The Gate

by Ninx

Jupiter stared at the stone in her hand. Starlight glittered faintly across its green surface, but otherwise, the stone was cold, dead. She examined the depths for any faint sign of life, but, as with the other times, there was nothing.

"I hope Endymion knew what he was talking about," she muttered to herself, then set the stone on the ground. Before her stood the Gates of Time, heavy and dark, no starlight scattered across their surface. She nudged the stone forward with her foot until it touched the Gates themselves, then backed off a few paces.

Pluto had only asked her one question before she'd entered the Annex to the Gates. "Do you remember?"

"I remember," was her reply. The heavy door had shut behind her, and she was left alone. Just her, the stone, and the Gates.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. For a moment, all was still. Then, lightning crackled across the pink roses of her earrings. A spark jumped from there, landing on metal of her tiara. From there it wreathed her head, a growing storm of blue and white, holding for just a moment.

She said no words, just extended her hands.

The lightning arced from her tiara, shimmered around her gloves, then jumped from there straight to the stone. She held the flow for ten seconds, then cut it off.

The stone shone for a moment with the electric charge, and then that, too, died on its surface. She waited, and watched.

A slight breeze stirred her hair.

The stone began to glow.

At first, its light was green, a bright, slashing color that made her shade her eyes. Then, the color and texture changed, becoming a velvety crimson. The color pulsed within the stone, and the breeze around her became a wind, pushing back at her. She crossed her arms over her chest, hands on each shoulder, and leaned into the blast. The red continued to pulse outward from the stone, concentric circles of power steadily advancing towards her. Then, just as they were about to reach her, the red power heaved itself upwards, and collapsed back into the stone.

A moment. A twinkle. And then, the stone was no longer there. In its place was a tattered, half-clothed man, shivering on the cold floor.

She stayed where she was.

The man gave a low moan, and shakily pushed himself upwards. His hair unfurled down his back, a red-brown that wasn't quite auburn. When he had made it to his knees, he turned to face her. The eyes in his face were brown, flecks of red dancing around his iris.

She crossed her arms over her chest.

Joints aching, he managed to get to a stand. His stance was shaky, and he made to lean against the Gates.

"Don't touch the doors," she said, voice rough. "They will freeze you."

He gave her a bare nod, and stumbled to the wall, where he leaned and just breathed. She still made no move towards him.

Then, when he was a little stronger, he looked at her again. His lips pursed, formed a word; he grabbed his throat for a moment, eyes wide. Then, in a voice scrapped over gravel, he managed, "Jupiter?"

Ah. So he remembered, too.

She moved now, lightning quick, and slapped him across the face.

"That's for the Moon Kingdom."

He stared at her in shock, and in his condition, was unable to move when the flat of her hand came around again, catching the other side of his face.

"That's for the Dark Kingdom."

One hand covered his chin and mouth, as if trying to somehow reach both cheeks at once. Again, in his condition, he wasn't able to defend when she stepped inside his guard, feet planted firmly, and grabbed both of his arms.

"This is from Endymion." Now, she pulled him into a rough hug, her arms tight on his back, his shaking in an attempt to clasp hers.

She held him there for a long moment, giving him time to get into the position where he could hold her as well. Then, she pulled away slightly, and her eyes met his.

Her eyes were not the hard, cold green they had been before, but softer. Her lips curved in a slight smile, and then, she leaned up and kissed him. Not a brief touch of lips, either, but as full a kiss she could give, lips half parted, mouth warm over his. It lasted a long moment as well, but for him, not long enough.

She pulled back now, and studied his face. His eyes were half-closed, his mouth slightly parted, and his skin was no longer quite so pale. She smiled slightly and whispered, "And that's from me."

"Welcome back, Lord Nephrite."