Chapter 25

The rebirth

"This is where I grew up. I saw Earth above every day. I fell in love with it. And with your father. He used to sneak here to see me. And when Nehelenia attacked us, he tried to keep me safe. Like he did now for both of us."

"Momma, but I want him here?"

"Me too Small Lady. Now…let the tears dry. You're a big girl. I wanted a different birthday party for you…"

"But I miss daddy. And Seiya."

The Queen flinched a little at the small one's words.

"And how can you be so calm? You were a crybaby too. I got this from you."

"That was Usagi. I'm Queen Serenity now Small Lady. Usagi Tsukino is just a distant dream of my human form."

"I'll miss her..."

"Me too. But her heart was too heavy and her destiny crooked. I'm sorry for what she had to endure."

"Papa and Seiya will miss her too," the small princess sobbed, her mother's serene attitude being too hard to comprehend.

"Yes, you father did loved Usagi in the past. But he should have been here with us. He was there with her in the past only by mistake. Usagi was destined for someone else."

"Seiya?"

The certainty in Chibiusa's word broke Serenity's heart. It was obvious for everyone that Seiya loved her.

"Yes, Seiya was destined to be Usagi's love, to help her deal with the remaining enemies and grow up. My mother gave me a life as Usagi to forget about the pain caused by the war and the deaths of every loved one. She knew it was too soon to restore Silver Millennium and also she wanted for us, for me and the girls, a life with happiness and love and small troubles."

"But Usagi as Sailor Moon had a lot of problems and enemies."

"That was because something changed in our destiny the moment Usagi met your father too early and she found her form as Princess of the Moon. You see, wherever there's good there is also evil. It's part of us. Usagi, as sailor Moon, would have needed to face enemies, but not as many and not as powerful. Many of them were after your father and even after you."

"And Chaos?"

"This was the enemy we created. By changing fate and by doing so, the future."

"And what was your…I mean Usagi's fate?"

"That I don't know. But I do know she should have been free to make her own decisions. And find the love she needed as a human girl, not a love destined for me."

"And Seiya should have been the one."

"Yes, he was the one. But they all pushed him away and forced him to make his own bad decisions."

"You know, Uranus and the others doubted him. But I never did."

"They doubted him because Chaos was influencing them. They…we all did silly things because of the dark force hidden here on the Moon. But deep down, they knew, like you and I knew that Seiya loved us all and he only tried to protect us."

"That's why he's here?"

"Having him here was not bad for us, but he suffered. He was immortal Small Lady. In the past, he was a Sailor senshi, but he gave up his powers to be with Usagi and that brought the curse of immortality on him. He lived many lives before us and remembering them all was hard."

"Will it be hard for us? To remember all this?"

"We'll live forever now, because your father gave us Silver Millennium. Moon people don't age. So…yes, it will be very hard, but we have each other and many friends."

"Mamma, can we go back to Earth…and live there?"

Neo Queen Serenity hesitated. Here she was closer to Endymion. Back on Earth, she would remember Seiya too. And Seiya wasn't hers anymore. He was destined for a bright star seed called Usagi, a crybaby and a klutz, but with a warm smile and a big heart that will be missed.

"You talk about Usagi like she's someone else."

"In a way, she is…"

"Yes Small Lady, that's why your mother has the brightest shine in the Galaxy. She was born as a princess of the Moon, then she lived a life of a human on a plated of life, Earth, and now she reached her eternal life as Neo Queen Serenity, our queen in the new Silver Millennium."

"Pluto!"

"Time is a strange thing. Maybe Mercury will explain better."

"See, you do have some of Usagi in you, momma."

Her smile was weak and Chibiusa saw it. She remembered that weak smile on other lips. Seiya had it when he carried her back from the darkness. Remembering him, she again started to caress the gold locket she had on. The moment she realized that locket hadn't been there that morning, she remembered Seiya's words, forgotten until now.

"I would do everything for you and your mother. Take this as my gift for you. Use it to be happy. It's all I got. Happy birthday and I'm sorry."

In that moment, Chibiusa knew what she had to doo and she ran as quickly as she could to a secluded place.

"I have to go. Everything will be alright momma."

Now the Queen was really smiling, proud of her little daughter.

"And you, my princess, truly have warrior blood in you. Will she be alright Pluto? My poor little daughter?"

"You were alright my Queen, only with your mother back in the old Silver Millennium."

"Pluto, is my King there, somewhere…"

"He is the spirit and protector of Earth and I believe you can see him every time you look at that beautiful planet."

"I feel the same way, but it's not enough. And…Seiya…I thought he was immortal."

"His immortality was another change in destiny and therefore, something Chaos could take. He used your Crystal to help the King restore Silver Millennium and save Earth. Maybe it was too much for him."

"And now I have nothing. No powers left to protect you, no crystal to revive the galaxy…"

"You have your love, my Queen and your gentle heart. Earth changes as we speak. Soon all people there will see this great Empire. We will light up the galaxy with life, with their help. I believe in you and I am so very sorry it took so long."

"To be honest, Usagi was a little childish, but you shouldn't have underestimated her or her greatly injured heart that loved too much and couldn't love enough. Seeing all my past lives, I felt, not only have I seen. Usagi loved Seiya as much as I love my Endymion. Inside me now are two hearts, screaming for two loves. They lived beautifully for some time and I hope Seiya will remember only those times, if his spirit still wonders among the stars."

"Yes my Queen, they loved each other. It was hard for us to fight their love; even in our blind stubbornness we saw that."

"Tell me Pluto, back on old Silver Millennium, you told my mother you saw Usagi with a star. How was it supposed to be, the past?"

"I closed the Mirror of fate, but I could see the past without our intervention. The Dark Kingdom with Queen Beryl and Queen Metallia would have never returned, believing that Prince Endymion of Earth is dead. Wiseman and the Black Moon Family could have also been defeated here in the future and not in the past by Sailor Moon. And Galaxia, without the power of Chaos we created, would have been easier to defeat by the Sailor Senshi and Sailor Stars."

"And the Dead Moon Circus, the Death Busters, Ail and Ann? Sailor Moon had so many battles to handle."

"All of them to purify the Earth so that Crystal Tokyo would be reborn and them New Silver Millennium. Fights to make her stronger, but not nearly as painful as they were with the prince and Chibiusa there."

"Almost all our enemies found our mistake and took advantage of it."

"Yes. I thought I am protecting you and the future and instead I …"

"Now, now, what's done is done. We have an Empire of light and love to create. I'm just so…sad for Usagi."

"She was destined to meet Seiya in the same…", but Pluto's words were drowned by those of the four senshi, hurrying to say they will miss Usagi too.

"We also had happy times."

"Minas! My powerful senshi. Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter. I'm glad you are still here."

"We wish…"

"I know. But it appears that in this fate we created through our mistake, we learnt that the future takes sacrifice. We'll learn this lesson well and try to change it for the future."

Out in a dark corner, Neptune and Uranus admire the new powerful queen.

"She's just as I imagined. But the lessons that brought her here were too painful."

"Haruka…do you miss Usagi?"

"I…"

"You always complained she's weak and a crybaby."

"Knowing what fate we made for her, I'll say she was as strong as our Queen."

"She is our queen."

"No Neprune. Usagi was the one we left in Seiya's arms a lifetime ago. Do you remember?"

"Yes. She confronted us when we went to remind her she had a destiny and Mamoru-chan. She was so powerful and determined. And she never let go of Seiya's hand as she spoke to us. She decided to stay with him."

"We always believed he will take care of her, but that time, she protected him. He said nothing, just stood there with his stupid proud face. And in the end, he was there to prepare her for the long sleep, her transition to Queen Serenity. He kept his word."

"You'll miss Seiya too. Isn't that so, Haruka?"

"He was my friend. I understood him and the way he fought. Chaos took over my mind in the end so I wouldn't trust him, so I wouldn't help him. And that makes me mad."

"He didn't need help after all."

"I would have helped him…them, to stay alive."

"I'm happy you're with me after all this."

"Until the end Michiru. Until the end."

In the lunar winds, their calm didn't predict a storm. The mesmerizing sight of Earth huge on the sky kept them together, remembering this last battle. For the Queen, it meant life for her and her old home, but mourning for two loves instead of one or none. All sailor senshi were divided between happiness for the new world and sadness for the old one. And Chibusa…

"My queen! Pluto! Hurry! Small lady is … Hurry! Please!"

Returning to the palace in the greatest hurry, the group found Chibiusa and they all gasped. She was standing in the middle of the throne room, in her princess form, and she chanted strange words as her Moon sign glowed intensely.

"Chibiusa! What are you doing?"

"I'm bringing papa home."

The terror and confusion in Serenity's eyes matched that of Pluto. The moment she saw what Chibiusa had in her hand, Pluto knew what happened. But Serenity had no idea and for her, this meant the loss of her daughter also.

"Trust me momma. Wait for us."

"Please, don't leave," the queen begged from the ground as Chibiusa rose into the air, engulfed in light.

"Momma, I'll be safe. Seiya promised."

"Seiya," she repeated awestruck.

"This was his gift for us. He loved you. I'll tell him you loved him too. And I'll bring papa to be happy here with us, like he was meant to. Wait for us."

She started to recite the strange words again.

"Protector of time, mother Earth, allow me to make amends and fix the circle. Let me travel to bring life and guide me to the love waiting on the other side." And she was gone.

The queen collapsed helplessly to the ground, overwhelmed by yet another pain. But Pluto calmed her and the others by helping them see this was the completion of the circle, the true healing of Times.

"Small Lady will be fine. What she used was a time key, the only one left. I gave it to her as a birthday present when she was born. Seiya must have given her his immortality as a way to fill the key with power and he told her the secret words. He learnt of them when he touchet the Mirror of Fate. She'll come back with Endymion, our King. He's in the past now, as Mamoru, but he waits to be reborn. He was made for it. He will come home to you here and the Galaxy will be reborn. My queen, love saved us again."

"And Usagi…without Mamoru? And the past? Seiya?"

"Usagi knows in her heart it's for the best. And she has time to heal, because a heart filled with love does heal. Seiya will be there. They can start again. And this time they can make their own decisions."

"Then…I await my love, my King and my daughter and beg happiness for my past love. In the name of the Moon, I heal you."

The light poured inside the palace, then out and further into the galaxy. This was Serenity's true power, not residing in a crystal, but inside her. The one that helped Sailor Moon fight, the same one that made it all well in the end. Serenity healed time and the galaxy with the invincible power of love and hope.

The past will now play along new lines, decided by new loves and mistakes.

"My mother intended to give you this chance Usagi, now I give you one myself. Love him as I love him, as my savior and the savior of my future. Arigatou…Seiya."

Her last words to the past went to him, the one that followed her into the future, always there to protect her, even if it hurt him. He'll have a chance now, one taken from him by Chaos, to live his choice and love. And with Serenity's mind on the past, The Gates of Time opened for the last time, bringing her future back to her.

"Endymion!"

Time started to heal and the present unfolded for Usagi and her destined star.

"But now…will you stay with me Tsukino Usagi?"

"I really am kind of cold…and it's warm here…"

Wrapping the blanket even tighter, Seiya is satisfied with her answer. The room where he stood ill and tried to keep her is now the room where she feels warm.

And nothing else matters when Seiya reaches his hand to cover hers and she stays there, with her little nose buried deep in the shirt he gave her. Sometimes, when you fall, you fly.

In Usagi's life, this is the first time she sleeps to wake up free. Seiya smiles in content watching her sleep. Yes, she'll need time to heal, but then again, he has time. Just as much as everyone else. And tomorrow his new mission starts, to make Usagi realize how much their chance matters. He wished once to have met her sooner. Now he wishes to make everyday count.

"Pluto, you're back!"

"I watched Small Lady take Endymion back safely. And then I destroyed the Mirror of Fate. The gates of time are closed and my future self did the same. We are all free. Blind, but free."

"I wonder what happened in the future that made things so complicated."

Pluto said nothing about the images she saw in the Mirror of Fate. The present was all that mattered now.

"Will she be alright Pluto?"

"My only power now is to hope Uranus. Just like you. For now, she's safe with Seiya-kun."

"Really? I wish you could see the future one more time. For his sake, I hope he doesn't take advantage of her frail state."

"Ne Uranus, old habits die hard. But you know you can trust him."

"…Yes, I know."

"What now Michiru."

"I still have a concert planned in two weeks. Everybody forgot about the fight with Galaxia so I think we're back to …living."

"Doesn't sound bad."

"Not at all."

"I still think I should check on koneko-chan in the morning," Haruka insisted bringing a little chuckle on Michiru and Setsuna's lips.

"We'll visit them. Now…don't you want a warm cup of coffee…"