Hey,everyone. Sorry for taking so long. Please check out my other fic, Harmonious Star. It only has one chapter right now that is more like the prologue, but I will be updating. Feel free to review both fics!

Chapter 6: The Red-Eyed Monster

Mercury sat at her computer. She was supposed to be doing research on her computer, but instead she was day dreaming. When she became her ultimate form, just as Serenity had, she too gained all her memories from the Moon Kingdom. It was like she had two people's memories inside her, Mizuno Ami and Sailor Mercury. Memories of her and the other Senshi running around palace courtyards filled her mind.

Her thoughts wandered to Rei. Mercury held a certain perceptiveness under her quiet exterior. Especially with her friends, she could tell their thoughts and feelings. Right now, with Rei, she detected frustration, anger, and even jealousy. Mercury understood. She remembered how she too felt before she received her new powers, how helpless she was. She knew that for Rei it must be worse.

Rei had always been a bit of a control freak. Memories from the Silver Millennium and Earth attested to that. Rei liked feeling powerful, in order to protect herself and those closest to her. She always felt like it was her duty to be everyone's protector. Mercury knew how Rei still wrestled with feelings that she would do a better job as princess, even with the clumsy and naive Usagi gone. And, she still wrestled with feelings of inadequacy and guilt from every bad thing that had ever happened in Usagi's life since she met her. The fact that she now could not protect her was driving Rei crazy.

Mercury thought back to her memories of Rei in the Moon Kingdom. She thought about how when they were growing up, she always insisted she should be leader, not Minako. She thought about how guys were always at first attracted to her, with her prettiness and gracefulness. That soon changed when they saw her strong, determined nature, and her temper. In fact, none of the Senshi had ever been good with guys except for Minako. Minako had always been everything guys wanted, pretty, girly, and always the right touch of silliness and helplessness. Guys had always been intimidated by the rest of us, Mercury remembered. Everyone on the moon knew that Mercury was smarter than any man. That with her shyness had not attracted too many men. With Makoto, every guy at one point or another had been defeated in a wrestling match by her. It was always Minako guys talked too. Or Serenity. Yes, Serenity had been even more popular with men. But she had eyes for only one person. Endymion.

Mercury smiled. She was glad to have these memories.

REI'S TEMPLE

Rei sat meditating in front of the sacred fire. Beads of sweat trickled down her face, as she concentrated hard. But so far, the fire was revealing nothing to her.

She sighed. It's because I have not done this for so long. Rei sat there for a while, not really doing anything, just thinking. Thoughts of Phoebus and their relatively unknown enemy flashed through her mind. Her thoughts shifted to Mercury's new powers.

It's so unfair. Mercury's the weakest of the Senshi. One of the stronger one's should have received their new powers first. I should have received my powers first. I am the one whose most dedicated to Serenity.

A tear rolled down Rei's face. She angrily swiped at it. She hated it when she cried. To her, it was a sign of weakness, a sign that everything was not alltogether and all right in her life. She liked every one to think that her life could not be better. But that was not true. Her life was actually going pretty bad right now. She had recently broke up with Yuchirou. She had almost failed the finals in school. And now, her grandfather was ill and she was forced to move back to the temple to take care of him and it. To top things off, there was a new enemy that she could not even fight, and Mercury could! It all felt so unfair to her.

I can't do this, she thought, and stood up. She no longer had the patience to sit and meditate. She was too stressed.

Rei strode through the empty halls of the temple. So many people used to live here and take care of it. Now, it's just Grandpa and I, and a few others who come a few days a week. She felt lonely and bored. It was summer, and she should be enjoying herself with her friends. But, instead, she was stuck at an empty temple all day, making herself more and more depressed.

Rei walked down the hall to her grandfather's bedroom. After peeking in to assure that he was asleep and okay, she went to her own room and collapsed onto her bed.

Everything will be all right, everything will be all right, everything will be all right. She chanted to herself, before finally finding peace in sleep.

IN ANOTHER DIMENSION

Phoebus grinned as he read the thoughts of the distressed Rei. Mercury was no longer susceptible to his mind reading, and Serenity, Endymion, and the Knights never were, but this was not true for the other Senshi. I think I've just found another weakness. He was snapped from his reverie as he felt a presence surround him. An evil voice filled the air.

"Phoebus!"

"Ye-es Master?"

"You have failed me many,many times now. Too many times. I have become sick and impatient. I am thinking about letting Arieda taking over your assignment now."

"No, Master, I beg you, please reconsider. I have come up with a new plan, a fool proof plan." He was terrified. He knew what would happen if his Master decided he no longer had need of him.

"Another monster? Wasting more of my precious energy? It seems like you spend more energy trying to destroy the Senshi and Knights than you are gathering from your attacks."

"You do not have to worry. I will use one of the Senshi against the rest."

"Again you personally attack the Senshi, instead of gathering more energy, as I assigned you to do."

"But, Master, the Senshi are impeding my progress. I have to attack them."

"The Senshi should NOT be a problem! If you cannot handle them, I will give your assignment to one who can. This is your LAST chance." Phoebus felt his presence depart from the room.

"Well, well, looks like you've dug yourself into a hole. What will you do now?" his cat casually asked.

He glared. "Tamas, first I will kill the Senshi. Then, I shall happily kill you."

OVER A CROWDED MALL

Phoebus hovered in the air. He glared down at the rushing people, oblivious of his presence. This is my last chance. This has to work.

"Come forth, Revnivo!" In front of him, a monster materialized. She was green all over, and from the waist down had the body of a snake. Her hair trickled up into green flames. Her eyes were a deep, deep shade of blackish-green. The skin on her upper body cast an oily slimy look. Fangs grew from her mouth. Phoebus had to admit to himself. She was a pretty revolting monster.

"All I want you to do is attack and gather energy. When the Sailor Senshi appear, use your special power on one if them. You'll know which one to use it on." Phoebus disappeared. Revnivo gazed down at the unsuspecting shoppers. Her teeth gleamed, and she shot down to the ground, ready to attack and steal energy.

ON HER WAY TO THE MALL

Rei had received the emergency call almost immediately. Although I don't know why I'm in such a rush to go there and do nothing. She slowed down. Why was she in such a rush? She could do little more than observe anyway. She walked along at a more leisurely pace. Serenity, Endymion, the Knights, and Mercury could handle things without her help. I'll be surprised if the battle is still going on by the time I get there.

Rei was in for a shock. By the time she arrived, the battle was still being fought. And it wasn't going well, at all. Sailor Venus was caught helplessly in the monsters tail, choking. Sailors Jupiter and Saturn were desperately trying to free her. Meanwhile, Revnivo had sent out hundreds of little, poisonous snakes which were happily attacking the Knights and Mercury. Endymion, Serenity, and the three Outers were dealing with Revnivo's blasts of energy and poison, and were gaining no ground on her.

This is a mess, Mars thought. She sighed, and transformed. She had no choice but to fight.

Revnivo's head swiveled. Finally, the one I can use my special power on. She immediately dropped the near dead Venus, and charged towards Mars. Mars's eyes widened, as she feared impact. But, both Revnivo and Mars began glowing green. Before the shocked eyes of the others, Revnivo merged her body into Mars's. For Revnivo's special power was this: She could merge herself with a person with so much jealousy and turn it into an awesome power. This power was magnified by a Sailor Senshi's already strong power.

Mars's eyes glowed green for a second, then settled on a furious red. Looking into her eyes you saw a fire of anger burning. Mars raised her hand, and let a blast of fire fly towards the Soldiers of Justice. It was like an explosion, as everyone was sent flying to different places. Mars laughed, thrilled with her new powers, blind to the fact that she was harming her friends. All she saw was her jealousy and anger.

Mercury, alone from the others, stood up. A wave of bitterness swept across Mars. I must annihilate her. She prepared to send another fireball Mercury's way.

"Stop Mars!" Mercury cried out. "You can't do this. You've got to gain control of yourself!" Mars blasted the fire her way. Mercury tried to dodge, but was still injured by the fire. She collapsed to the ground, feeling pain in her ankle.

Down, but not out. Mercury thought to herself. She stood up firmly. "Mars, listen to me! This isn't you! You can fight the monster's control. You're strong enough, I know you are!"

"Please Mars!" Serenity stood herself up. "Mars, we believe in you."

The words "strong" and "believe" pierced Mars's soul. Strong enough, me? I was never strong enough. Everyone else got stronger, but me. You all hated me!" Her eyes flashed dangerously, and blasts of energy flew her friends' way. As smoke cleared, Mars smiled triumphantly at the unconscious bodies laying before her. One more shot and ther history. She walked towards them, ready to finish what she started. She stopped in front of them, and raised her hands, ready for the final strike. As she looked at them, Mars's soul cried out. Noi, this isn't what I want! Mars struggled with herself. No, NO!

IN MARS'S HEAD

Mars looked up. She seemed to be floating in a sea of...nothingness. She shifted and turned around. There...a light! The light grew and grew until it engulfed her.

"Sailor Mars."

"Who's there?" Mars sounded fearful.

"Who else, but your own mother." A woman with long black hair appeared, wearing a modification of Mercury's new uniform. Her eyes were kind, but firm, and her mouth was set in a sad expression.

"Mars, how could you? My own daughter! Trapped by jealousy and betraying her fellow Senshi."

Mars bowed her head in shame. "I know, I was wrong! But now, you are here to give me new powers, right?"

"Mars, how can you be entrusted with more power when you have abused the ones you have now?"

"But, I must! I need the new powers, to defend Earth! It is my destiny!"

"Is that why you do this? Because it is your destiny?"

"No, it's more than that. It means something to me--everything to me!"

"If that's true, then why would you attack your Prince and Princess, and their soldiers? Why would you let your jealousy get so strong that you were manipulated by the enemy? Why were you so convinced of your inadequacy that you were willing to show up late at a battle that you were needed at?"

Mars gasped. The full effect of her actions weighed heavily on her. "I guess, maybe your right. I did so much wrong. So you, aren't here to give me new powers, after all. You're here to take away those I already have. I don't blame you."

"Oh, so now you're a quitter too?"

"No, I'm never a quitter. It's just that...I thought that I was to be punished for all I did wrong."

"What did you do wrong?"

"What did I do wrong? Didn't you just tell me what I did wrong? I abandoned my friends, then betrayed them! I allowed myself to be so depressed and jealous that I didn't fuffill my responsibilities, to my grandfather, the Senshi, my boyfriend, or myself. I even almost failed finals! I forgot what it means to be a Senshi, a protector of love and justice! I'm unworthy of that title."

"So you're ready to give up? Even that's an act of betrayel. All of the Senshi are needed, not just most of them. This is the toughest enemy yet, but when you mess up, you're ready to throw in the towel!"

"But I messed up so much." Mars whispered. Tears were beginning to fall.

"So, you're human! That's the reason why this all happened. You have been unwilling to admit to yourself that you are human, and capable of error. You always try to do everything yourself. Sometimes, you have to admit that you can't do everything, can't be everything. Sometimes you have to realize you are not strong enough. When that happens, you recognize your mistakes, figure out how to do better, apologize to those you need to, and move on."

"You're right, you're so right."

"So I ask you again. How can you be entrusted with more power when you have abused the ones you have now?"

"I can be trusted because I'm only human. I have to make mistakes! To expect anything else is impossible. And you know what? A Senshi who thinks of herself as perfect is a Senshi no one can trust. So, you can trust me because I've learned from my mistakes, and I'll never allow jealousy and bitterness control me again." Mars's face was firm. Her mother knew she was telling the truth.

"Then I can trust you with this power." She began to disappear.

Mars watched silently. Once her mother was fully gone, she whispered to herself, "Love you, Mom."

RETURN TO REALITY

Mars felt the new magic flow through her. She felt the strength, the will to live on return to her body. And, she felt her jealousy disappear. Not because of new powers, but because she realized that to be jealous of her fellow Senshi was wrong, and it did nothing but made her helpless.

Revnivo screeched and flew out of Mars's body. She could not reside in an unjealous soul.

Mars looked around her. She glanced down at her new uniform. She wore a pink top, without straps. A red bow with a star in the middle was on her chest. She was in a red skirt, and red high-heeled sandals (don't ask how she fought in them). Around her neck was a red necklace with a black star charm. There was no tiara on her forehead. Her hair flew down her back in curly wisps.

Mars closed her eyes. Power of Mars, help me to heal my friends. Energy flowed through her, into her uplifted hands. Healing power surged from her, surrounding her friends in a warm red glow. In seconds, they were fully healed, and smiling.

The dazed Revnivo slowly stood up. Mars turned her attention to her. She smiled as the words to a new chant filled her head.

"Mars Joyous Purity Blaze!" An inferno burst forward, destroying the already severely weakened Revnivo.

Mars stood awkwardly for a second, before being enveloped in a silent hug by Serenity and the others. Tears of gratefulness streamed down her face.

IN ANOTHER DIMENSION

Phoebus moaned as he realized that he had lost. On cue, his master appeared.

"Phoebus, I warned you what would happen if you wasted more of my energy." Before a sound could escape Phoebus's opened mouth, a stream of freazing darkness surrounded him in an ice prison of torture, a place inbetween being dead and alive.

"Arieda, the job you coveted is yours." He said to his spying minion, before disappearing.

Triumphant laughter filled the air.

There you have it, Chapter 6 finally completed. Next, I'll be updating Harmonious Star, then this fic again. Hopefully it won't be too long.