Subject: [FFML] [SM][impro] Tuxedo America #6
From: Mechalink
Date: 10/10/2000, 11:29 PM
To: FFML

Not much to say this time... here's the next chapter!

This chapter was written by Gaijin Dan Mastriani, who you can contact at
PowerOfQi@aol.com so be sure to send him some e-mail to tell him how wonderful
his part was.

And the queue is still open, so come to http://wfiction.sandwich.net/, where you
can not only read the previous chapters, but you can also sign up to write your
own chapter of the story!

Posting for Phoebe (keh36@student.canterbury.ac.nz) 
and Working Title Fiction (http://wtfiction.sandwich.net/),
Official WTF liason,
Mechalink

**********

    Endymion dashed from room to room of the castle, meeting nothing but the
echoes of his footsteps. He turned and walked through a large arch to
emerge outside, into an enormous garden. It was green and gold and
violet and red and a thousand other colors of flower and tree, reaching
to a sturdy wall in the distance. Spinning to admire the scenery in all
directions, the armor-clad prince was treated to a view of an extensive
palace, the walls and spires of which glimmered in the light of the sun.
Looking up, he saw the moon; heavy and full it was visible even during
the day. The moon...
    Even as the realization that this had been his palace struck Endymion,
he was running. There was an urgent thing, someone he had to go to at
once. Was he meeting Serenity? No, something told him she was safe in
her own palace. This crisis was his own. His parents? No, he was sure
the king and queen were well. It was someone else, very close to him
nonetheless. He dashed to the end of a hall, towards closed double
doors. As he passed he could swear he had seen four gray uniformed men
kneeling to the sides of the corridor, as if they had been waiting
specifically for him. Endymion threw the doors open wide.
    He was surrounded by darkness. To the extremes of human vision in every
direction there was nothing, not even the velvet shadows of a moonless
night. Fear gripped at his heart, but nothing seemed to move, not even
his own body. He was imprisoned in nothing, with no one. Suddenly, he
turned. Behind him lay a single, large crystal, encasing a familiar
blonde-haired man. Mamoru looked intently upon the man's face, his
countenance still as death and his eyes closed as if to sleep forever.
"Jadeite?" Mamoru wondered aloud, before Jadeite opened his eyes and
screamed.
    Mamoru's body jerked upright, woken suddenly from a deep sleep. "What
was that?" he asked himself quietly. "Was that a dream?"


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
|          Tuxedo America            |
|   Chapter 6: Old Acquaintances     | 
|                                    | 
|       Started by ColdFury          | 
| This part by Gaijin Dan Mastriani  | 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Mamoru lifted the box gently from the drawer he'd hid it in and
unwrapped the soft, white cloth surrounding it. To tell the truth, the
box's contents were a disturbing coincidence. He'd never told Usagi
about it, and in fact had tried not to think of it since the defeat of
the Dark Kingdom. The dream he'd just had, however, made him remember.
Carefully undoing the latch, he opened the lid and looked inside.
    "Mamoru?"
    The former prince and future king looked up to see one of his roommates
leaning around his partially opened door. "Josh? I'm sorry. Did I wake
you?"
    "Naw, man. I was just on my way back from the bathroom when I saw the
light was on in your room. The door wasn't locked, so I thought I'd see
if everything was okay." Josh stepped through the door, curiosity
getting the better of him. "Hey, what's in the box?"
    Mamoru turned the box to face him. "They're some semiprecious stones.
These two on the bottom are jadeite, a hard jade, and nephrite, which is
soft jade. This one up here is a blue-violet tanzanite called blue
zoicite. The last one, a pink spodumene, is kunzite." No need to mention
that the four Dark Kingdom generals he and the Sailor Senshi had faced -
was it four years ago, now? - had borne the very same names.
    "Hey, cool. Is it okay if I, you know? Pick them up?"
    "It's no problem. Go ahead."
    Josh lifted each in turn, holding them up to the light and glancing
through the clear ones. "Dude, that's weird. They're all warm, except
for the jadeite."
    "Really?" Checking the stones with his hands, Mamoru soon confirmed it.
"You're right. That is odd."
    Josh scratched his head. "Well, I can't say I've ever taken geology.
Maybe they're supposed to do that. They all look like really nice gems,
though. So, were these a gift from your parents or...aw, jeez! I totally
forgot you don't want to talk about your family."
    "No. No, it's not that." Mamoru suddenly noticed that he'd directed his
gaze to the carpet rather than Josh, and rose his head to face him.
"Something bad happened. A long time ago. I'll tell you."
    "Are you sure? I mean, if you don't want to, it's cool."
    Mamoru shook his head. "No, this is better than skirting the issue. We
see each other a lot, so the last thing we need to be is afraid of
talking to each other. It was on my sixth birthday. My parents and I
went for a drive. There was a horrible crash. My parents died, but
somehow I survived with few injuries. However, I totally lost my memory.
I can still barely remember their faces. I didn't even know my own name;
the hospital workers told it to me. They learned it from this box. The
police say it must have been thrown from the car, like I was, although
it doesn't seem to be scuffed or broken in any way." He reached into the
box and pulled a small index card from under the lid. "See? This is
sloppy handwriting, not that you'd be able to read it anyway, since you
don't know Japanese. But, basically, it's my name and address. Chiba
Mamoru, Azabu-cho, Tokyo. I actually moved back there once I was old
enough to leave the orphanage."
    "God, Mamoru! I never knew you had it so tough! I don't know if I
could've handled something like that. It's got to always bother you a
bit, but do you feel okay nowadays?"
    "Yes. Yes, I do. I still miss my memories, of course, but I've made many
great friends in the past few years. Especially Usagi. It's because I
have memories with her that I don't feel so bad."
    "Guess I should stop making fun of all the love letters she sends you,
huh?"
    "I'd like that."
    
    "Your...highness?" Bloutite genuflected nervously. Hopefully, he'd
guessed correctly.
    "EMPRESS, YOU TWIT!"
    Drat. This didn't bode well for the rest of the conversation. "Of
course! A mere slip of the tongue, my Empress. As you've requested, our
technicians are working night and day to perfect our youma remote-
delivery system. They believe it will be only a few days before our
students can use it with no detrimental effect. Also, I've been working
on a plan to eliminate Tuxedo Mask and the other..."
    "SILENCE! YOU TAKE TOO LONG, BLOUTITE! I'VE ALREADY COME UPON THE METHOD
OF THOSE INTERLOPERS' DESTRUCTION!"
    "My Empress?" No, no, no! If she were to decide she didn't need him...
    "BEHOLD!" A hole in reality opened upon the floor of the room, even
darker than the room itself. From it, a large quartz crystal, big enough
to hide a man, rose slowly and hovered mere inches off the ground.
    "My...my Empress! Is that really what I believe it to be?" The crystal
began to crack.
    
    "Kelly?" Keith turned back towards his significant other.
    She narrowed her eyes for a second, but the expression soon passed. "I
thought I felt something. I dunno. I guess it's nothing."
    "Okay," Keith shrugged, and they continued on their way.

    "Eh?"
    "What is it, Apollo?" Sally asked the suddenly alert cocker-spaniel.
    He lay back down. "Ach, nothin' I'm sure. Couldn't have been other than
me imagination."

    Mamoru had already carefully repacked and put away his one family
heirloom and moved on with his day by this point, so he could easily be
forgiven for being unaware of the gem to the lower left shaking briefly,
then becoming still once again.

    "My Empress! I must question this course of action! Was he not a
subordinate of your rival, and a failure at that?"
    "SILENCE, IMPUDENT FOOL! HOW DARE YOU QUESTION MY JUDGEMENT! BERYL WAS A
FOOL, AND QUEEN METALLIA A FOOL FOR RELYING ON HER! THAT IS WHY THEY ARE
DEAD! I WILL NOT BE BURNED TO NOTHING BY THE GINZUISHO! AND MY NEW
GENERAL WILL SEE TO THAT! ARISE, WARRIOR JADEITE!"
    He was free, he knew that. Not just from the crystal, but truly. His
mind was clear, his memories unhidden. Beryl and Metallia must surely
have been defeated by that Sailor Moon, as unbelievable as that seemed.
But who had released him from his prison? Had the Senshi decided to show
his comrades and himself mercy? Hearing a voice calling him, he looked
up. It was impossible, yet in front of him nonetheless. "Princess?"
    "DON'T CALL ME THAT! YOU MAY REFER TO ME AS EMPRESS, ONLY! HOWEVER, I AM
PLEASED THAT YOU STILL RECOGNIZE ME."
    Holding desperately to his composure, Jadeite dropped to one knee. "My
Empress, of course."
    "LISTEN WELL, JADEITE. THE DARK KINGDOM YOU KNEW IS DEAD, OBLITERATED BY
THE MOON PRINCESS AND THE GINZUISHO. BERYL AND METALLIA LED YOUR
COMRADES TO THEIR DEATHS. I, HOWEVER, WILL NOT ACT SO FOOLISHLY. I HAVE
HID MYSELF FROM THE SAILOR SENSHI, WAITING UNTIL ALL WAS READY TO
OBLITERATE THEM! UNFORTUNATELY, IT SEEMS THEIR ALLY TUXEDO MASK HAS
STUMBLED UPON US, AND MAY BRING THEM HERE BEFORE WE ARE READY. YOU ARE
NOW MY SERVANT JADEITE, AND YOUR FIRST TASK IS TO ELIMINATE TUXEDO MASK
AND THE TWO OTHER ANNOYANCES THAT HAVE BEEN PLAGUING ME BEFORE OUR PLANS
CAN BE OVERTURNED. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
    "My Empress," Jadeite spoke as he rose to his feet and bowed
respectfully. "I understand completely. And I refuse."
    "YOU WHAT!?" Flaring with power, she sent off a blast that vaporized
several youma that just happened to be in the direction her target, but
Jadeite had already teleported away. The Empress (Queen? Mistress?)
fumed. "FIND HIM, BLOUTITE. AND KILL HIM."

    Jadeite floated above an unfamiliar field in an unfamiliar area. I
didn't seem that he was anywhere near Tokyo, or even Japan. Also, in his
rush to leave, he hadn't had time to properly judge his teleport.
Therefore, he was left without any real clue as to where he'd just came
from. "Well, it couldn't be helped. If the Moon Princess has been
reborn, the odds are good of Prince Endymion having returned as well. I
must find him at once; I have much to make up for."
    
    Mamoru wandered into his room, shutting the door behind him. Putting
down his books, he collapsed upon the bed. He had to admit, while he had
heard that American public schools were not nearly as challenging as
their Japanese counterparts, obviously the reverse was true for American
colleges. Not that this would have been a problem, normally. He'd come
for a good education, after all. With the "complications" that had shown
up, however, his studies were getting to be a bit much. Mamoru rolled
over, to see Jadeite kneeling at the side of his bed. "Hm," Mamoru
thought. "Haven't seen him in a while." And then his brain woke back up,
instructing him to jump off the bed and into a defensive position.
    "My Prince, I've found you! Please, hear me out!" Seeing that Mamoru was
a bit more patient than Beryl had been, Jadeite was able to continue. "I
am indeed a weak minded fool, for I was lead easily into the employ of
the enemy. Though my thoughts may have been clouded once I became a
general of the Dark Kingdom, I nonetheless accept all responsibility for
my actions. I do not expect forgiveness. I ask only that I might return
to your service, in order to work towards repaying the debt I owe you."
    His service? Mamoru's memories of his life as Endymion were few, and
mostly of rendezvous with Serenity. Yet, there was something about
Jadeite's expression. His eyes were clear and deep, not cold and glassy
as they'd been when they'd dueled that last time at the airport. Mamoru
was moved to take his hand, and remembered. He pulled Jadeite to his
feet, and shook his hand warmly. "Welcome back, old friend."
    "I regret only that I alone of my comrades survived." They stood in
silence for a moment, until Jadeite spoke again. "The Moon Princess
Serenity has been reborn as well, my lord. It was she that destroyed
Beryl and Metallia. Having encountered her bodyguard, I am sure we could
locate her."
    "Call me Mamoru, Jadeite. I'm not a prince anymore; that kingdom is long
gone. And I'd rather have an old friend than a servant. As for
Serenity..." Mamoru indicated the picture frame on his dresser, "we've
been reunited."
    Having lifted the frame to look upon it, Jadeite nearly dropped the
image of Usagi and Mamoru together once he'd seen it. "But
that's...she's..." Turning back to his master's knowing smile, Jadeite
couldn't help but laugh at his own ignorance. "Sailor Moon was the
Princess, under our noses the entire time. Tell me, did your father
appoint as your generals four fools he felt pity for?"
    Mamoru laughed, himself. "They likely matched their prince, who seeing
the same girl several times daily, didn't recognize her himself."
    Jadeite grew silent again. "Tuxedo Kamen. He was you, wasn't he?"
    "They call me Tuxedo Mask here in America, but yes."
    "And I..."
    "Wouldn't have remembered me if you'd known. Zoicite and Kunzite
didn't."
    "We failed you greatly. If I were to spend the rest of my life
apologizing, it would not be enough."
    "I'll give you one last order, Jadeite. It's to stop beating yourself
up. Yes, you were swayed by Metallia's power, but she played on your
weaknesses and the doubts in your heart. Doubts like you have right now.
But anyone could have fallen to her, and many did. They, however, didn't
get the chance you have. I forgive you. For everything. And I know Usako
will, too. So how about you come with me and be a good guy again?"
    When Jadeite looked up at his former master again, tears glistened in
his eyes. "Master. No, Mamoru. Thank you. I would like that very much."
    "Good. Then it's settled. You can get a job locally, or if you'd prefer
we'll disguise you as a student. Either way, you're free to stay with
me. I'll just tell my roommates you're an old friend from Japan who
needs somewhere to bunk until he gets on his feet around here. They're
good guys; they won't mind. Now, we'll need to keep in touch somehow, as
there's a new enemy that's shown up and I could use your help."
    "I needed to tell you about that. I know the enemy's identity, but I
fear it will upset you."
    "It's someone from the Silver Millenium, isn't it?"
    "Yes."
    "It's okay, Jadeite. It's important that I know. Who is it?"
    "It...she...she is..." Whatever Jadeite's reply would have been, it was
preempted by a scream.
    "Damn," Mamoru swore, extracting a rose. "You'll have to tell me later.
Let's go."

    Bloutite sighed and placed his face in his palm. "I am a leader of
fools."
    "Aw, c'mon, Teach," the young youma, apparently some sort of uprooted
basketball hoop, grinned at his professor. "The plan's so simple, it's
gotta work. It's like this: we blast a bunch of stuff, suck some energy
for the Boss Lady, and make a general mess. The mark we're s'posed to
kill comes running out to see what's all the commotion, like the morally
upright doofus he is, and we blast him. And if any of his good guy
friends show up, we blast them too! Easy!"
    "Assuming you survive this mission, Rimshot, you will be attending my
next seminar on the pitfalls of underestimating the heroes." The youma
educator general faded away to watch from a safe distance.
    "Yeah, yeah. You just wait 'til I'm putting this victory in my thesis,"
Rimshot waved off Bloutite's advice. Suddenly, a rose impacted at his
feet!
    "Stop right there!" Rimshot rolled his eyes. "The game of basketball is
a time-honored reminder of American ingenuity. Ever since it's
invention, it has brought together men of all races and creeds to play,
to have fun, to acquire scholarships, and most of all to sign lucrative
endorsement deals! I will not allow you to spoil the dreams of
athletically inclined students everywhere! In the name of the NCAA,
Tuxedo Mask will not forgive you!"
    Teleporting in over Tuxedo Mask's left shoulder, Jadeite also spoke. "I,
Jadeite, will also not forgive you! Even though I feel rather silly
right now!"
    "Oh, that ain't all you gonna feel, sissy boy!" Suddenly dribbling a
basketball with each hand, Rimshot bounced the round projectiles
violently towards the masked and non-masked hero. "Eat this! Double
Dribble!"
    Both snappy dressers moved quickly from the balls' paths, but were
nearly caught unaware when the rubberized spheres ricocheted off the
nearby buildings at statistically unlikely angles to fly back towards
them. "What's this?" asked Tux, nearly losing his classy hat, but not
quite.
    "Yeah, fools! My b-balls will keep bouncing back at you until you catch
the ball check in a real bad way!"
    Jadeite neatly avoided a hit. "That line single-handedly made me feel
better about making hero speeches, kid."
    "Shut up! You're finished!" Neatly removing the netting from the hoop on
his back, Rimshot tossed it quickly at Tuxedo Mask as he landed from a
jump. Expanding magically, the net fell over the hero, momentarily
immobilizing him. "Yeah, nothing but net! Save your friend if you can,
tough guy!" The basketballs redirected suddenly, flying straight for the
caped man's face.
    Teleporting directly in front of his friend Jadeite frowned. "This is
inane." He held out his hand and bounced both basketballs harmlessly off
an energy shield, one smacking Rimshot directly in the forehead. "Would
you like to put him out of his stupidity, Tuxedo Mask?"
    Having extricated himself from Rimshot's net, Tuxedo Mask smiled. "Don't
mind if I do. Charging Cane Attack!" One Rimshot became two half-
Rimshots, and two half-Rimshots became dust, in that order. "Well, looks
like we took care of him. And you didn't even get to meet my two
erstwhile allies. Shall we go, Jadeite?"
    "Yes, but first I must tell you our enemy's identity. I dare not delay
such news longer."
    
    "It's already too late, traitor." From his vantage point on the top of a
nearby high-rise, Bloutite took careful aim and fired a pinpoint blast
directly for Jadeite's heart. Caught completely by surprise, Jadeite
shuddered as the blast pierced his body, then collapsed. "And now for
you, Tuxedo Mask."
    "We don't think so!"
    Bloutite turned quickly, to see Solaris and Nightshadow posed
dramatically behind him. "Hm," he sneered. "It seems to have become
crowded up here. I've done what I came to do; I'll show myself out." And
with that, he vanished.
    "Damn. Who was that guy?" Solaris asked.
    "No clue, but he looked strong. He'll be trouble in the future,"
answered Nightshadow.
    "Right now, we'd better go help Tuxedo Mask." They leapt to the ground.
    
    "Dammit! Jadeite, stay with me. You've got to stay awake." Looking up
from where he'd been examining Jadeite's wound, Tuxedo Mask saw his
allies land on the lawn nearby. "Solaris! Nightshadow! Thank goodness!
Nightshadow, my friend here could really use your help right now!"
    "I'm on it." Nightshadow dropped to Jadeite's side and began to apply
his Mystic Healing Art. "I don't understand this. It's not working!"
    Jadeite stirred, and struggled to speak. "Metallia...changed my body...
Healing power...useless..."
    "Jadeite, please," Tuxedo Mask pleaded. "Don't try to talk."
    "Dying...your enemy...Metallia...sister..."
    "Queen Metallia's sister?"
    "No...not Metallia's...made her...sister..."
    "Jadeite? What are you trying to say? Whose sister is she?"
    "Prince...sister..."
    "I'm here, Jadeite. Whose sister is she?"
    "Explain...understand...gems...aaaaaagh!" Jadeite spasmed, and lay
still.
    "Jadeite? Jadeite!" Tuxedo Mask shook his old friend's body, but to no
avail. Jadeite faded away in his former master's arms. "Goodbye, old
friend."
    Solaris looked back and forth between the spot. "Whoa, whoa. What just
happened here? What was that guy? How do you know him? Who's Queen
Metallia? And what gems?"
    Tuxedo Mask rose slowly. "As you're often mysterious yourself, I hope
you'll forgive me for not saying more than that he was a comrade of mine
from a lifetime ago. Metallia is dead. And if you'll excuse me, I may
just have realized exactly which gems he meant."
    Nightshadow restrained Solaris by way of a hand on her shoulder as
Tuxedo Mask dashed away. "I think that we all have our own mysteries, at
least right now."

Author's notes: This'll be short, as I'm running late. This chapter was
likely too ambitious, and not completed to my original vision. It reads
too much like bad fanfic for my taste, but hopefully it'll be
serviceable and my audience will find it better than I give myself
credit for. In it's current state, it leaves a few things set up but not
done. With any luck, the next author will be somewhat familiar with the
Sailor Moon manga and realize what plot device I'm "borrowing" from it,
as well as what I'd intended as to HER origin. Or he could ask me,
assuming he doesn't want to make something up himself. Which might be
better than what I was thinking, for all I know.

Man, I write stupid author notes, huh?

**********

Working Title Fiction
http://wtfiction.sandwich.net/

WTF: It's what?


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