"Within" Final Battle Sequence Serena stood looking at the building directly in front of her. A theater, standing just a little taller than the surrounding buildings. This was where she assured herself Nega Moon was hiding. She approached the front doors. It had come to this. Serena was committed to the very end. Inside, she was shaking uncontrollably, the only thing pressing her on was her will. That didn't stop her from being scared. Serena reached for the handle of the glass door but stopped. Her mind registered *trap.* She stepped back, preferring to assess the situation a little more. She eyed her surroundings nervously. If this were indeed a trap, she had none to back her up. For the past few minutes, she had been gripping the locket in her coat pocket tightly. She withdrew it from her coat and looked at it. "Wait a minute." She held it up, its golden exterior reflected the sunlight. "Why haven't I transformed yet?" Luna's usual sarcastic response to that statement came to mind, but she shrugged it away. Serena held the locket up above her. The locket twitched slightly as it opened up. She lightly tapped the crystal inside while shouting "Moon, Crystal, Power!" She then waited for the transformation to take hold, and waited, and waited. Nothing happened. "Hey, what gives?" Serena said curiously as she brought the locket down eye level and looked at it. Her breathing threatened to stop forever when she saw the crystal. It was black as night. For some reason unknown, its sight hurt her eyes, she squinted to see it. Serena then noticed small dark-purple sparks inside of the crystal. Before she could even blink, those purple sparks started jumping out of the crystal like small lightning bolts, enveloping her hand, then her arm. Then, the purple lightning got even bigger, finally dancing around Serena's entire body. She screamed on the top of her lungs, unable to move. Serena felt like she was being pulled at from all directions. In an instant afterward, her form was replaced with a shadow, got smaller. Then it snapped out of existence, accompanied by a loud crack of thunder. ********** Nega Moon looked up from observing how the Silver Crystal reflected the light. The thunder from outside sounded like music to her ears. "Finally..." she whispered. The atmosphere at the center of the stage became distorted, a shadow appeared, then took the form and assorted colors of a screaming Serena, still holding onto the locket. Frightened to no end, Serena dropped the locket. It landed on the wooden flooring at her feet. She clenched her hands, still shivering from the experience. Rini jumped over her seat beside Nega Moon and ducked down. Nega Moon stood up. She snapped her fingers lightly and the locket on the floor in front of Serena, disintegrated. Rini looked up from behind the seat. *There's the imposter,* she looked at Nega Moon, *why's Sailor Moon just standing?* Nega Moon folded her arms, she let her eyes show narrow and grinned wickedly, staring at Serena. Serena noticed Rini. "Rini! Get away from her!" "No!" the Small Lady shouted back. "She's an imposter!" "No, you're the imposter! She's Sailor Moon!" "Rini listen to me. I don't know what she's told you, but..." Nega Moon put a hand on Rini's shoulder. "Don't listen to her Rini. Don't listen to that imposter." Out of desperation, Serena bolted forward and jumped down from the stage. "Rini you have to listen to me!" Rini hid behind Nega Moon. "No. Go back to the Negaverse where you belong." The clone turned around and looked at Rini. "C'mon Rini. We need to get away from her." She turned to the middle of the center aisle and extended her arms forward. The air in the center of the aisle became distorted and then became a swirling dark shadow. Rini went first. She jumped into the center aisle, Nega Moon following immediately behind. Serena ran after them. "Rini! Don't go in there!" It was too late. Rini walked into the portal and disappeared. Nega Moon stopped just in front of the portal, moved her right arm up to her tiara, withdrew it, and threw it at Serena. It whistled through the air. Serena shrieked and ducked down. She barely missed getting hit by the Tiara, for it cut the shoulder of her pink jacket. Nega Moon snapped her fingers and the tiara, still in the air, changed its course. She waited for the tiara to stop dead in her hand, replaced it on her forehead, and stepped into the portal. Serena looked up. "Noooo!" She got up and continued her forward charge. She closed her eyes, not wishing to witness herself running into the portal. Serena continued running, only stopping when she realized she had been running too long, and didn't feel the portal. Letting her feet come to a skidding stop, she turned around. "It's gone." She looked up. "Nooooo Riniii!!!" ********** "Okay Rini, now listen carefully. That imposter is not from the Negaverse." Rini had been looking about her. The first thing she noticed was the way the big stone room seemed to illuminate itself with no light source. "Then where is she from? The Negamoon?" Nega Moon got down eye level and grabbed Rini's shoulders firmly. "What did you say?" She then thought, *how does that brat know who I am!?" "You know, the Negamoon, where Rubeus and Emerald come from. They're trying to take over Crystal Tokyo, the future." *It must be her imagination again. Why not use it this time?* Nega Moon thought, she stood back up. "Yes, Rini. She's from, the Negamoon." Rini paused, then asked, "where are we?" "We're in the Negaverse." "What!?" "Calm down Rini. The Negaverse and the Sailor Scouts are allies. "But my mommy told me you were enemies." Nega Moon got down and hugged Rini. "Rini, I'm so sorry." "Sorry for what?" "It makes sense now. You're past." Rini took a step back, Nega Moon let go of her. "What about my past?" "The, impostors are altering your past. The Negaverse and the Sailor Scouts are supposed to be allies. Somehow, they're causing you to remember us as bitter enemies." ********** Serena, in a panic, investigated where the portal was supposed to be. She could feel a cold chill, like something was there, but not quite. After about a minute, she quietly gave up her desperate investigation, walked over, and slumped into one of the theater seats closest to her. Tears came to her eyes. "Rini. Everyone... I'm sorry I've failed you. Luna, I should have listened to you before and learned what you tried to teach me. I'm not fit to be a Sailor Scout, or a princess, or even myself." She looked up at the ceiling, tears trickling down her cheeks. "Darien..." she let her voice crack with a high-pitched squeak, "How can I be your bride if I've broken my promise to you?" She reached into the inner pocket of her coat and pulled out one of the roses. She held it up to the dull light of the theater, and looked it over. Even with the amount of torture it and its partner had received, it still looked as if it had just been cut from the bush. Still beautiful as ever. ********** "Rini, I know this is hard for you to understand but you have to believe me." Nega Moon gestured to the center of the big cavern. "That, is the Negaforce. Ruler of the Negaverse and ally to the Sailor Scouts. It will back up what I'm saying to you. You have no reason to fear it." Rini looked at the center of the room. It was a big chamber like structure, with stalactite and stalagmite rock formations surrounding it. The floor ended at a ledge and dropped off a few feet at the edge. She could see what looked like a black fog inside of the chamber. It formed a gentle, unassuming face, and smiled at her. Rini looked back up at Nega Moon, and smiled, "I believe you..." ********** Serena let the rose fall from her hand. It landed quietly and almost gracefully on the rough thin carpet, in the center aisle beside Serena's seat. She rested her head on her hands, and slumped forward in her seat. ********** Rini approached the Negaforce slowly. It was still smiling at her. She started to hear a voice in her mind. "Hello Rini," the Negaforce spoke into Rini's mind with a gently, motherly voice, "come closer... Don't be afraid." Rini stopped and turned around to look at Nega Moon. The clone smiled warmly. "Go on." ********** At first, Serena thought she had been hearing things. She looked up at the stage, then back down at the floor. A second time, she heard the sound, like metal scraping against wood. It was more frantic this time. Serena stood up. ********** The fog of the Negaforce made its face eye-level with Rini. "Rini, let me tell you a story. It is a story about the Moon Kingdom, and what really happened. I can tell you that whatever that imposter said, it isn't true." ********** Serena took a step forward, then another, and another. Someone or something was up on the stage, and she reasoned it, or they, were trying to get the attention of anyone. Serena's mind was still registering *trap* and thusly, she was still cautious. She put her hands on the stage floor, and with great strain, was able to hoist herself up onto the stage.