Nephrite jumped forward and turned to face his Master, even though he knew how dangerous it was for him to turn his back on Beryl. He was shocked that his Master had in fact pulled out his sword and was holding it in front of him, as though he meant to attack his only remaining guardians.

No, Nephrite corrected himself. Kunzite and Zoisite were still alive, but caught in an excruciatingly painful hell. He could almost feel their pain every time they cried out. He flinched as another round of screams reached his ears.

"Move." Endymion's voice commanded. Nephrite couldn't imagine that his Master would kill two of his guardians to save the other two, but the look in his Master's eyes told Nephrite that the man could not see reason. His only desire now was to stop Kunzite and Zoisite's agony.

The Senshi continued to hold their ground, but didn't know how to react to this new turn of events. The Princess was holding onto Endymion's arm, trying to hold him in places as well. "Endymion... please..." she begged.

"No." Jadeite said firmly. He too had backed away from his Master, but like Nephrite, was not going to move out of Endymion's way unless forced to.

"You would allow them to suffer like this?!"

Nephrite could feel his body trembling, tears threatening to fill his eyes. He hated it just as much as Endymion, but he would not forsake his mission. "Yes," he replied.

Endymion's eyes grew wide at Nephrite's answer. Nephrite continued to speak, hoping to snap his Master out of it. "You would go to her? You would allow Beryl and Metalia to rule the Earth?!" Nephrite was very much aware that he was yelling. He had never raised his voice to his Master before now. "I would gladly suffer ten times what they are before I would allow that to happen, and so would they."

Endymion's eyes relaxed for a moment as he looked from one fallen guardian to the other. Nephrite too allowed himself to look. They still writhed, but their voices were gone. They had no strength left to vocalize their pain.

"Endymion..." Beryl's now impatient voice warned. Endymion looked up at her, then gave Zoisite and Kunzite one final look before closing his eyes, sheathing his sword, and taking a step back. Nephrite and Jadeite both turned again, facing Beryl.

She was furious, her eyes burned with anger. She moved her hands and the energy that held the two guardians in perpetual agony disappeared. The bodies of both men relaxed, and Nephrite did not know if they were dead or unconscious. Either way, he was relieved that their suffering had ended.

"You have two guardians left. I can do the same to them. Or perhaps... the Princess..."

---

The moment Beryl threatened the Princess, Jupiter and the other Senshi jumped in front of her, determined to keep Beryl from getting her claws into Serenity.

"You're not laying a finger on her!" Jupiter said, challenging the red haired woman, but Beryl was not interested in what one of the Senshi had to say.

Beryl held her hands in front of her as she had before. They glowed a dangerous deep purple. "Endymion. I will make sure that she dies the same, if not a more painful death."

'Damnit Endymion, just go to her already!' Jupiter thought. It would at very least buy them some time and avoid more casualties.

She glanced over at the still body of Kunzite. It had been less than two hours ago that they were in the training room of the palace. The first person she had fought in a while that had presented her with a challenge. You were distracted and the enemy can take advantage of that, even if it's for a split second.

Jupiter immediately returned her focus to Beryl. If she did let that energy fly, Jupiter knew she would have to react quickly. She would happily take it in place of her Princess, or any of the other Senshi.

Nephrite and Jadeite were still forcing Endymion to hold his ground. Jupiter could understand their desire to keep their Prince from harm, but what good will it do if it just results in everyone's death? They could still rescue him later, could they not?

"What difference does it make?" Jupiter heard Nephrite respond to something Beryl had said. "You'll kill us all in the end anyway."

Beryl's response to this was to simply narrow her eyes and let the energy ball fly. It went right past the three men and was aimed with deadly accuracy at the Princess. Jupiter was in it's path in a second and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact. It never came.

Cautiously she opened her eyes and was surprised to see that someone else had stepped in front of her. She was holding her sceptre high and the energy that radiated from it was holding Beryl's attack in place. "Queen Serenity..."

Jupiter was vaguely aware of the Prince and two Tennou hurriedly getting out of the way of the power struggle.

"You will not harm my daughter!" the Queen's voice rang out.

"And you will die with her!"

---

Everything was happening so fast. First Serenity had though for certain she was dead, and then her mother had appeared as if out of thin air. She quickly clung to Endymion when he returned to her and hid behind the six remaining guardians.

The golden glow coming from the Ginzuishou battled with the dark energy that Beryl threw at it, the two powers seeming to cancel each other out at the half-way point between the two women.

Serenity looked up at Endymion with a worried expression. He place his arm around her shoulders to reassure her, but continued to watch the battle.

"We attack Beryl now," Serenity heard the leader of her Senshi say. "It might hurt her long enough for our Queen to do enough damage."

The other Senshi agreed quickly, and one of the Shitennou added under his breath, "you couldn't have done this before?" but he was ignored.

Serenity watched as her Senshi gathered together, concentrating on pooling their energy. She had never seen them attempt anything like this before. She felt the need to help them in some way, but didn't know how.

They turned their backs to one another and began to glow in their respective colours. Serenity watched in awe and felt Endymion's hold on her tighten ever so slightly. Could this work?

"Sailor... Planet... Attack!"

All four of her Senshi turned and faced Beryl, who was still too occupied with battling the power of the Ginzuishou to notice the new attack. The shining energy attack hit her with full force and caused her to stumble and end her attack. The Ginzuishou's light then hit her.

Serenity covered her ears and closed her eyes when she heard Beryl scream. She didn't really know what happened next. Eventually the scream faded and then there was silence. Endymion suddenly pulled her into a hug and she then felt it safe to observe her surroundings.

Beryl was gone, but her mother was knelling on the ground, a hand pressed to her head. "Mother!" Serenity called, and ran to her.

"I am fine," the Queen said, "It just took a lot out of me."

Serenity looked around at the others. Venus and Jadeite were hovering over Zoisite while Mercury and Nephrite had gone to Kunzite's side. Jupiter and Mars remained near the Queen and Serenity.

"He's alive!" Venus called out.

"They both are!" Mercury added.

Serenity then smiled up at Endymion. He looked incredibly relieved, but uncertain about which guardian to go to first. After some debating, he decided on Zoisite.

"Are you sure you are alright, Mother?" Serenity asked, helping the Queen to stand.

"Yes, I will just need some rest, that is all. I am just glad that you are safe."

---

When he opened his eyes, the world was a blur. He heard some distant voices, but nothing they said seemed to make any sense. They were most definitely excited about something.

Zoisite closed his eyes for a few moments and then tried again. The room was a bit clearer. It was mostly white, golden lamps hung from the ceiling. He recognized them as being from the moon palace.

Everything then came back to him in a flash and he tried to sit up, but was met with some difficulty. "Easy," someone told him. "Just relax, you're safe."

"My Master?" he asked the voice, not really concerned with his own well being.

"I'm right here, Zoisite."

Zoisite turned his head to the right, and saw that his Master was seated beside him. He then became aware of the pressure on his hand, his Master was squeezing it as well. "I'm so glad you are alright."

He looked well enough, but Zoisite had to be sure. "Master, were you injured at all?"

Endymion smiled at his selfless concern. "No, not a scratch."

Zoisite exhaled in relief and felt that he could relax once more. He looked around the rest of the room, it was most definitely the Moon Palace infirmary. The doctor was busy with something on the other side of the room.

He found Jadeite next, the young man smiling happily. "Kunzite beat you by about five hours," he said, gesturing to the other bed.

Kunzite lay there, looking much more awake than Zoisite felt. "What took you so long?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was a competition. How long have I been out?"

"Almost two full days," his Master answered. "Please don't do anything like that again."

"Now you two," the doctor said, referring to Jadeite and Endymion, "you can see that they are both alive and well now, so please let them get some rest."

Endymion stood and patted Zoisite on the shoulder before leaving, Jadeite following on his heals. Zoisite allowed himself to sink into the mattress then and closed his eyes. Sleep would not be difficult. His Master was fine, that was all that mattered. He would get the answers to the rest of his questions later.

---

She slowly opened her eyes for the first time. It was raining, causing her clothing and hair to stick to her skin. She was lying on the ground and shivered, feeling cold for the first time.

She could hear voices, and saw the figures of three men running towards her. She closed her eyes and pretended to be unconscious. When they reached her, she listened to their voices.

"You just saw her now?"

"Yes, I don't know how she got here."

"With everything that had been going on here lately, I suppose anything is possible."

"Lift her on to my back. My home as a spare room, she can stay there for now."

"Are you sure? You've already taken one in as it is."

"One more won't hurt."

She then felt herself lifted and gently placed on the man's back. She kept all her muscled limp and relaxed. It would be easier for her if she woke up later. She would tell them that she had no memory up until that point, which was in some ways true. She had memories, but they were not her own. They were enough though to tell her what she was, and what she wanted.

To be continued...