Mercurial > moonlitnights
comparison old/stories/eye-2.txt @ 2:fc00894c1d4a moonlitnights
[svn r3] moved all the bad stuff to 'old'
| author | rlm |
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| date | Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:53:12 -0500 |
| parents | |
| children |
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| 1:dbe144217c71 | 2:fc00894c1d4a |
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| 1 Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon - Infinity Alternate | |
| 2 'Eye of the Beholder' - Chapter Two | |
| 3 by AmazonessDuo | |
| 4 amazonessduo@hotmail.com | |
| 5 | |
| 6 ~~~~~~~ | |
| 7 | |
| 8 “Witch!” | |
| 9 A group of three girls gathered near Hotaru, taunting her yet again. | |
| 10 She closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to ignore the viscous | |
| 11 things they said. | |
| 12 “So what are you up to this time, Tomoe?” One of the girls asked, | |
| 13 her voice full of venom. | |
| 14 “Nothing…” Hotaru said meekly, clutching the book she had been | |
| 15 reading to her chest. She was having trouble breathing as her heart | |
| 16 beat faster. Why wouldn’t they ever just leave her alone? Why | |
| 17 wouldn’t they let her fade into the background? All she asked for was | |
| 18 to not be noticed. Had she ever done anything to hurt them? No. So | |
| 19 why couldn’t they ignore her? | |
| 20 “What’s this, Tomoe?” The girl on the right asked, ripping the book | |
| 21 from Hotaru’s grasp. She flipped through the dog-eared pages before | |
| 22 shutting the book. “You studying some more witchcraft?” | |
| 23 “What else could she be doing reading all the time like that?” The | |
| 24 girl on the left replied. | |
| 25 Hotaru released a shuddering breath. She had no more tears to cry | |
| 26 over this. It happened often enough. The constant teases and taunts | |
| 27 were by now a way of life from her classmates. | |
| 28 “If you don’t want to be here, Tomoe, get on your broomstick and | |
| 29 leave.” The three girls snickered at the dark haired girl, one of | |
| 30 them tossing her book to the ground. | |
| 31 “Why don’t you all leave her alone?!” a sweet voice yelled angrily. | |
| 32 The girls turned to see a pink haired girl about their age run up to | |
| 33 stand beside Hotaru. Her crimson eyes burned with an unseen fire from | |
| 34 the anger she felt, her small hands balled up in fists. “What has she | |
| 35 ever done to you?!” ChibiUsa demanded. | |
| 36 The middle girl glared at Hotaru. “She was born.” | |
| 37 Hotaru normally would have shrank back from the other girl’s | |
| 38 statement, but she was still in shock. ChibiUsa was here? Defending | |
| 39 her? The thought made her head spin. | |
| 40 “If that’s her only crime against you, you oughtta think of | |
| 41 something better because I can think of plenty more you’ve done to | |
| 42 her just from what I saw,” ChibiUsa said, stepping forward a little | |
| 43 ahead and to the side of Hotaru. | |
| 44 “How would you know? She’s a witch,” one of the girl’s said, | |
| 45 pointing at Hotaru. | |
| 46 “If she is a witch, I’d rather spend an eternity with her than a | |
| 47 second with you cold hearted bitches.” ChibiUsa stared at each of the | |
| 48 three girls. | |
| 49 The girls glared back at this strange pink haired girl. | |
| 50 “She is a witch! We’ve all seen her. When people get hurt, they pop | |
| 51 up without a trace of it after she touches them,” The girl on the | |
| 52 right began. | |
| 53 “And what’s wrong with that? She did the same to me, and I’m | |
| 54 grateful,” ChibiUsa said absentmindedly rubbing her arm where her | |
| 55 injury had been. | |
| 56 “She’s always off on her own. Usually she’s reading something. She | |
| 57 always wears black. And she has those strange seizures,” The girl in | |
| 58 the middle finished. | |
| 59 “How can you all stand here and say that? You’re all so blinded by | |
| 60 hatred for what you don’t understand that you can’t see what she | |
| 61 really is,” the pink haired girl argued. | |
| 62 “And what’s that?” The middle girl asked with a smirk. | |
| 63 “The sweetest, kindest, most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. If she | |
| 64 is a witch, then she’s a great one. And everything you all see wrong | |
| 65 with her, I wouldn’t want to change. She’s smart and gentle and has a | |
| 66 wonderful shining heart. And if none of you can see that, then I pity | |
| 67 you. I was wondering why she was so shy and reserved, but now I know. | |
| 68 Because of people like you.” ChibiUsa took Hotaru’s hand in her own | |
| 69 without taking her eyes from the three girls in front of her. | |
| 70 All three stared back at the pink haired girl that had interrupted | |
| 71 what would have otherwise been a normal day for them. “What are you? | |
| 72 Her girlfriend?” one of the three asked. | |
| 73 “What if I am?” ChibiUsa asked back, tightening her grip on | |
| 74 Hotaru’s hand, feeling the slight tremble in her lover’s hand. | |
| 75 “Oh my god…” The middle girl turned her gaze to Hotaru. “Tomoe’s a | |
| 76 lesbian.” The other two gasped as well, looking back and forth from | |
| 77 to the pink and raven haired girls. After whispering with each other | |
| 78 for a moment, the three girls finally turned to leave. | |
| 79 ChibiUsa looked in shock after the three girls. They were | |
| 80 retreating as if they had some kind of disease. “And what’s wrong | |
| 81 with that?!” the pink haired girl yelled after them, half expecting a | |
| 82 response, but not being surprised when none came. Her free hand going | |
| 83 to her forehead, she sighed deeply. A tug on her wrist caught her | |
| 84 attention. Turning her attention back to the dark haired girl, she | |
| 85 saw Hotaru kneeling to pick up her book that they’d so carelessly | |
| 86 thrown to the ground. “Oh, Hotaru-chan, I’m so sorry. I was just so | |
| 87 angry when I saw them treating you like that. I had no idea… I’ve | |
| 88 probably just made things worse for you now, haven’t I?” | |
| 89 Hotaru shook her head softly. “There have been plenty of rumors | |
| 90 about me before. Everyone already thinks of me as a witch. This won’t | |
| 91 change things.” Glancing down at her book, Hotaru wiped some of the | |
| 92 dirt from the cover. | |
| 93 “Then why’d they leave like that?” ChibiUsa asked, confused. | |
| 94 Hotaru allowed herself a slight smile. “They were probably afraid | |
| 95 of my girlfriend.” | |
| 96 ChibiUsa laughed and drew the dark haired girl into a warm embrace. | |
| 97 Hotaru’s pale cheeks turned a bright red as she felt the other girl | |
| 98 holding her lovingly. ChibiUsa’s expression suddenly turning serious, | |
| 99 she said, “I’m sorry those girls were acting like that.” | |
| 100 Looking away, Hotaru wouldn’t return her gaze. “Its not just them.” | |
| 101 “Hotaru-chan… I’m sorry,” ChibiUsa said sadly, at a loss for words. | |
| 102 Hotaru smiled softly. “Don’t be. You’re the best thing that’s ever | |
| 103 happened to me, ChibiUsa-chan. Its not your fault if they all act | |
| 104 like that. You more than make up for it with the warmth and kindness | |
| 105 you show me.” | |
| 106 ChibiUsa looked intently into Hotaru’s violet eyes. “Don’t worry | |
| 107 about them. Just remember that I love you no matter what. It doesn’t | |
| 108 matter what they think. I’ll always love you.” | |
| 109 Hotaru’s blush worsened as she lost herself in the crimson pools of | |
| 110 the pink haired girl’s eyes. “And I you, ChibiUsa-chan.” Before she | |
| 111 knew what was going on, she was sharing a kiss with her lover right | |
| 112 where they stood. Hotaru remembered all the cruel comments and | |
| 113 torture she endured from her classmates. ‘What’s it matter what they | |
| 114 think?’ she thought to herself. ‘This moment of bliss is worth more | |
| 115 than every single thing they’ve ever done combined.’ | |
| 116 | |
| 117 ~~~~~~~~ | |
| 118 | |
| 119 Hunched over a computer, Mamoru rubbed his palms against his eyes, | |
| 120 trying to focus. He had been looking up information on Professor | |
| 121 Tomoe and the events surrounding him for the past several hours and | |
| 122 everything was rapidly becoming a blur. Between the studying for | |
| 123 college classes he needed to catch up on, running around in a top hat | |
| 124 and tuxedo, and doing research for running around in said tuxedo, he | |
| 125 had to wonder when he had time for anything at all relaxing these | |
| 126 days. Even going to see the talented violinist, Michiru Kaioh, with | |
| 127 ChibiUsa, Usagi and her friends had turned out disastrously. And | |
| 128 ChibiUsa had seemed awfully distracted about something. The tedious | |
| 129 work over the past few hours had finally yielded some results, | |
| 130 thankfully, so maybe he’d have a chance to relax after all. | |
| 131 Stretching in the chair, he turned back to tell ChibiUsa the good | |
| 132 news. | |
| 133 The pink haired girl was nodding off in a chair near him, her head | |
| 134 tilted to the side as she sat leaning back. After a moment or so, the | |
| 135 future princess stirred and blinked. Noticing that Mamoru had had | |
| 136 seen that she had nearly fallen asleep, she grinned sheepishly and | |
| 137 pointed toward the computer. “Did you find anything, Mamo-chan?” | |
| 138 Turning back towards the computer, the older man sighed. “No matter | |
| 139 where I looked, I couldn’t find anything of interest on Professor | |
| 140 Souichi Tomoe. Just a few minutes ago, I finally accessed something | |
| 141 on him. His life’s work has been on genetic research. It’s been an | |
| 142 obsession for him his entire career, even to the point where he was | |
| 143 considered an outcast by the scientific community for his bizarre | |
| 144 experiments on animals. He put up his knowledge on the subject out | |
| 145 for sale to continue funding his research and was bought up by the | |
| 146 Infinity district. Apparently they didn’t mind whether or not his | |
| 147 work was inhumane and hired him anyway.” | |
| 148 “So that’s why Hotaru-chan lives there,” ChibiUsa said thoughtfully. | |
| 149 A few more pieces of the puzzle started to fit into place, but she | |
| 150 didn’t say anything. She had promised Hotaru that she wouldn’t tell | |
| 151 that her father had done that sort of thing. But it seemed that | |
| 152 Mamoru had found out on his own. | |
| 153 Mamoru nodded, his tone growing more grave. “During the construction | |
| 154 of some of the buildings, a fire broke out under some unknown | |
| 155 circumstances while he and his family were there.” Scooting to the | |
| 156 side, he let ChibiUsa get a good look at the screen. | |
| 157 There was a picture of a smiling woman there with the words: Wife, | |
| 158 Keiko, Age 32, Deceased. ChibiUsa gasped. That was how Hotaru’s | |
| 159 mother had died when she was younger. But what was even more | |
| 160 surprising were the picture of a young dark haired girl and the words | |
| 161 that followed: Daughter, Hotaru, Age 8, Critical Condition. Not only | |
| 162 had Hotaru lost her mother in the fire, but she herself had been | |
| 163 caught in it, too. But what had happened to her? How had she survived | |
| 164 the fire? | |
| 165 “They say that after that incident, all life left the Professor’s | |
| 166 face,” Mamoru said, breaking the uneasy silence that had spread | |
| 167 through the room. “The loss of his wife and the near loss of his | |
| 168 daughter must have changed him.” ‘I can understand why he’d grow cold | |
| 169 after that. I don’t know that I wouldn’t do the same if I lose Usako | |
| 170 and ChibiUsa. And we haven’t even had ChibiUsa yet,’ he thought to | |
| 171 himself. | |
| 172 “ChibiUsa-chan, you should keep a careful watch on Hotaru-chan. It’s | |
| 173 your duty as a Sailor Senshi to find the enemy and eliminate them. If | |
| 174 we don’t stop them soon, it may be too late to stop their invasion. | |
| 175 All could be lost. Professor Tomoe seems even more suspicious now, | |
| 176 and if he’s Hotaru-chan’s father, you should keep an eye out for | |
| 177 anything.” Luna looked up at ChibiUsa seriously. | |
| 178 The pink haired girl nodded eagerly. Any excuse to stick close to | |
| 179 the firefly was good enough for her. She wouldn’t believe that Hotaru | |
| 180 had anything to do with this but she felt very uneasy about the raven | |
| 181 haired girl’s father. “Hai, I understand, Luna. I’ll do my best. I | |
| 182 won’t let Hotaru-chan out of my sight.” She had a hard time trying to | |
| 183 conceal a large smile. | |
| 184 Luna sweatdropped. For some reason she didn’t think they meant the | |
| 185 same thing. | |
| 186 | |
| 187 | |
| 188 ~~~~~~~~ | |
| 189 | |
| 190 | |
| 191 Where is she? We were supposed to meet here to go to the movies. | |
| 192 We’d been planning it all week so we’d be able to have some fun this | |
| 193 weekend. Hotaru couldn’t have forgotten, could she? I hope that’s all | |
| 194 it is. I can wait a while longer before I go looking for her. What if | |
| 195 she shows up and I’m off looking for her? No, its safer to stay here | |
| 196 for now. | |
| 197 Brushing back some pink strands of hair from my eyes, I glance | |
| 198 around the park, searching for any sign of midnight black hair or | |
| 199 ivory skin. Hoisting my book bag over my shoulder, I stand up on the | |
| 200 bench I had been sitting on to get a better view. I can’t suppress my | |
| 201 anxiety. Maybe something really has happened to her. I could never | |
| 202 forgive myself if Hotaru got hurt coming here to see me. | |
| 203 You’re making too big a deal out of this, I scold myself. Just | |
| 204 relax. She’ll get here sooner or later. Its all a matter of time, | |
| 205 just like Puu had said so long ago. I grin a bit at that. I wonder if | |
| 206 she had any idea about this back when she first let me go back in | |
| 207 time. The grin fades as I remember that glimpse of dark green hair in | |
| 208 a crowd after I’d left Hotaru’s house with Usagi a while back. Could | |
| 209 Pluto still be alive? But why wouldn’t she come tell me? There are | |
| 210 too many unanswered questions. My head hurts just from trying to | |
| 211 think of all the questions, let alone the answers. Hotaru’s the focus | |
| 212 of most of them. She’s so mysterious. There’s a lot that I don’t know | |
| 213 about her or her family. But I don’t want to pry into things that are | |
| 214 better left alone. She seems so fragile that I worry about what | |
| 215 digging too much could do to her. And besides, I’m content just | |
| 216 knowing she’s there. I smile a bit. She’s so…. intoxicating? The more | |
| 217 I’m with her, the more I want to be with her. Forever. | |
| 218 Fifteen minutes go by and still no sign of her. I’m really starting | |
| 219 to get worried. It’s been over an hour now and she’s still missing. | |
| 220 My heart starts to beat quicker as panic begins to set in. Hotaru’s | |
| 221 okay, I assure myself. To prove that to my yearning heart, I decide | |
| 222 to go look for her. Her house isn’t too far from here so I decide to | |
| 223 check there first. | |
| 224 | |
| 225 A surge of excitement runs through me as I walk towards where I | |
| 226 remember Hotaru-chan’s room to be from the outside. I know I’m not | |
| 227 supposed to be here, but what if she’s hurt? She could’ve fallen down | |
| 228 after having another one of those fits and no one could know. Her | |
| 229 father barely pays any attention to her as it is and Hotaru obviously | |
| 230 doesn’t like that weird lady that works as his assistant. I barely | |
| 231 notice myself picking up speed as I nearly break into a run, | |
| 232 desperate to make sure the firefly’s okay. If anything’s happened to | |
| 233 her... Pushing the thought out of my mind, I stop worrying about | |
| 234 whether or not anyone saw me sneak into the house and bolt towards | |
| 235 Hotaru’s room. Be okay, be okay, be okay, please just be alright and | |
| 236 I promise I’ll make everything better... You’ll never have to cry | |
| 237 again, just please be alright... Out of breath and exhausted from | |
| 238 making it here in a much shorter time than it’s ever taken me before, | |
| 239 I slump to my knees a few meters from Hotaru’s window. Ignoring the | |
| 240 burning inside as I gasp for breath, I half walk and half stumble | |
| 241 over to the windowsill. | |
| 242 “How do those new parts feel?” I hear Hotaru’s father ask from | |
| 243 inside as I make my way to the window. Well, if he was spending time | |
| 244 with her then it was worth her being late. He’s all she has for her | |
| 245 family so it’s good he’s not buried in his work right now. He seems | |
| 246 to care a lot about her when he does show it and my firefly misses | |
| 247 him. | |
| 248 “They feel fine, dad. I think I’m getting used to them already,” | |
| 249 Hotaru lied. I don’t know what she’s lying about, but whatever it is, | |
| 250 it sounds like she’s faking it. For her father’s sake? Or because | |
| 251 she’s late? Whatever it is, her father doesn’t seem to notice. I try | |
| 252 to catch her attention from the window, but she’s looking over at the | |
| 253 clock in her room. I smile a bit. At least she’s okay. And now I get | |
| 254 to surprise her. | |
| 255 “The parts incorporate a new development in masons and neurons that | |
| 256 I came across. They were used as part of a rather interesting | |
| 257 experiment. I’m still waiting to hear more of the results.” Her | |
| 258 father shakes his head, extremely pale purple hair moving from side | |
| 259 to side as he does. “But that’s besides the point. All the technology | |
| 260 is state-of-the-art and made from the best materials available.” He | |
| 261 places a hand on her cheek. I wonder what they were busy with. Hotaru | |
| 262 shivers slightly at his touch. A while back, she had told me that his | |
| 263 hands felt very cold. I guess it has something to do with his | |
| 264 research. “Very soon you won’t have anymore fits, Hotaru-chan.” I | |
| 265 smile at that. It has to be some new kind of medication then. This | |
| 266 means Hotaru-chan will get better! My smile fades after I see the | |
| 267 look on Hotaru’s face. I don’t think she believes him that she’ll get | |
| 268 better. My poor firefly. It’ll get better, I promise. He finally | |
| 269 picks up a few things that I can’t quite pick out as medical | |
| 270 instruments or tools and leaves the room. | |
| 271 “I have to hurry,” Hotaru-chan says worriedly, brushing back dark | |
| 272 hair from her eyes. The poor girl almost seems frantic. Awww... | |
| 273 That’s so cute that she wants to see me so much. Hmm... How should I | |
| 274 surprise her? “ChibiUsa-chan might have already gone home by now. I’m | |
| 275 really late. That took longer this time.” She sighs sadly. What took | |
| 276 longer? I want to ask her. Bending up her arm, her skin begins to | |
| 277 glow brightly. Underneath, I can see wires holding her muscles | |
| 278 together and other strange parts in the part of her arm I can see. | |
| 279 She picks now to turn around and spot me. I am Jack’s nervous | |
| 280 breakdown. Her oddly hypnotic silver eyes catch mine before I can | |
| 281 dare to look away. Caught like my namesake in headlights, I can only | |
| 282 stare back for a long moment. I don’t know what to think. If only I’d | |
| 283 waited this never would have happened. Fear and shock quickly fill | |
| 284 those infinitely deep silver eyes, mirroring my own as I take a step | |
| 285 back. What.. What was that? What happened? “ChibiUsa-chan?!” she | |
| 286 calls out, her soft voice wavering. | |
| 287 I’m caught. I don’t know what to do. What can I say to her? There’s | |
| 288 no way I can fix this right now. I should’ve waited at the theater | |
| 289 and then... “I’m sorry, Hotaru-chan... I... I shouldn’t have barged | |
| 290 in here...” I turn around and start to run away, unable to sort out | |
| 291 everything that’s going through my head. “I’m sorry,” I repeat as I | |
| 292 run as far as I can, away from it all. She probably hates me now for | |
| 293 seeing that. My poor firefly... | |
| 294 “ChibiUsa-chan!” I can barely hear her call again. | |
| 295 | |
| 296 | |
| 297 | |
| 298 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| 299 | |
| 300 | |
| 301 I fall to my knees where I’m standing, unable to even make it the | |
| 302 rest of the way to my bed. Hot tears stream down my cheeks as her | |
| 303 fleeing image remains seared in my mind. Why? Why did this have to | |
| 304 happen? Why did I finally find a friend only to have her taken away | |
| 305 from me? My body is wracked with pain even as my heart and soul are | |
| 306 wracked with guilt and fear. I’ve lasted this long on my own but now | |
| 307 that I’ve had a taste of what it was like to have her care about me I | |
| 308 don’t think I can go back to the way things were. I don’t want to be | |
| 309 alone anymore. It hurts too much. | |
| 310 The pain inside my battered shell of a body grows more intense as | |
| 311 my thoughts get darker. It’s as if the physical pain is mirroring the | |
| 312 pain in my heart. I collapse forward onto the floor, clutching at my | |
| 313 chest. My sobs are starting to hurt more and more as ice cold shoots | |
| 314 through my veins, followed seconds later by the searing hot pain. | |
| 315 Maybe… Maybe I’m dying. Maybe whoever’s out there decided to take | |
| 316 pity on me, to finally end my suffering. Maybe the cruel trick that | |
| 317 was played on me, letting me finally find a friend and someone to | |
| 318 love, will be the last. My head against the floor, my tears stream | |
| 319 down my cheeks. A shaky hand reaches out to my amulet in the hopes | |
| 320 that it can heal me, but the image of ChibiUsa’s horrified face when | |
| 321 she saw me for what I am seizes up my body. My hand falls back down | |
| 322 to the floor, even the will to live completely drained from my body. | |
| 323 I deserve to die. My life has served no purpose. I’ve only been a | |
| 324 burden to my father. He’s usually too busy to worry about me anyway. | |
| 325 He has to have Kaolinite keep an eye on me. Everyone else I’ve known | |
| 326 has made it painfully clear that they don’t want me here. They’re all | |
| 327 afraid of me. Even.. Even she’s afraid of me. | |
| 328 Harsh, painful sobs wrack my body as my pain begins anew. “ChibiUsa- | |
| 329 chan…” I whisper hoarsely. I curse my horrible, dead body. I curse | |
| 330 myself for still being here for this to have happened. If I’d died a | |
| 331 few months ago, this never would have happened. She’d never have been | |
| 332 afraid of me and I never would have... I never would have met her.. A | |
| 333 lump forms in my throat as I try to look through my blurry, tearful | |
| 334 vision to the Holy Grail she gave me. It sits in a very special spot | |
| 335 near my bed, right near several of my favorite lamps. She somehow saw | |
| 336 past what everyone else hated about me, she wasn’t afraid of me when | |
| 337 she found out I could heal with a touch, but now that she’s seen what | |
| 338 I am, she’s frightened of me. And I don’t think I can live with | |
| 339 myself for that. I should have known that it was too good to be true, | |
| 340 that she could really accept me. Who could? I’ve been half dead for | |
| 341 so long.. My eyes fall closed as the pain starts preying on my | |
| 342 consciousness. I can only hope it won’t last much longer, that I’ll | |
| 343 finally be able to be free. Free of this prison of a body. Free of | |
| 344 all the loneliness and the hate. | |
| 345 I don’t want to live anymore. This painful life has taken everything | |
| 346 from me. First my mother, then my body, and now the only person who’s | |
| 347 ever cared about me. Not too mention all of the other countless | |
| 348 things that have been ripped away from me. How could this have | |
| 349 happened? I had thought that if she just didn’t know about it that | |
| 350 maybe… just maybe things would work out. How could I have fooled | |
| 351 myself into such childish dreams? I had thought I was past that, past | |
| 352 deluding myself with any form of hope. But looking into her shining | |
| 353 eyes made me forget about that, it made me grasp onto those thin | |
| 354 shreds of hope and cherish them with all of my being. | |
| 355 She made me feel alive again. After so many years of being dead, of | |
| 356 being a breathing dead girl, it felt so wonderful to feel alive | |
| 357 again. Dad keeps my body alive… barely… but she had brought my soul | |
| 358 back to life. And now it was all gone. All taken from me within a few | |
| 359 brief seconds. Such an inconsequential amount of time that brought my | |
| 360 life to a deafening crescendo of pain and tears. Really, nothing has | |
| 361 happened. Things will go back to the way they were before I met her. | |
| 362 Everyone will still hate me and I’ll be all alone again. I shake my | |
| 363 head in torment. I can’t live like that! I can’t be alone again! | |
| 364 Tendrils of fear grip my ice cold heart as the thought of having to | |
| 365 endure through it all with the painful memories of her sends more | |
| 366 tears rolling down my cheeks. I’ve lasted through everything else | |
| 367 because I’ve never had a choice. What else could I do but move on? | |
| 368 Even when everything hurt, I was too apathetic to do anything but cry | |
| 369 to myself and hide in the shadows. But I can’t stand it any longer. | |
| 370 The thought of moving on knowing that I lost the only person that | |
| 371 ever meant anything to me is just too much to bear. | |
| 372 “Agghh…..” I wince painfully as I stagger to my feet, leaning | |
| 373 heavily against a dresser. The pain inside and out seems to contort | |
| 374 my body in some sick rhythm. A symphony of silence. Making a few half | |
| 375 steps forward, barely able to make out anything through my blurred | |
| 376 vision, I grasp onto one of my favorite lamps. It’s a beautiful lamp. | |
| 377 Small silver designs encircle the midnight black lamp in a | |
| 378 neverending dance. But right now I can barely even see the object in | |
| 379 my hand as I concentrate on it. Fire shoots through my arm as the | |
| 380 muscle seems to threaten to just rip apart on it’s own. I cry out but | |
| 381 keep going. This is nothing compared to the pain I’ve felt. My | |
| 382 favorite lamp cracks and shatters as that small burst of cyborg | |
| 383 strength finally wins out over my dead body. Collapsing to the floor | |
| 384 again, I weakly watch the shattered pieces of the lamp, so much like | |
| 385 the shattered pieces of my life. Things had seemed so perfect before | |
| 386 mother died and everything started slipping away from me. Now even | |
| 387 the last shred of hope I had held onto has been taken away into the | |
| 388 darkness of the night. | |
| 389 My pale hands search the floor for the right piece. I barely flinch | |
| 390 at the cuts I get as I grasp at them, blinded by my grief and self- | |
| 391 pity. A long jagged piece of porcelain finally catches my attention | |
| 392 to my right. Clutching it tightly, I can feel it bite into my skin, | |
| 393 the blood dripping much the same way my tears are. I shake my head as | |
| 394 I bring it towards my wrist, almost hoping someone will stop me, | |
| 395 praying that no one will. “Oh, ChibiUsa-chan… I’m so sorry…. I’ll | |
| 396 never hurt you again…. Because I don’t want to hurt again either...” | |
| 397 I get out between sobs as I push into my wrist. This is the only way | |
| 398 to escape. This is the only way I’ll ever stop the pain. It hurts too | |
| 399 much to go on. I only hope that ChibiUsa will forgive me. But by now | |
| 400 she’s probably already forgotten me... Shaking all over, I slide in | |
| 401 across my wrist, a grimace spreading across my face as the pain | |
| 402 becomes even more intense. As I wait to die and be rid myself of this | |
| 403 worthless body and life, I look down to my wrist. Torn flesh and | |
| 404 pouring blood greet my eyes, but also something more sinister. Metal | |
| 405 cords going to my hand jut out from the injury, a painful reminder of | |
| 406 how little of me is still human after the fire. Shivering on the | |
| 407 floor, whimpering, the darkness finally claims me and all is silence. | |
| 408 | |
| 409 Silver eyes blinked slowly and painfully into consciousness. Hotaru | |
| 410 immediately regretted opening her eyes as a harsh white light burned | |
| 411 into her vision. “Dad?” she asked weakly, his dim outline barely | |
| 412 visible through the haze of pain settling throughout her body. Yet | |
| 413 even then, it didn’t hurt at all in comparison to the pain in her | |
| 414 heart. Blinking back bitter tears, she rolled to her side, towards | |
| 415 her father. It was gone. It was all gone. There was a terrible | |
| 416 emptiness inside of her that could never be filled. It wasn’t just | |
| 417 that something was missing, that things could go back to the way they | |
| 418 were before, but that it had been ripped forcibly from her, the torn | |
| 419 edges of her soul impossible to mend. Shaking lightly as the tears | |
| 420 came more freely, she wondered where her father had gone. This man in | |
| 421 his place only cared that she lived, that her body was all right. He | |
| 422 didn’t offer any comfort to the pitiful girl lying on her bed. | |
| 423 Instead, he kept checking a sheet of paper in his hands. | |
| 424 Hotaru cursed herself as his cold hands checked to make sure the | |
| 425 wires in her arms were undamaged. She couldn’t even do that right. | |
| 426 Her only escape had been ruined. She couldn’t even kill an already | |
| 427 dead body. | |
| 428 “Good morning, Hotaru-chan. You’re awake,” he stated as he moved | |
| 429 around to get a better look of the repairs he’d done to his cyborg | |
| 430 daughter. The cords and pieces in her wrist had been easy enough to | |
| 431 fix, although that most certainly wasn’t one of the things he’d been | |
| 432 worried about before then. He thought if anything endangered that | |
| 433 which was within his daughter’s body, it was that the girl was weak | |
| 434 and dying. He should have seen this coming. Of course, it didn’t | |
| 435 change anything. The time was near, making this only a very minor | |
| 436 setback. “How are you feeling?” | |
| 437 The sound of it was that of a doctor asking a patient, Hotaru could | |
| 438 tell. He was wondering how she was feeling physically, not how torn | |
| 439 apart she felt inside. “Papa...” the dark haired girl whispered | |
| 440 sadly. She was truly all alone now. Her father had gone somewhere far | |
| 441 away, leaving only this.. this person in his place. And now the only | |
| 442 person who had ever cared about her had run away in fear of her. Why | |
| 443 had she survived and her mother died? Why couldn’t she have taken her | |
| 444 mother’s place? She could barely remember her anymore, but she knew | |
| 445 that she’d been a wonderful mother. She didn’t deserve to die in a | |
| 446 horrible fire. Her life would have been much more worthwhile than | |
| 447 Hotaru’s own. Like she often did, but never with as much regret that | |
| 448 she couldn’t make it a reality, the dark haired girl wished that she | |
| 449 could have taken her mother’s place. They’d both nearly been burned | |
| 450 to death but she had somehow survived. Now more than ever she | |
| 451 wondered why. | |
| 452 Dimly hearing her father repeat the question, she simply nodded. She | |
| 453 could feel a burning inside of her as the wires and cords and parts | |
| 454 all worked at a more desperate pace to keep her body alive. She | |
| 455 wanted to rip it all out. She was a mockery of life. Not truly alive, | |
| 456 but not allowed to die. It didn’t matter anymore. She was already | |
| 457 dead. There was no way this was any sort of life. She only had to | |
| 458 wait for when her body would finally give out on her. And she knew | |
| 459 that wouldn’t be a long wait. Her father finally left the room. “Why | |
| 460 did she have to find out? Everyone hates me for being able to heal | |
| 461 others. They think I’m some kind of witch. It was hard enough with | |
| 462 them knowing that. I didn’t want anyone to know about this dead body | |
| 463 of mine. I’ve been all alone for so long now. All by myself even when | |
| 464 drowning in a sea of humanity. Dad doesn’t care anymore. His research | |
| 465 is the only important thing to him. I don’t even know why he tries to | |
| 466 keep me alive. Doesn’t he see I’d be better off that way? I knew I | |
| 467 was going to die alone. It was a sad fact of life. But then... I | |
| 468 finally met her. She wasn’t afraid of me. She didn’t hate me. She | |
| 469 wanted to be my friend. She wanted.. to love me...” She sobbed | |
| 470 painfully, tears starting to fall anew down her still damp cheeks. “I | |
| 471 should have known. How could anyone love a monster like me? She’s an | |
| 472 angel and I’m a demon. I could only drag her into darkness. But | |
| 473 without her, why should I go on? I have nothing now. Why should I | |
| 474 live anymore? Is there any point to my life? Mama... why couldn’t I | |
| 475 come with you?” | |
| 476 An intense pain in her head makes her double over, clutching at the | |
| 477 searing fire within. “It... it hurts...” Her labored breathing | |
| 478 faltered for a moment, her physical and mental pain becoming an | |
| 479 uncontrolled beast within. “My forehead.. it’s… it’s like it’s on | |
| 480 fire...” | |
| 481 Through the knife’s blade that felt lodged in her forehead, the | |
| 482 deathly pale girl could make out three figures watching her. “Who are | |
| 483 you?! Are you... are you Death? Please... why are you torturing me? | |
| 484 Please just let it all go away... Please let me die..” The figures | |
| 485 just watched as if taunting her. Hurling her amulet out past them, | |
| 486 the figures vanished, leaving her all alone once more. Her face | |
| 487 against her pillow, she wept as it seemed to get even worse. The | |
| 488 darkness inside her was growing as her sense of loss intensified, | |
| 489 images of the pink haired girl from the past few weeks filling her | |
| 490 thoughts. | |
| 491 Suddenly, she didn’t feel so alone anymore. And that frightened her | |
| 492 as she tried to look around the room. “It hurts so much... | |
| 493 Everything.. everything hurts.. Like someone’s trying to burst out of | |
| 494 me...” She looked up as thoughts that weren’t her own began to invade | |
| 495 her fading mind. “Someone’s taking over my body...” She tried | |
| 496 desperately to cling onto her last vestige of consciousness as icy | |
| 497 cold fear shot through her veins, her will crumbling quickly. | |
| 498 “ChibiUsa-chan...” | |
| 499 | |
| 500 The pink haired girl in question was leaning against a brick wall a | |
| 501 few blocks away, panting heavily as she tried to catch her breath. | |
| 502 Brushing back sweat dampened hair, she looked back the way she had | |
| 503 come. She felt sick from all of that running and the torrent of | |
| 504 thoughts swirling like a storm cloud in her head. Her insides felt | |
| 505 tied in knots. She pulled her legs to her chest, her short, crystal | |
| 506 blue dress in disarray. The harsh bricks scraped her back even | |
| 507 through the thin fabric. | |
| 508 Shaking her head, the pink haired girl sighed miserably. What she | |
| 509 had seen of the raven haired girl entered her mind every time she | |
| 510 closed her eyes. Wires and cords holding her beautiful frame | |
| 511 together, keeping her alive. The girl she loved was barely alive. | |
| 512 “What should I do? Oh, Hota-chan, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have seen | |
| 513 that. I should have waited for you.” | |
| 514 “I had an accident a long time ago. I have many wounds from it,” | |
| 515 Hotaru had said to her what felt like years before but could only | |
| 516 have been less than a month before. ‘So that’s what she meant,’ | |
| 517 ChibiUsa thought to herself, pulling her legs closer. “That surprised | |
| 518 me. But what should I do now? When I ran away from Hota-chan, did I | |
| 519 hurt her? What have I done?” She stood up, finally managing to breath | |
| 520 more normally. “We all have our secrets, Hotaru-chan. I’m over nine | |
| 521 hundred years old and I never told you. I can see why you wouldn’t | |
| 522 want to tell me about that. But I want to make it up to you. I love | |
| 523 you no matter what. This doesn’t change anything.” With renewed | |
| 524 determination, the pink haired girl gathered herself up and began to | |
| 525 turn back the other way. A sharp pain on the side of her head | |
| 526 elicited a yelp from the young looking pink haired girl. | |
| 527 Taking a half step backward, she felt a biting cold feeling where | |
| 528 the pain had been. Curiously, she brushed her hand over the spot. It | |
| 529 now felt wet and the cold began to be replaced by a burning feeling | |
| 530 at her touch, making ChibiUsa wince. Bringing her hand back, she saw | |
| 531 some blood on her fingers. “What?” A gasp escaped her lips as she | |
| 532 felt as if she’d been bitten above her calf. Looking up at the dark | |
| 533 sky gave her a better understanding of what was going on. A few fat | |
| 534 droplets of rain hit the future princess. “What’s going on? It | |
| 535 shouldn’t be hailing in this season. This is just...” She stumbled | |
| 536 forward, having a hard time concentrating as that cold feeling that | |
| 537 had been on the side of her head started to spread through her body. | |
| 538 “This isn’t normal hail. I’ve gotta get out of it while I still can.” | |
| 539 She hugged herself tightly as she tried to keep warm, heading off | |
| 540 through the rain and hail. “I have to get back to Hotaru-chan. She | |
| 541 needs me.” Her weary mind still guilty from before, ran over the | |
| 542 possibilities as she raced back the way she’d come, hoping that she | |
| 543 could make things all right. | |
| 544 | |
| 545 Was this what dying was like? That had to be it. She was dying. It | |
| 546 was worse than any of the fits she had ever suffered before. Her | |
| 547 whole body was aching horribly, like ice cold knives had been raked | |
| 548 across her body. Making out anything through her blurry vision was a | |
| 549 chore that she couldn’t waste the time on, her nausea just making it | |
| 550 even worse. Every bit of her pain wracked body screamed out in agony | |
| 551 as she tried to get up. Had her father’s attempts at keeping her | |
| 552 corpse-like body alive finally failed? Was she finally going to do? | |
| 553 Fresh tears started to sting her already bloodshot eyes. It was over. | |
| 554 Finally, this sick joke was over. | |
| 555 “No...” she whispered, her raw throat aflame. There was something | |
| 556 else there. Something with her. Something... evil. That presence she | |
| 557 felt earlier, it was gaining in strength even as she was starting to | |
| 558 slip further and further away. She didn’t want to be here anymore, no | |
| 559 longer up for playing the part of the hated, wretched witch. But | |
| 560 still, the fear of dying was deep within her. And she knew that even | |
| 561 if she died, this thing would be released. And it would hurt... “No!” | |
| 562 she managed to get out louder. It was preying on her thoughts. It had | |
| 563 already picked its first target. Because of her. “You can’t have her. | |
| 564 No...” Pale hands gripped her burning forehead as she tried to force | |
| 565 it out, tried to change its mind, anything. If she’d been allowed to | |
| 566 kill herself, she would have been able to get rid of it along with | |
| 567 herself. Instead, it would hurt the only person that meant anything | |
| 568 to her. | |
| 569 Silver eyes sparkled as Hotaru’s gaze was drawn to the window. A | |
| 570 large pillar of light flared in the growing storm, energy sweeping | |
| 571 through it. It was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. | |
| 572 Like part of her could remember something much like it from long ago. | |
| 573 No, it wasn’t her. Someone else remembered it. Someone deep inside of | |
| 574 her. “The power..! It should be more than enough to replace the | |
| 575 Taioron Crystal. Master Pharaoh 90 will be pleased. That must be the | |
| 576 true power of Sailormoon. The Ginzuishou.” It wasn’t her own voice, | |
| 577 but someone using her to speak. The thought sent shivers through her | |
| 578 weak body. Tears plunged to the sheets beneath her as Hotaru’s whole | |
| 579 body began to shake. She was afraid of what would happen now. | |
| 580 Her hand lifted of its own volition, picking up the amulet her | |
| 581 father had given her. The crystal twirled back and forth as it hung | |
| 582 from its string. Something began to coalesce in the crystal, some | |
| 583 sort of image. She recognized the person immediately, her stomach | |
| 584 turning in on itself as it became clearer. Kaolinite, her father’s | |
| 585 assistant. The person who never failed to make things worse. She | |
| 586 wanted to drop the amulet, to get away from her, but she couldn’t let | |
| 587 go. | |
| 588 “Soon, I will become the master’s partner. I won’t fail him. Unlike | |
| 589 the Witches 5, I won’t let the Sailor Senshi get in the way,” | |
| 590 Kaolinite said through the crystal. Despite being startled, Hotaru | |
| 591 clung unto the string, the crystal swinging back and forth. | |
| 592 Again, the dark haired girl’s mouth opened without her permission. | |
| 593 “Yes, Magus, the time has come. You will take your place as the | |
| 594 master’s partner. Just remember your duty.” Magus? What was she | |
| 595 talking about? Who was their master? Why was all of this happening to | |
| 596 her? As the image vanished, she dropped the amulet to the floor, it | |
| 597 making little sound as it rolled across the carpet. Her hands went to | |
| 598 her head, light sobs escaping her. | |
| 599 | |
| 600 “Get in the car,” a voice said sternly as a car pulled up beside | |
| 601 ChibiUsa. The pink haired girl was shivering badly now as the storm | |
| 602 was only getting worse. Her eyes caught site of Haruka, Michiru, and | |
| 603 “Puu! It is you!” She wasted no time climbing into the back with her | |
| 604 old friend. Hundreds of questions raced through her mind, but she | |
| 605 couldn’t force any out. Instead, she just watched her old friend for | |
| 606 a long moment. The car sped up quickly, throwing her against the seat | |
| 607 as Haruka chose to ignore the traffic laws. “What happened?” she | |
| 608 asked finally. | |
| 609 “We screwed up,” Haruka offered in reply. | |
| 610 Michiru frowned and turned back to face the future princess. | |
| 611 “Sailormoon has powered up with the power of all of the Senshi. It’s | |
| 612 all focussing on her with the help of the Holy Grail. The Enemy has | |
| 613 undoubtedly noticed this.” | |
| 614 Looking out the window, it took a moment for ChibiUsa to think | |
| 615 clearly again. “So that’s what that feeling was. Usagi’s more | |
| 616 powerful now. But isn’t that a good thing? Shouldn’t that help if the | |
| 617 Enemy’s close?” Her crimson eyes burned with curiosity as she looked | |
| 618 at the aqua haired woman. Her mind couldn’t drop what she’d intended | |
| 619 to do in the first place, still worrying about the raven haired girl | |
| 620 even with this crisis so close. | |
| 621 “It’s not that simple. The Princess can’t handle this mission, even | |
| 622 if she has powered up,” Setsuna explained, trying to find the best | |
| 623 way to explain to her young friend from the future. She had only | |
| 624 recently regained her memories so it was awkward seeing the pink | |
| 625 haired girl in this life. “The Soldier of Ruin has been awakened. Our | |
| 626 coming together has awakened her because of our talismans. They have | |
| 627 called her from the deep slumber she had been in up until now. The | |
| 628 final soldier from the forbidden planet, Saturn. She is the Soldier | |
| 629 of Silence, the one who must not be allowed to awaken. We know that | |
| 630 the end is nigh. This world will come to an end unless we can stop | |
| 631 it. When we Senshi, stronger than the Sailor Team, cannot handle a | |
| 632 problem, then it is up to Sailorsaturn to end everything. We watched | |
| 633 as she brought down her glaive, ending the Silver Millenium. If we | |
| 634 don’t act quickly, she’ll do the same to this world.” | |
| 635 ChibiUsa gasped. To think that such a soldier existed was horrific. | |
| 636 Why would there be a need for such a last ditch effort? Something | |
| 637 that ended all. Could she really be a Sailor Senshi? She had never | |
| 638 heard of her in the future. But then, she had never heard of the | |
| 639 Outer Senshi either. | |
| 640 “We were so stupid. Without all of our memories, we didn’t realize | |
| 641 what chaos we’d be causing. We had intended to stop the Enemy, but | |
| 642 instead we’ve brought about an even greater danger to this world.” | |
| 643 Haruka’s driving became more erratic as her frustration grew. She | |
| 644 calmed only slightly at Michiru’s reassuring hand on her thigh. | |
| 645 “We didn’t know. Someone had been calling for the talismans to be | |
| 646 gathered in out dreams. We hadn’t yet remembered what the outcome | |
| 647 would be,” Michiru said comfortingly, thought she didn’t know if it | |
| 648 was more for Haruka’s benefit or her own. She once again turned to | |
| 649 the young princess. “Sailorsaturn appears when all is lost. At the | |
| 650 end of the battle, she is the one who brings all to nothing. It is | |
| 651 her duty to bring an end to everything.” | |
| 652 “Kind of like a cosmic reset button. If we screw up in our job to | |
| 653 protect this solar system, she takes over and wipes it all out so it | |
| 654 can begin all over again,” Haruka explained, narrowly missing a | |
| 655 pedestrian. | |
| 656 ChibiUsa really wasn’t liking the sound of this. How would that | |
| 657 solve anything? Well, it would solve the battle rather quickly, but | |
| 658 so many lives would be lost. That wasn’t what Sailormoon was about at | |
| 659 all. She was supposed to protect lives. The smaller princess had | |
| 660 thought that was what all the Senshi were supposed to do, even if the | |
| 661 Outer Senshi resorted to some rather cutthroat tactics at times. | |
| 662 Setsuna cut in, grabbing the pink haired girl’s attention. “Saturn | |
| 663 is the guide to death. She brings all to the afterlife with her. But | |
| 664 she is normally asleep because her power is too deadly to be allowed | |
| 665 to work in conjunction with the other Senshi. She is awakened when | |
| 666 our three talismans come together, shattering her sleep and calling | |
| 667 her to her sacred duty. We are the guardians of the talismans, only | |
| 668 to awaken her in the most dire of circumstances. When Saturn awakens, | |
| 669 the planet will die.” | |
| 670 ChibiUsa let all this sink in, the wet air from the storm, playing | |
| 671 with her oddly styled hair. “Then why did you bring them together? | |
| 672 How did it happen?” | |
| 673 “We’re supposed to defend this solar system from outside attack. | |
| 674 The others are supposed to protect from inside threats along with the | |
| 675 princess. We didn’t often meet back during the Silver Millenium, and | |
| 676 never when all three of our talismans would be together. When they | |
| 677 were all brought together during the battle against the Dark Kingdom, | |
| 678 Saturn ended the Silver Millenium and all of the planets that had | |
| 679 been a part of it. On this world, we were reincarnated with out | |
| 680 mission still intact. We met up so that we could find the Enemy that | |
| 681 had invaded from outside while we had slept and put a stop to them. | |
| 682 Little did we know that we’d bring about a larger problem.” Michiru | |
| 683 sighed as she leaned back in her seat. “We weren’t supposed to meet | |
| 684 here. Saturn has been reborn.” | |
| 685 ChibiUsa sat forward, trying to make out the swirling image in | |
| 686 Michiru’s mirror as it showed the face of the final soldier. “Oh my | |
| 687 God...” Her eyes went wide and her heart skipped a beat. She knew | |
| 688 that face. She knew it all too well. “That’s... is that Hotaru-chan? | |
| 689 Is she Sailorsaturn?” Her mind raced with the implications of that, | |
| 690 fitting it in with everything the Outer Senshi had told her. | |
| 691 “Saturn is awakening. That girl’s body is already going through the | |
| 692 stages of her reawakening. Soon Saturn will be upon us,” Haruka added. | |
| 693 “Saturn’s soul was the voice calling out for the talismans in our | |
| 694 dreams. We had no idea it would come to this. She must realize the | |
| 695 severity of the situation and used us to bring her back so she could | |
| 696 put a stop to this.” | |
| 697 “But we can’t allow that. Small Lady, you have a future. This is | |
| 698 all wrong. None of it is what is supposed to happen. Saturn can’t end | |
| 699 things now. Somewhere, time has gone awry. If it continues along this | |
| 700 path, your future will cease to be. Small Lady, you may cease to be,” | |
| 701 Setsuna explained softly. | |
| 702 What had caused time to slip so much from its original path? Was it | |
| 703 her fault? Chibimoon hadn’t been there the first time around. Was it | |
| 704 Setsuna? She had been guarding the Time Gate rather than being | |
| 705 reincarnated like she had been this time. Was it something else | |
| 706 altogether? “Why is this happening?” | |
| 707 Haruka shook her head. “Whatever the case, we mustn’t give Saturn | |
| 708 the chance to bring everything to ruin. We can’t let her wake up.” | |
| 709 Her stomach taking a dive, ChibiUsa finally managed to ask the | |
| 710 determined Senshi what was on her mind. “How are you going to stop | |
| 711 her?” | |
| 712 “We have to kill her.” | |
| 713 “What?!” ChibiUsa’s crimson eyes went as wide as saucers at the | |
| 714 statement. Haruka had been dead serious. “You’re kidding, right? You | |
| 715 don’t really mean you’d kill Hotaru-chan. She’s an innocent.” She had | |
| 716 to ask, even though there had been no doubt in her mind that Haruka | |
| 717 had meant every word of it. | |
| 718 Michiru sighed and gave Haruka’s thigh a none to gentle squeeze, | |
| 719 eliciting a yelp from the blonde. “I thought we weren’t going to tell | |
| 720 her that. You can explain it all to your ‘Odango’, but she’s just a | |
| 721 little girl. And that other girl’s friend no less.” Giving Haruka a | |
| 722 disapproving frown, it melted away as she turned back in her seat to | |
| 723 face ChibiUsa again. “We have to kill her so that Saturn can’t | |
| 724 awaken. Then we can seal her away permanently.” | |
| 725 “But.. But she’s one of you! She’s another Sailor Senshi! Why would | |
| 726 you kill another Sailor Senshi?!” | |
| 727 “She’s not another Sailor Senshi yet,” Haruka explained. “Besides, | |
| 728 just because she’s one of us doesn’t mean we can sit by and let her | |
| 729 destroy our world. We have to stop her. Then we’ll go after the | |
| 730 enemy. She may be an innocent, but a lot less innocents die without | |
| 731 her.” | |
| 732 “The talismans have already called Supersailormoon. They’re full of | |
| 733 power, vibrantly giving it off. Just like when she.. They acted the | |
| 734 same way when they called Saturn to end the Silver Millenium. The | |
| 735 time is near when they will fully awaken her.” Michiru shuddered at | |
| 736 the memories. “This world shouldn’t have to go through that horror.” | |
| 737 “That’s still no reason to kill her! There has to be another way | |
| 738 without sacrificing Hotaru-chan. You can’t throw people’s lives | |
| 739 around! Who are you to decide who lives and who dies? Isn’t that her | |
| 740 job?” ChibiUsa wiped at her eyes, her heart aching at their words. | |
| 741 She looked to Setsuna for support but got nothing more than an | |
| 742 apologetic look. | |
| 743 “It’s not like this is our first plan of action. But there’s | |
| 744 nothing else we can do. If we don’t kill her, this world will come to | |
| 745 ruin. And then everyone will die. One life isn’t worth the lives of | |
| 746 billions. She would die as well. So this way, only she will die. We | |
| 747 don’t have long before Saturn returns. You’ve seen her body, haven’t | |
| 748 you, Small Lady? She should have died years ago from an accident that | |
| 749 took her mother’s life and rightfully should have taken hers. But | |
| 750 Professor Tomoe rebuilt her body, keeping her alive through a mixture | |
| 751 of machinery and his genetic research. She only came out of her coma | |
| 752 because he sold his soul to Pharaoh 90. Her small, weak body, it | |
| 753 can’t last much longer. She has been dying for a long time, Small | |
| 754 Lady. If we weren’t to kill her and Saturn didn’t, then she would | |
| 755 still die. Soon,” Setsuna tried | |
| 756 to explain. She wished there was an easier way, especially with the | |
| 757 pain she saw in her young friend’s eyes, but knew this was how things | |
| 758 had to be. | |
| 759 “There has to be a way to save Hotaru-chan. She can’t be a lost | |
| 760 cause. I won’t believe that,” ChibiUsa said stubbornly. | |
| 761 Haruka frowned, turning a corner. “The only way to save her body | |
| 762 would be to let her fully awaken as a Sailor Senshi. That would be | |
| 763 strong enough to bring her body back to life. But letting that happen | |
| 764 would be foolhardy. She’d be dead moments later when Saturn wiped | |
| 765 everything out.” | |
| 766 The future princess was starting to feel sick. The girl she’d seen | |
| 767 not more than an hour ago was going to destroy the world. And more | |
| 768 importantly, these people were going to kill her. She couldn’t let | |
| 769 that happen. “I won’t let you kill Hotaru-chan! Even if it’s to seal | |
| 770 off Saturn, I won’t let you do it! There has to be another way. | |
| 771 You’re Sailor Senshi! You’re supposed to protect lives, not end them!” | |
| 772 “If we can save this world by killing that child, we will. After we | |
| 773 kill her, we’ll stop the Enemy. If we let her live, she’ll kill us | |
| 774 all. Do you think we’d just sit by and let that happen? Just because | |
| 775 she’s an innocent?” Haruka closed her eyes, still keeping the car | |
| 776 from plowing into anything miraculously. “This isn’t what I wanted | |
| 777 when I joined up. But it has to be done. We can’t let this world end. | |
| 778 It’s our mission to stop her. She is a threat and we have to kill her.” | |
| 779 “ChibiUsa-chan, her life has been tough and full of hardship. The | |
| 780 poor girl never had any friends. She’s always been alone. She’s | |
| 781 always been in pain. It is time for her to rest. She’ll be much | |
| 782 happier in the afterlife,” Michiru said soothingly, switching tactics. | |
| 783 “I’m her friend now! I’ll make sure her life gets better. I won’t | |
| 784 let her be alone again. I’ll make sure that this life gets better for | |
| 785 her,” ChibiUsa protested. She had to cling onto the hope that she | |
| 786 could fix things. She had to believe. | |
| 787 Haruka chuckled, opening her eyes as she passed another stop sign. | |
| 788 “Those are strong words for one so young, princess. Are you really | |
| 789 willing to devote your life to fixing her problems? That’s a lot of | |
| 790 commitment.” Setsuna’s sweatdrop went unnoticed. The Senshi of Time | |
| 791 was the only one out of the three of them that knew that ChibiUsa was | |
| 792 over nine hundred years old. | |
| 793 “Yes! I don’t care. Hotaru-chan’s very important to me. I’d do | |
| 794 anything to make sure she’s all right.” There was so much more the | |
| 795 pink haired girl wanted to say, but it was all so confusing. She just | |
| 796 sighed. | |
| 797 “It doesn’t matter. So your future can exist, so this world can | |
| 798 have a future, we have to kill her. She’s even more of a threat than | |
| 799 the Enemy at this point. We might not even have time to stop her. But | |
| 800 we have to try.” | |
| 801 “No!! I won’t let you kill her! We can save her, I know it! We just | |
| 802 need to try! I know my future exists, so she won’t destroy it. The | |
| 803 world will be fine. Just trust in Sailormoon and let me deal with | |
| 804 Hotaru-chan. I promise that everything will be okay.” ChibiUsa’s | |
| 805 pleading voice broke, more tears building up in her crimson eyes. | |
| 806 Michiru shook her head firmly. “We can’t fight with Sailormoon. She | |
| 807 feels the same way about sacrificing innocent lives. So we have to do | |
| 808 this on our own. The Sailor Team is too weak. We have to be the ones | |
| 809 to save this world. And we will.” | |
| 810 The car came to an abrupt halt and before the smaller senshi knew | |
| 811 it, she was standing there on the curb while the car drove off. It | |
| 812 took her a moment to catch her balance as her weary body begged for a | |
| 813 rest. The cold droplets were starting to pelt her with more force | |
| 814 now, the occasional hail stinging her soft skin badly. “Hotaru-chan | |
| 815 is Sailorsaturn. Sailorsaturn will end the world,” she whispered to | |
| 816 herself, her thoughts muddled. “Hotaru-chan... You always look so | |
| 817 sad. Your eyes seem to know everything. Even when you’d laugh, you | |
| 818 still looked so depressed and alone. I won’t leave you alone. I | |
| 819 promise.” Clutching her broach, the pink haired girl took off towards | |
| 820 the large house where Hotaru lived, praying that she’d get there | |
| 821 before the Outers. |