The hostages looked up in surprise when the black knight came running down the stairs. The people all huddled close together. They'd never seen this person before. Close behind came a group of girls in outlandish costumes, and a young man in a tuxedo, carrying yet another girl. The knight ran into the midst of the hostages, and seemed to disappear. The blue haired girl began typing on some type of notepad, and she had a blue visor down over her eyes. Suddenly she stopped typing and turned to point to one of the middle management executives, a balding, middle-aged man. The orange girl whirled and pointed a finger at the man.
"Crescent Beam!" she cried out, and a bright beam of light left her finger to hit the man. He fell to the floor with a cry, and the hostages crowded even closer together. They'd hoped that they'd be rescued from that strange young woman that put the shield around the station and went on TV, but now the people she'd called here to fight her were after them too! They waited nervously for what would happen next.
*****
Venus looked over to Mercury. "Did I get him? Can we go now?" Mercury looked up and shook her head.
"I'm afraid not. He left that man too-too quickly for me to give you warning."
When Venus heard that, her hands went up in horror to cover her face, and Mercury correctly interpreted what she was worried about. "Don't worry, the man will be all right. I've already checked that. I don't know why, but you beam didn't seem to hurt him too much. The only explanation I can think of is that you were trying to injure the Black Knight, not the man he was residing in."
"Well, then why is he lying on the floor like that?"
Serenity broke into the conversation with a small smile on her face. "You have to admit, Venus, you hit with an awful lot of energy. It's only to be expected. "
"This is all very interesting," Jupiter drawled out sarcastically as she kept a wary eye on the cowering hostages, "but what are we going to do next? We can't take out all the humans one by one, you know." At her words a few of the more hysterical women fainted.
Mercury suddenly grabbed Jupiter's shoulder and yanked her down until her ear was level with Mercury's mouth. "When I tell you to target the next human, I don't want you to use much power-I don't want the human to be hurt, but I want it to look convincing, so put enough punch in it so your attack doesn't look weak, okay?" At Jupiter's nod Mercury pointed at a young woman in a smart jacket and high heels.
"There, Jupiter! Her!"
Mercury's shout startled Jupiter enough that she almost couldn't keep her power under control, but she managed to hold it to a manageable level. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" She aimed it at the young woman, who went down with a scream.
Without even waiting for Jupiter to throw her weapon, Mercury turned to Venus. "Quick! I need you to aim just above her head!" she shouted.
Venus reacted instantly to the tone of command in Mercury's voice. "Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" she cried, and send a huge shock wave out at the wall behind and above the woman's head. It left a gaping hole in the concrete wall, and even more of the hostages fainted and screamed in terror. Venus crumpled to the ground without another word.
*****
The Black Knight made his new host's mouth smile. He was cowering behind a large man, so nobody noticed the change in expression. He was actually enjoying himself. Taking over these mortals' bodies had been difficult at first, but now, as he got used to the way human thought patterns and emotions ran, he could insinuate himself easily into each new host. Each human, once you got past the surface differences, was the same as all the others. They all had these wonderful emotions-fear, hate, jealousy, despair. And each thought they had, each moment they experienced, was tainted with the knowledge that they would eventually die. Each of them had the delightful flavor of death and decay underpinning everything else they felt or thought. Now he could jump easily in and out, without struggling with their puny will.
He watched the Moon Kingdom warriors and their pretty, frail, white princess. Now he remembered her. She had been Serenity's daughter-raised in the affluent Moon Kingdom. The knight dismissed her almost out of hand. She'd never experienced hardship. He was surprised she had ever managed to survive the Moon Kingdom holocaust. If he could just get rid of her warriors, she'd be helpless, and he could get the Silver Crystal.
Even the thought of getting his hands on the Silver Crystal made his mouth begin to water. To hold such absolute power in his hands! He could rule the galaxy! He just had to get through that helpless girl's entourage!
He thought. An idea struck him. Maybe he could pull it off. It would take a lot of concentration, and a lot of strength, but it took advantage of these warriors' greatest weakness-their unwillingness to hurt these mortals. He could defeat them all, and then he would control the most powerful source of energy in the galaxy!
He drew out his awareness, and stretched it as far as it could go. For a moment that seemed to last a million eons for the Black Knight, he struggled to control all of the humans in the room-then he had them. Every one of them moved in response to his slightest whim. He made them begin to move forward.
*****
Jupiter cursed when she was Venus fall, and leaned down to pick Venus up with a grunt of effort and carry her over to where Tuxedo Kamen had placed Mars. "Well, did it work, Mercury?" she asked as she placed the unconscious Venus on the ground.
"No-he was too fast for us. I think he knew what my next plan would be. I don't know what we can do!" Mercury ran her fingers through her short, blue hair in an absent gesture of frustration.
"Minna!" Jupiter lapsed into Japanese in her agitation. "Look!" She pointed toward the hostages. They had all begun to walk toward the senshi. "Why are they doing that?"
Mercury's fingers flew. "I-I don't know how he did this, but he has control of every human here. They're all going to attack us!"
Jupiter let loose a short stream of invective as she ran forward to place herself between the moving people and Serenity. "We may have to take them all down after all."
"NO!" Serenity's voice rang out clear as a bell. "Please, don't use your senshi powers on them!"
"Great, just great..." Jupiter mumbled blackly as the first human reached her. She used karate to repel him, but he was replaced by three more people. Tuxedo Mask and Jupiter immediately began to fight in earnest. Tuxedo Kamen used his cane as well as his hands and feet. Serenity stayed close to Tuxedo Kamen, but didn't do much fighting. Mercury lent Jupiter a hand, but fighting had never been her strong suit, so even with her senshi strength, she didn't have much of an advantage.
Suddenly Jupiter heard Serenity cry out "Tuxedo Kamen-sama!" in a worried voice. She turned to see that Tuxedo Kamen was down, and Serenity had taken up his cane in a hopeless attempt to repel her attackers. One man got through her guard, and punched Serenity in the stomach. Jupiter's anger flared up at the sight of Serenity being hit.
<IIE!>
"No! I won't let you win!" Jupiter raised her voice. "Minna! Minna, get down on the ground! Now!" Jupiter drew every ounce of strength she had up. "Jupiter Oak Evolution!" She began to spin, faster and faster, and glowing green shards of energy whirled out from her, dropping the humans where they stood.
Her spinning slowed, then stopped.
Serenity was safe.
Mercury lifted her face from the ground to stare into Jupiter's emerald eyes with surprise. "Jupiter-what-what was that?!"
Jupiter opened her mouth to answer, but she couldn't get her words past the lump in her throat. Loud roaring, like an approaching waterfall, filled her ears, and a white sheet seemed to descend over her eyes. Then everything seemed to disappear....
*****
Serenity looked up from her place on the ground next to Tuxedo Kamen. He opened his eyes a crack and smiled at her. "Usako..." his breathing didn't seem to be labored, but Serenity's hands came up to her mouth at the weak tone of his voice, "Usako...I'll be fine. Go help your friends." His eyes closed, and his muscles relaxed, but when Serenity grabbed his hand, she felt his pulse still beating strong. With a sigh of relief she got up and went over to her other fallen friend. She turned to Mercury, who had just gotten off of the floor herself and was fastidiously wiping her knees clean.
"Mercury, help me get Jupiter over by the others." Mercury nodded and the two girls dragged Jupiter over.
Mercury stood up once that job was done and looked at Serenity. "How is Tuxedo Kamen-sama?"
Serenity smiled. "He'll be fine. We have to worry about that Dragon Rider, though."
"Is that what they're called?"
Serenity nodded. "Yes, I remember them from the Silver Millennium."
*****
The Black Knight still resided in one of the mortals, one that had only been hurt a little, though he made sure its body lied on the floor as if it were unconscious. What could he do now? He'd been surprised when the green warrior had disobeyed the princess's orders in order to protect her life-but he shouldn't have been. These warriors had just proved themselves to be true products of the Moon Kingdom. But he couldn't spend more time wondering about their odd attitudes...how could he defeat the last warrior?
He listened as the princess said she remembered the Dragon Riders. That gave him another idea. A plan that would take care of the blue warrior no matter what she did! He smiled inside his host's mind. After this one was gone, the Silver Crystal would be his!
*****
Mercury waited, but Serenity didn't look like she wanted to say anything else. Instead she watched as Mercury pulled out her computer and began to examine the scene to determine if Jupiter's strange new attack had stopped the Black Knight.
To Mercury's surprise, Serenity tip-toed up behind her and examined the numbers flowing across Mercury's screen. Suddenly she brought her hand up over Mercury's shoulder to point at a sequence of data that looked vaguely familiar to Mercury. "Do you see that?" Serenity asked excitedly.
"See what?"
"He's alive, and he's drawing strength from his human hosts to open another worm hole!" Even while Serenity was still speaking, a swirling vortex of space-time opened up in front of the two girls, and the Black Knight materialized over a young man that appeared relatively uninjured. Without giving the girls any time to react, the Knight ran into the portal and disappeared. Mercury made as if to follow it, but Serenity grabbed her tightly, and wouldn't let her follow.
"Don't!" Serenity said breathlessly. "If you follow a Dragon Rider into his own warp tunnel, he's almost invincible! Even if you defeat him in there, the tunnel will collapse with him gone, and it would take a lot of power and knowledge for you to open one of your own fast enough to remain alive! I have a better idea!" Serenity pulled Mercury close and began to whisper excitedly into her ear. "If I remember correctly, Dragon Riders depend on their mounts to remember the coordinates of any temporary openings in their permanent tunnels. Chances are, if you can close this opening of the worm hole, he won't be able to find his way back to Earth, since you already killed his dragon."
Mercury nodded thoughtfully as she assimilated the new information. "But how am I going to close the portal..." she mused softly. Serenity smiled.
"I've already thought of that. If you use one of your attacks on it, the sudden surge in available energy should destabilize it. worm holes aren't exactly a stable form of transportation." Mercury looked up in surprise at the slightly superior tone in Serenity's voice.
"How do you suddenly know so much about this, Princess Serenity?" she asked, terribly curious.
Serenity smiled. "I remember my life in the Silver Millennium. You knew ten times more about this sort of thing than I ever did, Mercury. Why I remember that once you..." she shook her head suddenly and smiled sheepishly. "Well, anyway, I wasn't as good a student as you were, Mercury, but I did learn the basics."
Mercury smiled. "I wish I could remember half of those 'basics'! I'd be farther ahead in physics, if your knowledge is any indication!" Mercury's smile suddenly disappeared. "But enough talking. Do you really think this will work?"
"Yes, but you'll have to make sure it's a lot of energy-the Dragon Rider has probably used a large fraction of his strength to keep the worm hole stable."
Mercury nodded and concentrated on dragging up every scrap of energy she could. It felt very similar to the time she'd thrown her power at the Black Knight/Serena before it could create the whirlwind of time. Her teeth gritted in determination. This time they'd found Serenity. A lot more was riding on this battle. She drew forth still more power, and then, when she felt she was going to fly apart with all the energy singing through her body, she released it.
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" The column of glowing, blue water was directed with all the force Mercury could muster at the swirling portal of the worm hole. The portal's swirl became slightly erratic, and the small seeds of chaos Mercury's attack had sown fed on themselves and grew. Mercury collapsed to her knees, and her eyelids drooped with exhaustion, but she kept her eyes open long enough to be sure the portal would close. With a sigh of relief she saw the last few ripples of space-time smooth out, and then she loosened her stranglehold on consciousness, and fell the rest of the way to the ground.
*****
"Mercury!" Serenity knelt down next to her fallen friend, and cradled her head in her lap. <They're all going to be all right! I can't let this rattle me!> Serenity gritted her teeth and shut her eyes tightly for a second, holding on to her control. Crying wouldn't...wouldn't solve anything.....
She jerked her head up. Something else was in the room. She could feel it. She looked around the room and gasped. The Black Knight stood right in front of where the worm hole had been, and he was looking at her and the other senshi! Serenity gently placed Mercury back on the floor, and then stood up and stepped in front of her friends. She wouldn't let him near them!
"How did you get out?" She was pleased at how she managed to keep her voice steady.
The Knight kicked absently at one of the prone hostages lying on the floor right in front of him. "I made it look like I had stepped into the wormhole by walking up to it and then absorbing myself into this helpful mortal here." He looked up at her again. "If the last senshi hadn't followed your advice, and had run into the wormhole, I would have simply closed it and moved the opening into something suitably deadly, such as the vacuum of space." He took a threatening step forward.
"I won't let you hurt my senshi!" Serenity spread her arms wide, hopelessly wondering how she could stop him.
The Black Knight chuckled. "Silly girl! Do think I care about your friends at all? I only want one thing-the Silver Crystal."
Serenity squared her shoulders. "No. I won't let you have it!"
"And what can you do to stop me? Your old kingdom was weak and decadent. Your mother had some backbone, but you? You are nothing." The Black Knights tone lacked even the smallest hint of emotion. Serenity felt a bit of uncertainty creep through her, but she shook her head an infinitesimal amount and stood firm.
"I won't let you have it, and I won't let you hurt anybody else again!" Her fists clenched tightly.
"What I can't understand, is how you survived the destruction of your kingdom, little princess...tell me, did you run away with your court and hide while your mother was killed, and your people destroyed? Why are you even here? Just run away again."
"No! I won't let you hurt anybody else, and I won't run away! I fight for love and justice!" A flicker of fear ran down her spine. The last time she remembered facing a foe this strong, Queen Metallia, it had killed her. <No! I will be strong!> "I and my court killed Queen Metallia here, along with all her minions! We defeated her, and we're going to defeat you!" Was that conviction ringing alone in her voice, or was there a hint of despair marring the tone?
"Why are you even trying, princess? You are helpless-"
"No!"
"Your warriors are worthless-"
"No!"
"Your home is destroyed-"
"NO!"
"Your people are dead-"
"NO!" "Serenity clutched at her ears to block out the hateful things the Black Knight said. He kept battering at her peace of mind.
"You kingdom is forgotten. You are forgotten. Your mother is forgotte-"
"IIE! I remember my mother! I killed Queen Metallia-you won't be a challenge!"
The knight smiled. He heard the despair and hatred that began to enter her voice. He didn't cower away from her at her declaration. He just stood there.
Then his gauntleted hand rose from his side, and he slapped her across her face.
"You, and everything you claim to protect, is nothing."
Serenity's anger flared up, brighter than it ever had before, as the pain hit her. Her rage burned hot and high, like a fire so ravenous, it burns all of its fuel and air in an instant, leaving nothing behind but smoldering grey ashes and oily, black, smoke. Tears of pain came to her eyes, but she blinked them away. A single drop escaped her eye, and traced a cold path down her face. Nothing warm was left in her...it was so cold. Wait. She felt something warm-blood gathered at the corner of her mouth, falling slowly down the side of her chin. She frigidly ignored it. She'd never felt so angry before in her life...
*****
Tuxedo Kamen jerked out of unconsciousness. Something was seriously wrong. He felt an echo of pain reverberate through his face, but that wasn't the real problem. The warm part of his soul where Usako's love for him abided was cold. Something had happened. He stood up, and saw Serenity and the Black Knight facing each other. He saw the knight's profile, but Serenity's head was turned away from him. After a second she turned her head back, and Tuxedo Kamen gasped in horror as he saw a darkening bruise along her cheek, and a faint line of blood running down her chin. He stood up. He'd never seen such a cold look on her face before. It was as if-as if she was nothing anymore except HATE. He scrambled to his feet, and closed his eyes. He felt a shimmer run down the length of his body as he became Prince Endymion. He took a few long steps toward Serenity, pulling his long, double-edged sword out of his scabbard as he walked. He held the tip of the sword up to the Black Knight's visor, ready to stab through it if he tried to hurt Serenity again, but most of his attention was on the princess.
"Usako..." he began quietly, trying to get through. If Serenity ever lost her kindness....
She didn't seem to hear him. Instead she closed her eyes, and Ginzuishou appeared in her hands. Then she opened her eyes, and Endymion saw Ginzuishou flare to life-but was the light a little grayer than he remembered?
"Serenity!" Endymion grabbed her shoulders. If she ever used Ginzuishou out of hatred..."Serenity, it's me, Endymion! Please, Serenity, listen to me!" He thought he saw her hesitate, and blink. He thought he saw her arms go down a bit, but then her chin firmed, and her elbows locked with her arms out straight, and Ginzuishou flared brighter. Her skin paled, making the darkening bruise on her face look more and more gruesome. Endymion saw that Ginzuishou was shining with an eerie, silvery-grey light. Fear for Serenity clutched at his heart. He put every last ounce of his love for her into his cry, before she was lost. His very soul cried out with him.
"Not with hatred, Serenity! Never use the Silver Crystal out of hatred! Remember who you are, what you stand for!"
Serenity hesitated again. Endymion threw his free arm around her, and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Never with hatred. Serenity, remember who you are! I love you, the other princesses all love you. Only use it with love! Please!" His voice cracked with raw emotion as he tried to get through to her.
Serenity blinked. Was that a tear shining in her eyes?
<Please! Listen to your heart, Serenity! If you use it with nothing but hatred left in your soul, what will it turn you into!?>
Serenity's head dropped, and her eyes closed. Ginzuishou flickered out. Serenity threw herself against Endymion and hugged him tight. "The things-he said such horrible...terrible....awful..." She buried her face in his chest and cried. He held her tightly, still keeping his eyes and sword on the Black Knight.
"I know-it's all right. But you have to remember, never to forget yourself. Your overwhelming love has always been your great strength, Serenity. I was so frightened when I saw you had lost-"
The Black Knight wasn't disposed to let them have a joyful reunion. With a yell he threw himself and his sword toward the prince and princess. Endymion thrust Serenity behind him and parried the knight's first thrust. The two men traded a few blows, and ended up shoulder to shoulder, straining with their crossed swords. The Black Knight turned to Endymion with a snarl in his voice.
"What are you doing protecting the Moon Princess, Earth Prince? What have they ever done for you or yours? You even allow them in you kingdom, to rule over your slaves?"
Endymion simply smiled. His memories weren't fresh and raw like Serenity's. With a grunt of effort he wrenched his sword back, and held it in a guard position, ready for the Black Knight's next try at Serenity. "Your barbs won't work with me, or with Serenity anymore. Why don't you give up and leave with your life, before we are forced to take it? You'll never get your hands on Ginzuishou." Endymion shrugged nonchalantly. The Black Knight only lowered his head a little, squared his shoulders, and ran towards Endymion again for another try at him. They traded furious blows, back and forth. Endymion began to feel his sword arm tire-it wasn't as if he'd been getting his sword practice in for the last millennium or so. He wiped sweat off his face and missed the Black Knight's next move. He only knew, as he saw the obsidian blade rushing toward his throat, that he had failed, that Serenity would have to face the knight on her own-
*****
Serenity's hands were clutched at her breast as she watched Endymion and the Black Knight at their deadly dance. She watched, sniffling a little from her bout of tears, as the knight tried to bait her love, and she smiled proudly when he withstood the insults without visible effort.
<Of course, he doesn't remember the Silver Millennium like I do. There was some bad feeling between our two kingdoms. That's why we would have made the perfect match. We loved each other-we could have made both of our people love each other as well.> Serenity wrapped her arms around herself and hugged herself tightly. <How could I let his baiting almost destroy me like that? Just some words...Do I dare even use Ginzuishou now? Can I control this new hatred I've found inside of myself?> She felt herself begin to tremble. Self doubt had always been her greatest weakness. <He said such horrible things-I would never abandon my people! My mother! My kingdom!> She shook her head to clear it of those horrible words. Still keeping an eye on Endymion's struggle-he was so brave!-she walked over to her friends. She still didn't understand why they had all fallen when they used their attacks. Yes, the powers they had used were powerful, and required a lot of energy, but they'd never knocked her warriors out back in the Silver Millennium. She knelt by Mars, and held her limp body close.
She still seemed fine-almost as if she were asleep...Serenity closed her eyes and tried to enter Mars' mind. When they'd spoken telepathically, Mars had been by far the most receptive...maybe it could work the opposite way.
She descended into a confusing well of images, sights, sounds, and emotions. They were all swirling by so fast, she couldn't make sense of them at first. Then she caught a few familiar scenes, perceived from a different perspective. Understanding washed through her, and she drew herself back out. She looked over to the fight again.
Endymion was retreating! He kept falling back! Serenity hurriedly placed Mars back down on the ground and rushed toward her failing prince. She saw him sneak up a hand to wipe the dripping sweat off his brow, and saw the Black Knight's sword break through his interrupted defense to sweep up toward his throat.
<No! Endymion!>
She brought up Ginzuishou, and quickly focused her will.
<Ginzuishou! Save Endymion! Save him!>
A glowing white wall flared up between Endymion's neck and the black blade. The knight and his sword were thrown back as all of the fury of his attack rebounded at him. Endymion just stood there, frozen. Serenity gave the crystal one more command, and ran up to Endymion.
"Are you all right? Endymion?" She grabbed his arm and looked into his face with concern. He blinked, and then looked down at her with a shaky smile.
"How come, every time I try to protect you, it always ends up that you protect me more?" He brought a hand up to his neck, and Serenity gasped to see the bead of blood he wiped off his throat.
"Are you all right?" Her hands began to search his body for other injuries.
"I'm fine! I'm fine!" He hid a wince as she probed a deep cut in his upper arm. "It was close, but you saved me, Serenity. Serena. Usako." Serenity looked up into his startling blue eyes in time to see them sparkle with a bit of laughter. "You know, you have way too many names."
Serenity hugged him again. "As long as you stay alive, you can call me anything you want to."
Endymion hugged her back for a moment, then he turned to look at the Black Knight. "Um, Serenity, what is that glowing around the knight? Is he readying another attack?"
She shook her head. "I-I can't trust myself not to use Ginzuishou out of hatred right now, so I couldn't attempt to destroy him outright. I've confined him here, but I don't dare do more. I think we'll have to wait for the senshi to wake up, and I'll let them take care of him."
Endymion turned his gaze to the furiously pacing knight. The soft, glowing shield flared red for a moment, and the knight stood still, but then it went back to a soft white glow, and the knight resumed pacing.
"What was that, Serenity?" he asked, curious. When he didn't hear a response, he turned to look at her. She was clutching her hands to her head. Endymion grabbed her shoulders. "What's wrong? What's going on, Serenity?"
"He-he's trying to break out." Serenity's voice came faintly from her bowed head. She took a few deep breaths and began to speak again. "I can hold him captive for a while, but not indefinitely. He's very-" she stopped speaking for a second and her breath came raggedly. Endymion cast a glance over his shoulder at the knight, and saw that the shield was glowing brightly again, only this time it flared orange. When the color faded, Serenity's breath came normally again. She began to speak. "He's very strong. If he can match his flare of power to resonate with my shield-if he can make it flare white-he'll probably break free."
"Are the other senshi going to wake up in time to finish him off? Serenity?"
She was biting her lip, and her face seemed to become a few shades paler. After a second she released her breath in an explosive puff, and lifted moist eyes up to him. "They're fine-they're just getting their memories from the Silver Millenium back-when they wake up, they'll be stronger than they ever were before. I just have to-" Her knees buckled, and Endymion caught her, and gently lowered her to the ground. The shield's new blue glow faded back to white. "I just-just have to hold on." Her hands reached out to take his, and tightened almost convulsively as the shield blazed yellow.
"Serenity!" Endymion tried to keep his desperation from coming through in his voice. "What can I do to help?" <No matter how much I try to take these terrible burdens from her, she ends up bearing all of them. Let me be able to help her this time!>
"Just having you here makes it so much easier for me." she whispered gently. "Don't worry so much, he's weakening too. See? His attempts aren't-" she shut her eyes and clenched her teeth. Endymion held her close until the shield turned white again, and her body relaxed.
"Shh...don't talk." Endymion wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Serenity, stop this-it'll kill you. You said it yourself, he's weaker now. Let me fight him again."
She didn't say anything, just shook her head violently. He could imagine what she was thinking though. She'd rather die than let him be hurt.
Well, he felt the same about her. <What can I do!> He closed his eyes, and concentrated on sending his love and support to her. She seemed to think this telepathic stuff worked, and he'd give anything a try. <I'm here! We'll do this together!>
Serenity's eyes opened slowly, and she smiled a little. <He cares so much!> She reached up with a hand to gently wipe away the single tear that escaped from his lashes to fall down his face. At her feathery touch, his eyes opened, and their blue eyes locked.
"Thank you."
*****
The knight paced furiously within his new prison. The little brat had some knowledge. At first glance, this actually appeared quite secure. He smiled wickedly. He could feel her will getting weaker as he repeatedly threw his power at the field around him. If he weren't still connected to all the humans, and their energy, he would already be defeated. Unfortunately, the humans had all been hurt by the green warrior's attack, and they were getting weaker by the minute. He was running out of time. He couldn't let this young princess defeat him!
He gathered his concentration again, and threw another bout of energy at the wall that imprisoned him. It flared white! Yes! Success! He gloated within his mind as the field began to disintegrate. He would have the Silver Crystal! He would rule the entire Galaxy! His smirk widened as the wall of energy dropped low enough for him to see over it. The princess was lying in her prince's arms, almost motionless. The white froth of her dress made a sharp contrast to his black and grey armor, and as the knight began to gather his will for the final confrontation, he wondered what red would add to that touching ensemble.