Beyond the Facade

Chapter Eight, War Breaks Out:

\"Who are you?\" Princess Raye demanded upon seeing the young
male leaving the palace from the wrong door.

\"I...um...well...you see,\" he stuttered.

\"Go ahead. I am waiting,\" Raye said, her hands on her hips.

\"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?\" he rapidly
changed the subject.

Raye, however, was not moved. Not one bit. \"I repeat the
question. Who are you, and what are you doing here?\" she asked.

The man gulped. \"I was just...I mean...umm...well, you
see...\"

\"Simply say it Now,\" Raye said forcefully.

\"All right, all right.\" He put his hands up in the air.
\"You win,\" and he took bread out of his pockets and placed it in
her hands.

\"You were stealing bread?\" she asked incredulously.

\"I am so sorry. So so sorry. It is simply that we are all
starving, and I swear it will not happen again,\" he promised.

Raye shook her head and put the bread back in his hand.
\"Take it. We have plenty. You are a peasant? I am so sorry your
family is starving. Come with me to the kitchen to get more to eat.\"

\"Oh thank you a million times over. Thank you. Yes, I am a
peasant. You are a maid here? Or something of higher class?\"

\"I am the princess,\" she admitted.

\"Princess Raye?\" he asked. She nodded her head. \"Raye as in
a ray of sunshine. Your brightness illuminates the dark corners of
Mars,\" he said.

\"You are strange,\" she commented.

\"I am a poet,\" he said.

\"What is your name then poet?\" she asked as she giggled.

\"Chadwick. My name is Chadwick,\" the man said.

She smiled. \"A strange name for a strange poet.\" They both
laughed as they prepared a huge feast for his family together.

Trista stood looking out at the horizon. She was facing
infinite space, and yet out of that darkness came something even
darker. A cold feeling shocked her body. She smelled the air.
Something smelled wrong. Something felt wrong. A sinister dark
force appeared in front of her and began advancing with their
weapons. A dark cloud curled around Pluto. Trista screamed and
began running. She could not fight them alone she knew. She
transformed quickly and turned around shooting her power out
through her hands as she kept on running. She ran straight
into the palace and alerted the army as well as the entire planet.
The Pluto planet was not ready to fight, but the Pluto army ran
out to fight these sinister forces as best as they could.

The alarms sounded throughout the palace. She jumped from
the chair she was sitting in and began running to find her mother
frantically. As soon as she was out in the hall, her four guards:
Lex, Kamie, Gregory, and Tonya encircled around her. \"We will keep
you safe at all costs,\" Lex, the top guard, promised. The others
nodded in agreement as they ran outside with their princess.

When they finally got outside Lex, Kamie, and Tonya ran
back in to find out what was happening while Gregory remained
behind to guard the beloved princess. \"Are you all right princess?\"
he asked softly.

She nodded her head.

He hugged her close. \"You must be terrified. Do not worry.
Your other guards will soon find out what is going on.\"

\"What is going on?\" Lita demanded of her top guard as she
tried to catch her breath outside the castle. She too had been
awoken by an alarm that morning and had rushed outside with her
guards in a panic.

\"The whole planet is in panic. All the planets of the
Silver Millennium Alliance are in fact princess,\" answered
Kenneth.

\"Why?\" she demanded.

He held out his hand for her to hold. \"Do not be too
scared,\" he said. \"This is serious, but we are not in immediate
danger. However the outer planets of the solar system are. *Oh no,
Trista, Michelle, Amara, and Hotaru,* Lita thought frantically.

\"I have to know if my friends are all right,\" she said,
tears coming to her eyes. She did hold his hand. \"But I am not
afraid,\" she said forcefully, her eyes narrowed at him as though
to emphasize the point. \"I am not helpless you understand?\"

\"Of course,\" he said. The only male she had ever met to
finally respect and agree that women could be just as \"strong\"
as men.

She looked at him in admiration.

\"We got here as fast as we could,\" Amara gasped out
breathlessly as she and Michelle and Hotaru all ran up to where
Trista was standing. There was a dark cloud surrounding the
entire planet and dark forces gaining ground, getting closer
and closer to the middle of the planet where the castle was
located.

Trista\'s dull eyes looked into their anxious ones. \"The
army is not strong enough,\" she said simply.

*She looks exhausted,* Michelle thought.

Amara and Hotaru looked out at the army as did Michelle.
\"You are right. They are losing badly,\" Amara observed.

\"We must fight,\" Hotaru said.

\"Will we be strong enough?\" Michelle asked worriedly.
They all looked at one another.

\"Our parents will not be happy,\" Amara said.

\"They are not happy we are together either, but tough
luck for them,\" Michelle said strongly.

\"Right,\" Trista said. \"We knew this day would come. We
have duties to perform and planets and kingdoms and an alliance
to protect.\"

\"Right,\" Amara and Michelle and Hotaru agreed.

\"Saturn Planet Power!\"

\"Pluto Planet Power!\"

\"Neptune Planet Power!\"

\"Uranus Planet Power!\"

And they all transformed in a blinding array of lights.

They ran up close to the troops and began fighting.

Sailor Saturn spun her glaive expertly as she had done so
many times in practice. *But this is not practice,* Hotaru
reminded herself as she looked out at the darkness.

\"Pluto Deadly Scream!!\"

\"Uranus World Shaking!!\"

\"Neptune Deep Submerge!!\" the other three screamed,
unleashing their attacks from a bit farther back than Saturn was.
Saturn had bravely dove right into the middle of the darkness,
swinging her glaive in a circle and working her way out. The
others had gasped but quickly regained their senses and attacked
from the outside with strength.

\"Thank you so much for helping me prepare all this food
for my family. My younger sister and parents will be so
grateful,\" Chadwick said.

\"And you?\" Raye asked directly.

\"Me?\"

\"Are you glad?\" she asked.

A huge grin came upon his face. \"Very,\" he said. \"For
more than one reason.\"

Raye smiled, her first real smile on her face. Her eyes
sparkled. \"Thank you as well for helping me laugh and smile,\"
she said gladly.

\"Do you not laugh or smile often?\" he asked.

\"Well...no,\" she admitted.

He smiled. \"Then I am glad I could be of service,\" he
said, bowing to her in a teasing manner.

She giggled.

\"RAYE GET UP HERE!\" her father screamed.

Raye turned a deathly pale shade on her face. \"You
should go. I have to go,\" she said hurriedly.

A look of concern appeared on Chadwick\'s face, but he
nodded. Quickly and quietly he left.

Sailor Saturn screamed as the forces overtook her. She
disappeared, appearing to be swallowed by the dark cloud. In
reality she was beaten badly and thrown back out.

\"Saturn!\" the other three screamed anxiously, running up
to her. She lay almost motionless on the ground, her left hand
only losing some of its grip on the glaive.

\"Are you all right Saturn?\" Neptune asked anxiously.

\"Small one?\" Pluto asked anxiously, a horrible strain in
her voice.

\"I...I am all right,\" Saturn managed to gasp out. \"Please
do not distract yourselves with me. Fight. The Alliance needs
you. The beings of all the planets need you all,\" Saturn said.

\"We need you though,\" Uranus said, desperation lining her
voice.

Saturn nodded. \"I will be fine,\" she said. Although that
did not convince her perceptive friends, they went off and began
fighting courageously again.

One of the leaders of the dark forces\' army jumped up in
the air in front of Saturn and threw a dark energy ball into her
stomach. She grimaced and groaned.

\"Saturn!\" the other three screamed again as she fell to
the ground dead.

Gregory had been wonderful to Amy throughout the whole
ordeal, and they had truly gotten close. Amy had shared what a
horrible person she felt she was and how worthless her father
made her feel with his constant verbal assaults of his daughter.
Gregory held her as she cried and cried. Cried for the war going
on, cried for her friends she had not seen in so long, cried for
the father and home she never had, cried for the person she had
been forced to be, and cried for the tender arms and words of her
love Gregory that brought her such warmth and comfort that she
never wanted to leave his arms.

\"Noooooooooo,\" Neptune screamed.

\"You!\" Uranus shouted, jumping on top of the leader and
sending her attack into his throat. He screamed, fell down, and
died.

Trista said nothing; she had stopped, paralyzed.

To prepare for the attack Kenneth began training Princess
Lita with swords as she requested. \"You are so amazing. Who would
have thought a male could admit that a female and a princess for
that matter could wield a sword and do well with it?\"

\"Me,\" Kenneth answered simply. \"We are all beings, and we
all only have ourself in the end. So it is best to know how to
fight.\"

She smiled and nodded her head in agreement as they
continued to practice together with the swords.

The army continued to fight with Sailor Neptune and
Sailor Uranus for many days. Sailor Pluto refused to fight,
crying over the loss of the one she held so dear to her heart.
She kept herself isolated, not ready to deal with the world. She
was forced to deal with something else instead. The cloaked woman
appeared in front of her. Pluto rubbed her eyes. \"Am I dreaming
or hallucinating?\" she asked out loud to no one in particular.

The woman answered however. \"Neither. You are very much
awake, and I am very much real.\" After a brief silence, she spoke
again. \"You are right to not fight though for the wrong reasons.
You must join me at the time gate.\"

\"What?\" Pluto asked.

\"You must take my place at the time gate, and you will
guard it for three millenniums until you give it to the next
guardian of time at the close of that time. My three milleniums
are up, and I am ready to give up my place. Anxious to actually.
It does get rather lonely and boring up there,\" she added.

Pluto shook her head. \"I do not know how to guard the
gate, and besides I am needed here by my friends.\"

\"True, you are, and they will most likely die without
you. But you must come anyway.\"

\"What? How could you say such a heartless thing?\"

\"I have been alive three millenniums; give me a break if
I seem a little apathetic and callous all right?\" the woman shot
back.

Trista stepped back in surprise. \"Listen. I am sorry, but
my duty and protection go to my friends before any gate.\"

\"You presume that I am giving you a choice. This is the
way the timeline is supposed to play out. Whatever happens was
meant to happen.\"

\"So it will turn out for the best?\" Pluto asked
hopefully.

\"I did not say that. I only said whatever happens
happens...thus another day and month and year will go by.
Eventually they all blend together and things just do not matter
so much anymore.\"

\"They will always matter to me!\" Pluto proclaimed.

\"Well good for you then,\" the woman said, a hint of
mockery in her voice. \"However, right now you have to take your
place.\" She waved her time key, and they were both back in that
misty, hazy grey place of her dreams. Pluto gasped. \"That is
right. This is the time gate.\"

Raye pulled the hood farther over her head as her cloak
covered her entire body and most of her head as well as her long
shining black hair. She was determined to find Chadwick again.
To her surprise, she did not have to look very far. When she got
out into the gardens surrounding the palace, she saw him
approaching the back door he had tried to sneak out of when they
first met.

\"Chadwick!\" she whispered forcefully.

\"Raye,\" he said, quietly approaching her. \"Is that you
underneath that disguise?\" he said, breaking into a quiet
chuckle.

Raye smiled and laughed as well. \"Yes, it is me.\"

He came up and hugged her close. \"I have missed you dear
Raye.\"

\"I have missed you as well dear Chadwick.\"

They sat down by a fountain, and Chadwick cautiously put
his arm around her back, placing his hand on her left shoulder.
\"Raye, your father sounded scary the last time I was here. Does
he usually yell like that?\"

\"Do not all fathers?\" she asked evasively.

\"No,\" Chadwick answered honestly.

\"Oh,\" she murmured.

\"Tell me about him. And about your mother,\" Chadwick
asked, concern and worry showing on his face.

\"No need to worry about me. I am fine,\" Raye said,
trying to keep her pride intact.

\"But I do worry because I love you so much.\"

She gasped as her mouth opened wide.
\"You...you....love me?\" she asked in surprise.

\"Yes,\" he answered simply.

\"I like you Chadwick...a lot, but I am not sure that I
love you.\"

\"Fair enough,\" he said. \"At the least I will always be
here for you as a friend, So please tell me, do your parents
honestly treat you all right?\"

\"I guess I have a hard time judging. I thought all
parents did what mine do, but from Serena and you I learn
differently.\"

\"Serena is?\" he asked.

\"One of my best friends, and the princess of the Moon
Kingdom,\" Raye admitted.

\"Oh!\" Chadwick exclaimed.

\"She is really very down-to-Moon,\" Raye said. \"You
would like her I am sure. She is caring and compassionate and
real, not a fake snob like most of us royalty.\"

\"Not you though,\" Chadwick said kindly.

\"Oh Chadwick, thank you. I do not want to be like that.
I am so tired of having to put up a façade all the time. It is
a relief to have my friends and you to talk honestly with.\"

\"I am so glad to be talking to you too,\" he said
sincerely.

\"They do hit me...beat me,\" she reluctantly admitted.

\"Raye, I want to go in there and beat them down right
now for you. You deserve so much better. You deserve someone to
hold you and keep you safe.\"

\"I can look out for myself,\" Raye said honestly.

\"I am sure you can, but I wish I could be there for you.\"

\"You are Chadwick. You really are. You have no idea how
much you have helped me.\"

\"I am glad,\" he said.

\"I must go now though. Until next time,\" Raye nodded and
ran off.

*Until next time love,* he thought to himself, wondering
when that would be since they had not set a date or time. He
shrugged his shoulders, content that it would work out somehow.

The cloaked woman led her to the time gate. \"You are 21
now, so it is time that you took your place. Your body will remain
21 throughout the entire three milleniums though obviously your
experiences and mind and soul will grow with each passing day as
is with everyone.
\"
So that is why you look so young,\" Trista commented.

The woman smiled. \"Exactly. Now you are understanding this
finally.\"

\"I resent that. I am an intelligent being. You were just
hard to understand and very cryptic.\"

\"I suppose I was for a 21 year old. I forget your age
sometimes Pluto.\" She showed Pluto how the gate worked and
disappeared, leaving Pluto to her new duties.

\"Amy are you all right?\" Gregory asked.

\"I do not know,\" Amy answered honestly.\"I mean. Are
they really all right out there? I wonder, and I worry. I have
not seen Princess Trista, Michelle, Amara, or Hotaru in so
long. I really miss them. I worry for the future of our
kingdom. I worry for our future,\" she admitted.

\"Worry not about that precious,\" he said as he kneeled
before her. Amy gasped. \"Will you marry me dearest Amy?\" he asked.

\"Oh Gregory, yes. Of course yes.\" Her eyes sparkled as she
put the ring on her finger, and they were officially engaged.

The forces were advancing and seemed to just grow bigger
and bigger. Uranus wiped her sweaty brow. Neptune sighed and took
a deep breath. They both jumped into the middle as Saturn had done
courageously.

\"URANUS WORLD SHAKING!!!!\" Uranus shouted.

\"NEPTUNE DEEP SUBMERGE!!!\" Neptune shouted as she put her
mirror up and began destroying more of them.

Uranus swung her sword expertly, killing many more. They
were doing very well considering their small, peaceful army and
only two powerful sailor soldiers to fight the millions of dark
army members.

Unfortunately they were still not a real match, and Sailor
Neptune got hit. She fell to the ground.

\"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,\" Sailor Uranus screamed,
pushing her sword into the creature that had hit her love and
killing it.

Then the force overtook them both.

\"Oh no, I cannot bear to sit here and do nothing,\" Pluto
said to herself. She prepared to go down and join them in the
fight.

After Lita had gotten very good with the swords, she
admitted to him that she had powers. Then she transformed in front
of Kenneth.

\"Wow,\" Kenneth breathed.

\"Yes, it is really great is it not?\" Lita asked in
excitement.

\"You are a beautiful warrior,\" he said. She hugged him
close.

\"Kenneth I am so glad I have met you. You defy tradition
and respect women and allow people to be who they are.\"

Kenneth smiled. \"You also defy tradition, respect others,
and allow people to be who they are. I cannot wait to meet your
friends you speak of. I wish I could get you and your mother safe
away from your father.\"

\"Oh Kenneth, no one could do that.\"

\"I know.\" He sighed. Finally he said softly. \"Lita, I
love you.\"

Lita\'s eyes filled with tears as she embraced him. \"And
I love you,\" she said sincerely.

A hand grabbed her arm and stopped her. \"You cannot go
Pluto,\" the previous guardian of the time gate said.

\"I thought you were gone.\"

\"No, I only wanted you to think that. I stay for a few
months to watch over you and make sure you do your job and
correctly

\"I Have to go,\" Pluto said angrily and strongly.

\"You cannot. I am sorry,\" the woman said though she did
not really seem sorry at all. \"It is just the way things are.\"

Pluto shook her head. \"I will not accept it,\" she said,
preparing to go down.

The woman grabbed her arm again. \"I am just going to
have to keep doing that until you get the point. You do not have
a choice. I will not let you go. It is not the way things are
supposed to go.\"

\"Do you fear that all our planets will be destroyed
Darien?\" Serena asked worriedly.

\"Yes.\"

\"Me too. Oh Darien, I am so scared. What is going to
happen to our planets, to my friends, and to us?\" she asked

\"Serena.\" He held her close. \"Oh how I wish I knew. I
wish I knew, but I do not know my love,\" he said as he held her
closer and nuzzled her hair with his nose. She giggled softly
and sighed in content as she buried herself in his arms.

Pluto screamed and struggled in vain against the woman\'s
hard grip, but it was useless. She watched her best friends,
Uranus and Neptune, be killed by the dark forces. She hung her
head and wept.

\"Mother,\" Princess Serena said as she quietly entered her
mother\'s bedchamber.

\"Yes precious?\" her mother said, turning away from the
mirror, tears in her eyes.

\"Oh mother are you all right?\" Serena asked, immediately
going up and hugging her mother close.

\"I do not know daughter,\" she replied honestly. \"I am
trying to hang on to some hope.\" Her mother sighed. \"There seems
to be so little right now, but then I always have something to
live for with my darling daughter right here do I not?\"

Serena smiled. \"That is right. And please do not ever
forget what a special place you have in my heart.\"

\"I hope that you never forget the special place you
always have in my heart precious. Now what is it you wanted to
talk about?\" They sat next to each other in the bed, and Serena
snuggled in her mother\'s warm, caring embrace.

\"It is about the others. So many of them are being so
hurt by their parents. I know that I am not supposed to talk
badly about adults or royalty for that matter, but I do not
see how this is all right. It is all so wrong I feel mother.\"

Queen Serenity caught her breath. \"Who told you you
cannot speak badly about adults or royalty?\" she asked gently.

\"Well, it seems to be an unspoken rule everywhere
reinforced by what my friends tell me. They are so loyal to their
parents, but their parents hurt them so badly. Can they not fight
back and get out of this situation somehow?\"

\"Oh Serena, it is like an unspoken rule around here that
children are not to speak badly about adults and that no one
should speak badly about royalty. It is wrong though, as you say.
Always with me you can speak the truth about whomever you like,
including me and any other adult or royal figurehead. All right?\"

Serena nodded her head. \"All right, thank you mother.\"

\"Now tell me about your concerns with your friends.\"

\"Amy gets called all kinds of horrible names and is
constantly manipulated by her father. Raye\'s father and mother
beat her all the time for the littlest things or even for nothing
at all. Lita\'s father beats her mother, and Lita hurts herself.
Mina...well you know about what she has been through. I do not
know what the other four have gone through, but have you noticed
how thin and frail Hotaru is? And the pain they all four seem to
carry?\"

\"Oh you are so wise for your age precious Serena. You are
right. I see the pain too. I wish I knew what to do about it. I
have the power to make almost any law, but the laws of royalty
cannot be broken.\"

\"Why not?\" Serena asked.

\"Children are to obedient to their parents, and everyone
is to be obedient to royalty. I am not allowed to change that
law. It is as old as time itself. Even if I were to take away the
rule, it is too much a part of society that it would never fall
away or at least not for many centuries which still does not help
your friends. Still, I think there must be some way. Thank you
for telling me all you know because I really did not know all of
that,\" Queen Serenity admitted. \"Please always come to me with
these things when you can.\"

Serena nodded. \"I will try. Thank you so much mother.\"

She hugged her daughter close and walked back with her
to her room to tuck her in. \"Aww mother, I am 13.\"

\"I know but can I not get a few more tucks in before you
are definitely too old for this?\" her mother asked in a teasing
manner.

\"Oh I suppose,\" Serena conceded as she snuggled into the
covers and smiled.

And the dark forces overtook the entire armies of the four
outer planets thus securing their base on Saturn and having
control of all four outer planets.

News of the dead Trista, Amara, Michelle, and Hotaru as
well as their parents and everyone on their planets reached each
planet in the inner solar system.

Lita leaned against Kenneth, and they cried.

Chadwick held the stone cold Raye close.

Darien\'s eyes narrowed as he finally decided to join the
Moon Kingdom\'s army, glad his sword training paid off. Inside he
wept for the loss though.

Serenity held her daughter, Serena, close and rocked
with her as fear and loss filled both their bodies with an
anxious dread.

Mina held Artemis close for comfort, and Miriam and
Michael ran in to stay with their daughter and protect her.
Miriam held her daughter close.

Gregory and Amy sobbed, neither one thinking anymore
about their wedding day as they struggled to even hold out hope
that they would exist tomorrow.


To Be Continued...