Hello, minna-sama! This is my VERY FIRST fan-fic. (Well, that I finished anyway.) I have another, but it's long and I have to finish it. This is about Serenity's transformation into Sailor Cosmos. What she felt and had to give up.
So, that said, I would really like some feedback! PLEASE! PRETTY PLEASE?
::REVISED EDITION:: This was made... a while ago, a *long* while ago. If you think this is bad, I don't write like this anymore, I have improved. That, I can assure you.
Title: "Destiny: Serenity's Ultimate Fate"
Rating: PG (one 'damn')
Pen name/author: Sailor Event Horizon
***Disclaimers: I do not in any way own Sailor Moon, nor do I claim to. Sailor Moon is copyright 1992 by Naoko Takeuchi. North American Rights belong to DIC (anymore?), Cwi, Mixxine (I don't know if I spelled that right.), and anyone else with legal rights to Sailor Moon.
I shall refer to all the scouts/senshi as Queen *name here*, Queen of *planet*, or I will just use their name. I am using the Japanese names. They are as followed:
Serena----------Serenity/Tsukino Usagi
Amy-------------Ami
Raye------------Rei
Lita------------Makoto
Mina------------Minako
Amara/Uranus----------Haruka
Michelle/Neptune---------Michiru
Trista/Pluto-----------Setsuna
Saturn----------Hotaru
Rini------------Usagi
I apologize if I have misspelled any names.
'____' are thoughts.
* * * * * *
"I was attempting to ascertain the meaning of the lyrics." -- Spock
"It's a song, you green-blooded...Vulcan. You don't analyze it. The point is you have a good time singing it." -- McCoy
"Oh, I am sorry, Doctor. Were we having a good time?" -- Spock, after
trying to sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" (Star Trek V)
*****************************************************************************
Background:
Neo-Queen Serenity and Neo-King Endymion abdicated their thrones to their daughter and son-in-law, now known as Queen Serenity and King Elios. The other senshi have given up their thrones as well, to their children.
* * * * * *
A terrible evil had come to the kingdom of the Sol system; chaos threatened its sanctity. Sailor Pluto had informed Queen Serenity and King Elios that the force was originating in the past, the Silver Millennium to be exact. At first, the Queen was to go, with her senshi, but then her mother intervened. She explained that the Queen was needed here, with her people, and so were her senshi. The former queen of Crystal Tokyo said that she and the former queens of the kingdom would go instead.
At first Queen Serenity objected, but former Queen Ami noted that the present queen of Mars was pregnant and could not possibly go. She also noted that they have better experience with this type of situation. Finally, the king and queen consented, but only after the former king had agreed with this new plan. Neo-Queen Serenity and all of the former queens, save Pluto, went to the Silver Millennium. After meeting with the rulers of the Moon Kingdom, while revealing as little as possible about the future, they planned their course of action.
It had been hard. None of them had their youth any longer, but they did have their memories of past exploits. After a long and arduous battle, Neo-Queen Serenity wanted to face the cause of all this pain by herself. Her friend told her she was crazy, that she couldn't possibly defeat the beast alone But she was not to be swayed. His powers were strong and she knew she wasthe only one who could possibly survive long enough to destroy him. Queen Ami sadly agreed with her. Finally, Serenity left. She battled long and hard, the power surges echoed throughout the land. The two most powerful forces in the universe, Neo-Queen Serenity and Malicioso, fought on. Then Serenity cornered him in a one-roomed house. With large stone block walls and a damp cobblestone floor, everything they did echoed deafeningly. Then in a blinding flash of white light, which seeped beyond the seams in the roof and the wooden door, Malicioso was destroyed forever. But Neo-Queen Serenity, had taken heavywounds, and was weak from using so much energy.....
*~*
'Is this it?' she thought dazedly. 'Is this how I die? Alone, in a damp room? With no one, save the sound of my own voice, for comfort?'
"Oh Endymion," she moaned. "You knew, didn't you? I saw something in your eyes when I kissed your mouth. How? How did he know? A feeling? A dream? Why? You sensed this was coming, you knew we would never look into each other's eyes again, and yet, you still let me go.
"Ungh," a grunt slipped past her lips, as she fell to her knees, and echoed off the moist walls. Her vision was getting blurry. "You knew I would go anyway, that I would pay whatever price to save my people. That, that is why he let me go, and yet, what was it that I saw in Setsuna's eyes? She knew, she had to know. She is the Guardian of Time, she knows all, but still....the look in her eyes....seemed to say more than death.
"O-o-ohhhh!" She fell completely to the floor, her legs were sideways and slightly curled, while her back was down, leaving her eyes to stare at the swirling ceiling. It was growing darker.
'Maybe,' she thought, as the ceiling's motion sped up. 'Maybe, it is time. I have led a good life. It was full of hardships and I did wish to be a normal person, on more than one occasion, but then again....I would have never met Endymion, my friends, or given birth to my child. I have lived long, longer than most, I dare say. Perhaps, too long....'
The ceiling swirled faster and faster, as the light grew darker and darker, until finally...
...she was gone.
*~*
Her body lay there, still, growing colder, in the damp room. Then light consumed her body. The brightness grew so much that it too, just as it had done with Malicioso, seeped through the cracks of the little one-room building. Then.... she disappeared.
When the light dissipated, Serenity found herself standing in a cool mist. She looked around herself and then looked down at herself. She was wearing a senshi uniform. It was white, with a multi-colored sash going down the front of her skirt. Holding the sash was a medallion with small wings on each side. Where she used to keep her locket, when she was Sailor Moon, there was another medallion, exactly the same as the one below it. She felt something brushing her ankles; she looked down to see the bottom of a long billowing cape touching her high-heeled shoes. The shoes were white and had small wings on either side, much like the Greek god, Hermes. She felt something on her forehead; she reached up to touch it when she realized that she held a staff. This had small wings, as well, at the top.
Serenity paused, something was familiar about this, but what? She started to rack her brain when she remembered. 'Of course!' she thought. Once when she had visited with the Asteroid Senshi, they had told her what Sailor Cosmos looked like.
'Sailor Cosmos,' flashed through her mind.
"I am Sailor Cosmos now!" she said, in shock. Then she stopped, she remembered what happened a few moments ago.
"But should not I be dead? I must be, for I remember the fight, the bruises, the pain, but mostly I remember the darkness, growing, until it overwhelmed me. But here I stand! Alive! If I were truly passed on, then how could I be standing here? Wondering the answer to the question, 'Why?'"
She turned around slowly, the fog had cleared somewhat and what her eyes beheld was truly a shock.
"Sailor Pluto?"
Sailor Pluto nodded. "Yes Serenity, it is I, your humble servant, the Guardian of Time."
"Ho-How can this be? Where am I?"
"The Gate of Time" she answered softly.
"'The Gate of Time?'" Sailor Pluto pointed behind Sailor Cosmos. "Bu-but--"
"You are alive, Serenity, the crystal brought you back after your fight with Malicioso." She stopped to watch Sailor Cosmos, waiting for a reaction.
"I am? Then I am not dreaming," she stopped then looked up wonderingly. "Sailor Pluto, please, answer me this: Why?"
"Your time has come, everything that has happened has been so that you would become what you are now, so that you could stand where you stand now."
"What?!" Sailor Cosmos stared at her in surprise. 'What is she talking about? "So that you could stand where you stand now." What is that supposed to mean?' "Pluto, what are you talking about?"
With eyes unwavering, "All of you exploits, your experiences, the people you've come in contact with over the years, all were for the sole purpose of preparing you for the ultimate purpose of your existence."
'Exploits... experiences... people... sole purpose... ultimate purpose... existence...' She became confused. Pluto's words swirled inside her head as she futilely tried to make sense of it all.
Pluto saw her confusion and explained further. "All of your friends, family, your friends' families, the moments you shared with them... everything. It all had," she faltered, "it all had no meaning to it.. whats-," again, she faltered. She took a deep breath and continued, "It all had no meaning to it whatso-ever other than to prepare you for your fate."
Cosmos looked up. '"No meaning?" How can she say "no meaning?" How can she say *they* had no meaning?' *They* kept her going. *They* told her never to quit. It was *they* for whom she fought for. Her prince, her Endymion. Her child, her Chibi-Usa. Her parents, her brother. Her friends, her comrades.
Her supporters.
Pluto looked at her for a moment. "Come with me." They walked over to the Gate of Time, Pluto opened it. They saw the room that had once been occupied by Serenity, first queen of Crystal Tokyo. Now it was empty, save for two glittering rings.
"My wedding band! My engagement ring! What are they doing down there? I had them on, how could the crystal forg--"
"No, it did not forget." Sailor Pluto turned from the sight of the empty room to look at Cosmos. "Serenity, you are Guardian of space now!
"From now until the end of time, you will no longer be allowed the comfort of living with your loved ones. You are out of their lives now, forever. I am truly sorry for this, Serenity," she looked down. "But this is Destiny, *your* destiny. You know it to be true, do you not? Can you not feel it in your heart?"
Sailor Cosmos stared at the room, a blank expression on her face. 'She is right. Destiny *has* been building up to this point.' She looked down to the ground. Tears were threatening to spill over, but she did not let them. She swallowed hard and looked up, her face hard. 'From the time of my birth in the Silver Millennium, to the battle with Metallia. My marriage to Endymion to my fight with Malicioso. All my actions, all the events in my life, *both* of my lives.... have been leading to my ultimate fate.' She didn't want to believe it. She tried to fight the growing sureness tooth and nail but...
A silent tear fell down her unreadable expression. "You are right, damn you. I am, indeed, no longer able to be with my loved ones."
She continued to stare at the empty room, but it was not to stay that way. Right before their eyes, all their friends came rushing in the door, nearly breaking it down.
"Hello?" "Serenity!" "Your Highness?" "Serenity?" "Answer us!" "Where are you hiding?" "Hey! Odango Atama!"
"They are here!" Sailor Cosmos cried.
"Wait! Do not go to them! You--"
"I know!" she snapped. "I am happy to see them is all. The gods know this very well may be the last time I shall ever lay eyes on them again." Sailor Cosmos turned back to the Gate of Time and watched her friends, knowing the whole time, she was right.
*~*
"Where is she?" Michiru worriedly wondered.
"How should we know? We got here the same time you did!" Queen Rei retorted.
"Hey Ami! Get a reading on your computer. What does it say? Is she in here?" asked the Queen of Uranus.
"Of course she is in here." observed Queen Minako. "Where else could she go? There's nothing outside for her to run to. Besides, we saw the lights come from this direction. This is the only place she could be."
Queen Ami was pushing some keys and reading the information that her computer was giving her. Her face grew pale.
The Queen of Neptune noticed her friend's sudden change in color. "What is it, Ami?"
"No," she whispered in an anguished reply.
"Huh? What is it? Where is Serenity?" inquired Queen Makoto.
"No!" she cried louder. "She's gone! Neo-Queen Serenity is dead!"
"What?" "No!" "That's not possible." "We saw her come in here!" "Then where's her body?" "No! Serenity!"
"Her body must have vanished. That's-That's wha-what my computer says." Ami was ferociously trying to keep her voice steady. "The second burst of li-light was her. She must have used all her energy and couldn't he-heal fast enough."
"No!" screamed Queen Rei, as she sank to the floor, on her knees. Queen Minako joined her.
Queen Haruka and Queen Makoto were pounding their fists into the damp walls, but they didn't even notice the pain. The ache of losing their friend completely overwhelming them.
*~*
"I hate seeing them like this," sighed Sailor Cosmos.
"I know, but you must, it is either this, or leave. There can be no other way," Sailor Pluto replied sadly.
"I know, I know, but must it be now?" she inquired sorrowfully.
"Yes, your life on earth has ended, a new path begins," Pluto softly responded.
Sailor Cosmos looked back down upon her friends. They were crying out her name. Her friends now stood in a semi-circle around Queen Rei, of Mars, and Queen Minako, of Venus, as they screamed, "Serenity!"
"Can I even say good bye to them? They think me dead, but here I stand before you, Lady Pluto, as a testament to the fact that I am, indeed, not!"
"No, Sailor Cosmos. To them you *are* dead, they are no longer a part of your life, nor you of theirs. You *are* the immortal soldier now."
*~*
"She is gone!" sobbed Minako.
"I can't believe it!" The former ruler of Mercury tearfully shook her head.
"Neo-Queen Serenity is dead," Haruka softly voiced in shocked, dull tone.
"I still can't believe she just vanished!" added Michiru, tears falling silently down her cheeks.
"Neither can I," Makoto said while shaking her head in denial.
"Serenity! Come back!" sobbed Venus.
"Stupid Odango Atama! Why did you have to fight alone?!" Rei angrily yelled.
"Queen Rei! Control yourself! You mustn't *ever* talk of Serenity like that, especially now!" Makoto cried. Her eyes flashed with angry lighting through her tears.
"So what?! She's gone, and she wouldn't have died if she hadn't left to battle this demon by herself." She placed her forehead to the cold, cobblestone floor once more.
"SILENCE!" They all turned to the Queen of the Planet of Ruin. "We are all saddened and affected deeply by this tragedy, but what of her survivors? What of her husband and child?
Deep intakes of breath were heard around the room. She was right.
"Hotaru's right!"
"What of Endymion-"
"And her highness,-"
"Queen Serenity?"
"Neo-King Endymion will be crushed!"
"As will Usagi!"
They continued to talk and worry.
The tears continued.
*~*
Sailor Cosmos took a sharp breath. "They are right! What of my husband? And of my daughter? Surely I may see them one last time. Correct, Pluto?" she asked worriedly.
"You may see them...," Sailor Pluto said hesitantly. She paused and started slowly once more, "But you may not talk to them or contact them in any way."
"What?! Surely you are mistaken? Or-Or joking, rather? I *must* take my leave of them! They are the most important people in my life! Perhaps-"
"No," she firmly told her. "I told you before. You are *dead* to them. You may no longer be with them. This means no good byes, as well."
"NO!!" she sobbed, and fell to her knees. "There must be another way! If this is the life I must lead from this point in time until the end of it, then this is no life!"
Sailor Pluto sadly and slowly sat down next to Sailor Cosmos. "Seren-"
"No!" she furiously lashed out. "I forbid you to call me by that name! You say that my life no longer has anything to do with earth? or my friends? or my family? You tell me that I am dead to them? And now? Now you call me by the horrendous name that started this whole cursed chain of events? No! I will not have it!"
"Sailor Cosmos," Sailor Pluto paused to look at her more closely. "I am sorry. Truly sorry. If it were up to me, you would have been spared this fate, along with the many other trials that you have had to face. You are kind of heart, and noble in spirit. You are a person not meant for the kind of lives you have lead, and will lead from now on. In your hands you hold life and death. Something that no one should have power over. No, you should have been a normal woman with a normal life. If it were up to me, you would have had that life.
"But it is *not* up to me. Maybe, that is why Destiny chose you. The saying, 'absolute power corrupts absolutely' is true. For every person in this universe, it holds some truth, somewhere. But not in you. You are the only person who can weld such a power and remain kind, understanding, and sane; not drunk on the thought of control. You are the *only* person in the universe who can be trusted with your power." Then she stopped. Letting the words take their full effect.
'Perhaps...Perhaps, she is right.' Cosmos finally thought sadly. She looked down to her friends once more.
*~*
"Look! Her rings!" Queen Haruka pointed.
"Huh?" "What?" "What are you talking about?"
"She means her wedding band and engagement ring," Queen Minako realized.
"What?" "Where?"
She went to pick it up. The engagement in her right, the wedding in her left.
"You're right," said Queen Makoto.
"But what are they doing on the ground?" inquired Ami, who was still sniffling a bit, here and there.
"May-Maybe Serenity's still around!" Haruka yelled. "All of us *know* she would never leave those lying around, they mean too much too her. And if she did just vanish, wouldn't the rings have disappeared as well? That means that she must still be here!"
"No. She is gone," Queen Minako replied quietly. She looked up at the others. She saw their puzzled expressions. 'What?' and 'How do you know?' written on all of their faces. "Serenity would *never* take her rings off...never. In over a thousand years she never...." She sighed sadly and shook her head, a pain welling in her heart.
"What does that have to do with anything? Maybe they fell-"
"No. She wouldn't let that happen. Even in the most fiercest of battles, her wedding band and engagement ring *always* stayed on her hand."
Makoto jumped in, "So, there's a first time for every-"
"No! She's gone. For good." The once Senshi of Love looked down at her hands.
Queen Rei stood up finally. They all looked to the ground, then they all formed a circle. They didn't know what to do. For the first time in a millennium, they were unsure. The Queen of Venus opened her hands. She stood there, silent. No one sure of what she was thinking. The rings still looked new, compared to her slightly aged skin. She, along with the others, didn't look like they were 20 any more. They weren't old, but where 20 year old looking young ladies once stood, there were now 40 year old looking women.
"In my right, the Ring of Passion and Promise," she looked to her left hand, "In my left, the Ring of Love and Eternity."
The room was silent.
*~*
Sailor Cosmos was staring. 'Why am I not crying? Am I no longer capable of tears?' Quietly she asked, "Will I ever be free from this hell that Destiny has placed me in?"
Silence.
"I do not know," she finally answered in an equally hushed tone. Sailor Cosmos looked at her friend, now her only companion. The expression on her face saying everything. 'But I thought you knew everything.'
"I am not around during that point in time, if it ever happens," she said,
never taking her eyes off the circle of mourners.
"Why not?" Sailor Cosmos asked in a shocked tone of voice.
"I do not know. The universe and the Gate of Time have chosen not to reveal anything past a certain point. Perhaps I die, or am replaced. Or maybe there is some knowledge that even I mustn't know or cannot handle. For whatever the reason, I am unable to answer your question." Sailor Pluto was still staring at the silent circle of women. Sailor Cosmos followed her gaze.
"I must go now," Sailor Pluto finally said, breaking the silence.
"Wait!" Cosmos cried, grabbing the turning Pluto by the arm. "Where are you going?" 'Don't leave me, too,' she thought.
"I must mourn with my comrades," she said calmly, looking into her former queen's eyes.
A puzzled look crossed the woman's face. "But why? You know I am not dead. I stood in front of you asking 'where am I' and I hear you telling me that I am, indeed, very much alive. Now you tell me you go to grieve. For me? The others think me dead, now only a memory in their minds and hearts, but you know that not to be true. Again I ask you. Why?"
Sailor Pluto continued to gaze into her confused gray-blue eyes. "Our friends mourn your passing. I leave to mourn your innocence."
"My innocence?!" she said a shocked voice. She continued in a cruel, cutting voice, "My dear friend. That was taken long ago, don't you think? I admit, while fighting Metallia, and even up until the Doom Phantom, I was still naive, my youth protecting me. But afterwards, my innocence was lost, gone forever. I knew death, fear, and sadness like no one else, and now? *Now* you choose to grieve for my innocence?" A twisted smile marred her face.
"Yes." Sailor Cosmos, apparently, still did not understand why Pluto was going through with this.
"You talk of the innocence of youth. Almost everyone loses that eventually. Yes, some people never do, and they are the fortunate ones. The few who have never realized true pain and sorrow. But you, you have lost more, not only did you lose the purity of youth, but of life. Surely you remember what you said to me earlier? That 'this is no life.' This is not death, for like you also told me, you stand here 'as a testament to the fact.' But what is left? This is neither death nor life. So without death, there is no final peace, and without life there is no innocence. Do you understand?" She looked at her then continued.
"As a child, and even as Queen, you were always surrounded by a certain...... aura. You were almost always cheerful. By walking in to a room your light and energy filled it to the ceiling. Almost instantly cheering any person up. You always tried to look for the bright side of things. Even if you yourself knew there wasn't one, that didn't mean that you shouldn't look for it, despite what you knew.
"But no longer. I don't have to tell you, as you probably already know, now, no longer will you search endlessly for a rainbow in a hurricane. No longer will you always be happy, contented with what the universe has given you. You used to walk through the door and everyone would instantly have smiles on their faces. If you are in a good mood, perhaps, then, you might be able to have a small fraction your original influence but on the whole, you are not the same person you were.
"This is what you have lost. Youth protected you during Metallia and Nemesis. But your certain essence of life protected you from everything else. When you became Queen of Crystal Tokyo, you looked at Nemeses, not as Sailor Moon, but as an adult, as a ruler. And even after that, you could still see the bright side. After seeing your people ravaged, and your city almost completely devastated.
"But no longer. You know what I say to be truth, do you not? You now fully realize what a cruel place the universe can be, and is, correct? You understand that life isn't always the grand thing that the poets make it out to be." Sailor Pluto finally stopped and tilted her head in a questioning manner.
Sigh. 'She is right. I am no longer what I used to be. This is not death, but certainly this can not be considered living, either.'
"Yes. What you say echoes in my heart. I see why I could not *possibly* meet my friends and family. I don't like it but..," she looked down and sighed. "I am too different. It would be like Tsukino Usagi going back to the Silver Millennium to see her mother and her court. It would not work." She gazed down at her friends once more, who were then holding hands.
Sailor Pluto nodded sadly, then turned away. "Wait!" She turned her head a little to look back. "Yes?"
"You tell me that I may not be part of *their* lives, but what of yours? You always knew this was coming. We are now two of a kind, are we not? Both solitary soldiers, both with duties that keep us from everyone we hold dear. What about us? I mean... could we visit each other? Or must I say good-bye to you as well? Must I face this Fate alone?" Sailor Cosmos was now holding her arm looking beseechingly.
After she had finished speaking, Sailor Pluto smiled, for the first time since she had gotten there. "Of course we may see each other. You are right. We are soldiers. Perhaps we can make it less solitary."
Cosmos gave a small smile. "Thank you."
With that, Pluto nodded once more and left, leaving Sailor Cosmos where Destiny had always wanted her.
Alone.
'But maybe, with Pluto, I can cheat Destiny.' Then, with one last long look at her friends, she, too, turned, and disappeared into the fog.
'At least... for a little while.'
*~*
Sailor Pluto appeared to them, and out of respect, changed magically into a long dark green dress. None of them were surprised.
Queen Ami and Queen Michiru broke their hands to make a spot for the Queen of Pluto. She walked over to them and grasped their hands. Then they all bowed their heads once more.
Ever so slowly, energy started to emanate from their bodies. Each aura the color that represented their own respective planet. To any outsider, it would appear as if the Queens were doing Planet Power. But to someone who knew the customs, it would not. This wasn't an attack. It was a ceremony. A tribute to their dead Queen, Neo-Queen Serenity. Their energy started to gather in the center of the ring and started to swirl. All their colors together, each of them saying their final good-byes. The small tornado of colors flashed white and was gone. They were left standing there, hands still clasped. Finally they let go and were led out of the small house by Setsuna.
There they greeted Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium and *her* court.
Silence.
"Our queen is dead," voiced Queen Haruka flatly.
Queen Serenity was shocked. Her eyes widened and a hand went over her mouth. Those behind her looked down, saddened as well.
"Queen Serenity, Queens of the Silver Millennium," Pluto addressed. They turned. "You must swear by the Silver Crystal, never to breathe a word of this incident to anyone, not even amongst yourselves."
"Yes, o-of course. We swear," Queen Serenity vowed. The others chimed in.
With that, Queen Setsuna transformed back to Sailor Pluto and called upon the Crystal Key. Ami, Rei, Haruka, Hotaru, Makoto, Michiru, and Minako, holding the engagement and wedding rings, followed Sailor Pluto silently through the time stream.
Without their leader.
*****************************************************************************
"Captain, life is not a dream." -- Spock (Star Trek V)
* * * * * *
Hello. First, I want to thank you for reading this. Now, what did you think? Was it good? Was it bad? Tell me! I want to know! You must have *SOME* thoughts about it if you stuck with it for all *10* pages!
Thank you once again for reading my story. And I really would like your
comments. Please?
So, that said, I would really like some feedback! PLEASE! PRETTY PLEASE?
::REVISED EDITION:: This was made... a while ago, a *long* while ago. If you think this is bad, I don't write like this anymore, I have improved. That, I can assure you.
Title: "Destiny: Serenity's Ultimate Fate"
Rating: PG (one 'damn')
Pen name/author: Sailor Event Horizon
***Disclaimers: I do not in any way own Sailor Moon, nor do I claim to. Sailor Moon is copyright 1992 by Naoko Takeuchi. North American Rights belong to DIC (anymore?), Cwi, Mixxine (I don't know if I spelled that right.), and anyone else with legal rights to Sailor Moon.
I shall refer to all the scouts/senshi as Queen *name here*, Queen of *planet*, or I will just use their name. I am using the Japanese names. They are as followed:
Serena----------Serenity/Tsukino Usagi
Amy-------------Ami
Raye------------Rei
Lita------------Makoto
Mina------------Minako
Amara/Uranus----------Haruka
Michelle/Neptune---------Michiru
Trista/Pluto-----------Setsuna
Saturn----------Hotaru
Rini------------Usagi
I apologize if I have misspelled any names.
'____' are thoughts.
* * * * * *
"I was attempting to ascertain the meaning of the lyrics." -- Spock
"It's a song, you green-blooded...Vulcan. You don't analyze it. The point is you have a good time singing it." -- McCoy
"Oh, I am sorry, Doctor. Were we having a good time?" -- Spock, after
trying to sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" (Star Trek V)
*****************************************************************************
Background:
Neo-Queen Serenity and Neo-King Endymion abdicated their thrones to their daughter and son-in-law, now known as Queen Serenity and King Elios. The other senshi have given up their thrones as well, to their children.
* * * * * *
A terrible evil had come to the kingdom of the Sol system; chaos threatened its sanctity. Sailor Pluto had informed Queen Serenity and King Elios that the force was originating in the past, the Silver Millennium to be exact. At first, the Queen was to go, with her senshi, but then her mother intervened. She explained that the Queen was needed here, with her people, and so were her senshi. The former queen of Crystal Tokyo said that she and the former queens of the kingdom would go instead.
At first Queen Serenity objected, but former Queen Ami noted that the present queen of Mars was pregnant and could not possibly go. She also noted that they have better experience with this type of situation. Finally, the king and queen consented, but only after the former king had agreed with this new plan. Neo-Queen Serenity and all of the former queens, save Pluto, went to the Silver Millennium. After meeting with the rulers of the Moon Kingdom, while revealing as little as possible about the future, they planned their course of action.
It had been hard. None of them had their youth any longer, but they did have their memories of past exploits. After a long and arduous battle, Neo-Queen Serenity wanted to face the cause of all this pain by herself. Her friend told her she was crazy, that she couldn't possibly defeat the beast alone But she was not to be swayed. His powers were strong and she knew she wasthe only one who could possibly survive long enough to destroy him. Queen Ami sadly agreed with her. Finally, Serenity left. She battled long and hard, the power surges echoed throughout the land. The two most powerful forces in the universe, Neo-Queen Serenity and Malicioso, fought on. Then Serenity cornered him in a one-roomed house. With large stone block walls and a damp cobblestone floor, everything they did echoed deafeningly. Then in a blinding flash of white light, which seeped beyond the seams in the roof and the wooden door, Malicioso was destroyed forever. But Neo-Queen Serenity, had taken heavywounds, and was weak from using so much energy.....
*~*
'Is this it?' she thought dazedly. 'Is this how I die? Alone, in a damp room? With no one, save the sound of my own voice, for comfort?'
"Oh Endymion," she moaned. "You knew, didn't you? I saw something in your eyes when I kissed your mouth. How? How did he know? A feeling? A dream? Why? You sensed this was coming, you knew we would never look into each other's eyes again, and yet, you still let me go.
"Ungh," a grunt slipped past her lips, as she fell to her knees, and echoed off the moist walls. Her vision was getting blurry. "You knew I would go anyway, that I would pay whatever price to save my people. That, that is why he let me go, and yet, what was it that I saw in Setsuna's eyes? She knew, she had to know. She is the Guardian of Time, she knows all, but still....the look in her eyes....seemed to say more than death.
"O-o-ohhhh!" She fell completely to the floor, her legs were sideways and slightly curled, while her back was down, leaving her eyes to stare at the swirling ceiling. It was growing darker.
'Maybe,' she thought, as the ceiling's motion sped up. 'Maybe, it is time. I have led a good life. It was full of hardships and I did wish to be a normal person, on more than one occasion, but then again....I would have never met Endymion, my friends, or given birth to my child. I have lived long, longer than most, I dare say. Perhaps, too long....'
The ceiling swirled faster and faster, as the light grew darker and darker, until finally...
...she was gone.
*~*
Her body lay there, still, growing colder, in the damp room. Then light consumed her body. The brightness grew so much that it too, just as it had done with Malicioso, seeped through the cracks of the little one-room building. Then.... she disappeared.
When the light dissipated, Serenity found herself standing in a cool mist. She looked around herself and then looked down at herself. She was wearing a senshi uniform. It was white, with a multi-colored sash going down the front of her skirt. Holding the sash was a medallion with small wings on each side. Where she used to keep her locket, when she was Sailor Moon, there was another medallion, exactly the same as the one below it. She felt something brushing her ankles; she looked down to see the bottom of a long billowing cape touching her high-heeled shoes. The shoes were white and had small wings on either side, much like the Greek god, Hermes. She felt something on her forehead; she reached up to touch it when she realized that she held a staff. This had small wings, as well, at the top.
Serenity paused, something was familiar about this, but what? She started to rack her brain when she remembered. 'Of course!' she thought. Once when she had visited with the Asteroid Senshi, they had told her what Sailor Cosmos looked like.
'Sailor Cosmos,' flashed through her mind.
"I am Sailor Cosmos now!" she said, in shock. Then she stopped, she remembered what happened a few moments ago.
"But should not I be dead? I must be, for I remember the fight, the bruises, the pain, but mostly I remember the darkness, growing, until it overwhelmed me. But here I stand! Alive! If I were truly passed on, then how could I be standing here? Wondering the answer to the question, 'Why?'"
She turned around slowly, the fog had cleared somewhat and what her eyes beheld was truly a shock.
"Sailor Pluto?"
Sailor Pluto nodded. "Yes Serenity, it is I, your humble servant, the Guardian of Time."
"Ho-How can this be? Where am I?"
"The Gate of Time" she answered softly.
"'The Gate of Time?'" Sailor Pluto pointed behind Sailor Cosmos. "Bu-but--"
"You are alive, Serenity, the crystal brought you back after your fight with Malicioso." She stopped to watch Sailor Cosmos, waiting for a reaction.
"I am? Then I am not dreaming," she stopped then looked up wonderingly. "Sailor Pluto, please, answer me this: Why?"
"Your time has come, everything that has happened has been so that you would become what you are now, so that you could stand where you stand now."
"What?!" Sailor Cosmos stared at her in surprise. 'What is she talking about? "So that you could stand where you stand now." What is that supposed to mean?' "Pluto, what are you talking about?"
With eyes unwavering, "All of you exploits, your experiences, the people you've come in contact with over the years, all were for the sole purpose of preparing you for the ultimate purpose of your existence."
'Exploits... experiences... people... sole purpose... ultimate purpose... existence...' She became confused. Pluto's words swirled inside her head as she futilely tried to make sense of it all.
Pluto saw her confusion and explained further. "All of your friends, family, your friends' families, the moments you shared with them... everything. It all had," she faltered, "it all had no meaning to it.. whats-," again, she faltered. She took a deep breath and continued, "It all had no meaning to it whatso-ever other than to prepare you for your fate."
Cosmos looked up. '"No meaning?" How can she say "no meaning?" How can she say *they* had no meaning?' *They* kept her going. *They* told her never to quit. It was *they* for whom she fought for. Her prince, her Endymion. Her child, her Chibi-Usa. Her parents, her brother. Her friends, her comrades.
Her supporters.
Pluto looked at her for a moment. "Come with me." They walked over to the Gate of Time, Pluto opened it. They saw the room that had once been occupied by Serenity, first queen of Crystal Tokyo. Now it was empty, save for two glittering rings.
"My wedding band! My engagement ring! What are they doing down there? I had them on, how could the crystal forg--"
"No, it did not forget." Sailor Pluto turned from the sight of the empty room to look at Cosmos. "Serenity, you are Guardian of space now!
"From now until the end of time, you will no longer be allowed the comfort of living with your loved ones. You are out of their lives now, forever. I am truly sorry for this, Serenity," she looked down. "But this is Destiny, *your* destiny. You know it to be true, do you not? Can you not feel it in your heart?"
Sailor Cosmos stared at the room, a blank expression on her face. 'She is right. Destiny *has* been building up to this point.' She looked down to the ground. Tears were threatening to spill over, but she did not let them. She swallowed hard and looked up, her face hard. 'From the time of my birth in the Silver Millennium, to the battle with Metallia. My marriage to Endymion to my fight with Malicioso. All my actions, all the events in my life, *both* of my lives.... have been leading to my ultimate fate.' She didn't want to believe it. She tried to fight the growing sureness tooth and nail but...
A silent tear fell down her unreadable expression. "You are right, damn you. I am, indeed, no longer able to be with my loved ones."
She continued to stare at the empty room, but it was not to stay that way. Right before their eyes, all their friends came rushing in the door, nearly breaking it down.
"Hello?" "Serenity!" "Your Highness?" "Serenity?" "Answer us!" "Where are you hiding?" "Hey! Odango Atama!"
"They are here!" Sailor Cosmos cried.
"Wait! Do not go to them! You--"
"I know!" she snapped. "I am happy to see them is all. The gods know this very well may be the last time I shall ever lay eyes on them again." Sailor Cosmos turned back to the Gate of Time and watched her friends, knowing the whole time, she was right.
*~*
"Where is she?" Michiru worriedly wondered.
"How should we know? We got here the same time you did!" Queen Rei retorted.
"Hey Ami! Get a reading on your computer. What does it say? Is she in here?" asked the Queen of Uranus.
"Of course she is in here." observed Queen Minako. "Where else could she go? There's nothing outside for her to run to. Besides, we saw the lights come from this direction. This is the only place she could be."
Queen Ami was pushing some keys and reading the information that her computer was giving her. Her face grew pale.
The Queen of Neptune noticed her friend's sudden change in color. "What is it, Ami?"
"No," she whispered in an anguished reply.
"Huh? What is it? Where is Serenity?" inquired Queen Makoto.
"No!" she cried louder. "She's gone! Neo-Queen Serenity is dead!"
"What?" "No!" "That's not possible." "We saw her come in here!" "Then where's her body?" "No! Serenity!"
"Her body must have vanished. That's-That's wha-what my computer says." Ami was ferociously trying to keep her voice steady. "The second burst of li-light was her. She must have used all her energy and couldn't he-heal fast enough."
"No!" screamed Queen Rei, as she sank to the floor, on her knees. Queen Minako joined her.
Queen Haruka and Queen Makoto were pounding their fists into the damp walls, but they didn't even notice the pain. The ache of losing their friend completely overwhelming them.
*~*
"I hate seeing them like this," sighed Sailor Cosmos.
"I know, but you must, it is either this, or leave. There can be no other way," Sailor Pluto replied sadly.
"I know, I know, but must it be now?" she inquired sorrowfully.
"Yes, your life on earth has ended, a new path begins," Pluto softly responded.
Sailor Cosmos looked back down upon her friends. They were crying out her name. Her friends now stood in a semi-circle around Queen Rei, of Mars, and Queen Minako, of Venus, as they screamed, "Serenity!"
"Can I even say good bye to them? They think me dead, but here I stand before you, Lady Pluto, as a testament to the fact that I am, indeed, not!"
"No, Sailor Cosmos. To them you *are* dead, they are no longer a part of your life, nor you of theirs. You *are* the immortal soldier now."
*~*
"She is gone!" sobbed Minako.
"I can't believe it!" The former ruler of Mercury tearfully shook her head.
"Neo-Queen Serenity is dead," Haruka softly voiced in shocked, dull tone.
"I still can't believe she just vanished!" added Michiru, tears falling silently down her cheeks.
"Neither can I," Makoto said while shaking her head in denial.
"Serenity! Come back!" sobbed Venus.
"Stupid Odango Atama! Why did you have to fight alone?!" Rei angrily yelled.
"Queen Rei! Control yourself! You mustn't *ever* talk of Serenity like that, especially now!" Makoto cried. Her eyes flashed with angry lighting through her tears.
"So what?! She's gone, and she wouldn't have died if she hadn't left to battle this demon by herself." She placed her forehead to the cold, cobblestone floor once more.
"SILENCE!" They all turned to the Queen of the Planet of Ruin. "We are all saddened and affected deeply by this tragedy, but what of her survivors? What of her husband and child?
Deep intakes of breath were heard around the room. She was right.
"Hotaru's right!"
"What of Endymion-"
"And her highness,-"
"Queen Serenity?"
"Neo-King Endymion will be crushed!"
"As will Usagi!"
They continued to talk and worry.
The tears continued.
*~*
Sailor Cosmos took a sharp breath. "They are right! What of my husband? And of my daughter? Surely I may see them one last time. Correct, Pluto?" she asked worriedly.
"You may see them...," Sailor Pluto said hesitantly. She paused and started slowly once more, "But you may not talk to them or contact them in any way."
"What?! Surely you are mistaken? Or-Or joking, rather? I *must* take my leave of them! They are the most important people in my life! Perhaps-"
"No," she firmly told her. "I told you before. You are *dead* to them. You may no longer be with them. This means no good byes, as well."
"NO!!" she sobbed, and fell to her knees. "There must be another way! If this is the life I must lead from this point in time until the end of it, then this is no life!"
Sailor Pluto sadly and slowly sat down next to Sailor Cosmos. "Seren-"
"No!" she furiously lashed out. "I forbid you to call me by that name! You say that my life no longer has anything to do with earth? or my friends? or my family? You tell me that I am dead to them? And now? Now you call me by the horrendous name that started this whole cursed chain of events? No! I will not have it!"
"Sailor Cosmos," Sailor Pluto paused to look at her more closely. "I am sorry. Truly sorry. If it were up to me, you would have been spared this fate, along with the many other trials that you have had to face. You are kind of heart, and noble in spirit. You are a person not meant for the kind of lives you have lead, and will lead from now on. In your hands you hold life and death. Something that no one should have power over. No, you should have been a normal woman with a normal life. If it were up to me, you would have had that life.
"But it is *not* up to me. Maybe, that is why Destiny chose you. The saying, 'absolute power corrupts absolutely' is true. For every person in this universe, it holds some truth, somewhere. But not in you. You are the only person who can weld such a power and remain kind, understanding, and sane; not drunk on the thought of control. You are the *only* person in the universe who can be trusted with your power." Then she stopped. Letting the words take their full effect.
'Perhaps...Perhaps, she is right.' Cosmos finally thought sadly. She looked down to her friends once more.
*~*
"Look! Her rings!" Queen Haruka pointed.
"Huh?" "What?" "What are you talking about?"
"She means her wedding band and engagement ring," Queen Minako realized.
"What?" "Where?"
She went to pick it up. The engagement in her right, the wedding in her left.
"You're right," said Queen Makoto.
"But what are they doing on the ground?" inquired Ami, who was still sniffling a bit, here and there.
"May-Maybe Serenity's still around!" Haruka yelled. "All of us *know* she would never leave those lying around, they mean too much too her. And if she did just vanish, wouldn't the rings have disappeared as well? That means that she must still be here!"
"No. She is gone," Queen Minako replied quietly. She looked up at the others. She saw their puzzled expressions. 'What?' and 'How do you know?' written on all of their faces. "Serenity would *never* take her rings off...never. In over a thousand years she never...." She sighed sadly and shook her head, a pain welling in her heart.
"What does that have to do with anything? Maybe they fell-"
"No. She wouldn't let that happen. Even in the most fiercest of battles, her wedding band and engagement ring *always* stayed on her hand."
Makoto jumped in, "So, there's a first time for every-"
"No! She's gone. For good." The once Senshi of Love looked down at her hands.
Queen Rei stood up finally. They all looked to the ground, then they all formed a circle. They didn't know what to do. For the first time in a millennium, they were unsure. The Queen of Venus opened her hands. She stood there, silent. No one sure of what she was thinking. The rings still looked new, compared to her slightly aged skin. She, along with the others, didn't look like they were 20 any more. They weren't old, but where 20 year old looking young ladies once stood, there were now 40 year old looking women.
"In my right, the Ring of Passion and Promise," she looked to her left hand, "In my left, the Ring of Love and Eternity."
The room was silent.
*~*
Sailor Cosmos was staring. 'Why am I not crying? Am I no longer capable of tears?' Quietly she asked, "Will I ever be free from this hell that Destiny has placed me in?"
Silence.
"I do not know," she finally answered in an equally hushed tone. Sailor Cosmos looked at her friend, now her only companion. The expression on her face saying everything. 'But I thought you knew everything.'
"I am not around during that point in time, if it ever happens," she said,
never taking her eyes off the circle of mourners.
"Why not?" Sailor Cosmos asked in a shocked tone of voice.
"I do not know. The universe and the Gate of Time have chosen not to reveal anything past a certain point. Perhaps I die, or am replaced. Or maybe there is some knowledge that even I mustn't know or cannot handle. For whatever the reason, I am unable to answer your question." Sailor Pluto was still staring at the silent circle of women. Sailor Cosmos followed her gaze.
"I must go now," Sailor Pluto finally said, breaking the silence.
"Wait!" Cosmos cried, grabbing the turning Pluto by the arm. "Where are you going?" 'Don't leave me, too,' she thought.
"I must mourn with my comrades," she said calmly, looking into her former queen's eyes.
A puzzled look crossed the woman's face. "But why? You know I am not dead. I stood in front of you asking 'where am I' and I hear you telling me that I am, indeed, very much alive. Now you tell me you go to grieve. For me? The others think me dead, now only a memory in their minds and hearts, but you know that not to be true. Again I ask you. Why?"
Sailor Pluto continued to gaze into her confused gray-blue eyes. "Our friends mourn your passing. I leave to mourn your innocence."
"My innocence?!" she said a shocked voice. She continued in a cruel, cutting voice, "My dear friend. That was taken long ago, don't you think? I admit, while fighting Metallia, and even up until the Doom Phantom, I was still naive, my youth protecting me. But afterwards, my innocence was lost, gone forever. I knew death, fear, and sadness like no one else, and now? *Now* you choose to grieve for my innocence?" A twisted smile marred her face.
"Yes." Sailor Cosmos, apparently, still did not understand why Pluto was going through with this.
"You talk of the innocence of youth. Almost everyone loses that eventually. Yes, some people never do, and they are the fortunate ones. The few who have never realized true pain and sorrow. But you, you have lost more, not only did you lose the purity of youth, but of life. Surely you remember what you said to me earlier? That 'this is no life.' This is not death, for like you also told me, you stand here 'as a testament to the fact.' But what is left? This is neither death nor life. So without death, there is no final peace, and without life there is no innocence. Do you understand?" She looked at her then continued.
"As a child, and even as Queen, you were always surrounded by a certain...... aura. You were almost always cheerful. By walking in to a room your light and energy filled it to the ceiling. Almost instantly cheering any person up. You always tried to look for the bright side of things. Even if you yourself knew there wasn't one, that didn't mean that you shouldn't look for it, despite what you knew.
"But no longer. I don't have to tell you, as you probably already know, now, no longer will you search endlessly for a rainbow in a hurricane. No longer will you always be happy, contented with what the universe has given you. You used to walk through the door and everyone would instantly have smiles on their faces. If you are in a good mood, perhaps, then, you might be able to have a small fraction your original influence but on the whole, you are not the same person you were.
"This is what you have lost. Youth protected you during Metallia and Nemesis. But your certain essence of life protected you from everything else. When you became Queen of Crystal Tokyo, you looked at Nemeses, not as Sailor Moon, but as an adult, as a ruler. And even after that, you could still see the bright side. After seeing your people ravaged, and your city almost completely devastated.
"But no longer. You know what I say to be truth, do you not? You now fully realize what a cruel place the universe can be, and is, correct? You understand that life isn't always the grand thing that the poets make it out to be." Sailor Pluto finally stopped and tilted her head in a questioning manner.
Sigh. 'She is right. I am no longer what I used to be. This is not death, but certainly this can not be considered living, either.'
"Yes. What you say echoes in my heart. I see why I could not *possibly* meet my friends and family. I don't like it but..," she looked down and sighed. "I am too different. It would be like Tsukino Usagi going back to the Silver Millennium to see her mother and her court. It would not work." She gazed down at her friends once more, who were then holding hands.
Sailor Pluto nodded sadly, then turned away. "Wait!" She turned her head a little to look back. "Yes?"
"You tell me that I may not be part of *their* lives, but what of yours? You always knew this was coming. We are now two of a kind, are we not? Both solitary soldiers, both with duties that keep us from everyone we hold dear. What about us? I mean... could we visit each other? Or must I say good-bye to you as well? Must I face this Fate alone?" Sailor Cosmos was now holding her arm looking beseechingly.
After she had finished speaking, Sailor Pluto smiled, for the first time since she had gotten there. "Of course we may see each other. You are right. We are soldiers. Perhaps we can make it less solitary."
Cosmos gave a small smile. "Thank you."
With that, Pluto nodded once more and left, leaving Sailor Cosmos where Destiny had always wanted her.
Alone.
'But maybe, with Pluto, I can cheat Destiny.' Then, with one last long look at her friends, she, too, turned, and disappeared into the fog.
'At least... for a little while.'
*~*
Sailor Pluto appeared to them, and out of respect, changed magically into a long dark green dress. None of them were surprised.
Queen Ami and Queen Michiru broke their hands to make a spot for the Queen of Pluto. She walked over to them and grasped their hands. Then they all bowed their heads once more.
Ever so slowly, energy started to emanate from their bodies. Each aura the color that represented their own respective planet. To any outsider, it would appear as if the Queens were doing Planet Power. But to someone who knew the customs, it would not. This wasn't an attack. It was a ceremony. A tribute to their dead Queen, Neo-Queen Serenity. Their energy started to gather in the center of the ring and started to swirl. All their colors together, each of them saying their final good-byes. The small tornado of colors flashed white and was gone. They were left standing there, hands still clasped. Finally they let go and were led out of the small house by Setsuna.
There they greeted Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium and *her* court.
Silence.
"Our queen is dead," voiced Queen Haruka flatly.
Queen Serenity was shocked. Her eyes widened and a hand went over her mouth. Those behind her looked down, saddened as well.
"Queen Serenity, Queens of the Silver Millennium," Pluto addressed. They turned. "You must swear by the Silver Crystal, never to breathe a word of this incident to anyone, not even amongst yourselves."
"Yes, o-of course. We swear," Queen Serenity vowed. The others chimed in.
With that, Queen Setsuna transformed back to Sailor Pluto and called upon the Crystal Key. Ami, Rei, Haruka, Hotaru, Makoto, Michiru, and Minako, holding the engagement and wedding rings, followed Sailor Pluto silently through the time stream.
Without their leader.
*****************************************************************************
"Captain, life is not a dream." -- Spock (Star Trek V)
* * * * * *
Hello. First, I want to thank you for reading this. Now, what did you think? Was it good? Was it bad? Tell me! I want to know! You must have *SOME* thoughts about it if you stuck with it for all *10* pages!
Thank you once again for reading my story. And I really would like your
comments. Please?