As The Tears Fel~Read Me 
Disclaimer: Neither Sailor Moon nor any of it's character belong to me. This story 
does, as do the characters of Katherine and Queen Victoria. If you would like to 
use them please ask me first. Thank you. 

Important Stuff: 
1.)  This is a silver millenium fanfic. But please don't let that discourage you from 
reading it, it will turn out really really good I promise! 
2.)  This is also a scout/general story. Meaning that even though it may take a 
while, Mina will be with Malachite, Lita will be with Nephlite, Ami will be with 
Zoisite, and (my fav couple) Rei will be with Jeadite. One pair will not get 
together, cause of some...stuff...i don't want to say anything more cause I do not 
want to ruin the story. But they will fall in love with each other, but they won't 
get the chance to tell each other. (if youhav read my other stories you may know 
who this is) 
3.)  While this isn't a sequel to Courage Under Fire, or I'll Be Seeing You, it does 
relate to them and you may like it a bit more if you have read the others. If you 
have read Courage Under Fire, you will most likely remember parts where Rei and 
Jed, and the others, talk about things that happened during the Silver Millenium. 
This story is where all that ties in. This is my account of what happened in the 
Silver Millenium. 
4.)  This is my also my account of why there is no Sailor Earth. I always 
wondered about that, and I figured this ties in kind of well. I also explain why 
Beryl and the Generals were sent to the future. If you think about it, it never 
really made sense, I mean, why would Serenity send the enemy to the future als. 
I have come up with what I think is a unique and interesting reason for why all 
this occured the way it did. 
5.)  This story, As the Tears Fell, starts out when Rei and Jeadite are children. 
Rei is 5 and Jeadite is 7. Then they are 7 and 9, and when Jeadite leaves for Earth, 
he is 12, along with the other generals and the Prince. Rei is 10 at the time. Then 
when she leaves for the moon, the Generals are 14, and Rei and the scouts and the 
Princess are all 12. When they all meet up again, Generals are 19, and Scouts are 
17. 
6.)  Last note, (I think) When I say Generals, that usually means Endmyion also, 
and when I say scouts, that usually means Serenity. Nicknames and other names 
used and such can be found on each separate part. 
I am so happy that this if finally done! Course now I have to write out all these 
disclaimers. Ok lets see where to start. Sailor Moon does not belong to me and 
never has. I am not making any money off this. I don't know any thing about the 
King or Queen of Mars during the silver millenium so in my story there is jsut a 
queen ok? Oh yeah, this is a silver millenium fic in which the generals will 
eventually be paired up with the scouts. The story starts though, on Mars, with a 
five year old Rei, (meaning the other scouts are also five or around there.) and a 
seven year old Jeadite.(Generals are also 7.) It may help you to have read my first 
story Courage Under Fire, but is not necessary for you to understand and enjoy 
this one. If you have read it, this is the story that explains Rei and jeadite's 
relationship in the past, and everyone elses. If you have not read my other story, 
then this is just a silver millenium fic that pairs the scouts andthe generals. Sorry 
this is getting really long. Although these characters aren't mine, the story is so 
don't take it or i will be forced to sue. Anyway feel free to post this whereever, 
just please give me an e-mail address. I can be found at pekkle9983@aol.com. 
Please let me know what you think of this story. The next aprt will be out soon. 
Oh couple more tiny things. U may find this fanfic under a few names, rest 
assured they are all me in most cases ok? And pelase don't bug me about 
prrofreading, typing, or spelling errors. I try but i am not perfect ok? Rei=Raye, 
Ami=Amy, all the rest are the same, and Zoisite is a guy, Ami is not a lesbian ok? 
please enjoy. 

As the Tears Fell~Chapter One 

By MCRK 

"Mommmmy why do I have to meet him? He's gonna be a dork!" Princess Rei of 
Mars was whining to her mother about having to meet Jeadite. Victoria, Queen of 
Mars, sighed as she put her head in her hands while she gained strength. A moment 
later she raised her head and answered her daughter. 

"Rei, darling, Jeadite's mother is a very good friend of mine. I have not seen her in 
many years and that is why she is coming to visit. Seeing as you are the princess, 
and they are our guests, it is only polite for you to show Jeadite around out 
kingdom." She said gently. 

Rei crossed her arms in anger. "He's going to be a dork. He is going to make fun of 
me 'cause I am only five and he is already seven." 

Rei's mother looked at her sternly. "Jeadite will be a perfect gentleman I am sure. 
And therefore you will act like a proper young lady, which means no name calling 
or teasing." She said. "And do not say 'cause. Proper young ladies say because." 
She chided. 

"Don't worry. I won't be mean to him because I am not meeting him!" The 
princess stamped her foot stubbornly to emphasize her point. 

"Rei you will meet him without any complaint and that is final." Victoria said 
firmly. 

Rei pouted for a few minutes still trying to get her way. After a few minutes it 
was obvious to her she was going to have to meet him whether she wanted to or 
not. "Fine. I'll meet him but I am not going to do it happily." She said as she 
pouted. 

********* 

Across the galaxy, on the sun, a mother was having the same argument with her 
child. The only difference was that this child was a boy, and his name, Jeadite. 
"Awwww Mom, c'mon do I really have to go?" Jeadite complained. 

"Who would you stay with?" His mother asked. 

"I could stay by myself. I am responsible." He suggested. 

His mother turned to look at him with a smirk on her face. "I don't think so. You 
are going to have to come with me." She turned to add more clothes to the suitcase 
lying open on Jeadite's bed. 

Jeadite scowled. "How come we have to go anyway?" He asked jumping on the 
bed. 

Katherine looked up from packing to see her son bouncing on the bed. "Jeadite 
stop bouncing!" She scolded. "We are going to Mars because the queen is a very 
close friend of mine whom I have not seen in years. She has invited us to go visit 
so we can talk." She explained as Jeadite stopped bouncing and sat down on the
bed. "And besides you should be honored, you are going to get to meet the 
princess of Mars. Not many people can say that." Kat said smiling. 

"Not many people can say that they are one of Endymion's future guards either. 
Doesn't that give me enough to brag about?" Jeadite asked sarcastically. 

Kat turned to glare at him. "You don't tell anyone that do you?" She asked 
suddenly worried. 

"Don't worry. No one else knows." 

"Good." His mother's usually cheery disposition returned. "And not only will 
you get to meet the princess, you will be with her most of our trip there." she 
said. 

He rolled his eyes. "Great, so why you go talk with the queen for hours on end, I 
get to hang out with a girl. One who is only five years old at that!" He exclaimed. 

Kat gave him another look. "She may be younger then you, and she may be a girl, 
but I am sure the two of you will get along wonderfully. And you," Her voice 
suddenly changed from a soft tone to a stern one, " are going to be a gentleman to 
her no matter what. That means no fighting, teasing, or name calling." 

Jeadite made a sour face. "Fine but if I have a terrible time on mars it is going to
be 
all your fault." "I think I will be able to find a way to live with that." Kat said 
wryly. 

********* 

"It's bad enough I have to spend all my time with him once he gets here, but now I 
have to wait here 'till he comes too?" Rei cried. "I could be waiting here all day! 
Please can I go play for a little while? Pleeeeeeease???" She pleaded. 

Victoria sighed. Fighting with a five-year-old was hopeless. Especially with one 
this stubborn. "Fine. You can go play for a little while, but you mustn't get dirty." 
She said in defeat. 

Rei beamed happily. "Oh thank you thank you thank you!" She said happily as 
she turned and started to run out of the room. 

"I am going to summon you when they arrive." Her mother called after her. 

Rei barely heard her as she raced out of the palace and headed towards the gardens, 
her favorite place. 'Finally I'm free!' She though as she ran down the hill. She was 
so into her thoughts she did not even realize that she was about to run into a young 
boy at the bottom of the hill. By the time she realized what was about to happen, 
it was too late to stop. "WATCH OUT!!!" She screamed right before crashing into 
him. 

'This planet sucks.' Jeadite thought. 'There is no other kids here.' He had persuaded 
his mom to let him explore the palace grounds before they had to go meet the queen. 
So far though, he hadn't found much of anything. 

"WATCH OUT!" He heard the voice scream. He looked up as a tiny girl came 
flying into him knocking both of them to the ground. 

"Hey watch where you are going." He said irritably as he stood up and brushed 
himself off. 

"Sorry. I didn't see you." Rei apologized. 

"Well make sure it doesn't happen again." Jeadite snapped. She stood up eyes 
flashing in anger. 

"I said I was sorry. But you should be the one apologizing. Apparently you aren't 
from around here 'cause otherwise you wouldn't talk to me like that. Do you have 
any idea who I am?" She asked holding her head high. 

He rolled his eyes. "Do I really care?" He asked. 

Rei, now infuriated, narrowed her eyes at him. "You are an inconsiderate idiotic 
commoner and I will not waste any more of my time with you." She flipped her 
hair and stormed off. As he watched her walk away Jeadite realized that even 
though she seemed much younger then him and she was a girl, she was the first kid 
he had seen on this stupid planet, so unless he wanted to play by himself, he had 
better apologize. 

"Hey wait a second," he called out, running up to her and placing a hand on her 
shoulder to stop her. 

Rei whirled around, still angry. "What do you want?" She demanded. 

"To apologize." He said. She looked at him expectantly. "I'm sorry about before. 
Can we be friends?" He asked offering his hand and an apologetic smile. 

She tried to continue glaring at him but found it impossible, his warm friendly 
smile melting her anger. Slowly she smiled back shaking his hand in agreement. 
"Ok friends." She agreed. 

"You wanna play a game?" Jeadite suggested. 

"You have one in mind?" Rei asked. 

He smiled evilly as he reached over and once again tapped her shoulder. "Tag. 
You're it!" He shouted as he raced away in a fit of laughter. Rei, not about to be 
left out of the game, started chasing after him. The two caught each other 
numerous times but one particular time when Jeadite was about to catch Rei, she 
stopped suddenly causing him to run into her. "Hey what's wrong?" He asked as 
he suddenly felt his mother summoning him. 

"I'm sorry but I have to leave now. It is very important." She explained. 'Mommy 
who come you had to summon me now?' She thought, 'Now I have to go meet 
that dork Jeadite.' 

"It's ok. I have to go also." He said. 'To meet that idiot princess Rei.' He silently 
added. 

"Sorry." Rei said backing away. 

"Wait!" Jeadite called. "What's your…name?" He realized that he was asking no 
one so he teleported himself to the palace. Once he appeared again he was next to 
his mother. The first person that he saw was Queen Victoria of Mars who he 
respectively bowed to. As he rose he noticed the little girl from earlier standing 
next to the queen. 

"You!" They both exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" Jeadite asked. 

"Me? I live here. What are you doing here?" she asked. 

His mouth dropped open as he stared at her. 'She must be like a servant or 
something.' He thought sensibly. It was then that for the first time that day he 
noticed the fancy dress that she was wearing. 'She's too rich looking to be a 
servant. But that would mean…no! There is no way that that is the princess!' He 
assured himself. 

The queen, although confused about how and when the two could have met, 
decided this was the best time for introductions. She turned to Jeadite and his 
mother. "Katherine, Jeadite, I would like you to meet…" 

Jeadite closed his eyes. 'No no no!' He thought. 

"…my daughter, Princess Rei of Mars." She finished. Jeadite wished the floor 
would open and swallow him. 

"Rei, this is my friend Katherine, and her son Jeadite." 

Rei smiled politely and curtsied. "Please to meet you 'quantainces." She said 
softly. 

"Acquaintances." Victoria whispered in her ear. Rei quickly correct herself. As it 
finally sunk in that the little girl he had been yelling at before was the princess, 
Jeadite dropped down to one knee in front of her and bowed his head. 

"Please forgive me princess. I had not idea whom I was talking too earlier. I extend 
my deepest apologies." He said still down on the floor. 

Rei, not having had much experience in this, stood there looking helplessly while 
the adults chuckled slightly. 

Victoria took pity on her daughter and helped her out. "Jeadite you may stand." 
She said. "Now I am not sure what happened between the two of you, or how you 
even met, but I am sure that Rei forgives you." The queen assured him. 

Jeadite however still looked worried as he looked down at Rei. 

She smiled kindly at him as she reassured him, "Don't worry, I forgive you." 

He breathed a sigh of relief as he smiled back at the princess. 'Maybe this trip 
won't be so terrible after all.' He thought. 

"Rei since Katherine and I would like to talk, how about you show Jeadite the rest 
of the palace." Victoria suggested. 

"Ok." She said happily. Then she noticed the guards in the corner. "Do they have 
to come with me?" She asked in a low whisper. "They." Meaning the guards that 
usually were ordered to watch over the princess. 

"Yes sweetie. I know you don't like it very much but we need to make sure you 
are safe." 

Rei made a face. "Of fine. C'mon let's go!" She explained grabbing Jeadite's hand 
and dragging him away. 

"And to think, she was determined she was going to hate him." Victoria murmured. 
********* 

"And those are the gardens over there." Rei said pointing to a large area filled with 
beautiful flowers. 

"Wait, can we sit a minute?" Jeadite asked completely out of breath. The princess 
had dragged him all over the palace grounds showing him all her favorite places to 
go. 

"Sure," she said leading him over to a small stone bench where the two of them sat 
down. "You know, you never told me where you are from." Rei said. 

"The sun." Jeadite answered. 

"Wow!" Rei said impressed. "You came all the way from the sun? I've always 
wanted to visit there." 

"Don't." Jeadite said quickly. "It's not that nice there. It's very hot all the time
and there is not much rain so there are no flowers are anything. It is much nicer
here on Mars." He said glancing about at all the flowers. 

Rei beamed. "You like it here?" she asked. He nodded. 'Good. 'Cau
Hey guys glad you like it so much you are back for the second part! Neway, you 
know the stuff, Sailor Moon and the others do not belong to me, this story does, 
post wherever as long as you put an e-mail address to Pekkl9983@aol.com. Uh 
what else? This is a silver millenium story, but it is still good so please read 
anyway. So far Rei and Jeadite are the only two (out of all the scouts and generals) 
that appear in this story. This part still focuses only on them. Sorry for all of you 
waiting for everyone else, but the next part will be on these two only also. After 
that it should start introducing at least the prince,(Endymion) and the other 
generals. Ok now that I have taken enough of your time up by making you read 
this, please read the story, hopefully enjoy it, and please please please e-mail me 
with your comments when you are done! Please! 

As The Tears Fell By MCRK 

Rei was awakened the next morning by a knock at her bed room door. She wearily 
dragged herself out of her nice warm bed letting her lavender nightgown fall to her 
ankles. She walked over to the door, and while rubbing her eyes to try and wake up, 
she opened it to find a grinning Jeadite standing there. 

"Morning." He said cheerfully. 

"Hi." She said pushing the hair out of her face. "Can I ask why you dragged me 
outta," she paused to yawn, "My nice warm bed?" 

Jeadite gave an exasperated sigh. "If you want to waste all day sleeping go ahead. 
But I thought you would want to come outside and play?" He asked. 

Rei smiled happily. "OK you go wait outside. I gotta get dressed then I will come 
out too ok?" 

He nodded and left closing the door behind him. After getting dressed and fixing 
her hair Rei ran outside, only to find no one there. "Jed?" she asked cautiously. 

She heard something rustling in the bushes behind her and and turned around to 
investigate. 

Just as she did, Jeadite popped out and yelled, "Boo!" She screamed in shock. 
"Whoa calm down! Sorry I didn't think it would scare you so much." He 
apologized. 

"It's ok. I just didn't expect it that's all." She said. She smiled mischievously,
"But, 
now it's my turn to hide. Bye." Rei waved her hand as she turned and ran off to 
hide. 

Jeadite watched her run off and groaned as he realized he had no idea where one 
would hide in a castle this large. 'Oh well, I'm sure I can find her, I mean how hard 
could it be? I might want to start counting though.' He thought. He started to 
shout out the numbers hoping that wherever she was, Rei would hear them. 

A few hours later found the two still playing outside. As the queen watched the 
wo from inside, she realized how upset Rei was going to be when Jeadite had to 
leave. For some reason she never seemed to be very friendly with the other 
children her age, and she was going to miss having some one to play with. 'But it 
will be for the best. At least then I won't have to worry about him telling  Rei 
that she is one of Serenity's court.' She reassured herself. As she looked at the 
clock she realized that it was time for Rei's lesson. "Charles would you go bring 
Rei to her lesson?" She called to one of her servants. He bowed and ran off to 
fetch the princess. 

"I'll be back after my lessons." Rei promised as she was dragged off by Charles. 

Jeadite wandered inside wondering what he should do while he waited for Rei, 
when the queen called out to him. 

"Jeadite would you come here for a minute? I would like to have a word with you." 
She asked. 

"Of course your majesty." He said follwing her into the throne room where she 
dismissed all her guards. 

"Is something wrong?" He asked growing uneasy. 

"Nothing is wrong but I wanted to talk to you about Rei." Victoria assured him. 

"Oh, ok." He said letting out the breath he had been holding. 

"I know that she showed you her fire power." She started slowly. "And I also 
know that you are going to be a future guard to Prince Endymion correct?" 

Jeadite nodded. "And to answer your next questions, yes I know Rei is one of 
Serenity's guards and no I have not said anything to her." 

The queen sighed in relief. "Jeadite, whatever you do you can not tell Rei anything 
about this. Not even that you are a guard. You can not mention anything about
Serenity or Endymion." 

"You haven't told her anything at all?" Jeadite asked in disbelief. 

Victoria shook her head. "And she is not going to find out for a long time." 

"With all due respect your highness that is cruel." He said angerly. 

"I am sorry if you feel that way but I am her mother." Victoria exclaimed. 

"And I'm her friend!" He said. 

"Regardless of how close the two of you have grown, this is something I must 
forbid you to talk about." She said calmly. 

"And if I don't?" 

"You will never be allowed to contact my daughter in any way ever again." 

Jeadite was quiet for a moment. "You would really take away the only friend your 
daughter has?" Seeing the confused look on the queen's face he continued. 
"Apparently you don't talk to Rei very much because if you did you would easily 
discover that she is very lonley because all the other kids are afraid of her." 

"That's absurd!" Victoria exclaimed. "Why would they be afraid of Rei?" 

"It isn't exactly normal for a five year old to make fire appear from her hands 
whenever she wants you know." He explained almost smug having known this. 

She raised an eyebrow at Jeadite. "And telling her who she really is would change 
all of that?" She asked. 

Jeadite shook his head. "You don't uderstand. It may not change the way other 
kids look at her but it would change the way she looks at herself." 

Victoria looked at him doubtfully. 

He sighed in frustration. "Rei looks at herself like there is something wrong with 
her because she is different. She needs to know why this is happening to her and 
that in truth, it makes her different in the most special way possibly. She needs 
to have a feeling of belonging, she needs to know that there are others like her out 
there and that she is not alone in this." 

"I'm sorry but I have to disagree. Rei will find out when it is time for her to
leave, 
when she is 12, and not a moment before. And if she does," She paused to look 
sternly at Jeadite, "And I find out that you told her, you will never be able to 
communicate with her again. Whether you are her only friend or not." Victoria 
said determined. 

Jeadite glared at her, angry about her decision. It was all he could to to remain 
calm and not verbally attack her. "Please forgive me if this sounds rude," He said 
sarcastically. "But the decision that you just made will ruin your daughter's life 
and your relationship with her." Not giving her a chance to respond he turned and 
fled the room. 


*Two Weeks Later* 


Every day for the past two weeks Jed had appeared at the princess's bed room 
door to wake her up, complaining that she slept to much. This morning however, 
Rei woke up to voices outside her door. 'I wonder what's wrong?' She thought as 
she listened. 

"Did you say goodbye to the princess yet?" Kat asked. 

Jeadite glanced at her door as they neared it. "No. She is still sleeping so I will 
talk to her when she wakes up." He said with a hint of sadness in his voice. 
Katherine noticed. "You two have become quite the friends." 

Jeadite nodded silently. 

She couldn't help herself as she added, "I remember someone who didn't even want 
to meet the princess." 

"Mom! Do you have to bring that up?" He asked groaning. 

Rei strained her ears to hear more but the two had already passed her room. 'Well 
I guess it's back to being by myself again.' She thought unhappily as she got out of
bed and wandered to the sitting room. Once there she found Katherine, Victoria, 
and Jeadite all sitting on the couch. "Hi everyone." She said sitting down. 

Kat cleared her throat and stood up. "Vic, would you mind helping me with some 
last minute stuff?" She asked nodding her head to the door. 

"Not at all." Victoria said standing up. She shot Jeadite a warning glance who 
glared back at her. The two mothers then left the room leaving the two children 
alone. 

"I still say you sleep to much." Jeadite teased. 

"Shut up." Rei said smiling. "Well what I am going to do now that my human alarm 
clock is leaving?" She asked. 

Jeadite's face fell. "I guess you heard I have to leave huh?" She nodded. The two 
sat there for a few minutes in silence neither knowing what to say. "Before I go, 
I want you to know that you are my best friend and you always will be." Jeadite 
said finally. 

She smiled jokingly. "You gotta stop lying." 

"I'm not!" He protested. She just rolled her eyes. "I know it sounds weird cause I 
have only known you a couple of weeks, but some how you have grown really 
close to me." 

Rei looked at him, first with doubt, and then as she realized he really was telling 
the truth her face lit up into a smile. "Do you really mean that?" She asked. 

Jed rolled his eyes at her. "Of course! I don't just say that to everyone you know." 

"You are my best friend too." 

"I'm your only friend." He teased. 

Rei put her hands on her hips in mock anger. "Hey!" She exclaimed. 

"Sorry it was too tempting." He said offereing an apologetic grin. The same one he 
gave everytime the princess got mad at him and he wanted to get out of trouble. 
The problem was that they always worked, always. 

Rei just sighed and smiled at him. "So when exactly are you leaving?" She had 
barely finished asking the question when Katherine and Victoria appeared back in 
the room. 

"Jeadite, it's time to go." Kat said gently. 

"I guesd right now." He said answering her question. 

Impulsively and unexpectandly Rei threw her arms around him and hugged him 
tightly. "I'm gonna miss you." She said softly. 

Not knowing what else to do, Jeadite awkwardly hugged her back. "I'll miss you 
too." He said. 

"Are you going to come back and visit?" She asked pulling away. 

Kat kneeled down next to the two and smiled kindly at the princess. "Of course 
Jeadite will come back and visit you. And if he doesn't, we'll make him ok?" 

Rei giggled at the image. "Goodbye Jed!" she called as the two got ready to 
transport. 

"Bye!" He called back. "And don't worry. I'll come back. We're best friends aren't 
we?" 

*Two Years Later* 

"Rei would you come here for a moment? There is something I would like to 
show you." 

Rei sighed heavily as she heard her mother call her from inside. She was now seven 
years old and her duties as princess were growing more and more each day. 'I wish 
Jed was here.' She thought wistfully. 'It's been two years since he came.' With that 
thought she made her way inside where her mother was waiting. 

"Ah, Rei there you are." Victoria exclaimed as she spotted her daughter. 

"You called?" Rei asked, not noticing the figure creeping up behind her holding a 
finger to their lips, silemtly asking the queen not to say anything. 

"There is someone here to see you." The queen said mysteriously. 

Confused, Rei looked around to see no one else in the room. Just as she was about 
to question it she felt a small pair of hands cover her eyes as a voice called out, 
"Guess Who?" Her eyes widened in suprise. She would know that voice anywhere. 
She gasped in delight when she whirled around and discoverd she was right. "Jed!" 
She shrieked happily hugging him. 

"Hello princess." He said cheerfully hugging her back. 

"You're back!" She exclaimed. 

"And guess what, I'm not leaving this time." Jed said excitedly. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Your mom has invited my mom and me to come live at the palace. So we moved 
to Mars. Suprise!" He said grinning widely. 

Author's note: 
So did everyone like the second part? Hopefully you are all saying yes. Sorry to 
leave this one in such a cliffhanger(well not really but you know...) state but this 
part was getting to long. At least for a part to one of my stories that is. Anyway 
part three is almost almost almost finished. I have like two more paragraphs to 
type, and then I just need to proofread and format it. I know it sounds like a lot 
but I promise it isn't. Unless some major big thing happens that stops me from 
using the computer, part three will be out by next week I promise!!! E-mail me 
with your comments pleeeeease? (it will get the rest of the story finished sooner 
if I know people like it! Hint hint. :)) Send all mail to Pekkle9983@aol.com 
whether it be compliments, flames(hope not) or some really freaky awesome 
thing you just felt like shaing, (those are welcome 2) Thanks. 

part three is finally up! Sorry it took so long. Uh you know the stuff, does not 
belong to me, this is a silver millenium fic, the story belongs to me, and in this
part 
new characters are introduced! Finally! The Prince, Endymion, and his guards 
appear in this episode. Enjo. Comments, pekkle9983@aol.com 

As The Tears Fell By MCRK 

"This is so great!" Rei exclaimed happily. Her and Jeadite had decided to take a 
walk so they could catch up. 

"Yeah I know. It was so great of your mom to invite us." Jeadite agreed. "You 
know, I've been wondering about that though. Why did she invite us?" He asked 
looking over at Rei. 'I thought she hated me.' He silently added. 

"I have no clue. I thought you knew." She said. 

"Oh well. It's not a big deal. I'm back and that's what counts." He said. 

"Your still my best friend you know." She said suddenly. 

He smiled at her. "You are mine too." She smiled back happily. "Hey Rei, can I 
ask you a question?" Jeadite asked. 

"Yeah sure." She said shrugging. 

"What happened," He hesitated for a moment trying to decide whether or not he 
should ask. 

"Jed, you can ask me anything." She assured him seeing his hesitation. 

"What happend to your dad?" He asked softly. 

'Except that.' Rei thought silently as she immeaditly sat down on a small bench. 

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It's really none of my business." Jeadite 
apologized softly as he sat down next to her. 

"No it's ok. I don't mind telling you. See when I was about four years old, he was 
killed by a group of angry protestors that he was trying to break up." Rei 
explained wiping a small tear away from her eye. 

Jeadite felt his heat drop. "Rei, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have--" 

"No really it's fine." She interupted turning away from him. From the way she was 
sitting, he could tell that she wasn't fine. After a moment she turnd back. "It's no 
big deal. It happended three years ago and I'm over it." She said her voice wavering 
slightly. 

Jeadite stood up and put an arm around her shoulder. "I know that you are trying 
to be all brave because last time I saw you I said how I hated to see my friends 
cry, and because you told me that you don't cry," He puased for a moment and 
smiled down at her. "But, it's ok to cry." Jeadite stood there holding the smaller 
girl as she did just that. (If that is a little confusing it just means she cried.) 


Jeadite was on his way to his room when he spotted the queen and remembered 
that he had wanted to talk to her. "Excuse me, your majesty?" He called. 

She turned around. "Oh hello Jeadite. It's nice to see you again." Victoria said. 

"Yes you too. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment?" 

"Of course." She said leading the way into a small sitting room where the two sat 
down and resumed the conversation. "I am glad you and your mom decided to 
except my invitation to come stay here." Victoria said. 

"Yes. It's nice being able to see Rei again." Jeadite said. "That is actually what I 
wanted to talk to you about. I know that you don't want me saying anything to 
Rei, so why is it that you would invite me to come live here?" He asked. 

The queen sighed. "I'm not really sure. I guess because I missed your mom, and I 
know Rei missed you, and I missed seeing her happy." She explained, then 
suddenly smiled. "You know the entire two years that you were gone, Rei was 
never truly happy. I think that is when I realized how much she meant to you, so
 I figured, why not have them live here? And I knew it was a risk, because I know 
you think Rei should be told, but I didn't want her to be so unhappy." 

He nodded in understanding. "I take it though that you still haven't told her 
anything?" He asked. 

She sighed. "I reallize that you are still determined to tell her, but I still
believe it 
is in her best interest not to know until it is time for her to leave." Victoria 
explained. 

"How can you say that?" Jeadite asked incredously. 

"It's quite simple actually. Rei doesn't need her life upset by finding out that in 
five years she will have to leave to guard a princess she doesn't know, for the 
rest of her life." She said calmly. 

"And what happens when I have to leave in two years?" He asked. 

"Then, and only then, you may explain to Rei about Endymion's guards and that 
you are one of them. You may not tell her anything about Serenity and if you say 
anything, anytime before she leaves, my warning from before remains. Regardless 
of whether you live here, or on Earth, you will not be allowed to talk to her. And 
that is my final decision." The queen said standing up and leaving the room and 
Jeadite in his new found anger towards her. 

*Over the next three years* 

Jeadite quietly creeped into the princess' bedroom hoping no one else knew what 
he was doing. He crept over to her bed holding a feather in one hand. He sat down 
next to her bed, trying to contain his laughter, and started to lightly tickle her
with 
the feather. She lightly started to stir, and he continued, until she opened her eyes 
and grabbed the feather away, causing him to start laughing. 

"Jed!" She cried. 'Could you please let me sleep just for once?" 

"Nope." Jeadite said grining. 

"You know, most people do need a few hours of sleep each day." Rei said sitting 
up. 

"Yeah, normal people." He replied. 

"Well, for once, could you at least wake me up in a more normal way?" She 
complained 

"Hey, I'm just going with whatever works." He said shrugging 

Yeah, but I hate being tickled!" Rei exclaimed 

"Makes it all the more fun for me." Jeadite said laughing. 

"Yeah yeah yeah. Now would you leave? Since you woke me up, I would like to 
get dressed. I will be out in a few mintues." She said, slightly upset. 

"Are you mad at me now?" He asked jokingly, knowing she couldn't get mad at 
him. 

"Yes I am." She said trying to be serious. 

He smiled at her, with his lopsided grin, the one that always made her forgive him. 
Rei tried to gaze away, so if not to look, but she ended up smiling back at him. 
"Fine. I am no longer mad, but would you leave now so I can get changed?" She 
exclaimed. "I will only be a few minutes." 

"Yeah, sure." He said sarcastically as he walked to the door. 

"Hey Jed," 

He turned around just as the pillow came flying at his face. 

Rei gingerly dipped her foot into the freezing cold pool as she looked down at the 
uninviting water. "Is it cold?" She asked. She looked up to see Jed's response, only 
to realize that he was no longer in the pool. 

"See for your self." 

She whirled around to see Jeadite grinning evilly, before she plummeted into the 
freezing cold water. "AHHHH!!!" She screamed once she popped up. '"It's 
freezing!" Rei exclaimed. 

"I know." Jeadite said laughing as he jumped back in the pool. "That's why I 
thought you might need some help getting in." 

"That wasn't funny!" She said splashing him. 

"Hey dork! Don't splash me!" He said splashing her back. 

"Hey, I am not a dork!" Rei exclaimed. 

"Fine I have come up with a new name for you. You shall now be reffered to as 
dorkus." Jeadite decided 

Rei couldn't help but laugh. "Dorkus? Where did you come up with that?" She
asked. 

He shrugged, the grinned at her. "I don't know but it fits." He said splashing her 
again. 

"You know, I am the princess and technically I rule you, so you might want to 
stop splashing me." She said splashing him back. 

"Oh fine. Use that against me." He said. 

She grinned at him, then shrugged, "Hey whatever works right?" 


*Three years later*(AN: This is three years after Jeadite and Katherine move to Mars.
Not three years after 
the pool 
incident. Jeadite is now 12, and Rei is now 10.) 


Rei wandered into the dining hall spotting her mother and Katherine. "Hey mom, 
have you seen Jed?" She asked taking an apple out of the bowl of fruit that was 
placed on the table. Katherine and Victoria exchanged worried glances. "Didn't 
Jeadite tell you?" Victoria questioned her daughter. 

"Tell me what?" Rei asked. 

"Honey, did Jeadite ever tell you that he was one of Endymion's future guards?" 
Kat asked. The princess thought for a minute then shook her head. 

"But that is such an honor." She said impressed. "What does that have to do 
with anything?" 

"Rei, he along with the other three guards will become full guards when they are 
fourteen years old. That means that to be ready by then, they have to start their 
training when they are twelve." Victoria told her gently. 

Rei's eys widened as she realized that Jed had just recently turned twelve. 

"He's leaving tomorrow." 

The apple fell completly unnoticed, from Rei's hand as the news sunk in. "No!" 
She shouted. 

"Rei I'm sorry but--" The queen stopped short as Rei ran off otwards Jed's room 
with one thought, 'He can't be leaving!' 

Jeadite sighed as he looked around the now bare room. 'I can't believe I am leaving 
tomorrow.' He thought in amazement. 'I'm excited, but I'm also kinda nervous. And 
I am going to miss everyone, especially Rei.' With the thought of her name he 
realized something. 'I haven't told Rei yet!' 


"How come you didn't tell me?" 

The voice came from the doorway and it was one he recognized well. Jeadite 
whirled around to see Rei standing in the doorway with a hurt expression on her 
face. "Oh...shit." He said trying to hide the suitcases. After a moment he just gave 
up and responded. "Uh hi." He said meekly. 

"Don't 'hi' me!" She exclaimed in sudden anger. "How come you didn't tell me?" 
She demanded. 

"Come sit down and I will explain." Jeadite said gesturing towards the bed. He 
shut the door and sat down next to her. "It's not that I didn't want to tell you, 
believe me I did, but I wasn't allowed to tell anybody." He tried to explain. 

"I'm not just anybody." Rei pointed out. 

"I know. And I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, it's just that," He was about to tell 
her the truth when Queen Victoria's warning rang out in his mind. 'Damn you!' He 
silently cursed her. 'Rei is my best friend and she deserves to know. Why can't I 
tell her?' He knew though that he wouldn't He couldn't run the risk of never 
getting to see Rei again. 

"Will I ever see you again?" Rei asked suddenly, all her anger forgotten. 

He smiled at her. "I promise that you that one day we will meet again." He said 
thinking of the day when Endymion would finally meet the princess. 

"Will you write to me?" she questioned. 

"Of course. I'll write whenever I can as long as you promise you will right back." 

She nodded. "So are you excited?" She asked. 

All of his nervousness suddenly came back. "Kinda. But what if it's terrible? What 
if I don't get along with any of the other guards, or if the prince is an idiot, of
if 
can't do it?" Jeadite asked looking up at her with fearful eyes. 

Rei just smiled at rolled her eyes at him. "First off I am sure you will get along 
with everyone! How could they not love you? And as for the prince being an 
idiot, you thought I was going to be a dork too didn't you?" 

He smiled remembering that. "Yeah but I was right. You turned out to be a total 
dork." He said laughing. 

"Shut up! I am trying to help you here." She said throwing a pillow at him. "And 
as for not being able to do it, that is just a bunch of crap. You know you will be 
able to do whatever they ask you to so stop worrying. You are already in, now 
you just got to sit back and enjoy the fame." She said smiling. 

Jeadite stared at her pretending to be shocked. "I don't think I have ever heard you 
say something that made so much sense." He teased. 

Rei glared at him. "You know I really hate you sometimes. You can be so 
incredibly annoying, and yet I can never get mad at you!" She exclaimed. 

He just shrugged. "It's a gift." 

She nodded. "Yeah well I better let you finish packing. I am sure you have to a lot 
before you leave tomorrow." Rei said walking over to the door. 

"Hey Rei," Jeadite called out just before she left. 

She turned around,"Yeah?" 

"When I have to leave tomorrow, you, you'll be there right?" He asked with some 
hesitance in his voice. 

She looked over and noticed he wasn't joking and he really was worried she might 
not come the next day. She rolled her eyes. "Of course I will silly! Like 

I would really let my best friend go off to some strange planet for who knows how 
long without even seeing him off?" She asked. 

He smiled happily. "Yeah I guess your right. Now get out of my room dorkus, I 
gotta finish packing!" 

She smiled at him "You are incredibly lucky you are leaving tomorrow cause 
otherwise you would be dead for that!" 

She said as she left. 

Jeadite sighed. He would rather be killed by her then have to leave her and not see 
her again until who knows when. "Just don't forget me Rei. I will never forget you." 
He whispered softly then went back to his packing. Victoria, Katherine and Jeadite 
were all assembled in the transportation room along with a guard who was to escort 
Jeadite on his journey to the Earth palace. 

"Sir, I must request that we leave now." The guard repeated rather impatiently. 

"I can't leave yet. Rei still isn't here!" He cried out anxiously. 

"Are you sure she didn't forget?" Vicotira asked. 

"No way!" He said stubbornly. "Rei said she will be here and I know she will." 

"Jeadite, maybe she just forgot--" 

"Rei!" Jeadite yelled interupting his mother as he noticed Rei come flying down 
the hall. 

"I am really really sorry for keeping everyone." She said. "I kinda overslept and 
didn't realize how late it was." 

"I told you you sleep too much!" Jeadite teased. 

She just smiled and handed him an envelope. "Read that later ok?" He nodded and 
tucked it away in his backpack. She leaned over and hugged him tightly brushing 
away the few tears that fell down her cheek. "Goodbye Jed. I'm gonna miss you." 
Rei whispered. 

He hugged her back and whispered. "I'm gonna miss you too. But don't worry we'll 
see ach other again I promise. Good bye my princess. And remember we are best 
friends forever. That will never change." he stepped away. 

"Are you ready to go now?" The guard asked. 

Jeadite nodded as he hoisted his backpack up and stepped on th platform. He 
waved to everyone and as he teleported his words echoed for Rei to hear, "Bye 
Dorkus!" 

'Goodbye.' She said silently. 'Hope to see you again soon.' 

Jeadite appeared in what seemed to be an empty bedroom. 

"This will be your room." The guard said. He looked around while putting down 
his bags. "There will be a meeting for the guards in," The guard checked his watch 
before continuing. "Five minutes in the confrence room. I suggest you be there." 

"Wait, where is the...confrence room." Jeadite sighed realizing the guard was gone. 
"I guess I better start looking for the confrence room." He said as he walked out of 
the room and started looking around. 


Endymion glanced around the room seeing three othey young boys that looked 
about his age. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down his nerves, and started 
the meeting. "Hi. I guess you guys already know I am Prince Endymion, and I am 
assuming you are three of the four guards?" After they all nodded he continued. "I 
know I sound like a dork up here, but I am not used to public speaking so bare 
with me ok? I guess we should just start by everyone introducing themeselves so 
we can see who is missing." 

The one with shoulder length white hair went first. "I'm Kunzite." 

"I'm Nephrite." The next one, with long brown hair said. 

"And I'm Zoisite." The final one, long blonde hair, said quietly. Just as he finished 
the door opened. The four boys looked up to see a young boy walk in. 

"Jeadite I presume?" The Prince asked. 

He nodded as he sat down. "Sorry. I just got here a few minutes ago and it took me 
while to find the confrence room." 

Endymion smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. We just all introduced ourselves. 
This is Kunzite, Nephrite, and Zoisite." He said pointing to each one respectivly. 
"And I'm Prince Endymion." 

Jeadite nodded looking around the room at everyone who seemed to be very silent. 

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Jeadite." He said warmly. 

"So where is everyone from?" Zoisite asked. 

"Pluto, and yes it is extremly cold there." Nephrite said smiling. The others
laughed. 

"I'm from Saturn." Kunzite said. 

Jeadite noted he was the first to stop laughing and become serious again. 'Kinda the 
silent type huh.' He thought. 

"I'm from Mars." He said. 

"Mars? That's weird. I didn't know any Martians had blond hair and light colored 
eyes." Nephrite said. 

"I'm orignally from the sun, but I moved to Mars about three years ago." Jeadite 
explained. 

"So what about you Zoisite?" Endymion asked. "Where are you from?" 

"Jupiter. And you may call me Zoi. All my friends, do, and I consider you all 
friends already." Zoisite said smiling at all of the others. 

Jeadite let out aa sigh of relief. "That is good to know. I was so afraid I wan't
going 
to get along with anyone!" He exclaimed.
 
"I know! I felt the same way." Nephrite agreed. 

"Well I thought the prince was gonna be totally stuck up." Kunzite said. "But it's 
good to know he isn't." He quickly added after seeing the look on Endymion's face. 

"Trust me. Royalty isn't everything it's thought to be." He assured them. 

"Do you really dislike it?" Zoi asked. 

"Well there are some good parts, but mainly it's pretty bad. The only good thing is 
that I get to meet you guys." Endymion said.
 
"You may not feel that way after a few days." Jeadite said laughing. "I can assure 
you I have very annoying habbits. Especially if you are a late sleeper." He added 
thinking of all the times he had woken Rei up early in the morning. 

"I think we all do, but I just have a feeling that we are all going to be very good 
friends." Nephrite said surveying the room. The others all looked at him. "What?" 
He asked shrugging his shoulders. "I've seen it in the stars." 










A Few Days Later: 

Dear Jed, 
You haven't even left yet, and I still miss you. It's gonna be weird witbout 
you being here, but at least this means that I can finally sleep again! Since 
you are gone, I am going to sleep all day tomorrow cause no one is going 
bug me to get up! Well, since you weren't suppossed to read this until 
you got there and met everyone, hopefully you can tell me a little bit about 
it. What is it like on Earth? Anything like Mars or the Sun? And what 
about the other three(is it three?) guards and the prince? I assume you met 
them so how are they? I miss you alot and I can't wait to here from you. 
Please write back to me soon. 

Love Always, Princess Rei 

p.s. I have sent a picture for you to have so you don't forget what I look like. Oh, 
and I promise my next letter will be longer!

 
Jeadite picked up the envelope as a picture fell out. Just as he picked it up there
was 
a knock at his door. "Come in." He called. The door opened and Nephrite walked in. 

"Hey watcha doing?" He asked.
 
"Hey. Just reading a letter from a friend." Jeadite replied. Out of the other four
boys, 
Jeadite had become closest with the prince and Nephrite. The other two seemed to 
keep to themselves. Nephrite looked down at the picture of Rei that Jeadite was 
holding. "So is that your girlfriend?" He asked. 

Jeadite could hardly contain his laughter. "No way! That's my best friend, also 
known as the princess of Mars." He said.
 
Nephrite looked at him eyebrows raised, "You're best friend is the princess of 
Mars? I always heard she was incredibly strange. That she could do weird things 
with fire or something." 

"Yes, she is my best friend and there is nothing weird about her." He said 
defnesivly. 

Nephrite held up his hands in apology. "Sorry I didn't mean to make fun of her or 
anything." He said.
 
Jeadite sighed. "Neph, didn't anyone ever tell you the story of Serenity and her 
court?" He asked. 

"Uh, no." 

"OK I am going to explain to you why Rei, Princess Mars, can control fire." 
Jeadite said. "You know how Prince Endymion has the four guards, Serenity has 
the same thing. The only difference is that her guards are the princess's of 
Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. Each princess is born with a special elemental 
power that they can contorl, and can later be used to protect the princess. Rei 
controls fire. But you can not tell anyone that!" He exclaimed. 

"You know I coulda figured that out anyone by just reading the stars." Nephrite 
boasted. 

Jeadite laughed. "What is this thing with you and star reading?" He asked. 

"I can read the stars." He asnwered. 

"Well I figured out that part. But what exactly do you do? And what do they tell 
you?" Jeadite asked. 

"Sorry Jade it's too complicated for a simple minded person like you to understand." 
Neph said laughing, right before the pillow came flying towards his face. 

"So did you come in here for a purpose, or just to insult me?" He asked. 

"Well as much fun it is to insult you, we are suppossed to be at a training session, 
uh, right now." He said frowning. 

"Oh man! Kunzite is going to kill us." Jade mumbled as the two ran towards the 
practice room. 

"You two are late." Kunzite said as soon as they walked in. 

"Yeah sorry. Jade was telling me about his girlfriend." Neph said. 

"I am going to kill you for that." He muttered. 

Endymion came walking in, also late, hearing the last part of the others'
conversation. 
"You do realize you are late also right?" Kunzite asked. 

"Yeah sorry. But who is Jade's girlfriend?" He asked. Kunz threw his hands in the air
in exasperation. 

"I do not have a girlfriend!" Jade protested. 

But Nephrite was having to much fun and proceeded to tease Jade about her. 
"Princess Rei of Mars." Endymion started to laugh.
 
"There...is...nothing...strange...about...her." Jade exclaimed trying to stay calm. 

"I don't even know what are you talking about that she would be strange. But I 
can't even imagene you being friends with her. She is not suppossed to be...a...um...
nice person." Endymion tried to explain. 

"For the last time she is not my girlfriend! And she is not mean or nasty or 
anything like that" He exclaimed. The others all just looked at him doubtfully. 
"Here maybe these reasons will help convinve you. First of all she is ten years old, 
second of all she is my best friend, and third of all she is a princess and her mom 
hates me! Is that enough reasons?" Jade asked. 

"Wait, why does her mom hate you?" Zoisite asked. 

"I kinda accidently found out that Rei is one of Serenity's guardians, that is why 
she does that weird fire thing, and the Queen doesn't want Rei to find out until it
is 
time for her to leave for her training. I totally disagreed with that and kinda got
into 
a few arguments with her over it." He explained. 

"What is this weird fire thing you guys keep talking about?" Endymion asked. The 
others all stared at him. 

"You don't know?" Kunzite asked in amazement. 

"No!" The Prince cried. "Would someone please explain it?" 

They all turned to look at Jeadite who sighed. "She can shoot fire out from her 
hands." 

"Is that all?" Endymion asked. 

"Endy, what are you talking about?" Nephrite asked. 

"Yeah that really isn't normal you know." Zoisite said. 

"Well Jade said she was one of Serenity's guardians, and all of her guardians do 
stuff like thgat, so it explains it. Besides you guys are going to be able to do that 
stuff to." The others all stared at hin. "Oh I kinda forgot to tell you about that." 
He said sheepishly. "Jeadite I think controls fire, Nephrite does something with 
the stars or storms, something like that. Zoisite can control water, and Kunzite 
just controls energy or something like that. That's why you eight or the only 
people that can do this job." 

After a moment of silence Kunzite spoke up. "So when do we get these powers?" 

The prince shrugged. "I'm not really sure. All I know is that you guys were 
somehow born with them. I guess you get them when your training is complete." 

"That is so cool!" Jade exclaimed. 

"Yeah now you and your girlfriend will both be able to make fire appear." 
Endymion teased. 

He saighed in defeat. "Would you guys give up on that? She is not my girlfriend!" 
He exclaimed. 

"Oh yeah, then how come she signed her letter 'love'?" Nehprite asked. The others 
turned to look at Jeadite expectantly. 

Jeadite glared at him. 'You read my letter?" He asked. 

Neph smiled, "Only that part." 

Jade groaned. "I thought we were supposed to be practicing?" He asked. 

"Jade's right you guys. You can make fun of him later but right now we have to 
train." Kunzite said speaking up. Jade shot him a grateful look as the practice 
started. 



Author's Note: 
So what did everyone think? I really really hope you like it cause that took me a 
while to write. And I know that it was suppossed to be out about a week ago and 
I apologize but school, and extracurriclar(sp?) activities do take up time, pus my 
life outsid of all that. Anyway, part four is pretty long. It's about eight pages so 
far, and only about half done. Oh, and the entire thing consist of letters. Mainly 
between Jeadite and Rei but there are a few suprise letters. As I said, it's only 
about halfway written, may take me a while to finish, cause I alos ahve to 
proofread it still. maybe, two weeks? Hoping by three. Neway, w-mail and let me 
know what you think, comments, flames, suggestions all go to Pekkle9983@aol.com. 
Thanx. 

Ohayoo, or Kon'nichiwa, or Konbanwa, (Good morning, afternoon, and evening in
Japanese.) depending on when 
you are reading this. Anyway, here is part four, sorry it took so long to come out
but it is kinda long, (Well at least for 
a chapter to one of my stories) it's about eleven pages so. Anyway, here we go.
Sailor Moon does not belong to me, 
neither do the characters. The 
characters of Katherine and Queen Victoria do belong to me, as does this story and 
the title. Do not take! Post newhere, just link back to the e-mail, 
pekkle9983@aol.com What else? This is a silver millenium fanfic, oh and this 
entire part is in letter forms. Letters from Rei to Jed, from Jed to Rei, and a few 
other surprise letters are in here. It is a good chapter though, and please forgive
me 
if the letters sound a little repetitive. Try writing 19 very long letters and keep 
them from being repetitive in any way. Kinda hard to do. Anyway, next chapter 
the scouts appear! I promise! Last chapter with Rei being the only scout. 
Anyway, on with the story. 

As the Tears Fell (c) 1998 MCRK(Pekkle9983) 

Katherine and Victoria (c) 1998 MCRK (Pekkle9983) 

************************* 

As the Tears Fell~Chapter 4 

By MCRK 

************************* 

Dear Rei, 
Hey Dorkus! Sorry it took me so long to reply to your letter but things are 
pretty busy over here. How are things on Mars? You are taking care of my 
mom for me I hope. Tell her I said hello and I'll write soon. I knew you 
would get mad at me if I took any longer to write this and tell you all about 
it here. Earth is such an amazing planet. I wish you could be here, cause 
you would love it. It's the perfect mixture of the Sun and Mars, both my old 
homes mixed into my new one. It's warm during the day, cool at night. It's 
perfect! There are gorgeous flowers everywhere and the entire planet is 
incredibly green and full of life. But I know you want to know more about 
the people then the planet right? Well so far everyone here is very nice. I 
am getting along pretty well with the Prince and the other guards. They are 
nicer then I expected, but also a little weirder. I'll start with Nephrite. So far 
I am closest to him and the Prince. Nephrite is very strange, but in a good 
kind of way. He does this weird thing where he can read the stars, and see 
the future. At least that is what he says, no one is to sure cause we can't see 
anything. I personally believe it isn't true, but you never can tell. Before I 
met you, I didn't think people could control fire either, but you proved me 
wrong on that so we'll see. The next guard would be Zoisite. He is nice too, 
but he is very quiet. He likes to keep to himself a lot, always reading some
kind of science book or doing some sort of equations. He actually enjoys 
school and homework. A little strange in my opinion, but he is nice so it 
doesn't bother me that much. The last guard is kinda the leader of the rest 
of us. That would be Kunzite. The weirdest thing about him would have to
 be his hair. He has long, down to his shoulders, white hair. I don't think 
I have ever seen a twelve year old with natural white hair, which he assures 
me that it is, (natural not fake). He also keeps to himself a lot. He hangs 
out with Zoisite more then the others too. He is very serious and dedicated 
to his job. I can tell that he is going to be a good guard and is determined 
to make the rest of us just as good. The last person, who I know you want 
to hear about, is Prince Endymion. Well remember how I thought he was 
going to be an idiot? This time I was wrong. (With you I was right. You
 turned out to be a total dork.) The Prince however is actually a lot of fun. 
He kinda hates being royalty cause he always has to act proper. When no 
one else is around the two of us are usually playing practical jokes on the 
others. I am sure that one of these days we will get caught, but until then,
it is lots of fun. I miss you though, and my mom, and if the two of you were 
here, everything would be perfect. I hope to hear from you soon. 
Love Always, 
Jeadite 
P.S. thanks for the picture. I am sending one back. 



Dear Jed, 
It's good to hear that things are going so well for you over on Earth. I miss
 you terribly and it would make it worse if I knew you were having a terrible 
time. Your mom is doing fine, she misses you too and she sends her love. As 
much as I do miss you, I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to sleep in 
the morning! I don't have to worry about being tickled awake, or getting icy 
cold water dumped over my head. (I know you never did that but I was always
 afraid you were going to do that next!) Earth sounds like a wonderful place 
to live! I wish I could visit, but even more so I would like to visit the moon. 
It's supposed to be the most beautiful place in the Universe! Do you have a 
good view of it from over there? I can see it slightly from Mars, but only on 
some nights. Most of the time I can see Earth though. It is nice being able to 
see it so I know where you are. The rest of the guards and the prince sound 
very nice. I am sure the five of you will be good friends for a long time. Well,
I guess you have to, your job protecting the prince will last all your lives 
won't it? It's no surprise that you get along with the prince though, you two 
sound exactedly alike. You're always joking around, annoying every one else, 
and yet it's impossible to get mad at you. I assume Prince Endymion is the 
same way. You said you don't talk as much with Zoisite and Kunzite right? 
That's kinda understandable. My mom would love the two of them. She is
always making me study, trying to make sure I do good in school. And she 
is always showing me some new thing that I have to learn in order to be a 
proper princess. Endymion is right, being royalty can majorly suck at times. 
Sometimes I feel like my entire life centers around teas, and wearing dresses, 
and learning to speak and walk properly, and all that other princess stuff.
I'm still ten years old, and yet I never get time to just go outside and play. It 
was always different when you were there. You could usually convince my 
mom to let me skip out on studies or something. Now though, it's training 
all the time. The only training I want to do, is learn to fight. I mean, if I get 
attacked, what am I supposed to do just scream? That would suck, so I 
need to be able to protect myself, but I don't think that is going to happen. 
I better go my mom is calling me for dinner and if I'm late she gonna get 
mad. Please write back soon. 
Love Always, 
Rei 


Dear Rei, 
I can't understand why Zoi,(Zoisite) likes school so much. We just started 
over here and it's terrible. Our day starts out with practice, then school, 
then practice, then homework, free time, then we are supposed to go to 
sleep. It's a good thing I got used to getting such little sleep, because 
otherwise I wouldn't be able to take it. Like right now, I am supposed to 
be sleeping, but I would rather be writing to you anyway. I mean the only 
point of sleeping is so I can get up tomorrow to go to school and see my 
witch of a teacher. She is such a bad teacher, I don't know what 
possessed her to become one in the first place. She hates most of us, well 
'cept for Zoisite and Kunzite, (it is just the five of us in the class) but that 
is only cause they suck up! Ok truthfully she only hates us because we 
are always fooling around, but we can't help it! The classes are incredibly 
boring. I know how much you hate having to be tutored and would much 
rather go to a regular school, but trust me you are so lucky. I know I 
don't really go to a regular school because there is only four other kids in 
my class, but still it is in a school building and there are other classes there 
that go on all day and everything like a normal school. But still, if we had 
individual tutors, then if they were nasty, we could just fire them. (Do you 
get to do that if you don't like your teachers?) That would be nice. Just 
choose who I wanted. I do understand though why you hate it. It must get 
kinda lonely. I think you should try and talk your mom into letting you go
 to a normal school. Then you could just be tutored on being a princess, 
or whatever it is you need to learn to do that. She might agree to it, you
 never know. Besides it's not like your five years old anymore, I don't 
think anyone will bother you about your fire thing. And if they do let me 
know, I will come back and beat them up for you ok? All right well that
 is enough about school. I spend too much time on school every day I
 need to change the topic. Everything else over here is going pretty good. 
Training is hard, and we do it often. A lot of times it is incredibly hard
and I always thing I can't do it, and then I remember how you told me I 
can do whatever they ask me to. I know this sounds corny so please don't
 repeat it to anyone? But it's nice to know you still believe in me, even if
 no one else does, I know you will. You are my best friend in the entire 
universe and I just wanted you to know that. I miss you a lot and I hope I
 can see you soon. Oh! I almost forgot. Don't worry about your training 
to be a princess. I know it's get depressing and you don't like it, but when
 it's all over you can do whatever you want whenever you want, cause 
then you'll be Queen. I know that it's hard, and I know your mom is a pain
(Sorry but she is) but try and hang in there ok? If for nothing else then do 
it for me ok? I believe in you and I know you can do this. I will always be 
there for you, and I will always be on your side. 
Love always, 
Jeadite 

Dear Jed, 
(Do you mind if I still call you that?) I am really sorry it took me so long 
to write back to your last letter. Yes if I don't like my tutors I do have the 
power to fire them and get a different one. But that changed, because my
 mom decided to let me go to a regular school!!!! No more tutors!!!!! Isn't
 that wonderful? I finally get to go to school like everyone else. I took your
 advice, and talked to my mom, and amazingly, it worked. I am so grateful 
to you I can't thank you enough. Now I finally understand what you are t
alking about when you say how terrible school is. It is kinda bad, but I 
can't tell you how wonderful it is to be with everyone else. They all see 
me as a normal kid now and no one bothers me. And, now that I am in 
school for most of the day, my mom has lessened up on how much I have 
to learn,royalty stuff wise. Everything is working out perfectly now, thank 
you so much. My teacher is pretty nice, but maybe that's cause I am the 
Princess, but either way she is still nice. I feel terrible for your teacher! 
Having just the five of you in class must drive her insane. Well at least 
she has Zoisite and Kunzite to pay attention. I take it you other three 
usually have no idea what is going on? Poor teacher! I hope you are 
being nice to her though and not playing any of your tricks on her. Putting
up with you during class must be bad enough. The least you could do is
attempt to b nice to her, I mean how bad could she really be? I need to go 
now cause I gotta go do homework and stuff. I miss you lots and hope to 
hear from you soon. 
Love Always, 
Rei 


Dear Rei, 
I am sending you another letter along with this one, to respond to things 
you wrote about in your last letter. But this letter, is being written for a 
very important reason. Happy Birthday! I know that when you read this 
it won't exactly be your birthday, but I still have to wish you a happy
birthday. You are now eleven, so how do you like it? Not much different 
from being ten I bet right? Now you are starting to catch up to me! By the
way, I have a gift for you, and I will give it to you next time I see you. I 
would mail it to you, but I want to give it to you in person> And even if I 
don't get to see you until after your next birthday, I will hold on to it, 
along with next years. I wanted more then anything to come visit for your 
birthday, but unfortunately I couldn't get away. I'm sorry. I really wanted 
to see you again, seeing as it's been a year already, and I have only been 
able to talk to you through letters. Tell everyone I said hello and I miss 
them. I miss you the most, but they don't have to know that! Happy Birthday! 
Love Always, 
Jeadite 


Dear Rei, 
Here is my second letter, as promised. (By the way if this is the first letter 
you took out of the envelope, stop reading this, and read the other one first 
ok?) Anyway, I am so happy for you! I can't believe you are finally going 
to a regular school. I am really glad that you decided to talk to your mom. 
I think that was a wise choice, and look it worked right? I bet that after a 
few months though you will be begging to go back to being tutored. School
 is not all that great as I am sure you can tell from my letters. I hate to make 
this so short, but I really got to go. I have training in a few minutes and it 
would help if I was on time. I have been here for almost a year already, so
you think they would loosen up on being on time. But instead they have 
gotten stricter. Actually it's just Kunzite. Endymion doesn't mind that much
 if we are a few minutes late, seeing as he is usually the last one there anyway! 
Oh, and of course you can still call me Jed. Truthfully, I won't let anyone else 
call me that because you call me it. It makes me think of Mars too much, so 
everyone else calls me Jade or Jeadite. You can continue with whatever one
 you want. Well I do have to go, but I miss you lots, and I promise I will write
again soon. 
Love Always, 
Jeadite 


Dear Jeadite, 
Thanks for the birthday letter. It was nice of you to send, seeing as you 
don't have that much time on your hands anymore, but I do appreciate the 
letters you send, regardless of how long they are. About getting me a
present, please don't! You would not believe what I am going through 
over here all because I get one year older. My mom is throwing this huge 
party and inviting all these people that I have never met. The worst part 
is I have to attend the party, talk to everyone and pretend to be interested. 
The only way it would be interesting is if you were there. (Which I know 
can't happen. Don't feel guilty, I understand) But she is making such a big 
thingabout it, you would think I am never going to have another birthday. 
I'm sorry. I keep bothering you with all my problems, when I am sure you
have plenty of your own. I doubt you need to hear me complaining about 
being a princess and everything. Anyway, on to another happier subject, ........
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! Did you think I would forget? Course not, you 
don't forget your best friend's birthday. I am sending a card separately. 
but I'm not sure when that will get there and I didn't want you to think I 
forgot. You are getting old, thirteen! Well, since you had the psychotic idea 
to get me a gift, and hold onto it until I see you again, I will do the same 
for you ok? Let's make a pact, that no matter how long it takes we will
 continue to write, and talk to each other, even though I know it is entirely 
possible that we may never see each other again. I gotta sign off here, 
mother is calling me again! (I think I have to go learn how to balance a 
book on my head or something. I mean, who really cares anyway?) So I 
will write later k? Miss you. 
Love Always, 
Rei 


Dear Rei, 
Are you ok? Is anything bothering you, cause you sound weird. I mean 
since when has it bothered me if you complain about stuff? That's why I'm 
here. For you to tell me what bugging you and stuff. It was kinda weird to 
read your letter and hear you sound so depressing. You are usually 
waaaay more perky then that. At least when I talk to you. And where did 
you suddenly come up with the idea that we are never going to see each 
other again?! Of course we are. Even though my job is a life time thing, 
we are allowed to leave the planet to visit friends and family. I just haven't
 yet because I am still in training and it doesn't help to miss sessions. But 
did you really expect the prince to not allow us to ever see our family 
again? Don't worry, I promised you that we would meet again and I 
always keep my promises, especially ones to you. So please, just tell me 
if something is bothering you ok? You usually don't feel weird about 
telling me about that kinda stuff. Anyway, about your birthday, don't 
worry about it. I know how tough and annoying it must be for you to 
have to go through that, but just hang in there. How long could it possibly 
last, I mean your birthday is only one day you know? I know that my 
letters keep getting shorter and shorter and I am really sorry it's just I 
don't have as much time as I used to . More letters to come soon, I 
promise. Miss you tons. 
Love Always, 
Jeadite 


Dear Jed, 
I know I have been acting strange, sorry about that. And since you are 
really the only person I can talk to, especially about stuff like this, so I will 
explain. I am getting really really worried that something is wrong, and I 
think it has to do with me. It's the weirdest thing. Like first, there was the
thing where my mom threw me that huge birthday party, almost like I won't 
be here next year to have one. And you know my mom, she hates having 
those parties. I mean in the three years you lived with us did my mom ever 
throw me a huge birthday inviting hundreds of people? And lately she has 
been acting all distant towards me. Every time we talk, she gets all
emotional and starts to cry. Then there is the problem with always hearing 
my name. I'll be walking down the hall, and about to go into a room where 
my mom and someone else will be. And I'll hear them talking, and I'll hear 
my name. But then as soon as I go in the room, the conversation 
automatically stops, and everyone gives me these fake smiles like nothing is 
wrong. I don't know what to do anymore! I am starting to get scared 
because I know that whatever it is, it has something to do with me. I have 
tried talking to my mom, and asking her if something is wrong and 
everything, but she just assures me that everything is fine and that I am 
worrying myself over absolutely nothing. But if it is nothing, why is it that 
no one will tell me what is going on? And why does everyone stop talking
when I walk in the room? Jed, I am really really scared, and I don't know 
what to do anymore. I am afraid that something terrible is going to happen. 
Please tell me what you think on this. 
Love Always, 
Rei 
P.S. It's times like these that I really miss you. 


Dear Rei, 
Thank you for telling me what was wrong. It's terrible that you have been 
carrying that around, without telling anyone! I really am shocked at what 
is happening to you. I am not even sure of what to tell you. You are right 
though, your mom does hate parties, and she wouldn't throw such a big 
one if something wasn't wrong. But I'm not trying to scare you. I mean for 
all you know everyone at the palace is planning some big surprise for you.
 (trust me, if they are, I am not in on it so I can't guarantee that. Sorry) 
Please don't immediately think the worst. I know it's hard to think anything 
other then the worst, but if you don't try, you are going to worry yourself 
sick, and I don't think that will help all that much either. I wish I could be 
there right now to help you through all this. Plus, I would probably be able 
to figure out what is going on by bugging your mom. She usually gives in 
after I do that for a while. How is everything else going though? Hopefully
that is the only thing wrong right? If this really starts to bother you, or 
something else does too, try to get your mind off it ok? Just try and pick up
a new hobby, or read more often, do whatever it takes, but just try and 
keep your mind off it. If it was something incredibly serious, like if you 
were dying(j/k), don't you think someone would let you know? I'm sure it
is just some surprise or something. So please try not to worry? And please, 
if this continues, or gets worse, let me know. I may not be able to be there to
comfort you in person but I can still write letters, regardless of how busy I 
am. I can always make time for you. 
Love Always, 
Jeadite 
P.S. At times like these I miss you a lot too. :) 


Dear Queen Victoria, 
Before I go into how angry I am, I might want to let you know that this is 
Jeadite, Rei's friend, writing to you on behalf of Rei. By the way she doesn't 
know about this and I doubt you would want to tell her, especially because 
of the topic of this letter. I can not believe that you would put your daughter 
through such torture! And that is what it is, torture, whether you want to 
admit it or not. I know that you don't want Rei to know about her being a 
guardian, until it is time for her to leave next year. And as much as I 
disagree with that, I'm not even going to say much about it. I realize your 
decision, and although I do hate it, I also understand. What I don't
understand is why you are doing this to Rei? She knows that something is 
wrong. Apparently you aren't as subtle as you think, because not only has 
she figured out that something is wrong, and that it has to do with her, 
she is scared to death because of it. She wrote me a letter, and if she was 
talking to me in person she would have been sobbing, about how scared 
she is and she doesn't know what to do. She hears her name in a 
conversation, walks into the room, and all talking stops. You burst into 
tears every time she tries to talk to you. And the worst one, you are 
throwing her a huge party for her birthday! I mean, come on your majesty, 
she is not stupid. First of all, we all know how much you hate big parties
so why throw one for her now, for her eleventh birthday? It isn't and 
important age, and you wouldn't be doing it unless something was wrong. 
Second of all, you rarely ever cry, especially not just from talking to Rei. 
And if you are going to talk about her, do it when she is asleep, and do a 
better job of hiding it. you can't continue to do this for the rest of the year 
until she leaves. I understand you are going to miss her, and you are upset 
and trying to do everything with her, but you need to be more subtle! Let's 
face it, you were never the kind of mom who did everything with her daughter. 
I am not saying you were a bad mom, but you can't change that now. You are 
confusing Rei and that scares her and it's cruel to do. Please, either tell her 
the truth, or completely drop it. Don't act like there is nothing wrong. 
Sincerely, 
Jeadite 


Dear Jeadite, 
You know, I never realized how much you cared about my daughter until 
I received your letter. I still feel the same way, that Rei shouldn't be told yet, 
and wile I still think that, I am finally understanding your reason. Your
 letter opened my mind to a lot of things. You were completely right when 
you said that I was never the kind of mother who spends every moment 
with their child, and knows everything about them. As ashamed as I am to 
admit it, I really don't know much about Rei. And I realize, that maybe she 
should have been told when she was younger, but I was and still am so 
afraid to lose her. She is my only child, and the only real family I have. 
After my husband died six years ago, (I assume Rei told you about that.)
 she is the only one I have. And even though I have to, I don't want o give
 her up. Which is why I have been doing what I have. I realize that I 
have offended you because I have been scaring Rei, and I apologize for 
that. As odd as it may sound, I really didn't notice that it was bothering her.
She never lets on about things like that, so I just assume she doesn't notice. 
I do feel terrible though for doing that to her and I want to thank you for 
letting me know that she felt that way. At times I feel you are closer to Rei 
then I am, and I often need others to let me know how she feels. While I can 
promise you that I will make things go back to normal, I can't promise I 
am going to tell Rei. I know I should, but I don' want to lose her. All I 
have is one year left with her, and then she will be gone forever. And if you
ask me, I always found that kind of unfair. Rei, and the other three girls
are princesses too, so why is it that they are destined to risk their lives, 
simply to protect another princess? It just never made much sense o me, 
they deserve to be protected to right? Anyway, thank you again for
showing concern for my daughter, I know I never liked you very much,
 but Rei is lucky to have you as a best friend. 
Sincerely, 
Queen Victoria 

Dear Queen Victoria, 
I just wanted to thank you for the kind response you sent to my letter. I 
understand the way you feel a lot more now, and I thank you for 
explaining it to me. I can see how hard it is to let you daughter go like 
that and I am sorry I was never more understanding. Oh and don't 
worry about protecting Rei. I may be sworn to protect the Prince, but 
I have always sworn to myself that I would protect Rei from harm, or 
die trying. 
Sincerely, 
Jeadite 
P.S. Thank you for your comment about Rei being lucky to have me as 
a friend. That meant a lot to me. 

Dear Jed, 
I am sooooo sorry that I have not written in a few months. it's just been 
kinda crazy (And kinda scary) with all this stuff that has been going on 
with my mom. I mean every time I turned around I was either helping 
decide things about the party, hearing my name whispered amongst
everyone, or having an emotional talk with my mom where she would 
always end up crying, but never telling me anything. Well, I am glad to 
say that the insanity is finally over. I decided to try and talk to my mom 
one more time, and it worked! She apologized for upsetting me and 
getting me nervous, but she explained that nothing was wrong in the first 
place. She wasn't even sure why she had been acting like she was but she 
guessed it was some sort of mid life crisis thing, (whatever that is). She 
had suddenly felt the urge to throw a huge party, and seeing as my 
birthday was the nearest occasion, I became victim to the insanity. 
Truthfully though, the party wasn't all that bad. I mean I didn't really have 
fun (I never want to do that again!) but other then your absence, 
everything else was pretty ok. It was the preparing that made me insane. 
Everyone was trying to keep me busy, and make sure that I liked it so they 
would ask me the same questions a million times over, I think they were 
afraid of getting fired. Do I really appear mean and stuff? I wouldn't fire 
them cause I didn't like the party; I was planning on hating anyway. And 
the other thing that was really bothering me, how I would hear my name 
being whispered, I discovered what that was about to. Well, it turns out 
you were right, my mom has been planning a surprise. My mom has 
invited my grandparents, (Her parents) who live on Mercury, to come
and  visit! They moved from mars about a year before I was born, so if I 
have ever met them, I don't have any remembrance of it. SO you can see 
why I am so excited. I think they are coming next week, and I will be sure
 to let you know what happens k? I know that our past few letters have 
been centered completely on me and my problems and I wanted to thank 
you for talking about it with me. It really did help. And I am sure there 
are things you want to tell me? (I hope) seeing as you have been gone for
 a year now, can you believe that?, I want to know who everything is 
going! I hope your training is going well. Once you get through all that I 
know you are going to make a wonderful guard. Miss you, write soon. 
Love Always, 
Rei 
P.S. Thanks for all your help and support through that stuff with my mom. 
There was no way I could have gotten through it without you. 


Dear Rei, 
See! I told you everything would work out fine, and it did right? See you 
should listen to my advice more often...ok on second thought, maybe you
are better off not listening to my advice, it doesn't always make too much 
sense. Anyway, I am really happy for you though that everything is back 
to normal. See no more huge birthday party you have to go to. Course, I 
would have come if possible. Even though you said it was kinda boring, I 
think it would have been fun. And not cause I would cause trouble, it 
would just be fun. It's really cool that your grandparents are coming to 
visit! I can just imagine how excited you are. You better make sure though 
that you learn to get up earlier, old people tend to be up earlier in the 
morning. This is going to sound really really strange, but I need your 
advice on something. And before you start getting mad at me, its the topic 
I need advice on that is strange, not the fact that I am asking you for 
advice ok? All right, this is really strange, but I need advice on girls. 
Seeing as you are on, I figured you must know something about that right? 
See there is this girl, Sarah, who I kinda have a crush on. But see the 
problem is that I have no idea what to do about it! I'd ask her out except 
I have no idea if she even knows who I am, and I really don't fee; like 
being humiliated. And even if she said yes, where am I supposed to take 
her? What are we gonna talk about? What if she hates me? I can't believe 
I am asking you this cause I am sure you are laughing at me right now,
 but I need help, so please? Miss you tons, and am in dire need of your 
advice. Write back soon ok? 
Love Always, 
Jeadite 


Dear Jed, 
Even though you are on a totally different planet, you still find ways to 
tease me don'tyou? Well whatever. So you need advice on girls huh? This
 is actually pretty funny and yes I was laughing when I read your letter. 
You are so psychotic it's a little scary! You are waaaay to hyped up over 
this. First of all, if she doesn't know who you are, then the first thing you 
need to do is introduce yourself to her! Try and get over your raging 
hormones here for a minute and try and use a little common sense k? 
However it is you know her, school or whatever, just say hi next time you 
see her. If she says hi back, and smiles, introduce yourself. If she 
continues the conversation with enthusiasm, then she likes you, and you 
should ask her out. As on where to go, go to the movies or something. 
And just ask questions about her, and find something common. That will 
give you something to talk about. And don't worry over this. I am sure
she will like you, Just cause you are incredibly annoying and psychotic 
doesn't give her any reason not to and I am sure I am helping a lot aren't 
I? So follow my advice and see how it goes ok? Write me back about this! 
Miss you. 
Love Always, 
Rei 
P.S. Don't ask how I know all this, it's just a natural thing, and I hope it helps. 


Dear Rei, 
This is so amazing. Do you realize that I have been gone for two years 
already? That means that it's your birthday already again! Happy 
Birthday! I am cutting this letter short, cause I just wanted to wish you a 
happy birthday separately, but I have so much incredible new to tell you. 
Miss you tons, can't wait to see you, happy birthday! 
Love Always, 
Jeadite 
P.S. I have a gift for you. 


Dear Rei, 
Ok second letter. First of all, I took your advice, and it worked! So I am 
now going out with this girl I know Sarah, and I can't tell you how grateful
I am for your help. I'll be sure to remember you in the future whenever I 
need advice. The other incredible thing that happened, is this. As I 
mentioned before, I have been training on Earth for two years already, 
which means that the main part of my training is over! I am now officially 
one of Endymion's guards! Not only that, but apparently all my hard work 
has paid off, we had this test kinda thing, for placement. Kunzite is first 
guard, (Obviously) which means he is the leader of the rest of us. Then 
shockingly, I placed as second place guard! Can you believe it?! This has 
been the best week of my life. Then there is Nephlite placing third, and 
Zoisite placing fourth. The only bad thing about all this is that you aren't 
here. 
Miss you lots and hope to see you soon. 
Love Always, 
Jeadite 


Dear Jed, 
Congrats! That is wonderful news, I am so proud of you, especially for 
placing second. I know you worked hard, and you deserve it. I am sure 
you will do a wonderful job. But, as happy as I am for you, my entire life 
has just been flipped upside. My mom just informed me, about two days 
after my birthday, that I am a guard for Princess Serenity of the Moon!!! 
I  am sure you know the story, seeing as you are Endymion's guards, but 
the way she explained it was that there is a princess from each planet, all 
of whom have special powers. Mercury can control water, Venus controls 
love and energy, Jupiter controls lightning, and as you already know, I 
control fire. So I finally discovered why I am so different and abnormal. 
Why I can make fire appear from my hands. My entire childhood (other 
then having you there) was hell because of the damn fire that I have. And 
all of this is so I can protect a princess?! Come on what kind of sense 
does that make. This Moon Princess' protectors are all princesses 
themselves aren't they? So what is so important about her that makes us 
have to abandon our lives, our homes and our families, just to make sure 
she doesn't get killed? Maybe it's just me but it sounds unfair, and doesn't 
make too much sense. I would ask my mom more about it but I am not 
talking to her ever again. I have been able to control fire since I was four 
years old, and she waited until I was twelve to tell me! I endured teasing, 
mocking, loneliness, and people being afraid of me. And all the while I 
had absolutely no idea why I was different. My entire life I have lived 
differently, and not even because I am the princess of mars. Because my 
mom wouldn't explain to her daughter why she could do things with fire. 
You were the only friend I ever had due to this stupid thing. I realize that 
knowing why I had this power wouldn't have stopped it from happening, 
but it sure would have changed the way I looked at myself. Well, it's 
changing my life once again, I'm packing to leave for the moon in about a 
week. I have my training to begin now. Well at least I will get to visit the 
Moon like I have always wanted. The only good things that I can find in 
this entire thing, is that my mom told me in a few years, after Serenity's 
guards' training is complete, the Prince and his guards(you) come to the
moon to meet the Princess and her guards(me) so I will be able to see you
again. That, and the fact that at least I won't be the odd one anymore. At l
east the others will be able to do the same things I will. 
Write back soon. Miss you lots. 
Love Always, 
Rei 




So what did everyone think of chapter 4? Please let me know! Your comments are 
so helpful and I will respond to them all. Send comments, flames, or suggestions to 
Pekkle9983@aol.com. The next part may not be out for a while, I only have like 
three paragraphs written. Slight writers block. (Not sure what I want to happen.) 
But I will try to get it out within a month from now at the absolute latest, so
please look for it. The next part, as I said before, the other scouts will finally
appear in. As it says in Rei's last letter to Jed, she finally discovers she is a
scout, so the next part will be her going to the moon, meeting everyone and starting
her training. Not sure what else, cause I realy don't know what I want to happen yet.
They will probably be the normal age, (Scouts=17 Generals=19) in part six. Part six
through the end will probably be the best. That will be when everyone meets and falls
in love and all that. Anyway, send commetns. Bai. 


Hey everyone. For those of you waiting for the other scouts to appear, good news! 
in this part, all inner scouts(Outers aren't in this story at all) will make their 
appearance. They are still young, the scouts are all about 12, and the generals are
14. 
Standard Disclaimers Apply, see AS THE TEARS FELL READ ME, for more information. 

Names: Nicknames: 
Princess Serenity Serenity, Serin, Princess. 
Princess Rei Rei, Mars, dorkus 
Princess Ami Ames, Ami, Mercury 
Princess Makoto Makoto, Jupiter 
Princess Minako Minako, Venus 
Prince Endymion Prince, Endymion, Endy 
Princess Terra Princess, Terra 
Jeadite Jed, Jade 
Zoisite Zoi 
Nephlite Neph 
Kunzite Kunz 

As The Tears Fell (c) Pekkle9983 1998. Katherine and Queen Victoria (c) Pekkle9983
1998. 

************************* 

As the Tears Fell~Chapter 5 

By MCRK 

************************* 

"Rei honey, can I talk to you for a minute?" The question fell flat and no response 
was made. Queen Victoria lingered in the doorway of her daughter's bedroom and 
continued. "I realize that I should have told you sooner, but I did have my reasons 
for waiting this long." 

Rei continued moving about the room, packing most of her things into boxes and 
suitcases, all the while not responding to her pleading mother. 

"And I know you are angry at me, and I'm sorry but-" 

This time she responded. "ANGRY?!" She exclaimed. "Angry does not even begin 
to describe what I feel towards you right now." 

Victoria tried again. "Look at it from my point of view. You are the only family I 
had left. I was afraid if I told you, it would be like I was losing you sooner, and I 
didn't want to do that. " 

Rei slowly turned around until she was face to face with her her mother. "Your 
point of view?" She asked, trying to remain calm. "What about MY point of view. 
I am the one who has lived my entire life thinking there was something wrong with 
me." 

"Nothing was wrong with you because of your power. It made you special." Her 
mother tried to explain. 

"Oh I see now. It made me special huh? Well I wouldn't have known about that 
seeing as you never told me why I could control fire!" Rei yelled. "I can't even tell 
you what I went through when I was younger. From the time I first realized what 
I could do, when I was about three years old, till now, I have been teased, mocked, 
tormented, and disrespected, by just about everyone on this damn planet! I mean
I had absolutly no one on my side. Didn't you ever wonder why I didn't have 
friends?" 

"I just assumed it was because you were perfectly happy being by yourself." 
Victoria stammered. 

"Being by myself?" Rei asked incredously. "Mom, I was five years old, do you 
know how I felt? Up until the time I met Jeadite, and ever after that, I felt like
there 
was something wrong with me. How come I could do this weird thing that no 
one else could? Why was it that I had to be different then everyone else? I scared 
them for God's sake! Do you have any idea what that is like?" 

"No. I don't. But Rei, you still were always happy when you were younger, and 
what about Jeadite? You were good friends with him." Victoria said. 

"Jeadite was and still is my best and only friend. And that is only because he was 
kind enough to look past my stupid powers. But you know what? I really wish 
that I had never been born the Princess of Mars, and I wish that I had never 
gained these stupid powers. Now if you will excuse me I am leaving tomorrow and 
I still have lot to do." Rei fled the room leaving her mother standing there in
tears. 

"I'm so sorry Rei. I'm so sorry." She whispered to herself. 

Moments after Rei arrived on the moon, a young girl that looked about her age, 
with a strange hairstyle, came running up to her. 

"Hi!" The girl said, her voice a happy bubbly kind of voice. 

"Hi." Rei said, her voice somewhat lacking in enthusiasm. 

The girl studied her for a moment then said, "Are you Princess of Mars? Rei right?" 

"Yeah, that's me. How'd you-" 

"How did I know? It's a gift." The girl said interupting Rei's question. "But right 
now I am sure you want to put your stuff down some where right?" After 
recieving a nod, she continued. "Just follow me, I will help you to your room, and 
then you can come meet everyone else." 

"How many others are there?" Rei asked as they started to walk through the 
palace. 

"Let's see, there is you, Princess Ami of Mercury, Princess Makoto of Jupiter, and 
Princess Minako of Venus." 

The two reached a large bedroom where Rei put her things down. "Will I meet 
Princess Serenity at the meeting?" She asked, looking around the room. 

The girl laughed. "Silly. You already met her!" Seeing the suprised look on the other 
girl's face, she stuck out her hand and introduced herself. "Princess Serenity, 
welcome to the moon." 

"Enymon! Enymon! Where you going?" The young voice cried out. 

Endymion smiled and turned around as his little sister ran into his arms. "Hey 
Terra. I'm going to see Jade, Neph, Zoi, and Kunz. We have a training session." 

"Please, please please can I come?" She pleaded. 

"Sure, why not?" He asked. 

"Thank you!" Terra yelled hugging him. 

"Come on, we're gonna be late." He said putting her down and taking hold of her 
hand. 

Terra, also known as the Earth Princess, was Endymion's younger sister, and had 
been a complete suprise to everyone else. She was about four years old and the 
cutest little girl you could imagine. The two siblings were incredibly close, and 
were usually found together. 

Endymion and Terra walked onto the training grounds to see everyone else 
already there. 

"Hey guys, sorry we are late. Terra wanted to come along." Endymion explained. 

"No problem." Jade said. 

"Jade!" Terra yelled running over to him. 

"Hey there. I haven't see you in what, an hour?" He asked smiling. Terra was as 
close to Jade as she was to Endy, and he considered her to be his little sister also. 

"Endy let me come to watch you guys while you practice." She said happily. 

"I know, pretty exciting huh?" He asked. 

She nodded and tugged on his shirt so he kneeled down to her level. After she 
looked around to make sure the others were busy getting ready, she whispered to 
him, "And today, you guys are all gonna get your special powers." 


"Hey guys." Serenity said as her and Rei walked into a room where there were 
three other girls waiting. 

"Hey Serin, took you long enough." One said. 

"Serin?" Rei questioned. 

"My nickname. We've all met before today." Serenity explained. 

"Oh." Rei said sitting down at the table along with everyone else. "So you guys 
have all known each other a while?" She asked. 

Another one of the girls answered. "Yes, we all met earlier on and we have been 
visiting together the past few years." 

"Yeah, why is it that you never came...um...what was you name again?" The third 
one asked, 

"Oh! I forgot to introduce everyone! Sorry! Serin cried. "That is Makoto, Ami and 
Minako, also known as the Princesses of Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus." She said, 
pointing first to the one with brown hair, then the girl with blue hair, and last the 
one with blonde hair. "Everyone, this is Rei, Princess of Mars." 

"So Rei, why is it that you never came?" Makoto asked. 

"It's a long story, and I would rather not get into it." She said quietly. 

The others all exchanged glances, but decided it was best left alone. "So...what 
can you control?" Serenity asked. 

Rei looked at her in suprise. "What do you mean, 'What can I control?' Do you 
mean there are other people that can do that?" 

The other girls laughed, but seeing Rei's embarresment they stopped and explained. 

"All of us, minus Serenity, can control one of the elemtents." Ami explained. "That 
is why we were all chosen to protect the moon princess. I can control water." 

"I control lightning." Makoto said. 

"And I control the wicked cool power of love." Minako said giggling. 

"Ok. I understand now. I control fire, and it is so cool to know that I am not the 
only one that can do that." Rei said in relief. "But, what happens if the princess
 is attacked and none of us can get there, how does she protect herself?" 

"Well, we kinda have to make sure we can get there--but if no one can, or until we 
get there, Serin does have the power of the moon and she can transform also." 
Makoto said. 

"Transform?" Rei asked in confusion. 

Once again the other started to giggle. "You don't know much about this job do 
you?" The princess asked giggling. 

Blushing once again, she shook her head. 

"See, it might scare people, if we just started using our powers, so we need to 
transform, so we can use them." Minako said. 

"We have wands, you'll get yours later, and we just hold them up, and shout 
something. I shout Jupiter power, and then I become Sailor Jupiter. Since you are 
the Pincess of Mars, you will shout Mars Power, and become Sailor Mars. Get 
it?" Makoto asked. 

Rei just looked at her in complete confusion. 

"Don't worry Rei. We'll demonstrate later, you'll get it then." Serenity said. 

'Thank you Princess." Rei said. 

Serenity scrunched up her face in disgust. "Please please please, just call me Serin 
or Serenity? All my other friends do. I hate Princess!" She excaimed. 

Rei smiled inwardly, knowing exactly how she felt. "That depends, do you consider 
me a friend?" She asked. 

Serin smiled at her. "Course I do. We all do already." She said as the others nodded. 

This time, she was smiling on the outside as Rei said, "Well then, Serin, how about 
you guys do this demonstration for me?" It felt good to have real friends. 


Dear Jed, 
I love it here! Everything about the moon, it's just the best place. I met 
Serenity, Makoto, Ami, and Minako today. Serenity is the Moon 
Princess, Makoto is the princess of Jupiter, Ami is the princess of 
Mercury, and Minako is the princess of Venus. The best part is, that I 
am finally not the only person that controls one of the elements. 
Everyone else, minus Serin(Serenity) controls something. Things are 
still a little confusing, 'cause thanks to my mom, I am the only one who 
hadn't met everyone before, so I am still learning what we do and 
everything. And I am already good friends with all of them, espeically 
Serin. She is so happy and has such an enthusiasm for life, a little too 
perky sometimes, but she is really nice. I haven't gotten to know everyone 
else quite so well yet, but so far, the five of us get along very well. Well, 
I know this must be an incredibly boring letter, seeing as I am sure you 
now all of this already, so I will sign off here. Miss you lots. 
Love Always, 
Rei 
P.S. I am never speaking to my mother again. 



The next morning Rei awoke and looked around the room, unsure of where she was 
at first. Then she remembered the events of the past few days and realized she was 
in her new room, on the moon. Not knowing exactly what was suppossed to happen 
each day, she dressed and wandered out into the hallway. In her search for the 
Princess or one of the others, she ran into Princess Serenity, who was talking to 
someone that looked a lot like her. "Oh, gomen. I was just looking for Serenity." Rei 
said apologizing as she backed away. 

The older woman smiled kindly at her. "It's quite alright dear. Please, do come in." 
Rei stpeed shyly into the room. "I have been meaning to meet with you. I 
apologize for not being able to greet you yesterday. I had...other matters to attend 
to." She said. 

"Don't worry about it." Rei said, looking towards Serin for help. 

"Rei, I'd like you to meet my mom, Queen Serenity." Serin said proudly. 

Rei gasped. "Oh! I am so sorry I didn't recognize you and for not addressing you 
correctly your majesty. Gomen Nasai I feel terrible and--" She blurted out. 

"Rei, Rei, calm down. As I said before it is quite alright." QSerenity said. "And 
you on't need to address me so formally. After all, you are royalty yourself are 
you not? And I think of all of Serin's guards as my own daughters. And now that 
you are here, and we have met, you are included in that." 

Rei smiled. "I'd like that. Thank you." 

"Now, I believe you needed to talk to my daughter?" She questioned 

"Oh, well that was just because I wasn't sure what happens each day, and where 
we go and things like that." 

"Well, I am sure that Serin will be happy to answer all your questions, as I need 
to attend to other things." The Queen said. 

Serin smiled happily at Rei as the two left the room to talk. "So what do you need 
to know?" Serin asked her. 

"Just what basically happens each day." She said. 

"Oh, that's easy enough. Well we usually end up all meeting at breakfast, and then 
we will meet a short while later for practice. Thn we usually have studies, taught 
by Ami, she's a major genius, then pretty much whatever we want. It's pretty 
relaxed." Serenity explained. 

"Sounds simple enough." Rei said smiling. 

"Hey Rei, can I ask you a question?" She asked, jumping in front of her to stop 
their movement. 

"Sure what's up?" 

"I know you said you didn't really want to get into it, but why is it that you never 
came before hand. You know to meet everyone else?" The princess asked curiously. 

"I never knew that I was a guard for you." Rei said slowly. 

"Silly! How could you no have known?" She asked. 

"Well see, when I was about three years old, I discovered that I could control fire 
and stuff. But my mom never told me why I could. She never told me anything 
about you or any of this. So I never came." She explained. 

"Oh, Rei! That's terrible!" Serin cried. 

"Yeah, but whatever. I take it you don't like to see people unhappy?" She asked 
laughing. 

Serin smiled back. "No one is allowed to be unhappy and stay unhappy while in 
my presence. That is my only rule." 

"I like that rule." Rei said as the two resumed walking. "Can I ask you something?" 

"Of course." She said. 

"Why is it that you are so nice to me?" Rei asked looking over at the other girl. 

Serin looked at her in suprise. "Why not?" she asked. 

"Well, it's just that before I came here, I never really had any friends. Well,
except 
for my best friend Jeadite, I was pretty much alone, because of my fire thing." Rei 
explained. 

"Well, you don't have to worry about that here. We'll be the bestest of friends."
She said smiling. 

"I'd like that." Rei said smiling back. 

"So tell me. What is Mars like, is it a fun place to live?" Serin asked excitredly. 

Rei laughed, and thought back on all the crazy things her and Jed had done. "Well, 
when you had a best friend as psychotic as mine, things were pretty fun."` 

For the millionth time that morning that girls burst into laughter. "I can not
believe 
that you guys did that!" Makoto exclaimed once she calmed down. 

"He sounds so incredibly pyschotic!" Mina said laughing. 

"How adorable is that?" Serin asked. 

The five girls had been talking all morning. Happily laying in the sun, they were 
telling each other for their lives before the moon, and Rei had just shared a 
numerous amount of stories of the crazy things her and Jed had done. 

"Yeah. He was pretty crazy, but we had tons of fun. But I haven't seen him in 
two years, and I miss him a lot." Rei said, smiling sadly. The other all exchanged 
looks. 

"Awwww, Rei's got a boyfriend!" Serin teased. 

"He is not my boyfriend!" Rei said in suprise. 

"Uh huh sure." Minako said rolling her eyes. 

"He's not!" She protested. 

"I hate to interupt this conversation, but I think it's time for us to start our
training 
for the day." Ami said. 

"Yes, I think it is. Besides you guys still have to explain this transforming thing." 
Rei said shooting a grateful look towars Ami who smiled back. Grumbling the others 
stood and headed for the training grounds. 

"Ok let's show Rei how we do this." Makoto said once they were all out there. 

"First, you gotta take out your pen." Minako instructed. 

"Where do I keep it though? Do I just carry it aound in my pocket?" Rei asked in 
confusion. 

"When you have finished using the pen it automatically knows that you are done, 
therefore transporting intself into a nonviewable seemingly non existent inter 
dimensional pocket." Ami explained. 

"Don't mind Ami. She's a certified genius and sometimes she gets out of hand with 
her scientific terms." Serin said. "All she means is that once you are done, your 
pen will slip into some weird pocket. It seems like it vanishes into thin air, but 
whenever you need it, it will be there." 

Rei nodded, understanding a little better. 

"OK, so now, after you take out your pen, you shout the name of your planet and 
then power." Makoto informed her. 

"We'll demonstrate." Minako said and held up her pen as she shouted, "VENUS 
POWER." As Rei watched in awe, swirls of golden ribbon and hearts wound 
their way around Minako. Within minutes she was dressed in a white bodysuit 
with a very short orange skirt attached. Ath the back waist and front collar there 
was a orange bow, and a small golden tiara encircled her forehead. 

"My turn. JUPITER STAR POWER!" Once again Rei watched as Makoto was 
encased in electric bolts, shooting up around her arms, legs, and torso. When her 
ransformation was complete her uniform looked similar to Minako's, ecxept 
where Minako's was orange, her's was green. She watched once more as Ami went, 
his time there was water, and her outfit was blue. 

"Nowit's your turn Rei." Serin said handing her a red pen with the symbol of 
mars at the top. She nervously grasped into hjer hand, held it high in the air as 
she shouted "MARS STAR POWER!" Rei felt an incredible rush of energy and 
heat and she noticed that her entire body as being encircled by flames. Within 
moments it was over and she was Rei. Except now she had on a red uniform, 
similar to the others. "That was so awesome!" She exclaimed. 

"Now you gotta learn how to use your powers." Makoto said. 

"Learn?" She asked. 

"Yes. You must learn how to harness your fire and how and went to call on it." 
Ami explained. 

Rei felt relief wash over her. "Oh that's easy. " She said. "I know how to do that 
already. Watch." She closed her eyes in concentration, and the other's watched as 
she placed her hands together, her thumb and forefinger pointint out as she shouted," 
Mars...Fire...IGNITE!" as a small stream of fire shot out form her fingertips. Rei 
opened her eyes to find the other's all staring at her in awe. 

"How did you know how to do that?" Mianko asked wide-eyed. 

"I don't know, I just kinda knew. I've been able to do it since I was like three or 
something." She responded shrugging."I wanna see what you guys do though." 
She said. 


The five girls continued to practice as Queen Serenity watched from inside her 
palace. Luna, one of her trusted advisors, softly padded over to the window to see 
what she was looking at. She noticed the queen watched Princess Rei more then 
anyone else. "She is getting along quite well." She said softly. 

The queen starteld, turned to see who had spoken. She smiled when she saw it 
was Luna. "Yes. She is." 

"Might I ask what is troubling you then?" Luna asked. 

"It's just that I think she would have been better off if she had been able to come 
earlier. I know she is fitting in now and everything, but it would have been easier 
to adjust if she had known about it ahead of time." The Queen said sighing. Luna 
was silent waiting for her to continue. "I am just so mad at Victoria for not
allowing 
her to come. And not only was Rei not allowed to come, she never knew about it. 
And I think that's just cruel. The poor child went through her childhood with one 
friend, all because her mother was too stubborn to tell her why she could control
fire." 

"Maybe she was just afraid to lose the only family she had left." Luna said quietly. 

Serenity turned to look at her. "What do you mean?" 

"Well her husband was gone. Who did she really have other than Rei? I would have 
been reluctant to give her up to." She explained. 

"She had me!" Serenity said, almost hurt. "I'm her family too! But she jsut shut me 
out, like everyone else. If she had just allowed Rei to at least know, I could have 
been there for her more often. She's my baby sister for God's sake!" She exclaimed. 

"I take it Rei doesn't know that you and her mother are sisters? Or that her and 
Serin are cousins?" Luna questioned. 

"Of course not Luna." Serenity said looking out the window at the girls once again. 
"Serin doesn't even know. And I didn't keep it a secret from her because Victoria 
asked me to. The hell with what she asks me to do. I only kept it from her because 
I found it unfair to tell her all about her cousin, and then not allow her to meet
her. 
I will hopefully be able to tell them both soon though." She said. "It's just so
strange
 you know? I mean to me, Rei is like my own daughter. And even though she is my 
niece, I have only met her earlier today." Luna quietly sat on the window sill as the 
two watched the girls fooling around happily. "Things used to be so simple." 
Serenity said sighing once more. 


A few Days Later 

"Hey Serin, whatcha doing?" Rei asked plopping down next to her. 

Princess Serenity looked up from what she was doing. "Hey Rei. I am just looking 
through my mom's wedding pictures." She said. 

"Mind if I look with you?" Rei asked. 

"Course not." She answered, turning the page. "Weren't the dresses pretty?" She
asked. 

Rei however wasn't listening. There was a person in a few of the pictures that had 
caught her eye. "Who is that?" She asked. 

Serin looked over where she was pointing. "Oh, she was my mom's maid of honor." 

"No I mean who is it?" Rei questioned again. 

"My mom's sister. I think her name was Victoria. I never met her though, she died 
before I was born." Serin explained giving Rei a weird look. 

"She's not dead." Rei said. 

"Oh really and how do you know that?" Serin asked laughing. 

"That's my mom." 

Jade's eyes widened. They had been hearing about these powers they were supposed 
to get, for the past two years, but they never got them. "Are you sure?" He 
whispered back. 

Terra nodded excitedly. 

"Hey Jade, do you plan on coming some time today?" Kunzite called overe to him. 

"Oh sorry. Just talking to Terra." He said jogging over to where the others had 
gathered. 

"I have an announcment to make to you guys." Endymion said. "Today, you guys 
are finally able to use your powers." 

Comotion broke out amongst them. 

"Our powers? What powers do we each have?" 

"You mean we get to control water and stuff like that now?" 

"This is gonna be awesome!" 

"As if we don't have enough training problems already, right?" 

"And I get to watch the whole time!" 

They all turned to look at the face that had spoken last, and started laughing. 

"I think Terra is more excited then we are." Neph said. 

"Yeah, cause I know all bout it. I know who controls what, and now I get to see it 
finally!" She said. 

"What do we control?" Zoi asked. 

Endymion jsut sighed trowing his hands in the air. Sometimes bringing Terra along 
wasn't the best of ideas. 

"Ummm....let me think a minute......k got em. You get to control icy stuff and 
water." She said pointing to Zoisite. "And you get to control the winds, and the 
weather." She said pointing to Nephlite. "And Kunz gets to control...um...i don't 
really know what it is, you just control energy kinda things. And Jade," She said, 
smiling at him. "Gets to control fire...just like his girlfriend." She added
giggling. 

"You're gonna pay for that." He muttered. 

"So how do we use these powers?" Zoi asked, turning back to Endymion. 

"You just gotta conentrate, I mean really really concentrate, and focus all your 
energy towards your aura. Then words, will just like, come to you, and as you 
shout them out, your attack is being used." He explained. 

The others all looked at him, doubtfully. "I am serious!" He exclaimed. "Try it." 

They all stood there quietly for a few minutes, focusing their energy like they had 
learned to do during their previous training. Jade was about to complain that 
nothing was happening when he suddenly felt a surge of energy go through him as 
he shouted out, "Phoneix Fire...ENGULF!" As a large ball of fire shot out from his
hands. 

It was followed by two columns of freezing ice water that came from Zoisite. 

"Ocean Winds...ENCASE!" Signaled Nephlite had launched his attack. 

Kunzite's however was silent, and they suddenly just saw a burts of energy shoot 
from his hadns. 

"So so so so so so cool!" Terra squealed jumping up and down. 

"So, now do you believe me?" Endymion asked grinning. 




"That's your mom? Are you sure?" Serin whispered. 

Rei nodded silently. 

"Come on." She said suddenly jumping up, taking Rei and the book with her. 

'Where are we going?" Rei asked running after her. 

"To find my mom." 

The two girls found Queeen Serenity in her office reading over some papers. She 
looked up when they ran in. 

"He mom can we talk to you for a minute?" Serin asked. 

"Of course. What do you need to talk to me about?" She asked putting down the 
papers. 

"Aunt Victoria." 

The color drained form the Queen's face as she looked back and forth at the two 
girls in silence. "So you know huh?" She asked. 

"Not really. We were just looking through your wedding pictures, and when I 
asked who someone was, Serin said it was her Aunt Victoria, your sister. But she's
also my mom." Rei explained 

Serenity sighed. "I guess it's about time the two of you knew. Why don't you girls 
have a seat and I'll tell you the whole story." The two sat down and waited 
expectantly. "Rei, when your mom told you that you were one of Serenity's guards, 
did she tell you why she had waited so long to tell you?" 

Rei nodded. "She gave me some stupid reason about how I was all she had left, and 
she didn't want to lose me any sooner then she had to." 

The Queen nodded. "You aren't the only family she has left. If you two haven't 
figured it out yet, Rei's mother and I are sisters, which makes the two of you 
cousins." The two gasped in delight as they looked at each other and smiled. "I 
figured you would be happy about that. Anyway, there is a reason why neither 
of you knew about it." 

"It better be a good one." Serin said angrily. 

"Victoria is my younger sister, and I got married before she did. And as you know, 
she was my maid of honor at my wedding. We were always so close. After that 
though, she got married to the Prince of Mars, and she moved there. She did see 
you though Serin, she made sure to make the marriage after you were born." The 
Queen said smiling at her daughter. "So she got married, and had Rei. And we 
never got much of a chance to see each other. Maybe once, when you were both 
under a year old. But I didn't see her again until the funerals of both our
husbands." 
She said a tear coming ot her eye which she quickly wiped away. "It is always hard 
losing a loved one, but it is especially hard when it is your mate. And it takes most 
people a long time to get over that. I was no exception. But I was eventually able to 
get on with my life." 

"My mother never did." Rei said softly. The others turned to look at her. "She 
never said anything to me about it, but I could tell. She cried a lot, and she was
just 
a different person after my dad died." 

"You're right Rei. She was a different person. You became the only person that
could get close to her. She wouldn't even let me get close to her anymore. And then 
when she found out that she would have to give you up also, she went hysterical. 
She was so terrified to lose you, that she forbid you from ever knowing anything 
about me, or Serin, or the moon." Serenity explained. "I pleaded with her to tell 
you, but she is incredibly stubborn. That is why you never knew any of that." 

"How come you never told me though?" Serin asked. 

"I didn't think it was fair to tell you all about a cousin and aunt that you wouldn't 
be able to meet. It seemed cruel, almost like I was torturing you with it and I
didn't 
want to do that. I'm sorry though for not telling you." She said. 

Serin hopped out of her chair and ran to her mother to hug her. "Don't worry about 
it." 

As Rei watched the two of them, she was suprised to find her self feeling jealous. 

"Now that that is all cleared up I am going to play. Wanna come Rei?" She asked 

"In a minute." Rei said. 

"Ok." Serin said running off. 

"Did you want to ask me something?" Serenity asked the girl. 

"My mom," Rei hesitated for a minute, "She wasn't always such an uhappy person 
was she?" She asked softly. 

The Queen smiled gently. "Of course not. She was one of the happiest people. She 
was alsways full of life, and excited about everything. And when she met your 
father, she was the happiest person I have ever seen. They were perfect for each 
other. And then when she had you, she felt her life was completly perfect. She 
loved the two of you to bits and I know she has never stopped. Is that what you 
wanted to know?" She asked. 

Rei nodded. "I think so. Thank you." She said as she turned to leave. 

"And Rei," Serenity called. She turned around. 

"Just remember, if you ever want to talk, I'm here fore you." She said. 

Rei smiled. "Thanks," She paused then right before running out the door to find 
her new found cousin, she added, "Aunt Serenity." 



Authors Note: Hey everyone I hope you liked this part. Sorry it took so long to 
come out, I had a case of writer's block, but I personally think it was worth the 
wait. This is probably my fave part, I enjoyed writing it. And Princess Terra 
was a spur of the moment thing so I hope you like her. Isn't she adorable? I just 
love her. She will be added to my little cast list movie thing. Oh, that isn't out
yet is it? K sorry bout that. For all my loyal fans, who read all these stories(are
there ne?) I will soon be putting out an extra little thing, just and idea I had, but
it's good so look for it k? (It isn't a fanfic) I haven't had time to start Chapter 6
yet, so it may not be out for a while. Sorrry I got school, and I am working on
another fanfic. Trying to finish as much of that as possible so I can start
publoishing it as soon as this is done. Sorry for talking so long here, e-mail me
with your comments please???? Pekkle983@aol.com luv ya! bai! 
Translations: 
Gomen: I'm sorry 
Gomen Nasai: Very sorry, very formal. 


Hey everyone. In this chapter, everyone is finally the right age!!! Isn't this
exciting? 
The scouts are 17 or around there and the generals are 19 or around there. Standard 
Disclaimers apply and for everything else, see As the Tears Fell~READ ME 
Translations(if there are any) are on the bottom, names are as follow: 

Names American Name Nicknames 

Princess Serenity Serena Serin, Ren 
Princess Minako Mina Minako, Venus 
Princess Rei Raye Rei, Dorkus, Mars 
Princess Makoto Lita Makoto, Jupiter 
Princess Ami Amy Ames, Ami, Mercury 
Prince Endymion Darien Endy, Endymion 
Princess Terra (none) Terra 
Kunzite Malachite Kunz 
Jeadite----------------------------- Jed, Jade 
Nephlite----------------------------- Neph 
Zoisite------------------------------- Zoi, Zoey 

One more tiny thing-(Sorry!)-I want to thank everyone who has sent me comments on my
story. I have 
gotten more 
responses for this story then any other so I am hoping everyone else feels the same
way. I just wanted to 
say thanks 
to those who have sent e-mails, and for those of you who read this and don't, what
are you waiting for? :) 

************************* As the Tears Fell~Chapter 5 By MCRK
************************** 

"Minna, I just heard the best new!" The four girls looked up as Serin ran into the 
sitting room her face flushed with excitement. 

"So what's the news?" Makoto asked. 

"I just heard from my mom, that in two weeks, Prince Endymion and his court are 
coming to the moon to visit!" She exclaimed excitedly. Everything was quiet for 
another moment when all five of them screamed and started talking all at once. 

"Are you serious?" Rei asked. 

"I heard they are all really hot." Makoto said dreamily. 

"I wonder how intelligent the people from Earth are?" Ami asked thoughtfully. 

"This is so wicked cool!" Minako exclaimed. 

"Would you guys shut up so I can tell you the rest?" Serin yelled. They stopped 
talking instantly. She smiled. "That's better. Now they are coming in two weeks, 
for um something, kinda forgot that part. Anyway, while they are here, we are 
supposed to be like their tour guides or something. And they are staying for two 
months or so." 

"Is the Earth princess coming along also?" Ami asked. 

"Ami who cares about her, we get to be tour guides for five really hot guys!" 
Minako exclaimed. 

The others all rolled their eyes. "No I think the Princess Terra is staying on
Earth." 
Serin said, answering Ami's question. 

Rei's eyes widened as she realized who the guards were. "Serin, you said all four 
guards and the prince are coming right?" She asked smiling. 

Serin looked over at her cousin, and realizing what she was thinking, smiled back. 
"Yes, meaning that he will be there." 

The others looked back and forth between the two, trying to figure out what was 
going on. The two girls had grown so incredibly close over the years, they seemed 
to have developed some sort of telepathic link, and with Rei's spiritual expertise, 
it was quite possibly true. The link was actually helpful, and allowed them to 
know when the other was in trouble. It usually drove the others crazy though. 

"Who is going to be there?" Makoto asked impatiently. 

"Jed!" Rei exclaimed happily. 

"Oh so we finally get to see your boyfriend huh?" Minako asked. 

"He isn't my boyfriend." She said rolling her eyes. 

"It's nice that you get to see someone you haven't seen in a long time." Ami said. 

"A long time? I haven't seen him in seven years!" Rei exclaimed. 

"And he could be totally hot, and then the two of you could fall for each other and 
would get married and everyone would all be happy." Serin said. 

"Yeah sure. The chances of that happening are like the chances of Ami being 
interested in guys. No offense Ames of course." Rei said. 

She smiled. "None taken." 

"How long are they staying for again?" Makoto asked. 

"I think my mom said for about two months." Serin responded. 

"Well as excited as I am, and as much as I would love to keep talking about this, I 
have some stuff to do. I'll talk to you guys later." Makoto said as she left. 

"Same here. Jaa mata." Minako said as she walked away. 

"I am falling behind in my studies, I need to go catch up." Ami said hurrying away. 

"I suppose you are going to desert me also?" Serin asked Rei. 

"Course not. I'm not about to desert my best friend when there are hot guys to 
discuss!" She said laughing. 

"You know, I still think that it would be perfect if you and Jed fell for each other. 
You would have been best friends for years, then separated, your only contact 
through letters. Then when you meet again years later, you realize how perfect you 
are for each other and you fall in love and you live together happily ever after." 
Serin said getting all starry eyed. 

Rei burst into laughter. "You are to romantic for your own good! That is never going 
to happen. We are best friends, nothing more." 

"Yeah sure." She said. "Just wait and see." 

"Well you know Serin, the prince is supposed to be pretty hot too." Rei said nudging 
her knowingly. 

She blushed. "Shut up Rei!" 

Rei shrugged. "I just think it would work out perfectly. The Princess of the Moon 
and the Prince of Earth, it's like fated for the two of you to fall in love. Now that 
would be a perfect match. It would unite the kingdoms, and well it just works out 
perfectly." 

"You sound like my mom." Serin groaned. 

"Is she forcing you into a marriage?" Rei asked in surprise. 

"Not exactly. But I know she wants me to fall for Prince Endon, or whatever his 
name is." 

"Endymion." Rei corrected gently. "And don't hate him until you meet him." 

"Isn't that what you did when you had to meet Jed?" Serin teased. 

"Hey I was like 5 years old! But he did end up being my best friend." She pointed 
out. 

"I thought I was your best friend?" 

"OK, he is my best friend that is a guy how's that?" Rei asked. 

"That's because he is your only guy friend who you haven't dated." Serin said 
laughing. 

"So. There's nothing wrong with that." She said her eyes twinkling with laughter. 

"But I'm serious about not hating the Prince yet. For all you know he could be 
perfect, the man of your dreams." 

"And if Endymion can be so perfect for me, how come Jed can't be perfect for 
you?" Serin asked slyly. 

"Well...because...he's just not. It doesn't work. He is a civilian from the sun, I'm 
a Martian Princess. Besides we're best friends." 

"You never know. Sometimes the perfect person is the one you least expect." 

****************** 
As soon as Endymion walked into the room Jade immediately started asking 
questions. "Is it true? Are we really going to the moon? And are we finally meeting 
the Princess and her court? And are--" 

"Jade, slow down. Who told you all that anyway?" Endymion asked. 

Jade smiled. "Terra." 

Endy groaned. "I told my parents they shouldn't have told her yet." 

"So it's true?" 

"Yes it s true. We are going to the moon to meet the princess and her court. But 
what are you so excited about?" 

Jade just smiled happily thinking of someone. 

Endymion slapped himself on the head. "Oh right you get to see your girlfriend 
again, I forgot." 

Jade rolled his eyes. "Don't you guys ever get sick of that? It is kinda old. You 
have been bothering me about it for the better part of the past seven years, do you 
really still believe she is my girlfriend?" 

"No. But it is still fun to make fun of you. Come on, I have to go tell everyone else 
what Terra already hasn't." Endy said smiling as he walked down the hall. Jade ran 
to catch up to him and the two walked in to the usual meeting room to find 
everyone waiting for them. Endymion waited for the bombard of questions....that 
never came. 

"Terra didn't tell you guys?" He asked in surprise. 

"She told us you had some big, exciting announcement you had to tell us but then 
she wouldn't tell us what it was." Zoisite explained. 

Jeadite smirked at them. "Ha, she told me already." 

"Jade, why is it that Terra will always tell you, and not the rest of us?" Kunzite 
asked. 

"I don't know. She just tells me things." He said shrugging. 

'Aww, I think she has a crush on Jade." Neph teased. 

"Uh, yeah sure Neph. Whatever." Jade said. 

"So what is this announcement Endy?" Zoi asked impatiently. 

"Well you know how Princess Serenity has the four guards too?" He started. The 
others all nodded and he continued. "Well they finally finished their training, and 
they all have their placements and everything, and the Queen has decided that it is 
time for the Earth Prince and his court, meaning us, to meet the Moon Princess and 
her court. Meaning, we are going to the moon." 

*************************** 

Serin ran into Rei's room to find her reading over old letters from Jeadite. 

"You miss him a lot don't you?" She asked softly. 

Rei looked up in surprise, having not noticed that anyone else had come into the 
room. "Oh hey." She said when she saw it was Serin. "And yeah I do. But I will get 
to see him soon so I am really excited." 

"How long have you two know each other?" Serin asked. 

"Ummm, I think 12 years." 

"So come on, how did you meet?" She asked smiling. 

"I kinda ran into him and knocked him over." Rei said sheepishly. 

"Are you serious?" She asked laughing. 

Rei nodded. "See his mom and my mom were really good friends. But Jeadite's 
mother had moved to the sun many years before, because she was getting married.
And they didn't see each other again until seven years later. And I was I think five, 
and Jed was 7, and we were both outside playing before we had to meet each other. 
And I ran down the hill not noticing him, and I just kinda knocked him over." 

"So then what happened?" Serin asked. 

"Well he yelled at me for knocking him down, but then we apologized, and we 
played like tag or something. Then we were both summoned by our mothers. So 
we separately went back to the palace, and were extremely surprised to see the 
other one there. See, neither of us had wanted to meet, because we both thought the 
other was going to be a dork." Rei said laughing. 

"But you ended up being best friends." 

"Right. But when Jed saw that the person he had been yelling at before, was really 
the Princess of Mars, he like flipped out. Looking back it was really funny. He was 
like bowing and started apologizing like crazy, until he was sure I had forgiven
him." 

Serin started laughing. "I can't believe he did!" She said. 

"So anyway, somehow after that we became inseparable. Until he left about two 
weeks later of course. He went back to the sun and I didn't hear from him again until 
two years later, when my mom invited him and his mom to come live at the palace 
with us. Ever since my dad has died, she was really lonely and she missed Kat, Jed's 
mom, a lot, so they came back. And we were still just as close, until he turned 12,
 and I was time for him to train to be a guard of Endymion's. And that was the last 
time I saw him, when he was 12 and I was 10." Rei explained. 

Hey everyone!!!! Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!! It's Christmas
Eve I am really excited!!! Sorry anyway you guys know everything.
Usual disclaimers apply, send comments to Pekkle9983@aol.com, see my
Read Me for other important stuff, translations that bottom, names
below, so read ahead! 

P.S. If anyone has a link to Wolfbyte's stories, please please please
please send me! I lost my and I can't find it again and I am dying to
get it back! Thanks! 

  Names                         American Name                   Nicknames
Princess Serenity    Serena                 Serin, Ren 
Princess Minako      Mina                   Minako, Venus 
Princess Rei         Raye                   Rei, Dorkus, Mars 
Princess Makoto      Lita                   Makoto, Jupiter 
Princess Ami         Amy                    Ames, Ami, Mercury 
Prince Endymion      Darien                 Endy, Endymion 
Princess Terra       (none)                 Terra 
Kunzite                                                 Kunz
Malachite                                   

Jeadite-----------------------------        Jed, Jade 
Nephlite-----------------------------       Neph 
Zoisite-------------------------------      Zoi, Zoey 

**********************
As the Tears Fell~Chapter 6
By MCRK
********************** 

After following, or rather being dragged by, Rei through most of the
palace grounds, the two finally came to a stop in the gardens and sat
down on a bench. "Ok, start explaining." She demanded. 

"You have just as much to explain as I do you know." Jade said
angered by the way that she was acting. 

"Me? What do I have to explain?" 

"Well for starters how about why you haven't talked to your mom in
over five years? Or why none of the other princess know about any of
that?" He asked. 

"Fine. I'll explain all that, and tell you whatever you want to know.
But you have to promise to then explain stuff also agreed?" Rei asked
now calmer. 

"Agreed." 

"I guess the first thing you want to know is why I haven't talked to
my mom at all right?" She asked. 

He nodded and waited for her to continue. 

"Well first of all in the letter that I sent you, right after I got
here, I did tell you that I was never going to talk to my mom again."
Rei said. 

"Well yeah you did but I didn't think you were serious! I mean you
were 12, all 12 year olds say that." Jade exclaimed. 

"Well I meant it." She said determined. 

"Yeah but don't you think it's time to forgive her for that? She was
doing what she thought was in your best interest." He said. 

"Oh come on Jed! You were there; you saw what her idea of 'my best
interest' was. She had no right to keep something so important from
me for all those years. And come to think of it, neither did you!"
Rei said glaring at him. 

Jeadite sighed. "Look I'm sorry about that too and I'll explain that
in a minute. But first you have to explain one more thing for me. Why
is it that you never told any of the other guardians about this?" He
asked. 

"It isn't something I enjoy looking back upon." She said quietly.
"And it's not that I don't trust them or anything, but I don't know,
I don't share that much with them regardless of how close we all are.
Besides, I did tell one person; Princess Serenity knows." 

"You two are really close aren't you?" He asked softly. 

"We are as close as sisters. There is nothing that we can't tell each
other. And it makes sense that we are so close, seeing as she is my
cousin." Rei said quietly. 

Jade glanced at her with wide eyes. "You are related to Princess and
Queen Serenity?" He asked. 

She nodded. "Another thing my mom didn't tell me when looking out for
my 'best interest.'" She said sarcastically. "Queen Serenity is her
sister, making the two of us cousins. But enough about that. You have
explaining to do too you know." She said changing the subject. 

"Yeah unfortunately." He said. 

"Tell me something, how could you know for seven years that I was
part of Princess Serenity's court, and never tell me?" Rei asked, her
voice proving that clearly she was hurt. 

"Look Rei, trust me I wanted to tell you more then anything in the
world." Jade said quickly. 

"Then what stopped you?" 

"Your mom." He said. 

"How did my mom stop you from telling me something?" She asked
confused. 

"The same way she stopped me from telling you that I was one of
Endymion's guards." 

"What are you talking about?" 

He sighed. "Maybe I should just start from the beginning. Do you
remember, how the first time I met you, you showed me your fire?" He
asked. 

"Yes." Rei said nodding. 

"As soon as I saw that, I realized that you had to be one of Princess
Serenity's guards. But since you didn't seem to know anything about
it, I wanted to talk to your mom first to find out why you didn't
know." Jade explained. 

"Did she give some stupid excuse about how she didn't want to lose me
any earlier?" She asked sarcastically. 

"Actually she never really gave me a reason." Jade admitted. 

"So what stopped you from telling me?" 

"The fact that your mom threatened me that if I ever told you
anything about it before you had to leave, and she found out, I would
never be able to talk to you again." He said. 

"I wouldn't have let her know!" Rei exclaimed. "I was your best
friend you couldn't trust me?" 

"It wasn't that, but I was so afraid that somehow it would slip or
something. I couldn't run the risk of never talking to you again. And
trust me I have tried to get her to change her mind over the years.
Man have I tried." He said rolling his eyes. "Like remember when she
threw you that huge birthday party for your 11th birthday? And she
was acting all weird and everything, and you wrote to me upset
because you were afraid something terrible was going to happen? Well
when I got that letter, I realized why Victoria was doing all that
and I sat down and her wrote her a very nasty letter. First telling
her that she should have told you a long time ago, and she should
tell you now, but then just yelling at her. I told her that if she
wasn't go to tell you until it was time for you to leave, then the
least, the very least she could do, was stop acting like her daughter
was dying. She was never a model mother from the start, and now was
too late to start trying to be one. I told her that is she was going
to miss you so much, then she should start appreciating the time the
two of you had left, not scaring you to death." 

"You did that for me?" Rei asked touched. 

"Of course I did. She wrote back to. Apologizing and promising that
while she wouldn't tell you about being a guard, she would stop
acting weird and talk to you." Jade said. 

Rei was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier
and getting angry with you. I missed you a lot over the years and I'm
sorry I ruined all this by getting mad." 

He shrugged. "No big deal. Besides you did have some right. But let's
start over ok? Hey dorkus, long time no see huh?" 

She smiled. "Hey Jed. Haven't seen you in a while." She said. The two
stood there for a moment before hugging each other tightly. 

********************************** 

"The palace grounds are beautiful Princess." Endymion said as he and
Serin walked, hand in hand, through the palace grounds. 

"Please call me Serin." She said. 

"Ok Serin. So tell me about yourself." 

"Hmm what do you want to know?" Serin asked. 

"Everything." 

"Well let's see. I was born here, on June 30th, and you met my mom,
and I'm not sure where my dad is. My mom never really said anything
about him. Then when I was 12, the others all came. Those are my
friends that you met before." She explained. 

"Right, Makoto, Minako, Ami, and Rei right?" He questioned. 

She smiled. "Yeah that's them. They're the best friends I could ever
have, especially Rei." 

"She sounds like a wonderful person, Jade talks about her often too."
Endymion said. 

"She is. She has always been there for me. Through everything. She is
also my cousin you know." She said looking up at him. 

"No I didn't." He said in surpass. "Are your mothers sisters?" 

"Yeah but I never met her mom. When Rei was little she had this big
thing with never telling her that she was a scout, or that I was her
cousin. And since then, Rei won't even talk to her." Serin said. 

"That's terrible." 

"Yeah I know. But let's move on to something happier." She said. 

"Ok like what?" Endy couldn't help but laugh lightly at her bubbly
personality. 

'Tell me about you." 

"You want to know about me? Ok, I was born on August 3, on Earth. I'm
19 years old; I have a younger sister, Terra who can be a major pain
sometimes. Do you have siblings?" He asked, completely forgetting
about the conversation between Rei and Serin that he had overheard
before. 

Serin was silent for a moment, not sure how to answer. "I...did." She
said slowly. 

He saw the hurt in her eyes and felt terrible. "If you don't want to
say anything, I'll understand." 

"No it's ok. It's just hard for me to say. I had a twin brother, but
he died about seven years ago, and I miss him a lot." Serin explained
as she started to silently cry. 

"Oh Serin, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." He said
gathering her in his arms. 

"I'm sorry for crying on you and everything." She said wiping her
eyes. 

"Don't apologize, I should have made you talk about it. But if you
ever want to talk, I'm here. I may not have ever lost someone close
to me, but I am always willing to listen." 

Serin pulled away and looked deep into his eyes. "Thank you. No one
has ever done that for me before." 

Endymion tried to pull his gaze away but failed. "May I ask a favor
of you?" He whispered. 

"Yes." 

"May I kiss you?" 

"But that wouldn't be a favor. A favor is usually something one
person doesn't want to do. And I assure you, I want for you to kiss
me." Serin whispered smiling up at him. 

"Wait, so I can?" He asked. 

She laughed. "Yes." 

Cupping her cheek with his hand Endymion leaned down and kissed
Serenity. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer,
and he found his arms wrapping themselves around her waist and
holding her tightly. 

************************** 

'What is wrong with me?' Jade wondered. 'These thoughts are kinda
abnormal, I mean she is my best friend! That would be like going out
with a sister, seeing as she is the closest thing to one. And yet, I
never want to leave her embrace.' 

'Whoa did I just say to myself that Jed is really hot?' Rei wondered
silently. 'What is wrong with me here? First of all he is my best
friend, second of all he is older then me, and third, I already have
a boyfriend! This is probably just hormones or something.' 

"I missed you so much." Rei said. 

"I know I missed you too." Jade responded reluctantly letting her go.
"You look so different." He said gazing at her. "And I mean that in a
good way." He added quickly. 

Rei stifled a laugh. "Yeah well I'm not exactly a gawky ten year old
anymore am I?" 

"Definitely not." 

"But you didn't turn out to bad either. You look a little to much
like someone else who isn't around any more, but that's ok." 

"Serin's brother right?" He asked not really paying attention. 

She gasped. "So you guys were spying on us!" She exclaimed. "I was
wondering how you tell that Serin and I are so close. You guys were
spying on us." 

Jade blushed as he tried to come up with an excuse. "Well we only
followed you guys because we where else to go, and we didn't really
want to get to lost so we just followed you. We weren't planning on
listening in. We just wanted to see if that would help us find our
way, but then Endy like totally fell in love with the Princess. Are
you mad at me?" He asked. 

"You know I can't get mad at you. Even if you have a lame excuse."
Rei said laughing. 

He shrugged. "It worked though." 

"So the Prince likes Serin?" She asked curiously. 

"Likes? He was speechless after he first saw her. He is head over
heels for her, and if she is as nice as a person as she seems, he
will be even more in love after they talk." 

"Really? Good. I told her that the two of them were going to end up
falling in love and now I get to bug her about it." She said
grinning. 

"Would you really do that to her?" He asked. 

"Are you kidding me? Of course I would! Do you know how much she
would bug me if this was me?" She asked. 

"Wait, she thought you and Endymion were going to fall for each
other?" Jade asked, now confused. 

"No! She thought that you and I were going to fall for each other."
Rei said smiling. 

"Now that would just be really strange." He said forcing a smile. 'So
why is it that I think I am?' He wondered. 

Rei looked at her watch. "I think it's time we got back to the
palace. We still have to show you guys your rooms so you can get
ready for dinner." 

Jade agreed and the two started walking back. 

****************************** 

"Lady Minako are you all right?" Kunzite asked waving a hand in front
of her face. 

"What?" She asked snapping back to reality. 

"I was asking if you were all right, you seem some what out of it."
He said. 

"I'm sorry, I have something on my mind." She apologized. 

"No need to apologize. I understand." He said gazing at her. 'What is
it about her that makes me feel like I would do anything for her? I
mean come on, I have my job, I don't have time for love.' He scolded
himself. 

Minako, on the other hand, had her thoughts focused on someone else.
'I wonder why Rei never told us that Jeadite was so incredibly hot!'
She exclaimed silently. 'I really hope she doesn't want to go for
him, cause there is no way I can not go for him. Course, only if it
doesn't bother her.' 

The two walked down the path in silence for a few minutes. "So where
are you from Lord Kunzite?" Minako asked finally. 

"As I am sure you know, I currently live on Earth, but I am
originally from Saturn." 

"Wow, the other side of the galaxy huh? What is it like over there?
Any different?" 

"The girls aren't nearly as beautiful as you are." He replied, to
both of their surprise. 

"That is kind of you to say." Minako said blushing. "Wasn't it hard
to move across the galaxy though to come live at Earth?" She asked,
desperately wanting to change the subject. 

"Well kind of. But it was for my job, and that is all there is to
it." He replied. 

"I feel the same way." She said. 

"May I ask you, somewhat of a personal question?" He asked nervously. 

"Of course." 

"Do you, by any chance, have a boyfriend?" He asked, his face turning
red, not usually this forward. 

"Actually I don't." She said, 'But hopefully I will real soon.' She
thought smiling as she thought of Jade. 

Assuming that she was smiling at him, Kunzite smiled back. 

Lost in her thoughts, Minako looked down at the flowers. 

"Minako?" 

She lifted her head, to find her face a mere inches from Kunzite's.
She didn't have time to ask what he was doing, when he leaned over
and gently kissed her. 

****************************** 

Serenity and Endymion were still kissing moments later when a gasp
broke them apart. Blushing they turned to see a black cat, with a
crescent shape on it's forehead, staring at them. 

Serin started to blush even more as she looked down at the cat. "Uh
hi Luna." She said. 

"Well, I guess your mother will be happy about this at least." Luna
said. 

"Did that cat just talk?" Endy asked nervously. 

She started laughing. "Yes. That is Luna, my guardian cat." 

The cat glared at him for a moment as he stood there nervously. 

Serin noticed and started scolding the cat. "Luna would you knock it
off? You are my guardian and my mentor yes, but you are not in
control of my life. I am allowed to kiss him if I want to. And I want
to so there." She said. 

The cat sighed. "You grew up too fast you know that?" She asked. "I
remember when you used to hate boys." 

"Not all boys. I never hated Travis." She quietly interjected. 

Luna looked at her, surprised that she had mentioned Travis in front
of Endymion. 

"It's Ok Luna, he knows. I trust him." Serin said taking his hand.
"Now did you come out here to tell me something, or just to spy on
me?" 

"Oh right. I came to inform you that it is almost time for dinner,
and I am sure the Prince would like to go to his room first." Luna
said regaining her composure as the three walked towards the palace. 

************************** 

Minako pulled away in shock. "What are you doing?" She exclaimed. 

"I'm sorry, I thought you wanted me to..." Kunzite said flushing. 

"No! No I didn't!" She shouted. 

"I apologize deeply Lady Minako. I must have misread you. I didn't
mean to offend you in anyway." He said apologizing. 

"Look I know I said that I don't have a boyfriend, and no offense to
you or anything, but I am just not interested in you in that way. I
mean you are a wonderful person, and very good looking, but right now
I am interested in some one else." She explained gently. "Gomen." 

"Might I ask who it is? If you don't mind telling me, that is." 

"Jeadite." 

"Oh I see." He said stiffly. "Look it's probably time we head back to
the castle. I am somewhat tired from the trip." He said turning away
from her. 

"I really am sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." She said trying
again. 

"Yamate. You apologized, and your apology was accepted, it is not
that big of a deal." He said stopping her. 

She nodded as the two of them silently started back. 

******************************** 

As most of the palace slept, the princess and her court were still
wide-awake, together in Serin's room discussing the events of the
day. 

"Soooo, who is going to start?" Rei asked. 

"I think Serin should." Makoto exclaimed. 

"Yeah come on tell us what happened between you and the Prince!" Ami
added. 

"Well not that much happened." She said blushing. 

"Yeah sure." The others all said rolling their eyes. 

"We saw the way you two were looking at each other during dinner!"
Minako said. 

"Yeah so spill." Rei demanded. 

"We went for a walk, and we were talking, and I told him things about
when I was growing up." She paused for a minute. 'And I told him
about Travis. I'll talk to you privately later.' She thought, sending
the message to Rei, who nodded in reply. 

"Then what happened?" 

"Then...he kissed me. And it was so heavenly!" Serin exclaimed
happily. 

"Awwww how cute." Rei said. 

"Yeah, and what about you and Jeadite?" Ami asked. 

"Yeah what was that whole thing about?" Makoto questioned. 

It was Rei's turn to blush as she stalled answering the question. 

"Ok what did I miss?" Serin wanted to know. 

"Well while you were with Endymion, Jade asked Rei how her mom was
doing. And she said she hasn't talked to her since she left. And he
said is this because of--" Minako explained, stopping in the middle
of her sentence. 

"Because of what?" She asked in confusion. 

"We don't know. Then Rei dragged him away telling him not to say
anything." Makoto added. 

They all turned to Rei. "Yes, what was going on?" Ami asked. 

"And what I want to know is, did he kiss you yet?" Serin asked
smiling at her. 

"It's not that I don't trust you guys enough to tell you, it's just
something that is really personal, and really painful for me to look
back upon. I would rather not saying anything." She said quietly. 

"Well what about my question?" 

"No he did not kiss me, and I did not kiss him." She replied
laughing. "I have a boyfriend already remember?" 

" Yeah, Dave. Damn. I was so sure you two were going to get
together." Serin said. "But, what about the rest of you?" She asked
slyly. 

"Nothing happened. Nephlite and I walked around for a while talking,
and he is a really nice guy and I hope to get to know him better."
Makoto supplied. 

"Same with Zoisite. Nothing really happened, we just talked." Ami
said. 

Everyone turned to Minako. "I take it you showed Kunzite around?" Rei
asked. 

"He kissed me." She said softly. 

"Is it just me, or do most people usually enjoy being kissed? You
make it seem like it was terrible." Serin said. 

"It's not that." She said sighing. "But I don't like him in that
way." 

"So who do you like, you know in that way." Ami questioned. 

"Jeadite." She said finally. 

The others all looked back and forth between her and Rei with
surprised looks on their face. "You mean my best friend, the one who
I grew up with, trust more than anyone in the Universe Jeadite?" Rei
asked. 

She nodded shamefully. "If you were going to go for him, or if you
don't want me to ask him out, please tell me and I promise I won't do
anything." Minako said. 

"Regardless of what Serin thinks, even after seeing him, I have no
intentions of going for him. I mean, I love him to death, but not in
that way. Besides he is my best friend, I would never want to change
that." She said smiling at Minako. 

"But would it bother you if I asked him out?" She asked hopefully. 

"As long as you do not hurt him, I don't mind." Rei said. 

She smiled. "That means a lot to me, thank you." 

"So when are you going to ask him out?" She asked eagerly. 

Minako blushed. "I'm not sure. I'd like to get to know him a little
better first." 

"You should ask him to the ball!" Serin said her eyes lighting up. 

"What ball?" Makoto asked. 

"Oh I forget to tell you guys. Mother has decided to hold a ball
tomorrow night to welcome Prince Endymion and his court." She
explained. 

"I feel kinda uncomfortable asking him that soon. Maybe I will dance
with him there but...well anyway, what about the rest of you, are you
planning on going to the ball?" Minako questioned. 

"Maybe I should ask Nephlite." Makoto wondered. 

"Maybe he will ask you." Serin said. 

"Endy will surely ask Serin." Rei said as Serin blushed. 

"I think I will just stay home. As long as my presence is not
required, I can catch up on my studying." Ami said. 

The others rolled their eyes. 

"Come one Ami, like you really need to study anymore. Besides, how do
you know Zoisite won't ask you?" Minako asked slyly. 

"We are just friends, I doubt he will ask me to the ball." She said
in embarrassment. "What about you Rei?" She asked trying to change
the subject. "Are you going with Dave?" 

"I don't think so. I will probably go to the ball anyway, but he is
visiting some family on Saturn, and I don't think he will be back for
a few days." She said, smiling at the thought of her current
boyfriend. 

"Rei, why is it that every time we have a ball, Dave either comes
down with some strange illness, or is visiting some family on some
other planet? I mean how much family can he have?" Serin asked. 

"He can't dance for his life, and he is just to embarrassed to admit
that." Rei said smiling. 

At that moment Serin's clock beeped twelve and the girls all jumped
in surprise. 

"Wow it's twelve already? I gotta go I need some sleep. Night."
Makoto called as she left the room. 

"Yes I need sleep so I can be ready for the day tomorrow." Ami said
as she walked away. 

"Well I am going to bed so I can dream about Jade all night long."
Minako said smiling. "Oyasumi Nasai!" She called as she left. 

Serin turned to Rei who didn't move. "I take it you are staying?" She
asked. 

"For now. I want some details on what happened." 

"You mean about how I told him about Travis right?" 

"Well yeah pretty much." 

"I'm not even sure why I did. We were just talking and he asked if I
had any siblings. And I just had this feeling that I could trust him
no matter what. Does that sound insane?" Serin asked. 

"No." Rei said smiling at her. "It makes total sense." 

"I just got the feeling that I could tell him anything." 

"Is that when he kissed you?" She asked. 

"Yeah. But the best part was, before he did it, he actually asked me
whether he could kiss me or not!" Serin exclaimed. 

"Awww how sweet!" Rei responded. "By the way, thanks for not saying
any thing to the others. You and Jed are really the only people who
know anything about what happened with my mom." 

"No problem." 

"Look, I promise I will talk to you more about this in the morning,
but right now," She paused to yawn, "I am falling asleep. So oyasumi
nasai." She said heading towards the door. 

"Hey, Rei?" Serin called stopping the other girl. "Why do you think
that I already feel so close to him, and like I can trust him with my
life?" 

Rei smiled at her and shrugged. "Maybe he is your soul mate." 

********************************* 

The next morning on her way to breakfast Makoto ran into Nephlite. 

"Oh hello Nephlite." She said smiling at him. 

"Hi there lady." He said taking her hand and kissing it lightly. 

"I was wondering, would you care to escort me to the ball tonight?"
She asked nervously. 

"It would be an honor to escort a lady as beautiful as he." He
replied. 

"Arigato." She said blushing. "I look forward to tonight." 

"As do I." 

*********************************** 

"Good morning Lord Zoisite." Ami called a she passed him on her way
to the training grounds. 

"Good morning to you also Lady Ami." He said smiling at her. 

"Please, just call me Ami? Lady sounds so formal." 

"Only if you promise to call me Zoisite, Lord is a little too
proper." 

"Agreed." 

"Where are you headed Ami?" He asked. 

"Training grounds, is that not where you are going also?" She
questioned. 

"Actually I am. Would you mind if I walked with you?" Zoi asked. 

"Of course not." She said as the two set off. 

"I take it you heard about the ball tonight?" He asked. 

"Yes, but I doubt I will attend." She responded. 

"Why not?" 

"Well I am not very big on balls, I find them time consuming. I could
be doing much better things with my time like studying, or reading."
Ami explained." Besides, no one would want to dance with me anyway."
She added quietly. 

"Ami!" Zoisite said in shock. "Are you crazy? Who wouldn't want to
dance with you? You are a beautiful, intelligent, amazing women." 

"Thank you." She said blushing once more. "But I still plan on
staying home." 

"What if I asked if I could escort you, would you come then?" He
asked quietly. 

She looked over at him in surprise. "You would want to go with me?"
She asked. "That might not be the best idea, I am somewhat of a geek
around here." 

"That makes no difference to me. You are wonderful person and I like
you a great deal." He said firmly, and with that he leaned over and
kissed her softly on the lips. 

"Well I guess I can't turn down and offer like that now can I?" Ami
asked afterwards. 

He smiled at her. "You better not. Now, I think we were on our way to
the training grounds?" He asked. 

******************************** 

"Well you two certainly took some time getting here." Serin commented
as Ami and Zoisite finally made their way to the training session,
where the others were all already waiting. 

"Well now that you are all here, we can explain the purpose of this."
Artemis, Minako's guardian and one of Queen Serenity's advisors said. 

"You ten, are going to spar. General vs. Scout, in order of rank.
Meaning Venus and Kunzite, Mars and Jeadite, Jupiter and Nephlite,
Mercury and Zoisite, and Serin and Endymion. So ladies, if you would
transform." Luna said. 

"Transform?" Jade asked. 

"Just watch." Rei said smiling at him as the girls called out their
respective phrases. 

"VENUS POWER!" 

"MARS POWER!" 

"JUPITER POWER!" 

"MERCURY POWER!" 

"MOON PRISM POWER!" 

The guards watched in amazement as the girls were encased in water,
fire, electricity, ribbons, and hearts. Within moments five girls in
very short skirts were standing before them. One in light blue, one
in dark blue, one I red, one in green and one in orange. 

"Those are the uniforms Rei was wearing when we first met her."
Zoisite realized. 

"Yeah except now we are all wearing them." Sailor Moon said. 

"And I have to say it looks best on you." Endy whispered to her. 

"Be quiet." She said giggling. 

"Ahem." Luna said glaring at the two. 

"Gomen." 

"Thank you, now if we could continue. First you need to show one
another your powers, so as not to surprise someone in the middle of a
fight. If the generals and the Prince would please go first." Luna
said. 

"Where are we aiming this towards?" Kunzite asked. 

"You can hit any one of the targets over there." Artemis said
pointing. "They were specially made not to let attacks pass them and
destroy anything so don't worry." 

Kunzite nodded and after whispering a few words that no one was able
to hear, a large ball of energy and light flew forth from his hands
and slammed into the target. 

"You don't have to say anything to trigger your attack?" Mercury
asked curiously. 

"Not really. It just kinda happens." He replied, stepping back to let
Jeadite do his attack. 

"Mine's much cooler don't worry." He assured the girls. 

After concentrating for a moment, "Phoenix Fire...ENGULF!" He shouted
as a large ball of fire shot out from his hands. 

"You got your wish huh?" Mars asked him softly. 

"What wish?" He asked in confusion. 

"When I first showed you my fire thing, the first thing you said was,
'I wish I could do that.'" She said smiling at him. 

"Yeah and now that I can. I discover it isn't all that great anyway."
He said laughing. 

"Can I go now?" Nephlite asked impatiently. 

"Oh yeah sorry go ahead." 

"Ocean Winds...ENCASE!" He yelled, sending a freezing wind towards
the target, knocking it over. 

"Pretty impressive." Jupiter said. 

"Yeah I know." He said. 

They were interrupted by Zoi's attack. "Ice...Water...FREEZE"
Everyone watched as two columns of icy water went straight towards
the target, freezing it upon impact. 

"Pretty good attacks." Venus said. 

"Yeah but now we get to go." Mars said grinning. 

"I am sure your attacks are so much better huh?" Jade asked her. 

"Well they kinda are." She said. 

"We'll see." 

Venus prepared herself for her attack and after a moment shouted,
"Venus...love chain...ENCIRCLE!" as a string of hearts wound their
way around the target. The generals started snickering, trying to
hold in their laughter at the wimpy attack. 

"Be quiet, she isn't done yet." Moon scolded them. They all shut up
as they saw her love and beauty shock slam into the target. 

"There how was that?" She asked smugly. 

The others were speechless. 

"Are everyone's attacks that good?" Zoisite asked. 

"Pretty much." She said. 

"Not Rei's attack though. She just has the wousy stream of fire."
Jade teased. 

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Wousy fire?" She asked. "Yeah I'll
show you my wousy fire." The scouts started to laugh as they realized
the attacks Mars was about to do. 

"Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen, Akuryou taisan." She
started softly holding up a small ofuda. "Mars...Firebird...STRIKE!"
She shouted, turning the paper into a bird of fire that dove towards
the target. "That wasn't even my most powerful one." She said
laughing at the general's reactions.
"Mars...Celestial..Fire...Surround! So, how was that for 'wousy
fire?'" Mars asked afterwards. 

"What happened to your little fire stream?" Jade asked. 

"Let's just say it matured." She responded. 

"K, my turn." Jupiter said. "Jupiter…Thunderclap…ZAP!" She yelled
sending forth a large ball of sparkling lightning. 

"I don't even want to see Mercury's attack." Zoisite moaned. 

"Yeah do you realize how wimpy ours are compared to these?" Nephlite
asked. 

"Oh don't worry. My attack isn't all that amazing." Mercury said
cheerfully, then focused her concentration and energy towards her
attack. "Shine…Aqua…ILLUSIONS!" Everyone watched as a huge tunnel of
water slammed into the target. 

"Oh no, not amazing at all." Endymion said. 

"Well now that you all have seen each other's powers, you are to
spar. No using powers, and the first to fall, and stay down, loses
and the match is over. Any questions? No? Good. Begin." Luna
commanded as the scouts and the generals began to fight. 

Within the first few minutes Mercury was knocked down by Zoisite. 

"No fair. I was distracted." She said smiling. 

He simply smiled and shrugged at her. 

Jupiter was soon to follow after being knocked down by Nephlite. 

"Hey Serin?" Endy asked. 

She stopped her fighting for a moment to answer, "Yes?" 

"I win." He said smiling as he knocked her down. 

"Ohhhh you cheat!" She said smiling. 

Venus and Kunzite were the next to fall, both landing down at the
same time concluding their spar in a tie. 

All that was left were Mars and Jade, and Mars was not winning. 

'Luna said no powers, but that doesn't mean I can't use and ofuda. As
long as I use it alone, it won't be cheating.' She thought with a
smile. 

"What are you smiling about, you do realize you are about to lose
right?" Jade asked. 

She just grinned as she whispered the words, "Rin, pyou, tou, sha,
kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen, Akuryou taisan!" And slapped the small
piece of paper on his forehead, causing him to cease his movement. 

"Hey!" He cried out, but momentarily later was knocked down by her. 

"Ha. I win." She said smugly. 

"So it seems the spars are over." Artemis said looking around. 

Mars looked around and noticed that she was the only scout standing. 

"Jade, how did you get beaten by a girl?" Nephlite asked laughing. 

"She used and ofuda." He muttered. 

"And what is so wrong with being beaten by a girl?" Mars asked
glaring at him. "We all could have beaten you guys had the others not
been distracted." She said, now glaring at the other scouts. 

"Hey I didn't lose. Our match was a draw." Venus protested as she
stood up. 

"But the others still should have won." She said. 

"Yeah yeah yeah. Stop complaining Mars." Moon said smiling at her.
"We'll win next time. Besides we are going to be fighting with them,
not against them, and we can always win that way." 

"I guess." 

"Well if you gentleman will excuse us, we have to go prepare for the
ball tonight." Jupiter said. 

"As do we. I shall see you there?" Nephlite asked smiling at her. 

She giggled and nodded as they headed off. 

**************************** 

"I am really really nervous. What if he doesn't show up? Or if he was
lying and he doesn't really like me? Or if he doesn't want to dance
with me?" Serin asked nervously after the scouts were all properly
introduced to the rest of the ball. 

"Serin, would you calm down?" Rei asked rolling her eyes. "You have
nothing to worry about. He came, he is right over there. And he is
headed towards you." 

She bit her lip nervously and waited for Endymion to make his way
over to where the girls were standing. 

"Good Evening My Lady." He said bringing her hand softly against her
lips. 

"Oh yeah, he hates you." Rei whispered to her. 

"May I have this dance?" He asked. 

She nodded silently and was led unto the dance floor. 

Moments later Nephlite and Jeadite made their way over. 

"Excuse me, I believe I am your escort?" Neph asked a blushing
Makoto. "I take it that entitles me to at least one dance right?" 

"You are entitled to as many as you like." She said following him out
to dance. 

"Oh what's this? A beautiful lady such as yourself is standing all
alone?" Jade asked teasing Rei. 

"Would you be quiet." She said smiling. "Besides I don't see you
dancing with anyone." 

"Well would you do me the honors?" He asked bowing to her. 

She laughed. "Only if you promise not to bow anymore, you look so
foolish." 

"Deal." 

"Well I guess it's just you and me Ames." Minako said staring
wistfully at Jeadite who was dancing with Rei. 

"Actually it's just you." 

Minako whirled around in surprise to see whom the male voice belonged
to. "Kunzite?" She asked. "What happened to Ami?" 

"She is dancing with Zoisite. Those two are quite fond of each
other." He explained pointing the two out. 

"Great so now I am here all by myself huh?" She asked. 

"You are not all by yourself. I am here." 

"I don't even deserve to have you talking to me. I was pretty rude to
you the other day." She said quietly. 

"You can't help the way you feel." He said, obviously embarrassed.
"But how would you like to dance?" He asked changing the subject. 

"Sure why not?" 

************************ 

"Hey guys." Endymion said as he and Serin made their way over towards
the refreshment table where Rei and Jade were sitting. 

You know Rei; the two of you have been dancing all night. Maybe I
should tell Dave he should be jealous." Serin teased. 

"Would you be quiet?" She asked as the couple left. 

"Who is Dave?" Jade asked. 

"My boyfriend." Rei said. 

"So do I get to meet him?" He asked trying to keep up his cool front.
But inside he felt a small twinge of jealousy when he heard she had a
boyfriend. 'Where did that come from? It's not like I am dating her.'
He told himself. 'But you want to be.' 

"Of course you will get to meet him. He is just not here at the
moment. He is visiting some family on Jupiter." She explained.
Suddenly her eyes lit up as she saw Minako walking towards them.
"Come with me for a minute." She said grabbing Jade's hand and taking
him to where Minako was standing. 

"Jed I want you to meet my friend Minako. Minako, Jed." Rei said
introducing the two. 

"Hi." She said shyly. 

"Hey." Jade said wondering what Rei was up to. He would much rather
be dancing with her. 

"Ask him." She whispered to Minako. 

"Would you care to dance?" Minako asked. 

"Sure." He said forcing a smile. 'Oh great this should be exciting.'
Jade thought. 

Rei smiled at the two as she wandered away. She noticed Kunzite
standing against the wall looking incredibly lonely. "Hello Kunzite."
She said approaching him. 

"Good Evening Lady Rei." 

She smiled at him. "Would you like to dance?" 

"Why not?" He asked as the two started dancing. 

While they moved their way throughout the ballroom, Rei kept sneaking
glances at Minako and Jade to see how they were doing and it took her
a moment before she realized that Kunzite was doing the exact same
thing. "Oh my God!" She said putting a hand over her mouth. 

"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" Kunz asked in concern. 

"Oh no I didn't mean to frighten you. Gomen." She said apologizing. 

"What is wrong then?" 

"I am so sorry! I just remembered how you feel about Minako!" 

"How do you know about that?" He asked. 

"Well Minako told us how you kissed her and…" She let her voice trail
off. 

He sighed. "Yeah I kissed her, she broke away asking what I was doing
and then said she liked Jeadite." 

"And I just hooked them up dancing and I completely forgot how you
felt about her!" Rei said. "I am really sorry." 

"No big deal." Kunzite said shrugging. "She is happier with him
anyway." 

She looked over to where the other two were dancing. "You know, I
think you and Minako would make a better pair anyway." 

"Why do you say that?" 

"Well you are both very much alike. You are both very dedicated to
your jobs and you love what you do. Plus, you are both very serious,
in a good way." She added quickly. 

He couldn't help but smile when he heard. "I can guess how you know
all this about Minako, but how do you know all that about me? Is it
that obvious?" 

"No not at all. I only know because Jed told me all about you guys in
his letters." She said. 

"Can I ask you something?" 

"Sure." 

"Where did you get the name Jed?" 

"When I first met him, I was only like five years old, and I couldn't
pronounce his name right for the life of me. I said it every other
way possible but I couldn't get it right, so I just shortened it to
Jed." Rei explained. 

"Oh I see." Kunz said. The two continued to talk as they danced
around the ballroom. 

*********************** 

Jade stiffled another yawn as the two continued to dance. Minako had
to be the most boring person he had ever met in his life. 

"And then I realized that it wasn't until 4:00!" She exclaimed
laughing. 

He forced a smile, feigning interest. 'I am going to kill Rei for
this.' He thought. 

"This is nice." Minako said. 

"Yes it is." 'But I would rather be talking or dancing or doing
something with Rei!' His mind exclaimed. 'I am so confused! Where are
these thoughts coming from? Why is it that all of a sudden I get
jealous if she has a boyfriend? I mean what is the big deal, I should
be happy for her.' Another small voice popped up and answered him.
'As long as you are in love with her, you can't be happy if she is
with someone else.' 

************************* 


The End of Chapter 7 


Translations: 

Gomen: I'm sorry, slightly casual Yamate: Stop Oyasumi Nasai: Good
Night Arigato: Thank you. 

And know what peoples? I can write all these words in the japanese
alphabet!!! Sorry I am a little happy bout that. I take Japanese in
school and the alphabets are the hardest parts. 

Anyway I am soooooooo happy this chapter is done!!!!! Whoo hoo!!! Now
I can enjoy the rest Of Christmas Eve and Christmas without worrying
about finishing this. As I write this, it is 8:54 AM on Dec. 24 and
no I did not stay up all night, I was just up early cause it was
snowing and my little sister needed to tell me that and I am in a
really realy happy mood so don't mind me. Anyway I have no idea when
Chapter 8 will be out. Give me time people! My sister is still home
from college, so until January, I have less computer time so my
writing will slow down. Sorry there is nothing I can do. Please
e-mail me with your comments and let me know what you think, sorry
this took so long to get out. Send everything to Pekkle9983@aol.com
Happy Holidays guy! Luv Ya! 

--MCRK 
Hey everyone!!!! Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!! It's Christmas
Eve I am really excited!!! Sorry anyway you guys know everything.
Usual disclaimers apply, send comments to Pekkle9983@aol.com, see my
Read Me for other important stuff, translations that bottom, names
below, so read ahead! 

P.S. If anyone has a link to Wolfbyte's stories, please please please
please send me! I lost my and I can't find it again and I am dying to
get it back! Thanks! 

  Names                         American Name                   Nicknames
Princess Serenity    Serena                 Serin, Ren 
Princess Minako      Mina                   Minako, Venus 
Princess Rei         Raye                   Rei, Dorkus, Mars 
Princess Makoto      Lita                   Makoto, Jupiter 
Princess Ami         Amy                    Ames, Ami, Mercury 
Prince Endymion      Darien                 Endy, Endymion 
Princess Terra       (none)                 Terra 
Kunzite                                                 Kunz
Malachite                                   

Jeadite-----------------------------        Jed, Jade 
Nephlite-----------------------------       Neph 
Zoisite-------------------------------      Zoi, Zoey 

**********************
As the Tears Fell~Chapter 6
By MCRK
********************** 

After following, or rather being dragged by, Rei through most of the
palace grounds, the two finally came to a stop in the gardens and sat
down on a bench. "Ok, start explaining." She demanded. 

"You have just as much to explain as I do you know." Jade said
angered by the way that she was acting. 

"Me? What do I have to explain?" 

"Well for starters how about why you haven't talked to your mom in
over five years? Or why none of the other princess know about any of
that?" He asked. 

"Fine. I'll explain all that, and tell you whatever you want to know.
But you have to promise to then explain stuff also agreed?" Rei asked
now calmer. 

"Agreed." 

"I guess the first thing you want to know is why I haven't talked to
my mom at all right?" She asked. 

He nodded and waited for her to continue. 

"Well first of all in the letter that I sent you, right after I got
here, I did tell you that I was never going to talk to my mom again."
Rei said. 

"Well yeah you did but I didn't think you were serious! I mean you
were 12, all 12 year olds say that." Jade exclaimed. 

"Well I meant it." She said determined. 

"Yeah but don't you think it's time to forgive her for that? She was
doing what she thought was in your best interest." He said. 

"Oh come on Jed! You were there; you saw what her idea of 'my best
interest' was. She had no right to keep something so important from
me for all those years. And come to think of it, neither did you!"
Rei said glaring at him. 

Jeadite sighed. "Look I'm sorry about that too and I'll explain that
in a minute. But first you have to explain one more thing for me. Why
is it that you never told any of the other guardians about this?" He
asked. 

"It isn't something I enjoy looking back upon." She said quietly.
"And it's not that I don't trust them or anything, but I don't know,
I don't share that much with them regardless of how close we all are.
Besides, I did tell one person; Princess Serenity knows." 

"You two are really close aren't you?" He asked softly. 

"We are as close as sisters. There is nothing that we can't tell each
other. And it makes sense that we are so close, seeing as she is my
cousin." Rei said quietly. 

Jade glanced at her with wide eyes. "You are related to Princess and
Queen Serenity?" He asked. 

She nodded. "Another thing my mom didn't tell me when looking out for
my 'best interest.'" She said sarcastically. "Queen Serenity is her
sister, making the two of us cousins. But enough about that. You have
explaining to do too you know." She said changing the subject. 

"Yeah unfortunately." He said. 

"Tell me something, how could you know for seven years that I was
part of Princess Serenity's court, and never tell me?" Rei asked, her
voice proving that clearly she was hurt. 

"Look Rei, trust me I wanted to tell you more then anything in the
world." Jade said quickly. 

"Then what stopped you?" 

"Your mom." He said. 

"How did my mom stop you from telling me something?" She asked
confused. 

"The same way she stopped me from telling you that I was one of
Endymion's guards." 

"What are you talking about?" 

He sighed. "Maybe I should just start from the beginning. Do you
remember, how the first time I met you, you showed me your fire?" He
asked. 

"Yes." Rei said nodding. 

"As soon as I saw that, I realized that you had to be one of Princess
Serenity's guards. But since you didn't seem to know anything about
it, I wanted to talk to your mom first to find out why you didn't
know." Jade explained. 

"Did she give some stupid excuse about how she didn't want to lose me
any earlier?" She asked sarcastically. 

"Actually she never really gave me a reason." Jade admitted. 

"So what stopped you from telling me?" 

"The fact that your mom threatened me that if I ever told you
anything about it before you had to leave, and she found out, I would
never be able to talk to you again." He said. 

"I wouldn't have let her know!" Rei exclaimed. "I was your best
friend you couldn't trust me?" 

"It wasn't that, but I was so afraid that somehow it would slip or
something. I couldn't run the risk of never talking to you again. And
trust me I have tried to get her to change her mind over the years.
Man have I tried." He said rolling his eyes. "Like remember when she
threw you that huge birthday party for your 11th birthday? And she
was acting all weird and everything, and you wrote to me upset
because you were afraid something terrible was going to happen? Well
when I got that letter, I realized why Victoria was doing all that
and I sat down and her wrote her a very nasty letter. First telling
her that she should have told you a long time ago, and she should
tell you now, but then just yelling at her. I told her that if she
wasn't go to tell you until it was time for you to leave, then the
least, the very least she could do, was stop acting like her daughter
was dying. She was never a model mother from the start, and now was
too late to start trying to be one. I told her that is she was going
to miss you so much, then she should start appreciating the time the
two of you had left, not scaring you to death." 

"You did that for me?" Rei asked touched. 

"Of course I did. She wrote back to. Apologizing and promising that
while she wouldn't tell you about being a guard, she would stop
acting weird and talk to you." Jade said. 

Rei was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier
and getting angry with you. I missed you a lot over the years and I'm
sorry I ruined all this by getting mad." 

He shrugged. "No big deal. Besides you did have some right. But let's
start over ok? Hey dorkus, long time no see huh?" 

She smiled. "Hey Jed. Haven't seen you in a while." She said. The two
stood there for a moment before hugging each other tightly. 

********************************** 

"The palace grounds are beautiful Princess." Endymion said as he and
Serin walked, hand in hand, through the palace grounds. 

"Please call me Serin." She said. 

"Ok Serin. So tell me about yourself." 

"Hmm what do you want to know?" Serin asked. 

"Everything." 

"Well let's see. I was born here, on June 30th, and you met my mom,
and I'm not sure where my dad is. My mom never really said anything
about him. Then when I was 12, the others all came. Those are my
friends that you met before." She explained. 

"Right, Makoto, Minako, Ami, and Rei right?" He questioned. 

She smiled. "Yeah that's them. They're the best friends I could ever
have, especially Rei." 

"She sounds like a wonderful person, Jade talks about her often too."
Endymion said. 

"She is. She has always been there for me. Through everything. She is
also my cousin you know." She said looking up at him. 

"No I didn't." He said in surpass. "Are your mothers sisters?" 

"Yeah but I never met her mom. When Rei was little she had this big
thing with never telling her that she was a scout, or that I was her
cousin. And since then, Rei won't even talk to her." Serin said. 

"That's terrible." 

"Yeah I know. But let's move on to something happier." She said. 

"Ok like what?" Endy couldn't help but laugh lightly at her bubbly
personality. 

'Tell me about you." 

"You want to know about me? Ok, I was born on August 3, on Earth. I'm
19 years old; I have a younger sister, Terra who can be a major pain
sometimes. Do you have siblings?" He asked, completely forgetting
about the conversation between Rei and Serin that he had overheard
before. 

Serin was silent for a moment, not sure how to answer. "I...did." She
said slowly. 

He saw the hurt in her eyes and felt terrible. "If you don't want to
say anything, I'll understand." 

"No it's ok. It's just hard for me to say. I had a twin brother, but
he died about seven years ago, and I miss him a lot." Serin explained
as she started to silently cry. 

"Oh Serin, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." He said
gathering her in his arms. 

"I'm sorry for crying on you and everything." She said wiping her
eyes. 

"Don't apologize, I should have made you talk about it. But if you
ever want to talk, I'm here. I may not have ever lost someone close
to me, but I am always willing to listen." 

Serin pulled away and looked deep into his eyes. "Thank you. No one
has ever done that for me before." 

Endymion tried to pull his gaze away but failed. "May I ask a favor
of you?" He whispered. 

"Yes." 

"May I kiss you?" 

"But that wouldn't be a favor. A favor is usually something one
person doesn't want to do. And I assure you, I want for you to kiss
me." Serin whispered smiling up at him. 

"Wait, so I can?" He asked. 

She laughed. "Yes." 

Cupping her cheek with his hand Endymion leaned down and kissed
Serenity. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer,
and he found his arms wrapping themselves around her waist and
holding her tightly. 

************************** 

'What is wrong with me?' Jade wondered. 'These thoughts are kinda
abnormal, I mean she is my best friend! That would be like going out
with a sister, seeing as she is the closest thing to one. And yet, I
never want to leave her embrace.' 

'Whoa did I just say to myself that Jed is really hot?' Rei wondered
silently. 'What is wrong with me here? First of all he is my best
friend, second of all he is older then me, and third, I already have
a boyfriend! This is probably just hormones or something.' 

"I missed you so much." Rei said. 

"I know I missed you too." Jade responded reluctantly letting her go.
"You look so different." He said gazing at her. "And I mean that in a
good way." He added quickly. 

Rei stifled a laugh. "Yeah well I'm not exactly a gawky ten year old
anymore am I?" 

"Definitely not." 

"But you didn't turn out to bad either. You look a little to much
like someone else who isn't around any more, but that's ok." 

"Serin's brother right?" He asked not really paying attention. 

She gasped. "So you guys were spying on us!" She exclaimed. "I was
wondering how you tell that Serin and I are so close. You guys were
spying on us." 

Jade blushed as he tried to come up with an excuse. "Well we only
followed you guys because we where else to go, and we didn't really
want to get to lost so we just followed you. We weren't planning on
listening in. We just wanted to see if that would help us find our
way, but then Endy like totally fell in love with the Princess. Are
you mad at me?" He asked. 

"You know I can't get mad at you. Even if you have a lame excuse."
Rei said laughing. 

He shrugged. "It worked though." 

"So the Prince likes Serin?" She asked curiously. 

"Likes? He was speechless after he first saw her. He is head over
heels for her, and if she is as nice as a person as she seems, he
will be even more in love after they talk." 

"Really? Good. I told her that the two of them were going to end up
falling in love and now I get to bug her about it." She said
grinning. 

"Would you really do that to her?" He asked. 

"Are you kidding me? Of course I would! Do you know how much she
would bug me if this was me?" She asked. 

"Wait, she thought you and Endymion were going to fall for each
other?" Jade asked, now confused. 

"No! She thought that you and I were going to fall for each other."
Rei said smiling. 

"Now that would just be really strange." He said forcing a smile. 'So
why is it that I think I am?' He wondered. 

Rei looked at her watch. "I think it's time we got back to the
palace. We still have to show you guys your rooms so you can get
ready for dinner." 

Jade agreed and the two started walking back. 

****************************** 

"Lady Minako are you all right?" Kunzite asked waving a hand in front
of her face. 

"What?" She asked snapping back to reality. 

"I was asking if you were all right, you seem some what out of it."
He said. 

"I'm sorry, I have something on my mind." She apologized. 

"No need to apologize. I understand." He said gazing at her. 'What is
it about her that makes me feel like I would do anything for her? I
mean come on, I have my job, I don't have time for love.' He scolded
himself. 

Minako, on the other hand, had her thoughts focused on someone else.
'I wonder why Rei never told us that Jeadite was so incredibly hot!'
She exclaimed silently. 'I really hope she doesn't want to go for
him, cause there is no way I can not go for him. Course, only if it
doesn't bother her.' 

The two walked down the path in silence for a few minutes. "So where
are you from Lord Kunzite?" Minako asked finally. 

"As I am sure you know, I currently live on Earth, but I am
originally from Saturn." 

"Wow, the other side of the galaxy huh? What is it like over there?
Any different?" 

"The girls aren't nearly as beautiful as you are." He replied, to
both of their surprise. 

"That is kind of you to say." Minako said blushing. "Wasn't it hard
to move across the galaxy though to come live at Earth?" She asked,
desperately wanting to change the subject. 

"Well kind of. But it was for my job, and that is all there is to
it." He replied. 

"I feel the same way." She said. 

"May I ask you, somewhat of a personal question?" He asked nervously. 

"Of course." 

"Do you, by any chance, have a boyfriend?" He asked, his face turning
red, not usually this forward. 

"Actually I don't." She said, 'But hopefully I will real soon.' She
thought smiling as she thought of Jade. 

Assuming that she was smiling at him, Kunzite smiled back. 

Lost in her thoughts, Minako looked down at the flowers. 

"Minako?" 

She lifted her head, to find her face a mere inches from Kunzite's.
She didn't have time to ask what he was doing, when he leaned over
and gently kissed her. 

****************************** 

Serenity and Endymion were still kissing moments later when a gasp
broke them apart. Blushing they turned to see a black cat, with a
crescent shape on it's forehead, staring at them. 

Serin started to blush even more as she looked down at the cat. "Uh
hi Luna." She said. 

"Well, I guess your mother will be happy about this at least." Luna
said. 

"Did that cat just talk?" Endy asked nervously. 

She started laughing. "Yes. That is Luna, my guardian cat." 

The cat glared at him for a moment as he stood there nervously. 

Serin noticed and started scolding the cat. "Luna would you knock it
off? You are my guardian and my mentor yes, but you are not in
control of my life. I am allowed to kiss him if I want to. And I want
to so there." She said. 

The cat sighed. "You grew up too fast you know that?" She asked. "I
remember when you used to hate boys." 

"Not all boys. I never hated Travis." She quietly interjected. 

Luna looked at her, surprised that she had mentioned Travis in front
of Endymion. 

"It's Ok Luna, he knows. I trust him." Serin said taking his hand.
"Now did you come out here to tell me something, or just to spy on
me?" 

"Oh right. I came to inform you that it is almost time for dinner,
and I am sure the Prince would like to go to his room first." Luna
said regaining her composure as the three walked towards the palace. 

************************** 

Minako pulled away in shock. "What are you doing?" She exclaimed. 

"I'm sorry, I thought you wanted me to..." Kunzite said flushing. 

"No! No I didn't!" She shouted. 

"I apologize deeply Lady Minako. I must have misread you. I didn't
mean to offend you in anyway." He said apologizing. 

"Look I know I said that I don't have a boyfriend, and no offense to
you or anything, but I am just not interested in you in that way. I
mean you are a wonderful person, and very good looking, but right now
I am interested in some one else." She explained gently. "Gomen." 

"Might I ask who it is? If you don't mind telling me, that is." 

"Jeadite." 

"Oh I see." He said stiffly. "Look it's probably time we head back to
the castle. I am somewhat tired from the trip." He said turning away
from her. 

"I really am sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." She said trying
again. 

"Yamate. You apologized, and your apology was accepted, it is not
that big of a deal." He said stopping her. 

She nodded as the two of them silently started back. 

******************************** 

As most of the palace slept, the princess and her court were still
wide-awake, together in Serin's room discussing the events of the
day. 

"Soooo, who is going to start?" Rei asked. 

"I think Serin should." Makoto exclaimed. 

"Yeah come on tell us what happened between you and the Prince!" Ami
added. 

"Well not that much happened." She said blushing. 

"Yeah sure." The others all said rolling their eyes. 

"We saw the way you two were looking at each other during dinner!"
Minako said. 

"Yeah so spill." Rei demanded. 

"We went for a walk, and we were talking, and I told him things about
when I was growing up." She paused for a minute. 'And I told him
about Travis. I'll talk to you privately later.' She thought, sending
the message to Rei, who nodded in reply. 

"Then what happened?" 

"Then...he kissed me. And it was so heavenly!" Serin exclaimed
happily. 

"Awwww how cute." Rei said. 

"Yeah, and what about you and Jeadite?" Ami asked. 

"Yeah what was that whole thing about?" Makoto questioned. 

It was Rei's turn to blush as she stalled answering the question. 

"Ok what did I miss?" Serin wanted to know. 

"Well while you were with Endymion, Jade asked Rei how her mom was
doing. And she said she hasn't talked to her since she left. And he
said is this because of--" Minako explained, stopping in the middle
of her sentence. 

"Because of what?" She asked in confusion. 

"We don't know. Then Rei dragged him away telling him not to say
anything." Makoto added. 

They all turned to Rei. "Yes, what was going on?" Ami asked. 

"And what I want to know is, did he kiss you yet?" Serin asked
smiling at her. 

"It's not that I don't trust you guys enough to tell you, it's just
something that is really personal, and really painful for me to look
back upon. I would rather not saying anything." She said quietly. 

"Well what about my question?" 

"No he did not kiss me, and I did not kiss him." She replied
laughing. "I have a boyfriend already remember?" 

" Yeah, Dave. Damn. I was so sure you two were going to get
together." Serin said. "But, what about the rest of you?" She asked
slyly. 

"Nothing happened. Nephlite and I walked around for a while talking,
and he is a really nice guy and I hope to get to know him better."
Makoto supplied. 

"Same with Zoisite. Nothing really happened, we just talked." Ami
said. 

Everyone turned to Minako. "I take it you showed Kunzite around?" Rei
asked. 

"He kissed me." She said softly. 

"Is it just me, or do most people usually enjoy being kissed? You
make it seem like it was terrible." Serin said. 

"It's not that." She said sighing. "But I don't like him in that
way." 

"So who do you like, you know in that way." Ami questioned. 

"Jeadite." She said finally. 

The others all looked back and forth between her and Rei with
surprised looks on their face. "You mean my best friend, the one who
I grew up with, trust more than anyone in the Universe Jeadite?" Rei
asked. 

She nodded shamefully. "If you were going to go for him, or if you
don't want me to ask him out, please tell me and I promise I won't do
anything." Minako said. 

"Regardless of what Serin thinks, even after seeing him, I have no
intentions of going for him. I mean, I love him to death, but not in
that way. Besides he is my best friend, I would never want to change
that." She said smiling at Minako. 

"But would it bother you if I asked him out?" She asked hopefully. 

"As long as you do not hurt him, I don't mind." Rei said. 

She smiled. "That means a lot to me, thank you." 

"So when are you going to ask him out?" She asked eagerly. 

Minako blushed. "I'm not sure. I'd like to get to know him a little
better first." 

"You should ask him to the ball!" Serin said her eyes lighting up. 

"What ball?" Makoto asked. 

"Oh I forget to tell you guys. Mother has decided to hold a ball
tomorrow night to welcome Prince Endymion and his court." She
explained. 

"I feel kinda uncomfortable asking him that soon. Maybe I will dance
with him there but...well anyway, what about the rest of you, are you
planning on going to the ball?" Minako questioned. 

"Maybe I should ask Nephlite." Makoto wondered. 

"Maybe he will ask you." Serin said. 

"Endy will surely ask Serin." Rei said as Serin blushed. 

"I think I will just stay home. As long as my presence is not
required, I can catch up on my studying." Ami said. 

The others rolled their eyes. 

"Come one Ami, like you really need to study anymore. Besides, how do
you know Zoisite won't ask you?" Minako asked slyly. 

"We are just friends, I doubt he will ask me to the ball." She said
in embarrassment. "What about you Rei?" She asked trying to change
the subject. "Are you going with Dave?" 

"I don't think so. I will probably go to the ball anyway, but he is
visiting some family on Saturn, and I don't think he will be back for
a few days." She said, smiling at the thought of her current
boyfriend. 

"Rei, why is it that every time we have a ball, Dave either comes
down with some strange illness, or is visiting some family on some
other planet? I mean how much family can he have?" Serin asked. 

"He can't dance for his life, and he is just to embarrassed to admit
that." Rei said smiling. 

At that moment Serin's clock beeped twelve and the girls all jumped
in surprise. 

"Wow it's twelve already? I gotta go I need some sleep. Night."
Makoto called as she left the room. 

"Yes I need sleep so I can be ready for the day tomorrow." Ami said
as she walked away. 

"Well I am going to bed so I can dream about Jade all night long."
Minako said smiling. "Oyasumi Nasai!" She called as she left. 

Serin turned to Rei who didn't move. "I take it you are staying?" She
asked. 

"For now. I want some details on what happened." 

"You mean about how I told him about Travis right?" 

"Well yeah pretty much." 

"I'm not even sure why I did. We were just talking and he asked if I
had any siblings. And I just had this feeling that I could trust him
no matter what. Does that sound insane?" Serin asked. 

"No." Rei said smiling at her. "It makes total sense." 

"I just got the feeling that I could tell him anything." 

"Is that when he kissed you?" She asked. 

"Yeah. But the best part was, before he did it, he actually asked me
whether he could kiss me or not!" Serin exclaimed. 

"Awww how sweet!" Rei responded. "By the way, thanks for not saying
any thing to the others. You and Jed are really the only people who
know anything about what happened with my mom." 

"No problem." 

"Look, I promise I will talk to you more about this in the morning,
but right now," She paused to yawn, "I am falling asleep. So oyasumi
nasai." She said heading towards the door. 

"Hey, Rei?" Serin called stopping the other girl. "Why do you think
that I already feel so close to him, and like I can trust him with my
life?" 

Rei smiled at her and shrugged. "Maybe he is your soul mate." 

********************************* 

The next morning on her way to breakfast Makoto ran into Nephlite. 

"Oh hello Nephlite." She said smiling at him. 

"Hi there lady." He said taking her hand and kissing it lightly. 

"I was wondering, would you care to escort me to the ball tonight?"
She asked nervously. 

"It would be an honor to escort a lady as beautiful as he." He
replied. 

"Arigato." She said blushing. "I look forward to tonight." 

"As do I." 

*********************************** 

"Good morning Lord Zoisite." Ami called a she passed him on her way
to the training grounds. 

"Good morning to you also Lady Ami." He said smiling at her. 

"Please, just call me Ami? Lady sounds so formal." 

"Only if you promise to call me Zoisite, Lord is a little too
proper." 

"Agreed." 

"Where are you headed Ami?" He asked. 

"Training grounds, is that not where you are going also?" She
questioned. 

"Actually I am. Would you mind if I walked with you?" Zoi asked. 

"Of course not." She said as the two set off. 

"I take it you heard about the ball tonight?" He asked. 

"Yes, but I doubt I will attend." She responded. 

"Why not?" 

"Well I am not very big on balls, I find them time consuming. I could
be doing much better things with my time like studying, or reading."
Ami explained." Besides, no one would want to dance with me anyway."
She added quietly. 

"Ami!" Zoisite said in shock. "Are you crazy? Who wouldn't want to
dance with you? You are a beautiful, intelligent, amazing women." 

"Thank you." She said blushing once more. "But I still plan on
staying home." 

"What if I asked if I could escort you, would you come then?" He
asked quietly. 

She looked over at him in surprise. "You would want to go with me?"
She asked. "That might not be the best idea, I am somewhat of a geek
around here." 

"That makes no difference to me. You are wonderful person and I like
you a great deal." He said firmly, and with that he leaned over and
kissed her softly on the lips. 

"Well I guess I can't turn down and offer like that now can I?" Ami
asked afterwards. 

He smiled at her. "You better not. Now, I think we were on our way to
the training grounds?" He asked. 

******************************** 

"Well you two certainly took some time getting here." Serin commented
as Ami and Zoisite finally made their way to the training session,
where the others were all already waiting. 

"Well now that you are all here, we can explain the purpose of this."
Artemis, Minako's guardian and one of Queen Serenity's advisors said. 

"You ten, are going to spar. General vs. Scout, in order of rank.
Meaning Venus and Kunzite, Mars and Jeadite, Jupiter and Nephlite,
Mercury and Zoisite, and Serin and Endymion. So ladies, if you would
transform." Luna said. 

"Transform?" Jade asked. 

"Just watch." Rei said smiling at him as the girls called out their
respective phrases. 

"VENUS POWER!" 

"MARS POWER!" 

"JUPITER POWER!" 

"MERCURY POWER!" 

"MOON PRISM POWER!" 

The guards watched in amazement as the girls were encased in water,
fire, electricity, ribbons, and hearts. Within moments five girls in
very short skirts were standing before them. One in light blue, one
in dark blue, one I red, one in green and one in orange. 

"Those are the uniforms Rei was wearing when we first met her."
Zoisite realized. 

"Yeah except now we are all wearing them." Sailor Moon said. 

"And I have to say it looks best on you." Endy whispered to her. 

"Be quiet." She said giggling. 

"Ahem." Luna said glaring at the two. 

"Gomen." 

"Thank you, now if we could continue. First you need to show one
another your powers, so as not to surprise someone in the middle of a
fight. If the generals and the Prince would please go first." Luna
said. 

"Where are we aiming this towards?" Kunzite asked. 

"You can hit any one of the targets over there." Artemis said
pointing. "They were specially made not to let attacks pass them and
destroy anything so don't worry." 

Kunzite nodded and after whispering a few words that no one was able
to hear, a large ball of energy and light flew forth from his hands
and slammed into the target. 

"You don't have to say anything to trigger your attack?" Mercury
asked curiously. 

"Not really. It just kinda happens." He replied, stepping back to let
Jeadite do his attack. 

"Mine's much cooler don't worry." He assured the girls. 

After concentrating for a moment, "Phoenix Fire...ENGULF!" He shouted
as a large ball of fire shot out from his hands. 

"You got your wish huh?" Mars asked him softly. 

"What wish?" He asked in confusion. 

"When I first showed you my fire thing, the first thing you said was,
'I wish I could do that.'" She said smiling at him. 

"Yeah and now that I can. I discover it isn't all that great anyway."
He said laughing. 

"Can I go now?" Nephlite asked impatiently. 

"Oh yeah sorry go ahead." 

"Ocean Winds...ENCASE!" He yelled, sending a freezing wind towards
the target, knocking it over. 

"Pretty impressive." Jupiter said. 

"Yeah I know." He said. 

They were interrupted by Zoi's attack. "Ice...Water...FREEZE"
Everyone watched as two columns of icy water went straight towards
the target, freezing it upon impact. 

"Pretty good attacks." Venus said. 

"Yeah but now we get to go." Mars said grinning. 

"I am sure your attacks are so much better huh?" Jade asked her. 

"Well they kinda are." She said. 

"We'll see." 

Venus prepared herself for her attack and after a moment shouted,
"Venus...love chain...ENCIRCLE!" as a string of hearts wound their
way around the target. The generals started snickering, trying to
hold in their laughter at the wimpy attack. 

"Be quiet, she isn't done yet." Moon scolded them. They all shut up
as they saw her love and beauty shock slam into the target. 

"There how was that?" She asked smugly. 

The others were speechless. 

"Are everyone's attacks that good?" Zoisite asked. 

"Pretty much." She said. 

"Not Rei's attack though. She just has the wousy stream of fire."
Jade teased. 

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Wousy fire?" She asked. "Yeah I'll
show you my wousy fire." The scouts started to laugh as they realized
the attacks Mars was about to do. 

"Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen, Akuryou taisan." She
started softly holding up a small ofuda. "Mars...Firebird...STRIKE!"
She shouted, turning the paper into a bird of fire that dove towards
the target. "That wasn't even my most powerful one." She said
laughing at the general's reactions.
"Mars...Celestial..Fire...Surround! So, how was that for 'wousy
fire?'" Mars asked afterwards. 

"What happened to your little fire stream?" Jade asked. 

"Let's just say it matured." She responded. 

"K, my turn." Jupiter said. "Jupiter…Thunderclap…ZAP!" She yelled
sending forth a large ball of sparkling lightning. 

"I don't even want to see Mercury's attack." Zoisite moaned. 

"Yeah do you realize how wimpy ours are compared to these?" Nephlite
asked. 

"Oh don't worry. My attack isn't all that amazing." Mercury said
cheerfully, then focused her concentration and energy towards her
attack. "Shine…Aqua…ILLUSIONS!" Everyone watched as a huge tunnel of
water slammed into the target. 

"Oh no, not amazing at all." Endymion said. 

"Well now that you all have seen each other's powers, you are to
spar. No using powers, and the first to fall, and stay down, loses
and the match is over. Any questions? No? Good. Begin." Luna
commanded as the scouts and the generals began to fight. 

Within the first few minutes Mercury was knocked down by Zoisite. 

"No fair. I was distracted." She said smiling. 

He simply smiled and shrugged at her. 

Jupiter was soon to follow after being knocked down by Nephlite. 

"Hey Serin?" Endy asked. 

She stopped her fighting for a moment to answer, "Yes?" 

"I win." He said smiling as he knocked her down. 

"Ohhhh you cheat!" She said smiling. 

Venus and Kunzite were the next to fall, both landing down at the
same time concluding their spar in a tie. 

All that was left were Mars and Jade, and Mars was not winning. 

'Luna said no powers, but that doesn't mean I can't use and ofuda. As
long as I use it alone, it won't be cheating.' She thought with a
smile. 

"What are you smiling about, you do realize you are about to lose
right?" Jade asked. 

She just grinned as she whispered the words, "Rin, pyou, tou, sha,
kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen, Akuryou taisan!" And slapped the small
piece of paper on his forehead, causing him to cease his movement. 

"Hey!" He cried out, but momentarily later was knocked down by her. 

"Ha. I win." She said smugly. 

"So it seems the spars are over." Artemis said looking around. 

Mars looked around and noticed that she was the only scout standing. 

"Jade, how did you get beaten by a girl?" Nephlite asked laughing. 

"She used and ofuda." He muttered. 

"And what is so wrong with being beaten by a girl?" Mars asked
glaring at him. "We all could have beaten you guys had the others not
been distracted." She said, now glaring at the other scouts. 

"Hey I didn't lose. Our match was a draw." Venus protested as she
stood up. 

"But the others still should have won." She said. 

"Yeah yeah yeah. Stop complaining Mars." Moon said smiling at her.
"We'll win next time. Besides we are going to be fighting with them,
not against them, and we can always win that way." 

"I guess." 

"Well if you gentleman will excuse us, we have to go prepare for the
ball tonight." Jupiter said. 

"As do we. I shall see you there?" Nephlite asked smiling at her. 

She giggled and nodded as they headed off. 

**************************** 

"I am really really nervous. What if he doesn't show up? Or if he was
lying and he doesn't really like me? Or if he doesn't want to dance
with me?" Serin asked nervously after the scouts were all properly
introduced to the rest of the ball. 

"Serin, would you calm down?" Rei asked rolling her eyes. "You have
nothing to worry about. He came, he is right over there. And he is
headed towards you." 

She bit her lip nervously and waited for Endymion to make his way
over to where the girls were standing. 

"Good Evening My Lady." He said bringing her hand softly against her
lips. 

"Oh yeah, he hates you." Rei whispered to her. 

"May I have this dance?" He asked. 

She nodded silently and was led unto the dance floor. 

Moments later Nephlite and Jeadite made their way over. 

"Excuse me, I believe I am your escort?" Neph asked a blushing
Makoto. "I take it that entitles me to at least one dance right?" 

"You are entitled to as many as you like." She said following him out
to dance. 

"Oh what's this? A beautiful lady such as yourself is standing all
alone?" Jade asked teasing Rei. 

"Would you be quiet." She said smiling. "Besides I don't see you
dancing with anyone." 

"Well would you do me the honors?" He asked bowing to her. 

She laughed. "Only if you promise not to bow anymore, you look so
foolish." 

"Deal." 

"Well I guess it's just you and me Ames." Minako said staring
wistfully at Jeadite who was dancing with Rei. 

"Actually it's just you." 

Minako whirled around in surprise to see whom the male voice belonged
to. "Kunzite?" She asked. "What happened to Ami?" 

"She is dancing with Zoisite. Those two are quite fond of each
other." He explained pointing the two out. 

"Great so now I am here all by myself huh?" She asked. 

"You are not all by yourself. I am here." 

"I don't even deserve to have you talking to me. I was pretty rude to
you the other day." She said quietly. 

"You can't help the way you feel." He said, obviously embarrassed.
"But how would you like to dance?" He asked changing the subject. 

"Sure why not?" 

************************ 

"Hey guys." Endymion said as he and Serin made their way over towards
the refreshment table where Rei and Jade were sitting. 

You know Rei; the two of you have been dancing all night. Maybe I
should tell Dave he should be jealous." Serin teased. 

"Would you be quiet?" She asked as the couple left. 

"Who is Dave?" Jade asked. 

"My boyfriend." Rei said. 

"So do I get to meet him?" He asked trying to keep up his cool front.
But inside he felt a small twinge of jealousy when he heard she had a
boyfriend. 'Where did that come from? It's not like I am dating her.'
He told himself. 'But you want to be.' 

"Of course you will get to meet him. He is just not here at the
moment. He is visiting some family on Jupiter." She explained.
Suddenly her eyes lit up as she saw Minako walking towards them.
"Come with me for a minute." She said grabbing Jade's hand and taking
him to where Minako was standing. 

"Jed I want you to meet my friend Minako. Minako, Jed." Rei said
introducing the two. 

"Hi." She said shyly. 

"Hey." Jade said wondering what Rei was up to. He would much rather
be dancing with her. 

"Ask him." She whispered to Minako. 

"Would you care to dance?" Minako asked. 

"Sure." He said forcing a smile. 'Oh great this should be exciting.'
Jade thought. 

Rei smiled at the two as she wandered away. She noticed Kunzite
standing against the wall looking incredibly lonely. "Hello Kunzite."
She said approaching him. 

"Good Evening Lady Rei." 

She smiled at him. "Would you like to dance?" 

"Why not?" He asked as the two started dancing. 

While they moved their way throughout the ballroom, Rei kept sneaking
glances at Minako and Jade to see how they were doing and it took her
a moment before she realized that Kunzite was doing the exact same
thing. "Oh my God!" She said putting a hand over her mouth. 

"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" Kunz asked in concern. 

"Oh no I didn't mean to frighten you. Gomen." She said apologizing. 

"What is wrong then?" 

"I am so sorry! I just remembered how you feel about Minako!" 

"How do you know about that?" He asked. 

"Well Minako told us how you kissed her and…" She let her voice trail
off. 

He sighed. "Yeah I kissed her, she broke away asking what I was doing
and then said she liked Jeadite." 

"And I just hooked them up dancing and I completely forgot how you
felt about her!" Rei said. "I am really sorry." 

"No big deal." Kunzite said shrugging. "She is happier with him
anyway." 

She looked over to where the other two were dancing. "You know, I
think you and Minako would make a better pair anyway." 

"Why do you say that?" 

"Well you are both very much alike. You are both very dedicated to
your jobs and you love what you do. Plus, you are both very serious,
in a good way." She added quickly. 

He couldn't help but smile when he heard. "I can guess how you know
all this about Minako, but how do you know all that about me? Is it
that obvious?" 

"No not at all. I only know because Jed told me all about you guys in
his letters." She said. 

"Can I ask you something?" 

"Sure." 

"Where did you get the name Jed?" 

"When I first met him, I was only like five years old, and I couldn't
pronounce his name right for the life of me. I said it every other
way possible but I couldn't get it right, so I just shortened it to
Jed." Rei explained. 

"Oh I see." Kunz said. The two continued to talk as they danced
around the ballroom. 

*********************** 

Jade stiffled another yawn as the two continued to dance. Minako had
to be the most boring person he had ever met in his life. 

"And then I realized that it wasn't until 4:00!" She exclaimed
laughing. 

He forced a smile, feigning interest. 'I am going to kill Rei for
this.' He thought. 

"This is nice." Minako said. 

"Yes it is." 'But I would rather be talking or dancing or doing
something with Rei!' His mind exclaimed. 'I am so confused! Where are
these thoughts coming from? Why is it that all of a sudden I get
jealous if she has a boyfriend? I mean what is the big deal, I should
be happy for her.' Another small voice popped up and answered him.
'As long as you are in love with her, you can't be happy if she is
with someone else.' 

************************* 


The End of Chapter 7 


Translations: 

Gomen: I'm sorry, slightly casual Yamate: Stop Oyasumi Nasai: Good
Night Arigato: Thank you. 

And know what peoples? I can write all these words in the japanese
alphabet!!! Sorry I am a little happy bout that. I take Japanese in
school and the alphabets are the hardest parts. 

Anyway I am soooooooo happy this chapter is done!!!!! Whoo hoo!!! Now
I can enjoy the rest Of Christmas Eve and Christmas without worrying
about finishing this. As I write this, it is 8:54 AM on Dec. 24 and
no I did not stay up all night, I was just up early cause it was
snowing and my little sister needed to tell me that and I am in a
really realy happy mood so don't mind me. Anyway I have no idea when
Chapter 8 will be out. Give me time people! My sister is still home
from college, so until January, I have less computer time so my
writing will slow down. Sorry there is nothing I can do. Please
e-mail me with your comments and let me know what you think, sorry
this took so long to get out. Send everything to Pekkle9983@aol.com
Happy Holidays guy! Luv Ya! 

--MCRK 
Guess who's back with another chapter! And only after a month and
four days!!! Ok ok i know you are all probably ready to kill me for
taking so long with this chapter but i am really really sorry and i
assure you i got it out as quick as i possibly could. I don't want to
bore you with the detailsso just please except my apologies for it
taking so freaking long!  I do need to say though that it may take a
while for new chapters to come out for now. (i pray that it won't
take this long though!) Simply b/c I have 400 more apges to read in a
book, then write a thesis paper on it in the next two and a hal;f
weeks, starting next month i will be babysitting two days a week from
3 until 9, and now i started health, and i have a huge project to do.
(Anyone know what the hell an insulin implant is? If so
pleeeeeeeeease e-mail me!) Anyway, please send all your comments to
me!!!!! Thanks so much!!!!!! 2 more little things I forgot(sorry)
First I want to thank my editor/proofreader, Mars1385. Arigato
Mars-Chan!!!!! You did an awesome job and I can't thank you enough!
Also, if anyone knows the name of this song, and/or who sings it, i
need to know!!!!! Please!!!!! The only part i know is the chorus:
When he holds you close when he pulls you near, when he says the
words you've been needing to hear, i wish i were him, those words
were mine, to say to you for the rest of time, and iiiiiiiiiiii will
love youuuuuu baby, alwaaaaaaaaaaaays. I think it may be by Bon Jovi
but I'm not sure so if anyone knows please help me out here!!!! 

Check out my fanfic pages:
http://members.aol.com/Pekkle9983/cuf.index.html The Rei Series and
http://members.aol.com/Pekkle9983/fanfic2.index.html, Fanfics...Part
2or check out my main SM page,
http://members.aol.com/Pekkle9983/world.index.html Elemental World 

Names                   American Name                  Nicknames 
Princess Serenity   Serena                         Serin, Ren 

Princess Minako     Mina                           Minako, Venus 

Princess Rei        Raye                           Rei, Dorkus, Mars 

Princess Makoto     Lita                           Makoto, Jupiter 

Princess Ami        Amy                            Ames, Ami, Mercury 

Prince Endymion     Darien                         Endy, Endymion 

Princess Terra      (none)                         Terra 

Kunzite             Malachite                      Kunz 

Jeadite-----------------------------               Jed, Jade 

Nephlite-----------------------------              Neph 

Zoisite-------------------------------             Zoi, Zoey 


******************************
As the Tears Fell~Chapter Eight
By MCRK
****************************** 


Jade paced around the room in confusion. After last night's events it
had become clear to him that he was falling in love with Rei. The
only problem now was what to do about it. 

"Jade would you calm down?" Endy asked as he watched his friend. 

"Sorry I just have a lot on my mind." He said sitting down. "Why are
you so happy?" 

"The ball last night; Princess Serenity is incredibly beautiful. I
think I'm in love." Endy exclaimed happily. 

"That's nice. I haven't really talked to her at all but she seems
like a nice person." 

"Well what about you and the Princess from Venus? Minako right?" 

Jade rolled his eyes at the mention of her. "She is the dullest most
boring person I have ever met." He said. 

"You better not let Kunz hear you say that. He is head over heels for
her." Endy advised. 

"Good maybe I can hook the two of them up." 'Leaving me free to go
after Rei.' He added silently. 

"Leaving you free to go after who?" 

He smiled. "You know me to well." 

"Yeah I know. Now tell me." 

"You have to promise never to tell this to anyone, not even the other
generals got it? What I'm going to tell you can never leave this
room." Jade instructed. 

"Of course I promise. Never to be repeated. 'Course I don't
understand why you are being so secretive about this whole thing. You
never have been before." Endy said. 

"Yeah well this isn't someone I can just ask out." He explained. 

"Who is it?" 

"Rei." 

Endymion's eyes widened as his mouth dropped open. "Rei? As in Rei
who you grew up with? The one who controls fire, Serin's best friend,
Princess of Mars, that Rei?" He asked. 

Jade nodded. 

"And you are falling for her?" 

He nodded again. 

"Wow. That is kind of a problem." 

"And I have no idea what to do!" Jade moaned. 

"Well you could always ask..." 

"No! I don't want to ask her out, yet. Right now, she still thinks of
me as 'just a friend'. And there's the small problem , she's got a
boyfriend." He admitted. 

"Have you met him yet?" 

"Met who?" 

"Her boyfriend." Endy said rolling his eyes. 

"Oh him. No not yet, apparently he isn't here or something. But what
would that have to do with anything?" Jade asked. 

He sighed, "If you meet her boyfriend, and he is a total jerk, then
you know that they aren't going to stay together that long. Do you
know how serious they are?" 

"Endy I didn't ask for a complete status on her relationship! She
just told me she had a boyfriend, and when I asked if I got to meet
him she said that he wasn't here right now." 

"Ok ok sorry." 

"But I'm not even really worried about her boyfriend. I mean I doubt
they are going to get married, they will probably break up
eventually. My biggest problem is, how do I get her to see me as more
then just her best friend?" He asked. 

"You have to do little things that who how much she means to you."
Endy suggested. 

"Like what?" 

"Well, one thing you could do is make peace with her best friend." 

A look of confusion came over Jade's face for a moment until he
realized what Endy meant. "You mean Serenity right?" 

"Yeah." 

"I don't know if I can do that. She hates me." He said. 

"She does not hate you!" Endy exclaimed. 

"Yes she does! Look, you don't see it, whenever she sees me, or I
come into the room, she cringes and either looks away or makes up
some stupid excuse about why she has to leave. It's not worth
upsetting her all the time. I should just leave it be, if she hates
me, so be it." Jade said. 

"I am telling you she does not hate you!" 

"Yes she does!" 

"Who knows her better, you or me?" Endy pointed out. 

"Yeah but..." 

"No buts. You want to get Rei to see you as more than her best friend
don't you?" 

"Yeah." 

"Well Serin is her best friend. And I bet you anything that it would
mean a lot to Rei if the two of you were at least civil towards each
other." 

"Yeah and I am sure it would make you just as happy." Jade pointed
out. 

"Well it would be nice if my best friend and my girlfriend could be
in the same room together with out one of you breaking down." Endy
admitted. 

"Hey that's not my fault! It doesn't bother me to be around her.
She's the one that flips out every time she sees me." Jade exclaimed. 

"Well it's not really her fault either. I mean she lost her twin
brother! How could someone not feel remorse over that?" 

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to blame her." He apologized. 

"Yeah I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to blame you." Endy apologized.
"But you are going to talk to her right?" 

"I don't know. I'll try to ok?" 

"No! Go now, work it wout with her. Talk to her." He commanded. 

Jade sighed as he moved towards the door. "Fine but if she breaks
down again I am holding you responsible." 

**************************(Later that day or the next day or
something like that) 

Serin calmed her nerves and walked into the room. She spotted Jade
sitting on the couch, and headed over to talk to him. The two were in
a living room in the more secluded area of the Palace, and were
currently the only ones there. "Do you mind if I sit here?" She
asked, her quiet voice breaking the silence of the room. 

He whirled around surprised to see Princess Serenity standing there.
"I'm not too sure why you want to, but go ahead." 

"I guess Rei and Endymion told you about my brother huh?" She asked
taking a seat. 

"Yeah but Rei only told me because she wanted to explain why you ran
off." He explained, hoping she would buy the lie. 

"It's ok. I'm not mad at her for it. I just wanted to let you know
that I don't hate you because of it." She said softly. 

"I guess Endy told you about that huh?" Jade asked looking away. 

"Yeah but please don't get mad at him. If anything, you should get
mad at me." Serin said. 

"You? Why should I be mad at you?" He asked looking over at her, and
noticing that for the first time she didn't cringe and look away like
she had all the times before. 

"'Cause I acted like such an idiot about this whole thing. I guess it
was understandable when I first ran off out of shock, but I should
have talked to you sooner than this. I just hope that you don't have
some terrible impression of me now because I assure you, this is not
the way that I usually am." She explained. 

"No I don't. To tell you the truth, I don't think I ever really
thought that you were some terrible person because of all this.
Especially because you are so close to Rei and Endymion, and they
don't let to many people get close to them." He assured her. "I'm
just glad you don't hate me. If you end up marrying Endy and move to
Earth, or we all move here, it could get kinda awkward between us." 

"Does Endy really feel that serious about me?" She asked in awe. 

"I'm not really sure if this is my place to tell you, but he is head
over heels for you. And I'm really happy for the two of you and I
hope you stay together, you both deserve it. As long as you don't
hurt him...what are you laughing about?" He asked. 

"Just how weird it is how much you and Rei are a like." She said. 

"And how is that?" 

"Well when Minako asked Rei if she could ask you out, Rei said the
same thing, as long as you don't hurt him." She explained. 

Jade groaned. "Does that mean she is not going to break up with me?"
He asked. 

"I take it you don't like her very much?" Serin asked grinning. 

"I probably shouldn't say anything. I know she is a close friend of
yours and everything." He said. 

"It's ok. It's not like I'm going to tell her. Besides, I know she
can be a little over eager and to perky sometimes." 

"Over eager? Too perky?" He asked raising an eyebrow. "Minako is the
dullest and most boring person I have ever met in my life!" 

"Dull? Boring? No way! There are a lot of things you could call her,
but dull and boring are not included in that." She argued. "That
would almost be like calling Rei dull and boring." 

"No Rei is definitely not dull or boring." He said, his voice and
face changing at the mention of Rei. 

Serin studied his face for a moment before gasping. 

"What is something wrong?" Jade asked in concern. 

"I can't believe I didn't realize it before! It's so obvious!" She
exclaimed. 

"Didn't realize what? Would you tell me what's going on?" He asked
impatiently. 

"You're in love with Rei." 

He blushed. "Did Endy tell you that too?" He asked. 

"So it's true?" 

"Please, you aren't going to tell anyone are you?" He pleaded. 

"Of course not. And by the way, Endy didn't tell me anything, you can
just see it in your eyes when someone talks about her. So are you
gonna ask her out?" She asked excitedly. 

"Serin, she has a boyfriend remember?" Jade asked. 

"Oh yeah Dave." She said frowning. 

"Have you ever met him?" He asked. 

"No. Actually, none of us have ever met him because he is always
busy. Why?" She questioned. 

"I was just curious. I wanted to know how serious they are." 

"Well if I find out I'll tell you." She promised. "But what about if
they break up. Then will you ask..." 

She was interrupted when Jade jumped up and gasped. "I just got the
most perfect idea!" He exclaimed. "Thanks for all your help Serin. I
gotta go talk to your mom and see if it's ok. Thanks again." He said
running off. 

"Um, yeah, sure anytime, glad to help." Serin said. 

**************** 

"Good evening Ami. I was wondering if you would like to take a walk?
I have something I'd like to tell you." 

"Of course Zoisite. Is everything ok?" Ami asked in concern. 

"Everything will be fine once I talk to you." Zoisite said nervously. 

"Well let's talk then. Never mind the walk. Come sit down." She said
pulling him into her room and closing the door behind her. She led
him over to the couch. 

"In here?" He asked looking around the room. 

"Unless you would rather go somewhere else." She said, blushing
furiously. 

"No actually, I'd like to stay here." He said pulling her down on the
couch next to him and kissing her lightly. 

"What was it you wanted to tell me?" She asked. 

Zoisite took her hand, first bringing it to his lips and kissing it
softly, then clasping it between his own hands. "I know that we
haven't known each other for that long." He started. "But I have
never felt like this about anyone before." 

"Neither have I." She confessed. 

"And I think that during the time we have known each other, we have
become quite close. And even though I'm not sure what's going to
happen to us once I go back to Earth, I do know that I don't want to
lose what we have. I feel so strongly for you, but I'm not sure you
are feeling what I am." He said. 

"What way?" Ami asked in confusion. 

"Ami, please don't get upset at me for saying this, but I love you." 

After a moment of silence, she replied. "That has to be the most
insane thing anyone has ever said to me. It is the most impractical
thing in the world." His face fell in disappointment and she smiled.
"It is impractical because we live on two different planets, and yet
we have fallen in love." 

His head shot up in surprise. "We?" 

"Yes, you see Zoisite, I love you too." 

He smiled back and kissed her. "I was hoping you would say that." 

****************A Short While Later(I'm sure we all know what they
did during that time.) 

"Goodnight my love." Zoisite said sweetly, kissing her goodnight as
he left her room. 

"Good night." Ami said leaning against the door frame sighing
blissfully. 

She moved to close the door when Makoto, Minako, Rei and Serin
appeared in the doorway. 

"Hey Ames." Makoto said smiling at her. 

"I assume you are all here to talk?" She asked. 

"Of course. Do we do anything else?" Rei asked breezily. 

"So can we come in?" Minako asked. 

"Oh yeah, sure." She said closing the door behind them. 

"Ami, what was Zoisite doing in your room at this hour?" Serin asked
grinning slyly. 

"Nothing. We were just talking." She stammered. 

The others all gave her look. 

"Come on Ames, we know you two are going out. There was more kissing
then talking involved right?" Minako asked. 

"We did kiss a little." She admitted blushing. 

"Oooh Ami! That's so unlike you! I could see Rei doing that maybe but
not you." Serin said. 

"Hey!" Rei exclaimed throwing a pillow at her. 

"Anyway." Makoto said as Serin and Rei started arguing. 

"What happened?" Minako asked. 

"He said that he loves me." She said. 

Rei and Serin immeaditly stopped fighting as all four of them,
screamed. 

"Ohhhh that's so great!!" Serin cried. 

"Congrats! That's awesome." Rei said. 

Ami's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "Well what about the rest of
you? You all have boyfriends, haven't they said it yet?" 

"I don't actually have a boyfriend at the moment." Minako reminded
them. 

"I don't really think Nephlite and I are that serious yet." Makoto
said. 

"I think I'm in love with Endymion if that counts as anything." Serin
volunteered. 

Rei however, was silent. 

"Rei, is there something you aren't telling us?" Minako asked. 

She blushed. "Dave said it to me." 

The four girls screamed in unison once again. 

************************* 

Jade and Nephlite walked by Ami's room and heard screams coming from
inside. 

"What the hell?" Neph questioned. 

"Don't even bother questioning it. They're girls." Jade said as the
two continued walking. 

************************* 

Serin immeaditly hugged her best friend. "That's so great! How come
you didn't tell me?" She demanded. 

"He just said it for the first time today when he got back." She
explained. 

"Oh right, the ball's over. It's safe for him to come back now."
Makoto joked. 

"You know, we still haven't met him." Minako said. 

"Yeah what's up with that Rei?" Serin asked. 

"Hey its not my fault that he won't come to the balls and he is
always busy!" She protested. 

"We aren't blaming you. If he means that much to you, we just want to
meet him." Ami explained gently. 

"Yeah what she said." Serin said. 

"I'll try to get him to come to one of the balls so you guys can all
meet him ok?" Rei asked. "Anyway, so Minako, did you ask Jed out
yet?" 

It was Minako's turn to blush. "Not really." She said. 

"Minako!!!" Makoto exclaimed. 

"Nani!?" She asked. 

"You should ask him out so that for the next ball the two of you can
come together." Serin said. 

"Yeah I agree." Rei said. 

"Look I'm working on it ok?" 

********************** 

A pair off glowing red eyes slowly moved away from the crystal as the
body they belonged to sat back in the throne. "It seems I am somewhat
late. He has already succumbed to that brat. No worry. I want him to
fight in my army, and right now, he's a weakling, and he will give in
easily. All I need is a little bait, and that sailor brat gave me the
perfect idea of how to capture him. Love. What a waste of time. Only
makes you easier to break down. And he will break down. He will be
mine. Once his training is complete, he'll crush that little brat
without a second thought; laughing at her pleads and her lies about
love." An evil laughter filled the room growing in intensity the more
she thought about it. 

********************** 

"What is it you want to do?" Queen Serenity asked in surprise. 

"I want to invite Queen Victoria of Mars to the palace." Jade
repeated. 

"What reason could you possibly have for doing that?" She asked. 

"Well the main reason is because Rei hasn't talked to her mom in over
five years." 

"And the other reason?" 

"Because I doubt neither you nor Serin have seen her in about 17
years." 

"What does that have to do with anything?" 

"You don't have to hide it. Rei told me. I know you and Victoria are
sisters." He explained. 

"Never mind then. But let me ask you something. Do you really think
that Rei is going to be willing to talk to her mom? There is a reason
why she hasn't talked to her in five years." She pointed out gently. 

"I know. And I know that if you ask her if she ever wanted to see her
mom again, she would say no. But I also know that she would be lying.
Regardless of what she says, I know she misses her mom and wants to
make up with her; she just doesn't know how to go about doing it. I
promise you though that if Victoria comes, Rei will talk to her." He
said in determination. 

"Well it seems that you have this whole thing figured out. Why even
bother asking me?" Serenity asked. 

"Well for one reason, I figured it would help to get your permission
before I invited people to your house. And also because I wasn't sure
if you wanted to see her or talk to her." Jade explained. 

"You were right that I haven't talked to her in almost 17 years. The
last time I saw or talked to her was 13 years ago, when Rei's father
passed away. But I can't stay mad at her forever, and it would be
nice to see her again, so if you are really that serious about this,
I'll send a message asking her to visit." She said. 

"Thank you so much." He exclaimed. "Oh, there is just one other
thing, could you not tell Rei about this?" 

Serenity looked at him suspiciously. "Are you sure that there isn't
some other reason that you are doing this? Something other then
because Rei is your best friend and you want her to be happy?" She
asked. 

"I'm sure." He said, his voice confident, though there was a faint
blush on his cheeks. 

"Even though I still don't believe you, I'll let it go. If you don't
want me to say anything to her, than I won't." 

His face broke into a smile. "Thanks." He said before bowing and
leaving the room. 

She sighed shaking her head as he left the room. "Teenagers." 

*********************** 

"Hey Serin! Wait up." Endy called as he spotted her walking through
the hallway. 

She turned around and noticed Endymion behind her. "Hey." She said
smiling sweetly at him. 

"Did you talk to Jade?" He asked. 

"Yes I did. Everything is fine between us. Hey, did you know he's in
love with Rei?" Serin asked. 

"Yeah, did he tell you that?" He asked in surprise. 

"No. I said something about Rei, and his whole appearance changes.
You can tell that he loves her very much." She said taking hold of
Endy's hand. 

"You aren't going to tell her right?" He asked. 

"Of course not, but I do hope they get together, they are the perfect
pair. It would so romantic." She said dreamily. 

"You are way to romantic." He said laughing. 

Serin let go of his hand as she glared at him and walked a few steps
ahead. "There is nothing wrong with being romantic." She said. 

He stopped laughing but smiled at her, "I never said it was a bad
thing." 

Her breath caught in her throat as he caught up to her once again and
took her hand in his; interlacing their fingers and pushed her body
against the wall. 

He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "You know what?" 

"What?" She asked softly. 

"Jade's not the only one in love." Endy said mysteriously. 

"Oh really?" She questioned. 

"I think I'm in love with someone too." He whispered, his breath
tickling her ear. 

"Oh I get it now. You've been seeing someone behind my back, and now
you are going to tell me how in love with her you are?" She asked
laughing. 

That laugh. Sweet. Light. Sincere. Innocent. Trusting. Lovable.
"Serin," He said, his voice becoming husky and low. He gazed at her
face and allowed his midnight blue eyes to become lost in her sky
colored ones. "Every time I look into your eyes, hold your hand,
caress your face, listen to you talk, or hear you laugh, I realize
just how lucky I am to have found you. And I realize how much I love
you." 

"And you say I'm to romantic?" She asked putting her arms around him,
their gazes still locked, as she said the four words she had waited
her whole life to say. "I love you too." 

********************** 

Jade spotted Rei as soon as she entered the room. Calming his nerves
he started towards her, and ran into Minako. 

"Hey Jade." She said greeting him warmly. 

"Hi Minako. Look I'm really sorry but I don't have time to talk right
now. I'm kinda in a hurry." He said, keeping his gaze on Rei. 

"That's ok. I just wanted to ask you if you would like to go out
sometime?" She asked nervously. 

"What?" He asked finally turning his eyes away from the dark haired
beauty. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you." 

"I just asked if maybe you'd like to go out sometime." She repeated. 

"Yeah sure. I'd love to." He lied. "But right now I really gotta go
so I'll talk to you later ok?" He said running off. 

"So I'll talk to you about it later then." Minako called after him. 

********************* 

Jade quietly walked up behind Rei and softly said to her, "So when do
I get to meet this boyfriend of yours?" He tried best he could to
keep his voice calm, despite the fact that his heart was racing just
being near her. 

She jumped. "Oh God Jed! You scared me!" She exclaimed. 

"Well then my job here is done." She said smirking at her. 

"Oh be quiet. And if you want, you can meet Dave right now. He's over
there." 

He looked over to where she was waving. "Sure why not?" 

"Hey." Rei said smiling once the two made their way across the room. 

"Hey yourself." Someone, who Jade assumed to be Dave, responded.
"What's up?" He asked kissing her. 

"There's someone I want you to meet. You remember my best friend Jed,
who I've been telling you about? The one I've known forever?" She
asked. 

"Of course I remember." He said. 

"Well this is him." She said grabbing his hand and pulling him
closer. 

Jade, who was in heaven at the moment, spoke. "Hi." 

"Guys this is Jed, known to most as Jade. Jade this is Dave and his
two idiotic friends, Jeff and Mike." She introduced, pointing to the
two people behind Dave who Jade noticed for the first time. 

"Yeah it's nice to see you to Rei." Jeff said sarcastically. 

"I don't think we deserved that. Dave, are you going to let her talk
to us like that?" Mike complained. 

"Yes. You two are idiots." He said pulling her closer. 

"Told you so." She said smiling. 

"Hey did you ask Minako yet?" Jeff asked. 

"Ask her what?" Mike questioned. 

"Who the hell is Minako?" Dave asked in confusion. 

"Minako is a friend of mine who Jeff met and now wants to sleep with,
and he wants me to ask her if she is interested in him." Rei said
rolling her eyes. 

"You should see her man. She is sooooo hot." Jeff said. 

"Yeah she is pretty hot." Mike agreed. 

'And incredibly boring.' Jade thought silently. 

"And I didn't ask her because she is interested in someone already."
Rei said. 

"Yeah but are they going out?" 

"I don't know. Hey Jed, is Minako going out with that guy she likes?"
She asked, a small smiling playing on her lips. 

"She asked him out earlier and I'm pretty sure he said yes." Jade
admitted. 

"Damn." Jeff said. 

"Oh like you can't find someone else in like two seconds." Rei said. 

"Rei, are you coming onto me?" Jeff asked. "And in front of your
boyfriend and everything. I mean could you at least wait until later
when no one is around? I realize I'm hot and all but still." 

"Yeah right. Please, don't disgust me." She said rolling her eyes. 

"Wait, how come Jeff and Mike have met your friends, and I haven't?"
Dave asked, still stuck on that part of the conversation. 

"The only person that they have met is Minako. And they only know her
because I was walking somewhere with her ,and I ran into them. The
reason that you have not met any of my friends is because you are
always busy. Maybe if you came to one of the balls..." Rei said
meaningfully. 

"You really want me to come to one of those huh?" He asked. 

"Yeah I really do." She said. 

"Tell you what. If it really means that much to you, the next ball
that the Queen has, I will be there." He said. 

"Really?" She asked, her eyes lighting up. 

"Really." He said kissing her lightly. "And I'll meet all your
friends ok?" 

"Ok, but now I have to go." She said. 

"Go? You just got here ten minutes ago." Dave protested. 

"I know but I only came in here because I was looking for Serin. She
has some major important thing to tell me, so I have to find her."
Rei explained. 

"I was hoping we could..." His voice was muffled as he whispered
something in her ear. 

"Dave!" She exclaimed laughing. 

"Hey could you to do your little making out talk some other time?
Like when no one else is here perhaps?" Mike asked. 

The two ignored him and continued talking. "I would love to stay but
I really gotta go." She said. 

"Do I at least get a kiss good-bye?" He asked. 

"Of course you do." She said kissing him long and deep. 

Jade looked away in jealousy. 'What I wouldn't do to be in his
place.' He thought. 

After a few minutes passed Jeff sighed loudly. "Hello? Are you two
not human? Do you not need oxygen?" He asked. 

"Shut up Jeff." The two said in unison as they broke apart. 

"I'll see you later, ok? Love you." Rei said. "Oh and please talk to
Jed? It would mean a lot to me if the two of you were friends." She
whispered to him. 

"I promise. I love you too." He said. 

"I have to talk to you Jed, so I'll catch up with you later ok? And
if you see Serin would you tell her I'm looking for her? Thanks!
Bye!" She called as she left. 

As soon as Rei was out of sight Jeff and Mike started laughing. 

"Man Davie are you whipped." Jeff said laughing. 

"Yeah and that whole 'love thing'?" Mike asked. 

"Well she's right about at least one thing. You two are idiots. The
only reason that I told her I love her is because the sooner she
things we are in love, the sooner I get to sleep with her." Dave
snapped. 

"What if she still doesn't want to?" Jeff asked. 

"Yeah then what?" Mike echoed. 

"I don't know. I'll pull a prove your love thing. She's younger, and
thinks she's in love, she'll fall for it." He said nonchalantly. 

"You told her you love her, when you really don't?" Jade asked, just
getting his voice back from the shock of this conversation. 

"What difference does it make to you?" Dave asked turning to him. 

"Are you only going out to sleep with her?" He asked angrily. 

"Well seeing as you put it so nicely, I might as well tell you that
yes, the only reason I even asked her out was to sleep with her. Well
that and the fact that she is gorgeous." 

"So basically your whole relationship is a lie? That's screwed up
man." Jade said in disgust. 

"Oh come on, tons of people only go out with someone to sleep with
them." Jeff said, starting to feel uncomfortable about this whole
thing. 

"Yeah but most people aren't lied to through out the entire
relationship." He shot back. 

"Look, what is the big deal? So I told her I love her even though I
don't. What's the worst that could happen, we break up?" Dave
questioned. 

"You don't understand. You don't know her like I do. None of you
realize how much it means to her to have people love her. She doesn't
let many people get close, and if they do get close, and they hurt
her, she loses a lot of faith that she has in people." Jade said. 

"Oh come on. One person isn't going to kill her. I mean she's got
family and everything right?" Mike asked. 

'This really isn't my place to tell you, but she really doesn't have
a family. She's an only child, her father died when she was four
years old, and she hasn't talked to her mom in over five years. I
don't really consider that much of a loving family." He explained. 

"Look I don't need a lecture from you ok?" Dave sneered. "I know the
only reason that you are so worked up about this is because you now
expect me to break up with Rei because I feel bad. Then once she is
single again, you can go out with her." 

"What are you talking about?" 

"Oh like I didn't see the way that you were looking at her? Or the
jealousy on your face when I held her and kissed her." Dave said
smiling. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jade said uncomfortably. 

"It's ok if you don't want to admit it, but face the facts. Rei is
mine. Not yours. And she never will be. She'll always see you as her
best friend, the one who comforts her when something happens. The one
person who has always been there to hug her and tell her everything
will be all right. You aren't the one she runs to to kiss hello, or
smiles at lovingly. You're her best friend, and nothing more. And
that is the way it always has been, and always will be." Dave said. 

Jade stood there, unable to respond. 

"And don't even think of telling her any of this." Mike said. "Even
if she is your best friend." 

"Come to think of it, how are you such good friends with her? I mean,
how can you stand her most of the time? She's so bitchy." Dave said. 

"Well even if I didn't believe it before, I definitely do now. You
obviously are only going out with her to sleep with her. I doubt you
even listen to anything she says. Because if you did, you would
realize that Rei is the kindest, most loving, wonderful person you
will ever meet. I hope you realize that when you throw it all away.
And the only reason she comes across as bitchy to you, is because you
guys are fucking ass holes." Jade said, his voice shaking in anger,
before walking away. 

"Whoa, someone's got some problems." Dave said as he and Mike started
laughing. 

Jeff however, didn't join in this time. "You know guys, maybe he's
right." He said slowly. 

The other two stopped laughing and turned to look at him. "You aren't
going soft on me are you?" Dave asked. 

"It's not that, but what he said made a lot of sense. Maybe it isn't
fair to do this to her." He said. 

"Jeff, weren't you planning on doing the same thing with Minako if
she had agreed to go out with you?" Mike asked. 

"Yeah, but now I feel bad about that too. But especially about what
we're doing to Rei. I don't think she deserves this." He said. 

"I'm really not doing anything that terrible. She wants someone to
love her, she thinks I do, I promised to meet her friends, I listen
to her problems. I mean, I'm here for her." Dave said. 

"But you don't do any of that because you really want to. You are
only doing it for your own goals." He pointed out. 

"So what are you saying I should do, break up with her?" Dave asked. 

"I don't know. I just think she deserves something better than what
you are doing to her. Better than this whole relationship. I don't
know what, but just something better." Jeff said softly. 

Translations: 

Nani: What? 


So so so so???? Whatcha think???? Please e-mail me with your
comments!!!! they mean so much and arigato to those of you who
already have and continue to do so!!! Send all comments to
Pekkle9983@aol.com pekkle9983@aol.com This chapter is dedicated to,
David Ralph Lleno, who dedicated a chapter of his story(good story)
to me!!!! Arigato!!!!!!! Well that's all for now! See you in Chapter
Nine! Oh, BTW, usually i am very good about flames. if you don't like
my story then i understand, and i would like to know why so i can
possibly better my next one. But I swear if ANYONE flames me on this
chapter(the story i would understand, but this chapter in particular)
I will get so pissed and i will send a reply e-mail saying some very
nasty things. I am only saying this cause i worked my ass off on this
chapter ok. I mean i had pink eye, in both my eyes, and i still
worked on it. you don't even want to know what i went through so for
once, i ask you, don't flame me. 

--MCRK 

This story and all made up characters, (Dave, Jeff, Mike) are (c)
1999 MCRK 

As The Tears Fell 

As the Tears Fell~Chapter 7 

This page and all it's contents are (c) 1999 MCRK 

Hi hi everyone! Well i'm back with another chapter of As the Tears
Fell, and guess what? Things actually start to happen in this chapter!
Thank God! Truthfully, for those of you who are wondering, I have no
idea how much longer this is going to be. Hopefully under 15 chapters.
I promise though that it will be done by the end of May(such a
reassurance I know) cause i am entering it in a fanfic contest, not
like i will win but whatever, and it has to be done by then. Anyway,
sorry for taking so long with this chapter, but, I had to read Jane
Erye(over 500 pages, such a good book though) and write a paper on it,
along with tens of millions of other things. Then there is the fact
that this story, without my author notes, and all the extra
spaces(which i can't fix sorry) it is about 15 pages, so it took a
while to write. one more thing, the first half of this chapter, you may
find some errors, and I apologize. My proofreader(thanks mars-chan!)
proofread it and sent me the mistakes, and i changed them, but my
computer didn't save right, and it already deleted the e-mail, sorry
bout that. Anyway, thanks again to Mars-Chan, such a big help! 

Sooooo sorry bout the extra spacing!!!! I am working on it ok? 

http://members.aol.com.Pekkle9983/world.index.html 

http://members.aol.com.Pekkle9983/attf.html 

http://members.aol.com.Pekkle9983/cuf.index.html 


As the Tears Fell~Chapter Nine 


MCRK(oh yeah, this is probably the best chapter so far, so enjoy) 

'Serin where *are* you?' Rei wondered desperately as she rounded the
corner of the hallway and ran into Makoto. 

"Hey Rei." She said. 

"Hi. Have you seen Serin anywhere?" She asked. 

"Yeah. I just passed her. She asked that if I saw you to tell you that
she will be in her room." Makoto answered. 

"Thanks!" Rei said heading towards Serin's room. Once there she knocked
on the door. 

"Come in." The voice called from inside. 

"Hey. What's up?" Rei asked walking into the room. Serin threw down the
book she was reading and jumped up excitedly. 

"Where have you been?" She asked. "I've been looking for you
everywhere!" 

"I've been looking for you! And then I ran into Jed, and Dave." She
explained. 

"So what is it you needed to tell me?" 

Serin closed the door and motioned for Rei to join her on the bed.
"Well I was on my way to talk to my mom, and I ran into Endymion. And
he was asking if I had talked to Jade, oh yeah, we're friends now, and
anyway, we were talking, and then he told me he loves me!" She
exclaimed happily. The two screamed in excitement.
*************************

Nephlite passed Serin's room on his way to meet Makoto and heard
screaming. He shook his head. 'Don't they ever do anything other then
scream?' He thought. 'Well then again, I guess we contribute to it. And
I have a feeling that if Makoto tells them what I'm about to ask her,
they are all gonna scream...again.' 
*************************

"That's so great!" Rei cried. "Tell me everything that happened." 

"Well I said something about--" She stopped realizing that what she had
said, was the one thing she couldn't tell Rei. "Well it was some thing
about romance. And then he said that I was to romantic. But then when I
got angry, he grabbed me and he started telling me that he was in love
with someone. And then he said that every time he listened to me talk,
or laugh, or looked into my eyes, he remembered how lucky he was, and
how much he loves me." 

"That is so romantic!" Rei exclaimed. 'So why is it that when Dave said
he loved me, it was nothing like that?' She wondered silently. 

"I've been dying to tell someone, but I wanted you to be the first to
know." She explained. "Even though I wasn't the first to know when Dave
said it to you..." She added meaningfully. 

"Look I'm sorry. But he said it for the first time right before we went
to Ami's to talk. There was no way that I could have told you first."
Rei explained. 

"I know, don't worry about it." She said 

"Ren, how do you feel when you're around Endymion?" She paused. "I mean
I know you love him, but what do feel when you're around him?" Rei
asked softly. 

Serin gave her a weird look before responding. "Well you know what it's
like. I mean, I love him so much, and when I'm near him, I feel like
everything is right. I feel like my life finally has a purpose, that
someone really loves me in *that way* and it's just the best feeling in
the world. It's almost indescribable. It's the feeling of being in
love, a totally incredible feeling that is like nothing else in the
world. But, isn't that how you feel when you're around Dave? I mean,
seeing as the two of you are in love." She asked. 

"Of course I do." She replied hastily. 

"Rei, are you ok? Is there something you aren't telling me?" Serin
asked peering closely at her. 

"No really I'm fine." She assured her, forcing a smile. 'Except for the
fact that I don't think my boyfriend really loves me, and I'm not too
sure I love him any more.' She thought silently. 

"Ok. If you say so." She said uncertainly. "So what's up with you
otherwise?" 

"Nothing really. Hey did you know that Minako asked Jed out finally?"
She questioned. 

"She did? Finally! What did he say?" Serin asked. 

"He said yes." 

"How do you know that though? I thought Minako was at the training
grounds?" 

"I guess she is. I really don't know. But I ran into Jed. And then we
were talking to Jeff, the one that likes Minako, and he asked if she
was going out with anyone, so I asked Jed, and he said that he was
going out with her and then Jeff--" 

"Wait Rei, slow down." Serin said interrupting her. "Are you talking
about Dave's friend Jeff?" She asked. 

"Yeah." 

"So Jade met him?" 

"And Dave." 

"He met Dave?" Serin asked in surprise. 

"Yeah. You aren't mad because he met him before you are you? It was
only cause they both happened to be there. Please don't be mad." Rei
pleaded. 

"Don't worry I'm not." She said dazed. 'Oh God I feel terrible for
Jade! I forgot to tell him that Dave told Rei that he loves her. He
must have found out though from the two of them.' 

"But, you'll get to meet Dave soon. He promised that the next time your
mom has a ball, he'll come so he can meet all of you." Rei said. 

"It's about time." She said. 

"Yeah yeah I know." 

The two were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in." Serin
called. One of the palace's servants walked into the room. "The Queen
has requested the presence of Princess Rei. There is some one here who
wishes to see her. She also asks that the Princess Serenity comes." The
servant said. 

"Did the Queen say who it was?" Rei questioned. The servant shook her
head. 

"She just asked that the two of you join her as soon as possible in the
throne room, and preferably alone." 

"Thank you. Please tell her we will be right there." Serin said
nodding. The servant bowed respectively before closing the door once
again. "I wonder who could possibly be here to see me?" Rei asked as
the two stood. "Most everyone I know is already here. And it's not like
my mom would be visiting." 

"Well we might as well go and see ne?" Serin said as the two headed
out. 
************************* 

Makoto shifted her weight back and forth from foot to foot, as she
waited for Nephlite impatiently. 'Where is he?' She wondered. 'It's not
like him to be late.' At that moment there was a knock at her door.
Breathing a sigh of relief she went to answer it, and, once she
discovered it was Nephlite, let him in. 


"Good Afternoon My Lady." He said pressing his lips softly against hers
for a brief exchange of passion. 


"Good afternoon." She said, blushing slightly at his welcoming. "Please
come in," She said holding the door after him. She offered him a seat
on the couch and joined him a moment later, after closing the door. 

"Your room is very beautiful. Who ever designed it has a wonderful
sense of decoration." He commented looking around the room. 

"Actually, I did it." She admitted shyly. 

He looked at her in surprise. "You have quite an artistic sense." 

"Thank you." 

"But as I am sure you have guessed I did not come here to compliment
your room, which is not nearly as beautiful as it's occupant." He
pointed out. 

"So you only come to compliment me so you can get me to agree to
something huh?" She teased. 

He laughed lightly. "Never My Lady! I never need a reason to come see
you, talking to you is enough of a reason." 

"Yeah yeah, just get on with the question already." She said laughing. 

"Well it's not quite that easy." He started. 

"What could possibly be such a big deal that you can't ask me?" Makoto
questioned. "Aren't you just going to ask me to be your girlfriend or
whatever?" 

"Not exactly." 

"Oh." She said her face falling. 

Nephlite smiled at he reaction. "I assure you, my question is much
better than that." Taking one finger he gently reached over and placed
in under her chin; and with the strength needed to move a cloud, he
lifted her head up and stared into her emerald green eyes. "Has anyone
ever told you that you have eyes the color of the rainbow?" He said
softly. 

"I think you're the first to say that." She said, trying to keep her
heart beating, despite the fact that it had long ago melted. 


"Well, you have the most gorgeous eyes I have ever seen. A black cat,
dark as night, with green eyes, pure as emeralds would be no match
against yours." 


"Arigato." 


"I have, a very important question to ask you, but," He hesitated for a
moment, "I'm not sure what you'll say." 


It was then for the first time, since he had come in the room, did
Makoto realize that his left hand was behind his back. "Is everything
all right?" She asked in alarm. 


He chuckled lightly. "Every thing is fine my dear." 


"So what is it you need to ask me?" She questioned, growing uneasy
about this whole thing. Either something incredibly wonderful was about
to happen, or something absolutely horrifying. Her thoughts
automatically went to the latter. 


"Makoto, I realize that I never even told you that I love you, so the
first thing that I must say is that I love you, more than anything in
this universe. Not many people affect me the way that you did, and I
love everything about you, right down to the way your eyes sparkle when
you laugh. That having been said," He paused for a moment to pull his
hand out from behind his back. In it there was a small black velvet
box. 


'OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!' Makoto's mind
screamed as she saw the box. 


He flipped it open to reveal a gorgeous, brightly shining ring. It was
gold, and met in a V at the front. In the middle was a large diamond,
and surrounding it on both sides were jewels; green emeralds, that
matched the shade of her eyes exactly. 


"Oh...My...God." She whispered, voicing her thoughts. 


Nephlite slid off the couch onto one knee and held the box up to her,
as he said the words that every teenage girl dreams of hearing,
"Makoto, will you marry me?" 


************************* 

"So you decided to come after all." 


Victoria whirled around to see who had spoken, and came face to face
with her past. "Serenity." She said softly, her breath catching in her
throat. 


"Victoria." She said addressing her. 


"Are you still mad at me?" She asked in a small voice. 


"I'm not really sure anymore." 


"If it helps any, I want you to know I'm sorry, for everything that
I've put everyone through." 


"It's not that simple anymore. I mean, you can't just apologize, and
everything is fine." Serenity said. 


"I know. But it's not like I can go back and change the past. What's
done is done." 


"If you could, would you have told her? If you could relive your life
over, would you have told Rei about this whole thing?" She asked. 


"Truthfully, I don't know that I would have." Victoria admitted. 


"What the hell is wrong with you?" Serenity asked angrily. "You just
apologized, and yet, you wouldn't change things. How dare you stand
there and admit that you would put your daughter and the others through
the same torture twice. And for your own needs." 


"How dare me?" Victoria asked, her voice shaking. "What right do you
have to stand there and yell at me about how I put my 'daughter and the
others through the same torture twice.' What about me?" She demanded. 


"What are you talking about?" Serenity asked in confusion. 


"In you whole fit of anger over the years did you ever once stop and
think how I felt about this whole thing? Of course not because if you
had, you would have realized that this was just as much torture on me
as it was for Rei. So don't even tell me about putting everyone else
through torture because of my own needs." Victoria exclaimed. 


"What torture? There was no--" Serenity started. 


"I'll tell you the torture I went through." She said cutting her off.
"Your husband has just passed away. And you find out that when your
daughter is 12 years old, she has to leave, to go live on another
planet to protect someone's else's daughter. And your sister's no
less!" She exclaimed. 


"I don't consider that torture." Serenity said coldly. 


"You wouldn't because you never went through it. You've had your
daughter with you from the day she was born and you will. be with her
until the day you die. I, on the other hand, have not seen my daughter
in five years. And not even because she is angry with me. Because she's
been too busy protecting your precious daughter." 


"I'm sorry you feel that way." Serenity said quietly. 


"Well I do. I mean explain this to me, why is it that your daughter is
so different then the others? So she's the Princess of the Moon? So
what? Are the other guards not princesses of their planets as well? So
why is it that they have to give up their lives to protect your
daughter? And yet, this has never happened before. This is the first
generation where the other princesses had to do this. So explain to me,
why this is." Victoria said. 


"Are you accusing me of making this whole thing up?" Serenity
exclaimed. 


"I'm not accusing you of anything. I just want to know why that is." 


"If you really want to know, I'll tell you. As you know, all the girls
can each control an element. Serin, however, doesn't really control any
one element. She was born with what is called the power of the moon.
And it has happened before, over one hundred years ago. This means that
she is able to control more power than the most powerful magi. When she
was born it was foretold that when she was a young adult, an evil force
would attack. A force so great that the only ones who will even have a
chance to defeat it will be Serenity, Endymion, and their guardians.
Therefore they must live together and practice together daily in order
to prepare themselves for the darkness. And they must protect the
Princess, because only she has the ultimate attack of the Silver
Crystal." Serenity explained quietly. 


Victoria was silent for a moment. "Well I guess I look like a total
idiot again." 


Serenity didn't respond. 


"Well I just have on thing I wanted to ask you, and then if you like
you can go back to hating me." She hesitated for a moment before
asking, "How's Rei?" 


"She's fine. She knows that her and Serin are cousins and the two are
inseparable. She's happy here." 


Victoria did not miss the deeper meaning in that last sentence,. 'She's
happy here. She's happy here. She's Happy Here. She's Happy Here. She's
Happy *HERE*.' The words slammed into her mind a hundred times over
until they brought the gentle sting of tears to her eyes. "Well then I
guess I'm just interrupting the happiness that everyone has here. I'm
sorry I wasted your time." She turned and ran towards the door but was
stopped by the voice. 


"Vicki wait." 


She turned around slowly to see Serenity catch up to her. "You haven't
called me Vicki since we were little kids." She whispered. 


"Yeah I know. I din't mean the comments like that. And, I wanted to
tell you, that if it's ok with you, I liked to go back to being best
friends, like we were when we were little kids." Serenity said offering
her an apologetic smile. 


"Do you really mean that?" 


"Yeah I do." She said hugging her tightly. 


"Thank you Renny. And I really am sorry." Victoria said, tears
streaking her cheeks. 


"You know, I always hated that nickname." Serenity commented. 


"I know." She said smiling at her. 


"So," She said letting her sister go, "How would you like to talk to
Rei?" 


************************* 


"I can't believe she is actually going out with that jerk! How could
she really love him? Oh God I'm so stupid!" Jade exclaimed angerly to
himself. 


His thoughts were interupted when Endymion walked into the room. "Hey
Jade, you ok?" He asked as he watched his friend, for what seemed like
the millionth time, pace back and forth in frustration. 


"He is a complete ass hole!" He exclaimed. 


"Who is?" Endy asked in confusions as he closed the door. 


"Dave. Her wonderful boyfriend." He responded sarcastically. 


"Oh so you met him huh?" Endy asked, knowing he was referring to Re's
boyfriend. 


"He is just the biggest jerk, and I can not for the life of me, figure
out what she sees in him. And you want to know the worst part? She's in
love with him!" Jade exclaimed. 


"Well maybe she isn't really in love with him. Maybe it's just
infatuation but it looks like love." He suggested. 


Jade stopped pacing for a moment to glare at him. "They both said it." 


"Oh ok, never mind then." 


"But it's not even that. I mean I could handle them being in love if he
was a decent guy then I would even possibly be happier for her I mean
of course I would be happier if it was me, but as long as she was happy
then it would almost even be ok." 


"Jade, you're babbling." Endy said gently. "Just tell me what
happened." 


"Ok. I met him, and he was all like whatever, no big deal. Then as she
was leaving she was like, 'I love you,' and he was like, 'I love you
too.' So that was the first shock, cause I had no idea that the two
were in love. But then as she leaves, his two friends started laughing
at him and making fun of him. And it turns out that the only reason he
is going out with her, is because she is gorgeous, and because he wants
to sleep with her." Jade explained. 


"Are you sure he's only going out with her to sleep with he? Maybe you
just misread what they were saying?" Endy suggested. 


"I asked him, 'Are you only going out with her to sleep with her?' And
he said yes. And he also said that the only reason that he even told
her he loves her was so she would sleep with him sooner. God he's such
an ass hole!" Jade exclaimed angerly banging his fist against the wall. 


"You know Jade, as much as I hate to say this, it is her life. And she
may be ready to be intimate with him, and there is nothing you can do
to stop that." Endymion pointed out gently. 


"I know." He said. "But, still I feel like, like it's not right. I love
her so much, and it's so hard to stand by and watch her fall in love
with some guy, who really doesn't love her." 


"I know, but's it's something you have to do. She has to learn about
him on her own. You can't interfere." 


"It's no like Iwas planning on telling her. I don't want to be
responsible for their break up. But it's just, oh I don't know. Never
mind. You wouldn't understand." Jade said sighing and turning away. 


"What were you going to say?" 


"It's just well, you're in love with Serin right?" He asked. 


Endy nodded his head. 


"And how do you feel about her? Like everytime you are around her?" 


Endy could see where this was going, and he waited for Jade to respond
to his own question first. 


"Doyou miss her every waking moment? A feeling where love doesn't
describe it anymore, there is no word big enough to explain how you
feel for her? 


Endy nodded. "I feel that way about Serin." 


"And it's the best most wonderful feeling you've ever had right?" Jade
continued. 


He nodded again. 


"And what makes it twice as wonderful is if you know the person feels
the same way about you also right?" 


He nodded yet a third time. 


"Well imagine if you felt that way, and yet, you didn't know how the
other person felt. They only see you as their best friend, nothing
more. Imagine what it must feel like to have to talk to that person and
look at them every day, without ever telling them how you really feel.
And you have to stand back and watch them while they fall for someone
else; someone who doesn't even really love them. How would you feel
then?" Jade asked. 


Endy swallowed hard before answereing. "I would have to say that that
would be the mnost horrible feeling in the world. To feel so strongly
about someone, and to not know how they feel about you, or if they even
know how you feel about them" He admitted. 


"Yeah I figured that's what you'd say." Jade said. "Well guess what?
While you're imagining what that would feel like, and all the pain it
would bring, I'm living it. And I have been every day since I set foot
on the Moon. So don't tell me that I have to 'let her learn on her
own'. Because I can't do that. I can't stand seeing her hurt. And I'm
going to do the best I can to some how, let her know what he's really
like. So please, until you go through what I am, don't offer me advice
on leaving her alone." With that said he turned and left the room,
leaving Endy sitting there in complete shock. 


************************* 

Rei and Serin were about to walk into the throne room to meet the Queen
when they ran into her. 


"Hey mom. We were just coming to talk to you." Serin said. 


"Yes I know. I figured it would be bettr to meet you out here first and
explain to you what's going on first." Serenity said. 


"Is anything wrong Aunt Serenity?" Rei asked in concern. 


"Everything's fine honey, but, wwell I assume that you were told that
someone was here to see you?" She asked uneasily. 


"Yes." 


"Well their waiting inside, so why don't you go ahead and talk to them.
I just need to talk to Serin for a moment." Serenity said giving her a
slight push towards the door. 


"Are you sure everything's ok?" Rei asked uncertainly. 


"Everything's fine." She responded with a fake smile. 


"Ok. If you say so." Rei said as she went insude the throne room
leaving Serenity and Serin outside. 


"Who is it that's here? Cause Rei and I were both trying to figure it
out. Because she said most everyone that she knew was here, and it's
not like Aunt Victoria would come to visit..." Her voice trailed off as
she saw the look on her mother's face. "Oh God, it is Aunt Victoria
isn't it?" She asked. 


Serenity nodded. "But I was afraid that if I told Rei who it was, then
she wouldn't go in. And the two of them really need to talk." 


"Well now she did, so now what do we do?" 


"Give them some time alone. Rei hasn't talked to her mother in over
five years, and she is still very angry at her. And then later, I'll
introduce the two of you." Serenity said leading her away. 


************************* 


She didn't say anything for a moment, just staring at the person, still
in shock that she was actually here. "Why are you here?" She asked
finally. 


"Well according to Serenity, Jeadite thought that it was time the two
of us talked, so he asked the her to invite me to visit." Victoria
explained. 


"Jeadite? Jed set this whole thing up?" Rei exclaimed. "I'm gonna kill
him." 


"Don't get mad at him. He was right, we should have talked about this
whole thing a long time ago." 


"Yeah, twelve years ago when I was old enough to understand why I could
do that." Rei said sharply. 


"Please, would you just let me explain?" Victoria pleaded. 


She was silent. 


"Thank you. I know, that you probably hate me, and I know that I
deserve it. And I am sorry for everything that I put you through, but
there was a reason." Victoria explained. 


"What reason would that be?" 


"The fact that I didn't want to lose you. I mean, your father had just
died, and then I found out that I had to lose my baby too? It was
almost to much to bear." 


"But you would never have really lost me." Rei pointed out. 


"I know, but it wouldn't have been the same. I know that this doesn't
really make much sense, but I felt like if I had told you, I would have
been losing you sooner. I mean, tell me the truth, if you had known
that you were one of Serenity's guardians, and that she was your
cousin, would you not have been here constantly? Wouldn't you have been
desperatly waiting until the time when you would be able to come live
here?" 


She was quiet for a moment. "You know, I'm not really sure. I'm sure I
would have been excited, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't miss
you!" 


"It's just that, you were all I had left, and I didn't want to lose you
too. I know that I was a terrible mother, and I know that I knew really
nothing about you, and I know that I was never there for you, but you
were my baby girl! And even if I didn't show it that much I loved you
more then anything! And I couldn't stand the thought of you moving away
at such a young age." Victoria said. "But I know that that sounds
incredibly stupid, and I don't blame you if you still hate me." 


"No it doesn't. And truithfully, I don't hate you and I never did." Rei
said. 


"You sure about that?" 


"Yes! I mean, true, you didn't know me very well, and we weren't always
there for each other, but you were my mom, and you still are. And I
love you now as much as I did then. I could never fully hate you." She
said, tears starting to run down her cheeks. 


"Oh Rei, I'm so sorry for everything that I put you through." Victoria
said, who was also starting to cry. 


"I missed you so much." Rei said running into her mother's arms. 


"I missed you too." She said stroking her daughter's hair. 


"I'm so sorry, for not talking to you before now." Rei cried. 


"No sweetie, don't blame yourself. If I had told you about this whole
thing sooner, we would have never have had this problem in the first
place." Victoria said. 


"How about we just put this behind us and not talk about it anymore?"
She suggested. 


"That's sounds like a wonderful idea." Victoria said pulling away as
the two sat down. "So, what's been going on in your life in the past
five years?" 


************************* 

Makoto sat there speechless. 


"Makoto?" Nephlite questioned. 


"I'm sorry. Did you just propose to me?" She asked, unsure that she had
heard right. "Ok joke's over. Very funny though, but who else is in on
this? Are Jade and endy hiding behind the curtains or something to see
my reaction?" She asked getting up to check. 


"Makoto, this isn't a joke." Nephlite said stopping her. "I know this
is sudden and all, but I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my
life with you." 


"Nephlite, I love you too, but isn't this kinda quick? I mean we have
only even known each other, what one month?" She asked. 


"I know I know. And if you feel completly different, I'll understand.
But this just feels so right. The happiest moments in my life right now
are the ones that I spend with you. And that's not enough anymore. I
want to spend every waking and sleeping moments with you. I want to
wake up with you next to me every morning and fall asleep with you at
my side every night. I want to be with you, in every sense of the word,
Makoto I love you, nothing will ever change that."He said passionatly.
"But, I do understand if you don't feel the same way." He added, almost
dejectedly. 


She reached a hand up and wiped away the mositure of happiness from her
eyes. "I do feel the same way. I want nothing more than to be with you
for ever, to live with you and love you from now until the day we both
die. But it's too soon for this!" she exclaimed. "I don't want to just
jump into this. I mean, I'm only 17! Plus I have my duty to the
Princess, as you have your's to the Prince. Neither one of us can
exactly leave them and move to a different planet!" 


"So is your answer no?" He asked, disapointedly. 


"My answer is..." Makoto paused for a minute, unsure of how to answer.
A beeping noise caught her attention and brought it away from the
question for a moment. She whipped out her communicator and turned it
on. "Jupiter here." 


A picture of Sailor Mercury's face appeared on screen. "Juypiter hurry
down to the lake, their's a large group of youma attacking and we need
all the help we can get." 


She nodded. "On my way." After closing down the screen she lifted her
wand in the air and shouted, "JUPITER POWER!" Within moments she was
Sailor Jupiter. "Let's goi." she said to Nephlite as the two ran off
towards the lake. 


************************* 


"Hey Jupiter,glad you could make it." Mars called out as she blasted
another youma with her Fire Soul. 


"Sorry it took me so long." She said as she looked around the
battlefield. "Where the hell are all these youma coming from?" She
questioned. 


"I don't know, but they are starting to get annoying." Venus commented. 


"Where's the Prince?" Nephlite asked as he hit a youma with his attack.
"Him and the Princess are safe somewhere inside right?" 


"Actually, we're both right here." Endymion said. 


"You know you shouldn't be out here." Zoisite called as he launched his
attack. 


"Yeah we don't need you two getting injured." Mars commented. 


"Mars, you know perfectly well that I can take care of myself. And we
can help you know." Moon said, as she polished off a youma using her
tiara, as if to prove her point. 


"Fine, but when you get injured, I'm not explaiing it to your mom."
Mars said as she continued to fight. 


Thr group finally fought off the youma, only to reveal a huge monster
behind them. They attacked but to no avail. 


"I got it!" Mercury called finally, looking up from her mini computer,
her visor still on. 


"It's weakness is fire, so Mars and Jade..." 


"No problem." Jade said. "Phoenix...Flames...ENGULF!" 


"Mars...Celestial...Fire...SURROUND!" 


"OK everyone, hit them now!" Mercury yelled. 


"Jupiter...Thunderlap...ZAP!" 


"Ocean...Winds...ENCASE!" 


"Mars...Fire...IGNITE!" 


"Phoenix...Flames...ENGULF!" 


"Polar...Ice...FREEZE!"(See Author's Note #1 at end of chapter) 


"Shine...Aqua...ILLUSIONS!" 


"Venus...Love and Beauty...SHOCK!" 


"Cosmic...Energy...BLAST!" (See Author's Note #2 at end of chapter) 


"Moon...Tiara...MAGIC!" 


The monster howled in pain for a few moments before disintegrating
before them. 


"Thank God that thing is gone." Zoisite said. 


"I wonder why we keep getting so many attacks lately. We never had this
many before." Minako commented. 


"Let's just hope that they stop." Kunzite spoke up. 


The other's all nodded in agreement and turned back, ready to go
inside, when a voice answered their question. 


"I can tell you why there have been so many youma attacks." 


The scouts and Genreals all turned around to ses a tall woman with
bright red flowing hair. 


"Who are you?" Mercury asked cautiously. 


"Queen Beryl." 


"And how is it that you can tell us why there are so many attacks?"
Jade asked. 


"Because, I'm the one sending them" She said grinning. "And don't
bother attacking me, it won't do any good." She added as she noticed
them readying their attacks. "I'm just here to warn you that the time
has come...and the Darkness is almost here." With that said, she was
gone. 


"Anyone have any idea who the hell that was?" Nephlite asked after a
moment. 


"No idea, but I'm gonna go talk to my mom and Luna about this. We'll
have to hve some sort of meeting later to figure out what is going on."
Serin said. "For now, why don't we all go back inside and get some
rest. I think it's going to be a long few days." 


Everyone nodded and headed inside. Jade noticed Rei and caught uop to
her, putting his hand on her arm to stop her. "Hey Rei, what was it you
wanted to talk to me about before?" He asked. 


She glrade at him, shrugging his hand away and continued walking. 


Jade stood there, stupefied for a moment, when Serin came up to him.
"Hey Jade, something wrong?" She aske.d 


He turned to her. "Did Rei say anything bout being mad at me?" He
asked. 


Serin frowned. "Not that I know of. But I'll ask her later if you want
me too.' 


He nodded. "Thnks. It's just not like her to ignore me." He was about
to continue when he saw Endy walking up behind Serin. "I gotta go,
thanks again though." He said hurrying off. 


"Hey Sweetie." Serin said as Endy kissed her on the cheek. "Why did
Jade not stay when you came? Are you two not talking?" She asked. 


He shook his head. "He's not talking to me." He protested. "I think
it's this whole thing with Rei, it's really getting to him." 

"I feel so bad for him! It must be terrible to love some one and not
know how they feel about you." she said symphathetically. 


"Yes, but we don't have to worry about that, because I love you." He
said smiling down at her. 


"And I love you just as much." 


************************ 


Jade noticed Rei waiting outside his door as he neared it, and his
heart soared at the though of talking to her. Until he saw the look on
her face. "Rei, are you ok? You--" 


"How could you?" She demanded interrupting him. 


"How could I what?" He asked in confusion. 


"You brought my mom here!" She hissed. 


"Um Rei, maybe we should continue this conversation in my room." Jade
suggested nervously as he looked around and noticed passing people
staring at the two. 


"Fine, but I'm not giving up on this." She said. 


He opened the door and the two walked inside where Rei exploded at him. 


"I can't believe you did that!" She exclaimed. 


"Would you just let me explain?" He pleaded. 


"What is there to explain? You knew how angry I was at my mom, you knew
that I didn't want to talk to her, and yet you went behind my back and
invited her here with out even asking me first!" 


"You aren't the only one related to her." He said quietly. 


"What are you talking about?" She asked. 


"You told me yourself, Serin and you are cousins, making your moms
sisters. Don't you think that they were happy to see each other again?
Don't you think that Serin might want to meet her aunt?" He questioned. 


"That's not the point!" She shouted angry once again. "That's my
business and there's. It didn't concern you." 


"Look Rei, I was just trying to help. It's not that easy going through
life without your parents, and I knew you would never talk to her
yourself." Jade explained. 


"Well what about your parents? You haven't said anything about your mom
since I last saw you, and not once in all the years that I've known you
have you said anything about your father. How do I know that you
haven't talked to them in five years?" She asked. 


"I never knew my dad, he left before I was born. And my mom died three
years ago because of cancer." He said softly. "There, are you happy?" 


Her face softened, "I'm so sorry Jed, I had no idea. Why didn't you
tell me when your mom died?" 


"I sent a letter to your mother first. My mom came to visit me, on
Earth, when she died. I wasn't ready to talk about it, so I asked your
mom to write a letter to you, explaining my mother's death. Didn't she
send you a letter?" 


"Actually she did, but I during the years I've been here, every time
she sent me a letter I sent it back before reading it." Rei said
slowly. 


He sighed. "See there you go again with that damn stubbornness of
yours. If you had read one of the letters maybe you could have made up
with your mom sooner." 


"Maybe I wasn't ready to then, and maybe I wasn't ready to now. But
that didn't matter to you did it?" She asked in anger again. 


"Come on, you aren't mad at me are you? You know I didn't do it to hurt
you or upset you." He said. 


"You know, through the twelve years that I have known you, I have never
ever been able to get mad at you," She started. 


His face brightened in hopes of her forgiveness. 


"Until now." She continued. 


His face fell and his heart broke a thousand times over. 


"I have never been so mad at you in my entire life. And right now, I
don't want to talk to you, so please, for now, just stay away from."
She fled the room before he could see the pain in her eyes. 


And before she could see the tears in his. 


************************* 
Makoto wandered into Serin's room, in a daze, humming happily. 


Minako and Serin looked at her curiously. "What are you so happy
about?" Serin asked. 


"I'll tell you once everyone gets here. They're all coming right?" 


"Yeah, we're just waiting for Ami and Rei to show up." Minako replied. 


The two came through the door at that moment. "Hey everyone, we're
here." Ami said. 


"Hey what's up with Makoto? Why is she so dazed?" Rei asked. 


"She has some big thing to tell us, but she wouldn't tell us till
everyone got here, so sit down she can tell us." Serin commanded. 


"Ok." Makoto said. "I guess you all want to know what I am so excited
right?" The others nodded. "Well, I just came from talking to Nephlite
and he told me he loves me, AND" She added before the others started
screaming. "He asked me to marry him." 


There was complete silence in the room. 


"What happened to all the screaming?" Makoto asked. 


"He really proposed to you?" Rei asked. 


"No joke?" Minako asked. 


"Really and truly proposed to me." She answered. 


They all screamed in unison. 


"Makoto that's so wonderful!" Serin exclaimed hugging her. 


"Congratulations, we're so happy for you!" Minako added. 


"I don't mean to be a downer on this whole thing, but aren't you
somewhat young to get married?" Ami asked. 


"Well, that's the thing. When he asked I did say that while I love him,
I am too young to get married." Makoto explained. 


"Wait, what was your answer?" Rei asked. 


"Well I told him that I do love him, and I do want to spend the rest of
our lives together, I'm not ready to get married yet. And that my first
duty lies to the princess, and I can't just abandon her." She
explained. 


"Ohhh Makoto! Now you're making me feel guilty!" Serin cried. 


"Oh Serin! Don't feel bad, I didn't mean it like that." Makoto said
gently. 


"Have I ruined all of your lives?" She asked. "I know I ruined Rei's." 


"Oh come on Serin, you *know* that that is not true in anyway." Rei
said hugging her tightly. "You are my best friend and I don't know what
I would do with out you. You know that." 'And it wasn't your fault that
my mom never told me, and it wasn't your fault that I was born a chosen
one. Don't blame yourself." She mind sent. 


"And Serin, you didn't 'ruin' and of our lives. We love you to death
and we wouldn't change this for anything." Minako said. 


"We love things the way they are." Ami added. 


"Thanks guys." Serin said smiling. "And sorry Makoto, for interrupting
you, so what happened then?" 


"No problem. so anyway, I told Nephlite that I wasn't ready to get
married yet, so he said he totally understood, and we aren't going to
get married yet, we are going to wait for the Prince and the Princess,
but, we are engaged!" she exclaimed holding out a necklace with the
ring on it 


"Oh my God! It's gorgeous!" Minako exclaimed as the others agreed. 


"It really is beautiful, but Makoto, what did you say about the Prince
and me?" Serin asked curiously. 


She blushed. "Oh well we figured that if we waited for the two of you
to get married then it would be easier for us to get married, because
we would already be living on the same planet, whether it be the Moon
or Earth." She explained. 


Rei hit Serin softly on the arm. "You're engaged? How come you didn't
tell me that?" She asked. 


"Maybe cause I'm not!" Serin exclaimed. "Makoto, where did you get the
idea that I was engaged to the prince?" 


"Well I know you aren't yet, but according to Nephlite, the two of you
will get married. He's seen it in the stars." 


The others all laughed in relief. "Oh ok cause I was getting worried
for a moment, I mean Endymion and I are in love, but I didn't think he
had proposed to me." Serin said relieved. 


"Hey Rei, when you talked to Jade earlier, did he say anything about
me?" Minako asked suddenly. 


"No, not that I remember. Sorry." Rei said her features changing from
excited to angry. 


"OK spill, what's wrong?" Serin asked. "You aren't talking to Jade, are
you?" 


"Not really no." 


"Why not?" 


"I'm sure your mom told you that my 'visitor' this morning was my mom
right?" Rei asked as Serin nodded. "Well I talked to her, and I turns
out that the reason she came, is because Jed asked your mom to invite
her!" 


Serin groaned inwardly. 'So that's what his 'idea' was!' She thought.
"And you confronted him about it and got all pissed off?" She asked. 


Rei nodded. "And now we are not exactly talking." 


'Did you forgive your mom at least?' Serin asked Rei though her mind. 


She nodded. 'But I can't believe Jed would do that without telling me!'
She sent. 


"Oh man, are you two doing this thing again?" Minako groaned. 


The two stopped and looked at the others. "Sorry." Rei said softly. 


"Would you two mind explaining why you can do that? I mean we have put
up with it for the past five years, never questioning it, and I think
we deserve to know." Makoto said. 


The two looked at each other before speaking. "This is going to come as
somewhat of a shock, but the reason that the two of us can do this, is
because we are so close, and the reason for that is..." Serin paused
for a moment. 


"My mom is her mom's baby sister. We're cousins." Rei finished. 


Their was complete silence in the room. 


"You two...are cousins?" Ami asked finally. 


They nodded. 


"How long have you known?" Minako questioned. 


"Without telling the rest of us?" Makoto added angrily. 


"For the past five years. You guys aren't mad at us are you? Please
don't be mad at us." Serin pleaded. 


"It's not that we're mad, so much as surprised." Ami said quickly,
before Makoto could comment. 


"How come you never told us?" Minako asked. 


"It's not that we wanted to keep it a secret from you guys, but we
weren't sure if anyone was supposed to know." Rei explained. "There are
only a few people that know." 


"I just wish you hadn't waited this long to tell us." Makoto commented. 


'We are sorry. But we didn't even know about it until Rei came to the
moon. Neither of us were ever told anything about it." Serin explained. 


"Yeah thanks to my mom." Rei said bitterly. 


"Let's not go there again Rei please?" Serin asked. "I know how much it
hurt you, but you forgave her, just think about that ok?" 


"Yeah sorry." She said. 


"So, this isn't going to make everything weird between us is it?" Serin
asked uneasily. 


"Doesn't bother me." Minako said cheerfully. 


"Me either." Ami added. 


Rei and Serin looked towards Makoto who was silent for a moment. 


"So, what's up with everyone else?" She asked after a moment, and
smiled at Rei and Serin who smiled back happily. 


************************* 

"Ami?" He asked smiling. "Where are you?" Zositeie ventured further
into the forest looking for Ami. "You know, I was kinda surprised when
you asked me to meet you here." 


"You fool." 


Zoi whirled around to see who had spoken. "Beryl! What are you doing
here?" 


"Why meeting you of course." She said smiling evilly at him. At the
look of confusion on his face she contiued. "Ami didn't send you that
note, I did." 


"So now what? Why did you single me out?" 


"It's quite simple actually, I want you to fight in my army. I decided
that maybe we could do this the easy way, I give you the choice, then
you come with me." 


"I will never join you." He growled moving into attack position. 


"And why not?" She asked. 


"I'm not a traitor. My friends need me, Ami needs me." He said
defiantly. 


"Oh really? They show their 'need' in strange ways." Beryl said. 


He dropped his attack pose. "What are you talking about?" 


She waved her hand, an image appearing. "This is what is going on at
the palace as we speak." She said. 


The image showed all of the scouts and generals in the sitting room,
talking about something. As Zoiste listened, he was able to hear bits
and peices of the conversation. Each person spoke, expressing their
complete dislike for him. Until they came to Ami. "No please, not Ami."
He whispered 


She smiled as she watched, he was falling into her trap perfectly. 


He watched in horror as Ami admitted that she had never really love
him, she only said it out of pity for him. Zoisite felt like his entire
world was falling apart. He dropped to his knees as he screamed. "NO!
It's not true!" 


Beryl knelt beside him and put on hand on his shoulder. "I'm afraid it
is. But things don't have to stay like this." 


He looked up at her hopefully. "They don't?" He asked. 


"No." She said soothingly. "In the Dark Kingdom, no one hates each
other. And you will hve everything you could ever want, a family,
shelter, food, women, clothing, power, everything. Just think about
it." 


After a moment he nodded. "If they don't need me, then I sure as hell
don't need them." He said standing up. 


************************* 


The scouts and generals were indeed gathered in one of the sitting
rooms of the palace, but they were not talking about Zoi, other than
wondering where he was. 


"Hey Ami, have you see Zoi at all today?" Kunzite asked her. 


She shook her head and was about to answer when a gripping pain ripped
through her. She fell to the ground in complete pain. The othes ran
over to her. 


"Ami, are you ok?" Serin asked. 


"ZOISITE!" She screamed in anguish. 


************************* 


A loud booming laugh echoed through the Negaverse as the brainwashing
was complete. Beryl smiled at her new recruit. "What is your first
mission?" She asked, testing him. 


He smiled back withan evil smil of his own. "To kill the scouts and
capture the other generals." 


She laughed again. This was going to be fun. 


*************Next Day************* 


"As soon as everyone gets here, we'll start. So sit back and relax, or
at least try to, considering the situation." Queen Serenity said. 


The scouts and generals, minus Zoisite were gathered in the meeting
room of the palace to discuss what had happened with Zoisite. 


Jade took the seat next to Rei. She sighed when she realized who had
sat down next to her. "Look Jed, I really don't want to talk to you
right now." She said as she stood up and went over to comfort Ami, who
was still distraught over the lost of Zoisite. 


"She still not talking to you huh?" 


Jade looked up expecting to see Serin, but was surprised as Endymion
took the seat next to him that Rei had occupied only moments before.
"Um yeah, she's still pretty mad at me. I wanted to tell you, that I'm
sorry for the things I said to you." 


He shrugged. "No big deal, I understand. You're forgiven." 


Jade sighed in relief. "Well that's one less person I have to worry
about being mad at me." 


"What did you do anyway that got her so mad? I mean all Serin told me
was that you did something, and it really upset her, which is why she
isn't talking to you." 


"I'm sure Serin told you a little bit about how Rei hasn't talked to
her mom in over five years right?" He waited for a nod before
continuing, "Well, with the Queen's permission, I kinda invited her mom
to the moon." He explained 


"Well I'm sure in the end she'll realize why you did it. She can't stay
mad forever." Endy said. 


"Yeah but she can hold a grudge for a pretty long time. But anyway, how
are you holding up with this whole thing?" Jade questioned. 


"You mean with Zoi gone? I don't know. I mean, it's tough, but Serin's
there to comfort me which helps a lot." He paused for a moment, and
then realized what he had just said, "I'm sorry. That was stupid of me
to say." 


He smiled. "It's ok. Besides, if you think about it, technically I have
Minako comforting me." He rolled his eyes. 


Endy laughed. "Yeah we all know how much you love her." 


Serin, who had been talking to Makoto, looked over to Endy and Jade.
"So are you two talking again?" She asked. 


"Yes we are." Endy said putting his arm around her. 


"Good." she said leaning against him. 


Jade looked away in slight jealousy, trying to keep his gaze away from
Rei, who sat in front of him. The Queen, thankfully, chose that moment
to start the meeting. 


"As you all know, Zoisite was taken by Queen Beryl." 


Ami felt her eyes fill with tears once again at the mention of her
love. 


"What you don't know, is that Queen Beryl is the leader of an evil
dimension, known as the Negaverse. She has no good left in her, and she
cares only about power. Her main goal is to take over Earth, and then
the Moon. Apparently, to carry out her plan she needed more warriors.
Which is why she took Zoisite." 


"That isn't the whole story, is it?" Rei asked. 


Serenity shook her head. "It dates back to the time when I first got
married. It was then told that I would have a daughter," She paused for
a moment to smile at Serin. "It was also told that during her teenage
years, when she was close to being an adult, and evil force would
attack. One so great that the only ones who would ever have a chance to
defeat it, would be Serenity, Endymion, and their guardians..." 


As the Queen continued talking Jade's mind drifted away. He knew he
should be paying attention, but figured that he could get Endy to tell
him if the Queen said anything majorly important. So, instead of paying
attention, he let his mind and eyes drift towards Rei. He loved
everything about her, she was everything that he could ever want in
someone. Except for the fact that, she didn't love him back. He thought
back to what Dave had told him, 


"...You aren't the one she runs to to kiss hello, or smiles at
lovingly. You're her best friend, and nothing more. And that is the way
it always has been, and always will be..." He was right. Jade would
always just be 'Jed' to Rei, her best friend, the one who was always
there for her, the one that she loved to death, but not in that way.
Finally tearing his eyes away from her, he made the hardest decision he
had ever had to make. 


"Hey Jade," Endy said tapping him on the shoulder, "Meeting's over,
we're all going out to the training grounds, you coming?" 


Jade looked up and realized everyone was already on their way. "Uh yeah
I'll be right there." 


Endy and Serin exchanged worried glances before looking back at Jade.
"Jade, is something wrong?" Serin asked. 


:He looked at Rei once more and smiled sadly. "No, I'm fine. You two go
ahead I'll meet you there in a minute." 


The two nodded and took off for the training grounds. Jade stood and
sighed to himself. "I hereby resolve that I will no longer love
Princess Rei of Mars. It hurts to much to try, when nothing is ever
going to come from it." He said quietly to himself, then left the room. 


Minako walked out of the shadows in complete shock. "Jade loves Rei?" 


****************************** 


End of Chapter Nine of As the Tears Fell. 


This story, page and all it's contents are (c) '99 MCRK 


Translations: 


Ne: Right. (ex. The party starts at 4 ne? the party starts and 4
right?) 


Arigato: Thank You. 


Author's Note #1: As you may have noticed, in a previous chapter(either
6 or 7) Zoisite's atatck was different. I changed it because the first
one kinda sucked. And I realize that this was not much better, so it
may change from time to time, especially because he is evil now. 


Author's Note #2: In the same chapter mentioned above, it is said the
Kunzite does not have to say anything to trigger his attack, well let's
just say that this is a new atack which is why he needs a phrase ok?
And thanks soooooo much to Mars-Chan for coming up with the attack
phrase for me, and for proofreading this damn thing!!! Arigato!!!!! 


Well I hope every like this chapter, sorry it took so long to get out,
but you see how long it was! God, my absolute longest chapter every,
this is a complete record for me! Be proud of me peoples!!! Oh, BTW, I
luv all you guys for not flaming me on the last chapter, thank you sooo
much! So if you liked the story, hated the story, or are just bored and
feel like emailing me, send everything to Pekkle9983@aol.com 


Thanks for reading everyone, hope you enjoy the story, and I will see
you next time, on As the Tears Fell.

Ummm this was done about a week and a half ago, but i couldn't save it!
sooo sorry! 

Okay I realize that everyone is probably ready to kill me right about
now but I am sooo incredibly sorry that this chapter took so long to
come out. I really do have excuses though so just bare with me for a
few more minutes. I have been going through an incredible amount of
shit. This is what I have been juggling, just to let you know: family,
regular school, homework, tests, projects, struggling to get through
Wuthering Heights and write a thesis paper on it, thunder and lightning
storms(during which I will not go near my computers, espcially cause
they are under windows), blackouts, babysitting two days a week from 3
to 9, making individual profile pages for the scouts(look for that
soon), redoing my first fanfic archive, and working on I think three
other fanfics other then this one(e-mail me if you want more info on
this)  and i am desperatly trying to finish this damn story by the end
of May when my sister gets home from college and my computer time is
cut drastically, so please don't bug me about taking so long! I really
am sorry though. 

Note: Chapter 11 should take almost half the time to come out this one
did. I already have the whole chapter outlined, and the first part is
written. 

Visit my pages!: http://members.aol.com/pekkle9983/world.index.html 

http://members.aol.com/Pekkle9983/attf.html 

http://members.aol.com/Pekkle9983/cuf.index.html 

BTW, this chapter was totally worth the wait. At least in my opinion.
Oh my God! I almost totally forgot to thank my editor!!!! Thanks sooooo
much Mars-Chan for proofreading this and everything else!! Arigato!!!! 

*************************** 

As the Tears Fell~Chapter Ten 

By MCRK 

*************************** 


Jade stood and sighed to himself. "I hereby resolve that I will no
longer love Princess Rei of Mars. It hurts to much to try, when nothing
is ever going to come from it." He said quietly to himself, then left
the room. 

Minako walked out of the shadows in complete shock. "Jade loves Rei?"
She asked herself softly. "Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! What am I
gonna do?" She asked frantically. As an afterthought, she remembered
that everyone was meeting at the training grounds, so her first move
would be to head to practice. 'I can't believe he loves her!' she
thought. 'Used to love her.' She corrected herself. According to what
Jade has said, he was over her, but if she knew anything about love,
(And considering she was the scout of it, she did know quite a lot) he
was far from over her. After practice she was gonna have to try to talk
to Makoto or someone, without telling her the whole story. "Man this is
gonna put complications in our relationship." She muttered. 

****************** 

Rei could feel Jade's eyes on her but she refused to acknowledge his
presence. When it had come time for partner sparring, she convinced
Luna to temporarily switch her partner so she wouldn't have to work
with him. "Please Luna? I really can't face him right now." She had
pleaded. 

Luna had, of course, protested, "Do you really think it's fair to put
the second ranked against the first ranked?" She asked, when Rei had
suggested she go against Kunzite, and Minako could go against Jade. 

"Well it would make us stronger. I mean think about it, the next time
Beryl attacks do you really think that she is going to care if she
gives us a warrior more skilled then us? We should be more prepared
then to just fight those of our rank." She reasoned. 

"Well..." 

"Please Luna?" Rei begged. 

After a few moments of pleading, the small cat agreed. "Everyone,
gather round." She called as the others stopped fighting. "We will have
the usual partner sparring, but the pairs will be slightly different
then usual." She sent a subtle glare at Rei when she said this, but
continued. "Serin and Endymion will be paired, Makoto and Nephlite will
be paired, Ami," She paused for a moment again, "Ami is excused from
training right now due to the circumstances. As for--" 

"Is that really wise Luna?" Serin interrupted. "I mean, now we know who
and what Beryl is after, don't you think we should all be ready in top
form?" 

"Yes I agree but if you look at the situation, there is no one for Ami
to spar with right now. Besides the fact that she is currently
distraught and heartbroken. She is in no state to fight." 

"I know but what if--" 

"Do not question my authority Princess Serenity." Luna yelled
interrupting her, and scaring everyone else. Serin's mouth dropped
open, no one every called her Princess Serenity, hell, no one ever even
called her Serenity! No one had seen Luna so upset either. Even Artemis
was shocked. He quietly padded over to her and whispered something
softly to her that seemed to calm her down. 

"I'm sorry." She apologized sighing. "It's just that we just lost a
member of our team to the enemy side, and now Mercury is unfit to
fight, plus we know who Beryl is after...Anyway," She said regaining
her composure. "As for the last two pairs, Rei will be working with
Kunzite, and Jade will be working with Minako. Remember, no powers,
first to fall loses, go ahead." 

Jade shot a hurt look at Rei, who still wouldn't even look at him. 'I
can't believe she is doing this!' He thought as he ran over to talk to
her. 

She whirled around knowing who it was that tapped her. "What Jade? If
you don't mind I am trying to practice." she snapped. 

He stepped back, pain clearly showing in his eyes. "Jade?" He
whispered. "You have always been the one person who doesn't call me
Jade. Why the sudden change?" 

She sighed. "Look I don't have time for this. What did you want to ask
me?" She questioned. 

"Why do you have to keep up this whole fight thing? At least let us
continue to spar. It affects everyone if you do this Rei." He said
quietly. 

"Why?" She asked. "Why? Because you broke my trust!" She exclaimed.
"And this does not affect everyone. Switching the partners between the
four of us only makes us stronger and better." 

"No it doesn't, and you know it. Kunzite can defeat you too easily,
just as Minako can defeat me too easily. We aren't matched." Jade
explained. 

"Maybe so but right now, if I was to spar with you, I either wouldn't
be able to concentrate, or I would let my emotions overcome me and
would end up hurting you. And as mad as I am right now, you are still
my best friend and I still love you to death, but I'm not ready to
forgive you at the moment." Rei explained. "Look this isn't the time or
the place to be talking about this. Just know that when I am ready to
forgive you, you'll know." She left him with that thought as she headed
over to Kunzite to begin their spar. 

Minako quietly walked up to Jade. "Hey, so I take it we are sparring?"
She asked. 

"Yeah." He replied. Jade glanced over at Rei and forced himself to
remember that he was over her. 'Well let's really move on then.' He
thought. He turned back to Minako. "I was wondering, would you want to
go with me to the ball at the end of the week, to celebrate the
princess' s birthday?" He asked 

Minako swallowed hard, "Um sure, I'd love to." She forced out. 

He gave her the best fake smile he could mange. "Great." 

****************** 

"So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Makoto asked as her
and Minako walked outside. 

"It's such a pretty day outside." Minako commented, changing the
subject. 

"Okay, now I definitely know something's wrong. What's up?" Makoto
questioned. 

Minako was hesitant to respond. 'I have to figure out some way to
explain this, without telling her that Jade loves Rei.' She thought. 

"Minako?" She prodded. 

"Well, it's...ok this is kinda hard to explain...uh..." She faltered,
trying to find the right words. 

"Anytime now, Minako." Makoto said smiling. 

"Something happened and now I know something that I wasn't supposed to
know." She blurted out. 

"Well that's kinda broad. It would help if I knew a little bit more
information." Makoto pointed out. 

Minako sighed. "See, that's the thing. I really can't tell you who said
it, or exactly what it was they said." 

"Well, can you give you any other information at all? It's kinda hard
for me to help otherwise." She commented. 

"What happened was someone said something, and they didn't notice I was
there, and I really don't think I was supposed to hear. And, they were
talking about how they...like someone." Minako tried to explain. 

"Let me guess, this happened in the meeting room, after everyone else
had already left to go the training grounds. And Jade was there, and
you overheard him say something about how he was in love with someone
else." Makoto said. 

Minako stared at her in disbelief. "How, how did you do that?" She
asked. 

Makoto grinned. "You mean I was right? Cool." 

"Not exactly right. The thing I kinda forgot to mention was that he
didn't really say that he loved someone else, he said that he no longer
loved that person because it hurts too much." 

"I guess you wouldn't be able to tell me the person is would you?" She
asked. 

"Nope." 

"Damn." She said smiling. 

"So what should I do?" Minako pressed. 

"What do you mean, what should you do? You're going out with him,
aren't you?" She asked. 

"Yeah, but I don't know now if he really likes me." 

"That's true." Makoto said. "You said you weren't supposed to know
about this right?" 

Minako nodded. 

"Well then there really isn't anything you can do." She said gently.
"Other than breaking up with him, but I advise that you wait a while
and see. Maybe he really is over this mysterious person, and maybe he
really is starting to fall for you." 

Minako nodded her head in agreement. "Thanks, Makoto." She said. 

She was about to answer when their communicators started beeping.
"Great, another attack" Makoto sighed as she turned it on. "Makoto and
Minako here." 

Rei's face appeared on the small screen before them. "Hey guys, get
down to the lake as quickly as possible. We've got another monster
attack, and we aren't doing to well." 

"We're on our way." Minako said as Rei signed off. "Well, let's go."
She said as they ran down towards the lake. 

******************* 

"Shit." Sailor Moon swore as she dodged another blast. 

"You may as well give up now, you're never going to beat me." Zoisite
laughed evilly. 

"Sorry it took us so long, we got here as fast as...we...could..."
Jupiter's voice trailed off as she noticed Zoisite. 

"Zoisite." Venus breathed. 

"Would you two stop gawking and starting fighting!" Nephlite yelled. 

"Right, sorry." Jupiter said jumping into action. "What's up with Ami?"
She asked Mars softly. 

Mars glanced over to where Ami had been silently standing for the past
ten minutes...ever since Zoisite has started to attack. "I think she's
still in shock over the whole thing. She really loves him." She
commented. 

"Zoi, come on snap out of this. I know this isn't you. Just come back
to our side. Please." Endymion pleaded. 

"Hmmm...let me think about it, no." Zoisite said as he sent another
youma. 

"Damn it we can't handle all these youma!" Venus growled. 

Sailor Moon went over to Ami and gently laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Mercury, please. We need you help to find out the weakness." 

She nodded and started typing on her mini computer. "It's fire." She
said softly after a few minutes. 

"Thanks Ames." She said smiling gratefully at here. 

"Mars...Celestial...Fire...SURROUND!" Mars shot off her attack, which
had no affect on the youma. 

"Why the hell isn't it working?" Kunzite yelled. 

"Our attacks by themselves aren't strong enough. We're going to have to
double team it." Jade shouted over to Mars. 

Mars, however, ignored him and continued to shoot attacks that had no
affect, other then wasting her energy. 

"Mars, it won't work." Venus told her softly. 

She ignored her and kept attacking. 

"Rei," Nephlite started gently. "You can't beat it alone." 

She was about to respond when Zoisite ordered the youma to attack. The
scouts watched helplessly as the youma shot forward a blast that
knocked into Nephlite, sending him back a good ten feet and slamming
him into a tree, knocking him unconscious. 

"NEPHLITE!" Jupiter screamed rushing over to his aide. 

Mercury quickly snapped out of the spell she had been in and took over.
Glancing over at Mars, she could tell she wouldn't be much help in the
rest of the fight. "Mercury...Bubbles...FREEZE!" She yelled, encasing
the youma in ice. "Now Jade!" She shouted. 

Jade nodded. "Phoenix...Flames...ENGULF!" He yelled, holding the fire
for an extra few seconds to make sure the youma was harmed enough. 

"I'll be back, and next time...you won't be so lucky." Zoisite said
before disappearing in a swirl of petals. 

The others all powered down. "Zoisite..." Ami whispered softly as she
reached a hand out to the place he had been standing only moments
before. 

Rei stood in shock at what had just happened. 'Because of your
stubbornness, a friend and fellow warrior of yours is hurt.' She
scolded herself. She walked over to where Nephlite was lying, being
comforted by Jupiter, and where the others were standing. 

"How, how is it?" she asked cautiously. 

"His arm may be broken and he's still unconscious." Makoto said coldly,
glaring at her. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." She faltered. 

"Rei, you know that the first rule of any warrior is that they can't
let their emotions overcome them, especially not when in a serious
fight." Minako said quietly. 

"She's right. Someone could have been killed." Endymion said. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Rei said softly. 

"That's the thing Rei. It doesn't matter if you meant for it to happen
or not, it did." Kunzite said sharply. Rei looked around the circle of
her friends, all of who were either glaring at her, or unable to look
at her. "Gomen." She whispered. She looked down at Nephlite. "Please,
tell him. I'm so sorry." She turned and fled from the group. 

Serin glared at the group. "Well that was really nicely handled thanks
guys." She said sarcastically. 

"Serin, she needed to hear that and you know it." Jade spoke up. "Just
because she's your cousin, and your best friend..." 

Serin glared at him. "This has nothing to do with the fact that she is
my cousin, or the fact that she is my best friend. This has to do with
the fact that she was upset and made a mistake. And yes she did need to
hear that, but not to that extent. That was going to extremes." 

"Serin, Nephlite was hurt because she was too stubborn to--" Makoto
started. 

"Yeah I realize Nephlite was hurt. And I know that it easily could have
been any of us. But you know Rei. And you know that she is going to put
enough blame on herself for this entire thing without all of you adding
to it. Besides the fact that I happen to be the Princess, meaning that
I am the leader of her. It was my job to say anything to her." Serin
interrupted. She glared at them one last time before running off after
Rei. 

******************* 

Rei looked up from the stone wall she was leaning against as she head
footsteps approaching. Serin appeared in front of her a moment later
and sat down silently next to her. 

Rei groaned as she drew her knees to her chest and buried her face in
her arms. "Oh God, please just go away Serin. I don't want to talk to
anyone right now." She mumbled. 

"Too bad." Serin snapped. "You're talking whether you want to or not.
You can't walk away from what just happened." 

She raised her head slightly. "Does everyone hate me?" She asked
quietly. 

Serin felt all the anger she had just had quickly melt away as sorrow
for her best friend replaced it. 

"I know now that you do, and I'm sure Nephlite despises me, not to
mention Makoto. I'm sure Ami is pretty pissed at me, and Oh God, I
don't even want to know what Jed thinks of me right now." She said
softly. 

"Oh Sweetie, I don't hate you." Serin said hugging her tightly. "I'm
sorry I sounded so angry. You mean the world to me, and I could never
hate you. Just as the others don't hate you, especially not Jade." She
consoled. 

Rei turned away. "Oh come on Serin, you saw what happened!" She
exclaimed. "We could have defeated that youma easily, and maybe even
got Zoi back. But I had to be a stubborn idiot and because of me,
Nephlite got seriously injured. I'd hate me too." 

"Rei," She started quietly. "Don't do this to yourself." 

Rei looked over quizzically. 

"You're blaming yourself, and it's gonna eat you away inside. You let
your emotions overcome you and you were distracted for a moment. It
happens to everyone some time." Serin said. 

"But it shouldn't happen to me!" She exclaimed. "I mean what if it was
you that had been hurt? My job is a protector! A protector! And I can't
even defeat a simple monster that had the weakness of my element with
out getting some one hurt. Then I would have failed in my duty of
protecting the princess." 

"But I wasn't." Serin said firmly. "You can't dwell on what could have
happened, you have to concentrate on what is." 

"Fine, then let's concentrate on what did happen. A monster and Zoi
attacked. The weakness was fire, which both Jed and I control. Now, had
we double-teamed, we easily could have killed it, and possibly gotten
Zoi back. But I was to much of an idiot to team up with Jed, and
because of me, Zoisite is still on the other side, and one of our
warriors was hurt." She stated. 

Serin took a deep breath before answering. "Look, I'm not going to lie
to you, everyone back there is somewhat angry at you, but they
understand what happened! It's not completely your fault!" 

"But it is." Rei said quietly. "It's my fault that Nephlite got hurt,
and it's my fault that we didn't get Zoisite back, and it's my fault t
that my best friend now hate me." 

"That's what you're really upset about isn't it? This whole fight with
Jade?" She asked. 

Rei nodded. "I feel like my stupidity has lost him forever." 

"Sweetie, you know that's not true. You know that Jade will always be
there for you." Serin protested. 

"I'm not so sure this time." She said turning away. 

Serin moved to the other side of her so the two were once again facing.
"Rei, what are you talking about? So you got into a fight, everyone
does at some point in their friendship." She said gently. "I don't
think that there is anything you could ever do that would make him
never forgive you." She said. "But I think you already know that. I
don't think that's what the real problem is." She said quietly. 

******************* 

Makoto gently stroked the side of Nephlite's face as he slowly opened
his eyes. "Are you ok?" She asked softly. 

He rubbed a hand across his eyes as he groggily asked, "What happened?" 

"You got blasted by the youma. It threw you back a bit and slammed you
into the tree." She explained bitterly. 

"All I remember is talking to Mars...and then...everything went
black..."He said, noticing the look on his beloved's face when he
mentioned Mars' name. "Makoto..." He started. 

"If it hadn't been for her being so stubborn this wouldn't have
happened in the first place!" She argued. 

"Makoto, I don't want you to blame Rei. She made a mistake, it could
have happened to anyone." 

"But it happened to her and you got hurt because of it." 

"Do you blame Zoisite at all?" He asked quietly. 

"What?" She asked, startled at his question. "Why would I blame
Zoisite?" 

"He had just as much to do with this as Rei. If you want to get into
the 'what ifs' then he would be blamed also." He explained. 

"That's completely different!" She argued. "Zoisite is not himself
right now and--" 

"And neither is Rei." Nephlite quietly interrupted. "This whole fight
thing is killing her and she wasn't herself today nor was she
concentrating. So don't blame Rei. Onegai? Let's just be grateful that
I'm ok ne?" 

Makoto's face softened. "Oh all right. And I am thankful that you're
okay. I don't mean to sound ungrateful. I love you so much and I don't
know what I would do without you." She confessed. 

"Well, don't waste your time worrying about that, because I promise I
will never leave you, or your love." He vowed as the two embraced in a
kiss. 

Ami turned away from the happy couple, trying to hide her jealousy. 

"Sucks doesn't it?" 

She whirled around in surprise, to see Jade standing there with his
hands in his pockets looking very depressed. "I beg your pardon?" She
asked. 

He nodded his head towards the kissing couple. "You know, watching over
people be happy while the person that you love isn't here." 

She laughed bitterly. "Look if you're trying to tell me that you know
how I feel, it's not going to work. I mean, I know Zoi is one of your
best friends and I'm sure that you miss him, but it's different when
it's someone that you love. I mean, I can't even talk to him anymore,
and now I have to fight him." 

"Yeah I guess you're right. I have no idea what it feels like. Mind if
I talk to you about it anyway?" He asked, 

She shrugged and sighed. "Why not? Everyone else has." The two walked
along for a minute until they came across an old swing where they sat
down. 

Ami stared ahead, as she started talking. "How am I supposed to fight
against him when I am to busy staring at the way the light shines in
his eyes, or the way his forehead wrinkles when he laughs, or--" 

"The way that tease you incessantly over the smallest things, or the
way that they look so adorable when they mess up at something. Or the
way that they come running to you with all their problems." He
interrupted her quietly. "Or the way that they are the best friend you
could possibly have." Jade raised his eyes to meet hers and in looking
into them she felt as if she was looking into his heart and knew in an
instant the real truth. He did know what she was going through. 

"Oh God, you love Rei, don't you?" She asked softly. 

He gave her a small smile. "It's that obvious huh?" 

"Jade, I'm so sorry." She whispered. "You really do know what I'm going
through, and if anything, you're going through it even worse then I
am." 

"No I should be the one apologizing. I mean, I was trying to comfort
you over Zoisite, and here I am telling you all about my stupid
problems." He apologized. 

"No don't say that." Ami said shaking her head. "You deserve to have
people listen to your problems as much as any one else does." She
gasped suddenly. "That's why you invited her mom here isn't it?" 

"Well that among other reasons, but yeah. Did she tell you about that?"
He asked 

She nodded. "She was kinda pissed at you about the whole thing." 

He sighed. "Yeah, she still is." 

"I take it that's why the whole thing at the fight before happened?"
She asked. 

Jade nodded. "Yeah, she hasn't been talking to me, and well you know
what Rei's like when she's mad at someone." 

The two were silent for a few minutes before Ami quietly started to
laugh. 

"What's so funny?" He asked. 

"I'm sorry. But this is just so pathetic. The two of us sitting here,
with nothing better to do then talk about how sad our love lives are."
She explained, her laughter dying down. 

He smiled. "Yeah it is kinda pathetic isn't it?" 

"Hey, by the way, does Minako know that you're in love with Rei?" She
asked suddenly. 

He shook his head. " I should probably tell her, but I still can't
bring myself to tell Rei." 

She nodded her head. "If it helps, I think that in the end, the two of
you will end up being together." 

"Yeah I hope so." Jade looked down at his watch and noticed what time
it was. "Oh Ames I'm sorry to leave you like this but I gotta go, I'm
supposed to meet someone in about ten minutes." He apologized. 

She waved it off. "It's ok I was planning on going back to the castle
in a few minutes anyway." 

He nodded. "Okay. I'll talk to you later." He turned away and started
to walk back down the path, but paused for a moment and turned around.
"Hey Ami," He called. 

She looked over at him. "Yes?" 

He smiled at her. "Don't worry, we'll get Zoisite back somehow. And
just remember that deep down, he still does and always will love you."
The smile vanished from his face. 'At least you know that he returns
your love." He said softly, and Ami could almost feel the pain he was
feeling, before walking away. 

Ami gazed up at the sky that had started to darken, and stars had
started to appear. One star that seemed to twinkle brighter then all
the other's caught her eye. She sighed. 'I miss you so much Zoi.
Please, come back to me.' 

******************* 

Rei turned away and was silent for a few minutes. 

"Rei," Serin said to her back, "Please talk to me. You're my best
friend, and I want to help you. Please, tell me what is really wrong." 

She slowly turned back around, and Serin could see tears in her eyes, a
sight that was rarely seen. "I know that he won't hold this against me,
and if I talked to him, he would forgive me in a second. That's not the
problem anymore." 

"Then what is?" She pressed. 

"Ren, ever since I was little, my entire life has been fucked up, along
with everything and everyone in it. I have *always* felt like my entire
world was falling apart and there wasn't a damn thing I could do to
stop it. Like, all along," Rei paused for a moment, searching for the
right words. "Like all along, I was born to lose. And through it all,
through my whole life, and all the shit with my mom, and everything
else, through everything that ever happened, good and bad, everything,
He's been there. He has been the one sole person who has always stood
by me. Through thick and thin, through the good and the bad, the easy
times and the hard times, he has always been there to support me, to
lend me a shoulder to cry on. And I had to go repay him by screaming at
him and ignoring him during the one fucking time in his life that he
needed me to be there. The one time that he needed my support, my
shoulder to cry on, I wasn't there. And I can't blame him if he hates
me forever because of that." She paused for a moment as the realization
came to her, "He's not the one that betrayed me, I'm the one that
betrayed him." (See AN at end of chapter) 

Serin smiled lightly at her friend. "Sweetie, is that what's been
bothering you?" 

She nodded. "I don't even deserve his forgiveness!" 

Serin hugged her tightly. "Rei don't ever say that!" She exclaimed. 

"But it's true. I was horrible to him, I wasn't there when one of his
best friends was taken by Beryl, and I was the cause of the near death
of his other best friend just now. How, why would he ever want to
forgive me?" She asked as a small tear trickled down her cheek. "I've
ruined everything." 

Serin reached over and gently wiped away the tear. "How could he not
want to forgive you Rei? You know, for as long as I have known you, you
have been your own worst critic." 

"It's cause I deserve it." She mumbled. 

"Listen to me. You are a wonderful person. You are smart, and funny,
and beautiful, and compassionate, and loving, and honest, and a
wonderful friend. And I bet you anything Jade is going insane right now
because you won't talk to him. He's your best friend." Serin said. 

Rei smiled slightly. "I thought you were my best friend?" 

She smiled back. "Well he's your best guy friend how's that?" 

"That's cause he is my only guy friend how I haven't dated yet." Rei
continued, her eyes starting to regain their usual sparkle. 

"Now there's the Rei I know and love." 

The smile disappeared. "But Serin, I still don't know if I'm ready to
talk to him. I don't think he's gonna want to forgive me." 

She was silent for a moment before she spoke again. "The only advice
that I can give you is this. Before you talk to him, before you forgive
him, or ask him to forgive you, you have to forgive yourself." Serin
told her gently. "You have to realize that you aren't a horrible
person, that everyone makes mistakes, and you need to forgive yourself
for yours." 

"Thanks Serin." Rei said hugging her. "I gotta go meet Dave, but I
promise I'll think about what you said ok?" 

Serin agreed. "I kinda blew up at everyone a few minutes ago, I should
go apologize." 

"If Nephlite is awake, can you just tell him I'm sorry?" Rei asked as
the two stood up. 

"Promise." 

******************* 

"Hey, sorry I'm late, I didn't realize what time it was." Dave said as
he walked over to Rei. 

"It's ok." She said shrugging it off. 

He leaned over to kiss her but stopped when she turned her head away.
"What's wrong?" He questioned. "You aren't mad at me because I was a
few minutes late are you?" 

"No, no it's nothing like that. And I'm not mad at you, I'm just," She
paused for a moment, "I'm in need of your advice." She finished. 

"Ok, let's sit down." He said leading her to the couch and sitting down
next to her. "So what's wrong?" He asked stroking the side of her face
softly with his finer. "I hate seeing you this sad." 

"I kinda got into this huge fight with a good friend of mine. Do you
remember my friend Jade?" She asked 

Before he was able to answer, Mike and Jeff came over. "Dave you will
never believe what I have to tell you!" Mike said excitedly, ignoring
Rei. 

"Hey Rei." Jeff said. "It's not that incredible." He added rolling his
eyes. 

"Yeah that's only cause it has nothing to do with you." Mike retorted. 

"Anyway," Dave said meaningfully. "Can't you tell me later? I'm kinda
busy right now." He said nodding towards Rei. 

"No way Davie! Trust me, you want to know this now." He said. 

"Mike, you are starting to--" Dave started. 

"They said yes!" He exclaimed interrupting him. 

His eyebrows shot up in obvious surprise. "They said yes?" He asked. 

Mike nodded as he smiled. "Totally agreed, to everything." 

"Do they know about..." He let his voice trail off. 

Mike nodded again. "I explained everything to them, and didn't bother
them in the least. They're perfectly fine with the whole situation." 

Jeff shook his head slightly. "Don't do this to her man." He said
softly so that Rei didn't hear him. 

They ignored him. Dave turned to Rei. "I really need to talk to Mike
for a minute ok honey? But I promise it will only be a minute or two
and then I help you with your problem." He promised as he and Mike
walked a few feet away to talk. 

Jeff, who had pretty silent up until now, well at least as far as Rei
knew, sat down on the couch next to her. "So what's wrong?" He asked, 

She looked over at him skeptically. "Like you really want to know." 

"No really I do. I know Dave, and I know what they are talking about,
and they're gonna be talking for a while, so if you want some advice,"
He shrugged, "I'm here." 

She rolled her eyes. "The only reason you want to know is so that you
can bug me about it for the rest of my life." 

"No really, I want to help. You know, I don't hate you." Jeff said
quietly. 

Rei looked over at him in surprise. "Really?" She asked. 

"Well you know, I'll only bugged you cause you did the same to me.
Besides, you're my best friend's girlfriend, it was kinda instinctive
to bug you. Mike and I do it to people all the time, don't take it too
personally. But I didn't really mean anything, just liked you didn't
really mean it, right?" He asked hopefully. 

She smiled at him, "Yeah I guess I really didn't mean it." 

"Good, so what's the problem?" 

She took a deep breath, "It's kinda complicated, but you remember my
friend Jade?" She asked. 

He nodded, waiting for her to continue. 

"Well we kinda got into this huge fight, ok well it's more like I got
into a huge fight. He kinda did something that totally pissed me off
and I haven't been talking to him for a while. But now, I'm starting to
feel bad about the whole thing." She confessed. 

"If you don't mind my asking, what did he do?" Jeff questioned. "I'm
only asking because he seemed to be the one person you could never get
mad at." 

"He was." Rei admitted. "Until recently. What happened was this. For
personal reasons, which I don't want to get into, until a few days ago,
I hadn't talked to my mom in five years. And Jed knew that, and he knew
the whole reason why. And yet, for some reason, he sent a letter to my
mom, asking her to visit. Even though he knew that I never wanted to
talk to her again, which is probably why he didn't even ask me before
he talked to her." 

"So in other words, he broke the trust that you had in him?" He asked
smiling lightly at her. 

She smiled back. "Yeah that probably would have been easier to say, but
you know me. Gotta take the long way for everything." 

"So why aren't you talking to Serin about this?" He asked. "I mean, I
would think you would talk to her before you talked to anyone else,
even Dave, and especially before you talked to me." 

She blushed at his comment. "Well I kinda did already." 

He laughed. "Oh so my advice is just kinda like, 'Well let's see who's
advice is better and then I'll figure out what to do.'" 

"No not at all!" She exclaimed. "It's just, I don't know, I thought it
would help to get a guy's point of view on this whole thing, and I was
planning on getting my boyfriend's, but since he is busy..." Her voice
trailed off. 

"Oh ok I get it now. I'm just the fill-in guy cause you already asked
your first best friend, you're mad at your second, and your boyfriend
is busy, so you come to good 'old Jeff huh?" 

She smiled in spite of herself. "Well kinda yeah. But remember, you did
offer to help." She pointed out. 

"That's true. I guess I brought it upon myself." He said. 

"That's not really the whole problem either. It's kinda deep, and hard
to get into, but now I feel guilty because I kinda betrayed him in a
way." Rei said. 

"Well I need a bit more information on this whole thing first, so I
need to ask you, did you forgive your mom?" 

"Yeah." 

"So Jade was right all along huh?" Jeff asked grinning at her. 

She smiled sheepishly. "Yeah I guess." 

"Well, if you want my honest opinion," He started. "I think that you
should forgive him. I understand that you're upset that he broke your
trust, but I think that he knew that in the long run, it would be for
the better. But before you can begin to do that, you have to forgive
yourself. Things happen, people aren't always there for each other, and
you can't blame yourself forever over that." 

She nodded, "That's what Serin said also. So I guess I should talk to
him huh?" 

"I'm not saying that." He said. 

She looked at him in confusion. "But you just told me that you would
forgive him." 

"Exactly." He responded. Noting the confusion on her face, he
continued. "That is what I would do, if it was me in the situation. But
it's not me, it's you. And I don't know what happened between you and
your mom, and how much it affected you. I don't know how angry you were
at her, and I don't know what you were feeling when you saw her again
and when you found out Jade brought her here. And I don't know how you
are feeling now about this whole situation. It's your decision, and you
have to make it. You have to decide by yourself if and when you are
ready to forgive him and yourself. It helps to get advice and point of
views from others, but you are the one that has to make the actual
decision, and it all depends on how you feel. All I'm saying is that
you have to choose what you think is right." Jeff explained gently. 

Her eyes light up in understanding. "You know, you're the only person
to tell me that, and I think that's what I really needed to hear.
Thanks Jeff." She said standing up. 

"Wait, so are you gonna forgive him?" He asked. 

"I'm still really not sure, but I promise that once I figure it out,
you'll be one of the first people to know ok?" 

He was about to respond when Dave and Mike walked back over. "Hey
sweetie. Sorry it took so long. You still want to talk?" Dave asked 

Rei shook her head. "No actually that's ok. Jeff and I talked while you
were talking to Mike, so everything is pretty ok now." 

"You sure?" He questioned. 

She nodded. "I gotta go, so I'll talk to you later ok? Love you, see
you later." She said kissing him good-bye. 

"Ok talk to you later, love you too." He said as she left the room. He
turned to Jeff and Mike breathing a sigh of relief. "Thanks Jeff, I owe
you one man. I really didn't feel like listening to her complain about
some stupid problem." 

Jeff shook his head. "It wasn't some stupid problem, it was important
to her, you're her boyfriend, you should have been the one talking to
her, not me." He accused. 

"Calm down, I thanked you ok? Like I said, I owe you one." Dave said
carelessly. 

"Fine. You wanna pay me back? Tell her the truth." Jeff said. 

"What? Are you crazy?" Mike exclaimed. 

"Yeah really. I can't do that." Dave added. 

"Fine. Then break up with her. And when I say break up with her, I mean
let her down in the nicest way possible." Jeff directed. 

"Jeff, what is up with you lately? I'm not breaking up with her." Dave
said. 

"Yeah that would be incredibly stupid. I mean, he's in the perfect
relationship!" Mike exclaimed. 

"She's a good kid, she doesn't deserve this." Jeff insisted. 

"Oh God, not this again." Dave muttered. 

"Yeah really." Mike echoed. 

Jeff turned and glared at him. "Mike would it kill you, to, for once,
think for yourself?" He snapped. "Stop going along with everything Dave
says. If you would stop listening to him and think for yourself for two
fucking seconds you would realize that what he's doing to Rei is wrong
and that she doesn't deserve to be tricked like this. She thinks the
two of them are really in love and that's not fair to her." 

Dave and Mike exchanged glances and started snickering. "You know Mike,
I think someone's got a little crush on Rei." Dave commented. 

Jeff glared at him without denying it. "You two are the most immature
assholes I have ever met in my life." He said before walking away and
leaving the two standing there. 

******************* 

"Penny for your thoughts?" 

Startled, Victoria looked up and noticed Queen Serenity looking down at
her. 

"Sure, have a seat." She said clearing a space on the couch next to
her. 

"So what's up?" Serenity asking sitting beside her. 

"Well I was just thinking, the girls are going to be 18 soon." She
started slowly. 

"Yes I noticed that also." 

"Do you think we should betroth them?" Victoria asked. "I mean, pretty
soon after this whole Beryl thing is over with, the others are going to
have to go home to their respective planets and start the reign, and
well I just think it would be better to have them already engaged." 

"True. But to betroth them?" Serenity questioned. "I don't know how
comfortable I would feel doing that to Serin. Especially if the person
that I choose for her does not love her, and vice versa. I personally
think that nothing good comes from arranged marriages, and it makes
things harder on both partners." 

"My marriage was arranged." Victoria said quietly. 

Serenity looked over at her in surprise. "Your marriage was arranged?"
She asked. 

Victoria nodded. "Not many people were told about it, and we ended up
falling in love before we married anyway." 

"So it worked out for the two of you, but that doesn't mean it will for
everyone else." She pointed out gently. 

"I realize that, but I think that I would be a lot more comfortable
knowing that Rei will be taken care of." Victoria explained. She saw
the hesitance on her sister's face and continued. "And if she really
and truly hates the idea, then fine, she doesn't have to go through
with it. I'm not making a repeat of what we just got over." She said
smiling slightly. 

"Just out of curiosity, why even bother then? I mean, wouldn't it just
be easier to let her choose on her own?" Serenity questioned. 

"I don't know, I just feel safer knowing that she will always be taken
care of. Just in case I can't always be there for her." She responded
quietly. 

"Vicki, is there something you aren't telling me?" Serenity asked in
alarm. 

"No, nothing's wrong." She said faking a smile. 'Nothing that you need
to worry about yet anyway.' She thought. 

"Okay, if you say so." Serenity said, unconvinced. "So who were you
planning on betrothing Rei to?" She asked changing the subject. 

"Well, my first thought would be the Prince, but I know that he and
Serin are together." Victoria started. "So then I decided that it would
be best to engage her to one of the guards. I mean, she knows them all
so well already, and she seems to get along well with them. So, seeing
as the only one who is not already seeing one of Serin's guardians is
Kunzite, I talked to his parents, and we decided to engage the two, and
let them choose what they want to do." 

"Kunzite?" She exclaimed. 

"Yes, why is he that bad?" Victoria asked. 

"No it's not that. I mean he's a wonderful person, it's just, well he
doesn't really seem that much like Rei's type." Serenity explained. 

"Just curious, who would you engage her to?" Victoria asked. 

"I don't know, but what about Jeadite?" She suggested. 

"Jeadite?" Victoria exclaimed. "No way! He's my daughter's best friend,
but I really don't think either of them want to marry each other!" 

She shrugged. "Just a suggestion." 

Victoria laughed. "Why would you even suggest Jeadite?" She questioned. 

"I don't know, I just think there's something about those two. I just
have a weird feeling about them, that's all." She defended. 

Victoria shook her head and gathered her work up. She turned back to
Serenity. "But Jeadite?" She asked laughing again. 

******************* 

Serin hummed softly to herself as she fixed her hair while looking in
the mirror. She spun around in a circle, showing off her dress to Luna.
"So how do I look?" She asked. 

Luna smiled at her. "Very nice, I assume you are going to meet Prince
Endymion?" She questioned. 

She nodded excitedly. "He should be here any minute." Serin noted
looking at the clock on her night table. A knock on the door was heard
a moment later. "He's here!" She exclaimed. 

"Well what are you waiting for? Your prince awaits you." The small cat
said. 

After looking in the mirror one more time, Serin answered the door. 

"Good evening m'lady." Endymion said bowing. 

She smiled shyly at him. "Good evening. 

"I must say you look gorgeous tonight." He said, taking her hand in his
own and softly bringing it to his lips. 

"Thank you." She said. 

"So, shall we go?" He questioned, offering her his arm. 

"Where are we going anyway?" Serin asked curiously as the two walked
through the halls of the palace. 

"Well first, I thought we could go for dinner, and then for a moonlight
walk down by the lake." Endymion suggested. 

She smiled sweetly at him. "I'd like that." 

******************* 

Rei was about to walk into the throne room, where her mom had asked her
to meet her, when she walked right into Kunzite, who seemed to be
heading in the same direction. 

"Sumimasen." She said looking down at her shoes, knowing he must hate
her. 

"Rei, I want to apologize." He said. 

She looked up. "But I just walked into you, you have no reason to
apologize." She said in confusion. 

He smiled lightly at her. "I mean about what happened before." 

"Oh." She said looking away once more. "Look, I know what happened.
After I ran off, Ami or whoever discovered that Nephlite was seriously
hurt, so everyone blamed it on me because I was such an idiot, so then
everyone decided to hate me, and now you are feeling guilty about it.
Am I right?" She asked. 

"Actually," He said calmly. "You couldn't be more wrong." 

She looked over at him, the surprise obvious on his face. 'What are you
talking about?" She questioned. 

"What really happened is, after you left, Serin yelled at us all for
yelling at you. She said something about how it wasn't our right to
yell at you, if anything she should have been the one to say something
to you because she is the Princess. And after she said that, I kinda
thought back to what we had all said to you, and well I wanted to
apologize. I do feel bad about what I said. You didn't deserve anything
to that extent. Gomen." Kunzite explained bowing slightly to her. 

"Please, not more apologies. I made a stupid mistake, and I deserved to
be yelled at." She held up a hand to stop him from protesting. "Maybe
not to that extent, but whatever. Either way, I accept your apology and
I can only hope you accept mine." 

He nodded. 

"Good, now if you'll excuse me, I have to meet with someone in the
throne room." She said 

"Actually, so do I." He commented. 

"Well then we might as well head in." She said brightly as the two
walked in the room. 

"Mother!" Kunzite cried. The two had arrived in the Throne Room to see
Queen Victoria, and another woman who was obviously Kunzite's mother.
"What are you doing here?" 

Rei walked over to her mother and hugged her. "So, what was it you
wanted to talk to me about?" She asked. "And why is Kunzite's mother
here?" She asked in a quieter voice. 

Victoria smiled at her. "We have a surprise for the two of you. I'll
explain the whole thing in a minute. First, you might want to introduce
yourself." 

"Oh right." Rei said as she walked over to Kunzite's mother and
curtseyed. "I am Princess Rei of Mars, it's a pleasure to meet you." 

"Hajimashite." She said curtseying back to Rei. "My name is Jenna, and
as I am sure you have all ready figured out, I am Kunzite's mother." 

"Yes but what are you doing here?" He pressed. 

"I guess we should tell them huh?" Jenna asked looking over at
Victoria. 

"Well, I realized that you are going to be 18 in a few months."
Victoria said looking towards Rei. "And I decided that it might be a
good idea to make sure that you will be taken care of. Plus the fact
that soon you will be moving back to Mars to resume your place as
Queen." 

"Mom, what are you trying to say?" Rei asked in confusion. 

"Well, I talked to Jenna, and the two of us decided, that if the two of
you agree, we'd betroth you." She explained. 

Rei and Kunzite stared at their mothers. "Betroth us?" He managed to
get out. 

Jenna nodded. "We figured that most of the guardians of the Prince and
the Princess would be together at some point, and you two go well
together." 

Rei glared at her mother. "I can't believe you would do this without
asking me first." 

Victoria smiled at her. "I didn't. It's still not final, it's just that
I want to make sure someone will be there for you when I'm not." 

"Is something wrong?" Rei asked in alarm. 

Her mother shook her head. "Of course not sweetie. But I will die
eventually, and I want to make sure you are taken care of." 

"And I feel the same way." Jenna said. 

"But mom, and Rei no offense to you on this, but I want to marry
someone because I love them. And Rei is a wonderful person, but I don't
love her." Kunzite explained gently. 

Victoria turned to Rei. "Do you feel the same way?" She asked. 

Rei nodded. "Besides the fact that I already have a boyfriend, whom I
love very much." 

Victoria and Jenna looked at each other. "Well I guess our plan fell
apart huh?" Jenna asked. 

"Well I don't want to force them to marry some one they don't love. If
they two of you really don't like the idea, well then we won't continue
it." Victoria agreed. 

"Thanks mom." Rei said hugging her mother as Kunzite did the same to
his. 

"Now if you'll excuse us, we have a meeting we have to get to." Kunzite
said as the two left the room. 

Once outside they turned to look at each other. "That was really
strange." Rei commented. 

He nodded. "That isn't like my mom to agree to something like that." 

"I think something's going on, and no one feels like telling us what
the hell it is." 

******************* 

Later, after Serin and Endymion had enjoyed a romantic candlelit
dinner, they walked along the lake until the came to a wooden swing,
where they sat down. 

"Endymion, are you alright?" Serin questioned. "You've seemed so out of
it tonight." 

"I'm fine." He said smiling at her. "I've just had something on my
mind." 

"Care to share what's wrong? Maybe I can help." She said snuggling
against him as he put his arm around her neck. 

"Maybe you can." He said. "Serin, every since I have met you, you have
been the most wonderful thing in my life. You are always there to
brighten my life, and you are always there to brighten a bad
situation." 

Serin was quiet for a minute. "Endy, I'm not really sure what you're
trying to say." She said finally. 

He smiled. "Good, then I get the element of surprise on my side. That
helps a bit." He stood up and moved in front of her, and knelt down on
one knee. 

"Um, sweetie what are you doing?" Serin asked nervously. 

"Something that I have wanted to do since the first time I kissed you
and the first time I looked into your eyes, the first time I heard you
laugh with joy." Endymion said seriously. 

"Sweetie," She started 

"Just trust me on this Serin, I know what I'm doing." He said. 

She nodded slightly. "Okay." 

He took a deep breath and continued. "As I was saying before, you are
the one person that I fight for. The reason that I get up everyday, the
reason that I would lay my life down in an instant is you, and it
always will be." 

Tears were starting to come to Serin's eyes. 

"I have never felt this way before, and I never want this feeling to
end." Endymion paused for a moment as he pulled a small black velvet
box out of his coat pocket. He opened it and revealed to her a gold
ring with a small crescent shaped moon filled with small diamonds on
the front. In the crest of the diamond was a small sapphire. "The moon
represents you, and the sapphire represents the Earth." He explained.
"And just like the ring, I want the Earth and the Moon to be together
forever." He held the ring up to her. "I love you more than life
itself, Princess Serenity of the Moon, will you marry me?" 

She smiled as she nodded happily, tears glistening in her eyes. "I love
you so much." She said throwing her arms around his neck. 

He pulled away and took her small, delicate hand in his own, sliding
the ring onto her finger. 

Serin looked down at the ring, then back at Endymion and hugged him
tightly again. "I think, that this is by far, the happiest day of my
life!" She whispered softly to him. 

He gently stroked her face. "I think it's the happiest of mine too." He
whispered back before kissing her. 

******************* 

"Jeadite." A voice called. 

Jade looked around his room, only to see no one. "Who's there?" He
called. "Show yourself." As he watched a woman slowly came out of the
shadows. She had long hair, wild and untamed, and a color so red no
fire could compare. Her eyes burned of a bright green, and she almost
passed as beautiful, if not for the look those eyes held. A look filled
with pure evil. "You have a lot of nerve showing your face around
here." He spat out. "You're the bitch that took Zoisite." 

"Zoisite was a smart man. He came by himself, I did not take him." She
said calmly. "Oh, and for your information, the name is Beryl. Queen
Beryl." 

"I know that's a lie. Zoi would not desert us. You must have done
something. And for you information, I don't care what your name is." He
retorted. 

"Oh you will care. Once you are serving me and the Negaverse." She
said. 

"I serve Endymion, and I plan on doing so until I die. And even when I
do die, it will be protecting him. Nothing would make me stop and I
don't know what kind of brainwashing you did on Zoisite to make him
stop either." He said. 

"I told you, I did nothing. I simply told him all that he could have in
the dark kingdom. We will supply you with food, shelter, a job, a
family, women, and protection. Everything you could ever want." Beryl
promised. 

"No thanks." Jade sneered. "I have everything I want. Friends, family,
a job, food, protection, shelter, a duty, everything I need so I will
be seeing you. Bye now." 

"What about someone to love?" She asked him. 

"You are talking to the wrong person about love." He said laughing. "I
don't need it, want it, or care for it." 

"Oh really?" She asked, almost amused by his speech. "Then what about
her?" She waved her hand and a holographic image of someone appeared. 

Jeadite stared at the picture silently for a minute. "I don't love
her." He said through clenched teeth. 

"Well then, I guess you wouldn't mind if something happened to her
right?" Beryl waved her hand once again and another image replaced the
first. This once showed the same woman, but fighting against Jade and
the others. "Didn't like that one? Try this?" Beryl said laughing at
his reaction. The image grew even worse. This one showed the woman
being tortured by Beryl. 

"You wouldn't." Jade said softly, his tough exterior broken. 

"I really don't think you can afford to try me can you?" She asked. 

He sighed in defeat. "What do you want from me?" He asked. 

She leaned closer to him and whispered, "I want you. I want a strong,
fierce determined warrior who will lead in for the Dark Kingdom in the
battle against the Moon Kingdom. And you are the perfect person for the
job." 

Jade angrily pushed her away, "What are you crazy?" He shouted.
"Never!" 

She shrugged, "Fine but remember what happens to your love. Because if
you love her, like I know you do, you wouldn't let her be taken by the
Dark Kingdom, would you? And that is what will happen if you don't
come." 

He felt his breath get caught in his throat. She really would do it,
and there was nothing he could do to stop her other then going over to
the side of the Dark Kingdom. 

"If I join you," He started slowly; "Will you promise that she will be
left alone?" 

"Well I can't promise that she won't be hurt. I mean there is going to
be a war on the Moon Kingdom you know." Beryl said shrugging. 

"That's not what I asked." He said sharply. 

"Geez, calm down. I can tell you that I have no plans of singling her
out and killing her." 'That will be your job.' She added silently. 

"One more question." Jeadite said. "Give me one good reason why I
shouldn't tell everyone what you are planning on doing so they can all
bust your ass before you have time to realize what is going on." 

"Oh did I forget to mention that?" She asked innocently. "Either way, I
don't care if you come, or she does, if you tell anyone, ANYONE, she
will be killed, in a slow torturous way in which you will be forced to
watch." 

He winced, his heart and soul breaking at just the thought. 

"You have two days to decide. I will be back then. And remember, tell
anyone and she dies." Beryl's voice echoed as she left. 


End of Chapter Ten 


Translations: 

Gomen: I'm sorry. 

Onegai: Please, for me? 

Ne: Right? 

Sumimasen: Excuse me 

Hajimashite: Pleased to meet you 


Author's Note #1: Some of you Dawson Creek fans may have recognized the
'born to lose' part from a recent episode. And yes I did take it from
there. I thought it fit perfectly and that episode was sooo funny! 


I beat my record!!!! My previous longest chapter was 16 and ½ pages,
this one reached 19!!! In the words of one of my best friends(sam)
Wahoo!!!!! Anywayz, I hope you liked this chapter, 11 should be out
soon. Ummm what else do I need to say? E-mail to Pekkle9983@aol.com and
please please please let me know what you guys think and thanks to all
those who have and continue to do so!!!!! Luv you guys!!!! I had more
to say here, but I forgot everything so whatever. For now, until next
time… 


What is wrong with Queen Victoria? 

Will Rei and Jed ever make up? 

Who was the person that Jade has to try and save? 

Will MCRK ever finish this damn fanfic?! 

The answer to all of these in the next chapter…(cept for the last one
which is just probably never!) :) 
Hi again everyone! I am back already I know! and I have no time
whatsoever so this is the quickest author's note yet: 

umm SM does not belong to me, disclaimers apply, see read me. 

The song 'Have You Ever' is (c) Brandy, '98. 

Visit my pages: http://members.aol.com/Pekkle9983/world.index.html 

http://members.aol.com/pekkle9983/attf.html 

http://members.aol.com/pekkle9983/cuf.html    Enjoy! OMG!!!! I almost
forgot, there is only one translation, and I need to say it now because
it is really important that you know ahead of time. Ai Shiteru means I
love you. Now you can enjoy! 

************************* 

As the Tears Fell~Chapter 11 

By MCRK 

*************************


"Knock Knock." Serin said as she poked her head in the doorway. "You
ready to go yet?" 

Rei emerged from her bedroom a moment later. "Yeah sorry about the
wait." 

"No problem." She said, looking around the incredibly neat room. "How
is it possible for a room to be this neat? It's like Ami's, God it's
almost sickening." She commented. 

Rei rolled her eyes. "It's called cleaning, you should try it
sometime." 

"What and put the maids out of a job?" She joked. 

"You're right that would just be to cruel." Rei agreed as she locked
the door and the two started down the hall. 

"Totally against my sweet innocent nature." Serin agreed. 

"You know Ren, maybe this isn't such a good idea." She said stopping in
front of the large wooden door. 

"What are you talking about?" Serin asked in concern. 

"I don't know, I think they all still hate me." She said uneasily. 

"Well that's why we are going together. Besides didn't you say you
talked to Kunzite and he forgave you?" Serin asked. 

"Yeah, but that's only one person." She pointed out. 

"And me. Look, don't worry about it ok? I'm sure that will all forgive
you once we get in there and talk to everyone." Serin said gently. 

"I don't know, maybe I should just not go." Rei said glancing nervously
at the large wooden door in front of her. 

"Rei you have to come! I have a huge announcement to make and you have
to be there to hear it!" 

"What announcement?" Rei asked curiously. 

"Um, the one I didn't tell you about yet. But the only reason I can't
tell you is cause you are gonna scream." Serin added quickly. 

She sighed. "Ok whatever, let's just go in." 

The two pushed the doors opened and walked into the conference room. As
soon as they did, all the others stopped talking, making it obvious
what they had been talking about. 

'Well it's now or never.' Rei thought as Kunzite sent her a reassuring
smile. "Hey everyone." 

Everyone mumbled hellos as Serin went over and sat down next to
Endymion, who immediately put his arms around her. Rei followed with
her eyes and noticed Nephlite, whose arms was in a white sling. She
cringed slightly at the sight. 

He noticed. "Rei, it's not broken, just a slight sprain. It will be
back to good in no time." Nephlite said gently. 

She sighed in relief. "I really am sorry about this whole thing. I know
it was my fault and I--" 

"It's okay. I don't blame you for any of this, and even if I did, I
forgive you." 

She stopped in mid sentence when she heard his words, and stared at him
for a moment. "You do?" She asked. 

He smiled at her. "We all do." 

The others nodded their agreement. "Rei, you're one of us. We aren't
going to hate you forever every time you mess up." Makoto told her. 

"You're stuck with us." Minako said smiling. 

"It was a mistake that could have happened to anyone." Endymion said,
hugging Serin closer. 

"No one's perfect." Ami added. 

"Besides, we missed you." Jade said softly. 

Rei looked over at him in surprise, and remembering what Serin and Jeff
had said earlier, she smiled slightly at him. "Thanks you guys." She
said taking the seat next to Ami. 

The room was silent for a few minutes. 

"So what was the point of this meeting again?" Minako asked. finally. 

"Oh My God!" Serin exclaimed jumping up. "I forgot all about the
announcement!" 

As she stood up, the others noticed something reflect off her left
hand. "Serin..." Ami started. 

She smiled and held out her left hand so that everyone could see the
ring sparkling on her finger. "We're engaged." 

The girls in the room started screaming as they ran over to hug Serin. 

The guys, however, were sitting there trying to regain their hearing. 

"God, that scream is deafening." Jade commented. 

Nephlite turned to Endymion and sighed. "You see what you did now?" 

He just shrugged and smiled. 

"Oh you're one to talk Neph. You're the one that started this whole
engagement thing by proposing to Makoto." Kunzite pointed out. 

"Would you guys be quiet!" Minako scolded before turning back to Serin.
"Congrats!" 

Ami hugged her oldest friend. "This is so wonderful!" 

"I'm so happy for you." Makoto said hugging her. 

Rei was about to congratulate her when she dropped to her knees as a
sudden feeling of terror gripped her. 

"Rei!" Serin cried as she knelt down beside her. 

"Rei, what's wrong?" Ami questioned. 

Rei rocked back and forth on her knees as the pain increased.
"Something's wrong." 

*                                            *
* 

"So that's it?" 

"I really am sorry but there isn't much else we can do." The doctor
said apologetically. "We've put you on the waiting list, but it's not
very likely that you'll be fortunate enough to receive a donor." 

Victoria sighed. "Any idea, um, of how long it will be?" 

"Without a donor," He paused for a moment, "Without a donor, it
probably won't be more then two months." 

She nodded as she bit her lip, trying to restrain herself from
screaming out. 'Two months.' 

"I'm very sorry." 

'I'm sure you are.' She thought. "If you don't mind, I'd like to spend
the rest of my time at home with my family." 

He nodded. "Of course, whatever you wish. You may experience slight
pain from time to time, so if you do make sure you call and let me know
so we can prescribe some painkillers for you." 

Victoria stood up from the hospital bed and gathered her things. "Are
we done doctor?" She asked. 

"Actually, there have been some amazing new discoveries being made." He
started, his voice taking on a hint of excitement. "Of course they
haven't been able to be tested yet so we were wondering--" 

"If you don't mind," She interrupted him. "If you don't mind, I'd
rather spend my last time alone at home with my family." 

"Oh." He said, his voice, sounding somewhat disappointed. "Of course.
Well then," he said leading her to the door. "You're still going to
have to come back for check-ups, so we'll call you about that tomorrow.
Have a good day." He said as she went down the hall. 

Victoria walked outside and leaned her head against the brick wall as
she finally let the tears come. 'How am I going to tell them?' 

*                                            *
* 

"Rei, where are you taking me?" Serin asked as she was blindly led
through the halls. 

"You'll see in a few minutes." She replied. 

"Well can I at least look where we are going?" Serin asked. 

"Not yet, turn here." She instructed as she looked down at her watch.
'2:21. Two more minutes.' She thought as the two reached their
destination. 

"Okay, now that we've stopped can I look?" Serin asked. 

"In about fifteen seconds." Rei responded as she counted softly under
her breath.
"15...14...13...12...11...10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2....1!"
when she reached one she flung open the door. 

Serin opened her eyes as light flooded before her, and watched in
amazement as everyone jumped out and yelled,. "Surprise" 

She gasped in surprise and happiness, all of the scouts and generals,
minus Zoisite, were there. 

"Happy birthday Serin." Rei said hugging her. 

"You guys did all this for me?" She asked, touched that they went
through all the trouble for her. 

"Well we know how much you hate the huge ball your mom throws every
year.." Ami said shrugging. 

"So we decided to throw you our own party." Minako continued. 

"It was all Rei's idea though." Makoto said. 

"Thanks Rei." Serin said. 

She smiled as she shrugged. "Hey that's what best friends are for. Now
come on, let's make this like an actual party! 

***********Few Hours Later*********** 

"You guys, I can't tell you how much this meant to me." Serin said. 

"Happy birthday Serin." Endy said kissing her. 

"So why is it that you hate the ball your mom throws each year?"
Kunzite asked. 

She rolled her eyes. "Because she makes the biggest deal out of it. She
invites everyone in the kingdom and we have this whole big ceremony,
and it is so embarrassing!" She moaned. 

"And I get to take you." Endymion said putting his arms around her. 

She smiled back at him. "You better be." 

"Um Serin I'm sorry to leave the party right in the middle but I'm not
feeling too well. Would you mind terribly if I went back to my room to
lay down and get some rest?" Ami asked, trying to keep the sadness she
felt out of her voice. 'This is supposed to be a party.' She reminded
herself. 

"No that's fine Ames. Are you gonna be ok?" Serin asked in concern. 

"Yeah I just have a bad headache. But happy birthday." She said before
running out of the room. 

"That was kinda strange." Nephlite commented. 

"No it's not." Jade said just realizing why she was so upset. 

"What are you talking about?" Minako asked. 

"We were all talking about the ball, and it probably reminded her of
how much she missed Zoisite." He explained. 

'Oh that's right." Serin groaned. "Now I feel horrible." 

"Don't let it get to you Serin, we all forgot." Rei said. 

"Yeah so let's change the topic slightly, is everyone else going
tomorrow night?" Makoto questioned. 

"Jade and I are going together." Minako volunteered softly. 

"What about you Kunz, you going?" Nephlite asked. 

"Yeah of course. It's Serin's birthday." He replied, trying to keep his
gaze off Minako. 

"I'm going with Nephlite, obviously." Lita said. "What about you Rei?
You going?" 

"Oh I almost for got to tell you guys. Dave's coming to the ball
tomorrow night." Rei exclaimed happily. 

"So we finally get to meet him?" Serin asked. 

"Yeah I finally convinced him to come." She responded. 

"Wait, who's Dave?" Nephlite asked in confusion. 

Jade slumped down against the couch at the mention of Dave. 

"He's my boyfriend." Rei explained. 

"So are his two friends going to be there too?" Minako asked. 

"Jeff and Mike? Yeah I would assume they are going." 

"So how serious are you two?" Endymion asked. "If you don't mind
talking about it that is." 

She shook her head. "It's no big deal. I would guess we're pretty
serious, we've been seeing each other for about four months." 

"And we are still only meeting him for the first time tomorrow." Makoto
pointed out. 

"I met him." 

Rei looked over uncomfortably at Jade. "Yeah see, Jed met him." 

Minako looked over at him. "So what did you think of him?" She asked
eagerly. 

"Truthfully, I thought he was a complete asshole." Jade said matter of
factly. 

Rei glared at him. "Thanks, I appreciated that comment." 

"She asked what I thought." He defended. 

"Well what really matters is what you think of him Rei." Serin said
gently. 

"I love him and I think he's a wonderful person." She said. 

"So do you think he's he one?" Kunzite asked softly. 

She looked thoughtfully for a minute before answering. "I don't know.
Maybe." 

Jade sat up straighter at this. 'Maybe she doesn't love him anymore.
Maybe she'll break up with him and realize how much she loves me and--'
He forced himself back to reality as he sunk back down against the
couch. 'Get real Jade. You just insulted her boyfriend, she's pissed at
you already, and you are supposed to be over her!' 

"Really? So why bother staying with him?" Nephlite asked curiously. 

"I don't know." She said shrugging. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I
really do love him, and if he asked me, I would marry him, but I don't
know. Never mind, it's gonna sound stupid." 

"Oh come on Rei, we're used to Serin, and everything she says is
stupid, so it can't be to bad." Minako said smiling as she dodged the
pillow that came flying from Serin's direction. 

She hesitated for a moment. "I just feel like he isn't the one that I
was meant to be with. Like there is still someone else out there
waiting for me, someone that I was destined to be with. But I['m sure
that sounds really retarded." 

"I don't know, I think it makes a lot of sense. If I didn't believe
that Endy was really the one that I was meant to be with, I would never
have agreed to marry him." Serin said. 

"Same with me." Makoto volunteered. 

"So how did you guys know when you found the right person?" Rei
persisted. 

"It's hard to explain the feeling that occurs, but when you find the
right person, you'll know, trust me." Nephlite said, smiling at Makoto. 

"Don't worry, you'll find that special person." Endymion said. 

"Easy for you to say." Minako exclaimed. 

"Yeah you have Serin." Rei put in. 

"Yeah you guys are past the hard part. You know that you love each
other and are right for one another." Jade said, looking over at Serin
and Endymion who knew who he was talking about. 

"Yeah, you guys don't have to wonder if that special person will ever
become part of your life." Kunzite said sadly, trying to keep his eyes
away from Minako. 

"Not to sound unsympathetic or anything, but maybe you'll find someone
at the ball tomorrow, so let's all leave, and get some sleep so
tomorrow will come sooner and you can all find your true loves." Serin
suggested. 

"You know Serin, if you want to be alone with Endymion you could have
just said so, we would have left." Jade said smiling lightly at the two
as everyone stood up. 

"Yeah I know. But he is leaving too, which is why I didn't say it." She
said smiling at the surprised look on Endymion's face. 

"You're kicking me out?" He asked. 

"Yes. I am incredibly..." She paused to yawn, "...tired. The ball is
tomorrow and I need my beauty sleep." 

"You are already beautiful." Endymion said kissing her. 

"Bye Serin." Minako called. 

"Bye you guys." She said as the two broke the kiss. "I'll see you all
tomorrow." 

*                                            *
* 

"Hey Jade, wait up." 

Jade turned around to see Endymion walk up next to him. "What's up?" He
asked. 

"Well I figured that since our rooms are in the same direction, we
might as well walk together right?" 

"I should feel honored. You were able to tear yourself from your
beloved fiancee to walk with old, pathetic me." He said sarcastically. 

"Sorry, I didn't realize it bothered you that much." Endy said
uncomfortably. 

"It doesn't really. I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything." He
sighed. 'Just like I shouldn't have said anything about Dave.' 

"This whole thing with Rei huh?" 

"Yeah. It got to a point where I really didn't even know what to do
about it anymore. Cause there was nothing that I could do about it you
know?" Jade asked as they kept walking. "Which is why I reached a very
important decision." 

"What decision would that be?" Endymion asked. 

"I decided that I am no longer going to love her." 

Endymion stopped walking and stared at Jade. "You're kidding right?" He
asked. 

Jade shook his head. "I'm dead serious. It's not worth it anymore. You
know how a few minutes ago Minako said that the two of us were going to
the ball together?" 

He nodded. 

"She didn't ask me, I asked her." 

Endymion stared at his friend. Only a few days ago he was deeply in
love with Rei. The love that Jade obviously felt towards her was not
simple puppy love, but something much, much deeper, and could not
disappear in an instant. "What the hell was all that then when we were
talking about finding our true loves?" He asked. 

Jade glared at him. "It didn't mean anything, besides that's not what I
was talking about. Look, she doesn't love me and she never will. So
I've moved on and accepted the fact. Why can't you?" He snapped as he
continued to walk forward. 

"Jade." He said, catching up to him again, and grabbing his arm to stop
him. "Don't do this to yourself." 

"Do what?" 

"Try and convince yourself that you don't really love her, and that you
never really did. That you were only fooling yourself because you
wanted someone to love." 

Jade freed his arm and looked over at him. "Endy, I understand what
you're saying, but I'm not doing that. I know that I loved her, the
love that I felt for her was so strong that I felt it could conquer
anything." He paused for a moment, and when he resumed talking, his
voice had gotten quieter. "But it couldn't. I can't change the way she
feels about anything, and she doesn't feel the same way about me. I
have to respect that, and move on in my life." 

"But what if she discovers one day that she really does love you?"
Endymion asked. "Then what?" 

"I can't sit around, and waste my life, waiting for her to one day
discover that all along she has really loved me. I would love for it to
happen, but it's not going to. I've got to move on with my life." With
that said, he turned and headed down the hallway. 

*                                            *
* 

"Can I open my eyes yet?" 

"In a minute, let me make sure it looks ok...okay, now you can open
them." 

Dave opened his eyes and gazed over at his girlfriend. The night of the
ball had finally come, the one for Princess Serenity's 18th birthday. 

"So what do you think?" Rei asked. 

Dave was speechless. 

She smiled. "I never realized I had such an effect on you." She looked
gorgeous. Her dress was a deep crimson color, with sleeves that left
her shoulders bare, and came three quarters of the way down her arms.
The bodice was tightly fitted and cut dangerously low, and the bottom
part flowed outwards, making her look incredibly graceful. The top
part, along with the sleeves, was made of satin, and along the neckline
there were small sparkling sequins in a row, and the bottom part was
made of soft crushed velvet. Her hair had been curled and piled on top
of her head, leaving a few curls hanging down at various places. Also
in her hair were small thin pieces of velvet, the same material as the
dress, that were somehow curled and placed in her hair to make it look
natural. A choker made of ruby and onyx along with matching earrings,
completed the outfit. All together, she looked absolutely breath
taking. 

"Rei, you look absolutely stunning!" Dave exclaimed, taking her in her
arms. 

She smiled happily. "You really like it?" She asked. 

"I love it." He said kissing her. "Of course I would love it even more
if it was off..." He added. 

She blushed slightly. 

"You know Rei, I was wondering..." He whispered to her. 

He looked into her eyes. "After the ball, how would you like to come
back to my room with me?" 

She looked away for a moment, assuming he was joking, but when she
looked back again she could tell that he was dead serious. "I don't
know Dave, I mean it's kind of a big step." 

"Oh it's okay. I understand, no big deal." He said, hoping that she
would buy the act. 

She did. "You know what, I'd loved too." She said smiling at him. 

He smiled at her. "Really?" He asked. 

She nodded. "Yeah. But I'm gonna have to talk to you about this later." 

"Where are you going?" Dave questioned. "I thought I was taking you to
the ball?" 

"You are, but I have to go get introduced first and everything." She
said giving him a look that said he should have already known that. 

"Oh right." He said slapping himself on the forehead. "I totally forgot
about that." He said, even thought he had no idea what she was talking
about. "I'll meet you in there ok?" 

"Okay." Rei said as he kissed her on the cheek, and then headed inside. 

*                                            *
* 

Queen Serenity gazed at the crowded ballroom. People were already
dancing and having a good time, now she just how to officially start
the ball by introducing everyone. She stood in front of the microphone
and cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. The couples stopped
dancing, and everyone turned toward the Queen. She smiled down at them.
"Good evening. I'd like to thank you all for coming to the celebration
of the Princess' 18th birthday!" Everyone applauded happily. "To start
everything off, I'd like to introduce our visitors from Earth, the
Prince and his guardians." She gestured to them to come forward, once
their names were called. "The Prince's Commanding General, General
Kunzite," She started. "Second in command, General Jeadite, and third
in command, General Nephlite, who happens to be Princess Makoto's
fiancee." She said smiling as the room erupted into cheers for the two.
"And Prince Endymion of Earth." 

As the room burst into applause again, Jade scanned the room for Dave.
He found him rather quickly, and as suspected, he was talking and
flirting with some girl that Jade didn't know. 

"Now I will announce my daughter and her guardians, whom I am sure most
of you know already." The queen continued with her introductions.
"Commanding officer, Princess Minako of Venus. Second in command,
Princess Rei of Mars. Third in command..." 

As the queen continued, Jade looked over towards Dave and noticed the
frown that appeared on his face when he heard Rei's name called. 'Why
does he look so annoyed and surprised?' He wondered. 

"...And Princes Serenity of the Moon." She paused for a moment before
smiling and adding, "In addition to tonight being Serin's 18th
birthday, we are also having this celebration to announce the
engagement between Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity. May they be
happy together." The room erupted once more into applause and cheers of
happiness for the couple. "Now, let the party begin!" Queen Serenity
cried as the dancing resumed. 

Jade turned and found Minako standing beside him. "Hi" she said. 

"Hey, wanna dance?" He asked, smiling at her. 

She forced a smile as she replied, "I'd love too." 

The two started dancing, and Minako started a conversation. "You know,
the strangest thing happened to me..." 

Jade however, was not listening. He was watching Rei as she walked over
to Dave, who still had that weird look on his face. He watched as the
two obviously started arguing. Dave seemed to be angry about something,
although what it was, Jade had no idea. After a few minutes, he was
able to see Rei run towards the balcony as Dave stormed off somewhere. 

"...And then she actually told me that--" 

"Minako, I'm really sorry but I have to go." Jade said interrupting
her. 

She followed his gaze and noticed Rei running out towards the balcony.
'About damn time.' She thought. "It's no problem." 

"I'm really sorry." He apologized. 

She rolled her eyes. "Just go talk to her will you?" She said smiling
at him. 

He threw her a grateful look and headed after Rei. 

*                                            *
* 

Minako watched Jade run out to the balcony, knowing who he was running
after. She sighed. 'Well that's the end of that relationship.' She
thought. 'But Rei and Jade deserve each other. I just hope they can get
past their stubbornness and admit how they really feel about each
other.' As her eyes roamed through the ballroom, she noticed Kunzite
who was dancing with a young lunarian, and did not seem to happy about
it. 'Well then let's relieve him of his partner.' She thought as she
started over towards him. 

*                                            *
* 

Once outside Rei sat down on the stone bench, leaning against the wall,
as she let the tears fall freely. 'How could I have been so stupid to
think that he would love me?' She asked herself the same question over
and over again. 

"Can I sit here?" 

Rei looked up to see Jade standing there. "Oh God." She moaned, drawing
her knees to her chest to make room for him on the bench. "Please, you
can sit, but I would rather you just go away." 

"You still hate me that much huh?" Jade asked softly. 

She looked over at him while drying her eyes. "Of course not. I just
thought that because of this whole stupid thing you hated me." 

"Rei, I could never hate you, you're my best friend!" He exclaimed. 

"I don't ever deserve to have you talking to me. I had no right to get
so pissed off at you. I'm sorry, I just didn't know how to deal with my
mom, so I took it out on you. Do you forgive me?" she asked hopefully. 

"Don't worry about it, I forgive you." He said shrugging. 

"At least one person doesn't hate me." She muttered. 

"You wanna talk about it?" Jade asked sympathetically. 

"He broke up with me." 

"Oh Rei, I'm sorry, I know how you felt about him." 

"I should have just listened to you when you said he was an asshole."
Rei said sighing. 

"No, I shouldn't have said anything. It wasn't any of my business." He
said shaking his head. 

She ignored his comment and continued talking. "I feel so stupid now. I
should have known all along that he didn't really love me. Why would
he?" 

"Rei," He tried to start. 

"Why is it that every guy I go out with ends up breaking up with me?
What's wrong with me?" Rei asked looking up at him for answers. 

"Rei, there is nothing wrong with you. Any guy that breaks your heart,
doesn't deserve to have it anyway. And there is nothing wrong with you,
you are a wonderful person." He told her gently. 

"Yeah well Dave doesn't seem to think so." At the remembrance of what
he had said to her, tears started to trickle down her cheeks again. "Do
you wanna know what happened?" She asked, not waiting for him to
answer, before continuing. "Apparently, he had never listened to me
when I talked to him or something because he didn't know I was a
Princess. At least not until tonight, when my name was announced. So
then when I went over to talk to him or whatever, he started yelling at
me, about how I had never told him I was a princess. And then, he
called me a stuck up, rich, selfish, snob who only cared about
herself." At this point in her story Rei had broken down into sobs.
"The same thing every guys says to me once they find out I'm a
princess. And since everyone says it, it must be true. Maybe all I
really am is a snobby, selfish, stuck up, rich little princess who
everyone hates." 

"Don't ever say that." 

Rei looked up to see Jade with the most serious look on his face she
had ever seen. "Jed, just face it, it's true." 

"No it's not!" He said gently. "Rei, you are a wonderful person. You
are kind, thoughtful, giving, caring, and the opposite of everything he
called you. Please, don't ever say that you are any of those things, or
that you are not special." He reached over and lifted her chin so he
was gazing into her tear filled eyes. "You are the most special person
in the entire world to me. I don't know what I would ever do without
you. You mean everything to me." 

Her eyes refilled with tears at his words. "You are the only one who is
ever going to think of me in that way!" 

He smiled at her as he gently wiped away her tears. "What I don't count
anymore cause I'm only your best friend?" 

Rei found herself smiling slightly as she looked up at him. She looked
deep into his eyes, and as she did, a strange feeling washed over her.
Not the kind of feeling that she got when she was around her friends,
or the feeling she got when she was around Dave. It was a new feeling.
One that left butterflies in her stomach, and made her entire being
felt like ice cream on an incredibly hot day in the sun. She started to
blush deeply as she realized the closeness of the position the two were
in and she pulled away. 

Jade was about to ask what was wrong, when Jeff walked out onto the
balcony. 

*                                            *
* 

Dave walked over to the spot where Jeff and Mike were standing, with a
disgusted look on his face. "Hey." He said once he got here. 

The two looked at him in confusion. "Where's Rei?" Mike asked. 

The look on Dave's face became and angry scowl. "We broke up." 

"She dumped you?" Jeff asked in disbelief. 

Dave glared at him. "Of course not, I dumped her." 

"Weren't you going to sleep with her tonight?" Mike asked. 

"Yes but obviously not anymore." Dave snapped. 

"Okay, let me see if I understand this." Jeff said. "You finally get
her to agree to sleep with you, which is the whole reason you asked her
out, and then you dump her?" 

He sighed. "Did either of you know that she was the Princess of Mars?" 

Jeff and Mike exchanged looks. "Um yeah Dave, pretty much everyone
knows that." Mike pointed out. 

"You're kidding right?" He asked, looking at the two. 

"Dave, how could you not have known? I mean think about it. Her name
for one thing, Rei, she is the same age as the Princess, she's from
Mars, she lives here on the moon, in the palace and her best friend is
Princess Serenity." Jeff explained. 

"Plus the fact that everyone knows that she is the princess because you
can recognize her." Mike added. 

Dave stared at the two in surprise. "How did you know all this?" He
asked. 

Jeff rolled his eyes. "Dave did you ever listen to a thing she said the
whole time you guys were going out?" 

"Well yeah but--" 

"I still don't understand what that has to do with anything. So she is
a princess, big deal." Mike cut in. 

"Hello!" Dave exclaimed. "She's a princess. Meaning that she is a
spoiled, selfish, snobby, bitchy, stuck up, conceited, rich," 

"Wait Dave, you didn't say that to her did you?" Jeff asked 

"Well yeah, why do you think I broke up wither her." Dave said
pointedly. 

Jeff sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "You lie to her through
the entire relationship and you gotta pick now to start telling her the
truth about what you think?" He asked, as he turned to leave. 

"Where are you going?" Mike called out. 

He turned around. "I'm gonna go see if I can find her. You know how
upset she's gonna be?" 

Dave walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Jeff, I'm sorry to
have to be the one to tell you this, but she's not gonna fall for you
so I'd get over it." He said in mock sympathy. 

Jeff glared at him as he knocked his hand away. "Shut the hell up." 

"Oooh a little edgy there." Dave said as he and Mike started laughing. 

"You know I feel sorry for myself too." Jeff commented. 

"Why you realize how one sided your love for her is?" Dave asked. 

"Completely one sided." Mike agreed. 

"No I feel sorry that I wasted so many years and so much time hanging
out with assholes like you two." He said. 

They frowned at this. 

"I mean you guys were my best friends, and I was too stupid to realize
that you two are the biggest fucking assholes alive." He said glaring
at them. 

"No, you just used to know how to have a good time." Dave sneered. 

"Well I'm sorry that I realized there was more to life than lying to
people and fucking the first person you come across." 

"That's not what we do." Mike defended. 

"Oh right, I'm sorry. Fucking the first female that you come across. My
deepest apologies." Jeff said sarcastically. 

Dave looked at him carefully, as if he was looking for a small
difference. Something that would prove that this wasn't the Jeff that
he knew. "I don't know what happened to you Jeff." He said slowly
shaking his head. "And I don't care to find out. Have a nice life."
With that said, Mike and Dave walked away, as Jeff headed out towards
the balcony to see if he could find Rei and apologize for being such a
jerk. 

*                                            *
* 

Kunzite nodded politely, trying to maintain interest in the
conversation. But there was nothing he could do that would make this
conversation interesting. His partner was downright boring and it was
all he could do not to fall asleep on her. A moment later he heard
footsteps approaching and saw Princess Minako smile at him. 

She tapped his partner on the shoulder. "May I cut in?" She asked
politely. 

The lady turned, and once she noticed who it was, she steeped away. "Of
course Princess Minako." She said as she walked away to find another
partner. 

"Hey there." Minako said as the two started dancing. 

"Thank God you came!" Kunzite exclaimed happily. "I thought I was going
to die of boredom!" 

She smiled wryly at him. "Yeah I kinda noticed." 

Suddenly the image of Jade, who was supposedly Minako's date, popped
into Kunzite's mind. 'If he ditched her or stood her up I will kill
him.' He vowed silently. "Not that I am not grateful to you for saving
me from my dancing partner, but aren't you supposed to be with Jade?"
He asked, regretting each word. 

"We did come together yes, but, well let's just say that things didn't
really work out." She explained smiling. 

"He didn't just break up with you in the middle of the dance floor or
something did he?" Kunzite questioned. 

She shook her head. "It was kind of a mutual agreement. He's kind of in
love with someone else, he just didn't want to hurt me." 

Kunzite felt his anger die down. "That was nice of him." He commented. 

She nodded. "And it really didn't bother me that much because I
discovered that I like someone else too." 

"Oh." He said dejectedly. "Well wouldn't you rather be dancing with him
then?" 

Minako smiled at him. "I already am." She said before kissing him full
on the lips. 

*                                            *
* 

Jade immediately started to glare at Jeff. "What are you doing here?"
He asked. 

"Let me guess, Dave told you and Mike what happened so now you came out
to bug me about it right" Rei asked angrily. "I should have known. You
were in on the whole thing all along weren't you? When I talked to you,
you were only adding to the charade." 

He was silent, she was right, he had known all along what Dave was
planning on doing. 

"Yeah that's what I figured." Rei retorted. 

"Look Jeff, why don't you just leave? She's upset enough already." Jade
told him. 

No wait! Rei, I came out here to apologize to you." Jeff said,
desperately trying to get them to listen to him. 

It worked. 

"Apologize?" She asked suspiciously. 

"If this is some sort of sick joke, I swear you will regret it." Jade
warned. 

"It's not, I promise. Just give me a chance to explain myself. Please?"
He asked. 

"Fine." Rei said looking at him expectantly. 

He took a deep breath, and began. "When you said that I had been in on
it all along, and had gone along with the whole thing, you are only
partially correct. I did know, from the very beginning, what he was
planning on doing, but I only went a long with it for a little while."
He turned to look at Jade. "That time, when you talked to Dave, what
you said really made me think about what we were doing to Rei. After
that, my perspective on things kinda changed." 

Rei looked over at Jade. "You talked to Dave?" She asked. 

He didn't answer, unsure of what to tell her. 

Jeff turned back to Rei. "I know that what I did is unforgivable, but I
feel horrible that I went along with it at all, and the least I can do
is apologize." 

Rei shook her head. "This is strange for me to do, but I forgive you." 

"You do?" 

She nodded. "I've wasted to much of my life being angry at people when
they are truly sorry. It's not worth it anymore." She explained. 

"And I also want to tell you that when I talked to you that time, and
gave you advice, I wasn't just doing that to go along with Dave's
plans. I really was concerned and I really did listen to what was
wrong." 

"Thank you for telling me." 

"Rei, apologizing to you wasn't the only reason I came out here
though..." Jeff started slowly. 

She smiled. "What else could you possibly have to tell me?" 

"I'm assuming that you already discovered that the main reason Dave
asked you out was to sleep with you, and that he only said he loved you
for the same reasons right?" He asked. 

She nodded. "Yeah I kinda got that impression when he broke up with
me." 

"And that's why I thought he was an asshole." Jade explained. 

Rei turned to look at Jade. "You knew about it?" She asked in surprise.
"Why didn't you tell me?" 

"I knew about it from the time I met Dave. Remember that day when you
introduced me to him, Jeff and Mike? After you left...well, I won't get
into it, but I figured out that that was the reason he was going out
with you." Jade explained. "And the reason that I didn't tell you was
cause you weren't talking to me remember?" He added. 

She smiled sheepishly. "Oh yeah. Never mind." Turning back to Jeff she
continued, "Keep going." 

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and continued. "I'm not
really sure how to say this, and I guess there is really no easy way,
so I'm just going to say I." He closed his eyes and blurted out,
"During almost the entire four months that you and Dave were going out
he was cheating on you." 

Silence. 

After a moment Jeff opened his eyes and looked over at Rei and Jade who
were in complete shock. "The whole time?" She asked in astonishment. 

He nodded grimly. "I'm sorry that you had to find out this way, but I
thought that you deserved to know." The crestfallen look on her face
made him inwardly curse Dave for what felt like the millionth time. 'I
can't believe he did this to her!' A moment later, he silently reminded
himself, 'I can't believe I went along with it for so long.' 

"I can't believe he could be so cruel." Jade said in disbelief, shaking
his head. 

"That time that I was talking to Dave, and you and Mike came over. And
the two of them left to talk about something for a moment, that time
when I was asking you for advice, that whole thing that they were
talking about, it was someone else who was going to sleep with them
wasn't it?" Rei spoke up. 

Jeff couldn't bare the sad look in here eyes, and looked away as he
nodded. "I'm sorry about all of this. No one deserved to go through
what you did." 

"Thank you for telling me." She said, and her soft spoken words made
him feel like he was able to look up at her again, without feeling
ashamed. "You know, you kinda restored my faith in men slightly. Now I
realize that not every guy is like Dave, only most of them." 

When Rei said this, Jeff slowly gazed over at Jade who had an 'I told
you so' look on his face. 'I guess having people who really love her
does mean a lot to her.' He realized. "Hey Jade, can I talk to you for
a minute?" He asked. 

"Um sure." Jade followed Jeff a few feet away from where Rei was
standing so that she was unable to hear the conversation between the
two. 

"I guess you were right huh?" Jeff asked. 

He shrugged. "Whatever. I just want to say though, that I am really
glad you came out here. I know it meant a lot to Rei, even more then
she let on." 

"I'm just sorry that it took me so long to realize what a wonderful
person she is." Jeff said. "And if it wasn't so obvious who she's
interested in, I would be tempted to ask her out." He added, 

Jade felt his heart fall. 'She's already fallen for someone else?' He
asked himself incredulously. 'But it's okay because you've got Minako,
remember, you're over her.' He reminded himself. 

"You've got the girl of a lifetime waiting for you. Make sure you don't
let her go." Jeff winked at Jade before heading back into the ballroom. 

A very confused Jade wandered back over to the bench where Rei was
still sitting, her tears having long ago dried up. 'What did he mean by
that?' He wondered. 

"So what were you and Jeff talking about?" Rei asked once he had sat
down next to her again. 

"Oh...just guy stuff." He lied, still puzzled over Jeff's words. 'Did
he mean Minako?' 

The two sat there in silence for a few minutes, Jade trying to decipher
the meaning of the message, and Rei just content to sit there in
silence. After a few minutes, Jade gave up and turned to Rei. "Are you
ready to go back inside yet?" He asked. 

"No actually, I'd rather stay out here a few minutes. I'm not really up
to facing everyone." After a moment she realized that Jade was still
there.. She lifted her head from the wall she had been leaning it
against and looked over at him. "You can go back in you know? You don't
have to stay out here with me. I'm sure I already ruined your evening
by making you follow me out here." 

"It's ok, I'd rather to stay here with you. And you did not ruin my
evening." 

"Well what about your date?" She asked. 

He peered inside the ballroom and smiled when he noticed Minako and
Kunzite dancing. "I think my date found someone else." He said pointing
the two out to her. 

"Looks like we both got ditched, huh?" She asked smiling. 

"Yeah I guess it's just me and you again." He said. Jade stood up and
offered her his hand. "Would you like to dance?" He asked. 

She smiled as she accepted. "Yeah, why not?" 

The two danced on the balcony for a few minutes until a slow song.
Unsure of what to do, Jade stopped moving. It turned out it, he didn't
have to figure out what to do. Rei slid her arms around his neck as his
arms subconsciously wound their way around her waist. Before he could
realize what he was doing, he gently tugged her closer, and she laid
her head on his chest. 'WHAT AM I DOING!?' His mind screamed at him.
'What happened to me not loving her anymore?' He asked himself
silently, even though deep down, he knew he would never stop loving
her. 'Look, Rei doesn't seem to mind, so stop worrying about why you
are doing this and just enjoy it!' He told himself. The two danced
around the balcony, each in their own world, eyes closed, just enjoying
the presence of the other one as the soft strains of music drifted out
to them. 

HAVE YOU EVER - Brandy: 

Have you ever loved somebody so much, It make you cry?
Have you ever needed something so bad, you can't sleep at night?
Have you ever tried to find the words, but they don't come out right?
Have you ever, have you ever??? 

 Have you ever been in love, been in love so bad?
You'd do anything to make them understand.
Have you have had someone steal your heart away?
You'd give anything to make them fell the same.
Have you ever searched for words to get you in their heart?
But you don't know what to say. And you don't know where to start. 

Have you ever loved someone so much, it make's you wanna cry?
Have you ever needed something so bad, you can't sleep at night?
Have you ever tried to find the words, but they don't come out right?
Have you ever, have you ever??? 

Have you ever found the one, you've dreamed of all your life?
You'd do anything to look into their eyes.
Have you finally found the one you've given your heart to you?
Only to find that one won't give their heart to you?
Have you ever closed your eyes and dreamed that they were there?
And all you can do is wait for the day when they will care? 

What do I gotta do to get to you in my arms baby?
What do I gotta do to get to your heart?
To make you understand how I need you next to me.
Gotta get you in my world, Coz baby I can't sleep. 

*                                            *
* 

"I'll be right back." Kunzite promised as he walked away to get Minako
a drink. 

As she was waiting for him she noticed Makoto standing by herself,
obviously waiting for Nephlite, and walked over to say hello. "Hey
Makoto, waiting for Nephlite?" She asked. 

It took a moment for the question to register, and Makoto finally
turned her gaze away from the balcony where it had previously been
focused. "What?" She asked. 

Minako rolled her eyes. "I asked if you were waiting for Nephlite." She
said, repeating her question. 

"Oh yeah, he went to get me a drink. And who are you waiting for?"
Makoto asked. 

Minako smiled at her. "Kunzite, for the same reason." 

"Kunzite?" She asked raising an eyebrow at her. 

"Yes Kunzite. I kinda gave up on Jeadite and decided that Kunzite is
cuter anyway. By the way, what were you staring at a few minutes ago?" 

"You mean who." Makoto corrected her as she pointed out the pair
dancing on the balcony. "I guess they made up huh?" She asked. 

"I guess so. I was with Jade before, and something most have happened
because he ran out after her. Her and Dave must have broken up or
something because I don't seem him anywhere either." Minako observed,
her eyes never leaving the pair. 

"So is Rei like the only person in this kingdom that doesn't know Jade
is in love with her?" Makoto asked, carefully keeping her eyes away
from Minako's, pretending to dust something off her dress. 

Minako stared at her, speechless. "But how did you...I never told
you..." 

She gave in and looked over at Minako, smiling she said, "You didn't
have to tell me. It's obvious! Especially right now, I mean, look at
them." She pointed out. 

"Yeah but still..." Minako let her voice trail off as their dates
arrived with their drinks. 

"Hello again ladies." Nephlite said. 

Minako bowed her head to him. "Good evening Nephlite." She turned back
to Kunzite and smiled. "There's something I'd like to talk to you
about." 

"Bye." Kunzite called over his shoulder as Minako dragged him off. 

"I've been meaning to ask you--" Minako was interrupted by a loud crash
in the middle of the ballroom. 

*                                            *
* 

Victoria stood near the stairs sipping her wine, as she gazed out at
the graceful couple dancing on the balcony. 

Serenity came walking over a moment later. "There you are!" She cried.
"I've been looking for you everywhere." 

"Maybe you were right." Victoria mused, ignoring Serenity's comment. 

"What?" She asked, a look of confusion on her face. 

Victoria held her glass out in the general direction of the balcony on
which Rei and Jade were dancing. "About Jade and Rei." 

Serenity looked out to see what Victoria was talking about, and she
smiled when she noticed the couple dancing. "Told ya so." 

Victoria shook her head. "Look, Rennie, I have to talk to you later." 

"Why can't you just talk to me right now?" Serenity asked puzzled. 

"Because now is not the time. Besides I need to tell Rei and Serin
also." 

Serenity was about to respond when a crash in the middle of the
ballroom caught everyone's attention. 

*                                            *
* 

The song slowly drifted into another, and although it was faster paced,
Rei and Jade continued to dance slowly, and contentedly, in each
other's arms. 

Jade sighed blissfully. 'I can't remember the last time that I was so
peaceful.' He thought. "Hey Rei," He said suddenly. 

She lifted her head from his chest, and brushing her bangs out of her
eyes she looked at him. "Yes?" 

His heart nearly melted at the look of her eyes, her soft silky hair,
her creamy skin. He shook his head. 'Get with it Jade.' He told
himself. "I'm really sorry that Dave broke up with you and everything,
but I have to say that in a way, I'm kinda glad. I mean, if he hadn't,
we wouldn't have made up right?" He asked smiling at her. The dazzling
smile that she returned made up for the past few weeks that she had
been mad at him. 

'And I wouldn't have realized that I have feelings for Jed.' Rei
thought to herself. Her eyes widened at what she had just though. For
the first time since Jed had arrived on the moon, Rei had been having
these feelings, but was only now for the first time allowing herself to
realize them. "Jed," She started, then hesitated, unsure of how to tell
him what she was feeling. 

"Yes?" 

"There's something--" 

A large crash that sounded like it had come from the ballroom cut her
off. "Serin!" She cried, as at the same time, Jade yelled out,
"Endymion!" The two raced inside to see what had happened. 

*                                            *
* 

The ball had come to a complete stop. Everyone stood there silently,
staring at the two figures that had just entered. 

"My my, we should feel honored Zoiste. They're all so happy to see us
they don't know what to say!" Beryl laughed. 

"What do you want Beryl?" Serenity asked flatly. 

At the sight of her love, Ami felt tears come to her eyes as she
reached a hand out to him. "Zoisite..." She whispered softly. 

Minako grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "No Ames. You can't, he's
not the same Zoisite." She said gently. 

"We gotta protect the princess guys." Makoto said. 

Ami nodded. They were right, now was not the time to get emotional over
Zoisite. 

"Well actually I was slightly upset that I wasn't invited to the
princess's birthday. I mean, am I no longer a part of the kingdom?" She
asked innocently. 

"You stopped being a member of this kingdom when you kidnapped Zoisite
from us." Rei dared to say, as the scouts took their place in front of
the Princess. 

Beryl glared at the girl. "It seems we have a smart one in the group
huh?" She reached her hand out to strike her. 

Jade thought his heart would stop beating. 

"Don't touch her." 

Beryl paused for a moment to see who had spoken. "Who defies me?" She
called out. "Show yourself." 

Queen Victoria walked out of the crowd of people. "Don't touch her."
She warned again. 

"Ah Victoria. It seems we meet again." Beryl said smiling at her. 

"Yes, unfortunately. And my warning from before still holds, if you
ever touch a member of my family again, you won't live to see your
results." She said calmly. 

Beryl smiled at the remembrance. "Oh yes, I remember that day quite
clearly." 

"I still remain loyal to that threat and I will not back down if you so
much as lay a finger on my daughter." She said, her voice steady and
firm. 

"You do realize though, that you still have no power against me?" Beryl
asked in an amused tone. 

Victoria smiled at her. "That's what you think. I have more power than
you could ever obtain." 

"Mom, what are you talking about?" Rei asked softly. 

"It's not important Rei." She responded firmly. 

An evil smile came across Beryl's face. "So you haven't told her?" She
asked. 

Victoria glared at her. "Don't." 

She smiled sweetly and turned to Rei. "Your father, King William of
Mars..." 

"Beryl don't." Victoria pleaded. 

"...died when you were four years old is that correct?" She asked,
ignoring Victoria's plea. "That's right. How did you know that?" Rei
asked staring at her in disbelief. 

"And how were you told that he died?" She continued. 

Rei looked over at her mother, then looked back at Beryl and said,
"What do you mean 'how was I told that he died'? I wasn't 'told'
anything. He died breaking up a group of angry protesters." She
stammered out. 

Beryl shook her head laughing. "How pathetic!" She spat. 

Rei looked over at her mother frightfully. "Mom, what's going on?
Please tell me!" 

"Rei sweetie, your dad didn't die from breaking up a group of
protesters." She admitted. 

Serenity turned to stare at her sister. "Victoria what are you talking
about?" She asked. 

"I killed him." 

All eyes turned towards the monster that had spoken the three simple
words. "I still remember it too. I can tell you exactly how I killed
the asshole if you'd like to know." Beryl said simply. 

Rei's eyes filled with tears at the words. "You bitch..." She said
lowly. 

Beryl smiled, obviously pleased at the reaction. "I'll take that as a
yes. It was quite simple actually. He was out walking around the
palace, with," She turned to Victoria and pretended to be surprised.
"Well now that I think of it, it was you wasn't Victoria?" 

She muttered something that no one was able to hear. 

"What was that dear? I'm no sure everyone heard you." Beryl said
smiling evilly. 

"I said yes! It was me!" Victoria shouted. 

"That's what I thought." Beryl said smiling satisfactly. "Anyway, King
William was out walking in the garden with his beloved wife, God knows
where they left the poor child, and he was so happy. God it was
disgusting." She paused for a moment then started laughing. "And the
best part is..." 

"Please stop." Rei moaned closing her eyes almost as if she was wishing
that would make it all go away. 

"...that the fool didn't even see it coming!" She laughed. "I walked up
behind him, put my hand on the his shoulder, and the pain began." 

Zoisite leaned over and whispered something in her ear. 

"Yes I should describe it shouldn't I?" She mused. 

"Stop!" Rei cried. 

"It was probably the most excruciating pain that he had ever
experienced. It makes someone feel as if every part of their body is
slowly burning..." She turned to Rei. "I wonder if that is what youma
feel like when you burn them with your fire Princess Rei..." She
wondered out loud. 

Rei put her hands to her head, shaking it furiously before dropping
down to her knees. "Please stop! Please stop! Please stop!" She moaned
over and over again. 

Jade felt his hatred towards Beryl grow by the second. 'Oh God Rei, I
wish I could take away your pain. If I could, I would do it in a
second, please God help her.' He thought. 

"And he just crumpled to his knees, and slowly died, screaming in agony
the entire time." Beryl said smiling. 

Victoria turned away as the tears spilled over. 

"Why?" 

Beryl stopped smiling for a moment to look out into the crowd. She saw
Princess Serenity with a question look on her face. "What was that?"
She asked sharply. 

"I asked why." She repeated. "Why did you have to kill him? He couldn't
possibly have done anything to you." 

"You couldn't be more wrong princess." She responded. "I knew that
Princess Rei was one of your chosen protectors. And I know that even
with the crystal, if you were missing Rei, you would never be able to
defeat me." 

"What did that have to do with killing her father?" Minako asked, the
others finally regaining their voices. 

"Well the way I figured was that if King William was dead, Queen
Victoria would be to upset to give up Rei." 

"What do you mean give her up?" Makoto inquired. 

"Why sending her to the moon of course. I figured that if her husband
was gone, Victoria would not give up the only family she had left. Of
course, I never thought they were sisters," Beryl said glaring at
Serenity and Victoria. "But my plan worked, for a while anyway.
Victoria did keep Rei away until she was 12." 

'Oh God, no one was supposed to know about that!' Serin though groaning
inwardly. 

As the others heard this, everything about Rei slowly started to make
sense. Why she was so closed up about her family, why she hadn't talked
to her mom in so long, and why she had never come before she was 12. 

"So I decided that killing King William was the best way to go about
doing things." Beryl said, glancing over at Victoria to see how she was
dealing with hearing the entire story. 

Fresh tears filled her eyes and spilled over. "Fuck you." Victoria said
simply before turning and running out of the room. 

Serenity glance in the direction she had run in, then turned back to
Beryl. "You've made you point Beryl. Now why did you really come?" She
asked impatiently. 

She took a step forward. "To wish the princes a happy birthday of
course." 

Within seconds Endymion had moved in front of Serin, who at that point,
had knelt down beside Rei to attempt to comfort her. "You're going to
have to kill me first." He said determinedly. 

A moment later and Kunzite, Jade, and Nephlite were standing in front
of the Prince. "You'll have to kill us to get to the Prince." Kunzite
said defiantly. 

"And that isn't likely." Nephlite added. 

Jade, however, remained silent. 

"Well then I'll just have to ruin the surprise and tell the princess
her present now." She said sighing. 

"What present?" Ami asked narrowing her eyes suspiciously. 

"Well I guess you wouldn't exactly call it a present...more like a
premonition." She said thoughtfully. "Yes that's it, a premonition."
She looked over at the Princessess and Serin who was almost afraid to
look at the eyes of pure hatred. "I predict, that within two weeks
time, four of your friends will have betrayed you and joined he
Negaverse." 

Jade felt his stomach drop at her words. So that's what her plan was!
She already had Zoisite, he was next, and then she was going to go
after Kunzite and Nephlite! 'There is no way that the scouts will be
able to defeat us once we are evil!' He realized, as he thought back to
their first day at sparring. 'True their elements are more powerful,
but they will have to be fighting against their loves.' 

Beryl looked towards Jade and winked, holding up two fingers before her
and Zoisite disappeared. 

'God help them.' Were his last thoughts before mayhem broke out. 

*                                            *
* 

Rei, Queen Serenity, and Serin ran through the palace until they
reached Queen Victoria's room. Once there, they burst in, to find her
curled up in a ball, in the corning of the room, sobbing
uncontrollably. Rei immediately ran over to her mother and hugged her
tightly. "Are you okay?" She asked. 

Victoria pulled away and nodded, tears still streaming down her cheeks.
"Rei, I'm so sorry. I never meant for you to find out that way." She
apologized. "But what are you guys doing here? What about the ball?"
She asked. 

"I got Jade and the others to explain something to everyone and
hopefully calm them down." Rei explained. 

She turned to Serin. "But what about you, aren't you the guest of
honor?" 

Serin smiled. "I've been guest of honor and way to many balls. They can
miss me just this once." 

Rei leaned back on her knees. "Mom, why didn't you ever tell me?" She
asked. 

"You know, before you father died, I was the happiest person in the
world. I had the perfect life, the perfect family, and I loved
everything." Victoria commented, tracing her finger along the swirling
pattern of the wallpaper, making sure to keep her eyes of her three
listeners. 

"Yeah I know. I don't remember much about it, but Aunt Serenity was
telling me some thing about it once. But what does this have to do with
anything?" She asked in confusion. 

"After your dad died though, everything changed. No matter how hard I
tried, I just couldn't go back to the way I was." Victoria paused for a
moment to turn to Rei. "And the reason was hatred. Before, I had never
really hated anyone. I mean sure there were people I didn't like, but I
figured that if they stayed out of my way, I would stay out of theirs." 

"Except for Beryl." 

Victoria looked up and noticed Queen Serenity standing there with a
grim look on her face. She nodded as she turned back to Rei to further
explain. "After that though, I hated Beryl with the greatest passion. I
wanted nothing more than her death, and still do." 

Rei almost gasped in shock at the hatred that her mother's voice held,
but then realized that after discovering the truth, she felt the same
way. 

Victoria noticed the look on her face. "You're already starting to feel
the same way aren't you?" 

She nodded. 

"And that's why I never told you the truth. I didn't want my four year
old daughter to have to feel such hatred towards someone, that they
actually wished them dead. I didn't want you to have to grow up feeling
like that. I'm sorry." She explained gently, softly stroking the side
of Rei's face. 

"I'm somewhat glad that you never told me the truth." Rei confessed.
"Because the feelings that I have towards that woman now, are not
something that I would have wanted to live with through my entire
childhood." 

Victoria smiled gently at her. "So at least I did one thing right in
raising you." 

"Don't say that!" Rei exclaimed. "You were as good of a mother as you
knew how to be, and that was a wonderful one." 

"Thank you Rei, that means a lot to me to know that." 

"Vicki, I have to ask you something. I understand why you didn't tell
Rei what really happened, but why didn't you tell me at least?"
Serenity asked. "I can't believe that you went through that whole thing
by yourself!" 

She shrugged. "I guess it was because I really didn't even know that
much about Beryl then, and I knew that if I told you, you would do
everything possible to get revenge, and as much as I wanted her dead, I
also wanted my life to go back to normal." 

Serenity nodded. "Think I can understand that." 

Victoria smiled. "Good, Rei could you help me up please?" She asked. 

Rei gave her mother her hand, and halfway up, Victoria collapsed
against the wall, almost falling, and very short of breath. 

"Mom? Are you okay?" Rei asked in alarm. It was then that she noticed,
for the first time, the color of her mother's nails. "Why are your
nails so blue?" She asked in surprise. 

"Now that you mention it, you nails are a very unhealthy blue."
Serenity commented, as she peered over at them. 

"Your lips are slightly blue also." Serin, who had been quiet during
most of the conversation, spoke up. 

Victoria leaned against the wall and closed her eyes for a moment.
'Guess now would be the best time to tell them.' She thought. 

"Victoria, what's going on?" Serenity asked suspiciously. 

She opened here eyes again. "I have something to tell you three.
Something that is very serious." 

"What's wrong, are you okay?" Rei asked. 

She shook her head as she sighed. "Sweetie, I would love to tell you
that I am fine, but it's not true. The past few months, I've been
extremely tired, have been having dizzy spells, and shortness of
breath, and as you can tell, my nails and lips are slightly bluish. So
I've been seeing a bunch of doctors, and after undergoing hundreds of
tests, they finally discovered that I'm suffering from viral
cardiomyopathy." 

"So whatever that is, can't they just give you some kind of treatment
and it will go away?" Serin asked. 

"Yeah how bad could it be?" Rei asked. 

Victoria didn't respond. 

"It's fatal isn't it?" Serenity asked quietly. 

Victoria looked away and nodded. 

Tears sprung to Rei's eyes. "You're dying?" She cried out. 

Victoria wiped away her own tears as she nodded again. "What happened
was, a virus somehow attacked my heart, and it's eating it away inside.
And it's slowly killing me." She explained. 

"Isn't there any kind of treatment?" Serin asked. 

"My only chance is a heart transplant, and I'm on the list but," She
shrugged. "It's not very likely." 

"How much longer do you have?" Serenity asked. 

"Two months." 

Rei threw her arms around her mother as she felt the tears stream down
her cheeks. "You can't leave me!" 

Her mother forced back her own tears as she tightly hugged Rei. "I
don't want to Rei. I can tell you that much. But it seems that I'm not
getting much of a say in this." 

Rei pulled away, attempting to dry her eyes. " I...I need to go
somewhere and think about this. I can't talk about it right now. I hope
you don't mind." 

Victoria shook her head as Rei and Serin left the room, leaving the two
sister alone in the room. The stood face to face, just staring at each
other for a full minute before tightly hugging, and finally letting the
tears flow freely. 

"Oh God, Vicki, I'm gonna miss you so much." Serenity murmured. 

"Promise to take care of Rei for me?" Victoria asked. 

Serenity released the hug. "Of course I will! You know that I will
always take care of her." 

Victoria smiled weakly. "I just wish you didn't have to." 

She nodded. "I know, I know. But we still have plenty of time to talk
about this, and right now you need your rest…"Do you need any help with
anything before I leave?" She asked. 

Victoria shook her head and closed the door as Serenity left the room
bidding her good night. Once the door was shut, she slowly slid down
against it until she was curled up on the floor once again. For the
second time that night, Victoria burst into tears. 

*                                            *
* 

Jade nervously looked down at his watch, then back up at the path. Rei
had asked him to meet her here at 11:00 and it was now 11:10. He was
incredibly nervous about the whole meeting. He knew she wanted to talk
about what had happened at the ball, seeing as the two had not talked
for the past two days. Now if she would only show up! 

A moment later a breathless Rei came running down the path to the spot
they had agreed to meet at. "Sorry...I'm...late..." She huffed. 

"Let me guess, you overslept?" 

"Shut up." She said smiling at him as she sat down on the bench. As he
took a seat next to her, the closeness made her blush, and reminded her
of why she had asked him to meet her in the first place. "Um Jed, about
the reason that I asked you here today.." She started. Her breath
caught in her throat making her stop for a moment, as he slowly moved
closer to her. 'What is it about him that makes me feel like a 12 year
old again?' She wondered. 'Because he is adorably irresistible but you
are too afraid to do anything about it.' Her mind answered her. 

Not anymore. 

"Jed, there's something that I want to tell you, and I've been wanting
to ell you for a while now." She said swallowing her fears. 

He reached a hand out and gently caressed her cheek while staring
deeply into her eyes. "Can't it wait just a few minutes?" He asked,
leaning his head closer to hers. 

She stared back into his eyes just as deeply and allowed her emotions
to take over. "I think so." She leaned her head towards his, almost
allowing their lips to brush softly against each other. Almost allowing
them to show their true feelings for each other that they had been
hiding. Almost allowing the two to become lovers in every sense of the
word. 

Almost. 

"Aww how sweet." 

Rei and Jed quickly broke apart to see who had interrupted them. 

"Beryl." Rei hissed lowly. 

Jade inwardly groaned as he realized that it had been two days since
Beryl had come to talk to him. 'God not know! Please, any time but now,
just not now!' He pleaded. 

"Did you miss me?" Beryl asked laughingly. 

'I don't wanna do this!' 

Rei stood up, her pen already in her hand, a look of pure hatred on her
face. "You're the bitch that took Zoisite." She said. 

"I didn't 'take' him, he came on his own will." She explained calmly.
"And I for one, and very offended that you would even think that." 

Rei shook her head. "That's a lie and we all know it." She raised her
pen in the air, and shouted, "MARS STAR POW--" 

"Rei, wait." Jade said putting a hand out to stop her. 

She lowered her hand and shot him a confused look. "Jed, what are you
doing?" She whispered to him. "We can't just stand here and not do
anything!" 

"So have you made your decision?" Beryl asked with a smile on her face. 

He glared at her. "You knew what it would be all along." He said
bitterly. 

She laughed. "Yes I guess I did, it's you I assume?" 

"Of course it is. You know I could never do that to her. Even though,
technically I am doing it to her either way. Either way, she gets hurt
and feels like she has been betrayed." 

Rei looked back and forth between the two. "Jed, what's going on?
Please tell me?" she asked frightfully. 

"Oh so we haven't even told her yet?" Beryl asked raising an eyebrow at
Jade. She then turned to Rei. "Your little friend here has gotten smart
and decided to join the Negaverse." 

She turned to him with a look of horror in her eyes. "Jed, please say
that isn't true!" She pleaded. 

Jade took a deep breath. He thought back to the promise he had made to
Rei's mom six years ago. '...I have always sworn to myself that I would
protect Rei from harm, or die trying...' He knew that he had to do
this. 'I'm sorry Rei, I'm just keeping a promise.' He thought and
before crossing over to stand next to Queen Beryl, he silently added,
'I love 

you.' "I'm sorry Rei, but she's right. I'm joining the Negaverse." He
voiced. 

Rei's pen fell to the ground unnoticed. "Jed no!" She cried. "Why are
you doing this?" 

"Look Rei, it's just something that I have to do." He said, his face
stone and void of all emotion. 

"Want me to tell her the reason?" Beryl whispered evily to him. 

"You do and the whole deal is off." He whispered fiercely, refusing her
the satisfaction of his glare. 

"I don't understand." Rei said. 

"You picked a smart one." Beryl whispered. 

As angry as the comment made him, Jade forced himself not to respond.
Anything he said could endanger her. "Rei please, just listen to me,
this is something that I have to do. I can't explain it." He said,
trying to make her understand. 

"Jed no please don't do this!" She exclaimed. "I don't care why you
have to do it!" 

Jade turned away, unable to look at the tears that had started to
gather in her eyes. 

"Jed please! I can't do this without you." Her voice dropped to a
whisper at the last part. 

"Time to go." Beryl announced and the two started to disappear. 

Jade dared to take one last look at his love and regretted it almost
immediately. The look in her eyes...it was all he could to not start
crying himself and confess his love to her. 

"JED!" Rei screamed as the pair finally disappeared. "Ai Shituru." She
whispered softly before dropping to her knees in hysterical sobs. 

*                                            *
* 

Serin and Endy were curled up on a swing on the lake shore, happily
enjoying each other's company, when Serin felt pain sear through her
mind. 'Rei.' She immediately gasped and jumped up. 

"What's wrong?" Endy asked frantically. "Are you okay?" 

She shook her head. "It's not me, it's Rei. I gotta find her."
Forgetting about her shoes, which were lying in the sand, Serin ran off
in search of Rei. 

"I'm right behind you." Endy said as he followed behind her. 

Serin quickly raced through the gardens in her search of Rei. 'This is
strange, usually I'm the one crying.' She thought with a smile. After a
few minutes of searching she found Rei curled up on the ground, sobbing
hysterically. She ran over and hugged her tightly, Endy standing behind
her. "Sweetie what's wrong?" Serin asked. 

Rei pulled away. "He's gone. She came and was all...and then he was
all...and he's gone!" She attempted to explain, her sobs blocking out
much of the story. 

"Rei, Rei you have to calm down. I can't understand you." Serin told
her gently. 

"Beryl came...and Jed...he apologized...and then he was gone." She
hiccuped. 

Serin looked over at Endymion in confusion. 

"Rei, are you saying that Beryl took Jade?" Endymion asked her. 

She shook her head. "Beryl showed up, and I started to transform, but
Jed told me not to. And then they were talking for a minute, something
about a decision, and then," She paused for a moment to catch her
breath. "And then...he apologized...and he went with her. Jed's gone." 

"Jade's...gone?" Serin asked slowly, making sure that she had heard
right. 

Jade's gone. Jade's gone. Jade's gone. the two words exploded in
Endymion's brain over and over. It couldn't be. Jade couldn't be gone.
Not Jade, his best friend, his guardian, his brother, his...no not
Jade! It was too much for Endymion to handle. First Zoisite, then Jade.
JADE'S GONE! The words kept sounding in his head until he snapped. He
ran over to Rei and grabbed her shoulders as he violently started
shaking her. "HOW COULD YOU?!" He shouted at her. "How could you let
her take him? How could you...Jade..." 

"STOP YELLING AT ME!" Rei screamed. "I know it was my fault! I know
that everyone blames me. And I know that they have every right too! I
was here. I could have stopped them. But I didn't, and now Jed is gone
because of it. Just stop yelling at me!" She collapsed into sobs again,
this time in Serin's arms. 

Serin glared at Endymion who backed away, shaking in horror at what he
had just done. "God damn it!" She said still glaring at him. "You don't
think that she's going to put enough blame on herself, you needed to
add to it?" She asked, lowering her voice so that Rei wasn't able to
hear. 

"Serin, I'm sorry." He tried, reaching his hand out to her shoulder.
The deadly look that she shot him made him retract his hand. 

"Just leave for now. I'll talk to you later." She turned back to
comforting Rei while Endymion walked away whispering his apologies. 

"It's all my fault Serin." Rei cried out. 

"No no it's not." She murmured. 

"But it is. I was here, I should have done more to stop him..." Rei let
her voice trail off, not wanting to say why she was really so upset. 

"What is it?" Serin asked gently. 

"I didn't get to tell him...." She said. 

"Rei, tell him what? He knows how much he meant to you." Serin said in
attempt to console her. 

"No he didn't!" She exclaimed. 

Serin looked at her carefully. "What are you saying?" 

Rei looked down at the ground for a moment, while gathering her
courage, then looked back up and stared Serin directly in the eye. "I
never go the chance to tell him...that I've fallen in love with him."
She confessed. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------ 

Quick explination,when Endymion just said, Not Jade, his best friend,
his guardian, his brother, his...no not Jade! I did not mean that they
are literally brothers, just that the two had gone so cl;ose, to
Endymion, it felt like they were brothers. 


End of Chapter 11 


OMG!!! Can we say record breaking? This chapter is my longest yet, 24
pages, and has been published in the quickiest amount of time!!! Yea!!
Okay, now for the serious stuff. First, some of you may be confused
about the order of this, especiall the part where Jeff walks out onto
the balcony, but then the next part is him talking to Dave. The way I
tried to do it was have like three things going on at once. So during
the time that Rei and Jade were talking, Dave was also talking to Jeff
and Mike. Hope that clears things up. If not e-mail me,
Pekkle9983@aol.comand I will see if I can explain a bit more. Now, the
ending. I know that probably everyone who just read this chapter is
incredibly pissed at me because I didn't give Rei and/or Jed the chance
to confess their love for one another. But trust me when I say this, IT
REALLY HAD TO BE LIKE THAT!!!! To fit in with the rest of my story, and
future stories, it had to be this way. So please don't hate me for it!
I do understand though, why some people would rather they do tell each
other, so here is what I might do. Once As the Tears Fell is finished,
I migh, notice MIGHT, right an alternate ending. I need people to
e-mail me and tell me if they want one. But that is only after ATTF the
original is finished, and the alternate ending will NOT be posted on
ANY pages other than the Rei Series page, simply because it is not the
real ending. So once you read the end of this, let me know what you
want, or you can tell me now if you'd like. Whatever. Just e-mail me
with all questions, comments, or complaints, and sen them to,
Pekkle9983@aol.com. Thanks for reading guys, c-ya next chapter! Luv ya! 

--MCRK 

This page and all it's contents are (c) MCRK '98 

The characters Dave, Mike, Jeff, and Queen Victoria are (c) MCRK '98 

P.S. Do NOT expect chapter 12 this quick! 
Hiyeeeeee everybody!!!! I know I know I am back with another chapter
already!!! This is truly amazing for me. (Don't expect this to ever
happen again with any other story!) And this chapter is really really
really long too and I guess it's pretty good. Ummm I think everything
else important I say in the bottom authors note...Oh yeah! Note to
Myra: Hi hi Myra-Chan!!!! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease don't get mad at me for
not sending this to you to proofread!!!! But I remember how you said
that you had sooooo much work and you had all those tests and
everything, and I felt really bad bombarding you with my stupid story
to proofread, but I really had to get this chapter out so I could work
on the next one. But rest assured I couldn't bring myself to ask anyone
else to proofread...so I kinda did it myself. Yeah, peoples, if the
proofreading on this chapter is terrible, I apologize, I am a horrible
proofreader, but my regular proofreader, myra-chan, (who is the best
proofreader in the world!) needed a break, so I did it! Yea! Anways,
next thing! 

This chapter is dedicated with much love, thanks, and gratitude to
Myra-Chan!!! Arigato!!!! and Omedeto Gozaimuas on your tests!!(good
luck) Usual disclaimers apply,Sailor Moon does not belong to me, etc.
See As the Tears Fell Read Me for more details. 

****************************** 

As the Tears Fell~Chapter Twelve 

By MCRK 

****************************** 

"So how's Rei dealing with Jade being gone?" Makoto asked, as she
looked up from her plate. 

"Pretty bad. She's not accepting it too well." Serin commented. The
scouts and guardians had all gathered in the large dining room for
dinner. The only ones missing were Zoisite, Jeadite, and Rei. At that
moment the door opened and Rei walked in. Everyone tried not to stare
in shock at her appearance. Serin seemed the most shocked. For as long
as she had known Rei, she had never, never seen her hair not flowing
down her back, looking silky, soft, and perfect. Until now. It was up
in a long ponytail, and looked like it hadn't been washed in days,
which was quite possible. Her eyes had huge bags under them and she
looked like she could barely stay awake. Her clothes were also a mess.
She was wearing a pair of torn beat up jeans, with an old worn out
sweatshirt. Totally un Rei. She walked to the table and slid into the
empty seat next to Serin. "Hey everyone." She said quietly. 

"Hi. How are you feeling?" Serin asked carefully. 

The others sat quietly, awaiting her answer. 

"I'm better." She said after a moment. "It's getting a little better." 

Minako smiled at her. "You'll be fine in no time, don't worry about
it." 

She replied with a weak smile of her own, before turning to Ami and
asking a question. "Does it ever go away?" She asked quietly. 

Ami looked over at her friend's tear filled eyes, and as much as she
wanted to, she knew that she couldn't lie. "Do you mean the feeling of
hatred towards Beryl that you feel because she caused all this, or,"
she paused for a minute to wipe away her own tears, "Or the feeling of
knowing that the one person you love more than anyone, is in the hands
of the most powerful, evillest person alive right now, and there is
nothing you can do about it?" She shook her head. "Because as far as I
know, neither feeling goes away." 

Rei's eyes filled with fresh tears as she heard Ami talk about 'the one
person you love more than anyone.' She thought back to the time in the
garden, when they almost kissed, when she was almost able to tell him
the truth about how she felt. And the time at the ball, where Dave had
dumped her, and even though she had been mad at him, he was there to
comfort her anyway. And how they had danced, and she had decided she
was going to tell him how she felt, but Beryl ruined that also. She
started to sob as she remembered that she had never even told Jed how
she had felt about him. And now he was gone. "I never told him." She
said through her tears. 

Serin exchanged a worried glance with the others as she put her arm
around Rei's shoulders, trying to comfort her. "Rei, shhh, it's okay."
She attempted. 

She wiped her eyes. 'I'm sorry, you all probably think I'm psycho or
something but I miss him so much." She explained. 

"It's okay, we miss him too Rei." Endymion said gently. 

Rei was unable to look at him, and looked down at her hands instead.
"Yeah thanks." 

Makoto leaned her head on Nephlite's shoulder and frowned in worry.
Beryl had already gotten two of them. Who was next? 

Nephlite seemed to read her thoughts and squeezed her hand underneath
the table reassuringly as he smiled down at her. "Don't worry my love.
My only plans are to win this war, get our friends back, and then marry
you." He whispered softly to her. 

She smiled back at him. "Good." She said. 

"I really am sorry about all this." Rei said. 

"Rei, sweetie, we know you're upset, you don't have to apologize."
Serin told her gently. 

She shook her head. "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the
fact that I know this entire thing is my fault and that everyone in
this room blames me." She explained. 

"Rei are you kidding?" Makoto cried. "Of course we don't blame you.
Where could you ever get such an idea." 

Serin glared at Endy who looked away uncomfortably. 

"Because it's true!" She exclaimed. "I could have done something to
help, I didn't even transform!" 

"Rei, we all would have acted the same way if it were any one of us."
Minako said gently. 

She shook her head. "But it wasn't you, it was me, and now Jed's gone
and it's completely my fault." 

"Rei, please, just listen to me, no one in here blames you okay?" Serin
asked softly. 

She nodded, pretending that she believed her. "If you say so." 

"No, not 'if I say so!'" Serin exclaimed. "No one here blames you and
that's the truth okay?" 

She didn't asnwer. 

"Everyone knows about the training session tomorrow morning right?"
Kunzite asked, trying to change the subject. 

The others all nodded. "You are so obsessed!" Minako said smiling at
him. 

He smiled back at her as he put his arm around her shoulder. "I know." 

Rei blinked, making sure she was seeing correctly, before asking, "When
did you two get together?" She asked Minako and Kunzite. 

"Ball." They said in unison. 

She shook her head. "Okay whatever. Look I'm not really that hungry,
you guys don't mind much if I go back to my room do you?" She asked
standing up. 

"Don't worry about it." Ami assure her. 

Serin stood up also. "Want me to come with you for a while?" She asked. 

Rei nodded. "Yeah sure." She said as the two left the room. 

Endymion stood up a moment later. 

"Where are you going?" Makoto asked. 

"I'll explain later." He said as he ran out of the room. 

*                                         *
* 

"How is he coming along your majesty?" Zoisite asked as he looked over
the cylinder containing Jeadite. 

"Not very well." She admitted. "He's won't forget his love for the
sailor brat." She pressed the button on the side that activated the
speech inside the cylinder. "Jeadite, who are you loyal to?" She asked. 

His face twisted in pain, eyes closed, as he moaned. "Rei." 

"Damn it." She cursed. "That little slut will have to pay." 

"I assure you my queen that the wait will be worth it. Jeadite has
always been an excellent warrior." Zoisite promised. 

"Yes I am sure he is. But I am not a patient person. And once he is
completely loyal to us, we can attack Earth." Beryl said smiling
evilly. 

"But what about the other two, Kunzite and Nephlite?" Zoisite inquired. 

She smiled. "Oh they're coming. Don't think I forgot about them.
They're next. I'm just waiting for the right moment..." 

*                                         *
* 

Serin walked out of Rei's room and closed the door. After talking to
her for the past hour, she had finally gotten her to fall asleep, sleep
that she desperately needed. 

"Serin!" 

She turned around to see Endymion running up to her, and she turned
around again, not wanting to face him. 

"Serin, please, just talk to me." He pleaded. 

She turned around and sighed. "Fine." 

He looked around the hallway. "Can we at least go somewhere else to
talk?" He asked. 

"No. I am incredibly annoyed right now and you are lucky I am even
talking to you so talk here or don't talk at all." Serin said firmly. 

"Okay, okay. What I really want to say is that I'm sorry. I feel
horrible about what I did to Rei, but I was just so...so in shock at
what she had just said that it was almost involuntary." He explained. 

She was silent. 

And I really am sorry, and I'll talk to Rei or whatever you want me to
do, but please, don't be mad at me. I can't stand having you be mad at
me." He begged. 

"Endy, it's not that simple. Rei is an incredibly complex person and
she is very very self-conscious. She blames herself for everything, and
when someone else blames her also..." She let her voice trail off. 

"I know, and I feel terrible. I know that Rei will put enough blame on
herself without me adding to it, but Serin, you have to admit, it was
partly her fault." Endy pointed out gently. 

She glared at him. "I most certainly will not admit that!" She
exclaimed. "It was no more Rei's fault than it was ours for not being
there." 

"Fine, it wasn't her fault at all." He said. 

She shook her head. "Don't just say that because that's what you think
I want to hear. Do you blame her? And tell me the honest to God truth." 

He was quiet for a moment. "Truthfully, I do hold her partly
responsible." He said quietly. "I mean how could I not? The enemy took
my best friend. The enemy Serin! And she didn't even try to stop him.
How could I not hold some fault to her?" He asked. "But I'm not going
to hold a grudge against her for it, and I'm not going to say anything
to her about it because she doesn't need that from anyone, especially
me." He said quietly. 

Serin smiled softly at him. "That was what I was hoping you would say."
She said softly. "And if you still want it, I'm offering forgiveness." 

"Are you kidding? Of course." He said smiling at her. 

"But please, at least try to apologize to Rei. I don't want to ask you
to lie, so you don't have to tell her that you don't blame her if you
really do, but please, just talk to her and apologize." Serin pleaded. 

"Anything." Endy said as he hugged her, taking in the sweet smell of
her hair, and the smoothness of her skin. "I missed you." 

"I missed you too. I love you so much." Serin said hugging him back. 

"I love you too. So are you still my fiancée I hope?" He asked pulling
away. 

She smiled at him. "Damn right. Once we win his war and get Jade and
Zoi back we, are getting married." 

He smiled. "I can't wait." 

*                                         *
* 

Sailor Venus looked down at her watch and sighed impatiently. "Does
anyone have any idea where Rei is?" She asked. 

"I'm sure she's coming." Mercury said anxiously looking for her. 

"Yeah, I'm sure she is too, but she's twenty minutes late!" Venus
exclaimed. 

Kunzite put a hand on her shoulder, which seemed to momentarily calm
her down. "Let's just start with out her." He suggested, also slightly
irritated at Rei's tardiness. 

"Just give her a few more minutes." Serin pleaded. 

"Serin, she's twenty minutes late! I mean I feel horrible for her and
everything but how long are we supposed to wait?" Jupiter argued. 

"Please!" She pleaded again. "She's upset, give her a break. After--"
She stopped in mid sentence realizing that Ami was right there. 

She smiled, and although it was reassuring, there was a hint of sadness
in her smile. "It's okay Serin. I know that you were going to say that
after Zoisite left, I was late all the time and I even missed a few
meetings." 

"You guys, Serin's right. Just give her a few more minutes." Endymion
broke in. 

A few moments later Rei came up over the hill to where the rest of the
group was meeting. Ignoring the glares she received from Venus and
Jupiter, she started to apologize. "I'm really sorry I'm so late. I
wasn't paying attention to what time it was and I didn't realize how
late it had gotten." She said quietly. 

Serin smiled at her. "Don't worry about it, we understand." She said
sympathetically. 

"I really am sorry though. I never meant to--" Rei started. 

"Rei, why aren't you transformed?" Venus cut in. 

Rei gave her a cold glare. "As I was just about to say before someone
interrupted me, I had been walking around outside, and I couldn't
exactly transform in front of everyone ya know." 

Kunzite quietly reminded her that Rei was just upset and Venus
refrained from lashing out at the girl. 

"MARS STAR POWER!" Where Rei had stood moments before now stood the
fiery scouts of the planet Mars. 

"Okay everyone let's start." Venus called. "We'll just start with some
target practice okay? Everyone knows what to do." 

"About damn time." Jupiter muttered as every one started target
practice. 

Seeing as Serin and Endymion's attacks were not really, magic based,
his being sword fighting, and hers being the silver crystal, they
really didn't get much out of the practices. Instead they stood behind
the others, just observing. As Serin's eyes roamed over each scout,
they stopped on Mars. Although her attacks were normal, Serin could
sense that something was bothering her, and she had a feeling it wasn't
just Jade's absence. She would stop in-between each attack for a few
minutes at a time, and Serin almost got the feeling she got whenever
Rei was crying. It wasn't quiet as strong though, but Serin knew
something was wrong. She nudged Endymion, who was standing next to her,
and whispered, "Something's wrong with Rei." 

"What do you mean?" Endymion whispered back. 

"I can't explain it. But something's...off about her. I don't know
what--" 

Serin was interrupted when in the middle of her attack, Rei dropped to
the ground, clutching her head as she screamed out, "STOP! GET OUT OF
MY HEAD!" 

Serin raced over to her as the others stopped practicing to see what
was wrong. "Rei...Rei, talk to me. What's wrong?" Serin asked gently
once she reached her side. 

Rei wouldn't answer but kept shaking her head as she rocked back and
forth on her knees. "No! Make it go away. Please make it go away." She
sobbed. 

"Make what go away?" Serin asked gently. "Rei I can't help you unless
you tell me what's wrong." She looked up at the others crowding around
her in concern. "Maybe you guys should just go back to practicing." She
suggested. 

"Serin this affects all of us." Venus argued. 

Serin glared at her. "Practice. Now." She said as the others headed
back to practicing. 

"I'm staying." Endymion said firmly. 

She nodded and turned back to Rei who was still on the ground. "Now
Rei, please, what's wrong?" She asked again. 

Rei looked up and Serin could see the fear and horror in her eyes.
"She's in my head." She whispered painfully. 

"Who?" Endymion pressed. 

She looked down at the ground as she softly answered. "Beryl." 

Serin and Endy exchanged worried glances. "What do you mean, she's in
you head? Is she controlling you?" Serin asked. 

She shook her head looking back up at the two. "She's not literally in
my head; just her voice. Saying it over, and over, and over, and over,
and over..." 

Serin suddenly realized what was happening. "And that's why you can't
use your fire right?" She asked, everything fitting together. 

Rei nodded. "I feel...like I'm burning him," She said quietly. 

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Endymion asked in confusion. 

Serin turned to him. "Do you remember, a few days ago, at the ball,
when Beryl came?" She started. 

He nodded. "Yes..." He said unsure of where this was leading. 

"And she admitted...what she...did to Rei's father?" Serin continued. 

He nodded again. 

"Do you remember what she said after that?" She asked. 

He shook his head. "I wasn't paying that much attention." He said
almost apologetically. 

"She told me how she had walked up to him, placed a hand on his
shoulder, and started killing him." Rei spoke up softly. "She told me
how it was most likely the most excruciating pain that he had ever felt
in his entire life. And then she said," Her voice was cracking with
emotions at this point and tears streamed down her cheeks. "She said
that she wondered if that is what youma feel when I burn them with my
fire." 

"And now every time you use your fire..." He started, everything
beginning to make sense. 

"She feels like she's killing her father." Serin finished. 

"What do I do?" Rei asked, drying her eyes. "I can't fight like this!
I'm completely useless to the team." 

"You are not useless." She said firmly. "And right now, the only thing
you are going to do is go back to your room and sleep because you look
like you desperately need it." 

"But--" She started to protest. 

"Rei, she's right, It's the only way you're going to get over this."
Endy said, placing his hand on her shoulder in comfort. 

She flinched back, remembering his cruel words a few days before.
"Thanks." She said sarcastically. 

"Rei..." Serin said, her voice with a warning tone in it. 

She rolled her eyes. "Sorry." She said to Endymion. 

He didn't respond. 

"Really Rei though, just go back to your room and sleep. Endymion is
right, the only way that you are going to get past all this is with
time, and until you are comfortable using your powers again, you
shouldn't torture yourself by being down here." Serin told her. 

She stood up. "You mean I shouldn't be down here making an idiot of
myself by crying all the time right?" She asked smiling. 

Serin smiled back. "Complete idiot. Now go sleep!" She commanded. 

As soon as the others noticed Rei walking away they came running over.
"Where's Rei going?" Venus asked immediately. 

"She went back to her room to get some sleep." Serin explained as her
and Endymion stood up. 

"In the middle of a practice?" Jupiter questioned. 

"She couldn't practice right now anyway, and she really needed sleep,
it looks like she hasn't gotten any in days. I wasn't about to make her
stay here and practice." She said defensively. 

Venus sighed loudly, obviously annoyed. 

"Was she okay?" Mercury asked in concern. 

"Yeah what happened to her anyway?" Nephlite added. 

Serin sighed. "I don't know if you all remember what Beryl said to her
at the ball, about her dad," 

The others nodded. 

"But because of what she said, now every time Rei uses her fire, she
feels as if though her father is burning all over again, except this
time, she is doing it." She explained. 

"That's horrible." Jupiter commented quietly. 

She nodded. "And the only thing that's going to make it go away is
time. She needs to be comfortable with using her powers, and having her
here is just going to torture her even more." 

"Look Serin, I don't mean to sound unsympathetic or anything," Venus
said impatiently. "But this problem is somewhat more serious than just
letting her get over it herself, don't you think?" 

"Minako does have a point." Kunzite added. 

"I mean, I don't want to be all pessimistic and everything, but Beryl
is going to attack, there is no question about that. And she already
has Jade and Zoisite. Don't you think we're weak enough without losing
Rei also?" Venus asked. 

"Venus, until you lose a parent and feel what Rei is feeling, I really
don't think you have the authority to tell me what to do in this
situation." Serin said firmly. "This is something that Rei has to work
out on her own, and yes I know that we are weaker without Jade and
Zoisite, and yes I realize that we will be even weaker having to fight
against them, but forcing Rei to fight when she is in this condition is
a complete mistake that could end up being fatal for her, or for us."
Serin snapped. 

"Serin, I don't think she meant it like that." Nephlite said quietly. 

"Look, Rei needs to get over this in her own way and time and we will
just have to work harder to overcome the weaknesses that we now suffer.
Now let's all just leave it at that okay?" Endymion asked. 

The others all agreed. "I'm sorry Serin. I know you have your own
reasons for what you do." Venus apologized. 

"And I apologize for snapping at you. You have opinions too." Serin
said as she felt a drop of water land on her arm. Looking up at the sky
she noticed the clouds that had gathered. "And now I think it's time to
end this training session and head in before it starts thundering." She
shivered. "I hate thunder. 

The others agreed and started on their way back to the palace. Endymion
wrapped an arm around the shivering princess. "You really don't like
thunder do you?" He asked. 

She shook her head. "Scares me more than anything." 

He smiled kissing the top of her head. "Don't worry, I'm here." 

She smiled up at him. "My Savior." 

*                                         *
* 

Rei slowly opened her eyes as she heard Serin, but wasn't able to see
her anywhere. She blinked a few times and finally getting her eyes to
focus, she sat up, and was able to see Serin who was sitting on the
edge of her bed. 

"Took you long enough to wake up." She said smiling. 

"Sorry. I was more tired than I thought." Rei said yawning. 

"Yeah I noticed." Serin said looking down at her. "You forgot to
detransform." 

Looking down, Rei blushed. She concentrated, and a moment later she was
back to Princess Rei. "So what's up?" She asked. 

"I came to get you for dinner. I figured since you really didn't eat
anything for breakfast, and you kinda slept through lunch, you'd be
hungry by now." Serin commented as the two stood up. 

"I'm starving." Rei agreed, noticing for the first time that day how
hungry she actually was. "So how did the training session go?" She
asked as the two made their way down the hall, towards the dining hall. 

"Actually we ended it a few minutes after you left due to the weather."
Serin said. "So you really didn't miss that much." 

"I bet Minako was kinda pissed I left early." Rei commented. 

"She was at first, but I explained to them what happened. You know no
one blames you for being upset. They all know what you're going
through." Serin commented softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

Rei shook her head. "No, they don't. Not even Ami. None of them know
what it is like to not realize you love someone until it's too late to
tell them. But thanks for trying anyway." She said as she walked into
the dining hall. 

Serin sighed as she followed. 'Please God, we're doing all we can.
Please get Jade back.' She thought as she followed Rei into the dining
hall. 

"Hey, we were wondering where you guys were." Ami commented as the two
finally walked into the room. 

"Sorry we're late." Serin said, taking the seat next to Endymion, and
he promptly kissed her hello. 

"Not a problem. We were just waiting for you to start." Queen Serenity
commented as everyone started eating. 

Rei silently slid into the seat next to Serin, and felt tears spring to
her eyes when she saw the empty seat next to her. Jed's seat. 'I'm
okay. I'm not going to cry again in front of everyone.' She told
herself silently. Attempting to distract herself from thoughts about
Jed, she allowed her eyes to wander down the table. To her right were
Endymion and Serenity, flirting and being so adorable, like always. To
her left, well she didn't want to look to her left. Further down on the
right was Ami, who was also by herself. That gave her a small bit of
comfort...not much though. Across the table she saw Makoto and Nephlite
who were smiling lovingly at each other, and next to them, sat Minako
and Kunzite, who were also in complete bliss. Further down, at the head
of the table, sat Queen Serenity, and next to her, an empty chair.
'That's weird.' She thought. 'I wonder where she is?' Deciding to voice
her question, she spoke, "Queen Serenity, what happened to my mom?" She
asked. 

Serenity looked slightly annoyed for a moment before donning the
reassuring smile she was so well known for. "I'm sure she's just lying
down in her room or something. She's probably not very hungry right
now." She said. 

Rei forced a smile. "Oh. Thanks, I was just wondering." she said as she
went back to silently eating. 

Serin glanced worriedly over at Rei, who didn't seem to notice, and
turned to Endymion. "Did you talk to Rei yet?" She whispered. 

He glanced over at Rei at the mention of her name and shook his head.
"It feels too strange. I don't think she wants to talk to me right
now." He whispered back. 

"Endy please! I have a feeling that she isn't going to get over this
until she realize that no one blames her." She pleaded. 

Endymion looked down into Serin's pleading eyes and sighed softly.
"Okay, I promise I'll talk to her after dinner okay?" 

*                                         *
* 

Victoria glanced away from the window that she had previously been
staring out of when she heard the door open and close. She turned back
when she saw who it was. 

"How are you feeling?" Serenity asked quietly. 

"I feel fine. I wish everyone would stop asking me that." She responded
irritably. 

"It's just that we missed you at dinner. Rei was asking about you." She
explained. 

"She knows where to find me." She said coolly. "Besides, I wasn't
hungry." 

"You don't seem to have much of an appetite lately." Serenity said as,
out of nervousness, she started folding a basket of nearby wash. 

"Isn't that the servants job?" Victoria asked looking over at her. "I
didn't realize that not being hungry was such a crime in this place."
She added. 

"It's not that. It's just that some people, your daughter included
would like to spend some time with you before--" Serenity cut her words
off in mid sentence as she realized what she had been about to say. 

"Before what?" Victoria asked her eyes flashing. "Finish the sentence
Rennie. Before I die. That is what you were going to say wasn't it?" 

Serenity didn't answer. 

"Yeah I know I'm dying. I kinda figured that one out." Victoria
retorted. 

"Look Vicki, I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry." Serenity
apologized. "I know--" 

"Don't." Victoria warned, cutting Serenity off. "Don't even apologize
or say that you know what I'm going through." She said glaring at her.
"Because you don't. Not a god damn one of you knows what I'm going
through. Do you have any idea," She started. "What it's like to know
that you'll never see your daughter's next birthday? To know that when
she gets married you won't be there to smile proudly as she walks down
the aisle. You don't know what it's like to know that you'll never hold
a grandchild in your arms, or to tell your daughter how proud of her
you are. So don't even try and tell me that you know what it's like.
You have no fucking clue." Victoria turned away at that point and
started leafing through a magazine. 

A moment later Serenity stormed over and knocked it away. She looked up
in surprise. "Grow up Vicki." She snapped. "We've all got problems,
we've all got things we regret. "Do you know what it's like to lose
every person that you love, and to always forget saying something to
them? To have never found the time, until it was too late?" She asked,
this time, her eyes were the ones flashing in anger. "Well I do. I've
lost my husband. The one morning that I overslept, because Serin had
kept me up late the night before. That one time, I wasn't awake when
Terence left for business, and the one morning that I didn't tell him
how much I loved him. Well that was the one morning that was the last
time I would ever be able to tell him, because that's the morning he
died." 

Victoria sat there silently. 

"I went through the same thing when Travis died. Do you have any idea
what it feels like to outlive your son?" Serenity exclaimed 

"No I don't." Victoria said quietly. "But I lost my husband also
remember? At least you didn't have to watch some monster burn him to
death because you were to afraid to stop her!" 

"You're right, I didn't." Serenity said finally. "But I have had to go
through losing too many loved ones without them knowing how I really
felt. And now it's going to happen with my baby sister." Her voice got
softer towards the end. 

Victoria, however, wouldn't budge. "So you've got problems too. So
what? At least you're still alive, you'll get over them." 

Serenity shot her a look of disgust. "You don't get it do you? You were
given these two months for a reason!" She exclaimed. "So maybe instead
of wasting them by being a bitch to everyone, you should enjoy the time
you have left and spend it with those who love you. Like your daughter,
for instance, or your sister, or your niece who you have barely said
two words to since you got here. You aren't dead yet, you're still in
the land of the living, so why don't you start acting like it."
Serenity glared at her again before storming out of the room, slamming
the door behind her. 

*                                         *
* 

Endymion stared at the princess who was standing in front of him with
her back turned. 'She's actually very beautiful.' He thought. 'I guess
that's part of the reason Jade loves her so much.' At the thought of
Jade he felt his anger rise again slightly. After all, if she had only
tried to stop him from going with Beryl maybe he would be here right
now. 'And I wouldn't be here right now trying to get up my nerves to
talk to her.' He told himself. At that thought, his anger slowly died
down and he remembered the reason he had come to talk to her in the
first place. 'I told Serin that I would talk to her, and I plan on
doing exactly that.' He thought. After a few minutes he decided he had
to do this eventually, he might as well do it now, and he cleared his
throat to catch her attention. 

*                                         *
* 

Beryl looked up from her drink as a flash of light appeared in front of
her. 

"My queen." He said, bowing before her. 

"Zoisite." She nodded, acknowledged him and allowing him to stand. Once
he was standing, she was able to see that he had an evil smile on his
face. 

"My Queen, I have a surprise for you." He said, still smiling. 

"Well bring them in, I don't have all day you know." She said
irritably. 

He nodded and a moment later another flash appeared in the room. 

Beryl gasped when she saw whom it was. "It worked?" She asked, not
believing what she saw. 

Zoisite nodded. "He is ours now. Ask him anything to prove it." 

Beryl looked over at the man. He was standing upright, his blue eyes
staring straight ahead. His golden hair was brushed back, except for a
small strand that continued to fall down in his face. His hands were
firmly at his sides, encased in freshly washed white gloves. He was
wearing a navy uniform, long sleeves, and long pants, with a red trim
around the edge. On his feet was a pair of shining black boots, and on
his face, a look of pure evil. 

"Jeadite." 

"Yes my Queen?" He asked as he turned to her, his head bowed. 

"I want you to answer a few questions for me." She continued. 

"Of course your majesty." 

"First, you may rise." 

He raised his head. 

"Who are you loyal to?" 

"The Negaverse, and especially, to you my Queen." 

"What will you do if you come across Prince Endymion?" 

"Exactly what I have been training to do. Kill him." 

"What about if you come across the Princess Rei of Mars?" 

"Show absolutely no mercy while I kill her." 

Beryl laughed in delight as she clapped her hands. "Thank you Jeadite
that will be all." She said as he transported away. 

Zoisite smiled at his Queen's reactions. 

She turned to him. "Zoisite you did a wonderful job!" She exclaimed. 

"I told you it would be worth the wait." He responded. 

She nodded. "Yes, he definitely was. I want you to continue training
him, but I would also like you to send a message, to Earth." 

"A message?" He asked. 

She nodded again as an evil smile crept along her face. "Send them the
good news. It's time to let them know..." 

*                                         *
* 

Rei brushed a strand of hair out of her face as she stared out the
window, thinking about Jed. The loss that she felt in her heart was
incredibly strong, and incredibly painful. 'I never knew someone could
hurt so bad.' She thought. 'But then again, I never thought I would
fall in love with Jed! I still remember how we first met. When I ran
own the hill and knocked him over.' She smiled a bit. 'I didn't even
want to meet him! And now, I love him more than anyone.' She felt a
strong pain run through her heart, at the memories that she was
dredging up. 'I can't do this anymore.' She thought. 'I'm sick of being
hurt, and I'm sick of being sad. I'm resolving right now, to get over
it.' At that thought she heard someone cleared his throat behind her
and turned around to see who it was. "Hello Endymion." She said in a
flat tone. 

The Prince smiled wryly at her as he moved closer. "Don't sound so
excited Princess." He said. 

"Wouldn't want to flatter you would I?" She asked turning back to the
window. 

"Look Rei, we need to talk." 

She turned back to him. "The only reason you are even willing to talk
to me is because Serin asked you to. You're just trying to keep her
happy." 

He was silent. 

"I'm right, aren't I?" 

"So what if you are?" He asked, his eyes flashing in sudden anger.
"What is so wrong with trying to keep the person that you love happy?" 

"Nothing. I just wanted to know that everything you plan on saying
today, is what you really feel, it's going to be what will make Serin
happy." She said coolly. 

He shrugged, his anger now gone. "Maybe it will be, maybe it won't. But
either way, I came here to apologize, and whether or not you want to
accept it is your choice. Just like it's your choice if you want to
believe me or not." 

"Fine. Talk." 

He took a deep breath before starting. "I wanted to tell you that I
realize that my behavior the other day was uncalled for and
unacceptable. And I wanted to apologize for acting that way. You didn't
deserve it." 

She shrugged. "Whatever. You let you emotions overcome you." 

He continued, as if she had never spoken a word. "And I shouldn't have
done what I did, and I'm sorry. I was just so...so upset, for lack of a
better word, at Jade's capture and I didn't know what to make of it.
And I took my anger out on you, and I'm sorry for that." He said, tears
welling up in his eyes at the thoughts of his missing comrade. 

She looked over at him and he was surprised to see that her face held
no emotion. Over the past few days her cheeks had always been stained
with tears streaks, and her eyes held a look of hollowness, of regret
and anger. But not anymore. 

"Well now you've talked to me, and now I know how you felt about it, so
you can leave if you want. You can go tell Serin that you talked to me
and everything is fine between us so she will be happy." She said in a
monotone voice. 

"That's it?" He asked incredulously. "That's all you're going to say to
me?" 

She gave him a strange look, one that almost asked, 'Are you crazy?'
"Yes that's all I'm saying. What would you like me to say?" 

He stared at her in disbelief as he felt his anger surge though him
once again. "It would be nice if you would show a little compassion!"
He exclaimed. "I just poured my heart out to you, and you sit there and
say fine whatever?!" 

She glared at him. "Yes I'm going to sit here and say fine whatever."
She stood from the couch she had previously sitting on and walked over
to him. "I don't care what you say. It doesn't affect me anymore. I
stopped caring what you said when you blamed me for Jade's capture." 

"Well technically it is your fault isn't it?" He snapped, before he
could realize what he was saying. "I mean you were there, you could
have done something, but you didn't even transform!" He yelled. 

Her eyes narrowed in anger and if he hadn't been so busy yelling at
her, he would have noticed the anger that was slowly creeping into her
face. 

"You just stood there, watching while he was taken by the enemy." He
lowered his voice "And now look at you. You don't even care about what
happened to him. I used to be able to tell why he adored you so much,
why you were so close to him, and why you meant so much to him. But
now," He paused for a moment and delivered the words that he would soon
live to regret. "But now, I have no idea what possessed him to care so
much about a bitch like you who doesn't even give a damn that he's
gone." 

Her hand flew across his face before she realized what she was doing.
"Fuck you." She said glaring at him. 

Finally realizing what he had done, he gasped. "I'm sorry, I didn't
meant it like that." He choked out. 

"You know you did. Just like you meant it when you said that it was my
fault Jade was taken. No point in lying about how you really feel." She
said. 

He stood there in shock, unable to respond. 

"But now it's time you know how I really feel." She said angrily. "I
may come across as a bitch to you right now, but you come across as an
asshole to me, and right now, I really don't know what Jed or Serin
sees in you. But since you're my best friend's fiancée, I'm going to
refrain from calling you the things that are going through my head
right now." 

"Look, I," 

"I'm not done." She snapped. "I don't care if you hate me forever, I
don't care if you blame me forever, hell, I don't even care if you
can't see why Jed and I were so close. But never, ever say anything
like that to me again. Never tell me that I don't care about him. That
I don't give a damn that he's gone. Because I care about him more than
you could ever realize." Tears were starting to form in her eyes as she
gave her speech. "The only reason that I'm acting like I don't care is
because I care too much! I love him, more than even I can comprehend,
and the pain that my heart is going through right now is unbearable!" 

He reeled back in shock. 'All this time, she really had loved him back.
And now because of Beryl, she never got the chance to tell him. And I
had to go and accuse her of not caring about him when really...Oh My
God!' 

She composed herself, drying her eyes as she finished. "I love Jed.
There, I've finally said it. I love Jed. And I don't care who knows it
anymore. But don't ever accuse me of not caring for him, because you
don't know anything about what I'm going through. Please excuse me of
this outburst." She turned away again, refusing to look at him. 

He was about to respond when there was a knock at the door. "Come in."
He called. The large door opened and a servant rushed over to them,
handing Endymion a piece of paper. "It's a message from Queen Gaia of
Earth, my Prince." He said bowing, before quickly running off again. He
unfolded the paper and silently read the message. 

Rei watched carefully and noticed how his face changed into features of
fear after a moment. "What is it?" She asked, her voice now worried,
having completely forgotten about their argument that had ended only
seconds before. "What's wrong?" 

Endymion crumpled the paper and looked up at her, saying in a grim
voice, "Beryl just declared war on Earth." 

*                                         *
* 

"Serin!" 

Serin turned around and smiled as she saw Endymion jogging up to her.
Her smile disappeared when she saw the worried look on his face.
"What's wrong?" She asked immediately. 

"Beryl...just declared...war." He panted. 

She stared at him, unsure that she had heard right. "She declared war?"
She asked slowly. 

He nodded. "On Earth." 

"Oh God...you have to leave don't you?" She asked. 

He nodded. "I'm sorry Serin. I don't want to leave you." 

She forced a smile. "It's not your fault. When do you have to go?" 

"Day after tomorrow." 

Serin looked away in disappointment. 'I only have two days left with
him?' She thought. She just then realized how selfish her thoughts
were. At least she had those two days left with him, and at least she
knew that he was leaving. 'Unlike Ami and Rei.' 

"Serin, I have a favor I have to ask you." Endymion started. 

She turned to look at him. "Anything, what do you need?" 

"I don't want Terra to stay there." 

A look of confusion came across her face. "Terra?" 

"My little sister." He explained. 

"Ohh I remember okay." Serin said as she realized whom he was talking
about. 

"Anyway, she's only nine years old, and I don't want her to have to be
there during the war. It's bad enough that it's happening on her
planet, I don't want her to be anymore involved than that." He
explained. 

"I would love for her to come stay with me." 

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Serin, you don't know how much that
means to me." He exclaimed. 

She smiled at him. "I'm glad I can help. I've been dying to meet her
anyway." 

"Great. I have to go talk to your mom about it though and make sure
it's okay, I just wanted to ask you first. And than I have to go send a
message to my mom and tell her to send Terra here. I promise I'll catch
up with you later okay? Love you." He said as he kissed her on the
cheek. 

"Love you too." She said as she rushed off. She stared above and
quietly said, "I don't know if anyone is really up there but if there
is, please, keep him safe and bring him back to me." 

*                                         *
* 

Rei was still sitting on the couch, in the same room the argument had
just occurred in, and was in shock at what had just happened. 'She's
declared war?' She though in disbelief. She felt the familiar feeling
of tears well up in her eyes as she realized that they would have to
fight against Jed now, but she quickly shook away the feeling, now
wasn't the time to cry. 

"I guess you heard about the war huh?" 

Rei turned in surprise to see who had spoken. "Mom!" She cried rushing
over to help her to the couch. 

"Rei, you don't have to treat me like an invalid. I'm not some senile
old lady who can't walk herself to the couch!" Victoria said smiling at
her daughter. 

She smiled back. "Just in case." She said. 

"Back to my question, did you hear about the war?" 

"Yeah. The Prince and his generals are planning on leaving tomorrow."
She said. 

Victoria nodded. "I don't really see how that could have gotten you so
upset. You're not one to cry easily." She commented. 

Rei looked over at her in surprise. "I wasn't crying." 

"You look like you were." 

She sighed. "I guess I was, but it wasn't over that." 

"Care to tell me what it was about?" Victoria asked, moving closer to
her daughter. 

"Jed." 

"Ahh. Now I see what's wrong. You miss him, don't you?" 

She nodded, trying to ignore the lump that was once again forming in
her throat. 

"Oh, my poor baby." Victoria said gathering her in her arms and
comforting her sobbing daughter. 

"He's gone, and I don't know if I'm ever going to see him again, and
now," She stopped for a minute to calm herself down. "And now, you're
leaving too." 

"I know, I know. I don't want to go either, I'm going to miss you so
much." Victoria said, hugging her tightly. 

"Mom, do you remember that time, about 6 years ago, when you first told
me that I was one of Princess Serenity's guardians?" Rei asked. 

She nodded. "Of course I remember, that was the beginning of five years
that you didn't talk to me." 

Rei pulled away as she continued. "I said that I wished I had never
been born the princess of Mars, and that I had never gotten my fire,
and I take it back. You are the best mom in the world and I love you so
much, and everything that's good about me comes from you." 

Victoria felt a tear trickle down her cheek. "You don't know how much
that means to me to know that you feel that way." She said smiling. 

Rei smiled back. "I just wish you weren't leaving." 

"Rei...there's something that I didn't tell you." She started slowly. 

She looked at her. "What are you talking about?" 

She took a deep breath. "I told you that the only way for me to cure
this disease was a heart transplant, and that was unlikely. That isn't
exactly true." 

Rei gave her a bright smile and jumped up in excitement. "Well that's
great. So there are other treatments? Does this mean you aren't going
to die?" 

Victoria shook her head. "There are other treatments, but they are
still experimental. And the doctor that diagnosed me did ask if I
wanted to try them, and see if they helped prolong my life. It was my
decision and they would go along with whatever I wanted to do." 

She slowly sank back onto the couch as the meaning of the words sunk
in. "You told them no though, didn't you?" She asked softly. 

Victoria nodded. "Sweetie, please try to understand. I don't want to go
through this any more. I don't want any more tests and experiments. I'm
through with all that. I just want to spend the rest of my time with my
family. I'm ready for this." 

Rei's face crinkled in confusion. "You want to die?" She asked. 

Victoria nodded again. "It's not that I don't love you or that I don't
want to be there for you because I do. But this is my fate; this is the
way things are supposed to be. I lived my life, I did all I could, and
now it's time for me to leave." 

"I think I understand." Rei said slowly. 

"I'm ready Rei. My time here is done, and now I'm ready to face
whatever is on the other side. I'm sick of being tired and of being
sick. I'm sick of trying to be the perfect mother, or the perfect
sister, or the perfect aunt, and I'm sick of missing your father." She
said quietly. 

Rei hugged her mother tightly as everything became clear to her. "I
love you mom, and I'm gonna miss you, but I give you my consent in what
you are doing." She said. 

Victoria hugged her back. "Thank you Rei. I'm gonna miss you and I will
always love you." 

*                                         *
* 

"ENDYMION!" 

Endymion and Serin turned around just a young girl flung herself into
his arms. "Terra!" He exclaimed happily, hugging the little girl. After
a moment he put the small girl down and the two turned to Serin.
"Serin, remember I told you that I have a little sister, this is her.
Serin, meet Terra, Terra, meet Serin." He said introducing the two. 

Serin smiled and knelt down so she was eye level with the girl. "Hi
there! It's so nice to finally meet you, Endy talks about you a lot." 

Terra smiled back. "Hi!" She looked down and noticed the ring on
Serin's hand, and then looked back up to her. "Are you his girlfriend?"
She asked curiously. 

Serin nodded. "How old are you?" She asked the little girl. 

"I'm nine. How old are you?" 

"I'm 18." 

"Are you gonna be my big sister?" Terra asked. 

Serin nodded again. "As soon as you brother beats up all the bad guys."
She explained. 

"So so so so so so cool!" Terra squealed jumping up and down. 

Serin stood back up and leaned into Endymion's embrace. 

"I knew she'd like you." Endymion whispered to her. He looked back down
at Terra. "Terra, who would you like to stay here on the moon with
Serin for a few weeks?" 

Her face lit up in delight. "Can I really?" She asked. 

Serin nodded. "You're gonna stay with me at the palace for a few weeks
okay?" 

Terra nodded. At that moment the others walked outside. 

Endymion looked down at his watch. "It's time to leave already?" He
groaned. 

Nephlite smiled. "'Fraid so buddy. Hey Terra." He added, just noticing
the little girl. 

She waved happily. "Hi Nephlite! I get to stay with Serin for a few
weeks while you guys go fight all the bad guys on Earth." She looked
around the group that had accumulated outside. Her eyes passed Endymion
and Serin, Nephlite and Kunzite, and four girls that she didn't know.
She didn't see two people though that she should have. "Where's Jade?"
She asked. 

The others all exchanged glances as Endymion knelt down to explain.
"Terra, you remember those bad guys that we have to fight on Earth?" He
asked. 

She nodded. "What about them?" 

"Well part of the reason that we have to fight them is because their
leader took Jade away from us, and we gotta get him back." He explained
gently. 

She looked around the group again. "What about Zoisite?" 

"They took him too." 

Terra felt a small tear come to her eyes but refused to acknowledge its
presence. "They're gone?" She asked in a small voice. "Am I ever gonna
see them again?" 

Serin knelt down and gave the small girl a hug. "Of course you will
sweetie! That's why Endymion and Nephlite and Kunzite are going to
Earth to fight the bad guys. They gotta save them." 

While Serin comforted the little girl, Rei and Ami said their good-byes
to each of the generals. They briefly hugged them, wishing them luck
and God speed. Rei paused for a moment, however, when she got to
Endymion. "Rei, I want to..." 

She smiled at him, silencing him. "Look, let's just pretend that
nothing ever happened between us. No more apologies. Agreed?" She
asked. 

He nodded, smiling back at her. "Agreed." 

"Make sure you take care of yourself over there. We can't have you
getting yourself killed or anything cause then Serin would be sad. And
we can't have that now can we?" She asked, rolling her eyes. 

He laughed in spite of himself. "I promise." 

Rei and Ami walked over to Serin and Terra. "Want us to take her inside
so you guys can say good-bye alone?" Ami asked. 

Serin looked up, noticing the two behind her and nodded. "Thanks guys."
She turned back to Terra. "These are two of my friends. They're gonna
take you inside and show you your room. I'll be there in a few minutes
okay?" 

Terra nodded. 

'This is Ami, and this is Rei." Serin said pointing each person out. 

Her face lit up in remembrance. "You're Rei?" She asked turning to her. 

Rei, although slightly confused and having no idea how Terra knew her,
nodded. 

Nephlite, Kunzite, and Endymion, however, knew what she was about to
say. 

"No Terra that was just..." Kunzite started. 

"You're Jade's girlfriend." She finished. 

"...A joke." 

Rei glanced over at the guys and then back at Terra. "What are you
talking about? I'm not Jade's girlfriend, and I never was." She said. 

Terra looked over at the guards in confusion. "But you guys said..."
She looked back at Rei. "You are the one that used to write him letters
all the time right?" She asked. 

She nodded. "Yeah but I don't get what that has to do with anything." 

"We used to tease Jade all the time that you were his girlfriend
because of the strong bond you two obviously shared. It didn't mean
anything; it was just a joke that Terra misunderstood. Sorry." Endymion
explained, glaring at his younger sister. 

"That and the fact that she signed all her letters, 'love always'."
Nephlite said softly, and thankfully, she didn't hear. 

Rei forced a smile even though the pain she felt inside was incredibly
strong and she felt ready to explode any second. "It's okay, no big
deal." She said. 

"Why don't we just take Terra inside and let you guys said good-bye."
Ami said hastily, grabbing Terra by the hand and leading the girl
inside the palace. Rei was right behind her. 

Serin walked back over to where Endymion and the others were standing. 

"Don't worry about it too much you guys." Makoto was saying. 

"Yeah we used to do the same thing to her all the time." Minako added. 

"I know but I can't help but feel that it meant more to her this time,
because of, well you know." Endymion said, giving Serin a meaningful
glance. 

"Look," She said, putting her arms around him. "We only have a few more
minutes before you guys have to leave, so let's not talk about that
right now okay?" 

The others agreed and Makoto and Nephlite walked off in one direction,
while Minako and Kunzite went in the other. Leaving Serin and Endymion
alone. 

They were silent for a few minutes, just enjoying the time they had
left being in each other's arms. 

"Do you really have to go?" Serin asked. 

"You know I do. I'm the Prince and I can't desert my planet during a
war." He said softly. "And I have to get Jade and Zoisite back." 

"I know. I'm gonna miss you so much though." Serin said as a tear slid
down her cheek. 

"Hey don't cry. I'll be back before you know it." He said, gently
wiping away the single tear that had fallen. 

"I'm just so afraid, that something is going to happen to you, and you
won't come back." She said, choking back a sob. 

He cupped her cheeks in his hands and slowly kissed her. "Serin I
promise you, nothing will ever keep me from returning to you. Nothing." 

She gave him a small smile. "Promise?" 

"Promise. Real soon I'll be back on the moon, Jade and Zoisite will be
back, and we'll be getting married." He said. 

She smiled at him, this time with a genuine smile. "I love you." 

"I love you too." He said smiling. 

*                                         *
* 

Makoto sighed as she leaned her head against Nephlite's shoulder. 

"Is something wrong?" He asked as he put an arm around her. 

She shook her head. "I just wish you didn't have to go." 

"I know. I don't want to go either. But you do understand why I have to
right?" He asked in concern. 

She nodded. "You're the Prince's protectors. You have to be there to
keep him safe. I know, I would be doing the same if we were on Earth,
and Beryl attacked here." 

"Also because of Jade and Zoisite. We can't leave them there. Even if
it's the last thing I do, Jade and Zoisite will be back with us. I
promise you that." 

Makoto shivered and stood in front of Nephlite, stopping his movements.
"Don't say things like that. The last thing that you are going to do
before you die is be with me, and that will be years from now." 

He smiled gently at her. "I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare
you." 

"You are coming back though, aren't you?" she asked. 

He lightly brushed a strand of hair away from her face and gently
kissed her forehead. "Makoto, I love you more than any one and I
promise you that I am coming back. There is very little that could keep
you away from me." He said, pulling her close to him. 

"But what if Beryl gets you?" She asked, breaking away from his
embrace, once again worried. "She's already gotten Jade and Zoisite.
What if you're next?" 

"I have something I want to give to you." He said, changing the
subject, reaching into his pocket, and pulling out a small black box. 

"Well at least this time I know you aren't proposing to me." She said
with a small smile when she saw the box. 

He smiled back. "What is in this box is just my way of showing you that
I promise that I am coming back alive. Nothing will ever keep me from
you." He handed her the box. 

She opened it to reveal a pair of earrings, each one in the shape of a
red rose, with small green leaves underneath. She gasped in delight.
"Nephlite they're gorgeous! I love them." She said hugging him. 

He smiled. "I'm glad. And just like these flowers, my love for you will
never die, but will continue to bloom forever." 

The two shared a lingering passionate kiss before Makoto pulled apart
and put the earrings in. 

"Come on, we had better head back." Nephlite said taking her hand in
his. "The others are probably wondering what happened to us." 

*                                         *
* 

Minako and Kunzite walked down the woven path, hand in hand, in, for
the most part, complete silence. "You know, it's weird." Minako
commented, finally breaking the silence. 

"What's weird?" He asked. 

"Well I'm sure that right now, Serin and Makoto are asking Endymion and
Nephlite if they really have to leave, whereas I already know the
answer." 

"So I guess you aren't going to ask me if I really have to go huh?"
Kunzite asked. 

She shrugged. "I know that you do and that there is no way around it,
so why bother wasting our time together asking questions when we both
know the answers already anyway?" 

"You act like you don't even mind that I am not going to be here." He
said quietly. 

She turned to him in surprise. "Of course I'm going to mind! I'm going
to miss you like crazy but I'm not going to waste time asking stupid
questions." She explained. 

"Minako, can we sit down a minute? There is something I want to talk to
you about." Kunzite said, gesturing towards a bench where the two took
a seat. 

"What's up?" Minako asked. 

He took her hand in his and stared into her eyes. "I want you to know
that I care very deeply for you--" He started. 

"I know that, and I care for you too." She cut in. 

He released her hand and held up his to silence her for a moment. "Just
let me finish." He said. 

She nodded, waiting for him to continue. 

"From the first day that I saw you, when you showed me around the
palace, I was head over heels for you. Even though you had eyes only
for Jade, I didn't give up. I couldn't. Just to see you smile, to watch
you laugh, to hear your voice, watch you push your hair out of your
face, made me so incredibly happy, that I would wonder what it would be
like to be with you." He admitted. "And now that I know, I never want
this to end." 

Minako stared at him in confusion. "Kunz, what are you talking about?"
She asked. 

He moved off the bench onto one knee in front of her and she gasped in
surprise. "Princess Minako of Venus, I love you more than life itself,
and you mean more to mean than anyone ever has or ever will. Will you
marry me?" He asked, holding out a box with a simple gold ring with a
diamond at the top, surrounded by ruby gemstones. 

For the next few minutes, Minako was speechless. 

"Minako?" He asked. 

"Kunzite, I don't know what to say...I do love you..." 

"But?" He prompted her. 

"But don't you think this is a little quick? We've only been going out
for a bout a week!" She exclaimed. 

He stood up and sat down next to her again on the bench. "I known this
seems quick, and this is perhaps the most insane thing I've ever done,
but I feel in love with you from the very first time I laid eyes on
you. I know we haven't been dating that long, but I feel like I have
loved you forever, and I want to continue doing that." He explained
passionately. 

Minako bit her lower lip in confusion. Here she was, the so called,
'rational scout' and she was actually considering marrying someone that
she had only been dating for a week. 

Kunzite took her silence in the wrong way, mistaking it as her way of
rejecting him. "Look, it's no big deal if you don't feel the same way.
I understand that it is somewhat quick." He said, trying to keep the
disappointment from his voice. He looked down at his watch. "We should
be heading back, we only have a few more minutes before we have to
leave." He turned away and started walking back down the path that the
two had come down. 

Minako fought an inner battle, trying to decide what to do. Quickly
enough, one side won and she called out, "Hey Kunz," 

He turned around expectantly 

She smiled at him. "How am I going to brag about my engagement if you
don't at least give me the ring?" I mean it would be nice if people
believed me when I tell them I'm engaged to the head of Prince Endymion
of Earth's guards right?" She asked. 

His face broke out into a smile as the realization of her statement hit
him. 

She ran over to him and hugged him tightly. "You are coming back
right?" 

He smiled at her and kissed the top of her head. "As long as you are
here waiting." 

*                                         *
* 

"Serin, I have something I want to give to you and I want to do it
before the others come back." Endymion said, pulling away from their
embrace. 

"Endy, you don't have to give me anything." Serin protested. 

He shrugged. "That's not the point. This is a promise of my love to
you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a
necklace. He held it up to her. 

"What is it?" She asked looking it over curiously. 

"It's a locket." He said opening the top. Inside was a recent picture
of the two of them and the familiar strains of music drifted out. 

"There will come a day, somewhere far away, in your arms I'll stay, my
only love..." Serin sang softly as she heard the music. 

He grinned at her. "I take it you like it?" 

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I love it." 

"Good. This is my promise to you that I will always love you and I will
be coming back to you." He promised as he gently pried her off. 

She smiled up at him. "Make it quick." 

The two were about to embrace in a kiss when the other couples walked
back up. 

Minako ran over to Serin and Makoto excitedly. "Guess who just got
engaged?" She asked. 

Serin and Makoto looked at her in surprise and when they saw he ring
that was on her finger, they screamed in excitement and hugged her. 

"That is one thing I will not miss." Nephlite commented. 

"Be quiet you." Makoto scolded as she walked over to him. At that
moment a large space ship (I'm sorry I have no idea how else to do this
part) appeared behind the six and the doors opened. 

"You're going by ship?" Serin asked in surprise. 

"Beryl can interfere with our transportation too easily. It's safer
this way." Endymion explained. 

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" She asked worriedly. 

He smiled at her. "I promise." 

The three men then proceeded to say good-bye to their loved ones, and
boarded the ship. Within minute they were gone. 

Minako sighed as she stared at the place in front of her that Kunzite
had occupied only moments before. 

"They will be back...won't they?" Makoto said, although not really
expecting an answer. 

Serin sighed wistfully. "I miss him already." 

*                                         *
* 

"You like those beds don't you?" 

Terra continued jumping on the bed as she turned to see who had walked
into the room. "SERIN!!!!!" She yelled as she hurled herself at the
older girl. 

"Whoa." Serin said as she caught her and put her down on the floor.
"What's up with you?" 

Terra smiled. "Ami and Rei gave me chocolate!" She giggled in delight. 

Serin rolled her eyes and made a mental note never to give Terra
chocolate. "Oh they did did they? Well how bout we sit down and you can
ask me any questions you might have okay?" 

"Okay." Terra agreed and plopped down on the floor. 

Serin plopped down next to her, but a little bit more gracefully. "So
what do you think of your room?" She asked. 

Terra looked around the room. "I like it." She said solemnly. 

Serin smiled at the younger girl. "Well that's good. And across from
here are Ami's, Makoto's, and Minako's room. Right next to yours is my
room, and next to that is Rei's room." 

The excited looked on the little girl's face vanished when Serin
mentioned Rei. "Is Rei all mad at me cause of what I said before?" She
asked. 

Serin hugged the girl as she shook her head. "Of course not. It wasn't
you fault and Rei knows that. She just seemed mad because she's upset
and misses Jade." 

"Ohhh. I miss Jade too." Terra said. 

"You two were pretty close huh?" 

She nodded. "He was like my other brother." 

"Yeah he was like that to a lot of people." Serin said thoughtfully. 

Terra looked up at her. "You miss him too, don't you?" 

Serin sighed. "Yeah, I really do." 

*                                         *
* 

Serin raced down the hallway as quickly as she could. 'Please let me
get there on time!' She prayed. A few minutes ago a messenger had burst
into the room she had been in with Terra, to tell her that Queen
Victoria was close to dying, and was not expected to live out the day.
After making sure that someone would keep an eye on Terra, she raced
towards the Queen's bedroom as quickly as she could. She stopped once
she reached the door so she could catch her breath, and then proceeded
to walk in. 

Serenity, Rei, and Victoria looked up as Serin quietly slipped into the
room. "Hey everyone." 

Rei gave her a small smile. "Glad you could make it Serin." 

Victoria, who was in bed and looked like she was in incredible pain,
beckoned for Serin to come over to the bed. "Serin, I want to apologize
to you." She managed to get out. 

"Mom, save your breath. Serin knows that you love her." Rei tried to
stop her. 

Victoria shook her head. "Rei, I need to do this. Please let me." 

She fell silent and Victoria continued. 

"I'm sorry, first of all, from keeping Rei from you, and for never
allowing Serenity to tell you about her. And I also sorry for the way
that I treated you once I got here." 

Serin opened her mouth to comment but was stopped by Victoria. 

"I never really talked to you, I never made it a point to, and I'm
sorry for that." She apologized. 

Serin smiled. "No big deal. I'm over it." 

Victoria tried to smile but ended up gasping in pain. Her eyes squeezed
close and her grip on Rei's hand increased for a moment, and then she
relaxed as it was over. 

"Are you okay?" Serenity asked in concern. 

She slowly opened her eyes and sighed. "As well as can be expected. I'm
glad that you are all here today." She paused for a minute to cough
before continuing. "I love you all so much and I'm gonna miss you." 

"Don't talk like that. You'll be fine, you'll see." Rei said with tears
forming in her eyes. 

Victoria looked over at her and managed a small smile. "Rei, I'm sorry
that I won't be there on your wedding day, and I'm sorry that I won't
be there on your birthdays anymore, and I'm sorry that I won't be here
for you anymore. But it's time now sweetie. I've prepared for this and
I'm ready." She said softly. 

Rei ignored the tear that spilled out of her eye and trickled down her
cheek. "I love you mom." She said. 

"I love you too." She turned to Serin and Serenity. "And I love the
both of you and I'm sorry I'm deserting you like this." 

Serenity smiled at her. "We love you too Vicki, you'll be in our hearts
always." 

Serin silently nodded. 

She turned back to Rei who leaned down, kissing her mother and
embracing her. After a moment she pulled away from the embrace and
stood up, giving her mother one last smile. "Say hello to dad for me
okay?" Rei asked choking back her tears. 

Victoria smiled back at them and said the last words they would ever
hear from her. "I promise..." 

*                                         *
* 

"God damn youma..." Kunzite muttered as he slashed two more with his
sword. "They just keep coming!" He paused for a moment to make sure
that his troops were all together before pushing on through the battle.
What troops he had left, that was. Beryl's youma were growing stronger
and stronger with each one, and he had long ago run out of energy to
pull off an attack. 'Without the scouts here it's almost hopeless.' He
thought. As another youma feel to the ground of its final
resting-place, a smile crept along his face. 'Almost.' 

"General Kunzite!" 

He turned around to see who had called out to him. It was a young man
that was currently serving under him. "What's wrong?" He shouted over
to him. 

The young man gestured to another soldier at his feet. "He's badly
hurt, I'm going to transport him out of here so he can get help. I'll
be back as soon as I can." He shouted. 

Kunzite nodded and turned back to the fight. 'Let's hope he makes it
back.' He grimaced. Beryl had been interrupting transportation more and
more, and to attempt one was incredibly dangerous. 'But so is staying
on the battle field when you are fatally wounded.' He thought. He
looked ahead and noticed a large cloud of dust, some hundred feet away.
The youma were gone for the moment so he decided it was safe to leave
the troops alone for a few minutes. He turned to face them. "Troops!
Gather round." He yelled as he sheathed his sword. His heart sank at
the sight of them. Many were missing arms and legs, others had large
wounds that had been opened again and again during battle. Their hair
was messed, and for many of them, the spirit of life had gone out of
them. 'Let's all hope this war is over soon, for all of our sakes.' He
thought before telling them the next plan. "Behind me, a few hundred
feet," He said pointing behind him. "You will notice a large cloud of
dust that is forming. Before we go any further, I want to go check it
out and make sure it's safe. I want you all to stay here, and hopefully
no one will attack. I won't be long." With that he turned and walked
towards the large cloud of dust. After about five minutes, he entered
through the strange cloud, and when he looked back to see if his men
were all right, he could see nothing but dust. Panicked, he turned
around and tried to find his way out through the way he had come in,
but it was hopeless. He was surrounded on all four sides, along with
top and bottom, by dust. "Damn it." He cursed. 

"Now now, we can't have such vulgar language." 

Kunzite whirled around to see who had spoken, but no one was there. 

"Over here." The voice sighed. "My God, you Earthlings are so slow." 

Kunzite recognized the voice almost immediately and slowly turning
around, fearing what he would see. 

His fears were brought to life in front of his eyes. 

"What do you want?" He asked in a low voice. 

"To rule the Universe." Beryl answered truthfully. 

"Over my dead body..." Kunzite growled pulling out his sword. 

"Now now, we can't have you dead can we?" She asked smiling evilly at
him. "I mean how can we have a dead Negaverse General?" 

"In your dreams!" He yelled charging at her. 

She shot her hand out and an invisible force slammed into his chest
knocking him away and to the ground. 

He started to get up but grasped his chest in pain as he groaned. The
forced was still there. 

She walked over to him and bent down to look him straight in the eye as
she responded, "More like in your nightmares. And we both know from
experience, it's easier for a nightmare to come true than a dream,
isn't it?" 

He glared at her. "I will never succumb to the Negaverse!" He said
spitting in her face. 

She slapped him sharply across the face. "Now you had to go and make me
angry." She said. "Why couldn't you be like Generals Zoisite and
Jeadite and just willingly come? Makes the whole thing a lot easier." 

He shook his head fiercely. "You're lying, neither of them would go
willingly!" 

She shrugged. "Believe what you want." She smiled at him again as she
slowly traced her finger along his chin. "Maybe I'll keep you as my
*personal* slave. I like your feisty personality." She said laughing. 

He struggled to get up but the force was too strong. "Not in your life
witch!" He hissed. "I love Princess Minako." 

She stood up quickly, angry at the rejection. She snapped her fingers
and two youma appeared, quickly wrapping tight bonds around his wrists
and ankles. "We'll just see about that." She snapped. 

"You can't take me away," He said struggling. "What about my troops?" 

"Watch me." She smiled as she heard his second question. "Oh yes,
your...troops." She waved her hand and the dust disappeared and they
were back at the battlefield. 

Kunzite looked over the field and saw hundreds of fallen soldiers. Not
one of them one was moving. He fell to his knees in defeat and sorrow.
"I'm sorry my Prince, I have failed you." A single tear slid down his
cheek and fell to the ground. "Forgive me Minako, my love." He
whispered before Beryl transported them away. The tear that had slid
down his cheek had fallen to the ground only seconds before and left a
small mark on the ground. The small tribute to the many that had fallen
that day, and those who would continue to fall. The small tribute left
by a General to his liege. The small tribute left by a man to his love. 

*                                         *
* 

"I'll talk to you later, bye!" Minako called as she opened the door to
her room and walked in, shutting it behind her. "My head is killing
me." She murmured as she searched for aspirin. Finally finding some,
she took a few and sat down on the couch. 'I miss Kunzite.' She thought
as she twirled the ring on her finger. 'I just hope he's coming back
soon.' Her headache started to increase in intense pain and she fell to
the floor, grasping her head. 'My God, what the hell kind of aspirin
was that?' She wondered as she held her head in pain. The pain slowly
decreased and she managed to stand up again. 'That was weird.' She
thought. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that the curtains
were blowing from wind. 'I didn't leave the windows open did I?' She
thought. She started to make her way over to them to close them when
the windowpanes burst, sending millions of tiny pieces of glass
everywhere and a folded sheet of orange paper blew in and landed at her
feet. Minako instantly knew something was wrong and she bent down,
shaking in fear, to pick up the paper. It was sealed with the planetary
symbol of Venus and on the front it simply said, Princess Minako, and
when she opened it, there was a short note: 

Princess Minako, 

I have your precious Kunzite now, and don't expect to get him back
anytime soon. 

Queen Beryl 

P.S. I suggest you visit your friend Princess Makoto for my other
message 

She stared at the letter for a minute until the true meaning of the
words sunk in and she burst into tears as she fell to the floor, sobs
wracking her body. She sat there crying for hours, staring at the ring
on her finger, and reliving the short time the two had spent together.
After a long time, she picked up the letter again, and this time,
noticed the P.S. The letter fluttered to the ground as she raced out of
the room. 

And then there was one. 

*                                         *
* 

Nephlite closed the door to his room and leaned against it, closing his
eyes. Kunzite, Jeadite, and Zoisite were all gone. He was the only one
left. 'God damn her!' He thought as tears stung his eyes. How was he
supposed to do this all by himself? He didn't even have the scouts with
him to help! The thought of the scouts brought back memories of his
love, which brought a smile to his face. He stared at the picture of
her that she had given to him. "Something to remember me by." She had
told him. "Makoto I don't think I could ever forget you." He said as
she picked up in the frame, carefully handling it. 

"Aww how touching." 

Nephlite carefully placed the frame back on his dresser, knowing who
was there before he even turned around. "Hello Jeadite." 

General Jeadite walked out of the shadows. "What no Jade? No more terms
of friendship?" He asked smirking. 

Nephlite turned around to face the person that had once been his best
friend and shook his head. "No, because you aren't the Jade that I
knew. The Jade that I knew would never desert the people that were
close to him, the people that cared about him." 

"Cared about me? Ha." Jeadite said spitting. "Not a damn one of you
cared about me." 

"What about Princess Serenity? Or Prince Endymion? What about Princess
Rei? And what about me?" He asked softly. 

"Princes Serenity only pretended to care about me because I reminded
her about her brother. Endymion and Rei only cared about me because
their parents forced them to when they were young. Old habits die
hard." He sneered. "And as for you," His face softened for a moment.
"Well maybe you really did care for me, and if you did that would make
things a lot easier. I miss talking to you Neph, just come with me, and
everything will be fine again." Jeadite pleaded, and Nephlite could
almost see the evil disappear from his eyes. He almost saw his old
friend Jade, the one he had known since they were twelve years old. He
almost gave in, just to satisfy those pleading eyes. But almost doesn't
count. 

"Jeadite, you know I can't do that. I love Makoto too much and I can't
desert her." He said stubbornly. 

The softness in his eyes disappeared and was once again replaced with a
look of evil. "You just had to pick the hard way, didn't you?" He asked
sighing. "What is this whole thing with you and Kunzite dying for your
loves anyway? It's so pathetically disgusting. They aren't even that
good looking." 

Nephlite shook his head sadly. "You don't get it do you? It's not about
what they look like, but about who they *are*. The reason that we fight
so hard is them, the reason that we would lay down our lives in a
moment is because of the way they smile when you tell them you love
them." He looked down at the picture then back up at Jeadite. "If you
don't have a reason to fight, then what's the point?" 

He sighed. "That was pathetic. I'm sorry Nephlite, but you leave me no
other choice. Prepare yourself to fight." 

Nephlite's mind went into a panic. He couldn't fight Jeadite! Even
though he might not be acting like it right now, deep down, he was
still good old Jade. 'Besides the fact that Jade was stronger and more
powerful than I was when he was good! I can only imagine what powers
Beryl gave him!' He realized. Desperate to find a way out of this
situation he started to beg and plead Jade not to do anything.
"Jeadite, Jade, please, you don't want to do this." 

He sighed. "I'm sorry Neph, you leave me no other choice. I can't let
my queen down." 

"What about your Prince? What about letting him down?" Nephlite cried. 

Jeadite laughed. "I no longer serve that idiot. I am working for a new
ruler now, a much more powerful one." 

"Jade please, if I fight you, I'll be killed. Please, don't kill me." 

A clapping noise could be heard and another figure appeared next to
Jeadite. "Well done Jeadite." 

He smiled and bowed. "Thank you My Queen. I only regret that I did not
follow through the mission completely." 

Beryl nodded. "I know, but he is right. If you were to fight him, you
would kill him." She turned to Nephlite and raised an eyebrow at him.
"And if you were killed, who would serve as my fourth general?" She
asked. 

He shrugged. "You know, I really don't give a damn, cause I'm not doing
it, dead or alive." 

She smiled. "That's what you think." She snapped her fingers and two
youma instantly appeared at his sides, binding his hands and ankles
with tight rope. 

"You bitch!" He growled. 

She raised her eyebrow at him. "Oh I'm a bitch am I?" She asked in
amusement. "Well I wonder what you'll think of me when I do this." She
walked over to his dresser and picked up the frame that held the
picture of his love. 

"No!" He yelled, struggling to free himself of the bonds, which only
tightened with each struggle. 

Laughing, she slammed it onto the ground and he watched in horror as
the frame broke into hundreds of tiny pieces. She then proceeded to
life the unharmed picture, and ripped it, bit by bit, obviously
enjoying the pain he was expressing. 

"You witch! You won't get away with this!" He yelled. 

She smiled. "Oh but I already have." 

*                                         *
* 

Makoto looked up from the book she was reading as Minako came racing
into her room, tears still running down her cheeks. "Minako, daijibou?"
She exclaimed. 

"Kunzite's gone!" She cried. 

Makoto felt her heart drop down to her stomach. "He's gone?" she
whispered. 

Minako nodded as she attempted to stop the tears that were falling. "I
was sitting in my room and--" 

Her words were cut off as the windowpanes in Makoto's room burst,
sending shards of glass everywhere. A green envelope drifted into the
room, and was sealed with the planetary symbol for Jupiter. 

"My windows exploded and I go a letter, just like that one, that said
that Kunzite was gone." Minako finished quietly. 

As the realization of her words sunk in, Makoto started to shake in
fear. What if that envelope was telling her that Nephlite was gone too? 

Knowing that her friend was unable to read the letter, Minako leaned
over and picked it up. Opening it, she silently read it and fresh tears
started to fall from her eyes as she looked up at Makoto. 

Makoto looked at her questioningly, and she silently nodded her head.
"NOOOOO!!!" She screamed in anguish before breaking down into sobs. 

Minako moved over and hugged the other girl, gently rocking her back
and forth, trying to stop the river of tears that were flowing from
both of their eyes. 

"He's gone?" Makoto choked out. 

Minako nodded. "I'm sorry, I know how you feel." 

"I'm sorry too I--" She stopped short as she saw the letter, which was
on the floor behind Minako, and her eyes widened as she read the PS. 

Minako pulled away. "Makoto what's wrong? Why did you stop?" 

Makoto stared as if she had seen a ghost, and raised her hand to point
to the letter, still lying on the floor. 

Minako gave her a strange look and picked it up. "Makoto, I know you're
upset but--" 

"Read the PS." Makoto interrupted her. 

Minako looked down and silently read the last line. She here eyes
widened and she looked up and Makoto and could see the fear that was
reflected in both their eyes. "Oh fuck..." 

*                                         *
* 

Rei stood in front of the door, her hand on the knob, trying to decide
whether or not she should go in. 'I have to do this sooner or later.
Besides, it's either this, or Mom's room.' She quickly brushed that
thought aside. She would work on that problem later, she was gonna deal
with them one at a time. Taking one last deep breath, she swung open
the door and walked into Jed's room. Everything was exactly the way
that he had left it, just the way Serenity had promised. After Jed and
Zoisite had been...captured...Queen Serenity had come to talk to Ami
and her, promising that their rooms would be left untouched until the
two returned. At the time, Rei had been so upset it didn't make much of
a difference to her. Now, though, she was glad the Queen had been so
thoughtful. 'She always has been.' She thought. She slowly walked
around the room, looking over each thing, and with each object bringing
back memories of Jed. The emotions were starting to get to her and she
decided it was time to leave. As she was headed to the door she passed
the closet, and something compelled her to stop and look in. 'This is
insane.' She thought, but opened the door anyway. Inside she saw rows
of neatly hung clothes, each one with his scent still on them. "See."
Rei told herself out loud. "Nothing in here other than his clothes."
She started to close the door and the feeling returned. 'Open the door
again.' Her mind urged her. Once she did she still saw the same sights
she had seen before. "Now what?" She asked. 'The floor.' Shaking her
head in confusion, she sat down on the floor, and noticed that she was
in front of a large black garbage bag. "I am not going through his old
garbage." She said and started to get up. 'Just look!' The voice urged.
She sighed and sat back down on the floor opening the bag. What she saw
inside made her gasp and she closed the bag while she closed her eyes
in surprise. "Oh my God he didn't..." She murmured. She slowly opened
her eyes once again, and peered into the bag. Her face broke out into a
smile. "I can't believe he kept them all these years!" She exclaimed
opening the bag wider. Inside were numerous gifts, of all different
sizes, wrapped in beautiful paper. Some were in Christmas paper, and
others had Happy Birthday written on them. And one each gift was an
envelope with a card, and on the envelope was written, 'To Rei, Love
Always, Jed' and each had either Merry Christmas or Happy Birthday on
them, along with the year. She smiled wistfully as she stared down at
the gifts. "I can't believe he kept them after all these years!" She
said. 'You did too. And besides, he promised.' The voice told her. That
was true, she had kept the gifts for him during all the years he wasn't
there also. She picked up the one that was dated the furthest back, and
opened the card. The message was simple and to the point. It read: 

Dear Rei, 

Happy Birthday! I wish I could be there with you but I'm there in
spirit. Always remember that you will always be my best friend and I
will always be there with you, if in no other way, than at the very
least, in your heart. 

Hope you have a wonderful day. 

Love Always, 

Jed 

She slowly smiled as she realized that he was right. Whether he was
there or not he was still her best friend, and he would always be with
her, in spirit, in mind, and most importantly, in her heart. She held
the card to her heart as she gazed out the window. "Jed, wherever you
are right now, thank you. You've always been the one person who could
comfort me more than anyone. Thank you." She whispered. She gazed out
the window for another minute before placing the card and gift back in
the bag with the others and pushing it back into the closet. "We'll
have to exchange all our gifts when you get back. And we will get you
back." She said softly, with a newfound determination. 

A moment later the door slammed open and Rei stood up to see who was
there. 

Serin burst into the room, out of breath, obviously from running.
"There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!" She cried. 

"Ren, what's wrong?" Rei asked when she noticed the panicked look in
her friend's eyes. 

Her chest heaved up and down as she tried to catch her breath. "She got
them Rei. Nephlite and Kunzite are gone now too." She said with fear in
her voice. 

Rei thought her heart would stop beating. "They're...gone?" She asked
in a small voice. 

Serin nodded. "What are we going to do?" 

"I don't know." Rei said shaking her head. "How are Makoto and Minako
doing? I assume they know?" 

"Not too good." She said, shaking her head. "But that's not even all of
it. I have more bad news." 

"More?" She asked in shock. "What else could have possibly happened?" 

"Beryl just declared war on the moon." 

* * * 

End of Chapter 12 

Note: Chapter 12 was another record breaking chapter ~ Without author
notes,(and all these damn extra spaces!) this chapter was 27 pages
long! Yea!!! 

P.S.(hehe) Yes the PS on the letter that Makoto received had Beryl
saying she declared war on the moon. (For all you out there who didn't
understand that...) 

Translations: daijibou = Are you all right, or, what's wrong? 


Hehe don't you all just love cliffhangers? I know I do! Well, seeing as
I already know what's gonna happen in the next chapter, I guess I
would. Notice that everyone, I said the next CHAPTER, not the next
CHAPTERS!!! Yes that's rite, As the Tears Fell will FINALLY be finished
after Chapter 13. Well, more like after Chapter 13 and the epilogue.
But aren't you soooo excited everyone!!!!?? I know I am cause now I can
take a break for a few weeks from writing, I can work on Always and
Forever again, I can work on A Burning Desire, The Lost Soul, and the
rewrite of Courage Under Fire. Yea!!!!!! Anyway, before everyone starts
e-mailing me asking when the next chapter will be out, the last chapter
and the epilogue will be out before June 10, and that is all I can say,
and I swear that they will be done by then even if it kills me! But
please, give me some time before you start bugging me for the next
chapter please? Cause while I write that, amongst a million other
things, I have to start studying for finals and I have my SAT's in less
than a month. ::sighs:: God damn it I hate school. Okay, enough about
my complaining, about this chapter now. Oh, the parts where Serin is
kinda praying, I didn't mean to get all religious and everything. Yes
for those of you curious I am very religious, but I usually keep it out
of my writing, I just thought it kinda fit there so whatever. Ummm what
else? Oh yeah, I have to thank Mars-Chan for reminding me such a long
time ago that I hadn't done anything with the birthday presents, cause
otherwise, I would never have remembered. Arigato Mars-Chan!!!!! Ummm,
and Rei is NOT insane just to clear that up, the whole little thing
with the voice...well...umm....yeah...it just kinda fit....Sorry that
the Minako and Makoto parts towards the end totally sucked, I really
wasn't sure how to do that Arigato!! Oh, and I am NOT good at battle
scenes, so if the ones in this chapter totally sucked, sorry bout that,
but if they didn't please let me know cause I would appreciate knowing
that. I will try to make the final battle (next chapter) a little
better though. Well I guess I have to cause that battle will pretty
much be the entire chapter. OMG!! I almost forgto!! (Sorry these are so
long) The whole scene between Victoria and Serenity, before she dies,
was kinda taken from the movie Beaches which is the best movie in the
world! If you have never seen it, rent it, now! For those of you who
have seen it, hopefully you will know which scene I am talking about.
If not, e-mail me and I will explain. Anways, for now, just send all
your comments, questions, complaints, whatever, to Pekkle9983@aol.com
and please please please e-mail me and let me know what you think!!!! I
really like e-mails and I promise to respond to alllll of them!!! Oh,
BTW, on my page, http://members.aol.com/pekkle9983/cuf.index.html,
there is a poll for something on a future story. It's not gonna be out
for a really long while, cause it's for A Thing Called Love (my Mina
and Malachite story) but I would really appreciate feedback on it
because I need to start planning the story now. Anyway, go there, read
about it, then e-mail me to vote please! That's it for now, see you
next time! 

Luv Always, 

--MCRK The character Queen Victoria is copyrighted (C0 MCRK '99 This
page and all it's contents are copyrighted (c) MCRK '99 This story and
it's title is copyrighted (c) MCRK '99