The darkness was thick as always in Queen Beryl's domain. It was how she liked it, and no one was going to change it. Not Zoisite, anyway. Stubborn fool, actively disobeying her orders. Not again! She bet that Malachite wouldn't dare mess with her decisions, now that he saw his love swept away to death's arms instead of his. Teach them to fail the Queen of the Negaverse…

Malachite's cloak swayed in the darkness behind him as he presented himself to his Queen. Inside he was feeling a burning hatred for the Queen, and no one could blame him for reasons already known. He secretly wished he could just get his hands on her throat, just for a few seconds… but he knew that was not possible. He swore to serve Queen Beryl as her loyal servant, and he was a man of his word. At least, in this case he was.

"You wished to speak with me, Majesty?" His deep voice shook the darkness.

"Yes, I did. The Scouts still have the Imperium Silver Crystal. Why is that that YOU didn't get the crystal, Malachite?" The Queen's words and tone confirmed Malachite's suspicions; she was not happy.

"I was mistaken, m'queen, apparently that crystal's power is amplified by Sailor Moon's presence. She is, after all, the Moon Princess and the creator of that crystal was her mother…"

Queen Beryl saw the logic in Malachite's words but was still angered by his failure. Apparently the death of Zoisite wasn't enough motivation. "Since it is obvious that you cannot get that crystal alone, I think it's about time that I brought in some help for you."

The first person that Malachite thought of was Prince Darien. He was too weak, though, not quite with the Negaverse. How could he be of any help?

He then remembered the one man that has been with them all along, yet was so engrossed with training that he had never showed.

"Thanatos! Come! It is time to prove yourself…"

A swirl of subtle but bright blue and black lights swirled in spring fashion, revealing a man in a long jet-black cloak and tunic, with a tall hood that masked all but the lower half of his face. He appeared with his head down in homage to Queen Beryl with his right arm across his chest, bobbing nearly a meter over the ground.

"You called, Malachite?" His voice was youthful yet deep, with just a hint of darkness.

Malachite's head turned slowly to his long-time student, and not quite all the way. He never looked right at his students; Beryl always wanted to see his eyes. "Queen Beryl requires your services."

Thanatos's head raised fully to face his Queen. "What is it you wish of me?"

"I want you to get the Imperium Silver Crystal back from the Sailor Scouts. And make it quick, they are nearly ready to escape from our cave." Queen Beryl demanded sharply. "Prove your worth to me. Get me that crystal!"

"As you wish, Your Majesty." Thanatos turned to Malachite ever so slightly. "Coming, Malachite?"

Malachite looked to Thanatos, then back to his Queen. "Yes, I am coming. I wouldn't want you to hog all the glory."

Queen Beryl grinned magnificently. "Excellent."

Malachite disappeared in a pink flash while Thanatos followed suit with his subtle but bright blue and black light.

"Mercury, are you ANY closer to being able to get us out of this place?" Mars asked impatiently. "It's about time we got out of here, Malachite may come back!"

Sailor Moon giggled at the red sailor. "Oh, come ON, you saw how I pasted him! He's noooooooo problem!"

Luna laughed at the meatball headed sailor. "That was pretty good, Sailor Moon, I must admit!" Artemis joined in the laughter.

"Yeah, so now that the Nega jerks are off our backs, we better get to work on getting OUT OF HERE." The dampness was starting to get to her. That and, though she never would say it openly, it was a bit creepy.

"Patience, Mars, or Mercury'll never be able to find our way out of here!" Jupiter stepped in. She was getting tired of her complaining, but was the only scout that dared to intervene.

Mars growled a little but shut her trap for the moment.

Artemis hopped into Venus's arms and curled up to rest. The kitty sighed in exhaustion and Venus smiled. "Rough day?"

"Oi, I knew that the Negaverse was evil but to lead us HERE of all places… they must know that Mars would raise ruckus…"

Venus giggled silently to Artemis. "Oh, come on! Be nice to her, this hasn't been the best of days, you know!"

Artemis smiled up at his friend. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Mercury beamed and clicked her computer off quickly. "I got it! We're out of here!"

"Good work, Mercury, I KNEW you'd do it!" Luna raved happily.

A rumble in the ground disturbed the happiness and a deep voice rang, "A futile victory for you!"

The five sailors and the two guardians turned and watched as Malachite appeared before them, ready to take them all on at once.

"Malachite!" Luna wailed.

"Fancy meeting you here after Sailor Moon wasted you before!" Sailor Mars shouted to Malachite defiantly.

"I don't think she will be able to accomplish that again, Mars. Thanatos!" Almost immediately after Malachite spoke his name, the cloaked servant of Beryl appeared beside his teacher. His hood largely hid his facial expressions, and his cloak swayed with Malachite's behind him. Thanatos was a bit smaller than Malachite but one thing was certain; he meant business.

"Thanatos?" Artemis thought he had heard that name before…

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I have been watching over you since Sailor Moon first threw her tiara at the Negaverse. Now is the time. Two are in, but which one will come out?" Thanatos's speech was meant to lull the scouts into a false sense of security, but it had a second purpose.

"Then you better start packing, Nega trash!" Sailor Moon shouted. "I am Sailor Moon! Champion of justice!" She started to go into her classic body movements and finished her speech quickly. "I will right wrongs and triumph over evil, and that means you two!"

Thanatos was unfazed. "I've heard that speech countless times, and to tell you the truth it is beginning to really get on my nerves."

"Yes, I agree, and it is about time we made sure you never hound us again!" Malachite's hands raised over his head in preparation. Sailor Venus set Artemis down slowly and shooed both cats to cover then looked right at Malachite.

"We'll see about that…" Venus called on her power and twin crescents joined and evaporated into her hands. "Venus…" She brought her hand and clenched her free one to her wrist, bringing down her power right in front of her. "Crescent…" A ring of light closed in on her hands. "Beam!" A shot of bright light later, her power was shot out towards Thanatos at neck-breaking speeds.

The dark man placed his hands in front of him and an energy shield shot up where Venus's beam smashed into, the shield nullifying the energy.

"Boy, that figures. I should have known they'd defend against that!" Venus cried as Malachite charged up and sent a flaming pink energy ball towards her. She froze, paralyzed by the energy, then sank to her knees.

"Sailor Venus!" Mercury and Jupiter rushed to catch the girl before she fell on her face, again a victim of Malachite's power. Sailor Moon backed off slowly in whimper while Mars growled and glared to Jupiter. They knew.

Jupiter's antennae raised from her tiara and the storms arrived. "Jupiter…" Mars spun in a three-sixty and closed her hands together, pointing her fingers to the sky. "Mars… Fire…" Jupiter clenched her body tightly against her, channeling the energy around her in preparation. "Supreme…" Mars shouted loudly and her power was unleashed. "Soul!" At the same instant, Jupiter unfurled her body and her power joined with Mars. "Thunder!"

The two elements joined and combined to form a sickeningly powerful ray of lightning and flames, both sent towards Malachite. The two scouts watched in horror as his dark shield shot up and absorbed the energies almost as quickly as they were fired off.

Mercury saw this and charged her power in front of her, hands cupped. "Mercury Shabon…" She spun around once and raised her bubble over her head with her crossed arms, then spread them out. "Spray!" Her bubbles were sent towards both Malachite and Thanatos in an effort to protect her friends from retaliation.

Thanatos had another trick up his cloak. A lightning blast from his hands ignited the entire area thanks to the fog, and Mercury, along with Mars and Jupiter, were lightly shocked and sent to the ground. Malachite grinned, thinking that the lightning has much more power than it did.

"Excellent work, you've reduced them to one. I think you've proven your worth, Thanatos. Now get that crystal!" Malachite demanded. Sailor Moon looked up nervously but held her Crescent Moon Wand up high so the Imperium Crystal could be seen.

Thanatos knew the power she had yet did not seem to be fazed. "Malachite…" He spread his arms and legs out. "I will do as commanded…" His arms started to move around in front of him randomly, ready to cast his spell.

"…When hell freezes over."

Sailor Moon was just as surprised as Malachite.

Thanatos cast his spell and a dark wave of energy raised right below Malachite. The energy closed on Malachite, a dome similar to his own that he had used before to trap the Sailors and crush them, but this one shook his body violently.

Unfortunately, the energy was of the Negaverse, and was immediately absorbed into Malachite's shield. Thanatos knew this, but had used it to confirm his loyalties as much as to watch Malachite's face of surprise.

"Traitor! I'll have your head for this!" Malachite shouted loudly and released a shock wave of dark energy to knock Thanatos over, but he underestimated his former student; his own shield blocked the wave and dissipated it.

"Oh, someone will have a head. It just won't be you." He knew that line was a bit corny, but it fit.

Sailor Moon fell backwards and watched the fight between Thanatos and Malachite. Luna and Artemis sat next to her and watched with her.

"Ummm… Luuuuna… why is the Negaverse fighting the Negaverse? Am I missing something?" Moon wailed quietly, confused as usual.< br>

"NOW I remember him!" Artemis's memories, which have been racing back to him all day, started to flood again. "He was a personal bodyguard of Queen Serenity!"

Luna's eyes went wide and her memory of the dark man came back, which still left Sailor Moon clueless.

Artemis began. "Queen Serenity was fully aware of the Negaverse even during the golden age of the Silver Millenium, and her subjects insisted on her having a few bodyguards in case the Negaverse would strike. Thanatos was her head bodyguard, trained to fight the Negaverse for Queen Serenity. If it was not for him, Serenity would never have been able to lock the most powerful warriors of the Negaverse into the Imperium Silver Crystal."

Luna nodded and continued for him. "He was sent to earth with the rest of us, but unlike the other scouts, he was sent with full knowledge of the Negaverse's existence. I don't know how, but it looks liked he managed to trick the Negaverse into thinking that he was their servant when in fact he was studying them to learn their most vulnerable areas!"

"It sure worked! And just in time, too!" Artemis looked toward the battling Malachite and Thanatos. The "traitor" was all smiles, while Malachite was having a difficult time scratching Thanatos.

"My dear Malachite, I tire of your silly games. It's been fun…" A scythe of powerful black steel appeared in Thanatos's hands. "But I think it's time I took my leave."

"You're not getting out of here alive!" Malachite shouted in vain. Thanatos's scythe gathered his energy and he began his attack.

His hands raised high over his head, beginning to collect shadow energy. "Thanatos…" He pulled one arm back in a flexing position and another pointed right at Malachite, stretched fully. "Shadow…" His dark energy collected at the tip of his finger and started to shine a bright black light. "Rail!" The dark energy beam fired in full power right at Malachite, dark rings bordering the beam for added power and look.

The ShadowRail smashed into Malachite's chest, tearing through his shield and ripping a hole into his clothes. His flesh burned where the power hit, and he knew that he couldn't fight him now.

"I'll be back…." Malachite used his energy to disappear in a bright pink flash. "…Traitor…"

Thanatos smiled towards the spot where Malachite once floated and whispered. "We'll see…"

He returned his attention to the fallen scouts and Sailor Moon. He landed in front of Moon and kneeled to look at her right in the face. "Are you all right?"

Sailor Moon was a bit nervous to speak to the man who flattened more than half of the scouts (and Malachite), so she nodded. Luna spoke for her.

"She's fine, thanks to you." Artemis nodded and grinned. "I didn't think you were alive, much less hiding with the Negaverse."

Thanatos chuckled a little. "Well, I didn't expect to help you guys so soon, I didn't think Zoisite would be able to get as many crystals as she did. When Beryl called me in to retrieve the crystal from Sailor Moon, I knew it was time."

Artemis smiled, then looked at the fallen scouts with a frown. "But did you have to hurt the scouts like that?"

The dark man stood and chuckled again. "Like I would really hurt the Sailor Scouts so… that lightning only knocked them unconscious, they suffered no bodily harm. Sailor Venus, however…"

Sailor Moon rushed right to Venus, pushing aside Thanatos. The girl kneeled to the fallen scout and tried to wake her. "Sailor Venus, wake up! It's me, Sailor Moon, it's all over!"

Venus didn't budge.

"Allow me." Thanatos walked calmly towards Venus and took Sailor Moon's place. He placed his hand on Venus's forehead and mumbled something incoherent to the others. A sparkle of mist and stars appeared around his hands and then he released his hand from her forehead.

Sailor Venus woke calmly and looked up to Thanatos. She did not panic, however, as suspected by Sailor Moon. She just smiled. She knew who he was.

"What did he do?" Artemis trotted towards Thanatos and Venus, looking at his friend's halfway open eyes.

"I healed her, Artemis. Regeneration spell, too pure for the Negaverse. It'll slowly restore her to full strength." Thanatos explained with a smile, then looked down to Venus. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and smiled. "Thank you…"

The other scouts started to break out of their sleep, and unlike Venus, did not recognize Thanatos as she did. Mars growled and prepared to use her power without warning, not aware of Malachite's near defeat.

"Wait, Sailor Mars, he's with us!" Luna shouted quickly. Mars looked at the cat with a confused glare.

"What are you talking about, he nearly killed us all!" The red scout glared. "You bastard, get away from her!"

Venus's strength was restored enough for her to stand and stop Mars. "It's all right! He's one of us!"

The other scouts looked to Venus, then to Sailor Moon, then to Luna and Artemis.

Both cats sighed. "We'll explain when we get home."