"I bet you'd really impress him with your studies, Serenity," Jupiter said, backing Mars and Mercury. Anything to get her mind off of bringing Endymion here was good in her book. What if the people of Earth noticed his disappearance and thought he was kidnapped?

"And maybe it would be the start of better relations between Earth and the Moon. It'd be slow, but a lot gentler than just throwing everything out into the open." And if they did finally form an alliance, then....maybe her own relationship could progress beyond what could be done in the space of a few hours each visit. It wasn't as if she didn't enjoy herself with Nephrite, but she did crave something more substantial.

Jupiter wasn't the type to do things in the shadows if she could help it, and having to hide romance that she rarely got was frustrating at time. But she had her duty to Serenity and the Moon first, and if push came to shove, she'd put them before her love life. Taking one of the books that Mercury was handing out, she opened it up and started reading. They had to set a good example as guardians, right?

"Sheesh Artemis, can't you stop and think for once before you open your big mouth?" Luna sighed.

"My bad, my bad, but I covered it up well, didn't I?" Artemis grinned. "I'm sure she would have said something if she had realized what was going on."

"Right... Anyway, for now I'll continue investigating those rumors. Please check with Sailor Venus as well. The girls should be at the gardens with the Princess for her studies."

"Okay! We'll report to each other later, Luna!" he exclaimed as they parted ways.

Soon enough he was back outside at the gardens. "Where exactly are they, though?" They were fairly large, after all. But it didn't take him very long to spot the girls. He wondered if they were having any luck with the Princess today. Likely not.

He began walking towards the girls, but suddenly came to a stop as he reconsidered. "Is it a good idea to alert all of them like that? We're not even sure if there's actually anything to worry about just yet. Plus, the Princess is with them..."

Instead, he retraced his steps and decided to wait next to a near-by bush. As he was facing Venus' direction, he had the highest chance to be noticed by her from where he stood. Hopefully she would get the hint and come his way without much attention drawn. How much she would prefer to share with her fellow comrades afterwards would be up to her.

Time was running short and Beryl was getting even more annoyed! Although she didn't like it, she decided it was in her best interest to go find the Shittennou, she'd be mad when she did though. She stormed out of her chambers in search of the Shittennou. Where could they be? She thought, They must have been on their way to meet her, at least because of her summons. She decided to take the route that would have been the fastest from the Shittennou's chambers to hers. She was walking and soon started to hear voices coming from down the hall. She walked towards the voices of the Shittennou and someone else. She got there and saw Endymion with his Shittenou, or did she mean formerly his Shittennou? They were now hers. 

"Sorry to interrupt." Beryl said with an edge of anger to her voice. "I've been waiting for the Shittennou to meet me. We should be going to discuss the efforts for our war with the Moon Kingdom. We're leaving." Beryl said staring at the Shittennou.

Endymion's fingernails bit into the palm of his hand - it wasn't working. They were still blindly looking over the facts - there had been no aggression towards Earth from the Moon, not before they had met the Princess and her retinue, and not since. Saying that they could crush the Earth was a given - they were far more advanced, Zoisite had the right of it, but why couldn't they see that it might have been for this very reason that the relationships Nephrite mentioned had been forbidden?! This fear, based not in fact but paranoia, was leading his Kingdom astray, pulling them by the nose back to the old ways of war instead of diplomacy, and was now threatening both their civilizations. The Moon had had this ability for years, and yet they had not acted on it - if they wanted the Earth Kingdom destroyed why would they have waited so long to do it? Why this sudden distrust?!

But the answer was clear in how Zoisite had reacted to his involving Beryl in it, the sudden conviction, the defensive nature. It was her. 

And to speak of the devil - 

He froze as Beryl's voice snaked its way down the hall as she approached, his back arched at the unpleasant sensation she brought with her. He did not turn to look upon her, her ruby-red eyes and hair bothered him too deeply, and the way she spoke infuriated him. She had changed drastically from the young woman she had been, the transformation seeming to start all at once after a meteor shower they had declined to view with her. Surely, though, all of this was not born purely of spite? He didn't know what to put past her, what was beyond her now. She had been unpredictable, yet had predicted how everyone else would behave flawlessly, using their desires to pull them over to her side. She knew what she was doing, what she had done, what she would do, and knew, somehow, that he was powerless to stop her. 

Or so she thought.

While he wanted to bring up further points in an attempt to persuade his friends to see the light, he knew now, having seen that conviction in Zoisite's eyes, that they could be a lost cause. If he wanted to stop this senseless attack, he needed to find another way, a way kept secret from all but those in his bloodline. With a final hard look to the men he had once called brothers, he struck off back the way he had come, his cape billowing out in his wake.

Beryl watched as Prince Endymion walked away, giving up his attempt to persuade the Shittennou. They were far too deep in her mind control for something as simple as his pleading and reasoning to snap them out. She turned as the prince walked away and looked at the Shittennou. "What are you waiting for?" Beryl asked impatiently, "We're wasting time and you have taken too long to make your way to me. Never, and I repeat, never make me wait for you like that again. It's infuriating and you should not be taking your good old time while we are preparing for war." Beryl looked at them with her most piercing angry gaze and turned. She walked back t her chambers to make plans with the Shittennou, knowing that they would have to follow her. If not they'd face the full brunt of her wrath.

Trying to make up his mind, Jadeite was wondering if he was doing the right thing or not. Beryl, Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite – all of them were firmly convinced that they were doing the right thing. But on the other hand, Endymion – his prince, the person he pledged his troth, the person he should never leave until he would die – promised faithfully that the Moon Kingdom and its inhabitants were innocent.
Who should he believe? What was right and what wasn’t? Anxiously she looked to his friends, then back to Endymion and once again back to his friends. Why was he going through so much trouble? Why didn’t he know what was right or wrong?
 
‘We’ve made the right decision.‘
Suddenly a familiar, male voice entered his mind and thoughts, the tone of his voice pleasantly calming in comparison to the tempest in his head.
With widened eyes he looked at the brown-haired man near him, giving him a sincere look and then nodded affirmatively.
Why was he doubting it all the time? They did the right thing. They would fight for the good, for their planet. Yes, this and nothing else.
 
Abandoning even the tiniest piece of doubt, Jadeite was now sure, entirely, that they would make their planet to a better place. That humanity would live in eternal peace after that night.
 
With blazing fire in his eyes, he looked back to Endymion, facing him with steely determination and confidence. His mouth slowly opened, he slowly breathed in and his voice was already come forth –
 
But then all of a sudden, his red-haired mistress appeared, reproaching them for being late.
“Excuse us, Beryl-sama! We were just on our way to you!” Bowing down to her, he noticed his prince leaving the place with the outer corner of his way. I’m sorry, Endymion…this is only for the best.

Serenity smiled at the thought of being able to share stories Endymion had not heard before. Mars also mentioned she could be competent. Serenity liked the sound of that. She had wanted to impress Endymion and now she had found a way to do it.

Serenity couldn’t help but laugh when Mars said she should show Endymion a flower he had never seen before. “Really Mars, he would like that? Endymion normally shows me the flowers, but I guess I could try?”

When Mercury showed Serenity the book of legends, Serenity’s eyes widened with excitement. “Oooh this looks interesting Mercury, do you think it’s like the fairy tales mother use to tell me?” she asked as she opened the book and examined its contents.

Her eyes were glued to the book as she read about forests and animals. She read about knights and castles. She was particularly interested in the topics of water. When she saw the photos of the ocean, it made her want to visit the Earth, so she could learn more about the ocean and walk on its sandy beaches.

She kept reading through the book until she came to a story about a battle. She began to read more closely trying to figure out why people on a new planet would fight against each other. Why were the people of earth not happy? Why was there division among the people?

She was so deep into the book, she did not realize what was going on around her.

It was not until she heard Jupiter mention something about the relations being better between the Moon and the Earth. She placed a finger in the text so she would not lose her spot.

“Jupiter, would it really help, if studying could help make the people from Earth like the people on the moon, I think I could study more.” Serenity said with a smile as she thought- anything that gets me closer to Endymion.



Serenity resumed reading the book; she had to see how this legend ended.

It was breaking his heart to see Enydmion so upset with their actions. He wished there was some way he could convince the Prince that they were doing the right thing. As he left, Nephrite felt the near overwhelming urge to stop him. Maybe one day he would see they were right.
 
When Beryl approached, Nephrite stiffened. He had never liked her, but he saw reasoning in what she had said about the Moon Kingdom. He didn’t particularly like her attitude and it was times like this where he began to doubt that what they were doing was right. Enydmion hadn’t lead them astray before…
 

He was broken from his thoughts when Beryl spoke again, her irritation clear. Witch. He sneered mentally. He was doing this for Endymion. 

Zoisite tensed when Beryl arrived. He knew they were late and he knew she was pissed. Everyone probably knew that. She wasn't known for being reserved about her opinions or emotions. He quietly bowed down before her. Even if he was able to have the last word with Endymion, he felt in this no satisfaction. The prince was a fool, but something in the look he sent them conjured up a cold discomfort within him.

There was agitation in their ranks.

He could feel it from both Jadeite and Nephrite. That never happened before. Sure they would bicker and argument, they were all different, but there was a shift in their dynamic that was not natural.

He blamed it on Endymion.

He cast a glance at Kunzite before obeying and following Beryl. War.

Their lives used to be simpler.

Watching her princess curled over the book of Earth legends, those bright blue eyes fully focused on the page, made Sailor Mercury's heart flutter. If only she could show the same kind of attitude towards other topics. The blonde princess was fully captivated by the contents of the stories. Mercury's inkling that she might enjoy stories similar to the fairy tales she had always loved hearing from the queen proved correct. With a smile, the blue-haired sailor soldier did her best to answer any questions the princess asked about the content within. Her understanding of Earth culture, although far from exhaustive, was fairly robust--thanks to the books she had traded and read since their adventure at the ball.

The blue planet still hung in the dark sky above them, looking peaceful and beautiful as always. Staring up and out the domed glass roof of the gardens, Sailor Mercury wondered what the people of Earth were doing down there, near the grass and the trees and the oceans and the wind. One person, in particular, her thoughts drifted towards. She shook her head slightly, trying to clear the distraction from her mind. They had studies to attend to; this was no time for mooning about.

Venus listened to the others turning Serenity’s infatuation with Endymion into a way to interest her in her studies. That was actually a pretty good strategy. She looked over all the books Mercury offered them, finding herself too fidgety to learn something, let alone read a book. But she knew Serenity would be more inclined to do it if the rest of them joined her.

She surreptitiously glanced around, trying to look for a distraction of her own. She did a double take when she spied a white tail near a bush. Venus blinked when she saw Artemis just standing there. Immediately she knew that he wanted to talk, but without attracting the others’ attention. Otherwise, he would have just come and said whatever it was he wanted to say.

“I’m just going to go check on something real quick. Be right back,” she said in a low voice to whoever was closest, so as not to disrupt the others’ ongoing conversation. As she passed Artemis, she nodded imperceptibly toward the more sheltered part of the garden where they could talk privately. She made her way toward the thicker trees and waited for him to come and tell her what was on his mind.

Queen Serenity was on the top of the grand staircase overlooking the kingdom. She could see each senshi with Serenity in the garden, they seemed to be studying and also talking about something else considering their body language-how the queen may have found them out was her best guess. The streets were bustling with activity, people walking back and forth, trading goods, embracing friends and loved ones-and Queen Serenity could hear the happy screams of children deep in their imaginations as they ran about in play.

And yet, the anxiety that the queen awoke with wouldn't go away. A few of the citizens approached her and expressed their greetings, and she smiled and talked with them. They bowed and curtsied in respect, and her discussions with them eased her mind-if just a little. After awhile, they dismissed themselves and went back to their daily lives. Queen Serenity waved to them her goodbye, and decided to return to the palace.

Mars was pleased to see Serenity take an interest in the books that Mercury had brought out.  They had come from Venus’s and her own planet libraries and she recognized one of the books.  She picked it and looked at its faded cover depicting different religious symbols that Earth had found during its history.  She had always found the practices interesting and amazed at how different the beliefs were from each other.  She faded into the background as she opened the book randomly and started reading.  The familiar words took her back to the first time she had read the book back on her own planet’s garden area.  She found herself back in the Palace’s garden when Venus excused herself, heading off deeper into the garden.

Down stairways and ancient halls, into ornate rooms, and through secret passageways Prince Endymion went, to a room kept like a vault. He stood before the ornate stone door and hesitated only to remember what, exactly, he needed to do. His father had shown him this place but once, mere weeks before he had died, and had confessed that this secret was the topmost kept of their family. Generations ago, when his great-grandfather had taken the throne of the Golden Kingdom, it was said that Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom had visited him and gifted him a golden key. This key would allow him passage to the heavens themselves, if he but spoke the name of his destination.

Endymion reached out and placed his hand, palm-down, on the door, and waited. He jumped back as something unexpectedly bit him, and saw his crimson blood smeared on the wall. The marble shimmered, then disappeared, and he crossed the newly made threshold and into the circular chamber beyond. In the middle, sitting on an ancient stone pedestal, was the key. He reached out and took the small instrument in hand, and looked at the ceiling contemplatively; could he do it in here, or would he need access to the sky? 

Across the circular ceiling was painted an image unlike those he had seen in books of new science; in the middle was the Sun, with all other planets orbiting it, with Mercury and Venus first, then Earth and Moon, then Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, followed by three other orbs he could not identify, even with their names scrolled out beside; were there other planets they didn't know about? But there was no time to think on such things. Deciding he would rather be safe than risk this chance, he quickly left the room, returned to the castle, and worked his way stealthily outside, not wishing to be noticed by anyone, preferring them all to think he had retired or was still running around the palace. 

He took a horse and rode out into the streets, and from the streets out of Elysion proper, to the fields beyond. Once clear, he hopped off his horse, letting it roam free as he again stared at the key. His father said his grandfather had attempted to use the key at his end, but had been denied access to the heavens and had called it a lost cause, but Endymion felt he knew something the older man had not: a name for his destination.

"Muun Kyassuru," he said plainly, repeating the name of Serenity's home. 

Immediately he knew it was working; his body felt on edge, goosebumps racing on his skin, and the world around him started to shudder and shake, and then.... he was gone.

Queen Serenity returned to her bedroom; making sure to lock the door behind her. The silver crystal sat there on it's pedestal, twinkling and glistening all the same. She approached it and stared at it for awhile, her worried reflection becoming more and more apparent the longer she looked.

How long has it been since she was so full of anxiety? And over what? A few nightmares? Sighing deeply, she asked for one of the castle attendants to get her a pail of warm water. The attendant bowed and left quickly, and Queen Serenity sat on her bed and looked about her bedroom. Fine silks donned her bed, and her furniture glistened and gleamed in the sunlight. She approached her window and watched the Senshi and her Daughter in the garden and couldn't help but smile. It was always nice to see her daughter and her guardians getting along so well. The attendant knocked on her door, and left a pail of warm water at the foot of her bed.

"Thank you. That will be all." Queen Serenity turned from the window and smiled, her silver hair blowing slightly. The attendant bowed and left, and she walked the pail into her bathroom and began to wash her face, the warm water's calming effect taking over almost immediately.

She couldn't afford the luxury of anxiety cloud her judgement. She had a nation to rule. Feeling more at ease, she took one last look at the crystal before leaving her boudoir and heading back to the throne room.

As they made their way towards what Nephrite had mentally dubbed the “war room”, he positioned himself close enough to Zoisite so they could talk and not be over heard by the others. That piece of fabric that had been in Kunzite’s pocket had bothered him. The elder hadn’t commented about it and something about the fabric was needling him, but what was it?
 

“What do you think of that fabric Kunzite was carrying in his pocket? I’ve never seen him do anything like that before,” Nephrite said. He felt like he had seen it before but he couldn’t place where. Zoisite had a better memory than he did, perhaps he knew?

He blinked when Nephrite pulled him out of his thoughts. The other's voice was low enough not to be heard by anyone else, but he raised an eyebrow at the question. The ribbon? Oh. It had teased his curiosity back then and apparently Nephrite's own still wasn't at rest.

“I rarely saw him with a less than perfect attire...”

He commented, his grave features of before replaced by a cold mischievousness. He shouldn't focus on anything else than the war right now, but strangely enough, this calmed his nerves.

“I never knew Kunzite to be fond of ribbons and petty decorations. Maybe a woman's?"

He shrugged.

"Usually, I would expect this from Jadeite or you, but apparently these last months were rich in surprises. Or perhaps you were the one to put it there." He commented, teasing, but not ruling out the possibility either. "You were the one who first noticed it after all.”

“Hey! I’m not that bad!” Nephrite protested, chuckling softly. He had really toned it down with the women, ever since he had me Lady Emerald. He just could not get her off his mind and he found that he no longer had the patience for the idiocy of his former bed companions. They were pretty but they lacked any real personality or brains.
 
Who knows, maybe I’m finally maturing like Kunzite’s been after me about for ages.
 
Speaking of Kunzite…
 

“If he has any women in his life, he’s always been very discrete about it. I’ve never seen him with any, have you?” It was normally he and Jadeite that had female friends than the other two Shittennou.

Zoisite looked at him with a glance that said what was needed. Nephrite was bad, always had been.

“Could it be that you have finally matured?” He had to admit, it had been a while since he'd seen a lady at Nephrite's arm. Ever since... “Or did you finally settled on one?” He added quickly, a smile playing on his lips. "What was her name already?" He teased. He knew her name, but he wanted to see Nephrite's reaction about her. He wanted to know where they were all at. It was amusing to see Nephrite charmed by a women, but it begged a question he wouldn't say aloud.

What exactly happened to everyone during the ball and during the weeks between there and then? They hadn't talked about it much and perhaps was it the point. To distract the Shitennou from one another.

“And Kunzite...”

He glanced at his perfectly polished boots.
The ball came back to mind again and though he had left early with Mercury, there had been glances here and there... between most of them.
He shook his head.

“He was polite with them, nothing more. The prince always came first.”

He snorted at the look Zoisite gave him. So he may have been bad, so what? It wasn’t like he lead any of the women on ever.
 
“What about you and Lady Azure? Is she the one for you?” he was not sure if Lady Emerald was the “one” that the romantics always went on about. One thing was for certain, she was certainly different from any other woman he had ever met. Once he had given her a chance, she intrigued him. Nephrite was willing to bet his horse that Zoisite was just as enthralled with Lady Azure as Nephrite was with Lady Emerald.

Had they put a spell on them though? He had never fallen for someone so fast and with what everything Beryl was saying…Zoisite was right though the Prince did come first. But who was right? The Prince or Beryl?

It worried Sailor Mercury to see Venus slipping off from the group. She could tell by the body language of her teammate that there was something going on. Her mind turned to some of the conversations this morning--all those moments when the Earth was mentioned. Could any of that be related to what Sailor Venus planned to check on? Mercury tried to catch Mars' eye, knowing that the dark-haired sailor soldier of flame had observed it as well. Maybe Sailor Mars would be able to subtly hint to her at what was going on, if she knew anything. Sailor Mercury didn't want to involve the princess in her own concerns. They were here to protect her, after all.

Lady Azure... Mercury. He closed like a shell, his shoulders stiffening. Nephrite had this gift where most of what Zoisite would say to tease him would backfire.

“Lady Emerald probably caught your eyes the first time you saw her. I am not as quick to jump in a potential relationship as you are.”

He noticed too late how his words were nor denial, nor agreement and inwardly cursed himself. He was not bewitched. He was not in love, or he didn't think he was, but he was indeed curious and strangely attracted to her. She balanced high intelligence and elegance, which Zoisite could only respect her for. To say he was infatuated with her, however... they were not there, yet.
Yet. More like never.

“What is it about them? Even Jadeite seemed interested.”

They shouldn't be talking about them. They were the cause of this, were they not?

When they'd all finally followed Beryl to the war room she glared at them angrily. She had been kept waiting, and even worse yet, she had to go find them. That was unacceptable. "Now let us prepare plans for war." Beryl started, but, as she was preparing to continue to talk to them about making war plans, she looked over at Nephrite and Zoisite who were having a conversation quietly off to the side. "Excuse me gentlemen." Beryl said even more angrily, "Is there something you'd like to share with us? Clearly it must be very important since you are not paying attention to anything I've said!"

When Beryl addressed him, Nephrite’s good humour and mood vanished. What was it about this woman that made his spine crawl? There were so many times where he was tempted to talk back or just up and leave, but he didn’t. He turned his attention to her, a blank, unreadable mask slid in to place as he kept his mouth shut.
 
You’re doing this for the Prince. He reminded himself over and over. His life means everything, it is your duty and privilege to protect him. It wasn’t just Endymion but he stayed for his brothers-in-arms as well.
 
You’re doing the right thing, he thought. Nephrite had been used by Lady Emerald just as Zoisite and Jadeite had been used by their two Lunar women.

Zoisite's mood shifted to something somber, Beryl's voice bringing chaos in the relaxed state of mind he was starting to have. The doubts came back, the whispers about the Lunarian were now stronger and Zoisite bowed politely in front of her.

"Forgive us, Lady Beryl."

He should have been able to make up any lie to give her, something about strategy and the upcoming battle, but it stayed stuck in his throat. He was nauseous. Something about her. She was their leader now that their prince was acting foolishly and for this he would follow her anywhere, he respected her. Then why were his guts telling him he hated the very presence of this woman?

"It will not happen again."

He assured, straightening up to look at her.

The two Shittennou stopped when Beryl spoke. Zoisite apologized for both of them and promised it would never happen again. She was in charge and they all knew it, some of them still seemed to be unhappy about it, but the believed she was right and that was very important. "Now that I have your attention." Beryl started, "What do we think our plan should be when we finally get to the Moon Kingdom?" Beryl knew that the Shittennou were smart military minds, ready and prepared to protect their prince at all costs. They would all be able to come up with a plan. One that would surely win them the war.

Artemis glanced up at the sun one more time as he was waiting for Venus to notice him. That tiny black spot, it just didn't seem to go away. Was it really there or was it not? He really hoped it was not a problem with his eyes. A cat with bad eyesight - Luna would never let him live that down.

As expected, it didn't take very long for Venus to catch the drift. As she made her way past him, he caught her nod and quickly followed her to a more quiet area of the gardens. He glanced around to make sure their conversation would not be overheard. Luna had mentioned something about rumors - they surely did not need new ones started right here.

"Good morning, Venus! Somehow the Princess looked a little more drawn into her studies than usual. Did Mercury manage to pull a miracle or something?" he said with a laugh, in a possibly hopeless attempt to put his partner at a relative ease. He knew she already had concerns of her own about this whole situation and he didn't want to worry her further, especially since he was unsure if there was actually good reason to.

Either way, it couldn't be helped. "Um..." he hesitantly began. "I wanted to ask if you have spoken with Kunzite recently. Has he perhaps shared any news about his home planet? Is everything alright over there?"

"There's just something I wanted to check up on, no need to worry," he finally attempted to reassure her.

It felt like his body was being ripped to shreds, but in a tingling way - not as painful. He couldn't breathe for ten long seconds, but when he could, he opened his eyes to see a sight beyond his wildest imaginations. It had actually worked; he was on the Moon.

Alabaster columns framed the perfect picture before him, the image nothing like he could have ever dreamed: green fields stretching out as far as the eye could see, colored with thousands of flowers in full-bloom; a fountain in a crystal clear pool bubbled water up to fall in sheets around a beautiful sculpture, but what caught his eye was beyond anything grown or created, for beyond all this he could see the dark of night dotted with thousands of stars. In the middle of it all, seeming to float above the fountainhead, was a crescent-shaped orb, blue and green in the light of the sun, and without being told he knew it had to be the Earth. He took two halting steps forward, as though testing the reality around him; his boot scuffed hesitantly on the marble floors, and immediately voices burst around him.

"Who goes there?!"

"Intruder!" 

Endymion turned quickly to see two armed guards running towards him - he braced himself, readying to run, and immediately thought better of it. Relaxing, he showed them his empty hands and waited to be apprehended; with luck, they would question him before locking him away, and he could warn them all of the impending battle. 

As the pair of guards neared and slowed, he put his wrists forward, inviting manacles if they were necessary, and calmly stated, "I am Prince Endymion of Earth, and I wish to speak with Queen Serenity."

OOC:

Kunzite kept his expression placid as Endymion spoke, criticizing their choices. As much as it killed him inside to be so divided from his best friend, Kunzite knew that one day, Endymion would understand. Perhaps now the purpose behind this war was unclear, but Kunzite was positive that someday soon, Endymion would thank them for it.

Endymion left, and for some odd reason, Kunzite felt as if it were the last time he would ever see his prince. The empty ache in his chest faded at Beryl's arrival, and his brain switched to a different gear. He bowed respectfully, one arm across his chest with the other behind his back. "Lady Beryl, we apologize for your wait and greatly appreciate your patience," he said, praying that would be enough to stall her wrath.

Their group of five continued on to the war room, and that was when Kunzite remembered the ribbon still clutched tightly in his hand. Falling behind, he opened his palm and examined the wrinkled piece of red satin. It was crumpled and torn in places, but still one piece all the same. Looking up, Kunzite spotted a servant coming in their direction. He raised a hand to stop her, and she waited patiently for his request. Kunzite paused, his clutched fist hovering above the servant's cupped palms.

Something deep, something hidden, told him not to throw away the ribbon.

And so Kunzite drew his hand back and dismissed the servant, quickly catching up with his shittenou. Without giving it another thought, Kunzite shoved the ribbon back into his pocket and turned his mind to the task at hand.

War.

After shooting Nephrite and Zoisite a reproachful glare, Kunzite began to form a strategy out loud.

"The Moon Palace is mildly guarded. I have no doubt that after receiving word of our arrival, the queen will be able to quickly assemble her army and dispatch them. This means we must pursue a quick, aggressive strategy. No sneaking, no being careful. The majority of our army should be sent first, going head-to-head with the moon's forces. The four of us," Kunzite paused, glancing at his men, "and you, my lady, will remain behind. We will take on the sailor senshi, and leave the final destruction of the moon up to you."

"Of course it would help. The Queen has to know about all sorts of subjects to be a good ruler. If you know about Earth when you take over for your mother, then you could start building connections to it. Maybe you and Prince Endymion can make a treaty or something." It was good that Princess Serenity was taking interest in other planets, at least. It might make politics and diplomacy a little easier for her to grasp later, something the Queen of the Silver Millennium needed to be good at to maintain the Solar System's peace. 

Jupiter looked back at her own book, a guide on the species of animals on Earth. It was from Venus judging by the text on the front, so it would be more accurate than usual because of that planet's alliance with it. Earth itself had a variety of creatures to match the different environments, and some had even been tamed for work use. She looked up briefly as Venus stood and walked over to the nearby bushed, claiming to be checking on something. She didn't think much of it though, knowing that Venus would tell the rest of them about it if it were important.