Chapter 24: The Beginning of the End

Three weeks passed and Amy remained in her room, not speaking to anyone. She wasn't the only one either. Serena was spaced out most of the time, for the loss of Koaru was like the loss of a brother to her. Queen Serenity was depressed since he had been like a son to her. Luna and Artemis were always trying to cheer them up. "They never found his body," Luna always said, "so there is a chance that he is alive."

Amy was sleeping when the fire started. She woke to see smoke billowing from the door. She quickly dressed and rushed out to see devastation in the halls. People were running about in a panicked rush, some were on fire, others, dead. An explosion outside the walls brought her back to her senses. She quickly ran outside and say a small gathering of demons slaughtering the few who had made it outside. Beyond them, the entire planet as far as she could see was on fire. Amy wasted no time pulling out her wand and crying, "MERCURY POWER!" Sailor Mercury ran at the demons, drawing her power and freezing them in a block of ice. Suddenly she was blasted forwards. Regaining her footing, she turned to see a woman in a plum purple dress standing above a dead servant. The lady's blood red hair reached her shoulders, and she carried a staff with a red gem set into it. Greg came running from the barracks, fully armed and he placed himself between the stranger and Sailor Mercury. "You," Amy started, "you know what happened to Koaru." The woman looked shocked, then she smiled. "Yes, I do know what happened to him." she said in an icy voice. "He ran away from the fight, so I destroyed him." "Liar!" Greg roared, "Koaru would rather die than run from a fight! Give proof! Bitch!" The lady seemed unaffected by the insult, and summoned a demon forward. Both Greg and Sailor Mercury gasped. In the demons hands was the Sword of Light. "The blast that struck him was so powerful," the woman began, "that this was all that was left." She started to laugh, when the demon suddenly vanished in it's own blood. "This sword doesn't belong to you." Amy said as she took the blade and backed away. "Princess Mercury," Greg began, "we have to leave. The entire planet has been conquered. We must give aid to the Moon. Sailor Mercury stood her ground, so Greg grabbed her and they both teleported to the Moon. "One down," the woman said to herself, "and six to go."

After three weeks all of the Inner Planets had been conquered except for the Moon, and Earth. Everyone in the Moon Palace was silent. Raye, Lita and Mina had watched their loved ones die in battle. Darien had moved to the Moon to be with Serena and in case of another attack on the planet. Queen Serenity was always carrying the Impearium Silver Crystal. Word that Jedite had turned traitor had spread fast since the last battle. Serena was trying to cheer up her friends when Darien and Greg entered the room. "How was the patrol?" Serena asked them as they sat down. "There isn't so much as a caterpillar out there." Darien answered. "It's quite unnerving." Greg added. Everyone looked at him except Amy. Greg walked over to Lita. "What is wrong with her?" he asked.

"She just opened a package that Koaru had sent before he..." Lita trailed off, then regained herself. "He sent her an engagement ring." Greg looked stunned, the looked over at Amy and saw that she did have a ring on her finger, and she was staring at it, almost mesmerized. She looked on the verge of tears. "The last thing we need is an attack." Greg said.

at Moon Canyon...

Jedite looked around him and smiled to himself. The army was three times the size of the one that had destroyed the army at Neptune. "Now to let them know that we are here." he said. He summoned a sphere of black energy into his hand and hurled it at the Palace.

The explosion shook the Palace to it's foundations. The army was already charging towards the Canyon by the time Darien, Greg, and the Sailor Scouts were ready to go. "This couldn't have come at a worse time!" Greg yelled as they ran to the battle. "Yes it could have," Mina replied, "you weren't in the bathroom when the blast hit!" When they all arrived, they were speechless. The army was huge. Larger than King Soul's army had been. They shook their fear from their thoughts and charged into the battle. "Mercury...Aqua...Mirage!" Sailor Mercury's newest attack froze and shattered all the demons that it touched. "Mars...Firebird...Strike!" Sailor Mars' colossal firebird incinerated a dozen of the demons. "Sailor Venus," a solider called, "the demons have a line formation advancing from the West!" Mina turned and saw the demons marching in single file. She grinned to herself and pointed her index finger at the line and called her attack. "Venus Crescent Beam Smash!" The laser-like beam of light sliced the demons in half. "This will take forever!" a survivor from Jupiter named Seifer called as he slashed three demons to pieces using his three-sword technique. "Tell me something we don't know!" Sailor Jupiter called at him. "HEADS UP!" Greg yelled as a huge sphere of energy flew at them, and created a crater the size of a football stadium. The remainder of the army pulled themselves back up and saw the same woman that had led the attacks on their home planets advancing toward them. "You...bitch." Sailor Moon growled as the woman stopped eight yards from them. The woman smiled and pointed her staff a them. At the tip of the staff, energy was starting to collect. "RUN! SHE'S POWERING UP ANOTHER METEOR!" Seifer yelled as he started to run. Just as the energy was released, a red blade of energy struck the woman in the back, slicing her open, but not killing her. She fell forward as she screamed in agony, blood gushing from the wound. The Sailor Scouts heard footsteps behind them, and the turned around and attacked with their all. Their attacks all collided with the figure behind them, but suddenly froze in mid-air. "That was a little rude." the person said. The energy shrunk into a small ball in the figure's hand. Then they all saw his face. "Oh...my...God." Sailor Mercury whispered in disbelief.