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 ========================================================================== >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> GEMSTONE'S OATH <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ========================= << By Cosmos >> ================================== Chapter 5: Premonition "Jeez, it's sure quiet without that little kid running around," Venus sighs dejectedly. "Don't worry Venus, they'll be back within a week," Mercury assures her. She turns from Venus to the majestic royal garden spread out before them. They are sitting on a large veranda made of unusual marble adorned with magnificent white décors. A grand garden fills their view as they sat sipping some lemonade and watching Aurora with her soft brushes paint colors of carmine, pale orange, violet, yellow and gold on the petals of beautiful flowers growing in the garden. Surrounding white lilies and irises, daffodils and blue bells, poppies and sunflowers, are breathtaking bushes of roses the color of blood and snow. "Up early today aren't we?" a strong warm voice asks them from behind. They both turn to see their friend leaning lazily against the frame of the grand doorway leading to the veranda, the one where Nephrite passed through the night before. "Couldn't sleep," Venus replies. "Wow," Jupiter whistles then adds with a grin, "Never thought that would be a problem of yours." Venus grumbles an inaudible response. "It's because of the dream she had last night," Mercury explains. "Oh?" Jupiter raises an eyebrow, then turning from Mercury back to Venus says, "You've never dreamt of anything since the creation of Crystal Tokyo years ago. We thought that you could no longer dream, but I guess we're proven wrong. So, what did you dream about?" She does not reply immediately. A gentle silence hovers over them as Venus gazes at the dawn with mournful pale blue eyes. Jupiter can barely see sparkling droplets of tears forming in the depths of those blue skies. Slowly, her full lips part to whisper just a single word, a name that not only affects her, but also her friends as well. "Kunzite," she whispers. Jupiter gasps and took a step back. She reaches out to hold onto the doorframe to steady her knees that have suddenly felt too weak to support her. "You mean…" "She dreamt of the Generals," Mercury finishes Jupiter's sentence. "Tell me," another voice whispers from the shadows within the palace, "your whole dream." "Mars!" Venus gasps, "You look so pale. What happened? Didn't you get any sleep last night?" "Are you sick?" Jupiter asks with great concern for her friend. She raises a slender hand and shakes her head slowly. "I'm fine. Venus, you said you dreamt about the Generals. Please tell me about your dream." "It was only a dream," Venus shakes her head sadly, "Nothing important to tell. Why do you want to know?" "Let's just say out of simple curiosity." Venus looks hard at Mars's face. She could not see anything that would reveal to her Mars's unusual behavior, but then Mars has always been good at hiding her emotions. She shrugs her suspicions off and replies, "All right." The others gather around her as she begins her tale of a dream she wishes would never end and yet she wants to never have begun: "I didn't dream about all of the Generals only of Kunzite. It has been so long since I had last dreamt of anything, especially of him…ever since the battle millennia ago. In my dreams I found myself facing against an incredible monster. I couldn't see its face, but strangely it sounded a lot like Queen Metallica." "Queen Metallica?" Jupiter interrupts, "but she's dead!" "Shush Jupiter!" Mars chides, "Let her finish her story." "Sorry," Jupiter mumbles under her breath. Venus looks at Mars for a moment. Her pale blue eyes scan her friend's face as she thinks, <> She wants to ask her that question, but decides against it. She trusts Mars. Venus knows that if she knew something important that concerns them all, she would tell them eventually when the time is right. "I know Jupiter," Venus continues, "I know Metallica is dead, but that is why this dream was so strange. Against my logic, I still believe I heard Metallica's voice coming from that dark shadow. That's all I saw, a shadow. I did not know what I was up against, but I knew that it was evil. I called upon my powers to fight against the monster but somehow nothing happened. I was helpless to defend myself. The dream blurred for a moment and when it cleared I found myself trapped in a spider's web. The shadow was floating in front of me, looming over me like a gigantic tidal wave. I knew then that this would be the end. I could not fight. I could not scream. I could do nothing. I felt disheartened at the hopeless circumstance that had befallen me, so I simply closed my eyes and hoped that the end would be swift. I know that action does not seem like something I would do, but in that dream I felt so alone and so full of despair that death did not seem like a bad alternative. As I waited for that final blow that would end all my misery, I heard him call my name… [dream] "Venus!" he screamed, "Sailor Venus!" My eyes flew open at the sound of a familiar voice screaming my name with such grievance. <> Then through the misty darkness in front of me the silhouette of a tall figure appeared. I saw strong gray-blue eyes looking at me, watching me with mournful silence. Again, he called my name, "Venus!" "Who are you?" I cried, ignoring the immense shadow that stood between him and me. "Tell me who you are!" I screamed again. At that moment, I was only determined to know his name. It had never crossed my mind to ask for his help, or to know how he knew my name, but that was answered in due time. He just stood there, hidden in shadows as if held captive by the darkness surrounding him. He constantly screams my name, each time more distressed then before. I could sense him struggling against the shadows that held him. In my mind I knew he would never escape his captors, but my heart thought otherwise, and it was my heart that was correct. Before I knew it, he was free. He escaped the darkness that imprisoned him and was struggling toward me. Once in the light, I saw who my unknown savior was, Kunzite…the man I have loved…and the one whom has betrayed me; and yet I had forgiven him…forgiven the wrong doing I knew he did not intentionally do, though I knew not how I came to that conclusion. Nonetheless, it was he. I was so sure it was him, running toward me with mournful eyes that revealed a tattered soul. "Kunzite!" I called to him, "Stay back! It's too dangerous! Stay back!" But he did not listen to me. Instead he continued to struggle toward me with all his strength. I saw the dark shadow launched out a long black blade straight for me. I gasped in fear as I struggled to free myself from the strange web that entrapped me, but my struggle proved to be useless; the web was too strong. Unexpectedly, I saw two bright beams of light flash before my eyes. At that moment, I thought it was a vision of my life passing before me, but it was his strength. His light blades sliced through the web and set me free. I fell to the ground in a heap. I looked up to see him battling against the shadow, but it was obvious that he was losing. I tried to stand up so that I could help him fight, but my legs just would not listen to me. I slammed my fist against the dark ground in frustration. Tears of anger spilled down my cheeks, anger against myself…against my helplessness. No matter how hard I struggled I just could not move my legs. I looked up at him and through tear blurred eyes, I knew I could not help him. All I could do was watch him lose the fight…and lose his life. "Why can't I move?" I asked myself. "Move damnit!" I yelled at my immobile legs, "I must help him! Kunzite, hang on! Damnit, get up! Get up! I MUST…HELP…HIM!" Uncontrollable tears flowed down my eyes, but that was all I could do…was to cry. I watched helplessly as the dark shadow overpowered him. He fell to his knees, his light blades landing beside him. Slowly, as if time itself was struggling to flow, he turned and gazed at me with such sad eyes that I thought I heard my heart cry. I realized what he was about to do. I don't know how I knew, but I knew. He was going to sacrifice his life in order to save mine. "Kunzite! Nooooo!" I yelled, "Don't do it!" But my cry went unheard because just then he threw himself into the dark shadow and disappeared from view. [end dream] "And that was all I saw." Silence enveloped them all as Venus ended her recount of her nightmare. Mars stands up and strolls silently toward the wood railing of the veranda. She leans against it while her gaze fell upon the rising sun so far away. For some time no one spoke. Each deep in thought about what Venus had just recounted. Then quietly, like a shy little child, a small soft voice says, "I, too, dreamt about the Generals." Mars' eyes widen in surprise as she quickly turns around to look at the owner of that voice. They all gaze at Mercury, whom is staring vacantly at the treetops rustling quietly in the morning breeze. "You dreamt about the Generals too?" Mars inquires. Mercury nods her head and replies, "Zoisite." "I must also add my little night encounter as well," Jupiter says, "for I too have dreamt a similar dream last night. I dreamt of…" "Nephrite," Mars finishes for her. "How do you know?" "Well, the trend is pretty obvious." "You have probably dreamt of Jadeite, I would guess," Mercury says. Mars's gaze turned back toward the sun, now slightly above the horizon. For a moment she does not answer. The others wait patiently, allowing Mars to regain control of her emotions. They know how this affects them all. They have loved these men for as long as they could remember. No matter what past mistakes were done, or what destructive misdeeds were carried out, the soldiers still love them. Before the creation of Crystal Tokyo, this love was hidden from them, perhaps to protect their fragile young hearts from the knowledge that is now slowly eating away at their souls. But love cannot be hidden for long, and once Crystal Tokyo was formed, their entire past history was revealed to them all. Slowly, Mars replies, "I did not dream." "No?" Jupiter gasps. "But it seems we all encountered a similar dream. Surely you've seen something last night Mars. The coincidence of our dreams cannot be what it is, mere coincidence." "I did not dream of anything or anyone!" Mars exclaims, turning angrily around. "Is that so hard to comprehend, Jupiter? Just because you all dreamt of your loves, doesn't mean I would too!" "I-I'm sorry," Jupiter is taken aback by Mars's sudden flare in temper. "I just thought…" but she left her sentence unfinished. "No, I'm the one that's sorry," Mars manages to whisper through her tight throat. "Sorry to have ever believed that he would one day return." "Oh Mars," Venus says sympathetically, "You shouldn't say that. You must believe." "Believe in what, Venus?" Mars yells angrily, hot stinging tears rising to the surface of her raging violet eyes. "That he would all of sudden walk through the palace gates one day? That he would appear out of thin air in the middle of the night? He is no longer here. He is dead, and so is his promise. I have held onto the hope that he would return to me one day, so much so that I even found myself hallucinating last night believing that I actually heard his voice conversing with me, but now I realize there was nothing there except the empty air and my disillusioned mind. There is nothing left to believe in, Venus. I should have let him go long ago instead of holding onto a fading memory as I have done." Jupiter listens to Mars with a heavy heart. She knows exactly what Mars is going through. After all, how long can one wait for someone that no longer exists. Many have wondered why we retain the pain of a past long gone. Some told us to remember only of the happiness and forget the tragedies, but for us there is no choice in what is to be remembered and what is to be forgotten. Another hand is dealing the cards and we are only the blind players of this unmerciful game. We did not choose our destiny; we did not choose our future. We take what is laid before us and hope that fate will be kind to us. For those who envy us as soldiers, be advised to rethink your choice. We have the power, we have the strength, but we do not have the love or peace that many harbor in their innocent souls. We envy you, who do not know the pain that we know so well. "But *we* have returned," Mercury speaks up. The others turn to look at the quiet blue soldier. The soft rays of dawn bathe her face in warm colors giving her a look of pure innocence and hope, which is a reflection of her good heart. She returns their gaze with her sparkling blues filled with so many dreams and hope. She continues, "We've returned…why can't they?" ================================================ [Chapter 6 up next!] <>