All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or copied in any form by all means. Sailor Moon is a product of Bandai, Toei, and Naoko Takeuchi. All the other character and this story is property of Lady Jupiter and Co. You can take this fic and put it on your page, but please mail me and just tell me you did it. Just as long as I get the credit for my story and this story stays in tact. All other standard fanfic disclaimers apply. ************************************************ * Visit my homepage at: * * http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/temple/9286 * ************************************************ Thanks to: JillMako-you inspired me and showed me at least some people read my fics. Artemis&Luna-for posting my fics up and for their small comments. And reminding me when my mind isn't in the right place. JayDee Archer-for posting my fic. All the other fanfic authors who inspired me and the fanfic homepage creaters because without them, I would have never found the joy in fanfics. Flames, comments, questions and other things go to Lady Jupiter at Ladyjupiter@sailorjupiter.com Please put the fanfic name as the subject if you do actually mail me. I'm already confused as it is, you don't need to drive me even more off the cliff okay? Okay, how many fics are out there have Sailor Moon, champion of justice fighting youma's? About a thousand right? Well, this is not one of them. It's kind of dark, but I won't give away any spoilers, I'm just saying it's not like the other fics. Are ya hooked yet? Basically, the characters all have the same facets and personality traits, but the storyline is different. This is what Sailor Moon would have been like if it's written by me. (Not that I have anything against Naoko-sensei. She's great!) FYI: FYI means For Your Information FYI: POV stands for Point Of Veiw, sometimes I use it to change perspectives. Serena...........Serena Tsukino Amy..............Ami Mizuno Raye.............Rei Hino Lita.............Makoto Kino Mina ............Minako Aino Darien (Prince Endymion)...........Mamoru Chiba I'll be using the NA version if that's okay... REVOLUTIONS OF THE MOON Powers of The Crystal, Jupiter's Guardian Part II "Wow, it's big." Jadeite remarked after taking a look around the apartment they just rented. "Yeah, and it came with the furniture already matching the wallpaper." Nephryte agreed, "Can't get much better than that. Jadeite picked up a newspaper that was on the floor, "Better start looking for a job. You know, that down payment isn't going to last forever." "Yeah, I know." Nephryte said. he thought to himself. Just as he said that, Jadeite spoke up, "What's happening?" Nephryte looked at his friend. His clothes were fading away just as Lita's had when she changed back to her civilian form. He noticed that he too was losing his clothes. After a few seconds, they were wearing armor, similar to Prince Endymion's armor. Their clothes were now exactly alike. "I remember this!" Nephryte exclaimed, "Oh, feels so good to be in this again." "Yeah, can't believe it still fits." Jadeite said. They remembered wearing these clothes during the Silver Millenium. They wore those clothes normally to guard the palace, or when they were off duty. Nephryte tried to think of "normal" clothes, a light jacket and jeans. His armor changed into those clothes and tennis shoes. "How did you do that?" Jadeite asked, he was still holding his long lost sword, turning around it around in his hands. "It's all in the head, Jadeite." Nephryte said and started to walk out the door. "Where are you going?" "While you're still looking for a job, I'm going to go pick up my car. Remember, we left it in the park?" Nephryte said, jingling his keys. "Okay, careful. You don't know what lurks at night." Jadeite warned. Nephryte laughed, "I was a Negaverse General. I think that's as scary as it gets." "You never know..." Nephryte heard Jadeite say as he closed the door. Nephryte walked down the steps two at a time and walked out onto the empty street. The night air was pretty cold, biting into his skin. Silently, Nephryte shifted into a much warmer jacket instead of the light one and continued walking down toward the park. When he looked back at the apartment complex, he saw a silhoutte of Lita on her balcony watering some houseplants. Even in that dull oversized shirt and men's boxers, he thought she still looked like a princess and she still carried herself with an unknown dignified poise. * * * * * * * * * * Luna woke up, surprised to see Lita's bed neatly made. She reminded herself that Lita was not like Serena, who had to be nagged to death to wake up. No, Lita's independent and can do well on her own. "Luna! You sleepy head. Wake up. I cooked you breakfast." Lita's voice called out to her from the kitchen. Rubbing her eye with her paw, Luna sleepily walked to the kitchen. She found Lita with an apron on and holding a giant spatula. Lita waved the spatula at Luna, "I made you pancakes!" "I don't eat, pancakes. Sorry, Lita. I'm a cat." Luna said. "I made tuna pancakes!" Lita said. "Tuna?" Luna licked her lips and hopped on the counter. She sniffed the plate of pancakes. She took a nibble out of one of the edges and decided they were pretty good. "Do you like it?" Lita asked. Luna took a larger bite, "It's delicous!" "Thanks, I always wanted to try and make tuna pancakes, but I didn't know who would actually eat them." Lita said and sat on a stool next to Luna. She poured maple syrup on her own regular pancakes and started to eat. Halfway through, she set her fork down and asked Luna, "Do you think Nephryte and Jadeite really did turn good? Do you think it's a trap?" "Beryl is gone, so there's no one to order them around. I faintly remember them being on our side back in the Silver Millenium." Luna answered, not sure herself. "What else do you remember about them when they were on our side?" Lita asked, starting to eat again. "No much. They were Prince Endymion's generals. Generals of Earth, back then." Luna said, trying to remember more. "And Beryl turned them against us?" "No, I wouldn't say Beryl alone. You see, Queen Serenity had defeated the evil of all evils. Her name was Metallia. When Metallia was defeated, she lost her ability to exist physically. So now, she depends on the Negaverse minions to do her dirty work. Metallia is very large and powerful. A small part of her went to possess the four Generals of Earth. They went to work for Beryl, who then worshipped Metallia. I think when we got rid of Beryl, Metallia lost her hold on the Generals, so they were reborn after Metallia let go." Luna told her, thinking it out logically. "But what about Kunzite and Zoycite? They were the two other Generals. Why aren't they here?" Lita asked. "That's the part I don't understand. They should be around here somewhere, unless they really died. Gone forever." Luna shook her head. "Maybe they stayed evil?" Lita tried. "No, I think they died. Went down there," Luna said, pointing to the ground. "They actually succeeded in killing someone. Zoycite was the one who killed Nephryte, when they were both on Beryl's side. Kunzite had almost killed Tuxeedo Mask, remember?" "So that's it? They don't get a second chance?" Lita asked, finishing off her breakfast. "I guess not. No one gives you second chances in life." Luna quoted. "You can say that again." Lita chuckled. She looked at the hallway clock, "I have to get to school. The window at my bedroom is open, incase you want to get out, okay?" "Okay. I think I'll go talk to Artemis about all this." Luna said. "Okay, bye." Lita grabbed her schoolbag and walked out the door. She smoothed down the collar of her tan school uniform and walked down the stairs. Nephryte walked sleepily out of his bedroom and into the kitchen. Jadeite was already there, dressed in a suit and slacks and drinking coffee. "Geez, what happened it you? Fell off of bed and onto the first floor or something?" Jadeite kidded. "Ha, you're so funny." Nephryte said, scratching his head. He poured himself some coffee and sat down. Jadeite's assumption wasn't a very far fetched one. Nephryte's long hair was tangled, his clothes were wrinkled and he had a serious case of bed-head. (That's when you sleep all night on your stomach and the wrinkles on your pillow are implanted on your face, and your hair is flat where you slept on it.) "Remember anything new?" Jadeite said, changing the subject. "No, do you?" "Yeah," Jadeite said softly. He took another sip of his coffee and started, "I had this dream that I was back in the Silver Millenium. I remembered that Princess Venus and I were great friends. That was why I had such a strong memory of her." "Did you love her?" Nephryte asked. "Yes, I did. But not in the way you thought. I loved her like a little sister I never had. She always came to me with all sorts of questions. I remember the day that she introduced me to Princess Mars." Jadeite said, a dreamy look in his eyes. "What happened after that?" "Mars was a beauty. With jet black hair and big purple eyes. She gave looks that could cut glass as well as melt a man's heart. Yeah, she had a hot temper, but when she wasn't mad, god, she was spectacular. At every shout and command, servents scurried everywhere. Loving her was bittersweet." Jadeite sighed. "Bittersweet?" Nephryte asked. "Bittersweet, c'mon Neph." Jadeite said, using Nephryte's nickname, one that he hated, "You're the romanticist. You should know what that feels like." Nephryte gave Jadeite a hard look, "Don't call me that! I hate that name. If you call me that, I'll call you Jade. You know you hate that." "Okay, I give up. Anyway, define bittersweet love." Jadeite said, bringing it back to the subject. Nephryte put his cup down, "Bittersweet love. It's like..." He tried to describe, then found a metaphor, "Coffee. You hate the taste, it's so bitter you want to gag. But at the same time, you love it. I has this certain aroma that seduces you, makes you want it. No, not an addiction. You just want it. So, you drink it because you hate the taste and love it at the same time." "Nice metaphor. I would describe it differently though," Jadeite said, "It's like you really love something. But it does something that you really hate. So, does the hate and love cancel each other out, or does the love conquer? Slowly, you start to love every part of it, you love how you hate it. Isn't hate a misunderstanding of love?" "Chocolate is bittersweet," Nephryte said, not really answering the question. "Well, Neph. I don't think my role in life is to be a philospher. I have a job interview to go to, if you don't mind, so I'll leave you with the dishes." Jadeite got up and started to walk out the door. "How're you going to get there?" "Bus. Not everyone needs to travel by a red convertable, Neph." Jadeite said. "Okay, I might not be home when you get back. I have an interview downtown, JADE." Nephryte said, emphasizing that name that Jadeite hated. "Hey, don't call me that!" "You started it!" Jadeite slammed the door on his way out. Nephryte sat there for a few minutes fuming. Then, he brought both coffee cups into the sink and rinsed them out. He went into the bathroom to get ready for his interview and out the door. Nephryte started the car and noticed something. His tape was still in the radio. He never noticed that before, or maybe it just mysteriously appeared there. He pushed the play button and drove out of the apartment parking space. He remembered that song. It was his favorite, even while he was working for the Negaverse. But now, he remembered why. It was THEIR song. It was the song that Princess Jupiter and him shared in the Silver Millenium. Just as Nephryte was thinking about it, he saw a girl in a tan school uniform up ahead. Her hair was in its usual pony tail and she was carrying a matching brown bookbag. Nephryte slowed down as he neared her, then honked his horn. Lita turned around to see a shiny new convertable right beside her. She looked to see who was driving. At first, she didn't recognize who it was, then she remembered. It was that guy Nephryte from yesterday. She didn't know he had a car. "Do you need a lift?" Nephryte asked, opening the passanger door. "No, I'll walk." Lita said politely. "C'mon, it's on the way." Nephryte said. "How do you know where I'm going?" "Judgeing by the uniform and the bag, you're going to school, right?" Nephryte asked. "Yes," Lita said. "So why not hop in? I'll drive you there." Nephryte offered again. Lita debated going in the car and walking the whole way. School was a little more than a mile away. But, what if he was going to kidnap her? A voice in her head told her. "Okay, why not." Lita said and got in. She admired the black leather interior and the aroma in the car. It was a mix between colgne and citrus. "What direction?" Nephryte asked, starting the car again. "Straight, then turn where the mailbox is." Lita gave him the directions. Nephryte nodded and drove straight. He looked at Lita from time to time out of the corner of his eye. It was good that he was wearing sunglasses, so she wouldn't notice that he was looking at her. Nephryte thought. Her complexion was like peaches and cream. Her eyes, a much more brilliant green than his own. Nephryte's more logical side reminded him. Nephryte argued to himself. the logical side said again. "This is a nice car," Lita said, breaking the silence, beside the song on the radio. "Hmmm?" Nephryte heard her say something, but didn't remember what. "I said this is a nice car," she repeated. "Oh, thanks." Nephryte said. He turned the radio on a little louder. After a few verses of humming, he started to sing with the music: "Look into my eyes, you will see.... what you mean to me. Search into your heart, search you soul. And when you find me there, you will search, no more. Don't tell me, it's not worth trying for. You can't tell me, it's not worth dying for. You know it's true, everything I do, I do it for you. Look into your heart, you will find, there's nothing left to hide....." Lita commented to herself. Not only was this one of her favorite songs, but she felt like he was singing it from his soul. "What grade are you in?" Nephryte asked casually, after he stopped singing. "Tenth," Lita said, a little dissapointed that he had stopped singing. "Tenth grade," Nephryte repeated to himself. "Where were you headed anyway?" Lita asked. "To a job interview. You think I can afford that apartment without having to work?" Nephryte asked, laughing, not even knowing that he was about to go into a sensitive subject. "Oh," Lita just said. "Do you live by yourself?" Nephryte asked, thinking the answer most certainly had to be "no", since he didn't know how she could pay for it herself. "Yes," Lita said, not saying anything more. "Why? Your parents kicked you out or something?" Nephryte joked. "No, they died." Lita stated. Nephryte's heart broke for her. He didn't mean to tredge on such a touchy subject, but he had. "I'm sorry," he said. "Don't be," Lita said cheerfully and added a smile to make him feel better. "I got over that a few years ago, so let's just put our past behind us." "If only it was that easy," Nephryte said softly. His only wish was that she would remember him, not as the ex-Negaverse general, but as what he was before that. "What?" Lita asked, she didn't catch what he just said. "Nothing," Nephryte turned at the mailbox and saw the school off ahead. He saw a couple of kids walking to school, all wearing the same uniform. A blue sailor blouse, which was normal for a uniform and a blue skirt. The guys wore blue shirts and blue slacks. "Why is your uniform different?" he asked, noticing that not one person wore the same outfit Lita had on. "Oh, partly because I didn't want to wear their uniform, out of defience. And because they didn't have one my size." Lita said, not at all embarassed. Nephryte thought. He liked her size. He estimated that she was about as tall as his eyes were, maybe about three inches shorter. She was slender, tall and graceful, not to mention her beauty inside and out. He shook his head, trying to keep his mind clear enough to drive without running over someone. "You can stop here," Lita said. They were now at the front of the school. "Okay," Nephryte parked there to let her off. "Thanks," Lita waved and got out of the park. "Bye," Nephryte waved back, then drove off. Jadeite took a seat on the bus and took out his newspaper. He looked at the section he circled, "Historian Needed in Local Library," he read again. It was the perfect job for him. He loved history, and what better place to work with it, than the library? He looked at the address, then at the streets passing by. The bus stopped at another stop, letting some people off and more on. Jadeite didn't pay any attention to the passengers boarding the bus, but rather buried his head in the newspaper, reading for any other job openings. "Excuse me, mister. Is this seat taken?" A female voice asked him. Jadeite looked up from his paper and into ravishing purple eyes. He realized who the owner of those eyes were. He recognized her even without the fuku on. She was wearing a grey school uniform today. "No. Please sit," Jadeite said, scooting over some more. Rei sat down next to him, the only empty seat left on the bus. She didn't recognize him, but she knew that she saw him somewhere before. She just couldn't remember where. She had to admit, he was pretty good looking. "Have I seen you before?" Rei asked. Jadeite smiled. She didn't recognize him in normal clothes, instead of that drab general's outfit. He said in a teasing tone, "Don't you remember me, Sailor Mars?" At that name, Rei's mind clicked. That's where she saw him before! She glared at him, "Don't call me that in public!" "Then what should I call you?" Jadeite asked. "Call me Rei," she said. Jadeite rolled that name around in his mind, before repeating, "Rei." "What do you go by?" Rei asked, assuming that he had an alter ego like she did. "Jadeite," Jadeite stated simply. He noticed how young she looked. Back in the Silver Millenium, they were only a couple of years apart. But now, she was at least four years younger. "Where are you going?" Rei asked, breaking into his thoughts. "Down to the library. I'm having a job interview there," Jadeite said. "Ewww, you're going to be a librarian? How boring can that get?" Rei asked. "No, I'm going to be a historian. In the library. I don't know exactly what I'm going to do there, but it sounds intersting." Jadeite said. He couldn't imagine anyone thinking the library was boring. "This is where I get off," Rei said and stood up to walk to the front of the bus. "Good luck on that interview!" She called to him as she got off. "Thanks," Jadeite shouted from the window. "Lita! Wait up!" Mina shouted, trying to catch up to her tall friend. "Hurry up, slow poke!" Lita joked and stopped to wait for her. "Are you going to Rei's temple too?" Mina asked when she caught up to Lita. "Yup. C'mon, I'll walk you." Lita said and started to pick up her pace. "Why are you walking so fast?" "You know how Rei is like. She'll behead us if we're late." Lita laughed. "Yeah, you're right. Wouldn't want to get her mad." Mina said and walked faster. Lita laughed, her expressive green eyes sparkling. She looked around Mina, suprised not to find Artemis anywhere. "Where's your shadow?" "Who?" Mina didn't get the joke. She could be pretty dim sometimes. "Artemis!" Lita said, rolling her eyes. "He's not my shadow!" Mina said, pretending to be mad. "Where is he?" Lita asked again. "I don't know. I think he said something about talking to Luna or something." Mina said, sighing. "Are ya jealous?" Lita asked. She knew that Artemis had a crush on Mina. "What?!" Mina asked, her face turing red. "Now come on, Mina. You don't mean to tell me there's nothing going on between the two of you?" Lita asked, her eyes twinkling mysteriously. "Lita! Oh god, he's a cat for Pete's sake! Give me some credit! Unlike SOME people, I don't go stalking every nice looking male." Mina said accusingly. "Hmm, me?!" Lita said, batting her eyes innocently, "Are you referring to me?" "Come on, Lita. Like it isn't obvious the way you practically jumped at the opportunity of walking all the way home with those two ex-NegaGenerals." Mina laughed. "Me?!" Lita repeated again, "I just felt sorry for them because they had no where to stay. It's not like they slept over at my apartment or anything!" "How can we be sure?" Mina asked in mock suspicion. "Ask Luna! Geez, girl. I'm not that boy-crazy! Give ME some credit at least." Lita laughed. "Well, I have to admit, they ARE kind of cute." Mina said. "You said it. Especially Nephryte, the one with the long brown hair. He could be a movie star with those looks." Lita said. "Yeah, I could picture the both of them on, 'As The World Turns' or some other soap." Mina said dreamily. "ER?" Lita asked. "Nah, they don't look like the doctor type. More like maybe a lawyer or a professor or some other thing." Mina said. "Oh, did I tell you?" Lita asked, barely able to contain what she was going to say next. "Tell me what?" Mina asked eagerly. "Nephryte drove me to school today!" Lita said, acting giddy. "No way!" Mina exclaimed. "Really, he did. He just drove up while I was walking and said, 'You need a lift?' I almost died right then." Lita said, "But I played it cool." "Wow, you got into his car? How did it look like?" Mina asked. "It's this shiny red convertable with a leather black interior. Oh, and guess what?" Lita asked. "What?!" "He was singing!" Lita squealed, "His voice is so sexy! God, you should have heard him. He has this wonderful voice when he sings." "What was he singing?" Mina asked. "You know, that song I have and always play on my CD? What's it called.....Everything I Do, or something?" Lita said. "Wow....I wish I was there," Mina said. "It's weird," Lita said softly, getting sober again. "What's weird?" Mina asked, calming down. "I feel like I know him from somewhere," Lita said. "Yeah, it's like I know Jadeite from somewhere before." Mina agreed. "But that's impossible. Luna told me that Jadeite died long before I came here and Nephryte died about a month before I was discovered." Lita said. "Me too. So why do we feel like we know them?" Mina asked. "Oh, I know! Luna said that they use to be Prince Endymion's Generals in the Silver Millenium, they were on our side. That's probably where we know them from." Lita said. "Yeah, that's probably where." Mina agreed. Lita asked herself on the way to Rei's temple. During the Senshi meeting, they discussed the two Generals, and about what the two cats remembered from the Silver Millenium. "Luna, how come you and Artemis remember more than we do?" Darien asked. "It might be because all of you Senshi were reborn on Earth." Artemis explained, answering for Luna. "But Luna and I were not reborn. We were enclosed in a time capsule, so we still had some memories. But I think we spent too much time in the capsule, and was eventually let out. That's why we only recall bits and pieces of the Silver Millenium, where as you guys don't remember anything at all." "Why weren't we in a time capsule then? If you guys were." Rei asked. "There was just simply not enough power left in the Silver Crystal to enclose each of you Senshi, not to mention the outers in a time capsule. For one human to be enclosed in a time capsule, the power would be enough to enclose about ten cats." Luna explained. And so, went on the questions, and some of the answers as they talked about what they tried to remember. Lita walked home alone, liking the solitary time. She looked up at the sky. It was not quite dusk yet, but the sun was still hanging low, almost touching the horizon. The street was deserted, giving almost a ghostly effect. Lita could just imagine a couple of tumble weeds rolling across the street into a saloon. She almost laughed, but decided not to, just incase some passerby might think she was wacko. When she entered her apartment, she regretted the solitary air. Her apartment was lonely, chilly, not at all full of life as it seemed. She had attempted to put life in the apartment with various houseplants of the nature, but it was a meager attempt. She still felt lonely. She felt like company today. Lita thought. No, it was too late now. Mina was probably at home and had homework. Lita didn't have homework today, she finished it in class already. "I'll just invite Nephryte and Jadeite over for dinner," Lita said to herself. She convinced herself. First, she went to change into some normal clothes, then she went downstairs to see if they were home yet. She knew which apartement they had rented. Her apartment complex had two apartments facing each other on each floor. Her's was on the fourth floor. Their's was on the third floor, directly beneath hers. It gave her kind of an eerie feeling. Lita took a deep breath and smoothed down the small collar of her shirt. She pressed the intercom buzzer and waited for a response. After a few seconds, a response came, "Yes, who is this?" "Hi, this is Lita." Lita tried to say cheerfully. The front door swung wide open and Nephryte opened the inner screen door for her. He invited her in. "Please, come in." Nephryte said, holding the door wide open for her. He was still in the suit and tie he was wearing in the morning, but none of them seemed to notice. "No, that's okay." Lita said politely. The two of them just stood there staring stupidly at each other for a while, seeing which one of them would talk first. "Oh," Lita said, when she realized she was staring at him, "Um, I was just wondering....that since you guys probably aren't setted in yet....that you would like to have dinner at my apartment today? Jadeite too." Lita said, sorry that it sounded like Jadeite was just an afterthought. She hoped that Nephryte didn't notice that. "Sure," Nephryte said, hoping he didn't sound too eager. They stood like that again for another few seconds before Nephryte said, "Oh, Jadeite's not home right now. I'll tell him when he get's home." "Okay, I'm upstairs in apartment 4-D. Dinner should be ready in about an hour and a half." Lita said. "Sure, thanks." Nephryte said sincerely. Sincerely because he honestly didn't think there was anything in the refridgerator to eat. "Okay, see you at six-thirty." Lita said and left to go up the stairs. Nephryte closed the door and leaned against the wall, "I'm in love." He sighed. Lita put the rice on the stove and looked around in the cupboards for something else to cook. She found a box of curry and decided to make curry tofu. "Meat, meat meat. . . . . . Where's the meat?" Lita said absentmindely to herself. She found a pretty big piece of salmon and decided to cook that too. "Salad....did I remember to buy the salad?" she asked herself again. She found enough to make a salad in the fridge and put it up in the freezer to crisp. She put the salmon into a double broiler to cook and marinate, then curried the tofu. She grabbed one of the magazines lying on the table and sat on the sofa as the food was cooking. A thump outside startled her and she looked up. It sounded like it came from her balcony. She put the magazine down and walked cautiously to the balcony. She didn't see anyone. Everything appeared to be normal. But what was that voice? Surely she hadn't imagined it, had she? She pulled open the sliding glass doors and stepped out. Upon stepping out, she almost fell off the balcony, tripping on some sort of glass canister. She regained her balance on the railing and scrutinized the object. It looked like one of those canisters that you bought tennis balls in, but a little larger. Lita picked up the curious object, observing it. It was definetly glass. At the ends, there was some kind of metal top, at each end. It looked pretty expensive. Peering in the hazy glass, she could see some sort of thing inside. It's color ranged from black, to gray, to even bright white. It looked like fur, but it was hard to tell in that hazy glass. Bringing it in, Lita thought she saw something in it move, but dismissed it as her imagination. She tried to unsrew the top, at both ends but it wouldn't budge. It looked like there was no way to open it. She could not see anywhere to pry it open. She didn't want to break the glass, fearing she would break what was inside this canister. Then, she noticed something particular. At one end, there was an engraving. She knew that engraving. It was the sign of Jupiter. "Where did you come from?" Lita asked the canister, expecting it to talk back. Something else paculiar was found. At the other end, there was a small hole, kind of like a key hole. The grooves in the hole looked familiar. She had seen that before. Then, it came to her. The same grooves ran along the bottom end of her transformation pen. Lita reached into her dimensional pocket and took her transformation pen out. The grooves matched her pen perfectly. She debated on whether to stick the pen in or not. One side of her mind said. the other side argued. The first side won. Out of curiosity, she carefully put her pen into the keyhole and waited. The hole canister began to shake, first softly, then violently, as if wanting to be let go. She put the shaking object on her bed and waited for it to stop. The shaking never stopped. Lita watched in awe as the metal ends of the canister popped off. The glass started to open, splitting in half slowly, almost like an egg cracking. Too surprised to speak, Lita watched all of this in silence. Emerging from this canister was a weird looking furball. The furball unrolled itself, then started to groom itself. First, licking it's paw, then smoothing the hairs on it's hair down. Lita recognized it as a cat. It was a beautiful cat. She had seen breeds of these cats before. Definetly, the cat before her was a Siamese cat. It's almond shaped eyes were of the lightest blue, almost a white. Her first assumption had been right. It's fur, on the tips of it's ear and feet, tail and nose was a dark brown, almost black. It blended into a light gray, a tan, then finally a brilliant white on it's back. The cat mewed and looked up at the person that freed her. She smiled, realizing that she had finally reached her seeked for location. The very person before her was who she had been sent to look for. "Hi, I'm Lita!" Lita said, not knowing what else to do, "Oh great, I'm talking to a cat." She mumbled. She only talked to Luna and Artemis, not other cats who probably couldn't talk back. The cat peered at her, almost studying her. She opened her mouth, and uttered a whole sentence, "What's wrong with talking to a cat?" Lita jumped back. She hadn't expected this cat to talk. She slowly sat on the bed again, looking closely at the cat. "No, I'm not imagining it. Luna and Artemis can talk, so there must be a logical explanation why this cat talks." She convince herself aloud. "Oh, Luna and Artemis are here already? I guess I'm late." The cat said a rather feminine feline voice. "You know Luna and Artemis, kitty?" Lita asked. "Please, don't you remember me, Sailor Jupiter? It's me, Hera." The cat asked, "Don't ever call me kitty again." The cat shivered at that word. "Okay, Hera. How did you know I'm Sailor Jupiter?" Lita asked. "I'm your guardian cat. You'd think that a guardian cat should be able to recognize the Senshi they are assigned to," Hera said, rolling her eyes. Lita picked up one of the dispose tops, "So you're from Jupiter?" "Yes, I think that's quite obvious." The cat answered. "So how's it like there?" Lita asked. "I don't know. I haven't been back since....let me see....what date is it today?" Hera asked. "November 6, 1997." Lita provided. "Wow, I haven't been back in like 3000 years. Can you believe that?" Hera asked, shrugging. "Then where were you since you haven't been back in so many years?" Lita asked. Hera sighed, "My dear Jupiter. Where has your memory gone? As you should know, Jupiter is a long way from this place, Earth is it?" Lita nodded. "Well, when the news was informed that you died-" Hera stopped herself, then started talking to herself, "So that's why you can't remember anything! You were reborn on Earth weren't you?" "I died? When did I die?" Lita asked. "Well, when I was informed that you died, that the Silver Millenium was about to be destroyed, your father, King Jupiter sent me in that little capsule you just opened to future Earth. Hoping that I might find you when the time comes. As you know, it takes a pretty long time to get from Jupiter to Earth, and it takes an even longer time to do that AND time travel at the same time." Hera said. "I died? How did I die?" Lita demanded. "Don't you remember?" Hera asked, shaking her head. It was all too sad for her to talk about. Imagine, being killed by the one you love and supposedly loved you back. "No, please tell me." Lita asked. "No, there's a good reason why you can't remember. Just count it as one of you blessings." Hera sighed and stretched her body into an arch. "Ahhh, feels so good to be out of that confinement." "I died in the Silver Millenium?" Lita asked again. "Yes! For the last time, that is all that I can tell you. It's not my duty to remind you of the painful past." Hera said. "Painful?" Lita asked. "Yes, dear Jupiter. Painful." Hera sighed. "You should know, that my name is Lita. No one knows I'm Jupiter except the Senshi and some other exceptions." Lita said. "Very well, Lita." Hera said. "So have you found all the Senshi yet?" "We found all the outers," Lita said, "But they are still in the future, the Golden Millenium." She remembered that Sailor Pluto told her that when she came to get Reeni. "Anyone else?" Hera asked. "Tuxeedo Mask...um...I think that's it." Lita said, "Oh, we destroyed Beryl." "Beryl? Why?" Hera asked. "Because she was working for the Negaverse," Lita said as if it was plain obvious. "Oh yes, I forgot about that." Hera said. "How could you forget that?" "Because, you see. Beryl was not that big back in the Silver Millenium. She was just another Negaverse accompliss." Hera said. "Well, Sailor Moon and the Senshi destroyed her." Lita said. "Sailor Moon? Oh, the Moon Princess?" Hera asked. "Yes. We are sworn protectors of her. Don't you know that?" Lita asked. Hera had this disgusted look on her face, "Protectors of the Moon Princess?" she asked. "Yes, what's wrong?" Lita asked. "Nothing," Hera lied. "Oh, when we destroyed Beryl, I think we somehow freed the Metallia's hold on two of the four Generals." Lita added. "So they came out of the Negaverse." "The Negaverse?" Hera asked quizzically. "Yes, that's what we call the dimension that Metallia created." Lita filled her in. "Which two generals?" "Nephryte and Jadeite. But they can't remember more than we did from the Silver Millenium." Lita sighed, "Those who want to remember it cant. The ones who do remember it won't tell us or don't want to relive it. Depressing, really." Hera wondered, then reminded herself, Lita sniffed the air. Then she remembered what she w as doing. "Oh shoot. I forgot all about the food. Hold on I have to go turn the stove off." The new cat followed her into the kitchen and watched her turn off the broiler, the pot and a whole bunch of other stuff. Jadeite opened the door to the apartment, finding Nephryte sitting on the couch smiling and reading a book. He looked kind of idiotic just smiling like that. "What are you smiling about?" Jadeite asked, taking his tie off and draping it on a nearby lamp. "Am I smiling?" Nephryte asked, putting the book down. He didn't notice that. "Yes, you look like a chesire cat." Jadeite answered. "Well, put your tie back on." Nephryte said. "Why? I just took it off." "Because Lita invited us over for dinner tonight." Nephryte said. "Really? Or did you impose it?" Jadeite asked. Nephryte mocked a gasp, "Me?! Jadeite, I'm shocked. Of course, I didn't mention anything. She just came over here on her own free will and asked us if we wanted to come over for dinner." "Really?" "Yes, really." Nephryte said seriously, then sighed, "She's just such a caring person. She said that we were probably not settled in yet, so she asked us." "Wow, that was really nice." Jadeite said, putting his tie back on. "Yeah, I'm such a lucky man, aren't I?" Nephryte said. Jadeite sat on an armchair, "You really like her, don't you?" Nephryte laughed, then seriously, "Like her? I love her. I want to spend the rest of eternity with her. That's how much I like her." "Yeah, I feel the same way." Jadeite sighed. "About who?" Nephryte asked suspicsiously. "Rei, Sailor Mars, Princess Mars. I met her on the bus today. She still has that temper. I love that temper." Jadeite said. "Oh," Nephryte said, thankful that they weren't after the same girl. "Why don't you tell her?" Jadeite offered. "Tell her what? That I love her? What good will that do? Do you suddenly love someone just because they said they loved you? No, I would rather let her find that out herself. And if she doesn't fall for me, then maybe we just weren't meant to be." Nephryte said wistfully, "No, I won't tell her. That would only make the both of us overly self-conscious when we are around each other." "What will happen if she doesn't realize that?" Jadeite asked. "Then I guess we weren't meant to be," Nephryte said again. "What? You're just going to let everything flow like the wind?" Jadeite asked. "Jadeite, old pal. Fate controls our destiny. We just have to go with the waves of the oceans. If we go against it, we can bend and crack." Nephryte said. "Fate? Are you sure you don't want to add an H to that? Maybe it is Faith that controls our destiny? We have to go against the current sometimes, don't we?" Jadeite countered. "I don't know. Do it your own way. We have plenty of time. Don't you realize it, we are immortal. Just like the Senshi." Nephryte said. "We are?" "Yes. So we have lots of time. Plus, look at her. Lita's still young. She's only fifteen. People who don't understand our relationship will think I was some kind of sicko. Maybe I am, who knows." Nephryte said. "How can age determine love?" Jadeite asked, shaking his head. "She might just come down with a case of puppy love," Nephryte said. "Whatever you say, Nephryte. You are the romanticist out of the two of us." Jadeite shrugged. "When are we suppose to get to her apartment for dinner? I'm starving." "In about another half hour. I'm hungry too. But that's weird, I ate lunch a couple of hours ago." Nephryte commented. "I know. So did I. Maybe I just have a big appetite." Jadeite said. "Yeah, maybe me too." Nephryte agreed. "Are you hungry? You must be, locked up in that thing for three thousand years. Let's see. I think there are still some tuna pancakes left in the fridge." Lita searched in the fridge and found a plate from breakfast of her tuna pancakes. "Tuna pancakes?" Hera asked, arching an imaginary eyebrow. "Yeah, they're pretty good." Lita assured her and put the plate down. She went back to preparing the food while Hera was busily munching down the pancakes. About forty five minutes later, after Lita had successfully arranged the plates and the meal in just the right places in her dining room, her intercom clicked on. "Why are you making such a big deal anyway? It's just another dinner, isn't it?" Hera asked, obeserving how Lita kept fussing about putting everthing in the right place. "I'm not making a big deal here. Why would you think that?" Lita asked, walking over to the speakers of the intercom. "Who's coming over anyway?" Hera asked, already making herself at home on the big sofa. "Hera, don't talk while company is here okay? I don't want to freak them out with a talking cat." Lita said, she thought. "Okay, trust me. I'll act like those normal ignorant cats that everyone else has." Hera promissed. Lita opened the door, without even answering the intercom and put on her best smile. Nephryte was there, his finger still on the buzzard. Standing behind him was Jadeite. "Hi, come in." Lita said cheerfully and opened the door wider for them. "Have a seat, any seat. Sorry about the mess, I didn't have time to clean." "Thanks for inviting us, Lita." Nephryte said, taking a seat on the couch. "Hey, no problem. I always have way too much food for one person anyway. Actually, you guys are doing me a favor. If you hadn't come, I would have to eat everything myself." Lita said while pouring fresh tea into their cups. "I'm sure you would still keep your figure," Nephryte said, making them both blush. "Ahem!" Jadeite cleared his throat, "Anyway.....Oh, I didn't know you had a cat!" Hera got up from under the coffee table and hoped onto the table. She obviously like all the attention she was getting right then. "Her name is Hera," Lita said. She started to go into the kitchen, then paused, "Dinner's almost done. I just have to do a few things first." She went into the kitchen to toss the salad and brought it out to the dinning room. "Hey, Hera. What a pretty little kitty, aren't you?" Jadeite asked, petting the cat. Hera thought, "Dinner's ready," Lita said, poking her head out of the dining room door. "Okay," The two men got up and walked to the dining room. "Lita, where's the restroom? I think I sould wash my hands," Jadeite asked. "On your right," Lita called out. "Wait for me," Nephryte said, following his blonde friend. Hera thought angrily. "Hurry up, you two. The food is getting cold." Lita reminded them while she went around and poured juice in each of their cups. Jadite came in first, drying his hands on his clothes. He waited by the table for Nephryte to take a seat. Lita took off the apron she had on and put then on the counter. Hera wandered in and took a seat on the counter on the apron. "Hera, get off. You're wrinkling it." Lita said, then saw the two men staring at her. "Can your cat talk too?" Jadeite asked, half joking. "Um...no. She can understand, though." Lita said, trying to be funny. "Three talking cats. That's all I need to see to drive ME off the edge," Nephryte said, coming into the dining room. "Come on, don't be shy. Take a seat," Lita said, gesturing to three table settings. There were three plates around the four sided table. Two facing each other and one facing the window, which was on the other side. Jadeite sat down first, at the seat facing the window. Nephryte took the seat closest to him, leaving Lita to sit across from him. He couldn't have placed it better himself. Now, he could eat and stare at Lita at the same time. Lita lifted the cover off of the food plates, revealing a tantalizing sight. Broiled salmon, curried tofu and tossed salad. The two men were nearly drooling already. "Lita, I have to thank you again for inviting us over for dinner. Everything looks delicious." Jadeite complemented. "Would anyone like the honor of saying grace tonight?" Lita asked. She knew it was polite to ask, but truthfully, she didn't even think about it when she ate by herself. "I would," Nephryte spoke up. The other two parties at the table solemnly bowed their heads and closed their eyes, putting an ear out for what Nephryte was going to say. "Dear God," Nephryte started, "I would like to thank you for many things. More than I can mention. Thank you, for having enough faith in us to let us have a second chance. Thank you for steering us in the right direction. We thank you for letting us meet this wonderful young lady, who had carefully prepared this meal. Most importantly, we thank you for giving us our conscience back." He stopped. "Amen," Jadeite agreed. "Amen," Lita said softly. They looked up, looking at each other with a new tool in their eyes. They didn't look at each other as ex-enemies, but all around the table, they had a feeling of familarity. "Feel free, and I do mean this term loosely," Lita smiled, "To dig in." Not an ounce of shyness, the two men started to dig into their foods, passing each other a plate of this, another of that. Lita only took small portions of the food. She wasn't that hungry, actually. She had a pretty small appetite, dispite her height. Usually, she just ate small meals, which made room for lots of in between snacks. "Not only does this look delicious, but it taste great too," Jadeite said, swallowing a chunk of fish. "Thanks, it was nothing. I just followed the recipe," Lita lied. She didn't want to look too conceited or anything. "You always were a good cook," Nephryte said softly. He remembered how Princess Jupiter was the best cook in the Silver Millenium. Millions from every planet in the galaxy would go onto Jupiter once a year for the food festival, hoping to try something she prepared. "What?" Lita asked. What she heard him say sounded weird. "Nothing," Nephryte covered up his blunder hastily. He gulped down a spoonful of rice. It was probably his imagination or something, but he kept noticing the cat looking pecularily at him, then switching her gaze on Lita. "Pass the salad please," Jadeite's voice rang into his head. "Oh, sure." Nephryte said, shaking himself back into reality where cats don't do assumptions. "What do you remember from the Silver Millenium?" Lita asked, figuring it was a good thing to talk about. "Well, I was one of Prince Endymion's generals. I remember first, that I was a troop leader, then advance to a personal guard." Nephryte said. "How about you?" Lita asked Jadeite after she noticed Nephryte wasn't saying anything else. "No, it wasn't the same with me. My father was head of Military tactics, so I had an advantage. I didn't have to work so hard to gain my position. But I didn't follow in his footsteps. I decided to take the historian route. I was the head historian General on Earth." Jadeite said, shocked that he remembered that much. "How much do you remember?" Nephryte asked her, wondering if she actually did know about what he had done to her and was just blocking it out. Lita let out a light laugh, "Don't you mean how little do I remember? All I remember is that I'm suppose to protect the Moon Princess, who you probably know as Sailor Moon, and to protect the Silver Imperial Crystal." "Are you good friends with Sailor Moon?" Jadeite asked. He wondered if the Moon Princess could change her ways, or was it in the blood to be sneaky and greedy? "Well, I haven't known her as long as most of the others. But she's pretty outgoing and friendly. I admit that she can be pretty absentminded and selfish sometimes, but hey, isn't everyone? She's always late and she's so clumsy, but maybe she'll out grow it when she becomes a princess. It's my duty to protect her, so I guess it's a good idea to like her at least." Lita said. "Oh," Nephryte only said. Maybe this Sailor Moon that she was talking about was a totally different one than he knew. "Do you guys know what's so important about the Silver Imperium Crystal? I know it's powerful and the basics, but why is it so important? I mean, you guys were after it your whole life when you worked for the Negaverse weren't you? Just look, every Negaverse minion we meet up with is looking for the Silver Crystal. What's the big deal with it anyway?" Lita asked. "Don't you know?" Jadeite asked, surprised. "No, I don't." "I don't really remember why the Negaverse needed it so badly. Actually, I don't remember much from when I worked for the Negaverse," Nephryte explained. "Me neither. It's like someone in a different life to me." Jadeite agreed. "Can you tell me about the crystal?" Lita asked again, driving them back onto the subject. "Do you want to tell her, Nephryte?" Jadeite asked. "Nah, you're the historian. Fill us in." Nephryte said and leaned back in his chair, expecting a fully detailed and long explanation to it. "Okay, it's a pretty long story, as I recall." Jadeite started, "Inside the Silver Imperium Crystal is a lot of concentrated energy. Not energy that can only be withdrawn with a pure heart, as they lead you to think. No, anyone can withdraw the energy if they knew how. Inside that crystal is every single element known to man. If you release all of that at the same time, they say that you can destroy the whole universe, including yourself." "So why hasn't that happened yet?" Lita asked. "Wait, let me finish," Jadeite insisted. "To draw out all of the elements, which is more than a thousand, it takes years and years of skill with the crystal. That is why that hasn't happened yet. No one has the skill. Most people with the crystal can only draw out at most, five elements at a time. It takes a very clear conscience to draw out more than twenty. The kind of clear conscience that probably doesn't exist in this time anymore." Hera sat on the counter with her ears perked up. So far, they had forgotten that she was there. She listened intently to Jadeite describe the powers of the crystal. She had also heard earlier that Lita was good friends with Sailor Moon. Back in the Silver Millenium, it was a whole different story. Hera wondered if the other senshi felt the same way. She nodded softly as she heard Jadeite give the right explanations. Hera reminded herself. It seemed that they still had their knowledge and skills of the Silver Millenium, all but Lita. "The crystal can also do a great deal of other things," Jadeite continued, "It can open dimensions to other worlds. Which also means that if the dimensions are open, we can travel into other worlds. Some are less developed than this world, and we can gain a lot of power by our pure knowledge. If the dimensions are kept open, the whole universe will be in pandemonium. That's why it's good to keep the Silver Crystal in the right hands, not the wrong hands." "Wow, I never knew the crystal can do so much. It's a good thing Sailor Moon has it and not the Negaverse." Lita said after Jadeite stopped talking. Nephryte thought quietly to himself. "The whole galaxy is in that Silver Crystal," Jadeite said as an afterthought. "You mean the fate of the galaxy, right?" Lita asked. Jadeite looked at her curiously, as if it was impossible she didn't know what he was talking about, "No, I mean the whole galaxy is in that crystal, literally. You see, we are all in the crystal. Whatever happens to the crystal, it happens to our galaxy." Lita looked confused, so Nephryte helped explain, "It's like this: If we go out to the outer borders of the galaxy, we would find a translucent wall. We are literally incased in this crystal. If we shrank into microscopic organisms and went into the crystal, it would be the same as we are now. We ARE in the crystal right now." Lita nodded silently, trying to soak up all the information they were dishing out at her. Luna and Artemis never told them that before, maybe because they themselves didn't know. Hera nodded after Jadeite and Nephryte finished their explanation. She hoped that now, after Lita knew the power of the crystal, she would realize that her job is not to protect the Moon Princess, it never was. But it was to protect and guard the Silver Imperium Crystal from all forces trying to use it for wrong. Hera knew that one day, the senshi would have to guard the Crystal from both the Negaverse and the Moon Princess, and that the time was coming. ********************************************************************* That's it for this chapter. Kinda long don't you think so? Well, the end gets pretty confusing but if you read it over and over, you should kind of get it. In case you didn't know, Hera is Zeus's wife in Greek Mythology. In Roman mythology, Hera would be equivalent to Juno, who is Jupiter's wife. SAILOR MOON OTAKU'S OF THE WORLD, UNITE! "On behalf of Jupiter, I shall write to right wrongs and triumph over evil. With my friends, Sailor Venus, Mars, Mercury and Moon. We'll make the world a better place for all people!" -Lady Jupiter Ladyjupiter@sailorjupiter.com **********Copyright 1997 Lady Jupiter (All Rights Reserved)*************