Somewhere, in the abysm of time and space there is a room. Hardly what we, as mortals of Earth would call a room, but it is a room none the less. Now within that room there are several people, once again, they are hardly what we would consider living human beings, but they are people. Within this room of time and space, these people are being taught by one of the greatest masters of time and space. Now as far as we would know, these people have always known the things the teacher teaches, and just the same they have never heard of them before. The teacher stands in front of all the students. The teacher has long, flowing green hair, nice round eyes, and stands no less than six feet next to the scepter she holds in her hand. In her hand is a galaxy, or the time space equivalent thereof. She holds it out to the class and begins her lecture. The lecture never does start, and it continues for eternity, but only takes a second to deliver. That's the trouble when operating out of time space, there are no definite answers. "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. It is a simple way of saying that in any given reality, anything that can happen, will happen, and in fact does happen, in an alternate universe. This one statement allows the reality that we exist in to continuously expand within an ever-growing boundary. "At any given point, we are surrounded by billions of subspace universes, that should all be similar if not closely identical to your starting universe. This starting universe is often called Universe Prime, as it IS a starting and a reference point for other universes." The teacher would sigh now, her old years wearing on her delicate body. "However, also following the I D I C rule, there is one exception to this statement. MY universe prime, the Universe with the Silver Millenium, Crystal Tokyo, and the Neo-Queen Serenity all in one place, is the rarest universe in our reality. "Now, while even the highly rare universes have at least a few thousand alternate universes adjacent to them, my universe prime has only one. Can you imagine that in all of reality, my universe prime has but one alternate universe that is even close in similarity to it? The chances are mathematically impossible, yet they DO happen, because of I D I C." At this point, one of the students catches the teachers attention and asks, "Pluto, what was different in the alternate universe?" It's an irrelevant question, but she feels it's important just the same. "Well," she began, but realized that was having trouble remembering it all. "It was a lot like prime, but different in a major way, all the roles were reversed..." A Twisted Plot Production In Association with Tempest Creations A DIFFERENT PAIR OF EYES By Adam Chris Leigh Based on "Sailor Moon" By Naoko Takeuchi At night, the Moon Palace was often quiet, sometimes too quiet for people looking for answers. This night, one man was looking for answers, and the quietness of the Palace was unnerving for him. Quietly as possible, he moved to the east wing and stepped out onto the Royal Balcony. The balcony is a half circle, about thirty feet in diameter, that sticks out the rear of the Moon Palace. Below the balcony, the serene gardens stretched out for miles, brilliant hues of green, yellow, orange, all twinkling in the earthlight. A pair of tiny lightning bugs flew across the gardens, flashing their lights in patterns that would never be understood by man. It was the lightning bug's little secret, and it was quite content in keeping it. Off to the side of the balcony was a marble fountain with a constant flow of crystal clear water trickling down from it. Each drop, making a slight patter as it would hit the surface of the water and become consumed by the whole. That constant pattering was soothing to the man standing on the balcony. He reveled in the beat and walked to the edge of the balcony and leaned on the railing. The stars gleamed in the sky, shining their light brightly on the palace, although they were very small compared to the light reflecting off the earth. The stars were beautiful, the man had seen the stars once on earth, but for some reason they weren't quite as lovely as when he was standing on the balcony looking up at them. People had told him that it was the atmosphere of earth, the dense tri-oxygen ozone stopped most of the light of the stars from shining through. On the moon though, the atmosphere was much thinner, and more of the light would shine through. It was a viable explanation, but the man knew that wasn't the whole of it. The stars didn't just shine for him, they talked to him, and he would talk back. The stars were sending so much more than just their light, and the man could see it. But on earth, the stars just seemed not to look in that direction. As if the stars had only meant to shine on the moon, and anything else they shined at was by accident. The man looked up at the stars, raising his hand and weaving it between the different constellations. Orion, Sagittarius, Gemini, they all were shining their light bright onto the moon, but today they weren't sending anything else. The stars had stopped speaking to the man, their messages no longer being sent, his friends had become mute. Without the stars to guide him, he felt very alone, very secluded. It was uncomfortable to him. While the man leaned on the balcony and stared off into the sky, the door to the balcony opened slowly and soundlessly. A woman in a off-white dress walked onto the balcony and stood behind the man. She looked up at where he was staring, up into the stars. "Constellation Taurus?" she softly spoke to the man. He tensed up suddenly but slowly relaxed as he turned to face the voice. The woman was smiling softly, her long hair flowing behind her and onto the dress. Her face was like a hawk, always watching from above, and with a mean look always. Only those who knew her well knew that she was a kind person. The man stiffly bowed at the waist towards the woman, who curtsied back. "Yes, my Queen, and Good Evening." "Please," protested the woman, as she walked over to the man's side. "Nephrite, you don't have to call me Queen. I have a name, and I would prefer it if my closest friends used it." "As you wish, Beryl," Nephrite replied then slowly turned back to look at the stars. He sighed in frustration. "The stars still won't talk to you?" Beryl asked of her friend. "No, it's been this way for a while. Its like the stars are scared to speak, they continue to shine like nothing is wrong, but something must be gravely wrong for them to stop speaking." He turned to face Beryl. "Only one in a billion of us can even hear what they say, and even fewer achieve the skill I have in listening to them. Why would they stop talking?" "I'm sure the stars have their reasons. You shouldn't blame yourself for not being able to hear them when you say they aren't even talking." She looked Nephrite in the eyes. "When was the last time you have slept because of this?" He looked away from Beryl and hesitated. "I," he began. "I really don't know, it can't be more than ..." he stopped again. "Its probably been a week." Beryl frowned. "Why do you continue to torture yourself? What can be so important that you'd destroy yourself to hear it?" "I, I don't know," Nephrite admitted. "Something is wrong or else they wouldn't have stopped talking, and if they only get to talk for an instant I need to hear what they have to say. What if they have to warn us about something, of an attack or raid, what if disaster is upon us?" "What if someone is to die?" Beryl softly spoke. "Is that what you were thinking? Thinking of _her_?" Nephrite looked to the ground for a moment, then back up to the stars. "They were trying to tell me you know. The message was there the whole time and I didn't see it, not until she was already dead." Beryl put her hand on Nephrite's shoulder. "Persius' death was not your fault. Even if you had known you wouldn't have been able to do anything." She pulled Nephrite's head down until it was a centimeter from her face and whispered. "Not even the stars can prevent fate." And they kissed. At any given point in time, the Queen had three Generals within spitting distance of her. It had been a rule she made early in her supremacy, she was too important of a person to ever be left alone. While the General that was closest to her was Nephrite, she had befriended a few of the other Generals as well. Kunzite and Zoicite were close to the Queen, almost as close as they were to each other. If Beryl had to choose another that she would call a friend it would be Jadeite, however her general distaste for his, quote 'thoroughness' had kept them a bit farther apart than the rest of her friends. While she may disagree with a few of the Generals, she trusted them all with her life, for she knew that they held it closely in their hands. While the Queen and Nephrite talked on the balcony, Kunzite, Zoicite, and a younger Quartzite were standing outside of the balcony door. While all of the Generals acted professionally while on duty, the three outside of the door seemed quite casual. Zoicite yawned loudly and softly whispered to Kunzite, "Don't they ever sleep?" Kunzite smoothly turned his head towards Zoicite and let the hint of a smile cross his face. "Would you rather they got some sleep together?" he replied. "Are you kidding?" he almost shouted. "The Queen of Formality and the Ice Prince together? They'd probably sleep on separate sides of the Palace if it would better hide their emotions." Kunzite shook his head and turned to face the wall again. "It doesn't matter, Nephrite hasn't slept in a week anyway." He closed his eyes leaned against the wall. "I would know, his accursed pacing up and down the palace would keep anyone up." Zoicite hummed in question. "Really?" he asked. "I wonder how I've missed it. Of course, it's easy to miss anything if you're not looking for it." Kunzite just grinned in response, his stiff face almost stifling a laugh. "Well," he said between breaths. "You make enough noise at night yourself. I'm surprised they don't hear you on earth." Zoicite turned a shade of red, feeling his whole face flustered. "I learned from the best, sweetie," he quickly responded in a sultry tone of voice. That time it was Kunzite that turned red. Zoicite outwardly laughed at him as he began to match the pink walls he was leaning against. When the doors to the balcony suddenly opened, the three generals quickly regained their professional posture and stood stiff at each side of the door. Nephrite was first to strut out of the doorway, he walked a little bit down the hall before stopping to stand beside Quartzite. Soon afterwards, Beryl flowed out of the room, her gown spreading out to look like a giant white cloak behind her. Beryl continued down the hallway as the Generals moved to walk behind her. As they moved down the long hallway she looked over her shoulder at Kunzite. He responded to her stare as a prompting and began to talk, "the Senate has asked that you sponsor some community event. They wish to inspire more benevolent thoughts in light of the current uprising on earth." Beryl turned forward again and continued walking. "The senate asks more and more of me each year," she calmly said. As she walked she furrowed her eyebrows, "What sort of event do they recommend?" "They made no recommendation verbally," Kunzite responded. Beryl sighed and shook her head. "That could be expected. Those bureaucrats want all the power but they never want to make decisions for themselves. I should just abolish any public representation and do things myself." Kunzite and Zoicite slowed down behind Beryl, they glanced at each other in worry then quickly caught up to her. Zoicite moved to walk next to Beryl, "You don't really mean that do you?" he asked. "Hmm?" Beryl replied then quickly grinned at Zoicite. "Oh, no, of course not. There's never any peace in supremacy, only blind following. No, I'll leave things like that to Serenity and her band of megalomaniacs." She turned to Nephrite as she walked. "Which reminds me." Nephrite looked puzzled at first, his eyebrows raising in question, then they rested and he realized what she was expecting from him. "The latest RECON on Serenity's forces put them at a possible 1 to 3 chance of winning a direct assault, based on manpower and speed." Nephrite yawned suddenly then continued, "But we can hardly expect them to perform such an act under those odds. Remember, crazy, not stupid. I think they'd wait for a time when our guard is down and the odds are more in their favor." Beryl slowed her walking, then finally stopped. "A distraction," she repeated. "Like a community event?" Nephrite slowly nodded. "We DO send thirty-two percent of our normal ready forces from active to standby during events. And the public access to the palace would make infiltration a greater chance. In short, this would be the worst time to have such an event." "Unfortunately," Beryl countered. "Even if we win the war, we will have lost if our people rebel against us when it's over. Right now, the people are with us because they agree with our ideals, but if they start coming to our side merely for protection, when the war is over we'll have an uprising." Beryl turned around to face Kunzite and Zoicite, "You two," she demanded. "Inform the senate that we'll be having a Royal Ball in two weeks," she looked at each of the generals before her. "EVERYONE is invited." She stared into their eyes for a moment before she turned on her foot and walked down the hallway. Jadeite was sleeping when he heard the alarm. His first instinct was to grab the pike he kept under his bed and prepare for combat, but as soon as he was awake enough to do such an act he realized that it wasn't an attack. He quickly jumped out of bed and rushed across the room to a small niche in his closet where he kept his transmitter. With a swipe of his hand he opened the communication channel. A small holographic image emerged from the top of the transmitter that was heavily shaded green but some other colors emerged. The image was of a woman, very elegant looking, with long hair tied up in two buns at the sides of her head. She was wearing a dark dress that's color couldn't be determined from the green holographic image. "I want to meet with the Queen," the woman quickly said. Jadeite pondered the thought for a moment. "Impossible, Serenity," Jadeite responded. "The Queen doesn't meet with anyone who doesn't proceed through the normal diplomatic channels." "I don't want to have a diplomatic discussion, I just need to see her," Serenity said. "Do you know how dangerous it will be for BOTH of us to sneak you into the Palace so you can 'chat'?" Jadeite said nervously. "You've done far worse for your Queen, just do this for me. Listen, I promise not to kill anyone, I just want to talk. No ulterior motives." "I've heard that before," Jadeite sneered. "From me?" She questioned. Jadeite stopped for a second and looked around. "No," he finally admitted. "Fifteen minutes at the most, and I'll provide my own way out," she bargained. Jadeite turned stiff as he thought about her offer. "Alright," he started. "But no one else, just you; and you have to promise to leak more information about your current status. _Truthful_ information this time." Serenity grinned evilly, "Any embellishing my people do is out of my control. I want in, 56 hours from..." she looked away at some unseen clock. "Now. I'll meet you in the usual spot." Jadeite sighed in defeat. "Okay ... you know, I only do this because I disagreed with the elder consul. Don't push this too far, I'm still promised to protect the Queen." "Just talk, remember." "Yeah ... talk," he said sarcastically. Serenity's image winked as it faded away into the transmitter. Jadeite stared at the transmitter for a few seconds afterwards, wondering what he had put in motion this time. After a few moments he moved away from the niche and pulled out his Generals garb and headed off for the bathes. The morning hearings were short, most of the talk was about the announcement of the Royal Ball two days ago. Beryl could only be so happy that her work was cut down, and that most of the public had been too preoccupied to worry about the oncoming war. Kunzite slammed his gavel to mark the end of the morning's session, as soon as he did Beryl swiftly moved out of the hall. Kunzite quickly caught up with her as she paced down the hallway to the Throne Room. She slowed down a bit when her got beside her, but she continued walking. "Is there something wrong?" Kunzite asked her. Beryl didn't turn to face him, but sped up a bit. "I'm just a little worried about this Ball, and the fact that we haven't even heard from Serenity and her followers for a week. Things seem...too normal." Kunzite nearly laughed out loud, but he stifled it to a low chuckle. "And this is a bad thing?" he said. "Very much so," she said solemnly. "I don't trust the information that's been coming in. It seems too convenient, and the fact that there hasn't been any face to face contact is very worrying." She turned around a corner in the hallway, continuing to walk towards the Throne Room. Kunzite nearly missed it and had to quickly run back and up to Beryl. "You can't worry yourself about everything that happens or doesn't," Kunzite said between breaths. Beryl pushed out a breath of air in annoyance. Kunzite shook his head. "Then what would you have us do? Infiltrate their base and destroy them all?" Beryl stopped in her tracks and turned her head to Kunzite. He looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. "You must accept what you cannot change," Kunzite explained. "If we go storming in there, not to say we can being that we don't know where they are, but if we go in there it would be against everything you believe in as Queen. And we could lose, even the ere of surprise can't compensate for a lack of a plan." Beryl started walking again, a bit slower as she approached the door the Throne Room. She lowered her head, "There must be a better way," she said softly. The two approached the Throne Room and Beryl pushed open the two big doors that guarded the entrance. Inside was a circular room with large tapestries on the walls, marble pillars in circular formations around the room, and a modest looking throne sitting in the center. As Beryl moved into the room she noticed that someone was sitting on the throne. A woman, of about average height, long blond hair in two buns on the sides of her head, and dressed in a lavender dress. When Beryl walked in she stood up next to the throne. Beryl stopped and stared, without moving she spoke. "Kunzite, wait outside." Kunzite, who had been closing the doors, turned to ask why when he saw Serenity standing by the throne. Immediately he drew a long sword he was wearing on his belt and stood in attack posture. Beryl raised her voice, "I said, Wait Outside." He paused for a second, "But Queen..." he started. "Now!" she ordered. Kunzite reluctantly returned his sword to its scabbard, bowed, and backed out of the room, keeping his eye on Serenity the entire time. When Kunzite was out of the room, Beryl moved down the red carpet that led from the door to the throne. As she walked, Serenity stepped down from the slight riser that the Throne was sitting on. Beryl stopped when she was a few feet away from Serenity. Beryl briefly glanced over Serenity. "You look good today, much more appealing than that greenish brown you normally wear." Serenity nodded then started walking around Beryl. "Thank you, and might I add that you look splendid. Not at all different than myself." Beryl followed Serenity with her eyes, but never moved her head. "We're not much different, you and I," Serenity continued. "Ironic how you would become the symbol for good and I for evil. I guess you really can't judge a book by the cover." "There's nothing Ironic about it," Beryl responded. "You wanted supremacy and I wanted diplomacy. The elder consul agreed with me and not with you." "Diplomacy?" Serenity scoffed. "Is that what you call your government. You have a more twisted mind than myself." "What do you mean?" Beryl asked. "Just look at yourself. You call yourself a Queen yet you say you run a diplomatic operation here. You are supreme in all decisions, therefore you run a supremacy. We are merely shades of the same color." "Is there a reason you came here?" Beryl said, annoyed. "Don't get pushy with me, my sister. I'm here for the same reason my forces continue to attack you. I want you to stand down from Queen and pass it to me." "And you think if you were to come here, I would do it for you? And why do you call me sister?" "Oh come now, has it been so long ago that we were sisters? Or has being Queen interfered with your memory of times before?" "You have an odd sense of time, that was nearly six hundred years ago, and we were never real sisters." "We were so close we called each other sisters, people used to think we were inseparable. I think this very conflict proves that we are tied together, forever. It's the very reason I'm here now, the reason why I'm trying to see a solution to this without violence." "The only solution is that you give up this crazy crusade to take over and seek a hobby like sewing." Beryl turned to Serenity. "You can't win this, it will only mean the destruction of both of us." She moved closer. "Come on, you said it yourself. We're not that different, forget this rivalry, I never looked down at you for not being chosen. Come back and be my friend again, we could do so much more for the Universe if we would work together instead of this pointless fight." Serenity leaned forward and whispered in Beryl's ear. "The only pointless fight is one you can't win." With that, Serenity turned and walked out the back door to the Throne Room, leaving Beryl to watch her. The days leading up to the Royal Ball were both quick and filled anxiousness. The people were anticipating the Ball, and everything that is going to happen there. But Queen Beryl and her Generals spent the two weeks anticipating an attack by Serenity at any time. When the defensive forces heard that they wouldn't be able to leave during the Ball the last thing they were was pleased. Fortunately, most of them were posted near or even at the Ball so a few of them were assured that they wouldn't miss much. The rest of the forces though, Beryl had to trust they would amuse themselves and stay at their posts. Nephrite walked around the busy halls of the Palace a few hours before the beginning of the ball. He wore his dress uniform, similar to the gray one he normally wore but with several decorations on his shoulders and chest. A pair of Emerald broaches on his shoulders, a golden David's Star and a silver crescent moon hung on the left of his chest, and a gold trim was added to the uniform. His boots clicked on the floor as he walked down the hallways. He tugged at his collar and straightened his shirt, attempting to find some comfort in the stuffy uniform. He stopped as he passed one of the rooms of the Generals. He peeked in and saw Kunzite struggling to attach his long white cape to his shoulders. Nephrite walked into the room and stood behind Kunzite. Kunzite looked in the mirror in front of him and saw Nephrite behind him. He continued to try to attach his cape. "Again with the cape, huh?" Nephrite asked. "When you stop trying to look your best, is when you begin to look your worst," Kunzite recited. Nephrite just grinned. "So when did you stop trying?" he chuckled. Kunzite looked unimpressed. Nephrite heard the loud click of heels hitting the floor behind him, he turned to see Zoicite walk in, with blue cape no less. Nephrite continued to grin and hit himself in the head. "Not you too," he said. Zoicite smiled and walked over to Kunzite to help him with his cape. "I've found wearing a cape gives an extra ere of dignity," Zoicite responded. With a soft click, Zoicite got the clasp to close on Kunzite's cape and he spun around, allowing the cape to billow behind him. "You should wear a cape, Neph," Zoicite said. "Something in the greens would look good on you." "That's alright," Nephrite responded. "I'm fine as I am. Just don't go talking Jadeite into wearing a cape, he might actually do it." Zoicite chuckled, and then Kunzite suddenly tensed up. He frowned, "Has any of you seen Jadeite these last few days?" Nephrite stopped smiling and looked worried. "No, I don't think I have. Have you, Zoicite?" Zoicite shook his head. Nephrite looked worriedly between Zoicite and Kunzite. "You don't think..." "Hey," Zoicite interrupted. "I think we should find him before we make any accusations. " Nephrite stared off blindly between Zoicite and Kunzite, after a moment he blinked a few times then looked to Kunzite. "You head to the East wing, I'll take the West, Zoicite, check outside around the palace." Nephrite turned to leave, "And lets try to make this quiet," he amended. The three stormed out of the room and separated, Kunzite and Zoicite with their eloquent looking capes and Nephrite with his decorations. Nephrite and Kunzite searched the building from foundation to roof, and an hour and a half later, not having heard from Zoicite, they went out together to look for him. The two slowly paced around the Palace, through the gardens and fields, and the courtyards and plantations. They had searched every square inch of the Palace grounds before they headed out towards the nearest spaceport. While transporting their using their magic would be easy, the two decided that if they walked they could spot trouble in advance instead of teleporting head long into it. The two paced down a cobblestone path leading from the palace towards the spaceport. Nephrite looked up at the Earth as he walked, "We're gonna be late for the Ball," he said. Kunzite was darting his head back and forth, eagerly awaiting any attempt to attack him. "Maybe you should go back," he responded. "I can keep looking for Zoicite and Jadeite. I'm sure they're just goofing off somewhere." "If its all the same," Nephrite said. "I'd rather we stayed in pairs, just in case." Kunzite turned and raised an eyebrow; he was about to say something when his whole world went dark. Nephrite quickly jumped back when he saw that a person was holding the log that slammed Kunzite in the head. He crouched low and created a barrier around himself using his magic. He quickly looked around as four girls, not much older than 18 strolled out from the surrounding trees. The one holding the log has a short skirt of red and a red bow on the breast of her sailor's outfit, she had long black hair and a face like a raven. Behind Nephrite was a woman with long blond hair, a yellow skirt and bow, and was grinning deeply. To the left of the blond was a brown haired girl with a ponytail and green highlights, she continuously pounded her fist into her hand. To the right of the blond was a shorter woman with bluish hair and blue highlights in her outfit, she was wearing a visor. Nephrite would know them anywhere, in any costume, they were the ones he had sworn to protect the Queen from, the Sailor Senshi. Sailors Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury, all here around him. He was dead. Mars stepped a little bit closer and spoke, when she did there was the faintest echo in her voice. "Our Queen doesn't want your meddling while she attacks the Palace, so we've been send to...detain you." Nephrite looked around slowly, contemplating all his options. "There is no escape, unlike your counterpart here, you can't fly, neither can you hope to charge through us like a band of your feeble soldiers. If you give up quietly, I'll promise not to kill you. "Fat chance," Nephrite sneered. "You'd kill me anyway." Mars walked closer, until the electric field that surrounded Nephrite crackled an inch from her face. "You know what?" she stated rather than asked. "You're absolutely right." Nephrite took this chance to make his move. He quickly reversed his barrier, causing it to quickly wrap around Mars and seal her inside like it sealed him. As the other Senshi began to fire off their attacks, he leaped backwards as high and far as he could, causing their attacks to converge on Mars instead of him. When the smoke cleared and the Senshi realized they had hit Mars instead of Nephrite, they quickly spun around to see Nephrite standing behind them all on the road to the Palace. He furrowed his eyebrows and yelled back, "We've been fighting for ten years now, you should know you can't get me that easy." He bowed to the Senshi before teleporting in a sparkle of electricity. When Nephrite finally returned to the Palace, the Ball had already started and many guests had already arrived. Nephrite had to stop himself from strolling in through the main gates, the dirt and soot on his uniform would have, to say the least, attracted attention. He managed to sneak into the Palace through the back gates without anyone seeing him. It was more of a surprise to be able to do so as of late with most people pawing at the doors trying to catch a glimpse of the Queen. Of course, with this open Ball going on, there would be no need to, but there is always one person who wants to attract attention. He found Beryl on his way in; she was dressed in her nicest gown, a lavender dress with a golden trim to match her Generals. She had been pacing back and forth in the hallway leading from the back gates to the main Hall until Nephrite showed up. She rushed over to him when she saw him, wrapped her arms around chest. "What happened to you all?" she quickly asked after she let go of Nephrite. "My top Generals were missing and I couldn't go out there without escort." Nephrite just looked at Beryl with worry, and then he placed his arm on her shoulder and ushered her down the hallway. He wouldn't look into her eyes as he talked. "There's trouble," he said. "The Senshi have been rounding up all the Generals they could get their hands on. I was with Kunzite when they took him, Zoicite never came back, and Jadeite..." he trailed off. "Well, we guess he was taken as well." "Rounding up?" Beryl stopped in her tracks. "You don't think she's going to attack me?" "That's exactly what she is going to do, Mars said so when she came for Kunzite." Nephrite continued walked, Beryl paused for a moment then caught up to him. "Where are you going?" Beryl demanded. "I'm going to get rid of these people, talk to the Royal Guard, I think I might send out for the local Militia..." "Wait a minute," Beryl interrupted. "You can't send these people home, we held this Ball in spite of Serenity's threats; and if it'll look horrible if we rush everyone out on some false alarm. The elder consul would have a fit, and the people..." Nephrite put both his hands on Beryl's shoulders, sufficiently keeping her quiet. For the first time since arriving at the Palace Nephrite looked into Beryl's eyes, he was frowning, his eyes showing pure inner pain. He whispered to her, so that only she could hear him. "She's not going to hold back anymore. This has gone too far, no more false alarms. It’s happening." Beryl looked down at the ground, her beautiful refection shining from the sparkling clear floor. She mouthed the word more than she said it, "War." The ground seemed to shiver as she said it causing her reflection to scatter. She looked back up to Nephrite, "Are we prepared for this?" Nephrite burrowed his eyebrows and retracted his hands from Beryl's shoulders. "If we move now, we can get most of the Lunarian army ready, and if the people are out of the way of the fire, we can cut casualties down to a minimum." Nephrite turned to head down the hallway, but Beryl grabbed his arm before he could leave. "You didn't answer me," she coldly said. Nephrite hesitated, and while he answered her, he could feel a lump building up in his throat. "Most of the Lunarian army left anyway, and Serenity's army gets bigger everyday. Serenity guards Earth like some prize, and our nearest ally planet is Venus." Beryl nodded slowly, "Which is currently on the other side of the sun." "Yes," he strained. "If maybe you hadn't given up on those Marian peace talks maybe..." he trailed off before Beryl could rebut. "Oh don't start that with me. I've heard enough already." Beryl sighed in defeat, she looked around at all the stone cold faces of Generals walking the halls. "Can we win?" Nephrite swallowed, "No." Beryl froze, she knew it was true, but as a Queen she couldn't accept it. "Go, prepare our forces, she won't take us without a fight." Nephrite nodded, but didn't get more than twenty paces away from the Queen when the first attack started. Quartzite had been assigned to watch the doors for guests when Jadeite didn't return. He was the first to see the attack coming from the sky, and the first to call out the alarm as the initial strikes hit the palace and the surrounding grounds. The guests scattered just as much as the stone facing on the Palace walls. People running left and right, futilely trying to escape the burning debris of stone and mortar. Quartzite managed to push down a bunch of guests before one of the shots singed over the tops of their heads. The once beautiful stonework of the Palace was beginning to crumble under the onslaught. Quartzite managed to stand up just in time to see Jadeite rushing up to the gates. He looked visually battered, seared and cut across most of his uniform. Quartzite ran over to Jadeite just as he got inside the gates. "Jadeite," he yelled to him over the sheer sound of the crumbling buildings and bolts of energy. "It's an attack!" "No shit, Quartzite, I can see that!" Jadeite responded. "Where is the Queen and Nephrite?" "I don't know where Nephrite is," Quartzite yelled just as a burning piece of stone hit the ground next to him. "I think the Queen is in the Palace, in the Great Hall." Jadeite and Quartzite shielded themselves when one of the chunks of stone shattered, sending pieces flying in all directions. "What are we going to do?" Quartzite yelled. Jadeite looked back into the forest while he spoke. "You sir, aren't going to do anything. I on the other hand am going to capture the Queen." Quartzite's puzzled face was replaced with fear when Jadeite turned around with his fire sword emanating from his hand. Before Quartzite could do anything, Jadeite jabbed the length of the sword into Quartzite's gut, twisting it as it purged deeper into his body. The ends sizzled as the fire seared and cauterized the hole he was putting into Quartzite's body. Jadeite kicked Quartzite's burning body so it landed face first into the dirt. As he turned back towards the forest, Queen Serenity emerged with her band of five Senshi behind her, her own daughter standing right next to her. Jadeite looked back at disgust at the body at his feet. "I didn't want to do that," he admitted. "I'm supposed to protect the Queen and her court, up until the time as a new Queen takes over." Serenity laughed, "You're too soft, Jadeite. Consider this my initiation ceremony, I'm already a Queen!" Jadeite sneered at her, "I told you, minimum causalities, you're not only burning the guests, your burning the Palace!" "And I told you," Serenity responded. "We do things my way no matter what, besides, I never liked the look of that Palace anyway." She turned around to face the Senshi. "Fan out, the Queen is in the Palace, find her." Serenity glanced back at Jadeite, "but don't kill her." Nephrite pushed a large chunk of stone off of his body, it was part of a marble pillar that had crashed down nearby. As he moved the stone, he became aware of his mangled leg. It was black and blue and bleeding, even through the tatters of his uniform still left on his leg. He pushed the stone off to the side and tried his best to stand up, ultimately relying on a piece of nearby stone standing on end as a crutch. When he finally got erect, he looked around for Beryl. The wreckage was horrible, stone, glass, bodies, lying all over. Nearby he saw one of his Generals under a large stone spike, piercing through his lower abdomen. If it wasn't the gruesome sight that bothered him, it was that the General couldn't have been more than twenty-five years old. Was probably on his way from guarding the lesser stones to his living quarters when he was hit. It was such carnage, such a waste of life. Nephrite slowly moved himself in the general direction of where he saw Beryl last. The pain in his leg was unbearable, every time he moved it, more blood would come shooting out of his veins. His leg was a dripping green mass when he finally found Beryl lying unconscious under a layer of shattered glass. He slowly brushed off the glass and tried to pick her up when his leg gave way and he fell hard against the ground beside her. He was breathing deeply, completely exhausted from moving that little bit. He quickly ripped off his jacket and tied up his leg to try to stop the bleeding. Then he pulled out his sword and used it to steady himself as he picked up Beryl and tried to drag her out of the Palace. He was halfway down the hallway when he heard the sound of boots clicking against the stone floor. They were steady and sharp, like a woman's high heels. Nephrite quickly pulled Beryl into the nearest room and shut the door. They were inside one of the chapels that the Palace kept up. Catering to cultures from the nine different planets and their moons meant that the Palace had to have a number of religious areas. This particular chapel was for a unique religion of Earth, the belief that a god created all things and that this being had sent down a vessel in the form of a life giving man named Jesus. The chapel had a few rows of chairs called pews, and a ceremonial altar whence lied a cross with a crucified man on it. Otherwise the room was a plain white with a red carpet coming up the middle of the two rows of pews leading up to the altar. This was actually one of the more richer religions in the Solar system, while it didn't spread to the other planets, mainly because of its severe anthropormophic outlook, it still was much better in character and plot than the savage religions of, say, Mars. In fact, all of the religions of Earth were a bit more thought out that most. Nephrite pulled Beryl up the aisle and laid her down on one of the pews. He ducked down next to her, and watched the doors. He was slightly awed about how the one stained glass window in this room had managed not to get shattered, but at the moment it was not a concern of his. He listened closely as the group of heels slowly moved up the hallway, he figured they were casually checking every room since they seemed to move rather quickly. Nephrite was hiding behind the pew, using the reflection on the polished brass cross that was on the altar to see the door. When the door flung open, he could see the vague figure of a long hared Senshi, but the brass distorted the color, so it could either have been Venus or Mars. The figure glanced around, moving to one side of the aisle to the other, but never actually moving up the aisle. After a minute of glances, she sighed and walked back out of the door, her heels making that loud click all the way. He would have taken the Senshi, he would have electrified her body until it sizzled from the torment. He wanted nothing more than to get revenge for the damage they did to the Palace and they death they caused by it. But if he was going to get revenge, he wanted it on Serenity. Today would not be a day for revenge, they would have to escape to plan for another day. As he watched for more Senshi, Beryl stirred awake, shaking her head as she tried to get a grasp on where she was. Nephrite immediately bent over to her and hushed in her face. She blinked a few times as she looked around, she tried to sit up a few times, but Nephrite stopped her. She finally turned to him, "What are we doing?" she whispered. "The Senshi are searching for us," he responded in an equally low whisper. He kept glancing at the brass cross, looking for the Senshi. "Beryl, this isn't a takeover, this is a slaughter. I'm sure they won't hesitate to kill us on site, we have to get out of here if we hope to live." Beryl's eyes wavered, they looked like she was about to cry out in pain but was suddenly hushed. Nephrite wasn't sure what she was going to do until she silently nodded and slid off the pew and onto the ground. She crouched down beside Nephrite and silently peeked over the pew. The chapel was still empty, the door was open now, but no one stood in the doorway. Beryl sighed quietly and sunk beneath the pew. She looked down at herself for a moment before tearing off the ends of her gown and removing her boots. Using one of the tattered ends of her gown, she tied her long hair behind her. When she was done, she looked to an astonished Nephrite. "This gown will only slow us down," Beryl whispered. "Now," she said as she glanced around the room, then pointed at the large stained glass window. "I think that window leads to the east plain." She paused for a second then looked to Nephrite, "Think we can make a run for it?" Before he could answer, a loud click of a boot rang through Nephrite's ear. He quickly pushed Beryl off towards the altar as he heard the firing of Sailor Mars' attack. The pew quickly burst into flames, casting an eerie yellow hue on the chapel. Nephrite looked to the doorway to see the five Senshi standing there, dressed in their multicolored sailor fukus. Mars was grinning evilly. "Well, if it isn't the two idealists," Mars cackled. "Do we want them sautéed or flambé?" "I prefer char-broiled," said Sailor Jupiter, her lightning rod crackling above her tiara. "The Queen wanted you two alive," said Sailor Mercury, her eyes colder than the ice sword she had in her hand. "But I am sure she would not mind a little 'accident'." Her brow raised when she said the last word. "If you'll allow me the honor," interrupted Sailor Moon as she walked up the aisle slowly. "I can never get enough of that green shit you bleed, Nephrite." Beryl took this current display of egotism as a chance to escape. She lunged at the brass cross and swung it through the stained glass window. Shards of multicolored light flashed through the room, the pieces of glass scattering across the floor. Nephrite shielded his eyes but Beryl grabbed his arm and pulled him through the broken window. She instantly regretted it when she got through the window. Standing there, in full regalia, was Jadeite, holding his flaming sword in his right hand. As soon as Beryl looked up at him, he lowered his sword to point at Beryl. She gasped at first, then her look turned stone cold. "Jadeite!" Beryl yelled. "How dare you point your sword at me? Do traitors run in your family?" Jadeite's eye widened as he looked at Beryl, he retracted his sword and held it in a fighting stance. Behind Beryl, Nephrite held his electric sword, ready to defend himself and Beryl from Jadeite. "Bah! I have no family to run in, and any lie you make up now won't effect me," Jadeite sneered. "But you do have a family you traitorous dog," Beryl yelled back. "Your father killed the Royal King of the Moon. But you wouldn't remember that would you? We erased your memories when you joined the Generals." "Nonsense, I have full memory of my past," said Jadeite. "And this meaningless talk bores me!" He swung his sword down at Beryl just after Nephrite raised his sword to block it. The swords clashed in a flash of light, Beryl stood there, frozen, looking at Jadeite. "Your past is mere lies!" she continued. "Created by the finest engineers in the Lunarian Kingdom. You were nothing but scum left by the Palace Gates when your father went Kamikaze on the King. You should be kneeling at my feet!" "Lies! Get ready to die!" Jadeite raised his sword and swung it again, clashing it hard against Nephrite sword. He swung around again, and again, blow after blow at Nephrite. With each hit, Nephrite could feel himself getting weaker, and the pain in his leg growing stronger. Just as he was ready to give up, a second clang rang out as Jadeite's sword was blocked by something else. Jadeite opened his stress filled eyes to see Zoicite's ice blade blocking his sword. Zoicite stood on the other side of Beryl with his ice sword pointed at Jadeite, blocking his current blow. Nephrite let out a sigh before collapsing to the floor to catch his breath. "Zoicite," Nephrite sputtered. "You're alive, you're here!" Zoicite turned to him and looked him squarely in the face. His face was battered, bruised from some prolonged combat, stained with blood, and his eyes showed no emotion. "They killed Kunzite," he said flatly, then turned his head to Jadeite. "So I will kill them." Zoicite swung his blade at Jadeite with a fury like no other. As each swing hit, he was winding up for another one. Jadeite had to spend all his energy defending and was unable to see the stone behind him as he backed up. He fell over the stone and lied with his back to the ground and his hands up. "What are you going to do, kill me?" Jadeite yelled, secretly pulling out a dagger from his wrist cuff. Zoicite merely nodded as he rose his sword up high and swung down, just as Jadeite raised his arm with the dagger. Ironically, Jadeite was already dead when his limp arm completed the last impulse his mind sent to it, jabbing the dagger into Zoicite's gut. Neither felt pain for very long. When the spectacle was over, Serenity emerged from the trees next to Jadeite's and Zoicite's dead bodies. Beryl looked up at Serenity in disgust, Nephrite quickly pulled his sword and swung at Serenity. She flicked her wrist in response, sending some energy pulse at Nephrite, causing him to fly back. As he tried to get back up again, the Senshi emerged from the flaming window and held him down. Serenity turned back to Beryl, who still stood there with an iron face. "I trust you're uninjured, sister," Serenity calmly said. "I am not your sister," was her only response. Serenity looked down at Jadeite's and Zoicite's bodies. She swayed her head in shame. "You made him an easy target to control," Serenity said. "Erasing his mind like that. His mind was so feeble, mind control was a simple task. It's a shame he didn't live to see the disaster I made him cause. It's always interesting how a person responds to such an event." "Have you no heart?" Beryl interrupted. "I did once, but you'd be surprised how useless it is when it comes to war. You can't have a heart for those you send to die," Serenity grinned. "Don't you know that?" "Hah," Beryl chuckled. "Being a Queen means compromise, sometimes I act on my heart, and others I have to ignore it. It's the good of the people above all," she looked to Nephrite for a second. "Even those in my heart." Serenity tilted her head, then looked at Nephrite who had been struggling against the Senshi's hold on him. "Of course, the dapper General," she suddenly said, moving towards Nephrite. When she reached him, the Senshi lifted him off the ground to stand. "Its sad to see all the people you know die, isn't it? I don't suppose Zoey here had enough time to tell you how we killed Kunzite did he? We hung him above a cage of wild boars and cut his legs open." Serenity shook her head, "Those things can smell blood a mile away. It's a shame they don't have very sharp teeth, they probably had to gnaw on his body for a while." Nephrite shut his eyes tight, trying to block out the thought of Kunzite being slowly devoured. His fists clenched as he tried to swing his fist around at Serenity, only to have his hand stopped at the last moment by Sailor Venus. He thrashed to get out of the hold of the Senshi. "You ... you SAVAGE!" Nephrite screamed, tears streaming from his eyes. "Fight me! Come here and fight me fairly! You COWARD!" Serenity blinked, "I'm afraid you won't get the chance to fight me," she said. She reached down into the folds of her gown and suddenly produced a long sword in its scabbard. She turned to Sailor Moon, "Do you wish to do the honors?" she asked. Sailor Moon snatched the sword from Serenity and quickly unsheathed it. "It would be a pleasure," she responded. Before Nephrite could even voice protest, Sailor Moon shoved the sword into his gut up to the hilt. The only thing that came from his mouth was a tiny thread of green blood. She leaned forward to Nephrite's ear and whispered, "Such a quick death, you don't deserve." She yanked the sword back out of his body, and kicked him to the ground. He landed on his back with a thud, causing him to hack up a gratuitous amount of blood. His eyes were locked, staring straight up into the sky, a sky filled with stars. Stars that began to talk to him. So he listened. Something snapped inside Beryl when she saw Nephrite's body hit the floor, with the slow trickle of blood down his side. In Nephrite's face, she saw her own, her own body laying in the dirt, staring at the sky. For the first time, she wished she were dead. Serenity turned away from the body to look at Beryl. "So much for the dapper General," she said with a smile. "You," Beryl started. "You're insane." "Insanity is just somebody with a different point of view. What makes yours any better than mine?" Beryl simply looked at Serenity. She looked at a person she loved as a child, someone who was her best friend, someone she thought of as a sister. Then she looked at a person who was her competition to the throne, someone who had become a threat to the Kingdom, someone who had murdered the person she loved. What was left anymore? She couldn't let it end this way, she couldn't let the galaxy be destroyed by this madwoman. She had to be stopped, no matter what the cost. "Well?" Serenity asked. "Can't think of a reason, huh? Just the same, I'd like to keep you around, so you can witness my ascension to Queen, no, Ruler!" Serenity chuckled slightly. While she laughed, Beryl concentrated her power, a magical ability she had long since used. Channeling her power into her hands, she suddenly ran herself into Serenity and used her force to send her flying into the Senshi. The momentum carried them through the wall and they landed in a twisted pile of limbs. Beryl looked for a second before running off into the Palace. She only hoped that her little push would keep them busy long enough for her to get where she wanted to go. She dashed down the halls, going as fast as her feet could carry her, over to a door and up a staircase into one of the upper floors. When she emerged from the staircase, she was standing in a large command center, filled with computers and other information devices. When she entered, all the machines turned on and began to display information. She ran over to a small circular platform where all the machines connected together. Her hands brushed over the surfaces as they activated themselves by her presence. Several times she had simulated the use of this room, but never before had she intended on proceeded. Her hands knew the controls by heart and they flew from console to console like an expert. The information displayed on the holographic windows showed detailed information on how the Dark Crystal would be deployed from the top of the Palace and activated. Once activated, it would amass as much energy as possible by draining it from surrounding life forms, before trapping them inside of the crystal. The crystal would then be shattered, and the pieces would be shot off to each of the habitable planets in the Sol System. A total annulment of the people of the Moon. It seemed like such a drastic measure at the time it was made. Beryl though Nephrite was insane to start such a project. But he insisted that the stars told him to. Now, she was glad she listened, but she had no idea that it would have to be used on Serenity. After she activated the last subroutine, she crouched down on the circular platform and waited for eternity to grab her. The tower shook as the outer flaps opened to release the Dark Crystal, the displays wavered as their emitters began to shake. Suddenly, a loud crash was heard and the shaking grew worse. Beryl stood up to look at the status console. Sure enough, Serenity was taking pod shots at the tower, trying to stop whatever was happening. The shots hadn't damaged anything yet, but if they continued they were bound to hit something important. One of the displays switched to a diagram to show how all the systems were emerging from the tower. She watched as the flaps stopped moving and the capsule that held the Dark Crystal rose up, about to open. Just as Beryl was about to sigh in relief, the tower shook violently. Beryl was knocked to the ground and some of the wall blocks fell down on the machines. She struggled to pull herself up amidst all the wreckage. When she stood up she noticed a red light by the status display. As she neared it, she saw that Serenity had successfully hit something. Most of the display was in some sort of technical jargon that she couldn't understand, but she recognized the system as the dispersal gun. The device that was supposed to send all the crystal fragments to the habitable planets. From what she could gather, the auto aiming was fried and the gun was set on manual now. As she tried to remember what to do, the capsule opened and the Dark Crystal rose up into the sky. As soon as it got to full assertion, it began to absorb the peoples energy, including her own. The sudden strain on her caused her legs to give way, toppling her against the machine. She felt her very essence, the fiber of her soul separate itself from her body. It was a feeling like no other, but she had no time, she had to correct the error or innocent people might never get to be reborn. She reached up and grabbed the top of the machine's console, she activated the manual aiming device and looked at the screen to see where it was aimed now. She didn't have time to program in all the locations of the habitable planets, and she wouldn't be around to aim it afterwards. She had to choose one planet. She felt herself slipping, her eyes were beginning to get dark around the edges. She strained to look at the display, on it was empty space. She slammed the rotation button, causing the gun to change direction. It slowly panned left as her vision got darker, she felt her body grow limp and it was harder and harder to keep herself on the console. Eventually she slipped down to the ground, below the console. She let out a breath, and tried to blink away the darkness. She had one last chance, she had to aim the machine now. She found energy in her arm to lift her to the console. Just as her eyes cleared the edge of the console, her eyes fixated on the display. The turning display showed the big blue mass of a planet that was Earth. The sights of the gun were crossing the planets surface. Earth was habitable, it was a nice mix of land and sea, it had the best chance of surviving. Maybe, just maybe she could find a new life there, a new beginning with her Generals. Using the last of her will power, she slid her hand over the "Lock On" button, causing the gun to stop moving and fix itself on the big planet. With the last of her strength gone, she slid back down the console, slamming her chin against the edge as she fell. She slumped on the ground, her eyes slowly closing on her, losing all feeling in her body. The last thing she saw before her eyes closed for the very last time, was the display on an opposite console signaling the readiness of the flash packs buried under the Palace. In the end, the Crystal shattered into seven different parts. Each shard of the Crystal landed on Earth in the exact place the gun was locked onto: Japan. While that may seem like a pretty general location, for all seven to land there from the moon is pretty precise. Each shard became embedded into a person, and those people, led normal lives for over a thousand years, before the reactivation of Beryl and her Generals caused the Crystal Shards to react, and give their hosts new found powers. Beryl did fight Serenity again, in the end of the twentieth century of Earth's dominant culture. Despite the overbearing odds and the magnificent power that Serenity discovered when she encountered the subspace being named Metallia, Beryl won that battle, at the cost of hers and her 4 closest Generals' lives. The Dark Crystal resurrected Beryl and her 4 Generals after that battle, and allowed them to have normal lives, unknowing of their alien heritage. That is, until late in the twenty second century, when Serenity's Daughter, Neo-Queen Serenity, returned to pick up where her mother left off. Once again, Beryl and her four Generals defeated her, but at the cost of the surface of the Earth. Using the Dark Crystal, Beryl caused the population of the Earth to go into Cryogenic Stasis until such time as the surface had healed and the people could re-colonize. Under Beryl's guidance, they created Crystal Tokyo where the old Tokyo once stood. This Kingdom, which bared resemblance to the Moon Kingdom of old, was based on the old Greek idea of Timocracy, and lived in peace under the careful eye of Beryl for over eleven hundred years, until her death. Since Beryl died without an heir, the people were forced to rule themselves, continuing with Timocracy, and did so successfully for many years afterwards. Jadeite never regained his memories of the Moon Kingdom, having nothing of value to remember. He became the Royal Advisor after Kunzite reigned to 'pursue other things', and never married. Zoicite continued his relationship with Kunzite right where they left off on the Moon. He became Defense Advisor for the Royal Army before leaving to live on Venus. While legal documents never showed such act, Zoicite was considered 'married' to Kunzite by the end of the twenty-first century. Kunzite became Royal Advisor to the day to day legal issues of Crystal Tokyo, before he left with Zoicite to live on Venus. He died eighteen years before Beryl. Nephrite never stopped loving Beryl, even through all the hardships their battles with Serenity gave them. They were married on July 16, 2000, a full seven years after they were resurrected for the second time. Nephrite died in a secret battle Crystal Tokyo had with a private group known as the Dark Moon Family. Beryl visited his grave every other day afterwards and left him six carnations each time. During his time on Earth, the Stars remained silent for him, he never spoke to the stars or heard their song again. He still tried to talk to them, every day. He and Beryl never had a child. Author’s Notes: If this isn't a story, I don't know what is. This project has consumed all my free time for over three weeks. NO, I DON'T WRITE THAT SLOW, but proof reading and brainstorming took a lot of time. This idea was originally conceived sometime in October and was, believe it or not, inspired by the roses that Tuxedo Mask threw when he was under Queen Beryl's control in the latter half of the first season of Sailor Moon. You know, the ones that changed from red to black every now and then depending on what mood he was in. I have to thank a few people, especially Megane 6.7 who encouraged me along during the last few parts of the story. Otherwise I wouldn't have continued as I did, so, "Thanks for the Encouragement, Meg!" And now, without further ado: "Sailor Moon" is copyright © 1992 by Naoko Takeuchi. While this story holds some elements which are under copyright, the plot, character interaction, and setting are all Copyright (c) 1997 Adam Leigh. All rights reserved. ---------------------------------------------------------------- -Tempest "Quoth the Raven, Nevermore..." -Edgar Allen Poe Writer, Poet, Hopeless Romantic. http://dogbert.simplenet.com/Tempest/ ----------------------------------------------------------------