Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta
Chapter 5 – Discovery
To say Serena was surprised, was an understatement. The first morning she was to go to work was at a dojo, and she couldn't fathom why her uncle thought she should work there. Sure, she fought youma all the time, but it isn't like she was telling people. She quietly accepted the job since she knew it was really in her best interest. So, she showed up for work and started cleaning the dojo like she was instructed. She agreed to work six days a week, cleaning the dojo and helping as she was needed. She would arrive early and be able to leave late afternoon.
The hours are really what thrilled her. Sure, she hated getting up in the mornings, but it would give her time to work with the stones in the afternoon before her uncle got home from his job. She realized three weeks after Darien broke her heart that the Generals could still be useful, and that she still wanted what was best for Darien. Two weeks later, she entered the anger stage and still realized the Generals would be useful, and the girls would want them back.
So, every morning she woke up and cleaned the dojo, answered calls, helped people sign up for classes and helped in any way she could. And of course, she was quickly valued there. She tripped over things often and managed to spill the dirty mop water every once in a while, but they didn't care. She always fixed her mess and smiled. Everyone she encountered smiled and was glad to have talked to her. There is always an exception though.
That exception came the fourth week on the job by the name of Elias. The owners of the dojo had told her all she had needed to know, and Elias's temper was one of them. He was going through his warmups prior to class, and Serena knocked over the dirty water with her mop bucket for the second time. Elias took a step and slipped in the water before Serena could get it cleaned up.
Elias lost his temper, "What the hell do you think you are doing?! I am a paying customer and you only work here! I should get you fired for this! Stay out of my way before I make you."
"Then make me." Serena answered.
Elias saw red. He attacked her full force head on. Next thing he knew, he was on his stomach with his face pressed into the floor and his arm twisted behind his back.
That week she started staying an extra hour every day for free lessons before she headed home to her stones.
Three weeks later on a Sunday afternoon, her uncle asked to talk to her. They discussed her job, her lessons and how she was liking living there. Then, he asked her about the Generals in the stones, and she almost fell out of her chair.
"The Generals? What Generals?"
"The ones trapped in the stones, Princess Serenity."
Now, she was speechless. She didn't know what she should say to someone who shouldn't know her secret. One who shouldn't know and brought it up so casually.
"Who… are you?!"
"Your uncle. Your father's brother."
"I already know that."
"No, I am Serenity's uncle also."
She was silent again as her uncle let her absorb the news she just received. It was a huge worldview shift to her. It was the first time she lived under the roof of someone who knew what and who she was. That, and the implications of coming face to face with another person from her past life. A life that ended in tragedy and death.
Her uncle spoke again next, "As you know, Queen Serenity sacrificed her own life to give you all a second chance. Your father had died when you were very little, and your mother was an only child. She sent me here too, to be awoken should you have need of me. That is as much as I have been able to figure out of her plan."
Serena quickly spoke up, "How long have you known? How long have you known about me and what I have to do?" It hurt to think he knew, and he didn't step in to help or support her. She had desperately wanted an adult in her life when she discovered who she was.
"I think I was to awaken only if you needed me. If you came to me for help. The first night you arrived, I began having dreams that I now know are from my past on the Moon. I have been 'waking up', it feels like, ever since."
Serena was relieved to hear that and overjoyed to have his help going forward. She asked, "So now what? Now that you know, what do we do?"
"You keep up going to your job. The lessons you receive can only help you fight and protect yourself. Also, we revive those Generals together. I know you must do the majority of the work, but I can help, especially once they are brought back. They will need somewhere to live and identities. I can take care of that."
"What is it exactly that you do again, Uncle?"
"Don't worry about that. I will just take care of it." He winked at her and smiled.
She wanted to press him, but she let it go. She was just too relieved to have help. It also took away a big worry for her. She hadn't figured out what to do once she succeeded.
He continued on, "Next Sunday, you should bring out the stones, and I will see what advice I can give you to help you out to awaken the Generals. I need to do some thinking, and I need to have some paperwork prepared for them."
"Sounds like a great plan, and thank you for helping me. It means a lot to have your support."
She then headed up to her room to let the news fully sink in. She realized that the only other person she had felt like she had them fully on her side through this was Darien, and that relationship didn't even start out that way or end that way. The relief she felt at having her uncle on her side from the beginning was staggering, and she felt incredibly grateful to her mother for sending him to her.
She brushed her hands over the stones. She was excited for any progress she could make, and having his help was definitely more progress than she made on her own in a while. She concentrated on each one at a time trying to convey her hope, her persistence to awaken them, and her deep affection for the men who had once been there for her.
Dinner that night was lighthearted, and they discussed everything but her life as Serenity. Her uncle let that news rest and let her adjust. He knew she would open up about what happened to make her leave everyone and come here on her own.
Over the next work week, Serena did open up to her uncle. She told him about Luna and discovering exactly who she was. She told him about the youma, the fighting and the sleepless nights. She told him about her friends and them discovering their powers. She told him about the arguments and how she felt she had let them down. She did not tell him about Darien, and he wasn't fooled for a second. He just waited and decided to bide his time until it was time to ask about him.
The next Sunday, Serena brought down the stones and placed them on the floor in the living room. Her uncle asked what progress she had made.
"I have managed to feel the life force of each General when I focus on them individually."
"Astounding! So, what is stopping you from bribing them out?"
"I don't know how."
"I know I am risking sounding trite, but maybe you just need to believe you can."
With mirth and sarcasm she stated, "Sure, and the answer was in me all along, and I just need to believe to achieve. You're right. It does sound trite."
"Just remember Occam's razor. Maybe it is that simple."
"What are you talking about? Achem's razor. What is that?"
"It is Occam's razor and the principle is that the simplest solution is usually right."
"Fine. It can't be any stranger than anything I have tried."
"What is the strangest thing you have tried?" He asked, amused.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are."
"You're kidding. Ha! You aren't." He started laughing, and Serena joined him.
"I was getting frustrated, and it made me laugh. At least I haven't turned them into a necklace yet. That was my last-ditch solution."
They both smiled and calmed down. Then she grew quiet and began to concentrate. She focused on the Jadeite stone first. She sensed his life force and whispered that she was trying to bring him back. She then concentrated on not only his life force, but what he looked like. She closed her eyes and pictured him in front of her. She then pictured him restored and unable to be corrupted again. She imagined pulling that image out of the stone and felt a shift. She opened her eyes and gasped.
"Hello, Serenity." Jadeite said bowing.