Author's Notes: Forgive me for the time it has taken to complete this. My writer's block reappeared unexpectedly at the beginning of September and then real life intruded. I hope some of you remember what happened before.
She is aware of the carnage surrounding her, and yet she feels nothing. It is not shock that causes her impassiveness. It is not a war weariness that has turned even the most gruesome acts into tedium. It is the feeling of inevitability. This had been fated.
She fights, of course. The inevitableness of death does not mean she should throw down her sword, abandon her duty, forsake her honor. But she is no longer fighting for the Moon Kingdom. Not really, for the Moon Kingdom is destroyed. She can see the fire all around her devouring the great halls and towers of the city. Stones collapse as their supports turn to ash. Flames lick at her heels as she runs. But it does not touch her, for she is still Mars.
Even now amidst all this destruction, she does not hate the fire. Never has it brought her any luck or happiness, and yet it has given her one thing, one bitter hope for which she now fights, and it is more sacred to her even than her beloved princess: To be in his arms again.
The other senshi are not with her. She is not sure if they still fight or if they are gone forever, but she will never see them again. She knows they will die with honor.
She pauses to strike a foe with her sword, then runs onward. But soon she can run no more. There are too many and the space between her and them is closing. They are in the city square, she thinks. Here she and Jaedite had once walked. He had splashed her with water from the fountain.
But the fountain was in ruins. And Jaedite was not there.
He was not there!
She laughs at her enemies, and holds her sword aloft. A cry sounds from her mouth and flames shoot ahead, clearing her path. But it is not enough. There are hundreds waiting to take their places, for she has run to their battle lines.
Only then does the fear creep into her heart that she will be dead before he comes. Has her vision betrayed her? And if it has, was all of this then preventable?
No, her heart answers. I shall not die here.
And she fights. Her battle is hopeless; it is the stuff of legend. If anyone were left to sing of honor and of glory, no song would be greater than Rei's. Her sword is like a thresh in the field, clearing everything and everyone from her path. She is defiant in her struggle.
It is the news of her valiant stand that brings him at last. He has been trying to find her as well, but she was not with the others. He does not truly understand why it is important to find this girl, for what memories are left to him are vague at best, and yet it is somehow vital that he see her.
When he finds her, he does not see her at first. There is a flash of red in a crowd of pressing demons. There is a streak of fire. A whisp of a white uniform, sullied with blood and dirt.
He hates her without knowing why. His hand clutches the grip of his sword. The sword. He grips it tighter, remembering that something about it is important.
Rei notices the flash of him withdrawing it, wonders at the sudden dispersal of the shadow demons. And then.
The clash of steel on steel, blade on blade, is their first exchange in over a year. Rei at last allows herself to feel her exhaustion, knowing the end is so near. She is relieved, in fact. The expression of hatred on his face does not bother her. She only wants it to be over. No more grief or pain or thwarted love. Her arms rise to prepare for a blow, but intentionally she leaves her side open for attack, hoping he will take advantage of this. And he does, of course.
But something happens that she does not expect. He is too slow, and her warrior instincts are too fast. When the impact occurs, it is not her body upon the blade.
Jaedite chokes as her sword slices through his throat, and then he knows no more.
Rei holds his body as he collapses, falls with his weight. She turns him over and cradles him in her arms, but he is gone. It is his blood on her hands, not hers.
This is not what she had seen in the fire. He had not regained his memory. He had not held her as she faded. Where were their gentle words of farewell? Rei wonders if all these images had not been wishful thinking instead of fate.
She is crying now. Sobbing into his golden hair as she rocks him back and forth.
What have I done?
Softly she kisses his head, but she does not close his eyes. Maybe he will wake up. She cannot believe he won't. Her vision cannot have been false. Everything else had come true.everything.
"The fire was wrong, Jaedite," she whispers through tears. "I defied our fate."
But the words are empty now, and it is not a joy to hear them. Rei is suddenly aware that the demons who had scattered at Jaedite's arrival were once again upon her. But no longer does she have any will to fight.
Instead there comes to mind an image of a sword in the fire seen so many years ago.
She does not even bother to take it from his hand before she plunges it into her heart.
One last tear slips down her cheek as she dies. So fate wins after all.