"Well," Queen Mica cackled malevolently, "That was easier than I expected...Who knew the last of the Star Guardians was that dim-witted! Not that I'm complaining about killing two birds with one stone...Now where was I? Oh yes...Now for—"
"YOU DEPRAVED BITCH!" The queen was cut off as Apollo lunged for her throat, fangs bared, and claws extended, with a howl of outrage.
"Why you…" Mica raised her hand to protect her throat, and Apollo latched onto her forearm with his teeth in an iron hold. "Get off of me, you flea-bitten beast!" She shrieked, shaking her arm vigorously to remove the vicious vermin fastened to her forearm in a vice-like grip.
"Apollo!" cried Sailor Moon, rushing in with the others following close behind her.
Mica flung him away with a sudden surge of strength consequential of a swift adrenaline rush, but she let forth a bone-chilling screech as he took a fair-sized chunk of her flesh along with him.
Venus ran forward and grabbed hold of Apollo before he could hit the wall. He vehemently spit the torn flesh from his mouth, gagging with the astringent aftertaste it left in his mouth.
Mica fumed as she watched the thick, black blood ooze from her arm. "You wretched mongrel!"
She reached out for the Black Shard and summoned it to her, and it settled neatly into place at the end of her staff. "You are going to wish you hadn't done that!" She raised her arm, brandishing the Staff of Souls, and made to throw it at Apollo and Sailor Venus.
"Oh!" Mica let out a startled cry as she was forced to drop the staff. It clattered loudly to the floor as Mica looked from the blood pouring out of the newly-formed gash in her hand to the scarlet rose sticking out of the floor. "How dare you!" she squalled, whirling about to face a mysterious caped figure who stood half in shadow.
"Tuxedo Mask!" squealed Sailor Moon, "You're here!"
He ignored her girlish outburst and addressed Mica. "That's enough Queen Mica! You've taken more than enough lives already! These two had souls bright and shining as the stars, and you took them away from us! But I promise you now that their deaths were not in vain! They died for love, the force that shines brighter than a thousand suns, and such a light cannot be doused! Not even by a soul as cold and black as your own!"
"Feldspar, why are you just standing there! Destroy him!"
"Not today, Feldspar!" Sailor Moon blocked his path and he snarled in rage.
"Out of my way, Moon pest!" He raised his sword to strike.
"Mercury Bubbles Blast!" The air suddenly filled with thick fog, making it impossible for the prince to see to strike Sailor Moon. Jupiter leapt into the air and kicked it out of his hand as the haze cleared.
"Ahh!" he grabbed his hand in pain and turned furiously toward his attacker, but Sailor Moon cut him off.
"You may think you've destroyed them, Mica, but you haven't! Chrysolite's love for Antares conquered the evil that you put inside of him and he risked everything for her! And Antares was such a sweet, fun-loving girl and one of the most amazing people I've ever met! She was bright, hard-working, and loyal, and she brought joy to everyone around her. People like Antares and Chrysolite cannot die. They live on in the hearts of all of the people whose lives they touched. Their spirits are still very much alive inside us, Mica, and for what you've done to them, I shall punish you in the name of the moon!"
Mercury stepped up beside her friend. "Their destiny was their own to decide."
Venus followed Mercury's example. "They chose friendship and love while you chose hatred and anger."
"That is why you can't win now," Jupiter added matter-of-factly.
Last but not least, Mars stepped up beside the others. "We've all learned a lot from those two, and now we're going to use what they taught us to avenge them."
As each scout was saying her peace, only Apollo seemed to take much notice of the gentle glow that began to emit from Antares's body, and slowly grew in intensity until it became blinding. Mica, Feldspar, and Pyroxene shrieked and shielded their eyes when the light was at its brightest.
"What's happening?" Mars asked, unable to take her eyes off of the light.
"It's the Star Guardians," Luna whispered in awe. "The prophecy is coming true!"
All eyes in the room were transfixed on the luminous corpse lying in the midst of them as the light rose up above Antares's lifeless body in the form of a glowing orb of constantly-shifting colors. They swirled and shifted in mesmerizing patterns, until they finally dividing into eight smaller spheres of light, each of a different color.
"No way..." Apollo whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. "When the last of the eight is gone, we needn't mourn, for once united by their death, the eight will be reborn! The legend is true!"
Each of the lights grew and took the shape of an incorporeal little girl, each an apparition of pure light, casting a full spectrum of color on the bleak terrain of the Negaverse. The red orb grew larger than the others, taking the shape of Antares, and she took up position beside Sailor Moon, the others following suit.
"What the!"
"Impossible!" cried Mica, lashing out at the ethereal bodies with her staff, but it merely passed right through them.
Antares turned to her allies. "We have to end this now. Are you ready, Sailor Moon?"
"Of course!" She held the Silver Crystal high up over her head.
"Let's do this!" said Uranus, reaching up and touching the crystal, lending her strength to Sailor Moon. "This is for the destruction of an age-old alliance! URANUS STAR POWER!"
Neptune, Saturn, and Pluto soon joined them. "This is for using innocent people to settle your own scores! NEPTUNE STAR POWER!"
"This is for the loss of two beautiful lives! SATURN STAR POWER!"
"This is for all the joy they might have had that you took away from them! PLUTO STAR POWER!"
The little girl bathed in yellow light announced boldly, "For the compassion it takes to be there for someone in need! VEGA CELESTIAL POWER!" She returned to the form of a ball of orange light, and she flew into the Silver Crystal and was absorbed by it.
The orange child followed her example. "For the ties of loyalty that come from true friendship! SIRIUS CELESTIAL POWER!"
"For the will to carry on in dark times! POLLUX CELESTIAL POWER!"
"For the motivation to persevere! CASTOR CELESTIAL POWER!" The black light and the white light joined with the crystal together.
"For the wisdom in knowing the right thing to do! POLARIS CELESTIAL POWER!"
"For the strength it takes to do what needs to be done! RIGEL CELESTIAL POWER!" The purple and the green followed.
Pale blue was next. "For the hope that makes it worth waking up every morning! ALTAIR CELESTIAL POWER!"
Apollo felt his eyes begin to sting as he watched Antares, the last one left. She smiled at him as if to thank him for everything, than closed her eyes and said her piece. "For the courage to set and fulfill one's own destiny! ANTARES CELESTIAL POWER!"
Mica howled in outrage and lashed out once more as Antares disappeared into the Crystal, but she was too late, and the light it was emitting burned fiercely into her skin.
"Our turn," said Sailor Mars to the others. "For Andi!" she reached up and touched the crystal. "MARS STAR POWER!
"For Chrysolite! MERCURY STAR POWER!"
"For justice! JUPITER STAR POWER!"
"For friendship! VENUS STAR POWER!"
"For love! MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"
The Silver Crystal thrummed with energy as if it were anxiously anticipating what was about to happen. Eighteen voices rang forth boldly, echoing throughout the Negaverse as the heralds of their victory. "FOR THE UNIVERSE!"
Garish light filled the room until nothing could be seen but an immense veil of white. A deafening roar split the air, as if the ground itself were shattering. Prince Feldspar leapt blindly in front of his mother, trying to deflect the blow with his magical sword, but he was overwhelmed. The final screams of Queen Mica, Feldspar, and Pyroxene were lost in the devastating noise of the Silver Crystal at the peak of its energy, infused with the powers of all eight Star Guardians and all nine Sailor Scouts...
And then all fell away into silent, serene blackness...
((A/N: Just one more chapter, guys...Sorry this one took so long.))