Mercurial > moonlitnights
comparison old/stories/eye-4.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 Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon - Infinity Alternate | |
| 2 'Eye of the Beholder' - Chapter Four | |
| 3 by AmazonessDuo | |
| 4 amazonessduo@hotmail.com | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 8 Tomoe laughed the laugh of a madman, someone who has started to | |
| 9 lose grip on reality. The man had lived a harsh, painful life and his | |
| 10 sanity had begun to slip years ago. The loss of his wife and near | |
| 11 death of his daughter had thrown him over the brink, from a place | |
| 12 that he could not recover from in this life. “It appears that they’re | |
| 13 already on their way down. But it’s a death sentence for them. They | |
| 14 can’t possibly hope to understand what awaits them here. The time is | |
| 15 nigh! My entire life has built up to this very moment. All of my work | |
| 16 will finally pay off, my dreams will finally come true. The | |
| 17 superhuman hybrid I have designed will be hundreds of times stronger, | |
| 18 smarter, and faster than any average man. It’s life span will be | |
| 19 equally lengthened, making normal humans completely obsolete. Not | |
| 20 that they’d survive the planets rebirth as it is.” He shrugged, as if | |
| 21 the matter didn’t concern him in slightest. Nor did he notice that he | |
| 22 was talking to himself. Again. But then, everyone has their own | |
| 23 little quirks. And it was his way of thinking things through. His | |
| 24 wife had gently teased him about it in what seemed like a lifetime | |
| 25 ago. “I just need to finish a little more research on genetic | |
| 26 manipulation and mechanical adaptations and I will be ready to | |
| 27 construct a perfect cyborg. The perfect form of life. A hybrid. No | |
| 28 one ever understood my genius, but soon my children will flourish. | |
| 29 Just as they were meant to. I’ve been given a second chance since the | |
| 30 accident. A second chance to prove myself. The first testing wound up | |
| 31 being on my own daughter’s body when I had to reconstruct what was | |
| 32 left of her after the fire. That was the birth of my dream, to make a | |
| 33 perfect being, a superhuman.” He paused for a moment, checking his | |
| 34 work as he heard the elevator making it’s way down to him. | |
| 35 “Then they came to me, coming from another world. They brought | |
| 36 their eggs, another species altogether from humans. One that was | |
| 37 highly adaptable. And God chose me to be the one to assimilate our | |
| 38 races, to create a superhuman hybrid that took the best of both and | |
| 39 increased it a thousand fold.” He adjusted his glasses, double | |
| 40 checked his findings, and continued. “I had made a mistake while | |
| 41 reconstructing Hotaru. She wouldn’t live after all. But they promised | |
| 42 me that she would survive if I utilized one of their eggs along with | |
| 43 her cyborg body. And there the egg slept inside my beautiful daughter | |
| 44 until the egg finally reached maturity and Mistress 9 became the sole | |
| 45 occupant of that body.” He tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. | |
| 46 “I’m surprised Hotaru lasted as long as she did.” Shaking his head, | |
| 47 he pushed onward. “But I had finally found the chance to use these | |
| 48 eggs to further my research. I managed to create beautiful, perfect | |
| 49 beings from my tests, leaving them to fulfill their original | |
| 50 objectives. The Daimons succeeded quite admirably, even with the | |
| 51 Sailor Senshi involved. I won’t regret those failures at all, for | |
| 52 they helped me further my knowledge and to create even better things. | |
| 53 And when our master’s utilization is complete and he is brought into | |
| 54 this world, I will surely survive. And then I can create others like | |
| 55 myself, perfect beings to repopulate the earth. I am the god of a new | |
| 56 creation, the superhuman.” Again he laughed, a dark, twisted version | |
| 57 of the gentle, kind laugh that he once had. | |
| 58 | |
| 59 “Dad..” Hotaru closed her silver eyes sadly. | |
| 60 | |
| 61 The elevator moved slowly. Too slowly, for Setsuna. She was usually | |
| 62 much more patient, but she couldn’t help but fear that time was | |
| 63 running out. When the night was through, this would all be over. But | |
| 64 who would be victorious? Who would survive? And were they already too | |
| 65 late to save the princess? Setsuna clutched her Time Staff closer, | |
| 66 wishing that she could know the outcome of all this already. | |
| 67 Michiru offered a small, reassuring smile to the green haired | |
| 68 woman, but it didn’t seem to be of much help. She sighed and crossed | |
| 69 her arms. Usagi had finally regained her Super Sailormoon | |
| 70 transformation, but she wasn’t sure if that would be enough in the | |
| 71 coming battles. And she still had the feeling that she would get in | |
| 72 the way. Usagi still wanted to save everyone and that just wasn’t | |
| 73 possible. But she was tagging on whether or not she liked the idea, | |
| 74 so there really wasn’t anything she could do about it. She cast a | |
| 75 withering glance at Haruka as she noticed the two blondes flirting | |
| 76 again. The flirting abruptly stopped and Michiru had to suppress a | |
| 77 smile of triumph. | |
| 78 Haruka frowned, leaning against the back wall, her hands behind her | |
| 79 head. This whole situation was bothering her. They were rushing | |
| 80 headlong into a situation that could very well mean their deaths. | |
| 81 And, hey, that was all well and good. They’d done it often enough | |
| 82 lately. But did they have to be in this damned elevator? She was | |
| 83 starting to feel claustrophobic. Haruka had always liked wide open | |
| 84 spaces and the wind against her face. Stuffy little compartments with | |
| 85 God knows what on the other side wasn’t quite her cup of tea. She | |
| 86 smiled softly at Michiru and released a breath she didn't know she | |
| 87 was holding when the aqua haired woman smiled back. She hoped they | |
| 88 lived through this so she could make it up to the other girl. She | |
| 89 just couldn’t resist a little more flirting with Usagi before their | |
| 90 possible deaths. | |
| 91 As the door began to slide open ever so slowly, Setsuna held her | |
| 92 Time Staff in front of her defensively, leaping out as soon as the | |
| 93 doors were open wide enough. The other three Senshi followed shortly. | |
| 94 Haruka was to her right with Michiru on her left. Usagi was standing | |
| 95 a little behind her. | |
| 96 “It sure took you girls long enough. But welcome to my lab, | |
| 97 nonetheless,” Professor Souichi Tomoe said from the other side of the | |
| 98 room. “You don’t know how much I’ve been waiting for this moment. You | |
| 99 girls have really been a bother lately, killing my pretty Daimons and | |
| 100 my Witches 5. But this batch of Daimons is feeling hungry, so I | |
| 101 suppose it’s feeding time.” | |
| 102 All around the room, shadows seemed to shift, low snarls coming | |
| 103 from them. Michiru could barely make out the shapes of the Daimons | |
| 104 hiding in the shadows. They were ugly, vicious looking creatures. And | |
| 105 they were all ready to pounce. “Watch out!!” she yelled as the first | |
| 106 few came bounding towards them. Her elegant form barely dodged large, | |
| 107 swiping claws. It took her a moment to realize that it was just | |
| 108 distracting her. The other two had headed for.. Usagi! “Super | |
| 109 Sailormoon!! Get out of the way!” | |
| 110 Usagi stood like a dear caught in headlights. The large brutal | |
| 111 looking creature moved much faster than she thought possible as it | |
| 112 eliminated the distance to her. | |
| 113 “Chronos Typhoon!” Setsuna’s attack tore through one of the Daimons | |
| 114 just as it was about to swipe Usagi in two. | |
| 115 The second Daimon had moved around to Usagi’s left and she barely | |
| 116 backed out of the large swiping distance of it’s claws. | |
| 117 “Submarine Reflection!” Michiru called out before her attack came | |
| 118 crashing into the next Daimon. | |
| 119 “Do you really think that’s all I’ve got? I can make an infinite | |
| 120 amount of my precious Daimons for you to play with! Yes, play with my | |
| 121 precious!” The professor laughed maniacally. | |
| 122 Usagi took a step forward, holding her hands out. “Stop it!! We | |
| 123 don’t want to fight you. We know that you’re Hotaru-chan’s papa. We | |
| 124 just want to know where she is.” | |
| 125 “My former daughter, Hotaru? Oh, she’s busy. She can’t come out and | |
| 126 play with you now. She’s up at the holy sanctuary, devoting all of | |
| 127 the energy from that mockery of the Taioron Crystal, the Ginzuishou, | |
| 128 to Master Pharaoh 90,” the professor stated matter-of-factly. | |
| 129 “Pharaoh 90?!?” Setsuna exclaimed. Damn, maybe they really were too | |
| 130 late. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t try. If only they could get | |
| 131 there in time.. | |
| 132 Souichi nodded. “Yes, the master had very nearly arrived. And when | |
| 133 he does, this world will cease to exist as you know it. I’m sure | |
| 134 you’d love the results if you could live through it. It’s too bad you | |
| 135 won’t see it for yourselves, but this place is to be your graveyard.” | |
| 136 His skin began to ripple as if something was moving under it, pushing | |
| 137 it out and deforming it. His glasses cracked and shattered, | |
| 138 splintering as the pieces fell to the floor. His skin ripped apart as | |
| 139 his body shifted to a monstrous form. “I’m no longer Souichi Tomoe. I | |
| 140 am Gelmatoid!!” | |
| 141 “He’s a Daimon?!” Haruka exclaimed as the beast stood up to it’s | |
| 142 full height. | |
| 143 “No, not a Daimon. I am infinitely beyond those creatures. I am a | |
| 144 hybrid superhuman!! The first of my kind. The perfect union of humans | |
| 145 and life from the outer reaches of the universe. Now, die!!” The | |
| 146 creature that had once been Souichi Tomoe fired off a powerful blast | |
| 147 at the Senshi, but they all dodged. | |
| 148 “That.. That thing was Hotaru-chan’s papa! We can’t just kill it!” | |
| 149 Usagi frets, barely dodging another attack. | |
| 150 “He isn’t human! He’s a Daimon, Super Sailormoon! An Enemy! We have | |
| 151 to kill him!” Haruka leapt out of the way of another blast of energy, | |
| 152 making her way towards the large monster. She kept glancing back to | |
| 153 Usagi. This wasn’t the time for her to be worried about who they | |
| 154 could fight. She knew that she should have stayed behind. But there | |
| 155 was no time for that now. Moving closer, she pulled up her sword. | |
| 156 “Space Sword Blaster!!” The monster ducked the attack and knocked her | |
| 157 away violently. Pain shot through Sailoruranus as she felt the claws | |
| 158 slash through some of the flesh on her side, throwing her to the | |
| 159 floor. | |
| 160 “Uranus!!” Usagi screams as she watches the taller blonde roll | |
| 161 along the floor, a slight trail of blood behind her. Pain shot | |
| 162 through the younger girl at seeing her hurt like that. She lifted her | |
| 163 Heart Moon Rod, concentrating on the beast as Neptune and Pluto | |
| 164 continued to hold its attention. It was moving slower now, the Space | |
| 165 Sword wedged deep in it’s chest. | |
| 166 “Rainbow Moon Heartache!!” Energy flew from Supersailormoon to the | |
| 167 superhuman, tearing it apart as it gave an unearthly howl. | |
| 168 Hotaru watched the battle, invisible to the participants without | |
| 169 her body. “Papa.. My gentle papa from before mama’s death.. The papa | |
| 170 that came to save me in the fire.. He died that day. That wasn’t my | |
| 171 papa anymore. Goodbye, papa. I’ll see you soon.” Hotaru closed her | |
| 172 eyes. She couldn’t die just yet. ChibiUsa still needed saving or | |
| 173 they’d both die. But she knew she didn’t have much time left. And she | |
| 174 didn’t even have a body to use for what she needed to do. | |
| 175 “Who’s that?” Usagi asked suddenly, staring directly at Hotaru. “It | |
| 176 felt like someone was right there..” She shook her head, trying to | |
| 177 focus on the spot, but nothing appeared. | |
| 178 Haruka had finally gotten to her feet with Michiru’s help, but it | |
| 179 hurt to breath, like her entire chest was on fire. Nothing serious, | |
| 180 but the pain shot through her with every breath. | |
| 181 Setsuna looked up from Haruka and Michiru as the ground began to | |
| 182 shake. “Something’s coming! Garnet Ball!” An orb of light surrounded | |
| 183 the four Senshi as the ceiling began to cave in. | |
| 184 “What’s going on?” Usagi yelled above the cacophony of noise. | |
| 185 “They’re up there! The rest of the Senshi are up there!” Squinting | |
| 186 through the dust and debris still hanging in the air, she tried to | |
| 187 get a better view of her Sailor Senshi. Before she could get a good | |
| 188 look, her entire body felt like it had taken a sudden hit. Ribbons | |
| 189 played across her sailor suit as the energy that had filled her | |
| 190 started to dissipate. Looking down in shock, she realized that she | |
| 191 had changed back to normal Sailormoon. “What happened? Why am I not | |
| 192 Super Sailormoon anymore? Something must have happened to the others. | |
| 193 Our souls aren’t connected anymore.” Usagi got back to her feet, | |
| 194 straining again to see the Sailor Team. She had become Super | |
| 195 Sailormoon through the combined powers of the Sailor Senshi. If she | |
| 196 had changed back, what did that mean about them? Were they... No, | |
| 197 that couldn’t be. | |
| 198 “Damn it.” Haruka watched Usagi for a moment before turning back to | |
| 199 Michiru. Her sense of loss was evident. She had finally put her faith | |
| 200 in Sailormoon and now it looked like she wouldn’t be of any help. | |
| 201 This whole situation was getting worse and worse. It would probably | |
| 202 be up to them after all. It only took a look from Michiru to realize | |
| 203 what had to be done. If Super Sailormoon couldn't provide victory, | |
| 204 they would have to do things their way. Which meant killing Hotaru. | |
| 205 Or whatever it was she was calling herself now. The planet was the | |
| 206 important thing. They had to save what they could. A sigh escaped the | |
| 207 blonde’s lips, but she nodded to the violinist. She would do whatever | |
| 208 was necessary, even if the cost had to be paid in blood. | |
| 209 “Small Lady... Please hold on. I’m coming,” Setsuna whispered, | |
| 210 unheard by the others. Her eyes caught on something other than the | |
| 211 Sailor Senshi. Long, dark hair, a silhouette in the sky. That was | |
| 212 her. She was the one that had nearly killed her little friend. And if | |
| 213 she didn’t act quickly, she wouldn’t be able to retrieve the | |
| 214 princess’s soul. Her eyes narrowed as she concentrated her energy, | |
| 215 the orb they were all in lifting through the hole in the roof. As the | |
| 216 Guardian of Time, she was in a unique position to understand what it | |
| 217 was they were dealing with and the future that would not be if they | |
| 218 were to fail. And the gentle princess that would be lost if they | |
| 219 didn’t hurry. | |
| 220 Darkness swirled in the sky above, a black tempest that grew | |
| 221 harsher as they rose higher into the air. It was quickly devouring | |
| 222 the skyline of Tokyo, a dark cloak ready to drop over the city below. | |
| 223 It cast the entire area in shadows, grasping out in surreal patterns | |
| 224 along everything. It increased the sense of urgency, as if showing a | |
| 225 picture of what was to come. A dark dream that was ever ready to | |
| 226 lunge out and consume the planet itself. | |
| 227 The main building in the center of the Delta Area lay in wait in | |
| 228 front of the four. Ominous silence fell upon attentive ears, the only | |
| 229 sounds that of their own boots upon the concrete as they drew nearer. | |
| 230 A glass room stood at the entrance, it’s slightly reflective surfaces | |
| 231 showing the dark skies above. Inside, they could see a figure | |
| 232 shrouded by a dark haze. As she moved, the haze slid over her, | |
| 233 finally showing itself as long, raven hair. | |
| 234 “Hotaru-chan?” Usagi asked after a moment of silence. The woman | |
| 235 turned around, long hair flowing behind her like a cape. She looked | |
| 236 directly at the champion of love and justice, her dark eyes glinting | |
| 237 in the dim light. She grinned slowly, joyously. As if all was right | |
| 238 with the world. Or that it soon would be. The thought chilled Usagi. | |
| 239 She didn’t seem to see the Sailor Senshi as any possible threat to | |
| 240 the completion of years and years of work. It was only a matter of | |
| 241 time for her... Usagi shook her head. “No, that’s a daimon. She’s | |
| 242 using Hotaru-chan.” Holding up her rod, she begin heading for the | |
| 243 dark haired woman. | |
| 244 Michiru felt her heart clench up as she followed right behind | |
| 245 Usagi. Now it was the moment of truth. They had come all this way, | |
| 246 through long and twisted paths that had led them throughout their | |
| 247 lives to this single moment. The road hadn’t been entirely | |
| 248 unpleasant. After all, she had met Haruka, a partner and lover | |
| 249 throughout all of this madness. But now they had reached the point of | |
| 250 no return, if they had ever had a choice in the matter in the first | |
| 251 place. Here they would see what would become of them and of the | |
| 252 planet and it’s people. They would see if they really could turn back | |
| 253 the tide. She walked determinedly towards the woman in the glass | |
| 254 room. Even her mirror wouldn’t tell her the outcome of all this, but | |
| 255 she would give her all. She had made her decision long ago. | |
| 256 Before the four could reach the room, the ground in front of them | |
| 257 lurched violently, nearly throwing them off their feet. The building | |
| 258 began to rip apart in front of them, exposing the center of the Delta | |
| 259 Area. The glass room shattered into thousands of tiny glass shards, | |
| 260 the woman standing in it’s center calm amidst the destruction. Into | |
| 261 the air she floated, followed by the reflecting pool that had been in | |
| 262 the room with her, her link back to Pharaoh 90. Four balls of light | |
| 263 followed close behind, the bodies of the Sailor Senshi barely visible | |
| 264 through the light. | |
| 265 “No! Come back!! That’s them! She has the others! Mercury! Jupiter! | |
| 266 Mars! Venus!” Usagi cried out, trying to follow her fallen soldiers. | |
| 267 Her head sank seeing them all lying so still in the balls of light. | |
| 268 She had almost reached the lowest of them when she was thrown back by | |
| 269 the energy surrounding it. It felt like a giant had knocked her back | |
| 270 down to the floor the same way someone would swat away a fly. She got | |
| 271 uneasily to her feet, watching the floating forms of the Sailor | |
| 272 Senshi and Mistress 9 up ahead of her. “No... I can’t get near! | |
| 273 Please, wake up! Everyone!!” | |
| 274 But Haruka wasn’t paying attention to the prone Sailor Team. Her | |
| 275 vision was instead on the aquamarine haired girl who had suddenly | |
| 276 gone pale. And then she knew why. The sea was wild, an untamed beast | |
| 277 howling in anguish. And the wind was following suit. She could hear | |
| 278 it all around her in the harsh winds blowing past. “Are we too late? | |
| 279 It feels like the planet’s coming apart at the seams.” | |
| 280 Mistress 9 landed slowly, her eyes opening up as if she had just | |
| 281 awakened from a deep sleep. The grin returned to her face as she | |
| 282 looked at the Sailor Senshi facing her. “No, you’re wrong. The planet | |
| 283 is ready to be born. It has spent long enough as this lonely egg out | |
| 284 in space. Now that the energy has been gathered, Master Pharaoh 90 | |
| 285 can bring about the utilization. He will assimilate the planet. This | |
| 286 planet will be born anew soon enough. Thank you for keeping it safe | |
| 287 this long. But you are no longer needed.” She frowned slightly. She | |
| 288 could no longer feel the scared little soul that had been flitting | |
| 289 about the Ginzuishou. The Crystal’s power was probably just | |
| 290 interfering. She shrugged it off and prepared to face whatever these | |
| 291 gnats had to say regarding the fate of what had used to be their | |
| 292 planet. | |
| 293 “Assimilate the planet?” Usagi asked worriedly. | |
| 294 Mistress 9 sighed. Why were they acting like school children? | |
| 295 Didn’t they understand that greatness was about to fall upon this | |
| 296 world? No longer would it be the scared, sick little child out all | |
| 297 alone by itself that it was. It would become something much greater, | |
| 298 the resurrection of a once great world. “When all is said and done, | |
| 299 this world will be one with Master Pharaoh 90. It will become the | |
| 300 second Tau star and spread it’s light throughout the cosmos. This | |
| 301 planet will become our new mother world, and our proud legacy will | |
| 302 never be forgotten!” She was really getting into this. How long had | |
| 303 it been since she had really been able to bask in what they were | |
| 304 doing? Too long. So she had that to thank the school girls for. It | |
| 305 gave her a chance to look at it all again. A wave of anxiety swept | |
| 306 through her. It was almost done. After all these years... ‘Master, | |
| 307 we’ll be together again soon,’ the dark haired woman thought to | |
| 308 herself. | |
| 309 Michiru ignored the last of what the harbinger of the chaos that | |
| 310 was surrounding them had to say, turning instead to her mirror and | |
| 311 then out to sea. | |
| 312 “Neptune?” Haruka asked, noticing the nearly panicked look in her | |
| 313 partner’s eyes. Of course she never panicked, but right at that | |
| 314 instant it sure looked close enough. | |
| 315 “The sea, it’s subsiding all at once. It could be the signs of a | |
| 316 tsunami. The sea itself is being thrown into a frenzy from all of | |
| 317 this,” Michiru explained, still gazing towards the ocean. | |
| 318 Haruka felt it, too. The sky was growing darker, the winds fiercer. | |
| 319 The smell of rain was in the air. She could feel the uncertainty in | |
| 320 the wind. “Is it a storm? Or is something else coming?” | |
| 321 “The planet’s facing a catastrophe. It’s being ripped apart by this | |
| 322 power. We need to protect it.” Haruka saw Michiru nod in agreement. | |
| 323 She clutched the Space Sword closer but paused for a moment. Where | |
| 324 was Setsuna? | |
| 325 Mistress 9 laughed as she watched the Sailor Senshi in front of | |
| 326 her. It was like watching small animals. Poor, confused animals that | |
| 327 had absolutely no idea what was going on. “Why did you girls come | |
| 328 here? To die? Why can’t you accept the Fate of this planet? It’s | |
| 329 meant for greater things than this. We’ll see to that. Whether or not | |
| 330 you had come here tonight, it changes nothing. This was destined long | |
| 331 ago.” | |
| 332 “I like to think I know a thing or two about destiny. And this...” | |
| 333 Setsuna’s voice, a mere whisper, reached Mistress 9’s ears. She was | |
| 334 very close. Right behind her. “This is not destiny. Dead Scream.” A | |
| 335 bolt of purple energy shot out of Pluto’s Time Staff, tearing into | |
| 336 the body that had once belonged to Tomoe Hotaru. Setsuna watched with | |
| 337 a measure of grim satisfaction. She knew that Usagi had come here to | |
| 338 save everyone, but that was now an impossibility. They were on the | |
| 339 verge of losing their planet. The Time Guardian wasn’t about to make | |
| 340 anymore mistakes that might cost the life of her future friend or the | |
| 341 planet. Letting Hotaru live was no longer an option. “How dare you | |
| 342 come here and expect us to lie down and let you succeed? How dare you | |
| 343 take what’s dear to us and think that we won’t fight with every part | |
| 344 of our being to get it back?” | |
| 345 Usagi gasped in mute horror as Mistress 9 fell forward, slumping to | |
| 346 her knees. Blood was dripping down her sides from her injuries. Her | |
| 347 dark eyes were wide in shock. She was trembling, obviously in pain. | |
| 348 “Pluto!!” Weren’t they going to save Hotaru? Wasn’t that the plan? | |
| 349 Had the Senshi from the Outer planets been listening to her at all? | |
| 350 “No!!” | |
| 351 “You... bitch.. You think I don’t know what it’s like to lose | |
| 352 everything?! To see everyone dying right before your eyes? Why do you | |
| 353 think I’m here!? Stop being so self-righteous. You’d be doing the | |
| 354 exact same thing in my position.” Mistress 9 forced herself to her | |
| 355 feet, still shaking as pain wracked her small frame. Tears fell down | |
| 356 her pale cheeks as anger and sadness mixed together through her. She | |
| 357 had come too far to let some pathetic soldiers stand in her way. | |
| 358 “That may be true. But you would be trying just as hard to stop | |
| 359 me,” Setsuna said, her voice still quiet yet forceful. She barely saw | |
| 360 the hair whip out and wrap painfully around her neck, yanking her off | |
| 361 her feet. Her heart sank as she felt the hair start crushing around | |
| 362 her throat. No, this wasn’t fair. She was supposed to save the | |
| 363 princess. She couldn’t have failed. | |
| 364 “You foolish woman. Now that the utilization has begun, I don’t | |
| 365 need this worthless body. Attacking me was pointless. After I discard | |
| 366 it, you won’t be able to touch me. And don’t worry about what’s | |
| 367 precious to you. I’ve already been taking very good care of it.” | |
| 368 Mistress 9 closed her eyes, ready to cast off the body she was in. | |
| 369 Nothing. Her eyes shot open. “I can’t get out! Something’s holding me | |
| 370 here!!” Fear shot through her as she felt the slick blood under her | |
| 371 fingertips. Her hair wrenched more painfully at Pluto’s neck. She | |
| 372 most certainly wasn’t going to die in this stupid body alone. | |
| 373 “I won’t let you escape!” a voice rang out through Mistress 9’s | |
| 374 head. | |
| 375 “Who are you?! Get out of my head!” Mistress 9 screamed, struggling | |
| 376 to get free of the body that was quickly becoming her tomb. | |
| 377 “This is still my body, not yours. You won’t get out of it! I’ll | |
| 378 never let you be free!” Hotaru soul flashed defiantly inside the | |
| 379 pained Mistress 9. | |
| 380 “I thought you were dead after I took over. Your soul should have | |
| 381 passed on by now. Your weak, pathetic soul isn’t necessary to any of | |
| 382 this. I have the Ginzuishou now. There’s no more reason for you at | |
| 383 all. I’ll cast off this worthless body and tear it apart. Now let me | |
| 384 go!!” Mistress 9 growled angrily at the young girl inside of her. | |
| 385 Everything was falling apart. Her beautiful dream was fading because | |
| 386 of these frustrated girls. The anger boiled within her. They weren’t | |
| 387 the only ones who would try their all. | |
| 388 “You can tear my body to pieces! You can ruin it, break it apart if | |
| 389 you wish. It doesn’t mean anything in the end. But I won’t let you | |
| 390 get ChibiUsa-chan’s soul or her shining crystal! Whatever happens, | |
| 391 I’ll protect them! I’ll gladly give my body away for that. I don’t | |
| 392 care what you do to me.” Hotaru’s voice was sad but determined. She | |
| 393 had mixed feelings about losing her body. It had always been so | |
| 394 horrible, a corpse kept alive by machinery. It had been her prison | |
| 395 for so many years. But now she had already lost it. No, that was all | |
| 396 right. It was better now. It had died years ago. There was no reason | |
| 397 to keep it. What really saddened her was that it also meant she was | |
| 398 going to die. She had somehow managed to hold on for the moment, but | |
| 399 she knew she couldn’t for much longer. She was a soul without a body. | |
| 400 It was only a matter of time. And even that held some relief in it. | |
| 401 The pain would soon be over. But she didn’t want to leave ChibiUsa. | |
| 402 She didn’t want to go away yet. She finally had a reason to live. But | |
| 403 that wasn’t really her choice anymore. She closed what passed for | |
| 404 eyes in her spirit form. If she had to die, she wouldn’t let ChibiUsa | |
| 405 go with her just yet. It didn’t matter if she herself died, but she | |
| 406 couldn’t let that happen to her sweet princess. So she would protect | |
| 407 the pink haired girl. | |
| 408 “Impudent humans! Why do you insist in making yourselves such a | |
| 409 nuisance? No one can stop this! You’re already too late!!” Mistress 9 | |
| 410 forced herself forward, Setsuna’s struggles growing weaker and weaker | |
| 411 by the second. | |
| 412 “Moon Spiral Heart Attack!” Usagi yelled, trying to focus her | |
| 413 powers on the injured woman making her way towards her. She felt | |
| 414 awful doing it, but she didn’t know what else to do. Maybe the others | |
| 415 had been right about not being able to save Hotaru. But nothing | |
| 416 happened. The Ginzuishou was growing brigher, having blocked Usagi’s | |
| 417 attack. Raising a hand, Mistress 9 sent Usagi sprawling back, her | |
| 418 body skidding across the ground. | |
| 419 “I won’t be stopped now! Too much is riding on this for me to give | |
| 420 up! I already have the full power of the Ginzuishou! Ruined body or | |
| 421 not, you can’t take that from me.” Mistress 9’s eyes darkened as she | |
| 422 watched the Sailors of Wind and Sea ready to attack. Damn them. Why | |
| 423 were they all struggling so much? Couldn’t they make this easy on | |
| 424 themselves? She would see to her Master’s revival. She had promised | |
| 425 the tiny spirit that had been protecting the Ginzuishou that she | |
| 426 would show her the wonders that the new world had to offer. And she | |
| 427 would not be made a liar. “Their souls. I need more power. The Sailor | |
| 428 Senshi’s souls should be abundant with it.” The floating bodies | |
| 429 dropped lifelessly into the reflecting pool as tiny orbs of light | |
| 430 left their bodies, hurrying towards Mistress 9. | |
| 431 “No!! Mars! Mercury! Jupiter! Venus! No!!! Give them back!” Usagi | |
| 432 screamed, struggling to her feet. | |
| 433 Setsuna kicked weakly, still trying to get free. By now she was | |
| 434 fairly sure that it was pointless. The hair was just growing tighter | |
| 435 around her throat and she was growing weaker. Her vision was starting | |
| 436 to fade and there was a pounding in her ears. Visions of her last | |
| 437 death kept coming to mind, slipping away after using her final | |
| 438 attack, Dark Dome Close, to help save the future. But this time, she | |
| 439 had failed miserably. She would die, as would the princess. If only | |
| 440 she hadn’t been so careless... She could only hope that her sacrifice | |
| 441 hadn’t been in vain. | |
| 442 “Space Sword Blaster!” Uranus slashed forward, the energy blade | |
| 443 shooting through the air. It missed Mistress 9’s barrier, instead | |
| 444 cutting through the thick raven hair that clung to Setsuna’s throat. | |
| 445 The older Senshi dropped to the ground, Neptune catching her and | |
| 446 dragging her away from the injured Mistress 9. | |
| 447 In the vast emptiness, Hotaru spotted the light of the Sailor Team. | |
| 448 She was already holding a single glowing orb close to her heart. | |
| 449 Reaching out, she grabbed the other four as they rushed deeper into | |
| 450 Mistress 9. Clutching all five orbs of light, she tried desperately | |
| 451 to hold on to them. “I have them, ChibiUsa-chan,” she whispered to | |
| 452 the original ball of light she had been carrying. | |
| 453 “Let go!!” Mistress 9 yelled in rage, trying to utilize the power | |
| 454 of the souls inside of her to accomplish her mission. | |
| 455 Hotaru cried out as the mental assault on her grew worse. Mistress | |
| 456 9 was trying to drag the souls away. But she had to hold on. If they | |
| 457 slipped through her fingers... “I want to protect ChibiUsa-chan and | |
| 458 her shining crystal and the four soldiers... But I don’t even have my | |
| 459 body. My soul’s all that’s left. I’m already dead. So how can I save | |
| 460 them? My dad is gone, my body dead long ago... I have nothing left. | |
| 461 I’m all alone. So why do I still have enough power to hold onto them | |
| 462 like this? How can I hold her off? I’ve always been so weak... But | |
| 463 somehow I can still fight her, even without my body. And inside me, I | |
| 464 feel someone else. Not like when she was taking over my body. It’s | |
| 465 another me. A stronger me. She’s telling me to keep these lives, to | |
| 466 save everyone. But I don’t know how. I can’t save everyone. But I can | |
| 467 take these five souls and ChibiUsa’s crystal and escape from this | |
| 468 terrible prison. I don’t need my body anymore.” Hotaru clutched the | |
| 469 orbs tighter. “Let’s go, ChibiUsa-chan.” | |
| 470 A glowing ball of violet light tore out of Mistress 9, pulling away | |
| 471 from her. Mistress 9 fell back to her knees. “Damn! The souls have | |
| 472 been taken away.” A slight grin crossed her lips. “But now I’m free.” | |
| 473 The fear that she had come so far for nothing slowly began to | |
| 474 dissipate. She had been right in the first place. These pathetic | |
| 475 soldiers were beneath her notice. | |
| 476 “That light...” Usagi watched as it flew past. Four lights | |
| 477 splintered from it, flowing to the bodies of the Sailor Team. Slowly, | |
| 478 one by one, their eyes opened again. “Minna-san!!” The blonde magical | |
| 479 girl ran to their side. Her eyes fainly caught a glimpse of Hotaru | |
| 480 standing beside her, smiling softly. Before she could say anything, | |
| 481 the younger girl had disappeared in a ball of light. “Hotaru-chan?” | |
| 482 | |
| 483 Mamoru yawned as he opened his eyes. Getting up, he went over and | |
| 484 felt ChibiUsa’s forehead. “I must have dozed off.” He sighed as he | |
| 485 looked down at his future daughter, lying so still. “ChibiUsa- | |
| 486 chan...” There had to be more he could do. It was so painful to watch | |
| 487 her as she lay dying. His eyes finally caught on Diana. She was | |
| 488 sitting at the edge of the bed, ready to pounce. She was hissing at | |
| 489 something. He followed her gaze and saw a dark haired girl sitting in | |
| 490 his window. She looked like a ghost, not quite there. Her eyes never | |
| 491 left ChibiUsa’s prone body. “Who are you?” | |
| 492 Two lights shot into the room past the girl’s head, one going into | |
| 493 ChibiUsa’s body and the other forming the Ginzuishou. ChibiUsa’s | |
| 494 crimson eyes opened slowly, her body starting to move again. Where | |
| 495 had she just been? She felt so disoriented. Hadn’t she been with | |
| 496 Hotaru? Oh good. The Ginzuishou was right there. She’d been afraid | |
| 497 that she had lost it. She was in her body again. So that meant... | |
| 498 “ChibiUsa-chan!!” | |
| 499 “Mamo-chan!” ChibiUsa sat up. Her body felt like she had just | |
| 500 awoken from a nap. Her gaze went past her future father to the spirit | |
| 501 sitting in the window. She scrambled over, hurrying to the spirit’s | |
| 502 side. | |
| 503 Hotaru smiled gently, her silver eyes looking deep into the big | |
| 504 crimson ones of the princess. “Good.” Her ethereal fingers played | |
| 505 through ChibiUsa’s cotton candy hair. It was a huge relief to her to | |
| 506 know that the younger girl was finally safe. She felt a burden lifted | |
| 507 now that she saw her up and about. It had worked after all. | |
| 508 “Hotaru-chan...” ChibiUsa whispered softly. She wasn’t really | |
| 509 there. At least, her body wasn’t. But she could almost feel her | |
| 510 fingers brushing through her hair. Hotaru’s reassuring presence had | |
| 511 comforted her throughout the whole ordeal she’d just gone through. | |
| 512 That feeling was still there with the girl in the window. | |
| 513 “I was able to save you, ChibiUsa-chan. I’m happy. It’s good. We’re | |
| 514 both girls, but it’s strange. It must have been fate that we met.” | |
| 515 Hotaru had spent most of her life alone, crying in the shadows. Pain | |
| 516 and loneliness had been constant companions. But that had all changed | |
| 517 because of this genki little girl. She wasn’t alone anymore. She | |
| 518 wasn’t in pain anymore. Her entire life, she had been pushed away | |
| 519 from everyone. So she hid from them all, wanting the cold solace of | |
| 520 the shadows. ChibiUsa was the only one to ever reach out for her, to | |
| 521 pull her from her hiding place and actually embrace all that she was. | |
| 522 “I thought that, too,” ChibiUsa said quietly, still looking up into | |
| 523 Hotaru’s eyes. “Hotaru-chan...” The two girls held hands as best they | |
| 524 could with one of them not quite being there. Hotaru leaned down and | |
| 525 kissed the princess. ChibiUsa’s eyes closed after seeing the dark | |
| 526 haired girl’s face right next to hers. Even if she wasn’t fully | |
| 527 there, ChibiUsa thought she felt a feathery kiss before Hotaru pulled | |
| 528 away. Her eyes fluttered open at the realization that it was a | |
| 529 goodbye kiss. Her heart began to pound in her chest, too many things | |
| 530 she wanted to say fighting to be said, but her throat felt too | |
| 531 painful to say anything. | |
| 532 Hotaru cried out in pain, the last links with her body being | |
| 533 destroyed as it was torn apart by Mistress 9’s escape from it. It was | |
| 534 gone. There was no going back. But it was all right. ChibiUsa was | |
| 535 safe. And she would never be alone again. | |
| 536 “Hotaru-chan?!” | |
| 537 Hotaru smiled weakly, her fingers hovering over ChibiUsa’s cheek. | |
| 538 “It’s good we met. I’m glad we became friends, ChibiUsa-chan. Thank | |
| 539 you.” She paused a moment, silvery eyes sparkling sadly. “Goodbye.” | |
| 540 ‘I promise I’ll always watch over you, ChibiUsa-chan,’ she thought as | |
| 541 she faded away. | |
| 542 “Hotaru-chan!!” ChibiUsa cried out, grasping for the spirit that | |
| 543 had been there moments before. Tears began spilling down her cheeks | |
| 544 as she hugged herself. She barely felt Mamoru pulling her away from | |
| 545 the window, holding onto her. “No... Don’t go, Hotaru-chan..” She | |
| 546 shook her head, tears falling to the floor. “It’s not fair! Why | |
| 547 should she have such a sad fate? Where’s her happy ending? How come I | |
| 548 got to come back but not her? There are people who must live that | |
| 549 fate?” She wiped at her eyes with balled up fists. She felt so empty, | |
| 550 so alone. It felt like a piece of herself had been ripped away. When | |
| 551 she closed her eyes, she could see Hotaru as if she was still there | |
| 552 with her. Hotaru had protected her, just as she had promised, but | |
| 553 ChibiUsa hadn’t thought that meant she’d leave when she was through. | |
| 554 Mamoru pulled ChibiUsa at arms’ length, looking down at the young | |
| 555 Sailor Senshi. “ChibiUsa-chan, can you fight with me? To help | |
| 556 Sailormoon? She needs you now.” | |
| 557 ChibiUsa looked up, sniffling. She nodded quickly, determination | |
| 558 overcoming the sadness in her eyes. “I can fight. I won’t cry | |
| 559 anymore. I’m a Sailor Senshi, too. I can help the others. With the | |
| 560 life Hotaru-chan returned to me, I’ll fight with everything I have! I | |
| 561 won’t let it be wasted. Moon Prism Power! Make Up!” The pink haired | |
| 562 girl appeared in her Sailor fuku, clutching her moon rod in one hand. | |
| 563 With the other, she wiped her eyes again. She had to do this. For | |
| 564 Hotaru. Now that she was back, she had to put a stop to all this. | |
| 565 “Thank you, Mamo-chan! You protected my body while Hotaru-chan was | |
| 566 protecting my soul. We might not be as strong as Sailormoon or the | |
| 567 others, but let’s go fight together!” ChibiUsa turned and ran out of | |
| 568 the room, Mamoru close behind. | |
| 569 ‘I feel like I’d just given my wife a daughter,’ Mamoru thought to | |
| 570 himself while changing into Tuxedo Kamen. ‘She’s so full of energy | |
| 571 now. It’s like Hotaru-chan’s power did more than bring her back, she | |
| 572 revitalized her as well. But then, it was a strange visit, so | |
| 573 ChibiUsa-chan obviously has a lot of emotion involved in all this. | |
| 574 Hang on, Usa. We’re coming!’ | |
| 575 Diana sighed in relief as she watched the two hurry off. It seemed | |
| 576 that Death had been merciful on this trip. When Diana had spotted | |
| 577 her, she had been sure that Death, the dark haired girl that she was, | |
| 578 had been there to end ChibiUsa. Instead she had brought her back. | |
| 579 Diana whispered a silent thank you as she finally let herself fall | |
| 580 asleep after all the hours of watching her mistress. | |
| 581 | |
| 582 The monstrous form of Mistress Nine screamed out as it rose high | |
| 583 above the Sailor Senshi. She was no longer under the constraints of | |
| 584 Hotaru’s body, what was left of it lying torn and shattered | |
| 585 underneath her. Now was the time she had waited so long for, the time | |
| 586 of their resurrection. And she could not allow these bothersome and | |
| 587 blind soldiers hinder her progress. The three Outer Senshi had gone | |
| 588 to the three main points of the Delta Area and had set up a barrier | |
| 589 with their remaining power, barely holding back her master. But she | |
| 590 knew it couldn’t last long. Gathering her strength, she lunged forward. | |
| 591 “What the hell is that thing?” Makoto asked in shock at what had | |
| 592 looked to be a human woman moments before she had left the bonds of | |
| 593 the body she had been inhabiting. “It sounds like it’s in pain.” | |
| 594 Glancing to Ami, she saw the blue haired senshi nod in agreement. | |
| 595 Makoto smiled briefly as she braced herself for the monster. She had | |
| 596 found her reason to fight. And in a way, that was much more important | |
| 597 than the fight itself. | |
| 598 Usagi held up her wand, trying to concentrate on the demonic figure | |
| 599 heading towards her. Her mind was in so many places at once. She had | |
| 600 failed Hotaru. The Outers methods had disgusted her, but she had | |
| 601 proven inept at doing any better with her own way of doing things. | |
| 602 She had failed in saving the dark haired girl and quite possibly had | |
| 603 lost ChibiUsa in the process. Working up the strength to continue | |
| 604 onward was almost impossible. “Pink Sugar Heart Attack!!” came a | |
| 605 sweet voice from behind her. Energy shot out past her, forcing | |
| 606 Mistress Nine back before she could get any closer to Sailormoon. | |
| 607 “Chibimoon?” Blue eyes lanced around for the source of the voice and | |
| 608 finally latched onto the pink haired Sailor Senshi. Her eyes sparkled | |
| 609 as hope returned to her heart. “But... How?” | |
| 610 Swallowing the lump in her throat, ChibiUsa forced back the tears | |
| 611 that were still just under the surface. Strong. She had to be strong. | |
| 612 There would be time to cry later. Her returned life was a gift from | |
| 613 Hotaru. She couldn’t let it go to waste. Hotaru’s sacrifice wouldn’t | |
| 614 be in vain. “Hotaru-chan rescued me. She protected me in the | |
| 615 darkness. She gave her life for me.” | |
| 616 “Gave her life?” Usagi repeated. Then it was true. Hotaru was gone. | |
| 617 She hadn’t been able to save her after all. Maybe the Outers had been | |
| 618 right the entire time. But she had saved ChibiUsa. They were wrong | |
| 619 about killing her. “Arigato, Hotaru-chan,” she whispered. | |
| 620 “What are you waiting for?” Tuxedo Kamen yelled over to Sailormoon, | |
| 621 still standing beside Chibimoon. “Hurry! You have to henshin into | |
| 622 Supersailormoon!” | |
| 623 “Tuxedo Kamen-sama!” | |
| 624 “If you don’t act quickly, the entire planet will die! Those three | |
| 625 are expending an enormous amount of power sustaining their barrier. | |
| 626 You have to hurry and defeat it, Sailormoon!” Tuxedo Kamen watched | |
| 627 the blonde girl intently. His faith was always with her. And | |
| 628 sometimes all he could offer was his belief in her. He hoped it would | |
| 629 be enough. Pulling out a rose, he tossed it to Sailormoon. “For all | |
| 630 it’s beauty, a rose is still painful to those who misuse it. | |
| 631 Sailormoon, show them that the same is true of the earth and it’s | |
| 632 pretty sailor suited protectors.” | |
| 633 Usagi nodded, holding the rose close to her heart. “For our | |
| 634 beautiful planet. I have to save everyone.” Determination coursed | |
| 635 through her as her hands reached up in the air. “Holy Grail! Please | |
| 636 appear before me! I need your help! Gather the sacred power of the | |
| 637 Holy soldiers to protect this planet!” The shining chalice appeared | |
| 638 above her, shimmering with light. The Inner Senshi held hands, | |
| 639 concentrating their power to the one they believed to be the Messiah. | |
| 640 “Sailormoon... You really are everyone’s mother. Someday I’ll be | |
| 641 like you. I’ll be strong. I’ll protect everyone, too. Because | |
| 642 everyone needs a protector. There’s still hope for our world filled | |
| 643 with lonely hearts. If even for a moment our hearts can touch | |
| 644 another, we aren’t truly alone after all,” ChibiUsa said, watching | |
| 645 Usagi intently. Her heart burned fiercely as the thoughts raced | |
| 646 through her mind. She had learned so much in her short time back in | |
| 647 the past. There was so much pain that she had never known existed. | |
| 648 Her own loneliness in the future even made more sense now that she | |
| 649 had met Hotaru. But it had also taught her that there was hope. That | |
| 650 even in the darkness, even when surrounded by loneliness, there was a | |
| 651 heart shining out there, waiting. And she couldn’t let this world end | |
| 652 all of those hopes and dreams. A gasp escaped her lips as a golden | |
| 653 crescent moon began shining on her own head seconds after one lit up | |
| 654 on Usagi’s. The air shimmered in front of her as a chalice took | |
| 655 shape. “The Holy Grail? Two Holy Grails?!” | |
| 656 “Crisis Make Up!!” Usagi and ChibiUsa shouted in unison. The two | |
| 657 Sailor Senshi carried with them the love and courage of the present | |
| 658 as well as the hopes and dreams of the future. Ribbons of light | |
| 659 surrounded the two of them as their Sailor Fukus shifted into their | |
| 660 super forms. | |
| 661 “Supersailorchibimoon,” Mamoru whispered as he watched the two. | |
| 662 Something had happened to ChibiUsa in those moments after she had | |
| 663 awoken. She was stronger now, truly a Sailor Senshi as opposed to the | |
| 664 Senshi in training she had been. A memory of Usagi stabbing him | |
| 665 before stabbing herself with his sword back in the fight against the | |
| 666 Dark Kingdom while he was brainwashed ran through his mind. ChibiUsa | |
| 667 truly was her daughter. The pain of losing a loved one brought out | |
| 668 the strength in their hearts and the will to fight. | |
| 669 Usagi and ChibiUsa looked at each other for a long moment before | |
| 670 crossing their moon rods together. They both knew that they had to | |
| 671 end this now. This pain couldn’t be allowed to continue any longer. | |
| 672 “Let’s go, Supersailorchibimoon! We have to join our power together!” | |
| 673 Usagi yelled out as they flew towards the monstrous form of Mistress | |
| 674 Nine. | |
| 675 Mistress Nine watched the two as they sped towards her. The power | |
| 676 was incredible. And that soul of the pink haired one was the same | |
| 677 that had been protecting the Ginzuishou when she had possessed it. | |
| 678 Why did they insist on stopping the beautiful Fate that lie in wait | |
| 679 for their world? | |
| 680 “Rainbow Double Moon Heartache!!” The two Senshi of the Moon yelled | |
| 681 in unison. Energy lashed out from their entwined moon rods at | |
| 682 Mistress Nine. ChibiUsa felt a twinge of regret as she poured herself | |
| 683 into the attack. She knew that they had to protect the future, her | |
| 684 future, but she could still remember Mistress Nine’s soothing words | |
| 685 while she had been protecting the Ginzuishou. But she had to stop | |
| 686 her. For Hotaru’s sacrifice. For her mother. For all of the lonely | |
| 687 hearts that had yet to meet the one who would release them from their | |
| 688 cold prison. ‘Thank you, Hotaru-chan... You saved me in more ways | |
| 689 than you know.’ | |
| 690 On their three separate buildings, energy surrounding them as they | |
| 691 continued to hold up their barrier despite the onslaught of power | |
| 692 against it, Setsuna, Michiru, and Haruka held up their Talismans. The | |
| 693 monster that had been Mistress Nine grew larger as Chibimoon and | |
| 694 Sailormoon continued to attack it. “No! It’s being exposed to the | |
| 695 light of both the Ginzuishou of the present and of the future and | |
| 696 it’s still growing! It’s not working!” Setsuna yelled in frustration. | |
| 697 Her heart had been relieved to see the ‘young’ princess again, but | |
| 698 she didn’t want to see her get hurt against the Enemy. Nothing seemed | |
| 699 to be working. What would it take to stop them? | |
| 700 “More power! We need to hit it with enough to shatter it!” Minako | |
| 701 called out. There had to be something they could do. She refused to | |
| 702 sit back and watch as her world was torn asunder around her. Her | |
| 703 entire being would go into this. ‘I guess this might be the last time | |
| 704 Sailor V is in action, Natsuna-san. I hope you’re watching. This will | |
| 705 be my finest performance,’ she promised mentally to a certain police | |
| 706 chief. “We’ll do it, too! We have to stop that thing’s growth! We’ll | |
| 707 defend this planet till our dying breaths! Venus Wink Chain Sword!!” | |
| 708 “We’ve come so far. We’ve fought through so much. Our world’s dream | |
| 709 isn’t ready to end. Mars Snake Fire!!” Rei shouted as she | |
| 710 concentrated her energy. | |
| 711 “Jupiter Coconut Cyclone!!” | |
| 712 “Mercury Aqua Mirage!!” | |
| 713 The two attacks came at the same time, almost a counterpoint to the | |
| 714 other. The fight was far from over for them. Even if they lost, they | |
| 715 would know that they had fought to the end for their own special | |
| 716 reasons. The girls symbolizing Jupiter and Mercury couldn’t see each | |
| 717 other through the haze of battle, but knowing the other was their | |
| 718 bolstered them to throw everything into their attacks. This couldn’t | |
| 719 be the end. It was just the beginning for them. | |
| 720 “Tukishido La Smoking Bamba!!” Mamoru yelled out, his heart and | |
| 721 mind focussed on the two girls that were fighting for the life of the | |
| 722 planet. They were both incredibly important to him. He would do his | |
| 723 best to help. | |
| 724 Mistress Nine bathed in the power that was being focussed on her. | |
| 725 Silly humans. They had no idea what they were doing. This power was | |
| 726 only helping her to grow stronger. But what better way for them to | |
| 727 continue their struggle than to actually help bring about the new | |
| 728 world that awaited them? “Mmmm... This energy, it’s the power of the | |
| 729 carriers of the planets’ protection! Such wonderful, glorious power! | |
| 730 Give me all of your power! Open up the gateway for me!” | |
| 731 Minako gasped in shock. “It’s not affected? No...” Her spirits | |
| 732 dropped as the realization hit her. ‘I’m sorry, Natsuna-san. I tried. | |
| 733 I really did. It looks like this really is Sailor V’s last adventure.’ | |
| 734 “She’s absorbing our power! It’s only making her stronger!” Ami | |
| 735 yelled out, her eyes wide. Why hadn’t she seen it before? The Death | |
| 736 Busters had been trying to gather power to bring about the | |
| 737 assimilation the entire time. Now Mistress Nine was using the very | |
| 738 power they were attempting to use against her. | |
| 739 “You will all be assimilated along with the planet. You will be | |
| 740 reborn along with it. Don’t you understand? You have no reason to | |
| 741 blow me apart. You should welcome my Master with open arms,” Mistress | |
| 742 Nine explained. Things seemed to be going very well indeed. Soon | |
| 743 enough it would all be... “What?! I can’t move! The barrier...!!” | |
| 744 “We won’t let you outside the Delta!” Michiru called out, her eyes | |
| 745 focussed on the floating Daimon. After all she had been through, it | |
| 746 came down to this. All of the sacrifices, all of the hard work. All | |
| 747 of the blood and tears. Now was the time when she would see the | |
| 748 results of all she had strived for. She didn’t even regret getting | |
| 749 Haruka involved in all this anymore. She could ask for no better | |
| 750 partner. If she was to die, then so be it. But she wasn’t about to go | |
| 751 alone and let these invaders take away all that she had fought so | |
| 752 hard for. | |
| 753 “This will be your graveyard!” Haruka added, brilliant gold light | |
| 754 outlining her as she continued to pour her energy into the barrier. | |
| 755 The blonde tomboy had come a long way in the short time she had been | |
| 756 a Sailor Senshi. It had eaten her up for so long, knowing the dark | |
| 757 path she had to travel. But with such a traveling companion, even the | |
| 758 darkest roads of hell had seemed cheerful enough. ‘I’ll always follow | |
| 759 you, Michi. No matter where you lead.’ | |
| 760 The sky above began to fade and swirl, black gathering through the | |
| 761 shadows. Pinpricks of stars shone through to the Senshi below. | |
| 762 Ami recognized the layout of the stars immediately from her run in | |
| 763 with Viluy Yuri of the Witches 5. “The Tau Star System!! The gateway | |
| 764 is opening!” | |
| 765 Mistress Nine watched the stars with a mix of nostalgia and hope. | |
| 766 “The long forgotten distant mother stars, the Tau Star System! After | |
| 767 all of this time, this planet will finally be our second home! Our | |
| 768 society will be revived! For all of those wandering souls, their | |
| 769 homecoming is nigh.” | |
| 770 “I can’t allow you to do that! I won’t let you have this planet!” | |
| 771 Usagi clutched her moon rod tighter, unsure of how to stop the | |
| 772 catastrophe that was approaching, but unwilling to give up. | |
| 773 “I can’t...” ChibiUsa whispered, her crimson eyes fluttering as she | |
| 774 tried to concentrate. She felt weak, tired. Unconsciousness was | |
| 775 beginning to pray on her mind, defeating every attempt she made to | |
| 776 fight it off. Her power was waning quickly, the strain too much for | |
| 777 her. As her Super Sailor Fuku disappeared, she plummeted from the sky. | |
| 778 “ChibiUsa!!!” Mamoru barely managed to catch the pink haired | |
| 779 soldier. She was already passed out. | |
| 780 “Master Pharaoh 90! I will be your partner! I will do all I can for | |
| 781 this planet, the master, and the utilization!” Mistress Nine shouted, | |
| 782 the light of her home world spurring her forward. Her heart beat for | |
| 783 her master. She would not fail him. And they would be together for | |
| 784 all eternity. Darkness burst out of her forehead as she fell from the | |
| 785 sky, crashing down amongst the rubble below. “Wha..? What happened to | |
| 786 me... my body.. I can’t... No, not now...” | |
| 787 Setsuna wobbled precariously, dropping her staff as she collapsed | |
| 788 to her knees. Michiru and Haruka quickly followed suit, clattering to | |
| 789 the floor themselves, their Talismans dropping from their fingers. | |
| 790 The light from the barrier above flickered and shattered into a | |
| 791 million slivers of light, quickly fading away. . | |
| 792 “Their force field.. It’s gone!” Usagi watched in horror as the | |
| 793 only thing keeping back the gateway disappeared. “Uranus! Neptune! | |
| 794 Pluto!” | |
| 795 “No... I can’t put out anymore power... I don’t have anything | |
| 796 left..” Setsuna said as she gasped for breath. Her eyes closed, pain | |
| 797 tearing at her. She had given up her previous life as a college | |
| 798 student to protect the world as Sailorpluto and she had failed. She | |
| 799 had thought that she could make a difference. “I’m sorry, Small Lady.” | |
| 800 “Damnit!” Haruka beat her fist into the concrete under her. “We’ve | |
| 801 come too far to lose now... This can’t be the end...” | |
| 802 The shining light of stars from a far away system loomed over the | |
| 803 Sailor Senshi, sparkling above them hauntingly. “The earth, it’s | |
| 804 dying... Will this be the new home to the Enemies?! No!! I won’t let | |
| 805 you take away our home! You’re uninvited visitors! Get out!! Rainbow | |
| 806 Moon Heartache!!” Usagi focussed her power again, fighting till the | |
| 807 end. Her four Sailor Senshi attacked along with her, throwing | |
| 808 themselves fully behind her. All of their power swirled into the vast | |
| 809 darkness that was building. | |
| 810 “Our power... Drawn into the darkness... It’s all gone..” Minako | |
| 811 stated weakly before she and the other three collapsed. | |
| 812 “Everyone...” Usagi looked over the battlefield. The three Outer | |
| 813 Senshi could barely move, her own Inner Senshi too weak to go on. | |
| 814 Mamoru held onto Chibimoon’s limp body. She looked pale from Usagi’s | |
| 815 viewpoint. Everyone was falling. They had given their all and it | |
| 816 still wasn’t enough. When would they wake up from this nightmare? | |
| 817 “They all pushed themselves past their limits. They have no power | |
| 818 left to fight anymore. No... That’s not true. There’s still some | |
| 819 left. Everyone’s power is still inside me as Supersailormoon. It was | |
| 820 all of them together that gave me this strength. So I will fight on | |
| 821 for them. I’ll show their power to the fullest extent. I can fight | |
| 822 with their dreams in my heart. Sleep well, my friends. I’ll carry | |
| 823 your dreams with me until you wake up. Only me. Alone. No, with your | |
| 824 dreams in my heart, I will never fight alone! With the Ginzuishou and | |
| 825 the Holy Grail, I’ll keep fighting! Holy Grail, please lend me more | |
| 826 strength. Fill me with the final power of the nine Sailor Senshi!” | |
| 827 Mamoru watched Sailormoon up above as she gathered up all the power | |
| 828 she could. He held onto ChibiUsa’s unconscious form as the wind | |
| 829 whipped past him. "Usako, what are you planning on?!” | |
| 830 Usagi smiled in reply, clutching the Holy Grail in front of her. | |
| 831 Pure white light was lashing around her, illuminating her in the dark | |
| 832 sky. Dropping from the sky, she headed for the ruins below. | |
| 833 “Usako!!” Mamoru watched in horror as he finally understood what | |
| 834 she was doing. The nine Sailor Senshi watched on helplessly. | |
| 835 Falling through the air, Usagi smiled softly. “There’s only one | |
| 836 chance left. I’m going to show it the true power we have to offer. | |
| 837 I’m going to open the full power of the Ginzuishou and the Holy Grail | |
| 838 inside that thing!” | |
| 839 “Usako!!!!” Mamoru screamed as he watched her plummet towards the | |
| 840 gathering darkness. This couldn’t be happening. After all that they | |
| 841 had fought through, she couldn’t sacrifice herself for this. She was | |
| 842 the world’s only hope, but his world would still be lost if she was | |
| 843 gone. | |
| 844 ChibiUsa gasped in Mamoru’s grip as she watched, finally regaining | |
| 845 consciousness only to see Sailormoon’s last ditch effort. Why did | |
| 846 their have to be so many sacrifices? Why did so many have to pay for | |
| 847 things with their lives? Hotaru had paid for ChibiUsa’s life with her | |
| 848 own and now Usagi was going to give herself for the planet. Why was | |
| 849 the price always so high? With a grim thought, ChibiUsa realized that | |
| 850 she would be sacrificed as well. If Usagi died, she would never be | |
| 851 born. But it was all right. If she had to die for the sake of the | |
| 852 planet and all the lonely souls on it, then she would gladly be down | |
| 853 there with Usagi. Some things were worth sacrificing for. ‘I guess | |
| 854 I’ll see you soon, Hotaru-chan.’ A small smile crossed her lips. | |
| 855 Darkness enveloped Usagi as she plunged deeper into the blackness. | |
| 856 The light flowing around her exploded in a tremendously bright shower. | |
| 857 Up above with the three Senshi of the Outer system, the Deep Aqua | |
| 858 Mirror, Garnet Orb, and Space Sword began to flash, reacting to | |
| 859 something. “The Talismans?!” Michiru said in shock. The three objects | |
| 860 lifted into the air, glowing brighter. | |
| 861 A hole tore open through Mistress Nine down in the darkness. A | |
| 862 sphere of light lifted into the air. Inside lay a beautiful Sailor | |
| 863 Senshi lying on her back. The storm seemed to stop in the immediate | |
| 864 vincinity around her. The entire area was covered in silence for a | |
| 865 breathless moment. | |
| 866 “That’s...” | |
| 867 “Oh my God...” | |
| 868 The Sailor Senshi stood up in the air, her eyes slowly opening as | |
| 869 she took in the scene around her. The Saturn symbol flashed on her | |
| 870 forehead. There was a serene calm about her, as if she knew exactly | |
| 871 what she was here to do and it was no more of a chore than washing | |
| 872 the clothes. She held a long staff in her left hand, the end curving | |
| 873 into a wicked looking blade. “I am the messenger from the depths of | |
| 874 death. I come from far off to set right what has been led terribly | |
| 875 astray. I am carrier of the protection of the planet of ruin, Saturn. | |
| 876 The Senshi of Silence. Sailorsaturn.” | |
| 877 “She’s awakened...” Michiru said in horror. | |
| 878 “Sailor Saturn!” Haruka shook her head. If only they had killed | |
| 879 Hotaru before! No, wait... Hotaru was already dead. Saturn had still | |
| 880 come even then. Was there no way to stop this even worse monster than | |
| 881 the Enemy they were fighting? | |
| 882 “Then... This is the end, isn’t it?” Setsuna asked after a moment. | |
| 883 Of course, this meant it was all over. They had failed. | |
| 884 Rei looked up at the figure. “Does that mean.. Is Sailormoon... Is | |
| 885 she dead?!” | |
| 886 Saturn turned to look at them, her silver eyes cold. Her pale skin | |
| 887 and curved weapon made her look dangerously similar to images of | |
| 888 Death itself. "I was called by the pulled trigger long ago. It | |
| 889 doesn't seem that it's been that long yet. I seem like an invited | |
| 890 guest. I slowly met accidents one after another, and disturbing | |
| 891 occurrences were brought about. Suddenly history seemed to have gone | |
| 892 a bit wrong." | |
| 893 “Hotaru-chan?!” ChibiUsa asked, pulling away from Mamoru. “Hotaru- | |
| 894 chan!! No... Sailorsaturn... Please, tell me what’s going on!!” | |
| 895 Chibimoon ran forward towards the apparition, tears spilling down her | |
| 896 cheeks. Saturn stood like a statue, her silver eyes watching her | |
| 897 intently. “Hotaru-chan...” ChibiUsa sniffled as she reached the | |
| 898 silent soldier. “It’s you, isn’t it? It is you, Hotaru-chan.. It has | |
| 899 to be...” She lunged forward grabbing onto the dark haired Sailor | |
| 900 Senshi. Clutching on tightly, she let loose a sob, shaking against | |
| 901 the taller girl. | |
| 902 “Small Lady!! Get away from her! Now!!” Setsuna screamed to the | |
| 903 future princess. Her heart lurched as she watched the two Senshi. The | |
| 904 princess was going to die and there was nothing she could do about | |
| 905 it. ChibiUsa hardly seemed to hear her and she had no power left to | |
| 906 get to her in time, let alone to fend off the final soldier. | |
| 907 ChibiUsa was wracked with sobs as she held onto Sailorsaturn. | |
| 908 Saturn shifted slightly in her grasp. The future princess felt arms | |
| 909 encircling her, holding her close. A gloved hand gently brushed past | |
| 910 her cheek before running through her hair. She looked up at the | |
| 911 taller girl, sniffling. Gloved fingers wiped her tears away. Saturn | |
| 912 was looking down at her gently, following the contours of the smaller | |
| 913 Senshi’s face. “Hotaru-chan...” | |
| 914 Saturn shook her head slowly, still holding on to the pink haired | |
| 915 princess. “Through an accident here in the Infinity Zone, the one I | |
| 916 was supposed to sleep eternally inside, Hotaru, began to live life as | |
| 917 a cyborg. In that girl’s body, I was never supposed to awaken. It was | |
| 918 a shock to my soul and an enormous strain living inside of her after | |
| 919 that. Then another came to live inside that body. Mistress Nine. | |
| 920 Professor Tomoe’s twisted mind had summoned those from a far off | |
| 921 world and had given them the body of the girl I was inhabiting. But | |
| 922 there was nothing I could do. I was immersed in darkness, only able | |
| 923 to watch sleepily as time marched forward. But now, I have been | |
| 924 called forth. We were all drawn here. The passage of the other world | |
| 925 opened here. This land was chosen for this final battle. All of the | |
| 926 power has gathered here. Everything began to descend to ruin, | |
| 927 foretelling my awakening. It was all set up by fate.” One arm | |
| 928 continued to hold ChibiUsa close while her right hand rested on the | |
| 929 princess’s cheek. ChibiUsa just looked into her eyes, unsure of what | |
| 930 to say, her arms around Saturn’s shoulders. “All of it. Even my | |
| 931 meeting you, ChibiUsa-chan.” The cold look faded for a second, a | |
| 932 smile similar to the one Hotaru had given her before she had | |
| 933 disappeared on her face. “Thank you, ChibiUsa-chan. I’ll be waiting | |
| 934 for you when my job is finished. Don’t be afraid of death. I’ll be | |
| 935 waiting to lead you through when it greets you.” Leaning down, she | |
| 936 kissed the pink haired girl softly. ChibiUsa stood on her tiptoes, | |
| 937 holding on tighter as she returned the kiss. It was bittersweet, a | |
| 938 final kiss before the end. Saturn pulled away slowly, her fingers | |
| 939 trailing on ChibiUsa’s cheek for a few lingering seconds as her cold | |
| 940 exterior returned. Clutching the Silence Glaive, she turned away from | |
| 941 her princess. ChibiUsa slumped to her knees behind her. Leaping | |
| 942 forward, the Senshi of Death and Rebirth stabbed into the blackness | |
| 943 with her Silence Glaive. | |
| 944 “I can’t move!? No!!! My power... It’s all being soaked up!” | |
| 945 Mistress Nine screamed as she tried to struggle against Saturn. It | |
| 946 was useless. All of the power she had gathered was being torn from | |
| 947 her. Her dreams shattered as she felt the icy cold hand of death | |
| 948 waiting just behind the dark haired girl. | |
| 949 “Now that I’ve awakened, I must bring down the Silence Glaive,” | |
| 950 Saturn explained, gripping it tighter. | |
| 951 “The Silence Glaive.. That’s the scythe of the Goddess of Death.” | |
| 952 Michiru had drawn it before in a dark painting she had done. A | |
| 953 beautiful goddess dressed only in what amounted to a white sheet. And | |
| 954 wielding that same deadly weapon. Haruka had wondered why she would | |
| 955 draw such a beautiful girl with such a dangerous looking weapon | |
| 956 surrounded by bodies in a macabre painting, but this seemed to be the | |
| 957 same celestial embodiment of Death. | |
| 958 “Id she brings down the Silence Glaive, then everything will end! | |
| 959 Sailorsaturn, don’t do this!” Setsuna yelled out. She was shocked at | |
| 960 the display with the princess, but the reprieve of not killing | |
| 961 ChibiUsa then would only mean that she would die with the rest of | |
| 962 them in moments. | |
| 963 “Damnit!! Why would Fate bring about all of this? It can’t be! This | |
| 964 can’t be the Fate of our world! Sailorsaturn, stop!!” Haruka clutched | |
| 965 onto Michiru. | |
| 966 ChibiUsa’s crimson eyes followed Saturn as she stayed on her knees, | |
| 967 the rubble biting into her skin. “Hotaru-chan.. Does this mean | |
| 968 there’s no future for us? Is this the end?” She didn’t have the | |
| 969 strength to get up. She was so thrilled to see Hotaru again, but she | |
| 970 hadn’t expected her to turn out to be Death. Her mind was still | |
| 971 swirling in confusion. All she could do was watch. | |
| 972 “Death Reborn Revolution!!” Saturn yelled out, still calm amidst | |
| 973 the destruction around her. Ribbons surrounded her as she lifted up | |
| 974 the Silence Glaive above her head. She briefly wondered if she should | |
| 975 have hurried along ChibiUsa’s death so that she wouldn’t have to | |
| 976 witness the destruction to come, but decided that it was too late to | |
| 977 worry about such things. The pink haired girl would be dead soon | |
| 978 enough, along with everything else. And she would be there to escort | |
| 979 her once it was all over. | |
| 980 “No!! All of my power.. It’s being pulled away from me!! I’m losing | |
| 981 all that I’ve gained.. Master, I’m so sorry! It was all for you! This | |
| 982 negative aura is soaking up everything I had! No, it can’t be!! She | |
| 983 can’t have awakened! Is this the true Silent Messiah?! She will guide | |
| 984 everything to ruin!” Mistress Nine’s struggles became weaker and | |
| 985 weaker as Saturn’s power grew. Her thoughts began slipping from the | |
| 986 mission she had tried so hard to accomplish, focussing instead on her | |
| 987 reason behind it all, her master, the one she loved. | |
| 988 The gathering darkness became entangled in ribbons. The ribbons | |
| 989 seemed to sap away the darkness, drawing it away as it forced it all | |
| 990 up into the sky and towards the Tau Star System that could be seen up | |
| 991 above. “You, who has already lost your world, already know the pain | |
| 992 of losing everything. Soon this planet will join your own, for it’s | |
| 993 death is soon. But you, abominable creature, will die first. Invader! | |
| 994 Return to the dead! Then death will befall this world as well!” Power | |
| 995 surrounded her as more ribbons began flowing from her. Darkness and | |
| 996 energy began to build up around her, ripping through the rubble | |
| 997 underneath her. | |
| 998 “It’s over! We can’t stop it anymore! We’ve finally reached the | |
| 999 end,” Mamoru shook his head, defeat starting to seep through his | |
| 1000 weary body. | |
| 1001 Haruka staggered to her feet, wincing in pain as she got closer to | |
| 1002 the ledge of the building for a better look. “She’s going to bring | |
| 1003 down the Silence Glaive! She’s going to kill this world along with | |
| 1004 that Daimon!!” | |
| 1005 As the Silence Glaive began it’s slow descent towards the ground, | |
| 1006 the ribbons and darkness and energy lashed out. The city began | |
| 1007 tearing itself apart, buildings shattering and collapsing, the ground | |
| 1008 ripping open. Mamoru covered the still confused ChibiUsa as debris | |
| 1009 fell past them. Buildings were ripped to pieces in seconds. | |
| 1010 “Everyone.. Everything, it’s all disappearing,” ChibiUsa whispered | |
| 1011 softly, the world falling apart around her. The wind picked up, | |
| 1012 shrieking fiercely. Waves crashed nearby as the earth shook. For a | |
| 1013 moment, ChibiUsa regretted coming back to the past to train. This was | |
| 1014 too much for her. But she had to. She didn’t regret all that they’d | |
| 1015 done up till now. She didn’t regret meeting Hotaru. But did it have | |
| 1016 to end now? | |
| 1017 Mamoru dropped to his knees beside his future daughter, his cane | |
| 1018 dropping next to him. “Usa... Usako!! Only you kept me alive all this | |
| 1019 time! And I couldn’t even protect you!” His eyes followed a trace of | |
| 1020 red. The wind brought one of the red petals closer. The rose he’d | |
| 1021 given Usagi.. The beautiful rose was crushed. “Usako...” Tears | |
| 1022 dropped to the rubble underneath them. | |
| 1023 Watching Mamoru clutch onto the flower petal, ChibiUsa looked back | |
| 1024 towards the receding darkness that Usagi had plunged into. | |
| 1025 “Sailormoon... Mama.. You can’t be gone.” | |
| 1026 “Damn,” Haruka mutters, tossing a chunk of concrete across the | |
| 1027 ruined battlefield. “Isn’t there anything we can do?! Are we | |
| 1028 completely helpless? Everything will be destroyed if this isn’t | |
| 1029 stopped. I... I just wanted to protect that girl! That was all! I | |
| 1030 didn’t care for any of this!” Michiru took her hand as they watched | |
| 1031 the destruction. | |
| 1032 “Haruka-san!” a voice called out. “Haruka-san!” | |
| 1033 “Sailorsaturn..!” ChibiUsa said as she got up, stumbling towards | |
| 1034 the Senshi of Silence. She had to get to her. There had to be | |
| 1035 something she could do. She knew Hotaru the best. Hotaru trusted her. | |
| 1036 Even if Saturn was a bit different, she had to try. Mamoru grabbed | |
| 1037 her arm, pulling her back. “Mamo-chan, I have to!” she argued, trying | |
| 1038 to pull from his grasp. Up ahead, a bright light began shining near | |
| 1039 Saturn. It lifted up into the air, clearing the troubled sky around | |
| 1040 it. A figure emerged from the light, butterflies fluttering | |
| 1041 everywhere around her, mixing with the fireflies that had begun to | |
| 1042 take flight shortly after Saturn’s arrival. “Sailormoon? | |
| 1043 Supersailormoon?!” | |
| 1044 Usagi’s eyes opened as the crescent moon on her forehead lit up. | |
| 1045 She blinked curiously as she looked around at the battlefield. The | |
| 1046 other senshi were all staring up at her. | |
| 1047 “Usako!!” Mamoru called out. | |
| 1048 Mistress Nine saw the slight distraction as her last chance. These | |
| 1049 Sailor Senshi had nearly ruined all of their plans. She had to stop | |
| 1050 them now. “I’ll take you with me! Back to the Tau Star System! The | |
| 1051 gravity will pull you through to the darkness of our graveyard! Our | |
| 1052 dead home, the Tau Star System!” There was still hope. If she could | |
| 1053 pull them through, Master Pharaoh 90 could stop them. Then this world | |
| 1054 might still be reborn as their new home. | |
| 1055 Saturn looked up, her glaive nearly touching the floor. Her silver | |
| 1056 eyes watched with little concern at Mistress Nine’s attempt at | |
| 1057 salvaging the situation. A slight smile crossed her thin lips as she | |
| 1058 looked up. “It’s beautiful, the suffering at the moment of | |
| 1059 destruction. If you’re so eager, then let’s hurry! Right away! The | |
| 1060 guide to death, Sailorsaturn, will lead to the world of the dead!” | |
| 1061 “Saturn!? No!! We’ll all be drawn out into space together! We’ll | |
| 1062 all die!” Usagi clenched her fists, looking to Saturn concernedly. | |
| 1063 “You can’t let this happen! Everyone will die!” | |
| 1064 Saturn shrugged off Usagi’s outburst. It hardly seemed to matter | |
| 1065 now. Her full power was very nearly ready to be unleashed. “I don’t | |
| 1066 feel despair. Along with death, there is always hope and rebirth.” | |
| 1067 Her silver eyes caught ChibiUsa’s crimson eyes. She held her gaze for | |
| 1068 a few seconds, as if speaking directly to her. “If you remember that, | |
| 1069 then death is nothing to fear.” | |
| 1070 “Sailorsaturn?” Usagi asked, confused. | |
| 1071 “Sailormoon, because you have opened the power of the Holy Grail | |
| 1072 and the Ginzuishou, you still have a chance to save this planet. | |
| 1073 Perhaps now is not the time that has been fated for me to bring | |
| 1074 everything to ruin. Soon, this land will be the new Tokyo that you | |
| 1075 will bring about. For now, I must stop the outsiders from getting a | |
| 1076 grip in this world.” Saturn’s cold gaze fell upon Setsuna. | |
| 1077 “Sailorpluto! Close the gateway to the other world for eternity!” | |
| 1078 Pushing off the ground, Saturn drifted into the darkness, following | |
| 1079 Mistress Nine towards the Tau System. That was where she was needed | |
| 1080 now, to finally put the long dead system to sleep. | |
| 1081 Setsuna paused, pulling up her staff. She could see the pain in the | |
| 1082 princess’s eyes as they followed the dark haired senshi’s ascent. She | |
| 1083 was so tired of all of this fighting and pain. “Saturn!!” | |
| 1084 “Hurry!!” Saturn yelled back, her energy building as she closed the | |
| 1085 distance. She could feel Pharaoh 90 on the other side. He would be | |
| 1086 dead soon enough when she released the power building within her. Her | |
| 1087 Silence Glaive would drop today after all. | |
| 1088 Pluto nodded, closing her eyes as she began chanting. Her Garnet | |
| 1089 Orb began to glow. “Great guardian deity of time and space! My | |
| 1090 father, Chronos! Give me power! Close the door of the broken law! | |
| 1091 Dark Dome Close!” | |
| 1092 ChibiUsa watched up overhead as the space-time door began sucking in | |
| 1093 energy, sealing off the gateway. Sailorsaturn smiled down at her one | |
| 1094 last time before fading into it. The door slammed shut behind her. | |
| 1095 “Hotaru-chan..” ChibiUsa whispered, wiping at her eyes. Hotaru had | |
| 1096 sacrificed herself again, this time saving the entire planet and | |
| 1097 ChibiUsa’s future. But she couldn’t appreciate the victory knowing | |
| 1098 the price that had to be paid. Just when she had seen her again, she | |
| 1099 had been torn from her. How could love hurt so much? It wasn’t | |
| 1100 supposed to be this way. | |
| 1101 “Small Lady, Hotaru-chan wouldn’t want to see you crying. After all | |
| 1102 she gave up, she would want you to be happy with the new future she | |
| 1103 has ensured you,” Pluto explained, helping ChibiUsa to her feet. She | |
| 1104 smiled gently, brushing some of the dirt from ChibiUsa’s face. | |
| 1105 Nodding weakly, ChibiUsa slumped against the tall Guardian of Time. | |
| 1106 “Hai, you’re right, Puu. I know. I just miss her already. My heart | |
| 1107 feels like it’s shattered.” | |
| 1108 Setsuna sweatdropped. So the princess had already fallen in love as | |
| 1109 she’d thought. “She’s still watching you, Small Lady.” | |
| 1110 “Along with death.. Hope and rebirth begin,” Usagi whispered, | |
| 1111 repeating Saturn’s words. Her Sailor Fuku dissolved into her white | |
| 1112 princess gown, flowing regally around her. Raising her moon rod, | |
| 1113 light began to flash through the city. The destruction began to | |
| 1114 vanish as the dead began to get up, returned from their slumber | |
| 1115 before they could continue on their path to the afterlife. | |
| 1116 “Neo Queen Serenity,” Setsuna said quietly as she saw Usagi | |
| 1117 standing atop a pillar, holding up her rod. | |
| 1118 A baby’s cry broke the silence, coming from somewhere nearby. “A | |
| 1119 baby?” ChibiUsa asked in surprise. What would a baby be doing there | |
| 1120 after the battle? How had it gotten there? | |
| 1121 Michiru ran to the sound, quickly spotting the tiny baby. It was a | |
| 1122 little girl with ivory skin and short, dark hair. The Saturn symbol | |
| 1123 was glowing on her forehead. “Hotaru-chan?” | |
| 1124 “She was reincarnated?” Haruka asked as she reached Michiru’s side. | |
| 1125 The blonde looked at the baby girl, shocked to see the girl that had | |
| 1126 nearly destroyed the world and had ultimately saved it. | |
| 1127 “She must be all alone,” Michiru said sadly, holding the baby | |
| 1128 close. “Let’s raise her ourselves.” A smile played out across her | |
| 1129 lips as she looked over at Haruka. The serious look of Sailor Neptune | |
| 1130 was gone, replaced by an earnest joy in her heart at being alive and | |
| 1131 having the chance to raise the lonely girl. | |
| 1132 “The three of us as parents?” Haruka asked skeptically. | |
| 1133 “It’s the least we can do after trying to kill her,” Setsuna added, | |
| 1134 taking Hotaru’s small hand with her finger. | |
| 1135 “What? You don’t think you’d make a good mommy, Haruka?” Michiru | |
| 1136 asked teasingly. | |
| 1137 “Uranus! Neptune! Pluto!” Usagi ran up to the three, catching her | |
| 1138 breath. “That baby...?” | |
| 1139 The three women turned to look at the blonde girl. “We’ll be going | |
| 1140 now. We’ve been given a new mission to complete now,” Haruka explained. | |
| 1141 “You’re going?” ChibiUsa asked sadly, looking from the three of | |
| 1142 them to the baby in Michiru’s arms. “Where?” | |
| 1143 Setsuna shrugged. “You never know, Small Lady. Perhaps we’ll be far | |
| 1144 off. Or maybe we’ll be closer to you than you’ll know. But we’re | |
| 1145 allies, Sailorchibimoon. We’ll surely meet again. You can count on | |
| 1146 it.” The darkly tanned woman smiled softly to the young Sailor Senshi. | |
| 1147 Michiru nodded in agreement. “Hai. We’re allies. So we’ll meet | |
| 1148 again soon. Small princess, we love you. We will return to you again | |
| 1149 soon.” She held out her mirror to ChibiUsa. The princess took it | |
| 1150 slowly. “A sign of our promise. Keep looking into this mirror. Until | |
| 1151 we meet again, grow up to be a stronger, more beautiful soldier and | |
| 1152 princess. ” | |
| 1153 “Neptune!” ChibiUsa held the mirror close for a moment. “I promise! | |
| 1154 I will!” She paused for a moment, looking down. “Ummm.. Can I see | |
| 1155 Hotaru-chan before you go? Please?” Michiru smiled and held the baby | |
| 1156 carefully out to Chibimoon. ChibiUsa held onto her shifting slightly. | |
| 1157 “I’m really gonna miss you, Hotaru-chan. Thank you so much for | |
| 1158 everything. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. Thanks for coming | |
| 1159 back to me. I promise I’ll wait for you, not matter how long it | |
| 1160 takes.” She blushed slightly as she kissed the baby’s forehead. “I | |
| 1161 love you, Hotaru-chan.” Her heart skipped a beat as she gave baby | |
| 1162 Hotaru back to Michiru. Again Hotaru was leaving her. But this time, | |
| 1163 there was hope. Hotaru would still be out there. And she would grow | |
| 1164 up all over again. This time she prayed that Hotaru would be much | |
| 1165 happier. And she would be waiting for the dark haired girl. That was | |
| 1166 her promise. When they met again... “I love you,” she whispered | |
| 1167 again. “Here, please give her this.” ChibiUsa held out the Luna-P to | |
| 1168 Setsuna. “I want her to have it. Maybe when she’s older...” the | |
| 1169 princess trailed off. | |
| 1170 Setsuna took the gift and nodded. “Take care of yourself for us, | |
| 1171 Small Lady!” With that, the three women turned and left with the | |
| 1172 baby, disappearing swiftly. | |
| 1173 “Uranus! Neptune! Pluto!” Usagi called after the three, but they | |
| 1174 were already gone. “Uranus! Neptune! Pluto!” | |
| 1175 ChibiUsa hugged the mirror close to her heart, watching where they | |
| 1176 had last been. A small smile crossed her lips. “We will surely meet | |
| 1177 again someday. Haruka-san. Michiru-san. Puu. And Hotaru-chan. I’ll be | |
| 1178 waiting for you. Grow up to be a happy girl. We’ll see each other | |
| 1179 again. I promise.” | |
| 1180 |