Sailormoon, its characters, struggles and story, are copyright and 
the children of Naoko Takeuchi. No recognition to this tale can be 
given without properly paying honour to her first. They are 
rightfully hers and I respect how she has raised them all. May what 
I have written here, the dark and the light, be considered worthy 
as a token of my appreciation for the world she has created.


His lordship Chaos / Angel Electric 
05 - The Calm and The Storm

Rated PG13.


*****

From deep within our secret souls
Do demons dwell and take their toll...
To each his demons.

	--William Shakespeare 

*****


	The advantage of all hell breaking loose around you is that 
it makes it much easier for you to idly saunter through a room 
without being noticed. Beryl had become as much a part of the 
background as the glass dome itself. She abstained from joining in 
any of the skirmishes, even just for a passing enjoyment, though 
the temptation to rain down bloody anarchy was hard to resist. She 
let others indulge in that.
	Someone might have thought it strange to see an elegant woman 
with flowing red hair sauntering amidst the crowds, walking with 
predatory steps while all the others ran and panicked. But they 
were so busy screaming and crying out and aimlessly running into 
each other that no one took any notice of her. None save Halcyon. 
Beryl kept her distance of the Lunarian Queen; she could feel the 
woman's roving eyes. 
	Halcyon could sense her presence.
	Beryl was not about to let herself be found, not yet, and so 
she sauntered along with faerie wings upon her back and a mask held 
up over her eyes. In the blurs of people and colours, she was 
occasionally glimpsed, always forgotten.
	Lapis and Lazuli, her dear twins born of madness and 
moonlight, were frolicking in the carnage. Like her, they knew well 
enough to hold back and not join in any of the festivities. Beryl 
glanced in their direction, and smiled in seeing how much the twins 
enjoyed themselves.
	It wasn't often that she could bring them out from their 
hidden chambers and let them visit such public places. Around the 
palace they were spectres--shadows drifting across the walls, or 
snatches of whispers echoing around some faraway, distant corner. 
They were good at keeping themselves hidden. Even when they would 
venture beyond the palace and stir up dissention in the crowded 
marketplaces of Lunaria, they kept themselves cloaked and hooded.
	Here at a masque, they would most certainly be noticed. 
However, there were too many distractions, and no one could afford 
the time to take notice of them. Sailor Soldier and Terran General 
fought against Seraphim. And then suddenly Seraphim fought against 
Seraphim. Beryl almost had to laugh at it all. She watched with 
great interest as Jadeite took on demon eyes and reduced one of the 
turncoat Seraphim into a cloud of blood faster than even she could 
see. She studied Kunzite's stoic expression in the face of death, 
and almost giggled at seeing Sailor Jupiter's self-confidence 
unravel within seconds.
	But her eyes always returned to Endymion.
	She watched him not out of love, or fascination, or even 
revulsion. As Endymion leapt and bounded across the ballroom like a 
bird of prey in flight, Beryl found herself swelling with pride. To 
see him fight so gloriously, and so impressively against an 
opponent like Spinel...he was truly her greatest weapon.
	Now that he had chosen to break the seal he himself had 
imposed upon his powers, they would flourish without a need for 
training. And even greater powers, dormant since his birth, would 
soon begin to stir and awaken.
	That slumbering power was what she wanted.
	That slumbering power was what she had spent eleven years 
waiting to see.
	Idly she watched Spinel and Endymion exchange strikes and 
sparks, their blades cracking against each other like thunder. 
Spinel had served his purposes, and so he could die whenever he 
wanted to.
	He had helped awaken Endymion's powers. Spinel was also 
supposed to have diverted attention away from her, and let everyone 
believe that he alone had been the only threat facing Earth and the 
moon. Alas, she had not given Halcyon or Endymion enough credit. 
That unexpected intrusion by the farseeing General had not helped 
either. But she could afford to stay in the shadows for a little 
longer yet.
	She would wait, and watch. 
	Watch as Endymion and Serenity grew closer together. She 
hoped they would fall into each other's arms. The final phase of 
her plans hinged on a kinship or romance of some form between them, 
and the stronger it was, the deadlier it would in turn become. 
	There was a sudden, terrible groan that caused the ballroom 
to tremble. Beryl slowed the pace of her saunter, and turned 
towards the glass dome holding back the Sea of Tranquility. Much to 
her consternation, the glass was cracking.
	This was not in her plans.
	It was not her intention to have everyone die now.
	The dome shattered.
	Beryl looked up at the breaking glass and falling water.
	She contemplated revealing herself. She contemplated using 
her own dark powers to repel the waters, and, in an ironic twist, 
save everyone she was eventually planning to destroy anyway. There 
was only an instant in which she could decide what to do.
	She chose to mutter the word, "Shit."



			Are you dancing?


			 ANGEL ELECTRIC



	The Sea of Tranquility fell upon the people of the masque, 
with enough pressure and force behind its waves to crush the lucky 
ones and drown the rest. Some cried out. Some ran in vain towards 
the doors. Some stood and watched the tumbling flood, their 
expressions varied between grim acceptance, or disbelief, or else 
they were just plain unimpressed by it. Only two dared to fight as 
the water came crashing down, and they were Spinel and Endymion, 
their swords still locked against each other.
	Endymion was not doing it by choice.
	"It would appear I have the pleasure of dying with you," 
Spinel hissed into Endymion's ear. His voice was barely audible 
over the roar of the water.
	His back to the sea mercilessly crashing down upon them, 
Endymion was surprised to discover he was not afraid to die. Death 
came for everyone. Eleven years ago, he'd believed death had come 
for him. Now, he was torn instead between trying to lob Spinel into 
the waves, or else ram the Soul Constellation into Spinel's chest 
before they were both pulverized by the water. 
	And then a loud voice called forth: "Silence Wall!"
	There was an explosion of light, and death was denied its 
prey.
	One by one, the people in the ballroom opened their eyes and 
lowered their hands from their faces. The world was a fury of light 
and shadow, but it was a dry world. And there at the threshold 
where the world might have ended, was a young woman acting as their 
messiah: a Sailor Soldier wielding a glaive, and the barrier of 
crackling air and violet lightning before her kept back the roaring 
fury of the sea. The underwater tides pounded at her Silence Wall, 
showering down sparks and great bursts of light upon the people. 
Her arms trembled. Her muscles clenched. She glared at the water, 
and looked as if every bit of strength she had was being used to 
force the sea to a standstill.
	"Finish this!" she shouted. 
	No one was willing to move, stunned by her appearance and her 
power. Even the Inner Soldiers gaped at her abilities.
	The raven-haired soldier glared at them all.
	"I can hold it!" she stated. "Finish this now!"
	Cioran grinned and bowed his head to her, and the fights 
began anew. The rogue Seraphim fought with the same strength and 
tenacity as before; they knew the ballroom would mark their graves, 
and so none fought with desperation or helplessness. Even in 
betrayal, they stayed true to the codes of their order. Between the 
Inner Soldiers, the remaining Generals and the Seraphim still loyal 
to Halcyon, the assassins were taken down very quickly. Even 
Garnet, who had for a time gotten lost in the terrified crowds, was 
able to draw out her smallsword and help out. The Inner Soldiers 
served to incapacitate, disarm or distract the rogue Seraphim. 
Those who faced the Generals or the Seraphim loyal to Halcyon died.
	Within minutes, of the twelve to enter the ballroom, there 
was only one left alive. And none dared touch Spinel so long as he 
and Endymion fought their personal war. They cared about no one 
else save for each other. Their swords danced, and drew sparks and 
blood. Spinel was not letting up, and he pounded his blade against 
Endymion's with renewed ferocity.
	Endymion could feel the Soul Constellation shudder beneath 
Spinel's attacks, the Terran blade crying out in pain. The force of 
Spinel's hits threatened to shatter it into pieces. Endymion leapt 
away before Spinel could deliver another heavy blow. Spinel 
vanished, and reappeared behind him.
	Endymion nearly choked on his own spit as Spinel drove his 
elbow into the base of Endymion's neck. Endymion tried to whirl and 
slash across Spinel's abdomen, but Spinel had already teleported 
elsewhere. 
	Suddenly a slender, crimson gouge cut itself across 
Endymion's lower back. Endymion hissed and turned yet again, but 
his sword met with nothing. Spinel reappeared over Endymion's head, 
and Endymion barely managed to jump backwards to avoid being 
impaled through the skull. 
	He took to the air, letting himself ricochet off a pillar. 
His flight pitched him towards Sailor Saturn's barrier, the 
crackling violet almost blinding him with its rampant energy. 
Spinel abruptly manifested himself right in front of Endymion. 
Endymion tried to twist himself out of the way, the Soul 
Constellation frantically raised before his face.
	Spinel swung himself around Endymion's blade, and grappled 
onto Endymion's sword wrist. He launched Endymion into Saturn's 
barrier. Indigo lightning surged as Endymion struck the barrier, 
and he screamed as he was pinned in the air by its power. Sailor 
Saturn's eyes widened as she saw him, but could not shut down her 
Silence Wall for even a moment.
	Endymion was forced to suffer the pain stabbing at his entire 
body.
	His senses were blended into one long, horrid torment. 
	Spinel only stood by and enjoyed the spectacle for a short 
time. Appearing before the barrier, he pulled Endymion from the 
Silence Wall and sent Endymion crashing towards the ground. Spinel 
was suddenly waiting for Endymion upon the floor. He spun his body 
around, kicking Endymion across the face. Endymion's body twisted 
like a rag doll as he bounced across the floor, the Soul 
Constellation lost from his grasp.
	Endymion coughed and spat out a thick mouthful of blood.
	Despite the beating his body had already taken, he rolled 
himself onto his back and tried to stand. Spinel's smile grew in 
seeing Endymion refusal to show weakness and surrender.
	And then suddenly a white dress and tresses of flowing blonde 
hair came to stand between Spinel and Endymion. Spinel straightened 
up as Serenity blocked Endymion, but he did not lower his sword. 
	"As I have already told you once before, highness," he stated 
to her, "my war is not with you. Move aside, or you will become a 
part of it, and I will not hesitate to kill you if it means killing 
him."
	Serenity shook her head at Spinel. "What did he do to deserve 
your rage?" she demanded.
	Spinel was not one to give so willing an answer. "If I die, 
you can ask him," he said. His voice went cold. "Move aside."
	"Serenity!" Endymion shouted at her.
	"I will not!" she stated. Her body trembled from sorrow, from 
terror, from righteous fury.
	For an instant Spinel seemed torn between making good on his 
threat, or attempting to avoid Serenity altogether by moving around 
her. And then he remembered his family. The blood returned to his 
eyes, and he raised his sword. Serenity closed her eyes as time 
seemed to slow, and the edge of the Seraphim blade was drawn back 
as Spinel prepared to drive it through her throat.
	There was a distant roar that might have been Endymion's 
voice.
	It was a roar that might have sounded like her name.
	Serenity could only hear the frantic pulse of her own heart 
as the sword came down.
	Endymion rose from the floor without needing arms or legs to 
push away from the marble tiles. The very air launched him forward, 
and with a frenzied motion he shoved Serenity aside. The tip of 
Spinel's sword caught her cheek and tore a slender, crimson gouge 
across her pale skin. Spinel's blade then buried itself into 
Endymion's right shoulder.
	Caught just beneath the collarbone, Endymion let out a 
strangled cry as the blade sank deeper, and then burst out from the 
back of his armour, cracking the remains of his metal plates. They 
clattered to the floor in a broken and bloodied mess. Spinel drove 
his sword further and further still into Endymion's shoulder, until 
the crossbar of his hilt slammed against Endymion's ribs.
	Spinel's eyes were wide in a frenzied passion that turned his 
smile into a terrifying leer. He shook, almost laughing, his warm 
breath rolling across Endymion's face.
	"For you, father, mother," Spinel whispered.
	He lifted one of his legs and pushed Endymion back to the 
floor. As Endymion fell, Spinel's sword was drawn out, dripping 
with Terran blood. Spinel forcibly pulled the last few inches out 
himself; a small spray of scarlet billowed out into the air as his 
weapon was freed.
	Endymion crashed into two of the flower vases as he was 
pushed away, and they shattered as they toppled over with him. 
Jagged, ceramic fragments slid in all directions, water and roses 
spilling forth. Endymion's back struck the floor and bounced, 
causing Endymion to let out a strangled cry.
	Spinel wasted no time stepping up to where Endymion lay. His 
darkened shadow fell over Endymion's face, and as he gazed up to 
see Spinel's demoniac smile, Endymion knew he would lose.
	"You'll never," he rasped, "get out from this room alive."
	Spinel was somewhat amused by his words, the vicious smile 
still pulling at the corners of his mouth. "You should never have 
let me get out of my village alive," he said, and prepared to drive 
his sword through Endymion's heart.
	Serenity cried out his name as she tried to pick herself up 
from the floor, but Sailor Mars held her back. Everything became 
lost in a blur of adrenaline and epiphany. Spinel moved forward to 
lunge. One of Endymion's hands came to rest upon a rose. Endymion's 
fingers wrapped around the base of the blossom.
	And Endymion launched the rose at Spinel.
	The rose cut through the air like an arrow, and its thorny 
stem became solid and lethal. It pierced Spinel's chest as if it 
was tempered steel, and Spinel stumbled sidelong as he felt its 
sharpened tip graze his heart. His Seraphim sword clattered to the 
ground, and blood decorated his lips as he tried to stay upright. 
Spinel failed at the effort and collapsed onto the floor, the 
blossoming rose adorning his left breast. He lay very still, but 
his chest rose and fell in laboured, rasping pants for air.
	Scarlet tears trailed down from his eyes.
	Despite his shaking arms and protesting legs, Endymion pushed 
himself off the floor and slowly limped towards Spinel's form. He 
forgot about Serenity, who was crying and wore an expression 
somewhere between bewildered and utterly relieved. He forgot about 
the other Seraphim, though that battle had already ended. As he 
stalked towards Spinel, all Endymion could see was his father's 
bedchambers. And upon whitened sheets stained with blood, his 
father's body stared back at him with hollow, bloodied sockets.
	Spinel heard Endymion's footsteps, and rolled his head to one 
side. He grinned maliciously. Through the blood in his throat he 
gurgled, "You've killed me, Endymion. A shame we can't go down to 
hell together."
	Endymion knelt down next to Spinel, and wrapped his hand 
around Spinel's collar. He pulled Spinel's face close to his. In a 
low, menacing whisper, he said, "Did you kill my father?"
	Spinel stared up at Endymion with dying, blood-stained eyes, 
and smiled. "I never knew the faces of the Terran bastards who 
slaughtered my family. They ran free, and your father never caught 
them. The closure I wanted was denied, and so I will not give you 
the satisfaction of knowing either. It will die with me. Choke on 
the secret, Endymion. Choke on it until you die."
	Spinel's laughter tapered away, and his eyes became lost in 
death.
	The blade of his sword turned to dust and crumbled.
	With an angered shout, Endymion shoved Spinel's body back 
onto the floor, rose, and stormed off as best as his battered body 
would allow.


				*	*	*
	In the wake of the battle, getting everyone evacuated from 
the crumbling ballroom was the first and greatest priority. The 
chamber was bathed in an eerie violet glow as Sailor Saturn waited 
for everyone to leave. Many of the guests at the masque sported 
bruises and small cuts from pushing and shoving and tripping over 
each other. Some suffered wounds from having been too close to some 
of the rampaging battles. A host of attendants and palace guards 
helped clear the ballroom. Doctors were hastily summoned to form a 
triage in the banqueting room; some of the people in more urgent 
need of treatment were unable to leave the ballroom before being 
examined first.
	Nephrite stayed by Kunzite's side as some attendants prepared 
to move him out on a cot into the banquet hall. 
	"How are you feeling?" Nephrite asked.
	Kunzite opened his eyes a little, but his pupils were 
unfocused. "I've seen better days," he said.
	"Felt like old times, didn't it?"
	"Unfortunately, yes." Kunzite's sight came back into focus, 
and he glanced around the ballroom. He caught a glimpse of Sailor 
Jupiter breezing by; she was shaking and holding herself, and 
looked utterly horrified. "How is she holding up?"
	Nephrite glanced back at Sailor Jupiter. "Her? Oh, she's just 
a little catatonic since she nearly brought the whole damn ocean 
down on us."
	"Go easy on her," Kunzite said, and then grimaced as he felt 
a surge of pain shoot through his chest. "Every new soldier makes 
mistakes."
	"She almost got us all killed," Nephrite said sourly.
	"Yes, she almost did, "Kunzite agreed, "but she knows that. 
She doesn't need you twisting the proverbial knife in a little 
deeper. Let Halcyon and the others deal with her. Where's Jadeite?"
	"He's being thawed out, I think. Did he?"
	Kunzite nodded his head as best he could. "Regrettably."
	Nephrite swore. "Damn it. It's been...what? Four, five years 
since he lost control like that?"
	"Four," Kunzite said. "He'll be shaken up when he regains 
consciousness. You should go help them. Farsense into Jadeite's 
mind, and make sure the demon's been chained down before they 
release him."
	Reluctantly, Nephrite parted ways with Kunzite. In his place 
came Sailor Venus, frantically charging in between the medics and 
shoving them aside. "I thought you were already in the banquet 
hall," she said, dropping to her knees. She seemed on the verge of 
tears. "It's a mess in there already! When I didn't find you there 
I came back out here! You're bleeding all over the place!"
	Kunzite managed to raise a hand and place his index finger on 
her lips.
	"Shhh," he said quietly. "I'm still here."
	"You're not supposed to almost get yourself killed like 
that," she said, smiling as best she could. She grasped Kunzite's 
hand before it slid off her face, and held onto it. "I was winning 
the game too."
	Kunzite's eyes slowly closed. "Thank you," he murmured.
	"For what?"
	"For saving me."
	Kunzite fell into sleep. Sailor Venus held onto his hand as 
he was slowly, carefully carried out.
	They passed by some of the Seraphim, who all reverently 
saluted or bowed to Kunzite before resuming their business. The 
Seraphim guards still kept to their own, and demurred from taking 
any avid thanks or praises from people who were never so grateful 
to see one of the old orders come back to rescue them. Most of them 
went from one fallen Seraphim to another, collecting weapons and 
performing their Order's private last rites. They collected the 
bodies of their fallen, former comrades, and silently bore them out 
of the ballroom.
	Serenity wandered the ballroom, Sailor Mars staying close by 
her. The weight of what had just happened would not yet come to 
rest upon her shoulders. Later that night she would shiver 
uncontrollably, and cry when she looked back and saw how close she, 
and everyone else, had come to death.
	For now, she was more concerned with Endymion than herself.
	Sailor Mercury spent most of her time helping co-ordinate the 
evacuation, and when most of the tasks were near completion she 
sought out Sailor Jupiter. Jupiter was curled up in one of the far 
corners, and though she had not cried her eyes were bloodshot and 
bitter. With her friend's arm around her shoulder, Jupiter was 
quietly led out of the ballroom. Barely anyone saw them. 
	"I feel cheated," Lapis said as guards and dancers and medics 
walked by. She jutted a pouting lip out at her sister. "All that 
water, and we didn't get to bathe in it."
	"I still enjoyed bathing in the blood and the hatred," Lazuli 
said. "The Seraphim will make for such better playmates than the 
shadows. Though I think we can only kill them once. Seraphim don't 
resurrect as easily as shadows."
	Lapis turned to her sister. "And what about the Sailor 
Soldiers?"
	"They're Mommy's toys," Lazuli said, and shrugged her 
shoulders. "She would get upset if we broke them before she did."
	Beryl breezed in behind them and said quietly, "Indeed I 
would. Retire to your bed tonight, my loves. I will tuck you in 
soon."
	"Staying behind?" Lapis asked.
	Beryl nodded. "There are a few loose ends I need to tie up."
	Lazuli giggled as was jostled by a passing medic. "Ooh, this 
is so much better than being tucked in with a fairy tale. The 
dragons are so much cuter when they're breathing fire instead of 
breathing words."
	"Indeed," Beryl agreed. "Now go, my dears. We've all had a 
most interesting day."


				*	*	*
	"And how are you doing?" Garnet asked once she finally 
managed to locate Zoicite.
	Zoicite was limping towards Halcyon. Blood trickled down from 
the corner of his lip, and off the fingertips of his right arm, and 
he looked absolutely exhausted, but he still drew himself closer to 
the Queen. 
	"I've seen better," he sighed. "And I'm glad to see you 
managed to survive this."
	Garnet shrugged. "In the end, I wasn't much help, even with 
my sword. I had to fight my way past three palace guards who were 
convinced I was just another civilian!"
	Zoicite laughed. "I trust you gave them hell?"
	"They'll never look at a librarian the same away again," 
Garnet said with a grin. In a more serious tone, she said, "You 
guys are heroes, you know--you, and the Sailor Soldiers and the 
Seraphim. I can't believe Cioran managed to convince so many of 
them to race over here and protect us."
	Zoicite stumbled, and Garnet caught him before he fell.
	"You look pretty beaten up too," she said. "I should get you 
to one of the medics."
	"Let me speak with Halcyon first," Zoicite insisted. "I need 
to talk to her now." 
	Halcyon had chosen to remain in the ballroom until she knew 
that everyone else was safely out. While the guards looked to 
Sailor Mercury for orders, they turned to Halcyon for comfort. 
Seeing her there, calm and composed, and helping where she could, 
did more for her subjects than many of them first realised.
	Halcyon had just finished calling out for another cot when 
she saw Zoicite and Garnet approach. Sailor Uranus and Sailor 
Neptune, having stayed close to Halcyon's side, moved to intercept 
and keep him at a safe distance, but Halcyon shook her head at 
them. Uranus especially looked displeased about that.
	"You fought well," Halcyon told Zoicite.
	Zoicite let out a weary, half-hearted laugh. "You knew we'd 
try to locate the Seraphim archives on our own, didn't you?"
	Garnet boggled not only at Zoicite's words, but at his 
brazenness. No one usually talked to the queen so candidly.
	Halcyon nodded. "The only risk on my part was ensuring that 
Cioran would be there when you and Garnet broke in. I was also 
hoping that you could convince Garnet and Cioran of your trust."
	"If you knew that we knew about the Seraphim, why all this?" 
Garnet asked, and gestured with his head to the tattered remains of 
the ballroom. "Why not put us all together beforehand and let us 
work to find Spinel?"
	At that, Halcyon rewarded the question with an enigmatic 
smile. "Because," she answered, "that would have more than likely 
alerted Spinel. And had I forced all of you to work together, 
there's no guarantee the seeds of trust could have been planted. 
Yet you all came together on your own, and because of that you have 
forged a trust with each other that I could not have accomplished 
on my own."
	Zoicite stared blankly at her, and hated the fact that for as 
diabolical as her methods had been, she was right. "And people 
wonder why I loathe politics," he groaned, and began to limp away.
	"Come on," Garnet said, steadying him. "I'll get you 
something to read; the line-ups for all the potential casualties 
are no doubt going to be long."
	Cioran was waiting for them as they reached the ballroom 
doors.
	"It would appear," Cioran said with a lop-sided smile, "that 
when it is time for you to return to Earth, I will be there to wish 
you a fond farewell."
	"You saved our asses," Zoicite said. "Thanks."
	"And you have saved our honour," Cioran answered solemnly. "I 
thank you."


				*	*	*
	The doctors moved swiftly about their tasks, swarming into 
the ballroom to escort the dancers, help the wounded and carry out 
the dead. Despite Uranus' loud and ardent protests, Halcyon 
remained inside the ballroom until only she and her Outer Soldiers 
remained inside.
	Even as they allowed Saturn to finally begin the difficult 
task of bringing down her Silence Wall, the Queen stayed just 
outside the last opened doorway. They had always been prepared for 
such an emergency, though no one could have foreseen the 
circumstances causing the dome to crack apart. 
	One of the foremost palace architects had been attending the 
masque, and fortunately had not panicked unlike so many others. As 
the people were evacuated, he stayed near the Queen and evaluated 
the extent of the damage. His stern gaze never seemed to change, 
for better or worse, even as Sailor Saturn began to slowly back 
away from the edge of the ballroom. The Silence Wall moved with 
her, shuddering beneath the beating of the ocean as it allowed more 
and more of the ballroom to be flooded.
	"You're certain that once she lowers her barrier, these doors 
will be able to keep the water at bay?" Neptune asked him.
	He nodded his head. "They were built to withstand the immense 
pressure of the ocean. So long as we get them locked and sealed 
before she lowers her guard, nothing should get through."
	"And if it does?"
	The architect's expression did not change. "Then you won't 
have much of a chance to reprimand me. Everyone here will drown 
before even one of us has the chance to reach the nearest 
staircase."
	At last, Saturn took one final step, putting her beyond the 
threshold of the doors. The Silence Wall blocked the water from 
following after her. Waves of violent light swayed and danced, 
casting eerie shadows over the rest of the chamber. Saturn 
continued to hold forth her glaive. Sweat trickled down her cheeks. 
The architect and two of the Seraphim moved around her and pushed 
the immense double doors shut, the architect himself setting the 
final locks in place.
	He turned his head and stepped back around Sailor Saturn. 
"Whenever you're ready," he said.
	Saturn dropped her defences and lowered her glaive. The 
Silence Wall on the other side of the doorway vanished, and the 
ocean smashed itself against the doors. There was a loud groan, 
causing everyone but the architect to cautiously step back.
	"They'll hold," he stated evenly, and turned to Halcyon. "If 
you require my services, I shall be in my office with my 
associates. I have to make certain this incident has caused no 
further structural damage to the surrounding areas. I doubt I'll be 
getting any sleep tonight."
	"I doubt any of us will," murmured Sailor Uranus.
	Sailor Saturn leaned up against the wall, her eyes closed, 
her breathing heavy. She looked as if she had run a marathon. 
Sailor Pluto drew up alongside her.
	"We should talk," Pluto stated.
	But Hotaru shook her head and opened her eyes. "There are 
injured people here I must attend to first, Setsuna. Then you and I 
can talk at whatever length time we so desire."
	"Most of your strength is already gone."
	"It would be a sin for me to stand around and do nothing." 
Saturn scanned the mass of people around them. "There are a few in 
particular I need to see."
	Saturn disappeared into the crowds. Sailor Pluto shook her 
head and quietly approached Halcyon and the remaining Outer 
Soldiers, and they spent a great deal of time talking in hushed 
voices.


				*	*	*
	Endymion had vanished from the banqueting room before the 
witnesses of the battle could praise him, and almost before the 
medics could attend to him. One moment he was amidst the great 
confusion, and then he disappeared. 
	The Soul Constellation disappeared with him.
	He found himself half-walking, half-shuffling down the 
expansive and empty palace halls. His weapon was held loosely in 
his hand, the blade pointed at the floor. It had lost all its 
dignity and its drive, like its master. Aimlessly he wandered the 
palace, seeking no destination or place of comfort. 
	His eyes were haunted, and hurting.
	Somewhere along the way, he stumbled across a large, open 
garden where water flowed along a canal that ran right through the 
walls enclosing the greenery. A scarlet bridge spanned the canal, 
and led onto a lush, green lawn whose borders were kept in check by 
exotic plants and beautiful flowers that only blossomed in the 
starlight. It was raining cherry blossoms, and they were the reason 
he finally came to a stop as he crossed over the bridge.
	Endymion stood in the middle of the grass, his eyes closed, 
his head tilted to the starry heavens. The tumbling petals danced 
across his face, tickling and caressing. For as hard as they tried, 
they could not calm the darkness in his heart. Endymion only opened 
his eyes when he sensed someone behind him.
	Serenity stood upon the bridge, breathless, as if she had 
chased after him for days. Her shoes were gone; she had run 
barefoot. 
	Keeping to the shadows of the archway, Sailor Mars silently 
watched them. There was another shadow briefly beside her; after a 
few minutes Nephrite returned to the banquet hall to tend to the 
other Generals.
	"What are you doing here?" Endymion muttered.
	Serenity seemed a bit taken aback by the callousness in his 
voice, but did not turn away. "I...I want to know you were all 
right," she said.
	Endymion began to laugh. It was a bitter laugh, wrought with 
defeat when it should have rang with victory. "I'm alive, aren't 
I?" he told her. 
	Serenity said nothing.
	With another dark and twisted laugh, Endymion lifted his head 
and stared up at a sky obscured by the deluge of cherry blossoms 
coming from who knew where. His laughter tapered into anger, and 
then blindness. With a shout he hurled the Soul Constellation from 
his grasp. The sword spun through the air and bounced across the 
grass, scattering petals in its wake. Endymion found himself unable 
to move. He could only stand rooted in that one spot as his body 
trembled.
	His face contorted from anger into sorrow. He glared at 
nothing, at the air and the petals falling around him, and tears 
began to slide down his cheeks. 
	"Endymion," Serenity said quietly. "You protected me."
	Her kind words fell upon deaf ears. 
	"Spinel didn't murder my father," he told her.
	Serenity seemed taken aback, either by his statement or his 
lack of response to her words. "How do you know this?" she asked.
	"I saw it in his eyes. But he knew who did." 
	Endymion still looked away into nothing. "I've failed him. My 
father cannot rest, and that...that bastard laughed at my 
helplessness." At last he turned and faced her. "I've failed him," 
he said quietly, and then collapsed into her arms.
	Serenity staggered under his weight, but managed to bring the 
both of them onto the grass without any further injury. His 
bloodied arm hung limp at his side; what had soaked through his 
sleeve left scarlet stains upon her white dress. He was vaguely 
aware of a painful throbbing in his body that echoed the slow pulse 
of his heart, but as the world around him slowly faded into 
darkness all he knew and wanted to know was the feel of her body 
against his. 
 	"You're warm," he said distantly.
	Serenity smiled and brushed some of the bangs of hair away 
from his face. She began to sing for him a lullaby she had known 
since childhood, and she sang it in Lunarian. Through fading 
vision, Endymion looked up and saw the gentle princess smiling down 
at him as cascades of golden hair flowed around them.
	"Thank you for the roses," he murmured.
	When Endymion finally fell asleep he did not know. All he 
knew was that his head was being cradled against Serenity's 
breasts, and he felt safe.


				*	*	*
	The next time Kunzite regained consciousness, the ballroom 
was cleared and he was somewhere inside the banqueting hall. He 
wasn't altogether sure how anyone could seal the connecting doors 
and passageways from shattering under the pressure and letting the 
sea rush into more of the palace. He really didn't care either.
	A cacophony of noise resounded all around him: groans, 
shouts, cries, sobs, grunts, discussions, the banging of tables and 
sounds of medical equipment being tested and used. It made his ears 
ring. The headache now pounding inside his skull increased instead 
of abated. 
	"You're awake," a voice said. 
	It was a tired and a very relieved voice.
	It belonged to Sailor Venus.
	Kunzite's vision shifted in and out of focus. There were 
moments where he could see perfectly. The rest of the time he 
lapsed into varying degrees of blurriness. He felt Venus squeeze 
his hand again. 
	"How long have I been out?" he asked.
	"Not very long," Venus answered. "About half of the people 
who weren't involved in the battle have been given clearance to 
leave. Most of the others don't have serious injuries, though they 
seem to insist on claiming otherwise to anyone who will listen."
	Kunzite tried not to laugh. It hurt to laugh. It hurt to even 
breathe.
	He wondered what Halcyon was going to do now in the wake of 
Spinel's attack. News would spread like the light of a sunrise, 
regardless of whatever cap might be placed on the information. By 
tomorrow there would be wild accounts and rampant rumours of an 
assassination attempt, a battle, the presence of the Seraphim and 
the Sailor Soldiers, and the total destruction of the undersea 
ballroom.
	Another surge of pain racked his body, and Kunzite clenched 
Sailor Venus' hand as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. 
	"Kunzite!" Venus exclaimed in alarm. She frantically looked 
around the crowded hall. "You need help more than most of these 
people. Where are the doctors?"
	"I am here," said a new voice.
	Sailor Saturn knelt down next to Kunzite, and slid her palm 
beneath his head, supporting his neck. 
	He blinked as her shadow fell over his face, and he managed 
to lift his head off her palm. "I think I know you," he remarked in 
a distant, fading voice. He then winced and coughed up more blood. 
"We have got to stop meeting like this."
	"For your sake more than mine," Saturn agreed.
	Sailor Venus looked from Saturn down to Kunzite, and back up 
to Saturn. Her eyes widened in recognition. "Why didn't you tell 
me?" she asked Saturn.
	Very carefully Saturn lowered Kunzite's head back down onto 
the cot, and slid her palm out from beneath it. "Because you didn't 
need to know. I am an Outer Soldier. I have pledged my life to 
serve Halcyon. You are sworn to protect her daughter. We live in 
worlds that rarely meet, and when they do it is brief, though they 
always exist side by side."
	Saturn's primary focus was on Kunzite, so Venus did not press 
the issue any further. She continued to hold Kunzite's hand and 
give it reassuring squeezes.
	There was too much confusion around them; barely anyone was 
paying any attention to two otherwise enigmatic Sailor Soldiers 
caring for one of the Terran Generals. Everyone else was too busy 
checking themselves to see if they were all right, and shouting 
ecstatically when they discovered they in fact were perfectly fine.
	Sailor Saturn didn't seem to care if she garnered any 
attention.
	She slid the glove off one of her hands, and gently pressed 
her palm onto the gruesome wound marring Kunzite's chest. "Remember 
how I told you before about that uncomfortable prickling 
sensation?" she said.
	Kunzite gave an acknowledging grunt.
	Apologetically Saturn told him, "This will feel worse. Much 
worse."
	"Beats dying." Kunzite said, and tried to grin. Instead he 
coughed up more blood.
	Saturn laughed and shook her head. "At least you're putting 
this into perspective. Now brace yourself." She turned to Sailor 
Venus. "You need to let go, otherwise you will steal what I am 
giving to him."
	Reluctantly, Venus let go of Kunzite's hand, and placed his 
arm at his side.
	Closing her eyes, Sailor Saturn let her powers flow through 
the entirety of her body, and into her fingertips. Kunzite's body 
was engulfed by a warmth that radiated out from her fingers as she 
pressed against his sternum. It was a beautiful warmth, and for a 
moment he opened his eyes in wonder.
	Suddenly the warmth became a burning fire that seared his 
skin and sent hundreds of nerves screaming in pain. Kunzite's eyes 
and mouth widened. He tried to shout, but his voice was choked by 
what felt like hundreds of knives stabbing into every bit of flesh 
he had. His body convulsed, spasming almost uncontrollably, and he 
coughed something up.
	It might have been blood.
	Venus recoiled and turned away when she saw the black tar as 
it was purged from Kunzite's mouth. It landed upon his chin and 
neck and started to bubble. It seethed and smoked, and burned 
itself into nothingness. Kunzite's body went limp, and with a great 
exhaling he felt somehow whole once more.
	Saturn slumped and fell back, losing her balance as her world 
grew dizzy. Venus caught her before she would have hit her head on 
the floor. "Hotaru, are you all right?" Venus asked.
	Saturn nodded. "I am. But when I wear this uniform, do not 
call me by that name. I will not call you by yours. Right now, you 
are Sailor Venus, as I am Sailor Saturn."
	"I understand." Venus looked back down at Kunzite's chin. 
"That wasn't blood. That wasn't like anything I've seen before. 
What was that?"
	"Death," Saturn murmured, though she made it sound like a 
passing remark. In a clearer voice she said, "There are others who 
fought and need my gift, but my strength is weakening rapidly. I 
need you to take me to them, Sailor Venus. Will you do this for 
me?"
	Venus looked torn as she glanced from Kunzite to Saturn.
	"I'll be fine," Kunzite said to Venus. "I just need to rest a 
little." He took in another breath through his nostrils, and 
remarked, "It's good to be able to breathe air again instead of 
blood."
	Saturn smiled at him, and slowly got up. Sailor Venus became 
her crutch, and helped Saturn move towards the next person. They 
would only be choosing to heal those with the greatest injuries 
that could not wait. Kunzite liked knowing that Saturn would not 
care what official called her name, but instead answer to the cries 
of the dying first.
	For a time he laid on his cot and closed his eyes, enjoying 
the pleasant, numbing sensation flowing through his body. Someone 
drew up beside him, and Kunzite's eyes opened to see Nephrite 
there.
	Nephrite knelt down.
	Kunzite sat up, or tried to. Despite the healing, his body 
protest mightily. Kunzite gritted his teeth before giving up. He 
collapsed back onto the cot.
	"Don't sit up," Nephrite said. 
	"The worst of my injuries are gone now," Kunzite said, almost 
indignant at being coddled.
	"So I see. That still doesn't mean you should act as if 
you're in perfect health."
	With a sigh, Kunzite turned his head and glanced at some of 
the people clustered around them. His brow abruptly furrowed, and 
he turned back to Nephrite. "Where's Endymion?" 
	"Safe. That's all you need to know."
	"I also know that he sustained some impressive injuries of 
his own, Nephrite."
	Nephrite momentarily looked away. "Spinel tore him up pretty 
bad. Also caught Endymion in the shoulder. He was bleeding 
everywhere."
	Kunzite tried again to sit up. The ensuing discomfort forced 
him down onto his back again.
	"Don't worry," Nephrite quickly reassured him. "Two Healers 
were attending the masque when all of this happened. Halcyon made 
sure he was their first priority." With a dark laugh, Nephrite 
shook his head. "They had a hell of a time, though. Endymion 
practically stormed off while they were trying to patch him up."
	Kunzite was silent for a moment. "He shouldn't have been able 
to even stand if the wounds were as serious as you say."
	"Trust me, they were," Nephrite said. "He was either running 
on pure rage and adrenaline, or there was something else feeding 
his strength." There was a reluctant pause between them before 
Nephrite asked, "Do you know what sort of power runs in his 
bloodline, General?"
	Kunzite shook his head. "No. I can't even begin to suggest 
what might be its source. It's unlike anything I've ever before 
seen or even heard of."
	"But you--"
	"What I have is wholly different," Kunzite countered evenly. 
"Believe me, I know. I may have been chosen to train him to use and 
conceal his unique abilities...but Endymion's magic is as much a 
mystery to me as it is a force to be reckoned with when it stirs."
	Someone began to cry out about their arm.
	"What about Spinel?" Kunzite asked, changing the subject.
	"Dead. Endymion killed him." 
	Kunzite let his gaze drift up to the vaulted ceiling over 
their heads. "I wish I could have seen that."
	Nephrite then said, sounding a little surprised himself, "He 
killed Spinel with a rose."
	It took a moment for that to register in Kunzite's brain. He 
was about to nod his head, but instead turned it back to Nephrite. 
"A rose?"
	Nephrite nodded. "Believe me, I thought Zoicite was joking 
around when he told me. Then I saw Spinel's body for myself. 
There's a blossom of a rose lodged right over his heart. You can 
guess where the stem went." 
	"We're going to have fun explaining that," Kunzite grumbled.
	"I know," Nephrite agreed. "Once we're let back to our 
quarters, I'll contact our officials on Earth and start to spin-
doctor something. Most Terrans are going to not going to be happy 
knowing Endymion has Lunarian-like powers."
	He paused, and then lowered his voice.
	"It's strange to consider," he said quietly. "We've been here 
just over a day, and already we've marred relations with some of 
the Sailor Soldiers, almost incurred the wrath of the Seraphim 
Order, and barely survived an assassination attempt." 
	"Yes," Kunzite agreed. "I wonder what tomorrow will bring." 


				*	*	*
	When Zoicite awoke late the next morning, it did not entirely 
surprise him to see Cioran seated comfortably at the foot of the 
bed. Certainly he was startled to find the former Seraphim Guard 
inside his own private bedchambers, but Cioran seemed to like 
making those sorts of entrances.
	"Morning," Zoicite said as the surge of alarm passed through 
his system. "Tell me you at least used the door."
	"I did," Cioran said. He wore an irreverent smile on his 
face, and seemed quite amused by Zoicite's more or less blasé 
reaction.
	"Did you actually knock?" Zoicite then asked.
	"No."
	"Thought as much." 
	With a slight grimace, Zoicite swung his legs out from 
beneath the bedsheets and sat on the edge of the mattress. Sheets 
were pooled around his waist; typically he slept naked, and was not 
about to act that casual around Cioran.
	"What time is it?" he muttered.
	"Almost midday," Cioran replied. "You slept through most of 
the morning's excitement, though for understandable reasons. How 
are your muscles?"
	Zoicite grimaced again as he tried to stretch his legs out. 
"Stiff. And sore. I feel like I've just been dragged by a horse 
across the countryside."
	"Given the abuse you were put through last night, I'm not 
surprised," Cioran remarked. "Healing may take away the worst of 
any injury, but it still leaves you quite thoroughly mangled on the 
inside. It will be days before you feel back to perfect health."
	Zoicite chuckled, and slowly rotated his stiff shoulders 
around in their sockets. "You speak like you've had to endure this 
before."
	Cioran nodded. "The Seraphim Order was once notorious for how 
many injuries its guards would see on a daily basis." He sounded 
oddly proud, and Zoicite could hear how fond and far back his 
memories went of glories gone past. 
	Cioran turned away, and allowed Zoicite to slowly get out of 
bed and start to dress. Even donning the most casual of attire 
proved a slow and painstaking effort. Zoicite spent most of it 
gritting his teeth and hating that it felt like all his muscles had 
fused into a solid piece of immutable metal.
	"The Healer who tended to me last night," he said. "What was 
her name again?" 
	Cioran didn't turn around. "Hotaru, I believe."
	"Do you know her?"
	"Personally?" Cioran said, and shook his head. "No. I know 
her by reputation. She's rumoured to be quite the powerful Healer, 
and is more or less the personal physician of the Sailor Soldiers."
	"Either way, I need to thank her." Zoicite felt a stabbing 
pain between his shoulder blades as he slipped his arms into his 
jacket sleeves. "Ow! And maybe book myself in for another session 
with her."
	He straightened up and looked at Cioran with newfound 
curiosity. Sensing the prying eyes, Cioran turned around. "What are 
you doing here, anyways?" Zoicite asked.
	Cioran slid off the foot of the bed, and stood casually 
before Zoicite. "Delivering a message from Halcyon Queen."
	"What is it?"
	"'Take the day off.' And I quote."
	Zoicite burst out laughing. Cioran continued to wear his 
indomitable grin. 
	"Oh," Cioran added, and reached into his uniform. "I took the 
liberty of ensuring these would be returned to you."
	He removed a small piece of cloth that had been folded over 
on itself numerous times. Cioran placed the cloth on the corner of 
Zoicite's bed, and began to unwrap it. Zoicite's expression was one 
of total surprise when part of the cloth was pulled away to reveal 
three of his shuriken.
	"The others are there as well," Cioran said, noting with some 
satisfaction the look on Zoicite's face. "They have all been 
cleaned, of course. I had some of my comrades retrieve them last 
night before the ballroom was evacuated and allowed to flood. 
Unfortunately two of them were broken beyond repair." 
	Zoicite could only shake his head. "I don't know what to 
say," he said, running his fingertips over the length of the 
blades. "Thank you."
	"And again, I thank you," Cioran said. "You have done more 
for us than you realize, General. The world you woke up in has 
changed quite a bit from the world you fell asleep to last night."
	"How so?"
	Cioran's smile grew. "You'll see."
	Zoicite nodded; no doubt he would. He folded the cloth back 
over the top layer of throwing knives and set the bundle aside on 
his dresser top. He tied his hair back into a hasty ponytail and 
examined himself in the mirror.
	His pants were fine, and he wore a sleeveless shirt 
underneath his open jacket. His clothes were fine. He looked, and 
probably smelled, like someone who had just crawled out of bed, and 
only after a lot of protest.
	"Maybe I should shower," he sighed.
	"I shall wait for you outside," Cioran said politely, and 
left the room.
	How he left the room without opening the doors boggled 
Zoicite for a moment, but he just shook his head. His brain was 
still cluttered with the proverbial morning cobwebs, and he had not 
yet fully recovered from the previous night.
	A shower would do him good, he thought to himself.
	And Zoicite was pleased to learn he was right. Very 
refreshed, he emerged from a hot and longer than usual shower, and 
redressed into his clothes. Despite the dampness of his hair, he 
still tied it back in a ponytail. His jacket was left open as 
before. Finding his katana cleaned and in its scabbard upon his bed 
made him smile again at the Seraphim's hospitality.
	Zoicite hung his weapon at his side, and pushed open the 
double doors to his bedchambers. The light shining in from the 
common room was bright, and he had to shield his eyes for a moment 
as they adjusted.
	The common room was very quiet and very empty, save for 
Cioran, who was seated upon one of the chairs. Everything had been 
cleaned or neatly stacked and organized. It unnerved Zoicite to see 
the room looking as if no one had been using it the night before.
	"Where is everyone?" he asked Cioran. 
	"Elsewhere, though to be honest I'm not sure where 
specifically," Cioran replied. "General Jadeite has already left. 
And I believe General Nephrite has not yet slept. You were brought 
in with the two of them last night, were you not?"
	Zoicite nodded his head.
	Jadeite was probably out somewhere brooding, especially if 
he'd learned that his demon eyes had returned. Nephrite staying 
awake all night was not a great revelation; Nephrite was notorious 
for going days without sleep at times, if the need was pressing 
enough. That still left two others unaccounted for.
	"Endymion and General Kunzite spent the night in the care of 
others," Cioran said, anticipating Zoicite's question. "I do not 
know where Endymion was or is, though I suspect General Nephrite 
does. As for General Kunzite, he is still being looked after by the 
Healers. Of everyone, his injuries were the most life-threatening."
	Cioran rose to his feet and began walking towards the front 
doors. He gestured for Zoicite to join him. "From what I've been 
informed," Cioran said, "there will be a special private dinner 
tonight. Very exclusive. Endymion, yourself and your comrades will 
be attending, of course."
	His voice dripping with sarcasm, Zoicite replied, "So long as 
there's no masquerade after the dinner, I'll be happy."
	Cioran let out a bark of laughter. "Ah, a kindred spirit."
	Zoicite had newfound respect for Cioran. "You don't like 
masques either?"
	"Ten years ago, masques were tedious ventures," Cioran said. 
"I spent most of the time secretly watching those I protected from 
the ceilings or corners. After we were disbanded, any sort of 
masque tended to bring back memories I'd rather not reminisce 
over."
	Sensing the sudden awkwardness of the conversation, Zoicite 
changed topics. "Who else is coming to this dinner?"
	"Mostly those directly involved in last night's incident," 
Cioran said. He reached for the door handles. "Halcyon, Serenity, 
the four Sailor Soldiers, and that lady archivist you were with. 
Oh, and myself and the other Seraphim Order members who were able 
to respond to the battle call."
	"What about that other Sailor Soldier?" Zoicite asked. "The 
one with the glaive."
	Cioran paused. "Can't say. Everybody's whispering about who 
she might be. Everybody's whispering about everything."
	"I can well imagine," Zoicite muttered. 
	Cioran opened the double doors, and permitted Zoicite the 
honour of walking out first.
	"So where are we going?" Zoicite asked.
	"To brunch, General," Cioran said, and with a gesture he made 
the doors swing closed by themselves. "I have some friends who 
desire some quiet, grateful words with you."


				*	*	*
	The first thing Endymion registered when he awoke was not a 
sight, nor a sound. It was a scent. A wonderful, calming scent that 
made him want to burrow deeper into it. He stirred and mumbled 
about fond childhood memories, and his hands closed around what he 
believed was a pillow.
	In the end, he wasn't too far off.
	As his eyes opened and came into focus, Endymion realised he 
was gently grasping the breasts of Princess Serenity. He lifted his 
head with a start, surprising Serenity. She had been awake, humming 
to herself as she watched the birds flutter about. Endymion stared 
at her, then down at her chest, then back up at her again.
	"Sorry," he said. "I...I mean...sorry."
	Serenity smiled and laughed in a way that made him unsure if 
she was just being her usual self, or if she was encouraging him to 
continue. "Did you sleep well?" she asked.
	"Yeah. I guess," he said. He pinched the bridge of his nose 
and tried to shake off the latent fatigue that was still dogging 
him. "How long did I sleep?"
	"As long as your body needed you to."
	Her unusual answer calmed his otherwise racing mind, and 
Endymion regarded her once more. Her dress looked a little worse 
for wear, bearing the scars from the previous night's battle, as 
well stains from the dirt and grass, and his blood. Serenity 
herself looked tired, but quite content.
	"And you were here the entire time?" he asked her.
	"I wasn't objecting," she answered, "if that's what you 
fear."
	Endymion shook his head, and looked away. After killing 
Spinel, the night was a blurry unpleasantness he could feel in his 
stomach but could not recall in his mind. He tried to remember, and 
couldn't. "No," he said. "No, that's not it at all."
	"Then what it is?"
	Endymion touched his arm. The blood that had once covered it 
was now gone.
	"My mother sent someone to clean and wash away the blood," 
Serenity explained. "You have been well-cared for."
	"What about you?" Endymion asked, and he brushed his 
fingertips against her cheek. There was no scar to be seen.
	Serenity smiled and rested her hand against his. Endymion was 
not allowed to pull his palm away from the warmth of her face. "I'm 
fine," she said. It was a statement and a reassurance.
	Endymion believed in the first part.
	"I'm sorry you were dragged into that," he sighed, shaking 
his head. "You should not have seen me like that You almost got 
killed."
	"But I didn't," she said.
	"You came too damned close!" Endymion snapped, and more 
emotion crept into his voice than he would have preferred. He saw 
the surprised expression on Serenity's face, and avoided her eyes. 
"That terrified me," he said quietly.
	Even though he was looking away, he could still feel her eyes 
upon him.
	"I just...I wanted to see your smile again," he told her. "I 
wanted to teach you how to make the roses dance."
	He brought himself to look into her blue eyes.  "I didn't 
want to lose you." 
	Serenity smiled once more, but it was a deeper smile borne of 
a deeper emotion. That smile made Endymion excited and 
uncomfortable all at once. He sighed once more, though not as 
heavily, and settled his head against her bosom.
	"Thank you," he said.
	Serenity looked down at him in confusion. "For what?"
	"For letting me spend the night in your arms."
	His answer made Serenity's cheeks grow flushed. She tipped 
her head down and kissed Endymion upon his forehead. "There was no 
other place I would have rather been," she confessed.
	It was Endymion's turn to grin. In spite of his tattered 
armour and darkened world, he found it easier to smile in front of 
Serenity. Thinking about the condition of his armour made Endymion 
look down at himself and see just how much damage the fight against 
Spinel had managed to inflict on him.
	"We should probably change our clothes, shouldn't we?" he 
said, looking back to Serenity.
	She nodded her head in agreement. "That might be a good idea, 
yes."


				*	*	*
	Groggily, Kunzite woke up.
	He immediately wished he hadn't.
	As he tried to sit up, his body screamed obscenely with every 
bone, pore and muscle it had. Kunzite hissed through clenched teeth 
and forced himself to lay back on the bed. The best he could do was 
tip his head to one side or the other, and even that drew more 
discomfort than he knew possible.
	At the very least he was able to get a better view of his 
surroundings. To his chagrin, he found himself in what was 
undoubtedly another room in Hotaru's healing chambers. The floor 
was covered in the Lunarian equivalent of tatami mats, and the 
walls were adorned with colours of blue and indigo. At the far end 
of the room there was an enormous window that stretched from floor 
to ceiling. It overlooked a pond filled with splashing fish. 
Sunlight trickled in lazily through the glass, but had yet to reach 
up to where Kunzite lay.
	His bed was nothing more than a soft, comfortable futon that 
had been rolled out over the floor, and he was covered by a thin 
but surprisingly warm, violet blanket. It suddenly occurred to 
Kunzite that the blanket was the only thing covering him; he was 
totally naked underneath. Last he recalled, he had not been naked 
when he'd fallen asleep the night before.
	Kunzite tipped his head to one side and stared down at 
Minako, who was still fast asleep. She was curled up in a ball, 
sleeping on her side at the edge of the futon, and her hand firmly 
clasped his. Her hair spilled out behind her like ripples of golden 
water.
	She looked angelic as she slept. And yet the night before she 
was every bit the commander and soldier she had been raised to 
become. Kunzite wondered if it was fair to have someone so 
beautiful be destined for so vicious and bloody a future.
	He was content to lay there until she woke up; his body 
wasn't letting him move very much anyways. For a time he returned 
to the memories of the past. Very slowly he replayed everything his 
eyes had seen the night before. Had there been something he'd 
missed? Was there some hidden detail during the melee that gave 
indication to Spinel's mysterious benefactor?
	At best Kunzite could see nothing more than blurs of people 
running about.
	He sighed and studied the details of Spinel's faction.
	A welcomed interruption came as the door to his chamber was 
slid open, then closed once more, and the unmistakable sound of 
Terran-Nihongo boots echoed upon the floor.
	"Good morning," Nephrite said. "I trust you slept well."
	Kunzite turned his head. "And I should think you didn't sleep 
at all."
	Nephrite ruefully grinned. "Out of the five of us, I was the 
only one who managed to leave the battle relatively unscathed, 
despite being in the middle of all the fighting. It was left up to 
me to take care of things as you and the others recovered. I've 
already reported the assassination attempt to our homeland. The 
necessary officials are ensuring the proper account is being 
spread."
	"And what is the proper account?" Kunzite asked in a careful 
tone.
	Nephrite shrugged, as if already knowing his version was 
being widely accepted. "Rogue fanatics tried to kill all of us, and 
stop the peace negotiations. Aided by Lunaria's Seraphim Order and 
the Sailor Soldiers, we effectively destroyed them. That's the 
shortened version, of course. I added enough heroics to ensure that 
legends would be sung about you centuries from now."
	"How thoughtful of you," Kunzite said dryly. "What about 
Endymion?"
	"He'll just have longer ballads," Nephrite replied. "I also 
informed them that, naturally, the Lunarians will embellish and 
romanticize the entire battle. That should help if any reports of 
Endymion's leapfrogging abilities reach Earth."
	Kunzite's lips were drawn into a thin, approving smile. 
"Excellent. How has the reception been?"
	"Outrage at the parties responsible, of course," Nephrite 
said. It felt strange to be talking so casually about so recent an 
incident that had nearly killed them all. "I made sure to distance 
Spinel's faction as far from the Lunarians as possible. It seems to 
be working. Most people are really pissed off with Spinel's group, 
as opposed to just blaming Lunaria as a whole."
	He glanced down at Minako. "She hasn't left your side all 
night."
	"I know," Kunzite said. "And I think my hand's fallen asleep. 
Where's everyone else?"
	"Endymion has been in the care of Princess Serenity all 
night," Nephrite reported, and then added, "the lucky bastard. He's 
been up for about an hour now. Oh, and Jadeite has gone solitary 
after learning about last night. He's lurking around the palace 
somewhere, but he won't be in any of the public places."
	Kunzite let out a sigh. "I feared as much. And Zoicite?"
	"Still sleeping. That guy from the Seraphim Order was going 
to pay him a visit, last I knew." Nephrite sat himself down next to 
the futon. "We're all pretty much scattered to the four winds, 
though it's not like we have anything on our agendas today."
	Kunzite made a sound that resembled a laugh. "Amazing how 
different your timetable becomes after a few hours."
	"You think that's impressive?" Nephrite said with a grin. 
"You should take a stroll around the palace."
	They both turned their heads as the door slid open again. 
Hotaru stepped inside, once more adorned in robes of black and 
amethyst. Nephrite bowed his head to her as she entered.
	"Hello again, Hotaru-san."
	"General," she said, nodding politely to him.
	Nephrite grinned and looked down at Kunzite. "How's the 
victim?"
	"Coping," Hotaru replied. She glanced down at Kunzite. "You 
do certainly stand out as one of the quietest patients I've ever 
tended to, Kunzite." Hotaru added with a playful wink, "I might be 
spoiled now."
	"Only for the moment," Nephrite countered. "Give him a few 
more hours and he'll be driving you insane. He's garnered quite the 
reputation with the field medics back home. If he gets injured, hey 
all draw lots to see who has to treat him." 
	Kunzite shifted uncomfortably beneath his blanket. 
"Nephrite," he stated pleasantly in Terran-Nihongo. "You're an 
ass."
	"You're looking somewhat tepid yourself," Hotaru added, 
turning her attention to Nephrite. "When did you last get any 
sleep?"
	"Sleep is for the weak," Nephrite said with a shrug.
	Hotaru smirked. "Be that as it may, I know a few techniques 
that can incapacitate you for a day or two. I expect to hear you 
having at least managed to sneak in a nap sometime today, or else 
this evening I will be paying you a visit."
	She turned her gaze back to Kunzite and smiled warmly. "I've 
prepared a broth that will help restore your strength. Hopefully 
Minako will have disengaged herself from you once you feel ready to 
eat. However, you will still require a few healing sessions to 
relax your body and restore your muscles."
	"I could use that," Kunzite agreed.
	Hotaru bid them both a good morning, and disappeared to 
prepare the broth. When the sliding door had closed behind her, 
Nephrite pinned Kunzite down with an indignant look. "Two? You have 
two Lunarian women flirting with you now?"
	Kunzite managed as helpless a shrug as his body would allow. 
"It's not like I asked for it."
	"At this rate, you're going to have every woman in the palace 
dreaming about you," Nephrite sighed, and shook his head as he 
walked out from the room.
	"Where will you be?" Kunzite called after him.
	"Around," Nephrite answered, stopping briefly in the doorway. 
"There are still some matters from last night that need to be 
sorted out. I may spend the afternoon sleeping if everything has 
calmed down by then. And if you think you're up to the task, 
Halcyon is hoping to speak with one or two of us over a quiet 
lunch. Bit of an informal debriefing about last night. Currently I 
seem to be the only General who either knows of it, or is able to 
attend."
	Kunzite stared up at the ceiling. "If I can actually move by 
then, consider me there," he said. "I would also recommend that 
Jadeite not be told about this; he has enough to work through 
without being reminded of last night."
	"Agreed," Nephrite concurred, and quietly slid the door 
closed behind him. 


				*	*	*
	It took her more than an hour of quiet searching, but Rei 
eventually found Jadeite. He stood upon a wooden bridge that 
spanned a great outdoor canal. Further down the canal, the water 
emptied into a waterfall and a tranquil pool filled with Lunarian 
fish. Trees resembling wisteria rustled all around him.
	The view was lost upon Jadeite, who stared down blankly at 
his reflection in the water. Artemis sat by his side, trying to be 
a source of comfort, but to no avail. The little white cat looked 
profoundly troubled, moreso than any cat should have been.
	Jadeite didn't even seem aware of Rei's presence as she 
stopped at the edge of the bridge and deliberated going any 
further. Jadeite did not look away from the water. He didn't even 
cast a momentary glance at her. He continued to lean against the 
railing, and watch his distorted reflection.
	Rei struggled with the silence. Finally, as she decided to 
turn and walk away, he abruptly opened his mouth.  "What are they 
saying about last night?" he asked her.
	Rei hesitated, unsure of what to tell him. He was expecting 
an answer. She gave it to him. "They're awed by the battle Endymion 
and his Generals fought last night. Earth is being viewed with 
newfound respect, and since the attackers were unmistakably 
Lunarian, many in the palace are having to re-examine their beliefs 
about how safe our own world is."
	That answer brought no comfort to Jadeite.
	His expression did not change.
	"And the Sailor Soldiers?" he asked.
	Again Rei hesitated; she saw the expression on his face. 
Jadeite made no attempt to conceal the darkness in his mind behind 
a mask of smiles or civility. "No one has ever seen us fight 
before," she admitted. "They're praising us so much, it's almost 
ridiculous. They're also talking about restoring the Seraphim 
Order, given what Cioran and the others did last night."
	Jadeite absently nodded his head. A slight smile appeared on 
his face. It was good to see that the Sailor Soldiers and the 
Seraphim were being given the due they had earned.
	There was one last question he had to ask. They both knew the 
answer already, and he knew that Rei would not want to speak it 
aloud.
	"And what are they saying about me?" he asked.
	This time, Rei did not hesitate. "They're terrified of you," 
she stated.
	She sounded regretful.
	For that matter, Jadeite regretted it happening in the first 
place. "You shouldn't have seen that," he said quietly.
	Rei took a step onto the bridge, and drew closer to him. 
"What happened?"
	"I lost control," he answered. He watched the water. "It 
doesn't happen often, but when I go, it's a miracle I ever come 
back."
	Rei's expression changed. She understood.
	"You're a berserker," she said.
	Jadeite nodded his head. "I am, though not by choice."
	Rei opened her mouth to ask something, probably a question 
about how he could have ever become such a horrific monster. 
Jadeite silenced her question with one of his own. "Did I cry 
blood?" he asked.
	After hesitating, Rei nodded.
	"I hear Spinel often cried blood too," Jadeite said. "On 
Earth, it's the mark of a berserker. They shed tears of blood 
before they're about to turn. He cried those tears more than I ever 
did, and yet he somehow mastered that overwhelming urge to lose all 
control and humanity. Maybe it's because he was Lunarian. Maybe 
it's because his rage was tamed early on and turned into a cold 
lust for vengeance. Maybe."
	He said nothing more after that, and lost himself in the 
reflection his face cast upon the water. Rei tried to step closer, 
to speak some words of reassurance or a spurning remark designed to 
get him to retort. She looked as if she wanted back the cocky, 
calculating General she had seen the morning before.
	Such a man was no longer there.
	With regret, Rei parted ways with Jadeite and left him upon 
the bridge with his silence and his demons. Artemis followed after 
her, and Jadeite was alone. He didn't seem to mind. He didn't even 
seem to notice. Eventually he turned away from the water, and 
guided by the impulses that can only be found within a hopeless 
mind set adrift, he wandered through the palace.


				*	*	*
	Zoicite found himself standing before a beautiful mural 
depicting the Seraphim Order of old. The painting looked centuries 
old, despite being rendered and restored so incredibly well. 
Standing upon what he judged were ancient Lunarian ruins were seven 
soldiers dressed in Seraphim uniforms, which, if the mural was any 
indication, had not changed at all over the course of passing 
generations.
	There were four men and three women, each of differing ages. 
The oldest was a man whose shockingly white hair was tied back in a 
long ponytail that dangled halfway down his back. The youngest was 
a little girl perhaps no older than nine or ten, but she had the 
stern, cold eyes of a Terran soldier three times her age. All seven 
of them looked imposing, glaring out at the palace corridor and 
standing as if ready to do battle than pose for a painting.
	Behind them, standing upon a higher platform further into the 
background, were eleven distinctly feminine shadows. Zoicite 
immediately recognized them as Sailor Soldiers...but why that many? 
	"They were the first," Cioran explained to Zoicite. "Seven 
were chosen when the Seraphim Order began, and they were hand-
picked by the ruling Lunarian Queen herself. They all possessed 
extraordinary skills, and they had all fought in the war against 
the Darkstorm. Some of them had even fought side by side with the 
Sailor Soldiers themselves. Originally ten were to be in the 
Order...but three fell in the final battles against the darkness 
sweeping Earth.
	"After the War of the Darkstorm ended, a priestess from the 
planet Mars had a vision: there would be no immediate rebirth for 
the Sailor Soldiers. The planetary defenders who gave their lives 
to destroy the rampaging Darkstorm would not be returning in 
different incarnations."
	That didn't entirely surprise Zoicite.
	Mars was known not only for its quality of warriors, many of 
whom served in the Lunarian and Palace Guards, but also for its 
mystics. Many of today's priestesses and prophets had distant ties 
to those bloodlines.
	"The solar system was still crumbling and in chaos," Cioran 
continued. "All the planets but the Earth and Lunaria were reduced 
to poisonous, dead worlds. Everyone was terrified that the war 
might not yet be over, and warlords tried to seize control 
everywhere.
	"The Seraphim Order was created to dispense law, and bring 
order out of the reigning chaos. The seven grew to fifteen, and the 
fifteen to fifty. Under the watchful eye of the Lunarian royalty, 
they helped the survivors from the other planets establish new 
colonies upon the moon. Many also helped bring petty tyrants on 
Earth to justice, giving the Terrans the chance to rebuild their 
own countries after the war."
	He spoke as if he had been there to witness the final days of 
the Darkstorm's horror, and the slow rebuilding of the solar 
system. His eyes remained fixed upon the painting, haunted with 
such intimate knowledge of so ancient and terrible a time. Zoicite 
wondered what age-old texts from that war the Seraphim still had 
hidden in secret rooms and chambers.
	Cioran at last tore his gaze from the mural and looked at 
Zoicite.
	"For centuries we were the knights of the Lunarian Kingdom," 
he said. "Even during the Darkstorm, we were an unofficial band of 
elite soldiers. Then twelve years ago, we were cast aside because 
the Sailor Soldiers had returned. There would have been no greater 
honour for any of the Seraphim than to stand side by side with the 
Sailor Soldiers once more, fighting the darkness as one united 
front. But people are fickle, and they would have nothing of it. 
That, however, changed last night. You, Zoicite, have given us 
something we can never repay you for."
	That did surprise Zoicite, and he looked questioningly at 
Cioran. Cioran simply smiled, and reached his hand out to the 
mural. An intricate Lunarian rune flickered to life upon the palm 
of his hand, black like a tattoo. The rune then turned scarlet, and 
the mural began to melt. Zoicite stepped back as the colours of the 
painting seemed to wash away into some hidden place behind the 
frame of the painting. What they left behind was an elegant, 
perfectly-formed doorway hidden within the painting's frame.
	Cioran gestured to Zoicite. "You first. I insist."
	Tentatively, Zoicite stepped into the open doorway, and then 
into darkness. He heard Cioran enter a step or two behind him, and 
then abruptly the light pouring in from the palace corridor was cut 
off. They were plunged into total darkness as the painting restored 
itself. Zoicite was flooded with momentary panic; old combat 
instincts died hard, even if he was in trusted company.
	Suddenly there was light, and Zoicite squinted his eyes as he 
tried to adjust to the abrupt brilliance shining around him. He 
stood within a gargantuan, circular hall whose walls were made of 
nothing but glass. He could see not the palace nor any semblance of 
Lunaria. All he could see were stars. He, and Cioran behind him, 
stood in the vast majesty of space, and it was more beautiful than 
he could have ever imagined.
	Then Zoicite heard the applause.
	Thunderous, whole-hearted applause.
	He lowered his gaze from the darkened heavens shimmering 
above, and saw two long, curving tables carved from a dark, rich 
wood. There must have been easily a hundred former members of the 
Seraphim Order giving him a standing ovation. To say he was 
bewildered, if not overwhelmed by the reception awaiting him, was 
an understatement.
	"What is this?" he asked Cioran as the applause faded away.
	The Seraphim Guards remained standing at the tables.
	"Because of last night's events," Cioran said, and his voice 
echoed across the great star-lit chamber, "the Seraphim Order shall 
be reinstated, our honour and our positions given back to us. This 
came about because you, General Zoicite, were so bold and audacious 
to break into our archives, and convince me of your own honour."
	Cioran turned to the rest of the former Seraphim Guards.
	"After twelve years," he called out to them all in a proud, 
mighty voice, "we have gathered here this morning as old friends. 
Tomorrow, we shall meet here at this table again, not just as 
friends--but as Seraphim once more!"
	A roar of victorious cheers shook the entire chamber.
	"We have standing before us," Cioran said once the cheers had 
ended, and he gestured to Zoicite, "a man who has proven his honour 
as worthy of wearing the mantle of the Seraphim Guard. If there is 
any one of us here who would object, let them speak now."
	There was ten seconds of total silence.
	"Then," Cioran stated, and he turned to face Zoicite, 
"present him with his weapon and gift."
	A young girl, perhaps fourteen or fifteen and dressed in the 
robes of a Seraphim student (which made Zoicite wonder how many 
students were still being trained despite the Order having been 
disbanded over a decade ago), ceremonially walked between the two 
long tables. In her hands was a scarlet pillow, and upon the pillow 
lay a dagger whose blade was double-edged and forked at the tip, 
curving like the waves of the sea. Strange markings ran down along 
its length, and the hilt and pommel were made of a material that 
resembled gold that had lost its lustre, decorated with small, 
precious gemstones.
	It was a little disconcerting to know that this was more or 
less identical to the weapon that had been used to kill Endymion's 
father, but Zoicite knew this dagger was altogether different. It 
was going to become his dagger, a symbol of his initiation and 
newfound honour. The girl knelt down and presented the dagger 
before Zoicite. For his part, Zoicite was unable to take his eyes 
off the weapon, lost in so many conflicting and unexpected 
emotions.
	"Today," he heard Cioran's voice say, "you become one of us, 
General Zoicite. Today you are the keeper of a great honour and 
even greater responsibility. Today you are one of the Seraphim."
	With great reverence, almost hesitant to touch it, Zoicite 
reached out and took up the dagger in his grasp. It felt smooth, 
and beautiful, if beauty were a word that could be used to describe 
a texture.
	"This is a symbol of who you are, a reminder of what you have 
been chosen to protect," Cioran told him. "Keep it with you always. 
Never part from it--even in death. May you bring that blade honour, 
and in doing so bring honour to us all."
	Zoicite stared at the blade, but he wordlessly nodded his 
head. "You have my word," he finally managed to say, and looked to 
Cioran.
	Cioran was smiling with the pride a grandfather usually 
reserved for an aspiring grandchild. He brought one of his hands to 
rest upon Zoicite's shoulders, and said quietly, "Tomorrow, I shall 
teach you one of my favourite tricks. You are very good at hurling 
shuriken daggers. I shall teach you how to hurl a crystal dagger."
	Again, Zoicite was at a loss for words. "Uh...thank you."
	Cioran laughed, and turned to the other Seraphim. "It would 
be rude of us to gather here in celebration, and not feast. I trust 
you all skipped breakfast, and are very hungry."
	They ate an incredible feast that they all casually referred 
to as 'brunch'. More youths wearing the uniforms of Seraphim 
apprentices appeared, and served them. As he sat at a notable seat 
of honour alongside Cioran, Zoicite wound up eating more food in a 
single sitting than he thought possible. He was also on the 
receiving end of many handshakes and congratulatory slaps on the 
back.
	By the time it ended, the afternoon was almost entirely gone. 
Zoicite was feeling unpleasantly full, and his back and shoulders 
were sore. And he would not have traded it for the world.
 

				*	*	*
	Endymion was not exactly certain how it happened, or even 
when, but it seemed as if he had suddenly wound up in Serenity's 
private bedroom. It was a beautiful bedroom, at any rate. The walls 
and floors were a white marble, and the ceilings were high and 
adorned with buttresses. Serenity had her own private balcony, and 
it commanded an astonishing view of the palace. 
	As Endymion leaned against the balcony railings, all carved 
from a white, smooth stone, he could see many of the palace's 
turrets, towers and glass ceilings. Beneath the balcony was a long, 
crystal clear pool that seemed to belong to Serenity alone. The 
walkway around the pool was immaculate, and the walls of the pool 
area were hidden behind exotic plants and trees.
	He turned away from the view and retreated back inside 
Serenity's bedchambers. Rays of Earthlight and starlight streamed 
in from the multitude of windows, and the walls themselves seemed 
possessed by a soft glow that made the entire room feel very 
ethereal and dreamlike.
	Most of her bedroom was of an open concept design, with areas 
of furniture more or less dictating any sort of functionary or room 
divisions. There was a desk in one corner, and it was mostly 
covered in a disarray of books, personal notes and notebooks. There 
were a number of bookshelves in another corner, and a very inviting 
reading chair close by.
	Five very comfortable sofa chairs were arranged in circular 
fashion; Endymion could only assume that Serenity and her four 
Sailor Soldiers spent a lot of time together in that ring of 
chairs. There were old tapestries that hung from some of the walls, 
and elegant rugs covering parts of the floor.
	A Shih-tzu dog happily trotted past one of his legs, emerging 
from another room and heading off to some unknown destination. 
Endymion didn't follow, but watched the dog until it was out of 
sight.
	With a grin, Endymion shook his head and sat himself down at 
the centrepiece of Serenity's chambers: a large, rounded fountain 
with a faerie-like maiden sculpted in the middle. A number of large 
fish swam the waters of the fountain. Endymion sat down on the rim 
and put a finger into the water, letting the fish chase after it 
like a morsel of food.
	It was then that he saw a small, golden locket in the shape 
of a star. The artefact laid next to him on the rim of the 
fountain. Endymion slowly pulled his fingers from the water and 
brought them closer to the locket. It looked almost too large and 
heavy to be a pendant, but it was incredibly beautiful. His 
fingertips seemed drawn to its presence, daring to reach out and 
touch it. He was but a breath away from feeling its cool metal 
texture.
	"Endymion?" called out Serenity's voice. "Could you come 
here?"
	He straightened up and looked to another doorway that led 
into Serenity's bedchamber and bathing room. Where her voice 
called, he followed. Serenity stood next to her bed--a large 
mattress covered in silken silver sheets and large, soft pillows. 
She was gazing into a long, freestanding mirror, and watched him 
slowly enter her bedchambers through the mirror's reflection.
	"I've just arranged for someone to bring replacement clothes 
for you," she said, and Endymion incredulously wondered if the 
Shih-tzu had been the messenger. "I hope you don't mind, but I had 
to estimate your size. Would you object to wearing Lunarian robes 
for a short while?"
	He shook his head. "Anything will be better than the tattered 
armour I'm currently sporting," he admitted. "I think a shower will 
be an order too."
	"You can have one here if you wish," she said. It was so 
casual and without reservation that Endymion had to rethink her 
words to ensure he'd heard them right. "Your clothes will probably 
have arrived by the time you finish and are towelled off," Serenity 
continued.
	"I might wait on that."
	"Why?"
	"Showering in the princess of Lunaria's private bedroom?" 
Endymion asked her in turn. "Could you think of any more dangerous 
a situation for me to be in if anyone else walked in?"
	Serenity smiled softly and laughed. "Always a gentleman. I 
wish I could have known you when we were both younger; it would 
have been interesting to see what sort of games we might have 
played."
	"Most of my games involved playing with wooden swords and 
chasing after imaginary bandits who'd made off with my tutors," 
Endymion said. He grinned in recalling the fond memories. "What 
sort of games did you play?"
	"My Inner Soldiers were brought to the palace when we all 
were very young," Serenity said. "There is not much of an age 
difference between the five of us; they are more or less a year 
older than I. We grew up as playmates, even though soon I was 
taught to rule Lunaria and they were taught to protect it and me. 
But before such divisions could come, we would often play hide and 
go seek, chasing after each other down the hallways."
	She looked back at herself in the mirror, and marvelled at 
those childhood moments where everything was so utterly, 
wonderfully perfect. "Imagine a quintet of five little girls no 
higher than your waist, giggling and racing after each other as we 
try to play tag and not trip over our robes. Makoto was always in 
the lead because she could run the fastest. And Rei would always be 
scolding me if I got tripped up on my own dress, and then she'd 
help me back up to my feet. She still hasn't change all that much 
since then."
	A pang of sadness and jealousy stabbed at Endymion. For a 
moment he wished it could have been him running down such corridors 
with childhood friends.  "It sounds like a good memory to have been 
a part of," he said.
	Serenity nodded her head. "It was," she agreed, and gathered 
all the golden blonde hair at her neck. She moved it away from her 
back. "Now, could you unclasp my dress for me?"
	Endymion stared at her blankly, his jaw hanging slightly 
open.
	"Your dress?" he asked her.
	Serenity nodded.
	"Me?" he asked, and pointed at himself.
	Serenity nodded again, amused with his reaction. "Usually one 
of my Sailor Soldiers does it, but given last night's events, I can 
understand if they're elsewhere at the moment. And I would very 
much prefer to get out of a dress I have been in all night."
	Endymion was rather wary. "Do you always need someone to 
dress and undress you?" he asked.
	"For this dress, yes. It's very particular."
	Endymion threw a few cautious glances around the bedchamber, 
half expecting some sort of palace guard to break down the door in 
the next few moments. He then stepped up behind Serenity. He began 
to move a hand towards her dress, stopped, splayed and stretched 
out his fingers, and then balled them into a fist.
	He tried again, and let his fingertips brush against the 
cool, almost diaphanous fabric of her dress. Endymion quickly saw 
there was no discernable way to get Serenity out of her dress. It 
looked as if it had been grafted to her like a second skin.
	"Um...how?" he asked.
	"Run the tip of your index finger down along the back of the 
dress," Serenity explained. "It will unclasp itself only when it 
feels that. It saves having to contend with actual buttons, laces 
or clasps in something that is so form-fitting from the waist up. 
As you can imagine, I have not the reach or flexibility in my arms 
to do it myself."
	Endymion glanced back down at her back.
	"I see...."
	He had no idea how flushed his face was becoming.
	Endymion reached out his finger, and gently pressed it 
against the back of Serenity's collar. From there he slowly let it 
slide down the length of her dress. In the wake of his touch, the 
dress came apart, its edges peeling away.
	He'd had his suspicions before, but this confirmed it: 
Serenity's dress was the only thing keeping her breasts supported 
and contained. Seconds later, he also learned that Serenity's 
panties were an identical white to match her dress.
	Endymion stopped at the base of her spine, and then turned 
around immediately. He could hear her dress become loose, and 
Serenity slide her arms out from it. Then came the unmistakeable 
sound of the dress falling to the floor around her feet.
	He refused to look, and it was a task that came easy to him 
from all his years of training. He would do her no dishonour by 
even trying. Not without her consent.
	Serenity looked over her shoulder at him and smiled warmly 
	"What are you so shy about?" she asked.
	"If anyone walked in on us right now," he said, his eyes on 
the doors leading back into the main room, "I think I would be 
killed on sight."
	He heard Serenity step over her dress and approach him.
	"I wouldn't allow that to happen," she told him. Her arms 
came up beneath his and wrapped around his shoulders. 
	Endymion could feel the warmth of her body through the tears 
of his uniform. Her breasts pressed against his back, her cheek 
resting against his shoulder blade. 
	"I do not give my love away so freely," she said in a quiet, 
sincere voice, "and so I would not give away your life so freely 
either."
	Everything changed in that moment, and Endymion no longer 
found their situation awkward if not exciting. He questioned it.
	"Love," he said, rolling the word around in his mouth. He 
remained ambivalent about whether or not he liked the taste of it. 
"Is that what you would call it?"
	"What would you call it?" she asked him.
	Endymion was silent for a moment.
	"I don't know," he said at last.
	Ever so slightly, Serenity tightened her embrace. "We are not 
entirely the same, you and I, Endymion," she told him. "I would not 
expect you to feel exactly the same way I do."
	"I don't know how I feel," he said.
	"Perhaps you do, and are afraid of it." 
	He continued to stare ahead, though a part of him wanted to 
turn around and face her. "What makes you so certain that it is 
love?"
	It was Serenity who slowly turned him around, and stared up 
into his eyes. Suddenly the rest of the palace, the rest of the 
world, did not matter to him, and Endymion realized how beautiful 
she truly was.
	"Because," she told him, "you spent the night in my arms, and 
I did not want you to leave. I love you, Endymion. It is a kindred 
love that will bind us together, as it has me with my four 
Soldiers. If it blossoms into a love that unites you and I together 
as it would lovers, then so be it. I would not object. But I care 
deeply for you. I do not wish to see you brought to pain or tears 
or torment. I would do anything to see you smile, for it is a 
beautiful smile, and that is what I call love."
	She embraced him once more, her head coming to rest against 
his chest, her arms wrapping around his back and holding him 
tightly. Endymion had to look away, but his arms betrayed him, and 
wrapped themselves around her body.
	The tears began to fall down his cheeks, and strike hers. 
	His entire body trembled as he cried, and held her close to 
him. "You silly girl," he chided her through a smile. "You silly, 
silly little princess." 


				*	*	*
	Kunzite had been awake for a while. Not being able to move 
had yet to start eating away at his sanity. Strange, considering he 
had the reputation for being a virtual terror if a battle had left 
him injured him and bed-ridden. The doctors sometimes had to 
forcibly restrain him from getting up out of his bed and resuming 
his command duties. 
	He had never been one to enjoy sitting around and being idle.
	Yet while he lay upon the futon in Hotaru's private room, 
Minako still asleep and curled up next to him, Kunzite was not 
idle. He stared up blankly at the ceiling, his fingers combing 
through Minako's hair, but his mind was a blur of images, 
recollections and senses from the fight against Spinel. It was a 
chance to take hold of the unusual quiet, and think through the 
events of the last two days. He tried to see if there was anything 
he missed. He tried to remember if there was anything important he 
had only been able to glimpse in the melee.
	Most were points and afterthoughts that had little bearing on 
the task now facing them. Kunzite was now aware of a number of 
unique abilities the Seraphim Order possessed. He was also reminded 
of how demonic Jadeite looked as a berserker. There was the rose 
Endymion had used to kill Spinel, but he had not been able to see 
that. 
	And then there was Hotaru's incredible power. Kunzite did not 
know what sort of magic or power flowed in her blood, but that she 
could hold back the seas likened her to a mythical god or avatar. 
There had also been something different, something that separated 
her from the "Inner Soldiers", as Jadeite had called them: a 
glaive. The Inner Soldiers used no physical, hand-held weapons, as 
far as he knew. But Sailor Saturn wielded a glaive.
	Was that one of the reasons she was different from the 
Inners? She looked to be only a year or two older than them, and 
yet she held a greater power that could only be wielded from 
experience and age.
	Kunzite had to concede that he knew little of the Sailor 
Soldiers as an entity.
	He didn't exactly like knowing so little about them either. 
	However, he had to push his thoughts: Minako stirred and 
cooed as she awoke. Her eyes blinked rapidly, working to focus as 
she lifted her head. Her golden hair was draped in bangs askew over 
her face, and she pushed them aside with a hand. She saw Kunzite, 
and smiled as if coming out of a beautiful dream.
	"Good morning," Kunzite said. He continued to comb his 
fingers through her hair. "You didn't have to stay the night with 
me," he told her.
	"I wanted to," Minako replied, not objecting as his 
fingertips brushed against the softness of her face. "You know, 
this wasn't what I had in mind when I considered inviting you to my 
room."
	They both laughed, though it was quiet laughter befitting a 
recovery room.
	"You were only considering?" Kunzite remarked, arching an 
eyebrow.
	Minako stuck out her tongue at him. "Oh, I can't make it that 
easy for you now, can I? Where's the fun in that?"
	"And the game begins again as if it had never stopped," he 
said.
	"It never stops," Minako told him. "It just gets...sidetracked 
a little."
	Kunzite slid his fingers out from her hair, and laid them to 
rest upon her hand. "Thank you," he said, "for watching over me."
	Minako's smile grew brighter, and it warmed Kunzite to see 
her look that way. "Thank you," she said quietly, and brought her 
face closer to his, "for not objecting." 
	The sound of Hotaru deliberately clearing her throat cut any 
further innuendo off. "If you both are quite done," Hotaru said as 
she stepped into the room.
	Minako pulled herself off Kunzite, though with some 
exaggerated reluctance. Kunzite wondered how much of that was 
feigned.
	"We never get to any of the good parts, do we?" Minako 
sighed. She winked at Kunzite and pressed her fingertip against the 
tip of his nose. "Is he ready to leave yet, Hotaru?"
	"I will require one more session with him to help restore 
some of his muscles," Hotaru answered. She turned her attention to 
Kunzite. "It will help you walk easier. I can see how restless you 
are becoming."
	"Subtlety was never one of my strong points," Kunzite said 
with a lopsided grin. 
	"Indeed," Hotaru agreed. "It appears General Nephrite wasn't 
joking. I can't help but wonder how the doctors on Earth fared 
keeping you in bed as you recovered."
	Kunzite grinned. "Poorly, as I recall."
	Minako sat next to him as Hotaru once again laid her hands on 
Kunzite's chest and used her healing abilities to flow from her 
body into his. There was only a discomfort and slight prickling, 
and while Kunzite silently tolerated it he had to suppress the urge 
to vomit. For a moment, he could have sworn he tasted some 
lingering blood and death on the back of his tongue.
	The prickling subsided, and Hotaru lifted her hands from his 
chest.
	"Your broth is ready," she told him. Her eyes were closed, 
and she reeled in trying to keep her balance. Minako helped to 
steady her. "After you're finished drinking it, you may go. But I 
do wish for you to return here two more times before the day is 
out."
	"I think I can manage that," Kunzite said, slowly sitting up.
	It felt marvellous to be able to sit up again.
	The blanket over him pooled down at his waist, and it was 
right about then that Minako realized for the first time he was 
quite naked beneath it. Minako stared and blushed. Kunzite remained 
deadpan. And Hotaru, having taken it upon herself to remove what 
was left of his uniform when putting him to bed hours earlier, 
smiled pleasantly to herself and left the room to fetch the broth.
	"Minako," Kunzite said as polity as he could.
	"Hm?"
	"You're staring."
	"Oh. Am I?"
	Her eyes had not yet left his crotch.
	Kunzite raised a hand to his face and snapped his fingers.
"I'm up here," he told her. 
	The snapping managed to get Minako to slowly lift her gaze to 
his face. "Oh, there you are!" she said, laughing. Her face was 
still impressively red, and the grin on her face was more sly than 
embarrassed.
	"And how old are you supposed to be again?" Kunzite sighed, 
and propped an arm up on his knee. He leaned his forehead against 
his hand. 
	"I've had to grow up faster than I would have liked," Minako 
said, and her tone lost its light-heartedness. "Being a princess 
was one thing, but suddenly they discovered I was Sailor Venus and 
everything changed. I went from being pampered to pushed. I haven't 
even seen my family in years."
	She spoke in a detached voice, her eyes looking elsewhere, as 
if she was confessing quiet, private things to her doll instead of 
him. "The training keeps me busy. It has become my life," she said. 
"I barely had a childhood. I skipped everything else in between and 
became a soldier instead."
	Kunzite suddenly saw her in a different light. He had so 
easily forgotten that she was also a young woman as well as a 
soldier. It was a duality he had always taken for granted when it 
came to himself; he was content to be a soldier always and foremost 
before anything else. But Minako was different. She was still 
struggling to find herself. She wanted to discover who Minako was-
a Minako apart from the princess and the Sailor Soldier.
	He smiled at her, and chided himself for assuming that she 
was so much like him. Perhaps, he reflected, it was the differences 
between them, and not simply the similarities, that seemed to draw 
him closer to her.
	Hotaru returned with a bowl of steaming broth, and left it at 
Kunzite's bedside. She ducked out and quickly returned again with a 
set of folded clothes for Kunzite to wear. Minako insisted on 
spoon-feeding him his soup. After two indignant refusals, Kunzite's 
stomach growled loudly, and Minako won.
	"Oh, come on," she said, giggling as she hoisted another 
spoonful of broth in front of Kunzite. "Stop sulking and open wide.
You know, most Lunarian men would adore being waited on by a 
beautiful young woman like this." 
	"And I'm Terran-Nihonjin," Kunzite stated, and somewhat 
grudgingly took the spoonful in his mouth. "I have my dignity." 
	Staring almost wistfully into his eyes, Minako said,  "Maybe 
that's why I like you so much, Kun-chan."
	Kunzite nearly choked on the broth.
	He failed to see what was so humorous as Minako burst out 
laughing.
	When the bowl was empty, Kunzite had Minako turn around so he 
could change. She teased him, pretending to try and sneak a peek or 
two, and she might have even succeeded, but as he changed she 
respected his privacy. Kunzite was surprised to find himself 
somewhat disappointed.
	"You can turn around," he called out to her as he finished 
lacing up the last portion of his vest. 
	Minako turned, and gave him the strangest grin ever. Kunzite 
looked down at himself: he was wearing a white, long-sleeved, 
collarless shirt and what could only be likened to as a Mandarin-
styled vest. His wrists were covered in brown, leather guards, and 
he was wearing a style of black pants that felt awkward but seemed 
to look decent enough. Finishing off the ensemble were a pair of 
black boots, and a grey officer's longcoat whose ends draped down 
to his ankles.
	"Doesn't suit me?" he asked her.
	Minako shook her head, unable to take her eyes off him. A 
curious, if not frightening grin began to appear on her face. "I 
can't wait to show you off to the others," she giggled, and before 
Kunzite knew it she had grabbed him by the wrist and was dragging 
him out of the room.
	"Gently, gently," Hotaru scolded Minako as they went past 
her. "He's not a doll you can play with after it's been sewn back 
together."
	Kunzite took the opportunity to bow respectfully to Hotaru. 
"I am in your debt," he said to her. "If there is anything I can do 
to repay you for all you've done, do not hesitate to tell me of 
it."
	"Such formal accolades," Hotaru demurred, and glanced over at 
Minako. "With such well-spun words like those, it's not surprising 
to see her claim you."
	Minako visibly blushed.
	Kunzite simply looked down at Minako and arched an eyebrow, 
as if he was the last one to know.
	They left the Healer's Chambers in good spirits. Minako 
hummed pleasantly to herself as she walked arm in arm with Kunzite. 
Kunzite was especially happy to stretch his legs and walk again.
	"Where would you like to go?" she asked.
	Kunzite considered for a moment. "I would meet with Halcyon 
Queen for a meal, as she offered earlier--if you are willing to 
join me for that," he said. "Otherwise, I should very much like to 
see what your chambers look like."
	Minako seemed a bit sceptical. "You honestly think you've 
regained that much stamina after last night?" she asked him.
	"There's always one way to find out," he replied, and 
smirked.
	Minako regarded him for a moment, smiled and led them down 
the corridor. "You may see my room soon enough, I believe," she 
told him, "but not yet." 


				*	*	*
	Jadeite wandered the pathways of the palace's menagerie. His 
aimless footsteps carried him through the zoos and preserves. For 
long periods of time he watched the strange and beautiful animals 
go about their lives as if nothing was wrong. And for them, nothing 
was wrong. 
	He envied their freedom, even if one might call it ignorance.
	Bliss was still bliss, regardless of the form it took.
	At the very least, here in the mid-morning hours, few people 
were about the menagerie. For him, it had become a secluded 
hideaway. He welcomed it. The animals at least would not stare at 
him with frightened eyes, or not-so-politely turn and find another 
corridor to go down if they saw him approach. 
	He rounded a cluster of trees, and found a large pen half-
consumed by a clear pond ridden with lily pads. The rest of the pen 
was filled with half a dozen trees that might have been birch. 
Nesting amidst their branches was an assortment of large exotic 
birds whose feathers were black and red. He also found Makoto 
sitting upon a bench overlooking the pen, her arms wrapped around 
her chest. Her eyes were unusually cold, though it was a coldness 
that came from becoming emotionally numb.
	The sound of Jadeite's footsteps upon the stone path told her 
of his presence.
 	She looked at him without fear, without any of the stricken 
or horrified expressions he had been met with so many times already 
this morning. Instead she looked at him with eyes that asked, 'Have 
you come here to mock me now?'
	For that, Jadeite managed a brief, weary smile, and sat down 
next to her.
	"I've heard the reports," he said. He spoke with respect and 
reverence, treating the matter with the importance it deserved. His 
eyes stayed focused on the birds. "From what I've gathered, you're 
the only Sailor Soldier who managed a kill."
	Makoto shot him an acrid glare, and then it turned bitter 
against herself.
	"We're not meant to take life," she said quietly, with as 
much passion as reciting a mantra whose meaning she had long 
forgotten. "It's not what Halcyon wants us trained to do. We are to 
protect and preserve life. It's what Serenity would want."
	"It's what they want, yes," he agreed, "but what about what 
you want?"
	Makoto seemed surprised by his question. "What?"
	Jadeite did not look at her, but continued to stare out at 
the elegant birds in their trees. "If the need for battle arises 
once more," he asked her, "will you fight again?"
	There was hesitation.
	"I don't...I can't," Makoto said, and her arms wrapped tighter 
around herself. "Not yet."
	But Jadeite saw the determination in her eyes; when the time 
would come, and he knew it would, she would stand and fight. 
	"The Seraphim who sided with Spinel were ready to kill you," 
he said. He leaned back and stared up at the darkened cosmos above 
them. "They would not have hesitated to put you to death from the 
instant you stood against them. Sometimes the ideal of preserving 
life can only be that: an ideal. Reality is colder and much more 
brutal."
	He turned his eyes to Makoto, and watched her. "For what it's 
worth, I'm glad you killed that wolf before it managed to kill 
anyone."
	"But I almost killed everyone else!" she protested.
	"You almost, but you didn't," he said, and then looked to the 
skies again. It was almost frightening him how casually he could 
speak of such dark, burdensome matters. "Even a mistake as 
dangerous as the one you made can see good come from it. Learn from 
it, Sailor Jupiter. Learn from it, and never forsake that lesson, 
no matter how painful it is."
	His words did little to instil an instant change in her, but 
there was a change, however so slightly. It was a beginning. Makoto 
did not smile, but she sighed deeply, and her face did not look as 
haunted as it had been a short time before. She tipped her chin to 
the stars above.
	"Why are you telling me this?" she asked him.
	"Because I still live with my mistake," Jadeite told her. 
"And I almost killed everyone last night too."
	For a time, they drifted into silence.
	"How do you cope with it?" she asked at last.
	"With great difficulty," Jadeite replied. "Distancing myself 
from everyone else makes it easier for me to contain my demon. The 
more emotional I allow myself to become, the more it weakens my 
hold on the monster inside of me." 
	Makoto stared down at the birds. "I'm one of five royal 
heirs," she said quietly, "and I'm both the middle child and the 
only girl among them. My father wanted only boys. Nothing I can do 
ever seems to please him. I've never once seen him smile at 
anything I do. He's always wanted more from me. Not even becoming a 
Sailor Soldier could placate him. I've been nothing but a 
disappointment, right from when I was born."
	Her hands balled up into fists, and she closed her eyes. "And 
now...after last night, maybe he's right." 
	Jadeite glanced at her. "Perhaps we are not so different from 
each other, then," he told her. "We find ourselves with burdens we 
do not care for, they nevertheless they are burdens we must bear. 
And now comes the hard part: we have to go on living."
	Makoto nodded and whispered sadly, "But for whom?"
	For however long they sat in silence afterwards, neither 
knew. Neither really cared. They shared the silence together, and 
with it the burdens and regrets of things that cannot be changed. 
When they parted ways, they did not consider the other a friend. 
But they did see each other as imperfect, and thusly someone worth 
respecting.


				*	*	*
	The palace archives were closed.
	That much Nephrite had been expecting, though it left him 
uncertain of exactly how to locate Garnet. Halcyon had requested 
Garnet be present at the quiet brunch meeting, presumably, Nephrite 
thought, because Garnet was already in over her head and because 
she had free access to any information that might point them to 
Spinel's benefactor.
	He wondered how much Garnet actually knew.
	He then wondered how much she would learn before the next few 
hours were out.
	If she was to be included in everything, then that was 
admittedly up to Halcyon. He could do nothing to stop the Queen, 
but personal reservations had him already inclined to keep a few 
things from Garnet. It wasn't personal by any means. He was 
naturally distrustful of people he didn't know very well. On more 
than one occasion, such suspicions had saved his life.
	Standing before the large, gold-trimmed doors of the 
archives, Nephrite sighed and turned to leave. Garnet happened to 
be coming around the corner, a small bag slung over her shoulder. 
She was dressed notably casual for someone who lived in the palace, 
and was stifling a yawn when she noticed Nephrite.
	The first words out of Garnet's mouth were, "You don't look 
so good, General."
	Nephrite blinked in surprise.
	"Well, you've looked better," Garnet stated. "The change of 
uniform is good, but you have the dishevelled look of a man who 
hasn't bathed today. Have you even slept yet?"
	"No." 
	"Are you planning on sleeping anytime in the near future?"
	"The thought had crossed my mind, yes."
	"Ah, boys," Garnet sighed, rolling her eyes. As she strolled 
past Nephrite, she patted him on the cheek. "If you weren't so 
heroic last night, I might have dared to think less of you."
	Nephrite smirked at her savvy, and was forced to admit that 
she was quickly growing on him. "This at least saves me having to 
find a way in and locate you," he told her.
	"I was just stepping in to grab a few books for some personal 
studies," Garnet replied as she drew up before the large, sealed 
doors.
	"Yes, I noticed the sign saying the archives were closed," 
Nephrite said. "Long night, after all."
	"That actually happens to be incidental," Garnet said with a 
certain degree of dispassion in her voice. "A few people saw me 
actually fighting alongside you and Jadeite against Spinel's rogue 
Seraphim. Word's already spread across the entire palace, and 
people have been nagging me all morning long to hear my account of 
it. 'Why did you have a sword?' 'Were you scared?' 'What was it 
like to fight a Seraphim?' 'How did you know about it all?'"
	Garnet let out an indignant snort, and showed the steadfast 
doors her palm. "I detest gossip-mongering. So I told them to 
bugger off and closed the archives to deter anyone else from 
interrupting my work."
	There was a momentary flicker of light from her palm, and 
Nephrite caught a glimpse of some sort of Lunarian rune. Whatever 
it might have been, the archive doors recognized it and happily 
swung open for Garnet.
	"You might as well join me, General," she said as she walked 
inside. "I'll be locking the doors behind me."
	Nephrite quickly stepped into the archives, and the doors 
swung shut behind them. "I was actually hoping I could distract you 
from whatever work you had planned," he said as they walked through 
the aisles of books.
	Garnet looked over her shoulder at him, but didn't slow her 
pace down. "What for?"
	"Your presence has been requested," he said.
	"I wasn't told anything about this," Garnet said with a 
slight scowl. "By whom?"
	At that, Nephrite's lips were pursed into a thin smile. 
"You'll see."
	"I don't like surprises, General," Garnet said curtly.
	Nephrite's thin smile broadened. "You'll like this one," he 
assured her. "It may take an hour or so of your time, but I 
guarantee you'll be glad you accompanied me."
	Garnet stared at him, visibly evaluating his knowing 
expression. Finally she sighed and turned away from whatever path 
she had originally intended to take. "If it was anyone else on any 
other day," she said. "Okay, General, you've piqued my curiosity."


				*	*	*
	Kunzite and Minako were waiting for Nephrite at a place the 
two Generals had agreed upon earlier. Setsuna was also there, 
though when she appeared and how she knew where they had agreed to 
meet was something Nephrite was unsure of. In all likelihood, 
Hotaru had overheard, and relayed the message to Setsuna.
	Setsuna was, after all, still their liaison.
	Garnet was surprised to see the others present as she and 
Nephrite arrived at the bottom of an elaborate spiral staircase.  
"Oh," she said, looking from one face to the next. "Hello there."
	"Archivist Garnet," Minako said with a polite bow of her 
head. 
	Garnet bowed in the like. "Exactly what should I call you in 
present company?"
	"Minako will do," Minako replied with a grin. "Unless you'd 
prefer to call me She Who Must Be Worshipped And Obeyed."
	"Pass," Garnet said.
	Minako sighed and glanced up at Kunzite. "No one ever wants 
to call me that."
	Nephrite abruptly glanced back over his shoulder, and pinned 
an empty corridor down with his eyes. The empty corridor just sat 
there complacently, and did nothing. 
	Kunzite tipped his head and stared at the corridor himself. 
"Something wrong?" he asked.
	Slowly Nephrite turned his head away from the empty corridor, 
though his eyes flicked back to the walls and shadows. He looked 
taken by a momentary bout of paranoia. "It's nothing, I guess," he 
answered. "Thought there was someone there for a moment."
	"Maybe you're still jittery after what happened last night," 
Minako offered. "I know I am."
	Garnet nodded her head. "You haven't slept for a good day 
too. That only strains the senses and plays tricks with your mind. 
It's probably nothing."
	Nephrite glanced at Kunzite and said, "Probably."
	He didn't sound overly convinced.
	"I trust," Setsuna said with enough formality to capture 
everyone else's attention, "that there is no need for 
introductions. Everyone knows everyone else, yes?"
	A round of acknowledging looks answered for them.
	"In that case," Setsuna said, turning down another corridor, 
"would you all please follow me?"
	Setsuna and Garnet walked together, and seemed to be good 
friends given their light-hearted conversation and catching up with 
each other's lives. Nephrite followed behind them, stoic and trying 
with no success to dispel the scowl on his face. Kunzite and Minako 
were at the tail-end of the procession, and for the most part they 
strolled about arm in arm as if they were part of a guided tour. 
	They left the spiral staircase behind, and disappeared around 
a bend in the grand corridor. A short time later, the sound of 
their footsteps wilted into silence.
	Lapis strolled out from a shadow. 
	Lazuli sauntered into the hall from a whisper.
	"I daresay he heard us," Lapis remarked. She sounded more 
than a little intrigued.  "It's not often a Terran can hear the 
voices of little girls who leave no shadows upon the floor. He's 
cute."
	A hungry smile appeared on Lazuli's face as she stared out at 
the bend in the corridor. "I like him," she concurred. "He played 
Hide-And-Seek with us."
	Lapis rested her head against her sister's shoulder. "Shall 
we make him our new playmate?"
	"We shall," Lazuli agreed. "But only when Beryl says we can. 
She is, after all, letting us play our games in hers."
	"I hope she lets us join in soon," Lapis sighed, and then 
licked her lips in gleeful anticipation. "Isn't he going to be 
surprised when he gets tagged and discovers he's It."


				*	*	*
	Setsuna led the small group down another winding maze of 
corridors, and the further they walked, the fewer palace and court 
officials they saw. Soon the palace seemed to empty, and it was as 
unnerving as it was peaceful. Setsuna at last stopped before a set 
of double doors that shimmered pale silver like the moon itself.
	"Here we are," Setsuna said.
	Garnet's eyes immediately fell upon the large black, Lunarian 
rune emblazoned upon the doors. "Setsuna, hold on," she 
interjected. "That's a royal seal!"
	Setsuna flashed Garnet a quiet, knowing smile. "I know."
	The doors abruptly swung open, and Halcyon stood there 
waiting for them on the other side. She motioned with her arm for 
the small group to enter into a cozy chamber alive in stars and 
candlelight. The ceiling was a veritable cosmos of spiralling and 
pin-wheeling galaxies in distant, far-off space.
	In the middle of the chamber stood a ringed table, decorated 
with elegant white cloth and beautiful pewter candelabra. Nine 
chairs encircled the ring. Already seated at the table were Haruka, 
Michiru and Hotaru. They respectfully rose from their chairs to 
acknowledge the others. 
	"May I present Sailors Uranus and Neptune," Halcyon said, 
gesturing to Haruka and Michiru. She turned to Kunzite and smiled. 
"You have already met Saturn."
	Kunzite tipped his chin to Hotaru.
	She smiled and winked at him.
	"And," Halcyon said, now gesturing to Setsuna, "may I also 
present the fourth of the Outer Soldiers." 
	"So you are a Sailor Soldier after all," Nephrite said, 
bowing to Setsuna.
	Setsuna bowed back to him. "Sailor Pluto, to be exact."
	Garnet was speechless, staring in stunned bewilderment from 
one familiar face to the next. Setsuna and Hotaru being Sailor 
Soldiers especially seemed to be a hard idea for Garnet to digest.
	"Told you you'd like it," Nephrite murmured to her. 
	"And good morning to you, Lady Garnet," Halcyon said, 
addressing Garnet with the same honour and reverence as the others. 
"It pleases me to see that you could join us for this meal. Not 
only am I wanting to personally thank you for your actions last 
night, but you are very much an integral part of what we have 
gathered here to discuss."
	Halcyon looked to the vacant seats at the table. "Please, 
sit." 
	As she sat down, Garnet continued to boggle at Setsuna. 
"You...how?"
	"Like the Inner Soldiers," Halcyon said as she took her own 
seat, "they too are eternal soldiers chosen to play their parts in 
the never-ending battle between Good and Evil, between Order and 
Chaos."
	Halcyon's smile faded, and her face grew serious. "It's time 
we laid out everything before one another. As I'm sure everyone 
already knows, Spinel's attack was only a prelude." 
	Kunzite nodded his head. "He served a master, that much we 
know. But we know little else." 
	"We know very little else ourselves," Haruka grudgingly 
added. "Whoever or whatever this master is, they're disturbingly 
good at concealing their identity and agenda."
	They lapsed into dark, uncomfortable silence.
	"She has red hair," Nephrite spoke up.
	The Lunarians, even Halcyon, stared at him in unbridled 
surprise.
	"I saw her," he told them. 
	Michiru studied his face for a moment, and said,  "You're a 
farseer." 
	He nodded. "I stumbled into her mind earlier yesterday. I 
don't know who she is, but she's here somewhere in the palace, 
waiting."
	"Waiting for what?" Hotaru asked.
	"I don't know that either," Nephrite said. He didn't like not 
having an answer himself. "But she's very content to wait until 
whatever it is comes along."
	The four Outer Soldiers exchanged ominous glances with each 
other.
	"Is there anything else?" Hotaru asked.
	Nephrite had spent time earlier in the morning thinking back 
to his encounter. At first there had been some chilling quality the 
woman had possessed that he could not quite put a name to. At last 
it came to him, but the epiphany did not make the chill go away.
	"She's not entirely human," he told the others.
	"Not entirely?" Garnet said, and her brow furrowed as she 
considered his words. "No matter what world we all are or were 
from, we all share the same basic template of humanity. Lunarians 
are as human as Terrans. What else could this woman be?"
	"That is why you are here, Garnet," Halcyon said, turning to 
her. "You have the knowledge and the freedom to scour the archives 
for any sort of information that may help reveal who this woman is. 
I shall also give you full authority to examine the restricted 
archives that even you cannot see."
	She brought the entire room and its occupants into focus. 
	"Now is the time where we all must unite together," she 
stated, "for our enemy has already crept into our worlds and made a 
nest for itself. And make no mistake: it is powerful. Perhaps even 
more powerful than anything else we have ever faced before. We must 
find out who this woman is, what she wants, and how she plans to go 
about achieving her ambitions. Some of you are here acting on 
behalf of your comrades. Some of you need only answer for 
yourselves. I need to know that we are in agreement and united in 
this cause. Will each of you pledge, as I shall, to stand together 
and fight this to the end?"
	She paused, and awaited their answers.
	Nephrite and Kunzite were first. They rose from their chairs, 
and stood before Halcyon. "Even though my lord Endymion is absent," 
Kunzite said, "I know I speak for him. Your have our strength and 
support."
	"I don't know about the rest of you," Nephrite said, and 
casually crossed his arms over chest, "but I'm not about to leave 
this little party just yet. I have a red-haired witch to hunt."
	The four Outer Soldiers stood up.
	"This threat has its origins from beyond our solar system," 
Haruka stated. "We are yours to command, Halcyon Queen."
	"This is why we were chosen," Michiru said.
	"Why we are Sailor Soldiers," Hotaru agreed.
	Setsuna turned to Halcyon with solemn, magenta eyes. "It is 
our destiny."
	"I'll do my part," Garnet said, jumping up from her seat. 
"But I don't want to hear anyone in this room complaining if I 
close the archives. I'll need to start ransacking all the old texts 
I have for this."
	Halcyon smiled and let out a small chuckle.
	Minako was the last to stand, and she rose with a quiet 
dignity about her. "We shall see this to its completion," she 
stated. "By my word as Sailor Venus, your kingdom and your daughter 
shall be protected."
	Halcyon's face seemed to shine as she gazed upon them all, 
her expression one of pride, encouragement and quiet, profound 
determination. "May the grace of the Ginzuisho be with you all," 
she said to the others. "I thank you for your pact. Now let us dine 
together to celebrate and discuss our plan of action."
	Nephrite glanced over at Kunzite and mouthed, "Ginzuisho?"
	Kunzite could only shrug in confusion.


				*	*	*
	Beryl was there with them as they talked.
	She remained with them the entire time.
	She listened to their words and ideas and theories, but did 
not partake in any of the food. They were for the most part none 
the wiser, though every now and again Halcyon seemed troubled, as 
if momentarily sensing the presence of some dark, fleeting shadow. 
Nephrite was also brooding, though for reasons that had nothing to 
do with her. She wondered if he had crossed paths with either of 
the twins.
	Beryl smiled to herself. 
	They could stand as united as they wanted to be, but none of 
them suspected what she had already set into motion eleven years 
prior. Soon enough all of them--Terran and Lunarian, Sailor Soldier 
and samurai--would learn that they could not hope to stand against 
the darkness she served. The twilight of what the Lunarians had 
come to call the 'Silver Millennium' was at hand, and she would 
usher in the nightfall that would devour them all.
	It was quite exciting to have such high ambitions.
	The others ate their meal and talked as they would, and Beryl 
let herself drift back and forth from one group to the next. Minako 
was still trying to spoon-feed Kunzite, much to his ire and her 
amusement. Setsuna and Hotaru enjoyed the spectacle from across the 
table. Halcyon talked with Garnet about preparations for the 
archives. Nephrite found himself absently listening in on the fond 
words and affections Haruka and Michiru were whispering to each 
other. 
	When the meal ended and they all dispersed, Beryl slipped out 
amidst the other occupants, quietly and undetected, ever present 
yet nowhere. Everyone separated and went their separate ways. Beryl 
lingered at the entrance to the private room, whose doors had now 
shut and were locked to anyone but the queen. 
	"Have you two been eavesdropping?" she finally asked the 
shadows.
	"Absolutely," came Lazuli's drawling reply.
	Lapis sulked at being so easily caught. "I told you we needed 
a better hiding place," she told Lazuli as they emerged like 
wraiths from the corners and shadows. "I'd wanted us to bury 
ourselves in the mad glimmer of that General's demon eye."
	"You both are still young," Beryl assured them. "You have 
plenty of time to improve to my level. Remember, I started out 
clumsy like you in the beginning."
	"And now you've grown into a beautiful mommy who has tea with 
children of darkness," Lapis giggled.
	Lazuli smiled at the thought, and cast her gaze to Beryl. 
"What would you have us do?" she asked. "What games shall we play 
now?"
	Beryl cast a wary glance at the doors behind them. 
"Regrettably they know of our existence, and do not believe Spinel 
acted alone," she said. A smile began to prey upon her face. 
"However, Spinel succeeded where I needed him to. The Earth and the 
Moon shall soon form an alliance, one I need to be as solid as 
possible if I am to properly break them both. In the meantime, I 
require Endymion to stay here in Lunaria. That can be arranged 
easily enough."
	She looked to the twins, and could not help but let out a 
delicious, dark laugh. "We shall give them time enough to think 
they still have time, and then let Endymion deliver Lunaria into 
our hands. The end is coming soon, my loves. Soon, but not yet. So 
be patient for now, and enjoy the show."
	"Are he and the little princess going to still make kissy 
faces at each other in the meantime?" Lapis asked.
	Lazuli rolled her eyes and made a face. "How vulgar."
	"Would you rather me kissing you?" Lapis asked.
	Lazuli gave her twin a coy look. "Oh, I'd like that very 
much."


				*	*	*
	The meal and the meeting had ended. And now Nephrite stood at 
the foot of his bed, staring down at the covers. Moments later he 
fell forward, collapsed on the sheets, and fell asleep. 
	No one had the heart to wake him up until the next day.





	The dance continues soon with the children of forever...





Sailormoon, its characters, struggles and story, are copyright and 
the children of Naoko Takeuchi. No recognition of my story can be 
made without giving her proper recognition first. There are 
original characters in my story (currently Garnet, Cioran, Spinel & 
the Seraphim Order, and the twins at this moment), and if you wish 
to make use of them I'd rather you asked first than after the fact.


Close, personal thanks goes out to: Mel, my love and inspiration; 
The Fic Bitch, whose critiques of a few key scenes here wound up 
giving me the chance to give a few added clues about impending plot 
twists; Meara, who's been making sure I keep my villains in check; 
and to Greenbeans, who was there from the start, and always remains 
a true friend and rival.


My sincerest appreciations to Andrea & George for creating, 
updating, maintaining and revising 'A Sailormoon Romance.' 
(www.moonromance.net) It is good to know that so many wonderful 
stories will always have a home at ASMR, and it is a good home I 
will always enjoy coming back to.


Email Chaos at: hislordshipchaos@hotmail.com