Guardians of the Millennium: Into the Fire By Alina (alinasan@yahoo.com) Chapter One: "Waited all my life" ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Very Long Author's Notes: @)------>-----> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 1. GOM: Destined for Love was the foundation story. I wanted to focus more on each couple alone, so I split this up into four sequels that continue the tale. If you can't tell by now, this is a sappy romance, so if you don't like long sagas, stop reading now. 2. This is Raye's story. I'm going to try to be more consistent with how I spell the names of all the characters. I'm still sticking with the North American/Dub version, and apologize to those who that offends. Feel free to download,edit and find and change Raye to Rei or Serena to Usagi...etc. My reasoning is that I'm just used to the Dub names, and so I'll use them. Besides, my setting though nominally Japan, has more in common with the Americanized "Any town" style of the Dub. I'm just a casual Sailor Moon Fan, and my writing *will* reflect that. 3. I write for fun, and editing is *not* fun....so I warn you there may be metakes awl ovur the playce. ;). Please be kind and ignore them. I do. I just hope it won't get in your way reading the story. 3. I don't own Sailor Moon. I never have. I never will (darn). It belongs to Naoka T. Kodansha/ etc. You know the drill. 4. Musical Suggestions: I happened to be listening to Sarah Machlaclan's Solace album, Tonic's "Lemon Parade" ("If you could only see"--I can just hear Endymion singing this about Serena) --and of course, the Sailor Moon Soundtrack...but for a theme song: "Oh Starry Night" (Sailor Moon Soundtrack) I've waited all my life for the day when love appears Like a fairy tale in days gone by He will rescue from my fears And now I feel him standing close to me And how can I tell him what he means to me My heart stands still--has he come? Oh starry night Is this the moment I dream of? Oh starry night Tell me, is he my own true love? Every night I think of him Here in my lonely room Waiting for my prince to come Wondering if he'll be here soon And I sit patiently, waiting for a sign And I hope that his heart longs for mine He calls my name, is he the one? Oh starry night Is this the moment I dream of? Oh starry night Tell me, is he my own true love? Oh starry night Is this the moment I dream of? Oh starry night How will I know Will his love show? Is he my own true love? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ PROLOGUE: The Past:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Lord Warrior General Jaedite tossed a lock of blond hair out his eyes. Then he flicked an imaginary speck of dirt from his uniform, as he surveyed the rough and red terrain of Mars. Jaedite was pleased that his Prince, Endymion, had chosen him to accompany the Prince, of all the Lord Warriors, on the official visit to the Mars kingdom. He knew Endymion chose him because of the easy friendship between the two. Nephrite and Malachite were more seasoned generals, and perhaps could more rightfully claim the privilege of escorting the prince on this excursion. The remaining Lord Warrior, Zoycite, of course was too immersed in his studies to want to go on a trip. Endymion would not want him either. Zoycite had never developed as close a friendship with the prince as had the other three. Then too, Jaedite and Endymion were of an age, with the other two generals being older and Zoycite a few years younger. Their temperaments were more suited, though Jaedite was not as serious as Endymion . . . Still,they both loved flirting with women. Frequently on official visits and at balls the two would work together to capture the hearts of one beauty or another and compare notes. Malachite did not usually socialize, and being a little more puritanical, disapproved of the Prince flirting when he was engaged to Beryl. Nephrite didn't concern himself with the Prince's social life--and he preferred that the others respected his privacy as well. And Zoycite? Jaedite laughed wondering about the young boy. He looked up and caught Endymion's eye. "I believe you didn't exaggerate the charms of this world, My Prince." Jaedite's gaze had centered on the lithe robed figure of a young woman. She appeared to be engaged in some Martian ritual, holding a long stick and swinging it back and forth in the clearing of some rocks. She disappeared behind one of them. "I think I will go investigate some local customs, if you will excuse me." He knew Endymion understood *exactly* what he meant. Endymion frowned, following his friend's gaze. He couldn't see anything but the formation of rocks. "Jaedite, did I warn you to be careful what games you play here?" "I wouldn't play any games!" his friend laughed, not sure what had caused the shift in his friend's tone. "They take things more seriously here....by the way, if you see my little cousin," Endymion called out after the departing figure "Tell her I'll row her out on the canals if she wants." Endymion sighed...he knew full well his friend was off to charm some maiden or the other. He wished he could do the same. He felt a little restrained in his Uncle's court. Even though he was only related by marriage (his father's brother had married the Martian King's older sister), The Martian King treated him like a son--chastising any improper attention the boy paid to the pretty attendants of the court. He stared after his friend...at least he could have some fun. Why were they so strict here? Jaedite rounded the curve of the rocks, and rather abruptly found himself face to face with one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen... Girl he corrected, noticing that she couldn't really be much more than sixteen, only a few years younger than himself. He smiled his most charming smile, and prepared to honor her with his attentions-- "HOW DARE YOU ENTER HERE!!!" She shouted at him. He blinked. He hadn't expected that reaction. "Excuse me?" He said, letting the slightest hint of annoyance indicate his displeasure. He was a guest, a General of Earth. Who was she to speak to him this way? "Do you know who I am? Then you would know how I dare." He said, smoothly and disdainfully . He waited for her to be impressed with his title, as women usually were. He let his gaze linger a little on her. "Still your anger only increases your beauty...so I'll forgive you." She was amusing, he thought, and the first challenge he'd seen in awhile. "And your insolence compounds this insult!" She glared blocking his entering further. "You've disrupted my prayers in the great temple of Mars. You offended the Royal House of Mars by addressing me in this familiar manner!" She seemed about to explode with her irritation. Her hands moved upwards as she flung a small object at him--a scroll with writing on it. He felt an extreme flash of heat where it hit his skin. "For this, you will clean the east canal this evening, and miss the festivities of the night---you must learn respect." She said. She pointed to the scroll she'd dropped. "So I've commanded, and so it will be. Do you not understand?" She asked when he didn't move. "Who are you to order a Lord Warrior General of the Kingdom of Earth?" He growled out, his anger overcoming his amusement. Enough was enough he thought... "I am the Princess of Mars." She said over her shoulder. "I'm sorry to see my cousin has such a fool for a protector." She spun away. "I'll let him choose the punishment for you then..." He stood stupefied...*that* was Endymion's "little" cousin? That beautiful, though irate, goddess? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Chapter One: (In the present) ----%@ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The sun set on the temple, and Raye suppressed a shiver. Despite the warmth of the great fire, a river of cold danced down her spine. She knew why of course, though she didn't turn to look at the reason. He had entered, and stood there watching her meditate. As if to mock her asking for answers, the fire had shown nothing. Instead, it had flickered with the draft his entering had caused, growing noticeably dimmer. Those not knowledgeable of the ways of the fire would take that lessening intensity as a sign, but maybe then again, it was a sign. Still he respected her silence and did nothing. Yet even that, his mere presence, stoked the embers of her constantly burning temper...She turned around, her face a study in fury and indignation. Her anger gave her the courage she didn't really feel. "Jed! You imbecile! I told you before not to disturb me while I was meditating. You've wrecked my concentration." She berated him loudly and vehemently--definitely destroying the peace of the darkening twilight. The anger colored her cheeks to match the red of her robes. The cloth swirled around her feet, as she stormed up to him. She continued to yell. Jed thought to himself, that she seemed so quiet and shy--not sure of what to say to him unless she yelled. He didn't mind-- she was like an angry kitten to him. Nothing she said really insulted or offended him--because despite the words she hurled, underneath all he could hear was the whisper of the confusion the attraction between them was brewing. At least, he smiled to himself as she stood an inch from him, that's how he saw it. "And you aren't EVEN LISTENING TO ME!" She screeched. "Every word, Lady Raye. Every word."He said focussing his eyes on her. "Your word is my command." He took her hand, knelt and kissed her palm. That made her furiously uncomfortable--her face felt heated by a different emotion than the anger. She rushed past him muttering something about feeding the crows. He grinned. He knew she'd have that reaction. Odd that he knew her moods so well, when he didn't know much about himself. Amnesia they'd said, at the hospital, that wiped out some but not all of his memories. He'd almost drowned in the ocean, but miraculously, he'd been rescued. Rescued by several beautiful women--who's faces and how, and from what he couldn't remember, along with the details of his life. He wasn't sure why he'd ended up at this Temple either. Random luck, he supposed. After the hospital had released him, Raye had arrived, introduced herself and taken him to the temple for the rest of his convalescence. Why she had taken him here, he didn't know. She only explained that she knew he had no one else--and that as he'd once worked for her, she felt it was her duty. Between the lines of what she said, he sensed she felt almost responsible for him--helplessly so. She didn't want him. That was clear. Yet equally clear was that she could, in all decency, do nothing else. And she seemed to despise him, but why she never said. Perhaps for no reason. Perhaps for some reason he was better not knowing. He knew so little about his hosts...but of course he knew less about himself. For awhile the quest for that knowledge was delayed. He recovered from the strange weakness that had kept him flitting about in sleep for weeks. Now that he was alert, he could begin to learn about himself. He also wanted to learn about Raye...Why had she taken him in, if she seemed to find the task so unpleasant? He followed her and could see her staring not at the crows, but at the crescent moon which had risen. Again he felt that tug at his memory --as if he had witnessed just such a scene before. Given his lack of memory, he couldn't brush such things away. No, She fascinated him. Not just her contradictions, which were many.... she was a maze of duty and desire....He Ԥ noticed that she tended him carefully, and when she thought he was asleep, all the simple and thoughtful things she'd done for a sick stranger. Yet when he was awake, she distanced herself. It was as if she didn't trust him-- which one might expect of a stranger, but there was something more than a lack of trust-- She treated him like he'd already betrayed her trust. What had he done to her? He wanted to know--and at the same time feared that knowledge. Right now though, he thought, as he stole across to stand close beside her, that it was enough to be alive. With her. She didn't move. She knew he was there. They stood like that for a long time--staring at the moon, and occasionally when the other wasn't looking, at each other. Helplessly, her mind wandered back to the first night they'd found him. The next night, she met with the group to discuss Jaedite, now that he seemed to be fully recovered and still showed no signs of remembering anything. "So have we abandoned trying to find out about the past?" Mina asked. "Well, I think if Darien could get the bandage from Melvin, we'd have another direction." Serena said. "NO." He replied quickly. "But Darien!" "Not even for you Serena. Come on, that boy Melvin is torturous. I won't spend another evening with him... find another way." "What's the point? " Raye said. "The danger is over--this must have been the catalyst. There is no need to find out about the past now." She seemed as if she were in a state of shock. She wanted to forget all about that time and her love for the man who now lay asleep in the room that used to be Chad's. Mina shot her a curious look. "So that's it? We're done? We remember all that, and do nothing to find out more?" "MINA! We're tired and we faced one dangerous battle with him...We can't worry about those things now." Ami chided. "We need to find out what he knows--why he's here." Raye explained that all her questioning revealed that he knew nothing--just that his name was Jed. All the analysis showed no signs of the forces he had triggered before. He didn't know why he'd surfaced--he didn't even know he had. So they agreed to stick with the original story--that him he'd been in a shipwreck, and had been saved from drowning by the Sailor Scouts. It was mostly true. "If he's alive, couldn't the others be as well?" Mina asked."We have to keep investigating." "I don't think so." Ami said gently to Mina. "They're gone. At first I agreed with Darien that they all could be reborn-- but it seems Jaedite's condition was unusual.." Raye nodded. "He was the only one we didn't see disintegrate and die..." "Whatever the reason for your dreams, whatever happened in the past--I think was a result of Jaedite's resurfacing due to the crystal crashing down." Ami continued. "I no longer feel the forces from the painting that I felt." Raye said, fingering it. "I wonder what caused them? I keep checking him for evil, but there is none. Just a peace and exhaustion that I find draining." "Well, couldn't we bring back Jaedite's memories to see?" Mina asked, but the glare around the room made her draw back " Guess not." "It's better he remain without knowing that. Who knows what he'd do? We should wait to establish his life and when he is not as lost as he must be now, we can tell him." Darien said. "Trust me, that would be easier." Pluto noticed the look on Mina's face. She was troubled by something. Pluto herself was not satisfied. It bothered her that she didn't know what had happened--And she knew that this wasn't finished. But she couldn't interfere. Her memory was not open to her on these points backwards or forwards--and there had to be some reason whatever the answer was for that. They'd all agreed that logically, the Shrine made sense, as a place to continue to keep an eye on Jaedite. A few weeks earlier, Raye had introduced her grandfather to the young man from the hospital as a disciple, now that the position had opened up with Chad's departure. The story could continue to work. Her grandfather would recall (with help from a borrowed Luna-P (borrowed by Pluto) that Jed had worked there once, but left. This was the story Raye had told Jaedite as well, and he seemed in no hurry to leave. She left the group and returned to the inner temple. Her grandfather, caught in stealing a cookie, gave her an embarrassed grin. "AH, I was just going to take our guest this snack!" He lied. "GRANDFATHER" Raye screamed. "You're diet! Where has your discipline gone?" But she knew. Everything seemed out of kilter since Chad had left--strange that he'd come to occupy such a central place in their lives. Yes, the order and calm of the shrine had gone the same place her heart had gone. Resolutely she went to check on the ex-enemy ... She'd see this through. A few weeks later, Raye found a new order had settled in with Jaedite. As she stood beside him under the quiet of the night, she realized she needed to see Chad. Without admitting it, she kept waiting for him to return. She knew though that wouldn't happen without her giving him a sign- he had left things in her power. The next morning, Raye left the temple early and set out for one of the richest areas of the city. She was surprised by the large, manicured houses--property was so scarce for others. She recognized this as being near the neighborhood in which Michelle (Michiru) had grown up. Still she tried not to gawk at the so easily displayed wealth. Now she stood at one of the largest houses. The owners of such a house were the kind of the people that her father was forever pestering to get campaign contributions, or that pestered her father for favors. She took a deep breath. Her knock brought a maidservant, who though shorter than Raye, somehow managed to look down her nose at the beautiful, confident girl. "I'll see if the master is at home." She said. Raye was lead into a beautiful light and airy room. She wasn't surprised to see the grand piano, or the gorgeously elaborate synthesizer and karaoke machine. The Art was chosen carefully, and added to the light elegance of the room. Except for one modern work--she recognized the artist, Peggy Jones (the former Lani Lanai) and she was shocked, that it showed a girl who looked very much like Raye herself--but different. This girl's face was courageous, as if she were overcoming something that made her very sad. Almost hidden in the flowing cloak of her dress, were two crows that peaked out as if to challenge anyone to bring their princess sorrow again. "Raye?" The familiar voice choked on her name. She turned. She suppressed the urge to comment on the room, though she couldn't help thinking how wealthy his family was. Such wealth bought power--her father would explode if he knew she were familiar with people like this and hadn't told him...but then, she wasn't really. This wasn't the Chad she knew. "What are you doing here?" He asked, hesitantly... out of habit, he cringed as if she were about to yell at him. She laughed, and smiled. "I ...was curious. ..to see where you would go...it's not the temple, but it'll do." She said. She wanted to appear cool, and collected, but suddenly she spied a jade crow of incredible beauty....she recognized the artist "It's an Andum--I don't believe it!" She thought to herself "This stuff belongs in a museum or a palace..." She blushed when she realized she'd said it aloud. He smiled back. " I'm very glad to see you, but why did you come?" She blushed. "I was not sure...I...." She stopped. She rarely did things without knowing the reason--that was for the whimsical Serena or Mina, or the impulsive Lita. No, she thought things out...or at least, rationalized once she'd done something. "I suppose I never really gave you an answer." He shook his head " Your silence gave me an answer, but not a reason." "I don't have one." Gently he said "I don't need one...not anymore. Raye, all that matters is that you're here. I have something to tell you." "Chad.." She put out a hand to stop him from coming closer--but she then realized, he wasn't moving closer. She didn't want to hurt him, but she couldn't think of any other way to keep things clear. "I'm not here to say that I've decided I love you. " She never expected him to laugh, or to hear the enormous relief in his voice. "Raye, that's wonderful--because I was wrong about... Everything! I'd be in a total mess, if you like did say that..." She furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?" "Raye, you were right, we ..you and I, we weren't in love--and I should have like, seen it like you did. When I met Sora--it was like all so clear. Good thing you had more sense than me--but you always did." "That's me, sensible." She said to herself. Her throat swelled with the words she had been about to say "But I think I might" after her first sentence. She knew now, she'd never tell him that... "I want you to meet her--I told heard so much about you. She knows how important you are to me, and that makes you important to her as well." Chad went on heedless of the catch in Raye's voice. "And she wants you to help arrange the ceremony-- we thought the temple would be the best place for it.' "I see." Raye said. "I was about to contact you--it's just like you to show up when I need you!" He said, and exuberantly hugged her. He pulled back quickly, a little shocked at himself for his forwardness... "I'm just so happy." A shock went through Raye as she realized how good that embrace felt. She was more than a little reluctant to let go. "I ..need to go." She said then, exerting her will to move away. "You're always so busy, but I hope this won't be too much for you...it would mean so much to Sora...and to me." He said, leading her to the door. "No, nothing would make me happier." She said stiffly, hurrying away, her tone inconsistent with her meaning. She wandered aimlessly for awhile, and finally headed into the park. The animals scurried away, as if ignorant of the city around them. She could see the row boats on the pond. Something about the scene prompted her to recall with perfect clarity a day she'd long since forgotten. She'd come here on one of her "dates" with Darien. Even to herself, she didn't like to admit that she'd been far more into him than he had been into her. Still, they'd had a good time. She sighed "Ancient history" she said dismissing the memory. Even more ancient history was the reason that she and Darien were not to be. She really wasn't even surprised when she looked up and saw through the tears blurring in her eyes, that a familiar pair of blonde pigtails flowing in the wind bobbed above a boat. She seemed to be leaning over the boat, and trying to help a now soaking man with dark hair back into the boat. Raye got up, and not wanting to be near the dock when the couple rowed in. Slowly she walked back to the temple, as the thoughts raced in her mind. She needed to meditate. She needed to be alone. She needed to forget.