Disclaimer: Guess what? I still don't own Sailor Moon. Nor do I own the song "Wherever You Will Go", by the Calling. Big suprise there, ne?
Author's Note: Angst warning. This is not a happy fic.
Wherever You Will Go
Rei sat on her bed, knees drawn up to her chest. All the senshi had talked. Tomorrow, they faced Galaxia. A bittersweet smile danced on Rei's lips. She'd never gotten to tell Usagi how she felt. Rei knew she wasn't Usagi's friend. She didn't want to be; she didn't want to be her lover, like some thought, either. No, Rei loved Usagi the way she knew she had loved Princess Serenity in the Silver Millennium. Like a sister, a mother, a lover; all and none, and more powerful than anything she could feel for anyone else, or had known she could feel before meeting the girl.
She fully expected to die facing Galaxia. She had no regrets, for she knew that Usagi – Princess Serenity – knew how Rei felt, despite the words never having been spoken. She just worried about her best friend after she was gone. Who would take care of her, berate her for her foolishness so she would grow into the amazing woman Rei knew she could be? She rested her head on her knees and smiled, content to let her thoughts drift over Usagi on this last night of her life.
So lately
Been wondering
Who will be there to take my place
When I'm gone
You'll need love
To light the shadows on your face
If a greater wave shall fall
And fall upon us all
Then between the sand and stone,
Could you make it on your own?
Makoto ran. Rain cascaded over her as her feet pounded on the sidewalk, each impact of her worn tennis shoe on the asphalt sending shocks up her legs. Tears flew from her eyes. She would fight Galaxia. And she would win; she and all the senshi. But she knew, somehow, that she would die in the process. Usagi would be left alone. She was the strongest of the inner senshi, Makoto knew. What would Usagi do without that strength?
And, so, she ran. She fought to put the thoughts of tomorrow out of her head, focusing instead on the sharp pains that shot up her calves every time her foot hit the ground.
If I could
Then I would
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high
Or down low
I'll go wherever you will go
Ami sat on the ledge beside her bed, looking out the window and watching as the rain drizzled pictures on the glass. A wistful smile decorated her serene face. Tomorrow she would die. It wouldn't be so bad, she supposed; she'd died before. Part of her was worried, of course. Usagi relied on her friends, and not just in battle. Ami, however, wasn't terribly upset. Usagi was also smarter than she was given credit for. She would know that all of them were still there with her. Perhaps someone would have to tell her, but when she heard it, she would know the truth of it.
People were only really gone when you forgot about them, that was why Ami kept a little notebook with the name of everyone she'd known in her short life. As long as they were remembered, they were with her, just as all of the senshi would be with Usagi after they passed. Ami drew the symbol of Mercury in the fog on the glass with a slender figure, knowing it was her last opportunity to do so.
And maybe
I'll find out
A way to make it back someday
To watch you
To guide you
Through the darkest of your days
If a greater wave shall fall
And fall upon us all
Then I hope there's someone out there who
Can bring me back to you
Minako sat in the Crown Game Parlour, ignoring the rain, ignoring tomorrow's battle. She was racing. She wondered, briefly, if Usagi knew that Minako would have followed her princess to the end of the world? If Usagi knew that Minako fully intended to give up her own life so that her princess might go on? An ironic smile played at the corners of Minako's mouth. Probably not. Usagi was always so determined that everyone would make it. Everyone would be fine. She hated sacrifices.
The car crashed into a wall and flipped over. Minako slammed her open palms into the steering wheel and slipped another coin into the slot, focusing again on the game in front of her.
If I could
Then I would
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high
Or down low
I'll go wherever you will go
Hotaru stood in the park, underneath a tree. She looked up, watching the rain drip through the leaves, falling lazily to the ground where elsewhere the water seemed to hurry. Though she was not clad in her fuku, she held the silence glaive in her hand. Hotaru reached up and ran one finger over the razor sharp edge of the blade. Tomorrow, she would die for her princess. This she knew. She knew, too, that she would not remain dead, though the means of her return to life she wasn't clear on.
Not a thought of regret played in Hotaru's mind. She knew she would die for Usagi, but then, she would not have it any other way. She would lay down her life for the charismatic young woman. Hotaru smiled. Princess Serenity had been the same way, and, Hotaru suspected, so would Neo-Queen Serenity command love and loyalty, perhaps to an even greater extent. She turned and began the slow walk home, to prepare for her final battle.
Run away with my heart
Run away with my hope
Run away with my love
Setsuna stood, for the last time, in front of the Time Gate. Well, not really for the last time. She would come back, of course, but somehow that didn't make the fact that she would die tomorrow any less significant. She ran her fingers over the cool, unknown metallic stuff of the Gate. With bare fingers, she wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. She smiled, hoping that Usagi would not blame herself for her senshi's deaths. She'd known the girl for both of her lives, and would know her again in the future. Setsuna sighed, knowing Usagi's tendency towards survivor's guilt.
She shrugged it off. If Usagi thought about it, as she certainly would, she would know that even if, by some mischance, they did not come back as they were intended to, all the senshi would be with her. Setsuna smiled at her own thoughts. She'd have her very own flock of guardian spirits.
I know now
Just quite how
My life and love might still go on
In your heart
In your mind
I'll stay with you for all of time
Haruka pressed her foot down, making the car carry herself and Michiru faster over the sand. She smiled, recalling the first time she'd driven with Michiru on a beach; it was not long after she accepted her fate as a senshi. Haruka knew that, had she known she was doomed to death tomorrow when she'd taken that henshin stick, she would never have gripped it. She would have kept running.
She cast a glance at the teal-haired woman beside her. If she'd never taken that stick, she'd never have had her time with Michiru. She'd never have met her Koneko-chan, or the other senshi. She wouldn't have had time to raise Hotaru, as her own daughter. Truth be told, Haruka had no regrets. She swore, however, that whatever happened, she would not leave Usagi. She would not leave the princess to guilt and grief alone. Michiru smiled absently, looking over at Haruka.
If I could
Then I would
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high
Or down low
I'll go wherever you will go
Michiru was tired. She sat in the passenger seat of Haruka's gold convertible, feeling the cool breeze blow back the hair she'd let down just for that reason. She was tired of having to fight, tired of her senshi duties. It didn't matter if they would come back, even just an hour or two later, or however long it took. She supposed that depended on Usagi. A break, however short, would be nice. If she could take that break after laying down her life for her princess, even better.
She leant her head back, letting the wind caress her chest and throat. She looked over at Haruka, smiling absently. Perhaps they would die, but they would do it next to each other, and they would do it for Usagi.
If I could turn back time
I'll go wherever you will go
If I could make you mine
I'll go wherever you will go
Usagi sighed, gripping her brooch. She wanted to throw it away. Part of her cursed it, and the ginzuishou within, for ruining her life. For causing her to lose all of her friends. She shook her head, looked up at the sky outside her window, and smiled. It didn't matter. They would face whatever came tomorrow together, and Usagi was confident that they would all make it through. She would gladly lay down her own life, if her friends could be safe. They were the real reason that she fought at all. Well, whatever tomorrow brought, she would face it.
I'll go wherever you will go
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