Fire and Roses...

Redford, along with the rest of his squad ran up the hill with their weapons drawn and got ready to face off with any Russian solders that they might encounter. Up ahead, the sounds of a ferocious battle filled the air with the sounds of high powered weapons fire and the yelling of men, as the occasional explosion could be heard as well...

"That's got to be one hell of a battle up there!" Sweetwater said , as he readied his M60. "Who knew that he still would have people loyal to him?"

"Sedaristnais are a weird bunch." Haggard said, as he reloaded his 870MCS shotgun. Even though the 870 was primarily used for close combat fighting, the .410 bore that this one fired still made it an effective weapon at range.

"This is going to make getting to Sedar a bit difficult."Redford added as he popped another clip into his M416 and switched it into full auto. But as they got closer, the yelling that they heard before began to sound clearer. But what they heard was not Sedaristani or even Russian for that matter, it was English!. If they were in the heart of Serdaristan and were the only Americans in the country, then why then were they hearing possible "Russian" or " Sedaristani" solders speaking in English? The men were all puzzled by this, but it was only when they reached the top of the hill and saw several men that were wearing BDUs with matching head mak and were all armed with M16s, did they got their answer...

" Mercs?" Marlowe exclaimed, "What are they doing here?"

"What's going on?" Moon exclaimed, as she and the rest of the Shenshi ran up. The solders winced when they heard her voice, thinking that it might alert the Mercenaries that were in front of them. Their fears , as it turned out, were just, because as Sailor Moon spoke, the 7 or so Mercenaries all turned and made eye contact with both the American solders and the Shenshi. " Who are they?" Venus asked, as she pointed at the Mercs in front of them. Who were no bringing their weapons to bare on the 2 groups...

"Aw shit! Take cover!" Redford ordered, just as the Mercenaries opened fire on them. The shenshi and solders only had moments to react, as the mercenaries opened up with their assault rifles. Their 5.56 NATO rounds striking the earth and causing the shenshi and solders to find cover.

"Who...who are they?" Mercury panted, as she along with Saturn, Jupiter Sweetawter and Redford hid behind a concrete wall on one side of the walk way. On the other side, Moon and the rest of the shenshi with Haggard and Marlowe, were also taking cover as Marlowe opened up with his M-16.

"There Mercenaries, and some of the deadliest I might add!" Sweetwater said, as he popped up and fired with his M-60. " But why are they here?" Mercury asked again.

"I'm guessing the same reason we are! To get Sedar!" Redford replied, dropping an Merc with his M4I6.

"What? Why?"

"Who Knows? What about your friends that you are looking for?" Sweetwater asked, as he and Redford began to move up, as did Sailor Moon and her group did as well. Mercury took out her computer and looked at the screen. Sure enough, their 2 icon came onto the screen and they were together. But what was really getting her attention, were the groups of red icons that would "vanish" off the screen any time they came to close to them.

"Hey Mercury!" Moon called out, as she saw her friend on her computer again," Where are they?"

"40 meters ahead!" they are not far!" she called out, her voice almost being drowned out by the sounds of gun fire. By the time they had made it up to the wall, all of the offending Mercenaries that had been shooting at them had either taken cover some where else or were on the ground in a pool of blood. Moon had to do every thing in her power to prevent herself from vomiting at the sight. As they made it to the wall, the solders and the Shenshi could all see from their vantage points a large group of the same oddly clad men. All of them were either taking cover behind the marble walls and statues , and were firing at the palace. Or were on lying on the ground with smoke coming from their charred bodies, while still others had roses embed in their throats. But yet, not of these mercenaries had yet to notice the fact that there were now 4 American solders and 5 oddly clad girls in mini skirts sneaking up behind them. Sailor Moon was about to ask Redford something when out of nowhere, a flaming arrow flew out and struck an mercenary in the chest and engulfed him in a pillar of flame. The poor mercenary flailed about, trying to put the fire out, but alas, it was in vain as has the grenades on his belt went off because of the intense heat. All that was left of him was a red mist an a red and black smear on a near by statue. The men of Bad Company were at a lost for word at the sight, to say the least...

"Who... Wha... what did that!" Sweetwater stuttered out, slacked jawed at the sight.

"What that? That was just Sailor Mars." Moon replied casually, but she too was in shock.

"Mars... that's one Shen-Shi friends, right?" Haggard asked her. Moon just nodded. At that point, the 2 groups began to hear something in the distance and when they listened closely, they soon realized that the sounds were that of an approaching helicopter and sure enough, the image of a Black Russian made Mi-17 (Hip) transport helicopter came into view. But what really got the solders attention, was the logo on the nose of the craft, as well as were the words written on it. "Acta Non Verba"

"Shit! We got more mercs, incoming!" Redford called out. " Haggard! Take it out!"

"On it sarge!" Haggard replied, as he aimed his rocket launcher at the "Hip" and pulled the trigger...

( The Presidential Palace of Zavimir Sedar. A Couple Hours, Earlier... )

"Rei, Rei! Wake up!" Tuxedo Karmen cried out, as he knelt down beside his friend, Sailor Mars. "Rei! Are you alright?" he asked with concern in his voice.

" Uh... Mask! Where... where am I? Where's Moon?" the Shenshi of Fire asked in a dazed voice, as Tuxedo Mask helped her up.

"Take it easy there." he said, as he helped her up. "What is the last thing you remembered?" Rubbing her temple, Mars said...

" There...there was a yoma attack and there was a bright flash and... Where is every one?" Mars exclaimed , as she shot up and looked around.

"I don't know?" Mask replied, as he looked around. Apparently, they were some kind of a mansion and they were all alone. After helping Mars to her feet, the 2 began to explore the the large home and it was quite the spread.

The hall ways were lined with very expensive looking statues, while the massive windows were adorn with deep crimson curtains with gold trim. The checkered board patterned, marble floors were well polished and their reflections were clearly visible. While the walls were lined with portraits of a stout man in a blue military style suit and he was posed "Heroically" in all of them.

"Some body has an ego." Mars said, as she examined one of the portraits that showed the same man standing on top of a large army tank. "I'm guessing that he is the mansion's owner?"

"I'm guessing , yes." Mask said, as he studied a bust of the same man in the picture. Then, something caught the future King's eye , out the window. As he looked, he saw a number of large green trucks pull up outside the mansion. "Mars, come and see this!"

The Shenshi of Fire heard him and went over to window to see what he was looking at and what she saw, puzzled her. "What the..? Solders? What are they doing here?" she said, as she saw large numbers of men jump out the trucks and begin to take positions around the court yard.

"Something tells me those aren't army regulars." Masked said, continuing to watch the men as they began to off load some crates. "What do you mean?" Mars asked.

"Look at their uniforms. They don't look like the type that a normal army unit would where." Mask replied, noticing that all of the men were wearing black uniforms and head mask. Mars looked on and sure enough, Mask was right. All the men were in black. " Maybe they are some kind of special forces group?" Mars reasoned. Mask was about to answer her when they heard the sounds of voices headed their way. The voices were of that of men and that they were speaking in an language that neither of the 2 understood. Not wanting to be found out just yet, the 2 moved in the opposite direction and hid in a small room.

A few minutes later, the 2 of them heard a commotion right outside the door. It sounded like a group ff men and they were all arguing about something. But what, Mask and Mars did not know, for they were all speaking a language that neither of them were familiar with. Then, the door opened and Mask and Mars had only moments to react, as a man it a military style uniform ran in and locked the door behind him. Yelling something or the other in some kind of Slavic language, as he went up to a golf bag and proceeded to remove a club with some balls (snickers) and he began to work on his swing. Meanwhile, both Mars and Mask were hiding in what could be best described as a walk in closet. The 2 of them had just narrowly avoided being found out...

"It's the same man from those paintings." Mask whispered, as he looked through a small peep hole. "I wonder just what he was arguing about?"

"I don't know, but I can sense a great deal of anxiety coming from him." the Fire Shenshi replied, her natural sixth sense coming into play. For the next 45 minutes, the 2 of them hid in the closet as the man in the other room continued to play with his golf clubs and balls (snickers). As they hid, Mars took out her communicator and tried to regain contact with the rest of the team. But even though she was able to locate and track the a number of them, Mars was unable to communicate with any of them. All she and Mask could do right now was hunker down and wait, while the man in the other room played with his golf set. The only thing that made them feel at ease at that moment, was the fact that from what they could tell , the rest of the team was headed in their direction.

"Oh no!" Mask whispered sharply, as he still looked through the peep hole.

"What is it?" Mars asked. " He's headed this way." Mask replied, as he saw his stout figure approach the closet door.

"What do we do?" Mars asked, " Did he find us out?"

"I don't know, but we better think fast." Mask told her, as he moved away from the door.

A few moments later, the man in the military uniform entered the large closet , where he kept all of his finest outfits, as well as a spare restroom for the "Panic Room" that he was now in. and it was a good thing that he had one installed in his Panic Room, because those Solders outside would have tried to kill him if he came out for sure and he REALLY needed to pee in the worst way. But as soon as he opened the closet door and entered the room, Sailor Mars struck his head with one of the foot rest that were there, knocking him out cold.

"What the? Why did you do that?"

"Well, did you have any other better ideas?" Mars said, as she dropped the Foot Rest and looked at the unconscious form laying face down in front of her. Mask wanted to say something but he soon realized that he really didn't have any ideas. All he could do was stare at his younger friend and help her move the man onto a chair. But as they were about to revive him, they heard a large bang coming from the panic room's door, as well as the voices of men on the other side.

"What's going on?" Mars asked. "I'm guessing that who ever it is on the other side wants to get our friend here." Mask said calmly, as he and Mars continued to look at the door.

" Well, what do we do?"

" Mars, didn't you say that Sailor Moon and the rest of the Shenshi were headed this way?" Mask asked her. "Yea?"

"Well, all we have to do, is hold out until the rest of the team arrives. And when they do, together we can figure out just how we got here and find a way to get back home." Mask reasoned with her. Mars gave it some thought an realized that he was right. They just had to hold out, it was about all they could do and besides, the rest of the shenshi might have trouble dealing with those oddly clad solders outside. With a small nod to each other, the 2 of them went and stood in front of the door and readied themselves to engage the men on the other side.

The pounding continued a few more times until the door burst open and 2 men in black uniforms came barging in with a small battering ram in their hands. The 2 men were shocked to see the oddly clad duo standing in front of them, especially the one in red that was wearing the mini skirt. They just stared at the 2 as if they were ghost, but that hesitation cost them dearly as Tuxedo Mask sent 2 roses, that struck the men in their throats. Then, Mars followed up by kicking them in heads , sending them to the ground in a heap. Not too long after that, 4 more men entered the room and this time, they were all armed with guns! They too were puzzled both Mars and Mask, but unlike their fallen comrades laying unconscious on the floor, they did not hesitate as the brought their weapons to bare and opened fire. Both Mars and Mask had seconds to react, as the M-16 rounds cut through the air and struck the wall right behind where the duo once stood. The were shocked at the speed in which they moved, but they were soon brought back into reality, as the heard a female voice with a thick Asian accent call out... "Burning... Mandala!". When they looked to see where the voice was coming from, they saw bands of fire coning at them! The "solders did not have a chance, as the bands of hot plasma soon engulfed their bodies ! Their very own uniforms acting as a propellent for the flames, as the men tried in vain to out the fire and ran out of the panic room. Only to die horribly as the flame ate all the oxygen and they collapsed on to the floor. The air becoming think with the sent of burnt human flesh. Mars had to do every thing in her power from emptying the contents of her stomach onto the floor.

"Are you alright? " Mask asked her, the concern thick in his voice. "I'll be alright. Let's keep going!" Mars replied, as she and Mask left the room and made their way down the hall and towards the front of the mansion. Not realizing that the man that Mars struck with the foot rest, had woken up. Or the fact that as soon as he did, he proceeded to lock the Closet door as they left...

As the 2 made it outside, they saw a large number of men that were in the court yard and that they had managed to set up a number of heavy machine guns in and around the yard. The men too, saw the duo and were wondering just who were these people. But then, Mars let loose with "Burning... Mandala!" while Mask sent out more roses. Both of them having devastating effects on a line of men in front of them. It was at this time that the "solders" realized that these 2 were a clear threat and opened fire on them. Both Mask and Mars dodged the bullets with ease and for the next hour, the Shenshi and the future King on Earth fought against the small army. Mars was letting loose with both " Burning... Mandala!" for close target and "Mars Flame... SNIPER!" for threats that were at long rage. Dropping large numbers of men in the process. While Mask got up close and personal, and engaged several men in hand to hand combat, using his cane. But even though the duo were proving to be more than a match for them, the solders did not let up and continued to fight. Eventually, Mars was beginning to feel the strain and she was beginning to tire out. Then, the 2 heard the sound of a helicopter approaching and sure enough, a large black helicopter was approaching. Possibly filled with reinforcements for the army. Even though she was worn out, Mars saw the aircraft approach and was about to strike with "Mars Flame Sniper!", when out of no where, a missile struck the aircraft in the tail rotor. Causing the aircraft to spin out of control, as it began to fall to the Earth and vanish behind a a row of trees, just before an explosion was heard and a fire ball rose up into the air at the exact spot where the helicopter went down.

Mars was a bit taken aback when she saw the aircraft go down, puzzled by this recent development. As too was Tuxedo Karmen, as he ran up to her. Just what had happened? But the soon got their answer when they heard a very familiar voice call out... "Crescent... Beam... SHOWER!" and they saw the familiar beams of energy strike down the remaining "Solders" solders in the court yard, did they soon realized what was going on. Then, the familiar high pitched voice screaming "MAMO-CHAN" did they know that they were right. For running up to them was the familiar form of Eternal Sailor Moon, and behind her, were Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury and Venus!

"Usako!oooff!" Tuxedo Karmen said, as his future wife tackled him and gave him a deep passionate kiss on the lips.

"Get a room you 2!" Mars scolded with a smile, but neither Moon nor Mask heard her, as they were too busy giving each other "mouth to mouth." All the Shenshi began to hug Mars and tell her how much they were worried about her.

"What is it with them and hugging any way?" Haggard asked, as he and the rest of Bad Company walked up to the girls. "I don't know! Maybe it some kind of Japanese thing. Or something?" Sweetwater said, as he looked on at the exchange.

"Why is she kissing that guy in the tux?" Preston said in a puzzled tone, as he saw Moon kissing Mask.. "Isn't he kind of older than her?"

"Beats me..." Haggard replied, scratching his head. After a few minutes, Sailor Moon came up to the men with Mars and Mask in tow and said... " These are the men are the ones that helped us find you." gesturing to the solders. Tuxedo Karmen and Mars both looked at the American Solders .

Tuxedo came forward and said in English, " Thank you for saving my fiancee and her friends."

"It was no pro... Wait a minute! Your fiancee?" Haggard said, as look of shock coming onto his face, "aren't you la bit older than her?"

"Any way..." Redford cut in, trying to avoid more talk, "Gentlemen, we have a Dictator to retrieve!" he ordered, as the rest of his men began to move into the palace.

"Who are they looking for?" Mars asked, as she saw the men run into the palace. "Some one called 'Zavimir Sedar'" Mercury replied. "They said that they were in the country to arrest him."

"For what?"

Moon was about to say something when they heard gun fire coming from inside the Palace. "What's going on in there?" Moon asked., sounding a bit worried. But mars just went into a trance and stared vacantly at the building. "What's wrong , Mars?" Moon asked her.

"No.. no... it can't be..." she whispered, still staring at the house. "What, what is it?" Moon asked again.

Then, all of the solders ran back out the house while a roar could be clearly heard. In a flash Mercury began to scan the house, while the Solders continued to fire into the house. And what she saw, made her grim...

" What is it, Ami ?" Venus asked her friend. But before the blue haired Shenshi could answer, the front of the mansion exploded out, as a loud roar followed it and a large creature in a blue general's uniform with human like features came clawing out. To the horror of both the solders and the Shenshi,

They were now facing down another Daimon...

A/N: Please R&R.