A/N: Thank you all soooooooooooo much for reviewing and being so kind! I love to read your reviews! But, -snif- it's almost over! There's only one chapter after this! So watch for it, and review at the end! Ok! Time to read this chappie!

Disclaimer: Duh. It's the end of this story and if you didn't get it all ready. . . . we can't really help you.

Chapter 11

In which there is much sadness, and the battle ends.

The dark energy streaked towards Sailor Amore, striking her flush in the chest. She screamed as she was propelled backwards into a pole. She hit the pole hard, then slumped to the floor and lay still.

"AMORE!" Radiance screamed, starting forwards, tears flowing down his cheeks. Something abruptly stopped him from moving, and he turned to see Glacier's hand holding him back by his cape. "Let me go! Let me go! Let me go . . ." Radiance cried, struggling to get free. Glacier's grip held, however, and he spun Radiance around, grasped his shoulders, and shook him slightly.

"Don't be a fool, Lightbulb! There's nothing you can do," Glacier said, his voice thick with emotion.

"How do you know that?" Radiance shouted, sobbing.

"Don't be such an idiot, Lan!" Glacier cried. "That creature's far too strong for us. We can't do this . . ."

"But we can try!" Crag shouted, racing forwards. "Earth Dragon Hammer!" he shouted, smashing the hammer into the ground. Radiance watched as the rock dragon flew through the air and smashed into the dark shape on the dais. The shape growled, then laughed, and the dragon shot back at Crag, laced with a dark energy. It knocked the Earth Keeper to the ground, where he lay unconscious.

"NO!" both Radiance and Zephyr cried at once.

This can't be happening, Glacier thought, his blue eyes getting bright with tears. This is like some kind of a bad dream . . . .

"Silver Sonic Boom!" Zephyr's attack seemed to damage the monster, but then it flew back even stronger. She screamed and flew past Radiance and Glacier. The winds caught her, and she tried again. "Tornado Vortex Vindication!" This time, the cyclone flew back and picked her up, hurling her into the ceiling. She fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Radiance stood there stunned, watching as one by one his friends were picked off so easily. He couldn't believe how this could happen. He fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. He couldn't help them and he knew it. They were being hurt . . . perhaps -though he didn't dare think it but couldn't help it- killed, and he could do nothing at all. Nothing.

Glacier looked at his young friend. Watching Lan, the optimistic daredevil leader, dissolve into tears was painful to watch. He couldn't bear to see his friend in so much pain. And tears formed in his eyes.

"We . . . we can't beat it . . ." Radiance's voice sounded hollow, dead. There was no joy, no hope at all in his words. Those four words made Glacier's heart ache. When things got dark, you could always count on Lan to cheer things up. He was always making puns or jokes and was rarely sad. The only times Chaud had seen him like this, were when he had lost Megaman, or thought that he would. And now . . . he was giving up.

Then a thought struck him, one so terrible that he couldn't stand it. He, Chaud Blaze, was also giving up. All of the others had at least made an effort, however futile. He hadn't, and by his inactivity, he was becoming a coward. And that thought hurt him deeply. He was too scared to go into battle. When Anetta had fallen, something inside him, possibly his courage, had died.

"Don't give up yet, Lightbulb," he said softly, placing one hand on Radiance's shoulder. Then, he steeled his nerve and ran forward.

/Master Chaud, are you sure . . ./ Protoman's voice echoed in Chaud's head.

No, Protoman, I'm not sure of what I'm doing. I just know that I have to. He summoned his sword. "Borealis Northern Lights!" he shouted, pointing the sword at the shadow. A rainbow of northern lights shot down the sword, and hit the shape. The shape grew bigger, then shot a dark beam back at Glacier. The pain was intense, and he screamed before his vision went black.

-

"Where . . .where am I?" he wondered. "Hello?" There was no answer. "Is there anyone here?"

"There is no one here. You are alone." A voice as cold and sinister as death itself echoed in his head.

"Who are you?" he shouted. "Where are you? Show yourself!"

"Cowards are always alone. It is their fate."

"I'm no coward!" Chaud shouted. "I'm no coward! Where are my friends? What have you done to them?"

"Done?" The voice laughed. "I have done nothing to them. They have forsaken you, like everyone else. No one likes a coward. You don't matter to them. They're not your friends. You have no friends."

"But I do matter," he protested weakly. "I'm an Elemental Senshi . . ."

"But you are so weak. Your own powers can be turned on you. Your so-called friends will perish because of your weakness. And they will die cursing your name . . ."

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" he shouted. "JUST SHUT UP!" Chaud collapsed to the ground, hugging his knees to his chest, and trying to drown out the painful words by covering his ears. Tears flooded his cheeks and soaked into his clothes. He felt so alone, so hopeless, so . . . lost . . .

Don't give up, Keeper of Ice.

Chaud looked around, searching the blackness for a face, for the man who spoke.

Trust in me and be brave. Don't lose hope.

Tears still flowed down Chaud's face, but they were of a different kind. They stemmed from a soul filled with relief and hope. I can never be alone, he thought. The Great Light is with me now and forever. I don't need to fear . . .

"I don't need to fear you anymore! I am never alone!" he shouted. "I can never be alone!" Then the darkness faded and he could see again.

-

Glacier lay on the ground where he had landed. His sight had returned to him, but he couldn't move. No matter how he willed his body to stand, it didn't respond. It was as if he was paralyzed. He could only lay on the ground, helpless, as Radiance endeavored bravely to defeat the creature.

Radiance pointed to the shadow. He was standing in front of it now. "Radiant Sunbeam Shock!" he shouted, but the power was only absorbed. His eyes were dull and depressed as he collapsed to his knees. "I can't do this . . ." he murmured. "I can't do this . . . I can't do this alone!" he cried. His face was so sad that it made Glacier's heart ache. Radiance collapsed to the ground in tears. "I CAN'T DO THIS ALONE!" he shrieked. Then he began sobbing softly and bitterly. Slowly, his tears began to subside. He looked up at the ceiling, his eyes shining with a new light. "I can't do this alone," he said once again, "but I can with the help of the Great Light!"

He stood. "Elementals! I need your help! Please!" A new strength stemmed in Glacier, and he found that he could stand after all. Then, he realized that all of the other Elementals were standing as well. Radiance held his hands in front of his chest and cried, "Light Power!" A globe of golden light emerged from his chest, leaving him with only enough energy to stay transformed. The other Elementals followed suit.

"Love Power!"

"Ice Power!"

"Air Power!"

"Earth Power!"

"Wood Power!"

Globes of each color appeared in front of them. Then, without any help on their behalf, the globes all merged in front of Radiance, forming a globe of the most intense, pure light that any had seen. "Great Light, help me. Give me strength, guide my hands," Radiance prayed. Then he took the globe. "Brilliant Elemental Stream!" he shouted, spinning and raising the globe, then letting it go, creating a stream of white light between him and the shape.

The 'face' in the shape seemed to get scared, and screamed as the white light smashed into it. The light got so intense that everyone had to look away for fear that they would be blinded, but later they all agreed that in those last moments that they felt this incredible presence and an overwhelming peace.

After a few minutes, Glacier blinked his eyes hard, trying to clear the spots in his vision. He realized that the dark shape was gone, and amazingly, everyone had survived. He raised his hand up to his chest, then realized that something felt different. There was a . . . difference in his costume. He examined himself and the other boys thoroughly. Their capes were longer, they now reached to mid-calf, and they had a stripe of their 'metal' color (ie. silver, gold or bronze). Their shoulder armor was slightly smaller, and Chaud noticed that the circlets now had a gemstone in them. Lan's was a topaz, Dex's a tigers eye and his own was a diamond.

The girl's costumes had changed as well. The bows on the back of their uniforms had longer ribbons, and their chokers had a symbol of their element on them. Amore had a heart, Zephyr had a cloud, and Oasis had a flower. They now wore earrings that were the same as the symbol on their chokers.

As Glacier was thinking these thoughts, he saw Radiance wobble a bit on his feet, then collapse to the ground. All five remaining Senshi shouted out loud, "Lan!" and ran to him. Amore knelt by him and lifted his head onto her lap. Glacier bent over beside her.

"Lan!" she called, tears in her eyes. "Lan! Wake up! Wake up!" She shook him, trying to get him to open his eyes. He was breathing, Glacier noted, but he was very pale faced. She clutched him to her chest, and wept. "Lan, please wake up . . . ."

Just then, the door burst open in a burst of flame. Blaze swirled his still-smoking sword and scanned the room. "So, where's this shadow force we've heard so much about?"

"Gone," Aureole said, stepping into the room. "The Great Light was here . . . . Children, what happened?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Glacier said, standing. "The shadow made quick work of the other Senshi, it even knocked out me, but Radiance managed to stay behind, and standing until the end. He was about to give up, when I guess he began praying, and I know I felt the Great Light's presence, and I'm pretty sure that I'd be correct in saying that everyone felt him as well. Well, to make a long story short, somehow we managed to summon a globe of our elements, and they combined to create a beam that destroyed the monster."

Aureole nodded, thinking. "Well, you did a good job. The Great Light helped of course, but it was a good job nonetheless. And what seems to be wrong with Radiance here?" he asked, kneeling down and touching Radiance's forehead. "He's completely exhausted, as are all of you, I'll expect. We need to teleport home, but with all of us, it should be a less demanding transportation." He took Radiance in his arms, and stood in the middle of the large room. The Senshi all gathered around him, creating a circle. They joined hands and closed their eyes.

"Elemental Transportation!" they cried. There was the same dizzying, tugging sensation, then they were gone in a blaze of multi-colored light. A lone breeze wafted through the corridors of the abandoned tower, stirring up some stray leaves and petals, and rippling the surface of some puddles. Then, all was still, as it had been for centuries before.

-

Soooooo, did you like it? It was kinda short, I know, but it's the second to last chapter, so bear with me. -sniffl- I can't believe it's almost done! Please tell me what you thought! I need to know! And I'll get right on writing the last chapter! Yays! Ok, see you all next time! Bye!