Hey all. Can't talk much. It's not mine, and pity IS a good thing. Sometimes. Lianne, Alys, Jade, and Kis: you guys are great. Thanks for your patience. For all who wrote me, thanks for your patience as well. I am finishing this up. NIRRAD: Resend me your c-description. PLEASE! The Four Lovers: Air On a Cosmic String Ninx XII. Shadows In the Light 'Cause nothing stands between us now And I won't be denied And I will be the one To hold you down Kiss you so hard I'll take your breath away... --"Possession" You don't know me You know you never will Can't see inside me Lost out on that thrill --"Sparkle and Shine" So now I come to you With open arms Nothing to hide, believe what I say So here I am, with open arms Hoping you'll see What your love means to me Open arms --"Open Arms" When I want to see you, hey look The gentle night sky's crescent light Is always watching over us The goddess's love shower rain We may possibly fall in love --"Ai no Megami no How to Love" Glover Trans (thank you, kind sir!) "Priam," she whispered, face pale, eyes painfully widened, blue within them completely frazzled with surprise. Inside her mind, PSerenity was, quite literally, freaking out. Had one had the ability to see the original Moon Princess, she would've been paler than pure snow, and doing something as frantic as St. Vitus's Dance in an attempt to cope with it. "Yes, my love, 'tis I," he replied, purple eyes dancing darkly. "Uh..." "You seem surprised," he commented dryly. "I didn't remember..." "I know, I know. A millennia is a long time between visits, but..." Inside Serena's head, Serenity shrieked again, and outside, she jumped up from the chair and began to back painfully away from the man. She didn't quite know why she was, or the gesture that her hands were making, but the instinct was to get away from him...NOW. "Priam..."she whispered sporadically. "No." "Now, love," he started, getting up. "You don't need to fuss." Suddenly, Serenity welled up again, and Serena's mouth dropped. "DEAD!" she shrieked. "YOU ARE DEAD!" He stopped for a moment, face clouding, before he brought himself under control. "A fine looking corpse, don't you think?" he said, turning so she could admire the fine lines of his body. "I watched you DIE! Right at my FEET! Stabbed by...by your lover, even though..." She stopped, and her skin turned so white it was slightly tinged gray. Inside, Serenity began to sob. "We were engaged?" "We were...engaged..." she whispered, crumpling to the floor. "Priam..." He walked over to her, and gently knelt near her, hand brushing her face softly. She froze, and though he forced sympathy, anger seethed within him. came one blasted, blackened thought, and it flickered within his eyes. "Are you all right, love?" he asked softly. "No...oh God no..." she whimpered, tears welling in her eyes. she thought numbly. He gently took her into his arms, her body stiff against his; carefully, he skirted the edges of her mind, and his eyebrows raised in surprise at the thought about to rocket off from it. He quickly blocked it, running his hand through her hair and softly cooing. His heart welled up for her as she sobbed against him, his lovely Princess, his gem, his diamond, so surprised...shocked...Endymion had something to do with this, he knew. Again his emotions railed against his cousin, and he vowed black, black vengeance on his head. "Can you stand?" he asked softly. She sobbed again, his cold grip like a vise around her heart. He felt like the polar opposite of Darien, so formal and cold, even when he was attempting to be tender. For a moment, she felt sympathy, a tender pity, but only a moment. There was too much shock for other gentle emotions to surface. Finally, she nodded against him, and he withdrew quietly and helped her up. As she looked at his handsome face, the strands of sea foam hair that dangled near his purple eyes, she could feel her memories resurface bit by bit, filling her in about this man...and his violent death...and... "How?" she half-whispered, half-blurted out. "That, my Princess," he replied, raising one of her hands to gently kiss it, "is a story that is complicated and hazy." He took her other hand now, and held both of them in a tight, warm grip. "However, I can see this news has taken you aback, and I know how fragile that leaves you. I will let you retire to your chambers, and we shall talk later." "Priam, it's all right. I wish to know now how..." His eyes flashed, darkness worming within their flawed, purple depths. For a moment, icy fear swam in her veins again as the malevolence of the moment swept over her; and then, he smiled. "As you wish, my love. Though, I must admit, I am not used to this sudden vein of independence within you," he said, gently guiding her over to one of the chairs and seating her, then himself. "The ground you walked on..." Darien lay crouched in a fetal position, attempting to warm himself. It was cold, so very cold, behind that shield, and he could feel vain tears start again. The cold would kill him. The cold would eat him up, piece by piece. He would die, chilled to the bone, completely alone. He hated crying more than nearly anything; it meant, to him, that his emotional restraint had failed. And if there was anything that was sacred to him, it was his ability to tuck it all away, to store it for moments when it would be better for him to let loose. That, and Serena, and once before, the little pink haired girl called Reenie. Yet, now, they'd been stripped from him completely. All of them, one by one, until there was nothing he could do to help himself...and so, he cried slow tears. Suddenly, light flashed at him from the other side of the shield, and he uncurled himself slightly to see it. Selene smiled down at him. "Hello," she whispered softly, a lash of DF uncurling from her arm. "I've been waiting to see you, Tuxedo Mask." "And so the pillar captured your essence, and when the battle came...you were taken along," Serena said, eyes wide. Some color had returned to her skin, and most of all, her blue eyes had begun to sparkle brightly once more, though they were still rather muted in comparison to other times. It wasn't as if she wasn't afraid-- how could she not be, with PSerenity sobbing inside her head?--but she was also worried sick about her love. His mental cry seemed so weak now. However, the resurfacing of the Princess also brought some of her more diplomatic talents to bear, and she was exercising these as best as she could. Priam, on the other hand, found her vitality enlightening and delicious, and soft, dark thoughts whispered in the back of his mind, casting shadows in his eyes. "Correct, dear Princess," he replied, holding up a formally decorated black and gold goblet casually in his hand as he half leaned towards her, drinking in the sight of her with relish. "However, you weren't reborn as we were, but before...probably about the same time as Darien," she said, eyes averted from him as she followed her train of thought. "Is that what he calls himself?" "Hm?" "Endymion...now Darien. It is strange. I will always think of him as someone else, someone very few truly knew." Something dark flickered within his eyes. "As I think of you, my dearest Serenity." He turned his gaze fully upon her, and she shrank a little in her chair, unsure, and mostly afraid of it. "How did you know?" she whispered. "I wasn't quite reborn and rediscovered as you were," he said, pausing to sip his wine, noting that she had barely touched hers. "Does the wine not pleasure you?" "What? Oh...I'm just not used to drinking wine," she replied, taking up her goblet, a twin of his own. "More used to American drink, love?" he said calmly, taking another sip and watching her expression of surprise. "You knew?" "I have tracked you since I knew of you, about the time I turned twenty. That was five years ago." "How did it happen to you?" she asked. "My change? Simple, my dear. Even as I grew up, I was always aware of a keen difference between myself and the others around me. I knew a different language then they did from the start, I learned quicker, was faster, and smarter, than most of them. Despite my slight stature, I confess I was the one to intimidate my classmates; they recognized my status as higher than theirs. I also had a keen inner knowledge of the occult, and practiced some simple magic, mostly stray tricks and such. And then, one day, I hit upon the right spell...and memories filled me, as well as power. Immense power. I could feel the pull of the Sea, and as such I undertook a quest to probe my origins. That was when I found this." He pressed his palms together, and spread them apart, revealing a five inch long crystal of a deep aqua color. "What?" she quiered, amazed by the play of colors within it's textured surface. "It is the third of the crystals, the triangle of Earth and Moon," he said softly. "The Crystal of the Sea. Through it, I found out many a thing about myself, as well as the Moon, and of deep space. I also realized that I must find you, my love, and reclaim the chance so brutally stolen from me by my pig cousin, Endymion." He shook his head. "When I think of what he did, love, I want to gut him. Perhaps I will, though I am sure Selene will find more pleasure in him than I would." The crystal vanished with a flourish. Serena thought, and quickly she gulped some more wine in order to hide the fact that she was nearly to tears. It was about that time that a headache, a screaming, searing headache, pierced her brain. As Priam continued to tell her of his triumphs, of finding and conquering the Dark Trio, she nearly choked upon her wine, yet managing to swallow it. Swiftly she picked up a napkin to wipe her mouth, and then another wave of pain struck. The napkin dropped as her hand hit the table, and she squeezed the goblet in an attempt to pass along some of the agony she felt. It wasn't working. Priam, noticing the sudden contortion of her face, and the white knuckles of the hand that gripped the table, looked at her curiously. Carefully, he allowed his mind to stroke hers again, and his eyes widened in anger and pain. For the sudden distress she was experiencing was not her own, but another's, and there were only a few that he could think of. In fact, truly, only one who could... "Hielo!" he barked, simultaneously sending out, *Hielo!* It was but a moment before the man appeared, bowing slightly before his Master. "Yes, my Master?" he whispered. "Take this girl to the chamber adjoining mine," he said. "Make sure to block off her room with screens, for her pain is not her own...I must attend to other matters." "Yes, my Master," Hielo said softly. Now Priam turned back to Serena, and looked upon her pained face, tears pooling in her eyes. He took up her hand, stroked it and kissed it softly, quietly saying, "Soon, my love, we will be without these interruptions. Soon." And with that, he disappeared in a wash of dark purple power, and Hielo picked up the girl, took one step, and vanished. Katarina felt like her skull was going to burst. Not only had she screened Tux, but she'd felt him, tasted him, and now she had a headache to rival the most powerful psi-shocks. She winced at even thinking of the word, and her memories dredged up the horrible times when Selene had pressed Hielo's buttons, and he had descended upon her, forgetting of the link that would hurt all of them, not just her. And so they'd writhed in pain, and even as she had writhed, Selene had laughed and laughed... She cut the memory there, and then stood, looking out over the edge of the roof. She could feel the pull of the ground, but the need pulled her with much greater strength, for her touch upon Tux had only increased that great want. It didn't scream at her, but whispered incessantly until her fingertips went numb, and her whole body shifted to the edge, the restless craving taking over her slowly, until she could control it no more. And control was so important...she turned away from the edge, knowing she needed to slake this sucker now. Arches of purple appeared around her, and she disappeared within them. In an instant, she stood in the storeroom, just before the shield. Her lips pursed, she quickly scanned the room, reminding herself that these were for her taking. she thought, eyes seeing beyond to the form of Jadeite, who lay still and asleep, fists clenched. She smiled ever so slightly as she looked upon him, fingers itching for the feel of his blond hair. she thought as she stepped through the shield and ascended to his level, and again looked in on him. A nudge on his mind, and he was awake; another nudge, and he looked at her. "You..." She wanted to be careful with him, as she had with Tux. But the WANT was so great, and the NEED so awful, that instead of gently touching him, she reached over and laced her hands in his hair. Purple tendrils came from her, reaching down to sweetly lick him, to taste and feed; she sighed softly, reveling in the first rush. Then she pulled him closer as the WANT demanded more, control slipping to the edges of her mind, for unlike the others, she had only been fed by the Master for the longest time. And she was needy. And he...was hers. "This won't hurt a bit," she lied softly. His eyes widened, and then glazed, as she leaned over and clamped her lips over his. *AHH, RAYE...RAYE! SERENA!* The message lanced across her mind, and immediately Serena fell onto her bed, a scant affair that was, at least, soft where she landed upon it. Hielo barely afforded her a glance; he'd caught the message before it'd reached her, amazed at the psi strength this group exhibited. Then, puzzling minorly over this, he'd gone back to setting up the shields/screens in order to keep these messages from her. Serena rolled about on the bed, which was soft all over, and held her head, teeth clamping into her lips in order to keep herself from crying out. It wasn't as if screaming would've been a bad thing; she just wasn't sure what would follow it. Honestly, it was Hielo she unsure about, for it had always been him that the darkness had sent for her. And what he did to Mars... she thought, exhaling a soft breath as the mind send eased. Tiny trickles of blood welled from her lips, salting them; she wiped it with her hand unconsciously, and sat up slowly in order to see what was going on. Hielo noticed her rise on the bed, but attempted not to. He could not allow the waves of emotions that flowed from her distract him, even if they were...he shook his head, and went back to setting up the dull green shields around the room. Like all of the shielding the Trio used, it was absorbent on one side, soaking up all and any of the emanations it was tuned to; in this case, any mental ones that would affect the Princess. He concentrated for a moment, his eyes flaring the brightest of bright greens, before beginning to erect the shields. As Serena watched, a shallow green nimbus surrounded Hielo, and he made a few sweeping hand gestures in front of the wall before moving on. The power that came off him was extremely potent; she could feel it and the flickers within it even without the Silver Crystal. A funny feeling swelled in the pit of her stomach, and suddenly she keeled over on the bed, dry heaving. Hielo took no notice, though if he had, he would've seen the illusion that Priam had cut suddenly crack, and then shatter, all the tiny pieces of it melting away. This was the potency of the shield Hielo was erecting, so much so that it was not necessary for any of them to "touch," for the flow would continue uninterrupted without it. This energy touched upon Priam's illusion and shattered it completely, for such was the power of the Dark Trio. Serena slowly pushed herself back off the bed, feeling completely miserable. The smell and taste of bile coated her mouth and her throat, and though she hadn't actually thrown up anything, the upheaval made her feel as if she did. She managed to get to a sitting position, carefully sliding her legs off the bed as she combated the wooziness that plagued her. Looking at Hielo, who stood on the opposite side of the bed, she felt a sudden spike of fear punch through her. she wondered softly. She swallowed, and that spike of fear within her multiplied. "You are lucky for my restraint, Princess," he said in a small, quiet voice. "Had I been Selene, you would've stood no chance." "What do you mean, restraint?" she questioned sharply, holding her stomach. He turned to look at her, eyes still glowing, but now a softer green than before. "The power of your mind is enough to catch our attention, Princess, especially when you feel," he gestured toward her now, as if he was unable to put the word into place, "that. And since I am..." "Your name is Hielo, right?" He nodded. "Hielo..." she said the name as if testing it, then looked at him in a sharp, understanding way that he found suddenly fearful. his mind whispered. "Hielo," she said again. "What does that mean?" He swallowed, knowing not why, and replied quietly, "Ice, Princess, for it is what I must be to do what I must do." "And what must you do, Hielo?" she asked, probing him. On the inside, her heart was beating at what felt like a million miles an hour, and she could barely keep her breathing steady, but on the outside she was as cool as...well, ice. "I must..." He quickly shook his head. "Princess, I am done now. I have shielded your room, and..." "Listen to me, Hielo!" she hissed. "You have abused my friends, and threatened me. Can't you at least tell me why!" She pulled away, and a sudden vulnerability washed over her. "After what you did to Mars..." "Lady Princess," he whispered. "Do you want to know what I am? What a demon I am?" "You're no demon," she began, but he cut her off. "You're wrong, Princess," he said softly. "All three of us, Selene and Katarina and myself, we are all demons." He looked away. "Or so we were told." "By whom?" she questioned, voice soft. Conflict welled inside her, between compassion and blind hate; he'd been the man to savage Mars, yes, and steal Amy...but she felt something from him that didn't jive. The youma she'd fought had been soaked in evil, radiating it foully; he, however, did not feel this way. "By those who counted, Princess. By those who counted," he whispered, and softly sat on the edge of her bed. For a moment his face was constricted, as if fighting himself; and then, his mouth opened, and out rushed the words. On a planet far away was born a young man, a strong man, with dark black hair and dancing light green eyes. His name was not Hielo, though that was what he was to be called; no, he was named in a musical tongue, one that won't translate itself properly into English. And his fathers and mother were happy to have a son. That would come to change. For on this world, where the people fed off the energy of everything, off life and death and sun and moon and wind and rain, this boy was born to feed off something dreadful. And so, as he grew up and away from the solid food fed to him in the beginning, his Need grew. Until one day, while sitting beneath a golden tree with green leaves, he attacked a young boy, his best friend, and fed from the emanations that came from him. He didn't know what he did, though when his parents found them both, they soon diagnosed the cause. Their boy, their young man who was not yet called Hielo, fed on Fear. Vile this was to him, and so he left his home and went to an Institution for people like himself, people who fed on the disgusting side of life. There he met two young others, two women, one with pale blond hair and hazel eyes, the other with looks like he had, though her eyes were a darker green. They were not yet known as Selene and Katarina, though they did know their feeding preferences: for Katarina, the harshness of Loneliness and Imprisonment; for Selene, the sharp crack of Pain. Katarina, like himself, had turned herself in; Selene had gone on a joyful romp and been caught. When they came together, it was like a bolt of lightning crossed their path, and they found themselves possessed of the most freakish traits, that of Telepathy and Telekinesis and Empathy. Together they worked and perfected them. At the same time, resentment festered within them all, and they soon escaped from the Institution for the wide reaches of black space. It was there that the three of them first bonded, the need in them dying from a harsh roar to a low grumble, and bits of their power were transferred as well. From this bonding came a peculiar side effect, the Dark force, the tar-like material they soon learned to wield with exacting power. They began to call each "Brother" and "Sister" to show that they were bonded as family now, even if they didn't act like it sometimes. As they traveled along, Selene's influence dominated the three of them, as did her evil lusts. It was in this condition that Priam found and subverted the three of them. "And so, we are demons, Princess, striving only to slake our Needs and serve our Master," he finished. Serena's mouth had nearly dropped during the dispassionate telling of the tale; her own life may have been incredible and strifeful, but she could barely imagine this. Rejected by her family? Institutionalized for some freak accident of nature? It was incredible, and so sad at the same time; she could almost see in her mind the potential for that "young man" before his traitorous hunger was revealed. She nearly felt sorry for him. "I pity you," slipped from her mouth before she could stop it, and for a moment his eyes simmered storm green, as if he would attack her that instant. Then, he sighed, and looked away. "Know this, little Princess: I serve my Master and myself, and NO ONE else!" His eyes darted back to her. "I can sense your thoughts, Princess. Don't think I haven't thought of those things myself, and once I wished for a change. However, I cannot fight my nature, for I AM evil. I am Hielo, I am Ice, and nothing, not even your PITY," he spat out the word as if it was a sour worm, "can change that." "This is so very Star Wars to say, Hielo, but I can't believe that," she replied in a dreamy voice, watching him under shaded eyes. "You mention restraint. Now tell me, what evil, vile, cruel villain has restraint?" "The smartest, Princess," he replied, and then vanished. She fell back to the bed, thoughts in a tangle, unable to reconcile what she'd seen with what she knew, unable to believe in his nature...frustrated and exhausted and still a little frightened, she fell into sleep. Hielo appeared in the storeroom, unable to contain his fury at his stupidity. he spat at himself, He felt like spitting. His eyes searched the storeroom, feeling the traces of Katarina, and his features softened. Katarina seemed to always be able to lighten his mood, with her soft features...he found himself falling into that old trap again, and shook it off. To think that Kat... At the thought of "business," the hunger in him surged again. The Princess's Fear was so delicate, so lovely, that he needed to feed after her presence, or risk upsetting Priam mightily. Quietly and quickly, he floated to the shelves, eyes catching Jupiter as she lay sleeping. He admired her form for a minute, all muscle and structure, bone and beauty, before reaching in. His hand touched her calf, and the two of them disappeared. An hour later he reappeared, carrying the unconscious girl, thoroughly sated. It had taken much more time to deal with her than with Raye, but there was so much less resistance once the first barriers were gotten past. As he settled her on the shelf, his eyes caught something. A piece of blond hair. Piqued, he followed the strand up, and saw...Jade. The man who had called out to Serena in her shell, the one who had expressed concern over Lady Mars. He didn't look well; very few did after Kat's treatment. He didn't even know what he was doing until he did it. One moment, he was looking down on the blond figure, and the next, green energy was racing from his hands to the man's body. Before he realized what he was doing, the process was complete, and the General...was whole again. He growled. he thought, the name like a mental curse. With that, he vanished. * * * * The storeroom was dark, quiet, softly pervaded by a feeling of terror and hopelessness. The air was dusty, motes swished in air, swirling with the humidity, an oppressive ceiling of discomfort that hung solidly over them. On one side, Jade and Jupiter cried silently in their fitful sleep, the black thickness of their dreams as discomforting, as sharp, as crunchingly painful as the reality their bodies slumped in. Nephrite, wounds painted in protesting blue and black and purple, some ringed with the red of a "might be" infection, lay sprawled in the darkness. Even as his body was colored, it could not heal, for the bits of darkforce that clung to him or were inside him had slowed healing to a mere crawl. Zoicite below was huddled in a corner, trying to think, trying not to give into Despair, who sat hunched before him, eyes aglow... In the corner, covered with dust and sticky in the heat, a body suddenly went rigid, then relaxed. With no cue, no beat, no fluttering, the body's eyes flipped open and looked about... And they were blue. Great, gorgeous, aqua blue. Clear, aqua blue. She was out of her space like a rocket, a blue streak tumbling out onto the cold floor. She immediately came to her feet, looking around like an unsure caged pet, slowly adjusting to her surrounding but aware, very aware. She flexed her arms once and was surprised by the stiffness of her muscles, the raw snapping pain in her arms as she clenched and unclenched her hands. She was still Sailor Mercury, and for some reason that didn't faze her one bit. She was, however, quite mystified and a little annoyed by her surroundings, the dim, oppressive air seeking to crush her into another mote of dust. She felt drained; no, like she was being drained, as if her outer core was being shucked off her body in a casual, careless, exact fashion. In this clearing haze she took a few steps forward to lean against a step ladder, which shone a blazing off white compared to the room. The sound of her heel hitting the ground ever so much ran like a gong to Zoicite, even if it was the barest "clop" to her. He cracked open like a shell from his huddled position, craning to see...whatever was out there. A wash of fear and a trembling dose of shaky terror surged in his body, particles of ice locking about his heart. In the shadows, Despair chuckled at him, claws sharp and ready to tear out that forming ice cold depression in his chest. Waves of haziness, of fuzzies, of those tiny prickles that signal spurts of adrenaline and that light every nerve, all of these sluiced down his veins and across his skin. It seemed like a clear, sticky substance, these feelings, one that smelt like...like...dust. Lots of dust. And, very faintly, strawberries. Strawberries? He stopped, fighting that urge to huddle back, face peeking out from his shell in order to sniff the air, to taste it. He felt like it was a dream, that one tiny grain of scent that just happened to invoke so much... A sigh echoed inside his hutch. his mind whispered with simple clarity. He was beyond listening to rational thought or maddening emotion, though, and so he moved forward on faith, faith in his soul and himself to seek... ...and to find. Mercury felt rather than saw the shadowed form behind the screen. Immediately, Panic tugged on her sleeve, and she could feel it seep into her skin, could feel her body stiffen and prepare to lunge and skitter away. Yet she caught herself, wondering at the bizarre reaction; well, overreactions was probably the better word. She reeled for a moment on the edge of her former Insanity, then mentally pulled herself back, while physically she turned. The world swirled for a brief moment, and then all of it locked in the eyes of Zoicite, privately Zachary Petal, privately at war with himself. It didn't take an instant for the two--though really it was--but an eternity for the both of them to lock together. Eyes clashed, heated, sublimed and condensed as the fog of one brain stirred the fog of another, reacting with the intensity of Cesium and Fluorine, powerfully attracted, powerfully joined--by explosion. In the pocket of Zoicite's uniform, a crystal silently began to warm. "Amy," he said, voice weaning its way between their eyes, neither truly hearing it. Soul to soul was the important thing, and words nearly downright clumsy to use. "Zoicite," she replied, and then something else surfaced in her mind. "Zachary? Is that...you?" She stopped, and finally broke eye contact to examine him. He was as lean as Zach was, with the same curly blond, only tied back--and those eyes! Just as enchanting, though very different now, brimmed with scarring emotion. He looked down, comically unsure, but then nodded. "It's me, Amy." She moved closer, amazed, her mouth opening slightly as her eyes widened. He stared back at her, amazed that she could be standing her and holding a conversation with him, when but a day--two days? time flew here--ago she was nothing. "Oh! Amy, are you all right?" he asked softly. "Well, yes, though I am quite dirty," she replied, looking down at herself. Automatically she moved to brush herself off, and a small cloud formed from the scraping off her gloves, boots, bow, and even hair. His eyes widened at first, unsure if the dust cloud was hostile or not...and then, realizing his paranoia, he began to chuckle softly. "What?" she asked, pinning him under a frank gaze. "Amy-chan, I was so worried about you, if you'd be okay...just now, I was afraid the dust was going to hurt you," he confessed softly, a grin stealing over his face. "I am so relieved to find that you're all right." He didn't notice the small rosy stain that leapt to her face when he called her "Amy-chan," but she quickly got a grip on it and asked, "Why were you worried?" The grin slipped away, and a worried light appeared in his dimly glowing green-gray eyes. "Amy...do you know where you are?" he asked softly. She looked about her, and suddenly the room wasn't just oppressive, it was downright unfriendly, with shadows that crept around and about her, shrouds in inky blackness. She looked back to Zoi with her eyes wide, and then to the room again. Yet now it was back to its original oppressive state, not quite friendly, but really not dangerous. "No," she said softly. "But it...I'm scared, Zoi. I don't know why, but this room, it...scares me." "Amy, you've been captured by the Dark Trio." "Nani!" He moved closer to the shielding, and the light in his eyes grew so cold, even as it warmed her somehow. "The last time we fought in the open, you were injured. Do you remember?" "Yes..." she whispered. "You were there." He nodded. "I was. I put you in what I thought was a safe place." Now the coldness in his eyes seemed to turn inward, as if he was aiming it at...himself. "But it wasn't safe, Amy. It wasn't safe at all, because Hielo got to you, and he took you here. Do you remember any of that, Amy?" She looked away from him, and then backed, as if unsure how to remember. "I seem to recall something," she said, struggling, eyes narrowing as if trying to see it as well. "About pain, and then...then...oh my GOD!" "Amy!" he cried out as she jumped backwards from the screens, eyes widening. Maddening emotions swept over him, and his hand reached out, longing to touch or hold her, longing to do something other than just sit here and watch! For a moment, her eyes were frozen saucer wide, and her face was contorted in fear, strawberry mouth slightly widened as if she was going to cry out, hands up with fingers spread as if blocking something. Her skin pallor fluctuated, and it wasn't just the dust. Then, as swiftly as it had come, it was gone. Looking at her seeing him, he watched a change wash over her face, in her eyes. It was as if she suddenly saw something about him she hadn't seen before, and she wasn't sure how to handle it. Tentatively, she stepped forward, and her head tilted a bit, eyes fixed on him. She came within inches of the shield surface, still looking at him in that odd, measuring way; a bit of fear lurched its way to the surface of his mind. he suddenly thought. He bit his lip as she watched him. "Amy?" he finally said, voice exceedingly soft, barely stirring the air between them. "Amy, are you all right?" She didn't seem to look away, but her expression changed slightly, and her brow furrowed a bit. To an observer, it would've all been very cute, to watch her concentrate so intensely on something. Yet, to Zach, it just caused fear to well in his stomach. For an uneasy thought had surfaced, one uneasier than that he'd just thought of. He wasn't speaking, of course, of her now. He was speaking of the Sailor Mercury of the past, that one that his own former self had been enamored with. The one that he had watched be struck down time and time again. The one who whispered her love, and in the same instant condemned him. He wasn't sure if he'd know how to handle it, ever, though he knew the issue would have to be addressed sometime. Like themselves, the Senshi's memories of the Moon Kingdom would return, and when they did...he'd have to face it. And though rationally he knew that none of it was his fault, the blame for her former death still beat at him. He would dream about it occasionally, as if the pain would not put itself to rest. "Zachary," she finally said. "Oh Zach." "Amy..." It was then that she burst into tears. "Amy!?" "First...pain," she whispered as the crystal drops tracked through that last layer of dust. "Then...then he took...took..." She lapsed into crying again. Zachary's hand pulled back from the shield, and clenched into a fist. His teeth gritted, eyes blazing, and mentally he cursed the Dark Trio in as many languages as he knew, trying to literally call down fire from heaven upon them. "He pulled me!" she called out, voice slightly louder than before, snapping Zach away from his hate. "It...he...pulled every piece of me out, and...and I was so afraid." Her voice sank to a whisper. "He was so strong...and the more afraid I was...the stronger...he was." His eyebrows rose. he wondered. "Amy, it's all right now," he whispered. "He's gone now. You're okay now." She looked up at him, peered into his bright eyes, and suddenly shivers wracked her. She pulled away from the shield, arms wrapping about herself, body contorting and pulling her torso downwards. Memories, more than just those of Hielo's feeding, jogged themselves loose. Memories from a time long past. Minutes passed, and she still stood there, trembling slightly. Finally, in the smallest, hoarsest whisper, she asked, "How could you?" His eyes widened, and his mouth nearly dropped; his heart fell, and his soul keened. He didn't need to ask questions to understand what she meant. He knew. She knew. "Oh God," he whispered. Slowly, she straightened herself up, and looked at him...but not in anger. Mystified sadness was sprinkled in her eyes, and an extreme amount of pain, but there was no anger. It made him feel ten times as worse. "Mercury," he said, and though he was already Zoicite, he felt a sudden surge in the ancient General. Before he knew what was happening, his own consciousness was falling away, into blackness... "Mercury, my love," he whispered. She froze, slightly shocked, for the voice coming from the figure she knew as Zachary Petal WAS not the voice of Zach, or even Zach- as-Zoicite. It was more like what the voice of the feminine Zoycite would've sounded like had she been male, except without the dose of evil that invaded that voice. A sharp tingle went up her spine, and swiftly came blackness. She mutely felt her body stumble, and then suddenly right itself. "Zoicite?" Princess Mercury whispered. She moved closer. "Is that...?" "Yes, my love. It is me." She looked down at her hands, and then up at him again, crouched between the shelving. "But how...?" He shook his head. "I am not sure myself, love. I just knew I had...I had to talk..." They stared at each other in silence for a moment, and then suddenly, he began to weep softly. Tears as well slipped from her eyes as she watched, and she muttered, "Oh, Zoi, Zoi..." "Ami, my heart, I...I failed you," he said, voice heaving and shuddering, tears coming faster. "Had I been there moments earlier, I would've been able to dispatch that foul creature Beryl had made from me, and saved you..." His voice fell away. "Zoi, Zoi," she whispered. "I am so sorry. I knew, or should've known, that you would never do those things." She looked down. "I was in shock, Zoi, and I laid the blame on you. I should've known." "My love, Beryl tried to make these copies of us as real as possible. How could you have known?" "Zoicite," she whispered softly, "it was a women." The words hung between them for moments, and each met the others eyes. Slowly, a hint of a smile crept across both of their faces. "True, love, true," he said. "It was a woman." "And she didn't kiss half as well." His eyebrow raised, a comic gesture, and the smile spread out over her face. He shook his head, and muttered, "She's also lucky she's dead. No one touches my Ami-chan." He looked up, and found Mercury's shining eyes on him again. He longed to reach out, to touch her, to hold her and perhaps kiss her once more...but there was shield in the way, and a presence screaming at him from the bottom of his mind. So, they said the words that would release them. "I forgive you." A dizzying moment later, Zachary Petal was in control of his body again, as Amy Mizuno was in control of hers. For moments, they digested what had just happened, and what haze had descended upon them...and found that each had a heart that was suddenly lighter, and it was this way that they looked at each other. "It's settled," she whispered. "Finally, after a 1000 years," he said. "Actually, about 1006," she replied, and he smiled softly at her. She couldn't help the giggle that escaped then, and soon the oppressive darkness around them was pushed back slightly by the bright grins on their faces. It was then that Zach's face contorted, and he let out a squawk of pain and fell back. Amy stared at him curiously as he fiddled, finding the slim pocket of his uniform. Reaching in, he pulled out a small package covered in a small tan cloth. His eyes widened, and he pulled the cloth aside. Underneath was the blue-green crystal, touched with gray. This time, it was doing something highly irregular, especially for a place where powers were supposed to be void. It was glowing. * * * * Mina looked about her, wind rustling her short skirt. She hugged herself as a chill blew through her, and slid down the soft sand mound until she hit level ground. The grit squeezed its way between her toes, and she winced slightly as it rubbed the softness of her feet. She began to walk. The wind was softer now, but the area was still fogged slightly, as if she had suddenly developed astigmatism. She shook her head and bent forward against the breeze, the sand, the fog, and kept on walking. When she looked up next, the fog and the wind were gone, leaving her on a sandy beach. The sound of the waves crashing jerked her back to life, and she turned in that direction, shading her eyes against the soft redness of the sunset. It flashed over the sand and illuminated her, peach skin reddening, blond now shot through with a deep pink, eyes a near purple color. Standing in the stark red light, she looked about. There was nothing for miles but sand and waves, each crashing with a sonorous rush, cool water rushing up the shore. She walked forward to that and into it, letting the spray wet and wrap about her bare ankles, wincing at the cold, then grinning. She turned about, arms spread wide, and the wind coming in took her hair and whipped about. She sighed, feeling free and relaxed. She opened her eyes facing the shore, and froze. His white hair was also stained with red, though it was muted with the blues and greens that normally shaded the brilliant color. He sat on the beach in a pair of informal jeans and a large shirt, leaning forward against his knees, feet bare. Wires wrapped their way from his ears to what he held in his hands; cocking her head, she pieced together that he was listening to music. added a solemn voice of her own in her head. "What about?" she whispered softly, stepping forward, foam gathered about her feet. "Why, you, of course." She spun on her toes, surprised, yet readying herself for combat at any moment. However, the person did not appear threatening in anyway; she appeared more motherly than anything. Her hair was black as night, and framed a rosy cheeked, pale skinned woman with eyes of a stunningly dark, icy blue. She wore all black, and her feet were also bare; the combination seemed to draw you right back to her face, to her eyes. "Me?" A pause. "Wait a minute--who are you? And..." The woman put a finger to her lips, shushing her softly. "Sometimes they call me Cuervo, now Fushigi. I'm a friend of his," she chuckled softly then, "although not so dear as you are." "How do you know him?" she wondered, stepping back slightly, foam swishing up to swirl about her feet. "I'll ask the questions here," she chuckled, still standing farther up in the sand. A larger wave came in, and the water splashed up to her calves. "Is that cold?" "Just a little," she admitted. "Why don't you come out?" "Because I like it. I'm used to it, I guess," she replied. "I see." For a moment, she stared at her, blue eyes sucking at her mind unconsciously. Then, "Do you know why he's been avoiding you?" Mina's eyes widened. "How did you know?" "I'll ask the questions, Lady," she replied, voice slightly steelier now. Mina looked down. "No, I don't know," she whispered. "I wish I did. We were...getting close." The women, Cuervo or Fushigi, nodded. "I know." She turned slightly to look at him. "Do you know what a comfort zone is, Mina?" She shook her head. "Speak up, girl." "No, I don't. Mam." The woman looked back, smiling. "I am too old and too young to be called 'Mam'," she said lightly. Her face drew back to seriousness, and she explained, "Mina, a comfort zone is a place where you feel extremely comfortable. It's not necessarily tangible, though it can be; it's a place of retreat. Some people, though, refuse to leave theirs at all costs. They will duck challenges and refuse to step forward in life rather than face what lies outside their zone. It can be a serious problem." "Are you saying...?" "Partially, Mina." She took a breath, eyes lighting curiously. "The night you went with Pluto--about two nights ago, right?" "Yes." "Do you remember that man doing something inside your head?" She shuddered in reply, and the woman, Cuervo or Fushigi, took that as a yes. "He played with you psychically, Mina, and then sent you home. Pluto tried to lull you to sleep, but often it is not that easy, especially when it comes to interference with the mind. Kevin was there when you awoke..." "What did I say?" she cringed. "Nothing wrong, flower of Venus. Nothing wrong at all." She looked back at him. "He is just unsure of how to deal with it. He's afraid to step outside his let's-move-slowly zone, take things to the next step. That's why he's on the beach now, listening to his music and trying to figure out what to do." Mina took a breath, and looked at him again. He DID look like he was in thought, and it didn't appear to be a very happy thought at all. "He's in pain," she said. "No, not quite. What pains him is his indecision. He's never been like this before...he doesn't know how to deal with it." The woman's voice had dropped slightly, to a softer tone. "What can I do?" she asked. "Just be Venus. And just love him...that is, if you do, and decide to, Mina." Her eyes bored into her once again, asking the unspoken question: "I..." She shook her head. "You don't need to tell me, Mina. I already know." With that, she turned, and walked away, waves almost lapping at her feet. Which left no footprints. Swiftly, the world clouded over again, and the last sight she caught was of his head coming up, and his lips mouthing her name... She found herself in blackness, a deep darkness, closing in on her with its warmth. She twirled within it, peering about her, and saw nothing. she wondered, flipping end over end in an attempt to move. She shook her head. She thought for a minute, not noticing the growing blackness. she wondered. She had no clue that the word was Spanish, or that it meant "raven"; how could she of? She yawned in the void, the dream details becoming hazier. *sleep,* a soft voice simpered in her mind. *sleep, little one. sleep.* she thought, her eyes beginning to close. Her hair wrapped about her like a cloak, a blanket, and she softly drifted within it. *sleep, child...sleep.* she thought softly. Her eyes came down, lashes gently brushing her cheek. Finally, Mina Aino was asleep, the name on her lips. This time, though, she knew what it meant. Mystery. The woman rose, her hand coming off of Mina's forehead. She looked about, and smiled softly. Her work was done. "You owe me one, Kunzite," she told the darkness, and then, vanished.