A little reminder…Sailor Moon is the property and creation of Naoko Takeuchi…any body who reckons I’m doing this for profit deserves to be totemized.

by Celeste Goodchild

The group had stood on the steps to the conservatory after Madame Sophia had shown them out, and looked at one another.

"I’m leaving now," Nephrite had stated decisively, and prepared to make a gate to the restaurant where he was planning on meeting Naru for lunch, as scheduled.

"Wait," interrupted Kunzite, as Nephrite wove the doorway into the correct configurations. "We still have to do something about Nepheline Syenite."

"You mean Circe," corrected Ami, as she looked upward. Ami was going to miss Zoisite, she knew it in her own heart. Though in this lifetime they had never openly mentioned their former involvement in the Silver Millennium, they had instinctively built up a solid friendship. As far as she could see, they were the only former lovers who had done so. Minako and Kunzite barely spoke to one another unless it was absolutely necessary, Nephrite seemed to purposefully avoid being around Makoto, while Rei seemed oblivious to her old partner and their former relationship.

"What do you propose then, O great one?" asked Nephrite, pulling a sloppy salute. Jadeite laughed, and Kunzite rolled his eyes.

"Seriousness, please. That’s all I ask! Five minutes of seriousness!"

"Impossible," spoke up Minako, and she got her long hair pulled by Jadeite for her efforts.

"Look who’s talking," he said as he pulled her into a tight embrace, and the others sighed.

"Please, not while in visual range," groaned Nephrite, holding his stomach in mock nausea. "I’ll choke on my own vomit."

The pair simply laughed, but separated by several inches. "It’s okay, Nephrite," assured Minako. "No need for projectile breakfasts."

"Ooh, gross," moaned Usagi, and Rei opened her mouth to shout back a general insult. A warning glimmer in both Mamoru’s and Kunzite’s eyes convinced her otherwise.

"I thought we had decided – we would take Zoisite and Morganite to the Conservatory, and then we would try to locate Circe, as Nepheline is now called."

"Uh, I think you decided that one, o great leader!" called out Makoto, and Ami had to stifle a giggle at the expression this invoked on Kunzite’s face.

Mamoru rolled his eyes next, and the eldest king and he sighed simultaneously. "I can see why Zoisite went for Mamoru when Kunzite dumped her," remarked Minako, absently playing with Jadeite’s shock of blonde hair. "They’re so similar."

Kunzite immediately shot a glare at the Senshi of Venus, and she creased her brow in thought. "What did I say?"

"I thought we all agreed not to bring that up," replied the eldest king dryly, and Mamoru nodded, but didn’t agree verbally. "But regardless of who decided what, we still have a plan that we are going to follow."

"Do tell," said Rei, trying not to laugh. Mamoru sighed – where were the cats when they were really needed? None of the Senshi seemed to be taking anything seriously since the defeat of Queen Beryl and Metallia. It seemed all of them thought that Queen Phoebe Loxeriam of Nemesis would take care of everything.

Kunzite looked more than slightly annoyed at the subtle way Rei seemed to mock the integrity of his plan, but he continued unabated. "We decided that we should go and see Owen Burnett, and Nephrite was going to return to the Dark Kingdom in order to pick up Titania’s mirror."

"I’m on my way," he said with a mock salute, and vanished. Kunzite looked annoyed at that. "Damn it, I wanted him to take some of you guys with him."

"Why?" asked Usagi, batting her eyelashes in a manner that seemed to bother the king. "Don’t you love us anymore, Lord Kunzaito-sama?"

He looked annoyed at the use of the title that was usually spoken by Zoisite only, but he didn’t call her on it. "Does anyone want to trail him? He will have just gone to his old chambers, in the hall of residence that was as far away from Zoisite’s as possible."

"Hall of residence?" asked Ami, and Jadeite filled it in for her. If there was one thing that Kunzite despised, it was taking valuable time to explain pointless facts.

"The Dark Kingdom had many halls of residence, large buildings in which there were so-called ‘chambers.’ Each of us had our own vast chambers, consisting of many rooms. Zoisite’s was to the west, Nephrite’s to the east of Beryl’s palace, and mine to the south. We were all in separate halls."

"What about bleach boy?" asked Minako, and Jadeite laughed with a good deal of humour.

"He was such a lovely wee lad that Beryl let him overtake an entire building, his so-called ‘citadel.’ Admittedly, though, it was one hell of a mansion, especially that Russian room, with its walls covered in that neat marbled stone."

"Enough," thundered Kunzite, and the others looked surprised at the man’s reaction to the interlude. Kunzite very rarely lost his temper, although he had behaved exceptionally out of character during the whole Nemesis mess. Mamoru had sworn it was his love for Zoisite, which had threatened to destroy all of them, that made him do it. It seemed that she hadn’t been exactly a good influence on him.

"Usagi, Mamoru, and Jadeite – you are coming with me. The rest of you can either follow Nephrite, or go home."

"How can we?" objected Minako, pouting at the thought of being separated from her beloved Jadeite. "We don’t have gating powers like you Dark Kingdom flunkies."

"Then I’ll open one for you," babied Kunzite, and Jadeite had to chuckle at the expression on Minako’s kawaii features.

"Yeah, we go to the Dark Kingdom, and we can’t find Nephrite, thus we’re stuck in the most bloody lifeless ghost town this side of reality!" she protested with a voice growing ever louder in volume.

"Don’t worry," smirked Kunzite, behaving oddly like a child. "If we don’t see you in two weeks, we’ll come find you. If we can be bothered, that is."

"Let’s just go back to Tokyo," spoke up Makoto, and Rei and Ami agreed. Minako sulked at the very idea of leaving Jadeite behind, but she reluctantly stepped through the gateway and returned home.

Kunzite turned to the others, invoking a dimensional gateway as he did so. "To infinity and beyond?" he asked with a smile, quoting his beloved.

"If you’re paying," chortled Jadeite, and lead the way.

New York this evening was warm and humid, the sickle shaped moon hanging eerily in the smoggy sky. The sun had only recently departed, as the four found themselves exiting the glowing gate in a deserted alleyway. As the glow from the dimensional gateway faded, Kunzite lead them out onto the street. As none of the other three had actually been here before, they all followed him without question.

Kunzite waved one arm in the street, and a taxi pulled up quickly. He ushered them all in, and directed the cabbie toward what he called "The hub of Xanatose Enterprises."

"So where are we going exactly?" asked Usagi, uncomfortably squished in the back between Mamoru and Jadeite. She still spoke perfect English thanks to Kunzite’s earlier spell. Kunzite twisted around in the front seat to address her, his hair glowing alternate colours from the passing lights of the city. "To where Owen works. He should be around, he’s a bit of a workaholic in most respects. He was telling me that since he returned from annoying us, that he’s sort of thrown himself completely into his work."

"He liked Phoebe a lot, didn’t he?" asked Mamoru, and Kunzite sighed.

"Thanks for reminding me. Please, whatever you do, don’t mention her to him. He may pretend like everything is okay, but it is my belief that it is killing him to be constantly away from her. Half the reason he was such a help throughout that whole episode was the fact he loved Phoebe. She never loved him, however."

"Yeah, ‘cos she had eyes only for you, dear Karl," replied Jadeite craftily, reminding the others subtly to call them by their mortal names around strangers like the cabbie.

"Don’t bring that up, please. The thing is, he can’t even visit her, for Oberon has directly forbidden him from EVER returning to her home to see her. It might have been okay if he had been at least allowed to visit her, though he could never admit he loved her. Now, though, he can’t even see her."

The cabbie called in a gruff voice "We’re there, folks."

"Oh, thanks," Kunzite said quickly, turning around to face the cabbie. He pulled out his wallet, reaching into the compartment where he kept American currency for just such a purpose. "Come on, you guys."

They piled out onto the street, and as Kunzite watched the cab pull away, the others looked awe-struck at building looming into the low-lying clouds above.

"Pretty impressive, hmm?" chuckled Kunzite. "Come on, this way."

"Are you sure that they won’t mind us turning up in here at twelve o’clock in the morning?" asked Usagi, sounding slightly nervous. Jadeite and Mamoru had to agree with her, but Kunzite just laughed merrily.

"Don’t worry – let me assure you, these guys are VERY nocturnal."

About ten minutes later, after Kunzite had spoken with first the doorman and then the foyer receptionist, they were lead into the higher levels of the skyscraper, into the mainly glass construction below the castle that adorned the top of the building, like a crowning glory.

"Why is there a castle on top of a skyscraper, anyway?" murmured Usagi to Kunzite, and he smiled affectionately. He had actually come to take quite a liking to the leader of the Senshi, ever since he had embraced the better part of his soul.

"Because David Xanatose wanted it there," he said with a chuckle. "There’s a bit of a story behind it, that I’ll tell you one day."

"We’re there," spoke up their guide, and lead them out of the elevator, into a indoor garden. Standing on one of the catwalks above them was a tall blonde man, with bright blue eyes hidden behind wire rimmed glasses. He quickly dismissed the guide with a wave, and watched him leave. Then he hurried down to greet his four guests.

"Kunzite!" he said with obvious pleasure at seeing him again. "From the looks of it, you managed to get Zoisite to the Conservatory. Otherwise, I do believe she would be accompanying you, along with your other companions."

"You’re right to assume that," replied Kunzite, warmly shaking Owen Burnett’s outstretched hand. "You remember this lot, right?"

"How could I forget?" he chuckled, and turned as the elevator door opened once again, and a tall woman clad in jeans and a red jacket made her way over to the group. She looked at them curiously for a moment, allowing the group to take in her appearance more closely. She was very pretty, with long dark hair that fell loosely down her back, and big brown eyes. Her skin was a dark olive colour, the same complexion colour as a native American.

"Owen?" she said, looking at him. Usagi had to giggle at the way her gaze kept wandering back to the three men behind her. All had a startling presence, Kunzite with his frigid yet somehow magnetic demeanour, Mamo-chan with his dark handsomeness, and Jadeite with his perpetual smile that sat so well on his friendly young face. It was indeed very different from the way he had used to act when under the influence of Queen Beryl.

"Detective Maza?" he replied as a question, turning his bright eyes on her. "Can I help you?"

"Are the others upstairs, or have they left already?" She looked once more at Kunzite and Jadeite, then back to Owen.

He smiled lightly. "They’re in the eyrie building, yes. I may join you later, but first I must attend to my guests."

She turned to them, and Owen stepped in. "This is Detective Elisa Maza, of the NYPD. Detective Maza, this is Usagi Tsukino, Mamoru Chiba, Jonathan Troubetzkoy and Doctor Karl Rutherford."

"Nice to meet you," she said, shaking hands with each of them as they echoed her words. "What are those names? Japanese?"

"Ours are, yes," spoke up Mamoru, indicating himself and Usagi. "We’re originally from Tokyo."

"I would ask what brings you to New York, and to this lunatic, but I really have to go upstairs, lest my friends take off without me." She smiled, and Kunzite nodded graciously.

"It was a pleasure, Detective Maza. I hope we meet again."

She smiled slightly, and Usagi giggled. "Karl, you’re spoken for!"

"So am I," confirmed the pretty young woman, and she nodded to Mamoru and Jadeite before stepping into the elevator.

Owen turned back to them, and smiled. "So? What’s up?"

"Do you know anything about Circe?" asked Kunzite bluntly, and Owen winced.

"Who told you?" he asked, knowing it to be pointless to try and conceal any of his knowledge from the Dark Kingdom king…well, former king, anyway.

"The Weird Sisters," he snapped, and Owen sighed heavily, obviously not liking the reference to his much despised relatives. "Nepheline had been missing for about a day, and as we were discussing it, they turned up on our doorstep, and told us the truth behind Nepheline Syenite!"

"She was a bit of a rebel, yeah," Owen said slowly, looking annoyed. "Oh, great. I suppose you’re here to ask me to direct you to Avalon, hmm? Well, I’ll tell you, it won’t be easy. I can only use my powers when I’m training Alexander Xanatose, and that means just that. I could only use some of my powers during that battle because Celestine granted them to me. So, well, I can’t direct you there. Don’t ask me to teach Alexander how to do it, either. I won’t. I am not going to jeopardise myself or my student by showing him how to get to Avalon."

"Would you guide us to Avalon without Alexander, though?" asked Kunzite, and Owen looked perplexed.

"That’s impossible, both you and I know it."

"But if it was possible, would you?" persisted Kunzite, and Owen sighed.

"I owe Circe an apology, so I guess I would, yeah. But you know, it’s impossible. Oberon took all my powers, and I cannot use them."

"What were his exact words?" pressed Kunzite.

He didn’t appear to want to bring up the memory, but he reluctantly recited Oberon’s incantation. "We hereby strip you of all your powers except when you are training or protecting the boy." He smiled with a gleam in his eyes. "They also banished me from Avalon for my insubordination."

"If we use the mirror, do you think anything would change?"

Startled, Owen regarded him suspiciously. "The mirror? Oberon has Titania’s mirror nowadays. And it is, rather inconveniently, in his possession on Avalon."

"Nephrite made a perfect copy," said Kunzite, and Owen’s eyes nearly fell out of his head.

"You’re serious, aren’t you?" he gasped, looking almost hopeful. "You’d better be serious, that mirror is not something one plays with when they’re bored."

"Yes, I’m serious," said Kunzite flatly. "Would you answer the question?"

Owen’s eyes twinkled, completely out of character. It was more a Puckish thing to be doing. "It could, yes. Sorcery is a strange thing, with more laws than any human science. If you were to summon me through the mirror using an appropriate incantation, maybe the servitude of the mirror could overthrow Oberon’s passing. I wouldn’t bet on it, because Oberon is the Lord and Master of Avalon itself, but…"

"Do you think that the gold and silver summoning spell would do it?"

He shrugged. "If you know how to work it. I suppose you would, being the eternally curious man you are. Have you done much study on the Grimorum Arcanorum?"

"Not much," Kunzite admitted, and Owen smiled tightly.

"It shouldn’t matter. You are a sorcerer through your old self, and a powerful one at that. I trust you to summon the Puck – as long as you promise not to abuse the power."

"What do you mean?"

"Surely you know – if we want to regain my powers through the guise of service, you’re going to have to incapacitate me somehow, just enough to keep me under control. To do that you’re going to have to use iron, the only thing our magicks are powerless against. You chain the mirror, simple enough, and the summoning spell will do the rest."

"I take it you will wait here?"

"Of course. I will have to inform the others that they will be devoid of my shining presence for awhile, but they will get over it." He smiled brightly, looking like Puck in his eyes. "Eventually."

Kunzite opened a gate back to the apartment in Tokyo. "See you soon."

He raised a hand in a ritual good bye. "Good bye, Doctor Rutherford."

Nephrite was lounging on a chair, sipping a glass of exquisite red wine. He was the only one present in the darkening apartment.

"We haven’t been gone that long, have we?" asked Kunzite in amazement. Nephrite chuckled.

"You must be slipping, Lord Kunzite. Your grip on time is fading, you didn’t open a gate at the right time. Oh well."

Kunzite’s annoyed gaze suddenly fell upon the bulky white sheet in the corner. A long rectangular shape appeared to be beneath it , and he ripped the sheet away.

The dark mirror now leant naked against the wall, and with great care, Jadeite assisted Kunzite in setting it upright. "Where are the guys?" Usagi asked Nephrite as the others pored over the mirror.

Nephrite absently twirled a piece of parchment in his left hand as he continued to sip his wine. "They got bored, so they went to their respective homes. I didn’t mind, it left me in piece to enjoy my favourite past time."

Kunzite eyed the empty bottle and the half-filled one beside it, and chuckled deep in his throat. "Don’t we all wish we had your tolerance, Lord Nephrite."

He smiled back, still completely sober despite all the liquor he had spent the afternoon imbibing. "Kunzite, no one could ever have my tolerance."

"I could believe that," he said dryly, and pulled two long chains out of the thin air, scaring the wits out of poor Usagi. Despite having been around the former kings for a few months now, she still could not get used to their conjurings. Jadeite did it the least, as did Zoisite. Nephrite generally shunned his magic also, though he still did call forth his stars whenever he felt like it. The best place to do it was in his mansion, but he could contact them anywhere, and he did. Kunzite, however, unnerved all by pulling magic tricks like it was perfectly natural. He seemed to do it all effortlessly, though Zoisite had once assured Usagi that is was most definitely not like that at all. He had just had extensive training, and his natural calm demeanour was what allowed him to appear so cool and calm even when he was concentrating exceptionally hard.

"What are they for?" asked Mamoru suspiciously. He still didn’t completely trust Kunzite, for Kunzite was the most enigmatic person he had ever encountered. The eldest king was too good an actor for his own good, and a master at concealing his true thoughts and feelings – except when it came to Zoisite, that was. At least, anything concerning Zoisite after his death in the Dark Kingdom.

"Zoisite?" suggested Usagi, a little gleam in her eye that startled Mamoru. He would never had thought…

"Kinky," sighed Nephrite, putting the page down so that he might get another drink.

Kunzite successively chained up the mirror, ignoring the chit-chat around him. He took the piece of paper and read it thoughtfully, before conjuring up a silver bell and a gold ring.

"Here we go," he said quietly, and stood before the mirror. The moonlight shining through the windows made his sliver hair even more celestial than usual, and giving his skin a marble-like tone.

He rang the bell four times with the gold ring, and began to speak. "Cum ascerat argentum," he said quietly, and the mirror’s surface began to shimmer. He put the bell and ring down, and conjured a simple white feather on his upturned palm. "Et aurum involare," he continued, and blew lightly on the feather. It somersaulted gently through the air, and passed slowly into the chained mirror. "Postea Puck ad speculum Titania penetrare!"

A light exploded from the mirror, and a blazing figure shot out, before being restrained by the manacles about the mirror. The burning white spectre solidified, and the bowed head snapped up, revealing playful blue eyes.

"Is this the way you treat all of your guests?" he complained in mock sarcasm, before leaping nimbly to his feet. He stared at the ground a moment, and then leapt upward, stunned by the fact that he hung suspended there instead of falling to the ground.

"ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHHHHHHHHHHHTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screeched, and to the shock of all but Nephrite, content with his wine, the sprite rocketed around the room like a berserk squash ball, bouncing off walls, passing through them occasionally. He finally come to a rest beside Nephrite, where he grabbed the half-filled wine bottle and sculled the lot. He grinned widely. "I have great tolerance."

"Not as great as me, I’d wager," muttered Nephrite, and Kunzite sighed at the display.

"Don’t encourage him," he warned, and he gave Puck a glare while the immortal grinned impishly at him.

"Awww, have a sense of humour, Lord Kunzite!" he cried, and looked at Usagi, who was still stunned by Puck’s appearance. What she didn’t know was that this was typical Puck – the subdued and responsible Puck she had met during the Nemesis interlude had been Puck on valium.

"I’ll get one when I deem it necessary," he replied, and though his face retained its look of stern seriousness, his eyes shone with gentle humour.

* * *

Zoisite glared at Kunzite, and she said angrily "I don’t understand what all of this has to do with the fact that you were gone from my life for three months without so much as a word in my direction!"

Kunzite looked to his student with tired eyes. "I am getting there, koibito."

"Don’t call me that," she snapped in reply, and he rolled his eyes, which only succeeded in pissing her off more. "And don’t treat me like a child!"

"Zoisite, please. I am going to explain it further. This…this has a lot to do with my son."

"Alexandrite," she said softly, with rancour. "Not to be confused with Alexander Xanatose and Alexandria Wolfe. Your beloved son whom you never told me about!"

He recognised the signs of a growing temper tantrum, and quickly reverted back to his story, despite her growing enmity.

* * *

The gang had almost immediately returned to New York – well, once they had convinced Puck against throwing a celebratory bash involving the general population of Tokyo.

Once back again, the Puck had lead them to the nearest body of water, being the Hudson river. There, he conjured up a simple skiff, and invited the others, being Jadeite, Nephrite, Kunzite, Mamoru and Usagi, to pile into the small craft.

"Don’t panic," chided Puck in amusement as Kunzite regarded it. "You won’t get your feet wet if you’re careful – and if you don’t annoy me, I won’t push you in the water and mess up your lovely hair."

"You couldn’t push me in the water, anyway," muttered Kunzite as he got in, making sure not to mess up his elegant midnight-blue suit. They had all changed into slightly more presentable clothes than the jeans they had been wearing previously, as Puck had told them, they were going before royalty. When they had met Sophia Hamilton, what they were wearing had been fine. But it wasn’t right for meeting the King and Queen of the Third Race.

Puck insisted that Mamoru paddle the skiff out onto the river, as he was slightly unable to do so. Mamoru grumbled that it didn’t seem to stop him from annoying everyone, but he did it anyway.

An unnatural mist fell over the skiff, and they passed into the fog as Puck began chanting. "Vocate venti fortunate ex ripae Oberonis et hic navis flugem regate ad orae Avalonis."

The mist cleared, and they found themselves coming up on a shore of a warm, summery sub-tropical island.

Puck leapt off first, and shot a grin at the others. "You couldn’t have chosen a worser tour guide, you know. They HATE me here!"

Mamoru helped Usagi onto the shore, though both had assumed the identities of Prince Endymion of Earth and Princess Selene of the Moon Kingdom. Jadeite wore a dark suit of black, while Nephrite had taken on the purple violet suit he had worn to formal occasions back in Tokyo. Puck grinned at the group they made, and indicated they should follow him.

Surprisingly, given that Puck was now an outsider on the island, they were not stopped by anyone on the short walk to the castle. Actually, they met no-one, and it wasn’t until they reached the drawbridge that the three ‘harpies’ appeared to take them in.

"Nice to see you Puck," remarked the raven haired beauty snidely.

"Long time, no see."

"New friends? Well, we can let them in." The three managed another of their famous three-way glances and started to laugh.

Puck rolled his eyes, and turned to the others. "Unfortunately, this is turning out to be like our ill-fated trip to the Omni-zone – like Celestine, these harpies aren’t going to let me past. But you’re another matter."

Kunzite sighed. "I’ve never met Oberon, but I guess…there’s no reason for him to be displeased with us."

"No, there isn’t," agreed Puck. "Go on and meet him, I’ll hang out here, chat with my assorted family members. Man, do we have a lot to catch up on."

He waved good-naturedly as the five followed the three sisters into the first buildings of the castle structure that dominated this side of Avalon. He didn’t seem too annoyed by the fact that he was still chained up.

Usagi clung nervously to Mamoru as they walked down the hallway, and he too appeared ill at ease at the prospect of meeting the Lord of Avalon. Jadeite looked like he wished he had a certain blonde to comfort himself, and Nephrite’s fingers moved slowly at his sides, sparkles falling in between them. The only one who didn’t appear at all visibly nervous was Kunzite. He walked tall and erect behind the sisters, whom he dwarfed with his immense height.

The throne room was immense, and in typical Arthurian-era styling. Assorted members of the fairy court surrounded either side of the red-carpeted aisle that the three lead them swiftly down. They reached the end, and immediately fell to their knees at the stairs leading up to the two-throned dais. The middle one, the blonde, addressed the regal man.

"Lord Oberon, we bring before you intruders in our realm, guided here by the traitor, your banished servant, Puck. They are of the group that he was involved with after his exile. They are of the Dark Kingdom, the Moon Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Earth."

All but the unflappable Kunzite gaped openly at the man who stood languidly from his throne, and regarded them as one might regard a particularly nasty parasite. He was built like a combination of a football player and basketball player – he was tall, taller than Kunzite, though not by much. Unlike the Dark King, however, he did not have the slender, delicately strong and lithe build. He was more muscular, shown off by his regal uniform with its flowing white cape. His hair was also white-blonde and long, pulled into a high tail at the back of his head. His eyes were a piercing cerulean, his skin a pale cyan blue. His presence was unnerving, his demeanour even more frigid and aloof than the eldest king’s.

"What’s with all the peroxide?" muttered Usagi to Mamoru. "First Kunzite, then Puck, then that chick, then that guy over there…"

"Shoosh," he said back. "That guy over there is the king…"

"Indeed I am," he intoned in his deep, sensual voice, looking over them slowly, his gaze particularly lingering over Kunzite. The others hypothesised it was because of firstly, their startling physical resemblance, and two, their almost identical personalities. Oberon appeared to be what one would assume to be Kunzite on any throne. "And this dear lady is my wife, my queen Titania."

All eyes immediately fell upon the unassuming beauty at his side, who stood gracefully as Oberon proffered a powerful hand in her direction. She smiled enigmatically as she regarded them with her piercing pale eyes, and said in a husky voice "It is a pleasure to meet you at last, Lord Kunzite of the Dark Kingdom – or are you more accurately the great sorcerer and commander Adonis?"

He winced visibly. "Why do you bring that up, sweet Lady? That is merely a shadow of my past…my name is Kunzite, I took a liking to it, and thus it shall be."

She smiled. "Stay with us, won’t you? You wish to find Circe…stay with us, and the walls of deception shall fall."

* * *

Kunzite fell into another moody silence, while Zoisite glared at him, with her newly shortened hair, with the grown out bangs. "Finished? Yeah, well, that explained things one hell of a lot, now didn’t it?"

He resisted the temptation to lean over and wind his long fingers into the still-wavy hair, and feel the silken threads that had once been his to touch.

Not now, though. Not now that he had broken the unspoken pact between them. Her trust in him had been shattered…but there was a reason. A terrible method behind his madness.

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