Thank you, everyone, for having the patience with me. My home connection is still working, as of now, and I promise I will continue my weekly updates from now onward.
Enjoy the story.
Sailor Mars grumbled a curse to herself as she ran for the location that the masked prince of the Earth had given her, her long raven locks whipping behind her as she ran. The soldier in red and purple crossed the road, jumping high over an incoming car, her heeled feet drawn up to avoid scraping the vehicle. "Sorry!" she shouted out as she moved out of the way of a group of frightened civilians that were running away. Turning her thoughts back onto reading the signs along the road, the Senshi of Mars growled to herself and continued sprinting.
Two blocks. She was getting closer.
As the soldier of fire and passion continued to run for her friends, her mind wandered a little to the recent revelations of the past few weeks, trying to not be overwhelmed by all the information that had been introduced to her. She and the other Senshi had been controlled by a strange woman serving Chaos. They had turned on Usagi, their best friend. Usagi had nearly gotten killed because of them. Then, Hotaru had given her life to save the golden princess that had held the Senshi together. As a result, both had vanished, and in their place, the terrifying Princess Saturn had returned. After that had happened, both Hotaru and Usagi reawoke, with a new persona calling herself Cosmos… and now, Cosmos had separated from the other two, at the cost of their lives.
It felt like a whirlwind, with how everything had happened. So much, over such a short time… it made her head hurt to even think about it.
The soldier of fire and passion grit her teeth, narrowly avoiding an incoming driver, yelling an apology to the man as she went. Turning one last corner, the black-haired priestess had to hold her hands in front of her to prevent a jet of vibrant fire from hitting her, letting the fire just splay off her white-gloved hands like it was water. "I'm here!" she shouted out, alerting the duo that had just ducked out of the way. "Mako-chan, Mamoru-kun; stand back!"
The brunette looked up, streaks of ash on her face as the green-eyed Senshi smiled. "I'll leave this to you, Rei-chan!" she called out, using the back of her glove to wipe the grey smears from her face. A confident smile coloured her expression, and the tall brunette clenched her fist tight in front of her face in a show of support for the priestess, nodding to her. "You can do it, Rei-chan, I believe in you! I'll go and help out the others, so be careful!" With that, Eternal Sailor Jupiter ran for the park, her curly brown ponytail bouncing up and down as the girl went off like a bolt of lightning.
"Took you long enough, Rei-chan," Tuxedo Kamen remarked, brushing his red-lined black cape out as he glanced over to her. Unlike Jupiter, the man looked a bit more worn down and tired, his normally invincible cape singed slightly and charred at the end, proving that maybe his cape wasn't as effective of a shield as he had thought it to be. The man grimaced, trying to rub some ash from his face, staining his white gloves with grey ash, and he managed to give her a little smile of gratitude for arriving in the first place.
The Shinto priestess smiled wearily at her friend, nodding in acknowledgement as she summoned fire to the tips of her fingers. "Step back," she announced, raising her hands up into the air. Chanting softly to herself, she gathered her fiery attack together, narrowing her violet eyes. "Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen!" Summoning a slip of paper to her hand, protective symbols drawn over it, she flung it towards the fox. "Akuryo Taisan!" Her aim was spot on, ripping into the fox with the first throw.
The fox shrieked in pain, howling loudly as it attempted to thrash off the slip of paper conjured up by the Senshi of Fire's attack. Rearing up on its back legs, it slammed two fiery front paws onto the ground, the fire that made up its body growing wilder and melting into the ground. It shrieked, pulling its head back and unleashing a jet of flame that burned brighter and hotter than it had before. The white and blue flames rushed towards Super Sailor Mars in a spiralling torrent of fire, intent on returning the favour.
As the flames crackled, shooting towards the priestess, the girl threw her arms out as if the action would stop the fire from reaching her — and it did, the white and blue fire flew towards her, collecting in the palm of her white-gloved hand and spreading out in the form of a spiralling shield in front of her. The light of the fire reflected in her wide violet eyes — since when could she do that?
That shield… it looked so familiar.
"Princess! Watch out!"
Mars gasped as the memory hit her, causing the fire in hand to flicker and go out.
"Rei-chan, watch out!"
"Princess, must you do this? This battle will be dangerous… and the risks are too high should you fight."
Princess Mars, the sole heir to the kingdom, looked up from her dresser, strapping on the polished red and purple armour that was a staple of the kingdom. It fit her tightly, shaping the metal around her body, while allowing her any range of movement she desired. Under the armour was her Senshi garb, the red skirt brightly contrasting the white of her bodice, seen under the pieces of metal. "Captain Agni," she greeted crisply, flexing her fingers in the red metal gauntlets she had just put on. "What brings you to my chambers?"
The woman she had just called by name, 'Captain Agni', bowed her head, removing her burnished red helmet to reveal a mop of wild white hair that hung down her head. She knelt to her princess, not looking up at the young woman. "Your father, His Majesty, asks that you not fight, Your Highness. This war against the Terrans is too dangerous — we must not lose the heir to our kingdom!" She cradled her helmet in one hand, but her voice grew stronger and held more conviction as she spoke.
The raven-haired Senshi of Mars just looked down at the woman, violet eyes hard. "Rise to your feet, Captain," she ordered. "You bluff. My father has just given the order for me to lead our forces in to aid the Queen Serenity in her task to ward off this danger that threatens us, and you would disobey him? You are the Captain of my guard, Aris Agni, and you would lie to me?" Her tone was cross, but the princess did not look very angry. Instead, she took a step forward and gracefully lowered herself down, pieces of her metal armour clinking against each other. A hand rested gently on the woman's shoulder.
"Your Highness… I…" Aris started, sounding pained, as if she was holding something back. "Please, reconsider, Princess," she finally requested, looking up at the violet-eyed Senshi with pleading ruby-red irises. "I beg of you, my princess… you will die in this war if you must participate. You are the future of our kingdom, our hope! We cannot lose our future leader!" She sounded desperate, a listener of the conversation would note.
Mars finally allowed the barest hints of a smile to appear on her face as she reached out to take the Captain's armoured hand in her own. "There is no reason to fear for me, Aris, old friend," she said soothingly. "The fire has foretold the end in this war — and it is one to rejoice for. The war will end, and tragedies may occur, but there is a future in sight, one of peace and perfection. Worry not, my dear friend… I will seek you again once I return from the war." She stood up, gracefully guiding the white-haired woman to her feet as well. "Carry out your sworn duty, my guard, and protect the monarchs from harm."
Aris bowed deeply to her princess. "As you command, my Princess. I will let none past me," she replied in a stiff, formal tone. "And… Your Highness, please, be safe."
The raven-haired princess slid on her metal helmet onto her head to protect her, and she nodded to the woman, drawing the rather petite woman to her full height. Yet, the princess of Mars still cut an intimidating figure, with her long dark hair falling in a sheet behind her, glistening against her polished metal armour pieces. Her violet eyes hardened in determination towards her goal as she stared out the large window of her room towards the battleground in the distance, and the troops of the kingdom waiting, ready, in the courtyard of the palace. "Farewell, Captain Agni. I will see you soon."
Princess Mars, fully armoured and prepared for battle, summoned her fiery sword to hand, and conjured a shield of orange flames around her other arm. She cast Aris one last reassuring look, and walked out the door, awaiting a day when she would return to her room in the palace once more.
She never would.
Sailor Mars gasped as her vision returned back to the scene where she had been only moments prior, with the sharply-dressed Tuxedo Kamen drawing his cape over them both to shield her from a jet of bright fire spouted by the fox. "I'm alright," she burst out without need for the man to question her, "I'm… alright…" Somewhat shaken by the memory that had just replayed in her mind, she told herself to steel her nerves, forget that happened, and focus on dealing with the fox first.
Her white-gloved hand stretched out towards the fox, and fire burning in her violet eyes, the priestess commanded loudly, "Burning Mandala!" Her other hand swept in a circular motion, and she threw her other arm in the fox's direction, sending the fiery attack towards it. The spheres of flame burst against it one by one, each time imploding with a brilliant glow, and seemingly drawing away the fire of the fox, until the fox let out one last pitiful shriek and died out with a wisp of smoke.
Mars exhaled, her shoulders visibly slumping in exhaustion, and she cast Tuxedo Kamen a weak smile. "Thanks," she said softly, closing her eyes with a tired sigh.
The masked man chuckled, equally weak sounding. "You're welcome, Rei-chan."
Aris cursed to herself as the Vixen was taken out, her creation letting out a pitifully weak sound before fading into smoke. "Princess," she muttered to herself, her strong hands curling into fists, trembling in her anger. "You promised you'd be safe, but you were weak… why didn't you win?" Her hiss of anger went unnoticed, and the white-haired woman looked down imperiously at the scene from the top of the building she had been standing on to observe the fight.
Red irises smouldered in rage as the armoured woman continued to watch the raven-haired Sailor Senhi and the Prince of Earth conversed briefly before they turned to head for the park. The woman continued to follow them with her eyes until they vanished under the cover of the trees, and then she slammed her fist into the brick of the rooftop, leaving an indentation and cracks in her wake. "I promised I'd keep you safe, and I'll keep that promise, no matter what," she growled to herself, fire beginning to burn at her feet.
"No matter what those fools thinks… I won't let anyone harm you, my princess… my only friend."
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