Healer
Chapter 14b
Author: Patch
E-mail: patchkhan1@hotmail.com
	kittiekat90@yahoo.com
Editor: Rei Kinneas *aka* Kaitou Comma

Insert standard disclaimer here.

   That same night found Makoto staring silently at
the great broadsword that hung in front of her. It
gleamed in the darkness from the light of the Moon
that could be seen from the tall windows across the
room. The perfect curve of its metal blade attracted
her. It looked so lethal and she found herself
reaching out a hand to touch it. But she quickly drew
her arm back and hugged it to her waist, feeling so
shameful that weapons like these interested her like
nothing else could. She was unworthy of all of this
and as she took a step back to look upon the wall that
held various weapons, she felt the guilt spreading
through her once more. Guilt and bitterness.
	Guilt at the fact that she had proven to herself and
everyone that she really wasn't the 'strong one' as
they called her. She had always been the one who kept
the Senshi going during their training, reminding them
over and over again that they had a duty; a duty to
their Princess. To their best friend. But she had
failed and all her pushing had been for nothing. In
the end, how had she helped? She wasn't part of
Serenity's guard for nothing! Yet… with Serenity gone,
she was nothing.
	Biting back on a sob, she was horrified to feel tears
trailing over her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away,
feeling anger lift its ugly head within her. She hated
Earth with a passion. She hated staying here. She
hated the Prince and his Generals, men who were never
fit to protect her Princess. They wouldn't be here in
this situation if it hadn't been for them. They were
the ones to blame! Sniffing, she stepped forward once
more and yanked the broadsword from its place on the
wall. It was heavy... for a mere mortal. But she was
Sailor Jupiter, Princess of the legendary  (nickname
for Jupiter?) Storm Planet. She lifted the weapon so
that it was eye level and breathed deeply.
	"I do hope you're not planning to scare one of the
guards with that thing."
	She whirled around, the sword slicing through the air
as she turned. Seeing who it was, her eyes narrowed
and she did not allow her body to relax from its
defensive stance. Nephrite stood there, his hand at
the pommel of his sword.
	"What are you doing here?" she spat out.
	"Zoicite and I are patrolling the hallways of the
Palace tonight. I saw the shadow of a figure in here
and came to investigate."
	"Well, you know I'm not dangerous, so if you will,
please leave."
	"I'm not so sure about that," he replied quietly.
	"So sure about what?" Makoto watched as he took a
step closer to her and her muscles tensed.
	"I'm not sure you aren't dangerous," he continued to
walk to her. "Right now, you look ready to kill."
	"Maybe I am," she challenged. "What will you do about
it?"
	"Stop you, naturally. But I assure you, you won't
like my methods."
	"You? You of all people cannot stop me. I am the
strongest of the Senshi and no Terran can stop me! You
are all weaklings."
	"Weaklings?" Nephrite raised an eyebrow and crossed
his arms. "I beg to differ, Lady Makoto. You see, we
aren't the Prince Endymion's elite guard in name
only."
	And before Makoto knew what was happing, Nephrite had
rushed forward, wrestled the sword from her, and had
her hands pinned to her back. The brunette struggled
and kicked but could not release herself from his
grasp.
	"You should never underestimate us Terrans, milady."
	"I should never trust you people, either," Makoto
gasped, not giving up her fight. "I hate you all!"
	He released her suddenly and she stepped backwards,
breathing heavily. Her hair had come loose from its
ponytail and strands of it covered her face. She
couldn't believe the audacity of that man. He had no
right to touch her, no less grab her like he had. If
she had no understanding of repercussions, she would
have struck him down. But no, she was not the type to
let her anger take her to such drastic lengths. She
looked at him, saw his heavy breathing and realized he
had had some trouble holding her. That little
observation gave her much satisfaction.
	"Hate is such a strong word," he finally said.
	"It describes my feelings perfectly," she answered
coldly.
	They looked at each for a long moment, neither saying
another word. Makoto could take it no more after a bit
and broke the silence first.
	"Are you done here?" she asked.
	"Not until you are."
	She bit down on her tongue to keep from retorting
lest she find herself in another bear hug and walked
around him towards the exit. Fuming, she walked all
the way to the staircase that would lead her upstairs
and stopped when she was sure he wasn't following her.
Falling down to a sitting position on the stairs, she
placed her hands on her knees, palms upwards and
stared at them. They were shaking, she realized. Her
whole body was trembling and it wasn't from anger.

	A few nights later, the Prince lay on his bed,
sleeping deeply. However his features told the
observer that his dreams were troubled that night.
	"Endymion... will you be that person... for me...?"
	"No..."
	Her scream pierced the air and a widening patch of
blood appeared on her chest. Her hands touched her
dress and came away dripping with red. She moaned,
closing her eyes.
	He watched it all and said once more, "No... I cannot
be that person."
	A burst of feathers hit him and he brought up his
arms to shield his face, trying to see past the
whiteness. He should have felt softness hit him, but
instead, the feathers felt like razors, slicing him
and making him cry out in pain. But just as suddenly,
the feathers disappeared and he saw her once more,
looking pale and sickly.
	"For an eternity I will hunt your dreams, my Prince.
For an eternity..."
	"No!" Endymion bolted upright, clutching the sheets
that covered his body. He looked around wildly,
expecting to see the apparition of Serenity standing
in front of him. When he realized where he was, he
sucked in a deep breath of air and released it slowly.
He bent forward, gripping his head in his hands.
	He was experiencing different nightmares every night.
The night before, he had been hit with red rose
petals. However they had felt like stones, hurting him
as they hit his face and body. He ran his hand over
his face, feeling something within him tightening
almost painfully. He fell back against the pillows and
looked up at the canopy of the bed.
	Why hadn't he found her yet? Everyday a new idea was
brought to him on how they could find Serenity but
nothing ever worked. Everyday someone came to him on a
new sighting of the Princess but every time, it turned
out to be a false lead. The despair he felt at all of
these dead ends was fast overwhelming him. It was as
though she had literally fallen off the face of this
Earth. Was she lost to him forever?
	"Would you give up on me so easily, Endymion?"
	His eyes widened and he turned his head to meet the
smiling face of the Princess Serenity, who lay next to
him. His heart stopped and his breath caught. Her
smile warmed him like the Sun could never do and he
reached for her desperately. She giggled and sat up,
moving away from his reach.
	He didn't think he had ever heard her laugh like
that. The sound was so carefree and easy. She had
always been so reserved during the time he had known
her. He sat up and reached for her again, but
something cool pressed against his chest, pushing him
back so that he was made to lean against the
headboard.
	"You're not real," he whispered.
	"I'm not, am I?" she answered with a sad smile,
raising her hand so that she could look at it. She
wriggled her translucent fingers and winked, actually
winked, at him. "But that's not why I'm here, you
know." Her smile became happy once more and he licked
his lips, feeling parched all of a sudden.
	"Are you... Serenity? Is she alive?"
	She giggled again and ran her fingers through one of
the tails of hair. "That I cannot answer," she
replied, tilting her head sideways. "The forces
greater than I would have a fit if I told you anything
like that. No, I'm not here to tell you anything like
that. I'm here to give you some very different
answers."
	"You're very... spirited," Endymion said, taking note
of her unusual cheerfulness. He felt completely out of
place, not understanding why he was acting so calm and
collected. He was talking to an apparition! Not the
same, deathly white apparition of his nightmares. No,
this one seemed to have more... life. As if that
didn't sound paradoxical, he thought wryly.
	"Well, I am a spirit, am I not?" she laughed at her
own jest and Endymion shook his head slowly. This was
surely insane. He had to be hallucinating. He looked
at Serenity when she spoke again.
	"You do not know me very well, Endymion. You have
hardly gotten to know the real Princess. I am her true
nature and whether or not I have left her body dead or
alive is up to you to decide. But like I said before,
I am here for something else."
	He watched as she put her thumb and forefinger
together and pulled a silver thread out of thin air.
She waved it around, threw it up in the air and then
caught it before it could fall too much.
	"This is a soul bond. Specifically, this is your half
of the soul bond between you and Serenity." She pulled
it so that it was taut and then released it, waving it
around again. Endymion could only stare.
	"It's very weak, isn't it? Not very shiny either.
Strong soul bonds shine with a light so bright, your
eyes would lose their sight if you ever caught a
glimpse of them. This flimsy thing here, like I said,
is yours. Now Serenity has had her half ever since the
first day she laid eyes on you." The spirit sighed
romantically and then giggled. "She fell in love with
you from that moment and then poof! Her half of the
soul bond was formed, becoming stronger with each day
that she gazed on that picture of you.
	"Now you, on the other hand, have been very stubborn.
Only recently have you realized your love for Serenity
and although you are a bit late, I am obliged to give
this to you," she held out the string and Endymion
would have taken it had she not pulled her hand back
at the last second.
	He looked at her uncertainly, drawing his hand back.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
	"Oh Endymion, I can't give it to you that easily!
What would you do with a soul bond between your
fingers? You wouldn't have the slightest idea!" she
laughed and leaned towards him.
	"I must tell you though, before I can let you have
this, that you will not know whether or not Serenity
is alive. The powers that be have their own reasons
for giving these sorts of things out and have their
own restrictions attached to them. Soul bonds can last
over many lifetimes, you know. So even if Serenity has
not survived in this time, you can be rest assured
that you will meet her again in the next."
	Endymion felt his throat close up and swallowed with
difficulty. "What... what are you saying?" he asked
fearfully.
	"I'm not saying anything, my love," and in the next
moment she had placed her lips over his. He
immediately parted his lips and closed his eyes, not
comprehending how he could feel the kiss but grateful
for it anyway. She parted her own lips over his and he
knew that indeed, this really was the spirit of
Serenity, for only her kisses could affect him like
this.
	He gave everything he had into that kiss, hoping
beyond all hope that if Serenity was alive, she could
feel his kiss; feel the pleasure that he was feeling,
wherever she was. A tear slipped from beneath one eye
as he came upon the idea that maybe she wasn't alive.
That maybe, she couldn't feel anything. That maybe,
she was beyond this world and was already on her way
into the next.
	Something flashed in front of his closed eyelids, but
he did not open them, savoring the kiss for as long as
he could. He felt the spirit pull apart and then kiss
him once more before she whispered something against
his lips.
	"Nurture your bond as Serenity did. The answers to
your questions will come to you then."
	When he opened his eyes, she had disappeared.


	Many rooms down the hallway, the Senshi of Love slept
fitfully, tossing and turning from side to side. A
sudden pain shot through her and she lifted herself
up, instantly awake. She strained to hear anything
that would sound out of the ordinary but did not hear
so much as a squeak.
	Still feeling disconcerted, Minako sat up and swung
her legs over. Grabbing a robe lent to her by Queen
Augusta, she stood up and walked silently to the door,
her heart pounding in her ears. She rested the side of
her head against the door, one hand on the doorknob.
	Something had happened to someone. What or when, she
did not know. But it had been enough to rouse her from
her sleep. She turned the knob and pulled the door
open slightly, peering through the opening. She could
see no one in the hallway but then again, she could
not see much in the first place either.
	Opening the door wider, Minako stepped out, knowing
that she would not be able to fall asleep again
without finding out what had awoken her in the first
place. She tiptoed down the hallway, barely
suppressing the shivers of fear that traveled up and
down her spine.
	"You are a leader," she whispered to herself. "You
are not afraid."
	Oh, but she was very afraid. Afraid of the unknown
that loomed in front of her. She should wake up the
other Senshi. But if this feeling of uneasiness was
nothing more than something produced from a figment of
her imagination, Minako did not want to go through the
trouble of waking her friends. They were probably
sleeping better than her anyway. It would be best to
let them rest.
	She saw the stairs that would take her downstairs and
gripped the banister tightly, peering down below. All
was silent when she suddenly heard the barest of
whispers from somewhere off to her side. She whirled
around, her heart jumping to her throat. She saw a
flash of white before it disappeared around the
staircase that led to the third floor of the palace.
	She walked towards that staircase, not knowing what
she was going to do once she reached it. She knew the
King and Queen had chambers upstairs but that was as
far as her knowledge went. What would she find? An
intruder? Well, she would be prepared, she thought.
	She came to the staircase and peered around it, and
then stepped out, her eyes widening. There was another
hallway here that led to some more chambers, but at
the end of the hallway, Minako saw a woman dressed in
white, her hair up in a style, unique only to the
rulers of the Moon.
	"Serenity..."
	The name came out as a whisper but the figure seemed
to have heard her since it turned around. Her legs trembled, and
she gripped the banister of the staircase leading up another floor.
She closed her eyes and when she opened them, she saw what she
had expected. Nothing.
	Shaken and completely confused, she turned around to
head back to her own room.
	"Lady Minako?"
	She stiffened and turned back around slowly. Her eyes
traveled up the General's uniform, until they met the
silver-gray eyes of Kunzite.
	Seeing spots in front of her eyes, Minako took a step
forward and let him catch her as she fell against him.

*^*End*^*
I seem to have a habit of having people falling into
unconsciousness at the end of my chapters, ne? I
really must try to be more original, I think. ^.~


Lavender
http://www.geocities.com/patch_kana