Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Tides of Fortune and Destiny ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

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Title: Tides of Fortune and Destiny

By: Siarene

Chapter Four

Disclaimer: These are not my characters by any means. However the baby when she is born will be. I am just barrowing these characters for my story.


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A slight breeze swept quietly across the meadow, making the soft spring grasses dance. A gentle splash in the background accompanied the sweet trill of baby birds in a nest at the edge of the forest bordering this picturesque meadow. On closer inspection, a small waterfall cascaded over a formation of small rocks, these fed by a stream from the woods. Inside the clear waters beneath the waterfall lived its residence, teaming with black and silver fish. Algae also floated upon the sweet smelling clear water as ripples coming from the waterfall and movement of fish caressed its mirror-like surface. Water flowers also adorned the mirror-like surface moved by the motion of the tumbling water. A doe with her very young buck at her side munched happily on some spring grasses near the forest alive with many varieties of early spring flowers such as daylilies in an assortment of colors and cheerful daisies. The stunning blooms gave off their sweet perfume as they swayed in the breeze, showing off their brilliance in the bright sunlight.

In the middle of the meadow stood a young woman with her long blonde hair flowing about her shapely form, her tresses caught in the slight breeze, her shimmering locks almost kissing the ground. Beside her stood a stunning blue-haired beauty, both women adorned in dresses of rich color, best suited for princesses looking as if they were waiting for someone to show up. The blue haired girl looked decidedly nervous as she stood beside her companion.

“Serenity, please tell me why we’re here again. You know it is forbidden for us to set foot on Earth, what if your mother found out. She would yell at both of us before telling my mother and then I would get a severe scolding,” Ami tried to reason with her friend as they continued waiting within the pretty meadow.

“Oh Ami, just stuff it. You are the one who insisted I need protection. It’s ridiculous that you think me incapable of protecting myself. Endy would never hurt me.”

Serenity looked beyond the waterfall and out onto the endless stretch of the meadow to see if her love was coming.

“No, Serenity I will not “Stuff it” as you so eloquently put it. We should not be down here in the first place. It is dangerous, and what if the earthlings catch us. You know we cannot use our magic down here. It would blow their minds to know they were not alone and there was magic throughout the universe. They are of the opinion that magic is simply a hoax and unreal--” Ami found herself cut off by the sound of what she thought the hooves of horses hitting the ground. They were coming at a fast pace. As they neared, Ami could make out a young man on a big black stallion and a younger man upon a cream bay mare. The riders were almost upon the girls before they finally stopped in front of them. The dark haired rider atop the mighty stallion dismounted. Serenity ran to him before Ami could stop her. The stranger picked up Serenity and swung her into a hug as he kissed her face all over.

The other rider, slowly, but surely, got off his bay mare with a cautious and deliberate movement as if assessing any danger to the other rider. Ami sucked in her breath as she looked at the man with his blond curly hair and striking lithe body in his black and gold uniform.

“Endy, where have you been…? I have been waiting here for almost an hour… Oh, and I thought you were supposed to come alone,” Serenity scolded her one truelove, hands on hips.

“Same could be said of you, my love. Anyway, this is Zoicite. He is the youngest of my guard, the Shitennou. He thought I might get myself into some trouble, so he insisted he come along for the ride.” Endymion introduced Zoicite to his love.

“Well, this is Princess Ami of Mercury. She is of the opinion that I am still a child and need a nursemaid,” Serenity said, as she took his hand and led him off towards another part of the meadow, away from their guards.

Ami, on the other hand, was admiring Zoicite. She thought him breathtakingly beautiful to behold with those handsome features of his: that curly blond hair, stunning green eyes, his face chiseled, yet warming her heart all at once. Why, he could put Adonis to shame. Oh, you naughty girl…, comparing this earthling to a god. Ami’s thoughts were interrupted as Zoicite spoke to her, “It’s a pleasure to meet such a fair beauty and with blue hair, too. We have nothing that exotic down here on earth,” Zoicite said graciously as he reached for Ami’s hand and brought it to his lips placing a gentle kiss upon the back of her hand while looking into her deep-blue eyes.

Ami pulled her hand away as soon as his lips left the soft skin of her delicate hand. “Sir...”

“Zoicite, princess, please call me Zoicite,” he said meeting her eyes.

“Fine, Zoicite…” Ami breathed out.

“Since our friends are preoccupied, why don’t we go see the local Mollies.” Once again, Zoicite grabbed Ami’s hand and started pulling her towards the waterfall Ami assumed meant the fish within the pool at the base of the waterfall.

“What are Mollies?” Ami asked as she looked into the soft rippling pond. It was then she saw them, little black and silver fish darting about beneath the surface. On closer examination, she found some spotted.

“Mollies are communal fish. They live in communities of their own or other communal fish like platys and swordtail fish. There are others besides these live with Mollies, but right now, I cannot bring these to mind . Mollies do birth about thirty to sixty offspring at a time, however, only ten survive and occupy a colony,” Zoicite explains to his rapt audience.

“How horrible that so many of these die,” Ami was amazed, yet applauded the tenacity of these little water-dwellers.

“Its survival of the fittest, most fish eat what is far smaller than what they can get into their mouths.” Zoicite, then looked at Ami, really seeing her for the first time, captivated by the way the light highlighted her hair that seemed to possess a life of its own. It shone with a luminous blue aura. Her eyes sparkled like the Atlantic Ocean on a bright sunny day. Her lips, he mused, were luscious. Oh, how he wanted to kiss them.

“I wonder where they got off to.” Ami was about to say something, but was cut off when Zoicite stepped forward and captured her lips in a slow dream-like kiss. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist, pulling her to him before deepening the kiss -- their lips burning with unfettered passion.

Ami, taken by surprise, did not pull away at first, however, but soon came to her senses and disentangled herself. Gasping for much needed air, and with all the strength she could muster, she slapped him. “What, in the name of the gods do you think you are doing, earthling.”

“My… my, it seems my little water lily has a temper, now doesn’t she,” Zoicite declared, amused by Ami’s reaction, immediately kissed his infuriated princess once again. Then, they heard a giggle coming from the direction the prince and princess had taken earlier. Zoicite ran a hand over his immaculate black and gold uniform as he watched his prince and the princess approach. “Seems your princess just saved you, my dear….”

“Ami, you all right…?” Serenity asked, looking at her friend’s flushed face.

“It’s time to go, Serenity. Mina can only cover for us so long despite what she thinks how effective her skills might be.”

Serenity nodded her agreement and stood up on tiptoes to kiss Endymion and say goodbye. Both women smiled and bowed to each man, turned and walked towards the southern corner of the meadow to where the portal was waiting for them.

~*~


“Did something important happen back there you are not telling me?” Serenity questioned, a look of determined curiosity in her azure eyes.

“Nothing important happened, Serenity. He just infuriates me,” Ami sighed as the portal swirled into life before them.” Let’s go home and I hope no one catches us.” Ami stated as they crossed the threshold that would take them home.

~*~

“Hey Zoi, wake up, man,” Thomas whispered to the daydreamer. When whispering did not wake him up, he picked up the book lying on the couch, hitting Zoicite on the back of the head. Well that snapped him out of his daydream.

“What’s your problem…, man?” Zoicite said indignant at the interruption, rubbing his head.

“You were in la-la land and class is over. You missed the lecture on contract acquisitions. Hey what are you doing Friday?” Thomas asked.

“Nothing at the moment, why...?” Still rubbing his aching skull, Zoicite gathered his books.

“Well, I and some of the guys are going to Cold Fusion. Would you and Jadeite like to come?” Thomas walked out of the classroom.

“Sure, and Jad would look forward to taking every opportunity to get drunk and pick up girls.”

Zoicite, after saying his goodbyes started to walk down the hallway. He still had to go to Setsuna’s and talk to her about what to do. He stepped into the fresh air, inhaled, letting out a slow breath and then began moving towards the Business faculty building where the parking lot was located. He headed for his Cobalt. It was a sleek metallic blue car with silver trim. Getting in, Zoicite started the engine and put his seat belt on. Backing out of his parking space, Zoicite moved onto the main road that would take him to Setsuna’s high-rise apartment.

~*~

“Mamoru, have you talked to the guys lately?” Usagi asked as they pulled into the garage of their apartment. She turned to see that Makoto was right behind them.

Mamoru looked at Usagi with a look of sudden panic on his face. “What made you think of them?” He asked with a sideways glance at Usagi.

“Oh, nothing much, just something Minako said. She claimed Kunzite appeared in front of her about three weeks ago.” Usagi said, unbuckling her seatbelt. She got out of the passenger side of the car, walked around the back of the car and retrieved her bags from the trunk. She looked back to see if Mamoru was helping Makoto with the stroller and car seat. Seeing they had everything handled, she started walking towards the elevator.

~*~

“So are you still going to the observatory?” Usagi asked as the beeps of the elevator chimed as it continued on its way to the thirteenth floor.

“Yeah, I think Minako was a little delusional when she said Kunzite was alive.”

Usagi and Mamoru looked at Makoto, then each other with a knowing look. She knew the Shitennou were alive, but not the way Minako thought they were. Usagi thought to herself as the elevator opened onto their level and stepped into the hallway. Four doors down was apartment ‘22d,’ Usagi fished out her keys and unlocked the door and entered the familiar apartment and set her bags down inside the living room and waited for the others to come in with the larger items .

“Okay, go set that stuff in the corner, over there so it is not in the way when the delivery guys bring in the baby furniture.” Usagi pointed towards the said corner.

“Okay, honey.” Mamoru put the car seat in the corner. Makoto did the same.

“Well girlfriend, I am out of here.” Makoto waved goodbye and shut the door behind her.

“I’m gonna go lay down for a while. Do you have anything you have to do?” Usagi asked Mamoru from her place in the kitchen. Somewhat hungry, she went looking for something to eat. But low and behold, the fridge was near empty.

“But... Oh, Mamo-chan, the fridge needs restocking. I am gonna make a list, can you go and get what we need. I am thinking of making curry for supper tonight.”

Usagi sat at the table and made her list. Mamoru came out of the bedroom, sat opposite watching her make a detailed list of the things they would need in her elegant handwriting, when she was done, he took the list from her.

“ have a good nap, Usako…see you later,” he hugged her as she sat looking up at him with those adorable puppy-dog eyes and he smiled, kissing the top of her head and said his goodbye and waved as she blew him a kiss as he left.

Curious about what Minako had said, Usagi got up and went into the bedroom and opened the drawer where Mamoru kept the stones. She was surprised to find Nothing there. Panicking, Usagi started searching the bedroom thinking Mamoru had moved the stones somewhere else. An hour later, having searched the entire apartment to no avail, she decided to wait for Mamoru to come home with the groceries.

~*~

“Hi, how may I help you?” The receptionist asked Makoto as she walked into the observatory.

“I’m here for the free viewing of the telescope that was advertised in the papers.”

“Ah, yes… go straight through those doors and take a left.” The receptionist said cheerfully, indicating the white doors with the yellow sign.

“Thank you so much.” Makoto waved to the woman and headed towards the doors. She found the cue and Wincing internally, she looked around and found a nearby cafeteria. Thinking maybe it would be a good idea to get something to eat until the line dwindled to a handful of waiting people. She strode into the café. Looking for a table, she chanced upon the sight of a head of chestnut hair she had seen once before. ON the spot, she decided to get a closer look at this man. She approached him and waited for him to finish his conversation. The guy he was talking to looked up, saw Makoto, and brought his companion’s attention to the tall Amazonian beauty out to Nephrite, who turned and looked at Makoto, a look of sudden surprise etched upon his face.

“Hi...” As soon as Makoto got a good look at her mystery guy’s face, assaulted by images and memories. Images of stolen kisses, nights of lovemaking under the stars on earth, laughs shared as the memories came to Makoto in a rush.

.::. Makoto’s Memories .::.

Blood was spilt and bodies were everywhere. Standing in her torn Fuku, Sailor Jupiter looked at a tall figure in the distance, her lover; this man, only a day before had been intimate with her -- whispering passionate endearments into her ear and pleasuring her. Now standing before her covered in the blood of the people he swore to protect was Nephrite. He had an evil twisted look on his face. Not the loving face she’d seen twenty-four hours ago. No, this was the look of evil. Sailor Jupiter could not believe this.

“How could you, Neph, how could you.” Sailor Jupiter cried as she longed to hold her lover.

“It’s Nephrite to you, sailor bitch. As to why, well I was offered something that I always wanted and that was the power you wielded. Beryl has offered me great power and all I have to do is slay you and the rest of this pitiful kingdom. My fellow Shitennou is finishing off the others as we speak.”

“ Beryl…, you gave yourself to that bitch. I always thought you were above being petty. You sold your soul just so you could be on par with me. I thought I knew you better than that, Neph. Well, you are gonna find your newborn power and life cut short. I will not be cut down by a stupid earthling.”

Sailor Jupiter began to power up her ‘Wide Sparkling Pressure’ attack, Nephrite saw this and moving faster than Sailor Jupiter had expected, he shoved his sword deep into her breast. Blood poured from the fatal wound as she gripped the hilt of the embedded silver – bladed sword, looking at her former lover, his smile, the ultimate betrayal and the evil leer on his cruel face. Sailor Jupiter, tears streaming down her cheeks, her hands sticky with the hot blood of her dying heart, her broken heart, and felt more the pain of his treachery than the pain of her injuries and she sobbed uncontrollably as her life ebbed away, drew her last breath and fell dead upon the blood-soaked flagstone.

Stepping forward, Nephrite pulled his sword free from the dead Senshi, looked at the body of his former love one last time before walking silently away.

.::. Present .::.

“How can you be alive, you murdering bastard….” Makoto blurted out before passing out. Nephrite grabbed her before she hit the floor.

“What did she say to you…?” John asked his fellow assistant.

“I did not hear what she said, John, someone please call for an ambulance,” Nephrite shouted as people stood there staring not a single one moving to lend a hand as Makoto lay there.

Muttering to himself, Nephrite pulled out his cell phone and called 911. “911, what is your emergency?” the operator asked in a mechanical monotone.

“Yes, I am calling from The Tokyo Observatory and I have a young woman who just passed out. She did not hit her head, because I caught her as she fell. But she needs to be taken to the hospital.” Nephrite spoke into the phone hurriedly.

“Yes sir, may I have your name?”

“Nephrite…, and please hurry.”

“Yes sir…, the ambulance is on the way, sir. Please stand by and be there when they arrive.”

“Yes Ma’am, I will be standing by.” Nephrite shut the phone off and went back to checking Makoto. He pulled off his jacket and balled it up to place under her head, relieved she was resting comfortably.

It took about fifteen minutes for the ambulance to reach the observatory. They soon went to work and checked her over for any injuries, then lifted her unconscious form onto a stretcher. One of the EMT’s turned to address the crowd, “Who is Nephrite?” Standing up from where he had been kneeling Nephrite spoke up.

“I am. What do you need help with?” Nephrite asked as he looked at his former lover’s ashen face.

“Would you like to accompany her so she has someone to wake up too?”

“How long before she wakes up?” Nephrite did not want to be around when she woke up, but somebody needed to stay with her.

“She could be out for quite a while. So, would you sit with her?”

“Sure, of course I will, just lead the way.” Nephrite motioned for the EMT’s to go so he could follow.

Moving out of the Observatory’s grounds to the ambulance, Nephrite was growing more concerned. He wondered what had made her pass out like that. They loaded Makoto into the ambulance and he got in right behind her.

~*~

Knocking on the door to the apartment, Zoicite waited for Setsuna to answer the door. Finally, the door creaked open and a pair of innocent eyes peeked out at him from the narrow gap.

“Hi, Hotaru is your mama in?”

The little girl opened the door some more and nodded. She knew this person so she let him in, motioning for him to follow.

Sitting in her drawing room hunched over what looked to be a sketch for a designer garment, she looked up and greeted the shitennou. “Welcome, Zoicite. How are you today?”

“I have a problem and I need advice on how to handle it.”

Setsuna waved Zoicite to a nearby chair. “You boys seem to be having a lot of problems, however, but you’re about to have a lot more and quite soon, too.” Zoicite looked puzzled. The expression in his eyes filled with unasked questions for the Senshi of time. “Soon I am going to have a visitor and your boy’s secret will be out. You are going to have your hands full, but you knew that when you accepted your chance at redemption.”

“What do you mean…, a visitor? What kind of trouble are we in…, can you tell me anything?” Zoicite was full of questions and knew inside what the answer would be.

“I’m sorry, but I cannot tell you anything. All you can do is go on with your life and expect things to change soon. I am sorry if it is not what you wanted to hear. What is it that you needed?”

“No, you gave me plenty to think about. I think I will take your advice and go home. I have a chapter to read for class tomorrow, goodbye.”

Zoicite rose and Setsuna escorted him to the door of her apartment and she watched his retreating figure as he moved along the corridor.

He would go home and put Ami out of his mind for now, and whatever the future would bring, he’d try to be ready.

~*~

“Where are the stones, Mamo-chan?” Usagi probed, jumping on Mamoru as soon as he entered the apartment, a look of panic in his eyes as he looked at her.

“What are you talking about, Usako? They have always been….”

Usagi’s eyes widened, as he lied barefaced at her. Her lashes fluttered and eyes misted up with hurt. “I never thought you would stoop to lie to me again, Mamoru. How could you?” She cried and ran into the bedroom and through herself on the bed crying her heart out.

Mamoru, felt so bad and went to comfort his pregnant wife. “Usako, I am sorry, I did not wish to worry you when I found the stones missing. Yes, they are missing. I had this dream about our future selves and Setsuna. They were floating above their stones and then all of a sudden they disappeared, can you forgive me?”

Mamoru sat down beside his crying wife, and soon her sobs subsided and only the occasional sniffle emerged from the woman beside him. She leaned upon her elbows and looked at him, eyes red, about to say something when the phone rang.

“Hello?” Mamoru answered the phone. He listened for a few minutes and then his face went pale. He finally hung up the phone and looked at Usagi.

“Makoto fainted at the Observatory. She was rushed to the hospital.” Mamoru told her as Usagi gathered herself, stood up and walked out of the bedroom. “Well, come on. We have to go to the hospital and be there for her. So stop looking stupid and get your keys.” She slipped into her shoes and they were out the door with Mamoru right behind her.

~*~

“Excuse me, do you have a piece of paper and envelope with you,” Nephrite asked the station nurse.

She looked up, nodded and handed him the items he’d requested and went back to her work. Nephrite turned on his heel, made his way to a table in the waiting room, and wrote a quick note. Folding the paper and putting it into the envelope, he walked to Makoto’s ward and placed the note in her lap as she was still out cold.

Risking one more look at his beloved, Nephrite smiled sadly and left the private ward, closing the door quietly behind him as he went.