A/N: This particular chapter is named after a Code Geass one-shot entitled Let the Monster Rise by YamiPaladinofChaos. Definitely check it out if you ever want a dark read concerning one of the Code Geass characters that has appeared in this story. In other news...I'm updating this fairly quickly, but I will tell you plainly that the next chapter isn't fully written out yet. I kinda ran into a snag due to some back/shoulder pain. As I type this I am about to do a final edit on the chapter all of you will read below. My back/shoulders aren't entirely better, but I'm well enough to type without pain, so we're going to take advantage of this. And yes, I will be providing an update of my physical condition within the ending author's note for the two of you that actually care. As for the rest of you lovely readers, please continue to enjoy (if you can) the downward spiral of Minako Aino.
A quick message of gratitude: For all of you who have been reading this since the first chapter was posted back in...2012 I think...thank you for sticking out this crazy journey with me. All of you are the best.
Disclaimer: Back pain dictates that I don't write this out right now. The website is called Fanfiction for a reason...at this point what's even the point of a disclaimer? We all know the properties included in this madness aren't mine. XD Lol.
Warnings: This chapter contains blood/gore and general mental decay for our main character. There is a point to putting these characters through all this horrendous turmoil, but that point will become apparent once things calm down. In the meantime, reader discretion is highly advised for this chapter. Parts of it get...emotional to say the least.
Chapter 52
Let the Monster Rise
Joey Wheeler accepted an invitation to visit Japan for Christmas to escape the hand of his abusive father. At first he was nervous about going to a foreign country, especially once he remembered Japan was no longer Japan, but an Area colony of the Holy Britannian Empire. Of course, that alone wasn't nearly enough to deter him from going. After all, it was the beautiful senshi of love, Minako Aino, offering this reprieve from his usual holiday depression.
Their instantaneous bond of friendship grew and blossomed throughout the Duelist Kingdom tournament where they won second and third place respectively, but something else was brewing beneath the surface during this time. Had things progressed normally from here, their relationship could have been a friends to lovers story.
The setup was all there, and certain aspects of this Christmas journey were ripped straight out of a whimsical, romantic comedy.
She invited him to Japan. He nearly stole a kiss from her lips while they stood in front of a refrigerator, and upon their arrival at the Tokyo Settlement they were greeted by Bruce and Samuel, two staff members of the grand Kaiba Fuji Estate, which was located a few miles from the base of the Fuji Mountains. The mansion was gigantic, immaculately decorated, and even came equipped with a small but grand ballroom designed for private, moonlit dances.
On top of all that, they arrived just in time for Ashford Private Academy's Winter Festival. Joey could easily call to mind the memories of that first day meeting Mina's friends and eating all the delicious food. Even the disastrous carriage ride the two experienced turned into something beautiful.
An accidental kiss thanks to a pesky ramen noodle...
Holding her in his arms...
Laughing as snow lightly fell over them...
These are all memories of time Joey spent with a vivacious, passionate girl who would sacrifice anything for the people she loved...even if it meant her life.
He wanted to protect her.
He defended her against Rei at Tokyo Tower.
He defended her against Kallen at the breakfast table within the Kaiba Estate.
He chased after her when she pushed him away.
At every twist and turn of the unfolding nightmare, Joey was there, even when the path led him to the wrong end of a gun on the night of the Christmas Ball.
Mina chose him.
She chose him over her own mother in the end.
And suddenly, in every possible way, Joey found himself falling behind in the aftermath. Though he desperately wished to protect and defend the girl who had saved him time and time again, the young duelist was powerless against the forces raging against his friend.
Worst of all...he botched the one opportunity given to him.
Earlier that night, they chanced upon each other in the foyer of the Kaiba Estate. It was the first time they'd been in the same room together since Cecelia Ashford's death.
Mina was gone before he could speak, thus leaving him with crucial information capable of preventing the cruel and vicious crusade of bloodletting that followed.
And so, when Joey sees the first body on the stone floor of the tunnel, he makes himself stop in order to take a good, hard look at the damage his failures caused.
This first body has a single stab wound through the chest. The head once attached to the body is gone along with both arms. Glancing ahead, he catches sight of both limbs lying haphazardly against the wall. Crimson-colored blood has darkened to an inky black substance due to the passage of time.
Serena Tsukino, having taken on the persona of Sailor Moon, turns and asks him if he's okay. He nods and they keep going.
A second headless corpse greets the pair, though this time it looks like an animal ripped through it. Once more, Joey stares at the body without saying much of anything. Serena gently tugs on his arm to keep him moving after he assures her he's fine.
Emotionally speaking, he's a lot calmer than he feels he should be in this situation, but part of it is because his mind is spinning with disbelief more than horror.
He would like to believe all of this was just a long, drawn out nightmare he was going to wake up from in a few hours.
The more rational part of his brain knew better, which was why he stopped again when he saw the third body, a woman this time. Her throat was completely ripped out while the rest of her body was covered in vicious bite marks from what had to be an animal.
And yet somehow...Joey knew Mina was responsible for this death too. There were lingering traces of her presence, starting with bloody footprints and ending with a faint trace of lilac fragrance. It was a scent he grew familiar with during their time dancing together before the night of the ball.
But now that smell was mixed with the metallic stench of blood.
He hated it.
"That's three," he whispered quietly, below what Serena could adequately hear, especially since she'd already walked out of hearing range. "Three gone."
There was no defense for this kind of brutality. Mina had gone way too far, but the Duelist Kingdom runner-up still felt partially responsible for it all.
The second his friend pulled the trigger on her mother to save him...everything fell apart.
The girl he knew...the girl he wanted to keep his promise to was gone.
Yet here he was, suffering this trauma in the hopes of saving the person Mina was. He felt he owed it to her, not only because she saved his life but because he loved her.
This was possibly the worst moment to come to such a realization, but the fact he still wanted to save her while walking past the corpses she left behind made his true feelings clear, even to someone as oblivious as he often was.
Having finally noticed Joey's lack of movement, the meatball head circles back until she's standing by his side again.
"Joey, we have to hurry."
"I know, but...just give me a second."
Serena didn't say it aloud, but her expression told him they didn't have that kind of time. Lost as she was in her own grief for the carnage Mina left behind, she was more worried about the potential damage E.E. was causing their friend as well as Ami's battle outside with D.D.
Joey easily saw her concern, but he couldn't force himself forward yet.
Closing his eyes, he inhales...
Meanwhile, at that very same moment, Minako Aino exhales shakily, narrowing her crimson gaze on the senshi of fire.
Rei Hino, the heroine responsible for E.E.'s long-awaited demise, sees evidence of revelations she'd barely been able to comprehend let alone believe.
The immortal demon was only the beginning.
With her shoulders back and a widening grin, the former senshi of love takes center stage as the true villain of her story.
"Mina! Hold on a minute!" Rei screams, a sharp yet delightful edge of horror in her voice. "You're hurt! You can barely breathe properly let alone fight!"
A laugh immediately bubbles from my mouth. It feels good...for about ten seconds until I start coughing. That hurts. It hurts an excruciating amount actually.
"And is that blood running down my chin?"
I give a nonchalant shrug despite the movement bringing yet another wave of fresh pain.
"So what?"
"You'll die!"
"And?"
"This is stupid, Mina!"
"Stupid, huh?"
I'm trying hard not to laugh so I don't aggravate my throbbing ribs, but it's a futile effort, just like everything else I've tried to do. So, throwing my head back, I cackle maniacally for as long as I can until another harsh bout of coughing interrupts the fun, but even as more blood drips from my mouth, I can't help but smile at the sheer terror overtaking Rei's expression.
"You're one to talk, Rei."
"Mina please...this isn't like you..."
"How would you know?" I ask, practically in awe of this girl's sheer stupidity. "Did you not see the corpses I left behind? The carnage?"
Rei doesn't answer, but the look on her face easily answers the question for me.
Softening my tone so she's forced to concentrate on something other than herself for once, I continue with my verbal onslaught.
"This was my chance to take E.E. down for everything, and what do you do?"
Silence. Good.
"You waltz in here and steal it away from me like the petty, self-righteous thief that you are!"
"I wasn't trying to steal anything from you," Rei argues, clenching her fists in clear frustration at being called out. "I came here to..."
"To do what? Help me? I think you've helped enough." Another laugh breaks past my lips, but there's absolutely no joy in it. "It's because of you I believed the only way to stop my mom was to kill her. Thanks to that...my mom...even Joey..."
"Joey?"
Hearing Rei say his name makes me pause as memories rush through my mind. There are many I could reminisce on, but...when I close my eyes the only images that come are the ones from tonight...
Thanks to E.E...I ended up killing him too.
He was the one person who was supposed to survive all this and he didn't.
All I wanted was to make it so his death wasn't in vain. Killing E.E. was the only way to make up for every life taken by my hands, including his...especially his.
Opening my eyes gives me a new sense of clarity about it all. Joey is gone. My mother is gone. E.E. never told me what she did with my father's paperwork, so he's pretty much bound for death too.
Geass took them...took them all.
"It doesn't matter," I say with a sense of finality. "None of it matters anymore. It's your fault, Rei. You created Geass, right?"
Rei doesn't answer for a long time, but it's not as if I really needed her to say the words. She already told me at Tokyo Tower.
The only reason I asked the question was to see if she would stop being a coward and own up to what she's done.
Eventually, in an irritatingly broken whisper...I get my answer.
"Yes...I did."
Scowling, I maneuver myself into an attack stance. "This is your punishment then. I'm going to erase you and all your hypocrisy once and for all!"
I lean forward on my right foot then leap into the fastest attack I can muster with my injuries as a factor. As much as I despise Rei now, there's no reason to draw this out. The girl can suffer for eternity once she's in Hell.
All I need is for her to stop breathing.
And after that...I'll stop breathing too.
"Mina...what is wrong with you?"
Serena takes my hand in hers, completely derailing my train of thought as I look at her face. She's wearing a calm expression, but her blue eyes tell a different story. She doesn't want to think about what Mina's done right now, or rather she can't.
If she does she might not be able to keep moving.
I can feel her hand trembling in mine as she leads me, and less than a minute after we start walking again we come across two more bodies. My gut reaction makes my movements slow, but Serena forcefully yanks me along so that I keep pace with her.
"Serena..."
"We can't afford to slow down anymore," she answers, all business. I don't know how she can do that. We've found five of Mina's victims in less than fifteen minutes.
All of this happened because I didn't open my big mouth fast enough.
No...none of this would have happened if I had just said no to Mina's invite. She told me the trip to Japan would be dangerous. She told me she was going there to save her mother from E.E.
Even if I still ended up coming here with her...I should have left when she asked me to.
It's because I didn't that Mina lost her mother.
And now, thanks to that loss, she's gone completely insane. She didn't just kill these people...she relished in making their deaths as violent as possible, and to people who probably worked for E.E. but ultimately weren't responsible for anything that happened.
Mina let loose on them as if every single person down here was E.E. herself.
It's the type of thing only truly monstrous people could do.
The worst part of it all is that Mina didn't even try to hide it from me. She told me exactly what her intentions were in the letter she left behind, which means all of this was premeditated. There's no getting around that, especially not now that I'm seeing the evidence of her rampage with my own eyes.
"Something must be seriously wrong with me too..."
I hate what Mina's done. Wanting revenge is understandable. I get it. I've been in that mindset before many times, but Yugi taught me the importance of letting things go. Hatred is all-consuming in the same way love is. The more you feed into those emotions, the stronger those emotions become.
Mina has fed into her hatred and desperation so much that she's become a monster no one would ever want to save.
But I can't abandon her. It's not even about keeping my promise anymore at this point. I wish it was...because that promise alone wouldn't have been enough to keep me here after seeing all this.
I'm here because I love her.
Regardless of what's happened...I can't make myself hate her. I know Mina too well. She's gone off the deep end, sure, but I can guess how she's feeling and the guilt that'll eat her alive later once she's gotten her vengeance.
In Duelist Kingdom she beat herself up for accidentally killing two of Pegasus' assassins.
The emotional fallout from all this will...
Somehow it slipped my mind that Rei was still Sailor Mars at the moment, so when she flung out her hands in front of her to defend herself from my attack, I didn't anticipate fire magic to spring out of her palms.
Immediate, searing agony shot through my entire torso as my body went flying backwards into a vicious flip, effectively knocking more precious breath out of me even as I managed to flip again and land on my feet. I'm gonna need all the oxygen I can spare later, especially if I want to get out of...what appears to be the slowest spreading fire known to man...
"Is Rei holding the flames at bay somehow?" I wonder, still choking a bit on air that isn't coming in properly as I sink into a crouch. While in this position I start to inspect the damage done to my chest...only to hear...
"Is that...oh my God, is this girl sobbing right now?"
Irritated beyond all rationality, I glance over at my enemy and almost sigh in response to the tears slowly dripping down the sides of her face.
"I'm the one with possible third degree burns on my freakin' chest over here, and she's the one crying? Oh, I'm gonna make her wish she'd saved those tears."
Growling inwardly I refocus on my newest injury from Rei. Some of the fabric of the battle suit I'm wearing has melded with the skin beneath it. There's some blood too, but it's difficult to tell whether that blood is mine or if it's from my earlier kills. Probably both, but the burns themselves don't look as bad as they feel...not that it really matters.
I was going to kill myself after beating E.E. anyway. The only reason I'm still fighting now is because Rei royally screwed me over one too many times. And, to pour salt on my literal wounds, she's crying about it like a spoiled brat who just got their toy taken from them. Seriously, even Serena knows how to suck it up and fight when things are at their absolute worst.
"Mina...please." The plea was about flimsy as my patience with her. "I don't want to hurt you."
For about two seconds all I can do is stare blankly at this pathetic excuse for a Sailor Senshi. "Now she says she doesn't want to hurt me. She's suddenly concerned now. Now, when it's far, FAR too late!"
"And yet hurt me you did," I supply, chuckling emptily at the tears falling from her closed eyelids. "That's just what you do, Rei. You hurt people."
With a grunt of effort I slowly stagger back to my feet, watching Rei closely as she opens her eyes. She stares up at me with a sad expression resembling that of a lost, hungry puppy. How cute! She thinks pouting will inspire sympathy out of me, but I'm afraid I don't have useless emotions like that anymore.
Those feelings died the instant Joey did.
"I'm going to enjoy breaking her spirit." Grinning, I gesture to the flames slowly consuming the room. "Fire is destructive, Rei. No need to feel so bad about it. It's who you are."
Rei's hand twitches. Looks like I touched a nerve.
"I'm just taking the initiative to put you out before you destroy anything else," I continue, brightening my tone to make it as condescending as possible. "Don't worry. I have every intention of killing myself once I'm through with you...and maybe a few others..."
After all, Rei wasn't the only Sailor Soldier to abandon me. If I'm going to kill one I may as well get rid of all them all.
And once I'm the last of the senshi, I'll...
You'll be doing her a favor, you know. She wants to die.
The immortal cannibal, A.A., spoke these words to Rei after revealing sensitive information about Mina's true origin as an improper fusion of the Princess of Venus and her Geass Alternate, who assumed the role and identity of Sailor Venus during the final years of the Silver Millennium before the Moon Kingdom's destruction at the hands of Queen Beryl.
In visions, she encountered this alternate version of Mina. The first time, the alternate Mina warned Rei she was running out of time to fulfill the mission M gave her. The second was earlier that night in a dream where Alternate Mina revealed Joey was the key to saving the senshi of love.
Of course, elusive and cunning, the Alternate didn't say how.
She wasn't seeking salvation for Mina or even for herself.
The Alternate just wanted to kill as many people as possible after lying dormant for so long. She had no goal beyond this need to destroy.
Mina was beginning to inherit the same sentiment. Even with her intent to die, the list of people to kill after Rei simply kept growing the more she pondered over it.
"Hmm, Joey shouldn't be alone in the afterlife," she thought tilting her head a bit as she waited for Rei to stop crying. "Once I'm through with the other scouts I think I'll go back to Domino and send his friends there so he'll have company until I can join him. Yes...Yugi, Tristian, and Téa. That should be enough to hold him for a while."
"No..." Rei whispered. "Don't ask me to do that."
Mina, still lost in her own little world of contemplation merely muttered, "Begging for your life?"
The fire senshi shook her head and the last of her tears. "No. For yours, Mina."
Wincing while exhaling, Mina watched Rei rise to her feet.
"E.E. is dead. It's over! No one else needs to die."
Mina's smile softened into something more forlorn.
"I do. I need to die."
Rei's violet eyes widened in a mixture of sadness and horror. A.A.'s words raced through her head again, and were soon joined by a torturous lament of a man she was unable to love. The words grew louder and louder until...
"NO! You're my friend! I don't want you to die."
The former senshi of love froze, completely stunned by the words. Her red ribbon lay abandoned and ripped a distance behind her. It served as a bitter reminder of every misstep and broken promise between them.
Mina couldn't help but laugh inwardly at the irony. This confrontation was eerily similar to the exchange at Tokyo Tower, except Rei was the one desperate to save someone now.
KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL.
"I wish you would have been this desperate to save my mother."
The effect of the bitter words was immediate. Rei bit down on her lip and narrowed her gaze in acceptance of her role in Mina's downfall. More importantly, she came to the conclusion that the only real hope for Mina lied in the Silver Crystal. It could purify the evil in Mina's soul.
But the senshi of fire knew with her own wound and Mina's laborious breathing...
Time wasn't on either of their sides.
"And Rei," Mina continued, maneuvering into an attack stance. "I'm not your friend. Not anymore."
Without another word, the former senshi of love flew into another attack, heedless of her wounds or Rei's reluctance to fight.
"What am I going to do? Serena, please...hurry!"
"How many people did Mina torture while on her way to E.E.?"
Try as I might to ignore the carnage, it's slowly sinking in how malicious each of these kills were. There are abandoned weapons everywhere, so it's obvious these people worked for E.E. and had orders to kill my friend. Even though I personally wouldn't have done it, I understand the mindset behind killing off adversaries as quickly and efficiently as possible in order to reach the true target of a mission.
But that's not what we're seeing here.
The first corpse we found was headless and its limbs were a good five feet away from it.
The wounds on the next two bodies were mutilated in a manner I'd rather not think about.
The two we just came across weren't nearly as bad as the earlier kills, but Mina still inflicted far more damage than necessary to get the job done.
"Maybe that's the last of it," I thought hopefully. "Maybe Mina came to her senses and knocked the rest of the enemies."
After another minute of walking, Joey and I end up in a much larger room with high ceilings stone pillars. From what I can tell, there are two other passageways leading into this room. One to my right and another one on the opposite end of the room. There's a really big, partially open door closer to that passageway on the other side...
"Eight..."
Joey's voice, in a tone far too grim for my liking, interrupts my mental assessment of the room. He'd gotten increasingly somber throughout our time in these tunnels, but just now he sounded like all the breath had left his body and that one word was all he had left to say before he keeled over.
"Eight...what, Joey?"
He points down at the floor. A few inches away from our feet lay little bits and pieces of flesh.
With a sharp intake of breath, I bring both of my hands to my mouth. Putrid acid immediately crawls up my throat, and it takes everything in me to close my eyes and swallow it back down.
"Mina..."
With a slippery movement, Rei uses flames from the ongoing fire to create a fierce barrier between me and her before taking off toward the only exit door.
"That coward!"
Throughout the night, it never really occurred to me to transform into Sailor Venus. Before E.E., I was outright slaughtering people with my collection of weapons Ami painstakingly built. The battle suit she made has the ability to tap into some of my senshi powers, and having the Millennium Ring dangling from my neck on top of all that made the whole idea of transforming pointless in the early stages of my crusade.
By the time I reached the demon, I'd pretty much forgotten about the transformation pen in my pocket. It didn't feel like a necessary tool in my arsenal anymore.
But as I pursue Rei beyond the path of her silly barrier, my fingers reach for the pen in the hopes of gaining a much needed energy boost.
Grasping it firmly in my hand, I shout the words needed to start the transformation process.
Nothing happens.
I shout the words again and pick up the pace of my run regardless of how agonizing each movement feels. Rei's own pace is slowing, probably because of her own wound, but for a few seconds I can only focus on the fact that I'm not transforming.
It doesn't matter. You don't need that power to win.
That much is undeniably certain, but the inability to transform is still a problem. Even with her wound, Rei's not nearly as battle worn as I am right now. A fresh boost of power would have made things easier, but I guess I'll have to manage without it.
Besides, my life as a Salior Scout is over.
Love? Justice?
Those things don't exist in my world anymore.
KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL.
"Don't you dare run from me, Rei!" I scream out just as she forcefully pulls the large door open. Bright light from the other room filters in and the senshi of fire runs through the doorway. I'm only a few paces behind, but just as I pass over the threshold the aching in my ribs triples, eliciting a harsh gasp that just barely comes out.
Plummeting to my knees with the gold katana still grasped firmly in my right hand, I fight with my own body for precious oxygen but just end up coughing. I taste blood. A lot of blood this time.
KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL. KILL! KILL! KILL!
"Mina!"
"S-shut u-up!" I snarl, finally glancing up to see Rei standing close by with one of Veronica Wong's Naginata staves strapped to her back and a gun clasped loosely in her hands. So that's why she was running.
"You need a doctor..."
"I thought I told you to shut up!" I yell, forcing the air out of my lungs before shakily inhaling again. Breathing sends liquid fire racing through my whole chest. The burns there sting and I can feel my heart racing in a rhythm that's entirely too fast.
It hurts. Everything just hurts.
But it's okay. I only have to last a tiny bit longer.
With another gasp of effort, I stab the edge of my sword into a small crease in the stone then slowly push myself into a standing position. Black dots start lining the edges of my vision as Rei inches her way closer, armed but non-combative. Her expression is solemn and contemplative.
My eyes drift to the gun she's holding. It's pointed down toward the ground.
"Y-you gonna shoot me with that?"
"I don't want to," Rei says, gritting her teeth as she points the weapon toward my knees. "But if..."
The sword in my hand glows before she can finish speaking, and for a brief instant, all of the pain is gone. Physical, emotional, mental...everything.
With complete elation from a high fueled by pure blood-lust, I dart to Rei's right side where her wound is. Her widening violet eyes lets me know she's been caught completely off guard by my speed. Acting on pure instinct, she raises the gun and aims in a shaky, haphazard fashion but she never pulls the trigger. Instead, she pivots on her heel to spin out of my first strike. Then, in one fluid movement she maneuvers the Naginata in front of her body to block my second strike. An instant later, the gun clatters to the ground in a way that interrupts the distant clicking of the empty motion-sensitive machine guns.
The weapon remains there between our feet while we struggle.
"M-Mina...we have to..." With shaking arms, Rei tries to push back against me but I just push harder.
"I d-don't w-want to...hear it," I tell her as the emotional agony slowly returns. "Y-you want to s-save me? Why? To alleviate y-your own g-guilt, right!?"
The shakiness in Rei's arms intensifies. Taking advantage of her weakness, I force her down to her knees.
It's the same position I had E.E. in before she showed up and ruined everything.
"You're not here for me," I mutter bitterly, straining to inch our blades down toward her neck. "You're here for yourself."
"You're wrong, Mina."
"No, I d-don't think I am."
Rei's glare burns with indignation. "It's true that I feel guilty for my part in your pain. I abandoned you, and what happened in Azabu Park is ultimately my fault. I take ownership of it, and I don't expect you to ever forgive me."
Smiling I forcefully press the blade down against the metal of her borrowed weapon. My blade is less than an inch away from breaking Rei's skin.
"Good to know you still have some common sense at the end..."
"I'm not finished!"
With a roar, Rei abruptly pushes herself to her feet. Her fierce movement makes my arms give, and in order to save myself from yet another wound at her hands, I break away from her and skip a few steps backward. The fire senshi also backs away, her breathing about as ragged as mine.
For a brief moment, while catching our breaths, we simply stare at one another.
It's a shame things ended up this way. At one time this girl was one of my closest friends.
I still remember all the days we all spent studying and hanging out at Hikawa Temple. We always used to sit in Rei's room around a table full of homemade bento boxes and textbooks. Serena plowed through the snacks Lita provided, Rei would tease her about potential weight gain, which would lead to a fight, but it was a fight easily diffused by Ami. Though timid at times, Ami was always stern when it came to studying, but in the few moments when her sternness couldn't break through Serena and Rei's antics, I would step in and calm everyone down with a joke or the misuse of an old proverb. Of course, not all of our study sessions went like this. Sometimes they simply devolved into gab sessions about love and past boyfriends. Serena bragged constantly about Darien, but it was endearing in a way, even if it made us all jealous.
Rei's room was the venue for so many good times.
There were tough moments too. More often than not, we always met at Hikawa Temple when we needed a battle plan for certain enemies. It wasn't just a hangout spot, but a base of operations and a setting for some pretty tough battles.
On particularly awful days, I could always look forward to seeing my friends there. It was easy to cheer up when I was surrounded by people who loved me.
What happened to us? What happened to that bond?
Rei's gaze softens as she finally speaks again. "Mina, I'm sorry about the things I said to you at Tokyo Tower. I'm sorry for abandoning you and for not realizing I'd put you into A.A.'s clutches until it was too late to do anything. From the bottom of my heart...I'm sorry for everything."
Too little too late.
"Apologizing doesn't fix the damage."
"I know it doesn't." Rei nods then, as if reaffirming this to herself. "There's no redemption for the sins I've committed against you. I'm not standing here in front of you because of guilt. I'm standing here because we're family. You, me, Serena, Ami, and Lita...we're family. We always have been and we always will be no matter what."
Scoffing I glance down at the gun still on the ground. It's closer to my feet than hers.
"Don't make me laugh, Rei. It's actually kinda painful."
"We love you Mina. Please..."
I shake my head, suddenly very tired as I take a slow step forward. "You can say the words all you like, but..." Pausing I carefully bend down and grab the base of the gun near my feet with my left hand. "That bond we all shared is dead, and in a few seconds..."
Pointing the gun directly at Rei, I watch in surprise as she tosses the Naginata, her only means of defense, to the floor.
"Very well then," she says, resignation clear in her voice when she closes her eyes. "I refuse to hurt you anymore, and for that end...I'll gladly give up my life. Do what you must, Mina."
My hand starts to shake a little in response to Rei's words.
KILL HER.
My index finger touches the trigger but the tremors in my left hand make it impossible for me to aim properly. The golden sword is still in my right hand, so I drop it to free up that hand and get a stronger grip on the more efficient weapon.
I never hear the blade touch the ground.
KILL HER! KILL REI NOW!
Something's wrong.
KILL! KILL! KILL!
I need to do this. I want to do this, but...
KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!
This doesn't feel right. No matter how much I hate her, Rei is still a guardian of this planet. What happens to the rest of the world if I kill her and the others? And how could I even think about hurting Joey's friends...our friends...
I can't do this. I won't do this.
KILL!
"Shut up..."
KILL! KILL!
"Shut...up..."
KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!
Rei's eyes slowly begin to open as the empty machine guns continue clicking, adding to the relentless screeching inside my head.
"This isn't right. What good is any of this going to do?"
KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!
"Stop it...no more..."
The senshi of fire notices the shaking in my hands. "Mina?"
KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!
"Get...out...of my head," I rasp, too caught up in fighting myself to care about my personal vendetta anymore.
In the end I just...I just...
"Mina..." Rei takes a step closer and the tremors in my hands get even worse. "Fight it!"
KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!
"I can't. I can't. I can't, but I..."
KILL SAILOR MARS!
"I need all of this to stop. I need to go back to the way things were before, but that's never going to happen. It's too late. It's just too late."
HURRY UP AND KILL HER!
"Everything and everyone I loved...all of it's gone."
DO IT!
"Mom...Dad...Joey...it's my fault. It's all my fault!"
DO IT RIGHT NOW!
"GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
My fingers tighten around the trigger.
"BOOM!"
A/N: And that my friends is the end of this chapter. Thank you all for reading! God bless you!
Update on my back: I edited this whole thing without much pain! Yaaay! Praise the Lord!
Special end note: Definitely check out Let the Monster Rise by YamiPaladinofChaos right here on Fanfiction. It's a Code Geass one-shot, but if you guys read it you'll see why I named this chapter after this story.