(Read, review, enjoy)

Disclaimer: I do not, and never will own Sailor Moon. It is the blessed creation of Takeuchi-sama.

In the span of minutes, Tokyo had fallen under a spell of darkness that had leeched away the precious life energy of its people, milky white streams of energy gathering in a collection atop one of the city's towers. Like a conductor in front of an orchestra, Zoisite played his symphony of ruin for all the world to hear and witness. So much energy had been gathered, more than any had been even with Jadeite behind the wheel, and the gathering wasn't stopping. Because this was no longer about gathering energy, no, this was a message to the few that dared continued to stand in the Dark Kingdom's way.

Nephrite stood nearby, his sense alert for any kind of retaliation from their "guests", watching as Zoisite continued to bleed the city dry. Whatever part of him that would've abhorred this was firmly locked away, behind lock and key. General Nephrite was in command of his own will once again, whereas Daichi Akihara had taken a backseat.

After what seemed like forever, he finally picked up the telltale auras of the Senshi as well as their ally. They were moving quickly, drawing closer with every passing second – they would be here soon. What he found strange however was that he couldn't sense the aura of the person they were trying to trap. He found it odd that the so-called leader of the Senshi would be sitting this one out, but he brushed it off. Zoisite would be annoyed but what did that matter? All that mattered was that the Senshi would not be leaving here tonight.

"Blast it all, where is she?!" Zoisite ranted. "Don't tell me she's going to decide now of all times to be a coward!"

Nephrite just rolled his eyes, watching for the sign of the Senshi getting closer.

He didn't have to wait long.

A green flash of light erupted a good deal of distance away, but it soon grew brighter, and was soon accompanied by different flashes in red and blue.

"They're here." Nephrite said calmly.

"What, where?" Zoisite squawked but Nephrite was already moving.

The bolt of green lightning, blazing red fire and icy blue water each impacted the tower roof like an artillery barrage, Zoisite only surviving thanks to his hastily made barrier.

Nephrite, who had jumped off the roof, was falling to the ground like a meteor and let out a ferocious roar as he descended. He landed right in front of the Senshi, forcing them to screech to a halt to avoid being caught up in the man-made earthquake. When the dust settled, the Shittenou rose from a crouch slowly and eyed the four individuals. "So you've come, Senshi…traitor," Nephrite spat that last word as he spotted Jadeite.

"Nice to see you too, Neph," Jadeite replied dryly.

"Where is your vaunted leader, hmm? Hiding doesn't seem here style…oh wait."

"Shut your mouth!" Sailor Mars shouted, throwing a fireball at Nephrite which bounced harmlessly off his barrier. "You're just a monster, taking people's energy like this!"

Nephrite smirked at her, his eyes trailing over Jadeite's form, "Then does that mean your ally over there would have been one as well?"

Mars just glared at him, fire beginning to outline her form.

"Mars, don't let him bait you," Sailor Mercury cautioned, giving Nephrite a hard look. "We are not going let this continue. You have a choice here, Nephrite – stand aside, now."

Nephrite let out a laugh, "And let Zoisite have all the fun? I believe you girls still owe me a round after our last little encounter, especially you fire Senshi. I didn't take kindly to your little prank last time."

"Then let me make myself perfectly clear then," Mars stated ominously, holding up one gloved hand of fire for emphasis, her eyes narrowed to almost slits.

Suddenly, the fourth member of their group stepped forward, bravely approaching the Shittenou. "Your fight is with me, Shittenou. We still have a score to settle," Sailor Jupiter said, cracking her knuckles with a determined expression settling onto her features.

Nephrite's smirk widened to a full blown grin, "That we do, thunder Senshi. But are you really going to send your little friends up to meet Zoisite? He's even more cruel than I am."

"Cruel maybe, but he's a coward too," Jadeite remarked. "We can handle him just fine, right ladies?"

"Don't start acting cool," Mars retorted, making Jadeite deflate a bit. "After all, we beat you – both of you. How hard could he be?"

"You have no – hergh!" Nephrite's laugh was cut off by a surprise kick from Jupiter, who sent him flying into a nearby wall.

Jupiter shot a look back at her teammates, "Go, I'll take care of this guy!"

"Jupiter-!"

"GO!" she shouted, and the others didn't need to be told twice. They took off in the direction of the tower, Jadeite lingering for a moment before doing the same in the direction that Mars went.

Nephrite shook his head a bit to get rid of the cobwebs, his vision clearing up until he found a green and white figure standing before him, glaring at him. Rising to his feet, he glared back, "What happened to no sucker punches?"

"That was before you threatened everyone in the city," she shot back, settling into a fighting stance.

Nephrite lifted an eyebrow at this, "What, not going to try and take me out in one shot this time?"

"I don't need my powers to deal with a freak like you!" she shot back, almost venomously.

Nephrite's eyebrow lifted even higher. Strange, she was acting a bit off tonight. Their bouts before were heated and they hurled insults at each other, but the sheer hate in her voice…it wasn't like her. Of course he couldn't claim to really know her, but this was a new side of her he hadn't seen yet. It can't have been just this move. "Well unfortunately I won't be able to give you the same courtesy."

"What are you waiting for then?" she snapped.

She was eager to get started – too eager, he noted. Before she would've drawn this out not unlike he was trying to do, but now…it was like she had changed. Had found something to drive her…but what was it?

His musings were shattered when a green boot came flying at his face, narrowly ducking under it and slamming a hard palm into her chest, sending her sliding backward. He wasn't going to give her a chance to retaliate, rushing in with his fists drawn, cocking one back to aim directly at her face. When his fist was inches from connecting, she shoved it aside and thrust her elbow into his jaw, throwing him off balance and then knocked on his rear by a follow up kick.

"You seem especially brutal today, Jupiter," he coughed. "Does this city really mean that much to you?"

"It's more the fact that you are unfazed with threatening so many innocent people that's pissing me off," she shot back, folding her arms and glaring down at him with

"All of this is necessary for the resurrection of our great ruler. So long as my queen wishes it, I will obey."

"Then you're nothing more than a dog," Jupiter scoffed, rushing forward to slam her boot into his stomach.

Nephrite's head shot up at that, catching her boot with one hand and yanking hard, throwing her off balance and making her fall on her rear this time. He rose above her and glared down at her, "I am no one's dog, Senshi. I am the king of beasts, a lion of my own making."

Suddenly, thunder began to boom and a trickle of rain started to come down, beginning to drench Nephrite as Jupiter began to rise.

"A lion? Don't make me laugh," she hissed, getting to her feet, her bangs shadowing her eyes. "Lions are noble creatures, proud and strong. You – you're nothing like them. You're just a dog, nothing else but."

Nephrite's gaze turned dark, "Watch your words, girl," he snarled. "I can break you easily."

"Then prove it to me, Shittenou. Prove to me that you are this menacing monster, that everyone should fear. Prove to me that you are my enemy, and that I am yours. Because then and only then will I acknowledge you as a lion, because if you are a lion," her eyes connected with his and seemed to almost glow green, as the flash of lighting lit up her face, "then I am an amazon."

As the storm continued to rage above, she watched him digest her words, his face going from astonishment to mockery, finally to anger…rage even.

Good. She wanted him to hate her. Because if he hated her, then she could put to bed these annoying hesitations she was feeling.

She had been so sure of it when she was coming here, so sure that when she came face to face with him again, she would be able to do her duty. To stop the bad guy, save the city, be the guardian she was born to be.

That lasted all up to the point when she found herself here, not as Kino Makoto but as Sailor Jupiter, facing the Shittenou of the dark kingdom. The man that had saved her the night before was nowhere to be found, instead replaced by the loyal agent of her enemy. But even so, seeing him stirred up feelings within her that she thought she buried the night she left him. And with that came all of these questions:

Did this have to be the way of things?

Jadeite had been like Nephrite at some point, too, right?

What if they didn't have to fight then? What if…what if he could be like Jadeite was to them, to Rei, to-

These thoughts had ignited a sense of rage that she hadn't felt in years, and she had channeled it into thrashing the man before her with all her might. With all the skill she had honed in herself for years and years she pummeled it into him as best she could, all so she could bury these doubts.

But, despite all her rage towards him, she still couldn't bring herself to use her powers against him. It would've been so easy to just wipe the floor with him with just one of her attacks – she'd already proven it by catching him off-guard before. She could feel the power wanting to burst out, the soldier in her wanting to just smite this evil monster into ashes…

But she couldn't. And that just made her even more mad.

"…you want me to prove I am your enemy?" Nephrite said, almost quietly. But the fury in his voice was evident, and Jupiter could feel the energy in the air start to rise. "Then be careful what you wish for!"

Jupiter leapt into the air, and Nephrite slammed both hands down onto the roof, sending a shockwave of energy rippling across the rooftop. A roar from below had her on the defensive, blocking a bolt of dark energy that slammed into her crossed arms like a wrecking ball, sending her careening through the air until she landed on a distant rooftop.

Thunder boomed and lighting crashed down nearby, illuminating the night sky.

"Die, Senshi!" Nephrite shouted, hurling another mass of dark energy at Jupiter who leapt to the side to avoid it.

Another bolt of lightning crashed down, this time closer than before.

Jupiter ran across another length of rooftop until a blast of dark energy halted her in her tracks, twirling around to find Nephrite standing there with a dark look on his face. She suddenly threw out her hand, aiming at him with it.

"Decided to finally get serious, eh? Well it's too late for that now!"

Thunder boomed and lighting crashed once more, but it didn't strike somewhere safe this time. A single pure white bolt of lightning struck down and impaled Nephrite's form on the spot, breaking through his barrier in one shot and frying the man within. His screams echoed throughout the area until the bolt subsided.

Jupiter lowered her hand, watching as Nephrite stood on unsteady legs, his form hunched over and his long, scorched hair falling over his face. Her plan had worked, and Nephrite had fallen right into it. He had been so focused on blasting her that he hadn't realized that the storm had been getting closer and closer, until it was too late. The raw fury of mother nature was not one to be messed with, and even she was amazed at the damage it had done. It had been a risk, but it seemed to have paid off.

Her fingers twitched a bit, the energy within her rising to a peak as every single urge in her body screamed at her to just end it, right now. With the dark kingdom losing two of its Shittenou, they would be at a significant disadvantage…

But instead, she found herself walking over to him, stopping until she was only a few feet in front of him.

Nephrite still hadn't moved.

She just stared at him, her eyes going over every inch of his scorched form, trying to figure out if he had even survived the blast...

A sudden explosion from the tower drew her attention, away from Nephrite…away from the bolt of dark energy that had been building in his hand.

Jupiter was unprepared for the blast that she took in the center of the chest, knocking her into the wall at such force that it left her dizzy and without any air to breathe. As her vision cleared, her eyes widened in shock as she found Nephrite standing there, pinning her to the wall with a gout of dark energy built up in his hand, cocked back to shove into and end her.

"An amazon…you say?" Nephrite wheezed, clearly affected being struck by the lightning bolt. "You're nothing…more than…a little girl…playing hero. And the hero…never…gets to see the end!"

This was it, this was his moment of triumph. The bolt of lightning had nearly been the end of him, and he didn't know who to thank really for letting him survive it – but neither really mattered right now. All that mattered was that here and now, he would redeem himself in the eyes of his queen.

He charged up the blast in his hands, fully intending to properly fry the girl with it and listen to her screams as she faded from, this life…

But then, something happened.

One minute, he was pinning Sailor Jupiter, the enemy of his master to the wall and about to end her miserable existence. The next, her figure faded into someone that he knew very well but at the same time didn't. It looked like Makoto, but instead of the school uniform she wore, she wore a green dress of the purest emerald, the same as her eyes. The crumbling wall had faded too, replaced by a lush green grass that was parted by the woman's form in it. His arms weren't pinning her anymore either, and were instead planted on either side of her as she reached up toward him, an almost serene look on her face as she smiled up at him.

But her voice…her voice was what had him shaking by the end of it.

"Nephrite…"

When her time didn't come, Jupiter didn't really think that it was reality. But when she opened her eyes and found Nephrite's hand stuck a few inches from her chest, frozen, she had to do a double take. But it was the sheer look of pure astonishment that dominated his face right now that had her attention, the complete loss in his eyes that had previously been filled with vicious superiority.

Now they were staring at her like she was the most alien thing he'd ever laid eyes on.

Nephrite suddenly seemed to snap into focus again, and backed away from her with shock on his face. "W-who are…what are you…" Those were the only words he could get out before he started to scream, his eyes rolling up into the back of his head as he passed out, flopping onto his back into the puddle that had been forming behind him.

"What the-?" Jupiter blinked, at a loss. But when Nephrite didn't move, she got worried. She ran over and knelt down beside him, checking him for any signs of life. Her fingers picked up the throb of a pulse and she let out an almost involuntary sigh of relief. He wasn't dead…she still couldn't decide if that was good or bad.

Another explosion nearby had her head shooting up, looking up to find a huge cloud of dust forming around the tower's rooftop. She could see the faint flashes of fire and what looked like green energy balls being thrown around – her friends were still fighting it seemed.

"Sailor Moon…where are you?" she mumbled, about to take off when she remembered the weight at her feet. She stared down long and hard at the man's immobile form then gave a loud groan, "We still have some issues to resolve, Nephrite," she grumbled as she took hold of him and dragged him to the crumbled wall, propping him up against it.

Once she was sure he was secure and safely sheltered from the rain, giving him one final look, she took off in the direction of the tower, letting her long pent up energy fill her being.

Holding back on Nephrite was one thing – Zoisite didn't hold that much in her regard.

(Welp, here comes the cavalry. Wooo! I love battle scenes! So much easier to write than dialogue! Putting together conversations hasn't been so easy for me the last several years, but I can picture a battle in my mind vividly almost like I'm there... Ok, i'm done ranting.)