Sorry for the long wait on an update for this story. I was attacked by a terrible case of writer's block. Extra thanks to my beta who helped me and gave me nudges when I stalled out. I'll try to get the next chapter posted a lot more quickly than this one!

The small group consisting of Jadeite and three of Endymion’s guards arrived at the clearing near the edge of the woods to find Zoicite’s wounded body lying on the ground, a sword glistening nearby. Jadeite immediately ordered two of the men to return to the palace to retrieve the doctor and Kunzite while the remaining man converged on the wooded area to look for signs of whoever had done this. Without further thought, Jadeite quickly shed the dark jacket of his uniform, pressing the material to Zoicite’s injured abdomen in an attempt to control the bleeding that flowed freely from the several inch long gash.

Zoicite groaned as his eyes opened slightly and he placed his hand over Jadeite’s. “You’re gloating,” he laughed lightly.

“I’ve always told you to guard that left side better but you never listened,” Jadeite responded in jest.

“You have to forgive him.” Zoicite squeezed Jadeite’s hand again, flinching at the additional pressure being put on his injury.

“Who did this?” Jadeite asked angrily, purposely ignoring Zoicite’s words.

“Your being angry won’t help them.”

“Help who?” Jadeite could feel his hands pressing harder against Zoicite’s side as the younger man’s hand began to grow slack against his own. Zoicite’s skin appeared pale as a light sheen of sweat stained his brow.

“Jadeite,” a new voice said, interrupting the two men. Jadeite looked up sharply to see Saphir standing with a sword gripped tightly in his extended arm, the pointed end held ominously in Jadeite’s direction. Jadeite’s eyes narrowed somewhat at the dark haired soldier, a growl forming on his lips at the interruption. Saphir’s arm wavered for a moment before he finally lowered the tip of the blade to press its sharp end firmly into the ground. His fingers carefully unwound from the hilt to reveal the gold and silver lined loop-guard winding around from the pommel past the hilt. “I found this laying a few feet away from here.”

Jadeite froze, his eyes first fixating on the insignia running down the side of metal, finally stopping to notice the blood splatter. “Kunzite,” he whispered hoarsely. He quickly turned his attention back to Zoicite. “Where’s Kunzite, Zoicite?” he asked, receiving no response. “Zoicite?” He lightly smacked Zoicite’s face repeatedly trying to rouse the other man. “Zoicite, answer me!” He didn’t bother to hide the growing concern and panic in his voice. “Damn it, Zoicite!” Jadeite yelled, smacking him sharply. “Answer me!”

Zoicite’s eyes opened slowly but appeared dazed and unfocused. “The doctor’s on his way; hang in there,” Jadeite said hurriedly.

“Let me die, Jadeite.” Zoicite attempted to clear his throat but only resulted in a fit of coughing. “It’s ok.”

For one of the first times in his life, Jadeite had trouble forming the words he wanted to speak. He could do little more than watch as Zoicite’s eyes fell closed and his head rolled lifelessly to the side.

Jadeite’s free hand moved to Zoicite’s neck, feeling for a pulse and staring at Zoicite’s face. The next few minutes flashed by almost as if he were watching everything in a picture book. Saphir took several steps back from the two men as the new batch of arrivals approached them. Jadeite felt himself being shoved out of the way by Endymion and then clumsily pulled to his feet by Nephrite. Two doctors swarmed over Zoicite’s body and before Jadeite could even move to respond, Zoicite’s body was being lifted and carried away. Jadeite turned his attention back to the sword that the now absent Saphir had plunged into the ground and withdrew it, carefully wiping the blood onto the dark material of his pant leg before tucking it into his belt next to his own sword. His legs felt weak thinking about the questions that he would be asked, and the answers that he would not be able to give. What happened to Kunzite and why was his sword found next to Zoicite’s body? The thoughts suddenly plaguing him next sent him running back to the courtyard of the palace grounds where the wedding celebration was still going on.

The following moments continued to flash past his eyes in the most surreal manner. Nephrite made every effort to not concern the guests, somehow getting everyone to disperse so that only the palace staff remained. As the news finally reached Ami’s ears, she looked to Jadeite, his expression telling her that whatever she had heard was true. She collapsed into Endymion’s arms, sobbing against his chest as he attempted to comfort her. Jadeite wanted to speak to her, but the right words, or any words for that matter, continued to elude him. Makoto rushed to Ami’s side and walked her inside where she would wait for the doctors to finish working on Zoicite before she would be allowed to see him - hopefully still alive. The thought brought a wave of nausea over him that he fought to squelch. He needed to not think about that. He needed to pull himself together and be prepared to become the leader that his now elevated rank required him to be. Kunzite would not have abandoned his watch over Endymion so easily – not at a time like this. If Kunzite was nowhere to be found then Jadeite could only assume by the evidence left behind that something had happened to the other man as well. Should he have been looking for two bodies instead of just the one that he stumbled upon?

The swords that they all carried tonight were special ceremonial swords that had been gifted to them as a signal of their rank as well as crafted with their own personal insignias. None of them would have ever discarded their swords so carelessly – these swords were not even touched except during ceremonial times, and even then none of them dared to use them in horseplay. Yet, inexplicably here was the sword, bloodied and chipped. Was there maybe more than just Zoicite’s blood staining the blade?

He could feel himself steeling over, his shoulders squaring as he pushed aside his concerns to focus on the more rational points of his investigation. Since he knew that Kunzite obviously would not have done anything to harm Zoicite, it only made sense that these events must have to do with the breached grounds earlier. But since nothing more came of that, what was the point of the tied up guards? It happened earlier in the day, so he had trouble finding the connection between the two events. The palace grounds had been thoroughly searched and both Endymion and Serenity secured from any attacks. Did Kunzite and Minako wander away from the celebrations only to find themselves ambushed? But why would Zoicite go with them? Surely he knew better than to eavesdrop on Kunzite’s personal matters – that he would have any reason to involve himself anyhow. Kunzite would be more than able to defend himself in the case of a surprise attack. Did he go willingly with the would-be assassins? This only opened even more questions. If he had gone willingly then why would he have left Zoicite behind?

Jadeite growled lowly to himself, frustrated that his thoughts continued to go in circles. If he had been in that position would Kunzite be able to figure out the mystery? Of course he would, he thought bitterly. Kunzite would never waste time on chasing such useless ideas - he would know what to do because he always did. Was he failing as a leader already? What was he missing that he should have seen?

Around him people moved about, mostly servants cleaning up the remnants of the celebration while the last stragglers of the guests made their final farewells. In the middle of the courtyard, Serenity sat on her throne with tears in her eyes. Endymion tried to whisper comforting words to her but was wholly unsuccessful. Did she know what was happening? Jadeite paused. The sudden disappearance of Minako in the midst of everything left him feeling unbalanced. She would have been with Serenity if she were still on the palace grounds. Was it possible that she had retreated back to Kunzite’s home? Did she and Kunzite have a fight? Maybe Kunzite and Zoicite were alone at the time and Minako was really some place safe? No, that didn’t seem right at all. Kunzite had changed; he would never leave her alone for longer than he needed to. Even when he claimed that he was guarding Endymion anyone paying even the least amount of attention would have been able to see that his eyes never strayed far from the blonde.

Was that maybe what he was missing? Was Minako the one that they should have been watching? But why would anyone want to hurt her? Sure she was Serenity’s cousin, but would that have been reason enough for someone to target her knowing that Kunzite would stand between them? Who would make such a desperate attempt? Jadeite wracked his brain trying to think if any threats had been made against her, or if he had heard any conspiratorial whispering, but again nothing came to mind. That is, until he remembered talking to Endymion about what had transpired while the four generals had been away. His thoughts quickly ground to a halt. There were four of them – now there were only two. No, now wasn’t the time for self pity. If Minako was a target, Rei or even his child could somehow be next on someone’s list. Endymion said that he assigned a guard to watch over Minako – a man named Rubeus – until Kunzite returned. Maybe Rubeus would know more about this? But what was even more important was the reason why. Kunzite’s right hand man Adonis had turned on them. Should he have seen that coming as well? Minako confessed to Endymion that Adonis claimed to have fallen in love with her – was this the work of jealousy? But Adonis alone would not be enough to bring down Kunzite and it was questionable that he would be able to defeat Zoicite in combat either. So maybe the question was ‘who is Adonis working with?’ Or was he again following a dead-end trail? What was the connection and what was he missing?

Nephrite pulled him out of his reverie, bringing him to the infirmary where the doctors believed that they had stabilized Zoicite. The bleeding had slowed significantly, but they feared that it was really the lack of blood that had changed. At his side, Ami sat diligently holding on to his hand. Red marks marred the pale skin of her cheeks showing him the path that her tears had fallen and no doubt where they would continue to fall throughout the night. At that moment Jadeite wondered if it was fair that he was thinking about himself laying in that bed with Rei crying at his bedside. Their son besides her – the son that he would never get to know…. Again he tried to shake off his thoughts. Kunzite would not get lost in his own selfishness, that wasn’t his way. He would have a plan by now, he would know what to do and who should do it. What did Jadeite know as of right now? Nothing. His plan of action? Nothing but standby and wait to see if his friend would die, all-the-while keeping his thoughts to himself and trying to pretend that it was any other normal day.

“Ami,” Jadeite said, placing his hands gently on Ami’s slouched shoulders. “You should go back to your room and rest. You can come back here in the morning. The doctors will want to watch him throughout the night and it would be easier if they didn’t have to worry about waking you.”

“I’m not leaving his side,” she answered hoarsely. “He needs me to be here.”

“He needs you to rest so that you won’t end up in here as well,” Jadeite tried to answer comfortingly.

“No,” she said resolutely, not looking back up at him. Her eyes were firmly fixated on Zoicite’s sleeping face. His face had regained a slight bit of color, but the doctors feared that his coloring was a sign of a fever setting in from his wound becoming infected. But no one had wanted to explain that to Ami.

Nephrite moved behind Ami and gave her shoulders a light squeeze. “Then we’ll give you some time alone,” he said in his gruff voice.

“Thank you,” Ami murmured as she bent down to press her lips against Zoicite’s cool hand.

Jadeite watched as Nephrite started to walk out of the room, pausing only to grab Jadeite by the arm and pull him with him. He turned his eyes toward Nephrite who only stared back at him – was it a challenge? Or was he just becoming his own worst enemy with self-doubt?

Later that night, Jadeite returned to the infirmary where Zoicite was resting with Ami still at his bedside. He signaled for the two men to stay outside the room while he quietly entered. Inside he found both Zoicite and Ami sleeping, the latter sitting at the side of the bed with her head resting on her arms while the rising and falling of the former’s chest could barely be noticed. Jadeite stealthily moved across the room and gently worked at untwining Ami’s fingers from Zoicite’s without waking either one. Fortunately Ami was too exhausted to notice the contact. Once extracted, he lifted her into his arms, noticing how light the petite woman was. It would not serve well to have her stay in the room and judging by the worn look on her face he could tell that she needed her rest. Saphir stood near the door and gently took the dark haired girl from Jadeite’s arms. Jadeite watched as the pair disappeared and signaled to the remaining man to continue to wait outside as he closed the door. Ami would be angry when she awoke in the morning to find herself separated from Zoicite’s side, but it was best that she not be there now.

‘Is this what Zoicite really wanted?’ Jadeite asked himself as he once again approached the bedside. How would he even begin to explain his way out of this? He carefully leaned over the still form and placed his hand over Zoicite’s mouth and nose, clamping down tightly. After a few seconds Zoicite’s eyes flew open and he grabbed tightly at Jadeite’s wrist, pulling down on Jadeite’s arm as he attempted to gasp in surprise.

“Explain to me how this happened,” Endymion demanded angrily. He paced in front of the fireplace located in his private chambers. Serenity slept restlessly in the next room of which Jadeite tried to be mindful of as he gestured to Endymion to keep his voice low. “What changed overnight and why wasn’t I told about this sooner?” He bit back against the bitter tears threatening to pool in his eyes.

“I did what I thought was best,” Jadeite answered. He calmly leaned against the wall with his arms crossed at his chest. He had held this pose hundreds of times during meetings with the prince – why did it suddenly feel so foreign to him?

“I make the decisions around here!” Endymion spat. “It is not your place to decide when and how to act.”

“With all due respect, Endymion,” Jadeite said calmly, lifting himself slightly from the wall, “when it comes to your Generals it is my place to make decisions in lieu of Kunzite. I felt that it would be easier on everyone if we took the appropriate actions sooner rather than later.”

“You don’t get to take his post in the first few hours of his disappearance. He may be in pursuit of whoever has done this.”

“We both know-“

“We both don’t know-,” Endymion attempted to yell over him.

“No!” Jadeite said loudly, stopping Endymion from continuing. He cleared his throat reminding himself again of Endymion’s new bride sleeping in the next room. “We both know that for whatever reason, whatever it is that happened out there, he is gone. I pray that it was only Zoicite’s blood staining Kunzite’s sword and not his own. We can hope for his safe return, but it would be naïve to pretend that nothing has changed.” Both men fell into silence for a few moments, both absorbing Jadeite’s words. “The funeral arrangements have already been made. I saw to it myself that Zoicite was prepared in his ceremonial uniform and armor. Private services will be held this afternoon.”

“Today?” Endymion gasped. “You’re not allowing anyone the chance to say their goodbyes? His body isn’t even cold yet.”

“It’s cold enough.” Jadeite cleared his throat, choking on his words. “With his last breath, Zoicite asked me to honor his wishes and I hope that you will do the same.” Jadeite paused as Endymion’s hands moved over his face, his palms rubbing tired eyes. “I’m concerned that we have very little time to spare if we’re going to prepare to retaliate,” Jadeite continued slowly. “We should be quick in delivering the news and then we will meet with Nephrite and discuss our plan of action.” He nodded his head in lieu of bowing and started to head towards the exit, wanting to end this encounter.

“You don’t play the part of Kunzite very well,” Endymion called after Jadeite.

The light haired man paused, making every effort to not allow his body to physically respond to the cutting comment. “I do what I can,” Jadeite responded, standing near the doorway, keeping his back towards his prince. “If you wish for Nephrite to take over as lead General I will understand and step aside.”

“That’s not what I meant. What I mean is that this is not you. Kunzite did what he did, but there was an air of compassion to him that he very rarely let anyone see. If you want to take a moment to mourn the loss of a friend, no one will judge you.”

“I will judge me,” Jadeite responded quickly. “Your kingdom and your safety come first. Everything else is second. Please give Ami my condolences as I will probably be the last person that she will want to hear from once the news reaches her.”

"You've been so quiet this whole time, Kunzite," Diamond said somewhat mockingly. "I can't imagine that you would have so few words for me, not after all this time." He turned to look at his silent prisoner, whose eyes remained straight ahead.

"That's a beautiful creature that you found for yourself," Diamond mused, perhaps more to himself than anyone. "I'm going to take my time with her. The fear in her eyes is just so alluring." Kunzite's face remained firm as he did his best to disregard Diamond's taunts. "She trusts you so implicitly," Diamond continued. "My second in command, Rubeus, tells me she spoke very fondly of you during your absence. One might have thought you were her hero, or maybe even her knight-in-shining-armor. Imagine that something so innocent could fall in love with someone like you. Maybe that is what I will break in her first, that sweet little innocence." Diamond looked over at Kunzite, meeting his steely gaze with a cruel one of his own. "Oh, but you've already had that honor now haven't you?" Diamond chuckled to himself. "I suppose I could have timed my resurrection a little bit better, but then I might not have had the honor of your company otherwise."

Kunzite's eyes returned to the path ahead of him. Minako and Rubeus, both now clothed in dark cloaks to match the others traveling in their group, walked a good distance ahead of them, and it pained him that Diamond intentionally forced him to stay at this slow pace so that he could not catch up with them. If he could only reach her he would be able to comfort her – or perhaps it would have only been a comforting gesture to his self.

“Mi-ko,” Kunzite groaned almost silently. Cold water splashed against his face, nearly bringing him back to consciousness. His mind continued to picture her small form, guilt pulling at him. His body ached and it hurt to breath. All he wanted to do at that moment was to sleep and so he did.

Diamond leaned towards Kunzite and lowered his voice as he continued to speak."She looks as though she might break at the slightest touch but I'm willing to bet that she is quite resilient. You know how I like to savor my prizes." He smiled inwardly as he noticed the tightening of Kunzite's jaw. "Do you think she'll scream when I have my way with her?"

Kunzite attempted to lunge at Diamond, forgetting about the binds around his wrists in his flash of anger. He could tolerate Diamond’s threats and taunts being directed at him, but he would not let the other man hurt her. The two guards flanking the men immediately grabbed Kunzite's arms, holding him back inches away from a smirking Diamond. Up ahead, Minako heard the scuffle and turned her head to see the altercation. She halted mid-step, attempting to shake free of Rubeus’ hold on her, but he continued forward not missing a step, jerking on her arm to pull her along with him.

Diamond waved off the two guards and faced off against Kunzite. “Do you wish now that you had killed me when you had the chance?”

“I’ll spit on your grave the first chance I get,” Kunzite growled.

“Once you tell me what I want to know you will get your chance to fight me, although I can make no promises for her welfare. I suppose we’ll have to see how much enjoyment I can get out of her, and then I’ll decide whether or not she lives.”

“You have no interest in her,” he spat.

“No, I don’t,” Diamond answered in a bored tone. “But you and I have a score to settle so deep that I can’t help but to bring in those most important to you.” He turned his back and continued walking. “Besides, it’s her cousin, our future queen that interests me most. With all the turmoil of yet another change over in the owner of the throne I think that people will feel comforted knowing that she will be their constant.” One of the two guards behind Kunzite gave him a sharp nudge to continue forward. Kunzite looked pointedly at the man, his eyes narrowed before continuing down the path winding through the trees.

Something impacted painfully against his abdomen bringing him close to that precious consciousness, but his mind still refused to be roused, instead drifting back into blissful quiet.

The neighing sound of bridled horses sounded in Kunzite’s ears and he realized that the path they were traveling on was now converging upon an old forgotten road. By now Minako and Rubeus were a good distance ahead of him, the red haired man grabbing the reigns of a brown mare.

Diamond had remained silent for the remainder of their walk and it sickened Kunzite to think about what was passing through the man’s thoughts at that moment. He kept his eyes alert to his surroundings, trying to make note of where they were headed so that he could plan his escape once he was able to get close enough to Minako.

Rubeus pushed Minako towards the horse trying to lift her onto it. The horse seemed to share the girl’s apprehension as it stomped its foot against the ground, snorting and trying to pull against the reins holding it in place. Minako fought against him, screaming refusals to cooperate. Rubeus struggled to hold her arms at her side, but she was able to pull her right arm free and managed to hit his face, her fist connecting with his eye. He grabbed her right wrist with his left hand and pulled her backside against his chest, lifting her off her feet as she attempted to kick at his shins. One of Diamond’s men, a rather large muscular man with dark hair, approached the battling couple with his sword unsheathed. The sight of his sword nearly pressing against her face caused her to freeze, her body pressed against Rubeus’s as she tried to distance herself from the armed man.

“Minako!” Kunzite yelled taking a large step forward. She looked back at him, panic clearly written in her eyes. One of the men behind Kunzite grabbed the rope around his wrists and yanked on the binds as he kicked his booted foot against the back of Kunzite’s right knee, bringing the silver haired general to his knees. A grunt escaped Kunzite’s lips as he bit back against the sudden sharp pain surging through him. Somewhere between the impact of his captor’s foot and that of the ground he heard a sickening noise coming from his knee.

Diamond looked over at Kunzite, giving him a look of warning.

“Don’t hurt her,” Kunzite commanded.

“I have very little patience for this resistance,” Diamond responded as his hand slowly rose into the air.

“Go with them, Minako,” Kunzite yelled over to her, his eyes still firmly fixed on Diamond. “No one is going to hurt you. I’ll be right behind you.”

“Kunzite,” she answered tearfully. Diamond lowered his hand and waved off the armed man. With the sword removed from her face, Minako allowed her body to slump in defeat against her captor, tears freely falling down her cheeks. If Kunzite had lost his urge to fight against these people then what hope did she have left?

Kunzite turned his head down and closed his eyes tightly. Had he really just spared her life? Or had he merely extended it by a few more hours? Regardless he wasn’t going to allow one of Diamond’s thugs to either hurt or kill her, not when there was still a chance that she might find herself rescued. The sound of several horses galloping away left him feeling even more defeated. He had hoped that they would be traveling together, but separate like this, who knew if they would even be in the same location?

Diamond approached him, towering over the fallen man. “Don’t think that because I spared her this time that I will do so again.” Kunzite ground his teeth together, biting back against the bitter words threatening to spill from his lips. It would do no good to allow Diamond to see another outburst. “Do you know where we are?” He was only met with further silence. “You’ll be surprised to find out exactly how many people we have in common between us.” A hood fell over Kunzite’s head, blocking out the remaining bits of sunlight and sending his vision into darkness. That was the last thing he remembered as a hard object impacted against his skull, the sharp pain quickly turning his thoughts into nothingness.