WOO HOO! Finals are OVER! The semester is
OVER. Vacation has STARTED!! *Swivels
around in chair* You can't imagine my
happiness, my relief and my... aching,
tired body! Sleeeep... beautiful sleep
here I come!
Oh and for those of you still with me,
here's Chapter 3 ^_^ Enjoy reading!

Healer
Chapter 3
Author: Patch
Editor: Rei Kinneas
E-mail: patchkhan1@hotmail.com or
	kittiekat90@yahoo.com
Rated: PG-13

It's the holidays, no one would dare sue
me if I had no disclaimer here... or would
they? >_<



	"It can't get any worse than this."
	"I think it could."
	"No, I think he's right, this place has
been kept in horrible condition."
	"And who's to blame?"
	"That incompetent fool, Potikin. He has
a lot to answer to," Endymion growled, coming
forward from behind the Generals. His anger was
evident as he strode away from the group in search
of the commander. The four friends looked at each
other before shrugging. They couldn't blame their
Prince. The campsite resembled something akin to
chaos. Tents had been haphazardly put up in odd
places, the muddy ground was littered with garbage
that should have been picked up, it was obvious
that the place was unsanitary and unlivable even
for an animal. Moans and groans could be heard
from the injured. It was a very dismal place
indeed.
	"Don't they have some sort of doctor here?"
Zoicite bent down to check the pulse of a man who
lay propped up against a tree. "This man needs
medical attention, Nephrite, throw me my kit."
Nephrite did as he said and blond haired General
caught the case deftly and, opening it quickly
began to treat the man as best he could.
	"I'm going to go find Endymion, no doubt
he is beating Potikin to a pulp by now," Kunzite
said dryly. Looking at the other two, he motioned
towards the outer perimeters of the camp. "Check
on the posts, apparently the soldiers there have
not been taught what it means to guard. As far
as I can see, we're juicy targets for any rebel." He
watched as Jaedite and Nephrite went off, barking
commands to those who didn't appear to be doing
anything. Shaking his head, he turned back to Zoicite.
"Will you be alright?" he asked, bending down to
check on the man's status.
	"Yes, I think I've caught this wound's
infection in its early stages, he should survive. Go
find Endymion before we find ourselves explaining
to the King why we're short one commander."
	Kunzite grinned and then walked towards
the main tent, which looked to be in better shape
than all the other tents. In fact, Kunzite noticed
sharply, his grin falling away, it was at least 10
times better. It was put up properly, unlike the
others that had been pegged to the ground carelessly.
It didn't have any holes or patches like the other
tents he had seen when they had walked through the
camp. It was also larger, in fact it was the standard
size used only by the nobility, not by someone in the
ranks of a commander. The man had practically
committed a crime! Kunzite entertained the thought
of letting Endymion beat the commander to his
heart's content.
	He went into the tent and was not
surprised to see Potikin scrunching as far back as he
could in his seat while the Prince grilled him with
questions. He took a seat in one of the chairs lying
around and waited.
	"You were given specific orders to take
care of this camp, lead our soldiers and make sure
the rebel situation did not get out of hand. I see
nothing of that sort. Once again I ask, why? For a
month, we have been fighting the rebels at our
other camps but none is as bad as yours! None!"
Endymion slammed his fist down on a table for
emphasis.
	"It's the soldiers, Your Highness, they're
all a lazy bunch and-"
	"They wouldn't be lazy if you had kept
control! All the camps before this had commanders
that knew what they were doing and ran operations
in an organized manner, but here? There is not even
a hint of organization!"
	"I'm sorry Your Highness, things got out
of hand too quickly, it will never happen again, I
swear!"
	"You're damn right it won't happen again.
As of right now you are summarily dismissed of
your duties. Two guards will escort you back to the
Palace where you will face judgement. Now get
out."
	The soldier quickly scrambled out of his
seat and ran for the entrance where he was met with
his escorts. Pale-faced, he turned around to say one
last thing, "You'll see Your Highness, it's no easy
job to fight these rebels. It's damn near impossible!"
	Endymion snorted and crossed his arms.
"I'll believe that when I see it," he said, leaning
against the table. As soon as the guards had taken
him away, he looked at his second-in-command.
"We have a lot of work ahead of us."
	Suddenly a large explosion ripped
through the camp and Endymion nearly lost his
balance and Kunzite fell to the floor as the ground
shook. Endymion held on to the table for support,
cursing loudly. As soon as everything fell silent the
two looked at each other and then ran outside,
their swords already drawn.
	Little did they realize that the upcoming
battle would change their lives in ways neither
could ever imagine.
	The two men ran quickly and met up
with the three other Generals near the front of the
camp.
	"The rebels are attacking with strong
forces, most likely stronger than ours," Nephrite
yelled, "you can see them coming across the
plain in the distance."
	"What do you mean stronger forces?
We outnumber them!"
	Zoicite answered Kunzite's question.
"We do outnumber them but when you look at
the amount of how many injured we have..."
	"We won't be able to hold them back
for very long," Jaedite finished.
	"We'll see about that. All of you,
gather all the able-bodied men you can. We
will not go down that easily," Endymion said,
looking towards the east where a plume of
black smoke was rising towards the sky,
shielding the glow of the Moon. A sudden
flash of foreboding filled him but he ignored
it, picking up a shield that lay nearby on the
ground and yelled, "Let's fight!"
	The others echoed with cries of "For
Earth!"
	To say the opposite side had
stronger forces was an understatement. They
stormed through the camp with a ferocity that
was almost awe-inspiring, were their attacks
not so vicious. They cut down soldiers with
no mercy and yelled battle cries that were
almost inhuman. Indeed, they fought as
though they really were not mere mortals.
	And through the carnage a figure
swathed in a long, black and heavy cape that
trailed the ground, walked through, passing
unnoticed by those who fought on with their
very lives. The figure walked slowly; it had a
mission to accomplish. Walking over the
many dead it never faltered at the sight of so
much blood or the gruesome wounds that
would have made anyone else cringe and
turn away. It walked forward until it came to
a stop next to a specific man who stayed on
the offensive, his only thoughts on saving
those who depended on him.
	"It is time for you to meet with
whom the Fates have decided upon," the figure
rasped and raised an arm that was covered
from shoulder to finger with black velvet. In
silence the figure watched as the man suddenly
lost his footing in the mud and went down on
one knee where his opponent took advantage
and thrust his sword into the fallen man's side.
The figure took a step back and did not even
flinch when the man let out an agonizing yell of
pain and then collapsed into a world of
nothingness.
	Slowly disappearing, the figure
heard one last thing before it vanished.
	"Endymion!!"

	He was hearing voices, whispers
really. He strained to hear, knowing whoever
they were, were talking about him. They
hovered close to him and then moved away
far enough for him to want to hear more. A few of
the voices grew loud, angry almost and he
grimaced mentally, wanting nothing more
than quiet.
	He wanted more than that too. He
wanted to be away from this place, this
nightmare that had engulfed him. His life had
taken an unexpected turn and he knew he was
on a narrow rope that would stretch and give
way any moment. But he did not want to fall!
He had a life ahead of him, a full life that had
been taken away in an instant. His dreams, goals
and aspirations all done away with. He had
not even been given a chance to give his love to
his parents.
	Love... he wouldn't be greeting it
with open arms now, would he? He was
dying and there would be no chance, none at
all, to love another. But what if he was given
a second chance? Would the emotion come as
easily to him as it did his parents? He admitted
it now, his parents did have love, this all
powerful emotion that apparently came to so
many, yet stayed with so few. Would this near-
death experience put him in a vulnerable state
of mind that would have him reaching out? He
did not know. He would never know…
	A body approached him, he could feel
it. He grew tense waiting for whatever came next.
But he wasn't expecting the white-hot pain that
seared through him so suddenly. It was like a
flash of lightening, its electricity multiplied by a
thousand. His body rebelled and he knew that
this was the end. To scream would offer some
sort of release but he wasn't even allowed that
much. No one could survive this torment, he
knew he wouldn't and no sooner had he thought
that, when his body shut down, exhausted.
	"I've done all that I can, now it's up
to him." Zoicite got up from where he sat beside
his Prince and rubbed his hand against his
forehead tiredly.
	Kunzite released his grip on
Endymion's shoulders and straightened,
motioning for Jaedite to do the same with his
grip on his legs.
	"Whatever that was, you better hope
it didn't kill him," Jaedite said, coming around
to the head of the cot so he could take a closer
look at the wound. It was a miracle the steel
had not pierced any vital organs, he thought,
but it had cut close and deep, nicking a
bone of the ribcage. It was an ugly sight that
made even the hardened General wince.
	"Of course not. However, there is
no guarantee that whatever is inside Endymion's
body won't kill him."
	"What are you saying?"
	Zoicite looked at Kunzite and sighed
heavily. "What I've been trying to say for these
last few days and you won't listen. It may be
hard to believe, but whatever is causing this
infection," he pointed to the wound that showed
no signs of ever healing, "is not natural. That
wound should have shown some signs of
closing by now but it hasn't. In fact look,
blood is once again leaking from it." Zoicite
sat down again and pressed a clean piece of
gauze to stop the flow. A moment of strained
silence filled the room until Zoicite breathed
a sigh of relief. "It's stopped," he said quietly
and began to wrap a new bandage as Kunzite
lifted Endymion slightly, so that he could do
it properly.
	"Apparently medical science
cannot help us. So you're saying we need
someone who's trained in *alternative*
medicine? Someone who deals with potions
and the like? A witch doctor?"
	"A healer!" Everyone turned to
Nephrite who had been quiet all this time,
his post by the entrance of the tent. He came
forward quickly, his eyes bright with
excitement. "And I know someone who can
best help us. I've heard some of the soldiers
talk and every now and then they mention
the Healer, a person from the Moon who's
known to have unique gifts."
	Jaedite coughed as Kunzite
looked at the auburn-haired General in
disbelief. "You can't be serious," he finally
said. "We have minimal relations with the
Lunarians and I have no intentions of
starting anything. We don't know much about
them and we only communicate with them when
necessary so why deal with them? The Earth
Court should have a healer or two, we'll
just escort one from there."
	"You don't understand. Whatever
healers we may have here cannot possibly
have the same education in dealing with this
sort of thing!" He gestured to Endymion's
prone body. "You all know that the Court of
the Moon has been known to have some
sort of suspicious side to it. People, when
they talk about that place, almost always use
the words magic, mystical and supernatural
in their conversations. What have we to lose
then?"
	Again the small area fell quiet as
the other three contemplated the situation in
indecision. The Earth had no sort of
relationship with the Moon or with any of the
other Planets. In fact, it was hard stressed
that no Terran should bother with those
'aliens' because they were considered strange
and dangerous. The Earth was independent
and superior; it had no need to form alliances
with mysterious foreigners. It was taboo to
even consider that any of the other Planets
could be better than the Earth.
	"We do have the technology to
land there unnoticed," Zoicite said finally.
	"I still don't like it. One wrong
move and a galactic war could break out."
	"They're not going to miss one
anonymous healer. We'll slip in, escort him
back, have him heal Endymion and then
that'll be it. We'll have this healer back in his
own territory in no time." Jaedite nodded
thoughtfully, liking the sound of his plan.
"I think we should do it."
	They all looked to Kunzite for
authorization and he in return looked down
at the Prince. He was pale and although
his skin was cold to the touch, he could
see the perspiration that filmed his body.
Already he could see a tiny red patch
growing over the area of the wound and
knew that to have Endymion remain this
way would certainly mean his demise.
Sighing, he nodded slowly.
	Nephrite turned back to his
position at the entrance of the tent.  The
moon was full tonight, he realized. Bright
and with no clouds to be used as a shield, it
looked formidable and cold.
	"To the Moon it is, then," he
whispered.

*^*End*^*
Muhahahaha! We're getting closer and closer
to... to... something! I'm pretty sure it's
something good, don't you think? ^_^ I have
a funky feeling this story isn't going to
turn out the way I expect it. Aah well, que
sera, sera.