Author's notes: I know this is bit rougher and grittier. Fans of the show have seen the world from the upbeat and perky perspective of Sailor Moon, I say it's time for a view of those with a less pleasant outlook. Killing off the four kings was a low blow! I found them the most interesting characters. Plus the ruthless CIA agents, and brave soldiers who'd respond to such a nightmarish event is something rarely considered. The event at the end of season one was Earth-shattering! Even with a quick fix like in the show, there's no way anyone would just forget it! Enjoy and please review.

The blast was deafening, and close. Jadeite cursed under his breath and swung his frying pan into yet another inmate's head. Whatever the blast was, it came from the mess hall. Morty must have given the inmates grenades. He hoped none of the others had been caught in the blast.

One of the remaining prisoners in the considerably diminished mob drew a shotgun. Jadeite swiftly smacked the barrel aside for the weapon to fire into a nearby inmate, then back-swung the pan into the prisoner's face.

The brained prisoner stumbled back unconscious, giving Jadeite just enough time to wrestle the shotgun out of his hands and empty the weapon into the last of the mob. He heard the crackle of automatic gunfire nearby. He hoped it wasn't being fired into one of his comrades.

Jadeite sifted into pockets of the shotgun's former wielder, and was grateful to find some spare shells. Morty must have thrown down some shells to go with the gun. Jadeite reloaded as fast as he could. He'd never used a gun before, but figured it out quickly. Anyone in this time who'd ever seen a half-way decent action movie could figure it out. Well maybe not ANYBODY. Some of the prisoners in the mob attacking him hand fired their weapons prematurely into their own men. The inmates might not have been foolish so much as insane. They seemed crazed with bloodlust as they attacked. Jadeite couldn't blame the government for not trusting these maniacs to the system.

Jadeite had just finished reloading when his leg was stabbed by searing pain. He quickly swung the butt of the gun into the face of the wounded inmate behind him. The prisoner fell limp and Jadeite strained himself not fire his weapon into the thug's head. He couldn't waste ammunition on downed enemy.

He quickly ripped the knife from his leg. Even with his accelerated healing, an opened wound could be costly, but he couldn't keep walking with a knife lodged in his leg. Jadeite made his way down the cell block to the mess hall entrance with the knife and the shotgun at the ready. The knife he clutched in the hand opposite the one on the gun's trigger. This way in close combat he could instantly switch to swing both the gun and the knife at enemy.

More gunfire rattled and he entered the mess hall just in time to see a mob of inmates being peppered with bullets. Kunzite emerged from the cell block with a grim smirk on his face and a smoking assault rifle in his hands.

The sound of metal slicing meat came from the next block down. An inmate stumbled into the hall clutching his bloodied abdomen before crumbling to the floor. Zoisite came out behind him, wielding a samurai sword. They all nodded to each other. Their enemies were nowhere to be seen.

Kunzite and Zoisite were both splashed with cuts and bruises but no major injuries. But where was Nephrite?

A moan caught Jadeite's attention and his eyes widened as they noticed red hair beneath a large corpse. "NEPHRITE!" he gasped as he rushed to his friend's aid. The other to ran to join him and together they rolled the large inmate off their comrade. He was still breathing but was unresponsive.

"Juptier…!" Nephrite moaned weakly. Jadeite couldn't help but envy his oblivion. He'd have given anything to hold Mars at that moment. What's more she'd and the other guardians could probably get them out of his mess easily.

More cries came from the door to the final cell block from the other side of the hall. "Protect Nephrite!" Jadeite snapped, the other two nodded. They would never leave a fell knight behind.

The war cry of the inmate horde and the trampling of hundreds feet rumbled nearer with every second. This was utter chaos, the likes of which Jadeite hadn't seen since Beryl's uprising in the distant past. Jadeite felt the sting of shame as he remembered being mesmerized and taken over by Metallia's magic at Beryl's will. All that bloodshed and carnage because Prince Endymion would not reciprocate Beryl's love. Jadeite only hoped this battle would have some meaning to it.

Jadeite and Kunzite readied their firearms. Zoisite took a combat stance with his sword behind them. Both firearms pelted hot lead as the double doors of the cell block flew opened.

Scores of inmates rushed into the mess hall, only to be chopped down by buckshot and rifle rounds. But this time they kept coming. There was no more retreating or pausing in horror. The horde flowed freely from the cell block with the rage and bloodlust of a banzai charge. Most of the prisoners didn't even have weapons.

As Jadeite's shotgun clicked empty, he realized the method to this madness. The inmates in charge of the cell block had all the guns and were sending all their unarmed cellmates to soak up all the bullets. They'd spend all their ammunition on the small fishes and the sharks could move in for the feast.

"STOP SHOOTING!" Jadeite shouted. "NONE OF THEM HAVE GUNS!" Kunzite paused, hopefully to save the last of his ammo. Zoisite rushed forward to swing his sword into continuing flow of murderers. Jadeite did the same, ramming the butt of his spent weapon into the face of an inmate.

Jadeite saw Kunzite checking his weapon out of the corner of his eye. He didn't know how much ammo was left in the rifle, but it would have to do for now. Jadeite and Zoisite beat and slashed their way through the riot, inching closer to the double doors with every step.

Just as they reached the door, Jadeite heard a shout. "GET CLEAR, I WE GOT THIS!" Two thugs with pistols were trying to elbow their way through the remaining unarmed prisoners. Jadeite seized the opportunity and grabbed for the nearest thug's pistol. He shoved the gun upwards, his ears rang as a shot went off into the ceiling, but much too close to his head. He gouged the inmate in the eye with his thumb then wrenched the pistol from his grip.

The prisoner stumbled back in terror instants before Jadeite fired into his head at point blank range. He then discharged two more inmates. Another set of pistol shots finished off the swarming attackers. Jadeite turned to see, Zoisite brandishing a smoking pistol. The other armed thug lay gasping in pain on the floor, now literally disarmed by Zoisite's sword.

Automatic gun fire crackled in from the cell block. Jadeite dove to the floor as a mighty impact sent Zoisite tumbling backwards. A blood poured from wound in his abdomen. Kunzite's assault rifle rattled in reply at the armed thugs, two of them went down before one of their comrades managed to graze Kunzite's shoulder with a lucky shot. He stumbled back but kept on his feet.

Jadeite stayed on his belly as he crawled to the doorway and fired into the line of gunmen down the corridor, they'd been reinforced. The thugs were taking holding back and instantly replacing fallen gunmen as they went down. It made sense that the smarter more calculating prisoners would let the rabble run wild and soften up their prey before moving in with the heavy artillery. They saved the best for last.

Nephrite was still unconscious on the floor. Zoisite was writhing in pain on his back and just seemed to be getting ahold of himself, slowly picking up his gun and taking aim at the doorway. Kunzite's wounded arm was trembling but gripped the rifle stubbornly.

Jadeite flattened on his stomach and took cover on the short stair case up to the cell block doors. Bullet zipped over his head like a swarm of angry hornets. Then all gunfire ceased. "Put down the guns Hombres!" a voice called out from the cellblock. "We have you outnumbered, you can't have that much ammo left."

"We're not fools!" Jadeite called back. "We already know you're going to kill us, and trade our heads for freedom!"

"We're not talking about how much longer you're going to live, amigos!" the inmate replied. "We're talking how slow you're going to die, you see?"

"Last time I checked there were about five, maybe six of you left in there," said Jadeite. "Morty and his boss might have given you enough rope to hang us with, but he wouldn't give you enough to hang them! You guys can't have more than a couple extra men with guns behind you, if that. And you've been spraying bullets like raindrops until now. You've got to be running low too."

There was a pause of silence, confirming Jadeite's theory. "What about your friend, man?" the apparent leader asked with a brief chuckle. "He's got a gut shot. Without a doctor he won't survive the night. And the surgeon on call here is some drunk loser with shaky hands, you don't want him pulling bullets out of him, he might even take something out that he shouldn't," the leader paused as his men laughed and giggled darkly. Jadeite couldn't tell if this betrayed a lie or if they all knew from experience it was true.

"We could make it a lot easier for you and your friends, amigo," he said soothingly. "It'll be a lot easier for you than it was for all those people during the Event. Some of us even lost some friends and family on the outside man, family that can't even call or visit us here. We don't want no revenge, amigo. It'll be enough that your heads get us out of here. Or you can make us work for it, and see how much goodwill we have then."

Jadeite knew a snake when he heard one hissing, but for a brief moment he paused to consider it. Lynch wouldn't want them for anything pleasant, maybe it was better this way. Maybe the girls would all be happier without them anyway. It had been over a month since the Event, and at least a weak since he'd regained consciousness in the cell. Maybe they'd done enough damage to this world already. Maybe they should let it end here, let the girls move on with their lives, even if it was without them.

"Don't even think about it!" Zoisite hissed at him on the floor. "After all we've been through we can't give in now! We are knights! The royal guard of Prince Endymion! Our regent is still out there and so are the women we love! We have to survive!" he paused to cough blood. "WE WILL SURVIVE!" he growled painfully!

"Have it your way, amigos!" the leader called back. Moments later something metallic rolled past Jadeite and clanged to the floor beside Zoisite. A grenade! Zoisite lurched to his feet grabbing the explosive ball, and rushed to the doorway. He tossed the grenade just in time for a bullet to rip through his chest. Jadeite's cry of rage was lost amid the explosion.

…

Another stifling summer day in the royal garden. Zoisite wiped the sweat from his brow. Mercury had told him the moon is never so hot, but lacks the lush beauty of Earth's vegetation. Even as sunset loomed on the horizon, reflecting beautifully in the lake in front of him, the heat was oppressive.

The lovely guardian tightened her grip on his arm. He looked down at her smiling face and smiled. He smiled back at the woman he loved. The heat no longer bothered him. Mercury was smart, strong, and kind. She'd have been a great knight if she were a man. Zoisite shook the terrible thought from his head.

"What's wrong?" Mercury asked.

"Nothing," he answered with a huff of laughter. "Nothing important," he tried desperately to appease her curiosity. She gazed at him in question. "I was just thinking of… How boring and miserable such a hot day like this would have been if I'd never met you." She smiled.

"You have so much water here on earth," she said. "More than we have on the moon! Surely you wouldn't go thirsty. Do you swim?" she asked.

"I can," Zoisite answered. "But rarely do, most of my time is spent guarding the prince."

"And off duty?"

"Until you came along, training and sleep, mostly."

Mercury looked thoughtfully at the lake shore for a moment, then her eyes lit up brighter than the setting sun. "Zoisite, would you be a darling and turn around for a moment?" she asked. He raised his eyebrow in question but did as she asked. He could never deny her. "Don't turn around until I say," she said.

"I won't," he replied. A few moments of silence went by, what was that girl up to? A loud splash. He spun, saw the disturbed surface of the water. She jumped in? What was she thinking? Zoisite froze as he looked down at the shore. Her clothes lay in a heap. His breath caught in his throat, he no longer noticed the heat, his sweat glands went dry.

"I thought you said it was hot?" Mercury called out with a giggle. Zoisite looked to see her head and shoulders wadding in the water. A menacing but playful smile split her lips. "Come on in!" she cried, almost pleading.

Zoisite should have refused. He should have averted his eyes in respect for her dignity. What a childish and unseemly game! But he couldn't look away, her beauty captivated him as always. More than just her sleek and alluring body treading beneath the water, it was her eyes. He knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

Before he even realized what he was doing, Zoisite had disrobed and stood before her on the shore. She gazed upon him in awe and desire, a hint of blush on her face. Soon she gave him a challenging smirk and splashed him hard before darting further out into the lake. Zoisite, being a proper knight, could not let such a challenge go unanswered. He leapt in after her.

Despite her head start, he soon caught up to her. His lean and strong arms gave him an edge in water. Mercury squalled with gleeful terror as his arms enveloped her, pulling her close. Her warm body offset the chill of the water. She looked up into his eyes in blissful submission. He'd caught her. Beaten her fair and square. She planted a kiss on his lips, a gentle peck. Zoisite cupped her face in his hands and kissed her slowly and passionately. She kissed him back, embracing him with what felt almost like desperation. As if letting go of him would send her falling into a bottomless chasm. He returned the embrace, letting his hands wander her lean, smooth body, following every curve. She clutched him harder, a moan of ecstasy escaped her lips.

Zoisite never wanted to let go of her, never wanted to leave the lake. If only he could freeze time and let this moment be his present and future for all the rest of eternity. He broke away from the kiss to look in Mercury' eyes, he could tell she felt the same. The setting sun shimmered off the water, the glimmer reflected in her eyes. She was most precious treasure he could ever hope to have. More than the rarest jewel. He gently pressed his forehead against hers.

"I love you," he whispered.

"And I you."

The kiss resumed with renewed passion, as did the embrace. The sunlight vanished beneath the horizon. The lovers remained. Frozen in their moment of peace and love, with no wish to ever return to their worlds.