A/N: My goodness...I can't believe I'm actually updating chapters semi-regularly. What sorcery is this!? Anyway, this chapter...well I guess we should just get right into it. Don't really have much to say right now. I hope you guys enjoy what's presented though. Thanks for reading everyone! God bless you all.

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Code Geass are properties of their respective owners. This is just a Fanfiction. I only own my original characters. Oh, I should probably mention that the Fate franchise isn't mine either...how many properties are we crossing over at this point? Four? Goodness me...

Warnings: One thing I can comfortably say now is that this story has returned to a point where things are essentially rated T again. There are mentions of blood and such, but it's not all that graphic. We're past the heavy gore stage of this story. However, there's still plenty of emotional drama left to tackle. Also, some of the technical aspects of this chapter are just...I struggled a bit with this one but I feel that this chapter is good enough to post since it is...kinda fillerish.

Chapter 56

A Multitude of Sin

In the first few minutes of December 22nd, 2017, Britannia's Knight of Seven, Suzaku Kururugi, spotted Joey Wheeler carrying Minako Aino. Upon reaching the two, the knight quickly took initiative and extracted the girl from the boy's shaking arms before turning back toward the helicopter he had arrived in.

An hour earlier, Detective Kara Fennette had told him where to find the two blondes. How she'd come across this information wasn't something Suzaku could guess or bring himself to care about. He arrived in Azabu Park as instructed with the intention of arresting Mina, but ultimately decided the task was best left unfulfilled until after the girl had time to heal from her injuries, which were extensive to the point where one could argue she had no chance of recovery.

Seeing too much of his past self in Joey, Suzaku prayed earnestly for Mina's survival in whatever way possible.

Elsewhere, at the Kaiba Estate to be precise, three members of the Amazon Quartet returned with Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mini-Moon in tow. They were followed closely by Sailor Saturn, who had managed to wake Sailor Uranus from her unconscious state. The senshi of the wind carried her cousin, Sailor Neptune, on her back while trudging slowly through the snow.

Inside the massive mansion, Kallen Kozuki was in Joey's suite playing nurse for Artemis, who had literally worried himself sick.

"Try to relax," she murmured, placing a small blanket over the white cat. The black cat, Luna, sat near him, purring reassuringly as she snuggled up to his side. Smiling at the sight, Kallen quickly lifted the blanket then tucked it around both felines.

C.C. entered the room a moment later, her arms folded in front of her chest.

"I'm leaving now."

Kallen's serene smile immediately transformed into a fierce grimace. "And going where?"

"That's my business," C.C. answered seamlessly, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Don't worry. I'll contact you and Urabe with plans to restore Lelouch's memories soon enough. With everything that's happened, I don't think now is a good time."

"But C.C..."

"You and Urabe should probably leave this place soon as well," the immortal witch cut in, pivoting on her heel. She spared a glance for the two cats lying along the comforter. Artemis moaned in discomfort.

"Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?" Kallen asked.

The mysterious woman answered with a scoff. "Who are you talking to?"

Kallen groaned then shook her head. "Right. Immortal. Nevermind then."

"Your concern is appreciated," C.C. stated, her thoughts drifting to the man who had once turned the world upside down from behind a mask. "Even if it is unnecessary."

"Got it. See you around, C.C."

And with that, the immortal witch departed, her presence fading from the room like a whisper in the wind.

Kallen shifted her attention back to the cats huddled together. Sensing her gaze, Luna glanced up at her.

"Will...he be okay?"

Luna nodded her head.

"Well, that's good to know. I'll check in on you guys before taking off, okay?"

Luna answered with a single meow. This brought a smile to Kallen's face as she rose up from the bed. Within seconds she was out of the room, leaving the two cats alone.

"My word, Artemis," Luna whispered, patting Artemis' head with her paw once Kallen had left. "I told you that you'd worry yourself sick one of these days."

Artemis mumbled something, but Luna had trouble hearing him.

"What was that?"

"I...failed...M-Mina."

"Pish posh!" Luna chided, patting the top of his head a little harder for emphasis. "This situation was entirely out of your control."

"I wasn't...there for her," Artemis argued, coughing a bit. "I should have went with her to the ball. Maybe I could have...stopped her from shooting her mother. Maybe I could have saved her from A.A. I...could have stopped her...from walking this dark path..."

"Artemis, don't run through that line of thinking," Luna interrupted, lying back down. "Mina has been a Sailor Scout for a very long time. These girls, no matter how mature they've become, are still so terribly young to have the weight of the world on their shoulders. One of them was bound to break in some way at some point."

"But I still..."

"You can't protect her from everything," Luna cut in, her tone softer than before. "I couldn't protect Serena from grief. I couldn't stop her for making some of the decisions she made either. As strong as our girls are...they're only human at the end of the day."

Artemis let out a shaky sigh. "That doesn't change the fact that I wasn't there. When Mina needed me the most...I wasn't there. I became a bystander to everything, Luna."

Luna lowered her head down next to Artemis' paw. "Mina is strong. No matter what mistakes she has made...she'll survive through what's happened. I know she will. You have to believe in her too, Artemis. That's what she needs most from you right now."

"I...I'll try."

Satisfied with his answer, Luna closed her eyes and let out a soft purr. Artemis lifted his head slightly then gently nuzzled his beloved. Another happy purr answered the motion.

"Thank you, Luna."

"You're welcome, Artemis."

Meanwhile, on a jet plane approaching the skies of the Chinese Federation, Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba impatiently waited for the pilot to begin the vehicle's descent.

"We shouldn't be stopping," Kaiba growled out, gritting his teeth in suppressed rage.

Yami, who had taken over Yugi's body, responded with a simple, "He wanted to stop in Egypt. Let's just be glad we were able to convince him to travel a bit farther."

"If by 'we' you mean 'I' then yeah, it's a good thing 'we' did."

The Pharaoh glared at him.

"Don't give me that look, Yugi," Kaiba muttered, shifting his gaze toward the window next to him. "Threatening to throw the pilot out the window is what really sold the idea. And under the circumstances, I think it was a perfectly reasonable tactic."

Yami raised a brow.

"Would you stop looking at me like that!"

"Mina...means a great deal to you, doesn't she?"

The question seemed to make the CEO pause. His expression, though still one of agitation, softened considerably.

"Even if she did," Kaiba began, clicking his tongue. "It doesn't change the fact that she chose Wheeler."

An awkward silence permeated through the aircraft after that. Neither of them said another word about Mina until they landed in the Chinese Federation. They would stay there for about three hours, just long enough for the remnants of the snowstorm to run its course. The two expected to be in Japan by 10 a.m.

Of course, neither of them had any idea of what would be waiting for them there, nor were they aware of the new paths their lives would take in a few months time thanks to a conflict five-thousand years in the making.

In the catacombs of an underground holding facility beneath the sands of Egypt, a young woman with alabaster skin and eyes the color of the seas leads a small entourage of guards toward a vault on the other end of the room.

Within the vault is a single card...one that will spark the beginnings of a new war.

Placing her fingertips along the necklace she wears, the woman surveys images of the future.

A particular image draws her attention. It's something new she hasn't seen before.

In her vision, a man stumbles between the spaces of dilapidated buildings in a ruined city once ravaged by a man-made landslide. Tremors wrack through the man with each step he takes, but he travels on in spite of them. Soldiers pass by his hiding places without a glance, their minds too fixated on the mission at hand to notice him slinking about.

Gritting his teeth, the man waits until the military presence disappears from the streets, then he steps out into the open. In the light of the full moon, the woman seeing this vision registers the man's shaggy blonde hair and orange eyes. She then takes notice of several wounds marring his flesh. Patches of dried blood stick to his clothes and skin.

Though the necklace she wears often grants her the ability to see into the past as well as the future, she cannot ascertain anything about the man's origins in this vision, only that he's experienced a recent change of heart.

The man soon reaches into his pocket, withdrawing a disposable cell-phone. He dials a number, glancing around him as he does to make sure no one is around.

He presses the device against his ear.

The holder of the Millennium Necklace listens carefully while he waits for someone to answer.

Soon, a voice reaches her ears.

"Hello?"

The man grimaces, biting down on his tongue before finally muttering, "It's me."

"I thought I gave this number to your sister."

"She's dead," the man proclaims sadly. "E.E...killed her."

There's a pause on the other end of the line. "My condolences, but that doesn't explain how you got this number."

"Ophelia wrote it down in one of the journals I acquired after her death," the man explains. "I need to find the rest of them."

The person on the other end, a woman, laughs. "Are you not a master thief, A.A.? Surely you can..."

"I also need more information on the origins of the Crimson Council," he interrupts, ducking through an alleyway. "You are an Alternate, aren't you?"

There's another pause.

"I see. E.E. must have been desperate to induct an imbecile like you into the council."

A.A. groans.

"Either that or she picked you because she knew you'd follow behind her like a little lap-dog."

"Shut. Up."

"Now is that any way to talk to someone you're requesting help from?" The woman asks, her voice a chortle of soft bells.

Another groan slips past the man's lips, but this time it's due to one of his legs buckling beneath him. With a soft yelp, he plummets to the pavement and the phone clatters along the ground a few inches away from his outstretched arm.

"A.A.? What happened?"

The man lets out another grunt of pain while reaching for the phone. His fingertips barely graze it, but it's enough for him to tug the device back towards him. After another second of fumbling, he presses the phone near his ear again.

"I'm...not in the best shape right now."

"Well, that's certainly an understatement," the woman says, heaving out a sigh. "You sound like a dying horse. Where are you? I can send some lackeys to pick you up. It sounds like we need to get some food in you too. Do you still like baked spleen or do you prefer eating people raw now?"

The man's expression contorts to one of pure disgust. "No. I don't need to eat anything. I just need to sleep."

"My help isn't going to come cheap you know," the woman mutters. "But I suppose I can grant you a discount after the loss of your sister. Poor girl. How is A1 taking it?"

"He's...also dead."

"Yikes...my oh my, the bodies sure do drop around you, huh?"

The man was about to say something, but his words are interrupted by something outside of the vision.

"Miss Ishizu?"

All at once, the Egyptian woman returns to the present moment. Shaking her head, she reassures her bodyguards that she's fine then marches on ahead, her expression one of determination even as her heart begins to ache from the information she'd learned about this man called A.A.

His loss is a grim reminder of an outcome she hopes to avoid regarding her own siblings. However, their destines seem fixed on a path of ruin.

The same could be said for several others embroiled in the conflicts between Britannia and Area 11.

What the future holds for these individuals all depends on the choices made from this point forward.

December 22nd, 2017

12:21 a.m.

"Don't die. Please don't die."

Squeezing Mina's hand, I bite down on my lip as Suzaku directs the helicopter toward Tokyo Settlement's Government Bureau. He told me the medical staff there were the best in the area. Though skeptical of that, there aren't any other options available. I just have to hope and pray Suzaku isn't pulling some kind of fast one on me. He seems nice enough, and on the surface I don't have any real reason to mistrust him, but something about him makes me a little uneasy.

Glancing at him a few times, I think back on some little tidbits I'd heard from the news in the last few months. I'm pretty sure Suzaku is the same guy who'd been the knight to the princess that slaughtered hundreds of his own people during the Special Zone broadcast, including Yugi's parents. Maybe I'm mixing him up with someone else, but...if I'm right and this is the same guy, then why is he still working for the Britannian government? It doesn't add up.

Was he in on Princess Euphemia's scheme? Is he in denial about what happened that day?

I don't know the answers to those questions.

The only reason I'm even asking them is to distract myself from how Mina's pulse grows weaker and weaker with each passing second. I can barely feel it anymore.

"Please," I think, my fingers slipping through the spaces in hers. "Hang on, Mina."

A few minutes later, the aircraft starts to descend onto the roof of the massive building. Peering out the window, I see three figures in white standing around a gurney.

"You're gonna be okay," I whisper, exhaling shakily while glancing down at Mina's face. "Everything will be okay."

Suzaku is on the move the instant the helicopter is firmly situated on the ground. He marches toward us with fierce determination glinting in his eyes.

"Open the doors for me," he orders, leaving no room for arguments. I glance at Mina's face again then reluctantly let go of her hand to open the doors. Cold air blasts me in the face the second they open, but it barely registers in my mind as Suzaku passes right by me with Mina's body in his arms. Within seconds he's placed her down along the gurney and the medical staff quickly take over from there. They start by placing an oxygen mask over Mina's mouth and nose, then, after a few quick words, they're racing toward an elevator.

My feet move of their own accord, carrying me forward at a brisk pace while Suzaku follows behind me.

"Stay strong, Mina. Stay strong."

We rode the elevator down along with the medical staff. They spoke to each other as if Suzaku and I weren't there, which was perfectly fine with me. I didn't feel like entertaining any form of conversation, even if it was for the sake of helping them figure out how Mina ended up in her condition.

Truth is though, I don't know how she ended up in such poor shape. Not really.

I know what she did tonight, not what was done to her.

I look over at Mina again to see if there are any injuries on her I could actually explain if needed, but in the bright, unnatural lighting inside the elevator, all I can focus on is how pale her skin looks. Her chest rises and falls in a shaky, off-kilter rhythm that does nothing to ease my fears.

"She'll be okay. She'll survive this. Everything will be okay."

The words filter through my head, but when my eyes catch the third-degree burns on Mina's chest, my heart sinks. Dried clots of blood cling to her skin and hair, and because of all the killing she did tonight, it's hard to tell what and where her wounds actually are.

Heaving out a shaky breath, I start to lift one of my hands to wipe the sweat gathering along my forehead, but stop mid-motion at the sight of crimson stains along my palm and in the spaces between my fingers.

The world stops. Sound drifts away from me. The only color I see is that horrible crimson against my skin. My lungs constrict, and a scream begs to burst out from somewhere deep inside me. My lips part in response to the urge, but a breathless gasp is all that escapes.

For a few short seconds, it feels like the world is spinning. I can't breathe or think or feel...

"It's my fault. It's all my fault. I'm the reason this happened."

The elevator doors open and my eyes just barely catch sight of the medical staff as they storm out. I'm only a step behind them. Suzaku says something. I hear his voice but the words are muffled by the screeching wheels of the gurney blaring through my head.

"I should have died in Azabu Park that night instead of her mother."

The doctors and nurses move faster. Two figures in white block my path when I start to run after them. I shove someone aside and continue following after the gurney...after Mina.

"All this happened because of my stupidity. I can't do anything of value when it's needed the most. I...promised her dad that I'd protect her, but instead I turned her into a bloodthirsty monster. I did this! The blood of all those people...even Mina herself...all of it rests in my hands! It's my fault! It's my fault! It's my fault! It's my fault..."

A hand on my shoulder breaks me out of my thoughts and halts my movement. Ahead of me, the medical staff and the gurney pass through a set of double doors. They close unceremoniously, blocking out what lies beyond before I can catch one final glimpse of Mina.

"Joey! Stop! You have to wait out here!"

The words don't make any sense to me.

"W-what?"

"You have to wait out here," Suzaku repeats, removing his hand from my shoulder. "Mina's wounds are extensive. They'll have to perform emergency surgery as well as X-Rays to determine which ribs are broken and whether or not her lungs got pierced by them. They have to tend to those burns too."

The knight may as well have been speaking gibberish to me since I couldn't grasp half of what came out of his mouth. He didn't have a strong accent, and I'm pretty sure his English is borderline perfect, so it has to be a problem on my end.

A problem on my end...that's how it always is.

"I...need...to be by her side."

Suzaku takes a step back, letting out a soft sigh.

"Joey, I understand how you feel, but..."

I didn't hear the rest.

Rage explodes through my veins in a rush of liquid fire so intense that I black out.

Next thing I know my fist is careening straight toward the knight's face. He must have seen it coming though, because he reacted with lightning speed to lock his hand around my wrist, stopping my momentum before the attack could connect.

An animistic growl tears itself from my throat as I yank my hand free. Then I'm charging at him again, screaming at the top of my lungs.

Some part of me knows lashing out at him like this is wrong. After all, I'm the one who asked for help after he'd shown up like some wandering hero out of an old western movie. He didn't ask any questions about how or why Mina ended up in such horrible shape and instead got straight to business. He's essentially given Mina the best possible chance of surviving this horrendous night.

And yet, despite knowing all that, I can't bring myself to stop attacking. It doesn't help that Suzaku's reflexes are practically beyond human. He just keeps side-stepping away from the path of my punches without any sign of actual effort. On top of evading everything I throw at him, the guy maintains that stupid, sympathetic expression on his face.

I understand how you feel.

"Joey..."

"Stop looking at me like that!" I scream, my punch meeting nothing but air when he ducks below it.

I understand how you feel.

"Listen to me..."

"You don't understand anything!" I shout, growling as I charge at him again. This time I think a tackle might yield better results, but Suzaku's ability to anticipate when and how someone would strike is far out of my league. Without missing a beat, he spins out of the way, then, once he's directly behind me, tugs fiercely on my right arm and slams me against the wall face first. The impact isn't hard enough to do any substantial damage, but it certainly hurts my pride.

"You need to calm down right now," Suzaku growls, his tone drifting into something much colder. "Think about Mina! Do you think she'd approve of you flying off the handle like this?"

"She wouldn't," I think, biting down on my lip. "But what does it matter? She's..."

I... I love you, Joseph Wheeler.

"You don't know anything about us," I argue, struggling against my churning emotions. "There's no way someone like you could understand what this pain is! You're still working under a system that thinks genocide is okay!"

Suzaku's grip loosens for a brief second. Taking advantage of the shock my words dealt, I gather all the strength I can muster and elbow him in the ribs. A pained grunt sputters out of his mouth and he stumbles backward until his back collides against the far wall.

Satisfied with having damaged the knight at least once, I turn around to face him with my back leaning against the wall he'd pinned me to a moment before. After all the energy I've expended just trying to get that one hit, I'm too tired to fling punches at him anymore.

Even so, if there's one thing I can do for hours on end, it's talk.

"You can't imagine what it's like!" I scream, unleashing all my pent up frustration while the knight clutches at his side. "Mina shot her mother right in front of me! She did it to save my life! She chose me over her own mother, Suzaku!"

Suzaku's low groan echoed through the hall as he righted himself along the wall. A small pinprick of guilt shot through me, but that tiny bit of shame wasn't enough to make me stop.

No matter how unreasonable all this is, I can't keep any of it inside anymore.

"She never would have had to make such a drastic decision if I'd just stayed put where I was that night!" I scream, on the brink of hysteria. "Instead I went after her! I put her in a terrible position and..."

"Joey..."

"She made the worst mistake of her life and it's all my fault," I continue, ignoring him completely. "And what's worse is that I didn't even learn my lesson. She told me exactly what she planned on doing tonight, and like a moron I went after her again, thinking the results would be different from when I followed her the first time. I genuinely thought I could help. I convinced myself that she needed me, but..."

I stopped, not sure if I could bring myself to say it.

"What happened?" Suzaku finally asked.

A torrent of images from the night flash in front of my eyes in the span of second.

"What didn't happen is a better question," I answer, chuckling at my own joke. "But to sum it up, Mina went after E.E. and I ended up walking through the path of corpses she left behind."

Something changes in Suzaku's expression then, but it's impossible for me to focus on what may or may not be going on in his head.

All that really registers is how eerily familiar that stare feels...

Because Mina...she looked at me with that exact same mixture of horror and sadness in her eyes just before she left to find E.E. Everything could have been prevented if I hadn't been so slow to speak. If I had told her about her Dad's paperwork being signed in that moment...

No. There's no point thinking that. I know better than to believe that now after what I saw down there.

She would have done it anyway. Nothing I said or did would have stopped her.

"The brutality of her kills hit me like a bucket of ice water," I whisper, pressing a blood-stained hand over my eyes to block out the sight of Suzaku's face. "Everywhere I turned I saw body parts scattered like confetti. And...there was so much blood...too much blood."

The images cycle through my head over and over as I talk.

How long will they haunt me? How long will this ache linger in my chest? Will it weaken with time or just get worse?

I don't know the answer to these questions either.

I hate this. I hate all of this.

My knees are shaking to the point where standing isn't an option anymore. Heaving out a laborious breath, I slide down against the wall until I'm sitting against the cold, linoleum floor.

"Mina killed ten people in there..." I mumble out after a few seconds, lowering my hand away from my face. "Including Rei."

Suzaku's green eyes widen at that. "W-What!?"

"Mina shot her," I explain, unable to stop myself from chuckling despite the fact that nothing I'm saying is remotely funny. "Three times."

I hold up three fingers for emphasis.

"No...that's..."

"She...choked to death...on her own blood."

In an instant, Suzaku's gaze narrows to the floor. There's an intense frown on his face and a hint of rage shimmering in his eyes, but it's soon replaced by an expression of pure sorrow that rings all too familiar for me.

"Mina turned into a monster tonight," I supply after another long moment of silence. "All for the sake of revenge. And I...nearly killed someone trying to protect her."

Suzaku glances back up at me, his expression unreadable.

"Why?"

"Because..."

I couldn't say it. I didn't want to say it. Not to him. Not to anyone ever again.

But apparently, I didn't need to say a word.

"It's because you love her, right?"

Those words made me take a long look at the knight. Even though he was staring right at me, it took me less than a second to realize he wasn't actually seeing me. His mind had gone elsewhere, somewhere far away from this moment in time.

"How...?"

That small flame of fury ignites in his eyes once more. "I told you before. I understand. I've been exactly where you are at this very moment."

Pivoting on his heel, the knight takes a few steps away from me. He inhales sharply, closing his eyes for what feels like hours before he speaks again.

"It was back in October...on the day of the Special Zone Massacre."

"So I was right then. He was the knight to that psycho princess."

"I was unconscious when Euphie made her decree," he began, clenching his fists. "I woke up to gunfire and screams. Once I realized what was happening, I felt so ashamed and stupid. I felt like I'd been used as a lure to deceive my own people."

He pauses for only a few seconds, but the way his hands shake during that pause makes me wonder if he's reliving what happened that day.

"Will that...happen to me too?"

The shaking subsides and Suzaku opens his eyes again to stare up at the ceiling.

"I didn't want to believe it," he continued. "I didn't want to believe that Euphie...could ever be capable of something so despicable and heartless. But the evidence was all there in front of my face. The woman who had opened so many doors for me...the same woman who had loved me unconditionally despite all my flaws and sins...was nothing more than a bloodthirsty monster pretending to be an angel of light. I was just as disgusted and heartbroken are you are right now."

As Suzaku tells his story, I glance down at my feet and notice all the blood and snow caked onto my shoes. It doesn't take long for me to see that I'd tracked it all through the hallway.

"I'm sorry," I mutter, not sure if I'm apologizing for the mess or for lashing out. Probably a bit of both, especially now that I know Suzaku has substantial trauma of his own he's still having to wrestle with.

To be perfectly honest, it actually sounds worse than what I'm dealing with right now.

"When I saw you with Mina before," Suzaku murmurs, still lost in his own memories. "It was like looking into a mirror of my own past. Euphie had no memory of what she'd done after Zero shot her. She died believing the Special Zone was a great success. Even though I was confused and angry, I lied about what happened to give her peace in death.

"Why?" I asked.

"Why else?"

"Crap...he really does get it...and yet..."

Something still isn't adding up here.

Mina killed ten people. Out of those ten, nine of them were E.E.'s subordinates. There's no excuse for the sheer brutality Mina dished out, but it can be argued that none of them were good or innocent people.

But Euphemia...

She presented the Japanese people with hope in a world that had deprived them of basic human decency, using Suzaku as bait, then ordered their deaths. On that day, hundreds of innocent people were murdered.

How was he able to hold on to love for someone like that?

Should a person even have amicable feelings for murderers?

Maybe we're both...just really messed up individuals.

"I heard once that love covers a multitude of sin," Suzaku whispered then, chuckling to himself. "By the time I found out that Euphie had been controlled by an outside force...similar to how Mina's mother was before her death...I had long since forgiven her for what happened."

I couldn't begin to say anything to that. That little bit of information was the missing detail. It explained Suzaku's status as a knight for Britannia post massacre.

Letting out a sigh, the Japanese knight shakes himself out of whatever memories still flying about in his head. "Knowing the truth behind Euphie's actions doesn't matter though. Her name will forever bear the stain of what happened that day. For a time, I too walked the path of revenge...hoping to erase the demon responsible for my pain."

"Revenge is a slippery slope though," I tell him, my eyes drooping from exhaustion. "It's...so easy to lose yourself in it. That's what happened to Mina. And now..."

With a nod, Suzaku takes a step toward me. "You asked me to save her. That request isn't something I have the power to fulfill. However, I can promise you this much, Joey. I'll do everything I can for her. You two are going to get through this."

"But what if Mina doesn't..."

"She will," Suzaku cut in. With a smile, he kneels in front of me with his hand outstretched. "And you'll be right there next to her when she wakes up."

Reassured by his confidence, I take a hold of the knight's hand. With a firm tug he pulls me to my feet and begins to walk me back toward the elevator. He asks me if I think I can stomach any food, and my stomach answers in a growl that practically shakes the building off its foundation.

"I guess that's a yes?"

"Yeah..."

Suzaku pats my shoulder as we step into the elevator then wordlessly presses the button for the fifth floor. His expression is contemplative now, as if he's trying to think of what he actually needs to do in order to deliver on that promise he just made to me.

A cell phone rings when the elevator doors open. Suzaku is quick to reach into the pocket of his knight uniform. He taps a button then quickly presses the device to his ear while we make our way down the hall.

"Lady Fennette?"

Though he didn't have it on speaker, Kara's voice was loud enough to reach me.

"Kururugi, did you arrest Minako like I asked?"

Our footsteps stop.

All at once it dawns on me why Suzaku's appearance had been so timely.

"You came to Azabu Park...to arrest her!?"

Suzaku releases a sigh, his expression subdued as he answers Kara. "I have Mina in custody, but there'll be no arrest until she recovers from her injuries."

There's a pause on the other end of the line. "Did I hear Joseph's voice a second ago?"

"You did," Suzaku replied, glancing over at me. "He's standing right next to me, so he heard your inquiry."

"Hmmm, that's an unfortunate development," Kara mumbled, irritation clear in her voice which just made me all the angrier.

So, without thinking, I yank the phone from Suzaku's hand and scream, "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!? AFTER EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED TO MINA, YOU WANT TO ARREST HER TOO!"

Kara lets out a groan. "I'm not dealing with any more hot-headed buffoons tonight. I'll be frank with you, Joseph. Minako Aino is dangerous and you'd be wise to cut your losses and go back home. Kururugi seems confident she'll recover from her injuries, and when she does I'm going to make sure she's kept away from society."

"You know why Mina did all this, Detective! Come on!"

"That doesn't negate the fact that she murdered ten people in one night," Kara snaps, her voice shrill and uncompromising. "Besides that, I've come across new information concerning her. The girl is unstable, and any amount of time you spend with her puts your life at risk, or have you not figured that much out by now!"

Suzaku takes the phone back from me in that moment, anticipating that I was about to smash the thing against the floor. "Lady Fennette, that's enough. I'm overriding your authority on this case. I want whatever information you've gleamed about Minako Aino delivered to the government bureau within twenty-four hours."

"Oh? You plan on pardoning her?"

There's a pause. And then...

"No."

As much as I hated him saying that, there was no way for me to argue effectively on Mina's behalf. Even trying feels wrong because Kara is right. Regardless of her reasons, Mina chose to brutally murder ten people in cold blood. Most ordinary people would write her off as a serial kill or mass murderer. In either case, the law would treat her as a menace to society.

"Then what do you have in mind, Kururugi?"

"We'll discuss it later," Suzaku answers, all-business. "Right now I have to do damage control, if you'll kindly allow me a few hours of peace."

I could hear Kara smirking over the phone. "Oh? Look at you, Kururugi. About time you grew a backbone. If only you were a few years older..."

"Not. Another. Word."

"Pffft. You're no fun."

There was a click and with a groan, Suzaku put the phone back in his pocket.

Neither of us said anything for a while. My stomach growled again at some point and Suzaku made a motion with his arm for me to follow him as he started moving down the hall again. The kitchen was presumably at the other end. My stomach moans at my lack of movement, so after a few seconds I quickly fall in step behind the traitorous knight.

"I thought..."

Suzaku peers at me over his shoulder as we walk, waiting for me to continue.

"I thought I could trust you with her."

His expression transforms into a forlorn smile before he turns away.

"Regardless of whether you trust me or not, I will honor the promise I made."

And so, within a few minutes, Suzaku Kururugi prepared a light meal for the distraught Joey Wheeler and kept him company as best he could as the night wore on.

Back in Narita, Detective Kara Fennette was in full military soldier mode, instructing the officers Suzaku sent to recover any bodies they found. Having transformed back into her civilian form, Serena Tsukino sat along the back of an ambulance. Within the vehicle was the body of her friend, Ami Mizuno, whose neck had been snapped in half by D.D.

An hour went by, and in that hour Serena watched the soldiers retrieve nine charred bodies from the rapidly burning lair.

Her heart sank when she noted Rei's body wasn't among them.

E.E.'s body hadn't been recovered either. Serena figured the fire had reduced the demon to ash. She just hoped Rei wasn't in the same state.

Kara inspected the bodies and cross-referenced her findings to several databases to confirm the identities of those slaughtered. The headless corpses were more difficult to pin down though, so she'd sent the recovery unit back in to find them.

With a sprained ankle and an ear-splitting headache, the detective was struggling to concentrate, especially after the unpleasant conversation she'd had with Suzaku and Joey. Glancing between an electronic tablet and the body of a woman from the Chinese Federation, she starts to type some notes when her cell phone blares to life in her pocket.

"What now?" she roars, handing the tablet off to a nearby assistant. "Continue to cross-reference this data with the information we have on the Chinese Federation's military personnel. If you're able to find any clues to this woman's identity, let me know immediately."

"Yes, My Lady."

Kara quickly departs from the makeshift camp they'd set up on the outskirts of the Memorial Site. The caller I.D. read Unknown, but the detective had a feeling she knew exactly who was calling.

Inhaling deeply, she presses the device to her ear. "Yes?"

"Lady Fennette."

"Greetings, Kotomine."

"I'm calling to inform you that Sailor Mars has been transported to Tokyo General Hospital," he began, not missing a beat. "I made sure to check her vitals..."

"What for?" Kara asks. "She's dead."

"Really? I didn't realize a corpse could have a pulse."

The detective stops walking, her mind reeling.

"What?"

The man on the other end of the phone merely laughs. "His Highness thinks you should ask the Moon Princess about it. From what I gather, she's been playing with the powers of chaos."

Gritting her teeth, Kara places a hand on her hip, yelling, "Oh no, not this again! How much more of this magic bull do you expect me to buy!? I could rationalize the Sailor Scouts, Geass, a delusional, perverted psycho who can fling freakin' swords with his mind, and even immortal beings walking the Earth and causing havoc, but somehow...this is crossing the line for me."

"Are you quite finished with your rant?"

"I'm just getting started," Kara answers, practically growling. "But given how I don't have the time or energy to really pound the nail into this coffin of absolute stupidity, I'll just skip past the nonsense to ask the question that actually matters."

On the other end of the line, Kirei Kotomine smirks.

"And what question might that be, Lady Fennette?"

"E.E.'s body. Where is it?"

There was silence on the other end.

"His Highness was dealing with another immortal when I left with Sailor Moon," Kara explained, her mind flashing back to the moment the man calling himself Gilgamesh appeared. "That was an hour ago. My men have only found nine bodies. Excluding His Highness since he's basically untouchable, we should have recovered the other three bodies by now. You just told me Sailor Mars is not only alive but in the hospital, so it stands to reason that you know exactly where the bodies of E.E. and her lackey are, and you're going to tell me. Right now."

A low chuckle reaches her ears from the other end of the phone. "I'm afraid I don't have the authority to reveal such information at this time. It would be in your best interest to do as His Highness suggested. Ask Sailor Moon about the Geass Chain."

"Kotomine, I'm warning you..."

"You'll have your answers soon enough," he cut in, his voice oozing with thinly veiled mirth. "The King of Heroes wishes to tell you himself. Until that time comes, be a good concubine and wait."

There was a click and then all Kara heard was the dial tone. The detective, though livid with fury, stood stock still and forced herself to take several deep breaths to reign in her emotions.

As tempting as it was to threaten Kotomine with the full might of Britannia, Kara forcefully swallowed her pride and made her way back towards the military camp. After all, though it wasn't the information she'd been hoping for, the false priest's testimony did provide a new piece to what was becoming the most challenging case of her career.

"Fine. I'll play along with this little game for now," she whispers, a smirk of her own tugging at her lips. "Let's go see what this Geass Chain business is about."

In the realm of the living, these events and more play out.

However...

There is a realm where life and death touch.

In this place, Minako Aino must determine her fate.

Life or death?

Hope or despair?

What will she choose in the end?

Will love be enough to save or will self-hatred reign?

These are questions only she can answer, for the choice is hers alone to make.

A/N: And that my dear friends, is the end of this chapter! Muahahahahahahaha! This one was pretty much filler, but next time...get ready for a little surprise. (Insert another evil laugh.) Thanks for reading everyone! If you enjoyed this chapter and want to leave feedback, please feel free to review. Best wishes and God bless you all!