Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or associated characters.

Chapter 2: Sword Point

The dawn of the next day found Endymion cursing. He had planned on an early march to get his army into the staging area by late afternoon. Unfortunately, the thick, rolling fog that greeted him outside of his tent didn't take his plans into consideration at all.

He watched over his soldiers, as they quickly finished up breakfast rations before going about dismantling the camp in a mechanical fashion. Only the tight military discipline kept the men focused, not letting their anxiety get the best of them. Endy still saw a few of them shaking, with wide eyed expressions betraying the superstitious fear they felt.

That didn't stop him from cursing some more. Endy's plans called for the army to be in place at the staging ground during late afternoon, the fog slowed them enough that they had come upon well past evening. Fires this close to the garrison would have been signal lights for Rubeus, so Endy had ordered no fires that night. The soldiers had to bundle up in their blankets and ate cold rations. He also ordered all enemy scouts encountered killed, keeping the element of surprise he so desperately needed for his battle plans to work.

A burning anxiety spread through Endy's chest as he watched over his camp settling down for the evening. He had been in fights before, but never an actual battle. His nerves felt like they were being slowly pulled apart, and doubts of his success, no, doubts about everything clouded his mind. Shaking his head, he got up from his perch and quietly made his way up the hill that hid his army from Rubeus. Sneaking about turned out to be nothing like the games he had played as a child. Every snapped twig, every gasp of breath sent a tremor of fear coursing down his spine. Every sound he made felt like a shout to enemy scouts of his presence, while the fog and moonlight made shadows dance at the corner of his eyes. By the time he made the summit, cold sweat had made several trails down his face. If it was possible, Endy would've swore that his nerves were even more taunt than before.

Standing at the top of a hill, not even half a mile from the garrison, he was careful to use a boulder as cover. He gave a bitter laugh. The fog completely obscured his view, making his attempts at stealth even more useless. Getting up to step away from his hiding spot, his breath caught. A sudden break in the fog gave him a clear view of the little fortress and some of the surrounding area.

A quick appraisal had him breathing again. The garrison was lit up like a bonfire. Lights in almost every visible window and a huge fire in the courtyard outlined the ramparts where no guards could be seen patrolling. A nervous giggle escaped his lips.

"I never heard you make that sound before," Kunzite's said, right behind him. Endy almost gave a shout, never hearing his Captain come up the hill.

"Well, if you did a little more watching and a little less of trying to scare the shit out of me, you might see why I made that sound," he replied, waving a hand at the clear view. At that instant, with his hand pointing towards the garrison, the fog decided to roll back in. He let his hand fall uselessly back to his side.

"I saw it, General," Kunzite consoled him.

"Endy, please. No one is around and you're a brother to me," Endy waved off his friend's formality.

"I just don't know if Rubeus is over confident, or an idiot. But luck seems to be in your favor, Endy," Kunzite told him, softly.

Endy suddenly came over with another fit of giggling, finding his objective so defenseless strangely humorous. He tried for over a minute to gain control of his mirth. "Apologies, I don't know why I find this so funny."

"No need for apologies, Endy. I, too, am very relieved at how simple this looks," Kunzite placed a brotherly hand on Endy's shoulder.

At first, Kunzite's statement didn't make any sense, but then he realized how much better he felt after his bout of giggling. Finding the situation much in his favor, the tension on his nerves lessened considerably. Now his emotions swung radically in the opposite direction, and Endymion found himself viciously fighting back tears. He didn't need Kunzite to see him battling feelings like a little girl, so he kept his back towards him.

Endy patted Kunzite's hand on his shoulder in acknowledgment, and turned back to walk down the hill to his host. He used that action to hide his red eyes, until they dried. "Do you think Zoisite will accommodate this development without an order?"

"Yes, sir. I believe he will see the opportunity as we do and modify his actions as needed," Kunzite nodded as he replied.

Endy's plan had called for one of the captains to take twenty soldiers to the other side of the fort, without their armor and with their clothes dirtied, making them look like mercenaries. They were to get the garrison's attention, acting like they wanted to join, while Endymion lead his army in through the royal entrance. Zoisite had volunteered for the duty, stating that he was the most convincing actor out of the four. That really didn't matter to Endy, as long as the mission was accomplished. He trusted all four of his captains to finish any task he gave them, so even if brash Jadeite had wanted to go, Endy would've sent him without a qualm.

At the base of the hill there used to be a large boulder resting. But, with the help of royal knowledge, two men pushed on a certain location on the large rock, and with an impressive counter-weighted mechanism, the boulder moved aside. Now a passage that could fit four men abreast was visible. Endymion had his captains straighten the ranks and start moving the bulk of his men into the dark tunnel as the sun started to poke over the horizon. Kunzite and Endy had been doing a last minute reconnaissance in the predawn light. Now Endy anticipated timing problems with the new information. Zoisite would be in position by now, but how long until he decides to go with the original plan or improvise? So he pulled two scouts out of the ranks and directed one to the top of the hill and the other half way up, directing them to use hand signals to report any changes in the garrison activity. He then made his way up to the front of the tunnel, letting the men know to pass the scout's information up to him as quick as they could.

Endy made it to the fifth rank back from the front, his agreed upon position, to wait for the correct time. Timing had been a problem at first, but Nephrite had come up with using the sun to coordinate their attack. When the sun had completely cleared the horizon is when Endy's men would burst through into the garrison, while Zoisite was to start the distraction a couple minutes before hand. The pre-fight nervousness had a chance to take hold, as he waited for the signal, either from the scouts he had placed or from the soldiers last in the ranks to tell the position of the sun.

Thoughts of failing came to his mind, of getting his men killed. Of him being a terrible leader. Unease squeezed his insides, and panic filled his mind. He wanted to shout and tell the soldiers to get back, his plan wouldn't work and they would all get killed, that he didn't really know what he was doing. Muttering could be heard from the ranks behind, inching its way up to them. The sound pulling him out of his private terror and back into the dark tunnel. Word had finally reached the man behind him. The man turned slightly to listen to the whisper, then turned to his prince and repeated what he had been told.

"Scouts report, sir. The three guards were taken out by archers, no activity in the garrison." It seemed that Zoisite had improvised nicely.

"Now, now, now!" Endy didn't quite yell, but he wanted his voice to reach those at the mechanism. A smooth, grating sound could be heard almost immediately. Light filled the tunnel as the opening proceeded to become larger. As soon as it was open enough for two men to exit, the soldiers started plunging out wordlessly, ordered to keep the surprise of the attack as long as possible. Endy originally wanted to be the first through, but instant opposition came from his captains and any soldier close enough to hear. He settled for the fifth rank and at least ten personal guards. Which was a lot better than what everyone else wanted for him to do; to stay back on the hill with fifty personal guards. Endy wouldn't have any of that, and it took a better part of an hour to convince his captains of letting him lead his men. He even tried to pull rank on them, but they told him that the king himself ordered them to keep him safe. That almost made Endy accept being left behind, but he came up with the reason his father sent him in the first place. To learn to lead and earn respect. He couldn't do that from the rear! Contradicting orders made the captains amiable to compromise. And they compromised for the next hour.

Endymion had been proud that he had wrung so much out of his captains, but with imminent combat, he started having doubts of his ability. It wasn't a moment longer before he was being gently pushed forward. The opening was completely exposed, being done during his self-doubt period.

Endy rushed out into a gray day, with executions already happening. Not much noise was being created, so the garrison seemed to be asleep still, with the ones waking up finding a sword through the throat or just plain confused, then being impaled upon a sword anyway. His soldiers worked methodically, killing everybody in sight then hunting inside the tents. The veteran soldiers had been placed in the front, so it became easier for the younger ones to come out into the battlefield and follow their example.

Endy stutter stepped a moment before rushing up to a man tangled in his blanket, seemingly still asleep. He steeled himself for the first time he would kill, then drove his sword into the man's chest. The man didn't move. He didn't scream. Nothing to indicate that he had just been stabbed. The man was already dead. Oh, good! Endy thought, I just killed a corpse. I bet a lot of ballads will be made of this stunt. His mind went into overdrive in thinking of titles for said ballad, while he took a quick sheepish look around and pulled his sword from the body. Unfortunately, all ten of his personal guards saw what he did. The Prince Who Double Checked His Soldiers Work, came to mind as he ran forward, looking for a target while shaking off the feeling that his guards were laughing at him. The Twice Stabbed Enemy. No, too cheesy. A shout went up, followed by many others. Their surprise had ended and here he was running around only having stabbed a dead body. Endy felt like hanging his head in shame.

Six men exploded through a nearby door, with arms, but no armor. A man with a spear came directly at Endymion, stabbing at his middle. His training came into play, as he reacted without thinking, knocking the spearhead to the side as he spun and landed a backlash swing to the man's neck, nearly decapitating him. Endy was stunned. He had been prepared for the jolt of a blocked blow, for that's what would have happened during training, his captains were never easy to defeat. The feeling of his sword slowing abruptly then stopping was entirely new to him, having never hit flesh with a real sword before. The dead man's weight pulled the body off Endy's sword, while he just stood there trying to feel something. Shouldn't a man feel something after killing someone? He didn't have much time to ponder this as two of his personal guards were backing one of the six men towards him. Not wanting to give the bastard a chance to hurt any of his soldiers, Endy leveled his sword with his hand on the top of the hilt, and drove it full force into the man's back, right where his heart should be. The sword parted flesh effortlessly, meeting no resistance. Endy shoved his blade to the hilt into the man. Being so close to him gave Endy a chance to really look at his enemy. The mercenary wore dirty clothing, which matched the rest of him. Hair was unwashed, his exposed skin was filthy and he smelled worse than a stable. When Endy's weapon entered him, he gave a short cry, then seizured. His then lifeless body crumpled to the ground, once again, easily falling off Endy's blade. Endy looked up to the two guards, they nodded to him and turned outward, looking for signs of threat. He pushed aside the thought that he still didn't feel anything after taking two lives now, as he headed to the door that the six mercenaries came out of. His other guards had taken care of the other four mercenaries.

Endy and his guards had been racing through the fort for what seemed like forever, but in reality probably had been only fifteen minutes or so. All the forts for the garrisons were built straight-forward, making it hard to get lost, so it was easy to see where they had been already. All ten of his guards were still alive and none seriously injured. Endymion, himself, had a shallow cut to his thigh. But the gruesome evidence of his effectiveness was displayed by all the blood and bits of flesh covering his armor. His guards were no cleaner than him.

A man popped out of a door, halfway into the hall, looking around dazedly. Endy didn't give him a chance as he rushed by, slicing open his middle, spilling his intestine all over the ground. One of the guards behind him shouldered the dying man back into the room and ran on.

The first few minutes had been quick pitched battles, but Endymion and his guards had the skills and armament advantage, easily disposing of their adversaries. But recently it had been the random man, like the last one, and running into groups of his own soldiers.

A group of four soldiers showed up at the end of the hall that Endy was traveling. Once they saw their prince, they waved him down while running towards him.

"General! Captains Nephrite and Kunzite sent us to fetch you, sir. Please follow us!" A soldier Endy recognized as Kevin said, urgently.

"Lead us," Endy replied. He noticed that Kevin had a gash above his left eye, and he was limping. He hoped that was the worst of what his men were suffering. Now that he had stopped running, he noticed that there were no more sounds of combat, just orders being shouted and doors opening and closing. Was it over that quick? He thought. He had lost count of how many mercs he had killed, along side of his own soldiers. Yet he still didn't feel anything, very worrisome. Hopefully, with his performance, he had made everyone forget about The Stabbing of the Dead Man; yes, that might work.

Kevin lead them through a few doors, down some hallways, then out into the courtyard. He didn't stop there, though, as he entered the other side of the fort and lead them up some stairs. Kevin lead the group into a mess hall (where soldiers eat, like a cafeteria) and waved towards a bigger group of soldiers milling about on the far side, by the fire pits. Endy quickly walked over to Kunzite, who was directing a sergeant.

"… every room, I don't want any enemy combatants behind us." Kunzite finished his orders and turned to Endymion.

"What's happening? Why did.. you.. call me… here?" Endy finished his unnecessary question as he took in six girls spread out on pallets in various positions. Two of the girls were huddled in on themselves, crying, some were staring into space, and one seemed to be sleeping.

"We found them here with a few mercs having fun with them," Kunzite replied, raising an eyebrow and nodding his head to five mercenaries on their knees and hands on their heads. Endy's blood started to boil, rage was slipping out of his control.

"They all touched the girls? Are the girls alright?" He squeezed out between clenched teeth. He shook a little with his rage coursing through his body.

"Yes, they were all involved. The one girl lying down is dead," no sooner than Kunzite said the last word, Endy hurled himself onto the nearest merc, dagger drawn. He stabbed everywhere, over and over again, screaming.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARDS! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY PEOPLE AGAIN! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, DAMN PIECE OF SHIT!" Endymion was wild, destroying the man under him. The other mercs scooted away from him as fast as they could, the soldiers just stood and stared at the prince, as he did what everyone of them wanted to do.

"Restrain the prince! Don't let him do that!" Nephrite yelled at some of the men. It took them a few moments to actually get hands on him, as Endy was still rapidly stabbing the bloody mess that was once a man. When three of the soldiers managed to pull him back, Endy's face was livid, eyes blood shot and chest heaving. Nephrite got right in his face and started sternly talking him down.

"You're a damn prince! Is this how you want your people to see you? You can't take these things into your own hands, calm down and think!" Nephrite used whatever he could to calm his prince. Alertness slowly took over the wildness in his eyes, his breathing slowed and his posture relaxed.

"Release me," Endy calmly ordered, voice cold and hard. Kunzite nodded and the soldiers let him go. He walked purposely over to the next mercenary.

"Did you touch these girls?" a cold fire burned in Endy's eyes, and the merc only nodded, too scared to speak. "Then I sentence you to death." Quick as a snake, Endy pushed the man's head back and sliced his throat. The soldiers didn't need to be told this time and hopped on him to pull him back again. Endy didn't resist at all, in fact, he was clearly confused.

"Didn't you hear what Nephrite said?" Kunzite queried his prince, very concerned over how he was acting.

"I did. I thought I acted very professionally. I held trail, got a confession, passed judgment, and executed," Endymion responded, still confused on how he messed up this time.

"Princes do not execute," Kunzite pitched his voice so only Endy and a few soldiers heard him.

"Fine. I'll trust your testimony. They're all guilty, execute them," Endy nodded to the soldiers behind the mercs, who had been watching them. Three of the soldiers grabbed the men's hair, pulled back and slit their throats before the captains could voice a protest. The men holding Endymion thought it a good time to release him at the same time.

"We could've questioned them! Rubeus hasn't been found yet," Kunzite directed at Endy, with some anger in his voice.

"AND I SAID NO QUARTER!" Endy jumped right back into his righteous rage. He stared directly into Kunzite's eyes, not backing down.

"I am sorry, my prince. I was wrong, those were your orders," Kunzite bowed deeply to him.

Endy took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then took a look around, seeing how everyone would react to what just happened. The soldiers were just standing around, trying to look at anything except the two of them, when a soldier did meet his gaze, he saw overwhelming respect. Nephrite had a considering look on his face and Kunzite had the decency to look abashed. The girls were all looking at him, awe covered their features. He must have looked a fright, blood soaking every piece of clothing he had on, not to mention his face was probably covered in it as well. A soldier handed him a towel, seemingly reading his mind. He scrubbed his face and hands, then walked over to the five girls. They had very little clothing on, but the men were considerate enough to have gotten them blankets to cover up with. They didn't seem too dirty, so he figured that their stay hadn't been too long. His eyes fell upon the dead girl, and a profound sadness gripped him.

"You're Prince Endymion?" One of the girls asked, her voice trembling.

"I am. May I have the pleasure of knowing your name?" Endy made his tone unthreatening as possible, even adding a dazzling smile for all of them.

"My.. name? Oh. I'm Samantha," she stuttered a bit. Then she rose and curtsied as best as she could with a blanket. The other girls stood up and followed suit. Some flesh was shown with the act of the curtseys but Endy kept his eyes on their heads, fighting the urge to gaze at the half nude women. "Thank you for saving us."

"I was too late," He replied, sadly, looking at the body of the girl again.

"But you saved us, your Highness," one of the other girls said, trying to convince her prince that made everything better.

"Yes, I suppose we did. Remember, I wasn't the only one out there fighting. All of these men put their lives at risk as well," he didn't want any of the glory, his men could have it all. "Find clothes for these ladies and find out about where they came from, it's time to get them home." He turned to Kunzite to issue more orders, "Get a cleanup crew to take care of the bodies, we don't need disease going about. Also, we need to man up this garrison, find volunteers to stay behind until a relief squad can be sent. Tally all the supplies and make sure the men left behind have enough to last for a few months. See if our scouts can track anybody who escaped, maybe we can still have Rubeus' head. Set up the men as best as they will fit, they deserve a day of rest before we head back." He turned back to the girls for a quick word, "I apologize, ladies. I have much to do still. I will make time before we depart to speak with you again." He gave a small bow to them and walked out of the mess hall.

Endy met up with Zoisite in the courtyard, as Endy's men had opened the gates during the attack. Zoisite had some blood on his surcoat, showing that he got some action as well.

"General, reports have finally come back from the outlaying towns and villages. The closest, Kartwren, is completely destroyed, no evidence of survivors. No others were touched," Zoisite relayed the report.

"Shit, that's where the girls are probably from. Damn, I can't send them home," Endy covered his face with his hands and moaned.

"What girls, sir?"

"There are five girls up in the mess hall that the mercenaries were keeping for fun," Endy spat.

"Horrible! Are they alright?" Zoisite asked, aghast.

"No, there used to be six, now there are five," Endy said. Zoisite shook his head, sadly. Endy took a look around and found that his soldiers were already cleaning up the dead, piling bodies into an empty wagon and into the middle of the courtyard. The men looked at him, expectantly as they paused in their work, noticing their prince in their midst. He smiled and thrust a hand into the air, which seemed to him a proper action to lift their spirits. A wild cheer broke from them men, and continued on for a while. They celebrated their win against the bastards who had betrayed them. "I need to get cleaned up, I feel dirty."

"There are some wash buckets at the far end, sir. Let me show you," Zoisite said and then took off for the far side of the courtyard. Endymion followed, thinking about what he said. Was that how he felt about killing? He checked himself. He felt dirty, upset, and sad about all the death he had caused. That, in itself, made him feel better, knowing he wasn't a monster who enjoyed killing. But it was necessary for the security of his kingdom, and he would do it again without a second thought.