The Strength of Friendship, 
Chapter 6 

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Sailor Lead-Crow stared at the Sailor Senshi, anger blazing 
in her eyes and causing her face to flush red. "You do realize 
that you have destroyed one of my PRIZE students, and that I 
will have to destroy you now?" she said, bringing out her whip 
and cracking it. "Prepare to curse the day you were born!" She 
turned toward Veronica, standing there quietly. "For your first 
mission, servant, I want you to DESTROY THOSE BAKA SENSHI!" she 
screeched. 

"With pleasure Exalted One!" said Veronica. She then came down 
slowly from where she was floating in front of the group. She 
started to slowly walk towards them, menace in her eyes, ready 
to do as she was bidden. 

Sailor Sirius finally turned from staring at Lead-Crow to look 
at young woman walking up to them. "Veronica, please! You don't 
have to do this! We're your friends!!" she cried, feeling tears 
beginning to form in her eyes. Sirius moved to run towards her, 
but Sailor Mars grabbed her around the waist, stopping her. 

"No! Sirius stop! It's no good! She's under Galaxia's spell now!" 
the Senshi of Fire exclaimed, struggling to hold onto the the smaller 
senshi. 

"Let go!" Sailor Sirius shouted, struggling against her to free 
herself. She turned back to the girl still walking towards them 
"I have to try! Please Ronnie! Don't you remember! It's me, TI!" 
Her heart beat loudly against her chest. Desperately, Sirius prayed 
in her mind that Veronica would wake up and remember who she was. 
A tear fell at the thought of having to fight someone so dear to her. 
She just COULDN'T believe her best friend was all evil. 

The girl stopped for a moment. Her eyes softening briefly as a memory 
of laughing and the dark-skinned senshi beforre her entered her mind. 
Then, she shook her head and straightened her back. The hard empty 
look came back in her dark brown eyes. "I remember nothing, except 
that I have to serve Sailor Galaxia!! You are all doomed to die!" 
She raised her left hand, and a stream of thick fire rushed out and 
scorched the ground in front of them. The sailor senshi screamed and 
backed away, too tired to try and fight any more. 

Sailor Lead-Crow began to laugh as she heared the senshi cough and 
struggle for breath from the smoke that was rising around them. 
*Soon, there will be no more of their interruptions, and the galaxy 
will be ours!* the Crow Senshi thought to herself, rubbing her hands 
in anticipation. Suddenly, out from behind the rising smoke, three 
outlined figures jumped out of the sky, landed, and ran up next to 
the senshi. One of the figures raised a right hand, pointing at 
Veronica, then shouted, "SERIOUS STAR LASER!" A beam of laser circled 
by stars rushed out, hitting Veronica on the hand and burning her 
seriously. The new servant screamed in pain and frustration, then 
looked up and glared evilly at the new arrivals as she held her 
damaged hand with the other. With her concentration interrupted, the 
fire Veronica had made suddenly diminished, leaving only smoke. 

"Sorry we're late everyone, but we had a...previous...engagement!" 
said Sailor Star Healer, taking a bow. Sailor Uranus rolled her eyes, 
and grumbled under her breath, "Yeah, I bet!" 

"I'll take that as a compliment, and a thank you!" sneered Sailor Star 
Fighter, giving Sailor Uranus a dirty look. She raised her hand and 
prepared to finish off Veronica when Sailor Sirius ran up to her. 

"No! You can't! She's...she's my friend!" She walked up to the Star 
Light leader with pleading eyes and placed her hand on Star Fighter's 
shoulder. 

"What do you mean?" whispered Star Maker, looking at Sailor Sirius 
with confusion. "I mean, you can't destroy her!" replied Sailor Sirius, 
looking back at Veronica. "There's no time to explain right now, but 
isn't there some other way?" Tears once more pooled in her eyes. 
"She...she isn't one of them, trust me!" 

"Ummm, guys, we don't exactly have a choice here!" said Sailor Moon with 
growing fear. She was pointing at Veronica as she was getting ready to 
throw another dose of heavy fire their way. This time, it was aimed 
directly at the scouts. Sailor Sirius quickly got in front of them and 
threw up her right hand and concentrated. Magically her scepter appeared, 
and she pointed it out in front of her and shouted, "SIRIUS SCEPTER, 
ILLUMINATE!" A white light energy erupted from the scepter, engulfing the 
flames and neutralizing it before it caused any damage to the warriors. 

When the last of the smoke from the fire blew away, Sailor Sirius 
slowly brought her scepter down, giving Veronica a pleading look. 
"Ronnie, please! I don't want to destroy you!! You have to remember 
who you are! Remember what we went through together!" Her voice 
nearly cracked with silence at the thought of losing her best friend. 

"I....I....don't remember..." struggled Veronica, her eyes softening 
once more as confusion set in. It was all conflicting. She was 
supposed to destroy the senshi, yet there they were, her life in 
their hands and they made no move to kill her. Was she wrong about 
them? Where they not evil as she was told? Veronica looked into 
Sirius's eyes and blinked in confusion. 

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" screeched out Sailor Lead-Crow. She looked at 
Veronica, "You are worthless, just like I thought you would be!" 
She flew quickly and down and knocked her unconscious with a 
back-handed slap. Before anyone could react, she then threw up her 
hands and shouted, "Mistress Galaxia, soon to be the conqueror of 
this pathetic galaxy! I deliver unto you the Sailor Senshi! I beseech 
you to come forth and destroy them!!" Suddenly, the wind picked up 
and black clouds gathered around the already night sky. Lightning 
flicked across the sky, illuminating it for a few seconds. The thunder 
that followed was almost deafening. 

"Everyone, I DON'T like this!!" said Sailor Venus, assuming a 
fighting stance. "You and me both!" said Sailor Moon, gulping 
loudly and getting her Moon Tier ready. 

It was then that Sailor Galaxia suddenly appeared, floating above 
Lead-Crow, bigger than ever. She crossed her arms over her chest 
and began laughing in all her arrogance. When she was done, she stared 
down at the senshi and Star Lights. "FOOLS!! How dare you think you 
can defeat me! Now, watch as I destroy your world, beginning with YOU!" 
She laughed again and flicked both her hands. A gigantic black and 
swirling vortex opened, and out of it came out a giant bird demon, 
bent on taking a victim. The group gasped as it flew above then 
around and between them for a few seconds. It suddenly flew straight 
for Sailor Sirius, picking her up by the middle by its sharp and heavy 
claws. She screamed and started beating against it as her arms and 
stomach were bleeding from the cuts she was getting, but it squeezed 
her so hard, she soon lost consciousness. The sailor yelled her named 
and made a rush to grab for her, but it happened too fast. The 
creature threw a dark energy power beam from its eyes, which exploded 
on the ground around them, then flapped its gigantic wings and 
disappeared into the vortex. 

"Sailor Sirius! Oh no!" cried Sailor Moon in despair, her blue eyes 
wide with fright for her friend. ********* 

Tanya moan softly in pain as she slowly opened her eyes, but found 
nothing but darkness had surrounded her. She tried to look around 
her, but it was no use. Everywhere she tried to turn, there was nothing 
but the black space that she was floating in. She then felt her body 
with her hands, and gasped when she realized she had no clothes on. 
She blushed and clasped her hands together in front of her chest. 
*This is weird!* she thought. She suddenly decided to get bold, 
"Hello! Is anybody here!" Tanya shouted out. Her voice sounded too 
hollow and it came back in eerie echoes. For a few more moments, 
there was nothing but silence again. Suddenly, bright white light 
enveloped the place, and Tanya had to shield her eyes to block some 
of the blinding light. 

Suddenly, a woman in a silver and white flowing dress appeared in 
front on her, smiling softly. Tanya gasped in surprised, not expecting 
anyone to appear so suddenly. When her eyes adjusted to the bright 
light, she stared at the beautiful woman. She had large, dark hazel 
eyes like her own, and soft cocoa brown colored skin that accented 
the gown perfectly. She had a white star in the middle of her forehead 
and wavy black hair that reached her waist. On her head was a white-wreathed 
crown, sparkling beautifully. 

"Who...who are you?" asked Tanya in awe, wondering why this woman was 
invoking such familiarity. The woman smiled at her kindly. 

"My Little Star! It's been so long! I don't expect you to remember me 
after all this time. I'm your mother, child. I'm Queen Felicity." the 
woman said with a touch of sadness in her voice. A single tear rolled 
down her cheeks. 

"My..mother? said Tanya, getting confused. An instant later, memories 
then started flowing through her mind. Memories of a soft voice singing 
her to sleep, of stroking her mother's shining star that adorned her 
forehead to show that she loved her, and remembered how her mother's 
soft hand caressed her own star insignia, giving her comfort and peace 
of mind. "Yes!...It's true! My mother!" Tanya gasped as tears started 
to flow down her dark cheeks. She suddenly wanted to hug her so bad, to 
let the woman know that she did remember, but knew she couldn't. The 
beautiful woman before her was transparent, and Tanya knew would only 
pass through her. 

"Please, you have to help me," she then said after a moment of staring, 
"I don't know what happened, but I left my friends! If I don't go back, 
they'll be destroyed! I let them down!" Tanya said in despair as she 
hung her head in shame. A sudden thought came to her, and she lifted 
her head once more to look around again. "Am I....dead?" 

"No little one, you're not dead! I rescued you. You did not let you 
friends down," Queen Felicity smiled sadly as she floated a little nearer 
to Tanya. "You were ver brave, and for that, I have something for you." 
A black wand suddenly appeared in her hands. It was longer than the 
scepter Sailor Sirius had, and had a blue rose shaped tip on the top. 
The woman then took the magical wand and touched the Sirius Emerald 
Star Stone which magically appeared on Tanya's chest on a small 
necklace just as the woman reached for her. The girl gasped in surprise 
as the necklace suddenly began to glow brightly, nearly blinding 
her once more. On the emerald, a six pointed star appeared with the 
letter S inside of it, and more diamonds outlined the emerald on the 
outside of it. 

"With this new power, my dear, you can help your friends and bring 
back your beloved Veronica. Now go, and may the Gods of Sirius protect 
you! When you get back, shout out "Sirius Emerald Crystal, Make-up!" 
said Queen Felicity. She bent down and kissed Tanya on her forehead, 
tears forming in her eyes at the thought of never seeing her little girl 
again, then waved the wand over her. "Good-bye, my....Little Star!" 
A small sob escaped the Queen's lips. 

"Thank you...Mother. I will save my friends! I love you!!" whispered 
Tanya as she slowly disappeared. In her heart, she felt reknewed, full 
of power, and happiness as she finally got to know the woman who first 
loved her so much. 

********* 

"HAHA!! With your friend gone, you are all doomed!" laughed out Sailor 
Lead-Crow. She watched as Sailor Galaxia prepared to give the final blow 
to the Sailor Senshi Team. The Sailor Starlights and Sol warriors fought 
hard against Galaxia as she blasted them again and again with powerful 
energy, but their fight was in vain. Now, after fighting for so long, 
they watched the evil senshi helplessly, their energy nearly drained. 

Suddenly, a bright light flashed and a young voice filled the whole area.
"HOLD IT!! No one is doomed here except for your sorry butts!!" shouted 
the determined voice. A smaller, white clouded swirling vortex opened 
up right besides the senshi as they looked on in shock. Tanya's transparent 
form suddenly materialized in her school uniform in front of the vortex, 
and with a purposeflu stride, walked out in front of everyone. When she 
was fully solid, it quickly disappeared, and she turned glaring eyes up 
at Galaxia. Around her neck was the the new glowing Sirius Emerald Star 
stone, shining bright and true. 

"You again!" said Sailor Galaxia, disgust and anger heavy in her voice. 
"Don't you know when to quit little girl?" The Golden Senshi raised her 
hand before her and shot out a heavy beam of dark energy on the ground 
where Tanya was standing. She easily jumped out of the way with a 
graceful flip, then landed expertly on her small feet. 

"NO!! And I am not a little girl!!! I have had enough of you messing 
with the lives of innocent children, and messing with my friends that 
I care about so much about!" Tanya shouted, her face full of determination 
as she straightened up. "Don't you dare think I will allow you to get 
away with that! As sure as the star that shines brightest in the heavens, 
I am Sailor Sirius, and you WILL be vanquished! SIRIUS EMERALD CRYSTAL! 
MAKE-UP!!" 

The dark-skinned girl passed her hand over the emerald. A violet flash 
of light appeared, followed by a sprinkle of tiny white and violet stars, 
which then traveled slowly down her outlined body. There was another burst 
of light, this time white, and when the light disappated, Tanya had now 
become Super Sailor Sirius. She stood in a fighting stance in her violet, 
white, and black fuku, black boots with a violet tips, and black gloves 
followed by a white crown wreath in her black hair. 

Sailor Galaxia sneered as she then floated down, standing next to the 
Lead Crow. She drew back her hands and prepared to fire, then winced 
when she realized her energy was nearly drained in the long fight. She 
then turned to Sailor Lead-Crow with blazing angry eyes. "You better 
take care of her, and the other senshi, or else DO NOT come back!!" 
With that she disappeared in a shimmer to her palace to recharge herself. 

"Of course!" said Lead-Crow, grinning with pleasure. She raised both 
her hands, and yelled "Galactica Black Waters!" A large and heavy blast 
of water mixed with dark energy shot forward at newly super-charge senshi. 
Sirius quickly jumped of the way, flipping over and landing on her feet 
behind the surprised Anima-mate. Lead-Crow then turned and took out her 
whip and cracking it straight toward her. Super Sailor Sirius caught the 
tip of the whip in her hand just above her head. She winced slightly in 
pain as the whip stung her hand, then yanked it out of Sailor Lead-Crow 
grasp. The Star Senshi threw the weapon on the floor, then faced her 
opponent. She stood tall, closed her eyes, and raised her right arm and 
yelled, "SIRIUS, KISS OF DEATH, CAPTIVATION!" 

Red light enegery gathered into Sirius's raised hand, and after a second, 
she closed her fist and brought it down. She opend her palm and kissed 
it, then threw the imprint at Sailor Lead-Crow. The Crow Senshi watched 
in horror as the imprint suddenly turned into a black ball crackling 
with energy and electricity. As it traveled towards her, it got bigger 
and bigger. Finally, it reached Lead Crow and engulfed her entirely. 
It began to shrink slowly with Lead-Crow screaming inside with pain. It 
then suddenly exploded with a loud bang, sending the ashes of the once 
Anima-Mate of Galaxia into the air. There was silence for a moment as 
the ashes settled on the cold ground, almost as though in memory of the 
fallen evil warrior. The Sailor Senshi and Star Light's mouths then 
dropped open, almost speechless by the scene and what took place. 

"WHOA! Remind me never to get on your bad side!" said Sailor Moon finally 
said after a moment in admiration. Sirius looked for a moment at the spot 
where Lead Crow once stood in, then ran quickly over to them. "Is Sailor 
Neptune all right?" she asked, concern on her face. 

"I don't know! She hasn't wakened up yet!" said Sailor Uranus, holding 
Neptune's hands in her own. 

She looked up as Super Sailor Sirius then went over to Veronica, who was 
still laying unconscious. "I think I may have an idea. Please, bring over 
here!" she said. The Sailor Team gave her a worried look. "Trust Me!! 
Bring her over!" she repeated determindly. 

When Sailor Neptune laid next to Veronica, Sirius took the Emerald Star 
Stone on the necklace in her hands. "I hope this works!" she whispered 
to herself. She remembered how the jewel once healed Maroc, and prayed 
that it work work for Neptune too. She closed her eyes as she concentrated, 
and after a moment, the whole emerald and necklace began to glow green. 
Seconds later, the green light began to gow brighter and larger, then 
finally surrounded Super Sailor Sirius and the two girls laying on the 
ground. The wound on Neptune's head slowly began to shrink, then disappeared. 
The evil that Veronica was poisoned with slowly disappated, and the clothes 
that she was disappeared and was replaced by the dress she had originally 
worn. 

After a moment, both young women slowly sat up and opened their eyes. 
"What's....what's going on?" said the taller light-skinned girl as she 
was slowly rubbed her head. She looked over to see Sailor Saturn and 
Uranus hug Neptune, then she shook her head. "Who are all of you?" 

We'll explain later," smiled Sailor Sirius, "Right now, let's just get you 
some help and get you home!" 

All the senshi nodded their agreement, and quickly gathered themselves up 
to leave. By time the police cars came rushing into the area, they were only 
met with silence and darkness. 

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

Later, when the Star Lights reached their apartment in secret and 
de-transformed, Yaten Kou gave them a meaningful look. "You see, 
I told you she had much power! A person like that can only be a holder 
of a powerful and true Star Seed! She could even lead us to..to HER!" 

"Yes, you may be right." reasoned Taiki. He held a finger to his chin as 
he thought hard. "We must be careful, and watch this one closely." 

Seiya nodded in agreement. "Everyone with a pure soul is a target to 
Galaxia's evil intent. There is no doubt she will try hard to destroy 
this planet!" Although he tried to stop himself, an image of Usagi entered 
the young singer's mind. *I will protect you, Odango..* he thought to 
himself. 

Each Three Light then turned to each other and nodded in agreement, 
determination set in their faces. 

EPILOGUE 

*****Three days later, at the auditorium of the T*A* Academy for Girls** 

As Rei Hino finished singing her last verse, she smiled and bowed to the 
audience. The people were stunned for a moment at the sheer strength and 
passion of her voice, then all broke loose as they stood up and gave a 
thunderous applause and standing ovation. 

All her friends in the front row of the auditorium seats stood with tears 
in their eyes, beaming with pride and happiness for her and the wonderful 
performance. "WOW! Wasn't Rei AWESOME Usagi-chan?" said Tanya, clapping along 
with everyone. 

"Yeah, well, I could have done better!" grumbled Usagi. Tanya gave her an 
outraged look and playfully pushed her away. Behind them, they heard Rei's 
grandfather exclaim, "That's MY granddaughter, Yes she is!" 

"And MY daughter, if I can be so bold!" said Senator Hino, smiling up at Rei 
proudly. Usagi and Tanya smiled at each other secretly, glad that Rei's 
father was able to make it for her after so many years of not being there 
for her. Makoto let out a shout of joy, and gave a thumbs up to Rei as she 
continued to bow. 

"Hey guys, LOOK!! My mom AND dad are here too!" said Minako, pointing over 
to her parents and waving. Mr. and Mrs. Aino smiled gently and waved back 
to the girls. 

"Hello Little Star!!" said Peter Cambridge, walking up to Tanya through the 
crowd with Veronica. He her a soft hug, followed by Veronica, and both waved 
hello to Usagi and Minako. "I am so glad for your friend Rei! She was the hit 
of the whole play!!" said Veronica laughing. 

"So am I Ronnie, so am I!" said Tanya, happier than she had been her whole life. 


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