Author's note: Written for sarahaeris at LiveJournal for Christmas.
The first time Princess Serenity died was when she learned that the Silver Empyrean Crystal could guarantee the reincarnation of a person. Of course, the moment of awe in the face of such power was short-lived, since she snuffed it right after she found out. But still, that sort of thing is good to know.
The second time Princess Serenity died, she finally remembered that the Crystal held such a power and wielded it herself for the first time. Of course she'd been told the story about her previous incarnation when she was still trying to be "just Usagi", but she didn't dwell on the knowledge much - she didn't understand the importance of it. Not until everyone else was gone, anyway.
The third time Princess Serenity died, she wondered why her first mother hadn't reincarnated herself with the Empyrean Crystal. After all, Serenity had already managed to reincarnate herself once, and she was about to do it again. She wondered if maybe her mother actually had been reborn and was watching her from afar, somewhere.
The fourth time Princess Serenity died, she decided that she must be cursed. The whole reincarnation thing, she decided, was getting old fast. She'd even gone back in time to try to influence the decisions of her past-self and try to end the cycle, but it had been a huge waste of time - as she knew it would be. She'd lived through it once already, after all.
And now, with what looked to be death number five looming ahead, Princess Serenity was pissed.
She was tired of watching all the people she cared about die one by one until she was the only one left standing. She was tired of not living past her teenage years. She was tired of not getting married and not giving birth that bratty, pink-haired, adorable little girl who occasionally dropped in from the future.
She pushed herself off the ground, blood running in rivulets down her cheeks and arms, staining her flowing white dress that was torn and covered in dirt and grime. Her lover and friends lay strewn about the battlefield, unmoving. She had watched them all die again, and the last reserves of their power had flowed into her, urging her forward to save them again.
She gritted her teeth and clenched the Empyrean Crystal tightly in her palm, slowly rising to her feet. This time she wouldn't reincarnate them. This time, she swore, she would resurrect them. She would defeat her enemies and return everyone's power and she would marry Endymion and she would have her daughter and she would form her kingdom and everyone would be right there with her.
The Silver Empyrean Crystal shone brightly, bathing the moon princess with pulsating light unlike any other light it had ever emitted before. She could feel the power of her loved ones at her back, urging her forward and helping her draw out this new power. Her grin was almost as feral as it was triumphant as she lunged forward to her foes, the light and power surging all around her. It was that image combined with her guttural battle cry that caused them to hesitate and brought the battle back into the princess's favor:
"Damnit, we will all LIVE!"