Alex stepped into the hall, awaiting his announcement into the ballroom. As soon as he walked in, he saw a beautiful angel standing before the doors, waiting for his arm.
Rena heard someone enter and turned to see who it was. She wore an older gown, one designed in the fashionable style of 1800's England. The main color was a soft blooming pink, like that of an early morning sunrise, and it was fit for a queen. The main of the dress was fashioned of crushed velvet, the bodice snug around her torso until the flare of her hips. The heavy skirts brushed against the floors below but were slit down the front to reveal the many layers of white lace that lay beneath them, and the sleeves of the gown melded into translucent gauze just past her shoulder to float down nearly to the floor themselves. What was more, the whole of the gown was also dusted with flecks of real diamonds, so that the entire thing shimmered and sparkled beautifully should she make the slightest turn. And finally, the square-cut, low-scooped décolleté was lined with real, freshly cut red roses, pinned in place and exuding their own natural perfume.
The top layer of her hair was braided and pinned up to form a band that seemed to hold the rest of her raven locks back. The remaining hair had been partially curled and flowed smoothly down her back in large ringlets.
Alex just stood there, shocked at the beauty he beheld. He wore a simple white suit and tie with white dress shoes. To Rena, he looked quite handsome and regal.
"You look beautiful," Alex complimented so quietly that Rena almost didn't hear him.
"Thank you," Rena said while Alex walked over to stand beside her.
"Happy birthday," he whispered into her ear. Just then, the doors opened and they heard the announcement.
"I proudly present Princess Serenity of Crystal Tokyo and Prince Alexandrite of the Dark Kingdom."
There was a loud applause from all present and many 'happy birthday's as they passed people on their way further into the ballroom. Rena was greeted by several of the scout's son's; each had their arm on a pretty girl. Alex escorted her to the throne and released her arm. Helios gave his daughter a hug and remarked at how much she had grown into a beautiful young woman. Endymion agreed wholeheartedly and there was even a tear shed by her mother and grandmother.
The music began and Rena gave the first dance to her father. The second dance was given to her grandfather but after that, it was Alex's turn. He took her into his arms and they danced across the floor like they were on air and there was no one else around them. At one point later in the evening, Alex led her out onto a vacant balcony.
Rena looked up at the stars, the light from the moon shining off her gown and hair making it look like she glowed. "I wanted to give you your present."
Rena looked over at him, a smile on her face, "really? What is it?"
Alex reached into a pocket and drew out a black velvet box with a red bow on top. "I hope you like it."
She took the box in her hand and slowly opened it to reveal a beautiful necklace and bracelet. "It's beautiful," she exclaimed reaching in and removing the bracelet. They were gold and the necklace had the symbols of the planets all around it except for the Earth and the moon, and in the front was a lovely, many-faceted diamond. The bracelet had the symbols for the Earth and the moon alternating around it.
"Thank you so much," she said, gently replacing the jewelry in the box and carefully closing it. She reached up and gently kissed his cheek causing him to blush and lower his head. She smiled at him, placing the box into a hidden pocket of the gown, and said, "let's get back."
"All right," he said, and led her back into the ballroom.
Just as they approached the center of the room, several girls near the balcony they had just vacated, screamed. Looking over, they saw a large black shadow looming over the people. They scrambled to get away just as the scouts transformed and began surrounding the thing.
Alex stood in front of Rena and they began trying to make their way over to the throne and their parents. The guys had gotten near Rena and they also stood between her and the danger.
There was a loud explosion and the scouts were thrown through the air just as something was thrown from the shadow between Alex and the other guys.
The explosion from the object caused the guys to be thrown away from Rena. Alex was thrown at Rena causing them both to fall to the ground in a heap.
The shadow made its way into the center of the ballroom and they could finally make out a woman floating cross-legged in the air. She wore a black cloak with a black hood and she sat before a large crystal ball seated on a golden stand floating in front of her.
"What do you want?" Queen Serenity hollered.
"Revenge," the woman said and looked down to see Alex trying to help Rena to rise and get out of the way.
The woman raised her hand and long shards of sharp crystal shot out of her hand at the two. Alex lunged at Rena and threw them both away from the attack but it caught him in the shoulder and Rena's gown was torn when the shards pierced the fabric.
Alex cried out in pain and they heard Diamond and Emerald shout to him, "Alex!"
Rena saw the blood as he leaned on her for support. It soaked through his shirt and jacket and onto her dress making it an even darker shade of red. Tears made their way down her cheeks as she cried at the pain on his face, "Alex? Are you all right?"
"I'll be fine," he whispered, "get away. You have to save yourself."
"I can't leave you here," she said, more tears coursing down her cheeks. "Why are you doing this?" She shouted at the woman in black, hovering above them.
"Revenge!" She shouted and fired a beam from the crystal she held.
Using all of her strength, Rena pushed Alex out of the way and jumped away just in time for the beam to sear her sleeve and arm with it's heat. The scouts and the boys couldn't seem to get to the two of them as the woman had somehow erected a force field around their position. They were hollering and screaming for the woman to stop but they could do nothing.
Queen Serenity had tears in her eyes as she watched her granddaughter being thrown about in such a matter. "Face me!" she hollered, "she is just a child. I'm the one you want."
"I want you to suffer," the woman said as she unleashed another attack that Rena just barely dodged.
Rena's lovely gown was now nothing but tatters hanging from her body. Alex wasn't much better but the blood flow at his shoulder had yet to stop. He was still in much pain but his main concern was keeping Rena alive.
The woman had another attack aimed directly at Rena but she was too tired to do anything. Alex made one last lunge and positioned himself to take the brunt of the attack. Rena screamed as she saw Alex hit and he fell against her, his head resting on her shoulder as he struggled to remain conscious.
"Run," he whispered to her with his last breath and promptly collapsed into unconsciousness. "Alex! Alex, please wake up!" She called to him to no avail. She could still feel his breath against her neck and knew he was still alive.
"I'll just have to kill him to get to you," the woman said, an evil smirk making her lips curve.
She aimed a final attack directly at the pair and fired . . .
Queen Serenity, King Endymion, King Diamond, Queen Emerald, Rini, Helios, the scouts, the generals, and their son's hollered out, tears in everyone's eyes. Rena screamed, her eyes squeezing shut as the light from the attack approached them.
Suddenly, a bright glow engulfed the two. Alex was placed upon the floor carefully and Rena rose and stood before the attack. It was deflected and the woman in black yelled in frustration.
Everyone stood staring at Rena for now she had changed. Upon her forehead was the symbol for the royal family of the moon and the glow that surrounded her came from two crystals that were floating between her outstretched hands. She now wore, not the tatters of her once beautiful gown, but her princess' dress. Her hair had been put into the two buns that were a trademark for the women in the royal family.
Her eyes opened and everyone could see that she was not completely aware of what had happened. She looked directly into the face of the woman in black, who was also in shock, and said, "Moon Golden Crystal Power!"
The moon crystal and the golden crystal she held projected a light that appeared to hurt the woman and she backed away until she was out of the palace's ballroom.
"I'll be back!" She yelled and promptly disappeared in a flash of black smoke.
Rena's eyes closed again and she floated back to the ground, her hands at her sides, and the crystals disappeared back to where they had come from. She kneeled on the ground beside Alex and promptly fainted, her head falling onto his uninjured shoulder.
When the woman had disappeared, the shield had gone with her and everyone was now able to reach the two.
"Wow," was all that was said as they looked Rena over for injuries and then called Ami over to check if Alex was all right to move.
"She really takes after her grandparents," Lita remarked.
"She has the potential to be the most powerful force in the solar system and possibly the galaxy," Trista said, causing the others to look at her hopefully. "Some how that woman was able to block her activity from me for some time. I am only now getting what she has been doing."
"What's that?" Amara asked.
"I will explain later," Trista said as Alex and Rena were taken away to the medical wing of the palace.
The entire assembly was gathered in the medical bay. The boys were angry with themselves for failing to guard Rena as they were supposed to while the scouts were trying to comfort them.
Trista stood in the middle of them, ready to explain. She began with, "after the silver millennium, the ruins of the cities had not been disturbed until now. That woman journeyed to each planet in the system and removed each of the power crystals. These crystals were shown to each of you when you were children and became a part of the princess' court. They gave you the powers that you each have today.
"That woman, who I now know is of some relation to Wiseman, has taken the crystals of all of the planets except Earth and the Moon."
Serenity suddenly spoke up, "that's why she was here. She wants the Silver Crystal of the moon and the Golden Crystal of Earth."
"Yes, your highness. Fortunately, it appears that together, they are too powerful for her to handle."
"How is it that Rena used them both and is still alive?" Ami asked once she had finished checking Rena and Alex over for serious injuries.
Alex, who had lost a considerable amount of blood and was now in critical condition, had to be monitored constantly. Rena on the other hand had sustained only minor abrasions and only had to recover from the energy loss that occurred when she had used the two crystals simultaneously.
"She is a combination of a Moon Princess, an Earth Prince, and the High Priest of Elysian. It is only logical that she should be quite powerful." Charon informed the group, surprising all but Trista and Graphite as he spoke.
They were all deep in thought when they heard a muffled moan emanate from one of the beds. Rini and Helios stood on one side of the bed while Ami stood on the other, checking the vital stats. Serenity and Endymion stood at the foot of the bed, worry evident on everyone's faces.
Rena stirred and slowly opened her eyes. The light was harsh but she soon adjusted and noticed her Aunt Ami holding her wrist in her hand. Turning her head away from the light, she met the worried faces of her mother and father. She smiled a little at them and opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out.
"Rena," she heard her aunt say, "how are you feeling?"
"Tired," she managed to choke out.
"Your going to be just fine but you have to take it easy for a few days and get plenty of rest." With that, Ami moved away from the bed allowing Diamond and Emerald to step up in her place.
"What happened? Why am I here?" Rena asked once she had woken up and was sure her voice wouldn't give out on her.
"You don't remember?" Helios asked.
"No," she said, "where is Alex?" She asked, not seeing him in the crowd of faces around the room.
Helios moved aside and allowed her to see a nearby bed, which had Alex lying in it. He was extremely pale and had bandages wrapped around his form. He was hooked to an IV that was pumping some sort of liquid into his system and the sight of it made Rena want to cry.
"What happened?" she asked in a quiet voice that seemed to be holding back the tears that threatened to spill.
"He protected you from that woman that attacked." Diamond said, sorrow in his voice but a small amount of pride in his eyes.
"What woman?" she asked, turning away from the sight of Alex to regard Diamond.
"We'll explain everything later, once you get better," Endymion said, beginning to usher everyone out of the room.
Once everyone had left, Rena stayed awake for some time just watching the steady rise and fall of Alex's chest as if making sure that he would be fine. After a while, it seemed to hypnotize her and she finally dozed off into a dream filled sleep.
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