Mars approached the Queen's throne, and dumped Jadeite to the floor. Beryl rose from her seat and fixed the fire soldier with eyes like ice. "What is this??" Rei flinched. Great. So much for looking tough. "We had a little mishap." "Mishap?? One of the greatest generals of the Dark Kingdom is dead, and you call it a mishap??" "Hey, I didn't do it." Mars growled, crossing her arms. "He tried to take on two of the soldiers alone, against my advice. I just collected the body." "Have you no respect??" Kunzite snapped from her left. "I don't have any respect for stupid people." Mars replied calmly. "He brought it upon himself." "Well, did you even kill the ones who did this?" he demanded loudly. "I tried." Mars answered truthfully. Hell, there was no lying in that statement. "And how do we know you didn't do this?" A man next to Kunzite snarled. "That's why I'm here." Rei said with a smirk. "The Queen can judge for herself." Beryl smiled in response. She really liked this warrior. With that attitude and her power, she could even become the next general herself. "I suppose you couldn't garner any information either, what with your little 'mishap' and all." "Actually, I did succeed in that aspect. The east wing, near the jail cell we broke into recently, has still not been repaired all the way. The walls will be soft there, and easy to bring down." The Queen nodded. "Excellent. You may retire to your quarters for now." Mars bowed stiffly, and calmly took leave, though her heart hammered in her chest. Funny. She hadn't felt Beryl trying to read her mind. Was it the bracelet? Ugh. She supposed it didn't matter. She needed to catch some must needed rest. She had to launch her strike, and soon. She had no idea where Endymion had been moved, so she supposed the next chunk of her day would revolve around trying to locate the prince. 'This is going to save my soul, or kill me.' -------------------- "Queen Beryl! How could you let her go like that? For all we know, she's responsible for what happened to Jadeite!" a dark haired man growled out in frustration. "Are you questioning me, Nephrite?" Beryl asked icily. "No, my Queen. I'm just a little worried." "Well you can relax. I checked her thoughts when she dropped off that sorry excuse for a general, and she wasn't lying to me." Nephrite nodded stiffly. "And Nephrite?" "Yes, my Queen?" "Question me again, and you'll join him." she added with a nod of her head to indicate Jadeite's corpse, "I understand, my Queen." "Good. Now after Mars has gotten some rest, I want you and the other generals to go over the invasion plans with her. With all that power she holds, she would be an invaluable asset to our front lines." ---------------------- Rei threw herself back on her mattress and groaned quietly. She knew all this stress couldn't be good for her nerves. What she wouldn't give now for a nice, stiff drink. She allowed her eyelids to flutter closed, and contemplated her next move. ----------------------- "What's so funny?" Venus asked with a quirked eyebrow. "I don't know, maybe it's the fact that she's the only person I know who needs an armed guard while she picks flowers." Mars said with a grin, keeping a watchful eye on the happily content Serenity. "She is unique." the blonde admitted with a smile of her own. "I don't think that's quite the word for it." "Hey!" Serenity cried in confusion. "Why are you guys laughing?" "Never you mind." Rei said with a nod. "Keep going. You're doing great." The princess frowned. "Why does it sound like you're mocking me when you say that?" "It's just how our Rei shows she's happy." Minako explained. "So keep going, you're doing great." "Not you too!" The princess cried in a mock wail. "Hey wait. What's this 'our' Rei stuff? I don't remember belonging to anyone." "If you want to get technical, you do belong to me." Serenity offered cheerily. Venus giggled. "Wow Mars, I didn't know you were so popular with the ladies." "Excuse me?" "And with royalty no less..." Minako continued with a smirk. "Venus, I think it would be in the best interest for your safety and wellbeing that you completely kill that little chain of thought." Rei warned quietly. "Huh." Serenity added thoughtfully. "If you want to get really technical, that means Venus belongs to me too." Mars snickered quietly. "You hear that Blondie?" A light blush dusted Minako's cheeks. "Well...um..." "Huh. Typical." Rei huffed, lying back on the grassy hill. "Why are guys getting all strange about it?" the princess questioned innocently. "Is it really that bad?" "She can't be that naive." Mars muttered, closing her eyes and basking in the warm sun. Venus flushed brighter, and Serenity grew more perplexed. "I'm really not getting it." the princess announced quietly. Rei cracked an eye open. "Our sweet little Minako is probably imagining all of us as your concubines." "What?" Minako squeaked, echoed by Serenity. "Don't blame me. I'm just the hired muscle." Mars drawled. "Hey, you knew what I was thinking, so that meant you must have been thinking it too!" Venus cried victoriously. "You're just as bad as me!" "You better take that back." the fire soldier warned. "Or what?" "Or I'll beat you senseless." "Rei!" Serenity admonished. "We both know you wouldn't hurt Minako, so don't say such things! Apologize!" Mars pushed herself up on her elbows and stared at the princess in a state of wide eyed amazement. "You're kidding, right?" "No. Consider it a royal order." The fire soldier's jaw dropped open. "I'm waiting." Serenity announced firmly, crossing her arms. Rei cast a look in Minako's direction. The Goddess of love gave threw her a dazzling smile and winked. Mars twitched. "No. And not just no. Hell no." "Hey now, what kind of apology is that?" Serenity said with a grin. "Give her a hug!" "What?? I didn't swear an oath to do that! We're not little kids!" Serenity fixed her with a stern look, and Mars rolled her eyes. "You know, I can hear my reputation dying a slow, horrible death." She approached Venus, and wrapped her arms around the giggling blonde. Minako responded by returning the embrace, and lightly blowing into the soldier's ear. Mars leapt back red-faced. "Hey now!" "What's the matter?" Serenity questioned. "She's just all hot and bothered." Venus replied, blowing a kiss to Mars. "Oh, that's it!" Rei cried, leaping onto the blonde and tickling her mercilessly. She was pushed over by Serenity, and the two blondes tag-teamed the poor flustered Martian. 'Funny.' Rei thought between laughing fits. 'It's not so bad to belong to someone.' -------------- A cool hand brushed her brow. "Mina?" Mars questioned groggily. The hand faltered. "It's me, darling." "Bwah?" The fire soldier rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up as her world came into focus. "I'm sorry mother. I guess I was dreaming." "About what?" "I don't know." Rei lied calmly. Another memory. Guess they couldn't take them all. "What are smiling for?" the helper asked quietly. "I have no idea. Probably my lack of sleep." "Hm. Well, you did very well on your last mission, despite Jadeite. In fact, the Queen requests you attend a meeting with the other generals, and go over the invasion plans." "Really?" the fire soldier asked, waking up immediately. This was her chance. Get the info, bring down the Dark Kingdom, save the world, and get back to her girl. Yeah. Not a problem. What could possibly go wrong? "What troubles you?" "I'm worried about Endymion." Rei answered truthfully. "Why?" "I'm worried he'll turn on us." Alright. Maybe that part wasn't the truth, but who was really counting anymore? "I wouldn't worry about him. In fact, the Queen has him in her personal quarters." "What? Why?" The helper laughed. "She's quite enamored with the prince." Mars suppressed a shudder. Poor Endymion. What kind of horrible torture had she inflicted upon the man? She really had to get moving now. They were all running out of time. "When's this meeting?" "In a little bit. I came in to wake you up." Rei nodded and studied the woman before her. Would she have to kill her as well? She was pretty certain that the helper was in fact her mother, or what was left of her anyway. She had become so cold and twisted after all the years spent in the dark powers thrall. She had been desperate when she had made her choice, but so had Mars. She couldn't really look down on someone when she had done the exact same thing, now could she? There had been so many instances when the helper had shown she did, in fact, retain some sort of human emotion. The fire soldier swallowed hard. She doubted she'd be able to kill her, if it came down to that. She had failed her mother once, and she didn't want to do it again. "You look so serious." her mother teased gently. "Can't help it. I have huge responsibilities, and I don't want to let anyone down." "You won't." "That's right." Mars replied with a grin. "Because I can take what I want now." "Exactly." ------------------- Rei paced the confines of her room restlessly. So far, so good. She'd met with the generals, and they had seemed less than thrilled with her involvement, but at least she knew how they were planning to move their armies. Four separate groups., each led by a general. By attacking on all sides like they planned, it left no room for survivors or refugees as far as her people were concerned. They'd all be slaughtered like lambs. A force that massive required that it be broken into smaller parts. That meant lots of portals, and Mars knew from experience that they were pretty unstable as it was. If she could get with Mercury and go over it with her, she had no doubts that they'd come up with something. If they could cut the force in half at the very least, they might actually stand a chance. Now she just had to live that long to share her wealth of knowledge. She cracked her knuckles and stretched one last time, wondering for the ten millionth time if she were absolutely insane. "Well, it's so crazy it has to work." she muttered aloud, nodding to herself in affirmation. Now. She had to go save Prince Charming. "Some fairytale." Mars grumbled bitterly, stepping out into the hall and slamming the bedroom door behind her for the last time. "I'm getting way too old for this." -------------------- With Beryl and the generals occupied, Mars decided to use this time wisely. One guard was posted outside the Queen's quarters, and he was dozing. Rei thanked whoever was listening, and prepared herself. Once she took this step, no amount of charms or lies in the world would save her. Well, fortune favored the bold, right? She certainly hoped it was true as she approached the demon quietly, seizing his head in her hands and snapping his neck cleanly before his eyes even opened. She guided the body to the floor and eased herself through the door, steeling herself for whatever sights might befall her eyes. Nothing in the universe could have prepared her for what she saw, however. The Queen's main bedroom was all done in shades of black and purple. Pillows and cushions littered the black marble floor. A large, ornate bed took up the center of the room, and a chandelier hung from the high ceiling. "Nice." Mars muttered. "Reminds me of a giant bruise." "Who's there?" cried a man's voice. "Huh?" the soldier searched the adjoining room, all done in stone, with chains and numerous instruments of pain lined across a table. "Endymion??" she cried in shock, forgetting all about stealth. The man was on his knees, chained to the far wall, wearing nothing but his underwear, covered in what could only be described as love bites. His head snapped up and his eyes met hers. "Mars?? Oh thank GOD! Get me out of here!!" "Uh...why are you in your underwear?" He eyed her as though she were from another world. "Are you serious? Does that even matter now?? Just get my clothes. She put them in the chest there. Please, just get me out of here!" "Sorry. It's just a bit of a shock." she apologized lamely. "I had expected all kinds of torture. Just...not that kind..." "You owe me." he growled. "I know." she replied quietly, grasping hold of the chain that bolted the prince to the wall, using her fire energy to heat the links until they were red hot. "More than you'll ever be able to pay back." "I know." Rei said again, yanking hard on the heated metal. "I think you'll owe me for all eternity." The chains finally gave way, and the prince sighed gratefully. Mars offered him a smile. "That I can understand. But how do you feel? I imagine an attack on Beryl will cause a fight. You up for it?" He glared in response. "Up for it?" "Alright. Bad choice of words." "Very bad." The prince grumbled as she went to work melting the bolts that held the manacles on his wrists. "There." she announced happily as the metal rings clanged to the floor. "Now for what it's worth, I am sorry." "Is it honestly worth it?" he asked quietly. "What?" "This suicide plan of yours." Mars looked the prince in the eye. "It may save the people we both love." Endymion nodded. "Then I guess it was all worth it. No further apologies." "Well then, you want some revenge?" she asked, tossing the prince his clothing. "Just tell me who to kill." Mars grinned. "Everyone." ------------------ "So what's the plan?" Endymion asked softly, adjusting his belt. God, it felt good to have his clothes back. He seriously considered never removing them. Ever. "If we rush into the throne room, we'll be killed for sure." "Well, I figured I could grab a hold of her and open a portal. If we can drag her somewhere where she couldn't summon any help, we might actually stand a chance. Her power seems to be held in that crystal ball in the throne room. Hopefully she'd be at a major disadvantage without it." "You thought this out. But um, there's a big chance she'll kill both of us just by blinking funny." Mars laughed quietly. "Probably. But it's better than doing nothing." "Too true." "And at the very worst, we need to try to destroy as much of their equipment as we can manage. The more we break, the less resources they'll have to move the army." She paused, eyeing the Earthling up. "Are you sure you're willing to do this? I mean, we're talking life and death. I can dump you off at the moon first if you prefer. I won't think any less of you." He scowled. "You've seen the great Prince of Earth chained to a wall, in his underwear. How much more can I lose now, honestly?" "I wasn't going to bring that up again." Rei muttered. "What can I say? I'm a glutton for punishment." "Welcome to the team." Mars replied cheekily. "We make it out of here, you can help me design an emblem." "Yay." the prince drawled. Rei offered him a genuine smile. "You're not too bad. For an Earthling." "Thanks." he replied with a grin. "Now shut up. I need to concentrate." Mars said quietly. Funny thing about this dark power, once it was in you, you could feel it every time someone used it around you. With someone like Beryl, the surge would be tremendous. And there it was. "She's moving!" "Which way?" Endymion asked quickly. Rei pointed north, and the prince swore loudly. "What?" "She's headed straight for us." The fire soldier grinned. "Fantastic." She summoned her energy into her fists, knowing full well she'd need it. The door was thrown open, and the Queen entered the room, suddenly looking much larger than she had all the previous times Mars had been in her presence. Her eyes burned angry holes through the soldier's skull, and she had yet to even notice the prince. "What is the meaning of this??" she demanded angrily. "What happened to my guard??" Mars drew herself into a battle stance. "I broke his neck." Beryl's features curled into a snarl. "You dare try to turn on me?" "I never sided with you to begin with." the soldier snapped back. The Queen held her palm out in front of her, and dark energy began to crackle around her hand. "You forget. I own you." Rei was overcome with such a rush of dark power she began to feel dizzy. Her muscles began to scream in protest as she fought with everything she had to keep control of her limbs. "Kneel!" The soldier's knees began to buckle under her own weight, and she could feel herself giving in under the extreme pressure. She chanced a quick glance to her side, but Endymion was nowhere to be seen. "I said kneel!" Mars met the eyes full of burning hatred and focused on the few memories she had left, remembering her friends, and her home. She would die before she let this witch destroy any of that. "Only to Queen Serenity." she replied weakly, shaking under the strain of trying to remain on her feet. "Those words will be your last!" the Queen hissed, releasing her hold on the Martian. Rei stumbled back, gasping for breath, and realized in horror that Beryl had extended her fingernails out, like long sharp knives. 'I am in no shape to dodge all of those.' Beryl lunged towards her, and the soldier lifted her arms to bring up a fire arrow, but the Dark Queen was too quick, coming within inches of the soldier's throat. Mars turned her face and shut her eyes, ready to die, but the pain never came. Beryl let out an angry scream, and Rei snapped her eyes open, shocked to see an angry red gash down the Queen's cheek. She clutched her bleeding face in her hands and whipped around to face her assailant. Endymion stood in the doorway to her torture chamber, his features calm and devoid of any emotion. Mars looked to the floor and saw a single rose embedded in the marble at her feet. 'What the hell? A flower??' Beryl punched her hard in the solar plexus, sending her across the room and into the wall. The soldier winced as her skull connected with hard stone, but she shook it off quickly, pulling herself back up to her feet. The Dark Queen rushed at the prince now, blind with rage, and the soldier snapped back to reality, drawing her flaming arrow again and letting it fly, just as she was about to reach Endymion. The projectile lodged itself in the Queen's shoulder and the Martian was rather surprised she had hit her at all. 'She's not invincible after all. She can bleed.' "Now would be a good time Mars!" the prince cried desperately, as Beryl resumed her attack on him. Her tingling sense alerted her to the fact that reinforcements were on the way, and lots of them. There was no way the two of them could hold off that many and still make it home. The fire soldier quickly opened a portal, and launched herself at Beryl, trying to draw her away from Endymion. She whipped out her dagger and leapt up, driving the small blade home into the wound she had created with the arrow. The Queen hissed and spun to face her, moving with a speed that was ungodly quick. Her hands wrapped around the soldier's throat and she lifted Mars up off the floor. "I will beat you until there's nothing left!" The fire soldier grit her teeth and gripped Beryl's wrists as tight as she could with her hands, swinging forward and planting both boots firmly into the witch's midsection. Beryl staggered slightly but never released her grip, and Rei began to panic. The longer this went on, the stronger this woman was becoming. They had to act, and fast. Air was starting to become a major issue. Endymion tackled Beryl from behind, pushing both her and Mars through the portal and jumping in after them. Rei felt her back slam into something very hard, and it jarred even Beryl. The iron grip on her throat loosened momentarily, and Mars took the opportunity to bring all the fire she could gather into her fist, swinging her arm up and catching Beryl into a full uppercut, sending the witch flying. The soldier scrambled to her feet, gasping for air. The prince appeared at her side quickly, drawing his sword. "You alright?" "I think so." Mars rasped, as the Queen regained her footing. "Where are we?" "I don't know." The Martian answered truthfully. They appeared to have landed in ruins of some sort. "I just opened a portal and hoped for the best." "Well, here she comes." he announced wearily, charging forward to meet her. Beryl slammed him aside, as though he were nothing more than a mere toy, and headed straight for Mars, a bloodthirsty glint in her horribly red eyes. Rei drew her sword and charged at the red haired witch, but the queen caught the blade it her bare hands and ripped it from her grasp. Mars retaliated by launching a fireball directly into her face, but Beryl brushed it aside as if it were nothing more than a bothersome insect. She grabbed the collar of the soldier's armor and pulled her close, staring straight through to her very soul. "You could have been so much more. It's a pity that I have to kill you now. You had shown such great promise." her lips curled into a smirk. "But how fitting that we do this here on your home world." The soldier's eyes widened, and Beryl laughed. "You can't even remember where we are? And you thought you could bring me down by yourself." "Shut up!" Mars snapped, slamming her head forward and head-butting the Queen of Darkness. Beryl hissed in anger and punched the soldier hard in retaliation. Rei's world spun, and she realized that she was on the brink of losing consciousness. "You will pay for your insubordination Mars, and so shall your friends. I will make their deaths slow and painful, just because of your little charade. How does that make you feel?" "Go to hell." Rei rasped. The Queen threw her to the ground, and began to beat her savagely. Mars couldn't even gather the strength to block the blows anymore, and she knew her end was close now. "After you." Beryl snarled, turning the soldier's own sword on her, so the point rested on her abdomen. "Are you scared? I'm about to run you through with your own blade. You should have just followed me, Mars." "I'd rather die standing, than live on my knees. I take comfort in the fact that I know you won't be far behind me." Rei retorted calmly. Dear God. She had always been taught that a stab through the abdomen was the most painful way to die, so she avoided using it on her enemies at all costs. No one deserved that. Fate was a funny thing indeed. 'Minako. I'm sorry.' Tears stung her eyes, but she couldn't stop them. She had always sworn that she'd never die like this, crying like a small child. "Why are you crying? This is what soldiers are for. Live and die by the sword, am I right?" Beryl said with an evil grin. Endymion had finally gotten to his feet, but he was in no shape to help from what the Martian could see. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth, and judging from the way he was holding his side, his ribs must have been shattered. "Words of wisdom from a tyrant's mouth." Rei said weakly. "No more games. Just do it." "As you wish." Beryl replied, raising the sword up. 'I'm so sorry. I've broken every promise I've ever made. I'm sorry.' Mars closed her eyes. She felt so tired, and old. She could hardly feel the cuts and bruises now, and she could only pray that in the next life, she'd get the chance to do things right. The Queen let out a startled gasp, and Mars opened her eyes. The blade of a sword was protruding through Beryl's stomach from her back, and a dark red stain was rapidly appearing across the front of her purple dress. "What?" "Mars. Get out of here." Rei pushed herself up. She knew that voice. Impossible. "Go! Now!" Beryl fell to the ground, unmoving, and Rei could see her assassin. "Mother?" the soldier cried weakly. "Hurry. I can't hold her for long." "Why??" The helper offered her a genuine smile. "I did everything all wrong. I just wanted to protect you, but look where it's brought us. You were right, all along. It took me this long to realize it. The more time I've gotten to spend with you, the more I saw the folly of my ways." "But we can help you! We can finish her, right now!" Rei cried desperately. "No. She'll heal, and be stronger than ever. So go. Take him, and go. I've destroyed what I could back at the palace, so that should buy your people some time." Beryl was already beginning to stir, and Mars could see the wound on her back closing. "Go!" "Not without you!" Mars replied, voice cracking. "Be strong. The black energy in your body will start to dissipate soon, but you'll pull through. I know you can. " "I don't want you to die again!" The helper ignored her, and opened a portal. "You." she said, gesturing to Endymion. "Get her out of her. This will take you back to the moon." He nodded and moved towards Mars. "We have to go. Now." The soldier's eyes welled up. "You don't understand. She's my mother." "What kind of mother would do what I've done?" the helper asked calmly. "You." Mars replied, understanding at last. "It was you, helping me all this time. You knew what I was going to do." The Queen staggered to her feet. "Go!" her mother shouted, pushing her through the portal. "And remember, I do love you, very much." The world turned black, and then white. Mars crashed hard, and the prince crashed down right on top of her. They both groaned in pain, and the soldier pushed him off. "We have to help her." Rei said weakly, struggling to get to her feet. She waved her hand, but nothing happened. "Oh God, no..." "Rei..." Endymion whispered. She cried in frustration and drove her fist into the ground, so hard her knuckle split open. "Honor her sacrifice." he said quietly. "I'm pretty sure that without her, we'd be dead, and now we do have time." "But it was all for nothing!" Rei sobbed. "All of it! It was all for nothing!" "Not true." he replied, wincing in pain as he spoke. "If you hadn't made the deal, she wouldn't have changed, and Beryl would still be unstoppable. But now, if we're lucky, they'll attack at half strength, and we can all make it out of this alive." "This is all my fault." "No." he said calmly. "You did what you set out to do. That's what's important. So honor her sacrifice. Don't run off and get yourself killed." She wiped away her tears. He was right. God, he was right. Now they actually stood a chance, all thanks to her mother. "You know what Endymion?" "Huh?" "It's definitely the end of the world when you start making sense." He laughed, and then immediately groaned as another wave of pain hit. "That's wonderful and all, but do you think we can see a medic now?" She nodded wearily and rose to her feet, helping the prince up. A cool breeze picked up, and soothed her battered nerves. It was so good to be back on the moon. The palace looked so warm and inviting, and tears sprang to her eyes once more. "Is it just me, or does the palace look like it's really far away?" "Ugh. Really, really far." he replied tiredly. "Here. You help me, and I'll help you." "Deal." She draped and arm over his shoulder, and he draped one over hers, and together they staggered wearily towards the gates. "Damn. I think I lost my sword..." he muttered quietly. "That's okay. I'm sure Serenity will pick you lots of roses, if you ask her nicely." He scowled. "I was out of options." "But seriously. You went after the Dark Queen with flowers. What kind of moron fights with flowers?" He laughed weakly. "Saved your life." "I guess." "Mars?" "Yeah?" "Are they going to lock me up again?" he asked plaintively. She just couldn't help it. She laughed so hard she almost dropped the prince, and it certainly didn't help her battered body any. "If they try, just throw some flowers at them." she rasped, as bouts of pain racked her already aching muscles. Endymion groaned.
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