Nephrite said that he allowed one Terran day to pass before he made any sort of decision regarding the situation with Jadeite. This was completely and utterly untrue, and anyone he would have tried to convince of this would likely have laughed in his face.
He had always known what he was going to do and how he was going to do it, but he waited one day in order to make Kunzite think that he was being appropriately subordinate. Were it not for that, he would have followed his plan of action immediately. As it was, he had to lull Kunzite into a false sense of security before acting so that he could do some good without the commander's interference.
He walked boldly up to Queen Beryl's quarters, eyeing the two women standing watch at the door. They were part of the DD Girls, another group of Beryl's favored demons. The DD Girls comprised Beryl's personal bodyguards, not that she needed them. She was powerful enough and deadly enough to not warrant any such protection, but she kept them around for the sake of appearances and ritual. With Tetis gone, they had advanced in the hierarchy of the Dark Kingdom; they were now just below the Shitennou in terms of importance. He and Kunzite couldn't care less about this development, but Zoisite was no doubt seething.
Nephrite was pleased that Cardanka, their leader, was not there guarding the doors. Her presence would certainly not have deterred him, but she was far too reminiscent of Kunzite, just as stoic but more inclined to cruelty. That association would not have put him at ease, and it would have been too much of a reminder that he was disobeying the man's orders. That would not have put him in a good mindset for facing Beryl on the matter.
As it was, he was left to face Tarsha and Rhasta. Rhasta looked quite pleased to see him, but then she was pleased to see anything with two legs and a sex drive. Tarsha didn't appear to acknowledge him at all at first, and seemed bothered by his existence when he announced himself.
"Nephrite of the Shitennou requesting an audience with her Majesty, Queen Beryl." He supposed it would have been customary to bow, but Tarsha was his inferior, so he saw no pressing need.
She seemed offended enough by him, curling her lip. "Nephrite? You don't often venture down here."
"He's never sought audience with the Queen, Tarsha," Rhasta cooed, not even masking the fact that she wasn't making eye contact with Nephrite, looking at something else entirely. "I would have remembered."
"I have never had reason to before," Nephrite ground out, glaring openly at the pair. "It is not unbefitting of my station. Go in and request it."
Tarsha was again put off by his orders, but a look from Rhasta seemed to remind her that she was hardly high enough on the good chain to question him. Still, the orange demon gave him a hard glare before turning on her bare heel and stalking into the room. Only brief moments passed before Nephrite heard anything from inside.
"What is it, Tarsha?" the irritated voice of his liege wafted out of the chambers, filling his ears and making his head ache for reasons he would never allow himself to pinpoint. Nephrite had not been foolish enough to hope that Queen Beryl was in a good mood, and he vaguely acknowledged that most men would have avoided this confrontation for that very reason. This did nothing to change his resolve.
"The Dark King... 'Nephrite' has come to call, my Queen."
There was a pause in which Nephrite felt his heart quicken its pace in his chest, but it didn't last long. "Nephrite?" Beryl repeated, now genuinely intrigued. "How... uncommon."
Nephrite stiffened, folding his arms across his chest. Her suspicion was certainly not unfounded given his motives and how things had operated in the past. Kunzite was the one with frequent and direct contact with the Queen. He had no choice in the matter. Kunzite had to keep in close contact, overseeing the operations of the other Shitennou as well as training the army of fighting youma they had assembled for the brief and bloody war with Earth when it came time to invade. Even when he had been in charge of London operations, he had always kept his audiences private. It was Jadeite who seemed to prefer the public scrutiny. Nephrite had never been certain if it was some sort of love of the spotlight, or if he perhaps hoped that she would not kill him in front of so many witnesses. It was a fool's hope, but they were all fools at one time or another.
Nephrite was self-aware enough to know that he had surpassed foolish when he had decided to pay Beryl a call. Anything he would say in there could be counted as insubordination at best. He might even be called a traitor for siding with Jadeite and done away with as a result. Nephrite had no intention of martyring himself for Jadeite. He knew that he could escape quickly should things get ugly. Nevertheless, his presence outside of Queen Beryl’s door was akin to standing on the precipice of a mountain. He had a choice between throwing himself forward on to the jagged rocks below, or falling back into the den of scorpions he frequented. While he preferred the scorpions as he knew how to avoid their sting, he knew that Jadeite was falling, and his damn loyalty was preventing him from turning a blind eye. It was the stupidest thing Nephrite had ever done.
Still, he would not falter. Nephrite had come for a reason, and he would not back down. He owed Jadeite that much.
"Nervous are we?" Rhasta's warm voice purred right up against his ear. Sharp, pointed fur dug into his arms and thighs, but he refused to so much as wince.
Nephrite didn't spare her a glance out of his peripheral vision. "No."
Rhasta smirked, her dark eyes continuing to search for his gaze. She would not be granted it. She tilted her head to the side and taunted, "I know why you're here."
"Of course you do," Nephrite said, entirely disinterested in anything she had to say.
"I just didn't know you two were that close," she baited, looking away for the first time, straightening the cuffs on her rose-colored wrists.
That managed to get his attention. His head jerked in her direction, eyes flashing. She laughed at his reaction, and he in turn darkened, gaze focused at her throat. He had choked creatures before, crushed their larynx with his hands, or snapped necks when he had no interest in dragging it out. He felt the inclination to do so once again, but he knew better. Beryl had already lost one of the greater youma. She would not be merciful to anyone if she lost another.
He took a deep breath and said, "I fail to see how my motives are any of your concern."
She scoffed demurely, leaning against the cavern walls. She effortlessly affected a posture that exaggerated her relatively modest curves. Nephrite assumed that she practiced that move all too frequently. "Relax. I can tell you're not like Zoisite if that's what you're so worried about. I just didn't realize you were... friends." She had hesitated, searching for a word that had possibly never before been uttered among their ranks.
Nephrite didn't know why, but that word that she had so carefully selected terrified him. His hands would have shaken had they not been clasped at his arms.
He strained to keep his eyes from betraying anything, but he could tell that she had seen his lapse and was amused by it. He began to move away, not fully trusting himself or her for that matter. "I wouldn't say that."
Rhasta blinked, straightening, her smirk never leaving her lips. "As close as all that?"
Nephrite was about to respond, and judging by the set of his jaw, it was unlikely to be kind. But just then, Tarsha sauntered out, stopping directly in between him and her sister. Her expression had not changed from the moment she first saw him, and Nephrite found the familiarity strangely comforting.
"Her majesty will see you now," Tarsha rasped.
"I'm sure you did everything you could," Nephrite muttered as he walked past to enter Beryl's chambers.
He stepped through the opening in the rock and into the chamber, glancing around. Nephrite had never found the occasion to imagine what Beryl's rooms would be like, but if he had, his vision would have likely looked as it did now. It was scrapped decadence, the entire room swathed in every sort of red fabric they had managed to salvage. Whether velvet or muslin, it was used in the room. All of it was damaged or torn, burned or stained, but it had a strange sort of opulence that told of her station. The things Beryl had done or planned to do reeked from every facet of the decor, and Nephrite found himself wondering at just how much time Kunzite spent with Beryl and exactly how he'd stayed Jadeite's execution. Then Nephrite wondered what he was going to have to do.
Nephrite swallowed and tried very hard not to think about Beryl's nails.
Beryl was sitting at her vanity, waiting for him. She was still wearing the dress she always wore to court, but her crown was no longer on her head. Her face was not as hardened as he was used to seeing it, but her eyes were forever darkened with some vexation or suspicion. She drummed her nails once on the top of her vanity, and he winced.
"Nephrite," she pronounced, turning the syllables over slowly in her mouth. "I trust this isn't a social call?"
When he first opened his mouth, nothing would actually come out. He had much better luck on the second attempt. "No, your majesty," Nephrite said, forgetting to bow outside of the eyes of the court. "I came to ask you about--"
"If this is about the progression of ranks, I've already had this discussion with Zoisite," Beryl said irritably. "He pestered me about it after you left, much to my extreme irritation. I trust he's off cowering in a corner somewhere."
Nephrite couldn't help but smirk at that pleasing mental image. "No, your highness. This has nothing to do with that. I'm not so frivolous."
Beryl looked at him sidelong, and he could have sworn he saw the corner of her mouth twitch. He was probably just seeing things. "No. You aren't at that."
Nephrite watched Beryl for a moment, suddenly feeling as if Beryl had lost some of her mystique. Away from the throne and with her obsidian crown cast aside on her vanity like a worthless trinket, he couldn't help but see her as more on his own level. He knew it was blasphemy to consider that, but for one moment in time, Beryl was not the fearsome Queen he trembled before. She was just a woman.
"What did you come here for then?" Beryl asked, her voice taking on its harsh tone that reminded him that looks were often deceiving.
Nephrite blinked, straightening. "Actually - your majesty - I came to talk about Jadeite."
The statuesque woman turned white with rage at the mere mention of the man's name, her blood red nails digging into her palms so hard that Nephrite thought they would break off. She curled her lip and said, "Jadeite... I don't want to hear that dog's name until he's been done away with." She opened her eyes, looking at him through slit eyelids. "Is that what you have come to discuss?"
He was about to put forth Jadeite's case when he heard a frighteningly familiar voice rumble from the guarded corridor. He stopped cold, glancing over with blazing eyes, already preparing for the inevitable fight.
He was poised and ready for battle as Kunzite and Rhasta came through the door. Rhasta was no doubt enjoying Nephrite's predicament from the grin painted on her pink-colored face. He supposed that she had guessed that Kunzite had nothing to do with Nephrite's visit on Jadeite's behalf. After all, if Kunzite was still willing to stick his neck out in such a way, he would have come and done it himself. He would never have sent Nephrite for such a task, and Rhasta was important enough to know that.
Kunzite noticed him immediately. He set his jaw and looked directly at the subordinate general. Nephrite did not doubt that Kunzite was furious with him. He had disobeyed a direct order. Even though Nephrite knew the man was livid, he would not have been able to tell simply by looking at him. Nephrite didn't think even Beryl could sense his rage. He was far too controlled to let anyone other than Nephrite be aware of his foul mood.
"Your Majesty," Kunzite voiced with an elegant bow, holding Nephrite's gaze with the emotive equivalent of an iron fist.
"Kunzite," Beryl returned, feeling no need to return his gesture with so much as a nod of her head. "Two Dark Kings have come to call... This leads me to believe that there has been news on Jadeite's whereabouts. I hope that I am correct in this venture."
In spite of Kunzite's presence, Nephrite felt bold to speak out. He stepped forward to address his queen when he suddenly found himself staring into grey. Kunzite had managed to step in front of him with his usual air, making it seem so natural that Beryl did not even take note of the oddity of their position.
"I sent Nephrite to inform your highness that Jadeite had been spotted in downtown Tokyo. As it turns out, the sighting was false. A low youma looking for attention and possible advancement. I wanted to inform you both of this at the same time."
"Of course," Beryl said, now utterly disinterested in anything either of them had to say. "Have it killed."
"I'll see to it," Kunzite muttered coldly, glancing over his shoulder at Nephrite as if marking his words as a warning.
"Leave me," Beryl instructed, turning back to her mirror. "Do not bother to inform me of anymore sightings or hoaxes, Kunzite. Simply send word when Jadeite has fallen."
Kunzite nodded, bowing slightly even though she was no longer looking at him. "Yes, Your Grace."
In spite of her dismissive attitude and her obvious want to be rid of them, Nephrite knew he had to give it one more try. "Queen Beryl," he began, his mouth dry as bones left by coyotes in the desert.
"It's best to forget that, Nephrite," Kunzite informed him, turning around completely. "There is nothing more that Queen Beryl needs to be bothered with."
Under normal circumstances, Nephrite would not have questioned his leader when he was using this tone, but the subordinate general was desperate. Jadeite deserved a better death than the one he was being given. He was worthy of their honor and their respect. Nephrite refused to be party to defaming him and even murdering him if it could be helped.
"Queen Beryl..." Nephrite started again, emphasizing every letter separately in hopes of making Kunzite understand what he was trying to do. This was important. This was vital. This was something he had to do only because Kunzite would not do it.
"We're leaving."
Suddenly, Nephrite felt a hand close around his shoulder. A moment later, the world swirled and fell away from him. Gravity or something more unnatural yanked him from where he had stood, and he fell through space. He plummeted through nothing for a few frightening seconds, stumbling when his feet did touch the ground again. Or rather, stumbling when the ground came up under his feet.
He looked around and found himself about as far away as one could be from Beryl's chambers while still being secluded. It was the makeshift garden Zoisite had created, the one thing Nephrite did not completely resent him for. The man had some love for beauty, something that Nephrite found was in extreme contrast to the rest of his personality. The flowers that surrounded them bore some resemblance to those in the rest of the world, but some differences were necessary given the environment they were in. Normal flowers certainly couldn’t survive in a frigid, sunless wasteland. Still, it was peaceful, and the serene setting was anything but fitting considering the row that was about to transpire.
Nephrite looked up, glaring directly into Kunzite's stone grey eyes. They icy general stood resolute as always, but Nephrite did not let that affect him. He was too enraged to care about his own well-being.
"You forced me out?" Nephrite seethed, hunching his back painfully. "What gives you the right--"
"Aside from rank?" Kunzite interrupted, his voice tight. "The fact that I'm not stupid enough to leave you alone with Beryl gives me that right."
Nephrite felt his cheeks color at Kunzite's uncanny ability to make a grown man feel like a child being scolded. "I don't need your protection."
"You seem to think Jadeite does," Kunzite reminded him, his eyebrows inclining inward. "Do you think so lowly of him if it is so insulting to be protected?"
Nephrite bared his teeth, leaping at Kunzite as a lion would leap at its prey. The other man didn't even blink as Nephrite stood mere centimeters away from his face, his hot breath disturbing Kunzite's pale bangs at his forehead. "Don't mock me!" he bellowed.
"Then don't make a fool out of me," Kunzite warned, his voice grave. "When I give you an order, obey it. Don't go to Beryl offering your neck up for the guillotine because of a twisted sense of loyalty. No man is worth your death."
Nephrite stood staring at Kunzite, chest heaving. He wanted to do anything anything except stand there feeling utterly useless, knowing that every second that ticked by might have been one of Jadeite's last. So he yelled wordlessly and threw himself away, propelling his foot into the wall. The flat side of his boot connected with the stone crushing the yellow flowers that were growing up the sides of the cavern walls. Several petals withered and floated to the ground, destroyed by rage and recklessness.
Kunzite did not speak immediately, but Nephrite felt his cold eyes searing into his back. Kunzite did nothing lightly. Every gesture and phrase had an unsettling intensity. Even now, even with his anger suppressed neatly inside of him, Nephrite knew exactly how furious the man was with him.
It was the first time Nephrite had regarded this knowledge with such apathy.
"We're supposed to be comrades," Nephrite said carefully. "We can't just abandon him like this."
"We have to," Kunzite retorted as if debating a meaningless principle and not a man's life. "Beryl's word is law, Nephrite. You are meant to be loyal to her, not to Jadeite."
"So who do I listen to? You or Queen Beryl?" Nephrite snapped.
"My words are hers," Kunzite answered, completely unaffected. "You know better than this."
"And so do you!" Nephrite yelled, spinning around, his dark curls briefly flying in his face. "You protected him! I don't know how, but you managed it! And now you won't lift a finger! Why?"
Kunzite began to leave sensing the redundancy of the conversation. "I have told you before. I will not tell you again."
Even Nephrite was surprised when he reached out and grabbed Kunzite's arm. He pulled the larger man back, shouting, "No, Kunzite, you didn't. All you did was rattle off meaningless shit and expected me to buy into it without question. I may have made a fool of you, but I was only following my leader's example!"
Kunzite hesitated only briefly, blinking very slowly. "I spoke the truth before, and I will not repeat myself."
"Do it in spite of your annoyance," Nephrite challenged, his glove tightening around Kunzite's forearm. "Try to convince me that this has anything to do with Queen Beryl's indifference towards him when we both know it’s a lie."
Kunzite's jaw somehow became sharper, his eyes narrowing so that Nephrite could only see the ink black pupils. He yanked his arm away from Nephrite's grasp and spoke, his voice so cold that Nephrite felt the hair on the back of his neck stand at attention.
"I will not defend a failure," he pronounced plainly. "Not only has he lost Tetis, but when I set the task of killing our enemies before him, he failed miserably."
Nephrite's eyes widened. "When you..."
Kunzite nodded. "Beryl had nothing to do with the order. I calmed her, and she banished me from her sight. The command to get rid of Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Mercury was my doing, and he failed me. He has left me with no choice."
Nephrite stood still, reeling in disbelief from this information. It was Kunzite who had given him the impossible task. Kunzite who had all but set Jadeite up for his doom. New or not, killing a Senshi was a feat that only Kunzite had ever accomplished with the murder of Sailor V. Kunzite had done it all. Now Kunzite was just as apathetic as Beryl, just as vengeful, and just as willing to see Jadeite dead.
“Why?” Nephrite asked, his voice barely marking above a whisper. “Why would you do that? When you knew how impossible it was, how could you--"
“Desperate men are able to go above and beyond their normal capabilities,” Kunzite interrupted, as cold as the air Nephrite could hear blustering outside. “Jadeite had been making too many mistakes. He was behaving below his station. He needed a wake up call.”
Nephrite shook his head. “You didn’t give him a wake up call. You sent him on a mission that was as good as suicide!”
“I knew that if he were unable to accomplish it, he wasn’t worth the wasted breath,” Kunzite countered, scowling. “Tetis coming to his aid was unforeseen. I would have stopped her if it had been in my power, but there is nothing to be done about that now. Had Jadeite succeeded with her at his side, I would have left well enough alone. He was given one more chance than I was willing to give him, and he disappointed me. Now I will be calmed with his death.”
Before Nephrite became entirely aware of what he was doing, he drew his right arm back sharply. This was all Kunzite’s fault. Kunzite had been the catalyst to Jadeite’s downward spiral. He had stood at the man’s side and feigned sympathy when Jadeite was panicked. He had offered counsel and even comfort when Jadeite had needed it of him, and now it was revealed that it had all been a test. Nephrite had not thought that Kunzite was capable of such manipulative tricks, but now he was shown the truth. He was shown that his leader was nothing more than a murderer, loyal only to himself and to Beryl. Nephrite did not doubt that the situation would not have changed even if Zoisite had been the active general in this case. Kunzite had failed them all, and Nephrite was determined to make him pay for it in some small way now, in a greater way at a later date. He pushed his fist forward, ready to ram it into Kunzite's mouth, pushing those hated words back down his throat.
Kunzite narrowed his eyes as if Nephrite were just an irritation of some kind. Without the slightest indication of effort on his part, Kunzite caught Nephrite's fist with the flat of his palm. Before Nephrite had a chance to come back around with his other hand, Kunzite punched him hard in the ribs. Nephrite gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. He began to fall forward, but Kunzite stopped him, hissing angrily in his ear.
"I am going to forget this ever happened," Kunzite informed him, speaking just loud enough so that Nephrite could hear him as he struggled to breathe again. "You are going to do the same, except what I am about to say to you now.
"If you value your life, you will be calm. You will be silent. And you will be obedient. I need you now that Jadeite is of no use to me."
Kunzite backed away, releasing Nephrite, who managed to keep his footing. Still, he was having a hard time breathing, coughing every few moments. Kunzite looked upon him for a moment, unreadable as ever. Then he turned, craning his head over his shoulder for only one moment to say four words that would haunt Nephrite until the moment of his death.
"I would not enjoy killing you. But I would never hesitate."
AUTHOR'S NOTES
This little gem was cut because in the original version of Chapter Six, Nephrite had a bit more of an emotional reaction to Jadeite's imminent death than Yumeko thought he should have, and she was right. The sole purpose of this scene was to show that the situation with Jadeite was driving Nephrite to distraction, but when his motivation spare his comrade was lessened, there was no reason for Nephrite to speak with Beryl. It really was just another Dark Kingdom scene clogging up an otherwise fast-paced chapter, and it needed to be cut. There is some repeated information here about Kunzite being the one to give Jadeite the orders about killing Mercury and Tuxie, but presented in a much different way. The characterization of Nephrite is off due to his current circumstances, but I still really like this scene. ; And don't worry, this isn't the last time you'll get a look at the DD Girls.
