<The Motley Review Crew appears in the theater amid a cloud of Lurkadis'
trademark lavender mist>

Tora: <coughs> Rock-boy, we gotta have a talk about that damn smoke of
yours.

Lurkadis: Well, in any case, here we are again to review the latest chapter
of God-boy's Shieldsman fic.

Blood sat in a deserted apartment and meditated.  It wasn't meditation to
find inner peace, no, the aim of this trance was to find his inner
darkness.  In that sense, maybe it was an attempt to find peace.  A

mission

to calm the war that raged inside his mind between the darkness that was
Blood and the light that was Crimson.  Or Ares.  Or Kaneda.  Such idiocy,
this reincarnation.  Why was one name, one life not sufficient for these
fools?

Tora: Hey! What do you know, stupid? I've lived with these humans! They
don't last like you and me do, man! They can't even go one lousy little
century without falling apart!

Images flashed through Blood's mind as he considered his enemies. He
fantasized of how he would slay them and steal their power, especially

the

King and Queen.  One would provide him with an entire planet to corrupt

and

feed upon, and the other would give him a power that surpassed that of
gods.

Tora: <blinks> Whoa, this guy's ambitious. Che, didn't anyone ever try to
give *him* a hamburger?

Ushio: <facefaults>

After the combat, Blood had ransacked Crimson's memories on the pair, and
realized his mistake.  He should have tried to kill Uranus first.  She

was

the headstrong one, the one who would become unpredictable and
uncontrollable when her partner was destroyed.  Neptune, on the other

hand,

was a much more even-tempered and fragile enemy.  If she didn't collapse
from grief at Uranus' death, she too would go into a killing rage.  Blood
preferred those odds.

Lurkadis: Gee, how sporting of him.

*Not Rei damnit leave her alone you bastard you hear me not Rei never

Rei*

Pain shot through Blood's head, and he hissed in anger.  With effort, he
drove that voice down with his own retort.  *You failed her.  You failed
her once, and you'll fail her again.  This time it will be your own hand
that kills her.*  He smiled as he felt that inner voice howl with rage

and

agony, and go hurtling into its shell in the depths of their mind.

Hikaru: <wince> Ouch. 

Lurkadis: <nods> Looks like they need to work on their communication
skills...

Mars, that was the problem. Crimson was attached to her stronger than he
should be.  It was something deeper, far more powerful than anything

Blood

had ever seen before.  That twisted weakness called love he could
comprehend and work with.  Jadeite had loved Pluto, but it was not like
this.   Blood could not understand this absolute devotion that Crimson

had

to the woman.

He could not understand it, but he could use it.

Tora: Oh man, this guy's makin' *me* sick!

Ushio: O_o Now that's saying something.

Serenity cleared her throat, and and the discussion in the room subsided.

"Rei will not be involved in our efforts to rescue Ares.  First, because

of

what he said to Haruka and Michiru on that roof.  Like I was with Tuxedo
Mask, she is the key to Ares recovery.  If she dies, we will have lost

him

forever."  She paused to allow that to sink in, and then continued. 
"Second, she isn't just risking her life alone, she's risking two lives
now."  Makoto eeped, and Apollo grinned, but with the exception of Ami,

the

others looked blank.  "Rei is pregnant."  

Lurkadis: Whoa. Fast work.

Hikaru: <giggle>

"But what can we do?" Minako asked.  "He's tough enough to shrug off
anything but our most powerful attacks, and that cold-fire of his will

fry

us easily."

"We'll have to fight fire," Makoto answered for her, "with fire."  She
turned to look at Jadeite, and the other's eyes followed hers.  Jadeite
looked up at them in surprise.

Lurkadis: Now what are they up to...

Jadeite sat in attendance, but wasn't paying attention to what was
occurring.  He was totally absorbed in his own thoughts as he stared at

the

items he held, and considered their meaning.

He turned the green bracers in his hands over and over, his fingers

tracing

the outline of the green crystal in one, and the symbol for Pluto in the
other.  He remembered when the original Queen Serenity gave them to him. 
He was so proud, so overjoyed that he would finally be able to work with
his lover.  He remembered his home life, with her, and Crimson, his
youngest brother.  He remembered raising Crimson with Pluto, and how

proud

he felt when his brother became the greatest of the Shieldsmen.  Not the
strongest, not the smartest, simply the best.

Lurkadis: Saw that coming? <no hands go up> Damn. Point for God-boy.

But nothing made him hate himself as much as what he did next.  Crimson
actually defeated Jadeite in combat, but the other generals teamed up on
the lone man and subdued him, making him powerless to fight them as

Jadeite

slowly, carefully, crushed Sailor Mars piece by piece.  He remembered
laughing as Crimson crawled to the lifeless woman's body, and how he
reveled as Crimson screamed his grief to the heavens.

Lurkadis: ...

Hikaru: <sniffle>

Tora: <somewhat drooped expression>

Ushio: <scowl>

Makoto was speaking.  "We'll have to fight fire with fire."  Jadeite felt
gazes on him, and looked up in surprise.  All of the others were looking

at

him, expecting his response.  Expecting him to save their friend.   They
knew what he had been, and what he had done, and yet they still wanted to
trust him, to give him a chance.

Jadeite nodded his head, and was about to stand, when a voice stopped

him. 

"No."

Lurkadis: ?

Apollo said nothing in response.  He walked over to where Jadeite sat,

and

said a single word.  "Stand."  The other man stood, and faced him.  In a
flash, Apollo brought his sword up, and whipped it past Jadeite's face,

not

once, but twice.  A handful of hair fell, and two faint red lines

appeared

on the shocked man's cheeks.

Hikaru: <whistles> Close shave.

Lurkadis: Fast, too.

The young man sheathed his sword, and knelt, picking up the hairs on the
ground.  He stood and dropped them on the table.  "Ares wouldn't have
fallen for that attack.  Even if he was caught completely by suprise he
would have blocked or dodged that easily.  He turned to Makoto, and

smirked

slightly.  "I can do it even faster, if you like.  Want a haircut?"

Lurkadis: <snicker>

"If he doesn't have a chance, then Crimson is doomed."  Jadeite walked

over

to the Queen, who had been silent for quite a while now.  "He's right.  I
haven't fought someone as a Shieldsman for almost eleven millennia.  Ares
was a better fighter than me in the Silver Millennium, he'd swat me away
like an insect now."  He took the bracers, and held them out to Serenity.

"Your Majesty, give Apollo my power.  Make him able to fight Blood,

because

he's the only one who can."  He let his eyes slide over to Apollo, and

the

barest hints of a smile touched his face.

Lurkadis: Oooh, warrior's respect. 

Hikaru: <grins> Gotta love it.

Serenity brought her hands up to Jadeite's, and closed his hands over the
bracers he held.  Her smile as she looked into the haunted man's eyes
seemed to lift some of the pain from his heart.  "Thank you, Verdant,"

she

corrected herself as the man winced.  "Jadeite.  But that won't be
necessary."  She released his hands, and turned to Apollo.  "Apollo,

stand

before me."

Lurkadis: Let me guess...

"Just do what feels natural," two familiar voices intoned in unison. 
Looking to the source of the voices, several of the Senshi could not help
but smile at the familiarity.  Luna and Artemis walked in and hopped up

on

the table.

Hikaru: Wow, they're still alive!?

"Impressive," Minako breathed.

"Tacky," Ami countered.

Hikaru: <snicker>

"Mine," Makoto finished, and blushed as the other two glared at her.

Lurkadis: <cackle>

Apollo slowly returned to the ground, and the whiteness faded from his
body, revealing armor similar to Crimson's, but it was all featureless,

and

all of the same silvery metal.  In his hands, he held a clear crystal
blade, that seemed to shine with a light of its own.  He looked down at
himself, and then with interest in the mirror Serenity had conjured.  "I
like it," he began with a wry grin, "but couldn't it have been something

a

little less 'Hey look, I'm a target, please shoot me'?"

Lurkadis: <ROFL!>

Laughter and chuckles filled the room, but it was King Endymion who
responded.  "Apollo, you're complaining in a room full of women who wear
skirted leotards as a combat uniform."  

Hikaru: <snicker>

"Wait!" Haruka cried, then cursed.  "Damn overeager novices."  He turned

to

Michiru.  "Come on, love, the kid's gonna need backup."  The pair left

the

room in a sprint, changing into their Senshi forms on the run, Makoto a

few

steps behind them.

Lurkadis: Yep, back to action...

"Your Majesties," he panted.  "Lady Rei has disappeared!"

All: O_O 

Lurkadis: Oh shit.

"Ares doesn't live here anymore - there is only Blood," he intoned, and
then laughed again.  "I always wanted to say that." Black fire formed
around Blood's left arm, swirling to form a disk-like shape.  "One of my
problems before was that I didn't use this body's natural reflexes.  It
wants a shield, it gets one."  He spun, and the disk of shadow flew

towards

Sailor Mars, who stood motionless.

Lurkadis: Ack.

"How unfortunate," Blood said offhandedly.  "I see the little queen has
turned you into one of those goody-two-shoes-twits as well."  He sighed,
and shook his head.  "And I had such hopes for you."

"You're not going to win, you bastard," Apollo returned.

Tora: Talk about witty reparte...

Ushio: <smirks> It's wittier than "Hey, that's my dinner you damn flying
heads!"

Tora: <scowls> Don't get personal.

The disk bounced off the crystal sword Apollo held, and slammed into the
ground, blasting away a small crater.  "If that's the best you can do,

I've

already won."

Blood laughed.  "Oh no, little brother, I've barely begun."

Lurkadis: This chapter, on the other hand, has ended. Good work, God-boy.
Looking forward to the conclusion.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
-Lurkadis Lavenwers-

EternalLostLurker@worldnet.att.net

Estuans interius ira vehementi
Estuans interius ira vehementi
Sephiroth

Sors immanis
et inanis
Sors immanis
et inanis

veni veni venias
ne me mori facias
veni veni venias
ne me mori facias
Sephiroth
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