MANIFOLD DESTINY BOOK ONE: Other lives, other paths By: Rick Federle and WolfByte _______________________________________________________________________ Sailor Moon and all associated characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi, and are trademark of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd., and Toei Animation Co., Ltd. Usage of them is without permission, and for the sole purpose of entertainment. Solar is property of WolfByte, and if you wish to use the character he requests you ask permission first. The Guardsman/Warrior of Light is the property of Rick Federle, and if you wish to use the character please ask permission before hand. All other characters are joint creations of the two. _______________________________________________________________________ Chapter Six "The Citadel" The Second Fel paced the throne room nervously. The throne room was made of stone, much like the rest of the Citadel. Floor to ceiling curtains lined the walls, dampening the sound of his footsteps. Some of the curtains hid openings that led to other chambers or small nooks where guards were usually concealed. But right now, most of them were out searching for the escaped prisoners. "Any sign of them?" He asked the soldier entering the large chamber. "No, Second Fel." The soldier stated, coming to a halt and snapping to attention. "They've disappeared into the catacombs along with the rebels." The feline bit back a curse and continued his worried pacing. * * * "Can it be done?" Pela asked, his surprise obvious on his face. "Of course it can be done." Guardsman replied. Apparently sneak attacks weren't in the Virka school of thought. "It's just a matter of seeing how many warriors you have and what kind of opposition we can expect." Solar echoed. "Maybe you could assemble your warriors so we could get an idea how many of them there are?" The Virka blinked once, apparently coming out of whatever had overcome him. "Of course. " Pela stepped out of the chamber. "You have a plan, I suppose." Solar asked the armored warrior. "It'll depend on how many soldiers he has." Guardsman nodded toward the curtain that the Virka had disappeared behind. "Naturally." Solar turned his attention toward the map on the table in front of him. "Do you think that the girls are okay?" "They're fine." Guardsman said absently, most of his attention seeming fixed on the map. "How do you know that?" Jason asked. "Empathic link." Guardsman looked up at him. "I haven't felt any emotions that I normally associate with her fighting and my sense of danger hasn't been triggered either." He explained. "If she was in trouble then I'd know." "That must be extremely comforting." Solar sounded curious. "Is it similiar to cape-boy's knack for knowing when Sailor Moon is in trouble?" "Like that, yes." Guardsman nodded. "But it works both ways in our case." A pause hung in the air for a moment. "Why don't you tell me about where you come from?" He asked after a moment. "Yeah, sure." Solar agreed. "Well to start out with, until I met the Senshi, I was a theif." "If you ladies will excuse me for a moment." Taka asked politely after one of the Virka women whispered to her for a moment. "Of course." Venus smiled graciously. She glanced around the room, noting the lack of anything resembling furniture in the small storeroom. She settled onto one of the small wooden crates near the wall to wait, crossing her ankles and leaning against the wall. "I still don't trust them." Mars snapped, her eyes still looking toward the entranceway. "What's not to trust?" Venus replied, turning her attention to a spec of dirt on her otherwise pristine miniskirt. "They break you out of a deathtrap, feed you, protect you, and provide you with a safe place to sleep." She brushed away the dirt from the edge of her skirt. "And give you a tour of their home." Sailor Mars abruptly looked toward the blond Senshi, noting once again the golden sun embedded in her bow clasp. "I'm not her, you know." Sailor Venus reminded her. "What?" Mars blinked. "I'm not the heartbroken warrior hiding her pain behind a bravado of happiness." Venus' eyes seemed to bore into Mars' brain as the two locked gazes. "I have everything I could ever want." She continued. "William and I share a special bond. Yes, we share emotions and his pain is mine. But it goes deeper than that." "I have more reason to be afraid than you do." Venus continued, as the silence grew strained. "Our souls are bound together, Mars. Whatever happens to him happens to me. If he dies, then so will I." Venus abruptly broke eye contact and looked over at one of the walls, causing Mars to blink at the unexpected release of tension. "We're so tightly bound together that sometimes I can't tell where I end and he begins." Venus continued quietly after a moment. "I love him so totally, so unconditionally that it just doesn't seem important. Before I met him I was always missing something important. He loves me more than anything." Venus' voice dropped to a whisper. "And when I'm with him I feel complete." Mars examined the woman seated near her, her mind whirling at the words that she'd just heard. Time seemed to stretch out in the silence that followed and when she broke the silence, she realized that she didn't think the same about her. "I understand, Mina." Venus turned her head to look at her and Mars could see the light in her eyes. A blazing mass of energy that touched all around, joined with another, and with a power that staggered the imagination. "You'd learn more if you'd listen." Venus pointed out, breaking Mars away from the moment. "Also, you'd be more aware of any dangers that lurk about." "I'll consider it." Mars agreed quietly. "I apologize for the delay." Taka's voice ended the moment. "One of the other wives was concerned about our food stocks." The two Senshi looked over and saw the Virka standing in the entranceway. "We can conclude the tour when you are ready." Venus smiled graciously, climbing to her feet. "Please lead the way." "Yeah." Mars gave her a small smile. "After you." * * * "Is this it?" Jason looked at the two dozen odd Virka assembled around them, concealing his surprise. "Yes." Pela stated, sounding enthusiastic. "We've mustered a great deal of support lately." "I suppose that you know how to organize them." Jason looked hopefully at Guardsman after a moment. "Sorry," Guardsman shrugged. "My training never included squad level combat. We rarely operated in groups larger than four." "All right." Jason sighed. "I'll whip them into shape and you see if you can figure out how to get in the place without drawing too much attention." "Right." Guardsman nodded in agreement. "We'll begin training for the mission shortly." Jason told Pela, who dismissed the assembled Virka with a wave of his hand. Taka and the two senshi entered the room as Guardsman and Jason returned their attention to the map on the table, quietly discussing options. Mars crossed the room to join Jason while Taka stood near Pela. "Mine." Venus declared, wrapping her arms around her husband's torso and resting her head between his shoulder blades. "And hello to you, too." He smiled over his shoulder at her. Venus ducked under his elbow and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Give me kiss." She demanded, stretching up on her tiptoes and pressing her lips against his in a long kiss. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly against him as the kiss continued. Venus settled back on her heels as the kiss ended, looking up into his eyes. Guardsman leaned forward to share another long kiss with her. "I love you." He reminded her after he removed his lips from hers. "I love you, too." Venus snuggled up against him, feeling the warmth of his body as he wrapped his cape around the two of them. Guardsman buried his face in her hair, holding her close. "Husband." Taka began quietly. "No, Taka." Pela stated. "Such things are not permitted." Mars had glanced discretely over at the two Virka and therefore was the only one to witness the exchange. "There's something I need to tell you." She whispered to Jason. Jason gave her a curious look. "Later." She finished. "Pela, if you'd get your soldiers together, we'll begin preparing them for the assault." Jason looked over at his girlfriend. "Feel up to some exercise, hon?" Mars quite deliberately rammed the heel of her shoe into the Virka warrior's foot. The Virka had said that he wasn't going to listen to any female. The Virka winced in pain, the effect of Mars' high heel shoe being more painful than he was willing to admit. Mars kicked the soldier in the stomach with her toe, knocking the wind out of him and leaving him doubled over gasping for air. "Anyone else like to question my ability as a warrior?" Mars snapped, her anger seeming to burn in the front of her eyes. She abruptly turned toward Pela as he opened his mouth to speak. "No, Sailor Mars." Pela agreed quietly. "Good." Mars nodded. "Then we'll begin again." Under Jason's instruction, Mars beat the Virka soldiers into a more or less cohesive unit in the space of a couple of hours. At one instance couple of Virka decided they had had enough of their female drill sergeant, and both lunged at her from behind, neither of them saw Jason coming until after they were face down on the stone floor. He glared at them both; eyes red, tiny wisps of flame emanating from his curled fists. "You're lucky that I saw you before she did," he growled. Training had gone somewhat smoother as the Virka came to realize that both their 'trainers' had more fight than their size revealed. After an arduous sesion, he finnaly ended the soldier's torment. "Everyone get some rest. We'll begin the assault after the next sleep cycle." The Virka filed out, more than one limping and sporting a series of bruises. Mars watched them go before powering down and moving over to join her boyfriend. "You were wonderful." Jason told his girlfriend as she joined him. "When am I not?" she asked with a smirk. "Can't think of a time," he admitted. "Although I can think of a better way to expend all that energy of yours." Rei grinned as she gave him a short kiss. "Later dear," she told him. "Later." * * * Sailors Venus found a large, fairly flat stone to sit on. She crossed her ankles absently, watching her husband work his way slowly around the table, examining the map from various angles. A step to the right, pause for a moment, then another step. She smiled at him, her eyes never leaving him, watching his every move. Guardsman completed the circuit, then selected a spot on the floor. After a moment Venus felt a surge of curiosity, and he raised his eyes to look at her. "Yes?" He asked, his voice puzzled. Venus hopped down off the rock and crossed the room to him. "I just enjoy watching you." She told him, her eyes twinkling with delight. "You're so cute when you're that serious." She told him as she stepped into the circle of his arms. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers as she folded her arms around his neck. "I bet." He agreed. "Absolutely." Venus kissed him playfully then again a bit more seriously before he settled his forehead against hers. "When can I get some quality time?" She asked after a moment of looking into his eyes. "When we get home," he told her. "Or sooner if I can arrange it." "Good." She buried her nose in the warmth of his chest, wrapping her arms around his torso. "I need you." She whispered to him. "I know." He kissed her on the top of the head and buried his face in her hair, drawing his cape about the two of them. "I know." She held him for a while, immersing herself in his emotions. "I love you." She reminded him, lifting her head to look into his eyes. "I love you." He declared, kissing her lips. They held each other tightly; their bodies molded together like matching pieces of a puzzle. "I need you, too." * * * The Chief Scientist raised his head as one of the consoles began to beep. "Yes?" The other feline in the room answered it. "The assault will be in the morning." He overheard the scratchy sound of a bad transmission. "The assault will be to seize the throne room." "Very good." The other feline turned off the console and the Chief Scientist lowered his head before the other could look his way, closing his eyes to feign sleep. * * * The next morning found the foursome assembled in the chamber that lead out into the catacombs. The Virka warriors were clustered in small groups around them, talking quietly in their own tongue. "Everyone here?" Guardsman asked as he and Venus joined the other couple. "Pela says so." Solar stated, gesturing toward the Virka leader. "There's a secret passage behind the throne room that leads out into the catacombs." Guardsman told them, putting his arms around Venus' waist. "We can use it to get inside without any resistance." "How did you know that there'd be a passage?" Mars asked curiously. "All throne rooms have at least one escape route, usually close to the throne itself." Guardsman explained as Venus rubbed her shoulders against him to get comfortable, resting her hands over his. "It's a common paranoia among royals and dictators." "I never had one." Venus disagreed, glancing over at him. "What about that tunnel from your room to the grounds?" Guardsman asked. "The one that you used to get out of the palace unseen for our rendezvous?" Venus made a face but didn't reply. "I love you, too." He kissed her on the temple. Venus giggled happily and rested her head against his shoulder. "Let's go." Mars said impatiently, eager to get the matter resolved and to be on the way home. Solar shook his head. "I appreciate sweet moments, but don't they ever give that routine a rest?" "You should try it," Guardsman replied. "You might help your relationship to be more fulfilling." "Despite whatever assumptions you may have made," Sailor Mars objected, "Our relationship is quite close. We have a unique bond, and we have our own ways of expressing our feelings." Solar chuckled for a moment. "Some of which have made a certain rock star wannabe less than pleased." Grinning at Mina, he shrugged. "I can't imagine why." * * * The Second Fel paused at the sound of stone grating on stone. Several of the curtains nearby abruptly parted and a number of Virka warriors came into view. "What is the meaning of this intrusion?" He demanded to the gathered warriors. "It's called a revolt." Solar stated dryly, stepping into view. Mars, Venus, and Guardsman joined him. "It's over." Pela agreed. "I'm taking command." "You!" The Second Fel paled. "Guards!" He yelled, diving for cover behind the large stone throne. "I was hoping he wouldn't do that." Guardsman commented as he drew his sword. "If it was easy," Venus began. "They wouldn't need us." He finished. "Yes, I know." Some of the curtains along the wall moved and feline soldiers charged into the throne room with ready weapons. Fire was exchanged between the rebels and those soldiers loyal to the Second Fel. The smell of burnt fur hung in the air as weapon discharges found their marks. Restrained from using their powers due to the inability to distinguish friend from foe in the chaos of the battle, the three Senshi relied on their hands and feet to subdue their opponents. Guardsman took a more direct approach, his blade carving through fur, bone, and metal indiscriminately. As one more skilled opponent managed to knock away Guardsman's blade, Venus snatched it out of the air and flung it at the Second Fel. It slammed into the feline's chest with a sickeningly wet smack and the body thudded to the floor, echoing loudly in the sudden silence that followed. "It's over." Solar stepped toward the middle of the room, in clear view of all. "Throw down your weapons." "I don't think so." A hauntingly familiar voice interrupted from near the main doorway. All eyes turned to find the First Fel standing in the entranceway, his left arm in a sling, and surrounded by a dozen or more with ready weapons. "Welcome home, Third Fel." The First Fel continued, inclining his head toward Pela. The rebel leader nodded back. "Thank you, First Fel." Mars glared at the Third Fel. "You..." "Shoot them!" Pela ordered, cutting off the rest of Mars' words. Guardsman instinctively flung his arms around Venus, pulling her tightly against him, shielding her as best he could with his body. Multiple weapon discharges slammed into him and then everything went black.