THE FINAL CHALLENGE
The weather in Tokyo was stormy. As Serena, the last of the Sailor Scouts, watched the rain fall, she thought about how well it reflected her mood. She sat by her window, a group photo of all her friends on her lap, and remembered them. It seemed like years since the last time they had been all together, when it had only been a few days. To have her four closest friends die for her protection was too much for her to bear. She sighed, clutching the picture to her chest, and a tear slid down her cheek.
From the bed, Luna and Artemis watched her worriedly. They knew she needed time for the wound to heal, but the Negaverse was growing stronger by the day and Sailor Moon was desperately needed. The two cats exchanged a glance, and Luna jumped to the window sill. She made her way to where Serena stared blankly at the rain and sat beside her.
"Serena, how about some video games? I'll even let you win this time," Luna suggested.
Serena's gaze didn't turn.
"Okay, how about we let you dress us up and we'll play a game. I know you love trying to put a hat on me," Luna said.
Serena sighed but didn't move. Artemis joined the other cat on the sill.
"How about some of those fresh baked cookies your mom made for you? You haven't eaten in days," Artemis said.
Serena turned her head to look at the cats. She gave them a sad smile and looked back up at the dark clouds.
"I wonder if they can see me," she said, the first words she had spoken since Amy's death. Luna and Artemis exchanged relieved looks.
Luna nodded. "I'm sure they can, and if you starve yourself, they'll be very disappointed in you."
Artemis jumped off the window sill and pushed the dinner tray Serena's mom had left on the bed closer. Serena picked up the fork and ate a small piece of potato.
"I don't want them to think I can't do it on my own," she said.
The Dark Scout entered the frozen cave. She saw the statue of the last Sailor Scout and forced herself to smile. She knew her enemies had been destroyed and she should be happy that only the wimpy Sailor Moon stood in their way, but a part of her was crumbling. The ring on her finger glowed dimly at the feeling and she sighed. It seemed that their victory would break her heart. She ignored the feeling anyway. No person in the Negaverse listened to their heart, so why should she start now? Laughing softly, she left the frozen scout to her eternity.
Serena stayed in her room for the remainder of the week. Despite Luna and Artemis' best attempts, she was still depressed and saddened over the loss of her friends. One week after her last visit to the Negaverse, there was a polite knock on her bedroom door. Serena raised her head and the door slowly opened. Molly and Melvin stuck their heads through the cracked door and came in. Like Serena had done so long ago when Molly had been in despair over Nephlyte, they had come to cheer their friend up.
"Are you okay, Serena?" Molly asked.
Serena shook her head slowly. She remained on her bed, near the window while Melvin sat on the floor and Molly took Serena's desk chair. Molly reached over and put a comforting hand on Serena's shoulder.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Molly said.
Serena shook her head again. Molly took back her hand and looked at Melvin. The boy shrugged.
"All right, if that's what you want. I'll tell you what you missed in school this week."
Molly and Melvin stayed for quite some time, talking to Serena who patiently listened.
"You want to go for a soda?" Serena asked suddenly.
Molly and Melvin were taken aback.
"Sure, Serena, if you feel up to it," Molly answered.
"Can I come too?" Melvin asked.
Molly was about to make an angry reply about Melvin being a dweeb when Serena smiled at him.
"Of course you can come. You've really been a good friend to me, Melvin, and I'm sorry I never thanked you," Serena said.
Melvin looked at her suspiciously.
"Are you buttering me up so I'll pay?" he asked.
Serena went to the door. "No, I'm serious. Let's go!" she cried.
Luna and Artemis ran after them, thrilled that Serena was finally going out.
In the soda shop, they saw Andrew, Chad, Greg and Darien. They were all in a booth, eating burgers when Serena slipped beside Darien and hugged his arm. Molly and Melvin, satisfied that Serena was enjoying herself, sat in another booth and shared a prune shake.
"Hey Meatball Head! Glad you decided to come back to me," Darien exclaimed.
Serena smiled and hugged him tighter.
"I'm so glad your still with me," she said brightly.
Darien's happy expression sobered a bit.
"I heard about them. I'm sorry," he said.
Greg, Amy's boyfriend, had seen the fates of the Sailor Scouts with his visions of the future. When he saw Amy's death, he decided not to reveal his vision to the scouts when he returned to Tokyo.
"Did . . did Amy go already?" he whispered.
Serena nodded and Greg wept. Chad polished off his burger and smiled at Serena.
"Hey, did Raye tell you when she'll be back?" he asked innocently.
Darien, Serena and Greg looked at him. He slurped his soda noisily.
"What did I say?" he said.
Andrew looked at each of them in turn.
"I missed something. All I know is Amy told me she'd never be coming back to the arcade again. Was she in some kind of accident?" he wondered.
Serena, Darien and Greg decided against telling the others what had happened. Serena's eyes filled with tears again and she buried her face into Darien's shoulder. Andrew immediately felt guilty for bringing it up.
"Don't worry about it," Greg told him. "Amy's gone away to school and Serena's taking it hard."
Andrew nodded in understanding.
"Muffin, could I see you privately for a moment?" Serena whispered to Darien.
They stood and moved to another table. The others watched them leave wordlessly. Serena and Darien found themselves in a quiet back corner of the restaurant and Serena leaned over the table to speak privately to Darien.
"I'm going to go against the Negaverse again," she began. "I can't let their deaths be in vain."
Darien listened patiently as she told him everything that had happened.
"Sounds like you're in trouble," Darien agreed.
"I wanted to know if you'd be there," Serena said.
Darien took her hands in his.
"You know that if you need me, nothing can stop me from getting there. I'll be with you, if I can," he promised.
Tears of happiness and remorse filled Serena's eyes as she embraced her only love.
Luna joined Serena as she walked home. Molly and Melvin were still at the soda shop, sharing another prune milkshake.
"I heard what you said to Darien," Luna said.
"Will he be there?" Serena asked.
"I don't know, but I have a strange feeling that you're not going to be the one that defeats Prince Rutile," the cat said.
"All the others are dead. I'm the only one left," Serena argued.
"Remember, Sailor Sun isn't dead, she's just lost. You've got to help her back," Luna reminded. "Perhaps she is the only one who can bring this to its conclusion."
Serena said nothing but kept walking, determination and anger filling the part of her heart that would forever mourn for her friends.
The portal appeared in Serena's bedroom that evening, her one way ticket to Prince Rutile. Artemis and Luna waited until she had transformed before giving her a few final tips. Finally, Sailor Moon and the six Rainbow Crystals left Earth and were taken to the caves of the Negaverse. Luna and Artemis watched the portal close behind her.
"Do you think Tuxedo Mask will come?" Artemis asked when Sailor Moon was gone.
Luna sighed. "I hope so. Serena's strong, but I hate to think of her going up against the Negaforce alone."
Sailor Moon appeared in an empty cave. Ahead of her was Azurite and the Dark Scout. The last crystal was in Azurite's hand. Sailor Moon took a fighting stance, her eyes narrowing in hatred for the two forms before her.
"Well, well, well. Little Sailor Moon, all alone. Pity I have to destroy you too" Azurite said, tossing the crystal up and down in one hand.
The Dark Scout stood expressionlessly behind her. Azurite let the last crystal go.
"Violet Crystal! Release your captive!" she cried.
As the last Shadow Warrior formed, Azurite vanished. The Dark Scout, however, remained behind her dead eyes watching the battle as it unfolded. Sailor Moon allowed the creature to come close before running towards it and delivering a massive kick to the monster's head. It had no effect on the Shadow, but Sailor Moon received an electric shock and was thrown to the ground. She decided to try a differed approach.
"Moonbeam Attack!" she cried, shooting the warrior.
The small, thin beam did little damage. The Shadow shrugged the attack off and shot out a ball of dark energy. It struck Sailor Moon in the stomach as she tried to dodge out of the way. Sailor Moon fought to regain her breath as the Shadow prepared for another attack. It pounded Sailor Moon until she lay on the floor. Sailor Moon thought she saw out of the corner of her eye the Dark Scout take a hesitant step forward to help her.
"Jenny," Sailor Moon whispered weakly.
The Shadow didn't allow her time to recover before it tried to deliver its final blow. It's arms came up, holding a massive ball of dark energy between them, but as it began to release the ball an invisible force pushed it far from the injured scout. Sailor Moon raised herself to her feet and was shocked to see the Dark Scout standing between her and the Shadow, holding the creature at bay with a shield of dark energy. Sailor Moon stepped clear of the shield to face the Shadow again.
"Moon Tiara Magic!" Sailor Moon yelled.
The tiara bounced harmlessly off the monster's chest. Sailor Moon felt a new power inside her and made a circle with her crescent moon wand.
"Full Moon Encompass!" she shouted.
The power of the moon struck the Shadow and reduced it to ashes. In the remains came the final Rainbow Crystal. As the Dark Scout watched, Sailor Moon allowed the other six crystals to meet the last of their kind. They joined together as one and the Imperial Silver Crystal was made whole again. Sailor Moon held out her locket and the Crystal settled inside it, making it whole as well. The Dark Scout retreated to the shadows where Azurite was waiting.
"The crystal! She's got it again! Why didn't you stop her?" Azurite demanded.
The Dark Scout turned to her former companion.
"I aided Sailor Moon because I felt that what I was doing was unnecessary," she said.
Azurite flushed with anger and vanished. Sailor Moon used the Dark Scouts distraction to use the newly reformed crystal.
"Crystal Moon Transformation!" she cried.
A soft, pink light fell over the Dark Scout, who cried out in pain and anger. When it faded, the Dark Scout was gone and Sailor Sun was in her place. Sailor Moon ran forward to help her friend to her feet.
"I'm back, this time for good," Sailor Sun declared.
"Let's kick some Nega scum!" Sailor Moon suggested.
Together, they ran down the nearest hallway towards Prince Rutile's throne room.
Tuxedo Mask was ready when the portal to the Negaverse opened. He leapt through without a thought of the danger and found himself in a frozen cave. In the center was Sailor Mercury, frozen for all time in her own ice. He said a silent prayer for her and disappeared down one of the tunnels, determined to find the one he was sworn to protect.
The two Sailor Scouts raced through the caves. Sailor Sun was in the lead and she led her friend into one particularly large cavern. It was the so-called trophy room of the rulers of the Negaverse. They quietly made their way past the warriors who were now long dead. When they reached Queen Beryl's section, Sailor Moon stopped at Queen Serenity and wept. Then, she looked next to her mother and saw three familiar faces, each in repose. Sailor Venus, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mars. Suddenly, a figure beside the last body began to move. Sailor Sun and Sailor Moon crouched, ready to fight when the figure moved into the dim light of the cave. Tuxedo Mask smiled at the girls.
"Darien!" Sailor Moon exclaimed.
Sailor Sun sighed. "I thought you were a monster!"
Sailor Moon ran into Tuxedo Mask's arms. The held each other silently as Sailor Sun watched. She lay a hand on Sailor Venus's arm. It was warm.
"Sailor Moon!" she cried.
The other two came over. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask each lay a hand on Venus' arm. Realization struck the trio like a heavy blow. The scouts weren't dead, just unconscious!
"Heal them, Sailor Moon. Wake them up" Tuxedo Mask urged.
Sailor Moon fitted the Imperial Silver Crystal into her crescent moon wand and turned to face her three sleeping friends.
"Crystal Moon Transformation!" she cried, pointing at each scout in turn.
None of them moved. Sailor Moon slowly lowered her wand, tears filling her eyes. There was a sound from the other side of the cavern. Sailor Sun twirled around and saw a form moving between the fallen warriors.
"We must go! Something is here!" Tuxedo Mask cried.
"This way! It will lead us to a tunnel to the throne room!" Sailor Sun called, taking the lead once more.
Tuxedo Mask grabbed Sailor Moon's wrist and pulled her in the direction of the exit. The last thing she saw was Azurite appearing beside the fallen scouts.