The Other Side of Paradise

Part 14

Author:  Nyneve

Um…meep!  I don't have anything interesting to say!  IT'S A SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE!!!!!!!  I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!!!!!  *dumps water on head*  *deep breaths*  Okay.  I'm all right now.  It's cool.  Um, anyways…my website is almost done!  A big thanks to VOL-chan and Aino-Yuy for giving me a reason to work on it!  The Kiosk at the Crossing Places should be open soon!  Anyways…don't own the anime.  Byers people!

-Nyneve

************************************************************************

Hecate's temple was dark.  The torches along the tortuous passages were long since dead, and a cave-in at the front prevented any daylight from entering.  But somehow, within the darkness, an even darker shape materialized.

It was some sort of phantom, resembling nothing more than a large wisp of ebony smoke.  It moved down the passages surely and steadily, as if it had a mind of it's own, and was set on reaching its destination.  Silently, it entered the chamber with the large pool of water.  A spine-tingling, disembodied laughter started to echo around the chamber.

Suddenly, fires rose up in the corners of the chamber, sending a bright light everywhere.  It revealed the true shape of the phantom, a multi-headed, claw-bearing, blood-covered monster, laughing hysterically.  It was currently studying tender images of the Senshi and Gundam pilots.

"Stupid mortals!  Their emotions will betray them to their deaths.  And yet," the monster looked up from the water.  "They make it so much easier to torture them too."

"But first," the monster looked into the water again.  "Show me my son, Janus."

The images on the water shimmered and changed to show a young boy and two girls playing video games.

"You're going down, Janus!" the pink-haired one cried.

"In your dreams, Princess," the boy shot back with a mocking tone.

The pink haired girl screeched and blew up the boy's character, then proceeded to giggle triumphantly.

However, the monster screeched too.  "HOW DARE HE!!!!  THAT BASTARD!!!!  THAT TRAITOR!!!!  JANUS!!!  WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!?!?"

The monster splashed the water, shattering the image.  "So then, I am alone to finish my mission.  But not for long.  They will pay.  They will all pay for what has been done to me."

With that, the monster transformed into a beautiful, but deadly familiar woman.  Hecate herself.

"If I am to get anywhere close to the palace, I have to destroy the Senshi.  Lucky for me, five of them aren't even in this dimension.  All that must be done now is to make sure they never come back."

She smiled to herself, then closed her eyes and turned her face to the ceiling.  Taking a deep breath, she called out to someone or something.  "Night.  I command you to return to your mistress.  Lady Hecate is in need of your assistance."

Immediately, another woman appeared in the chamber.  She appeared around the same age as the human Hecate, but she didn't appear completely human.  Her hair was dark green and stringy, falling to her mid back.  She was dressed in bloodstained black armor, and her skin was sickeningly grayish.  Her hard eyes were dark red.

The woman, Night, fell to her knees in adoration in front of Hecate.  "My Lady, I thank thee for raising me from death.  Your goodness, your light, your power is awe-inspiring…"

"Night.  Be quiet and stand up already.  I don't have a lot of time!" Hecate snapped.  Night did as she was told.  "Now then, I've brought you back in order for you to do a job.  Oh wait a minute.  Better tell the others."

Hecate again closed her eyes and looked up.  "Nemesis.  Megaera.  Alecto.  Tisiphone.  Join your mother and your Lady Hecate."

At once, four other women materialized.  They appeared younger than Night and Hecate, but no less threatening. 

The one called Nemesis was tall, with blond and black hair in a high ponytail.  She wore no armor like her mother or sisters, but instead dressed in a green midriff top and a long skirt.  Most terrifying were her arms, which were not arms at all, but a pair of maces hanging from her biceps.

Megaera, Alecto, and Tisiphone were obviously identical triplets.  They all had dark red hair, glittery black eyes, and wore short red dresses.  However, they all had different armor and weapons.  Megaera's armor was bloody crimson, and she wielded a flaming spear.  Alectos's armor was cold blue, and she had a sword with an icy blade.  Tisiphone's armor was gold, and she was equipped with a bow and a quiver of arrows.

The girls looked as though they were about to start fawning over Hecate, when she held up and hand and shot them a threatening look.

"Welcome, daughters of Night.  I have gathered you all here for a mission.  I'm sure you remember those who so easily defeated you?" she asked.

Night and her daughters blushed slightly, and nodded.

"You should know that it is your fault they're alive. But," she paused, and her eyes narrowed.  "I'm willing enough to give you a second chance."

They threw themselves on her.  Cries of "Oh my Lady" and "We are not worthy" echoed throughout the cavern. 

Snarling, Hecate shoved them off.  "Stop!"

They did.

"I will send each one of you to kill each pair of lovers.  They are no longer in this world and with them out of the way, I will be free to attack the Crystal Palace and get revenge on Serenity and my son.  But above all, remember this:  the Senshi must not return to Crystal Tokyo," she ordered.

The women bowed to her.  However, Night spoke up. 

"My Lady, we do not have enough power to kill them if we are separated.  If we could work together and destroy them one at a time…"

"WE DO NOT HAVE THAT SORT OF TIME, NIGHT!!!" Hecate bellowed.  But as Night cowered before her, she looked thoughtful.

"But you are right, about not being able to destroy them.  Very well, I will grant each one of you a power of mine.  Something you can in turn bestow on them," she replied, then grabbed Alecto's wrist.

"Give this to Deathscythe and Mercury:  Hopelessness," she let go and immediately took hold of Megaera.

"For Sandrock and Mars:  Distrust," shoving her aside, she seized Tisiphone.

"You will bestow unto Wing Zero and Venus:  Doubt," Hecate took careful caution in taking Nemesis by the shoulder.

"The blessing for Altron and Jupiter:  Anger," finally, she held Night by both hands.

"And for my dear friend Pluto and her lover, Heavyarms:  Pain," she finished, then stepped back.

No apparent change had come over Hecate's minions other than their confident looks.

"Thank you, Lady Hecate," the five women chorused.

"You're welcome.  Now begone!  I have more important matters to attend to," she ordered, walking out of the chamber.

************************************************************************

"Well?" Duo asked as he and Amy walked back toward the area where they would meet the others.

"Well what?" Amy replied.

"What do you think of Hilde?" he pressed on.  Amy smiled.

"She's wonderful Duo.  I wish we could've spent more time with her.  I don't think I've ever met a nicer, more energetic…" she paused when she noticed his indignant look.  Giggling, she kissed his cheek.  "Except you, of course."

"Thank you!" he grinned, putting his arm around her.

The wind started to pick up, and within minutes, it was snowing.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Duo asked, looking up at the sky.  However, when he did, a large, cold snowflake fell into his eye [AN:  Hey!  It happened to me once!].

Amy shook her head and told him to hold still as she brushed it away from his indigo eyes.  When she moved her hand, he hugged her.

"My hero!  Dr. Amy, Medicine Woman.  I…hey look!" he cried suddenly, pointing at the people on the street.  They had all stopped moving and were turning slightly blue.  They all looked asleep.

"What the…mass hypothermia?  But how…" Amy was cut off by a small sliver of ice slicing into her face.  She cried out in pain and put her hand to her cheek to hold back the warm, sticky blood.

"She won't be so pretty now, hm Deathscythe?  That's sure to leave a scar," a frighteningly familiar voice commented.

Duo and Ami looked up in shock to see none other than Alecto.  Snarling, Duo stepped in front of Ami and pulled out a gun.  "What are you doing here?  You're dead."

Alecto rolled her eyes.  "Oh yes.  Being dead would certainly explain how I froze all those people, and how I happen to be standing here in front of you."

"What do you want, Alecto?  He doesn't have the Thanatos anymore!  And there's no way you're getting my Bios!" Amy yelled.

She laughed.  "Foolish girl.  You should know what I want, Mercury.  I want revenge!"

Alecto raised her hands and spun around.  "Let's play a game, shall we?" she suggested, pausing to pull out her sword.  She lunged for the couple, who leapt away from each other.

Alecto smiled.  "Perfect.  Now then, we're going to have a race."  As she spoke a huge, thick wall of crystal clear ice sprang up between Duo and Amy.  As they tried to run around it, it encircled them and began to branch off, forming a large maze.

"First one to the end wins!  Second one loses.  And third one dies," she explained as she spoke to them from behind a wall.  "And watch out.  I decided to put a few surprises in here!"

With that, she took off running away from both of them.

"Damn it!  Amy, can you hear me?  You'd better transform," Duo said.

"Yes," Amy agreed, transforming.  "Oh Duo, are you okay?"

"Cold, but other than that.  Okay.  Don't worry Ames, we'll get out of this.  All we have to do is stay together on either side of the wall, and we'll eventually find our way out.  And you've got your computer, so we're even luckier!"  he said, trying to sound reassuring.  However, he didn't feel as confident as he sounded.

"I suppose…okay, let's see where our paths meet up," Amy said, pulling out her computer.  But as she did, she could hear Alecto's disembodied voice cackling in glee.

"No cheating Sailor Mercury!"  Suddenly, spikes of ice began to spring up from the floor of the maze.  Shrieking, one shot up right in front of her, smashing her computer. 

"Amy!" Duo yelled, pounding on the ice.  "Run!"

The two took off down the narrow passages that were running parallel for what seemed miles.  But then, Duo's path veered off to the left, while Amy's went to the right.

"What now?" She said, looking back.  There weren't any more spikes on her side, but that didn't mean much if the same thing could happen to Duo. 

"Stay here.  I think I see a fork up ahead in my passage.  Part of it goes towards yours.  If you can't see me anymore, yell," he said, touching the ice then turning to walk the other way.

"Be careful!" Amy warned.

But he didn't hear her as he warily walked between (and in some cases into) the walls of ice.  As it turned out, there was no fork up ahead.  Or rather, there was, but a particularly large, particularly thick wall ice wall was in front of it.

"Okay, so maybe that won't work.  Hey Amy!" He called out, turning around.  "Never mind!  It's blocked off!"

But she didn't answer.  Duo scratched his head.  How far away was he?  As he started to walk, it seemed a long ways.  But it had only taken him about ten minutes to get away from Amy.  And now, it was taking him almost a half an hour to get back to her.

"What's with this place?  What did Alecto do?" he wondered, shivering in the growing cold.  "Amy?  Hey Amy!  Where are you?"

He bit his lip when she didn't answer.  What if Alecto had gotten to her?  Or what if she had gotten hypothermia.  Those sailor suits weren't exactly insulating.

As he looked around frantically, a dark feeling began to grow in the back of his mind.  Maybe finding Amy wasn't worth it.  There was no way he was going to get out alive without her.  Even if he found his way out of the maze, there was no doubt Alecto was there waiting to kill him.  Or maybe Amy had gotten out, and been attacked by Alecto…

Meanwhile, Amy was still waiting back where the ice walls veered off from each other.  She shivered in the cold.  It was getting darker, and there was still no sign of Duo.  She had been calling his name for the past twenty minutes, but he didn't respond.  Against her will, tears started to slip from her eyes.

Because she knew Duo was dead.  There was no way he'd be able to handle the cold.  The only reason she could was because she was used to it, ice being her own power.  But she would be able to hold on much longer.  It was getting so cold, and so dark.  The ice walls were everywhere.  She would die in the maze too, either from cold or from Alecto, whose laughter seemed to travel in the biting wind.

"Duo…please come back…please…" she called out hoarsely. 

"It's no use.  He's dead," the wind said.  "I saw him.  Would you like to see?"

"No!  He can't be dead, he can't be!  Duo!" Amy cried again, breaking the frozen teardrops from her cheeks.

"He's dead, and you will be soon too.  And then you'll both suffer in Hell," the wind taunted.

"Shut…UP!" Amy cried suddenly, getting her strength back.  "He's not dead!  He's not!  I'll prove it to you!"

With a new strength, she rose to her feet and ran down the passages, calling out Duo's name over and over again, praying for an answer.  There was never any reply, and the taunts from the wind seemed to grow louder as she ran.

"He's dead, he's dead.  You'll see him soon.  Then you'll die!" it mocked.

Amy didn't bother responding any more.  It was all a trick, some game being played by Alecto.  But nothing was going to keep her from Duo now.

The ice sparkled in the moonlight and cast warped shadows on the ground.  But one shadow wasn't warped.  It was human-shaped, and laying curled up on the ground.

"DUO!" Amy screamed, running to him at the end of the passage.  He was deathly pale, and his lips had turned blue.  "No…no!  Please talk to me Duo!  Wake up!  You have to wake up!"

"He's dead, dead…"

"SHUT UP!" Amy yelled at the wind, rubbing Duo's bare hands with her gloved ones.  She pressed her face to his in hopes of warming it.   When she saw the small clouds of breath issuing from his mouth and nose, she burst into tears of joy.

"You're okay, you're okay…" she murmured, kissing his frozen lips.  She held him close, willing the warmth from her body to travel into his. 

After what seemed like hours, he yawned and opened his eyes.  He smiled weakly and touched her cheek.  "Amy…you're alive," he said, slowly and dreamily.  "The wind said you were dead, and that if I went to sleep I'd be with you…"

"No, no!  Don't go to sleep Duo!  You won't wake up!" she cried, slinging his arm around her shoulders and helping him stand.  "You've already got hypothermia.  We've got to get out of here."

"Yeah, I know.  I'm trying Ames, I'm trying really hard," he yawned.  Amy smiled at him, and how much he resembled a child woken up too early in the morning.

Bearing his weight, Amy managed to keep a calm head and find their way slowly through the maze.  She had to stop twice when she realized Duo had fallen asleep again.  But finally, after hours, they found their way to the end of the maze.

"Well, you two sure took long enough," Alecto commented, materializing next to them.  She took a look at Duo, and shrugged.  "At least the "Hopelessness" curse worked on one of you."

"You mean the little voice on the wind?  That's the best you have, Alecto?" Amy challenged.

Alecto glared.  "You're about to see the best I have, Mercury.  I got out first, so I win.  And since you two came out at the same time, you both lose AND you both die!"

With that, she pulled a sword and lunged at them.  Amy moved out of the way, then stood with her back to one of the ice walls.  Gently, she lay Duo down.

"Give me your gun and don't go to sleep," she ordered.

"I can fight her Amy," he protested.

"Duo, you couldn't fight your way out of a paper bag right now," she remarked, taking his weapon.  She smiled at him.  "Don't worry Duo.  I won't leave.  I'll never leave."

Whipping herself around, she fired at Alecto, who'd just been rolling her eyes and making gagging noises.  The goddess cried out in surprise as the bullet entered her, but made no sign at actually being hurt.

"Shame on you, Mercury.  Don't you remember last time?  The gun-thing didn't work," she commented, going at her with the sword.  But Amy fired again.  And this time, she didn't hit Alecto, but the icy blade itself.  She smiled happily as it shattered into a thousand shards.

"No!  Damn you, Mercury.  Now I'm mad," Alecto threatened, sending a wave of ice towards her.  But now Amy was ready, as she met it with her own.

There was a grating sound of ice shattering as the ice collided with each other, sending shards everywhere.  Amy ducked, shielding the barely-conscious Duo with her body.  She grimaced as a the shards cut her.  But Alecto was the one who got the full attack.

She screamed in pain as the shards dug into her face, arms, and legs.  Blood ran down from the wounds and dripped onto the freshly fallen snow.  Glaring, she vanished and reappeared inches away from them.

"This is not over yet.  Next time, neither of you will come out alive!  That is, if your lover isn't dead already," she smiled wickedly, then disappeared.

Amy whirled around and tried to help Duo up, but he had fallen asleep again.  Trying to stay calm, she whispered his name over and over, and held him close to her. Eventually, he came to.

"I knew you could do it Ames," he smiled, struggling to stand.  However, it seemed to be getting warmer.  The ice and snow were melting, and the ice maze had wholly disappeared.

She blushed profusely and looked away.  Because in the back of her mind, she wasn't quite sure she could defeat Alecto.  But Duo was safe now, and that was all that really mattered.

**************************************************************************************************************************

"Raye?  Are you all right?" Quatre asked as the two sat in the taxi.

"I'm fine," she answered shortly, not looking at him.  Something made her uncomfortable about being in his world.  The bad vibes were practically rattling her bones, and she couldn't help but feel distracted.

"I think…" he paused to turn her face towards him.  "You're lying.  What's wrong?"

"Just a bad feeling.  It'll be fine soon," Raye remarked.  The last thing she wanted to do now was get Quatre worried.

"Well, we should be back to the meeting point in about five minutes anyways," he answered as the cab slowed to stop at a red light.  Yawning slightly, he turned to look out the window.  But when he did, he gasped.

The face of Megaera was occupying his window.

"RAYE!" he cried, as she turned to look.  She bit her lip.

"Stop the car!" but there was no longer anyone driving.  The car suddenly started to move forward.  Soon, it was moving at lightning speeds.  Raye clambered into the drivers seat and tried to take the wheel, but found it was burning hot.   She couldn't hold it.

"Raye, please tell me that wasn't…" Quatre trailed off as Raye nodded.

"However that demon found her way out of hell is beyond me, but we're in her hands now," she murmured.

Quatre reached forward and squeezed her shoulder.  "It'll be okay, Firebird."

Suddenly, the car screeched to a stop.  Or, it would've, had it been on pavement.  But instead, it was surrounded by high sand dunes under a scalding sky.

Warily, Quatre stepped out of the car.  Seeing no one around, he motioned for Raye to follow.  She emerged, fully transformed and holding an ofuda.

"Come on out and fight, Megaera," she snarled, looking around.

"Well, if you insist," a cocky voice commented, as the car transformed into the sneering figure of Megaera.

"What do you want, bitch?" Raye asked, poised for attack.

"Oh, now don't play dumb, Mars.  You know exactly what I want.  You and that bastard Sandrock killed me, so, 'an eye for an eye' I always say.  But do I take you, or him?" Megaera began to circle them dangerously.

"You lay a hand on Raye and…" Quatre began, but then Megaera smiled as two huge snakes rose up from out of the sand and wrapped themselves around the shocked pilot. 

"Quatre!" Raye cried, throwing the ofuda at the snakes, but they had no effect.  She watched in horror as the serpents dragged him beneath the dunes.  "NO!"

Megaera laughed and looked at the spot where Quatre had stood moments before.  "Thank you for volunteering Sandrock!"

Raye screeched and lunged at Megaera, but she was too fast.  Still giggling like a madwoman, she rose up above Raye.  "Tell you what, Mars.  I'll give you fifteen minutes to find your man.  After that, I'll kill him."

With that, she vanished into thin air.

"That bitch!" Raye screamed, then fell to her knees and frantically began digging at the spot where Quatre had been pulled under.  But as her hand moved the first bit of sand, another snake sprang out and bit her.  Eyes watering, she pulled its fangs free from her hand and squeezed the area just behind it's head.  Then to her surprise, it started to speak.

"Want a hint?" it hissed.

"Can I trust you?" she countered.

"Ssssssandrock isssssss not here," it replied.

"Where is he?" Raye asked, squeezing harder.

"Ssssss!  Where all creaturessssss mussssssst go when the sssssssun comesssssss out.  The oasssssssssisssssss…" it hissed.

Narrowing her eyes, she stood up and threw it to the ground.  "If you're lying, I'll send Phobos and Deimos to devour you and your entire family!"

"Yesssssss, Marssssssss," it agreed meekly, then started to disappear into the sand.  But before it could, she grabbed it by the tip of its tail and pulled it free.

"You forgot to tell me the way to the oasis," she remarked.

"Ssssssssilly me.  That way, to the sssssssssssoutheasssssssssssst.  Anything elsssssssssssse?" it hissed.

"No.  But you're still coming with me," she finished.

"Sssssso be it," it responded, wrapping itself around her wrist.

Still muttering, she began to walk.  Sure enough, just over the sand dune lay the oasis.  Running as fast as she could moved toward it, calling Quatre's name.  Then, she froze.

He was sitting beneath a palm tree.  Or rather, laying.  With his head in the lap of the most beautiful woman Raye had ever laid eyes on.  Her chestnut brown curls fell to her mid back, and her green eyes shone with adoration.

"I love you, Quatre," she murmured in her sweet, musical voice.

"I love you too," Quatre replied back.

"Quatre?  What the hell are you doing?" Raye cried incredulously as she walked slowly over. 

He didn't answer, but the woman did.  "Excuse me?  Do I know you?"

Raye eyes flashed as she glared at the woman, then grew soft and pained as she looked at Quatre.  "Quatre?  Can you hear me?"

"Please leave, Raye," he said finally.  "I'm fine here without you."

"How can you…what's the matter with you?" she whispered.

"You heard him.  Go away!" the woman yelled.  Then, the snake coiled around Raye's wrist hissed and sprang to the woman, sinking its fangs into her neck. 

She screamed as Quatre looked up.  But it wasn't Quatre at all.  It was one of the snakes that had dragged the real Quatre underneath the dune.  And the woman was the other.  But now, both snakes were attacking the smaller snake, which was really…

"QUATRE!!!!" Raye screamed, pulling him from the writhing mass of serpents.  Glaring at them, she rose.  "Mars Firebird!  Strike!"

The snakes hissed in agony as the bird consumed them.  Meanwhile, Raye turned to Quatre.  His shirt was torn and bloody from the wounds the snakes' fangs had dealt him.  He smiled weakly up at her.

"That demon almost made me forget who I was.  I'm not a snake, am I?" he asked.

"Of course you're not.  Just hold on a little longer," Raye said, laying him down.  "All right Megaera, game over!  Come out and fight!  Without your cowardly little pets, if you will."

Megaera materialized in front of her.  "Cowardly, hm?  I found them quite effective, especially combined with the "Distrust" curse."

Raye blushed.  She should've realized it was all a trap from the very beginning.

"I really have no need to attack you now.  "An eye for an eye"…" Megaera began, but was cut off by a stream of flame.

"You'll be lucky if you have any eyes by the time I'm done with you!  You can screw with my mind, but when you turn my boyfriend into a snake, that's when I get ticked!" Raye yelled.

"Very well then!  Bring it on, pyro," Megaera challenged, throwing a flaming spear.

Breathing quickly, Raye dodged it, then used her flame sniper to send a shower of fiery arrows at her opponent.  A few managed to burn her, but none hit any vital spots.  It was only after one stray spear managed to lodge itself in Raye's shoulder that she became angry enough to finish Megaera off.

"I will never forgive you for what you did," she hissed, sounding like the snakes.  "Fire Soul!"

The entire oasis erupted in flame as it consumed the screaming Megaera.  "You just wait Mars!  This is not over yet!"

Just then, there was the sound of sirens.  Raye blinked, then realized she was back in the taxi, with Quatre next to her.   Except that he was unconscious, and covered with glass shards, and her shoulder was being burned by the seat in front of her.

Strong hands pulled the two of them out.  "You two all right?" the firefighter asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Raye said, thinking quickly and sending a shower of ofuda at all of the rescue crews.  Luckily, it was snowing hard, and the flames were being smothered by a large clump of snow that had landed on the hood of the car. 

Letting Quatre lean on her, Raye ducked into an alley, trying to figure out the illusion she had just experience.

**************************************************************************************************************************

"Wasn't that fun?" Lita asked as she and Wufei rode down the elevator at the Preventors HQ.

"Kino, the last time I had that much fun was when I found out I'd been resurrected by the goddess of hell," he snapped back.

"Eh? Talking 'bout Hecate?"

"No, I'm talking about Queen Elisabeth."

"Oh yeah, always knew she was a bad one."

"I'm trying to be sarcastic, Kino."

"I'm trying to be annoying, Chang."

Before another fight could break out, lightening streaked through the sky.

"Very funny," Wufei rolled his eyes.

But Lita wasn't laughing.  "That wasn't me." 

"What do you mean it wasn't you?" he looked at her, then back out the clear side of the elevator.

"I don't cause all storms, you know," she pointed out, leaning back.  Suddenly, a sickeningly familiar voice spoke over the intercom.

"Lights out, Altron and Jupiter!"

It was the voice of Nemesis.

But before either of them could say anything, the lights went out and the elevator stopped.

"Wufei!  Look!" Lita pointed out at the city.  The lights were all going out in one huge wave.

"What the hell did she do?  Turn off all the power?"  he asked.

"Exactly, Altron," Nemesis appeared, floating just on the other side of the glass.  "Hope you two aren't afraid of the dark."

"As if.  Is this your plan, Nemesis? Turn off all the lights and freak everyone out?" Lita asked.

"More or less.  Just so you know, this elevator is still fifteen stories off the ground.  It's going to drop in oh…" she paused to transform her arms into two pairs of scissors.  "A half hour."

"Why not just cut it now?" Wufei snapped, assessing her plan.

"Now where would be the fun in that?  I'll just leave you here to think about your impending doom.  Goodbye," she finished, vanishing.

Lita and Wufei stared at each other for a moment, before trying to break open the doors.

"Damn it…" she swore as she wriggled her fingers out of the crack.  It was no use.  The door was seal shut.

"We could try and smash the window, but I don't know how we'd get out that way," Wufei remarked.

"Hey, I know!  I'll blast those doors open with my powers!" Lita said, transforming.

"Are you sure you can concentrate the electricity enough so that we don't electrocute ourselves?" he asked cynically.

She rolled her eyes.  "We'll be fine.  Don't worry.  Jupiter Thunder Crash!"

The bolts of lightening slammed into the silver doors, but then ricocheted backwards to shock the two of them.

" 'We'll be fine'…for God's sake, Kino…" Wufei muttered, standing shakily to his feet.

She stuck her tongue out at him.  "I did that on purpose, you moron.  Just to see if that would happen.  At least now we know not to try and blow the door up."

"A mystery of the universe solved," he snapped.

Lita glared at him.  "What's your problem?  I had to test this, to make sure we had one option completely eliminated!"

"My problem is the fact that I will yet again have to save an idiot from their own stupidity," Wufei countered.

"At least I'm smart enough to realize that we're going to die either way!"

"If we die it's going to be your fault!"

"Like hell it will!"

Without thinking, Lita lunged for him.  But Wufei was ready.  He easily deflected every blow she dealt him, and managed to land quite a few of his own.  Finally, as they stood in opposite corners of the elevator, Lita narrowed her eyes.

"Fine then.  I guess I've got no choice," she powered up a ball of electricity in her left hand.  But just before she was about to unleash it, she froze.  The ball crackled and fizzled, then finally went out.  She closed her eyes and sank to her knees.

"I can't…believe…I almost did that!  Forgive me, Wufei," she murmured.

He walked over to her, realizing what had been going on.  "It's not your fault, Lita.  Nemesis was playing games with your—our—minds."

"Aw, spoil my fun so soon, Altron?  You're no fun.  Oh well.  Have a nice TRIP!  See you next FALL!" Nemesis's voice replied.

Thinking quickly, Lita stood up just as the elevator started to fall.  "Wufei!  Do you have a good sense of timing?"

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"When I say jump, jump!" she ordered, bracing herself and lifting herself up by the rail that went around the elevator.  Wufei, catching on, followed suit.

They came closer and closer to the ground.  Then just as they started to enter the underground bottom of the shaft, Lita yelled.

"JUMP!"

Both of them leapt up as the elevator crashed to a stop below them.  There was a sickening crack as the floor fractured.  When the two landed, they instantly covered their heads as the ceiling collapsed.  Finally, they emerged from the rubble [AN:  Haven't you always wondered what would happen if you were falling down an elevator shaft and at the last moment, you jumped?].

"You all right, Wufei?" Lita asked.

"Yeah, a couple of scratches, but nothing else," he answered as they climbed out of the shaft.  This time, they were able to yank open the door, and found themselves in the basement, face to face with a surprised Nemesis.

"You…lived!  How?" she cried.

"Testing theories of gravity," Lita smirked.

Nemesis scowled.  "Fine, I'll get rid of you two myself.  Or else, I could just have you two get rid of each other for me."

"Forget it.  That trick isn't going to work again," Wufei snapped.

She shrugged.  "Oh well.  Your choice." 

Suddenly, her hand transformed into a blowpipe-like weapon.  Before anyone could stop her, a dart was already buried in Wufei's neck.  Groaning, he collapsed to the ground. 

"Now for the pri—"

There was an electric crackle as a stream of electricity shot towards the goddess.  Within a second, the blowpipe was charred and black.

"That was a dirty trick, Jupiter," Nemesis snarled, transforming her arms into a pair of axes.

"Yours wasn't much better," she countered, then dodged the swinging axes.  Pausing to examine them, she realized what she really needed to get Nemesis to do.

"En Garde!" Lita cried, grabbing a Swiffer Sweeper from the janitors cart nearby.

Rolling her eyes, Nemesis changed her arms into swords and raised them.  Which was exactly what Lita wanted.

"Supreme Thunder Crash!" she called, unleashing the innumerable watts of electricity.  Nemesis's swords/arms attracted the bolts just like a lightening rod.  A second later, the goddess was charred and black.

After a fit of coughing, she glared murderously at Lita.  "This isn't over, Jupiter."  With that, she vanished.

The lights came back on, but Wufei still laid on the ground unconscious.  Lita, realizing what she was going to have to do, groaned and bit her lip as she pulled the dart out of his neck and leaned over him.  A few minutes later, Wufei opened his eyes to find Lita's lips on his neck.

"What…are…you…doing?!?!?!?!" He cried, shoving her away.

She wiped her mouth and glared at him.  "Sucking out the poison!  Duh!"

"Idiot, that doesn't actually work!" he snapped.

"Don't called the person who just saved your ass an idiot!" Lita yelled.

"I'm not!  I'm calling the onna who just tried to give me a hickey an idiot!" he yelled back.

Lita growled.  "That's it.  I'm never saving your life again.  Save it yourself next time."

"Same for you," he muttered, then smiled as soon as her back was turned.

**************************************************************************************************************************

"It's getting dark out," Mina commented as she and Heero walked back into the city.

"Scared?" Heero asked.  His face and voice held no emotion, but somehow she could tell he was teasing her.

"Maybe," she replied, not looking at him. 

He didn't say anything as he slipped his arm around her shoulders.  He didn't have to.

It was true that Heero was finally glad to be able to say he loved Mina.  But now what?  Should he make it a point to tell everyone?  Should he rethink his feelings, again?  Should he just revel in her presence?

"You're tired, aren't you?" Mina said, interrupting his thoughts.

"A little," Heero admitted.  "It's been a long day."

And finally getting over that last block couldn't have made it any easier Mina thought.  She was happy that he said he loved her, but she wasn't ecstatic, like she thought she would be.  No, instead she felt content.  Everything was right.  Perfectly right.

"Is it, Venus?" whispered a voice inside Mina's head.  She screamed when she recognized it, and saw the owner stepping out from behind a building.

Heero snarled and pulled his gun when he saw Tisiphone.  "What did you do to her?"

"Just poked around inside her feeble mind.  Nothing much," she smiled, putting an arrow to her bow and pointing it at Mina.  "Now, I have her paralyzed.  You fire at me, and I'll fire at her.  Put the gun down."

Glaring, he dropped his weapon.  "Let her go."

"Sorry, I'm afraid I can't do that.  I'm here to get revenge on you two, starting with her!"

As she spoke, Mina suddenly screamed again and crumpled to the ground.  Heero tried to run to her, but found that Tisiphone's presence was in his mind too.  He couldn't move.

"Mina…" he managed to choke out as he watched her.

"Would you like to see what I'm showing her?  You should recognize it," Tisiphone smiled as ghostly images appeared in front of him.

He would've gasped when he recognized them.  Because it was him, carrying out his missions with his Gundam.  At the same moment, Mina was watching him.  Watching him destroy bases, kill innocent soldiers only following orders, and letting it all pass without so much as a flinch.  Heero, the man she loved, was a killing machine.

She fell backwards as the images cleared.  Panting she stared up at the stars.  Was everything she saw real?

"Yes, everything," Tisiphone whispered.  "I may be evil, but I never lie."

"It was a long time ago…" Mina said aloud, forgetting that the real Heero was standing only a few feet away.

"But he's still a killer.  How could you ever love a bloodthirsty monster like him?" Tisiphone asked.  "He doesn't really love you, you know.  He can't.  He has no heart."

"You don't either," Mina hissed.

"To be honest, I do.  It's been broken many times, but I'm not heartless.  But he is, Venus.  He'll hurt you too."

"He'd never hurt me."

"He would, Venus.  Haven't you felt it?  You're subconsciously killing him with your suffocating emotions.  He hates it.  He'll kill you."

"NO!" Mina cried, getting to your feet.  She was shaking as she glared at Tisiphone.  "You'd never understand love, because no one loves you!  And I will not let you play with him that way either!"

She transformed, then stood next to Heero.  Gently, she touched his shoulder.  As she did, he felt all of Tisiphone's presence disappear from his mind.

"His will's too strong for the "Doubt" curse anyways.  I was just going to make him throw himself off a building, or something like that," the goddess remarked.  "But target practice is more fun anyways."

With that, she unleashed an arrow.  It missed both of them as they jumped aside.  Simultaneously, Heero fired his gun as Mina unleashed a Love Chain.

Tisiphone screamed in pain, then set her jaw and darted behind Heero.  Dropping her bow, she took hold of his head and forced her will into him. 

He blinked and his eyes glazed over as he began to shoot at Mina.  But after she took shelter behind a parked car, he turned the gun towards his head.

"NO!" Mina screamed, shooting a crescent beam a second before he pulled the trigger.  The beam knocked the gun to the side, causing the bullet to graze the side of his head and lodge itself in Tisiphone's wrist.  The goddess dropped the unconscious young man, and reached for her bow, but it was too late.  A shower of crescent beams was raining down on her.

"You'll be sorry!" she screeched before disappearing.

Mina scrambled to Heero, trying to wake him up.  "Come on, Heero!  Open your eyes!" she cried, praying that the bullet hadn't actually made contact, and that all of Tisiphone's presence was gone.

After what seemed like hours, he stirred.  Sighing in relief, Mina hugged him tightly.  "You're okay!"

"Yeah…" he trailed off, overwhelmed with guilt and shame.  Everything that Mina saw was true, and now she would never take him back.

"Heero?  What's wrong?" she asked quickly as he stood up silently and turned away.

"You shouldn't be wasting your time with me, Mina.  You're a beautiful girl with an amazing heart and soul.  You deserve someone better," he murmured, closing his eyes.  But when he opened them, he saw Mina standing in front of him.

"How can you say that Heero?" she asked.  "If you mean what you say, than "someone better" should be someone I love with all my heart.  And that someone would be you."

"Mina…" he began.

"Shut up and let's go," she cut him off with a brief kiss, then took his hand and led him away.

**************************************************************************************************************************

"You miss her, don't you?" Trista asked Trowa as they headed back towards the meeting point.

"Who, Catherine?  Yes," he answered quietly.

"She's missed you as well.  Are you sure you don't want to stay?" she asked.

There was no answer.  But Trowa didn't move from her side, or falter in his step.  He wasn't going anywhere.

Trista didn't ask him again, but she felt so guilty.  Trowa was far better loved than he thought, and she couldn't help but feel that by taking away from Catherine, the only person who could've loved him as much as she did, she was hurting him.

"Stop blaming yourself.  It's not your fault," he said, glancing sideways at her.

"I'm sorry.  I can't help it.  I don't want you to be sad," she answered.

He almost smiled at that.  How ironic that while he was doing everything he could to protect Trista from her overwhelming sadness, she was trying to heal his minor worries.  Shaking his head, he took her hand and kissed her palm gently.

"Something wrong?" Trista asked, confused.

"No.  Nothing," he replied.

"For now," added a mocking voice. 

The couple looked up to see Night herself descending in front of them. 

"Night…" Trista's eyes grew hard and cold as she felt Trowa's grip on her hand tighten.

"So you do remember me then, hm Pluto?" Night smiled.  "You know, you've been causing far too many problems lately.  Hecate's quite upset with you and your little friend, so now I have to be the one to deal with you."

"How awful," Trista remarked, transforming.  "You remember your power didn't last you last time."

"Oh, but I don't have to kill you this time.  I just have to make sure you feel what I felt, losing the most precious thing to me," she snarled.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Trista rumbled, and a pillar rose up beneath her feet so quickly that she lost grip of Trowa.  Moments later, she was standing several stories up on the stone pillar.

Just as she was about to unleash her attack, she saw Night deliver a fatal blow to Trowa's head.  As he fell limp, she rose up to be just a little higher than Trista.  She laughed as moonlight glinted off of ten gossamer strands dangling from her fingertips.  Trista gasped when Night pulled on the strands, and Trowa suddenly rose to be level with Trista, like a marionette.

Night's eyes narrowed.  "Your power may be weaker than mine, Pluto, but I have a curse on my side.  The curse of 'Pain'."

As she spoke, the strands attached to Trowa's limbs and neck began to pull in separate directions.  Trowa closed his eyes and clenched his jaw.  He would not scream in pain in front of a sadistic demon like Night.

Meanwhile, Trista winced in pain as she watched him being tortured.  The link she felt with him caused her to feel everything he did as clearly as if she were the one being ripped apart.

"Let him go!" she yelled.  She tried to move forward, but the pillar shook nervously.

"Don't move Pluto!  You never know when that thing is going to fall," Night grinned, then suddenly twisted her hands to that the threads would cut into Trowa's chest.

"I'm warning you Night…" Trista cried feebly as dark red stains appeared on Trowa's shirt and jacket.

Night paused, then yanked backwards.  Catching Trowa by the shoulders, she moved to stand gloatingly over Trista.

"Multiply that times four, Pluto.  I lost all four of my daughters because of you and the rest of those little brats.  So now, I think it's time to work on you directly," she snarled, dropping Trowa onto the pillar.  Seconds later, Trista gasped as she felt the threads pulling her backwards. 

As she started feeling the strands pulling her apart, and every now and then slackening so she'd fall and her bones would feel dislocated, Trowa rose to his feet shakily.  He tried to ignore the pain as he carefully examined Night.  At the moment, she was playing a game that involved her picking up and dropping Trista numerous times.  Finally she stopped and grinned at him.

"You'd like me to stop now, wouldn't you Heavyarms?" she asked.  "It hurts, doesn't it?"

"…" he wasn't going to give her the dignity of an answer.

"Nothing to say as usual, hm?  Very well then.  I may as well just stop."

The strands disappeared, and the pillar crumbled.  The last thing either of them could remember was falling.

Then they stopped.  Trista clutched her staff desperately, then found she could move freely. 

"Trowa?" she called uncertainly.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking around.  The face of an old man appeared in the Garnet Orb.

Trista blinked.  "Father?"

"Pluto…You don't have to break the law now.  I've broken it for you," the old man said, then faded away.

The two descended slowly to the ground.  When they reached it, they ducked to avoid the crumbling pieces of rock from the pillar.

There was a deafening screech as Night spotted them.  "HOW DID YOU GET DOWN THERE?  PLUTO!!!!!!"

But Trista didn't answer.  Instead, she raised her staff and whispered, "Dead Scream".

The purple orb of energy flew into Night, who screamed in pain before disappearing.

Sighing, Trista dropped the staff and turned to Trowa.  He was grateful as her cool hands soothed his wounds.  But something still confused him.

"What did Chronos mean when he said "You don't have to break the law now"?" he asked.

"I was going to stop time.  It would've meant my complete banishment to the Gates of Time, but my father is allowed to interfere," she explained.

"…"

"…"

"…Let's head back.  It's getting late."

"I agree."

**************************************************************************************************************************

Whew!  Long chappie!  R+R, everyone! 

NOTE:  My reason for not have Quatre be affected by the curse of "Distrust" is that he's so innocent and trusting not even a curse could make him doubt Raye!  And the reason Heero wasn't completely affected by the curse of "Doubt" was that he was doubtful anyways, so you just didn't notice it.  Just like you probably didn't notice the curse of "Anger" on Lita and Wufei, on account of they fight all the time anyways.