Hosted by www.Geocities.ws Legalities :P... All rights go to Naoko Takeuchi... Blah, blah, blah.... :P THINGS U NEED TO KNOW B4 YOU START: Ppl Have been e-mailing me 'bout one of the phrases. NO, when Serenity referred to the scout, namely Hohtaruu, as her sister, she was not aware that she was her sister. It is a figure of speech meaning a female who is emtionally close to that person. On with the show! CHAPTER 9: ************************************************* Serenity, or rather, Serena now, opened her eyes to find herself alone, in a huge room in a part of that white castle, with Alexander. The man in question was relaxing comfortably on a great, emerald chair, which sat upon a three-stepped, emerald dais. He sipped casually at a silver and sapphire goblet, and gazed at her. She looked down at herself and realized why. The silver crystal of the future, (The one that belonged to Serenity,) Had somehow joined with the other crystal, (Serena's, the one in the locket,) And the two hung at her neck, one on top of the other, on an antique silver chain. Alexander stood up and crossed the short distance to her. He leaned down so he could look into her eyes, but they changed somehow. A silver membrane had slid over them, and she now sat rigidly, gazing into space. _______________________________________________________ Serena thought back to her first clash with the Negaverse. Back to when she was held captive by a similarly white-haired young man... Diamond held Sailor moon, who was dressed in a flowing gown of white, blue and black, a Negaverse outfit, firmly in his icy grip. He was trying to control her, enter her mind and take over, by gazing deep with in her eyes and turning her soul against her. What he wanted she would not give. He wanted her. He wanted the posession of not only her body, which he had at the moment, but of her soul, even if it meant she would walk around in a trance-like stupor for the rest of her days. For a moment, it worked, and she leaned up toward him, but in the last second, some small, remote part of herself refused to allow it, and pulled her away, showing her tender moments of herself and Darien, as they fought together for the future, for their love, though unrevealed at the time. "Never!" She cried. "You may be able to control my body, but I will never love you!" From that point on, everything went down hill, ending with the death of the poor, misguided fool by his own advisor. _______________________________________________________ The membrane was gone as quickly as it had come, and Serena gazed back at him out of those dark blue pools of beauty once more. Lifting her by her pale forearms from her seat at the cold outter rim of the room, he guided her, or rather pulled her along, for she resisted silently, to a seat across from his next to the smooth, blue, perfectly still expanse of water that was his scrying pool. Shifting his hands to her shoulders he gently forced her down on the soft plush and wrapped her delicate fingers around a goblet similar to his own, full of warm amber liquid. Sure that she would not, and could not move from that place, he transported out of the room momentarily to check on her annoying scout friends. Seconds later he returned and released the binding spell from her. Seeing those azure eyes filled with the pain and wrongness, of the mad, made her feel sorry for him, and her steely resolve softened. She could still feel the sadness of Diamond's death, and it made it all the worse. Maybe, if she could play along, she could get him to let her see Terra, and maybe even Hohtaaruu, and they could heal him, instead of being forced to kill him. So when she glanced at him, she let her look hold just the right shade of deflation for one who has given up, and is ready to cooperate. Even then she couldn't bring herself to sip at the welcome drink. Returning to his seat, Alexander spoke again. "What makes you so sad, princess? The last I remember you, you were dancing happily around the room at your engagement ball." She fought hard to keep the delight from showing in her carriage. He hadn't watched! He didn't know about the fall of the Silver Millenium, the battles with the Negaverse, her inauguration! So, when the time came, she would become herself, and surprise him enough to allow the incantations to be spoken. Belatedly, she answered, "Worried about my sisters and nothing more, Alex." Her cooperation was the last thing he had expected, and he light heartedly assured her, "Oh, I promise you, they are safe and sound, right here in my castle." The scrying pool lit up with a white light and of a sudden she could see them, all in one comfortably furnished room, pacing agitatedly. None were hurt, and that relieved her greatly. Grasping the crystals that hung about her neck, she sent word to all of her sisters about her plan, and the time to do it. Watching her closely, Alexander inquired, "How fares queen Serenity?" Thinking fast, Serena stood and crossed the room, flirting with him, pulling his power closer to her crystal. "She's getting on in her age, but she's as sprightly as ever." Serena sat on the edge of his chair. Suspicious, Alexander stood, pulling her up by her upper arms along with him. "What do you want? You're engaged! This is nothing like I remember you acting!" Leaning up, preparing her powers for the transformation, she kissed him. He responded faintly, still waiting for an answer. She kissed him harder, tapping his elemental power of wind as she did so. He didn't try to pull away this time, but wrapped his arms about her waist and kissed her back. Just a few more seconds... Untangling her slender fingers from his white hair, Serena stepped back and whispered sadly, "I want you to be alright again, Alex..." And she lofted the two crstals high above her head. "Moon Cosmic Healing Power!" She cried. And the white haired man stared in astonishment as the woman he thought was Princess Serena became older in a flash of beautiful light. Meanwhile... In the room, the other scouts had formed their circle, leaving the place in the middle open for Serenity. "Saturn Healing Crystal Power... Saturn Warrior Crystal Power... Mercury Cosmic Power... Venus Cosmic Power... Jupiter Cosmic Power... Mars Cosmic Power... Time Key Healing Power...!" One by one the warriors of time and space called to their respective regions for the assistance to heal one of their elemental counterparts. One by one the mighty planets answered. Light of all colors and forms circled around them before whisking them to the room where the Queen and the elemental stood, placing them in their spots. The Quicksilver light swirled round and round, brighter and faster, but still couldn't penetrate the barrier of wind about Alexander as he called upon his tower... To Be Continued..... ************************************************** Don't you just hate it when I do that? Questions, comments, suggestions, flames, complaints? E-mail me @ [email protected]. ^.~ :)