Chapter 9

They came as a wave of darkness that blocked the Earth from view, thousands of soldiers charging across space by the evil powers of the Lady Beryl. Venus saw them first and alerted the rest of the senshi through their linked minds,

The enemy approaches. Be ready

She tightened her grip on the sword as the soldiers around her stirred restlessly. The coming army looked more like the wave of a lunar storm, cackling with solar energy that would threaten any living creature caught in its path. Swallowing hard, she could do nothing but watch was the wave came steadily closer. Swords were drawn and soldiers took up their positions for defending this side of the Palace.

Venus looked at the army of two hundred soldiers under her command and closed her eyes for a moment, Mother Venus, if you are listening, give me the strength of fight this battle with courage and discipline. She opened her eye and then narrowed them on the coming army, watching it split and go two separate ways.

"Steady men." Her voice rang out as them shifted nervously. Holding up her sword, she let the light of the sun flash off the blade, drawing every eye, including the enemy's. They drew nearer, their focus now on the senshi of Love and Beauty. Venus smiled grimly, pointing her finger at the blade of the sword, letting the light play over the men in her army.

"Ready your blades!"

Two hundred swords rose into the air, their blades angled so that the light striking them was towards the coming hoard. Venus nodded, seeing all was ready and took a deep breath, praying this would work.

"Crescent... Beam!"

The golden light sprang from the tip of her finger and hit the blade, reflecting off it towards the elevated blades. She concentrated, biting her lip and drawing blood as the beam refracted and broke into 200 crescent beams hurtling towards the enemy. Many fell with holes in their chests, heads and limbs, more than twice the numbers of enemies falling under the brutal assault. And yet, the army still advanced, their momentum barely even halted.

Venus repeated the trick twice more before a few of the swords the men in her army cracked and shattered under the pure energy assault. With grim determination she dropped into a fighting stance. If they were going to try and get past her, she was going to take as many of them with her as she could. She would make them pay for choosing to attack the Moon Kingdom.

The arrow of evil sliced through the Moon Kingdom's army with hardly a pause, decimating it until it reached the senshi of Venus. Her sword blazed with fury unrivaled and her hair floated about her body like an aura of her rage. She leveled the sword at the coming soldiers and spoke a single word of command, so softly it wasn't audible, and a light shot forth from the sword.

Wielding it in an arc, she swung it from her left to right, and mowed down hundreds of enemy soldiers in a single blow. Many of the front ranks of the army hesitated, only to be pushed forward by the men behind them. Venus swung the sword back, determined to cleave a huge portion of this army to dust even though she was hopelessly outnumbered - when a huge white light suddenly surrounded her.

A cheer went up in the attacking army as the senshi of Venus' scream echoed across their ranks and she disappeared.

Their blades bloodied and their voices raised, they continued on towards the palace.

--

"Minako!" Serenity whispered, biting her lip as she felt a part of herself clench with fear. Endymion tightened his arms around her as new tears pooled in her eyes and slid down her cheeks, attempting to shelter her from the pain. "The army is coming... and we will not be able to stop them."

"It is me she wants, Serenity - perhaps if I left..."

"No!" She clutched him tightly, afraid he wouldn't heed her. "That is what she wants. Divided we will fall -do you not see? If you leave it will leave me open to her attacks and in doing so she can kill me - just as she promised - before going after you."

His smile was grim in response and he nodded. "I will not go anywhere, Angel."

--

Jupiter lashed out with one fist and broke the blade of an attacking soldier with her gloved hand, swinging swung her staff the other way and catching several other soldiers as they tried to surround her. She smiled grimly, sweat and blood marring her once white bodysuit.

"Forward men!" Her command echoed over her small detachment of men - even smaller after the skirmish. They fell in behind her as she dispatched the soldier whose sword she'd broken.

She held the staff aloft as the small group of no more than twenty charged valiantly at the coming hoard. Jupiter looked about as she felt the staff quiver in her hands and felt the words to an awesome new power took shape in her mind. Pausing, she lifted the staff above her head and held it in both hands.

"Guardian Jupiter, give me the courage!" She shouted as winds and electricity whipped about her and tore at her uniform and hair. Her eyes flashed and went completely white as she looked at the oncoming hoard, her hair whipping about her face.

"Sparkling... Wide... Pressure!"

Lightening surged from both end of the staff and plowed into the oncoming army with a destructive force as her men engaged them. The armor plated soldiers of the enemy army fell into one another, passing the deadly surge of electricity along until nearly a quarter of the force arrayed against them lay dead or in their final death throes.

Jupiter collapsed as the awesome powers that had coursed through her body began to take their toll. She never saw her small battalion get slaughtered, nor the evil army's continued approach as her eyes fluttered closed, the staff clenched in her hands as everything was lost in a pure, white light.

--

"Makoto..."

Serenity shuddered, pressing in closer to her husband. Another tear silently fell in the darkness as the army came closer.

--

"Come and get me if you dare, evil scum! I'll burn the skin from your bones; maim you so bad you'll crawl back to mommy and even she won't recognize you!" Mars taunted at the approaching army, winking at the soldiers under her command as if to reassure them as she fingered her bow.

The coming scourge seemed to pause and approach the senshi of fire and her command more hesitantly and Mars couldn't help but smile. Obviously the threat of fire was greater than the desire to win in some of those soldiers. She aimed her bow at the coming army and pulled it back, concentrating.

"Ready!"

She called the command, looking to her side at the one soldier she'd chosen to call the orders for her after that one. Her command was made up of mostly bowmen and they readied their weapons as Mars began concentrating on her powers.

"Aim!" Called the soldier beside the senshi, his sword lifting into the air as the soldiers took aim.

"Fire"

"Fire... Soul!"

Mars let loose her power as she let the arrow fly into the midst of the arrows from the men under her command. Her eyes widened in shock as the arrow lit those within its rage on fire and then continued onwards, striking first from all the projectiles. The Martian arrow plowed through more than two dozen soldiers before finding its rest in the ground, the fireball finally expiring.

As the rest of the arrows slammed into the front ranks of the approaching army, the soldier next to Mars raised his sword again.

"Ready!"

Bows were notched again, Mars simply pulling the bow back as another arrow appeared in her hands.

"Aim!"

Mars put her bow at the angle for release as the rest of the bowmen did the same.

"Fire!"

"Fire... Soul!"

The fireball sprang from her bow a second time, and this time Mars concentrated on it, making it larger, encompassing all of the arrows and growing larger still. She felt faint as the fireball plowed into the front ranks of the army and put all of her will into it, making it expand, grow hotter, get bigger, do more damage. The smell of roasting flesh wafted over the battlefield almost as tangible as the feel of their fear.

They charged as the fireball finally expired on the ground and slammed into the ranks of bowmen as they tried to loose one more volley. The Lunarian soldiers were slaughtered and Mars, her eyes falling closed heavily, never saw the sword raised and arcing towards her neck as white light exploded behind her eyes.

--

"Rei."

Serenity choked, curling into a tight ball. She buried her face in her knees, trying to block out the feel of death, the coldness that was enveloping her soul.

--

"Bubble... Spray!"

White mist shot forth from the hands of the senshi of Mercury, giving the army under her command a brief respite and a chance to regroup and fingered the crossbow at her hip, wondering if she should perhaps use it.

They'd been fighting with hit and run tactics since engaging the enemy, always falling back closer to the position where they would have to make their final stand. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, her glove stained with sweat and blood. Her soldiers regrouped and checked their wounded and dead as the fog floated about the battle field caused the enemy to retreat.

At least they can't see through this, Mercury thought with a sigh. She flipped her computer open, calculating how many they had killed to those they had lost and smiled grimly. They couldn't win - their numbers were just not big enough.

"Alright, men, assemble up, and listen for your orders." Her voice cut through the fog easily, carrying to each of her hundred or so soldiers that were left. They assembled as near to her as they could so that she wouldn't have to speak too loudly and have the enemy overhear their plans.

"I have within my power a weapon capable of turning this mist which protects us into a weapon," she began cautiously, uncertain how this would go over. "I am hesitant to use it though for it will affect everyone and everything inside it; meaning myself, you, and our enemy. You men will retire to our break point. Defend the entrance of the Palace on this side from all attackers, no matter what the cost. I will set off my offensive strategy alone, at the point, when the most concentrated part of the army is visible and hopefully it will eliminate more than half of their forces. You must hold them as long as you can at the entrance. I cannot stress this enough. You must protect the Queen and the Princess; they are our only hope for the future."

The men remained silent, nodding their agreement, knowing that the senshi was probably throwing her life away to make a last ditch effort to protect not only the Palace and the people within - but to also give them a fighting chance. They saluted her as she dismissed them and took up a well protected vantage point to watch the oncoming army.

The soldiers quickly retired towards the Palace entrance they had been given orders to protect.

Mercury took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heartbeat. This is it, she thought softly, hearing in the back of her mind the clamoring of the other three senshi's thoughts. She bit her lip as she felt each of them fall, all of them within a few seconds of each other and tears stung her eyes. Mercury, give me the courage to die like they did.

Attaching her computer to the small crossbow and activating it, bolts appeared in a small quiver attached to her wrist. She quickly notched one of them feeling the mist she'd created rapidly dispersing on the lunar winds as she made her preparations.

Finally ready, she took another deep breath as the mist dissolved and left the field of battle visible. The attacking army began its cautious approach once again, looking every which way for ambushes. When they found none they sped their pace up, the entrance they'd been told to seize now within sight. Mercury waited until half of the army was within her view and leveled her crossbow above their heads, pulling the trigger.

"Bubble...Spray...!"

The bubbles attached to the bolt as it hurtled across the army, trailing freezing particles in its wake. She quickly repeated the process a dozen times, feeling more of her strength ebb with each shot and use of her power until she fired the last bolt. As it arced into the ranks of soldiers, she gave the last command.

"Freezing!"

She watched in morbid fascination as her plan went off without a hitch, the bubbles coalescing into a huge icy mist, clogging the lungs and freezing the approaching soldiers in their tracks. More than half of the attacking force was under the icy shroud of death and perished as they fell to the ground frozen, some shattering as they hit.

Mercury smiled grimly, feeling her grasp on the world slipping away. She had done her duty.

"Only for you, Princess."

Brilliant white light engulfed her as she slipped away, a peaceful smile on her lips.

--

"Ami."

Serenity whimpered, feeling cold as the weight of what exactly had occurred settled on her soul. She wiped away the tears that trailed slowly down her cheeks. Now there was only Endymion standing between her and the Lady Beryl's army.

She closed her eyes and clung to him tightly; she knew she would lose him too.