Info:  A little briefing on what this story is about.  Gemstone's Oath, if you can
         tell from the title, is about the four generals, Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite, 
         and Jadeite.  This story takes place in Crystal Tokyo with Rini after the
         Dark Moon Kingdom and is related to the manga.
         This story focuses on all four Generals, so you would
         find the narration switching from one general to another quite often.

Feel free to e-mail me any comments you may have.
E-mail: ml_eclipse@hotmail.com

Disclaimers:  Sailor Moon and all its characters and likeliness 
belongs to its creator Naoko Takeuchi and respective companies. 

<< >> = thoughts

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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>    GEMSTONE'S OATH    <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
========================= << By Cosmos >> ==================================

Chapter 4:     Shadows from the Past

Somehow through the darkness and the blinding shades of tears, he manages to 
reach his room.  Once inside, he collapses to his knees and lets out all the 
pain that was buried deep within his heart for over two milleniums.  So much 
pain and sorrow…how could one have a past that is filled with so much pain? 
No one but him, it seems.

"Jadeite?" a voice whispers to him.  He looks up to find a concern pair of 
gray-blue eyes staring down at him.

"Kunzite?" he asks in surprise, "W-what are you doing here? I thought you're 
still wondering somewhere around the Palace."

"I've had enough of the wondering, so I've decided to return, but I found 
that you all have a bad case of itching feet yourselves," he replies with a 
forced smile.

"I wish I hadn't gone off, else I would not have met her," he lets his voice 
drop off to an inaudible whisper.

"Met who?"

"Nothing," Jadeite mumbles.

"Jadeite! Met who? Who did you run into and what had happened to you out 
there."  With Jadeite's continued silence, Kunzite adds, "Tell me Jadeite, 
you know you can trust me."

"I know," Jadeite sighs, "it's not that."

"Then what? What are you trying to hold back?"

"I-I ran into Sailor Mars and something happened bringing back floods of 
memories of the Silver Millenium and-"

"And you remembered," Kunzite interrupts him, "the outcome of the final 
battles."

"What? How did you know?"

"It had happened to me too, just after I left you guys."

"Kunzite what-"

"Kunzite! Jadeite!" a blast of voices interrupts him again.

"Nephrite! Zoisite, what happened? It looks like you've both seen a ghost!" 
Jadeite cries in astonishment at their wide-eyed faces.

"More like their pasts," Kunzite responds calmly.

"You know too?" they both ask him.  He nods solemnly in reply.

"Kunzite, what is going on here?" Nephrite asks him, "Why is this happening 
to us? Why must we be forced to relive our pasts again?"

Kunzite does not respond immediately.  He stands there by the window, his 
brows knit together in deep concentration.  Suddenly he hears her mournful 
voice in his mind once again, <<This is one promise I fear you won't be
able to keep, my beloved.>>  <<Could it be? he wonders, could this be the 
power of the oath? The promises we made…could this be why these things are 
happening now?>>

"Did any of you happened to make any promises to any of the Sailor Soldiers 
on the Moon Kingdom?" he suddenly asks them.

"Yes," they all replied simultaneously.

"I thought so."

"Are you implying that whatever is happening is because of our oath's? " 
Zoisite asks.

"I don't know," Kunzite says slowly, "but whatever it is, I don't like it."

"Yeah, like I can fulfill my promise like this," Nephrite cries spreading 
his arms wide to emphasize his transparent figure, "I'd most likely get a 
scream then a kiss from Jupiter when I come home."

"Looking at you anyone would scream," Jadeite sniggers.

"Can't you ever be serious about anything Jadeite?"

"Of course I can!" Jadeite shouts back indignantly.  "Do you think I like 
to be a ghost? A voice without a body?"

"To Mars, you'll be without a body *and* a voice," Zoisites points out.

"No, not Mars," Jadeite says slowly.  "She heard me."

"What?" the others exclaimed simultaneously.

"I don't know how or why, but Mars can hear me."

"Can she see you?" Kunzite inquires.

Jadeite shakes his head sadly.  "No," he whispers, "she can neither see me 
nor touch me, but she can hear me."

"Mars has always been the spiritual one," Zoisite says.  "It must be her 
special psychic powers that enable her to communicate with you."

"Perhaps we should talk to her," Kunzite says.  His suggestion of returning 
to face her makes Jadeite a bit uneasy.  No matter how much he desires to 
see her again, to hear her lovely voice, to see her lovely eyes, his guilt 
and his love for her prevents him from following the yearning raging in his 
heart.  Kunzite does not know what pain he is causing his friend when he 
suggested such a plan; though he understands perfectly well what Jadeite is 
going through-had he not killed the one love he had as well?-but he is 
strong where duty lies, Jadeite is not.  Kunzite knows that he must fine the
answers to these unknown questions; he must seek out the unknown and fulfill 
his promise.  Jadeite fears this path.  He fears that he will only bring 
further harm to her as he had done so long ago.  He blames himself for her 
death.  If only he had not loved her she might have been safe; if only he 
had stayed with her and protected her as he should she would still be here 
with him, but he did not and she is gone.  Two loves worlds apart.  She is 
in the world of the living and he is dead.  Not even love can breach the 
barrier that now lies between them.  In his blinded mind, he believes that 
it is best she forgets him.  In due time she would fine another, he thinks.
In due time…but he does not know that time is on her side.  No matter how 
long, she will forever wait for him to return and fulfill his promise, a 
promise he said he would keep.

"She may be the only one who is able to help us answer the one important 
question we need to know," Kunzite's voice drifts into his numbing mind.

"And that would be…?"

"Why this is happening?"

"NO!" Jadeite suddenly objects.
"Why do you object?" Kunzite questions carefully as he observes his friends 
pale face.  He sees plainly on his face emotions of unbelievable guilt and 
regret.

"I can't," Jadeite exclaims, his eyes gazing mournfully at the floor, "I 
just can't.  It is better that she does not see me again."

"But she loves you," Zoisite says, "Surely she would be willing to help us."

"She would help anyone," Jadeite whispers with a sorrowful smile.

"Then why do you protest against seeking her help?" Nephrite asks slightly 
annoyed.

"I do not protest against her help.  I protest against dragging her into 
this mess!"

"Jadeite," Kunzite says sympathetically, "I understand that you feel guilty 
for betraying her back then, but it was not your fault."

"It was!" Jadeite cries, "It was all my fault!"  He raises his shaky hands 
in front of him while his face shows inexpressible sorrow.  "Look at these 
hands," he whispers, "soiled red with her blood.  Feel this heart, cracked 
by a pure love lost.  See this soul, darkened by the guilt I feel.  You 
cannot tell me that it was not my fault, because it was all my fault!"

"Jadeite listen to me!" Kunzite growls at his foolish friend.  He grabs 
Jadeite's shoulders making him look up into his eyes.  "Would you have done 
what you did if you were not under Beryl's command?"

"Of course not!" he shouts back angry at the absurdity of the question.  
"I loved her, why would I do such as thing!"

"Then why do you feel guilty?!" Kunzite yells back.

Jadeite does not reply.

"Look Jadeite," Nephrite speaks up softly, "you were under Beryl's powers.  
What your body did was done by Beryl's hands and not yours."

"You cannot blame yourself for what was not your doing," Zoisite adds.

"Listen to your heart," Kunzite says, "It will never lie to you.  She will 
forgive you, Jadeite.  If she truly loves you she will understand what had 
happened and forget that sad past."

"But…"

"Jadeite!" Kunzite feels annoyance and anger at the stubborn and blinded 
mind of his friend, "Stop your self pitying and see the truth!  You have an 
obligation to carry out and a promise to fulfill.  Will you go against your 
words and your love by refusing to do what you have promised to do?"

Jadeite pulls away from Kunzite.  His gaze falls to the ground as a struggle 
of emotions takes place within him.  <<What the others said is true, he 
thinks, I can't break my promise to her.>> He remembers his encounter with 
her just moments before, "Jadeite please hang on," she pleaded to him, 
whatever it is, fight it! I know you can do it! Just stay with me, don't 
leave me…please…"

"W-w-why do you…care?" he manages to ask her.

"B-because," she whispers, her throat tight with the pain raging in her 
heart, "B-because I…I love you."

Her words rang with truth he was almost blinded to.  <<She will forgive me, 
he thinks.>>

"All right," he whispers, "let's go see her."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>                        <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Deep within the Earth, buried in darkness and confined in eternal solitude 
sleeps an old foe.  "Wake up, Queen Metallica," a voice hisses.  "It is now 
time for you to fulfill your part in history.  Wake up, dark Queen.  I give 
you your freedom!"

Slowly, dark shadows of unseen fragments gather together at a vertex.  
Cracks and groans shook the solid earth around it as the dark fragments 
fuse together forming a large misty shadow.  A great rumble coming from the 
depths of the Earth replies to the voice of its liberator.  Abruptly, a 
crimson light slices through the darkness as the dark Queen awakens from her 
cursed sleep.

======================================

[Chapter 5 coming soon!]

<<Cosmos 1999>>