"Calm down, Jad," Malachite whispered to him. Jadeite gulped, nodded and called out of the student to enter.

Gingetsu was in a foul mood. He did not like being knocked unconscious, and he swore that if he ever saw that aqua-haired woman again, he would thrash her with his sword, if need be. A fire was smoldering at the back of his eyes, though the greeting he gave his teachers were polite enough.

"Gingetsu, the matter which we are going to inform you of today is of great importance," Jadeite began, still radiating trepidation. He grabbed onto a pen to stop his hands from shaking, and continued. "Are you familiar with history, before the Queen Serenity ruled Earth?"

Gingetsu nodded slightly. "I read a little on that subject. King Lorien was the last king, and when he died, Queen Serenity took over."

"That is correct. And do you know what happened to King Lorien's heir?"

"He apparently died. The reports said that Zoisite Merdeka was just a baby."

Jadeite leaned forward now. "And would you believe it if someone told you that Zoisite Merdeka is still alive?"

Gingetsu was startled, anger and throbbing head forgotten for the time being. "No, sir, I wouldn't."

Malachite's turn came now. "Well, Gingetsu, or should I address you as Zoisite? The proof is sitting in your chair."

Gingetsu didn't believe his ears, and didn't want to believe his ears. "You must be mistaken. My father was just a farmer. I lived in a village all my life!"

:Did you now? Then how was it that your 'father' was so different from the rest? Why was it you couldn't fit in since you lived in villages all your 16 years? And how did a peasant's son manage to get 3rd in the Examinations. And while you're at it, wasn't there a letter to General Malachite that looked like it was written in his hand?: Gingetsu had a hard time answering those questions.

"Ginge-. No Zoisite. You are Lorien's survivng heir. Your 'father' said so, and Earl Alexandrio would never lie when it comes to such serious matters. You are Zoisite Merdeka."

"No, I am not. Where's my father? I'm sure he will tell you that I am Gingetsu Illandi, and I don't know of anybody called Earl Alexandrio." Gingetsu was panicking here, and he just wanted to get out.the look on Jadeite's face stopped him.

"Zoisite, your guardian is dead."

The world stopped. And for a moment, Gingetsu felt as if he was suspended in a crystal of time - nothing moved. Then, abruptly, time went back to normal. "My father is dead? Can't be? How? How did he die?"

Jadeite winced at the hurt and anguish in the teenager's voice. Two shocks in the space of five minutes. He wished Fate wasn't so merciless.

"He died trying to save the people of Earth," Malachite broke in before Jadeite could say a word. "As is your duty."

Gingetsu flinched at the word 'duty'. "Duty? I have no obligation to save the people of Earth, and if you hadn't noticed," he commented acidly, "no one is having any problems with the present rule of the Queen. I see no reason why we, or rather, you should break the peace." His breath caught then, and he stood up, shoving the chair backwards with an ugly scrape. Before any of them could say anymore, Gingetsu fled down the University corridors.

Mizuno Ami cursed the day she became a senshi. How was she to know that not all was sweet and peachy like the tales painted it to be. Lost in her thoughts, she barely heard the sound of footsteps pounding towards her, and was on her rump before she registered that thought. :What in hell?:

"Gingetsu!" it had to be that disgustingly feminine-looking guy. What with his long silky hair, delicate features and wide emerald eyes...But those green eyes were fiercely unseeing, and colour had drained completely from his cheeks. He was always fair, but now he was transparent.

"What's going on?" she asked, eyes narrowed and holding onto Gingetsu's arm. The teenager shook her hand off and started to pull himself off the ground. "Let go of me," he warned in a very low, very quiet voice. Ami could Feel the molecules in the air vibrating with tension.

"Not until you tell me why you're tearing down the corridors like a maniac," she replied sternly. Wrong answer, for Gingetsu pushed her away, hard. For the second time, she was on her rear. Enraged, she tackled Gingetsu from where he was, and he too landed in a heap beside her.

"I'm not in a mood for your little games. Just answer my question," Ami demanded, giving him her best "I command you to turn into ice now" glare. "My father just died, alright? Are you happy? Can I go now, oh Mighty Senshi?" Gingetsu spat at her.

Ami knew that Gingetsu was hiding more from her. :Father just died? Did I hear correctly? Combine that with the Queen's suspicion...don't tell me he's Zoisite Merdeka? Impossible! Well, only one way to find out.:

Ami stood up and yelled after the diminishing figure. "Zoisite Merdeka!" She saw the teenager flinch and look over his shoulder at her, and that was all the signs of betrayal she needed. "Stop where you are now!" she shouted, running after him. She took two steps and crumpled onto the ground.

Haruka looked at the hilt of her sword. "Well, swords do come in handy once in a while. I think I know where Zoisite's headed. Follow me, Michiru!" She sheathed her sword and sprinted off in Zoisite's direction, Michiru a scant foot behind her.

Gingetsu flung himself down beside his beloved roses, and just stared. He had no tears, could feel nothing now except that he had been betrayed, kept ignorant and shoved into something he didn't want. Why couldn't his life remain simple? Why should he stir up discord when there was only peace in the streets, all for the sake of independence? He was the last person anybody wanted as a King. And on top of that all, he hated responsibility with a vengeance. He should be the last possible candidate for the position of king. Dimly, through his fog, he head hesitant footsteps, but didn't bother to identify them.

"Zoisite?" a low voice called. Gingetsu stiffened and turned around to confirm his guess - Haruko and that strange woman. Did everybody know about this kingship thing but him? His anger came boiling back at the thought of that woman forcing him into unconsciousness, and he had his sword out and aimed for her throat in a second.

Michiru ducked away hastily as Haruka slapped the sword away from Zoisite. "Zoisite! Calm down! We're only trying to help!" Haruka shook him to try to get him to think rationally.

"I'm sorry for treating you the way I did then, Zoisite, but we had to ascertain your status. Earth is not the only planet at stake in Queen Serenity's high power game. The Outer planets are all involved, and we are fighting for our lives," Michiru added softly. Zoisite stared at her with vacant eyes.

"The Outer planets?" he repeated dully.

"Yes, Zoisite, the Outer planets. We need your help in ensuring that the Queen does not colonise the entire Local Neighbourhood."

Malachite and Jadeite came into view. "We need to take Zoisite to somewhere safe now," the General whispered. "When Mizuno Ami wakes up, she's going to go straight to the Queen and tell her what she's discovered. Zoisite must not be found."

Jadeite squatted down next to Zoisite, compassionate blue eyes boring into green eyes. "Zoisite, you must believe that what we are doing has a cause. We will explain the details to you later, but the gist of the situation now is that the Queen has apparently cast a spell on the entire Earth, stealing their memories of King Lorien's time. Your father was a good ruler, and we had peace and prosperity under him. Your guardian risked his life finding the spell, and only you can complete what he's accomplished."

Zoisite looked away. "Then why was I the last to know?"

Jadeite sighed. "We couldn't risk anyone knowing your true identity, since hope is such a fragile thing. We hoped you would understand. But now, we have to get you away."

Haruka spoke up. "We can take Zoisite away with us to our hotel and clear things up. Since our magic is similar to the senshis', the wards guarding this palace will just think that one of them is casting a spell. The Gods keep you safe, General and Professor. Come and look for us when you can." The tall sandy-blond woman grabbed hold of Zoisite and Michiru and bowed her head. Her sigil flashed once, and they were gone.

"Well, I think you should get back to your office and pack up, Malachite. When Ami goes to see the Queen, the first to be suspected will be you, doubly so since you're Old Blood and Zoisite's instructor."

"The same goes for you," Malachite observed sourly. "You're his teacher too. I'll see what I can do to diffuse the situation. When I give the signal, run like hell if you want to live."

"Don't do that to me again," Zoisite managed to gasp out in between breaths. Haruka hardly looked contrite, but she did apologise.

"Goodness! Don't glare at me like that as if you're going to eat me up! A fine temper you've got!" she exclaimed good-naturedly.

Zoisite hrumphed. "You wouldn't be so peachy either if somebody pitched you headlong into something you don't know and suspect you don't want."

Michiru came over to look into his eyes. "You're still adamant about not helping?"

Zoisite folded his arms across his chest and stepped over the mess on the carpet to sink into a large armchair. "I'd like to know exactly what I'm in first. Nobody's bothered to fill me in yet," he said dryly.

Haruka sighed softly to herself. "Alright. Be careful of what you ask for, you may get it," she quoted. "That happens to be quite a potent curse, by the way. But enough of side-tracking...Zoisite, your people are under a spell by the Queen. I'm not exactly sure of the itty-gritty details, but apparently whatever memories they had concerning politics 18 years ago have been locked away. In short, their memories are being manipulated by the Queen. You are a perceptive lad. I'm sure you've noticed that Queen Serenity isn't exactly what the propaganda paints her out to be." At the gleam of speculation in those intelligent green eyes, Haruka nodded.

"And not being satisfied with what she's got so far, the Queen wants to take over the entire Local Neighbourhood and set herself up as supreme empress of this Empire. She's managed to fulfill that, only the Outer planets are in her way. You've never been to any of the other planets, but the people there can be said to be under oppression. There's a lot of nepotism going on within the royal families, and they don't give a damn about the common people. Earth may soon reach that phase."

Zoisite's brow scrunched up a little. He thought of all the villagers he'd stayed with. True, their lives had not been much and boring to him, but they had been 'free'. He didn't like the idea of minds being manipulated...nobody had that kind of authority, and he began to see why the four of them wanted him to be king, break the spell, set Earth free and so on and so forth. But Zoisite was also uneasily aware of his weaknesses. Who would believe him to be king? And did he have the necessary kingly qualities? He didn't think so. Michiru observed the young man sitting in the chair opposite her carefully. Being an emphatic artist allowed her to read a person's emotional state accurately, and she could See that he was being plagued by self-doubt. But at least he had stopped resisting the idea of being king.

"Zoisite, you're not going to be alone in this, you know," she said gently. "You've got General Malachite and professor Jadeite to help you, not to mention us."

Zoisite turned his eyes on her in a disconcertingly direct gaze. "Okay, let me get things straight here. The people are under a spell, right? How on earth did the Queen manage to cast a spell on a few billion people, and yet here we are merrily thinking about it?"

Haruka worried at her lower lip. "The only possibility I can think of is that the Queen tapped into the natural magic pool that Earth and every other planet has, and used the pool as the energy source for the spell. I don't think she bothered spending time recharging the pool, and so some parts of the spell has worn out. People like Malachite and Jadeite, who are actively thinking of chasing Queen Serenity off will be able to break out of the spell. Others will follow more slowly, over a decade or more? But we can't tell what will happen in that decade."

"Okay, possible," Zoisite thought aloud. "So, how are we going to break the spell? You'll get caught the moment you step into the palace, and I have like nil magic in me?"

Haruka grinned. "Wrong-o, me lad! You have magic, great potential for magic, but the same spell has locked it away too, along with goodness knows how many other people's magic Gifts."

"Alright, all the factors are coming out, but the question still stands - how am I supposed to break the spell?"

"With another spell, of course." Haruka made it sound so easy. "But we've got to unlock your potential first."

"Unlock my potential?" the question came out as a squeak, and an embarrassed Zoisite flushed to the roots of his hair.

"Yup! That's after we get all our plans finalized. Because," and Haruka dragged out that word for emphasis. "When we unlock your potential and break the spell, Hell will be knocking at our doorstep. When we chase Queen Serenity back to the Moon, Hell will break loose at our doorstep."

"Uh-huh." Zoisite looked skeptically at the tall Princess.

Haruka threw an arm around him in a comradely fashion. "I thought by now you'd lose your skeptism! Tell you what-"

A knock sounded on their hotel door. Michiru got up and peered through the peep-hole.

"Professor Jadeite! So early?"

Jadeite looked grim, very grim. "Things have reeled out of control. The Queen is taking everybody into custody to ferret out the traitors. Malachite will arrive soon once he throws of whoever's on his tracks." He flopped down on the chair next to Zoisite and looked at the teenager carefully.

"Come to terms with it already?"

Zoisite sighed and nodded. "I wish that my father, as in the Earl, had told me himself. But now he's dead..."he trailed off, staring into space, and the other three wished they could do something to cheer him up. Just then, another knock sounded, and Michiru opened in. Malachite spilled into the room and shut the door behind him.

"What's the latest news?" Jadeite asked anxiously. Zoisite craned his neck to look at the General.

"Bloody hell! I barely managed to shake the senshi off my tracks. I say we try to break the spell as soon as possible, and Princesses, you'd better ready your troops. The army answers to me, not to that upstart Prince, and I daresay that three-quarter of them will back us." Malachite flopped down on another chair looking very tired and worried.

Haruka's expression mirrored his. "Are you sure you want to do it so early?" she asked, coming to stand over him.

Malachite looked up at her. "What choice do we have?"