Elsewhere, Sailor Mars was still trying to carefully thaw out Serena's mother. Finally, Ikuko was free from the ice that had trapped her. Sailor Mercury ran a scan to make sure that the older woman was fine. As she did so, Ikuko began to stir. When she realized just who were staring down at her she was more than just a bit surprised.
"What's going on?" Ikuko asked as she sat up.
"That's going to take some explaining but for right now I think that we should get you out of here first," Sailor Mars said. "Do you think that you can stand?"
"I think so…" Ikuko said as she slowly began to rise on wobbly legs.
"We'll help you get out of here," Sailor Mercury said as she moved in closer to the woman to give her some support. "We should hurry."
Sailor Moon's shout drew Darien's attention to what was going on behind him and saw that Kyle was getting up from where he'd been slung by one of the youmas. Darien also saw that both Serena and Kyle's attention was now focused on an attractive blonde woman who was bound by the Scout of Hate and Jealousy's chain. Darien didn't know who she was but it was obvious that both of his allies did. Darien raised his sword to fend off a blow from a youma that had moved to take advantage of the warrior's distraction.
"You see," Shadow Moon spoke up. "I aim to end this for good tonight. You want everyone to get out of here all safe and sound then hand over the crystal," Shadow Moon said as she once again began to draw onto her dark crystal in preparation of another strike.
"Sailor Moon!" Darien called out in both warning and concern. Kyle looked up from where he was trying to fight his way to his sister just in time to see Sailor Moon draw power from her own crystal.
"If you expect me to just give you the power to destroy all that is good in your world then you don't know me at all!" Sailor Moon said as she began to transform into Princess Serena from her Eternal Sailor Moon form. "But you are right about one thing! This ends tonight!"
Shadow Venus's eyes widened as she watched on as her leader foolishly stood her ground while the leader of the Sailor Scouts drew on the power of the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal. Shadow Venus didn't need to be knocked upside the head to know just how this battle would end now. She recalled her Chain of Hate and teleported out of the Throne Room. She had no intention of being handed over to the generals, or worse, for following blindly behind her leader into an impossible battle.
Once released, Wendy Garret backed away to the wall behind her while trying to escape the attention of the monsters that were all around. Of course she had no idea if she could trust the three who had come in last and were now battling the creatures. Wendy could only hope that if they were fighting these things that they were here to help to get her out of this mess. She removed her gag and watched with frightened eyes as the two blonde women with wings faced off overhead and the two men (one blond and the other dark-haired) continued to attack the monsters on the ground.
Shadow Moon prepared to hurl the dark energy toward her opponent but changed her mind and instead sent it toward the civilian that was now freed from Shadow Venus's chain. She was angry that her Scout took off; that was something that she would deal with once she had the Moon Crystal in her possession.
Kyle saw that his sister was about to be hit by the dark energy so he increased his speed as he raced over to her and covered her with his own body. It was then that a white shield with a red cross on it appeared on his left arm, effectively protecting The Crescent Moon Knight from the energy ball that was being hurled in his and his sister's direction. The shield repelled the energy back to its source, hitting Shadow Moon just a split second before the moon crystal's power hit her as well.
The four Sailor Scouts and the two rescued hostages reached the portal to Tokyo just as a huge quake shook the whole Negaverse. Sailor Mercury immediately took out her super computer and scanned to find the source of the new danger only to find that the center of the quake was in the very Throne Room that Sailor Moon and the male protectors were all fighting in.
"We have to hurry! The door ways are beginning to become unstable!" Sailor Mercury said as she and Mars continued to help Serena's mother walk toward their only exit.
"What about the others? We can't leave them here!" Molly asked in concern for her best friend.
"There is a separate door for them to go through," Venus answered. "There's no way for us to get there from here."
All around the six individuals, as they began to file out through the magical gateway, rocks from the ceiling and walls began to crumble. Just as Sailor Jupiter stepped through the door while bringing up the rear the ceiling in the tunnel completely gave way. The Sailor Scouts had gotten the two captives out just in time.
Darien watched helplessly as Serena used the power of the crystal, knowing just how dangerous it was for her to do so, with trepidation. With the combined powers of the Dark Crystal and the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal Shadow Moon didn't have a chance. In only a matter of seconds of being surrounded by the light of the crystals' magic Shadow Moon was vanquished and nothing was left behind of her. Princess Serena then reverted back to Sailor Moon and collapsed to the floor none to softly. When the chamber began to shake, the youmas pulled back uncertain of what was going on.
Darien was the first to reach Sailor Moon since Kyle was helping his sister to her feet. She was shaken to the very core (much like the very ground beneath their feet was at the moment) and was unsure of what was going on. Kyle debated on letting his sister know that it was him but he figured that the knowledge would only increase her confusion for now. What could he say? Trick or treat, Sis? No, he'll wait until they were safely out of the Negaverse before deciding just how to handle explaining to his sister what he himself would have thought ludicrous just months ago.
"What's going on? Who are you people?" Wendy asked as the man who had protected her from the blast that the now missing woman had hurled her way headed over to check on the downed member of their team.
"That's going to take some explaining," Kyle said to his sister as he sheathed his sword and knelt down to see to Sailor Moon. "For now you'll just have to trust me when I say that we're here to get you out of this place."
Wendy eyed both men and the woman whom they were examining and nodded her reply. It didn't look as if she had much choice in the matter.
"We've got to get Sailor Moon out of here," Prince Darien said as he looked around toward the shadows and wondered just how far the youmas had gone when they had scattered. He then lifted Sailor Moon up and started for the tunnel that would lead them to the doorway back to Tokyo. "All that energy in this room has made it even more unstable than before. She won't be awake for a while, yet. Using the crystal is dangerous and always takes a lot out of her."
"Then we'd better hurry," Kyle said as he first eyed the man that had taken it upon himself to carry his fiancée out of harm's way. He then motioned for Wendy to follow the other man while Kyle brought up the rear. "Before those youmas come back."
As the four got to the entrance of the tunnel that would take them to the portal that would lead them home several of the youmas reappeared and made to follow the humans out toward the magical doorway. Kyle glanced first to Sailor Moon whom Prince Darien was carrying and then to his sister. He then glared back at the monsters that were approaching. He knew that while Darien was carrying Sailor Moon he couldn't exactly fight against the youmas and he certainly didn't want his sister in harm's way.
"Go. Get the women to the door!" Kyle said as he drew his sword, raised his shield and cocked his head toward the end of the tunnel.
Prince Darien took a step toward his destination but came up short and raised a brow at his rival and asked, "Aren't you coming?"
"I'll be right behind you. I'll cover the rear and make sure none of these guys get a notion to go sight-seeing in the city. Now go!" Kyle said as took a step to block the youma that was the most bold and had taken it upon itself to lead the charge against the humans in their realm.
After one quick quizzical glance Darien continued with both of the women to take them to safety. He decided that as soon as they were safe that he'd return for the other man. He hoped that Kyle would be alright until then. He may not like the fact that he and Serena were together but he had to admire the man's tenacity.
Kyle launched himself at the monsters as they tried to get past him to the others in his party. Briefly, Kyle felt the eerie sense of déjà vu as he stood his ground while trusting the other man to take those that he loved to safety. Shaking it off, Kyle renewed the vigor that he drew on to fight against the creatures converging on him as the other three made their way to the only means of escape for them.
The rest of the Sailor Scouts all slipped through the magical portal just ahead of the cave-in that over-took the tunnel that they had been in to rescue Serena's mother and best friend. Their door way had opened up in a warehouse near the dock that they knew the other doorway would open up to when Sailor Moon and the others returned. Molly assured the Scouts that she would take care of Serena's mother so they could head to help their comrades in case they needed any reinforcements. Molly knew that the older woman was shaken and still a bit unsteady on her feet from being encased in ice for the entire afternoon and evening so she doubted that she could move as swiftly as the Scouts needed if they were to help Sailor Moon and the others fight against Shadow Moon.
When the four remaining Scouts all got to the dock they arrived just in time to see Prince Darien carrying Sailor Moon out of the portal just ahead of a blonde woman who was a stranger to them. Seeing that Sailor Moon was unconscious all of the young women ran to meet their fallen comrade.
"What happened?" Sailor Venus asked as she knelt beside where Darien laid her on the ground.
"She vanquished Shadow Moon using the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal," Prince Darien said knowing that the simple sentence would tell the women everything that they needed to know. "The Crescent Moon Knight is still in there. He covered us as I got Sailor Moon to safety. We'd better get in there because he was out-numbered and those youmas looked as if they didn't intend to let him leave alive." Darien stood and turned to head back toward the glowing portal. He may not like Kyle but he couldn't exactly leave him behind either. If he did Serena would never forgive him.
"Wait! I'm picking up some very unstable readings from inside the Negaverse," Sailor Mercury said as she examined the readout on her super computer.
"Then we'd better hurry to get the Crescent Moon Knight out," Sailor Jupiter said as she moved to join Darien in his mission to rescue Serena's fiancé out of the Dark Kingdom. She then stepped toward the portal just before a flash of light blasted through the doorway, sending all that were too close back away from it before it sealed shut.
"What happened?" Sailor Mars asked as she looked to Mercury who still had her computer out and running scans.
"The portal collapsed. I can't get a reading at all on the other side anymore." Sailor Mercury said with the tinged of fear in her voice. "We can't go back in." Each of the Scouts and the prince all exchanged looks with one another. If they couldn't get back in and the tunnel had collapsed then where did that leave Kyle?
All of the Scouts had forgotten all about the woman who had been rescued from the Throne Room until Molly and Ikuko approached. Finally seeing others that didn't seem as strange as the ones who had freed her from her imprisonment, Wendy went over to them while eyeing the mourning group as they continued to try to awaken the blonde woman with wings.
"Finally! Can one of you PLEASE tell me what is going on?" Wendy asked in a pleading tone. "One minute I'm at my desk reading over the plans for an event that's being held this winter and the next I'm in some dark cave all tied up."
"I was hoping that someone could tell me the same thing," Ikuko said as she caught sight of the woman that was on the ground. She was the same one that was responsible for her son being kidnapped and now she'd been taken by the heroine's enemies as well.
Before anyone could answer either of the women Sailor Moon began to stir slightly. When she looked up and saw not only her mother but Molly and Wendy as well, Sailor Moon breathed a sigh of relief as she realized just who all three of the hostages had been. Not only did she know who they were but she also knew that they were all safe and sound.
"Sailor Moon! Thank goodness. We were all so worried," Sailor Venus said as she realized that her leader and friend didn't seem to be hurt, just drained.
"Venus," Sailor Moon accepted the hug that the other blonde leaned forward to give her, glad that everything seemed to finally be over.
When she looked at the woman's face there was something about it that didn't seem quite right. Sailor Moon then glanced around at all of the others around her, even the three rescued women, and she saw how there seemed to be a cautious look in everyone's face. Like there was something that none of them wanted to tell her. She then noticed that there was one individual that was missing. Sailor Moon realized that the Crescent Moon Knight was not in the huddle of concerned friends.
"Where is he?"
Prince Darien looked down on the ground and took a deep breath. "The Crescent Moon Knight decided to cover the rear. He said he'd be right behind us but made sure that none of the youmas followed us here. He didn't make it out before what was left of the Negaverse began to collapse."
Sailor Moon began to look from one of her friends to the others, hoping to see something that would tell her that Darien was wrong. Unfortunately, even the two women with no clue about what was going on looked at her in pity as they realized that the man who had been left behind had meant a lot to the broken heroine.
"No," Sailor Moon said in a soft whisper. "You're wrong. He's got to be alright. We're supposed to start planning for the wedding as soon as Shadow Moon was defeated. We're supposed to..."
Sailor Mars knelt on the opposite side of Sailor Moon as Venus was sitting on and pulled her in close to her. She didn't know what to say; or even if there was anything to be said at all that would help. She knew that when her mother had died there was nothing that had helped her. But with Kyle, to only know the situation that he'd been left in. Surrounded in the heart of the youmas' lair with no means of escape... Sailor Mars knew that Sailor Moon would be crushed but what she didn't expect was for the Moon Princess to revert back to her civilian form right there in front of everyone.
Ikuko watched the transformation in wonderment as right before her eyes Sailor Moon was replaced with her very own daughter. She could feel her jaw drop as the reason for not only her own kidnapping but that of her son's also began to make sense. Her daughter was Tokyo's greatest heroine, Sailor Moon. Then she considered how long it has been since Sailor Moon first appeared in Tokyo. That was how many years ago? That would have made Serena...
At the same time, Wendy recognized the woman before her as her brother's fiancée. As Serena continued to sit crumpled on the ground Wendy thought back to the man left behind in the strange cave that she had just been rescued from. The man who had literally put himself in the path of a blast that could have killed her. Could it be that he was her brother Kyle? Wendy knelt in front of her soon-to-be sister-in-law and took her hand and looked into Serena's blue eyes with her own brown ones that were nearly identical to her brother's.
"Serena?" Wendy asked while trying to find the words that would ask the other woman to confirm what seemed to be impossible. Just as silent came her answer by way of Serena quivering as she renewed her heart-wrenching sobs.