Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Knight's Work Is Never Done ❯ Nightmares of The Past ( Chapter 10 )

A Knight's Work Is Never Done

Chapter 10: Nightmares of the Past

 

By: Ginsan

 

 

Ami and Rae came out of the guest room they had decided to leave Jordan in.

 

"So how is he?"

 

Ami shook her head as she looked at all the faces piled in the small hallway. "We've managed to stop the blood loss for now. But it doesn't look good. There's some kind of toxin in the wounds and it's causing problems."

 

"What kind of problems?" Serena looked at Ami and Rae worriedly.

 

Everyone was glad that Ami was back to normal but now, there were mixed emotions in the group in regards to Jordan. Everyone was feeling pity for the guy, though Amara still seemed ticked off at him.

 

"Well, one of the properties of the toxin, is an anti-coagulant. It's keeping his blood from clotting up, and stopping the blood loss. I gave him some herbs that seem to have solved that problem." Rae shook her head. "It won't last though. The toxin is too strong."

 

Silence for a moment before Lita spoke up. "OK, so what else is wrong with him then? You said that was one of the venom's properties." She still seemed a little stressed out over the whole matter. Even with the few hours of sleep she had managed to get while Ami and Rae were taking care of Jordan.

 

"That's the worst part of it. The toxin seems to have highly evolved neural properties. It's targeting his nervous system, and starting to shut down it down. He should be dead by now, but his body is still fighting it off somehow. If the toxin reaches his brain though, we won't be able to do anything for him. We have to find an antidote before that happens, and we don't know how long his body and hold off the toxin."

 

The group fell silent again, as they tried to absorb this information.

 

Michelle was the first to speak up. "Is there anything we do to help?"

 

Rae shook her head. "I don't think so. The best we could hope for, is if we can catch the Devourer that caused this. Otherwise, I don't think there's anything we can do."

 

Before silence could settle over the group again, Amara started heading for the stairs.

 

Michelle started to go after her, when Amara waved her back. "Stay here with the others, I need some air."

 

She turned the corner and went down the stairs, leaving everyone staring after her.

 

* * *

 

"Highness. May I present my son, Prince Jorowyn. Heir to the throne of Phaeton."

 

A man in a very formal looking set of clothes gestured to a small child who stood behind him.

 

He looked to be around the age of four or five. He was dressed almost exactly like the man, and looked very similar to him as well. The only difference between the two was that the child had bright green eyes while his father had Light brown eyes, and his father has a large gold circlet around his head, while his son had a thin silver one. Also, the father had a cape, with the child did not.

 

The child stepped out from behind his father, and bowed a little awkwardly to the Queen. "It is an Honor to meet you, your Majesty." His voice was quiet, and he sounded slightly nervous.

 

The Queen smiled down at the child, relaxing him instantly. "And it is a pleasure to meet you again young Jorowyn. How do you like my Moon so far?"

 

The child's smile beamed up at the queen. "I like it very much. It's very pretty. And I like all the flowers. We don't have many back home."

 

The Queen smiled again, as did young Jorowyn's father. "Yes, I can imagine that you wouldn't see many flower's on Phaeton. Living up so high above the ground."

 

His father looked down at him. "The Queen and I have some things we need to discuss. Why don't you go and play with the Princess's and your cousins."

 

Jorowyn grinned, and bowed hastily to the queen, before walking as quickly as he could from the throne room without being rude.

 

The Queen chuckled as he left. "He looks just like you Coeus."

 

He nodded as he continued to look where Jorowyn had walked through the large doors. "Yes, but he acts just like his mother." He sighed as he looked back to the Queen. "You wanted to talk about the recent discoveries correct?"

 

The Queen let the subject be changed, knowing Coeus was still feeling the loss of his wife, even after three years. They quickly settled into the discussion while outside the room, young Jorowyn wiped away a tear and hurried to find the Princess's.

 

* * *

 

Jordan groaned as he slowly came to. The first thing he noticed, was the pain. It settled over his body like a thick fog. He was feeling pain in places he never even knew he had.

 

As his eyes opened slightly, he noticed that he was in the guest room that he had placed Ami in.

 

Before he could try to look at anything else, or think what had happened, the pain suddenly intensified and he fell unconscious again.

 

Back to darkness and back to another of those dream memories like the one he'd just had.

 

* * *

 

"How is he?"

 

Rae made her way into the room, carrying a small tray with food on it. Lita had made some soup for them to give Jordan, and some sandwiches for them to eat.

 

Ami looked up from her mini-computer as Rae set the tray down. "Not good. His body has stabilized for the most part, but the toxin is still spreading. It's only a mater of time before it becomes too much for his body to fight.

 

* * *

 

He could hear laughter up ahead, and knew that he had finally caught up to the Princess's. He came around the corner, and the laughter stopped abruptly, as they all looked at him.

 

The silence was broken by four simultaneous squeals, and then a muffled scream as poor little Jorowyn was tackled by four slightly larger people, and forced to the ground.

 

"You made it!"

 

"We've been waiting forever!"

 

"Where's my present?"

 

"Are you ever going to grow up?"

 

The four larger bodies finally got up off of Jorowyn, revealing themselves to be four girl a few years older than Jorowyn. Each was dressed up in a similar dress, the only difference being the color of each dress.

 

The tallest one, dressed in a green that matched her hair color, reached down and picked up Jorowyn from the ground. "Good thing you dress like Uncle Coeus. All that green covers up any grass stains you might get." She grinned, as he brushed him off and steered him towards where several other young girls were looking on with varied looks. "Princess Serenity, may I present my cousin Jorowyn, Crown Prince of Phaeton."

 

A small blond haired girl with a large smile on her face stood up, and nodded towards Jorowyn. "Nice to meet you. Mother said you were visiting today. You like our palace?"

 

Jorowyn nodded his head, taken completely by surprise at how polite and formal the Moon Princess was, considering she was all of three years old. A look at his own cousins, the four multi-colored girls, was enough to guess why. "A pleasure to meet you Princess Serenity. The palace is very nice. You have lots of pretty stuff here. Wish we lived closer to the ground, so I could see more flowers."

 

Princess Serenity giggled, and smiled at Jorowyn again. "You can just call me Serena, everyone does. And I'm glad you like our flowers." Gestures towards the other girls with her. "These are my friends Rayna, Princess of Mars; Litonya, Princess of Jupiter; Amira, Princess of Mercury; and Minerva, Princess of Venus."

 

Jorowyn bowed to the girls, as he smiled. "I already met Litonya, and Amira. Me and Father visited their planets a little while ago."

 

The nine girls, and the one boy all sat down, and commenced to talk, mostly about what it was like to be the heirs to their perspective planets.

 

* * *

 

Jordan began to come around again. He knew he wasn't completely conscious though, since all he could see was a hazy sort of greenish light surrounding him. He could still feel the pain in his body and knew it was steadily getting worse, but he somehow seemed to be removed from it. Feeling it as a slight throbbing.

 

He tried to look around, and see if there was anything else than the light, but he couldn't move his body. Almost like he was being held in place. With nothing better to do, he thought upon the dream memories he was having.

 

He really didn't want to go unconscious again. He knew which memories would come next. If the event itself was terrible, the after effects were simply devastating. Not only to himself, but for almost everyone in the Moon Kingdom.

 

As he lay there, he started to think upon why he was even like this. It took him a few minutes to remember what had happened shortly before he had collapsed.

 

It was all vague, and jumbled up, but he remembered he was trying to return Ami's Soul Gem to her body. As he continued to think about it, his mind started to get fuzzier, and the light around him dimmed.

 

With a sudden rush, the dam broke on the pain and it flooded over him. Once more he was sent into unconsciousness.

 

* * *

 

Ami sighed as she tried to think of a way to help Jordan. No matter how many scans she did with her computer, she still couldn't come up with a way to stop the toxin.

 

She stood up, and paced around the room. She was alone right now. Lita had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room, and Rae had left to go back to the Temple. She had wanted to see if the Sacred Fire could reveal anything.

 

Her computer had turned up something that she hadn't told the other Scouts just yet.

 

She had managed to figure out why Jordan had collapsed. Apparently after her Soul Gem had been taken back at the green house, Jordan had gone non-stop trying to find a cure. He hadn't rested at all. Apparently, he hadn't even tried to attend to his wounds either. The result, was that when he used up the last of his energy to heal her, the little that he had reserved to keep the wounds closed and the Toxin from spreading had also been used. It was a disastrous mixture, and a miracle that he was still alive.

 

The last thing, the one that frightened her the most, was what her scans had revealed. Or more importantly, what they hadn't revealed.

 

Even with her most advanced scans, she couldn't find his Soul Gem, his Heart Crystal, or his Star Seed. Something that should have been impossible.

 

And yet, here he lay, somehow still alive. But for how much longer though, she couldn't be sure.

 

* * *

 

"Why wouldn't he tell me what this was all about? Bad enough being dragged here, practically in the middle of the night, and then he ups and leaves us without any explanations."

 

A very irate and fuming Prince Jorowyn paced about his room. He was a few years older than the last time he had been here. He now looked to be about eight years old, and he had managed to grow quite a bit.

 

His pacing around the room, was observed by four young ladies. Now approaching adulthood, the four Princesses of Phaeton waiting with as much patience as they could.

 

Less that two hours ago, Uncle Coeus, Jorowyn's father, had made them all get up and follow him to the Moon. He sent them to their rooms in the Ambassador's Wing and told them to wait while he talked to the Queen. A page had come just a few minutes ago, saying that Coeus had left to go back to Phaeton.

 

They were all as upset as Jorowyn, however they knew that getting upset about it wouldn't solve anything. They'd just have to wait for answers. They didn't have to wait very long.

 

Jorowyn suddenly stopped in his tracks, and a look of absolute horror overcame his face. "He wouldn't?!"

 

He had no sooner spoken the words, before the four princesses screamed out in pain, and collapsed onto the floor. Jorowyn remained upright for a moment as he clutched his chest, before he sunk to his knees and started screaming. From the room outside, muffled screams could also be heard, before servants rushed into the rooms.

 

They quickly attended to the Princesses first, and outside the doors, Jorowyn could make out the forms of the Ambassador and his family, sprawled out across the furniture. There also appeared to be several other Phaetonian Royals. He noticed them, but didn't really see them. All he could see was the horrify vision in his head, that had caused the others to pass out.

 

Over and over again, he heard his father speak forbidden words, and watched as the Planet Phaeton exploded in space.

 

Trying to escape the visions, he fled to the furthest corner of the room, and screamed with his eyes closed. He tried his best to blot out what he was seeing, and hearing. He wouldn't even let the servants and Doctors near him, to examine him.

 

It wasn't until several hours later, when Princess Amira happened to come in, that he finally let the Doctors examine him. While they did so, unbidden to him, he began to name everyone who had still been on Phaeton at the time it had been destroyed. His father had been able to evacuate most of the people from the planet, but there just hadn't been enough time.

 

Several hours later, Jorowyn found himself being comforted by Queen Serenity. He felt so warm, and protected in her presence, that he began to tell her everything he could about what had happened. At least what he was allowed to. Something in the back of his mind kept him from telling her everything.

 

He was able to tell her just enough to convince her that something truly awful had happened back on Phaeton without any details, and Coeus had been left with no choice but to use Phaeton's Forbidden Attack.

 

It wouldn't be until a few months later, that Jorowyn would realize how he knew so much about what had happened. In all actuality, it was the Queen who discovered it.

 

The discovery came about when Queen Serenity had failed once again to find out why Jorowyn's cousin's wouldn't awaken from the deep slumber they had fallen into on the day of the catastrophe. Looking for a possible outside source for their condition, she accidentally stumbled across their connections to seemingly new Star Seeds.

 

Closer examination revealed that they were in fact Sailor Star Seeds for the four largest chunks of what was left of Phaeton. The fact that they were so new, and raw in power was why they remained unconscious.

 

Acting quickly, the Queen had shrines built inside each of the four Asteroids, and had the princesses placed inside them. This would keep them safe, while at the same time, allowing them to adjust to their new powers. Something that could likely take several lifetimes, even for long lived Senshi.

 

After the shrines were set into motion, and protection Seals were in place, the Queen made another discovery. The Star Seed of Planet Phaeton had somehow survived.

 

However, due to the nature in which Phaeton had been destroyed, the Star Seed had been altered. Researching it further, Queen Serenity found that it was in fact the heart of the original Star Seed, and the Star Seeds of the four Princesses were the created from the outside of it.

 

The greatest surprise though, was that Jorowyn had been chosen by the new Phaeton Star Seed. Jorowyn accepted this rather well, and saw it as the reason why he couldn't tell the Queen everything he knew. The Star Seed had prevented him from doing so.

 

The next year found him undergoing intense training from both the Queen's Knight Captain, and some of the retainers from Phaeton who had made it safely to the Moon.

 

As the years went by, Jorowyn grew up and became a powerful warrior. He trained in both the Moon's Martial arts forms, reserved mostly for the soldiers, and in all six forms of Phaetonian Martial Arts.

 

His retainers taught him all they could, and were amazed at the progress he showed. His sixteenth birthday, saw him officially recognized as a full warrior of the Moon Kingdom. The occasion ended up being both a joyous one for him, and a sad one.

 

On the day of the Banquet feast, he found out that his cousin Zoicite was still alive, and in fact had become a guardian for the Prince of Earth. He was also introduced to Princess Uranus, a young lady with a very serious grudge against him.

 

* * *

 

Jordan came around again, and found himself back in the hazy cloud bank. The colors were noticeable duller than they had been before.

 

He didn't quite know what to make of the change, until a form began to solidify before him.

 

It didn't take him long to recognize the green clothing with the silver trim, or the reddish-blond hair.

 

"What the Hell do you want? And where am I?"

 

The figure before him smiled slightly, before frowning.

 

"I know you don't like me much. For that, I apologize. I wish I had the time for both of us to get to know each other, but alas, we don't have it." He paused for a moment before continuing. "As for the first question, what I want is for you to live. For the second, you are inside your Crystal. Or at least your consciousness is."

 

"What the fucking Hell are you talking about? Live? My Crystal? What the Hell is going on Jorowyn?!"

 

Jorowyn sighed, before looking Jordan in the eyes.

 

"For starters, you are dying. Do you remember being attacked from behind back at the Greenhouse?" At Jordan's hesitant nod, he continued. "The spines injected your body with a highly lethal nerve toxin. Normally, your body would have been able to neutralize it without any problems. Unfortunately, you no longer have the required energy for it. You haven't recovered what you spent earlier, and you haven't slept in almost twenty-four hours."

 

Seeing the frown deepening on Jordan's face, he paused to rephrase his words.

 

"To neutralize the poison, all you would have needed, was to sleep and let your powers handle the rest. However, you used up all your energy restoring Ami's Soul Gem back to her body. A task I might add, that I was never able to accomplish."

 

"Because your were a fricking moron."

 

Jorowyn chose to ignore the rude remark, and continued on.

 

"Normally, your energy would have been renewed while you slept, but since you didn't even pause to catch your breath, it didn't have the chance. Thus, you literally worked yourself to death. Right now, your body is barely holding on. In order for it last as long as possible, I sent your unconsciousness into the dream scape of your Crystal so that I could control your body better."

 

"Thanks for all the lousy memories I'd rather not remember. I'm not you. I don't want to remember even being you."

 

"Yes, I know." A slightly melancholy look crossed his face as Jorowyn prepared his next words. "While you have been out, so to say, I have been watching what goes on outside in the Real World. I think it would surprise you to know, that all the Scouts have been by to check on you at one point or another." Even though he was expecting nothing, the uncaring look from Jordan still saddened him. "If fact, I think it would surprise you to know, that Amara is trying to save your life. She is out looking for the Soul Devourer that attacked you, in hopes of attaining a sample of it's toxin for Ami to create an antidote."

 

This time, Jorowyn was rewarded with a slight twitch at the corners of Jordan's mouth.

 

"If she can retrieve it within another two hours, you will most likely live and have her to thank. Of course, no one else knows what she's up to. They all think she's avoiding you. However, I don't think she will be in time." He paused as he considered what he was about to say next. "In case she doesn't make it, I do have an alternate method. I'll sacrifice myself, and give up my essence to repair your body."

 

Before Jordan could say anything to protest, Jorowyn sent him back into oblivion, and back to the memories.

 

* * *

 

Ami awoke from her nap with a start.

 

It took her a few seconds to clear her head enough to realize what had waken her up. He computer was beeping loudly.

 

Looking at it, she was appalled to realized that Jordan's life signs were dropping. All she could do was watch in horror, as they plunged down, almost to the point where his body would shut down completely. Luckily, they stopped just short, and seemed to stabilize.

 

She quickly sent a message to Raye to bring some more of the herbal solution they had worked out, while she tried to find out what had caused the sudden plunge. A look at the records, revealed that there was a sudden energy spike from his Pendant just before the vitals had began to drop.

 

She sat back in her chair worriedly, realizing that even if Raye brought the herbs soon, there was nothing they could really do about Jordan. Without a miracle, he's be dead before the sun rose.

 

* * *

 

Jorowyn was seated at the head of an enormous table. Around him, the ballroom was decorated in the colors of Phaeton, and even though it didn't exist anymore and he refused to wear the crown, the Royal banners were hanging behind him.

 

He was surrounded on either side by everyone he knew. Most of them he would consider friends. But he could only consider himself to be close to the two that sat to either side of him. To his left, sat Queen Serenity, She smiled down at him, as the food for the feast was being set at their table. To her left, sat Princess Serenity, one of his few friends. To his right though, was the one person who made this day feel worth while.

 

He hadn't even known he was alive until a week ago, when he had arrived with the Earth delegation for his Birthday feast. Zoicite. His last living blood relative.

 

Jorowyn's Aunt Vera had long ago fallen in love with one of the Generals of the High King of Earth. Apparently, Vera had fled to Earth and married the General just before Phaeton was destroyed. Jorowyn had never known, and therefore, wasn't aware that he even had a blood relative still.

 

In just the short week that they had been together, the two had become best friends. Almost like the had been their entire lives. He also found out, that Zoicite was pledged to be the Guardian of the young Prince of Earth.

 

Jorowyn couldn't care if Zoicite had become the Guardian of a rock. The fact that he still had family, meant more to Jorowyn than all the presents he was going to get after the feast. It didn't hurt matters, that he had come with the Earth Ambassador, and not the Prince.

 

Apparently, the Prince had been caught in the middle of playing a rather nasty prank on a visiting Earth Noble's daughter, and had been banned from going to the celebration. Zoicite had been the only one allowed to attend, since the other three Guardians had also been caught.

 

Early on in the week, Zoicite had informed him of what had really happened.

 

Apparently, Zoicite had actually been the mastermind of the whole affair, and talked the others into it. When things went sour though, they had pretended that Zoicite hadn't been involved. Of course, when he got home, he'd be paying the price for it.

 

"Malachite will probably have me run around the palace a few times. Then he'll get to the punishment."

 

Zoicite and Jorowyn started laughing, imagining what the self proclaimed leader of Prince Endymion's Guardians would put Zoicite through. Jorowyn stopped laughing though, as a shiver ran down his spine.

 

He looked up, to see the doors to the banquet hall open. A page stepped through the doors, and blew a trumpet to get everyone's attention.

 

"Announcing their Highnesses, Princess Haruka of Uranus, and Princess Michiru of Neptune."

 

Various whispers floated around the room as the two entered.

 

For a moment, Jorowyn thought the page had made a mistake. Wearing a formal dress uniform for a Uranian soldier, Jorowyn would almost have bet that this was the Prince of Uranus, and not the Princess. Just as he was about to ask the Queen if the page had a made a mistake, his sensitive ears began to pick up what the other guests had begun to whisper.

 

Apparently, this was the Princess of Uranus. She just seemed to hate wearing dresses with a passion.

 

The young woman standing next to her, could be mistaken for nothing but a princess. The short gown she wore in the colors of Neptune made her look the part. The small crown upon her head helped too of course.

 

The Queen stood, and gestured to the two.

 

"Haruka, Michiru. I'm so pleased you were able to make it after all." She looked down to Jorowyn, who stood up as well. "Jorowyn, may I introduce you to Princesses Haruka, and Michiru. I wasn't sure if they'd be able to make it, but it seems they have indeed. They'll be staying here at the Moon for a while. Girls, may I introduce you to Prince Jorowyn. The heir to Phaeton."

 

Jorowyn smiled, and bowed to them. "It's a pleasure to..."

 

He trailed off, as he caught the murderous look in Haruka's eyes.

 

When she spoke, he could nearly feel the venom in her words. "A pleasure to meet you as well Prince Jorowyn."

 

All he could do was blink, as She stormed off, taking a seat as far away from him as possible. Michiru bowed to him quickly, before hurrying after her.

 

Jorowyn sat down with the Queen, who nodded her head sadly.

 

"I'm sorry Jorowyn. I had hopped that she had gotten over her feelings by now." At his questioning look, she sighed. "I'm afraid, that her mother was visiting with the scholars of your Planet when it was destroyed. She blames your Father, and you I'm afraid. I just don't know how to help her see that it was an unfortunate accident. Maybe you should try and talk to her about it."

 

Jorowyn nodded, and returned to eating his food with Zoicite. After a few minutes, the two resumed their conversation, though he continued to look over at the angry Princess. Each time, being met with the same murderous look as before.

 

* * *

 

Jordan came to, and realized without much of a shock, that he was still in the Hell scape of his memories. He looked around, and spotted a rather pathetic looking Jorowyn sitting on the ground nearby.

 

"Don't you look peachy. I think I almost prefer your obnoxious happiness to this."

 

Jorowyn looked over at him, before slowly turning his body to face him. "I wish I could crack a joke at you right now, but matters are reaching critical. Your body is barely holding on right now, and I have no more energy to spare. I'll give Amara ten more minutes, and then I'm afraid I'll have to end our relationship."

 

"You know, I'd rather die anyway. Why the Hell are you sacrificing yourself for me? I'm just going to go out, and try to get killed again. Life's complete. The mystery of the Soul Devourers is solved. Why continue this charade of life?"

 

Jorowyn shook his head sadly. "I was hoping that re-experiencing some of your past, would help you with your grief. My mistake. But, I will not let you die. Not if I can do anything about it. You will live, and you will continue living, because there is someone else you care about more than your own death."

 

Jordan sneered at him, and laughed. "You were wrong, and glad to know you know it. And I hope you're not talking about Ami. I barely know the girl. I saved her life, because it was a chance to end the purpose of mine. It worked. Now let me die. And quite showing me how miserable life was back then. I already know."

 

Jorowyn stood up slowly, and Jordan could feel himself slipping back into the darkness. "I was talking about your sister. But yes, I suppose I was talking about Ami as well. You care for her, more than you care to admit. It's such a shame, that you've let one tragic event in your life poison the rest of it. I wish you good luck in the future Jordan. I sense the end approaching, and I shall leave you with Good Bye. May you find the peace that you seek soon."

 

Jordan fell back into the dream-memories, a scathing retort unspoken upon his lips.

 

* * *

Ami slept in the chair next to Jordan. Amara almost didn't have the heart to wake her, and with a look to Jordan, she almost walked out of the room. Looking down at her hands though, and she decided she might as well continue with this. No sense letting them go to waste.

 

"Ami, wake up. Ami." Amara gently shook Ami, trying to wake her up without disturbing the other sleeping people in the room.

 

"Huh, what time is it?" Ami groggily began to rub the sleep from her eyes as she looked around for a clock.

 

Amara chuckled softly as she stood back. "Almost four in the morning, but it's not important. I believe you need one of these, right?"

 

Ami continued to blink the sleep from her eyes, as she stared at what Amara was holding out to her. It took a few moments for them to register in her mind.

 

"Are those the spines from the Devourer? How did you, where did you?"

 

Ami looked up at Amara as she quickly stood up, and took the offered spines.

 

"I was out riding, trying to blow off some steam, when the thing started to chase a little girl across a road." She shrugged, leaving what happened next to Ami's imagination. "It's what you needed, right? Some of the spines, so you had fresh toxin to use?"

 

Ami nodded her head as she reached for her mini-computer. She quickly pulled up a program, and placed one of the spines on the screen. She set it aside, before looking down at Jordan.

 

A corner of the blanket covering him had slipped, and she carefully put it back in place. Amara rolled her eyes at it.

 

"I'm going to find a place to crash. I think you could use something to drink. No use for you to fall asleep now."

 

Ami nodded her head at the suggestion. "I believe everyone else is sleeping in the spare room next door. Rae is in here to help me if something happens, and Lita is just worried about the both of us." She smiled as she looked over at the two. "I think I'll go make some more hot tea. Would you like any Amara?"

 

She shook her head as she started to head for the spare room to sleep. "Nah. I think I'm just going to get some sleep. Let me know if something happens."

 

Ami watched her go, before looking down at the pale faced Jordan. "Wow. She was polite while being in the same room as you. Guess even she gives some rest to people."

 

She checked the computer before leaving to go fix that tea.

 

* * *

 

Jordan continued to live through one memory after another. After the arrival of the two Princesses, nothing was the same. Haruka's sole purpose in life seemed to be to make things as difficult for possible for him.

 

Nothing that could ever be proven of course. No, she was too smart for that.

 

Things became even worse still, once he completed his training under the dutiful eye of his training instructor.

 

The Queen instituted a new defense program for the Outer Planets. She established new patrol routes, and decided to have The Princesses take an active role in the defense of the Kingdom. And since he didn't have a planet of his own anymore, the Queen decided to include Jorowyn in these plans. It wouldn't have been so bad really, if she hadn't decided to give him the role of Leader.

 

He tried for years to get her to make either Haruka, or Michiru the Leader for the small group, but she never relented. He was forced to seek other means of being away from the two, or at least Princess Haruka. Staying on the Moon wasn't an option anymore either.

 

The other Princesses had all grown up as well, and had even begun their own training. Princess Amira in particular, had less and less time to spend with him. When they were all sent back to their Home planets to complete their training, he no longer had anyone to talk to, other that Princess Serenity. And even she had duties, and problems of her own to deal with. Being engaged to the Earth Prince, who she hated, being at the top of the list.

 

There was only one duty that he found that was both fun and stress relieving. Being the Delegate to Saturn. Due to the violent nature of the planet, and the space surrounding it, the Teleporters to it were rarely functioning, and ships never landed on the planet. Due his powers as a Senshi though, he could easily traverse the Teleporters, even when they wouldn't normally function.

 

It was there, that he met the young Princess of Saturn.

 

Not much as looks went, but then again, she was only eight years old. He had no doubt that she would grow up to be a very powerful ruler. She was already marked with the Star Seed of Saturn. Something that frighten most of the kingdom. There hadn't been a bearer for the Saturn Star Seed, since before Queen Serenity was born. And the last one, died in a tragic battle with a demonic creature from another system.

 

Jorowyn, however, never saw a problem. He was eager to play with the child, and to discuss matters with her parents whenever possible. In her, he saw the little sister he had been denied, and the joy he lost with his cousins and his planet.

 

It all changed though when They began appearing. Apparently, the Queen had known they would, and that was her reason for altering the patrol routes, and putting Jorowyn in charge.

 

Soul Devourers began appearing on all the planets. In small numbers at first, but quickly multiplying. The three Senshi quickly found themselves traveling from planet to planet exterminating them. The only places they never had to travel to were the Moon itself, Earth, and Saturn. All three seemed to be spared their ravages, but in return, Jupiter bore their brunt.

 

It seemed, for every five trips they made, they were always going to Jupiter or one of it's moons three of those times.

 

Jordan continued to watch in his mute capacity, as his past life went from one tragic scene to another, blissfully stopping before his final mission.

 

* * *

 

Jordan felt himself come to slowly. He knew he was still in the place between his dreams, and consciousness, but something was different.

 

Looking around, he saw Jorowyn nearby. And from the looks of things, he wouldn't be there much longer.

 

"Why the Hell are you transparent? You better not be about to sacrifice yourself."

 

Jorowyn was in deed transparent, and as he turned to face Jordan, his form began to flicker. "I'm sorry you feel the way you do about me, but yes. I am about to do so. Amara did manage to bring the samples, but it's too late I'm afraid."

 

"Too late? You're still around, so there must be some time left."

 

Jorowyn shook his head. "The anti-toxin from it will help, and Ami is about to finish it as we speak. However, it has already been in the body too long. It is in too many vital organ, for the toxin to fully be destroyed. I must continue with my original plans."

 

Jordan made his way over on wobbly feet, and tried to grab onto Jorowyn's clothing. His hands passed through him though, and he fell forward, and onto his knees.

 

"Damn it! Will you quite being a martyr, and just let me die. There is no sense in this. Just let me die, so you can come back and haunt some later incarnation."

 

"You know that isn't possible. I wasn't included in the Queens spell. The only reason I'm here now, is because of what I had Pluto do. Our three souls were sent into the future. We never actually died. If we do die as Senshi, we won't be reincarnated like the others have been. The Star Seed will reform again, given time, but my memories and powers will be lost anyway. At least this way, they will continue on in you in some way."

 

Jordan rolled over onto his back, and refused to look at Jorowyn anymore. "Then get on with it. Kill yourself, and get it over with. The sooner you're gone, the sooner I can go out and find the real Floran, and hopefully get myself killed."

 

Jorowyn began walking away, slowly fading as he went. "You won't do any such thing, and you know it. You care too much for them, to leave them to deal with what you went through. You wouldn't dare break your sister's heart."

 

Jordan continued to stare at nothing, as Jorowyn's voice faded away with the rest of his body. He began to feel consciousness coming to him, and tried to close out the final words that he heard.

 

"You will live, and one day, you will be alive again."

 

* * *

 

Ami carefully injected the anti-toxin into Jordan's arm. Her computer began to beep almost immediately.

 

The others stood nearby, waiting to see if it would work. This was Jordan's last hope, and they all knew it.

 

Amara stood at the back, leaning against the wall. She tried to pretend like she didn't care, but everyone already knew that she had brought back the spines and that if Jordan lived, it would be because she actually had a heart. Something she was rather flustered about at the moment.

 

Ami continued to monitor Jordan's vitals. For a while, all they showed was a slight decreased in the amount of toxin in his body. After a few minutes though, his life signs began to steadily improve. They stopped though, well short of him being in the safe zone.

 

She began to worry, as the vitals began dropping again. There was nothing she could do, and she knew it. She had failed, and Jordan was going to die.

 

When she put the computer on the table, and dropped her head, everyone else knew it as well.

 

Serena put her arms around Ami, and gave her a comforting hug. "You did everything you could Ami. It was just too much. No one is going to blame you."

 

She began to burst into tears as she spoke to Ami, and eventually, everyone was either all out wailing like Mina, or shedding a few tears like Amara.

 

No one noticed the feint glow from Jordan's Pendant, or the slight twitching in his fingers. It wasn't until her computer started to beep frantically, that Ami even noticed that something was happening.

 

She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, so she could read the display, and she almost started crying again.

 

Jordan vitals quickly rising to the safety zones, and all traces of the toxin were gone from his body. There was no clear indication of why, but the computer had picked up a trace of life energy suddenly infusing Jordan's body.

 

"He's alive. He. He's going to be fine. The scan shows that all the toxin is gone, and that his body is starting to heal itself."

 

Ami finally did start crying again, but in a much different tone that before. Rae and Mina found themselves being crushed in a hug from Lita, and Michelle leaned her head on Amara's shoulder.

 

In one of her few moments of insight, Serena gave Ami a quick hug, before gesturing everyone out of the room, herself included.

 

"I think we should leave the doctor with her patient."

 

Everyone eyed her for a moment, but they all did leave, heading for the kitchen to get something to drink and eat. What a night.

 

Ami got out of the chair, and knealed down on the floor next to the bed. She grabbed Jordan's hand, and held onto it for dear life. She hadn't realized until right then, that she had actually started to feel something for Jordan. The thought of loosing him, before being able to tell him, was almost unbearable.

 

But, he was fine now and as soon as he woke up, she could tell him.

* * *