Chapter 11

"Those eyes, those beautiful blue eyes. Oh, how I wish those eyes would look upon me," Prince Diamond sighed, as he spied on the humans entering his Hell realm. He felt her power grow stronger the moment she left Crystal Tokyo. The earth underneath his feet trembled and sighed as if being healed and he knew it was because of her. She was the light, the Yin to his Yang. Every step she took healed the earth and the blackness receded, oh, how he loved her. Now, if only he could control her and her powers.

"Crystal Tokyo will be mine!"

Oh, how he hated that blasted city. The only city not to fall to the Demons. The only city not ruled by him. The only city keeping his princess from him. Those salted crystals dulled his powers and no matter how many times he attacked them he had always failed, but no more. All he needed was Serena by his side and Crystal Tokyo will fall under his command.

"You must come to me, my princess," Prince Diamond's third eye formed from the center of his forehead as he stared at the image before him. He drew the darkness to him, drinking in more power; sending it to Serena, trying to wrap her in a cocoon of darkness and bid her to come to him. Nothing and no one else mattered, not even his brother Darien.

Serena shivered as she sat in front of her pink tent. The darkness scared her, not even the fire that blazed in the center of their camp helped. She rubbed her arms and looked around. All day she felt eyes on her and the farther they left Crystal Tokyo the more those eyes burned a hole in her stomach. She knew who was spying on her, she felt his power grow stronger, felt the blackness caress her skin, trying to touch her, to invade her, but she refused to let that happen. The darkness held his aura like a snake, waiting for the perfect moment to bite.

"You won't get me here," Serena whispered.

Amara, Michele, Ami, Mina, Rei and Lita were with her. She felt their powers grow since leaving the City and was surprised that her own inner light was growing stronger as well. Serena noted little changes among the girls. Mina's hair turned to liquid gold, and Ami's cheeks had a tint of blue to them and her eyes deepened to a blue-black. Rei's skin turned to copper as if she was kissed by the sun and Lita sparkled as if a wave of electrical currents were shimmering within her skin. Even Amara and Michele had changed. Amara's skin was paling, almost transparent. Her voice when she spoke moved like the wind tickling the girls skin and playing with their hair. Michele's hair deepened to a blue-green like that of the sea from old stories told of the old world and a storm raged within her eyes. Serena was not sure if the girls had notice the changes within themselves for they had not spoken a word to her. The other cadets had turned in for the night leaving Captain Kou to first watch.

"Girls to my tent," Serena ordered.

The girls looked up and nodded, following Serena into her tent without saying a word. Serena closed the flap and sat down looking each girl in the eye. At first she was surprise to see Amara and Michele in her tent and then smiled at them for obeying her command. Serena sighed knowing these girls' lives were in her hands and she would do anything to protect them, even giving up her own life. These girls were more than friends, they were family and deep down in her heart she knew they felt the same way.

"Do you feel it?" There was no point in being subtle.

"Yes." The girls choired.

"The bad man is out there, watching us. We have to be on guard. I know the cadets and Captain Kou are here to help, but let's face it, they are helpless compared to the evil in this world," Serena voiced her concern.

"Do you have a plan?" Amara asked.

Serena smiled and her cornflower eyes glowed, "Yes, we send the cadets back to Crystal Tokyo and we can go on ourselves and defeat the Demons and send them all back to Hell."

All the girls started to talk a once and the noise in the tent increased. Serena covered her ears to block out the noise waiting for it to die down, finally the girls quieted and looked to her for advice.

"I don't know if you've notice, but I felt my power increase three folds," Serena pushed on.

"Yes, we have noticed. Your hair is starting to turn white," Ami whispered.

Serena eyes grew cold with determination. "It's our powers. Its changing us from the inside out and its making us stronger. For some reason being inside Crystal Tokyo dulled our powers, but now it's like a damn has broken inside of us; we are overflowing with unimaginable power."

"It's because of the salt crystals," Ami noted.

All eyes looked upon Ami in puzzlement. Ami shifted in her seat; pink tinted her cheeks in embarrassment and she quickly looked down at her hands.

"What are you talking about Ami?" Rei asked.

"We know ourselves that salt kills Demons and can even hurt us, but it also dulls our powers. I have been studying the crystals all my life. That is the reason why Tokyo erected those crystals, its what's saving our world," Ami explained, her eyes never leaving her hands.

"Ami, you are a genus," Serena gushed, "With our combined powers I think we can send the Demons back to Hell and close the Hell Mouth.

"But how?" Amara asked.

"I don't know how as of yet, but I will think of something," Serena tried to assure them.

"So, how do we get rid of the cadets?" Mina inquired.

"My dream girl," Serena declared.

The on slaughter of questions erupted again, but Serena refused to elaborate. She raised her hands to silence them and waited for the noise to die down again.

"Don't worry about the Cadets. They will be safe and inside Crystal Tokyo by morning. Go to your tents and get some sleep. We've got a long day tomorrow," Serena commanded.

The girls were still full of questions, but they obeyed Serena and shuffled out of her tent leaving her alone to think. Serena wrapped herself in her sleeping bag and then used her powers to wrap a white force field around the camp, to protect everyone inside from the darkness and the things lurking within the darkness. Serena smiled as she felt Rei fiery power merging with her barrier and then Ami powers flowed, along with Mina, Lita, Amara and Michele. It brought tears to her eyes to feel them, to feel their powers helping her. She knew she could not defeat the bad man alone and was glad to have her family with her.

"Setsuna, I need you," Serena whispered, closing her eyes and tumbling into the dream world waiting for her dream girl.