

"Jove and Gaia have a special relationship," Jove said, smiling at how intrigued he appeared by her story. "One that you are too young to understand just yet, I think. But Earth has some of the galaxy's fiercest storms. And Jove loves the rain, remember?"

"Hmm…" he considered. He was quiet for a long moment as he returned his gaze to the clouds.

"You had said that you loved the rain, before we were talking about Jove," he said contemplatively, speaking his thoughts aloud. "And you speak about Jove and Gaia as if you know them personally."

"Ah, well…"

"And you referred to her as my goddess instead of saying our goddess."

Jove could smack her head at the slip. Mercury would not have made this kind of mistake. But Nephrite allowed her no time to backpedal.

"Whoever you are, you must have studied a lot about the gods," he said, staring at her dreamily. "I think I should do that too. And maybe one day, I'll be able to tell you a story that even you won't know."

Jove stared at him, flabbergasted. This was an unexpected turn. But Gaia had indeed warned her that mortals were not very quick to discover when an immortal was in their midst. And this was his dreamland, after all. In dreams, the improbable was always probable.

"I hope it will have a happy ending," she managed with a weak smile.

"Okay," Nephrite nodded, closing his eyes. He only did that when he was about to wake up. "I'll find you a happy story for Jove. Or maybe I'll write you one if I can't find any. I'll make it happen. You would like that, wouldn't you?"

His voice trailed off as his body faded. He was returning to the waking world. He would surely only remember snatches of this dream, as he did with all the others.

She stared sadly at the patch of grass where he had laid, thinking about his words.

"I hope you can write that story for me, my dear Nephrite."

She allowed herself to fade from the dream, returning to Gaia's garden. Looking about her, she found that the goddess was not there, but the earth deity often left Jove to her own devices when she used the Golden Mirror to enter the dream world.

With a crack of lightning, she transported herself to the domain that she and her planetary sisters occupied. She would search for the Lady Mars. The goddess of fire had to know something, anything that would bring clarity to what the Fates had said. Nephrite was a delightful boy. He was young, but she could see nothing corruptible about him. And she trusted Gaia's warning most of all.

Arm yourself with knowledge, my dear, she had said.

Jove would find out as much as she could. She owed her avatar that much. The Lady Mars would tell her what she knew. And from there, they would decide what to do.

They were in this together. Mercury was smitten, though she would not admit it. Mars was shaken, which anyone with eyes could observe when she had returned from her only trip to Earth. And Jove herself…

After many Earthen months of visiting the boy's dreams, which were not long in the eyes of an immortal, but very significant nonetheless, she knew her own heart had changed.

So she would do right by her avatar. She would discover the Fates' plan. And with the help of her planetary sisters, she knew they would make one of their own.

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A/N: This was the very last chapter to be written! Everything else had come together except for this one moment with Jove. Strangely, after fleshing out the concept of this world in the remaining chapters, it was easier to return to this middle piece.

In light of that, I can set you readers at ease. This story IS finished. I'll be posting them within reasonable time of each other as the readership (and hopefully reviews!) grows. I'm very excited at how this has turned out, and I do hope you enjoy, and are as intrigued as I am.

We'll be seeing more of Gaia in the next chapter.

~Blessings