---Omake Twelve: Kablooey!--- King Endymion was miserable. Yes, he was the king of Crystal Tokyo, but being a king didn't count for a whole hell of a lot when you live in a matriarchy. Neo Queen Serenity was the one who wore the pants in the family, and everyone knew it. Not only could she defeat the likes of Galaxia and Beryl, but with the centuries her powers and beauty only increased. King Endymion? He could throw flowers. His greatest claim to fame among the Court was that he once defeated a youma by delivering an introductory lecture to it on why it was wrong to attack a Bar Mitzvah that was so boring, and so bland, that the youma took the knife out of the young boy's congratulatory cake and took its own life rather than listen to him anymore. Rabbi Abramowitz and his thirteen year old son would surely have thanked him for saving the Jewish celebration, but they and the rest of the guests had fallen asleep halfway through his speech. It didn't help matters any that the king was constantly sticking his foot in his mouth. There was the time when, giving a speech to a group of foreign ambassadors from the Middle East, he told them that they were of vital importance to both the future of Crystal Tokyo and all of mankind because the Middle East kept the Near East and the Far East safely separated. Then there was the time a reporter asked him, as King, how he planned to help certain poorer families who were slipping through the cracks. His suggestion of having men fill in the cracks with cement to prevent further injuries to poorer subjects didn't go well at all. Then, there was his relationship with his wife. For years now, even before the birth of Chibi Usa, it felt as if she were just going through the motions with him. She hadn't loved him in a long time, and he knew it. She wanted something, and whatever it was he clearly wasn't fitting the bill. He could see it in her eyes; she yearned for something else, but what? He only wish he knew what was wrong. Feeling depressed, he left his royal palace to go to the next official function; a photo op at the International Children's Science Fair. ------ Mina-chan went into the large shrine to see her friend and the Kingdom's High Priestess, Rei. With her she brought her trusted advisor Artemis. "It's about time I had a part in one of these." the cat mumbled. "What?" Mina asked. "Oh nothing." Artemis said. "Mina, I know you're trying to cheer her up, but don't you think the 'Team Rei' T-shirt is a bit much?" "Well, I..." she stopped when she heard something a bit disquieting. Artemis' ears shot up as he too now heard it. As they got closer, they both realized it was the sound of someone crying. Silently the two snuck up to the room and looked in. There, kneeling before the shrine as she wept was Rei, a photo of Neo Queen Serenity on the altar. "Rei." Mina said as she knelt down by the High Priestess, "Rei, what is it? What's wrong?" "I... I can't do it anymore..." she sobbed, "All these long centuries, year after year, pretending all I felt for her was friendship, when I... I..." "Shhh..." Mina whispered as she hugged her friend, "I know how you feel about the Queen. Heck, all of us know about it (you're not all that good at hiding it, you know). But there's no way anything could ever come of it, Rei. She's married, remember? I mean, granted, King Endymion makes Dan Quayle look like Albert Einstein, but he is still the King and still..." "I... I know." Rei whispered as she wiped her eyes. Looking down at her wristwatch, she allowed a small gasp to escape. "Rei, what's wrong?" Mina asked. "Look at the time." she said, "We and the rest of the Royals have to make an appearance at the Children's Science Fair. You know how much the children look forward to seeing us there each year." Mina looked at her own watch and nodded, "Right." she said, "Come on, I'll give you a ride." ---At the Science Fair--- The science fair was packed with children from around the world, each displaying their own little projects to the judges. Ami was of course the host, as she had been for the past three hundred years. By her side stood Makoto, and as the two made their appearance the entire room broke out into fervent cheering for the two royals. The two had come out centuries earlier, and were among the best loved royal couples in Crystal Tokyo. Next entered Minako with Artemis and Rei. Again there was fervent cheering, but while the love of the subjects did cause Rei to crack a grateful smile, it couldn't lift the shadow of sadness over her heart. Then, to the sounds of trumpets, she entered; Neo Queen Serenity, with Chibi Usa by her side. The building practically shook to the deafening noise of clapping and screams of the crowd. Rei saw her Queen and froze; the Queen seemed to be almost as sad as she was. Neo Serenity turned her head to look at the Priestess, and in that moment Rei saw all the longing and loneliness she herself felt mirrored in her Queen's eyes. As the thunderous applause finally subsided, Endymion came in. After a few seconds of silence, the sound of crickets chirping could be heard from outside the event center. "Huh," the King said as he tugged on his tie, "No respect, no respect at all." ------ "And this is young Sara with her model volcano." one of the teachers present said. The young girl's eyes lit up with glee at seeing Neo Serenity up close like this. As the Queen noticed the child staring wide eyed at her wings, she smiled. "Would you like to touch one of them?" the Queen asked. The child nodded as she reached out an enthusiastic hand to feel the soft white feathers of the Queen's right wing. Endymion frowned; the kid had gotten farther with his wife inside of thirty seconds of meeting her than he'd been able to get with her in the past three weeks. He was bored of the event and annoyed by the fact that, not only was everyone paying more attention to his wife than to him, but no one was willing to explain to him why Mina-chan was wearing a T-shirt to the event that said ‘Team Rei.' As he was looking around absently, his eyes widened as he saw an exciting-looking exhibit on the other side of the event center. "Wow!" Endymion said with a smile as he came over to look closer, "A rocket-powered back pack!" "Yes King Endymion-sama." the proud young boy with the glasses said as Rei came over, "It took a while to perfect the thrust mechanism, but..." "ACME?" Rei asked in alarm as she saw the manufacturer's label on one of the parts of the rocket, "I've heard of those guys. Isn't that the American company under investigation for using dangerous explosives in most of their products and... Endymion, wha... What are you doing?" the Priestess asked as the King began strapping the rocket onto his back. "Relax." Endymion said, "I'm bored, and it looks like fun. Besides, it perfectly safe, right young man?" "Well," the boy began, "Actually, I..." "Wonderful." Endymion said without listening as he finished mounting it onto his back, "Now look Rei, I'm just going to take a quick spin around the convention center and back." "My King," Rei said pensively, "I wouldn't..." "Watch this." Endymion said as he flicked a switch at the side of the rocket. He stuck both hands out in front of him like Superman as the rocket began to rumble, expecting to fly safely around the Science Fair. Instead, the rocket launched him straight up, breaking the sound barrier as it crashed the King through the glass skylight and exploded nine seconds later once it reached ten thousand feet. The Queen, as well as the other royals, rushed over to the stunned Priestess and the young boy whose science project had just blown up the King. "What in the hell just happened?" Makoto asked. "Well," the young boy with the glasses said nervously, "You see..." "It was an accident." Rei said as she came to the aid of the small boy, "The King strapped a rocket pack to his back, and..." "I see." The Queen said somberly. She turned from the High Priestess of the Kingdom to address her subjects, "My people," she began, "King Endymion is dead. With you, I share in your sorrow at the death of the King. And, I'm sure you will all understand me when I say he will be missed." Chibi Usa turned to Luna, "Is she kidding?" the pink-haired youngster asked. Luna's response was to snicker. "However, there is one silver lining to this tragedy." The Queen continued, "For several years now, centuries even, I've been in love with another. However, the protocols of Court demanded I stay with the King, since a Royal divorce was unthinkable. Now that he is dead, however, I do hereby publicly proclaim before the entire Kingdom my love for the High Priestess Hino Rei." Rei's jaw dropped, "M... My Queen!" she stuttered out, "Have you taken leave of your senses? The subjects would never accept..." her voice was drowned out suddenly by loud cheering from all the subjects. Rei was taken aback as she looked out at the overjoyed faces of the subjects of Crystal Tokyo present. "You... You're all happy about this?" Rei asked. She'd been so forlorn for so long that she still couldn't believe that all her dreams were suddenly coming true. "I told you!" Minako shouted from the midst of the crowd, "All of us know how you feel about Neo Queen Serenity." "You're not that good at hiding it." one of the students in attendance said. The others in the auditorium nodded in agreement to the statement. Rei turned to Neo Serenity as tears of joy started to form in her eyes. "S... Serenity... I..." she was cut off as her Queen took her into her arms and kissed her passionately before the assembly, all of who applauded their approval. As they separated, Neo Serenity smiled upon her friend, fellow Senshi, and now lover. "Rei-chan," she cooed, "Wait here my beloved. I have something to do. I'll only be but a moment." With that she went back over to the boy with the glasses whose project had blown up Endymion and pulled him into a back room. Alone with him in the room, the Queen smiled broadly. "Good work Bernie." she said to the dwarf in the boy's school uniform and glasses, "Here's the money I promised you for making it look like an accident." "Sure t'ing yer Highness." the diminutive hit man said with a smile, "I hopes you an' da other lady are real happy t'gether." he said as he snuck out of the building, never to be seen again. Neo Queen Serenity watched as the door the fake student exited out of closed behind him. She then looked out at the audience, smiling as she gave a knowing wink before going back out to Rei to begin their new life together
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