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     1.2 +++ b/stories/eye-2.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
     1.3 @@ -0,0 +1,821 @@
     1.4 +Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon - Infinity Alternate
     1.5 +'Eye of the Beholder' - Chapter Two
     1.6 +by AmazonessDuo
     1.7 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
     1.8 +
     1.9 +~~~~~~~ 
    1.10 +
    1.11 +“Witch!” 
    1.12 +A group of three girls gathered near Hotaru, taunting her yet again.
    1.13 +She closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to ignore the viscous
    1.14 +things they said. 
    1.15 +	“So what are you up to this time, Tomoe?” One of the girls asked,
    1.16 +her voice full of venom.
    1.17 +	“Nothing…” Hotaru said meekly, clutching the book she had been
    1.18 +reading to her chest. She was having trouble breathing as her heart
    1.19 +beat faster. Why wouldn’t they ever just leave her alone? Why
    1.20 +wouldn’t they let her fade into the background? All she asked for was
    1.21 +to not be noticed. Had she ever done anything to hurt them? No. So
    1.22 +why couldn’t they ignore her?
    1.23 +	“What’s this, Tomoe?” The girl on the right asked, ripping the book
    1.24 +from Hotaru’s grasp. She flipped through the dog-eared pages before
    1.25 +shutting the book. “You studying some more witchcraft?”
    1.26 +	“What else could she be doing reading all the time like that?” The
    1.27 +girl on the left replied. 
    1.28 +	Hotaru released a shuddering breath. She had no more tears to cry
    1.29 +over this. It happened often enough. The constant teases and taunts
    1.30 +were by now a way of life from her classmates.
    1.31 +	“If you don’t want to be here, Tomoe, get on your broomstick and
    1.32 +leave.” The three girls snickered at the dark haired girl, one of
    1.33 +them tossing her book to the ground.
    1.34 +	“Why don’t you all leave her alone?!” a sweet voice yelled angrily.
    1.35 +The girls turned to see a pink haired girl about their age run up to
    1.36 +stand beside Hotaru. Her crimson eyes burned with an unseen fire from
    1.37 +the anger she felt, her small hands balled up in fists. “What has she
    1.38 +ever done to you?!” ChibiUsa demanded.
    1.39 +	The middle girl glared at Hotaru. “She was born.”
    1.40 +	Hotaru normally would have shrank back from the other girl’s
    1.41 +statement, but she was still in shock. ChibiUsa was here? Defending
    1.42 +her? The thought made her head spin. 
    1.43 +	“If that’s her only crime against you, you oughtta think of
    1.44 +something better because I can think of plenty more you’ve done to
    1.45 +her just from what I saw,” ChibiUsa said, stepping forward a little
    1.46 +ahead and to the side of Hotaru.
    1.47 +	“How would you know? She’s a witch,” one of the girl’s said,
    1.48 +pointing at Hotaru.
    1.49 +	“If she is a witch, I’d rather spend an eternity with her than a
    1.50 +second with you cold hearted bitches.” ChibiUsa stared at each of the
    1.51 +three girls. 
    1.52 +	The girls glared back at this strange pink haired girl.
    1.53 +	“She is a witch! We’ve all seen her. When people get hurt, they pop
    1.54 +up without a trace of it after she touches them,” The girl on the
    1.55 +right began.
    1.56 +	“And what’s wrong with that? She did the same to me, and I’m
    1.57 +grateful,” ChibiUsa said absentmindedly rubbing her arm where her
    1.58 +injury had been.
    1.59 +	“She’s always off on her own. Usually she’s reading something. She
    1.60 +always wears black. And she has those strange seizures,” The girl in
    1.61 +the middle finished.
    1.62 +	“How can you all stand here and say that? You’re all so blinded by
    1.63 +hatred for what you don’t understand that you can’t see what she
    1.64 +really is,” the pink haired girl argued. 
    1.65 +	“And what’s that?” The middle girl asked with a smirk.
    1.66 +	“The sweetest, kindest, most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. If she
    1.67 +is a witch, then she’s a great one. And everything you all see wrong
    1.68 +with her, I wouldn’t want to change. She’s smart and gentle and has a
    1.69 +wonderful shining heart. And if none of you can see that, then I pity
    1.70 +you. I was wondering why she was so shy and reserved, but now I know.
    1.71 +Because of people like you.” ChibiUsa took Hotaru’s hand in her own
    1.72 +without taking her eyes from the three girls in front of her.
    1.73 +	All three stared back at the pink haired girl that had interrupted
    1.74 +what would have otherwise been a normal day for them. “What are you?
    1.75 +Her girlfriend?” one of the three asked.
    1.76 +	“What if I am?” ChibiUsa asked back, tightening her grip on
    1.77 +Hotaru’s hand, feeling the slight tremble in her lover’s hand.
    1.78 +	“Oh my god…” The middle girl turned her gaze to Hotaru. “Tomoe’s a
    1.79 +lesbian.” The other two gasped as well, looking back and forth from
    1.80 +to the pink and raven haired girls. After whispering with each other
    1.81 +for a moment, the three girls finally turned to leave. 
    1.82 +	ChibiUsa looked in shock after the three girls. They were
    1.83 +retreating as if they had some kind of disease. “And what’s wrong
    1.84 +with that?!” the pink haired girl yelled after them, half expecting a
    1.85 +response, but not being surprised when none came. Her free hand going
    1.86 +to her forehead, she sighed deeply. A tug on her wrist caught her
    1.87 +attention. Turning her attention back to the dark haired girl, she
    1.88 +saw Hotaru kneeling to pick up her book that they’d so carelessly
    1.89 +thrown to the ground. “Oh, Hotaru-chan, I’m so sorry. I was just so
    1.90 +angry when I saw them treating you like that. I had no idea… I’ve
    1.91 +probably just made things worse for you now, haven’t I?”
    1.92 +	Hotaru shook her head softly. “There have been plenty of rumors
    1.93 +about me before. Everyone already thinks of me as a witch. This won’t
    1.94 +change things.” Glancing down at her book, Hotaru wiped some of the
    1.95 +dirt from the cover.
    1.96 +	“Then why’d they leave like that?” ChibiUsa asked, confused.
    1.97 +	Hotaru allowed herself a slight smile. “They were probably afraid
    1.98 +of my girlfriend.”
    1.99 +	ChibiUsa laughed and drew the dark haired girl into a warm embrace.
   1.100 +Hotaru’s pale cheeks turned a bright red as she felt the other girl
   1.101 +holding her lovingly. ChibiUsa’s expression suddenly turning serious,
   1.102 +she said, “I’m sorry those girls were acting like that.”
   1.103 +	Looking away, Hotaru wouldn’t return her gaze. “Its not just them.”
   1.104 +	“Hotaru-chan… I’m sorry,” ChibiUsa said sadly, at a loss for words.
   1.105 +	Hotaru smiled softly. “Don’t be. You’re the best thing that’s ever
   1.106 +happened to me, ChibiUsa-chan. Its not your fault if they all act
   1.107 +like that. You more than make up for it with the warmth and kindness
   1.108 +you show me.”
   1.109 +	ChibiUsa looked intently into Hotaru’s violet eyes. “Don’t worry
   1.110 +about them. Just remember that I love you no matter what. It doesn’t
   1.111 +matter what they think. I’ll always love you.”
   1.112 +	Hotaru’s blush worsened as she lost herself in the crimson pools of
   1.113 +the pink haired girl’s eyes. “And I you, ChibiUsa-chan.” Before she
   1.114 +knew what was going on, she was sharing a kiss with her lover right
   1.115 +where they stood. Hotaru remembered all the cruel comments and
   1.116 +torture she endured from her classmates. ‘What’s it matter what they
   1.117 +think?’ she thought to herself. ‘This moment of bliss is worth more
   1.118 +than every single thing they’ve ever done combined.’ 
   1.119 +
   1.120 +~~~~~~~~
   1.121 +
   1.122 +	Hunched over a computer, Mamoru rubbed his palms against his eyes,
   1.123 +trying to focus. He had been looking up information on Professor
   1.124 +Tomoe and the events surrounding him for the past several hours and
   1.125 +everything was rapidly becoming a blur. Between the studying for
   1.126 +college classes he needed to catch up on, running around in a top hat
   1.127 +and tuxedo, and doing research for running around in said tuxedo, he
   1.128 +had to wonder when he had time for anything at all relaxing these
   1.129 +days.  Even going to see the talented violinist, Michiru Kaioh, with
   1.130 +ChibiUsa, Usagi and her friends had turned out disastrously. And
   1.131 +ChibiUsa had seemed awfully distracted about something. The tedious
   1.132 +work over the past few hours had finally yielded some results,
   1.133 +thankfully, so maybe he’d have a chance to relax after all.
   1.134 +Stretching in the chair, he turned back to tell ChibiUsa the good
   1.135 +news. 
   1.136 +The pink haired girl was nodding off in a chair near him, her head
   1.137 +tilted to the side as she sat leaning back. After a moment or so, the
   1.138 +future princess stirred and blinked. Noticing that Mamoru had had
   1.139 +seen that she had nearly fallen asleep, she grinned sheepishly and
   1.140 +pointed toward the computer. “Did you find anything, Mamo-chan?” 
   1.141 +Turning back towards the computer, the older man sighed. “No matter
   1.142 +where I looked, I couldn’t find anything of interest on Professor
   1.143 +Souichi Tomoe. Just a few minutes ago, I finally accessed something
   1.144 +on him. His life’s work has been on genetic research. It’s been an
   1.145 +obsession for him his entire career, even to the point where he was
   1.146 +considered an outcast by the scientific community for his bizarre
   1.147 +experiments on animals. He put up his knowledge on the subject out
   1.148 +for sale to continue funding his research and was bought up by the
   1.149 +Infinity district. Apparently they didn’t mind whether or not his
   1.150 +work was inhumane and hired him anyway.”
   1.151 +“So that’s why Hotaru-chan lives there,” ChibiUsa said thoughtfully.
   1.152 +A few more pieces of the puzzle started to fit into place, but she
   1.153 +didn’t say anything. She had promised Hotaru that she wouldn’t tell
   1.154 +that her father had done that sort of thing. But it seemed that
   1.155 +Mamoru had found out on his own. 
   1.156 +Mamoru nodded, his tone growing more grave. “During the construction
   1.157 +of some of the buildings, a fire broke out under some unknown
   1.158 +circumstances while he and his family were there.” Scooting to the
   1.159 +side, he let ChibiUsa get a good look at the screen. 
   1.160 +There was a picture of a smiling woman there with the words: Wife,
   1.161 +Keiko, Age 32, Deceased. ChibiUsa gasped. That was how Hotaru’s
   1.162 +mother had died when she was younger. But what was even more
   1.163 +surprising were the picture of a young dark haired girl and the words
   1.164 +that followed: Daughter, Hotaru, Age 8, Critical Condition. Not only
   1.165 +had Hotaru lost her mother in the fire, but she herself had been
   1.166 +caught in it, too. But what had happened to her? How had she survived
   1.167 +the fire? 
   1.168 +“They say that after that incident, all life left the Professor’s
   1.169 +face,” Mamoru said, breaking the uneasy silence that had spread
   1.170 +through the room. “The loss of his wife and the near loss of his
   1.171 +daughter must have changed him.” ‘I can understand why he’d grow cold
   1.172 +after that. I don’t know that I wouldn’t do the same if I lose Usako
   1.173 +and ChibiUsa. And we haven’t even had ChibiUsa yet,’ he thought to
   1.174 +himself.
   1.175 +“ChibiUsa-chan, you should keep a careful watch on Hotaru-chan. It’s
   1.176 +your duty as a Sailor Senshi to find the enemy and eliminate them. If
   1.177 +we don’t stop them soon, it may be too late to stop their invasion.
   1.178 +All could be lost. Professor Tomoe seems even more suspicious now,
   1.179 +and if he’s Hotaru-chan’s father, you should keep an eye out for
   1.180 +anything.” Luna looked up at ChibiUsa seriously.
   1.181 +The pink haired girl nodded eagerly. Any excuse to stick close to
   1.182 +the firefly was good enough for her. She wouldn’t believe that Hotaru
   1.183 +had anything to do with this but she felt very uneasy about the raven
   1.184 +haired girl’s father. “Hai, I understand, Luna. I’ll do my best. I
   1.185 +won’t let Hotaru-chan out of my sight.” She had a hard time trying to
   1.186 +conceal a large smile.
   1.187 +Luna sweatdropped. For some reason she didn’t think they meant the
   1.188 +same thing.
   1.189 +
   1.190 +
   1.191 +~~~~~~~~
   1.192 +
   1.193 +
   1.194 +	Where is she? We were supposed to meet here to go to the movies.
   1.195 +We’d been planning it all week so we’d be able to have some fun this
   1.196 +weekend. Hotaru couldn’t have forgotten, could she? I hope that’s all
   1.197 +it is. I can wait a while longer before I go looking for her. What if
   1.198 +she shows up and I’m off looking for her? No, its safer to stay here
   1.199 +for now.
   1.200 +	Brushing back some pink strands of hair from my eyes, I glance
   1.201 +around the park, searching for any sign of midnight black hair or
   1.202 +ivory skin. Hoisting my book bag over my shoulder, I stand up on the
   1.203 +bench I had been sitting on to get a better view. I can’t suppress my
   1.204 +anxiety. Maybe something really has happened to her. I could never
   1.205 +forgive myself if Hotaru got hurt coming here to see me.
   1.206 +	You’re making too big a deal out of this, I scold myself. Just
   1.207 +relax. She’ll get here sooner or later. Its all a matter of time,
   1.208 +just like Puu had said so long ago. I grin a bit at that. I wonder if
   1.209 +she had any idea about this back when she first let me go back in
   1.210 +time. The grin fades as I remember that glimpse of dark green hair in
   1.211 +a crowd after I’d left Hotaru’s house with Usagi a while back. Could
   1.212 +Pluto still be alive? But why wouldn’t she come tell me? There are
   1.213 +too many unanswered questions. My head hurts just from trying to
   1.214 +think of all the questions, let alone the answers. Hotaru’s the focus
   1.215 +of most of them. She’s so mysterious. There’s a lot that I don’t know
   1.216 +about her or her family. But I don’t want to pry into things that are
   1.217 +better left alone. She seems so fragile that I worry about what
   1.218 +digging too much could do to her. And besides, I’m content just
   1.219 +knowing she’s there. I smile a bit. She’s so…. intoxicating? The more
   1.220 +I’m with her, the more I want to be with her. Forever. 
   1.221 +	Fifteen minutes go by and still no sign of her. I’m really starting
   1.222 +to get worried. It’s been over an hour now and she’s still missing.
   1.223 +My heart starts to beat quicker as panic begins to set in. Hotaru’s
   1.224 +okay, I assure myself. To prove that to my yearning heart, I decide
   1.225 +to go look for her. Her house isn’t too far from here so I decide to
   1.226 +check there first.
   1.227 +
   1.228 +	A surge of excitement runs through me as I walk towards where I
   1.229 +remember Hotaru-chan’s room to be from the outside. I know I’m not
   1.230 +supposed to be here, but what if she’s hurt? She could’ve fallen down
   1.231 +after having another one of those fits and no one could know. Her
   1.232 +father barely pays any attention to her as it is and Hotaru obviously
   1.233 +doesn’t like that weird lady that works as his assistant. I barely
   1.234 +notice myself picking up speed as I nearly break into a run,
   1.235 +desperate to make sure the firefly’s okay. If anything’s happened to
   1.236 +her... Pushing the thought out of my mind, I stop worrying about
   1.237 +whether or not anyone saw me sneak into the house and bolt towards
   1.238 +Hotaru’s room. Be okay, be okay, be okay, please just be alright and
   1.239 +I promise I’ll make everything better... You’ll never have to cry
   1.240 +again, just please be alright... Out of breath and exhausted from
   1.241 +making it here in a much shorter time than it’s ever taken me before,
   1.242 +I slump to my knees a few meters from Hotaru’s window. Ignoring the
   1.243 +burning inside as I gasp for breath, I half walk and half stumble
   1.244 +over to the windowsill. 
   1.245 +	“How do those new parts feel?” I hear Hotaru’s father ask from
   1.246 +inside as I make my way to the window. Well, if he was spending time
   1.247 +with her then it was worth her being late. He’s all she has for her
   1.248 +family so it’s good he’s not buried in his work right now. He seems
   1.249 +to care a lot about her when he does show it and my firefly misses
   1.250 +him. 
   1.251 +	“They feel fine, dad. I think I’m getting used to them already,”
   1.252 +Hotaru lied. I don’t know what she’s lying about, but whatever it is,
   1.253 +it sounds like she’s faking it. For her father’s sake? Or because
   1.254 +she’s late? Whatever it is, her father doesn’t seem to notice. I try
   1.255 +to catch her attention from the window, but she’s looking over at the
   1.256 +clock in her room. I smile a bit. At least she’s okay. And now I get
   1.257 +to surprise her. 
   1.258 +	“The parts incorporate a new development in masons and neurons that
   1.259 +I came across. They were used as part of a rather interesting
   1.260 +experiment. I’m still waiting to hear more of the results.” Her
   1.261 +father shakes his head, extremely pale purple hair moving from side
   1.262 +to side as he does. “But that’s besides the point. All the technology
   1.263 +is state-of-the-art and made from the best materials available.” He
   1.264 +places a hand on her cheek. I wonder what they were busy with. Hotaru
   1.265 +shivers slightly at his touch. A while back, she had told me that his
   1.266 +hands felt very cold. I guess it has something to do with his
   1.267 +research. “Very soon you won’t have anymore fits, Hotaru-chan.” I
   1.268 +smile at that. It has to be some new kind of medication then. This
   1.269 +means Hotaru-chan will get better! My smile fades after I see the
   1.270 +look on Hotaru’s face. I don’t think she believes him that she’ll get
   1.271 +better. My poor firefly. It’ll get better, I promise. He finally
   1.272 +picks up a few things that I can’t quite pick out as medical
   1.273 +instruments or tools and leaves the room. 
   1.274 +	“I have to hurry,” Hotaru-chan says worriedly, brushing back dark
   1.275 +hair from her eyes. The poor girl almost seems frantic. Awww...
   1.276 +That’s so cute that she wants to see me so much. Hmm... How should I
   1.277 +surprise her? “ChibiUsa-chan might have already gone home by now. I’m
   1.278 +really late. That took longer this time.” She sighs sadly. What took
   1.279 +longer? I want to ask her. Bending up her arm, her skin begins to
   1.280 +glow brightly. Underneath, I can see wires holding her muscles
   1.281 +together and other strange parts in the part of her arm I can see.
   1.282 +She picks now to turn around and spot me.  I am Jack’s nervous
   1.283 +breakdown. Her oddly hypnotic silver eyes catch mine before I can
   1.284 +dare to look away. Caught like my namesake in headlights, I can only
   1.285 +stare back for a long moment. I don’t know what to think. If only I’d
   1.286 +waited this never would have happened. Fear and shock quickly fill
   1.287 +those infinitely deep silver eyes, mirroring my own as I take a step
   1.288 +back. What.. What was that? What happened? “ChibiUsa-chan?!” she
   1.289 +calls out, her soft voice wavering. 
   1.290 +I’m caught. I don’t know what to do. What can I say to her? There’s
   1.291 +no way I can fix this right now. I should’ve waited at the theater
   1.292 +and then... “I’m sorry, Hotaru-chan... I... I shouldn’t have barged
   1.293 +in here...” I turn around and start to run away, unable to sort out
   1.294 +everything that’s going through my head. “I’m sorry,” I repeat as I
   1.295 +run as far as I can, away from it all. She probably hates me now for
   1.296 +seeing that. My poor firefly...
   1.297 +“ChibiUsa-chan!” I can barely hear her call again.
   1.298 +	
   1.299 +	
   1.300 +
   1.301 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.302 +
   1.303 +
   1.304 +	I fall to my knees where I’m standing, unable to even make it the
   1.305 +rest of the way to my bed. Hot tears stream down my cheeks as her
   1.306 +fleeing image remains seared in my mind. Why? Why did this have to
   1.307 +happen? Why did I finally find a friend only to have her taken away
   1.308 +from me? My body is wracked with pain even as my heart and soul are
   1.309 +wracked with guilt and fear. I’ve lasted this long on my own but now
   1.310 +that I’ve had a taste of what it was like to have her care about me I
   1.311 +don’t think I can go back to the way things were. I don’t want to be
   1.312 +alone anymore. It hurts too much. 
   1.313 +	The pain inside my battered shell of a body grows more intense as
   1.314 +my thoughts get darker. It’s as if the physical pain is mirroring the
   1.315 +pain in my heart. I collapse forward onto the floor, clutching at my
   1.316 +chest. My sobs are starting to hurt more and more as ice cold shoots
   1.317 +through my veins, followed seconds later by the searing hot pain.
   1.318 +Maybe… Maybe I’m dying. Maybe whoever’s out there decided to take
   1.319 +pity on me, to finally end my suffering. Maybe the cruel trick that
   1.320 +was played on me, letting me finally find a friend and someone to
   1.321 +love, will be the last. My head against the floor, my tears stream
   1.322 +down my cheeks. A shaky hand reaches out to my amulet in the hopes
   1.323 +that it can heal me, but the image of ChibiUsa’s horrified face when
   1.324 +she saw me for what I am seizes up my body. My hand falls back down
   1.325 +to the floor, even the will to live completely drained from my body. 
   1.326 +I deserve to die. My life has served no purpose. I’ve only been a
   1.327 +burden to my father. He’s usually too busy to worry about me anyway.
   1.328 +He has to have Kaolinite keep an eye on me. Everyone else I’ve known
   1.329 +has made it painfully clear that they don’t want me here. They’re all
   1.330 +afraid of me. Even.. Even she’s afraid of me. 
   1.331 +Harsh, painful sobs wrack my body as my pain begins anew. “ChibiUsa-
   1.332 +chan…” I whisper hoarsely. I curse my horrible, dead body. I curse
   1.333 +myself for still being here for this to have happened. If I’d died a
   1.334 +few months ago, this never would have happened. She’d never have been
   1.335 +afraid of me and I never would have... I never would have met her.. A
   1.336 +lump forms in my throat as I try to look through my blurry, tearful
   1.337 +vision to the Holy Grail she gave me. It sits in a very special spot
   1.338 +near my bed, right near several of my favorite lamps. She somehow saw
   1.339 +past what everyone else hated about me, she wasn’t afraid of me when
   1.340 +she found out I could heal with a touch, but now that she’s seen what
   1.341 +I am, she’s frightened of me. And I don’t think I can live with
   1.342 +myself for that. I should have known that it was too good to be true,
   1.343 +that she could really accept me. Who could? I’ve been half dead for
   1.344 +so long.. My eyes fall closed as the pain starts preying on my
   1.345 +consciousness. I can only hope it won’t last much longer, that I’ll
   1.346 +finally be able to be free. Free of this prison of a body. Free of
   1.347 +all the loneliness and the hate.
   1.348 +I don’t want to live anymore. This painful life has taken everything
   1.349 +from me. First my mother, then my body, and now the only person who’s
   1.350 +ever cared about me. Not too mention all of the other countless
   1.351 +things that have been ripped away from me. How could this have
   1.352 +happened? I had thought that if she just didn’t know about it that
   1.353 +maybe… just maybe things would work out. How could I have fooled
   1.354 +myself into such childish dreams? I had thought I was past that, past
   1.355 +deluding myself with any form of hope. But looking into her shining
   1.356 +eyes made me forget about that, it made me grasp onto those thin
   1.357 +shreds of hope and cherish them with all of my being. 
   1.358 +She made me feel alive again. After so many years of being dead, of
   1.359 +being a breathing dead girl, it felt so wonderful to feel alive
   1.360 +again. Dad keeps my body alive… barely… but she had brought my soul
   1.361 +back to life. And now it was all gone. All taken from me within a few
   1.362 +brief seconds. Such an inconsequential amount of time that brought my
   1.363 +life to a deafening crescendo of pain and tears. Really, nothing has
   1.364 +happened. Things will go back to the way they were before I met her.
   1.365 +Everyone will still hate me and I’ll be all alone again. I shake my
   1.366 +head in torment. I can’t live like that! I can’t be alone again!
   1.367 +Tendrils of fear grip my ice cold heart as the thought of having to
   1.368 +endure through it all with the painful memories of her sends more
   1.369 +tears rolling down my cheeks. I’ve lasted through everything else
   1.370 +because I’ve never had a choice. What else could I do but move on?
   1.371 +Even when everything hurt, I was too apathetic to do anything but cry
   1.372 +to myself and hide in the shadows. But I can’t stand it any longer.
   1.373 +The thought of moving on knowing that I lost the only person that
   1.374 +ever meant anything to me is just too much to bear. 
   1.375 +“Agghh…..” I wince painfully as I stagger to my feet, leaning
   1.376 +heavily against a dresser. The pain inside and out seems to contort
   1.377 +my body in some sick rhythm. A symphony of silence. Making a few half
   1.378 +steps forward, barely able to make out anything through my blurred
   1.379 +vision, I grasp onto one of my favorite lamps. It’s a beautiful lamp.
   1.380 +Small silver designs encircle the midnight black lamp in a
   1.381 +neverending dance. But right now I can barely even see the object in
   1.382 +my hand as I concentrate on it. Fire shoots through my arm as the
   1.383 +muscle seems to threaten to just rip apart on it’s own. I cry out but
   1.384 +keep going. This is nothing compared to the pain I’ve felt. My
   1.385 +favorite lamp cracks and shatters as that small burst of cyborg
   1.386 +strength finally wins out over my dead body. Collapsing to the floor
   1.387 +again, I weakly watch the shattered pieces of the lamp, so much like
   1.388 +the shattered pieces of my life. Things had seemed so perfect before
   1.389 +mother died and everything started slipping away from me. Now even
   1.390 +the last shred of hope I had held onto has been taken away into the
   1.391 +darkness of the night. 
   1.392 +My pale hands search the floor for the right piece. I barely flinch
   1.393 +at the cuts I get as I grasp at them, blinded by my grief and self-
   1.394 +pity. A long jagged piece of porcelain finally catches my attention
   1.395 +to my right. Clutching it tightly, I can feel it bite into my skin,
   1.396 +the blood dripping much the same way my tears are. I shake my head as
   1.397 +I bring it towards my wrist, almost hoping someone will stop me,
   1.398 +praying that no one will. “Oh, ChibiUsa-chan… I’m so sorry…. I’ll
   1.399 +never hurt you again…. Because I don’t want to hurt again either...”
   1.400 +I get out between sobs as I push into my wrist. This is the only way
   1.401 +to escape. This is the only way I’ll ever stop the pain. It hurts too
   1.402 +much to go on. I only hope that ChibiUsa will forgive me. But by now
   1.403 +she’s probably already forgotten me... Shaking all over, I slide in
   1.404 +across my wrist, a grimace spreading across my face as the pain
   1.405 +becomes even more intense. As I wait to die and be rid myself of this
   1.406 +worthless body and life, I look down to my wrist. Torn flesh and
   1.407 +pouring blood greet my eyes, but also something more sinister. Metal
   1.408 +cords going to my hand jut out from the injury, a painful reminder of
   1.409 +how little of me is still human after the fire.  Shivering on the
   1.410 +floor, whimpering, the darkness finally claims me and all is silence. 
   1.411 +
   1.412 +Silver eyes blinked slowly and painfully into consciousness. Hotaru
   1.413 +immediately regretted opening her eyes as a harsh white light burned
   1.414 +into her vision. “Dad?” she asked weakly, his dim outline barely
   1.415 +visible through the haze of pain settling throughout her body. Yet
   1.416 +even then, it didn’t hurt at all in comparison to the pain in her
   1.417 +heart. Blinking back bitter tears, she rolled to her side, towards
   1.418 +her father. It was gone. It was all gone. There was a terrible
   1.419 +emptiness inside of her that could never be filled. It wasn’t just
   1.420 +that something was missing, that things could go back to the way they
   1.421 +were before, but that it had been ripped forcibly from her, the torn
   1.422 +edges of her soul impossible to mend. Shaking lightly as the tears
   1.423 +came more freely, she wondered where her father had gone. This man in
   1.424 +his place only cared that she lived, that her body was all right. He
   1.425 +didn’t offer any comfort to the pitiful girl lying on her bed.
   1.426 +Instead, he kept checking a sheet of paper in his hands. 
   1.427 +Hotaru cursed herself as his cold hands checked to make sure the
   1.428 +wires in her arms were undamaged. She couldn’t even do that right.
   1.429 +Her only escape had been ruined. She couldn’t even kill an already
   1.430 +dead body. 
   1.431 +“Good morning, Hotaru-chan. You’re awake,” he stated as he moved
   1.432 +around to get a better look of the repairs he’d done to his cyborg
   1.433 +daughter. The cords and pieces in her wrist had been easy enough to
   1.434 +fix, although that most certainly wasn’t one of the things he’d been
   1.435 +worried about before then. He thought if anything endangered that
   1.436 +which was within his daughter’s body, it was that the girl was weak
   1.437 +and dying. He should have seen this coming. Of course, it didn’t
   1.438 +change anything. The time was near, making this only a very minor
   1.439 +setback. “How are you feeling?”
   1.440 +The sound of it was that of a doctor asking a patient, Hotaru could
   1.441 +tell. He was wondering how she was feeling physically, not how torn
   1.442 +apart she felt inside. “Papa...” the dark haired girl whispered
   1.443 +sadly. She was truly all alone now. Her father had gone somewhere far
   1.444 +away, leaving only this.. this person in his place. And now the only
   1.445 +person who had ever cared about her had run away in fear of her. Why
   1.446 +had she survived and her mother died? Why couldn’t she have taken her
   1.447 +mother’s place? She could barely remember her anymore, but she knew
   1.448 +that she’d been a wonderful mother. She didn’t deserve to die in a
   1.449 +horrible fire. Her life would have been much more worthwhile than
   1.450 +Hotaru’s own. Like she often did, but never with as much regret that
   1.451 +she couldn’t make it a reality, the dark haired girl wished that she
   1.452 +could have taken her mother’s place. They’d both nearly been burned
   1.453 +to death but she had somehow survived. Now more than ever she
   1.454 +wondered why. 
   1.455 +Dimly hearing her father repeat the question, she simply nodded. She
   1.456 +could feel a burning inside of her as the wires and cords and parts
   1.457 +all worked at a more desperate pace to keep her body alive. She
   1.458 +wanted to rip it all out. She was a mockery of life. Not truly alive,
   1.459 +but not allowed to die. It didn’t matter anymore. She was already
   1.460 +dead. There was no way this was any sort of life. She only had to
   1.461 +wait for when her body would finally give out on her. And she knew
   1.462 +that wouldn’t be a long wait. Her father finally left the room. “Why
   1.463 +did she have to find out? Everyone hates me for being able to heal
   1.464 +others. They think I’m some kind of witch. It was hard enough with
   1.465 +them knowing that. I didn’t want anyone to know about this dead body
   1.466 +of mine. I’ve been all alone for so long now. All by myself even when
   1.467 +drowning in a sea of humanity. Dad doesn’t care anymore. His research
   1.468 +is the only important thing to him. I don’t even know why he tries to
   1.469 +keep me alive. Doesn’t he see I’d be better off that way? I knew I
   1.470 +was going to die alone. It was a sad fact of life. But then... I
   1.471 +finally met her. She wasn’t afraid of me. She didn’t hate me. She
   1.472 +wanted to be my friend. She wanted.. to love me...” She sobbed
   1.473 +painfully, tears starting to fall anew down her still damp cheeks. “I
   1.474 +should have known. How could anyone love a monster like me? She’s an
   1.475 +angel and I’m a demon. I could only drag her into darkness. But
   1.476 +without her, why should I go on? I have nothing now. Why should I
   1.477 +live anymore? Is there any point to my life? Mama... why couldn’t I
   1.478 +come with you?”
   1.479 +	An intense pain in her head makes her double over, clutching at the
   1.480 +searing fire within. “It... it hurts...” Her labored breathing
   1.481 +faltered for a moment, her physical and mental pain becoming an
   1.482 +uncontrolled beast within. “My forehead.. it’s… it’s like it’s on
   1.483 +fire...”
   1.484 +	Through the knife’s blade that felt lodged in her forehead, the
   1.485 +deathly pale girl could make out three figures watching her. “Who are
   1.486 +you?! Are you... are you Death? Please... why are you torturing me?
   1.487 +Please just let it all go away... Please let me die..” The figures
   1.488 +just watched as if taunting her. Hurling her amulet out past them,
   1.489 +the figures vanished, leaving her all alone once more. Her face
   1.490 +against her pillow, she wept as it seemed to get even worse. The
   1.491 +darkness inside her was growing as her sense of loss intensified,
   1.492 +images of the pink haired girl from the past few weeks filling her
   1.493 +thoughts. 
   1.494 +	Suddenly, she didn’t feel so alone anymore. And that frightened her
   1.495 +as she tried to look around the room. “It hurts so much...
   1.496 +Everything.. everything hurts.. Like someone’s trying to burst out of
   1.497 +me...” She looked up as thoughts that weren’t her own began to invade
   1.498 +her fading mind. “Someone’s taking over my body...” She tried
   1.499 +desperately to cling onto her last vestige of consciousness as icy
   1.500 +cold fear shot through her veins, her will crumbling quickly.
   1.501 +“ChibiUsa-chan...”
   1.502 +
   1.503 +	The pink haired girl in question was leaning against a brick wall a
   1.504 +few blocks away, panting heavily as she tried to catch her breath.
   1.505 +Brushing back sweat dampened hair, she looked back the way she had
   1.506 +come. She felt sick from all of that running and the torrent of
   1.507 +thoughts swirling like a storm cloud in her head. Her insides felt
   1.508 +tied in knots. She pulled her legs to her chest, her short, crystal
   1.509 +blue dress in disarray. The harsh bricks scraped her back even
   1.510 +through the thin fabric. 
   1.511 +	Shaking her head, the pink haired girl sighed miserably. What she
   1.512 +had seen of the raven haired girl entered her mind every time she
   1.513 +closed her eyes. Wires and cords holding her beautiful frame
   1.514 +together, keeping her alive. The girl she loved was barely alive.
   1.515 +“What should I do? Oh, Hota-chan, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have seen
   1.516 +that. I should have waited for you.”
   1.517 +	“I had an accident a long time ago. I have many wounds from it,”
   1.518 +Hotaru had said to her what felt like years before but could only
   1.519 +have been less than a month before. ‘So that’s what she meant,’
   1.520 +ChibiUsa thought to herself, pulling her legs closer. “That surprised
   1.521 +me. But what should I do now? When I ran away from Hota-chan, did I
   1.522 +hurt her? What have I done?” She stood up, finally managing to breath
   1.523 +more normally. “We all have our secrets, Hotaru-chan. I’m over nine
   1.524 +hundred years old and I never told you. I can see why you wouldn’t
   1.525 +want to tell me about that. But I want to make it up to you. I love
   1.526 +you no matter what. This doesn’t change anything.” With renewed
   1.527 +determination, the pink haired girl gathered herself up and began to
   1.528 +turn back the other way. A sharp pain on the side of her head
   1.529 +elicited a yelp from the young looking pink haired girl. 
   1.530 +Taking a half step backward, she felt a biting cold feeling where
   1.531 +the pain had been. Curiously, she brushed her hand over the spot. It
   1.532 +now felt wet and the cold began to be replaced by a burning feeling
   1.533 +at her touch, making ChibiUsa wince. Bringing her hand back, she saw
   1.534 +some blood on her fingers.  “What?” A gasp escaped her lips as she
   1.535 +felt as if she’d been bitten above her calf. Looking up at the dark
   1.536 +sky gave her a better understanding of what was going on. A few fat
   1.537 +droplets of rain hit the future princess. “What’s going on? It
   1.538 +shouldn’t be hailing in this season. This is just...” She stumbled
   1.539 +forward, having a hard time concentrating as that cold feeling that
   1.540 +had been on the side of her head started to spread through her body.
   1.541 +“This isn’t normal hail. I’ve gotta get out of it while I still can.”
   1.542 +She hugged herself tightly as she tried to keep warm, heading off
   1.543 +through the rain and hail. “I have to get back to Hotaru-chan. She
   1.544 +needs me.” Her weary mind still guilty from before, ran over the
   1.545 +possibilities as she raced back the way she’d come, hoping that she
   1.546 +could make things all right. 
   1.547 +
   1.548 +Was this what dying was like? That had to be it. She was dying. It
   1.549 +was worse than any of the fits she had ever suffered before. Her
   1.550 +whole body was aching horribly, like ice cold knives had been raked
   1.551 +across her body.  Making out anything through her blurry vision was a
   1.552 +chore that she couldn’t waste the time on, her nausea just making it
   1.553 +even worse. Every bit of her pain wracked body screamed out in agony
   1.554 +as she tried to get up.  Had her father’s attempts at keeping her
   1.555 +corpse-like body alive finally failed? Was she finally going to do?
   1.556 +Fresh tears started to sting her already bloodshot eyes. It was over.
   1.557 +Finally, this sick joke was over. 
   1.558 +“No...” she whispered, her raw throat aflame. There was something
   1.559 +else there. Something with her. Something... evil. That presence she
   1.560 +felt earlier, it was gaining in strength even as she was starting to
   1.561 +slip further and further away. She didn’t want to be here anymore, no
   1.562 +longer up for playing the part of the hated, wretched witch. But
   1.563 +still, the fear of dying was deep within her. And she knew that even
   1.564 +if she died, this thing would be released. And it would hurt... “No!”
   1.565 +she managed to get out louder. It was preying on her thoughts. It had
   1.566 +already picked its first target. Because of her. “You can’t have her.
   1.567 +No...” Pale hands gripped her burning forehead as she tried to force
   1.568 +it out, tried to change its mind, anything. If she’d been allowed to
   1.569 +kill herself, she would have been able to get rid of it along with
   1.570 +herself. Instead, it would hurt the only person that meant anything
   1.571 +to her. 
   1.572 +Silver eyes sparkled as Hotaru’s gaze was drawn to the window. A
   1.573 +large pillar of light flared in the growing storm, energy sweeping
   1.574 +through it. It was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
   1.575 +Like part of her could remember something much like it from long ago.
   1.576 +No, it wasn’t her. Someone else remembered it. Someone deep inside of
   1.577 +her. “The power..! It should be more than enough to replace the
   1.578 +Taioron Crystal. Master Pharaoh 90 will be pleased. That must be the
   1.579 +true power of Sailormoon. The Ginzuishou.” It wasn’t her own voice,
   1.580 +but someone using her to speak. The thought sent shivers through her
   1.581 +weak body.  Tears plunged to the sheets beneath her as Hotaru’s whole
   1.582 +body began to shake. She was afraid of what would happen now. 
   1.583 +Her hand lifted of its own volition, picking up the amulet her
   1.584 +father had given her. The crystal twirled back and forth as it hung
   1.585 +from its string. Something began to coalesce in the crystal, some
   1.586 +sort of image. She recognized the person immediately, her stomach
   1.587 +turning in on itself as it became clearer. Kaolinite, her father’s
   1.588 +assistant. The person who never failed to make things worse. She
   1.589 +wanted to drop the amulet, to get away from her, but she couldn’t let
   1.590 +go. 
   1.591 +“Soon, I will become the master’s partner. I won’t fail him. Unlike
   1.592 +the Witches 5, I won’t let the Sailor Senshi get in the way,”
   1.593 +Kaolinite said through the crystal. Despite being startled, Hotaru
   1.594 +clung unto the string, the crystal swinging back and forth. 
   1.595 +Again, the dark haired girl’s mouth opened without her permission.
   1.596 +“Yes, Magus, the time has come. You will take your place as the
   1.597 +master’s partner. Just remember your duty.” Magus? What was she
   1.598 +talking about? Who was their master? Why was all of this happening to
   1.599 +her? As the image vanished, she dropped the amulet to the floor, it
   1.600 +making little sound as it rolled across the carpet. Her hands went to
   1.601 +her head, light sobs escaping her.
   1.602 +
   1.603 +“Get in the car,” a voice said sternly as a car pulled up beside
   1.604 +ChibiUsa. The pink haired girl was shivering badly now as the storm
   1.605 +was only getting worse. Her eyes caught site of Haruka, Michiru, and
   1.606 +“Puu! It is you!” She wasted no time climbing into the back with her
   1.607 +old friend. Hundreds of questions raced through her mind, but she
   1.608 +couldn’t force any out. Instead, she just watched her old friend for
   1.609 +a long moment. The car sped up quickly, throwing her against the seat
   1.610 +as Haruka chose to ignore the traffic laws. “What happened?” she
   1.611 +asked finally.
   1.612 +“We screwed up,” Haruka offered in reply. 
   1.613 +Michiru frowned and turned back to face the future princess.
   1.614 +“Sailormoon has powered up with the power of all of the Senshi. It’s
   1.615 +all focussing on her with the help of the Holy Grail. The Enemy has
   1.616 +undoubtedly noticed this.”
   1.617 +Looking out the window, it took a moment for ChibiUsa to think
   1.618 +clearly again. “So that’s what that feeling was. Usagi’s more
   1.619 +powerful now. But isn’t that a good thing? Shouldn’t that help if the
   1.620 +Enemy’s close?” Her crimson eyes burned with curiosity as she looked
   1.621 +at the aqua haired woman. Her mind couldn’t drop what she’d intended
   1.622 +to do in the first place, still worrying about the raven haired girl
   1.623 +even with this crisis so close.
   1.624 +“It’s not that simple. The Princess can’t handle this mission, even
   1.625 +if she has powered up,” Setsuna explained, trying to find the best
   1.626 +way to explain to her young friend from the future. She had only
   1.627 +recently regained her memories so it was awkward seeing the pink
   1.628 +haired girl in this life. “The Soldier of Ruin has been awakened. Our
   1.629 +coming together has awakened her because of our talismans. They have
   1.630 +called her from the deep slumber she had been in up until now. The
   1.631 +final soldier from the forbidden planet, Saturn. She is the Soldier
   1.632 +of Silence, the one who must not be allowed to awaken. We know that
   1.633 +the end is nigh. This world will come to an end unless we can stop
   1.634 +it. When we Senshi, stronger than the Sailor Team, cannot handle a
   1.635 +problem, then it is up to Sailorsaturn to end everything. We watched
   1.636 +as she brought down her glaive, ending the Silver Millenium. If we
   1.637 +don’t act quickly, she’ll do the same to this world.”
   1.638 +ChibiUsa gasped. To think that such a soldier existed was horrific.
   1.639 +Why would there be a need for such a last ditch effort? Something
   1.640 +that ended all. Could she really be a Sailor Senshi? She had never
   1.641 +heard of her in the future. But then, she had never heard of the
   1.642 +Outer Senshi either. 
   1.643 +	“We were so stupid. Without all of our memories, we didn’t realize
   1.644 +what chaos we’d be causing. We had intended to stop the Enemy, but
   1.645 +instead we’ve brought about an even greater danger to this world.”
   1.646 +Haruka’s driving became more erratic as her frustration grew. She
   1.647 +calmed only slightly at Michiru’s reassuring hand on her thigh. 
   1.648 +	“We didn’t know. Someone had been calling for the talismans to be
   1.649 +gathered in out dreams. We hadn’t yet remembered what the outcome
   1.650 +would be,” Michiru said comfortingly, thought she didn’t know if it
   1.651 +was more for Haruka’s benefit or her own. She once again turned to
   1.652 +the young princess. “Sailorsaturn appears when all is lost. At the
   1.653 +end of the battle, she is the one who brings all to nothing. It is
   1.654 +her duty to bring an end to everything.”
   1.655 +	“Kind of like a cosmic reset button. If we screw up in our job to
   1.656 +protect this solar system, she takes over and wipes it all out so it
   1.657 +can begin all over again,” Haruka explained, narrowly missing a
   1.658 +pedestrian. 
   1.659 +	ChibiUsa really wasn’t liking the sound of this. How would that
   1.660 +solve anything? Well, it would solve the battle rather quickly, but
   1.661 +so many lives would be lost. That wasn’t what Sailormoon was about at
   1.662 +all. She was supposed to protect lives. The smaller princess had
   1.663 +thought that was what all the Senshi were supposed to do, even if the
   1.664 +Outer Senshi resorted to some rather cutthroat tactics at times.
   1.665 +	Setsuna cut in, grabbing the pink haired girl’s attention. “Saturn
   1.666 +is the guide to death. She brings all to the afterlife with her. But
   1.667 +she is normally asleep because her power is too deadly to be allowed
   1.668 +to work in conjunction with the other Senshi. She is awakened when
   1.669 +our three talismans come together, shattering her sleep and calling
   1.670 +her to her sacred duty. We are the guardians of the talismans, only
   1.671 +to awaken her in the most dire of circumstances. When Saturn awakens,
   1.672 +the planet will die.”
   1.673 +	ChibiUsa let all this sink in, the wet air from the storm, playing
   1.674 +with her oddly styled hair. “Then why did you bring them together?
   1.675 +How did it happen?”
   1.676 +	“We’re supposed to defend this solar system from outside attack.
   1.677 +The others are supposed to protect from inside threats along with the
   1.678 +princess. We didn’t often meet back during the Silver Millenium, and
   1.679 +never when all three of our talismans would be together.  When they
   1.680 +were all brought together during the battle against the Dark Kingdom,
   1.681 +Saturn ended the Silver Millenium and all of the planets that had
   1.682 +been a part of it. On this world, we were reincarnated with out
   1.683 +mission still intact. We met up so that we could find the Enemy that
   1.684 +had invaded from outside while we had slept and put a stop to them.
   1.685 +Little did we know that we’d bring about a larger problem.” Michiru
   1.686 +sighed as she leaned back in her seat. “We weren’t supposed to meet
   1.687 +here. Saturn has been reborn.”
   1.688 +	ChibiUsa sat forward, trying to make out the swirling image in
   1.689 +Michiru’s mirror as it showed the face of the final soldier. “Oh my
   1.690 +God...” Her eyes went wide and her heart skipped a beat. She knew
   1.691 +that face. She knew it all too well. “That’s... is that Hotaru-chan?
   1.692 +Is she Sailorsaturn?” Her mind raced with the implications of that,
   1.693 +fitting it in with everything the Outer Senshi had told her.
   1.694 +	“Saturn is awakening. That girl’s body is already going through the
   1.695 +stages of her reawakening. Soon Saturn will be upon us,” Haruka added.
   1.696 +	“Saturn’s soul was the voice calling out for the talismans in our
   1.697 +dreams. We had no idea it would come to this. She must realize the
   1.698 +severity of the situation and used us to bring her back so she could
   1.699 +put a stop to this.”
   1.700 +	“But we can’t allow that. Small Lady, you have a future. This is
   1.701 +all wrong. None of it is what is supposed to happen. Saturn can’t end
   1.702 +things now. Somewhere, time has gone awry. If it continues along this
   1.703 +path, your future will cease to be. Small Lady, you may cease to be,”
   1.704 +Setsuna explained softly.
   1.705 +	What had caused time to slip so much from its original path? Was it
   1.706 +her fault? Chibimoon hadn’t been there the first time around. Was it
   1.707 +Setsuna? She had been guarding the Time Gate rather than being
   1.708 +reincarnated like she had been this time. Was it something else
   1.709 +altogether? “Why is this happening?”
   1.710 +	Haruka shook her head. “Whatever the case, we mustn’t give Saturn
   1.711 +the chance to bring everything to ruin. We can’t let her wake up.”
   1.712 +	Her stomach taking a dive, ChibiUsa finally managed to ask the
   1.713 +determined Senshi what was on her mind. “How are you going to stop
   1.714 +her?”
   1.715 +	“We have to kill her.”
   1.716 +	“What?!” ChibiUsa’s crimson eyes went as wide as saucers at the
   1.717 +statement. Haruka had been dead serious. “You’re kidding, right? You
   1.718 +don’t really mean you’d kill Hotaru-chan. She’s an innocent.” She had
   1.719 +to ask, even though there had been no doubt in her mind that Haruka
   1.720 +had meant every word of it.
   1.721 +	Michiru sighed and gave Haruka’s thigh a none to gentle squeeze,
   1.722 +eliciting a yelp from the blonde. “I thought we weren’t going to tell
   1.723 +her that. You can explain it all to your ‘Odango’, but she’s just a
   1.724 +little girl. And that other girl’s friend no less.” Giving Haruka a
   1.725 +disapproving frown, it melted away as she turned back in her seat to
   1.726 +face ChibiUsa again. “We have to kill her so that Saturn can’t
   1.727 +awaken. Then we can seal her away permanently.”
   1.728 +	“But.. But she’s one of you! She’s another Sailor Senshi! Why would
   1.729 +you kill another Sailor Senshi?!” 
   1.730 +	“She’s not another Sailor Senshi yet,” Haruka explained. “Besides,
   1.731 +just because she’s one of us doesn’t mean we can sit by and let her
   1.732 +destroy our world. We have to stop her. Then we’ll go after the
   1.733 +enemy. She may be an innocent, but a lot less innocents die without
   1.734 +her.”
   1.735 +	“The talismans have already called Supersailormoon. They’re full of
   1.736 +power, vibrantly giving it off. Just like when she.. They acted the
   1.737 +same way when they called Saturn to end the Silver Millenium. The
   1.738 +time is near when they will fully awaken her.” Michiru shuddered at
   1.739 +the memories. “This world shouldn’t have to go through that horror.”
   1.740 +	“That’s still no reason to kill her! There has to be another way
   1.741 +without sacrificing Hotaru-chan. You can’t throw people’s lives
   1.742 +around! Who are you to decide who lives and who dies? Isn’t that her
   1.743 +job?” ChibiUsa wiped at her eyes, her heart aching at their words.
   1.744 +She looked to Setsuna for support but got nothing more than an
   1.745 +apologetic look. 
   1.746 + 	“It’s not like this is our first plan of action. But there’s
   1.747 +nothing else we can do. If we don’t kill her, this world will come to
   1.748 +ruin. And then everyone will die. One life isn’t worth the lives of
   1.749 +billions. She would die as well. So this way, only she will die. We
   1.750 +don’t have long before Saturn returns. You’ve seen her body, haven’t
   1.751 +you, Small Lady? She should have died years ago from an accident that
   1.752 +took her mother’s life and rightfully should have taken hers. But
   1.753 +Professor Tomoe rebuilt her body, keeping her alive through a mixture
   1.754 +of machinery and his genetic research. She only came out of her coma
   1.755 +because he sold his soul to Pharaoh 90. Her small, weak body, it
   1.756 +can’t last much longer. She has been dying for a long time, Small
   1.757 +Lady. If we weren’t to kill her and Saturn didn’t, then she would
   1.758 +still die. Soon,” Setsuna tried 
   1.759 +to explain. She wished there was an easier way, especially with the
   1.760 +pain she saw in her young friend’s eyes, but knew this was how things
   1.761 +had to be.
   1.762 +	“There has to be a way to save Hotaru-chan. She can’t be a lost
   1.763 +cause. I won’t believe that,” ChibiUsa said stubbornly. 
   1.764 +	Haruka frowned, turning a corner. “The only way to save her body
   1.765 +would be to let her fully awaken as a Sailor Senshi. That would be
   1.766 +strong enough to bring her body back to life. But letting that happen
   1.767 +would be foolhardy. She’d be dead moments later when Saturn wiped
   1.768 +everything out.”
   1.769 +	The future princess was starting to feel sick. The girl she’d seen
   1.770 +not more than an hour ago was going to destroy the world. And more
   1.771 +importantly, these people were going to kill her. She couldn’t let
   1.772 +that happen. “I won’t let you kill Hotaru-chan! Even if it’s to seal
   1.773 +off Saturn, I won’t let you do it! There has to be another way.
   1.774 +You’re Sailor Senshi! You’re supposed to protect lives, not end them!”
   1.775 +	“If we can save this world by killing that child, we will. After we
   1.776 +kill her, we’ll stop the Enemy. If we let her live, she’ll kill us
   1.777 +all. Do you think we’d just sit by and let that happen? Just because
   1.778 +she’s an innocent?” Haruka closed her eyes, still keeping the car
   1.779 +from plowing into anything miraculously. “This isn’t what I wanted
   1.780 +when I joined up. But it has to be done. We can’t let this world end.
   1.781 +It’s our mission to stop her. She is a threat and we have to kill her.”
   1.782 +	“ChibiUsa-chan, her life has been tough and full of hardship. The
   1.783 +poor girl never had any friends. She’s always been alone. She’s
   1.784 +always been in pain. It is time for her to rest. She’ll be much
   1.785 +happier in the afterlife,” Michiru said soothingly, switching tactics. 
   1.786 +	“I’m her friend now! I’ll make sure her life gets better. I won’t
   1.787 +let her be alone again. I’ll make sure that this life gets better for
   1.788 +her,” ChibiUsa protested. She had to cling onto the hope that she
   1.789 +could fix things. She had to believe.
   1.790 +	Haruka chuckled, opening her eyes as she passed another stop sign.
   1.791 +“Those are strong words for one so young, princess. Are you really
   1.792 +willing to devote your life to fixing her problems? That’s a lot of
   1.793 +commitment.” Setsuna’s sweatdrop went unnoticed. The Senshi of Time
   1.794 +was the only one out of the three of them that knew that ChibiUsa was
   1.795 +over nine hundred years old.
   1.796 +	“Yes! I don’t care. Hotaru-chan’s very important to me. I’d do
   1.797 +anything to make sure she’s all right.” There was so much more the
   1.798 +pink haired girl wanted to say, but it was all so confusing. She just
   1.799 +sighed.
   1.800 +	“It doesn’t matter. So your future can exist, so this world can
   1.801 +have a future, we have to kill her. She’s even more of a threat than
   1.802 +the Enemy at this point. We might not even have time to stop her. But
   1.803 +we have to try.”
   1.804 +	“No!! I won’t let you kill her! We can save her, I know it! We just
   1.805 +need to try! I know my future exists, so she won’t destroy it. The
   1.806 +world will be fine. Just trust in Sailormoon and let me deal with
   1.807 +Hotaru-chan. I promise that everything will be okay.” ChibiUsa’s
   1.808 +pleading voice broke, more tears building up in her crimson eyes. 	
   1.809 +	Michiru shook her head firmly. “We can’t fight with Sailormoon. She
   1.810 +feels the same way about sacrificing innocent lives. So we have to do
   1.811 +this on our own. The Sailor Team is too weak. We have to be the ones
   1.812 +to save this world. And we will.”
   1.813 +	The car came to an abrupt halt and before the smaller senshi knew
   1.814 +it, she was standing there on the curb while the car drove off. It
   1.815 +took her a moment to catch her balance as her weary body begged for a
   1.816 +rest. The cold droplets were starting to pelt her with more force
   1.817 +now, the occasional hail stinging her soft skin badly. “Hotaru-chan
   1.818 +is Sailorsaturn. Sailorsaturn will end the world,” she whispered to
   1.819 +herself, her thoughts muddled. “Hotaru-chan... You always look so
   1.820 +sad. Your eyes seem to know everything. Even when you’d laugh, you
   1.821 +still looked so depressed and alone. I won’t leave you alone. I
   1.822 +promise.” Clutching her broach, the pink haired girl took off towards
   1.823 +the large house where Hotaru lived, praying that she’d get there
   1.824 +before the Outers.