Act Seventeen - Innocence Lost

"Saturn!"

Damian grabbed her wrist as Chibi-Usa attempted to run over to the other Neo-Soldiers. "I don't believe you were invited to this wedding, Sailor Saturn!" he growled.

"Let Chibi-Usa and Helios go, Damian," Sailor Pluto demanded. "You don't love her, so why force her to marry you? It is not her destiny!"

"I'm afraid it's too late, Pluto!" Damian declared, raising Chibi-Usa's hand to reveal the golden band he had cleverly placed on her finger while nobody was looking. "Princess Lady Serenity is finally ours, as well as the Silver Crystal. There's nothing you can do to save her."

Chibi-Usa was practically in tears as she stared at the ring on her finger, the symbol of her commitment to Damian and the Dark Kingdom. The band felt like a link in a chain, forever bounding her to the Angel of Death. Why did she ever agree to go through with this?

The look on Helios' face when he realized that Chibi-Usa was legally Damian's wife was one of infinite pain and sadness. Damian had finally won, and it he who had performed the ceremony. It did not matter that he had not finished. According to the law of the Dark Kingdom, once a couple
exchanged vows and the ring was placed on the bride's finger, they were married until death do they part.

"Guards, I command you to attack!" Jade yelled, pointing at the Sailor Neo-Soldiers.

A group of about ten to fifteen guards, who had until that time remained standing at attention, advanced toward the Neo-Soldiers as Damian scooped up his bride in his arms and headed to the door leading to his bedroom, intending to take her to his bed. Chibi-Usa screamed as she realized what he was planning to do.

Helios, his heart filled with hate, ripped off his heavy vestments and ran after Damian. He would not allow that monster to take her innocence.

"Let go of her," he shouted, taking Damian in a headlock. Chibi-Usa managed to get away, her heart pounding in her chest as she watched helplessly. She wished there was something she could do, but without her scepter, she was completely powerless.

Damian broke free and reached for his knife. The priest was a dead man, now that he had served his purpose. It would be a great pleasure to kill his rival, especially in front of his blushing bride.

"I gave you the chance for freedom, Priest Helios, but now we will finish what we began in Elysion."

He pushed Helios down and pinned him to the floor, holding the knife threateningly above his heart. Damian was too strong for him. No matter how hard Helios tried, he could not push his enemy away, so he simply closed his eyes and waited for the blade to pierce his skin, hoping Chibi-Usa realized how much he loved her.

JUPITER MIGHTY TEMPEST!

The rest of the Neo-Soldiers were having their own problems fighting the guards. Queen Jade looked on, laughing at Jupiter's pathetic attempt at an attack. The Sailor Neo-Soldiers were actually quite amusing to her, now that she was sure of victory.

"Where did Chibi-Usa-chan and Damian go?" Mars asked breathlessly as she kicked her assailant in the groin area. He fell to the ground, groaning in pain. Those high heels were lethal.

"I don't see them anywhere," Neptune replied. "Priest Helios-sama is gone, too!"

They heard a scream coming from the direction of Damian's bedroom. Sailor Uranus turned around just in time to see Helios thrown to the floor, struggling with Damian as a distraught Chibi-Usa looked on.

"Chibi-Usa-chan! Helios-sama!" he shouted, punching one of the guards in the stomach. "We have to help them!"

Uranus attempted to go after Damian, who was preparing to stab the priest, but was stopped by another of Queen Jade's soldiers. It seemed that no matter how hard they tried, the guards would just get back up and keep on fighting. Diana tried to help Uranus break free by biting the warrior's arm, but was roughly kicked aside.

"This is pointless. There has to be some way to get rid of these guys, but how?" Pluto asked aloud, stepping away from her attacker just as he attempted to choke her. They certainly were persistent. If only they could somehow get the guards to stop moving long enough to attack them… That was it!

PLUTO ICE AGE!

"Way to go, Pluto," Mars congratulated her. "Venus and I will take over from here."

MARS ETERNAL FLAME!

VENUS BROKEN HEART!

Their attacks easily managed to destroy Queen Jade's most powerful warriors. "Impossible!" the queen yelled, outraged at her defeat.

"Come on, Neo-Soldiers," Saturn said. "We got to help Chibi-Usa-chan and Priest Helios-sama!"

"Say your prayers, old man. Too bad you couldn't just mind your own business! Die!"

Helios relaxed his muscles, surrendering to his fate. My beautiful maiden, you will never know how much you mean to me, but you were always in my heart. Sweet dreams, Serenity…

"Helios, no!"

He opened his eyes at the sound of Chibi-Usa's voice. She pushed Damian's body off of him and helped Helios sit up.

"Maiden?" he asked, confused about what had happened. He was supposed to be dead, but here he was, still alive. Damian's body lay motionless on the ground beside him, surrounded by tiny pieces of glass, which he recognized as being the same color of a vase that had stood on the nightstand. Chibi-Usa must have knocked Damian out with the vase.

"I'm so happy you're alright, Helios," she whispered, resting his head on his shoulder. "Thank you for rescuing me."

The other Neo-Soldiers ran over to them, happy that everything had turned okay, especially her cousin and Diana. Chibi-Usa gently took the injured gray cat in her arms. "Diana, what happened to you?"

"I'm okay, Small Lady. It's just a couple of scratches, nothing life-threatening."

"I was so worried about you, Chibi-Usa-chan," Saturn said, wiping away her tears as they hugged. "We all were. But now that we've found you, it's time to get back the Silver Crystal. If we stick together, I know we can win!"

"I wouldn't be so certain about that, Sailor Saturn…"

They all turned around and saw Damian struggling to get up. He was still weak but determined. "Serenity and the Silver Crystal belong to us. You will never win!"

He pulled a smooth black stone out of his pocket and threw it toward the Neo-Soldiers.

DARK DEMONIC CRYSTAL, I COMMAND YOU TO RELEASE YOUR POWER!

The entire room filled with negative energy, weakening the Neo-Soldiers' powers. Helios felt a flash of déjà vu as he fell to the ground. This was the same energy that Damian used in Elysion to kidnap him and to kill Aurora.

"What's happening to us?" Jupiter asked. "My skin feels like it is on fire!"

"It's negative energy," Mercury answered, crawling over to the spot where Helios was trying to shield Chibi-Usa and Diana from the attack. "We've got to use our transforming powers to shield the princess and Priest Helios. It's our only hope!"

MERCURY POWER!

The others pulled out their transformation pens and held them high in the air.

VENUS POWER!
SATURN POWER!
MARS POWER!
NEPTUNE POWer!
URANUS POWER!
JUPITER POWER!
PLUTO POWER!

Helios' and Chibi-Usa's bodies were then covered with a bright white light, which absorbed the black light of the negative energy. Damian was in complete shock. How could these Sailor Brats manage to block his attack?

SAILOR PLANET ATTACK!

With one last scream, Damian's body crumbled into a pile of dust. The Dark Demonic Crystal fell to the ground, shattering into a million pieces.