Notes:
Blllllaaaaaaaaghhhhhh everything.
This is the nonsense you've waited for.
Enjoy?
Yeah. Do that thing.
But I swear these are the angstiest whiners I have ever written, so help me! But they're my angsty whiners.
...
Serenity watched as The Doctor's fingers moved across the TARDIS console, pressing buttons and flipping switches, telling the bizarre machine the exact location to go. She had no way of knowing how ridiculous that concept was. That The Doctor could get the TARDIS to go exactly where he wanted, but this situation, and the TARDIS' own concern, was serious enough that honestly, even if The Doctor had given her directions to the other side of the Time Vortex she still would have brought him exactly where was needed. But she had no context for that. All she had was the uneaten sandwiches between them. She had tried to eat a few bites, but her stomach turned uncomfortably, and she had slowed her process. The Doctor had accepted the lunch from her and had taken exactly one bite. One. The initial one he had used to show his gratitude. But then it just sat there. Forgotten as he returned to the task at hand.
Serenity crossed her arms uncertainly and she pressed her back against the TARDIS railing. The machine was, just as he had said, "bigger on the inside", but the space felt a lot smaller than the Crystal Palace; with it's high, seemingly endless ceilings and reflective walls. She wasn't sure if she felt comforted by the closer space, that it was more homely, or if she was put off by it. It had a strong pulse of power coming from the center of the console and, again, Serenity wasn't sure how she should feel about it. It was obviously that power source needed to maintain this pocket dimension, but... It felt alive. Serenity found herself feeling self conscious about where she was standing, as if she was being watched and judged. Almost as if she were being expected to live up to someone's expectations; like she had some assessing gaze being cast her way from the strange machine.
That concept was not so ridiculous.
The "machine" spurred to life, the grinding noise Serenity recognized filled the area and she found herself standing straighter at the sound, lifting her gaze to the much closer ceiling as the center piece moved up and down; watching curiously.
"There!" The Doctor said triumphantly turning to her, smiling once again.
The sandwiches still sitting there.
Serenity forced herself to step in beside him.
"And it shouldn't be so bumpy this go around since I prepped her a bit for the storm. We learn by experience." He boasted. Serenity nodded slowly but didn't speak up. There was a brief moment of awkward silence.
"So... You going to tell me your fantastic brainstorm?" He asked, tilting his head her way. He wasn't used to being the one out of the know.
"I just have to see for sure." Serenity said evenly. At the thought her heart raced a bit and her fingers coiled together more tightly in apprehension. The Doctor nodded.
"But you're not even going to tell me?" Serenity thought it over, her lips pressed together and she chewed on the inside of her bottom lip. She was in the TARDIS now... She hadn't told him her idea right away for fear he would take it and leave her. She couldn't bare it if he had left her there unable to do anything; the castle filled with.. sleeping Senshi, her loved ones. She had to do something, and if her suspicions were in fact correct, than she had an actual reason to be there. A very serious reason to be there.
A very serious problem.
A responsibility to be here even.
She was trying to not be relieved at having made it onto the TARDIS. Because if she was here then... This was all very bad.
If it really was his Sailor Crystal, his Star Seed... Then this was a very risky situation. She wasn't sure she'd be able to handle it; both emotionally and physically. She was out of her domain. She was out of her palace. She was in the field, and all the strange longing she had fought for almost a millennium to be back in the field protecting as Sailor Moon rather than behind castle walls was trying to something other than worry.
The Doctor was still watching her and Serenity met his curious, tired gaze. She was already in the TARDIS and on the move. He might as well hear her suspicions. She breathed outwardly in defeat as her shoulders slumped and she closed her eyes as her head fell.
"Death Phantom..." She said sternly. She heard him shift his weight, listening intently to her words. Serenity's eyes opened and she starred sadly at the base of the TARDIS console, her hands rose and rested against her chest, her heart; where her Silver Crystal rested beneath her dress. "He is a lot like Mamo-chan..."
"Your husband." The Doctor said as she paused hesitantly to show he knew who she was referring to. Serenity nodded shortly.
"He has a Sailor Crystal; The Golden Crystal. It's power compliments my own."
"I'm aware." The Doctor confirmed. "I've seen many of your previous battles." Serenity looked up at him in surprise. He smirked. "Time machine." He reminded. She knew that, but why- "And research into this mess." Oh... Serenity nodded and looked downwards again.
"Death Phantom was the same, he had Nemesis' Sailor Crystal... and I banished him to it. There, he only grew stronger."
"I'm actually-" The Doctor interrupted quickly. "I'm actually not sure about this whole... Nemesis thing. I've never heard of it from anyone but you. That is actually saying something. I don't know something. Stranger things have happened. But... What is Nemesis? Well, I guess it's a planet since, you know, Sailor Crystal things, but where? Where is it? Does it have any other names I might know?" Serenity shook her head again.
"No... And I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it. It was unknown to us even back in the Silver Millennium. A rogue planet, barely bound to our star... Ami-chan has worked that it must have been," Serenity's face scrunched up uncertainly, "slung out of orbit by the other planets; gravity? I... You'd understand that better than me." She admitted. "But it was cast out and adrift. But that does not explain it's... other properties." She paused for a moment. "It could change location sporadically. It was as if it resided in it's own personal black hole. One moment it was detectable, the other not. Something we never figured out was wrong with it. Just like we never figured out how he could travel through time. But... if he was in the Vortex itself..."
"You think the planet could have been in a rift?" Serenity faced him again.
"A-?"
"Let's just say, it found a tear in space, sort of like a natural pocket dimension. Or maybe..." He paused, realization crept into his voice. "The perfect soft spot if you wanted to make a pocket dimension in The Time Vortex." His voice rose. "If you had enough power and could structure it! Like The Doorway, somebody took that mess of a rift and dimension and put a doorway to control it! It would hide the rift completely from the outside unless you already knew it was there and could open it with the right frequencies! Like the Fourth Dimension's keys! If this Death Phantom, after you banished him there had enough power and patience he could have burrowed his way into the Time Vortex and made himself a place to hide away. He could by pass the Fourth Dimension and move about as he pleased. He would essentially have his own Fourth Dimension! Serenity! You're brilliant!" Serenity perked up for a moment but then slumped again. "What? You found the problem! You know what the problem is and we can fix it! We can make sure he doesn't go at it again."
"Yes..." Serenity said sadly. "But it is a problem that should have never come up." The Doctor watched her curiously. "I should have ensured he was properly defeated... If his Sailor Crystal truly is in the Time Vortex..." Her eyebrows knitted together and she breathed out angrily. "When Sailor Moon and Chibi Moon defeated him, his Crystal never made it back to The Cauldron... His Crystal was in the Time Vortex. Waiting." She reasoned. "I should have made sure of everything!" She said angrily. "If I couldn't fight him then I could have at least done this!"
"Psh." The Doctor rolled his eyes and Serenity turned to him angrily. "As if anyone could have expected that from you!" You countered. "If Pluto, the one linked to the Time Vortex, didn't notice it, how could you have done it? No. This isn't your fault. And besides, that just means we have to make it right." Serenity sighed again, still not entirely soothed.
"I still should never have sent him to Nemesis... I should have ended it there like they had advised! I got everyone in harms way. Harm that could have been avoided." Her hands regrasped the sides of her arms helplessly.
"You are the most exasperating individual I have ever known!" The Doctor continued and Serenity was forced again to look his way. At the palace she had had time to sulk, but he wasn't giving her the chance now. His face was genuinely frustrated, frowning at her. "I have no clue where all this self doubt comes from! Well... I mean... Cosmos, sure. You though! I don't get it! I don't get how this came about. Wait... No. I do." He settled down. "You're power thing." He stated. "Having so much power and still feeling helpless. But why?" He asked her. "Why do you feel like that? Why can't you do what you want? What is stopping you? Other than, oh you know, villains and the what not. But why do you feel like you can't do it?" He continued. "Now, I've seen you fight. Yes, that was you as Sailor Moon but your Queen form is supposed to be the strongest, yeah?" Serenity blinked but then nodded slowly.
"It's a protective power... Defensive. I can't do anything-"
"And who said that?" The Doctor asked. "Who said you can't do anything with it? Why can't you? Because if you use the Silver Crystal you'll die? Nonsense. With your Senshi that isn't a problem. With you that just isn't an actual problem! What you have isn't an actual lack of power. It's your self confidence! Which... Waiy. No. I guess that does actually lead to a real lack of power. With how you and the Crystals are linked, but still!"
The noise of the TARDIS had long died away and they had probably been talking at their destination for several minutes, but still The Doctor pressed on; feeling confident in what he was saying from his interactions with me, Sailor Moon, and The Queen.
"You admire your younger self and it isn't because she is actually any more powerful than you or is in a better position -Well... She does have the youth and freedom from running an entire planet, but that's not the point- She isn't in a better position to solve things. She just has a different position." Serenity shook her head as she listened. "I just don't think you're being true to your heart. That all too bright and hopeful heart. I think you've seen yourself in a position where your head reasons that listening to your heart is the wrong choice. I think you've listened to other people... and they made you doubt your own position; your own feelings. Maybe not intentionally."
"My own feelings?" Serenity asked. "The last time I ignored what the others thought... I banished Wiseman, Death Phantom to Nemesis instead of ending it right there like I should have... Because my heart was too weak... Too torn. That is why we are here in this situation right now!" The Doctor thought a moment, seeing me standing there in front of him rather than The Queen.
"If you could go back in time," he began finally, "would you go and tell your younger self to destroy him?" Serenity paused, blinking, she opened her mouth to say yes but then paused. She closed her eyes and tried not to sound like she was whimpering as she spoke.
"That's is also how we're in this mess right now, isn't it? Someone went back and changed the past. That wouldn't do any good." The Doctor started to smile a bit as she spoke. "I made my mistake... Now I have to live with it and make sure it doesn't happen again."
"But was it really a mistake?" The Doctor wondered aloud. "Was sparing him truly a mistake if it is what was true to you?"
"It caused so many problems in the long run! It got so many killed!" Serenity exclaimed in horror. "He's why we're standing here talking while my friends and family are falling apart! It was a mistake!"
"Okay." The Doctor ended, understanding. Serenity blinked, unable to understand as he stepped to the TARDIS console. The conversation ending just like that.
"What?" She let herself think.
He was letting it drop as if he had gotten everything he needed from the conversation. As if he had gotten his message laid out in her mind and just had to wait for her to figure out the rest. She didn't like that. Thought she did realize the best way for her to learn was through her own experiences rather than someone telling her with words she hardly understood. But something about him was just weird. He obviously understood her for the most part. He had seen so much of our lives, but there was always something else. As if he was talking from personal experience. With everything. Even the most bizarre parts of her life. Of our lives... "Was that person hurt because of a mistake you thought was alright?" She whispered sadly.
The Doctor froze in horror. Serenity tensed as well, realizing the line she had just crossed, how directly she had just hit him. "I- I'm sorry." She sputtered. Realization hit her as she watched him, why he really had turned the conversation down, for fear it would turn back on him and he'd regret it. For this exact reason.
Serenity's eyes closed shamefully as she gave up in defeat. The Doctor went back to his work, pulling the computer around to see if he could catch another reading, trying to smooth over the unwelcomed question. Unfortunately, his mind was already working away at the same topic he dared to think about on my bedside; the one he had just walked himself into through his own line of questioning. Maybe that had been the problem... He personally knew a crazed man named Freud who would have a lot to say about his line of questioning. And The Doctor swallowed as his fingers balled together painfully.
"I never should have went back for her." He thought. "When she said no I should have just left and had never looked back... I never should have offered to begin with." His breathing was uneven as he swallowed again. "I should just take her home..."
The Doctor jolted in surprise as two white arms suddenly wrapped around him from behind, hugging him as Serenity pressed her face against his shoulder.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I shouldn't have pressed like that. I'm sorry." She repeated. "But that's why you're wrong... I can't do these things." She was on the verge of crying, for him and herself. "Everything I do... All the decisions I've made... Ever since I've become queen... they're all the wrong ones!" She released him and she remained shrunken beside him in shame. "I shouldn't have tried to make it about you. I'm sorry." Her face was bright red and her heart was beating rapidly.
"But you were right." The Doctor acknowledged, his voice grave and his eyes darkened, she straightened up in concern. "But also very wrong." He continued. "Because my heart is a lot more selfish than yours, and it's mistakes a lot less easily corrected." He sighed and his shoulders fell as he stared at the console. "I don't always do things because it's the right thing to do. Honestly, I'm nothing but a selfish idiot. I should never have let her travel with me. It wasn't safe and I knew it. I should have just stayed alone." The truth hurt him like a stab to the heart.
"No. Don't say that!" Serenity begged, stepping closer. Forgetting her own pain as the horror of what he was thinking came forward. "That's not selfish. She must have.. She must have known the risks too, didn't she? And everyone is like that." Her hands lifted to her chest and there was a soft smile on her face as her eyes closed. "Friends. Family. Important people." She spoke softly, her eyes opening and shimmered his way. "That's what everyone wants and deserves. Nobody should be alone. That isn't selfish or wrong at all! It's how were supposed to be." She finished brightly, trying to reassure him. The Doctor frowned at her words, contrasting so sharply against mine; the same person.
"You don't think your people, your Senshi, would be better off without you? If they didn't protect you?" Serenity blinked in surprise before her eyes saddened.
"Sometimes.." She admitted. "But I understand... I'm their important person... Just like they are mine. They would protect me no matter what, and I them. Even if I wasn't the queen. We all want to be closer. Just like I bet she wanted to be with you!" She chimed.
The Doctor's eyebrow had risen, yes he was hearing what she was saying and what she was trying to comfort him with, but he was distracted by what she had to say about herself. He was having trouble figuring her out now. He had thought he had gotten me down. And he had. She was a new mystery separate from me. She hadn't faced Chaos for years on end and had been surrounded by those who had loved her yet she still didn't fully believe in herself. They were at their location and should be trying to figure out their problem, but he was too curious.
He had never seen me, or Usagi, or The Queen try to comfort someone else before. We had always been butting heads and with The Queen it was usually him comforting her or her trying to put on a strong face; the same as his. He had never seen how quickly that dime could flip. How one moment she could be sad, but God forbid anyone else feel the same. I guess that still goes for me too to a point...
Serenity shifted her weight as be didn't respond to her right away and she grew self aware again.
"It's... It's why we fight." She told him, playing with her fingers, too aware of his curious gaze. "We all want to be together and we have to protect that. We don't fight for this big notion of right and wrong. We fight for people. For love. So we can fulfil that wish of being together." The Doctor's lips parted at that and he couldn't help think of me.
"And what would you do if they were all gone?" Serenity's face fell and the terror was plan on her face and The Doctor regretted it. Her family and future was holding on by a thread. This was not the time for that question. Serenity, though, answered without thinking much about it.
"I would find a way. For them... I would find-" She paused as her brain caught up to her mouth and she froze. She closed her mouth tightly and shrank back. The Doctor was again curious at this, but figured they had wasted enough "time" talking.
"So," he began, looking at the console; looking anywhere but at Serenity. "Sailor Crystal generator. Regaining power as the paradox works it's magic? Not actual magic, mind you, but eh... figure of speech."
"Doctor..." Serenity inquired softly, and The Doctor glance at her in the far corner of his eye. She was staring off to the side awkwardly. "Before we go on... What is.. What is her name?" There was a small pause. She dared to meet his gaze. "Who do you fight for?"
"Rose..."
"You're..."
My eyes were wide and everything had stopped.
I was frozen on the ground as I watched her.
My brain was working at a dizzying pace, trying to take everything about her in and yet remained entirely unable to process her... Her entire existence. And as her determined expression fell away to complete, utter joy I shrank back. My heart was racing, but uncertain, and my breathing also uneven. And I knew for certain it was not from the amount of power I had just used or from the fire.
My brain was static but trying to work so hard, everything was dizzying and my limbs felt detached from me.
"Chibi Moon!"
Beside me Sailor Moon had called out to the girl as she tried to stand up as quick as possible. As if everything in her needed to get to the pink child as quickly as possible. The joy on the girl's face was radiant, and yet I coward there on the ground; unable to take her in entirely.
"Sailor Moon!' The girl called happily, stepping closer and meeting Sailor Moon halfway. Their hands grabbed on to each other's and Sailor Moon squeezed the girl's tightly. As if to confirm her actual presence. As if,perhapss, she wasn't sure she was physically there. Or perhaps that was me... My heart racing, and my eyes wide. "I'm sorry we're late!" She said, almost casually. She put a hand to her chest, the other remaining in Sailor Moon's, as she looked back at the other Senshi behind her, the ones my eyes were ignoring entirely for the pinkette. "We're also Solar System Sailor Senshi!" The girl declared confidently. "We've come to help, Sailor Moon!" Her smile grew, if it was even possible, but then.. It faltered, the shine in her eyes dimmed a bit as her shoulders slacked. I breathed out at this movement and something within me forced me shakily to my feet. I walked past Kakyu who was watching but standing back curiously, and I payed her no need either for once. I was stuck on one thing. A single word racing through my brain over and over again. It was unable to do anything but.
"Chibi Moon?" Sailor Moon began in concern. "What is it-" Chibi Moon's eyes fell to their feet and tear were in her eyes. I froze weakly in place, halfway between them and Kakyu. I stared at the child intently, my eyes glued to her face and those awful tears. But I dared not go to her. Instead, I pressed one hand to my chest and the other gripped over it tightly.
"You're... This is-!"
"Everyone's collapsed in the 30th century." Sailor Ceres interrupted lowly as she realized Chibi Moon was struggling. Sailor Moon instantly recoiled and she turned her gaze back to Chibi Moon in alarm.
"What?" Sailor Moon asked, her voice strained and airy as she also struggled to process the information she had just been given. I finally risked a glance at Sailor Moon's expression; hoping to get a better idea of what was happening. If I could get my brain to function properly. If my heart wouldn't be pounding against my chest painfully.
I looked back to the pink girl as she moved, her hand releasing Sailor Moon's and she hugged herself loosely.
"Everyone's crystals..." Chibi Moon began, her voice cracking and her eyes narrowing like it hurt to speak. "They began glowing like beacons, and... everyone's bodies have started fading away!" Her voice was rising as she continued to push back tears.
30th Century...
My heart skipped a beat before continuing to pound fearfully. My throat was constricted as my eyes remained wide. Everything was dizzy.
30th Century...
Those red eyes...
Those eyes so full of tears right now that just should stop because I couldn't bare it! Somehow... Yet I could... Because that meant... That meant... I was seeing them... This just couldn't be happening. My brain just. couldn't...
"You're-!"
But it couldn't...
"Everyone's mortal bodies were destroyed by Sailor Galaxia's attacks..." Sailor Moon began, her voice even and frighteningly unmoved. My eyes flickered back to her in concern. "..and their Sailor Crystals stolen." Her fingers curled together and she raised a hand to her chest. Chibi Moon stood opposite of her; her eyes wide and her hands like my own as they pressed together over her chest. Her mouth and eyes were open in horror. "And not just our friends!" Sailor Moon continued more angrily, her voice raising, "but Sailor Senshi across the Milky Way!" I could feel her growing just rage. Hero swelling determination. If she hadn't already been before... But there was something else here too. Something that was seeping into me, my heart racing and fear spreading out from the center of my chest and to the rest of my body, making me feel so heavy yet light at the same time.
She wasn't looking like Usagi. Or perhaps that was just me... The feelings flowing through her were familiar-
A sharp flash crystalized skyline flooded my brain, and I held my breath as my mind raced back to not even an hour ago...
Her future...
Those red eyes...
My eyes forced their way back to Chibi Moon; my heart racing... feeling returning as a warm terror filled me.
"You're..."
I let myself think it one more time, but I dared not complete it... I couldn't complete it.
"I swear it." Sailor Moon declared. Her eyes closed tightly as I turned back to her sharply. "I swear to personally take back everyone's Sailor Crystals, myself!" Her face lowered as her fingers tightened. "I'll see everyone's bodies regenerated and restored to how they were! I'll take everything back! I swear it!" Her voice cracked at the end and she lifted her head, her eyes softening considerably as she met Chibi Moon's gaze; extremely hurt. I jolted and took a step closer but Chibi Moon's arms were already wrapping around her neck. Sailor Moon instantly returned the embrace, clinging to the child tightly with all her strength. "Chibi Moon..." Her broken voice managed, "I'm so glad you got here safely."
I took a half step back, taking in just how much Sailor Moon's relief and even joy at this moment. Emotions supposed to be so out of place here in this place of endings... but I couldn't deny it. The extremely longing I felt to have those two emotions be my own. If only I could... If only I could take it. Accept it.
This was like...
Like how I felt with the kitten's arrival.
My eyes fell away from them momentarily as I glanced down at my own curled hands; trying to give my spinning brain a break, trying to sort everything I was experiencing. What was mine. What was hers. What was false and what was true.
"I thought you might be fighting on Earth," Chibi Moon said through the embrace, "so I flew there first." Sailor Moon released her and the two took a step back from each other, but both remained in clear grabbing distance. "I couldn't find anyone at all..." Chibi Moon continued, her voice arching upwards.
Her eyes were filling with new tears and her hands rose to her face. "Not even Luna, Artemis, or Diana!" She cried through her hands. My heart stabbed with renewed pain and I began to make my way over to them. "They were already gone too!" Chibi Moon was reduced to sniffling as she clung to her face tightly, trying to regain herself. Sailor Moon's breathing was staggered, her hand to her mouth but her eyes dry; disbelief. A part of her had already known it to be true, but another part had dared to cling to hope...
But they really were gone...
I grabbed hold of leg, offering my presence as comfort, and her arm fell down from her mouth and wrapped behind me, supporting my head as I clung to her and we were both forced to watch Chibi Moon try and regain herself.
"The moment we realized that you may already be at the enemy's stronghold, Sailor Moon, we were afraid we were too late to offer any help at all." Sailor Ceres offered as Chibi Moon dried her eyes and we both turned to her in surprise. "But suddenly a single ray of light appeared and guided us to you." I blinked in realization and my face fell in surprise...
"I sensed your voice, Usagi." My breath hitched and I stared back up at the pink haired child. Her eyes were dry and there was now a soft sense of awe and happiness on her face, but they weren't looking at me... And for a moment I had thought they should have... I had expected it. But she was looking directly at Sailor Moon; with a small sense of pride. "That was you, right? Sailor Moon? Who brought us here instantly?" She sounded so certain, her voice perked up as she had spoke.
Sailor Moon shook her head in confusion.
"No, it couldn't have been me." She countered. "I don't have any power like that." Chibi Moon blinked and arched back curiously. "I mean," She turned her waist and indicated Kakyu with her head. "We all traveled here together, with Princess Kakyu navigating..." They group looked at the Princess expectantly and my teeth clenched together.
"It wasn't me." The Princess acknowledged. "I don't have the capacity to sense distant powers and pull them all the way here to the galaxy's center... Not even my own Senshi, let alone Terrans." There was a pause as the others shared a glance.
"Then... Who in the world could it have been?" One of the others asked, but I wasn't paying attention to them... My world had stopped.
Those red eyes...
They had finally noticed me.
Where I hadn't been able to do anything but notice them.
She was just starring at me. And I was starring at her. Frozen to Sailor Moon's side as somehow, just somehow... I managed to continue breathing. Her eyes were so confused and wide and they were looking at me...
Those red eyes...
They were looking at me!
She was starring at me in silence, confused but curious, and I was starring at her, frozen...
There was a moment, an eternity, before the others in her group noticed her gaze and they followed in interest.
Immediately, Pallas' hands were against her cheeks in excitement and there was a small murmur from the other girls as well as they watched me.
But I was watching those red eyes... There was nothing else.
"Who's the small Senshi at your side?" Ceres asked cheerfully. "The one with such a similar do?"
"Hmm?" Sailor Moon hummed but then looked down at me excitedly. "Oh!" She cried out and my locked gaze with Chibi Moon was broken as I lost my physical anchor of her leg and was forced to blink; my hands uncertain what to do with themselves now. "This child is Sailor Chibi Chibi!" Sailor Moon declared happily. Chibi Moon's curious expression scrunched instantly in irritation.
"Chibi Chibi?!" She asked as if it was ridiculous, what she was hearing. She had most certainly not expected the redundant name thrown her way. I blinked again, thrown off by the new mood from the girl. I hadn't seen it before, the way that face scrunched and those red eyes narrowed... But it was everything. I knew it... But that meant...
"Yup!" Sailor Moon chimed, but she lifted a finger and closed her eyes merrily; signifying that they shouldn't make their conclusions just yet. "Despite appearances, Sailor Chibi Chibi is a full-fledged Sailor Senshi in her own right... Ah-" Sailor Moon turned to me, her cheerful eyes opening as she beamed down on me. "By the way, should we be adding 'Moon' at the end, mm?" I saw right through her. She wasn't even being subtle.
"Mm?" I mimicked, turning me head partially her way and crossing my arms in fake innocence; though my eyes remained on Chibi Moon. Sailor Moon chuckled nervously, realizing she wasn't getting me that easily. She turned back to others and as Sailor Moon continued to speak, my heart grew stronger, and a warm sensation began to fill me, though I still felt... extremely nervous, terrified.
"She seems to have crossed space-time to come to us, just like you Chibiusa!" My arms were ridged and I started to dig my fingers into the sides of my arms; my heart was racing... My head was dizzy but my body stiff; solid in place.
"Chibiusa...?"
"She isn't your little sister, is she?" Sailor Moon finished hopefully; wanting to put this mystery to rest.
"Whhhaaaaa?!" Chibi Moon's eyes were opened wide again, but this time not as calmly, she was in complete shock and disbelief as she continued to stutter. "My little sister?!" She couldn't believe it all. My hands moved back behind my back so they would not betray how much I was being bothered as the Quartet behind her offered their input. Ceres' face was bright red as she thought about the subject, but she was more amused than anything.
"You mean, The Queen's second royal issue? Now that you mention it, they do look exactly alike. Oh my!" Chibi Moon's face only grew more horrified. I looked exactly like a queen? Queen Serenity? The... Doctor's Queen. M heart was racing... That meant... That really meant!
"But I've heard that for generations Millenium's Queen has had only one Princess!" Vesta countered skeptically, leaning closer to inspect me.
"That's what I was taught, too!" Juno confirmed, leaning back. Beside them Pallas raised her hand like a school child.
"Me three!" She declared pointing to herself in the process for extra clarification.
"So she isn't my child?" Sailor Moon asked in genuine surprise. She had been sure she had figured it out. She thought a moment. "Then... Is she yours, Chibiusa?" The question hit her like a ton of bricks from above and her already frantic mind sped up even faster as her hands raised her the sides of her face.
"MY CHILD?!" She screeched in horror.
"Oh? Who'd be your lover?" Juno chimed in playfully, and the pink-haired girl's face began turning the same colour. I remained in place, trying my best to remain collected, but I was anything but calm as well.
I couldn't breath...
My heart was pounding...
My brain was working away furiously, collecting every bit of what they were saying but at the same time... It couldn't be. I couldn't accept this! If I did...
My heart was pounding...
The others in her group were smiling at Chibi Moon mischievously, as if they knew exactly what was going through her mind while her face flushed, and there was even a low collective chuckle from the girls and Ceres turned to the others, waving at them to stop but her bright eyes clued in to the fact she was also enjoying the teasing too. During their laugher Chibi Moon's gaze met mine as she thought and her face fell. She blinked at me as her hands fell and she stood up straight again, seriously contemplating the idea.
"Anyways, she's a total clam, this child!" Sailor Moon complained beside me, as I was forced to keep Chibi Moon's steady gaze. "She won't say a word about who or what she is, or even why she's here." Sailor Moon took a step closer to me and I turned to her gratefully, grasping her hand as it dangled beside me. Her lips pressed together and she sighed. "Though we did figure out she's a splendid Sailor Senshi, a true friend, a comrade... She's fought alongside us and has really helped a lot."
Chibi Moon's eyes were calm and I stood waiting anxiously against Sailor Moon...
She was here... Those eyes...
She was Usagi's daughter...
She was my...
But she couldn't be... No... She just... But she was. She was here! But...
Could I accept this? If I accepted it then... Then...
Those red eyes... They were looking right through me. I could see it. I could feel it...
Our souls had already connected, she had felt the real me... I had felt her...
"She's not." Chibi Moon said finally, her voice distant... Thinking ahead. The rest of the group turned back to her, their teasing halted immediately at the tone in her voice.
"Small Lady?" Ceres asked respectfully, but with serious concern.
"She's not..." Chibi Moon said again.
"But you are..." The thought, small and quiet, came up amongst everything else and the warm sensation that had been filling me with terror transformed as I accepted it for what it was. I smiled. The warm happiness flooded through me and I let out a struggled breath as the smallest of tears glistened in the back of my eyes. "You're really here..." My heart was calm and my mind no longer buzzing. I had felt her... She was here. "Chibiusa..." My smile dared to widen and my eyes to shimmer happily. "You're real." I let out a relieved, airy breath as I continued to smile. "Chibiusa!"
There was pure happiness, so warm, and hope was bubbling within my chest, somehow more tangible than anything else I had ever held...
Because she was real.
She was here...
No.
This wasn't hope.
This was love.
The same love that had radiated off of her joyful expression the moment she had seen Sailor Moon.
The love that had let her reach me all the way out here. Love that had united our souls and transported her here.
Chibiusa... My Chibiusa...
The true reason I had raced all the way to the past... As she had done... To fight for the other.
I could feel the warmth and the nostalgic presence of memory, for once genuinely happy... Because I had hope... I had love..
"I loved you the absolute most, Usagi!"
"Who..." I blinked back and refocused on her interesting expression; not sure of itself. But there was something in her eyes and the nervous sensation in my chest returned. She had felt me... She heard my soul's true voice... She had called me Usagi. "... in the world are you?" She asked. My teeth gritted together and I released Sailor Moon's hand as I coward behind her leg, turning my head and gaze away from Chibi Moon as possible as those red eyes followed me.
"Chibi Chibi?" Sailor Moon asked in concern but I was saved by a new gust of wind and the lighting around us growing brighter. "Huh?" Sailor Moon and the others twisted the other way and Kakyu came up behind Sailor Moon and I.
I stood up straight, my heart constricting as the terror raced up my spin, and HER familiar cold hatred weighed clawed into me.
"The fog is lifting!" Sailor Moon commented. There was a collective gasp as she finished and the group immediately stood closer together in the defensive.
The "castle", the center of Galaxia's grand empire, was more of a cathedral. Or at least it should have been... The design only emphasized how much of a sacrilege it was for Galaxia to claim all of this for her own. This was something so much bigger than just her.
There was stained glass in every window but still the building felt oppressive, each line feeling constrictive as it forced the viewers' eyes upwards. The central rose window was small and lost amongst the surrounding detail; every bit as trapped as the large crystalline prison perched precariously atop the two tallest, centered steeples.
Smaller, similar crystalline cases were scattered throughout the misty space that separated us from the foreboding building.
Sailor Crystals... Sailor Crystals grouped up into pods. Their powers either being drained or maintained... Something I never knew. Something I never wanted to.
But the rage was seeping through me as I stood tall, my head raising, the cold fear being overcome by the injustice of what lay before us. I would worry about Chaos when we were there... For right now... I breathed in and out, my teeth clenching together in determination. Right now we had to deal with this!
"Sailor Moon?" Chibi Moon question, stepping closer to her mother, the others did the same; everyone at the ready. I shifted easily between the group, ensuring Sailor Moon to my front, Chibi Moon at my side, and Kakyu at an angle behind me. Around our makeshift diamond of protection, the other four stood around us on both sides.
"Galaxia's castle?" Sailor Moon answered but it was uncertain. She had only seen it from a distance; blurry and undefined as it teased her. The idea that this was just another illusion though was impossible.
Chaos was here...
Our friends were here.
This was it...
I swallowed and my tongue moved over my lips quickly as I steadied myself once more.
This was it.
The Cosmos Crystal vibrated for the first time since I had pulled Chibi Moon forward and I paused. Each individual Crystal seemed to be giving something off, but just barely, but this time it was a more generalized hum. Not a specific message being relayed to me. I was confused but as realization hit me I felt another shiver of terror, but this time Chaos was not the reason...
They were all here. Every single one. All of them close together here...
The perfect opportunity for The Cosmos Crystal to form...
"No." The thought was absolute, but still my heart skipped a beat.
I wouldn't allow it.
This time, I would protect them all. In this future...
My eyes glanced to Chibi Moon as we began our entrance into the "Star Garden".
I'd save this future.
My eyes shifted to Kakyu as she followed silently to the back.
I could change things. I already had.
So this time. This time for sure.
My fisted hand rested over my heart, but there was the tiniest of smiles on my face; that warm joy refusing to die and lingering deep within me.
"Let's go protect our futures."