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The End of an Era

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"Those eyes," murmured Mercury as they faced the last living member of the Four Kings, surrounded by the burning city on the shores of the Sea of Serenity, "That is not Kunzite."

"It makes no difference," said Venus sharply, her eyes burning with equal measures of grief and rage, heart like shards of glass in her chest

Jupiter nodded in agreement, her face a mask of grim resolution veiled with rivulets of blood.

Mars coughed wetly, lips stained scarlet, her chest struggling to draw breath.

"Mars?" Mercury's face was full of concern, only to be waved away as her dark haired sister straightened.

"I will live yet," her smile was full of gallows humour, eyes like ice as they looked upon Kunzite, "Until justice is meted out, at least."

This was met with coldly scornful laughter from the King of the North, odd silver eyes utterly inhuman, "My, those are bold words from a dying woman of a dying society of weak-willed tyrants."

Venus' face contorted in apoplectic fury, "We have done nothing to your people, and you claim the death of ours IS JUSTICE!" She made to lunge at him, the sword that was her badge of office clenched, glittering in one hand, but was held back by Jupiter, her grip made painful even to Venus' toughened body, as Kunzite continued to laugh.

"Calm down Venus," Mars' tone was harsh, cold.

Venus' head jerked in her direction, stymied by the hindrance of Jupiter's hands on her shoulders, "Calm. Down?" Venus bit down on the words like they where living, struggling things in her mouth, "How can I be calm! I failed, we failed,"she choked, tears leaping into her eyes"and Serenity is dead! Our people are dying!"

Jupiter's eyes closed, lips twisting like she wanted to vomit, while Mercury gave a muffled sob, but Mars remained stoic, her face like it was carved from marble, but they would have to be blind to be unable to see the grief in her eyes, dull and bereft of even the disciplined embers that usually lay there.

"You think I don't realise that?" her voice was soft, full of something indefinable.

Venus flinched, but calmed herself, a bitter self-depreciating smile etching her mouth, "You should be leader, Mars, not me."

The red-clad woman rolled her eyes, and clasped Venus' gloved hand.

"The Queen made you our leader, so you are the one stuck with it, no shirking now," said a smirking Jupiter, her hands now gentle.

This merited an unsteady chuckle, as Venus stood taller, "Time for our last stand then, isn't it?" she smiled grimly at their disdainful foe.

Mercury smiled, her eyes worried but resolute as she reached for Venus' other hand, "Yes."

They turned to the contemptuous Kunzite, reaching out with more hands and gathered their remaining strength, building light and energy flaring, the separate colours blurring together into a brilliant opalescent hue.

However, Kunzite himself had not been idle and had been gathering his own Metallia-warped energy to strike, and released it with a wordless roar.

"SAILOR PLANET ATTACK!"

Both attacks connected with an explosive detonation, expanding rapidly into a rough hemisphere that engulfed them all and bleached out the world.

The light cleared, leaving yet more destruction to a dying city, no sight of Kunzite and the now still bodies of the Senshi scattered across the shattered steps of the now-fallen palace.

Metallia only laughed, and continued to laugh even as she was sealed by the grief stricken Queen.

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Yes, isn't it a shock, my very first standalone piece! Haha.