Zhou opened his eyes just as Jian-wa�s small form had been completely enclosed in a crystalline encasing. The woman seemed to be a conduit, transferring the crystal from the blond man to the child. She stood between them, chanting in a language he had never heard before, and the ice-like substance flowed from the man�s prison to her hand, arcing above like an icy rainbow to her other hand, where it shot as if aimed to further build the crystal around the boy.
At first Zhou thought it was fitting that Jian-wa should be imprisoned after killing Ying. It was obvious that the woman was calling the shots; could she have betrayed him to set loose the older, probably more important man? He wouldn�t put it past her, but Zhou had the feeling there was something bigger at work here. The air was charged with evil, such that even he could sense it. Zhou had the horrible feeling that this was the purpose behind Ying�s death. She had been brutally murdered so that the military guy could be set free and Jian-wa could be encased in the crystal� but to what end?
He didn�t know. He didn�t want to know! All he knew was that he wouldn�t let Ying be used by evil!
Again he ran at the woman, this time without a word. Her eyes were on the arc above her. She never saw him coming.
He tackled her, breaking the chain that she had created, but in the next instant, she sent him flying across the church.
�You fool!� she screeched, her face turning purple with rage.
Zhou could indeed see how foolish he had been. The field transferring the crystalline substance hadn�t been broken at all. It showered down on the ground below it and began to spread, covering everything in its path with the same layer of crystal that had entrapped the man and Jian-wa.
Already the woman had been touched with it, and she continued screaming at him about the power of that spell until she was completely enclosed in it.
The power didn�t stop there. It continued forward, covering the floor and pews, the altar and Ying � spreading in all directions. Zhou didn�t wait for it, scrambling out the door and thanking his lucky stars that that was the direction towards which the woman had tossed him.
In his hurry, he stumbled down the steps. �Ai ya!� he swore as he tried to catch his balance with the bushes, and ended up falling into them instead, his legs over his head and tangled in the branches.
It was in that undignified position that he was frozen in perfect stasis when the �Eternal Sleep� reached him a second later.
And it was in that undignified position that he found himself when he awoke a thousand years later, freed just like the rest of the world by the girl who was just about to be named Neo-Queen Serenity.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Zhou wondered if the girl flung over his shoulder knew about Jian-wa�s part in the worldwide disaster that had frozen the entire population of Earth. But of course she didn�t. This poor girl seemed blissfully unaware of Jian-wa�s past before Zhou�s kidnap of her.
He reached the altar and set her down so that she could find support to stand against the human-sized cross he had set up here. Even that wasn�t enough support with the effects of the drug, it seemed, for she sank to the floor. Her eyes were closed, and he thought the drug might have knocked her out already until she managed a weak, �Why�?�
�Your koibito killed my Ying.� She moaned a �no,� but he continued, feeling the need to exonerate himself of the guilt he felt. �I am sorry you got caught up in this all. I�m sure you�re just as innocent as Ying was when he killed her. But accounts must be paid. He needs to get back what he gave to me all those years ago.�
Her eyes popped open, but he was too busy digging through his bag for the rope he needed to tie her to the cross to notice. �Y- You� promised,� she protested softly.
�I�m sorry you�re involved. I really am. But the sedative should knock you out soon, and you won�t feel a thing, really. I�ve had a long time to think this out. A thousand years, you might say. Trust me, I want to make this as painless for you as possible.�
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Haruka deposited Tenshi in front of Neo-Queen Serenity, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and took a seat next to Michiru. Tenshi saw Michiru whisper something in Haruka�s ear, smiling mischievously. Haruka gave a small cough into her fist, but Tenshi could see the slight smile on her face. Even after years of marriage, Michiru could still push Haruka�s buttons the right way.
*Koneko and I will be the same way!* Tenshi thought joyously. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She was getting married right now! With another anticipatory breath, she turned to her �groom� wanting to hold her in her eyes for the whole wedding.
But something was wrong. Neko only met her gaze for a second, then averted her eyes, looking at Neo-Queen Serenity as she began the ceremony instead. And even for that second, Tenshi didn�t feel that everything was right.
Tenshi gingerly took Neko�s hand, interlacing their fingers like she always did. Slowly, Neko looked at her.
Tenshi did a double-take. Despite the forced lovey-dovey expression on her face, the violet eyes staring into her aquamarine ones held no signs of loving her. They didn�t sparkle at her like she knew Neko�s should, especially on a day like today. Instead, the surface reflected worry and concentration. Beneath the surface were the familiar barriers, fire, and more persistent worries that Tenshi knew belonged to the other Mizuno twin. �M��
She didn�t get the chance to mouth the rest of Mi-chan�s name before she felt the intrusion of Neko into her mind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
