`Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, bows to Naoko Takeuchi, and am making no profit off this story. The story concept though, is my own..*bares teeth* Hands off. LOL.. Territorial ne? Hehe.. Author Notes at the end and PLEASE email!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Chapter 6

Zoicite stared at the golden haired woman who lay, wrapped in strands of darkness, on the infirmary bed. Beryl lay unconscious beside her. Zoicite swallowed heavily and tried not to meet Sol's burning gaze. He hesitantly reached out and touched the princess's hand and jumped back as liquid starlight poured into him. His emerald eyes widened. Nephrite touched his arm and pointed to his hand. Numb Zoicite looked down to the blackened fingers. Kunzite who refused to move from his position by the door frowned.

"Well?" Sol demanded, ignoring his man's injury. Jadeite who stood slightly behind the Emperor winced. Zoicite turned back to the still woman before biting his lip and moving to Beryl. He touched the Sorceress's hand and winced. He turned to his Emperor and bowed.

"The princess... I've never hear or read of anything like that. I think we've just stumbled onto the best kept secret in the universe. I... I can't do anything. And Beryl... Beryl, excuse me your Highness, is proud. She refuses to let this princess beat her. She refuses to let go of the bonds holding Venus and she must. She's giving her life energy in order to maintain the darkness. That's why she's unconscious. She'll kill herself if she keeps this up." Sol's mouth hardened.

"The child?" he barked. Zoicite licked his lips before placing his hand on the sorceress's stomach and probing with his gentle magic. He closed his eyes.

"Alive my Emperor but weak. Beryl hasn't stole energy from him yet but... But without the mother. He isn't old enough to be brought into this world. If Beryl dies your son will as well." Sol hissed.

"Then if you can't do anything, who can?" Zoicite removed his hand from Beryl and let it fall to his side.

"There's one princess left who may... who may know something." Nephrite and Jadeite moved to object, Nephrite because the woman haunted him in his nightmares, Jadeite because he was suspicious of Zoicite's motives, but Kunzite nodded.

"Did the princess show any of the power you felt in Venus while you knew her?" Zoicite frowned at Kunzite's question as he thought.

"No," he replied slowly. "She's powerful, and dangerous, but this kind of raw magic... She had none of that." Kunzite nodded and looked to his Emperor. Sol scowled before assenting and striding away.

Jadeite sighed and looked at Zoicite.

"If this doesn't work and Beryl dies... We will as well."

Nephrite looked startled by the statement but Zoicite nodded in agreement with Kunzite as well.

"We'll have outlived our usefulness soon. Our necks our on the line. Will this Lita do what she must, if she can?" Zoicite and Nephrite both snorted at the question as Nephrite answered.

"Kunzite, be glad we hold three of her friends, nothing less than that would make Princess Lita of Jupiter think of anything more than skewering us."

Jadeite frowned as he slowly released the power holding the Princess of Jupiter. He swallowed and wished that Zoicite was here before savagely shoving that thought down. Before Endy's death they had been friends, good friends. Normally Jadeite was more reserved, calm, and he got along well with the knowledge seeking Zoicite. Kunzite had been like a brother to Endy and Nephrite, Nephrite for all his aloofness had a fear no one outside the Generals knew, or understood. He was afraid of emotions, afraid of being hurt, and Rose's death, combined with Endy's, had nearly destroyed him. He still wasn't over Rose...

But with Sol's ascension and Endy's death the four men's roles had changed, and truthfully, not for the better. Jadeite knew, innately, that none of them approved of Sol's plans of universal domination. They would follow him, die for him, kill for him because they swore it but Jadeite knew that Sol didn't deserve that kind of unswavering loyalty. Endymion did but Endymion had not been born to rule and... Endy was dead in a grave dug five years past. Their fate was now tied to Emperor Sol, they had made their choice, and they had to stand by it, even if it damned them.

Lita stirred slowly and sat, warily looking around until her hungry gaze fastened on him. Jadeite bowed stiffly, never taking his sapphire gaze from the princess. One slender hand reached up and touched something close to her breast. He caught a glimpse of gold and the princess, noticing his gaze, smiled bitterly before holding out four necklaces before her. His face whitened as the symbols of Neptune, Saturn, and Uranus tangled with the symbol of Jupiter. Another charm gleamed but was snatched out of view as she replaced them.

"So I meet another murderer? Your name would be... Jadeite?" He nodded mutely and the princess snorted. She reached under her blouse and unclipped two rose earrings from her undershirt. As Jadeite's eyes widened she smiled again.

"Recognize them?" she asked sweetly. Jadeite blinked. How could he not? Rose had worn a pair very similar to them on her wedding day... Lita clipped them on.

"Yes," she replied to his unvoiced question. "I let her borrow them on her wedding day. She gave them to me; they're the only thing I have left of her. I... I hid them so I wouldn't be recognized but then I didn't calculate the depth of the impression I made on Nephrite." As she stood Jadeite took a step back, impressed by her height, she was easily a head over him. In fact she probably matched Kunzite in height. The only one of them he knew she couldn't match was Nephrite. Yet for her size she was slender, slim. Like a willow swaying in the wind.

"I assume you want something from me?" Taken back by the question he smirked.

"Very astute princess." Lita stood in front of him and shook her head.

"Hardly. I was born and bred and raised to see the hidden. If anything I fail when it comes to being astute. If I was Mina I would have discovered a way to escape by now. If I was Rei for instance I would have never been caught." Jadeite coughed to hide the confusion her openess brought.

"Rei?" he temporized. Lita folded her arms across her chest, eyes gleaming bright.

"Yes," she said shortly. "Princess of Mars. I believe you've met." Jadeite's eyes widened once more as Lita sneered. "Oh you do remember! She was the one who had the strength to do what I didn't have the chance to do. She and Ami that is. Though if I had had a knife in my hands when I was discovered I might have tried to take my life as well." There was a knock on the door and then, without preamble Nephrite entered.

Immediately Jadeite was forgotten and instantly he wished he hadn't been for the energy between Princess Lita and General Nephrite... Jadeite was fiercely glad he wasn't on the receiving end of the fury in the princess's eyes and equally glad that she held none of the magic of her comrade. If she did Nephrite wouldn't have stood a chance.

"Princess," he hissed. Lita's hands clenched so tightly Jadeite was surprised she didn't cut herself. "We meet again."

Nephrite started to speak again but his dark, stormy eyes were drawn to the bright rose earrings gleaming proudly on Lita's ears. Jadeite saw his friend shudder once before he reached out with unseeing hands toward the earrings his wife had worn on the day their hearts were melded into one...

For an instant Lita's emerald eyes were lit by fires of grief and rage as she stepped forward towards Nephrite. As his numb fingers went to the earrings Lita snarled and punched the taller man in the stomach. Jadeite, moving quick as lightning, managed to tackle her but not before she brought her other fist up under Nephrite's chin to knock him backwards as he bent over in pain from the first blow. Unfortunately once Jadeite caught her he had no way to protect himself from those quick, accurate fists, which rained blows on him. Too surprised to do more than defend himself he fell to the floor as well, arms raised to shield his face.

Tears flowed down the princess's face as she pummeled him. She was sobbing names he couldn't understand, screaming things that lost all meaning through her pain. It was Kunzite and Zoicite who stopped the tirade. They entered together and with only a second to study the surroundings moved in concert to restrain the furious princess.

Kunzite's magic whipped out, lightning blue, to freeze her, while Zoicite stepped forward and calmly slapped her. "Lena," he said roughly, clasping her hands in his own. "Lena damn it listen to me!"

"Why?" she shrieked. "Why?! You think because you knew me for five weeks you know me Zoicite? You're right! All you saw was a damn façade, a mask, a person playing a part. You think you can calm me? You think you can make me 'see reason'? Do you have any idea what you and yours are responsible for?" As he stood mute she laughed bitterly and collapsed to the floor, her knees tucked under her chin as she rocked back and forth, lost in misery.

"You know exactly what you've done... You all know," she whispered to herself. "You know that you've destroyed the universe for one man's ambition. You know but you can't face it." She rose abruptly, tears gone, face serene in serendipitous realization.

"You can't face the shame that's tearing you up inside. You can't face the terror that comes with the knowledge that you've killed innocents for no one's gain but darkness. You can't face the fact that you are responsible for a future that is so much worse than its predecessor. You can't face it so you hide behind honor and vows and books and knowledge and grief." She turned to Kunzite and Jadeite and Zoicite and Nephrite as she spat the words.

"You can't face me and the princesses either because we are the symbols of all that the old universe was and all that you've tainted and killed. We won't go away gentlemen. We'll live forever, as martyrs, as heroines, as legends from a time better than the future. A future that you created.

Look me in the eye. Look me in the eye and deny all that I've just said. Look me in the eye and face the shame that is your eternal burden. Look me in the eye and wonder not at my anger, but at the fact that I'm not angrier. That I'm not consumed by the need to make you pay for all the hells that me and mine have had to live through because of you.

Look me in the eye and I swear that I'll do anything that you ask!" Nephrite stood, rubbing his jaw. He walked until he was standing in front of the princess.

"Do I have your word of honor on that princess?" Lita nodded.

"You do," she said simply, voice steely to match his abrupt ice. Nephrite, his jaw clenched, looked down and met Princess Lita's eyes.

Fire... Pain... Grief... Anger... Fury... Rage... Hell... He locked gazes, lost in emerald fields of flame... Tears filled Lita's eyes as she looked into cobalt so deep she was afraid that she'd drown...

Loss... Insanity... Acknowledgment... Accusation... Pain... Pain that matched her own... He reached up and touched her cheek.

"If Queen Serenity and Princess Serena ruled the universe you would still stand by their side. Don't judge us for doing the same..."His voice hoarse Nephrite ripped himself away and strode out of the chamber. Lita stared after him, her hands clasped to her breast, lost in memories of friendship and love and pain... forever the pain. Ken's umbrella charm, worn always with the sign of Jupiter, bit deeply into her palm.

Zoicite touched her shoulder, face sad but resolved. He had seen two souls grieving this day, his friend's and the woman he called servant. He felt for her but Nephrite's loss cut closer. He pitied the princess yet she would do what she swore. After all, they had done no less. If it damned her at least they would all be damned together.

"Mina!" Her heart singing Lita left the three remaining General's sides as she dashed forward to her friend. Unconcerned she took the princess's cold hand, eye bright as the familiar power of Venus filled her with peace. Lita laughed as she brushed away gold hair from a still face. Awaken by the magic Jupiter's own briefly flickered in her soul, warming her.

"It's not possible," she said in an awe filled voice, totally oblivious to the men who stared at her, mouths gaping. "It's simply not possible... We tried everything to regain our powers..." Kunzite picking up on the last marched forward and grabbed Lita's arm. She tensed but refrained from reacting violently. She was a warrior but the way this man held himself... She would never want to take him at less than full strength.

"Regain your powers?" he asked, voice dangerously low. Stirred to anger Lita yanked her arm away and stood protectively between the General and immobile princess.

"How do you think the Moon Kingdom grew so large General? All the planets are strong, why would they ally themselves with a weakling? The Moon did not rule through force but it could have. The magic that courses in Mina's veins is her gods given right. Right by blood, by birth, by the vows she swore. I had that magic once, and Rei, and Ami, and the others. Pluto, gods help her, has it still. You wonder why you have yet to conquer Pluto? I'll tell you this, if we still had our powers you'd have not conquered us either!"

"How did you come by that kind of power?" Zoicite asked, face stunned. Lita's savage face grew softer.

"We weren't born with it General. In that you and other Earth people are unique. We are not inherently magical. We can create magic but we are not born with it. Your magic is a gift, from your planet. In its very fiber there resides a sort of spirit, an intelligence that lives in them all.

Earth gave his magic away, to his people, to be passed along family lines and to evolve as it would. Without that gesture the Generals would be nothing, that witch you call a Sorceress would be nothing. The other planets made a different choice.

They pooled the powers they would have given to their people and did something else. They picked a guardian. A man or woman who they bestowed their abilities upon. Over the years trial showed that strong women made use of the power best until, after hundreds of years, it was long standing tradition to pick these guardians from the Royal House so that they were almost always princesses.

A hundred years later another event changed our powers forever. There was a woman who ruled the small kingdom of the Moon. In her blood was something never before seen though. She had inside her, the blood of a guardian from every planet as her ancestor and one of the Kings of Earth for her father.

Her mother was ruler of the Moon though and she was raised there." Lita closed her eyes. "She was beautiful, a living angel, and she had power..." Lita's voice broke a little, "she had power enough to level planets. She was so strong but she was kind. She was the birth of the Moon Kingdom and the dawn of the Silver Millennium.

Every guardian and planet therefore paid allegiance to her. We became one people from nine different Houses. And every ruler after her held the power that was her birthright and every guardian after that swore allegiance to her and her successor. We became senshi... And if anything our powers grew. But we became, irrevocably, tied to the Moon.

We lost our powers five years ago. The day Serenity and Serena died we died as well. Our planets left us, their spirits gone, their magic drained. We here human and we were normal and we were helpless before the Earth's onslaught."

Zoicite baffled shook his head. "How... How could we have not known about this? That kind of history..." Lita snorted.

"Is forgotten and was hidden. The whole story was known only to the Royal Houses. There's more but it's known only to the guardians. The general populace knew of the guardians but they didn't know how strong we really were. They also never knew our names. To them we were beloved princesses, strong women who would one day lead their planets, nothing more, nothing less.

Many guessed though." Lita smiled bitterly. "We were a rarity this generation. Only one princess per Royal House. It was easy to figure out who the guardians were but it didn't matter, not truly. So we wielded swords along with our royal decrees. Besides... guardians have not truly been needed in over five hundred years. We had the power and the training but we lived normal lives, until you came and destroyed it all. Ironic that Serenity hailed us as the brightest generation of guardians since they were last truly need and that, in the end, we failed." Kunzite scowled.

"Then how do you explain this?" he waved imperiously at Mina. Lita smiled and knelt once more before her friend, face soft.

"We stood alone once, long ago, when the universe existed in uncertainty and darkness. It been awhile but the planets remember. She is our leader Generals. She is the strongest woman living today and her planet has just given her back her power." Beaming Lita rose to her feet and felt her face whiten at the hiss of drawn steel. She stared at the man named Kunzite as he looked sadly at the fallen princess.

"What are you doing?" Lita asked in disbelief as she once more instinctually moved to shield Mina again. Kunzite's calm eyes sought and locked on hers. The fighter she had sensed, the lithe grace of a predator, shone through as the leader of the Generals stood there, resplendent in a pristine gray uniform and gleaming sword.

"Pluto has balked us at every turn and she has her powers. Yet you say this woman is stronger than she and that, had you all retained your powers my Lord would not have been successful in his conquering of the universe. Aside from morals and righteousness I have sworn to protect and serve the Earthen Empire. This woman is a threat. We have not the will or way to restrain her. She's infinitely more dangerous alive than dead, less useful but more dangerous. So I must take the only action I know. I'm sorry," he murmured in a gentler voice.

"You can't Kunzite!" Jadeite cried as the older man advanced.

"Beryl is tied to her, and the child! If she dies, so do they!" Kunzite turned to growl at the other General.

"If this Empire is torn apart by magic what use will Sol have for an heir?" Jaws clenched, faces shining with horror Jadeite and Zoicite looked away, unable to refute their leader but wanting to.

"Kunzite," Zoicite whispered, "The princess is helpless... To kill a warrior is one thing but a sleeping girl..." Kunzite bared his teeth as he whirled to face his comrades.

"You felt the power in her Zoicite, and I did as well. She is far from helpless!" Firm in his resolve he turned back to commit the deed and swallowed.

The softness in Lita had melted away. The friend, the prisoner, the princess, was gone and replaced with something out of legend. The Guardian of Jupiter blinked with blazing emerald eyes, lit by magics torn willingly from her planet's spirit. The symbol worn around her neck shined vibrant on her brow and she stood, stance rigid, as she faced down Kunzite. She was weaponless but from the look in her eyes, she didn't truly need weapons.

"You will kill my friend only by walking past my cold body General Kunzite." Icy eyes regarded her with interest before they glinted with respect and he nodded gravely.

"As you will." Sword flashing, he advanced.

Author's Notes: Hay ya'll! Getting interesting ne? LOL.. I'm having fun with the story anyway... Actually got the next chapter *all* planned out. Doesn't mean it will get written soon but.. New topic.. Email me! I demand it! =) Hope you guys all had happy holidays. Check out my page too!

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