Chapter 2

            "I," she replied, "am Shadow." With that an explosion rocked the room, sending the guest fleeing from the room. The scouts decided with a nod of their heads to transform.

            "Mercury Crystal Power"

            "Mars Crystal Power"

            "Jupiter Crystal Power"

            "Venus Crystal Power"

            The scouts rushed towards their Queen. But it was too late. Shadow waved her hands and a translucent ball encircled Mamoru and Usagi. They hovered inside the ball, which was floating high above the ground. Usagi tried to bang on the ball and a wave of electricity swept through her and her scream tore the air in two. She was thrown back and Mamoru caught her. The scouts wasted no time in attacking Shadow.

            "Jupiter Oak Evolution"

            "Mars Flame Arrow"

            The attacks rocketed through the air but as they neared Shadow she created a shield of black energy which absorbed the onslaught.

            "No..." said Jupiter, her words breaking.

            "How?"said Mars in disbelief.

            Shadow laughed a cruelly and she shook her head at the ground.

            "You merely gave me more energy. Energy I will now use," and with that she flicked her hand at the crystal ball floating in the air. Mamoru and Usagi's cries ripped through the room. The scouts winced, unable to defend their King and Queen.

            After the shock stopped Usagi called out between heavy breaths.

            "Why?...hff...Why don't you just kill us?...hff...why torture us?" Usagi said. Shadow sneared.

            "Yes, Why not take your lives. I'll tell you, revenge pure and simple." Shadow's eyes flashed with a dark flame.

            "Nooooooo!!!" A scream shattered the room.

            "Mama!!!" Small Lady came running into the ballroom followed by Luna, Artemis and Diana.

            "Small Lady don't go in there," yelled Luna. But Small Lady did not stop.

            "Mama, Mama!!" Small Lady yelled, "Are you all right? Who did this to you." Then she saw Shadow.

            "You, You," she said through tears, "You're hurting my mama," She began to run towards Shadow. Shadow turned her head away and sent a beam of black and purple energy hurtling towards Small Lady. Small Lady screamed as she flew back against the wall.

            "Small Lady!" everyone cried but Shadow. Small Lady hit the wall and fell limply to her knees and then curled in a little ball, whimpering.

            "Don't hurt her!" Usagi screamed with what was left of her strength, "Please, she did nothing. We did nothing to you. Why do you attack?"

            "I don't attack because you did something to me. I want revenge for a different reason.

            "Scouts I have seen your dreams of lost loves. I have seen how much you want your true lovers, the four proud Generals. So I give you an offer. The King and Queen's love for your loves."

            With a wave of her hands Shadow created spectrums of the generals in front of the scouts. In front of Sailor Mercury, Zoisite appeared. A tear ran down Mercury's face and Zoisite tried to brush it away but the tear rolled right through his finger.

            Jadeite was in front of Mars. He tried to hold her close but his hand passed through her body. She hung her head and looked at the ground.

            Nephrite appeared before Sailor Jupiter and tried to hug her. He just didn't touch. He was close and Jupiter, for a second, almost felt his arm.

            Kunzite appeared before Sailor Venus. He made no move except to try and push a hair away from her face. When he was unable, he looked away. In Venus' eyes tears began to well up.

            "Look," said Shadow, "I'll even give you your King."

            Everyone looked up at the crystal ball except Mars. Mamoru had come out of the ball and was floating to the ground. Usagi was still inside.

            "Usagi, no, Usagi!" yelled Mamoru, "Release her. I command you. Release her."

            "Your command's are of no importance, King. As you've seen, your wife is mine now." Shadow waved her hand and again energy jolted through Usagi's tortured body. Her screams filled the air and Small Lady's whimpers grew louder. Shadow stopped her torture and Usagi hovered in the ball limp and unconscious.

            "Small Lady," Mamoru said softly, "it's okay." He picked her up and held her close.

            "Why?" said Venus through her tears, "If we did nothing to you, what is the revenge you want."

            "I want revenge on your Queen because I once knew someone like her. I gave up my lover and any other chance of pure love. For what?" Shadow spat bitterly, "She forgot me. She is happy and I am here, a shadow, a shadow. You know her queen is not important to the royal line anymore. She has produce a heir. Small Lady is ready to take her place.

            "And look,"she motioned to Mamoru and Chibiusa, "Small Lady still has her father. You could be her mothers. The Queen has had hundreds of years with the King and her child."

            All the scouts except for Mars looked first at their Queen, still hanging unconscious, beyond their reach or help. Then they looked at Mamoru and Chibiusa. Mamoru didn't meet their eyes. He just looked down at his child. He knew it was true, with Small Lady born and almost ready to take the throne. Usagi was not important to the world.

            The scouts all stood silent. All the times they had been sad or envious or jealous of the Queen came floating to the top of their thoughts.

            "How dare you," said Mars under her breath.

            "How dare you," she said a little louder. Shadow glanced at her.

            "How dare you," yelled Mars, "How dare you tempt us with these ghosts of memories. These will-a-wisps that will blow away with the slightest breeze." And with that she stepped through Jadeite and he dissolved.

            "We will not give up," she said, "we have given our lives to the Queen. She is our best friend. She has a daughter and a husband, whom she is deeply in love with. And she should be here with them. Usagi has always wanted everyone to live and be happy. If there was a way to bring back the Generals, Usagi would have tried. But they are dead, and they had their chance. I will not give up. I will fight."

            "So will I," said Jupiter stepping through Nephrite.

            "And I," said Mercury stepping through Zoisite.

            "And I," said Venus, looking at Kunzite with pain in her eyes, and finally stepping through.

            "We will fight!" chorused the scouts.

            "Fine," said Shadow, "I'll just have to kill you all." Shadow once again sent beams of energy flying from her hand. The four scouts were slammed against the wall and fell limply to the ground, along with the cats.

            Mamoru saw the look in Shadow's eyes and turned, protecting his child from the blast which slammed him against the wall. Shadow laughed at the pain.

            "All of them defeated, and the Queen my prisoner," Shadow said with a smirk.

            Then from high up a red rose fell and struck Shadow in her chest. A purple triangle, her necklace, her life, glowed through her dress. The rose had pierced her necklace, her Achilles heel.

            "My...necklace, who?" she looked up to see her destroyers and broke into a thousand pieces and blew away with a pure breeze. Four figures dropped down, the outer scouts had arrived to save the rest.

            As the ball Usagi was in also broke and shattered, Sailor Uranus caught the Queen.

Several Days Later     

            Usagi sat in a bed in the palace's hospital. All around her bed the nine scouts sat with Chibiusa and Mamoru and the 3 cats.

            "Why did you bring us here?" said Rei, "Why did you come?"

            "We came because we felt you were in danger," said Setsuna, "A danger we knew was coming. We have waited along time for your devotion to the Queen to be tested. You all past this test."

            "If we proved our devotion, what does that mean?" said Mina. The four outer scouts smiled.

            "You will get your heart's greatest desire," said Michru. Hotaru pointed to the door.

            "I believe these are yours." The door flew open and the four Generals stepped forward. Mina, Ami, Mako and Rei jumped up. They ran towards the Generals and the Generals ran towards them. It looked like the end of the war, and for them it was.

Epilogue

            A few years later the inner scouts sat around and talked and laughed with Usagi. Mamoru and the Generals talked and chuckled and all of them looked fondly over and their beautiful wives. Luna and Artemis sat by the fireplace curled beside each other slumbering soundly. The scouts faces had a glow. The glow was a reflection from the small girls they each held in their lap.

            "Small Lady," called Usagi

            "Yes?" came the call from down the hall.

            "Can you come here?"

            "Yes mother," and in a few moments an older looking Small Lady appeared at the door with Diana at her heels. Usagi stood up.

            "Small Lady, I'd like you to meet..." she hesitated, "...four more members of your scout team."

End note: For those of you have trouble with the end bit here's some info. The Generals were brought back to life by Sailor Saturn (being the scout of Death and Rebirth).