End of the Millennium
A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Whew! Back to normal. I feel like such an idiot,
forgetting such an important piece of the plot. For those of you that
think this story is close to over, think again! This particular book
is the longest in the series (to my knowledge at least, since I
haven't fully tested how long the final ones will be). Now we focus
on Ares and his planet Mars, three years beyond the previous meeting
of planetary leaders. Plenty can happen in that much time.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star.
If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares,
Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade
and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow
this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck
with my shit.


The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 9:

Three short years passed.  The young princess of the Moon and the
rulers of the eight other planets had matured a bit more, nearing
their time of choosing. Setsuna had already come to her time of
choosing a few years prior. Chronos had taken Setsuna to guard the
Gates of Time, and he guarded them whenever a meeting was necessary
amongst the rulers. Chronos had taken over the leadership of Pluto
when its king aged beyond usefulness, and had soon-after died of old
age... which seemed odd since he was only in his forties. Apparently
Chronos' abilities aged him beyond help. Ares remained on Mars, still
quelling the battles that had come between their own people, and the
solar system's defense capabilities were able to handle the bit of
darkness that tried to invade every few months. Thanatos remained on
Mercury, learning alongside the young princess, who was quickly
learning to be queen.

Ares was content to quell the petty arguments and fights that arose
both on his planet and upon the rest in the alliance, even assisting
Earth if the need grew large enough.

That need was growing quite a bit recently.

Ares began to wonder if Earth's warlike nature meant that they would
eventually try to invade another planet, but quickly dismissed the
idea, finding it quite ludicrous and not particularly bright, since
the closest worlds were Venus and Mars. Quite literally, the
proverbial 'rock and a hard place'. They wouldn't even get beyond
their own moon before being decimated.

He continued to oversee the the Martian princess' training, in both
royalty and battle. Both were required of her now, since her father
had passed on, and her mother still refused to show herself. Ares was
required to sit in the king's place until she reached the age of
choosing, which was soon in coming. Ares chose to do so because it
was the most logical step to preventing war on his planet, since the
lords would probably battle endlessly for the right to take the
throne, even with the princess as the one who WOULD be next in line.
Nobody would dare challenge Ares if they could help it.

The Martian royalty's choosing method for suitors stemmed from
Jupiter's plan: The current ruler would test that person in battle.
If he was found wanting, then he would have no chance whatsoever. But
the problem was that now she had no family, since her mother was
unreachable. The rules stated Reianna could not test her suitor
herself, because she might let her emotions supercede her skill.

"What about a tournament?" Ares asked. "Each of your suitors could
battle each other, and the overall victor would be chosen to court
you!"

"That wouldn't do much good, Ares.  What if I don't get enough suitors
to have a tournament?"

"Nonsense! The beautiful and skilled princess of Mars, with no
suitors? I would ask any man upon this world if he would want the
opportunity to try and court you, and I could guarantee that any and
all of them would say they would! If they did not, I would butcher
them myself for such treasonous words! Besides, the nobles of Mars are
insistent upon fighting and killing each other for the right to rule
without my governing eye. Why not put it to use by finding the best
warrior amongst them?"

"Then would you have all the men kill each other simply for the right
to court me?" she asked, ignoring his compliments. They were said so
readily and so often to royalty that it was like stating the sky was
pink... which for Mars, it was.

Ares quickly shut his mouth. Indeed, such a thing was not plausable.
While the females were the dominant force of the Martian army, the
males were wholly necessary as well. "Well, what do you suggest?"

"Why not have my guardian test my suitors?"

Ares' laugh boomed throughout the castle halls. "I think you're asking
a bit much, princess! I cannot do such a thing, for you'd never have a
suitor!"

"You're rather full of yourself, Ares."

"Oh?  I have never been defeated. Never have I even been wounded in
combat. No single warrior can stand up to me." he counted off his
track record on his fingers as he spoke, when he realized what she
meant in asking that of him. "Would you remain alone on the throne?"

"If I needed to. Father remained alone my entire life without anyone.
He never chose another."

'He also became ill and sickly without love.' Ares thought, hoping his
princess would not suffer the same fate. "Perhaps. But I'd rather not
kill any man that comes calling. We'd still run across the same
problem, in that we'd run out."

"Then think of it as a basic duel, instead of a bloodsport, for once."
she spat, flicking the underside of his chin. He was still quite tall
compared to her, despite the fact that she was almost fully grown. She
truly held no fear of the planet's God.

"The basic rules of dueling? That sounds fair. First to disarm the
other wins. I admit that I may have had my weapon knocked from my hand
once or twice, so perhaps you may have a small chance for a suitor
after all."

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Choosing a husband and future king for Mars?  This could get ugly,
especially with Ares as the one doing the choosing! Is he right, in
that she will never have someone as long as he was the judge? Tune in
next time, and let's have a review or two!