The Four Lovers:Happiness is a Phoenix, Chapter Two Hola peops! Short intro here--I'm going to try and double post this week...emphasize that "TRY" there. *g* It's been a busy week--took two tests today, have Honors forms to fill out (may go to Spain for seven weeks) and various other Internet commitments--but still, I want to get this sucker up and out and FINISHED! Anyways...dIsClAiMeRs... 1) Um, apply that I-don't-own from last time, 'cause I don't. If I did, you'd see some interesting story line and character changes... 2) All the grammar, spelling, vernacular and such are MINE, and unique to me...which means all the mistakes are mine, too. Try and ignore them, please? *looks at readers with puppy dog eyes* I know I have bad spealling and grammer... 3) Sappiness and violence ratings apply here. I don't get graphically violent, but sappy...anyway, just wanted to let you know the cheesy stuff is still here. *grin* 4) This week, besides being school laden, has been philosphy laden, and I think the fact that snow was on the ground this morning just depressed me. So a little of that rubs off here. 5) Thank you to the feedback people. You rule. Now craving feedback, feel free to send comments/questions/comma rules/flames to jkc1984@niia.net. I will reply, eventually. Onto it then! And enjoy...Enjoy...ENJOY! (hopefully) Chapter Two Jaedite /a dark haired man...blood running over his hands, his eyes glowing..glowing blue...and a cackling, horrible sound...and then they turned brown and he fell and a redhead screamed over his dead body...and it was NEPHRITE and he screamed and screamed to him but.../ The blond jerked in his bed. /Zoicite, hair pulled back and looking so feminine...kissing Kunzite while laughing...laughing...laughing at him../ A groan came from his lips. /dark haired, purple haired women, beautiful violet eyes, fire rushing at him...and metal beasts...and collapsing, and a pain, and he knew that was REI...RAYE...who'd taken him down../ He flew up then, sweat streaming down from his forehead and across his naked chest. The sheets beneath him were soaked in sweat, and the sudden rush of air chilled the feverish heat that swelled within him. His eyes were open before he sat up, their color a glazed over blue as he panted for air, slowly sharpening to their usual crystal blue...yet not clear, for they were softly tinged darker than usual. He checked the clock as his brain cleared, and made a small noise of displeasure. He didn't have to get up for quite awhile yet, not until it was his turn to go sit with his friend Nephrite and patrol. Besides, he needed any sleep he could get; wasn't that one of the first things his father had taught him? The nightmare chilled him though, more than the sweat on his body mixing with the cold air. He tumbled himself from bed, purple-black robe twisting around his body with a practiced air as he sat in a nearby chair, and thought. Worry lines began to cross his forehead, and a trembling fear washed over him in sopping waves; his hands buried themselves in his hair and his eyes trembled, tears threatening to stream down his cheeks. He'd had nightmares like this before, and they weren't just dreams. They were predictions. Jaedite's powers were aura related--some simple psychometry, but mostly just grasping the energy around him and manipulating it, along with other peoples. It was a tricky science, and he hadn't quite mastered it, though when he did his power would match Nephrite's. His innate gift, though, had a price--when he used too much power, he became drowsy, and got terrible headaches. Not only that, but due to its natural origin, it gave him access to certain doorways and powers that the others could not. Furthermore, they weren't controllable, and he didn't toy with them-- except they sometimes "toyed with him," as his father would've said. And one of the signs that they were "toying" with him were nightmares that came true. Yet the visions, those grim, hadn't disturbed him so much as the emotions that had flowed through time to touch him. One not so subtle feeling that had slammed into him was the hatred, the twisted madness, in the eyes of the women he loved. True, she'd looked younger--much younger--and his own hatred seemed determined to unleash itself at her, but this was still REI. Or Raye; he wasn't sure what the problem was, but that spelling floated in front of his eyes, encased in neon bubbles. He got up from the chair and went to the window, trembling eyes looking up toward the moon. He wasn't surprised to see the trembling thread of black slipping across the surface-- only mad, mad as hell, that they'd threaten her...and scared, too. his mind asked gently. His eyebrows raised as he went hunting for his general's uniform. Sleep wasn't an option anymore, it seemed, and he'd just go find Nephrite and chat with him a little. Or just join his two friend's on patrol. Something like that. he replied. he thought sarcastically as he came upon his crumpled uniform. It rose for him automatically, and he scrutinized it for a minute before deciding it probably should be washed, but then again, why? Just to get dirty again this afternoon? He slipped out of his robe with the whimsy thought of he murmured back. he wondered brusquely. He straightened it and went to the mirror to examine his appearance. Hair a butter blond, puffing up in places, slicked down in others; slim, trim, tight body; uniform fitting like a charm; a discernible sad look in his eyes. That wasn't right. He should be cheerful and charming, not sad. Yet the dream had well of tears priming behind his eyes, and for the life of him he didn't understand WHY. He sat impatiently in the nearby white chair, and his hand fell to pick up and twirl the nearby purple flower. It was a tulip, dark purple..."Queen of the Night" if he remembered correctly. Rei had given it to him that fine day, last time he'd seen her... They'd decided to go on a walk through the wild forests of the Moon, so close to the lunar plain that virtually no one lived their. They'd spent their time wonderfully, splashing each other with water, choosing the oddest times to steal a kiss, or just walking hand and hand down the gently curving trails. Finally, they'd made it to a sunny spot where the trees gave way to gently rolling meadows, and had made slow love between shade and sunshine. Afterwards his laid his head on her lap and she played with his hair, and they'd just sat in the contentment of silence. Finally she'd spoken. "I wish you wouldn't leave." "We all have chores to attend to, my lady." She sighed, and her face fell into shadow. "I know." He brushed her face, bringing her back into the sun, and looked into her deep violet eyes. Drowned in them, actually, until he felt a certain despair wash over him, and he knew exactly how she felt. "Love..." he whispered. "Jade," she said in a strangled voice. He sat up, breaking her gaze for only a second. "Rei, my love, don't worry for me," he said. "I'll be all right." Tears beaded up in her eyes, and he reached for her; in reply, she clung to him tightly and cried. He'd never seen her cry before...as he said before, he couldn't of bore it. It would've have been like flaying his own soul. "Love, love," he said, stroking his hair. "I will come back. My family line is hard to kill. Why, when my grandfather served in the Earth-Sea conflicts, it took flaming arrows, a spear through the thigh, a dizziness spell, and several sword wounds just to get him to retreat. He died in a seven hour wrestling match with a Giant Jupiter Gecko--after slaying the beast." Her tears seemed quelled a little by his tale, yet he still felt the unsteadiness of her condition. "Rei, Rei, I won't die. I can't. I can't die until I get my final kiss, remember? And that will be when I'm old and gray, and our children surround us--not because of some youma." "True," she admitted, and he felt her shoring up her walls again. It troubled him when they cracked around him, just because her pain was quickly assumed by him, as his was assumed by her. Yet it was only a small price to pay for the love shared between them--a very small price. "I still worry, though." "Don't love," he whispered, raising her eyes to meet his. "Pray for me, plead for me, but don't worry about me..." "Watch my back, not yours," she said. "Oh no," he mock groaned, "I'm sounding like Kunzite again." A sparkle infiltrated her eyes, and she leaned up to kiss him soundly. And they didn't speak of death and dying anymore, but lived. He placed the flower back in the vase, and stood up. His mind was right--the dream was nothing but that, a dream. He brushed himself off, straightened a bit, and went to get Nephrite's butt out of bed. He entered the room totally unprepared for the disaster it was. Immediately he ignited a globe to call Kunzite, but then he found himself hanging by his ankles, and something bashed his back and his head, and he blacked out... ...to awaken in a room, staring in a pair of dark brown eyes. "Rite?" "Jade!" he sighed in relief, backing up. "I thought they'd have you out for longer for sure." He tried to sit up, and a hammer slammed into the front of his forehead, the headache blossoming in little cracks across his skull. "What...did they...hit me..with?" he asked, almost woozily. "A dense crystal." That explained it. Zoicite had once cracked a couple of wooden boards with one of those. "Ouch...hey, did you know your bleeding?" Nephrite self consciously touched his shoulder and shook his head. "They stabbed me when they attacked." "Who? What happened?" He related the battle, and Jaedite's pallor lightened. "Ouch," he said grimly. "Uh-huh. And you?" "I'd gone to your room to get you out of bed, and found it a wreck. I opened a globe to Kunzite to try and get him to come over, but they grabbed me and knocked me out." He steadied himself and then asked, "Exactly who are THEY?" Nephrite's lips curled in a scowl. "Negaverse scum." "How'd they bypass Kunz and Zoi?" "They have a powerful Queen, and I think she must of cast a misdirection or some such thing," Nephrite said. "No, I did nothing of the sort," came a darkly seductive voice. Both men spun, and stood, and faced Queen Beryl as she slunk forward, youma pets in shadow. Nephrite snarled, and Jaedite automatically felt anger surge to the forefront, eyes crystallizing. "I merely just sent myself and my youma to take care of the both of you," she said. "You couldn't! There is shielding and LAWS against that!" Jade roared. "Laws? What are laws?" she asked shiftily, and a hoard of crackling laughter came from behind her. Both men stood tall in the wave, disgust trickling into their minds, disgust and revulsion. Nephrite self-consciously touched his shoulder. "I trust you weren't hurt to badly," she purred at Jade. "No, if you count nearly get your head knocked off a 'light' injury," he countered. Her red eyes blazed at him, and she yelled, "Don't sass me, General! Your life is in my hands!" Abruptly she waved, and a section of the room suddenly seemed to crawl with life, writhing youma waiting for their chance to taste General blood. "As to your shielding, it was simple. The powers of light are sharp and hot, bright and wide, and incapable of showing themselves without putting on a show. The dark power is slick, slippery, and like gel through a crack can slip through the tiniest holes in any defense," she said, a contented smile on her face. "So why are we here?" Nephrite asked. "Are you broke and needing ransom? Because I doubt you'll get much for a pair of Earth Generals," Jaedite snapped. his mind whispered. he reminded himself. "No, no, no--I want you," she said. They exchanged glances, and Jade said, "I'm flattered, but..." "No, you fools!" she snapped suddenly. "I want your skills. My army needs Generals to lead them in our conquest of the universe!" One second. Two seconds. Then, "No deal!" the two men cried in unison. "Take some time to reconsider it," she said. "The Dark Kingdom can supply any of your needs--money, wine, weapons, women...anything you could have ever wanted." "In exchange for killing our friends, our families, our loved ones? Hardly a deal," Nephrite fired off. "I don't know who you are, or WHAT you are, but I will NEVER turn traitor and join the Negaforce! Not for all the wealth, power, or women you could offer! I will never trade my soul for your garbage!" Jade followed up, his eyes blazing as his hands did. "My name is Queen Beryl, you imbeciles," she shouted. "And in the end you will bow to me whether you want to or not!" "Over my broken body, witch!" Jade yelled. "YOU FOOLISH, PATHETIC MAN!" she screamed. "GET THEM, YOUMA! GET THEM!" The youma leapt forward, and suddenly in the hands of both Generals were the spord and a metal tipped whip, one of Jade's favorite weapons to use. The two roared and jumped to meet the challenge. The battle was fierce, and bloody, mostly on the youma side. The Generals lost a lot of their uniform to the claws and teeth and tentacles of the youma, but the angry that had sprung up to grit the teeth and flash the eyes of the men had possessed them with a strength they'd never had, a strength they couldn't have imagined. They weren't just fighting for their own freedom, but for the freedom of a whole star system, and especially because of a pair of emerald eyes, and a pair of purple ones, and the love that was in both of them. However, their Fate was not to triumph this day over the Queen of the Negaverse, though they did take out A LOT of her youma. In fact, several times Nephrite nearly broke through to go for the queen, but was always blocked by a shadow, or a sudden pain would tackle his head and he would have to pull back. In the end, it was to be Jaedite who would fall first, not under claws or teeth or tentacles, but because of the amount of power he'd drained from himself. A wave of dizziness overtook him, and he barely had time to yell out "NEPHRITE!" before he collapsed and the hoards of youma went for him. "JADE!" yelled his friend, and he dove in as well. Queen Beryl watched for a minute, and then another, as the battle raged hotter than ever. Finally she called, "STOP! BACK AWAY!" The youma obeyed her grudgingly, pulling themselves out of battle mode to limp back to their Queen, blood of their comrades pooling on the floor. And near the center of it all, the two Generals, Jaedite unconscious, Nephrite barely, he calling his star field to assist his power in order to try to heal...something...before...he...passed...out. Beryl smiled as he slumped, and called out, "Drakon!" A near human/lizard creature appeared, intelligence shining from its red rimmed black eyes. "Yes, my Queen," he asked in a bass voice. "Take them and put them in the Crystals. Make sure their injuries are tended to. And send a squad after the last two--and don't screw up!" "Yes, my Queen," he replied, slinking away to grab the two Generals and haul them through a black hole, a smile appearing on Beryl's lips. ------------------------ PREVIEWS Chapter Three: Kunzite & Zoicite Notice a pattern yet? Watch these two follow it, and find out the secret these two men may just have in common....