Invalid Response - Chapter 14

by Una Moonstar

ANs: Well, here we are, folks. The last chapter of Invalid Response. Yes, you read right - the last chapter. But it's a meaty one if that makes you feel any better. -grin- You guys have been absolutely wonderful through this, and I thank each and every one of you. I've got ideas for a sequel, but if anyone else has any, feel free to give me a shout out. Anyway, this is dedicated to all you loyal readers, past, present and future. You are what makes this all worthwhile. And now, on with the show...

(fade out...)

(begin chapter...)

A soft moan was the first thing Serena could remember hearing after the explosion at the temple. A second later she realized it had come from her own throat. "What's going on?" she muttered, reaching a gloved hand to her pounding forehead. "I'm still transformed?"

A quick look at the rest of her body confirmed her guess, and with that all her memories of the revelation and battle that had taken place on Cherry Hill flooded back. The blonde bit her lower lip and tried to spring up into a sitting position, immediately finding herself caught in a tangle of leaves and branches. Panic caused her to tear through the foliage, and what she saw when she broke through made her breath catch.

Instead of some remote corner of the temple grounds she was expecting, Sailor Moon took in the sight of one of the numerous rooftop gardens that abounded in Tokyo. There was a crisp wind that blew loudly by the open door to the greenhouse she was in - which explained bright green leaves in the middle of winter - and the overhead lights were bright and warm. She slowly made her way to the open portal and was about to step out into the setting sun when voices reached her ears. She stiffened when she realized one of them was familiar - far too familiar.

"I don't mean to keep bringing it up, but I just cannot comprehend how seven supposedly intelligent adults can take the side of an underachieving teenager! Can you?"

"It is pretty surprising, Elizabeth, but you're going to have to take it in stride. I get the feeling your job may be on the line."

Sapphire blue eyes blinked as Serena stayed frozen in the doorway of the greenhouse while Dr. Elizabeth Nyx and a male companion continued to come closer. She could see they were headed past the building she was exiting, but she wasn't sure they'd go by without noticing her. How would she explain this?

The girl's brain started to go into overdrive looking for an answer to that suddenly most important of questions when the tall redhead stopped in her tracks and gawked. "S...Sailor Moon?" the psychologist asked hesitantly. "Is that you?"

Serena had never been more grateful for her alter ego than she was at that moment. "Yes, yes, it is. I'm... in the middle of an investigation." Yeah, that's it, she thought. "Just trying to keep Tokyo safe!"

"Oh..."

"Just so you know," the equally-tall man with short light brown hair at the speechless woman's side said quickly, "everyone I know is really grateful for what you've done for the people of this city. I read that article by Dr. Turner, and I want you to know most people don't believe a word of it."

Serena couldn't help but smile at that. "Thank you. That means a lot. I'll be sure the other Scouts and Tuxedo Mask get the message as well. But for now, I need to get moving. Evil doesn't stop just because I do!" She gave a quick salute and ran for what she presumed were the stairs. Luckily she was right, and it didn't take long to reach ground level.

"Luna, Artemis? Guys?" she whispered urgently into her communicator once she had slipped into a nearby alley. "Is anybody out there?"

"Sailor Moon!" a panicked Luna responded almost immediately. "You're all right! Where are you?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure. I woke up in a rooftop greenhouse. Where are the others?"

"You don't know?" Artemis broke in, sounding just as worried as the black cat before him.

Serena tried to swallow a nervous lump that suddenly appeared in her throat. "Am I supposed to? I figured they would have checked in by now."

Luna's image on the small viewscreen shook its head. "No, you're the first. We can't seem to find them anywhere."

"A whole day and we haven't found anything!" Artemis added.

"What?" the blonde choked out. "What did you just say?"

The white cat blinked. "We haven't found anything?"

"No, before that."

"It's been a day since the battle at the temple, Sailor Moon," Luna explained. "We think the power surge that caused the explosion overloaded some of the circuitry here at Central. It's the only explanation we can come up with for our inability to find any of you."

Serena gazed off toward the setting sun. "Then I better start doing a ground search. Maybe the Crescent Moon Wand can help. It helped with the Rainbow Crystals."

"It's a possibility. The Silver Crystal itself would be more effective, though."

"I know, Luna, but if I do that I may alert the Dark Kingdom. I should be the one to find the Scouts and Tuxedo Mask." Pale brows furrowed as the sight before her registered. "Hey, guys? Is there something in those computers that can explain why there are so many sunspots tonight? The sun is practically half black."

"What?" the cats said in unison. There was the sound of frantic typing and two matching gasps.

"What? What is it?"

There was a long pause before any kind of response was heard. "Metallia," Luna said softly, her red-orange eyes dropping.

The young hero's head shook back and forth involuntarily. "No, it can't be. It can't!" The echo of her shout brought her up short and she reduced the volume back to a whisper. "Mother sealed her away!"

"I know," the black cat returned, "but it seems the seal is breaking. And if it continues at the rate it's at now, the demon will be free by midnight."

"For the start of the new year," Artemis said, revelatory awe in his tone.

"That's right, it's New Year's Eve," Serena barely breathed.

"Hurry, Serena," Luna urged. "Do what you can to find the others as quick as you can, and we'll do what we can from here. If you find them, let us know."

The girl nodded. "You bet, Luna. I'll check in with you later." She turned off the device and drew the Crescent Moon Wand out from her extradimensional pocket. "Let's see what I can do with you," she muttered before slipping back out of the alley and taking to the rooftops to conduct her search as unobtrusively as possible.

(fade out...)

(scene change...)

Ten minutes later the wand surprised her by starting to beep. Using her previous experience as a guide, she managed to follow the signal to its source: a small number of dumpsters behind one of the ritziest restaurants in the city. "Too bad the back doesn't look nearly as appealing as the front," Serena commented as she jumped down to the street.

Distastefully the young heroine shifted overflowing bags of refuse and rusting cans, looking for any sign of a familiar form. She only wished she had an extra hand available - or maybe a clothespin - to keep out the rancid smell. "Come on, come on," she complained under her breath, starting to lift the heavy cover to the closest dumpster. "Someone's got to be here. The wand can't be wrong!"

A muffled groan followed by a thick clunk appeared to be the response. "What the..."

"Yes!" the blonde exulted. Her grin quickly faded into a look of confusion. "Now where are you?"

"Under here, wherever that is. Is that you, Serena?"

"Yeah. Keep talking, I'll find you."

"What do you want me to say? Whatever I'm under is harder than my head, something out there smells like it just died, and you sound like you're a mile away. And what is that weird rustling noise?"

Sapphire blues widened at that last comment. "Uh, don't ask, Lita. I'm not sure you want to know. In fact, I'm pretty sure I don't want to know."

There was a slight pause. "You know, that doesn't make me feel any better. And could you please explain to me why I'm still transformed?"

"I would if I could, but I can't. I woke up the same way." Serena made her way over to the last dumpster in the row and knelt down to look under it. Green boots confronted her gaze. "What I want to know," she continued as she took hold of the taller girl's ankles, "is how we managed to keep our transformations for a whole day while we were unconscious." She started to pull her friend out from under the hulking piece of metal.

Finally the dirt- and grime-covered Scout of Lightning emerged from her temporary prison and gazed up at her rescuer. "Well, that's a relief." She took the hand her friend offered and climbed to her feet. "Now what was that you said about it being a day later?"

Serena explained everything she had discovered from her conversation with the cats. "And now we have to find everybody else and where Beryl and Metallia are before midnight, or that evil is going to be released again!"

"Wonderful. Just what I always wanted to wake up to." Lita gave the blonde a wry smile. "Well, we better get to it, or we'll never get it done. Who's next?"

The other girl shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't realize it was you I'd found until I heard you talk." She pulled out the wand once again. "Let's go back to the roofs. We're less likely to be noticed that way." The brunette at her side nodded, and the two of them took off.

(fade out...)

(scene change...)

It wasn't much later that the Sailor pair were following another signal from the Crescent Moon Wand, this time leading them in the direction of Tokyo General Hospital. "Oh, man, you don't think someone found one of the others and called an ambulance, do you?" Lita asked, worried. "That could mean some serious problems with the whole secret identity thing."

"Don't I know it," Serena agreed. "But let's check the grounds around the building first before we start asking questions. Maybe we'll get lucky."

"We can only hope." Lita proceeded to keep a wary eye out while the shorter girl focused on the blinking light she was taking her cues from.

As they walked through the well-kept gardens in the back of the building, the pulsing signal became more insistent, causing Serena to breathe a sigh of relief. "We don't have to go inside after all," she said quietly. "Someone's out here."

The other hero's emerald scrutiny sharpened. "But where? I don't see anything. Of course, with the sun setting it's hard to see anything clearly." She brought a hand up to shield her eyes. "Is that a bush I see twitching?" she asked, pointing in the direction of the offending shrub.

"I think it is," the blonde replied with a widening smile. "Let's find out who it is."

The two of them crept over to the shaking plant, catching a few glimpses of white and another color they couldn't make out in the glaring light. Eventually a sharp yelp of pain told them what they wanted to know. "Are you okay, Amy?" Serena asked quickly, kneeling down to try to help find a way out of the tangle of branches. She already knew too well what that was like.

"Serena?" the soft voice asked, startled. "Is that you?"

"Hey, don't forget me," Lita added, grinning.

Amy released a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. I was worried about what happened after that explosion. Are the others with you?"

"No, I'm sorry, Ames," Serena answered quietly, her chin dropping to her chest. Lita realized that the girl's driven, optimistic attitude had been covering up some serious fear, worry, and guilt. "I've only managed to find you and Lita, and Luna and Artemis haven't been able to contact anyone either."

"Serena," Lita said seriously as she gripped a shoulder comfortingly, "you've done a great job so far. The Crescent Moon Wand has been working, and pretty quickly, too. We'll find everyone."

Amy managed to slip out of the bush without too much damage to herself, then crawled over to join the other two. "It sounds like you've done just fine, Serena," she reassured her leader. "We'll keep looking. Do we know what's going on?"

The blonde young woman filled the blue-haired Scout in as she had done with Lita earlier. "It's six o'clock now," she concluded with a quick glance at her communicator. "We're running out of time."

"We've got a good start on getting everyone back together again, though, and the computers at Central are well on their way to tracking down Beryl and Metallia," the Scout of Ice said as she brought her head up from her hand-held computer she had pulled out halfway through the explanation. "Although I still can't quite figure out how we stayed transformed. I think maybe the energy overload of the explosion sort of 'short-circuited' our ability to power down."

"Do you mean we're stuck like this?" Lita asked incredulously.

Blue brows furrowed in thought. "No, not exactly. We could most likely do it now. But our natural tendency to do so after such an event as happened last night was suspended. It's going to take a conscious effort to override that suspension."

"Um, we'll take your word for it, Amy," Serena said a little hesitantly as she pulled out the wand again. "Right now we need to find everyone else."

"Right," the other two agreed in unison, and they were off.

(fade out...)

(scene change...)

A half hour later the trio found themselves in the warehouse district, hopping from building to building as they followed the signal closer to their target. Famous company names were painted large across the wooden walls in a variety of colors, mostly lost in the fading light of the sun that had almost completely disappeared below the horizon. They were all frustrated, especially Serena, who had expected this search to go as quickly and smoothly as the previous two.

"Where is she?" the blonde asked for the seventh time since they had reached this part of town. "Or he, I suppose." Tears welled up in the sapphire blue depths as her voice broke and trailed off. "Oh, Darien," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Where are you? Why can't I find you?"

Amy and Lita shared a sympathetic look. They had been waiting for their friend to admit to her worry for her beloved. It was like she had been deliberately ignoring the subject before. "We'll find them all, Serena. I promise," Amy comforted her.

Before she could say anything in response, the wand in Serena's hand started blinking at an incredible rate. "There!" the Scout of the Moon cried triumphantly, wiping away her unshed tears. "Someone's in that warehouse there!" She pointed toward the appropriate structure with the pink and gold device.

"Then let's move! Who knows what situation we'll find them in," Lita declared, leading the way.

There was just one small problem. The doors were all locked and chained.

"Oh, come on!" burst the brunette, throwing her arms wide with the exclamation. "This cannot be happening!"

"Oh, yes, it can," Serena sighed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "But there has to be some way in. Whoever's in there got in, right? What's on the second floor?"

Amy activated her visor and scanned the area. "Let's check the back. I think I've got something." The three of them did as requested. "Ah, ha! There!" she cried. "Those loading doors were overlooked. They're open!"

"And how do we get up there again?" Lita asked.

Serena pointed upward. "That rope and pulley." The other two noticed an extremely old and rusted pulley attached to an extended overhanging arm with an equally antiquated rope dangling from it.

"Are you sure that can hold our weight?"

"I'm not sure I am," Amy muttered.

The blonde shrugged. "It should for the short time we want to use it. Besides, we shouldn't get hurt that much by a fall anyway. It's only one floor. Now let me get on your shoulders and I should be able to reach the rope."

Lita stared at her leader for a moment then sighed and crouched down. Serena scrambled on top of the girl's shoulders, flinching slightly when she felt her ankles become encased in a grip of steel. "Hurry up," the taller girl ordered as she struggled to her feet. "This is uncomfortable."

Serena looked up and realized the rope was still an inch or so out of her reach. She was about to ask her support to stretch onto her tiptoes when an idea struck her, most likely saving her from a horrible revenge. She reached out with the Crescent Moon Wand, and on the second try, managed to snag the rope and pull it down to her level. "Got it!" she cried.

"Thank the gods," Lita grumbled. "You almost threw me off balance when you started waving your arms around." She slowly lowered herself to the ground where Serena immediately hopped off.

"Let me see that," Amy requested, focusing her visor on the fraying hemp. After a moment she blinked in surprise and deactivated the blue screen across her eyes. "What do you know? It should be sturdy enough as long as we only use it one at a time."

"Ha, ha! I knew it!" Serena exulted while Lita shook the rope causing the other end to come tumbling down next to them.

The girl in the green fuku grinned at the startled looks she received. "I could probably haul the two of you up there, but then I couldn't get in. I'm going to tie this off somewhere and we can all climb up. How can I protect you if I'm stuck outside?"

The other two giggled and shook their heads. "Good thinking, Jupiter," Amy complimented. "Let's hurry."

Once everything was set up the three of them scrambled up the rope and into the second floor delivery door Serena managed to pry open with her wand. Apparently this level of the warehouse was used to store overstock and out of date apparel for one of the area department stores, if the piles and piles of clothing and the name painted on the side of the building were any indication. They looked around in utter dismay.

"How the heck are we going to find anyone in this mess?" Lita asked.

"What about your computer, Mercury?" Serena inquired of the blue-haired Scout to her left.

She sighed. "I can try, but the amount of cloth between me and my target may cause some interference." Once again the visor was brought up over the dark blue eyes, and the genius narrowed her gaze at the figures she saw there. "The best I can do without a down-to-the-bare-bones scan is give us a general direction. That way." She pointed toward the far right-hand corner.

"Then we start there," the blonde in the center of the group replied with a shrug. She hurried forward, the others right behind her.

They'd gotten halfway to their destination when a medium-sized pile began to quiver slightly, and an extremely muffled pounding reached their ears. "Hey, what's going on?" they barely heard as they reached the suspect heap. "Look, if you don't get off me right now, there's going to be some serious trouble around here, I promise you that." The struggle began to get a little more violent, and the girls started to dig away at the voice's prison. "Since I'm still transformed I can do this! Venus..."

"No, Mina!" the three of them cried in unison, digging faster.

"What? Who's there?"

"It's us!" Serena yelled. "Don't blast us!"

There was a short pause. "Serena?"

"Yes!"

"Who else is with you?"

"Amy and Lita!"

"Oh."

The only reason they caught that last expression of realization was because of the quick work they had made of the mass of clothing that had buried their friend. They found that her upper half had been inside a smaller wooden crate, the only reason she hadn't been smothered by the fabric she had been under. Once she was free, Lita helped her to her feet and Serena filled her in on what was going on, cutting off the inevitable question.

"So you haven't found Raye or Darien?" the taller blonde asked, her pale blue eyes locked on Serena's face.

The Scout leader looked away as she shook her head. "Not yet," she whispered.

"You will, Princess," Mina said seriously, reaching out and grabbing both of the other girl's shoulders. "And we'll help you." The grave atmosphere faded. "Now let's get out of here," she continued with a grin. "I think I've actually had enough to do with clothes to last me quite a while."

"Mark the calendar, Mercury," Lita said wryly to the blue-haired Scout. "I don't think we'll hear that again any time soon."

"Hey!" Mina protested through the others' snickers.

Serena led the way over to where the rope still dangled in front of the open docking door. "Thanks for making me laugh, guys. We need to get going."

The tallest of the four leaned out and grabbed their mode of departure, pulling it close enough to use. "Anytime, girl. Why don't you go first, Amy? When you get down you can hold the rope steady from there."

Amy nodded. "Of course. I'll also keep an eye on the state of it with my visor. It is relatively old."

"Why are we worried about taking turns?" Mina asked, confused. "Why don't we just all jump out and slide down?"

"The rope can only handle the weight of one of us at a time," Serena explained. "Don't worry. It won't take that much longer."

The petite blonde was right about that. Soon enough, Amy was on the ground prepared for the others' descent and had helped Lita bring it close to the building once again. Serena was just about to step forward and take her turn when a sharp scream from her fellow blonde - who had wandered back into the piles to take a closer look at an outfit that had caught her eye - echoed through the wooden structure.

The rest all happened so fast no one was quite sure how it went. Following her screech, Mina dashed head long toward the open door, panic blinding her to the shorter girl in the way of her escape. The impact with Serena sent her tumbling into Lita, who hadn't finished recovering her balance from grabbing the rope. That collision made her fall out of the open doorway, only her instinctual tightening of her grip keeping her from tumbling headlong into the concrete below. She did slide down about two feet before coming to a halt, making her incredibly grateful for the gloves being Sailor Jupiter provided.

Above her, Serena couldn't help but follow her taller friend's example, as Mina continued to try to make her way out with a vengeance. The blonde with the odd hairstyle grasped the rope desperately with an inarticulate scream of her own, her tall red boots a fraction of an inch from impacting with the brunette's head below them. But Mina wasn't done yet. She now had her chance at freedom, and she snatched it with both hands. Which was absolutely necessary since she had to jump up to attach herself to the free part of the rope above Serena.

From the ground, Amy looked on horrified. She had no idea what was going on or what had caused it, but she was quite certain that this was about to end in a bad, painful way. "No!" she cried, her visor telling her what she already knew would happen. "You can't all be on the rope at the same time!"

The rope agreed. Just then, the aged strands gave up their fight against gravity and the weight that pulled against it, snapping with a rapid series of dull pops, and ending with a loud thud. Amy, who had just managed to avoid being caught under the mass of hemp and bodies, hurried back over once the dust had settled. "Are you guys okay?"

"Do we look okay?" a muffled alto voice replied from the bottom of the pile.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" Mina chirped from her position on top. "Especially now that I'm away from that mouse!"

"A mouse? All that was because of a mouse?" the girl in the middle asked incredulously. "We nearly broke our necks because of a mouse!"

Pale blue eyes blinked as they gazed down at the blonde below. "Well, yeah. I hate mice."

There was a pregnant pause where Amy felt sure there was going to be some serious violence all aimed at one Mina Aino before both Serena and Lita released explosive breaths. "Just get off us," the petite sandwiched one growled, pushing against the weight that kept her from getting to her feet.

"Oh, yeah. Sure!"

"Let me guess," Lita commented once everyone was standing. "You've never been a big fan of Disneyland."

The taller of the two blondes shuddered. "When they have the taste to pick a different mascot, we'll talk. Until then, I don't think so."

"Come on, guys," Serena interrupted. "We've got two more people to find and not much time to do it in. Let's go!"

"Right," the others chimed in unison, and they were off, the Crescent Moon Wand leading the way across the rooftops.

(fade out...)

(scene change...)

It was dark, always dark. The black crystal that surrounded him kept light out as effectively as it kept him contained. But it was weakening, he could sense that. Something was drawing on it, draining it of the energy that made it the prison it was. Now, if he could only wait long enough, he might be able to escape.

He nearly laughed at that, or he would have had he been able. Waiting? That was something that he had become incredibly proficient at in the time he'd been trapped here. Waiting, hoping for a chance to break free, to get revenge on those who had put him here. But he had discovered something as he stayed in stasis, unable to move yet conscious and aware. Whatever spell had imprisoned him fed on his energy, taking from him to keep itself operating. How ironic, he mused. This spell was supposed to show me the errors of my ways, but not like this, I'm sure. I wonder what she'd have to say about that.

He was blinking for a few moments at a blinding white crack in his prison before he realized he was doing it, and when he did he needed to blink even more at the tears that welled up in his dark blue eyes. Free, he would be free, and he would make amends or die trying. Nothing she could do would stop him this time.

It wasn't much longer before he could begin to move his limbs, wiggling fingers and toes, shifting minutely back and forth, anything to help the crystal's disintegration. And then it was done, a pile of sharp, jagged shards at his feet, and him having to support his weight on shaking legs for the first time in he didn't know how long. He'd never know how he managed to stay upright.

"And now to find out just what's going on," he whispered, the sound of his own voice loud in his ears although they hadn't had the power to go much beyond that. He walked forward, heading for the dark arch in front of him, his steps gaining what strength they could as they continued.

The man hadn't wandered long when a pair of female voices, both filled with evil, reached him and drew him to them. He tucked himself away just outside the room that appeared to be the source of the sounds and peeked around the corner. His muscles tensed at the sight. It was her! He had found her without even trying! She was talking to her master, that much he could see. But what was that glass case in front of her, and why was it surrounded by pulsating black energy?

"I've told you this every time you asked over the past twenty-four hours, Beryl. I will not supply you any of my precious energy until the seal is broken. My hour is at hand, and I will not jeopardize it for the sake of your hormones."

"But he would be a valuable ally, Master," the tall redhead pleaded. "We will need him when we confront the Scouts."

The hovering nimbus of blackness before the kneeling woman scoffed. "When I am free they will be no threat. You said yourself that the princess has only just awakened. Do you think she could possibly control the crystal enough to defeat me? No, for now you must make do as you have done for the past day. Your project appears to be moving forward quite well with only the energy you have scavenged from your surroundings." There was a pause as though the speaker was contemplating something. "Once you've completed it, however, keep him close. I may be able to use him after all."

Queen Beryl raised her head in shock at the comment. "Of... of course, Master. It shall be as you command. I will see to the completion of my... project."

"And I shall return to my own. Do not disturb me again until it is time to break the seal. I cannot afford any more distractions."

"Yes, Master." And a moment later, both were gone in a flash of dark energy, leaving behind the glass case.

The unseen witness waited only a moment before hurrying inside to see for himself what had captured the evil queen's attention and had her begging the last person she would dare to cross. Only a few steps later had him beside the coffin-like box narrowing his eyes at the formally-dressed figure within. He had wondered who this person had been the times they had met. With a growing sense of foreboding, his hand reached out for the domino mask that concealed the identity of this former adversary. The sight that was revealed had his breath catching in his throat and his heart falling into his stomach.

No. Not him. Anyone but him.

Minutes passed, bringing no change and no real peace of mind. He could sense that there was no way he could break through the dark shield or the spell that even now sank deeper and deeper into the young man before him, not in the weakened condition he was in. He wracked his brain for some sort of solution, anything he could do to put a stop to this and foil the evil plan that was brewing.

"S... sailor Moon... S... serenity... S... serena..."

The soft whisper snapped the standing man's attention back to the present at the same time it gave him his answer. There was nothing he could do here. And there was only one person he could think of that could do what needed to be done. She needed to be told as soon as possible. He turned to follow through on this idea, then stopped. Maybe there was something else he could do to help after all...

The pain was excruciating when he put his hand through the shield to rest his palm on the sweat-covered brow of the man within, but that wasn't what caused the tears that ran down his cheeks. "Forgive me, my prince," he murmured, gathering his reserves of energy. "I can't free you; I don't have the power. But I can make it easier for her to do it. No matter what happens, remember her, remember your love for her. Don't let this turn your heart to stone. Maybe, just maybe, this can be the start of my atonement for failing you so badly. It would take another lifetime to atone completely. For now, though, I can do this." There was a bright flash of white light that was quickly swallowed by the blackness of the screen surrounding it. But the prone young man stirred slightly and gave an almost relieved sigh, the corners of his mouth turned upward somewhat.

The other man caught his breath once he had withdrawn his arm and stepped back. There. He had done what he could directly. Now he needed to warn his prince's savior, the only one who could bring him back from the edge... as long as Metallia wasn't given a chance to use him as she had suggested to Beryl. He shuddered. He knew that touch, and he would give anything to never feel it again. But he would in a heartbeat if it would mean freedom for the young man he had pledged himself to so very long ago.

Wracking coughs suddenly paralyzed him, forcing his body into a standing fetal position until they had passed. It was then that he realized what limited time he truly had. He had to go, had to hurry. She had to know before it was too late. She had to know before he could no longer tell her. The strange aftereffects of the imprisoning crystal would only last so long.

(fade out...)

(scene change...)

Glancing at her hand-held computer, Amy flinched when she saw it was getting close to ten o'clock. New Year's Eve parties were beginning to go into full swing in the buildings below the four Scouts' feet as they continued to do their methodical search of the large city for the last of their two comrades. She kept checking her computer, even knowing it was useless, just as the computers at Central were.

They had checked in with the cats a short time after they had left the warehouse district, filling them in on the search so far and coming up with theories as to why they were having such difficulties finding people. It was Mina who had come up with the best possibility. "I have a feeling the two groups' energies merged in the explosion, making it so our transformations wouldn't fade and shielding us from detection. It takes the Silver Crystal to break through it. I know I didn't wake up until you guys got into the building where I was buried in all those clothes," she had said seriously, making them all do a double take.

"And it looks like we finally registered your energy signatures after Sailor Moon found you," Luna mused. "I think you're right, Venus."

The blue-haired Scout shook her head in fondness as she thought of the proud, almost gloating grin that had transformed the pale blonde's features at that. Her good humor faded quickly as she realized that meant that Serena was the only one who could find the others - and they were running out of time.

"I think we should head back to the arcade," the Scout leader announced dejectedly, leaping down off the roof of a small bakery near the top of a hill somewhere in the city. They had all lost track of exactly where they were over an hour and a half ago. "Maybe if I channel the crystal through the computers we can search without being found out."

"That's not so horrible an idea," Amy agreed. "At the very least it should give us a direction. That will be more productive than this." Murmured sounds of agreement came from the last two searchers, and the quartet headed off along the sidewalk much subdued.

They hadn't gone far when the wand that dangled loosely from Sailor Moon's fingers began beeping urgently. "What in the world?" she asked, bringing it up to stare at the blinking gem at the junction between the stick and the crescent top. She jerkily waved it around, freezing when she realized what direction it was trying to lead her in.

"Oh, man," Lita said, smacking herself in the forehead. "I can't believe we missed the steps!"

"I can't believe someone got to stay here," Mina grumbled.

"Come on, let's go!" Serena cried, the bounce back in her step as she began to run up the steps of the Cherry Hill Temple, followed closely by her friends.

No one was expecting the sight that waited for them when they reached the top. Grandpa Hino was calmly sweeping the area in front of the steps that led to the porch and building proper. He looked up at their arrival, seemingly unsurprised to find them there and at such a late hour. "Hello, girls," he greeted them. "She's inside sleeping. I thought she might not wake up until you got here, so I told Chad that Raye was staying with Lita for the weekend. Come, I'll take you to her."

The four defenders of love and justice just stood in front of the short man with their jaws on the ground. "You... know?" Serena barely managed to spit out.

The priest grinned. "I suspected until the indigo crystal was taken from me during the attack here at the temple. After that I was sure."

"You remember that?" Lita asked incredulously. "Nobody but Greg remembers the attacks on them!"

"Are you sure? Perhaps they merely wish not to say anything, for fear of social censure or possibly giving away the heroes that saved them." Dark brown eyes glittered with knowledgeable mischief.

"Or even capturing the attention of the Dark Kingdom again," Amy finished the hypothesis. She blinked. "I suppose I should say the Negaverse. That is the dimension where Queen Serenity banished them after all."

"Come now," Grandpa said again. "I'll take you to her. I saw in the flames that there is not much time left. Chad is in bed. You won't be found out."

"You're okay with this?" Mina asked as the five of them made their way toward Raye's bedroom.

The man shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have a choice. My granddaughter was born to defend this world. How could I be so selfish as to risk the lives of billions of people here on Earth, not to mention however many people elsewhere, by giving in to my concern for her safety? Besides, I know she'd find a way to circumvent me. She always has. And I have never seen her so alive as she's been since meeting all of you, nor as driven since she discovered her true purpose. She found her place in this world. I will do what I can to support her in it."

The others found there was nothing to say to that. Gone was the shallow lech that begged them repeatedly to help out at the temple, the jolly old man who offered them a silly joke or comment to cheer them up when they looked a little down. In his place was a noble priest, sure of his knowledge and beliefs, and confident that destiny knew its way. This was the man that had always lurked beneath the surface, they all realized. This was the man who still mourned for his daughter's loss, and raised that daughter's child in her memory, loving her as he had his own little girl, loving her enough to let her find her own way, no matter how difficult that path was.

The girls' level of respect for this man shot through the roof as they reached the sliding door that led to their friend's bedroom. Inside they found Sailor Mars sleeping peacefully under her covers, her head turned toward them. "I found her under the last of the leaf piles next to the buildings not long after your battle." Here he smiled ruefully. "And the only reason I knew you'd had one is I happened to see the final flash of light. Anyway, I brought her inside before Chad noticed you all hadn't come back and she's been sleeping ever since. I was actually starting to get a little worried."

"You don't need to be anymore, sir," Serena replied respectfully. "Now that we're all together, we'll be able to find Tuxedo Mask that much sooner, and then we'll kick Metallia's butt. Nobody messes with my friends and gets away with it."

He placed a well-worn hand on the heroine's arm. "I'm still the Grandpa Hino you all know and love. You don't need to treat me any differently. Besides, if you do, people will get suspicious." He winked at the startled girl. "Now get that girl up and get to work! We're all counting on you!" He smiled, gave his granddaughter one last, wistful look, and left, closing the door behind him.

The four Scouts looked at each other, blinking in surprise. When they finally turned their attention back to the bed, they saw that no effort would be needed in bringing Mars back to consciousness. She was beginning to toss and turn, and not long after, the violet eyes fluttered open. "Guys?" she whispered, looking at the foursome that had surrounded her bed. "What's going on? Where am I? Are you okay?"

"You don't ask the easy questions, do you?" Mina tossed back with a giggle. "Well, one is, I guess. We're fine." The raven-haired Scout breathed a sigh of relief. "As to where you are, you're in bed."

The priestess frowned. "I got that much. So where's the bed?"

"Um, you may not believe this, but... well, it's your bed," Serena explained, blushing.

"My bed!" Raye sat up straight, throwing her blankets off. "What did you go and bring me back here for? Are you trying to give me away?"

Lita put a hand on the fuming girl's shoulder. "Hold it a sec, Mars. We didn't have anything to do with you being here. We've been looking all over for you, and just happened to stumble across you at the temple. Your grandfather found you in the backyard and put you in bed."

"He knows, Raye," Amy said quietly.

Raye stared silently at each of them in turn, trying to determine how serious they were. When she saw no sign of deception, her shoulders dropped and her eyebrows rose. "He knows I'm Sailor Mars? I take it you talked to him." She waited for their nods of agreement before continuing. "How long?"

"Since the indigo crystal," Serena said nervously, hoping her friend would take this well. "He's been keeping the secret, though. He told Chad you were staying with Lita for the weekend."

"He did?" Her expression turned contemplative. "I think I'll have to talk to him later. I take it we're in the middle of something big?"

"Don't you know it!" Mina retorted before the four of them filled in the fifth, bringing her quickly up to date. "And now we have to find Tuxedo Mask," the leader of the Moon Princess' guard concluded, crossing her arms over her chest.

Raye thought about it as she got to her feet and straightened her covers. "If you haven't gotten a clue to where he might be while you were looking for me, let me see what I can get from the Sacred Flame. A reading might be just what we need."

"That's great, Mars!" Serena enthused.

Mina nodded. "Definitely. And while you do that, Jupiter and I will watch the perimeter. Things are getting really close to the wire, and we can't take the chance of getting pounced when we're not expecting it."

"Then let's do it," the brunette Scout said enthusiastically, leading the others out and to their separate tasks.

(fade out...)

(scene change...)

Venus and Jupiter had just come back to the main building for the third time when rustling from the bushes near the outer wall drew their attention. "What do you think that is?" Mina asked in a fierce whisper.

Lita shrugged. "I don't know. What I do know is that if that's one of the bad guys, he's really going to regret it." She flashed her companion a wicked grin that was returned full measure, and the two of them started to step quietly toward the disturbance.

They had just stepped off the cobblestone courtyard about two-thirds of the way to their destination when a man with short blond hair stumbled out of the shrubbery. His dark blue eyes went wide, recognition apparent in his expression. "Sailor Venus, Sailor Jupiter," he greeted them when he had recovered his composure, straightening to his full height.

Both young women narrowed their eyes at the strange man who had come to them in the middle of the night. Of course, their suspicion could be mainly attributed to the fact that he wore a Negaverse General's uniform, tattered as it was. "Hello," Mina returned neutrally. He hadn't made any threatening gestures yet, after all. "What can we do for you?"

The man released a breath, revealing how nervous he had been. "I need to speak with Sailor Moon. I have information she needs to hear immediately. She is here, right?"

Lita waited for the gentleman's brief spasm of coughing to end before replying. "Maybe. Who's to say that you're not here to hurt her, though? I think you realize we can't let that happen."

He nodded. "Of course. I would expect no less from her guardians."

Venus couldn't help but to look at their visitor more closely. "Why do you look so familiar?" she asked. "My memories are coming back, but I still don't have enough."

"Please, go get Sailor Moon and I'll explain everything. You all need to know this."

Jupiter looked from the man to her teammate and waited for the other girl's call. "What do you think?" she asked. "Can we trust him?"

"Not completely," was the immediate response. "But I think he deserves a chance to change my mind. You watch him, I'll get Sailor Moon."

"You got it."

Not five minutes later, Serena came walking back with Mina, having left Amy to watch over Raye who was in the midst of her meditation. "What did you need, Venus? Who wants to talk to me?"

"I think I'll let him introduce himself, considering he hasn't yet." She gestured toward where the blond man stood with a protective yet curious Lita watching over him.

She most certainly wasn't expecting her princess' response. "You!" Serena cried. "What are you doing here?"

The man sighed. "I'm not here to stand against you, Sailor Moon, I promise you that. I have information that you need to hear."

"How can I believe you?"

"I didn't attack your fellow Scouts when I arrived, did I? Even when it would have been one on one, I waited. I only want to talk. I need to talk to you."

The petite blonde's sapphire blues searched the man who stood before her, desperately trying to figure out what his real motive was, what the catch was. She let her mind brush against the Silver Crystal, using it to slightly amplify her natural talent for reading people. That's what told her he was genuine. And even more importantly, that he no longer had the taint of dark energy about him. "I can't sense the Negaverse on you any more. What happened? We wondered when we started facing Nephlite."

"Excuse me for just a moment. It appears your two companions are a little behind in this conversation." He smiled at the frustrated look the other two girls wore. "Let me introduce myself. I am known as Jedite, General to Endymion, Prince of Earth. I am here to assist you in any way I can."

"Then you were like Malachite," Serena said with a gasp. "Turned against Endymion by Beryl and Metallia!" She turned to the others. "Jedite's the general we faced first, before we met you guys. But we never knew what happened to him after our showdown at the airport."

"It's about time you explained," Mina grumbled under her breath.

Jedite smiled at the muttered comment. "Yes, I was. All four of us were. But as to what happened to me, Beryl decided to punish me after that failure. It had been my last chance to prove myself worthy, and I didn't. She encased me in black crystal, something she calls 'Eternal Sleep'."

"Then how can you be here now?" Lita asked.

"At the moment Metallia refuses to give Beryl the energy she needs to cast a spell, so the queen has been forced to draw on whatever energy she can find around her. My crystal was one of the victims. It finally couldn't hold its integrity and I was free. I wandered around for a while to find out what was going on then came here."

The girls shared a look. "But why aren't you filled with dark energy anymore?" Mina asked.

"The spell works in such a way that it draws energy off its victim to continue. The first energy to be fed to it was the dark energy flowing through my veins. Like attracting like, I guess. But it's done at such a rate that you can regenerate enough to stay alive. The idea is that eventually you reach a point where you walk the line between life and death, never able to end it, and conscious of the entire procedure."

The Scouts gasped at that. "She actually did that to you?" Serena said, horrified. "How could she?"

He gave her a sympathetic look, grateful for the concern. "There are times when I've been sure she lost her soul long ago to the master she now serves. Anyhow, I believe that since I had no way to regenerate the dark energy, being cut off from the rest of the Negaverse, I could only replenish my natural power, clearing my mind and body - and leaving me fully aware of what I had done. I never wished for death more than I did when I could claim my soul as my own once more. I'm so sorry, princess, more sorry than I could ever say."

The meatball-bedecked blonde smiled serenely. "I can see that, Jedite, and I believe I can forgive you. You came here to help?"

The man's shoulders began to shake at the girl's words. "Yes, yes, I did. I overheard Beryl talking to Metallia, when she was begging for energy to cast her spell. She has..." He began to cough again, this time much more violently. He fell to a knee. "Forgive me. The aging the rejuvenation of the crystal managed to put off is catching up with me." He took a deep breath and continued, his composure mostly back in place. "She has Endymion, princess, and she's attempting to brainwash him into fighting for her. She's desired him ever since she first laid eyes on him during the Silver Millennium, and nothing's changed. She wants him and she plans on taking him by force."

Sapphire blue eyes widened, stricken to the core. "No, she can't. She can't have him. She can't!"

"I did what I could to make sure the spell could be broken. I couldn't do it myself, but I believe I left enough of a chink in the armor to allow you to break through. Do you know about Metallia's seal being close to collapsing?"

Serena nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks. "We estimate it'll fall around midnight. We've been trying to get ready."

Mina wrapped an arm around her princess' shoulders and squeezed. "Jedite's given us a way to get him back, Se... Sailor Moon." She glanced guiltily at the still-kneeling general. "You have to hold onto hope."

"I will, I will. But this is all happening so fast! My head is reeling." She took a few deep breaths to get control of herself, although her friends could see it was a tenuous balance. "By the way, Venus, he already knows my civilian name." A slight impish twinkle sparked in the gaze that turned toward the Scout of Love.

Jedite chuckled at the flabbergasted looks the two guardians wore. "She has a point. And you're fortunate that Beryl has no patience. I tried to bargain with your secret identities. She wouldn't listen." His smile faded. "Again, I apologize. And that's something to keep in mind. When Beryl gets flustered, she doesn't think things through, doing whatever pops into her head first. Plans that aren't thought out are much easier to pull apart."

"And you think this thing with Darien is one of those plans," Lita said in realization.

He nodded. "She's only had a day to do anything, and she's spent most of it begging for more energy to get it done, if I heard correctly. It won't be complete. And I think that if you have to face him, she's run out of other options. You need to be out of the way before Metallia comes back, no matter what that creature believes, and Beryl knows that. But she doesn't have a lot of choice as to how to get that done."

"But how can I face him like that?" Serena breathed, her precarious balance crumbling around her. "How can I fight against the man I love? What if I have to... kill him... to stop him?"

"You won't," Lita insisted, wrapping her arms around the stricken girl and holding her tight. "I know you won't. You're the person that reached him when no one else could. You're the person that drew him back out of his shell when he would have retreated and shut himself away. You're the person that believed in him enough so that he started to believe in himself. From what Andrew has said, even when he was at his lowest, he still sparked to life when he thought of you. He loves you. He loved you even before we regained our memories with the Silver Crystal. And it's that love that will reach him in your darkest hour. I know it will. It has to." The girl's breath caught on the sob she tried to keep from escaping, and she buried her face in between the two buns on top of her friend's head. "You have to believe that, too, or this will all be for nothing. If you, our light of hope, gives up, what are the rest of us supposed to do? Your love has always been a miracle. Don't throw it away now." She finally lost the battle against her tears, and their release shook the tall, athletic frame.

Serena returned the embrace fiercely. "I won't give up. If only to repay you for your faith in me, I won't give up. I love him, and I know he loves me. I'll hold onto that, and it will carry us through. It will. It will. It has to, for all of you, for everybody." The blonde's sobs joined her friend's. "I love all of you, too. Never forget that. Never, ever forget that."

"Do you honestly think we could?" a new voice said as a rustling announced another pair of arrivals. "What do you think we fight for, what we've always fought for?"

"Raye?" Serena replied, raising her head from Lita's shoulder. Her eyes widened at the dark expression she wore. "Raye, what's wrong?"

"I sensed danger coming, and hurried out to tell you about it. This is what I found."

The blue-haired girl at her side glanced between the raven-haired priestess at the man she stared daggers at. "We never expected to find this," she said ruefully.

Jedite watched them carefully, feeling the hostility in the air. "I need to apologize to the both of you as well. There's no excuse for my actions."

Mars let out an explosive breath. "Oh, yes, there is," she refuted, the irritation in her voice belying how much she wanted to say otherwise. "You were possessed by the dark energy Beryl and Metallia pumped into you, you said it yourself. You're only lucky that I overheard that part of your conversation, that and how you revealed Queen Beryl's plans." She relaxed slightly and gave the blond man a small smirk. "And you can't forget my princess' forgiveness. I'd be a fool to go against that."

"I would have deserved every tongue of flame you would have thrown at me."

"Damn right you would have, but I didn't, and you're helping us. That's all there is to that."

"Oh, that's good," Mina said casually, her attention drawn to the sky above and away from the temple. "Because I think we're looking at the beginning of the end here." She pointed at the column of black crackling energy that seemed to be streaming down to a point somewhere in the city.

Lita wiped away the tears that had stopped with the arrival of the last of their number and looked where the Scout in the orange fuku was gesturing. "Is it just me, or are we being called out?"

A look of intense determination transformed Serena's expression. "So be it," she declared. "If she wants it, she can have it. No one messes with the people I love and gets away with it. I'll get Darien back from that witch's clutches if it's the last thing I ever do. I did not just win a major victory over Dr. Elizabeth Nyx to see it go up in smoke by a thousand-year-old rival that should be long dead! Let's bring the noise!"

(fade out...)

(scene change...)

It was a grim sixsome that followed the feline guardians' directions to the park where the pillar of dark power had landed - in the middle of Juuban Park. "You know, this just figures," Raye said wryly as she looked around warily for any sign of their enemy. "The Dark Kingdom seems to have a severe soft spot for this place. There must be some serious energies that converge here or something."

Amy smiled, her eyes as watchful as everyone else's. "You may be right. I'll have to research that when this is all over."

"I only hope I last long enough to be of some assistance," Jedite gasped out. They had paused no less than five times on their way there to wait out coughing fits that seemed to leave the general weaker and weaker each time. They all knew his time was running out.

"You already have been," Serena whispered, her grip tight around the handle of her Crescent Moon Wand. She had placed the Silver Crystal in the notch where it was meant to go, and was as prepared as she could be. She still didn't know how she'd react if she saw her beloved being controlled by her enemy, but at least she had some kind of warning. She figured she would have ended up completely useless if the sight had been sprung upon her totally unawares.

"That, I'm afraid, is a matter of opinion," a voice filled with a fathomless evil declared harshly from behind them as they reached the center of the large clearing where they had all met up the Sunday Darien had decided to go outside for the first time. "I must admit, Jedite, that you are the last person I expected to see here this evening."

The six of them turned to face the source of the anger-filled words and saw a tall, slim woman just outside the shadows of the surrounding trees. Her brilliant red hair flowed in waves to her lower back, a small horn appeared to be growing from each of her shoulders, and a tight purple dress clung to her figure revealing more cleavage than polite society normally allowed for. But what let them all know the severity of the enemy they now faced was the wicked insanity in the sparkling orange eyes, an insanity that was all the more dangerous for the obvious power behind it.

"Beryl," Jedite growled as he took up a position in front of the Scouts. "Fancy meeting you here." The girls blinked at the formerly grave and serious man's flippant tone.

The woman's eyes narrowed. "You never did know how to treat a superior with respect."

"That's not true," he refuted. "And when I meet a superior, you'll see what I'm talking about."

Now the girls shared an astounded look. "Is he trying to get himself killed?" Lita whispered. The others shrugged.

Beryl gritted her teeth at her former servant's comment. "I'll show you who's your superior!" She raised her left hand, the one not enveloped by shadows, and a bolt of pitch black energy shot out from the outstretched palm, impacting squarely with Jedite's chest.

Somehow he managed to keep his feet as he was forced back about a yard and waved back the Scouts before they could move in front of him. "This is my battle for now," he told them sharply in low tones. "She's not ready yet." The impishly wicked smile that lightened his features somehow put them at ease, a sense of familiarity washing over and comforting them.

"You always did lash out first and think second. Don't you realize that's why you were sent away from the Earth Palace in the first place? Endymion and Serenity had nothing to do with it. It was the king and queen's decision." His smile turned into a distinctive and taunting smirk. "Of course it probably had to do with your lack of ability, too. I mean, servants are supposed to serve, don't you think? And you call me disrespectful."

"Bastard!" the tall woman screeched, sending out another bolt, this one barely dodged. "I was always more than a simple servant! Always! They talked to me, relied on my advice! And then Serenity saw me, found out about my feelings for Endymion. She cast her charms on him and had me sent away - all so she could have him for herself!" Another blast shot out, this one aimed at Serena who ducked with a startled "eep!"

"Oh, please," Jedite retorted with a roll of his dark blue eyes, although the girls could see that his previous antics were seriously wearing him down. "Serenity never even laid eyes on you the times she snuck down to Earth. And she most certainly never spoke to the king and queen. The people of the Moon weren't allowed on Earth, remember? That was your big rallying cry, after all. Or was that just as fake as the rest of you?" He let his eyes slowly take in the form that was quivering with rage, his expression unfavorably discerning. "So how much did you pay for that chest, anyway?"

Beryl's inarticulate scream echoed through the suddenly-charged air around them, and what they could see of her became outlined in a black nimbus that crackled with sparks of an even darker, shimmering shade. "Die, you insolent fool!"

It was over quickly. The energy rushed out at the frail man like water from a fire hose, washing over and throwing him back several feet. He only screamed once when the impact happened, and the thud of his landing would stay with the Scouts that hurried over to his side for a very long time. They all knelt around him, almost completely neglecting the still-fuming woman in the background. "Jedite! Say something!" Serena cried, grabbing the hand that lay limp next to her.

"Why did you do that?" Lita whispered, her hands clenched into fists. "That was so stupid!" The other three were speechless, only able to gaze at the fallen general and shake their heads.

"Look at her now," Jedite gasped, his eyes fluttering open halfway. "Do you see how angry she is?"

"She's not angry; she's downright pissed!" Rei refuted.

He smirked. "Exactly. I didn't have the power to attack her. I didn't have the power to do anything to help protect you. But I did have the power to throw her off balance. Use it, work with it. You have the advantage now." He groaned and grimaced as a spasm of pain hit him hard, his breath catching and turning more shallow.

Mina looked back over her shoulder and saw Beryl doing nothing against her distracted enemies, only glaring at the man she had defeated and muttering something under her breath. "You're right. She's not thinking of strategy at all right now."

"Princess Serenity," the blond sprawled out on the grass choked out. "Please tell my prince when you free him that I'm so sorry, that I wish things could have worked out differently. I only wish I had the time to atone... for what I've done." He paused to catch what breath he could. "Please."

Tears welled up in the sapphire blues that returned the pained gaze so earnestly. "Of course, General Jedite. It shall be as you request. But know this: he was able to forgive Malachite. I know he'd do the same for you. And I already have."

Jedite smiled gently. "Thank you, princess. Thank you." He released his last breath as a satisfied sigh, and his eyes fell closed for the final time.

Once the remaining quintet realized that Jedite was truly gone, they rose in unison and stood in a small arc between Beryl and his body, closing most of the distance between the two camps. "It's time to deal with us, witch," Mina declared fiercely, her pale blue eyes shining with unshed tears and determination.

"You're going down," Lita added, fury barely held in check.

At the sight of the latest development in the battle, the evil queen somehow managed to pull her composure together and straightened to her full height, the aura around her fading to nothing. "Well, well, Scouts. It appears that you've finally gathered the courage to face me." Her orange gaze traveled from left to right, taking in Jupiter, Mercury, Moon in the center, then Venus and Mars. "I always knew you were a coward, princess," she said as she returned her attention to the pale-faced leader. "Only this time you've decided to play dress up. You don't honestly believe that you can make me think you're really a warrior, do you?"

Serena smiled at the sneer. "You can't make me angry that way, Beryl. I've already proven myself to the people that matter. And now you're going to pay for what you've done. I won't let you take over this world. It'll only mean destruction."

Beryl chuckled. "This world is already mine, little princess. Any time now, Metallia will break free, and then nothing will stand in my way. And allow me to introduce the man that will rule by my side." Suddenly the shadows that had hidden the right side of her body shifted away, and they all witnessed a familiar armor-clad figure kneeling there, kissing the taloned hand. "You all remember Prince Endymion, don't you?" Her grin turned even more evil as she watched Serena's face lose what little color it had left and her eyes widen.

"Oh, Darien," she whispered. "I was hoping it wasn't true."

"You may rise, my prince." No one missed the subtle emphasis on the term of possession.

Darien rose to his feet and stood tall, obviously waiting for another command. His head turned to the right, and they all gasped to see his normally midnight blue eyes changed to pure black. "Welcome, Scouts. Have you come here to bow down before your master?" His voice was harsh and cold, nothing like what any of them remembered.

"Darien, please," Serena pleaded. "Look at me. Can't you remember what we've shared?"

He focused on the girl in the center. "If you're speaking to me, the name's Endymion. And there's nothing to remember. I only live to serve my queen."

"You see?" Beryl taunted. "He's mine completely, body and soul." She looked at the man next to her, taking note of where his attention was. Her jaw clenched. "Endymion, kiss me. Prove to that Moon brat where your loyalties lie." Her frustration mounted at his hesitation - which, unnoticed by the flustered queen, raised the hopes of all the Scouts, Sailor Moon in particular - and she reached out to brush his arm. "Endymion. Now."

The five speechless girls watched as Darien's face went completely blank and turned back toward the redheaded siren. He leaned in automatically, allowing his lips to brush up against hers. But Beryl wasn't about to let that be the end of it. She pressed forward, turning the liplock into something more passionate as she closed her eyes. "More," she whispered, just barely heard by her audience. His left arm came up and loosely encircled her waist. "More," she said again when nothing else was forthcoming. This time his right hand came up and rested on her hip. "Higher, higher," she demanded breathlessly, never opening her eyes.

Thus she missed Serena bringing a shaking hand to her lips and taking faltering steps back in shock and revulsion when Darien clasped the woman's left breast and squeezed. The others moved in to close ranks, as repulsed as their leader and determined that there wouldn't be a direct line of fire to their princess. No one watching missed the jerky rhythm to his movements, however, as though he were being pulled along by strings.

Not long after that, Beryl drew back a step, causing Darien's arms to fall back to his sides. "Endymion, tell them how beautiful you think I am."

"So beautiful," he whispered woodenly, his eyes wide and unseeing, having never closed during the entire episode. Then his head turned to the side, almost as though its wire had been cut, and his gaze fell onto the blonde behind the line of guardians. He started to blink, and the life came back into his blackened eyes quite visibly. "Waiting for your turn, Sailor Moon?" he sneered, straightening into a cocky stance.

It took her a moment to recover from the shock, but then Serena forced herself to smile. "Actually, yes."

Darien blinked once again, then his expression transformed into a grin filled with wicked anticipation. He chuckled. "Then we'll have to see what we can do about that."

"Endymion," Beryl interrupted, obviously distressed by where the topic of discussion was headed. "I want you to kill Sailor Moon. Kill the princess!" The young man's features turned serious.

The four guardians stood tall and prepared themselves. "We won't let you!" Mina cried.

"No one's touching our princess!" Raye added with a glare. Lita cracked her knuckles and Amy activated her visor.

Beryl merely beamed beatifically at the defiance. "And kill anyone that gets in your way."

The ebony-haired young man shifted his armor slightly as he evaluated the situation, then narrowed his eyes and rushed forward. As he went he formed a barrier of dark energy around himself. Upon physical contact with it, each Scout was thrown back until all there was left was Sailor Moon, who had backpedaled when she heard Beryl's commands. The pair ended up in the center of the clearing, and with a negligent gesture the aura that had surrounded him became a large dome that defined a distinct battle ground. "There," he said when he was finished. "Now it's just you and me."

Pale brows furrowed in consideration. Did he get the girls out of his way so he wouldn't have to kill them? "I won't be that easy to take care of," she told him quietly yet defiantly. Finally, her soul weeping inside, she accepted that a fight was the only way to get back the man she loved.

"I would hope not. That would take all the fun out of things." He drew his sword with a steely hiss. "Ready or not, here I come."

Serena spent the first minutes of battle running and dodging, not quite sure what she could do since she was sure the Crescent Moon Wand, even with the Silver Crystal, wouldn't be enough to eliminate the dark energy possessing her opponent. But she couldn't keep this up forever. Darien, as his alter ego Endymion, was extremely good with his weapon, and she had only just managed to avoid getting skewered so far.

As she stood catching her breath during a pause Darien was using to reevaluate his enemy, an idea started to form. Her eyes began to widen with realization. She looked up as Darien began to speak. "What are you doing?" he asked, obviously at a loss to explain her tactics. "If you keep doing this you're only going to wear yourself out. I thought you were going to fight me!"

That cinched it. She knew what she had to do. "Who said I wasn't? Moon Tiara Magic!" The glowing disc nearly left her fingers before she had finished the attack phrase, flying out to nearly disarm the broad sword Darien held in a relaxed grip.

"Damn!" he exclaimed, thoroughly shocked, as he readied himself for a continued confrontation. A smile slowly began to blossom across his face. "I guess I underestimated you. I won't do that again." He started to step toward her.

That was when Serena brought in the arm she had left extended after the toss, and the tiara boomeranged back to impact squarely with Darien's lower back. She flinched as he cried out, stumbling forward. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "But I have to."

(cut to...)

(scene change...)

Outside the translucent black bubble, the four discarded Scouts gathered as close as they could to watch the proceedings. "I can't believe she attacked him," Amy whispered, dark blue eyes stricken.

"She had to," Raye responded just as quietly. "It's the only way."

"You mean she has to kill him to free him?" Lita asked incredulously.

Mina shook her head as the raven-haired priestess only clenched her jaw. "Not exactly. But she does need to weaken him. Think about what she said about Malachite. And Darien's Achilles' Heel..."

"Is his lower back, where he was injured in the car accident," the brunette finished in understanding. "But isn't she taking a big chance that she's going to seriously set his recovery back?"

"What's being in a wheelchair compared to being used and manipulated by an enemy that wants to use you to not only take over the world, but kill the woman you love?" Mars retorted, her violet eyes never leaving the confrontation on the other side of the barrier. It had progressed to both dodging attacks from the other, Darien now using small balls of explosive dark energy as well as his sword. "Besides, I think once she has him back Serena's going to use the Silver Crystal to heal any wounds she caused. She couldn't live with herself if she did anything less."

The blonde in the group narrowed her eyes as she considered what she was seeing. "How is Darien doing that?" she wondered. "Throwing around energy like that was never his thing. And he hasn't produced a rose yet!"

Amy was in the middle of checking a series of numbers that flashed across her visor. "That's because the energy isn't his," she explained. "Beryl's using him as a conduit for her own power."

"If that's the case, she's better at this whole strategy thing than I thought," Lita said with a low appreciative whistle.

Mina shook her head. "No, she's not. Look at her." She pointed to where the fuming queen stood about ninety degrees away from them along the circle the dome formed, staring inside the same way they were, her expression a study in frustration, fury, and confusion. She apparently didn't even realize there were still enemies on the outside to deal with. "I think that's why she's never dealt with us in person. She doesn't know what to do. I'm still sorting through my memories of the Silver Millennium, but what I do remember about the campaign, when added to what we know now, says that she was always merely a figurehead. She can cast spells - quite well, I might add - but running a war? I don't think so. That's why she used Metallia's power to possess people who could do that for her." She smiled brightly. "Wow, that actually makes sense."

Amy glanced at the guardians' leader and smiled herself. "Yes, it does. Apparently the possession doesn't negate cunning and intelligence unless she wants it to. It merely twists memories and perception into what she desires."

"So should we attack her while she's distracted?" Lita asked, looking over at Beryl.

"No," Amy said after a quick scan. "She's still surrounded by that aura she used to kill Jedite; it's merely invisible. It's going to take the Silver Crystal to get through it."

"I hate just standing around watching. Makes me feel helpless - and I hate feeling helpless," the tallest Scout growled with frustration, clenching her fists and turning her attention back to the battle inside the dome.

"Sailor Moon!" Raye cried out, pounding the shield with a quick punch and much the same emotions as the Scout of Lightning. She drew back quickly when dark energy crackled up her arm.

"Don't bother," Darien's evil-tainted voice echoed back to them as he continued to face off against Serena. "That dome doesn't come down until I say it does, and only one person's leaving it."

The Scout of Fire shook for a moment, reining in her rage, then sputtered with weak laughter. "Why do I get sudden visions of Thunderdome flashing across my mind?"

Lita looked over at her, startled, then broke into a grin of her own. "Two man enter, one man leave," she retorted.

"Will you two knock it off?" Mina reprimanded, obviously not understanding the reference. She and the others returned their attention to the action on the other side of the energy barrier.

(cut to...)

(scene change...)

Meanwhile, inside the battle arena, a battered and bruised Serena had drawn her Moon Wand, not so much in hopes that she'd done enough to be able to heal the equally battered and bruised Darien, but more along the lines to use the Crystal to defend herself. She could only hope that the small bursts she planned to use wouldn't drain her too much.

"I've driven you to that point, have I?" Darien called out derisively. "So now you're going to blow me away with your big, bad crystal?" He shot out an orb of darkness.

Serena just managed to dodge the resulting explosion. "Of course not. That's not my style. But you seem to be losing your breath. Does that mean that I'm too much for you?"

He growled. "Don't flatter yourself. You just happen to be very good at running away." The bluff and bluster did nothing to hide the hitch in his step nor the sweat streaming down his face. Maybe the petite blonde hadn't worn him down as much as she needed, but she was well on her way.

The girl didn't have any chance to retort as she found a globe of crackling energy heading straight for her, three times as large as anything that had come before. Out of sheer reaction, she stumbled back, falling onto her butt, and raised the wand. A blinding flash of silver-white light flared up, making everyone flinch and sending the attack back where it had come from.

If Serena had been surprised by the assault, it was nothing compared to Darien's shock at seeing its return. He had no opportunity to do anything about it, and his anguished shout of pain when it hit him echoed off the surrounding trees, cutting his former allies to the quick. He fell in a heap when it dissipated, his sword landing in the grass inches from his fingers.

"Darien!" Serena cried, rushing over to his side. "Oh, no, Darien, are you all right?"

"You fool!" Beryl exclaimed. "He can't be defeated so easily. Soon enough he'll rise up and kill you, just as I commanded. And then Metallia will be free to take over not only this world, but the entire universe! And I shall be exalted when I present her with the ultimate power, the Silver Imperium Crystal, pried from your cold, dead hands."

The blonde hero ignored the wicked woman's words, gasping as she watched Endymion's armor flicker and fade, leaving behind an extremely familiar black tuxedo and cape, the hat resting on its side a distance away in the trampled grass. The sword changed as well, into Tuxedo Mask's magical cane. Darien groaned and turned his head to the side to look up at the young woman so close to him. "Come to finish me off?" he growled, his tone and the flash of black eyes behind the domino mask he now wore enough to kill any hopes Serena had been harboring.

She scrambled back. "Not like that. Never like that," she choked out, her voice breaking and her eyes filling once more with tears.

"Too bad. It was your last opportunity." Darien sprang to his feet, only a slight waver giving any sign that he was still weakened by the battle. He scooped up the cane, twirling it as he looked at his foe. "It may not have a blade, but I think it can still do the job."

And thus the fight was rejoined. Time passed unheeded as blows and parries were traded, other hits dodged, and energy attacks made and countered. The witnesses at the edges of the clearing felt their emotions being dragged up and down with the ever-changing tide of the combat, flinching as each blow was struck, and the four girls as each tear fell from their princess' eyes.

Finally, Serena reached the point where she just couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't stand the sneers, the taunting, the evil permeating her beloved, and most of all the look of hatred he gave her every chance he could get. The only thing that allowed her any hope at all, beside the fact of her friends' continued support every time she could spare them a glance and the words Jedite had given his life to deliver, was the spark of midnight blue she surprised out of Darien's eyes at the oddest times. He was still in there. He had to be. And now it was her job to stop procrastinating and bring him back.

Her gloved hands tightened around the handle of the wand as her expression darkened, firming with determination. "Is this the time you give me a speech about how you'll triumph over evil, and that means me?" the formally-clad man mocked, his jeering tone the last impetuous the girl needed to do what needed to be done.

She said nothing. The Silver Crystal flared briefly, and the next thing Darien knew, he was staring at air. "What the...?" he started, before jerking forward and falling to his knees. Serena stood behind where he had been, her tears now a torrent on her cheeks, but a fierce look claiming her features all the same.

"Miss me?" she said in a low voice.

"How did you...?" the young man's voice trailed off as he rose to his feet, his eyes never leaving the darkening blue of the matching pair before him, his hand involuntarily reaching for his lower back.

She cocked her head to the side. "You mean you missed it? Let me try again." The crystal flashed again, and again Darien flew forward, Serena standing behind where he had been. "Yup, you missed me."

Darien's legs were shaking uncontrollably, but somehow he managed to get them under himself and stood once more. "You little..."

"Ah, ah, ah! Watch your language!" Another flash and Darien was back on the ground, twitching. "It isn't polite to call names," Serena finished from her new position.

"Now, do it now," Raye whispered from the place where she watched at the edge of her figurative seat. The others silently nodded their agreement.

The ebony-haired young man turned his head slightly and looked up at the angel of vengeance that seemed to have descended on him. "Do it," he grated harshly, practically spitting the words at her. "Finish me off and have it over with!"

She raised the wand to do just that, although not in the way he intended, when a sight reached her that lightened the load on her soul. Darien continued to stare up at her for a brief second more then closed his eyes in anticipation of the final blow. He released a low moan, and the tuxedo began to flicker and fade just as the armor had before it. Suddenly the person laying in the grass wasn't Prince Endymion, wasn't Tuxedo Mask, but the man she had struggled so hard physically, intellectually, and emotionally to recover: Darien Shields. He looked up at her once again, the color of his eyes a jumble of black mixed with midnight blue.

"Who in the hell is that?" Beryl cried, her shoulders slumping but her temper rising at the crumbling of her plan for revenge and conquest. "I never saw him when the Silver Imperium Crystal was revealed!"

"Darien!" the four Scouts exclaimed in unison, thoroughly overjoyed. Serena had done it! Now she just had to finish the job.

The girl in question prepared to do just that. Her posture straightened completely, as though she hadn't just fought a battle for her life and for the life of the man she loved, and went into the motions that would activate the wand's abilities. "Moon Healing Activation!"

A flood of silvery white light and pure energy washed over the prone man at the heroine's feet, causing him to curl up into a tight ball, every muscle in his body tense. The black cloud that rose up from his battered form didn't seem to want to let go, but Serena poured more of herself into the crystal, and it finally gave up the ghost, dissipating into the dark night air. The blonde stood there once it was all over, her arm falling to her side out of sheer exhaustion, her eyes locked on the place where the dark energy had last been.

"S... s... serena," a soft voice barely managed to make audible from the cold ground.

The blonde's head dropped, her sapphire blues widening as they met a pair of clear midnight. "Darien?" she asked shakily, unable to completely believe she had succeeded.

"Th... thank you," Darien breathed, the corners of his mouth turning upward weakly. Then his head fell back to the faded green carpet he had lifted it from.

"Darien!" Serena cried, dropping to her knees and gathering up the slack form that lay there. "Oh, gods, Darien, are you okay? Please be okay!"

The ebony-haired young man groaned with muted pleasure, snuggling up against the warm body he now found himself surrounded by. "I am now," he whispered. "You saved me. You really saved me." He pried open his eyes once again and looked up at her. "I love you, Serena."

"I love you, too," the petite young woman choked out in return, tears closing her throat and filling her eyes.

Darien pulled together what strength he could, finding it was growing by leaps and bounds as the seconds ticked by, and brought them both together, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss that took their breaths away and set their souls ablaze. Neither of them noticed a bell chiming the hour as midnight from somewhere in the city. When they finally separated due to lack of air, it was reluctantly, and Darien searched his beloved's eyes. "So, was it worth the wait?"

Serena released a surprised, involuntary laugh at that and began to sob. "For that kiss it would have been worth waiting a lifetime." And the floodgates burst open, the girl unable to hold it back any longer.

"I'm only glad you didn't have to," her soulmate replied as he shifted to support his own weight and joined her in the luxury of tears, both crying onto the other's shoulder.

The breakdown seemed to spark something in the four girls who had kept such a faithful vigil, and they suddenly realized the shield that had kept them apart from their princess had disappeared with the energy that had possessed their prince. "Serena! Darien!" Mina cried as she led the way to the weeping couple.

As the Sailor Team was reunited, a scream of rage was let loose that echoed through the air, startling everyone back to the here and now. This wasn't over yet. Beryl stood where she had during the lovers' showdown, glaring at them with a sharper insanity than they had ever seen in Malachite's eyes. "No! Not again! You will not take him away from me again!" She lifted her arms up to the heavens, and above her outstretched hands a dark energy sphere of incredible dimensions began to form.

The sixsome's eyes had just begun to widen in shock and terror when another voice shook everything down to its foundations, coming from nowhere and everywhere all at once. "Stop! What exactly do you intend to do to my chosen vessel?"

The sphere dispersed like fog in the sun. "Master!" Beryl cried, looking up and allowing her arms to drop.

"Beryl, you are a fool. You have lost your advantage in your lust and need for revenge. And while I also seek revenge for my imprisonment, I have not let it cloud my judgment." The blackness behind the now-quivering queen began to come alive, thickening and totally blotting out the stars behind it. "You have made it so I cannot possess my chosen vessel. Thus I shall have to find another."

Darien and the girls looked on as the inky darkness seemingly started to pour into the terrified woman before them. Her eyes bugged out, and she began to choke as though the entity were truly a physical thing. "No, stop!" Serena cried, jumping to her feet. "If the seal is broken, why do you need a vessel? Leave her be!"

Through all the fear and pain, Beryl gave her rival a thoroughly shocked and astounded look. The voice filled with pure evil that came from her direction was not hers, however. "The stronger my bond with this plane, the more effective my rule, the more I can reach. And there's nothing you can do to stop me!" Wicked laughter filled the air.

The petite blonde took a closer look and saw that the possession wasn't complete. That meant she still had a chance. "Oh, yes, there is!" She thrust the Crescent Moon Wand into the night sky. "Moon Healing Activation!"

Five gasps nearly distracted her from her task. The same silvery white light that had freed Darien from his captivity washed over Beryl, and the struggle began. Serena threw all of herself into the attack, aiming it at the queen and not the demon. She knew that wouldn't work, not yet. For now she had to keep the thing as weak as possible, and to do that she had to negate the bond Metallia was attempting to form.

"Serena, be careful!" Darien pleaded, pulling his transformation rose from his extradimensional pocket and using it to get back in the game. Soon enough, Tuxedo Mask rose to his feet and stood ready with the girls to do what he could to help.

"No!" Metallia roared, twisting and turning in the indirect attack against the demon. "No! I will not let you! I will not give up my vessel!"

A quiet chuckle drew everyone's attention. Beryl was staring at Serena, tears standing in her bright orange eyes. "But your vessel will give up you," she whispered. "I don't think you can save me the way you think you can, princess, but I can feel some effect from the Silver Imperium Crystal. You... you're trying to cleanse my soul... me, the woman who brought death and destruction to your former kingdom, pain and torment to you and your loved ones in this lifetime as well... why?"

"Love," Serena replied through clenched teeth, continuing her attack as she spoke. "You loved Endymion. And when you might have gone on and found it elsewhere when he wouldn't return it, Metallia found you and twisted your hurt feelings. You still made the choice to follow her, but no one is beyond redemption. You felt love once; I can't turn my back on you."

Tracks formed down the queen's cheeks as drops overflowed the moist, blurry orbs. The blonde's words seemed to hit her hard, and sobs wracked the tortured frame, making her shake even more amidst the light energy that surrounded her. The heroes gathered before this display suddenly gasped, watching as the body Metallia was determined to possess began to break apart, every sob causing another piece to fall away and disintegrate in the light. It didn't take long until there was nothing left but a wispy outline. "Thank you," Beryl breathed, and then even that last remnant was gone.

The light from the Silver Crystal flickered and died, and Serena fell to her knees, weakened by the use of the wand. "Serena!" Darien cried, kneeling beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. The other Scouts took up a protective stance between the couple and the still-reeling Metallia. "Are you all right? Tell me you're all right!"

The petite young woman raised her heavy head and smiled into the concerned face above her own. "I'll be fine. I'm just happy I could at least save her soul." She closed her eyes in bliss as Darien pulled her closer and wrapped her up in a warm embrace.

"I shall make you pay for that!" Metallia shouted, having finally recovered. "You will see I don't need a vessel to defeat you!"

"Not in this lifetime, you demonic beast!" Mina cried back, firming her battle-ready stance. "There's no way we'll let you touch our princess!"

"Queen Serenity locked you away once," Raye added, unconsciously imitating the blonde leader next to her. "Now we'll finish the job she couldn't out of love for us!"

Lita chuckled wickedly at the opposite end of the line. "You're toast, Metallia."

"I'm scanning for weaknesses," Amy declared, typing away at her Mercury computer and watching her visor. "Almost complete."

"I have no weaknesses, fools!" the demon retorted, causing a beam of dark energy to blast out from the vague arm shape she had formed after Beryl's disintegration.

"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!"

"Mars Fire Ignite!"

"Jupiter Thunder Crash!"

"Mercury Bubbles Blast!"

The four attacks flew out, meeting the dark energy halfway and causing a huge explosion that dissipated everything. "Girls, no!" Serena cried, struggling to her feet, Darien helping her. "Are you all right?"

The four of them were all breathing heavily. "That was close," Lita said, still watching the blackness before them closely. "It took everything we had to stop it."

"Individually, yes," Amy agreed. "But a joint attack may be just the thing to take her down."

"That's right," Mina said in realization. "We've always been stronger together than apart. And with Sailor Moon joining the mix, we're even more powerful."

"But not powerful enough!" Another blast of dark energy shot out and caught them all unaware. Their screams of pain echoed through the night as they all flew back from the impact.

The next ten minutes revolved around the six heroes dodging black blasts and finding that their own attacks were completely ineffective. Metallia kept them too busy to come together for the group attack that they had mentioned, and every time they tried they suffered for the attempt.

"I've got it!" Amy cried after another failed try to join together for a unified assault. "That dull diamond in the center of her forehead! That's her weak spot!"

"Well, we could do something about it if we could throw something at it all at one time!" Lita retorted in frustration.

Raye scoffed in agreement. "No kidding! We haven't even been able to get a pair of us together for a stronger attack!"

Mina dodged yet another bolt and looked over at the others. "I think I know what we have to do. Serena's going to have to use the crystal, but it's going to be dangerous."

"Well, I don't think it can beat what we're already facing," Darien replied wryly, throwing a rose at the target Amy suggested. It was destroyed by black energy before it could reach the sensitive area.

The taller of the two blondes nodded decisively. "Girls, join hands in a circle around the prince and princess. Use your power to form a shield around them." They did as they were told, Serena watching the whole process nervously while Metallia howled with rage. "Now, Princess Serenity, focus on the Silver Crystal and attack that diamond! We'll join our powers with yours when you've broken through and help finish her off. Do it!"

"But..." Serena protested weakly, still readying the Crescent Moon Wand and biting her lower lip as another blast from the opaque blackness impacted against the multi-colored shield that suddenly appeared from the concentrating Scouts.

Darien stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm with you. I'll help in any way I can. But this is our best chance to beat this demon. We can truly defeat her this time, instead of sealing her away. You have to do this!"

She nodded. "You're right. This is the only way. I only wish no one had to risk themselves for me to do it. Silver Crystal!" she cried. "Help me defeat this monster! Help me destroy Metallia!" She extended her arm, and in a flash of light the Crescent Moon Wand extended into a scepter slightly taller than the girl who had transformed with it, shifting into the form of Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom. "Metallia," she shouted at the raging beast that still attacked her friends, "I condemn you to the shadows you were born of! The power of light shall defeat you utterly and save this world you seek to conquer! Moon Healing Activation!"

A light even more blinding than had come before shot out from the transformed weapon and impacted squarely with the center of the demon's forehead. The resulting scream was deafening. The four Scouts changed their focus without thought and channeled their energies into their princess instead of the shield they had used to protect her. Darien held Serena closer, concentrating what energies he could feel flowing inside himself into the young woman he loved, willing it to help her when she needed it most. Impossibly, the light became even brighter.

But Metallia would not go quietly into that good night. She twisted and writhed under the assault, throwing bolt after bolt of dark energy at her foes, turning the ground around them into a series of charred craters. Neither side could seem to tip the balance, and the ground shook with the intensity of the battle, sounds of people screaming and buildings tumbling to the earth a dull accompaniment to the savage exchange. Mina pried her eyes open for a moment and looked at the surrounding situation. She knew this couldn't go on much longer without something giving out - and it most likely wouldn't be Metallia. "Venus Power!" she cried, straightening to her full height.

Amy looked at her in shock, then realized what the other girl had done and why. "Mercury Power!"

"Jupiter Power!"

"Mars Power!"

Darien spared a look around at the sound of the shouts that had the tone of finality in them and knew what the girls had done. A quick look at Serena showed she knew as well, tears streaming down her face as she channeled the new energy into her attack. He realized what he needed to do. Searching inside himself, he found that last barrier and broke through it, pouring all of himself into Serena through their soul bond. "I love you," he whispered into her ear, beginning to slump against her.

Serena gritted her teeth, adding her beloved's gift to what she continued to throw at her enemy. It wasn't enough. But she knew what she could do to change that. "I love you, too," she whispered. "I love all of you. I love this world too much to lose to this demon. I will not let your sacrifices be in vain!" She took a deep breath as the bodies of Darien and her friends fell slowly to the ground. "And I'll be joining you soon. Moon Prism Power!"

One last flash increased the strength of the beam that continued to connect with Metallia's weak spot, and when the surge washed over the demon, she gave one last, lingering wail that echoed across the city as the crystal's energy disintegrated the darkness. The light shone on, dampening the light of the stars that was ready to take its place.

"Silver Crystal, thank you," Serena gasped out, following the others to the ground. "Please... please... as my last request... heal this world of the damage Beryl and Metallia have caused... put everything right... the way things were before... make everything back to normal... let it all be at peace..." And with those words, the Moon Princess that had given everything to save the world she had been born on released her last breath and died, joining the others in oblivion.

(fade out...)

(scene change...)

Luna and Artemis awoke some time later on the floor on Central Command, finding the computers to be blank and silent. They slowly got to their feet and met each other's gaze. "What do you think happened?" the black feline asked her companion nervously, dread gnawing at her soul.

"I don't know," her white counterpart answered quietly, feeling the same dread. "We should go see." Luna nodded, and the two of them headed out to do just that.

When they slipped out of the arcade, they found the sun above them shining brightly, glittering off the windows of various buildings of the city around them. "Things are... back to normal," Artemis noted with awe. "They did it. They saved everything."

"They couldn't do any less."

The pair sat and just looked at their surroundings for a long moment, finally ending their contemplation with deep sighs. "We need to check up on them. We need to know for sure that they made it. Serena had to use the crystal..." Luna's words trailed off as her throat squeezed shut in her worry.

"There's only one way to know for sure," Artemis said soothingly, although his pale blue eyes mirrored her concern. "Let's go."

A little later, the two cats arrived at the place their last readings had shown the final battle had taken place. They hadn't been sure of what they would find there, but the calm, serene clearing, the green grass billowing slightly in the early morning breeze, the birds chirping merrily in the trees... was nowhere near any of their imaginings. "They... aren't here," Luna said with tones of disbelief.

"It looks like nothing happened here at all," Artemis added in the same tone.

"But how could that be? How could..." The black cat sighed. "I suppose if the city is intact after all the rumblings we heard it only seems logical that the park would be healed as well. It would be just like Serena to fix everything."

Artemis chuckled. "You're right; it is. Why don't we go by each of their places and check on them there? Maybe we'll get some answers that way."

"That makes sense. Let's go."

Their first stop was Darien's apartment, being the furthest out of their way. They managed to make their way to the fifth floor balcony, and looked in to see a strange young woman, most likely in her early to mid twenties, bustling about, quietly efficient. They almost jumped to a heartbreaking conclusion when she stopped near the glass doors and stared out at the lightening sky. "I suppose I should wake him up soon," she said to herself with obvious reluctance. "I'm beginning to regret the day I ever heard the name Darien Shields, good looks or not." She opened the door and stepped outside to lean on the rail. "Maybe I should request a transfer."

Luna and Artemis exchanged a quick look and slipped inside the still-open door. The black half of the pair led the way to the young man's bedroom, and the two of them peeked their heads beyond the door that had been left open a crack, they guessed so the lady they now realized was wearing a nurse's uniform could hear if her patient stirred. Darien lay in the bed under the covers, seemingly sleeping peacefully. They also noted the time on his digital alarm clock - six-fifteen am. The two felines went back the way they came, the nurse completely oblivious to their departure.

"Well, that's one," Artemis said as they headed with an unspoken agreement toward the Cherry Hill Temple. "And I didn't realize it was so early."

"I knew it couldn't be too late considering the lack of people and traffic. What do you suppose we'll find at the temple?"

"I'm just hoping we'll find Raye. Anything else is up in the air."

The white cat's wish was granted. When the two guardians lit upon the wall that surrounded the holy grounds, they saw that the raven-haired priestess was already up and sweeping the courtyard, her attention totally absorbed in the task. She looked healthy, and so, following some inner instinct to not make their presence known, left and made their way toward the house where Mina lived with her parents.

"Things are looking good," Luna said as they came to the white house the blonde girl they sought called home. "I only hope the trend continues."

Artemis shot her an annoyed look. "You had to say that now, didn't you?" He then led the way up to the second story window that looked in on the girl's bedroom. There was Mina, sprawled across the mattress in sheer abandon, the time on her clock registering six forty-five. "Her alarm should go off in another fifteen minutes," he commented wistfully. "How much do you want to bet she sleeps through it?"

Luna couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I don't bet against sure things. So who do we see next?"

Artemis considered it. "I think Lita's is closest. Let's go there."

When they arrived at the tall brunette's building and alighted on her balcony, they saw that the girl was in the middle of preparing of large breakfast and a sizable lunch. She hopped around the kitchen humming in delight, punctuating the melody with additions to a dish here and a dish there. They both smiled widely to see it.

"So how much do you want to bet she gets so caught up in her cooking she ends up late for school?" Luna asked her companion once they had reached the ground.

Artemis laughed. "I'm no more foolish than you are, Luna. That's like betting against the sun rising tomorrow." He paused at that point, his brow creasing in thought. "School? Are they going to school today? They were in the middle of their Christmas break when the battle took place."

"Maybe time was rewound when Serena healed the Earth. Maybe that's why it's healed. Then they could relive the past year without any fighting. They could be normal teenagers," Luna mused. "She always wanted to be normal."

"Mina too," the white cat agreed. "Let's check out Amy's place, and then we can look in on Serena. She should give us the most time." They shared a smile and took off running.

They didn't have to go that far. As they walked along the wall that surrounded the open yard of one of the fancier apartment buildings in the city, Amy herself came walking along the sidewalk, her nose firmly buried in a thick book. She never saw the two relieved felines watch her walk by, nor heard their contented sighs.

"She seems normal, too," Luna declared once the blue-haired girl was out of sight.

"And now for Serena."

The pair had just landed on the rooftop of the house Luna and Serena resided in when the front door was thrown open with a bang and a high pitched squeal echoed through the neighborhood. "Oh, no! I'm gonna be late! I can't be late! Bye, Mom! See you later!" The next moment a running figure emerged from the building, her long blonde ponytails streaming out behind her, and the rumbles of the door slamming shut shaking the wood beneath their paws.

"Same old Serena," Artemis said through a chuckle.

Luna shared the laugh. "I guess it just proves that all's right with the world."

Just then a nearby clock tower chimed a single time. The two cats looked at each other. "Doesn't a single chime strike on the half hour?" the white cat asked.

"I always thought so. Let me go check." Luna led the way to the small landing outside Serena's bedroom and they looked inside. Seven-thirty. And school started at eight. "What's going on? She was only concerned with getting out of the house by seven-thirty when she was looking after Darien. If everything was rewritten, why would she have changed her habits?"

"I have no idea. I guess we'd better do some more research and figure out what happened."

"You're right, we should." Luna turned and looked out at the sea of rooftops that made up the city she and the others called home. "But for now we can just be content that they're all alive and well, and they've defeated the evil that threatened the Earth. They won, and now we can all live in peace."

Artemis merely nodded his head in agreement, and the two of them sat and watched the world go by, peaceful contentment reflected in their distant gazes.

The End