AN: Okay, sorry that took so long (you'll see why at the end of the chapter). Everything I wrote previously had a B Movie/slasher horror film feel to it. It was disappointing and not how I wanted the chapter to go. I'm satisfied with this now though. Other than the length.

And to Chavely, hap, Anon, DaftP, j, Alex, and other guest reviewers, thanks so much for the feedback. If you had accounts I'd reply 'in person' but you don't... so this is, well, it. So yeah, thanks. :)

Hopefully you'll all stick with the story especially after such a short chapter.

10.) The Ruin of Feathers

Men die in despair, while spirits die in ecstasy.

- Honore De Balzac

BERYL

I looked out the window marvelling over the progress we'd made over the last little while. The city below bustled with activity... For some reason this brought a feeling of apprehension to my heart. The commotion below us was slightly out of place, normally things were calmer. Soon he would grow suspicious.

I always knew sooner or later I would have to deal with Endymion. He would never be supportive of this, he was blinded by his infatuation with the Princess. He was far too softhearted for the reality of war and subterfuge. In the end he would be nothing but a complication. A complication that that I should have dealt with sooner... I sighed, placing my hand against the glass.

"Are you all ready to start phase two of the plan?" I asked Kunzite as he joined me, he flicked his gaze over to me.

"Yeah, we're ready." He looked over at me, his gaze pointed. "Are you?"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" I asked him, glaring in his direction.

"You know damn well what I mean." He replied. "Don't deny it Beryl. You've been... divided on this from the beginning."

There was a stony silence between us.

"And that's okay." He murmured a few minutes later. "I think we're all a little divided on this. I mean, there's a lot going on. We have to sacrifice so much for this plan. We just have to keep in mind that when this is all over... we're going to have the world."

He made a slight face.

"Worlds." He amended with a shrug.

I smiled at this. This was why I had gotten the others involved in the first place, Kunzite offered clarity when I needed it most.

"The worlds." I repeated. We needed to focus on the objective, not the path taken. I nodded. "We're ready. Start the second phase."

JADEITE

I leaned outside the door, waiting for Kunzite. The door swung open.

"We starting?" I asked impatiently. Kunzite looked over at me, sparing me a scathing glance before walking by.

"You're awfully eager about this." He stated, walking away from me. I chased after him.

"Of course I'm eager. We've been following a routine for months. I want something to happen for a change." I replied. "Only bit of action we've seen was at that..."

Kunzite looked over at me, a critical expression falling over his face.

"You wouldn't happen to be planning something... would you?" He asked conversationally, crossing his arms.

"What would give you that idea?" I replied, leaning back against the wall.

"You're cheery, annoyingly so. You only get like that when you're planning something." Kunzite stated. I gave a shrug. He grabbed my arm, his fingers digging in painfully. The air crackled around us as darkness flexed between us. I met his eyes with a feeling akin to curiosity and the slightest hint of disdain. What would happen if I pushed him a little bit farther? "Something goes wrong with the plan Jadeite... and I will deal with you. I hope you understand that."

I jerked my arm out of his grasp, doing my best not to grin. His fury was nothing compared to Rei's or Beryl's. It was amusing.

"We both know your leash is too tight for you to do that. Beryl's got you whipped." I replied, leaving him standing behind me in the hallway.

"I'm fairly sure Beryl won't mind in this case." Kunzite called after me. "She care that I spilled your blood. I wager she'd savour it if you were the one responsible for messing up her plan."

I grinned again, they wouldn't do anything to me. Killing me would further mess up their plan... and they wouldn't risk that. These were just idle threats.

MINAKO

Deep in my heart I still felt conflicted about going after Rei. I didn't know what had made me go after her the way I did. A part of me still heavily resented her... but the other was consumed with worry. I couldn't quite place my finger on how I truly felt anymore. The emotion was unfamiliar... one I had not words for. I shook my head. Nothing was easy with her around.

My inner conflict had slowed me down in my search for Rei. I should have caught up with her in a matter of minutes but... I wanted some idea of what to say when I found her. I had slowed my footsteps, hoping to find the words that were needed.

I paused slightly as I caught sight of Rei down the hallway. Fear ate at my heart. What was I going to say to her? What did you say to someone who felt as she did?

"Rei, wait!" I called out, following her down the hallway. She seemingly ignored me and continued on her way. I picked up pace, hoping to catch up. "Please wait Rei."

Again she disregarded my call, continuing to walk away from me.

"Rei. You need to stop. We have to talk." I said as I finally caught up to her, I laid a hand carefully on her arm. She stopped... and suddenly the situation struck me as familiar. We had done this before.

"I don't feel like talking right now." Rei replied, her voice was soft... almost weak. I clenched my jaw as I remembered what I had yelled last time. When I didn't reply she started to turn away. I kept my hand on her arm, gently preventing her from leaving.

"We need to talk about this though." I told her quietly, doing my best not to use a commanding tone.

"What in the nine hells do we have to talk about?" She asked me, her voice steadily gaining strength. "What could you possibly want to talk to me about?"

Again I hesitated. It seemed around her words would not come freely, I had to think of what to say. A long silence stretched between us. I reached out with my senses, trying to sense what the right thing to say was. I needed the words to make this better.

The longer we stood there the deeper the silence became. It was as though no words would break it. Rei seemed to be fading slowly, a tiredness etching its self in around her eyes.

Feeling out Rei's emotions was difficult, she was guarded again. I could feel hints of what she was experiencing though. There was no way to fully conceal the despair she felt. She was lost in the flux of emotions I could not fully decipher.

Feeling this only made finding words harder. Her expression appeared more and more distant, like her mind was far away.

"Minako. I'm tired..." Rei whispered softly, her words carrying weight behind them. "Can we have this talk later?"

I nodded, taking my hand off her arm. On an impulse I reached over and gave her a hug.

"Sleep well."

REI

I turned back the way I had come, leaving Minako in the corridor behind me. I could feel tears prickling at my eyes. I couldn't tell if it was because of the creeping exhaustion I could feel, the pain and darkness that was constantly flaring up, or if it was because of Minako's actions. Either way, I did my best to be inconspicuous when I drew my hand across my eyes.

As I approached my room, I paused, hoping that Makoto and Ami were gone. I did not feel like conversing with anyone at the moment. Half an hour had passed, enough time had hopefully passed. I would be left alone with my thoughts once again. I slowed as I reached my room, raising a hand to my head again as darkness flashed across my vision, along with the a terrible headache. I did my best to steady my breathing, this had started happening during my conversation with Minako. It was draining. These flashes of nothingness were confusing.

I had come to associate this scorching pain with the flickers of pictures and scenes for another time... There was no vision. All I saw was darkness, nothing more.

The first flickers of worry started make themselves known. Something had changed with my visions. I felt a wave of sickness as my vision cleared again.

MINAKO

I watched as Rei walked away from me. It could have been my imagination but I swore I saw tears in her eyes as she turned away. I bit down on my lip, knowing that she wouldn't want me to follow her again. Not right now at least.

I stood in the quiet corridor for a few minutes, just trying not to think about anything. I knew what I needed to do.

I needed to talk to my mother.

With a sigh I began to walk towards the rooms where my mother was staying. Just as I was about to knock on the door, it swung inwards.

"Minako." My mother greeted, gesturing for me to come in. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to get here."

I sighed again as I walked into the room. I sat down on one of the couches, watching her carefully. There were so many questions for her I didn't know where to begin. My mother sat down beside me, resting her hand against my leg.

"Start with what's easiest." She told me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked her, challenging her with my gaze.

"You're emotions should not be swayed by duty... but by your own willingness to help her. It is as you said earlier – Duty and lust are no way to start a relationship." My mother replied.

"So we're going to end up together if we want it or not?" I asked her, sinking back in my seat. I could feel my anger with my mother resurfacing. She hadn't told me of my marriage to Rei. She hadn't told me of the danger Rei was in. Would I ever get the full story from her or would I forever be dealing with fragments of information? I hadn't had the information to make a choice earlier on... maybe now she would finally let me decide something.

I thought back on Prometheus' words about Rei being Ares' avatar. I bit down on my lip gently. Was I every really free to make my own choices? Had everything up to this point been planned in advance by...

"Ultimately, it is still your choice." She told me. I paused over her choice of words.

"My choice... or our choice?" I asked her, wanting clarification. Artemis had told me earlier that Rei was supposed to defer to my judgement... did that still apply or was this something else?

"I believe Rei has already made her choice." She told me. I looked away, letting that answer fully seep in. Rei hadn't revealed any particular emotions regarding me, any evidence of that had been overshadowed by the intensity of the moment. I tried to block out the image of her father's sword swinging toward her body, the emotions that had accompanied that moment had been overpowering... and confusing.

I waited for a while, not wanting to fully address this issue right now. I had other questions.

"You were the one who set up the engagement." I stated. "Why her?"

My mother's gaze drifted away from mine, there was an odd look on her face now.

"It was a favour to an old... friend." She replied.

"Care to elaborate?" I asked, her head shook softly. Her eyes seemed more distant now for some reason, she no longer looked like my mother. My mother's eyes were always so expressive, but now it seemed as if she had pulled something back. I was unused to seeing this restraint in her.

"Not at the moment Minako. It will become clear in time." My mother told me. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

"You don't plan on telling me much, do you?" I questioned, thinking that I already knew the answer. She wouldn't tell me much. Her answer, however, surprised me.

"Minako, now is not the time for questions. It is time for our actions to speak for themselves."

APHRODITE

I looked over at my eldest daughter as I continued. My heart was heavy with my next words. I held knowledge I was not allowed to fully reveal... yet I knew I must tell her what I could. No matter how hard it was to say.

There were reasons I had chosen Rei, reasons I knew Minako was unprepared to deal with at the moment. She would come to understand and accept them... but now was not that time.

"There are things stirring in the darkness - things of terrible power." I told her, taking her hand in mine. "There are forces out there that even I do not claim to understand for they are older than you can possibly imagine. You must be ready for them, Minako, for they approach."

REI

I rested my hand against the door handle, resting my head against the door as another headache tore through my mind. The darkness again threatened to consume me. I tightened my hold on the door handle, wanting this pain to stop. The pain slowly began to fade as my vision returned. I straightened up as best I could and swung the door open.

Once inside, I could feel something in the room with me. Something was lurking in the darkness... something was waiting.

I raised my hand cautiously, calling forth the flames within me. Even before the flame appeared I could see the motion of shadows where there was no light to see by. The shifting outlines were simply darker than the surrounding darkness. I knew what was in here with me... I wished that my 'visions' had been a bit more specific.

As I held forth the flame it illuminated the room marginally. The light did not reach far though, and ultimately, the room remained in shadow. The darkness moved as one, lashing outwards. I froze momentarily, unable to think of what to do.

The sound of shattering glass awakened me as two shapes crashed through the windows. I coaxed the flames outwards into a protective barrier as I grasped at my sword. I glanced back to the windows, seeing Phobos and Deimos clawing at the creatures. Their talons spattered noxious blood across the room. I finished drawing my sword, searching deep within myself for the power to fight. I needed something to push me onwards... I needed the anger and hate.

One of the creatures clipped Deimos' wing, knocking her to the ground at my feet. I was about to lunge forward when Phobos gave a hoarse cry of fury. In an explosion of feathers, Phobos and Deimos erupted into their true forms.

Phobos stepped passed his sister, swinging his sword to knock back one of the advancing shadows. I could feel the fire stirring within me, excited by the spilling of blood. Deimos made it to her feet, one of her arms dripping with blood. Without hesitation, Deimos and I joined her brother in battle.

Even with the fires burning on our blades and the light streaming in from the window, the room remained darkened. The black seemed unending and the air was thick with the scent of blood and fear.

Pain ripped through my shoulder and chest again, stopping me short. Instinctively Phobos reached over to me, pulling me inside his protective grasp. Light from the broken window flooded over his shoulder as Deimos tore the curtains down. The light aided our situation somewhat, giving us a protective shield of sorts as the shadows retreated. I sucked in a careful breath, waiting for my lungs to refill with air as the pain faded again.

Deimos' hand rested on my arm as we warily studied the crowd before us. Even now their numbers were impossible to tell. The three of us moved closer together as the shadows began to advance again, no longer shying away from the light.

As the darkness surged forward, I didn't even see what hit me. The force of the blow knocked me through the window as the room exploded.

I landed roughly outside, completely winded as I hit the ground. Through the pain I did my best to get to my feet. In the confusion of the explosion I was unable to see what had happened to Phobos or Deimos.

Out in the sunlight, I could more easily distinguish my foe. The swarm of shadows was clearly defined now. The individual creatures were taking on more definitive shapes rather than simply blending into the shade around them.

In a flash of movement, I felt something rip past my defenses. I could feel something tearing into my chest as my ribs fractured further.

Quite distantly I was aware that my knees hit the ground as I struggled for breath. I reached over with my free hand, pressing it distractedly against the pain. My fingers stumbled across the gash in my side as I continued to choke out my breath. I coughed violently, noticing the metallic tang of blood in my mouth.

My sword loosened in my grip as I watched the darkness close in around me. I did my best to tighten my grip again and lash out once more but my hand felt numb. My heartbeat pounded in my ears rapidly, ticking away time. I doubled over as another cough racked my body. The shortness of breath was making it hard to concentrate on anything else. I couldn't breathe...

The next attack did not tear through my clothing, but rather phased through it. I could feel a coldness tearing at my heart and soul.

Distantly I heard a pained exclamation. It seemed so far away...

KUNZITE

"What have you done?" I heard Beryl cry out, her voice held an emotion akin to grief... something between fury and absolute sadness. I reached out to her as she stormed towards Jadeite. Nephrite joined me, standing warily as we watched Beryl and Jadeite.

I looked over to Jadeite, whose smirk grew wider. My eyes flicked over to Zoisite, he hung back warily as if sensing what was about to happen.

"I took care of a problem of ours." Jadeite replied, laughing.

"You disobeyed me!" Beryl screamed, her voice was practically a shriek. "Why?"

"Your mind was too clouded by her to act properly. I took care of that problem."

"I wanted her to join us." Beryl yelled. "There was still a chance for her."

"She never would have joined us willingly. You know that." Jadeite retorted, colour rising in his cheeks as his temper rose. "I sent them after her to force her to join us... Failing that, they were to tear her apart."

At this Zoisite looked up.

"You didn't..." He whispered softly, a look similar to fear upon his face. Beryl turned on him, I stepped between them, I wasn't willing to watch him take the brunt of her wrath.

"Didn't what?" Beryl hissed. Zoisite took half a step back, his hands raised in a placating manner.

"We've been working on a forced soul conversion. It's still in its experimental stages. No one has... survived it." Zoisite mumbled, looking down at his feet. He was clearly uncomfortable with Beryl's rage.

"She would have been controllable had it worked." Jadeite said, the smug look of victory lingered on his face. He grinned. "She would have taken... orders."

I felt a little sick at Jadeite's words. He had been changing recently, ever since the Moon he had been obsessed with Rei. He had been obsessed with revenge, he wanted her to bow before him.

A different kind of darkness was seeping into the room as Beryl's rage grew. There was emotions contained with in her I still did not quite understand. Beryl turned back to Jadeite. There was an intimidating glint in her eye.

"She would have joined us willingly if given enough time. She would have come to her senses." Beryl said lowly. I stepped closer to Zoisite, this quiet anger was more terrifying than her explosive rage. Jadeite's expression was changing from smug satisfaction to annoyed wariness "Your sick perversion of desire has ruined that."

"You don't even know if she's dead." Jadeite protested.

"No one has survived yet." Zoisite put in, his voice shaking. I couldn't tell if it was in fear or anger. "You can't expect us to believe that you meant for her to live."

Beryl advanced on Jadeite as she unsheathed the long dagger at her side. Jadeite began backing away. I grabbed him, pinning his arms behind him.

I had warned him... Even so, I couldn't bring myself to watch as the knife neared his throat. I turned my face away, feeling his struggles grow weak. Slowly he stopped fighting and sank slowly to the ground, I didn't bother holding him up.

I watched as Beryl wiped blood from the knife with an eerie calm. Her gaze met mine, her eyes were dark.

"Nephrite... clean that up." Beryl commanded before turning on heel and leaving the room. Nephrite was looking down at the bloody mess before us silently. Distantly we heard a door slam.

"She's insane." Nephrite muttered, shaking his head slightly. I looked over at him sternly. He caught my look and rolled his eyes.

"What?" He asked, looking kind of shaken as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Beryl has a lot on her mind." I told him. "Jadeite isn't... wasn't exactly helping."

"It was a bit of an overreaction." Zoisite muttered. I looked over at him. "He was our...ally."

"Listen." I said lowly. The two looked over at me. "She's knows what needs to be done. He was more trouble than he was worth."

There was a moment of silence, I met each of their gazes before they looked away. Nephrite sighed. I looked back at him, thinking he was about to start arguing.

"Can't believe I have to clean up his fucking mess." Nephrite growled. I fought back a grin. He was a piece of work. Zoisite nudged my arm. He looked as though he might be having second thoughts about something.

"What if it worked?" He asked.

AMI

"No!" Setsuna yelled, a wave of energy erupted from her, blowing the monster apart. Rei crumpled towards the ground. Setsuna was looking shaken as she caught Rei in her arms, lowering her the rest of the way to the ground. Darkness loomed behind them. There was a crackle of electricity, the second monster gave an unworldly shriek before dissipating. Makoto stood there with her hand outstretched, a surprised look on her face as electricity danced along her finger tips. Before I realized what was happening I was kneeling next to Setsuna, the fabric of my leggings becoming soaked in Rei's blood. Some disconnected part of my brain noted that Rei was unconscious, another part of my brain pointed out that this wasn't a good thing.

"You weren't supposed to want it to end Rei." Setsuna murmured, brushing hair out of Rei's face gently. The courtyard was alive with activity as people responded to the invasion of creatures.

"We need to get her inside." I said urgently after a cursory glance to assess Rei's condition. My primary prognosis was not good. Setsuna moved to pick Rei up but was stalled by a hand on her arm.

"I'll help." Makoto said, together she and Setsuna carefully lifted her into the air. I forced myself to ignore the steady drip of blood that fell. Halfway across the courtyard we were joined by Haruka and Michiru, both of whom had been making their way through the chaos towards us.

Most of the shadows had disappeared the moment Rei had been taken down. I looked over at Makoto

"Haruka, can you run and grab my med kit meet me..." My voice trailed off, where were we taking Rei? The infirmary was too far away... Rei wouldn't make it that far.

"My room is closest." Minako said, as she swung around one of the corridors.

Haruka nodded at me, disappearing almost immediately. We turned another few corners and entered Minako's rooms.

Makoto and Setsuna laid Rei out on the bed. I took a steadying breath as I prepared to help Rei. I swallowed roughly as I caught sight of the ragged chest wound. I carefully reached over, running one hand over her ribs.

"I need bandages... cloth... something to stop the bleeding." I muttered, feeling which ribs were broken.

Minako placed a set of towels beside me. My mind was spinning.

I could feel my hands shaking, I was in a bit of a daze as I tried to remember what to do. A hand rested on my shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze.

"Ami just concentrate." Makoto's warm reassuring voice told me. "Talk me through this. What's wrong and what do you need?"

I swallowed again sharply, starting to go through the motions. I checked for a pulse, hardly feeling the rapid beat beneath my fingers. It was getting weaker.

"Okay." I breathed softly. "Most of her ribs are broken on her left side. There's a large gash, one collapsed lung. Cough..." I said, I set the towels to one side of the bed. Part of me already recognizing that it wasn't time for those yet.

Makoto cut me off.

"Priorities Ami, what needs to be taken care of first?" She prompted, talking me through it. I nodded. Haruka dashed into the room passing the med kit to Michiru, who started to unpack the medical kit. She passed me an antiseptic handwash. I scrubbed down as quickly as I could.

"Um... dealing with a Traumatic Pneumothorax. Okay. I need... something to make a seal. - stop the lung from collapsing further." I glanced over at Michiru, pointing to something in the kit. "That and the scissors. I need the scissors first."

I ignored the fact I was getting blood everywhere as I cut Rei's clothing away from the wound. I took the package from Michiru, quickly opening the thin, clear bandage. I waited for Rei's chest to fall slightly before quickly applying the bandage, reaching past Michiru for the tape. I quickly taped the top and sides down, leaving the bottom free. I watched for a second as the bottom of the bandage fluttered slightly then closed, preventing air from entering the wound.

I clenched my hands again, trying to remember what came next.

Seal and dress the open chest wound. The phrase repeated over and over in my mind.

"What next Ami?" Makoto asked, I glanced over for a split second, noticing how pale she was.

I took one of the white gauze pads from the kit, placing it over the seal. I began dressing the wound as effectively as I could. It had been a long time since I'd had to deal with an emergency. I couldn't remember everything that I needed to do. I had probably done something wrong already... I shook that thought aside.

I carefully applied pressure to the wound, doing my best to avoid causing her further injury. I needed to control the bleeding. I looked up, Minako stood across from me.

"Put your hands over mine." I told her, she was reacting even before I finished speaking. I decided I didn't need to finish my instructions, she knew I was going to tell her to gently apply pressure.

I began checking her over for other injuries. The palm of one hand rested on her chest, just above where Minako was applying pressure.

I glanced at Rei's face, noticing the bluish tinge to her lips. Decreased amount of oxygen in the blood. Vaguely I wondered how long her lips had looked like that, was her situation improving or was she getting worse?

I reached my other hand over, checking her pulse at the carotid artery. I could feel it slowing further, her chest was hardly rising and falling with each breath now.

And with that, I could no longer feel Rei's heart beating through her chest. I bit down on my lip, trying my best not to break down and cry. She had given up. I fought back tears as I looked up, catching Minako's eye. She removed her hands from where she had been applying pressure. I shook my head, trying to choke back the sadness. I raised a hand to my face, regardless of the blood on my hands.

"She's gone." I heard myself say.

There was a moment of painful silence, then somewhere behind me I heard Michiru's soft sobs. I couldn't bring myself to turn around.

AN: So yeah, if you haven't reviewed in a while/ever I'd be happy to hear your thoughts. Seriously. I love hearing from you all. And, uh, I'll just... leave you with that. Not much more to say really.