A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed, and/or favorited my story. I really enjoy reading all the reviews and they give me some needed inspiration! I hope you like this chapter.
Again, I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the characters associated with Sailor Moon. At this time, I am only claiming to own 2 characters (Jasmine and Taylor). Two of the characters (Travis and Seth) I have come across in multiple other stories by multiple other authors. I plan on tweaking them to fit my story, but untimely they were not my own creation.
I would also like to give a BIG Thank You to Puffgirl1952. She provided some of the ideas the trials are based on.
Please read and review this chapter as I appreciate any and all feedback!
Chapter 10
Home
"How long will the trials take?" Mina questioned. She had been stunned when the three girls had just disappeared without any warning.
"They will take as long as needed," Jasmine responded. "While the girls are gone, we will still have to train, patrol, and carry on with our lives."
"What if they are gone longer than the weekend?" Jason was concerned.
"We will have to do some memory alteration on Raye's Grandpa and Amy's mom," Travis spoke up. "I think we should all go train for now. The girls just left. If we have to do anything it won't be till Sunday evening."
"Let's go," Andrew stood up and motioned for everyone else to head out to the training fields. He was the leader of Travis's guards so he had decided to take charge. Mina was still upset about seeing her friends just whisked away so she wasn't making any move to tell everyone what to do.
Jupiter
"Where am I?" Lita asked looking around.
"You are home, sister," a female voice said from behind.
"Your trial will start here," a male voice explained.
"Athena? Dad?" Lita questioned. She was shocked to see her sister and father from the Silver Millennium. For so long during this life she had been alone.
"Yes, it really is us," Lita's father, King Zeus said while hugging his daughter. "I'm sorry your life now has been so hard."
"I know you want to talk, but the trial must start," Athena interrupted.
"I understand," Lita smiled to her sister. "What must I do? I really want to prove to Serena and everyone how sorry I am. I never meant to hurt her."
"There will be three parts to your trial," King Zeus started. "They are loyalty, strength in battle, and power control. Please go to the kitchen to begin the first part."
As Lita walked towards the kitchen, she remembered when Serenity would visit and try to help in the kitchen. The staff would always welcome her with open arms and always let her help cook something. Most of the time, it was something simple, such as pudding, so there was the smallest amount of risk that something would go wrong. Lita could remember the first time Serenity tried to make cookies with the kitchen staff at the Jovian castle. Serenity didn't know how to crack an egg so when they told her to add two eggs; she put them in whole, shell and all. The staff wasn't sure if they should correct Serenity or not, but the head chef's youngest daughter went right up to the Princess of the Moon and told her what she did wrong. Lita remembered how Serenity looked embarrassed but just thanked the little girl and asked to be shown how to crack an egg. After that incident, the Jovian staff fell in love with the kind hearted Moon Princess, but knew not to give her a complicated recipe to make. Lita was so proud of her princess that day.
Mars
"What is going on?" Raye demanded. "Why am I on Mars?"
"Good to see you recognize your home," Raye heard from behind her.
"Father, I could never forget Mars," Raye smiled at King Ares. "It's good to see you again as well. What can I expect of these trials?"
"Getting straight to the point, just like always," King Ares chuckled. "There are three parts to the trial. They are designed to test your loyalty, strength in battle, and power control. Please head towards the gardens to begin the first trial."
"How will I know when I have passed," Raye wanted these trials to be finished as soon as possible. While it was nice to see her father, she was worried about her grandfather back on Earth.
"You will know when you have completed them all," King Ares said. "I can't tell you any more than that. Now please head to the garden and begin."
"As you wish, Father," Raye bowed then headed towards the North side of the castle where her garden was located. It was the only garden on Mars as she was the only one to take care of the Gardens. She could remember during the Silver Millennium how Serenity loved to visit Mars and help her in the Garden.
Mercury
"What can I expect, Father?" Amy asked King Hermes. She was anxious to prove herself to Serena.
"The trial will consist of three phases," King Hermes explained. "The phases will test your loyalty, strength in battle, and power control."
"But I'm not strong in battle," Amy said worriedly. "What happens if I fail one part of the trial?"
"If you fail any part of the trial, you will immediately be pulled out and sent back home," King Hermes said. "You won't be given another chance to perform this trial. Just remember you passed all three phases before and there is more than one kind of strength."
"Thank you, Father, for explaining," Amy smiled and hugged her father.
"Now, please head to the library to being the first phase," King Hermes said after returning Amy's hug. "I believe in you daughter."
Amy smiled at her father then walked towards the library in the Mercurian castle. She remembered many times trying to get Serenity and the other girls to study in that library. It wasn't always easy to get Serenity to focus on her studies, but when she did Serenity was able to outshine even Amy who was known as the smartest person in the Silver Alliance. Amy was always so proud of Serenity, even when Serenity tried to get out of her studies she did it in the most creative manner possible.
Once Amy got to the library she started looking around. She wasn't sure if she was going to find someone or what to expect. After a few minutes of looking she found a group of maids talking in the corner. It looked like they had taken a break from cleaning.
"I can't believe they are allowing that stupid princess to take over next," the first maid said.
"I know, she really is lazy," the second maid said.
"Our beautiful Princess Amy would be much more suited to rule the Silver Alliance," the third maid said. "She is so much smarter than the Moon Princess. She would know what to do in times of war."
"More importantly, she would know how to prevent the war outright," the second maid agreed.
"You cannot speak of Princess Serenity in such a manner," Amy stormed up to the three maids. "She is one of the smartest people I know. She may not show her smarts in the same way as I do, but she is kind and giving. She would do anything for her friends."
"She may be nice, but she is too lazy to even try to do anything right," the first maid responded to Amy. "Didn't she almost get you killed?"
"No, she has always saved me," Amy glared at the maids.
"Well, if she is always saving you why were we told you decided not to follow her any longer?" the second maid asked.
"Yeah, we were told we were no longer part of the Silver Alliance," the third maid said.
"I..." Amy wasn't sure how to answer their questions. Everything they said was exactly what she had said to the other girls before they kicked Serena off the team. "I made a bad decision. I believed someone else over Princess Serenity. I was wrong. I am trying to make up for my mistake. Besides, even if I choose not to be part of Serenity's guard why wouldn't Mercury be part of the Silver Alliance? Someone else from Mercury would take my place."
"Nope, King Hermes decided if you didn't feel Princess Serenity was a good leader, he didn't want any part of the Silver Alliance," the first maid spoke up.
"Yeah, His Majesty, said he trusted your judgment and since you made the decision to forsake the Moon Princess, so would everyone on Mercury," the second maid continued.
"No," Amy was shaking her head. "My Father would never make such a decision. We are a part of the Silver Alliance. I would and will give my life for Princess Serenity. She is the person who should rule Mercury not me. I am weak. I went against my better judgment and turned against Serena. She may not have the same type of book smarts as I do, but she is smarter than I am. She has proven to me on many occasions she would always be there for me. If Mercury chooses not to be a part of the Silver Alliance, then I choose not to be the Princess of Mercury."
"What?" all three maids exclaimed.
"I have decided to give up my throne and follow Princess Serenity," Princess Amy stated. At one point during her speech she had transformed into her princess gown.
"We will follow you and whomever you choose to serve, Your Highness," all three maids bowed to Princess Amy, but when they rose back up she was gone.
Jupiter
Once Lita got to the Kitchen, she only saw the head chef, Mary, making something to eat. Lita decided to look around before disturbing Mary. Lita went towards the pantry to see what snacks were kept in there. She remembered many times going in there when she was hungry to sneak a treat before supper.
"Lita, you should wait, supper will be ready soon," Lita jumped as she heard Mary right behind her.
"Mary, you scared me," Lita chuckled as she turned around to give the older woman a hug.
"Sorry, are you hungry?" Mary asked leading Lita to a stool at one of the counters. "I can make you a sandwich and then you can have some of the chocolate pudding I'm making afterwards."
"That sounds wonderful," Lita smiled. "How have you been?"
"I've been ok," Mary sighed. "There's just a lot going on lately."
"What's going on?"
"Well, King Zeus has decided to attack the Moon," Mary said. "As you said, the Moon Princess is lazy and isn't fit to lead the Silver Alliance. Your Father feels a Jovian would be better suited to rule over the Galaxy."
"That's ridiculous," Lita stopped eating. "Serena may have her moments, but when it counts she is always there for me. She was my first friend in my new life when I had no one. She has died to help protect Earth and all its inhabitants more than once and would do so again without hesitation."
"You say she was there for you when it counted, but what about every other time?" Mary posed the question. "Didn't she come late to battles? Didn't she show up late for meetings with you and the other scouts? Wasn't she consistently late for school? From what I can see, Princess Serenity should never have been reborn. She isn't worthy of the crown."
"You are wrong!" Princess Lita yelled. Lita had gotten so upset while listening to Chef Mary speak about Serena that she had transformed into her royal self. "Serena was late for school because she was up half the night fighting to protect Earth. So she over slept some. No one can blame her for that. She would use twice as much energy as us to fight since she wasn't supposed to fight battles to begin with. Being late for the meetings with the scouts was the same thing. She was held back at school and not a single one of us thought to move the meetings to a later time even though we knew she wouldn't be able to make it right after school. It was our fault. She did everything she was supposed to. And she was only "late" to battles because she was being attacked by Youma's on her way!"
"Even if that is true, you decided to turn your back on Princess Serenity," Mary pointed out. "With that decision, your Father, has decided it would be best for Jupiter to follow you alone. You are the strongest fighter we have. Jupiter follows only you, Your Highness. Besides, your Father is leading the attack tomorrow at dawn. There is no time to stop him"
"I will stop him," Princess Lita declared. "If I have to fight my Father myself, then so be it! I will stop him from attacking the Moon. I don't care if Jupiter chooses not to be a part of the Silver Alliance, but I will not allow any harm to come to Princess Serenity. She is my friend and I will follow her to the end of time. I will give up my claim on the Jovian throne and fight against any person from Jupiter who wishes harm on Princess Serenity."
"As you wish, daughter," King Zeus said from the kitchen doorway.
Mars
When Raye got to the gardens outside her room she looked around. She didn't see anyone but didn't expect to either. When she had been growing up, no one was allowed in the gardens unless she permitted it. I wonder when the first test will start, Raye thought to herself. Instead of wandering through the gardens, she went to the shed to get some gloves so she could pull the weeds out of the garden. Not many people knew how much she enjoyed gardening. It helped calm her when she was upset.
"Princess, you must come quickly, it's your father," a guard had rushed up to Raye after about five minutes of her working on the garden.
"What's wrong?" Raye was confused. She thought her first trial would be here in the garden.
"No, you must come with me," a second guard came running up to her. "Princess Serenity needs your help."
"What? Serenity should be with her family and the other guards," Raye was still confused. "What is wrong with my father?"
"Your father is being attacked," the first guard said. "You must come and help him quickly. You don't have to go to Princess Serenity; you are no longer one of her guards."
"Princess Serenity was kidnapped," the second guard told Raye. "The other Sailor Scouts and the Moon Family is asking for your assistance."
"Forget about her," the first guard said. "Even you said how lazy and incompetent she is. Why should you have to risk your life for her? She is worthless. Your father on the other hand is a great man. He needs your help."
"Please, Princess, you must make your choice quickly," the second guard said. "Every second you waste, is another second lost in finding Princess Serenity."
"How can I choose?" Raye didn't know what to do. Everything the first guard was saying about Serena is exactly what she and the other girls had said. Now she was expected to choose between saving Serenity and saving her father. Raye realized this was the loyalty test, but how was forsaking her family being loyal to Serena. Serena always gave her life for everyone else. Serena had always been there for Raye and her family. Both families, Raye thought. Raye could remember how Serena would talk to her Grandpa on Earth even though he could be somewhat perverted at the beginning. She was kind to the old man and always had a smile for him. Raye also remembered how Serenity would speak with King Ares every time she visited Mars. While it was expected the two would exchange a certain amount of small talk, Serenity would continue with various conversations, learning from King Ares.
"No matter what I may have said in the past, Princess Serenity, Serena, is a good and kind person," Raye spoke to the first guard. "You will never speak a bad word about her again! She was always willing to take the time to listen to the words of wisdom from her elders. I have learned everything I can from my father and he taught be to take my responsibilities very seriously. I suggest you go find the Martian Army to aid him as I will be going to find Princess Serenity."
Mercury
Amy wasn't sure where she was, but knew she was still on Mercury. It looked like the forest behind the palace. She could only hope this meant she had passed the first trial.
"Princess of Mercury," a voice said from behind Amy. "You are here to show you strength in battle. You must defeat me to pass this trial. We will fight to the death."
"Who are you?" Amy frowned. She didn't remember any 7 foot 300 pound monsters on Mercury.
"I am called Winter," the monster said. Amy couldn't help but think how much this monster looked like a Yeti or an Abominable Snowman. "The battle will begin now."
After that was said, Amy barely had time to get out of the way of a large ice ball that was heading her way.
"Mercury Star Power," Amy hollered. She could only hope her powers would help her find a weakness on this monster.
"You don't have your powers," Winter laughed when Amy just stood there, and then threw another ice ball.
"Shit!" Amy swore. She had forgotten about Jasmine stripping her powers and being on Mercury she called the first things he thought of. "Earth Ice Power!"
"What?" Winter was confused when Amy called out the transformation phase she used after Darien had given her powers on Earth. "That won't work here. Those powers will only work on Earth."
As Winter was laughing at Amy for failing to transform into any form, he kept throwing balls of ice. Since Amy hadn't tried attacking him yet, he kept his energy expenditure to a minimum. He knew eventually the girl would tire out and he would be able to land a killing blow.
What am I supposed to do? Amy thought to herself. She had hid behind a rock for a minute to gather her thoughts. I know he's throwing ice balls, so why can't I throw something. Amy started making some snowballs, but realized how small they were in comparison to the ice balls being thrown at her. There's got to be a way for me to fight him. I know I can't transform into a scout since Jasmine stripped my powers as a guardian and Darien's powers only work when I'm on Earth. What do I have that I can use on Mercury. Since Amy hadn't come up with any better ideas yet, she started throwing the snow balls at Winter.
"Those little bits of snow can't hurt me," Winter laughed and threw a larger ice ball right at the rock Amy was hiding behind. The rock started to crack so Winter kept throwing the ice balls at that rock.
I am the Princess of Mercury! Amy thought. This is my planet. No one can harm me here. Amy stood up and was wearing her princess gown again. She had transformed into her Royal self.
"I am Princess Amy of Mercury," she called out. "This is my planet and we have guardianship over frozen water and wisdom. You cannot defeat me!"
"And how do you propose to stop me, little girl?" Winter laughed at Princess Amy and threw another ice ball. This ball of ice though didn't make it to Amy. Amy had put up her hand and the ball of ice had stopped mere inches from where she stood. Before Winter could even blink, Amy had thrown the ball of ice back at him and it hit Winter square in the chest. This went on for some time where Amy would stop the attacks Winter sent and threw them back at him. Finally, Amy was able to defeat Winter.
Jupiter
After her father had heard her declaration to fight him to prevent him from harming Princess Serenity, Lita and her father were transported to the Jovian training fields.
"Since you wish to fight me, we shall fight," King Zeus said. "This will test your strength in battle. The first to fall loses. Be warned, if I win, I will attack the Moon Kingdom."
"So be it father," Lita glared at him. "But when I win, you will leave the Moon Kingdom and its family alone."
Zeus threw his lightning bolts at Lita and she started dodging them. When Lita found a spot to stop for a minute she attempted to transform but found neither her Jupiter or her Earth transformations worked. She wasn't surprised about her Jupiter transformation as Jasmine had stripped those powers, but she thought she still had access to the Earth powers. Well, hopefully I can beat him hand to hand without getting my ass burned by his lightning, Lita thought to herself. She peaked around the corner of the wall she was behind to see where her father was. When she saw he was looking for her and his back was turned, she ran out as quietly as she could and attacked him. She was fortunate she had taken so many karate classes back on Earth and was a black belt. Over the course of thirty minutes, father and daughter fought hand to hand combat. There were numerous times Lita thought her father was about to win, but she would always find the inner strength to keep standing and fight him off. After another thirty minutes, both were becoming winded.
"Do you want to just give up, old man?" Lita taunted. She had to constantly be attacking to prevent Zeus from calling upon his lightning bolts.
"I will never forfeit," Zeus roared trying to escape Lita's grasp. "You will have to defeat me as we agreed upon or forfeit yourself."
"I will defeat you," Lita declared. It only took her a few more minutes to finally knock Zeus to the ground. In the process, she had hit him hard enough he was unconscious. I suppose I need to find someone to take him to the infirmary, Lita thought to herself. I wonder if there are guards outside the training ground still? Lita went to look for someone to help her father, but never had the chance to find someone.
Mars
When Raye turned to follow the second guard out of her garden, she was transported to the Isle of Volcanoes. Raye looked around and wasn't sure what to expect here.
"Princess," a voice from behind Raye startled her. "You are here to complete the second phase of your trial. You must defeat me to prove your strength in battle."
"Who are you?" Raye asked.
"I am the guardian of the volcanoes," the fire monster said as he sent a stream of fire towards Raye. Raye barely had time to duck so she didn't get scorched. She kept moving to avoid the flames while trying to figure out how to fight back. The volcano guardian was made completely of fire, and Raye currently had no fire to fight fire with.
What the hell am I supposed to do? Raye thought to herself.
"Come out, come out, where ever you are," the Volcano Guardian taunted. He kept blasting fire in any and all directions.
Raye found out quickly she wasn't able to transform, but she knew Mars was her domain. She was a priestess during the Silver Millennium and during this time. She had more powers that she could access that didn't tie in with being a guardian scout. The next time the Volcano Guardian threw a stream of fire, Raye threw one of her scrolls from the temple. Yes, it worked, Raye thought but kept moving. She needed to send the flames back to the Volcano Guardian. It took Raye a few minutes to learn how to control the flame that was being sent, but she was able to have the fire surround her scroll and throw both back to the Volcano Guardian. It took about three scrolls to be sent back to the Volcano Guardian before Raye was able to defeat it. After it was defeated Raye sat down to catch her breath. Now what?
Mercury
After Amy defeated Winter, she was transported to the northern most point of Mercury.
"Hello Amy," Amy spun around looking for the voice that was talking.
"Who's there?" Amy demanded.
"I am Mercury," the voice spoke again. "You are here to complete the third phase of your trial."
"Mercury? As in the planet?" Amy thought she was going crazy. How could a planet talk?
"Yes, I am the planet Mercury," the voice answered patiently. "I will call upon the Crystal Keeper and she will help us complete this task."
"But Jasmine is the one who stripped my powers," Amy was worried. "She won't want to help me now."
"Whether I want to or not, it is not my choice," Jasmine said appearing in front of Amy. "I am here to bestow upon you the Mercury Crystal. Once you accept the crystal, Mercury the planet, will grant you its power. You must control the power or it will destroy you. Be warned, should there ever be cause to strip you of your powers again, it will cause your death. You also need to know if Princess Serenity chooses not to accept you as her guard you will be stripped of your powers so the next person may attempt the trial."
"You mean even if I pass, Serena can decide she doesn't want me and then I die?" Amy did not like the sound of that.
"Yes, that is exactly what I mean," Jasmine just looked at Amy. "What is your choice? Will you accept the power and responsibility of Mercury or will you forfeit your trial?"
"I..." Amy wasn't sure what to say. I know Serena asked me to do this, so she must want me to be her guard again. I have to trust Serena won't turn her back on me. "I will accept the power and responsibility of Mercury."
"So be it," Jasmine nodded. She then held out her hand and a clear ice blue quartz appeared. The Quartz was about an inch in diameter and held the symbol of Mercury in the center. "This is the Mercury Crystal. Use it wisely."
"Thank you," Amy bowed before Jasmine after she took the crystal. When Amy stood back up Jasmine was gone.
"Now I will grant you the full power of Mercury," the voice of Mercury said. As soon as the voice spoke Amy could feel an immense power fill her. At first it felt like when she had first transformed into Sailor Mercury. As the power increased so did Amy's anxiety. She realized as the planet filled her full of power, she was cycling through all her transformations. What am I going to do? This is too much power, Amy thought to herself. She just stood there trying to stop it from powering up her attacks. Once she reached her Princess form she stayed in that form barely able to contain the power. When she looked at her hands there were icicles hanging from each finger. When she tried to move, Amy found her feet frozen to the ground and ice starting to form on her legs. How am I supposed to control this much power? If only I could store it in a box until I needed it. Then Amy realized she could store it in a box inside herself. She pictured a box 1 foot by 1 foot and then imagined all the power coursing through her was being funneled into the box. Once the power was inside she envisioned a lock in the shape of her crystal, so the only way to use the power in the box was through her crystal.
Jupiter
As Lita was looking for someone to help her father, she was transported to her garden. Now why am I here?
"Princess Lita, the time has come to complete the third part of your trial," Lita heard a voice. It sounded like it came from everywhere at once.
"Who are you?" Lita demanded. She had crouched down and was preparing to fight.
"I am Jupiter," the voice said. "I will grant you my power so you can protect me and the Moon Princess."
"Ok," Jupiter slowly stood out of her crouch wondering if she was going crazy. "When do we start?"
"First the Keeper of the Crystal must grant you the Jovian Crystal," Jupiter started.
"She won't do that," Lita responded sadly. "I guess this is over before it even begins."
"I will because I am only holding the Crystal until Jupiter decides who is worthy," Jasmine said appearing before Lita. "Before I grant you the Jovian Crystal, you must understand what will happen. You must control the power or it will destroy you. Also, should there ever be cause to strip you of your powers again, it will cause your death and if Princess Serenity chooses not to accept you as her guard you will be stripped of your powers so the next person may attempt the trial. Will you accept the power and responsibility of possessing the Jovian Crystal?"
"I will accept the Jovian Crystal," Lita said without hesitating. She knew if she could control the power and pass this test, Serena would not turn her away.
"So be it," Jasmine nodded and in her hand appeared a rectangular emerald, one inch long and half an inch wide. Inside the emerald the sign of Jupiter could be seen. "Good Luck."
"Thank you," Lita said and watched as Jasmine disappeared. She took a deep breath before speaking to her planet, "Alright, Jupiter, I'm ready."
"Then it shall begin now," Jupiter said and flooded Lita with all the power of Jupiter. As she stood there electricity was crackling all around her, above her thunder rumbled, and all around her swirled leaves and her garden came to life. Lita stood there for over an hour attempting to control the power of Jupiter. She was barely keeping it from killing her. Lita focused on the Jovian Crystal. I need to find a way to lessen the power I hold within. Lita decided to push the power inside the crystal. This way it would be stored there until she needed it.
Mars
"What now?" Raye wondered. After she beat the Volcano Guardian she expected to be transported away like the last time but she was still standing at the volcanoes.
"Now you will have to pass the third part of the trial," Raye heard a voice from within the volcanoes.
"Who are you?" Raye called out. "I have defeated the Volcano Guardian! Why am I still here?"
"I am Mars," the voice answered. "You are here because I deem this the place you will complete the final phase of your trial."
"I am ready," Raye answered fearlessly.
"Before we being, the Keeper of the Crystals must give you the Martian Crystal," Mars told Raye. "I hope she deems you worthy of it."
"I am here Mars," Jasmine announced. "Thank you for asking my opinion in the matter of granting Raye the Martian Crystal."
"I trust your judgment Crystal Keeper," the planet responded.
"And do you deem me worthy?" Raye demanded of Jasmine.
"I will grant you the Martian Crystal," Jasmine started. "But I do this with great reservation. You were the first scout to fall to the evil trying to bewitch you. You were the scout who attempted to take the Silver Crystal from my sister. You were the scout who poisoned the others against Serena. Should I ever even suspect you of betraying my sister again, I will not hesitate to take your powers, with or without consent from my sister. Now, before I give you the Martian Crystal, you must be warned; once you accept the Crystal you will be given all the powers of Mars. If you cannot control that power you will be destroyed. If Serena chooses not to accept you as a guard, you will be stripped of all your powers so they can be given to the next who goes through the trial. If you are ever stripped of your powers, for any reason, you will die. Do you accept the power and responsibility that comes with the Martian Crystal?"
"Serena asked me to complete this trial," Raye glared at Jasmine. "I will accept the Martian Crystal."
"So be it," Jasmine responded without emotion. In her hand appeared a flaming fire opal the size of small rock. "Use this well and remember my warning. My sister comes before anyone else." Before Raye didn't have a chance to respond before Jasmine disappeared.
"You must keep in mind the warnings the Keeper of the Crystal gave you," Mars started. "Once I give you the power of Mars there is no turning back. It will begin now." As soon as Mars finished speaking lave spewed out of the volcanoes surrounding Raye and rained over her until she was completely covered. How the hell am I supposed to get out of the lava? Raye fought to control the power that was surrounding her and eating her from the inside out.
I know you can do it, Raye thought she heard the voice of her best friend and Princess. I must do this, for Serena! Raye thought and put all her effort into controlling the lava. I am the Princess of Mars. All of Mars is mine to command! Raye slowly started to gain control of the power. She held out her hands and willed the lava to form a ball. For Raye it took what seemed like hours but finally she had all the lava in a ball in the center of her hands. She then willed the lava to evaporate. After the lava was gone, Raye stood there for a few minutes catching her breath. She knew she had passed the trial, now she just had to gain Serena's official approval. Raye teleported herself back to the house where everyone was waiting.
Elsewhere
"Report!" a man with sleek black hair said. He was sitting at the head of the table which held his generals.
"We have been able to collect some energy," a man with red hair sitting to his right said.
"Some? How much is some, Andros?" the first man questioned.
"Not enough, Your Majesty," Andros bowed his head. "But if we try to collect any faster, then the scouts notice us and destroy our collectors."
"Well, then we will have to make a larger stand," the King said. "Grui gather our strongest warriors. We need to defeat all the scouts and knights in one attack. I want 3 battalions with 20 warriors each. We will each lead a battalion. That should be more than sufficient to destroy those annoying brats!"
"As you wish, Your Majesty," General Grui bowed before going to gather and train the troops his King had requested.
"Andros, add more energy collectors to what we already have," the King instructed. "We will need as much energy as possible if we are going to win this battle."
"It will be done, King Pria," Andros bowed before leaving the meeting room.
Soon I will have my revenge, King Pria laughed to himself. That wretched Princess will pay for what she did to me!
A/N: Thank you to all who have read and reviewed my story so far. I love hearing the feedback. I have already started working on the next chapter, but felt this was a good place to stop this one. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! I will try to get the next chapter done in the next week or so.