All disclaimers apply!
THE FOUR LOVERS
INTERIM
CHAPTER TWO
NIGHT LIFE
/i'm all right...i'll be all right, i just
want to get out of here./
/the gold in her palms, the scarlet hair down
her back, and those evil, evil eyes.../
/you're going to turn me into a FEMALE?/
/i curse you, beryl, under the crystalline
geise. you'll get the fate you
deserve...over a man like me....by a blond
like me/
/my lips moved, and i mouthed...Ami./
/lastly, i was scared, though not of my own
death; that seemed so insignificant now.
what i feared most was the feminine version
of myself that was stalking around the
battlefield, killing men in the name of
"Beryl and the Negaverse!"/
/just as i made it inside the gates, the four
sneered and laughed and dropped the bodies,
leaving me to gape with a crystal in my hand
as they disappeared./
/i ran forward, took her into my arms,
touching her face and whispering to her,
"Ami, Ami, lov..." but all she could do was
whisper her last loving feelings as she
accused me of her murder./
/and i screamed./
Zach awoke, the scream dying on his lips as
he forced himself up from his bed. A last
image flashed before his eyes, and then it
swirled away in fragments, fragments of,
of...
"It was a dream," he muttered to himself,
barely realiziing he'd spoken. "Just a a
dream."
He clambered out of his bed to go stand in a
sullen patch of moonlight. It'd been about
three days since he'd first laid eyes on
Kevin; his dreams had intensified then, too.
They weren't just snippets or voices in the
darkness anymore; now they were shorts, clips
lasting not a blink of an eye, but 10-20
blinks (where a blink comes 1nce every six
seconds, he reminded himself), running
smoothly, like someone had activated a dozen
tiny Avi players in his mind. Always he
looked through the same eyes, a man's eyes,
like himself--or was it a woman?--and he saw
light places--or dark foreboding ones--and
felt passive emotions--or incredinly hot,
fiery passionate ones....
Always a melange.
Always ending in violence.
He shivered, feeling the cold suddenly. A
few days ago, he wouldn't have stood under
this bright, bright moonlight without an
immediate sign of ill health. The coming of
the dreams had made him strong, though,
stronger than he knew he should be. He was
going back to school that next Monday,
finally ready. He knew he shared English and
Japanese with the others, and also had Trig
with Kevin--the others had opted to take no
math or Pre-Calculus, which was (in his
honest opinion) for wimps--but the other
classes were full of strangers to him.
he ruefully
reminded himself.
He nearly blanched. His father was rarely
around; his mother was always on some
diplomatic mission or another; and that left
just him and his nurse. His lips pursed; it
wasn't that he didn't like women--he just
didn't care for the representation of the
gender that lived with him. She was way too
intrested in him and his friends.
He looked back to his bed, and sighed. If
he was going to go back to school, he needed
rest. He turned his face up to the
moonlight, letting the sfot, silver beams
caress his skin, feeling a brief peace--
hatred--wash over him. Sighing once more, he
padded back to bed, his soft hair splaying
out as his head slammed into the pillow. He
didn't know he was SO tired...a yawn escaped
his lips, and as his eyes closed, he softly
murmured, "Princess..." before dropping off.
* * * *
"Yes, Zachary?"
"Acid-base," he said, his voice low.
he thought.
The man nodded, turning back to the board to
scratch out another equation. Zach risked a
look at Red, and saw him shake his head. He
knew his friend was tired, but usually Jared
was more...astute then this. Not able to
recognize a simple acid-base reaction? he thought,
he thought. Nate had
barely touched his food at lunch, but had
ordered two cups of straight expresso.
Kevin's gray eyes and had gone flat, and the
unique tone he had vanished from his voice.
It was all too odd.
And the worst of it was, he felt fine. In
fact, there was a continual stream of energy
within him. He felt better than he had in
months!
He nodded to himself in concurrence. Yep,
it HAD been about that much time...or more.
He wasn't sure; dates weren't his forte. But
that time period seemed about right.
"Zachary, do you agree with what Mr. Jared
just said?" came the looming voice of his
teacher.
"No."
"Good," said the teacher, and he winced.
he thought. He snuck
another look at Jared; the worried look in
his friend's eyes was enough to convince him
of the necessity of it.
* * * *
They ended up at Nathan's place instead--
Miss Maley didn't want to disturb the house
that much--in the room fondly referred to as
the study. It was large, wooded, with tall,
tall bookcases and a thick, plush carpet; a
piano, a baby grand, was to one side, and
candelabras had been placed upon it to give
it that "feel." There was very little
furniture, so the boys laid their food and
drink on medium sized wood squares, working
out of notebooks. At the moment, the room
was quiet (except for the the faint rumble of
a storm outside); Advanced Chemistry was what
they were working on, Zach presiding and
having assigned several problems and asking
them to determines the types of equations in
list. Pretty easy stuff, and the boys worked
diligently at it.
"Have the three of you been having odd
dreams?" he asked from his corner. They
worked in a square to be efficent.
Immediately, all of the sounds of pencils to
paper STOPPED. "Yes, I have," Kevin finally
answered, slowly, voice hesitant.
"I as well," Nate rumbled formally, his eyes
uneasy.
"Me, too," Jared said, his voice almost sad.
Looks of confusion and increduality spread
over their faces. "All of us?" Nate gasped.
"Are they the same, though," Kevin quickly
asked. "Jared, what are yours about?"
"Well," the boy started, "there's a lot of a
palace, and friends...stones, they...three of
them. And a Prince...a Princess." He broke
off. "Rei," he whispered, then shook it off.
"A lot of red and purple and passion, Mars,
and...Rei..." A bleak look broke over his
face. "And then I die."
Nathan stirred to a sitting position, eyes
deep and somewhat pained. "Mine are
similar...except for Mako..." he suddenly
felt close to tears, and unconciously brushed
his face. "My dream ends in...my
death...too." He didn't look happy to admit
that.
"I have two sets," Zac admitted. "One is
like yours, though. But I feel mad...angry
and sorrowful." He closed his eyes. "Ami,"
he whispered, voice breaking completely on
the word.
"I led them," Kev said softly. "In my
dreams. I led the men. And...and...Minako?"
He shuddered suddenly. "Minako!"
Silence dominated the room then, until Jared
asked, "What were they called?"
And, in unison, they responded, "The
Generals."
>GENERALS ASSEMBLE!<
The crey sounded from their blood, their
heart, their spirit, and they had to obey.
Jumping to their feet, they saluted and stood
frim, eyes open, hands closed.
Staring at the glow that had suddenly
suffused them all.
A sparkle crossed their features and dangled
from their hair, until they were older, hair
longer/shorter, faces mature, eyes
passionite.
"Generals..." Kevin whispered, and swiftly
Kunzite blazed through.
"Generals..." Zachary breathed, and now he
was Zoicite, shyly brave.
"Generals..." Jared murmured, and Jadeite
grinned at them all.
"Generals..." Nathan said softly, and it was
Nephrite that gazed at them. His hand thrust
forward, and without realizing it the four of
them gripped various positions on each other
wrists, until a small square was formed in
their midst.
>Assemble once more and take your oath,<
whispered Kevin/Kunzite.
>I am General Jadeite, psychometry, sworn to
protect the Earth and Prince Endymion,< spoke
Jared/Jadeite.
>I am General Nephrite, star field, sworn to
protect the Earth and Prince Endymions,<
spoke Nathan/Nephrite.
>I am General Zoicite, crystals, sworn to
protect the Earth and Prince Endymions,<
Zachary/Zoicite said.
>I am General Kunzite, energy, sworn to
protect the Earth and Prince Endymion,< spoke
Kevin/Kunzite.
A wheel of power rose in the square, bright,
snow white. It tilted slightly and began to
unravel, bands of white loosening; the wheel
fell flat again and the bands were jarred
off, streaking into them. A dam, a barrier,
crashed in their mind, and....
They opened their eyes, butts planted firmly
on the floor. No one spoke until Zac dared
to whisper, "Another dream?"
"Not unless dreams leave marks," Kevin said,
rubbing his wrist as he grinned wryfully.
Instantly, the other three broke into HUGE
grins, rubbing their own wrists. Quietly,
and almost unnotice, Kevin whispered,
"Welcome back, Generals."
"HAI!" they shouted back, a feeling of
exhaultation rising in them. It was GOOD to
be back.
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