Title:After the Moon.Part 2 Author:Tapestry Email:Shaddow@Cat@hotmail.com Standard Disclaimer Apply * denotes thought I'm BAAAAAAACK!!!*Ack!!Dodges the flying papers* Fine,be that way. On to the story.... ~Two days later~ "This is the village,Endy."stated Malachite seriously as he surveyed the bustling villaged.They were whispering and sneaking looks at the royal party. "Buy some fresh fruits sir!!Very tasty!!"smiled an old woman. "Exotic pottery,sir!!" "Fresh fish!!" "Huh...I think they're all money-minded people that's all."snorted Jadeite."This is hopeless,Endy....let's just go back." "We just got here...besides,it'll be an educational experience for you," snickered Zoiscite. Jadeite merely frowned. "Excuse me good lady,do you know where the Black Woods Forest is??"asked Malachite. The old lady looked up and snorted. "We want nothing to do with the freaks that live there...ask someone else,boy."spat the old woman. "Freaks??"questioned Endymion. "Those weirdoes,they ain't like us,they is abnormal they is.Besides... what would handsome chaps like you want with them for???"came another voice. Endymion turned to look at the person who had spoken.It was a girl with wavy brown hair and grey eyes.She was smiling coyly at him. "A lady does not speak ill of others."said Nephrite irritated at the girl's tone. "You don't live here.Ask anybody else,they'll tell you those people who live at Black Woods is weird."said the girl angrily as she turned to stare at Nephrite. "She is right!!"cried some other people. Endymion and his guards stared at the crowd in disbelief.How could a family living in Black Woods cause such an uproar?? "Stop it all of you!!!"came a voice. Endymion turned and saw a green-eyed young woman glaring at the crowd. "This isn't any of your business,Molly.You ain't stayed here long enough. You'll be going back to the city soon too."spat one shopkeeper coldly. "Yeah!!Your grandfather is a strange old coot,but we're willin' to overlook it as he is from the city."added another person. "Why must you treat them with prejudice anyway????"asked Molly angrily. Before the villagers could answer,Endymion had already reined his horse towards her. "Do you know where Black Woods Forest is????"demanded Endymion curtly. Molly noticed Endymion for the first time and her eyes went wide. "Your-"began Molly but cut herself short at Endymion's glare and shake of disaproval. "I-I'll take you there...."answered Molly shocked. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When they were out of the village,Molly sighed. "Is it always like that???"questioned Endymion nodding towards the village. "Worse,they always put down the people living in Black Woods,your highness."answered Molly. "Dispense with ceremony.I don't like people following me around and simpering because I'm a Prince."grounded out Endymion harshly. "Why do the people in the village hate the people in the Black Woods so?" asked Jadeite,curious. "I am not certain....I only know they came to live near this village 18 years ago....Sere said so."replied Molly. "Sere??"echoed Malachite. "One of the girls who live there."said Molly pointing at the cottage above the path. "How many people live there??"asked Zoiscite looking carefully at the cottage. "Seven,....one man,one woman and five girls." "The man and woman their parents??"asked Nephrite. "No.."replied Molly. At that moment a blonde rushed up to Molly in a flurry of white skirts. "Molly!!"smiled the girl. Endymion stared at her,she was petite and had the STRANGEST hairstyle he'd ever seen. The blonde turned,her eyes locked on the group behind Molly.Her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Sere,this is-"began Molly. "Serenity!!Aunt Luna wants you in the cottage,NOW!!"exclaimed a voice. The owner of the voice was a tall emerald-eyed woman with mahogany hair, tied in a ponytail. "Sorry,Molly..have to go."said Serenity curtly as she backed a few paces, turned and ran up towards the cottage. "They're eccentric...Whenever,Luna spots strangers coming up the path, she INSISTS ALL five girls enter the cottage without any objections." said Molly nervously. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Endymion and his guard reached the cottage door.Knocking swiftly on the door,a woman with wavy black hair tied in a similar hairstyle to the other girl,answered the door. "Good day my lord..what can we do to help you??"asked the woman politely. "Auntie Luna!!"smiled Molly brightly. "Oh,hello Molly."greeted Luna her eyes barely moving before it returned to rest on Endymion's face with an unknown expression. "Have you been living here for the past 18 years?"asked Endymion. Luna nodded. "Where did you originally live?" "Somewhere VERY far,good sir."replied Luna flatly. "Where??" "The sun."answered Luna sarcastically."I do not know you,and I do not see any reason for you to come here or for me to answer your questions... Good Day."said Luna finally.With that,she slammed the door in his face. "A very forceful woman."grinned Jadeite. "Yes,and sometimes I hate it."came a lazy drawl. The group turned to see a tall handsome man with twinkling blue eyes and white hair dressed in a white shirt.He was leaning against the door frame.. "My apologies for Luna's behaviour.She's VERY protective towards Serenity and the others."smiled the man. Endymion bowed slightly.Followed by the rest of his guard. Artemis followed suit and returned the bow politely. "I am Artemis.What brings you out to this part of the world???"asked Artemis bluntly. Endymion realized he was sharper than he looked. "This part of the world??"echoed Zoiscite."How did you know we aren't from nearby??" "Well,for starters...nobody but people in the city dress like you do,and second...anybody within 50 miles of the village know the rumors about the, ...>ahem< 'weirdoes' of Black Woods Forest."smiled Artemis. "You're observant."stated Endymion. "I have to be."said Artemis his smile unwavering. "Artemis,what are you doing!!"came a feminine voice which probably belonged to Luna. "Luna,it isn't as if they're here to ransack the place."pointed out Artemis,turning his back to them. There was a long silence.... "Fine.Do what you think is best.I'm going to find those flighty girls." stated Luna. "They're gone??"asked Artemis. "Right.They slipped out through the backdoor AGAIN."growled Luna as she marched through the kitchen. Turning his attention back to Endymion and his guard he smiled. "Please,come in." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Is something wrong??"asked Endymion as he watched Luna rush off,and mutter something like,"those girls should have leashes on them." Watching his gaze,Artemis merely laughed. "Oh no.It's just the girls have disappeared again.They do that a lot. Luna says we should keep leashes on them.They are the most active flighty girls you would ever meet.They love to run off to heaven knows where and come back later in the evening."smiled Artemis."It irritates Luna,but it amuses me." "Don't you ever fear for them when they come back at night??"asked Nephrite confused. The word 'night',seemed the startle Artemis. "Night??They usually return before the sun sets.Luna makes certain of it."replied Artemis somberly. "I see..." "Why do you live all the way up here instead of living in the village?" questioned Malachite suddenly. "He talks!"exclaimed Jadeite jokingly. Malachite stared at Artemis who returned the stare unflinchingly. "We arrived here,18 years ago on rather....er...unusual circumstances." answered Artemis. Suddenly,Artemis fell out of his chair,his eye wide,clutching himself. "Are you alright???!!"exclaimed Zoiscite jumping up. Endymion himself was clutching his chest painfully. "I-I'm alright.."choked Artemis standing up. "I'm fine.."gasped Endymion. "What happened??!"questioned Malachite angrily as he glared accusingly at Artemis. "I don't know...my chest...just,suddenly hurt...like a-a cold chill clutching my heart."said Endymion.He felt sick to his stomach.Like something vile had been ingested. "I think you should go...it's getting...dark."said Artemis lamely. Endymion nodded and he and his guard exited the cottage with Molly tagging along. "Bye,Uncle Artemis."called Molly. Artemis merely managed a weak smile. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Closing the door.Artemis breathed deeply.He knew something had happened. The Dark Kingdom had returned....He shut his eyes tightly.Their arrival had been like a punch to his stomach,taking the air out of him.He had experienced the same thing on the Moon..when the Dark Kingdom had attacked. He was sure Luna had felt it too...Serenity and the girls would have felt it if their dormant power had been activated.But why had the young man with dark hair felt such a strong pulse from the Dark Kingdom?? Looking out the window,the sun was going to set in an hour's time. Pulling a white cloak to himself,Artemis exited the cottage....he had to find Luna... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Somewhere else.... Beryl stood watching the planet's landscape.All that delicious energy, just for her....Her lips turned into an evil smile. She was going to watch this planet bow to her will...the sky turn dark and all it's beauty wither away.She was going to see this planet...fill with dark energy.... Holding out something in her palm,she blew the dust.Wherever in landed.. a youma came to life.Youmas for gathering energy... Beryl smiled evilly. She was going to gather all the energy then finish what she started, 18 years ago....she was going to rule the Universe. Looking up at the sky as if she could see the planets... "The Outer-planets are going to fall...and with it,the precious Moon Princess..."laughed Beryl."Queen Serenity!!!What can you do now???!!" shouted Beryl as laughed insanely. The onslaught...was beginning...again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Endymion felt sick.His hands were cold and clammy.Something was happening. He paled as another wave of pain and chill hit him. "Endymion!!What is wrong??!!"asked Malachite worriedly. "Something...is-is...wrong.The planet..."muttered Endymion before he collapsed into darkness.He felt as if he were falling down...down into the cold dark abyss.Swallowing him,smothering him,engulfing him in it's cold darkness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serenity and the othe girls followed Luna obediently.Luna had suddenly doubled over awhile ago when they were heading back towards the cottage. Luna had assured them,nothing was wrong.But Serenity knew better.Luna had a glazed and fearful look in her eye as they walked along in silence. "Luna!!"came a voice. Looking up,they saw Artemis coming towards them,his white cloak blowing around him.He looked as pale as Luna. Serenity noted their looks of anxiety as their eyes locked in fear and understanding. "Are you girls alright?"asked Artemis. They nodded. As they reached the cottage,the sun was setting,It's golden rays casting a warm glow over them.But why did she feel...the sun's warmth was merely an illusion that hid something...Something that was coming to claim them and end their very lives as they knew it.Something evil... Artemis's harsh voice snapped Serenity back to reality. "I don't want any of you wandering the place without first telling us. I also want none of you to enter the Black Woods Forest alone anymore!" snapped Artemis angrily. "But,we always go into the forest!!"exclaimed Mina. "Things have changed,Mina.Everything has changed."answered Luna curtly. "But why???You never said we were not to go into the woods before!! We've lived here our entire lives!We know the dangers the woods hold!" said Lita. "There are other dangers now,Lita.Do not argue.We absolutely forbid any of you to walk alone,run off without informing us,stay outside after dark and most of all...do NOT talk to a stranger."said Luna harshly. The five girls stared at their guardians' two angry faces.Something had changed their attitude.They were wary now.They were angry,they were.... worried.. "Do the five of you hear us???We will not tolerate any of your foolishness in the matter."said Artemis darkly. "Yes,Uncle Artemis,Aunt Luna."came their reply. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The five entered their rooms slowly. Serenity angrily slammed the door.She hated living like this.What was wrong???What was their problem??? "Something's going on here.Something's changed them."said Serenity. "I agree."said Amy. "What happened today??Those men with Molly came,and now-"said Lita leaving her sentence to trail off. "You guys...something fishy is going on here."said Amy. "Fish??I don't smell any fish."joked Mina. "Mina..."warned Lita. "I'm just trying to lighten this dark mood.We all knew something was going to happen...now that it has,we should find out what it is.Raye.. what do you think??You think you can try your voodoo and see what's happening??"asked Mina. Raye was silent. "I don't know...I'm not very good at it."admitted Raye. "We have no choice.You've never been wrong or failed us yet...try it." urged Lita. Hesitantly,Raye nodded. "Shut the curtains.Start a fire at the fireplace and blow out those candles."ordered Raye. Amy noticed her face was a mask of emotions. "Is something wrong??"asked Amy. "I-I just have this sense of...of foreboding.Like something bad is going to happen.Soon..."sighed Raye. Amy stared at her friend sadly. "I know...but whatever it is,we'll be facing it together.The five of us." smiled Amy as she hugged Raye comforting.The others smiled. "Amy's right!!Whatever happens...we'll be TOGETHER....forever."said Serenity enthusiastically. "You're right."smiled Raye emphatically. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Moments later....The five were sitting cross-legged on the floor,a roaring fire in front of them. Raye was sitting in front while the rest sat silently behind her. Throwing some jasmines and other herbs they had gathered a long time ago when Raye first started doing this,the fire lept up and turned an eerie green. Raye stared at the fire in shock...it had never happened before... "Raye-?" But the Raye held her hand up to silence them. The fire crackled.A figure of white smoke appeared in front of them. "Hello...Raye..."smiled the figure. All five girls backed slightly their eyes wide with disbelief. "The time has not come Raye.But it is truly amazing you've been able to do this with your heritage lying dormant within you."smiled the woman. "Wh-Who are you??!!"exclaimed Raye. "I am your mother Raye..." "My-my mother??"gaped Raye. The figure nodded."I used to do all this at your age.Despite my mother's protests about not having honed my abilities."smiled the woman. "Running around without a care in the world." Raye blinked in disbelief.Every one of them had a long time ago,longed to see their parents.But Luna and Artemis had said their parents were dead. "We are dead,child..."came her mother's sad voice. "Dead...but-" "I'm only spirit,child.I came tonight because it is not yet time for the five of you to know..."said the woman. "What do you mean???!!"exclaimed Raye frantic. "I'm sorry,Raye...but one day you'll understand...when it is time... you'll understand."smiled the image. "Wait!!What-"began Raye before a powerful force swept them all backwards. The fire went out...and the five girls lay still and unmoving on the cottage floor. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Morning came as the five girls got up from their uncomfortable positions on the floor. "What happened??"groaned Serenity as she rubbed her sore neck and rump. Lita gingerly rubbed her aching shoulder.She felt as if she'd been trampled by a wild horse. "I don't know...does anyone remember what happened??"asked Amy rubbing her forehead. "I feel terrible.That's all I know."moaned Mina flexing her leg. "Raye??"asked Lita. "I can't remember either...what were we doing sleeping on the floor anyway??"questioned Raye as she squeezed her numb leg. "I don't know.But my butt feels like I hit the wall."sighed Serenity. "Honestly,I don't think I got the feeling back in my legs."said Mina as she stood up wobbly. "I feel like crawling to bed.I have a terrible headache."groaned Amy. "You guys can't feel half as bad as I do...nothing happened at the fire yesterday,and now I feel sore all over for sleeping in front of the hearth."moaned Raye as she stood up slowly. "Girls!Breakfast!!"came Luna's voice. "Uugh..."said the five in unison as they plopped onto their beds. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Luna stared at the five empty seats.She'd called them 15 minutes ago!! Marching to their room,Luna entered the room only to find all five of them still fast asleep. "Girls!!!"exclaimed Luna. Serenity peeked open a blue eye. "I'm not hungry Aunt Luna...I just feel like sleeping."came Serenity's muffled voice. "Are you five sick???"asked Luna as she checked each one. "You five don't have a temprature...I don't see what's wrong."said Luna eyeing them. "Were you five up late last night???" "No.."came five voices. "But we found ourselves on a tangled heap on the floor."volunteered Mina as she hugged her pillow. "On the floor???"questioned Luna. "By the hearth.I can't remember WHAT we did.It sure wasn't fun though... my neck is sore and my backside hurts."said Serenity. Luna's eyes widened. "Raye,have you been practising something I should know about????"snapped Luna turning to look at Raye. Too tired to deny it,Raye merely nodded from her covers. "I've been doing divination...mostly fire-reading."confessed Raye as she yawned then winced. "How long??" "A couple of years.." "Alright..all of you just sleep.You can eat later."said Luna as she backed out of the room. There were merely five nods and moans of agreement as they went back to sleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Luna closed the door quietly.This was what she'd feared. "Aren't the girls coming to breakfast??"asked Artemis. "Raye's been doing divination."stated Luna flatly. Artemis looked up.His face grim. "I told you,you'd never be able to raise them as normal.You can't stop it,Luna.It's inevitable."said Artemis. "Inevitable???You mean it's inevitable they must die????"asked Luna angrily. "They have a destiny to fulfill...especially Serenity.You cannot keep them from that."argued Artemis. "Destiny???Was it destiny that brought the Dark Kingdom to destroy our home???If so,destiny must be a terribly cruel thing!!"spat Luna. "You're being unreasonable.You're not being fair....you think they'd thank you for keeping a secret like this from them??"asked Artemis. "Fair??Is it fair to them to tell them that they're suppose to die?" hissed Luna. "You don't know if they'll die!!What about the people??Don't you think it's unfair to them to not be able to reclaim their homes??Do you think it's a little unfair to deny them their homes??Their RULERS???"argued Artemis angrily. "I-I....no it's not fair."whispered Luna in defeat. "That's right!!Nothing is fair.But it IS their duty and destiny."sighed Artemis wearily. "I just don't want to see them die..."sobbed Luna. Artemis enveloped her in a hug. "Neither do I,Luna...neither do I."he whispered sadly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To be continued.... *Smiles* Well??How was it??How was it??Answer meeeee!!!!(hehehehe) Sorry.My eldest brother is coming home today! (8th Dec 2000) I must have had a mass attack of the weirds. :p