-I don't own Sailor Moon. I wish…but I do own Apollo though.-

Chapter 20

The senshi arrived on the scene just as Metallia took over Apollo's body. They gasped at the dark form that stood before them. Shivers ran down Usagi's spine as she realized the same event took place a year ago. Metallia no longer herself, Chaos immediately took over the minute she possessed the girl. It was the same with Galaxia. The darker features, the evil radiating from her; it was all the same. Would it be the same this time? Would she be able to free Apollo from Chaos? It was different this time…Galaxia's body was taken over without her consent, but Apollo wished for it. Her jealousy is what's fueling Chaos.

"Now we shall see who Endymion chooses."

The blonde flinched at the sound of Chaos' voice in sync with Apollo's as she declared, "I don't want to fight you."

Dark, black orbs glared at the odango.

"You have no choice in the matter. You either fight or surrender Endymion to me."

"I have already chosen her, Apollo. It has always been her. Why can't you accept that?"

Her gaze pierced Tuxedo Kamen as she hissed, "Silence! She stole you away from me, Endymion. She has your mind mixed up. But don't worry, I'll get you back…after I tear her to pieces!"

"Not if we can help it!" Mars challenged as her and the senshi crowded around the kneeling couple.

"Hmph…it seems your time is prolonged, Serenity. Your friends will have to perish first!"

She lifted her dark rod into the air. Mars and Jupiter called out their incantations, sending the flame and thunder hurling towards Apollo. The rod emitted a dark energy from the sun-tip and sent it towards their attacks. The powers collided with force as a strong aftershock made the air blow viciously. Tuxedo Kamen flinched as his top hat and mask flew off and disappeared into the darkness. Venus and Mercury joined in as soon as they saw Apollo's attack having the upper advantage. The added powers kept the dark energy at bay but as seconds ticked by, it started to overpower them slowly. Uranus and Neptune took this opportunity to launch a sneak attack from behind.

"World Shaking!"

"Deep Submerge!"

Anticipating the attacks, Apollo used a free arm to disintegrate them.

"It's no use, give up." She coerced as she sent Neptune flying back towards the others with a ball of dark lightning. Uranus reacted in anger as Apollo readied for retaliation.

Sprinting towards her, Uranus drew out her sword and called, "Space Sword Blaster!"

Just as Uranus sent the sword crashing down on her, Apollo created from dark energy, a weapon to refute the attack. The two swords clanged loudly as the two impacted each other with such force, Apollo had almost forgotten about the battle she was still engaged in. She easily won the spare as she sent Uranus flying back towards her companions. Bringing her attention back to the senshi, she began to put more effort into the attack. While the fight still continued, Saturn and Pluto kneeled down to their prince and princess.

"Are you alright?" Saturn asked them.

The couple nodded as they watched their friends struggle.

"Princess, you must defeat Apollo." Pluto urged as she gripped her rod. "The future depends on it."

"But…I don't want to fight her. I just want to change her back."

"You must fight her. It's your destiny."

Usagi frowned as she glanced over at Apollo. The others weren't going to last much longer. She had to do something before her precious friends were hurt.

"You can do it, Princess. We believe in you."

She nodded in recognition, now on her feet. She took a couple steps forward before clutching her broach and throwing it in the air.

"Moon Eternal Make-up!"

While Usagi transformed into her alternate persona, Mamoru and the other two outer senshi stood to their feet. Eternal Sailor Moon joined the others as she lifted her scepter towards Apollo. The added help saved them as the white energy fused with her companions'. But just when it seemed like they had the upper hand, the dark power grew abruptly; finally reaching the senshi as it collided into them. As they all hit the hard ground, Sailor Moon opened her eyes and realized that someone had protected her. She pushed them up to see Mars wincing in pain.

"Mars!"

"Are you…alright?" she uttered in between winces.

She nodded in reply slowly pushing herself off of the ground. Mars and the others, now on their hands and knees, recovered as they turned towards the laughing girl in front of them.

"Ahahahaha! You senshi never cease to amaze me. Jumping in front of her to save her? Why would you do such a thing when the only one you should worry about is yourself. You can't rely on anyone. Not even your friends. The only one I can ever rely on is Metallia-sama."

"That's not true." Mars stated firmly as she lifted her head to meet her eyes. "I would gladly give my life up for her. I don't care what happens to me as long as she is safe."

"Metallia may have been the only one to help you, but does she care for you? Would she sacrifice herself for you?" Jupiter asked.

Her eyebrows lifted at the absurd things they were saying. She could rely on Metallia-sama. They were wrong. Metallia-sama was the only one who ever cared about her.

"Metallia is evil. She doesn't care who she takes advantage of, as long as she can achieve her goal."

Mercury nodded in agreement with Venus. "It's true. She has been using your body this whole time. It's dangerous for her to be inside of you any longer."

"They're right, Apollo. We can be your friends. You can count on us." Sailor Moon reassured her as she stood with her scepter in both of her hands. "We will turn you back to normal."

Sailor Moon closed her eyes as the scepter grew in length, matching Apollo's. Opening her eyes, she determinedly stepped forward as she unleashed a bright white light that irradiated the entire area. Blinking with her arm raised up to her eyes, Apollo clenched her teeth with apprehension. As the moon senshi neared, she took a step back in fear.

"Silver Moon…!"

"No! Get away from me!"

"…Crystal Power Kiss!"

The light surrounded the possessed girl, feathers blowing by as Apollo screamed. Her form straightened as the power enveloped her whole body, forcing Chaos out of her body completely. The light dimmed as Apollo collapsed to the floor unconscious. Chaos, however, was not destroyed as it floated in the air.

"You…I will destroy you and your entire world!"

Chaos' power surged as electrical bolts of dark energy filled the Dark Kingdom. The sheer force of him unleashing his power made the entire lair shake and start to fall apart.

"Let's get out of here before it collapses on us!" Jupiter exclaimed as they immediately began to evade the debris that started to fall to the ground.

Sailor Moon ran over to Apollo, who was still knocked out, and lifted her head up in her arms. "Mamo-chan!" Mamoru quickly made his way over to her and lifted the passed out girl in his arms.

Just as they exited the lair, the crater collapsed in on itself. Dust and dirt flew in the air, making it hard to see. Mamoru gently set Apollo down on the floor, safely away from the rest of the group, kneeling beside her. The debris cleared moments later to reveal Chaos in a huge, cloud like form. His red, monstrous eyes gleamed in the late afternoon sun that slowly made its' way towards the horizon. Darkness consumed the earth slowly as the sky turned darker, revealing only the red sun in the sky. Sailor Moon glared up at the evil entity in front of her. She clenched her fists, knowing there was no other way to defeat him than to use her crystal. The recent change in her power did not bother her in the least, even if the consequences were great. She had to defeat him before he could do anymore damage to their world. She defeated him before so she'll defeat him again.

"Kukukukuku! Your world is falling to pieces! It'll be destroyed before you know it!"

"I won't let you! You will not cause any more harm! In the name of the moon, you're punished!"

Her hands cradled her broach, light emitting from it as the crystal appeared before her. Extending her hands outward, she began to release its' energy. Chaos immediately powered up his energy as well, preparing for their showdown.

"No, Usako, don't use the crystal!" Mamoru cried as he ran towards her with an outstretched arm.

Jupiter and Uranus reacted quickly, grabbing his other arm before he could stop her. Shocked, he turned to them with widened eyes.

"You can't! This is her destiny!" Jupiter instructed with alarm.

Confusion plagued his features as he tried to break free from their grip.

"What? What do you mean?"

"If you interfere, the future will be compromised!" Uranus grunted as she struggled to keep him at bay.

Shock again took over, his objection slowly fading. Pluto then took this opportunity to explain.

"I'm sorry, Prince, but it's true. She's on her own now."

"I can't just sit here and watch her possibly sacrifice herself!"

"You have to trust her. Believe that she will be alright."

Mamoru clenched his jaw, eyes and fists shut as he unwillingly gave in to Pluto's plea. He shook his head and turned to watch his fiancé slowly float in the air a few feet away and above them. He watched as Chaos launched his blackened energy towards her, meeting hers with a fierce clash. There was nothing he could do now. The helplessness of the matter seemed to take over his emotions as his eyes glistened in the light. He watched in terror as Usagi appeared to be losing in the struggle. His body stiffened as he watched it get worse and worse. Suddenly, he felt a hand to his shoulder.

Mars smiled at him, determined to ease his state of mind. "Believe."

Mamoru stared into the senshi's violet orbs, gradually gaining the determination that his companions had. "Mm." he answered as he turned his attention back towards the battle that ensnared in front of him.

In a fit of rage and growing tired of this struggle, Chaos threw more power into his attack, overpowering Usagi's light in an instant. The others gasped in horror as the dark energy engulfed her in a huge electrical ball of lightning. The light dimmed as well as her form; no longer in visibility.

"USAKO!"

Black. That was all that she could see. Void and black. Chaos, her friends, Apollo, everything had vanished. Just pure blackness surrounded her as she hugged her knees to her bare chest.

"Usagi…"

She opened her eyes at the sound of her name. She saw a tiny light shine before her, forming her future self.

"Neo Queen Serenity?"

"Usagi, you must release your true power. When the world is covered in darkness, let slumber replace destruction. You must keep the faith and never forget that there is always hope, even in the darkest of places."

"How do I release my true power?"

"You will know what to do. It is your destiny, after all." She answered while smiling at her past self.

"Neo Queen Serenity, I am the sacrifice Pluto mentioned, right?"

"This is the mission assigned to you. As a sailor senshi and as the moon princess, you must always protect this planet and the universe."

Usagi smiled at her future self, in awe of how poised she will become. She nodded in agreement, her eyes tearing up a little.

"Can you do me a favor?"

The queen not surprised by her question, nodded.

"Yes, I will tell Small Lady that you miss her. She misses you, too." She answered knowingly.

Usagi's eyes widened slightly but after realizing that this is her future self and that she once before asked the same question, she bowed her head in gratitude.

"Thank you."

In an instant, the light that surrounded the queen grew and reduced the blackness to pure white nothingness.

Mamoru had fallen to his knees, hitting the ground with his gloved fists in agony. The senshi watched as in sadness as continued his assault. Pluto still had her gaze planted on the lightning that had engulfed her princess, waiting for the exact moment to arrive. And just as she had expected, the energy was refuted by the brightest light that any of them had seen. Just as it did the day she saved her friends from Apollo's spell, Usagi's form reappeared in a flash of bright light. The white light fused with her body, completely covering her entire form with pure energy from the crystal. Her crescent moon shined brightly; her fuku disappeared as her naked body becomes wrapped up in white ribbons that stemmed out from the crystal. The intensity of her show of power forced Chaos to squint and back away from her.

"How can this be? Noooo!" Chaos screamed.

"Eternal Moon Crystal Power!"

Just as Usagi sent the brilliant force of power hurling towards Chaos, Apollo awoke from her unconsciousness. She lifted herself off of the ground, watching as Chaos is obliterated. Fear surged through her as she watched the only way to seek revenge on the moon princess, disappear into nothingness. She clenched her eyes shut, tears spewing from them.

"No…" she whispered.

Usagi turned back to her normal form as the crystal's power slowly dimmed. The ribbons twirling around her as she floated back to the ground. As soon as her feet touched the ground, the white ribbons wrapped around her and hung from her body. Mamoru was at her side in an instant, her eyes still closed and hands clasped to her heart. He gently grabbed her shoulders, urging her to look at him. It was then that he noticed how different she looked. The crystal had done another number on her but, luckily, this time wasn't as drastic. She looked like she lost weight and grew just an inch taller; the top of her head now to his jaw.

"Usako…?"

Jolting him with surprise, she leaned into him, her head in his chest. He instantly wrapped his arms around her with relief.

"…Mamo-chan…"

"Usako!" He tightened his embrace around her. "I was so afraid I had lost you."

"Mm...it's alright now. Chaos is gone for good."

He felt her knees buckle beneath him as she held onto his tuxedo jacket. He supported her in his arms as he heard their friends sigh from relief.

"There's really no way I can win you back…"

Startled, the others turned to the orange haired girl. She slowly stood on her feet, her head hung low and shoulders sunk.

"You'll never love me…not in the way you love her…" Tears began to stream down her face as she lifted her head, her eyes thwarting to the sunset in the distance. "I've lost…"

"Apollo…" Usagi murmured sadly as she turned towards her warily.

"You win Serenity. You won a long time ago, I just never really saw it…Endymion…?" she caught Mamoru's gaze as she smiled sadly at him. "Will you miss me…?"

"Eh…?"

Her rod appeared before her as she grabbed it and pointed it towards the sun that was setting. She closed her eyes and furrowed her brows in sorrow.

"If I can't have Endymion, then nobody will."

~Hello! Finally got around to updating! So, the final chapter is coming soon. *sniffs* It makes me sad but it also really makes me happy to have finally after all these years complete this story that I had inside my head for a long time. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the story in full! Can't wait to see what you guys think of the ending! Please review and thanks to everyone who has! Also, thanks for all the advice and constructive criticism! –Sailor Make-up!~