Mars and Chad had been running for the last thirty minutes and stopped to catch their breath

Mars and Chad had been running for the last thirty minutes and stopped to catch their breath. Mars looked ahead of them, but the tunnel seemed never-ending. She looked at her companion, and Chad bent over to grab hold of his pants to hold up his weight.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's just been awhile since I ran like this."

"Suck it up, we gotta find Reine." Chad took another deep breath and stood back up to his full height. He heard a whizzing sound in his ear, and it was getting louder.

"Look out!" he grabbed Mars and pulled her behind him.

A pulse of black energy hit the ground on the exact spot where she'd been standing. Both of them raised their heads and saw Mercite grinning at them evilly.

"Well done, I'm impressed," he laughed.

For once in his life, Chad kept his mouth shut and didn't say some type of comeback. Instead, he let go of Mars' hand and drew his sword from its sheath. The metal felt incredibly lightweight, and the hilt nearly graphed to his hand.

"Nobody lays a finger on my girl. You want some…come get some."

"Happy to oblige."

Mercite fired a series of energy blasts towards him, and Chad held his sword at ready. When they were in range, he swung and displaced the black shockwaves; the attack dissipated into nothingness.

Mars looked at him in shock. Where had Chad learned to fight like that? Then again, the first time that she'd activated her sailor powers her fighting techniques came as second nature to her.

"Chad, keep him busy!"

"Got it babe."

Chad drew the dark creature's attention by charging straight at him, using his sword for protection. Mars leapt to the side and concentrated her powers.

Mercite was determined to break Chad's defenses and lashed out with one attack after another, but the young man continued to advance on him.

"Chad!" Mars screamed. He got the message and jumped away from Mercite.

"MARS FLAME SNIPER!" Mars launched a fire arrow straight at the nega-creature, but he merely stood there with a smirk. The attack hit him and merely dispersed.

"What?"

"Tsk…tsk…tsk…Mars, don't think you can beat me with a such a weak attack."

"She's not the only one you're dealing with!" Chad shouted as he charged once again.

"No more games!" Mercite growled and blasted the young man away with a massive shockwave.

"Chad!" Mars screamed as he rolled onto the ground.

"Don't worry, you're next!" Mercite charged up his energy, and a black ball of nega-power gathered in his hand. Chad saw him preparing his attack and forced himself to his feet.

Mars looked on anxiously. She already used her strongest attack. What was she supposed to do now?

"Now die!" Mercite launched a massive lightning bolt straight at Mars' position. She crossed her arms to protect herself.

"REI!!!" She heard her name called out…then silence.

Mars uncrossed her arms when she felt no impact and opened her eyes.

"Huh!" Chad stood in front of her. He was facing Mercite, and his body was sizzling. His clothes were torn, and she could hear him breathing heavily. When he fell to his knees, Mars knew that he was hurt badly.

"Chad!" she gasped and rushed to his side. The young man just glared at Mercite with a look that could kill.

"I said that nobody touches my girl…least of all you!" Chad fell forward and only Mars' arms kept him from falling flat on his face.

"Chad…you're hurt!" she cried as she clutched him in her arms. He turned to look at her and smiled warmly.

"Better me than you." Mars wanted to deck him, but tears filled her eyes instead.

"Beat him for me…" His eyes left no room for argument, and she laid him down on the ground. Standing to her feet, her head whipped up, and her violet eyes raged with anger.

"You!" she growled. Mercite merely laughed.

"Oh…did I hurt your boyfriend? Sorry, he's the one who got in the way."

Mars was scared, angry, and frustrated all at the same time. Again, Chad had saved her life; it was just like the time that he'd saved her from Katsi's attack. She clutched her fists and felt her heart pound; no, she wouldn't let him down again.

A fire began to burn in heart; it was the fire of her love. Someone had hurt the person that she loved, and they would pay dearly.

Mars felt her power growing as she thought of her love for Chad, and everything that he had done for her. He put up with her cruel treatment, covered for her with grandpa when she came home late, and had even saved her from being raped.

"Chad…I won't let you down!" She began to glow as her power intensified.

"Oh…how amusing!" Mercite laughed.

Mars prepared herself to unleash the most powerful wave of fire that she could throw. It wasn't just the fire of Mars but the fire of her love was fueling her attack. Her eyes trained on her opponent, and her brow creased with concentration.

"Mercite…you will die! MARS FIRESTORM CONSUME!!!" Pillars of flames erupted from Mars' hands, and they enveloped the dark creature.

"It's not possible!!!" he screamed as the fire burned him. The pillars surrounded him in a circle then imploded like a vice.

"Noooooo!!!" The fire consumed Mercite's body and left nothing but charred dust floating in the air.

Mars was breathing heavily, but she still had enough strength to kneel down next to Chad and lift his head into her lap. She brushed his bangs out of his face and smiled as his eyes fluttered open.

"Did you get him?"

"Yeah…yeah, I got him," she said proudly. Chad raised his hand and cupped her cheek.

"That's my Rei." Mars laid a soft kiss on his lips and gazed at him lovingly.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just give a minute, then we can get going."

"Take your time," she sighed happily, relieved that he wasn't seriously injured.

Meanwhile, Venus and Glen had their own problems. They had run into a clone of Mercite. The only difference was that this one's name was Gormite, and he was twice as ugly. Glen was holding his own as he traded sword blows with the nega-monster.

"Glen…out of the way!" Venus ordered.

"VENUS…LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!!!" The heart shock bounced off Gormite like a fly. He nailed Venus with a shockwave attack then nailed Glen with a blow to the head. He fell next to Venus' prone figure and glared up at their enemy.

"Now, you both shall die!" Gormite fired a mass of black energy, and Glen jumped on top of Venus.

"AHHHH!!!"

Venus opened her eyes to see Glen shielding her with his body. He was shaking, and his arms looked ready to buckle. She gasped when she saw his back bleeding badly.

"You okay?" he croaked out.

"Glen!" she cried and held him close.

"Don't make me sick!" Gormite growled. Venus laid her lover's down on the ground and stood up.

"You're going down, dirt bag!" Venus remembered Serenity's words; her greatest power came from her love and the ones she loved.

Mina let her mind drift to thoughts about Glen and how much he meant to her. He was only man that she ever known who didn't see her as 'just a pretty girl'. To him, she was smart, funny, and had a great personality. He was the only one who never insulted her if she acted like an airhead; in fact, he found it quite cute.

'Glen, my love, I won't leave you now.' Her body glowed as her power became fueled by her strong emotions.

"Prepare to die, sleazezoid! VENUS METEOR STORM!!!"

What seemed like an infinite number of meteorites poured down onto Gormite's body. He cried out as one after another pelted him down to the ground. Just as he raised his head, the mother of all meteorites came down and smashed him into the ground… permanently.

Venus felt drained from using so much energy, but she turned around to check on her lover. As she held him in her arms, Glen gave her soft smile, and she kissed him, waiting for him to get his strength back.

"Ken…heads up!" Jupiter shouted. Ken ducked an energy boomerang just in time to miss being decapitated. They'd run into another nega-creature; his name was Bermite. He was fast and powerful, and neither he nor Jupiter could lay a finger on him.

Jupiter wiped her brow then ducked an energy wave. This guy never seemed to slow down, and she was getting tired with all the constant dodging.

"JUPITER ONK EVOLUTION!!!" Jupiter unleashed her spinning thunder attack in an attempt to slow down their slippery opponent. He merely swatted away the energy and continued his attack.

However, it distracted Bermite long enough for Ken to slip behind him. He grabbed the nega-creature and pulled his arms behind him.

"Now Jupiter!"

"But what about you?"

"Don't worry about me…just attack!" She charged up her energy but refused to release it. She just couldn't hurt Ken.

"I can't do it!" she cried out. Those few seconds were all Bermite needed. He slammed his elbow into Ken's stomach, then kneed him in the gut, and flung him to the ground very hard.

"KEN!" Jupiter gasped.

"Such a tragedy…" Bermite laughed.

Jupiter was shaking as her emotions took control of her. She saw her love lying their motionless on the ground, and something snapped inside her. No one messed with her man, and no one beat him up. (She was the only one who could do that!) Even though she was a tomboy, Ken had still treated her like a girl. He was the only one who wasn't scared off by the tough attitude that she put out.

Jupiter felt her powers growing as her love and need fueled her energy. Her body glowed bright green, and her eyes filled with determination.

"Take this nega-trash…JUPITER THUNDERSTORM UNLEASH!!!"

Bermite tried to dodge, but the bolts of lightning were coming from every direction. One struck him, and he wailed in pain. A mere second of non-movement cost him, and the remaining thunderbolts lit him up like a Christmas tree. He exploded in a blast of electricity and smoke.

Jupiter rushed over to check on her fallen companion. She rolled Ken over and was relieved to see his eyes open.

"Hey beautiful." She smiled at him warmly.

"Hey handsome…you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so, but I'm gonna need some massage therapy when this is over."

"I'd be happy to," Jupiter laughed as she held him close.

"Look!" Greg said as he pointed up ahead. He and Mercury had appeared to reach the end of their passage and saw some type of chamber ahead of them. Mercury scanned the apparatus, and a bright smile lit up her face.

"It's Reine…she's inside, but there appears to be some type of energy field surrounding her. It appears that there are four sources supplying the field. Three of them have been disabled, but one is still active. Until we disable that, we can't get Reine out of there," she explained.

"That's far enough." Mercury and Greg looked up to see a dark warrior descend in front of them. "Welcome…I am Lercite. You shall go no farther."

"Let Reine go!" Greg ordered.

"You're in no position to demand anything."

"How do we deactivate the energy shield?" Mercury inquired.

"Well, unfortunately, my comrades have failed; therefore, I am the only guardian left to see that this girl is not released."

"So basically, we beat you…we get Reine," Greg concluded as he drew his sword.

Lercite just sneered at the two of them and attacked. Mercury and Greg separated, and their eyes communicated their plans. Being partners in school had taught them to anticipate each other's thoughts, and it served them well now. Greg set up a distraction while Mercury prepared her attack.

"Greg!" The young man understood and drove Lercite toward her.

"MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY!!!" The pillars of water were swatted aside by Lercite, and he launched a counterattack of black lightning. Mercury just barely dodged it and rolled over next to Greg.

"Amy!" he gasped and helped her up.

"What do we do now? My strongest attack doesn't work on him," Mercury said worriedly. Greg clutched her shoulders.

"Remember what Serenity said, your greatest power comes from your love for others, and the love that others have for you." He wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Now listen to me, you can do this Amy; I know you can."

Mercury felt her heart glowing as she listened to him. She could feel their love fueling her power and readied herself to attack.

"You make me sick!" Lercite hissed.

"Amy, look out!" Greg pushed her aside as a shockwave plowed him the wall. He collapsed to ground, and Mercury's heart nearly broke.

Her energy increased a thousand fold, and she began to glow as her thoughts strayed to Greg lying there on the ground. He was the only one who made her feel like a real girl and not a bookworm. He made her feel beautiful and passionate. He found her slightest gesture to be incredibly sensual and knew of the fire inside her, just waiting to be released. She would not disappoint him.

"You're done for…MERCURY TSUNAMI ARISE!!!"

A giant tidal wave appeared out of nowhere and plowed into Lercite. He was flung against the wall, and then dumped hard into the ground by the force of the wave. The dark creature was held there as thousand of gallons of water pounded onto his body.

Greg managed to recover from Lercite's blow and rushed over to the nega-creature. He plunged his sword into its heart and finished the job, making it disappear in a puff of smoke. He turned towards Mercury and smiled. She ran into his arms, and they hugged each other tightly.

"You see…I told you that you could do it."

"It was because you were with me," she sighed.

Their attention was drawn to the dissipating energy field that fizzled away into nothing. Mercury rush ahead and opened the chamber.

"Reine?" The little girl opened her eyes to see Sailor Mercury smiling at her.

"Am I dreaming?"

"No you're not, this is real." Mercury lifted her out of the holding cell and put her down on her feet.

"Where's Sailor Moon?" Reine asked.

"We all split up to look for you," Greg explained.

"Come on, let's go find her," Mercury advised. Reine heartily agreed, and the trio continued down the passage.

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask emerged from the dark tunnel and entered a large chamber. They knew this place well; it was Beryl's throne room.

"Where are you?" Sailor Moon demanded.

"My…my…my…what manners?" the queen of the Negaverse laughed as she appeared before the couple.

"Where's Reine?"

"Straight to the point and here I thought you might want to stay awhile," Beryl laughed.

"Where is she?" Sailor Moon repeated.

"Somewhere else in my castle. What a decision? To fight me or go look for her, which will it be?"

Sailor Moon grinded her teeth together. She wanted to rip Beryl's head off, but her first priority was to find Reine.

"After I find her, I'm gonna make sure you stay dead this time!" she growled.

"Sailor Moon!" The leader of the scouts turned toward the voice that had called for her, and she saw Sailor Mercury, Greg, and most importantly Reine appear beside them.

"Reine!" Sailor Moon hugged her daughter, and the little girl buried her face in her mother's chest. Tuxedo Mask wrapped them in his arms and hugged them both.

Beryl growled angrily as she knew that her advantage was dwindling fast.

Out the darkness, the remaining Sailor Scouts and their consorts appeared besides their friends.

"You all made it!" Sailor Moon said happily.

"We did it together!" they all said at the same time. You could hear Beryl scream with disgust.

"I swear…they don't make shadow warriors like they used to anymore. Such pathetic minions…I should never have trusted them."

Sailor Moon put Reine down and glared at the evil queen.

"Now Beryl, we finish this once and for all. This is the last time you threaten me, my family, or my world."

"Pretty speech, sailor brat, can you back it up?"

"MOON CRISIS POWER!" Sailor Moon turned abruptly and saw Reine transform into Sailor Mini-Moon.

"Mini-Moon, what are you doing?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm gonna fight too." Sailor Moon shook her head.

"No, this is my fight." The other Sailor Scouts stepped forward as well.

"No, Sailor Moon, this is 'our' fight. Let's win it together."

Sailor Moon couldn't help but concede, and everyone's eyes trained on their final opponent. The scouts stepped forward with their consorts beside them.

"So, you wish to challenge me again, moon child? Try if you like, but I am not the same as our last meeting."

"Enough talking, you sleaze queen, you're about to learn what happens when you make a mother angry!"

Mini-Moon smiled at the comment and looked at Sailor Moon with a warm smile on her little face.

"Ready everyone?"

"Ready."

"Let's do it!"

Author's Notes: Sorry 'bout the cliffhanger, but I just couldn't resist. This chapter is dedicated to a friend of mine named Tara. She practically begged me to put the next chapter up, and I couldn't say no to her. I hope you enjoyed and get ready for the final battle next time.