Despite how tired he felt, he couldn't sleep. The thought of fighting, really fighting, frightened him and images of what could happen flooded his mind. People die in battle. He could die, his friends, Master Endymion...

Jadeite rolled over on his side, thankful that no one would see the tears or hear the quiet sobs. He felt ashamed for letting himself cry. He was supposed to be one of the Shitennou, was he not? He wrapped his arms around himself, the room suddenly felt very cold.

No. The room was very cold. Jadeite sat up and went to the window. It was only late afternoon, but it was dark as night outside. It was frightening...

The door to his room was flung open, no time left for the courtesy of knocking. "Jadeite, let's go," Kunzite's voice ordered.

Jadeite left his room quickly, having to jog down the hall to keep up with Kunzite. "Zoisite?" the younger of the two asked.

"No change."

Kunzite lead him to what had become their base of operations over the last view days. Nephrite was already there and had his sword sheathed at his belt. Kunzite handed Jadeite the weapons he had been the most proficient with, a pair of small daggers. They were not as effective as a sword, but allowed him his speed. Kunzite attached his own sword and then looked at the one weapon which had yet to find it's owner; a white and silver curved short sword.

Finally Jadeite noticed that it was not just three Tennou in the room, but his Master, the Princess, and her guardians were all present as well. Jadeite had thought that they would leave as soon as the war reached the palace.

"My Senshi will be helping you fight," Serenity explained. "Our kingdoms were going to be united, and united we will be."

"Kunzite will be in charge of defending the palace," Endymion said and then gestured to the leader of the Shitennou, indicating that he had the floor.

The map that had been spread across the table was removed and a new one, this one of the palace and its grounds alone now took its place. "We should be expecting most of the attack to focus on the north and west sides. We know Metalia is in the west, but we do not know how well protected she is. The large numbers of youma to the north could simply be a diversion, or there could be even more than we imagined in the west.

"We will break into two groups. Jadeite, Nephrite, Mars, and Mercury, you four will take the north, while Venus, Jupiter, and I will take the west. We will send what troops and servants who wish to fight to the south and east sides. Should anyone see Metalia herself, they will signal the others with these." Kunzite held four small cylindrical tubes in his hand, two of which he handed to Nephrite. "Light them, then stand back. They work like fireworks."

Jadeite keep his eyes on Kunzite. Their leader was taking a moment before continuing and his eyes kept drifting to Zoisite's sword, which currently lay on the table along with a folded piece of paper. "I don't know how long we have been they attack, but I would recommend that we use whatever time we have to get used to each other's fighting styles."

This made sense to Jadeite and the other Senshi and Nephrite also agreed that this was a good idea. Kunzite then picked up the spare sword as well as the paper. "Jadeite, Nephrite, Master. May we have a word together, alone?"

Endymion looked at Serenity, and she nodded, likely wanting to speak to her own guardians as well. The girls moved to one side of the room, while Jadeite followed his Master to the other. Kunzite held the sword and paper towards Endymion.

"None of can sit around waiting for him any longer, Master. Can you please take these to his room, in case he does wake?"

Endymion accepted the two items with a nod. "Of course."

"After you do that Master, promise me you will stay inside the palace. Don't come out and try to help us."

"I promise. I plan to keep Serenity as safe as I can." Endymion placed a hand on Kunzite's shoulder. "Good luck, to all of you," he added.

Jadeite looked over at the Senshi and saw that they too were almost finished. It was time.

---

Princess Serenity appeared to be the most optimistic person in the room, Mars observed. Even with the solemn air in the room, she still managed to smile. "I wish you all well," she said.

"Princess, please be careful. Stay close to Endymion... I can't believe I just said that," Venus added under her breath, but loud enough for the Princess to hear.

Serenity didn't mind. Venus was finally asking her to do the one thing she wanted to do. "Don't worry about me. I won't leave his side. Thank you, all of you, for coming here."

"Princess," all four replied in unison.

Mars looked over at the four men on the other side of the room. They were waiting.

While it made sense that Kunzite was in charge of this mission, and he had certainly shown himself capable, the Senshi of Fire did wish that they had gotten more of a say in how this would play out. Kunzite had briefly spoken with Venus regarding the strength and weaknesses of the Senshi in order to plan the two groups, but that had been the extent of the Senshi's participation.

The teams seemed balanced enough, from what little Mars knew of the Shitennou. She also agreed with using what little time they may have left to get to know each other's fighting styles, and so she took the initiative and lead the way over to the other group of guardians. "Shall we?"

"Mm," Nephrite said in the affirmative, motioning for Jadeite. Mercury had joined the North team as well and they left the room first, Nephrite leading the way.

Few words were spoken as they made their way outside the palace. Mars glanced at Mercury a few times, but she too seemed unsure of what to do or say other than to follow the Tennou.

Once outside, the entire group noticed that it had gotten even darker outside. The evil aura in the air almost made Mars sick, it was so strong. She felt her knees become weak and almost fell.

"Are you alright?" Mercury asked.

Mars nodded in response. "It's very strong..."

"She has the ability to sense things other cannot," Mercury explained to a confused pair of Tennou. "Metalia's evil is giving off a strong aura."

"Can you pinpoint it exactly? How close is she?" Nephrite asked.

"No... It's like it's all around us. It's suffocating..."

"You better be able to fight," he said, more rudely than he needed it.

"Oh, I can fight. Probably better than you," Mars retorted, taking a step towards the redhead.

"Mars, this is not the time," Mercury said, stepping in front of her. "Both of you," she added, looking over her shoulder. Mercury always did have a calming effect on those around her, no matter what the situation was. She seemed to be especially effective on Nephrite, Mars noted. He backed down immediately.

"Good, now, we probably don't have long. So, without wasting any energy we'll surely need later, what can we all do?"

---

"Fine, so you can use your powers to hit youma from a distance, what about at close range?"

Venus wasn't particularly pleased with the high-and-mighty attitude coming from the Shitennou's leader. As soon as they were in position, he started questioning their powers and acting as though he was terribly unimpressed.

"We can fight, if that's what you're asking," Jupiter shot back at him.

"Hm, is that so?" he asked. Without warning he shot a fist at Jupiter's face. Venus couldn't help but smile when the Senshi was not only able to dodge quickly, but was also able to grab and hold his arm. Kunzite raised an eyebrow.

"Satisfied?" Venus asked when Jupiter released her grip.

Kunzite turned and faced the second guardian. "Hardly," he replied, "but you'll have to do."

She was letting him get to her, she had to learn to ignore him. Kunzite was known to be an excellent warrior and strategist, but was also known to be a real bastard. Especially towards anyone from the Silver Millennium.

"And what about you," Jupiter asked. "Please tell us you can do more than wave that little stick around." She gestured to the sword he held in his hand.

Kunzite was suddenly on the other side of someone's scrutiny, a position he didn't seem to be entirely familiar with. Jupiter had made a valid point however, and Kunzite realized this. He had yet to explain any of his own powers or abilities.

"I have energy attacks, similar to your own. I can also absorb or reflect such attacks," he explained, then as an after thought, "and, I 'wave my little stick around.'"

Venus was having trouble holding a straight face, but Jupiter was still acting stern. "You'll have to do," she mimicked.

Studying the Tennou, Venus realized something. He was no longer looking at them in a condescending way. 'We proved our worth to him,' she thought, even though she hated having to prove herself to anyone, this was a good sign. 'He sees us as equals now.'

Her personal celebration was cut short by a distant rumble, the others heard it as well. In the distance, what looked like a low dark cloud was approaching. It was not a cloud however, it was the advancing youma army. An aura of darkness seeming to radiate from each one.

Venus took a few steps forward to stand on Kunzite's right while Jupiter was on his left. It would be a few minutes yet before the youma were within range of their attacks. "So this is it..."

---

"Youma Taisan!"

"Mercury Aqua Mist!"

Two things immediately struck Nephrite as odd when the Senshi sent their first wave of attacks at the advancing youma army. The first was that they called out their attacks verbally. The second was that their attacks had a much farther range than anything any of the Shitennou had. He looked over at Jadeite, who appeared to be just as surprised.

It had been assumed that the army to the north had perhaps three hundred youma, it was certainly smaller than that now. Nephrite counted just over one hundred and falling thanks to the Senshi. Perhaps their men had not died in vain after all.

The youma were just about in range for an attack. Nephrite closed his eyes and concentrated on creating a ball of explosive energy. When he felt that it was ready, he opened his eyes and fired it at the youma mass, causing a large explosion.

Mars turned to him in surprise. "Messy, but effective," she commented.

"I'm not here to look pretty," he retorted, preparing the next volley. He heard a second explosion, indicating that Jadeite too had sent a similar burst. It did not take the four of them long to reduce the youma to a couple dozen.

"That's it?" Jadeite asked, striking one of the last monsters with his dagger.

"That was too easy," Mars said, looking to Mercury who also agreed. "Besides, the evil I felt earlier has not dissipated."

"So, then..." Mercury was cut off by a loud bang from above. All four looked to the sky and saw a bright red signal flare, fired from the west side of the palace. There was a momentary pause while all four realized what this was before they broken into a run.

'Metalia...' She was in the west, just like Zoisite had said, and now she was here. While the thought of a more difficult battle excited Nephrite, he also feared what he would find when he turned the upcoming corner. What had Kunzite and the other girls been facing?

There were youma, many more than what any of them had thought possible. Five, six hundred? Nephrite didn't know. Most of them were remaining out of range of any attack and a smaller group had advanced on the three guardians. These youma were different from the ones he had just fought. They were stronger, smarter, and had a dark glow surrounding them.

"These youma are controlled directly by Metalia," Mars observed. "We have to help them!"

The two Senshi rushed forward into the fight. They could not use their powers on youma at such a close range without risking injury to themselves or the others.

Venus and Jupiter were already slowing, this fight having already taken much out of them. Kunzite appeared to still have much of his strength, but Nephrite noted that he now held his sword in his left hand.

"Nephrite," Jadeite's voice called him back from his thoughts. He had been watching for far too long.

"Let's go."