Steph: I hope we finally got through to Chrissy...
Artemis: I think we did, Steph. With a bit of luck, things will go our way. In the mean time, would you like to do the disclaimer?
Steph: OK. Sparrowflyaway does not own Sailor Moon, PGSM or Sabrina The Teenage Witch.
Bonnie: And you criticize me for liking Pirates of The Caribbean.
Christina landed on the hard floor of her room in the Negaverse, gritting her teeth against the fiery pain coursing through her. She looked around for the pod and scrambled to her feet. Just as she reached it, her knees buckled and the voice echoed through her head, louder than ever before.
Get outta my body, you freak!
"I won't let you defeat me," Christina gasped.
I'm not giving you a choice.
Christina grabbed for the edge of the pod to haul herself up, but the pain increased even more, and she doubled over, gasping.
How are you doing this? Christina thought frantically.
Easy. My friends helped me. Now get out of my body! Suddenly, the pain stopped, and Christina lay panting on the floor. She opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling, horrified.
"What have I done?" she whispered, tears filling her eyes. Through her tears, she noticed flashing by her side, and looked down to see her ring flashing madly. What's going on? she wondered, watching as the flashing suddenly stopped. After a few moments, she realised why the ring had stopped flashing: it was absorbing her energy. Darn it, Kunzite must've realised that the darkness couldn't hold on to me forever. I should've known that he'd have a back-up plan for when my good self fought back, Christina thought, grabbing the ring. She was just about to pull it off when she hesitated. Wait, this thing's my only ticket outta here. I'll have to use it one more time. Christina clambered to her feet, feeling her strength fading rapidly. I don't know how I can face the others again after what I did, but I have to get home, she thought, focusing on the ring's teleportation powers. A split second later, she was standing at the end of her street. Gasping for breath and fighting to stay conscious, Christina staggered down the street to her house. The others mustn't be home yet, she thought, noticing that there were no lights on inside the house despite the darkening sky. She pushed open the gate and climbed up the front steps, before her legs buckled and she collapsed to the ground. Using what felt like the last of her strength, Christina pulled the ring from her finger and threw it across the concrete, before her world faded to black and she fainted.
"Wow, I'm tired. I can't wait to get inside and have some dinner, I'm starving after that battle," Steph said. Bonnie, Dee, Phoenix, Artie and Lucy laughed as they walked up the street towards Christina's house. Suddenly Artie stopped and frowned, holding out his arm to halt the others.
"What is it, Artemis?" Lucy asked.
"I sense something," he said.
"Is it the Negaverse again?" Dee asked.
"Or Christina?" Bonnie added.
"I think you may be correct, Bonnie, but... could it be?" he said, before running the rest of the way to the front gate with the others behind him. Artemis skidded to a stop at the gates and stared.
"Artemis, wait up! What's..." Steph trailed off, her words transforming into a gasp. The others gasped too when they saw Christina lying on the front step.
"Is she OK? What's happened to her?" Phoenix asked.
"Chrissy! We're here!" Steph cried, running forward. Artie and Lucy leapt after her and pulled her back.
"Steph, it could be a trick! We need to check first. Bonnie?"
"Already on it, Artemis," Bonnie said, typing away on her Mercury computer. After a moment, she gasped. "It's her!"
"Well of course it's her, anyone could see that, Bonnie," Steph said.
"No, I mean, it's really her! She's back to normal!" Bonnie cried, smiling.
"Thank goodness! Finally, we got you back, Christina," Artie whispered, tears of joy forming in his eyes.
"That's just the good news, though," Bonnie said, her smile fading.
"So what's the bad news?" Dee asked.
"One, she's lost nearly all her energy, and two, the darkness is still inside her. It's a lot weaker, so I think she's beaten it for now, but it'll probably try to take control again eventually," Bonnie said.
"Great," Phoenix murmured darkly.
"Hang on, I'm picking up something else," Bonnie said, looking around. After a few moments, she spotted the ring lying beside the gate, and focused her computer's scanners on it.
"That thing's drained her energy, and it seems to be slowly sending it somewhere else, probably to the Negaverse. I think if we destroy it, Christina should get back the little energy that's still in it," Bonnie said, pointing at the ring.
"OK then, I'll just stamp on it, that should do the trick," Steph said, stepping forward.
"No! If you touch it with your shoe, it'll start draining your energy as well," Bonnie warned.
"So what do we do? Melt it?" Dee asked, taking out her Transformation Pen.
"I think if we just hit it hard enough with a rock, it should break," Bonnie said.
"Like this one?" Artie asked, picking up a large rock from the edge of the pond and carrying it over.
"That should work fine," Bonnie said. Artie nodded and began pounding on the ring. After just three hits, they heard a crack and saw whisps of orange mist-like energy come floating out from under the rock. The energy floated around the yard for a moment before flying towards Christina, who moaned a little as it re-entered her body.
"That's all we can do for now, I'm afraid," Bonnie said. Artie nodded and returned the rock to the pond, noticing that the ring had snapped in two.
"Let's get her inside, this night air won't help her to defeat the darkness inside her," he said. The others nodded, and then the six of them lifted Christina up and carried her gently inside and upstairs.
"Where is that runty little Princess? She should be back by now," Zoisite said, pacing around Christina's cavern.
"Calm down, Zoisite, perhaps she's simply taking her time with the Scouts," Kunzite said. The two Generals looked up as a light flashed, and then a tiny orange orb appeared in a hole in the wall behind the pod.
"Then what's that?" Zoisite asked, pointing at it.
"Those girls are more resourceful than I thought. The Princess' true self has taken back control. The darkness is still inside her, though. That ball of energy would be fully formed if she had completely defeated the darkness," Kunzite frowned.
"That's just fantastic, Kunzite, what are we going to tell Queen Beryl?"
"I'm not sure... Perhaps we should just keep quiet for now."
"Queen Beryl's going to be very unhappy when she hears of these things we're being quiet about," Zoisite said, before turning and leaving. Kunzite frowned at Zoisite's comment, watching the ball of energy continue to grow.
"Never mind, Queen Beryl will be pleased with this energy that we've gained for her," he murmured.
"Steph, Luna, I hate to say it, but I think it would be wise if we don't sleep in Christina's room until she's completely defeated the darkness inside her. We don't want Dark Venus springing on us during the night," Artie said, taking Christina's Transformation Pen from her pocket and looking sadly at the purple handle for a moment, before placing it on the bedside table and pulling the blankets up to Christina's shoulders.
"I don't like treating Christina like an enemy when we know she's back, but you have a good point. Looks like we'll have to take this mattress downstairs," Lucy said, grabbing one end of the mattress. The Scouts all grabbed part of the mattress too, and together they heaved it downstairs, leaving Artie alone with Christina.
"Oh, Christina, I'm so glad you came back. I'm sorry for suggesting that plan, it's only made things worse for everyone. Hang in there, you can beat the darkness, I know you can. We all believe in you. Just keep fighting," Artie whispered, clasping Christina's hand.
"Artemis? It's getting kind of late, and we should probably get some dinner and go to bed soon," Lucy said, walking back to the door just then. Artie stood up and sighed.
"Keep fighting, Christina," Artie whispered, before closing and locking the door.
"I wish we didn't have to lock her in, but it's for the best. Let's get some dinner," Artie said, taking the key from the keyhole and walking downstairs with Lucy beside him.
"Well, hopefully we won't have to do it for long," Lucy said, watching as Steph ordered pizza over the phone. Hang in there, Christina, Artie thought sadly.
Artemis woke awoke the next morning to find sunlight streaming through the window and the Sailor V clock on the mantelpiece tinkling its tune and showing that it was 10:00. He stretched and yawned, then changed forms and went upstairs to Christina's room, where he pulled out the key and paused, a soft moan reaching his ears. Artie carefully unlocked the door and peered around it to find Christina flinching in her sleep and breathing heavily.
"Christina..." Artie said, walking over to the bed and kneeling down.
"No... Get out... leave me alone... you're not me anymore..." Christina murmured, tossing and turning fitfully.
"Come on, Christina, you can beat the darkness, just keep fighting," he said, clasping her hand. Christina groaned and rolled over in her sleep.
"Artemis... help me..." she gasped weakly.
"Christina, what's wrong?"
"I can't... she's too strong... I can't fight her..."
"Don't say that, Christina, you're stronger than you think, you have to keep fighting!"
"I'll try..."
"You can do it, I'm here, I believe in you," Artie said, clasping her hand. After a few tense moments, Christina calmed down, and Artie sighed. "That's it, just keep fighting. You can do it, you have to," he whispered. The darkness is getting stronger again, Artie thought, frowning. Christina stirred and opened her eyes, staring blankly up at the ceiling.
"Artemis... Is Lucky safe?" Christina whispered.
"Lucky? Your dog?"
"Yeah... Protect him, Artemis..." Christina whispered, her eyes sinking closed again.
"I'm not sure I see why, but I will," Artie said, giving Christina's hand one final squeeze, before getting up and going back downstairs, where he found Bonnie, Dee, Phoenix and Lucy seated around the kitchen table.
"Morning, Artemis, how's Christina doing?" Lucy asked.
"Not good. She's beaten the darkness for now, but she's losing the will to fight it," Artie said sadly.
"I hope she can get rid of it before it gets too strong," Bonnie said. Just then Steph appeared in the doorway with the flashing Crescent Moon Wand in her hand and a confused look on her face.
"Luna? The Wand's going off again," Steph said, holding it up. Just then, they heard a beep, and Lucy changed forms and went to the cupboard, where she opened the secret hatch and switched the computer on to find another black dot blinking on the map.
"Wait a sec... That's here! That's over Christina's house!" Phoenix said.
"Over the back yard, to be precise," Artie said, his eyes widening.
"But who's the Crystal Carrier?" Steph asked, confused.
"It's Lucky," Artie said gravely, turning and staring out the window at the black and white dog, who was curled up asleep in a flower bed.
"Lucky? Christina's dog Lucky? Is that who you mean, Artemis?" Dee asked. Artie nodded.
"Christina just asked me to protect him, so I think she knows he's a Crystal Carrier," he said.
"But... aren't the Crystal Carriers supposed to be people?" Phoenix asked.
"Not necessarily," Artie said.
"Should we bring him in here?" Phoenix asked.
"Zoisite will probably be along sometime today, but if Lucky's in here, then there's no way for the Orange Crystal to be removed, and therefore no way for us to complete the Imperium Silver Crystal. We'll just have to keep an eye on him and be ready for whenever Zoisite shows up," Artie said. The others nodded and stared out at Lucky, who slept on, unaware of his importance.
"It's so cold... Why does the darkness have to be so cold?" Christina moaned, staring around the shadowy grey plain of her dreams. She sank to her knees, her eyes burning with the tears that she was determined not to let go. "How could I have let things go so far? The darkness took over so easily, and I can't figure out why." Christina hugged herself and curled up, shivering as the cold intensified.
"Guys... Artemis... She's getting stronger... Help me," Christina whispered, closing her eyes.
"What was that?" Luna asked, looking up as she heard a loud thump. They froze, listening hard. Thump. Then Artie's eyes widened as a loud moan followed.
"Oh, no," Artie said fearfully, before running back upstairs with the others at his heels. They burst into Christina's bedroom to find her tossing and turning in her sleep.
"Come on, Christina, keep fighting it, you can beat it!" Artie said, clasping her hand.
"What's going on?" Dee gasped.
"The darkness is getting stronger again," Artie said.
"No... I won't let you... you're not me... get out of my head..." Christina murmured, tossing and turning.
"Keep fighting, Chrissy! We're all here for you, we know you can do it!" Steph called. Slowly, Christina calmed down and lay panting under the tangle of blankets.
"Did she beat it?" Phoenix asked. Bonnie pulled out the Mercury Computer and typed away for a few moments, then sighed.
"Yes, she did. It's still inside her, though, and it's only going to get stronger unless she can get rid of it," Bonnie said.
"Keep fighting, Christina, we believe in you," Artie whispered. Just then, they heard a loud barking from outside, and, thinking that Zoisite was attacking, ran back downstairs. Instead of Zoisite, they found Lucky barking at a cat on the fence.
"Lucky! Leave that poor cat alone!" Artie yelled. Lucky turned and stared at Artie for a few moments, then turned back to the fence to find that the cat had gone. He sniffed at the fence for a few moments, then went and picked up a tattered teddy to chew on. Artie shook his head and sighed. "False alarm, guys," he said. The others sighed and sat down on the couch, their thoughts returning to Christina.
Upstairs, Christina stirred and opened her eyes, tears of relief forming when she saw where she was.
She climbed slowly out of bed and locked her bedroom door, then went to her bedside table. She gasped when she saw the Transformation Pen sitting there. I didn't know things had gotten that bad. My Transformation Pen is just as freaky as I was. This colour is so... evil. Driving the dark purple Pen from her mind, she opened the top drawer and retrieved the diary key, then turned to the bed and pulled out her diary. I'm still not sure what happened. How did things get so bad? she wondered. Maybe I can find something in here... She unlocked and opened the diary, an entry catching her eye almost immediately.
"...I'm not sure why, but I get the feeling that I'm supposed to be more than who I am, like there's some part of me that's missing. I wish I knew what, 'cause it's a really strange feeling. Oh well, I guess I can't sit around thinking about it forever. Hopefully things'll work out eventually. Over and Out, Christina." Even before I became a Sailor Scout I knew that I had a higher purpose, Christina thought as she began flipping slowly through the pages. Another entry caught her eye, and a small smile formed on her face as she began to read.
"Dear Diary, I caught three more burglars last night. It was really hard, since they were all working together to rob the jewellery store, and two of them had guns. The third guy had a knife, which wasn't as scary as the guns, but it still made things harder. I was watching them go into the store from the roof of a shop of the other side of the road, and when the first guy came out, I jumped off the roof and landed in front of him. He pulled out his knife, but I did a backflip and kicked it out of his hand. The second guy showed up and pointed his gun at me, but I kicked the gun out of his hand and caught it. I pointed the gun at the two of them, and then the third guy appeared, and he was standing behind me with his gun pointed at my back. I did a backflip over that guy and kicked him in the back of the head as I went over, knocking him onto the ground on top of his gun. Then I landed with my feet on his arms, so he couldn't move to get his gun. The other two tried to run away, but the police finally showed up and arrested all three, and I was able to leave. I enjoy catching burglars, but it still doesn't seem quite right. Sailor V just doesn't feel like the part of me that I was missing, although I'm not sure what is. I can't shake the feeling that I'm still missing some part of me. I wish I knew what it was... Over and Out, Christina." Christina sighed thoughtfully and kept flipping slowly through until she reached the last few entries, where yet another entry leapt out at her.
"Dear Diary, Being the Moon Princess is a lot harder than I'd thought it would be. I have so much more responsibility, and I'm also a huge target, although that's kind of the point. I'm kinda worried, though, 'cause there's so much more pressure on me to not mess up. I just hope that the Negaverse doesn't realise what we're up to, 'cause then I'll be in deep trouble. There are some benefits to being the Moon Princess, though. Like my Silver Crystal Tiara. Stupid Zoisite took the bait and I blew the tiara up right in her face! She was really mad, but she was asking for it. Luna and the others moved in after my party today, and they seem to be adjusting to calling me "Christina" instead of "Princess". It just doesn't seem right to call me "Princess". Mind you, being the Princess doesn't seem quite right either, and I seriously can't figure out why. I don't want to mention that to Artemis, though, 'cause we've both gone to a lot of trouble to set things up like this. Oh well, hopefully thing'll work out. Over and Out, Christina." Christina gently placed her diary and its key on her bedside table and sat down on the bed, thinking hard. No wonder things got out control. Even though I got my memories of the Silver Millennium back, I still don't know who I truly am in this life, Christina thought. Artemis' plan didn't really help either; all that did was confuse me more. I guess I was focusing on my mission so fiercely 'cause it was part of a time when I did know who I was. So now the question is, what's my next move? I don't want to risk fighting the Negaverse again when this darkness is still inside of me, but I don't know how to get rid of it. My past self would know what to do... Maybe one of my memories can help me. Christina stared at the wall, trying to remember something besides her mission. After a few moments, she gasped. How could I have let this happen? I was so focused on my mission, I... I blocked out pretty much all of my other memories.
"Great. That's just brilliant, Christina. You're an absolute genius. Now what are you gonna do?" she asked, frowning. I know my past self would have some idea how to get rid of the darkness, but I just don't remember. "I guess there's nothing else for it, then. If I can't remember, then I'm just going to have to go back and see my past self again. But... how can I? I don't have a time machine or anything like that... Wait... If I can communicate with my dark form through my dreams... Then surely I could do the same with my past form!" Christina nodded and smiled, then turned to her bedside table and stared at her Transformation Pen. I hate the way this thing looks, but it's my only direct link to my past form. She grimaced, then picked up the Pen, feeling slightly relieved that nothing happened. Clutching the Pen tightly, she climbed back into bed and closed her eyes, thinking hard about the Silver Millennium.
"Do you guys sense that?" Dee asked, looking up.
"Yeah, that's her alright," Steph said, frowning.
"I think... I think she's on the roof," Phoenix whispered, looking up.
"We'd better get out there, then," Bonnie said.
"Right! Moon Prism Power!"
"Mercury Power!"
"Mars Power!"
"Jupiter Power!" the loungeroom filled with pink, blue, red and green light, and then the Scouts ran outside to find Lucky running around the yard and barking at Zoisite, who was floating in the air above the house.
"Oh, how dull. You brats have a habit of turning up when you're not wanted, don't you," Zoisite said.
"We'll always be around to stop you, Zoisite!" Sailor Moon shouted.
"See if you can stop these!" Zoisite said, throwing a handful of tiny black crystals into the grass and creating a dozen grass youma.
"I'll handle this one, guys. Mars Fire Ignite!" Mars yelled, shooting fireballs at the youma, which caught fire and then disintegrated into dust. Zoisite frowned and threw three larger black crystals into the yard, which flew around and turned three of the garden statues into youma.
"Moon Twilight Flash!" Sailor Moon yelled, sending glowing pink-and-silver orbs flying at the youma, which didn't appear to notice the orbs punch huge holes in them. "Yeah! Got them!"
"Guess again," Mercury said, typing on her computer.
"What do you mean?" Sailor Moon asked.
"You didn't hit their weak spots, so those holes are going to disappear," Mercury said.
"What? So what do we do?" Jupiter asked.
"Hit them in the head, that's where they're weakest!" Mercury said. Just then, the Scouts heard a loud yelp, and turned to find Zoisite holding a writhing Lucky under her arm.
"Let him go!" Sailor Moon yelled.
"I think not, this little runt has something I want. Zoi!" Zoisite yelled, holding her black crystal above Lucky, who began yelping madly as the waves opened a hole in his furry belly, revealing a glowing orange crystal inside.
"Haha, the Orange Crystal is all mine!" Zoisite said, reaching out to take it as it floated towards her.
"Not so fast! Moon Tiara Magic!" Sailor Moon's tiara flew through the air and knocked the Orange Crystal out of Zoisite's hand. Zoisite yelled angrily as the Orange Crystal fell into a large patch of long grass. She placed Lucky on the ground and began pawing through the grass, searching for the Crystal.
"Thank goodness we've been so busy, that grass is so long it'll slow her down," Mars said.
"But not for long, so we'd better act fast! Mercury Bubbles Blast!" Mercury shouted, covering the yard in fog.
"Good idea, Mercury," Jupiter said, squinting through the fog, her tiara extending its lightning rod and crackling with green electricity. She grinned when she spotted a tall white figure through the mist.
"There you are! Supreme Thunder!" Jupiter yelled, sending a large lightning bolt at the youma, which exploded into dust the second the lightning connected with its head.
"Duck, Jupiter! Shine Aqua Illusion!" Mercury yelled. Jupiter flattened herself against the ground, and Mercury's half-frozen hailstorm flew over her and struck another of the youma in the face, destroying it too.
"Two down, one to go. Where's the last one gone?" Sailor Moon asked. Just then, the fog lifted, and the Scouts could see Artemis running towards the back door with his tail wrapped around the Orange Crystal. Fortunately, neither Zoisite or her youma noticed, as Zoisite was still searching through the long grass, and the youma was standing over its creator, having thought that she was one of the Scouts through the fog.
"There's the third one! Moon Tiara..."
"Mercury Bubbles..."
"Mars Fire..."
"Supreme..."
"Magic!" "Blast!" "Ignite!" "Thunder!" the four attacks merged and struck the youma, turning it to dust.
"You're next, Zoisite!" Sailor Moon yelled. Zoisite stood up, blazing in anger.
"I'll find that crystal later. For now I'll deal with you!"
"You looking for this?" Artemis called from inside the house, holding the Orange Crystal up.
"How did you get that? Give it here, furball!" Zoisite yelled, running towards the open back door. Just as she reached the doorframe, she was thrown backwards by a huge invisible forcefield that rippled silver when she came into contact with it.
"What the...?"
"You really think we weren't smart enough to put a shield around the house after your first youma got in?" Artemis asked. Zoisite didn't reply, instead creating two huge black crystals and throwing them against the shield, which rippled madly but did not break. Zoisite slammed the crystals into forcefield over and over, not noticing that large cracks were forming in the crystals. Eventually the two crystals shattered, sending a rain of black shards down onto Zoisite's head.
"Grrr... I'll get that crystal back from you somehow, mark my words!" Zoisite hissed, pulling a large splinter of crystal out of her hair. Just then, a ray of dark energy erupted around Lucky, turning him into a huge orange dragon.
"Is it just me, or is he bigger than all the others?" Sailor Moon asked.
"I think he just looks a lot bigger because his normal form is so much smaller than all the others," Mercury said.
"Ah, perfect timing, Anaranjado! Destroy this shield!" Zoisite yelled, pointing at the house. Anaranjado roared and flapped his wings, taking to the sky and flying away.
"Darn it! Why won't they listen to me?" Zoisite yelled, before disappearing in a whirl of black petals.
"Let's get after him!" Jupiter yelled. The other Scouts nodded and vaulted over the fence, following the retreating orange dragon-youma.
"Wow, this place is huge! I used to live here?" Christina asked, staring up at the huge, pale-yellow towers of the palace before her.
"That's right, girlfriend, you did," a familiar voice said. Christina turned to find a young girl in a long pale-orange dress sitting on the back of a large yellow winged horse. She jumped gracefully off the horse's back and patted it, the starlight glinting off of the small silver tiara in her long blonde hair. "Thanks, Starshine."
"You... but... you're me!"
"You've lost your way, girl. You've blocked me out," the young princess said.
"I know, I never meant for this to happen..."
"You've also forgotten your true self."
"I... I don't think I ever really knew who my true self is. At least not in my present life," Christina said sadly. The princess smiled and winked.
"Not to worry, I can help you get all of your memories back, and help you to learn who you truly are. But there's something you have to do first."
"What?"
"That darkness. While it's still inside you, we can't change anything. You have to get rid of it."
"I've tried, but I can't seem to do anything more than stop it from taking over."
"Let's see if we can do something about that, shall we?" the young princess said, touching her finger to Christina's forehead.
"Luna, Artemis, we're on the main street. Call the other Crystal Carriers for us, we might need their help," Sailor Moon said over the phone.
"Got it, we'll get on it," Lucy said.
"You can count on us," Artie added, before pressing a button on his phone. He was just about to call Skye when Lucy put her hand on his shoulder.
"I'll do that, Artemis. You go check on Christina," she said. Artie hesitated, then nodded.
"OK, thanks," he said, before heading upstairs. He peeked around the door, relieved to find that Christina was calm. Then he gasped when he caught sight of the top of Christina's Transformation Pen poking out from under her blankets. She must've woken up for a moment, he thought, noticing Christina's diary and key lying on the bedside table. Just then, Christina let out a small whimper and then began tossing and turning again.
"Keep fighting, Christina. You can beat it, I know you can," Artie said. Christina groaned in reply and rolled over.
Christina doubled over gasping, her body suddenly feeling like it was on fire. A few long seconds later, a cloud of dark purple smoke burst out of her, reforming into a shadowy human-like form. Christina looked up and gasped as the creature before her gained colour, turning into Dark Venus.
"It's you! But how?" Christina gasped. The young princess smiled.
"I just used my powers to extract the darkness from you. But now you have to defeat her, or she'll go back in again," she said.
"I'm looking forward to this, weakling," Dark Venus hissed,
"I am not weak! You shut up, you're not in charge anymore, I am! And I'm not going to let you hurt my friends again!" Christina shouted.
"Well I can tell that you're ready to fight her, so here," the young princess said, taking Christina's hands into her own. A wave of orange light flowed up Christina's arms and over her body, changing her into Sailor Venus. "Good luck," the princess whispered, before stepping back over to Starshine.
"Playtime," Dark Venus hissed, conjuring a sword.
"If you insist," Sailor Venus said, conjuring one of her own. An instant later, the two swords collided together fiercely, sending a spray of black and orange sparks flying.
"I'm looking forward to playing with your friends some more," Dark Venus sneered.
"Over my dead body," Sailor Venus hissed back.
"I'd like to see you try, weakling."
"Oh, I'll do way more than try. I'll defeat you once and for all!" Dark Venus pushed Sailor Venus' sword away and swung hard, sending Sailor Venus' sword flying from her hand. Dark Venus pointed her sword at Sailor Venus' throat and grinned.
"That was easy," she smiled. Sailor Venus span away from the sword point and then backflipped away from her enemy, who followed, sword still raised. "Where are you running to, weakling? Don't tell me you're a coward too." Sailor Venus stopped and posed, smiling.
"Wrong again, idiot," she said, staring past Dark Venus at a wall of orange-and-silver arrows. Dark Venus glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widening in anger when she saw the arrows.
"Hey, that's cheating!"
"You expect me to play fair? I know perfectly well that you're not going to," Sailor Venus frowned.
"Well I was going to play fair, but I don't think I will anymore," Dark Venus said, creating a wall of black-and-purple arrows behind Sailor Venus, whose frown deepened when she saw it.
"So it's going to come down to this, is it? We're both going to take the full force of these walls? I don't think that's what you really want do, now is it," Sailor Venus asked. To her surprise, Dark Venus started to laughed.
"The weakling isn't very smart at all!" Dark Venus cackled.
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't have a physical form! These arrows will just go straight through me without hurting me at all!"
"Then why were you so angry about me creating half of them?"
"I guess I just expected you to play fair, considering you're such a goody-goody. And it's too bad you created so many, because I can control your arrows too," Dark Venus grinned, before sending both walls of arrows smashing together, creating a huge cloud of smoke and sparks. She chuckled softly, then turned to the young princess. "She really didn't put up much of a fight at all." To Dark Venus' surprise, the young princess giggled.
"You really have a habit of understimating Sailor Scouts, don't you," she said. Dark Venus frowned in confusion, then yelped as a yellow beam of light burst out of the smoke and missed her by millimetres.
"Oi, freako! I'm not finished with you yet!" a voice yelled. Dark Venus turned and watched as the smoke cleared, revealing a sea of shattered arrows. In the centre of the battlefield stood Sailor Venus, her arms raised above her head, a glowing orange protective bubble rippling around her. She let the bubble fade and glared at Dark Venus. "You may not have a physical form, but I still have one major advantage over you."
"And what would that be, weakling?"
"You were made based off of me, so you don't know who you truly are either," Sailor Venus said, conjuring another sword. And that tells me exactly where your weak points are, she thought.
"Well, aren't you a smarty pants. Let's see if that little piece of information gives you any help whatsoever, shall we?" Dark Venus said, raising her sword and running forward. The two swords crashed together a few times, then Dark Venus got her sword past Sailor Venus' and traced a thin cut across her face. Sailor Venus gasped and staggered back, wiping the blood from her eyes. After a few seconds, she looked up again and the two of them began circling each other.
"Hi guys! Just got your message!" Ethan called as he, Jess and Jayden ran after the scouts, who smiled back at them.
"Who's that up there?" Jayden asked, pointing up at the orange dragon they were following.
"That's Anaranjado, the last Crystal Carrier! He's really Chrissy's dog Lucky!" Sailor Moon called back to them.
"What? That giant monster is little Lucky?" Jess asked.
"Unfortunately, yes, and we have to stop him before he starts destroying anything!" Mercury called.
"Hey, he's going down!" Mars said, pointing up at their target. They rounded a corner and ran down a steep hill, noticing where they were headed.
"He's landing in Lake Pertobe!" Jupiter shouted. Sailor Moon pulled her phone out and called Luna's number again.
"Luna, call Amy, Alex and Skye and tell them he's landed at Lake Pertobe. The other three are already with us," she said, before flipping her phone shut and picking up speed. They skidded to a stop in a large grassy area, where Anaranjado had landed and was already stamping on trees.
"Moon Healing Activation!" Sailor Moon called, holding out the Crescent Moon Wand. The mist floated over Anaranjado, who didn't seem to notice its effects.
"He didn't even flinch!" Sailor Moon gasped.
"We'll have to weaken him a lot if we're going to heal him!" Mercury said.
"Moon Twilight Flash!"
"Shine Aqua Illusion!"
"Akuryo Taisan!"
"Flower Hurricane!" the four attacks flew through the air and bounced off of Anaranjado, who turned and growled at them.
"We hardly even made a scratch!" Jupiter gasped.
"He's probably got a lot more energy because his normal form is so much smaller than all the others," Mercury said.
"So what do we do?" Mars asked, before diving out of the way of a large jet of flourescent-orange flame.
"I think we'll need you three as well," Sailor Moon said, turning to Ethan, Jess and Jayden, who nodded and closed their eyes. An instant later, Azul, Purpura and Verde stepped forward and breathed jets of brightly-coloured flame at Anaranjado, who responded with one of his own. "Where are the others? We need them here now!" Sailor Moon said, stepping back from the intense heat generated by the flames.
"You wanna know why I was created so easily?" Dark Venus sneered.
"Why?" Sailor Venus asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Because you are so weak."
"I may be weak, but I'm still strong enough to beat you."
"Get real, weakling. You're never going to defeat me."
"Oh yes, I am. And you wanna know why?"
"Why?"
"Because you're just as weak as I am."
"I'm much stronger than you ever were!" Dark Venus spat.
"You're not, and I'll prove it to you," Sailor Venus said, before charging forward. Dark Venus' sword went up to block Sailor Venus' sword, but Sailor Venus twirled her sword and used its momentum to pull the sword out of Dark Venus' grip. Sailor Venus stepped back, twirling both swords and grinning. "See? I know your weaknesses. But you don't know mine, because you just wanted to charge right in without thinking."
"So what, you took my sword. I can easily conjure another one," Dark Venus said, demonstrating her words.
"No matter how many swords you create, I'll still beat you," Sailor Venus said, charging forward. The two black-and-purple swords crashed together and flew aside, and Sailor Venus swung her orange-and-silver sword at the back of Dark Venus' head, the blade glowing faintly. The next thing Dark Venus knew, she was sprawled on the ground with Sailor Venus standing over her.
"How did you do that?" Dark Venus hissed.
"Told you I know your weaknesses," Sailor Venus smiled, taking her orange-and-silver sword in both hands, the glowing intensifying until it was almost blinding. Dark Venus rolled over onto her back and stared up in horror at the glowing blade.
"No... Impossible! Where is this power coming from?" Dark Venus gasped.
"My friends always believed in me, and now I believe in myself too," Sailor Venus said, staring down at her enemy.
"You'll never defeat me!" Dark Venus yelled. Sailor Venus frowned slightly, her body tingling with the effort of keeping the blade glowing.
"It ends here," she whispered, before plunging the sword downwards.
Artie watched nervously as Christina suddenly stopped flailing and lay still, her loud panting echoing around the room.
"How's she doing, Artemis?" Lucy asked, peeking around the door.
"I'm not sure... she seems to be a lot calmer now, but I'm not entirely sure what that means," Artemis said.
"She'll be alright, she's strong."
A high, sad wail filled the air as Dark Venus disintegrated into dust, leaving the glowing sword lodged in the cold marble floor. Sailor Venus let go of the sword and stepped back, panting hard.
"I knew you could do it, Christina. Nice work," the young princess said, walking over. Sailor Venus sighed, then turned to face the princess.
"I'm tired. I wanna go home now," she said.
"And you will, but we can't let you go back without giving you a reward, now can we? Close you eyes," the princess instructed. Sailor Venus nodded and did as she was told, and the princess touched her finger to the gold Crescent Moon on Sailor Venus' forehead. Sailor Venus gasped as her memories of her past life flooded her mind and tickled her senses. At the same time, the Crescent Moon vanished to be replaced by a glowing orange Venus symbol. Sailor Venus slowly opened her eyes, a name popping into her head instantly when she saw the smiling princess before her.
"Aphrodite."
"That's me! Now you'd better go, the others will need your help," Aphrodite said. Sailor Venus looked around curiously as an orange mist began to fill the air. "Good luck, Christina, although after how well you did against Dark Venus, I don't think you really need it."
"Wait! I can't go yet!"
"You still haven't figured your true identity out?"
"I..."
"Who you are is more than either of your lives. You're both of your identities now!"
"Oh, Luna, I'm so worried. What if the darkness has taken control again?" Artie asked, staring out the window.
"Don't say that, Artemis, she'll be OK, you just have to believe in her," Lucy said.
"I do, it's just... That darkness is so strong," Artie sighed. Just then, they heard a gentle moan from behind them, and turned to find Christina blinking dazedly at the ceiling.
"Christina! You're awake!" Artie cried. Christina sat up and gripped her Transformation Pen tightly.
"Where are the others?" she asked.
"They're at Lake Pertobe, fighting Lucky," Artie said. Christina nodded and stood up, tucking her Transformation Pen into her pocket.
"Christina? Are you alright?" Artie asked.
"I have to go," Christina said, her eyes shining with determination. She walked downstairs and out the front door, before breaking into a run and heading towards Lake Pertobe. I hope this works... she thought, pulling out her Transformation Pen as she ran.
"Venus Power!" the Pen blinked and flashed, but nothing happened. Christina skidded to a stop and stared at the Pen in dismay. "Venus Power!" Again, the Pen did nothing more than flash."Oh, fine then, Venus Dark Power!" This time, the Pen worked, transforming Christina into Dark Venus. If I have to go into battle as Dark Venus, then so be it. Better that than not being able to help them at all, Dark Venus thought, before setting off again. Hang on, guys, I'm coming.
"Hi guys! I'm here! Whoa," Skye gasped, running over and staring at the four dragons, who were still breathing fire at each other.
"They're so big," a voice whispered. The Scouts turned to find Amy staring up at the dragons. Just then, they heard a horn beep, and they looked around to see Alex climbing out of a car, which drove off as soon as he had shut the door.
"How can I help?" he asked. Just then, a loud buzzing erupted from Sailor Moon's pocket, and she pulled out her phone and flipped it open.
"Steph, Christina's awake and she's on her way over. We don't know if she's still on our side or not, so be careful," Luna said.
"OK, thanks for letting us know, Luna," Sailor Moon said, before putting her phone away. "Chrissy's on her way over, but she might be evil again. Luna just called to warn us."
"I hope she's alright,"
"You three need to search inside yourselves for your power so you can transform and help us fight Anaranjado," Mars said. The three of them nodded and closed their eyes, while the Scouts returned to the fighting.
"Moon Twilight Flash!"
"Shine Aqua Illusion!"
"Mars Fire Ignite!"
"Supreme Thunder!" the four attacks struck Anaranjado's side and bounced off.
"Why aren't our attacks working?" Mars asked. Just then, yellow, red and indigo rays of energy enveloped the three Crystal Carriers, transforming them into their dragon forms. Amarillo, Rojo and Anil stepped forward and added their own streams of fire to the ones that the other three were still breathing at Anaranjado, who was unfazed by the doubling of his opposition.
"Hey, that's pretty cool! Rainbow fire!" Mars said, stepping back away from the flames, which were charring the grass black.
"Never mind how cool it looks, we have to help them weaken Anaranjado! Moon Twilight Flash!"
"Shine Aqua Illusion!"
"Akuryo Taisan!"
"Flower Hurricane!" the four attacks merged with the six multi-coloured flames, which engulfed Anaranjado and extinguished his orange flames. After the attacks died down, the Scouts looked up to find Anaranjado singed and very angry.
"How can that not have had an effect?" Mars gasped.
"It did, it just wasn't strong enough!" Mercury said, typing on her computer.
"How are we going to weaken him enough to heal him, that was everything we had and it barely hurt him at all!" Mars cried.
"You girls are pathetic," a voice said snidely. The Scouts looked up to find Kunzite floating above them.
"What are you doing here?" Jupiter asked, glaring at him.
"Queen Beryl sent us to finish you off," Kunzite replied.
"What do you mean, 'us'?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Kunzite is referring to the three of us," a voice said. The Scouts span around to find Zoisite, Jadeite and Nephrite glaring at them.
"I've been looking forward to destroying you, Sailor Scouts," Jadeite hissed.
"You two are still alive?" Jupiter gasped.
"Indeed we are, no thanks to you and your bratty Princess," Nephrite said coldly.
"So are we going to fight, or are you just going to stand there yakking away all day?" Sailor Moon asked, taking off her tiara and turning it into a sword. The other three scouts conjured swords too and went into battle poses.
"So be it," Kunzite said as he and the other three generals conjured Dark Swords. An instant later, the eight of them were fighting viciously, the air filling with sparks.
"Enough!" a voice yelled. The Scouts and the Generals stepped apart, looking around for the source of the voice.
"Who said that?" Kunzite roared.
"I did," Dark Venus said, climbing to the top of a nearby playground.
"Chrissy..." Sailor Moon whispered. Dark Venus glanced at her friend, then jumped off the playground, landing between the two sides. She glanced to her left to see the Scouts looking apprehensive, then to her right at the grinning Generals
"They're all yours, Princess," Kunzite said, stepping back.
"That's very kind of you, Kunzite," Dark Venus said coolly, before turning to glare at him and conjuring a sword. "But I don't think I'll be taking up your offer any time soon."
"You've defeated the darkness I put in you, I see. You're much stronger than I expected," Kunzite said, frowning.
"I'm as strong as I believe I am," Dark Venus hissed. Kunzite glared at her and raised his sword, and then the four Generals charged towards Dark Venus together, who quickly conjured a second sword and began fighting furiously, only just managing to block the blows that were raining down on her.
"Christina, what are you doing?" Artie yelled, having arrived just then with Lucy by his side.
"Leave me alone, Artemis, I know what I'm doing!" Dark Venus yelled, before yelping as a sword came incredibly close to her hair.
"Chrissy... We have to help her!" Sailor Moon cried, running forward, sword raised. She was just about to join the fray when one of the Dark Swords swung wide, narrowly missing her.
"I got this, girls! Go help Lucky!" Dark Venus yelled, twirling around and blocking blow after blow.
"Christina, you can't take all four of them on by yourself! Don't be stupid!" Artie yelled. Just then, the four Generals stopped attacking and pointed their swords at Dark Venus, who glanced around at them, realising that they had her surrounded.
"Once we've defeated you, little Princess, we'll take great pleasure in defeating your friends too," Zoisite sneered. Dark Venus glared at the female General, her senses tingling and alert. Just as the four Generals swung their swords, she jumped over them and landed a short distance away. Dark Venus turned around and glared at the Generals, her eyes blazing in anger.
"I'm not going to let you hurt my friends ever again," she yelled. The Generals scowled at her, then gasped as Dark Venus began to glow with a bright orange light.
"Christina... You've awoken your Scout Powers!" Artie cried. Dark Venus' sword fell from her hand as she closed her eyes, marvelling at the power flowing through her body. At the same time, the orange light pulsed repeatedly, washing all trace of the darkness out of her outfit.
"Chrissy! You're back to normal!" Sailor Moon cried. Sailor Venus opened her eyes and examined herself for a moment, before her head snapped back up to glare at the Generals.
"Ooh, I'm so scared," Kunzite said sarcastically.
"You should be, buster," Sailor Venus whispered, before a silver bow appeared in one hand and a large orange-and silver arrow appeared in the other. Nocking the arrow, she pulled the bowstring taut and took aim at Kunzite. "Any last words?"
"You're a brat," Kunzite hissed. Sailor Venus smiled.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me," she said in a singsong voice. "Oh, and by the way, Zoisite, I did take the Red Crystal. Thanks for leaving it out unprotected, it made things so much easier for me."
"Ooh, I'll make you pay, you bratty Princess!" Zoisite said, charging forward. Sailor Venus smiled and then released her arrow. Zoisite screamed in pain and then left in a flurry of black petals, the orange-and-silver arrow embedded in her leg.
"We'll be back for you later, Princess," Kunzite hissed, before he and the other two generals vanished. Sailor Venus sighed and let her bow disappear, then gasped as she remembered the other half of the battle.
"Oh, no! Lucky!" she gasped, before running over to the seven dragons, who were wrestling fiercely.
"Let's attack together, you guys!" Sailor Venus yelled. The six healed Crystal Carriers glanced at her and then pulled away, lining up side by side. "Ready, girls?" she asked, glancing at the other Scouts, who smiled and nodded. The six crystal carriers roared and breathed large jets of red, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet flame at Anaranjado.
"Moon Twilight Flash!"
"Shine Aqua Illusion!"
"Mars Fire Ignite!"
"Flower Hurricane!"
"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!" the five attacks merged with the flames, creating a huge, brightly-coloured cyclone around Anaranjado, who howled in agony. When the attacks subsided, they looked up to see Anaranjado looking exhaustedly down at them.
"Go for it, Steph!" Lucy yelled.
"Moon Healing Activation!" Sailor Moon cried, thrusting the Crescent Moon Wand into the air. Anaranjado howled again as the silver glitter changed his eyes from black to brown. The Scouts sighed with relief as the air around Anaranjado filled with orange sparkles, which changed him back into Lucky. The other Crystal Carriers nodded, then dtransformed and left. Sailor Venus smiled and knelt down beside her dog, petting him gently.
"Good boy, Lucky. Good boy," she whispered, before picking him up and hugging him.
"Chrissy," Sailor Moon said, stepping forward. Sailor Venus stood up slowly, her eyes filling with worry. Taking a deep breath, she turned to find all four Scouts, along with Luna and Artemis smiling at her. "Welcome back, Chrissy."
"I'm sorry for how I treated you guys, I'd understand if you didn't forgive me," Sailor Venus said, hanging her head in shame.
"It's alright, Christina, we know-"
"I hate the way I've been acting lately, I guess I kind of lost myself."
"We know it's not your fault, Christina, don't blame-"
"But I know that's no excuse. I don't deserve to call myself a Sailor Scout." Sailor Moon's eyes flashed in anger as she stepped forward and slapped Sailor Venus across the face, silencing her.
"Steph! What are you doing?" Luna yelled.
"Well she needs to stop beating herself up about it, we know it wasn't her fault!"
"That's no reason to hit her, Steph!" Sailor Venus touched her red cheek gently, her eyes watering from the stinging pain.
"We've forgiven her already, so she should just stop being stupid and forgive herself!"
"Even so, she's your friend, you shouldn't-"
"Thanks, Stephy, I guess I needed that," Sailor Venus said quietly. Luna stared at her, then sighed. Sailor Moon smiled.
"No problem, Chrissy."
"There's something else you guys should know..."
"What is it, Christina?" Mercury asked.
"Is it alright if I tell them the truth, Artemis?" Christina asked.
"I was just going to suggest it, Christina," Artemis replied.
"The truth about what?" Luna asked. Sailor Venus sighed.
"I hope you've still got some forgiveness left. See, when you awoke, Nixx, Artemis had an idea that would throw the Negaverse off, but the only way to make it work was to lie to you guys too," Sailor Venus said.
"What are you talking about?" Mars asked.
"See, I'm... I'm not really the Moon Princess," Sailor Venus admitted. Luna and the other Scouts gasped.
"You're not?"
"No, I'm not, I was only pretending to be the Princess to trick the Negaverse. Now that you know, I think it's about time to get rid of this," Sailor Venus said, touching the Crescent Moon on her forehead, which disappeared to be replaced by a gold Tiara with an orange gem in it. "Turns out the plan worked better than we expected, 'cause that's one of the reasons why Kunzite targeted me in the first place. He was worried that Beryl couldn't control the Silver Crystal, so he wanted to brainwash me into controlling it for them. I'm sorry for lying to you, guys. I never did feel very comfortable about it," Venus said, looking like she was about to burst into tears.
"It's OK, Chrissy, we don't mind, we're just glad to have you back," Sailor Moon said, hugging her cousin. The other Scouts nodded in agreement and wrapped their arms around the pair in a big group hug.
"Let's go home, girls, I'm exhausted," Venus said, her voice muffled by her friends. The girls nodded and took each other's hands, then walked home together, smiling and happy once more.