I had surprisingly lot of fun writing the last part of this.

Enjoy the story.


He hated that voice. He hated it oh-so-much.

Neith sneered at the blonde girl that rushed towards him, wielding the Venus' Royal Family's signature heart-shaped weaponry in her hand, a link of metal chains that pulsed with bright orange light. Penance? Was that what she intended to deliver unto him? What a laugh — the royal family of Venus knew nothing about penance at all, despite what they preached to their people. They were a series of pretenders and actors, bearing false smiles and hollow promises to their people. Descendants of a goddess of love and emotion, and yet so lacking in feeling themselves; it just made him sick to think about it.

"Have at you!" he snarled, a cruel grin twisting the effeminate features as the blond, formerly the body double of Princess Venus herself, channelled more of Chaos' twisted power into the draconic shade he had at his disposal. He watched with a wicked grin as a spiked tail swung towards the blonde Senshi, catching her in her abdomen despite her attempts to dodge in the narrow, cramped space of the corridor. A low, rumbling crack made him grimace, but the second smack from the draconic shade broke through the wall entirely, throwing Sailor Venus out from the narrow corridor.

Darkness seeped out from the open hole in the wall, inky black shadows from the abyss that surrounded the entire area of their base. A chill descended into the opened up corridor, blasting arctic air towards the group. Unintentionally, it gave the shade more space to manoeuvre around the bright energy blasts of the Sailor Senshi, and at the same time, it opened up the opportunity Neith was waiting for, to confront Sailor Venus on his own. As the biting cold permeated through the entire corridor, even forming layers of frost on each surface, Neith jumped through the opened entrance with a roar of anger.

"Minako-chan!" one of the Senshi — the man didn't know which, and he didn't care — shrieked. Sailor Cosmos jumped down after him, swiping her silver staff to generate a barrier of light to shine in the darkness, though it barely helped in the darkness that was brought on by Chaos. "Neith, halt right now!" Cosmos shouted at him. More lights appeared around her as she expertly handled her staff, her voice even and unperturbed. "I said, halt right now!"

"You're annoying me," the blond man said scathingly, spinning around on his feet as he called forth more shades, feeling them coalesce with increasing ease as the darkness began to beat against Cosmos' light shield. "Take her down," he spat as he turned his attention back toward Venus, only to be greeted with a gloved fist to the face. "Not the face, you stupid bitch!" he shrieked, staggering back. He held up a hand to his cheek, where the punch had connected, and his violet eyes locked with the blue irises of the Senshi of Love.

Sailor Venus looked defiant, her chained belt pulled taut in her hand. "Not this time, Neith," she declared. "I told you, it's time for you to repent!" She drew back her arm, cracking forward the Venus Love-Me Chain as a whip. "Love Seismic Awe!" she shouted out, cracking the chained whip forward and hurtling small, glowing shards at the man.

The crossdresser moved away, growling as he lunged forward towards the Senshi despite the sharp, stinging pain of the earlier punch directly to the bone. "Not so fast," he taunted, dodging the blows and the small, sharp projectiles that she flung towards at him. His hand reached out into the air, and a wicked smile curled his lips when he got close enough. "Say your prayers," he taunted.

Venus' crystal blue eyes widened as she gasped in shock, her gaze following the path of the chained metal belt, from where her gloved hands were tightly grasping one end, to where the man had the other end of the heart-shaped chains wound around his arm, the weapon digging into his skin and drawing fresh blood. She recoiled, trying to yank her weapon free, but Neith pulled back, sending her stumbling forward.

"Not so powerful now, are we, princess?" the blond taunted, and his arm shot out, his hand wrapped tightly around Venus' slender neck and squeezing it to make his point clear. "Die," he spat, none too gently tossing her onto the ground. He attempted to take the chance to step down on her neck, but Venus reached up to grab his ankle. "What are you—?!"

Venus grit her teeth, struggling to keep his weight off her. "Why are you doing this?" she shouted out as she pushed him upwards, breathing hard as she strained to keep him off her. "What have I ever done to you?" she pleaded, the blonde looking up at him with desperate eyes as the red bow-wearing girl managed to keep his boot off her. "Please, Neith, we're only attempting to help! You don't belong here! You need to return to the Cauldron!"

"You? You think you are helping?" the violet-eyed man sneered, forcing more of his weight down on his leg. "What have you ever done for me?! You've only caused pain and distress to me and those like me! Your family talks about protecting the weak, but all you do is set us in the path of danger!" he roared. He could hear his blood pumping in his ears, even over the shouting of the Senshi still inside the corridor and the sounds of battle behind him with Cosmos fighting his shades. He pressed down with more force and a snarl. "You are really despicable..."

"W-what? What did I do, Neith?!" Venus demanded, using all her strength to try and keep him off her, but her arms were starting to falter. "Tell me, what did I do?!"

Her cries were grating to the ear, or so he thought, but Neith stared down at her, and despite feeling his rage bubble up over the edge, he didn't push down any further. He snarled. The longer he looked at her, the more he was reminded of what had happened. Flashes of pain shot through him, phantom pains now that stemmed from his past, reminders of what he had to endure in her name. He growled — it didn't matter, she was lying, she had to be.

"Liar," the blond man spat, and still, he couldn't bring himself to step down further, or was it because he had exhausted all his strength pushing down on her already. "Your family has done nothing for me except cause me pain and loss!" he roared. And yet, she still remained oblivious to all she had caused to him. The simple thought of it made his blood boil, and a hoarse scream tore from his throat. "Silence, you complete and utter liar! You don't wish to help me, not at all! All you want to do is cause me more pain, and you want me to suffer forever!"

His eyes were wide and pupils dilated, fear suddenly striking him at the thought of being forced to return to the pain of the past, of being on the receiving end of physical aggression, suffering pain and torture for the royal family, and being seen through those kinds of eyes for what he was... All that hate, all that violence... It triggered something within him, and the man haphazardly staggered back, running a shaking hand through his frazzled blonde hair. "No, no, no," he rasped quietly, trembling faintly. "I'm not, I'm not... I'm not going back there! Not again!" he screamed.

"W-what?" Venus could be heard saying, and through the corner of his eyes, he saw the princess slowly sit up, nursing her stomach where his boot had left a darkened imprint on the white bodice. "Neith, Neith, calm down, please! I really am here to help you, I swear! Please, just listen to me, Neith! I don't know what happened to you, but I swear, it wasn't me! I just want to help you, Neith, please, just..." She had gotten to her feet, and was extending a slender arm covered in a long white glove to him, as if she was offering him comfort.

No. That was a lie. All she and her family did was lie, lie, and lie. Deceivers, manipulators, liars. As the violet-eyed man started to hyperventilate, he reached out to slap her hand away with a resounding smack. "Don't touch me, wretch!" he roared. "This is your fault, all your fault!" If he hadn't been serving her then, he would have been fine. He would have never been captured, never been on the receiving end of that unspeakable pain... He couldn't relive that again, no, he just couldn't. It hurt too much.

A hit to the head and blackness invading his vision. Waking up imprisoned and on the receiving end of a sharp blade to the face. Taunting for dressing like a woman and acting like one. Torture instruments to his face and skin, sharp, piercing blades and burning fire, boiling water and red-hot metal pokers. A harsh pain in his chest, and then the slow sway in and out of consciousness. A voice in his ear, low and seductive, persuading him to answer yes to a dangerous deal. The burning anger and vengeance growing in his heart...

A snarl bared his teeth as the final memory snapped him back into reality. Vengeance... he was promised vengeance by the dark force that had saved his life. Chaos had whispered in his ear once before, promising him that the time would come to exact his vengeance upon to ones who had wrecked his life, scarred his face, caused his death... He could hear the dark force whisper in his ear now, purring to him to take the chance and return unto her the pain she had caused him. He grit his teeth, hands curling into tight fists and shaking in his rage. "Die," he whispered in a low voice.

"Neith, I'm here to help, just trust me, please," Venus was pleading gently, taking slow steps towards him, nursing her stomach with a careful arm, wincing as the injury was irritated by her steps. She didn't seem to hear his quiet wish for her to die, and instead, kept walking further, extending an arm for him to take. "You trust me... right? I'm not here to hurt you. I'm just here to make things right..."

Neith's trembling hand extended, opening from the tightly balled fist. He took her proffered hand, and slowly, he tightened his grip, arm trembling until he could no longer hide his anger. He yanked Venus towards him, slamming his knee into her abdomen and making her loosen her grip with a pained gasp. "Die," he hissed again. He made to shove her to the ground again, but the Senshi fired off a beam of scorching light into his chest, making him gasp in pain as she fought back. "No! Not again!" he spat, rushing at her before she could attack again. His fist clashed against the heating metal of Venus' chained belt, but he persisted nevertheless.

He aimed for her face, trying to knock her out, but her belt lashed out, wrapping tightly around his fists. "Die, die, die!" he screamed, taking advantage of the short range to kick at her leg, knocking her off balance and shoving her to the ground. With the chained belt of hearts wrapped around his hands, Neith shoved his hands down on each side of Venus' delicate neck, pressing down hard and watching the metal chain sink down into her skin. A maddened smile stretched across his face as he laughed, quietly at first and then gradually growing louder and louder as she struggled for breath.

"Light Atlas!" Sharp blows were struck onto his back, but Neith ignored the biting pain as he continued to strangulate Venus, even while feeling the burn of his injuries. "Starburst Maxima!" Another painful stab in his back that quickly faded to numbness in his delirious glee. "Enough!"

The scream of the Senshi of Harmony, as well as the manifestation of heavy chains on his person, drew his attention away from Venus' death for just a moment, enough time for his eyes to be assaulted by bright white lights. "What?" he hissed, his grip lightening slightly from the pressure down on Venus' neck.

"Return to the Cauldron, Neith!" Cosmos shrieked, and the crystal in her bare hands flooded the abyss of darkness with blinding light, shattering and breaking the chains around him. His form began to fade as the light continued to permeate the darkness.

No, no! He still hadn't had his vengeance! With a wild scream, Neith pulled away from Venus to lunge at Cosmos, aiming to use the chain to strangle her as well. The metal chain clinked with Cosmos' staff as she held it in front of her, but Neith pushed back, desperation in his eyes even as he began to fade into dust. No, he couldn't die! Not now!

"Crescent Beam." Two fingers jabbed into the back of his torso, and a beam of hot light speared through his body, closely shaving past Cosmos' slender body and shearing off a few strands of silver hair.

Neith jerked in pain as his body faded further. The chains slipped from his hands as his eyes dimmed. And as he finally faded away, he fell forward, disappearing before he hit the ground.

All that was left was his hand mirror amidst the Venus Love-Me Chain on the ground, and two shaken Senshi standing in pitch black darkness.


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