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Chapter 00 Prologue: So Much for Peace

The council meeting had not yet begun when Minako and Yahara arrived. Neither one of them was exactly happy about being there, mostly because all that was happening was tying up of loose ends from the last battle... What do to about Circe, Sera, and Bacchus... Tallying up collateral damage... Other boring things. Frankly, Minako thought it was an excuse for Usagi to get dressed up, but she didn't mention that. Normally she would have been happy to use it as an excuse for formal wear as well, but to be perfectly honest, she could have cared less at this point.

But perhaps the reason the couple was even more annoyed with this was because they had something relevant to say and neither one of them wanted to bring it up.

Yet they sat through things they really didn't want to be listening to and jumped every time someone actually got passionate over some mundane issue. They got a number of weird looks, but they certainly had reason to be jumpy. They were both kind of being stalked at the moment... Not that they brought that up.

Finally, someone actually brought up something of importance to them. Rei began speaking on a vision she'd had... involving snakes and thorns and the two of them... She spoke on other things, but they did not hear it. She spoke of new enemies, but they did not listen for they already knew. And then Rei's daughter spoke of a terrifying dream she had had but could not recall in detail... Though she did remember seeing the eyes of a snake.

With that, the two of them mutually decided it was time to speak... And just as Yahara motioned for attention on to himself, Artemis walked in. The couple was now even more emotionally unbalanced as he was the only other one who knew something about what was going on. And he brought it up... Though he tried to speak on it with the queen in private, Usagi insisted that it could be said in front of the entire council. And so the white tom cat reluctantly began to explain all that he knew... Which wasn't much.

He knew that Minako had been acting jumpy lately. He knew that she and Yahara had been on edge. He knew that Minako had woken up screaming from a nightmare, on the verge of hysteria. He knew that there was some man named Hebi involved that he vaguely remembered from the Silver Millennium. That was all he knew, and yet he was the one to announce it to the council.

There was an uneasy silence after the explanation, which Artemis soon broke as he asked Minako to talk to them about it. He spoke of togetherness and familial bonds and how they would always be there for her no matter what. Yet she kept silent as Yahara spoke for her. Not an emotional man by nature, but changed forever by the bloody war he had fought in and being driven mad by the presence of his most hated enemy, his cool temper had become hair trigger. He railed at Artemis, saying how they had been about to explain before he butted in. How he should have minded his own business. How she didn't have to tell him anything if she didn't wish to.

He quickly apologized for the outburst, as Yahara was not used to acting this way himself, but it fell on deaf ears. Artemis had already left the room and never heard the explanation...

And after he left, Yahara did his best to offer up as many details as he felt comfortable with. Togeno Hebi was the sorcerer he had gone to fight in his dimension. He had not succeeded in killing him, though the war had been won in the end. When it came to explaining his motives, he was as vague as possible for Minako's sake... But the cat's vague memories of a man obsessed with the Love Senshi were enough to fuel the imagination of the others. He was not comfortable with telling them all of this, feeling incredibly exposed and alone, despite the fact that he was gripping Minako's shaking hand like a man drowning.

And when he was done, he was expecting a plethora of questions that he was not looking forward to answering... But instead, the queen began speaking on all Artemis had already covered. The talk of always being there that the two of them would soon grow weary of. But when she finished there was an empty silence that both Minako and Yahara knew would soon be filled with uncomfortable queries... After all, the details on what he had been to Minako were still vague.

However, the questions never came... For the silence was soon shattered by Minako's appalled scream and a flurry of sudden activity. Just behind the queen's chair at the head of the table, stood Hebi, a grin playing on his lips and a casual air about him. Yahara was on his feet in a minute, looking deathly pale all of a sudden. The others were confused at first... but judging by their reactions alone, they learned who it was.

Though to confirm it, the man introduced himself as none other than Lord Togeno Hebi, and as a standard evil device, admonished the couple for not introducing him properly... Several lewd comments were made for Minako's benefit, though her normal outraged response was quelled thanks to her vivid dreams of abuse and fear. The others were shocked at her silence, but they did not remain so. Ariel and Aquarius, the only two transformed in the room, attacked him, though he seemed entirely unphased by the action, merely saying that was his cue to go.

But Hebi was man who did cherish his exits if not his entrances. He promptly sauntered over to Minako, kissing her so quickly and suddenly, not even Yahara was able to react. Once he had parted, it looked as though Minako might just react as she reached for her Henshin Stick, and then he knew it was his cue to go. Still, he said one more thing that was obviously meant for a double meaning...

What was not so obvious was that it was not meant for Minako... but Yahara.

Hebi then did exit through a portal, heading back to the base he had made on Chiron. Back to his allies, the four generals whom he had resurrected and turned to his side. Jadeite would be the first to send after the Senshi, hopefully keeping Rei at bay so that she would not be able to aid Minako in times of need. And she would be killed if he had anything to say about it. And the reason he thought this way was because back in the Silver Millennium, each Senshi had been in love with one general in turn. Rei to Jadeite. Ami to Zoicite. Makoto to Nephrite. Minako to Kunzite. And he had decided to use them. Turn their loves against them as Beryl had done. They would easily break down the other members of the Inner Senshi... The Outers would grow disgusted with the Inners' behavior, as they always did. Rifts would grow. And they would be conquered. A perfect plan.

Back on the moon in present time, Yahara had suddenly grown rather lightheaded upon Hebi's exit No one would know if it was being entirely overwhelmed by the events of that day or perhaps some spell cast upon him that the others had not noticed. Either way, he soon fell prey to the darkness and fell into a dead faint.

All of this had sent Minako rather over the edge. In between hovering over Yahara, hoping the darkness would not bring terrible memories of the past, she turned on the others, raging at them. They knew it was misdirected and residual from the pain and anguish at what damage Hebi had already done. They knew that for some reason Minako could not react against him, so she took it out on them. They would allow it tonight and only tonight... After this, there would be no pity for her. She would stand up to him if it killed the lot of them.

What they did not know was that it would come fairly close.

By the end of the rant, they knew all that Hebi had done... And they understood the fear. The constant bashing, the injuries, the attempts on her life and body, the stalking, the threats... All of it. All of it had bought her silence. And they would later try to make her see that she could and would overcome, but at that moment she just needed to get it out.

A few minutes later, Yahara woke up, immediately checking on Minako, unsure of what had happened. She had said nothing to him, pulling him to his feet and stalking out of the council room. She shook with what she felt was righteous anger. And he followed her helplessly, entirely confused at what had just transpired.

When they got back to the room, she sobbed... Because there was nothing more for her to do. And he just let her cry... Because there was nothing more that he could do for her.

And they both hated it as they would grow to hate themselves... and each other.

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Pages Updated On: 5-Jul-2007 - 14:52:51
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