A/N: Hey! I actually updated fairly quickly this time. What is this? Have the stars aligned or something? I don't know, but I'm glad for the sudden burst of inspiration and will ride that burst for as long as I can. Also, I made a miscalculation last chapter about when Mina's madness will conclude...and since I have no real sense of timing, let's just push ahead and see where this craziness takes us. (Also, the Code Geass characters will be back in action soon, just bear with this for a little bit.)

Additional note: The bulk of this chapter was written and edited before 2020 ended, but early on in the year I was kinda exhausted and then my grandmother passed away last week, so I'm only just now finishing the final edit. Due to new grief (I lost a very good friend of mine to a seizure back in September 2020), I don't know when the next update will be. I'm just happy I managed to get this edited. It's a really long chapter too, so I hope this will be satisfactory until I write up the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Code Geass, Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh...and now Fate at this point...do not belong to me. Ugh...I know guys. I know. It's a mess...but it's my mess. I mean the properties themselves aren't mine but...you get the point. This story is crazy.

Warnings: Blood and gore. I don't think it's too bad since I'm not going into too much detail concerning it, but I'm still contemplating upping the rating, especially because of some stuff that's coming up...so you guys let me know what you think about that. Also the chapter is really long and...well you'll see. Best wishes to you all. God bless you guys and enjoy the chapter!


Chapter 114

Monster Part 2

A certain stillness arrives when snow falls. The wind carries a haunting, soft howl as small particles of white descend from the black sky above like leftover ash from a volcanic eruption.

Even as Sailor Uranus falls to the ground with a harsh crash against the cold pavement, there is an eerie stillness to the air. Sailor Neptune stands nearby, her legs shaking as leftover magic gently disappears from the tips of her fingers.

When Uranus didn't get up, Neptune took a step forward as a means to check if her cousin was alright, only to slip on ice and tumble against the pavement herself. Though not a bad fall in itself, the sharp plummet to her knees creates a cacophony of pain, eliciting a fierce hiss to roll off her tongue. She stayed on her knees for a moment to focus on breathing as blood and puss oozed out from the wounds, but as much as that hurt, the senshi of the ocean was far more concerned with the long, diagonal cut across her back. It wasn't deep enough to be lethal, but the continual blood loss from the injury was slowly taking its toll.

Sailor Uranus wasn't in the best shape either. There were a multitude of cuts along her arms, legs, and torso. Her ankle twisted at some point during the fight, and thanks to a reflected attack, she had a smaller diagonal cut across her chest. Of course, Neptune's final blow against her, a stronger version of her Deep Submerge attack, sent Uranus flying the second it slammed into her stomach.

The possessed senshi's fierce impact against the concrete effectively knocked her unconscious, thus ending the grueling thirty-minute battle.

But they weren't safe out in the open. Neptune was certain E.E. had the means to send more enemies. In the horrible state she was in, she wouldn't have any hope of defending herself or Uranus.

"We...have to retreat," she whispered to herself, her heart heavy as she struggled to stand. Every cell in her body was crying out for rest now that the adrenaline had worn off, leaving her with an overwhelming exhaustion that persisted as she tried to get her limbs to move properly.

To make her struggle all the more frustrating, her memories started to return in rapid succession, making it almost impossible to concentrate on the immediate problem in front of her.

After another agonizing few minutes of trying and failing to stand up, she opted to try crawling to Uranus to check her head injury. Though each movement brought immense pain, Neptune made better progress this way.

However, while crawling inch by miserable inch, another onslaught of memories tore through her mind, begging she pay attention to them.

And so, with great reluctance, Michiru Kaioh stopped crawling and tried to process the images flashing through her head. Little by little, she recollected the events that allowed for Sailor Saturn's return, the Sailor Starlights, the battle with Galaxia, and the events prompting their presence in the Tokyo Settlement.

Eventually, her mind settled on the memory of a painting left in an apartment in the Juban District. Her painting...

It contained an image of Mina and Joey at Azabu Park.

"Why am I...remembering this now," she breathed, beginning her crawl again despite the dizziness overtaking all her senses. "It's too late to...prevent anything..."

Try as she might, Michiru eventually succumbed to the exhaustion and passed out three feet away from Haruka Tenoh.

Luckily for the two of them, Hotaru Tomoe reached the area less than a minute later. In time, she would encounter three members of the Amazon Quartet.

Within this elaborate chess game...seven pieces are now out of play, claimed by E.E.'s tricks. The fate of the remaining pieces on the board is a mystery, but it appears the immortal demon has everything she needs to win her war against the Sailor Scouts.

However, appearances can be deceiving. After all, should a seemingly unimportant pawn reach the opposite end of the board, it will attain the abilities of the queen.

And in chess...the queen is the most powerful force in the game.

"Crap! Lousy machine!"

As more error messages appeared on the three massive screens in front of her, Detective Kara Fennette groaned and rebooted the system for the second time. And, as if to add to her troubles, once the reboot process was over, the system flung out a series of error messages. She rebooted the system for a third time and fared better for a bit, but the instant she made an attempt to retrieve the data she'd been reading through, the crashes started all over again.

"Your King is getting impatient," Gilgamesh barked, his cruel crimson eyes narrowing in on her. "How much longer is this going to take?"

The detective let out another groan.

"Well?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure," Kara answered, rebooting the system for the fourth time. The screens went black for a few seconds then booted back up to reveal the home screen. Once more, Kara began searching through the archives for the information she had been reading through only to get the same error message.

"Perhaps you should try looking through some other file," the priest, Kirei Kotomine, suggested, a touch impatient himself.

Kara groaned a third time, then muttered, "The data I was looking at was written in code. The fact that it's suddenly corrupted data is suspect. I'm going to run a scan and a data overhaul. The processing power of this baby is pretty massive, so we shouldn't have to wait much longer. Though just as a safety precaution, I'll save everything else onto this USB stick." For emphasis, the red-headed woman held up a small black device.

"Just make it quick, mongrel," Gilgamesh ordered, closing his eyes. "Your King grows tired of this place."

"And I'm growing tired of your constant complaining," Kara thought irritably while initiating the scan and data overhaul. "Still, there are other issues too. From the look of things, nearly all the files are written to look like normal, everyday recipes. However...that one file..."

With a few more keystrokes, the computer made a small ding sound, alerting her that the initial scan was complete.

"That poem is the key I think." The thought buzzed through her head while her nails clattered impatiently against the desk on either side of the keyboard. "There's nothing else like it in the whole database, and it's the only file giving me major trouble when it comes to the decoding process. There's definitely something there E.E. doesn't want found out. Even so, there's no code out there I can't crack..." With an inward sigh she glanced at the blonde behind her. "Let's just hope his highness will be patient enough to let me."

DATA OVERHAUL PROCESSING...

DATA OVERHAUL COMPLETE.

REBOOT SYSTEM?

Kara smirked. "This time it'll work."

Without a second thought, the detective clicked YES and waited. There was no way for her to anticipate the importance of what she'd find there in those data-banks. There was no way for her to know that she'd transformed from pawn to queen thanks to an oversight by the immortal demon.

She really should have killed Kara Fennette first.

But instead...


"Minako Aino...I almost pity you."

Across the room, Minako's body radiates with negative energy. Her hands twitch involuntarily while the ends of her golden blonde hair slowly rise toward the ceiling. The Millennium Ring fastened around her neck pulses with a dark, ominous aura that used to send chills down my spine...once upon a time.

Though still screaming nonsensical, mangled words of rage, the girl's voice is beginning to give out from simple vocal strain. It's almost funny to watch, but I don't laugh...can't laugh because of how horrendously pathetic all of it is. My face is pretty much gone, so I'm unable to convey any emotion with expression; however, over time I have learned many ways to share my thoughts with others.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Another sharp gust of energy blows past me, whipping the folds of my robe about as I force my internal thoughts outward into Mina's mind.

"Here you stand before me, consumed by rage and the magic of the Millennium Ring to the point that you've lost yourself completely. You snarl and screech obscenities and berate me for ruining your life, but your logic on this matter has a fundamental flaw."

Black smoke billows about the Millennium Ring before brightening into a crimson aura that expands to surround Mina's body. Soon, her screams fade and taper off into a chilling silence as her posture abruptly shifts to something far more relaxed, even as her hands continue shaking.

"Regardless of what I've done, you are ultimately responsible for your own choices. Everything in life comes down to choice. Absolutely everything."

A soft exhale slips past her lips as she bows her head towards the floor. Bangs stained by blood block my view of her face.

A new presence has appeared, but it's not the Spirit of the Ring. Yes, something else is clawing its way out of Mina's heart.

This is one of the monsters of the distant past.

"Oh? You done with the tantrum now?" I asked, feigning boredom to hide grim emotions. The Millennium Ring's glow was fading, but the tremors in Mina's hands continued on, heightening the anticipation of the battle ahead.

Stretching out her right hand in a jagged movement, the former scout of love and beauty lifted her gaze to meet mine.

Her stare was a blank void of crimson.

I wish I could have smirked.

"I remember those eyes."

In a flash of golden light, a long, golden katana appeared in Mina's palm, which made me question whether this blade was the weapon I'd hoped to draw out. I was expecting a whip-sword as that was the shape it had taken in the Silver Millennium.

However, there was no mistaking the eye engraved on the metal near the sword's hilt.

"So that's the Millennium Sword," I thought, elated as I watched Mina slice through the air in front of her to test its strength and accuracy. "A weapon fashioned to mirror the heart of its wielder. Since Minako clings to lies like a teddy bear, it's no real surprise that it transformed into a katana...a relic of a heritage that was never hers to begin with."

With an inward chuckle, I slowly withdraw my rapier, using Geass to change its shape into a broadsword. Seems fitting for the fight ahead.

Mina watched me, her new, crimson-colored eyes narrowing as a sneer of pure delight distorts her features.

The monster has arrived at last.

How ironic...

"I will never claim to be a hero of justice," I mused, meeting Mina's stare with my one working eye. "I am evil incarnate. How could I not be? After all, I was born from the evil that already existed in someone's soul. Even so, there are promises I need to keep as well. Promises you know nothing about."

"E.E..."

With careful movements, I shifted into a standard fighting stance. Facing Mina while she's in this state will be incredibly difficult and dangerous now that she's conjured the Millennium Sword from the depths of her soul, but I'm not worried. In fact, I feel like sending her a couple more mental taunts...just to keep things interesting.

"Oh, dear Mina," I began, speaking telepathically. "You think you know who you are? You don't have a clue. Everything you think you know is and has always been a lie. Your memories of the distant past, the person you were before my divine intervention, your destiny, and everything else you have believed about yourself is a falsehood."

Mina's smile seemed to widen further.

"You see...there are far greater evils than me in this world," I continued, watching as the shaking in her hands intensified all the more. "I wasn't always so callous and cold. I had a conscience once too. In short...I was just like you, hence the fleeting sentiment of sympathy, but things change. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse."

A mental chuckle sounded within the girl's mind then. It was a sinister, demonic sound not unlike my own laughter.

"Like you I have my role to play in this world, a role I alone chose. I, E.E., am the villain of your story...for now."

Mina took a step forward, a laugh on the edge of her tongue. Her mind was going in too many different directions for her to understand the messages I sent, and it didn't really matter. To me, this is just another way to annoy her, to make it clear she's outmatched, even in this state.

It's taken three tries to set the stage for the main event. I won't lose. Not now.

"Once I take that sword from you, everything I need to set things right will be in place. I'll destroy the Sailor Scouts and the power of Geass from the face of this Earth. I alone shall wield the powers of chaos."

Mina sprang into an attack with the Millennium Sword gleaming in the light. I jumped away from the attack then took a few steps back to put some extra distance between us so I could analyze her fighting style, but the pest charged forward again without a thought, forcing me to block with my own sword.

"Sloppy," I mused, a laugh escaping me as I retaliated with a headbutt. Mina yelped in pain, shaking her head for a few seconds before immediately charging at me again, this time invoking the powers of her new weapon. On the defensive now, I quickly used another form of Geass to slow Mina's perception of time, allowing me a few extra seconds to dodge a vicious strike.

Definitely not the fight I was expecting. She's merely acting on instinct right now.

"You'll have to do better than that, Minako."

"Hehehe," Mina chuckled, her movements still jagged as she locked gazes with me. "I suppose I will, won't I?" Her soft laughter slowly increased in volume as she lifted the sword high above her head with a look of twisted joy plastered on her face.

"By all means," I told her, shrugging. "Give it your best shot."

The Millennium Sword glowed, creating another violent gust of crimson-colored energy.

This will be a battle to the death. From the very beginning, this plan has been the ultimate gamble. Drawing out the Millennium Sword is one thing. Taking it is another. This was the weapon used to slay me all those years ago...yes I remember it well. Thanks to Ophelia's betrayal, there's a very real chance for death if Mina gets lucky. Though given her track record lately, I don't expect that. Even so, I'm at a severe physical disadvantage. The second this brat remembers to think and fight at the same time, there'll be no room for error on my end.

K3's death made it clear.

This is our final chance...

"I have no real grudge against you, Mina," I stated mentally, hoping to distract the ribbon wearing blonde long enough to quickly cut her down. "No hatred. You're certainly a pest, but only because you cling to lies so strongly and then expect someone like me to feel sorry for you after you murdered nine people."

There was a pause in Mina's movements, but I kept going.

"My dear, sins like that aren't erased or forgotten so easily. Of course, I'm not one to talk really."

The girl outright growled then, still channeling magic into the Millennium Sword.

"Over the years I've grown accustomed to the atrocities I commit. At some point I had to find some joy in what I do, which meant casting aside my heart and whatever guilt it could feel. To keep the promises I've made...I'll do just about anything..."

Without warning the ribbon wearing blonde started chuckling lowly, the sound building into full blown hysterics in a matter of seconds, long enough for her to lower her guard.

Gritting my teeth I bolt forward, ready to plunge my blade straight through her head.

"It's the same for you too, isn't it, Mina? We're not so different you and I. You just think we are."

With a movement almost too fast for me to perceive, Mina blocked my attack then spun on her heel to rush toward me, a scream soaring out of her mouth. I sidestepped away from the attack then countered with a parry that caught the edge of her blade.

"I'm a monster true. But so are you.."


As the battle between Minako Aino and E.E. continued, another battle between E.E.'s right hand man and lover, D.D., and Joey Wheeler, came to its conclusion in Azabu Park.

In the aftermath, D.D. made good on his word and with a rough tug, used his own Geass abilities to transport himself and the boy to the Memorial Site in Narita at an incredibly fast rate. During that time, Sailor Mercury locked on to the immortal henchman's position in the sky and quickly came up with a plan.

However...


"Stay here."

"Ami wait..."

"There isn't time," Ami chided softly, giving me a pointed look as she turned off her goggles. "Joey and D.D. are right there." She motioned toward the duo who had just landed a short distance away. "We've gone over the plan twice now. You know what to do, Serena."

I nodded, my heart heavy as Ami quietly crept away from me to circle around so she could get into a good position to attack D.D.. Even though this is the best option to ensure Joey's safety from this immortal, following that up with a trip into E.E.'s lair seems like a horrible plan. After all, E.E. is down there and as far as I'm concerned she's way more dangerous.

But that's not my only misgiving about this. Mina made up her mind to go on a killing spree...which means there'll be evidence of that left behind, whether Mina herself is still down there or not.

I really don't want to force Joey into a situation where he has to see whatever gruesome scene awaits below the surface, but at the same time...

On some level there's no avoiding the trauma directly ahead of him, just as there's no way for me to avoid telling everyone about my Geass once all this is over.

I hate the idea of Ami playing decoy, but I don't have to worry too much about her on a whole. Even if she dies...she'll come back thanks to the Geass Chain, but thinking like that makes me feel like a heartless commander treating their subordinates like pawns in those chess games Lelouch likes so much. Ami is pretty good at the game too...so it's no real wonder how she came up with the idea.

Still...

Quieting my mind, I narrow my focus on D.D. and Joey. They'd just landed, and D.D. unceremoniously tossed him into the snow face first. Joey's head was currently lodged in the snow with his arms waving manically as muffled grumbling escaped him. At any other time, the scene would have been hilarious...but now it just felt like a morbid appetizer of humor before the tragic main course.

With an inner sigh I brought the palm of my hand against my empty stomach. The food metaphor isn't helping at all.

D.D. stood perfectly still, his coal-colored eyes fixed on the sky while he waited for Joey to pull his head out from the snow. Glancing to my left, I watched Ami sneakily get into position behind a nearby tree.

Eventually, Joey managed to escape from the snow with a grunt. Then, with a ferocious groan he shook his head from side to side, sniffling loudly before turning to glare at the immortal standing above him. "Hey! You could have helped buddy!"

"Perhaps, but I'm feeling particularly salty right now," D.D. replied, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. "Your victory over me was...shall I say...unexpected."

"I didn't get second place in the tournament for nothin'," Joey answered, shaking off snow from the rest of his body. He stood up with his back turned to the immortal. "But enough small talk. We had a deal. Take me to Mina."

D.D. smirked slowly, his teeth gleaming in the light. I nervously shifted my gaze to Ami as she sunk down into some bushes.

"This is it," I thought, raising my knee from off the ground so I could dive into a sprint the second Ami attacked. "No turning back now."

With an air of nonchalance, D.D. pointed toward a slight gap between a nearby patch of grass and the rest of the ground. "That's the entrance, Wheeler; however..."

Joey turned around just as the immortal reached down into his pocket.

"Like Mina, you don't have what it takes to survive through this night. And so..."

"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!"

Before D.D. could finish speaking, a fierce wave of ice water hit him from the right side and sent him careening into the memorial monument as Joey stumbled backward into the snow from shock. The second I saw Ami running to attack the immortal again, I bolted from my hiding place.

Joey's eyes snapped in my direction as he sat up. "Sere..."

"Sailor Moon," I cut in, gripping his wrist to tug him up to his feet. A short distance away, Ami sent out another Shine Aqua Illusion attack, this time aiming for D.D.'s wrist. The gun flew out of his hand and clattered to the ground mere centimetres away from my feet. Joey's hand reached for the weapon before I could truly register it and then he was dragging me toward the gap separating the patch of grass from the rest of the ground.

"Down here," he stated, his gaze briefly falling on Ami. "Will she..."

"Mercury will be fine," I told him, tugging on the collar of his coat so he would hurry and lift the doorway. "Let's go."

With a nod, Joey bent down and lifted the door high enough for the two of us to slip through. Beneath us was a cavern of dark tunnels where the only light came from the torches along the walls. Joey was halfway down the steps leading inside when I turned back to see where Ami was, only to catch sight of D.D. punching her hard against the face. He immediately turned around when she fell, his cold, angry gaze locking on mine.

"Sailor Moon!"

D.D. was running by the time Joey's voice rang out behind me. Gritting my teeth, I flung out my wrist to call out my scepter to defend myself.

"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!"

Magic erupted from Ami's hands again, encasing D.D.'s ankles in thick ice before he could do anything against me.

"Why you little..." trailing off the immortal struggled against the ice, temporarily halted by Ami's quick thinking.

My breath came out in a short rasp that floated up into the air like smoke. Joey called me again, but I barely heard him past the ringing in my ears as Ami got to her feet. With a rough gasp of her own, she spat out blood along with a few of her teeth into the snow.

"Will the Geass Chain fix that?" I wondered, my heart sinking all the more as I stared at the blood. "What if...what if it doesn't actually save her. What if Ami and Lita... what if they both die and don't come back like Rei did? How can I be sure that the Geass Chain doesn't have some kind of limit? And if that's the case...if there's a limit then I can't just..."

My grip tightened around my scepter. I was about to tell Joey he would have to go through the rest of the journey on his own, but Ami's sharp glare pushed the thought clean out of my head.

"What are you waiting for?" she yelled with a fierce wave of her hand. "Get out of here now!"

"But I..."

Ami conjured up a large icicle just as D.D. freed one of his ankles. Then, with a guttural roar she flung herself into an attack, stabbing the immortal through the back. The sharp end of the icicle broke through his abdomen like a sword. Blood immediately splattered to the ground, and D.D.'s mangled cry of anguish nearly brought tears to my eyes despite the fact he was an enemy with orders to kill us.

A part of me still felt sympathy for him, but more than that...more than that...

"Get Joey to Mina!" With another screech of effort, Ami yanked the icicle out of D.D.'s abdomen then stabbed him again through the shoulder. D.D.'s responding shrieks echoed into the eerie stillness as he fell to his knees, but Ami paid it no attention and stabbed him again with a horrible scream of her own.

This isn't like her. This isn't like her at all.

"Ami...I can't..." I trailed off when Joey's footsteps crept up behind me. His gasp of horror snapped me out of my own stupor.

"I have to get him out of here...even so..."

"I mean it, Serena," Ami called out, tears springing to her own eyes as she plunged her makeshift weapon through D.D. again. Her white gloves and the front of her Sailor uniform was soaked in his blood at this point.

"Hurry! There isn't much time left!" she bellowed around D.D.'s sputtering gasps. His lips moved in what I can only assume was a whispered curse as a violent cough sent blood trailing down the sides of his mouth.

"Serena! Go!"

Without another word or thought, I reached down and took Joey's hand in mine. He was slow to turn around, the shock of what he'd seen making it difficult for him to move. In response to my tugging, he shakily fell in step beside me as we descend into E.E.'s lair.

"It's going to get worse," I tell him once we've closed the door behind us. There wasn't much light to speak of, but I could easily see the horror overtaking Joey's features.

He sank down to the stone floor with a soft thud, fighting to breathe properly. His hands flew to the sides of his head, the golden strands of his hair slipping between his fingertips. For a few seconds I was worried he was going to start pulling his hair out from sheer panic, but he remained still. Eventually his breaths began to slow.

"How...can it get worse than that?"

Clenching my fists by my sides, I shifted my gaze to look down the dimly lit hall. "I think you already know the answer, Joey." A slow sigh blew past my lips as I made a vain attempt to collect my own emotions. "Mina told you her intentions...didn't she?"

Mentioning Mina's name seemed to knock Joey from his shock, but it didn't remove the terror from in his eyes.

"Joey..." For a few seconds I couldn't speak. The brutality of the scene we left behind was making me feel nauseous to the point that I could barely speak past the acid in my throat.

What we saw isn't the way Ami fights. She doesn't typically use brute force, especially not in the way she handled D.D. just now. It's almost as if...

"Rei and Lita both mentioned feeling Mina's emotions.," I thought grimly, swallowing against the urge to vomit. "Is that an added effect of the Geass Chain? Are there others? What have I done to my friends?"

"I don't...I don't know if I can do this anymore."

As the fire of the torches on the walls continued to flicker, I allowed myself to say words I would never be able to share again.

"I don't know if I can do this anymore either, Joey."

His brown eyes found mine in the darkness. For a long, agonizing moment, we both considered abandoning Mina to her demons and hated ourselves in equal measure for it.

But once the moment passed, Joey rose to his feet and closed his eyes as a way to mentally prepare himself for what lay ahead. A tear rolled down my face as I watched him. He really did love Mina. As much as it was hurting him to do so right now, Joey loved my friend. Nothing was going to stop him from doing everything within his power to save her.

Knowing that gave me hope for something good to come out of this mess. Even if Joey doesn't say the words out loud...his willingness to go through with this speaks volumes.

When Joey opened his eyes, I saw a firm resolve there.

He was ready to face Mina's demons as well as his own.

"Let's go. I have a promise to keep."

I nodded in response, making a solemn, silent promise to keep Joey as safe as I could in this den of monsters.

There's no Geass Chain to bring him back if he dies.


As Sailor Moon and Joey Wheeler entered the underground base, the former senshi of love continued her battle against E.E.

She wounded the immortal demon several times and even managed to gouge out the immortal's remaining eye, but the weapon in her hands held sinister, dark powers difficult to adequately control. In response to Mina's rage and sorrow, the sword slowly created an illusion, an outward manifestation of the teen's manic state of mind.

It started with the image of her mother in one of the mirrors along the walls of the expansive throne room. Cecelia Ashford's presence in the mirror was radiant and beautiful, but her eyes conveyed pure hatred as she asked her daughter, "Why? Why did you shoot me?"

Mina believed E.E. was responsible for these things, but that wasn't the case. The immortal demon, using Geass to make herself invisible, merely tucked herself away and watched the scene unfold.

"Why did you let A.A. carve up my body?" Cecelia asked her daughter. "Why did you gouge out my eyes? Why Mina?"

Inhaling shakily, Mina activated the switch that released the holster holding her shotgun. With her left hand, she pointed the weapon toward the mirror. "You're not real."

"Why Mina?"

The mirror shattered at the pull of a trigger. Cecelia Ashford's likeness was gone...

But her voice remained. Her single question repeated in Mina's mind over and over and over again as the voice slowly transformed into the voice of her father, Toshido Aino.

"E.E., come out now!" she roared, taking several steps back from the mirrors. "Stop hiding like a coward!"

"Why Mina?"

A phantom of Toshido Aino appeared in another mirror. His stare was one of intense disappointment and fear.

"Why have you done this? Why are you using me to justify your sins?"

Mina shot his image as well. The sound of glass shattering was almost deafening to her, but the voice persisted.

"Why Mina?"

The voice changes again. This time it's the voice of a former friend, Rei Hino.

"Why Mina? You've gone down a path of no return."

Another gunshot pierces through another glass panel. "I already know that."

"Then why keep doing this?"

Serena's voice asked this question. For a moment, Mina stares at her image in the glass. She takes in the meatball-styled hair and the familiar smile.

The sight makes her sick.

She pulls the trigger once more, but the voices don't stop. On and on they continue to torment her. She hears the voices of Lita, Ami, and the voices of the new friends she made while in Area 1. In a frenzy she aims the gun at each mirror, destroying them in an explosion of sound.

By the end of her tirade, only one mirror remains.

She knows whose voice is next.

"Why Mina?"

"I can't see him now. I can't...I still need this power. I need it to kill E.E...to kill them all."

E.E. taunts her some more, eliciting a soft cry from Mina as she mutters to herself that she'll make the immortal demon pay.

But the distraction isn't enough to eliminate the last voice she wants to hear.

"J-Joey..."

E.E. watches the rest of the illusion unfold. With grim resolve, she reminisces on her own past and on the lives forever ruined thanks to the creation of Geass.

The Princess of Mars set these things in motion, but E.E. bears her own responsibility for current tragedies. She is well aware that atonement is far beyond her reach.

What she doesn't know...


REBOOT COMPLETE

NOW RETRIEVING DATA...

RETRIEVAL COMPLETE.

DATA DOWNLOAD COMMENCING...

DATA DOWNLOAD AT 20%

Drumming my fingers along the desk, I keep my gaze fixed on the screen as the progress bar slowly creeps along.

"31%...37%..."

"This is taking far too long," Kotomine stated suddenly, his monotone rising in pitch to indicate his impatience. "The enemy may catch wind of our presence if we do not take our leave soon."

"And I grow bored," the idiot calling himself Gilgamesh added. "Your King does not appreciate the lack of entertainment."

Ignoring the comments of my malevolent companions, I continue drumming my fingers against the desk, biting down on my tongue as the progress bar reaches 45%.

DATA DOWNLOAD AT 45%

61%

80%

95%

99%

The last percent seemed to drag on for an eternity, especially with Gilgamesh muttering under his breath about making me suffer later for ignoring him. I had to bite down hard on my tongue to suppress yet another groan of irritation. Patience will get me through this. Snapping at the powerful dummy will get me killed.

That philosophy has been the foundation of my work as a soldier, especially for people like Prince Odysseus. Of course, now isn't the time to dwell on the buffoonery of the Emperor's eldest son...especially when someone far worse is standing behind me.

DOWNLOAD COMPLETE

The second the message filters through the screen, I yank the USB stick from the drive. I'll have to decode the letters and recipes more closely on my personal computer, but before that I need to see the rest of that poem, and I need to see it now. With all the encryption and errors, it's definitely important. In fact, if my hunch is correct, it may even provide crucial information for this case. These two numb-skulls are just going to have to deal with the wait.

"Come on, let me see it," I muttered, typing in the keyword "monster" to more easily find the document I was searching for. After a few more seconds of configuring, the poem began to appear line by line on the screen once again.

Every night when I went to sleep, I would see a monster in my dreams.
The monster was ugly, scary, and mean,
It stalked the land whispering, "Who will my next victim be?"

My heart beat was agony as I searched for safety,
A refuge for the beast's wretched symphony.
The monster screamed,
The monster cried,
And eventually the monster died.

Each day I woke with relief inside

But one day I awoke and found despair.

Beneath my feet lay my loved ones.
I looked at my hands and saw their blood.

Glancing down at the mouse icon, I noted a loading indicator next to it. There's still more to this bizarre poem, but it appears the system can handle it now.

"And so the wait begins once more..."


"The wait is over milady. We have arrived."

I was dizzy to the point of having to press my forehead against A.A.'s shoulder. "That...was awful."

"I never promised comfort," the immortal cannibal murmured, gently lowering himself to the ground so I could climb off. "This is as far as I go."

With a nod I shakily extract myself from him before taking a glance around the area. This spot...

It's the same spot where Lelouch and I had that altercation with Mao...the one that ended with Shirley's memories erased. Bitterness and sorrow clings to the air here, but the general vibe of the setting is overshadowed by an intense mania crawling just beneath the surface of my own emotions. I can almost hear Mina's thoughts mixing with mine.

He's nothing to you now. Kill him.

That...does not bode well.

A.A.'s sudden grunt of pain pulls me out of Mina's mind. "Hey. You okay?"

The immortal cannibal leaned back against the nearby railing. "My nervous system is screaming at me."

"That bad, huh?"

"Shouldn't you be heading down to save your friend,"A.A. replied, his eyes weak and his breathing harsh.

"Yeah, but..."

He interrupted me with a low laugh. "Don't tell me you're worried about my well-being, Sailor Mars." With another chuckle he added, "I'm touched. I might actually cry."

For a couple seconds all I could do was stare at him, unsure of whether it was a good idea to leave him by himself when he was obviously helpless to whatever and whoever might show up, but Mina comes first, and I'm not sure if she'd be happy with me feeling any kind of sympathy for someone who outright tortured her.

Even so...

"Thanks for bringing me here, A.A." I stated, turning away to open the hidden doorway on the nearby platform. "I really appreciate this."

"Don't mention it," he muttered, a sigh on his lips. "But before you go...there's something important you should know...about Mina...and about E.E."

I paused in my movements. "What is it?"


Every night when I went to sleep, I would see a monster in my dreams.
The monster was ugly, scary, and mean,
It stalked the land whispering, "Who will my next victim be?"

My heart beat was agony as I searched for safety,
A refuge from the beast's wretched symphony.
The monster screamed,
The monster cried,
And eventually, the monster died.

Each day I woke with relief inside

But one day I awoke and found despair.

Beneath my feet lay my loved ones
I looked at my hands and saw their blood.

The monster screamed,
The monster cried,

Its tears were a flood pouring forth from my eyes,

"The comma after 'eyes' is a good indicator that there's still more to this poem," I thought, glancing at the progress bar at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen that read 98%. "Two more lines." A terrible crash sounded from somewhere above our heads, making me all the more irritated. "Two. More. Freakin. Lines."

"Your King grows increasingly weary of these waiting games," Gilgamesh proclaimed just as another loud rumble tore through the room. "If it is not finished within the next minute, I will crush that device to oblivion."

"Please don't do that," I pleaded dryly, my gaze locked on the uncooperative progress bar. "This information is incredibly important, Your Highness. I'll..." I paused, suddenly regretting every choice I'd ever made that led me to the words that were about to come out of my mouth.

The results better be worth it.

"I'll make the wait worthwhile for you. We have unfinished business from last night, don't we?"

An internal scream erupted through my consciousness as Gilgamesh chuckled darkly.

"You desire the information contained within that vile thing that badly, concubine..."

Another line of the poem appeared that instant.

"YES!"

And in that moment I finally realized...

Another loud crash sounded, but now my eyes were taking in the new words. The progress bar was at 99%

"Just a bit more."

Three minutes passed before the progress bar finally hit 100% allowing me to read the poem in full.

Every night when I went to sleep, I would see a monster in my dreams.
The monster was ugly, scary, and mean,
It stalked the land whispering, "Who will my next victim be?"

My heart beat was agony as I searched for safety,
A refuge from the beast's wretched symphony.
The monster screamed,
The monster cried,
And eventually, the monster died.

Each day I woke with relief inside

But one day I awoke and found despair.

Beneath my feet lay my loved ones
I looked at my hands and saw their blood.

The monster screamed,
The monster cried,

Its tears were a flood pouring forth from my eyes,

And in that moment I finally realized...
The monster in my dream was me.

Mere seconds after I finished reading, an unexpected prompt loaded over the words.

The prompt was as follows:

DO YOU WISH TO VIEW LEVEL SS DOCUMENT #7

I immediately clicked YES. An instant later, the words of the poem scrambled then shifted to form an entirely new document.

-INDUCTION & STAGE ONE INFORMATION

-CRIMSON COUNCIL
to Operative A.A.

The following is a Level SS Class document pertaining to Stage One of the Geass Eradication Project originally designed by the entity known as K3. No one outside the inner circle of the Crimson Council is permitted to view the following document. Review this information carefully.

-Revised Operation of Stage One
- Date of Revision : April 17th, 2017

The first stage of the revised Geass Eradication Project involves drawing out the Millennium Sword, a weapon designed to safely split humans from a parasitic and sentient form of Geass manifested from the chaos existing within the host's soul. When fully formed, this type of Geass can take complete control of its host and eliminate their self-consciousness entirely. The Millennium Sword's power, when used, allows the host and the parasite to exist separately as their own entities.

However, Geass Alternates, as they became to be known in the days of their creation, are ultimately unstable, monstrous versions of the humans they were once part of.

In the era of the Silver Millennium, it was the creation of the Geass Alternates that prompted the Sailor Wars. During this series of wars, the original holder of the Millennium Sword, Princess Annalissa of Venus, met her end at the hands of her own Alternate. This Alternate assumed the identity and role of Sailor Venus secretly up until Queen Serenity sent the spirits of the Sailor Scouts to be reincarnated in cycles throughout time.

As Alternates themselves, K3 and E.E. attempted to prevent the birth of this Alternate's reincarnation into the modern time, but were ultimately unsuccessful. Thanks to the insubordination of operative Cecelia Ashford, the Alternate carrying traces of the original Princess Venus, was born again as Minako Aino. In order to secure future stages of the project, they have formed an operation to draw out the Alternate's true nature as a means to reveal and forcibly take the Millennium Sword, which may prove useful to future steps in the plan.

Due to the unstable nature of Alternates, K3, E.E., and D.D. are ineligible to maintain control of the weapon for long periods of time. For this reason, they have agreed to transfer ownership of the sword to Commander Veronica Wong once the weapon is secure and out of the hands of Minako Aino. In the unforeseen event of her passing, the sword will be held in a high-security base within the Chinese Federation until a new suitable wielder can be found.

Further details and revisions concerning Stage One of the revised Geass Eradication Project will be sent to you once they are available. This document serves as proof of your induction to the inner circle of the Crimson Council. Speak of it to no one. That is all.

There wasn't time to take in all the information revealed in the document immediately. The instant I finished reading, a distinctive smell overrode my senses, alerting me of immediate danger.

"It's smoke." With quick movements I plugged my USB back into the computer and saved the new document before yanking it out once more. "Coming from above us probably. We need to find a way up there."

Kotomine turned toward the door we'd originally come through as another loud crash sounded overhead. The paint and plaster of the ceiling above racked ever so slightly as he spoke, saying, "We will have to backtrack a fair amount. Essentially we'll have to circle around to a higher level."

I rolled my eyes while getting up from my chair. "You're kidding right? We don't have that kind of time. The action is literally above us..."

"Yes, but by several levels," Kotomine interrupted, his voice a flat monotone showing only a hint of irritation. "If you want to investigate this place and make it out alive, you will just have to trust me."

My expression deadpanned at that. "I don't trust you at all!"

"A wise choice in the long-term, but not in the short."

"This is hardly the time for a witty comeback you..."

Before I could finish speaking, an arm found itself around my waist and I was forcibly yanked into an embrace where my forehead collided with a rock hard chest.

"Definitely going to have a headache tomorrow..." the thought trailed off as the telltale clank of a huge piece of plaster hitting the floor reached my ears. "Crap...he saved me. Now I actually owe him."

As if to irk me more, Gilgamesh's low, seductive laugh pressed against my ear. "My, my, concubine. You smell delightful...for a mongrel that is."

All I could manage was a flippant, "Yeah, the girl who got drenched in sewer water is just a radiant filed of roses." Extracting myself from him before he could get any funny ideas, I withdrew my cellphone from the folds of the stupid dress the blonde idiot forced me to wear.

"Better call Kururugi," I grumbled with a small hint of dread. "I have a hunch about who's up there causing all the ruckus."


A/N: So...a lot happened in this chapter...and I mean a whole lot. I don't really have words to explain myself either. This chapter is just...a roller coaster of pure madness building to new, world-breaking lore for this series of stories. How will all this affect the next chapter? How will our characters function in the aftermath of this mess? The only way to find out is to stay tuned. The drama train this particular story is on isn't done quite yet, but we're getting there. Best wishes until next time! God bless you all!