Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or her characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.
Opportunity Lost
Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Mercury stood in a large park in the middle of the city near midnight facing off against yet another youma.
This one was half woman half plant. Dark green skin covered her upper body, and purple flowers covered her chest in a strange bid for modesty. Her eyes were a luminous yellow and she sported a dark brown bop hairstyle. At her waist her body transition from female to thick roots that served as its legs.
Vines whipped around from behind it snapping at them one moment like whips and the next trying to capture them like they were lengths of rope. They dodged as quickly as they could, calling out to each other when one didn't see an attack coming, and attacked when they could.
Just when they thought the wreathing vines were its only weapon they were surprised when it began to detach them and launch them like spears. To their irritation the vines would grow back, letting them know the youma had an endless supply.
"Fire Soul!" Sailor Mars called out as she shot a large ball of fire at the youma.
"Sabão Spray!" Sailor Mercury said desperately as she launched her bubbles, hoping to obscure them from view and get a bit of a breather from the constant dodging.
Sailor Moon frown as she watched her fellow scouts using their powers. She hated that she didn't have an attack that could help. Her tiara was only good for finishing off the youma, and even then it had to be weakened first. It was all she had though, and she knew Mars already resented her for it even though she hadn't been a scout that long.
It's not like it's my fault that's all I have, but there has to be something I can do. She thought as she crouched down, trying to make herself smaller and less visible in Mercury's fog. She tried to think of anything else she could do with her tiara that could help, something she had never thought to try before.
There's one thing I can try, but it would be very risky if I can't pull it off. She thought as she nibbled on her bottom lip. I would be vulnerable while I did it, and if I don't catch it when it comes back I'm screwed. Not to mention if I miss the youma altogether and my tiara goes off in some random direction. She thought as she saw a slight movement in the fog.
She squinted through the fog as she tried to quiet her breathing before she suddenly pushed off to her left and began to run. Her heart pounded as she heard the impact of something hitting the ground where she had been, and realized that that could have been her instead of the grass and dirt.
As she ran the fog began to clear and she could see Mercury and Mars doing the same thing as vines whipped toward them. She slid slightly to a stop and pulled off her tiara.
It's now or never. She thought as her tiara began to glow and turn into a disk.
Sailor Moon narrowed her eyes and pictured exactly what she wanted to happen before she wished herself luck and threw her glowing tiara. It sailed through the air like a streak of light and curved around before it cut through the vines, stopping the youma's attack on her fellow scouts instantly.
She nodded in satisfaction and looked to her tiara as it made its way back to her. She lifted her hand to catch it and just as it flew into her hand she was slammed from the side. She felt hands push at her and she went flying slightly before she hit the ground with a grunt. She heard a deep groan and rolled over to see Tuxedo Kamen lying where she had been standing.
"Tuxedo!" She said with a shocked gasp and he looked up quickly.
"Take care of the youma!" Tuxedo Kamen insisted before she could even think to rush to him. "And watch out for the thorns. They shoot out of the palms of its hands."
"Right!" Sailor Moon said with a nod before she got to her feet and forced herself to run toward the youma instead of checking on him like she wanted to.
She never noticed Tuxedo Kamen crawl laboriously to his feet and leave the area unnoticed by the other Scouts or the youma as Mercury's fog once again covered the area.
"Fire Soul!" Mars called out, sending a fireball at the youma once again.
"Moon Tiara!" Sailor Moon called out as she threw her tiara.
The glowing tiara flew in the path of Mars' fireball and the fire covered it forming a fiery disk that slammed into the youma. The woman plant screamed as she went up in flames. After a few moments the sound cut off and the youma crumbled to ash and dust.
Sailor Moon caught her tiara as it came back to her, the fire surrounding it long gone, and turned to look at Tuxedo Kamen as she put it back on. To her surprise he was gone. She spun around, her eyes looking everywhere as the fog faded away, but he was nowhere in sight.
She moved back to where he had fallen and saw that the grass looked wet. She knelt and touched it with the tips of her fingers, and gasped at the sight of red covering her white gloves. She looked to her fellow scouts but saw they hadn't noticed and we're leaving as usual.
She shook her head and stood. The last thing she wanted was to be left behind, but she was worried about Tuxedo Kamen. He was obviously hurt and it had happened because he was protecting her.
Besides, we were just going to go home, so I would've been left at some point anyway since we all live in different directions. She thought as she began to walk, squinting down at the ground as she looked for more blood to see if she could tell which way he had gone.
She spotted the trail and quickly began to follow it away from the area and into the trees. She moved deeper and deeper and eventually found the masked man sitting on the ground leaning against a tree with his eyes closed.
"Tuxedo Kamen!" Sailor Moon called as she ran to him. As she knelt at his side she saw a large amount of blood staining his once white dress shirt over his stomach. "We need to get you to a doctor!"
"It's no use." Tuxedo Kamen said quietly as he looked to her. "It was too late the moment it happened." He added with a grimace.
"No, no." She said but stopped herself. He had never lied to her before, and she doubted he would start now. "You're sure? You're positive nothing can be done?" She asked softly.
"Yes." He said quietly before he closed his eyes.
Sailor Moon held in a sad whimper as she sat on the ground. She looked around helplessly before returning her gaze to Tuxedo Kamen. As she gazed at him she was suddenly seized by the intense urge to see his face, to see him without his mask. She reached out and gently removed the white mask that was seemingly held in place by nothing, and finally saw his face as he opened his eyes.
"Mamoru." She said with a soft surprised gasp.
He blinked and looked at her for a few long moments, his tired dark blue eyes trailing over her face before recognition hit him.
"Usagi." He said as he continued to look at her. "I don't know why I never realized since you obviously look just like Sailor Moon." He added with a barely there laugh that quickly stopped as he gasped in pain.
Usagi smiled lightly before she bowed her head, hiding her eyes. She didn't want him to see her sadness; her guilt that he was dying because he had saved her. It should've been her dying.
"I don't like this. I don't like this at all." She said as she looked down at the mask in her hands. "I don't want you to leave." She added softly.
"I don't want to leave either." Mamoru said as he brought his hand up to her face, tears trailing down her cheeks as she lifted her eyes to him. "You have to try to be strong."
Usagi held his hand to her face with her free hand, her other still holding his mask, and closed her eyes as more tears trail from her eyes.
One tear began to glow, as Mamoru watched, growing brighter and brighter before it stretched and grew into a glowing sparkling silver crystal.
"Beautiful." Mamoru breathed out before his eyes slid closed.
Usagi caught the crystal as she opened hers and looked at it as the glow faded. She blinked and realized what it was just as her mind was flooded with a lifetime of memories.
It's me. I'm the Moon Princess Luna was talking about. I'm Serenity. She thought softly as the memories flowed. And Mamoru is Endymion, my Earth Prince. She thought, surprised that there was a prince since Luna had never mentioned one, but just as that thought finished she realized she could use her crystal to heal him.
She opened her eyes, not realizing she had closed them, and looked to Mamoru and saw his eyes closed. She took a breath to speak, but felt his hand go lax in her hold.
"No. No! Mamoru? Endymion!" She called, her tears coming faster as she realized her prince had died.
Usagi watched as his body slowly disappeared, leaving behind a single red rose. She slowly reached out and picked it up. She brought it up to her nose and smelled the strong fragrant scent before she broke down, bending over into the grass.
"How?" She asked as she sat up and looked up to the sky. "How am I supposed to be strong when you're the only one who believes in me?" She pleaded, her tone desolate as her tears flowed.
As the newly awakened Moon Princess cried at her loss she was unaware of her silent watcher.
~oOo~
Mamoru watched her, his princess, having already inspected his transparent form. It pained him to see her so distraught, but there was nothing he could do. He glanced down at his ghostly form again and pursed his lips before returning his gaze to his Serenity.
It didn't surprise him that he was in this form after his death. He had heard it happened when you had unfinished business, and his business was very unhappily unfinished. He had finally learned who he really was, Prince Endymion of the Earth, but it had taken him dying to do it. Dying and leaving his princess behind.
He could no longer protect her, and she needed it. The Scouts were not always there for her or close enough to protect her. And now that he remembered his past, he knew that the Sailor Scouts, her Guardian Scouts, were not even complete. Two were missing.
Beyond that this had been their second chance; their opportunity to be together without having to sneak around, without being separated by their planets.
Mamoru knew Usagi, his Serenity, was smart and strong, but she hadn't developed her confidence yet. She was right about what she had said. He was the only one that believed in her. The two scouts with her knew she could finish off a youma but that was all they thought she could do.
He saw and heard a lot more then they realized or probably even thought off. He was usually there long before and after he was needed.
He knelt down next to his princess as she curled up on her side, clutching his mask, the rose he left behind, and her silver crystal, and cried weakly. He looked around unnecessarily, already knowing her fellow scouts hadn't bothered to follow her, and frowned as he looked back to her.
He placed a see through hand on the ground, concentrating on what he wanted, and watched in satisfaction as a transparent golden barrier formed around her.
I may be dead but apparently I still have my golden crystal, and I can still protect her. He thought as he nodded in determination. I'm still here and I'll stay as long as she needs me.
Hopefully we'll find each other again. He thought as he continued to watch over his princess. Perhaps the third time will be our charm.