Hi again everyone! I am back already I know! and I have no time whatsoever so this is the quickest author's note yet:

umm SM does not belong to me, disclaimers apply, see read me.

The song 'Have You Ever' is (c) Brandy, '98.

Visit my pages: http://members.aol.com/Pekkle9983/world.index.html

http://members.aol.com/pekkle9983/attf.html

http://members.aol.com/pekkle9983/cuf.html    Enjoy! OMG!!!! I almost forgot, there is only one translation, and I need to say it now because it is really important that you know ahead of time. Ai Shiteru means I love you. Now you can enjoy!

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As the Tears Fell~Chapter 11

By MCRK

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"Knock Knock." Serin said as she poked her head in the doorway. "You ready to go yet?"

Rei emerged from her bedroom a moment later. "Yeah sorry about the wait."

"No problem." She said, looking around the incredibly neat room. "How is it possible for a room to be this neat? It's like Ami's, God it's almost sickening." She commented.

Rei rolled her eyes. "It's called cleaning, you should try it sometime."

"What and put the maids out of a job?" She joked.

"You're right that would just be to cruel." Rei agreed as she locked the door and the two started down the hall.

"Totally against my sweet innocent nature." Serin agreed.

"You know Ren, maybe this isn't such a good idea." She said stopping in front of the large wooden door.

"What are you talking about?" Serin asked in concern.

"I don't know, I think they all still hate me." She said uneasily.

"Well that's why we are going together. Besides didn't you say you talked to Kunzite and he forgave you?" Serin asked.

"Yeah, but that's only one person." She pointed out.

"And me. Look, don't worry about it ok? I'm sure that will all forgive you once we get in there and talk to everyone." Serin said gently.

"I don't know, maybe I should just not go." Rei said glancing nervously at the large wooden door in front of her.

"Rei you have to come! I have a huge announcement to make and you have to be there to hear it!"

"What announcement?" Rei asked curiously.

"Um, the one I didn't tell you about yet. But the only reason I can't tell you is cause you are gonna scream." Serin added quickly.

She sighed. "Ok whatever, let's just go in."

The two pushed the doors opened and walked into the conference room. As soon as they did, all the others stopped talking, making it obvious what they had been talking about.

'Well it's now or never.' Rei thought as Kunzite sent her a reassuring smile. "Hey everyone."

Everyone mumbled hellos as Serin went over and sat down next to Endymion, who immediately put his arms around her. Rei followed with her eyes and noticed Nephlite, whose arms was in a white sling. She cringed slightly at the sight.

He noticed. "Rei, it's not broken, just a slight sprain. It will be back to good in no time." Nephlite said gently.

She sighed in relief. "I really am sorry about this whole thing. I know it was my fault and I--"

"It's okay. I don't blame you for any of this, and even if I did, I forgive you."

She stopped in mid sentence when she heard his words, and stared at him for a moment. "You do?" She asked.

He smiled at her. "We all do."

The others nodded their agreement. "Rei, you're one of us. We aren't going to hate you forever every time you mess up." Makoto told her.

"You're stuck with us." Minako said smiling.

"It was a mistake that could have happened to anyone." Endymion said, hugging Serin closer.

"No one's perfect." Ami added.

"Besides, we missed you." Jade said softly.

Rei looked over at him in surprise, and remembering what Serin and Jeff had said earlier, she smiled slightly at him. "Thanks you guys." She said taking the seat next to Ami.

The room was silent for a few minutes.

"So what was the point of this meeting again?" Minako asked. finally.

"Oh My God!" Serin exclaimed jumping up. "I forgot all about the announcement!"

As she stood up, the others noticed something reflect off her left hand. "Serin..." Ami started.

She smiled and held out her left hand so that everyone could see the ring sparkling on her finger. "We're engaged."

The girls in the room started screaming as they ran over to hug Serin.

The guys, however, were sitting there trying to regain their hearing.

"God, that scream is deafening." Jade commented.

Nephlite turned to Endymion and sighed. "You see what you did now?"

He just shrugged and smiled.

"Oh you're one to talk Neph. You're the one that started this whole engagement thing by proposing to Makoto." Kunzite pointed out.

"Would you guys be quiet!" Minako scolded before turning back to Serin. "Congrats!"

Ami hugged her oldest friend. "This is so wonderful!"

"I'm so happy for you." Makoto said hugging her.

Rei was about to congratulate her when she dropped to her knees as a sudden feeling of terror gripped her.

"Rei!" Serin cried as she knelt down beside her.

"Rei, what's wrong?" Ami questioned.

Rei rocked back and forth on her knees as the pain increased. "Something's wrong."

*                                            *                                             *

"So that's it?"

"I really am sorry but there isn't much else we can do." The doctor said apologetically. "We've put you on the waiting list, but it's not very likely that you'll be fortunate enough to receive a donor."

Victoria sighed. "Any idea, um, of how long it will be?"

"Without a donor," He paused for a moment, "Without a donor, it probably won't be more then two months."

She nodded as she bit her lip, trying to restrain herself from screaming out. 'Two months.'

"I'm very sorry."

'I'm sure you are.' She thought. "If you don't mind, I'd like to spend the rest of my time at home with my family."

He nodded. "Of course, whatever you wish. You may experience slight pain from time to time, so if you do make sure you call and let me know so we can prescribe some painkillers for you."

Victoria stood up from the hospital bed and gathered her things. "Are we done doctor?" She asked.

"Actually, there have been some amazing new discoveries being made." He started, his voice taking on a hint of excitement. "Of course they haven't been able to be tested yet so we were wondering--"

"If you don't mind," She interrupted him. "If you don't mind, I'd rather spend my last time alone at home with my family."

"Oh." He said, his voice, sounding somewhat disappointed. "Of course. Well then," he said leading her to the door. "You're still going to have to come back for check-ups, so we'll call you about that tomorrow. Have a good day." He said as she went down the hall.

Victoria walked outside and leaned her head against the brick wall as she finally let the tears come. 'How am I going to tell them?'

*                                            *                                             *

"Rei, where are you taking me?" Serin asked as she was blindly led through the halls.

"You'll see in a few minutes." She replied.

"Well can I at least look where we are going?" Serin asked.

"Not yet, turn here." She instructed as she looked down at her watch. '2:21. Two more minutes.' She thought as the two reached their destination.

"Okay, now that we've stopped can I look?" Serin asked.

"In about fifteen seconds." Rei responded as she counted softly under her breath. "15...14...13...12...11...10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2....1!" when she reached one she flung open the door.

Serin opened her eyes as light flooded before her, and watched in amazement as everyone jumped out and yelled,. "Surprise"

She gasped in surprise and happiness, all of the scouts and generals, minus Zoisite, were there.

"Happy birthday Serin." Rei said hugging her.

"You guys did all this for me?" She asked, touched that they went through all the trouble for her.

"Well we know how much you hate the huge ball your mom throws every year.." Ami said shrugging.

"So we decided to throw you our own party." Minako continued.

"It was all Rei's idea though." Makoto said.

"Thanks Rei." Serin said.

She smiled as she shrugged. "Hey that's what best friends are for. Now come on, let's make this like an actual party!

***********Few Hours Later***********

"You guys, I can't tell you how much this meant to me." Serin said.

"Happy birthday Serin." Endy said kissing her.

"So why is it that you hate the ball your mom throws each year?" Kunzite asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Because she makes the biggest deal out of it. She invites everyone in the kingdom and we have this whole big ceremony, and it is so embarrassing!" She moaned.

"And I get to take you." Endymion said putting his arms around her.

She smiled back at him. "You better be."

"Um Serin I'm sorry to leave the party right in the middle but I'm not feeling too well. Would you mind terribly if I went back to my room to lay down and get some rest?" Ami asked, trying to keep the sadness she felt out of her voice. 'This is supposed to be a party.' She reminded herself.

"No that's fine Ames. Are you gonna be ok?" Serin asked in concern.

"Yeah I just have a bad headache. But happy birthday." She said before running out of the room.

"That was kinda strange." Nephlite commented.

"No it's not." Jade said just realizing why she was so upset.

"What are you talking about?" Minako asked.

"We were all talking about the ball, and it probably reminded her of how much she missed Zoisite." He explained.

'Oh that's right." Serin groaned. "Now I feel horrible."

"Don't let it get to you Serin, we all forgot." Rei said.

"Yeah so let's change the topic slightly, is everyone else going tomorrow night?" Makoto questioned.

"Jade and I are going together." Minako volunteered softly.

"What about you Kunz, you going?" Nephlite asked.

"Yeah of course. It's Serin's birthday." He replied, trying to keep his gaze off Minako.

"I'm going with Nephlite, obviously." Lita said. "What about you Rei? You going?"

"Oh I almost for got to tell you guys. Dave's coming to the ball tomorrow night." Rei exclaimed happily.

"So we finally get to meet him?" Serin asked.

"Yeah I finally convinced him to come." She responded.

"Wait, who's Dave?" Nephlite asked in confusion.

Jade slumped down against the couch at the mention of Dave.

"He's my boyfriend." Rei explained.

"So are his two friends going to be there too?" Minako asked.

"Jeff and Mike? Yeah I would assume they are going."

"So how serious are you two?" Endymion asked. "If you don't mind talking about it that is."

She shook her head. "It's no big deal. I would guess we're pretty serious, we've been seeing each other for about four months."

"And we are still only meeting him for the first time tomorrow." Makoto pointed out.

"I met him."

Rei looked over uncomfortably at Jade. "Yeah see, Jed met him."

Minako looked over at him. "So what did you think of him?" She asked eagerly.

"Truthfully, I thought he was a complete asshole." Jade said matter of factly.

Rei glared at him. "Thanks, I appreciated that comment."

"She asked what I thought." He defended.

"Well what really matters is what you think of him Rei." Serin said gently.

"I love him and I think he's a wonderful person." She said.

"So do you think he's he one?" Kunzite asked softly.

She looked thoughtfully for a minute before answering. "I don't know. Maybe."

Jade sat up straighter at this. 'Maybe she doesn't love him anymore. Maybe she'll break up with him and realize how much she loves me and--' He forced himself back to reality as he sunk back down against the couch. 'Get real Jade. You just insulted her boyfriend, she's pissed at you already, and you are supposed to be over her!'

"Really? So why bother staying with him?" Nephlite asked curiously.

"I don't know." She said shrugging. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I really do love him, and if he asked me, I would marry him, but I don't know. Never mind, it's gonna sound stupid."

"Oh come on Rei, we're used to Serin, and everything she says is stupid, so it can't be to bad." Minako said smiling as she dodged the pillow that came flying from Serin's direction.

She hesitated for a moment. "I just feel like he isn't the one that I was meant to be with. Like there is still someone else out there waiting for me, someone that I was destined to be with. But I['m sure that sounds really retarded."

"I don't know, I think it makes a lot of sense. If I didn't believe that Endy was really the one that I was meant to be with, I would never have agreed to marry him." Serin said.

"Same with me." Makoto volunteered.

"So how did you guys know when you found the right person?" Rei persisted.

"It's hard to explain the feeling that occurs, but when you find the right person, you'll know, trust me." Nephlite said, smiling at Makoto.

"Don't worry, you'll find that special person." Endymion said.

"Easy for you to say." Minako exclaimed.

"Yeah you have Serin." Rei put in.

"Yeah you guys are past the hard part. You know that you love each other and are right for one another." Jade said, looking over at Serin and Endymion who knew who he was talking about.

"Yeah, you guys don't have to wonder if that special person will ever become part of your life." Kunzite said sadly, trying to keep his eyes away from Minako.

"Not to sound unsympathetic or anything, but maybe you'll find someone at the ball tomorrow, so let's all leave, and get some sleep so tomorrow will come sooner and you can all find your true loves." Serin suggested.

"You know Serin, if you want to be alone with Endymion you could have just said so, we would have left." Jade said smiling lightly at the two as everyone stood up.

"Yeah I know. But he is leaving too, which is why I didn't say it." She said smiling at the surprised look on Endymion's face.

"You're kicking me out?" He asked.

"Yes. I am incredibly..." She paused to yawn, "...tired. The ball is tomorrow and I need my beauty sleep."

"You are already beautiful." Endymion said kissing her.

"Bye Serin." Minako called.

"Bye you guys." She said as the two broke the kiss. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

*                                            *                                             *

"Hey Jade, wait up."

Jade turned around to see Endymion walk up next to him. "What's up?" He asked.

"Well I figured that since our rooms are in the same direction, we might as well walk together right?"

"I should feel honored. You were able to tear yourself from your beloved fiancee to walk with old, pathetic me." He said sarcastically.

"Sorry, I didn't realize it bothered you that much." Endy said uncomfortably.

"It doesn't really. I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything." He sighed. 'Just like I shouldn't have said anything about Dave.'

"This whole thing with Rei huh?"

"Yeah. It got to a point where I really didn't even know what to do about it anymore. Cause there was nothing that I could do about it you know?" Jade asked as they kept walking. "Which is why I reached a very important decision."

"What decision would that be?" Endymion asked.

"I decided that I am no longer going to love her."

Endymion stopped walking and stared at Jade. "You're kidding right?" He asked.

Jade shook his head. "I'm dead serious. It's not worth it anymore. You know how a few minutes ago Minako said that the two of us were going to the ball together?"

He nodded.

"She didn't ask me, I asked her."

Endymion stared at his friend. Only a few days ago he was deeply in love with Rei. The love that Jade obviously felt towards her was not simple puppy love, but something much, much deeper, and could not disappear in an instant. "What the hell was all that then when we were talking about finding our true loves?" He asked.

Jade glared at him. "It didn't mean anything, besides that's not what I was talking about. Look, she doesn't love me and she never will. So I've moved on and accepted the fact. Why can't you?" He snapped as he continued to walk forward.

"Jade." He said, catching up to him again, and grabbing his arm to stop him. "Don't do this to yourself."

"Do what?"

"Try and convince yourself that you don't really love her, and that you never really did. That you were only fooling yourself because you wanted someone to love."

Jade freed his arm and looked over at him. "Endy, I understand what you're saying, but I'm not doing that. I know that I loved her, the love that I felt for her was so strong that I felt it could conquer anything." He paused for a moment, and when he resumed talking, his voice had gotten quieter. "But it couldn't. I can't change the way she feels about anything, and she doesn't feel the same way about me. I have to respect that, and move on in my life."

"But what if she discovers one day that she really does love you?" Endymion asked. "Then what?"

"I can't sit around, and waste my life, waiting for her to one day discover that all along she has really loved me. I would love for it to happen, but it's not going to. I've got to move on with my life." With that said, he turned and headed down the hallway.

*                                            *                                             *

"Can I open my eyes yet?"

"In a minute, let me make sure it looks ok...okay, now you can open them."

Dave opened his eyes and gazed over at his girlfriend. The night of the ball had finally come, the one for Princess Serenity's 18th birthday.

"So what do you think?" Rei asked.

Dave was speechless.

She smiled. "I never realized I had such an effect on you." She looked gorgeous. Her dress was a deep crimson color, with sleeves that left her shoulders bare, and came three quarters of the way down her arms. The bodice was tightly fitted and cut dangerously low, and the bottom part flowed outwards, making her look incredibly graceful. The top part, along with the sleeves, was made of satin, and along the neckline there were small sparkling sequins in a row, and the bottom part was made of soft crushed velvet. Her hair had been curled and piled on top of her head, leaving a few curls hanging down at various places. Also in her hair were small thin pieces of velvet, the same material as the dress, that were somehow curled and placed in her hair to make it look natural. A choker made of ruby and onyx along with matching earrings, completed the outfit. All together, she looked absolutely breath taking.

"Rei, you look absolutely stunning!" Dave exclaimed, taking her in her arms.

She smiled happily. "You really like it?" She asked.

"I love it." He said kissing her. "Of course I would love it even more if it was off..." He added.

She blushed slightly.

"You know Rei, I was wondering..." He whispered to her.

He looked into her eyes. "After the ball, how would you like to come back to my room with me?"

She looked away for a moment, assuming he was joking, but when she looked back again she could tell that he was dead serious. "I don't know Dave, I mean it's kind of a big step."

"Oh it's okay. I understand, no big deal." He said, hoping that she would buy the act.

She did. "You know what, I'd loved too." She said smiling at him.

He smiled at her. "Really?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. But I'm gonna have to talk to you about this later."

"Where are you going?" Dave questioned. "I thought I was taking you to the ball?"

"You are, but I have to go get introduced first and everything." She said giving him a look that said he should have already known that.

"Oh right." He said slapping himself on the forehead. "I totally forgot about that." He said, even thought he had no idea what she was talking about. "I'll meet you in there ok?"

"Okay." Rei said as he kissed her on the cheek, and then headed inside.

*                                            *                                             *

Queen Serenity gazed at the crowded ballroom. People were already dancing and having a good time, now she just how to officially start the ball by introducing everyone. She stood in front of the microphone and cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. The couples stopped dancing, and everyone turned toward the Queen. She smiled down at them. "Good evening. I'd like to thank you all for coming to the celebration of the Princess' 18th birthday!" Everyone applauded happily. "To start everything off, I'd like to introduce our visitors from Earth, the Prince and his guardians." She gestured to them to come forward, once their names were called. "The Prince's Commanding General, General Kunzite," She started. "Second in command, General Jeadite, and third in command, General Nephlite, who happens to be Princess Makoto's fiancee." She said smiling as the room erupted into cheers for the two. "And Prince Endymion of Earth."

As the room burst into applause again, Jade scanned the room for Dave. He found him rather quickly, and as suspected, he was talking and flirting with some girl that Jade didn't know.

"Now I will announce my daughter and her guardians, whom I am sure most of you know already." The queen continued with her introductions. "Commanding officer, Princess Minako of Venus. Second in command, Princess Rei of Mars. Third in command..."

As the queen continued, Jade looked over towards Dave and noticed the frown that appeared on his face when he heard Rei's name called. 'Why does he look so annoyed and surprised?' He wondered.

"...And Princes Serenity of the Moon." She paused for a moment before smiling and adding, "In addition to tonight being Serin's 18th birthday, we are also having this celebration to announce the engagement between Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity. May they be happy together." The room erupted once more into applause and cheers of happiness for the couple. "Now, let the party begin!" Queen Serenity cried as the dancing resumed.

Jade turned and found Minako standing beside him. "Hi" she said.

"Hey, wanna dance?" He asked, smiling at her.

She forced a smile as she replied, "I'd love too."

The two started dancing, and Minako started a conversation. "You know, the strangest thing happened to me..."

Jade however, was not listening. He was watching Rei as she walked over to Dave, who still had that weird look on his face. He watched as the two obviously started arguing. Dave seemed to be angry about something, although what it was, Jade had no idea. After a few minutes, he was able to see Rei run towards the balcony as Dave stormed off somewhere.

"...And then she actually told me that--"

"Minako, I'm really sorry but I have to go." Jade said interrupting her.

She followed his gaze and noticed Rei running out towards the balcony. 'About damn time.' She thought. "It's no problem."

"I'm really sorry." He apologized.

She rolled her eyes. "Just go talk to her will you?" She said smiling at him.

He threw her a grateful look and headed after Rei.

*                                            *                                             *

Minako watched Jade run out to the balcony, knowing who he was running after. She sighed. 'Well that's the end of that relationship.' She thought. 'But Rei and Jade deserve each other. I just hope they can get past their stubbornness and admit how they really feel about each other.' As her eyes roamed through the ballroom, she noticed Kunzite who was dancing with a young lunarian, and did not seem to happy about it. 'Well then let's relieve him of his partner.' She thought as she started over towards him.

*                                            *                                             *

Once outside Rei sat down on the stone bench, leaning against the wall, as she let the tears fall freely. 'How could I have been so stupid to think that he would love me?' She asked herself the same question over and over again.

"Can I sit here?"

Rei looked up to see Jade standing there. "Oh God." She moaned, drawing her knees to her chest to make room for him on the bench. "Please, you can sit, but I would rather you just go away."

"You still hate me that much huh?" Jade asked softly.

She looked over at him while drying her eyes. "Of course not. I just thought that because of this whole stupid thing you hated me."

"Rei, I could never hate you, you're my best friend!" He exclaimed.

"I don't ever deserve to have you talking to me. I had no right to get so pissed off at you. I'm sorry, I just didn't know how to deal with my mom, so I took it out on you. Do you forgive me?" she asked hopefully.

"Don't worry about it, I forgive you." He said shrugging.

"At least one person doesn't hate me." She muttered.

"You wanna talk about it?" Jade asked sympathetically.

"He broke up with me."

"Oh Rei, I'm sorry, I know how you felt about him."

"I should have just listened to you when you said he was an asshole." Rei said sighing.

"No, I shouldn't have said anything. It wasn't any of my business." He said shaking his head.

She ignored his comment and continued talking. "I feel so stupid now. I should have known all along that he didn't really love me. Why would he?"

"Rei," He tried to start.

"Why is it that every guy I go out with ends up breaking up with me? What's wrong with me?" Rei asked looking up at him for answers.

"Rei, there is nothing wrong with you. Any guy that breaks your heart, doesn't deserve to have it anyway. And there is nothing wrong with you, you are a wonderful person." He told her gently.

"Yeah well Dave doesn't seem to think so." At the remembrance of what he had said to her, tears started to trickle down her cheeks again. "Do you wanna know what happened?" She asked, not waiting for him to answer, before continuing. "Apparently, he had never listened to me when I talked to him or something because he didn't know I was a Princess. At least not until tonight, when my name was announced. So then when I went over to talk to him or whatever, he started yelling at me, about how I had never told him I was a princess. And then, he called me a stuck up, rich, selfish, snob who only cared about herself." At this point in her story Rei had broken down into sobs. "The same thing every guys says to me once they find out I'm a princess. And since everyone says it, it must be true. Maybe all I really am is a snobby, selfish, stuck up, rich little princess who everyone hates."

"Don't ever say that."

Rei looked up to see Jade with the most serious look on his face she had ever seen. "Jed, just face it, it's true."

"No it's not!" He said gently. "Rei, you are a wonderful person. You are kind, thoughtful, giving, caring, and the opposite of everything he called you. Please, don't ever say that you are any of those things, or that you are not special." He reached over and lifted her chin so he was gazing into her tear filled eyes. "You are the most special person in the entire world to me. I don't know what I would ever do without you. You mean everything to me."

Her eyes refilled with tears at his words. "You are the only one who is ever going to think of me in that way!"

He smiled at her as he gently wiped away her tears. "What I don't count anymore cause I'm only your best friend?"

Rei found herself smiling slightly as she looked up at him. She looked deep into his eyes, and as she did, a strange feeling washed over her. Not the kind of feeling that she got when she was around her friends, or the feeling she got when she was around Dave. It was a new feeling. One that left butterflies in her stomach, and made her entire being felt like ice cream on an incredibly hot day in the sun. She started to blush deeply as she realized the closeness of the position the two were in and she pulled away.

Jade was about to ask what was wrong, when Jeff walked out onto the balcony.

*                                            *                                             *

Dave walked over to the spot where Jeff and Mike were standing, with a disgusted look on his face. "Hey." He said once he got here.

The two looked at him in confusion. "Where's Rei?" Mike asked.

The look on Dave's face became and angry scowl. "We broke up."

"She dumped you?" Jeff asked in disbelief.

Dave glared at him. "Of course not, I dumped her."

"Weren't you going to sleep with her tonight?" Mike asked.

"Yes but obviously not anymore." Dave snapped.

"Okay, let me see if I understand this." Jeff said. "You finally get her to agree to sleep with you, which is the whole reason you asked her out, and then you dump her?"

He sighed. "Did either of you know that she was the Princess of Mars?"

Jeff and Mike exchanged looks. "Um yeah Dave, pretty much everyone knows that." Mike pointed out.

"You're kidding right?" He asked, looking at the two.

"Dave, how could you not have known? I mean think about it. Her name for one thing, Rei, she is the same age as the Princess, she's from Mars, she lives here on the moon, in the palace and her best friend is Princess Serenity." Jeff explained.

"Plus the fact that everyone knows that she is the princess because you can recognize her." Mike added.

Dave stared at the two in surprise. "How did you know all this?" He asked.

Jeff rolled his eyes. "Dave did you ever listen to a thing she said the whole time you guys were going out?"

"Well yeah but--"

"I still don't understand what that has to do with anything. So she is a princess, big deal." Mike cut in.

"Hello!" Dave exclaimed. "She's a princess. Meaning that she is a spoiled, selfish, snobby, bitchy, stuck up, conceited, rich,"

"Wait Dave, you didn't say that to her did you?" Jeff asked

"Well yeah, why do you think I broke up wither her." Dave said pointedly.

Jeff sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "You lie to her through the entire relationship and you gotta pick now to start telling her the truth about what you think?" He asked, as he turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Mike called out.

He turned around. "I'm gonna go see if I can find her. You know how upset she's gonna be?"

Dave walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Jeff, I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but she's not gonna fall for you so I'd get over it." He said in mock sympathy.

Jeff glared at him as he knocked his hand away. "Shut the hell up."

"Oooh a little edgy there." Dave said as he and Mike started laughing.

"You know I feel sorry for myself too." Jeff commented.

"Why you realize how one sided your love for her is?" Dave asked.

"Completely one sided." Mike agreed.

"No I feel sorry that I wasted so many years and so much time hanging out with assholes like you two." He said.

They frowned at this.

"I mean you guys were my best friends, and I was too stupid to realize that you two are the biggest fucking assholes alive." He said glaring at them.

"No, you just used to know how to have a good time." Dave sneered.

"Well I'm sorry that I realized there was more to life than lying to people and fucking the first person you come across."

"That's not what we do." Mike defended.

"Oh right, I'm sorry. Fucking the first female that you come across. My deepest apologies." Jeff said sarcastically.

Dave looked at him carefully, as if he was looking for a small difference. Something that would prove that this wasn't the Jeff that he knew. "I don't know what happened to you Jeff." He said slowly shaking his head. "And I don't care to find out. Have a nice life." With that said, Mike and Dave walked away, as Jeff headed out towards the balcony to see if he could find Rei and apologize for being such a jerk.

*                                            *                                             *

Kunzite nodded politely, trying to maintain interest in the conversation. But there was nothing he could do that would make this conversation interesting. His partner was downright boring and it was all he could do not to fall asleep on her. A moment later he heard footsteps approaching and saw Princess Minako smile at him.

She tapped his partner on the shoulder. "May I cut in?" She asked politely.

The lady turned, and once she noticed who it was, she steeped away. "Of course Princess Minako." She said as she walked away to find another partner.

"Hey there." Minako said as the two started dancing.

"Thank God you came!" Kunzite exclaimed happily. "I thought I was going to die of boredom!"

She smiled wryly at him. "Yeah I kinda noticed."

Suddenly the image of Jade, who was supposedly Minako's date, popped into Kunzite's mind. 'If he ditched her or stood her up I will kill him.' He vowed silently. "Not that I am not grateful to you for saving me from my dancing partner, but aren't you supposed to be with Jade?" He asked, regretting each word.

"We did come together yes, but, well let's just say that things didn't really work out." She explained smiling.

"He didn't just break up with you in the middle of the dance floor or something did he?" Kunzite questioned.

She shook her head. "It was kind of a mutual agreement. He's kind of in love with someone else, he just didn't want to hurt me."

Kunzite felt his anger die down. "That was nice of him." He commented.

She nodded. "And it really didn't bother me that much because I discovered that I like someone else too."

"Oh." He said dejectedly. "Well wouldn't you rather be dancing with him then?"

Minako smiled at him. "I already am." She said before kissing him full on the lips.

*                                            *                                             *

Jade immediately started to glare at Jeff. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Let me guess, Dave told you and Mike what happened so now you came out to bug me about it right" Rei asked angrily. "I should have known. You were in on the whole thing all along weren't you? When I talked to you, you were only adding to the charade."

He was silent, she was right, he had known all along what Dave was planning on doing.

"Yeah that's what I figured." Rei retorted.

"Look Jeff, why don't you just leave? She's upset enough already." Jade told him.

No wait! Rei, I came out here to apologize to you." Jeff said, desperately trying to get them to listen to him.

It worked.

"Apologize?" She asked suspiciously.

"If this is some sort of sick joke, I swear you will regret it." Jade warned.

"It's not, I promise. Just give me a chance to explain myself. Please?" He asked.

"Fine." Rei said looking at him expectantly.

He took a deep breath, and began. "When you said that I had been in on it all along, and had gone along with the whole thing, you are only partially correct. I did know, from the very beginning, what he was planning on doing, but I only went a long with it for a little while." He turned to look at Jade. "That time, when you talked to Dave, what you said really made me think about what we were doing to Rei. After that, my perspective on things kinda changed."

Rei looked over at Jade. "You talked to Dave?" She asked.

He didn't answer, unsure of what to tell her.

Jeff turned back to Rei. "I know that what I did is unforgivable, but I feel horrible that I went along with it at all, and the least I can do is apologize."

Rei shook her head. "This is strange for me to do, but I forgive you."

"You do?"

She nodded. "I've wasted to much of my life being angry at people when they are truly sorry. It's not worth it anymore." She explained.

"And I also want to tell you that when I talked to you that time, and gave you advice, I wasn't just doing that to go along with Dave's plans. I really was concerned and I really did listen to what was wrong."

"Thank you for telling me."

"Rei, apologizing to you wasn't the only reason I came out here though..." Jeff started slowly.

She smiled. "What else could you possibly have to tell me?"

"I'm assuming that you already discovered that the main reason Dave asked you out was to sleep with you, and that he only said he loved you for the same reasons right?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah I kinda got that impression when he broke up with me."

"And that's why I thought he was an asshole." Jade explained.

Rei turned to look at Jade. "You knew about it?" She asked in surprise. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I knew about it from the time I met Dave. Remember that day when you introduced me to him, Jeff and Mike? After you left...well, I won't get into it, but I figured out that that was the reason he was going out with you." Jade explained. "And the reason that I didn't tell you was cause you weren't talking to me remember?" He added.

She smiled sheepishly. "Oh yeah. Never mind." Turning back to Jeff she continued, "Keep going."

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and continued. "I'm not really sure how to say this, and I guess there is really no easy way, so I'm just going to say I." He closed his eyes and blurted out, "During almost the entire four months that you and Dave were going out he was cheating on you."

Silence.

After a moment Jeff opened his eyes and looked over at Rei and Jade who were in complete shock. "The whole time?" She asked in astonishment.

He nodded grimly. "I'm sorry that you had to find out this way, but I thought that you deserved to know." The crestfallen look on her face made him inwardly curse Dave for what felt like the millionth time. 'I can't believe he did this to her!' A moment later, he silently reminded himself, 'I can't believe I went along with it for so long.'

"I can't believe he could be so cruel." Jade said in disbelief, shaking his head.

"That time that I was talking to Dave, and you and Mike came over. And the two of them left to talk about something for a moment, that time when I was asking you for advice, that whole thing that they were talking about, it was someone else who was going to sleep with them wasn't it?" Rei spoke up.

Jeff couldn't bare the sad look in here eyes, and looked away as he nodded. "I'm sorry about all of this. No one deserved to go through what you did."

"Thank you for telling me." She said, and her soft spoken words made him feel like he was able to look up at her again, without feeling ashamed. "You know, you kinda restored my faith in men slightly. Now I realize that not every guy is like Dave, only most of them."

When Rei said this, Jeff slowly gazed over at Jade who had an 'I told you so' look on his face. 'I guess having people who really love her does mean a lot to her.' He realized. "Hey Jade, can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked.

"Um sure." Jade followed Jeff a few feet away from where Rei was standing so that she was unable to hear the conversation between the two.

"I guess you were right huh?" Jeff asked.

He shrugged. "Whatever. I just want to say though, that I am really glad you came out here. I know it meant a lot to Rei, even more then she let on."

"I'm just sorry that it took me so long to realize what a wonderful person she is." Jeff said. "And if it wasn't so obvious who she's interested in, I would be tempted to ask her out." He added,

Jade felt his heart fall. 'She's already fallen for someone else?' He asked himself incredulously. 'But it's okay because you've got Minako, remember, you're over her.' He reminded himself.

"You've got the girl of a lifetime waiting for you. Make sure you don't let her go." Jeff winked at Jade before heading back into the ballroom.

A very confused Jade wandered back over to the bench where Rei was still sitting, her tears having long ago dried up. 'What did he mean by that?' He wondered.

"So what were you and Jeff talking about?" Rei asked once he had sat down next to her again.

"Oh...just guy stuff." He lied, still puzzled over Jeff's words. 'Did he mean Minako?'

The two sat there in silence for a few minutes, Jade trying to decipher the meaning of the message, and Rei just content to sit there in silence. After a few minutes, Jade gave up and turned to Rei. "Are you ready to go back inside yet?" He asked.

"No actually, I'd rather stay out here a few minutes. I'm not really up to facing everyone." After a moment she realized that Jade was still there.. She lifted her head from the wall she had been leaning it against and looked over at him. "You can go back in you know? You don't have to stay out here with me. I'm sure I already ruined your evening by making you follow me out here."

"It's ok, I'd rather to stay here with you. And you did not ruin my evening."

"Well what about your date?" She asked.

He peered inside the ballroom and smiled when he noticed Minako and Kunzite dancing. "I think my date found someone else." He said pointing the two out to her.

"Looks like we both got ditched, huh?" She asked smiling.

"Yeah I guess it's just me and you again." He said. Jade stood up and offered her his hand. "Would you like to dance?" He asked.

She smiled as she accepted. "Yeah, why not?"

The two danced on the balcony for a few minutes until a slow song. Unsure of what to do, Jade stopped moving. It turned out it, he didn't have to figure out what to do. Rei slid her arms around his neck as his arms subconsciously wound their way around her waist. Before he could realize what he was doing, he gently tugged her closer, and she laid her head on his chest. 'WHAT AM I DOING!?' His mind screamed at him. 'What happened to me not loving her anymore?' He asked himself silently, even though deep down, he knew he would never stop loving her. 'Look, Rei doesn't seem to mind, so stop worrying about why you are doing this and just enjoy it!' He told himself. The two danced around the balcony, each in their own world, eyes closed, just enjoying the presence of the other one as the soft strains of music drifted out to them.

HAVE YOU EVER - Brandy:

Have you ever loved somebody so much, It make you cry?                                                                                    Have you ever needed something so bad, you can't sleep at night?                                                                               Have you ever tried to find the words, but they don't come out right?                                                                           Have you ever, have you ever???

 Have you ever been in love, been in love so bad?                                                                                                       You'd do anything to make them understand.                                                                                                       Have you have had someone steal your heart away?                                                                                                   You'd give anything to make them fell the same.                                                                                                         Have you ever searched for words to get you in their heart?                                                                                    But you don't know what to say. And you don't know where to start.

Have you ever loved someone so much, it make's you wanna cry?                                                                               Have you ever needed something so bad, you can't sleep at night?                                                                               Have you ever tried to find the words, but they don't come out right?                                                                         Have you ever, have you ever???

Have you ever found the one, you've dreamed of all your life?                                                                                   You'd do anything to look into their eyes.                                                                                                                     Have you finally found the one you've given your heart to you?                                                                                   Only to find that one won't give their heart to you?                                                                                                      Have you ever closed your eyes and dreamed that they were there?                                                                             And all you can do is wait for the day when they will care?

What do I gotta do to get to you in my arms baby?                                                                                                      What do I gotta do to get to your heart?                                                                                                                     To make you understand how I need you next to me.                                                                                                  Gotta get you in my world, Coz baby I can't sleep.

*                                            *                                             *

"I'll be right back." Kunzite promised as he walked away to get Minako a drink.

As she was waiting for him she noticed Makoto standing by herself, obviously waiting for Nephlite, and walked over to say hello. "Hey Makoto, waiting for Nephlite?" She asked.

It took a moment for the question to register, and Makoto finally turned her gaze away from the balcony where it had previously been focused. "What?" She asked.

Minako rolled her eyes. "I asked if you were waiting for Nephlite." She said, repeating her question.

"Oh yeah, he went to get me a drink. And who are you waiting for?" Makoto asked.

Minako smiled at her. "Kunzite, for the same reason."

"Kunzite?" She asked raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yes Kunzite. I kinda gave up on Jeadite and decided that Kunzite is cuter anyway. By the way, what were you staring at a few minutes ago?"

"You mean who." Makoto corrected her as she pointed out the pair dancing on the balcony. "I guess they made up huh?" She asked.

"I guess so. I was with Jade before, and something most have happened because he ran out after her. Her and Dave must have broken up or something because I don't seem him anywhere either." Minako observed, her eyes never leaving the pair.

"So is Rei like the only person in this kingdom that doesn't know Jade is in love with her?" Makoto asked, carefully keeping her eyes away from Minako's, pretending to dust something off her dress.

Minako stared at her, speechless. "But how did you...I never told you..."

She gave in and looked over at Minako, smiling she said, "You didn't have to tell me. It's obvious! Especially right now, I mean, look at them." She pointed out.

"Yeah but still..." Minako let her voice trail off as their dates arrived with their drinks.

"Hello again ladies." Nephlite said.

Minako bowed her head to him. "Good evening Nephlite." She turned back to Kunzite and smiled. "There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"Bye." Kunzite called over his shoulder as Minako dragged him off.

"I've been meaning to ask you--" Minako was interrupted by a loud crash in the middle of the ballroom.

*                                            *                                             *

Victoria stood near the stairs sipping her wine, as she gazed out at the graceful couple dancing on the balcony.

Serenity came walking over a moment later. "There you are!" She cried. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Maybe you were right." Victoria mused, ignoring Serenity's comment.

"What?" She asked, a look of confusion on her face.

Victoria held her glass out in the general direction of the balcony on which Rei and Jade were dancing. "About Jade and Rei."

Serenity looked out to see what Victoria was talking about, and she smiled when she noticed the couple dancing. "Told ya so."

Victoria shook her head. "Look, Rennie, I have to talk to you later."

"Why can't you just talk to me right now?" Serenity asked puzzled.

"Because now is not the time. Besides I need to tell Rei and Serin also."

Serenity was about to respond when a crash in the middle of the ballroom caught everyone's attention.

*                                            *                                             *

The song slowly drifted into another, and although it was faster paced, Rei and Jade continued to dance slowly, and contentedly, in each other's arms.

Jade sighed blissfully. 'I can't remember the last time that I was so peaceful.' He thought. "Hey Rei," He said suddenly.

She lifted her head from his chest, and brushing her bangs out of her eyes she looked at him. "Yes?"

His heart nearly melted at the look of her eyes, her soft silky hair, her creamy skin. He shook his head. 'Get with it Jade.' He told himself. "I'm really sorry that Dave broke up with you and everything, but I have to say that in a way, I'm kinda glad. I mean, if he hadn't, we wouldn't have made up right?" He asked smiling at her. The dazzling smile that she returned made up for the past few weeks that she had been mad at him.

'And I wouldn't have realized that I have feelings for Jed.' Rei thought to herself. Her eyes widened at what she had just though. For the first time since Jed had arrived on the moon, Rei had been having these feelings, but was only now for the first time allowing herself to realize them. "Jed," She started, then hesitated, unsure of how to tell him what she was feeling.

"Yes?"

"There's something--"

A large crash that sounded like it had come from the ballroom cut her off. "Serin!" She cried, as at the same time, Jade yelled out, "Endymion!" The two raced inside to see what had happened.

*                                            *                                             *

The ball had come to a complete stop. Everyone stood there silently, staring at the two figures that had just entered.

"My my, we should feel honored Zoiste. They're all so happy to see us they don't know what to say!" Beryl laughed.

"What do you want Beryl?" Serenity asked flatly.

At the sight of her love, Ami felt tears come to her eyes as she reached a hand out to him. "Zoisite..." She whispered softly.

Minako grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "No Ames. You can't, he's not the same Zoisite." She said gently.

"We gotta protect the princess guys." Makoto said.

Ami nodded. They were right, now was not the time to get emotional over Zoisite.

"Well actually I was slightly upset that I wasn't invited to the princess's birthday. I mean, am I no longer a part of the kingdom?" She asked innocently.

"You stopped being a member of this kingdom when you kidnapped Zoisite from us." Rei dared to say, as the scouts took their place in front of the Princess.

Beryl glared at the girl. "It seems we have a smart one in the group huh?" She reached her hand out to strike her.

Jade thought his heart would stop beating.

"Don't touch her."

Beryl paused for a moment to see who had spoken. "Who defies me?" She called out. "Show yourself."

Queen Victoria walked out of the crowd of people. "Don't touch her." She warned again.

"Ah Victoria. It seems we meet again." Beryl said smiling at her.

"Yes, unfortunately. And my warning from before still holds, if you ever touch a member of my family again, you won't live to see your results." She said calmly.

Beryl smiled at the remembrance. "Oh yes, I remember that day quite clearly."

"I still remain loyal to that threat and I will not back down if you so much as lay a finger on my daughter." She said, her voice steady and firm.

"You do realize though, that you still have no power against me?" Beryl asked in an amused tone.

Victoria smiled at her. "That's what you think. I have more power than you could ever obtain."

"Mom, what are you talking about?" Rei asked softly.

"It's not important Rei." She responded firmly.

An evil smile came across Beryl's face. "So you haven't told her?" She asked.

Victoria glared at her. "Don't."

She smiled sweetly and turned to Rei. "Your father, King William of Mars..."

"Beryl don't." Victoria pleaded.

"...died when you were four years old is that correct?" She asked, ignoring Victoria's plea. "That's right. How did you know that?" Rei asked staring at her in disbelief.

"And how were you told that he died?" She continued.

Rei looked over at her mother, then looked back at Beryl and said, "What do you mean 'how was I told that he died'? I wasn't 'told' anything. He died breaking up a group of angry protesters." She stammered out.

Beryl shook her head laughing. "How pathetic!" She spat.

Rei looked over at her mother frightfully. "Mom, what's going on? Please tell me!"

"Rei sweetie, your dad didn't die from breaking up a group of protesters." She admitted.

Serenity turned to stare at her sister. "Victoria what are you talking about?" She asked.

"I killed him."

All eyes turned towards the monster that had spoken the three simple words. "I still remember it too. I can tell you exactly how I killed the asshole if you'd like to know." Beryl said simply.

Rei's eyes filled with tears at the words. "You bitch..." She said lowly.

Beryl smiled, obviously pleased at the reaction. "I'll take that as a yes. It was quite simple actually. He was out walking around the palace, with," She turned to Victoria and pretended to be surprised. "Well now that I think of it, it was you wasn't Victoria?"

She muttered something that no one was able to hear.

"What was that dear? I'm no sure everyone heard you." Beryl said smiling evilly.

"I said yes! It was me!" Victoria shouted.

"That's what I thought." Beryl said smiling satisfactly. "Anyway, King William was out walking in the garden with his beloved wife, God knows where they left the poor child, and he was so happy. God it was disgusting." She paused for a moment then started laughing. "And the best part is..."

"Please stop." Rei moaned closing her eyes almost as if she was wishing that would make it all go away.

"...that the fool didn't even see it coming!" She laughed. "I walked up behind him, put my hand on the his shoulder, and the pain began."

Zoisite leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

"Yes I should describe it shouldn't I?" She mused.

"Stop!" Rei cried.

"It was probably the most excruciating pain that he had ever experienced. It makes someone feel as if every part of their body is slowly burning..." She turned to Rei. "I wonder if that is what youma feel like when you burn them with your fire Princess Rei..." She wondered out loud.

Rei put her hands to her head, shaking it furiously before dropping down to her knees. "Please stop! Please stop! Please stop!" She moaned over and over again.

Jade felt his hatred towards Beryl grow by the second. 'Oh God Rei, I wish I could take away your pain. If I could, I would do it in a second, please God help her.' He thought.

"And he just crumpled to his knees, and slowly died, screaming in agony the entire time." Beryl said smiling.

Victoria turned away as the tears spilled over.

"Why?"

Beryl stopped smiling for a moment to look out into the crowd. She saw Princess Serenity with a question look on her face. "What was that?" She asked sharply.

"I asked why." She repeated. "Why did you have to kill him? He couldn't possibly have done anything to you."

"You couldn't be more wrong princess." She responded. "I knew that Princess Rei was one of your chosen protectors. And I know that even with the crystal, if you were missing Rei, you would never be able to defeat me."

"What did that have to do with killing her father?" Minako asked, the others finally regaining their voices.

"Well the way I figured was that if King William was dead, Queen Victoria would be to upset to give up Rei."

"What do you mean give her up?" Makoto inquired.

"Why sending her to the moon of course. I figured that if her husband was gone, Victoria would not give up the only family she had left. Of course, I never thought they were sisters," Beryl said glaring at Serenity and Victoria. "But my plan worked, for a while anyway. Victoria did keep Rei away until she was 12."

'Oh God, no one was supposed to know about that!' Serin though groaning inwardly.

As the others heard this, everything about Rei slowly started to make sense. Why she was so closed up about her family, why she hadn't talked to her mom in so long, and why she had never come before she was 12.

"So I decided that killing King William was the best way to go about doing things." Beryl said, glancing over at Victoria to see how she was dealing with hearing the entire story.

Fresh tears filled her eyes and spilled over. "Fuck you." Victoria said simply before turning and running out of the room.

Serenity glance in the direction she had run in, then turned back to Beryl. "You've made you point Beryl. Now why did you really come?" She asked impatiently.

She took a step forward. "To wish the princes a happy birthday of course."

Within seconds Endymion had moved in front of Serin, who at that point, had knelt down beside Rei to attempt to comfort her. "You're going to have to kill me first." He said determinedly.

A moment later and Kunzite, Jade, and Nephlite were standing in front of the Prince. "You'll have to kill us to get to the Prince." Kunzite said defiantly.

"And that isn't likely." Nephlite added.

Jade, however, remained silent.

"Well then I'll just have to ruin the surprise and tell the princess her present now." She said sighing.

"What present?" Ami asked narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"Well I guess you wouldn't exactly call it a present...more like a premonition." She said thoughtfully. "Yes that's it, a premonition." She looked over at the Princessess and Serin who was almost afraid to look at the eyes of pure hatred. "I predict, that within two weeks time, four of your friends will have betrayed you and joined he Negaverse."

Jade felt his stomach drop at her words. So that's what her plan was! She already had Zoisite, he was next, and then she was going to go after Kunzite and Nephlite! 'There is no way that the scouts will be able to defeat us once we are evil!' He realized, as he thought back to their first day at sparring. 'True their elements are more powerful, but they will have to be fighting against their loves.'

Beryl looked towards Jade and winked, holding up two fingers before her and Zoisite disappeared.

'God help them.' Were his last thoughts before mayhem broke out.

*                                            *                                             *

Rei, Queen Serenity, and Serin ran through the palace until they reached Queen Victoria's room. Once there, they burst in, to find her curled up in a ball, in the corning of the room, sobbing uncontrollably. Rei immediately ran over to her mother and hugged her tightly. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Victoria pulled away and nodded, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "Rei, I'm so sorry. I never meant for you to find out that way." She apologized. "But what are you guys doing here? What about the ball?" She asked.

"I got Jade and the others to explain something to everyone and hopefully calm them down." Rei explained.

She turned to Serin. "But what about you, aren't you the guest of honor?"

Serin smiled. "I've been guest of honor and way to many balls. They can miss me just this once."

Rei leaned back on her knees. "Mom, why didn't you ever tell me?" She asked.

"You know, before you father died, I was the happiest person in the world. I had the perfect life, the perfect family, and I loved everything." Victoria commented, tracing her finger along the swirling pattern of the wallpaper, making sure to keep her eyes of her three listeners.

"Yeah I know. I don't remember much about it, but Aunt Serenity was telling me some thing about it once. But what does this have to do with anything?" She asked in confusion.

"After your dad died though, everything changed. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't go back to the way I was." Victoria paused for a moment to turn to Rei. "And the reason was hatred. Before, I had never really hated anyone. I mean sure there were people I didn't like, but I figured that if they stayed out of my way, I would stay out of theirs."

"Except for Beryl."

Victoria looked up and noticed Queen Serenity standing there with a grim look on her face. She nodded as she turned back to Rei to further explain. "After that though, I hated Beryl with the greatest passion. I wanted nothing more than her death, and still do."

Rei almost gasped in shock at the hatred that her mother's voice held, but then realized that after discovering the truth, she felt the same way.

Victoria noticed the look on her face. "You're already starting to feel the same way aren't you?"

She nodded.

"And that's why I never told you the truth. I didn't want my four year old daughter to have to feel such hatred towards someone, that they actually wished them dead. I didn't want you to have to grow up feeling like that. I'm sorry." She explained gently, softly stroking the side of Rei's face.

"I'm somewhat glad that you never told me the truth." Rei confessed. "Because the feelings that I have towards that woman now, are not something that I would have wanted to live with through my entire childhood."

Victoria smiled gently at her. "So at least I did one thing right in raising you."

"Don't say that!" Rei exclaimed. "You were as good of a mother as you knew how to be, and that was a wonderful one."

"Thank you Rei, that means a lot to me to know that."

"Vicki, I have to ask you something. I understand why you didn't tell Rei what really happened, but why didn't you tell me at least?" Serenity asked. "I can't believe that you went through that whole thing by yourself!"

She shrugged. "I guess it was because I really didn't even know that much about Beryl then, and I knew that if I told you, you would do everything possible to get revenge, and as much as I wanted her dead, I also wanted my life to go back to normal."

Serenity nodded. "Think I can understand that."

Victoria smiled. "Good, Rei could you help me up please?" She asked.

Rei gave her mother her hand, and halfway up, Victoria collapsed against the wall, almost falling, and very short of breath.

"Mom? Are you okay?" Rei asked in alarm. It was then that she noticed, for the first time, the color of her mother's nails. "Why are your nails so blue?" She asked in surprise.

"Now that you mention it, you nails are a very unhealthy blue." Serenity commented, as she peered over at them.

"Your lips are slightly blue also." Serin, who had been quiet during most of the conversation, spoke up.

Victoria leaned against the wall and closed her eyes for a moment. 'Guess now would be the best time to tell them.' She thought.

"Victoria, what's going on?" Serenity asked suspiciously.

She opened here eyes again. "I have something to tell you three. Something that is very serious."

"What's wrong, are you okay?" Rei asked.

She shook her head as she sighed. "Sweetie, I would love to tell you that I am fine, but it's not true. The past few months, I've been extremely tired, have been having dizzy spells, and shortness of breath, and as you can tell, my nails and lips are slightly bluish. So I've been seeing a bunch of doctors, and after undergoing hundreds of tests, they finally discovered that I'm suffering from viral cardiomyopathy."

"So whatever that is, can't they just give you some kind of treatment and it will go away?" Serin asked.

"Yeah how bad could it be?" Rei asked.

Victoria didn't respond.

"It's fatal isn't it?" Serenity asked quietly.

Victoria looked away and nodded.

Tears sprung to Rei's eyes. "You're dying?" She cried out.

Victoria wiped away her own tears as she nodded again. "What happened was, a virus somehow attacked my heart, and it's eating it away inside. And it's slowly killing me." She explained.

"Isn't there any kind of treatment?" Serin asked.

"My only chance is a heart transplant, and I'm on the list but," She shrugged. "It's not very likely."

"How much longer do you have?" Serenity asked.

"Two months."

Rei threw her arms around her mother as she felt the tears stream down her cheeks. "You can't leave me!"

Her mother forced back her own tears as she tightly hugged Rei. "I don't want to Rei. I can tell you that much. But it seems that I'm not getting much of a say in this."

Rei pulled away, attempting to dry her eyes. " I...I need to go somewhere and think about this. I can't talk about it right now. I hope you don't mind."

Victoria shook her head as Rei and Serin left the room, leaving the two sister alone in the room. The stood face to face, just staring at each other for a full minute before tightly hugging, and finally letting the tears flow freely.

"Oh God, Vicki, I'm gonna miss you so much." Serenity murmured.

"Promise to take care of Rei for me?" Victoria asked.

Serenity released the hug. "Of course I will! You know that I will always take care of her."

Victoria smiled weakly. "I just wish you didn't have to."

She nodded. "I know, I know. But we still have plenty of time to talk about this, and right now you need your rest…"Do you need any help with anything before I leave?" She asked.

Victoria shook her head and closed the door as Serenity left the room bidding her good night. Once the door was shut, she slowly slid down against it until she was curled up on the floor once again. For the second time that night, Victoria burst into tears.

*                                            *                                             *

Jade nervously looked down at his watch, then back up at the path. Rei had asked him to meet her here at 11:00 and it was now 11:10. He was incredibly nervous about the whole meeting. He knew she wanted to talk about what had happened at the ball, seeing as the two had not talked for the past two days. Now if she would only show up!

A moment later a breathless Rei came running down the path to the spot they had agreed to meet at. "Sorry...I'm...late..." She huffed.

"Let me guess, you overslept?"

"Shut up." She said smiling at him as she sat down on the bench. As he took a seat next to her, the closeness made her blush, and reminded her of why she had asked him to meet her in the first place. "Um Jed, about the reason that I asked you here today.." She started. Her breath caught in her throat making her stop for a moment, as he slowly moved closer to her. 'What is it about him that makes me feel like a 12 year old again?' She wondered. 'Because he is adorably irresistible but you are too afraid to do anything about it.' Her mind answered her.

Not anymore.

"Jed, there's something that I want to tell you, and I've been wanting to ell you for a while now." She said swallowing her fears.

He reached a hand out and gently caressed her cheek while staring deeply into her eyes. "Can't it wait just a few minutes?" He asked, leaning his head closer to hers.

She stared back into his eyes just as deeply and allowed her emotions to take over. "I think so." She leaned her head towards his, almost allowing their lips to brush softly against each other. Almost allowing them to show their true feelings for each other that they had been hiding. Almost allowing the two to become lovers in every sense of the word.

Almost.

"Aww how sweet."

Rei and Jed quickly broke apart to see who had interrupted them.

"Beryl." Rei hissed lowly.

Jade inwardly groaned as he realized that it had been two days since Beryl had come to talk to him. 'God not know! Please, any time but now, just not now!' He pleaded.

"Did you miss me?" Beryl asked laughingly.

'I don't wanna do this!'

Rei stood up, her pen already in her hand, a look of pure hatred on her face. "You're the bitch that took Zoisite." She said.

"I didn't 'take' him, he came on his own will." She explained calmly. "And I for one, and very offended that you would even think that."

Rei shook her head. "That's a lie and we all know it." She raised her pen in the air, and shouted, "MARS STAR POW--"

"Rei, wait." Jade said putting a hand out to stop her.

She lowered her hand and shot him a confused look. "Jed, what are you doing?" She whispered to him. "We can't just stand here and not do anything!"

"So have you made your decision?" Beryl asked with a smile on her face.

He glared at her. "You knew what it would be all along." He said bitterly.

She laughed. "Yes I guess I did, it's you I assume?"

"Of course it is. You know I could never do that to her. Even though, technically I am doing it to her either way. Either way, she gets hurt and feels like she has been betrayed."

Rei looked back and forth between the two. "Jed, what's going on? Please tell me?" she asked frightfully.

"Oh so we haven't even told her yet?" Beryl asked raising an eyebrow at Jade. She then turned to Rei. "Your little friend here has gotten smart and decided to join the Negaverse."

She turned to him with a look of horror in her eyes. "Jed, please say that isn't true!" She pleaded.

Jade took a deep breath. He thought back to the promise he had made to Rei's mom six years ago. '...I have always sworn to myself that I would protect Rei from harm, or die trying...' He knew that he had to do this. 'I'm sorry Rei, I'm just keeping a promise.' He thought and before crossing over to stand next to Queen Beryl, he silently added, 'I love

you.' "I'm sorry Rei, but she's right. I'm joining the Negaverse." He voiced.

Rei's pen fell to the ground unnoticed. "Jed no!" She cried. "Why are you doing this?"

"Look Rei, it's just something that I have to do." He said, his face stone and void of all emotion.

"Want me to tell her the reason?" Beryl whispered evily to him.

"You do and the whole deal is off." He whispered fiercely, refusing her the satisfaction of his glare.

"I don't understand." Rei said.

"You picked a smart one." Beryl whispered.

As angry as the comment made him, Jade forced himself not to respond. Anything he said could endanger her. "Rei please, just listen to me, this is something that I have to do. I can't explain it." He said, trying to make her understand.

"Jed no please don't do this!" She exclaimed. "I don't care why you have to do it!"

Jade turned away, unable to look at the tears that had started to gather in her eyes.

"Jed please! I can't do this without you." Her voice dropped to a whisper at the last part.

"Time to go." Beryl announced and the two started to disappear.

Jade dared to take one last look at his love and regretted it almost immediately. The look in her eyes...it was all he could to not start crying himself and confess his love to her.

"JED!" Rei screamed as the pair finally disappeared. "Ai Shituru." She whispered softly before dropping to her knees in hysterical sobs.

*                                            *                                             *

Serin and Endy were curled up on a swing on the lake shore, happily enjoying each other's company, when Serin felt pain sear through her mind. 'Rei.' She immediately gasped and jumped up.

"What's wrong?" Endy asked frantically. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "It's not me, it's Rei. I gotta find her." Forgetting about her shoes, which were lying in the sand, Serin ran off in search of Rei.

"I'm right behind you." Endy said as he followed behind her.

Serin quickly raced through the gardens in her search of Rei. 'This is strange, usually I'm the one crying.' She thought with a smile. After a few minutes of searching she found Rei curled up on the ground, sobbing hysterically. She ran over and hugged her tightly, Endy standing behind her. "Sweetie what's wrong?" Serin asked.

Rei pulled away. "He's gone. She came and was all...and then he was all...and he's gone!" She attempted to explain, her sobs blocking out much of the story.

"Rei, Rei you have to calm down. I can't understand you." Serin told her gently.

"Beryl came...and Jed...he apologized...and then he was gone." She hiccuped.

Serin looked over at Endymion in confusion.

"Rei, are you saying that Beryl took Jade?" Endymion asked her.

She shook her head. "Beryl showed up, and I started to transform, but Jed told me not to. And then they were talking for a minute, something about a decision, and then," She paused for a moment to catch her breath. "And then...he apologized...and he went with her. Jed's gone."

"Jade's...gone?" Serin asked slowly, making sure that she had heard right.

Jade's gone. Jade's gone. Jade's gone. the two words exploded in Endymion's brain over and over. It couldn't be. Jade couldn't be gone. Not Jade, his best friend, his guardian, his brother, his...no not Jade! It was too much for Endymion to handle. First Zoisite, then Jade. JADE'S GONE! The words kept sounding in his head until he snapped. He ran over to Rei and grabbed her shoulders as he violently started shaking her. "HOW COULD YOU?!" He shouted at her. "How could you let her take him? How could you...Jade..."

"STOP YELLING AT ME!" Rei screamed. "I know it was my fault! I know that everyone blames me. And I know that they have every right too! I was here. I could have stopped them. But I didn't, and now Jed is gone because of it. Just stop yelling at me!" She collapsed into sobs again, this time in Serin's arms.

Serin glared at Endymion who backed away, shaking in horror at what he had just done. "God damn it!" She said still glaring at him. "You don't think that she's going to put enough blame on herself, you needed to add to it?" She asked, lowering her voice so that Rei wasn't able to hear.

"Serin, I'm sorry." He tried, reaching his hand out to her shoulder. The deadly look that she shot him made him retract his hand.

"Just leave for now. I'll talk to you later." She turned back to comforting Rei while Endymion walked away whispering his apologies.

"It's all my fault Serin." Rei cried out.

"No no it's not." She murmured.

"But it is. I was here, I should have done more to stop him..." Rei let her voice trail off, not wanting to say why she was really so upset.

"What is it?" Serin asked gently.

"I didn't get to tell him...." She said.

"Rei, tell him what? He knows how much he meant to you." Serin said in attempt to console her.

"No he didn't!" She exclaimed.

Serin looked at her carefully. "What are you saying?"

Rei looked down at the ground for a moment, while gathering her courage, then looked back up and stared Serin directly in the eye. "I never go the chance to tell him...that I've fallen in love with him." She confessed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quick explination,when Endymion just said, Not Jade, his best friend, his guardian, his brother, his...no not Jade! I did not mean that they are literally brothers, just that the two had gone so cl;ose, to Endymion, it felt like they were brothers.

End of Chapter 11

OMG!!! Can we say record breaking? This chapter is my longest yet, 24 pages, and has been published in the quickiest amount of time!!! Yea!! Okay, now for the serious stuff. First, some of you may be confused about the order of this, especiall the part where Jeff walks out onto the balcony, but then the next part is him talking to Dave. The way I tried to do it was have like three things going on at once. So during the time that Rei and Jade were talking, Dave was also talking to Jeff and Mike. Hope that clears things up. If not e-mail me, Pekkle9983@aol.comand I will see if I can explain a bit more. Now, the ending. I know that probably everyone who just read this chapter is incredibly pissed at me because I didn't give Rei and/or Jed the chance to confess their love for one another. But trust me when I say this, IT REALLY HAD TO BE LIKE THAT!!!! To fit in with the rest of my story, and future stories, it had to be this way. So please don't hate me for it! I do understand though, why some people would rather they do tell each other, so here is what I might do. Once As the Tears Fell is finished, I migh, notice MIGHT, right an alternate ending. I need people to e-mail me and tell me if they want one. But that is only after ATTF the original is finished, and the alternate ending will NOT be posted on ANY pages other than the Rei Series page, simply because it is not the real ending. So once you read the end of this, let me know what you want, or you can tell me now if you'd like. Whatever. Just e-mail me with all questions, comments, or complaints, and sen them to, Pekkle9983@aol.com. Thanks for reading guys, c-ya next chapter! Luv ya!

--MCRK

This page and all it's contents are (c) MCRK '98

The characters Dave, Mike, Jeff, and Queen Victoria are (c) MCRK '98

P.S. Do NOT expect chapter 12 this quick!