Court Evil

Part Two: The Soldiers.

Chapter Three: “We Were Angels, Once…”

	Venus and Mars skidded to a stop, as the black-robed man seemed to form 
from the floor to stand before them. “The Hell are you?” Mars roared off vulgarly at 
the newcomer. 
	The robed man took off the cold mask from his face. Long, silky blue hair 
flowed freely from the folds of the deep black hood. “You always were foul-mouthed, 
Mars.”
	Venus was the first to recover from his shock. “JUPITER! You’re ALIVE!” 
	Neo-Sailor Jupiter raised a slim finger to his lips. “Shhh. In the Negaverse, I’m 
known as Zodiac. I’m Beryl’s chief advisor. I was the one who sent that android to find 
you guys and get you here. I really was impressed when you came in through a black hole.” 
Venus verily beamed with pride, since it was his idea to use the black hole in the first 
place. Jupiter continued. “By the way, I will kill the idiot who even THINKS of using a 
black hole as a portal!” Jupiter’s blue eyes matched the color of his hair as his anger rose. 
“Are you BOTH total IDIOTS or was this a recent development?”
	Mars pointed at Venus innocently. “It was his idea. I told him it was suicide to 
try it!”
	Jupiter waved a black-gloved hand. “It really does not matter how you got here,
just as long as you did. We have a lot of work to do, and no time to do it in. Follow me.” 
Jupiter turned around and started walking down the hallway, away from the other two 
Males. “We were angels once…”
	“What was that, Jupiter?” Venus asked, raising an eyebrow.
	“Nothing. I didn’t say anything.” Jupiter led the way down the hall to a pair 
of large iron doors. “In here, quickly.” He pushed open the doors, the room beyond 
enveloped in darkness. “We need to equip ourselves.”
	The three Soldiers stepped into the room, Venus concentrating enough to 
create a glowing golden ball of light from pure energy. The golden ball’s light shattered 
the darkness like so much glass, revealing the room’s denizens. Its inhabitants were rows
upon rows of rifles. Lots of rifles. Racks and racks of pistols. Lots of pistols.
	Jupiter turned to the other two Soldiers, who stood gawking like idiots. “Well,” 
he said exasperatingly, “help yourselves! We ARE in an armory, after all!” Taking his 
own advice, Jupiter grabbed five pistols and stuck them behind his belt, hidden beneath 
his robes. He also hoisted two rifles and slung them over his shoulders, grabbing another 
two rifles to hold in his hands. Venus and Mars likewise decked themselves out in pistols 
and rifles, shouldering the larger weapons and tucking the small arms guns into boots, 
gloves, belts, and any other place that the weapons can be retrieved easily. 
	Venus looked at Jupiter questioningly. “Why are we arming ourselves? Are 
we going to go storming into the heart of this castle like a bunch of idiots, guns blazing?” 
His tone was sarcastic, but Jupiter’s reply was not.
	“Yes.” 
	Venus goggled at that unexpected reply. “You can’t be SERIOUS!” Jupiter’s 
slight nod confirmed Venus’s dread.
	Jupiter did a final check of his equipment. “We were angels, once.” Mars and 
Venus looked at him queerly. “We used to be respected, we rode the wings of heaven. 
Now, we are feared, we are fallen, with no wings to break the fall.”
	Mars shook his head. “You always were a poet. No wonder all the women 
liked you, you big romantic.” He sighed. “I suppose you are right, though. We were 
angels.”
	“This is going to be our last mission,” Jupiter said calmly, walking out of the 
armory, the other Soldiers in tow. “For better or for worse, this is out last mission.”