Chapter Six: Brainwashed "Sailor Mercury!" Auriel shook the limp body in her arms. "Come on, girl, wake up! I need you!" "It's useless, Auri," Apollo grunted around a mouthful of burlap, as he pulled the rest of the rough fabric off Ami's limp form with his teeth, "she's out cold." Pluto brushed thick strands of Ami's blue-black hair off her forehead, examining her for head injuries. "I can't see anything right now, but I'm not certain. Perhaps, it could be internal, any bleeding I mean." Auriel looked up to see Sailor Pluto visibly shaken. Celia was pale, her dark green-tinted hair tangled from running her hands through it with distress. Celia lay her staff down, and settled herself on the ground beside the prone figure, taking Ami's head in to her lap. "Ami," she whispered urgently, "Ami, you must wake up. Come on Ami, I know you can hear me in there somewhere, wake up!" Auriel held her breath as the figure stirred, raising her delicate hands to her battered face. "My head feels huge," the girl whispered through cracked lips. Pluto released a sigh of relief, and helped Sailor Mercury sit up. "You were under a burlap bag when we found you, do you remember what happened?" Moaning, Sailor Mercury ran her hands slowly over her body, checking for sprains and broken bones. "Yeah. They knocked me out. I don't know why they covered me up, but maybe they thought I was dead." Auriel shook her head, confusion written across her face, "So how did you get here? Where are the other Scouts?" Ami stared at Auri, her dark blue eyes troubled, before quickly turning to Pluto and answering. "Greg and I were in the living room; Ken and Lita were in the back bedroom, talking; Adam and Chad were in the kitchen; Raye, Mina, Serena and Darien were all in the living room too." She shook her head; "There was this crash, and this horrible rotting smell. The next thing I knew, Mina was gone, and Adam was down on the ground bleeding and unconscious. This rotting thing was leaning over him and Raye screamed. "Greg started to transform and Serena changed in to Sailor Moon, but right after they were through another decomposing thing grabbed Serena and took off, with Darien hot on it's heels. "Raye and I transformed, but then everything went black. When I woke up Raye was screaming." Tears ran down her face, coating her cheeks. "I couldn't do anything, there were bonds of light holding me down. I positioned myself to see what was going on. Chad and Greg were tied down and being beaten by the rotting thing which took Mina." "Where was everyone else?" Sailor Pluto interrupted, her brow creased. Ami swallowed, her eyes narrowing in memory. "Serena was hanging from this hook high above a dunking tank. Mina was tied down like Raye and myself, but the boys, oh god." "What?" Auriel asked, supporting Ami's back, "What about the boys?" Ami shook her head in denial; "They didn't want us, just Sailor Moon and the Knights. They used us as bait. Tuxedo Mask and the Knights were laid out, one by one, beneath her, on the ground beside the tank. They were all unconscious and bleeding heavily." "And now?" Pluto asked, "Where were they the last time you saw them?" "Yes," Auriel urged, "what happened?" * * * * * * * * * * * "Stop!" yelled Sailor Venus, her long blond hair whipping in the sudden wind. "We need to go this way!" She pointed one slender arm in the direction of the oncoming gale. "I think they went that way!" Pluto raised one thin eyebrow, "Are you certain Sailor Venus? How do you know?" Mina sighed, irritably. She knew that Sailor Pluto was many years her senior, but as the leader of the Inner Scouts, she wished she would get treated with more respect. "Because," she ground out, "Ami's indicator says so, okay?" "Umm, Mina, Celia," a tired voice interrupted, "I don't mean to interfere in the discussion here, but we need to hurry and make a decision. Sailor Moon said to go south, but that way is east." Mina and Celia looked in the direction that the golden figure pointed. The wind was gushing over the barren land, raising mighty clouds of swirling gritty dust. "Well," Pluto sighed, "Solan's right. It is east, but you may be right too. I felt something just then, a shiver in the air." Solan abruptly dropped to the ground, laying his golden scimitar before him on the ground. His shaggy white hair lashed in the rising wind, obscuring his face from the elements. "I don't care what you two do, but I'm taking a breather. We've been running for an hour now, and I honestly can't keep up with you two much longer." Pluto sighed and dropped beside the golden suited figure. "Solan, what would Auriel say if she were here?" she quietly chastised him. He forced a laugh, a grim formal sound in the fading light, "She would tell me to get off my fat rear and do something to help." He shook his head, and fingered his golden sword, playing the tips of his index fingers along the sharp edge. "I can't help it Celia, the rest of you have it all together, but I'm still learning. Hell, I was only discovered two years ago! I don't have the training to be an asset on any mission, much less a rescue! I'm not ready to be the Solar Knight, I should give the job to Apollo or something." Pity rising within her at the site of his dejected face and kicked-puppy expression, Mina dropped to her knees beside him. "Solan, you have the potential to be an amazing fighter! You learn so quickly, and once you pick up on something, you never forget it. If Sailor Moon had enough faith in you to ask you to come along, you must have faith enough in yourself to do her and Auriel proud!" Solan raised his pale violet eyes to the laughing blue ones of the Princess of Venus. She held out her hand to him and he rose clumsily to his feet. "I'll do my best," he swore, "even if it costs me my life!" Pluto's sudden scream cut through the silent air like a violent thunderclap, "GET DOWN!" Without thinking, Solan dived to the ground dragging Sailor Venus with him. The momentum was too much though, and his head cracked on a large rock, the world grew hazy for a moment, dark spots danced before his eyes, mating with swirling rainbow lights and golden after images as he blinked. He distinctly felt the soft weight of Sailor Venus stretched beneath his body as Sailor Pluto yelled from nearby, "Get away, hurry, run, move it! I'll be the bait!" Solan felt the world spin, and all went dark. When he opened his eyes again, all was silent except for the low hissing sound of the rising wind, and the soft wheezing breathing of Sailor Venus, still cradled against his shielding body. Solan rolled to his back and slowly staggered to his feet exposing the Princess to the open air. Venus was unconscious, her thick blond locks spilling across the ground in a haphazard puddle, a large gash across her arm oozing blood. The blood dripped down, collecting in the folds of her orange Sailor skirt. She must have hit her head as well as her arm when we rolled. Where's Pluto, is she okay? A quick survey of the nearby area proved fruitless, Sailor Pluto was nowhere in sight, and Sailor Venus, still wounded from her recent attack, was too weakened to move far, despite the fact that she was stirring and slowly awakening. "Sailor Pluto!" he yelled, his voice cracking form the effort, "Sailor Pluto, please, if you can hear me, answer!" Silence, complete and utter crushed him deep inside. The hazy distance seemed to shimmer and tremble before his eyes, expanding and contracting at a moment's whim. Despair rose up in his chest, but he didn't give up, "Sailor Plu...Oomph!" He hit the hard rocky ground face first, ripping a large hole in the shoulder of his golden tuxedo, as he skidded along from the force of the powerful blow. "Oh," he moaned, "that's gonna hurt in the morning." "SOLAR! Look out!" weakly yelled the fully awake Mina, from her prone position crumpled on the ground a few yards away. Solan rolled instinctively to the left, barely missing the thumping crash of a large heavy object, mere inches away from where his head was only moments before. "Trying to get away? To essscape perhapsss?" inquired a low hissing voice, "It ssseems to me that you aren't having much sssucesss at it." The voice chuckled, and Solan felt a crushing weight settle itself atop his long legs. "I've got you now, Sssailor-boy, ssso give up or feel the sssting of my ssscorn!" Solan rolled around as best he could, coming face to face with a lolling pointed tongue, forked at the end, protruding between two fangs as long as his scimitar, complete with foul, rotting breath. "Mina!" he screamed, "RUN!" Instead of the sound of Mina fleeing, he heard a sound which chilled him to the bone; the rattling hiss of the vile creature about to strike. The large flat head reared up, soul-less eyes flashing black fire, pale green venom streaming in acidic rivulets from the two shiny fangs, "Ssso, you fear me? Then your violent death ssshall be quick and mercccilesss you Sssailor failure!" "Get away from him, you horrible thing!" a voice demanded strongly from behind the monstrous rattler. "Or what?" hissed the snake, shaking it's rattle menacingly. A low scratchy sound shook through the air, rolling along Solan's nerves like stones down the rocky face of an empty cavern. "I am Sailor Venus, Princess of the planet of Love! And in the name of love everywhere, I will punish you! Venus Love-Chain Encircle!" Mina yelled from behind the creature. Suddenly the weight of the thing was off Solan. Ignoring his swimming head, he took advantage of the stunned monster to escape. Somersaulting nimbly forward, he spun on the tips of his toes, drew his scimitar and launched it through the air in a deadly spinning arc, burying it to the intricately designed hilt in the chest of the vile creature. The was a moment of perfect silence, as the deadly creature looked down at the protruding sword, and the realization of his own death entered his eyes. Then, from the bottom up, the creature's body lost texture and crumpled in to filmy gray dust, collecting in a dirty pile beneath the space where it once coiled. Breathing heavily, Solan raised his stunned eyes from the spot of the snake's horrible death, to the shaking Sailor Venus. She stood two yards away, leaning forward, vomiting quietly. Her thick blond hair obscured her face, and he rushed forward to gather it out of the way, so she wouldn't soil its rich, lustrous beauty. "You okay?" he whispered as she finished, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She nodded dumbly, her eyes vacant and dilated. "I have never been that scared in my life, not even when Mala..." she stopped abruptly. "Not even when Malachite, what?" Solan asked as he brushed the burnished gold off her sweaty face. Mina didn't answer, her old eyes speaking volumes. His eyes drew to the finger-shaped bruise encircling her upper left arm, the faded remnants of the black eye contrasting strongly with her pale skin. Solan drew away, his eyes wide with shock as the realization of what she said sunk in, "You mean it was...Malachite?" he whispered hoarsely. "He did...did...that to you?" Again, Mina didn't answer, merely looked off in to the distance and let tiny tears run their course down her grimy face. "Queen Serenity never said it would be like that, killing something. It's different in training, easier. The beasts we kill in training are always projected images, not flesh, not blood. I didn't even kill it, I just stunned it, but still..." she trailed off, her eyes vacant and unfocused. Solan took her in his arms, hugging the small girl, "Mina," he groaned, "you should have told one of us, we could have done something. We could have helped you deal with this, not..." Mina shook her golden head, "No, they never told us it would be so...dirty." She grabbed his arm, her nails digging tiny gouges in to his already scraped and battered flesh, painfully felt through two layers of whatever was left of the arm on his tuxedo and the delicate fabric of her thin Sailor gloves. "Is that why we're the Princess', Solan? Is that why Sailor Scouts can never marry anyone other than their planet's Knight? Is it because no one else could handle the filth, the degradation of killing?" "Mina," he whispered soothingly, as he had heard Princess Aurora do countless times to tame the shocked and wounded animals that were inevitably brought to her care, "you're in shock Princess. Why don't we sit down, and then we can find Sailor Pluto, and make sure she's safe, okay?" Mina looked up at him as he carefully settled her shaking form on the ground, her eyes suddenly clearing of most of the shock and battle weariness. "No. No, I can't, I am the leader, I have to get a grip." "Mina," he began, but she cut him off with an emphatic shake of her thick blond locks. "No! I'm not going to remain here, a helpless crybaby, if I can do something to help. Celia's missing, and we have to find her. I can break down later, when I have Adam back to hold me." Solan winced at Venus Knight's name. He had hoped that Sailor Venus would keep thoughts of her dashing auburn-haired counterpart to herself during the mission. As much as he knew she missed him, the mention of his name only brought shame to Solan. Why wasn't I taken as well? It's not that I wish to be captured, but it's an insult to be the only remaining Knight other than Tuxedo Mask. What am I not good enough, or strong enough to capture? Not good enough for whatever evil thing took them? "Solan?" Mina's voice broke through his errant thoughts like quicksilver, shining and bright, "Solan, who or what do you think that is?" He turned as the wind slowed, and a pale form began to materialize in the far distance, limping slowly their way. I can't place it, but I've seen that figure before, and the way it moves... "Pluto!" Mina cried happily, limping quickly towards the approaching figure. Solan suddenly had a premonition. His heart thudded painfully in his chest as the loving and trusting princess neared the bloodied form of the princess of Pluto. That's not Celia, something in the way that thing is moving, it's not graceful enough to be Sailor Pluto. "MINA, NO!" he screamed just as Sailor Venus reached Pluto. He leapt to his feet as the figure of Pluto widened, the hair lightened, and the body morphed into a decidedly more masculine form. "MINA!" Sailor Venus skidded to a halt, and tried to backpedal, but her wounded leg couldn't support such a sudden change in speed, and buckled. The man reached out, as if to stop her fall, tangling his hands into an edge of her skirt and the blue bow perched on her chest. Yet, her thin weight crashed to the ground, the orange skirt and blue bow of her Scout uniform ripped with the sudden tension, and the man laughed, his low, deep voice betraying his amusement. "Hello, Mina," he reached down and yanked Sailor Venus to her feet as Solan skidded to a halt a few yards away, his scimitar drawn and at attention, the blade flashing blue-white heat with the intensity of his anger. Solan winced as the man's long fingers closed tightly around Sailor Venus' dainty white throat. "Let her go, Nephrite." He brandished the sword dangerously, all his recent lessons swirling through his head. Though not proficient as any of the other Knights at fighting, Solar had one advantage on the battlefield; gut instinct. He could almost always predict accurately where the next blow would fall, giving him the ability to match anyone blow for blow, but never attack adequately enough to win. Despite this fatal flaw, he hoped Nephrite would think him a serious threat, and forget about the princess long enough for her to escape. Nephrite laughed again, tossing his dark brown curls they caught the wind, fluttering and dancing with the swiftly changing element. He tightened his hold on Mina, wrapping his arm around her waist; he pulled her flush against his chest. "What little princess? Not even a royal hello for your old friend, Nephrite? "Remember the fun times we had Princess Venus? Remember the teasing, the cruel taunts? Remember all the wonderful times you and your little Scout friends had tormenting the poor boys from another galaxy?" Solan was confused; Nephrite's eyes shimmered, as he spoke, but not with anger, with vengeful tears. Wracking his brain, Solan tried to remember a single incident that could have led Nephrite to believe that the gentle Princess' would ever even consider humiliating he or the other Generals. "Nephrite," Solan cautiously cut in, "did you say from another galaxy?" The wind streamed around them, increasing interminably, tossing the quiet question around before bringing it to Nephrite. He tossed Solan a look of scorn and contempt, "Oh, don't try to barter for time, petty soldier. I remember quite well the hazing you and your friend Ken gave me for not being of this galaxy, and the filth you rubbed my face in to prove your superiority as a child of this puny system." He really thinks he's from another galaxy. He actually believes that I did that to him and that Jupiter Knight helped... "Nephrite," Solan whispered, "what did they do to you?" Mina understood what was happening; Solan could see the fear darken her eyes. Nephrite snarled, pulling Mina to him, using her thin body as a human shield, "Give up your weapon, puny Sailor-Soldier, and I won't harm her. Don't think about the other one, Sailor Pluto, four of my finest droids took care of her." Mina's large eyes fluttered closed at that bit of news, tears seeped from beneath her lashes as she fought to control the emotions warring within her small frame. I am the leader of the Inner Scouts; I need to be strong, if not for myself, then for Solan. He is still so new to violence; he has barely any training at all. I am the best fighter of the Inners, at least best general Sailor, so I should be able to find a way out of this mess, that's why I'm the leader when Serena's gone. "Put down your scimitar, or she dies!" Nephrite's voice rang out, as his fingers tightened their merciless hold on Venus' neck. She could feel the icy pressure, tightening, she began to wheeze for breath and the world before her spotted. Solan sighed, but he didn't know what to do. If he dropped his weapon, Nephrite might kill her anyway, but if he didn't, Mina's death was a certainty. His scimitar clanged to the ground, the blue-white glow of the enraged Solar Knight fading from it as the heat of his anger cooled. Now there was only trepidation, and the green-white pulse of an intense premonition building in the back of his skull. "Good," Nephrite chortled, "I'm glad someone around here has a little sense and knows when to give up." He released his death grip on Sailor Venus. She passed out, and he scooped her into his arms, cradling her limp form like a bride on her wedding day. His brown curls danced again in the swirling desert winds, creating an unlikely halo of sable colored strands. "Don't fight the droids, Solan, or they have orders to destroy you." Two red tipped claws gripped his arms in a vise-like grip. He turned to find a large bird-man perched beside him. Its dark black feathers ruffled in the wind, shining and wet. To his left, a bird-woman with snowy white feathers gripped his arm in her razor-sharp talons. Two more bird-droids materialized beside Nephrite; Sailor Pluto was slung over the shoulder of one like a sack of potatoes. Nephrite handed off Sailor Venus to the other, who hoisted her over its shoulder in a similar manner. Looking neither left nor right, Solan willed his saber to shrink and return to him, as unnoticeably as possible. The weapon did as it was bid, returning quietly to its rightful place, hidden among the many folds of his shining golden cape. "Shall we go?" inquired Nephrite's silky voice in his ear. Swallowing hard, Solan flashed a quicksilver smile to the General. "I'm ready when you are Nephrite. I'm ready when you are." * * * * * * * * * * * Sailor Jupiter and Venus Knight paused before the fun house, and looked at each other with apprehension. The only noticeable entrance was a widely grinning, garishly scarlet mouth; complete with old wooden stairs painted like white peeling teeth. Above the gaping mouth was its owner, an almost obscene grimacing clown, curly orange hair faded by years spent out in the open, vacant eyes endlessly staring forward, large bulbous nose a broken neon light, fluttering faintly in the dim night. "Well?" Adam asked. Jupiter turned to him, her large eyes flashing, "Well, what? I don't know what to do." Adam ran his hand through his auburn hair, "Should we go in, or should we find somewhere else?" Lita shrugged, "Here's as good as any, I suppose." Adam shivered, noticeably shaken, "I was afraid you'd say that." Lita began climbing the rickety stairs to the brightly decorated yawning mouth. "Why?" she tossed back over her shoulder, "You afraid of clowns?" Adam laughed, "Actually, yes, I am. The foster home I lived in..." Lita interrupted, "You lived in a foster home? Why?" Then she blushed realizing too late, the rudeness of her blunder. Halting, Adam groaned. "It's a long story. I wasn't exactly a planned pregnancy, so my mom gave me up to a family she knew. I was their only kid until I was five, but then my adoptive mother died in childbirth. The baby and she died." Lita sucked in a breath, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Adam." He shook his head, "Don't worry about it. Her husband couldn't take it, so he sent me to a foster home. It was only supposed to be for a month or two, just enough time for him to sort things out. But one day he walked in to an armed robbery at a bank, and..." Adam trailed off. He climbed up the stairs, passed Lita, and cautiously nudged the door open. "You coming?" She nodded, "Right, be right there." She turned and took a final look at the late night moon shining brilliantly in the sky. "Queen Serenity, if you can hear me, help us help your daughter." "Come on," hissed Adam from the other side of the heavy wooden door. Lita defiantly raised her chin, squared her shoulders, and followed him in to the darkness beyond the door. Stumbling in the inky blackness of the echoing hallway, she fumbled around for a moment until Adam's irritated voice cut through the stillness, calming her, "Quit being so noisy, Lita. If something's in here with us, we're going to need the element of surprise." "Well, it's not like I can see, or anything," she muttered back. "Here," a warm hand settled on her arm above the elbow, startling her, "put your hand here, along the wall. Feel your way around first." Lita's hand was slowly guided forward. She trustingly followed his voice until she felt the icy splintered wood beneath her glove. "Thank you," she murmured softly. Something shifted beside her in the dark, and as her eyes adjusted, she could barely make out the dark shape of Adam lounging beside her. "So, chief," he teased, "you've had to rescue kidnapped Scouts before, and this is my first attempt at being a Knight. What do we do?" Lita patted the wood beneath her hand, "We find ourselves some light, then we see if this is a trap or if somewhere in this thing there's a Scout. How does that sound?" "Okay," Adam agreed, "but if you don't mind, I don't want to lose you, so I'm going to literally be right on your heels. I can't really see in the darkness, and with clowns around, I think I'd better stick to you like glue." A slow smile worked its tired way across Lita's face as they began working their slow way down the hall in the complete darkness. "You never did tell me why you were afraid of clowns," she teased. There was a low chuckle beside her, "That's because you interrupted." Blushing, Lita remembered her insensitive blunder from earlier. "I'm sorry about that," she murmured, contritely. They began to work their way down the hall, alternately patting either side of the hallway walls. "No problem. I'm a pretty easy-going type of guy. "Anyway, I was eight years old, so it was about 13 years ago; it was my birthday and another kid's at the home. The people were nice enough then, that's before too many problems warped them I think, but the party itself wasn't big, just the kids who lived in the home and a few kids from the neighborhood. "I didn't have too many friends; I've always been kind of a loner, mostly because any time I really started to care for someone something would happen to them, I think that has something to do with my being a Knight, but I don't know. Anyway, there was this clown...hold on." Lita felt him disappear for a moment, then suddenly his voice whispered urgently in her ear, his breath feathering against the fine tendrils of hair that always escaped from her ponytail, "There's a door." "Really?" Lita asked softly. She could hear the aggravation in Adam's voice, "No, I'm making this up for my own amusement. Of course there's a door! So what should we do, go in?" Weighing the options in her mind, Lita thought of Ken, back at the temple, and hoped he was okay. "Well," she said, "if it's a trap, then it's a trap, but we're running out of time, so no matter what it is, we need to hurry." Adam moved in the darkness, "So we open it?" Lita dropped to an attack stance, crouched lightly on the ground, right leg balanced perfectly poised to whip out and strike if necessary, "Open it." The door slowly creaked open, and both held their breaths, half expecting to see some terrible monster to leap out at them. The next room was lighter than the hallway, so Jupiter could make out the dim hunkering shape of Venus Knight as he cautiously leaned in to the room to scan it for attacks. Nothing there, but I think we found the mirror maze," he murmured softly to Lita. "What?" she gasped softly. "We'll never get through that!" He took her hand, "We have to Lita, Serena's counting on us, not to mention everyone else." She tugged lightly on her hand but he didn't release it. "Lita," he explained, "I don't want to lose you in there, so, at least for now, we are going to have to hang on to one another, okay?" Sighing, she realized the truth to his words, she just felt a little uncomfortable doing the intelligent thing. As if sensing her reluctance, Adam laughed softly, "Lita, I promise, I don't have cooties, okay?" The ridiculousness of such a statement in the middle of a darkened funhouse, surrounded by mirrors, directly struck Lita's funny bone, and she couldn't help but to giggle softly. She bit down on her lower lip, drawing blood, in order to keep from laughing louder. The salty taste of her own blood calmed her nerves, and reminded her of the time limit. "Come on," she ordered, and they stepped in to the maze. * * * * * * * * * * * Sailors Neptune and Uranus stood defiantly together against the tiny goddess of the sun. "There is no way that I'm going down in to that," Corrine stated flatly, pointing to the large gouge scoured in to the face of the cliff. She ran her hands through her thick, cropped honey-streaked blond hair in exasperation. "I mean, the indicator says they went that way," she pointed to the west, "so why should we go in to that nasty hole in the ground, huh?" "I agree," Sailor Neptune said with a shake of her wavy aqua hair, "there's no point in going there if the indicator and Sailor Moon direct us west." Her amber eyes sad, Aurora felt the gently breeze lift locks of her thick lavender hair and toy with silky strands. They danced in front of her, idly swaying and dropping at the wind's whim. "I just have a feeling," she whispered gently, touching Nerissa softly on the arm, "that if we don't go this way, we'll regret it. Please Sailor Neptune," she tightened her hold for a moment, indicating that these words were to be taken seriously, "we must not go west, no matter what Serena or the indicator say to the contrary." Nerissa paused and looked down on the tiny little goddess. She was so small and frail compared to the other Scouts and princess', including Sailor Saturn. Her eyes were too large for her small face; intelligent and sad, they viewed the world as if from a great, unsurpassable distance. Corrine sighed impatiently, "Well?" Aurora squeezed her arm comfortingly and removed her small hand from Nerissa's arm. "Why don't you look into the mirror, Nerissa," she suggested, her eyes gentle with the wisdom of many galaxies. "Maybe it will hold the key to your decision." Drawing out her mirror, Nerissa gazed sadly in to the shiny surface. She desperately wished she had the powers of her ancestors; divination, utter wisdom. She would never have the divining power of the former rulers of Neptune, at their destruction; she was born wise beyond her years, and with all of their powers, but none of their experience. Her mind floated back, to Queen Serenity in the throne room when she and Corrine were mere children in the royal court. Tiny Serena paid no attention to the fairy tale, and continued playing with her dolls in the far corner of the great hall, but she and Corinne hung on every word, for it was the story of their past. Before your Queen Serenity was born, there was a Great War; caused by the death of the two remaining Scouts for Neptune and Uranus. They both died violently, in each other's arms, to end the beginning of a pointless feud between their stubborn parents. Their own parents destroyed their daughters in their anger and greed for the other planet's riches. A curse was set upon their royal houses; No child of noble blood shall bear the sigel of the planet Uranus or Neptune, until two members are born with pure and true love for another. They shall care not for orders to cease their wild loving ways, and two children shall be born of such love, the reincarnated souls of the last two Sailors, those of such pure hearts, they died rather than striking back at their own parents. Though the royal families had other children to pass on the lineage, the Sailor Knights were never found for that generation, and ever after, as long as the battles raged on, the royal lines were denied a protecting Sailor Soldier. Not one royal child was born that was not vigorously trained for the guardianship, but none were blessed with their planet's gifts of air, earth, or water. It had been a terrible costly battle, raging on for generations. The two youngest children of the planets escaped most of the vicious back stabbing, but a few were dragged against their will, in to the family duel. A few years before Corrine and Nerissa's birth, Corrine's father and Nerissa's mother, last remaining royalty of their respective planets, were deeply in love. They planned to elope, to hopefully end the violent feud with their love. But the night he came to spirit her away, he was captured under her balcony by Neptune's guards. Her father, who had been warned of the young lover's plans by spies in his court, held his beautiful young daughter by the back of her neck as they carried him away, forcing her to watch his violent removal. "No!" she whispered, as her father held her closer to the balcony, "I won't tell him that!" Her father bruised her arm with his grip, "Do it Titania, or I will see young Eric killed." Tears slipping down her face, she nodded, fear for her love outweighing her stubborn will. A motion by the King to the guards, and they stopped escorting him away. "Eric," she shakily called out, "I'm afraid I can't marry you." He stood, bruised and confused beneath the balcony. Her father was just out of his line of sight, so it appeared to him that she alone stood there, proclaiming his sentence. "Titania," he cried out, "I don't understand!" She made her face a stern mask, cold and icy as the North Sea at midnight, "No, I didn't really expect you to. They've found me a true warrior to be my husband, a vile ugly man to share my wedding bed, to bear children upon me. They've found me someone strong, and iron-willed." Silently, she willed him to understand, to feel the deep abiding power of her love, but the expression on his face betrayed his growing anger and confusion. He paused, then straightened. "As you wish, Princess," he ground out. Titania never saw Eric again. Her father found a suitable warrior from among Neptune's ranks, and she married him without a second thought. He was her age, and a kind young man, but with none of the fire of her beloved Eric. They shared the wedding bed for one night before he returned to war, and was killed in an especially bloody skirmish. Much the same thing had happened to Eric. He, as the only heir to the kingdom of Uranus, found a suitable wife. He, too, went off to war after only a few weeks of marriage. Ironically enough, he died at the same battle as the warrior from Neptune. Eric could see him valiantly fighting in the distance, and felt pity for the young soldier. He'll never feel the tender kiss of her lips again. Neither shall I. Eight months after the great battle that destroyed two worlds, two girls were born on the same day in the Moon Kingdom. Their respective mothers fled there to escape the wrath of the crumbling nations, and to give birth. Titania held her family's mirror close to her heart as she lay dying, sadly willing with all her might a message to be absorbed in to it for her daughter. Though not a Sailor, the magical mirror heard her plea and absorbed the small words of comfort for Queen Serenity to pass on to Titania's young daughter. The story over, the radiant queen gave the two small girls in her throne room their weapons and urged them to learn to use them to the best of their ability. Corinne immediately rushed off, her sword gleaming in the pale light, to the artillery room, to beg the master swordsman for her first lesson that very night. Young Nerissa gazed sadly in to the mirror for the first time, and was finally at peace. She knew instinctively that the powers of the mirror would not open to her hand as easily as the awesome powers of the sword would for Corrine, but she didn't mind. It was enough to have a small piece of her mother with her for eternity. Ten years later, Nerissa stood at a gaping hole in the side of a cliff, cradling her mother's mirror in her arms, the beginnings of tears stinging her eyes. Her mother died shortly after giving birth to her, as did Corinne's. From that moment on, they had had no one but each other and the Scouts to turn to. The court had raised them with love, eventually returning each to their own planet until it was time for training. The Silver Crystal cleansed their planets of the greed, the bickering spite, so Corinne and Nerissa could grow up in relative peace. They both knew that the only reason their parents couldn't make it was due to controlling forces in universe, in other words, simple destiny. For the first time in countless generations, Sailors for Neptune and Uranus were born to the royal lines. Yet there are none left from our planets with royal blood to teach us how to properly use our gifts. I know I'm the incarnation of the last Sailor Neptune, but why can't she give me a hint, a clue, as how to control my powers? Glancing over at Aurora, Nerissa made her decision. "We follow Aurora. If all else fails, we will have lost nothing more than a little bit of time." Corrine opened her mouth as if to protest, but took one look at the resolve in Nerissa's face and backed down. "Okay, but I want to lead in. If there's anything nasty in there, I want to be the first to meet it." Nerissa nodded, "Fair enough. Let's go in." The three picked their way cautiously to the great mouth of the crater, sliding silently through the entrance; golden Sailor Uranus slinking in the front, swinging her weapon left and right in a smooth, noiseless motion. She was fluid and perfectly balanced, easily sidestepping great rocks in the blackness of the cavern. Aurora followed quietly, tiptoeing as cautiously as she could along the ground. Occasionally something would catch on to hem of the long golden skirt she wore, but she would silently rip it off and continue moving. Nerissa brought up the rear of their tiny pack, gliding gracefully a few feet behind Aurora, to give her room to move. Her ears were open for sounds of an ambush, but all was deadly stillness and quiet. After a short period of time, they stopped, and Nerissa heard Sailor Uranus' angry sigh in the darkness. "Well?" hissed her voice a moment later. "I've come to a dead end. There's nothing here, absolutely nothing." "Are you sure?" questioned Aurora, shivering in the inky blackness. "I can feel...something behind that wall. Maybe there's an entrance or a passageway." She shivered again as the cool eddies of air in front of them coated her bare upper arms in goosebumps. Nerissa felt her shiver beside her, and wrapped her arms quietly around the timid little princess. She was uncommonly cold, even making allowances for the formfitting top of the sailor-like dress she wore. Still, something nagged at the back of Nerissa's mind, something about the cold, and the icy raised flash of the Solar Princess. Uranus sighed, "There could be, but I can't see in the dark like Auriel. I would have no way of telling without some form of light." Aurora groaned, "I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this, but maybe it'll help." There was a rustling movement, and in the darkness a small spec of light appeared. It spiraled softly in the middle of the room, before slowly growing brighter. The flickering warm glow settled gently against the base of the Solar Princess' throat, filling out to form the crescent shape of the bottom half of Aurora's royal pendant. Her hands cupped under the thin charm at her cleavage line, where rows of tiny golden pearls each connected together, forming a thin bow of light. Aurora's violet hair began to glow pale lavender-tinted white as the light of her dainty necklace increased. She bit her lip; tears streaming down her thin face, as areas outside of her own body began to softly pulse with a light of their very own. Her clingy white bodice, cut similar to the Sailor uniforms, tight to the hip, refracted the light downwards, where the glitter of her long flaring golden skirt reflected it outwards, intensifying the light. "Hurry," she ground out, "it's very painful for me to keep this up. Generating light saps a lot of my strength, and if I continue for too long a time, I will pass out, leaving you in total darkness." Corinne grinned, almost savagely, "You have grown in my estimation of you, little one," she murmured, before running her hands along the walls, searching for an opening. Nerissa joined in, quickly tracing her fingers along the wall's outer edge, before moving closer in. They searched as speedily as they could, but didn't get the wall half done before the pale light winked out. "I'm sorry," whispered a broken voice. "I'm so sorry, I couldn't hold it any longer." "No," Nerissa said, dropping to her knees before the exhausted princess, "don't you even think about blaming yourself. I wouldn't have been able to hold it that long!" "So tired," murmured the girl, and Sailor Neptune laid her gently down, carefully cushioning her head against the rough ground with the thick mass of violet hair. "Okay," Corinne sighed, "what do we do now?" Nerissa shook her head in the darkness, "I don't know, but I felt it too. There's something behind there." Grunting, Sailor Uranus flopped to the ground, as Sailor Neptune returned to the tiny princess. Leaning over her, to make sure there weren't any hard rocks she would roll on to, Nerissa again felt the eddy of cold breeze prickle against the back of her neck. An idea struck, she slowly raised her head, and grimacing, licked her dirty palm. Opening her wet palm to the open air above the small princess' form, she slowly moved her arm back and forth above her. Moments later, she felt the soft touch of icy air on the damp skin of her hand. Smiling, she moved closer to the wall, careful not to lose the thin cold feeling of air on her flesh. "Corinne," she whispered urgently, "I've found the door!" "Why yes, Sailor Neptune, you have," flatly stated a cold, icy voice above her head. Nerissa flinched, as the small cavern was flooded with sudden light, exposing the owner of the voice. "Hello Nerissa," cooed the voice, "I can tell you I'm certainly surprised. When my spies told me you were going west, I had a wonderful trap set up and every thing. How you knew to find the secret escape hatch to Beryl's post is beyond me, but it can be easily rectified." "Jadeite," Sailor Neptune whispered, "let them go." He shook his head, his short blond hair a dramatic contrast to the black cavern walls. "No, no. I don't think so. It's not everyday that I get one of the most powerful Scouts unconscious at my feet." He nudged Corrine with his toe, a sadistic grin slowly spreading across his face. "She didn't even hear us behind her, she was too intent on her thoughts. You were so busy taking care of the whelp over there you didn't even hear her fall." Nerissa closed her eyes, and unconsciously, her hand sought the comfort of her mother's mirror at her side. Her fingers brushed it... "...banish you, Jadeite, to eternal sleep!" The blond man threw his arms in front of his face, as light shot up from the floor, encasing him in his eternal prison. He screamed, his voice echoing in to forever, as he faded from the view of all in the Nega-verse throne room. He rematerialized far below the castle, in the Queen's treasure chamber, as the bands of white light hardened and tightened. They shimmered, deepening in to crimson shades, circling around him, shrinking, and closing in. Tight walls of red stone hardened, locking him forever within, his soul captured within Prince Darien's Guardian Stone. The stone floated for a moment, before returning to a slowly revolving tray at the center of the treasure room. It settled softly in to the southern corner of the large diamond shaped cushion... ... "Ugh," Nerissa moaned, as she slowly sat up. A quiet gasp from the other side of the room, and her head snapped to the source of the sound. "Who's there?" "Sailor Neptune! You're okay!" Moments later, a bloodied face came in to the light and Sailor Saturn gripped her hands tightly. "We were so worried when you didn't wake up. I healed everyone to the best of my ability, but Pluto and Venus are still out cold and Apollo has several broken ribs. Solan will survive, he's pretty tough, but I'm really worried about Aurora; she hasn't woken up once since you were brought in." "Yeah," murmured a sarcastic voice from nearby, "she used her pendant. She's not going to wake up for several days, if we're lucky. That's a big if, by the way." "Shut up, Auriel," sighed a rough masculine voice, "no one needs blame right now, okay." Auriel and Solan crawled in to the light, both very bruised and bloody. Solan reached forward and gently tilted up Nerissa's chin, to stare deep in to her eyes. He shook his head, and chortled painfully. "Of all the times..." he trailed off. Auriel looked at him in confusion, then glanced sharply at Sailor Neptune. "Oh, no," she groaned, "Now?" A quiet voice cut through the confused silence, "What?" Sailor Uranus slowly dragged her way in to the light, beside Nerissa. Corrine wrapped a comforting arm around her shaking shoulders, and brought her tightly against her tired body. Nerissa laid her head against Corrine's shoulder, her wounded eyes swimming with the images from the dream. Auriel bitterly broke the silence; "She finally learned to use her mother's mirror. Congratulations, you can now be cursed like the rest of us with the knowledge of what's going to happen." "Very graceful and tactful, sunspot," Solan snapped at Auriel. "Why don't you scare her anymore, huh?" Nerissa raised her head from Corrine's shoulder abruptly. "You mean what I saw, that wasn't a dream? It was for real?" Solan nodded, his white hair obscuring his eyes haphazardly, "Yep. You finally grew in to your powers. Unfortunately, at the wrong time, you were fated to learn about them later, but..." A sharp pole in the ribs cut him off. "Solan!" Auriel hissed, "You know we're not supposed to reveal what would have been!" "But..." One cold glance from Auriel shut him up. He looked apologetically at the girls, his wounded violet eyes betraying his regret. Sighing, Auriel shook her head, "Hell, they know already. It can't do much harm. Nerissa, what were you doing when the images struck? Were you fighting, talking, what?" Nerissa pushed through the clinging wisps of memory, and an image cleared. "I was looking at Jadeite, and he was gloating over Corrine. I..." she shook her head violently. "I touched the mirror, and then I was in the image, watching people...NO! I can't reveal the dreams, I'm not allowed, am I?" Auriel shook her head, "You learn fast. No, you can't reveal the images, just keep track of them. We may control fate and destiny, and Pluto has a strangle hold on the timeline, but divination isn't a gift any of us were blessed with. There's a difference in what might be, what will be, and what could be." Corinne shook her head, "I don't understand." Solan nodded, "Most people don't. We still have trouble with it." Auriel reached forward; "All will be explained adequately in time, if you're meant to know. Until then, just keep that in mind, and all will be well. But at the moment I'm not really worried about figuring our Nerissa's images. I'm worried about getting out of here." * * * * * * * * * * The mirrors reflected Lita's pale white face back under the dim blacklights above. "I hate these places," she murmured to Adam. "They are always so spooky. There are a hundred of you, and eventually, if you stay in here long enough, you get to the point where you forget what's real and what's merely a reflection." He squeezed her hand reassuringly, "don't worry, I know you're real." "Geez thanks," she laughed sarcastically. "How do you know I'm not the enemy disguised as me?" He put a large, warm hand on her shoulder. It sent a wave of loving comfort through her body, settling her jarred nerves, and easing the tight tension building in her stomach. "I have a gut feeling," he joked. "I still remember you and Mina in the Silver Millennium. You two were close enough for me to learn enough about you to differentiate. I hope." She grinned at the last two words, her riled nerves relaxing. "Okay, well if you're really from the Nega-verse, please attack me now, so I can at least take a break!" "MY PLEASURE!" cackled a voice from behind them. Lita swirled quickly, launching Adam in to a mirror behind her. She bravely faced the darkness, feet planted firmly apart, ready for the attack. There was nothing in the dim lights, just twenty or so Sailor Jupiter's staring back at her from the misty mirrors, and in the background of a few, Venus Knight, breathing heavily. "Are you okay?" she asked, helping him up off the ground. He held his stomach as he rose, slowly shaking his head to clear it. "I thought you were going to warn me before the next time you did that," he complained. Lita cracked a bare smile, her teeth glowing in the darkness, "Come on. I don't think it's a trap, or we'd be gone already. We need to make it through the mirror maze though to get to the Scout or Knight at the end." "WRONG!" cried a singsong voice from the mirror in front of her. Lita's eyes widened as the image of herself in the mirror grew dark and a blast of electric light flashed out from the mirror, encircling her. Adam began yelling and reached for Sailor Jupiter. She shook her head, screamed, and kicked her leg out, catching his wooden staff with the toe of her green ankle boot. He dropped to the ground, and watched as Sailor Jupiter began to melt in to the mirror, her dark reflection cackling all the while. * * * * * * * * * * * "So Mercury," Tuxedo Mask began, "what do your readings say?" Ami adjusted her visor as she scanned the nearby mountains for energy signatures. "I'm sorry Prince Darien, I'm not coming up with any readings so far. Mostly, dead vegetation and in the distance, the energy signatures of the other Scouts." She sighed and replaced her visor, "On the whole, nothing. I'm sorry." Sailor Moon dropped down from the large rock she was poised on, her blond hair faintly shimmering. "Well, let's backtrack and see what we have to work with. We lost the energy signature we set out to find, and...AHHHHHH!" The ground crumpled away beneath their feet and the two Scouts and Darien dropped as gravity gave out under their feet. Reacting quickly, Prince Darien stabbed his sword in to the side of the great crater that opened beneath them, holding on with all his might. Sailor Moon held tightly to his right hand, her little nails digging in for dear life. Face pale white, Ami clung to her legs, swinging in the open breeze. "Ugh!" Darien grunted as he began to lift himself out of the hole. "Serena, Ami! Hold on tightly! What ever you do, don't let go!" "Darien!" Serena moaned, "I don't think I can hold on much longer, my hand's slipping!" Ami surveyed the scene around them quickly. "Darien, move us closer to the wall!" He craned his body to see what Mercury was getting at, then he noticed the small ledge about twenty feet below Sailor Mercury's dangling feet. "Oh I see, okay." He adjusted his body, and angled them as close to the wall as he could. "Serena, Sailor Mercury! Slide down carefully, I'll get to the top and lift you with my cane from there!" "Right!" the girls unanimously agreed. He felt Serena's tiny hand slip from his own, and his heart jumped in to his throat, until her heard her call from further below, "Darien! Be careful!" Prince Darien struggled to the top, swinging his legs over painfully, his upper arms screaming from the effort. In training he could carry or suspend his own weight, plus the approximate weight of the Moon Princess, but he had never trained with the weight of two of the Scouts. His arms shook as he laid his face against the ground for a moment before standing and searching out his cane. His eyes found it moments later; complete with a gray boot planted aggressively atop it. "Zoisite." * * * * * * * * * * * "Jupiter!" Adam scanned the dim room quickly, his heart thudding painfully in his chest. "Hold on!" She struggled with her dark reflection, the mirror greedily sucked at her slender body, catching tendrils of her chestnut strands, drawing her closer to the darkness. "No! Adam, run! Get out and save Sailor Moon!" The dark electricity skimmed over her body, crackling outwards, snapping and cracking in the dim light. He reached forward to knock her from the creature's grip once again. "No! Adam, you'll be electrocuted! Go already!" He drew his sword and took careful aim. He had never practiced, had never even drawn the sword before that day, but his arm tensed, remembering the familiar weight of the golden saber. He drew completely back, savoring the golden power slipping through his body, and with one mighty heave, sent the thin weapon in a quick spinning arc towards the dark Jupiter. Sailor Jupiter shrieked and clenched her eyes closed, fully expecting to be beheaded by the flying sword. Instead, the dark electricity hugging her slender frame in bands of sparkling power lessened, fading away as a rending scream erupted from behind her. Adam swung forward, locking her arms in his, rolling them both out of the way of the screaming, spasming droid. They lay on the floor, protectively covering their heads, as the dark screams faded, slowly tapering out to the sound of someone yelling from the open doorway where the mirror once was. "Help! Sailor Scouts, we're in here!" "Could it be another trap?" she asked. Adam shook his head, "It doesn't matter, we have to take the chance." He grabbed Lita's arm tightly, "But we need to be careful, okay? No rushing in with electricity flashing, okay?" She shook her head and laughed, "Okay. I can already tell you were the second-in-command when Darien wasn't around. The Silver Millennium taught you well." They hurried through the door, and bumped their way quickly down the inky hallway. The narrow hall opened in to a large room about a hundred feet back from the mirror doorway. Lita and Adam skidded inside; he entered first, his sword drawn. "Adam! Lita!" called a tired voice; "We're over here!" Adam rushed forward, on the far wall two figures dangled, suspended by their arms. Ken and Mina both began struggling as soon as Adam came in to view. "No! Adam don't!" Ken yelled, "There's a pit!" Adam skidded to a stop, dropping to his knees before the edge of the large, deep pit. It was too wide to jump easily, the edges of it were crumbling, bits of rock plummeting downward in to darkness. Sailor Jupiter gasped as she rushed in the room, "Ken! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be back at the temple!" She began to run forward, but Adam threw himself in front of her, gripping her arms tightly. "No, Lita! There's no way you can get across!" She began to struggle in his embrace, "But we have to get them free! We need to get them out!" Adam heard Ken sigh raggedly, tightening his arms around Lita, he looked up to see Jupiter Knight strain hopelessly against his bonds. "It's no use, Adam," he called. "There's no way I'm going to be able to get loose. Both Mina and I were knocked unconscious by the droids earlier. We're too weak to free ourselves, I'm sorry." Suddenly Lita quit struggling in his embrace, dropping to the ground, exhausted. "I'm sorry," she whimpered, her voice cracking on the edge of tears, "I'm too weak from that droid. I can't, I can't..." she broke her sentence off. Adam watched as the indomitable Sailor Jupiter curled in to a little ball and began to cry. Lita had never struck him as the type to feel sorry for herself, so he cautiously dropped to his knees beside her, "Are you okay?" Snuffling, she nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I just feel so weak, so tired. I was firmly convinced that there would never be anymore problems with the Nega-verse until we were adults in Crystal Tokyo. Now I know I'm wrong. We're never going to be safe are we?" "Lita," Ken called, "honey, keep heart. You destroyed the droid, so we're free. All we need to do is get out of here! It's okay, we'll be okay, I promise." Drops of blood slowly pattered to the ground as he struggled with his bonds once more. Freeing himself and Mina was up to him, Lita and Adam were deep in conference across the pit, and Mina had blacked out again. He was pretty certain she had a concussion. Ken winced as the pain stabbed through him once again, ripping through his ribs. He had fought the Lion-droid, but to no avail, it had ruthlessly clawed across his back, ripping several holes in the back of his tuxedo and slicing neatly through his tired skin. A large, feral creature, it had pinned him down and continued playing with Ken's barely conscious form until a quiet command from someone Ken couldn't see had stopped the deadly game of cat and mouse. The waves of pain consumed him, and he blacked out. He had woken up to Mina's frightened voice, begging him to hold on, but drifted in and out of a sad dream as time passed... The throne room rung with the clashing of swords. Ken and Nephrite parried and clashed violently, "Stupid Knight, did you honestly think that we would spare Mars and Jupiter?" Nephrite taunted. "What did you do with Greg, you witch?" Jupiter Knight screamed at Queen Beryl, ignoring Nephrite's calculated barb. He violently thrust, quickly sidestepping Nephrite's black energy bolt. "Why don't you see, little man?" cooed the malevolent Queen, indicating the open doorway. A thin figure graciously stepped through the dark entrance, then paused, poised in the fighting stance of Mercury Knight, a dark aura pulsing brilliantly around him. "Hello, Ken," it hissed before shifting shape, it's arms elongated. Soon, only a parody of Ken's lifelong friend stood there, Mercury Knight was no more... "No! Greg!" Ken had shouted at the top of his lungs, waking the beaten and bruised Mina, bringing the vile attention of the mirror droid. She taunted him in Lita's form from across the great divide of the dark pit, twirling, and morphing at light speed. He struggled against the bonds, and she had laughed, a horrible parody of Lita's normally lovely soprano, twisted and cracked with her evil. Now watching the true Lita cry softly from across the divide, he ardently that he had kissed her goodbye before she had run off to her car, to help save the Scouts. Normally she was so brave, so strong; he winced at the thought of ever losing her, of ever seeing her hurt and crying. Slicing pain skewered him in a bolt of white-hot agony, and he unconsciously clenched his hands tightly against the waves of dripping pain in his back. He wanted to hold her desperately, comfort her shaking form, but he couldn't, all due to the newest enemy, a voice he couldn't even place because of the damnable Lion. These painful thoughts swirling in his mind, Ken didn't notice the snapping bands of green electricity crackling from his numb hands. They ricocheted off his wrists, heating the light bonds of dark energy, slicing through them as neatly as the Lion's claws had through his back. He dropped to the ground, landing with a thump, his cape in tatters around him. Dazed, he rolled over, watching as Lita began to rush towards him again and was forcibly restrained by Adam. "No! Lita, wait a minute, give him a second, you'll only hurt yourself!" He sighed and concentrated on standing. His legs were needles and rubber beneath him, fine pinpricks of fiery pain starting at his toes as the rest of his legs began wobbling sporadically under his torso. "Come on, Mina," he murmured, snapping a small bit of voltage at her wrists. Her bonds broke, and he caught her on the way down, scooping her tiny body in his arms. Turning, he measured the distance from one side to the next. "I'm coming over, watch yourself Adam, this is gonna hurt!" Ken heard Lita's voice screaming as he rushed the pit. Her distress echoed in his ears as he bit his lip, forcing his tired body to speed forward; he launched from the tip of the crumbling edge. A moment suspended in time, his exhausted body stretched, leaned, and with a thump, he and Mina hit the other side with mere inches to spare. They rolled as he crunched against the hard ground, skidding several feet before coming to a rest before the feet of Sailor Jupiter and Venus Knight. "God, Ken! Are you okay?" Lita held him in her slender arms, and hugged him tightly. Her sweet embrace rekindled the fire smoldering in his back, he groaned as spots danced before his eyes. "Lita," he ground out, gasping for breath, "get out of here. Go, save Sailor Moon, leave me, I'll only slow you down." Adam sighed heavily, cradling Mina tightly against his chest, "No dude, you're coming with us. I never left a member of my team behind in the Silver Millennium, and I'm not about to start now." Ken grunted as Adam wrapped an arm around his waist and helped him up. Ken glanced over at the girls; Lita was helping the now conscious Mina to her feet. Adam gasped softly in surprise, and Ken shook his head violently. "Don't" Ken whispered, "it'll only worry her more. I can handle it. As soon as we can get out of here, I can bandage myself up, okay?" Adam measured him quietly with his eyes. Ken was staggering, but he would survive if they could save Sailor Moon quickly. "Okay," he whispered, his brow furrowed, "but the second you need to rest, tell me." Adam ran his free hand through Ken's light hair, pulling it off Jupiter Knight's face to get a closer look at his eyes, "I'm probably going to have to put you down for a minute when we get out of this hellish place, okay?" Ken grunted, "Yeah, I'll be fine. Let's just go." * * * * * * * * * * *