AN: I apologize for the late update. I've been so busy this month that I spaced out on the fact February only had 28 days. So yeah, I am really really sorry about that. I'm trying my best to keep up with my work load but sometimes things just get away from me. Anyway, I hope that this chapter lives up to your expectations. Or at the very least sates some of your curiosity. And once again, it's a short chapter. So I'm sorry about that too. Figured you'd all want the chapter sooner rather than later.

11.) Deadhouse Gates

Whoever lives among many evils as I, how can dying not be a source of gain?

- Sophocles

RHODE

In a flurry of feathers, Deimos took to the air. And then I felt it.

Even from across the palace I could sense the cloud of darkness that now clouded Rei's room. My knees weakened and I sunk to the floor, the room swam around me as my head spun. Everything was so cold... The darkness made it feel like I was being pulled further and further away from the world.

There was so much anger and hate directed towards Rei at the moment, I let out a choked breath trying to make it to my feet again. Rei was practically numb, she was trying to summon the energy to fight now that Phobos and Deimos were with her. I gritted my teeth at the pain within Rei. I opened my eyes again, someone was reaching down to help me up.

"Rhode, what is it? What's going on?" Eros asked frantically. His eyes alight with concern. I couldn't answer, just then an explosion rocked the palace. Eros' eyes met mine and suddenly he understood. His arms wrapped tighter around me. I was starting to get lost in the swirling blend of emotions. My head was beginning to feel light again, like I was going to pass out.

"It's gonna be okay Rhode. I've got you." He told me. I gasped weakly for air, trying to fight off the feeling of claustrophobia. The darkness was closing in around me, trying to suffocate me. Somewhere out in the palace I could feel Minako and the others rushing outside.

There was a sudden spike in emotion before the steady disappearance of the shadows. My breathing became easier and I was suddenly able to differentiate between emotions again. The whole palace was soaked with a frantic urgency, I could feel the cause of it.

Rei was in trouble. I reached out, trying to sense her and the people around her. I couldn't really feel her she was unconscious or something, all I could tell was that she was fading. Eros seemed to feel that as well because his arms tightened around me again.

I continued trying to calm my breathing, I didn't want to pass out right now. I couldn't, not with Rei in trouble.

But then I couldn't feel anything from her. I choked slightly as the other emotions in the room became tumultuous. There entire room was highly agitated and distressed. I closed my eyes, feeling tears come to my eyes. This time the emotions were purely my own.

AMI
For a few minutes I just stood there in shock. I could hardly believe what had happened.

The entire room was now engulfed in silence. A disturbing quiet had seeped in after my words, it was like the room was frozen in time. Each of us in varying states of shock and disbelief.

The room slowly emptied, Michiru being the first one to leave. I got the feeling she just couldn't be in the room for a second longer. The sudden loss of her former best friend must have been devastating for her. Haruka followed her out of the room, looking conflicted.

Even after Minako and Setsuna left I was still locked in place. I tried to take a steadying breath, resting my hands on the bed. Rei had been here just a second ago and now...

I shook my head, unable to finish that thought. I brought a hand to my face to wipe away the tears that were beginning to fall but stopped myself as I saw the blood on my hands. I couldn't stand it anymore. I went in to the washroom. I needed to get the blood off. I turned on the water running my hands under the tap. Tinges of red now mingled with the flow of water down the drain. I reached over for a bar of soap, scrubbing at my hands.

I still couldn't comprehend how I had let this happen. If only I hadn't hesitated earlier on... maybe Rei would still be alive. If only I'd kept up with my medical studies maybe I wouldn't have stalled, the way I did. I found it hard to believe that I'd frozen up when Rei was injured. I wasn't used to medical emergencies anymore. I was out of practice and unprepared.

The water swirled around the sink. Suddenly the water was shut off and a hand grasped both of mine, stilling them as I rubbed at my hands.

"Ami. Stop." Makoto said. "You've been washing your hands for the last ten minutes. You need to stop."

I looked up at her, she was frowning at me. Her green eyes were bright, contrasted oddly with how pale her face had become.

"Makoto... she's gone." I told her. She looked away, nodding as she did so.

"I know." She replied, tightening her grip on my hand.

"I couldn't save her." I mumbled.

"You did everything you could." Makoto whispered, giving me a hug. I rested my head on her shoulder, closing my eyes. I was doing my best to forget what had happened.

Eventually I felt calmer, more prepared to deal with everything else. I straightened up, taking a deep breath. I splashed some water on my face before turning back to the main room.

MINAKO

Ami looked up at me, shaking her head. I couldn't feel anything. I was numb as I heard her say the words that some part of me couldn't bear to hear.

"She's gone."

It was like the ground disappeared from beneath my feet. Something was missing from my world and I couldn't explain how it had happened.

I hardly noticed as Michiru left the room. I struggled for breath, I was left with a gaping hole in my existence. I needed out of this place. I needed somewhere I could breathe.

I left the room as quickly as I could. There was a profound sorrow and pain lingering around me. I was grieving for something I couldn't really define. My very soul couldn't cope with what was lost. I had lost something so important I couldn't put it into words.

I could no longer feel anything but horror at what I had discovered. There was a part of me that recognized what had happened. But I couldn't bring myself to terms with it. A part of myself was missing... it had vanished the moment she did.

I slammed the door to the common room behind me, sinking to the floor as I choked out a breath. I wrapped my arms around my knees and began to cry. I just couldn't take this.

I didn't know how long I sat there for. It was like time had stopped. My breathing was shaky, the world wasn't making sense anymore. I didn't understand what was going on.

Why did I feel like this?

HARUKA

I wrapped my arms around Michiru's shoulders, pulling her against my body. I could feel her shaking uncontrollably as sobs wracked her frame. I frowned slightly. Here I was holding her as she cried about someone else. Again.

And yet, I couldn't bring myself to hold this against her. I knew what Rei meant to her and I knew what Michiru meant to Rei. I sighed, holding her closer. It hurt me to know that she was crying over someone she loved.

"I did nothing but hurt her for the past three years. And I hate myself for letting her die." Michiru whispered, her voice thick. "I just wish we had made things better between us."

I looked at her, feeling emotions well up inside me. I couldn't let her feel like this. I had to tell her.

"Michiru. She wouldn't have let you make things better." I told her sharply. I needed to make her understand this. It was up to me to make things right between them. That way Michiru could let go.

Michiru looked over at me, a devastated look on her face. I took in a breath when I realized how she'd taken my words.

"Not like that Michiru. She wouldn't have let you make things better because she wanted to protect you."

Michiru's eyes met mine, all I could see in them was confusion and a desire to understand. I sighed, cupping her face with my hand.

"She knew she was getting more dangerous and she wanted to keep you away from that. That's all. She didn't hate you."

"But..."

"No Michiru. Whatever you think about her it isn't true. She couldn't hate you... no matter what she said to make you think that." I gave a bit of a smile. "It just wasn't possible for Rei to hate you... she loved you too much for that."

"Why didn't she tell me?"

"Because she knew if she did, you wouldn't just leave her alone and she wanted you safe. She knew you needed to let her go."

MICHIRU

I felt a sickening sense of disbelief as I listened to what Haruka was saying. Didn't want to believe her but it made a certain amount of sense. Her explanation of events certainly did line up with Rei's character. As children she had always tried to protect me from certain things... including herself. I should have seen that this wouldn't change as we grew up.

If anything I should have seen that it was a trait that would have grown more pronounced in her. When things changed between us I should have known that it would make her even more closed off and secretive.

I just couldn't believe it had taken me so long to see it.

"I've been so blind." I mumbled. I paused, looking over at Haruka. I could see something odd in both of their past behaviours now that I knew. They had suddenly become more... at ease with one another. There was less tension between them but I had never intuited the reason behind it. But even their advancing alliance still didn't explain something. The Rei I knew never would have revealed any of this to Haruka.

"Why did she felt she could confide in you about this... plan of hers?" I asked Haruka. She looked away.

"She didn't confide in me. Not exactly."

"Haruka, what happened?"

"Nothing happened. I just saw it in her eyes. She loved you too much to let you get hurt by her."

"So she hurt me... so I wouldn't get hurt?"

"She knew you wouldn't stay away from her otherwise. What ever she said to you to make you hurt like that... she didn't mean it. I just need you to know that she didn't hate you."

"Gods above. She is such an idiot." I murmured, feeling tears come to my eyes.

"She trusted me enough to look after you. So that's what I'm doing – I'm looking after you. And I think she would have wanted me to tell you this." Haruka told me, placing her lips against my forehead. "She didn't hate you, she loved you. And she died knowing that you cared for her."

I looked back up at Haruka, trying my best to nod even though tears were clouding my vision again.

AMI

I walked back into the main room, stalling slightly as I saw Rei's body laying on the bed. Makoto's hand rested briefly on my shoulder. I took a deep breath before stepping forward.

I approached the bed. Rei was laying there looking... almost peaceful. Or at least she would if she wasn't covered in blood.

"Do you need anything?" Makoto asked, unable to look in the direction of the bed.

"Some water. I'd like to clean off some of this blood." I replied. Makoto nodded, walking back into the washroom. I heard the water begining to run again and a short time later Makoto had returned with a bowl of water and a cloth.

"Here." She told me, placing it on the night stand. I nodded, reaching over and picking up the wash cloth. I dabbed it in the water before beginning to clean off the dried blood. I gently removed all traces of battle from her skin... minus the damage that had been inflicted upon her.

After her face was cleaned off, I automatically reached for a fresh set of bandages – taking care of the wounds she had suffered.

When I had finished that I looked back at Makoto. She was studying me closely as I tended to Rei. At first I thought it was because she didn't understand my reasoning for doing this but in her eyes I saw understanding.

MAKOTO

I watched as Ami continued to bind the injuries Rei had sustained. Her hands worked endlessly, fastening bandages around the chest wound she had struggled with earlier. I could only imagine what was going through her head at the moment, she was trying to right a wrong. She was trying to fix something that she thought was her fault.

I turned my attention from what Ami was doing, looking around the room. I found what I was looking for and went to pick it up. I turned back to Ami, who was nearly finished.

When the injuries were all neatly taken care of Ami stepped back. I offered her the blanket which she spread over Rei, covering her face.

"We should go find her brother." Ami said softly, her voice sounding shaky. "He'll..."

Her voice trailed off.

"He'll know the proper rites and procedures." Ami finished, tears were starting to come to her eyes again. I swallowed roughly, not wanting to imagine how well that conversation would go. Dealing with the death of a family member was always hard.

RHODE

Eventually the feeling of being light headed faded away slightly. Eros seemed to notice for he loosened his hold on me. I got to my feet shakily, Eros reached over to me again.

"It's stopped..." He murmured. "The darkness isn't here anymore."

"You can feel it too?" I asked, already knowing that he could. There was no way he could have possibly missed it. He looked down at me, his eyes radiating emotion.

"It is always like that for you?" He questioned. "Do you always feel like you can't block it out?"

I nodded.

"Rhode?" He asked. "What do you need now?"

"I... just need to get out of this room." I told him, my voice shook as I spoke. I needed to know what had happened to them, I couldn't feel Phobos and Deimos' existence anymore. I had become so accustomed to their presence that their absence was odd and it filled me with apprehension... not to mention an unnerving sense of curiosity.

Eros nodded, helping me out of the room.

"Where too?" He asked.

"Rei's room." I told him. He looked over at me, a sad look in his eyes.

"She's not there you know. You must have felt it when she..."

"I know." I told him, feeling sorrow fill me again. She was gone and I needed to know if they had left with her. Eros nodded.

"You were fairly attached to her, weren't you?" He asked softly, his hand squeezing my shoulder in a comforting manner.

"She's important." I replied, then I frowned again. "Or she was."

EROS

I assisted Rhode to the room, pausing as I saw the chaos within. It looked like the fire that had broken out had somehow blown a hole through one of the walls. I looked back to Rhode. She walked forward, seemingly unaffected by the damage to the room. She was looking for something specific.

I followed her inside, stalling again when I saw two bodies laying in the wreckage. My apprehension was swallowed up by my curiosity. I stepped forward, no longer concerned about the safety of the chamber.

"Who are they?" I asked her. I couldn't shake the feeling I knew them from somewhere.

PROMETHEUS

I had been preparing to leave for Mars when I had received word of the attack. One of the Lunar guard had informed me of what had happened. They had told me about Rei.

Doing what I did, I was used to death but this was harder to grasp. I had just killed our father to save her and now...

I still didn't understand how anything could have killed Rei. It wasn't just her powers that made her so hard to kill, over the years I had noticed that she had allies. And her keepers had kept her alive... until now. So what had change? Why did they no longer protect her?

I found myself wandering the palace in the direction of Rei's room. I wanted to go see what I could learn from the place where Rei had been attacked. There had to be a reason for her death.

I walked into the wreckage of Rei's room, noticing the girl kneeling next to two very familiar bodies, a man hovered around her protectively. I closed my eyes. This was part of the reason why Rei had died. They hadn't been alive long enough to continue to protect her.

"Who are they?" The man asked.

"Their names are Phobos and Deimos." I replied before the girl could. "They're children of Ares. They've been Rei's companions for years."

The man turned around quickly upon hearing my voice, his agitation faded when he saw who I was. The girl didn't react at all. She was sitting motionless next to Phobos and Deimos, her hands clasped around one of the woman's. I walked over and knelt down next to her.

I reached across to Phobos, closing his sightless eyes. How in the nine hells had this happened? I didn't think anything could kill them.

"Wait. Rhode, how do you know them? I've never seen them before in my life." The man said, looking towards his youngest sister.

"Rei had them keeping an eye on me and Minako." The girl replied, looking at me rather than her brother. "One of them was always with me."

"What?" Eros demanded. "How is that possible? I've never seen either of these people before in my life!"

"They didn't always look like this. They weren't always... people." I told him, looking over at the girl again. There was something odd about her, it was like she was connected to Phobos and Deimos in a way that transcended anything I knew.

I looked back to Eros, he was looking bewildered.

"You were close to them?" I asked her. Her eyes teared up slightly. I could sympathize with the feeling. My emotions were so conflicted right now that I didn't really know what to think.

"They were always around." Rhode replied, she was mourning over the loss of Phobos and Deimos, not to mention Rei. With one final look at the bodies Rhode got to her feet and left the room. I remained kneeling next to the bodies of my sister's protectors.

Somehow seeing them dead really made me realize what had happened to Rei.

MINAKO

I remained seated in the corner, trying my hardest to pull myself together. Why was this affecting me so badly. I took in another shaky breath. The door to the common room opened, my sister stood in the door way. I looked over, Rhode was waiting in the doorway. Her arms were crossed in front of her as if she were trying to protect herself from something.

I did my best to pull back my emotions as I saw her hands beginning to shake. The feelings I was suffering were crossing between us. I bit down on my lip feeling like I was going to throw up. There was an emptiness inside of me that I couldn't explain. I had lost something that was vital to my soul.

Rhode came and sat beside me, her hand resting over mine.

"Gods." I sighed. Rhode looked at me, I could feel her emotions bridging the gap between us. "I just don't understand."

"She loved you." Rhode told me quietly. It felt like someone was trying to tear apart what was left of my heart. I brought a hand to my mouth as horror seeped into me. She loved me.

Our entire relationship redefined itself as I sat there. Rhode's hand tightened on mine.

"There was something between you the whole time... even if you couldn't see it." Rhode told me.

"How did you..."

"I knew from the moment I met her. What she felt for you... I've never experienced anything else like it." Rhode informed me.

"But why...?"

"She hid it because she didn't want to confront you with her feelings. It was all... very jumbled. From what I could gather, Martian views on love are complicated."

I took in another deep breath, trying to ignore the burning sense of loss that I was feeling. There was a hole in my existence that was just starting to make sense.

Aphrodite was a bitch.

REI

There was pain and agony as I struggled to breathe. Some part of me was aware of the voices around as they faded slowly behind me.

Time stretched on.

There was nothing but pain for what felt like ages, but at some point I noticed a certain warmth about my body. It was like opening my eyes to a disorienting light.

Through the fog surrounding my brain I was eventually able to pick out the details of where I was. Things were becoming clearer as more time passed. Just before me was a gatehouse. I approached it slowly, feeling something just beyond the gate calling to me. I laid my hand against the gates, feeling certainty flood through me. This was where I was meant to be.

"I can't allow you to pass through." A voice said softly as a hand clenched my arm. I turned away from the looming gates to face the speaker.

"Is it always so hard to die?" I asked wearily. The man looked at me, raising an eyebrow. He looked vaguely familiar, as though I had met him once a long time ago.

"No, not normally." He replied. "You're a special case, Rei. I couldn't just let you die."

I studied him again, then things suddenly clicked into place. There had been a statue of him in a Martian courtyard. However my realization did not make my situation any easier to understand.

"Ares?" I asked before I was able to stop myself. He nodded solemnly. I sighed, weren't things supposed to get easier when you died? Wasn't everything supposed to make sense?

"You weren't supposed to die Rei, it wasn't your time. Hades is allowing me to keep you from passing through because of that." Ares said, guiding me away from the gates. I glanced over my shoulder, watching them fade away. I had an odd feeling I was being ripped away from a peaceful end.

I had never truly believed in the afterlife... part of me hoped that there was nothing after death. Nonexistence would have been too easy though.

I followed Ares numbly, hoping that things would start making sense at some point.

"What do you mean it wasn't my time?" I asked.

"You weren't supposed to give up Rei." He replied, there was a calming cadence to his voice. I looked back over to him. He had kindness in his eyes. "Things weren't supposed to be this way. Something went wrong."

He sighed.

"We're trying to fix that though. Things will get better, I can promise you that."

I didn't reply. How could things possibly get better? There was nothing for me to return to.

ARES

I reached out to her, watching as she flinched away.

"What's wrong?" I asked in concern, worried I had frightened her.

"How can you be the god of war? How can you stand seeing the pain we've caused in your name? How can you have faith in us? How can you have faith in me?" Rei asked. Through Aphrodite I could feel all the pain in Rei's last question. She was a broken soul, crushed by the very connections Aphrodite and I had given to protect her. I did my best not to cringe as her emotions washed over me. I reached over, brushing back her hair in a fatherly gesture, making sure she met my eyes. I needed to make her understand what this was about.

"You must understand, they have made me into something I'm not. Do you really think Aphrodite could stand to look at me if I was everything they worship me for?" I told her. She clenched her teeth, I could see the sadness in her expression. "Rei, I created you in my own image. You have the heart of a true warrior. You cannot forget that."

Rei didn't reply. She remained quiet with a heart-broken look on her face. After a time, I continued trying to reassure her but just as I started, she began to speak.

"I didn't want to be a warrior." She murmured.

"And that's what makes you perfect. You do not wish to fight but you know when you must draw your sword to protect those around you. You don't fight for your own gain, but for others. And they hate you for this selflessness."

Rei looked thoroughly unconvinced. I sighed and kept talking. I hadn't realized that she loathed herself this much. She had begun to take what others perceived as truth.

"You've hidden your desires all this time so they call you heartless but that is not so. You are just afraid to show your heart for fear that someone will take it from you."

"My heart is not my own." Rei replied. "At least not mine alone."

"Your heart was always meant to be shared, Rei. There is no shame in loving someone; it is not a weakness, no matter what some Martians would have you believe. That being said, you need to go back." I told her. "It is not your time to die."

"Ares, why does it matter if I live or die?" Rei asked, her voice low. I shook my head.

"I'm not the best person to tell you about it." I replied, I wished I could have given her the answers she was seeking. But that wasn't my part, she still needed to learn of certain truths.

"Who is?" Rei questioned almost immediately. I had to smile at this. She always knew what questions to ask even if people were unable to answer them.

"You figure out who to talk to, but for now Rei, you've wasted enough time in this world. It's time for you to wake up."

SETSUNA

I walked back into Minako's room, sitting next to Rei. I reached out, taking her hand in mine.

"It wasn't supposed to be this way." I whispered. "Something went wrong somewhere along the way. It was something I did... or something I missed."

I looked back on time, once again trying to pick out where I had gone wrong.

"I'm sorry about that. I don't understand how it happened but..."

I couldn't continue, I lowered my forehead so that it rested against our clasped hands. This was the first time I'd ever felt so powerless in all my years of existence. It was an odd experience for me, I was so used to having a grasp on things that this new experience was off-putting.

"But since I made a mistake, there should still be a chance. I know that Aphrodite and Ares won't let this happen. There has to be a way for this to change."

"Please, Rei, make this right. Wake up." I said softly, knowing that on the other side people were working on getting Rei back to the world of the living. They had too many plans resting on her survival for her to die now. "Come on Rei."

REI

"...Wake up." A voice said softly, it barely noticeable. "Come on Rei."

I could feel panic building in my chest as the voice continued to speak, coaxing me away from what I had found here. I looked to Ares, opening my mouth. I knew he wouldn't judge me for what I was about to say.

"I don't want to go back." I told him. I could feel the cold starting to spread through me again. I didn't want to leave this place. There was no pain, no fear, or doubt. I was at peace here. I wanted to stay here with all my heart. I was finally at peace.

"Rei, you cannot find peace by avoiding life." He told me, placing a hand on my shoulder. His words would have made sense under any normal circumstances but not now.

"I'm dead. I've found my peace." I admitted. I watched his jaw clench sightly, it looked like he was fighting with himself over something.

"Please don't make me leave." I pleaded. I didn't want to go back there. I couldn't.

AN: I figured I should say thanks for all the reviews thus far... now that we've (finally) reached the half-way point. So thank you for putting up with me. And really, I do love it when people take the time to leave me some feedback.