CHANGED
by Rose






Part 12





	"We absolutely can't allow ourselves to be 
captured. That's a biggie. But we now have enough 
power to at least attempt to take Kunzite and Beryl 
head on." Mamoru pointed out. It was the day after 
Sailor Sorrow's arrvial, and Tuxedo Kamen and Kage 
had both been filled in. 
	Both also felt like dookie because they 
hadn't been there when everything happened.
	"But we can't all go." Mercury added.
	"Why not?" Jake asked.
	"Because of the strain on our powers." 
Divinity answered. "Teleportation, at best. takes 
the teleporter along. To take five extra people 
would be murder."
	"So the generals and Tuxie sit this one out." 
Hotaru summed up.
	"Yup." Serenity stood up, looking dramtic in 
her eternal form. "I'm all ready to go. We've had a 
good rest, and I've had a power up that will us an 
advantage." She raised the sword.
	"You're right." Rei said. "We leave the guys 
behind--"
	"Since the guys would probably screw up 
anyway." Haruka cut in.
	"Hey, just because you're jealous..." Neo 
grinned.
	"Jealous?! I'll show you jealous, you pompous 
little arrogant--!" Haruka lept at Neo, and they 
went rolling over in a fight. Makoto and Michiru 
sighed.
	"Just when you think they've grown up." 
Michiru shook her head.
	"Hey, Ami-chan, do you think Neo's cute?" 
Makoto asked, stars in her eyes.
	"I think Zoe is..." Ami replied.
	"Yeah..."
	"Hey! You two! Snap out of it!" Rei 
complained to Makoto and Ami, who were staring at 
the fighting Neo, and Zoe, respectively.
	"Rei!" Makoto whined.
	"Rei likes Jake. I've seen her staring at 
him." Minako whispered. Rei turned bright red. 
	"Well, you're in love with Kage!" She 
retorted.
	"So? We all know that... right, Kage?" Minako 
asked. Kage turned pink and began stuttering.
	"Come on, minna. Do we do this tonight?" 
Serenity asked.
	"We really need a good night's sleep, Ren, 
first." Divinity pointed out.
	"Yeah, I bet Haruka and Michiru are gonna 
sleep REAL good!" Jake yelled. Haruka turned bright 
red, abandoned her fight with Neo and went for 
Jake.
	"AHH!" Jake yelled, and jumped out of the 
way. Haruka began chasing him around the room while 
Michiru went into the kitchen, muttering about 
Asprin.
	"Hey! Quiet down!" Hotaru yelled. Haruka and 
Jake went to oppisite corners of the room, sulking.
	"Okay. Next time that happens, Haruka, I'm 
taking your henshin stick." Michiru put her hands 
on her hips.
	"Michi!"
	"I will."
	"Alright, everyone. Up to bed. Now." Serenity 
was aware of Hin's presence in the room.
	"But I thought--" Ami began.
	"No... Div's right... we need to sleep first. 
SHOO!" She yelled. Everyone scattered from the 
room. Serenity turned around, and sure enough, 
there was Hin.
	"My princess." He said, kneeling.
	"Get up, Hin. Where are you been? It's been a 
long time since I've seen you." She asked, pulling 
him to his feet. She gave him a hug, and refused to 
let go.
	"I've been away. I just now learned about 
it... I'm so sorry I wasn't there." Hin said, his 
eyes on the floor.
	In the doorways, minna was watching, 
silently.
	"Hin, you couldn't have helped, anyway. We 
tried, and that was what mattered." Serenity smiled 
weakly. 	
	"But--"
	"Hin, don't be sorry." Serenity hugged Hin. 
"And you missed all the good stuff. I got this 
freaky cool sword." She said. Hin grinned. 
	"You never let anything get you down, huh, 
Usa?" 
	In the doorway, Divinity was struggling to 
keep Mamoru from running out and strangling the 
strange man in Usagi's arms.
	"Hell, Hin. If I did that, I'd be dead and 
buried a year ago."
	"Yeah, well."He leaned down to whisper in her 
ear. From the senshi's point of view, it looked 
like he was kissing her. Mamoru was purple in the 
face.
	"My princess, I do believe we have company." 
whispered he.
	"Really? Is Mamoru amoung them?" She 
whispered back.
	"The prince? Uh... yes."
	"Hin.. what should I do about him?" Serenity 
whispered.
	"Well, acknowledging his presence would be a 
start."
	"You!" Serenity pushed away from him. "You 
know exactly what I mean, Hin."
	"And I told you I'm no expert in those 
matters!"
	"Baby!" Serenity stuck her tongue out at him. 
	"Darn. I thought they were gonna kiss." 
Minako whispered, disappointed.  Mamoru glared at 
her. If looks could kill....
	"My princess, you know what will happen if 
you allow the senshi to follow you into Beryl's 
Palace." Hin said, his eyes narrowed.
	"I know, Hin! But I can't really tell them 
that! This has to be in between Beryl and myself!"
	"Like hell it will!" Haruka stepped out. 
Serenity smiled gently, looking so much like her 
name if it were not for the deadly rapier in her 
hands.
	"Haruka, you do not know how much I 
appreciate your concerns. But I cannot allow you to 
walk iunto a death trap that only I may walk out 
of. Besides, I must fight alone. There may be 
explosions that will kill you all."
	"Usagi, we will not let you go alone." Ami 
said.
	"We are at our best as one." Makoto chimed 
in.
	"You will need our help, Usa-chan." Minako 
gave Usagi a V for Victory sign.
	"You cannot go alone." Michiru and Hotaru 
said at the asme time. The generals had dragged 
Mamoru into the living room, and you could hear 
Mamoru yelling at them.
	"What's up with him?" Serenity asked sweetly, 
knowing very well what was wrong.
	"Ren!" Hin said sharply.
	"Who are YOU, anyway?!" Rei asked.
	"Rei-chan, leave him alone... please." 
Serenity pleaded. "I don't get to see him often."
	"I am Hin, of the Star Warriors." Hin said, 
looking at each of them. they were not exactly as 
he remembered them, but he had to remember that 
rebirth had a tendicy to do that. 
	Haruka and Michiru were pretty much the same, 
he noted. As was Hotaru. But the rest of them... 
they were different. Including his princess. 
ESPECIALLY his princess.
	The princess he knew on the moon was a whiny, 
weak little slip of a thing.
	The princess here was strong, and determined. 
She was stronger than anyone Hin had ever seen, or 
heard of. Inside that delicate body of her's was 
the power of many suns, he felt it.
	"I really should go now, Hime-sama." Hin 
said.
	"No!" Divinity and Serenity yelled at the 
same time.
	"Hin, stay with us. You can teleport too. You 
can help fight." Divinity pointed out.
	"I am not allowed. Like Pluto, my direct 
interferrence is forbidden. I can visit, make 
myself known, even train a warrior, or go so far as 
to awaken them, and maybe even take a few soldiers 
out, but fighting against the master of the enemy 
is not allowed. Good-bye." He vanished.
	"Dammit, Div! Why'd you have to suggest 
that?! Everytime I suggest fighting, he gets all 
uptight. Like hell he's not allowed to fight. I saw 
him take on a youma once." Serenity started to pace 
the room. "I thought my plan would work... use him 
to make Mamoru jealous as hell..."
	"WHAT?!" All the senshi, Div included, 
yelled.
	"What?" Serenity asked.
	"YOU LIKE MAMORU?!" Rei looked ready to 
strangle the other girl.
	"You didn't tell us?!" Minako looked 
outraged. 
	"He is the prince. Whether either of them 
want to admit it, they're soulmates. Destined to 
be." Hotaru muttered.
	"You like Hin!" Minako said, her jaw hitting 
the floor.
	"WHAT?!" Hotaru yelled.
	"You do! Hotaru and Hin, sittin' in a tree, 
K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes Love, then comes Marr--"
	"Shut up, Minako!" Hotaru ran after Minako, 
who was yelling the song at the top of her lungs, 
running through the house.
	"That was-- interesting." Haruka commented.
	"Listen, guys. Hin's not been wrong yet. I 
can't let you guys get killed. Especially not you, 
Divinity. Your people would kill me."
	"As if that was possible." Div said under her 
breath.
	"I'm going." And to prove her point, Haruka 
henshined.
	"I'm with Uranus." Rei said, and one by one, 
they all henshined. Serenity slowly sheathed the 
sword and leaned on her staff.
	"This is the only way you're leaving, 
Princess Serenity. With us." Mercury said.
	"But--"
	"No." Mars grasped one of Serenity's hands. 
They formed a loose ring. Uranus held out her hand 
for Serenity's other. 
	Sighing, Serenity put the staff up. Maybe Hin 
was wrong... they were all strong.
	Maybe they could win without loss.
	Maybe.
	One by one, they powered up, calling out 
their planet's names. Then, in a final burst of 
power, Sailor Moon yelled the final two words: 
Sailor Teleport!
	They disappeared from the room, leaving the 
five men to hope and pray...
	
****************************


	The senshi reappeared in a large cave, bigger 
than the mansion. It was darker than black. Mars 
stared at the nothingness for a few minutes then 
realized she was the only one who could do 
something about it.
	"Hold on, minna." She called, hoping the 
others were with her.	"I'm going to light things 
up a bit."
	"Good." She heard Serenity to her right. Mars 
figured, since she hadn't the slightest where any 
of them were, that the best way to go, was up.
	"MARS SPIRALING VORTEX!" She yelled, throwing 
her tornado of flame above her head, and the room 
was lit up for a few seconds. 
	Almost to good to be true, a line of torches 
were on the red-- oh, no.
	"God." Mercury whispered.
	The walls, were in all reality, grey stone. 
BUt you could not tell it from looking at them. 
They were stained scarlet, soaked red, with--
	"It's blood." Sailor Sorrow said, her voice 
loud in the deafening silence.
	"By the gods... this place is hell." Jupiter 
said, her voice far away, her eyes glazed over.
	"Not even close." Serenity narrowed her eyes, 
and the staff was in her hands. "Hell is a ways up. 
This is Heaven compared to what we're in for."
	"How do you know?" Venus wondered.
	"Because, the worse battle I've ever been in 
was ten times worse than this. Facing Beryl will be 
a thousand times worse than my worse battle. So, in 
comparative terms, this is bliss."
	"I too, have seen much worse." Sorrow added.
	"I don't believe we've even imagined this." 
Uranus whispered, looking at the rotting bodies and 
skeletons pinned up to the wall, Roman crucifction 
style. The smell was nearly unbearable.
	 On the floor, here and there, were skeletons 
that looked almost human, but they were twisted 
beyond recognition.
	"Youma." Saturn realized.
	"This is the most disgusting place I've ever 
seen, even in my nightmares." Neptune annouced.
	"Thank  you.  We  don't  recieve  many 
compliments." A voice almost as putrid as the room 
echoed. Serenity looked up to see Kunzite hovering 
over them.
	"It wasn't a compliment." Neptune said, as 
she took out her mirror.
	"Kunzite, Sailor Mercury does have the power 
to destroy you!" Serenity said. Kunzite's eyes 
narrowed at this. "Leave now." The moon princess 
told him.
	"Beryl herself decreed that only the Moon 
Princess posed any treat to her." He said, 
confident. "And I see not the princess." Mercury 
choked back a giggle.
	"Oh, really." Serenity raised an eyebrow. 
"Girls, do we know where the princess is? The Moon 
Princess too. Hmm. I don't recall hearing of her." 
She said, in a mocking tone of voice. "Idiot! I am 
Princess Eternia, or, as you know me, Princess 
Serenity." Inside, the girl didn't want to fight 
this clone of the man her friend loved, and hoped 
to scare him off with this information.
	"Ha! Everyone knows of the princess's blonde 
hair!" Kunzite crowed.
	"Like Sailor Moon's." Saturn suggested.
	"Why... yes... just like Sailor Moon's..." 
Kunzite's face went pale in shock. "You're not 
telling me..."
	"Oh, yes." Serenity stood forward, her 
warriors falling back. Sorrow looked at the 
soulless demon, and wondered how anyone could be so 
completely under a person's control.
	"Kunzite, clone of the Earth General Kunzite, 
protector of the Prince of Earth, I am your worst 
nightmare." Serenity smiled an odd half smile. "I 
am Tsukino Usagi, Sailor Moon, Princess Serenity, 
and Princess Eternia, Immortal of the Heavens, and 
the Eternal Warrior." She said, taking from it's 
sheath the Eternal Sword of her ancestor, Etern. It 
blazed with all the light that Beryl so futily 
tried to conceal.
	"You are the One." Kunzite whispered. He 
knew, in every once of his body, that death was 
behind him. 
	"I merely am, Kunzite. I am. That is all." 
She said, throwing both sword and staff to the 
ground with a clatter.
	"What?!"
	"Hime-san, what are you doing!"
	"Usagi?!" Her friends cried out at her 
foolish action. But Serenity just gazed at Kunzite 
as he smiled coldly, gathered all of his strength 
and power, and threw it at her, blowing the senshi 
back into the red walls, and leaving a crator in 
the floor. 
	Kunzite laughed as the thick smoke and dust 
billowed up, and the senshi gasped and stared in 
horror.
	Serenity was most assuredly dead.
	The smoke thinned, gradually, and as it did, 
the shapely form of Eternia became cleared. 
	The laughter caught in his throat.
	"I am immortal, Kunzite. You cannot harm me." 
She said, her eyes sad and her face steel. She 
pointed one hand, palm facing him.
	"And I die." Kunzite thought.
	"In the name of the Moon, Kunzite, accept 
your punishment." She said, her words clear and 
strong, piercing the darkness. A clear, silver beam 
of light shot from her palm and hit him square in 
the chest, searing a hole through his body, and 
turning him to dust in a nano second. He had not 
time to cry out.
	Venus and Jupiter stared at the pile of the 
dust, as the others did anything but. 
	An enemy, defeated, without effort or weapon. 
How powerful was their princess.
	"My friend, we should continue." Sorrow broke 
the silence, her silver eyes looking dull. 
	She alone knew the effort it had cost her 
friend to destroy this enemy, with the face of the 
man that Serenity thought of as her older brother.
	"Yes..." Serenity whispered, sheathing the 
sword and climbing out of the hole in the ground. 
Her staff she used as a crutch, for she hadn't will 
to walk.
	"This is only the beginning, isn't it?" 
Uranus whispered.
	"I'm afraid so." Saturn felt the end... the 
end of all.

**************************


	Beryl paled considerably at the news of her 
demolished general. Kunzite, her last, strongest, 
and most capable general, dead. And what worried 
her most was what the new one... the one in blue, 
said before she killed him.
	The blood of Etern. Etern. How she despised 
that name with all her mortal soul. Metalia told 
her of Etern, and how any who was his kin would 
most definatly be the fall of the Dark Kingdom. 
Especially the the girl with the Eternal Soul. 
	It was only coinsidence, perhaps, that this 
girl, was also a warrior. Sailor Moon. They had 
most definatly made a mistake in killing the 
families of the senshi. Beryl knew now that this 
only made them stronger.
	The Dark Kingdom's revenge was sweet, but 
cocoa also looks sweet... but it's bitter as hell 
if you taste it. You must add sugar, and sugar was 
the light that would destroy Beryl
s world.
	"That imp of a girl is immortal. She has the 
full blood of Etern. My Kingdom... Metalia... what 
should I do?" She asked the glowing purple-red 
thing in front of her.
	"Don't whine at me, Beryl." It growled back.
	"We cannot defeat her-- please, Metalia, give 
us the power to defeat her."
	"You want power? Fine! Power you shall have!" 
Metalia roared, breaking loose from her prison and 
killing Beryl, taking Beryl's body for her own.
	"And now, my pathetic princess, you deal with 
me."


***************************************************
-Rose