Ten minutes later, the group entered the Dark Kingdom's throne room. Kunzite waved the group back against the wall.
"Stay there!" she commanded them briskly. "This is my fight!"
"Got that right!" the girl responded, emerging from the shadows. She had discarded her cloak, appearing in a ruby-red top, blue trousers and black knee boots. Her eyes widened as she saw the grey-suited figure. "Who the hell are YOU?" she demanded. A tight smile flickered over Kunzite's features.
"Lady Kunzite of the Negaverse. Your name is…?"
"Aki," the girl replied, dazed. "You're fighting for the horse?" At Kunzite's nod, she continued, her voice calm again. "Who's your second?"
"I am," Malachite replied, stepping forward to stand beside Kunzite. "Who's yours?" Aki laughed mockingly.
"My father, of course. But I doubt he'll need to take over. I could beat you both with one hand tied behind my back!" Kunzite moved forward, making a quick gesture to Malachite to stay where he was.
"Care to make good your boast?" she queried. Aki shrugged.
"That's what we're here for. Give me your best shot…unless you'd like to start running right now?" she replied, her voice taunting. Kunzite shook her head, a queer look in her eyes. She didn't waste time replying, but threw the dark energy already gathered in her palm towards her smirking opponent. Aki gasped and threw herself backwards, the globe passing above her. Kunzite didn't give her time to regain her feet.
"NEGA-BOLT!"
The beam raced toward the girl, catching her on the shoulder as she scrambled to her feet. Flung down the room by the force of the blow, Aki's shriek of surprise turned into a cry of pain as she impacted; face first, into the floor. She rolled to her feet, and whipped around to face Kunzite, the thick plaits falling from their arrangement on top of her head.
"That was a cheap trick!" she snapped. Kunzite laughed scornfully.
"Oh, come on. D'you expect me to believe that you'd have stood back and let me regain my feet?!" Aki's face contorted in fury.
"That's not the point!" she screamed, unleashing a storm of black crystal shards that flew toward Kunzite like bullets. Kunzite flung up her arm, creating a shield, but one of the shards struck her shoulder. Hissing in pain, Kunzite retaliated with a river of dark fire from her eyes, as her hand flew to the freely bleeding gash on her shoulder. Aki threw up her hands, turning the tongue of flame away from herself, and converting it to a fiery hail, which rained down on the Scouts, Tuxedo Mask and Malachite. Malachite reacted instantly, throwing up an umbrella-like shield, but one or two of the mini comets had struck and there were scorches on uniforms.
"And you call me firing at you a cheap trick?" Kunzite demanded. "How would you like it if I fried your precious father?"
"You'd never be able to!" Aki retorted smugly as the drops of fire wrapped themselves around Kunzite in a flaming tornado. "He'd turn you into a pile of ash before you took two steps. 'Lady of the Negaverse'…yeah, right! You're worthless!" Kunzite's face darkened and she slammed her hands against the whirling streams of fire. The tornado died, leaving Kunzite standing, her uniform scorched and, in some places, burnt away, soot and burns marking the exposed skin, and her eyes glowing with a cold fire.
"You asked for this!" she cried, tendrils of what looked like smoke flowing from her fingertips. "DARKNESS ENSHROUD!" The smoke gathered in a cloud, and leapt toward Aki. The girl laughed, not even attempting to do anything.
"Oh, please? You think I'm afraid of the dark?! I live here, in the Negaverse! Darkness doesn't scare me!" Kunzite didn't reply, merely watched as the cloud drew nearer to the green-haired girl. The cloud suddenly wrapped itself around Aki, condensing and hardening, binding her securely from the neck down. She struggled, but couldn't make the slightest difference to her form-fitting prison.
"Not scared of the dark?" Kunzite taunted. "That's a fatal error on your part." She raised her hands, and a globe of dark fire, with streaks of florescent green ripping through it, appeared between her palms. "Thanks for the warm-up! Let's see if your father thinks I'm so worthless…NEGAFORCE, OBLIVIATE!" Aki screamed in terror as Kunzite flung the dark orb, which had begun to burn with an emerald glow, straight toward her. Kunzite's aim was unerring, and the destructive force bore down on the imprisoned girl. The shadowy shape of Aki's father suddenly materialised between the energy and its destination. The globe struck him full in the chest, and exploded, obscuring him in a blinding pillar of incandescent green flames. The power radiating out from ground zero of the explosion sent everyone but Aki, who still couldn't move, and Kunzite, staggering backward. The fire died, and a scorched black cloak fell to the ground.
"FATHER!" Aki screamed in disbelief. Kunzite stalked up the room to the heap of material. She kicked it, then bent down and picked it up.
"He may have been your father once," she muttered, shaking out the soot and ash from the cloak's folds. "But that thing I just destroyed didn't even have a corporal form!" Aki blinked at the ebony-haired Shadow General.
"What do you mean?" she demanded, her voice shaky. Kunzite snapped her fingers, and the restraints fell away from the girl.
"Where's Tansa?" Kunzite demanded, throwing Aki the cloak. Aki pointed toward the shadows it the far right corner of the hall.
"Tied there. What did you mean about my father?" Kunzite glanced at the girl as she strode to where she had indicated. Aki's expression was confused, and with the two heavy plaits hanging down either side of her face, she suddenly looked very young.
"He must have been human once, but he was eaten up by something, hate, loneliness, fear…I don't know what, and it turned him into a soulless, uncompassionate shadow, determined to hurt everyone. Including you."
"But he just saved me!" Aki protested. Kunzite shook her head.
"No, he didn't. He responded to my challenge." Aki stared at the cloak she held; then switched her gaze back to Kunzite, who was freeing Tansa.
"So you didn't kill him?" she asked. Kunzite shook her head again.
"No. Your father was already dead. What I destroyed was a shadow, composed completely of anger, ambition, hatred and evil. Something that had bred you into doing exactly what it wanted you to do, and not thinking for yourself." Kunzite laid a hand on the girl's shoulder as she led the winged horse toward the group. "I'm sorry, Aki, but you were nothing more then that demon's puppet." Aki looked up into Kunzite's face, and saw true sympathy in the dark eyes. She nodded, as she drew an amulet out from the neck of her top.
"Guess you're right. Sometimes I wondered why I didn't talk like him…all the thee's and thou's…guess 'cause I was a real person, and he wasn't." She pulled the amulet off, dropped it on the floor, and stamped on it. The amulet shattered into dust, and Aki's hair became a dark, dark brown, almost black. "Could you get me home?" she asked. "My mom lives in the States, since she and my dad split up, and I stayed here so I could finish school." Kunzite nodded.
"Malachite'll portal you there." Aki looked at her in surprise.
"Why can't you?" Kunzite grinned, and unfastened her pendant. Kunzite vanished, replaced by Xantha. She laughed at Aki's dumbfounded expression.
"Because I can't use the negaforce," she explained.
"I missed you, Xantha," Tansa murmured, nuzzling the black-haired girl.
"I missed you too, Tansa," Xantha replied, stroking the deep violet mane. Tansa suddenly laughed, and shook her head.
A purple jewel on her forehead caught the group's attention as it began to glow and the black halter she wore, formed from negative energy, disolved into nothingness.
"Good-bye, Aki," the horse said, as Malachite opened a portal opposite the address the teen had given him. Aki impulsively threw her arms around Tansa'a neck.
"Bye…and I'm so soory we kept you prisoner!" she cried. Tansa laughed.
"I forgive you, Aki. It wasn't your decision – and you as much a captive as I was!" Aki nodded.
"That's true. Good-bye, everyone!" she called as she stepped through the portal, and headed across the road.
"Good-bye!" the group chorused, as the portal closed. Malachite opened another portal, onto the roof of the apartment block.
"You, Xantha, are meant to be taking things easy," he told her. "Downstairs, NOW!" Xantha laughed, as she fished the Sky Crystal out of her pocket.
"After that fight, I feel fine. I don't need a rest…but I'm sure you need to stretch your wings, huh?" she suggested, turning to Tansa. The horse nodded. "Thought so," Xantha muttered, transforming, and vaulting up onto Tansa's back. "Whenever you're ready!" Tansa turned and trotted to the far side of the roof, then turned again.
"Move out of the way, all of you!" she commanded the group. "Don't forget to hold on, Xantha!"
"I won't!" Pegasus replied, settling herself comfortably. Tansa broke into a canter, and just before she reached the edge, leapt strongly into the air, clearing the parapet; her wings spreading to catch the evening breeze.
"YES!" she cried delightedly. "This is where I belong!"
"All right!! The steed of the skies is back in action!" Pegasus laughed, equally thrilled, as Tansa's speed sent her hair and cloak billowing out behind them. As Tansa stopped and hovered above the city, the two friends finally felt that their lives were how they should be. Tansa reared, and the group on the roof of the apartment saw Pegasus punch the air in satisfaction and heard, faintly, from the pair silhouetted against the setting sun, the two voices cry in victory,
"PEGASUS, ARISE!"