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Chapter 34: No One Wins

Faithfullove was quickly advancing on Nyx. Just when he saw her, she launched her Eternal Blast at him, causing him to fly back into the wall opposite her, rendering him unconscious.

"CHENOA!" Kodia yelled from the cell relief flooding his face.

"I'm coming." Fatihfullove grabbed Heion and ran to the cell. Just as Faithfullove is about to blast open the cell, Heion interrupted her.

"Wait Mommy! Look at that!"

Faithfullove and Kodia look to what Heion is pointing at. They watch in horror as a smokey form rose from the unconscious host Nyx had inhabited with glowing red eyes that make Heion cringe. Before Faithfullove can act, the shade flies across the room at lightning speed and envelops Heion.

"Mommy! Help Me!" Heion screams.

In an instant, the shadow disappears into the body of Heion. The look on Heion's face goes from one of terror to one that now makes her parents shudder. Her once gold eyes gleam red, and she starts to laugh...

~*~*~*~*~

Back outside, Usagi's distraction lay within Narcissus... Upon seeing Artemis, the shade became enraged and immediately spran into action. "You are dead furball!" she screeched, interrupting the rather tense negotiations. Her outburst took everyone off guard, but none more than Io because she had to blast the girl out of her way to get to the cat, and Orchid because... well Io was her mother in the future after all.

"You are mine cat!"

Venus, already on edge with the fight with Yahara, was pushed completely over it when Narcissus started heading for Artemis. She flushed red with anger right down to her roots and screamed, "Not on your life, shade!" Venus sprang forward and shouldered Narcissus out of the way right before she reached Artemis, knocking the little brat to the ground.

As was mentioned before, Venus had completely snapped. She began berating the shade from breathing to existing and everything in between and beyond. Once she had thoroughly vented enough she, saw Orchid moving to attack out of the corner of her eye. Venus smirked and said, "Say hello to your master for me... IN HELL! Venus Love and Beauty... SHOCK!"

Narcissus was expecting that attack and quickly dodged out of the way, but she did not see Orchid's attack hurtling for her. She had to dodge out of the way in a last ditch effort to save her own skin but she ended up taking the brunt of it anyway. She looked back at the white cat, who was still being blocking by Venus.

~*~*~*~*~

While all of this had been going on, Usagi rage grew. She felt that it had all been a trick; that Circe had been used as a distraction while the other shades attacked her Senshi. She formed her staff and ignored Circe entirely while she insisted that she had not planned this at all.

Circe knew that all hopes for negotiating had been dashed with Narcissus' stupid move. Morgana had come to same conclusion and began to cry, knowing that this would end only in death because of her fellow shade's stupidity. Bauchus attacked Eternal Warrior Moon with a ferociousness, knocking the staff out of her hands and beating her. When the king attempted to pull him off, Circe attacked him, fueling the fire. All but Sera and Morgana became involved in the chaotic battle that would end it all...

"So it has begun..." Circe whispered quietly.

~*~*~*~*~

Back inside the precinct, Faithfullove found herself more angry than she had even been in her life now that her only child has been endangered by a monster. Thinking quickly, she grasped her medallion that Sen'ou had bestowed on her...

"Power of the Ancients, I beseech you now... Grant me the power to save my child," she closed her eyes and began to concentrate on all those that she loves the most. Within seconds, the room filled with a blinding light. When at last all could see again, the Goddess of the Ancients is standing before them in Faithfullove's stead.

"Healing Wall." As a wall of energy encircles Heion, the former host of Nyx, Kodia, and Sarah, it healed them completely. The demon left Heion's body leaving her unconcious on the floor. It turns right for the Goddess and attacks while the wall is still in place.

The Goddess saw the demon coming towards her and prayed that she can use her power again so soon. She called on the power once more and formed her staff in her outstretched hand.

"Chenoa! Don't!" Kodia yelled.

"Wait!" Sarah called out, getting to her feet, "I can do something! I am the one that got us into this mess..." Sarah transformed into Sailor Taurus and immediately launched an attack on the dark shadow, "TAURUS FIRESTORM!"

Unfortunately, Nyx saw it and dodges. Most of the attack only grazed him and injured him minimally. Seeing this, the Goddess closed her eyes and starts spinning her staff... As she opens her eyes they are a mirror of the soul, reflecting the anger that is in existance towards Void and his minions. But yet they hold the love for her family and friends.

"ROTATING..." She looked at the demon a cold and icy stare.

"STAFF..." The Goddess prepared herself for the force of the blast, bracing her body to be thrown back at the large amount of power that was about to be spent.

"CHARGE!" The blast exploded from her staff, engulfing Nyx entirely and destroying him completely. Once the dust settles, the Goddess reverted back to Chenoa and had to catch herself on a chair to keep from crumpling to the ground.

Kodia, strengthed thanks to his future wife's healing, used his mental powers to unlock the cell and rushed to her side. "My love, you have used too much power! We could have helped you."

"Nonsense." Chenoa said, "I had to do it. And I am okay. See?" Chenoa got up and started to walk around. But she soon became weak again and nearly fainted into Kodia's arms.

"I see my love." Kodia said dryly. He picked her up and motions to Taurus to get Heion.

"Come. We must go and let the others know we are safe... Or I fear the Queen may very well give in to those demands,"

~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile...

Venus wass taken completely off guard by the attack from Narcissus. She didn't have any time to get out of the way and instead crosses her arms in front of her to at least block some of the attack. Then she braces herself for the inevitable...

That never came.

Venus, confused at why she had yet to be it, opened her eyes. She gasped aloud when she sees the familiar form of her fiancé standing in front of her, hissing quietly in pain, "Y-Yahara..." She can't see his face, but she can feel his rage in the very air around her. Before she could ask if he was all right, he went after the shade...

Yahara ran right through Narcissus, his sword slicing her in half. He felt sick from passing through something so evil, but he managed to stand a moment longer before collasping to the ground.

"Yahara!" she shrieked, falling to her knees just beside him. She hovered over him worriedly, completely forgetting about their stupid argument from before. She shook her head and said, "Damn you... What were you--"

"You did nothing wrong Mina..." Yahara interrupted weakly, catching her off guard, "I'm just mad at Hebi and myself for letting something like this happen..."

Venus opened her mouth to say something, but Yahara never saw this for he barely managed to get those words out before slipping into blackness. She shook her head sadly and felt a few tears trickle down her face. She knew he was alive judging by the rise and fall of his chest... But that wasn't why she was crying. Venus wiped away her tears, not realizing that her palms were scratched up from breaking her fall when she went down to her knees so quickly before. She cradled his head in her lap, trying to sort through everything in her head.

Venus looked back to the battle and saw something that only made her sob harder...

~*~*~*~*~

There was no way that Usagi could overpower Bauchus, so she pretended to be unconscious for a moment, kicking free when he let his guard down. After seeing her husband being hit by Circe's attack, she needed retaliation...

"Usagi!" Mercury screamed, "Catch!"

EW Moon whirled just in time to see Mercury toss her missing staff to her. She darted forward and snatched it out of the air. She briefly wondered what she could possibly do and looked around for Chenoa... Only to see Kodia carrying her out of the precinct.

"Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" she cried quickly. The attack hit the shades' forewoman, but while she showed pain, she automatically recovers. For a moment, she almost looked compassionate, but it is quickly replaced by one of hatred.

Suddenly, she remembered that her Healing Escalation always turned youma back into people, and nearly all her past powers had been to purify something in one way; she had used her Spiral Heart Attack to expell daimons from the inanimate, and her current powers could work to purify the human soul... but whatever happened to the evil spirits that had possessed those things? Somehow she didn't believe that she had completely destroyed those spirits... and even if she had, wasn't that her purpose? To eliminate evil and make room for good?

The Lunar Senshi blocked out everything, focusing entirely on her power and the shade. She let her power build inside her focusing it into her staff until it almost hurts. Then she began the sequence to release it. "SILVER MOON CRYSTAL POWER KISS!"

And when the feathers and the light cleared away, Eternal Warrior Moon nearly cried... First joy... And then sorrow when she looked around.

"Goddess help me,"

Circe was human.

~*~*~*~*~

"Mom!" Taurus called out, throwing her arms around her mother, taking the Fire Senshi by surprise, "Oh Mom, I missed you so much!"

"Sarah!" Mars gasped, clutching her only daughter to her like she hadn't held her in months... Which was true. "Thank goddess you're alive... I was so worried when you didn't come back... I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you,"

"You should thank Morgana," Taurus said automatically.

"Who?"

"Morgana," Taurus repeated, motioning to Sera and Morgana who were a few feet away from them, "She kept me safe from the others."

"What...?" Mars breathed. Suddenly, she heard Venus let out a strangled sob, and turned to see what was going on. She quickly saw what the blonde was looking at and her heart sank.

"Oh no... Oh Goddess, please no..."

~*~*~*~*~

After Morgana began to cry, Sera immediately forgot about possibly preventing being turned human... The battle would detain Circe for a long while, and Sera highly doubted that they would succeed to begin with. She moved over to Morgana and put held her, saying, "Are you all right?"

Morgana shook her head and cried into Sera's shouler, "No... I want to be human, but I don't want to have to kill for it! Damn Narcissus... Why did she have to go after that cat and start in with that girl?! She ruined everything!"

Sera tried to comfort Morgana, but it all seemed to be in vain. "Don't worry about it... I doubt Narcissus will last too long anyway,"

"But I don't want--"

"I know..." Sera said apologetically, giving her an extra squeeze, "I know love..."

Morgana looked up at Sera in shock. Sera was not one to express her emotions through anything except the physical. Never had the woman told Morgana that she loved her... Never had she even said the word love! Not even when they were human!

"What did you say?" Morgana said breathlessly, forgettng the hell around her for just one moment.

Sera blanched, not realizing that she had said it herself. She stammered for a moment, but oddly enough Mars and her daughter saved her...

"We need to talk," Mars said to Morgana.

Morgana looked to Sera, slightly frightened. Sera nodded and said, "What about? I don't see how we have anything to discuss. We are enemies after all,"

Mars nodded, "That we are. And we can stand here and kill each other, or I could thank Morgana for quite possibly saving my daughter's life,"

Morgana blinked and quietly said, "I just did what I thought I should do... But... You're welcome... I guess..."

Mars sighed and said, "If you wanted to be human, why didn't you just ask for help?"

Sera growled and said, "Like you would have helped... And besides, some of us didn't want to be human! Namely me! I am more than happy remaining in this shadow form... You haven't a clue what kind of power there is do you?" she paused to cackle, "Perhaps I should let you know..."

Morgana recognized the tone she panicked. "Sera please, just let them alone... Why are you doing this?!"

Sera hated to see her like that, but she was just so angry at anyone and everyone right then, she couldn't control it. While she could still experience the dark remnants of one human emotion, she was still a monster that Void had created. So she cackled and said, "Why for the fun of it Morgana... For the fun of it..."

"Dark Blast!"

Morgana watched as the dark energy hurtled towards the mother and daughter of fire. Sera's shot was point blank. She couldn't miss. They couldn't dodge. And she didn't know if Sarah could survive the encounter...

So Morgana leapt forward, allowing Sera's attack to hit her.

"Morgana!!" Sera cried as she caught her love in her arms, "Oh my God... What have I done?! Damn you, why did you have to do that?! Why did I have to do that? DAMN IT!!" Sera was the one sobbing uncontrollably, "Please Morgana just hang in there... I can't lose you now,"

Morgana laughed slightly, blood bubbling at the corner of her mouth, "Don't blame yourself... This is Void... He made you this way... You just... finally g-gave in... to it all... Please... don't... don't blame yourself..."

"Morgana..." Sera whimpered, vulnerable for perhaps the first time in her life, "Please..."

"I guess... I'll never be... human then..." Morgana felt tears sliding down her face... I only wish it had happened... If only for a few moments..."

"Don't talk like that... You'll be all right... You're gonna be ll right..." Sera said insistently.

Morgana started coughing, even more blood coming from her host's mouth. She wiped the blood from her mouth and pulled Sera to her, kissing her one last time. A few moments later she pulled away nd whispered, "I love you... Sera..."

"Morgana, I..." Sera began to say.

But it was too late.

Morgana was gone.

Sera never said three little words... And she wanted to kill herself for her stupidity.

"NOOO! MORGANA!!"

~*~*~*~*~

Being overcome with compassion seeing Circe lying in the street, Chenoa ran to her with renewed strength. She took off her cloak and put it around her, shaking. She turned back to her love and said, "Kodia, we have got to do something. The shades are human."

Suddenly, a frightening reality hits her and tears well up in her eyes, "Oh Goddess! Nyx!" she shook her head sadly and whispered, "I have done the unforgiveable..."

Chenoa, stood up and looked at everybody fighting around her. She was overcome with emotion and summons the power of the ancients yet again. As she grasps onto the medallion, she closes her eyes. "Oh mighty power of the Ancients, I call upon you once more. Grant me the power to heal this evil. Give me the power of your Goddess."

A brilliant light of gold, silver and lavender surrounded her as she uttered the last word. Heion walked towards her, transfixed and stands in the power with her mother.

As the power engulfed Chenoa and Heion, Kodia started to go towards them but was stopped by the energy. As Chenoa and Heion both concentrate on the power of the ancients, it flows out encircling everybody within 100 feet. Together the mother and daughter exclaim "HEALING WALL!!"

As the wall of healing power from the combined energies of Chenoa and Heion surround the senshi and shades within its reach, Chenoa collapsed to the ground, pale and exhausted. She looked up towards Heion and then Kodia before she passed out next to Circe.

It was all over...

And no one won.

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