Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon - Infinity Alternate

 'Eye of the Beholder' - Chapter Two

 by AmazonessDuo

 amazonessduo@hotmail.com

 

 ~~~~~~~ 

 

 “Witch!” 

 A group of three girls gathered near Hotaru, taunting her yet again.

 She closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to ignore the viscous

 things they said. 

 	“So what are you up to this time, Tomoe?” One of the girls asked,

 her voice full of venom.

 	“Nothing…” Hotaru said meekly, clutching the book she had been

 reading to her chest. She was having trouble breathing as her heart

 beat faster. Why wouldn’t they ever just leave her alone? Why

 wouldn’t they let her fade into the background? All she asked for was

 to not be noticed. Had she ever done anything to hurt them? No. So

 why couldn’t they ignore her?

 	“What’s this, Tomoe?” The girl on the right asked, ripping the book

 from Hotaru’s grasp. She flipped through the dog-eared pages before

 shutting the book. “You studying some more witchcraft?”

 	“What else could she be doing reading all the time like that?” The

 girl on the left replied. 

 	Hotaru released a shuddering breath. She had no more tears to cry

 over this. It happened often enough. The constant teases and taunts

 were by now a way of life from her classmates.

 	“If you don’t want to be here, Tomoe, get on your broomstick and

 leave.” The three girls snickered at the dark haired girl, one of

 them tossing her book to the ground.

 	“Why don’t you all leave her alone?!” a sweet voice yelled angrily.

 The girls turned to see a pink haired girl about their age run up to

 stand beside Hotaru. Her crimson eyes burned with an unseen fire from

 the anger she felt, her small hands balled up in fists. “What has she

 ever done to you?!” ChibiUsa demanded.

 	The middle girl glared at Hotaru. “She was born.”

 	Hotaru normally would have shrank back from the other girl’s

 statement, but she was still in shock. ChibiUsa was here? Defending

 her? The thought made her head spin. 

 	“If that’s her only crime against you, you oughtta think of

 something better because I can think of plenty more you’ve done to

 her just from what I saw,” ChibiUsa said, stepping forward a little

 ahead and to the side of Hotaru.

 	“How would you know? She’s a witch,” one of the girl’s said,

 pointing at Hotaru.

 	“If she is a witch, I’d rather spend an eternity with her than a

 second with you cold hearted bitches.” ChibiUsa stared at each of the

 three girls. 

 	The girls glared back at this strange pink haired girl.

 	“She is a witch! We’ve all seen her. When people get hurt, they pop

 up without a trace of it after she touches them,” The girl on the

 right began.

 	“And what’s wrong with that? She did the same to me, and I’m

 grateful,” ChibiUsa said absentmindedly rubbing her arm where her

 injury had been.

 	“She’s always off on her own. Usually she’s reading something. She

 always wears black. And she has those strange seizures,” The girl in

 the middle finished.

 	“How can you all stand here and say that? You’re all so blinded by

 hatred for what you don’t understand that you can’t see what she

 really is,” the pink haired girl argued. 

 	“And what’s that?” The middle girl asked with a smirk.

 	“The sweetest, kindest, most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. If she

 is a witch, then she’s a great one. And everything you all see wrong

 with her, I wouldn’t want to change. She’s smart and gentle and has a

 wonderful shining heart. And if none of you can see that, then I pity

 you. I was wondering why she was so shy and reserved, but now I know.

 Because of people like you.” ChibiUsa took Hotaru’s hand in her own

 without taking her eyes from the three girls in front of her.

 	All three stared back at the pink haired girl that had interrupted

 what would have otherwise been a normal day for them. “What are you?

 Her girlfriend?” one of the three asked.

 	“What if I am?” ChibiUsa asked back, tightening her grip on

 Hotaru’s hand, feeling the slight tremble in her lover’s hand.

 	“Oh my god…” The middle girl turned her gaze to Hotaru. “Tomoe’s a

 lesbian.” The other two gasped as well, looking back and forth from

 to the pink and raven haired girls. After whispering with each other

 for a moment, the three girls finally turned to leave. 

 	ChibiUsa looked in shock after the three girls. They were

 retreating as if they had some kind of disease. “And what’s wrong

 with that?!” the pink haired girl yelled after them, half expecting a

 response, but not being surprised when none came. Her free hand going

 to her forehead, she sighed deeply. A tug on her wrist caught her

 attention. Turning her attention back to the dark haired girl, she

 saw Hotaru kneeling to pick up her book that they’d so carelessly

 thrown to the ground. “Oh, Hotaru-chan, I’m so sorry. I was just so

 angry when I saw them treating you like that. I had no idea… I’ve

 probably just made things worse for you now, haven’t I?”

 	Hotaru shook her head softly. “There have been plenty of rumors

 about me before. Everyone already thinks of me as a witch. This won’t

 change things.” Glancing down at her book, Hotaru wiped some of the

 dirt from the cover.

 	“Then why’d they leave like that?” ChibiUsa asked, confused.

 	Hotaru allowed herself a slight smile. “They were probably afraid

 of my girlfriend.”

 	ChibiUsa laughed and drew the dark haired girl into a warm embrace.

 Hotaru’s pale cheeks turned a bright red as she felt the other girl

 holding her lovingly. ChibiUsa’s expression suddenly turning serious,

 she said, “I’m sorry those girls were acting like that.”

 	Looking away, Hotaru wouldn’t return her gaze. “Its not just them.”

 	“Hotaru-chan… I’m sorry,” ChibiUsa said sadly, at a loss for words.

 	Hotaru smiled softly. “Don’t be. You’re the best thing that’s ever

 happened to me, ChibiUsa-chan. Its not your fault if they all act

 like that. You more than make up for it with the warmth and kindness

 you show me.”

 	ChibiUsa looked intently into Hotaru’s violet eyes. “Don’t worry

 about them. Just remember that I love you no matter what. It doesn’t

 matter what they think. I’ll always love you.”

 	Hotaru’s blush worsened as she lost herself in the crimson pools of

 the pink haired girl’s eyes. “And I you, ChibiUsa-chan.” Before she

 knew what was going on, she was sharing a kiss with her lover right

 where they stood. Hotaru remembered all the cruel comments and

 torture she endured from her classmates. ‘What’s it matter what they

 think?’ she thought to herself. ‘This moment of bliss is worth more

 than every single thing they’ve ever done combined.’ 

 

 ~~~~~~~~

 

 	Hunched over a computer, Mamoru rubbed his palms against his eyes,

 trying to focus. He had been looking up information on Professor

 Tomoe and the events surrounding him for the past several hours and

 everything was rapidly becoming a blur. Between the studying for

 college classes he needed to catch up on, running around in a top hat

 and tuxedo, and doing research for running around in said tuxedo, he

 had to wonder when he had time for anything at all relaxing these

 days.  Even going to see the talented violinist, Michiru Kaioh, with

 ChibiUsa, Usagi and her friends had turned out disastrously. And

 ChibiUsa had seemed awfully distracted about something. The tedious

 work over the past few hours had finally yielded some results,

 thankfully, so maybe he’d have a chance to relax after all.

 Stretching in the chair, he turned back to tell ChibiUsa the good

 news. 

 The pink haired girl was nodding off in a chair near him, her head

 tilted to the side as she sat leaning back. After a moment or so, the

 future princess stirred and blinked. Noticing that Mamoru had had

 seen that she had nearly fallen asleep, she grinned sheepishly and

 pointed toward the computer. “Did you find anything, Mamo-chan?” 

 Turning back towards the computer, the older man sighed. “No matter

 where I looked, I couldn’t find anything of interest on Professor

 Souichi Tomoe. Just a few minutes ago, I finally accessed something

 on him. His life’s work has been on genetic research. It’s been an

 obsession for him his entire career, even to the point where he was

 considered an outcast by the scientific community for his bizarre

 experiments on animals. He put up his knowledge on the subject out

 for sale to continue funding his research and was bought up by the

 Infinity district. Apparently they didn’t mind whether or not his

 work was inhumane and hired him anyway.”

 “So that’s why Hotaru-chan lives there,” ChibiUsa said thoughtfully.

 A few more pieces of the puzzle started to fit into place, but she

 didn’t say anything. She had promised Hotaru that she wouldn’t tell

 that her father had done that sort of thing. But it seemed that

 Mamoru had found out on his own. 

 Mamoru nodded, his tone growing more grave. “During the construction

 of some of the buildings, a fire broke out under some unknown

 circumstances while he and his family were there.” Scooting to the

 side, he let ChibiUsa get a good look at the screen. 

 There was a picture of a smiling woman there with the words: Wife,

 Keiko, Age 32, Deceased. ChibiUsa gasped. That was how Hotaru’s

 mother had died when she was younger. But what was even more

 surprising were the picture of a young dark haired girl and the words

 that followed: Daughter, Hotaru, Age 8, Critical Condition. Not only

 had Hotaru lost her mother in the fire, but she herself had been

 caught in it, too. But what had happened to her? How had she survived

 the fire? 

 “They say that after that incident, all life left the Professor’s

 face,” Mamoru said, breaking the uneasy silence that had spread

 through the room. “The loss of his wife and the near loss of his

 daughter must have changed him.” ‘I can understand why he’d grow cold

 after that. I don’t know that I wouldn’t do the same if I lose Usako

 and ChibiUsa. And we haven’t even had ChibiUsa yet,’ he thought to

 himself.

 “ChibiUsa-chan, you should keep a careful watch on Hotaru-chan. It’s

 your duty as a Sailor Senshi to find the enemy and eliminate them. If

 we don’t stop them soon, it may be too late to stop their invasion.

 All could be lost. Professor Tomoe seems even more suspicious now,

 and if he’s Hotaru-chan’s father, you should keep an eye out for

 anything.” Luna looked up at ChibiUsa seriously.

 The pink haired girl nodded eagerly. Any excuse to stick close to

 the firefly was good enough for her. She wouldn’t believe that Hotaru

 had anything to do with this but she felt very uneasy about the raven

 haired girl’s father. “Hai, I understand, Luna. I’ll do my best. I

 won’t let Hotaru-chan out of my sight.” She had a hard time trying to

 conceal a large smile.

 Luna sweatdropped. For some reason she didn’t think they meant the

 same thing.

 

 

 ~~~~~~~~

 

 

 	Where is she? We were supposed to meet here to go to the movies.

 We’d been planning it all week so we’d be able to have some fun this

 weekend. Hotaru couldn’t have forgotten, could she? I hope that’s all

 it is. I can wait a while longer before I go looking for her. What if

 she shows up and I’m off looking for her? No, its safer to stay here

 for now.

 	Brushing back some pink strands of hair from my eyes, I glance

 around the park, searching for any sign of midnight black hair or

 ivory skin. Hoisting my book bag over my shoulder, I stand up on the

 bench I had been sitting on to get a better view. I can’t suppress my

 anxiety. Maybe something really has happened to her. I could never

 forgive myself if Hotaru got hurt coming here to see me.

 	You’re making too big a deal out of this, I scold myself. Just

 relax. She’ll get here sooner or later. Its all a matter of time,

 just like Puu had said so long ago. I grin a bit at that. I wonder if

 she had any idea about this back when she first let me go back in

 time. The grin fades as I remember that glimpse of dark green hair in

 a crowd after I’d left Hotaru’s house with Usagi a while back. Could

 Pluto still be alive? But why wouldn’t she come tell me? There are

 too many unanswered questions. My head hurts just from trying to

 think of all the questions, let alone the answers. Hotaru’s the focus

 of most of them. She’s so mysterious. There’s a lot that I don’t know

 about her or her family. But I don’t want to pry into things that are

 better left alone. She seems so fragile that I worry about what

 digging too much could do to her. And besides, I’m content just

 knowing she’s there. I smile a bit. She’s so…. intoxicating? The more

 I’m with her, the more I want to be with her. Forever. 

 	Fifteen minutes go by and still no sign of her. I’m really starting

 to get worried. It’s been over an hour now and she’s still missing.

 My heart starts to beat quicker as panic begins to set in. Hotaru’s

 okay, I assure myself. To prove that to my yearning heart, I decide

 to go look for her. Her house isn’t too far from here so I decide to

 check there first.

 

 	A surge of excitement runs through me as I walk towards where I

 remember Hotaru-chan’s room to be from the outside. I know I’m not

 supposed to be here, but what if she’s hurt? She could’ve fallen down

 after having another one of those fits and no one could know. Her

 father barely pays any attention to her as it is and Hotaru obviously

 doesn’t like that weird lady that works as his assistant. I barely

 notice myself picking up speed as I nearly break into a run,

 desperate to make sure the firefly’s okay. If anything’s happened to

 her... Pushing the thought out of my mind, I stop worrying about

 whether or not anyone saw me sneak into the house and bolt towards

 Hotaru’s room. Be okay, be okay, be okay, please just be alright and

 I promise I’ll make everything better... You’ll never have to cry

 again, just please be alright... Out of breath and exhausted from

 making it here in a much shorter time than it’s ever taken me before,

 I slump to my knees a few meters from Hotaru’s window. Ignoring the

 burning inside as I gasp for breath, I half walk and half stumble

 over to the windowsill. 

 	“How do those new parts feel?” I hear Hotaru’s father ask from

 inside as I make my way to the window. Well, if he was spending time

 with her then it was worth her being late. He’s all she has for her

 family so it’s good he’s not buried in his work right now. He seems

 to care a lot about her when he does show it and my firefly misses

 him. 

 	“They feel fine, dad. I think I’m getting used to them already,”

 Hotaru lied. I don’t know what she’s lying about, but whatever it is,

 it sounds like she’s faking it. For her father’s sake? Or because

 she’s late? Whatever it is, her father doesn’t seem to notice. I try

 to catch her attention from the window, but she’s looking over at the

 clock in her room. I smile a bit. At least she’s okay. And now I get

 to surprise her. 

 	“The parts incorporate a new development in masons and neurons that

 I came across. They were used as part of a rather interesting

 experiment. I’m still waiting to hear more of the results.” Her

 father shakes his head, extremely pale purple hair moving from side

 to side as he does. “But that’s besides the point. All the technology

 is state-of-the-art and made from the best materials available.” He

 places a hand on her cheek. I wonder what they were busy with. Hotaru

 shivers slightly at his touch. A while back, she had told me that his

 hands felt very cold. I guess it has something to do with his

 research. “Very soon you won’t have anymore fits, Hotaru-chan.” I

 smile at that. It has to be some new kind of medication then. This

 means Hotaru-chan will get better! My smile fades after I see the

 look on Hotaru’s face. I don’t think she believes him that she’ll get

 better. My poor firefly. It’ll get better, I promise. He finally

 picks up a few things that I can’t quite pick out as medical

 instruments or tools and leaves the room. 

 	“I have to hurry,” Hotaru-chan says worriedly, brushing back dark

 hair from her eyes. The poor girl almost seems frantic. Awww...

 That’s so cute that she wants to see me so much. Hmm... How should I

 surprise her? “ChibiUsa-chan might have already gone home by now. I’m

 really late. That took longer this time.” She sighs sadly. What took

 longer? I want to ask her. Bending up her arm, her skin begins to

 glow brightly. Underneath, I can see wires holding her muscles

 together and other strange parts in the part of her arm I can see.

 She picks now to turn around and spot me.  I am Jack’s nervous

 breakdown. Her oddly hypnotic silver eyes catch mine before I can

 dare to look away. Caught like my namesake in headlights, I can only

 stare back for a long moment. I don’t know what to think. If only I’d

 waited this never would have happened. Fear and shock quickly fill

 those infinitely deep silver eyes, mirroring my own as I take a step

 back. What.. What was that? What happened? “ChibiUsa-chan?!” she

 calls out, her soft voice wavering. 

 I’m caught. I don’t know what to do. What can I say to her? There’s

 no way I can fix this right now. I should’ve waited at the theater

 and then... “I’m sorry, Hotaru-chan... I... I shouldn’t have barged

 in here...” I turn around and start to run away, unable to sort out

 everything that’s going through my head. “I’m sorry,” I repeat as I

 run as far as I can, away from it all. She probably hates me now for

 seeing that. My poor firefly...

 “ChibiUsa-chan!” I can barely hear her call again.

 	

 	

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

 

 	I fall to my knees where I’m standing, unable to even make it the

 rest of the way to my bed. Hot tears stream down my cheeks as her

 fleeing image remains seared in my mind. Why? Why did this have to

 happen? Why did I finally find a friend only to have her taken away

 from me? My body is wracked with pain even as my heart and soul are

 wracked with guilt and fear. I’ve lasted this long on my own but now

 that I’ve had a taste of what it was like to have her care about me I

 don’t think I can go back to the way things were. I don’t want to be

 alone anymore. It hurts too much. 

 	The pain inside my battered shell of a body grows more intense as

 my thoughts get darker. It’s as if the physical pain is mirroring the

 pain in my heart. I collapse forward onto the floor, clutching at my

 chest. My sobs are starting to hurt more and more as ice cold shoots

 through my veins, followed seconds later by the searing hot pain.

 Maybe… Maybe I’m dying. Maybe whoever’s out there decided to take

 pity on me, to finally end my suffering. Maybe the cruel trick that

 was played on me, letting me finally find a friend and someone to

 love, will be the last. My head against the floor, my tears stream

 down my cheeks. A shaky hand reaches out to my amulet in the hopes

 that it can heal me, but the image of ChibiUsa’s horrified face when

 she saw me for what I am seizes up my body. My hand falls back down

 to the floor, even the will to live completely drained from my body. 

 I deserve to die. My life has served no purpose. I’ve only been a

 burden to my father. He’s usually too busy to worry about me anyway.

 He has to have Kaolinite keep an eye on me. Everyone else I’ve known

 has made it painfully clear that they don’t want me here. They’re all

 afraid of me. Even.. Even she’s afraid of me. 

 Harsh, painful sobs wrack my body as my pain begins anew. “ChibiUsa-

 chan…” I whisper hoarsely. I curse my horrible, dead body. I curse

 myself for still being here for this to have happened. If I’d died a

 few months ago, this never would have happened. She’d never have been

 afraid of me and I never would have... I never would have met her.. A

 lump forms in my throat as I try to look through my blurry, tearful

 vision to the Holy Grail she gave me. It sits in a very special spot

 near my bed, right near several of my favorite lamps. She somehow saw

 past what everyone else hated about me, she wasn’t afraid of me when

 she found out I could heal with a touch, but now that she’s seen what

 I am, she’s frightened of me. And I don’t think I can live with

 myself for that. I should have known that it was too good to be true,

 that she could really accept me. Who could? I’ve been half dead for

 so long.. My eyes fall closed as the pain starts preying on my

 consciousness. I can only hope it won’t last much longer, that I’ll

 finally be able to be free. Free of this prison of a body. Free of

 all the loneliness and the hate.

 I don’t want to live anymore. This painful life has taken everything

 from me. First my mother, then my body, and now the only person who’s

 ever cared about me. Not too mention all of the other countless

 things that have been ripped away from me. How could this have

 happened? I had thought that if she just didn’t know about it that

 maybe… just maybe things would work out. How could I have fooled

 myself into such childish dreams? I had thought I was past that, past

 deluding myself with any form of hope. But looking into her shining

 eyes made me forget about that, it made me grasp onto those thin

 shreds of hope and cherish them with all of my being. 

 She made me feel alive again. After so many years of being dead, of

 being a breathing dead girl, it felt so wonderful to feel alive

 again. Dad keeps my body alive… barely… but she had brought my soul

 back to life. And now it was all gone. All taken from me within a few

 brief seconds. Such an inconsequential amount of time that brought my

 life to a deafening crescendo of pain and tears. Really, nothing has

 happened. Things will go back to the way they were before I met her.

 Everyone will still hate me and I’ll be all alone again. I shake my

 head in torment. I can’t live like that! I can’t be alone again!

 Tendrils of fear grip my ice cold heart as the thought of having to

 endure through it all with the painful memories of her sends more

 tears rolling down my cheeks. I’ve lasted through everything else

 because I’ve never had a choice. What else could I do but move on?

 Even when everything hurt, I was too apathetic to do anything but cry

 to myself and hide in the shadows. But I can’t stand it any longer.

 The thought of moving on knowing that I lost the only person that

 ever meant anything to me is just too much to bear. 

 “Agghh…..” I wince painfully as I stagger to my feet, leaning

 heavily against a dresser. The pain inside and out seems to contort

 my body in some sick rhythm. A symphony of silence. Making a few half

 steps forward, barely able to make out anything through my blurred

 vision, I grasp onto one of my favorite lamps. It’s a beautiful lamp.

 Small silver designs encircle the midnight black lamp in a

 neverending dance. But right now I can barely even see the object in

 my hand as I concentrate on it. Fire shoots through my arm as the

 muscle seems to threaten to just rip apart on it’s own. I cry out but

 keep going. This is nothing compared to the pain I’ve felt. My

 favorite lamp cracks and shatters as that small burst of cyborg

 strength finally wins out over my dead body. Collapsing to the floor

 again, I weakly watch the shattered pieces of the lamp, so much like

 the shattered pieces of my life. Things had seemed so perfect before

 mother died and everything started slipping away from me. Now even

 the last shred of hope I had held onto has been taken away into the

 darkness of the night. 

 My pale hands search the floor for the right piece. I barely flinch

 at the cuts I get as I grasp at them, blinded by my grief and self-

 pity. A long jagged piece of porcelain finally catches my attention

 to my right. Clutching it tightly, I can feel it bite into my skin,

 the blood dripping much the same way my tears are. I shake my head as

 I bring it towards my wrist, almost hoping someone will stop me,

 praying that no one will. “Oh, ChibiUsa-chan… I’m so sorry…. I’ll

 never hurt you again…. Because I don’t want to hurt again either...”

 I get out between sobs as I push into my wrist. This is the only way

 to escape. This is the only way I’ll ever stop the pain. It hurts too

 much to go on. I only hope that ChibiUsa will forgive me. But by now

 she’s probably already forgotten me... Shaking all over, I slide in

 across my wrist, a grimace spreading across my face as the pain

 becomes even more intense. As I wait to die and be rid myself of this

 worthless body and life, I look down to my wrist. Torn flesh and

 pouring blood greet my eyes, but also something more sinister. Metal

 cords going to my hand jut out from the injury, a painful reminder of

 how little of me is still human after the fire.  Shivering on the

 floor, whimpering, the darkness finally claims me and all is silence. 

 

 Silver eyes blinked slowly and painfully into consciousness. Hotaru

 immediately regretted opening her eyes as a harsh white light burned

 into her vision. “Dad?” she asked weakly, his dim outline barely

 visible through the haze of pain settling throughout her body. Yet

 even then, it didn’t hurt at all in comparison to the pain in her

 heart. Blinking back bitter tears, she rolled to her side, towards

 her father. It was gone. It was all gone. There was a terrible

 emptiness inside of her that could never be filled. It wasn’t just

 that something was missing, that things could go back to the way they

 were before, but that it had been ripped forcibly from her, the torn

 edges of her soul impossible to mend. Shaking lightly as the tears

 came more freely, she wondered where her father had gone. This man in

 his place only cared that she lived, that her body was all right. He

 didn’t offer any comfort to the pitiful girl lying on her bed.

 Instead, he kept checking a sheet of paper in his hands. 

 Hotaru cursed herself as his cold hands checked to make sure the

 wires in her arms were undamaged. She couldn’t even do that right.

 Her only escape had been ruined. She couldn’t even kill an already

 dead body. 

 “Good morning, Hotaru-chan. You’re awake,” he stated as he moved

 around to get a better look of the repairs he’d done to his cyborg

 daughter. The cords and pieces in her wrist had been easy enough to

 fix, although that most certainly wasn’t one of the things he’d been

 worried about before then. He thought if anything endangered that

 which was within his daughter’s body, it was that the girl was weak

 and dying. He should have seen this coming. Of course, it didn’t

 change anything. The time was near, making this only a very minor

 setback. “How are you feeling?”

 The sound of it was that of a doctor asking a patient, Hotaru could

 tell. He was wondering how she was feeling physically, not how torn

 apart she felt inside. “Papa...” the dark haired girl whispered

 sadly. She was truly all alone now. Her father had gone somewhere far

 away, leaving only this.. this person in his place. And now the only

 person who had ever cared about her had run away in fear of her. Why

 had she survived and her mother died? Why couldn’t she have taken her

 mother’s place? She could barely remember her anymore, but she knew

 that she’d been a wonderful mother. She didn’t deserve to die in a

 horrible fire. Her life would have been much more worthwhile than

 Hotaru’s own. Like she often did, but never with as much regret that

 she couldn’t make it a reality, the dark haired girl wished that she

 could have taken her mother’s place. They’d both nearly been burned

 to death but she had somehow survived. Now more than ever she

 wondered why. 

 Dimly hearing her father repeat the question, she simply nodded. She

 could feel a burning inside of her as the wires and cords and parts

 all worked at a more desperate pace to keep her body alive. She

 wanted to rip it all out. She was a mockery of life. Not truly alive,

 but not allowed to die. It didn’t matter anymore. She was already

 dead. There was no way this was any sort of life. She only had to

 wait for when her body would finally give out on her. And she knew

 that wouldn’t be a long wait. Her father finally left the room. “Why

 did she have to find out? Everyone hates me for being able to heal

 others. They think I’m some kind of witch. It was hard enough with

 them knowing that. I didn’t want anyone to know about this dead body

 of mine. I’ve been all alone for so long now. All by myself even when

 drowning in a sea of humanity. Dad doesn’t care anymore. His research

 is the only important thing to him. I don’t even know why he tries to

 keep me alive. Doesn’t he see I’d be better off that way? I knew I

 was going to die alone. It was a sad fact of life. But then... I

 finally met her. She wasn’t afraid of me. She didn’t hate me. She

 wanted to be my friend. She wanted.. to love me...” She sobbed

 painfully, tears starting to fall anew down her still damp cheeks. “I

 should have known. How could anyone love a monster like me? She’s an

 angel and I’m a demon. I could only drag her into darkness. But

 without her, why should I go on? I have nothing now. Why should I

 live anymore? Is there any point to my life? Mama... why couldn’t I

 come with you?”

 	An intense pain in her head makes her double over, clutching at the

 searing fire within. “It... it hurts...” Her labored breathing

 faltered for a moment, her physical and mental pain becoming an

 uncontrolled beast within. “My forehead.. it’s… it’s like it’s on

 fire...”

 	Through the knife’s blade that felt lodged in her forehead, the

 deathly pale girl could make out three figures watching her. “Who are

 you?! Are you... are you Death? Please... why are you torturing me?

 Please just let it all go away... Please let me die..” The figures

 just watched as if taunting her. Hurling her amulet out past them,

 the figures vanished, leaving her all alone once more. Her face

 against her pillow, she wept as it seemed to get even worse. The

 darkness inside her was growing as her sense of loss intensified,

 images of the pink haired girl from the past few weeks filling her

 thoughts. 

 	Suddenly, she didn’t feel so alone anymore. And that frightened her

 as she tried to look around the room. “It hurts so much...

 Everything.. everything hurts.. Like someone’s trying to burst out of

 me...” She looked up as thoughts that weren’t her own began to invade

 her fading mind. “Someone’s taking over my body...” She tried

 desperately to cling onto her last vestige of consciousness as icy

 cold fear shot through her veins, her will crumbling quickly.

 “ChibiUsa-chan...”

 

 	The pink haired girl in question was leaning against a brick wall a

 few blocks away, panting heavily as she tried to catch her breath.

 Brushing back sweat dampened hair, she looked back the way she had

 come. She felt sick from all of that running and the torrent of

 thoughts swirling like a storm cloud in her head. Her insides felt

 tied in knots. She pulled her legs to her chest, her short, crystal

 blue dress in disarray. The harsh bricks scraped her back even

 through the thin fabric. 

 	Shaking her head, the pink haired girl sighed miserably. What she

 had seen of the raven haired girl entered her mind every time she

 closed her eyes. Wires and cords holding her beautiful frame

 together, keeping her alive. The girl she loved was barely alive.

 “What should I do? Oh, Hota-chan, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have seen

 that. I should have waited for you.”

 	“I had an accident a long time ago. I have many wounds from it,”

 Hotaru had said to her what felt like years before but could only

 have been less than a month before. ‘So that’s what she meant,’

 ChibiUsa thought to herself, pulling her legs closer. “That surprised

 me. But what should I do now? When I ran away from Hota-chan, did I

 hurt her? What have I done?” She stood up, finally managing to breath

 more normally. “We all have our secrets, Hotaru-chan. I’m over nine

 hundred years old and I never told you. I can see why you wouldn’t

 want to tell me about that. But I want to make it up to you. I love

 you no matter what. This doesn’t change anything.” With renewed

 determination, the pink haired girl gathered herself up and began to

 turn back the other way. A sharp pain on the side of her head

 elicited a yelp from the young looking pink haired girl. 

 Taking a half step backward, she felt a biting cold feeling where

 the pain had been. Curiously, she brushed her hand over the spot. It

 now felt wet and the cold began to be replaced by a burning feeling

 at her touch, making ChibiUsa wince. Bringing her hand back, she saw

 some blood on her fingers.  “What?” A gasp escaped her lips as she

 felt as if she’d been bitten above her calf. Looking up at the dark

 sky gave her a better understanding of what was going on. A few fat

 droplets of rain hit the future princess. “What’s going on? It

 shouldn’t be hailing in this season. This is just...” She stumbled

 forward, having a hard time concentrating as that cold feeling that

 had been on the side of her head started to spread through her body.

 “This isn’t normal hail. I’ve gotta get out of it while I still can.”

 She hugged herself tightly as she tried to keep warm, heading off

 through the rain and hail. “I have to get back to Hotaru-chan. She

 needs me.” Her weary mind still guilty from before, ran over the

 possibilities as she raced back the way she’d come, hoping that she

 could make things all right. 

 

 Was this what dying was like? That had to be it. She was dying. It

 was worse than any of the fits she had ever suffered before. Her

 whole body was aching horribly, like ice cold knives had been raked

 across her body.  Making out anything through her blurry vision was a

 chore that she couldn’t waste the time on, her nausea just making it

 even worse. Every bit of her pain wracked body screamed out in agony

 as she tried to get up.  Had her father’s attempts at keeping her

 corpse-like body alive finally failed? Was she finally going to do?

 Fresh tears started to sting her already bloodshot eyes. It was over.

 Finally, this sick joke was over. 

 “No...” she whispered, her raw throat aflame. There was something

 else there. Something with her. Something... evil. That presence she

 felt earlier, it was gaining in strength even as she was starting to

 slip further and further away. She didn’t want to be here anymore, no

 longer up for playing the part of the hated, wretched witch. But

 still, the fear of dying was deep within her. And she knew that even

 if she died, this thing would be released. And it would hurt... “No!”

 she managed to get out louder. It was preying on her thoughts. It had

 already picked its first target. Because of her. “You can’t have her.

 No...” Pale hands gripped her burning forehead as she tried to force

 it out, tried to change its mind, anything. If she’d been allowed to

 kill herself, she would have been able to get rid of it along with

 herself. Instead, it would hurt the only person that meant anything

 to her. 

 Silver eyes sparkled as Hotaru’s gaze was drawn to the window. A

 large pillar of light flared in the growing storm, energy sweeping

 through it. It was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

 Like part of her could remember something much like it from long ago.

 No, it wasn’t her. Someone else remembered it. Someone deep inside of

 her. “The power..! It should be more than enough to replace the

 Taioron Crystal. Master Pharaoh 90 will be pleased. That must be the

 true power of Sailormoon. The Ginzuishou.” It wasn’t her own voice,

 but someone using her to speak. The thought sent shivers through her

 weak body.  Tears plunged to the sheets beneath her as Hotaru’s whole

 body began to shake. She was afraid of what would happen now. 

 Her hand lifted of its own volition, picking up the amulet her

 father had given her. The crystal twirled back and forth as it hung

 from its string. Something began to coalesce in the crystal, some

 sort of image. She recognized the person immediately, her stomach

 turning in on itself as it became clearer. Kaolinite, her father’s

 assistant. The person who never failed to make things worse. She

 wanted to drop the amulet, to get away from her, but she couldn’t let

 go. 

 “Soon, I will become the master’s partner. I won’t fail him. Unlike

 the Witches 5, I won’t let the Sailor Senshi get in the way,”

 Kaolinite said through the crystal. Despite being startled, Hotaru

 clung unto the string, the crystal swinging back and forth. 

 Again, the dark haired girl’s mouth opened without her permission.

 “Yes, Magus, the time has come. You will take your place as the

 master’s partner. Just remember your duty.” Magus? What was she

 talking about? Who was their master? Why was all of this happening to

 her? As the image vanished, she dropped the amulet to the floor, it

 making little sound as it rolled across the carpet. Her hands went to

 her head, light sobs escaping her.

 

 “Get in the car,” a voice said sternly as a car pulled up beside

 ChibiUsa. The pink haired girl was shivering badly now as the storm

 was only getting worse. Her eyes caught site of Haruka, Michiru, and

 “Puu! It is you!” She wasted no time climbing into the back with her

 old friend. Hundreds of questions raced through her mind, but she

 couldn’t force any out. Instead, she just watched her old friend for

 a long moment. The car sped up quickly, throwing her against the seat

 as Haruka chose to ignore the traffic laws. “What happened?” she

 asked finally.

 “We screwed up,” Haruka offered in reply. 

 Michiru frowned and turned back to face the future princess.

 “Sailormoon has powered up with the power of all of the Senshi. It’s

 all focussing on her with the help of the Holy Grail. The Enemy has

 undoubtedly noticed this.”

 Looking out the window, it took a moment for ChibiUsa to think

 clearly again. “So that’s what that feeling was. Usagi’s more

 powerful now. But isn’t that a good thing? Shouldn’t that help if the

 Enemy’s close?” Her crimson eyes burned with curiosity as she looked

 at the aqua haired woman. Her mind couldn’t drop what she’d intended

 to do in the first place, still worrying about the raven haired girl

 even with this crisis so close.

 “It’s not that simple. The Princess can’t handle this mission, even

 if she has powered up,” Setsuna explained, trying to find the best

 way to explain to her young friend from the future. She had only

 recently regained her memories so it was awkward seeing the pink

 haired girl in this life. “The Soldier of Ruin has been awakened. Our

 coming together has awakened her because of our talismans. They have

 called her from the deep slumber she had been in up until now. The

 final soldier from the forbidden planet, Saturn. She is the Soldier

 of Silence, the one who must not be allowed to awaken. We know that

 the end is nigh. This world will come to an end unless we can stop

 it. When we Senshi, stronger than the Sailor Team, cannot handle a

 problem, then it is up to Sailorsaturn to end everything. We watched

 as she brought down her glaive, ending the Silver Millenium. If we

 don’t act quickly, she’ll do the same to this world.”

 ChibiUsa gasped. To think that such a soldier existed was horrific.

 Why would there be a need for such a last ditch effort? Something

 that ended all. Could she really be a Sailor Senshi? She had never

 heard of her in the future. But then, she had never heard of the

 Outer Senshi either. 

 	“We were so stupid. Without all of our memories, we didn’t realize

 what chaos we’d be causing. We had intended to stop the Enemy, but

 instead we’ve brought about an even greater danger to this world.”

 Haruka’s driving became more erratic as her frustration grew. She

 calmed only slightly at Michiru’s reassuring hand on her thigh. 

 	“We didn’t know. Someone had been calling for the talismans to be

 gathered in out dreams. We hadn’t yet remembered what the outcome

 would be,” Michiru said comfortingly, thought she didn’t know if it

 was more for Haruka’s benefit or her own. She once again turned to

 the young princess. “Sailorsaturn appears when all is lost. At the

 end of the battle, she is the one who brings all to nothing. It is

 her duty to bring an end to everything.”

 	“Kind of like a cosmic reset button. If we screw up in our job to

 protect this solar system, she takes over and wipes it all out so it

 can begin all over again,” Haruka explained, narrowly missing a

 pedestrian. 

 	ChibiUsa really wasn’t liking the sound of this. How would that

 solve anything? Well, it would solve the battle rather quickly, but

 so many lives would be lost. That wasn’t what Sailormoon was about at

 all. She was supposed to protect lives. The smaller princess had

 thought that was what all the Senshi were supposed to do, even if the

 Outer Senshi resorted to some rather cutthroat tactics at times.

 	Setsuna cut in, grabbing the pink haired girl’s attention. “Saturn

 is the guide to death. She brings all to the afterlife with her. But

 she is normally asleep because her power is too deadly to be allowed

 to work in conjunction with the other Senshi. She is awakened when

 our three talismans come together, shattering her sleep and calling

 her to her sacred duty. We are the guardians of the talismans, only

 to awaken her in the most dire of circumstances. When Saturn awakens,

 the planet will die.”

 	ChibiUsa let all this sink in, the wet air from the storm, playing

 with her oddly styled hair. “Then why did you bring them together?

 How did it happen?”

 	“We’re supposed to defend this solar system from outside attack.

 The others are supposed to protect from inside threats along with the

 princess. We didn’t often meet back during the Silver Millenium, and

 never when all three of our talismans would be together.  When they

 were all brought together during the battle against the Dark Kingdom,

 Saturn ended the Silver Millenium and all of the planets that had

 been a part of it. On this world, we were reincarnated with out

 mission still intact. We met up so that we could find the Enemy that

 had invaded from outside while we had slept and put a stop to them.

 Little did we know that we’d bring about a larger problem.” Michiru

 sighed as she leaned back in her seat. “We weren’t supposed to meet

 here. Saturn has been reborn.”

 	ChibiUsa sat forward, trying to make out the swirling image in

 Michiru’s mirror as it showed the face of the final soldier. “Oh my

 God...” Her eyes went wide and her heart skipped a beat. She knew

 that face. She knew it all too well. “That’s... is that Hotaru-chan?

 Is she Sailorsaturn?” Her mind raced with the implications of that,

 fitting it in with everything the Outer Senshi had told her.

 	“Saturn is awakening. That girl’s body is already going through the

 stages of her reawakening. Soon Saturn will be upon us,” Haruka added.

 	“Saturn’s soul was the voice calling out for the talismans in our

 dreams. We had no idea it would come to this. She must realize the

 severity of the situation and used us to bring her back so she could

 put a stop to this.”

 	“But we can’t allow that. Small Lady, you have a future. This is

 all wrong. None of it is what is supposed to happen. Saturn can’t end

 things now. Somewhere, time has gone awry. If it continues along this

 path, your future will cease to be. Small Lady, you may cease to be,”

 Setsuna explained softly.

 	What had caused time to slip so much from its original path? Was it

 her fault? Chibimoon hadn’t been there the first time around. Was it

 Setsuna? She had been guarding the Time Gate rather than being

 reincarnated like she had been this time. Was it something else

 altogether? “Why is this happening?”

 	Haruka shook her head. “Whatever the case, we mustn’t give Saturn

 the chance to bring everything to ruin. We can’t let her wake up.”

 	Her stomach taking a dive, ChibiUsa finally managed to ask the

 determined Senshi what was on her mind. “How are you going to stop

 her?”

 	“We have to kill her.”

 	“What?!” ChibiUsa’s crimson eyes went as wide as saucers at the

 statement. Haruka had been dead serious. “You’re kidding, right? You

 don’t really mean you’d kill Hotaru-chan. She’s an innocent.” She had

 to ask, even though there had been no doubt in her mind that Haruka

 had meant every word of it.

 	Michiru sighed and gave Haruka’s thigh a none to gentle squeeze,

 eliciting a yelp from the blonde. “I thought we weren’t going to tell

 her that. You can explain it all to your ‘Odango’, but she’s just a

 little girl. And that other girl’s friend no less.” Giving Haruka a

 disapproving frown, it melted away as she turned back in her seat to

 face ChibiUsa again. “We have to kill her so that Saturn can’t

 awaken. Then we can seal her away permanently.”

 	“But.. But she’s one of you! She’s another Sailor Senshi! Why would

 you kill another Sailor Senshi?!” 

 	“She’s not another Sailor Senshi yet,” Haruka explained. “Besides,

 just because she’s one of us doesn’t mean we can sit by and let her

 destroy our world. We have to stop her. Then we’ll go after the

 enemy. She may be an innocent, but a lot less innocents die without

 her.”

 	“The talismans have already called Supersailormoon. They’re full of

 power, vibrantly giving it off. Just like when she.. They acted the

 same way when they called Saturn to end the Silver Millenium. The

 time is near when they will fully awaken her.” Michiru shuddered at

 the memories. “This world shouldn’t have to go through that horror.”

 	“That’s still no reason to kill her! There has to be another way

 without sacrificing Hotaru-chan. You can’t throw people’s lives

 around! Who are you to decide who lives and who dies? Isn’t that her

 job?” ChibiUsa wiped at her eyes, her heart aching at their words.

 She looked to Setsuna for support but got nothing more than an

 apologetic look. 

  	“It’s not like this is our first plan of action. But there’s

 nothing else we can do. If we don’t kill her, this world will come to

 ruin. And then everyone will die. One life isn’t worth the lives of

 billions. She would die as well. So this way, only she will die. We

 don’t have long before Saturn returns. You’ve seen her body, haven’t

 you, Small Lady? She should have died years ago from an accident that

 took her mother’s life and rightfully should have taken hers. But

 Professor Tomoe rebuilt her body, keeping her alive through a mixture

 of machinery and his genetic research. She only came out of her coma

 because he sold his soul to Pharaoh 90. Her small, weak body, it

 can’t last much longer. She has been dying for a long time, Small

 Lady. If we weren’t to kill her and Saturn didn’t, then she would

 still die. Soon,” Setsuna tried 

 to explain. She wished there was an easier way, especially with the

 pain she saw in her young friend’s eyes, but knew this was how things

 had to be.

 	“There has to be a way to save Hotaru-chan. She can’t be a lost

 cause. I won’t believe that,” ChibiUsa said stubbornly. 

 	Haruka frowned, turning a corner. “The only way to save her body

 would be to let her fully awaken as a Sailor Senshi. That would be

 strong enough to bring her body back to life. But letting that happen

 would be foolhardy. She’d be dead moments later when Saturn wiped

 everything out.”

 	The future princess was starting to feel sick. The girl she’d seen

 not more than an hour ago was going to destroy the world. And more

 importantly, these people were going to kill her. She couldn’t let

 that happen. “I won’t let you kill Hotaru-chan! Even if it’s to seal

 off Saturn, I won’t let you do it! There has to be another way.

 You’re Sailor Senshi! You’re supposed to protect lives, not end them!”

 	“If we can save this world by killing that child, we will. After we

 kill her, we’ll stop the Enemy. If we let her live, she’ll kill us

 all. Do you think we’d just sit by and let that happen? Just because

 she’s an innocent?” Haruka closed her eyes, still keeping the car

 from plowing into anything miraculously. “This isn’t what I wanted

 when I joined up. But it has to be done. We can’t let this world end.

 It’s our mission to stop her. She is a threat and we have to kill her.”

 	“ChibiUsa-chan, her life has been tough and full of hardship. The

 poor girl never had any friends. She’s always been alone. She’s

 always been in pain. It is time for her to rest. She’ll be much

 happier in the afterlife,” Michiru said soothingly, switching tactics. 

 	“I’m her friend now! I’ll make sure her life gets better. I won’t

 let her be alone again. I’ll make sure that this life gets better for

 her,” ChibiUsa protested. She had to cling onto the hope that she

 could fix things. She had to believe.

 	Haruka chuckled, opening her eyes as she passed another stop sign.

 “Those are strong words for one so young, princess. Are you really

 willing to devote your life to fixing her problems? That’s a lot of

 commitment.” Setsuna’s sweatdrop went unnoticed. The Senshi of Time

 was the only one out of the three of them that knew that ChibiUsa was

 over nine hundred years old.

 	“Yes! I don’t care. Hotaru-chan’s very important to me. I’d do

 anything to make sure she’s all right.” There was so much more the

 pink haired girl wanted to say, but it was all so confusing. She just

 sighed.

 	“It doesn’t matter. So your future can exist, so this world can

 have a future, we have to kill her. She’s even more of a threat than

 the Enemy at this point. We might not even have time to stop her. But

 we have to try.”

 	“No!! I won’t let you kill her! We can save her, I know it! We just

 need to try! I know my future exists, so she won’t destroy it. The

 world will be fine. Just trust in Sailormoon and let me deal with

 Hotaru-chan. I promise that everything will be okay.” ChibiUsa’s

 pleading voice broke, more tears building up in her crimson eyes. 	

 	Michiru shook her head firmly. “We can’t fight with Sailormoon. She

 feels the same way about sacrificing innocent lives. So we have to do

 this on our own. The Sailor Team is too weak. We have to be the ones

 to save this world. And we will.”

 	The car came to an abrupt halt and before the smaller senshi knew

 it, she was standing there on the curb while the car drove off. It

 took her a moment to catch her balance as her weary body begged for a

 rest. The cold droplets were starting to pelt her with more force

 now, the occasional hail stinging her soft skin badly. “Hotaru-chan

 is Sailorsaturn. Sailorsaturn will end the world,” she whispered to

 herself, her thoughts muddled. “Hotaru-chan... You always look so

 sad. Your eyes seem to know everything. Even when you’d laugh, you

 still looked so depressed and alone. I won’t leave you alone. I

 promise.” Clutching her broach, the pink haired girl took off towards

 the large house where Hotaru lived, praying that she’d get there

 before the Outers.