Cosmic Apathy

T

After an eternity of living out her days alone, missing her friends and family, Sailor Cosmos refuses to fight for the realms. In an attempt to remind her of her humanity, she is dropped into a needy realm and forced to survive without the Silver Crystal [01xUsagi/Sailor Cosmos; 05xHotaru/Sailor Saturn]

000

Chapter Thirteen

000

"Come on Usagi, this should be easy for you," Hotaru sighed, her frustration seeping through her voice. They had been sitting behind the Preventers' Base for almost an hour, but making no progress.

After their return from Sanc, Hotaru took a few moments to help restore Zechs' energy. Like Duo, he started to make a quick recovery once she had finished with him, much to Noin's pleasure. The fact that Usagi was able to tell them that Relena was expected to be back to her normal self within a few days also helped their mood.

As soon as Duo and Zechs learned that they may be able to harness the energy they had expelled in order to fight the heart snatchers, both were eager to start learning. Noin was particularly surprised at how easily Zechs accept the idea of 'magic powers.'

So, the four of them sat in a circle with Hotaru directing the group. She had hoped that Usagi would lead, but apparently, Usagi couldn't summon her energy on cue anymore. It annoyed Hotaru to no end—mostly because she suspected it was less about Usagi being unable and more to do with her being unwilling.

Usagi flopped backwards and lay on the ground with her arm covering her eyes. "I can do it while I'm in danger, so what if I can't do it now?" She said and brought her arm down just enough so that she could sneak a peak at Zechs yet again. She found his icy gaze already staring back at her. She hurried and covered her eyes again.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Zechs asked. If he was annoyed with Usagi as well, he was doing a decent job at hiding it.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," Usagi responded without moving her arm.

"If it was nothing, you would have stopped after the second time, not continuing to do it for well over an hour." His voice was even, like Heero's, but lower and actually somewhat… soothing. Usagi would venture a guess that a lot of people had found Zechs to be a charismatic leader.

She sat up again and looked directly at him—really taking a good look. "It's just so… odd."

Duo and Hotaru looked at her, both with looks of confusion. Hotaru seemed to be more lost however. "What?"

"You just look like someone else I once knew. Almost identical, actually, though an older version of him. He was the general of Earth's military, back in my home realm," Usagi replied, looking over to Hotaru for confirmation.

While there was a flicker of understanding from Hotaru, she couldn't provide any affirmation. She had, after all, been slumbering during both of his appearances. She did know his name, however. "You mean, Kunzite."

Zechs gave the tiniest inkling of a smile and nodded. "I see. I suppose it would be odd for you to see someone with a strong resemblance here. I was a Colonel in one of Earth's major military factions, but never a General. It's very interesting, nonetheless."

"Yeah," Usagi sighed and looked away. Silence fell on the group for a few moments before she stood. "I'm going to take a break. I want to walk around a bit."

As she walked away, she could hear Hotaru clarifying for the two men. "The last time she saw Kunzite, they had been fighting against one another."

000

After spending her morning walking around the Preventers' Base and exploring a bit of the mountainside, Usagi wanted nothing more than a cool shower to wash off the sweat and dirt she had managed to cover herself in. Since being deemed a guest rather than a captive, she had formed a bit of a routine—one that was necessary when living with a suitemate who was hardly around.

Considering it was almost lunchtime, she thought nothing of it when she grabbed her tan towel and threw open the door to her shared bathroom. After all, her suitemate was never in their room and she only ever heard movement when they were showering just after dawn.

Apparently, today was the one exception.

She found herself pressed against the narrow linen closet with the feeling of cool metal pressed against her temple. I should really be getting used to having guns pointed at me, by now.

"Don't you knock?" Heero released her, but he still kept the gun in his hand. She doubted it had less to do with him planning to shoot her, and more to do with keeping it out of her hands.

Ten different excuses ran through her head, but Usagi didn't bother giving any of them. She didn't feel she really needed to, since it was technically her bathroom too. Instead, she crossed her arms and held her head up high, not breaking eye contact.

He had just come out of the shower. His hair was wet and he had a towel wrapped securely around his waist (though now that he had released her, his free hand was holding it tightly as well.) The smell of his soap still hung heavy in the air—she had probably walked in on him as he literally stepped out of the shower.

"Why am I not surprised that you're the one on the other side of my room? And that you shower with your gun?"

Heero looked down on her passively and hummed, but did not respond.

"Just wanted to be close by in case I turned out to be some psychopath?" She continued, willing herself to win their staring contest. It was partially because she didn't want him to think he could dominate her in a battle of wills—and partially because she hadn't seen that much of a male body in… well, in centuries.

"Why are you so dirty?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. Heero didn't seem bothered enough to order her out of the bathroom, which actually somewhat surprised Usagi. Then again, he was always so calm and collected that she should have expected he remain as such, even when she caught him pants-less.

Usagi shrugged. "Exploring. I wanted to see if there were any paths in the mountainside—don't worry, I didn't go very far and there wasn't anyone around trying to sneak pictures of me. I took a bit of a tumble and came back." She lifted her arm to show him the bruise and cut on her left forearm from where she caught herself. Her knees were also a bit scraped, but she was fine.

Heero didn't say anything as he stepped back and made space for her to walk through the door. "I'll be out in five."

Usagi sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay… you know, it would be really nice if we could at least latch the doors so this doesn't happen again. It's annoying that they only lock from the outside." She turned on her heel and walked out with a hmph.

"I at least knock if the—" she roughly shut and locked the door before he could finish. He only spoke louder once the door was closed. "—light's on."

Well, he did have a point, as much as she hated to admit it. She should have at least noticed that the light was on before she just walked on it. Usagi sighed and sat down at her desk while she waited for him to finish since she didn't want to get her bed dirty. When she leaned back, she caught a glimpse at herself in the mirror.

She looked like a mess, but there was a bit of a flush creeping up her neck and cheeks. Usagi looked at herself in horror, feeling somewhat betrayed by her own body. Dear Stars! I was with Mamoru for a millennium. I shouldn't be acting like a teenage girl!

As she watched the bottom of the door for the light to flick off in the bathroom, her evil, conniving mind whispered back to her "yeah, but Mamoru didn't have muscles like that."

000

"You have a lot of gall showing up here," Pluto snapped as she heard Saturn's boots entering the hall. Though she should be standing guard at the Time Gates, she had to check in on the Cosmic Palace every now and again as well.

Saturn laughed, sending echoes through the hall and a chill down Pluto's spine. "You're one to talk. All I did was pick up the slack for Cosmos. You're the one who stripped her of her power. Someone had to do something."

Pluto winced before turning around to face the other senshi. "I didn't strip her of anything. You know that even I don't have the power to do that."

"Well, whatever you did, it's working. She can't tap into any of it at will, apparently, only under threat. She doesn't seem to care though, so if this is supposed to teach her a lesson, I don't know if your point's getting through." Saturn walked forward as passed up the woman who had been an almost mother and started up the steps. She stopped when she was just before Cosmos's throne.

Pluto stepped forward to stop her, but Saturn turned and sat down in it anyhow.

"Are you planning to try to usurp her throne, now that her power is bound?" Pluto asked, her voice coming out in a low growl.

Saturn ran her hands along the armrests and tried to sit back and make herself comfortable. She could not. "No. I just want to know what it feels like for her. It's not very comfortable. I can see why she doesn't like to sit in it."

"Thrones are never comfortable," replied Pluto, "it keeps the rulers from getting too comfortable with their authority."

"I wonder if things would be different if Chibi Usa had been able to take up the Cosmos mantle instead. Maybe then Serenity would have stayed in power and the senshi wouldn't have stopped being reborn. Maybe Neo Crystal Tokyo would have lived on, and the realm wouldn't have died."

It was a thought that they had questioned many times before, but there was no use in asking the what ifs.

"Chibi Usa wouldn't have wanted this fate anymore than Serenity did. They're both too kindhearted for this job. Serenity spared her daughter a great deal of pain," Pluto replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Kind hearted? It's almost difficult to imagine her having a heart, right now." Saturn stood from the throne and went to join Pluto by one of the grand windows looking out into the blackness of space. It was almost a void from their spot, but if they were able to look down far enough, they could see the Galaxy Cauldron below them.

They barely caught sight of it as it zoomed by, but the two senshi watched as a wayward Star Seed escaped the cauldron and disappeared into the depths of space. It was the first Star Seed they had seen in centuries—perhaps it was a good sign.

"She just needs to be reminded of who she is, and why she's dedicated her life to maintaining Order. Don't give up hope for her yet. You can't forget that how stubborn she was. If you're going to interfere in the realm, work with her and not against her." As she spoke, Pluto stared off at the spot the Star Seed had disappeared into.

"You've Seen something, haven't you? Are you really going to keep it from me?" Saturn started walking back towards where she had entered from, shaking her head slightly. She knew that Pluto wouldn't tell her, even if she had Seen something of the Future at the Time Gate.

Once Saturn was gone, Pluto sighed and closed her eyes. "Only Time will tell."

000

Author's Notes: I have a scene planned that will explain basically what happened (in a nutshell) between Neo Crystal Tokyo's Serenity stepping down from the throne and the start of Cosmos's Apathy. I imagine it will be quite emotional, so I have to plan for just the right moment…

Now I just have to say…. I was not the only person who related Malachite/Kunzite with Zechs right? I mean, granted, I was a child and they were airing at the same time, but until I watched more anime and learned that the "long haired, platinum blonde man" was sort of a normal thing, I was weirded out by the fact that they were in both SM and GW. I MAY incorporate that into this, actually…

Guest: yes, this will definitely be a longer story. To be honest, I won't be surprised if I break 50 chapters with this story, based upon the length and the quickness I get them out! I hope you will stick with me until the end! Thank you so much for reviewing!

Pat: oh, Pat, Pat, Pat…. It brings a smile to my face every time I see a review from you! It means a lot that you're willing to give this story a shot despite not knowing the fandom as well! I will try to answer any questions you have to clarify! Sailor Cosmos is not one of the originals, just as you said. The way it's been explained in the Manga (not so much in the anime,) that Sailor Cosmos is the 'final form' of Sailor Moon, though there is some debate on whether she is a reincarnation or descendant of Sailor Moon, rather than our heroine. For this story, I am going to go with her being the actual Sailor Moon, just 'evolved.' As for Poor Wufei… well, as you've seen from After Colony: Revelation, he never has an easy time! Thank you so much for your reviews Pat!

Everyone else, thank you for reading!

Ever Your Servant,

A.F