CHANGED
by Rose





PART 13





	
	"I feel an evil power... it's huge." Sailor 
Mars whispered, as they were sure that they had 
begun to make their way to the main cavern.
	This Nega-verse... it was a paradox within 
itself... some of the caverns were gorgeous, and 
made you want to stay there forever to gaze at the 
murky hues of the flowers, but some of the caverns 
were like the first, horrible stuff that could and 
probably would give them nightmares for the rest 
of their lives, if their previous experences 
didn't.
	"Good. Beryl has taken her own life, then." 
Sailor Sorrow said gravely, and Serenity frowned.
	"I thought that perhaps she wouldn't--"
	"You mean Beryl's killed herself?!" 
Uranus's voice was incredious. 
	"We knew she would." Saturn said.
	"WHAT?!" Venus, Mars, Mercury, and Neptune 
yelled.
	"Of course." Serenity said. "Beryl never 
would have enough power to defeat me. She had to 
do something. We really don't know what she did, 
but we do know that Beryl would never have the 
power to defeat any of us. Beryl is quite weak."
	"Weak?!" Uranus repeated, and swung her arm 
in an arch, to turn their attention to the gore of 
the room. "You call this WEAK!? I really don't 
want to know your defintion of strong."
	"Haruka." Serenity sighed. Her silver eyes 
were full of saddness from memories that no one 
should have to remember, and from wisdom no being 
should have. "I must call Beryl weak, for compared 
to the power we must now face, Beryl is, in 
comparative terms, like an ant is to a human 
compared to this new force."
	"Oh, wonderful!" Mercury hit her head 
against the reddened wall.
	"Then we really don't have a chance." 
Neptune realized.
	"As so I said." Serenity sighed. 
	"I will die. My people will understand." 
Sailor Sorrow smiled. "Anything for the 
Lunarians." 
	"No." Saturn said. "I must demand, with or 
without your permission, Princess, that the others 
except you, I, and perhaps Divinity stay."
	"What!?" The senshi spoke out as one.
	"She's right." Sailor Mercury said. "If 
they do not make it, the city must have 
protection."
	"It makes sense... but I can't leave you to 
die!" Jupiter spoke for what seemed like the first  
time  since  they  had  entered  the Underworld.
	"I won't do it! I'll die first!" Uranus 
said stubbronly.
	"You very well might." Serenity said, her 
eyes narrowing.  "Haruka, you still think this is 
a game. It's not! This is my fight, not your's! My 
war, not your's. You didn't start this. I did. You 
don't need to die for me, Sailor Uranus."
	"But it is our duty." Neptune spoke up.
	"No." Serenty said, shaking her head. 
	"What do you mean?" Mars asked.
	"I have but you in too much danger already. 
I will not have you die for me. Good-bye, My 
senshi. There will be another if I do not return." 
She whispered, and then the mark on her forehead 
blazed so brightly that the senshi were forced to 
look away.
	When they were able to see again, they were 
looking into the stunned faces of the generals and 
Tuxedo Kamen.
	"That idiot!" Divinity screeched.
	Serenity had left it to herself to face 
Queen Metalia.
	
*******************


	Serenity looked at the place where her 
senshi had once stood. She wondered if she was 
strong enough to kill Metalia... she wondered if 
she should bring Saturn back. Saturn was hard to 
kill, so maybe...
	"No. I will not put them in a sucidal 
position." Serenity said aloud, and quickly walked 
throught the rooms, keeping her head down, not 
looking at the gore strung around the rooms. With 
each step, she knew she was growing closer to the 
Main Hall, where Metalia waited for her.
	Metalia. The one who had destroyed her soul 
and will to live. 
	She felt no pity for the creature. 
Everytime she told herself she would reform, take 
the war for what it was. And yet she still carried 
pity for the enemy. 
	She felt no sympathy for Metalia. And 
neither did she feel any for Beryl, who had so 
unwittingly given her life and body to the witch. 
	She was angry. Dead-through angry. And not 
just, 'Give me back my purse' angry, we talking 
'Alright, you killed my mom and now you're going 
down, and then you whip out a machine gun' angry.
	Yeah. I think you get it.
	And this machine gun was a small, yet very 
potent, ginzuishou. And this anger was past, you 
killed my mom. Because Beryl had killed both her 
mothers. And both her fathers. And destroyed both 
her lifes. And had once again seperated her from 
her lover. And had ruined the world, once again.
	So... if you can actually imagine that... 
	"METALIA, SHOW YOURSELF!" Serenity called, 
as she stepped into the main room. A spindle of 
dark energy appeared and a twisted version of 
Queen Beryl appeared.
	"Aw, my little moon princess, we meet at 
last." Metalia's voice was dripping with honey-
sweet vemon.
	"Drop the act, witch." Serenity said 
coldly. "You're mine." 


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


	Somewhere, deep inside of Metalia's mind, 
she shuddered. The pure raw emotion that was in 
this fragile princess's eyes, and the way she held 
up the Silver Crystal showed Metalia she was a 
warrior.
	Metalia was afraid.
	Queen Serenity had not frightened Metalia. 
Nothing had. It had been a cinch to defeat the 
Silver Millenium. A few well placed spies, a few 
clones here and there, and bu-boom.
	Queen Serenty had surprised Metalia, 
though, when she had used the sacrifice ritual and 
gave her life to seal Metalia away in the Dark 
Kingdom and send the souls of the senshi forward. 
But Evil always returns, and sooner or later, 
Metalia supposed, you found a weak link.
	She had led Beryl to believe that this was 
the weak link. She herself had believed it was. No 
Serenity, no senshi, no opposition. It had been 
like squishing ants.
	"In your dreams, Moon Girl." She replied, 
not showing an ounce of her fear.
	But Serenity knew.
	"You're afraid, Metalia. You're afraid. And 
soon, you're not going to be. Because whether you 
kill me, or whether I kill you, soon, both of our 
fears are going to be gone. Whoever sits on the 
throne after this will be completely free of 
threats." Serenity said, holding the crystal in 
front of her.
	"Let's go."
	"You'll never win, Moon Brat!"
	"We'll see. ETERNAL MOON COSMIC POWER!"
	"Raaaaaaaaa!" Metalia met the white power 
with her own dark power.
	Silence.
	Then, a sound came that a super nova 
couldn't match. An explosion of white against 
black.
	For a full minute, the powers blazed, the 
dark beginning to overpower the white.
	"Noooo!" Serenity screamed. "My friends!"

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



	Togther, they heard a voice cry out.
	"Nooooo! My friends!"
	"It's Serneity!" Tuxedo Kamne gasped.
	"Senshi, join hands. Lend her your power." 
Divinity said softly, watching the inners and 
outers form a rough circle.
	One by one, they called out their powers.
	"Mercury Prism Power!"
	"Venus Prism Power!"
	"Mars Prism Power!"
	"Jupiter Prism Power!"
	"Uranus Planet Power!"
	"Neptune Planet Power!"	
	"Saturn Planet Power!"
	"Powers of the planets..."
	
	Far away, Serenity heard their cries, and 
added her own to theirs.
	"Powers of the Moon..."
	
	Togther, though miles apart, they screamed 
one word in perfect union.
	"UNITE!"

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


	Metalia screamed a death cry as the Crystal 
Absorbed the power and sent all out at her, 
overpowering her and reducing her to nothing but 
dust.
	For many hours, Serenity sat on her knees, 
catching her breath and her strength.
	Finally, she returned home.
	The world was safe.
	They had defeated the evil.

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

It's not the end yet, folks!