Bittersweet01

Bittersweet
Part One: The Trouble with Spontaneity

The setting of our tale is, of course, Tokyo, shortly past the Alan and Ann drama. For the moment, all is tranquil for the Sailor Scouts. Usagi and Mamoru have each other at long last and are deliriously happy about it. The Scouts are happy that their leaders are happy. Everything seems to be going just great, right?

Wrong, naturally. The weird things that had occurred not too many months ago in the Arctic Circle (when Usagi and the Scouts had meatloafed Queen Beryl) had drawn attention of all sorts from all over the world. Unfortunately, most of the attention was less scientific and more mercenary than the astute Sailor Scout would have liked. In fact, the first team of explorers to assemble itself to explore a certain large hole in the ice was an international group of mercenaries and scientists bent on loot and plunder, with very little thought of what evils and harm they might bring about through this expedition. The Scouts might have borne this stoically, save for the punch line of a great cosmic joke: the team of acquisitive international roughnecks managed to not only discover the gaping hole left behind by Beryl, they managed to allow themselves to be transported to Beryl's Negaverse. At this point, the Scouts were forced to take action. Since Luna and Artemis were both out of commission, due to a severe overindulgence in celebratory catnip, and Mamoru was busy with school, the five girls set out alone...

"I can't believe anyone would be stupid enough to try and plunder the Negaverse," Mars grumbled, dragging an unconscious mercenary across the snow to the pile of moondusted would-be looters.

"I can't believe we were stupid enough to leave the entrance to the Negaverse open," Mercury said ruefully, helping Venus heft another scientist. "We should have known someone would try to enter it. We should have made a plan-"

"Don't you ever do anything spontaneously, Mercury?" Sailor Moon complained, shivering in the icy wind.

"Not if I can help it," Mercury said primly.

"You need to lighten up some, Mercury," Jupiter suggested. "Live in the moment for once--It really isn't that bad, y'know."

Mercury just shook her head doubtfully, while Venus looked at the pile of booty-seeking idiots. "Maybe we should make sure this doesn't happen again," she commented. "You know, like go through Beryl's palace and seal it up..."

"That's a good idea," Mercury nodded. "We should take care of that, just as soon as we get this lot back to where it's warmer."

Her lips slightly blue from the wind chill, Sailor Moon grimaced. "Why should we have to come back to this icebox?" she asked plaintively. "Couldn't we just post a sign or something? I wanna go home where it's wa-arm!"

"Sailor Moon, don't you dare start whining," Mars growled. "I'm just not in the mood for it!"

~*~

Dark, bleak, superbly gloomy, and lit only by the scabrous phosphorescence of a foul, unnamed lichen that covered every damp, slimy surface, the palace of the late Queen Beryl was every bit as unpleasant as its former occupants. It was also grandiose in size; the Scouts had reluctantly decided to split up to explore the many rooms of the monstrous monument to evil.

Exploring was made no less difficult by the destruction Beryl's final battle had wrought. Misshapen iron doors hung awry along the dank, dead corridors; the musty, fetid air was thick and hard to breathe. Even at a slow, cautious pace, Mercury gasped slightly for breath as she stalked a strange energy reading.

/It makes no sense,/ Mercury mused, studying her computer. /This entire corridor has been empty-it looks even more deserted than the rest of this tomb.../ Absently, she stepped over a fallen beam, deftly avoiding a pool of scummy water.

As she drew nearer to the end of the corridor, where a giant pair of doors hung miraculously straight on their hinges, her hand-held computer began to beep insistently. Halting before the doors, Mercury stared at them thoughtfully. "I ought to call the other Scouts," she thought aloud. "But... it's probably nothing..."

Saying this, she placed a reluctant hand on the pitted iron. To her vast surprise, the heavy doors swung open easily.

Mercury started into the room, but stopped short, staring at the far wall. She didn't need her computer to identify the energy that pulsed from the immense, man-sized crystal mounted so unfeasibly in the grim stone walls. It shone with a faintly blue-red light that was bright enough to make impossible the discernment of any details of its construction or purpose.

The Scout forced herself closer, despite the aversion this spawn of the Negaverse engendered in her. Finally, no more than a foot from the crystal, a shadowy form in the violet depths became visible to her. Peering closer, she saw--a man, trapped inside the crystal, a rictus grin of agony on his tortured features.

"How can this be?" Mercury gasped, discomfort all but forgotten in her profound curiosity. Her nose mere inches from the surface of the crystal, she gazed into the depths even more closely. "Is it-Jadeite?"

Staring at the entrapped servant of Beryl in horror, the reason for Jadeite's disappearance from the lives of the Sailor Scouts became painfully apparent. Remembered fear and hatred caused Mercury to step back from the crystal, her heart filled with loathing.

Still, there was something about Jadeite's utter helplessness that drew Mercury back to her minute examination. Something about the horror of his situation struck a chord of pity in her heart--Enough pity that it banished the disgust she felt for a hated enemy. "No one deserves this," she whispered, carefully touching the crystal between herself and his cheek; it was icy cold to the touch. "I wish there were some way to free you from this thing."

The impossible happened. At the touch of Mercury's hand, and with the genuine warmth of her sincere (if not wise) wish, the grim, cold spell dissolved.

Only pure reflex action saved Jadeite from hitting the muck-encrusted floor face-first as the Scout caught him. The tiny Sailor Scout staggered under the sudden twin burdens of guilty surprise and Jadeite's dead weight. Gently she eased him to the floor, kneeling beside him and deciding to continue acting on instinct for the moment and give aid to the unfortunate Negageneral.

With the destruction of Jadeite's prison, the room went very dark. Only a few patches of the unnatural lichen had survived in this room, and Mercury could barely see the dim figure sprawled on its back next to her. His raspy breathing filled the silence with its harsh susurrus, telling her that she had better figure out what to do--and fast.

Reaching for her communicator, and wishing she had possessed the sense to have used it before she had even entered the room, Mercury was going to call the rest of the Sailor Scouts when a hand snaked out to grasp her wrist with crushing force. "Not so fast, Sailor Mercury," Jadeite warned her as he
cried out in pain.

~*~

Jupiter moved cautiously through rooms as barren as an Arctic plain, slowly becoming fed up with the entire process. She had found nothing on her search of this floor, and she yearned with every fiber of her being for a little action.

Pushing open yet another door, Jupiter peeked in and saw that she had found a room with furnishings, at least. Delighted by the change, she eagerly entered. It was a bedroom, large and spacious. A huge bed, looking somehow more comfortable than any piece of Negafurniture had a right, stood in one corner of the room. Objects Jupiter was tempted to classify as dressers, wardrobes, tables, chairs, and the like were scattered throughout the room. Despite the prevailing grim motif of grey and slime, and the deep shadows, the room seemed almost pleasant. Almost--lived-in.

As she wandered through the apartment, feeling like an intruder, Jupiter's foot struck something small and light. She yelped as it skittered across the floor into a patch of deeper gloom. "What was that?" she demanded, mostly for the reassurance of hearing her own voice. Carefully, and feeling slightly ridiculous for it, Jupiter stalked the cause of the disturbance.

It lay facedown the dust: a small picture frame, the bright gold of it conspicuously out of place in the gloomy surroundings. Curious now, Jupiter picked it up; turning it over, she wiped off the layer of grime.

Two happy faces smiled up at her, seemingly unaware that their little empire had long since crumbled to dust. Zoisite held a pink rose, snuggling happily against Kunzite's shoulder. Both seemed positively unlike the fierce opponents that Jupiter recalled battling.

"Amazing," Jupiter breathed, staring at the portrait, utterly fascinated. "They both seem so--*happy*."

"Even creatures of the Negaverse have emotions, Sailor Jupiter."

This time Jupiter shrieked in earnest, dropping the portrait of Kunzite and Zoisite as she spun around to confront the unknown speaker.

A dry laugh greeted her outburst. "You need not fear me now... I can do little enough harm to anyone these days."

Jupiter stared hard at the shadow-shrouded figure, able only to discern the occasional gleam of pale eyes. "Who-Who are you?" she demanded, cursing herself for stammering.

"I should have thought you knew, having invaded my home so arrogantly." His voice had a dry, dead feeling to it, as though the speaker were a corpse that had not yet sought its grave.

Suddenly Jupiter knew with a dreadful certainty. "You're dead," she said flatly. "Sailor Moon killed you."

Again came the dry, mocking laughter, but Jupiter somehow received the impression that it was directed less at her and more at himself. "Dead? No, I hardly think so, as much as I might wish it otherwise. Sailor Moon's attempt was valiant, but surely you and she and the other Scouts are not so vain that you believe I would let myself be destroyed with my own weapon?"

Jupiter flushed angrily, stung by his words, which bore traces of his old hauteur. "Well, what are you doing, skulking through these ruins?" she blustered. "If you're so great, why haven't you been fighting us? Where were you at the battle with Beryl?"

A sigh like the dry wind blowing across a desert greeted her bravado. "I have told you already, Sailor Jupiter. These days I can do little harm to anyone. As for Beryl, it has been a very long time since I have concerned myself overmuch with her welfare." He sighed again. "I did not care to help her fight with you Scouts, and she received no less than a just punishment at your hands."

"Why do you hate her so much?" Jupiter asked, before realizing the absolute impropriety of the question.

"Because she destroyed the only thing of any value to me," said the dead voice, a flicker of something that might have been pain lending it a momentary semblance of life. "I grow weary of this, Sailor Jupiter. Please remove yourself from this place. When you and your little friends have finished your explorations, kindly do not return to disturb my solitude."

Jupiter could not decide if this was a plea or a command, but she feared the menace in that desiccated voice. Backing up, the heel of her boot touched the portrait. Impulse made her stoop and pick it up. Advancing upon the shadowy figure, she held it out like an offering. "I believe this is yours," she said quietly.

He hesitated for a moment before taking it gently from her hands. "Yes. Yes, it is. Please go now."

Jupiter nodded her head once and hurried for the door, catching one last whispered word as she shut it behind her.

"Zoisite..."

~*~

Still holding Mercury's wrist in a tight grip, Jadeite struggled into a sitting position. Terrified, she stared at the face that had so recently touched her heart in its prison. /I'm a fool,/ she told herself bitterly, /and I've endangered the Scouts--the world.../

Jadeite glanced around the decaying room quickly, used to the dim light and therefore able to see the rot and the rust. He looked back at Sailor Mercury, seeing the pure fear--and the self-recrimination--in her wide eyes. "You?" he said in disbelief. "*You* freed me?"

Her eyes watering with the pain in her wrist, she nodded. "Yes, I did." Her deep regret filled her voice.

Jadeite suddenly realized that he was still clutching his savior's wrist. He released it immediately, apologizing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," he said contritely. "I didn't injure you, did I?" Without waiting for an answer, he put his hands on her wrist again, this time to probe gently for broken bones. "Flex the joint," he commanded.

Bemused, Mercury did as ordered, until Jadeite sighed in apparent relief. "I don't think there's any lasting harm," he pronounced. "My apologies, Sailor Mercury, that was a fine way to treat my rescuer, wasn't it?" He smiled at her charmingly. "I'm afraid that being locked in that thing simply ruined my manners."

Mercury had no idea what to make of Jadeite's oddities, and it showed plainly on her face. He laughed gently at her confusion and attempted to explain. "My dear Sailor Mercury, you have my undying devotion for having released my from my prison inside that crystal." Nothing but absolute sincerity colored his tone. "I owe you a debt that can never be repaid--My life is yours to command."

She blinked at him, deciding that the day couldn't possibly become more surreal. Having a former enemy swear fealty to her disconcerted the Sailor Scout more than she could describe. "How long have you been in that crystal?" she dared ask cautiously.

Jadeite winced. "I cannot tell you the absolute time, my lady, but it was shortly after the romantic cruise fiasco--Beryl's displeasure with me drove her to seal me inside the crystal." He shuddered. "I can tell you that it seemed to be an eternity, a struggle that pitted my entire essence against an infinite void." His voice dropped. "I would have preferred death for my transgressions."

"How awful!" Mercury exclaimed, grasping the abhorrence of Beryl's method of punishment.

"May I ask a question, my lady?" Jadeite said cautiously. Mercury nodded, embarrassed by his respectful attitude. "How long has it been?"

"Several months." As her eyes adjusted to the gloom, Mercury caught the look of dismay that crossed his face.

"So much wasted time," he muttered angrily. He looked at Mercury with flinty eyes. "And what has become of Beryl, my lady?" he asked from between clenched teeth. "I am sure that Sailor Scouts would not walk through the Negaverse with such impunity if Beryl were fully in command of her faculties."

She recoiled slightly from the venom in his velvet voice. "Beryl is dead," she told him quietly. "Princess Serenity destroyed her with the Imperium Silver Crystal a few months ago."

Jadeite smiled, savoring the thought. "I would have loved to have helped her destroy Beryl," he almost purred, "but I am content that she has been punished." Another thought occurred to him. "My lady, what of Beryl's other servants--Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite?"

"Nephrite and Kunzite are both dead, and Zoisite has not been seen in months," Sailor Mercury told him. "We believe that Beryl killed him for attempting to kill Prince Endymion."

Jadeite looked stricken. "Nephrite's dead?" he asked mournfully. Mercury nodded. "How, my lady?"

"He fell in love with a girl named Naru, and died protecting her from Zoisite's monsters," Mercury explained gently, feeling bad for having broken the news to him so harshly. "I'm sorry."

Jadeite nodded briefly. "He was a good friend," he said briefly. "I will miss him."

Mercury shook her head slightly, not used to the thought of seeing Jadeite, this oldest of enemies, as a.... being...with emotions. It was almost as hard as trying to think of him as, if not a friend or ally, an associate.

"Is something wrong, my lady?" Jadeite asked, concerned.

"No, nothing's wrong... Please, don't call me 'lady'," Mercury told him. "It doesn't suit me very well."

Jadeite smiled at her roguishly. "I think it does suit you, Sailor Mercury, quite a bit. Now, may I ask another question?" At her assent, he continued, "How is it that the Sailor Scouts are even in the Negaverse?"

"We're exploring it, looking for potential threats," Mercury confided. "When we're through, we plan to seal it off so that no one else can stumble across it."

Jadeite grinned. "I suppose that I fit into the potential threat category."

His slightly flippant comment had the effect of a splash of cold water on Mercury. With a jolt, she realized that she was beginning to *trust* Jadeite. "Yes, you do," she said coolly.

Jadeite winced, but honesty forced him to understand her point of view. "Sailor Mercury," he said seriously, "you may or may not believe me, but, as far as I'm concerned, the Negaverse lost all of my regard and loyalty for it When Beryl imprisoned me. I've had a lot of time to think about it, and I decided that any cause which treats its loyal servants so badly isn't worth my time or attention. It even occurred to me that maybe I had been fighting on the wrong side all along--I had strange dreams of a time when Beryl would have been my enemy. Whether you choose to trust me or not is irrelevant. As far as I'm concerned, I'm on your side now."

Mercury raised her eyebrows at this, unsure of whether to credit the earnestness of Jadeite's speech or to hold his past crimes and misdeeds against him still. His engaging, candid expression was dangerously persuasive, or so her more sensible self told her easily impressionable heart. She trusted the man she had rescued; what was more important, she *wanted* to trust him. "What am I going to do with you?" she sighed helplessly.

"Can I be of any use to you as you explore for other potential threats?" Jadeite asked, a certain eagerness to please evident in his manner. "This poor excuse for fine architecture may be falling down around our ears, but what could be more useful than a native guide?"

"I ought to check in with the other Scouts," Mercury murmured, reaching for her communicator. Jadeite waved her on, smiling politely.

Just as she was going to contact Sailor Moon, the communicator beeped. Jupiter's face appeared in the view screen, slightly strained and tense. "What's wrong, Sailor Jupiter?" Mercury asked immediately, suddenly painfully conscious of Jadeite sitting next to her.

"I found something," Jupiter announced, looking grim.

"Well?" Mercury prompted, as Jadeite politely pretended not to be listening. "What did you find?"

Jupiter glanced away from the view screen at something over her shoulder, and lowered her voice as she looked back. "Not a what, Mercury, a who." She paused dramatically. "I found Kunzite."

Mercury gasped, perhaps more willing to believe what Jupiter said than she might have been prior to stumbling across Jadeite. "He's alive?" she asked, stomach knotting with dread as she recalled the worst of Beryl's generals.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Jupiter explained. "He's alive--He didn't die when we thought he did, but I think he's given up on living. He didn't care that I had just wandered into his bedroom and poked around, and he doesn't care that we're here. He says he can't hurt anyone now, and just wants us to leave him alone."

Jadeite snickered quietly, amused about something that Mercury couldn't fathom. Ignoring him, the Scout looked guiltily at Jupiter. "Um, Sailor Jupiter, I found something, too," she confessed.

Jupiter looked at her curiously. "What?"

"Well, you remember that you all were urging me to be more spontaneous, right?" Mercury coughed, embarrassed. "Well, I was tracking a weird energy source, and I found a crystal that had Jadeite locked inside it, and, well, I kind of... set him free."

Shocked by this unbelievable act of Mercury's--unbelievable because of the sheer lack of planning and caution that it showed--Jupiter could only stare at Mercury for a minute. Finally, she managed to choke out a strangled question. "You did what?!"

Mercury turned scarlet. "He says he's on our side now," she said quickly. "I think I believe him--I was just going to contact Sailor Moon and suggest that we all meet up--"

"That might be a good idea," the scandalized Sailor Jupiter agreed, dazed. "Maybe they'll find Zoisite and Nephrite, too, and we'll have a matched set..."

Jadeite snickered again, louder. Mercury shushed him. "I'll contact Sailor Moon and Mars--let's meet in the main foyer as soon as possible."

"Right... I'll just contact Venus..." With that, the screen went blank.

"What's wrong with you?" Mercury snapped at Jadeite, who finally felt it safe to laugh freely.

"She just traipsed into Kunzite and Zoisite's room without so much as asking permission--Kunzite must have been livid!" Jadeite nearly howled with laughter at the thought. "He's always been such a stickler about propriety--To have a Sailor Scout just *wander* into his room..." He laughed until tears formed at the corners of his eyes. He sobered suddenly. "I thought that you said he was dead."

Mercury shrugged helplessly. "We thought he was. Of course, we thought you were dead, too."

"Did you say that Beryl killed Zoisite?" Jadeite inquired, brow wrinkling in thought.

Mercury nodded. "That's what we believe. A reliable source told us that Beryl killed Zoisite for attempting to murder Prince Endymion... Apparently, she wasn't very pleased with him anyway, and that was the final straw."

Jadeite shook his head. "Kunzite wouldn't have liked that," he murmured. "He wouldn't have liked that at all..."

Mercury only half-listened to him as she contacted Sailor Moon. An unhappy Moon Princess looked up at her dolefully. "Mercury, I don't like it here," she complained. "It smells bad, and it's slimy, and there's nothing here..."

"There's more than you might think," Mercury said dryly. "Sailor Jupiter and I have both made interesting finds... We want to meet in the main foyer as soon as we can."

"Will we get to go home after that?" Sailor Moon asked hopefully. "I could really go for a hot fudge sundae right now."

"We'll see," Mercury promised cautiously. She cut off the transmission and contacted Sailor Mars.

"Mercury?" Mars asked curiously. "What's going on?"

"Sailor Jupiter and I have both found something," Mercury told her. "We all need to meet up in the main foyer immediately."

Alarms went off in Mars' head. "What did you find?"

Mercury cleared her throat awkwardly. "Um... we've found some old acquaintances, actually. Just get to the main foyer, I'll explain it to you there." Before Mars could make any more demands, Mercury killed the transmission.

"Sailor Moon certainly hasn't changed, has she?" Jadeite grinned. "But, did my ears deceive me? Are there five Sailor Scouts now?"

"Jupiter and Venus have joined us," Mercury shrugged. "That was also after your time. Tell me, what's the fastest way to the main foyer from here?"

"Let me show you." Jadeite smiled at her mysteriously as he climbed to his feet and helped her up. Without asking for permission, he took her hand into his.

An instant of utter blackness enveloped Mercury, but passed quickly. Disoriented by the sudden darkness, she blinked her eyes and stared at her surroundings in confusion. She and Jadeite (who grinned like a pleased little boy at her discombobulation) stood in the main foyer. "What was that?" she demanded, finally regaining the ability to speak.

Jadeite shrugged modestly. "It's just a little trick that we creatures of the Negaverse picked up along the way. It makes navigating this disaster less of a chore." Glancing around and viewing the dimness of the hall with dissatisfaction, he made another observation. "It's too dark in here. I wonder if...?" His voice trailed off thoughtfully. "If you'll pardon me, for a moment, Sailor Mercury, I'll be right back."

Before Mercury could protest, he had disappeared. As she began to curse herself for ever thinking that such a creature could be trusted, Jadeite reappeared, smiling triumphantly. In accompaniment to his return, small crystalline globes attached to the walls came to life, sparkling with a sullen violet glow and illuminating the foyer. "Isn't that better?" he asked, grinning happily.

"You-you-you--" Words failed the outraged Scout as she stared at Jadeite. He smiled at her unrepentantly, too satisfied with surprising her to feel sorry. Helpless before his charming grin, Mercury had to smile back, her anger fading. "What have you done?"

"I reactivated the lights--This place is far too morbid for my taste," Jadeite explained.

~*~

Reposing in the silent shadows of his so recently violated sanctuary, Kunzite brooded. The impertinent interruption and interrogation of Sailor Jupiter had unsettled him far more than he would have cared to admit to anyone. He owed the Sailor Scouts a debt, he supposed, for having run off the group of mere humans who had dared invade his domain, but their decision to do their own investigation annoyed him faintly. /Why should it be so difficult to allow the dead to rest?/ he wondered.

Kunzite considered himself among the dead.

Without warning, the lights flared on, flooding the room with unwanted light. Kunzite flinched, dropping the portrait in his surprise. "How in the name of--"he growled, beginning to swear by a power in which he no longer believed. Kunzite no longer believed in anything. "They couldn't have found the power center, could they?" he mused, a faint curiosity, mingled with irritation, stirring. "Surely none of them would have been able to activate* it..." Only a servant of the Negaverse could possess the knowledge of the intricacies of this bastion of Metallia.

"Damnable meddlers," Kunzite sighed heavily as he rose from his chair, a decision made.

~*~

Jupiter, already nervous because of the sudden light, screamed when Kunzite appeared at her side without any more warning than the lights. He stared at her impassively as she recovered herself and shrank back slightly from his forbidding presence. "Someone has reactivated the power," he commented in his indifferent way. "I would know who among you did this."

Jupiter swallowed, hating herself for quailing beneath the cold glitter of his pale eyes. "I don't know," she said with as much defiance as she could muster.

"Then I will accompany you as you go to meet your fellow encroachers." The finality in his tone defeated any argument that Jupiter might have made.

Jupiter forced the resentment down. "As you wish." She set off again, wishing with all her heart that Kunzite had maintained the decency to have died when Sailor Moon had "killed" him.

~*~

Her nerves twisted to the breaking point, Mars edged forward through the newly illuminated hallways, ready to explode at the slightest provocation. Mercury's mysterious references to "old acquaintances" coupled with the sudden light had done nothing to relax her. She'd rather die than admit it, but the aura of evil and gloom was getting to her... "*What* old acquaintances?" Mars muttered to herself. "We don't have any old acquaintances, and even if we did, what would they be doing in the Negaverse?" Thoroughly unhappy with the entire mess--what had possessed them to even enter this place of evil?--Mars braced herself and peered into the main foyer, where she could hear Mercury laughing and talking with one of the other Scouts.

/Well, she wouldn't be laughing if anything were seriously wrong,/ Mars reasoned. /I'm probably just too wound up for my own good.../ Allowing some of the tension to drain away, she entered the foyer. "Mercury, what's this all about?" she demanded with characteristic impatience. "What was so--" She stopped short, the blood draining from her suddenly slack face as she realized that it was no Sailor Scout to whom Mercury had been speaking.

Jadeite turned and flashed a brilliant smile at Sailor Mars as if completely unconscious of her distress. "Ah, Sailor Mars, so good to see you again," he observed in his silken voice.

"Mars, don't!" Mercury yelled, seeing the promise of violence in her friend's eyes and understanding the mistake in not warning Mars earlier. As Sailor Mars' hands came up in preparation to wreaking considerable damage upon Jadeite, Mercury bolted forward. While Jadeite prudently sought a place to retreat if necessary, she caught hold of Mars' shoulders. "Listen to me, Mars," she pleaded. "He's not an enemy!"

Mars stared at Mercury in disbelief. "Have you lost your mind?" she hissed. "Have you forgotten who Jadeite is?!" All the while, she kept a cautious eye on the tall, blond man, who observed with obvious interest.

"I haven't forgotten," Mercury sighed. "Mars, he's on our side now. I set him free, and I didn't go to all that trouble just to have you roast him, you pyromaniac!"

"You what?" Disbelief quelled the anger. "You didn't--"

Mercury sighed, seeing that the moment of immediate danger was past. "I hadn't meant to, but you guys kept telling me to live in the moment..."

"Sure. Blame it on us." Mars laughed half-heartedly.

"Blame what on us?" Venus, standing just behind Mars and Mercury, had just arrived in time to hear Mars' last comment. "Mercury, Jupiter swore to me that I'd have to see this to believe it, but she wouldn't tell me why she was demanding that we meet."

"Venus, you know how we all thought that Sailor Moon was the biggest meatball-head around, right?" Mars asked, half in jest and half serious. Venus shrugged and nodded. "Mercury has outdone her. She freed Jadeite."

Venus seemed momentarily confused, having never met Jadeite, but then she placed the name. "Jadeite? As in--"

"The evil, depraved monster who had the great misfortune to have never met you?" Jadeite supplied smoothly, smiling as he watched the festivities. Cautiously, Venus skirted Mars and Jupiter to get her first look at Jadeite. "I'm afraid you have the advantage--Are you Sailor Jupiter or Sailor Venus?"

"Venus," she said shortly, pondering the strangely twisting events and trying to recall everything she'd ever been told about Jadeite.

He bowed courteously. "I am Jadeite, reformed bad guy, at your service. Please, do not be too harsh with Sailor Mercury.   I truly doubt that she ever meant to set me free, although I personally find the accident to be a happy one."

Any reply that the three girls might have made was curtailed sharply by the arrival of Sailor Moon, or rather, the noise of her arrival. "Are we ready to go home yet? I wanna go home--It smells *horrible* in here, and there's slime on *everything*! I'm hungry, and they don't even have a video arcade here! What kind of place is this, anyway? They definitely need to hire an interior decorator--Glowing lichen is so last season." The Moon Pincess, walking into the room, tripped over a slight irregularity in the floor and fell neatly on her face. "Ooowww!" she whimpered, "that hurt! And I landed in a puddle of--stuff! Gross!"

A pair of shining brown boots standing before her distracted the Moon Princess's attention. "Perhaps I may be of assistance, Sailor Moon?"

"Oh, thank you--At least someone around here has good manners," Sailor Moon grumbled, accepting the gloved hand extended to her. "I swear, for a Moon Princess, I don't get much respect--" She looked up at the amused face of Jadeite and shrieked.

   He winced and released her hand. "Some things truly never change," he lamented wryly. In spite of her misgivings, Mars giggled at that. "Sailor Moon, allow me to take this opportunity to apologize for certain misguided actions in my past. With the clarity afforded by hindsight, I realize that I have been in the wrong to serve Metallia. If it's not too late, I should like to ally myself with the Sailor Scouts."

"Okay, that's it. This is all just a nightmare, isn't it," Sailor Moon said flatly. "I put up with the slime, and the smell, and being hungry and cold, but I'm putting my foot down at being made fun of by Jadeite. It's not enough that Mars treats me like this when I'm *awake*, but I refuse to take it in my dreams, too. I *demand* to wake up, right now!" She crossed her arms angrily and stamped her foot for emphasis.

   "It's not a dream, Sailor Moon," Mercury said, releasing Mars' arms and walking over to the pouting princess. "I sort of accidentally set Jadeite free-He's very much real, Sailor Moon. You're not asleep."

Sailor Moon blinked. "So our oldest enemy wants to make peace with us because you made a mistake," she repeated. Looking suspiciously at Mercury, she asked, "Are you *sure* I'm not dreaming?"

"This is really happening, Meatball-head," Mars confirmed. She glared at Jadeite, silently promising him that she would cream him if he so much as blinked his eyes at the wrong time. "This is one problem I thought we hadn't need to worry about any more."

Mercury moved to stand between the Scouts and Jadeite. "Look, I'm the one who's responsible for this happening," she said quietly. "I'll take responsibility for what happens. Whatever happens will be my fault, okay?"

Venus, gazing at Jadeite critically, slowly nodded, willing to risk it. "I'll give him a chance," she agreed.

   "That's real easy for you to do," Mars grumbled. "You've never had to fight this guy." She scowled furiously.

   "Oh, lighten up, Mars," Sailor Moon sniffed. "He said he's sorry and wants to be on our side now."

"And you *believe* him? Good grief, Sailor Moon, you do have noodles in your head to go with the meatballs on the outside."

"Hey!" Sailor Moon protested, miffed. "I resent that."

"You mean you *resemble* that."

"Do not!"

"Do to!"

Jadeite, embarrassed, witnessed two of the girls who had caused him so many headaches in the past sticking out their tongues at each other in a raspberry contest. /How did they ever manage to beat any of us?/ he wondered silently, truly confused. /If I didn't know better, I'd say that they'd never stop fighting with each other long enough to fight the Negaverse./

Mars turned her back on Sailor Moon, nose held high in the air. "Well, I'm sure Jupiter will agree with me that we don't need any Negatrash on our side," she declared.

Politely ignoring the insult, Jadeite chose to intervene. "Speaking of Sailor Jupiter, shouldn't she have joined us by now?" he questioned diplomatically.

   "Hey, yeah... Where is Jupiter?" Sailor Moon asked.

   Venus wondered silently why Mercury had a sudden coughing fit.

~*~

"Sailor Jupiter, I do not appreciate being led in circles," Kunzite said grimly. "If you believe that this will keep you from having to lead me to your pathetic little friends, you are gravely mistaken."

Jupiter gritted her teeth. "Nobody asked you to come along," she growled. "Why don't you go back to that mausoleum you call a bedroom if you don't appreciate being led in circles?"

"Curb your temper, Sailor Jupiter," Kunzite warned her. "My patience with you is wearing thin."

"I'm so frightened," Jupiter said contemptuously. "You've already told me that you can't do much harm any more, and frankly, my patience with you is wearing thin. Go back to your solitude, Kunzite." Anger was getting the best of her, but Jupiter no longer cared. "I don't even believe that it was an act at that last battle we had. I think you were hurt, and badly, and had to go lick your wounds like an animal, and now you cower in your den like a dog whose master has abandoned him!"

"You go too far, Sailor Jupiter," Kunzite said, his apathetic voice gaining a tinge of warmth.

Jupiter snorted. "Do I? I don't. You never were anything but Beryl's dog, for all your fine-sounding words about your indifference to her fate. I know what Beryl took from you, and I refuse to believe that anyone with any spirit of his own would have accepted that as I know you did." Recklessly, she plunged on. "You may despise us Sailor Scouts, but at least we stand for something-and what's more, at least we stick with what we stand for. You don't stand for anything except your own self-pity. It's no wonder that the
Sailor Scouts win."

Kunzite's eyes glittered with rage. "You--You--" he choked, inarticulate with his anger. He raised his hand as if to strike her.

Jupiter raised her chin proudly. "Go ahead. Hit me. Kill me. You know it's true," she declared. "No matter what you do to me, you can't deny the truth. Not forever."

Kunzite clenched his hands into fists and turned away abruptly. "You do not know me, Sailor Jupiter," he hissed, "and until you do, I would suggest that you refrain from judging matters that you do not understand. Now, shall we proceed?"

With the taste of a victory that was no victory in her mouth, Jupiter shrugged her shoulders, even though he couldn't see her. "I would if I could, but I'm lost."

There was a long moment in which Jupiter could see Kunzite struggling to regain his equilibrium. When he finally turned around, there was something in his grey eyes that could have been anger, but could also have been amusement. "Just how long, pray tell, has the mighty Sailor Scout been lost?" he asked.

Jupiter grinned. "Well, I had been going in circles for five minutes when you joined me."

Kunzite's mouth twitched. "You didn't feel it necessary to mention this?"

She shrugged again. "You never bothered to ask where we were going, and that sort of thing gets on my nerves."

Kunzite closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Where did you intend to go, Sailor Jupiter?" he asked with exaggerated politeness.

"I'm supposed to meet the rest of the Scouts in the main foyer so that we can discuss our discoveries." Jupiter couldn't resist adding, "Do you want to come along as Exhibit A?"

Shaking with the exertion of controlling himself, Kunzite nodded tersely. "Yes. I will take us there now."

Jupiter, expecting him to point out the direction in which they should begin walking, gasped as blackness enveloped her. As quickly as it came it departed, leaving her to discover that she and Kunzite were standing in the foyer, amid the Sailor Scouts and Jadeite. After a moment of shock on the parts of all parties, Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Sailor Moon began shrieking. Mercury, who had made a similar journey, contented herself with a merely surprised look.

Jadeite grinned broadly at Kunzite. "Congratulations, old boy--You've scared the living daylights out of them," he said. The tone of the screeching changed as Venus, Mars, and Sailor Moon realized that Kunzite was standing among them. Jadeite looked faintly offended. "They seem to be much more frightened of you than they were of me," he suggested. "Of course, you have the advantage of being presumed dead."

Kunzite, shocked in his own way to see Jadeite, had had enough of the shrill voices. "Be silent!" he bellowed.

Startled, Venus, Mars, and Sailor Moon shut up.

Kunzite looked at Jadeite. "How--the crystal--you were *trapped*--" Befuddled for all to see, he appealed to Jadeite for an explanation.

"I have the lovely Sailor Mercury to thank for my rescue." Jadeite smiled warmly at Mercury. "She, although inadvertently, set me free."

"The result being that you've thrown in your lot with the Sailor Scouts." Kunzite didn't need to be told; he could see it in the way Jadeite had been cozily conversing with the girls.

Jadeite lost a little of his easy good humor. "There has been a pronounced lack of good treatment for the employees of our former mutual employer," he said coolly. "I've joined a group that promises to be much better.... Besides, Beryl's dead. There's no one for me to work for. Furthermore, it wasn't the Negaverse that freed me. The only person to offer me any good will at all seems to be a member of the opposition--an opposition that I'm no longer opposed to." He paused. "You always were the strongest of us, Kunzite, and you can try to compel me to join you in whatever schemes you have for the future, but I promise you this--I'd rather die than serve Metallia again." Despite the lightness of his tone, his determination was plainly seen.

Kunzite held up a placating hand while the Scouts watched the confrontation, fascinated. "You have no need to fear that I would force you back into bondage, Jadeite--I have no interest in anything but my own solitude. I merely wished to see who had managed to turn the lights on."

"Well, you see me, old boy." Jadeite smiled politely. "It was a bit dark in here."

Kunzite shrugged slightly. "I like the dark." He glanced briefly at the badly frightened Scouts. "You will be going with them, I assume?"

"Perhaps, if they'll let me." Jadeite smiled ruefully. "If I can persuade them that my change of sentiments is genuine."

Kunzite nodded gravely. "Luck to you, Jadeite--May this prove more fruitful than your last venture." With that, he disappeared.

Mars rounded on Mercury, releasing the pent-up adrenaline in a torrent of volatile words. "Was that one of your 'old acquaintances'?!" she demanded shrilly.

"Calm down, Mars," Jupiter said mildly. "I found him."

"I thought we had killed him," Sailor Moon moaned in despair. "It's just not fair--Why couldn't he have just stayed dead?"

"Kunzite's always been the contrary sort," Jadeite supplied. He chuckled. "Even if he seems to have lost most of his will to live."

"You noticed that, too, huh?" Venus asked.

Jadeite nodded. "Oh, yes...Perhaps, if Zoisite hadn't died, he'd have grand plans to take over where Beryl left off..." He shrugged philosophically. "But, he doesn't, which is good for the rest of us."

Mars didn't like the way he was insinuating himself into the group, but considered that having Jadeite on their side while Kunzite was running around might not be such a bad thing after all.

"Can we go home now?" Sailor Moon asked plaintively. "This place is getting on my nerves!"

"I agree with Sailor Moon," Venus added. "Let's book it out of here." The other three Scouts--and Jadeite, to Mars' annoyance--chorused their own assent to the proposal. Venus looked quizzically at the newly proclaimed ally of good. "Were you planning on leaving, too?"

"Of course--I never really liked this place anyway, and it's hardly appropriate for me to stay." Jadeite looked at the five Scouts hopefully. "You *will* let me come with you, won't you?"

The five girls looked at each other doubtfully. "Um, well..." Jupiter began carefully, "I don't think we had really *thought* about it..."

"Of course you can come with us," Mercury said firmly. She stared her friends down defiantly. "He can stay with me."

"But--" Venus started to protest.

"No buts." Mercury folded her arms across her chest. "If he's my responsibility, he'll stay at my house." She nodded as if the matter were settled. "Now, let's go home."

Unaccustomed to this aspect of Mercury as they were, the four admitted defeat.

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