Of Warriors And Kings

My eyes snapped open, and I sat up quickly. I was in Kunzite’s house, and he was sleeping soundly beside me. That dream again! I knew it was memories of before the end of the Moon Kingdom, but it suddenly donned on me the reason why I had been having that dream again.

“Kun-kun, wake up,” I whispered, shaking his shoulder gently. He groaned, his eyes slowly fluttering open and trying to focus on me.

“What is it, Zoi-chan?” he said. “I was dreaming about the end of the Moon Kingdom.” My eyes met his, and he realized that he hadn’t just been dreaming, he had been reliving it, as I had been!

“I know who my nephew was reborn as,” I said. “That geeky kid that Nephrite’s old girlfriend is always with.”

“Naru…ko…” The name slipped off of Kunzite’s tongue so quickly that it was like a ton of bricks hitting me. “I wonder if Nephrite knew who she was…” We looked at each other again, and I was suddenly horrified.

“What would Queen Beryl have done if I had allowed those harpies to kill her!” I couldn’t believe that I was remembering all of this now! But where was the man who, nearly twenty years ago, had been reborn and allowed us to be free of our prison in the Dark Kingdom? Surely it couldn’t be Tuxedo Kamen, the man who had spoiled their plans to steal human energy so many times in the past… Could it? He did have the same black hair, and when the man’s mask had blown off in their battle the day before, he had looked strangely familiar. Is that why Queen Beryl had called us back early, just as he was about to give us the last remaining rainbow crystals? Had she seen it as well?

Before Kunzite could say anything, we both felt a pulse from the throne room of Queen Beryl. She was calling us, probably for another mission. We quickly dressed and teleported there, being met by a smug-looking queen.

“We are here to serve as ordered, Your Majesty,” Kunzite said as we both bowed.

“The events of last night showed me something that you both might find rather interesting,” she said. “I have discovered the identity of the man who calls himself Tuxedo Kamen, and he is none other than the man who betrayed us in the Moon Kingdom a thousand years ago, to go and bed himself with the daughter of my ex-husband. He is a formidable enemy, but he could be of great value to us if he were to return to our side.”

“But we don’t know who he is in his human form!” I cried.

“You don’t, but I do,” she snapped. “Now be quiet and listen to my orders!”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Kunzite said. As we listened to Queen Beryl’s plan, my heart thudded wildly in my chest. I was going to be able to talk to him again! He didn’t remember who I was apart from what he’d seen over the last six months or so, but he would soon remember me. Or at least that was my hope.

It was early in the morning by local Earth time, and Endymi… I mean, Mamoru Chiba, had made his way to his home after our last battle, where we had fought and he had been badly injured by me. I regretted stabbing him now, but I hadn’t known who Tuxedo Kamen really was until Beryl had told us. Him having a big screen television made it convenient to communicate, as though he was watching me on a movie, only I could hear what he said back to me. He lay back on his couch, the blood from his wound smearing into the leather. The pain in his features made me cringe as I watched him, but he was still the enemy at the moment, and I had to show nothing but contempt for him, as much as I hated doing this to him.

“Nice place, Mamoru,” I said as I appeared on the screen.

“Zoicite!” he gasped, lifting his head abruptly. “How the hell did you find me?”

“I told you, Mamoru, the Dark Kingdom is all-seeing, all-knowing,” I sneered. “I know more about you than you realize, but that’s beyond the point. I came to challenge you to a duel for the Rainbow Crystals, fair fight, winner takes all.”

“I don’t believe you,” he said, and I smiled, closing my eyes briefly and playing with the edge of my ponytail.

“I didn’t expect you to, but it’s true,” I said. “Meet me at the Starlight Tower at five o’clock this afternoon. Come alone and bring the crystals with you.”

“What if I refuse?”

“You don’t want to do that,” I warned. “I obviously know where you live, and if you don’t come, I will kill you and all the other people in that building, and take the crystals anyway.”

“Fine, Zoicite, I agree,” he said.

“Oh, and why don’t you get a doctor to look at that shoulder,” I said with a smirk. “It must be painful.” I laughed, closing the link, and continued to watch him. I didn’t want him to be in pain, and I wished that there was something I could’ve done to help him.

_________________________

My battle was over. Sailor Moon had been discovered as the Moon Princess, and Tuxedo Kamen had discovered that he was Prince Endymion. Seeing his clothes change from the tuxedo to the black armor was like nothing I could’ve imagined, and nothing could’ve made me happier than to run to his side at that moment. But just like at the end of the Moon Kingdom, he had been with the bastard child of the Moon. I didn’t know if he would ever remember me, but now that he was in the Dark Kingdom, he would be on our side again. Unfortunately, I would not be around to see him fight for us.

I felt strong arms around me, and I knew they belonged to my beloved Kunzite, even before I opened my eyes. He was crying because he knew that I was dying. I had only heard or seen him cry a few times in the nearly two thousand years that I’d known him.

“Oh, Zoi-chan, I’m so sorry,” he said. “It’s all my fault. Queen Beryl should’ve punished me for not teaching you to be more patient.”

“Kun-kun,” I whispered, my eyes finally opening. “It’s alright, it wasn’t your fault.” He lifted me into a sitting position, my hand touching his face briefly. “You have to be strong, and bring Endy-kun back to your side. He may not remember us as his lovers in the past, but you must keep him as safe as possible. Please.”

“I will do my best,” Kunzite said. I touched his cheek, wiping a single tear away from his face with my gloved hand.

“Will you fulfill one last request, my Darling?” I said, my sight starting to fade already. “I want to die beautifully,” Immediately, a shower of pink rose petals began fluttering around me. I smiled, reaching out to catch a single petal in the palm of my hand. “Don’t forget me…”

“I could never,” he says, the last thing that my living ears heard before my body faded into nothing. Moments later, I sensed that I was no longer in a body of flesh and blood, but I was floating. The rose petal shower around Kunzite had stopped, and he was clutching a stone of soft green color to his chest. My namesake, from which I was made, and it was glowing dimly as the last of its power faded. “Goodbye, my love.”

“I love you, my Kunzite,” I said. I was suddenly aware of other spiritual presences standing near me, and as I turned to look, I saw my parents and brother waiting for me. As an instinct, I knelt, only to be raised again by my father. “Father!”

“Come, my son,” Father said. “We have been waiting so long to bring you home.”

“Will we come back for Kunzite when it is his time?” I said, and he nodded.

“We will,” Mother said. “He will be by your side forever, as you have been so faithful to each other.”

“Thank you so much for meeting me,” I said with tears in my eyes. “Let’s go home.”

THE END