Lawyer and Disclaimer STuFF. ___________________________________________________________________ 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. ___________________________________________________________________ BeGiN ReaDinG HeRe ************************************************ * Visit my homepage at: * * http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/temple/9286 * * LADYJUPITER@SAILORJUPITER.COM * ************************************************ 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. 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!) You can't stop people from wishing. They can't help trying. As long as they can see sky, they'll always want to go as high as they can. -Amy Tan (The Hundred Secret Senses) REVOLUTIONS OF THE MOON On the Trail, Lita's Twin? Part Nine (9) *thud* *thud* *thud* *thud* The four Scouts landed hard on the supposedly soft grass. They seemed dazed at first, but slowly got up, rubbing their butts and whatever else they fell on. "I wish they would warn us if we were going to jump higher than intended," Lita muttered and got up. She saw she was the only one standing. Everyone else was on the ground, rubbing this and that and looking dazed. "Is everyone okay?" Lita asked, looking all of them over. No broken bones and no one dead. "Fine," Ken muttered and also got up. "I'm okay," Nephryte said. "Same here," Jadeite said, "How about you, Rei?" "Great," Rei said. The cats seemed to be the only ones who were lucky at landing on their feet. They were unharmed by the long fall, but since they were cats, it wasn't unusual. Everyone got off the grass and looked around. There was not one skyscraper in sight, not even the usual smog they could see in the horizon. They were in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by lots and lots and lots of trees. "Something tells us we're not in Tokyo anymore," Ami commented. "Tokyo? We're not even in Japan anymore!" Rei exclaimed. "So where are we?" Mina asked. "Who knows," Ami shrugged and took out her pocket computer. She tapped on it a few times, then harder. "It's not working." "There's no way for it to work here. There's no electromagnetic fields around here. Remember, we're somewhere rural now." Luna reminded her. "So now where do we go?" Lita asked. "How about that way?" Nephryte pointed to a direction no different than anything around them. "Transform first. We might need it." Artemis instructed. "Jupiter Star Power!" "Venus Star Power!" "Mars Star Power!" "Jupiter Knight Power!" "Mercury Star Power!" Everyone besides the three cats and the two ex-generals were now in their alter-forms. Tuxeedo Mask surveyed the area, then agreed with Nephryte. "Why is that way any different from the other directions?" Hera asked. She couldn't see why they all wanted to go that way. "Look, you could kind of see smoke coming from it. Maybe it's some sort of village." Jadeite pointed. "Okay, it's that way then." Sailor Venus started trudging the indicated direction. Nephryte, about to start walking beside Sailor Jupiter also followed Sailor Venus. He wondered when she would ever remember him, ever remember what they meant to each other. On the other side, Jupiter Knight walked with Sailor Jupiter. Sailor Jupiter started walking closer and closer to Jupiter Knight, farther and farther from Nephryte. The next time he looked, he had his arms around her. Nephryte sighed and kept his head down. Jadeite walked protectively next to Sailor Mars, ready to jump into action if needed to. Luna was walking next to him, looking this way and that from time to time to check that the others kept up. "Where do you think this is taking us?" Sailor Mercury asked, who was in the back with Artemis. "Who knows? Hopefully, we'll find Serena there." Tuxeedo Mask said. He went infront to catch up with Venus, who was still nose pointed to the smoke arising from the trees... Deep into the trees, the Scouts could hear sounds of a busy town. They could hear people talking to each other, some bargaining, it seemed, while small children where crying and old ones were talking solemnly. "Sounds like the don't know we're here," Sailor Venus said. She stopped right at the edge of the town, where they could still be shielded from view. "What should we do?" Sailor Jupiter asked. "What can we do? We have to go in there and ask if they've seen Serena." Sailor Mars said determinedly. "Okay," Sailor Mercury said. She started slowly walking out of the forest edge. At first, no one saw the intruders, but soon, many people passing by gave them strange looks. The scouts walked on the dirt streets, looking for any sign of Serena. Everywhere, all the people were giving them strange and dissaproving looks. "What are they staring at?" Sailor Mars asked. "I think, we look pretty strange to them." Sailor Jupiter answered. She noticed most of the people around there were in clothes that went from the shoulders down to the ground. The men were wearing overalls and jackets while the women wore long dresses made of some heavy material. "-psst!" a hoarse voice whispered, "Over here!" The Scouts turned to the direction, seeing the face of an old lady, at least in her seventies. She was motioning them to follow her. Sailor Venus looked back at the scouts, then shrugged. She followed the strange lady. "Who is that?" Jupiter Knight wondered aloud. "We'll find out, won't we?" Sailor Jupiter asked, following Sailor Venus. They kept after the lady until they stopped at an alley. There were not the usual trash cans you would find in everyday alleys in Tokyo. The allies were spotless, almost as clean as any kitchen would be. The old woman opened a door on the side of a house and held it open to them. "Excuse me Miss, but where are you leading us to?" Sailor Venus asked politely. "You are strange, but I don't fear you. Please trust in me. I will help you." The old woman said and smiled a toothless smile at them. Sailor Venus gave an undecided look, but Sailor Jupiter spoke up, "Thank you, but why are you helping us?" "So many questions, little one. Close your mouth and open your eyes. Open your ears and observe around you. You do not fit in here. I will help you." The old woman said kindly. They followed the old woman into the building, which was dark and damp. Sailor Mercury looked around, straining her eyes and noticed there was not one light switch and not one bulb. "Why don't you turn on the light?" Sailor Jupiter asked, noticing how dark it was getting as they walked further. "Oh, how rude of me. You are not use to this house as I am. Let me fetch you some light, stay right here." The old woman dissapeared behind a turn and obviously looked like she could find her way around the house even if she was blind. Sailor Mars looked around at everyone with the similar confused look at each other. Looking around the room, she could see that the house was pretty old, the walls weren't like the houses in Tokyo. The houses looked made of mud or dirt and there were cracks everywhere. Nothing in the house looked modern. Nothing looked like anything she's seen before. The table, although made of some kind of wood only had three legs, balancing just barely. There were no windows. They were almost like in a mud cave. The glow of a flame got closer around the turn, startling them out of the darkness. It wasn't so dark that you couldn't see a thing, but more like a late dusky dark. It put a gloomy feel on everything, especially on the mission. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," The old woman's tremor voice said. She brought a flaming torch, which they guessed was the only kind of light they had. "I guess they don't have any electricity," Sailor Mercury commented. "From the looks of things, not." Sailor Venus agreed. The old woman was dragging a big burlap bag to them. She put the bag down on the floor infront of them and kicked it. "What's that?" Jupiter Knight asked. It looked too small and lumpy to be any kind of human. "There are clothes in there. You best try to fit in here or else you will be in trouble with the people. Choose your pick and put them on." The old woman said cackly. Jadeite opened the burlap bag and pulled out several items of clothing. Most of them looked like long cloaks and hoods. There were nothing but cloaks in there. He remembered seeing the people they passed wearing things similar to what he was holding. "We have no choice, we have to fit in." Jadeite said, throwing a cloak to each. They all put it over their clothes, noticing it kept them warming, especially the scouts. "Why are you helping us?" Sailor Jupiter asked. "I am a friend. I know you do not come from around here. Godspeed in your journey." The old woman said and went slowly up the stairs. "I assume you can find your way out." "Thank you!" Sailor Venus shouted up to her. There was no answer. Nephryte looked at Sailor Jupiter, then the others. "I think I can find the way out." All the scouts and the men kept their right hand on the wall to guide them and slowly found their way back out into the alley. With the help of the three cats, who could see fairly better than the humans, they opened the door to the alley and stepped into bright daylight. "Wait, we forgot to ask her where we are!" Sailor Mercury remembered. "You are in Eden!" The old woman shouted from the second story window. She had been obviously watching them, making sure they got out. "Thank you again." Sailor Mars said. The old woman nodded and watched the group slowly walk out of the alley and dissapear around the turn onto the streets. When she was sure that they would not be returning for anything, the woman lifted her hood off her face. Magically, the age old wrinkles and cracked teeth metamorphed into young smooth and firm skin. Perfect straight teeth, dark green tinted long hair. The woman regained her figure, standing up right, she dropped the cape onto the floor, exposing what she wore under. Sailor Pluto stood by the window, nodded and turned around. With a wave of her TimeStaff, suddenly appearing before her was a large mirror. "Good luck, Scouts." Sailor Pluto said softly before stepping into the mirror, "I'll keep an eye on Tokyo for now." She walked in, the mirror dissapearing after her... **** "Who do you think that was?" Hera asked after they walked out of the alley. "I don't know, but we should be thankful to her." Luna said, "She was a very nice lady." "So now what do we do?" Nephryte asked. "Where do you think Serena went?" Darien asked, speaking for the first time since they came out of the old woman's house. "Well, *Serena* would be hungry and go to get something to eat, but we're not talking about Serena. We have to find Serenity." Rei said. "Never the less, Serenity would have been hungry. Is there a restaurant near? We could ask the restaurant keeper if they've seen her." Ami said. As they looked around them, they could tell it would be hard. Lining the streets were not one restaurant. There were oldworld style houses and people walking all over the place. Not a car was parked anywhere. "Look, there's an Inn. We can go ask them there." Ken pointed the a house that stood taller than the other usual two story ones. They walked toward the Inn. The doorway was wide open, so they walked straight in. In the Inn, which was not as dark as the last house they've walked into, was lighted with kerosene lamps and smelled a little musty. "Wow, look." Ami said, pointing to the lamps, "They don't make those anymore in Tokyo. These are really old. They probably belong in a museum." "Shh-" Nephryte warned Ami, "Remember, we have to fit in." "Oh yeah," Ami said, trying not to look too awed at the surroundings. On the walls were all kinds of flags with strange symbols on them. There were also swords mounted on the wall, armor, shields, and even a dear's head. It looked like they walked straight into Mideivel Times. "Hello? Is anyone here?" Lita asked, calling loudly. No one was behind the counter and although there were some people eyeing them who were sitting at a table playing what looked like cards, they could not find the Innkeeper. "Just a minute," A voice called out from the back. A round jolly old man who could have passed as Santa Claus walked out of the back. He scratched his head and looked at the group that just walked in. He smiled merrily at them. "Hello, travelers! You're not from this town are you? Well, my name is Canry and I am InnKeeper. What can I do for you? Need a place to stay?" The man asked, appearing overly anxious for business. "Well, not yet, we just want to ask you some questions." Darien said. "Questions?" the Innkeeper's smile faltered a little, then came back, "What kind of questions." "Well, we're looking for someone." Darien started. Canry's smile dissapeared and a look of anger appeared, "Are you with the King? I have done nothing wrong! Why have you come? I pay my taxes!" Darien, taken back with this sudden outburst didn't know what to say. Mina stepped in for him, "No, we're not with the King. We're just looking for a friend. We think maybe she passed through here." "Are you sure? We don't need anymore spies from the king here!" Canry said. "We're sure." Lita pitched in. "Okay, how does your friend look like? I never forget a face. I'll know if she passed through here." the man smiled once again, glad to help a fellow towns person. "Well, she's about this tall," Darien indicated, "She has pale skin and blonde hair, and it's in this weird hairstyle with two meatballs ontop." "Ah!" The Innkeeper shouted, "Her!" He seemed angry again, "So you are the friends of this trouble maker? She came through here a day before. Ranting and raving about the destruction of Eden and she made a mess. She did not come into this Inn, but I saw her from the windows. She was pushing people out of the way in the hurry to get somewhere. She stole a lot of merchandise and just left. Gone with the wind. Dissapeared from this town." "You saw her? Are you sure?" Rei asked. "Yes, I'm sure. No begone! We don't want any trouble here." The Innkeeper said, "She destroyed a lot of property of my friends and we don't want her friends here." Lita put her hand in the pocket of the cloak she wore, surprised to feel something hard. She took it out and saw it was a silver coin. How strange, the old woman left money in there. "Ken, look." Lita whispered, showing him what she found. "I have some too," Ken said, taking out a handfull. "Mr. Canry, please accept our apologies for her. She's not feeling like herself today. I hope this will pay for the damages," Lita stepped forward and gave him five silver coins. She didn't know how much they were worth but hoped it was enough to pay for damages. "What?" Canry took the coins, inspecting them further, "You are paying for her destruction?" The others were shocked to see where Lita got all that money from. "Yes, please don't be mad at us. We are here to make sure she doesn't do this again." Lita said. "Thankyou," Canry said gratefully, "This is more than enough. I will share it with the unfortunate ones who had suffered her wrath. Thankyou." "How much is one coin, exactly?" Lita asked, hoping she'll find out how much she really gave him. "One silver coin can last you for a week. A gold coin can last you for a month with luxuries." Canry said, then looked puzzled, "Where exactly have you traveled from? The dinars are used all through Eden." "Dinars," Lita repeated to herself. So that's what these are called. "We're from overseas," Ken supplied, seeing Lita wasn't going to answer that. "Overseas? What is that? You are from the waters?" Canry asked confusedly. "Yes, from the waters," Ken said, hoping he was saying the right thing. "So you have traveled far. Please, stay the night at my Inn. You all must be tired." Canry said hospitably. Everyone exchanged looks, unsure of what to do next. They huddled in a group, going over the few choices they have. "I doubt we'll find Serenity soon," Ami spoke up. "But the more we wait, the farther we will be from her." Darien said. "She has to rest sometime too. She won't get too far ahead. I think we should stay here for the night. Where else could we go?" Jadeite pointed out. "Stay here? But we should still go after her, while the trail is fresh." Rei agreed with Darien in finding Serenity soon. "What would get accomplished in the dark? They don't have electricity here and look, we don't even have a flashlight. We'd get lost. I think we should stay." Nephryte said. "I agree with Nephryte, we should stay. We need somewhere to stay, get things sorted out, then we can go with our heads on straight. Whatever is there now could wait till morning. Look outside, it's sunset." Mina said. "Let's stay then," Lita said. "Do we have to pay them extra money to stay?" Ken asked. "Yeah, where did you get the money anyway?" Rei asked. Lita dug into her pockets and found more, "They're called Dinars. They're in my pocket. Check yours." The others stuck their hands into their pockets and was suprised to feel something cold and hard. They all took out the Dinars. "It's settled then, we're staying." Rei said. She looked at the three cats on the floor, seeing looks of agreement. She handed the Innkeeper a Dinar, "We'll be staying here for the night." The Innkeeper shook his head, "No, I do not need anymore Dinars. Your friend gave me more than enough. There are only two rooms left. Is that suiting to your needs?" They exchanged glances and nodded. Canry took out a ring of keys from his pockets and seperated two keys. He gave one both of them to Rei. "These are the keys?" Rei asked, holding them up. They looked like the keys out of a story book, a round head and a long neck, ending in a few notches. "Yes, follow me, I'll show you to the rooms." Canry started up the creaky stairs. They followed him to the third story were there were only two doors. Canry pointed to both of them, then to the keys Rei was holding, "This is for the left, that's for the right." "Okay, thank you." Rei said. Canry started walking down, but turned to say, "Supper will be ready in half an hour. It is included in the stay." "We'll be down," Ken said. Standing out in the hall, they figured out how to split the group into two rooms. "Why don't we do guys and girls?" Lita asked. "Sure, that's what I was going to say." Hera spoke. "The cats can stay with us since we would have more empty space than you girls," Darien said. Luna nodded. "Which room do you want?" Jadeite asked, taking the keys from Rei and opening both doors, across from each other. They peered into the rooms, which were fully identical. There was s large matress, about two times as large as two king sized beds pushed into the corner of each room. "Looks like it's hardly a choice," Lita said, who was a real stickler for clean rooms. Both rooms looked equally dirty and smelled musty. "I guess we'll take this one," Ami said, indicating the room they were already in. "Okay, we'll take the other one." Ken said, jerking a thumb back at the one inback of him. At the large supper table, they sat. The table was incredibly long, stretching from one end of the supper room to the other. The new travlers sat on one end, seperated from the townspeople or the passerbyers who had stayed in the Inn before. "I'm surprised I'm so hungry," Mina said. "Yeah me too," Ami said. The three cats were under the table, waiting for someone to drop some food down to them. The first meal was some sort of stew, muddy in color, but smelled delicious. "What IS this?" Ken asked, holding up his soup spoon and inspecting the stew. Lita drank it cautiously, then shrugged, "Taste pretty good. If you don't look at it, I guess." She quitely took three small buns and dropped them on the floor for Hera, Luna and Artemis. "Try this, it's delicious," Mina said, pointing to some sort of game that was freshly caught and roasted. "Is that chicken?" Darien asked. "No, looks kind of small." Ami said, "It's probably quail." The conversation went on as if they really were ordinary travelers looking for a place to stay. For almost a moment, they could forget the real reason of coming to Eden. Almost... "Where do we go tomorrow?" Darien asked the group sitting in a circle on the hard wooden floor. "This is like searching for a needle in a haystack," Ken sighed, "The Innkeeper, Mr Conry did say that she was walking North. I guess we should head for north tomorrow." "North?" Ami asked, looking up from what she was doing. "What's north? Is there another town north?" Luna asked. "Well, from what I heard, we're in some country or region called Eden. This is just a small town in Eden. Up north, there are fewer and fewer towns and fewer people." Artemis explained from his snooping around and hearing people talking about town. "So we're going north?" Mina asked. "I guess so. Why would Serena want to go somewhere that would have less people? It doesn't make sense. If anything, I'd think that Serena would want to be in a place with more people to terrorize." Lita wondered aloud. Darien said sharply, "SERENA wouldn't. Serenity would. Who knows what on HER mind, but we have to save Serena before she loses her mind. It must be so hard on her to right now. We have to find her and save her." "Okay Darien, we know you're worried about her. We're just as worried as you are, but we can't get too upset or else we would be fighting each other than Serenity." Lita said. "Upset? Who said I was upset? I'm not upset. I just want to find Serena and go back. Is that too much to ask Lita? Is it?" Darien snapped at her. Lita was about to shout back, but realized that it wasn't Darien speaking. It was anger and Darien was under a lot of stress right then. It wasn't entirely his fault for being so edgy lately. Hell, if she lost someone she lost, she would have acted worse. Thinking about losing Ken made her shudder. She had almost lost him so many times before she didn't want to count it again. Her eyes made their way to come in contact with his gaze and she gave him a smile. "Come on Darien, you better go get some sleep." Ken said, pulling Darien up by the arm. A better look at Darien would show you the dark circles under his eyes and how sad his eyes seemed. He looked really tired and almost sickly. "Yeah Darien, go get some sleep." Rei advised. Darien didn't say anything, but got up off the floor and headed out for the door. The girls stayed in their room, worrying over how Darien was taking all that. They were all especially close to Serena, but not like Darien. Darien's whole life seemed to evolve around Serena, so they knew that it was hitting him hard. "We should be getting to sleep too," Mina said, looking at her watch, but not sure if it was actually working. "Okay, we'll see you in the morning." Ken said and got up to leave to the room the guys were sharing. "Goodnight," Jadeite said and kissed Rei on the forehead before he left. "Good night," Nephryte said, avoiding eye contact with Lita. Ken stooped and kissed Lita before he left. The three cats also followed them out. "We'll meet you downstairs at sunrise," Artemis told them before leaving. "Sunset? Isn't that a little early?" Mina asked, but it was too late since Artemis had gone out the door already. "So Rei, what's the word about you and Jadeite?" Ami asked curiously. Rei's cheeks colored before answering, "There's no word about us. We're just friends." "Must be good friends since none of us got a kiss from him," Mina joked, arching a blonde eyebrow. "Mina, you're horrible!" Rei laughed and looked for a pillow to throw to her friend. "No, I see he has the hots for you! Don't doubt me, lady. I am Mina Aino! Warrior of love!" Mina said and did her famous Sailor V pose. Ami groaned outloud at the corniest of the situation and rolled her eyes, "Mina, calm down before they arrest you for disturbing the peace. Remember, they're not use to you here." No one noticed Lita, who was sitting there by herself on the floor, looking at the wood pattern below her feet. She was thinking of Ken and Nephryte. She knew that Nephryte was hurting, but she didn't know what to do. She didn't love him and she didn't think she ever would. So why was he still in love with her? She knew it was useless to persuade him to love someone else. He wasn't exactly disputatious, but she knew he wasn't easily steered into another track. She hated the way his eyes would bear into hers and although she didn't hate him, she didn't like the thought of her past self in love with him. She could find nothing wrong with Nephryte except for the fact that he was in love with someone long gone and he kept acknowledging her for someone she's not. "Yoohoo? Earth to Lita? Are you there Lita?" Mina was waving a hand infront of Lita's face. "Hmm?" Lita snapped out of her trance and saw Mina, Rei and Ami all staring at her. "Gosh Lita, you just flashed out on us for the past ten minutes. Are you alright?" Ami asked. "I'm fine, I'm just, just-" Lita didn't want to tell them her problems, knowing they have some of their own burdens to carry. "Thinking about Serena?" Rei answered for her. All of a sudden, guilt poured in when Lita realized she should have been thinking about Serena. She felt selfish for thinking about her own worries instead of thinking about Serena and saving her. "Lita, don't go zonk out on us again." Mina was now shaking her shoulders slightly. "Don't worry, I won't," Lita assured them. "So what were you thinking about?" Ami asked. "I feel kind of guilty for not thinking about Serena and not thinking of a way to help her faster," Lita confessed. "Why would you feel guilty? We're doing the best we could to try and track her down. You shouldn't feel guilty. Serena wouldn't want us to worry over something we can't do anymore for. Don't worry. Tomorrow we'll set out on her tracks and bring some sense into her." Ami said, trying to help Lita out. "If you weren't thinking of Serena, then what were you thinking about?" Rei asked. Lita conflicted over to tell them or not, and realized that they were her friends and friends share other's worries and troubles and try to solve them. "Do you really want to know? I mean, I know you guys have a lot on your mind already, I don't want to lay another one on your shoulders. We already have to think about ways to help find Serena, maybe I shouldn't tell you." Ami frowned, "Our brains and minds aren't like a computer. Our minds can store vast amounts of information. An infinite ammount actually, so telling us another conflict wouldn't cloud our heads Lita. That's what friends are for, to tell each other troubles." "Or you can tell Ken, I know you guys are really close." Rei offered. She knew that Lita told Ken everything and she knew that whenever Lita had something on her mind, she acted like this. "I can't tell Ken," Lita confessed. "Why not?" Mina asked sitting closer, trying to hear what Lita was saying so quietly. "Because it has something to do with him," Lita explained. "Oh? What is it? Maybe we can help," Rei said. Asking Lita to tell them her worries was like pulling teeth. Only one could be extracted at a time. "It's kind of a long story and confusing," Lita started, "Back in the Silver Millenium, Princess Jupiter was there, but no Jupiter Knight." "We know that already. And Princess Jupiter and General Nephryte of Earth had an interest with each other. Hera told us that, remember?" Mina tried to help. "Nephryte was in love with Princess Jupiter. He still is. But he thinks that I'm Princess Jupiter, which I'm not. So he thinks he loves me. I don't love him, but he has this idea that one day, I'll magically get my mememory back and love him back. But I know it's not going to help him." Lita summarized everything that's been running through her head for the whole time. "So the problem is?" "I can't stand how he gives me these looks. They're so sad, like he's pleading me. But I don't love him, I love Ken. What am I suppose to do?" Lita asked, frowning so her eyebrows knitted together. "I don't know, it's confusing." Ami said. Lita looked at Rei for an answer, "What do you think?" Rei shrugged, "I don't really know either. Jadeite was in love with Princess Mars in the Silver Millenium and know, he said he loved me. I don't really mind because he's kind of cute and I like him too." "Have you told him how you felt?" Mina asked. "Millions of times, but he just says to let it take time. He actually believes that I'll love him back. I feel guilty for not loving him, but I just can't." Lita said. "I guess you just have to let time take it's toll. Time heals all wounds," Mina said. "But no one is hurt here," Rei reminded her. "Oh, wrong saying then." Mina said and put a hand over her mouth. Lita got up, pulling her cape closer around her. She started for the door and put a hand on the cold brass doorknob. "Where are you going?" Ami queried. "I need to take a walk and get fresh air. You guys can go to sleep first, I can sleep on the empty space if you guys leave me any," Lita smiled feebly at them and got out. The biting night air was actually a comfort to her. She welcomed it as it escaped into her sleeves, giving her goosebumps and chilling her bones. The streets were deserted, but smelled of a once busy marketplace. Lita kept her head down, looking at the uneven pebble road, wondering how long it had taken them to lay every rock out to make the road. Noticing another pair of shoes walking beside her, she looked up at it's owner. She saw anoter taller hooded figure walking beside her, falling into step with her. "Hi Lita, isn't it a beautiful night?" Lita recognized the low and almost smooth voice as Nephryte's and cringed a little. The last thing she needed was him to tell her about how the stars tell everything and how they would be together. "Nephryte, I need to be alone." Lita said simply and quickened her pace. "Wait Lita, I just want to tell you one thing," Nephryte called to her to slow down. Sighing, Lita turned to face him, hoping it wasn't going to be long. "I just want to let you know that I know you're not Princess Jupiter now. I can't force you to love me, but I'll always love you no matter what anyone says. I believe that she's in you. If you don't love me, then don't. But, I still want to be your friend, if that's the most I can get." Nephryte said and did an about face to walk the other way. Lita stood there, speechless. She didn't know what to do next. Half of her body wanted to jump for joy, the other half wanted to cry for who knew what. When Nephryte was about fifty yards away, Lita called out his name, "Nephryte!" Nephryte slowly turned around, his green eyes shining with the stars. "Thank you," Lita said sincerely. "For what?" "For letting her go," Lita simply said, both of them understood the meaning. On the way back, Nephryte smiled to himself. Only the two of them would ever know what that last sentance meant and only the two of them would ever say it. Lita walked by herself slowly, not knowing where she was going. She thought about what Nephryte said. He finally understood her, which made her feel more guilty for not having any feelings for him, toward him. Yet, she felt glad that he understood her and wasn't blaming her for anything. Turning around a corner, Lita didn't watch where she was going and ran right into a solid figure. "I'm sorry," She mumbled an apology and looked up, "I didn't think anyone was out at this-" Lita stopped mid sentance and her jaw could be seen touching the floor. Looking at the lady infront of her, also in a hooded cape, about the same height as Lita, if not taller, Lita could feel the silence deepening. Two pairs of emerald green eyes got larger, trying to make sure each one of them were real. Lita thought slowly, not believing it, She leaned in closer to the identical face, making sure she was seeing right. A high pitched scream caught through the air, startling her enough to jump. She saw the girl infront of her had screamed, a terror stricken look pasted to her face. She got ready to turn and run. "Wait!" Lita took a firm hold of the girl's wrist. "Let me go, madam!" The girl said in a dignified and somewhat ordering voice. "Not until you tell me who you are!" Lita said, determined not to let her go. A sharp jolt of pain snapped from her hand to her spine, causing her to step back and cringe slightly. That was all that the other girl needed. She took off running in the other direction running like the wind. A dazed Lita leaned against the wall, rubbing her arm, which was feeling tingly all over with the pins and needles feeling. "How did she do that?" Lita asked herself, debating whether to go after the girl or not. Knowing it was too late to run after the girl, Lita started back for the Inn. "Who was she?" Lita asked herself again, hoping that talking to herself wasn't going to be a habit. She quietly walked into the Inn, wondering why no one locked the doors at night. she answered. She crept silently upstairs toward the room she and the other girls were sharing. She stumbled on something dark in the night color hall way and almost fell. If someone had not caught her, she would have fallen back down the stairs. "Whoa there," a voice assured her, making sure she got her balance before letting her go. "Ken," Lita said softly. "Where did you come from?" Ken asked, peering at her in the dark hallway. His dark cerulean eyes as usual had a way of shining in the dark, giving him a eerie, yet warm look. "I went for a walk," Lita answered, "Where were you going?" "I was going to go for a walk, want to come?" "No, I just got back. I'm tired. I'm going to go to sleep," Lita said, walking slowly to her room. She turned and gave Ken one mroe sentance, "Don't stay out too late. You don't know what weird things lurk around at night in this place." she said to herself. "Goodnight, Li," Ken said and slid down the banister on the stairs. Lita shook her head and opened the door to her room. She found the three girls sitting on the overly large mattress by a kerosene lamp. They were all talking, but stopped to see who walked in. "You guys are still awake?" Lita asked. "Yeah, it's not that late. I think. My watch stopped so I don't know what time it is and there isn't one clock in this room." Mina said, still tapping her dead watch. "Lita, you look like you've just seen a ghost." Rei said concerend at why her friend wasn't her usual rosy self. "I think I did," Lita said mysteriously. "Is that who you were talking to in the hallway?" Ami asked. "No, that was Ken." "Ken's a ghost?!" Mina exclaimed. "No, no! I was talking to Ken in the hallway because I bumped into him, not because he was a ghost." Lita explained. "So who's the ghost?" Rei asked. She wasn't as doubtful with ghost as everyone else was because since she lived in a temple, she knew all about ghosts and how people even talked to some. "No, I don't think it was a ghost, but it was just weird, that's all." Lita said, "I was out walking and bumped into someone on the corner. When I looked up to see who it was, it was me. A girl who looked exactly like me was staring back at me. It was weird. It was like looking in a mirror except we weren't wearing the same clothes." "Are you sure she looked exactly like you? I mean, maybe she just looked like you in the dark, but is someone totally different in the light." Ami tried to reason. "No, I wasn't hallucinating or anything like that. I'm sure. It's like looking in a mirror." "So why didn't you bring her with you? Did you find out her name?" Rei asked. "She didn't tell me. I was holding her because it looked like she was going to run away, but she did something to my hand. It's like she zapped me or something. I let her go and she ran off. She was scared of me." Lita said. "Weird," Ami said. "I'll say. It's not everyday that you bump into your identical twin on the street." Mina agreed. "Do you think you'll ever see her again?" Rei asked, "I'd like to se two Litas one day." Lita laughed lightly, "I don't think I'll see her anymore. It's a once in a lifetime kind of thing, I guess." ****** The earliest blush of dawn peeked out from two giant hills. The four girls, three cats and three men were looking at the sun slowly rise. "Wow, you don't see any sight like that in Tokyo. It would be covered with smog and skyscrapers." Lita sighed. She awed at the colors of the sky, from the darkest blue to the lightest orange, to the hottest reds. "It's beautiful," Mina agreed, getting starry eyed. Rei, who was holding Jadeite's hand just remained silent, but the awe was printed all over her face. Ami took a deep breath of the fresh air and continued to watch the sun until it finally got out of the hills and into the sky. "Which horse?" Ken asked, pointing over to a fenced in area with four horses munching happily on newly grown grass. "But there are only four," Ami said. "That's okay! Two people each horse. Horses like it that way!" The man inback of them shouted, overhearing their conversation. The man was incharge of this place, which obviously rented horses out to people leaving the town and going to another. The horses could be returned there and sent back with whomever from that town travelers came. "Two?!" Ami asked, astonished, "Won't it hurt the horses?" "No, horses are strong. Strong as a horse, they all say. Don't worry about it." The man said, pulling on his bushy beard. "How do we get them back?" Rei asked. "Just let them go when you are done. They know the way back here. Very tame and very gentle." "Okay, we'll take all four." Mina said. She handed the man three silver coins, hoping it would be enough. "Thank you. Go and take your pick." The man walked away from them, signalling the conversation was over and they could do whatever they wanted now. Lita walked over to the fenced in area, looking at the four horses. The horses didn't pay any attention to her and kept on eating as if they hadn't a care in the world. "Are you sure Serenity went over to the next town?" Darien asked, "I don't want to go off in the other direction." "Yes, sure." Ami said, "I asked a lot of the villagers and they all pointed this way." "It's the only choice we have," Hera said. "Okay, I guess it's this way then." Darien said, ready to mount on a horse, "Does anyone know how to ride one of these things?" Nephryte and Jadeite both raised their hands. "I remember how," Nephryte said. "So do I," Jadeite also said. "Anyone else?" Luna looked around at all the shaking heads. "I think the wisest thing to do is to sit one guy and one girl on each horse. That way, they won't get too weighed down." Artemis said, feeling sorry for the large animals. "I'll sit with Jadeite," Rei said first. "I'm riding with Ami," Darien said after. "Me and Ken," Lita said. "I guess I'm with Nephryte," Mina said, not really minding it at all. "Okay, how do you get on one of these things?" Lita asked, petting one of the horses back. "Hmmm....," Jadeite said, "No saddles. This is going to be kind of hard. Just hop on it like you would on a high wall." Lita put two hands on the back of the horse and jumped up. She got on, but the wrong way. Two of her legs hung over one side, making her sit on the horse like a chair. She swung one leg over to the other side, but noticed it was the wrong leg. Now, she was sitting backwards. Lita jumped off and said, "Let me try this again." She got a running start and jumped on, finally getting on the right way, "Come on Ken, it's pretty easy." Ken jumped up and got up on the first try. He sat inback of Lita and put his arms around her. "I'm beginning to like this already," he murmured in her ear. Lita took the reins and pulled it gently. The horse started to trot, making them bounce up and down and making thier butts hit hard against the horse. "I'm going to be sore tomorrow," Lita mumbled. She steered the horse out of the fenced in area and waited for the others. "Wait! Wait, people!" The stable keeper came running up to them again, "If you see that peculiar lady with the two stones of hair on her head, please tell her to let the horse free so it can return. She was quite rude and I don't think she intends to give my horse back. She was heading to the next town, same town you are going to. If you meet up with her, tell her!" "Sounds like Serenity," Hera said softly. They all nodded in agreement. The ride to the next town took most of the morning. They stopped around noon to unpack what they had brought with them for lunch and sat to eat. They tied the horses to a strong looking tree and sat below the tree. "Did you see anyone following us?" Lita asked cautiously. "No, why? Were they?" Ami asked, taking a delicate bit into her chicken sandwich. "I didn't see anyone," Artemis said, sniffing the small tuna fish they had packed for him. "Must be my imagination then," Lita said, feeling rather silly. "No one could have followed us. Remember, we took all the horses." Rei said. Nephryte didn't eat much, but he just sat there floating a light green crystal, possibly made of jade around his hand. "What does that do, Nephryte?" Lita asked, watching him. "This?" Nephryte asked, holding the five inch long crystal. "You've been holding it like it was a prized object," Lita mentioned. Nephryte pointed the sharp end of the crystal at a rock about thirty yards away and shot some green laser like thing out of it. The rock shattered into a million little pieces. "Wow," Mina said, "Glad you're on our side." "Finally," Nephryte said to himself. He wondered why he didn't have that great of a power when he worked for Beryl. He turned the point of the crystal to Lita, aiming her right between the eyes and shot. Lita gasped when she saw what he was doing, but there was no time to duck. She winced, bracing herself for the pain, but only felt a warmness where the laser was on her. "Harmless to human skin," Nephryte assured her and put his hand in the way, showing her it did nothing. "I have one too," Jadeite showed Rei his darker green crystal, the same size as Nephryte's. "Does it work the same way?" Rei asked. "About," Jadeite said and handed Rei the crystal. "Let's pack up and start back on the way. We want to get there before night," Luna said. They packed everything up again and got back onto their horses. Soon, they were back in the rhythm of the horses. "Look!" Lita pointed to something coming towards them in the horizon. It looked like some figure in a black cloak on a starch white horse that looked like it came from the clouds. "Danger?" Ami squinted. The figure was trotting slowly infront of the almost setting sun. Nothing much could be seen. "Let's slow down and see if he passes us," Nephryte instructed. They had to wait excrutiatingly long until the hooded figure finally got within a proper seeing range. They noticed that the horse wasn't actually trotting, but more like a stroll as if it had all the time in the world. They made sort of a wall infront of the white horse and it's rider. But the rider didn't go around. He just stopped there, with his head bowed low. "Why are you following us?" Lita asked. "Why are you following us?" Ken repeated a little louder, since Lita didn't say it too loud. "Hello?! Do you speak English?" Darien asked. The hooded figure didn't answer any of the questions, but the horse softly neighed. He pulled the reins of the horse to calm it down and raised his head. Nephryte gasped, seeing how bright those green eyes were hidden into the depths of the cloak. He recognized those eyes, so bright and shimmering like looking into a pool of green jello. The hood fell to his shoulders when the figure looked up. To all their surprise, it was a she. A girl. But the bigger surprise was that she looked like someone they all knew. "Lita?!" Ami exclaimed. Lita gasped, putting a hand on her gaped open mouth. She heard Ken gasp inback of her and he held her waist more tightly. He looked down at her then up at the girl. "Lita?" Rei asked gently at the girl. The girl looked blankly at each of them, her face in total bewilderment. She looked like she didn't understand a word they said and didn't speak English. "Who are you?" Nephryte asked. Getting off the horse, the girl whistled a particular melody, which probably commanded the horse to stay. She looked up at Lita, who was still on the horse with Ken, then looked on the floor. "I think she wants you to come down with her," Ken said softly. Lita speechlessly got off and stood infront of the girl. "Who are you?" Lita asked again. The girl stooped down, letting the long cape fall to the floor and drew something in the dry mud. There were about six strange characters in the ground that she drew. "I can't read that," Lita said gently. She pointed to the characters, then shook her head. The girl softly sighed and wrote something that looked more familiar. The characters were something similar to the English alphabeth. Lita frowned, then walked to the other side and read the word upside down. "Makoto?" Lita asked. The girl smiled and nodded. She seemed contempt with that. Lita closed her eyes, recalling where she heard that name before. "Jupiter?" Lita asked. The girl, Makoto looked at her questiongly. "Are you Princess Jupiter?" Lita asked, knowing how absurd she was sounding. Makoto frowned, not understanding it supposedly. "I think there's some sort of language barrier here," Darien said, then more softly, "Either that or she's kind of slow." "Where are you going?" Jadeite asked. Makoto opened her mouth, ready to say something, then closed it again silently. "We're going to the next town. Is that were you are heading?" Nephryte asked. As an answer, Makoto got back on her white stallion and clicked her teeth. The horse started it's slow stroll toward the north. "I guess that's a yes," Lita said and with the help of Ken, got back up on the horse. They also started for the north, this time with a new silent companion. The hood was back on Makoto's head, covering her face. Even with the hood blocking his view, those bright green eyes haunted Nephryte everytime he closed his eyes to blink. It was a good thing that Mina was holding to the reins since Neph was feeling a bit out of sorts right then. Finally, they reached the outskirts of the next town buy sundown. They got off their horses and set them free, watching them run and gallop happily back to their owners. "You take care," Lita said to the horse she rode and gave it an apple to chew on. The horse neighed and followed it's companions back. Makoto, still on her white stallion had no intention of letting her horse free. "I guess it's hers," Ken shrugged, seeing that she wasn't going to let it go. "Where should we start looking?" Darien asked. Ami confronted one of the townspeople who just happened to be passing by, "Excuse me, have you seen a girl, about my height with blonde hair, two buns ontop? It's this weird looking hair and she was riding a horse." The woman Ami asked, nodded and pointed toward the center of the town, "There is where I saw her. She is mighty strange. Ranting and raving about the takeover of the century. But no luck catching her now. She has been taken away." "Taken away?!" Darien asked immediately, "By who?" "Yes, the officials came and took her to the town cell. That way." The woman pointed in a direction, then scurried off. "The town cell must be some kind of jail," Rei said. "Hurry, let's go find her. She's locked up, but who knows for how long." Jadeite started in the direction. When they reached the jail, they had to negotiate with the cell keeper to let them see Serenity. "And what kin are you to that raving lunatic?" The mustached man asked. "We are friends. We will pay the bail." Darien said. "Bail? What bail? Once someone is thrown in a cell, the only way out is by trial." The mustached man laughed, "Have you no knowledge of our government? A bunch of foreiners, to my guess." "Can we just see her?" Lita asked. Makoto stood inback, not saying a word as usual, but just looking lost. The cell keeper spotted her through the crowd trying to get in to see Serenity and waved. "So, Mako. Have you made new friends?" The cell keeper asked Makoto friendly. "You know each other?" Jadeite asked, looking back to forth. "Ofcourse, Makoto is wide known throughout Eden." The cell keeper said, then said in a low voice out of Mako's hearing distance, but loud enough for the others, "She's a wanderer. Not quite right up where it's needed. But's she's all here," he pointed to his heart, "Where it counts. She's a sweetheart. Too bad she doesn't have an ounce of sense." They all turned to look at Makoto, who just stood with her eyes semi-focused on a rainbow made from a prism she took out of her pocket. She seemed well amused with that. Just then, a loud boom shook the whole room. The ground shook and the walls rattled. "What was that?!" The cellkeeper called into an iron door. "She's escaped!" Another higher voice shouted. "She somehow knocked the brick wall down! She's gone!" "Who's gone?" "The crazed lunatic you just brought in this afternoon! The one with the hair. She's gone! Not a sign of her anywhere!" Darien rushed passed the cellkeeper and swung open the iron door. Sure enough, on the other side of the dark and moldy hall, there were steel bars, two standing walls, and one third wall knocked to the floor. "Damn! We were so close!" Ken shouted, coming in after Darien. "She's gone," Darien mumbled. He saw something that caught his eye. A tattered piece of white fabric that ripped from Serenity's gown. ______________________________________________________________________ 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)*************