Both Kali and Rei exited the prison through the make-shift entranceway and found themselves back outside. To Rei’s surprise they were standing at the base of the cliff, just below the palace.
That stairway… it actually goes through the cliff? Rei looked to the exterior climb of stairs to her left, confirming her suspicions. She then cast a backward glance into the Hell hole she had recently been freed from. So that’s why I never saw the prison during my trips here! It was sealed up within the base of the cliff!
“It feels good to get out of there, doesn’t it? I’d give you a chance to rest if I could, but unfortunately my squad is scheduled to head out for the city immediately,” Kali informed the Martian leader. They turned their gazes to the city. “Although it appears that your forces have already occupied the majority of the city, your soldiers are still standing amongst Baroach’s. It is our intention to force the traitors from our home entirely.”
“You mean you intend to slaughter them all? They were your people once as well.” Rei pointed out.
“Our people...? I don’t think so. What you are referring to is the genetic ties between us, but on Uranus, bloodlines only go so far. What determines ‘family’ for us is measured by a person’s loyalty. In short, we have no use for traitorous scum.” The woman’s voice was filled with intense loathing at the last remark. “We allowed them into our city, and did everything we could to promote a peaceful co-existence precisely because they were once our people. We gave them their chance, and this is how they decided to waste it. That’s why... we’re going to take back our home by any means necessary! If the enemy chooses to stay and fight, then so will we! My comrades will not back down. However… if they choose to retreat, then that will also be satisfactory.” Kali stressed. “If it turns out that there will be bloodshed today, it is because they desired it.”
So that’s how it is... This time Rei had heard the regret underlying the woman’s hardened tone.
“As soon as the situation within the city stabilizes, we’ll draw the battle away from civilian homes. We’ll join up with squad A and begin a final siege of the palace.”
Rei was slightly confused. “Why aren’t you attacking the palace first? It’s just up there.”
“...Because we could encounter a problem of reinforcements. It would be to our advantage if we scared the ones from the city off first. If they run back home and tell the others not to go, then we’ll only have to worry about the soldiers in the palace.”
“Meaning, you plan to isolate the battle to only one front.”
“Exactly.”
“Let’s say that your plan works. When you return to the palace, how do you expect to get in? I mean, do you expect Baroach to let you walk in through the front door?”
“Pretty much. I mean, he really has no choice in the matter,” Kali quipped. “It doesn’t take a genius from Mercury to realize that a planet’s palace is the most defended structure on any given planet. In Uranus’s case, the palace’s main defence system stems from the spells engraved on the walls at its front entrance. But without Uranus’s sword, they cannot be activated. The leader of squad B is currently in possession of this sword, if you get what I’m saying.”
“I might have heard something about it...” Rei resisted the urge to snort. “But you would still have to deal with the guards there. He has quite a few of them, and they’re stationed in every corridor.”
“I know. Squad B infiltrated the palace some time ago. We’ll just have to deal with it when we get there.”
“I suppose...”
She noticed her comrade’s hesitation.
“If you’re worried about the other diplomats, I really wouldn’t worry about it too much. We’ve already made arrangements for Squad B to remove them from the zone of conflict before the battles begins.”
“Oh. That’s good.” Actually, she was more worried for Baroach’s soldiers. If a fight broke out, she seriously doubted that Ami and Makoto would sit around and play prisoner. “As for the situation at hand now, do you wish for me to alert my troops once we arrive at the city limits?”
“Why not do it now?” Kali suggested. “It would make things quite a bit easier for our small force to infiltrate if there is already some chaos when we arrive.”
“Are you serious?” Rei resisted biting her lower lip, and instead frowned. “Is it even possible that my whistle will reach them from this distance?”
“Sure. In fact, I’m willing to bet my life on it!” She saw the Martian arch an eyebrow. “You see, my squad was ordered to break into the prison, but we couldn’t use conventional methods. We needed to use explosives. As you can see, they detonated right there. But if I had it my way, I would have directed the explosion at a difference place.”
…
“Sir Kali, the devices have been hooked up and are ready for detonation upon your order!” A soldier reported. The woman had been looking thoughtful as she scanned the side of the cliff base.
“Excellent, then we’ll--”
Wooooooooooooosssh…
The addressed commander immediately fell silent. Her green eyes then narrowed for a moment in deep concentration, completely ignoring the soldier that had just reported to her. Rather than becoming offended by this action, the man instead watched the commander curiously.
‘Is she reading the wind?’ He guessed. He had heard about this from a fellow in the other squad. Among the three commanders (excluding the traitor Baroach), it was rumoured that they all had the ability to read the wind. In the past, wind readings on Uranus were revered as a royal ability that only Lord Uranus could use. It wasn’t until after the former ruler’s fall that the belief was revealed to be false.
And, out of all the commanders, third ranked commander Kali Auranos was known to be the best of them.
“Sir?” He questioned.
“The explosives. Move them.” She ordered.
“E-Excuse me? But we just got them all hooked up!”
Again she ignored him. With her attention fixed on the nearly invisible entity, she traced the breeze’s path to a certain spot on the cave’s base. It was a quarter of the way around from where the explosives were originally set. There, the woman found a small crack in the wall where the wind persisted in travelling through.
‘Something has caught the wind’s attention,’ Kali realized.
“So I’ve changed my mind,” She shrugged at her subordinate. His jaw dropped. “Set the explosives over here!”
“Yes Sir!”
…
“Do you know what would have happened if I didn’t move the devices? You would have probably been critically injured in the blast because they were right outside your cell.” She grinned at the Martian’s stunned face. The blonde didn’t know it, but an explosion like that would have instantly killed Rei. “I changed my mind though because the wind told me to. Maybe it had taken interest in something or... perhaps a certain someone. That’s why I know your signal will reach them. C’mon,” She gestured up towards the cliff steps.
Wordlessly Rei followed the woman partially up the steps until the sea of red and green could be seen within the city square. As Kali had mentioned, there were blocks of black among the greater colors.
“Go ahead. Give it a try.” She urged.
The Martian was hesitant at first. But slowly, she raised two fingers to her mouth and then blew hard.
TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!
There was an anxious silence that followed as soon as the sound had left the woman’s lips. Rei could not bring herself to drop her hand, to allow her gaze to fall away from the unmoving sea of colors before her. She couldn’t remember the last time when she felt her faith waver so many times within a single day. Until this crazy adventure began, by principle, she had never placed too much faith in others, yet somehow here she was. The whole predicament gave her stomach butterflies.
Far away from where the two women waited, a lone breeze carried the sound to an intent listener.
Woooooooooooosh…
Tweeeet!
Hidden within the city, Zen started at the sound. What? He blinked, listening carefully. Again he heard the noise repeat itself. That’s…! So an agreement has been reached has it? It looks like it’s our turn now.
“Zen? What do you think you’re doing?!” Nozomi hissed at the man. “Aren’t we supposed to be UNDERCOVER? Calm down or you’ll give away our position, jeez…! What’s gotten into you? Woah—Zen! ”
The man jumped to his feet, not caring if anyone saw their position and commanded, “All forces, to battle!” He lifted his own fingers to his lips and imitated the signal for all their troops to hear.
TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!
Back where Rei and Kali patiently waited, they suddenly spotted movement. At first the Martian leader thought she was imagining things when she saw the slight changes, but the rising roar of battle cries was something that could not be ignored.
It reached them! She realized.
“Great job, you did it! Now, I think we should be heading down there ourselves. TO BATTLE!” Kali ordered her unit.
RAAAAAAAH!
Dumdumdumdumdumdumdum---
Not too long after the order had been given, the resistance group charged into the chaos and leapt to battle. Roars of surprise and outrage mingled as the two peoples clashed. However, the newly added numbers didn’t go unnoticed by Mar’s second commander.
“Wait, where are those soldiers coming from? Are they on our side?” Zen questioned. But they just looked like ordinary civilians! They’re all going into battle without armor!
“HAH!” Rei instantly hacked down five black soldiers around her. Before she could even think, one followed up from behind for an attempted ambush-- without any hesitation she also cut him down. The man screamed as his blood was spilt. Some of it had even sprayed onto her arm guards, rekindling a dormant thirst for blood that almost made the woman swoon. She didn’t notice it, but the crest on the Martian sword began to glow crimson. All of her senses became painfully acute, especially her hearing. She could hear the sound of a heart pounding wildly, but it was not her own. Her eyes followed the noise, only to encounter hundreds of others; she was hearing the heartbeat of every soldier on the battlefield. Rei gripped the sword a bit harder. It was the most intense battle she was involved in yet-- with much more at stake than her life, and the sword was reacting to it. She was beginning to see red. Killing, being a murderer--a blood thirsty barbarian, not all the rumours of Martians were untrue.
Trying to catch her breath, a part of herself asked,
“Why are you fighting?” She had always brandished her strength on the battlefield, eager to prove her worth over the years while she had been in training. She had injured many and sent even more to their deaths. But it never bothered her until now.
“Strength is everything!” That was the mantra that she repeated over and over to herself as a child. But is that really a justification for all the fighting? Rei dashed forward and cut down another string of soldiers, their blood splattered the ground shortly before their lifeless bodies followed. Mar’s sword, stained with their life, slurped it up and hungrily demanded for more. Within a blink of an eye the crimson energy from the sword sparked golden and enveloped the commander’s body. She was an uncontrollable, blazing force of nature now.
Bringing pride back to our people... Maybe we lost it all in the first place because we became too arrogant. But at least... we’ve never targeted civilians!
“YAH!” She took down another swarm of black metal, leaving one last soldier facing her blade. He had been knocked down in the scramble, but he was now at death’s door. He was faced by a God of Death, bathed in a fierce, golden aura. Rei’s narrowed amethyst eyes glinted dangerously as she held the blade to his bared throat.
Shnk.
“P-Please…” He gasped out. “S-S-Spare me…!”
Yet she continued to hold her sword at him. While his heart continued racing, others came to an abrupt halt. Without moving her eyes she could sense the enemy’s force being annihilated all around them. If this kept up there would be no survivors.
“There’s someone’s waiting for me back at home!” The soldier pleaded with a cracking voice. “Please! I want to see her again!”
That voice. He sounds like child. Rei calmly analyzed. But his words had awakened something else inside of her.
“I want to see her again...”
At a distance, Kali Auranos spotted the Martian. Her eyes were narrowed warily as the scene played out before her.
The Martian commander’s amethyst eyes glanced around her at her comrades with a detached sense of self. They all fought viciously, but they lacked the intense, blood-thirsty craving that she was inflicted with at that moment. In the back of her mind she knew why this was the case-- that she was perhaps not in her right frame of mind. It was like a slap from reality. The golden light around her faded, and when she blinked she was no longer seeing red. She was herself again.
“They’re retreating!” Someone bellowed.
“It appears that your comrades are abandoning you,” Rei panted between breaths. The youth was shaking badly now, he had cringed fearfully under her harsh tone. He didn’t know what was happening anymore.
I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!
Rei watched him for a moment longer.
“Go.” She finally said and moved the blade.
It took the young man a few seconds to realize what she had just said; dumbly he peered up at the strange woman, stunned. Was she really letting him go?
“What are you waiting for? Do you really want to stay around and wait until someone else kills you?” Rei growled.
“N-No Sir!” He jumped to his feet and broke out into a full sprint, running as fast from the battlefield as his legs could carry him. But before he was completely out of hearing range he shouted back, “Thank you Sir!”
Behind Rei, the woman heard another soldier’s final cry. Unconcerned, she slowly turned her head to see that Kali had finished with an enemy soldier from behind. The blonde had the same expression of calmness that mirrored her Martian counterpart as she withdrew the dagger from his chest.
“So, you decided to let him go. That was nice of you.” The third ranked commander stated as she began to clean her twin daggers of the mess. Many of the enemy soldiers had long fled by now, leaving only the stragglers or the foolishly loyal.
Rei glanced back down at Kali’s recent victim. For a split second the action had reminded Rei of the assassination within the prison cell.
“I can’t say the same for you.” Her words came out colder than she had meant them to.
The other woman shrugged. With one cleaned dagger she pointed down at the individual’s bottom half.
“He had already lost a leg. I found him dragging himself along the ground, gushing blood. He would have died soon anyway.”
Rei caught the blonde’s green eyes and saw an unsettling coldness in them that she hadn’t seen earlier. While she was rampaging on a killing spree, is that what she looked like?
“Right... It’s better than leaving him to die a slow, painful death.” She finally agreed. “You did what you thought was best.”
“Hmm…?” Kali arched an eyebrow at Rei’s surprising attitude. “You’re different.”
“What?”
“It’s Rei, isn’t it? You’ve changed.”
“I don’t understand what you’re getting at. What do you mean, ‘I’ve changed’?” She repeated, confused. Kali smiled like she knew a big secret that Rei didn’t, sending the Martian wracking her brains even harder. “Have we… met before?” She guessed.
“Nope.”
“Then what?” Rei was quickly losing patience. She did not like being toyed with.
“Or at least not formally...” Kali gave in. “I remember back when Ares used to visit here. He always brought his heir with him. That kid was you, wasn’t it? You were different back then, so that’s why I almost didn’t recognize you when we ran into each other earlier. It seems like you’re changing just like she did.”
“Haruka?” Mentioning the ruler’s name struck a chord in her mind. Haruka went to Neptune...
As a result, Rei barely noticed the shorter woman brush past her, or that a hand had touched her shoulder.
“It must be nice to have someone...”
“DON’T ATTACK THE CIVILIANS!”
The distressed order had drawn Rei’s attention to see her first officer bellowing a few meters away at their forces. The problem was painfully obvious; their forces were confused about what to do with the strangers.
Tweee---eeet!
“Stop this at once!” Rei marched towards her soldiers.
“Commander.” Zen breathed. His face was still red from all the fighting.
“These people have made a contract with us! They are part of the Inner Alliance!” She declared. Almost instantly there was a muttering amongst the troops. “For now, your orders are to continue to occupy the city. If enemy forces should foolishly try to invade again, crush them!” The crowd cheered at this. “Zen, bring your unit and follow me. We’ll head towards the palace.”
“Yes Sir. But if I may ask, whatever happened to that Baroach fellow?”
“That’s who we’re going to pay a ‘visit’ to.”
He got the hint. “Sir!”
(--?--)
“It appears that the war is coming to an end.” A woman softly remarked.
“…” But her short-haired companion remained silent in deep concentration.
(Palace of Uranus)
Within a small room, Baroach slowly stirred. Nothing was going the way he had planned. He had hoped everything would be settled with the Martian ruler, but his trump card, her maid, turned out to be more difficult than he had imagined. He never expected the woman to possess such an unnatural power.
With a groan the man pushed himself up to his knees, fully feeling the weight of his body; it felt like someone had taken a hammer to his head.
“D-Damn that woman…!” The former commander hissed, and cringed at the sudden brightness of room. After his eyes had adjusted he found the projector device beside him, ruined like its missing twin. “To think that I could be affected all the way back here…There’s no way she’s an ordinary servant!”
Just what is she?!
The Martian ruler would not cooperate without the maid. Faced with this disappointing failure, the man decided that perhaps he should take the barbarian’s advice after all-- perhaps he would have a better time ‘negotiating’ with the diplomats. There were just figureheads after all. If he held them hostage, perhaps their rulers would consider leaving the Inner Alliance and form a separate alliance with his party instead. Mars would be no match by itself. In fact, he may be able to be rid that pesky Goddess for good.
RAAAAAH!
Baroach was startled upon hearing the battle cry. His gaze flew to the rattling room door before he jumped up and raced to the balcony, and threw aside the curtains. The sheets flew up into the waiting wind, partially obscuring his vision for a second or two before it revealed a view of Caelus.
“What the…?” Baroach could only whisper. His confusion quickly transformed into horror when he saw that a sea of red and green had overtaken the city. There was no sign of his men anywhere.
“Impossible! Where is everyone? What happened?!”
The Martian leader… she was locked up in prison! Why would the army act without her consent? Or could it be…? Could that mean that she’s escaped? AH! He remembered what he saw in the wind chamber before his projection disappeared. Auranos is in the palace! The thought of his adversary troubled him. His men had beaten Celeste down-- he wasn’t even sure if she was still alive. Either way, Soren was sure to be furious.
I’ve got to get to the diplomats before he does! They were his only hope!
Baroach crossed the room to a bedside table where his communicator lay, and swiped it up. He’d issue a summons order to all of the guards in the palace.
“This is commander Baroach! Initiate phase C-- bring me Mercury and Jupiter’s diplomats!”
“…” Static was heard over the line.
“Hello? Hello?! Does anyone read me?”
“…” More static was heard before the channel abruptly died, leaving Baroach completely bewildered.
“Has everyone lost their senses?” No, he knew there was something terribly wrong. Baroach clenched his jaw in frustration. “Damn it all—I guess I’ll have to do it myself!”
Baroach picked up his sheathed sword, and crossed into the next room through a hidden passage.
(Servant Quarters)
“I see. So that’s what happened.” Soren said quietly, his eyes never leaving the unconscious woman. Minako found the man’s expression very difficult to read. “But if everything goes according to plan, then you have nothing to fear. As we speak, we’ve dispatched a second squad to the prison. If Sir Mars was really locked up in there as Baroach has said, then she’ll undoubtedly be rescued. As soon as that happens, and we’ve taken back control of the city, then our squad will move out to recover diplomats from Mercury and Jupiter. If we attempt it any sooner, then our cover will be blown. As for Celeste...”
“She really gave it her all, but... he just caught the both of us off guard…”
“A projection...” The second commander’s green eyes darkened. “Yes, I know. I saw it too. That was a despicable stunt that he pulled back there. I thought at the very least, he would fight his own battles...” Soren sighed, suddenly looking very tired. “I can’t even imagine how hard it must’ve been for Celeste.”
If it had been my way, I would have preferred it if she didn’t have to fight in this war at all. He had tried once to convince her otherwise once, but his subordinate adamantly refused to back down.
“That’s because...you all used to be friends, right?” The comment earned a surprised look from the man.
“How did you...?”
“Celeste mentioned it. If you don’t mind me asking, is it true...?”
“I suppose,” Soren reluctantly admitted. “Maybe at some point, we were... but now, I don’t know anymore. It all could’ve been an act from the start, or, perhaps something had changed him. I don’t know. Either way... this is the path that he chose to follow and I have a duty to uphold.”
“But when you say ‘duty’ that doesn’t mean killing him, does it?”
“...It could.”
“But he was your friend! You just said so yourself, you don’t even know why he’s doing it. I mean, I don’t really like him either,” He hurt Rei, “but why do you need to kill him? Isn’t there another way to win this battle?”
Celeste looked really hurt when he said those things to her.
“Lady Venus... I only said that it ‘could’ happen.” Soren smiled weakly. In truth, there was one other person who said something similar to him once before and she was now lying unconscious by his side. “I would have preferred it if the fighting could have been avoided entirely, but Baroach has repeatedly refused to listen to reason. This was not my choice, but his.” He paused. “I have been in many battles... I have seen many soldiers die, both comrades and the enemy. But today, if I am forced to fight to the bitter end, then...I may be forced to kill a friend.”
Soren... Minako understood the situation, but at the same time it made her feel very uneasy. If she was faced with the same predicament, she couldn’t imagine killing a stranger let alone a person that she loved.
Soren’s gaze came to briefly rest on Celeste.
Baroach... What you’ve done was unforgivable!
“Lady Venus, would you please come with me?”
Seconds later the infirmary door was flung open, and all heads turned to look and froze. Soren marched purposely of the room with a dangerous glint in his eyes. It was the first time many of his comrades had seen him this visibly angry, and they all knew that the second commander was formidable with or without his suit of armor.
“What are you all doing here?” Soren asked, crossly. “Didn’t I give the order to prepare for battle?!” The soldiers all flinched at his harsh tone, but in part they had also expected it. Word tended to spread quickly along the grapevine.
“Please forgive us Sir, but we didn’t disobey your orders.” one soldier boldly stepped forward, “All of us here are ready to do battle. But we’ve all received word that Sir Celeste was recently injured, so we’ve came to see if she was all right.”
“I see. Well, you all have nothing to worry about. She’s sustained minor injury, but with some rest she’ll recover.”
There was a collective sigh of relief from the group.
“Sir! Sir Soren!” A single soldier came scurrying around the corner and waded his way urgently through the group. Soren turned to face him-- the young man’s face was positively flush and excitement was brimming in his light blue eyes, so much that he didn’t take notice of the tense atmosphere. “Flay, Sir! From commander Kali’s squad B! I have good news! We have successfully released the civilians from prison and have liberated the city from Baroach’s control!” The soldiers around him cheered. “As of right now, the Martian ruler is with Sir Kali. Squad B is headed this way as I speak!”
“I see. So your mission was a success. Good work!” Soren contained his excitement, but it was the best news the second commander had heard in a long while. “Now it is our turn! Squad A listen up! We will split up into two groups! Unit one will follow me. We’ll battle through Baroach’s men and head straight for his quarters. Unit two will go and guard the diplomats. Once the diplomats have been taken to a secure location, you will come back and join the fight.”
“But Sir Soren, Sir Celeste needs to rest, doesn’t she? You just said so yourself.” A nearby man pointed out. There was a mutter of agreement amongst the soldiers.
His superior looked thoughtful. It was true that when squad A was split in half for these types of missions, the units would usually be led by Soren and Celeste. However, with these circumstances it would not be the case this time.
“Yes, you are you all correct. Commander Celeste will be sitting this battle out. That’s why, as a precaution, I will have two of you stationed here on guard duty until the battle is over. Unit two will instead depart under Lady Venus’s command.”
Everyone appeared to be shocked, but none of the troops protested. Instead, it looked as if they were talking it out amongst themselves. Lady Venus, on the other hand, couldn’t say that she felt as reassured.
“Me?! B-But I’m not a fighter,” Minako tried to reason. Seriously, I’m just a diplomat! “Isn’t there anyone else who can lead the unit?”
“Whether or not you choose to believe this, Lady Venus, I believe that you are the most qualified person here.” That comment instantly shut Minako up. “Strength,” the wind chamber, “courage,” her first meeting with the rebel group, “and heart,” their earlier conversation in the infirmary by Celeste’s side, “although it’s true that you may lack some experience of a squad leader, you have the skills to become one. The only one who can hold you back now... is you.” Soren untied a sheathed sword from his side, not Uranus’s sword, but his own, and held it out to the woman.
“Will you do it?” It was not a diplomatic question, but one between individuals.
Minako felt all eyes on her as she looked around at the men and women standing behind Soren. The majority of them were taller than her, just like on Mars. But unlike the Martian soldiers who wondered why the woman was even on the battlefield, these people were requesting her to lead them into battle.
What should I do? What would Rei do? The latter was clear as day, and so was her earlier promise to herself.
“...I want to be a little braver...”
“...All right. I’ll do it.” She reached out for the blade, and felt the weight sink in her hands. She had carried a sword on her before, but never in her hands until now.
It’s heavy...
“Thank you. You have the gratitude of me, and my soldiers.” Soren gestured for Minako to look around at all the eager faces. Now that she had made a decision, there appeared to be a general agreement amongst the warriors. “But now, we must make haste! I hope that we are both successful. Unit one, MOVE OUT!”
(Minako)
Soren’s unit quickly left the quarters, leaving unit two restlessly waiting for their leader to also give the order to move out. Although they had agreed to serve this new ‘commander’, many of the soldiers became slightly agitated by Minako’s silence. What was she waiting for? That said, one would think that someone would speak up. However none of them pushed the woman; due to their training, they knew better than to allow their emotions to disrupt the unity of their group (it would be foolish otherwise). Besides, none of them have ever been led by a diplomat before-- perhaps this was normal behaviour?
Let’s see… Minako thought frantically under the intense stares. Soren said my unit was supposed to go and rescue Ami and Makoto. The only problem is, I don’t have Ami or Makoto’s channel numbers, so I can’t just call them and ask them where they are. Darn it! Hmm…Oh, wait a minute! Now that I think about it... I don’t remember ever hearing anything that they were moved. So there’s a good chance that they could still be where they were originally taken-- which would be the diplomat quarters! That’s it!
Now, she just needed someone to act as a guide.
“You there...! It was Flay, wasn’t it?” Minako addressed the messenger boy from earlier.
“Y-Yes Sir... Is there something that I can do for you, Sir?”
“Do you know the way to the diplomat’s quarters from here?”
Realization dawned on the young man’s face. “Oh! Yes, yes I do!”
“Good, then you’ll stay by my side. Unit two... MOVE OUT!”
RAAAAAA!
Following after their leader, the soldiers made their way through a straight-forward, narrow passage towards the exit. And as they gained ground they passed the wind chamber and the remnants of Baroach’s ambush battalion from earlier that day. While it was true that there were many corpses in the room, the sheer amount that graced their sight up ahead put the previous number to shame; the large common room outside of the servant’s headquarters was littered by black, armoured corpses. It appeared that Soren’s unit had encountered some minor resistance on their way out, likely, Baroach’s men had been planning to ambush them, but it appeared that none of unit one had suffered any casualties. There wasn’t a single blonde-haired person amongst the bodies.
“There they are!” Reinforcements from the lower lands came streaming into the room. “Don’t let them escape!”
Minako only hesitated for a split-second this time. “Take them down!” She ordered with a hand gesture. The brave men and women who were put under her charge instantly roared approvingly and rushed forward to meet the enemy-- Minako inwardly flinched as the two parties met with a deafening clash of metal. It felt so surreal as the scene began to unfold before her very eyes; it was the first time she had ever given a command, the first time she had ever played the role as leader, and look at the result-- the sheer utterance of a few words hurled the room into a swarming chaos of clashing of swords and death. Minako suddenly found it very hard to swallow. The temperature of the room was skyrocketing, but so was the anxiety welling up within her.
What am I doing? Minako chided herself and shook her head. I-I have to fight too!
For a minute she had almost forgotten that she already possessed a weapon. Soren’s sheathed blade was tied tightly against her side. Trembling slightly, Minako curled her hand around the t-shaped hilt and sucked in breath. Bracing herself with a determined expression on her face, she pulled on it and withdrew the blade-- her heart pounded hard as the gleaming metal flashed as it was dragged at an agonizingly slow speed-- until finally, its tip fell out all at once and struck the floor loudly. The Venusian squeaked and then panted for breath. She had taken her second step to becoming a soldier, but she wasn’t quite there yet.
Minako picked up the sword, again feeling its weight in her hands. She didn’t have long to wait before the duties of her newfound occupation were tested. Across the room, an enemy soldier had recognized her as the leader who gave the original order to attack.
“So, you’re the squad’s commander? You don’t look like a leader to me, much less a soldier!” He taunted. “Why don’t we see if you can use that sword in your hands? HaaaaAAAH!”
In response Minako did the best thing she could-- she flung her weight into the attack swung the sword with both hands! However, to her error, she had swung too soon and the tip of the blade barely nicked his black armor.
Tzin—sh.
Oh no! Panic surged through her when she saw that he was still coming. Her heart was racing wildly in her chest. Maybe this time she had bit off more than she could chew?
I---
SLASH!
Thud.
The attacker’s body crippled to the ground. Behind him was Flay, the young man from her unit.
“It’s you.” Minako struggled to find the words to speak, but she could not. The blood from the black soldier was seeping into the carpet towards her, distracting her thoughts. More blood-- somehow her mind couldn’t get over it.
“If you don’t mind me saying this, you swung too soon, Sir.” The youth told her. “During a battle is not the best time to learn how to use a weapon, but if you intend to hold that sword and fight, then remember your range! That weapon has a length! Try not to swing it around unnecessary!” During his word of advice, the man was unaware of another soldier sneaking up from behind.
“Watch out!” Minako panicked and threw her hand out.
SHUP!
All three of them were frozen in separate poses. The man who had saved Minako had barely turned his head, but he was still breathing. It took a moment for either party to realize what had happened—it was the attacker who was dying! With his sword posed up for a downward slash, the man had met his end by an invisible force. Minako blinked once, thinking there was something in her eye.
What...?! Her hand trembled.
In her line of vision she could see a wavering narrow path that extended from her hand towards the man; the seemingly invisible force had pierced the soldier’s black armor through his chest like a spear. The Venusian’s stomach knotted at seeing the blood that now dribbled out through the spherical hole. Without thinking anything at all, the force finally relented and released the enemy. Minako shuddered when the body hit the floor, but, at the same time, she felt relieved. The invisible force that returned to her was not a foreign sensation. It was the same, warm, pressurized air that she felt earlier when she had met Soren’s group and within the wind chamber.
Thud.
The young man who had been spared slowly met her eyes in astonishment. “Wow… so... I guess you diplomats don’t actually need weapons to fight, huh? Nice job!”
His words of praise couldn’t have fallen on deafer ears. Minako was in a complete state of shock.
…I-I… I... killed someone... What would Mother say if she knew…?
She had seen many people die since she left home, and it sincerely frightened her every time she saw it happen. But this wasn’t something that she couldn’t turn a blind eye to. This time, it was the weight of her sin, not Rei’s or so many others who repeatedly committed the deed, that guilt-tripped her conscience. Not only had she ended a life, but was it truly respectable for someone from her planet to commit ‘murder’ as well? Minako felt herself balk at the thought.
I took someone’s life... I just murdered someone. It’s true that I come from Venus and that we take pride in calling ourselves the ‘people of love’, but… after going to all of these different planets and meeting so many people… in the end, we’re all just the same aren’t we…? We can get along. We can join together for a common cause! So… in the end…aren’t I, just me?
Venus Minako... What exactly was a name?
She tensed when another soldier’s dying cry pierced the area. “AHHHHHHHHH!”
I don’t want to kill people. I’d rather not do it, but… I will do what is necessary to protect my friends!
The air pressure around her grew thick again.
I can do this!
“This time, I’m ready.” She gripped the sword with both of her hands and threw herself into the action.
(Baroach)
Meanwhile, Baroach struggled through the maze of hidden passages. The cement floors, at some parts, were cracked, uneven and slippery. A few times he had nearly slipped. The man leapt down a mini-staircase of steps and continued to race down an evening elevation. From the sounds of it the battle had already begun –all along the way, amidst his echoing steps, he could make out muffled screams and the clanging of metal through the thick walls. Baroach stumbled and winced when a particularly loud scream close by echoed throughout the hollow space. He hesitated; as much as he would have liked to jump into the fray, he couldn’t afford to stop and give his troops his aid. Everything hinged on time, and he had very little left to spare--far back in his bed chambers, unit one had stormed the quarters and cursed to find it empty.
“No, I’ve got to keep going! I’m almost there!” Baroach assured himself that this would be best for his men as well.
How did it ever come to this...? No! I can’t be having second thoughts now!
He finally reached a dead end. Slightly out of breath, he pulled a small lever near his head-- the wall piece in front of him creaked before it finally slid aside. He was staring into the diplomat’s quarters now.
The former commander didn’t have to look far for the two women. As soon as he stepped inside the room he found his targets positioned in the far right-hand corner. The diplomat from Jupiter was seated on a chair in front of the desk, while her companion, the diplomat of Mercury, stood at her side. Baroach briefly glanced around the room, finding it strange that he could not sense any of his soldiers. Could this possibly be a trap?
Ami stared at the man, a little startled that he appeared from an entranceway in the wall.
“Sir Baroach... This is quite the surprise. What do we owe the pleasure of this visit?”
The man hesitated. He could feed them a half-baked excuse off of the top of his head, but at this point he didn’t possess the patience to do so.
“If you ladies would please pardon my intrusion, there is something that I need to speak to you about.” He stepped forward, and stopped again when they were a few, scant meters apart. “At this minute, as I speak, civil war has broken out on Uranus. Because of this, I would like to formally request that Jupiter and Mercury absolve their ties with the Inner Alliance and form a new alliance with my party instead.”
This drew suspicious glances from the two representatives.
“Do you understand what you are suggesting?” Ami calmly challenged. Beside her, Makoto’s eyes darkened a shade. “The Inner Alliance came here with the purpose of preventing the civil war by inviting one of the two warring factions into our treaty. The last we understood, the Martian leader left with the intention of negotiating with your leader, Sir Uranus. However, instead of returning with good news, you return with a new proposal of your own? It seems to me that there are a few problems here... First of all, you have said ‘my party’. Does this mean that there is a third warring faction and you are a spy, or are you simply a traitor who schemed behind a figurehead?” The man twitched. “Secondly, although there may be some rivalry between Uranus and Mars, the leader of Uranus would benefit more from having the Martians as their ally. Your proposal is the opposite of this, and suggests that the new Alliance should leave out Mars. Not only are you asking that Mercury and Jupiter abandon their ally, but this implies that if war should ever break out in the future we would also be forced to fight against them. Mars would be at a great disadvantage if they stood alone. On what grounds do you justify this new alliance?”
Baroach balked at this. The woman wasn’t the diplomat of Mercury for nothing-- she already had him mostly figured out.
“If you wouldn’t mind, we would like to discuss this with Mars, Sir Baroach. Could you please tell us where she is currently?”
“...”
“Please answer the question Sir Baroach.” Makoto jabbed.
Where’s Rei?!
Neither woman appeared ready to let the subject go. It was actually beginning to get on Baroach’s nerves on how much they all fawned over the Goddess. It reminded him of a blonde-haired girl that he once knew.
“If you must know, she is probably scampering about the palace as we speak. But what I’d like to know is the answer to my request.”
“I thought all negotiations must go through Sir Uranus.” Makoto pointed out with disdain.
‘Yes, well... I don’t think I need to say this, but Sir Uranus has officially hit retirement. I am the leader of Uranus now.”
“Is that so...? You sure don’t look much like a God to me.”
Baroach whipped out his sword and brought it inches from her face. The green-eyed woman looked at the blade with annoyance.
Ami was shocked. “What do you think you’re doing?” She forced out in a calm voice. Little did Baroach know, but her patience was a thread away from snapping.
“I’m extending my proposition. If you refuse to meet my demands-”
“You’ll do what?” The way he flinched almost brought a smile to Makoto’s face. “You know... after hearing what Lady Mercury has said, I think it was the latter option. You keep going on and on about Sir Uranus, but you don’t seem to have any problem taking over for him. Maybe... this entire time, you’ve been running the whole show! For all we know, you could have been plotting to overthrow Haruka ever since you joined her court.”
The comment struck a nerve.
“...Heh, you really think so? Okay, so what if I told you that I was...? What do you plan on doing about it?”
Spark! Cra----ckle!
He nearly let go of his sword when he saw Makoto’s glowing green eyes trained on him. Instead, he stumbled back. The air around the woman had begun to spark, and a strange green aura filled the air around her and her companion.
“I--I—what on Uranus is going on here?! You’re just a diplomat aren’t you? You can’t have that kind of power!” Baroach protested as though she were cheating. The other woman silently observed the man with repressed anger. “Tch. You’re all freaks! The maid, you diplomats and---!”
“Let me tell you something.” Makoto interrupted. He took another step back as she slowly stood up.
“Wait, you think someone of your rank can interrupt me?” The man automatically responded.
Spark!
Baroach instinctively shrunk back.
“As I was about to say Sir Baroach, you seem to be mistaken about a few things. We aren’t diplomats.” Makoto said deliberately slowly. “And that ‘maid’ that you were talking about really isn’t a maid.”
“What...? So what are you trying to say?!”
Ami stepped up beside Makoto “You appear to be confused. Perhaps I can be of some assistance. The young lady, who you claim to be a ‘maid’, is in actuality, Venus’s diplomat.”
“!” Baroach gripped his sword with indignant rage. “Venus’s…? But Mars is Goddess right? She’s immortal isn’t she?!”
“That is incorrect.”
“Rubbish!”
“For a make-believe God, you sure aren’t very bright.” Makoto chuckled.
“Grr… Enough of this nonsense! I don’t care who you are anymore, you’re all dead!” He whipped out his sword and charged Makoto.
Like you’d understand!
Tup!Tup!Tup!Tup!Tup----freeze
ShRooOoOoOoOom…
“H---uh? Uhh…uh-ah…” Baroach felt himself become paralyzed mid-strike. He was only half a meter from his target, but a blue aura had ensnared his body. With what little motion he still possessed, his craned his head towards the foe on his left-- Ami’s eyes were now glowing blue and, to say the least, she was mildly pissed off.
This power! Baroach struggled in its grasp. It’s just like with Uranus! She---she’s a….
“That’s enough.” Ami barely whispered the words when her aura shot up and instantly converged down towards the man.
…Goddess!
BLAST!
Whomp!
The force blew the man out of the room and slammed him up against the wall of the outer corridor.
“GaH!” A sharp gasp escaped Baroach’s throat--his senses were reeling. The next thing he knew, the presence dropped him and he crashed to the floor. He felt like he had been winded. With a groan, he lifted his head and spat the blood away from his cut lip. He was shaking with a mixture of fear and rage. The collision stripped him of most of his armor and he felt the beginnings of many bruises.
This can’t be! He unconsciously glanced around him and came to a worse, startling realization. Lying on the floor further down in the hallway was the soldiers he assigned to guard the area. Now he understood why communications weren’t going through.
Baroach was shocked when he saw one of the soldiers twitch and groan. Without a second thought, he ran to the young man’s side, flipped him onto his back, and lightly shook him.
“Hey. Hey, are you all right?!”
“Uuuugh...W-Who is it?”
“It’s—It’s Commander Baroach.”
There was somewhat of a delayed reaction. “Oh! Commander! My apologies Sir, but we have failed in our duty. The diplomats have escaped!”
“Escaped...?” Baroach slowly turned his head back towards the room. That was when he realized it.
No... They didn’t escape. They were waiting for me this entire time! That was it. Now, he could see everything very clearly.
It’s over.
“Sir? Commander Baroach! What should we do?” The other soldiers around him also began to stir- it appeared that the Goddesses had been merciful enough to spare them their lives.
“...Withdraw.”
“What?”
“I said retreat! Go back to the lower lands until further orders!”
“But Sir!”
Baroach grabbed his collar and stared him straight in the eye. “That. Was an order, soldier.” He dropped him, and watched as the others began to stand. “I will go alert the others of this as well. Your only duty now is to live!”
His men saluted him, and then went their separate way. Behind him, he could feel a watchful gaze. His instincts warned him of the impending danger, so he broke out into a full sprint-- there was still something he needed to do.
Kali!
In the room, Makoto and Ami sensed the man’s signature making a break for it.
“You were right Ami. It looks like the deal went sour after all. I had a feeling he was a scumbag from the moment he showed his sorry face!”
“Perhaps...”
“Hm? What do you mean, ‘perhaps’? You don’t agree?”
“At this point it hardly matters. We should just be grateful that Rei is all right.”
“That is, if he was telling the truth.”
Ami shushed her. “We don’t have to guess. Just give me a minute.” She threw out her energy and searched for their friend. It wasn’t long before she found the trail--she was surprised that is was closer than she had imagined.
She’s-!
Meanwhile, Baroach shouted retreat orders to whoever he encountered. He had yet to reach the main battleground, but he would shortly. That was, until he encountered another obstacle; a hidden door opened in the hallway up ahead and the Martian Commander charged out. An infuriating bolt of tension shot through both combatants’ bodies upon sighting the other.
No! Not now!
“It’s you again!” Baroach reluctantly was forced to stop his advance.
“I’ve finally found you...” Rei’s amethyst eyes glinted dangerously. “Traitor!”
The word echoed like a thorn in his side. It reminded him of all the good friends he had betrayed. However, it was exactly that motivation that fuelled his current quest.
“Please move aside. I have no intention of fighting you.”
“Tch. After everything you’ve done, you really think I’m going to let you go?! Haaah!” Rei raised her hand and crimson lightning thundered out-- the strands converged into the floor, spitting up carpet and marble as it barrelled towards the man. At the last split second Baroach rolled, hitting the opposite wall and hugged it until the fire passed. A roar boomed in the back hall as a backlash of wind whipped back in their direction. Nothing was spared. Everything in the corridor had been blown away or singed.
Crap. The Martian bit down thoughtfully when she saw the damage. Haruka wasn’t going to be very pleased when she saw this.
Her attention snapped back to her opponent. Baroach pushed himself from the wall and began to charge towards her with his blade posed. Rei, half-expecting a head on strike, was caught off guard when the man suddenly whipped a hand to his lips and whistled. The sharp noise hit her ears and made the woman wince. While she was distracted he tried to duck past her side, only to encounter a reflexive backward whirl of a blade aimed for the front of his head. Baroach heard it first and threw up his sword awkwardly to block the attack. The impact knocked him straight to the ground onto his back. He barely blinked when the enemy’s sword rotated in her grasp and dove for the middle of his chest.
Thu—crack..
Baroach rolled again, leaping back onto his feet by the time Rei had recovered.
“Are you just going to run away?!” Rei whipped her hand out and threw a concentrated ball of her aura; he evaded the first, but, surprisingly, came down on the second one with all of his might. There was a bang as the two forces collided.
“Wha--?!” Baroach was startled when the fiery ball abruptly broke upon contact and gripped down onto his sword. It was almost as if the thing had a life of its own- it disintegrated into lightning strands once again as it flashed through the sword and slithered up his arms, biting at the flesh beneath his armor. His senses told him he was being burnt alive. “Rrrragh----!!!!”
Unfortunately, his opponent wasn’t finished. Rei continued to unleash the shots at such a speed that the man could not do anything but attack them.
Crackle! Shrom!
Crackle-Blam!
“Aaah-!!”
Crackle-Blam!
“Geeeh....AAAhHH!”
Without realizing it, a reddish haze was beginning to cloud over Rei’s eyes. It was partially illuminated by the sparks that flew from the remnants of the man’s armor. Fire-- that’s what the sparks reminded her of. Fire, heat, red lightning, and screams of pain, they were all ingredients of an addictive drug that she couldn’t get enough of. She breathed in the scent of the fumes. After tasting it earlier in the battlefield, it was so much easier to cave into temptation the second time around. She could almost smile.
Despite the guilt-ridden voice inside, she instinctively continued to manifest the shots stronger and faster at an alarming rate.
Crackle-Blam!
Crackle, Crackle-Blam! Blam!
CrAcKle—BLAM!
“AHHHHHHHHHHH!” Baroach fell to one knee, the action prompting Rei to temporary postpone the torture. The man was badly shaken up. His entire body cried out in protest and involuntarily wept with bloody tears, but he found himself too shocked to move.
Why is she?! There was a golden aura surrounding the woman. The bloodlust in her eyes was maddening. If he had ever truly seen a blood-thirsty barbarian, this would be it.
“Hah...Hah...Hah...”
Is she really a human?
Baroach felt shivers run down his spine when she spoke to him in a calm, cool voice.
“Staring to regret your mistakes?” She asked. She didn’t know why she did- she just felt like it. “You know, no matter how hard you try you can never become a God. You can never become a great ruler like Haruka is, you two aren’t even in the same league.”
Baroach spat to the side, and scowled. “What’s with all of you? It’s like you obsess about her! Haruka this, and Haruka that. If you must know, I could care less about her!”
This drew a skeptical look from his opponent. “Hmm? Well, you could’ve fooled me. If this had nothing to do with overthrowing her, then why the elaborate plot...?”
“Hah. Your name was Rei, right? I heard that you were human. Is it true?” Judging by the displeased frown, he took her answer as a ‘yes’. “If it is... can I ask you something first?”
“What is it?”
“Have you... ever loved someone?”
Rei was taken aback. “Wha--? Don’t be ridiculous! Only a complete moron would actually believe in something like that!”
She threw another bolt of her power out and he smashed it down once again. “Rragh!” This act of defiance only served to anger the Martian further, but Baroach refused to relent to her unyielding nature. Something was changing. As the battle dragged on, he could feel out a marked drop in her strength. Rei unconsciously knew it as well, and it frustrated her to no end. Why couldn’t she concentrate? As her thoughts wandered further from the battle, the golden aura also began to recede and with it, so did her superhuman strength.
Slowly, the man was able to rise back onto his feet.
A complete moron, huh...? Baroach thought.
“Do you really think it’s stupid?! Rrgh!” He always knew when one of his subordinates was lying, and, granted that she was more guarded than the ordinary person, he had an inkling that she was too. “All right... Then! In the future--what if-- you did! Fall in love? What would you do if the only way to be with that person... was to become a God?!”
“Grr... Would you just shut up already?! No one is stupid enough to do something like that! What kind of fool would even think of falling in love with a God?”
Baroach was taken aback by the words.
Fall in love with a God? He failed to block a shard of Rei’s power and felt it engulf his right shoulder.
“GAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!”
Rei brandished her blade and dashed towards the man. She was fed up with listening to him.
“It’s over for you!”
Baroach saw the woman lunging for him. He gripped his right shoulder hard.
“What if... I told you...” He began to whisper. “That I wanted to become a God for the person I loved?”
Rei faltered for a split second in her step, and gave the man an opening. With a mighty kick he smashed her in the abdomen and sent her rolling across the floor.
“Think about it.” He advised before running off.
“Rei!”
Ami and Makoto ran to their friend just as Baroach took off in the opposite direction.
“Rei, are you all right?” Ami bent down to help the confused woman up.
“Yeah... I’m fine.” She replied stiffly.
“That jerk! He won’t get away with this!”
“Makoto- wait!”
Ami sighed as the taller woman took off after the man, but Rei was just thankful for the distraction.
“We better follow her.” Rei quipped. She tried to get up, but was stopped by a firm hand on her shoulder.
“Rei, please answer me seriously.” She’s trembling. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Ah. I told you, I’m fine!” She yanked out of her friend’s grasp and dashed towards the main battle at the end of the corridor.
“What if... I told you... That I wanted to become a God for the person I loved?”
Rubbish!
This time, Ami was unable to stop her. The blue-haired ruler could only silently push her worries aside as she also went to join her comrades.
Boom!
Up ahead, Baroach was dodging Makoto’s lightning bolts. The ground was being torn up all around him but all he could see was opening in the corridor-- the sounds of battle were steadily growing louder. At that point, he was unsure whether he was really running towards the future or away from the past.
. . .
He remembered the first time he was admitted into Sir Haruka’s court. He was in his late twenties back then.
Today was to be his first day on duty. He was extremely nervous to say the least; he was supposed to meet with the other Commanders today, so he went through quite a bit of trouble this morning to make himself look somewhat presentable-- his black hair for instance, which had been significantly longer upon his first appearance, was neatly trimmed back, and he wore his best suit of armor from home.
As the man patiently waited in the throne room for his guide, he could hear the guests of the court gossiping amongst one another. Needless to say, he was able to catch a word or two between the conversations. They were talking about his hair: how it looked better when it was short, how it was typical for his ‘people’ to have such dark hair colour-- almost like the people of Mars, their adversaries-- and how his eyes would look prettier if they were only a few shades lighter. But as soon as the discussions rounded onto the color of his dark armor, he could only stand there and hope the embarrassment didn’t show on his face. Perhaps he should have changed into the gold, military attire after all.
The doors to the throne room suddenly opened, revealing a small, short-haired girl from the upper lands. At first he contemplated on whether or not to ask if she was lost, but he quickly surprised to see the headstrong, young woman marched straight up to him. Up close, it was more than apparent that she was over a head shorter than he was.
“U-Umm...” He couldn’t understand why she was staring at him like that. It was such a cold, hard gaze- very un-Lady like.
“Are you Baroach?” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked slightly annoyed when the man failed to answer back quickly.
“Oh. Yes, I am. But uhh... if you don’t mind me asking, who are you? Are you lost little girl?”
The girl narrowed her eyes dangerously as a loud snickering buzzed throughout the room. Baroach was puzzled. Did he say something funny?
He was answered by a swift kick to the head. Without thinking, he raised his arms up and blocked it.
“W-Woah! What was that for?!” His feelings were mildly hurt to say the least.
“My name isn’t little girl,” she answered crossly. “It’s Kali Auranos. I am one of the two, third-ranked commanders in Uranus’s army. So don’t you forget it!”
“Huh?”
“I don’t care if you’re my superior. If you disrespect me again, I’m going to give you a beating that you won’t forget!” She glared, and was somewhat satisfied to see him flinch. She then gestured for him to follow her out of the room. The whisperings only seemed to grow louder.
Only until they were in the outside hall and out of hearing range, did Baroach ask,
“H-Hey... it was Kali, right? I didn’t mean for us to get off on the wrong foot. I’m sorry, all right? I really didn’t know... So, how about we start over?”
“No.”
“What? Why not?”
“Because I don’t like you.”
“Uhh... W-Well, can I ask why? It’s not because of my hair color, is it?” He tried to joke.
The young woman whirled on the spot and shot him a very annoyed expression. She wasn’t about to kick him again, was she?
“Can you fight?” It seemed to be a very insistent question. “Well, can you?”
“Well... Yeah, of course I can.”
“I see.” She turned around and began walking again without saying another word. Baroach quickly followed after her, utterly bewildered.
“Wait a second, what do you mean by ‘I see’? Hey, c’mon! What did you mean? Does it really matter--”
“It matters. If you can fight, then that’s all that matters. I couldn’t care less about your hair color.”
. . .
“I just don’t like you.”
Baroach gasped and pushed his legs to its limits. Just a few more seconds and he would be in the hall. But as he reached the opening, a lightning bolt crashed into him from behind.
CraCKLE!!!!!!!
“GAH!!” The attack sent him over the edge of the protectively railing, catapulting him into the middle of an intense battleground.
A strange silence fell over the area as Makoto, Ami and Rei reached the railing of the upper floor.
“What the--” Makoto started. Her green eyes darted about the floor below. It was practically covered with bodies.
“Oh dear…” Ami whispered.
“It’s Lord Baroach!” A black soldier had cried out. It seemed that one unlucky soldier had cushioned the majority of his fall. Many of the remaining men raced to their leader’s side and formed a protective circle about him.
Huh? “Hey, why are you protecting him?!” Jupiter shouted. Rei past behind her and began to rush down the spiral staircase.
“Ami?! Makoto?!” A familiar voice cried out to the women.
“Minako!”
Both women finally spotted the blonde in the midst of the sparring bodies, and what they saw nearly made their jaws drop. They hardly recognized her; the diplomat from Venus, the representative of the planet where ‘peace and love’ was promoted above all else, was fighting? Her long, beautiful hair was an absolute mess. Some of the loose strands were stuck to her flush face and a blood-stained sword was firmly gripped in her right hand.
“Are you two all right?!” She yelled up at them.
“Yeah, we’re fine!” Makoto pointed to her left. Minako automatically turned her head in the direction as someone said,
“Minako.”
“Rei!” She nearly squealed. It took every bit of will power that she possessed not to drop her sword and run to hug the life out of the other woman right there. “You’re all right!”
“Of course I am!” Rei snapped back with a ‘who-do-you-think-you’re-talking-to’ tone. The sword in the blonde’s hands did draw a curious look however.
“Don’t allow him to get away!” A new voice thundered. There was a rush of steps before unit one appeared from another entranceway.
“Soren!” Minako greeted. The sight of the man drew a frown from Rei, and thoughtful expressions from Ami and Makoto. Judging by the quality of the heavy sword he wielded, the man had to be the rebel leader.
Baroach’s soldiers shrunk back and drew closer to one another as unit one surrounded them.
“W-We’ll protect Commander Baroach, no matter what…!” One of the man’s subordinates stuttered. A flash of guilt crossed Baroach’s face.
“Is that so…? Then you’re all fools.” Another force had arrived at the scene. A resemblance could be seen between the rebel leader and this squad leader. Soren’s younger sister, Kali Auranos, along with squad B and Mars’ medic unit entered upon the scene.
“Kali...” Baroach whispered under his breath.
“It’s over for you...traitor.” The word stung, but not as much as the cold, hard expression in her green eyes. He had seen that expression so many times before, he had even dreamt about it, but it had never been directed at him, like this, until now. It was as if a dark cloud was lifting from his heart. Was this what he really wanted?
“Surrender Baroach!” Soren pointed Uranus’s sword at him.
“Don’t worry Sir Baroach! We’ll fight for you until the end!” A young man nearby shouted. “We won’t betray you!”
Rei stepped forward, gesturing for his troops to be still. “Sir Baroach, ‘leader’ of the true wind clan… I present to you our response to our negotiation! The Inner Alliance demands UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
RAAAAAAAH!
DOOOOM!
It’s over.
“Sir Baroach!” The soldier was silenced by his Commander’s gesture.
In Uranus’s Military code, a traitor may be punished by death. I cannot allow that to happen. If at the very least...
“Uh...?!” Soren was surprised when the sword in his hands began to act up. He braced himself when it suddenly conjured up a strong gust of wind and attacked everyone in the room.
Wha-What’s going on?! He hadn’t issued any commands, so why was the sword acting on its own? Through the wind, Kali stared hard at her superior turned traitor-- he was staring straight ahead, with his head up high. That was when both siblings realized it:
The sword... it’s reacting to him!
Baroach’s dark blue eyes flashed. This was the perfect distraction.
“Everyone... RETREAT!” He ordered to his troops.
There was a mass of confusion as the black soldiers scattered. Instantly, orders from the Inner Alliance flew through the air at an incredible speed.
“Stop him!”
“Attack!”
Baroach whipped to the farthest staircase, deliberately aiming for the longest escape route. As he predicted, all of the enemy’s soldiers were focusing in on him and left his men alone. He was almost at the stairs when Minako tried to intercept him.
“Get out of the way!” He warned her.
“Minako, get out of there!” Rei shouted.
However, Minako stubbornly refused to budge. She raised her sword up and braced herself as the man quickly approached her with his sword raised. They both lunged forward at the same time.
Slash! Slash!
“GAAAH!” Someone shrieked.
“W-What?!” Baroach blinked. He knew what he was staring at but it still wouldn’t register in his mind. One of his own men had leapt into the space between them and took the attack from both parties; Minako’s sword was gouged into the soldier’s right side, while Baroach’s blade had cut deeply into his back.
He used that man as a shield! Everyone thought.
Baroach was incredulous. NO!
“You idiot! I ordered you to escape! What do you think you’re doing?!”
“S-Sorry Sir... But now’s not the time for chit-chat. You have to go... Now! You can punish me later!”
“...”
“I said go!” He begged.
“...Thank you.” Baroach reluctantly agreed to his last request, and bolted past Minako up the steps.
“Wha-Hey!” She tried to stop him, but the soldier in front of her wouldn’t have any of it.
“I…will not allow anyone... to hurt Commander Baroach!” His free hand flicked at a pouch by his side and whipped out a short dagger. It all happened too fast.
Stab!
“Augh!” Minako gasped. A chill ran down her spine and time seemed to freeze over.
“Minako!” Everyone cried.
“Lady Venus!”
Minako, in a complete state of shock, released her grip on her sword and stumbled back into the staircase railing. The soldier didn’t pursue her though. It appeared that he was at the end of his life, and instead fell to the floor.
“Minako!” Rei ran towards her.
The Venusian desperately gripped at the railing for support, but her hands were so slippery. The dagger had plunged deep into her side and even as she fought for consciousness she could feel the cold, metal twist inside. Feeling dizzy, her legs finally buckled beneath her-- Rei caught her just before she hit the ground.
“Minako! Minako, say something!”
It hurts... She was having trouble breathing. But despite that, there was something very important that she needed to tell Rei.
“Cel…Celeste…” Minako squeaked out between breaths. She was feebly pointing towards the entranceway where Baroach had disappeared into.
“Celeste? Who’s Celeste…?!”
However, Soren understood what the blonde meant. Baroach was headed towards the infirmary.
“I’ll handle it!” He told Rei.
“Who are you…?”
But Soren was already running after Baroach.
Tup!Tup!Tup!Tup!
Celeste! Please don’t let me be too late! If--If anything happens to you... I won’t forgive myself!
(Baroach)
So here he was, running again. That’s all it felt like he had been doing lately. At what point did he begin to think that this plan was a good idea? Deep inside, he knew where the foolishness begun.
Why... Why did it come to this? No. I know why.
Kali...
No matter what I did, she was always looking somewhere else. She always had her eyes on that cursed throne. She was always training to become stronger for someone that she probably hates, even to this very day. I heard the story from Celeste. Apparently, Kali was Uranus’s original heir, but then Uranus chose Haruka over her. Honesty... I was kind of glad when I found out. If Kali had become a Goddess then we could never be together!
But...
I came to realize that as long as she was fixated on the throne, she would never even give me a chance. Hah. It seems so crazy now that I think about it... But, one day, I just thought, what if I was the one sitting on that throne? I really don’t care about the power or becoming a God! I just wanted... I just wanted her to look at me! But not like that though.
The anger and loathing that burnt fiercely in her eyes only moments before was directed at him. He thought that anything would be better than nothing, but now he knew that he thought wrong. This was far worse than he had ever imagined, and he kicked himself for deluding himself that things would eventually work out in the end.
Baroach ran through the twisted tunnels, not even sure where he was going anymore. It wasn’t long before he heard another set of footsteps emerge from the darkness behind him. Someone was giving chase. For a second he wondered who it was, and smiled at his foolishness- even now, he wanted to see her.
The man reached another intersection and made a hard right. To his surprise, there were two of Aurano’s soldiers guarding the door. They shouted at him, but he couldn’t turn back now. With some fancy footwork, he was able to overwhelm both guards and knock them both unconscious without a fuss. With that, he slipped into the room.
“Ugh…” The moment he stepped into the cool room, he found himself confronted by two very prepared, third-ranked commanders. He tensed. The secret entrance in the wall to the side explained everything.
Soren Auranos reached the infirmary soon after and flung the door wide open to find Baroach cornered on the balcony. The man sported a few new injuries, but none that was life threatening. The same could be said for his former comrades. Kali and Celeste were slightly out of breath, but for the most part the two women were safe. Soren secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Celeste! Are you all right?!”
“I’m fine...” She muttered. Obviously she wasn’t pleased to see their old friend again.
Soren stepped in front of them with Uranus’s sword in hand.
“Baroach...Will you concede defeat now? Don’t you think this has dragged on long enough?”
Baroach huffed for breath, clutching at the dagger marks in his sides. Why was he so silent? The three of them were surprised when the man abruptly staggered back further into the balcony. He was standing near its edge now.
Soren gasped. “What do you think you’re doing?!”
Don’t tell me he’s going to--?!
“...Yeah...You know, Soren... I know we haven’t agreed much in the past, but this time, I think you’re right. Things have been dragging on for too damn long.” Baroach coughed. He afforded a small smile to Celeste. “Do you get it now? I know what people say behind my back. No one would trust me, because I’m from the lower lands. It didn’t matter what I did! It just wasn’t... good enough...!”
“Baroach...”
I was always criticized, and everybody watched me like a hawk. They labelled me a traitor before they even knew me, and always compared me to Soren. I tried telling myself to ignore it, that it didn’t matter-- that someday, they would understand. But...it gave me comfort to know, that even if no one else would, at the very least...I had a few friends who I could count on...
He took another step back and stepped onto the railing.
But I risked it all, and now I’m faced with nothing. I truly am a traitor, and I’ve involved too many innocents for my own selfish cause. The only thing I can do now... is to end it honourably.
“Baroach, wait! It doesn’t have to be like this!” Even Celeste and Kali looked troubled now.
The man looked at Kali. The young woman wasn’t angry anymore. There was something else in her eyes but he couldn’t distinguish what it was.
“The only punishment fit for a traitor... is death, isn’t it?”
Soren and Celeste were shouting at him, but he couldn’t hear them. All he knew was that Kali wasn’t saying anything. He felt tired, so very tired.
I see.
He smiled and felt his balance fall back.
“BAROACH!”
Baroach dropped over the edge. The air rushed past his ears as he broke through the clouds, but he didn’t make any attempt to struggle. He could see three figures look over the balcony from above before he dropped out of sight. In truth, this was the most peaceful that he ever felt in a long while.
So that’s it, isn’t it? This is how it all ends… The man thought. I’ve done many terrible things...but, I don’t regret it...
It felt ironic. After everything he did to get her attention, all this time he only had to die. He had to suppress a smile at that. But now that he thought about it, his original plan had been flawed from the start; if he succeeded and became a God, then Kali would have been the one to suffer if they had ever started a relationship. He thought back briefly to the Martian ruler. Would she make the same mistake?
Kali...
…Good-bye…
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