Last time in Son of the Sun:
	After killing the Fenix Knight, John, as the Phoenix Knight, took off to help the Scouts and Neptune Ninja to take care of a regenerating beast called the Trileth whose body parts, when cut off, regrew into new clones like the first.  Doppler also unleashed a spell that caused almost all of the Scouts to fall in pain.  Now:

Son of the Sun: Last of a Legacy part 4

	Doppler was furious.  How DARE the Phoenix Knight interfere in his plans!  He wouldn't even have KILLED the Scouts, as the blasted bird-man had said himself, it was only a TEST!  And that fool the Fenix Knight...he would SUFFER for his failure!  As he soldered the white-hot tip of his arm, now a metal poker, into the last surviving Trileth clone, he felt some release from his anger as the thing screamed, but not all.
	He altered his molecular structure again, causing his arm to re-form from the poker, and then he willed a sword to grow from his fingertips.  His body complied and the weapon appeared: A wicked-looking saw-edged scimitar.  He slashed and slashed at the clone, again and again, purposefully not cutting off any extremities or cutting deep enough to kill.  When he DID cut off an arm or leg, he threw it into the furnace that was burning next to him.  The lizard screamed mindlessly, it's feral rage overtaking it's power to think.  Then, with a final slash, the lizard man fell silent.
	Smiling sickly at his accomplishment, Doppler willed the scimitar back into his arm.  His torture was at an end.  However, the Fenix Knight...
	Could wait.  Doppler returned to his throne room, passing the quarters of his many lieutenants and generals on the way, even Al-Ghural, the Supreme Commander of his army, was in his room.  They all feared his wrath, though many of them towered over him by thrice his height.  The dark lord smiled at this.  He knew and had demonstrated why on dozens of occasions.  Cutting down those minions that dare oppose him, but letting others live.  It gave the rabble the impression that some days he was not in a good mood.
	The truth was, however, that he killed when he felt like it.  True, it was not like slaying an opponent in battle, with the glory and bloodlust of the kill lingering for hours after, but it was killing.  And he thrived on others' agony.  He also enjoyed watching his minions try to figure out whether or not they would be commended for a decision that day...or killed for it.
	He laughed silently to himself as he entered the secret chamber behind his throne.  All those millennia ago, Beryl had secretly hoped he would fail, and fall from grace in Metallia's eyes.  But NOW, she was dead, and he had her palace to himself!  He had gained Metallia's disfavor, all right, but she was dead as well.  His laughter rang through his sanctuary as he walked to his scrying mirror.
	 He stood before the mirror through which he had observed John's house, and willed it to comply to his wishes and show him what the Phoenix Knight now did.  It did not let him down.  And he gazed through his mirror into the gathering of Sailor Scouts in front of him, and listened.
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	After the Sailors were all up and about again, or at least conscious and alert, all of them eyed John curiously and distrustfully.  Sure, he'd saved their lives.  But why should they trust him for it?
	Which is exactly what John himself was thinking.  Yeah, he'd saved them.  THIS time.  What if next time...next time he turned on them?  He then shook the image from his mind.  The horrors and terrors of his life were past.  If anything, he was more stable now than he ever was before.
	Then he began his tale yet again.  About how he was born to the ruling class of Atlantis, and with wings, signifying his Phoenix Knighthood.  He told them of his training, and he gave more insight into the psyche of the villain they now were going up against.
	"The creature that we face now, Doppler, is not of the Negaverse or it's kin.  But you probably already figured that out.  Another thing you should know is that he's completely insane.  Some moments he's stable, a cruel cunning genius.  Other times he'll flip out and start murdering his own army, or massacring the opposing side on his own."
	"Didn't we destroy that army?" Chris asked.
	"We only destroyed the foot soldiers.  Doppler's probably already increased that number we defeated by fourscore.  I'm talking about his generals and lieutenants, and his Supreme Commander.  The lieutenants are mostly those like Trileth.  Ones that have some superhuman powers.  Most of the troops are undead like skeletons, zombies, even ghouls and wights that Doppler has control over.  Generals are more powerful, free-thinking undead and living beings whom Doppler favors.  Then there is his Supreme Commander..." John paused.
	"Yes?" Ami urged him on, even though the list of creatures confused her.
	At that point, Kat ran up the stairs again. "I got here as soon as I could."
	"...who is an abomination known as Al-Ghural.  Chris has encountered him with me before, when we were drawn into the pocket universe."
	"Where are we?" Kat asked, and Ami shushed her, motioning for her to sit down.
	"The armored being...I wondered why he hadn't attacked us." Chris said.
	"His master had ordered him not to.  Doppler is no fool, he knows so long as the Sailor Scouts have you, Terra, and I, he cannot defeat them.  He is also no fool in the fact that he knows that there are factions vying for control of the Earth, and we would be incredibly valuable.  He wishes to turn us into his slaves or servants, whichever suits him better."
	Terra shuddered. "How does he plan to do that?"
	"I'm not certain, what I DO know, however, is that he wields powerful magic.  More powerful than most of the mages of the Silver Millennium, and, as such, he is probably the most powerful sorcerer on earth right now.  That spell he cast, Dark Torture, is a particularly weak spell for his arsenal." The Scouts grimaced at the remembrance of the horrible pain.  "Why it did not affect you, Chris or myself is because it's tailored for certain beings before it is cast."
	"Wait, hold on a second, what exactly is this Al-Ghural guy?" Lita asked.
	"I only remember one such creature matching the description of Al-Ghural from the Silver Millennium..." Luna thought out loud.
	Artemis's eyes widened. "No, he can't be..."
	John finished his statement, nodding his head. "...a Doom Legion guard."
	Serena was confused as ever. "Doom Legion guard?"
	Luna explained. "The Doom Legionnaires were specially trained warriors the Negaverse experimented with towards the end of the war.  They consisted of a human being strapped inside of a suit of large plate mail armor, then hit with a burst of Dark Energy."  Serena gulped.  "The reason so few were ever created was that not many humans could survive such an overcharge of entrophic energy.  But those that DID survive were reborn as living suits of armor, with incredible strength, effectively becoming a walking fortress.  However, it was not without drawbacks..."
	"Those that the process transformed were like living vegetables.  No thought processes, no nothing.  They were mindless automatons who followed whatever orders they were given by their creator." Artemis finished.
	"Then how is this Al-Ghural capable of speech and sentience?" Chris asked.
	John answered. "There was one special case where the transfer from human body to armor did not kill the mind, and Al-Ghural's that exception.  However, he became twisted, broken.  He sought help, because he had been unwilling, as most of the transferees were.  However, finally, he found his incredible strength and near- indestructibility to be most pleasing, and he became a servant of Doppler."
	"Well, how come we never encountered any in the final battle?  Doom Legion guards, I mean.  I sure don't remember going up against any walking tin cans." Mina said.
	"I can answer that." John said. "Perhaps Chris told you I fought against Metallia herself?"  They all nodded. "Good.  Well, the Doom Legion was so scarce, only six or seven were ever successfully created, that they were only used to guard key portals to the Negaverse from the Moon and Earth.  When I broke through one of their defenses, the others were quickly summoned to the doors of the Dark Empress' hall, where I destroyed them."
	"Then why didn't you destroy Al-Ghural?" Rei asked.  "He was, apparently, the most dangerous."
	"True," John asserted. "but he also wasn't there.  As I said, he was a servant of Doppler.  As such, he was on the Moon at the end of the Silver Millennium.  With that, he came to the future."
	"This Doppler sounds like a powerful enemy." Ami said. "Why don't you give us a reason we shouldn't just turn you over to him and end his threat to us?  God only knows how many other powerful enemies we have to fight!"
	"Ami!" Terra sounded completely surprised.
	Ami looked repentant. "Don't take that personally, it's just I want to know more about him than you're telling us.  And I want to know more about your abilities.  What else can you do?"
	John sighed. "There's really nothing to know about him besides the fact he's a powerful, insane, warrior.  ME, on the other hand..."
	The group leaned forward, waiting.
	"Let's put it into normal terms.  I use the elements of Fire and Air.  I can combine these two forces into devastating attacks, and I could probably level Tokyo if I needed to."
	Chris laughed. "Like we'd let you."
	John nodded. "True.  But how far can your powers reach, Chris?  How far into the future can you see?"
	"I can see far enough, Johnny." Chris said, starting to get annoyed. "And to put it simply, you wouldn't stand a chance."
	With that, a dagger whizzed by Chris' ear, hurtling straight for John's head.  John caught it easily.
	Chris put his hand to his ear to see if there was any blood.
	"Didn't see that coming, did you?"
	"Well..." Chris began.
	John looked at the dagger.  It was steel, but something was inscribed in the broad blade.  A message. *No...wait.* he thought. *Not a message, a challenge.*
	"What's wrong, John?" Serena asked.
	John quickly handed the dagger to Chris.  Whose eyes stared in shock at the inscribed message.
	"Well, are you going to tell them?" John asked.
	Chris read the message as it appeared. "Sailor Scouts, my deepest regrets that I couldn't be there myself to dispatch you once and for all.  A simple warning: meddle no more in my plans, for you face a creation from the bowels of hell itself.  I am Doppler, sole surviving member of the ancient order of the Necromancers, and new ruler of the Negaverse.  Surrender, and I will reward you with riches beyond your wildest dreams.  Fight me, and you will suffer eternally in the abyss.  I await your decision."
	The dagger then vanished.
	"I think those are fighting words." Lita said, clenching her right fist inside her left hand.
	"He watches even as we speak." John said. "Everything we do he sees."
	"Then let's show him what our decision is, right guys?" Terra asked, holding out her hand in front of her.
	One by one, each of the other Sailor Scouts placed their hand on hers.  Serena, Ami, Rei, Lita, Mina, Chris, Kat and lastly, John.
	"Into a new era we boldly leap..." Terra began.
	"...from which we may never return." Chris finished.
	"But, though we may perish," John said, his silver hair fluttering in the wind, his voice increasing in fervor. "though we, ourselves, may die, the desire for good and peace will continue on.  Through our memories, we will continue to fight, until every person on this earth is either free from tyranny, or dead in trying."
	"PLANET POWER!" the Scouts cried in unison.

THE END