Teresa, I just got the kind of coffee you get with the doughnut except I never get the doughnut, I just have the cup of coffee! (I would be eating doughnuts except that my dad is super picky and will only eat un-glazed cake doughnuts. How completely uncivilized. Viva la raspberry filled glazed Krispy Kremes!) So now that I've been spoiling you guys rotten with updates, I better get on with it…

A note: Just to clear something up now, in the manga, Empress Metallia ends up 'swallowing' Mamoru and Usagi after Beryl dies as opposed to the anime where Metallia fuses with Beryl to form what I affectionately refer to as 'Super Berry Kool-Aid Beryl'. (Cause she's blue…) In the manga, Venus kills Beryl dead with her sword. So I took the liberty of combining it as I did with manga/anime storylines throughout the whole story.

I've put Queen's 'Who Wants To Live Forever?" on repeat so let's get this show on the road!

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Codename wa Sailor V.

Warning: Sad, angst.

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Close Your Eyes

Chapter Twenty-Two

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How can everyone expect me to be strong and go on?

Usagi's grief was beyond tears now and she felt as though parts of herself were now missing with the deaths of the Sailor Senshi. It was taken all her strength just to put one foot in front of the other. Somewhere behind her were the others.

Rei-chan…Minako-chan…Ami-chan…Makoto-chan…

How can I fight without you all?

You've always been there for me…

"Usako…" Mamoru said the name as though unsure what her reaction would be. It hadn't been any easier to walk away from Rei for him then it had been for Usagi. He just wasn't crying as openly.

He remembered the look in Rei's eyes as she told him to protect the princess. She was entrusting the task to him. If she hadn't thought him capable of protecting Usagi, she wouldn't have given up her own life to make sure they reached the Dark Kingdom. That was the way Rei was, thinking of how to protect Usagi best.

It was hard to leave one of my few friends behind…

Rei…I hope you'll forgive me.

"I hate this place!" Usagi suddenly wailed, looking like she just couldn't go on anymore. They had gotten into the entrance of the Dark Kingdom and it seemed to be an endless tunnel of darkness. "It's dark and cold and I just don't care!"

"Usako, we have to keep—" Mamoru was cut off by a hysterical Usagi.

"We have to keep going! Everyone keeps saying that! I have to keep going and leave people behind so they can die! I don't want people to die for me! I wish I wasn't the princess! I wish I wasn't a Sailor Senshi!" Usagi fell to her knees, opening crying. "Why does everyone expect me to be strong?! I'm too weak to do this! I just want to go home and I want everyone to be alive again!"

"Look at you, you selfish, weak little girl." The mature sneer of a woman echoed as they heard someone walking towards them in the darkness. "If you want to go home so badly, all you have to do is give me the Ginzuishou." Mamoru tensed immediately at the sound of that voice.

"Beryl." His voice was like cold steel.

And out of the shadows, a tall woman with red hair that flowed down to her hips walked towards them. She had fangs and pointed ears, marking her as something like a youma. Mamoru knew that once she had been human. But that was long ago.

Usagi had stopped her emotional tirade to stare at Beryl, half fearing the power of this formidable woman.

"Endymion." Beryl's smile widened at him, almost indulgently so. "I see that our power over you has been broken."

"I'm not your puppet anymore if that's what you mean." Mamoru's hand gripped Minako's sword. "You don't look the same as you did." In his memories, in Endymion's memories, Beryl had been a dark-haired young woman with pale eyes.

"Oh." Beryl's hand went up, her long, slim fingers going into her red hair to twist a few strands. "When the weak seal that Queen Serenity put on Metallia and I was broken, I was reborn with more power than before and it changed my appearance. But surely you did not come here just to reminisce about what was…" Usagi felt something boiling in her mind at the sight of this woman.

This is the woman…this is the woman that caused the deaths of the others…

Who caused the fall of the Moon Kingdom…

"Good-bye…my daughter…"

I would have been able to know you mother…

"You…you…" Usagi couldn't control her words. "YOU GIVE THEM BACK!" She stood as she yelled it at the red-haired woman who only raised her eyebrows in response. "Give them back to me!"

"Your friends?" Beryl guessed, not looking perplexed at all. "I could bring them back to life for you, if you give me the Ginzuishou."

"Usako, don't." Mamoru took a step in front of her. "She's lying."

"But…I want them back…" Usagi looked torn.

"How could you accuse me of lying Endymion?" Beryl's eyes narrowed. "You're the one who deceives others!"

"Beryl, I never meant to deceive you." Mamoru's brow furrowed. "I told you I didn't love you."

"Oh yes, I forgot, the precious Tsuki no Hime!" Beryl snapped angrily and turned her vicious glare on Usagi. "Worth more to you than honor or your kingdom or your loyalty!"

"Beryl, you and I both know you weren't angry at me for breaking the laws about communication between the Earth and the Moon." Mamoru seemed just as angry as she was. "Usako, whatever you do, you can't give her the Ginzuishou."

"If she gives me the Ginzuishou, I'll revive her friends." Beryl stated. Usagi hesitated. Should she give Beryl the Ginzuishou? To have her friends back?

"Remember what Minako said." Mamoru said quietly and Usagi froze completely.

"I'll…I'll never forgive you if you do…"

Minako-chan…

This woman is evil. She's taken everything from me. Why would she help me now?

"I won't." Usagi answered, even though part of her longed to say yes, just to see her friends again. "I won't do it. Minako-chan said not to…"

"Fine." Beryl's face tightened angrily. "I'm glad the Doom and Gloom Girls didn't kill you, it means that I will get to do it." She held out her hand and a sword formed in it.

Usagi had a horrible flashback of Beryl, a sword about to bear down on her, and Endymion jumping in the way so that the sword ran him through instead of her.

Is it going to happen all over again?

Beryl rushed forward and so did Mamoru, her sword made contact with Minako's sword. Usagi watched fearfully, not knowing what would happen now.

Is it the same as before?

Dying to protect me…I'm not worth people's lives!

"You can't win Endymion." Beryl growled angrily at him as their swords were pushed together and they were both hoping for the other's sword to break. "And you won't win with your precious moon princess and your Ginzuishou. Stop this now and stand at my side."

"I would rather die." Mamoru told her, pushing with both his arms and Beryl stumbled back a few steps.

"I would rather have you dead then in the arms of that twit!" Beryl quickly went back to fighting with him. She knew that he was concentrating on his fight with her and not so much on the princess.

She turned suddenly, rushing towards Usagi, this time with no way for Endymion to get in her way. She would kill the woman who had taken Endymion away from her. Who had stolen the only light in her life.

You had your precious palace and your Ginzuishou…

Why did you have to have him too?

She sucked air in sharply as she felt a horrible pain in her abdomen. Looking down, she saw a glittering white sword with blood covering it sticking out of her stomach.

"No…" She whispered in disbelief. "It can't be…"

This was it for her. This was oblivion spread before Beryl.

Endymion…

All I ever wanted…was you…

The last thing she saw before death took her was Usagi staring down at her with her wide blue eyes. She hated the princess so much, why was she worth so much more than Beryl?

"She's…dead." Usagi couldn't believe it. "But…where's Metallia?"

As if on cue, a horrible screaming sound came echoing through the cave. It sounded as though thousands of people were screaming at once.

"Usako!" Mamoru ran, pushing them both to the ground. But even as they clung to each other, Usagi knew that the terrible thing coming would find them. Blackness swallowed them whole and she couldn't do anything at all as she squeezed her eyes shut.

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"Usagi-chan! Wake up!"

Minako-chan? But it can't be you…

"Usako, wake up!" Mamoru's voice made her eyes open very slowly. All around them was pulsating darkness and she felt evilness all around her, as though they were trapped in a bubble of evil.

"Huh? Where are we?" Usagi asked as she looked around this dark place in confusion.

"You're inside of me, princess." A horrible, unearthly voice told her, echoing painfully in the walls. "Now I hold the power of the Ginzuishou in my body. I will reclaim the world as Empress Metallia."

"We're inside Metallia?!" Usagi asked in a shocked voice. How were they supposed to get out of here?! "We have to seal her away!"

"Only you have the power to do that." Mamoru told her importantly. Usagi looked down unsurely.

"Do I really have the power to stop her?" Usagi asked in a doubtful voice.

"You can. I know you can." Mamoru grabbed her hands so that that he held them close to his chest. "You said you aren't strong…that's not true. You have the strongest heart of all of us. That's why you're the only one who can fight Metallia."

A strong heart…

Usagi brought out the Ginzuishou; it glowed brightly in her hands. Metallia made a noise that made it clear she was nervous. The brightness intensified and in a flash, Usagi's outfit changed from her sailor fuku to the beautiful white dress she had always worn as Princess Serenity. A crescent moon shined on her forehead.

Mamoru's tuxedo transformed into his armor and sword. He put his hands on Usagi's shoulders, his fingers tightening in a comforting way. He had to believe in her, had to believe in her ability. And he did.

A shining barrier went around them and suddenly they were picked up in a white bubble, bursting forth from Metallia and going into the sky, to turn and face the evil empress. Metallia was a huge black thing with a crown of some sort on what was clearly her face.

She opened her mouth and a stream of dark energy came out at the same time that a bright white light shot from the Ginzuishou. The two different energies hit each other and seemed to be trying to fight their way towards the intended target. Usagi strained at the effort.

Can I do this?

Can I really seal Metallia away?

"The heart full of love and does not surrender to sorrow can make the seal strong."

But with the others dead…how can I not be full of sorrow?

Then she felt a hand cover her own. She opened her eyes and stared at a transparent Rei, smiling at her in a proud sort of way.

"Do you think that even though we're dead, we're going to leave you?" Rei asked her and Usagi's eyes began to fill with tears of happiness. These were her friends, her true friends. Another hand covered Rei's.

"Don't be sad." A transparent Makoto told her.

"Stay strong, Usagi-chan." Ami's hand covered Makoto's.

"You have to win, for everyone that has suffered at the hands of the Dark Kingdom." Minako's hand covered Usagi's. Usagi saw that Minako's other hand was being held onto by a ghostly Kaitou.

"Don't think we're going to let you fight on your own Endymion!" Mamoru turned his head to see the Shittenou, Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoicite, and Kunzite standing there. Jadeite put a hand on his arm and they all followed suit, covering Jadeite's hand.

"But you're…" Mamoru didn't understand. "You were…"

"We regained our memories as your former guardians." Kunzite explained. "I hope you'll accept our help, prince." Mamoru nodded, his face lighting up in a smile.

He then turned towards Usagi who smiled back at him. All their friends and old companions around them, it seemed hard to be sad.

I won't give in to sorrow!

I have to defeat Metallia!

A great burst of light came from the Ginzuishou and obliterated the dark energy that Metallia had sent towards her, hitting Metallia directly. There was a screaming and then a large booming noise as an explosion result from the hit. The light spread, engulfing them all, even Usagi and Mamoru.

Usagi saw the Ginzuishou shatter before her eyes.

This is it…I've used the Ginzuishou's power…

I'm going to die now…

And be with the others…

I just wish…

The light was all around, blinding her like a thousand suns. She didn't know how she could keep her eyes open with the brightness blinding her. She felt Mamoru's hand squeeze her own one last time.

I just wish everyone could be happy. That's all I ever wanted…

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The End!

Omigod, you should have seen your face. (Not that I can see it but I can imagine what it looks like.) That was the last chapter buuuuuuuut, there's an epilogue! Yeah, I would never leave you guys hanging like that. How cruel would that be??? It's funny, while writing this chapter, I kept listening to that Queen song and when it go to a big swell of "Who wants to live forever?", was exactly when I wrote Rei's part. It fit really well! Anyways…please review!