WHEN HEROES COLLIDE

Part Five-Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Another day has passed since Cye and Sailor Mercury defeated Seadra. It was early in the afternoon, and Mina was lying on the couch, reading a magazine she brought with her. She was reading a romantic short story when a dark shadow covered her magazine and a familiar muffled voice asked, "What are you reading?"

Mina turned around and saw Serena, who was obviously talking with her mouth full. "Just one of those trashy love stories, Serena."

"Mm- hmm," Serena nodded, with her mouth still full.

"What are you eating?" Mina asked.

Serena swallowed before replying, "Lita made some of her chocolate chip muffins!" Mina noticed a half-eaten muffin in Serena's hand. "You want one?" she asked.

"No thanks, Serena," Mina replied. "I'm not hungry."

"Oh, goody! More for me!" Serena exclaimed as she took another bite out of her muffin.

"You'll probably have to save some for the guys," Mina reminded Serena as she continued reading her magazine. Serena whimpered loudly when Mina reminded her about the guys. Just then, the front door opened.

"I smell chocolate chip muffins!" Kento announced loudly as he entered the living room, followed by Cye, Ryo, and Sage.

"Where have you guys been?" Mina asked curiously as she closed her magazine.

"We've been practicing some of our moves," Ryo explained as he took a seat next to Mina on the couch. "Where's Mia?"

"She had to take Rowen to the library, and to get some groceries, too," Serena told him before she finished off her muffin.

"That's it! I can't stand it anymore!" Kento exclaimed as he headed for the kitchen.

"Hey, no fair!" Serena whined as she ran after him.

"Want me to get some for us before our friend, the Bottomless Pit, eats them all?" Cye asked sarcastically as he headed toward the kitchen door.

"No need to do that, Cye," he heard Lita announce. Cye quickly opened the kitchen door for Lita. She quickly hobbled into the living room, using the crutch that Sage found for her yesterday as support.

"Thanks, Cye," Lita told him as he closed the door for her. She was carrying a plate with seven chocolate chip muffins in her free hand. Lita put the plate down on the coffee table in front of the couch. "Go ahead and help yourselves, guys," Lita insisted.

"Thanks, Lita," Ryo replied as he, Cye, and Sage each grabbed a muffin from the plate. Ryo and Mina both moved over so Lita could sit down on the couch.

"How's you ankle doing?" Sage asked curiously.

"Much better now," Lita admitted. "I don't think I'm gonna need this crutch anymore."

Just then, White Blaze entered the living room, with Rini riding on his back. "Hi!" she greeted as she slid off of White Blaze's back.

"Hey, Rini," Mina greeted. "Did you have fun with White Blaze?"

"Uh-huh," Rini admitted as she nodded her head. Her big bright red eyes eyed the plate of muffins on the table. "Can I have one, please?" she asked.

"Of course you can have one, Rini," Lita admitted. The pink pig-tailed girl smiled as she grabbed one of the muffins with her small hands and took a bite out of it.

Just then, the front door opened, and Rowen and Mia entered the living room. They were each carrying two paper bags full of groceries.

"Hey, everyone! We're back," Rowen announced.

"Hey, Rowen. Hey, Mia," Sage greeted.

"Here, Mia. I'll get those for you," Ryo offered as he stood up and took the bags from Mia.

"Thanks, Ryo," she admitted as she took a seat on the couch where Ryo was sitting earlier.

As Ryo and Rowen headed to the kitchen door, Cye warned jokingly, "Be extremely careful, Rowen. Kento's still in there." Rowen laughed a bit as he and Ryo entered the kitchen.

Suddenly, there was a loud beeping noise. "What was that?" Mia asked.

"It's my pocket tracer," Rini explained as she pulled the tracer out of her pocket and looked at the screen. "It picked up the Celestial Stone of Earth!"

"Could I see that, Rini?" Mina asked. Rini nodded as she walked over to the couch and held up the tracer, so Mina could see. On the screen was a solid white blip and a blinking orange blip, which were quite a distance away from each other.

"How can you bring up a map on this thing?" Mina asked. Rini pressed a button next to the screen and handed the tracer to Mina. Now, there was a small map of Japan on the screen, with the white blip over Toyama and the orange blip further down the island.

"Hey, Mia, do you recognize this place?" Mina asked, handing the tracer to Mia.

She looked at the screen and replied, "It looks like that Celestial Stone you mentioned is located at Mt. Dojo National Park."

"Hey, Sage? Isn't that the same place where you and Mia found Kento?" Cye asked.

"It sure is," Sage muttered out loud.

"We better get going," Mina announced as she got up from the couch.

"Hold on a minute, Mina," Mia interrupted as she stood up. "Did you bring a coat with you?"

"No, I didn't," Mina admitted, shaking her head.

"Well, you can borrow mine," Mia told her as they started to head upstairs. "It can get pretty cold up at Mt. Dojo."

As the two girls headed upstairs, Sage shouted, "I'll take them to Mt. Dojo, Mia!"

"Thanks, Sage," Mia shouted back.

"Hey, Kento!" Cye shouted. "We just picked up that Celestial Stone of Earth!"

"All right!" Kento exclaimed as he entered the living room, followed by Ryo, Rowen, and Serena. "Let's go kick some Dark Moon butt!"

"Hold on a minute, Kento," Sage interrupted. "We have to wait for Mina."

"Aww, man!" Kento complained as he plopped down on the couch.

"Umm...Sage?" Lita started to ask as she stood up. "Would it be all right if I come with you?"

"I don't know..." Sage muttered out loud.

"Come on, Sage!" Lita complained. "I just want to come for the ride. I've been holed up in this house for a few days, and I could use the fresh air."

"Well, all right," Sage finally agreed.

"Okay, guys, I'm ready," Mina announced as she came downstairs, followed by Mia. She was wearing Mia's yellow snow boots and orange snow pants. Mina was starting to put Mia's orange winter coat on over her yellow sweater when she reached the living room.

"Finally! Let's go!" Kento retorted as he stood up and headed for the front door.

As Kento left the house, Mina asked, "Not to offend Kento or anything, but what's with him?"

"Nothing, Mina," Cye confessed. "He's just itching for a battle, that's all. Besides food, fighting is something Kento lives for."

"Sounds like someone I know," Mina muttered under her breath, so Lita wouldn't overhear.

"Well, Kento's obviously ready to go, so we should get going, too," Sage admitted. Mia handed him the keys to the jeep before he left the house, followed by Mina and Lita...

"Oh, wow! It sure is beautiful up here!" Mina commented as she looked out of the window at the snow-covered mountains.

"Yeah, whatever," she heard Kento grumble out loud, who was wearing his orange and white sub-armor. He leaned forward to the space in between the two front seats, where Sage and Lita were sitting. "Are we there yet, Sage?" he asked.

"Calm down, Kento. We're almost there," Sage told him. Kento groaned loudly as he sat back down next to Mina.

"What is with you, Kento?" Mina asked. "Do you like to fight or something?"

"Hey! I happen to be the strongest Ronin Warrior there is!" Kento boasted. "My armor is of the Hardrock!"

"Did you say 'Hardrock' or 'Hard-Head?' "Mina muttered out loud. This comment caught Kento by surprise.

"Just what do you mean, Mina?" he asked angrily.

"Well, Kento of Hard-Head seems to fit you better than Kento of Hardrock!" Mina retorted.

"Well, I wouldn't talk, Mina," Kento retorted. "What makes you think you're a warrior? You're nothing but a life-size Barbie doll!"

"Humph!" Mina retorted angrily as she crossed her arms and turned away from Kento.

"Stop it, you two!" Sage interrupted.

"You should be concentrating on what's more important: finding that Earth Stone," Lita added.

"Whether you like it or not, you two are gonna have to work together," Sage pointed out as he made a left turn in the road.

"What? No way!" Kento and Mina complained simultaneously. They looked at each other for a moment, then quickly turned away from each other in disgust.

"There's no way I'm working with her!" Kento retorted.

"At least we agree on one thing, Kento. This is definitely not going to work!" Mina retorted.

"Knock it off, guys! We're here," Sage announced as he pulled the jeep over to the side of the road and put it in park. The two Ronin Warriors and the two Sailor Scouts climbed out of the red jeep and looked at the cluster of mountains spread out before them.

"Whoa! Looks like you guys have your work cut out for you," Lita muttered out loud.

"Don't worry, Lita. Rini's pocket tracer will lead us to the Earth Stone, no problem," Mina told her as she took the tracer out of her coat pocket and turned it on.

As Mina studied the map on the computer screen, Kento whispered loudly, "Do I seriously have to work with her, Sage?"

"For the last time, Kento, yes," Sage replied wearily. "You may be the strongest out of us Ronin Warriors, but don't forget, you're dealing with something from the future, something much more dangerous and stronger than you claim you are. You're gonna need Mina's help."

"Come on, Sage!" Kento pleaded. "Can't you just take her back to Mia's? I can handle it by myself."

"Cool your jets, Kento," Sage retorted. "Just don't do anything you'll end up regretting."

"Ready to go, Sage?" Lita asked, who was back in the front passenger seat of Mia's jeep.

"You bet," Sage replied as he got back in the driver's seat.

As he started the engine, Lita shouted, "Good luck, Mina!"

"Thanks, Lita! I'll keep in touch!" Mina shouted as the jeep pulled away from the entrance of Mt. Dojo National Park.

"Are you ready or what?" she heard Kento ask rudely.

Mina took a deep breath to calm herself before replying, "Yes, I am, Kento."

"So...which way?" Kento asked impatiently.

Mina looked down at the tracer for a moment. "This way," she replied as she walked forward, followed by Kento.

Great! Now I'm stuck with her! Kento thought.

Great! Now I'm stuck with him! Mina thought.

"Hey! Why did you stop?" Kento asked. Mina was looking up at a high, steep cliff right in front of them.

"That's a long way up," she remarked. "We're gonna have to find a way around it."

"Looks like I'll meet you at the top," Kento remarked as he bent down and jumped high into the air. He flew halfway up the cliff and used his hands to grab the wall of the cliff. Using his own physical strength and the strength of his sub-armor, Kento made it to the top of the cliff.

"Hey! What about me?" Mina yelled up to him.

Kento looked down at her and chuckled. "What about you?" he retorted as he started to walk away.

"Where do you think you're going, Kento?" Mina asked. "You need me to find that Celestial Stone of Earth!"

Kento looked back down at her and replied, "I can find that stone without your help. Besides, I don't need any help from a girl!" Mina was shocked to hear those words come out of Kento's mouth. "You have a choice, Mina: either wait for me to come back, or if you hurry, you can probably catch a ride from Sage and Lita!" With that, Kento walked away from the cliff, with no intentions on coming back.

"Oh, no, you don't, Kento!" Mina muttered angrily as she walked toward a steep path on the side of the cliff.

I'm not leaving here until I find that Earth Stone, and there's no way I'm waiting for you to come back for me! she thought to herself. With determination burning in her bright blue eyes, Mina hiked up the steep trail as fast as she dared...

Meanwhile, unknown to Kento and Mina, Topaz has been watching their entire argument through his crystal ball. "Hmm, how quaint," he muttered sarcastically to himself. "The two warriors are having a little quarrel. Perhaps I can use this to my advantage."

"What's going on, Topaz?" He looked up from his crystal ball at Amethyst, who had just entered the room.

"It's Kento of Hardrock and Sailor Venus," Topaz explained.

"Don't tell me. They're after the Celestial Stone of Earth," Amethyst muttered out loud.

"Afraid so, sister," Topaz admitted.

"May I remind you, brother, that there are only two Celestial Stones left that are not fully charged," Amethyst reminded Topaz. "If Kento of Hardrock and Sailor Venus find the Celestial Stone of Earth, we'll only have one left."

"Perhaps that won't happen," Topaz revealed.

"And why not?" Amethyst asked.

"From what I've seen, it appears that Kento of Hardrock and Sailor Venus have gotten into an argument," Topaz explained. "Because of this fight, they have gone their separate ways to find the Celestial Stone of Earth. Neither of them will be able to destroy the creature from the Earth Stone on their own. Thanks to their little dispute, Kento of Hardrock and Sailor Venus refuse to work together."

"Still, there's a slight chance they may be able to pull this off," Amethyst muttered thoughtfully. "It's hard to tell with those do-gooders."

"Fortunately, I have a plan to make certain that they don't," Topaz announced as he reached down to the floor and picked up a leather pouch.

"Isn't that the same sand you used for creating those sand creatures?" Amethyst asked.

"No, this is different," Topaz explained as he took out a handful of blue sand from the pouch and showed it to her. "This blue sand has a different effect than the black sand I used before. The black sand can make inanimate objects come to life, whereas the blue sand can help control living creatures."

"What do you plan on using that blue sand on?" Amethyst asked curiously as Topaz searched for something on his crystal ball.

"Just take a look for yourself, Amethyst," Topaz announced. Amethyst looked into her brother's crystal ball and saw the pack of wild wolves roaming around in a forest.

"Excellent choice, Topaz," she admitted as she stepped back. Topaz sprinkled some of the blue sand over his crystal ball and watched the wolves as the blue sand rained on them. As soon as the sand made contact with the wolves, their eyes glowed an unnatural fiery red.

"They are now under our control," Topaz announced. "Those wolves now have only one objective: destroy Kento of Hardrock and Sailor Venus on sight!" He and Amethyst chuckled sinisterly as the leader of the pack let out a long howl and lead the other wolves toward the mountains...

Meanwhile, back at Mia's house, Serena, Rae, Amy, Lita, Rini, Luna, and Artemis were in the living room, waiting patiently for their friend to contact them.

"I don't get it," Lita muttered out loud. "Mina promised me that she would keep in touch with us."

"Perhaps she's too occupied at the moment to contact us," Amy suggested.

"That could be it, Lita," Rini admitted. "Don't worry. She'll call us when she gets the chance."

At that moment, a beeping sound came from Serena. "Hey! That's probably Mina now!" she exclaimed as she took out her pocket communicator from her pocket and turned it on. The other girls and the two cats looked over Serena's shoulders as Mina's image appeared on the mini-screen.

"Hey, Mina!" Serena greeted.

"Hi, guys!" Mina greeted cheerfully.

"Mina, have you and Kento located the Celestial Stone of Earth yet?" Artemis asked.

"Not yet, Artemis," Mina admitted. "I'm getting pretty close to it, though."

"Mina, where is Kento?" Luna asked.

"You're not gonna believe this, but Kento ditched me!" Mina announced. The five girls and two cats gasped when they heard this news.

"Why would he do something like that?" Amy asked.

"Kento is so stubborn," Mina muttered angrily. "He said that he could find the Earth Stone by himself, and that he didn't need any help from a girl! He's such a jerk!"

"Who's a jerk?" Sage asked as he, Ryo, Cye, and Rowen entered the living room.

"Apparently, Kento is, according to Mina," Amy replied.

"And why is that?" Cye asked. "Mina just told us that Kento ditched her at Mt. Dojo," Rae replied. The four boys gasped when they heard this news.

"What?" Sage replied. "I warned him before we left not to do anything he'll regret."

"I don't get why Kento would abandon Mina at a time like this," Cye admitted.

"Did something happen that we should know about, Sage?" Ryo asked.

"Well, Kento and Mina got into a little fight on the way to Mt. Dojo," Sage admitted. "I didn't think he would do something like this."

"Well, he did, Sage," Mina replied over Serena's communicator.

"Could I see that for a minute, Serena?" Sage asked.

"Sure, Sage," Serena replied as she handed Sage her communicator.

"Listen carefully, Mina. Since you're on your own, there are some dangers that you should know about," Sage told Mina.

"What kind of dangers?" Mina asked.

"With the mountains so high up, there can be sudden snowstorms up in Mt. Dojo," Sage explained. "You also have to keep quiet, or you might cause an avalanche."

"Okay," Mina muttered a bit nervously. "Anything else I should know about?"

"Watch out for wild animals, especially wolves," Sage warned her.

"Why wolves, Sage?" Amy asked. "They're normally passive animals that would rather retreat than fight."

"Sounds like someone we all know," Rae muttered out loud.

"Hey! I heard that!" Serena shouted.

"Anyway, why would wolves attack a human?" Amy asked.

"When Mia and I went up there to find Kento when he was in a suspended state after that first battle with Talpa, we were attacked by a pack of wild wolves," Sage explained. "These wolves in particular, they were being controlled by one of Talpa's Dark Warlords: Kale."

"Oh, I see what you mean now," Amy admitted. "Good, because I don't!" Serena openly admitted.

"Remember I told you about those sand creatures that attacked me on the beach yesterday while Cye was searching for the Water Stone?" Amy asked. Everyone nodded their heads in approval. "I'm positive that Topaz and Amethyst had something to do with that," Amy continued. "If they can create creatures out of inanimate objects, who knows what else they're capable of?"

"Good point, Amy," Rowen admitted.

"You guys!" Mina shouted through the communicator. Sage looked at the screen and gasped.

"What's wrong, Sage?" Lita asked.

"Mina's image is breaking up," Sage revealed as he handed the communicator back to Serena.

"Mina, what's going on?" Serena asked.

"Sage was right about those sudden snowstorms!" Mina shouted, with her image and voice starting to break up.

"Just hang in there, Mina!" Rae shouted.

"I'll try," Mina replied before the screen suddenly went blank.

"Oh, no!" Serena wailed as she pressed some buttons on the communicator in hopes of getting Mina back.

"Serena, that snowstorm probably caused too much interference for her communicator to handle," Amy told her. "Don't worry about it. She'll call us back as soon as the storm dies down."

"Do you think Mina will be okay, Serena?" Rini asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, Rini. Mina's a Sailor Scout. There's nothing she can't handle," Serena assured the little girl...

"Hello? Serena? Amy? Rae? Lita?" Mina shouted into her wrist communicator. She groaned out of frustration when no one answered her. Mina looked up at the dark billowing clouds above her, which were blowing ice-cold blasts of wind and hundreds of snowflakes everywhere.

"I bet that snowstorm is jamming my communicator," Mina muttered to herself as she stood up. She pulled up the jacket's collar to cover her neck better, then reached into her pocket and pulled out Rini's tracer.

"Okay, let's see..." Mina muttered as she studied the screen. She noticed that the solid white blip was pretty close to the flashing orange blip. "The Earth Stone's very nearby," Mina muttered. "I'm almost there."

Mina was about to continue walking when she barely noticed a pair of glowing red dots through the curtain of falling snow. "What was that?" she gasped. She took a few steps forward and noticed two more pairs of red dots. Mina looked around and realized there were about fifteen pairs of glowing red dots circling around her. She carefully watched the red dots that were surrounding her. Suddenly, Mina heard a deep growl from behind her. She turned around and gasped when she saw the large gray wolf standing a few yards away from her, staring at her with its glowing red eyes.

Mina looked up and realized that she was surrounded by a pack of wild wolves. It's just like what Sage was talking about, Mina thought, only I'll bet that Topaz and Amethyst did this, and not that guy, Kale! Mina realized that the wolves were slowly creeping closer to her, trapping her within a circle of glowing red eyes and razor-sharp teeth and claws.

"What am I going to do?" Mina asked herself. "I can't hurt these wolves! They're innocent creatures, only they're now under the Dark Moon's control. I never thought I'd say this, but I need Kento's help!"

Mina screamed as one of the wolves leapt towards her, landing only a few feet away from her...

Meanwhile, as Mina was trying to contact her friends again, Kento was trekking up the mountain through the sudden snowstorm. "Almost there," he muttered through clenched teeth as he got closer to the top. When Kento finally reached the top of the mountain, he stopped for a minute to catch his breath.

"Made it," he gasped. Kento looked up at a massive round boulder that was split in half.

"The Throne of the Gods, or at least what's left of it," Kento whispered. He approached the monument and looked in between the two halves.

"Ha! I knew it!" he admitted proudly. Sitting in between the two halves of the once massive Throne of the Gods was a large orb, which was glowing with a mysterious orange light.

"I knew I didn't need Mina's help," Kento told himself as he reached for the Earth Stone. Before he could grab it, though, Kento heard a loud feminine scream.

"Mina?" he asked out of surprise as he looked up. Kento quickly walked over to the side of the mountain where he heard the scream and looked down. He gasped when he saw Mina, surrounded by a pack of wild wolves.

"Aww, man! What did she get herself into?" Kento retorted as he started to run down the side of the mountain as fast as he could.

As Kento rushed down the mountain, Mina had fallen to the ground on her back. The pack of wolves was now only a few feet away from her. Mina looked up and gasped when she saw the leader of the pack standing right in front of her. He was growling deeply and drool dripped from his exposed teeth. Suddenly, he leapt toward her and Mina screamed out of fright. To her surprise, Kento appeared out of nowhere and jump-kicked the wolf in the stomach. The wolf landed on the snow-covered ground and whimpered out of pain. The other wolves quickly gathered around their fallen leader, then they all looked up at Kento and Mina with anger burning in their glowing red eyes.

"Nice going, Kento," Mina retorted.

"Hey! What else was I supposed to do? That wolf was ready to rip you to shreds!" Kento reminded her. The two heroes looked up and noticed that the remaining wolves were steadily approaching them, growling deeply from their throats.

"This oughta scare them off!" Kento muttered out loud.

"What are you going to do?" Mina asked.

"Just watch! Armor of Hardrock! DAO GI!" Kento shouted. He was instantly transformed into his full orange and white armor. The sight of Kento's transformation made the wolves step back a bit, but not by much.

"You're not gonna fight them in that armor, are you?" Mina asked suspiciously.

"No! I thought that maybe when I transformed, they would get scared and run off!" Kento revealed.

"Well, your plan obviously didn't work!" Mina retorted. Suddenly, to Kento and Mina's surprise, the wolves whimpered out of fright and ran off, including their injured leader.

"Ha! My plan did work!" Kento boasted. Mina was about to say something when she heard a loud rumbling noise from behind them. She turned around and gasped.

"What's wrong, Mina?" Kento asked.

"I don't think you were the reason those wolves ran off!" Mina screamed as she pointed at something behind him. Kento turned around and gasped when he saw the massive blanket of snow and ice heading towards them.

"It's an avalanche!" Kento yelled.

"No kidding!" Mina shouted.

Kento knew he had to act quickly, otherwise he and Mina would be buried in the avalanche. He grabbed Mina by the waist and ran as fast as he could to the side of the mountain. As he ran, Kento noticed a wide crevasse that was barely visible in the thick blanket of snow. When he reached the crevasse, he jumped as far as he could and made it to the other side of the crevasse, just barely beating the avalanche. Kento quickly let go of Mina as tons of snow poured into the crevasse.

"Thanks a lot, Kento," Mina admitted. "You saved my life."

"Twice," Kento reminded her, holding up two fingers.

"Look, all this fighting is getting us nowhere. Why don't we call it a truce?" Mina suggested.

"Okay, truce," Kento agreed. "I'm sorry I called you a life-size Barbie doll."

"And I'm sorry I called you Kento of Hard-Head," Mina apologized.

"Oh, by the way, I found the Earth Stone, without your help," Kento added. "It's up there." He pointed at the top of the mountain he was originally on.

"You don't think that maybe this avalanche was caused by the Earth Stone, do you?" Mina asked worriedly.

"I hope not!" Kento muttered out loud.

"Just in case, I better suit up," Mina remarked as she pulled out her transformation wand from her pocket. "Venus Star Power!"

After she finished her transformation, Sailor Venus announced, "Let's go!"

As they headed up the mountain, Kento asked, "Aren't you cold in that thing?" Sailor Venus looked down at her skimpy Sailor Scout uniform for a moment.

"It's no big deal," she admitted. "When the other Scouts and I were up against Queen Beryl, we had to go to her base, which was all the way at the North Pole!"

"Get outta here!" Kento exclaimed out of surprise.

"It's true," Sailor Venus admitted.

"You're a lot tougher than you look!" Kento admitted. "Sorry about ever doubting you, Sailor Venus."

"Gee, thanks, Kento," Sailor Venus exclaimed with a small smile. Kento couldn't help but smile back at her, but his expression soon became grim as they reached the top of the mountain, where he had left the Earth Stone. The two warriors gasped when they saw a bright radiating orange glow coming from the split boulder.

"Looks like you might be right about that Earth Stone causing that avalanche, Sailor Venus," Kento muttered out loud as he and Sailor Venus cautiously approached the Throne of the Gods.

Suddenly the two heroes saw a pair of hands reach up from between the split boulder halves. The hands grabbed the sides of the split boulder and pushed them further apart with little effort. Soon after, the creature stepped out between the two severed halves of the Throne of the Gods. Her features were hard and chiseled, with her forehead bearing the symbol of the Dark Moon. Tight, short curls of orange hair framed her face. She was wearing an orange camouflage shirt, baggy brown cargo pants, and dark brown combat boots. The creature snickered evilly as she stared at Kento and Sailor Venus with her menacing orange eyes.

"Who the heck are you?" Kento asked.

"The name is Petrofina, you two pathetic excuses for warriors!" the creature announced boldly.

"Pathetic?" Kento repeated angrily. "I'll show you who's pathetic, Petrofina!" Sailor Venus watched as Kento rapidly spun his naginata over his head. "IRON ROCK CRUSHER!"

The massive jagged slabs of rock rose from the ground and headed straight for the creature from the Earth Stone. Petrofina snickered as she raised her fist and punched with all her strength at the first jagged boulder, smashing it into pieces.

"No way!" Kento exclaimed out of shock as Petrofina did the same with the other slabs of rock. "Is that all you got?" Petrofina asked sarcastically.

"That's not all," Sailor Venus announced as she stepped forward. "VENUS LOVE-CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" The orange chain of hearts went flying straight at Petrofina and struck her right in the stomach. She fell to one knee and held her stomach with both arms.

"I got her!" Sailor Venus yelled triumphantly.

"In your dreams, Blondie!" Petrofina shouted as she stood up with no problem whatsoever.

"I can't believe it! There's not even a scratch on her!" Sailor Venus exclaimed.

"Time for me to return the favor!" Petrofina shouted. She pulled out a massive boulder from the ground with ease and flung it at the two heroes.

"Duck!" Kento shouted in warning. He and Sailor Venus ducked down, barely avoiding the giant hunk of stone thrown at them. Sailor Venus could feel the boulder flying above her, just inches away from grazing her back.

"She's really strong!" Sailor Venus admitted as she and Kento cautiously got up.

"No kidding, Sailor Venus!" Kento remarked. "Any ideas how to take her out permanently?"

"We have to attack Petrofina together!" Sailor Venus reminded him. "That's how our friends defeated those other creatures from the other Celestial Stones. Don't tell me you forgot!"

"I didn't forget, Sailor Venus," Kento retorted. "It just slipped my mind for a minute, that's all."

"Yeah, sure, Kento," Sailor Venus muttered out loud.

"Prepare yourselves, soldiers!" Petrofina shouted, which caused Kento and Sailor Venus to look up. The two warriors gasped loudly when they saw the creature from the Earth Stone holding an even larger boulder above her head. "Time for a crash course in pain!" Petrofina shouted as she threw the massive boulder at the two heroes.

"Oh, no!" Sailor Venus shouted.

"I got it covered," Kento proclaimed as he stepped in between her and the giant boulder flying towards them. He quickly spun his naginata around and swung it toward the approaching boulder. Almost instantly, the boulder broke in half.

"That's not possible!" Petrofina shouted out of complete and utter shock.

"Let's give her our own crash course in pain, Sailor Venus," Kento suggested, with his naginata raised. Sailor Venus nodded in agreement.

"VENUS LOVE-CHAIN ENCIRCLE!"

"IRON ROCK CRUSHER!"

The chain of orange hearts wrapped itself tightly around Petrofina and restrained her. She tried to escape from the orange chain, but Sailor Venus' Love-Chain wouldn't even budge, no matter how hard she tried. Petrofina gasped loudly as the chain tightened around her body. She screamed loudly in pain as the massive jagged boulders from Kento's attack struck her repeatedly. Suddenly, Petrofina was engulfed in a blinding white light. Both Kento and Sailor Venus shielded their eyes from the bright light.

When the light vanished, the two heroes slowly opened their eyes and gasped out of shock. Petrofina had turned into a solid stone statue as a result of their combined attacks.

"No way!" Kento exclaimed slowly as he and Sailor Venus carefully approached the statue.

"Is it over?" Sailor Venus asked uncertainly. "What if she comes back?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll make sure she doesn't," Kento replied as he pulled his fist back. Sailor Venus watched as Kento punched the statue of Petrofina with all of his strength, smashing it into several pieces.

"There's no way we'll be seeing Petrofina anytime soon," Kento remarked.

"You got that right," Sailor Venus muttered to herself as she looked at the small pile of rubble that used to be Petrofina.

"Let's get outta here," Kento suggested.

"Okay," Sailor Venus agreed as they headed down the snow-covered mountain. "I can contact our friends through my wrist communicator, and they can come to pick us up."

Unknown to the two heroes, they were being watched by someone concealed behind the split Throne of the Gods. As soon as Kento and Sailor Venus were out of site, Topaz emerged from behind the boulder. He snickered quietly to himself as he reached in between the severed halves of the once massive landmark. A few moments later, Topaz pulled out the Earth Stone from the Throne of the Gods.

"Four down, and one more to go," Topaz remarked sinisterly before he teleported off of the mountain...TO BE CONTINUED