A/N: Why hello there! Surprised at such a fast update? I know. I am too. Inspiration is a fickle thing but when it hits, it hits like a train going at least 100 miles per hour. The unfortunate thing about this type of inspiration though is the inevitable depletion of "writer's adrenaline", so if updates come a little more slowly after this...that's why. We're almost to the point in the story where I can accurately calculate how many chapters we actually have left until we reach the end, so for those of you weeping over the story length...I'm sorry. This mess ran away from me a while ago, but it is what it is.

Disclaimer: Considering the passive-aggressive ending to the author's note, I feel an equally passive-aggressive disclaimer would be overkill. I don't own the properties used in this story, just my original characters and the drawn out plot that is slowly reaching its conclusion. For those of you who have read up to this point, thank you. Seriously. Thank you so much. I had to re-read most of this story last year in order to start writing chapters again, and it's not easy to do. I wept at the story length too. Congratulations are in order if you've made it to this point. Hang in there with me for a little bit longer. We're almost there guys.

Warnings: This story is now rated M. The content in this chapter is part of the reason why. There is blood/gore, intense violence, and general despair surrounding these characters. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

Chapter 116

Unravel Part 1

There's no escaping my role in the tragedies surrounding me. On some level, whether I meant to or not, I unleashed chaos into this world through the power of Geass. But now, after a series of betrayals and mess-ups since arriving in the Tokyo Settlement...I've finally done something right.

To be honest, I didn't think it would be so easy...so fast.

With sweat dripping from my brow, I plunge the Millennium Sword through E.E.'s chest. The immortal demon freezes and utters a low, strangled gasp as the blade reemerges from her back. Her grip on her own sword slackens until gravity inevitably pulls the weapon down to the stone floor beneath our feet where it clatters noisily. E.E.'s fingers twitch while weakening grunts of effort break out of her mouth. She tries to say something, and in response I immediately force the blade in deeper. The hilt is almost touching her chest at this point.

Warm blood spills over my hands, but I force myself to ignore it and wait as E.E.'s shaky breaths slow to a crawl of haggard, desperate gasps.

"Please...let this be the end!"

After a solid minute of waiting, E.E. breathes a final time...

And then her flesh hand falls limp by her side.

Another minute passes as I wait for the demon's breathing to start right back up again, but it soon becomes apparent that her whole body has gone completely still. The only reason she's still on her feet is because she's leaning forward against the hilt of my sword. For a few seconds, I examine the spot where my sword went through. Mina had already stabbed her through the center of her chest, so all I had to do was aim to the left of that spot.

Aiming for the heart with the Millennium Sword did the trick.

E.E., the immortal demon, is finally dead.

With a shuddering grunt, I rip the golden blade out of the demon and watch her fall against the stone. Her harsh collision with the ground mixes with the crackling hiss of the nearby flames.

"Am I dreaming? Did I really just put an end to one of our most formidable foes?"

A part of me was certain E.E. was actually alive and just using her Geass powers to mess with my mind again. After all, she can plant scenarios in people's minds...make them seem real...

But the longer I stand here staring at the expanding pool of blood beneath the woman's utterly still form, the more real everything about this moment feels.

"This isn't a dream."

My body practically convulses from sheer relief.

"I did it. She's really dead. It's over. It's finally over."

From the corner of my eye I see Mina struggling to get to her feet, and that alone shakes me from the euphoria of victory and back to reality. This mess isn't actually over until the immediate problem of Mina's injuries and psychological trauma are dealt with.

"E.E.'s death doesn't fix everything, but it's a push in the right direction at the very least."

Finally turning away from the remains of the demon, I start to face Mina when a jolt of searing pain races up my side. My hand automatically drifts to the spot as a hiss rolls off my tongue.

Touching it almost makes me scream.

"Crap, E.E. must have grazed me at some point..." the thought trails off when another jolt of discomfort shoots through my arm which is accompanied by the sudden disappearance of the Millennium Sword from my hand.

"Gaaah! What in the world..."

Before I can begin to process the sword's random vanishing act, the full force of Mina's emotions return. For whatever reason, my connection to them completely fizzled out while I was fighting E.E., but now that the sword is gone, the sheer force of her hatred is threatening to knock me off my feet.

On top of that...that horrible voice is back...

KILL REI HINO!

"What the heck is going on?" With confusion I fix my gaze on Mina only to see her staring back at me with a vindictive smirk and the Millennium Sword glowing in her right hand. Instead of warm sapphire irises, cold, crimson eyes peer down to my soul.

They demand a fight to the death.

KILL SAILOR MARS!

In response to the voice's request, Mina slowly prances toward me like a model anticipating her moment to walk down the runway in a gorgeous evening gown rather than a seasoned warrior preparing for battle, but somehow her leisurely pace made the movements far more intimidating than if she'd immediately moved into a fighting stance.

With her shoulders back and a widening grin, she points the tip of the Millennium Sword at me, her intent clear when she answers the voice in her head and mine.

"I will. I promise."

Completely caught off guard, I quickly maneuver my body into a defensive stance. "Mina! Hold on a minute! You're hurt! You can barely breathe properly let alone fight!"

Mina laughs at my words but she's coughing up tiny droplets of blood less than a second later. The liquid slides down her chin as she hacks away, but the second she stops, she just tilts her head and shrugs.

"So what?"

"You'll die!" I scream back, desperate.

"And?"

"This is stupid, Mina!"

"Stupid, huh?" The blonde began to cackle maniacally which sent her into another harsh hacking fit. "You're one to talk."

This has to stop. Fighting against Haruka earlier was already bad enough, but she was brainwashed.

With Mina...

There's also what A.A. said...

I can't stand this. Killing E.E. was supposed to be the end of this nightmare not the beginning of another one.

"Mina please...this isn't like you..."

"How would you know?" Mina cut in, rage sparking in her crimson gaze. "Did you not see the corpses I left behind? The carnage?"

I had seen it...but even so...

"This was my chance to take E.E. down for everything...and what do you do?" Mina's smile abruptly fell into a bitter grimace. "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," I argue, clenching my fists. "I came here to..."

She interrupts with another mirthless laugh. "To do what? Help me? I think you've helped enough. 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?"

Mina closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them again her gaze is practically free of any emotion at all.

"It doesn't matter. None of it matters anymore. It's your fault, Rei. You created Geass, right?"

It took me a long time to answer...and when I did my voice came out in a broken whisper.

"Yes...I did."

"This is your punishment then," the blonde states with a sense of finality. "I'm going to erase you and all your hypocrisy once and for all!"

With an unnaturally fast movement, Mina appears barely a foot away from me with the Millennium Sword poised for a strike. My hands shoot out in front of me in a weak attempt to defend myself, but though the actual movements were feeble, a desperate kind of terror forces an intense, confined blaze out of my fingertips before I can stop it.

Mina drops the Millennium Sword when the blast connects with the center of her chest, scorching it instantly. In horror, I listen to her muffled gasp as she flips once in the air, but the sound is quickly choked out by the roar of the flames steadily inching their way toward us. She turns another flip while airborne in order to land on her feet, but an instant later she falls into a crouch.

Wheezing, she reaches for the seared fabric clinging to the bloodied skin of her chest.

Even though she doesn't scream or show any obvious signs of pain on her face, the visual of the damage is a blatant statement.

With one thoughtless action, I've cut the time she has left in half.

"Maybe I could knock her unconscious and carry her out of here but..." the thought trails off. "No, that won't work. Mina passing out at any capacity is too risky at this point. Besides, even if I was able to knock her out without causing more damage...Narita is practically a ghost town right now. There's no way to get her immediate medical attention, especially without the other scouts around for a Sailor Teleport."

The emotional strain of attacking Mina and the reality of how dire things have become sends me to my knees. Even though I know I need to come up with some kind of plan, absolutely nothing is coming to me.

And sitting there on my knees...I'm unable to stop the sob that breaks past my lips.

I know I'm the last person who should be crying about anything. These tears aren't for me or even for Mina right now. They're just my body's reaction to the stress of the night. There's no time to wallow in any kind of despair right now. No one else is here to pick up my slack, so I absolutely cannot break here.

I have to get my act together and quick for Mina's sake, but...

"No! Absolutely not! Don't even think like that!"

"Mina...please." The plea was about as soft and feeble as I felt within. "I don't want to hurt you."

"And yet hurt me you did," she replies, an empty chuckle accompanying the words. "That's just what you do, Rei. You hurt people."

Opening my eyes, I look up and watch Mina stagger to her feet on shaky legs.

"Fire is destructive," she continues, gesturing to the nearby flames. "No need to feel so bad about it. It's who you are." Dropping her hand, she waits for my rebuttal, but there's nothing I can say to defend myself.

She isn't wrong. Even without the creation of Geass as a factor, in recent times I've destroyed the lives of the people around me. Mina, Serena, Ami, Lita, Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, Hotaru, Euphemia, Suzaku, Nunnally, and Lelouch...

Lelouch...

You aren't in my way. Right now I'm choosing to be part of the fantasy you created for me. It won't last forever, but I want to make it last for as long as possible.

Time is running out for us too. Fantasies are nothing more than falsehoods we wish were true. Maybe Lelouch will find it in his heart forgive me once he remembers everything, but he will never be able to love me the way he does now. There's simply too much betrayal between us.

Mina is right. I'm a guardian of fire. Fire is destructive. I hurt people. That's all I do.

But even knowing that...

"I'm just taking the initiative to put you out before you destroy anything else," Mina proclaims as she picks up the Millennium Sword from off the floor, smiling the whole time. "Don't worry. I have every intention of killing myself once I'm through with you...and maybe a few others..."

You'll be doing her a favor, you know. She wants to die.

"No..." More tears fall from my eyes. "Don't ask me to do that."

"Begging for your life?"

"No, for yours, Mina." Sighing heavily, I slowly stand back up. "E.E. is dead. It's over! No one else needs to die!"

Mina's smile softens into something more forlorn. "I do. I need to die."

You'll be doing her a favor, you know. She wants to die.

You let me die!

She wants to die.

You let me die!

She wants to die.

"NO!" I scream. "You're my friend! I don't want you to die!"

The look in Mina's eyes changed then, and for a split second I thought she might be coming back, but the words she said next completely obliterated the notion from my head.

"I really wish you would have been this desperate to save my mother."

My heart dropped to my stomach hearing those words. There's no getting around my involvement in Mina's personal tragedy. I've long since accepted that. I'm part of the reason she's in this state now, and even though I don't want to believe anything A.A. told me, I can't deny the bloodthirsty presence feeding on Mina's hate and despair. The worst part about it all is that...deep down I knew from the second she vowed to kill me that she meant it from the core of her soul.

She isn't brainwashed.

Mina let the monster win, and she's going to ride the high of the mania until her body gives out.

The only chance she has now lies in the Silver Crystal Serena possesses. Its power could calm her down long enough for us to get out of here before this fire gets any more out of control. I'm using my powers to keep the flames from spreading further, but I'm not going to be able to concentrate on that once Mina attacks again, which means I'll have to lure her elsewhere and fast.

To make matters worse, I don't have a clue where Serena or any of the other Sailor Scouts are at this point. I asked Serena and Ami to save Joey from D.D. at the memorial site, but it's not like I can just leave and see how that endeavor turned out.

All I can do is keep Mina distracted and hope Serena shows up soon because if she doesn't...if she doesn't...

She wants to die.

"No. I'm not stooping to that. I refuse to."

"And Rei," the blonde mutters suddenly. "I'm not your friend. Not anymore."

Without another word, the former senshi of love flies into another attack, heedless of her wounds or my reluctance to fight.

"What am I going to do? Serena, please...hurry!"

"Joey, we have to hurry."

"I know, but...just give me a second."

I wanted to tell him we didn't have that kind of time, but kept my mouth shut after catching another glimpse at the horribly mangled body at our feet. It's the third one we've come across in the last few minutes and neither of us are dealing with it well. The smell alone has my stomach churning, but right now I'm just trying to keep my focus on finding Mina and getting out of here.

Joey is having a much harder time ignoring the bodies and the brutal nature of the kills. It's like he's actively ingraining each one to memory as a form of punishment for himself...as if he was the one responsible for their deaths.

Playing the blame game isn't going to change anything that's happened, so I've made up my mind to not bother with it. Frankly, the bigger concern right now is handling this situation with Mina while Ami has D.D. distracted outside. With her willpower and brainpower combined, Ami can keep the immortal on his toes for a while, but he has an unfair advantage thanks to the immortality. No matter how many injuries he sustains, D.D. can just keep getting back up.

Thankfully for Ami, the Geass Chain works in a similar way, but not nearly as fast. When I used my Geass on Rei, it took her almost a week to heal and wake up.

If Ami ends up "dying" before I can get Joey to Mina, we're going to be in for a world of trouble. We already have enough trouble to go around right now, so we really can't afford to stop and stare at every body we come across.

Besides, I don't want to linger on the results of my inability to lead the Sailor Scouts effectively. This meaningless loss of life will weigh heavily on my conscience later, but right now I have a job to do down here. That takes precedence over my feelings.

And so, once I'm sure Joey has calmed down, I grab his hand and we keep going. Not even a minute later we pass by two more bodies. Their blood has long since dried along the stone.

Joey starts to slow down but with a fierce tug I force him to match pace with me.

"Serena..."

"We can't afford to slow down anymore," I tell him briskly, keeping my eyes on the path straight ahead.

But even as I tell him that...I sigh internally at the number of kills.

Five lives have been completely snuffed out, but...

"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 actually are. 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 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 just knocked out 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..."

Joey places a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me down as he guides me forward through the carnage. Without a doubt, this is the worst of it. Despite our best efforts to move about without incident, Joey and I both step in the mush at some point. With my teeth grinding together, I press my palms against my mouth. Closing my eyes might have helped me in my efforts to keep more bile down as it fought to climb up my esophagus, but I simply couldn't shut them.

"Why? Why would you do this?"

At some point my wide eyes stray too far to the left and...

I spot a head.

A head without a body lays there on the floor with a puncture mark straight through its forehead. Wide, open eyes stare back at me...accusing me...blaming me...begging me to fix it...but I can't.

I can't bring any of them back.

My Geass power is the power to revive those who have died, but it has a horrible limit. I can only use it once every five years.

The instant I received the power I used it on Rei. It's only through a stroke of luck that the Geass Chain came into effect. Otherwise, Lita and Ami...the rest of the scouts...

"Serena!"

My hands fly away from my mouth as I let my knees give way. Luckily for both of us, I didn't each much of anything tonight, so only a little bile comes out when my body starts convulsing. Joey is quick to kneel by my side. In less than a second he's rubbing circles along my back while I dry heave.

"There isn't time! There isn't time to break down like this!"

That thought runs rampant in my head as I fight to catch my breath and get my body back under control, but the urgency of the mantra only makes the convulsions worse. Eventually Joey's arms fold around me. I feel his face against my shoulder as he whispers soothingly. Poor guy. He's trying his best to help me through this panic attack. His voice certainly helps, but I can't understand anything he's saying. I'm too busy sobbing to listen.

After another minute Joey's arms tighten around me. His lips are right next to my ear at this point.

"I know, Serena" he murmurs brokenly. "It's overwhelming. What Mina has done...it's inexcusable, but...she still needs us. We have to help her. We have to..."

His arms are shaking, and something in those tremors finally breaks through to me.

"J-Joey...are you gonna be okay?"

"No," he answers honestly. "I'm in love with a murderer."

Blinking in surprise, I shift slightly in his arms. "Joey..."

Sudden footsteps echo through the room, interrupting me before I can say anything more. In one swift movement, Joey releases me and withdraws the gun from his pocket as he gets to his feet.

Acting as a shield for me, he points the gun in the direction of the sound.

"Who's there?"

I dare to peer over my shoulder as a lone figure slowly emerges from a tunnel.

Joey lowers the gun almost instantly, a sigh of relief escaping him. It takes me a second longer to recognize the woman in the strange dress, but once I do, a mixture of happiness and dread fills my heart.

"Detective Fennette!"

Kara's smirk widens. "I'm guessing Minako is nearby?"

"BOOM!"

Snow...

Ice...

Water...

Blood...

There's too much blood.

I see D.D. out of the corner of my eye as he crawls along the ground toward me. He's struggling, but his Immortal Code has fixed most of the damage I caused. It's...alright though. In this fight...I wasn't meant to be anything more than a distraction...a way to buy Serena and Joey time.

Fire...

Rage...

Despair...

Mina's emotions are still shaking through me. They beg for me to move and inflict even more damage on D.D.'s person, but there's nothing more I can do. With a vicious punch to the center of my back, he sent me flying into the tree I'm currently lying beneath. Try as I might to move my legs or my arms, only my fingers and toes twitch at my brain's command.

If this were a normal accident, I would count myself lucky. As bad as the injury is, with time I could make a full recovery. The fact that my fingers and toes are twitching is a good sign.

Unfortunately...I'm in the middle of a battle, which makes this a fatal turn of events.

D.D. is on his feet now, but he's moving with deliberate slowness to heighten my anxiety. It's working. Tears are already slipping out from my eyes against my will even though dying isn't really something I'm fearful of. As a member of the Sailor Scouts, this is an end I've faced many times before. It's an inevitable part of any soldier's life.

The anxiety comes from Mina. Something's gone wrong, and now her mental state is in even worse shape than before.

"Rei..."

Mina wants to kill Rei instead of E.E. now, but why? What happened? What did Rei do this time?

"Well, if I'm thinking like that...then it's probably better not to know. I don't want to die with any ill feelings toward my friends. Even so...I'm worried."

Staring up at the inky, black sky, I say a quiet prayer for Mina, Rei, Serena, Lita, and myself.

At one time the five of us were the best of friends. Nothing in the world could have made us turn against each other like this...but the war Zero...the war Lelouch started here in the Tokyo Settlement slowly put a wedge in our team.

A part of me would like to be upset about it, but truthfully...that was inevitable too.

Nothing stays the same forever.

Friendships end.

Lives end.

But...endings don't have to be tragic things. Sometimes endings can lead to new beginnings.

"I guess I won't know what this night's ending will bring for those that remain...but I hope Joey can help Mina find a new beginning, especially if Serena, Rei, and the others can't."

D.D. finally stands over me, his expression one of quiet fury as he picks me up from the ground by the front of my Sailor Uniform. He slams my back against the trunk of the tree, eliciting a cry from my lips that comes to an abrupt halt when he wrings his hands around my neck. There's nothing I can do to defend myself. I can't...move my arms...

I can't...breathe...

"Sailor Mercury, I thank you for a fine battle," D.D. began, tightening his grip. "Goodbye."

More tears fall from my eyes as my heart races in a panic for air.

And then it...

"I wonder...if t-this is w-what Rolo felt...using...h-his...Geass..."

A terrible snap of bones echoes in the air. An ominous silence follows.

With a huff of irritation, D.D. throws Sailor Mercury's lifeless body to the snow.

As the magic of the sailor form slowly fades, E.E.'s faithful second in command and lover strains to catch his own breath. Even though the Code healed most of his injuries, his energy level is a different story.

Dropping to his knees, he stares at the body of his adversary. Dressed in a simple white blouse, black slacks, and a deep-blue cardigan, Sailor Mercury looks painstakingly ordinary.

Somehow, the civilian attire emphasizes the unnatural angle of her neck, but as large flakes of snow land gently against her cheek, D.D. finally notices her open eyes.

Known as the Grim Reaper to his associates within the Geass Order, a corpse with open eyes was a sight D.D. associated with normalcy. Of course, this wasn't always the case. In the early days of his time with E.E., the night terrors after kills were a torment for him, but over time those dreams came less and less until they finally stopped altogether.

He hasn't dreamed of anything in over a century.

He hasn't felt guilt or sorrow for almost as long.

However, D.D. knows with a single glance that this girl's expression will haunt him. It conveys no sense of terror or sadness. Instead her expression is peaceful...eerily so.

"She's practically smiling at me."

Though time was of the essence, D.D. hesitantly brushes his fingers over her eyes, closing them. Her expression remains the same, but the immortal finds comfort in it.

Like this he could pretend she was asleep.

Similar to how he felt dueling Joey Wheeler, he got a legitimate thrill from his battle with the warrior of ice. With every blow exchanged he felt his dusty and worn out heart breathe new life into the dark, bottomless pit of his soul.

In the end...he didn't want to kill her.

But orders are orders. E.E. is the woman he loves. He will do whatever she asks no matter how much he hates the tasks she gives. To safeguard her and help her achieve their ultimate mission was his only reason for living.

And so...

"You have my respect, Ami Mizuno. From one soldier to another...it was an honor."

Having made peace with the cost of loyalty, D.D. redirects his attention to the entrance of the base.

"E.E., I'm on my way."

A/N: Well, D.D. is in for a rude awakening later. Anyway, thank you all again for reading. I really do appreciate it a lot because this particular story is an ordeal. I'm really excited that we're close to the ending and I hope my excitement will make all of you excited for the next chapter...once it's written. I'll do my best to update again soon. Thank you all for reading. God bless you all!