Sailor Moon: Sacrifices

The Sailor Scouts returned home after their battle with Kunzite; tired, yet anxious. They were finally going to go up against Beryl, so it was decided that the take the rest of the day to prepare themselves, physically and mentally. Luna and Artemis had their wounds bandaged and were recovering quickly.

The two cats were now standing in front of an electronics shop, staring intently at one of the displayed TVs through the window, which was at that moment broadcasting the news.

"The sunspots are continuing their abnormal growth. As a result, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are continuing to occur across the globe. The Weather Agency says such activity has never been recorded. How this will affect Japan is not yet known...."

"We must act quickly...," Artemis said urgently.

As day gave way to night, the six Sailor Scouts and their two cat guardians gathered at the temple. Hardly a word passed between them for a short time, as they seemed to be preoccupied with the fight ahead of them. Ryoku glanced at each of the girls, one at a time, taking in details as if he might never see them again, which was a possibility.

Usagi was wearing a dark orange long-sleeve coat and a reddish-violet skirt. Rei wore an open yellow-orange jacket with a purple shirt and light blue jeans. Ami wore a heavy, light brown coat with a red scarf and a blue skirt. Minako wore a violet dress-like overcoat with a pale violet turtleneck sweater. Makoto wore a pink and red light jacket with a yellow turtleneck sweater and green pants. Ryoku, himself, wore an open silver-gray jacket with a white shirt and black slacks.

"It's time," Minako said softly, breaking the heavy silence.

"I'm ready to go!" Makoto said, cracking her knuckles anxiously.

"We've come a long way," Ami added thoughtfully.

"The final battle is upon us," Ryoku added somberly, his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Say, Rei," Usagi whispered surreptitiously aside to Rei, but loud enough to be heard by everyone, "have you kissed Yuuichirou-san yet?" Everyone else sweatdropped in chagrin while Rei just gave her a vexed look.

"What made you say that?" she asked.

"I mean, if you should die, you'd regret...," Usagi continued.

"I'm not gonna die!" Rei shouted back at her angrily. Usagi backed away and tripped, falling on her behind.

"You're so mean!" she whined. "I was just worried about you!"

"None of your business," Rei retorted, turning away indignantly.

"Usagi-chan, let's not think about dying," Minako told her.

"Right!" Makoto agreed. "I'm already thinking about falling in love when I get back."

Usagi looked up at her as she remained seated on the ground. "Mako-chan... Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."

"Love...," Ami murmured to herself, momentarily glancing over at Ryoku, then staring up into the sky. "I, too...." She trailed off as she noticed the other girls were giving her questioning looks, encouraging her to continue. Ami put her hand up to her mouth and sank into her scarf, blushing furiously in embarrassment. As one, the four girls then turned their gaze from Ami to Ryoku, giving him a thoughtful glance.

"Ah... err... um...," he stammered nervously, trying not to blush and failing. "Oh, that's right! I have something for all of you!" he exclaimed, quickly changing the subject.

"What? Really?" Usagi asked, excited at the thought of getting a present.

"Is that why you were gone the whole day?" Makoto asked.

"That's right," he replied, nodding as he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket. "It was just something I decided to do 'cause I felt like it." He brought his hand out, holding a small, yellow-colored jewelry box. "This one is Usagi-chan's," he said, handing her the box.

Usagi quickly opened the box and peered inside. It was a small pendant shaped as a yellow crescent moon.

"Look at the back," he told her. Behind the pendant was the name, 'Tsukino Usagi', engraved in the metal.

"Thank you, Ryo-kun," she whispered and gave him a hug and a small peck on the cheek. "Would you mind putting it on for me?"

"Okay...," he replied and blushed as he placed the pendant around her neck and took out another jewelry box, this time red-colored. "This is Rei-chan's," he said, handing it to her.

Rei opened her box and looked inside. It was a red pendant shaped as the symbol of Mars. Before he could tell her to look at the back, she saw the name, 'Hino Rei', engraved there.

"Thank you," she said gratefully and repeated Usagi's gesture, causing Ryoku to blush again. "Could you help me with mine as well?"

"All right," he replied and helped Rei with her pendant. He then brought out an orange-colored jewelry box. "This one is Minako-chan's."

Minako accepted the box from him and opened it, seeing an orange pendant in the shape of the symbol of Venus. The name, 'Aino Minako', was engraved in the back of the pendant.

"Thank you," Minako said and copied Usagi's and Rei's gestures of appreciation. "Would you mind helping me, too?"

"Sure," he replied as he blushed once more and placed Minako's pendant around her neck. Afterwards, he brought out a green-colored jewelry box. "This is Mako-chan's."

Makoto opened her box to find a green pendant shaped as the symbol of Jupiter. Engraved on the back was the name, 'Kino Makoto'.

"Thank you, Ryo-chan," Makoto said and gave her brother a hug and a peck on the cheek as well. "You might as well help me," she told him. "It wouldn't be fair helping them, but not your own sister." Ryoku half-grinned at his sister and placed the pendant around her neck, then took out a blue-colored jewelry box. "And this one is Ami-chan's," he said, handing her the box.

Ami looked down at the small box in her hands and smiled as she opened it. Inside was a small, blue pendant shaped as the symbol of Mercury. The name, 'Mizuno Ami', was carved on the back.

"Oh, Ryo-kun...," she whispered faintly. "Thank you very much." She gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek as well, which caused them both to blush furiously as they gazed at each other.

"Um.... Would you like me to help you with your pendant, too?" he asked after a short period of silence passed between them.

"Thank you," Ami replied as he placed the pendant around her neck. As the two turned toward the others, they noticed their knowing glances and began to blush an extremely bright red.

"Hey, Ryo-chan," Makoto said as she looked down at her new pendant, "how come you didn't get one of your own?"

"Who said I didn't?" he answered with a half-grin as he pulled out a silver-colored jewelry box.

"Well, aren't you gonna open it and show us?" Minako asked. He half-grinned again and opened the box.

It was empty.

"I thought you said...," Usagi began and paused as he pulled out his pendant from underneath his shirt. The pendant was silver in color - the Earth symbol and the crossed swords - except for the crescent moon, which was yellow, and the hilts of the crossed swords, which were black. Together, it made up the Knight symbol. Engraved on the back was the name, 'Kino Ryoku'.

"I did," he replied and tucked his pendant back behind his shirt.

"All right," Artemis said as he and Luna walked up to them. "The time for chit chat is over." Everyone turned toward the two cats, giving them their full attention.

"Everyone, transform!" Luna ordered.

"Moon prism power, make up!"

"Mercury power, make up!"

"Mars power, make up!"

"Jupiter power, make up!"

"Venus power, make up!"

"Knight swords power!"

"You're going all the way to the D-point in the North Pole," Luna told them.

"How?" Sailor Moon asked.

"You'll combine your powers to teleport there," Artemis replied.

"We're wounded, so we'll stay here," Luna said, then turned to Artemis. "Will they be all right?"

"The combined power of the Sailor Scouts can defeat Queen Beryl!"

After everyone had transformed, the five female Scouts stood in a ring each holding the hand of the Scout next to them. Sailor Knight stood in the center with both Knight Swords in his hands and his arms crossed over his chest. Everyone had their eyes closed and heads bowed in concentration. A white light began to glow all around them in a circle.

"Sailor teleport!" Artemis shouted to them.

As the white glow intensified, everyone's hair and clothing began to flutter softly, as if being blown by a soft breeze. Suddenly, Sailor Knight thrust his swords higher into the air, crossing them overhead. At that moment, the cement underneath them cracked in a wide circle around them. The light was so intense, that it was casting long shadows directly behind each Scout. Parts of the cement began to rise into the air as the Sailor Teleport neared completion. As the six Sailor Scouts suddenly faded away, the cement pieces immediately crashed back onto the ground.

"Good luck," Artemis murmured hopefully.

May you all come back to us safely, Luna hoped as she raised her head to the sky and closed her eyes.

"It's freezing!" Sailor Moon complained, shivering from the Arctic cold. She glanced over to the others, who were going about their tasks seemingly unaffected by the cold and the heavy snowstorm that was blowing around them at that moment. Knight had gone a little ahead, scouting, while Venus was watching out for him. Mars and Jupiter were also watching out, in case of any attacks by the Dark Kingdom. Mercury was busy scanning the area with her minicomputer and visor. "How can you guys stand it?!?"

"Pipe down!" Mars retorted. "If you keep your mind focused, then you won't feel it!"

"If it's cold, it's cold!" Sailor Moon shot back.

This's gonna be a long trip..., Mercury thought to herself as she continued to scan the area.

"There are no ambushes anywhere around that I can tell," Knight reported as he approached the rest of the Scouts. "Then again, with this snowstorm it's hard to be completely sure."

"Everyone, I think I've got it," Mercury told everyone as she looked up from her minicomputer and deactivated her visor. "The dark energy emissions are coming from over there." She pointed over toward a huge crater far into the distance that was emitting a violet plume of smoke.

As everyone stared over at the smoking crater, Sailor Moon sneezed.

Beryl stared into her crystal ball, which was showing her an image of the six Sailor Scouts approaching her base.

"Queen Metallia's resurrection is so close," Beryl said to herself. "I will not allow any interference!" She looked up toward her retinue of dark servants. "Anyone who wishes to dispose of them, come forth."

"We, the DD girls, will deal with them!" five voices shouted in unison. Five figures appeared before Queen Beryl, each one with different colored skin and hair, and wearing insect-like wings and a tiara-like diadem around their heads.

"Hold it!" Sailor Mercury ordered suddenly, halting everyone else. The beeping sound from her minicomputer had increased in volume and frequency. "I'm getting a strong energy reading." Just a Mercury finished speaking, the snowstorm abruptly stopped, leaving the Scouts bewildered.

Knight frowned and turned toward the others. "Wait here for a moment," he told them. "I'm gonna go scout up ahead. I have a very bad feeling about this."

"Wait!" Sailor Moon called out as he turned to leave. "How long are you gonna take?"

He stopped, but he kept his back turned toward to others. "If I'm not back within five minutes, or I don't contact you via communicator... then you must go on without me."

"Why?" she asked, suddenly apprehensive.

"Because... I'll be dead," he replied and continued toward their destination alone.

"Wait!" Sailor Moon shouted again. "Sailor Knight!"

"Stay there!" Knight shouted without looking back. A thick fog slowly began to appear out of thin air, blanketing the entire area and cutting off their view of Sailor Knight.

"I hope he'll be all right," Sailor Moon said worriedly.

"I wouldn't worry," Jupiter told her. "He's pretty tough. He'll make it back."

"Ryo-kun...," Mercury whispered quietly to herself as she looked out in the direction that he left in.

It was quiet. Very quiet. In a fog, there are numerous places for an attack to originate from and it was impossible to watch them all at once, though Knight tried his best to do just that. He held his Knight Swords at the ready, should he need them at a moment's notice.

He took one step at a time, listening carefully for any sign of an impending attack, or watching for any sign of an ambush lying in wait of the other Sailor Scouts. The former he could lead away from the others and the latter he could trigger himself, leaving the others to go after Beryl. That was his duty: protecting the Sailor Scouts as well as the Princess. If he can fulfill that duty acting as a decoy, then so be it.

Without warning, the fog changed from a thick white mist to a light violet haze. Instantly, he realized that he had been baited into leaving the other Scouts and going out alone. Damn! he growled mentally and ran as fast as he could back toward the others. I hope I'm not too late....

"It's coming," Jupiter warned as everyone started watching for an enemy attack. ''Come on, Ryo-chan, where are you? Hurry back....''

A short distance away, a figure suddenly appeared from within the fog. The caped figure was suspended above the ground by a pair of cables that held him by his arms, though the cables themselves didn't seem to be attached to anything else, but instead, appeared to be coming from out of thin air. His clothing and cape appeared to be tattered and his head hung down onto his chest as if he was unconscious... or, worse.

"Tuxedo Kamen-sama...," Sailor Moon breathed as she recognized the bound figure. "Tuxedo Kamen-sama!!!" She tried to run to him, but was held back by Mercury's arm.

"Wait!" she warned urgently. "It might be a trap!"

"It usually is...," Jupiter muttered.

"But...," Sailor Moon protested.

"You're so stupid, they targeted you first!" Mars remarked.

"But...," she protested again, but with less vehemence.

"I'll investigate this," Mercury said and activated her visor again while bringing out her minicomputer.

"Help me...," Tuxedo Kamen pleaded weakly. "Sailor Moon...."

Sailor Moon gasped in worry as she heard him call out to her, but she remained where she was standing.

"Sailor Moon...," he called again.

She tried to ignore his cries and suppress the need to go to him, but the urge was too strong to stop. "I can't stand it anymore!" she cried and ran toward him.

"Wait! Sailor Moon!" Jupiter, Mars and Venus all called out to her as they chased after her. Jupiter was the first to get to her as she tackled her to the ground halfway between Tuxedo Kamen and where they first saw him. For good measure, Mars and Venus also helped to keep Sailor Moon from getting back up.

"How can you be so cold while he's being tortured???" Sailor Moon demanded hysterically, as she struggled to get back up. "Let me go!!!"

The eyes in Tuxedo Kamen's eyemask suddenly glowed red, just as Mercury's computer finished its scan.

"Everyone, look out!" she warned urgently. "That's a youma!"

The fake Tuxedo Kamen grinned as several tentacles burst out of his chest and tried to skewer Sailor Moon and the other Scouts with her. Mars and Venus leaped to opposite sides as Jupiter grabbed Sailor Moon and leaped backward, away from the attack.

"There!" Mars shouted angrily. "You see?"

"I'm sorry...," Sailor Moon apologized.

Just as the fake Tuxedo Kamen was pulling his tentacles back in, a pair of swords flew through the air and slashed through all of them, cutting them off before he could gather them all in. As the tentacles fell toward the ground, they vanished completely. The fake Tuxedo Kamen reverted to its true form as the Knight Swords curved in midair and sailed back to their owner, who was now standing beside the other Scouts.

"I really do not appreciate being led astray," Knight growled as he glared at the monster

"Hey, you stupid youma!" Sailor Moon yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the monster. "You'll pay for tricking me! I may have been made a fool of, but you're the bigger fool for playing with a young girl's heart! You've made me really, really mad! I'm gonna...."

"Enough, already," Mars interjected irritably. Sailor Moon sighed patiently and continued.

"Anyway, on behalf of the Moon, I'll punish you!"

The head DD girl laughed as four others came out of hiding from behind her, forming a line of five.

"What...? Five?" Sailor Moon exclaimed in surprise.

"Within the D-point," the lead DD girl said as they all began to vanish within the fog, "you cannot defeat us." As they all faded from sight, another Tuxedo Kamen appeared, the same as before.

"Sailor Moon.... I love you...," he called out faintly.

"Who would be stupid enough to fall for the same trick twice?" Mars scoffed. "I can't believe you think she'll... fall for it again?!?" she exclaimed incredulously as Sailor Moon ran toward Tuxedo Kamen. Jupiter, Mars, and Venus all tackled her to the ground again, while Knight rushed to place himself between him and the others should he attack again.

"But, what if it's really him this time?" Sailor Moon asked piteously.

As if in reply, the fake Tuxedo Kamen attacked again. Knight grabbed Sailor Moon and hauled her to her feet, then shoved her forward as everyone else began to run from the attack.

"See?" Mars replied as they ran.

Jupiter stopped as she noticed that her brother had remained behind and was trying to lure the monster away from them. "That does it!" she growled furiously, tired of being tricked and running for her life. "Supreme...!" She paused in her attack as the DD girl ceased attacking Knight and vanished, leaving a captive Motoki in her place.

"Motoki-san!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Jupiter, look out!" Knight yelled warningly as he noticed several tentacles beginning to emerge from underneath the ground. He ran as fast as he could toward his sister and leaped at her to shove her out of the way.

Unfortunately, he was too late, as the tentacles grabbed not only Jupiter, but Knight as well, binding to two of them together, back to back. Tentacles burst out of the fake Motoki and grabbed at the two siblings, as she reverted to her true form. Jupiter and Knight were lifted into the air as the other four DD girls broke out from underground. The other four Scouts watched in horror as two of their number were held captive and struggling to free themselves.

"Moon tiara...."

"Fire...."

As soon as the DD girls noticed Sailor Moon and Mars preparing their attacks, they closed in on Jupiter and Knight.

"It's no good!" Mars shouted in frustration. "They're too close to Jupiter and Knight."

"Forget about us!" Jupiter shouted down to the others. "Hurry up and get to Queen Beryl!"

"We'll be fine!" Knight added. "We'll keep them busy for a while!"

The two Sailor Scouts were interrupted as the DD girls began to try to electrocute them. The others watched, paralyzed by distress and concern for their two friends.

"You're going to try to use lightning on me in battle?" Jupiter asked with a smug look on her face, which was mirrored by her brother. "You've got some guts."

"We'll show you what happens when you attack members of the Kino family," Knight added with a sneer on his face.

"What?" one DD girl said in bewilderment.

"You're going on a one-way trip...," Knight began, gathering strength for his attack.

"...straight to hell!" Jupiter finished, also gathering strength for her attack. "Supreme...," she screamed as a huge lightning bolt, bigger than any she had ever called upon, descended from the sky to strike the lightning rod on her tiara.

"Earth...," Knight screamed as a monstrous stone spike rose up from the ground beneath them, easily the size of a two-story house.

"...thunder!"

"...thrust!"

As the two Scouts screamed the end of their attacks, the giant stone spike rushed up toward them, just as the lightning bolt struck Jupiter's tiara.

"Such impudence!" two of the DD girls mocked.

"Die!" the other three shouted as all five continued to electrocute Jupiter and Knight.

The electricity gathered in Jupiter's tiara continued to grow as the DD girls continued to electrocute them, collecting in a white ball of energy at the tip of her tiara's lightning rod. The stone spike continued to head toward them, but was now crackling with electrical energy flowing around it.

Jupiter and Knight continued to scream in pain as their two attacks slowly closed in on each other. Jupiter's glowing ball of electricity was now so large that it encompassed her, her brother and all five DD girls. Knight's stone spike was crackling with enough electricity that it was glowing almost as brightly as the ball. The moment the two touched, both exploded in a brilliant flash of light and stone shrapnel. The four other Scouts covered their faces with their arms to protect their eyes from the light and the pieces of stone from Knight's attack.

"Curse you!" one of the DD girls shouted as she was blasted away by the explosion.

As the wind from the force of the blast ceased, the light faded, and the snow settled, the Scouts looked up to see if Jupiter and Knight were okay. When they saw what had become of them, they gasped in shock.

Standing where the stone spike had risen from the ground was a huge tree-like structure made of ice crystal. Two of the DD girls were entombed inside, but at the top, Jupiter and Knight were both partially entombed; Jupiter's top half was stuck outside the crystal, hanging limply and Knight was stuck in a similar position as Jupiter, but he was turned around so that he was facing in the same direction as her. His right arm was stuck in a position so that it appeared that he was giving his sister a one-armed hug. Both were unconscious and lightly singed.

"Jupiter! Knight!" all four Scouts shouted in worried unison.

Jupiter was the first to awaken, her brother a second behind her. "Everyone...," Jupiter murmured weakly.

The others ran up to the crystal structure. "Hold on, we'll get you outta there!" Sailor Moon shouted as she climbed up the structure toward her friends.

Knight weakly shook his head. "No, leave us here," he told them quietly.

"Forget about us. Get going," Jupiter added just as faintly.

"Don't!" Sailor Moon cried, reaching out to her two friends. "Don't say that! We're all going to get through this! Makoto, you told me that when this is over, you're gonna fall in love. That's what you said!" Jupiter grinned weakly at her, while Knight gave her a faint half-grin. "Don't let it be a lie...," Sailor Moon continued, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please, don't let it be a lie...."

"There's no time to cry, Princess," Jupiter told her gently.

"You have to have courage," Knight continued. "Mako-chan and I, we've done our job, protecting you with our lives. Now, it's your turn. You must stop Queen Beryl before it's too late."

"Ryo-kun," Sailor Moon cried, "you and Mako-chan have to live! We need your help! I can't do this without you!"

"We're sorry," Knight whispered. "You'll have to continue without us. I'm sure you'll be fine, Princess. We believe in you...."

"So, please...," Jupiter whispered as she and Knight slowly began to close their eyes, "cheer up...."

Sailor Moon gasped as she realized that neither one was breathing anymore. They had died together, just as they would've wanted. Tears slowly began to flow down her cheeks. "Mako-chan! Ryo-kun! No!!!" she screamed in anguish. "Don't die!!!" The others could only stare numbly at their deceased friends. The battle had just barely begun and they already had two casualties. A stray memory, one of Makoto giving them a jaunty little half-salute and of Ryoku, arms crossed with one eyebrow raised, giving his familiar half-smile of amusement, briefly flashed through their minds and was gone.

Sailor Moon dropped down off the crystal structure and fell to her knees, crying sorrowfully.

"We have to go now," Venus said as she took a step toward her dispirited leader.

Sailor Moon stopped crying and glanced back at Venus over her shoulder. "No," she told her softly.

"Sailor Moon!" Venus exclaimed, clenching her fists forcefully at her sides in agitation.

"I think it'd be better just to give them the Silver Crystal," Sailor Moon said despondently. Venus' eyes widened in shock at what she was hearing, while Mars and Mercury whirled around regarding Sailor Moon with a great deal of surprise.

"What are you saying?!?" Mars exclaimed in shock at what she was hearing.

"Yes!" Sailor Moon continued as she got to her feet, a bitter expression displayed on her face. "I should've done that in the first place!" With that, she took off running, passing Venus on her way. "Hey, Queen Beryl!" she shouted as loud as she could. "I'll give you the Silver Crystal!"

"Wait! Sailor Moon!" Mercury shouted as she and Mars caught her by her arms, halting her in her tracks.

"Idiot!" Mars admonished harshly.

"Let me go!" Sailor Moon ordered. "It's because of this crystal Mako-chan and Ryo-kun are gone! Let me end this so we can go ho...." She was cut off as Mercury slapped her hard across her face.

Mercury's expression became penitent as she realized what she had done. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "But try to understand.... The death of Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Knight must not be in vain." Her expression turned despondent as she mentioned the latter Scout. Sailor Moon raised her head as she favored her cheek, but she didn't look at her.

A slight beeping noise caught Mercury's attention. She raised her minicomputer and examined the display, then quickly glanced over her right shoulder. "They're coming," she informed the others.

"Right," Venus and Mars replied as they quickly turned toward the same direction she was staring at, looking for any sign of the remaining enemies, and prepared to fight.

"You three go ahead," Mercury told them, spreading her arms out to stop them from charging forward. "I'll stay here and hold them off."

"But...," Mars objected.

"From here on, your offensive powers are more important than I am," Mercury explained. "You need to save your strength. Go."

"Ami-chan...," Sailor Moon began concernedly. "You aren't...?"

"I won't die," Mercury said confidently and smiled.

"Promise me?" she insisted. Mercury nodded her agreement and the others left. Sailor Moon kept looking back at her while Mars went on ahead and Venus herded her forward. Mercury watched as the others left, leaving her all alone.

"Come and get me," she said determinedly as she waited for the attack to come. Just as before, a light violet haze appeared around her. Out in front of her, a very familiar figure has held suspended over the ground.

"Urawa-kun?" she said to herself in surprise, then grinned to herself. "It seems as if I can be made to see these illusions as well." She reached up and pressed her right earring, activating her visor. A quick scan told her what she already expected: the Ryo in front of her was a fake.

As she was scanning the impostor, the visor display suddenly malfunctioned. Her visor now useless, she reached up and pressed her right earring again, deactivating her visor just as a huge wall of fire and lava suddenly erupted right in front of her.

"Shabon spray!" she shouted, firing several bubbles at the rushing stream of molten rock, cooling it to hardness before it could reach her. Out of the mound of cooled lava, the three remaining DD girls shot out into the air and grasped each other's hands, forming a circle over Mercury. Around them, a huge ball of fire formed and shot down at her. Mercury quickly leaped out of the way of the blast and activated her visor again, scanning the ball of fire.

"Although it's just an illusion, it has heat, just like the real thing," she determined from the readings she received. The visor then showed her a close-up of the lead DD girl's head, targeting the diadem on her forehead. "The source of the illusions is the stone on her forehead?" The fireball began to close in on her. I must stop the illusions.

Mercury deactivated her visor and raised her hands above her head. "Shabon...," she shouted as she lowered her hands down to where they were now pointing toward the ground. "...spray!" Instead of firing a spray of bubbles or raising a fog, a huge bubble began to surround Mercury, allowing her to enter the approaching fireball. Once inside the fireball, several tentacles began to wrap around Mercury's waist, burning her with intense heat.

"We'll make a roasted pig out of you," the lead DD girl sneered.

"That's rude," Mercury retorted weakly.

"Oh? Roast potatoes, then?" another one replied mockingly.

"Die!" the leader shouted and burned her even more. She screamed in pain until they ceased, causing Mercury to slump forward weakly.

Slowly, Mercury raised the hand that held her minicomputer. "This will be the last time I use this...," she whispered to herself and grinned slightly. Her grin was quickly replaced with a serious expression as she straightened herself just long enough to smash the leader's stone with her minicomputer.

Far away, Sailor Moon and the others paused as they noticed the sky changed from the light violet haze to the normal blue from before.

The fireball illusion faded, leaving behind a bowl-shaped crystal structure with Mercury being held suspended over the center. The three DD girls released her, letting her drop lifelessly to the structure below.

"Now we can't make illusions!" the lead DD girl growled furiously as they flew off.

Sailor Moon turned back in the direction they left Mercury. She could almost see her friend, Ami, showing her pleasant, cheerful smile....

"Ami-chan is...," she murmured, sinking to her knees in despair. "Ami-chan is...," she murmured again, turning to the other two Sailor Scouts. "Ami-chan is dead!!!" she screamed, pounding the ground in anguished frustration, and began to cry again.

"You can't keep crying every time!" Mars chided as Venus sadly bowed her head. Sailor Moon stopped crying and turned to regard her with tears in her eyes. "It gets worse from here on!"

"But... I never thought this would happen...," Sailor Moon murmured quietly as she turned back to stare at the ground again. Venus suddenly glanced up toward Sailor Moon, having sensed something coming, and was instantly alert for any danger. Her eyes widened in alarm as a red light began to glow underneath Sailor Moon, who was oblivious to anything except her own misery.

"Look out!" Venus shouted and quickly leaped at her leader, shoving her out of the way. The moment she was clear of the danger, a group of tentacles burst out from underground, wrapping around Venus' waist and lifting her high into the air.

"Minako-chan!" Sailor Moon shouted worriedly as she watched her friend struggle to free herself. "Please stop!" she screamed as she got to her feet. "I'll give you the Silver Crystal! Just let Minako-chan go!"

"I'll never forgive you if you do that!" Venus shouted back at Sailor Moon, then screamed as she was pulled underground.

"Fools!" one of the DD girls sneered. "It's pointless to beg for your lives now. We'll take the Silver Crystal after we kill you all... starting with this one!"

A yellow light, followed by a scream, filled the hole Venus was dragged under. "Minako-chan!" Sailor Moon called out as Mars pulled her away from the hole.

Underground, Venus was struggling with the DD girls. She slowly lifted her right hand up to where it was level with her head, though it was difficult with a tentacle trying to pull her arm back down to her side. "Crescent...," she shouted as she moved her hand toward the monster in front of her, touching her index finger on her forehead. She scowled as two twin crescents appeared where Venus' finger was touching her, one pointing up, the other, down. "...beam!" Venus finished, her beam eradicating the DD girl in front of her. The force of the blast caused an explosion at the surface, which fused into yet another crystal structure, this one shaped as a pillar. At the peak, Venus was suspended by several frayed tentacles. Her right arm was head out to her side and her head tilted back lifelessly. As Sailor Moon was dragged away by Mars, she could still see Minako in her mind, playfully blowing a kiss and winking....

"Minako-chan!!!" she yelled as Mars dragged her along, her left arm stretching out to her friend. She started crying again as Mars stopped.

"Sailor Moon," Mars said as she stared out in front of her.

"What?" Sailor Moon asked between sobs.

"Even though we fought all the time, it was fun being with you...," Mars said pensively.

"Why are you saying this?" Sailor Moon demanded apprehensively as she straightened up and stopped crying.

"I wanted you to know that, if I should die," Mars told her.

"You said that you wouldn't...," she retorted frantically. She cut off when they saw the two remaining enemies hovering before them. Mars wordlessly stepped forward to fight them.

"Wait! I've got it!" she shouted, rushing after her and pulling her back by her shoulders, and placing herself in front of her. "I'll handle the rest of this by myself." Mars continued to stare at the two DD girls ahead of her. "I'll beat them all, including Queen Beryl! Please, Rei-chan, go home and wait for me." She then began to cry on her shoulder. "I don't want you to die...."

"You must save your power because you still have the last great battle to fight," Mars told her as she smiled down at her friend. Sailor Moon stopped crying as she stared at Mars in surprise and concern. Mars took Sailor Moon's hands and lifted them off her shoulders.

"Come on!" she said, laughing. "When was it decided that I was gonna die?" She turned to leave, but glanced back over her shoulder, giving Sailor Moon a confident V-sign with her right hand. "Well, I'm off to defeat them!" Sailor Moon watched numbly as the last of her friend left to fight the rest of the DD girls.

"Fire...," she began as the DD girls flew up into the air and dived down at her. They flew rapidly past her and smashed into the ground to her left and right, leaving two holes in the ground at her sides. "They're too fast!" she muttered as she was left aiming her attack at nothing but air. Without warning, the ground underneath her began to rise high into the air, taking her with it.

"Rei-chan!!!" Sailor Moon yelled as her friend was lifted high into the air. Suddenly, the mountain of ice and earth split in two, causing Mars to fall, screaming between the two sides and was engulfed as the two parts smashed back together. She stared blankly at the ice mountain in complete shock. "Rei-chan...," she whispered softly. She slowly began to take one slow step after another toward the mountain of ice, when one of the DD girls burst out from the ground behind her.

"Take this!" she shouted as she flung her mass of tentacles at Sailor Moon. She just stood there, staring numbly at the oncoming attack, paralyzed by grief.

From within the ice mountain, a stream of fire exploded outward, completely engulfing the monster and turning her to ashes.

"Rei-chan!" Sailor Moon exclaimed in relief as she glanced toward the hole Mars had created from her attack.

"Why you...!" the last DD girl growled furiously. Inside the ice mountain, Sailor Moon could see only flashes of light and hear Mars' screams of pain. Seconds later, the top of the ice mountain exploded, leaving only the bottom part and a flat surface where the top used to be. From below the surface of the mound, the lead DD girl rose up and stared at Sailor Moon.

"At last, Princess," she said smugly, "you are alone." As proof of her statement, she lifted Mars' motionless form into Sailor Moon's view.

"Rei-chan!!!" Sailor Moon gasped in horror.

The last DD girl placed Mars facedown and began to rise into the air. "Prepare yourself!" she shouted. She was stopped in midair as Mars still held onto some of her tentacles. "What?" she exclaimed in disbelief.

"It...," Mars murmured faintly, "...isn't over yet." She turned her head in order to look directly at her enemy, who gasped in fright as she knew what would happen now. "Fire...," she began in a weak whisper, "...SOUL!!!" she screamed as she tugged on the DD girl's tentacles. Fire sparked from her hand and traveled up the tentacle until it engulfed the monster in a blazing inferno that blasted the remains of the ice mountain that was so briefly created.

As with the others, the blast formed yet another crystal structure, this one shaped as a sunburst. Mars lay weakly at the base of the structure, almost as if she were seated on some crystal throne, her eyes just barely managing to remain open.

"It was just like you said, Usagi-chan," she murmured weakly. "It would've been better to kiss Yuuichirou-kun goodbye...." As she finished speaking, her eyes slowly began to close. Just as the life left her body, Mars breathed her last, leaving Sailor Moon with only the memory of her friend grinning at her....

Sailor Moon stared at the dead body of her friend for a long time, wishing that what she was seeing wasn't real; only an illusion created by Beryl to cause her to lose hope. But as the time rolled on, she knew that it was just wishful thinking. They weren't coming back.

She turned around and ran. She ran as fast as she could, for as long as she could. When she could run no more, she slowly came to a stop and sat in the snow, hugging her knees to her chest and staring down at the ground in front of her. Funny.... When she first came here, she was complaining about the severe cold. Now....

Now, the thought of the extreme cold seemed like such a trivial thing.

"Mako-chan.... Ryo-kun.... Ami-chan.... Minako-chan.... Rei-chan...," she murmured, sniffling softly. "I know.... This is a dream...," she told herself. "Just a dream....

"I'll wake up.... I'll see everyone and say, 'Good morning'.... Rei will yell at me and call me names...." Her hands dropped limply to the ground at her sides as she lowered her head to her knees and began to sob again.

A soft touch at her left shoulder caused her to pause in her crying and look up behind her. Standing behind her was Jupiter... or, rather she thought she saw her. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her now, showing her ghostly images of her departed friends. "Come on, now. Cheer up," she could hear Jupiter say.

"Please, no more tears," she heard Knight tell her. She glanced in his direction, seeing Mercury and Venus standing behind him.

"Usagi-chan... focus!" Mercury encouraged.

"Don't give up hope...," Venus added reassuringly. Sailor Moon glanced at her friends, wondering whether the ghostly images she was seeing were real or just her imagination.

"Usagi-chan... get up!" Mars' voice ordered. Sailor Moon promptly rose to her feet and turned around. Behind her, Mars stood with her hands on her hips, a serious expression on her face. Her expression then softened to a warm grin. "We'll always be with you."

"Everyone...," Sailor Moon said softly, tears forming in her eyes. Her gaze took in all of her friends: Knight, Jupiter, Mercury, Venus and Mars.

"Let's get going!" Mars told her. Sailor Moon smiled and nodded, then turned around and ran, heading straight for the enemy's base.

That's right..., she told herself as she ran. ''I'm not alone. I'm not alone!''

From within Metallia's chambers, the brainwashing device shut itself off, having finished its work. Endymion slowly sat up and grinned, laughing softly to himself.

When he opened his eyes, they glowed with an evil light....