Surprise Endings The Dark Lord Saga - Chapter Six by Rick Federle At the sound of the Dark Lord's voice, the chamber was lit as bright as day. The Scouts found themselves near one end of a circular cavern the size of a banquet hall. Standing in the middle of the cavern was Anna, surrounded by a dozen of her Shadow Warriors. "Did you enjoy my little deception?" The Dark Lord asked. "You were remarkably easy to fool." Sailor Venus grit her teeth in anger at the Dark Lord's mockery. "I'm going to kill you for what you've done." Venus declared, her voice filled with the pain and anger that she felt. "You don't have that kind of power, little princess." Anna laughed. "Only your husband does." She grinned evilly. "Or should I say did." Venus gave an inarticulate scream of rage. "Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" She launched the golden heart directly at Anna's head. With an almost bored expression, the evil Queen batted the energy heart aside with her hand. "Didn't we already do this once?" She mocked the Sailor Scout's best efforts. "Kill them, my shadows." The Dark Lord commanded, pointing at the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask. The Shadow Warriors leaped into action, their claws gleaming in the bright lighting as they closed the distance at a surprisingly fast rate. "Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" The golden heart of love energy caught one of the advancing shadows in the torso, neatly sheering it in two. The two halves dissolved before they touched the ground. "Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!" "Mercury Aqua Rhaspody!" "Mars Flame Sniper!" "Jupiter Oak Evolution!" The Scouts found themselves fighting hand to hand with creatures of barely substantial physical forms. It took Jupiter and Mars over half a dozen blows to shatter their attackers into fragments while Sailors Moon and Mercury fought to hold them off. Anna snatched Tuxedo Mask's rose out of the air before it could pierce her skin. With a sinister looking smile, the Dark Lord crushed the flower's blossom. That done, she sent the Earth Prince back into the wall with a spray of dark energy from each of her palms as he rushed her. With an audible crack he slammed helplessly into the wall, his cane and top hat flying off in different directions. He hit the floor with a thud and didn't move. Sailor Venus launched herself into a flying kick as the Dark Lord's twin attack sent Tuxedo Mask flying off helplessly. Anna raised her arm to ward off the enraged Scout's attack. As Sailor Venus' foot touched the Dark Lord's arm, the cavern was filled with the sudden thunder of an explosion. Using every ounce of her acrobatic and gymnastic skill, Venus was able to keep from landing on her head as she was flung away from Anna. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to control her fall entirely. A spasm of intense pain shot through her as her left shoulder was badly dislocated by contact with the hard stone floor. She let off an involuntary shriek of agony as the pain registered in her brain. Venus struggled to her feet. As she stood up her right leg, the one that she had tried to kick Anna with, went numb then gave out entirely. Venus found herself unable to stay on her feet and collapsed back down helplessly to the floor. As she pushed up on her elbows, she saw the Dark Lord approaching her. Anna held a black blade of crystal in one hand while the other arm dangled limply at her side. "Die!" The Dark Lord screamed as she raised the blade, ready to thrust it into Venus' heart. Venus closed her eyes as she prepared for the cold touch of the crystal blade. At least in death she could be with the man she loved once again. A chiming ring of crystal striking steel filled the air and echoed in the sudden silence. Venus opened her eyes to find her Guardsman standing over her, his blade having blocked what would have been a fatal blow. The two stood motionless, their blades still touching. Two volleyball sized globes of energy materialized over the heads of the two blade wielders. The Light hovered over the head of the Guardsman while what Venus presumed to be the Dark hovered over the head of the Dark Lord. Venus tried to move, to help her husband, but she found herself paralyzed. "Both Avatars are present." The Light began. "Shall this be the contest that decides our differences?" "It shall be." The Dark agreed. "Then let the contest begin." The Dark Lord separated her blade from that of the Guardsman. "You're supposed to be dead." She snarled, her face filled with hate as she took several steps back away from him. "Well, I'm not." He stated. Venus felt the pain that filled his entire body as he moved forward to engage the Dark Lord. A pain that masked everything else, including the love that normally filled the link they shared. Venus watched with tears forming in her eyes as her Guardsman fought with the Dark Lord, his armor torn and bloodied in numerous places. The contest lasted only seconds before Anna sent him flying over backwards, his blade flying out of Venus' sight. Helplessly, he was flung to the ground and Venus felt a surge of sadness from him. Sadness that he was unable to protect the woman that he loved. Anna leaped forward to finish him off, raising the blade above her head to thrust him through. "NO!" Venus cried out, gathering what little strength that she had left and flinging herself across the man she loved. She felt a sharp pain in her back as the blade punctured her skin and then nothing. Venus tasted blood in her mouth before everything went black. * * * Sailor Venus opened her eyes to find herself standing on a flat featureless plain. As she looked, she saw her true love standing near her. She ran to him and flung her arms around him tightly, hugging him close. "I'm so sorry." He whispered to her as they held each other. "I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you." "You did the best that you could." She told him, her right cheek resting against his chest. "You don't have to apologize for that." "Where are we?" She asked him after a moment. "I don't know." He told her. "I think that we're dead." She looked up at him. "Well, it doesn't matter. Not as long as we're together." "And you shall be together forever." The Light's voice echoed to them. "My Avatar." Venus exchanged a puzzled look with her Guardsman then suddenly smiled in amusement as it struck her what the Light meant. He blinked at her once in confusion then his eyes showed his understanding. "I feel like an idiot." He said with a groan. "Yes," she agreed. "But you're my idiot and I love you very much." She giggled as he rested his forehead against hers. "Ready?" "Now and forever, my love." With a shared smile, he tilted his head to the side and pressed his lips full against hers in a passion filled kiss. As their lips touched, Venus found herself submerged in him. Everything that he had ever felt or had ever done, she saw it from his perspective. Everything that he was, she knew. His childhood, youth, adulthood, all of it. She felt his pain and agony of the Negaverse torture, the overwhelming love that he felt for her, and the joy that she gave him. Suddenly, she knew everything there was about him. Everything, whether it was good or bad. All his hopes and dreams. All the pain he had felt. All the joy that she gave him. His life became hers and she knew that hers had become his. Then everything became bright, as if a sun had gone supernovae, and she felt nothing. * * * Mina heard the soft sound of birds chirping, the gentle humming of wind against glass. She felt no pain from anywhere, but yet the link she shared with her husband was filled with the love they shared. She opened her eyes and gazed upon the face of her husband. She was in her own bed, with the reassuring presence of her husband's arms about her. He was cuddled up with her, their bodies intertwined as if they had just woken up from a long night of sleeping. A rush of memories filled her mind and she found herself able to remember things about him as if they were hers. "So it wasn't a dream." She whispered softly. She found herself looking into her husband's brown eyes and just for a moment she lost herself in the depths of them. "No, it wasn't." He whispered back as he hugged her tighter. He held her like he never wanted to let her go. "Mina, my Mina." He whispered, the link filled with love and joy as he pressed his face into her hair. She felt his tears wetting her hair. "I love you, now and forever." She pressed her face into his chest as he held her, her arms wrapped around his torso, sobbing in relief as she clung to him. "My William, my love." She whispered into his chest as she held him. After what seemed like a moment, the tears ceased to flow and she felt his kiss against the top of her head. She wormed her way back up so she could look at his face. He gave her a weary looking smile, which she realized was a reflection of her own. She rubbed his cheek with her left thumb. "You look like you need a shower." She told him. "Your face is all red." He took her hand with his and kissed the back of it. "Is that a request or an invitation, my heart?" She shared a joy filled smile with him. "Both, my love." She agreed then leaned forward to share a kiss with him. Mina had a small smile of contentment on her lips as she sat in her husband's lap, with her feet hanging over the side of the chair. He was lovingly brushing her hair for her like he always did whenever she washed it. Over the past week, they'd learned what had happened on Sirius and several other things of interest. Mina found that she'd had trouble concentrating on anything other than William for a couple of days, a side effect what the Light refered to as a "spirit merge". It was yesterday when they'd finally gotten to the point where they could interact with people normally again. Hence they'd joined the others at Raye's to find out what had happened. It was then that the Light had showed up to explain everything. The Light had told them that they'd defeated the Dark Lord on Sirius through the combining of their spirits. The energy that had been released by their merge had been sufficient to shatter the planet that they'd been standing on and to cause the star it orbited to go nova. The Light had teleported the entire group back to Earth as just after the spirit merge took place, placing each person back at home. They'd been on Sirius a total of three days it turned out. The other side effect of the merge had been that she'd truely become the Venusian Princess that she'd once been. The Light had privately explained to the two of them that while Mina had been destined never to find love again, the Light had changed that and brought William back into her life. In a way, it was as if he'd been made for her all along. William finished brushing her hair and folded his arms around her shoulder then leaned around and kissed her on the right temple. "Done." He informed her. She shared a smile with him then kissed him in thanks. * * * The Guardsman sighed as he looked upon the ruins of the Moon Kingdom. Sailor Venus slipped into the circle of his arms, leaning back against him with her shoulders resting against his chest. "Does it help, my love?" She asked him. He kissed her right temple. "Yes, my heart." He told her. "It does." After a moment of silence, he raised his voice for the spirits that still inhabited the ruins to hear. He sang the final song of the Guard and after several seconds, Sailor Venus joined her voice to his, and together the two recreated the ancient melody. As the last notes of the song echoed into silence, there seemed to be a stirring within the ruins and then it faded away into nothingness. "Be at peace, my friends." The Guardsman called softly to the now empty ruins. He kissed his wife's right temple again before speaking again. "Are you ready to go back?" "Yes." She agreed, turning her head to look at him. "We have a movie to finish." In a flicker of light, the two vanished, leaving the ruins of the Moon Kingdom in peace.