Poisoned From Within

By Bashfulglowfly

Chapter Eleven

"Now the fun really begins." Said Serenity.

The floor beneath their feet began to shake. Boulders began to crash down from the ceiling.

"RUN!" ordered Kunzite.

And they ran. Everyone made sure that they stayed together and did what they could to avoid panic-stricken youma and collapsing walls and floors. They ran past the alcove where they had stashed the fur coats and didn't stop. Stopping meant death.

Finally they reached the surface but they kept running until Neptune indicated they were a safe distance away. Despite the distance, they could feel the snow-packed ground shudder beneath their feet. They watched as the hills that had sheltered Beryl collapsed in on themselves. A tremendous cloud of dust rolled like a tidal wave towards them.

Kunzite erected a shield to protect them. He could feel the pressure of the shock wave batter at his shield but he made it hold. Kunzite had made it as compact as possible considering the number of people that it had to shelter. He felt a body pressing against his own and looked down. Venus was pressed tight against him, her blue eyes searching his face. Gently he cupped her face in his hand. She closed her eyes, pressing her soft cheek to his calloused palm. It was as if she was trying to absorb him.

He didn't mind.

Finally the cloud trailed away. Kunzite released the shield. The group looked to where the hills had been. They were gone. All that was left was a sunken depression that scarred the landscape.

"Is that it?" asked Mercury. "Is it finished?"

Before anyone could answer, the ground shuddered violently. The ruins of Beryl's hideaway exploded outward, flinging boulders the size of cars and houses into the sky.

"Down!" yelled Endymion.

Kunzite erected another shield. He could feel Nephrite and Saturn layer their own shields to his.

The boulders began to crash down causing the ground to shake even more.

Finally the boulders stopped slamming into the ground.

They looked up.

"Oh Blessed Selene." Someone prayed.

Rising from the ruins was Beryl. A very different Beryl. She had transformed. Her gown was a sickly shade of red and her hair a gangrenous green.

"What the hell?" breathed Zoicite.

Serenity stood. "Beryl fled to her master for protection. But what she didn't realize was that Metallia was fully awake."

"How did that happen?" asked Venus.

"I'm not really sure. I just know that Metallia was awake when Beryl ran to her." Serenity sighed. "Metallia was able to consume Beryl and take control, giving her a body in this world."

"So what do we do now?" asked Jupiter.

"What do we do?" Serenity smiled grimly. "We kick her ass."

Serenity and the others walked towards the demon. Endymion held Serenity's hand and noticed that the Shitennou were quietly doing the same with the Inner Senshi.

Metallia ponderously lurched around to face the group. "Foolish humans." The distorted voice reverberated painfully across the snow waste. "Coming here to die."

"Coming here to live." Corrected Serenity.

"Weakling princess."

"Perhaps. But strong enough to get rid of the trash."

"Die."

"No."

Metallia held out a massive hand and power began to form in her palm. Serenity held out her hand and a multi-faceted jewel appeared.

"The Ginzuishou." Said Venus softly.

The demon and the princess attacked at the same time. The black power of Metallia and the pure white power of Serenity slammed together. At first there was no movement but gradually the black began pushing back the white.

"You will lose, stupid girl."

"No." Serenity gasped. "Senshi! Endymion! I need your help! I need your power and your strength!"

Endymion nodded. He looked at his brothers and they nodded as well. Endymion stood behind Serenity and placed his hands on her shoulders, the Shitennou stood behind him with their hands on his shoulders.

The Senshi gathered around Serenity touching her wherever they could.

The group began to glow. Serenity gasped as the massive amount of power flowed into her and she tried to feed it to the Ginzuishou as fast as she could.

Metallia screeched as her power was slowly forced back. "NO!"

Serenity smiled grimly and pushed harder. Her pure power shot forth and overwhelmed Metallia who simply disappeared into the white glow.

The Ginzuishou shattered.

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"Serenity. Serenity. It's time to wake up, my darling."

"Lemme sleep a bit longer. I'm tired."

"Of course you're tired. You worked very hard today. But I need you to open your eyes." The voice changed from gentle to commanding. "Serenity! Open your eyes! Now!"

Serenity's eyes popped open. She wasn't in the bed she shared with Endymion. She was standing on the balcony of her mother's rooms. "How did I get here?" she muttered.

"You're not really here."

Serenity looked up and saw her mother. Her chin trembled for a moment and then she flung herself into her mother's open arms.

"I'm so very proud of you, my darling." Queen Serenity kissed her forehead. "And Ikuko and Kenji are proud of you too."

"Mommy and Daddy? You've seen them?" Tears rolled down Serenity's cheeks.

Queen Serenity brushed them away with her fingers. "Yes. They love you as much as I do and they are so very proud of what you've done."

Serenity smiled and looked up at her mother. "Are you angry at me for breaking your curse?"

Queen Serenity shook her head. "No, darling, because in breaking their curse, you broke the one on me as well."

"You were under a curse?"

"A self-inflicted one. You can never use the Ginzuishou for evil. It gets even." Queen Serenity smiled wryly.

"I think I broke it."

"The Ginzuishou needed to break. So that it could grow and become stronger. Just like you, my beautiful daughter."

Serenity stared at her mother then concentrated. The Ginzuishou appeared in her hands. "It looks the same." She said hesitantly. "But it feels different."

"It grew. Just like you did." Queen Serenity pulled her daughter close for one last hug. "I want you to go and be happy. Love your Endymion. Have lots of babies."

Serenity looked up at her mother, startled. "I thought the Queens of the Moon could only have one child."

"Talk to Pluto. She'll explain." Queen Serenity grinned. "By the way, nice "punishment" for the Inners."

Serenity laughed. "Not too much of a punishment. I think that they'll enjoy the Shitennou too much."

Queen Serenity snorted. "I hope Mars has a dozen children just like her!"

"MOTHER!"

"What? I'm not using the Ginzuishou to curse her. I'm just using the most powerful curse there is…the Mother's curse."

"You aren't her mother."

"I raised her. And the other girls. I can give her that curse if I want to!"

Serenity smiled at her mother. "I hear Endymion. He's calling for me."

"I hear him, too." Queen Serenity stepped back. "Go to him. But know that I will always love you."

"I love you too. Will you tell Mommy and Daddy that Shingo and I love them too?"

"Of course. Goodbye Serenity."

"Goodbye, Mother."

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Usagi opened her eyes. She recognized the ceiling. She felt a heavy arm across her waist. She turned her head to look into the concerned eyes of the man she loved. "Hi." She said softly. "We did it."

"You did it. I was just along for the ride."

Usagi leaned over and kissed him. He kissed her back, their tongues gently tangling with each other.

"I saw my mother. I didn't see Mommy and Daddy, but Mother said that they were well and that they loved me. And that all three of them were proud of me."

"They should be proud of you. You kicked some serious demon butt."

"I won't have to do that any time soon, will I?"

"There are no guarantees in life."

Usagi shoved Mamoru onto his back and climbed on top of him, straddling his waist. She placed her hands on either side of his head and looked down at him. She grinned as Mamoru placed one hand on her waist and the other on her bottom. "Pervert."

"Sue me. I think your butt is nice. Not the nicest part of you, I'm looking at those beauties right now but your butt is nice."

Usagi giggled, making the "beauties" jiggle, much to Mamoru's delight. "We're going to have to find some place bigger."

"Why?"

"I want all of us to live together. You, me, Shingo, the Senshi and the Shitennou all in one spot."

"Okay. Bigger place. How much bigger?"

"Big bigger. I want lots of babies." She hesitated for a moment. "Do you want a lot of children?"

Mamoru smiled and leaned up to kiss her. "Yes. I want lots of children around us."

Usagi smiled with relief. "That's good. It's probably going to happen too. Mars may have a dozen children just like her."

Mamoru just stared at her for a moment. "Bigger place to live. And fireproof. Maybe build it out of stone or crystal…" he muttered to himself. Then he looked at Usagi, frowning. "Why do you think that Mars is going to have a dozen children?"

Usagi explained.

Mamoru just laughed. "Jade's going to have his hands full!" Then he flipped Usagi over onto her back. "If we're going to have lots of babies, we're going to have to start practicing."

Usagi smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her. "I like that idea."

The Princess of the Moon and the Prince of Earth began to practice making babies. Even after they became Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion, they still practiced making babies quite often…much to the embarrassment of their six children.

The End.