"You know, you really shouldn't push yourself so hard." Minako said with a smile, leaning over the edge of the bed to watch Rei continue her morning workout. "You'll get wrinkles." "Wrinkles?" Mars repeated, stopping mid pushup to look at the goddess of love. "Yes. Wrinkles." "I thought you got wrinkles by worrying," Rei replied, "not by taking care of your body. Therefore, I will look great, and you'll get wrinkles worrying about my wrinkles." The blonde frowned cutely, and the Martian let out a laugh.. "Look at that. I can already see some forming." Minako gasped comically as her hands flew to her face, searching for the aforementioned wrinkle of doom. Finding none, she let out a huff of air and tossed a pillow at the raven haired girl. "You're mean!" "I'm not mean." Mars replied calmly, halting her exercise and retrieving the pillow. "I was just stating the facts. And besides, you started it." "That's a childish answer!" "Childish? No. Childish is throwing things." "Ugh. I was just trying to help you." Venus said with a defeated sigh. "But you know what they say. The road to hell is paved with sharp rocks." "Wait, what?" Mars asked, a bemused smile gracing her features. "The road to hell is paved with sharp rocks!" the blonde repeated. "I'm pretty sure it's paved with good intentions, but you can pave it with whatever your heart desires. I think almost any girl would be upset to have as many wrinkles as you, so I'll let it slide this time." Minako wrapped the sheet tighter around her nude form and scowled at Rei. "Just for that, you can sleep on the floor tonight." "Um, it's my room." "Not anymore. I invaded, and claimed this land in the name of the great planet Venus! So on the floor with you!" "Oh, that's it!" Mars growled, jumping onto the bed and taking Minako in her arms. "Hey! What are you doing? You can't do that! " the blonde protested with a giggle. "In the name of the great war planet Mars, I'm taking back what's mine!" ------------------- Rei opened her eyes slowly as the visions of honey blonde hair faded away. Cold grey stone and iron bars were all that greeted her. She winced as the night's activities came flooding back to her, and tenderly ran her fingers over the swollen lump on the back of her head. A quick glance at her left arm confirmed what she had already feared. Her flesh was still tinged a dark gray, and she wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but it seemed to have gotten a few shades darker. Great. And she had honestly thought it had all been a bad dream. Then again, did all of her nightmares end with her sitting in a cell? Judging by the amount of sunlight spilling into the hall outside of her happy little stone box, she guessed it to be late morning, which meant yet another precious day had been pulled out from under her. 'Oh hey, look at me. I can go a whole twelve hours without killing someone. Too bad they have to knock me unconscious.' She pushed herself up into a sitting position, thankful that her friends had been kind enough to deposit her onto a lumpy mattress rather than the floor. 'Should have dumped me on the floor. I deserve it.' Mars clenched her teeth and tried to hold back the tears building behind thick lashes. Of all the times to have a breakdown. Breakdown. Funny word. Breakdown of the mind, breakdown of the soul, breakdown of her relationship, breakdown of her reputation... She thumped her head hard against the wall behind her out of frustration, and immediately regretted it. The painful knot on her skull reminded her that all was definitely not well. "Argh! God dammit!" she swore loudly, pressing her hand over her now throbbing goose egg. "I guess my warning didn't help." came the melancholy voice of Endymion from the cell to her left. "Shut up, pretty boy. I'm not in the mood." she snapped back. "Is anyone ever in the mood to be incarcerated?" he questioned lightly. Rei snickered in spite of herself. "True. I'm really glad I didn't kill you now. Looks like you finally started to develop a personality." "I've had lots of free time lately." "You know, I'm really starting to hate that word." the fire solider grumbled. "What, time?" "Yeah. I'm making it a note to beat the hell out of Pluto." The prince laughed quietly. "No offence, but I have my money on her, and besides, I think you girls have beat on each other enough lately." "So you heard?" Another quiet laugh. "How could I not? But it's still hard to fathom." "You're telling me." Mars replied softly. "You know, I'm sorry about the way I treated you before. I can truly say I know what it's like now." "I hate to say it, but it gets worse." Rei suddenly felt very ill. "Does it?" "Yeah." "Funny. If that were the case, you'd think they'd spilt us up." she commented dryly. "Can you imagine if we both broke out of here? We could raise quite a commotion." "Maybe they think I'll be a good influence." She laughed. "Good thing a stone wall separates us. I think I would have punched you for that." "I don't think I'd mind, because it would mean you're feeling like yourself again." Mars drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them to help fight off the damp chill the room gave out. "Did the voice really stop for you?" "Yes it did, thank God." "All by itself?" "Yeah, it was just gone, the minute you ladies threw me in here." he replied. "Is yours still spouting nonsense?" "I'm not sure. I haven't heard it since last night, but I don't think it's done yet. I still feel disconnected." "Just ignore it." the prince stressed. "Don't give in. She can make everything so much worse than it is now." "What's worse than beating the person you love?" Mars replied. "Killing them." he whispered back. Now the fire solider felt positively sick. Her stomach lurched, and her mind reeled with all the horrors she could commit while under someone else's control. This was really not helping her get a grip on things. "So what are they going to do to you?" Mars asked quietly. "I don't know. Probably keep me around until the big fight is over. Either way it goes, I'm pretty sure there's no happy ending for me." "But I honestly believe you now. I don't think you'd do those things on your own accord." The prince laughed bitterly. "Yes, because they will take the word of two crazy people as law. You know that old saying, hell is for heroes?" "Yeah." "Well, as for people like us, I think we're going someplace much, much worse." "Alright. I lied. You have no personality." Mars replied darkly. Endymion fell into a stunned silence for a full minute before bursting out into gales of laughter. The fire solider found herself laughing along with him, to the point where her eyes burned and her sides ached. "That was depressing, wasn't it?" he gasped out. "Very much so. And if we keep it up, they're going to really think we're homicidal." Rei muttered. The prince caught his breath at last, and Mars could practically hear the smile on his face as he spoke. "You know Mars, I used to think you were a raving lunatic. Now I think you're just a lunatic." "Shut up." she growled, but the smile on her own face dragged the venom out of her words. "Maybe in the next life, we'll find a way to get along." he replied thoughtfully. "I think we can understand each other." "Oh yeah, sure. We can go on dates and everything. It will be wonderful" Mars threw back sarcastically. They both burst into laughter again, but it was cut short when the main door to the brig creaked open. Rei felt her heart leap into her throat as she rose to her feet, nervously awaiting whatever fate she had coming. To the fire soldier, it seemed like an eternity had passed in the time it took her to get off of the floor, but she knew in all reality it had taken less than seconds. She was suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of dread and fear as the faint echo of boots clinking down the hall grew closer. What if she lost control again? She'd never get out of here. Was it Minako? Would the blonde even want to see her after everything that had happened yesterday? She squeezed her eyes shut. Her mind desperately reeled with all the horrid possibilities and outcomes her actions would inspire. To be anywhere, anywhere at all, besides here. Now that was something she would sell her soul for. The muscles in her bad arm jerked dangerously, and Mars felt a rising panic crawl up her spine. Such idle thoughts were dangerous, but then again, was contemplating your doom really an idle thought? The footsteps paused in front of her cell. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest, and she knew she would have to open her eyes for the sake of her well being. Not knowing was driving her to madness. "You should calm down, Mars. I'm not here to harm you." 'Neptune.' Violet eyes slowly opened, and her heart plummeted to her feet. 'Where's Minako? Is she alright? Why isn't she here?' A sickening thought struck her suddenly. 'Maybe she really doesn't want to see you.' Her fists clenched involuntarily, nails digging into calloused flesh. Her arms shook, and she was unawares of the thin ribbons of blood oozing between her fingers, pooling on the floor. "Rei. Calm down." "I AM CALM!!" Mars snarled back, abruptly jarred back to reality by the sound of her own voice. Her eyes met the water soldier's, and she took an unconscious step back. 'Oh my God.' Neptune looked at her impassively, and wordlessly dropped her eyes to the fire soldier's hands. Rei unclenched her fists and stared blankly at the wounds her nails had carved into her palms, and found with a small sense of growing discomfort that she felt wholly unaffected by the self mutilation. "That's why she's not here." the aqua haired woman said gently. "How do you think she'd handle this?" Rei nodded numbly, still transfixed by her hands. "She's the leader of the guard. We need her thinking clearly. It does us no good to have two of our best down and out." Mars eyed her sharply. "Does it matter? We're going to die anyway." Michiru shook her head. "Now I know that's not you talking." "Who else would it be?" "I wonder." The older woman commented dryly. "What do you want?" Rei asked hollowly. "What's going to happen to me?" "Unfortunately, I'm not sure. I came down just to check on your well-being. The Queen has already been here, while you were out. Try as they might, neither she nor Mercury were able to find a way to pull the tainted blood out of you." "So you all know then?" "I don't really think Mercury had any other option, Rei. We had to know what was going on." The fire soldier laughed darkly. "So I'm going to rot here until the beast takes over?" "I didn't say that." Neptune responded calmly. "We just need to find a way to help you control it." Mars felt a rush of blood to her head, and her world flashed an ominous red. She struggled desperately to get a hold of herself, but the anger and frustration that had built up inside of her would not allow it. She pressed her hand to her face weakly as she felt her consciousness taking a back seat to darker impulses. 'No. No. Not now.' Her eyes searched Michiru's frantically, looking for help, hope, maybe even death, but it was too late. Her body jerked stiffly, and Rei had the oddest sense of feeling disjointed and disconnected, almost as if she were watching herself in a dream, unable to wake up. "And who's going to keep me in here?" Rei asked Michiru in a voice that wasn't hers. "You?" "If I have to." Without warning, Mars threw herself against the iron bars with all of her force, growling when her dark energy conflicted with the pure energy of the seal the Queen had placed on her cell. She was thrown back against the opposite wall, body smoking. Violet eyes filled with a hatred Neptune had never seen fixed themselves on her, regarding her coldly. "You're going to die for that." Neptune smiled. "You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard that line, and yet, here I stand." Mars approached the water soldier again, using all of her energy to wrap her hands around the bars of her cell, ignoring the smoldering pain that ran through her. "I'll get out of here, and then you'll answer to me." Neptune was undaunted. "Who are you?" "Just one of the many. Hell's a rather depressing place, but I think I like it here. This girl can't fight me forever. Her heart is full of darkness, so it's no wonder that the accursed silver light can't reach it." Mars grinned darkly. "Just a little more. Once I hit full strength, you will all die." "Unlikely." Michiru replied, drawing herself into a battle stance as the bar in the fire soldier's hand began to crumble. Rei watched the scene unfolding before her eyes, but felt powerless to stop it. 'Is this how it ends? Is this the end result of everything we've been through? Did I come this far just to watch myself kill everyone?' Her mind flashed back to an image of Minako, smiling contentedly in her sleep as she snuggled into Rei. 'No. Not like this.' Neptune blinked in surprise as the hand wrapped so firmly around the bars was snatched back. "Stubborn girl." the voice coming out of Mars hissed. "You can't hold me back forever!" The hand balled itself into a fist, and the water soldier let out a gasp of shock as she watched Rei punch herself with extreme force in the solar plexus. "Shut up." Rei muttered weakly, falling to her knees, very relieved to be back in control at last. "I'm getting so tried of everyone telling me what to do." "Mars! Are you alright??" Michiru cried worriedly. Mars gave her a tired smile, and flashed her Minako's sign for victory with her fingers. "Just going to take a nap." she wheezed out, wishing to god she could just see Venus again as her world turned black. -------------------- The fire soldier awoke several hours later. Her cell had gone dark, a sign the sun had already made it's journey through the sky. A cool hand pressed a damp cloth to her forehead, the owner humming soothingly. "Princess?" Mars rasped weakly. "You shouldn't be here. It's not safe." Serenity laughed. "Please. I've technically owned your soul for a lot longer than that poor excuse for a demon. If he has a problem with it, he can speak to me personally." Rei decided not to argue. Just being around the princess had calmed her nerves, and she wasn't about to get all tensed up again. "Are you angry with me?" she asked quietly. "No. I know the Rei that I know would never do anything like that. I'm just really worried. We all are." "Is...is Minako..." "She's alright." Serenity promised with a smile. "She'd be here herself, but the others decided against it." "But they let you come in here?" "Not exactly. But I am a princess. Can't disobey a royal command, can you?" "I suppose not. Scary, how your mind works sometimes." "I know." the princess replied cheerfully, taking one of Rei's hands in her own. Surprisingly deft fingers made swift work of the strips of cloth her hands were wrapped in and replaced the bandages. "Better?" "Yes. Thank you." Serenity nodded and rose to her feet. "I better get going. I've been here for awhile, and if I know Makoto, she's worn a hole in the floor from pacing." Rei nodded wearily. "Oh!" The princess dropped back to her knees. "I almost forgot." She took the fire soldier's face in her delicate hands and placed a tender kiss on her cheek. "That's from Minako." Mars swallowed hard as tears sprang to her eyes. "Thank you." Serenity smiled warmly and placed a kiss on her opposite cheek. "And that's from me. Take care of yourself. And don't worry. We'll think of something!" "We always do." Mars responded numbly. That was it. She knew exactly what she had to do now. Her heart beat painfully in her chest, and it took everything she had in her not to cry. This may very well be the last time. Is that all she could think of saying? No words of wisdom to bestow upon her princess? No pleas for forgiveness? "Exactly." Serenity rapped on the bars, and Jupiter appeared seemingly out of nowhere, letting the door slide open far enough for the princess to slip out. Makoto gave Rei a small wave, and a sad smile. "Just hold tight Mars." "Take care of her. I don't expect to be in here forever, so that means you can't slack off." Rei replied with false bravado. Jupiter nodded, and as swiftly as they had come, they were gone. Endymion was silent, and Mars supposed he was locked in his own dark musings. She leaned her head back against the wall tenderly, and closed her eyes, not really surprised even when the helper's mocking voice sprang forth from the dark. "Ooooh, are we having fun yet?" "Shut up." Rei muttered quietly. "I'm ready to make a deal." "I thought so. So cut the long face. Everything will be fine now. I promise."
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