Destiny's Kiss

Chapter 9

By Corta Moon and Insanity's Namesake

Ohayo, here is Chapter 9 of Destiny's Kiss. Sorry it took so long to get out; I knew what I wanted to write, but I couldn't find the time to sit down and type it up. It's also kinda long, and I was writing it backwards: the ending first and then working my way up. It is harder to write that way, but I knew more of how to explain what I wanted to there. NEways, I've rambled on enough, so I'll shut up now. Enjoy!

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Silver Millennium

Earth

Castle Rosemon

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"I'm coming with you," she said stubbornly.

Bunny dropped the bow she had been greasing and swung toward her princess, hands on her hips. "No, you're *not*. Mel, we've been through this a dozen times already. As your bodyguard, it's my job to make sure that you don't get hurt. And that means no battles."

Angel stuck her lower lip out and pouted, looking very much like a young child who would have a tantrum if she didn't get her way. "I want to come. I'm an experienced fighter! I deserve the right to defend my kingdom!"

"That is very loyal of you, Angel, but unfortunately, I don't make these decisions. Your family doesn't believe you are ready to fight in a real full-blown war yet. It's not that they don't believe in you or are trying to take away your rights; quite the opposite. They are trying to protect you by keeping you away from this danger for as long as possible. You should be grateful that they aren't making you go out and fight when you could be killed."

"I don't care."

"Mel, you're acting very selfish. This isn't the Angel I know. The Angel that I pledged to protect should LET me protect her. I don't want you getting hurt. You're my friend, Mel, you're all the family I have now, and that means that I'll do all I can to protect you, forever. SO... no fighting."

"You can't order me around; I'm your princess!"

"I can and I will. Believe me, *princess*, your father has given me the authority to do *whatever* needed to keep *you* out of harms' way. Don't make me use it."

Angel's eyes widened in shock; "You wouldn't!" she gasped.

"Don't count on it," came the growled reply. "You're treading a fine line, Melody."

Angel sank back into her chair in defeat. 'You just wait,' she thought rebeliously, 'I'll be there. I'll be in the front lines in the midst of it all, and I'll show everybody!'

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Battlegrounds somewhere in Southeast Asia

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"Ug.." moaned Bunny as she wearily set up her tent for the night. She had the uncomforable feeling that someone was watching her, but she wasn't about to tell the others. She was probably just imagining things. "Kami-sama, I never knew teleporting to an area without a designated landing pad could be so draining! How long do we get to rest before we have to kick ass?"

"Tsk, tsk, such language from a lady!" teased Jadeite.

"On battlegrounds, I'm not a lady, I'm a knight like you," replied Bunny haughtily.

"I humbly beg your forgiveness, 'Sir' Bunny. We have tonight and tomorrow to rest before we have to hit the field and 'kick ass', as you so polietly put it."

"Two days?!?!"

"That's right!" Darien said, overly cheerful.

"Dare: you suck." Bunny stomped angrily into her tent. "I'm gonna get what rest I can!"

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Forest near the battlegrounds

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Angel swated at the mosquitoes buzzing around her and concentrated on setting up camp. "Ok, here's the plan," she said to Diana, whom she had brought along for comfort, if nothing else. "We wait until nightfall, then sneak into their tent camp and sleep there. When they wake up and find us there, it will be too late. We'll be here, and they can't exactly send us back, now can they?"

Diana mewed in reply, then nestled her small, fluffy pink body into the crook of Angel's arm.

"I thought not."

"So did I."

Angel jumped up and whirled around; "Who's there?" she called.

A large hand clapped over her mouth, muffling her scream. "Well, well, well, what have we here? Not Princess Amelodera, surely? The Queen will be very pleased with the results we can get from THIS rabbit." The man lifted her up, hand still covering her mouth, and waved a damp cloth under her nose.

The last thing Angel remembered seeing was Diana slipping softly away into the silent night.

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Bunny's tent

Battlegrounds

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Bunny couldn't sleep. Something was bugging her but she couldn't place it. Something was nagging her, like a friend was in danger but she couldn't protect her. Danger...protect...friend...danger...protect...friend.....

Angel!

Bunny's eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright on her sleeping mat. Something was wrong with Angel.

Quickly pulling on some leggings and a tunic, Bunny scrambled out of her tent and hurridly made her way to Darien's. Throwing open the flap, she stumbled inside. "What happened to her?" she gasped.

Darien was standing in the middle of the room, one hand on a chair for support. His face was ashen, as if he had just seen a ghost. Perhaps he had, going with the current state of things.

"Where is she?" Bunny demanded again. "What happened? I felt something: something happened."

"It's gone." His voice was so quiet and shakey that she had to strain to hear it, but it was clear. "The link is gone."

"What? What do you mean it's gone? Tell me what happened! Something happened, I know it did!"

"It's gone," he repeated.

"How can it be gone? What do you mean? Damnit, tell me what happened to Angel!" Bunny was sobbing freely now, tears were streaming down her face and her voice was breaking.

"The link is gone, vanished. Cut." He looked at her with sad, hollow eyes. "You know what that means."

Bunny looked at him through watery eyes and broke into a fresh flood of tears. She flew to Darien, taking refuge in his arms, and sobbed openly. He held her tenderly, comforting her; or perhaps it was her presence that was comforting him. Either way, both were emotionally unstable when Neflite entered the tent with a small pink bundle in his cupped hands. Looking from the tearful Bunny and the pale-faced Darien, he knew immediatly that something was wrong.

"Endy?" he asked worriedly.

Darien turned to him with a grief-stricken expression on his face. "Angel." he said simply. One word said it all.

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Somewhere in the middle of Nowhere

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"I think she's coming to," a strange and unfarmiliar voice said. "About time, too." The voice in the shadows laughed.

Angel groaned and eased herself up onto one elbow. "Where am I? Who are you?" she asked angrily. "And what do you want with me?"

The figure laughed again, the sound sending shivers down Angel's spine. "Oh, not much. You'll find out soon enough where you are. As for who I am, that really doesn't matter. I just have one thing to ask of you and then I'll be off."

"My friends will miss me. Bunny will come find me."

"Do you really believe that? Do you really think Bunny would come looking for you? Why would she want to do that?" the figure asked mockingly from the shadows.

Angel was taken aback by the questions. "O-of course she would. She's my friend. She cares about me."

"Does she really?" The tone in which this was said made Angel doubtful of her own words. "Are you so sure? What has she ever done for you?"

"Sh-she saved me from rouges in the city." Angel stamered uncertainly.

"Did she do that for you? Or for her reputation? Did she gain anything in the process?"

"Yes...she gained a position in the palace as my personal bodyguard," Angel gasped. "What are you trying to suggest?"

"So she gained power and praise from that act. Do you really think she did that for you? Do you really think she cares about you?"

"I...I don't know..." Angel sobbed, confused. "I really don't know what to think."

"What about your brother? Your family? Did they care about you?"

"Yes," Angel answered defiantly.

"Did they now?"

"They cared about me. They all loved me and... and..."

"What about your brother? What did they think of your brother? Did they love him?"

"Yes, they love him very much. He is the heir to the throne and they are very proud of him."

"Perhaps even more so than you?"

Angel gasped and gave a small sob, before pulling herself together and answering, "They did. They were always proud of him. More than me. I was nothing to them. I was the girl, the younger, the lesser. They wanted their older son to be heir to the throne, while I sat back and married whichever suitable duke's son they deemed wealthy and powerful enough. They never considered my feelings. They never believed in my abilities. Neither did Bunny."

"And you should be the one on that throne, should you not? You are much more worthy of such power," the hypnotic voice urged her.

"Yes," Angel answered in a flat, unfeeling voice, "I should be the heir to the throne. I am more deserving."

"Yes, you should. I can give you the power to overthrow your family and claim what is rightfully yours. Would you like that?"

"Yes. The throne is rightfully mine. Give me the power. I want the power to claim my throne and punish my family. Give me the power."

"As you wish...your Majesty." The figure in the shadows bowed, and then raised his arms. Pitch black energy collected in the palms of his hands. With a quick gesture,he swept his arms in a circular motion and sent all the dark energy at Angel. She gave a brief scream as pain engulfed her body, and then changed into an aura of power. She embraced the feeling as one might hug a friend, and it swallowed her whole in a swirling of black mist and clouds.

When the fog cleared, Angel was gone. In her place stood a young woman dressed in all in black. The mid-drift top was strapless and laced up the front, revealing much of her ample cleavege. A very short and unapropriate black skirt covered very little of what needed covering. High-heeled boots were laced up to her knees and a gold spiral armband adorned her upper arm. Waist length blond hair was pulled into two french braided pigtails, each with a black ribbon wound around the braid in an intricate pattern. An opal was embedded in the center of her forehead and glowed with the erie black light of negative energy. The most amazing part of her strange atire was the pair of large black feather wings protruding from her back.

The figure stepped out of the shadows and bowed, kissing her hand. "Welcome to the Negaverse, Dark Angel." said Aaleric of Andromida.

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END

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MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...yes, I know I'm evil. In case you're wondering, the opal in her forehead is a part of her connection with the negaverse. There are times, especially in the manga, when the generals have their respective stones embedded in their foreheads. Beryl always has her stone on her tiara type thing. I wanted to make the distinction; and I have this thing with people having things on their foreheads. I know, this was a little like Birth of Wicked Lady, but I couldn't help it. It fit so well!

A bit of clarification on the broken link part: if it gets cut, there are only two options for what happened to the other person; they are either dead (depending on how strong the link is, the other person could die too. This is true of Serena and Darien's link, but not of Angel and Darien's. Soul mate links are usually stonger than links between siblings.), or they are corrupted. I didn't put this above because it would give it away, and I LOVE suspense. I always try to write cliffhangers. You've probably noticed.

Anyways, Corty-chan will be writing the next chapter. Flame or praise me at sailor.serenity@verizon.net or her at Moonie_Girl_Corty_Chan@hotmail.com.

Ja ne!