'I've overstayed a while in my time in exile.' ----------------- "This is Kunzite. He'll be accompanying you on your mission." Rei eyed the man up and scoffed. He stood a good head taller than her, broad shouldered and slim. But it was the long, waist length snow white hair that irked her the most. "Look, I don't need a babysitter, especially one that looks like a pretty boy." "This is the Queen's great new toy? Looks like a spoiled brat to me." the offended general spat. "Don't let looks deceive you." the helper replied. "She's quite dangerous." "Yeah, right." he huffed, crossing his arms and staring the Martian down. In the time it had taken him to complete the motion, Mars had removed a dagger from her boot, closed the distance between them, and pressed the blade to the left side of his neck. "Two seconds." Rei stated calmly. "That's how long it will take me to have you on the floor, choking on your own blood." Kunzite's face curled into a snarl. "Impudent child. If you weren't Beryl's latest little lap dog, I would have had you killed days ago." "Care to repeat that?" Mars said with a grin, pushing on the blade a little harder. "Now children," Rei's mother intervened, resting a hand on the Martian's shoulder. "Save your energy. We have things to do, and you two are wasting your time trying to throw your weight around." "Aw, look at that pretty boy. It's your lucky day." "Mars!!!" "Fine." she growled, backing down at last. "Better. Now, do you understand your orders?" "Retrieve the prince, at all costs." Rei replied. "Good. And Kunzite?" "Heh. I just have to make sure our happy little harlot doesn't do anything stupid." Mars bristled. She brought her hands up in front of her, and called the fire energy into them. "You wanna go? 'Cause I'm game." "That's enough!!!" the helper bellowed. The soldier shook her hands, and the flames subsided. "Go." Rei waved her hand, and a dark portal appeared behind her. "I'll be back." She turned her burning gaze to Kunzite. "And you. Just stay out of my way." He scoffed as the soldier jumped through the portal. "Kunzite. Don't harm any of her friends, have you got that? If there is any blood to be spilt, I want her blade to do it." "Ugh. Why?" he griped. "It's part of the deal. And besides, we don't need to have her go through any bouts of poor judgment. After all of that work and energy, we really can't afford to have her go back now." "Don't worry. I'll bring the little toy back in one piece, but just remember, I don't like this, not one bit." he growled, stepping through the dark energy. The helper sighed tiredly once they had both left. "Are you sure about this?" she asked wearily, as Beryl emerged from the shadows. "Absolutely. I like her spirit. She will make one of the best warriors I have ever had, and she's certainly not hard on the eyes." "But why Endymion? I thought we were done with him." "With both of them under our sway, we could have the palace ripped apart in minuets. The other soldiers will lose the will to fight if they know it means facing their former comrades. If we could convert all of them, we would be unstoppable." ----------------- Venus tried to ignore the tingling feeling running down her spine. Something was definitely not right, but she couldn't seem to pinpoint the cause of her discomfort. Ever since Mars had vanished three days ago, things had gone into total disarray. Moral was at an all time low, despite the Outers feverous attempts to boost spirits. Neither she, nor any of the other soldiers could come up with a way to track the Martian down, and any hope of finding her was starting to fade. The princess had gone into a quiet depression, and Venus knew they shouldn't be wasting so many precious moments. They had yet to come up with a stellar defense plan for the attack, and things were beginning to look rather bleak. Funny. Time could chase you, but you couldn't chase time. The blonde sighed wearily and rubbed her face with her hands, trying to wake herself up. Sleep deprivation. If she kept this up, she may as well just lay down and let the enemy kill her. She leaned her head back against Serenity's bedroom door, swallowing hard when the sounds of quiet sobs reached her ears. "I think I know how you feel." she mumbled quietly, closing her eyes for just a second. "Rei, where are you?" It was funny, in a cosmic sort of way. The very night Mars had disappeared, Mercury had finally rigged a device to banish the creature crawling through the soldier's veins. Venus had a horrible gut feeling that the demon was the very reason Mars had left in the first place. After she had seen the remains of the creature splattered all over Rei's cell, she could almost understand why the fire soldier had been so quick to give in. But almost was never good enough. Tears stung her eyes, and she blinked them back quickly. As the leader, she had to maintain a certain demeanor, a level of calm, to help keep the others motivated. Funny. All she wanted to do was curl up in Rei's bed and cry. A distant explosion under her feet rocked her world, breaking her somber thoughts. Immediately her heart crawled into her throat, and her mind reeled. The attack. Oh god, it was too early! She could hear the familiar voice of Jupiter ringing down the opposite hall. "What the hell is going on here? There are fires everywhere!! Has anyone seen Venus??" Fires? Her eyes widened as her heart stopped. "Mars. It has to be." The door behind her flew open, and Venus almost fell back onto the princess. "It's her, isn't it?" Serenity cried excitedly. "Whoa. You need to get back into your room, now. We have no idea what's going on, and it may not be safe." Minako demanded as a swarm of soldiers rushed past her towards the sound of Jupiter's panicked voice. "But it's her. I know it." "That may be, but my first priority is your safety." Venus replied calmly, but her pounding heart was trying to convince her otherwise. "How can you be so calm about this?" the princess questioned angrily. "Because I have to be!" Before Serenity had a chance to respond, Mercury came tearing around the corner. "Oh thank God! We need you downstairs Venus!" "What is it?" Minako asked quietly, but her trembling hands destroyed any sense of control she was trying to convey. "It's Mars. She's attacking the brig." "What???" "Go! Just go! I'll take care of Serenity." The blonde didn't need anyone to tell her twice. ----------------- By the time she reached the prison, things were a rather fine mess indeed. Huge holes had been blown through the heavy steel doors, and wounded soldiers littered the floor. "How bad is it?" Venus questioned, as Jupiter dragged a soldier to the side of the hall and leaned him against the wall. "Bad. Two attackers. Looks like they went straight for Endymion. Funny thing is though, not a single casualty." "Was it her?" the blonde asked quietly. Jupiter cast her eyes to the floor. "Yes. She was with a man I couldn't recognize, but Endymion seemed to know him. The lot of them got into a huge fight, and Mars knocked the prince out." "Where are they now?" Minako asked quickly. Jupiter pointed to the now gaping hole in the palace wall, and Venus could faintly make out the figures of Uranus and Neptune, squaring off with Mars and the unknown man. Before the thunder soldier could even blink, her leader was gone. Minako raced towards the group as fast as her legs would carry her, and she was sure her heart was going to burst. It was her. Oh God. What should she do? Mars had an unconscious Endymion bound and draped over her shoulder, and she was in the process of trading insults with Uranus. "Listen to me, Mars. You don't want to do this." Haruka tried desperately. "Save it for someone who cares." the fire soldier spat. "I'm tired of doing what everyone else thinks I should do." "Rei!" Venus cried. Mars glanced over at the blonde for a split second, and Minako was chilled to the bone by the soulless look in her eyes. "Why, hello again." Rei said with a cold smile. "Long time no see." "Mars, what are you doing?" Venus asked in a shaky voice. "Huh? Oh. I'm just here to pick up my little friend." she replied, bouncing the prince on her shoulder for emphasis. "The damn baby wouldn't come quietly." "Rei, please." she tried, as calmly as her shaking voice would allow. "Put him down." "As you wish." she said with a light shrug, dropping Endymion carelessly to the ground. "Now let me guess. You want me to drop to my knees and beg for forgiveness?" Minako took an unconscious step back. "I didn't say that." "Let me tell you something, Blondie. I'm done. I'm done playing all these damn mind games. I'm through trying to please everyone, and giving everything I have to fight the good fight. And for what? So I can be killed and do it all over again? What kind of existence is that?" Tears stung the blonde's eyes. "Oh yeah, go ahead and cry. It just means you have no damn good reason for all of that suffering." "That's enough!" Uranus growled, stepping forward. "And you're going to stop me? Please. I'll incinerate the lot of you, him included." Mars snapped, gesturing towards the prince with a rough jerk of her head. "So how about it? You want to go?" Uranus narrowed her eyes, but Neptune held her back. "Don't. We can't risk his life." she said quietly. Rei turned towards Minako once more. "Oh, you're still crying? Poor baby. Why don't you come with me? I'll make it all better." "Shut up." Venus cried through her tears, drawing her blade. God, give her strength. Mars or not, she had obligations. "Now that's love." Mars said to no one in particular. "You see how quickly she resorts to violence? She's ready to kill me, despite all we've been through. It really was all lies, wasn't it?" "Don't do this Rei, please." Minako pleaded. "God, enough of this drama." the general growled, drawing his sword and charging at Venus. But Mars was quicker. As the general swung his sword down and Venus raised hers in defense, the fire soldier jumped between the two, deflecting the general's sword with her own, and catching the blonde's blade in her gloved hand. "Back off." Rei growled dangerously. "Orders are you keep your hands to yourself, so follow them!" The general sneered and stepped back, yanking Endymion up off the ground roughly. "We're leaving. Now." "Best idea I've heard all evening." Mars muttered in response, her back still to Minako. Venus was horrified to see a heavy stream of blood running down her blade, dripping over the guard, down the grip, over her knuckles, and onto the grass. She had grasped it so hard, the gladius had sliced through the thick protective material of her glove, and she had yet to let go. What was she thinking? Why would she go through the extra effort of preventing a fight? Mars turned slightly and gave her the smallest ghost of a smile. Minako couldn't move fast enough. She reached an arm out to Rei, trying to grab her, hold her down, or whatever the hell she could manage, but the fire soldier was quicker, jerking her bleeding hand away from Venus' sword and driving an elbow into her stomach, knocking the blonde to the ground. She smirked wickedly, and gave her former comrades a sharp salute. "It's been fun ladies, but I have an invasion to plan." With that, she was gone, leaping into the portal after Kunzite and the prince. The three women fell into a stunned silence. Neptune broke it first, voicing what everyone else was already thinking. "This is bad." Uranus shook her head quickly and dropped to the ground, next to a very distraught Venus. "Hey, are you alright?" Minako stared at the wind soldier blankly. "Am I alright?" she repeated slowly, her voice low and hollow. The tall woman nodded slowly, unsure how to respond. Venus burst into maniacal laughter, squeezing her eyes shut. Of all the god-awfully stupid questions in the universe... Uranus traded a worried glance with her partner and shrugged helplessly. "Should I slap her, or what?" "Haruka!" Neptune scolded harshly. "What??" Minako gasped sharply as her laughter twisted itself into racking sobs. She pounded her fists uselessly into the ground, crying the fire soldier's name. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. She couldn't do this anymore. Her heart felt like it had been chewed up, spit out, and then cracked into a million pieces. She didn't even feel as though she were fit to live. Stress? What stress? She wanted to quit. Never in her entire life had she regretted accepting the mantle of a warrior, of a protector. She had spent her life being so strong for others, now who the hell was going to be strong for her? To have Rei so close, yet so far out of her grasp stung painfully, and it was almost more than she could bear. After all they had been through together, just to lose her like this, was like a stab in the chest. God had a sick sense of humor. Haruka laid a comforting hand on her back, and Minako lashed out violently. She swung wildly at the wind soldier, who caught her fist in her open palm. "Settle down." "Shut up!" the blonde cried, sobbing openly as she threw a weak punch with her free hand. Uranus dodged it smoothly. "Hey, I'm not the bad guy, and this isn't going to help Rei either." "Then what is??" Haruka winced internally. Damn, she was really bad at things like this. But thankfully Michiru stepped in, helping the broken leader to her feet. "Let's get inside. I'm sure between all of us, we can come up with something." Minako nodded, though her eyes were empty. Haruka felt a knot swell up in her throat. What would she be like if the situations were reversed? As she watched Neptune and Venus walk away, her heart broke. Without Michiru, she would go mad. She wasn't sure how Minako could hold up so well. ------------------ "We're home!" Mars announced cheerily, tossing Endymion to the floor. He groaned weakly, and made it a solemn vow that in his next life, he would be a priest. Priests never had to deal with crazy flame throwing women, did they? "How is he? Did everything go alright?" the helper asked quietly. "He's fine." Kunzite snapped. "Argued a bit, but we got past that, didn't we?" Rei asked, giving the prince a swift kick in the ribs. Definitely a priest, he decided. Women were mental. "Good. Take him to one of the holding cells." He groaned. Locked up again? Damn, when did his life begin to suck so badly? Rei nodded, and dragged him to his feet. --------------------- "Now. Sit down, shut up, and be good." Mars barked, shoving Endymion roughly into a holding cell. "What the hell have you done??" the prince cried weakly. "And you!" he added, pointing to Kunzite. "You joined her too??" "Oh, shut the hell up." the general replied. "I've had a long night, and I'm not in the mood." The prince started to spout off a retort, but a swift punch to his solar plexus courtesy of Mars shut him up quickly. "Please, just keep quiet." she ordered briskly, slamming the cell door behind her. "Let's go give our report, huh pretty boy?" "Whatever you say, harlot." The prince remained frozen on the floor of his cell until he was sure they had gone, and scrambled quickly to unroll the scrap of parchment Rei had passed to him via her punch. He read it once, then twice, and laughed quietly. This place makes you crazy. To find is to lose, and to lose is to find. I don't know what's going on anymore, and I'm not even sure if what I do remember is real. But I do remember making an important promise, and I have to keep it. So, I'll trust you if you'll trust me, and we'll give them one hell of a show. I'll contact you soon. The prince balled the note up and tossed it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. She was crazy. But now, he was more than positive that it was the good kind of crazy. He swallowed the scrap of paper and sighed, with not a moment to spare. The door to his cell slid open, and he wanted to cry when he caught sight of his visitor. "Prince." He let out a defeated sigh. "Beryl." "How nice of you to join us again." Endymion scowled. "Looks like it's my lucky day in hell." That's when she did it. She smiled. He shuddered, despite all his efforts to hold it back. He knew all too well what that smile meant from his last visit here, and it made his skin crawl. 'Dear God, let Mars do whatever it is she needs to do, quickly.' The Queen waved a hand, and two of her minions rushed in, binding Endymion once more. 'VERY quickly.' ------------------ Minako eyed the twisted wreckage that was once a wall, and sighed tiredly. It was going to take hours to repair this, and all she really wanted to do now was sleep. Jupiter paused briefly before shoving another stone back into the wall. "Hey, the sun is rising." Venus squinted wearily. The sky was beginning to glow in shades of purple, red and pink. Right at the line where night ended and morning began, the sky was tinged a beautiful violet. "Her eyes. It's the same shade as her eyes." Jupiter followed the blonde's gaze. "You know, it's a new day. That means it's a fresh start." Minako nodded absently. Makoto frowned, and shoved another stone into place. "Venus, it'll be alright." "Will it?" "Yes, and I'll tell you why. Had Mars been some crazy psychopath, we wouldn't be standing here, having this conversation. She would have killed all of us. Think about it. On her way through this place, she caused only minor injuries. No casualties, no fatal injuries, not even any broken bones. Does that sound like a psychopath, or does it sound like someone who knows what they're doing?" Venus snapped her eyes forward to meet Jupiter's. "I hadn't thought of that." Jupiter laughed. "Well, of course not. You were too busy being a drama queen." "Excuse me?" Makoto coughed. "Anyway. The point is, she protected you against that crazy fellow she was with. Had she let you fight him while you were in that emotional state, you would have lost horribly. Some part of her was thinking only of you." "It's always darkest before dawn..." Minako replied, thinking back to Rei's message. Jupiter nodded. "How true. And look, it's dawn already." The blonde's face lit up into a genuine smile, and the brunette couldn't help but to smile back. It was so damn contagious when she did that. "Hey Makoto?" "Yeah?" "It's going to be a beautiful day, isn't it?" "Goddamn right."
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