Divinity: Fates and the Afterlife

Chapter Forty-six

Kunzite opened his eyes and noticed how Minako's room had suddenly become pitch dark. She had the silly costume of always leaving a night light for whenever she got up in the middle of the night in case she needed to go to the bathroom with the purpose on keeping her from crashing against a wall or hit her pinky toe with the rim of her bed—a thing he already noticed happened very often. Despite Kunzite's insistence on turning it off because he liked to sleep in complete darkness and his never-ending promise that he would wake up to make sure she wouldn't hurt herself, she still turned it on for safety purposes as she would always say. He turned on the bed when he felt a strange energy in the air and stood up to look out the window and widened his eyes when his concerns were confirmed by the scene happening outside. Not too long after, a loud growling sound made him turn to the sleeping beauty on the bed, "Venus!" he called out loud, startling the blonde completely and making her wake up all disoriented, "What!? What!?" She sighed and rubbed her eyes, "Seriously, Kunzite, you have zero touch with women... a little love wouldn't hurt anyone, you know?" she mumbled with annoyance and let out a soft sigh, "—I guess I like to torture myself with beautiful men."

"Excuse me?" Kunzite turned and arched his brow; Minako rolled her eyes and turn on the bed to give her back to him, "You heard me—good night."

"Something is happening outside," Kunzite said in a deeper voice, letting Minako know there was no room for negotiation. The blonde quickly turned and looked at him over her shoulder with worry and jumped off the bed to join him by the window to see with her own eyes what he was talking about. Her cornflower blue eyes widened with shock when she saw the city in complete darkness and turned to the leader of the shitennou when another growl echoed outside, "Kunzite..."

"The shadows," the white-haired general muttered, Minako nodded and saw a light flashing in her communicator on her nightstand and went to respond right away, "Rei-chan?"

"Minako-chan! We are under attack! It's the same... the shadow creatures... they're too many of them!"

Minako looked at Kunzite "The Prince and Princess..." she mumbled and turned to the communicator again and frowned, "Rei-chan, is Megumi-san with you?!"

"Yes, Megumi-san, Luna, Artemis, and Jadeite are here with me,"

Kunzite turned when he heard his comrade's name and frowned, "We are heading towards Tokyo Tower—something or better said, someone, is unleashing these evil spirits from that point. It wasn't safe for me to leave them back at the shrine—they're stronger, Minako,"

"Kunzite and I are going to check on Usagi and Mamoru—please alert the other girls and keep me informed!" Both soldiers put on their shoes and ran out of the apartment in a hurry towards Mamoru and Usagi's apartment while still talking to Rei over their communicator, "Please be careful!" Rei said in a worried tone.

Both guardians left Minako's apartment and faced a similar situation to what Usagi and Mamoru encountered just minutes ago. Kunzite frowned and turned to face the shadows that were already lurking in the small hallway and coming after them, "Venus—you go ahead. I will take care of them," The general summoned his power and a wave of energy morphed his clothes into his grey military uniform with dark silver lining and white cape. He drew out his quartz sword and pointed at it at the creature coming closer to them, getting ready to attack. The weapon in his hand began to glow a pale pink color, surprising Minako "That is..." she said softly, realizing this was the strong power the general carried within him. It was something completely different from what she saw during the time he was under the influence of Beryl's curse and used the power Metallia granted him as her general, but this, she didn't even remember him using his sword before, but now, it confirmed his military background. Kunzite turned to Venus over his shoulder and frowned, "Get out of—"

"No!" Minako interrupted him, "No, I won't leave you!"

"I will catch up with you later!"

"I said no!" Minako's voice quivered, "I am not going without you—not anymore!" Kunzite's pale eyes widened, "Venus..."

"We are soldiers and we have a mission—either we do it together or we don't do it at all!" Minako said with determination, "I am tired of being pulled away from you. Do you hear me?! You stupid, gorgeous man! Can't you see that I love you!?" her blue eyes widened realizing what she just said and blushed five shades of pink but the truth was out, she belonged to the man in front of her, her life was linked to his and somehow, they were granted an actual chance to continue their mission together and live their love freely, like it should have been since the very beginning. She ran towards him and pulled him from his arm to the emergency staircase, "If we attack from here, people will be in danger." Minako turned to look around as she ran down the first set of stairs, "Although it feels like we are the only ones that can stand this massive strong energy around us."

Kunzite sensed the shadows were following him and if they didn't move faster, they were going to fall into their trap; the general turned to look down the handrail and frowned, "We need to jump, this is taking forever." He turned and wrapped his arm around Minako's waist, taking her completely by surprise as he pulled her closer to him and jumped on the rail while still looking down, calculating the best spot to land, "Kunzite! What the hell are you doing?!"

"We are jumping from here,"

"W-What?!" Minako's eyes widened, "Are you crazy!?" Kunzite arched his brow and turned to look at her, "Says the normal girl—" he sighed, "With extreme situations, we must come with extreme solutions."

"What?!" Minako frowned with panic, "What is that?!"

"That is something we learned back in our training days in the army," Kunzite said in a lecturing tone at Minako who still kept a puzzled look in her face, "You're crazy, you're going to get us killed!" The silver-haired general sighed again and shook his head, "There is no time to go down memory lane—take a deep breath, close your eyes, or whatever makes you feel less panicked— hang on, we are going down." Without giving her more time to mentally prepare herself, Kunzite jumped down holding a frantic Minako screaming at the top of her lungs, "By all heavens! You are bursting my ears!"

"You asked me to do whatever made me feel less in panic, well, this helps!" Minako screamed as they continued to fall down for another minute until the general grabbed a pipe and finally jumped down to the ground, surprisingly uninjured. Kunzite let go of his lover and shook his head trying to shake the piercing echo of Minako's high-pitch screaming still bouncing in his brain.

"Of all the things I thought would help... I never thought screaming was the way to go." Minako exhaled and looked around the vacant parking garage and mentally thanked whoever decided to put emergency lights all over the large space, "We need to get to Endymion and Princess Serenity quickly," Kunzite interrupted Minako's thoughts and frowned, "Venus..."

Minako looked at him and nodded, taking her transformation rod she raised her hand and shouted the magic words, "Venus Crystal Power—Make Up!"

A warm and enchanting light burst from her wand and began surrounding her like ribbons of gold. This was the first time Kunzite was a witness of her powers as her clothes slowly morphed into what was now her new soldier uniform; her choker was V-shaped and the center of her front bow was an orange five-pointed star. Her shoulder pads were see-through yellow puffs with two patches of orange fabric attached to the bottom. Her gloves became longer, reaching to her upper arms. Her belt consisted of two ribbons - one orange and one yellow, with two long, thin back ribbons, clipped together by a golden five-pointed star. Her golden chain still clung to the natural curves of her waist like he remembered. Her back bow was yellow and her skirt became two-layered, the top layer being orange and the bottom layer yellow. Her usual orange strap heels were replaced by white knee-length boots with an orange V-shaped border and a five-pointed star at the top. Her tiara gem was now replaced by an orange five-pointed star and her earrings were orange, dangling five-pointed stars. She looked regal and much more powerful than he knew she was; the day they were sent back to protect the Prince he noticed there was a different wave to her, but this time he could actually take the time to notice all the changes time has made to her life as a sailor senshi.

She looked at him and gave him a soft, barely noticeable smile; one only he could recognize and let out a soft breath. "It's a long story..." she said softly, as to answer his silent question as to what happened to her previous uniform. Kunzite smiled at her and nodded, then noticed more dark creatures were forming again, "We will have to postpone this conversation for now." Venus turned and frowned, "They're not human, right?"

Kunzite narrowed his grey eyes and shook his head, "I believe they once were—" Sailor Venus's eyes widened in shock and turned to the leader of the shittenou, "What?!"

"Human or divine, these creatures were something at one point, but somehow they morphed into this." Kunzite muttered and tightened his grip on his sword, "This place is not the best to fight, it could cause serious damage to the structure and those who are inside the building would be in danger," he turned to look at her and cocked a brow, "I know they already are but if we expose them to the creatures, it could be worse." Venus turned and gaped at him, "Wait, h-how did you know—"

"—What you were going to say?" Kunzite smirked, "Come on Sailor Venus, I am a Shittenou—the first in command, give me some credit."

"Huh," Venus quirked a brow and pursed her lips, Kunzite moved closer to her and held her hand for a second "Love can give you superhuman powers too."

Sailor Venus looked at the man next to her and returned the same confident smirk, "You are right, my fellow peer—love does crazy things to the human body, I know that very well," she started to walk towards the dark creature crawling slowly towards them, taking Kunzite by surprise "Venus!"

Venus walked confidently towards the enemy, her golden chain made a soft crisp sound as it strutted with the swaying of her hips with every step she took and stopped to look over her shoulder at her handsome lover, "You just said it yourself Shittenou, we cannot fight them here—but we still need a way out." she turned and pointed her finger at the demonic shadow growling at her, "Hey, you, shadow thing! I cannot allow you to come any further. Your existence in this realm is forbidden! I am the Soldier of Love and Beauty and in the name of Love, I will punish you!" she extended her hand and brought it to her lips, "Venus!" she shouted out and allowed her mystical energy shine through her gloved hand and threw a blast of energy at the shadow in front of her, "Love and Beauty Shock!"

The creature burned with the intense golden light coming from the senshi of love and feel to the ground as a pile of ashes; Venus turned to see a very impressed Kunzite over her shoulder and smirked, "Come on Shittenou, I am the leader of the Inner Sailor Senshi—give me some credit."

The soldier walked over to her and flicked her long, choppy fringe to the side and leaned down to caress her lips with his feeling completely smitten with her as he pulled her into his arms, "This is the worst timing, I know, but—" he looked into her bright blue eyes and smiled, "I must confess that there is nothing more seductive for a man than to be with a woman who knows what she is doing." he closed the gap between them in a passionate kiss and parted seconds after leaving her speechless "I love you too, Venus."

Venus looked at him wide-eyed and parted her lips with desire for the man holding her securely in his arms. This is what she wanted, what she dreamt for—what she waited for so long. The man that could understand her nature, one who would share her dreams with and one that could match her in every way. Kunzite was the man she waited for so long, her transcendental love.

O—o—o—o—O

At the other side of Tokyo, Ami was running down the hallway at the hospital trying to reach for the nurses' station to call security and get help for the patients. She was currently doing a consultation with another doctor and Akashi when the power went out and it did not take long for her to realize what, or rather, who was behind such a feat and ran out of the room to get help and alert the girls not after pleading Akashi and the other senior doctor to stay inside the room with the patient. While on her way to the nurses' station she stopped and widened her eyes when she saw all the floor staff unconscious on the floor. The bluenette quickly thought of Motoki and knew he was currently in another floor, but now, he was aware things were not normal and with him, being so close to them, he had to learn how to take care of matters when a situation like this broke unexpectedly. Mamoru and the girls had taught him things he could do in moments like these, so thankfully, she knew he was going to be alright. Motoki was very smart and he was skillful enough to find ways to escape and help others.

Ami looked up when the emergency lights went on and quickly hid behind the front desk when she heard a loud growl echoing at the end of the hallway and frowned. She turned and saw one of the nurses widen her eyes and brought a finger to her lips, silently asking her to remain quiet and look for a place to hide. The nurse nodded and quickly went to lock herself in one of the patient's room. Ami took a deep breath when she saw the lights started to flicker and turned; her blue eyes widened when she saw a dark silhouette standing in the middle of the hallway every time the light when off, it was one of the creepiest things she has ever seen in her life and it sent shivers all over her body. She covered her mouth to mute any breathing sound and held her breath when the lights began flickering to an extent of going off once again, leaving her feeling in complete solitude and darkness. The growling intensified only making Ami feel more threatened by whoever was now standing at the other side of the desk. Her eyes widened in panic when the blue light from her communicator started to blink intensely, confirming her suspicions and quickly covered it with her hand so it wouldn't get caught.

She closed her eyes and jerked her head a little to get a better view of what was happening and noticed the creature had moved from its place in front of the desk and was getting close to one of the rooms down the hall; with trembling hands, she brought the communicator closer to her mouth and opened the signal to talk not giving Mars a chance to talk, "Hospital—emergency—enemy." she whispered while keeping her eyes on the dark shadow, "I can't—" she took a deep breath, "—Talk."

"It's coming from Tokyo Tower—" Ami heard Rei speaking low at the other end, "Please be careful and get out of there as soon as you can—right now they seem to be targeting us and not civilians, but I wouldn't be too relieved about it, they soon might change strategies."

Ami looked down at her watch and then back at to where the shadow was standing just seconds ago and widened her eyes in panic, "It moved..."

"What?"

"The shadow... it moved..." Ami took a panicked breath and turned to look to the other side and saw the distorted face of the shadow looking back at her intensely, making her jolt in horror out of her hiding place. "Ami-chan! Are you okay?! Ami-chan!"

Ami looked at the creature just feet away from her and stood up slowly, "Rei-chan... I'm going to have to call you back!"

"Ami-chan!"

"I will meet you there!" Ami frowned and took her transformation rod and lifted in the air, "Mercury Crystal Power—Make Up!"

A cold splash of water ribbons soon began to wrap around her like a second skin, in seconds her clothes changed from scrubs to her Sailor Senshi uniform; that was no different from the others. Her choker was V-shaped and the center of her front bow was a blue five-pointed star. Her shoulder pads were large see-through light blue puffs with two patches of blue fabric attached to the bottom, her gloves became longer, reaching to her upper arms and her belt consisted of two blue ribbons, a blue one, and a light blue one, with two long, thin back ribbons, clipped together by a golden five-pointed star. Her back bow was light blue and her skirt became two-layered, the top layer was in a darker shade of blue than the bottom layer that was a lighter, icy shade. Her boots were knee-length and white, and each had a blue V-shaped border with a five-pointed star at the top. Her tiara gem and earrings were replaced too by a blue five-pointed star. She looked down at her gloved hands and then back at the shadow in front of her and frowned, "Putting people in need of medical care in danger is something I will never forgive, this is a sacred place and your presence here is forbidden! I am the Soldier of Water and Intellect, blessed by the planet of ice and water, in the name of Mercury, douse yourself in water and repent!"

The shadow moved awkwardly towards her and Mercury was sure she could hear as there were bones cracking accompanying the loud and intimidating growling; she turned and saw more shadows crawl from every dark corner and crannies in the hallways and frowned, "If me is who you want, then come and try to get me."

The shadows began moving aggressively towards her when she summoned for her powers; she could not deny there was an adrenaline rush she didn't know she missed as the calming and cold power of water intensified inside her; like a calling she extended her arms, "Mercury Aqua Mist!" a heavy fog filled the empty hallways impeding the vision of the enemy as she moved out of their way; she turned once she spotted another shadow crawling towards her she summoned for the second stage of her attack "Shine Snow Illusion!" shards of ice began clung to the shadow's bodies and made them fall and break on the floor like glass and smoke as they slowly faded, leaving only the heavy smell of "Sulfur?" Mercury muttered and turned to the shadow that found her first, still standing still in the middle of the hallway and looking at her with intense red eyes, "W-What?" Mercury extended her hand and summoned for her power again, but the shadow moved faster and unlike the others, this emanated a stronger energy that slowly started to suffocate her, "N-No..." she frowned, trying to fight the dizziness but her body began to feel weaker and slowly fell on her knees, "W-What do you want...?" she looked up at the shadow floating towards her, "W-What..." Her blue eyes felt heavy and she started to feel confused, the creature had the power to distort her thoughts, pushing her to the very edge of losing her strength. Like an answer to her prayers, a sword pierced through the shadow and sliced it in half. She was sure that is what she saw, a man with a sword—a man, with ashy blonde hair. Zoisite turned and kneeled next to Mercury and tried to pull her back from her hazy state, "Mercury! Mercury!"

Mercury opened her eyes just slightly when she heard the soft, but warm voice from the man holding her in his arms, "Mercury!"

"Z-Zoisite...?" Mercury frowned and tried to move her body, "Is that..."

The blonde shittenou turned when he heard another growl and saw the shadow had summoned more of its minions. With a frown, the commander of the European Division of Earth tried to locate the weapon he threw at the shadow to attack it again, knowing that it was impossible to summon his energy due to their surroundings, "Mercury..." he called her again, this time with more authority "I need you to help me—I need you to be strong and come back from the curse that shadow put on you," he turned to look at her in the eyes, "I need you to summon your power once again, Mercury!" he leaned down and put his hands on her face. There was something in his soft touch that made her feel warm and more in touch with reality, she opened her eyes and took a deep breath, "We can do this, come on!" The shittenou shook her softly, Mercury looked at the creature before them and nodded, knowing what the general was trying to do to counter-attack, "Mercury!" she called for her power and placed her palms facing the floor, "Shine Snow Illusion!" A blanket of ice shards began growing and multiplying from the senshi's hands freezing the floors and covering them in a cloud of icy fog; the general narrowed his green eyes, trying to spot the shadow that was crawling its way out but and ran after it with impressive speed. Thanks to the ice on the floor, he used it to his advantage and threw himself to take his sword giving him the time and space necessary to jump and attack the demon, cutting its head in one swift move. Like magic, the emergency lights came back on again leaving Mercury and the general free from its dense malicious energy; she allowed her powers to dissipate and slowly stood up with Zoisite's help and looked up at him both blushed and surprised "H-How did you get in here? H-How did you—"

Zoisite put his finger on her lips softly, "It is not too difficult to find you, Mercury, your energy is very distinctive." he smiled softly "I must say, we make a wonderful team." Mercury smiled and nodded, then remembered what Mars' told her, "The tower—whatever it is infiltrating here, it's coming from Tokyo Tower. Mars and Jadeite are on their way!" she looked back into the hall and took a deep breath, " Mercury, I will create a barrier to keep them safe,"

"I won't leave you here..." Mercury held his hands, "I will help you create the barrier—"

Zoisite nodded and held her hand as he walked to the staircase and get out of the building before they could attract more enemies to the hospital. Once outside of the building, Zoisite turned and summoned for his purifying energy and turned to Mercury, to lend him her power as well. "This will keep them out of danger—almost unnoticeable for the enemy,"

Mercury widened her eyes with marvel, this was the first time she joined forces and merged her powers this way. It was exactly like Zoisite said, they had to work together and stay strong and this was the best start.

O—o—o—o—O

After debating what dessert she should try making next for her business project, Makoto decided to go and buy more ingredients with Nephrite when the blackout occurred, taking them by surprise. Nephrite looked up at the sky and frowned, "The stars... they are troubled." Makoto frowned and turned to Nephrite, "What do you mean?"

"They are being manipulated," Nephrite muttered and looked to his side and noticed dark figures moving fast in between bushes and buildings, mentally thanking the moon for being full and bright that night. "We are being followed." Makoto widened her forest green eyes when she heard loud growls coming from across the parking lot and found them crowding around them like a fog of malice. She turned and saw the people inside the store and that was out in the parking were now unconscious on the floor, being her and the general the only two ones standing against the herd of shadows.

"They are on a hunt." Nephrite narrowed his moss-colored eyes and clenched his jaw, cursing himself under his breath for not being more alert. "They were sent here to hunt us down."

"Hunt us..." Makoto whispered and widened her eyes, trying to fight the feeling of desolation at the man's words. She looked up at the partly cloudy sky and closed her eyes, trying to understand her life as the illegitimate daughter of a celestial god and how that has affected her life in this time and era before she even knew her past. Was it the god's wrath for being there? Was it just amusing to them to cause so much damage to innocent people? —she thought. Since this strange enemy began to manifest, it has been swirling in her mind and making her feel threatened by her own nature, making her feel upset about their ways of life and hunger for power.

Makoto felt the normal part of her life was slipping away from her hands as if she was losing control over her decisions, over her life, "I can't..." her voice began to quiver and shook her head with panic, "I can't..." she heard the growls and strange whispers becoming more and more clear and opened her eyes with realization; she was given a second chance to fulfill her duties as the senshi of courage, to protect and fight against any enemy's ambitious desire to control it all but her tremendous desire to lead a normal life as a chef girl on her search for love was still pulling her to the ground, despite her reality.

"Jupiter..." Nephrite called her softly and stood in front of her, he looked down at her and cupped her cheek with his warm hand, "Why are you so afraid?" his deep low voice was like a soothing blanket over her troubled and fragile body. Makoto fought the tears pooling in her eyes and tightened her glossy lips, "I just can't go back to being the always intimidating girl—I just..." she closed her eyes for a moment and opened wide soon after she felt Nephrite's soft caresses on her cheek, "Sweet Jupiter... being different is not a curse, but a blessing." he smiled softly, "I understand how you feel, back then, I too was the lonely child with strange powers-nobody came close to me because of it. People were afraid of me, called me names and thought I was cursed... but it all changed the moment I decided it was enough." he frowned softly while looking deep into her forest green eyes, always so full of passion, always curious. "You want to fulfill your dreams I understand, but, why do you have to choose just one side of you? Why do you have to be just half of who you really are?" Makoto's eyes widened twice their size in realization, "Just... one side?"

"You are strong and valiant—you are a beautiful soldier. You were chosen to live the most incredible life... this is not the end, Jupiter, but a new beginning. You are different, yes, but we all are our own kind, like the stars in the sky," he looked up, "They all have a different sheen, shapes, and forms... they all tell a different story and they all have different missions." He looked down at her and smiled softly, "Embrace who you are and create a better future..." he took a deep breath and traced the line of her jaw with delicacy, "A future where I can be by your side."

"N-Nephrite..." Makoto breathed with surprise. Nephrite could turn any word or any sound into magic with his deep, rich voice. With an elegant chuckle, he tilted his head down, never leaving his eyes off hers, "Is it not too obvious sweet Jupiter? That a man dedicated to the stars has found love in the brightest and most beautiful of them all?"

Makoto could not hold her tears any longer and they slowly rolled down her cheeks; this was the first time a man ever declared such words to her without any doubts or hesitation, without fear or without taking her for granted. In her free time as Kino Makoto, she met people but never really felt understood, she never felt like she belonged, and she always ended up being alone, dealing with her own feelings because she was always too intense, she was always too much of everything. Since the time she lived with her mother back at home at Io Castle, she remembered being the strange girl due to her origins and total abandonment of her father, she was the strange one—the castaway and due to that, she created a tough character and succeeded in becoming a strong senshi but deep down all she wanted was to be understood, valued, and loved. The first time she met Nephrite, there was always a tranquil vibe coming from him and the moment she learned he had a special power, just like she did, she felt like she was not alone in the cosmos—despite his mortality.

"Is it true, what you are saying?" Makoto breathed, still surprised by his words. Nephrite played with the loose strand of hair whirling in the breeze and nodded, "Yes." he tilted his head closer to hers and a spark in his eyes encouraged her to wake up from her weak state, "Jupiter, we are different. You have the power to fight and create a better future, whatever future you want, but you cannot accomplish anything if you still feel isolated and afraid. If you need me, I am here. If you feel you cannot do it alone, lean on me—if you need advice, talk to me. Stop being afraid, there are many people who love you and care for you, it is time to embrace your true nature and let it shine, like the star you are."

"My true nature." Makoto said more secure of herself and looked at the shadows forming in the distance and moving towards them, "My true nature..." she repeated and searched for her rod in her pocket. Nephrite's words felt like a calming rain, washing away all of her fears and doubts, her unusual low self-esteem and self-pity. She had a mission, and that was far from who she had permitted to become over the years and with the same determination she dedicated to protect and serve her princess in this era, she felt her true nature come through again, like a storm ready to fall with force, "I will not let anybody step on me again," her forest green eyes narrowed with anger, "Courage is necessary to survive—" she repeated the words the Amazons taught her when she was in training, the same ones her mother taught her to follow all of her life until she met the lunar princess and joined her fellow soul sisters as the senshi of thunder. "I will not yield anymore!" she raised her rod and called for her hidden power.

"Jupiter Crystal Power—Make Up!"

Nephrite looked up at the sky and smiled with pride when the sky began to bring thick clouds and a mass of thunder and lightning engulfed her with strong ribbons of energy, slowly changing her clothes into her sailor senshi uniform, one, that was very different from what he remembered wearing when he met her. Just like the others, her choker was V-shaped and the center of her front bow was a green five-pointed star. Her shoulder pads were large translucent light green puffs with two patches of green fabric attached to the bottom. Her gloves were longer and reached to her upper arms. Her belt consisted of two ribbons, one green, and one light green, with two long, thin back ribbons, clipped together by a golden five-pointed star. A floral chain with a crystal ball with petals inside nested in the curved of her waist and the back bow of her suit was light green. Her skirt became two-layered as well, with the top layer being a deeper shade of green than the bottom layer that was light green. Her boots were knee-length and white, and each had a green V-shaped border with a five-pointed star at the top. Her tiara gem was replaced by a green five-pointed star and her earrings were also green, five-pointed stars that dangled with every move.

She looked at her electric charged hands and embraced the strong feeling of security and courage within her. Sailor Jupiter looked up and then at Nephrite, who was now dressed in his military grey uniform with deep red lining and smiled at him with deep gratitude. The shitennou looked at the shadows moving closer to them and turned when a larger in size attacked them by surprise; Nephrite drew out his sword and attacked the shadow but moved faster than him and sent a blast of dark energy at the couple. Jupiter frowned and noticed they were now surrounded, "I am the Soldier of Thunder and Courage and I will make you feel so much regret it will leave you numb!" she said dryly and extended her arms, summoning to her power, not wasting any time to attack, this felt right and it felt intense—her duty, her force, her life. "Flower hurricane!"

The petals of a crystal orb hanging from her floral chain began to unwind a strong force around them, stopping the deadly creatures to move any closer to them. Nephrite closed his eyes and called for his celestial power, concentrating his energy on his hands and crossed his arms together, multiple balls of light orbited in circles around him then turned to Jupiter to join forces and smiled at her confidently, Sailor Jupiter returned the smile and nodded, then brought her hands together and summoned for her own energy, "My Guardian Jupiter! Bring on the clouds! Let the storm rage on! Let the lightning strike!" A bolt of thunder roared through the skies down to her, surrounding her in veins of lighting "Supreme Thunder!"

Nephrite frowned and did a similar movement with his arms open and threw his own energy "Cantico Luce Stellarum!" Both bolts of massive energy targeted each dark creature turning them into pools of tar on the ground. Jupiter turned wide-eyed at the general and blushed, Nephrite smiled and clicked his tongue "See? We are much better this way."

Sailor Jupiter blinked startled and felt like if a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders, she felt free and with no need to keep her powers a secret. Smiling, she nodded at him and wished to continue their conversation but soon her communicator interrupted them with Rei at the other end, "Rei-chan!"

"Mako-chan, we are under attack—I cannot reach the Princess or Prince, Venus and Kunzite are heading over their place. I already spoke to Mercury, she is meeting us at the tower to plan a strategy and see who's behind this! I am on my way too—Jadeite, Luna, Artemis, and Megumi-san are with me."

Jupiter turned to Nephrite and widened her eyes, "What do you mean you can't contact either Usagi or Mamoru?!"

"The call does not go through—it gets cut. None of their communicators are working."

Nephrite frowned and turned to where the shadows were melted into pools of tar, "It will not be long before they rise again," he looked up, "The stars are being aggressive—we need to get to that tower!"

"Rei, we were attacked by the shadows again... I am with Nephrite, we are on our way to the tower!" Makoto said and ran behind Nephrite, "Please let me know if Venus locates the Prince and Princess!"

"I will—out."

Nephrite threw another blast of light at the shadows blocking their way and frowned, "The energy is too strong, too dense..." Jupiter jumped a pool of tar and continued running next to Nephrite, "I am worried about them..."

"Endymion is not going to let anything happen to Princess Serenity," Nephrite threw another blast at another shadow coming their way, clearing the path before them, "He has been suppressing his power—I do not think it will be for too long now." Jupiter widened her emerald eyes and turned to look at him, "What do you mean?" Nephrite stopped and looked at the tower in the distance and frowned, "It means you will finally see why the gods curse his existence."

O—o—o—o—O

Minutes before the blackout happened, Akira was walking through the streets of Tokyo in a hurry, trying to locate the others involved in the exhibition to let them know of what was happening when she decided to enter a small café to buy herself something to drink to calm her nerves and steal an internet signal to try to contact Toshi, who at this point, was the most involved in her beliefs of all this discovery was part of a mythical treasure. She looked down and typed with urgency where to meet but her phone's battery soon died along with the rest of the energy all over the city. She turned around and widened her eyes when she saw all the people inside the small room were falling unconscious on the floor, one by one. "No..." she breathed in horror, already knowing who was causing this. She began feeling heavy and lose all control over her body; it felt as if she was being pushed to the ground and there was no way for her to even move a finger, "W-What..." she mumbled while trying to look up but her vision was now being compromised by the energy clouding her mind and reason "I—I can't..." she tried to look up when she saw shadows moving across the large windows, growling and spreading malicious energy. "I—I have to get... out... of... here..." Akira mumbled and looked at the medal she still had in her hand and armed herself with valor and the remains of strength still in her body to drag herself to the counter to try to push herself back up when she saw a beam of bright light piercing through the shadows crawling and stealing energy from the people on the ground. Her eyes widened in shock when she looked out the large window and saw a woman in a strange but beautiful sailor suit in gold and orange walking next to a man wearing a military uniform and a long cape flowing on his back.

"They must be close—I can feel it." Kunzite said in a deep, authoritative voice. Sailor Venus stopped and looked up at the tower in the distance and frowned, "I can't see anything but the energy coming from it is too strong." Kunzite frowned and turned at more shadows coming their way and extended his arm at them and prepared another energy attack, "They keep multiplying..."

"Mercury Aqua Mist!"

Both soldiers turned to Mercury running alongside Zoisite and Mars with Jadeite. The senshi of fire used her flame powers again and formed a circle of sacred fire around her "Burning Mandala!" clearing the path for them.

"Mercury! Mars!" Venus said when she saw her them wearing their uniform, she could not help the feeling of nostalgia when seeing them using their powers, whom just like her they were rediscovering. The senshi of passion and intelligence looked at their leader with a knowing smile, "I suppose the world is not ready to let us go," Mars said softly while shrugging a shoulder and crossing her arms with characteristic charm and elegance. Venus smiled at her, "I guess not."

Mercury pressed her earring to let her vision goggles cover her eyes to study the tower that was still several blocks away, "I cannot see anybody in the structure but it is clear that there is a strong fog surrounding the tower, that is where the malicious energy is pouring in, it is a dimensional gate to this world."

"A dimensional gate," Kunzite frowned and turned to Zoisite and Jadeite, "Where is Nephrite?"

"He was with Jupiter before all this dimensional thing happened." Jadeite sighed and crossed his arms, "How are we supposed to close a gate like that?"

"We need to surpass the energy that was used to open it." Mercury said softly, Jadeite arched his brow "Alright, so—" he turned to the senshi in blue, "Can we do that?"

"I am trying to find a crossing point but it's still unclear." Mercury continued looking at the goth and eerie image before them as she typed in her small computer, "This is something we have never encountered before, it is different, it does not match the Tao System or the Cauldron of Stars in any way" To this comparison, Mars frowned with worry, "This malicious energy is spreading quickly—" she turned to Venus and Kunzite, "Were you able to locate Usagi and Mamoru?"

Sailor Venus shook her head, "Azabu is highly contaminated, it is practically impossible to cross to that side of the district. There is no signal and Kunzite can't make contact with Mamoru either,"

"They found them, that is clear," Kunzite muttered, "The only reason they would invade this area is because they followed their trail but I highly doubt they caught them." he turned to Zoisite, "I will need you to use your powers to purify the area, we need to cross." The blonde nodded, and motioned his head to the tower in the distance, "And what about that?"

"We cannot go any closer with this wall of energy blocking our way," Kunzite muttered dryly and peered to one side of the street, "The shadows keep multiplying, no matter how much we fight them."

"But it is the only way to get close to that tower." Venus said and turned to Kunzite, "Even if it is only for a brief moment before they rise again, we need to get there as—" the sound of clapping distracted all six soldiers and turned to find a man standing on a light pole, looking down at them with amusement, Venus narrowed her blue eyes when recognizing the sound of his dry laughter, "You..."

"As always, Sailor Venus—your keen sense of logic is astonishing."

Megumi soon joined the soldiers and saw the blonde general making contact with the senshi and shittenou, her lips parted but no words could come out, his presence only meant that he was still on his quest of gathering the sacred blade. Athamas arched his brow and crossed his arms, "I see, so you all survived... even the felines."

Artemis looked up and widened his green eyes when a memory flash came to his mind about the man standing before them, "Athamas..." Luna widened her eyes "It's true then..."

"Oh? You do remember me, Mauian advisor..." Athamas said in a monotone voice, his eyes looked at him with no emotion "Look at you, all primitive—is that all your Majestic Queen could do for you?"

"Alright, enough with this nonsense..." Jadeite narrowed his grey eyes and turned to Mars with a finger pointing at the andromedian, "Who the hell is this?!" Mars frowned, "That, is the previous Commander of the Lunar Army—Athamas of Andromeda."

Athamas quirked a brow and tilted his head, "Previous?"

"Did you really expect to keep your title after all the atrocious things you did?" Mars took a step closer and stood next to Venus, "You committed treason and brought disgrace to the Alliance and the Silver Millennium—you brought disgrace with your ambitious antics,"

"Do not blame me for that." Athamas frowned, "Your idealistic Princess did that herself—she is the one that brought disgrace to her Kingdom with her childish behavior." his eyes narrowed; Mars shook her head, "That is not true..."

"No? Was not she breaking taboos by crossing realms? Did she not meet with the mortal more than once right under your watch? Have you forgotten, Sailor Senshi?"

"You are a bastard." Mars muttered with anger, Athamas chuckled, "And you still have that mouth full of nonsense—you did not learn anything from your Father, well, not that there was much to learn from him." Mars crossed her arms and let out a soft chuckle, "Well, clearly you never became a Polemarchos because otherwise, you would have learned a thing or two."

"Try me, Sailor Senshi." Athamas arched his brow. Artemis frowned and turned at Megumi, "Megumi, you need to find a place to hide..."

"You are not going anywhere! Nobody is going anywhere!" Athamas growled, "The mortal has yet something that belongs to me!" he raised his hand, Megumi widened her eyes and shook her head "No—" loud growling echoed around the six soldiers and Megumi holding the two cats, "Megumi... you need to find a place to hide!" Artemis said when he saw Athamas' hand began to glow calling for more dark soldiers.

"At this rate, we will never get to that damn tower... I do not have the time or patience to keep listening to this pedantic character." Kunzite muttered under his breath and drew out his sword, he turned to Jadeite and Zoisite and gave them a knowing smile, "Here is for the old times." Jadeite smiled widely, "Nephrite will miss all the fun, then."

"That will be his loss." Zoisite followed Kunzite's command and drew out his sword and dashed after the shadows coming towards them, clearing the path for the senshi to get to the tower. The white-haired general turned to his lover and gave her a secure nod, letting her know they were going to take care from there on, "Go."

Venus nodded and turned to Athamas, "I am getting tired of you existing." she turned and frowned at Athamas, she wrapped her chain around her hand and called for its power, "Venus—" the golden chain on her waist began glowing a golden color and started to move on its own, curling around the senshi's arm and ready to follow her command, "—Love me chain!"

The now amber colored chain went to blast the shadows in front of them giving the shitennou the advantage to attack and open the path for them. Athamas's brows knitted together when noticed the man who he had never seen before in the past but clearly had impressive battling skills; Kunzite charged his quartz blade until it began to gleam with a pale pink color and threw three strong blasts at the shadows making them splatter like dark paint on the ground. His fighting and strategic skills were similar to the ones of the terran prince being the closest to match his agility and strength, unlike the other three shitennou, who had a longer range of attack, Kunzite and Endymion were more to go straight up to their target and finish it with lesser blows. The way they organized and planned their attacks made them stand out from the rest of the army back in the day due to their balanced and studied strategy when facing an enemy and it was clear it was their strongest points when in battle.

The three shitennou divided and each of them began fighting a quadrant of dark enemies at full speed surprising the senshi who were running their way through; Mercury being the most surprised to see the always so calm and silent Zoisite slash bodies one after another with his crystal blade. The blonde flipped back to avoid a blow from one of the shadows and extended his hand at it and summoned for his given power, a jade green energy that soon turned into a shower of blades of crystal, piercing the bodies and leaving large pools of dark matter on the ground.

Jadeite, being the jokester of the four generals, he reflected his always chill and playful character into his way of fighting. He was good at coming up with quick strategies and he preferred to attack from the outside and slowly make his way in to cut the root of the problem. Mars looked at him and came to the conclusion that it was like watching him peel an onion, he took care of every layer until he reached the center and took care of the source. Of the four shitennou, Jadeite was probably the one that took longer to accomplish his task but there was no doubt that his knowledge matched the ones of his fellow comrades and that when given a mission, he would deliver as expected.

Athamas growled with anger for underestimating the unknown soldiers and he raised his arm again to call for more shadows when spotted Megumi running with the two cat advisors in her arms. She clearly knew that as powerless as she was, the only way she could help the senshi and shitennou in battle was to stay out of any danger, if possible. "I can see a door open," Luna said softly as looked behind, "Quick Megumi! Jump in!"

"You are not going anywhere!" Athamas blasted a ball of energy at them but it was soon blocked by a wave of thunder, dissolving his attack and making it explode between the maid and the man standing on a light pole. Megumi widened her eyes and turned to find Sailor Jupiter running towards them with Nephrite walking next to her, "Megumi-san!" she called out and took a deep breath when she saw the mauian cats securely tucked on the girl's arms, "Are you are alright?!"

"Yes," Artemis frowned, "Jupiter, Athamas is controlling the shadows, the Shitennou are clearing the way so the girls can go straight to the tower." Jupiter looked up and frowned, "So he appeared again."

"He is stronger than the last time—be careful," Artemis said dryly, Nephrite narrowed his moss-colored eyes and ran to join his fellow shitennou in battle. Drawing his sword, he summoned for his power and used it to blind the enemy to walk through easily and then used it to cut through the dark mass of shadows. Jadeite turned and frowned, "Oi! Where the hell have you been?!"

"Long story," Nephrite muttered and slashed another dark entity and turned to shot another blast of energy at another group of demon-like entities. "They will not cease, as much as we fight them—they will keep re-spawning."

"That bastard over there is in control but we cannot go straight to him because we have to clear the way for the Senshi—at least one of us has to make it to that damn tower!" Jadeite frowned; Kunzite's attention was caught by Jadeite's voice and turned, "Nephrite!" he turned, kicked and slashed another demonic creature out of their way, "Have you been able to contact Endymion?!"

"No—" Nephrite mimicked his leader's battle tactics and frowned, "I cannot even read the sky—there is no clear path."

"This is going out of our control, it does not matter how much the Senshi use their powers or we cut an endless number of heads—they keep coming back." Jadeite ducked, turned, and kicked another creature out of the way. Just as frustrated as the shitennou, the senshi were doing their own labor in fighting the crowd of shadows with Venus on the lead wiping and slashing the enemies with her golden chain, "At this rate, we will never going to make it!" Venus said frustrated, Mercury summoned her powers and blasted another curtain of ice fog, freezing the shadows and making the crumble like pieces of glass, then turned at Athamas and pursed her lips, "He is not the one in control—somebody else is. His power is lent and we need to distract him so he can lose concentration!"

"Leave it to me!"

All four girls turned to a very excited and re-energized Jupiter who was cracking her knuckles and already calling for her power once again, "I have been wanting to smudge that stupid smirk off his face— "My Guardian Jupiter, let the storm rage on, bring on the clouds, let the lightning strike—" a loud roar broke the skies, clearing it from the dark clouds giving way to what looked like hundreds of strips of lighting wrapping themselves between her fingers. "Sparkling Wide—Pressure!" she threw the powerful blast at Athamas taking him by surprise, "Agh! Damn it!" he growled and tried to keep balanced on his post, Mars took notice and ran towards the man and summoned for her powers too, her hand tracing a perfect circle before her and threw several balls of fire, "Burning Mandala!"

Athamas turned and gritted his teeth as he tried to avoid the balls of fire thrown at him. He landed and counter-attacked her with his own power, causing another big and loud explosion between them. The andromedian general turned and did the same with Jupiter, blocking her much violent attack but much to his surprise, the control he had over the shadows was soon lost, giving them the perfect opportunity to run. Venus stopped and turned, "Wait no—Megumi-san!"

"I will go after her!" Kunzite frowned, Athamas frowned and blasted more energy at the general "Nobody is going after anyone! The mortal is mine!" he widened his corrupted eyes and looked around, "The... mortal..."

O—o—O

Inside the café, Megumi turned and petrified when saw all the people lay limp and unconscious on the ground. Artemis and Luna jumped from her arms, being the white advisor to break the awkward silence, "There is nothing else for us to do but to wait here—"

Megumi sighed and brought her hands together to pray and closed her eyes, "This is all so familiar, it is like I have gone back to Elysion, two thousand years ago..." Luna turned to the young woman and shook her head, "What do you mean?"

Megumi opened her eyes slowly and leaned on a wall, still able to look at the senshi and shitennou fighting the general and shadows in the distance, "This is what happened—this is why my Prince went to war all those years back." She turned to Luna and shook her head, feeling heavy with emotion, "People were disappearing, they were dying and brutally murdered and they turned into the shadows we are witnessing now. It was him, the man in silver—the one that infected our once peaceful land and he is doing it again. He was the culprit my Prince was so desperately trying to locate and defeat."

Artemis felt a tug in his chest and frowned when remembered how the lunar princess constantly argued with the queen about how Athamas was plotting something on the side and they could not find anything—he was not covering his tracks, he was just attacking a planet he knew nobody would go to look after. His ticket to becoming king and polemarchos was to kill Prince Endymion due to the myth created around him and his family since Chaos went against his own divine kind and Gaia left the immortal realm. Secretly, the mortal prince had become a target for the gods, a toy to keep them entertained and make them feel in control of something they were perfectly aware they could not keep forever. Despite knowing the Ares's story about why Helios's dynasty was thrown into exile became clearer with all that was happening now; the legends, the stories, the myths—the constantly twisted secrets and Queen Serenity's silent torment. Athamas knew about all this and ever since the day he stepped foot on the moon palace he had a mission in mind—how did he know about the Imperial Silver Crystal? And how did he know about the mortal prince? For soldiers or anyone part of an olympian army, the knowledge of a descendant from one of the first titans to ever lead a divine army and that served as strategist and political advisor to whom were known as 'The first Twelve'—Mnemosyne, Thetys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea, Themis, Oceanus, Hyperion, Coeus, Crius, Lapetus and the one and only Chronos was a well-kept secret only known by those who served to royalty, like he did.

His whole career as advisor was inspired by the legends of the titans, and he heard the one from the titan of the sun—the one who he knew have given life to Earth with its power and, who, after the turmoil created by the birth of Chaos, he blessed Gaia with her mystical and motherly powers to nurture the planet and make it prosper like the land of dreams he always wanted to achieve. True, if it wasn't for Chaos, Earth would not have had Gaia, but it was her enchantment and determination what really made it bloom and prosper and now, all of this, was in Endymion's hands.

The more he thought about it, the more Artemis felt amazed by the rich story behind the Terran Prince's dynasty and the more he admired and respected the strong bond between him and his moon princess. "This is what the Gods were afraid of, it is all so clear now..." Luna turned to look at him, "What?"

Artemis shook his head, "Ever since Princess Serenity began showing signs of disgust towards the Andromedian General I took the liberty to use my position as political advisor and lurk into his past to see if I could find something about him that would give me an alibi to remove him from his position as Army Commander—I could not find anything. If Prince Endymion had not made it to the Moon that night—Athamas would have won this whole battle. He would have become the King of the Moon."

"I—I am not following, Artemis, what are you trying to say?" Luna looked at him confused, Artemis turned to his beloved and let out a soft sigh, "Remember when Queen Serenity tried many times to include Earth back into the Alliance?"

"Yes, but she was constantly demotivated," Luna said in a sad tone, Artemis nodded "The more I think about it, the more convinced I am. Somebody helped the General become an army leader and somehow reach for our Queen—if he was responsible for Elysion's fall, is because he knew about Prince Endymion's nature. He wanted him dead because he knew that would give him the honor of becoming a Polemarchos."

"Elysion's fall was caused by Beryl who joined forces with Metallia—the same happened with the Moon Kingdom."

"Both Kingdoms' falls began the moment Athamas started to take innocent lives..." Artemis said in a dry tone, "Think about it Luna, nobody knew much about Helios' legacy after the war—well, you know how the story goes..." he shook his head, "The High Gods are behind all this—Hades is behind all this, there is no doubt about it, not anymore."

"But then why God Ares helped us? He helped Megumi come here and he is a High God." Luna frowned, "It cannot be."

"In my many meetings with both, Queen Serenity and God Ares they both shared the thought of protecting the Earth—to preserve Goddess' Gaia dynasty. When Beryl went to the Moon, God Ares left in search for Chronos to ask for his help..." Artemis frowned, "After that, I do not remember what happened."

"By the time he returned, everything was rubble and silence."

Both Mauians turned to Megumi, who was looking out the window with teary eyes, "My Prince was dead and the Princess had already taken her life. Your Queen released this beautiful, soothing light that sealed away that malicious energy. Sailor Venus had avenged my Prince's death and killed Lady Beryl..." she shook her head, "There was nothing left, I survived because God Geb and Goddess Nut hid me in a secret chamber inside the Palace—"

A soft moan caught the attention of both cats and Megumi and turned to find Akira struggling to keep herself awake. Megumi widened her eyes and ran to her aid, holding her face up to meet her eyes, "Stay with us... I am not going to do any harm to you..." she said softly, soothing the archaeologist's anxiety. Akira turned to Luna and Artemis and widened her eyes in shock "Y-You can talk..." she looked up at Megumi and shook her head, "I-I heard them... and you, your story..." she turned to Artemis again, "The story of the Gods... it's true, my father's lifelong journey to find the truth about this planet..." her brown eyes widened a size larger, "He is real then, he really told me the truth,"

"Who did?" Megumi frowned, trying to keep Akira awake and steady in her arms, "What truth?"

"He really is related to them—gods." Akira muttered with amazement, "Monarchy of Earth really exists..."

Megumi's eyes looked at her with desperation, "You saw my Prince!" Akira nodded, Artemis took a step closer, "You are the archaeologist—you are the one who found the ruins of the Terran Palace." Megumi looked at Artemis then at the girl in her arms, "You saw him?! Where is he!?"

"I-I don't... I don't know..." Akira took a deep breath, "I just wanted to save Mikael... they found me, those shadows... he saved me from them and disappeared." Megumi turned to both cats and shook her head, "We cannot leave her here for them to find!"

"It will be more dangerous, Athamas will not cease until he kills us all! We cannot expose this poor girl to his wrath!" Artemis raised his voice, then turned to Akira "Yes, we can talk and yes, what he told you is the truth. He is the Crown Prince of the Planet... if you have more information please tell us, it is important to us to know where he is because our Princess is with him—"

"—Princess?" Akira widened her eyes and shook her head, "I-I really don't know where—" she was interrupted by an intense beam of light, followed by another explosion, "Down!" Artemis commanded to Megumi, who laid on top of Akira and Luna protecting them from the shards of glass that flew inside the small business. "W-What was that?" Akira whispered hoarsely, Artemis looked up and jumped to one of the tables and looked outside, "The Sailor Senshi and the Shitennou, they joined their forces to get free from the army of shadows." he turned to Kunzite, who quickly entered the place where they were hiding "Are you alright!?" he looked at the girl in Megumi's eyes and frowned, "You..."

"What happened, General Kunzite?"

"The Andromedian blasted us with another wave of dark matter and managed to escape, we created a barrier and the Senshi attacked from the inside, we need to leave now before they emerge again—we have little time to get closer to the tower." He ran over to Megumi and helped her stand up and carried Akira in his arms, his grey eyes looked around at all the people on the floor, "They are only targeting us for now, but I do not know how much time it will take before they start claiming their lives." he turned to the maid, "Hold the advisors with you and follow me—as soon as you find a place to hide, stay there." Megumi nodded and ran after the leader of the shitennou, "General, where—"

"—I do not know Megumi, I cannot feel his ki or create a mental link with him," he looked over his shoulder, "But I am sure he is doing it in to protect Princess Serenity, I know they are safe," he turned to the tower and narrowed his eyes, "They have to."

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

The Divinity series is an M rated story, intimacy and violence may happen from time to time, so please keep in mind.