Sailor Moon is copyright 1992 by Naoko Takeuchi. North
American Rights for Sailor Moon are owned by D.I.C.

Rating: PG-13

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Life ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Part II - Unravelings
Chapter VIII - Generals


	Usagi and Noriko jumped up, startled by the
sudden appearance of their three friends and the
barrage of questions that had been demandingly fired.

	They looked guiltily and anxiously at the stern
features of Kiyoshi, the confused expression of Zared,
and the bewildered face of Jiro.

	"Heeey, guys," Noriko tried to say lightly.
"What's up?"

	Kiyoshi looked directly at Usagi.  "I'm not
sure, but we're about to find out."

	Everyone stared at her.  She looked helplessly
from one face to another.  'Uh-ooooh!'

	"Weeeell," she looked at Noriko.  He lifted his
shoulders mouthing, 'I don't know!'  She opened her
mouth to speak but ended up frowning.  "Hey, what
happened to you?"

	On Jiro's forehead was a rather large bump, and
Zared's wrist was wrapped in a cloth of sorts.
Kiyoshi's arm seemed to be lightly singed; it was
pinkish and grayish-black, as if it were already
slightly healing.

	"We passed out again," Jiro said off-handedly.
"I fell and bumped my head against a sink in the
restroom.  He fell on his wrist," he explained nodding
his head towards Zared.  "It's not that bad.  This
guy," he pointed at Kiyoshi.  "We don't know."

	"I just woke up and there was this searing pain.
When I looked at it, it was like this, except worse."
He grimaced.  "I don't know how it healed so fast."

	"I'll go get you some ice," Noriko offered.
"Sit down."

	As they sat, Usagi kept her eyes on Kiyoshi.
Her eyes lingered on his wounded arm.  'That looks
like . . .'

	Usagi bit her lip and hurried to the kitchen.
"Noriko," she hissed.

	He turned questioning eyes upon her.

	"You know how you remember the Moon Kingdom and
everything?"

	"Yeah."

	"And you remember the other generals, right?"

	"Of course."

	Usagi re-examined her thoughts before speaking.
"Well, who do you think they are?"

	Noriko thought about it a moment.  He knew what
she was getting at.  "You think so . . .?"

	They both poked their heads out of the kitchen
and looked into the living room.  "Kunzite, Zoisite,
and Jadeite," Usagi whispered, their eyes traveling
from one head to the other.  "Maybe they've been
having dreams to the Silver Millennium, too."

	"They have, actually.  I can't believe I didn't
think about that!  But how did you-?"

	"Later.  I have to go.  Told my mom I'd be home
by dinnertime."

	Before she could take a step, Noriko demanded
through clenched teeth, "Wait!  What am I supposed to
do with them?"

	"See if you can get them to remember who they
are and the Silver Millennium.  Mention the dreams.
If they remember that much, I guess it's okay if you
tell them the rest, about me being Sailor Moon and the
ginzuishou.  It's all linked together anyways."

	"And the senshi?"

	"If they remember the senshi, you should tell
them that part."

	"And then?"

	"And then tell them you don't know anything
else.  It's true, anyways."

	"Tell me about it."

	"Look, we'll talk on Saturday.  With the guys,
too."

	"SATURDAY?!?" he exclaimed loudly.

	"SHH!  Look there's no other time we can do
this.  I have school and so do Kiyoshi and Zared.
They might be able to work around their schedules but
I can't _and_ you and Jiro have work.  Saturday is the
only reasonable time we can all get together."

	"Not Saturday.  Friday night.  The sooner, the
better."

	"'Kay.  We'll work out the details later.  I
gotta go.  Ja."

	Usagi tried as silently as she could to get to
the door.  As she was slipping on her shoes, she heard
Kiyoshi's very un-amused voice say, "Going so soon,
Usa?"

	She swallowed.  "Uh, hai.  I have to go home.
My mom's expecting me."

	"Wait a minute-" Jiro started to say
indignantly, standing up.

	"I'll be answering the questions tonight, Jiro,"
Noriko interrupted.

	"But our questions are for her," Zared pointed
out.

	The door closed with a soft click.

	"Aaaaand, she's gone," Jiro said in an
announcer's voice.

	"This had better be good, Riko."  Kiyoshi's
voice was calm, though the irate tone came through
quite plainly.

	Riko handed Jiro and Zared cloths filled with
ice.  "It will be, but first I have to ask you a
question."

	"Why?  Is this a test or something?" Jiro asked
impatiently, leaning his head against the back of the
couch and applying the homemade icepack to his bump.

	"Sort of.  Look, I just need to know if you guys
are still having that nightmare we were talking about
before."

	"I am."

	"Me too."

	"Ditto."

	"Do you think you know what it means?"

	Silence.

	"Have you ever considered that it could be a
memory?"

	Jiro raised an eyebrow.  "A memory?  Hel-LO!
That dreams takes place 15, 1600s.  We're not _that_
old!"

	"Riko, c'mon.  Be serious," Zared reprimanded.

	"I am," he insisted.

	"Look," Kiyoshi said standing up.  "We're not
getting anywhere.  This dream has nothing to do with
Usagi-chan.  And _that's_ what I want to know about."

	"I'm trying to get to that."  This was harder
than he thought it would be.

	"How?  How does this have anything to do with
Usagi?  Or Sailor Moon?  Or battling?"

	"How long were you guys eavesdropping?"

	Kiyoshi continued as if there had been no
interruption.  He began pacing.  "You mentioned
something about the sailor senshi and Tuxedo Kamen.
What could you possibly have been talking about?  Why
did Usagi get upset?  And why are you talking about
queens and princesses?"

	"Yeah . . . What was her name again?" Zared
inquired.

	"Serenity," Kiyoshi muttered.  He paused
abruptly.

	The clocked ticked away the seconds, seemingly
especially loud then.

	"Do you remember?"

	He faintly heard Riko's probing tone.  He
vaguely heard Zared and Jiro mutter to each other.

	'Serenity?'  He felt something in him click.
Something was falling into place, but he didn't quite
know what.  He concentrated, trying to remember.  The
harder he tried, the more the thought evaded him.  He
licked his lips, his brows furrowed.

	"Think of the dream," Riko urged.

	'The dream.  The dream happened a long time ago.
I saw the blonde.  There was a war . . . The battle
they were talking about!  And I remember killing- . .
. This isn't helping.'

	He sat down frustrated.

	"What am I supposed to remember?!"

	"I can't tell you that," Riko responded.  "You
have to remember on your own."

	He gave Riko a look and stood up to go to the
bathroom.

	"Okay, would somebody mind cluing me in?" Jiro
requested irritably.

	Zared looked at him and shrugged.  Riko's eyes
followed Kiyoshi's back.

	Kiyoshi splashed some water on his face and
dried it with a towel.  He looked at his reflection.
"What am I supposed to remember?" he asked himself.
"Who is Serenity?"

	He stared hard at his reflection as if the
answer lay there.


^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^


	"You look fine, general," a soft voice giggled
from behind.

	Another person appeared in the mirror in which
he had previously been observing himself, except it
wasn't him.  He was in his body, but someone else
controlled it.  He heard his own voice.  Deep and
strong, confident.

	He turned and bowed.  "Princess."

	She rolled her eyes.  She was petite.  She wore
a sky blue dress and white sandals.  The dress was
long-sleeved and had a straight neckline.  She wore a
blue choker and her head was up in a relatively
different hairstyle.  Blue ribbons intertwined with
her golden hair.

	"I just wanted to make sure I look presentable,
princess."

	"For Venus, you mean?" she implied impudently.

	He cleared his throat gruffly and she laughed.

	She walked over to him and dusted his shoulder,
ridding him of imaginary lint.  "Don't worry, she
always thinks you look good."


^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^


	'Serenity!'

	Outside, the two had ganged up on the single
man, trying to get him to talk.  Jiro sat on Riko's
back as his body was sprawled out on the floor, while
Zared kept asking questions.  Amidst the scuffle, they
heard Kiyoshi yell aloud.

	"SERENITY!!"

	He rushed out into the living room, looking
straight at Riko.

	He asked slowly and with cautious precision,
"Nephrite?"

	Riko immediately pushed Jiro off his body and
stood, lowering his head slightly, enough to be
acknowledged.  He obeyed the warrior instinct that had
only recently resurfaced.  "General Kunzite."

	The two reached out and grasped the other's arm
- so their wrists were touching and shook it firmly
once.

	"Nani?  General?  Kunzite?  Nephrite?" Jiro was
beginning to feel very left out.

	Then, he smiled.  He said their names again,
this time affirming them.  "Kunzite.  And Nephrite."

	Just as the two had done before, he gripped the
other's arms and repeated the movements.

	The three turned to Zared.  "Gentlemen," he said
calmly, granting acknowledgement to each of them with
a slight nod.

	Kiyoshi nodded back approvingly.  Riko smiled.
And Jiro clapped him on the back, hard.  He winced a
little.  'Hasn't changed a bit.'

	"As joyous as this reunion is," Kiyoshi said,
speaking to Riko.  "How?"

	"You each remember Queen Selenity, correct?"

	He waited for their agreement.

	"And the ginzuishou? Well," he stopped.  "Oh,
man, where do I start?"  He now understood Usagi's
hesitance to explain everything.

	"Okay, what do you remember about the Silver
Millennium?"

	"I remember the senshi," Jiro said immediately.

	"And Prince Endymion," Zared added.

	"_And_ Princess Serenity," Kiyoshi finished off.
"The prince and princess fell in love.  It was a time
of war.  We were fighting some dark force and . . .
what was her name?  Becky?  Berry?"

	"Beryl," Noriko provided.

	"Yeah, her.  She . . . kidnapped us, didn't
she?"

	"Yep, knocked us unconscious.  That I remember,"
said Jiro.

	"All I remember after that is-" he stopped
suddenly.

	"Killing the senshi?" Noriko offered softly.

	The three looked at him.

	Kiyoshi swallowed.  "It kept happening in my
dream.  I saw myself killing somebody.  That's what
made the whole thing a nightmare."

	"And now we know that not only did we kill
someone, but it was someone we were supposed to love .
. ." Zared said.

	The three looked ashamed and sorrowful at the
same time.

	"Not . . . really."

	One word escaped Jiro's lips.  "Explain."

	And so the story began once again.

	"Queen Selenity was so distraught over
everyone's deaths that she sent them to the future -
now - to be reborn with the power of the ginzuishou.
She killed herself in the process, but the senshi, the
princess, the prince, I think - don't ask, and we
survived."

	Finding no easy way to say the next part, he
just said it as calmly as he could.  "Usagi is the
princess and she has the ginzuishou which enables her
to transform into Sailor Moon."

	There was a moment of stunned silence.  'Usagi,
Usagi of all people is Sailor Moon, _and_ the
reincarnation of the princess!?'

	"She's been fighting since she was 14.  Do you
guys remember Luna?  Well, she's the cat . . . Mercury
was the first . . . Originally Sailor V . . . Beryl
came . . . 4 generals: Jadeite . . . After Beryl, they
had a bunch of other enemies.  I don't really remember
the rest.  It was just Beryl that stuck out.  Then,
yesterday I saw Usagi transform, saw the ginzuishou,
and remembered being Nephrite and the Moon Kingdom.
That's just the modified, shortened, Riko version.  If
you want the whole enchilada, ya gotta get Usa to tell
it again." He rolled his eyes, remembering all the
persuasion he had had to use.  "Good luck."

	"That version was good enough for me, but you
still didn't explain."

	"I'll just tell you what happened this
afternoon.  Usagi went to take care of the youma
attack and she came back and she was really mad.  I
forgot to mention that she's currently not getting
along with the other senshi, and she just had a fight
with them today.  She exploded and said, 'I'm the
princess.'  It took a while, but I recognized her as
the princess.  Something in me made me transform and
she slapped me."

	"She slapped you?!"

	It was quite amusing, picturing little Usa-chan
slapping an almost 6-foot Noriko.

	Noriko made a "humph," when even Kiyoshi's lip
twitched.

	"Do you wanna hear this or not?"

	They quieted, snickering still.

	"Well, she slapped me because she had to fight
Beryl's generals, remember?  She got scared.
Technically, I'm supposed to be dead."

	"Oh, yeah."

	"Then, we got caught in some flashback, and when
we came back, she remembered us from the Silver
Millennium as friends, whereas she had not before." He
inhaled.  "In the dreams, do you guys actually murder
the senshi, or do you watch it happen?"

	"Watch."

	"Watch."

	Kiyoshi just nodded his head.

	"Well, we can thank Usagi for taking this off
our chests.  When I told her I regretted killing
Jupiter, she thought of something.  Queen Selenity
wouldn't have sent us to the future while we were
evil.  Plus, we remember _seeing_ the deaths, not
performing them.  The senshi killed Beryl's generals
years ago."

	"So, we didn't kill them?  Our clones did?"
Zared said, recalling Usagi and Riko's previous
conversation.

	"Something like that.  Usagi put it this way.
We were sent to the future with her, while our evil
counterparts stayed with Beryl."

	Slowly, a smile spread across Jiro's face and
relief swept over the faces of the generals.

	"Riko, are we not sure if the prince is with
us?" Kiyoshi asked.

	'Always wanting the whole story before he can
breathe again.'

	"Well, Usagi didn't say anything about him and
she didn't say anything about Tuxedo Kamen, either.
So, I'm not saying anything . . . but I'm assuming . .
."

	"Why?"

	"That's where my knowledge stops.  I still don't
know why Usagi isn't talking with the other senshi and
it's connected to Tuxedo Kamen, she said."

	The three absorbed the information.

	"Hey, it's getting late you guys.  Usagi said
we'd all talk on Friday night."

	Jiro and Kiyoshi stood up.

	"It was good finding you guys again."

	"Same here, Jiro," Zared smiled.

	"Maybe now we'll be able to get some decent
sleep," Kiyoshi said lightly.

	A chorus of "Ja's" echoed in the room.  Then,
only Riko and Zared remained.

	"Some night, huh, Z?"

	"I told you to stop calling me that," he said
irritated.

	"C'mon, man.  Your name's too long."

	"It's two syllables!!  Even _your_ tiny brain
can comprehend that!"

	Riko laughed.  "Well, I'm ranked higher than you
and I want to call you Z."

	"Oh, that was a millennium ago . . . And
besides, I was always better than you at telekinesis!"

	"Hey!"

	"Got the bathroom!" he said running.

	"YOU WERE NOT!!!  I just needed more practice is
all," Riko muttered to himself.  Then, he smiled.
'It's good to be back!!'


^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^


	The week went by rather quietly.  There was an
attack on Tuesday.  Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mars
were able to overcome the youma.  The others arrived
just as the youma was defeated.  There was no sign of
the Tsukikage no Knight imposters.


^ ^ ^ Hikawa Jinja ^ ^ ^


	"Rei, she didn't mean it," Minako comforted.

	"Then, why did she say it?" Several days after
the argument, Rei was still upset at the harsh
exchange of words.

	"She was upset," Ami reasoned.

	Rei shook her head and said sadly, "It was my
fault.  I shouldn't have pushed her so much."

	"Nobody's to be blamed.  It just happened.  It's
not you, Rei.  She doesn't trust any of us anymore."

	"And whose fault is that?"

	"All of ours," Minako said.  "Even hers.  We all
did some things we shouldn't have, said some things
when we should've kept quiet.  There's nothing any of
us can do.  I miss her as much as you do, but if we're
going to get back together it's because _she_ wants us
to.  So, let's just concentrate on the matter at hand,
okay?"

	Rei plopped herself onto the floor.  "Where's
Mako?"

	"Here," Makoto said, barging in the door
breathlessly.  "Gomen.  Got caught up in some stuff."

	"It's fine.  We were just starting.  Minako, I
can't find anything.  There are no traces of dark
energy to go on from."

	"We know for certain that this is from our time,
not the future or past," Luna said.  "They haven't
tried to do anything that would alter the future, and
I have all my memories from the Moon Kingdom.  They
are not from the past."

	"Unfortunately, we also have no idea what it
could want if it's not energy or the ginzuishou,"
Artemis added.

	"So, we know nothing about the enemy?" Makoto
asked.

	"No.  Only what we already know."

	"Which is?"

	"There's a Greek mythology theme going on.  The
only way that really helps us is we are able to
discover the way to defeat each youma.  That's about
it."

	"Let's talk about the Tsukikage no Knights,"
Minako suggested.

	"There's nothing to be said about them either,"
Ami said, frustrated.  "I keep trying to scan them;
all my computer will say is, 'No data available to
scan.'"

	"What does that mean?"

	"It means that although they're right there,
it's as if they aren't.  My computer doesn't pick
anything up, no body heat, no heartbeat, not even a
life form."

	"So, translation: we don't even know _what_
these guys are much less who they are?" Makoto asked.

	"Hai."

	"That doesn't leave us much to go on," Minako
said, pacing with her hands behind her head.  "The
fire say anything, Rei?"

	"The fire refuses to identify them.  But there
are no traces of dark energy.  It's safe enough to
trust them."

	"We don't know what we're fighting.  We don't
know who's fighting with us.  And we have no way of
finding out anything else.  What now?"


^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^


	"Everything is ready, my lord."

	"Are you positive?  I do not tolerate
imperfections, nor do I allow error."

	"We have all the information you requested,
sire."

	"What about the unexpected ones?"

	"We have all the knowledge that possibly could
have been obtained in the time they were present."

	"Go over everything once more.  Be certain every
individual knows what he is supposed to do.  Be sure
of the exact times and places.  Nothing is to be
overlooked.  Consider everything.  We will begin
tomorrow."

	"Yes, my lord."

	'Tomorrow will be the beginning.  And what a
grand beginning it will be.'


^ ^ ^ Friday night - Noriko's and Zared's ^ ^ ^


	Usagi turned the knob quietly.  They always left
the door unlocked when one of them was coming over.
Usagi disapproved but nothing could dissuade them from
the habit.

	There was something delicious cooking.  She
followed her nose into the kitchen.

	Noriko was at the stove.  Jiro was setting the
table.  Kiyoshi was reading the newspaper.  Zared was
in the fridge.

	"Serenity!" On instinct, hearing their
commander's voice, the three others turned from their
previous positions to bow at the surprised girl.

	Usagi smiled.  "You guys remember!"

	"Hai, hime, we do," Zared smiled back.

	"Well, come here," she demanded.  "Give me hug
and stop calling me princess."

	One by one, the men gave Usagi a big, bear hug
of lost friendship resurrected.  It was as if a piece
of each of them had been lost, and they had searched
for it so long.  Now that it was back, the
completeness was extraordinarily relieving.  Only
Noriko stayed at the stove; he had had his reunion
already.

	"It's so good to see you again."

	"The feeling is completely mutual, princess,"
Kiyoshi said.

	Typically, Usagi rolled her eyes.  It reminded
him of the flashback that had helped him recall his
other memories and he smiled. 'Some things never
change.'

	"What's cooking, Noriko?  It smells great."

	"Pho."

	"What's that?"

	"It's Vietnamese soup and noodles.  It's good.
You'll like it."

	Jiro grinned.  "If I remember correctly,
Serenity liked almost anything."

	"Well, excuse me for being open-minded," she bit
back.  "And by the way, it's Usagi.  Stop calling me
Serenity; it's weird."

	"Why?"

	"'Cause I'm not Serenity.  I'm Usagi."

	"You are one and the same."

	"Just call me Usagi, okay?"

	"But-"

	"You know what?  I order you to call me Usagi.
So there!"

	He chuckled.  "Sure thing, princess."

	"Jiro!"


^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^


	As the five were eating, Kiyoshi cleared his
throat.  "Um, Usagi?"

	She sighed.  "What do you want to know?"

	"Is the prince alive?"

	"Hai."

	"Do you know who he is?  And he knows you?"

	"Hai."

	"Are you . . .?"

	"Iie."

	" . . . "

	She heaved a sigh  "I'll start at the beginning.
There was this guy - Seiya.  He's a Sailor, but from
another planet.  It's kind of weird, and I'm not going
to go into detail about that.  It's not that
important.  What is important is that he came back
last year to visit.  Everything went downhill from
there...."


~ ~ ~ End ~ ~ ~


Author's Notes:

	It's a semi-cliffhanger; at least you kind of
know what's going on.  I know it was a lil repetitive:
Gomen.  You can always email me and tell me what ya
think!

	It's that time of year again, kids!  The time we
get to join hands and sing, "We are the Champions"?
The time we get to eat ice cream all night?  The time
we get to go to the bathroom?  *scratches head*  Umm,
ignore that last one.

	NOPE!  It's time for school again!!!  YA-
awwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!  Tell me about it.

	Yep, school's starting again.  Translation: I
won't be able to write as often as I would like to.
You probably won't be seeing any of us (us meaning
Jiro, Riko, Kiyoshi, Zared and me) for about a month.
I know it's a bit of time, but I really have no idea
how this year is going to start out.  Bear with me.
Think of it this way, more waiting time = more
suspense = more joy when it comes out!  No?  Oh, well.
As much as I love you all, you still have to wait.  (I
just realized what a sucky place I ended it at.  Now
you guys have to wait to find out about Seiya.  *evil
laughter*cough*ahem* I'm sure you'll be able to figure
it out.  Hehe)

	Thanx to all of you who take the time to email
me.  Even it's just a short note saying "good job",
it's always nice to know someone approves of the
chapter.

	Did anyone else notice how much the title for
this chapter sucks?  I was so stuck, but had to turn
it in.  I hate it when I can't think of titles.  Just
wanted to mention, cuz I needed to vent.

Oh, yeah.  One more thing.  I've noticed some
authors do this.  They give their screen name so ppl
can chat with them.  I don't have AOL, but I do have
AOL IM.  I'm not on that much, but . . . just in case
. . . (just in case someone actually wants to talk to
me . . . just kidding.  I'm not _that_ lonely!  *g*)
It's down there.

	WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!  I forgot one very impt
thing!!!  *swipes forehead*  I wanted to publicly
thank Sailor Angel for pre-reading this chapter and
giving some feedback.  You're great and I appreciate
it so much.  Everyone go read her fic: Destiny's
Angel.  It's a great story.  Original too!

	That's all!  Thanx for reading!  Ja!

HoNeY
hnymustd@hotmail.com
hunilove01
08/24/00