Crimson Insomnia
By: Danni Lynn
Chapter 2: Sacrifices
~+!Unknown!+~
The window pane shone with beaming rays of light as the sound of breathing filled the almost empty room. It held no life in its depths, as a man's chest rose and fell under the covers of the blanket. His once built body was now a scrawny bag of bones, as skin was taunt over decreased muscle loss.
He was malnourished and barely ever slept, for his dreams were filled with morbid lucid ideas that stretched the truth and twisted his heart. Only when he was so exhausted from being awake, did he slumber in a fitful sleep. He had been absolutely destroyed.
At one time he had held the ember to his flame, and with a passion, he had flourished from being lonely and cold to being full of life for the first time in of all his years. Now the light had flickered out and he was thrown back into the abyss, no pity came to him, but pity he fed to the memories that had taken his one light away.
~+!Serena!+~
The moon bears no residence in the twilight sky, submitting to the darkness of the night, causing the stars to beam their brightest. If the light of a dying star could travel trillions of miles across the vast vacuum of space long after the star itself was dead, then what hope did she have to destroying the very embodiment of evil?
The sound of moaning agony breached her sensitive ears causing her to cringe inwardly at the pain she had unconsciously submitted by not protecting those she loved. The ground she tread upon was covered in a sea of crimson, so black, it appeared almost a lavish ruby, yet the stench of decay in the midsummer heat was so intoxicating that she clenched her jaw and seemingly hissed through her teeth, forcing herself to breath in the putrid air.
She was so, so tired that her scratched and bleeding body moved sluggishly to keep up with the rapid onslaught that attacked her. Unable to control her breathing, she panted desperately trying to get air into her lungs. They believed in her. They loved her. Alas, all she was able to do was give them her heart and bid them well with her wishes. How was she suppose to defeat the undefeated?
Suddenly, she was jerked violently and lost her footing, falling hard to the ground. Landing on her left shoulder, she heard a sickening pop! and screamed, but was cut short by a heeled foot that jabbed her in the abdomen, knocking the non-existent air out of her. A sense of foreboding crept into her and she whimpered in pain and in fear, as the tip of a blade tilted her head up, to look at the very demon that was crueler than Satan, himself. Its golden eyes shined eerily in the shoddy light of the setting sun, beaming only cruel intentions, as a smirk of twisted amusement made its way to its paling lips, while their carnivorous teeth poked through the thin flesh of its mouth.
"Oh, sweet little Serena, what has Fate done to forsaken you?" The monster jeered at her, watching her for any sign that she would give way to the pain inflicted upon her or the stabs of sorrow that seared her heart. She gave nothing away, like a perfect doll. What everybody wanted from her was a savior or a sovereign to terminate. Yet, they saw her as something more; her friends, her family, even her enemies, yet, she, herself, could not see the light that they dared whisper was there. So great, they murmured. So powerful, they cheered. What was truly there for her to be? She was Serena, nothing more, nothing less.
"Nothing, I have forsaken myself." She replied to the woman of utter terror, that reign devastation to all the galaxies. Sailor Galaxia, she called herself. She would be the ruler of all that was the universe. So she believed.
Serena's reply brought a sneer of disdain to the monster's lips as she placed more pressure on the tip of the blade that poked her in the neck. "You forsake yourself? Then maybe I should let you live a little bit longer." She chirped as she lifted her blade up, contemplating. Serena felt sudden anger build into her. Even death would not be an easy release for her! Why must she be the one to watch everybody die? Why must she fight when all she wanted to do was just live peacefully? Where was her rest?
Slowly grabbing the dirt beneath her fingers, she lifted her arm and threw dust into her captor's eyes. The sudden jolt of dirt in her vision, caused Galaxia to rear her head back in pain as she roared in anger. Scrambling she wildly clutched her head, seemingly trying to scratch her face. Serena rolled away from Galaxia and jumped to her feet.
As the blinded woman was rubbing her eyes, Serena took the chance and kicked her hard into the stomach, forcing her opponent to lurch forward, screaming, as spit spilled out past her lips. Dropping her blade, Galaxia tried to wait the pain out, giving Serena the opportunity to take the only able weapon. Seizing the moment, Serena knocked the winded sailor down by kicking her feet out from under her and sat on top of her former captor's stomach, sword raised high.
"Ha! Kill me! See where it will lead you!" Galaxia shouted as she threw her hands up into the air, reigning her submission. Serena stared, poised for any wrong move; jerk or blink, but was she truly prepared to kill another living creature? Could she really save her people?
Gazing across her land, where blood was pouring into every crack and bodies lay scattered across the ruins of an once magnificent civilization, she instantly knew. In that moment, she knew. Looking down at her enemy, she smiled.
(|:-|)-[-
Snapping her eyes open, Serena bit back a scream which came out as a strangled sob, feeling her chest constrict in agony. Memories flooding through her mind's eye, condemning her to the horror of the past, a past she couldn't let go of. The world disappeared around her as she could only see the tragedies that had befallen her.
Balling her fists till the knuckles turned white, she swung her arms up wildly into the air and brought them down fast against the softness of the bed. Rolling her head back and forth, she muttered a strong of, "No, no, no." as she all but spasmed out on the bed, every nerve burning with the sensation of the phantom pain of the past.
The sleeping man that laid next to her woke up startled by the sudden movement the mattress rattled with, surprised, he watched Serena with fear-filled eyes. His lips pulled into a frown of concern as his eyes knitted together in confusion. Unknowing of what to do, he only watched on, as the petite female before him, wept and trembled as she fought the demons inside of her.
Then, just as quickly as it started, Serena sat up straight and heaved for air, her lungs burning with exertion, her arms already beginning to form new bruises over the old. Tears leaked through her eyes and ran down her cheeks as Serena tucked her knees towards her chest and let her head lean against her legs, her body rocking. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She cried softly.
Kain, who had only been staring at her, felt his heart tug in misery, seeing Serena so broken. Crawling towards her, he gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder, but as soon as skin touched skin, she shrieked and ripped herself away from his enveloping embrace. She jumped off the bed and landed onto her feet, but still in disarray, she stumbled and fell.
She sobbed as she picked herself up and huddled against the wall. Kain slowly got off the bed and approached her once more, where this time he did not quiet so easily moved to touch her. "Sere, I love you, don't pull away from me, I won't hurt you." Kain whispered as he opened his arms and waited for her to respond.
Still pressing herself against the wall, she shook her head violently. "You won't love me if you knew the truth. Go away, Kain. Don't touch me." She sobbed as she took steps away from him, moving towards the balcony door. Kain's arms dropped, as her words rung in his head, confusing him, torturing him with their hidden meaning. He could easily see the cuts of claw marks raked against her flesh and the way certain scars didn't even look made by any natural being on this Earth. He could make out the faded wounds of bullets and of surgical lacerations or the random burns that marred her body, but through all of that, she was still beautiful.
He still loved her as if the ugly truth that her body bared gave proof to the fact that no matter how much she seemed perfect, she wasn't. He knew since the day he met her that her mind was twisted and as time dragged on, began to see even the physical flaws of her being, such as the scars.
Kain knew Serena was fragile, thus him not attempting to move towards her anymore as she, bit by bit, headed for the balcony, where he could almost guess what she would do. So, he decided to watch her, make sure she wouldn't hurt herself farther, he could call in and tell Andrew what was happening with her, try to get her help, but Kain knew inside himself, that what Serena needed wasn't help. She needed mending of the past, and what she left in Tokyo was something she needed to find again, of what, he did not know.
Just as the strings of fate had led him to Serena, he could feel the threads pulling again, for he knew that his beloved would move on, leave him where he was. It was time for Kain and Serena to part ways, to keep moving on the path of their lives. Just as Andrew had told Serena that she was needed in Tokyo, Kain was needed in the front lines. War was being waged and it was time for Kain to prove himself. The war Kain was going to fight and the war Serena was heading of to battle were two completely different things.
As he brought himself back to the blonde, he saw the balcony door wide open and a crying Serena, climbing up the railing, where he felt his heart jump in his chest as he dashed towards her. "Sere!" He screamed as he ran up to her. "Come down! I'll catch you!" He commanded her, the distressed female only gave a sad smile and shook her head.
"Kain. I love you." She whispered before she let her grip go slack and she slowly reeled backwards, but Kain reacted faster and caught her by the waist and yanked her back to the balcony floor. "Crazy bitch, as much as I love you, I'll kill you if you ever do that again!" Kain hollered at her, keeping his weight on top of her, preventing her from movement. The girl beneath him only gave a hollow laugh and stared at him through tear soaked eyes. "Too bad for you, I'm already dead." She replied as she crawled out from under him and stood up.
"I need to die Kain! Just because I didn't die here doesn't mean that the War won't kill me. Let me atone for what I have done!" Serena screamed at him, her long blonde hair whipping behind her as the wind picked up. Kain shook his head and raised his hand. He slapped her hard against the cheek, his fingers burning not with pain but with anger, he glared down at her.
"You atone for things by living. Dieing doesn't fix problems, it just makes you stop feeling them. Fix things by going to Tokyo, don't run away." Kain growled at her, his voice threatening and void of sympathy, Serena's cerulean eyes widened. "Those scars that mar your body Sere, should remind you that you are strong. You have been through worse. Don't stop living because your too much of a coward to face what you have done. You fix things by admitting what you have done and coming to terms with it." Kain's voice held firm as he watched Serena's body go rigid, anger burning through her body.
Yet, as the rage inside her built up, she went slack, her tense body easing as her face fell, Serena hung her head; bowed in defeat. "Okay, Kain." She muttered as she took a few paces and buried her face in his chest. "Okay." She repeated.
~(=O)
The drone of the jet's engine became dull white noise as Serena stared vacantly out the passenger's window of the plane. She watched as people in reflective vests drove off the air strip, leaving way for the air liner to take off. Yet, even though she could see the world around her, she could only think of Kain.
She moved her gaze from the window and stared at the necklace in her open palm, Kain's military dog tag, very much the same as the one she bore. He had handed it to her before she had boarded the plane, but he had said nothing of it of why he had done such a thing. He had only told her that he loved her and that he would find her again, someday.
His mysteries words rung in her head, confusing her of their hidden meaning. It was true, that Serena would be stationed somewhere after she finished her training, but that didn't mean he couldn't write, unless he was going somewhere as well...? Shrugging off the nagging feeling that burrowed itself in her mind, she only brought the metal ID tag to her lips and gave it a light kiss for luck before she clasped it around her neck.
"I'm sorry, Kain." She whispered the apology out into the air as the jet finally roared off the runway and began its ascent into the sky. Letting the necklace fall back onto her chest, she narrowed her gaze and stared determined into the approaching clouds. "To Tokyo." She muttered silently, her empty cerulean eyes shinning with fear. Not knowing what would be waiting for her at the home of her origins.
Darien, the girls, her family. She had left them all, not even bothering to leave a note of her whereabouts. To them, she had simply disappeared. She couldn't bear the thought of leaving them miserable and scared but the agony in her heart and the price she had to pay for her actions left her with only the choice of leaving. Even her death would not atone for the destruction she had caused. Even Kain had said it, though she had already known.
She was the innocent Grim Reaper that could only do its job even though that job entailed nothing but the burden of heavy sins. Being Sailor Moon, the Sovereign of planet Earth, came with sacrifices.
\(-^-)/
In the quiet world of the abyss she could hear the faint melody to a once familiar song. It danced humming around her, enveloping into her and melted away all her worldly fears. Where she eased herself into the mind set of an infant in their mother's arms.
No longer was she aware of the existence of her life as she drew into the need of the light, reveling in it. She was blissfully at peace in this silent realm, having nothing but-
a scream erupted into the darkness, echoing in her ears with the shrill baritone of agony; of fear. Of which, the fierce emotion now suddenly controlled her as she tasted the metallic tang of iron in her mouth.
As she struggled to keep her pounding heart calm, she felt a crushing pressure holding her back, that immobilized any sort of movement. Giving way to more fear, the endorphins of an adrenaline rush fed to her dispersing strength which enabled her to finally open her eyes and view her surroundings.
Yet, as soon as she came to her senses, and saw the cruel trick reality had played against her-
she screamed.
I know, I know. First Chapter up in a year, and its short. Bummer for everybody, I'm sorry. Post a review and tell me what you think.
-Danni
