Disclaimer one: All spelling mistakes that may appear (and most proberbly will) belong solely to the author. As soon as she finds out how in the world to spell check in either Pagebuilder of Geocities, they will most likely remain, even though she has gone over the story hundreds of times with Kunzites fine toothed comb.
Disclaimer two: The Dark Kings aren't mine, they belong to someone a long way away from little old New Zealand (and I don't mean George Lucas) I'm not making any money out of this nor am I planning to. However, since its my birthday coming up, if the owners of Sailor Moon would like to thank me for this mere contribution to their universe a gift rapped Jeddy would be much appreciated ;)
Boring disclaimers aside, on with the story!
note: in case you skipped the read me section at the front this is Yaoi - but only say pg - 13 later one. Also Beryl wasn't called Beryl but King Calcite - confused? Basically he's the same person Beryl was (ie: did what Beryl did etc) but the story fit better with the overlord being a male, so she became he!
The death of Calcite brought chaos to the realm of the Dark Kingdom. The order so tediously controlled by its leader swung out of balance. What was old became new. What was dreary and gloomy became fresh. What was entrapped became released, and; what had been dark, became reborn..........
Cold. That was the first thing that came to his mind. Every pore in his body felt frozen. As he started to shiver he heard a crack, then another, as for the first time in as long as he could remember he realised he could open his eyes, so long squeezed shut in unrelenting fear. Even though the room was dark his unused eyes still squinted in pain, and he closed them for a few minutes before reopening them - this time more slowly so they could adjust to the light. Unbeleivably he lifted his arms and pressed against his crystal prison, unprepared for the ease in which it fell away. He crumbled to the ground, almost revelling in the sharp pain that flooded his body as the glass beneath him cut harshly into his arms and chest. His body trembled as he slowly raised himself until he was in a sitting position, his back leaning against the remains of what he had thought was his coffin. He breathed deeply, instantly regretting it as pain coursed through his entire body, causing him to let out a soft sob. Despite the pain, or because of it, a small smile appeared on his ghostly white face. He could see. He could breath. He could think. And damn it - for better or worse, after endless torment, he could feel, even if all he could feel at the moment were jagged pieces of glass it was an eternity better than being in a state of limbo *I'm Free!*
Blossom petals floated around him as he opened his eyes. for a moment he was in shock - where was he? What had happened? As the blossoms softly floated to the ground he realised he was in an empty room.
"Please - let me die...... beautifully"
He had died. As his memories started to come back quick and fast he felt tears flood his eyes. He had loved him, he had known it all along! If only......
"If only what?" he asked himself out loud in anger.
"If only you hadn't killed Darian?"
"If only you had pushed him more? Or less?"
"If only Calcite hadn't fallen for that damn prince?"
"If only it could be like it was in the Silver Millennium"
His body went ridged with shock. The Silver Millennium.
*Oh god - what have we done?!*
His eyes widened in despair as he remembered how they had been brainwashed to destroy the Moon Kingdom. Calcite had betrayed all of them! They had trusted him as a friend, as a confidant, yet he had used them to destroy and defeat the Prince who they loved and had sworn to protect. His pretty face distorted as he snarled. Yes, Calcite had known how to get to each of them, through either their mind, their dedication, their passions. Or he thought more soberly as more memories surfaced, their heart. He sunk into the the bed of petals beneath him and closed his eyes. He had sworn that he would wait for his loved one here in this......... afterlife, and as more pleasant thoughts began to surface he was determine to leave all thoughts that the name Calcite surfaced behind for as long as possible.
*I'm here Kunzite. I'm waiting*
The smell of roses were the first thing that struck Kunzite as odd - last time he remembered there were no flowers in Calcites throne room - the thought alone made him want to chuckle. As he became more aware of his surroundings he was shocked to discover that instead of the throne room where he last remembered being, he was in the Dark kingdoms garden. The once drab and dull garden was now full of flowers and plants in abundance that seemed to form a never ending wave of greens, blues, reds and violets. Could he be dead? Since the last thing he remembered was being blasted by Calcite that was a distinct possibility - but somehow the idea didn't seem to fit right. Why would he feel weak if he was in some sort of flowery afterlife? And why could he still feel he had control over his powers yet didn't have the strength to use them? The garden, no - the whole place seemed to reek still with dark and dangerous magic, but ....... he cocked his head to the side lost in thought. It seemed ..... out of sync? But that would mean that Calcite had been overthrown! He was free! Which meant.....
"Zoicite!" he exclaimed out loud, excitement creeping into his normally calm voice. If he had been brought back then so would the others.
*I'm here Kunzite. I'm waiting*
"Zoi?" he repeated, this time a mere whisper as the voice, his voice echoed in his head. his heart beat heavily in his chest as he turned towards Calcites castle.
*I'm coming Zoi - and this time we'll never be apart again - I promise*
Nephrite was surprised to say the least when he woke up and found himself in the Kings thrown room. the room that had always been dark was partially flooded by light where part of the roof had fallen in, revealing the brilliant blue sky above.
*Wait a minute ........... Blue?!* Nephrite thought, amazed. Last time he checked the sky in the Nega Verse had always been a sterile gray. And where was Calcite, come to think of it? As his memories started to return he unconsciously raised a hand to his left shoulder and scowled.
*So this is the afterlife then* He glanced around the seemingly empty throne room
*Funny - I never thought it would be quite this ....... boring*
He sighed as he sat himself down on the thrown. What was he suppose to do for the rest of eternity? The Dark Kingdom had never really held much entertainment value before - even with Zoicite to tease. He cringed as he thought just how badly he had treated the copper haired general who he was starting to remember was actually one of his friends before, before ........ this had happened. What he really would like to do now was to get stone drunk, but somehow he doubted that ghosts could, and what was the fun of getting drunk without a drinking partner - the place seemed to be godamn empty!
Nephrites thoughts were interrupted by a bout of harsh coughs followed by a string of curses. He shot to his feet as he realised in surprise that he recognised the voice coming from one of the unlit corners
"Jedeite?" he questioned, disbelief flooding his voice
"Is that you?!"
Nephrite cautiously approached the corner where the sound had orientated from. A couple of coughs later and the voice once again spoke up.
"Who else do you know has been encased in a damn crystal for who knows how long? Eternal sleep - ha!"
The voice seemed weak but to Nephrite it was all the conformation he needed as he rushed to his aid. Nephrite tried to hide his shock as he reached down to help his friend up. Jadeite was coverers with an assortment of cuts that had shredded his uniform pretty much from head to toe. His slim frame was shaking and his face was pale. Jedeite smiled slightly at Nephrites concern.
"Its not as bad as it looks" he tried to convince him as Nephrite looked at him in disbelief, before deciding to find out for sure if the younger General was all right. Amoung cries of "Nef what the hell are you doing!" and "Ow! not so hard!" Nephrite checked over the seriousness of the injuries. Upon discovering that Jedeite was indeed going to be fine he engulfed him in a hug. Startled for a moment Jedeite returned the hug and smiled when the two pulled apart..
"I take it you're starting to get back memories of the Silver Millenium" Jedeite said
"The Nef of the dark Kingdom I knew would never have hugged a friend"
"That 'Nef' didn't really have any friends" Nephrite admitted, a smile on his own face. He then turned serious.
"I guess that means your memories are returning too?" he asked softly, concern evident in his eyes. Although he turned away Nephrite still caught the flash of pain that swept briefly over Jedeites face
"yeah" he answered quietly, before turning back around.
"What in the world happened here anyway?" he asked, sweeping his arms across the room.
"We're dead" he replied matter of factly
"And this is our own private hell"
A shrill laugh ecoed through the room.
"Dead Nephrite? in case you forgot Jedeite wasn't killed"
From one of the entrances Zoicite emerged, draped across Kunzites arm.
"Now now, be nice" Kunzite growled lightly
"Remember how I found yo ..." before he could finish Zoicite had clamped his hand tightly over his mouth, much to the amusement of both Nephrite and Jedeite. Prying away his lovers fingers he turned to the bemused pair and smiled.
"Its nice to see you two again - its been along time"
"Oh, about a thousand years or so I'd say" Zoicite jumped in, a smile on his face. Nephrite resisted the urge to poke his tongue out at Zoicite and instead turned to Kunzite.
"If we're not dead, then what happened?" Kunzite looked at them all in turn before quietly saying
"Calcites dead. The Scouts must have won" Nephrite and Jedeite looked at him in shock.
"B.b.ut .... how? I mean ..... he was too .......... the SCOUTS!" Jedeite stuttered, before regaining some of his composure.
"The Scouts could hardly beat us on a bad day ........"Jedeite drifted off at the look on the other three's faces.
"They beat you?!" The suprise in his face mirroring that on his face.
"No!" Nephrite and Zoicite hotly denied, while Kunzite placed a hand over his eyes. Jedeites eyes widened in realisation as he turned to the other two.
"And what happened to you two?" the shock still evident in his voice.
"Calcite killed me after I killed Tux boy" Zoi explained
"Zoicite happened" was Nephrites only answer. Jedeite shook his head.
"3 little girls managed to beat all four Earth Guardians" he grinned, but the other 3 noticed how he had referred to their previous titles - something they most definetly preferred.
"Five" Nephrite interupted. At Jedeites expression Kunzite elaborated.
"Mars, Moon, Mercury ......"
"Venus and Jupiter" Jediete finished, comprehension dawning
"The five Moon Gardians"
"Besides" Nephrite started. "I think we were defeated more by ourselves and that backstabbing Calcite than the Girls themselves" he finished, then grimaced at the look on Jedeites face.
*definatly a topic to avoid Nef* he thought. Zoicite had been watching the other three Generals conversation pretty much in silence when he spoke up.
"You make it sound like a bad thing we lost" he started quietly.
"Can you imagine what would have happened if we had succeeded?"
All four generals shivered. Earth would have been drained of all its life force energy with its inhabitants nothing more than mindless shells, their only purpose to follow the orders of a sadist dictator. Kunzite looked at the other three Generals soberly before inwardly cursing himself when he noticed Jedeite hadn't stopped shaking. Detaching his cloak he placed it around the young generals shoulders. Jedeite smiled and rolled his eyes at Kunzites questioning glance.
"I'm fine!" he said, raising his hands in defence to ward Kunzite off.
"Nef has alredy given me the once over" Nephrite chuckled.
"He'll be fine. He just needs to soak in a nice warm bath for a couple of days"
"Which leads us to the next question" Zoicite spoke up.
"What now?"
"Personally I'd like to get as far away from this damn Dark Kingdom as possible" Nephrite stated, and the other three nodded.
"Darian is still our Prince - do we still see it as our duty to protect him - even if it means putting up with those annoying Scouts?" Kunzite looked at all three in the eye before nodding slightly.
"I think we all know the answer to that. The question is, how do we get near them without them blowing our heads of first?" Zoicite cringed at the thought of the Scouts, and placed his arms gently around Kunzites neck.
"Kunz" he started softly and seductively
"do we really have to deal with them? They're so .... perky" Kunzite laughed gently as he placed a soft kiss on his partners lips.
"Remember, if it wasn't for them we wouldn't be together now" he replied resting his palm against Zoicite check as he gazed into his eyes.
"Oh Lover birds" Nephrite drawled, a smile on his lips which didn't really reflect what he was feeling. True, Zoicite and Kunzite made a sweet couple, but it reminded him too much of a certain red head who had touched his heart for so short a time, but was imprinted permanently in his memory. He sighed, realising that he had done so at the same time as Jedeite.
*Probably thinking of a long haired brunette* he thought sadly. He was going to have to have a talk with the younger General later.
"So its to Tokyo then?" Zoicite interupted Nephrites train of thought. With a swish of his hand Zoicite opened a portal. With one last glance at the dimension which had been their home for the last few years they entered the portal, hoping to leave the Dark Kingdom and all it represented behind forever.
Down in the depths of the Dark Kingdom a fifth set of eyes flickered then slowly opened...........
To be continued.........
So, what did u think? I know its not brilliant and I'm sorry for the Zoi/Kun scene - I'm just no good at romance! This is where i beg for feedback so please, even just to say it sucks, write me your opinions at : cairnsynz@yahoo.com thanks!!
