Author's notes:
I have been excited to write this chapter for a very long time—in fact, I wrote multiple scenes for this chapter around six months ago! I am excited to share it with you, and I hope you enjoy it. Like always, I am incredibly grateful for your ongoing support and always appreciate comments and feedback. I ask that you remember that I am not Naoko and I take my own creative license in writing this piece—I've always been of the belief that writing fan fiction means writing something different to what the original writers/creators could or would have, which is what I am here to do. Anyway, please enjoy!
As always, make sure to check out the important notes from the Prologue if you haven't already. Enjoy!
Music rec – WELL there's a story to this one. The music rec I make for a certain scene (see end notes) has already been used in this fic once before…but I basically wrote the scene TO this piece, so I am going to recommend it again. It captures the scene really beautifully, so please have a listen (and listen right through until the end...)!
Hell Hath No Fury by Rupert Gregson-Williams, from the Wonder Woman soundtrack
Chapter Twenty-Four
Even when she was only four hundred years old, Seiya Kou knew what she wanted.
She leant against the stonework in the grand hall of their castle, watching as couples moved across the dance floor in elegant circles beneath the dim purplish light that glimmered and twisted above them. Hundreds had gathered to celebrate Princess Kakyuu's birthday, dressed in wildly colourful outfits and bringing with them laughter and frivolity. The red heat of the evening flowed in the high windows and illuminated their guests as they spun to gentle beat of the music, and she sunk back to simply admire.
There was so much to admire.
"Fighter, dance with us!" She heard her father call, and she grinned as he spun her mother beneath his arm awkwardly—dancing had never been his forte. "Your duties can wait—come, dance with us!"
She folded her arms over her chest and tilted her head back cockily. "I wouldn't want to show you up, Pama," she replied. "Which isn't hard to do…"
He rolled his eyes and gave her a look. "Don't you get up to trouble, Seiya," he told her, before sweeping his wife off with a laugh.
"Yeah, yeah," she muttered under her breath. "Whatever you say…"
From across the polished floor, a woman caught her eye—swaying to the music, alone, her hands to the swirling ceiling and her eyes closed as she moved. Her golden curls swished long down her back, and she had the softest of smiles of her pretty lips as she danced. She looked a little older than Seiya, and there was something in the way she moved her full hips that left Seiya's mouth dry.
I wonder…
"Thirsty, Seiya?"
She snapped her gaze to Yaten, who strolled across to her smugly with a tray of glasses holding vivid liquid on her palm. Seiya gave her a withering look. "Fuck off, Yaten," she said, and then smirked. "And what is one of Kinmoku's finest senshi doing taking over a waiter's job, anyway?"
She shrugged. "Taiki thinks I'm drinking them—it stirs her up," she said with a grin. "You know how much I love to do that…"
"Mm hm," Seiya agreed half-heartedly, as her eye returned back to the woman across the room. "I really do…"
Yaten swung a hand in front of her face, and then followed her gaze across the dance floor. "Oh," she said, amused. "Now I get it…"
The beautiful girl opened her eyes as she turned toward them, and they locked with Seiya's instantly. A tiny rush of excitement sparked in her gut—she was always looking for this: a challenge; something she could win.
"Give me one of those," she said quickly, snatching a glass and tipping it to her mouth. The liquid burned her throat and stung her eyes, but she didn't care.
"Seiya, we're not supposed to—"
She slammed the glass back onto the tray. "You think that's ever stopped me before?"
It wasn't like she needed the additional courage, anyway.
"Ugh, Seiya—"
She ignored her and pushed away from the wall, and instantly hot power hummed under her skin as she moved toward the young woman. She felt weightless and confident as she wove between their guests; she felt electric, somehow, and as the captivated eyes of those around her swept over her, she remembered that this, too, was her gift.
Kinmokian warriors are alluring for a reason, Seiya, she recalled her pama telling her once. Their beauty is a weapon—don't abuse it.
Perhaps one day she would learn that lesson, but until then, she just couldn't help herself.
The pretty girl had drifted closer to her, and as she approached, Seiya shot her a charming smile. "Dancing alone doesn't suit you," she told her.
"Oh?" The young woman hummed, cocking a brow at her. Her voice was soft and delicate; flirtatious and teasing. "Nor does standing on your own in the shadows, Sailor Star Fighter."
Seiya grinned at her, stepping in just a little closer. She was tall for her age—a grown woman before most. "Well," she said, "I am on duty…"
"I see," she replied with a smile. "And what does being on duty involve, then?"
"Protecting our people, of course," she said certainly, "and until the princess makes her appearance this evening, it's also my job to make sure our guests are enjoying themselves."
The girl was quick witted. "Did it look like I wasn't having a good time?"
"It looked like you could be having a better time," Seiya quipped. "If you had some company, and perhaps a pretty view…" The young woman's big eyes looked up at her curiously, and Seiya could feel the magnetic pull between them—but it wasn't the girl; it was Seiya, entirely. It was her ability to draw others in; it was the tilt of her head, the cast of her eye, and the tone of her voice. "A pretty view for a pretty girl."
Her cheeks bloomed pink and she smiled—coy, for the first time since Seiya had arrived. "And don't you know exactly what to say…"
Seiya gave her a cheeky smile and brushed her gloved fingertips to the back of her hand. "Come," she purred, taking her hand, "I'll show you…"
The truth was: she wasn't quite sure what she was doing.
She led her away from the dim light of the ballroom and down a hallway that followed the rocky coastline lit by a subtle sunset touching the water. The noises of the party settled behind them and all she could hear was the crackle of gaseous light above them, the crash of the waves on the shore, and the sound of the young woman's breath.
What are you doing, Seiya Kou? She wondered to herself.
She wanted to take her to the balcony that overlooked the north-eastern sea, and maybe—just maybe—kiss her beneath the sunlight and feel the way her curves sloped from her waist to her hips. Anything to take her mind off the job she was destined to do for the rest of her life.
The girl giggled as she tugged her along, and Seiya grinned back at her.
Anything to take my mind off the secret I have to keep.
"—Kakyuu, you don't have a choice—you must do as the queendom requires of you—"
"—the queendom doesn't require this of me—you do—"
The tone of her cousin's gentle voice, coming from a room ahead of them, halted her in her tracks—something was wrong.
"By protecting her, you are doing this for our queendom—fighting for our planet, our entire star system—"
"I don't fight—"
"No, but it is our way—this is the way we fight—"
"By lying—"
Seiya turned to the girl still grasping her hand. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "Something has come up."
The young woman nodded understandingly and hurried down the hall back toward the party.
Seiya inched closer to the door that was slightly ajar, resting against the wall and holding her breath. Who were they talking about—who were they protecting, lying for?
"Kakyuu," her aunt said, "I know you have seen her power, and I know your foresight has shown you snippets of what the future holds for her—all attention must be deflected from her, and you are the rightful heir—"
She peered through the crack and saw Kakyuu's shadow move rapidly across the room. "I have seen that, and I am afraid for her."
"Power like hers is not to be feared—it's the next stage in our species," the queen told her. Something began to claw at Seiya's spine—a strange sense of knowing. "But we must fear the chaos our enemy can bring, and without her—"
"No," Kakyuu said firmly, "I will not be afraid of our enemy. I have faith in our senshi."
The queen let out a long breath. "We believe that in the end she is the only one in our star system who will be able to defeat him," her aunt said. "Please Kakyuu—until that time comes, we must keep this secret safe—even from her. For now she is too reckless."
"Seiya is as Seiya is," Kakyuu replied, and Seiya's heart leapt to her throat. "She may never change."
Me?
"That is true," the queen said, "and one day she will understand." She heard the swish of her aunt's gown as she crossed the room to her daughter. "One day when the time is right. Please Kakyuu—do this for your planet."
Kakyuu was quiet as she considered her words. "Alright," she relented softly. "Alright."
She is different.
She may never change.
She could be the future of our species.
Seiya reeled away from the doorway. I don't want to hear it, she could hear her pama saying, and she squeezed her eyes closed. "I don't want to hear it," she whispered tightly, and turned her back to walk away.
They're wrong, she told herself, over and over and over again—for years, she told herself: they're wrong.
But in spite of her denial, in spite of every memory and word she buried, she did, in fact, change.
Every battle she fought she grew fiercer and more loyal than ever before. Every time she protected their planet she morphed into a leader, and left her precious immaturity behind in her moments as a warrior. Every day spent in their heavy world, hot and raw and rugged, she lost herself, and came to believe that this is the way we fight.
When the final attack came, she lost everything.
But when she chased after their princess, she found the part of her she had locked away.
When she met Odango, she knew who she was, and what she wanted.
Seiya changed, and her power grew, and beneath her denial she knew what she was.
"Come on, Chibi—you're the one who wanted to come along to the Shrine with me after all…"
Usagi looked back at the little girl, who was dawdling along behind her on the footpath, stopping to pick up flowers and giggle at dogs as they passed by with their owners. She huffed and placed her hands on her hips as Chibi Chibi cooed up at the rusty horizon that was seeping into the indigo sky. "That's right—sunset, Chibi," she sighed. "At this rate we'll never get there, and I told Mama we'd be home by nightfall…"
Chibi Chibi stared back at her, a grumpy look on her face, and held her arms up to Usagi. "Up!"
Usagi scowled at her and swept her up. "You're a devil, Chibi Chibi…"
She ascended the stairs to the shrine, wondering whether Rei would speak to her—wondering whether they could overcome their differences, for the sake of their planet. She had contemplated going to visit her friend after school throughout the day, finally deciding that she would confront her once she had arrived home. Mind made up, she had abandoned her afternoon snack and awaiting homework and marched toward the shrine, Chibi Chibi on her tail.
"The others thought it was a good idea," she said aloud. "And Seiya even said—"
She bit her tongue. Do not think about him now…
It had been quite a few days since they had been alone together—since he had told her shamelessly of the desire he held for her, and how she deserved that, for being exactly as she was. Since that night, her thoughts of the beautiful guardian had grown rampant, and she had begun to realise: he wasn't the only one who had been waiting.
Life is nothing without the lust and risk of love.
She growled at herself under her breath. "Not now…"
"Usagi?" Rei's voice came, breaking her from her thoughts as she approached the peaceful building. She stood at the entrance, broom in one hand and the other on her hip. "What are you doing here?"
She gave her friend her full attention and looked across at her anxiously. "I wanted to talk to you," she said. "Can we go inside?"
Rei hesitated, but nodded nonetheless, and the three of them made their way inside. Chibi Chibi squirmed out of Usagi's grip and tore around the room—a welcome break in the tension that had fallen between them. Rei sat neatly in front of the lowline table, void of anything but a pot of steaming tea. Usagi took a seat on the floor across from her, feet curled beneath her. "I don't have a lot of time, you know that," Rei said. "I have my duties to attend to here."
Usagi nodded, pushing away the immediate desire to snap back at her. "I know," she said. "I wanted to thank you, for coming to help us fight the other night. And while I know you're mad at me—"
"I'm not mad at you, Usagi," Rei cut in. She let out a long sigh and her gaze drifted over Usagi's shoulder to the sacred space across the hallway. Usagi could see the reflection of the holy flames in her deep violet eyes. "I'm afraid."
Usagi frowned. Rei was always so strong and steadfast—to hear her speaking of fear surprised her. "What are you afraid of?"
She continued to stare silently past her. "The night Setsuna lost her powers, we were all stripped of any window we may have held to the future—myself included," she said. Usagi knew this—Michiru, Rei and Hotaru had all struggled to regain their foresight since that night. "I prayed that I would be granted just a glimpse—something to align us with our rightful path…"
She looked away, expression torn. Usagi leant toward her. "What is it, Rei?"
Rei met her eye. "I was given a vision," she told her. "And what I saw…it was dark, Usagi." She shook her head. "Perhaps it was the future, or perhaps it was a warning—but whatever it was, it cannot happen."
"You have to tell me what you saw," Usagi said urgently. It wasn't her future, or herself, that she was worried for in that moment—it was her friend, whose beautiful features were taut with worry she had never seen before.
"Madness," she murmured. "A blurry world where there was no division between good and evil—like everything we have ever known had come undone." She looked across at her. "It was like a taste of that future, and even for those few seconds that I held it in my mind's eye, I could not bear it."
Something at the base of Usagi's spine tingled. "Why didn't you tell us?" She asked softly. "You didn't have to carry this alone."
"It wasn't until I began to see the pattern of our enemy, and then the end of your relationship with Mamoru, that I realised it was something more than a nightmare," she said. "I realised it was some sort of premonition—I could feel it, and now…"
Usagi watched her trail off—but she knew what she had wanted to say. "Now you think that Crystal Tokyo is the only way."
"It's all we know," she said. "I want you to be happy—I want us all to be happy and free—but if it means that future, I just…"
Usagi slipped a hand across the woodgrain and grasped her hand. "We will fight for this, Rei," she said. "I know we can win—you have to trust me."
A strange expression crossed Rei's features, a frown and a flicker in her dark eyes, but she nodded slowly nonetheless. "I'm by your side, Usa," she said simply.
Usagi studied her. "I want you to be happy and free, too, you know," she said. "I want you to be the priestess you've always dreamed of becoming, and I want you to be with Yuuichirou—as yourself, without having to turn him or your passions away for your duty." She shook her head. "Crystal Tokyo doesn't hold that future for us—it never has. I want to create a better future, for us all, so you don't haveto make any sacrifices."
Rei looked apprehensive but smiled tightly back. After a moment, she spoke quietly. "I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you," she said. "The sacrifices you have made have been far greater than anything we have had to."
"That's not true," Usagi replied. "We have all given up something, and we have all had to accept that this duty changes our lives."
"It does," Rei agreed, "but it doesn't have to change our ability to be happy." She looked at her. "And I know who it is that makes you happy, Usagi."
Usagi blinked at her, a little speechless—she knew to whom Rei was referring. She could hear her friend's voice, back in her bedroom nearly two years beforehand, telling her you already have someone important.
But now she didn't—not any more.
"Rei, I—"
"Chibi!"
They both leapt up at the frightened cry, Usagi scrambling to her feet and across the hall where the child had wandered. "Chibi Chibi!" She cried, as the lapping flames rolled and spat from their rightful place in the pit, their ferocity knocking the little one back. She scuffled away and started to cry, and Usagi pulled her away and into her arms, heart racing. "Are you alright?"
The toddler's startled sobs settled and she nodded against her bust, peering up to stare at the fire. Her round eyes, still shiny with tears, blinked, as though she were seeing something that Usagi could not. "Chibi…?"
"Come away, Usagi," Rei said suddenly, a talisman held between her fingers. She ushered them away from the roaring flames and slid the door closed. "It's alright, Chibi Chibi," she told the little one. She glanced at Usagi. "She can see things that even I can't…"
Usagi glanced down at Chibi Chibi and rubbed a hand across her hair as she nuzzled against her. Round eyes and long lashes gazed up at her, and the pink-haired girl reached out a hand to rub Usagi's cheek—as though she were comforting her. To her astonishment, clear as day in her tiny voice, she told them both: "Don't worry."
He was in her bedroom again, except this time, it was different.
In the darkness of her private space, surrounded by the heady scent of her and the heat of the night, he watched her stretch long across the sheets—all fair limbs, silvery hair and vivid eyes, dimly lit by a moonless night. He watched her arch her back and throw her neck back to the pillows; felt his pulse thump as she sighed his name and reached a hand out for him.
He couldn't resist her—he didn't even need to try.
He moved to her and she pulled him in—fingers lacing in his hair, bunching in his clothes. She looked wild and carefree as she tugged him down to her, and he bent his head to kiss the soft skin of her collar bone. It elicited a moan—the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.
It was a dream, he knew that, and God he wished it were more.
"Beautiful Odango," he hummed against the soft skin of her breast, fingertips journeying the curve of her waist and the swell of her petite hips. She gasped, so sweetly, and when he looked up at her, he saw an ocean gaze, dark and yearning.
Insatiable.
"Seiya…" She breathed—a plea. The tenderest of demands.
He couldn't deny her—he didn't even wantto try.
His touch travelled up from where it lingered on the slope of her thighs to the glow of her décolletage, alight with her crystalline Starseed. He splayed his fingers around the base of her neck softly, and trailed his hand to her breast bone, where her power hummed and her heart thundered.
A new day, Aoi one, he heard suddenly, amongst the blood pummelling in his ears and the sound of her airy breath. Power invites power; chaos invites chaos.
The palm that rested against her sternum grew hot with white gold light, bleeding into his own cobalt blue. The energy coursed through him like a bullet, his vision washing in shades of black, and suddenly he couldn't pull away. Suddenly her power was melding madly with his own, and she dragged him down to her as though they were sharing their last moments. Suddenly they were crashing together; urgent and searing, as they stole from each other and gaveto each other.
"Aoi one," she whispered, in a voice that wasn't entirely her own.
Save her, something told him, you know what you have to do.
He wrenched away from her, the lust-fuelled, power-hungry blindness breaking, and as he pulled away and looked into her lovely cobalt eyes, he saw nothing but blackness.
No.
He lurched forward in his bed, slick with sweat and panting hard. He groaned and gripped his head in his hands, desperately trying to calm his nerves as they ran rampant. "A dream," he told himself, "just a dream…"
So many nights he had dreamt of her—since the very first time he laid eyes on her—and often times, his dreams were far from innocent, but neverhad they been like that. Never had he felt the lines blur between a blissful dream, and a hellish nightmare.
What's wrong with me? He wondered, as he raked a hand through his hair. Why do I feel this dark energy inside me growing?
He threw himself back onto the sheets with a thud and stared out the window to the starry night sky, fighting off the temptation to escape out into the fresh air and go visit the woman who featured in his dreams. He had to remind himself that she was fine—if something were truly wrong, he would know. The secret connection they held would tell him, and he could be there in a heartbeat.
A connection that wasn't so secret any more.
He sighed. There was no way he could have hidden what he had felt days earlier, when Usagi's energy had plummeted as she gave Hotaru her own lifeforce to save her. He couldn't have hidden it from Haruka—as they stood alone, in the scarce few moments they had to discuss their next plan of attack.
"Damn Tenou…" He mumbled. That was a secret he had hoped to keep between himself and Usagi, but that was not to be. He remembered the shadow that had crossed his vision, the crushing weight on his chest, as her power suddenly faded out of nowhere. He had stumbled, murmured her name, and in an instant Haruka was demanding answers. "What's wrong?" She had barked, caring little about his own diminished state. "It's Usagi, isn't it? How do you know that she is in danger?"
He had ignored her and forced himself to transform. "How fast can you run?"
But by the time they had arrived, Chaos was gone, and they had lost their chance. Again.
And then he had gone and said all of those things to her, in the heat of their moment together, when he should have bid her goodnight—when he should have looked out for what was best for her, at a time when her life was changing so rapidly around her. He dragged a hand over his face. "Stupid, Kou…"
He wanted to tell himself he regretted it, but that would have been an utter lie.
She had been so close, with her curious round eyes and her flustered cheeks, spread out alongside him so candidly, as though it were the easiest thing in the world to be next to him. She had started it—she had accused of something that was…well, true. He had wanted to act on his own desire for her, and he wouldn't lie to her about that. He meant every word—and had she let him, he would have shown her how much he meant it, in every conceivable way.
"Lucky you left when you did," he grumbled to himself. He huffed—there was no way he was getting back to sleep—and detangled his legs from the bedsheets, reaching for the acoustic guitar that was always lazing by his bedside and resting it against his belly. He plucked at the strings softly, recreating the melody that he had played to Rini, and she had played in return.
There's something more to that kid than meets the eye.
The feeling of their voices weaving together was still fresh in his throat—a vibration that ran right down to his gut. The young girl was beyond gifted—she possessed a talent that simply could not be taught; it was something you were born with. Something that came from being beyond simply human. Something inspired by experience and empathy and heartache.
For every moment he spent with the teenager, his resolve grew stronger: he would protect her from the loneliness she feared, and he would teach her how to be strong when she had no one but herself—those times would come, and that was okay. Music would carry her, when others could not—just as it had done for him.
He hummed the tune quietly, rolling across the notes and stringing together a new melody. It came to him easily—as it always did—and he committed it to memory, as the lyrics slipped into place like they belonged there: about how he had found his place, far from his rightful home, and another mission to carry out. To protect those he loved—to save them. To wait, just as he had, for hundreds of years before.
"Make yourself at home—I'll make us some coffee."
Setsuna watched from the kitchen bench as Mamoru took a seat on the couch in the living space, quiet and pensive as he had been in recent days. It was a sunny new morning, and yet the shadow that hung over the Earth guardian worried her—it wasn't sadness, but almost something he was not saying.
"Is Helios here?" Mamoru asked. "Rini said she may see him this afternoon…"
She nodded, preparing two cups with coffee and sugar as the water boiled. "No, he's not—he and the others are all out for the day, and he planned to take Rini on a picnic this afternoon—I told him I would pick them up later," she replied. She eyed him, wary of his mention of Rini. "You have spoken to Rini recently…?"
"I try to speak to her regularly, though it is a little…strained, now," he said softly. He rested his hands on his knees, eyes downcast. "I suppose that was somewhat inevitable."
Rini was a topic they had hardly discussed, and Setsuna felt for the guardian, who had lost not only his girlfriend and the future he had come to know so clearly, but also the daughter that he had grown to love as his own. "It doesn't have to change if you don't want it to," she said. "You can continue to care for her just as you always have."
"I care for her very much," he said, though somehow it sounded as though there were a caveat. "It's strange…when I think about it, she never felt like my own."
Setsuna poured their hot drinks and carried them over, placing them on the coffee table in front of him. She sat down across from him. "What do you mean?"
He shook his head slowly. "Rini always had this…fire in her, one that I couldn't place. I loved her all the same, but something always felt amiss," he told her. He smiled lightly. "And she always had this odd fascination with me when she was young…"
Setsuna smiled at the thought—she knew exactly what he was referring to. "She is a passionate young girl—headstrong and fiery," she said. She paused for a moment before she spoke again tentatively. "Are you alright with this, Mamoru?"
"I think I am," he replied. "I'm just glad that she is alive and well, and surrounded by those who love her." He looked up at her. "Father or not, that is all I want for her."
She nodded understandingly, and gently slid the steamy cup of coffee across to him. "Here—drink," she said.
"Thank you," he said appreciatively. "So much."
She looked at him oddly. "It's just coffee…"
"Not for the coffee," he interrupted, meeting her eye. "For everything."
It had been over a week since the announcement of Usagi and Mamoru's break-up, and Setsuna had carefully been there for the him when he had needed support—weathering his anxiety about the future and the repercussions that potentially lay ahead. She could never give him the answers he sought—the certainty she knew he hoped for—but somehow, she seemed to sooth his mind, and that was enough for her.
"It's nothing," she said, her cheeks warming at his gratitude and intense gaze.
"It's not," he insisted. "I know that every time I talk about the future, every worry I have, it's painful for you."
"I'm coming to accept my reality," she said honestly. She was growing to accept the fact that her powers would never return—that this was not temporary. What she was struggling with was the turmoil that still rolled within her—the strange sensation that something was changing in her, and had been since the day her powers had been stripped away.
Mamoru was quiet as he watched her. "It could be easy to think that it is in your nature to be aloof and protective of yourself—and I understand that, after many lifetimes of solitude and unyielding duty," he said. "But I see straight through that, Setsuna."
She knew he did—it was why she placed such a wedge between them. She couldn't hide from him, and it left her feeling vulnerable. After he had seen through her so easily, told her of the garnet and gold glimpses of their future he kept seeing, she had reeled back from him—she couldn't do this. They couldn't do this.
I know you feel it, too.
When she said nothing, he sighed and moved across to sit on the couch alongside her. "You have helped me," he said softly, "let me help you."
She looked away, shoving down the sensation that hummed in her chest, ages old. "It is my duty to protect you," she said. "It is my duty to protect this galaxy, and my princess—"
"I don't care about duty," he said, clearly exasperated. His eyes softened. "I care about you."
She shook her head. "You can't," she said. "Your focus must be on this planet—"
"Setsuna," he said firmly, "please—tell me what's wrong."
She had never allowed anyone close enough to know that something was amiss—she had never given enough away. Remaining an enigma protected her—it always had.
But you don't want that anymore, do you?
"The other day, you said you could feel something in the future shifting," she started, voice hushed, "I feel that, too, but not only in our future—I feel it within myself. It feels as though I am not who I was before—that my duty is changing. Like something else is calling me…" She shook her head, the truth catching at the back of her throat. "I don't feel like a senshi any longer."
Mamoru's brow furrowed with concern. "But you are a senshi—that has not changed."
"I know that," she said. "But every time I transform, it feels…wrong." The guilt in her voice was like poison, and she ground her jaw—she would not become emotional. "I have always had my duty to fulfil—that has never wavered, and now, suddenly, I feel lost…"
Her eyes burned, and she swallowed the pain down—but it did not slip past him. "You may feel lost, but you're not," he told her. She sucked in a breath as his hand floated to her lap and he slipped his fingers between her own, the sensation warm between them. "I had felt lost my entire life, and when I found Usagi, I thought I had found myself once again." He tilted his head to catch her avoiding eye, and she couldn't look away. "Like you, I thought I had a purpose—a duty—but time changed that, and now…"
She hadn't realised how close they were, in the seclusion of her empty home, with nothing but unspoken words lingering between them. Before she could stop herself, she murmured: "Now what…?"
He reached a hand up to brush a strand of hair from her face, and gently touched her cheek, smiling at her—the kindest smile she had ever seen. "Now I knowit's you that makes me feel found, Setsuna."
I know you feel it, too.
She wanted to pull away—she wanted to tell him they couldn't, not then, and that they weren't meant to be, but she just couldn't. Instead, she let him close the space between them and feather a kiss against her lips, and she felt herself unravel.
Garnet and gold.
She broke away, a breath between them. "Mamoru," she whispered, "we can't…"
"Maybe not," he murmured back, "but I won't deny this—not anymore."
Suddenly the fragments of the Silver Millennium and flashes of Crystal Tokyo that she barely held onto gained a crisper edge once more—suddenly she could feel the longing for him—for her king. The unrequited love and loneliness she was destined to face for the rest of her days.
I don't want that.
She had wondered why she had begun to feel so at home on Earth, when her rightful home was Space-Time. She had wondered why she felt so at home there; next to him, with her feet planted firmly on solid ground that she had never known. She had wondered, but in that moment, it all began to make sense.
She traced a finger along his jawline, letting go of the wall she had built, over many lifetimes and many eras of her existence. "Neither will I."
"Helios, where are you taking me? You know I don't like surprises—"
He chuckled by her ear, guiding her along as she fought the temptation to untie the blindfold that he had wrapped around her eyes. She stumbled over her feet and he gripped her elbows. "I told you—it's a surprise," he said. "But first I need to get you there in one piece, so stop trying to race ahead…"
She grinned and slowed up, never growing tired of hearing the cheeky attitude that the otherwise polite and respectful young being had begun to develop as he remained on Earth, in the presence of her and the other senshi. "Okay, okay…"
She had an inkling of where they were—a park, somewhere nearby. She could smell freshly mown grass and the sweetness of daphne, and she could hear the laughter of children in the distance. "Are we almost there…?"
"Yes."
She felt his fingers fiddle with the blindfold and the fabric fell away, and she took a moment to flutter her eyes open and adjust to the bright daylight. She sucked in an excited breath as she took in the sight before her—a picnic, strewn perfectly across the roll of a hill, beneath the shade of the willow and the heat of the summer's day.
"Oh, Helios," she breathed as she rushed over, taking in the array of fresh food laid neatly across a chequered blanket. It was the kind of date she had dreamed of—cliché and boring and everything that her future wasn't meant to be. She loved it.
"I hope I did it right," he said sheepishly as he came up beside her. He scrunched his nose. "I asked the Outer scouts for their opinion—Haruka's was…not helpful." He shook his head with a smirk. "Michiru suggested a picnic, and Setsuna and Hotaru agreed. Makoto helped me with the food—"
She threw her arms around his neck. "It's perfect," she gushed. "Oh, I just love picnics…" She dropped down onto the blanket and eyed the food. "And I'm starving…"
He laughed. "Of course you are…"
"Oi…" She growled. She snatched for his hand and tugged him down to sit with her. "Come on then, don't leave a girl waiting…"
"Alright, alright…"
They dug in to the food straight away, and Rini hummed appreciatively as she sampled a slice of the cake Makoto had made. "That girl sure knows how to cook…"
"I was grateful for her assistance," Helios said, as he sat back and watched her. "It's something I am still yet to master…"
"Oh, I'll help you!" She said brightly. "Ikuku-mama bakes all the time, and I've learned all kinds of things from Mako!"
He gave her a smile. "Sure," he said. "Slow down, or you'll make yourself feel sick…"
"But it's so delicious!" She said through a mouthful, falling into a fit of giggles as he laughed at her. "Stop laughing at me!"
He bit his lip in an attempt to stop. "Sorry," he said. He reached out a finger to her chin and wiped something off, shaking his head. "It's sort of hard not to."
She narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "Well, I'm glad you find me so amusing…"
"And I am glad you make me laugh," he replied, and then beamed back at her. "I couldn't ask for anything more."
The comment left her lost for words and she smiled, food forgotten. Out there with him, beneath a clear blue sky with the air on her skin, was more than she could ask for—in fact, it was more than she had ever hoped for. "You're very sweet," she said quietly, leaning across to give him a kiss on the cheek and then relaxing back on the blanket, her arms propping her up. "This is all so sweet, Helios."
He said nothing and simply smiled kindly back at her—and she knew: it was so much more than she could have hoped for.
She looked out to the couples walking by the lake that overlooked the city's skyline and the families enjoying the weather, together. It was a busy afternoon, filled with noise and bustle and play, but she didn't mind one bit. She tipped her head back to the sunlight and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of its warmth on her skin. Suddenly she wondered whether this golden glow—the sense of contentment that was washing over her—was at all like Helios' magical home when it was flourishing, unlike the ruins she had seen.
"Do you miss Elysian, Helios?" She asked him.
He contemplated the question for a moment, and then shook his head. "No," he said. "Earth feels like my true home, now."
She gazed at him eagerly. "And do you think you'll be able to stay here, with me?"
He laughed. "Always asking so many questions," he remarked. "But now I have one for you." He turned to her and his expression grew serious. "When I could see into your dream, there was a part of you that was dark—but it was not something you feared, it was something you held on to." He looked at her curiously. "Would you share that part of yourself with me, Rini?"
She frowned, and suddenly the wisps of cherry red chiffon and the burn of an inverted crescent moon crept into her mind. "Wicked Lady," she murmured, the realisation coming over her quickly. "When Wiseman convinced me that I was all alone, that nobody loved or cared for me, I became Wicked Lady—another one of the Black Moon Clan's servants, filled with hatred and anger." She chewed her lip. "She was lonely, and sad, and had so many emotions pent up inside her that she couldn't understand."
Helios eyed her, quiet a moment as her processed her words. "But you don't see her as evil," he concluded.
She shook her head. "No, I don't," she said. "I remember how powerful those feelings made her—they made her more human, not less."
It was true—that time, when she had embodied a part of herself that she barely understood and walked in her shoes, clung to her memory more closely than anything that had ever happened to her. Crystal Tokyo, and even her time spent on in the twentieth century as a young child, were growing dimmer by the day, but she recalled how it felt to be Wicked Lady—she even recalled the attraction of being her; letting go of herself, just for a little while.
She felt her cheeks grow red as she spoke up once more. "As I get older, sometimes I feel a little bit of her creep in, and you know what?" She looked at him. "I don't really mind."
I don't really mind one bit.
"I don't believe that anyone is entirely good or bad…" She continued, and then paused, grinning at him. "Well, except you—an angel of Earth, protecting it's very essence…" She teased. "There's nothing bad about you…"
He gave her a withering look. "Well," he said, and for a split second she worried that he may have told her what she felt was wrong, in some way, "it may take a girl like you—and maybe even a girl like Wicked Lady—to bring that out in me."
She snorted. "That's unlikely…"
"You never know," he said. He glanced at her hesitantly. "It wasn't only the beauty of your dream that drew me to take refuge there…it was also the darkness that you held alongside it."
She stared at him disbelievingly. "I thought you could only hide within a pure dream…"
"Beautiful, not pure," he corrected with a wry smile. "Nobody has a pure dream, Rini—in fact, it is the glimpses of the dark that make dreams lovely, not their purity."
"Huh," she remarked, surprised by the revelation. "All this time, I thought…" She grinned. "Well, I thought you hid in my dream because it was pure…"
"I hid in your dream because I was drawn there," he told her. "It was where I felt safe—like I belonged."
"Wow," she breathed. She was suddenly overwhelmed. "Of all the journeys I have been on," she said, "this has been the wildest, and the hardest."
Helios smiled at her gently. "I am so proud of you, Rini," he said, "you have overcome so much, and you are so strong."
She blushed fiercely. "Not really…"
"It's true," he told her, giving her a smile, and she noticed it waver just the tiniest bit. "You mustn't let that strength disappear—you must persist, no matter what happens."
She tilted her head at her and gave him a reassuring smile. "I will," she said. "I promise."
He leant across and closed the space between them to press his lips gently to her own, lingering a moment longer than ever before. The sensation swept from her head to her toes, like light filling her from within. As he pulled back, a white curl fell into his eyes, framing his ruby red gem and burnished eyes. His smile was boyish, in a way she adored. "My maiden," he said softly.
They sat there for hours more, talking and watching the day go by, until the sun started to fall and the sky turned amber. In spite of dusk rolling in, the park remained alive with people—families packing up their things and heading home, and teenagers taking their place to kick soccer balls around the grass or sit under the shade of a tree and chat. It was peaceful, and Rini relished every moment.
"Helios, Rini," Setsuna's voice came from behind them, and suddenly she realised just how late it truly was, "are the two of you almost ready to go?"
Rini turned to look at the emerald-haired guardian, surprised to see Mamoru with her. "Oh! Puu, Mamo…"
She cocked her head, examining them both closely—the colour in Setsuna's cheeks; the way Mamoru was just a beat behind her. I wonder…
"Hello Rini, Helios," Mamoru greeted, giving them both a smile. "I drove Setsuna here to pick the two of you up." He looked over their arrangement. "This is quite a setup you've got here…"
Rini shook off the thought and grinned. "Helios went to so much trouble…"
"Hardly," he said humbly. "We lost track of time—we'll pack everything up now…"
Setsuna knelt down to help them. "There's no rush," she said. "We can help you."
They began packing everything away as the sky grew darker, and Rini shivered as an unusually cool breeze blew across the open field. "Weird," she commented, "it was sunny just a second ago…"
Setsuna stopped what she was doing abruptly, looking up to the sky just as a raindrop fell onto Rini's cheek—one, and then another, and another. Thick cloud set in rapidly and something crawled at the base of her spine. She grew uneasy and grasped Helios' wrist. "Helios…"
Out in the middle of the grounds, a rumbling, black shadow began to form as howling wind swirled around them, and as it grew larger, it engulfed the space and the innocent people nearby. Rini gasped, leaping to her feet, but Helios caught her waist. "We can't let this happen—"
Setsuna snatched her change rod from her pocket and rose to her feet, looking fiercely to Mamoru and Helios. "Protect her," she said, before holding the rod to the sky. "Pluto planet power, make up!"
Purple light filled the space before her as Setsuna's fuku appeared, her long staff tight in her hand, void of its beautiful Garnet Orb. Mamoru stood alongside her, the last touches of his own transformation taking hold as he became Tuxedo Mask. Rini moved to join them, but Helios held her back. "Hold on, Rini…"
"But I might be able to help," she said desperately.
"I know," Helios said, his face conflicted. "But for now, let us protect you."
The pulsing black energy surged across the ground and bled into the skyline, and suddenly she could see Chaos approaching, flanked by an army of soldiers, both monster and human, yielding weapons that were held at the ready. He raised his head, a smile on his lips, and as he nodded the soldiers scattered from his side wildly into the storm. She clasped a hand to her lips as they lashed out at any human left, spearing and destroying them or turning them into minions. Their cries filled the air as they were driven mad with his energy. "No…"
Chaos' black eyes met hers for a brief moment and she looked at him acidly. There were few things that Rini had come across in her time that frightened her, and he was one of the very few—and she was sure it was how beautifully haunting he was; with his long hair, captivating face and strong, scarred body. How entrancing he was, in spite of the evil that coursed through him.
There was something more to him, and that terrified her.
As his bruised eyes locked on Sailor Pluto, Rini realised it wasn't her that he was interested in at that moment. "The fallacy herself," he said. "Pluto."
Tuxedo Mask stepped in front of her protectively. "You have no business here, Chaos," he called. "It is only a matter of time before the senshi of this solar system destroy you."
Chaos smirked back at him, and before they could react, his form flickered to stand before him, eye to eye. "I do not care for your weak threats," he spat, and with a flick of his wrist, he drove Tuxedo Mask to his knees where he cried out, paralysed.
Rini flinched. "Tuxedo Mask!"
Chaos rounded him to approach Pluto, whose distressed gaze broke from Mamoru to stare fearlessly at their enemy. "I will not let you harm her," she said. "You will have to kill me first."
He laughed. "And let you have what you have wanted all these years—the opportunity to die?" He shook his head. "I don't think so." He glanced at Rini, and then back to the warrior between them. "Besides, it is not her I am here for…"
Pluto stood tall, crossing her staff over her body. In spite of the turmoil that raged on around them as the dark forms spread from the parkland to draw their twisted energy into the city, the guardian did not let her eye stray from her target. "What do you want?" She growled.
He shrugged a shoulder and rolled his fingers into a fist, and Mamoru's groans of pain intensified. "To merely talk," he said. "I know how lonely you have been."
She glared at him. "You know nothing about me."
"Oh, I can assure you—I do," he said. "You are the timeless master of time—the one who never dies!" He smiled manipulatively at her. "Daughter of Father Time himself."
Rini could see Setsuna faltering as something he said captured her off guard. "Pluto, don't listen to him—"
"How do you know that?" She hissed.
"I know everything—I have seen everything," he told her. "You are nearly as old as I—you have walked this universe for millennia, under many different facades." He smiled. "But someone did not want you to know the full extent of your power."
"Setsuna," Mamoru managed weakly, "he'll say anything to get what he wants…"
"I may guard time, but I am a senshi—sworn to protect this solar system from destruction," Setsuna said, but her voice wavered. "To protect our princess—"
"Your princess isn't the only one who has been lied to—truths have been bent to suit." He looked up to the sky, and then back down to her. "Pluto is not the ninth planet you believe it to be."
Slowly, as Setsuna gave in to the story he was weaving, her fuku began to fade, unravelling from her body and leaving her undefended. "What are you talking about?"
"Setsuna—"
"Your guardian planet is nothing more than a tiny speck in this galaxy—a convenient distraction at very best," he said. "It holds little significance to your true identity."
Setsuna shook her head slowly. "You're lying…"
His laughter boomed among the pain and suffering that echoed around them. "Didn't you ever wonder how your talisman was destroyed, and yet you did not die?" He asked. "How you lived to tell the tale?"
The once-lovely park shook and roared as bolt upon bolt of lightning cracked at the ground, illuminating the destruction that spread across a city that had started to burn. The noise was deafening—screams and thunder among the pouring rain that soaked Rini's skin. She looked across at her friend, whose emerald hair clung to her clothes and her hands clenched at her sides—silent, as she thought over his words. "Puu, please…"
Chaos turned his back on her and began to walk away, his palm open to the sky as dark power gathered. The energy spat and hissed in his hand, morphing into a blade made from shiny black crystal. "If you help me, I can give you all the answers you seek," he said. "If you help me, you will not feel lost any longer."
"Setsuna," Mamoru gasped, as he fell heavily to his side, "please…"
Setsuna breathed heavily, her gaze straying to Mamoru and remaining there, locked with his. "No," she told Chaos finally, "I know that I am not lost any more."
Chaos turned his head to the side, his slanted smile widening as he watched them. "Suit yourself."
Rini knew what he was going to do.
He flicked his fingers open, taut to the dark sky, and the dagger shot through the air toward her—ready to kill the woman who had helped her and cared for her, when nobody else had.
"Puu!"
With every ounce of strength she had, she broke free of Helios' hold and dove for Setsuna, arms enveloping her friend, and she instantly expected to feel the piercing pain that would surely end her, but nothing came—nothing except the words that sent her blood cold.
"Time, stop!"
But those words that didn't come from Setsuna's lips.
The moments played out before her in exquisite slow motion as Helios' glowing form leapt between them, engulfing their surroundings in brilliant red light. The garnet gem upon his forehead broke away from his body, hanging in the air before them as everything froze in time—the point of the onyx dagger; the raging war that had unfolded; the violence and the storm and the sheer madness. The spinning stone bounced fractured light all around them, coming to a stop as it hovered in the palm of his outstretched hand. Quiet and still.
A voice echoed out to her—but what it meant, Rini didn't understand.
The greatest taboo.
"No," Setsuna whispered brokenly.
He smiled back at Setsuna in the stillness and the silence. "A piece of you, it would seem," he said softly. He looked at her knowingly. "There is only one way that this can be."
Setsuna shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. "You knew..."
"Perhaps, in a way, I did," he said. He looked to Mamoru, who had been released from Chaos' grasp. "But perhaps, in a way, you both knew, too."
He shook his head, pain twisting his features. "Helios…"
Rini's panic crawled in her chest as she tried to move in the frozen surroundings—trapped by the power Helios had summoned. "Helios," she said, "what are you talking about? What is this?"
His beautiful amber eyes met hers, and the moment they did, she felt something break inside her. "I would give my life to save yours, my maiden," he said.
No.
The sob, the sorrow, wracked her body violently and she fought against the stillness, a cry tearing at her throat. "No, please—please don't go—not when we just found each other—"
"It's alright," he soothed. The smile that shone through his golden eyes shattered her in two. "We will meet again." He looked between them. "But now I have to go."
"No, please, Helios—"
"Goodbye, Rini," he said, and as he closed his fist around the garnet gem, time sped to a rapid start once more, leaving the crystal blade to collide with his body and her world to fall apart.
Just get there—just find her and protect her.
Usagi panted through the burn in her chest and the ache in her legs as she sprinted across the city that was in tatters all around her. Somehow, she was strides ahead of her fellow senshi; her body finding strength deep within to simply get to her.
I'm coming, Rini.
The dark mass of reddened light domed over the park on the city's edge, cracking and spitting with lightning bolts and lashes of fire. They had seen it from the shrine, and she had instantlyfelt Rini's fear. Not a moment had been spared, as she raced for her.
"Odango!" Seiya called from a few short paces behind her. "There!"
She looked to where the Starlight was pointing as a purplish burst of light filled the sky.
"It's Pluto!" Sailor Neptune yelled.
She grunted and pushed her body harder. I'm coming.
But then suddenly—for a slither of a second in time—she wasn't.
It felt like a beat where she was stuck—where something felt wrong in every way and yet there simply wasn't time to fix it. It was something she had felt before, and it left her with a sense of dread so great that she felt sick to her stomach.
There's no time...
As quickly as it had come on it disappeared, and suddenly she was breaking through the trees and into the clearing where the eye of the bloody storm raged. She couldn't breathe, as she took in the sight before her, and somehow, she knew what had happened. She knew.
It was Helios—he stopped time.
She watched, motionless, as the boy's body laid limply across Rini's lap, his pale, bloodied form shimmering as it began to disappear. Rini's cries were strangled and broken as she cupped his face and ran her shaking hands over his hair. "No, Helios, please..."
Usage felt sick. Limbless. Livid.
The others caught up to her, knocking past her as she hung back, immobile. They surrounded them as Tuxedo Mask and Setsuna knelt by his side. The battle carried on around them, but for those moments, no one stepped away from the angelic boy—they gave him nothing but their warm presence, in the war that he was dying amidst.
"I'm sorry, Helios," Setsuna whispered, voice raw, and she softly laced her fingers through his. Something about their touch ignited a final spark of energy in his body, and a beautiful golden circle filled with a cross flickered on his forehead.
"The symbol of Earth," Taiki murmured.
Usagi barely heard it; she barely registered anything but the tragedy before her. Rage and anguish began to roll inside her, shooting through her veins and sending her ice hot.
Destroy them.
A soft magenta light began to sparkle in the air before Helios, and out of nowhere, Chibi Chibi appeared, in her lovely fuku with a gentle, sad smile on her lips.
"Chibi Chibi," Seiya breathed.
The little one's feet touched the ground and she knelt beside him, wrapping a tiny finger around his. "You're okay," she said, just as she had done once before. "Let me show you."
Hope, Usagi heard, echoing through the air in the toddler's airy voice. Blue eyes met her own and once again Usagi knew what was about to happen—but she couldn't move to her fast enough. She couldn't stop it, no matter how she tried.
Helios, and Chibi Chibi, faded away, together.
No.
She knew there was shock and outcry all around her. She heard the cries, and she felt the pain. She heard it all—saw it all—but her burning rage overtook everything.
Destroy him. Destroy it all.
She shook, she seethed, and as she turned to the smiling monster that had caused such heartache, she unleashed everything she had ever kept inside.
"Rini," Seiya struggled through her own tears, gathering her into her arms as she shook and sobbed, "oh, Rini…"
The shock ricocheted through her and she couldn't focus—all she could do was hold her, as the beautiful shimmer of both Helios and Chibi Chibi disappeared into the air and Rini fell to pieces before her. How could this have happened—how could they both have gone, right before their eyes?
Rage.
It shot through her like a shockwave, so strong that it stole her breath and turned her stomach. She looked at Usagi, mere metres away, and she saw the glow that emanated from her body; the anger twisted in her features; the flicker in her eyes as she stared at the space where those she loved had vanished.
Pure rage.
"Odango," she whispered urgently, resting Rini into Setsuna's embrace and rising to her feet. "Odango—"
Usagi lifted her gaze to meet her own and Seiya didn't recognise the woman before her.
"Usagi—!"
The boom that sounded as the guardian unleashed a guttural cry of fury sent a thump of white-gold energy across the grounds, and suddenly Seiya could see every moment—the way she shook; the way she sought around her wildly for her closest target; the way she spread her arms to the sky and roared. She was so vivid that it burned to look at her; silvered locks of hair, glistening skin, and the eight-pointed star that beamed from her forehead.
"Odango, don't do this," Seiya tried, trying to move toward her against the power that pulsed from the young woman. "Please, Odango—"
Usagi spun to her and held out a hand, and between them a crystal wall formed, thick and spliced with icy fractals.
The Sol senshi pleaded with her. "Usagi, please don't do this—we can help you—"
The warrior stared back at Seiya through the barricade, looking through her, and she turned her back on them all. Seiya thumped her fist against the barrier. "No, Usagi!"
She tipped her head back to the sky and opened her hands, before shooting forward at an unimaginable speed—taking anyone who stood in her path; striking them down in single blows as she cried out, slivers of crystal piercing and encasing her enemies until few of Chao's soldiers were left standing.
"We have to do something!" Sailor Venus cried, as the scouts fired everything they had at the barricade that separated them from the carnage.
"The barrier won't budge!" Sailor Mars shouted. "She's too strong!"
Seiya couldn't stand it. She placed her palms against the crystal and pushed—driving every ounce of power she had into the wall and crying out as it tore through her body, illuminating her body in her cobalt energy. A blue lattice cracked through the crystal and it exploded, shattering into tiny pieces.
"Go!" Sailor Uranus roared.
Seiya sprinted toward her, the others on her tail, fighting the monsters that launched toward them through the storm. All around her were the remnants of people—people who had been taken by Chaos to do his work; innocents forced by his hand—and they were gone; encased by shining crystal that was creeping into the earth. She shook her head as she ran, chasing Usagi's light. What is this?
There was a cry from behind her and she heard Haruka yell Michiru's name. "Space sword, blaster!"
She couldn't look back—she had to get to Usagi. She could see the twist of her body and the swing of her fists, glowing in the field before her, as she unleashed more of her power on their enemy. Chaos stood before her, watching. Laughing.
"That's it, Guardian!" He boomed, as though he were proud. "Show them your power!"
"Odango!" She tried, and the young woman faltered, for just a moment, glancing back over her shoulder to look at her. In that split second, Chaos sent a zap of energy into her back, driving her to the ground. "Odango!"
The attack did little but incense her, and as she braced herself on her hands, she growled and the earth froze to crystal under her. It splintered across the parkland and Seiya watched in horror as it coursed to the city with a rumble, freezing everything it touched—trees, buildings, humans. Everything in its wake turned to cold, hard crystal.
Something is going to happen—something only she will be able to stop.
The realisation came to her like she'd known it all along.
"It's her!" She cried desperately, spinning back to the other senshi. "It's her that's going to destroy Earth!"
Haruka had Michiru in her arms, holding her as she bled. "Stop her!"
Stop her.
Usagi rose to her feet, the wind whipping her silver hair across her glimmering body, which was flecked with shards of crystal, and she stared Chaos down with nothing but pure hatred. "I will destroy you," she hissed.
He only smiled and opened out his arms—an invitation—and she launched toward him, a jagged crystalline spike in the palm of her bleeding hand.
"No, Usagi—!"
Seiya leapt toward them, but as she did, the ground beneath their feet broke open and huge shards pierced through, shooting them up toward the blackened sky. She held on to the cliff face, hauling herself up as particles of crystal began to whirl around her, slicing at her skin. As she climbed to the top and pulled herself over the edge, she saw Usagi kneeling with Chaos—with Rafu—in her grasp, the dagger held at his throat.
"Odango," she said cautiously, "this is what he wants—you don't want to do this—"
Her eyes were squeezed closed, as though she were fighting. "I don't want to do this…" She whispered.
She approached her slowly. "That's right," she said, "please—"
"Yes," Chaos interrupted, grasping at her hand that was poised at his throat. "You do."
With one swift motion, he slit his throat open for her.
There was an explosion of power as Usagi screamed, and Seiya was thrown back, catching the edge of the jutting stone before she fell. She groaned as she pulled herself up once more, the roar of destruction suddenly intensified all around her. The icy fragments pierced her skin, and she could feel the crystal freezing her to the bone—pain unlike anything she had ever felt.
Get to her. Just get to her.
The storm spun all around them, everything in the distance shining in spiked crystal, and Chaos' laugh continued to echo as his form escaped from Rafu's lifeless body to surge into the sky. Before her, Usagi hung in the air, still and untouched by the madness that raged all around her. Usagi's power pushed her away, but she fought—the blue webbing that protected her dissipating as she grew nearer, until she was undefended. More mortal than ever before.
She will kill you.
She didn't care.
"Odango…" She stuttered, as she reached for her. "Please…"
She was frightening beautiful, as she floated there, blind with rage in the glowing sphere that protected her. Seiya forged forward until she reached her, and when she looked into her eyes, the blackness of her pupils overtook the blue, and she could see the entire universe. "Usagi," she whispered, as she touched her cheek. Her voice cracked. "Please, you have to stop this…"
Her touch broke something within the warrior, and her gaze met Seiya's, tears spilling down her cheeks as she shook her head. "I can't," she choked. "Seiya…"
It was a plea to help her, to shut her down, and Seiya would do anything for her—but what she was asking she would never do.
You know what you have to do.
Somehow, so suddenly, she knew what she had to do to stop her.
She cupped her cheeks in the palms of her hands and smiled at her. "Do you trust me, Odango?"
Through the turmoil that stormed all around them, Usagi nodded. "With everything I have."
Seiya took her chance, then.
She kissed her.
She kissed her and everything went silent.
It was like a whisper; a hush. Like the sweetest sigh of relief as she pressed her lips to hers and her heart just stopped.
Bliss.
She could feel the blinding, warm light that expanded from them out into the atmosphere; she could feel the softness of Odango against her, moving with her. She could feel her tears against her fingertips; she could feel her let go. She could feel everything—so fast, so perfect.
Pure bliss.
She broke away, a breath between them, and Usagi stared back at her like she had come undone. "Seiya…"
She caught her as she collapsed, unconscious, the star upon her forehead flickering away and the silver glow and crystal shine dissipating from her body. She held her as the blinding light settled, casting its spell across the frozen world around them. The icy crystal rescinded and melted away from everything it had touched, leaving behind fresh, healthy life and restored surroundings. Those who had been struck down by her power awoke, no longer casualties.
All but Rafu.
Seiya looked away from the young man, still on the ground before them, as her heart ached—Chaos had gotten what he wanted, and something told her it was the deed that would damn Usagi's fate.
She wasn't going to let that happen.
She rose to shaky feet, tattered and sliced, cradling the blonde in her arms as the huge spike of crystal retracted into the ground, bringing them back down to Earth. She stood in the quiet as the other senshi gazed on, as bruised and battered as she was. She looked down to the woman in her embrace. "Odango…"
Her cerulean eyes fluttered open and shone with tears. She looked confused; terrified; angry. "Seiya," she whispered, "what happened—what did I do?" A cry wracked her body—the aftermath, she was sure. "Seiya, you have to tell me!"
The weight of her reality—that she didn't know of what she had done and the destruction she had caused; that she couldn't remember—felt like lead on her chest. She closed her eyes—searching for the strength she needed—and when she reopened them, she gave her a sad smile. "I will, Odango," she told her. "I promise."
Author's notes:
The music recommendation (Hell Hath No Fury by Rupert Gregson-Williams, from the Wonder Woman soundtrack) is (pretty obviously) written for the final scene(s) of this chapter. The music, and the original scene from the film itself, inspired much of this scene, so please have a listen/a watch. Thanks again for your support and feedback, it is hugely appreciated!