Serenity's men were not good fighters. After all, such a kingdom, one only referred to in legend and fairy tale, was not prepared for a real attack. They had been created as watchers, so blissfully out of reach that they slowly lost touch with their warlike protectorates. In many ways, this lofty pedestal had caused them to forget how closely they must supervise that stewing blue planet.

Perhaps they had assumed that the Earth prince Endymion had managed to stifle this new threat. The one caused by the wayward sorceress named Beryl. Imagine how terrified they must have been to see that black cloud, Metallia's cloud, in supernatural proportions, rise up from the Earth. And then to see it move through space itself, like a spill of ink through water, to hover over the Moon.

Nephrite saw the battle ending before it had even begun. Serenity's forces were so pitifully outmatched; her kingdom would be destroyed, and Beryl would take the ginzuishou for her own.

And he knew that would require killing Serenity. Metallia, now a cloud over the Moon Kingdom's towers, split open, spilling forth a multitude soldiers, and a barrage of energy.

Yet, even in this chaos, Serenity never let go of the ginzuishou, using it to protect herself.

This could be expected. At least, Nephrite had expected it. He had kept an eye on the white queen, standing in the recesses of a fallen gate, holding the crystal in front of her, mounted on its crescent wand. She had been beaten, her eyes half-hooded and sorrowful. Nephrite saw Beryl, poised and waiting, anticipating the ginzuishou to fall from the deity queen's hand.

Then came the surprise. Nephrite couldn't see what provoked her to that final step, but when she lifted the ginzuishou and spoke the incantation, all stopped to look.

No one had expected this! Now, hopes of the simplest of conquests were rapidly disintegrating. Some of the less steadfast youma began to run, the rest all standing, afraid to move. For everyone knew, to release the crystal's full power meant death, not only to the enemy, but to Serenity herself.

From the crystal came the white strobe, and it struck Nephrite to the ground. Through the light he could see them; Jadeite, Kunzite, Zoisite, and Beryl, all paralyzed by the ginzuishou's beam. Great shafts of it shot into the sky, piercing the clouds, Metallia's screaming drowning out the crystal's own discordant melody. And over it all, the burning light, like a sun.

The light never completely died away. It remained against Nephrite's closed eyes, no longer burning him, just... warm. The sounds of Metallia and the crystal had already been forgotten, and their absence was belatedly causing Nephrite to wonder. It was this curiosity, and the incessant warm glow on his face, that begged him to take a look. And he did do, holding his breath as he opened his eyes.

Yet there was no Queen Serenity, with her many turning gowns. No prince and princess, suspended in Metallia's invisible hands. No shattered palace with its caving minarets.

Instead, there were knots in the bark of a tree, and a puddle of half-thawed mud. The light of the sun - for indeed it was that - had darkened even more, obscured by a moving shadow. Like a huge wing.

Where was he?

"Ah! He's awake! He's awake!" The wing suddenly exclaimed.

Nephrite jumped, his eyes (which were only half open) widening painfully. This moving shadow, most certainly not a wing, had a voice. And with the curling blond hair and blue eyes making themselves visible, Nephrite recognized it.

"Jadeite...!" His voice was rough, though his exclamation clearly appreciated.

Perhaps there was something momentous and joyful that Nephrite could have said. After all, the battle and the ginzuishou were nowhere in sight. This was not the Moon. Nor was it the Dark Kingdom. And here in front of him, if not a friend, was at least a familiar face. Nevertheless, Nephrite only said what came to his mind.

"Damn it, Jadeite, you're in my light."

Jadeite's face did a double-take, first frowning at this queer statement, then lifting his eyebrows in realization. Compliantly, he moved back, letting the full light of the sun, pleasantly warm, fall on Nephrite's face.

For a moment he sat, vaguely aware of Jadeite nearby, but not in any hurry to talk to him. Rather, Nephrite chose to study these new surroundings... at least from where he was sitting.

He was surrounded by roots, coiled and knotted, joined to the base of a tree so tall, that for the sun's light, he could not see its top. Instead, his eyes followed the tree-trunk down, noting the traces of snow on the branches, accounting for the bite in the air, so fresh compared to the Kingdom's. Further down, the roots looped off in another direction, and resting against them-

Oh, no. He should have known Zoisite would be here. Hunched a few metres away, he had his back to Nephrite. His pretty orange ponytail was tangled and stringy, his uniform wet from the snow. He still looked good, though. He'd always had a lovely back.

Out from Zoisite's protective curl, to Nephrite's surprise, spilled the better two-thirds of another man. At first he didn't recognize, wondering what Zoisite was doing clinging to the body of a fallen soldier. If it weren't for the tattered blue and grey cape spread out over the ground, he might have gone on wondering.

"Is he dead?" Nephrite demanded, pointing at Kunzite.

Jadeite started again. It would seem that this last battle had robbed Nephrite of his tact. Still, it was good to see him talking.

"No; he'd just unconscious."

"Well-- ah!" Nephrite, who had rocked himself into a sitting position, now discovered his tiny feline companion. He jumped, shoving the black cat off his legs. It tumbled to the ground, the jolt causing its gold-brown eyes to crack open slightly. The crescent moon on its forehead flashed in the sun, the light striking Nephrite in the eyes.

"Goodness, Nephrite," Jadeite chuckled. "It's just a cat."

"You know very well what that cat is." This remark came from Zoisite, who had lifted his head and looked towards him. The mysterious blood from his brow painted a dark line to his left eye, where it pooled. It made his white face appear lopsided, an effect wholly disturbing.

Nephrite chose to ignore it. "Good morning to you too, Zoisite."

"That's Luna, Serenity's cat," Zoisite continued, tugging absorbedly at Kunzite's hair.

"What's Serenity's cat doing here?"

"Does it matter? What are we doing here?" Jadeite lifted the floppy Luna into his arms. "She's just a cat."

"A talking cat," Zoisite added.

Nephrite giggled. "Oh, yes, listen to it talk."

"Shut up! We should kill it."

"What?!" Jadeite whisked the cat out of reach, like a favourite doll. "We shall not!"

"It knows we're its enemy."

"So? If she does talk, maybe she can help us get our bearings." Jadeite rubbed the top of Luna's head. "Being Serenity's smart little cat, she should know a thing or two about the ginzuishou."

"That reminds me," Nephrite started, now making an effort to stand up. His legs were cramped and soaked from the snow. He felt strong, but a faint hunger in his stomach made him irritable. "Exactly where are we?"

"I don't know!" Jadeite returned his exasperation tone for tone. But then his face brightened. "But there is some good news. I've found a house."

"A house?"

"Just through the trees." Jadeite made a loose gesture behind him. "I think it's empty, but haven't been able to take a good look. Zoisite's been-- "

"Kunzite-sama!"

The squeal was Zoisite's, the little king now curled even more fervently over Kunzite's form. Though the latter's face was blocked from view, the slow sweep of his arm showed the others what Zoisite's cries were all about.

Jadeite stood at a distance, holding the cat, content to watch the two with an amused smile. Nephrite just watched.

Kunzite was rising, first moving up to sit, then gathering his legs beneath him. He didn't seem to notice Zoisite at all. And it was obvious that Zoisite was unsure of what to do. He placed his hands on either side of Kunzite's face, trying to draw some attention out of the silver king.

Attention was what he got, though not the kind he was hoping for. His gentle murmurs changed to a yelp as Kunzite, with one spread hand, shoved Zoisite roughly away. The young king tripped backwards, landing fully and heavily on the ground.

Jadeite and Nephrite stared. Now that was unexpected. It would seem Zoisite thought so too, for he remained sitting in the snow, watching Kunzite with wide eyes as he stood.

One... two... three....

Kunzite stopped, hands going to his face in a sudden, automatic movement. Then, the look in his pale eyes softened, and he bent to the ground. With one arm, he encircled Zoisite's slender waist, bringing the smaller man up to stand with him. This movement was so full of tender grace, it did not match the one that came before.

Neither onlookers could hear the words between them, but Kunzite's gentle, stroking hand and Zoisite's downcast nods indicated that amends had been made. Shyly, Zoisite put his arms about Kunzite's shoulders, and a belated reunion embrace was shared.

Though Jadeite had heard plenty of stories about the two kings, he realized that only now was the first time he'd actually seen proof. He cursed himself for working alone so often.

Nephrite cleared his throat. Kunzite lifted his narrow silver eyes. His gaze went from Nephrite, to Jadeite, to Luna.

"We... we're keeping her," Jadeite explained. "She might be useful."

"For what?" Kunzite's voice was smooth and soft, not at all like Nephrite's commencing croaks. "To catch rats in the big old house?"

"You know about the house?"

"Of course," Kunzite said, tracing Zoisite's shoulder blades, making him wriggle. "I hadn't intended to fall asleep here. I suppose I overestimated myself. I was looking for you three, actually, and I did find him."

Nephrite tossed his head.

"Well, then," Jadeite licked his lips, a habit he'd cultivated as long as he could remember. "I suppose, we should go back...."

Any worries of the house being inhabited disappeared in cloud of stale dust. Upon opening the doors, the stench of year-old air plumed from the dimness inside. All these windows outside; why was it so dark within?

The four kings entered cautiously, the suspicion of such a prolific building being left completely alone slowing their steps to a silent tread.

Zoisite didn't like it. Here and there, a shaft of pallid yellow light drifted in from the dirty windows, but overall, the house was as somber as the Dark Kingdom had ever been.

To his left, he could see stairs, winding and lined with rugs, leading up to an invisible second floor. And to his right and centre, several doorways and wayward halls, small and stuffy, layered with fine, grey dust. The smell of the place, that twice-breathed, menacing smell, pushed against him. Suddenly, Kunzite, whose arm to which he clung, seemed the most distant figure in the place.

"Perfect!"

Jadeite's voice made Zoisite flinch. The headache he'd been nursing, the one that for all he knew had caused his forehead to bleed, was threatening to start up again.

"It's perfect!" Jadeite repeated. "Look at this dust! There's no chance anyone could live here now!"

His enthused voice had woken Luna, the cat looking about with unfocussed eyes. Jadeite dropped his head to look at her, scratching her between the ears. Perhaps in his enthusiasm, he did not realize what he was doing. After all, such a smart little kitty, being held by a Dark king....

In a spasmodic flurry of claws and hisses, Luna leaped out of Jadeite's grasp, her feline agility taking out of sight in two bounds.

"Shit!" Jadeite cried. "We've got to go after her!"

"Why?" Nephrite growled, looking up to the old lantern hanging above him.

"She's a direct link to Serenity and the ginzuishou!" Jadeite cried, his statement formulated and textbook-accurate. "She could help us!" With that, Jadeite was gone, ducking into the corridor he'd last seen the cat run into.

With some unintelligible muttering, Nephrite jogged after him.

Zoisite looked up to Kunzite, hoping the look he was giving was one of imploring exasperation. He wasn't sure whether Kunzite registered it that way, for the silver king gave him the apologetic raised eyebrows, then took off down the hallway after Nephrite.

Zoisite had no choice. His mounting weariness and desire for something good caused his throat to tighten. Somewhere distant, he could hear what he assumed was one of the three, thundering up a flight of stairs. Kunzite was now out of sight, and at the prospect of being left in this musty entryway, Zoisite broke into a jog.

He pushed on the way Kunzite had gone, the hallway wooden-floored and oddly slippery. His headache, he realized, was back. Though he cursed himself for thinking it, all he could wish for was his bedchamber in the Dark Kingdom, and for Kunzite to be there. True, his lover was here as well. But... it was no good.

And it made his headache worse.

He stopped at a junction in the hallway, almost skidding into the wall. The others had come down here, hadn't they? He'd been running for a good minute. Quite fast, too. How big was this place? He no longer could hear the footsteps of the other kings, nor see the light guiding him back to the entryway.

There was only the grey hall, straight and dark, to his left, right, and centre.

He opted for his right. Yet, a he began to walk, the nape of his neck prickled, as it did when he was disturbed in his studies. Perhaps it was Kunzite--

But of course it was not. In fact, it was nothing. He turned three or four times, assuring himself of this. Yet, the feeling would not dissipate. It was mingling with his headache, forcing him to jog down one of the corridors, hoping to run into someone- even Nephrite.

Then he felt something, so close to panic that it may have been, rush upon him. He wheeled again, and though he still saw no one, that terrifying sensation throbbed in his chest and his head.

Suddenly, someone was touching his face; he could feel their warm finger slide down from his brow. He backed up against the wall, the slippery floor causing him to sink down father and farther. He tried to say something, make a noise, for his mouth was moving. And yet he could see nothing, say nothing, and the hand slipped down his cheek.