The Quest - Seven
Title: The Quest
Description: Take 10 college students, some of whom love each other, hate each other, or don't know the others exist. Add some magical powers, some interference from Pluto, and shake well. What do you get? A modern day quest for Endymion and Serenity.
A/N: Current main project. See Author's Notes for Chapter One for an extended disclaimer.
Seven
Mina sat on her bed, balancing her budget and trying to figure out how much she could afford to spend on a new dress for the winter formal. She frowned at the total showing up in the Excel worksheet, then went up the column to see where things could be trimmed. She might be able to make things work if she subsisted on ramen and cereal for two weeks and if she cut Starbucks from her diet entirely.
Thinking about food reminded her that she was supposed to eat dinner on time for once, since they would all be meeting at Kent’s later. She went down to the kitchen and warmed up a bowl of chicken noodle soup. After bringing it upstairs, she realized she had forgotten a spoon.
When Mina got back to her room, she was greeted by the sight of a small white cat hunched over the soup bowl, busily devouring its contents. It didn’t stop eating, even when she moved closer to it.
“How did you get in here, kitty?” she asked, glancing over at the closed window. Maybe it belonged to someone visiting one of her sisters; it looked too clean to be a stray, and it had a dark blue collar around its neck. She was about to go into the other rooms and ask whose cat it was when she noticed the golden patch of fur, which bore a distinct resemblance to a crescent moon, on the cat’s forehead.
She reached for the cat’s identification tag, which was shaped like a golden heart. Her full name was engraved on it.
“Well,” Mina said shakily, “it’s a good thing no one here is allergic to cats.”
She sat down on her bed until she felt calmer, watching the cat finish her dinner and wondering if she should be annoyed at this highhandedness. When the cat sat back and started grooming itself meticulously, she smiled. Finally, she got up to see if Ana Cecilia, who was planning to be a vet, was in her room. The cat jumped onto the floor with a thud and meowed once, loudly, before following her into the hallway.
When Mina poked her head in the open door, the cat did the same. “Ana Cecilia?”
The brunette girl was sitting on her bed with Rita, and they were watching a rerun of Charmed. She looked up with a smile and hit the pause button. “Hi, Mina. What’s up?”
“My, um, aunt gave me this cat as an early Christmas present. She said it used to be a stray. Do you think you could take a look for me?” She crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping her story sounded convincing.
“Sure.” When they came into the room, Ana Cecilia scooped up the cat and examined it carefully. “Oh, what a handsome kitty. Do you have a name yet?”
“Not really…I was thinking of naming it Artemis,” Mina said on the spur of the moment, even though she didn’t even know its sex. Ruefully, she thought, ‘Too much Quest-related stuff on the brain.’ But somehow, the name seemed oddly fitting.
The cat meowed again, as if acknowledging that it, too, knew its name.
“Looks good. Healthy. He appears to be well socialized, at least around people, but I would wait awhile before taking him around any dogs. It looks like he’s about a year old.”
“Are you sure it’s male?”
She looked slightly offended. “Yes, of course.”
“And it’s a definitely a cat?” Mina couldn’t help asking.
“Yes. What else does it look like to you?”
Rita asked, “Mina, is everything okay? You’ve been acting kind of strange lately…”
“Oh yeah, everything’s fine. Just, you know… guy problems,” she improvised.
“With Alex?”
“Who? Oh, no, not him.” Alex was her date for the charity gala.
The other two girls stared at her. Rita said disbelievingly, “What? You spent practically all of September figuring out how to make him ask you to the gala, and now you can’t even remember who he is?”
Those were the days, Mina thought nostalgically. When she had nothing more to worry about besides boys and grades and whether she would be able to graduate on time after switching majors so many times.
Rita continued, “Something seriously weird is going on with you, Mina.”
She looked back helplessly, trying to come up with a convincing explanation. “Mental breakdown” was a bit too dramatic, and she thought Nevan might want to make use of that one. He had sent her an unfathomable, three-word text a couple nights ago: “It’s the stars.” She still hadn’t figured it out yet.
Rita snapped her fingers. “Oh, I know! It must be another guy. Someone you’re more into than Alex. Is it that guy you were asking me about - Kenton Jamison?”
“What?” she stuttered nervously. The cat, who had been purring contentedly in her lap, took the opportunity to nip at her fingers lightly.
“Kat knows him. She told me she saw the two of you hugging by the archaeology museum on Thursday night, when she was on a date with Alan.”
“No! We weren’t hugging! It’s nothing like that. We’re just friends.”
‘More like we went through the fastest and most effective way to develop claustrophobia together,’ she thought sourly.
“Well, if you don’t want him, I’ll take him,” Ana Cecilia offered.
Mina looked up in shock. “Kent??”
“No, Alex. I don’t even know this Kent person.”
“Sure, go ahead,” she said absently. Shortly afterwards, she left to buy litter, cat food, a litter box, and a lot more toys than she’d been planning on getting, glad of the opportunity to escape the speculative look in Rita’s eyes.
*****
Kent surveyed his crowded apartment bewilderedly. He couldn’t remember a time when there had been so many people in it, but everyone seemed to have found a seat and to be enjoying themselves. Ami, Serena, and Lita had squeezed onto the living room couch together, while Jayden had claimed his ergonomic desk chair. Nevan was sprawled on the carpet next to the coffee table, which made him glad he’d vacuumed ahead of time. Rei was also seated on the carpet, but much more decorously. Zane was perched on the kitchen counter, levitating random objects and talking a mile a minute to Darien and Mina, who were sitting at the kitchen table.
Just after eight ten, he cleared his throat and Mina rose from her chair.
“So, we’re all here-”
“Tonight we should-”
They stopped and looked at each other in confusion.
“Ladies first,” Jayden suggested, reaching out to grab the cookie Zane was levitating from the box and pop it into his mouth.
“Hey! That was mine!”
“Finders, keepers.”
“Ahem.” When they fell silent, Kent gestured for Mina to continue.
“So we have two main items on the agenda for tonight. The first is to discuss what new powers everyone’s been developing, and the second is to talk about the two artifacts - the scroll Ami and Zane found, and the book Kent and I…found.”
Nevan chuckled. “You mean the one you guys stole from the museum?”
Mina’s cheeks flushed. “It wasn’t stealing. Exactly.”
“Ami and I didn’t ask permission from the archivist either,” Zane piped up, getting up to grab a handful of cookies “the old-fashioned way.”
Kent poured himself another glass of orange juice and drawled, “I feel so reassured that we’re following your moral code.”
“We could give them back,” Ami spoke up. “We don’t really need the scroll anymore, and perhaps we could make a photocopy of the book.”
“That’s easier said than done.” Jayden adjusted his spectacles, rubbing at the slight red imprints on the bridge of his nose. “Can you imagine walking up to someone and saying, ‘Hey, we just found this book in a time and place we weren’t supposed to be - under the freaking museum, after it was closed. And while we’re at it, please take this scroll we borrowed without asking.”
“What if we go when the archives are closed-”
“If we’re caught, we could get into serious trouble for breaking into a university building. Especially one that also houses the admissions office and all the student records.”
Thoughtfully, Zane pulled out the green stone that had been attached to the scroll and turned it over in his fingers. “Maybe we’re meant to keep them. And I’m not just saying that to make my conscience shut up. This is zoisite - and if I’m not mistaken, that pink stone you’re holding is kunzite, Kent. They match the names Trista used when she gave us our powers.”
“What use would the university have for an old book and a scroll that makes no sense, anyway?” Lita wondered.
“They could be valuable historical artifacts.”
“Yes, but someone already knew where these things were - they sent us to find them,” Darien pointed out. “It’s not like they’ve been completely lost and forgotten over the years and we’re the first people to rediscover them.”
Jayden gave a slow nod of agreement. “From the questing lore, these types of objects come to those that are meant to find them. And if they prove unworthy or the time comes when they’re meant to pass into other hands, they just sort of… disappear.”
“All right. I guess if everyone’s okay with it, we can hold onto the things for now and see what happens,” Mina said. When they nodded, she asked, “So book and scroll first, or powers?”
“The book!”
“Powers!”
“Book!”
“I’d like to see the scroll.”
“Calm down,” Kent spoke loudly over the din. “We’re going to get to everything tonight, so there’s no need to be impatient.”
“I’d like to see everyone’s powers,” Serena said wistfully. “Nothing exciting has happened to me yet.”
It was enough to make those curious about the book acquiesce gracefully.
“Who wants to go first?” Kent asked, a teasing glint in his eye as he added, “I think we’ve had plenty of demonstrations from Zane already.”
While he made a face, Mina offered, “I can, but we’ll need to turn off the lights for the full effect.”
Kent got up to switch them off, and Mina concentrated briefly before a round globe of ochre light appeared, cradled in her hands.
Those who hadn’t seen it happen before murmured in surprise, and Serena leaned closer to touch it with a tentative fingertip. “It’s warm!” she exclaimed.
“But not hot? You’re not burned, are you?” Mina asked anxiously. She let the light dissolve, and Kent turned on the lights again.
“No, I’m fine,” the other blonde reassured her. Her cerulean eyes were dreamy as she said, “When I touched it, it kind of made me think of things that I really like. Sunshine, blue skies, chocolate, my family. And things I really - well, wanted, I guess, at some point in my life. This doll from when I was about five years old, a kitten, and my high school crush.”
She blinked once, then blushed slightly when she realized all eyes were on her. “I guess that sounds really weird.”
“I usually don’t see anything like that when I cast the light,” Mina said. “But this time, I feel like I saw some of the same images - sunny skies, red roses, and a boy I don’t know.”
“What did he look like?” Serena asked curiously.
“Mm… spiky black hair, dark eyes. And he had really long eyelashes. He was pretty cute.”
“That sounds like Seiya.”
“Well, maybe it isn’t that farfetched. After all, you were supposed to have received the powers of Venus. She was the Roman goddess of love and beauty,” Rei pointed out.
“And she was associated with things like desire, pleasure, honor, and grace,” Nevan added.
“Hm. I guess that means I’m more than just a human flashlight,” Mina said, looking both pleased and wary at the prospect.
Kent glanced over at her. “It was certainly a very useful ability to have down in those tunnels.”
She smiled back. “So was the power to work metal.”
“Wait, are you telling me-” Zane broke off when the stainless steel bowl on the kitchen table melted into a puddle, then reformed into its original shape. “No way. I want that one!” he looked at Kent beseechingly.
“Is that how you got back into your room the night you were locked out?” Nevan asked, and Kent nodded.
Zane’s green eyes widened. “Think of all the places we could get into with that!”
Rei frowned reprovingly. “These powers should be used for good, not evil.”
He swiveled around to stare at her. “Who said anything about evil? I just want to get a look at those top-secret engineering labs. And by look, I really mean just look. Can you imagine what they keep in there?”
Even she had to smile at his rapturous expression.
Ami, who had been taking assiduous notes, looked up. “So speaking from a strictly utilitarian point of view, Kent could theoretically get us into any place on campus we needed to go, and Mina would be able to guide us in places without electricity or where we wouldn’t want people to be able to see electrical lights from the outside. Along with these thoughts or sensations the light invokes in people who touch it.”
Kent frowned pensively. “Perhaps something else, as well. I don’t know too much about metalwork at present, but Trista mentioned that Lord Kunzite had once crafted a sword for the leader of Serenity’s guard, or something like that.”
“That would be really cool. I’d like a sword,” Zane said.
“I wouldn’t mind one, either,” Darien added. Nevan, Jayden, and Lita nodded in agreement.
Kent laughed. “Two things: first, I don’t know if I actually know how to make a sword, even if Lord Kunzite could. We don’t know how this all works, exactly - I might have the raw ability, but not the knowledge or experience. Even if I managed to make one, it might break at the first use. Second, do any of you know how to use a sword without hurting yourselves?”
Jayden sighed and conceded, “You have a point. But at the same time, I have to say that if we’re going up against hellhounds, a sword sounds a hell of a lot more useful than talking sneakers.”
Rei smiled. “Or chalk, or a water bottle.”
At the others’ looks of confusion, Jayden elaborated on his ability to animate inanimate objects, and the trigger words he and Rei had discovered.
“Maybe you’re supposed to ask them for advice. That seems to be what Trista was saying,” Kent recalled.
He scoffed. “Right. The thing offered advice of its own accord when it first woke up. It told me to give it a bath and that it wanted to meet other shoes - girl shoes.”
Lita leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand. “Maybe you need to animate something older than a sneaker or a water bottle, something that’s been around since the university was founded. I bet it could tell us some really interesting things.”
A flurry of excitement broke out.
“There are at least a couple buildings around that are that old-”
“Right, but everyone’s going to notice if something as big as Charon Hall starts talking and moving around. Especially if there are still people inside.”
“Maybe at nighttime, if it’s a class building and not a dorm?”
“How about one of those plaques that says ‘Such-and-such was dedicated by so-and-so on this date?’”
“That might work.”
“A painting? Is there one of Luna and Artemis around somewhere?”
“A statue…” Mina froze as she thought about the fairy statue, with which she’d had two strange encounters already. She wondered what it would say if Jayden awakened it.
Nevan let out a startled laugh. “Saiph says that in times past, Lord Jadeite was followed by an army that was both fearless and bloodless, but never wordless.”
Rei murmured, “Well, they’re certainly right about the ‘never wordless’ part.”
Zane glanced around the room once, as if tallying up its occupants again. “Who exactly is telling you this, Nev?”
The brunet sighed. “Saiph. He’s one of the stars in the constellation Orion. Apparently Lord Nephrite’s power involved talking to the stars.”
Kent raised his eyebrows. “You mean you hear them talking to you inside your head? All the time?”
Nevan sat up straight, glaring back at him. “Hey, I already spent a lot of time over the past week wondering whether I was going insane. If Jayden can talk to sneakers, why is my talking to stars out of the realm of possibility?”
“Well, we can all see and hear the objects Jayden animates, but it’s a little harder to think of talking to the stars, especially if none of us can hear them,” Darien explained. “After all, they’re balls of plasma millions of miles away, aren’t they?”
Mina put a soothing hand on Nevan’s arm. “Maybe a demonstration would help.”
“What did you have in mind?” he inquired.
Her smile contained more than a touch of deviousness. “Well, if the stars know so much… surely they can tell you something about someone in this room that no one else would know about.”
Nevan’s midnight blue eyes blinked once, twice, then took on a slightly gazed cast as the information overload began. “The summer he turned seven, Kent refused to eat anything except Lucky Charms - for breakfast, lunch, and dinner - and he hasn’t been able to eat them since. Just seeing them box makes him feel like puking. Zane cried when he found out Santa Claus isn’t real, and he still feels a little sad when he sees Santa Clauses at the mall. Jayden has read every X-Men comic ever published. When he was younger, he wanted to be Professor X. Darien rereads his anatomy and physiology textbooks for fun. Rei is allergic to kiwi. Serena remembers the name of every rabbit she’s ever owned - all seventeen of them. Mina was recruited by several colleges for volleyball. Ami likes going to aquariums. Lita’s favorite flowers are daisies.”
He was grinning when he finished. He was starting to see some of the upsides to this talking-to-the-stars thing.
Zane, in the meantime, was looking up at the ceiling nervously. “You mean they’re watching us all the time? And they can hear us talking right now?”
“Yes, they can hear us talking now, and no, they don’t watch us all the time. We’re not interesting enough for them to be watching us every minute of the day, but if they wanted to, they could.”
Lita laughed at the grimace on his face, while Jayden looked pleased. “You said something about an army before, right? That sounds impressive.”
Some of the others did not look as thrilled. Mina commented, “You know, for something that wasn’t supposed to put us in danger, things are starting to sound awfully warlike.” She shrugged, her expression rueful. “Oh, well. Does anyone have any other powers to show off?”
Darien spread his hands. “Apparently I can make roses turn from yellow to red. I didn’t bring them with me, but they’re really not all that interesting to look at.”
“You forgot the part about how they grew killer thorns,” Zane muttered.
“Right. And didn’t Trista say something about how we would need them when we met the hellhounds?” Jayden asked.
Zane shook his head. “I don’t know, man. Those things are sharp, but if hellhounds are what I think they are, unless they’re deathly allergic to roses, I don’t see how flowers are going to be of much use.”
“Speaking of hellhounds…can we all take a look at that scroll, Ami?” Mina asked.
The other girl nodded and passed the item to her left. It made a slow circuit of the room - they had all read the lines already, but feeling the texture of the parchment and seeing the gracefully inked lines gave them the odd feeling that they were holding something from another age.
As they passed it along carefully, Zane said, “From what we’ve come up with so far, it seems like part of the Quest involves finding a crystal that’s buried deep within the earth, somewhere near the elusive ‘brewers of fine mead.’ Along the way, we’re going to have to face a dragon or some hellhounds - most likely acting as the guardians of said crystal. I guess our major tasks right now would be to find the spot where the crystal is hidden and figure out how to take on those creatures.”
With a soft flump, Nevan fell back from a sitting position so he was lying down on the carpet. “So we get to choose between dueling a dragon or hellhounds? Not a great choice.”
“But why are we looking for a crystal?” Serena asked. “Aren’t we supposed to be finding Serenity and Endymion?”
All of them looked as confused as she did. “I don’t know. Perhaps the crystal will tell us where they are,” Ami guessed.
“It could be the case. Maybe the book has a clue in it,” Zane suggested.
The others agreed, and Kent produced the book. He asked Mina, “Would you like to do the honors?”
She nodded and took the slim volume from him. She untied the thin gray ribbon, but paused before opening it to the first page. “The book seems old, but it’s in excellent condition, and it has the most gorgeous illustrations inside. From the inscription on the flyleaf, we think it was written and illustrated by Luna Georgiadis, one of the university’s founders, for her daughter, Diana.”
“You mean it’s a children’s storybook?” Jayden asked in surprise.
“No, I think it’s more than that,” Mina said slowly. “More like a legacy. But…maybe it’s best if I just read it out loud. It won’t take too long.”
She cleared her throat, her attention so focused on the elegant script that she didn’t notice everyone leaning forward expectantly, even the most reluctant among them.
“This is the dedication: My darling daughter - this is the story you have always known, the one that must never be forgotten.”
The sound of the page turning was a whispery crinkle that should have been noiseless in the crowded room, but instead seemed as loud as a shout.
“In the Age of Silver, the Moon Kingdom’s most precious treasure was not made of gemstones. Nor could it be measured in ingots of metal or glass, or wielded in a war. It was not a crystal, though there were those who thought the future of the Moon and the entire Silver Alliance lay in crystal.
“This was a treasure beyond price, and yet it circulated freely among the people of the Moon. It was not sealed away in vaults or hidden from sight. But it did live in the palace. And oh, what a beautiful palace it was, all graceful arches and curving lines, balconies covered with flowering vines, and the whole built of a flawless white marble that never showed a single blemish. The treasure was even lovelier than the palace.
“She was the Princess Serenity. She was possessed of the purest soul and the most generous of hearts. Her compassion knew no bounds, and the world was brighter when she smiled, for she truly saw and brought out the best in all those she met. It was believed that she, of all people, was the one who could bring peace to a troubled world.
“Although Serenity walked freely among her people, she was not without protection. She had four loyal guardians who had been at her side since her birth - one each from the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. They were women as young and beautiful as Serenity herself, who served as models of wisdom, power, spirituality, and strength. Even more importantly, they were sisters of the heart.
“From a young age, Serenity had heard the stories about Earth. It was said that those who dwelled there lived short, violent lives full of hatred and sorrow and all the baser emotions, and did not know how to exist in harmony.”
“Are you sure this is a children’s storybook?” Zane whispered under his breath.
Mina ignored him and continued, “But night after night, she could see the lovely blue sphere from her window, and something deep within her yearned to see the forbidden planet. She snuck away from the watchful gaze of her guardians and down to Earth with a willing heart and an open mind. On her first trip there, she met a Terran who was handsome, strong, and kind. Endymion was the prince of his people, destined to lead them to war, but he wished for peace and prosperity above all else.
“The beauty of their inner visions drew these two young people to each other, and as often as she could, Serenity would come down from the Moon to spend time with Endymion in Elysion. When they discovered her missing, her guardians would come down to retrieve her. They gave her terrible scoldings and did their best to keep her on the Moon where she belonged, but in time they, too, found themselves drawn to the Earth and its people. As the princess and the prince fell in love, so too did Serenity’s guardians with the four lords whose duty it was to watch over Endymion.
“During this time, however, the universe grew darker and darker, threatened by an ancient menace aided by the eternal enemies of humankind: avarice, envy, selfishness, and ambition. The planets of the Silver Alliance blamed the Terrans for this darkening, sensing that the source of the evil was located on Earth. However, they failed to recognize their own complicity: for centuries, they had watched disdainfully from above, never trying to understand the plight of the Terrans and blaming only them for the woes of the universe at large.
“The ancient evil, Metallia, was fed by these currents of dark emotions and aided by a young sorceress named Beryl. Beryl, who had been thwarted in her love for Endymion, felt the ashes of her love rekindle with bitter hate, and she wanted Endymion and Serenity to feel her pain tenfold. First, she stole the four lords from him, twisted them, and gave them back so altered that the hearts of Serenity’s guardians shattered.
“Beryl conquered the Earth, and Endymion was forced to flee to the Moon from those he had loved best. Warped by the darkness, the four lords served as the generals leading the invasion of the Moon Kingdom. They met their former lovers in battle, and none of them rose to return to their beloved charges, the ones they had placed above all else.
“Beryl struck down Endymion first, wanting Serenity to experience the pain of love being ripped away from her. As she held him in her arms, Serenity saw the loss of everything and everyone she loved, of the future she and Endymion had dreamed of and worked so hard to bring about. The queen of the Moon managed to seal away Metallia, but only at the cost of her final breath. Her dying wish was that one day, her daughter, her prince, and their courts would be able to begin a new life and build the beautiful world they had envisioned.
“And that, Diana, is the wish we must always work to fulfill.”
Mina let out a long, slow breath, and held out the book to show them the final illustration.
Ten figures stood together in a garden filled with red roses, and a silver crescent moon rose high in the sky above them. Although none of the faces were distinct, the artist had somehow managed to convey grace, beauty, strength, and power with the skillful strokes of her brush. The central pair shared a loving embrace, a red rose fastened in her flowing hair and another in his hand. The two to their right each held sheathed swords; their free hands were clasped between them. The next couple stood close together. He had his arm around her shoulder, while hers was tucked securely around his waist. To the left of the middle couple, two figures with long, wavy hair shared a kiss, and beside them, the male figure of the final couple cupped the cheek of his diminutive partner with a gloved hand.
They sat together in stunned amazement until Mina’s hand cramped and she gently closed the book and set it down on the coffee table.
“I’ve got to say…I feel kind of depressed now,” Zane admitted.
Nevan nodded emphatically. “How the hell did the little girl fall asleep after hearing that?”
Lita gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Eat another cookie; it’ll make you feel better.”
*****
After some more discussion about the more mysterious parts of the story, like what it meant to say the future of the Moon Kingdom lay in crystal, how they might locate the brewers of fine mead, and what other kinds of powers the rest of them would manifest, they decided to call it a night.
“I guess that’s about everything. Does anyone else have something they’d like to talk about?” Mina asked, yawning behind her hand.
Zane jumped to his feet, waving one hand wildly above his head. With the hours he was used to keeping, the night was just starting. “Speaking on behalf of the guys present, I think we need cooler names than Lords Whatsits,” he declared.
“That’s the first I’ve heard of it. What did you have in mind?” Kent asked.
Zane pointed at him. “You can be ‘Metal-Melter,’ and Jayden can be ‘The Animator.’ That has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”
Jayden gave him a double thumbs-down. “I sound like a Disney employee. No, a Disney employee would have a fancier, more cutesy title. I sound like a broke company’s employee.”
“Well, would you rather be ‘Sneaker Speaker?’”
“For the last time, it wasn’t just a sneaker!”
“If it’s between that, chalk, and a water bottle as your claim to fame, I would stick with the sneaker,” Nevan advised him.
“Nev, you could be the ‘Star Master!’” Zane continued enthusiastically.
The look on the brunet’s face was a mix of pain and confusion. “What, like the demented cousin of the StairMaster?”
“Hey, it’s difficult coming up with something to do with stars on the spot, okay? Astro Boy was already taken. Don’t be such a critic if you can’t come up with something original on your own.”
“I have no problem with Lord Nephrite. Really.”
“What about me?” Darien asked, who didn’t really want a new name but was feeling a little left out of the “Lord Something” loop.
“Probably ‘Roseboy,’” Jayden sniggered.
“Well…um…you can be… ‘The Gardener!’”
Kent couldn’t keep a straight face at the expression on Darien’s face as he said, “Congratulations, Darien. You are now a retired wrestler.”
“Or one that never had a snowball’s chance in hell to begin with,” Nevan replied. “And what are you going to be, Z?”
“I shall be…wait for it… ‘Zoisite the Magnificent!’” he announced grandly.
Jayden lost it and had to wipe tears from his eyes. “What, like the pharaoh that never was?”
“No, I’ve got it. He’ll be ‘The Tosser,’” Kent said, giving the title just a touch of a posh British accent.
Nevan choked on his soda while Mina, Lita, and Serena exploded in laughter. Ami, who hadn’t watched quite as many Hugh Grant movies as the rest of them, looked confused. Mina leaned over and whispered something in her ear, which made her giggle and blush at the same time.
Zane turned beet red. “All right, I get it. We’ll just stick with being named after rocks.”
*****
Description: Take 10 college students, some of whom love each other, hate each other, or don't know the others exist. Add some magical powers, some interference from Pluto, and shake well. What do you get? A modern day quest for Endymion and Serenity.
A/N: Current main project. See Author's Notes for Chapter One for an extended disclaimer.
Seven
Mina sat on her bed, balancing her budget and trying to figure out how much she could afford to spend on a new dress for the winter formal. She frowned at the total showing up in the Excel worksheet, then went up the column to see where things could be trimmed. She might be able to make things work if she subsisted on ramen and cereal for two weeks and if she cut Starbucks from her diet entirely.
Thinking about food reminded her that she was supposed to eat dinner on time for once, since they would all be meeting at Kent’s later. She went down to the kitchen and warmed up a bowl of chicken noodle soup. After bringing it upstairs, she realized she had forgotten a spoon.
When Mina got back to her room, she was greeted by the sight of a small white cat hunched over the soup bowl, busily devouring its contents. It didn’t stop eating, even when she moved closer to it.
“How did you get in here, kitty?” she asked, glancing over at the closed window. Maybe it belonged to someone visiting one of her sisters; it looked too clean to be a stray, and it had a dark blue collar around its neck. She was about to go into the other rooms and ask whose cat it was when she noticed the golden patch of fur, which bore a distinct resemblance to a crescent moon, on the cat’s forehead.
She reached for the cat’s identification tag, which was shaped like a golden heart. Her full name was engraved on it.
“Well,” Mina said shakily, “it’s a good thing no one here is allergic to cats.”
She sat down on her bed until she felt calmer, watching the cat finish her dinner and wondering if she should be annoyed at this highhandedness. When the cat sat back and started grooming itself meticulously, she smiled. Finally, she got up to see if Ana Cecilia, who was planning to be a vet, was in her room. The cat jumped onto the floor with a thud and meowed once, loudly, before following her into the hallway.
When Mina poked her head in the open door, the cat did the same. “Ana Cecilia?”
The brunette girl was sitting on her bed with Rita, and they were watching a rerun of Charmed. She looked up with a smile and hit the pause button. “Hi, Mina. What’s up?”
“My, um, aunt gave me this cat as an early Christmas present. She said it used to be a stray. Do you think you could take a look for me?” She crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping her story sounded convincing.
“Sure.” When they came into the room, Ana Cecilia scooped up the cat and examined it carefully. “Oh, what a handsome kitty. Do you have a name yet?”
“Not really…I was thinking of naming it Artemis,” Mina said on the spur of the moment, even though she didn’t even know its sex. Ruefully, she thought, ‘Too much Quest-related stuff on the brain.’ But somehow, the name seemed oddly fitting.
The cat meowed again, as if acknowledging that it, too, knew its name.
“Looks good. Healthy. He appears to be well socialized, at least around people, but I would wait awhile before taking him around any dogs. It looks like he’s about a year old.”
“Are you sure it’s male?”
She looked slightly offended. “Yes, of course.”
“And it’s a definitely a cat?” Mina couldn’t help asking.
“Yes. What else does it look like to you?”
Rita asked, “Mina, is everything okay? You’ve been acting kind of strange lately…”
“Oh yeah, everything’s fine. Just, you know… guy problems,” she improvised.
“With Alex?”
“Who? Oh, no, not him.” Alex was her date for the charity gala.
The other two girls stared at her. Rita said disbelievingly, “What? You spent practically all of September figuring out how to make him ask you to the gala, and now you can’t even remember who he is?”
Those were the days, Mina thought nostalgically. When she had nothing more to worry about besides boys and grades and whether she would be able to graduate on time after switching majors so many times.
Rita continued, “Something seriously weird is going on with you, Mina.”
She looked back helplessly, trying to come up with a convincing explanation. “Mental breakdown” was a bit too dramatic, and she thought Nevan might want to make use of that one. He had sent her an unfathomable, three-word text a couple nights ago: “It’s the stars.” She still hadn’t figured it out yet.
Rita snapped her fingers. “Oh, I know! It must be another guy. Someone you’re more into than Alex. Is it that guy you were asking me about - Kenton Jamison?”
“What?” she stuttered nervously. The cat, who had been purring contentedly in her lap, took the opportunity to nip at her fingers lightly.
“Kat knows him. She told me she saw the two of you hugging by the archaeology museum on Thursday night, when she was on a date with Alan.”
“No! We weren’t hugging! It’s nothing like that. We’re just friends.”
‘More like we went through the fastest and most effective way to develop claustrophobia together,’ she thought sourly.
“Well, if you don’t want him, I’ll take him,” Ana Cecilia offered.
Mina looked up in shock. “Kent??”
“No, Alex. I don’t even know this Kent person.”
“Sure, go ahead,” she said absently. Shortly afterwards, she left to buy litter, cat food, a litter box, and a lot more toys than she’d been planning on getting, glad of the opportunity to escape the speculative look in Rita’s eyes.
*****
Kent surveyed his crowded apartment bewilderedly. He couldn’t remember a time when there had been so many people in it, but everyone seemed to have found a seat and to be enjoying themselves. Ami, Serena, and Lita had squeezed onto the living room couch together, while Jayden had claimed his ergonomic desk chair. Nevan was sprawled on the carpet next to the coffee table, which made him glad he’d vacuumed ahead of time. Rei was also seated on the carpet, but much more decorously. Zane was perched on the kitchen counter, levitating random objects and talking a mile a minute to Darien and Mina, who were sitting at the kitchen table.
Just after eight ten, he cleared his throat and Mina rose from her chair.
“So, we’re all here-”
“Tonight we should-”
They stopped and looked at each other in confusion.
“Ladies first,” Jayden suggested, reaching out to grab the cookie Zane was levitating from the box and pop it into his mouth.
“Hey! That was mine!”
“Finders, keepers.”
“Ahem.” When they fell silent, Kent gestured for Mina to continue.
“So we have two main items on the agenda for tonight. The first is to discuss what new powers everyone’s been developing, and the second is to talk about the two artifacts - the scroll Ami and Zane found, and the book Kent and I…found.”
Nevan chuckled. “You mean the one you guys stole from the museum?”
Mina’s cheeks flushed. “It wasn’t stealing. Exactly.”
“Ami and I didn’t ask permission from the archivist either,” Zane piped up, getting up to grab a handful of cookies “the old-fashioned way.”
Kent poured himself another glass of orange juice and drawled, “I feel so reassured that we’re following your moral code.”
“We could give them back,” Ami spoke up. “We don’t really need the scroll anymore, and perhaps we could make a photocopy of the book.”
“That’s easier said than done.” Jayden adjusted his spectacles, rubbing at the slight red imprints on the bridge of his nose. “Can you imagine walking up to someone and saying, ‘Hey, we just found this book in a time and place we weren’t supposed to be - under the freaking museum, after it was closed. And while we’re at it, please take this scroll we borrowed without asking.”
“What if we go when the archives are closed-”
“If we’re caught, we could get into serious trouble for breaking into a university building. Especially one that also houses the admissions office and all the student records.”
Thoughtfully, Zane pulled out the green stone that had been attached to the scroll and turned it over in his fingers. “Maybe we’re meant to keep them. And I’m not just saying that to make my conscience shut up. This is zoisite - and if I’m not mistaken, that pink stone you’re holding is kunzite, Kent. They match the names Trista used when she gave us our powers.”
“What use would the university have for an old book and a scroll that makes no sense, anyway?” Lita wondered.
“They could be valuable historical artifacts.”
“Yes, but someone already knew where these things were - they sent us to find them,” Darien pointed out. “It’s not like they’ve been completely lost and forgotten over the years and we’re the first people to rediscover them.”
Jayden gave a slow nod of agreement. “From the questing lore, these types of objects come to those that are meant to find them. And if they prove unworthy or the time comes when they’re meant to pass into other hands, they just sort of… disappear.”
“All right. I guess if everyone’s okay with it, we can hold onto the things for now and see what happens,” Mina said. When they nodded, she asked, “So book and scroll first, or powers?”
“The book!”
“Powers!”
“Book!”
“I’d like to see the scroll.”
“Calm down,” Kent spoke loudly over the din. “We’re going to get to everything tonight, so there’s no need to be impatient.”
“I’d like to see everyone’s powers,” Serena said wistfully. “Nothing exciting has happened to me yet.”
It was enough to make those curious about the book acquiesce gracefully.
“Who wants to go first?” Kent asked, a teasing glint in his eye as he added, “I think we’ve had plenty of demonstrations from Zane already.”
While he made a face, Mina offered, “I can, but we’ll need to turn off the lights for the full effect.”
Kent got up to switch them off, and Mina concentrated briefly before a round globe of ochre light appeared, cradled in her hands.
Those who hadn’t seen it happen before murmured in surprise, and Serena leaned closer to touch it with a tentative fingertip. “It’s warm!” she exclaimed.
“But not hot? You’re not burned, are you?” Mina asked anxiously. She let the light dissolve, and Kent turned on the lights again.
“No, I’m fine,” the other blonde reassured her. Her cerulean eyes were dreamy as she said, “When I touched it, it kind of made me think of things that I really like. Sunshine, blue skies, chocolate, my family. And things I really - well, wanted, I guess, at some point in my life. This doll from when I was about five years old, a kitten, and my high school crush.”
She blinked once, then blushed slightly when she realized all eyes were on her. “I guess that sounds really weird.”
“I usually don’t see anything like that when I cast the light,” Mina said. “But this time, I feel like I saw some of the same images - sunny skies, red roses, and a boy I don’t know.”
“What did he look like?” Serena asked curiously.
“Mm… spiky black hair, dark eyes. And he had really long eyelashes. He was pretty cute.”
“That sounds like Seiya.”
“Well, maybe it isn’t that farfetched. After all, you were supposed to have received the powers of Venus. She was the Roman goddess of love and beauty,” Rei pointed out.
“And she was associated with things like desire, pleasure, honor, and grace,” Nevan added.
“Hm. I guess that means I’m more than just a human flashlight,” Mina said, looking both pleased and wary at the prospect.
Kent glanced over at her. “It was certainly a very useful ability to have down in those tunnels.”
She smiled back. “So was the power to work metal.”
“Wait, are you telling me-” Zane broke off when the stainless steel bowl on the kitchen table melted into a puddle, then reformed into its original shape. “No way. I want that one!” he looked at Kent beseechingly.
“Is that how you got back into your room the night you were locked out?” Nevan asked, and Kent nodded.
Zane’s green eyes widened. “Think of all the places we could get into with that!”
Rei frowned reprovingly. “These powers should be used for good, not evil.”
He swiveled around to stare at her. “Who said anything about evil? I just want to get a look at those top-secret engineering labs. And by look, I really mean just look. Can you imagine what they keep in there?”
Even she had to smile at his rapturous expression.
Ami, who had been taking assiduous notes, looked up. “So speaking from a strictly utilitarian point of view, Kent could theoretically get us into any place on campus we needed to go, and Mina would be able to guide us in places without electricity or where we wouldn’t want people to be able to see electrical lights from the outside. Along with these thoughts or sensations the light invokes in people who touch it.”
Kent frowned pensively. “Perhaps something else, as well. I don’t know too much about metalwork at present, but Trista mentioned that Lord Kunzite had once crafted a sword for the leader of Serenity’s guard, or something like that.”
“That would be really cool. I’d like a sword,” Zane said.
“I wouldn’t mind one, either,” Darien added. Nevan, Jayden, and Lita nodded in agreement.
Kent laughed. “Two things: first, I don’t know if I actually know how to make a sword, even if Lord Kunzite could. We don’t know how this all works, exactly - I might have the raw ability, but not the knowledge or experience. Even if I managed to make one, it might break at the first use. Second, do any of you know how to use a sword without hurting yourselves?”
Jayden sighed and conceded, “You have a point. But at the same time, I have to say that if we’re going up against hellhounds, a sword sounds a hell of a lot more useful than talking sneakers.”
Rei smiled. “Or chalk, or a water bottle.”
At the others’ looks of confusion, Jayden elaborated on his ability to animate inanimate objects, and the trigger words he and Rei had discovered.
“Maybe you’re supposed to ask them for advice. That seems to be what Trista was saying,” Kent recalled.
He scoffed. “Right. The thing offered advice of its own accord when it first woke up. It told me to give it a bath and that it wanted to meet other shoes - girl shoes.”
Lita leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand. “Maybe you need to animate something older than a sneaker or a water bottle, something that’s been around since the university was founded. I bet it could tell us some really interesting things.”
A flurry of excitement broke out.
“There are at least a couple buildings around that are that old-”
“Right, but everyone’s going to notice if something as big as Charon Hall starts talking and moving around. Especially if there are still people inside.”
“Maybe at nighttime, if it’s a class building and not a dorm?”
“How about one of those plaques that says ‘Such-and-such was dedicated by so-and-so on this date?’”
“That might work.”
“A painting? Is there one of Luna and Artemis around somewhere?”
“A statue…” Mina froze as she thought about the fairy statue, with which she’d had two strange encounters already. She wondered what it would say if Jayden awakened it.
Nevan let out a startled laugh. “Saiph says that in times past, Lord Jadeite was followed by an army that was both fearless and bloodless, but never wordless.”
Rei murmured, “Well, they’re certainly right about the ‘never wordless’ part.”
Zane glanced around the room once, as if tallying up its occupants again. “Who exactly is telling you this, Nev?”
The brunet sighed. “Saiph. He’s one of the stars in the constellation Orion. Apparently Lord Nephrite’s power involved talking to the stars.”
Kent raised his eyebrows. “You mean you hear them talking to you inside your head? All the time?”
Nevan sat up straight, glaring back at him. “Hey, I already spent a lot of time over the past week wondering whether I was going insane. If Jayden can talk to sneakers, why is my talking to stars out of the realm of possibility?”
“Well, we can all see and hear the objects Jayden animates, but it’s a little harder to think of talking to the stars, especially if none of us can hear them,” Darien explained. “After all, they’re balls of plasma millions of miles away, aren’t they?”
Mina put a soothing hand on Nevan’s arm. “Maybe a demonstration would help.”
“What did you have in mind?” he inquired.
Her smile contained more than a touch of deviousness. “Well, if the stars know so much… surely they can tell you something about someone in this room that no one else would know about.”
Nevan’s midnight blue eyes blinked once, twice, then took on a slightly gazed cast as the information overload began. “The summer he turned seven, Kent refused to eat anything except Lucky Charms - for breakfast, lunch, and dinner - and he hasn’t been able to eat them since. Just seeing them box makes him feel like puking. Zane cried when he found out Santa Claus isn’t real, and he still feels a little sad when he sees Santa Clauses at the mall. Jayden has read every X-Men comic ever published. When he was younger, he wanted to be Professor X. Darien rereads his anatomy and physiology textbooks for fun. Rei is allergic to kiwi. Serena remembers the name of every rabbit she’s ever owned - all seventeen of them. Mina was recruited by several colleges for volleyball. Ami likes going to aquariums. Lita’s favorite flowers are daisies.”
He was grinning when he finished. He was starting to see some of the upsides to this talking-to-the-stars thing.
Zane, in the meantime, was looking up at the ceiling nervously. “You mean they’re watching us all the time? And they can hear us talking right now?”
“Yes, they can hear us talking now, and no, they don’t watch us all the time. We’re not interesting enough for them to be watching us every minute of the day, but if they wanted to, they could.”
Lita laughed at the grimace on his face, while Jayden looked pleased. “You said something about an army before, right? That sounds impressive.”
Some of the others did not look as thrilled. Mina commented, “You know, for something that wasn’t supposed to put us in danger, things are starting to sound awfully warlike.” She shrugged, her expression rueful. “Oh, well. Does anyone have any other powers to show off?”
Darien spread his hands. “Apparently I can make roses turn from yellow to red. I didn’t bring them with me, but they’re really not all that interesting to look at.”
“You forgot the part about how they grew killer thorns,” Zane muttered.
“Right. And didn’t Trista say something about how we would need them when we met the hellhounds?” Jayden asked.
Zane shook his head. “I don’t know, man. Those things are sharp, but if hellhounds are what I think they are, unless they’re deathly allergic to roses, I don’t see how flowers are going to be of much use.”
“Speaking of hellhounds…can we all take a look at that scroll, Ami?” Mina asked.
The other girl nodded and passed the item to her left. It made a slow circuit of the room - they had all read the lines already, but feeling the texture of the parchment and seeing the gracefully inked lines gave them the odd feeling that they were holding something from another age.
As they passed it along carefully, Zane said, “From what we’ve come up with so far, it seems like part of the Quest involves finding a crystal that’s buried deep within the earth, somewhere near the elusive ‘brewers of fine mead.’ Along the way, we’re going to have to face a dragon or some hellhounds - most likely acting as the guardians of said crystal. I guess our major tasks right now would be to find the spot where the crystal is hidden and figure out how to take on those creatures.”
With a soft flump, Nevan fell back from a sitting position so he was lying down on the carpet. “So we get to choose between dueling a dragon or hellhounds? Not a great choice.”
“But why are we looking for a crystal?” Serena asked. “Aren’t we supposed to be finding Serenity and Endymion?”
All of them looked as confused as she did. “I don’t know. Perhaps the crystal will tell us where they are,” Ami guessed.
“It could be the case. Maybe the book has a clue in it,” Zane suggested.
The others agreed, and Kent produced the book. He asked Mina, “Would you like to do the honors?”
She nodded and took the slim volume from him. She untied the thin gray ribbon, but paused before opening it to the first page. “The book seems old, but it’s in excellent condition, and it has the most gorgeous illustrations inside. From the inscription on the flyleaf, we think it was written and illustrated by Luna Georgiadis, one of the university’s founders, for her daughter, Diana.”
“You mean it’s a children’s storybook?” Jayden asked in surprise.
“No, I think it’s more than that,” Mina said slowly. “More like a legacy. But…maybe it’s best if I just read it out loud. It won’t take too long.”
She cleared her throat, her attention so focused on the elegant script that she didn’t notice everyone leaning forward expectantly, even the most reluctant among them.
“This is the dedication: My darling daughter - this is the story you have always known, the one that must never be forgotten.”
The sound of the page turning was a whispery crinkle that should have been noiseless in the crowded room, but instead seemed as loud as a shout.
“In the Age of Silver, the Moon Kingdom’s most precious treasure was not made of gemstones. Nor could it be measured in ingots of metal or glass, or wielded in a war. It was not a crystal, though there were those who thought the future of the Moon and the entire Silver Alliance lay in crystal.
“This was a treasure beyond price, and yet it circulated freely among the people of the Moon. It was not sealed away in vaults or hidden from sight. But it did live in the palace. And oh, what a beautiful palace it was, all graceful arches and curving lines, balconies covered with flowering vines, and the whole built of a flawless white marble that never showed a single blemish. The treasure was even lovelier than the palace.
“She was the Princess Serenity. She was possessed of the purest soul and the most generous of hearts. Her compassion knew no bounds, and the world was brighter when she smiled, for she truly saw and brought out the best in all those she met. It was believed that she, of all people, was the one who could bring peace to a troubled world.
“Although Serenity walked freely among her people, she was not without protection. She had four loyal guardians who had been at her side since her birth - one each from the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. They were women as young and beautiful as Serenity herself, who served as models of wisdom, power, spirituality, and strength. Even more importantly, they were sisters of the heart.
“From a young age, Serenity had heard the stories about Earth. It was said that those who dwelled there lived short, violent lives full of hatred and sorrow and all the baser emotions, and did not know how to exist in harmony.”
“Are you sure this is a children’s storybook?” Zane whispered under his breath.
Mina ignored him and continued, “But night after night, she could see the lovely blue sphere from her window, and something deep within her yearned to see the forbidden planet. She snuck away from the watchful gaze of her guardians and down to Earth with a willing heart and an open mind. On her first trip there, she met a Terran who was handsome, strong, and kind. Endymion was the prince of his people, destined to lead them to war, but he wished for peace and prosperity above all else.
“The beauty of their inner visions drew these two young people to each other, and as often as she could, Serenity would come down from the Moon to spend time with Endymion in Elysion. When they discovered her missing, her guardians would come down to retrieve her. They gave her terrible scoldings and did their best to keep her on the Moon where she belonged, but in time they, too, found themselves drawn to the Earth and its people. As the princess and the prince fell in love, so too did Serenity’s guardians with the four lords whose duty it was to watch over Endymion.
“During this time, however, the universe grew darker and darker, threatened by an ancient menace aided by the eternal enemies of humankind: avarice, envy, selfishness, and ambition. The planets of the Silver Alliance blamed the Terrans for this darkening, sensing that the source of the evil was located on Earth. However, they failed to recognize their own complicity: for centuries, they had watched disdainfully from above, never trying to understand the plight of the Terrans and blaming only them for the woes of the universe at large.
“The ancient evil, Metallia, was fed by these currents of dark emotions and aided by a young sorceress named Beryl. Beryl, who had been thwarted in her love for Endymion, felt the ashes of her love rekindle with bitter hate, and she wanted Endymion and Serenity to feel her pain tenfold. First, she stole the four lords from him, twisted them, and gave them back so altered that the hearts of Serenity’s guardians shattered.
“Beryl conquered the Earth, and Endymion was forced to flee to the Moon from those he had loved best. Warped by the darkness, the four lords served as the generals leading the invasion of the Moon Kingdom. They met their former lovers in battle, and none of them rose to return to their beloved charges, the ones they had placed above all else.
“Beryl struck down Endymion first, wanting Serenity to experience the pain of love being ripped away from her. As she held him in her arms, Serenity saw the loss of everything and everyone she loved, of the future she and Endymion had dreamed of and worked so hard to bring about. The queen of the Moon managed to seal away Metallia, but only at the cost of her final breath. Her dying wish was that one day, her daughter, her prince, and their courts would be able to begin a new life and build the beautiful world they had envisioned.
“And that, Diana, is the wish we must always work to fulfill.”
Mina let out a long, slow breath, and held out the book to show them the final illustration.
Ten figures stood together in a garden filled with red roses, and a silver crescent moon rose high in the sky above them. Although none of the faces were distinct, the artist had somehow managed to convey grace, beauty, strength, and power with the skillful strokes of her brush. The central pair shared a loving embrace, a red rose fastened in her flowing hair and another in his hand. The two to their right each held sheathed swords; their free hands were clasped between them. The next couple stood close together. He had his arm around her shoulder, while hers was tucked securely around his waist. To the left of the middle couple, two figures with long, wavy hair shared a kiss, and beside them, the male figure of the final couple cupped the cheek of his diminutive partner with a gloved hand.
They sat together in stunned amazement until Mina’s hand cramped and she gently closed the book and set it down on the coffee table.
“I’ve got to say…I feel kind of depressed now,” Zane admitted.
Nevan nodded emphatically. “How the hell did the little girl fall asleep after hearing that?”
Lita gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Eat another cookie; it’ll make you feel better.”
*****
After some more discussion about the more mysterious parts of the story, like what it meant to say the future of the Moon Kingdom lay in crystal, how they might locate the brewers of fine mead, and what other kinds of powers the rest of them would manifest, they decided to call it a night.
“I guess that’s about everything. Does anyone else have something they’d like to talk about?” Mina asked, yawning behind her hand.
Zane jumped to his feet, waving one hand wildly above his head. With the hours he was used to keeping, the night was just starting. “Speaking on behalf of the guys present, I think we need cooler names than Lords Whatsits,” he declared.
“That’s the first I’ve heard of it. What did you have in mind?” Kent asked.
Zane pointed at him. “You can be ‘Metal-Melter,’ and Jayden can be ‘The Animator.’ That has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”
Jayden gave him a double thumbs-down. “I sound like a Disney employee. No, a Disney employee would have a fancier, more cutesy title. I sound like a broke company’s employee.”
“Well, would you rather be ‘Sneaker Speaker?’”
“For the last time, it wasn’t just a sneaker!”
“If it’s between that, chalk, and a water bottle as your claim to fame, I would stick with the sneaker,” Nevan advised him.
“Nev, you could be the ‘Star Master!’” Zane continued enthusiastically.
The look on the brunet’s face was a mix of pain and confusion. “What, like the demented cousin of the StairMaster?”
“Hey, it’s difficult coming up with something to do with stars on the spot, okay? Astro Boy was already taken. Don’t be such a critic if you can’t come up with something original on your own.”
“I have no problem with Lord Nephrite. Really.”
“What about me?” Darien asked, who didn’t really want a new name but was feeling a little left out of the “Lord Something” loop.
“Probably ‘Roseboy,’” Jayden sniggered.
“Well…um…you can be… ‘The Gardener!’”
Kent couldn’t keep a straight face at the expression on Darien’s face as he said, “Congratulations, Darien. You are now a retired wrestler.”
“Or one that never had a snowball’s chance in hell to begin with,” Nevan replied. “And what are you going to be, Z?”
“I shall be…wait for it… ‘Zoisite the Magnificent!’” he announced grandly.
Jayden lost it and had to wipe tears from his eyes. “What, like the pharaoh that never was?”
“No, I’ve got it. He’ll be ‘The Tosser,’” Kent said, giving the title just a touch of a posh British accent.
Nevan choked on his soda while Mina, Lita, and Serena exploded in laughter. Ami, who hadn’t watched quite as many Hugh Grant movies as the rest of them, looked confused. Mina leaned over and whispered something in her ear, which made her giggle and blush at the same time.
Zane turned beet red. “All right, I get it. We’ll just stick with being named after rocks.”
*****