Tell them all to pray.
But how could she? The other soldiers were still fighting for their loves with their own strengths, neglecting to rely on each other. They were allowing their separate selves to overtake their solidarity...
Sailor Mars looked around in distress. Jadeite had regained his senses and was advancing upon her again. She stood, her legs wobbling under their newly regained strength, and advanced upon Jadeite with conviction and new intensity.
But as she did, she felt a weakening within herself.
Sailor Moon.
The prayer she had offered had given her strength to her leader. As she had asked for the gods to preserve her, she had at the same time offered her powers to a greater cause. Now, as she took her powers back, her fearless and beloved leader was losing the strength and energy she sorely needed.
And then Sailor Mars found herself in the horns of a dilemma. Did she regather her own energy and attempt to save her lover? Or did she die at his hands and donate it to Sailor Moon, losing him to the darkness forever?
It was a difficult decision.
She turned inwards for the answer...touching the part of her that connected with her golden-haired leader.
She saw pain...and weakness. Whatever was happening to her, she was fighting a losing battle, slowly giving herself over to the force. Deeper, underlying the superficial, was a sense of despair. Mars questioned it...and the answer was abandonment.
She felt abandoned. Because deep down inside, her fight was not solely for her Endymion anymore. It was for her four friends, to save them, to try her mightiest to save their lovers.
That is worth sacrificing for.
Sailor Mars plopped back down onto the cold obsidian floor, closing her eyes and opening her heart in supplication to the god Mars.
Protect her, Mars. Protect Sailor Moon. Let her defeat the darkness.
Sailor Moon felt the strength of Mars – which had been so abruptly taken from her – regained into her body. She clawed through the demons, standing up and facing the mass. They had tumbled in Queen Beryl's direction.
A kick in her stomach floored her again though, and a heavy bash made her cry out in pain. She felt herself literally lift from the floor and go flying backwards, eagerly followed by the demon flood. Queen Beryl was in the thick, with her demonic force, her hand outstretched, her eyes wild. She had just blasted her with power emanating from her hands.
Gods, was she powerful!
She's not fighting me directly – she's using these demons, Sailor Moon thought. I wonder why? This is something Beryl would take pleasure in. And she's certainly stronger than these demons!
Sailor Moon climbed to her feet and, brandishing her sceptre, closed her eyes – or rather, one, for the other had been swollen shut – and continued to pray...praying with all her strength that her friends would return to their senses.
Sailor Mercury and her group of demons was located closest to Sailor Mars...and they definitely felt the power radiating from Mars and her prayer. The demons started, chittering in high-pitches.
They parted.
Sailor Mercury slowly, slowly turned away from her accoster Zoisite, and finally noticed something outside of her individual situation. Venus, engaged in battle with Kunzite. Jupiter, avoiding Nephrite's easy swings.
And Mars, knelt on the floor in prayer, surrounded by amazing power.
Mercury, too, dropped to her knees, clasped her hands in prayer. A blue aura surrounded her, knocking her attacker backwards and onto the floor.
The next time Sailor Moon swung her sceptre, a stream of blue water cut out of it.
She breathed heavily, her body ragged and weakened from fighting the demons. Halfway there. She hoped the rest of them would come to their senses quickly...her body couldn't take much more abuse...
But it will, she said firmly, tightening her grasp on the sceptre. I'll take as much as it takes...Beryl must not win this battle.
The demons surged towards her once again, knocking her backwards. She stumbled, wincing as she watched the blood run down her arm, but she brought herself back up to face the demon forcefield that attacked her.
"Give up!" Queen Beryl yelled angrily. "You're wasting precious time!" Her hand nervously fingered a yellow-brown orb that hung around her neck.
Sailor Moon's drooping eyes lit up when she saw it. Even at this distance, she could see dark shadows circling inside of the tiny orb.
Her eyes widened.
That must be her source of power, she said. It has to be!
Suddenly it all sparked in her mind, and she hoped that her friends would reconnect with speed.
Suddenly she thrust out her hand and felt the lightning of Jupiter crackle through it, electrocuting a shockwave of the demons, who sizzled and fell to the floor. She smiled.
Yes, Venus would be the stubborn one...
"So jealous," she whispered, knowing that Beryl could hear her. "No matter what you do to me, you ugly woman, I will always be remembered as the most beautiful mortal. And I am and always will be the only one who can conquer Endymion's heart."
Beryl steamed, and Sailor Moon fixed a defiant smirk on her face, delivering the death sentence.
"You may love him, but he will never love you back."
The dark queen was infuriated. Unthinkingly she charged into the demonic fray. The demons protested shrilly, but any that would not move she blasted aside with waves of power much too strong for her task – her only thought in mind to get to Sailor Moon.
Once reaching the young heroine, she steamed in front of her for a few moments. Then surprisingly, she reached out and wrapped a hand around her neck.
"Endymion loves me," she hissed. "Not you. Me."
Come on, Venus!
"Ha," Sailor Moon choked, gulping hard. "I didn't need dark mind control to get him to love me. He doesn't love you; you're just controlling his soul so he thinks he does."
A warmth overtook Sailor Moon, and she glowed slightly; she realized that Venus had finally realized her role, and had given herself over. Finally, she smiled for real.
"And you won't anymore," she said softly.
With her free hands she raised the sceptre, infusing all the powers of all the deities into it.
It connected royally with the orb hanging around Beryl's neck, the point at the top tearing a gash into her flesh. The sorceress's eyes widened, and her grip on Sailor Moon weakened. Sailor Moon's clear blue eyes came to rest on the silver sparkling crystal atop the sceptre.
I wish that all the souls were free again.
Indeed, the demons did stop chittering as their former queen fell to the ground betwixt them, heaving for her life.
An eerie silence overtook the place, as the souls looked up at Sailor Moon, then back at the queen, then up at Sailor Moon again.
She smiled weakly.
"You are free..."
The low voices of the dead begun again, and they looked back at their still-alive queen.
Then, again with horrifying screeches, they moved. But this time, they converged on the evil sorceress who lay between them.
Sailor Moon covered her mouth with shock as she heard the pain-filled screams of the dark queen.
The building began to shake, and she dodged a fist-sized piece of obsidian falling from the sky. The palace was...crumbling? As she looked back at the group of souls, some of them has parted, and were scaling the walls, tearing down pillars and supports. They were destroying the evil queen and all remannts of her. Obviously other souls had gotten the same idea, because the palace was shaking.
Go.
Get out now.
We are destroying our oppressor so we can return to peace.
Run while you can.
Thank you for wishing us free.
On bloody legs wracked with pain, she turned and ran.
Once again, she didn't know to where she ran. The little light that had been in the palace was now extinguished by the newly-freed souls, who were taking down the palace. Incredibly, she heard voices directing her.
This way.
To the left.
Move. It's about to hit you.
Straight ahead.
Straight ahead indeed. She was back in the grand atrium in which she had left her four friends...and sure enough, there they were. And they were holding the loves of their lives in their hands.
Well, I did wish to free all the souls.
"We have to run," she said, heaving a few deep breaths, her legs wobbling. "They are destroying the palace. And Beryl."
"Why?"
She smiled again. "They need closure."
"What about..."
"They will help him out." She smiled wider. "I am sure of that."
Nodding, Venus prodded Kunzite. He stood and walked to Sailor Moon. With a quick swing, she was in his arms.
"But—"
"It's faster this way. Let's get out!"
The darkly sparkling door never looked so good. Jupiter kicked through it with a loud yell, and the light of day greeted their faces.
As they ran through the archway crumbled after them, Sailor Moon still tightly held in Kunzite's arms. They ran still, aiming to distance themselves from the palace – as much as possible. Only when they were a safe distance from the palace did they turn to view it.
There were millions of them...had been millions under Beryl's dark control. Millions now freed. They soared around the evil black palace, screeching to each other, bringing down the dark fortress with speed. They watched as the palace crumbled to little more than bits.
"Serenity?"
Sailor Moon arched her head around, and Kunzite spun so she could better see what was behind them.
Standing there was Endymion. He looked worse for the wear, but he was smiling brightly. Helios, still in pegasus form, was standing benevolently behind him.
Sailor Moon's face broke into a smile. "Endymion!"
He ran forward, and carefully took her from Kunzite's arms.
She protested. "I can stand!"
He conceded to have her stand besides him, supporting her with his own strong arms.
She looked into his eyes. "Endymion," she said, "I am so...so sorry. I should have never distrusted you."
He shook his head. "A natural reaction," he replied. "I should have never let Beryl push me into such a position. I was just so scared...so scared that she would find out about you and I, and make my life miserable." He crooked a finger and placed it under her chin, cocking her head up. "But we don't have to worry about her any longer, or her advancing on our kingdom."
Sailor Moon smiled.
"Our kingdom..."