The moon stick was radiant, bathed in light from the brilliant globe up above. Though her arms were tired from holding them up so long, Sailor Moon continued to stand firm, feeling the power course through her body as the object of her focus continued to scream in anger and pain. Serenity called the moon down; Sailor Moon absorbed the power; Usagi directed it. "Now and forever…destiny cannot be avoided! Metallia! I will seal you away!"
Around her, the Moon Castle was beautiful again, marble and crystal and gold. Wealth unimaginable and she walked through it with ease, following the white figure that glided over the floor with grace, no sound to mark her path. Various uniformed servants, all ostensibly happy to be in their positions, bowed low to the two as they passed by. And both nodded in return gestures of respect, for no one was beneath such a thing in this kingdom.
As Luna followed her queen, a part of her recognized that it was only a memory, and that she in actuality sat in the ruins of the castle, before what remained of the Crystal Tower. In the past, she would never have been allowed even this far, because the room of prayer was forbidden to all but the queen herself; even their princess was not allowed to set foot inside. And true to that rule, the queen stopped before they crossed the threshold. "Luna, what is the solemn purpose of the Crystal Tower?"
"For our queen to pray for the kingdom, in times of peril and joy," Luna replied, the mechanical nature of the quote offset by her tone. She settled onto her hindquarters, tail curling neatly around her legs, as she stared through the doorway to see the glittering crystal.
Serenity did indeed laugh, a sound that had always reminded Luna of tinkling bells, or water over the crystal that they so held sacred. "You've memorized the oath, I see." She turned away to look into the room as well, and stepped inside without hesitation. "And what is the most sacred rule?"
The black feline dipped her head, reciting again from memory. "That none shall pass the doorway but the inheritor of the blood of the Moon; and not princess, but queen, shall pray." Formulating the oaths and rules into poetry was certainly an easy way to make the castle inhabitants remember. Though she did recall one noble who forgot a certain rule about not wandering into the royal handmaiden's dressing chamber….
What her queen said next shocked her out of her reverie violently.
"Forget that rule, Luna. Strike it from your memory. I tell you now, it is simply a petty way to keep people out of our personal space." As the black cat gaped, Serenity pointed to the four small crystals embedded in the frame at its four corners, ceiling and floor. They were designed to emit a force field that would recognize only the carriers of the Ginzuishou, and strike dead any other whom dared to step across, even the princess. "Fanciful decoration, nothing more. It was my greatest grandmother who thought of it."
"…my pardon, Serenity-sama, but…why are you telling me this?" Luna was still reeling from surprise, but curiosity was winning out over any other emotion. She was, after all, a cat, if a personage from Mau.
"Because I want you, on your solemn word, to enter this room in time of tragedy. If ever our kingdom is in peril, our princess in danger, I know I will be unable to function – I entrust you to pray in my place, to invoke the planet's spirit to protect us."
Someone was standing over the feline, speaking; but it was all fading away, dissolving as Luna realized why she had come to the remnants of the tower. It was all written millennium ago, their separate roles; and she knew, if Usagi was to truly lock Metallia away, someone needed to pray for her guardian planet to open to her.
That had been half an hour ago, and Luna was tired, aching in a dozen different places. She was beginning to give up hope, afraid that the worst had occurred, and Usagi had not awakened. "Onegai…onegai! In place of Serenity-sama, I beg for the passage to be open, for aid to be given….!"
And then, the tower had begun to grow.
Though they stood on the surface, they could see the corona of the satellite as it expanded, shining white light onto the shadowed planet. The smallest hole had been punched through the darkness, brilliant and white, growing as the moon fed its energy. "Usagi-chan…she's alive, she's praying to the moon…!" Luna gasped.
"Luna, the ruins! Look around us, everything is beginning to grow tall again!" Artemis looked around frantically, as did she, to see the buildings indeed begin to reform and rise, taking on their old shine and luster. The floors swept themselves clean of the dust, and Artemis was dumped unceremoniously onto the marble as the chunk he stood on was lifted into the ceiling. "With her power growing, she's bringing her kingdom back to life!"
On the surface, Sailor Moon had no indication of the housecleaning she was performing unconsciously. All she knew was that Metallia was growing strong again, pushing back the light, and shaking the castle beneath her feet, trying to swallow her whole.
But she trusted her spirit, and as the ceiling did indeed give way below, she felt herself fly upwards, having grown literal diaphanous wings. Like the crystal she wielded they were multifaceted, thin as paper but strong; she beat them sharply to swing around, dodging a thick shadow attempting to spear her. "I call down the moon! Help me banish the darkness, as my mother did before me!" she yelled, stabbing the moon stick into Metallia's middle.
The resulting howl sent her spinning away, heels over head, and it took her several yards to slow down and right herself. Below her was Mamoru, still on the drift, his head turned up towards the healing light. Their eyes met, and she was gratified beyond everything to see him focus on her face.
And then, another blasting scream hit her, shattering her wings.
She landed ungracefully in a pile of snow, legs sticking up, the moon stick twisting through the air to drop into one of the fissures still open. Coughing and sputtering she kicked and clawed her way out, only to realize she had lost her weapon. "Shimatta…what did they do in Star Wars when this happened?"
Metallia chortled as she slid to her knees to the edge of the fissure, looking down into it despite the blatant stupidity of her thoughtless action. Just above the impregnable darkness she could see the glow of the crystal, the moon stick wedged into the ice walls, too long to fall any further down. But the depth was still mind-boggling.
Again, the ground rumbled, shaking her violently as she balanced on the edge. Of course, as gravity and Murphy's Law had not quite given up functioning yet, she fell headfirst into the darkness, her scream echoing off the ice.
"Sailor Moon! Usako!" Mamoru screamed in kind, tumbling down the hill in his haste. He slid to the very edge himself, his hand sweeping down into empty air, far too slow; but as his eyes adjusted, he began to gape at the sight of her dangling from the wedged moon stick. With her hands back on the weapon, she began to rise into the air again, clearing the crevasse as she held the stick aloft.
This time, unfortunately, she didn't have wings.
She landed into Mamoru's arms, and he took her hand. "Baka," he said affectionately. "You had me scared for a minute."
Between them, she could feel their magic, their energy, and it combined within her like a raging fire. The moon was blinding as it met with the power of his planet, coalescing in the crystal, which turned into a nearly painful flare. Love really did go a long way. She smiled, stepping forward and releasing his hand to hold the moon stick high once more.
"To dust, I strike you, Metallia!"
And there was light.
The planet rejected Metallia, forcing away her hold. As she retreated into the smaller cloud form she had retained for so long, the light enveloped her; it shattered her, decimated her, and wiped her very existence away. Stars began to shine once more in the sky. The planet began to wake up.
And her body pushed to its limits, for no human was made to hold such immense amounts of power in such a sudden manner, Sailor Moon ceased to be, and Usagi dropped backwards onto the snow.
"Usako? Iie, Usako!" Next to her was the moon stick, its crystal focus dim, then dissipated into thin air. Mamoru stared at it, realizing with dawning horror what that meant. He gathered up the odango-haired blonde into his arms, feeling her pulse, her forehead, pressed his ear to her chest to listen for a heartbeat.
Nothing.
"Usako…dammit, open your eyes! We didn't come this far to be separated again!" he snapped, and slapped her across the face lightly to attempt to shock her into awakening. When she didn't respond, he hugged her tight to his chest, moaning into her shoulder. Like his parents and his true life, she was dead and gone to him, without a goodbye.
The biting cold had abated somewhat, but being the Arctic, it was still nippy enough to freeze off his tender skin. Dressed for a spring day in Tokyo still, he was completely chilled to the bone, no longer basking in the warmth his love had given him for that last battle. Holding her in his arms he stood up, facing the midnight sun with a wearied expression.
He didn't want to admit she was dead, when it had been only days – or was it weeks? Everything was still so foggy in his mind – ago when he had last seen her smile at him, casual abandon in her gestures and speech. She was a child, but so enticing to him with her dedication and purity, a shining star in his heart all of these long nights. Like a rosetta stone she had somehow unlocked all of the secrets in his life for him, showing him the way, giving him purpose and meaning.
Standing there, a frozen, half-dead man, he kissed her cold mouth. Remembering her smile, her radiant eyes, her careless talk. Everything he could have been to her he put into his kiss, falling to his knees as he breathed between her lips, "Usako…"
His limbs suffused with sudden warmth as she stole his life away.
…no. He gave it to her willingly.
It was a prayer being answered, as he realized the Ginzuishou was responding, borrowing his energy and giving it to the limp, cold girl in his arms. And though he himself felt that one foot was already in the grave, he offered up more and more, weakening as it was taken away. Like a blood transfusion, he realized, a bit giddy.
And slowly, he watched the colour rise into her cheeks. Her fingers grew warm in his hand, suddenly clutching in a death grip as she whimpered, opening her eyes. Muscles spasming, she jolted up out of his arms and onto the snow, crying, "Mamo-chan, Mamo-chan! It hurts, oh, it hurts….!"
"Daijoubu, Usako, everything will pass," he murmured comfortingly, gathering her back against his chest as she writhed, every nerve ending on fire as her skin repaired itself, fixing the damage from the cold and her battle. Everything was happening in a span of minutes that should have taken hours, and he watched helplessly as she jerked and twisted in pain.
Finally, she stilled in his arms. Her school uniform, ripped to shreds by wind and frozen off in chunks, barely gave her any protection against the elements, and she began to shiver violently, now from cold. Ever gallant, he didn't even hesitate to take off the long-sleeve shirt he had been wearing, albeit a thin, lightweight garment, and pull it over her unresisting torso. "Usako, speak to me."
Staring at him, buried to her knees in his shirt, she began to cry. "Can we finally be happy, Mamo-chan?"
"Sou yo, Usako….Serenity…I could call you my princess for eternity, gladly," he whispered in return, tilting her chin up to meet her eyes. "I love you."
If her crying had been intense before, it was cataclysmic now. Ignoring the lingering pain of her rebirth, she flung herself against his chest hard enough to tip him back, hugging him tightly as she kissed him. He was pretty sure the words she kept repeating into his mouth were various declarations of love, and he thought of nothing else for the next solid minute.
Any passing northern animals would have witnessed quite the reunion make-out.
They ended up in the dead flower patch, their positions reversed as he held himself over her. Releasing the kiss, he lifted his head to smile rakishly, though it dimmed considerably as her expression faltered. Her eyes grew dim, unfocusing, and he realized suddenly that there were voices around them. They were not in the least malicious, and he recognized them almost painfully as they spoke. "Usagi-chan, be happy…."
"Don't be sad for us! Live your life in joy…."
"Usagi-chan…."
"Daijoubu, Usagi-chan…."
Helplessly, he stared at the crevasses that littered the snow in front of them, remembering the four bodies that had fallen into them. Maybe it wasn't a fairy tale ending after all.
Then, he sensed Usagi stand up and scan the horizon. "I have to save them, Mamo-chan. My friends and allies. Surely I can do it, with the power of my holy stone!"
"Resurrecting them would kill you, Usako. And then, everything would be back to the way it began," he replied a bit sharply, pained at the look he gave him. Disgust did not wear well on her impish face. "The Ginzuishou only brought you back after I gave it my energy; and surely, when you foolishly killed yourself, it managed to do so only over time. You can't continue to make miracles with it so soon, Usako!"
Her stare began to waver as she realized he was right, and she sank back down onto her knees in the snow. "Demo sa…"
Then it hit her.
Somewhat literally, as the sudden appearance around her of the Moon Castle knocked her backwards. The frozen Arctic was gone, replaced with the immense hallways of her previous home, and she in her white dress. She was only a child at this time, and curious as a cat; she quivered with excitement as she peeked in the forbidden doorway, her guardian Mars behind her attempting to do the same. "Ne, mama has been praying for many days," the princess whispered.
"Jupiter's planet is in turmoil," Mars replied softly. "Serenity-sama is praying for the planet to heal after such suffering…"
Crystal blue eyes stared up at a sunny sky as the castle just as suddenly vanished.
"The Crystal Tower…the sacred room of prayer!" She leapt up, nearly knocking heads with her prince as he was bending over her in concern. Taking his hand, the moon stick in the other, she laughed joyously. "Mamo-chan, to the moon! We have to go back to the moon!"
Having not had the pleasure of such a mode of travel since his rebirth, Mamoru found the trip to the satellite rather…jarring. But the odango-haired blonde was kind enough to hold his head as he emptied the meager contents of his stomach into the dust, mopping away the sweat with his bare arm.
Post-travel sickness over and done with, they stared in awe at the beautiful kingdom that had risen from the moon's surface once more.
Even fairy tales didn't have such lovely castles, done in the purest marble and crystal and domed with stained glass. Water poured from jar-wielding nymphs into warm pools, and gardens were fantastically set out along the road to the palace, contained within their own personal weather dome. Though no greenery still existed, the dark-haired prince could remember in dim detail the unbelievable variety of flowers and trees.
And on the road, running towards them, was Luna.
Usagi let out a squeal and ran, letting go of her prince's hand to catch the black feline as she jumped up into her arms, nuzzling and licking her cheek. Artemis was not far behind, though he forwent the leap and simply circled the odango-haired blonde's legs, rubbing and purring in affection.
"Usagi-chan, I prayed so hard for you to prevail," Luna said happily, rubbing her head beneath Usagi's chin. "I saw you in my mind; your spirit was beautiful!"
"Arigatou, Luna." Scratching the feline behind the ears, she looked up at the castle that towered over them, shining new. "But what happened here? Everything was destroyed, turned to stone! How did it come back?"
Luna made a tittering noise and leapt from her comfortable hold, her paws making no sound as they touched the marble walkway. With a mysterious look that bordered on near-hysterical excitement, she began to pad briskly to and up the steps of the main entrance, lost within minutes through the garage-sized door.
Artemis shrugged as Usagi opened her mouth to question, following his feline companion at a quick jog. Realizing nothing would be answered until they found Luna again, Mamoru took hold of his princess's hand, giving the back of it a kiss, before he bowed. "After you, my lady."
Giggling, the odango-haired blonde led him up the steps, though their walk hesitated as they reached the top. Through the door they could see a branching serious of hallways, with the main being just as wide as the door, and lit by glass domes on the walls. "Electricity?" Mamoru muttered.
"Iie…crystals. What else would they be?" Smiling impishly she pulled at his hand, following the main hallway, knowing from another life's memories where it led. And it was a long walk; the walls, hung with elegant tapestries and paintings, kept them from walking very fast, pausing to stare at each one.
Almost everything had been reborn from the dust, down to the marble and quartz mosaic that lay in front of a double set of doors at the end of the hall. The odango-haired blonde remembered it as a scene showing off the victory of her twice-great grandmother over a vicious entity from space. In abstract detail, her ancestor held aloft the crystal, shaped like a six-pointed star, its jagged beams destroying a weird creature that looked like Mothra on steroids.
She also remembered coloring her ancestor's hair blue one particularly painful day.
Just the lightest touch sent the doors open, moving under their own power to slowly bang against the walls. The immense throne room, its ceiling the stained glass dome Mamoru had noticed in particular, was almost simple compared to the rest of the building. Thin strips of gold marked the quartz path straight up to the throne itself, a circle denoting where those who asked favours, or were to be punished or commended, were to kneel. On a dais was the throne itself, decorated with a silk pillow for back and rump, and carved out of solid marble, flanked by two smaller versions on either side on a lower echelon.
The entire room was acoustically perfect, and both could hear the sound of their shoes as they walked the path. In the circle sat the two felines, waiting patiently. "Usagi-chan, do you remember this?"
Passing the felines by, the odango-haired blonde reached out to touch the lower throne on the right, running her hand over the armrest. Many a day she had sat with her mother as she granted audience to her subjects, after she had reached womanhood of course, and finding out just how damned uncomfortable the thrones were. Even with pillows, her back ached horribly, and once, she had even managed to fall asleep during a particularly inspiring plea for aid in the outer regions.
She sat down slowly, noting with amusement that her feet just barely touched the ground still. "Hai. This was my throne, below mama's. But I don't remember who sat in the other throne…the king, before he died?"
It was sad how she recalled the queen with such emotion, but not the king. Her father had died before she had been born, that she knew, and so she had never been held by him, or spoken to, or given advice; that had been her mother's responsibility.
"Usagi-chan, did you ever sneak onto Serenity-sama's throne?"
Smiling at the memory, Usagi nodded. She switched seats, wriggling her butt into the plump cushion, her legs dangling even higher than in her old seat. "Mochiron! Mama would always find me, and she would remind me that I had to learn a lot before I could sit in the throne for real."
It was as she finished the sentence that she felt the heat rise from beneath her. She had no time to cry out, as it was gone within seconds, having clothed her in the simple white dress of Princess Serenity, though more flattering, tighter. "Nani!? All I did was sit down!"
Apparently, she was not the only one affected. Still shielding his eyes, Mamoru had been washed over as well, the livery of Prince Endymion replacing his pants and shoes, down to the sword in its scabbard. Blinking dumbly, he ran his hands over his shirt, the sword.
"With the power of the Ginzuishou, you've resurrected our kingdom. The blood of the moon is in your veins, Usagi-chan, and now, you are the mistress here. My Queen Serenity, I pledge my loyalty." Luna bowed her head, as Usagi slowly realized what had happened. "The Silver Millennium has been reborn."
"Luna, I am no queen." With deliberate movements, Usagi stood from the throne and stepped down, feeling the weight of her dress. As she refused the throne, the clothing melted away and left her as a Tokyo schoolgirl again; Mamoru again went topless. The black feline stared sadly at her. "I'm glad I brought beauty back to my planet. But I can't be Serenity; I was reborn as Tsukino Usagi, and I have a family now, and Mamo-chan. Everyone on Earth who needs me."
"It's your choice, Usagi," Artemis said. "But returning to Earth to be Tsukino Usagi doesn't release you of your responsibilities as a sailor soldier, or sacred bearer of the holy stone. Your kingdom will remain, forever immaculate."
Taking Mamoru's hand, the odango-haired blonde smiled. "Hai. But this is my choice. Destiny led me until this point."
So saying, she gently pulled at the dark-haired prince's hand, leading him towards a door set back behind the dais. Though obviously disappointed, Luna ran to catch up after both disappeared into another set of hallways, Artemis close at her heels. They ran at an easy pace through the door, ignoring the right and left and going simply straight on, seeing their princess in front of a familiar archway.
With superstition strong in her memory, Usagi left her prince outside of the prayer room and stepped inside alone. The first time in her life she had entered the room, and it was to pray for a miracle that, quite possibly, she could not pull off. It would have been a good time for the queen's spirit to come back just one more time for some guidance.
It was impossible, of course, and so she knelt on her own before the tower. "I don't know the words to say," she started off, clasping her hands in her lap. "But I want my friends alive, laughing with me in the sun. I want their planets to know my heart, to respect my wish, and to lend their power to revive my fallen guardian soldiers. Onegai! Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Mars, give them another chance! Surely this time, it's worth it!"
Seemingly dead planets in space.
Each one had all but eradicated all traces of civilization from human discovery, be it by violent gas storms swallowing colonies whole, or intense heat melting away oceans and bodies. Like domino, they had fallen one by one, lifeless and content to simple turn slowly, like clockwork.
Now, after a millennium, their avatars had finally woken up, releasing the power so long denied to their planets. Like lamps given brand-new bulbs, they lit up strong, radiating like stars in the heavens. Though its great cities and population were long gone, turned to dust, more could be created. What few ruins remained began to thrum with energy, lights turning on in buildings unused for over a millennium, fountains pouring dust instead of water into cracked tubs.
Suddenly, these avatars gave up their powers in their entirety, no longer tying them to a flesh-and-blood vessel. They suffused with the planets' cores, initiating an ageless pattern once more of patient waiting, of expectation. Sailor soldiers did not pass these powers down through blood, though worthy recipients had, more than once, been mother and then daughter.
And just as quickly they heard the prayer that came to them; though they were not, by definition, feeling creatures, the very thing that gave each soldier their power was an empathic source. After all, it had to choose wisely to bestow its abilities, did it not?
And they had known the purest souls in this last millennium to wield these powers.
It made sense to give it back.
If any of them had stood outside in that moment, they would have seen the brilliant twinkling of four heavenly bodies, far too big to be simple stars. Like lasers the light that flew towards the blue planet, in a quartet of basic colours, to connect on a single island within the expanse of the Pacific Ocean.
Broken bodies were reborn within the span of seconds, from childhood to near maturity.
In her soft bed, warm and snug, Aino Minako opened her eyes.
Across her pillow her alarm clock read steady at 9 in the morning. It was a Sunday; school was not in session today; and she was glad, because explaining the cause of her tardiness would have been hell.
That is, of course, if her school had survived.
Sitting up, she recalled the last painful minutes of her life, lying on the cold floor of the Arctic. And there had been a brief flash afterwards of something enormously terrifying, a horrid sight as her spirit moved on, but it had been left behind like detritus in the time between. Somehow, it also didn't surprise her to be alive again so soon.
There was a rather strange calmness in her as she reminisced about her death. Any sane, normal person would have broken down and screamed for a mental institution in the States, but not Aino Minako; no, she had to be the cool and collected sailor soldier who could swallow anything and ask for more. She had to be the one burdened with so many memories and recollections and what the daytime temperature had been in Magellan Castle.
Kami-sama, she even remembered the head cook's birthday.
Being killed and reborn was a piece of cake otherwise, in an otherwise turbulent year, and it was only promising to get worse.
Heaving a sigh, she slipped out from beneath her sheets, not in the least surprised to find her feline companion nowhere in sight. And, slipping off her rather plain orange pajamas, she mused that she was at least a bit more appreciative of Tokyo's current mild weather in retrospect. No flash freezing temperatures for this girl, not for a while if she could help it.
A blue tank top, white shorts and socks, and she sat back on the edge of her bed. The day was very beautiful, with blue clear skies and gentle breezes, and she knew she was going to be unable to bask in it. In the back of her mind was the faintest noise, like a ringing of bells, and she knew she was being summoned. So she left her room and her house, after slipping on sandals resembling some black Roman fashion trend in multitudes of useless straps, and jogged for the bus stop.
No surprise either that a patiently calm Ami sat in the back, obviously visible over the sparse crowd of giggling girls and older folks carrying groceries. The citizens of Tokyo had apparently survived the cataclysm with their usual ignorance intact. The long-haired blonde settled next to Ami without a word, stretching out into a slouch that her back would murder her for later, and prepared for the long ride.
She fell asleep, in fact, snoring quietly. Her wake-up was nothing more than a soft serious of shakes, and the blue-haired genius whispering, "Minako-chan, we're here. Minako-chan, wake up."
"Maaah…." was her muttered response. Blinking heavy eyelids, she stared outside to see the very last stop on the route, just outside the massive stretch of multiple-stories buildings – some missing chunks still – that made up Tokyo proper. From here was nothing but sparse housing and what untouched, undeveloped land there was left on such a crammed island.
Following Ami like a dutiful pet, they stepped out into a drowsy afternoon, warmer now that they were away from the bay and its ocean breezes. There was a hill, which the bus was even now rumbling up, which looked down onto the city as it rose up over the plain, and it was there that she could see Rei and Makoto standing.
Both girls made the long trek up without a complaint, even as the sweat began to trickle down their backs beneath their shirts. Minako felt some collect beneath her hair, so long it warmed her like a personal oven; Ami, with her short style, had no such problems, though it was so thick and dark that she probably had troubles as well.
Without word, as soon as they had crested the hill, the tall brunette hugged them both. It was a sudden bear hug of tight proportions, and both girls felt the air squeezed out of their lungs. They hugged her awkwardly back, glad to be released finally.
Rei merely looked away, across the field that stretched out in front of them. Far above the horizon but within their lines of sight rose the moon, no longer full, and dim in the lowering light of the sun. And as they watched, black shapes rose against it like shadows, of people running perhaps.
Ponytails streamed as Usagi came into detail, pushing herself to her limit as she ran frantically towards them. It was only when they saw Mamoru as well, the two felines at his heels, that they could hear her crying their names like a mantra.
And as she came into the circle of their bodies and their arms, they finally let themselves cry as well. Their princess was here, and they were all alive, and everything was going to be all right, they could cry against her and be well.
It was an emotional group of girls who stood there on the hilltop, alternately crying and hiccuping and laughing, touching one another's sleeve, unsure they were real. Mamoru came up at a leisurely walk to stand a few feet away, dressed in a white tunic and pants that were just the littlest bit tight on him, and whom Makoto was the first to stare at.
One by one they released sleeves and skirts from their grip, turning to face the dark-haired prince with faces full of joy. Usagi, still crying, reached out with both hands for her prince, curling herself against his chest like a kitten. "Minna, is this what a happy ending feels like?"
And the next morning was even more beautiful.
Too bad it was a school day, though Makoto was beside herself with joy knowing she was alive to go to it, and that her teachers had survived to have class. She even got up earlier to celebrate, eating a large breakfast at the café down the street that she so enjoyed, which served, of all things, Cajun food from America.
Spices still lingering on her tongue she wandered through her apartment, trading the skirt and top she had chosen for the morning for her tan uniform and black flats. Tying up her hair she experienced a little shiver, thinking of what she had seen after death, or rather, what she had forgotten. She was pretty sure it had to do with a sort of carefree attitude, no punishments or eternal blissful happiness unless you were a masochist or just a happy dip. And hadn't someone told her something about her life, yes, Kouyouko had said nothing was set in stone. Even destiny was just a directional marker, not a single road.
But of course, that was silly, because Kouyouko was her mother.
And then she realized the utter unfairness of the universe, that she had at last had a meaningful conversation with her mother, and it had been cut short on account of life.
If that wasn't some sort of ridiculous screw-up, she didn't know what was. Her hair tied back, she scowled at the pretty face that reflected in the mirror, touching her cheeks and nose as she realized she strongly resembled her mother now.
Hopping on one foot to adjust her shoe, keys jingling in her school case as she bounced through the door, she thought no more of it. She tested the door to make sure it was locked, though she really didn't need to, and sauntered down the hallway, whistling cheerfully. Yes, it was a beautiful day, and she wasn't going to think any more except for when a test absolutely called for it….
Rei wished she could say the same.
At the same time that Makoto enjoyed with vigor a bowl full of gumbo, she knelt in front of the sacred fire, wishing the breeze would come through the window a little stronger. Her robes grew so much heavier in the spring and summer, when the heat from the fire was intense and the warm air barely moved through the sparsely decorated room. Just one tiny window opened to the outside, small enough to keep any gusting breezes from disturbing the flames, and it created a veritable hell as the wind almost never came through.
But, religious devotion overcame all obstacles, and the heat was merely something her physical form had to deal with, as her spiritual form transcended all of it to come closer to their gods.
Or so her grandfather usually said, whenever she complained.
Six-thirty in the morning, and she was going through the motions of prayer as normal, pretending she wasn't going to shed all of this for the ludicrous guise of a Catholic schoolgirl come the next hour. Fingers locked, she repeated in rather archaic Japanese her usual mantra for peace and enlightenment, and for the gods to look favourably upon all. Even her father, worthless piece of flesh that he was, and his damned political underlings.
Homura had told her in careless ways of how she simply took everything too seriously. "…and now you see, don't you, why nothing matters but the present and the day? Life is for living, musume-chan, and things will still be silly and stupid when you're ash, like me." Of course, she had understood then, everything was so suddenly readable in that time, and she had been loath to let go.
Being a reader of spirits, Rei had taken the sight of her mother as an omen. To loosen up, perhaps, as now she had four friends to share life with, and to not always be such a stick in the mud. And to not be such a bitch, to put it bluntly, to other people.
Hm. One out of the two wouldn't be so bad.
Her thoughts faltered, and she stopped reciting her prayers altogether. And it was then that she realized the fire was raging far higher than normal, almost painful in its intensity. Like fingers it reached out for her, as a leering male face appeared in its center, red of hair and marked with an inverted black crescent sigil on his forehead. She didn't scream, but she did roll frantically as the fingers brushed her robes, igniting the cloth.
When she sat up, the fire was again its calmly flickering self.
Well, that was certainly auspicious. Taking it as a sign that her prayer session was over, she bowed as she muttered a prayer for peace and escaped the stuffy room, sliding the shoji screen shut with a feeling of finality behind her. Then she lifted up the corner of her robe, sighing deeply at the sight of the large burn hole, its edges ragged and still warm to the touch. Explaining this to her grandfather was going to be difficult, as he knew she wasn't stupid enough to get close enough to get burnt. And it was, on top of that, her only set of robes.
"Kuso," she uttered quietly. Holding the burnt edge up, she padded down the roofed walk to her room, opening the screen to enter a room of blissful quiet. On top of her futon she had laid out her uniform neatly, socks and all, and the only disarray was the empty bowl she had eaten ramen out of last night. She took pleasure in order; it made everything easier, and it was with annoyance that she reminded herself to put the bowl in the kitchen.
Carefully untying the folds of her robes, she hung them on a hanger positioned at the empty end of her closet, so she would be sure to remember to tell her grandfather in the evening. Then she pulled on her gray top and burgundy skirt, adjusting the two rows of useless buttons that adorned the breast and waist. Tying on her kerchief, she looked around at her spartan room, plain except for the futon and two lamps, along with a low table against the wall. Ever since she had arrived here all those years ago, she had kept meaning to add some sort of decoration, but never had gotten around to it. Now with her dead mother's words, she thought of stopping at a store after school and buying a framed picture.
In a few minutes she was fully dressed and walking down the intimidating length of steps, stopping at the bus stop to wait with the two other students. All three of them went to separate schools, and Rei was, as always, regarded with thinly veiled hostility. Her private school uniform marked her as a student more likely to achieve what they desired, and she was oftentimes the one whistled at as they stood and waited. She disliked male attention; they thought she flaunted it.
As always, her contempt threatened to overwhelm her. She stared out the window of the bus as she sat alone in her seat, watching the students walk by on their way to their public schools, various uniforms of all colours waiting on the corners to cross. A flash of blonde hair marked a frantically running Minako as the bus turned the corner and drove past, prompting a thinly amused smile from the dark-haired shrine girl. She had no true anger for Minako any more, in fact admired her for what she had accomplished, but thought her personality and attitude could use a lot more fine-tuning.
Getting off a block away from the gates of her school, she rather somberly realized she had her own fine-tuning to go through.
But walking through the front archway and entering the pristine, somber world of the Catholic school, she was besieged by classmates who adored her, worshipped her, and thought her to be the pinnacle of breeding. It was "Hino-san!" this and "Hino-san!" that every way she turned, and it really was a comfortable way for her to be, all staid and aloof. Why did she have to change so much?
"Hino-saaan!"
For a moment, Rei thought Minako had lost her mind and tried to sneak into the schoolyard. But as the blonde head appeared in front of her, all smiles and cheery attitude, she felt her heart sink. "Hino-san, I'm so glad you were picked to help us out! At the festival this year, we'll spread the truth in rapid order!"
"…..ahh. Kotono-san, what are you…."
"Ara, you don't know yet!" Kotono clapped her hands frantically together, doing a barely repressed dance of joy right there in the courtyard. "For the school festival this year, the sisters picked students at random to help out. And you were chosen for our booth, which will be focused on supernatural forces. We would love it if you would do fortune-telling for us!"
A nervous tic began above Rei's eye. "A…supernatural…forces…booth?"
The bells began to ring for the first mass in church as Rei just moaned.
Entering the church, she remembered that her vision was definitely not of the good sort, and wondered rather irrationally if she could somehow use it to get out of the festival.
Belting out a badly pronounced version of "As The World Falls Down," Usagi skipped down the sidewalk an hour after school, swinging her school case with gusto. She had no recollection of the meaning of what she sang, but she liked the melody and David Bowie's unusual voice, so she just kept singing despite all of the looks she was getting.
"…asu saa woru-lu-do falsu da-un….falu-ingu in-u laabu…." Stopping right before the entrance to Ichinohashi Park, she belted out the refrain to the birds perched atop a nearby tree, giving quite the performance to the avians as they continued to warble to themselves. Topping it off with another random set of lyrics she bowed, hearing applause.
But as she stood upright, she realized the applause was from a girl on crutches in the middle of the road, who leaned heavily on her means of support to clap. And though the street was deserted otherwise, a car was screaming around the corner and coming right for her.
In a reversed set of circumstance, Usagi jumped off the curb, dropping her school case. As the car came within feet of hitting the frantic girl, who couldn't hobble fast enough, the odango-haired blonde grabbed her around the waist, the impact hard enough to send them both onto the opposite sidewalk and just out of harm's way by inches. One of the crutches, fallen backwards, lay twisted and broken by the car's tires in the street.
"A-a-arigatou gozaimasu!" the girl stuttered frantically, still holding onto the other crutch. A red scrape decorated her palm from where she landed, but she was otherwise unhurt. Usagi helped her to her feet, marveling.
Watching her hobble slowly up the sidewalk, her means of support cut in half, the odango-haired blonde felt as if some sort of pattern had been disrupted….but she was happy nonetheless. Looking for cars herself she skipped back across the street, picking up her school case as she continued where she had left off, singing another random set of lyrics as she entered the park. And, seeing a familiar black head of hair at the fountain, she skipped faster.
Mamoru, his head buried in a book, heard her coming. But he pretended to be completely oblivious, looking up only once she landed in a happy heap at his side, kissing his cheek with childish abandon. She brimmed with mirth, kicking her feet against the concrete sides of the fountain, as he removed his glasses and smiled. "Detention again, Usako?"
She stuck out her tongue as she laughed, saying, "No! I have a surprise for you, Mamo-chan, and it took my whole allowance. Hold out your hand!"
He did as requested, amused. With a flourish she pulled out a jewelry box, covered in black velvet, and set it in his hand. As she stared at him, he pried it open to see his moon phase watch lying on the satin, merrily ticking away. "Do you like it, Mamo-chan? I thought it would be nice to have it fixed and working again for you."
"It was my father's watch," he murmured faintly, listening to it tick. It was not an expensive operation by any means, but he felt unbelievably touched. He closed it far gentler than he opened it, setting it next to his book. As she snuggled up against his side, he smiled down at her, holding her with his free arm. "And, Usako, how do you feel?"
His fingers brushed a round brooch that hung now on her breast, decorated with a star. Before they had left the moon, she had found it amongst her mother's jewels, reformed along with the rest of the personal objects in the castle, and took it with her. It had a perfect spot for the Ginzuishou within, though all Luna had said in her mysterious way was that she could use it. Somehow, knowing she could still transform into Sailor Moon comforted her.
"Happy, of course. And not so tired. I think mama put this for me to find, so I could still be Sailor Moon even though I lost my old brooch." It was a silly idea, the queen being long dead and not of the physical for a thousand years, but it made sense to her; she knew it, somehow, to be true.
Their fingers entwined. Still a bit shy about their affection, they leaned in to one another slowly, a bit clumsy. Mamoru pulled Usagi up with him, holding her in his arms as they finally managed a kiss, growing less shy and more passionate as the seconds passed. Eyes closing, they were oblivious to the smiling faces walking by, of the people who regarded them with happiness because they themselves were happy.
An earthquake could have hit, and they wouldn't have noticed.
So instead, a black ball dropped out of the sky and clonked Mamoru on the head.
Mamoru opened his eyes in shock, looking over Usagi's shoulder to see the ball still rolling on the ground. With large conical ears, and a comically exaggerated cat face, it rather resembled a blown-up Luna head, crescent moon and all.
Neither of them could miss the bright flash of light that followed up in the sky, right above their heads. Usagi, still in his arms, screamed piteously and buried her face in his chest, as he, ever gallant, sought to simultaneously protect her from the explosion. And the damned cat head was still rolling back and forth….
Wind whistled as something bigger fell out of the light.
Usagi screeched as something landed on her neck rather hard, knocking her to the ground. Mamoru had no time to react, as the thing that landed was a small child, and managed to lock lips with him as she fell right between them. He fell backwards, and she rode him like a horse to end up in his lap. His ever-brave princess, always concerned with others over herself, was crying like a baby as she held her neck.
"My neck, my neck, it's been broken! In the prime of womanhood I've broken my spine!" she yelled, absolutely furious.
It only got worse as she looked up, testing her poor, mutilated neck, to see what landed on her. The child that sat in Mamoru's lap had to be no more than eight years old from what she could see of her, with audaciously pink hair tied up into two conical buns on her head, her ponytails thick and barely passing her shoulders. Her blue school uniform was completely unfamiliar looking. "Whoever you are, you're sitting in my Mamo-chan's lap! Get off of him this instant!"
Mamoru felt a sudden camaraderie and pity for the male schoolmates he had always overheard talking about their jealous girlfriends. He was now, to his sudden fear, right in the thick of it, and sinking fast.
The young girl stared up into his face with eyes as pink as her hair, clutching at his shirt as if afraid he would leave her. "Is that right? ‘Mamo-chan'…."
"Hai, my Mamo-chan! And who are you, you Mamo-chan thief! You broke my neck, too!" Usagi added, holding her neck still. She stiffened as the girl turned her head, staring at her with a face that struck her as familiar, though she couldn't quite place it.
"I'm Usagi! And who are you, with your odango like mine?" the girl came right back with, crawling off Mamoru's lap to stare petulantly. She would just reached Usagi's shoulders with the top of her head, but she managed to unnerve the odango-haired blonde with her stare nonetheless, still on her butt on the ground.
That, coupled with the shock of her announcement, that is. "U-usagi? But I'm Usagi! My name is Tsukino Usagi, and that is my hairstyle! You stole it from me, you thief and neck breaker!"
Mamoru was sure he would have a heart attack by nineteen if he had to put up with this for a few years straight. Even the couple of minutes the girl had been here, getting into a fight with his princess, was driving him to a lifetime of stress. Though, when his hand had brushed hers, he was sure he had seen a tall, rising crystal palace….
"Tsukino Usagi." Before either of them had time to react fully, she had a gun out and pointed at Usagi's forehead, holding it steady with both hands. "You have the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou, then! I want it!
"Hurry up and give it to me, or else!"
Usagi gaped stupidly, momentarily frozen at the sight of the weapon, as was Mamoru. Even the damned police force didn't have guns to carry around regularly! Yet, a little girl held them at bay with one, and as Mamoru watched, she tightened her finger on the trigger.
Far away from the noise and smell of physical existence, she drifted.
There was only soothing blackness as far as the eye could see, warm and comforting; it was all she knew as she continued to lazily bob along. How long had she been here? It felt like years, or two days ago; time had no more meaning.
She was content to never leave, floating forever in this calm world. Only the vaguest memory of a painful life remained in her mind, dissolving with every passing day, second, century. Maybe she had never lived at all, and merely dreamed it. None of it mattered, nothing at all touched her.
Abruptly, she heard a voice say, "I'm sorry."
Suddenly there was solid ground, and she was standing. There had been no warning, no knowledge at all of the change; she was floating, and then she was upright. Annoyed at being disturbed she turned around and around, to see the same endless black as before. She walked a few steps, only to find herself smacking into a wall.
"You could have had a good life, but some things are unavoidable."
Another wall behind her, next to her, but not in front of her. A hallway. The voice echoed from the end of it. "It was much sooner than expected, but you only were doing what was in you from the beginning."
"Who are you?"
Turning again, and there was a room. A glass case on a pedestal took up the exact middle, flooded with light that came from nowhere. On top of it sat someone smoking a cigarette, of all things, face obscured by a blue velvet hood and cape. "Do you know how long you've known the answer to everything, Chouno Moriyakumi?"
All very calm and genial, as if they were friends. Dressed in the school uniform of Juuban as her mind had unconsciously chosen, Moriya remembered what had happened. The irrational disruption of the city's light; when it had happened, she had crept out in her thief's guise, tracking it to the source. Hiding in the elevator she had watched the fight, and at the pinnacle had heard the tuxedo-clad man call Sailor Moon ‘Usagi-chan.'
Flinging herself in front of the oncoming energy had quite possibly been the most idiotic, and last, thing she had ever done. She had known immense, engulfing pain.
Then she had arrived here.
"If I know the answer, why am I asking you a question?" Moriya replied tartly after a moment, pausing as she realized the other person was speaking in English, and was either a woman, or a very effeminate man.
The cigarette was flicked off into the blackness, where, after a minute, it disappeared entirely. "Filthy habit anyway. I only do it when I get nervous, when I have to do something with my hands. Do you know that feeling, Moriya?"
Sliding from the glass case, the cloaked woman set both hands on its top. Curiously, Moriya stepped up on the other side to peer within, wondering at what was so important as to be protected beneath glass; and she screamed. She screamed and screamed as she saw her own face.
Though it wasn't truly her face. It was a face she would have had in about five years, at the height of her maturity, an androgynous shape of bones that could be male or female with the right style of clothes. But the copper hair that rested on the pillow was long, waist length, and the breasts beneath her shirt were quite ample; they were just fine on a frame that was at least six feet tall.
And it wore a familiar blue soldier's uniform.
Moriya commenced to tremble, staring at a woman she herself had drawn just weeks before her death. Even the crescent sigil that clasped the cape to her shoulder. "She…she's me…." she said weakly, looking up at the cloaked woman across the glass.
She found herself talking to that same adult face. With the hood down, she was the very image of the woman between them, if a bit more lively, and clad in the same blue uniform. White gloved hands laced beneath her chin as she watched Moriya's face utterly drain of blood. "You know what's happening, Moriya. The body you wear, ‘Chouno Moriyakumi,' was only a secondary form. To protect the princess.
"When the kingdom was destroyed, and the princess sent into stasis, we had nowhere to go. So we gave ourself up to the galaxy in our purest form, watching and waiting for an event to force Serenity's rebirth. Metallia would awaken, it was obvious, and it was the opening of the seal that prompted us to find mothers for Serenity and her court to be reborn through. They were to be born as humans for a new chance at life, and awakened when the time was right.
"But though Luna and Artemis were chosen to be their guides, it wasn't enough. And so we split into sections."
"I don't understand—"
"'Chouno Moriyakumi' is a created person, containing the essential personality of us. Given a childhood and parents that never existed, you were then placed into the orphanage run by Sakakku Kotaiko.
"Found just seconds after death, Sakakku Kotaiko had been a miserly woman, trained as a nurse but hating life; she died of a head wound in her apartment. Her body was filled up by another half of our essence, directed to watch and wait, to place Moriya in the position to meet our princess, Tsukino Usagi.
"And I was the last remaining piece, left to drift formless. I awoke Luna and Artemis, with the aid of our queen. I transported the bulk of the moon's computer to a safe location in Tokyo. I spoke to V as ‘Boss.' And all of this time, I've been waiting for you to die. Sakakku was to follow directly after you into death, so finally, we can wake up. Her half is already within."
Moriya looked down at the body in the glass case. "…I…I remember now. And that's all I am? Just a created form to protect Usagi-chan?"
"You would have done it anyway," the other said mildly, to which Moriya nodded.
Staring into the glass case, it all finally made sense. And so she held out her hand to the other woman, not flinching as she took it in a tight grip. "I remember now. I'm not Chouno Moriyakumi, of Tokyo. All of it was a lie, to protect that important person."
"Not all a lie. You are not Chouno Moriyakumi, but you are the person she was."
Drifting on a sea of darkness, Moriya opened her eyes.
But her name was not Moriya, and she had been sleeping for a very long time.
Waiting.
