I am well aware that this is probably horrible but I'm pretty content with it for the moment. I mostly used it as an attempt to get back into writing longer works than I have been and something to focus on when taking a break from the other story I'm currently working on. I hope you at least enjoy the idea of it!
Several times now Death has had these girls stand before him, only to have something pull them back from his grasp. And, surprisingly, he couldn't bring himself to care that much. Mild indignation, maybe, but not enough to take them back. They didn't do much to the balance to warrant him taking time out of his day to go after them.
The first time was when the Silver Millennium fell. To be perfectly honest he didn't notice what was happening till it was too late to do much about it. He and his Reapers were nearly overwhelmed by the sheer number of souls in such a short amount of time. By the time he realized what the Queen was doing it was too late.
So he let them go. It wasn't really that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. They were already dead and all the Queen was doing was ensuring when and where all of them would be reborn. Sooner or later he or his reapers would collect them. He had other things to deal with.
When the Queen herself passed, she didn't seem surprised to see him. Instead she just smiled at him. A smile that he returned with a blank stare.
"There is an afterlife waiting for you, should you want it."
She shook her head, turning her head to gaze at the Earth above them, her smile turning sad.
"I need to be here when they come looking for answers." She said quietly.
Death gave her a choice and he would respect it. He didn't approve but it wasn't part of his job to convince souls to cross over. Leave that to Reapers who wished to do so. Or mediums. But he doubted that any humans would be on the moon for a very long time.
The second time he saw them he was ready for whatever the holder of the silver crystal might try. He showed up in time watch each of them die for their princess and the hope that she could stop the queen she was running to confront. He allowed each of the girls to give their princess encouragement to keep her going. They thanked him afterward but he just urged them onwards after the girl, not wanting to keep the next soul to be taken waiting.
So they all watched what came next. And it certainly wasn't what any of them were prepared for. The Prince was ruthless in his attacks and Death was certain that this was where the girl was going to die. He could see in the other soul's faces that they were certain of it as well, and how it weighed on them.
As the Prince raised his sword once more to strike the defenseless soldier of the moon the horseman was right behind her, ready to be done with this. But the blow never came. And it was the Prince's soul that Death took instead, much to his surprise.
Once more they followed the solider as she raced towards what all of the souls feared would be her doom.
Death then watched as, against all rules, all of the soldiers answered their princess' call and lent their power and support to destroy the thing that Beryl had become. As the Silver Crystal then once more ignored Death and his will to bring all of the girls back to life.
And he didn't lift a finger to do anything about it. At first he pondered on it, wondering why exactly that was. Finally he decided it might be the very fact that they and their princess didn't care what he had to say in the matter. Surprisingly, he decided, he could live with that. He'd get them eventually. Death was very patient, after all.
The next time, he wasn't sure exactly who he was there for. In this particular situation it could have been any and all of them. Or none of them, like last time, if Serenity and her crystal had anything to say about it. (He was starting to wonder if he was getting soft in his old age.)
So he stood by and watched as the girl stood up to Rubeus and protected her friends. Watched as a small girl fought to do the same.
And when all was said and done he was more than happy to take the man and not any of the soldiers he was starting to see far more regularly than he saw anyone else.
Then came the battle with the Doom Phantom, which Death watched from start to finish with greasy snacks on hand. These girls were becoming a source of interesting entertainment. It wasn't very often he got the chance to know the souls he would be reaping so well. And there was probably a good reason for that but he ignored that nagging little doubt.
So, instead, he watched.
And then took Doom Phantom when everything was said and done without even the worry that he'd have to take one of the girls.
He continued to watch them, popping in on each of their battles just in case. Most reapers now called him whenever they caught wind of something major about to happen.
So he was there when the two soldiers carrying the talismans died. And, even though both of them were ready and willing to leave, he hesitated. So they watched Sailor Moon desperately race after the woman who stole said talismans. Watched her beg her to give them back. And then he let the two souls with him go back into life without a single word. He also could have sworn that he saw the other talisman holder smile at him as he left to go reap Eudial.
So, when a few weeks later when he reaped said Solider he wasn't the least bit surprised that she knew he was there. In fact, she greeted him with with the same smile she'd given him the last time. It was a knowing one and he met it with a flat stare.
And then he let her soul go back to where it belonged: The Space-Time Door.
It wasn't long before he was called to their battles again but this time he left without even having had a soul to keep him company during the fight. The Soldiers managed to solve their problems with this new batch of enemies without killing anyone. Secretly, he was please by this.
The next time he was called to one of them was less than pleasant, however. He watched as the Soldier in Gold killed the Prince, taking something from him and leaving his body to disappear. It also seemed that his soul was connected to the item that the woman had taken from him. He greeted Death with a tense smile and the Horseman returned it. He watched over the man until it was time for him to go take the Fireball Princess. Then when she was brought back to the Prince, and all the other Star Seeds, he stayed with them to keep them company as they watched everything begin to unfold.
Death would remember the events that transpired that night for the rest of his existence. He would remember how hopeless the souls attached to the Star Seeds were. How hopeless the entire situation seemed. He could see the path ahead of the planet if Galaxia was not defeated and he briefly wished he could tear himself away from watching. The Horseman began to mentally prepare himself for the work he and his reapers would have to undertake soon.
And once again, Sailor Moon proved him wrong. And he found himself relieved when all of the Star Seeds were sent back to where they belonged and Galaxia freed from Chaos.
Which, just maybe, is what influenced some of his decisions when he had to go back to the mess the Angels and Winchesters were making. It might have softened him a little. Just enough to make a few deals with a certain Winchester.
It was a very long time before he had to go to them again.
Death sat with the Queen near her tomb of crystal watching the events that were unfolding around her once beautiful palace. For the most part as the days passed they sat in companionable silence. They watched as the Black Moon continued to attempt to breach the barrier that the other Soldiers had raised without success. He'd only had to leave once or twice to reap souls of those outside of the palace but he always returned to sit with her in silence and keep her company.
They didn't speak until several familiar figures appeared in the door way of the room. For a moment the Queen gaped at them as her daughter ran to the crystal structure as the younger version of the Queen and her Soldiers stood gawking in the door way with the Hologram of the King. Watching was all they could do for the moment. And as soon as they left the room for another Serenity demanded that they follow them and he complied. They followed them the entire time they were in the palace, watching as they just let Chibiusa walk out and right into the hands of the Wiseman.
When they left to go back to their own time they resumed their vigil over the Queens body, the silence between them growing less and less comfortable as the Queen had time to think about what all they had seen could mean.
"Everything is going to change, isn't?"
Death looked up from the food he'd been picking at for the last hour and frowned.
"It is entirely possible. Time is fluid and changing all the time. The amount of foreknowledge they've gained could effect things, yes." He replied frankly, watching her face for signs of how she would react. If anything she looked a little pale, if that were possibly for someone without an actual blood flow.
"I did my best to make this the peaceful utopia we all dreamed of but things went wrong somewhere. Everything wasn't right after a while." She sounded distant as she stared down at her body. "Maybe it's for the best that it changes. Maybe that's why Pluto let them through."
He sighed and handed her some on-a-stick food from his plate and motioned for her to eat. "There is no way to know. For now all we can do is wait and see what your past self does."
The Queen nodded before staring mournfully down at a spot on her pure white dress where some of the grease had dripped onto it. He just chuckled a little.
And when she woke from her coma and peace was restored to Crystal Tokyo he went back to his daily routines, sure that he wouldn't have to visit the Queen or her Soldiers again any time soon.