Author's Note:

The normal disclaimers here of course and that I'm certainly not doing this for money.

There are a few elements that are exclusive to the manga, as you will read, but those only involve character differences than from the anime, such as the Shitennous' relationship. Also, Mamoru has the Golden Crystal.

If you need to contact me, my email is Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction or something in the subject line so I know what you're emailing me about. And if you're a really nice person (if this pertains to a certain fanfiction that I've done) you might want to put the name of the fanfiction you're referring to somewhere in the email.

All names are like the Japanese say them, last name first. So Kunzite's name would be Kail Rainer in America, but in Japanese it would be said Rainer Kail.

Army of Immortals

Chapter 16: Under A Battle Moon

"You know you can't tell Mom and Dad about this," Kail told her as they sat outside on the porch and watched the stars.

"I know. And I'll cover you if I can," she promised him. She didn't promise him that she wouldn't interfere if she could; she wouldn't allow him to get hurt. That is, she would protect him if she knew where he was going.

He stared at her speculatively, as if he was divining her thoughts. "Tomi, what made you change?"

Her eyes snapped down from the sky she was contemplating, surprised at the question. "What do you mean? What exactly are you asking?"

Kail thought for a moment. "Well…you've had three abortions in the past five months, you come home late at night if you come home at all, and when I finally made it back, you looked dazed and I thought you were on drugs…" He trailed off, watching her with concerned but wary eyes.

Tomi looked away, not at all pleased with how she had been acting. "I had hoped, before I knew the real reason behind your rather erratic behavior, that you wouldn't notice that stuff."

"How could I not notice it? You're my sister," he protested.

"I suppose it started with Dad," she finally said, after a moment of silent self-castigation. "You were having a guy version of a sleepover with your friends so you didn't hear it like the neighbors for four blocks down did. We were yelling fit to be tied."

"Why?"

"He…When I came home that day, he introduced me to a son of his business partner. I didn't really think about it until Dad brought it up again after they had left. He told me that he was thinking about an arranged marriage. Later Mom told me the rest of it, but right then, I was so angry I nearly hit him. I felt that it was an age-old practice that needed to be buried in the backyard. We started yelling after that."

"What did Mom say?"

"Well, she said that he had only thought about it and hadn't planned on going through with it unless I was in total agreement and liked the man. The idea was scrapped after that one night, but it still chafed at me. I fell into a bad crowd, I guess to simply show him up. When he found out, he was furious and I was satisfied. But when I tried to get out of my 'crowd', I found that I was in too deep to just 'leave'. And maybe, just maybe, their ideals, while misguided, appealed to me. I'd always been one of the 'good' girls, doing what their family wanted of them. I guess I wanted to see what the 'bad' girl was."

Kail didn't say anything for a long moment. "I often felt that way when I was younger, but when I remembered who I was and what I was destined to do, I forgot about all that and was simply proud to be what I am."

She laughed, though it felt as if it was forcing itself around an obstruction in her throat. "You sound like a thirty year old! Lighten up!"

But he didn't laugh, only stared at her. Though his words were serious, his gentle voice took any unkindness out of what he said. "Tomi, you don't understand, do you? I'm fighting to save the planet, my prince, and facing death every day. And I'm proud of it. You don't realize the extent of my devotion and determination."

"Oh, I do," she replied unhappily. "That's why I'm making light jokes about it. Because it scares the crap out me, knowing you're out on the front line with no one to back you."

"Not no one—"

"Yeah, you're friends, of no older than you and a girlfriend that looks like she couldn't even snap a twig," she spat harshly, not sure why she was suddenly angry. "Dying for a boy younger than you by an entire year! Good gods, WHY?! Have you ever thought about how I'd feel, knowing you had died?! Yeah, that's backup all right!"

Tomi stood up, rigid with righteous anger on his behalf. "I'm going inside now." She stalked past him and the door slammed behind her.

"I haven't gotten through to you have I, dear sister," she heard him murmur through the open window. "You still don't understand. I just wish you could."

She studied her opponent with a calculating eye, watching to see what move he would make. His blue eyes were shrewd as he thought, taking in every angle of attack and defense. Finally, he decided.

His fur paw slid the checker piece forward two places.

Minako's eyes lit in triumph. She easily jumped and captured his piece, only to realize that she had left herself open for his attack. Within the space of one move, he had taken three of her black pieces and leaving no defense of the back row where he could claim 'king'.

"Artemis!" she whined. "How could you do that to me? The one that feeds you!"

He laughed. "Your move, Minako."

She pouted before seriously contemplating her next move. And she saw the one weakness in his otherwise impenetrable defensive wall. She darted her piece forward with a victorious squeal. "There, you mangy flea-ridden miscreant!"

The white cat frowned at the move and the black opponent set neatly in his red, but out of range of any kind of retaliation. "For one, I am neither mangy nor flea-ridden and for another, take this! Cat power!"

He laughed in sheer delight, knowing he had won. Momentarily distracted by the open of his that she had fallen for, attention away from his dangerous king that had moved in on hers, it jumped her last king and claimed victory over the board.

A knock on the door interrupted her. She had no fear that her parents would find her talking to her cat; they were out at the movies, her treat for their anniversary. Complaining all the while, she got up.

"I know you somehow cheated, Artemis. How can a CAT beat me? I mean—"

Minako threw the door open and promptly forgot what she was saying.

Tomi pushed past her, into her room. "We have to talk about Kail and this Kunzite deal."

Artemis jumped on the low table with the checkerboard set on it, scattering red and black pieces everywhere. "Who are you?"

"I'm his sister!" she snapped at him.

"What do you want to talk about?" Minako asked quietly, her good mood vanishing.

"I want him out of this."

"Out of what?"

She waved her hands uselessly, trying to convey something that Minako didn't understand. "This whole—Earthen Knight deal. I want him out of it."

"Well then you came to the wrong person," quipped Artemis, a trifle angrily.

"Stow it, you talking furball."

"Artemis is right," Minako interrupted. "I'm not the person to talk to about that. I'm the second-in-command of the Sailor Senshi. If you want to make any progress in that area, you'll have to go straight to Mamoru. He's the leader of the Earthen Knights and Kail's commander."

"I already talked to him," she answered sullenly. "He said that if Kail wanted to leave, he would let him. He wasn't holding him against his will."

Minako shrugged, playing innocence for the moment. "So what's the problem?"

"I know Kail and he won't do it!"

"And you want me to do…what?"

"He loves you; you're his girlfriend. You say you love him back. So get him out of this! Convince him to leave."

She let out a slow sigh, one of long suffering patience. Her feet gradually led her to the window, where she stared down at the people on the street. "I do love Kail and that is precisely the reason I haven't done exactly that or just drove off with the Senshi and Knights away from all this. Being an Earthen Knight…that's his choice." The Senshi of Love finally looked at Tomi, whose expression was closed off. "Please try to understand. Kail's role in this goes far deeper than you can know. This has started, his life like this, not a single year ago but a thousand. He knew what he was getting into when he was born as Kunzite. He just never counted on the Silver Millennium being destroyed or having a sister he really loved getting involved in all this. But he can't back out now, he wouldn't back out now. Aside from everything else keeping him as Earthen Knight Kunzite, it isn't in his character to do that. Is it?"

"You're right," she grudgingly admitted. "He wouldn't do that. But damn it, why him?"

"Why is Serenity born as Tsukino Usagi? Why do I feel as close to Usagi as I am with Serenity? Why is Usagi so different from Serenity? Why was I chosen to be Sailor Venus? Why are my friends involved in this? You can ask why of everything, but nearly every 'why' question cannot be answered."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"That 'why' question is probably the only one that can be answered. And the answer is this: Fate."

"I don't believe in fate and all that destiny crap!"

She shrugged again. "Just because you don't believe in doesn't make it imaginary."

"And just because you do doesn't make it real either."

Minako smiled a little. "You're right."

Artemis leapt onto the bed, drawing Tomi's attention. "They did mention two talking cats. I suppose you're the female."

He drew himself up, affronted. "I, for your information, am male!"

Her eyes widened in shock and confusion. "But…but Artemis is a female name! She was the moon goddess in Greek mythology."

"Actually," he responded acidly. "The Roman and Greek cultures sprung up after the downfall of the Silver Millennium. The few people that remembered the Silver Millennium told their stories, but it ended up changing quite a bit. They made the Senshi into goddess' and somehow managed to get a few genders wrong, mine in particular. As the culture progressed, others picked up their 'gods' and 'goddesses' and inevitably changed us even more."

"So you're saying that all the gods like Mars were female? Mercury was female and not male? So where did the names Ares and Hermes come from?" Tomi bonelessly sank to the ground, all her attention on Minako's guardian cat.

"Ares was actually the name of the planet Mars' king. I would guess that most of the Greek names came from the Greeks that remembered the names of the planetary royalty."

"What about Minerva then?"

"I don't know where the lower demi-gods came from. All the major ones that everyone knows, however, such as Hermes/Mercury, Ares/Mars, Zeus/Jupiter, and Aphrodite/Venus, were based on the Senshi."

"But…Okay, they said there wasn't a Sailor Moon in this Silver Millennium right?" Artemis nodded. "And that Venus was the leader of the Senshi right? Well then, how come Zeus or rather Jupiter, is thought to be the king of gods rather than her? And how did they change the genders?"

"I don't know why they said Jupiter was the ruler of the gods," he speculated. "I've thought about this for a while and come to no solid basis for it. It couldn't be that she was second-in-command because she wasn't. Mars was second-in-command back then. As to changing the genders, it probably went by personality. Both Jupiter and Mars, or rather Makoto and Rei, were quite boyish and physically strong, Makoto especially so because the Jovians were the strongest of races. It would be simple to describe the personalities and think that they were more masculine traits and make the supposed deity a male."

"What about Hermes?"

"Mercury or rather Ami, was always good at dealing with travelers and especially merchants. They loved to bargain with her because of her sharp and keen mind. But she was always somewhat timid at meeting strangers and shy, yet very, very fast like quicksilver. From my research, Hermes didn't associate much with the other gods and was extremely quick. Those are the only associations between the two that I can get."

"Oh."

Tomi seemed to realize that she had lost all her overbearing and arrogance. She shot to her feet and straightened her shirt with brusque movements, as if she felt unhinged by her sudden relaxation. "I'm leaving now."

The door slammed shut behind her.

"Does she always do that?" Artemis asked irritably.

"She's not giving up yet."

Her mentor sighed. "I know. She'll keep trying, hoping he'll see the light and give up this 'nonsense'.

"I almost hope she succeeds," Minako murmured.

Mamoru watched Kail covertly every day since Tomi had found out who he was. He could see his friend trying to tell his sister just what being Kunzite all meant, but he was coming up short when it came to understanding. Knowing that she had not only came to him, but also to Minako and Usagi came as quite a shock to the man. He hadn't thought she would go that far in her attempts to convince him to give up the role of protector.

Usagi had told her, quite plainly but gently, that she would not put pressure on him to convince Kail to quit the Earthen Knights. Gods knew that sometimes he wished his friend would leave, just so it would relieve his fears of them being injured or dying. But most times he felt happy just having his friends with him, almost unworthy of their undying devotion to him.

"Have you ever considered what this is doing to me?" Tomi demanded, striding up to him and destroying the pleasant silence in the park. A few of the older men and women, who preferred the quiet, stared at her angrily.

"Please keep your voice down," he asked her sternly. "Our identities must remain a secret, as you well know, but also the silence was quiet enjoyable before it was shattered."

He knew he was being rude, but he had found her following him for the past three days and confronting him about actually ordering Kail to quit the Earthen Knights every chance she got. And ever time, he kept telling her the same thing: it didn't work that way.

"Silence be damned, I want my brother out of this," she hissed, though her voice was low so that only he could hear her.

"Then convince him to leave."

"He won't go; you and I both know it."

"And I can't order him to; you and I both know that too."

"Why not? Aren't you supposed to be this legendary prince of old?"

Her scathing comments grated on him, but he refused to give in to his anger. He also refused to tell anyone about the constant harassment he seemed prone to get from her. He wasn't the least bit surprised at how this turned out; it had been in the back of his mind since he had become Tuxedo Kamen for the first time: he knew that someone of his friends' families would find out and they would demand a release from the position on behalf of their family member.

But right now, knowing that didn't make it any easier to deal with the abrasiveness that Tomi constantly spewed at him.

"Look, I explained this once before, but I'll do it again: Yes, I was a prince of old as you put it, but I'm not now. I was not born a prince in this life. Consequently, I don't have the right to order anyone about, least of all my friends. Even as a prince, I wouldn't have ordered the Shitennou about if I wasn't expected to for the people of my kingdom. And I'm under no illusions, like you seem to be, about what would happen if I did order him to leave."

"And what 'illusion' am I under?"

"The illusion that if I ordered him to stop fighting, he would. Even if, just for the sake of the thing, made the appearance of leaving the Earthen Knights, he would not stop fighting. Every battle he'd find a way to know about and show up. Just because I would have 'officially' announced that I wanted him to leave wouldn't mean that he would follow that."

"Isn't he your protector, your underling?" She put such venom in her voice that he recoiled a bit. "Doesn't he have to do what you say?"

"Yes he is my protector, but we are also friends. A friend does not let one go into a fight without the utmost support, whether it is wished for or not."

Tomi's hand gripped the railing hard. "Know this Chiba Mamoru, previously Prince Endymion: if something happens to my brother, I'm going to be taking it out of your hide first and then this Beryl bitch."

She stomped off, leaving a cold pit where his stomach used to be. He didn't fear her, but he feared what her temper would do. With her strong and intense desire, also much too foolish idea of her own invincibility, to protect her brother, she might actually get him killed.

The only problem was she wasn't realizing this.

End Chapter 8.

I know by the title that some people might have been expecting a battle scene. And I thought about putting one in, but then I realized that I already had at least two. Battles don't necessarily have to be physical. Minako had a small 'battle' with Tomi in her room. And poor Mamoru! He had a nasty one with her right now, not to mention for the past three days. This girl just does not let up, does she?

Thanks to everyone who's reading this and reviewing it. It keeps me on track and writing, knowing people want to read this.

And special thanks to Spirit-hime of Peppermint Storm for being the first website (even before Fanfiction.net) to host this story. Go to her site, the best for any Shitennou (manga) information.

If you read the author's notes, Spirit-hime, this one is special for you: I love your story 'Bleed'! Hurry up and finish Chapter 4 already!

Anyone who hasn't read Bleed needs to as soon as possible. It's the best!