Hello everyone! I've been an awful updater! I apologize! I have a job, an internship, and university classes. The spare time I have is usually split up as follows: studying, eating, sleeping, and writing. I hope you all can forgive me. I have the next chapter already started so I hope it won't take months for me to get it up like this one.

Enjoy! And thanks for your wonderful patience. It will be rewarded!

Chapter 18: A Battle of Life and Death

Endymion stood still with his arms held out as a ward slipped on his armor over his limbs. He had been prepared for this moment since he was twelve. His father had explained to him at a young age that a war could break out at any moment for no reason foreseen. All he could do was make assumptions about the uprising from the east; it could have been Catherine's brother Octavio, it could have been their religious beliefs not being recognized, or it could simply be caused by the heavy poverty that was a constant cancerous sore on their kingdom. Even though he was king, he couldn't fix everyone's problems all at once.

"Your majesty," Kunzite greeted as he strolled into the large tent. "Your horse has been prepared for you and I have a map laid out on the table with our troops and enemies pinpointed in the area."

"Has there been any word of my wife's condition?" he asked, seeming like he was ignoring the other things that had been mentioned.

His top general sighed, "No sire. There have been no changes since you last asked."

The king wafted the dressing servant off when he was done and then turned around to face Kunzite, "You speak as though I am asking for something outrageous. She is my wife. My wife, Kunzite!"

"I know, your grace. It's just that—"

"That what? That this war is more important than her and my child that is forming quickly within her womb? You are clearly mistaken!" he roared, his face growing a bit pink with anger.

"I apologize your majesty. I did not wish to upset you," he bowed.

"Well you did," he replied, his voice lowering and his temper waning. "Now tell me about our—"

But before he could even complete his thought, a huge explosion of dirt, rubble, and smoke threw everyone around the premises on their backs. Endymion was knocked out and taken away from the area along with his inner circle of generals. Word soon reached the moon and Serenity knew what to do…

"It's time," she whispered as a tear dripped down her cheek while scanning the letter that had been delivered to her. "Oh dear goddess of the moon, I had prayed this day would never come."

She sat in the grand throne room with most of her ladies in waiting. Rei was away on Mars asking for her brother to help with the current war and push him to marry someone soon. Serenity didn't know about the latter, but even if she did, it wouldn't be on her mind. She was surprisingly calm when handed the news that her husband had been blasted into captivity. He and the other generals were being held for ransom. Serenity wasn't going to take this lying down…or giving birth.

She led the way to the spaceship through the grand halls and bowing servants who were mumbling words of prayer to her. At the entrance of the vessel, her mother was waiting for her. The two embraced solemnly and the elder queen handed her a small vile of lavender colored potion. It was supposed to help with the pain once the baby had passed on to the other side.

"Does it hurt?" Serenity asked tearfully.

"Yes," her mother answered. "Don't be afraid, my child. You've been through so much already. This is the right thing to do. You need to be at your husband's side."

The young queen nodded in silent response as she felt a pair of soft lips press against her crescent moon. She stepped back and bowed to her mother before boarding the flight with her remaining women. They settled down in the joint chambers that had been specially made for the Serenity's protection. Clutching onto her large belly, she waddled over to the canopy bed and took deep breaths as she sat down.

"How are you feeling?" Ami asked, handing her a glass of water.

"Nervous," she whispered.

"We'll all be here. We won't leave your side, Serenity," Mina reassured her.

She tossed her a small smile and then looked over at Lita who was staring out the window with a grave expression sprinkled over her face. She clearly missed her son and was worried about his well-being.

"He's in the best care possible," Serenity said to her, snapping the Scout of Jupiter out of her daze. "The moon is the safest place for him."

"I know. I just…"

"I understand, Lita. I wish I was there with Selene right now. We have to be patient and fight for our loved ones right now," she stated. Patting the bedding, she ordered her, "Now come and help me out of this garment."

Lita did as she was told and the women helped the queen slip out of her royal gown and into a long, flowing white dress that was loose fitting. The ship was starting to shake as she climbed into bed, preparing herself for the worst. She wore the vile of medicine around her neck for easy access once the whole process was over. This wasn't exactly the most ideal time for Rei to be off on Mars, but she would have to take comfort that she at least had three of her best friends around her.

On Mars….

"You want me to what?" Apollo asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"You heard me. I want you to send troops down to earth to help our fellow comrades," Rei snapped as she crossed her arms over her chest.

She had arrived on Mars in her battle gear, ready to take as many willing and able soldiers – both men and women – along with her back to earth. However, her brother wasn't being as compliant as she had hoped. He was stubborn, much like herself, but his reasons were all wrong. He wanted to prove something to Endymion; make him hurt. The king was already hurting, everyone knew that, but Apollo wanted him to have a near death experience. Maybe then Serenity would see her husband as a weakling and come crawling back to him.

The two siblings were standing in the grand conference room with the long, dark wooden table dividing them. Apollo just had a meeting with his advisors about the pros and cons of going into the said war and they all agreed that it would be in his best interest to help out the greatest kingdom in the galaxy. If he didn't step in soon, then another planet would receive the blessed allegiance. The Grand Prince didn't want to give in so easily though. He wanted them to beg for his help. Rei had already glossed over his mind and discovered that this was his ulterior motive. She also knew that if he didn't do as she asked, she could take over his position and see him as an unfit ruler for their planet. There were certain clauses in the Martian constitution, such as interplanetary war, that if the Grand Prince didn't make a logical stance that agreed with parliament, his sister would receive all the power. She didn't want it to come to that, but if he wasn't going to help, then she would call for it. Their parents had placed these rules in for the very reason that they knew all about Apollo's temperament. There had to be a system that would keep him in check.

"Why are you doing this?" his sister asked, dropping her arms from her chest.

"Doing what?"

"Being so resistant!"

"I don't want to put my people in danger. I think some clever scholars call that being cautious," he said slyly.

"Cautious? Ha! Please. You have never been cautious in your whole life. You've been reckless, carefree, and above all you've been selfish," she growled.

"I do believe you just described yourself, dear sister," he smirked.

"Don't make me call for an emergency meeting of the elders," she sighed. "I will receive their blessing to take on as many troops as possible and if you refuse in front of them, they will ultimately make me the Grand Princess of Mars."

"But you're dedicated to your queen!" he exclaimed, his expression showing slight fear of losing power.

"I don't have to be," Rei shrugged.

"You signed a contract," he insisted.

"Which states that if I am inducted as Grand Princess due to unforeseen circumstances such as war, then I can remove myself from the document," she replied. She tilted her head a bit as she asked, "You never read the fine print, do you?"

"I don't need to."

"Oh yes you do dear brother," she scoffed. "I have two different ways of removing you from your throne. The first I just explained."

"What's the second?" Apollo asked curiously, looking at her shyly through his long, straight black hair.

"Marriage. If I am wedded before you, you will have to step down. I have a suitor who is willing to take me to an altar at a moment's notice," she announced.

After a pregnant pause, he asked, "It wouldn't happen to be one of those generals who are held captive right now, would it? If that's the case, then you can't possibly get married. You're bluffing."

"Well I still have that ace up my sleeve if you won't do as I have requested," she said with a scathing tone, leaning over the table.

"You wouldn't dare…" he whispered in just as menacing of an attitude and matching her posture.

The two Martian royals stared at one another for a while before Rei snapped her fingers in the air. A troop of elderly men and women ranging from short and fat to bald and scrawny with long hair and identical blue bears came strolling into the room. They filled the twenty seats around the long table and Rei and Apollo stood at either end in a face off.

"My elders, you have spoken your peace, but my brother refuses to take your point of view," Rei declared, her voice bouncing off the walls. "He won't send troops to earth in order to help our fellow brethren. King Endymion and his camp have been attacked and taken under siege. It is our duty as his great ally to fight for him. Right now his queen is on her way to the earth. She is with child."

The elders all started murmuring and gasping.

"You know what that means. She will lose the child, but she is not prepared to lose the war and her husband along with it. Her courage is an inspiration to our people. If she is willing to pull such a drastic stunt then surely we can send troops of willing and able men and women to the battlefield," she concluded.

The woman sitting in the center, on the left side of the table stood up and turned to Apollo. She had on long purple robes with gold stitching. Her grey locks trickled down her back to her waist and her light blue eyes had yet to be covered by thick wrinkles.

"Grand Prince Apollo," she said, her voice slinking out of her lips in a rather sultry tone, "you have defied the elders? The gods have demanded and sent us clear signs that we must support the king in his efforts to save his land from these rebels. Why do you refuse to send the troops? Our soldiers are the best, the greatest … and even the queen is putting herself in danger in order to help."

"I … I…"

"Your words cannot possibly explain the direct deceit you have committed," an elderly man closest to Rei quivered.

"Because of your dishonesty, you will be stripped of your titled as Grand Prince. Lady Rei is to become temporary ruler and Grand Princess until we seek other preparations," a short woman with thick glasses announced.

"She has clearly listened to our unanimous request," the standing woman said before sitting down. "You may leave your post."

Apollo was speechless for once. He clenched and unclenched his fists over and over again. Closing his eyes, he said through gritted teeth, "Good day, my elders." He opened his violet orbs and shot them at the matching ones at the end of the table, "Your highness."

With that, he stormed out of the room with a few guards following him in one swift motion. Rei sighed out loud and looked at the advisors before her.

"I want a set of ten thousand soldiers on board a ship immediately. We cannot afford to wait much longer," she announced. "I will go down to earth with them and lead the way. You all will stay here in power and keep an eye on my brother, please."

The room chuckled slightly. She stepped back, bowed to them all and then breezed out of the room. Rei started picking up her pace into a small jog along the marble and black granite floor. She stopped suddenly when she heard loud thumping and rustling in her brother's chambers. He was frantically packing away a small duffle bag filled with what looked like essentials for being on the run … or being in a war.

"What are you doing?" Rei asked, her breath suddenly becoming slower and almost halting.

"You should know why I didn't send any troops down there," he murmured.

"Because you still love Serenity? You don't want to save Endymion?" she suggested.

"Think deeper little sister," he replied devilishly. "Who do you think gave Octavio all of his weaponry? I'm the reason he was able to attack Endymion in the first place," he said triumphantly.

"You … you wouldn't? No …"

"I cannot stand that Endymion is the greatest in the universe. Mars had always been the superlative planet in the galaxy. Then suddenly Endymion and Serenity had all of this drama, an over the top wedding, and a son who was killed." Apollo turned around and looked at his sister whose face was riddled with shock. He sighed a little bit and said, "You're probably wondering why you didn't see this coming. I kept my tracks well hidden both physically and mentally. I've learned over the years of being your brother how to hide certain thoughts from you."

"How could you do this?" she gasped.

"If Serenity had married me like all was planned, then there would have been no need for this," he argued. "I was supposed end up with her. Not Endymion."

"I … I have to … I … I need to get out of here," Rei stammered as she turned around and stumbled out of the room.

She couldn't send her brother off to jail as was expected of such a traitor. He would be sentenced to death. Her only brother would be killed … she couldn't do that to him. She loved Apollo. They only had each other. If she turned him in … but if she didn't …

"Your grace?" a voice asked.

Rei snapped out of her rambling thoughts and looked up at the young man in an army green outfit adorned with multiple medals and medallions. He started to explain to her the number of troops she could have now on board her flight, what to expect on earth, how much ammunition they had, and what sort of transportation they were to expect. Part of her was soaking it all in, but her emotional side was anxiously wondering what to do about Apollo. He was clearly making a run for it before anyone found out about his true motives.

Meanwhile on board the ship…

Serenity was awoken in the middle of her brief nap by a sharp, white-hot pain drilling into her abdomen. She looked down at her stomach that she had been clutching protectively for the whole flight and found a pool of blood trickling uncontrollably from her lower region. She grunted and groaned in pain as Ami swept in with a bowl full of cold water and a wash cloth. The scout placed the wet rag onto her sweaty forehead and then tended to the predicted miscarriage. Mina sat at the queen's side and continued to dab her head with ice cold water while Lita let her squeeze her hand as hard as she wanted.

"Break the damn thing for all I care," Lita smiled, trying to make Serenity think about something other than the excruciating pain of sacrificing her child.

It didn't work though. She continued to scream in agony as she went through the process of pushing out her stillborn. Her chest heaved up and down as she was commanded by Ami to keep pushing. She felt like her insides were tearing apart both emotionally and physically. Serenity was on her fourth and most excruciating push when she was told by her nursing scout that it was the final one. Out came a breathless baby with its eyes closed, its skin tinged grey and its forehead clearly not marked with the symbol of the moon as it would have once it gasped its first breath. It was a girl. The lifeless, baby girl was wrapped up in a light pink towel and given away to a servant to be cleaned and placed in a basket in case Serenity wanted to see it when she was more coherent.

Ami turned back to her queen and found that she was still bleeding profusely. She warned Mina and Lita that they should look away while she worked on trying to stop the hemorrhaging. Serenity ended up passing out in the middle of it all and when she awoke, she was feeling weak, damp, and didn't know where she was. Her eyes adjusted to the sight of Lita snoring lightly in a chair beside her. She turned to the other side and saw Mina sleeping soundly on the edge of the bed. The old sheets had been taken away to be bleached and Serenity had been bathed, changed, and placed back into a clean bed without her knowledge. She sat up a little bit with uncontrollable tears falling from her giant blue eyes. In front of her was Ami, standing at the window with the bundled up child in her arms. She turned to look at her and didn't say anything; she didn't have to. The Scout of Mercury stepped quietly toward her queen and handed her the dead baby. She sat there for an hour silently, staring at the features that could have been; she had her father's nose, her grandmother's cheeks, and her grandfather's chin. She would have been a strong willed girl. She would have run through the fields against her Aunt Rei's requests not to. She would have been flighty like Serenity, yet stoic like Endymion. But no one would know now …

Lita suddenly jumped up from her awkward sleeping position and looked around the room. Mina had just woken up from her slumber as well to find Ami putting the finishing touches on her majesty. Queen Serenity turned around as she knotted her hair up in her signature pigtails. Her face was as cold as steel and her chest was puffed out with extreme confidence in her battle outfit. It consisted of a thick breast plate, a short leather pleated skirt for easy maneuvering, and tall leather boots that had been broken in from her combat training. She had on her matching leather gloves, a set of arrows slung around her shoulder, and a bejeweled sword attached on her hip.

"Get dressed," she ordered. "We land in an hour."

"Yes your majesty," the two unprepared scouts said in unison.

Before they could scurry away, she announced, "Rei will meet us there with a horde of soldiers." They nodded to her silently. She continued on, this time in a softer tone, "And thank you. I'm grateful to all of you for being here with me during this awful process. I don't know how my mother endured it multiple times in her life, but I can assure you, that will be the last time I will have this happen to me. I don't ever want to kill a child deliberately again."

"This is a special circumstance, your highness," Ami whispered, "surely the gods understand."

"Oh they do. And if not, then when I see them in the next world, I will ask them what they would have done. I doubt I'll get a straight answer," she said with a tiny sly smile curving the edge of her lips.

The group landed in a cornfield where Rei and her troops were waiting patiently on horses and on foot. Four vacant horses were silently watching their owners stroll up to them and then whinnied once they had been mounted. Rei didn't have time to give Serenity any concerned looks of her recent loss and quite frankly, Serenity didn't have time to think about it. She was thankful that Rei was a no-nonsense kind of lady.

"My brother is a traitor," she announced suddenly as they started to trot through a nearby forest.

"Excuse me?" Mina asked.

"I have been deemed Grand Princess of Mars because my brother went against the wishes of parliament," she explained. "Before my parents passed on, they had a rule created specifically for me and my brother; we were to listen to parliament should either of us become ruler of the planet. My brother needed to be checked by the elders more times than once, but he intentionally went against their unanimous decision to give the Golden Kingdom support. He wouldn't do it. So I confronted them."

"And they crowned you the new ruler? Oh dear…" Ami said, shaking her head. "What does this mean for your post as lady in waiting to Serenity?"

"I don't know! Because now, my brother has also been found guilty of treason among the court!" she exclaimed, her eyes brimming with tears. "He helped Octavio with weaponry."

"What!" Serenity shouted, her voice dripping anger. "He did what?"

"The reason for the explosion is solely my brother's fault … I … I'm sorry Serenity. I should have known he was plotting something so horrendous—"

"It's not your fault Rei," she comforted. "He's your brother. He's learned how to dodge you and your powers."

"Where is he?" Lita asked.

"I don't know. I should have kept him locked up in his chambers, but I just couldn't be around him. I didn't know what I would do. He's my brother … I …"

"I would have done the same thing if it was one of my brothers," Lita reassured her.

"But you have ten to spare!" she argued.

"That doesn't make it any easier. They each have their own qualities I would dearly miss. I love them equally."

"That's bullshit," she murmured.

This made the rest of the scouts giggle a little bit until they came upon a burned down clearing past the last bit of redwood trees. This was where Endymion and his troops had been stationed and clearly bombarded. The ground was still smoldering and the hair was tainted with rotting, burned flesh. There were remnants of the camp grounds, dead men all over the place, and one fidgeting soldier a few feet away. Serenity leapt off her horse and went bounding toward the barely living man who was covered in dirt, mud, and blood. She clasped her gloved hand over his broken one and wiped the sweat off of his brow. He didn't have long to live, she could feel it.

"Good sir, do you know what happened here?" she asked calmly.

"There was a great light, m'lady," he croaked. "We were blown back like the heavens were coming down on us."

"And the king? What of your lord and master, King Endymion?" she asked breathlessly.

"He and his generals tried to fight off the gruesome amount of men, but they couldn't do it, miss," he answered. He coughed up blood all over her silver covered chest and stained her matching hair. He passed her an apologetic look. "I saw them get taken away in cuffs and chains."

"Do you know which way they went?" He pointed lazily with his head due north and then died in her arms. She looked over her shoulder at Ami and said, "I want to know the name of this soldier and have his family be sent a medal!"

She got up from the ground and bounced back onto her horse while two Martian soldiers found out all of the information they could about the man. They followed the hundred horse hooves that embedded the hard ground ahead. During the long journey, Serenity began to worry about her husband. What if he wasn't alive? What if they had killed him? No, she would have felt something instinctual if they had done something grotesque and awful to him. If this was all Apollo's doing though … he would most likely be torturing Endymion right now. The thought sent a shooting pain across her arm.

No. Wait. That was an arrow that just did that.

Serenity shook her head and ducked just in the nick of time. The scouts had gotten off of their horses and were now standing behind the thick trunks of the trees for protection as well as holding out their shields. Lita was examining the arrow carefully, trying to find out if it was from a tribe of some sort of if it was from Octavio. The symbols along the body of the arrow told her that it was from a rural village.

"Could they be our enemy?" Mina asked. "I mean they keep shooting at us!"

"No … they don't know who we are," Lita replied.

"Then let's show them," Serenity announced as she stood up without her protective shield.

She started to walk toward the group of people, letting the arrows fly past her and even dent her chest slightly. She stopped at the edge of the forest and held her palms out at the raining group of arrows. They all suddenly stopped in mid-air, a power she had resisted showing to anyone but her scouts. The crowd watched in disbelief as Serenity struggled to kill the weapons group by group. After about a minute, all of the arrows had fallen down to the ground, along with the queen herself. She hadn't used her powers like that in a long time. She never thought she would have to …

"It's the queen!" a portly man shouted.

The gentlefolk came running up to the fallen woman, but her scouts immediately surrounded her, their eyes glaring at the dirty scoundrels who had attacked them. Serenity pushed herself up into a sitting position and said weakly, "It's fine. It's fine. These people are on our side."

"Yes they are," a familiar voice said.

Zoisite came out from the back of the throng of people and knelt down to the queen with a wooden bowl of water for her. The scouts didn't know what to say, but Serenity didn't have time to be stunned.

"Where is my husband?" she asked, after drinking the water.

"I don't know," he answered. "They thought I was dead on the carriage ride so they tossed me off. I was found by these kind people and was nursed back to health." He looked over at Ami and stood up to his feet. Zoisite pulled her to him suddenly and he kissed her with a gentle touch. When he pulled back, he said quietly, "I never thought I would get a chance to do that. You were the last thing I remembered seeing before I slipped into a coma."

"I … um … I'm flattered," she replied politely, her face blushing profusely as she pushed her way out of his grasp.

"Do any of you people know where your king was taken off to?" Serenity asked as Mina helped her to her feet.

"'E was taken down the road that runs along the river bank, mum," the portly man answered with a toothless grin. "We 'ad no idea 'e was the king."

"Oh?"

"They stripped 'im of all his royal garb!"

"They took everything, including all of our clothes," Zoisite explained. He held his arms up and gestured to the outfit that was not fitting correctly. The pants were too short, the shoes had a hole in one of the toes, and the flowing dark blue shirt was one or two sizes too big.

Serenity thanked the men for defending their country and then leapt back onto her horse.

"Mum, would it be a'right witch you if we were to come along?" the leader of the group, the short, fat, balding man asked.

"You want to come into battle with me?" she replied curiously.

"Yer our queen. We needs to protect yous an' all!" he replied incredulously.

"What's your name soldier?" Rei asked, her face riddled with amusement at their eagerness to go to war.

"My name is Pickens, mum," he answered.

"Well Pickens, you and your able men should pick up your arrows off the ground, stow them and join the Martian league that is walking alongside us. They have long legs though, so you must keep up," she warned them. "I do not tolerate stragglers."

"Don' you worry miss! We'll keep up. Won' we men?" Pickens asked. They all roared in agreement.

With that, the group, along with two dozen more people, moved down the slightly muddy path. Zoisite shared a horse with Ami and she did her best to not blush, but it was awfully difficult when his arms were wrapped around her waist; it was such a provocative position. They all came beside the river bank and followed it's softly flowing waters until they were caught off guard by the sight of a towering mountain sitting across a thick wooden bridge. The sun had fallen behind the giant rock and looked menacingly at the small army. Sighing loudly, Serenity ordered everyone to cross the bridge and then set up camp at the base of the mountain.

When they all got themselves settled around half a dozen campfires, they started to dish out simple food that consisted of rosemary herb rice and boiled garlic chicken with flasks of red wine. The peasants were baffled that the royal queen would spare such decadence. She furrowed her brow in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "We're in battle. I can't eat extravagant foods."

"We heard the king always ate the best fruit and vegetables known along this countryside," one of the frail teenage boys answered before tearing into a drumstick.

Zoisite laughed and shook his head, "Rumors. All rumors. We ate the same food as our troops did. We are not above you as people, especially when we're fighting for the same cause."

"How long do you think it will take to breech that mountain pass?" Mina asked.

"Probably a full day, unless we can find a path," Ami mused.

"It will take six hours," Zoisite stated. "If people keep up, that's how long it will be. If people fall back, then it will take us eight to nine hours."

"You've battled here before, haven't you?" Serenity asked curiously.

"Yes, m'lady," he nodded. "Endymion led a brigade of one hundred men over this ridge."

"Why?"

"There was a group by the name of 'Sacred Sons'. They were traveling to rural areas and villages in order to sacrifice women they deemed 'unfit for this godly world'," one of the men sitting at a different bonfire answered. "They killed my daughter and defiled my wife. They said that because we were teaching our young females how to read, we were going against the word of god."

"Endymion ordered this cult to end their murderous pillaging, but they refused. He offered them mercy and said that if they stopped now, he would pardon them off to a far away village," Zoisite continued. "But they still refused. A war broke out down in the caves and Endymion came out a champion. He lost two men and part of his soul."

"Part of his soul?" Rei repeated.

"He believes that every time he kills someone, a piece of soul is chipped away," he smirked. His eyes shifted onto Serenity, "Your husband told me once that his soul was slowly being mended because of you. Your love for him and the children you have birthed has given him new hope." He reached for her hand and kissed it gingerly, "Thank you, m'lady."

She merely smiled at him and then went back to finishing up her meal. The large assembly of people cleaned their dishes in the river and then settled down to sleep. Serenity had difficulty falling into slumber though; she kept wondering if her husband was still alive. Where was he? Was he chained up? Was he shivering somewhere? Did they feed him? Was he parched? Were his lips chapped from the harsh winds and bitter nights?

Rei sat up and crawled over to her queen; the constant questioning was disturbing her sleep as well. She sat beside Serenity, placed her silver haired head on her lap and started to massage her temples tenderly. She removed all of the queries and fears from her mind so that she could sleep finally. When the Martian princess finished what she was doing, she turned back around and crept back to her sleeping mat. Zoisite tapped her on the shoulder and asked her what she had just done.

"I quieted her mind," she answered.

"Why?"

"If she doesn't sleep, I can't either; especially if I'm this close to her."

He nodded in an understanding way and then rolled back over to fall asleep.

The next morning, the crowd of people got their things together and started to trek up toward the rocky path. Zoisite led the way, followed by the queen and her ladies in waiting. They let the horses stay behind for the rest of this journey; at this point it would have been too much of a strain on the beasts and they didn't want to risk them getting killed.

After hours of hiking and climbing, the general held a fist up, signaling that everyone come to a halt. He crouched down and looked beyond a large boulder with Serenity at his side. He pointed to the large wooden cart that was missing a wheel.

"That's what we were taken into," he whispered. "I'm pretty sure this is their campground."

There were a bunch of burley men and tough looking women moving about, preparing for war by transporting weaponry, missiles, and packaged food from carts to tents. Rei recognized much of the artillery to be from her home planet which would make this a literal situation of "fighting fire with fire". She conveyed her concerns to Serenity, but the queen didn't seem phased by it. She insisted that they charge on as a distraction so that she could go searching for her husband and the other generals.

"That's a crazy idea," Rei argued.

"I'll take Lita and Zoisite with me as protection," she insisted. "This will work. I promise you."

"And if it doesn't and you get killed?" she exclaimed.

"Calm yourself, Rei," Serenity ordered. "I will be fine. I have the gods on my side."

Before the raven haired woman could argue with her anymore, Mina gestured to the troops and ordered them to wait for her command to charge down. She stood up to her feet, exposing golden armored self to the whole camp down below. A guard shouted and pointed to her as she lifted her spear up in the air, signaling that the thousands of men and women to start running at them. The startled people, who were in the middle of moving things around, got a hold of weapons just in time to fight back. The red and black sea of armor from the Martian soldiers swept over the white and blue clothed army that was just now getting its bearings together.

Rei traveled out through the throng of people, easily cutting her way past her enemies while looking for her brother. Sure enough, he was on the outskirts of the fight, waiting and sitting on a rock casually. She held her sword out toward him and he merely pursed his lips in response. The weapon she had decided to use belonged to her mother and was adorned with rubies, black diamonds, and the thickest metal known to man. Apollo had in his grasp their father's sword which showed only difference in the fact that was it meant to be held by a thicker hand.

"I don't want to do this, brother," she said solemnly with her eyes filling with raging tears. "Please step over to my side."

"The side where Serenity sits beside the wrong husband?" he inquired with an arched eyebrow.

"Don't—"

But before she could finish her sentence, he started attacking her. Apollo clearly saw her as nothing more than obstacle to what he really wanted. Love clouded his vision for what was truthful and honest. He wasn't the same man she had run to when she was frightfully upset for being betrothed over and over again. He wasn't the same person who would hide rainbow colored salamanders in her bed. He wasn't the same brother who held her at night when the thundering clouds would shake her windows. This man was a complete stranger; his eyes were vacant, his expression was terrifying and all she could see was how negative he was. So she fought on. She made sure not to kill or be killed in this clash, but she knew it was going to be very complicated. She used intricate moves and footwork in order to guide him away from anyone else who would try to kill him. Even though she could see that her loving brother was gone, she still couldn't shake the fact that she was battling her own flesh and blood.

In the middle of the struggle against Apollo, everything fell silent around her and things started to go into slow motion. She turned around to see one of the villagers pulling on his bow and arrow, aiming it at her brother. She tried to scream at them, but it was too late. Apollo carved Rei across the leg with his sword, causing her to fall down to the ground. He lifted his blade up into the air, ready to jam it into her quivering chest when the arrow sliced through his leather bound armor and directly into his heart. He paused, his deep purple orbs wide with shock as they dropped down to gaze at his sister one last time. A gurgling noise filtered through his lips and then he let go of the sword. His body collapsed down to the dirt with his violet, royal Martian eyes staring lifelessly up at the sky. A bloodcurdling scream bubbled out from the back of Rei's throat as she pulled herself toward him. She shook his body and cried out his name over and over again while thick tears dripped onto his skin from her matching eyes. It didn't feel real. She felt like she was looking down at an image, a scene that wasn't apart of her life.

The Scout of Mars suddenly felt two hands pull her off of the body and she looked around at two soldiers from her home planet trying to get her to safety. She told them to stop, but they wouldn't. She had a hard time fighting back with her leg out of commission. She started to feel helpless and overwhelmed. That's when she caught sight of her father's sword on the ground. Rei closed her eyes and let her power consume her; light blue flames engulfed her body, making the soldiers and everyone around her step back. She strolled over to the sword and then forced the blue flames upward onto the main bodies of the blades she had in both hands. The fire danced around her open wound, healing it temporarily. With her leg working a little bit better than before, she went into battle with a raging fury coursing through her veins. She killed one enemy after another without a flinch of her facial expression. Blood even splattered all over her face, but she continued on like nothing had happened. She was covered in grief and using it to her advantage.

Meanwhile, across the battlefield…

Serenity, who was flanked by Zoisite and Lita, hid behind one boulder to the next and led the way to where she believed her husband was. Although no one knew for sure, she had a deep feeling that he was being kept in a cavernous dungeon. She narrowed her gaze across the land, trying to decipher if she could see Octavio or Catherine anywhere; she couldn't. Thus, she went scampering into a tent where some guards were standing around lazily, waiting for their master. They stood up straight suddenly and pointed their swords at her. Serenity wafted her fingers over them and the metal curled up like a ribbon on a gift. The guards jumped in shock and dropped their weapons down on the ground in order to lift their hands up in the air; if she could do that their swords, what could she possibly do to their insides?

"Where is my husband?" she demanded. "Where is King Endymion? Show me to him now!"

The guards stiffened at the sight of her wrath and led the way cautiously to a trap door. The all climbed down a rickety wooden ladder and then walked along a dirty corridor which ended at a damp, thick rusting door. One of the guards pulled out a ring of keys and tried to shove the shaking pieces of silver into the lock, but he dropped them on accident. They were clearly terrified of her, as they should be, but Serenity didn't have time to console their fears. She rolled her eyes, held her palms out, and blasted the damn door down. She could feel herself growing a bit weak from using her powers so much, but she was determined to get to her husband.

"Endymion!" she shouted. "Endymion!"

"Serenity?" a deep voice hollered back.

"It's Kunzite!" Zoisite exclaimed.

The three of them, along with the three guards went running down a hallway to find a row of cells. Inside them were only Kunzite, Jadeite, and Nephrite. Endymion was nowhere to be found. The three generals were locked up to the wall with rusty chains, their bodies stripped of any clothing and their skin scratched and bruised from being flogged. As Lita and Zoisite breezed into the jail unlocked from one of the guards, Serenity went frantically looking in the other rooms for her love, but to no avail. She jogged back to the opened up quarters and asked where she could find the king.

"He's in the room at the very end of the hallway … that's where they …" but Kunzite couldn't finish his sentence; he was too weak.

Even though she could feel herself choke up with fear, she continued on to bark orders and get things moving, "I want you three," pointing to the guards, "to strip down and give them your clothes now. Hand over the keys to Zoisite. If you don't do as I ask, Lita will take care of you."

As if to prove a point, the Scout of Jupiter snapped her fingers and opened up her palm to reveal a glowing sphere of electricity. The men had heard of rumors about these fair maidens and their magical powers. They had no idea that these gifts could be so … violent. Thus, they didn't argue with the request.

While this went on, Serenity ran down the dank hallway and came to a scratched up, black door with Octavio's family crest painted on it. She started to kick on the door, knowing that she had to reserve her energy and power. The blockade was a lot heavier than she expected though. She grunted loudly as tears of frustration flowed down her cheeks. She felt a presence come up beside her and she was surprised to find the men standing all together. Kunzite was hunched over a little bit, but Nephrite and Jadeite seemed perfectly fine. Along with Zoisite, the four of them pounded against the door with their shoulders. After three tries, the women joined in and that's what knocked the barrier down into the dusty room. Flakes of dirt danced in what little grey sunlight came in through a tiny window. Serenity went sprinting into the room and slid up to Endymion who was chained against the far stone wall just like the other men had been. His eyes fluttered open slowly and then he started to breathe heavily as his face was cut across by a smile.

"Is it really you?" he asked.

She couldn't even answer him. Serenity leaned over and kissed him deeply, cupping his face in her hands while Zoisite unlatched his cuffs. The general backed away along with the rest of the group while the royal couple embraced. The two of them started to glow and fill the room with light. The bright, warm feeling emanating from them dried up the damp puddles of water that were scattered around the dungeon. It even helped give strength to the battered men. This was why they had been betrothed in the first place; their love and power put together could heal the wounded, the broken, and the universe.

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