Venus had just finished knocking out an Earth soldier with her powers when she felt it.

The tip of a sword against her back.

The cold tone in his usually warm voice.

He had caught her off guard. He had the chance to stab her in the back and kill her, but he didn’t. Instead, he chose to make himself known.

She turned, swift and agile, catching the tip of his sword in her chains, momentarily immobilizing it. “That’s poor strategy, and you know it,” she pointed out. “You could have killed me so easily if you wanted to. You had your chance and you didn’t take it. You gave me a chance to fight back and announce your presence. What might be the reason behind that, Kunzite?”

His name felt bitter on her tongue, and she searched in his silver eyes for some hint that this was all just a charade. She was afraid by what she found, but remained convinced that he must not want to kill her very much if this was the choices he had made. They had sparred numerous times and she knew his swordsmanship was better than hers. He could have bested her easily, killed her silently without much fuss.

But he hadn’t.

“No, you are right...”

He shrugged, the small mischievous smile almost his own if it wasn't for the darker edges to it.

“It is annihilation for the sake of protection.”

He was playing with words, playing dumb and playing with her. He was slightly disappointed by the control she had over her emotions, but there was still time to make her mask crack. He knew she could be coaxed into being more expressive than this, or anyway, part of him knew that. She once had appeared to him unreachable, almost cold, but though their relationship didn't really evolve in anything as passionate as their brothers and sisters in arms, Zoisite had seen her emotional. Her panic at Serenity's disappearance during the ball had been proof of the affection she felt for her princess as well as proof of the dutiful soldier she was.

Fortunately, what he took for an accusation brought him back from thoughts that were going far deeper than he had intended. He looked down at the crackling energy swirling around his hands and found himself reassured in his doings.

“We cannot bring a mentally challenged man to war, can we now? Our prince stayed behind and he will be safe when this place is burned to ashes.”

He would make sure of it, or so he very stupidly thought. He observed her, quietly for a short amount of time before he shook his head, the energy in his hand ready to be used.

“Now, now, you are a smart girl and I have no intentions to play cat and mouse with you. Stop moving around and show me how right we are about the danger your people represent for mine.”

He unleashed the spheres, then opened his arms wide, the spheres each melting into two smaller ones as they were quickly nearing Mercury's location.

His body remembered being close to her like this, even if his mind was in turmoil about the entire thing. He had her right where he wanted her, why was he hesitating? Was it because she felt so warm, so familiar? Was she bewitching him even now?
 
"This is just like the time we sparred in the woods..."
 
The woods. He remembered that time. They sparred and he had pinned her to a tree. He remembered staring into her eyes, amazed at how much he enjoyed spending time with her, no matter what activity they were doing. When they came out of the woods some time later, Jadeite had given him a knowing look at their disheveled states.
 
Eyes clearing as the memory faded, he stumbled back a few steps, his free hand covering his left eye as if he could stop the horrendous pounding that had appeared. What was he doing, chasing her like this…it wasn’t right…something wasn’t right.
 

“Sayen,” he called out softly, confusion colouring his voice.

As much as he tried to forget the picture from earlier, he couldn't. Of course he knew that Mars would betray him - that, he already realized when Beryl brought the truth home to him - but seeing it with his own eyes, how she was killing his men with her flames without hesitation, overwhelmed him with emotions. Why did she do that? Didn't she once say that she would always be by his side? That she would always support him? Where did the promise go? Why was she now there, on the battlefield, fighting Earth although they only wanted to stop the Moon Kingdom from their morbid control?

He was just unable to grasp it.

No matter how much he tried to understand, no matter how much he tried to distract himself by killing the Lunarians - he still felt that pain of betray in his heart. How could one be so wrong about someone? How could you give them all your love, just to realize that they only played with you?

He had been so stupid...

Beryl was looking around and from afar saw Prince Endymion on the roof. She was overtaken with anger, he had come here to warn them about the attack. Clenching her fist, her nails bit into her palms, what was she going to do about this? Endymion was hers, and here he was protecting the Moon Princess and her kingdom. It made her sick to her stomach. 

As she got closer to where he was she realized she couldn't get in. There must have been a barrier of some kind up to keep her out. Beryl grew angrier, knowing she couldn't get in on her own, she contacted Metallia. Metallia used a green ray to break through the barrier. 

Beryl headed in the direction of Endymion, knowing that the Moon Princess would be somewhere near him and soon she could take her vengeance. As she walked towards him she found the Moon Princess in what seemed like a prayer room. She was overcome with rage and unsheathed her sword, she'd been waiting for this moment for a long time and now that it was here, Beryl was ready. She ran at the Moon Princess with sword in hand, prepared to take her life.

From his position on the Moon Castle rooftop, he saw the battle clearly beneath him. Civilians slaughtered by the soldiers of Earth lay in a bloody path stretching towards a portal that was only now closing, the evil powers that had summoned it crackled in the air, creating shadowy demons that seemed to leap from person to person, each of their seven forms taking hold of one to quickly destroy another, as though feeding off of the bloodlust the battle created. He scowled, holding the grip of his sword – those demons needed to be destroyed, but he tore his gaze away, searching the regions again for signs of her. The defense the Moon had in place was impressive for what time they had – they seemed to almost be holding their own, battling against advances made by –

 
His stomach flipped as he spotted Jadeite among the attackers, wielding his blade easily.
 
Like some sick children’s game of seek-and-find, his eyes fell upon his other friends like iron filings to a magnet. His feet moved forward mechanically, but he forced himself to stop and look away. He had to find Beryl - only she could put a stop to all of this, and he would do whatever it took to make her do just that. Look as he might, he didn’t spot her eerie red hair anywhere –
 
A roar of sound and destruction bombarded his senses, whipping at his cape and clothes, and he spun on his toes to figure out what was happening, and his body tensed, unable to believe what he was seeing. A great green column of pure chaotic energy tore through the castle, dismantling the marble structure with the sheer force of power, crumbling it and sending it skyward as easily as toppling a house of cards. His eyes widened as the column moved in, through the exterior of the palace and into the interior – were people inside?! What was it doing to them?! He started to run forward and froze, projecting its trajectory. His heart stopped.
 
Serenity.
 
He flew forward, back the way he had come, towards the room of prayer, and arrived just after the column had gotten there. His heart threatening to burst through his chest, his nerves on edge, a scream was poised in his throat – by the time he got back to where the prayer chamber had stood, the walls around it had been destroyed. A fire raged on one side of the room, nearly engulfing the three crystalline pillars Serenity had been praying to, but she was still there. Her beautiful white dress stood out starkly from the room lit by flames, and in the flashing firelight he saw clearly the sword in the evil witch’s hand, poised to strike his love in the chest.
 
He jumped, falling several stories to land just beside Serenity in a crouch. Rising as quickly as he could, he met Beryl’s blade with his own, deflecting the strike aimed for his Princess’s heart.
 
“Stop! Lay down your arms! Stop this futile war!”
 

source:

Serenity had been praying for everyone on the moon to be safe. She prayed for her mother, her senshi, for Endymion and even his Shittenou who had changed alliances to serve the woman responsible for attacking the moon and causing such horrible destruction.

Serenity had to keep her eyes squeezed shut at the sounds of battle, the sounds of slashing and screaming was all too much to bear. Serenity was afraid and alone, but knew she had to remain strong and believe in her senshi to protect her and the moon.

Serenity turned around, eyes wide when she heard a loud bang and saw a woman with fiery red hair charging towards her with a sword. She was paralyzed with fear. She tried to scream, but her voice would not come out. She tried to move, but felt frozen to the ground.

She had never seen this woman in her life and now she was going to die. What could I have possibly have done to her for her to want to kill me, Serenity thought as a flash appeared in front of her.

Endymion had appeared, just in the nick of time. He really was her knight in shining armor. How had he known to come back at this time? Serenity didn’t know, but the fear she once felt for her life, she now felt for Endymion’s.  She stayed behind him, but kept close to him, fearing any moment would be the last. She had not seen a sword fight, especially one this close, but the glisten of the blades told Serenity that one slash could cause irreplaceable damage.


Serenity folded her hands in front of her chest and stood by watching silently, too scared to say anything and too afraid to move from Endymion’s side.

Jupiter watched as he stumbled away from, holding his head as if he were were in pain. He was helpless at the moment, struggling under the dark power that had gripped his mind, and it hurt to watch him suffer like that. She wanted to hold him steady and try to comfort him, but she knew that he could still be dangerous. She needed to get him out of the castle, but...was he even a threat anymore. She took a step closer, and her bare hand touched his cheek. Nephrite's eyes went cloudy again, and his sword hand twitched.

"I'm sorry to have to do this..." she said, before pulling away again. After restraining her sympathy, she ran past Nephrite instead. she needed to get out to the gardens, then maybe she could talk him down before the war outside got too bad. An explosion shook the palace, and she almost lost her balance as a green tornado of power tore through it. The roof above her shook, but she still made it outside before anything fell. 

But was Serenity okay? A bolt of worry shot though her at the thought of the princess being crush by falling granite. The prayer room would protect her, right? It wasn't an ordinary room. And Endymion would not let anything bad happen. Steeling her resolve, she turned and waited for Nephrite to find her.

Sailor Mercury narrowed her eyes at Zoisite, her expression hard and stony. Whatever softness he might have once seen in her, it was not there now. The more he spoke, spouting words both untrue and outlandish in their untruth, the more she felt herself freeze against him. The warm heart that bled for that fleeting happiness and closeness they had once known remained locked away. It belonged to the other man; this one could not have it.

"Your people are a danger to this kingdom, not the other way around. You and your turncoat brothers have illustrated it neatly with your current actions."

Her focus remained on the green energy sent hurtling towards her. This time she did not run, but faced it head-on.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

The glacial water connected with his attack, scattering the emerald miasma in a blinding instant. For a moment she was protected by a wall of ice, but it melted away almost as soon as the opposing force dissipated. Through the ice she stared at him, blue eyes to those of teal, watching critically. What would he do next? How long would they remain in this check scenario? Could she keep him from getting to the palace to attempt on his threats against Princess Serenity?

A roaring noise, unimaginably loud, turned her towards the Moon Castle. Icons flashed on the screen of her visor, warning noises beeping in her ears. A massive pillar of green energy, similar to that Zoisite had conjured, ripped through Queen Serenity's barrier and pulverized part of the castle. Her heart nearly stopped. Serenity! She saw the princess's form without having to search, as if Mercury knew exactly where she had to be. She was riveted to the unfolding scene, her eyes wide with horror.

No! Serenity!

The barrier was put up, and everyone was still anxious. Rightfully so, the army seemed to come upon the castle at any moment. Queen Serenity kept all her energies focused on the silver crystal-to keep the barrier erect. At that moment, she felt the presence of her two advisers. She sighed with relief, thank goodness they were alright! With one hand, she pet Luna on her head and scratched Artemis' chin. She looked over the balcony and saw Venus leave. She quietly prayed for her safety. All seemed well until a scream was heard-a scream that was louder then all the other voices combined.

Queen Serenity went to look to see the cause of the scream, but found she couldn't turn her head. As a matter of fact, her vision drifted closer and closer to the tile. Her head landed on the ground with a resounding "thud", her head tilted so she was forced to look at the now crumbling ceiling.

She could only hear ringing of her ears as more and more debris seemed to fall. She saw the barrier was gone. How? What could have broken it?  Queen Serenity could feel the tremors suddenly stop, and saw a hand reach down to her. The next thing she knew, there were at least five of the palace guards at her side, with two of them supporting her arms. One of them seemed to be asking something, but she could only see the movements of his lips. Eventually, her hearing came back to her

"...HIGHNESS! YOUR HIGHNESS! FOR THE LOVE OF THE CRYSTAL, SPEAK TO US! QUEEN SERENITY!"

Queen Serenity gingerly removed one of her arms from theirs, and put a hand to her forehead, trying to regain herself. Everything seemed muffled, as if the room were stuffed with cotton.

"What...Happened....?" The words came out slower then she had hoped, and one of the guards immediately nodded and responded.

"We heard you scream, your highness. The barrier has been broken. The prayer room has collapsed, the main building isn't without its own damages. We need to get you and the crystal to safety, now!"

"A...scream...?" She repeated dumbly as the guards hoisted her up. "That scream....was me?"

They began to move her slowly, and she saw many bloodied individuals, unmoving under various parts of rubble. . Her body came to life again, and she felt every ache and pain that jolted through her tired limbs. It was then that Queen Serenity noticed the scepter with the crystal still in it. She gazed at it in awe. Somehow, through the shock of the barrier breaking, she didn't let go of the silver crystal-not once.

As she was moved further and further away, she felt a pang of anxiety. It felt as though she was forgetting something, something important. She Gazed at the silver crystal, as it twinkled and levitated in the crescent moon ornament. The words of the guards began to repeat themselves in her thoughts.

"We heard you scream, your highness. The barrier has been broken. The prayer room has collapsed, the main building isn't without its own damages. We need to get you and the crystal to safety, now!"

"We heard you scream, your highness. The barrier has been broken. The prayer room has collapsed."

"The barrier has been broken. The prayer room has collapsed."

"The prayer room has collapsed."

Queen Serenity's eyes shot open. She struggled and thrust herself out of the guards arms, and ran to the balcony, ignoring their cries.

"No." Every step the Queen took seemed to be in slow motion. She ran past the injured, the dead, and the rubble that came down.

"This cannot be." Even though pain still shot through her body with each movement, she ran to the gaping hole. She could see where the prayer room once stood. Nothing but the crystal monument remained. There were even more dead there, the bodies of those unfortunate enough to have been near the prayer room when it collapsed. Queen Serenity made it to the edge of the banister, and saw three silhouettes. As the dust cleared, she could see the three individuals-one a male, donned in the royal earth armor, stood in front of a red haired woman, who's sword was pointed directly at the silhouette of a woman behind him- a woman with twin blonde pigtails and a long, flowing white gown...

The Queen cupped both hands to her mouth.

"SERENITY!!!"

There it was. About time. She was finally responding, even though it had been defensive. He wasn't disappointed, her attack clearly powerful. Once he would have had for it quite the polite fascination, but now, he was just satisfied. Beryl had been right. The new powers she had given them were strong but unnatural, Mercury's were powerful and if he could trust what he had seen in the woods that day, she was born with it. Who knew what atrocities this kind of powers could unleash if free to roam their beloved planet?

Their fight was interrupted by Beryl's attack on the moon castle and Zoisite also turned his head to watch it destroying everything in his path. It made him smile. The princess had been found, there were so few moments left before the end. It had calmed him down enough for him to see the opening in Mercury's defenses and he decided to use it at his advantage.

He launched himself at her, charging his hands. When he deemed the distance between them enough, he created four large spheres he finally threw in her direction. 

"I am your opponent. There is nothing you can do for her now."

He growled, landing between her and the road leading to the castle they could see further away. He readied his sword in front of him, the smile gone from his face. He would make sure this vision of destruction was the last one she would see.

Beryl lunged toward the Moon Princess with her sword and just as she was about to strike, Prince Endymion got in the way. He asked her to stop the war and put away her sword. "No!" Beryl said, "This war is necessary, the Moon Kingdom will destroy us eventually! Join me, Prince Endymion, all I've ever wanted was you by my side!" Clearly she was angry, she was prepared for his response she knew he would never betray his love and join her. So instead of waiting she asked Metallia to send the beam forward towards Endymion. If she couldn't have him, no one could.

All she's ever wanted was him by her side?! The idea was so repulsive he had trouble understanding the notion! But as the realization took hold, his pulse thudded in his ears as he wondered if it could have ever been that simple, and ground his teeth further - if it were, he was even more to blame for all of this by repeatedly turning her aside her attentions and not dealing with them. What had he done?! How many lives had he ruined, if he had Beryl's actions to claim?!

With a powerful push, he made to throw her off, to put more space between Beryl and Serenity, his insides twisting with guilt and blame, but maybe it wasn't set yet. If he could get through to her - "Beryl, you are bewitched, I've seen the change in you these past few months - come to your senses. Discard your evil heart!"

sources:

Although he was more focused now, even in her distraction with the scene going on in the distant ruins of the Prayer Room, Sailor Mercury remained a pragmatic and trained fighter. The readouts in her visor fed continually into her brain, even when she was only viewing them peripherally. She noted his motion and action even as her eyes fixed on the white and gold figure that she knew for her princess. Mercury set her mouth in a firm line as Zoisite continued his attack, once again defending herself. He continued to be predictable in his use of the powers he was clearly unfamiliar with, but she tried to stay alert to future deviations.

When he faced her, sword drawn, she conjured her abilities once more.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" she called, sending the torrent of water barreling towards him. Her chance of success was moderate, but she hoped to freeze his weapon in a block of her unnatural ice. Watching him continually threaten with it made her think of the earlier work on the dungeon cell lock. She wished she had the strength to snap it in half.

Laughing, Beryl looked at Endymion. Bewitched? She thought, Such a silly notion. "I have not been bewitched." Beryl stated, "I haven't changed either, I'm just starting to show more of myself." Beryl smiled wickedly, things had changed with her recently, but she knew that she was not the one being manipulated, the Moon Princess was manipulating him. Beryl was only taking advantage of Metallia willing to give her more power to reach her own agenda, Metallia had no power of her. Hurt slightly by Endymion calling her evil, she replied, "I do not have an evil heart, I've gained the power to get what I want and to destroy the Moon Kingdom before they destroy us!" She laughed as the beam of power Metallia was using started to destroy the room around her, she was so close to victory, she could taste it.

Mars had just taken out another soldier when she heard the explosion behind her, the ground shaking for a few seconds before stopping.  She turned back to the Palace to see one of the columns and part of the castle blasted to bits.  They're attacking the castle where all of the civilians are! How can the soldiers focus on this battle when their families were being attacked?  Mars scowled, this battle was not going well.  The Earth soldiers were mindlessly killing without hesitation, while the Lunarian soldiers were not used to this level of aggression. If she called them to retreat back to the castle then their forces would be slaughtered.  If they stayed here, then their families would die.  Taking out another soldier trying to climb her hill, she shot an arrow at the ground next to one of the Captains.  After catching his attention she used hand signs to signal a slow retreat backwards.

It took him a moment to regain his senses after she ran past him. He took off after her, determined not to let her get the best of him. Stumbling, he nearly lost his balance as a green tornado of power tore through the palace. What was that? It didn’t matter, nothing mattered except taking Jupiter down. His resolved strengthen; he continued his case, following her into the gardens.
 

“I’m getting tired of these games Sayen, why don’t you come out and play? I thought you were a warrior?  You always prided yourself to be one, why change that now? Come face me like one,” he taunted.

He jumped back, crossing his arms in front of him, a green barrier flickering in front of him. It wasn't fast enough. Some waves of her attack reached him and he squinted his eyes through it. He needed to learn how to control these powers on the spots, noting the way the barrier moved with him and how he could cast it more quickly. They weren't an easy feat, but he could feel them flow almost naturally within his body, he simply had to shift this inner control to what he was using in battle. He was confident about them. He had been given this force so he could take them out. He was not going to simply let her win. Soon, however, the metal became too cold for his hands to hold so he dropped it at his feet before glancing back at her.

He could deal without it.

He jumped on the side and his barrier faded, a chill running through his spine. Her powers were almost as cold as her heart. He lifted his hand at the level of his shoulders, a sphere materializing between his fingers. He formed with it many other spheres and with a quick opening motion of his arms, he threw all of them in a different direction, the circle it created destroying what was in its path.

Zoisite ran towards her, energy yet again called upon as he aimed right at her this time.

Beryl did not fly backward as he had intended, but seemed rather to brush his attempt to knock her away off, as though it had been her own idea. As she spoke he heard the conviction in her voice, and he scowled at her, moving closer to Serenity to cover her better with his body. The woman was unstable – she must have lost all understanding of where she ended and this insane obsession began. He flinched as the remainder of the room started to shake and disperse, the heavy blocks breaking under the force of whatever evil powers the Sorceress had acquired.
 
He looked around for a way out, but the safe room they had believed in was in ruins around them, the power having torn most of the support apart, and was now working at the remainder, working ever closer to him. He could feel the wind pulling at his clothes, his cape, her hair… His hands retightened their grip on his sword as he realized there was nowhere to go. From what he could see, the only way to potential safety was through the intact door that Jupiter had barricaded when she left; if Serenity could open it and work her way over the obstruction, maybe she could get away; he would keep Beryl busy to buy her time to find a place to hide; her senshi should be on the way, right? She wouldn’t be left alone.
 
“Serenity,” he said calmly, looking over his armored shoulder guards to catch her eyes, “You have to run – “
 
The force of the wind doubled, tripled – it pulled him away from her, sliding his body easily across the floor towards the spinning green vortex. He resisted as best he could, but it was far too strong – he tore his gaze from Serenity to find Beryl, whose red eyes seemed to glow as they looked at him. With a shout of defiance, he threw his sword as hard as he could towards her, and saw it carried away by the wind, missing his mark entirely. His feet were pulled out from beneath him, the wind catching him, propelling him upwards and away. As the green lighting crackled around him he screamed, but cut off his cry as soon as he could, catching Serenity’s eye – she had to run. She had to leave! This could not be her fate, too! “Run, Serenity!” he screamed above the wind, his hand reaching out to ward her away. “Run!”

Still not over the betrayal of the 'love of his life', Jadeite's killings became slack, the former urge to kill everyone almost gone. He just didn't understand her. How could she, with might and main, support the Moon Kingdom to control the Earth? How could she think it was right what they were doing? Had she been brainwashed or what let her go insane?

Cutting through another neck of another Lunarian he had overbeared earlier, Jadeite suddenly heard the voice of one of the captains talking to him from afar.
"What are you doing, Sir?," he asked, his voice sending out some sort of panic, subliminal. "We're losing more and more men, every second, and you are just milling-"

Then his voice broke off, the expression in his eyes gone and a flame arrow now in his back. Immediately Jadeite jumped back with shock, the shock, however, quickly turning into anger.

That was the limit. He was done with that cold-hearted Lunarian he called his love.

"I am a warrior," Jupiter said, stopping to face him. There was a defiant gleam in her eyes now. "But that doesn't mean that I must fight every time I am challenged." This was the kind of heckling people of her planet got frequently. When they did pick fights, they were called terrifying, but when they refused to partake, they were called cowards. But just because you can crush something doesn't mean you should follow through. She thought that Nephrite had understood that concept, but this dark magic had sank in deeper than she had imagined.

Jupiter looked down at the flowerbeds between them, the ones she had planted herself. In the center was the pink rose, her current favorite in the entire plot. "You mock me, yet you stand in front of the first gift you ever gave me. It's sad how far you've fallen..." she said. "I also gave my first gift to you that day, or have you forgotten that as well? For the last time, please stop this madness!" Jupiter begged him.

The first gift…that’s right. Whenever she had a chance to be on Earth, she always admired the plants and flowers, always wanting to take walks through the garden when she could. He had accompanied her on many such walks. He had given her a small rose bush after seeing how much she admired them when on earth.
 
The gardener had yelled at him when he had attempted to dig up one from the Royal gardens on his own. For an old man, his reflexes were surprisingly quick, and had whacked Nephrite on the back of the head with his trowel. He had eventually agreed to help Nephrite when he explained it was for a…lady friend. He had never been as nervous as that day, not even when he was presented to the Prince for the very first time as part of his royal guard.  
 
He helped her plant it that day in her little garden that she tended to. It had been more work than he thought it would have been, but in the end it had been rewarding. The smile on her face as she looked at her newest addition. They shared their first kiss that day too, right here in the gardens beside the roses.
 

“Stop trying to trick me,” he growled, free hand coming up to his head once more as the memories left his head throbbing. He stumbled forward, muscles tense, focused only on her, his path none of his concern. He trampled through her garden, crushing the rose bush they had planted together in his quest to destroy her.

Serenity watched in horror as Beryl attacked Endymion. Beryl was the most wicked woman Serenity had ever encountered and now she feared Beryl was going to kill Endymion. Serenity could not imagine losing Endymion. She knew she had to do something, had to save the man who had come to warn her that the attack was going to happen. She knew that many had died already in battle and she was not about to let Endymion die.  She had tried to speak, but Beryl’s strong powers lunged him away from her in a vicious wind.

She heard him say run, but she couldn’t move. Her eyes widened in fear at the sight before her eyes. She felt defeated, like there was nothing she could do, Endymion was gone and she would never see him again, at least that was what she thought as she collapsed on her knees, crying in defeat. Her tears spilled onto the marble floor.

Again she heard his words, Run Serenity.

She gazed up and saw him being pulled more from the force. She rose and began to run, but not out of the prayer room. She ran towards Endymion. Her dress flowed behind her as her hair swayed with each step. She reached the edge of the prayer room and lept toward Endymion, reaching her hand towards his, as she hoped they would be reunited and she could be with him when this was all over.

As she jumped, she shouted with everything she had in her, "ENDYMION."

“Serenity!” he cried, waving his hand, motioning for her to move back, but she had already jumped. He could do nothing but watch as she rocketed up towards him, and they were both hovering hundreds of feet above the Moon’s surface, the Earth bathing them both in its reflected light. As she got closer he reached out his hand towards her, his heart hammering ever faster.
 
When he had been torn away, in the moments when she was out of reach, becoming smaller and smaller in his sight, he had resigned himself to his fate. He was going to die; there was no way he would survive a fall from such a height, but maybe he deserved it. He had failed on so many levels, and his mistakes had cost hundreds of lives, lives he could see during those moments if he but paid attention to anything but the object of his focus. He wished he could have lived to right those wrongs and rebuild a stronger future, but fate was not so kind; it had seen fit to let him see the destruction he may have caused, and the one true love in his life – the bad and the good, the balance, before it saw fit to end his existence, and, while not satisfied, he had accepted it.
 
But now that Serenity had joined him in this fate, he would not go down as easy as that.
 
He would take her hand, grasp it tight. He’d figure something out. He’d find a way to save her, to comfort those frightened eyes as blue as the midnight sky, to reassure her that she’d be alright, that it would all be alright. He stretched his hand out, determined to be strong for her, to face whatever Beryl could muster and come out on top. They’d find a way to survive the fall, just as soon as he took her hand –
 
His fingertips were a hairsbreadth away from hers when the air exploded between them with a force composed of pure madness, hatred, jealousy and evil. Endymion’s eyes were filled with her image, and then nothing more.
 




-----
Their bodies fell from on high, buffeted by the wind: it whipped her blonde pigtails around her like the ribbons of a dancer; her arms spread wide to either side, she fell face-up with her dress puffed out around her slight form, looking from below like the golden-stemmed bud of a white rose falling out of the Earth-lit sky. Lunarians stopped and pointed, their mouths open aghast as they recognized her, helpless to stop her descent. She landed heavily on the steps of the Moon Castle, limp as a doll.
 
Endymion fell face-down, his dead eyes unable to see the world rushing up to meet him. His cape flew wildly in the wind, the metallic parts of his armor reflecting the blue light from above and the firelight from below. He landed beside Serenity’s body on the steps of the Moon Castle…
 

Their hands just out of reach.

Kunzite felt his emotions at war, the look on Venus's face battling with the thoughts in his head. There was something behind her blue eyes that reached into his soul and told him that this was wrong.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

His grip on his sword loosened, but he stood his ground. She had brought this on herself. She had done this to everyone. Her foul intentions and evil plans against Earth had started this war. It wouldn't surprise him if she had been the one to start all of this to begin with.

But still, his eyes softened just slightly. Because somewhere deep down, he knew that their connection was real. That the burden and blessing they shared as leaders of their monarch's royal guards was one that they would never give up. One that they both understood equally.

He loved her. But she had betrayed him. And he would not let anyone get away with that. Beryl had been right all along. She showed no remorse, no guilt. Venus was the enemy.

The softness in Kunzite's eyes faded, gone forever.

"I wanted to see your face when you fall to the ground in defeat."

Venus saw the shift in his eyes. He was literally warring both on the inside as well as on the outside. He was torn, and every once in a while she would be able to see the warm eyes she knew so well, the one that she had loved, before the silver orbs grew cold and hard once more. What was doing this to him? Was it that sorceress Endymion spoke about?

His eyes hardened one last time, and the words he spoke next felt like his sword in her heart.

No. She refused to believe that the reason he had not killed her yet was out of cruelty.

But Venus didn’t have a lot of time to dwell on this, because at that moment, a powerful wave swept past her. A swirling hurricane of energy was going straight for the palace. Where Serenity was.

And then it destroyed part of the castle.

Venus froze and completely forgot about Kunzite. Her chains flew limply from her hands, freeing his sword. The power she witnessed was highly destructive—she had never seen something wipe away an entire part of a huge structure like that. She snapped out of her stupor. The queen needed her. Her princess needed her.

Without looking back, she ran as fast as she could toward the direction of the castle. She could not see what was happening up in the prayer room, where most of the damage seemed to be, but she thought she saw flashes of golden hair, and red, and black…

And then two bodies exploded outward from the hole on the side of the building. Venus stopped short, staring in horror as at first she saw Endymion’s dark silhouette against the ironically bright sky. And then…

Long strands of unmistakable golden hair and white flowing dress as the second body followed suit, looking as if she had actually jumped after him.

“NO!” the word that escaped—no, wrenched violently—from Venus’ throat was high pitched and hoarse, her entire body paralyzed. She was forced to watch—unable to do anything—as the two seemed to stretch their hands toward each other, and then—

A loud explosion that blinded her, forced her to turn away.

She looked back in time to see the princess’ body falling quickly, succumbing to gravity’s cruelty, before…

Venus would never forget that horrible sound. Not in this lifetime, and not in the next one.

She almost literally saw the world shatter. Her vision seemed to suddenly have a jagged crack through the middle, and her knees gave way beneath her. Her heart felt as if someone had crushed it into dust. She couldn’t breathe. Everything inside her felt squeezed painfully.

“Serenity…” she gasped from her place on the ground.

This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening.

And yet the sight before her did not change. It did not fade away like a dream. And the pain she was feeling was all too real.

Up in the sky she could faintly see flaming red hair in the room from which the prince and princess had fallen from. Was that her? Was that the witch? The one responsible for all this horror?

For killing her princess?

With a guttural cry, Venus pulled herself up and sprinted into the palace. She didn’t even look at Serenity’s broken body as she ran past—she couldn’t afford to break. Not before she finished her.

She ran into the room right opposite the prayer room, where the Holy Sword of the Moon Kingdom was kept. Queen Serenity had once bestowed this sword to the senshi, but it was rightly Venus’ to wield as their leader. She hadn’t thought she needed it before, but now she couldn’t think of anything she would rather use to kill the sorceress.

Despite the destruction everywhere, the sword was still there, looking pristine and untouched. She let out an anguished cry as she pulled it easily from its embedded position in the stone altar and raised it to the sky. It shone and a silver glint ran along its edge from the bottom to the top.

Venus felt new energy filling her, and she proceeded to the next room, where the witch still stood, perhaps admiring the latest tragedy in the string of sins she had committed.

Holding the sword with both hands, Venus let out a furious roar as she dashed forward, aiming the sword straight at Beryl’s chest and pushed it with all her might.

At the sight of him so easily trampling through the very thing they had created together, Jupiter's heart finally gave up. He was just too deep into the mind control for her to break it, no matter what connection she brought up. Maybe it was just best to give him some form of mercy from being nothing more than a puppet. 

Nephrite wouldn't have wanted to be used like this. Instead of running from his approach, this time she ran towards him, finally resigned to fighting. They exchanged blows in the ruined garden, her just barely dodging his blade, and him narrowly blocking her strikes and lighting shocks. 

It was easier when she just shut her brain off, letting the adrenaline and emotions take over for her completely. As long as she didn't think too hard about the man she was meant to destroy, she wouldn't hesitate to do it. 

Serenity's scream was what brought her back to reality. Jupiter stumbled back and watched as the castle was assaulted once more by the green tornado of dark force, and in the center of the chaos were two forms. The prince and princess were thrown to the ground as the force exploded, and then there was silence. 

"No..." Her self imposed numbness escaped her, and she felt like the ground had been dropped out from under her. That couldn't be true, Serenity wasn't gone. It was a lie, because if there was no Serenity, what purpose did she even serve? And then a flash of pain shot through her, and Jupiter looked down to see Nephrite's sword buried almost to the hilt in her stomach. 

She wasn't angry for letting herself be distracted. It felt fitting in a way to die just after the person she was worn to protect was dead. Instead, she grabbed Nephrite and pulled them closer together in a hug, using his stuck sword to her advantage.

"I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough to save us both..." The lighting rod on her tiara crackled as she closed her eyes, and then the sky rumbled. In an instant, a bolt of lighting crashed down on them, charring the remains of the garden around them as it enveloped the couple. Jupiter could feel the electricity surging between them, but didn't stop until she was sure he could not recover from it. When the huge flash of power was spent, she let go of him and fell to her knees, too weak to support herself.

She felt it before she saw it, her eyes distracted by the man in front of her, rushing towards her with so many bursts of that awful dark power. Her heart shattered through the ice that had been encircling it, and she felt the pain and sorrow overflow her at once. She knew, even without turning, that the brightest star in her universe had suddenly gone out. Sailor Mercury felt blinded with this knowledge; she no longer saw Zoisite or anyone in front of her. She no longer saw the battle. How could she live in a world without her dearest Princess?

As she met Zoisite's glance once more, the only thing reflected in the pools of her eyes was anguish.

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"

She lashed out at him, not because she hated him, but simply because she had no other way to react. Hate was't an emotion she felt right now; she was drowning in her own cold water, but the numbness hadn't taken over. Sailor Mercury felt herself gasping for air, the cold stillness rushing into her eyes and mouth and ears and filling her lungs and blocking everything out. All of this desperation channeled into her attack, the water rushing towards the blonde man at an almost unthinkable speed and force. Perhaps she sought to drag him down with her, the one person outside of her fellow guardians that she had ever trusted.

He took advantage of her distraction, burying his sword almost to the hilt in her body. Finally, he would have his revenge. His eyes flicked up to where she was looking to see two figures, one suspiciously looking like his Prince. No, what was he doing here? He was…this couldn’t be happening, he was supposed to be safe on Earth yet he was dead and Nephrite had failed. In a move that he never saw coming, she embraced him and using her abilities, brought lighting down upon them. It surged between them in a never-ending loop, yet the intense pain seemed to shatter the control Beryl had upon him.
 
He fell to his knees with her, unable to keep himself standing. He knew he didn’t have much time; he needed to try and make amends for what he had done. His Prince was gone and he had killed his love, he had nothing to live for.
 

“Sayen,” he called out weakly, “I’m the one that should be sorry. I wasn’t strong enough to fight against Beryl’s mind control; you have to know that I…I’d never do this.”  He desperately wanted to hold her, but was unsure if his touch would be welcomed at this point. “Forgive me.”

The possibility of finally winning crossed his mind as she appeared distracted. He never thought for a moment about what could have happened for her features to suddenly change and twist. As soon as he threw his dagger, pushed by dark energy towards his target, something cold and crushing surrounded him, pulling a scream out of his throat.

The horrible sensation pulling on every part of his body shattered the fog surrounding his mind and it almost felt like coming to life in a pool of freezing water.

His scream faded when his broken body fell hard on the ground.

There were a thousand things that he wanted to say through the pain he was too numb to really process. Thank you, forgive me, anything that would tell her that he would never have done anything like that and that she had done the right thing. He preferred to die a free man than to live under anyone's rule that wasn't his prince's. Endymion had been saved from their folly by refusing to believe them, Zoisite was grateful for that. He wanted to speak, one last time, nothing but air passed his lips.

Everything went out on one last thought towards his companion on the battlefield and Mercury who he hoped had been able to once again foil his tentative against her life. Someone had to protect their princess, right?