At the Crystal Palace Mina hit the ground laughing as Selene tagged her and
lost her balance. For the last few hours the girls had been playing hide
and seek with Mina and for the first time since the attacks started
everything seemed back to normal. Mina helped Selene to get up and noticed
that Usagi was no where to be seen. "Do you think you sister still thinks I
am hiding?"
"Probably, she always makes me look for her in the hardest places. Come on I will show you!" Selene ran towards the center of the small garden and stopped when she saw her sister kneeling by the fountain looking in the water. "Did you loose your candy Usa?"
"No, look. The water is acting funny." Mina and Selene walked to the fountain to see the once serene surface rippling in intervals. What could make the water do that? Mina didn't like to deafening silence that came over the city and ushered the girls inside. When Mina got the kids to their room she found the others in the observation room looking at a hologram screen.
"What is going on?"
"Something is coming towards the palace, I sense a huge amount of negative energy. Could the Nega-moon be trying an attack Serenity?" Neo- Queen Serenity looked to Rei and then back at the hologram. She knew exactly what that was.
"That is a very troubled soul. You have to stop it before it reaches the palace and breaks through the force field."
"We will your Highness." Darien made a formal bow and then shot up his head when they all heard Rhond in the room.
"I want to go too!"
"No Rhond, I need you here to protect your sisters."
"As you wish Mom. Please be careful scouts." Rhond had taken back his moon birthmark and was attired in a royal outfit. He looked completely different from the Richie they had gotten to know.
"We will, we can guarantee that. Scouts, time for action!" Following Mina's cue all four girls and Darien changed to their scout forms and were soon running through the palace to the remains of the city. When they reached the rubble the saw the huge dragon standing near to their area. "Mercury, do we even have a chance without Sailor Moon?" Amy took out her small computer and started to enter data. When she was done she removed her visor and looked at her companions.
"Good news is we have enough power to overcome that thing but I couldn't find a weak spot."
"Damn, I guess we have to start somewhere. Everyone ready?" Everyone agreed with a nod and they started to head towards the monster. They were so concentrated on their task at hand they didn't notice Pearl hovering above them until she shot a beam of black energy in front of them to get their attention.
"Finally! I was starting to think you were all zombies or something."
"Pearl, have you come to finish your job?" Mars barely got the sentence at without feeling the pain of the statement herself.
"No, I have come to offer a temporary truce. You see that dragon over there?"
"What kind of trick are you trying to pull?"
"Honestly Jupiter no trick." Pearl put her hands up in front of her and let herself go down to ground level. "That thing "was" Emerald. We don't know why but she turned into that thing and her only purpose in life now is to see Neo-Queen Serenity and me dead. I tried to fight her myself but sadly I wasn't able to get her guard down."
"What do you want from us?"
"Hello there Tuxedo! I want you to distract her so I can stop her. I do know her weak spot, that crystal on her head. If I can destroy that then Emerald should get back to normal. And in return for your help I promise not to kill you after she is defeated."
"So, this is a kill or be killed situation."
"I guess you could say so. That is the beauty of having the upper hand." Pearl's smug grin was driving them crazy and Jupiter reacted. Before Jupiter could land a punch Pearl jumped up into the air and formed a ball of black energy. "Do we have a deal or not? If you all feel as Jupiter does I can end this quickly for all of you."
"No, we have a deal. You are still our Princess even though you are trying to kill us." Venus's words hit some deep hidden part of Pearl's mind. They still were loyal to her after all this?
"Good, we had better be on our guard then because here she comes." Over the hill the dragon came into view and after it scanned over the scouts it stopped in its tracks when it saw Pearl hovering. "Hello Emerald, quite nice to see you again. Are you still upset with me?" The dragon's only response was to send black fire right at Pearl. Pearl warped to a new place and just shrugged her shoulders to the scouts. "See she hates my guts!"
"Scouts, you know what we have to do."
"Right Venus!" Soon their four attacks were bombarding the dragon and its attention was drawn to the four scouts. The attacks themselves seemed to bounce right off of the monster as if no damage at all was being inflicted. While they were attacking Emerald Pearl could feel Tuxedo's gaze digging into her back. She felt regret come over her for what she had done to him but she remember all of the things he had done to her and pushed back those feelings. Her future was with Diamond now. She couldn't regret her past anymore. Turning around she saw him jump at her actions. Pearl descended down to his level and stood in front of him hands on her hips.
"See something you like?"
"Why Ser."
"Uh-uh, Pearl. You should know the answer to that one Darien. Just remember this for future reference. You don't know what you have until you loose it."
"I didn't mean to hurt you."
"It is too late Tuxedo. I have made my decisions and you have to do the same. Now if you don't mind I have a promise to keep." Pearl could see Tuxedo was in obvious pain and she tried to ignore it as she turned around and disappeared from the spot. Pearl had warped to right behind Emeralds head and held a long thin sword in her hand. "Emerald! I said your day would come, well here it is!" When the dragon turned around at the statement Pearl drove the sword right into the crystal in her head. The huge amount of black energy hurled Pearl backwards for quite some distance before she was able to stop herself fully. The dragon disappeared and soon Emerald was standing there with a black gown and a black crystal crown. Surprisingly she had a smile on her face. As her body fell Pearl went to catch it and was utterly surprised when Emerald thanked her! The scouts backed away and soon Emerald was turned back into her normal form but Pearl knew she was dying.
"Pearl, Thank you for saving me.I still hate you though."
"Figured as much."
"Give this to Wiseman for me." Emerald shot a weak blast of negative energy at Pearl before she let the darkness consume her. It was Emerald's last bit of energy and she had given it to Pearl. As her body disappeared Pearl let the pieces fall into place. Wiseman did this? Pearl shook out her hair and turned around to find all of the scouts around her.
"Until next time then. Enjoy your short lease on life."
"But you promised!" Mars came forward and grabbed Pearl by the shoulders. "You said you would give up trying to kill us!" Pearl shrugged the distraught Mars off and smiled as she disappeared.
"I said I wouldn't kill you after I defeated Emerald. I never said I would stop trying."
Pearl warped into the throne room to find Diamond sitting on the throne. He was staring at a half full wine glass, his eyes were clouded over with pain and sadness. Pearl saw someone completely opposite from the Diamond she had known all these weeks. He was Prince Diamond now and she knew that it was not time for pleasantries. Bowing to Diamond she never approached the throne. "Your Highness, I regret to tell you but."
"I know." He never once looked up from his glass. "I felt her die.it couldn't be helped." Pearl's heart was breaking inside. How she wanted to console him then and there but she knew it was the wrong time.
"If you need me I will be in my quarters your Highness." Pearl bowed before warping out of the room and ending up in her room. The once inviting bed was cold now and she didn't want to go into it remembering all of the happy memories. Today something had changed and she wanted it all to go back to the way it was. Avoiding the bed Pearl sat in one of the plush chairs and tried to let herself relax. She went over the entire day and tried to find out what could have gone wrong. Pearl was so deep in though she never noticed the small letter being slid under her door. Eventually Pearl cried herself to sleep wishing it was all a bad dream.
Pearl woke up with a start at the sound of knocking and wiped the remaining tears and sleep from her eyes. She had not intended to fall asleep like that. Not even caring with her appearance she walked to the door and opened it to find Diamond standing there still with that blank stare. Opening the door wider she motioned for him to come in. The letter was pushed under a small table. "Your Highness." Diamond didn't even acknowledge her and just walked into the room and sat in the chair Pearl had just woke up in. Resigning to her limited choice she sat on the corner of the bed and faced Diamond. For a while neither one spoke, the silence was like a wall that had built between them.
"I'm sorry." Diamond's whisper of statement shattered what little resolve Pearl had left and she held back some tears as she looked at him. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I promised you I would never hurt you and then I pushed you away."
"People fight Diamond, what I did was wrong and I deserved it. I don't expect forgiveness from you. I know it is my fault Emerald is dead." Pearl was so ashamed of herself she couldn't look at Diamond anymore and she lowered her head. The warm touch of Diamond hands on hers made her look up to find Diamond kneeling on the ground in front of her. His eyes were imploring her for an answer to some unknown question. "I will respect any punishment you have willingly."
"I couldn't bear the thought of loosing you. The pain I felt when Emerald died was horrible. I don't ever want to feel the pain of loosing you. You mean too much to me my Princess. For a while there I thought I had lost you. You were so distant when you came back." Pearl felt her own heart being pulled at his words. He thought she was mad at him! Taking his face in her hands she gave her sincerest smile.
"You were worried about me seeing Darien too weren't you?"
"Yes, jealousy. I know the past you two had and I was afraid you would go back to him."
"Never in a million years. When I decided to stay with you it was forever. True a part of me will always care for him, that is inevitable but my heart belongs to you now."
"Pearl, Princess Serenity, dear Serena.will you be by my side forever?"
"Why Diamond, is this a proposal?" The sad look to his eyes faded and Pearl could see that they were full of emotion that he refused to say simply because he was a guy. Diamond tried to hide it with one of his charismatic grins.
"What do you think?"
"Diamond, you had my answer from the start. I want to stay like this forever."
"Probably, she always makes me look for her in the hardest places. Come on I will show you!" Selene ran towards the center of the small garden and stopped when she saw her sister kneeling by the fountain looking in the water. "Did you loose your candy Usa?"
"No, look. The water is acting funny." Mina and Selene walked to the fountain to see the once serene surface rippling in intervals. What could make the water do that? Mina didn't like to deafening silence that came over the city and ushered the girls inside. When Mina got the kids to their room she found the others in the observation room looking at a hologram screen.
"What is going on?"
"Something is coming towards the palace, I sense a huge amount of negative energy. Could the Nega-moon be trying an attack Serenity?" Neo- Queen Serenity looked to Rei and then back at the hologram. She knew exactly what that was.
"That is a very troubled soul. You have to stop it before it reaches the palace and breaks through the force field."
"We will your Highness." Darien made a formal bow and then shot up his head when they all heard Rhond in the room.
"I want to go too!"
"No Rhond, I need you here to protect your sisters."
"As you wish Mom. Please be careful scouts." Rhond had taken back his moon birthmark and was attired in a royal outfit. He looked completely different from the Richie they had gotten to know.
"We will, we can guarantee that. Scouts, time for action!" Following Mina's cue all four girls and Darien changed to their scout forms and were soon running through the palace to the remains of the city. When they reached the rubble the saw the huge dragon standing near to their area. "Mercury, do we even have a chance without Sailor Moon?" Amy took out her small computer and started to enter data. When she was done she removed her visor and looked at her companions.
"Good news is we have enough power to overcome that thing but I couldn't find a weak spot."
"Damn, I guess we have to start somewhere. Everyone ready?" Everyone agreed with a nod and they started to head towards the monster. They were so concentrated on their task at hand they didn't notice Pearl hovering above them until she shot a beam of black energy in front of them to get their attention.
"Finally! I was starting to think you were all zombies or something."
"Pearl, have you come to finish your job?" Mars barely got the sentence at without feeling the pain of the statement herself.
"No, I have come to offer a temporary truce. You see that dragon over there?"
"What kind of trick are you trying to pull?"
"Honestly Jupiter no trick." Pearl put her hands up in front of her and let herself go down to ground level. "That thing "was" Emerald. We don't know why but she turned into that thing and her only purpose in life now is to see Neo-Queen Serenity and me dead. I tried to fight her myself but sadly I wasn't able to get her guard down."
"What do you want from us?"
"Hello there Tuxedo! I want you to distract her so I can stop her. I do know her weak spot, that crystal on her head. If I can destroy that then Emerald should get back to normal. And in return for your help I promise not to kill you after she is defeated."
"So, this is a kill or be killed situation."
"I guess you could say so. That is the beauty of having the upper hand." Pearl's smug grin was driving them crazy and Jupiter reacted. Before Jupiter could land a punch Pearl jumped up into the air and formed a ball of black energy. "Do we have a deal or not? If you all feel as Jupiter does I can end this quickly for all of you."
"No, we have a deal. You are still our Princess even though you are trying to kill us." Venus's words hit some deep hidden part of Pearl's mind. They still were loyal to her after all this?
"Good, we had better be on our guard then because here she comes." Over the hill the dragon came into view and after it scanned over the scouts it stopped in its tracks when it saw Pearl hovering. "Hello Emerald, quite nice to see you again. Are you still upset with me?" The dragon's only response was to send black fire right at Pearl. Pearl warped to a new place and just shrugged her shoulders to the scouts. "See she hates my guts!"
"Scouts, you know what we have to do."
"Right Venus!" Soon their four attacks were bombarding the dragon and its attention was drawn to the four scouts. The attacks themselves seemed to bounce right off of the monster as if no damage at all was being inflicted. While they were attacking Emerald Pearl could feel Tuxedo's gaze digging into her back. She felt regret come over her for what she had done to him but she remember all of the things he had done to her and pushed back those feelings. Her future was with Diamond now. She couldn't regret her past anymore. Turning around she saw him jump at her actions. Pearl descended down to his level and stood in front of him hands on her hips.
"See something you like?"
"Why Ser."
"Uh-uh, Pearl. You should know the answer to that one Darien. Just remember this for future reference. You don't know what you have until you loose it."
"I didn't mean to hurt you."
"It is too late Tuxedo. I have made my decisions and you have to do the same. Now if you don't mind I have a promise to keep." Pearl could see Tuxedo was in obvious pain and she tried to ignore it as she turned around and disappeared from the spot. Pearl had warped to right behind Emeralds head and held a long thin sword in her hand. "Emerald! I said your day would come, well here it is!" When the dragon turned around at the statement Pearl drove the sword right into the crystal in her head. The huge amount of black energy hurled Pearl backwards for quite some distance before she was able to stop herself fully. The dragon disappeared and soon Emerald was standing there with a black gown and a black crystal crown. Surprisingly she had a smile on her face. As her body fell Pearl went to catch it and was utterly surprised when Emerald thanked her! The scouts backed away and soon Emerald was turned back into her normal form but Pearl knew she was dying.
"Pearl, Thank you for saving me.I still hate you though."
"Figured as much."
"Give this to Wiseman for me." Emerald shot a weak blast of negative energy at Pearl before she let the darkness consume her. It was Emerald's last bit of energy and she had given it to Pearl. As her body disappeared Pearl let the pieces fall into place. Wiseman did this? Pearl shook out her hair and turned around to find all of the scouts around her.
"Until next time then. Enjoy your short lease on life."
"But you promised!" Mars came forward and grabbed Pearl by the shoulders. "You said you would give up trying to kill us!" Pearl shrugged the distraught Mars off and smiled as she disappeared.
"I said I wouldn't kill you after I defeated Emerald. I never said I would stop trying."
Pearl warped into the throne room to find Diamond sitting on the throne. He was staring at a half full wine glass, his eyes were clouded over with pain and sadness. Pearl saw someone completely opposite from the Diamond she had known all these weeks. He was Prince Diamond now and she knew that it was not time for pleasantries. Bowing to Diamond she never approached the throne. "Your Highness, I regret to tell you but."
"I know." He never once looked up from his glass. "I felt her die.it couldn't be helped." Pearl's heart was breaking inside. How she wanted to console him then and there but she knew it was the wrong time.
"If you need me I will be in my quarters your Highness." Pearl bowed before warping out of the room and ending up in her room. The once inviting bed was cold now and she didn't want to go into it remembering all of the happy memories. Today something had changed and she wanted it all to go back to the way it was. Avoiding the bed Pearl sat in one of the plush chairs and tried to let herself relax. She went over the entire day and tried to find out what could have gone wrong. Pearl was so deep in though she never noticed the small letter being slid under her door. Eventually Pearl cried herself to sleep wishing it was all a bad dream.
Pearl woke up with a start at the sound of knocking and wiped the remaining tears and sleep from her eyes. She had not intended to fall asleep like that. Not even caring with her appearance she walked to the door and opened it to find Diamond standing there still with that blank stare. Opening the door wider she motioned for him to come in. The letter was pushed under a small table. "Your Highness." Diamond didn't even acknowledge her and just walked into the room and sat in the chair Pearl had just woke up in. Resigning to her limited choice she sat on the corner of the bed and faced Diamond. For a while neither one spoke, the silence was like a wall that had built between them.
"I'm sorry." Diamond's whisper of statement shattered what little resolve Pearl had left and she held back some tears as she looked at him. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I promised you I would never hurt you and then I pushed you away."
"People fight Diamond, what I did was wrong and I deserved it. I don't expect forgiveness from you. I know it is my fault Emerald is dead." Pearl was so ashamed of herself she couldn't look at Diamond anymore and she lowered her head. The warm touch of Diamond hands on hers made her look up to find Diamond kneeling on the ground in front of her. His eyes were imploring her for an answer to some unknown question. "I will respect any punishment you have willingly."
"I couldn't bear the thought of loosing you. The pain I felt when Emerald died was horrible. I don't ever want to feel the pain of loosing you. You mean too much to me my Princess. For a while there I thought I had lost you. You were so distant when you came back." Pearl felt her own heart being pulled at his words. He thought she was mad at him! Taking his face in her hands she gave her sincerest smile.
"You were worried about me seeing Darien too weren't you?"
"Yes, jealousy. I know the past you two had and I was afraid you would go back to him."
"Never in a million years. When I decided to stay with you it was forever. True a part of me will always care for him, that is inevitable but my heart belongs to you now."
"Pearl, Princess Serenity, dear Serena.will you be by my side forever?"
"Why Diamond, is this a proposal?" The sad look to his eyes faded and Pearl could see that they were full of emotion that he refused to say simply because he was a guy. Diamond tried to hide it with one of his charismatic grins.
"What do you think?"
"Diamond, you had my answer from the start. I want to stay like this forever."