Metallia whispered through the stale air in the Throne Room. Her black misty form whirled around the throne itself. It seem to be centered around Erkyte, coming out of his strange teardrop necklace. Zoeisite's mouth went dry. 'Are we going to be punished for letting Beryl die; for not fulfilling our duties?' she thought, her back tense and straight.

The misty figure laughed, a horrible raspy sound. Malachite nearly winced. Then 'she' spoke. "My deeeear Geeenerals...Riiiise....I come not to puuuunish you...." at this, Zoeisite looked up, surprised, " I coooome to offeeer you all a propoooositiion...." 'she' said quietly.

The three Generals all warily got to their feet. Malachite shot a glance to Zoeisite, then to Jediate. Zoiesite shrughed; Jediate simply raised an eyebrow. "What type of propostion?" asked Malachite cautiously.

The misty figure seemed to pause and consult with Erkyte. Erkyte stood up slowly. He looked at all three of them and smiled. "How would you three like to take revenge on Beryl?" he asked quietly.

Zoeisite smiled, and sarcastically commented, "I'd love to, but there's not much you can do to a dead corpse....". Malachite grinned at this, and Erkyte chuckled. Metallia laughed her raspy laugh.

"I can think of a few things..." muttered Jedaite. Erkyte looked at him, and hid a grin. The other two generals smiled evilly.

"HOW would we do this?" said Malachite. He looked from Erkyte, to the misty form of his regent. Erkyte descended the stairs, and walked around each of the generals, talking lowly.

"Why.....doing what she found impossible to do..." he said with an evil smile, "Taking over Earth...". Malachite's blue eyes glinted. He continued, "Killing the scouts....". Jediate's lips turned into a tight grin. "And taking care of Prince Endoymion...and the Princess.." he finished, looking at Zoeisite's face.

Her mouth was set, her green eyes shone with want, want of revenge. Not only againist Beryl...but against the Scouts, Sailor Moon, and..."Cape Boy.." she murmered aloud. Her lips curled turned into a sneer.

"Exactly...." he whispered. Erkyte moved forward. The black mist which was Metallia whispered to him, he nodded. He raised one hand, and the crystal ball which was Beryl's favorite toy appeared in front of him. "However....I think before you accept, you should see something first..." he said evenly.

The crystal ball sparked, began to glow, and an image began to appear. Erkyte gestured the Generals over. As the misty cloud cleared in the crystal ball, they saw the city of Tokyo, quietly waiting....

"Ohhhh great fire....Give me a vision....Send me a picture of the one who sends us the dreams....", Raye murmered. Her long dark hair caught the fire's reflection, brining out it's dark purplish highlights. Her simple Shito Priestess robes were bathed in a gentle orange glow. Her eyes were closed, as she mediated the fire's response.

In the back ground, the other four scouts sat tensely. Lita kept clenching and unclenching her fists, her green eyes slitted. Ami sat, staring at the fire thoughtfully, her knees brought up to her chest. Mina held Artemis tightly, as if taking comfort from the warm white fur, not minding the cat hair on her school uniform. Both Artemis and Luna looked grim.

However, the one that looked the most highly strung was Serena. Her back rigid, her blue eyes boring a hole into the back of Raye's head, she looked like she was about to explode. Luna looked over at her with concern. 'She looks too tense...too serious...' Luna thought.

The Guardian cat looked around and saw that all the Scouts were occasionally glancing at Serena, and worry was plainly written on their faces. They looked at each other, then at Serena's tightly drawn face. Artemis, looking over at Luna, raised a furry eyebrow, as if to ask 'Is she okay?'. Luna gave the cat equivilant of a shrugh, and went back to watching the fire, and her charge.

Raye sighed, frustrated. The fire wasn't showing her anything...well, not anything of use. All she could see was a nighttime sky, filled with glowing stars. It was beautiful, but horribly cryptic. She mediated for a while, then turned to her friends. "Sorry guys...I just can't get the fire to say anything to me. It's like...whatever is going on...it's too big for it to handle..", she said quietly. She hung her head, dissapointed in herself, in her powers.

Lita walked over and squeezed Raye on the shoulder. "Hey, it's okay Raye! You did your best!" she said comfortingly. Mina and Ami walked over, each giving Raye a hug.

"Lita's right, Raye, you gave it your best shot..." said Mina with a gentle smile. Ami nodded in agreement.

Luna stepped forward and said, "We couldn't of asked more from you, right Serena?". Not hearing an immediate answer, she turned. Serena was gone. As was Artemis. Raye frowned, and looked worried.

"Luna, what's wrong with her? She's been WAY too serious today!" she said, putting her hands on her hips. "She didn't gossip, didn't read my mangas when I was fire reading. I know we all want her to take her responisiblties more seriously, but this is scaring me!" she cried.

Ami frowned and said, "I'm worried too. She's just been so...."

"Hypertensive...." added Lita.

Mina's blue eyes widened. "Listen guys, I'm going to go after her. I have a suspision that Artemis is with her already, but she needs one of us there...." she said, already heading for the door.

"Right..." Luna said. The other scouts watched as Mina ran through the door. Luna looked at all of them and smiled. "Don't worry girls, Mina will cheer her up, and I'm sure Artemis will give her wise advice.." she said confidently.

Lita raised an eyebrow and said amused, "You have confidence in Artemis?". All the girls stare at Luna, smiling mischeviously. Luna simply sweatdropped.

"Well...well...I...I" she sputtered. Lita and Raye laughed. Even Ami giggled. Luna glared at all of then. "Don't you even think of telling him that, either!!" she said fiercly. The girls answer was just to laugh harder.

Serena sat on the temple steps. A tear slowly trickled down her cheek. Artemis frowned from his perch in a nearby tree. 'THAT is not a normal Serena tear...' he thought, as he leaped gently down from the tree and over to Serena. He remembered wryly fountain like tears, and wails that stuck his fur on end. Not this quiet crying, no sound, no waterworks. He approached quietly and said, "Serena?"

Serena heard the cat, and wiped her tear away. She managed a weak, "Hello Artemis...". The cat came towards her and placed one paw on her knee. He smiled a sympathetic smile.

"What's wrong Serena? Was it the dream you had last night?" he asked quietly. Serena looked quiet, and drawn. She dropped her head for a moment, then looked at Artemis. Another tear rolled down her cheek.

"Oh Artemis....I thought Beryl was dead. I thought I had finally avenged my mother...everyone in the Moon Kingdom. What if she isn't dead? Can I possibly face her again?" she cried softly. Artemis, not being able to hug her, rubbed his head againist her knee.

Straightening, he said in a calm reassuring tone, "Serena....she's DEAD. Blown away by yours and the Scouts power. Luna and I felt her die. She's not coming back. Ever." Serena looked at the cat, who looked at her with total believability.

"And even if she does, we're right behind you..." said a soft female voice. Serena turned to see Mina standing there, leaning againist a post. Mina dropped down beside Serena, and hugged her shoulders. "Serena, don't worry! You've got your new powers, we've got ours. We even have Darien back. If Beryl's back...we'll waste her!"

She grinned, as did Artemis. Serena managed a weak smile. "Thanks guys...listen, can we just sit here a minute? The evening air seems to agree with me..." she said quietly. Mina and Artemis looked at each other, and Artemis nodded approvingly.

"Sure...why don't we sit here and watch the sunset, huh?" suggested Mina. Serena nodded her ascent, and Artemis climbed up unto Mina's lap. The sun slowly began to dip into the west. For a moment, all was peaceful....

Erkyte gestured again, and four chairs appeared, each on one side of the crystal. He bowed, and said "Take a seat, if you will....". The generals each took a seat, and stared at Erkyte.

Erkyte smiled, and said "A lot of things have changed since you three walked this Earth. A lot has changed for the Scouts...and their Princess....". Here he paused.

Jediate steepled his fingers, and said cautiously, "What type of things?" Zoeisite and Malachite looked at the ball intently, then back at Erkyte.

Erkyte smiled, and said to Metallia, "Are you ready, my regent?"

The mist shifted, then spoke, "Yeeesssss.." Suddenly, in the crystal ball, a bright ball of light descended, and crashed into the downtown district of Tokyo, leaving a huge crater in the middle of a busy street. The ball zoomed in to see a ghastly monster, standing thirty feet high, crawling out of the crater. It was scaly, with three heads, one of a wolf, a tiger, and a snake. It snarled and blew fire at the screaming bystanders.

Erkyte smiled, and in the eerie light of crystal ball, his face seemed almost demonic. He said in a quiet whisper "This is where the fun begins...

Serena and Mina gasped as the bright ball descended on the city. "Artemis...get the other scouts.." Serena croaked.

"Right!" yelled Artemis, as he jumped into the temple. Serena looked at Mina, and nodded. Mina took out her transformation pen. Serena touched her broach.

"VENUS POWER MAKEUP!!"

"MOON CRYSTAL MAKEUP!!!"

Where Serena and Mina once stood, stand Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus. In a moment, they were joined by Sailor Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury. Mercury was typing away at her computer. The two cats leaped nimbly together and waited for Mercury's report on the situation.

"The computer says there's a HUGE monster attacking downtown!" Mercury gasped. "It's attacking innocent bystanders with what seems like black fire....." she added. Sailor Moon turned to the scouts. Her eyes flashed a determined blue.

"Let's go moondust this freak o' nature!" she cried, and the Scouts ran off, their lips curled into harden warrior masks.

"You're ONLY eighteen? But you've been through two years of college!!", Felicissa exclaimed, as she covered the last bit of chocolate cake. She looked at it ruefully. Darien just INHALED it; how was she supposed to know he loved chocolate that much?

Darien wiped his mouth clean, and grinned. "I'm very advanced..." he said smugly. "One of the smartest in the orphanage..." he added, as he took a sip of his tea.

Felicissa rolled her eyes, and commented dryly, "Not very advanced at shoulder throws, though....". Darien flushed, it was almost embarrassing how Felicissa had tossed him so casually over her shoulder in Self Defense. He rubbed his sore arm again.

"Har har har..." he said sarcastically. He added, "Are you sure you never took that class? I would of sworn you had some type of black belt or something...". Felicissa just grinned, and turned on the water in the sink. He admired the simple furnishings and the brillant paintings that adorned the walls. All her own paintings, she had said, with a smile. Felicissa had invited him over for lunch after class, and he had excepted. They ended up exchanging life stories, and found out they had a lot in common. Darien didn't know why he instantly liked Felicissa. Felicissa just *seemed* like a familiar person, like someone he had always know.

'Which is entirely possible, considering where I come from..' he thought to himself. 1018 years old....he felt like Yoda. He leaned back in his comfortable chair and sipped his tea again. He felt relaxed and at home, something he rarely felt. Well, not unless he was around Serena...

Suddenly, his head hurt, badly. His eyes widened, Sailor Moon had transformed, and was going to need his help. He put down his cup of tea, and smiled ruefully at Felicissa, who was cleaning up the tea dishes. "I'm sorry...I have to leave now. I just remembered...a very important meeting I was supposed to be at..." he said quickly, grabbing his bag and heading for the door.

"Oh...okay....see you around Darien..." she said quietly, watching him go. Darien stopped in the middle of opening the door, and turned towards her. She looked so lost and alone... a feeling he understood completely. He took a deep breath. What he was about to do is was completely spontanious.

"Listen, Felicissa...my girlfriend and a couple of our friends, all girls, are getting together tomorrow to do shopping and that sort of thing...you want to come?" he asked. Felicissa frowned, then looked down at her current outfit. Jeans and a t-shirt, very simple. Just the way she liked to dress.

"I'm not a big shopper...." she said, but added after seeing the dissapointed look on his face, "But I'm dying to meet your girlfriend ...Serena right? I've got to see why you call her Meatball Head!"

Darien laughed. "You'll find out tomorrow....bright and early. Eleven, at the Royal Game Arcade. You know where that is?" he asked. She mentally reviewed an interal map of Tokyo she had memorised when she moved here.

"On Terris Street, right?" she queried. Darien grinned, and tossed his bag over his shoulder

"Right! See you tomorrow, Felicissa!!" he yelled and he ran out of the door. Seconds later, Tuxedo Mask could be seen leaping from building top to building top, on his way downtown.

Felicissa finished cleaning up, and shook her head. 'What a crazy day I've been having' she thought, as she sat in front of her easel again and got started on her painting.

The Scouts leaped in front of the monster, and Sailor Moon began one of her patented speeches. She knew the others didn't understand WHY she liked to do this every single time, but it helped her build up confidence. "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, BIG HEAD, AHH HEADS!!" she yelled. The monster turned around from the building they were destroying and stared at the small blond girl.

"I am Sailor Moon, champion of love and justice! You have no right hurting these innocent people! In the name of the Moon.."

"Of Mars!"

"Of Venus!"

"Of Mercury!"

"and of Jupiter!"

"We will punish you!" yelled the five girls.

The three heads seemed to process this for a minute. Then they attacked.

"I can't believe she's still using that corny speech..." said Jediate. He shook his head. "Say, who are the other two, the big one and the other blond?" he asked.

Malachite answered sourly, "Sailor Jupiter is the big one, Sailor Venus is the other blond..."

Zoiesite frowned. "What good is it for us to sit here and watch the Scouts get pulzerized?" she asked.

"Wait.." was Erkyte's reply.

Black fire burst towards the five Scouts. They all leaped out of the way easily. "Okay....this guy's playing for keeps..." muttered Mars.

"Mercury!! Throw up a fog, will ya! So that people can get out of here!" yelled Jupiter. She gestured to the people trapped in buildings, trying to get away from the monster.

"On it, Jupiter!! Mercury Bubbles BLAST!!!" Mercury cried. A heavy mist covered the battle ground, and the people milling around out of fear, ran from the scene.

"Nice job, Mercury!! Okay ugly, let's fight fire with fire, eh? Mars Fire IGNITE!!" yelled Mars. The attack hit the wolf head, but with little or no effect. Mars cursed and leaped out of the way, as the wolf head blast another burst of black fire.

"Let's try a combination attack, Jupiter!" yelled Venus. The brunette simply nodded.

"VENUS..."

"JUPITER..."

"CREASANT BEAM..."

"THUNDER..."

"SMASH!!!"

"CRASH!!"

Venus's power and Jupiter's lighting mixed together and smashed into the snake head. It screamed in pain as one of it's eyes burst. It fired off a blast. It missed Venus, but threw Jupiter into a nearby wall. "JUPITER!!!" Sailor Moon screamed, and ran over to her friend.

Jupiter smiled a weak smile, and murmered, "I'm all right Moon...go get 'em. I'll be back in before you can say...."

"MOON TIARA MAGIC!!!" screamed Sailor Moon, spinning around, enraged. The disc flew through the air, hitting the middle head, the tiger. It sliced off his ear, and the tiger roared in rage. It fired off a blast of fire...

"This is booooooring...." whined Zoeisite, slumping in her chair. "Besides, I want to kill the Scouts..." she muttered.

"Stop that wailing!" said Jediate harshly. Zoeisite gave him an evil look. He frowned at her, and thought to himself 'She's right though, I wanted to kill the Scouts myself..'. He looked at the ball again.

"What ARE we looking for?" asked Malachite. He looked at the ball and frowned. "Why doesn't she pull out her little Moon Wand?" he asked.

Erkyte replied from his chair "She lost it in the battle againist Beryl..."

"Really? Well, this shouldn't take long..." Malachite murmered. He yawned loudly. He was obviously bored as well. Erkyte sighed, and Metallia hissed.

"patience...." she whispered. Just then, the tiger was about to blast that Moon brat, when a caped figure appeared on the scene. The figure threw a small red object, distracting the tiger head long enough for Moon to get safely away.

Zoeisite let out a long breath. Her eyes slitted, and she growled "Tuxedo..."

"..Mask" murmered Sailor Moon, hearts in her eyes. Tuxedo smiled, and landed next to her. Kissing her softly on the cheek, he called over to the other Scouts.

"I believe it's time to pull out the bigger guns, Scouts!!" he yelled. The Scouts nodded. Jupiter was back in the fight, a little worse for wear. Mars and Venus looked exhausted, as they had used their weaker attacks, but with no effect. Mercury spent most of her time dodging flames. However, the sight of Tuxedo Mask encouraged them.

"Right! Jupiter? Care for another double team?" Venus asked.

"Works for me!" said Jupiter with a grin. They chanted the same words as before, except the endings were...slightly different.

Venus yelled, "...METOR SHOWER!!" smashing the snake's head on the left with her spread attack. The snake's head reared, distracted by all the flying objects coming at it. Venus nodded at Jupiter.

Jupiter cried "DRAGON!!". The huge electric creature flew through the air, and finished off the snake's writhing head with one snap of it's jaws. Venus grinned at Jupiter, and flashed her "V" for victory sign. Jupiter laughed and countered with her thumbs up. The battle was looking up...

"Wooooooah...." said Zoeisite. The other two generals sat with their mouths open. They had just seen Venus SMASH the snake with her with METORS, then Jupiter use this LIZARD made of lighting to take out the head of the snake. All three leaned towards the ball, not believing what they were seeing....

"Tux? A collaboration?" asked Mercury.

"I thought you'd never ask...." said Tuxedo Mask. Mercury grinned, and Tuxedo prepared to leap.

Mercury yelled her battle pharse "MERCURY ICE BUBBLES....FREEZE" It hit the wolf head, freezing it instantly. Tuxedo Mask, jumping high, whipped out his cane, and shattered the head into a million ice cubes.

Landing softly, Tux and Mercury slapped high fives. They then joined Jupiter and Venus, watching the last two take their turn at bat...

All three generals were standing, staring at the ball. Their eyes were wide open. Had the weakest Scout...just taken out a head? With just a little help from Tux? All three were used to the blue one to blast off bubbles and run around with her little computer. Not anything on the offensive line of battle. Erkyte couldn't help it...he grinned widely. And they had yet to see the piece de la resistance...

Mars looked over to Moon, who nodded. Mars stood in front of the middle, and last head, the tiger. It prepared to shoot off a black fireball. However, Mars was prepared. Her eyes closed, she began her chant.

"I call upon the power of Mars.."she chanted, holding up her holy scroll. " The mystical fire began to mist around her. She concentrated....

"MARS....FIREBIRD....STRIKE!!!!" she screamed, as the red-gold bird soared through her hands. It burst through the tiger's fireball, and attacked the middle head straight on, giving Moon the time she needed. Reaching into her cosmic pocket, she pulled out the Scepter...

Zoeisite let out a choked sound as the fire bird flew out of Mars hands. Jediate squinted into the ball. What was the Moon brat doing?

"What is that?" asked Malachite in a slightly shocked tone.

Erkyte queried in an innocent tone, "What is what?"

Malachite looked up. His mouth was a straight line, and he glared at Erkyte. Malachite pointed at Moon, who was now holding a long stick, topped with a small golden crown. "THAT." he said, gritting his teeth.

Erktye smiled again. "Watch..." he said.

Moon closed her eyes, and began her chant. "MOON..... SCEPTER.... ELMINATION!!!" she cried, as the huge cresent moon flew throught the air, and collided with the monster. The tiger head screamed, as it exploded in a bright flash of cosmic power. All that was left was a pile of dust.

Moon smiled, and said with a grin, "Moooooon Dusted." Sailor Jupiter came up and gave her a high five. Tuxedo Mask grabbed her in a hug.

"Wonderful, Meatball Head..." he murmered in her ear. Luna and Artemis ran up.

"Great job Scouts!" Luna smiled. Aretmis nodded his head in agreement. Venus and Mars grinned, Jupiter looked smug, and even Ami looked pleased. Moon sighed wearily. She looked at her friends, her Guardians, and her boyfriend.

"Another day...another monster.." she said ruefully. She put her hands on her hips, and said, with a glint in her eyes, "Now, as leader, I suggest we all go home and get some rest! For tomorrow, we shop!"

Mars, Jupiter, and Venus grinned. Mercury sighed. Luna and Artemis both looked at each other, and did the sweatdrops. "If she only took Monster fighting as seriously..." groaned Luna.

After they detransformed, the Scouts parted. Darien, carrying Luna, walked her and Serena home. As they approached the Tsukino's home, Luna leapt out of Darien's arms. "I'll go ahead to see if the coast is clear, Serena..", she said. And with that, the black cat was gone.

Darien looked down at his little moon princess, and smiled. Her blue eyes widened, and a beautiful smile crossed her lips. Darien thought to himself, 'So much like my dream...' He banished the thought quickly.

"Serena...listen...tomorrow, I asked if a friend of mine could come along...is that all right?" he asked, squeezing her little hands tightly in his. Serena beamed up at him.

"That's fine! You know I'm always interested in anything about your friends, Muffin...they're as much a part of your life as I am." she said. She grinned, and added mischeviously "Besides...I was beginning to think you didn't HAVE any...besides Andrew."

He tilted her face upwards, then kissed her forehead. Then the bridge of her nose....her cute little button nose...then...A loud AHEM broke them apart. Luna was there, perched on the tree by Serena's widnow, raising an eyebrow. "It's all clear, Serena. Your parents are watching TV, and Sammy's in his room..." she said. She gave them both a motherly you'd- better-be-careful-or-you're-going-to-get caught-look. She then leaped back into Serena's room.

"She's almost as bad as Dad...." muttered Serena. Darien laughed, then swept her into an embrace that lead to the kiss that Luna had so 'rudely' interupted. He left at the gate of her house, lightheaded and woozy. She floated happily into the house, with a bemused Luna watching from a window.

"The Moon only knows they did *that* enough a thousand years ago.." she said to herself, "You'd think I'd be used to it by now..."

The three generals were slumped in their chairs, in shock. They stared at the now black ball. Erkyte had 'turned it off' shortly after Moon had blasted the monster. Zoeisite simply stared into space. Jediate sat there, running his fingers through his blond curls. Malachite kept opening and closing his mouth.

Erkyte saw his little 'demonstration' had had its wanted effect. He leaned on the back of his chair. Metallia whispered into his ear, "Will they be of any ussse to usssss?"

"Yes my Queen, NOW they will be..." he whispered back.

"ggggooood...i will return shooortly...fill them in on the deeeetails...", and Metallia dissapered. Erkyte took a deep breath.

He looked at them, and began to speak aloud, "Now...I had a good reason for showing you that. Beryl made the mistake of letting you believe the Scouts were nothing but pansies. I'm telling you the truth. The Scouts are more that just children, they are now trained, hardened warriors."

Erkyte paused, looking at them, then continued, "One of the few consitutes of this...'arrangement', is that if we are going to finish off the Scouts...we're going to have to work together. This means NO bandstanding! We aren't playing for the whims of crazed pyscho...we are now dealing with the force that controlled her. And any messups, that's it. Metallia does not want failure."

Erkyte looked at all three of them. "Are you all still interested?" he asked calmly. Zoeisite nodded. "Yes....I am.." she whispered.

Erkyte looked at the other two. Malachite was apparently deep in thought. Jediate stood up, and walked towards the center of the cavern. He turned back to the others.

"I'm with you.." he said, a calm look in his violet eyes. He crossed his arms and grinned. "It's not like I have anything better to do, anyway.", he added sarcastically.

"Malachite?" Erkyte looked at the third general. Zoeisite looked over at her lover with concern. Jedaite gazed at his former leader. The cavern was still, while the inhabitants awaited his answer.

Malachite brushed his long white hair out of his face. He took a deep breathe, then looked at Erkyte. "All right, what other 'rules' are there with this 'option'?" he asked. Zoeisite smiled with relief.

Erkyte nodded firmly. "I'm glad you asked that question, Malachite.." he said quietly, "But we can discuss them at our 'new' headquarters...." And with a wave of his hand, he opened a portal. "Please...follow me.." he said, and walked through the portal.

Jedaite looked at the other two and shrughed again. 'Why not? It's all I've been doing all day anyway...' he thought, and went through the portal. Zoeisite followed. Malachite stood in the Throne Room, looking around one last time.

Malachite gathered the last of the power inside of him. He concentrated, building it up slowly. Then he let out a huge boomerang of power into the roof, smashing into it with a loud blast. The roof began to crack, then buckle. He smiled, and leaped through the portal. As he leapt through, the roof collapsed, and Beryl's once mighty Throne Room sat buried under a mountain of rock and snow....

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