Dual Fates Part 1
Destruction's Destiny
by
Sailor Janus
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and Gundam Wing characters are own by their respected owners.
::Takes place a few years after Sailor Stars (Hotaru is 19) and four years after Endless Wing (Duo and the other GW boys are 20)::
Warning: This contains explicit graphic deaths, which involve the two main characters.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hotaru stared at the water softly falling upon her closed window, smearing against the clear glass, as each drop joined another, uniting together.
For some reason, the girl found peace watching the droplets tumble out of the sky only to meet their end upon the smooth surface, which they soon escaped, plummeting to the soil and grass below.
Shivering, she wrapped her thin arms around herself. "It's getting colder," Hotaru murmured as she turned her attention to the dimly lit room.
Hotaru had returned to the outer's mansion for winter vacation after having been away at college for most of the year. The nineteen-year-old woman knew she should be studying for her final exams, which she had yet to take for nursing, but felt more intrigued to watch the rain fall.
Normally she didn't procrastinate as far as her studies were concerned, but for some reason, felt the tests held no value to her. It was almost as if she knew she would not be able to take them. Hotaru wished she knew why she felt this way.
Quietly, the girl opened her window and reached her hand out to the falling droplets of rain, gently landing upon her pale skin. Tears oddly appeared in Hotaru's bright violet eyes. It wasn't as if she would never feel the touch of rain again, was it?
Closing her eyes, the dark-haired girl tried clear away her strangely melancholy emotions, but they would not fade, persistently plaguing her eyes with salty tears which ran down her face.
"Why do I feel this way? It's almost as if I knew something horrible is about to happen, but I do not know what it is," Hotaru thought as she brought her arm back inside and shut the window.
The night sky was approaching fast. Smiling, the senshi of destruction and rebirth thought of the brilliant stars that always shone so brightly, filling the night sky with small specks of light. It was going to be a new moon so Hotaru knew the only source of light she'd see tonight, would be the stars themselves. She preferred it that way.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was past eleven and Hotaru knew she should retreat to bed. Glancing one last time, she turned away from the window and slowly walked to bed, snuggling under the covers. Soon the girl entered the world of dreams, only this time, the dream would be real.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hotaru."
Glancing around, the dark-haired girl realized that she was outside standing barefoot in the damp grass. She was wearing a long silk lavender dress with thin straps; the skirt barely grazed her feet. She shivered slightly as she heard her name called again, spinning around towards the source of the voice.
"Who are you? Do I know you?" Hotaru questioned a young man dressed in black with long chestnut brown hair, which was pulled back into a braid. His dark cobalt blue eyes almost seemed violet in the night sky as he grimaced at the girl in front of him as if it pained him to be there.
"Unfortunately princess, you do," he answered softly as he looked down at the ground before meeting his eyes with her own.
"I-I do not understand. I don't remember you, yet somehow, I do." the violet-eyed girl said staring at the man standing in front of her.
Slowly, he approached Hotaru, watching her every movement. "I know. Soon that won't matter."
The girl blinked in confusion as she shook her head. "But-"
"Shh." the man quietly said as he interrupted Hotaru, bringing his hand up to her mouth, silencing her. It killed him to say what he had to tell her, but he had no choice. If only there were another way. He knew she would be upset, but destiny had to be. Unfortunately, in their case, destiny can be very cruel.
Hotaru looked intently at the man who placed his hand to her mouth. She feared what he was about to say but every bone in her body already knew every word that was about to come out of his mouth.
The wind suddenly picked up, blowing their hair across their young faces. Even the wind knew what the next few words were going to be. It seemed like it was trying to comfort to the two young people but it backfired only adding onto their frustrations.
Taking a deep breath, the long haired man tried to gather his composure. He knew it was going to be very difficult, but it had to be said. "What I have to tell you is important. Tomorrow, you will face your ultimate battle. The results of this will leave your friends injured pretty badly but they continue on with their lives, unfortunately, you will die."
Hotaru's eyes widened in disbelief as she backed away from him in horror. 'No it had to be an awful trick,' she thought as she shook her head, clenching her jaw. "No, you're lying! You're lying to me you terrible person! You don't know anything! I'm going to live and become a nurse, I..I" Bringing her hands up to her face, the girl stumbled and fell to ground as the man tried to catch her.
Holding onto her firmly, the chestnut brown-haired man, firmly said, "Listen to me. Firefly, look at me. There is no other way. You are faced with an option of either letting your friends die and the rest of the world being conquered by Chaos or heroically saving them by sacrificing yourself. Admirably, you choose the latter."
Hotaru blinked back the tears as she whispered, '"Fatal Detonation. I destroy the enemy, but myself as well."
Carefully, the cobalt blue-eyed man, helped the girl to her feet, watching her carefully incase she fainted. "Yes, it's a very difficult task, but you reluctantly take it anyway."
Looking up, she saw the seemingly charming man was gazing down at her. Hotaru slightly blushed as she questioned him. "Who are you? How do you know all this?"
Surprisingly he smiled, "I am the subconscious of the Shinigami. The day after you die, the man who is myself will perish in a battle as well, and just like you, he chooses his friends and the world over his own life. I would like it if you could do exactly as I have done for you my Goddess of Destruction and Rebirth, warn him gently. Discovering that you are going to die the next day is not exactly the easiest thing."
Violet eyes stared deeply into blue ones as she softly asked, "But why? I still don't understand."
The man closed his eyes as he sighed, then opened them, carefully examining Hotaru's face as he grimly spoke, "We are not meant to live on the Earth or anywhere near it. The only reason we were reborn here was to prevent total devastation of the world sparing many lives," the chestnut brown-haired man leaned his face close to the girl's bringing her chin up so he could look into her amazingly bright violet eyes. It hurt him to see Hotaru like this, so filled with fear and disbelief. If only things could be different. Swallowing, he continued, "Unfortunately, sooner or later, we must depart from it." Slowly, the man pressed his lips against Hotaru's in a soft kiss. Pulling away, Duo whispered, "Don't think of it as death but as a new beginning."
The girl let out a small gasp as he pulled away. "Why are you so familiar?"
Gently stroking her cheek with his hand he softly answered Hotaru. "Let's just say, we have known each other since forever. I'll see you soon Firefly. Please do not be afraid," he smirked as he disappeared into he mist.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hotaru gasped as she awoke. "That dream!" she began to say when realization hit her. "No, it wasn't a dream. I really am going to die tomorrow. I guess peace cannot last forever after all."
Reluctantly, she went back to sleep, knowing that it will be her last, however, did not seem to make it too restful, only resulting in consistent tossing and turning.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The sun shone brightly across Hotaru's pale features as she lazily awoke. "No, please it can't be morning. Why couldn't he have warned me earlier?" she said to herself as she sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "I wonder what my last meal will be? Probably toast and tea."
Knowing you were hours away from death was quite unnerving, the violet-eyed girl discovered as she stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen. "I wonder if the others know what is about to happen?"
But no one had any idea; instead they went on with the day like any other. Michiru was cooking breakfast while Haruka was outside washing her car. Setsuna was found in the office typing furiously at her computer. Nothing out of the ordinary. Hotaru wished that she could warn them as well, but was afraid that she'd somehow mess up what was to be.
Deciding that she wasn't too hungry, the dark-haired girl retreated up to her room to get cleaned up and changed, putting on her favorite pair of dark jeans and a royal purple shirt with black boots. "Last time I'll wear this," she sadly said to herself as she ran a brush through her long dark hair, which now reached the middle of her back.
Suddenly, Hotaru felt her eyes began to water, "No, I can't cry. I can't. I have to be brave, but I don't want to die," she softly whispered to herself, wrapping her arms around her body.
Please do not be afraid.
A smile appeared on the girl's face as the final words from the incredibly handsome and familiar man, entered her head, as if trying to soothe her pain that was soon to be reality.
Suddenly her communicator went off as voices began shouting at each other filled the rooms of the mansion, some even beckoning Hotaru to follow them.
"This is it. Goodbye, room. Goodbye my wonderful home. I guess I don't have to worry about the damn finals anymore," Hotaru grimly thought as she grabbed her transformation wand off of her dresser. "I'll be seeing you soon, Duo."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As soon as Sailor Saturn and the other outer soldiers arrived at the park where the battle was taking place, one fact was clear. Chaos was definitely back, and would give no mercy to those that tried to prevent her reign over the world.
The senshi of destruction and rebirth tried not to stare at the blood smeared across the pavement or the brutal appearance of her friends. She knew she had to be strong. This was her fate. To die honorably as the bringer of peace.
Saturn watched as the others attempted to fight Chaos, the results were broken bones and their blood being sprayed through the air. The ones in the worst shape were Mars and Jupiter. Venus also looked really bad as well. Crimson red was streaked through her light blonde hair and her costume was now in shambles as were everyone else's.
Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto then stepped in, but Saturn knew they would not be able to make a major impact on that hell-spawned demon.
"When are you people going to realize that you cannot defeat me?!" Chaos cackled as she threw Uranus through a wall as Neptune skidded across the grass, and falling down the step concrete steps and Pluto crashed into a tree. All three appeared to be in some pretty severe pain.
Sailor Neptune rubbed the blood off her face, staining her white gloves as she gathered up her energy for her attack.
"DEEP SUBMERGE!" the aqua-haired woman shouted, throwing a ball of energy and water at Chaos who instead reflected the attack back at Neptune, causing the woman to scream out in pain as the attack relentlessly hit her.
Saturn noted that Eternal Sailor Moon was pretty severely injured, slipping in and out of consciousness, as was Mercury. Everyone appeared to be on the verge of getting up, but most could barely move. 'It's now or never.'
Taking a deep breath the purple-clad Sailor Soldier approached Chaos, "You will not rule this world. I alone shall be the one to stop you," Saturn said with determination in her voice as her violet eyes went cold with hatred towards the demon in front her.
Chaos only laughed at the girl. "Go ahead and try my dear, but it's your funeral," she sneered.
Saturn summoned her Silence Glaive as she stared dead on at Chaos, "If I die then I'm taking you with me. The only difference is you'll burn in hell!" she smirked. Hotaru had no idea where that came from but it felt right.
In a blink of an eye, Saturn rushed Chaos with her glaive in hand prepared to run her through, instead the demon side-stepped the girl, grabbing a hold of the weapon and pushing it into the violet-eyed girl, resulting in Hotaru losing her grip causing the blade to slice her face.
Wincing in pain, she brought her hand up to her bleeding cheek, as she turned to face Chaos.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you cut yourself?" Chaos smirked as Saturn glared at her before charging once again, this time without the Glaive, only using punches and kicks as her only weapons. After a few good hits, Chaos retaliated, resulting in a good blow to Saturn's ribs which she swore she heard snap, kidneys, a few hits to the face and her shoulder pulled painfully out of joint.
The other Sailor Senshi could only helplessly watch, discovering that they no strength left, even after watching Saturn's brutal beatings.
Weakly, the soldier of destruction and rebirth, found herself collapsing to the ground as she fell to her knees coughing up blood. 'Great, I knew I'd have that metallic taste in my mouth once again,' she grimly thought groaning at the throbbing in her body. She knew that she shouldn't try Silence Glaive Surprise for fear of it being reflected back as she witnessed occur with her friends.
Hotaru's head was ringing so badly that she couldn't tell if anyone was shouting for her or not. It didn't matter. It was time to end everything. "Just why must it end like this?" she bitterly muttered, stumbling to her feet, wincing as the aching in her bones continued.
Neptune glanced up as Saturn stood up, recognizing the cold, deadly look in the girl's eyes. "Oh no. She is not going to do it. Is she?!"
"What?! What's wrong?!" Venus asked as she looked at Neptune's worried eyes.
"She's going to use Fatal Detonation It kills the enemy but because it's so powerful, it kills Saturn as well. I surprised she remembers the attack," Pluto quietly explained as the other girl's eyes went wide.
Climbing to her feet Sailor Moon stood up, "Saturn! Don't do it!"
Abruptly, the girl spun around and faced her friends for the last time. Nervously she bit her lip.
"Please don't be afraid."
Taking a deep breath, the soldier of destruction and rebirth held her head high, "I must. I want all of you to know that I love you and will be with each of you always but this is my duty and I cannot betray fate."
Uranus would not stand to hear such nonsense. She always was stubborn. "Saturn! Don't be crazy! There has to be another way!"
"No there isn't," she firmly stated as her Glaive appeared in her hand once again. "It is my destiny to sacrifice myself to save all of you and preserve peace as well. Don't even think to try and stop me because I will not hesitate to lay my glaive upon any one of you. Goodbye." With those last words she turned to face her last enemy. "Sorry for keeping you waiting, but I couldn't be rude and die without saying goodbye first."
"Appropriate enough," Chaos sneered which only made Saturn roll her violet eyes. "Let's just get this over with shall we?" With lightening speed, a sword materialized in Chaos's hand, which was soon thrust through the Senshi of Destruction's stomach, as she cried out on pain. Just as quickly, the sword was pulled out. Hugging her wound as life slowly began to fade from her already mutilated body, Saturn stood up on her own two shaky feet. She had to end this now.
Pluto was the only one who was not terrified as she watched the scene play out and instead realized something very important. "She knows what she must do. Death must have already approached her."
Shaking her head weakly in disbelief Jupiter murmured, "She really is going to do it."
"I can't believe we are about to lose her," Venus softly said as she stared at the two fighters.
"No Saturn," Mars sadly said.
"You do have to admire her bravery though," Mercury said as Saturn began to focus all of her energy.
Slowly Saturn closed her eyes, trying urgently to gather every bit of energy in her body for her final attack. Opening her eyes, she spun her glaive in her hands in a wide circle, concentrating all her strength to it before shouting out her last two words. "FATAL DETONATION!"
Chaos couldn't believe the girl was actually going to destroy herself so that the demon would never be a threat again. It was suicide, but Hotaru preferred to think of it as a sacrifice for a good cause.
A calm silence emitted through the air and a wave of violet energy overtook Chaos as well as Hotaru herself. "I'm coming Duo," were Hotaru's last thoughts as life left her weak body, causing her to crumble to the ground like a child's rag doll.
Tears filled the eyes of the survivors. Hotaru had given up her life for them and they had no way to repay the favor.
"I can't believe she died for us," Neptune said as she tried to hold her tears back.
The others agreed as they gazed down at her beaten, fragile, lifeless body sprawled out on the hard pavement.
Hotaru looked down on the sailor senshi. She knew they were probably still in shock over what just happened, but she had to die. "I'm so sorry, but it was something that I had to do. Please do not feel too much pain over my death. Take care of each other."
With a small smile Hotaru left her sobbing friends who were trying to comfort each other over the loss of the youngest sailor soldier.
"Soon it's going to be Duo's turn to hear some bad news. I wonder what he is doing right now."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Author's Notes: Wow I actually have this one out! You won't believe how long I have worked on this! Since before I started Shattered Reality to be exact. I hope you liked it. This was my first romantic death fic, which portrayed the romance in the first chapter. Usually I like to build it up. There is a lot more to the story than it appears to be. Prepare for a large twist.
Oh, I had to create a new attack for Saturn basically so that she'd sacrifice herself but not destroy the world at the same time because that was not the point. I figure Fatal Detonation speaks for itself as an attack.
Let me now what you think ^_^