Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Redemption ❯ Opening Gambits ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

OPENING GAMBITS


Obsidian stood in the center of the Zodiac-decorated carpet,
staring into the cold, lifeless depths of the soulstone he
held. Closing his deep-brown eyes and centering himself, he
mentally reached into the lusterless crystal. Slowly,
carefully, he sought the pattern of the stone's spirit
frozen inside. There, deep within the crystal lattice,
Obsidian found what he sought -- the crystallized pattern
that represented the sum total of the personality and
experiences of the Gemlord to whom the stone belonged. A
little at a time, he sent his energy into the soulstone,
thawing out each element he found, freeing it from its
crystal prison. As more of the pattern emerged, energized by
the outside source of power, the dark lord gradually
increased the amount he sent into the stone. Then, suddenly,
he felt something new -- a flicker of life as the energized
pattern spontaneously sparked into its own.

The dark-cloaked lord quickly opened his eyes and set the
soulstone down on the carpet beneath his booted feet.
Retreating to his chair to the right of the Mirror, he gave
the Symbol of Space under his protection a quiet command,
"Mirror Power Magnify."

The black-glassed Mirror began to glow with its eerie
blackish-green light. As the dark radiance shone on the
crystal in the center of the Hall, Obsidian watched, his
entire posture thoughtful and wary, as the stone slowly came
to life. Already he was having second thoughts, but it was
now too late. The deed was done.

Little by little, in small degrees, the grayness faded away.
The chipped facets smoothed out, their lines becoming sharp
once more, and the dullness disappeared as light began to
shine within the crystal. As the glow within became steadily
brighter, the aura around the Mirror began to fade. It was
completely gone by the time the soulstone's violet-tinged
pink-colored light shone throughout the Hall, taking on a
human-like shape. Then that too faded away, leaving behind
the tall figure of a man.

Still too weak to stand on his own, the resurrected Gemlord
collapsed to the floor as soon as his rose-colored aura
disappeared. Catching himself, his pastel-colored
violet-pink cloak splayed around his lithe form, he
supported his upper body with his hands as he tried to
regain his bearings. *Where am I? I feel as if I've just
awakened from a long, dismal dream.* A memory momentarily
flashed through his mind, one of searing agony as a killing
strike of his own power blasted through his protective
shield and buried itself into his chest. *And after that,
nothing,* he thought. *At least until now.*

"Give me just one good reason why I shouldn't blast you back
into oblivion permanently."

At the sound of the familiar but completely unexpected
voice, the reborn Gemlord looked up in shock, shaking his
long, straight, silver-blond hair out of his eyes. Seeing a
dark-haired, dark-eyed man sitting on a vaguely throne-like
chair next to a huge mirror made of black glass that was
unusually reflective, the silver-haired Gemlord narrowed his
pale-lavender eyes in wariness as everything suddenly came
flooding back. From his youthful days on Lithos all the way
up to his final battle with the Senshi, he could now recall
his entire sordid history. Realizing that he was in the
Hall of the Mirror within the Obsidian Tower and that it was
the Lord of that Tower who had spoken, the Gemlord defiantly
met the dark lord's challenging stare. "You need me,
Obsidian," his low voice replied. "Otherwise, why waste what
energy you have bringing me back in the first place?"

Gritting his teeth in anger and frustration, Obsidian
continued to glare at the other man as the silver-haired
Gemlord slowly rose to his feet. "Out of all of us on
Lithos, I expected the most from you, Kunzite. Other than
the Tower Guard, you were the first one to come into being.
From the beginning I considered you a trusted friend and
advisor, especially as your counsel increased in wisdom over
the years.

"Treachery I expected from Beryl; my only mistake was a
naive belief that she would somehow change, hence her exile
instead of execution. Zoisite's involvement certainly wasn't
a shock; it's too bad his -- or her -- destined duties were
discovered when that one was still quite temperamental and
immature. Even Jadeite wasn't a huge surprise, for he was
always a calculating, restless soul. On the other hand, you
and Nephrite were another matter entirely."

With cat-like grace, Obsidian stood and walked over to the
other Gemlord. Stopping just in front of Kunzite, the dark
lord's deep-brown eyes stared straight into the other's
pale-lavender ones. "I see that you remain as astute as
ever. Yes, I need you. I need your experience and advice.
I'll even eventually need your three conspirators as well.
But let me get one thing straight between us right now. I'd
rather the Universe be swallowed by Chaos before I tolerate
more treason from you."

Kunzite continued to glare back, a scornful expression on
his handsome face despite his weak condition, until the Lord
of Lithos's last sentence. Seeing within Obsidian's eyes a
black coldness he'd never noticed before, the rebel Gemlord
knew with certainty that the dark lord wasn't lying. Gazing
down at the symbol of Leo on the carpet below, his silver
head slightly bowed in submission, he quietly asked, "What
do you wish of me, my Lord?"

But even as he stepped back into the familiar role of being
a highly-ranked underling, Kunzite heard a shadowy,
whispered voice deep within himself: *With Beryl gone, all
power can be yours.* Although startled -- and perhaps a
touch frightened as well -- the tall Gemlord kept his
composure. Only a slight clenching of his right hand
betrayed his sudden unease as he continued to patiently
await Obsidian's next words.

The dark-brown-haired man didn't immediately respond.
Instead, he strode over to the table strewn with the remains
of the population of Lithos. "If there's one thing I've
learned from our last encounter, it's this: know your enemy
well. Against you and that Chaotic horde you lead, none of
us had much of a chance. I suppose the centuries of
preparing for the defense of Lithos helped the four of you
immensely in your attack. With the Senshi abandoning us, we
were overrun."

Kunzite silently walked over to the table as well, standing
on the opposite side from the dark lord. For a moment he
thought about telling Obsidian about the shield he'd used to
keep Lithos incommunicado, then thought better of it.
Instead, he glanced down at the lifeless stones below. His
pale-lavender eyes immediately picked out one particular
crystal, one that was a rather unremarkable dark
bluish-gray. It was a familiar one, since it had been in his
care ever since its owner's death.

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

A flash from the past: Down in the earth, within a large
underground cavern, lit by various glowing patches on the
cool, damp rock, Kunzite storms off, obviously angry and
bewildered. He doesn't get far before he's joined by another
figure.

The newcomer is a boyishly-handsome male Zoisite, his nearly
waist-length, loose, wavy hair flying as he almost runs to
catch up. "Kunzite! Wait! Please..." the golden-blond
Elemental pleads.

"Why?" the silver-haired Gemlord snarls back. However, he
does stop and turns to face the younger man, his cloak
swirling around his tall form. "Have all of you gone insane?
What about our duties? Our responsibility to our Lord as a
Guardian of the Cosmos?" Kunzite then shakes his head in
disappointment, his expression one of cold rage. "You, of
all people, speaking treachery? I thought I'd taught you
better than that." He raises his hand and points back down
the way the two of them had come. "Go back and join the
others, Zoisite. If this is what all of you are set on
doing, then I want nothing more to do with it -- or you."

During Kunzite's speech, the expression on Zoisite's
youthful face changes from one of panicked confusion to sly
satisfaction. He reaches out and grabs the older man's
outstretched hand in his own, then drops to his knees before
the tall Elemental's booted feet. As a deep, violet-blue
aura shimmers around the younger Gemlord's slender form --
long, loose hair falling forward and obscuring Zoisite's
face -- the Western Commander kisses Kunzite's hand.

At first outraged, the silver-haired Gemlord begins to pull
his captured hand away--then stops, an oddly-dazed look in
his pale-lavender eyes. Slowly, he stares down at the
kneeling figure below.

The young, mercurial Elemental then gazes up at Kunzite,
shaking long, golden-blond locks out of her now clearly
feminine features. Still holding onto the other's hand, she
says, in a voice somewhat higher-pitched than it was moments
ago, "Please, Kunzite. We need you. *I* need you. You're the
unit's leader and my mentor. Without you, anything we plan
will be doomed to fail." A sensuously seductive smile graces
the Gemlord's now-feminine lips. "I'll do anything you want,
*be* anything you want, if only you'll stay with us -- with
*me*."

For a long moment, the pair continue to stare at one
another. Then, finally, the dazed look in the silver-haired
commander's eyes clears up. With a slow, cold smile, Kunzite
tugs on Zoisite's slender, feminine hand and helps her
stand. "For you, Zoe, I'll stay," he says, his deep voice
low. He then pulls the thin Gemlord into his embrace, giving
her a blatantly passionate kiss.

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

Still gazing down at what was left of Zoisite, Kunzite
silently said, *And from that moment on, we were closer than
ever -- beyond teacher and student, beyond even true
friendship.* He closed his eyes then, pushing aside the
images that filled his mind, unwilling to go down that
dismal path again.

Meanwhile, Obsidian carefully watched the resurrected
traitor. Noticing where he was staring and catching the
other's fleetingly desolate expression, the
dark-brown-haired Gemlord shook his head in contempt. "You,
of all people, should've known better. Fire and Water
usually leads to mutual annihilation."

Kunzite's only response was to look up and give the Lord of
Lithos an icy stare.

Obsidian glared back. "Yes, I've seen it all. From Lithos's
destruction 'till now, the Orrery showed me everything.
Jadeite's ill luck, Nephrite's foolishness, Zoisite's
ambition and your resentment, as well as Beryl's defeat. As
I said, I'm going to need the four of you. Do as I command,
and Zoisite'll be the next one I bring back as soon as I'm
able.

"However, should any of you get any brilliant ideas and
decide to turn on me again, keep this in mind." So saying,
the dark lord reached under his gold-lined cloak.

When Obsidian withdrew his hand, the silver-haired Commander
could see that the other Gemlord held something clenched in
a fist. As he watched, the dark-haired lord stretched his
arm over the table and opened his hand. Fragments of stone
colored deep reddish-gray fell to the table-top below,
coming to rest among the collection of soulstones. With an
uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, Kunzite picked up
a triangular piece that had fallen next to Zoisite's
crystal.

While the tall Gemlord carefully inspected the stone shard,
Obsidian spoke again, his rich baritone voice harsh.
"*That* is all that remains of your so-called queen. Cross
me again, and I'll see that you join her in oblivion. No
plan of mine, nor the balance of the Cosmos, is more
important than that."

Kunzite narrowed his pale-lavender eyes. *So, he actually
found the guts to destroy one of us after all, despite his
concern to maintain balance.* With an almost cavalier
gesture, he tossed the fragment of Beryl's soulstone over
his shoulder. Glancing back down at the other shards on the
table, the lavender-pink-cloaked Commander realized that
that particular thought didn't sit well with him at all. "If
I may, my lord," Kunzite quietly began, still looking down.
"Two questions: You've mentioned a plan -- what do you have
in mind? Secondly, if you're going to need the four of us,
where's Nephrite?"

"Second question first," Obsidian replied with a sigh. "I
don't know. His crystal didn't answer my Call. In fact, I've
got the feeling that he somehow found a way to resist the
summons."

Kunzite looked over at the dark-clothed lord, a silver
eyebrow raised in surprise. "A *dead* Gemlord didn't answer
your Call?"

"Apparently so. At the time, I thought I'd felt some
resistance, but I wasn't sure and dismissed it as some sort
of anomaly, perhaps brought on by my long coma. That's one
reason why I brought you back. Other than Jadeite, you knew
him the best."

"But Jadeite knew him much better than I ever did."

Obsidian gave the other Gemlord a cold smile. "However,
Jadeite never fought against Sailors Jupiter and Venus, nor
was he around during the last days of Nephrite's life. He'd
managed to make Beryl rather upset at him before then. Which
leads me back to your first question; I mean to reconstruct
the Philosopher's Stone."

That statement left Kunzite speechless. An expression of
complete astonishment on his handsome face, the
silver-haired Elemental just stared at Obsidian.

"With the Philosopher's Stone, I can do almost anything.
Combine those four pieces with the power of the Mirror, and
I'll be able to undo what I've done.

"And that brings me to the reason why I chose to resurrect
you over any of my loyal followers. You've battled all of
the Inner Senshi. Tell me everything you know about them,
their powers, their defenses and their attacks," the Lord of
Lithos commanded.

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

With the ring of a bell, the stillness of the schoolyard was
shattered. Startled birds took to the sky as the double-door
leading out of the building flew open with a crash, a pack
of laughing kids rushing out to enjoy their lunches in the
sunshine. Among those hurrying out, lunch bags in hand, were
Serena and Molly.

"Honestly, Serena, I'm really sorry," the red-headed teen
said as the ponytailed blond looked around for a place to
sit. "I just don't know what happened. I *meant* to meet you
there, but I was so tired, I went home and took a nap
instead. You're not sore, are you?"

Thinking back on the fact that she'd ended up being able to
eat two ice cream cones instead of just one, the slender
blond replied, "Naw, not really. It's just that you had me a
bit worried, that's all. Hey, here's a good spot."

As Serena sat down on a low concrete barrier surrounding a
beautiful bush near the center of the yard and began pulling
food out of her bag, the red-head sat down next to her. "I'm
glad. Besides, I had a dream yesterday afternoon that I
wouldn't wanted to have missed."

"Oh, really? What about?" Serena asked, taking a bite out of
her sandwich.

"Maxfield Stanton."

Blue eyes suddenly wide in shock, the blond teen nearly
choked on her food. "What? But that was months ago. I
thought you were all over that."

Molly shrugged. "I am, but that doesn't mean that I have to
stop thinking about him."

An uneasy silence settled over the girls, one that wasn't
broken until a new voice spoke up. "Hey, mind if we join
you?"

Looking up, the pair of teens saw another two girls standing
there, lunches in hand. The one on the left was a thin girl
of average height with intelligent, sapphire-blue eyes and
straight, bluish-looking hair cropped short, while the one
on the right was a tall, almost muscular teen with
forest-green eyes and thick, medium-brown hair pulled up
into a ponytail high on her head. Unlike the other girls in
the schoolyard--whose sailor-like school uniforms were red,
white and blue -- the second teen's outfit was white and
tan.

"Hi there, Amy," Serena said, a bright smile on her pretty
face as she replied to the blue-haired girl's question.
"Sure, go right ahead." Looking directly up at the tall
brunette, she added, "What kind of goodies did you make
today, Lita?"

"Gee, I don't know. All kinds of stuff. I was kinda hungry
this morning," the tan-uniformed teenager answered, sitting
down on the concrete next to Molly. As Lita began to open
her lunch bag, Amy sat down next to Serena on the concrete
as well, her pleated skirt covering the corner.

Leaning over to look past Molly, Serena carefully watched as
the taller girl brought out muffins, sandwiches with
homemade bread, canapes of various sorts speared on
toothpicks and home-baked cookies.

While Amy rolled her sapphire-blue eyes heavenward and Molly
leaned back into the bush, a bit miffed as she tried to eat
her lunch without getting in Serena's way, the slender blond
sighed, "Everything looks so good, Lita. Think I could try
some?"

Glancing over at the other girl, the brunette opened her
mouth to reply -- then stopped when another voice
interrupted.

"Hi girls! How's everything this fine day?"

As one, the four teens looked at the source of the voice.
Before them stood a short teen-aged boy with shaggy brown
hair and thick glasses, his appearance fairly screaming
*nerd*.

With a growl of frustration at being interrupted, the
ponytailed blond said, "Melvin!"

Undaunted, the brown-haired boy continued, "Have you heard
the buzz? A new ninth-grader transferred to our school from
overseas today."

"Overseas? Really?" Molly asked, intrigued.

Taking the red-head's interest as encouragement, Melvin
whipped out a small memo pad whose color matched that of his
dark-blue uniform. As the four girls watched, a bit
fascinated by the speed of his page-turning, the
bespectacled teen-ager flipped through the pad. Scratching
his shaggy-haired head, he said, "Ah, here we go. His name's
Nathan Sanford and he has dark brownish-auburn hair and
green eyes. I haven't been able to find out yet just where
he's from, but he's apparently here to look after an uncle's
property while the uncle's out of the country. And get this
-- apparently both his uncle and his family are filthy
rich."

"Oh, come on," Serena sighed. "If he's that rich, then why's
he here? He oughtta be going to some fancy, private academy
instead of a public junior high."

"Well, you could go ask him yourself," Melvin responded, a
bit ticked. "There he is."

As one, the four girls turned and looked off to their left
in the direction the teen-aged boy was pointing. There,
standing in the schoolyard with a slightly bewildered
expression on his handsome face, was one of the cutest boys
they'd ever seen. As the girls watched -- and a gentle
breeze ruffled his shoulder-length, dark reddish-brown hair
-- the new teen scanned the yard with a thoughtful look in
his eyes. Then, with an almost imperceptible shrug of his
shoulders, he strode off toward the fence, his movements
betraying an underlying athletic grace.

"What a hunk!" Serena breathed, her voice low so that it
wouldn't carry.

"Sure is," Molly chimed in.

"I agree. He is rather good-looking," Amy added.

Melvin just frowned in slight annoyance.

Lita, however, kept staring off in the direction the new
student had disappeared, a far-off look in her forest-green
eyes. "Oh, wow!" she finally said, her voice full of awe.
"He's so dreamy. He looks just like my old boyfriend."

"Not again!" the slender blond said, slapping a hand to her
forehead in disbelief. "This'll be the third crush in two
months, Lita. Get a grip!"

The brunette teen didn't respond. Instead, she stood up and
walked out into the yard a few paces, still staring at where
the new boy had gone, her lunch momentarily forgotten. As
the expression on her pretty face changed from one of
bedazzlement to a thoughtful frown, she continued gazing off
into the distance. Then, determination suddenly in her eyes,
the tall girl walked back to where her lunch was lying
around and began packing it back up into her bag.

"What in the world are you doing?" Serena asked, startled.

"Doesn't look like he brought anything, and I've got more
than enough here," Lita replied.

"But I thought--"

"Sorry," the ponytailed brunette apologized, cutting the
slender blond's complaint short. "It's not like you'll have
to go without. After all, you *did* remember your own for
once." With that, Lita finished putting her food away.
Saying a cheerful, "See ya!" she was gone, bounding off
toward the fence.

The new teen-ager was sitting on a large rock that decorated
the ground near a large, glossy green bush. With one leg
stretched out to the ground and the other foot resting up
against the side of the rock, he had his hands wrapped
around his upraised knee. Lita noticed that he wasn't doing
anything other than stare straight up into the sky high
above the schoolyard fence.

With both hands clutching her lunch bag and a fluttery
feeling in the pit of her stomach, the athletic girl stood
there a moment, the breeze rippling her waist-length
ponytail and knee-length tan skirt. Finally overcoming her
hesitation, she cleared her throat in the hopes of getting
his attention.

Startled, the reddish-brown-haired teen nearly fell off the
rock. With cat-like reflexes, he caught himself, then glared
over at where the voice had come from.

For just a second, Lita hesitated again, surprised by the
nasty, venomous look he'd given her. But his expression
quickly changed to one of mild curiosity, and Lita flashed
him a big smile in return. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to
startle you."

"That's all right," he replied, his mellow tenor low. "My
fault. I'm not used to people getting near me without me
noticing their approach."

"May I join you?"

He gestured toward the grassy ground at the foot of the
rock. "As you wish."

Taking the invitation, the tall girl sat down on the grass,
carefully arranging her pleated skirt to cover her crossed
legs. She then began unpacking her lunch yet again.
Glancing up, she saw that the teen-aged boy was staring back
up into the sky. "Uh, excuse me," she said, trying to get
his attention back.

This time, he just looked down at her.

Gazing up into his dreamy eyes, the color of which was a
nearly translucent emerald-green, Lita just sighed.
However, when it became obvious that he was getting bored
with waiting for her to say something, she quickly added, "I
couldn't help noticing that you didn't seem to have a lunch.
If you'd like, I'll share mine. I've got plenty here."

For a moment, he just watched as the brunette teen pulled
item after item out of her bag. Then, with a vaguely
embarrassed smile, he replied, "I think I'll take you up on
your generous offer. You're right, I did forget to bring
something to eat. Seems to be a detail I overlooked this
morning." As he got up from his stone perch and sat down
cross-legged in front of the tall brunette and her food, he
continued, "Guess it's gonna take me a bit to get used to my
new situation."

"You mean like coming over here from overseas, looking after
your uncle's place and fitting into a new school?" Lita then
picked up a chocolate-chip muffin and held it out to him.

"So, you know all that already?" he asked, taking the
offered sweet.

"Uh, huh," Lita answered, peeling the wrapper off a muffin
for herself. "Like I was told when I first transferred here
myself, word gets around fast in this place. So where're you
from?"

"Europe." With that, he bit into the muffin. Quickly
polishing it off, he said, "That was rather good."

"Thanks. Have some more. Go ahead and help yourself," the
tall brunette suggested, gesturing toward her spread-out
lunch with a sweep of her hand. "I made it myself."

He reached forward and picked up a couple of
toothpick-speared canapes. "Really? Then you've got quite a
talent there."

Lita's only response was to shyly duck her head, her cheeks
blushing from the complement.

Together, they ate the rest of the tall girl's lunch in
silence, each one politely making sure that the food was
equally divided. When they were finished, as Lita gathered
up the garbage, the auburn-haired teen smiled. "Thanks a
lot... uh..." He paused, waiting for her to supply her name.

"Lita," she informed, grabbing her lunch bag.

"Lita, huh? Pretty name. I'm Nathan."

"So I've heard."

He gave her a sly, knowing smile. "Ah, yes. The grapevine."
Shaking his head, he continued, "Anyway, thank you, Lita. I
appreciate it -- and so does my stomach."

The ponytailed teen giggled. "Now promise me you won't
forget your food tomorrow, okay?"

For a fleeting moment, his handsome face took on a cold,
serious look. "I don't know. I'm afraid I haven't been good
at keeping promises." But then he smiled again, a genuinely
warm one. "However, I'll do my best to remember."

"Good enough for me," Lita replied. Standing up and
smoothing out her tan skirt, she said, "Come on, Nathan."

"Whatever for?"

It was Lita's turn to frown. A bit put off by the chilling
undercurrent in his mellow tenor, she growled, "Well, you
don't have to if you don't want. I just thought I'd
introduce you to my friends. But if you think you'll get
adjusted to a new school better without knowing anyone, I
guess that's your business." She started to turn on her heel
and go, but paused when the auburn-haired boy raised a hand
as if to touch her shoulder.

"Wait, Lita. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, it's
just that I've got a lot on my mind. I've been quite the
loner for a long time, and I tend to view the world with a
suspicious eye," Nathan said, his attitude one of apology.

"Is that why you're here?"

Astonished, the athletic boy blurted, "What do you mean by
*that*?"

Lita blinked her large, forest-green eyes in surprise. "I
meant, is that why you're here in a public junior high
instead of a private academy? The buzz said that your
family's well-off."

"Oh," Nathan replied, seemingly relieved. "Yeah, you could
say that. I've done most of my studies either completely on
my own or with a tutor. My uncle thought that it'd be a good
idea if I went to a public school and see how ordinary kids
live as well as learn how to get along with others."

"You've never gone to school before?" the ponytailed
brunette asked, astounded.

"Actually, no, I haven't. Like I said, I've been tutored and
I've done extensive research on my own. And I've managed to
pass most of the tests thrown my way. However, I'm here now.
I'd be honored to meet your friends. I could probably use a
few myself," he responded, a mysterious smile gracing his
handsome face.

"Well, then, come on," she encouraged, turning around and
striding off toward the bush where she'd first sat down.
However, when she arrived there, she was mildly surprised to
see that the group of teens had been joined by another girl.
"Hi, Callie!" she called out, walking up to the short
brunette. "Didn't see ya earlier. Where've you been?"

The small, agile, brown-haired teenager replied, staring up
at the green-eyed girl, "I decided to eat lunch with Arena
today. She looked like she could use some company. I'm not
sure she's having an easy time getting used to a new
school." Glancing beyond Lita to the auburn-haired guy
standing somewhat behind the tall teenager, Callie added,
"Who's this?"

Lita stepped aside, giving the other girl a good view. As
tall and athletic as Lita, the newcomer had wavy,
dark-reddish-brown hair that just brushed the tops of his
shoulders and almost translucent emerald-green eyes.
Although he appeared nice enough, there was something about
him that struck a chord of wariness in Callie. *But I'm
positive I've never seen him before... Have I?*

"Callie, meet Nathan. He just transferred here from Europe,"
the tan-uniformed teen said by way of introduction.
"Nathan, this is Callie. She's been here for only a few
weeks herself."

"Hi there," the shorter brunette replied, feeling a little
shy.

The teen-aged boy curtly nodded in response. "Pleased to
meet you."

Lita then gestured over at the prim girl with close-cropped,
blue-hued hair sitting on the concrete barrier. "This is
Amy, one of my best friends."

The studious girl looked up and smiled. "Pleased to make
your acquaintance, Nathan."

"You're Amy Anderson, aren't you? The girl genius I've heard
about?"

Now it was the blue-haired girl's turn to become suddenly
shy. "Yes, that would be me," she acknowledged.

Nathan smiled back. "Perhaps we'll find the time sometime to
discuss astrophysics and debate the merits of the new
information about the Universe we've found out through the
use of the Hubble telescope."

As everyone blinked in surprise at his comment, Lita went on
with the introductions. Pointing at the slender blond with
the twin, knee-length ponytails topped with spherical buns,
she said, "This is another of my best friends, Serena."

The girl just introduced didn't say anything. Instead, she
just stood there, transfixed, gazing at the handsome boy.
*Whatta hunkmeister!*

"So this is Serena," Nathan replied, giving the blond teen a
cold smile that suddenly made Amy suspicious. "I finally get
an introduction to the person I've heard so much about."

"Huh? You've heard about me?" Serena asked, startled.

"Sure have. The grapevine, you know. You're pretty popular
in certain circles," Nathan responded.

"Wow! Imagine that! Me, popular!"

While Lita quickly went on before the ponytailed blond could
really get started, Amy continued to frown in thought,
looking at Nathan in a whole new light. "This is Molly, one
of Serena's close friends," the tall brunette hastily said,
gesturing at the red-head sitting on the concrete next to
the slender blond.

The auburn-haired teen-ager stepped forward then, making his
way through the small crowd. Stopping in front of an
astonished Molly, he dropped to one blue-clad knee in order
to be eye-level with her. "It's always a pleasure meeting
such sweet loveliness," he said, his low tenor smooth.

During the entire round of introductions, Melvin's neutral
expression had slowly turned into one of annoyance as it
became obvious just how charming the new ninth-grader could
be. But when Nathan took Molly's hand in his and raised it
to his lips for a quick, respectful kiss -- making the
redhead giggle nervously and look away in embarrassment --
the shaggy-haired boy got fed up. "Hey!" he blurted.

The auburn-haired teen looked up, an eyebrow raised in a
questioning gesture. Rising to his feet once more, he asked,
"And you are?"

"Oh, that's Melvin," Molly replied before the
glasses-wearing boy could speak on his own behalf, having
recovered from her astonishment.

Fixing the slender red-haired girl with his emerald-green
eyes, Nathan inquired, his voice low, "Someone of importance
to you?"

Taken by surprise, Molly's first reaction was to immediately
reject any feelings toward the nerdy-appearing boy. But
she'd also glanced over at Melvin at the same moment, and
the hurt look on his face made her pause. Swallowing hard,
she looked back up into the transfer student's fascinating
eyes. "Yeah," she admitted to both of them. "He's been a
really good friend to me."

As all of the girls -- save Lita, whose thunderous
expression looked like she'd gladly throw lightning bolts at
the auburn-haired teen -- looked on in shock at the whole
exchange, Nathan executed a bow that was as much a gesture
of mockery toward the shorter boy as it was one of polite
elegance. "I'm honored to meet such a good friend of
Molly's," he said, the icy tone in his voice making the
words a lie. "Perhaps I'll be as good a friend also some
day." Straightening up, he glanced down at the watch on his
right wrist. "Time to go," he remarked.

The entire group of teen-agers stared at him, most of them
at a loss for words, as he started to walk away. But he'd
only taken a couple of steps before he stopped and looked
back over his left shoulder at the other boy. "You know,
Molly once knew my uncle," he informed. "You may have heard
of him as well. He's Maxfield Stanton." With that, he was
gone, heading off toward the building.

As Serena and Molly looked at one another in astonishment
and Amy continued to thoughtfully frown, Callie just stood
there and kept staring at where he'd been, still not sure
she'd witnessed what she had. Melvin stood there as well,
feeling like a complete fool.

Lita, however, was another story. With her hands on her hips
and her entire attitude one of anger, she spat, "What an
arrogant--" Her last word was drowned out by the ringing of
the school bell, signaling the end of the lunch period.

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

The room was part of a suite built in an odd shape,
triangular in construction with the hypotenuse formed from
the graceful curve of the Tower's outer wall. On this level
of the black building, there were only four suites, each one
taking up a full quarter of the circular area and accessed
by a central hall that ran from the northeast to the
southwest, and each one consisting of a private study, a
bedroom and a bathroom. This particular set of rooms, when
its windows still existed, looked out upon the area due
south of the Tower.

The door in the center of the left-hand wall opened and a
tall figure stepped through. As he shut the door behind
himself, he glanced around the bedchamber's contents.
Pleasantly surprised to find everything pretty much the way
he'd left it over a millennium ago, Kunzite found the
familiar surroundings of his former life somehow comforting.
With a weary sigh, his face almost as pale as his hair from
exhaustion, he began fumbling with the pair of silver
brooches -- each one sporting a large, faceted, violet-pink
gemstone -- that held his pastel cloak in place. Removing
them, he walked over to the desk just to the left of the
entryway and set the three items on the top. He then reached
up and pulled off the silver circlet, rubbing the spot with
his other hand where the large, oval-faceted kunzite had
been resting against the middle of his forehead. Setting the
circlet down on top of his bunched-up cloak, he thought, *I
don't ever recall being this tired before in my life, nor
ever having this bad of a headache. However, I don't recall
having been resurrected before either, so I guess there's a
first time for everything.*

With a wry smile on his handsome face, the silver-haired
Gemlord strode over to the bed against the right-hand wall
and sat down on it. Thinking back on his conversation with
Obsidian -- or rather, interrogation -- Kunzite slowly shook
his head. *I don't recall him being quite that persistent. I
swear I went over every detail I knew about the Inner
Senshi's powers at least ten times, including the powers
that are still blocked by my and the others' efforts.

*The strangest thing is that there's something not quite
right about him. I can't put my finger on it, but he's not
exactly the same Obsidian I remember.*

With a sigh, Kunzite laid down. Lacing his fingers together
and resting his head on his hands, he closed his
pale-lavender eyes. As he began to slip into the meditative
state that was the Gemlord equivalent of sleeping, he
continued his thoughts. *I may be wrong, though. From what I
could tell, Obsidian's been comatose from the time of our
invasion until just recently. He speaks about it as if it
had happened just yesterday, while it's ancient history to
me. It could be an after-effect of the coma or it could just
be that he hasn't had time to deal with the consequences of
what transpired.*

*As for me, I'm actually beginning to feel like myself for
the first time in a very long time.*

That thought was interrupted by a dark chuckle from deep
within Kunzite's mind. *You're mine, Gemlord. You always
will be.*

*Not this time,* the silver-haired man shot back. *I know
you for what you truly are now. Amazing how being dead tends
to clear one's mind.*

The dark laughter sounded again. *You chose to follow me of
your own free will. In return for being my servant, I gave
you what you most desired.*

*You gave me nothing but lies and obsessions, using me as a
channel for your power. You invaded my soul and twisted what
you found there to suit your own needs, fooling me into
believing that what I felt came from within myself and not
from you. But I can sense the difference now, and I won't
fall into the same trap again.*

*True,* the dark voice continued. *With your death and my
defeat, my hold on you has become tenuous. But it's only a
matter of time. You need me and soon you'll submit to my
will again.*

*Never,* Kunzite vowed. *I am the Commander of the Southern
Quarter, the Warrior of Elemental Fire. My duty is to serve
the Guardian of the Gateways and to keep trash like you from
invading the Cosmos.*

That caused the dark voice to explode with laughter once
more. *This from the man who once told the moon brat "Never
say never"? Wait and see, Gemlord. No matter what you and
the others do, I shall have you all under my control again,
including Nephrite.*

*What about him?* Kunzite asked, startled by the dark
voice's mention of the one missing Gemlord.

Nothing but silence answered his question. The dark voice
was gone for the moment.

Try all you want, the silver-haired commander fumed,
addressing the stillness within. *I won't follow you this
time. I know how you operate and I know what really happened
to us in that cavern on Earth long ago. This time, I'm on my
guard.* But even as he said it, he knew he was convincing no
one with his defiant thoughts -- not even himself.