Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Comics and Toei Animation.

The morning on the moon dawned bright and clear, and Orion smiled faintly as he watched the pair at the opposite end of the gardens. It was early in the morning, and it seemed that the Lord and the Princess had not gotten a lot of sleep that night. The Senshi of Venus gave Adonis a beatific smile, and he leant down to give her a brief kiss. That in itself was a miracle – the Lord of All Things Frigid showing genuine affection in public? But he was obviously bowled over by Aphrodite…amazing. It had all happened so fast…

"True love, hmm?" asked a voice at his side, and he turned to find Orpheus watching the pair also. Orion’s eyes seemed to sadden a little. He put a hand on the younger man’s shoulder, though Orpheus didn’t react to it. The pair seemed to have temporarily lost interest in a physical relationship with one another. "Orpheus, I know you told me once you…felt things for Lord Adonis, but truly…I truthfully don’t think he’s orientated that way."

Orpheus laughed hollowly. "Yeah, I mean, compare her to me? No contest, right? She’s much more prettier…"

Orion laughed softly, lightly touching Orpheus’s face. "Oh, I don’t know," he murmured, and he had to resist kissing the younger man. He withdrew, and sighed. "Besides…you and Athena seemed to be getting on rather nicely last night…"

Orpheus grinned impishly. "I could say the same for you and Odysseus…but really. Princess Mercury is sweet, and very intelligent – but she’s just not…the same," he finished lamely.

As the two men fell into a brooding silence, a page walked up behind them, and said "Sirs?"

Orion spun quickly. "Yes?"

The page bowed. "Your presence is required on earth…the earthen party is leaving within the hour."

Orpheus’s eyes narrowed. "Why on the Moon would we want to do that?"

The page shrugged. "I’m only the messenger."

The Earthen party was soon back in their palace – the King, the Prince and his Commanders in the Council of War, a map room filled with tactical information and the like. Several other advisors had joined them, and they were already in argument.

"Youma?" asked Endymion. "What the Hell is a youma?"

The messenger shrugged helplessly. "That is all Commander Iolaus told me…"

This particular argument was on the topic of a completely unprovoked attack on a nearby city, close to the capital city of the Earth itself. Apparently, a great dark gate had opened just beyond the walls of the city, and from forth had spewed great legions of strange warriors – and a great deal of negative energy. Or so said the court mages.

Orpheus sighed restlessly, absently playing with a loose strand of his long blonde hair. "There is only one course of action, isn’t there?"

Endymion looked at Orpheus with a faint smile. "I’m glad someone has the same ideas as me."

The youngest of the four generals smiled in a strangely childish manner. "Wait just one moment there, your Highness. How do you know I have the same idea as you?"

Endymion’s smile vanished, but he still seemed amused. "Because you and I are too alike for our own good."

"And you know what they say," put in Orion. "Likes repel and opposites attract – it’s a wonder you two get on so well."

"Spare us the psychological profile," interrupted Adonis dryly, the king nodding his agreement. "Orpheus just implied that we should launch a full-out attack on the army fighting one of our regiments to the south, inside the borders of Aragain."

"Precisely," agreed Orpheus, using a handy stick to point to the city on the map. "You see, if we send the armies in from here and here, we should be over to overwhelm them and-"

"And who’s to say more won’t come pouring out of that warphole?" snapped Adonis. "It’s far too risky to concentrate our armies in one center – for all we know, they could open another gate directly into the capital!"

Endymion looked frustrated at this, while his father nodded his agreement. "So, what about the people of Aragain? We’re just going to leave them to their own devices? Leave them to die?"

"Of course not," his father replied sternly. "Endymion, you must learn to control your temper. I know you care for the people – I also care for the people. But getting ourselves slaughtered won’t help them. At present, the armies are holding off the intruders just fine – and the people are being evacuated. It seems to us that this army of youma are actually withdrawing slightly…with any luck, they will. We don’t want to antagonise them further until we know for sure that they are high risk enemies."

Orpheus sighed restlessly. "So we sit and wait?"

The king nodded, and Adonis agreed with words. "It may not seem very fair to the citizens of Aragain, but Orpheus, there is a lot more at stake. We can’t afford to make a mistake."

Orion agreed reluctantly, and bore the brunt of an obnoxious look from Orpheus. He managed to ignore him, while the youngest general began to – sulk? Adonis sighed at the display – he thought he had broken Orpheus of some of these childish habits. Obviously not.

Endymion, too, seemed on the verge of sulking, but being the principal heir, he knew when to shut his mouth and just obey his superiors.

Adonis made a mental note to have himself a little chat with Orpheus at the first opportunity. The King motioned for the others to join them, and they began to pore over the maps, an argument already beginning. The eldest general took this as the perfect chance to excuse both himself and Orpheus. He practically dragged the smaller man into the corridor, and propelled him into the nearest empty chambers.

Orpheus was still sulking as he took a chair, Adonis pulling up one and giving him a stern look.

"Lecture time?" asked Orpheus, looking bored. "Will I need to take notes? What kind of exam will I be getting at the end of the semester then?"

Adonis gave him a dark look. "It would be highly appropriate if you could manage to hold your tongue for even a few minutes, Orpheus. It’s your mouth that got you into this compromising situation in the first place."

Orpheus stretched out his slender legs, crossing one elegant ankle over the other. "All I did was tell them how I felt, Lord Adonis."

He rolled his eyes skyward. "And acted positively childish about the whole thing – I mean, Orpheus, there is a lot more to this than-"

A knock at the door caused both to look up, Orpheus ceasing staring at the wall. Another messenger stood there, looking worried. "I bring to you two guests from the Moon Kingdom – two of a group of four."

Before either could reply, the messenger was shoved rather inelegantly out of the way, and Aphrodite bounced in, dressed in a long white skirt and a tight orange shirt. She was followed by a slight, pale girl dressed in a blue skirt and jacket, who looked frustrated. "Aphrodite, can’t you control yourself for two seconds?" asked Athena with a sigh. She chose to ignore her companion, and instead flung her arms around a rather surprised Adonis.

Orpheus rolled his eyes at the display, and stood. He shook Athena’s hand rather stiffly, and motioned that they could leave. "If you’re here to speak with Lord Adonis, feel free. I’m leaving right now."

The Princess Mercury looked a little taken aback at the sharpness in the voice of the pretty man. "Actually, Lord Orpheus, I was here to see you – the Senshi and I decided to come and visit you in your own territory."

Orpheus creased his brow. "If you don’t mind my asking – why on Earth would you want to do that for? We only met last night…"

Athena cast a distasteful look at the door through which the elder Lord and the vivacious princess had vanished. "It was more than enough for some people."

The general had to laugh. "Yeah, well…but why are you here? You must have some sort of official reason…"

Athena nodded. "Yes. We were sent here to assist you with this new threat – and we are also here to intervene from the sidelines, regarding this Endymion-Selene business."

Orpheus nodded. The night before, Endymion and Selene had shown an unusual degree of interest in one another, and it made the Queen of the Moon uncomfortable. It had only been one night – but as Athena had pointed out, one night could mean a lot.

Orpheus sighed restlessly. "I don’t mean to offend you, Princess…but I have other matters to attend to. Will you excuse me?"

She sighed. "If I must, Lord Orpheus…but there is one last thing."

He turned back to her, slightly wary of the unusual tone in her voice. "What is it?"

She smiled faintly. "I enjoyed your company last night…well, that is until you got drunk."

Orpheus had to laugh, though his mind was already a million miles away. "Blame the ever-helpful Orion for that one…sorry about that. I should’ve tried to be better company."

Athena continued to smile in that wistful way. "It’s okay. I don’t think you could have been any better than you were."

Orpheus put his hands on his hips in mock anger. "Well, then fine! Your faith in my conversational skills is astounding!"

The princess smiled, and nodded at the door. "If you’ve leaving, you should go now."

"I suppose I should," he said lamely, wondering at the upsurge in his feelings as he looked at the Senshi of Mercury. She met his gaze with unwavering, dark eyes, and he wondered for a moment what it would feel like to kiss those lips turned up in such a ghost of a smile.

One of his hands was touching her cheek before he realised it, and then, he simply leant forward, and placed a delicate kiss on her lips.

He moved backward, opening his eyes, to see Mercury smiling at him, her eyes soft and inviting. "It was nice seeing you again, Orpheus." Silently she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Orpheus, astounded by his own actions, watched her leave. Then, he followed her out the door – but went down the opposite corridor. He knew what he had to do.

Meanwhile, in the so-called mission headquarters, the other two generals had taken leave of the others, and were allowed to spend the time speaking with the visiting Senshi. Mercury and Jupiter were with Orion, while Adonis and Aphrodite had vanished into his private chambers – ‘for a quick…chat.’ Hermes was obviously still fascinated with Mars, who seemed loathe to admit she actually enjoyed the presence of the general.

Then, an hour later, all four generals were summoned to the command room.

The two eldest generals arrived first off, to find Endymion and his father awaiting them. "So, what have we got planned?" asked Orion, looking around. "Where’re the others?"

Adonis, who had been there ten minutes before Orion, replied to that with "We got a hold of a messenger, who said Orpheus was with Hermes, who was with Senshi Mars and Senshi Mercury. He’s gone to retrieve them now."

"Oh. So, what have we got planned?"

"Nothing as of yet," spoke up Endymion. "We’ve just received word that one of our armies has left the barracks under the command of a renegade."

"What?!" stuttered Orion. "A renegade?"

"Not exactly," spoke up the King in his low, commanding voice. "A high ranking member of the royal militia has taken command of a large number of soldiers from each of the four armies, and has taken them to the battle – without permission."

Orion sighed. "So when do we join the trigger-happy officer?"

"Sorry I’m late, your highnesses," came a voice from the door, as Hermes made a hasty entrance.

Adonis turned around, his hair swinging around his shoulders as he turned on Hermes. "Where is he?"

Hermes looked slightly confused. "Who?"

"Orpheus! I thought he was with you." Adonis ran a hand through his long hair, his eyes annoyed and slightly worried. "I sent the messenger to retrieve both of you."

The three generals, one very confused, turned to the messenger, who bowed hastily. "I will go and find him, my liege. Immediately."

He turned to leave, and Hermes called out a halt. "Wait."

Adonis and Orion both looked at him. "What?" asked Adonis impatiently. "Hermes?"

"I…I saw Orpheus some time ago." Hermes appeared loathe to continue, not really understanding what he himself was saying.

"Where was he?" asked Adonis impatiently, beginning to pace restlessly in the war-room, all three generals unaware of the shadow outside the door. The messenger, unsure how to proceed, stood stiffly near the door, though he did not notice the silent presence.

"Hermes?" asked Orion, almost tentatively. "Where was he?"

"He was…in the barracks…I saw him…he…"

"Hermes?" Adonis appeared shocked, as Hermes dropped his gaze, turning his blonde head away. "Why did Orpheus ask you to lie? What was he doing?" A cold chill wrapped around his heart. "You don’t mean…"

"He asked you to lie?" gasped Orion, his once-cheerful face whitening as he realised the meaning of what had just been said. "Then he is…"

"Oh, CRAP," muttered Adonis, his eyes dark and exasperated. "Hermes, why did you harbour this? Don’t you know how dangerous this is? You’ve compromised his life, and-"

"I know," Hermes muttered, looking upset. "But he asked me not to say anything…he said he couldn’t stand by and do nothing…he just wanted to protect his Prince, and…"

"That was his job," said a low voice from beside the silent king, as the figure stepped out of the shadows. The pale face of the Prince, taut with worry and despair, became enlightened. "He did it for me, because none of you would dare pull any chances that would compromise me…"

"But Orpheus knew that doing nothing would be more harmful than leading the battle – so, he took his little friends and left," Hermes told them quietly. Adonis shook his head in anger.

"I can’t believe this – I just don’t believe this – how could he have been so stupid? "

"Don’t get angry with him, Adonis," Endymion broke in quietly, his eyes also tinged with anger. "Is our worry now the safety of our comrade, rather than his motives, or the blame?"

Hermes nodded his agreement, and Orion sighed, pulling the other two closer to the table. "We could take them on from the outside, try to distract them from all sides. Then, when the weakest side is revealed, we can break through that way, and get through the walls, or something along the lines of tha-"

The second messenger rushed in, eyes wild. "Your majesties, my Lords – news from the front!"

All five pairs of blue eyes turned on the young page, who was shaking with fear. "It has been said that the leader of the renegade army is the fourth commander…the rider had the same hair, and flashing emerald eyes, as seen by our visionaries…"

"We know that already," said Adonis in a tired voice. "Come, boy – is there more?"

He swallowed heavily, and nodded. "The watchers saw a second gate open – more of this legion of youma have infiltrated the city, where Lord Orpheus leads his army…"

Endymion’s azure eyes became bleak as he realised what this could mean for his friend. He instantly turned, ready to rush out to his steed, to move quickly to the citadel on the outskirts of the county. The firm hand of Adonis on his shoulder halted him.

"No," he said sternly. "We already have one reckless Commander to deal with – don’t add a reckless Prince to that problem."

"We can’t just stand here," protested Endymion, his gaze hurt and angry. "Lord Adonis – don’t you care about your commander? He needs our help – there is no way he will be able to hold much more of these youma off…"

Adonis sighed heavily, and looked to the others. "Endymion, please. We can’t be so reckless – Orpheus has made a mistake, a terrible mistake. Yes, it is our duty to fight with him – but I won’t do what he did! Two reckless acts will not fix anything – more likely, it will bring it all crashing down around us! Endymion – listen to reason. We need a plan, not thoughtless action!"

Endymion appeared on the verge of saying something more, when he abruptly shut his mouth and fell silent. Hermes cast him a sidelong look, and felt sick to his stomach. He recognised the steely look in the young Prince’s eyes.

He had seen the same look in the eyes of Orpheus when he had told him that he was leading his army to Aragain – come Hell or high water.

The king, silent until now as he took in the words of his bickering commanders and only son, spoke quietly. "Endymion, you know in your heart that he is correct. Orpheus is a valuable commander, and a pleasant person. But it was his own hand that led him into this strife – and what you must understand is that the good of a Kingdom outweighs the well-being of one subordinate general. No matter what happens, just remember this – he went willingly to the front. As did his companions."

Endymion nodded stiffly. As the others fell in discussion of emergency tactics, he pursed his lips. He watched the four get into a quiet, logical argument, he silently slipped from the room.

So silent was he, it was a full ten minutes before Orion’s question shook the group to it’s very core.

"Uh, guys? Where’s Prince Endymion?"

The remaining ranks of the four main armies then descended on the city of Aragain, to where the battle was being played out in the fields beyond Aragain, beside the dark and gloomy forests. The great swirling portal hung ominously in the sky, the cries of the youma and man ringing out across the fields. Adonis grimaced at the carnage before him, and turned to his compatriots. The other two generals looked sombre and uptight, as the messenger from the front arrived. "Where is Lord Orpheus?" demanded Adonis instantly. "And has the Prince been sighted?"

The four Senshi joined them in a flash of white light, the characteristic signature of telekinetic travel between the planets. All were dressed in a similar uniform, though it was in different colours for each of them. It was also very different to the uniforms they wore at important matters of state. They were wearing black trousers and shirts the colour of their corresponding planets. Over these they wore chain mail and shoulder guards, the wrist guards the only adornments on their arms. This was their real battle armour – the had much sweeter, more innocent looking uniforms that they wore as dress uniforms, namely the "Sailor" outfits.

The messenger looked to the women for a second, then nodded. "Lord Orpheus and Prince Endymion are leading the fray, at the very front – and neither will be shaken."

Adonis sighed, and nodded to both his male and female comrades. "It looks like we’ll be joining them."

Senshi Mercury shook her head faintly. "They’ve asked me to join the healers within the city walls…so that is where I shall be." She bowed slightly to the others, and took her leave of them. The others looked at one another, and nodded. "There is little else we can do," said Adonis with a world-weary sigh. "We have to help them – save them from themselves, so to speak." He nodded, and they saluted him sharply, an almost wistful smile on Orion’s face. He just hoped that this would work out…over the past year or so, he had become very fond of the young general. But as he mounted his horse, his last normal thoughts were of the woman he had left behind. Not his arranged fiancée…but instead, Perseus.

The Senshi were wickedly talented in the ways of war, the three remaining generals quickly discovered. They had split into three groups, each general pairing off with a Senshi warrior. These pairs were Orion and Odysseus, Adonis and Deimos, then Hermes and Aphrodite. As Adonis fought followed the dark haired woman out to the front, he marvelled at her agility and strength. She was truly remarkable – and she seemed hell-bent on reaching the Prince. As they moved forward, to the heart of the battle, he had to ask her of her motives. She looked at him for but a moment, and replied "He is the beloved of my Princess – and it is my duty to protect her."

He nodded, and shut his mouth. And he kept going – to find Orpheus. It wasn’t like he was hiding, however. The pair came across the Prince and the Lord, both fighting furiously. Cursing under his breath, Adonis realised how difficult it would be to get to them. He and Mars were separated from the pair by floods of warring men and creatures. "Any bright ideas?" shouted Adonis above the roar of war. They were presently in a position fairly far from the fray, though Endymion and Orpheus were embroiled in the middle of it. Adonis realised with rising certainty that both were in highly dangerous positions. "Mars?"

She simply threw herself forward, and Adonis had no choice but to follow. Their orders were simple – locate and restrain the Prince and his wayward general. Both were in differing degrees of trouble, Orpheus in the more, but both had to be taken from the front. Immediately.

"Orpheus!" roared Adonis above the cacophony of screaming and yelling. He could barely see the blonde man from behind the wall of bodies, but he shouted again. Beside him he heard Mars call out the name of the Prince. Then, the battle was upon them.

It was a typical kind of full frontal, hand to hand combat, which both were well trained in. Their swords winked in and out, as the thrust themselves forward. The hardest part was going to be getting the pair away from their adversaries without any of them getting hurt. "Mars," he shouted to his constant companion.

"What?" she cried out, swiping brutally at a potential threat. The youma, with a nasty gash in his throat, fell dazed to the ground.

"Orpheus – he’s to your right! Get those men behind you to swamp him, push him back. And then – grab him! I don’t care how many people you get to help you! Just get him!"

Mars nodded, and Adonis turned to the Prince, who was to his left by several metres, and a far distance ahead of him. "Endymion!"

Venus was at his side in an instant, her long bangs sweaty and soaked. Her long hair was in an intricate coiled plait at the nape of her neck, her sword glowing deadly gold. He realised with a start she was channelling the power of her planet through the metal. "Help Mars – she’s gonna need it. Hermes and I will deal with Endymion! Go!" she commanded in her melodious voice. Without thinking about it, he turned and rushed towards Mars, who was blissfully unaware of the youma creeping up behind her. As Adonis reached out to attack it, a strange concentration of planetary energy seemed to fill it’s body, and Adonis watched, stunned, as it shattered into a million tiny ice shards. Mars spun, and cried "Mercury!"

The blue-haired Senshi, flanked on either side by Mercurial soldiers from her own personal guard, ignored the greeting, and screamed "Orpheus!"

The man with the coppery-golden tresses ignored her, and went on fighting. Adonis sighed, and leapt forward, getting several feet closer. "Orpheus!" he shouted, and the young man half-turned, surprise in his eyes.

"Adonis?! I never would have thought you’d…" The sentence was cut off as a particularly nasty youma swung out with a large hand, striking Orpheus on the side of his head. The man instantly fell to his knees, but before any youma could take advantage of the situation, Mars let loose a huge fireball of amazing intensity, frying numerous youma in the vicinity, though Orpheus remained untouched. Mercury ran to his side, pulling him back behind the front fighters. "Orpheus, are you all right?"

He pushed her away, looking annoyed. "I’m fine! Leave me alone, I’m doing fine!"

To the united shock of all of the watchers, he turned and returned blindly to the fray. "Leave him be," said Adonis softly, though anger danced behind his eyes in pointless circles. "He came here to fight – and I doubt if he will stop now."

Orpheus was now completely out of sight, and it was to Endymion he directed his attention. To his horror, he saw him being cornered into a group of youma. The Senshi Venus and Hermes looked like they would be too late.

He felt the pair of women at his side stiffen, and he wished to heaven that Odysseus and Orion were here – he could have used some more assistance.

But all he could concentrate on now was his Prince – and his safety.

The battlefield had fallen silent, the great gate was closed after several hours of battle, the darkening sky ominously silent, the ground littered with bodies, the earthen soil stained with blood all colours of the spectrum. Clouds shaped like grey anvils hung heavy in the sky – a storm was drawing nigh. Amongst the bodies of this outdoor morgue, silent as a cathedral, stood a lone figure beside a black horse.

"Orpheus!" he screamed suddenly. "Orpheus, I know you’re out here! Answer me, dammit!"

Another soldier, Hermes, came riding in slowly on his own horse, appearing just as worried as Adonis looked. "Just confirmed, Adonis. Orpheus really is missing in action – no one can say for sure where he is."

"And the prince?" asked Adonis wearily. The youma army had withdrawn, seemingly of its own accord…but they had left behind many human casualties, one missing general and one injured Prince of Earth.

"He will live – the best healers are with him now. But Adonis, you shouldn’t be out here alone…you know what the battlefields can get like after dark. Who knows, maybe there are still more of these youma hiding in the foliage, waiting to strike…and you’d make a good trophy, my friend."

"And what about Orpheus?" asked Adonis fiercely, his eyes blazing with icy fire. "Would he make a good trophy, too? Is that what you want me to do? Leave him out here to be…claimed like some kind of prize?!"

Hermes seemed taken aback by this unusually emotional outburst from the Ice General. His own eyes were hurt and distressed. The four generals were almost like brothers – they had become comrades-in-arms, and it hurt Hermes too, to think of any evil befalling the youngest of their team. "Adonis, he’s not here. They…they must have taken him hostage…or just…" He had been meaning to say "killed him," but the phrase stuck in his throat. He just couldn’t say that about Orpheus. And he had been so beautiful…

His shoulders slumped, standing by his horse, Adonis looked broken. Hermes had to wonder why the loss of Orpheus would hurt him so…maybe it was because Orpheus had been Adonis’s charge. The young man was also likeable in his funny little way, with sparkling eyes and nimble fingers. "I’ll never hear his type of music again and feel the same way," murmured Hermes, putting a hand on the older man’s shoulder. "But Adonis…you’ll have to accept the fact that…that Orpheus is probably dead, and if he isn’t, he will be soon."

He stared out at the horizon, his eyes weary and tired. "Hermes…but he was so young…and I was supposed to keep an eye on him…he was my protégé…Hermes, I have failed him."

Stunned by the depth of the hurt in his superior’s voice, Hermes felt his own heart twist painfully. "Adonis, it wasn’t your fault! Don’t blame yourself…guilt is a wicked thing. Once it gets into your body, it’s harder to get rid of than a cancer."

"Don’t," he almost whispered in reply, his head bowed. "Just…don’t." Then he straightened, and looked towards the city, where smoke still spiralled skywards from the few fires still burning. "We should go back. There’s nothing here."

His voice was cold, unforgiving, and Hermes hoped that the Senshi Venus would be able to help heal whatever wounds Orpheus’s death had left on Adonis. Holding his head high, his eyes blank and emotionless, he mounted his horse, and motioned for Hermes to follow him.

The darkening sky seemed to almost laugh at hem, huge black clouds rising from the horizon. Hermes looked up in surprise. The storm was coming on much faster than he had calculated. "Adonis, we’re going to get caught in the storm, we’ll have to move quickly to get to the gates of Aragain before it really gets underway." He moved up beside the man, who seemed oddly distracted. He kept looking off into the foliage, like he could hear something.

A fat raindrop hit Hermes squarely on the head, and he winced. "Adonis, I mean it! And this storm is not going to be your everyday kind of thing! It’s going to be a right bastard of a storm! Adonis! Adonis?"

Suddenly, the man leapt off his horse, pulling the stallion to a halt as he did so. He peered into the dense, dark forests of the outer borders of Aragain, his cerulean eyes narrowed. Hermes reluctantly joined him, and looked into the gloomy depths. The pathways through the forest wound around and around, and he couldn’t see for more than two metres ahead of him. "You not seriously thinking of going in there, are you?"

Adonis lowered his head and swallowed heavily. "You must think I’m just crazy," he said in a low, broken voice. "It’s just…I thought I could hear Orpheus in there, calling for help…"

"You just feel awful about what happened," the blonde man said quietly, and gestured to the sky. "But we really have to go…but wherever Orpheus is…I’m sure he’s all right."

A loud scream suddenly broke the tense silence, nature seemed to let out the breath it was holding. Rain poured down from the sky like a water bomb had just exploded above them. The two men were soaked in an instant, and the only illumination was the occasional ominous flash of sheet lightening.

"What the HELL was that?!" yelled Hermes above the racket, the thunder almost drowning out his slightly panicked yell. "Adonis?!"

Adonis spun, his hair plastered to his face. His eyes glowed platinum in the lightening strike, and he seemed to be on the verge of something. Then he closed his eyes, and concentrated, clasping his hands together. Hermes recognised the gesture. It was characteristic of when the older general decided to use his psychic ability. It drained him of energy terribly, like any magic that he would rarely perform, so he did it only when he needed to.

Hermes reached for the man, suddenly worried. The last thing he needed was for Adonis to over extend himself and collapse. He wouldn’t be able to get him to Aragain then. Before the real brutality of this late autumn storm really set in. This was only the prologue. "Adonis, we have to leave! NOW!"

Adonis turned, eyes wide. He pointed to the forest slightly ahead of them. "There!"

"Where?" asked Hermes, squinting against the pouring rain. "What the Hell-"

A figure suddenly staggered out of the undergrowth, a long silver sword glinting in his lax hand. The other hand was clutching his chest, the blood from the wound washed away by the rain. His long hair was muddy, the colour unrecognisable…but when the face looked up, Adonis recognised the glazed green eyes in the sharply pretty face. "Orpheus?"

The man staggered to his knees, falling like a rag doll. He was swiftly followed by two particularly ugly members of this youma legion, whose smiles faded as they saw their quarry had company.

Adonis smiled sarcastically. "Two against one? That’s hardly fair. Let ’s try a more equal matching, shall we? How about my friend and I challenge you?"

The youma exchanged uneasy looks, then glanced at the fallen man, who lay before Adonis and Hermes.

"We’re supposed to take him," hissed one to the other, who looked like it wished it was anywhere but here.

Before any could react, a concentration of negative energy spun into being, opening into a much smaller version of the large portal that the youma had first used to traverse the dimensional rip. Both were yanked, ranting and wailing, into it, before it closed without ado.

Hermes stared, stunned, at the place where the ugly duo had stood, while Adonis immediately fell to his knees beside the fallen man. He pulled him upwards gently, and cradled him in one arm while he tenderly brushed his discoloured hair from the pale, waxy face. His right hand still held the sword in a death grip, his left hand clutched to his chest, from which blood spilled. Hermes joined Adonis on his knees, partially sheltering the general from the pouring, icy rain. "Orpheus, what happened?" asked Adonis gently, his breath coming in frigid gasps. "Who…who did this?"

Orpheus moved painfully, his eyes closing as he began to speak in a hoarse voice. So hoarse was it, Adonis almost didn’t believe it could be Orpheus’s voice. It was low and grating, and very pained. "I…I was leading the men…and then, I felt this great pain in my head…and I closed my eyes. I opened them, and this woman was standing over me, holding this weird crystal in her hand…I fell unconscious again…and I opened my eyes once more, and I found myself in that forest, bound and trussed like some animal…and those youma were watching me…and I managed to untie my binds, like you taught me…and I was fine. I wasn’t hurt at all…except my head. It hurt…but as I slipped away, the youma attacked me…I must have been out of it for ages, because we had a brief fight, and I ran out here…and found you. It’s all dark and horrible out here now…" His words suddenly halted, the stilted story stopping. He shuddered heavily, and Adonis gasped, holding the young man tightly. "Adonis…" he whispe! red quietly. "Tell…tell Endymion I’m sorry about bringing him into this, and getting myself killed…I’m just a fool. And Athena…tell her I love her," he whispered, and Adonis shook his head, almost in anger.

"I’ll do no such thing! You’ll tell them these things yourself, you hear me? Orpheus, don’t do it! You can’t die! You can’t! You won’t!"

Orpheus smiled faintly, already slipping into unconsciousness. "You know, Adonis, it’s real nice where I’m going…"

"You are too young to fall asleep forever!" he cried desperately. "Wake up! Orpheus, are you listening to me?"

It was too late, he had fallen into a deeper state of unconsciousness. Hermes helped Adonis to his feet, and the pair slowly began to formulate a way to get the injured man to Aragian – and then, to the Capital of Earth.

The words continued to run through Adonis’s mind as they charged across the fields.

"You know, Adonis, it’s real nice where I’m going…"

If you’re liking what you’re reading, why don’t you drop me a line at luna_dreamscape@hotmail.com? I love getting mail, and I’ll even go as far to GUARANTEE a reply! But I’ll give you Rule Britannia in full chorus – NO MONEY RETURN’ED! Not that I’m making ANY money off of this…NON-PROFIT, remember?

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