"Seasons may change, winter to spring But I love you until the end of time."
"Come What May"
Act VII, Scene 1: Passing Judgement
The Nothing was angry.
Haruka felt as though she were being put through the shredder. Ribbons of white energy were whipping out and striking against her, managing to burn through her armor to fry exposed skin. Her hands now little more than slabs of stringy, singed meat from protecting her face from the assault. And the noise! The Silence was drowning out her pained screams and was beginning to drive her mad! Was this what had been happening to Setsuna in her final moments? How had she endured it?!
Haruka had thought she had known what pain was. She had thought she had managed to overcome it! Eudial's Deathbuster Rifle, Galaxia's bracelets...
But this...gods, this! This blew everything she had ever experienced away.
Haruka could feel her armor beginning to melt under the attacks.
I'm not going to make it! she screamed to herself.
She didn't care. Death would mean she wouldn't hurt anymore. It didn't matter that she had failed her final mission...she just didn't want to hurt anymore!
"Michiru..." she was surprised she could hear her whisper above the chaos assaulting her, "I'm glad I could see you again..." she sighed shakily and waited for the end.
Everything stopped.
The energy assaults, the Silence, the light was simply...gone.
And so was she.
Haruka tried to grope around in the blackness for a purchase or a reassurance that something was out there, but she had no hands. She had no limbs. Hell, she had no body! She was aware of herself but yet she wasn't. She felt...noncorporeal. Disconnected.
Was she dead? Haruka didn't know. She didn't feel like the last time she had when she was dead…of course she didn't remember much of that charming experience from when she and Michiru had faded away after betraying Galaxia...
What in the hell HAD she and Setsuna DONE to the timeline?!
"Sailor Uranus...Princess of Castle Miranda...Soldier of the Outer Solar System...Guardian to Neo-Queen Serenity..."
Damn that's extensive, Haruka found herself thinking idly.
"You have committed a grave violation of the Laws of Time. How plead you?"
"Who are you?" Haruka asked instead. If she still possessed a body, she would've winced. Here she was, being Judged, and she was asking for ID. That couldn't be a precursor for anything good.
The voice, however, was nonplussed, "How plead you?"
Haruka remained silent. Was there really anything to say? She knew what she had done, the voice knew, why should they bother with the formalities of-
Some...thing...flashed through every essence of her being and the pain she had felt earlier was no comparison to this. She howled in sheer animal agony. In a split second decision, she swore to confess to anything-ANYTHING-just to make it stop. But it consumed her too thoroughly. Coherent thought came and went in the space of a nanosecond. Only her horrible screams remained, echoing through the void.
And, of course, just like that, it stopped. Again.
"How plead you?" asked the voice in the same dark tones.
Haruka gasped and sucked air into her nonexistent lungs, "G...g...g'lty..." she wheezed and waited for the pain to start anew.
Much to her relief, nothing came.
Much to her horror, nothing came.
Haruka felt as though she were being scrutinized. Ridiculous really. She didn't have a physical form so what the hell were they studying?? Her flippancy didn't pay off. She-her soul?-felt incredibly naked under that unseen glare.
"You have tried to re-order Time for one woman. You have killed the Gate Keeper. You are destroying the Universe as it is known. For one woman."
"I didn't kill Setsuna!" Haruka snapped at the nothingness. She felt some of the old fury creep back in and she hungrily grabbed for it, "It was her idea! She accepted her fate!"
"The Gates of Time have been destroyed," the voice continued on, "Your greed has shattered the Everything. You must be condemned."
"I'm already condemned!" Haruka screamed back, "I've been condemned! Damned! Whatever you want to call it! You took her away from me and I don't care-"
Haruka never had a chance to finish. She suddenly found herself in physical form again-scorch marks and everything. Her hands were manacled above her head. She was effectively tethered to a classic dungeon wall. However, the scene before her was not yet another classic wall. Rather, she saw the Crystal Palace and Sailor Neptune running. She saw the laser blast. She saw the chunk of wall. And she saw as it slowly, ever so slowly arced through the air and slammed into Neptune.
She heard Neptune's brief cry-a cross between an "urg" and a "hyork".
Delicate droplets of blood splashed up, catching the light.
Neptune lay still-and the scene faded into an instant repeat.
The Universe falling apart and bodiless voices had managed to create this bit of horror for her. Lovely.
Haruka screeched and yanked at her manacles. Nothing. No give. Neptune was crushed again to be replaced by Neptune running.
"Michiru!" Haruka screamed. How much of this could she take before she went mad? Or was she already there? Was she really simply laying in the Medical Wing, fevered and delusional? Did it matter? Gods, she couldn't take more of this... "Michiru!!"
Neptune tripped.
More exactly, Neptune tripped over her own corpse.
Haruka sharply drew in her breath. Could Time really be falling that much apart? And could she possibly take advantage of it?
Haruka yanked again, even as she saw herself run to Neptune and hold her close. Setsuna had told her to fix the timeline...if only she could get loose, she had a good idea of how to begin...
Yeah...um...so it's been over a year. I apologize profusely. I went to college and got a job and the result is "NO LIFE OUTSIDE THE REAL WORLD." And it really sucks. Why didn't anyone tell me being a grown-up would suck so much?
I stumbled across this...it was incomplete so I did what I could with it. I can't promise any regular updates because I honestly don't know when I'll have the time...however, fear not, I like this particular fic way too much to just leave it to the wolves.
Thank you for all the kind words and the encouragement. It DOES help a writer to know her work is appreciated. Stay well, everyone, and hope for the best.
Mars
"Come What May"
Act VII, Scene 1: Passing Judgement
The Nothing was angry.
Haruka felt as though she were being put through the shredder. Ribbons of white energy were whipping out and striking against her, managing to burn through her armor to fry exposed skin. Her hands now little more than slabs of stringy, singed meat from protecting her face from the assault. And the noise! The Silence was drowning out her pained screams and was beginning to drive her mad! Was this what had been happening to Setsuna in her final moments? How had she endured it?!
Haruka had thought she had known what pain was. She had thought she had managed to overcome it! Eudial's Deathbuster Rifle, Galaxia's bracelets...
But this...gods, this! This blew everything she had ever experienced away.
Haruka could feel her armor beginning to melt under the attacks.
I'm not going to make it! she screamed to herself.
She didn't care. Death would mean she wouldn't hurt anymore. It didn't matter that she had failed her final mission...she just didn't want to hurt anymore!
"Michiru..." she was surprised she could hear her whisper above the chaos assaulting her, "I'm glad I could see you again..." she sighed shakily and waited for the end.
Everything stopped.
The energy assaults, the Silence, the light was simply...gone.
And so was she.
Haruka tried to grope around in the blackness for a purchase or a reassurance that something was out there, but she had no hands. She had no limbs. Hell, she had no body! She was aware of herself but yet she wasn't. She felt...noncorporeal. Disconnected.
Was she dead? Haruka didn't know. She didn't feel like the last time she had when she was dead…of course she didn't remember much of that charming experience from when she and Michiru had faded away after betraying Galaxia...
What in the hell HAD she and Setsuna DONE to the timeline?!
"Sailor Uranus...Princess of Castle Miranda...Soldier of the Outer Solar System...Guardian to Neo-Queen Serenity..."
Damn that's extensive, Haruka found herself thinking idly.
"You have committed a grave violation of the Laws of Time. How plead you?"
"Who are you?" Haruka asked instead. If she still possessed a body, she would've winced. Here she was, being Judged, and she was asking for ID. That couldn't be a precursor for anything good.
The voice, however, was nonplussed, "How plead you?"
Haruka remained silent. Was there really anything to say? She knew what she had done, the voice knew, why should they bother with the formalities of-
Some...thing...flashed through every essence of her being and the pain she had felt earlier was no comparison to this. She howled in sheer animal agony. In a split second decision, she swore to confess to anything-ANYTHING-just to make it stop. But it consumed her too thoroughly. Coherent thought came and went in the space of a nanosecond. Only her horrible screams remained, echoing through the void.
And, of course, just like that, it stopped. Again.
"How plead you?" asked the voice in the same dark tones.
Haruka gasped and sucked air into her nonexistent lungs, "G...g...g'lty..." she wheezed and waited for the pain to start anew.
Much to her relief, nothing came.
Much to her horror, nothing came.
Haruka felt as though she were being scrutinized. Ridiculous really. She didn't have a physical form so what the hell were they studying?? Her flippancy didn't pay off. She-her soul?-felt incredibly naked under that unseen glare.
"You have tried to re-order Time for one woman. You have killed the Gate Keeper. You are destroying the Universe as it is known. For one woman."
"I didn't kill Setsuna!" Haruka snapped at the nothingness. She felt some of the old fury creep back in and she hungrily grabbed for it, "It was her idea! She accepted her fate!"
"The Gates of Time have been destroyed," the voice continued on, "Your greed has shattered the Everything. You must be condemned."
"I'm already condemned!" Haruka screamed back, "I've been condemned! Damned! Whatever you want to call it! You took her away from me and I don't care-"
Haruka never had a chance to finish. She suddenly found herself in physical form again-scorch marks and everything. Her hands were manacled above her head. She was effectively tethered to a classic dungeon wall. However, the scene before her was not yet another classic wall. Rather, she saw the Crystal Palace and Sailor Neptune running. She saw the laser blast. She saw the chunk of wall. And she saw as it slowly, ever so slowly arced through the air and slammed into Neptune.
She heard Neptune's brief cry-a cross between an "urg" and a "hyork".
Delicate droplets of blood splashed up, catching the light.
Neptune lay still-and the scene faded into an instant repeat.
The Universe falling apart and bodiless voices had managed to create this bit of horror for her. Lovely.
Haruka screeched and yanked at her manacles. Nothing. No give. Neptune was crushed again to be replaced by Neptune running.
"Michiru!" Haruka screamed. How much of this could she take before she went mad? Or was she already there? Was she really simply laying in the Medical Wing, fevered and delusional? Did it matter? Gods, she couldn't take more of this... "Michiru!!"
Neptune tripped.
More exactly, Neptune tripped over her own corpse.
Haruka sharply drew in her breath. Could Time really be falling that much apart? And could she possibly take advantage of it?
Haruka yanked again, even as she saw herself run to Neptune and hold her close. Setsuna had told her to fix the timeline...if only she could get loose, she had a good idea of how to begin...
Yeah...um...so it's been over a year. I apologize profusely. I went to college and got a job and the result is "NO LIFE OUTSIDE THE REAL WORLD." And it really sucks. Why didn't anyone tell me being a grown-up would suck so much?
I stumbled across this...it was incomplete so I did what I could with it. I can't promise any regular updates because I honestly don't know when I'll have the time...however, fear not, I like this particular fic way too much to just leave it to the wolves.
Thank you for all the kind words and the encouragement. It DOES help a writer to know her work is appreciated. Stay well, everyone, and hope for the best.
Mars