"Rei!! It's really you!!" "Huh?" Mars looked up wearily at the sound of her name, and tried to brace herself for what was coming. A flying pig-tailed mass of blonde energy darted through the gates and tackled the fire soldier roughly, knocking her and Endymion to the ground. She winced in pain, but allowed the blonde to continue squeezing the hell out of her. "Heh. I missed you too, Princess." Endymion groaned painfully beside her. "I don't understand. How do you people even heal up? It seems like something traumatic is always happening." Mars patted the sobbing princess' back. "You get used to it after a while." "Oh, we were all so worried about you. Don't you ever do something stupid like that again!" Serenity wailed tearfully. "Hey, it's alright. I promise, never again." "Are you hurt?" "Not much." Rei lied smoothly. In all reality, she felt as though she were going to drop over dead. Beryl had beaten her soundly, and she felt as though she didn't have anything left to give. "Oh my God, look at you. You're hurt badly! Almost every square inch of you is turning purple!" "I think he's worse." Mars replied with a nod of her head. "I should probably get him to a medic." Serenity seemed to notice the prince for the first time. "Are you alright, Endymion?" "Been better." he answered truthfully. The princess finally released Rei, and moved towards the prince, dropping down beside him and taking his hand in hers. "I do thank you, on behalf of my kingdom." "I'm just glad that I was able to help. I feel bad for my behavior earlier." Mars snickered quietly. "Yeah, he more than paid his dues." "But that's a story for another time." Endymion replied stiffly, staggering as he rose to his feet. Serenity insisted upon helping Mars up, despite her efforts to shake the blonde off. "I'm fine, really." "No, you're not. You can hardly stand." "Hey, the pretty boy and I were doing just fine until someone knocked us over." Rei teased gently. But inside, she felt as though her heart would burst. She had wanted nothing more than to come home, and now that she was here, it felt like a dream, like she'd wake up any minute now back in that dark little room, wondering if she were truly going insane. "Hm. Maybe I should get Minako?" Rei's heart fluttered. "As much as I'd love nothing more than to see her, I owe it to Endymion to get a doctor." "Alright. We'll get you settled in, and then I'll go find her. Chances are you won't get much rest around her anyway." "I could say the same for you." the soldier's face became a mask of pain, and concern flooded the princess' features. "You know, you can lean your weight on me, Rei. I'm stronger than I look." "I know." Mars said with a warm smile, allowing the princess to assist her inside. Jupiter met them at the door. "Damn! It really is you, Mars! What happened??" "Long story." The thunder soldier winced. "You look like hell." "Thanks." The brunette eyed the wounded prince. "You need some help?" "No." "Yes. He does." Rei cut it. "We were beaten pretty badly." "Obviously." Makoto grasped the prince around the waist and hoisted him up easily. "Oh come on." he muttered quietly. "I can't have a little pride?" "Not in this place." the fire soldier commented dryly. Serenity eased her through the door to the infirmary, and Mars couldn't help but chuckle. She felt like she had spent a vast majority of her life in this room already. "What's so funny?" "It's just good to be home." "And you have no idea how worried we all were." The princess replied, helping Rei onto a bed. "I'm sorry, Serenity. Trust me. You have no idea how sorry I really am." "It's alright." the blonde replied quietly, taking in the Martians beaten form under real lighting. Her armor had been scorched and dented in numerous spots, some clearly in the form of a fist. "She's a real monster, isn't she?" Serenity whispered, lightly tracing the outline of the blow Mars had received at the battles beginning back in the Queen's quarters. "We hardly made a dent." Rei admitted softly. "But I'll tell you this. She can bleed. She's no god by any means." "Please, Rei, please don't fight all by yourself anymore." the princess murmured as her crystal blue eyes filled with tears. She wrapped her arms around her guardian's neck and pressed her lips to the soldier's cheek. Mars buried her face in the crook of her princess' neck and sighed deeply. She had missed all of them so much it hurt. "I won't." "You know that we all love you." Mars swallowed hard. "I know. Just being here with you like this makes me wonder what in the hell I've been thinking." Serenity smiled warmly and dried her eyes. "I better go get Minako now. She's been worried sick about you, even more than me, I think." Rei was about to reply but a resounding crash from next door silenced her. "What was that?" the princess cried worriedly. "I should go check." Mars replied, wincing as she began to push herself out of bed. "Oh no, you stay there. Jupiter's nearby." No sooner had she spoken the words and a rather sheepish looking Makoto opened the door and peeked her head in. "We're having a slight problem with Endymion." "Is he alright?" Rei asked worriedly. "I'm not sure." the brunette replied, scratching her head. "The doctor tried to remove his clothing, and he went nuts." Mars burst into laughter, and immediately clutched her aching sides. "Oh," she cried weakly. "I can't blame him." Jupiter and Serenity eyed her strangely, and the soldier waved her hand. "Don't ask. Just...let him be. He's had a long day." "Alright. I guess." Makoto replied. "I'm going to get Mercury." Rei sighed. "Might as well get them all. They need to know what's happening. And besides," she added with a smile. "I missed you guys." Jupiter leaned in towards the princess, and asked in a stage whisper, "Who is she, and where is Rei?" The princess giggled in response and Mars rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever." "Much better." Makoto said with a grin. "I'll be back." Serenity chewed her lower lip thoughtfully. "Maybe I should go check on the prince?" "I think he'd like that." the soldier replied with a nod. "He's not too bad, once you get to know him." The blonde arched an eyebrow. "Really now?" "Hey, we had quite the ordeal. I'm just saying, he's not that bad. I didn't say I wanted to bear his children or anything. " "That's not what I meant!" Serenity cried, obviously flustered. "It's just that I can remember when you hated him." Rei cast her eyes down to her lap and fidgeted nervously. "That's because he was trying to take you from us. We all hated him." "Oh, Rei..." the princess murmured quietly. "Come on now. No need to get all teary eyed." the soldier replied with a lopsided grin. "So go on. I think he'll appreciate it." Serenity nodded. "Promise you won't move?" "I promise." The princess took her leave, and as soon as the door shut behind her, Mars set to work at removing her armor. The gauntlets and greaves were easy enough, but the rest was a different matter altogether. After fighting for several agonizing minutes, she gave up and lay back on the mattress once more. The room had gone still and quiet at last, and she could finally hear herself think. It was funny. For so long, she hadn't minded being alone. She had always welcomed the peace and quiet solitude had entailed, but now she didn't want it anymore. Maybe it was all the stress. For the past few days, everything had happened so quickly, and now that things had settled down for the most part, she wasn't sure what to do with herself. But as the deafening silence dragged on, she became positive that it wasn't the stress making her feel this way. She was honestly lonely, and she wanted to see Minako above all else. Venus had waited so long for her, and Rei was pretty tired of waiting herself. She was about to pull herself out of bed and hunt the blonde down when the door cracked open, and the object of her affections entered the room. "Hey." "Hey yourself." Rei replied calmly, though she was sure she was going to explode if Minako didn't get over here. Venus gave her a shaky smile, and the soldier was about to ask her what was wrong, but before she could get the words out, the blonde ran to her and threw her arms around the fire soldier, sobbing openly. "Maybe I should leave again." Rei joked quietly. "I finally come home and all I seem to do is make everyone cry." "Don't you even joke like that, Mars." Minako choked out, holding her tight. "I'm sorry." Rei whispered, dropping light kisses on her jaw line. "I'm so sorry." "Promise me you'll never leave." The fire soldier swallowed painfully. All things considered, that was not a promise she should make. "Promise. Please. I...I need to hear it." "I promise Mina. I swear, I'll never leave your side again." "Good." the blonde replied at last, drawing back slightly and smiling through her tears. "Because I'm tired of you running off only to end up in the infirmary." "That makes two of us." Rei said with a faint smile, running her fingers through golden silk. God, it felt so good to be home. As she breathed in the sweet scent that was uniquely Mina, she wondered what would've happened had Beryl succeeded in killing her. Her heart twisted painfully in her chest as she tried to push those thoughts aside. That didn't matter anymore. She had the here and now, right? Maybe fate wasn't so cruel after all, and just maybe, there'd be a little more hope in the bottom of Pandora's box. A gentle warmth had permeated her aching bones and muscles, and she had found a sense of peace that had been missing for so long. Looking into those cerulean blue eyes however, she felt the sharp pang of loss for the memories she had given up in sacrifice. "What's wrong?" the blonde asked quietly. "It hurts." "Oh, God, am I sitting on your arm or something?" Venus cried worriedly, leaping to her feet. "No, no. Come back over here." Rei said with a sigh, catching her hand and pulling the blonde back down beside her. "What hurts then?" "I was just thinking about all the memories I've lost. The fact that I can't remember the things I've done with you stings." Mars admitted quietly, dropping her eyes. Minako leaned forward and kissed the fire soldier tenderly before meeting her eyes. "It's alright, Rei, and I'll tell you why. I'll help you remember everything you've forgotten, and for every memory you've lost, we'll make a new one." "I knew there was a reason why I love you so much." Rei said with a warm smile, drawing the blonde in for another kiss. "I would hope so." Minako replied breathlessly. A timid knock at the door startled them both, and the fire soldier let out a frustrated growl. "I'll kill whoever that is." Venus laughed softly. "Stop it. I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you, so settle down." Mercury entered the room, and the fire soldier's features light up into a smile. "Ami! It's so good to see you!" The bluenette crossed the room quickly and threw her arms around Mars in a surprisingly tight hug, mumbling quietly against her raven hair. The only words Mars could pick out were 'moron' and 'stupid.' "Hey, Ami. I'm not leaving any time soon. You don't have to squeeze so hard." "We were worried." "I know." She ran critical blue eyes over the various welts and bruises, and simply shook her head. "I know. You don't have to say anything." Rei mumbled. "Hm. All I'll say is that I'm getting really tired of sewing you back together." "But Ami, there's not another person in the universe that I trust more than you when it comes to needles. You have gentle hands." Mercury's face flushed. The blonde beside her arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow, and Rei laughed, doubling over slightly when her bruised ribs protested the action. "That's what you get." Minako teased playfully. "Am I interrupting something?" Ami asked skeptically. "Nothing I can't pick up later." "Not with that attitude." Venus remarked. Yes, it was definitely good to be home. ---------------------- "Are you serious?" Jupiter asked quietly. "Your mother?" Mars nodded, the group surrounding her having gone deathly silent. Minako squeezed her hand as a show of silent support, and Rei flashed her a grateful smile. "Well, this proves that she's not invincible." Haruka said at last. "We honestly stand a chance now." "That's all I had wanted, all along." Rei replied. "I wanted to give all of us a fighting chance. Maybe my methods weren't the best, but I had all of you in my heart. I'm sorry, for the grief and worry I must have caused all of you." Uranus chuckled lightly. "Not the best? Look at the shape the two of you are in." "And I haven't even gotten to check the full extent of your injuries." Ami added. "Hey, soldier's healing. I'll be up in a day." Rei replied calmly. Neptune sighed. "Even so, we only have five days left. Four, in a matter of hours, and that's even assuming that Beryl hasn't gone stark raving mad and is marching here as we speak." The group fell into another dark silence. Mars felt that despite everything, it was still a little hard to be optimistic, and she could tell by the expressions on the faces of her comrades that she was not alone in her line of thinking. "Let's not worry about that." Luna said suddenly from her perch on the bed. "It won't really do any of us any good right now, and it will only serve to lower our morale. Mars is back in one piece, the prince included. No one is seriously wounded, and things are really starting to look up, as far as our situation goes. I'm sure Mercury can use the knowledge Mars brought back with her, and together we can find a way to use it to our advantage, so no more moping." The princess grinned. "She's right. I think, that for the next couple of days, it's important that we all enjoy ourselves." Mars cast her a dubious look. "Are you sure that's wise?" "Absolutely. Like my mother said, it will remind everyone what it is that they fight for." "But what if she really is on her way here?" Makoto questioned worriedly. The fire soldier's eyes stung as her mother's final moments flashed briefly across her mind, and to think that she was actually worried that she would be the one to kill her... "No." Mars replied firmly. "I saw the shape that witch was in, and judging from what my mother said, we do have time, maybe more than we think we do." "Then it's settled." Artemis said with a nod. "We find a way to deal with the dark portals, and then everyone takes a much needed breather." "I don't think I can remember how to relax." Haruka mumbled faintly. ---------------- "Do you need some help with that?" Minako asked quietly, a bemused expression gracing her features. Rei threw up her hands in defeat and sighed helplessly. "Stupid witch bashed up my sides so much I can even undo the clasps on my armor. I think they've been melted shut." "Are you serious?" "Yes, and I'm not even sure how that could have possibly happened." "Let me get this straight. You're the master of fire, but you can't figure out how something metal would melt?" "I didn't do it to myself!" Rei growled, overly frustrated. "Hey, relax, alright? I can give you a hand." Venus replied gently, setting to work and prying the clasps apart. "You can't do everything by yourself all the time. The rest of us would start to look useless." "Sorry." Mars mumbled. "It's just that the past few days have been pure hell." Cerulean eyes flickered up briefly from the task at hand. "I think I can understand how you feel." Rei winced. "You must have hated me." "Maybe a little." Minako replied quietly. "I thought for sure I'd never see you again., then I finally do see you, only to find out that you were apparently working for her. I think my heart broke." "Mina..." "I can't ever remember feeling that lost in my whole life, you know? And then you come back again, only to tell me that you're leaving on some suicide mission. You can't even begin to imagine what that did to me. I was so worried that you'd be killed, and the worst part was, even if something did happen to you, I'd never know." she paused briefly to brush a stray tear, and laughed weakly. "Look at me. And I'm supposed to be the leader. Some leader. I couldn't even hold myself together, much less the others." Rei suddenly felt very sick. "But here you are, alive, and back home with me." the blonde glanced up again as tears filled her eyes. "But you know, all I can think about is the fact that something else is going to happen, and when it does, you're not going to be okay, and you're not going to come home. That breaks my heart even more. Why does everything have to be this way??" "I...I don't know..." Minako gave her a shaky, broken smile. "Can't we leave? Can't we just...I don't know...go somewhere, where everything isn't life and death all the time? I just want to live in peace sometimes. It starts to feel like the weight of everything is chained to my shoulders, and I can't put it down." she shook her head. "We can't leave, can we? Even if we could, I wouldn't be able to live with myself." Mars reached out a trembling hand and intertwined her fingers with Minako's. "There's something I've learned just from being with you." "What's that?" Venus asked wearily. "Guilt, pain, suffering, the weight of everything. It gets lighter. It gets lighter everyday, if you drag it around long enough., especially if you've got someone next to you to help pull the weight." "Really?" "Yes." Rei said with a nod. "And I should know. I carried around a horrible guilt with me for the longest time, and I almost let Beryl use that guilt against me. But somewhere, in the back of mind, was you, and no matter how many memories they took away from me, they couldn't take away the feeling of home that I would get whenever I thought of you. That's how I held onto my control, because I knew no matter what they said to me, you, and the others, would never turn your back on me because of my past." "Your past?" "Let's just say there's a reason that I don't talk about what happened before I came to live on the moon." "You always were a bit strange whenever someone brought it up." Minako replied softly. "But the point is, I know you wouldn't think any less of me. And I promise, no matter what happens, you don't have to go it alone anymore. No more stupid stunts out of me, I swear." The blonde laughed lightly. "Are you sure about that? You are a Martian." Rei shrugged. "True. But that's a much better look for you. You're beautiful when you smile, and for what it's worth, I'll apologize until the end of time if that's what it takes." Minako leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the soldier's neck. "You don't have to apologize. Just be here, alright?" Mars grinned. "You're the boss." "Good. I see you haven't forgotten everything." "Low blow..." Rei grumbled playfully as the blonde pulled her in for a tender kiss.
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