Golden General Austin Jade This is chapter nine of mine and Austin's story and since each week the authors notes stay almost exactly alike all I'm going to say this time is that if anyone likes this chapter then please write Austin or myself on it. Oh yes, and one more thing, some parts in this story should be rated PG becasue they're rather dark so take note, you have been forewarned. Enjoy! ------------- Hello everyone, this is Austin here talking..... I just decided to take some time and have a *BIG* warm thank-you to some of the people here who have helped me and Jade write this story. First I would like to thank Katheryn for being very helpful and nice. You should try and read some of her stories. "Can't Lie to my Heart" and a whole wack more that you can find luckly at this site 'A sailor Moon romance.' I would also like to say hi, to her brother Joel. Also I would like to thank all of you wonderful, wonderful people who have taken the time to write to us and comment on our story. It means a lot to us. I don't know about Jade but it does to me. *Jade glares indignantly* "Hey! It means a lot to me too!" You probably read that a lot but it's true. I think that it is save to tell you that Jade and I are thinking about writing a Sequel to this story. We have injoyed it so much that we wanted to write a sequel. Do you have any comments about this idea or are you totally against it? Enjoy our story now called 'The Golden General.' How do you like that for a change of title? --------------------------------------------------------------- Darien Chiba, after encountering the former Serena Tuskino, whom he now knew was called Crystal, ran straight for the Cherry Hill Temple in order to find Rei and get her to bring the scouts over to summon a meeting. Sailor Venus had said the temple preistess knew that they regularly held meetings there and that they always told her about he situation, be it bad or good, so Rei must have a way to contact them. She had better, what he had to tell them was very important. Very. What Serena had said to him just a few minutes before shocked him still. Serena joined the Nega-verse because of Kunzite?!?! Serena in love with Kunzite??? It was such an absurd idea that he thought it almost impossible. Well, not impossible since Serena seemed to like everything and everyone no matter what.... but he still doubted what she had told him very much. Doubted it because he knew Serena, or used to know her, and she could never love a creature such as him. Like, maybe. Hold feelings for him, perhaps. But love? No. It couldn't be. Darien wouldn't believe it. *He couldn't* believe it. He couldn't, because.... because... because *he* loved Serena and he had hoped that one day she would learn to love him. He *had* to believe that she didn't care for Kunzite. Had to, to keep himself in one peice. Darien continued to run quickly the only thought in his mind, to get his beloved Serena back. _______________________ Darien saw the temple approaching in the distance and ran all the way up the steps when he came to them, taking two at a time. Rei saw him coming and stopped sweeping the grounds to wait for him. She may have been worried about Serena, but she had other responsibilities right now, ones that would have to take priority until the scouts could get Serena back. Rei hoped that would be soon. She really missed the Meatball Head despite what people may think. She was always the one who cheered her up and made her feel better. It was one of the girls charms. "What is it Darien? You look like you ran all the way here." Rei said grabbing his arm and pulling him inside the temple to sit down on one of the mats on the floor. She kneeled beside him. "I....... saw ......Serena!" Darien said, between gasps of air and took three deep breaths to try and calm his racing heart. Rei wondered at the strong emotions and urgency in his voice. Surely he and Serena must have ran into each other often. It shouldn't have bothered him so that he had ran into her, even though it sent of alarms in Rei's head. What reason did Darien have to be so upset? "What's so surprising about that?" Rei asked, attempting to keep her voice cool. So Lita had been right, and now it may be too late to plan any defense against this new Serena. She could already be watching them and planning an attack. Darien looked at her strangely and then slowly pronounced each word individually to her again, thinking she had heard him wrong. "*I* *saw* *Serena*!" Rei managed to nod her head casually, millions of thoughts running through her head as she thought about the many different reasons Serena could be here. "And I asked, what's so surprising about that?" Darien stared at her a moment, shock and astonishment at the stupidity of the question running across his face before understanding flashed in his eyes. He nearly smacked himself in the forehead. Of course! He had forgot he hadn't told the scouts who he really was! They didn't have a clue he was Tuxedo Mask! Well.... no time to explain everything to them now. They had more important matters to discuss. He thought. "Look Rei, I know this is going to come as a shock to you but *I* am Tuxedo Mask and there are a few things I really need to discuss with you and the other scouts. So please, would you call them?" He rushed the words and they all ran together, becoming nearly unintelligable, but Rei got the message and her jaw dropped. "You... you.. you mean to tell me that... *you're* Tuxedo Mask? All this time *you've* been Tuxedo Mask?!" She stummbled over her own words and Darien nodded impatiently at her, knowing that was exactly what he had just said. Sometimes people could take a long time to get certain ideas through their heads. "Well... would you please call the scouts?!" He finally demanded, losing whatever patience he had left. Now was not the time to gawk, that was for later. Rei seemed to shake off her stuper and shook her head as if to clear it as she stared at him, complete shock writen all over her face as she fumbled for her communciator. "Hurry, this is really important." Darien said, almost getting up and pacing. He felt so restless, he needed to do something... but that was for later too. "I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying." Rei said indignantly, finally pulling the little pink comunicator Luna had gave her out of the folds of her temple robe. "You know," She commented as she opened it. "Things are going to be quiet different now that we know who you are and all." Darien didn't bother to mention that things would have been quite different anyway, now that he knew who Sailor Moon was, and without having their little Serena around. Rei finally looked away and focused on the face of Venus, the first scout to answer as she told her to come to the temple for an emergency meeting. ________________________ Kunzite was looking at Crystal. Her hand still bled freely, the blood running down her gloved fingers and dripping on the floor with audiable sounds, creating a shallow puddle at her feet that was getting slowly bigger. Kunzite nearly winced at the sight of her pale flesh, all torn up and deeply cut from where she had hit the mirror with her hand, or so he guessed that was what had happened. And if it was a self inflicted wound, which he thought it was, then it would take a long time to heal. Self inflicted wounds always took a long time to heal, unless you used a rather *large* amount of energy, and even then it took at least a day to heal. Kunzite wondered if even now she was trying to heal it because she looked as though her energy was all spent. The rest of her, expecially her face was looking pale but she was trying to look brave despite that fact and Kunzite smiled to himself at her nearly failing attempt, though another look at her hand had him frowning again. The other thing that had changed about her was that she was also avoiding him as much as she could and was hanging around Zoisite. Which, Kunzite could tell, Zoisite didn't like at all. They were hanging around the Cherry Hill Temple, taking to the trees and the roofs, watching the grounds below from a birds eyes view. Crystal said that the scouts would be here for sure and for sure, they were there. They all looked disheveled and were talking about Crystal. Crystal hid her face, looking away in shame as she heard what they were saying about her. They where not being pleasent. Kunzite nearly went to her to offer comfort, perhaps even a shoulder to cry on, but stopped himself just in time. "When I say attack, attack without further questions, agreed?" Kunzite asked Zoisite and Crystal, his pale eyes still looking at the small girl. They both nodded their heads yes, but Kunzite had to wonder if Crystal could really follow the plan. She looked like she was about to cry, but when she caught him staring she straightened up and banished her tears instantly, though it cost her a lot of her strength to keep them in. But she couldn't cry, she had to be strong. She had to be. Crsytal thought to herself, swallowing past the lump in her throat and drawing strength from Kunzite's comforting, affectionate gaze. She slowly pulled herself together. This was part of the reason why she had joined the Nega-verse - though she wasn't sure what the other part had *really* been - so as too not be such a wimp. She didn't want Kunzite or Zoisite to think bad of her. Especially Kunzite. Though she was pretty sure that it was a little late to hope for that from Zoisite. He seemed to hate her already. She took a deep breath and followed the other two generals as they moved closer and the scouts words continued to echo in her ears as they moved in for the kill.... ______________________ "What?!? She joined the Nega-verse because of...... of..... Kunzite?!?!" Mina screamed, startling everyone. Darien had just finished telling them what had went on between himself and Serena. And in return the scouts had told them their identities. It had been a shock to all to learn everything at last, but they didn't dwell on it. They had other things on their minds. Serena, or, as she now called herself, *Crystal*, for one. They where not at all pleased with what Darien had told them at all. Where Lita had this smile on her face that kept on saying to everyone, "I told you so told you do told you so!" Finaly Lita couldn't hold herself in check any longer and said it aloud gleefully, "You see, I did see her!" She got so annoying that the others made it a point to completey ignore her. That shut her up. Rei was too busy fuming to acknowledge Lita anyway. "That little Slut!! I'll get her for this..... that dubble- crossing... no good.. klutsy, Blond!" Rei said, anger penitrating every word. "Don't you worry Rei, you have your chance to get at me right now if you want." A voice said from the doorway and all eyes turned in it's direction. What they saw wasn't much of a shock, but it froze the scouts in their tracks to hear that same cold voice come from the person whom they had all known to be the warmest girl in the world again. It was Serena.... no.. *Crystal* in a generals uniform with not a smile or emotion on her face besides hate and contempt. The scouts where silent for a few minutes, as were the cats and Darien. The whole room was silent. Everything seemed to have gone dead and no one stirred an inch. But then the scouts all started asking the questions that seemed to be mixing in their minds, their words flowing together like water currents. Crystal put up her hand to silence the flapping tongues. "This is not the time to ask those questions, and neither is it an appropriate time for me to answer. As you probably already know, I didn't come here to talk but rather...." As she was saying this a dark orb of fireworks and murky black energy started forming in her hands. "To do this." The scouts all took one look at the gathering energy and ran for cover. Darien just stood still, not moving in any way. "Serena I don't believe what you are telling us is true. Please.... stop this..... we will forgive you if you come back to us.." Darien pleaded with all his might, but it was lost on her for without further ado she slammed the black orb that had been gaining power right where Darien was standing. Darien bolted for cover, only getting a few scratches on him. But Crystal wouldn't let it go at just that. No. Her pain and shame at what she had done just kept on building and she wanted nothing more than to take all her anger out on the sailor scouts, either in civilian form or not, but she couldn't, not after learning the many lessons Kunzite had taught her. Plus, Kunzite had not given the order to attack yet, and she would not disobey him. Kunzite and Zoisite flanked her from either side and Crystal felt more secure as Kunzite gave her the o.k signal and she attacked the scouts as though they the most unimportant things in the world to her. None of them were ever given more than a second tranform and that was never enough. They had to go through all the motions and one or two seconds wasn't long enough. The scouts weren't sure what magic held their enemies in place when they transformed in front of them, but they didn't think it would work on Crystal, who had once been a sailor scout herself. Crystal could feel herself beginning to falter, and Kunzite could see it. The emotional strain was becoming too much for her. She had joined the Nega-verse to show the scouts that she was not a wimp and that she wasn't who they thought she was, but when she'd joined, she'd had no intention of killing her friends, if they even thought of her as one anymore. She didn't know if she would, not after all this. When Crystal finally stumbled, her attack halting for just a moment Rei saw her chance and as Crystal attemtped to recover she called out, "Mars Power!" She sped up her tranfromation as much as she could but still, once she was done and the red light that always surrounded her when she tranformed disappeared she felt a black orb slam right into her midrift and she cried out in pain. Crystal certainly wasn't losing any time here. All three generals cursed silently as the girl, Rei Hino, transformed herself into Sailor Mars. While Crystal hit the scout with a black orb the other three all saw their chances and also transformed, Lita and Mina's voices echoing and vibrating around the room as they called out, "Jupiter Power!" "Venus Power!" Darien transformed silently and without words, into Tuxedo Mask, and soon the three generals had three scouts, and one tuxedo clad warrior to deal with. Sailor Venus threw a Crescent beam at Crystal and she dodged, retaliating by throwing a red orb at the orange clad scout. Venus barely dodged by more than a foot. Sailor Mars threw her attack at Kunzite who was getting prepared to attack Tuxedo Mask. He dogged quickly enough but instead of hitting him as it was meant to, it hit Zoisite. Right in the chest. Zoisite looked down at the massive burn right in the center of his chest and smiled slightly, without mirth, at Kunzite and then fell, his body crashing heavily to the floor. His wound was bleeding on the wooden floor boards, small tendrils of smoke rising from it as the smell of burning flesh invaded the air. The scouts all covered their mouths and reeled back, while Crystal choaked and Kunzite gasped. Blood was dripping quickly from Zoisite's large wound, white puffs of energy forming around it and him as he lay still, his eyes clouding over with a light gray film as he stared ahead, unseeing. Kunzite screamed as he saw the injury. There was no way anyone could live through that. Not even a Nega-verse general. He ran towards Zoisite, not caring if the scouts attacked him or not. They did not...... only stared. They wouldn't have been able to anyway. Crystal stood behind Kunzite hands raised, dark power swirling and flying around her, like a sheild, like a warning. She would not allow them to come any closer. The scouts all took notice of her injured hand which they had not caused but didn't dare to say anything. Turning one last menacing look on the scouts Crystal erected a forcefield around her, Kunzite, and Zoisite, and turning, she layed her uninjured hand on Kunzite's shoulder. Kunzite did not even feel the light hand of Crystal, meant to comfort him. Both of them knew there was nothing to be done, but Kunzite couldn't accept that. Not now. "Zoisite....... love......... please, don't die on me." Kunzite choaked out, almost ready to cry, but he would not in front of the scouts. As Crystal saw his that his eyes were moist she sent another deadly look at the scouts, this one full of threat and then turned back to Kunzite. The scouts where just huddled around each other, in a corner, watching and listening. Tuxedo Mask kept himself at a fair distance form everyone as he watched as well. Mars was nearly crying herself. She hadn't meant to hit Zoisite. Kunzite would have been able to shield himself from the attack, but not Zoisite...... She'd just killed someone...... and that fact forced the tears from her eyes and down her face. The other scouts just stood, watching.... Crystal..... watching..... Kunzite....... just watching. Zoisite coughed a little and blood spluttered out of his mouth and dotted Kunzite's uniform. "I.... am...... sorry....." He said and then smiled once more before the life left him and he died. Crystal was ready to break down sobbing, not only for Zoisite, but for Kunzite... and for herself, but she was also getting the urge to kill something or *somebody* as well..... Kunzite held Zoisite's body close to him as his eyes went dull and lifeless and he sagged in his arms. He was... rocking him..... trying to bring him back to live in any way possible. But that was just it. It *wasn't possible, and both he, Crystal, and the scouts all knew it. Crystal bent down next to Kunzite. "He's gone..... Kunzite....... I am sorry...... but you have to accept it....... It's... not your fault." Crystal said trying to not cry for Kunzite's sake only. Had she had her own choice she would have curled up into a ball and sobbed until she couldn't anymore, but she would be strong, both for Kunzite, and her sanity. Kunzite looked at Crystal, tears still shimmering in his eyes, and then he looked back at Zoisite, then at the scouts with a penitrating, sad, angry stare. "This is over for now scouts........ But just remember... You will pay! I will see to it myself. Come Crystal." Kunzite said and disappeared along with the now dead Zoisite. Crystal stayed behind to talk to the scouts. "Everyone......... I am no longer a part of your group..... You can not *bring* me back. It was my *choice* to join the Nega- verse.... And *I* need to stay.... to comfort Kunzite...... for what you have done to him. For now and forever we are no longer friends, but enemy's, until death. And the next time we meet I will show you no mercy. As Kunzite has said, you will pay for what you have done." Crystal said in the most meaningful tone that she could muster in her state of health and emotional pain. "Serena...... wait.... we.... don't understand what we did...... to make you betray us like this!" Venus shouted quickly before Crystal left them again, and for forever. Crystal just stared at her a moment, taking some time to compose her anger towards them before she shook her head and spoke. "It wasn't all your fault Venus, nor was it all anyone elses. It was mine as well.... I am not going to explain it right now. Let Darien do the explaining. He seems to know so much about me now. He probably know's how I feel. I have to go now...... Kunzite needs me." Without further ado she disapeared, never to talk to them again in a civilized fasion unless the Nega-verse itself fell. But before she faded for good she had one more thing to say. "The next time we meet like this sailor scouts, someone will die, and do not forget, I was the most powerful of you all when I walked among you. I was your leader," She smiled now, her lips curling dangerously, mockingly, *menacingly*, as she said, "And you don't have a chance in Hell." And with those parting words Crystal left completely, hatred burning in her dark blue eyes as she returned to her new home, the Nega-verse to comfort Kunzite, who she knew would most certainly need it. Now she would only to see them when they were fighting against each other. She knew it, Darien knew it, the scouts knew it, even the cats knew it. Each scout looked at each other and started to cry... for they have lost the best friends....... their ally's...... their hope.... They were all gone forever. Now they were damned to internal darkness until time itself stopped. Because the scouts knew now that Crystal would not rest until they were all out of the way... until they were all... neautralized...... and she had been right before with what she had told them just before she left. They didn't have a chance in Hell of defeating her. TO BE CONTINUED.......