"If this continues, everything will be laid to ruin!"

"Calm down! Both of you!"

"Queen Metalia's army is growing by the minute, we can't sit here and do nothing!"

"Did you forget our duty? We stay here and protect our Master!"

"I'm not an idiot, I know that! But Metalia's army can be stopped now, before it..."

"Nephrite, Kunzite, stop it!"

Prince Endymion stood in the back of the music room, watching helplessly as his guardians fought. He had never seen them like this before. Until recently, they had been the best of friends, or so he'd thought. Things had changed quickly since the rise of Metalia.

Nephrite and Kunzite were the most vocal of the four. Nephrite insisted on going out and meeting the youma army before it reached the palace. Kunzite, always loyal to his Master, knew that they couldn't leave Endymion alone at a time like this. Zoisite implored the two of them to be calm and think things through reasonably, but he was ignored, as was Jadeite who tried to get a word or two in before being cut off.

This was his own fault, Endymion knew, but there was nothing he could do to change things now. He loved Serenity, more than anything. They would survive this.

What they did know so far wasn't good. Metalia had used a woman named Beryl, originally a commoner who, like many girls, had fallen in love with the Earth Prince at first sight. When Metalia found Beryl, she twisted this infatuation into something much more dangerous. Through Beryl, Metalia grew and soon began to turn the people of Earth against their own Prince.

Prince Endymion of Earth and Princess Serenity of the Moon had fallen in love. It was a fact that the people of Earth disliked, and in some cases even hated the people of the Moon. The feelings were not all that different vise versa. In most cases, however, the people's love for their Prince was even stronger. If Metalia's influence hadn't gotten to them, perhaps this war would never have started.

Against the advice of both the Prince and the Princess's guardians, they announced their intent to marry. It was then that all Hell broke loose.

Metalia's following began to grow, starting in the more distant corners of the Earth Kingdom and working itself inward. If a person's feelings of hatred were strong enough, they began to change into what were called 'youma'. Powerful monsters, under Metalia's control.

The size of the youma army was not clear, but it was believed by many that Endymion's army was still stronger. If they attacked now, the army, along with Metalia could be stopped. Once Metalia was gone, so would her influence. Things could return to normal, or so Nephrite thought.

Kunzite never said that he disagreed with this assessment, it was certainly consistent with what information they had. The point was that they were Endymion's personal guardians and couldn't be leading the army out to meet Metalia while Endymion sits in the palace unprotected.

Zoisite, as odd as it was, actually agreed with Kunzite. The information they had could be wrong, and even if it wasn't, their place was with their Prince. The idea of sending the army out after Metalia, while they personally stayed behind had crossed his mind.

Jadeite didn't know what to think. Everything had happened so fast and changed so quickly. He didn't like seeing his friends fight. Shouldn't they be united at a time like this?

"Stop this..." Endymion's voice said quietly. It was not enough to cut through the three voices yelling at each other, so he was forced to raise it. "Stop it! Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite, Jadeite!"

All four immediately stopped and looked at their Master, shocked that not only had he raised his voice, but also that they had forgotten that he was even in the room. He took a few steps towards them before he spoke.

"I know that I was the one who got you all into this, and for that, I am sorry. However, I will not have you arguing with each other like this, not now, not when I need you the most."

Silence followed. Kunzite and Nephrite couldn't help but hang their heads guiltily, it was not often that they were admonished by their Master. Zoisite too was not free from blame, but seemed thankful for the resulting quiet. Endymion looked at each of his guardians in turn before speaking again.

"Zoisite, you have always been the most thoughtful and clear headed of us all. Tell me what you are thinking."

"Master, Kunzite is right, our place is at your side. No matter what happens, that will not change. However, Metalia's forces are growing, and if we wait until they are at our door, it may be too late. I would recommend that we send our troops out to meet her."

"Without us?" Nephrite asked, his voice on the verge of raising again.

"Without us," Zoisite confirmed calmly. "They don't need us to lead them, there are many fine and qualified soldiers among them who would be up to that task."

Endymion nodded his agreement. "Kunzite?"

"It would be the most logical route to take."

"Alright then. Kunzite and Zoisite, I want you two to get them organized and ready to go as soon as possible. Let me know what they are ready."

"Yes, Master," they replied in unison, bowing politely before taking their leave.

"Nephrite, I want you to keep me up-to-date on what recon information we've gathered. We should be expecting a few more men to be returning later today."

"Master," he bowed before leaving as well.

Jadeite look up at Endymion expectantly. "And, what about me?"

"I could use some company," Endymion smiled, also turning to leave the room, but held the door for the youngest of the Shitennou to follow.

---

The four Sailor Senshi had gathered together quietly in Venus' chambers, away from their Princess. Things had gone from bad to worse on Earth and Serenity was adamant about going down to Earth to be with Endymion, as he couldn't be expected to leave his home now.

"We can't let her go down there, that much is certain," Jupiter began, stating the one thing they could all agree upon.

"Agreed," replied the Senshi's leader.

"That's all fine and well, but how exactly do you propose to stop her? She will go, with or without us."

"That's why we're here, Mars, to figure that out."

Not one of the four knew what to suggest. It was far too dangerous on Earth right now for the Princess, but how could they make her see that? Mars did not believe that their Princess could be made to see without experiencing it first hand, and that was not an option.

The quiet voice of the fourth Senshi present finally came forward. "I don't think it's really possible to stop her," Mercury said. "I do think she understands the danger, she just loves him so much that it's not important."

Venus sighed, she probability knew that Mercury spoke the truth. "I will try speaking to her again, perhaps that's all we can do."

"That won't be necessary," came a fifth voice.

Mars turned, as did the other three Senshi. They were shocked to see Serenity standing in the doorway. "Princess..."

"Do the four of you often have meetings behind my back?"

Jupiter stepped forward. "We are just concerned for you, Princess. We don't want to see you get hurt. Endymion's palace could easily be attacked any day now."

"I know the risk, but I need to see him," Serenity explained. "Please understand."

"Princess, please reconsider," Venus pleaded.

"I am going down to Earth tomorrow," Serenity continued, ignoring the guardian. "I would like you to accompany me."

Defeated, there was only one option left, perform their duty as best they could on Earth. "Of course we will, Princess," Mercury spoke for the four.

Serenity smiled. She had always found Mercury to be the most understanding of her Senshi. "Thank you."

---

Nephrite stood with his hands on the table in front of him, looking down at the map. He hated this, waiting around for the enemy to attack. Zoisite was right of course, he always was. They could not leave Endymion's side. He just wanted to get this over with.

He had no misconceptions about how this battle was going to unfold. He fully expected to be dead within the next few days, and he couldn't imagine that Kunzite or Zoisite thought any differently. Jadeite would probably still be hoping for the best, the naïve fool that he was.

Four recon teams had been sent out earlier that day, one in each direction from the palace. Nephrite was waiting for their return and would update the map as needed.

Currently, they knew that most of Metalia's forces, and likely Metalia herself were to the north of the palace, with small youma camps in the other three directions. So long as nothing changed with the reports tonight, north would be where the troops would be sent.

"Sir!"

Nephrite turned and acknowledged the first of the recon groups to arrive, the North group. "Report."

"It has gotten worse, Sir. I would estimate that the youma army is well into the hundreds. Perhaps three hundred strong."

Three hundred. The army they had was closer to two hundred, perhaps two fifty at best. "Any sign of Metalia herself?"

"No, sir."

"Dismissed."

Turning back to the map, Nephrite added the appropriate figures to the it. Metalia would likely attack sooner rather than later, as early as tomorrow evening, he figured. Perhaps he wouldn't have to wait all that much longer after all.

The teams from the south and east returned soon after and there was little update from them. Small youma camps, nothing more. The team from the west had yet to return, and was well over due when Nephrite noticed he was no longer alone and snapped to attention.

"Your majesty," he said, addressing Endymion's father.

The older man looked as though he had barely even seen Nephrite and was staring vaguely at the map. "At ease," he said, his voice just above a whisper. "They've almost doubled in such a short time..." He wasn't so much speaking to Nephrite as he was himself. He continued to look at the map for several more minutes before speaking again. "Protect my son."

"Always, your majesty."

And with that said, he turned and left the room as quietly as he had entered it. It was eerie, Nephrite thought. He had never seen the man act so distant and cut off from everything. He too must believe that everything is about to end.

---

The quietest of the Senshi stood in one of the many gardens on the Moon Palace grounds, staring out at the horizon. The Earth was in view and it looked as it always had, even though things had changed so drastically. How bad was it down there?

It had been a week since the Princess had last visited. At the time, it was known that Metalia was building an army, but it's numbers were unknown. The army would have grown since then, and was probably ready to attack. Mercury couldn't help but worry about the people down there, even if they had never been particularly friendly to each other.

For Serenity's last visit, most of it had been spent arguing with Endymion's Shitennou. The leaders of both groups of guardians had been the most vocal.

"Are you blind to what is happening? Metalia has turned most of Earth's people against us and you still bring her here? How is that going to help anyone?"

"We are well aware of the situation, however the will of the Princess cannot be changed, not by any of us. If she wants to come here, and she certainly seems welcome by your 'Master', then she will. If our positions were reversed..."

"If they were reversed," Nephrite interrupted, "we would have done everything in our power to stop our Master from going."

"And you don't think we have?" Mars questioned angrily.

Mercury stood away from most of the fighting. It was strange how they felt they needed to fight, even though both sides wanted the same thing. Perhaps they just need someone at which to vent their anger and frustration.

The blue haired Senshi noticed that, like herself, one of Endymion's guardian's was also staying out of the battle. The smallest of the four and, she suspected, the youngest. Perhaps she could try what the others hadn't. Talk.

Her noticed her as she cautiously made her way over. She gave him a small smile, hoping to come off as friendly. He didn't return the gesture but nodded letting her know she was welcome.

"I don't think that screaming at each other will help us any," she began.

"No, probably not."

Jadeite was looking over Mercury's shoulder at the ongoing battle. Seeing as how he wasn't going to look at her anyway, she turned and stood beside him. "Our Princess, she loves him very much. We do try to explain to her that it is dangerous for her here, but she refuses to listen."

The young man appeared to understand her situation. "Our Master, he... he loves her as well. He doesn't want to see her get hurt, but at the same time, can't tell her to stay away either."

They said nothing for the next few moment, listening instead to the voices of the other six people in the room. They continued to try and place the blame on each other. "I suppose there's really nothing that either of us could have done. Now, all we can do is try to keep them out of harm's way."

Now, as she stood in the garden, looking down at Earth, she was scared. The Princess was going to Endymion and, in all probability, right into the final battle. Mercury feared for the safety of Serenity, knowing that when the time came, they may not be able to protect her.