Divinity: Fates and the Afterlife

by Nebelflecke

- III - To create a future, you have to make peace with the past and work through it in the present. It is not just a leap of destiny, it is a reason to continue fighting. **Divinity is a long running series and it's rated M.

23. Chapter 23

Divinity: Fates and the Afterlife

Chapter Twenty-three

AN: Yes, that's right... two chapters in a week, like in the old times.

I wish I knew how many people are reading or if my efforts on finishing my story are not in vain. I am grateful for those who send me their good wishes and good vibes... this is my way to thank you. Also, I want to give notice that this will take place for this next week's chapter since I have to be out of town for two weeks but I will be back, don't worry. There are just some things I need to attend to; I hope you enjoy this chapter and again, thank you to those who send me your good vibes and thoughts chapter after chapter. SerenityMorrison and kera69love, this is for you...

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The Moon Princess lowered her head and saw Endymion's sword in its sheath close to his waist and curled her fingers around the handgrip and pulled it out in one swift move making a soft echoing sound as the blade cut through the air in a hypnotizing flair and remembered how many times she watched the Prince clean and polish the weapon with incredible care. She looked at her tear stained reflection on the pale gold blade for a few seconds and grabbed the blade not minding of how it cut her fingers in the process.

Serenity watched a fine line of her blood trickle down the sharp blade and positioned its tip right where her heart was still pounding inside her chest; the Princess took a few heavy breaths with determination and let go of her own life.

"Endymion… please, find me… wherever you are… find me… wait for me… I'm coming…"

Athamas shook his head after he battled the mortal Prince he managed to still stand up and leaned on a fallen pillar, with wide eyes, he looked with horror at the white Princess holding a sword with bloodied hands "No... Serenity..."

Serenity pressed her lips tight in a fine line and looked up at the stormy sky for a fraction of a second and then at the dead Prince on her lap with endearment, "Wait for me Endymion…" she tightened her grip on the blade with the last remains of her will and let it go through all the way into her chest piercing all its way through her back an gasped for air one last time before she closed her eyes and fell over Endymion's lifeless body, drenching him with her warm blood.

"Endymion… you are my first love, my only love… even if we are reborn in another life, we will find each other… and then, we will fall in love again…" Serenity's voice came out in a soft whisper and let herself go.

---

Sailor Moon raised her rod higher and allowed the silver light engulf the possessed bodies and purify them from the dark matter possessing them. The warm, soothing light soon after sedated and the lunar soldier turned to look over her shoulder to the man in front of Tuxedo Kamen "Threatening innocent people's lives is something I will never forgive," she pointed her lunar staff at him "I will punish you, in the name of the Moon."

Athamas narrowed his eyes with anger and turned to look at Tuxedo Kamen, his shocked expression was still marked on his face when seeing the woman in the white fuku "You... you died..." he growled at Mamoru, "You died!" he brought his hands to his head and screamed in frustration and anger, letting his deep and darkest emotions take over him as he remembered the night the woman he wanted for himself took her life for the man he made an oath to kill. "You held that sword and killed yourself..." Athamas growled at Sailor Moon while his eyes were still fixed on Tuxedo Kamen, "That sword!" he narrowed his eyes "You killed her..." summoning his power, he drew out his weapon and pointed it at the man in the black tuxedo, "You— you have always been a damn shadow to me... you destroyed everything I had built! You took her from me!"

Tuxedo Kamen frowned and took a step back, "Your words mean nothing to me. I don't know who you are," Sailor Moon widened her eyes "Tuxedo Kamen!"

Athamas growled louder and raised his sword up in the sky, "Lend me your power... to kill them all!" the weapon responded to his command and flashed with dark energy allowing the shadows to rise again on their own from every corner "Kill them all," The General muttered angrily.

All senshi widened their eyes in shock "No... it can't be!" Setsuna said and raised her rod "They have the strength to move on their own without the use of a host!?" Neptune frowned "I won't let that happen," she raised her mirror talisman and called for its power "Deep Reflection!"

Mars hissed as she kicked a dark body away from her, "None of us will, even if I have to burn them to ashes..." she brought her hands together to summon a stronger attack and shouted "Mars—" a ball of fire soon was modified by her hands into flaming bow aiming at the enemy and released the burning arrow "Flame Sniper!"

Jupiter manipulated the lighting crashing in between her hands and threw the strong attack to the opponents surrounding her "Sparkling Wide Pressure!"

Pluto twirled her rod and summoned for the blessing from the lord of time "Chronos Typhoon!"

Uranus ran around the park as she constantly continued blasting her strong energy at the shadows coming after her and raised her hand to call for her sword. The shining object soon materialized in her hand reacting to her command "World Shaking!"

Venus followed Uranus' strategy, realizing the strength and malice coming from the enemy. She closed her eyes and asked for the holy permission to use it once again, soon materializing surrounded by silver light in her hand. She looked at the distorted figure in front of her and called for its power "Venus—Wink Chain Sword!"

Mercury put her special goggles to study the enemy, frustrated by not finding any weak point to attack. She ran close to Venus as the blonde attacked the upcoming new wave of shadows and blasted another attack "Mercury—Aqua Rhapsody!"

Megumi watched surprised and horrified by the scenes happening before her, she ran to the closest tree to hide unaware that she was being observed and under threat. Sailor Moon turned and saw in horror as another figure moved close to her at an impressive and subhuman speed "Megumi..." she widened her eyes and ran towards her, leaving her position and catching the General's attention in the process. He disappeared into thin air before Tuxedo Kamen and appeared in front of the Lunar Senshi and the girl, "No, no, no, Princess—that girl is mine now." He said and clicked his tongue. His sarcasm shone through as he arched his brow and looked at her with disdain and bitterness, "So you managed to fulfill that stupid dream of yours... or at least you think you did." He hissed and tried to get a hold of her, but Usagi managed to move away "I don't know who you are..." she narrowed her blue eyes and pointed at him "But I demand you to leave this place at once!"

Athamas arched his brow "You are in no position to demand anything from me Serenity, not after everything you caused to your own Kingdom." Sailor Moon widened her eyes "H-How do you know that name?" Athamas smirked at the Lunar Princess' oblivious knowledge of him and shook his head "How clever of you... choosing not to remember," he chuckled and turned to look over his shoulder at Megumi "That girl belongs to me—" his eyes darkened when he spotted the clothed object pressed close against her chest "And so is that sword..." his eyes turned dark, "Et gladius meus..."

"Megumi, run!" Sailor Moon yelled, Megumi widened her eyes and tried to run but she was already surrounded by the army of shadows called by Athamas, so was she and so was the rest of the Senshi. Athamas chuckled "It's useless—whatever you do, whatever you try—I am to take from where I left off and there is nothing that will stop me this time—not even you."

Tuxedo Kamen looked at Megumi being strangled by one of the shadows and ran over to save her, Athamas caught him on time and threw him a blast of energy sending him several feet away from the girl and Sailor Moon. "Mamo-chan!" she screamed at the verge of tears.

Athamas turned on his heel and raised the strength of the army attacking the girls while he walked towards Tuxedo Kamen. Sailor Moon tried to run after him but soon was stopped too with a blast of energy coming from the General. Athamas crouched in front of the man in black and grabbed a handful of Mamoru's hair and pulled his head back so he could look down at his maskless face, "The Lunar Queen protected you since the moment Serenity laid eyes on you—I cannot stand to see you alive... I cannot stand to know you exist!" he punched him on Mamoru's jaw with rage and force, breaking his lip. "Prince!" Megumi exclaimed, with a face of horror at the image of the once strong prince, spitting his own blood, defeated.

The sky began to rumble, a storm was approaching making it the perfect scenario to the Andromedian's intentions; Athamas laughed, "Prince?!" he looked down at the bleeding man on the ground, "This man is no Royal..." he kicked Mamoru in the ribs, rolling him over further away "WHY DIDN'T YOU DIE LIKE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO!?" he blasted a ball of dark energy at him, hitting him again, "YOU ARE ALWAYS IN MY WAY!" then blasted him again, each attack more brutal than the last one. Mamoru wiped the blood pooling from his lip and coughed some more while he tried to stand up, "I don't..." he flinched with obvious pain, and tried to use the remains of his strength to stand but the man's attacks were coming one after the other, giving him little to no time to recover or to even speak.

Athamas attacked him again, proving the force within him was much more superior than any of the Senshi gathered "What is the matter with you mortal? Are you not supposed to be an assassin?! What happened to all those threats you blurted at me that night?" he laughed and kicked him again in the stomach and raised his blade above his head and narrowed his eyes with pleasure, "At last... your head is mine..."

Sailor Moon looked at Athamas ready to pierce his sword on her beloved and tried to break free from the shadows trying to suffocate her, her heart felt like it was pounding its way out of her chest with desperation, "No! Mamo-chan!" Not too far away from Sailor Moon, Venus turned as soon as she heard her Princess strained cry and widened her eyes in horror at the scene between Tuxedo Kamen and the Andromedian General and tried to catch up with them, "No... no, no, no!"

It took a moment before Tuxedo Kamen could raise his head and look up at the man threatening to kill him and widened his eyes when he heard the same voice that had been calling for him over and over again.

"Wake up..."

Tuxedo Kamen flinched in pain and hung his head low as he tried to grasp more air into his lungs, "I don't... I can't..." he mumbled with frustration between hoarse breaths and widened his eyes when a vague, distant memory flashed through his mind.

"Wake up Endymion,"

---

"Come, sit here next to me… let me look at you… my, look how much you have grown," A woman with long dark hair caressed his face and sighed, deep inside she felt she needed to let her son be what he was destined to be, she knew he felt a strong bond with Earth.

"I have something for you…" Gaia smiled and walked back to her bed and pulled a large black case from under it. With a curious look on his face, Endymion soon joined her and watched the black case with awe. It was a long dark box that appeared to be made of pure black onyx. "What is it?" he asked softly and looked at the Terran Queen. Gaia opened the case and revealed a beautiful long sword resting inside a black and gold sheath with a detachable smaller blade resting next to it, also made of pure black onyx and gold. The slick, golden blade was so clear and polished it looked like if it was made of crystal the minute it caught the light in the room.

"This sword has gone from generation to generation… it was your great grandfather's, your grandfather's and then, it was mine…" Gaia smiled proudly, "When I was little, my father told me this sword was handcrafted by Gods with special powers who lived up in the heavens making it only worthy for a true warrior. He told me only true warriors could truly unleash its power." Gaia looked at him and handed the weapon to her son with a warm smile on her face, "So, this sword belongs to you now."

---

Megumi felt the object in her chest becoming warmer and started to glow with a soft golden light, unaware of the man standing just a few feet away from her pleading with desperation in his voice, "The sword! Give him the sword!" Megumi widened her eyes and gasped with surprise when she saw Ares blocking the shadows away from her, "Do it, now!"

Athamas widened his eyes and groaned with rage "You again—stop meddling in my business!" he blasted a shock of energy at the God of War, but Ares managed to take the blast and block it from Megumi, giving her a short window to run and follow his command. Megumi didn't hesitate and or felt surer of what she was about to do and ripped the dirty cloth from the object as she ran towards Tuxedo Kamen revealing the onyx and gold sheath. She widened her eyes when she felt the hilt of the weapon was feeling warmer and active to the energy around it, "It's awakening..." she mumbled with amazement, "It is finally awakening!"

Athamas peered the girl running by his side and grabbed her by her neck, "You are not going to give anything to anyone—but me," he looked down at the sword and tried to grab it but Megumi felt determined to fulfill her mission, for the first time in centuries she was not afraid, she couldn't be afraid—not anymore. With the force she had left in her, she managed to throw the sword away from them making it land at a short distance away from a very weak, almost unconscious Mamoru. The General growled and threw Megumi to the ground with brutal force and ran to try to get a hold of the weapon and be done with everyone once and for all.

"Wake up Endymion, wake up!"

Mamoru looked up and felt a strange strong connection with the weapon. Extending his arm, he crawled on the ground and wrapped his hand around the weapon's hilt activating its power. Mamoru widened his eyes when he felt the strong energy burst in ribbons of golden fire from the sword and went through him revitalizing his strength as it flashed many scenes of his past like a crash course of his life.

He slowly stood up and unsheathed the sword revealing an intense golden light, fusing with him. Mamoru looked at the sword in his hand and felt like if a bandage was ripped from covering his eyes and looked up; his eyes slowly started to turn into different shades of blue, from sapphire to Prussian and then to cerulean as he watched the many scenes of his previous life playing in front of his eyes like a short movie; his childhood, his family, his training, his battles, the romance with Serenity, the battle with Beryl... the moment he prayed and sealed Earth from Metallias' destruction, his final battle with the Shitennou and his death.

Mamoru turned to look at the man in front of him, his eyes glaring with anger and a thirst for blood—his blood and felt disgusted by the contamination around them, caused by him. He narrowed his now dark eyes when the smell of sulfur and decoy reached his nose and immediately brought him back to the night he confronted Metallia; it was the same smell of death and rottenness—the same that contaminated his world and killed everything he held dear. His mind was still swirling into his past, his body still going through the strong burning feeling and the changes that came with his awakening, his heart was beating strong in his chest, pulsating with hurt and anger. He glared down at the sword gripped in his hand tightly and called for its power to manifest.

Athamas widened his eyes with shock and raised his own blade to protect himself and counteract the blast from the Terran Prince "I won't let you get away with it again... not again!" Sailor Uranus' widened her eyes in shock as she saw the golden light pulsing coming from Tuxedo Kamen's body, "What the..."

Megumi looked at the scene in shock from the place Athamas threw her, the Prince's reaction was different from what she saw years ago, "No..." she whispered and turned to Sailor Moon who was trying to reach for her lover with all her might, her crystal blue eyes burned with the tears pooling from her eyes without control, "No... Mamo-chan! NOOOOOOOOO!"

"The Prince is still in a trance, he won't be able to counter attack that man's attack! We must get to him!" Sailor Pluto turned to Neptune and Uranus and tried block Athamas' attack with the power from her Garnet Rod. The Inner Senshi turned desperate to hear the cry of their Princess. Sailor Venus kicked another shadow grabbing her leg and tried to run towards her "Sailor Moon!"

"DIE!" Athamas blasted Tuxedo Kamen with a stronger attack and it rumbled and crashed causing a loud explosion blinding everyone for a minute with the aftershock caused by the dark energy hitting the golden barrier protecting the Prince. Sailor Uranus frowned and raised her hand to protect her eyes from the blinding light "What the hell is going on?!" she yelled frantically.

The piercing light soon died down, allowing Sailor Venus to move her hand away from her eyes and looked at awe and shock when she recognized the power that was protecting the Terran Prince.

Kunzite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Jadeite stood in front of Tuxedo Kamen with their arms extended, blocking the attack from Athamas. Kunzite turned to look over his shoulder at Mamoru, who was still trying to get used to this new wave of power within him and raised his brow, "It is time for you to come back, wake up Endymion."

Mamoru looked at the white-haired General with wide eyes and let the soldier within him began to wake from its deep sleep. His tuxedo burned into golden flames revealing his royal dark armor as he remembered his life as Commander to the Royal Army of Elysion. He looked at the General with a frown and then at the shadows attacking the Senshi and Megumi. Rage began to curl in his chest when he saw Sailor Moon being restrained by Athamas' pawns and tightened the grip on his sword and sprint towards them viciously and released the power boiling inside him and began slaying every shadow creature with a murderous expression on his handsome face, the merciless act surprising the Senshi in the process since it was something none of them was expecting or imagined to see from him. Like a vicious beast hunting its prey, he evaded and turned to decapitate each and one of the corpses and stood in the middle of a pool of poisonous tar. Endymion slowly turned to Athamas with a murderous glare and wiped the thick dark substance on his blade with a strong swing and dig it on the ground and chanted the sacred words to unleash his power.

"Potestas vocat Terra ignibus sacris invocamus malum de terra! Rogo uti potestate Aurei Crystalli prodire me venire eamque relegant malo! Ego præcipio tibi, ut ostenderet tibi, Terra sancta est, et terebrare in episcopum tenebris lux tua astringens!"

(I summon for the power of Earth and call upon the sacred fire to burn the evil from this land! I call upon the power of the Golden Crystal to come forward and use me as its conduct to come through and banish evil. I command you to manifest yourself, Holy Guardian of Earth and pierce the darkness with your binding light!)

Athamas widened his eyes and jumped to the light pole again when he felt the ground shake and crack beneath his feet and turned to Ares and the Shitennou with his jaw clenched with anger and unspoken fear. His eyes darkened and clouded any trace of green until they were pitch black and saw every shadow and its remains disintegrate into the strong golden fire coming from Endymion. The Senshi were released from the enemy's grasp and watched in awe at the power coming from the Prince; Sailor Moon soon began to feel a warmth in her chest and looked down at her brooch with wide eyes "Endymion..." she mumbled with nostalgia.

Ares looked at the Prince and tilted his head forward with pride and honest relief to finally being able to see the strength from his dynasty shine through him, like he wanted to be "I have done it, Helios..." he muttered with a smirk on his face and turned to look up at Athamas, still standing on a light pole, "It is done, it is over—"

Athamas narrowed his dark eyes as looked at the man in dark armor and then back at Ares and smirked devilishly, "Is that what you think God of War? This is far from being over... I am not done, not yet."

Endymion followed suit and tilted his head up to look at Athamas with a deadly glare, "Then why are you about to run away?" His voice was uncharacteristically cold and demandant to all Senshi, including Sailor Moon. Athamas arched his brow and chuckled. His eyes at this point had lost any trace of light becoming a void of pure malice and darkness "Et venit—nihil potestis facere, et illud per circuitum."

**He is coming and there is nothing you can do about it.

"What are you talking about?!" Sailor Uranus demanded at him an answer and pointed her Talisman sword at him "Who the hell are you!? What do you want?!"

Endymion's frown deepened, and so did his angry glare on him, "Bonum. Et stabis."

**Good. I will be waiting.

Athamas smirk didn't fade and his eyes didn't leave the Prince's either, "I have an intriguing question for you, Sailor Senshi—" he looked at the girls and then at Sailor Moon, "Who's side are you going to take now?" he tilted his head low and grinned, "The one from the heavens or the one from hell? Mark my words—you are going to wish to never have woken this beast from its slumber. You will not survive—not this time." he turned to Ares and shook his head "You will not either after he learns the truth... you just made this much easier for me to come through."

"You, poisonous demon—stop playing with other people's minds and be the warrior you claim to be!" Ares growled at him and pointed his sword at Athamas who in return just laughed and shook his head "There is no need..." he pointed his finger at Endymion, "He will do the work for me, in the end, we are the same—him and I, and you know it," he narrowed his black eyes, "Do not wish for things you might regret later... God of War." Athamas looked up at the warp hole formed in the sky and snapped his fingers before vanishing into thin air.

Ares' face darkened with anger "Coward." he muttered and turned to look at the Senshi who were running after Sailor Moon to check if she was alright but before they could come close to her, Sailor Moon turned and walked towards Endymion who was standing with his head low looking at the golden sword in his hand still pulsating its power through him in sync with his heartbeat. "Mamo-chan..." she called him softly but Endymion didn't move or react to her voice. He felt different, his senses intensified and could feel everything that happened around him; he could hear and feel the ground pulsating beneath his feet, the grass moving, the cold breeze with scents of the ocean from miles away, the deafening sound coming from the city, the sound and smell of the of the rain that was about to fall from the dark clouds in the sky, the endless murmurs and prayers of the people and their anxious need to be listened and saved.

He could feel everything around him but he could not move his body, it was as if Earth itself was demanding for his full attention and letting him know everything that has happened during his slumber as if the planet was finally acknowledging and embracing him as its rightful protector. Endymion felt Sailor Moon's hands cupping his face and without speaking a single word, he allowed the same energy that was flowing through him go through her as well, making her Silver Crystal react to his and morphed her Senshi uniform into her ivory Princess gown along with hundreds of emotions, "Endymion..." she whispered as she looked up into his prismatic blue eyes.

The same golden light, made the crystals on the Inner Senshi's uniforms react the same way it happened with Sailor Moon, making them revive a part of their previous lives they completely ignored in front of their eyes. It was as if a bandage was taken of their eyes, it was different from what happened when the Silver Crystal reacted, this time they could remember everything as if they were never reborn into a new era. Everything was so vivid like if it happened yesterday, the General's aggressive approach to them, his plans, their suspicions towards him, their need to protect the Princess, their trips to the Terran planet and their secret meetings with the Shitennou. Megumi looked at the Royal couple she so much longed to see, the same she remembered with so much love and a wave of emotions soon took over her and smiled with relief.

"You finally awakened," Ares' deep voice startled the Senshi and the Royal couple; Sailor Uranus frowned, "This makes less sense every time a stranger appears out of thin air." Ares turned to the soldier of the skies and arched his brow, "As impatient as always, Sailor Uranus—just like your Father."

"Why...?" Sailor Mercury asked softly. The man in golden armor turned to Pluto and gave her a small smile "It is good to see you have crossed to this realm, Pluto."

Pluto looked at him and bowed her head in respect, "God Ares..."

"God Ares..." Jupiter widened her eyes, still trying to adjust to the rush of emotions and memories slowly flowing inside of her, "The God of War?" she looked at him dumbfounded "B-But... the Soldier of War is..." she turned to Mars, who had the same surprised look on her face. "It's you..." Mars whispered with awe, realizing he was the same man she spoke to the other day, "You were at the shrine..." Ares gave Mars a sad smile and nodded, "My dear daughter, oh how I missed you."

"Daughter..." Mars widened her eyes in surprise, then everything made sense as she remembered him in her life at the Moon Palace "I see... it was you. You were the one who was giving me those warnings and premonitions."

Ares nodded and turned to the Terran Prince, "I came here with one mission," then turned at the Shitennou "But I believe you were being protected by others too..."

Venus parted her gaze from the man in golden armor to the leader of the Shitennou who was standing feet away from her, "Kunzite..." his name escaped from her lips in the softest of whispers, still in disbelief. Sailor Uranus frowned with more confusion, "Who are you? Why are you here?" Kunzite turned to Uranus and narrowed his grey eyes, "We are the ones chosen to protect the Prince of Earth."

"What?" Sailor Uranus muttered with surprise, "But... the ones destined to protect this planet—we are..."

"Clearly, there is much to be explained," Ares interrupted Sailor Uranus, then turned to Endymion, "Especially to you."

Mercury went to check on the people that were taken by the shadows as hosts and sighed with relief, "They still a have a pulse but they must be taken to get medical attention right away." Sailor Neptune nodded and looked down into her mirror, "Help is on the way, such commotion could not be ignored—we must leave before they arrive and get involved with their rescue."

Ares kept his gaze fixed on the Terran Prince who didn't avert his piercing gaze from him, "Why are you here?" Endymion asked, the tone in his voice could not be taken as a simple question, it sounded more like a demand—an angry one and the God of War understood why. Ares was mentally fighting the decision he was about to make because he was not sure just how it would impact not just the Prince at this point but the Princess and the Senshi. "I am here to bring you back Prince of Earth—it is time for you to know the truth and claim what is rightfully yours."

---

O—o—o—o—O

Athamas appeared in his dark remote hiding in a star of the Alpha Galaxy and cursed under his breath for the previous events on Earth. He punched the wall of the empty temple with a loud angry growl for his failure, "I should have killed you then and there when I had the opportunity," He narrowed his green eyes when his mind drifted to the image of the Lunar Princess wearing a Sailor Senshi uniform "Serenity..."

"Deep down all that malice and ambition—you still hold a heart that longs for the White Princess."

Athamas widened his eyes and turned, "Who is there?"

A female voice echoed through the vacant and hollow hallways of the temple he now claimed as his home, "It is so sad to see you, once a soldier, once a General to be reduced to these conditions." A soft chuckle came the same way as it vanished "Oh, how much trust the White Queen put in your hands... but they all do that—God. They make you believe things and then take everything away without a single notice."

Athamas frowned "The same goes for you, who lurks into other people's personal spaces."

Eris appeared from behind a pillar, her dark hair floated around her like silk dancing in the air, her dark burgundy gown moved with grace, clinging to every curve as it followed her every move. Her dark eyes looked at the man struggling with his defeat and smiled "How much damage my husband has made over the years..."

Athamas frowned "Husband?"

Eris widened her eyes "Oh? You don't know? My—that is strange. A Soldier like you should be aware of every relation from Olympus." she looked away as she pressed her back against the cold pillar and crossed her arms, "I am Eris, Goddess of Discord and the God of War's wife."

Athamas frowned "What do you want? Why are you here?"

"Because I know what you are doing Adromedian Soldier, I have been informed of your plans," Eris arched her brow "I know what you are trying to do, possessing bodies to add them to your army—that is something I have heard and seen before," She chuckled "Or better said, I know whose idea is that—I know who grants you that permission."

"I don't know what you are talking about," Athamas snarled. Eris pursed her lips and turned on her heel "Hmm... you know? I have heard that voice too."

The blonde general widened his eyes, giving the cue to Eris to continue, "All you have been doing—for a cause. That voice only reaches for those who want to hear, those who want to be blessed with power." she came close to the blonde soldier and looked into his eyes "You have been in the Underworld and somehow you managed to find your way back, just who do you think allowed you to do such thing?"

Athamas widened his eyes "H-How?"

"Do I know?" Eris smiled and looked away "Well—I am a Goddess. I see things not everybody can; I was blessed with the power of clairvoyance and I can see deep into your soul."

"Why are you here?"

"I came here as a favor, to lend you my powers to you..." Eris looked at him and studied his troubled aura "But I can see right now your mind is occupied with something or better said, somebody else,"

"Don't make foolish assumptions," Athamas turned on his heel "Leave this place, leave me alone."

"You still cannot understand how the Princess managed to survive the tragedy that happened at the Moon Kingdom all those years ago, and you wonder how the mortal creature survived as well—I can tell you." Her words caught Athamas' attention completely. Smiling she traced his jawline with her long nail, "It was the Lunar Queen's last wish—you see, she always had a soft spot for that young man, he is after all her darling friend's offspring."

"W-What?" Athamas widened his eyes with shock, Eris nodded and sighed with clear annoyance, "Serenity was too innocent, she always believed in the goodness in everyone but this realm holds no sympathy—you better than anyone knows that. I am surprised Selene wanted her to become a Queen in the first place, but the timing worked in her favor when the political tensions between the Moon and Andromeda intensified, marrying her precious daughter to the Commander of the Andromedian Army to solve such issues." Eris' voice held bitterness as she remembered the White Queen and her friend "Her friend on the other side was more of a rebellious Goddess but somehow, they were close—very close." The Goddess of Discord rolled her eyes, "Serenity used the power of the sacred Silver Crystal to grant her daughter, the senshi and mortal lover a second chance to live—she sent them to Earth to live their lives as mortals but as you could see they awakened somehow."

"How come I never heard of this?" Athamas frowned and shook his head, "How come I never learned about them being revived, after all these years?"

"Because Ares has been behind it all this time," Eris arched a brow, "He somehow got brainwashed by Serenity's charms and has been protecting them without anyone knowing."

Athamas remembered Ares protecting Megumi when she went to take the Prince's sword before running away. He was the one who told her to keep the sacred item safe from evil forces, it is when he fully realized there was something else within him, asking him to get the key to release its full power. "Why are you helping me instead of him? He is your husband."

Eris made a smirk of disgust, "Because I want to wake him from this dream of his... he is not seeing straight. And besides, I never agreed to his way of thinking and I also want that mortal dead," Eris' last words pleased the Andromedian, making him smile, "So basically..."

"I want Ares to be defeated, you want the mortal dead—we both win," Eris smiled with triumph, "I can join your cause and help you gather that army you so desperately want."

"How?" Athamas narrowed his eyes, Eris chuckled "You keep doing what you are doing, let me handle the rest. To get things done, you must do it in proper time, not in the rush you have been working recently. You want to do so much in such little time—that is not how it works."

"What then?"

"Patience..." Eris said softly, Athamas frowned "Haven't I had enough?"

"No," Eris frowned, "What do you expect to do on your own? To have a good army you need good soldiers—and I can help you achieve that."

"What do you mean?"

"Not all the Gods in this realm like the way the Higher Gods deal with things, they have become predictive and boring. There are Gods who want to rebel against them and even stronger beings, those are the allies you need and I know where to find them." she spotted a figure standing in the dark, the sound of heavy chains echoed proudly as it stared at them in the distance. Her eyes quickly landed on the Andromedian again and extended her hand, "Do we have a deal?"

Athamas looked at her delicate hand and shook it in agreement. Eris smiled widely and with a flick of her wrist suspended Athamas into a deep slumber. "Satisfied?"

"Very well Eris..." The voice in the shadows echoed in the vacant room "I am surprised by your quick intermission."

Eris arched her brow, "How long have you been here?"

"Enough to know the truth behind your powers—it is good to see you claimed back your realm here in the Underworld." The shadow figure finally stepped into the light, revealing a woman in a black catsuit with attached chains all over, "How long is he going to stay like that?"

"Enough to keep our conversation private—what do you want, Asteria?" Eris arched her brow, "Did Hades send you to welcome me or what?"

"Living in Olympus' realm sure change anyone's soul, you used to be much more welcoming... but, no." Asteria shrugged her shoulder with disinterest, you said you wanted revenge, did you not? To achieve that—I need that one intact,"

"Is that why you wanted me to lure this man in and out of the Underworld? I have kept him safe and allowed him to walk out of here without a single scratch."

"I know, which is why you were allowed to return here," Asteria crossed her arms, "You better than anyone knows how to make a good deal, we made one and you delivered... take it as a token of my gratitude for keeping this one safe. Come on Eris, for good old's sake, let us play with them—you know you want it to happen too. Imagine how your husband would react—he is already burning all of his bridges towards salvation."

Eris narrowed her eyes and smiled, "Now I am intrigued..." she did not need to think too much of what she wanted, she turned to look at the man unconscious on the ground and then at the dark woman in front of her, clearly aware of her power and nodded, "One way or another, I will make you pay for all the damage you have caused... Gaia."

---

O—o—o—o—O

"I think it will be better if we all go somewhere private so we can talk," Pluto said, looking at the God of War. Mars was the first one to undo her transformation, returning to her priestess clothes and nodded, "We can meet at the shrine, we will have the privacy we need there."

Mamoru, still in his armor turned to look at the Shitennou and his eyes could not hide the nostalgia that has been secretly nested in his heart, "Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite, Jadeite..." his eyes finally landed on Megumi, who was standing next to Ares, "Megumi..." she recognized the familiarity of his voice, it was completely different from the previous days. Kunzite took a step forward and bowed his head to show his deep respect "It has been a long time... Master."

Minako felt chills down her spine as she looked at the Shitennou standing so close to them and could not ignore the feeling of longing in her heart. She couldn't believe they were there, she couldn't assimilate the fact that he, the man she thought to have lost was there—alive. It had been so many years now since she last saw Kunzite in person just to know that this meeting was not to kill each other again was too much for her, she didn't even know how to act or what to say.

"Minako-chan..." she felt Ami's hand on her arm, calling to her "We should go... you need to undo your transformation."

A very confused and dumbfounded Minako turned to her blue-haired friend and nodded and followed the girls' in undoing her transformation, including Usagi who was still standing next to a very confused, very silent Prince. "We should go to Rei-chan's..." she slowly held his hand and squeezed it softly, "Mamo-chan?" Mamoru blinked his eyes, snapping out of his thoughts. She waited for a response from him, some verbal mumble that could tell her that he was there since his face was still hidden under his dark hair while having his head low. Usagi took a deep breath of relief when she felt his grip on her hand tighten, giving her some comfort and assurance that her voice still reached him.

"We will follow you, Master," Nephrite said as he walked closer to the Prince, "We know our way."

Haruka and Michiru turned to Setsuna with a confused stare "You know what is going on,"

"Are you asking me?" Setsuna arched a brow while she looked into the blonde's deep blue eyes, Haruka sighed "No, I am affirming it, you have always been one step ahead of everyone—I hate that."

"I guess it's part of my duty as Senshi of Time and Space," Setsuna sighed, "I can't help it."

Haruka sighed and shook her head, "We better get to the shrine, this cannot be a mystery any longer. Now that all of us, included new people are involved." she turned to Michiru and kissed her hand softly, "I will go pick up Hotaru and bring her with us—she probably knows what is going on by now."

Minako turned to Rei and the girls and sighed "I will go and see if Artemis and Luna are at my apartment. They have to know what happened and come to the meeting too—maybe they too remembered something and can help us figure things out." Makoto nodded and patted her blonde friend's shoulder, "I will go with you." Ami bit her lip and nodded, "Me too..." The bluenette turned to see Mamoru still standing in silence with his head low and Usagi standing next to him and sighed heavily, "I am worried about them..." her attention drifted from the couple to the Shitennou standing close to the now civilian dressed Prince and sighed softly with a heavy feeling in her heart.

O—o—O

After some time, Rei finally got to the shrine and made sure her grandfather already had dinner and was resting in his room. At this moment she was truly grateful to Yuuichiro for being there to help her when she had to be out just like it happened that day. Yuiichiru noticed her presence and looked at her from the other room, one close to her grandfather's "Rei..." his voice showed genuine concern for her. Rei stopped, looked at him and shook her head "Don't—not now, I'm fine. I will be busy; the girls are here and I need to check something for the wedding."

"I was worried about you—something seemed to have happened in the city a while ago. It's all over the news."

Rei felt a cold chill down her spine, "So I heard—but I am okay, I wasn't close to that area." Rei reassured him and turned to walk away, "Thank you," she stopped and looked at him over her shoulder, "For looking after Ojisan," Yuiichiru found odd that she wasn't showing any signs of anger towards him like she usually would, instead, her voice was calm, almost as if she was pleading him for some peace tonight. He had no other option but to comply and nodded, "I will look out for him, you go—do your thing. I won't be in your way."

Rei turned on her heel and walked to one of the adjacent praying cottages away from the temple where she knew they would all fit comfortably and have enough privacy to speak of this serious matter. She lit the fire in the hearth and the other lanterns on the walls and waited for everyone to arrive sitting in front of the fire with a worried look on her beautiful face and sighed, hoping for the best.

Minutes later the girls arrived, Minako, Makoto, and Ami sat next to the raven-haired Priestess with Luna and Artemis sitting on the other side. Haruka walked inside holding Michiru's hand with Setsuna and Hotaru behind and sat at the opposite side of the girls. Without any notice, the Shitennou walked inside and stood in the far back in silence, soon after Mamoru walked in with Usagi and Megumi behind. Usagi closed the door behind them and sat next to Mamoru and held his hand, still hoping for him to break his chilling silence. Since they left the park he didn't say a word or glanced at anybody, not even Megumi and it started to worry her. He was not acting cold or angry towards any of them but it was obvious that he was going through something serious.

Rei sighed, breaking the awkward silence between everyone in the room "It is all over the news—what happened." Minako pursed her lips and exhaled heavily, trying her best to completely ignore that Kunzite was there with his piercing eyes on her, "I guess I will have a lot to do tomorrow at work—it's time for damage control."

"I am not surprised," Setsuna said softly as she looked at Rei, "It was difficult to ignore and considering that it has been long since—" she paused and looked at Usagi who had her gaze down "Well since something like this happened."

Haruka looked at the blonde man, who no longer was wearing his golden armor to be able to blend easily into this world. If nobody knew he was actually the mythical God of War, he would easily be confused with a civilian—a very handsome one must be added. His blonde wavy hair was tied in his usual low ponytail, similar to Zoisite's and his clothes were casual, just a plain shirt and pants. The Shitennou, on the other hand, were wearing their military uniform, not really minding anything else but the situation unfolding before them.

Ares sighed, "I never imagined I would be in this place, once again." his grey eyes looked at the fire flickering in its entrancing dance, "The last time I was here was for another series of events, and after that..." he turned to meet his daughter's amethyst eyes, "I never allowed myself to return—until now." He looked at Usagi and gave her a soft, genuine smile, "It truly makes my heart warm to know your mother's wishes came true, Serenity. You had a second chance to live the life you wanted and surrounded by the people you care and the man you love."

Usagi felt her heart skip a beat in her chest at the mention of the Lunar Queen, "My mother..." she whispered and looked up at Ares with wide eyes. Ares nodded "She was a very dear friend of mine, you probably remember by now," he turned to Minako, Makoto, Ami and lastly, at the Outer Senshi. "I know all of them—" his gaze stopped at Rei and softened at the sight of his daughter "You are correct, Mars, I sent a message to you. I was trying to warn you and this was the only way I knew you would listen to me without thinking of me as an enemy."

"Why until now?" Rei asked softly and shook her head, "Why to wait so long?"

"Because—it still was not the time for me to be here, talking to you."

"It's so strange to be talking to a God—and after all this time... it's strange..." Ami said softly looking at the blonde man. With a soft, nostalgic smile he nodded, "Apparently we are now just a myth that only exists in fairy tales."

"You said something about a truth..." Haruka interrupted him, "What were you talking about?"

Ares sighed and crossed his arms over his chest and turned to Usagi, completely ignoring Haruka's blunt approach, "Do you remember that night Princess Serenity?" he asked softly, Usagi looked at him with a serious face and hesitated to respond for a minute. Ares tilted his head forward "Do you remember what happened days before that night?"

"I—I was..." Usagi frowned and widened her eyes when her memory began bringing the images of being in a ball. Ares looked at her, "What just happened is that memories that were still hidden in your subconscious are starting to flow in your memory and they are coming back. You are beginning to remember."

"We already knew our past lives." Makoto shook her head, still confused "We were guardians to Princess Serenity back then and we still are. We fought the Dark Kingdom and its..." she froze in her seat when she remembered, they were not completely alone, and turned to the Shitennou, standing in the back in complete silence. "...Minions."

"Serenity—well, Queen Serenity held the power of the Silver Crystal at that time, when she summoned for its power to seal Metallia and you were sent away it was still power coming from her through the Crystal. When you found the Crystal here, in this era, what you remembered was what she witnessed," Ares turned to Usagi "When you took hold of that Crystal as its successor you fused your memories and helped the others regain theirs but they were still not complete." he sighed, "That is why you did not remember the man that attacked you."

Usagi frowned and shook her head "I don—"

"The Andromedian soldier." All eyes were now on Mamoru, who finally decided to break the silence. His blue eyes looked straight into Ares' grey ones "Yes, the Adromedian." the blonde God nodded.

"What does it mean? Why is he attacking us?" Michiru asked, Ares pressed his lips and took a deep breath "To answer that question, I must go back in time and break a promise I made to somebody—somebody very important to me," he turned to look at Mamoru and narrowed his eyes, "You may wonder Prince of Earth, why you did not remember as much as Princess Serenity or the other Senshi about your past."

Mamoru stayed silent, Ares looked at him taking it as his cue to continue "You asked something very similar—two thousand years ago. You wanted answers to questions you seemed to encounter every day of your life. Now, after what happened earlier, your memories are slowly coming back—I know. You are finally remembering who you were, your young years at the Terran Palace, your family, the Holy Priest—your mother."

Usagi widened her eyes and turned to Mamoru who still remained silent. Everything Ares was saying made perfect sense to him, like missing pieces of a puzzle slowly starting to fall in place. He was right, memories of his childhood slowly flashed through his mind, memories of his days training with the Royal Army and many other things and events that happened through those years. Everything was slowly coming back at him but he did not know how to express it, he didn't know how to process all the information that was pouring into him without his control and his emotions. Ares leaned his back on the wall and pressed his lips together "You woke up to the last moment you were sent to be reborn on this planet once again—right before you died. Right now, it is like time never passed."

"That still doesn't answer why this man attacked us? Why he is declaring war on us." Haruka frowned.

Ares sighed "Athamas like the Terran Prince just said, was a General of the Army of Andromeda who later took the title of Commander of the Lunar Army, you probably remember this now, Artemis." He turned to the white cat and arched his brow. Artemis widened his green eyes and nodded, "Athamas... yes—I remember now..."

"He was once engaged to Serenity because he was supposed to follow your father's steps, King Athan, who was also from a General from Andromeda. The Queen considered him to be the next King and your future husband—despite her true wishes." The blonde God looked at Usagi, then sighed "Later on, we discovered he committed treason with the only purpose to become a Polemarchos and gain the respect of the High Gods of Olympus," His grey eyes landed on Mamoru again, "He wanted to gain power by fighting you and taking control of Earth."

"You never gave me a clear answer as to why, even then, when we met you didn't give me a solid reason for what he did to my Kingdom, to my fellow soldiers," Mamoru looked at the God of War with anger, "Why did he send all those soldiers to kill me?"

"And he almost got his way," Ares frowned "Everything happened at the same time Metallia attacked this planet."

"Why does everybody comes to attack us?" Mamoru frowned "What do they want from this planet!?"

Ares sighed and closed his eyes, mentally bracing himself for he was about to say and its consequences. "Terran Prince, you hold power nobody else in the immortal realm has but yet desire. When your Kingdom was destroyed, you put this planet to sleep. You sent it to oblivion so there would be no more suffering and damage and traveled to the Moon to alert Serenity—to alert us." He opened his eyes and looked at him, "The reason to that, the reason why you were able to cross to our realm and communicate with us is due to your nature, because you are not a regular mortal being like you were believed to be since your birth."

Mamoru frowned, still incredulous, "What?"

Ares narrowed his and took a deep breath, "There is known in our realm of a legendary family of warriors, descendants of Helios, the God of the Sun or better said, the Titan of the Sun. He had a daughter, born as the Goddess of the Skies—Nut, and she married the God of Land—Geb, together, they brought to our world two children, one of them, was your mother—Gaia."

Mamoru opened his eyes wide with shock, "M-My mother?"

Ares continued with the story "Gaia, was a very strong-willed, a beautiful rebel Goddess. Every God wanted to marry her, every Goddess wanted to be her. From a very young age, she was chosen to be the carrier of the sacred Golden Crystal and took her position as the Titan Goddess of Earth. She later was trained to become a soldier and was the first Sailor Senshi to earn the title of a Polemarchos."

At this point, all eyes were wide in shock, just the mention that Earth once had a Sailor Senshi and that it turned out to be Mamoru's mother was incredible. "A Sailor Senshi..." Makoto mumbled, surprised. Even Haruka was dumbfounded and looked down at Mamoru then back at Ares, knowing what the title meant "But a Polemarchos..."

Ares nodded, "Polemarchos is a lineage of warriors that undergo a very strict regimen and training and are chosen by their special abilities to protect the universe and just like all Sailor Senshi are chosen female, Polemarchos are chosen male, their strength, and way of fighting is much more aggressive and straightforward than Sailor Senshi since they are trained to annihilate when the universe is under threat. Gaia was the first to be accepted and gained both titles due to her duty as Guardian of the Golden Crystal—she earned that position and was a superb warrior." he smiled sadly "I trained her, I taught her how to hold a sword—that sword." he looked at Mamoru, "I taught her how to fight, the same way she later taught you."

Mamoru remembered that day when his mother taught him the basics on how to hold a sword for the very first time, how to study his surroundings and how to memorize his opponent's routines. Ares exhaled softly, "Since you were very young, you started your training as Polemarchos without you knowing it, despite her desire for her long desire for you to live a normal life. All the training you were given, it is something I taught her to do first."

"Why do I feel there is more to all of this?" Mamoru asked, hesitant. Ares pursed his lips, "Like I said, your mother was very strong-willed," he turned to Usagi and smiled "There is no surprise that she was very close to your mother. They were like sisters, so different yet both believed in the goodwill of people. They found beauty where there was hardly any." he lowered his gaze "Earth was part of our realm a long time ago, it was part of an Alliance with Olympus and she, as its Goddess protected it—until one day, when she was in one of her missions, she met a mortal Prince and eventually, the two fell in love."

Mamoru's eyes began to gleam with tears at the mention of his father, the kind-hearted and just King of Elysion, Eros. Ares noticed his gaze changed from a dark stormy blue color to a more cerulean shade, "There has always been a rule, do not speak to mortals. We, as divine entities who looked out for them, the law forbid us to have any sort of personal contact with them, but your mother was too in love with the Terran Prince and went against that rule, and went against the laws of our nature. The immortal world is a different place where you don't find love or honesty very often. It is a rare gift, and just like there were good spirits, there were also bad spirits. Metallia, being one of them."

The five Inner Senshi widened their eyes in surprise "Metallia... the witch that corrupted Beryl," Minako muttered dryly at the mention of the dark, evil witch.

Ares nodded "Yes Venus. Metallia's doings go back in time, she was once a witch who had the ability to cross realms but she was never considered a Goddess. She lurked in the darkness and the hallways of Purgatorio; the hatred towards your mother was because she was infatuated with her brother; but since he did not reciprocate her feelings she became bitter and soon after she discovered Gaia's romance with the Terran Prince, she went to the High Gods and exposed her, creating a great disbalance between both realms." He looked at Mamoru with shame and pain in his eyes, "Gaia was condemned and stripped of her titles as Goddess of Earth and Sailor Senshi and was exiled from Olympus. The Higher Gods took her power and turned her human and was given a sentence by Hades..." Ares peered at Hotaru who had been remaining silent the whole time and then turned his attention back to Mamoru as he continued, "She resigned to everything she knew so she could be with her Prince, whom she later married. But things were not easy for them after she left; Earth had no protector—Gaia was no longer a Goddess, but without us knowing she took the Golden Crystal with her and after many fights against us—and Metallia, she sealed her away and created Elysion, the Kingdom you knew as your home and became the first Royals of Earth."

Mamoru could not hold the tears pooling in his eyes and let them fall silently, never in his life, he imagined his mother would go through such havoc and so much suffering to be with his father. He remembered his time with them, the many nights he saw them laughing or dancing, they were happy but to be happy they had to overcome a war—a war he never knew of. To him, they were the epiphany of love, and the example he followed when looking for the person to share his life with. He believed in the sentiment because of them, and he was witness to such magnificent force every single day until death parted them so tragically. He hung his head low and closed his eyes, to learn such dark past and all the things his parents had to endure just to be together was too much, it was too painful for him to know that his mother always lived with that dark cloud over her head and that he, as her son who swore to protect her couldn't do anything about it because of his ignorance on the matter. How many times he questioned and never fully understood, how many times they argued over false truths, Mamoru felt heartbroken.

Ares crossed his arms and shook his head, much to Mamoru's surprise, the story was not over. "We never saw Gaia again after that; after the incident Geb and Nut they became a laughingstock in Olympus and decided to live in exile far away in the Omega Galaxy living with the eternal pain of having lost their precious daughter and not being able to see her again. When Queen Serenity ascended the throne, she tried to plead for them, for Earth, for Gaia, and for the safety of this planet but the High Gods forbid any contact between Earth and any divine being, making contact between Earth and Moon prohibited. Serenity secret meetings with Gaia after the incident had to stop due to the Silver Alliance King Athan was planning to put into action and if caught, it would put it in jeopardy." Ares closed his eyes, "Years later, what we thought to be impossible happened, your mother became pregnant... with you, and with your birth, along came many speculations in Olympus because it was impossible for a mortal to conceive a child with a divine being."

All eyes were on Mamoru, who remained in silence and with his head low. Usagi looked at him with teary eyes, wanting with all her heart to do something to comfort him, to take away the pain she was sure he was carrying deep inside his chest. He did not need to say or do much for her to know he was broken inside by knowing the truth about his family. Her eyes burned with tears as she looked at his hand, feeling impotent and angry at the Gods for being so unfair. She looked up at Ares and narrowed her eyes, "But... she was mortal, the Gods..."

"They stripped her of her powers..." Michiru added, "How is that possible?"

Ares nodded "Gaia was not completely a mortal being because she still carried the power of the Golden Crystal—despite the Gods wishes and sentence, she was still being chosen Guardian. Things changed, when the Terran Prince was born, the Crystal reacted and chose him as the new protector of Earth, conceding Gaia her mortality."

There it was, the answer to his never-ending question and torment: his mother's disease, why his mother was so weak and tired and why he wasn't able to do anything for her. Mamoru opened his eyes with realization and looked at Ares, who nodded in response. "Your mother wanted to keep you away from all harm and as far from the life she once lived. She knew that you, as the new carrier of that Crystal would endanger your life and start another war. Her way to protect you was by keeping the truth from you and by teaching you how to channel its energy with the help of Obelix who taught you how to suppress your power, how to pray and how to eventually summon the power within you to save the planet when Metallia was freed from her seal."

Mamoru shook his head, "Then the sword—she told me it was forged by divine beings, that..."

"That sword belonged to her, to your grandfather Geb and to Helios your great-grandfather. When you claimed your position as the new Crystal's Guardian the most natural thing for her was to give it to you." he sighed heavily, "Endymion—she did not mean to keep you away from the truth, she was just trying to keep you safe and as far from this turbulent, yet divine world. When she was younger, she used to carry four stones with her—there were four talismans she considered where responsible for her safety and luck on Earth and whom she later gave away to those she thought would give birth to those who would become your guardians in the future," Mamoru turned to look over his shoulder at the Shitennou, Kunzite lowered his head and sighed "When we were chosen to be your Shitennou, we made a bow to Queen Gaia to never reveal this information to you—and swore our loyalty to always protect and advice you."

Mamoru shook his head, still in disbelief of everything he was listening about his mother, "I am part of the reason why the contact between Earth and Moon was forbidden then," Mamoru looked at the God of War and frowned "You created a stigma around me like if I was just some kind of monster for no apparent reason... and condemned my family with your vile ideas."

Ares pursed his lips, he felt guilty to be part of those Gods who once opposed to the idea of Earth being taken into the Silver Alliance again, for many years he fought against it, and went against Serenity and Chronos, but eventually realized that what Gaia had done was not a sin but just an act of pure love. A feeling he knew perfectly well by holding her hear in his heart. Usagi widened her eyes, remembering the word monster when she was on the Moon, "Monster... you were talking about Mamo-chan..." she could felt a sharp sting in her chest and tears burning her eyes again, this time full of anger, "That is so cruel..."

"Two children..." Mamoru muttered and looked up at Ares, "When you said my mother was one of those two children... the other one, what happened to the other child?"

Ares sighed heavily "The other child..." he paused and looked at the fire, taking a moment to think of the words to say since it was a delicate matter and to how it had become a taboo to even mention his name in the divine world. "Your mother's brother—he also grew out to be a superb warrior, trained by me and Zeus and also, a Polemarchos. He earned a high rank and became one of a kind in his class. He had the charisma and the ability but despite being very strong and very capable and agile with a sword he was not chosen by Helios to protect and carry Golden Crystal and he resented it, with time his anger turned to madness and his madness into malice and became a very vicious treat in the divine realm. He killed his own kind and sent many souls to the Underworld; but his fury and hatred grew when he learned that Gaia had inherited the power he claimed as his, by the time we tried to stop him—he was already too strong and out of control."

Rei widened her eyes, having an eerie feeling where this conversation was leading them, "What happened to him?"

"Zeus, Chronos, Hades and myself fought him into what became a gruesome war; and Gaia being the being the chosen one to guard the crystal, cast a seal on him to keep him away. Due to his evil nature, Hades later imprisoned him in Tartarus for the rest of eternity."

Hotaru widened her eyes, remembering the many times she heard about Tartarus "The deepest part of hell..." she muttered, "Not even I can cross to that realm... it hosts pure evil."

"A place in hell to keep one God away from the rest?" Haruka widened her eyes "Is that even possible to have that kind of strength?"

"The dangerous part of all this is that this... creature, has the power to manipulate weak minds and has managed to create war and suffering among this and the divine realm." He looked at Mamoru and narrowed his eyes, "That sword could be a key to break the seal of Tartarus where he is captured and what worries us now is that the seal has become weak with the passing of time and it could eventually break."

"That is why Athamas wanted the sword," Usagi said and turned to Megumi then back at Ares "He knows about this and wants to break the seal, that is why he was after Megumi..." Ares nodded, "The Andromedian is being manipulated by this evil force and I would not be surprised that his dark behavior in the past was for the same reason. He was a simple soldier who suddenly became a high ranking General from the Andromedian Army, nobody knew about him until he crossed paths with Queen Serenity." he frowned and turned to Megumi, "That night, when the Moon Kingdom was destroyed, this girl was one of the few still standing. My one and only reaction after seeing all the tragedy unfold before I was to protect that weapon so it could be delivered to its rightful owner. That is why I asked the young maiden to take it with her and run away—I could not do it myself because it would cause another unnecessary war and I wanted to investigate and take matters first... I wanted to avenge what was caused on Earth..."

All girls looked at Megumi who fell deeply asleep on the soft carpet without nobody realizing, Minako shook her head and sighed softly, fully understanding her long carried mission, "That is why you couldn't talk to us—you were waiting for God Ares... not even you knew the truth..."

"You summoned the Prince's Guardians too then," Michiru asked softly but Ares shook his head, "I do not have the power to summon any power related to the Crystal." He looked at the sleeping girl.

"We suppose it was her who called for us." All eyes were now on Kunzite, who was close to the door with his arms crossed "With the power of that sword we think she managed to communicate with us without even knowing, Helios, Elysion's High Priest opened the path for us—hence why we are here now."

Usagi looked at Megumi and felt a great respect for the girl, she had no right to be mad at her, to begin with; this girl had traveled for years with the only mission of saving the future of her Prince. She risked her own life to protect the sacred sword from Athamas and evil forces hunting her like a prey.

Mamoru felt it too, and great admiration for her bravery. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as tears kept falling from his eyes silently with everything he had learned in just one day. His past slowly connected to his present but still, "Why did Megumi could not find us sooner? Why keep wandering in the universe alone all this time?"

Ares bit his lower lip "Serenity and I did what your mother would have done... when Serenity unleashed the power of the Silver Crystal she blocked that part of your memory in order to keep you away from their sight and attention—but eventually those attempts were futile. Your tragedy as a child in this era, I had to use it to divert the attention of the High Gods and make them think that you had lost your powers but after what I saw earlier today... you have learned how to use some of your energy."

"You caused that accident..." Mamoru muttered with anger and looked at the God of War with disbelief, "You killed my family in this time so you could hide me from them? Do you have any idea of what you have done!?"

Ares sighed and closed his eyes, "That accident happened on its own, Terran Prince—sadly, I used it as an opportunity to cover the truth about you and say that you no longer had that power within you."

"What is his name?" Mamoru asked bluntly.

Ares widened his eyes "W-What..."

"I want to know his name."

"His name is not to be mentioned in this or any realm. He became a taboo and I do not know if I should say at this point," Mamoru looked at him with raw anger, "You don't know if you should say it at this point?! After everything that happened with my mother and father, with my family—Elysion, and now with this man, you still think I don't have the right to know about this person?! If I am related to whoever this is, at least I should know its name."

The Lord of War closed his eyes and exhaled heavily, defeated and with nothing else to lose at this point. Mamoru was right, he deserved and needed to know. No more lies—he thought to himself. No more lies. "Geb and Nut had two children, Gaia and—Chaos."

Usagi gasped and covered her mouth with horror, all the girls widened their eyes in shock and shook their head in disbelief, "W-What?!" Haruka, Michiru and even Hotaru exclaimed "Chaos?!"

Mamoru looked at Ares with denial and pain written all over his face, "No, no... that can't be..." he frowned and shook his head, "We fought Chaos... the Cauldron... Galaxia..."

"Like I said, he possesses the minds of those who are weak—he is a mastermind, a perfect strategist. Even when he is imprisoned, whenever there is some troubled soul he feeds from it and turns it into malice."

Usagi shook her head "But the Cauldron... I threw Chaos into that Cauldron."

"Chaos manipulates everything that is around him. What you have seen have only been possessed beings by him—the Cauldron, you sent Galaxia there, not him. Chaos' physical body is in Tartarus and he communicates and manipulates through the weakness of those who carry even the slightest amount of ambition in their hearts."

"He is filtering his way into this planet, once again." Rei said softly, "I heard him when I was reading the fire—he is finding his way to break the seal. He is the one who attacked me then..."

"The seal can be broken by the sword or the blood of those touched by the Sun." Ares said, "Now that that sword has gone back to its rightful owner, the Andromedian will look for other ways to break it."

Mamoru sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, feeling completely dismantled at this point. He felt embarrassed, angry, disappointed. He shook his head and let go of Usagi's hand, "I'm sorry Usa," Usagi looked at him startled as he stood up, "Mamo-chan? What?"

He walked towards Ares and looked him in the eye "All this time... every battle, every threat—it has been a way for him to get here, to get to me." he motioned his hand at Megumi, "You let her wander alone with a dangerous weapon in her care and this is when you decide to come and tell me all this?! You put her life in danger for centuries! What the fuck is wrong with you!?" he shook his head and bent down to carry Megumi in his arms, "Endymion..." Ares looked at him with a concerned expression, startling the rest of the group in the process "I-I... no, I need to get out of here..." he said dryly "This..." he shook his head again as he walked his way out of the cottage, "This cannot be happening... I can't... I need to be alone," he trailed off and walked away from the door with the sleeping girl in his arms, Ares sighed heavily and followed him towards the door, "Endymion..."

Mamoru's reaction was like gasoline was thrown into a blazing fire, and as soon as he heard his royal name and turned to glare at him enraged, "Don't call me that!" he frowned, clenching his jaw and blaming himself for losing all composure, "Do not call me that." He turned to the door but was met with Kunzite blocking his way, "Master..."

Mamoru hung his head low and shook his head "Not now Kunzite, step aside." The authoritative tone of his voice was enough for the first in command of the Shitennou to understand and obey the Prince's request. Stepping aside, he let Mamoru walk away leaving everyone startled, especially Usagi, who felt her heart heavy with sadness and pain. Desperation followed suit and immediately stood up with all the intention of going after him but was soon stopped by Haruka's hand on her arm, "No—give him time."

"B-But..." Usagi's eyes began to burn with tears "I can't leave him alone... not right now... not when he knows this..."

"Haruka is right, Usagi-chan." Luna walked towards her, "He needs to process everything he just learned about his family, about him..."

"But I'm worried about him! Can't you understand?! He's..." Usagi broke into tears, enough reason to give Kunzite his cue to intervene, "We will take care of this matter Princess," all girls turned to him with a startled look on their faces, "Now that we are here, we cannot leave him alone, he is our Master. But it is true, he needs some time to himself... right now, it is not the best time to approach him."

Ares looked down at both feline advisors and smiled sadly "It is strange seeing you in this form, I must admit. Back then, you served Serenity as humans but I am glad to see you are doing alright and that you are safe." Artemis sighed and nodded sadly, "Thank you, Lord Ares. Our appearance's a law from Mau, and Earth does not hold the energy to keep us in our human form."

Haruka raised her brow "Well, apparently now it has," Michiru frowned and nudged her ribs with her elbow, "Haruka..."

"It's true—now what is going to happen?" she pointed at the door with her thumb, "Now that we are clearly linked to pure evil and—"

"Haruka!" Setsuna stopped her from commenting any further, knowing it would only make things worse and affect Usagi even worse. Minako could not watch her in the condition she was now in and went to wrap her arms around her tightly, allowing her to cry on her shoulder "It's okay Usa... everything is going to be okay. Let it out, let it all out—I'm here."

Kunzite smiled softly at the image of the once stubborn Senshi taking a role as a friend to her Princess like he constantly used to remind her in the past. He remembered the many times they spoke about it and how he always said that she had to be there more than just a guardian to her and now, he was pleased to witness how she followed the advice. "Come on, I will take you home..." Minako said softly and tried to pull Usagi up with her from the floor, but Usagi shook her head "No..."

"Usagi-chan..." Ami said softly "I won't leave him alone! No matter what you say! I know him and he needs me! We are getting married... I don't care..." she pulled back from Minako's hug and looked at her friends, then at Haruka with a daring glare, "I don't care at this point what you might think—but it would be stupid for you to believe he is a bad person just because you heard that story," she turned to Minako and the others, then at Luna and kneeled in front of the black cat "Luna... I have to go to him... I'm sorry."

"You don't know how is he going to react—didn't you see his face!? He's angry!" Haruka's natural blunt and almost brusque personality came to show again, but her words were not appreciated by the Shitennou "Are you suggesting my Master is a vile man and that he will hurt the Princess?" Zoisite narrowed his green eyes "I recommend to keep your thoughts and words to yourself, Sailor Senshi." Haruka frowned and turned to look at them, "Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?"

"Sailor Uranus, I know you are only trying to protect the Princess but—they are right." Ares said softly and shook his head, "I did not come here to cause more havoc than what already is happening," he looked at Haruka, then at all the girls "Right now, I need to gather as many soldiers as possible to fight Chaos, this is a war we cannot let him win, Prince Endymion right now is the best chance we have because he comes from that same dynasty." His grey eyes looked into Haruka's blue ones, "And I am here because of that same reason," he turned to look at Usagi, "When you were born, your Father's wish was to marry you to a man worthy of your love, the strongest to protect his precious daughter—your Mother carried that wish with her as well and she always knew Gaia's son was the one. She wished for you to meet and be together... little did she know that fate had it all planned from the very beginning." Usagi sobbed at the mention of her father, this was probably one of the few times she heard stories about him. She remembered her mother always kept much information about him a secret, but she always mentioned how much he adored her since she was born and now to know her mother always thought of Mamoru as the perfect companion for her, she thought how different things would have been if were not for those stupid divine laws.

Haruka sighed heavily and closed her eyes with defeat, "I will drive her there," Usagi widened her eyes, surprised by her sudden change in demeanor, Haruka looked at her "I can't let anything happen to you at this hour."

Minako wiped the tears off Usagi's face with the hack of her hand in the most gentle manner and smiled at her "Usagi-chan, call me if you need anything." Usagi looked at her friend and nodded. She stood up and followed Haruka, Setsuna, Michiru, and Hotaru but before walking out of the room she turned to Kunzite and gave him a soft smile of gratitude. "I know what you're going to say..." she whispered at him, "But I love him too much, and you know it..." Kunzite crossed his arms and nodded, "Yes, Princess... I know."

"Then you have to understand me," Usagi put her hand on his arm, "Please," Kunzite bowed his head at her in respect and nodded, giving his silent approval. Makoto sighed, "Well, I suppose it would be best if we all go and try to have some rest... It has been... quite the day."

Ami nodded, "After today—we can pretty much expect anything."

Minako bit her lower lip as she looked down, her eyes burned with unshed tears "This is so unfair..." she whispered, catching the girls'' attention "Minako-chan?" Ami blinked, surprised. Minako shook her head and could not fight her tears and sobs any longer "Usagi-chan was so excited about the wedding..."

Kunzite widened his eyes in surprise "Wedding?" he muttered to himself but he was loud enough for the blonde to hear, she looked up at him, "They were getting married this weekend." The Shitennou looked at the girls with wide eyes, Jadeite frowned and shook his head, slightly confused "And they are not anymore because...?"

Minako sniffed and wiped her tears brusquely "Well, would you? With all this load of information—who knows what is going to happen now... What if he lea—" she trailed off immediately regretting her words. Jadeite frowned and crossed his arms in front of his chest "And knowing this... load of information, is it enough to cancel all plans? Is it fair to judge our Prince this way and think the worst of him?"

"If you learn such things about your past, wouldn't you cancel all plans to protect your significant other?" Rei frowned, Jadeite shrugged his shoulders, "I do not know—if I have fought for the love of a wonderful woman for two thousand years—I do not think I would stop my plans of being with her for the rest of eternity."

Zoisite sighed, "We should just wait to see what happens, and if there is some sort of problem—that is why we are here."

Rei exhaled heavily, exhaustion was beginning to show in her beautiful face "Well—I suppose you don't have a place to stay, I don't think it would be the best idea if you go to your Prince's apartment right now. You can stay here, nobody will bother you." she turned to Ares and blushed softly, "You too—can stay here."

Ares gave his daughter a sad smile and shook his head "It has been so long that it is perfectly natural for you to feel strange to call me father—you were reborn in a world with a new father and mother. And at to some point, it is better that way," he sighed and pushed himself off the wall where he was leaning on, "I cannot stay here Mars, I have to go back—my absence cannot be for too long and I still need to call for other Polemarchos."

"Are the other Gods..." Ami looked at Ares "Do they agree with what you have done? Does this mean the law that prohibits divine from getting any contact with earthlings has been dissolved?"

Ares shook his head "No, and they do not know everything. They were not very much enthusiastic about me calling for the Terran Prince, but I will take my chances. If you are trying to ask me is if a marriage between your Princess and the Terran Prince would be accepted in Olympus, no. It is not." Rei frowned, not pleased with his answer, "Then why coming all the way here to confess him the truth?"

"Like I said, the Prince being related to Chaos gives us an advantage."

"At the cost of our Prince's life," Nephrite frowned, "Is it not selfish of you? To need and borrow the strength of somebody and then discard that person to the God's lack of mercy. Is it not what you want to do to my Master?"

Ares frowned and turned to the Shitennou "There are risks, yes, but there is also a bigger threat coming ahead and he has to fully become what he was trained to be." he lowered his gaze "If this was not so serious, I would not have broken his mother's wish, a secret you also swore to keep from him." He turned to the girls and bowed his head and walked towards the door. "I know what you all might be thinking, this is unfair... the law of the Gods... but, this is also an opportunity for him to lift the shadow Chaos cast over Helios' legacy. He can make a difference... and I believe he is strong enough to achieve it," he looked at his daughter and gave her a sad smile before turning, "Please my daughter, be safe—be by your Princess' side." And with those final words, Ares left the room and disappeared into thin air just seconds after, leaving everyone thinking of what the future might become from now on.

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I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters.