Golden General Chapter eight b 8-B Austin Jade To anyone who may be reading this, this is the second half of chapter 8. This chapter was getting so long that we decided to cut it in half and this chapter is still really long, but it does have a lot in it. Just to warn you readers, this has a some more romance in it, but very little action so if you were expecting action in this chapter then you were mistaken. Chapter 9 will have some though. Anyway, on with the story! Write either Austin or myself if you enjoyed this chapter! ----------------------------------------------------------- Red eyes.... black eyes... evil eyes.... dark eyes. Cynical eyes chasing her. Eyes in the dark. Something evil. Something terrible. Something coming after her. It wanted her... but she wouldn't go with it, wouldn't give up. She was fighting, oh, but she was so tired.... She couldn't fight anymore, she couldn't beat it. She ran, on through the darkness, the eyes forever after her. A dead end. No where left to go. No where left to run. Nothing left to do, but give in to it... to evil... or die.... The eyes were red again, like blood, the face as dark as night, the smile twisted evily and a laugh echoing through her mind. It reached for her, to take her, to grab her, to keep her....... And then it had her. It was smothering her, taking away everything she was, everything she knew, putting evil inside her where the good had been, replacing all her light with darkness. It wanted her, and it had her, it wanted more, and it would get more, whatever it wanted she had to obey, and it wanted.. to... kill... her...... now... "NOOOO!!!" Crystal bolted upright in her bed, her body soaked with presperation, her heart racing a thousand miles an hour, her face set in a look of horror as she drew in deep breaths of air as though she'd been running a marathon. She felt as though she were suffocating. Even as common sense and control returned to her, after a time, the look of horror that had been there when she awoke was still imprinted on her face and her heart was stillracing mightly. The nightmare simply would not leave her mind. Eyes.... darkness... evil... laughing.... smothering..... dying... That was all she could remember clearly now, and that was all she needed to know. She slowly stood up on wobbling legs and carefully set the blankets covering her aside. She was still wearing her generals uniform. After the fiasco with Zoisite and Kunzite earlier she just hadn't had the strength to change into more suitable night clothes. Standing on her bare feet weakly Crystal walked over to where she had left her extra clothing and slowly put on a pair of socks and then her black boots. She had to get her mind off this nightmare, before she went totally nuts, and the best way to do that was to occupy her mind withsomething else. Crystal set out for the training room. As she did she wondered about this nightmare she'd been having - she really couldn't stop thinking about it - and she also wondered why she'd been having the exact same one over, and over, and over again. In fact, she'd had this exact same nightmare six times already throughout the whole night, and each time she woke up, it was always at the same spot in the nightmare... just before whateverwanted her, killed her. When she finally reached the training room, where just earlier this night, Kunzite and Zoisite had probably had the biggest arguement of their lives, Crystal was relieved to see that it completely empty. Holding up her hand the crystal sword appeared in her hands and she brought it down in an arc that sliced through the air smoothly andeasily. And so, Crystal set to work with her training, putting all her energy, what little she had, into the action, and totally throwing the nightmare from her mind. And because she was so caught up in what she was doing she totally lost track of the time and even forgot where she was. She just practiced and put everything she had to offer into it. That's also why she failed to notice the person standing in the doorway, watching her. She must have practiced for hours, days, weeks, maybe longer, or at least, that's what it felt like to her when she was finished. She was breathing just as hard as she had been when she'd woken up this morning, her heart was beating just as fast as it had been when she jolted up in her bed from that nightmare, and her.... She started out of her thoughts, surprised, as she heard the distinct sound of clapping coming from the training room entrance, and on pure instinct she turned around and threw a red globe of energy at the intruder. But that attack was stopped easily by an quickly erected forcefield. It took Crystal a few minutes of staring to realize who she'd just attacked. She blinked, surprised. "Kunzite?" Kunzite nodded and moved away from the shadows of the stone doorway. Every door in the Nega-verse was like that. Simular to a cave entrance, it was all made out of marble or stone. "Well done." Kunzite complimented her, walking forward and nodding to her weapon. "That sword of yours is very strong, very powerful. Did you create it?" Crystal hesitated for a moment, the urge to lie bubbling up in her like an ocean. The truth could always be dangerous, no matter who knew it, and what was to be gained by telling it? Nothing but the possibilty of danger, that's what. But she reminded herself that this was Kunzite she was talking to, not Zoisite or Queen Beryl. For some reason, Crystal trusted Kunzite, more than she'd ever trusted anyone in her life. And that scared her. "Yes." Kunzite nodded. There was an uncomfortable silence accompanying his nod and both of them fidgited self-consciously for a moment, neither knowing quite what to say.... And then they both started talking at once, their words jumbling together as though only one person was talking and not two. "Listen Kunzite-" "About yesterday-" "I didn't mean-" "I'm sorry if I-" They both stopped, realizing neither one of them had really heard the other, and then laughed, easing the tension that was like a stone wall between them greatly with the sound. Crystal motioned for him to go first and he swallowed, continuing in a halting voice. "Look, Crystal, about yesterday, I didn't mean to.... It was an accident... I.... I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in anyway." He finished lamely and frowned at how stupid he sounded. Crystal noticed his slightly nervous, flustered look and laughed aloud again, surprising Kunzite. It was just too funny. It was so rare that Kunzite was ever embarrassed or at a loss for words, and now here he was, apologizing to her as though he didn't know how to speak properly. "Forget about it Kunzite. It wasn't your fault. It's more likely it was mine. Really, you have nothing to apologize about." Kunzite still seemed unsure so Crystal threw her arms around him and gave him an enormous hug, although it didn't have the reasuring affect Crystal had been hoping for. It would seem that at least some of her havits from Earth hadn't faded away just yet. When she finally did let go of him he looked even more flustered than before and Crystal laughed again, the sound seeming to jerk Kunzite out of his fumbling. He nodded simply, a faint but genuine smile forming on his lips, and he motioned for her to continue with what she was doing, and even though she was finished with her training Crystal continued, because she wanted him to watch her, and this was the only way she knew how to get him to do it right now. For the time being the earlier incident with Zoisite had been forgotten. ______________________ When Kunzite and Crystal finally finished the unschedualed training session both of them were drained and exhausted. Like before, they'd tried lots of physical weapons and tested Crystal's magical skills again. Kunzite had refused to spar with magic when Crystal suggested it and though Crystal had been disappointed and slightly annoyed the training had progressed until it came down to the swords again. Once they'd finished with those both of them had sat down in the middle of the room and rested for a little bit. Crystal was especially tired. Because the nightmare had been keeping her up most of the night she'd barely gotten more than a quarter of a nights rest and that was scarcely enough to sustain her. Sleepy and worn Crystal lied down on her back and closed her eyes, although she didn't go to sleep just yet. "Well, that was.... progressive." Kunzite commented, wiping his brow with his hand. She wasn't all that far behind him in fighting skills anymore and though she had to work to stay at his level she was a good student. She'd given him a workout to say the least. "Yeah, it was." Crystal murmered and Kunzite glanced over, seeing her closed eyes and blank face. She was about to fall asleep any second. He guessed she musn't have gotten all that much sleep tonight. "Hey, you o.k?" He asked, leaning over towards her, momentarily caught by her lovely face again. Her cheeks were bright and had a rosy hue to them from the exercises and what-not they'd been going through and that hue gave her a glow as though someone had set a candle behind her face. Her wide, heart shaped mouth was painted light pink, a nice color for her, but a stark contrast to her dull clothes. Her golden bangs hung down, over her forehead and in front of her eyes. She looked like some sort of precious porcelain doll. He looked away quickly, avoiding her look when her eyes flashed open and she spared him a glance with those lovely blue eyes before closing them again. "Yeah, I'm fine." She said, spoiling the words by muttering them and making them almost impossible to make out. "Pardon?" Kunzite asked. Crystal just sighed and rolled onto her side, tucking one arm under her head. "Crystal?" Kunzite asked, but his voice seemed far away to her and she ignored it as he asked again, "Crystal?" She let out a deep breath slowly and relaxed, loosening her tight muscles as Kunzite called her name a third time. "Crystal? Hey, Crystal! Wake up!" He snapped his fingers in front of her closed eyes and she swatted his hand away and muttered, "I'm awake, I'm awake. I wasn't sleeping. I was just... checking my eyelids for holes." She felt Kunzite pull back slightly in surprise at this absurd sentence and she yawned, breathing deeply and falling further and further into her dreams.... and her nightmares. "Crystal?" Kunzite asked the sleeping girl again, but it was obvious by her deep breathing and low energy levels that she wasn't going to wake up easily, not anytime soon anyway, and after calling her name a second and a third time more Kunzite gave it up, shook his head, and picked her up in his arms, carrying her to her room. Her warmth and energy enveloped all his senses the minute Kunzite pulled her into his embrace and Kunzite reveled in the strong golden energy she seemed to radiate, even in sleep. He slowly walked through the many halls in the Nega-verse, gently carrying Crystal with him, enjoying holding such light and pure energy in his arms. It was not a long walk to either Crystal's room or his own, but in the few minutes it took Kunzite to take Crystal to her room, the nightmare that had been plaguing her since the moment she had gone to sleep earlier started up again and she began to struggle and squirm in Kunzite's arms. He was surprised at this at first and wondered for a moment if she were awake again. But no, she was still asleep, and her squirming and wriggling were increasing by degrees with each step he took. By the time Kunzite reached Crystal's room she was very nearly kicking and clawing in his arms and he hurried to put her down in her own bed. Pushing aside the dark curtain and heavy blankets Kunzite set her down on the soft mattress and watched her for a moment as she continued to struggle in her bed. Then, amazingly, she began to cry. Kunzite blinked in shock and stared, transfized as she began to murmer words in her sleep, the tears still trickling down her face. He had never, *never* seen Crystal cry before and the sight was mesmerizing. True, he had seen Sailor Moon cry before, but Sailor Moon had changed since becoming Crystal. Changed so much that Kunzite even dared to say she was not the same person anymore, and seeing her cry like this - strong, tempermental, untouchable Crystal, crying! - was hipnotizing to say the least, even if it was in sleep. Shaking himself out of his stuper Kunzite knelt by Crystal's side and hesitantly touched a hand to her sweaty brow. She shook and wept at his touch, as though the feel of his hand brought pain and he moved it from her skin to her hair, gently taking a few of the golden strands and caressing them lightly. She seemed to calm somewhat at this action and Kunzite leaned forward a bit and brushed back her bangs from her closed eyes. This time she did not shake as his fingertips brushed her skin. If anything she calmed even more and Kunzite tilted his head to one side, staring at her twitching face and flickering eyelids with some undescribable emotion in his silver eyes. Then in a move that totally floored him and would have shocked the hell out of Crystal had she been awake, Kunzite leaned forward and planted a sound kiss on her delicate cheek. Then he got to his feet and left Crystal in peace, her nightmares forgotten for the time being and a small smile on her soft lips. ____________________ The next morning Crystal awoke slowly to see Kunzite standing beside her bed, an amused smile on his face as she realized that she was all tangled up in her blankets again. She grinned sleepily at him and attempted to remove herself from the bed with a minimum of movement. She almost succedded too. If only she hadn't smacked her arm on the headrest then she wouldn't have jumped forward.... and fallen right off the edge of the bed. This time Kunzite caught her and she managed to avoid crushing her nose on the hard floor. "Thanks." She said, shaking the cobwebs out of head and straightening up. Kunzite nodded and released her, that same smile still on his face. "I was coming to wake you up." He explained. "But I just got here and I saw that you were already awake so I didn't bother." Crystal was about to say that she'd only just woken up but shrugged instead, knowing it wasn't worth wasting time over and pushed her bangs from her blue eyes. "Did you want to train more?" Crystal asked, stretching her arms over her head. She pulled one hand through the golden mass of tangles and reached for a hair brush as Kunzite shook his head. "No, I think we've done enough training for now. You are allowed to do anything you wish for the next two days. I will update the queen on your progress soon." Crystal paused in the middle of brushing a small section of her hair and blinked as Kunzite's words formed an idea in her mind. "Anything?" She asked, looking at Kunzite strangely. Kunzite hesitated and was tempted to take back his words for there was something in her eyes that Kunzite might almost call.... wistfulness? Regret? He didn't like it at all and the look sent alarms ringing in his head, but he ignored them. "Yes." He said at last and Crystal stood still for a moment, an internal battle warring in her light blue eyes. Eventually her feelings seemed to win out because Crystal finished pulling the brush through her hair and stood up straight as she pronounced clearly, "Thank you for telling me this Kunzite. For the next two days I shall be on Earth, watching over the scouts in their everyday forms and checking up on them at scout meetings to see what they have planned." Of course, that wasn't the real reason she wanted to go to Earth but it was as good an excuse as any. "Earth?!" Kunzite cried, surprised. Crystal nodded and stepped in front of the full length mirror on the wall, ignoring Kunzite for a moment and pulling her hair up in a ponytail, almost tying it that way before deciding to leave it down and allowing it to flow along her back and shoulders like molten gold. "But.... you don't need to go to Earth! The scouts could never defeat us and there's no need to watch them and see what they're planning. I think it would be best if you stayed here for now." Kunzite was desperatly trying to think of ways to keep Crystal from going to Earth, but really it was her decision and there wasn't a lot he could say that would change her mind. She was stubborn, that much he knew, both from her time as a general and a scout. "Listen Kunzite.... you said that I could do anything for the next two days and I said I want to go to earth." Crystal turned away from the mirror on the wall to look at him straight in the face, determination i. "But, Crystal! It might be dangerous for you and Queen Beryl won't like it at all." Kunzite wracked his brain desparetly for a better reason for why she shouldn't go but came up empty. "What's not to like? I'm going to spy on the scouts. Besides you have their names right? I'm not arguing on this anymore!" With that Crystal waved her hands and disappeared, leaving Kunzite standing there, fuming and his helplessnees to stop her from leaving. "Of course she would want to go see Earth, it was orignally her home. She's probably gonna create some big scene if she's discovered. Well, I have news for you Crystal! I am not going to sit hear and be blamed for what you do!" With that Kunzite left the room in a huff and a swirl of magical dark dust. ______________________ Crystal looked around her excitedly nearly jumping up and down in her glee. It felt like ages since she'd had a real ice- cream cone and here was the perfect oppertunity to get one. She loved those treats even now when she was no longer a sailor scout but a general instead. She was at the park and there was a little ice-cream truck not too far away, practically singing for her to come and get something. She looked into her pockets for some money. She had changed into civilian's clothes before she came down to earth and put some loose change in her large pockets. She was wearing a *really baggy* out fit that now seemed rather odd for her to wear now, considering she had been frequently wearing dark clothes in the Nega-verse and this outfit was brighter than normal. Besides that, they didn't fit her at all, but it was the best she could find and the only ones that she liked. She guessed that they had been taken from some unlucky people who had stumbled upon a Youma that had attacked Earth and then got kidnapped and taken to the Nega-verse as new denizens. It didn't really matter to her though. She frankly didn't care. Of course, she didn't care about much these days. She pulled out a doller and twenty-five cents in quarters. She ran over to the ice-cream truck and saw a young women with black hair and blue eyes sitting listlessly beside the van. She was wearing a hat that said "Dubble Dubbly." She looked somewhat pretty, but the hat made her look ridiculous "What can I do for you miss?" The lady asked boredly. Now Crystal looked at the display of food. She didn't know what to pick. There were all sorts of different flavors of ice- cream, Chocolate Fudge, her favorite, among them, and there were popsicles and freezes. "I'll have the Chocolate Fudge please." She said at last. That was only thing that was a doller so she had enough for that one. "Thank you and have a nice day." The lady said without any further glance at Crystal as she exchanged the ice-cream for the money. Crystal nodded and continued on her way. At that moment a brown haired, green eyed, girl in a high school uniform was coming up the street to get herself an ice- cream cone, but when the small truck came into view she stopped dead in her tracks. She could not believe her eyes. She ran and hid behind a near by tree as to not let Serena, see her. And forgetting that she had a communicator with her that would easily bring the scouts over, she ran quickly away making sure to keep out of sight as she did, lest Serena attack her. Serena, who at the moment, had no need to be Crystal anymore, skipped happily through the park, completely oblivious to the tall girl who'd once been her friend as she ran in the oposite direction Crystal was going in. She was enjoying herself immensely. This is what she missed about Earth. She missed the park, the food, the people, the happiness to be alive. Sure she was happy with the Nega-verse, or she tried to be. But she still missed her home. Earth, Japan, home. The Nega-verse wasn't any of those things and really the only thing that even remotely reminded Crystal of her home was Kunzite's warm embrace and sharp silver eyes. He was the only thing. Shaking off her thoughts about the silver haired general she decided that she should visit her family. With that thought in her head she ran all the way towards her home, not noticing the dark figure in the shadows, following her. ____________________ "You have got to be kidding me Lita! That was just someone else who looks like her! It can't be her, she betrayed us to the Nega-verse! Why would she come back down to Earth, and even if she did, why would she be buying ice-cream?" Rei asked. She was unerved like the rest of the scouts who where looking at Lita like she was crazy. They where all in Lita's apartment, having some of Lita's lovely baked muffins and discussing serena. Amy was not present as she was still at the shrine. Serena seemed to be the main topic whenever they got together. If one person metioned her name they all started talking about her at once. Sometimes discussing how they were going to trap her, and sometimes talking about what she'd been like before she'd betrayed them or wonderng why she'd betrayed them at all. "But I saw her Rei!!! She seemed almost glued to the ice- cream truck and she wasn't wearing a Nega sleeze uniform at all!!!" Lita almost screamed at Rei. Usally Lita was the calm one of the group but not now... not when things where so.... intense for them. "That sounds like Serena alright." Luna put in. "She was always after some ice-cream or sweets." "Well, I think you're both nuts! She wouldn't be here!" Rei and Mina said at once. "Just the same, I think we should be on our guard. Ok? For me?" Lita pleaded with the group knowing they didn't believe her when she said she'd seen Serena, but knowing what she's saw. Rei looked over at her and noted how sincere Lita looked. "Alright, but it doesn't mean I agree with you, got that?" Rei said, defeated. "Alright, thank you Rei." Lita smiled at the scouts gratefully and they all smiled back before turning to more important matters. One of them being, what were they going to do about Amy, a.k.a Sailor Mercury? __________________ Serena had made it almost all the way to her old home, she was just a block away, when she hit a snag in her plans. That snag had black hair, blue eyes, a tall, well muscled body and a frown on his face that Crystal hadn't seen too often. "Hey Darien! Sorry, didn't mean to get in your way!" She said in a rush, the words running together as they normally did when she was in a hurry. She wanted nothing more than to just run right past him without any exchange of words at all, but she stayed, for the simple reason that during her time in the Nega- verse, she had missed Darien, just as much as she'd missed everyone else, though she'd never show it. Darien at the moment was too shocked to do anything more than stare. It was.... Serena. But... Serena was Sailor Moon, and Sailor Moon had.. betrayed them to the Nega-verse, and yet she was standing right in front of him, looking at him with a smile on her face that was as innocent and friendly as it had always been. She didn't look like a person who had just betrayed her friends, or her home, or her world. She looked like a normal, pretty, everyday, teenager and before Darien had found out differently that is always what he had thought her to be. Serena, seeing that Darien had little or nothing to say, tried to side step and move around him, but he blocked her way and she stared up at him, confused by his actions, and the expression on his face. He looked... confused.. suspicious... and angry, all at once. A multitude of other emotions also played across his face, all of which Serena couldn't figure out. "What are you doing? Look Darien, I don't have a lot of time right now so why don't you just-" "What am *I* doing?!" He interrupted, incredulous, all rationality and reason flying from his mind as all the anger, confusion, shock, jealously and every other emotion he'd been feeling over the past two or three days combined and created one very mad, curious Darien. Serena stepped back in surprise at his unexpected outburst and listened to him rant on with growing astonishment as words came pouring from his mouth. "You asked me what *I'm* doing?! I'm the one who should be asking you that question! I'm not the one who just betrayed their friends, went of without a word of explanation to join the Nega-verse, injured one of the sailor scouts and then came back to Earth as though nothing had happened! There's no way that I'm letting you-" "You know." Serena whispered, interrupting him and quieting him down. Serena stared at him for a moment in shock, her eyes wide and most certainly not so carefree and friendly anymore. She let her thoughts trail off as everything suddenly clicked into place and the peices of the puzzle that had been missing before now fit together perfectly and Serena knew everything. "You... you.. you're," She sputtered, stepping back, not quite believeing the truth as it was revealed to her. "You're Tuxedo Mask! All this time you've been Tuxedo Mask, and I never noticed it until now! I should have realized it earlier! You two are so much alike. I can't believe I didn't see it 'till now." She seemed to be talking more to herself than to Darien and the black haired man could only stare as her new perceptiveness and intelligence that had surfaced since becoming a general allowed her to see beyond what she normally saw and figure out who he really was. His secret was out, but then again, so was hers. Serena finally turned her attention back to Darien and narrowed her eyes as the new knowledge of who he was created a few little problems for her. Rather large ones actually. "Listen, I don't want to hurt you right now, and I don't want to hurt the scouts, but you tell them that if they get in my way then there's gonna be problems. Heed my warning well, this is the only one you're gonna get, now move!" Now that she knew who he was all she wanted to do was go and see her parents one last time before she went back to the Nega- verse. Now that her cover was blown there was no way she could stay here. She sighed. She had hoped to stay here for a day at least, but she'd only been able to stay for a few hours, and she knew this would probably be her last chance to ever visit the Earth she knew. She was really going to miss it here. Darien shook his head at her command and Serena's eyes darkened as she took a menacing step towards him, dark power glowing around her hand as she prepared an attack that would knock him into the next century. Darien saw it coming and knew instinctively that he wouldn't have enough time to transform before she blasted him. He desperately tried to talk to her, to ask her the things he wanted to know, the things he had been wondering about ever since Sailor Moon had betrayed them, and ever since he'd found out who Sailor Moon really was. "Why are you doing this Serena? I thought you were happy here. You may not have been the best student at your school, but you had good friends. How could you betray them like this? How could you just throw everything you had away? Don't you know what you're doing to the scouts?! Don't you know what will happen if you help the Nega-verse?! Don't you know what will happen to your parents, or your friends, or your family, or everyone else!? Do you even know what you're doing?! Do you even care?!" Serena's hand, which had been glowing black now returned to it's normal color and she stepped back again, hurt and anger in her eyes, as well as pain. Yes, she did know what would happen if she helped the Nega-verse take over Earth, and she did know what would happen to her parents, her family, her friends, scouts and otherwise, if she helped the Nega-verse, but despite the fact that every single part of her being told her that this was wrong something inside of her, something stronger was telling her that they deserved it an that it didn't matter. She didn't stop to think about what could be stronger than her love for her friends and family. "Did you honestly think I was happy here on Earth!" She shouted at him, surprising him with her words. "It wasn't my grades that drove me to join the Nega-verse, it was everything. Lets face it Darien, I was a cluts, a crybaby, and a sentimental fool. I'm not brave or strong like everyone else. I'm not fearless or smart like a warrior should be. As a sailor scout I was never any of those things. I was the complete opposite of things like that, but as a general I'm different, and I'm happy with my new life! I know exactly what I'm doing Darien. I'm showing everyone that I'm not a wimp or just some stupid, annoying girl. I'm showing them that I can be strong when I want to be and that I'm not afraid of them. I'm not dumb like they think I am you know! Don't you get it Darien? I *chose* to be a general because I *didn't* like my life the way it was!" Now it was Darien turn to step back and he took a few moments to collect his thoughts which Serena's little speech had scattered about him like confete. "But Serena if you can be like that as a general then you can be like that as a scout. And if you really didn't like the way things were in your life, you could always change them! And if you didn't think you were ready to be a sailor scout then why didn't you just take some time to train and-" Serena interrupted him again. "No, no, no! You just don't understand Darien! I never *wanted* to be a sailor scout in the first place! Do you honestly believe that I actually had a choice in the matter at all?! I don't have any *time* to train except at scouts meetings and then the scouts all consideed me to be a wimp and a coward, and you know what, a few weeks ago they would have been right!" Darien frowned as she used the term weeks when to him, it had only been days. He began to speak again. "But Serena, you just said youself that a little while ago they would have been right. If you didn't want them to feel that way then why didn't you just show them you weren't? You could have just taken some time to train on your own and-" "You're not listening to me at all, are you? I didn't have the *time* to train on my own! The scouts were always bugging me to get better and to improve, but how could I do that when they didn't believe that I really could? If I'd had my choice I wouldn't be a sailor scout at all and I would never have met any of them! And don't look so shocked Darien. Did you really think I chose to be this way?! Do you have any idea how many things I've lost since becoming a sailor scout. And I don't mean things or possessions, I mean friends and important people to me." "Molly Baker used to be my very best friend, but ever since I became a scout she and I are barely friends at all. I had thousands of friends of school, almost everyone I knew thought of me as one, but ever since I became a sailor scout it's taken up almost all of my time and I've lost almost all of them. Andrew, Molly, Melvin, and you are the only ones I could even consider friends anymore, and me and Molly have been growing farther and farther apart ever since I met Luna! So do you get it now? Do you see? You have no idea how lonely my life's become since I became Sailor Moon, or how dangerous. I risked death everyday because I was a sailor scout and anyday if I'd have died my parents would never have known what had really happened to me, because they could never know who I really was. So now do you understand Darien? I was *never* who you thought I was because I couldn't let anyone see how much it hurt me inside!" Darien couldn't believe his ears, or his eyes. This was a side of Serena that Darien had never seen before and now that he had seen it he was beginning to understand Serena's motivations for turning traitor on them, although he was still trying to work through the more important parts of Serena's speech. He softened his voice as he spoke again. "But Serena, there was no need to go off and join the Nega-verse because of all that. You didn't need to-" Serena groaned and then snarled out. "Are you deaf?! Didn't you hear a word I said! Arrgg!! Forget it alright! Just go away and leave me alone! And stop calling my Serena, my name is Crystal now." She tried to push past him but he blocked her way again. "Just let me finish. I-" "No." She growled out and puctuated the word by pointing a finger in his face. "Just leave it alone Darien! Alright?! I don't want or need to hear anything you have to say. Why can't you just leave me alone?!" "Because, I think you're lying! I don't think you joined the Nega- verse because of everything you said. I think there's something more." "You know what, for once in your life, you're right. I didn't just join the Nega-verse because of all that, I joined it because I wanted to, and I joined it because that was the only way I'd ever be able to see Kunzite!" She stopped, confused by her own words. Where had that come from? When did Kunzite become part of this conversation? If you could call it that. Darien's face went red with anger and jealously. "So that's it huh? You joined the Nega-verse to be with him, didn't you? Didn't you?!" Serena was finally fed up and she spat her next words at Darien like a phyisical blow. "Yes! I joined the Nega-verse because *I* *like* *Kunzite* and he's the only one in the world that I could ever hope to care for!" Now neither one of them could believe their ears. Darien had been hoping for a denial, something to tell him that she didn't like Kunzite, and that she might even care for..... no, best not to think about that.... not now. Serena was in shock, her mind in a turmoil of confusion. Did she just say she liked Kunzite? But.... but.... but, that was impossible. She couldn't like Kunzite, she couldn't..... but then why had she said what she had? And what had she meant when she'd said she could never hope to care for anyone else? That part she was sure she hadn't meant, but as for her first words..... This was all just so confusing. Without another word or even a parting glance Serena disappeared making sure to mask the emotions running across her face, and Darien stared after her, hurt, pain, regret, and something untold in his stormy blue eyes. And the only person that had been witness to Serena and Darien's arguement, the figure that had been following Serena from the park, stepped away from the shadows and the mans silver hair blew lightly in the wind as his shocked silver eyes stared at where Serena had been for a moment, disbelieveing what his ears had heard, before he too disappeared, his heavy cape flowing behind him as he turned and walked into a dark portal back to the Nega-verse. *Now* things had really become complicated. ____________________ The moment Serena reappeared inside the Nega-verse, inside her room, just next to the mirror placed on the wall, something like a dam broke inside her and the tears that had been building ever since her arguement with Darien had started overflowed and washed over her cheeks like tidal waves. And now she was Crystal again, and she realized that Serena, pretty, funny, carefree Serena was dead now. There was only her. Only Crystal. And Serena could never be again, anymore than Sailor Moon ever could, not while the Nega-verse still existed. "Why?" She whispered. "Why does it have to be this way? I don't want to hurt them..... but I can't go back. It's too late now. I... *can't*.. go back." She stumbled over to the wall and leaned into it, using it to support her weight as more tears swelled in her eyes. "I'm so sorry." She whispered to nothing, and oh how it hurt her to know that she could never say that to the scouts in person. But soon the complete misery and hopelessness she'd felt subsided and another emotion swept through her to take it's place. Anger, and a passionate fury. "Dammit, Darien, why couldn't you have just left things alone?! Why did you have to interfere! Everything would have been fine if only you hadn't got in my way! And why did you have to tell me you were Tuxedo Mask?! This only makes things harder for me! Oh.... Damn it all!!" To punctuate these last words Crystal picked up the nearby chair and hurled it across the room. It hit the wall and the two right legs of the chair broke and splintered as the full force of her strength when angered came into focus. Crystal didn't seem to notice the chair. She was too blinded by anger, sadness, and pain. All she could think about was Darien. Darien who she now knew was Tuxedo Mask, the man that she had... *loved* before. But how could she love someone who she had always hated? Things were getting far too complicated and Crystal was on the verge of snapping. With flashing eyes the next peice of furniture Crystal picked up was something off the top of the dresser the chair had been beside. She didn't know what it was, but it felt like some sort of vase and without even a second thought she chucked whatever it was in her hand right into the wall on the other side of the room, exactly oposite of where the chair had hit. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't any vase. It hit the wall with a hard thud, but didn't even dent. Crystal didn't care. There wasn't a lot left for her to throw around the room but Crystal could be creative when she wanted to be and so she turned around and lifted the *table* which had been stuck in the corner, right over her head, preparing to throw it into the bed. But just before she would have released the table, rationality returned to her and Crystal stumbled as she had already taken a step forward to throw the table. She straightened up quickly though and slowly drew a breath of air to calm her racing heart and jumping nerves. Slowly easing her mind out of the well of anger and misery it had been thrown into Crystal set down the table and drew in another breath of air, but her body was shaking, adreneline still racing through her body and the breath was shaky. She turned back around and slowly fell back until her back hit the wall softly. She rolled onto her shoulder and pushed herself away from the hard surface minutes later when she was almost sure she was herself again. Shakily bringing her hands up to her golden locks, Crystal pulled a hand through her now tangled blond hair, she did this often. Stepping in front of the mirror, Crystal reached for the hair brush with had been on the dresser but stopped as she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. For the second time since coming to the Nega-verse Crystal got a really good look at herself. The minute she had appeard in the Nega- verse her generals uniform had reappeared on her, as she had known it would. Her hair was in a tangled mess, the slightly curly blond tresses falling over her shoulders in waves. She was very thin now. She'd been thin before but now she was like a rack, although the ice-cream seemed to have done her some good. No one ate very much while in the Nega- verse. Her face was pale, as was everyone elses who resided in the Nega- verse, because there was no sun, only dark. Her lips were tight from the anger she'd nearly lost herself to moments before, but what really made Crystal stop and look was her eyes. They had always been a light blue in color, somtimes darker when she got mad or was really sad, but now they weren't just blue at all, they were tinged with another color, and, leaning closer, Crystal saw that that color was red. For many moments Crystal stood absolutely still, just staring mutely at her eyes as they stared back at her, as if to mock her, from the mirror. Then suddenly, without warning Crystal gave a loud cry and pulled back her hand, her fist flying forward before she even thought about it. It hit the reflective surface with the heel of her hand and for a moment nothing seemed to happen, but then, Crystal's reflection, staring back at her, began to crack and from where Crystal's fist had hit the glass shattered and bits and peices fell to the floor, but most of the mirror just cracked, like great chasms spreading across the whole surface. Crystal pulled back her hand and from where it had hit blood trailed down the broken glass, dripping onto the floor. She slowly turned away from the broken, bloody mirror and fell heavily onto her bed, silent tears rolling down her face. She barely noticed the pain in her hand as the red blood soaked through her glove. There were now a few simple facts that she had to accept about herself and about the scouts. One, that they would never accept her back now, not that she wanted to go back, but if she ever did, now she couldn't, and she really, really wished she was able to change the conversation she'd had with Darien. The scouts wouldn't have accepted her back, but she may have had a chance with Tuxedo Mask. But now he must really hate her after what she'd said and done, heart, body and soul. She sniffled and rubbed a small hand over her eyes. She tried mightily to stop the tears coming down her face and just barely managed. She sat up on her bed and touched where she had just laid down. The covers where damp, and now blood from her injured hand was beginning to soak the other side of the covers red. She didn't notice. She brought her hand away from the wet spot and looked for the hair brush she'd been reaching for on the dresser. Seeing it there she extended her hand in its direction and it appeared in her open palm. Another of the magical tricks she'd learned. She slowly began to brush out her knotted hair and stood. She could no longer be Serena, the crybaby. She had to be Crystal, strong, evil Crystal, the girl who she was now and would forever be until death. Which, she hoped, would happen quickly. ___________________ Meanwhile, on the other side of the Nega-verse, Kunzite was so astonished by what Crystal had told Darien that he couldn't stand up straight and he had to sit down in his own quarters. He poured out a cold glass of dark wine and sat down to think and look at himself in the mirror. But it was not vanity that held him staring at himself, or anything of the sort, but rather it was wonder. Kunzite sighed and took a swig of the wine which he thought really helped him get passed some of his emotions, whatever they were. He'd never felt so out of touch with reality in his life. He thought, getting up from his chair, putting his cup on the table and leaving the room with one destination in mind. One golden haired beauty. ____________________ "Queen Beryl, something's up, I have not seen Kunzite or Crystal since yesterday and that........" Zoisite, being the meddlesome creature that he was, was telling Beryl what was going on between Kunzite and Crystal but what he did not tell her was who Crystal was. That he was saving for another time when they really got on his nerves. He knew if they kept up things the way they were going that wouldn't be too long from now. "Yes, Zoisite I have felt both there emotions strongly. They are both struggling to deny what they feel for each other but that is nothing to worry about Zoisite. Do you have any other news that might be more interesting?" "Yes, my Queen. I think that Crystal is ready to try another round with the scouts. She is getting stronger everyday with our help." Zoisite thought to himself evily. "Alright, but I want you and Kunzite to go with her and see that she remains unharmed. Crystal is very powerful and she could be a great help to the Nega-verse." Seeing that Zoisite looked about to protest she narrowed her eyes at him dangerously and said, "That is an order Zoisite. Now, I will call them here." ___________________ Crystal was still lying on her bed, lost in misery, sorrowful thoughts, and pain when Kunzite walked in the door, looking as though he barely knew where he was going. Crystal leapt to her feet as she heard the door open without a knock and instictively she raised her hands, prepared to defend herself, but when she saw it was Kunzite she relaxed slightly, hiding her still bleeding hand behind her back. But it was too late, Kunzite had seen the blood on her hand, seen how her pale skin had seemed to have been shredded by glass even through the glove and with one look at the mirror and the surrounding room he understood. "Ser- uh, Crystal, let me see your hand." He commanded, immediately sobbering up for some reason, but as he took a step forward she took an immediate step back. "Now." He commanded, but she shook her head and moved another step back. "Look," He said, trying to reason with her. "I already know you're hurt, so why are you trying to hide it?" But reason wasn't working with Crystal either. She shook her head again and stayed at the same distance from him all the time. Fed up with trying to act civil about this when all he wanted to do was help her, Kunzite was just getting ready to lunge for Crystal when they both of them felt a teleport, and before either of them could react, they disappeared. ___________________ The next thing that Zoisite knew, just after the queen had said she'd summon the two people they'd been talking about, both Crystal and Kunzite were standing right beside him looking rather disheveled. Crystal looked like she had been crying and she was hiding her hand behind her back, while Kunzite looked like he had been drinking. Zoisite thought, looking over to Kunzite in an amused fasion which Kunzite promptly ignored. "Queen Beryl, its an honour." Crystal said without an apparent sarcasm or lack of good spirit that Zoisite saw, evidently. Kunzite and Crystal both bowed there heads low in respect. "I want you and Crystal to prepare an attack on the sailor scouts." Queen Beryl said to them after they raised their heads. Crystal and Kunzite both looked at each other. Crystal thought sadly. Then looked up to see a smiling Zoisite looking over at her. She shot him a dangerous look but he ignored it and as his eyes fell on her injured hand the green orbs registered glee. Crystal felt like strangling him. Kunzite looked at Crystal with understanding that she did not see. Kunzite knew that this was going to be the toughest battle between her and the scouts. He knew it and his heart wanted, no, *needed* to protect her. It was good that the queen had said that he was to go with her. "Wouldn't it be better your highness if just Zoisite and I go and fight the sailor scouts? Crystal needs more time to practice I believe." Kunzite asked and held his breath. "No, Kunzite, are you questioning my orders?" Queen Beryl said, starting to sound angry. "No, no... I'm sorry it won't happen again." Kunzite said apologetically. Crystal looked at Kunzite with a small smile of thankfulness and Kunzite smiled back. "Then go on... we don't have a lot of time." Queen Beryl dismissed them very easily. "Yes my Queen." With that they all bowed their heads and disappeared, ready to fight the scouts. Well, two of them were ready, but the other one of them was busy preparing for the greatest emotion battle of her time. And she didn't know if she could win this one. TO BE CONTINUED....