THE FOUR LOVERS: HAPPINESS IS A PHOENIX
Chapter Five
Happiness is a Phoenix
It was a cold, clean, wonderful night, breezy
enough to spritefully play with your hair, a breeze
that brought the smell of cinnamon and festivity
from the Ball going on inside the Palaxe. And into
this wonderful night stepped the boundry walkers--
guardianas--for the evening, Alys and Lian.
"The Ball is so beautiful and bright this evening,"
wistfully whispered Alys. "The way those two
danced...you'd think they knew nothing of the war!"
"That's Love, Lys," replied Lian, smiling into the
wind. "Makes everything look bright."
"What's the status of the Senshi? I didn't hear
the last update."
"Better, though all of them are still in a bit of
shock. Mars is finally calmer, and Mercury...well,
she's come to her senses." She turned to check a
sudden rustling in the bush, her hand ready to grab
her sword--but it was nothing. Still, it bugged
her; "Strange," she whispered.
"Yes, it was," replied Alys. "That they should be
hit like that, all at once. It's just odd...will
they watch the Gate tonight?"
"There's been no change, so I'd assume yes."
They walked on a little farther, when suddenly a
breeze whipped the sound of a soft grunt towards
them. Alys was the first to head toward it, and
suddenly a raspy cry came from her throat, and she
fell. Lian's eyes widened and she ran to her,
stooping beside her to see what was wrong. Her face
had gone Borg white, and the texture of her skin was
like cold, clammy rubber. And from her neck split
warm drops of pinkish blood, thinly winding its way
down her neck.
Lian stood and unsheathed her sword just as her
eyes found the shadowy sniper. She hit her com
badge and yelled, "YOUMA!" before the attacker
appeared, and she swung her dark blade with the
sprinkles of purple starlight with a fierce war cry,
slicing open its belly and eliciting a shriek from
it With a second swing, she decapitated it--but by
then others had come to join it. She hacked her way
through them like scissors cut paper, as if she was
only working her way through a thicket of thorns.
Suddenly, a blue crystal spike slammed into her
leg, and a second into her chest. As she fell,
coughing and heaving as death stood by, the face of
her killer appeared out of the shadow, and she
gasped...then fell, only a foot from where her
friend lay.
The black shadow now called Zoycite smiled a cruel
smile, another crystal dagger appearing in her hand,
before calling to her troops. The attack was on.
* * * *
He was spitfire mad, emotions raging within him in
waves of pulsing anger and sinister hatred. He was
pushing the limits of his power beyond those he'd
dreamed of, an aura of green-gray forming around
him, eyes glowing insanely bright, blond hair a
nimbus around his head. Lastly, he was scared,
though not of his own death; that seemed so
insignificant now. What he feared most was the
feminine version of himself that was stalking around
the battlefield, killing men in the name of "Beryl
and the Negaverse!" And Ami saw this skewed version
of himself, attacking, maiming, slaying...it would
be disaster for both.
he thought dryly,
fearfully, that sudden knee-knocking anxiety fueling
another wave of anger.
It seemed that Beryl had hung the Generals on some
huge mobile, so that they swung above the battle,
imprisioned not in crystal coffins, but in empathic
spheres that reflected their emotions. Whether this
was intentional or not, he couldn't tell; still, it
was just one more thing to tick him off. He hung
closest to Jade and Kunzite; Nephrite was off aways,
as if he had excluded himself from the rest of them.
Of all the spheres, his was the busiest and most
colorful, constantly shifting the glaring neons as
his emotions crested and troughed. He wondered
briefly what the others were thinking, if their
thought were along the same lines as his, or if they
just watched the battle below, or just trying to
wake up and escape this nightmare.
Jade, though, was doing neither as he hung in his
sphere of placid purple--dark purple, the color of
royalty, nobility, snobbery...and the closest he
could get to depression. His mind wasn't as light
and fluffy as it usually was, but it was trying to
be; whenever he attempted depression, some thought,
some idiotic memory, would come to mind. It hurt
him almost that he could never tame it to
seriousness, but then again, it was just his nature.
It also helped that he could see the Gate, and the
four Senshi, so fierce and determined to keep this
attacker from winning. He watched his Rei, Sailor
Mars, bring down the wrath of flames on any youma
who approached, sometimes calling it up from the
bowels of the moon. What was her word? "Dusted!"
He could hear her say it now, see the glow in her
eyes, as if he was her and she was him, a jade bowl
with a roaring flame with in it, or a piece of jade
in flame...and now depression attempted to set in
again. Yet suddenly a flare of fire in the shape of
the moon rose, and the golden sheen warmed him, and
once again, he had hope. Because somehow, he knew
that he would be with her again...someday.
Nephrite, in his solitary place in the sky, could
do nothing but cry. Not in wracking sobs, but in
smooth tears that coursed down his face, tiny
droplets that were supposed to help ease the pain--
except when it couldn't be eased. His sphere had
turned a dripping blue--kinda green--that mocked
him, shedding blue with him, and yet still kept him
imprisoned. Once in awhile a streak of lightning
would scour the battlefield near him, and he knew
she was still alive--yet every scream he heard was
her, every cry was for him, and he could do nothing.
Second most powerful General REDUCED to a bystander,
and there was nothing he could do about it.
Nothing. And it ached inside him, so hollow, and he
cried, and cried--for he knew that he'd never see
her again, and could never apologize for breaking
his promise to her, that he'd come back for her,
that everything would be all right....
Kunzite's sphere was a blank--a total blank. And
so was Kunzite. For even though the inner man was
screaming at him, dressing him down, and demanding
that he do something, all he could do was stare at
the battle. Well, that's what it looked like;
really, he saw nothing, nothing but darkness, and
felt nothing but the cool energy pressed against his
cheek as the hot battle raged below. Occasionally a
flash of light would draw his eye, the orange a
streak of hope, and he'd raise his head...but then
he would slump again. He felt so hopeless that he'd
just shut down. And inside his mind, when the angry
voice wasn't speaking, a soft voice just kept
repeating "I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I
love thee..."
He never said he loved her--or, at least, it was so
long ago it'd faded away. And now he wondered if
she knew how deeply he cared, and he longed to say
it to her just one more time...kiss her just once
more...but instead, all he could do was watch
blankly.
Suddenly, movement caught his eye. The youma had
been assaulting the Gate forever, since nearly the
beginning of the battle, but the combination of the
Senshi and a Knight or two had taken care of it.
Now, though, some other force was moving towards the
Gate--a force that caught every General's heart, and
made them freeze.
Their replicas had decided to show up and wipe out
the ones they loved most.
It was then that Zoicite went insane.
He shrieked something--a cross between "AGRRHRRRR!"
and "NOOOOOOO!"--and the colors of the sphere
frenzied. Then, there was this lite sounding pop,
as if a soap bubble had been broken, and his sphere
broke.
Each of the remaining Generals watched breathless
as Zoicite fell...
...and their Dark Counterparts breached the Gate...
...he flipped twice, petals swirling, and landed
in the battle....
...and they went forward to embrace the Senshi....
...and he gave a cry and took to the air,
brandishing two wicked looking crystals,
drawing close to the Gate...
...suddenly each Senshi doubled over, almost in
unison...
...just as Zoi made it inside the gates, and
the four laughed and vanished.
And three more soap bubbles in the air popped,
joining Zoicite on the ground.
He ran to Ami, eyes widening in horror and fury
screaming through his veins. He dropped to his
knees and held her up, her eyes going glossy even as
the blood poured out of her.
"Ami...Ami, my love, Ami..." he whispered, stroking
her face, her cold face. He began to fashion an
energy crystal, which would slow the bleeding and
help her heal--when she spoke.
"Zoi..."
Her voice was like the fall of a leaf, soft and
fluttering and so close to silence that tears sprung
to his eyes.
"Love, oh Ami...I love you, Ami..."
"Zoi...no...don't...please don't hurt..."
"Ami, it wasn't me."
"I love...Zoi...don't hurt...I love you."
And she fell silent as he looked on in horror, and
as the other Generals reached the Gate they heard
the agonized, wailing scream of their companion, a
mixure of sorrow so potent that those on the
battlefield felt their hearts wrench, and even the
youma felt a touch...of sadness. He screamed again,
and again, his voice ringing out as tears washed
down his face and onto hers, his hand in hers; "AMI!
AMI!! AMIIII!!!"
Each General rushed first to their Senshi as Zoi's
voice died to a whisper, and his tears turned hot,
and his blood fired. Nephrite scooped up his
Jupiter, his Mako, her cold body limp in his arms
and her eyes wide in shock, and horror....the rose
earrings glittering in her ears. Jade suddenly
found himself shaking, and sobbing, both internally
and externally, for his fire lay dead, cruelly
stabbed. He found himself kissing her lightly,
whispering, "Your last kiss" before breaking into
more sobs. And Kunzite found Venus, and his heart
wrenched, for though she hadn't been stabbed in a
mortal spot, the wound had bleed so much before he
got that she was fading--fast. And so he took her
hand and touched her face, and as bright, rare tears
cascaded from his eyes, whispered, "I love you. I
LOVE THEE, Lady Venus. My.." and he choked, and for
the last time he held her, hands in her hair, as she
shuddered and exhaled one last time. "I love
thee..." he whispered again.
A sudden scream shook the palace, and all four
Generals leapt up in response. "SERENITY!" screamed
Jade, and cold fury rushed through the veins of
every other General.
"GENERALS ASSEMBLE!!" Kunzite roared, and power
screamed to the surface, and as they took off down
the hall another cry reached their ears--and they
went faster, for it was Endymion's voice.
And finally they found the sight, and the two dead
or near-dead lovers, and watched as the Imperium
Crystal was raised in Beryl's sneering face--and
then everything was white, and hot, and suddenly a
peace coursed through them, and they knew that their
Happiness was a Phoenix, is a Phoenix, and it soared
with them on the waves of light...burning them to
ashes...ashes from which someday they would rise to
live and love again.
And all went black.
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