Sailor Moon DMR: Dead Moon's Reign
Chapter 33: In the End...

When she woke, she saw Luna and Artemis by her bedside. No, not in feline form but in human form. She gasps softly trying to not move so much. Her body hurt and ached all over and she was still unsure of her memories.

"Luna..Artemis…?" Usagi looks at them, "I thought you were still on the moon..?"

"We were." Luna said and clasping her charge's hand, "I'm.. I'm so sorry, Usagi. For leaving when you needed me most."

"We both are." Artemis said with a hand on Luna's shoulder. "You're the last one we found-"

"Last one?" Usagi looked utterly confused by that statement, "The others?" Then she gasps as a memory came back, "Deadmoon.. she..she killed Shingo!"

Tears blurred her vision for a moment as she cries for her brother. He was a brat, he had been annoying but she loved him all the same. So why…?

"No..Usagi-chan." Luna said slowly.

"what?" Usagi looks at her with a mixture of shock and anger, "I saw it! I saw her kill him with my own two eyes!" She finally made herself sit up and draw her knees to her. Her right ankle hurt and she could feel the bandages on them. "How could you say he isn't? Oh Mama and Papa will be-"

"He's fine, Usagi." Artemis interrupts her. "We went to your family first but we over heard the landlady saying that the family had moved out of the district. So we followed and saw Shingo leaving the apartment." Artemis looks at her intently, "Whatever you saw that was Shingo, wasn't really him. I don't know what sorcery it was, but he's fine. However…"

She stares at them shell shocked and unable to say much really about it. Shingo..Shingo was alive? He was alive? Then.. "She never..did..it." She touches her face for a moment, "And Rei's grandfather? Is he still alive?"

Luna nods again, "Yes. Apparently his illness had to be seen by an expert. He was gone when the fire burned down the temple. Something about a mysterious benefactor."

"Then.." She wanted to move. She wanted to get out of the bed and see this. "We..They're still alive! We can go back to them and then rescue Mamo-chan!"

However she stops moving when she saw the shared looks between the Mauians.

"What is it?" Usagi felt a lump grow in her throat. "what's wrong?"

"Usagi.." Luna sighs softly, "They don't remember you."

Her blue eyes widen as she stares at them, "Wh-what?" She shook her head, "What do you mean?"

"We mean," Artemis spoke up, "That all the senshi's families.. they don't remember having a daughter. In fact they're quite certain about it. It's like you were all erased from their memories."

Her face crumples as tears stream down her cheeks. She didn't know what was worse. Losing her brother in a battle or not being remembered at all.

"None of that now, Usagi-chan." Luna told her wiping her tears away, "We must leave now."

"Why?" the moon princess sniffles. "What's the matter?"

"There's a warrant out for you and the others. Conspiracy and all that nonsense." Luna told her helping her up and getting her dressed. "The others have retreated to the moon."

"Luna, I don't understand what's going on!" Usagi was slow to move but she wanted to know what had happened.

Artemis looks around and shuts the door locking it. "When Kestral married Mamoru-san, well it set off a chain reaction of things. Though everything looks almost the same there's a golden castle at the heart of Tokyo now. She and Mamoru are starting to rule this land."

"That doesn't make sense!" Usagi rushes to the window to look out of it. "It doesn't make sense. Why would Mamo-chan do that? Why-?"

"Well there's no time to question that." Luna told her looking down. "The Police are here. We better go now."

Artemis joins them by the window putting his hands on them before the trio disappeared and reappears in space flying towards the moon.

"Tell me everything." Usagi said to her advisor.

Luna exchanged glances with Artemis before asking, "How long do you think you've been in the hospital?"

She blinks and shrugs, "I..guess a month?"

"Try three years." Artemis told her. "Three years ago, she married Mamoru. From what we can understand there's a contract involved. From what we know the Sol senshi won't be hurt as long as they leave the palace and children alone."

"That's just the gist of what we were able to decipher." Luna added. "For now, we need to get you and the others back into form. "

"But.. what about Mamo-chan? What happened to everyone?" Usagi looks at them though glances back at Earth.

"We'll have to leave him. The others are waiting for you on the moon." Artemis told her, "It took us a while to find you. They kept moving you around."

Yet Usagi couldn't hear any of that. She was too busy trying to understand everything else.

It was all…far too much.

Three year prior..

She was dressed in her wedding dress and had contended to not have a white one. In a way, with two years to plan and re-plan a dress in style and how it would look, Elation never imagined herself in something like this. Simple yet not. It was layered with the top being off the shoulder and a dark red wine color with a lighter one underneath with the bottom skirt an almost pink color. It was almost like a flower upside down really. The same color on the bottom skirt was the same color around her waist where there was a short bow that had no tail to it. Around her neck was a silver chained necklace of an open heart. Her earrings were studs and her hair pulled back into a tight low bun with a silver small crown with the veil attached.

It was an understated beauty to it that she loved. It wasn't very decorated but had a simple rose in the center that was astonishingly white. Like her flowers in her hand with a single pink rose in the center of them.

If only, she thought wryly as the veil was pulled over her face and the flowers handed to her, it was done out of love. Then again, there was a time when love was such a fickled thing that no one relied on it for advantageous marriages.

Like this one.

She had promised she would let them go after the wedding was over. She would keep her word, much to the grumblings of her senshi. She breathes out slowly then in.

It was time wasn't it?

She breathes in but Yuki and Chouko smiles at her. They were going to be there for this too.

"You look beautiful." Yuki gushes and almost hugs her but Chouko managed to keep her from doing so. "Don't worry we'll be out there."

She nods, "Thank you." Then watches as the two left through the door and she sat down in front of the mirror. Dear Gods. What was she doing? She couldn't possibly go through with this..could she?

"Kestral?"

She glances up seeing the familiar figure of Ren. She breathes out. "Ren.."

Ren only nods once but walks in to see her. "You are indecisive again."

"I know. Ren, what is the future for me going to be like?" Elation looks at her almost pleading.

Ren only pats her hand and sat down, "The future for you is very troubled, but there are moments that will be rewarding for you." She smiles a little looking at Elation, "Listen, the future is not set in stone. Make of it what you will. And when you do, just throw yourself into it."

She nods before leaning over and hugging her. "Thank you, Ren."

She breathes out and lets her friend go before standing up and sighs softly. "Alright.. I think I can do this."

Ren nods and watches her go but frowns to herself as she looks at the card in her hand. "Please don't come true."

"Maaah." Tora whines a bit. " I'm bushed. And I can't believe we have so much work to do!"
Hebi only laughs a bit, "Well you may be, but I have a date tonight."

Hane only shook her head amused as the two sparred verbally. It always ended up like this. Though she turns and looks at Sarita. She got up walking towards her.

"Sari?" Hane stood next to her, "What's the matter?"

"I can't believe she's really going to let them go." Sarita grumbles, "I even pleaded with her not to do it."

Hane only shook her head, "That's just her way. We both know she's not a killer. Not like us." Hane puts her arms around Sarita's waist and snuggles up to her. "It'll be alright. We can watch over this together."

Sarita kisses her temple and nods a bit resting her forehead against Hane's head. For now she accepted this. After all what more could be done. "In the morning," Sarita said, "We'll move them around and let them go."

"The Moon girl?" Hane glances at her.

"Well she is still in a coma so we'll move her around until she wakes up." Sarita answered, "I have it all set up. Implicated them in the right places and way."

"Brilliant." Hane smiles brightly at her and steals a kiss from her lips. "Come, we should turn in early since everyone else had."

"Hmm.. I like your way of thinking." Sarita mutters following her.

She sat down on the bed and looks at him nervously. She wasn't sure if it would happen that night or the next or…

She shook her head and took the crown off, tossing it aside. Suddenly she felt very conscious of what she was wearing and of what was underneath.

"I don't want you." He told her, throwing the bow-tie away almost violently. "I-"

"Will you stop that, Mamoru?" Elation looks at him almost wearily, "Your self-righteousness is becoming almost nauseating now."

He glares at her sputtering, "My..self-righteousness?" He stomps over to her and jerks her up by her arm. "Who's the one that continued this? That-"

"I never killed anybody." Elation looks at him steadily. "Unlike you and yours, I've never killed anyone."

"I saw it." He didn't let her go, "I saw you. You sent that girl to kill Rei's grandfather and you killed Shingo!"

Elation laughs softly, "You're mad." She jerks her arm out of his grip and stabs him in the chest with her finger, "I killed no one. What you saw was not reality. That was careful planning of two years and close to six months worth to execute perfectly!"

"What?" He was too stunned to do much more then take a step back. "Why should I-?"

"Believe me?" She smiles a bit, "What else do you have left going for you? What need is there to lie any more?" She shook her head and turns away from him to take her gown off. "You all are such fools. The only ones hurt in all this is yourself! As if I would drag your innocent families into this."

"But Usako's family and Rei's-?" He stares at her hard.

"Please, as if loosing a house and some money for a short time will kill them." She glances over her shoulder as she worked the dress off, "As for the old man, it was suggested he take a trip to see an expert about his uncontrollable coughing. Which of course was easily cured."

"Everything…? Even Minako's problems..?"

"Of course." Elation turns to look at him. "Nothing you guys have suffered was unplanned- except maybe the second car accident. That was a real one from what Sarita has told me."

Mamoru shook his head, "How? How could you have such..?"

"Funding? People to work with me?" Elation allows the dress to drop feeling a little bold as she applied some lipstick wearing the lingerie that Tora had picked out. At least she wasn't thinking about what she was wearing. The conversation held her interest now. Well.. some of it. Still she turns and looks at him.

"It's easy." She told him and walks over to him slowly unpinning her hair and shaking it free. "When one or more of your friends are rich and one happens to be a boss of a successful sect. Then you add in all the people that are shady, the people who's family members were youmas that you've guys have killed.. well I had my own little personal army." She smiles a little and looks up at him.

"The problem with you Sol senshi is that you don't take into account of who people were as youmas. Or their connections or how grateful and indebted people can become."

"All of it…was orchestrated by you?" He felt light headed. So, it wasn't just her but others. So many other people that he wouldn't know what to do with. "All for revenge?"

"Penance." She corrects and takes him by the chin and tilts it towards her. "I told you from the beginning, if you had done your penance and made amends, then maybe you wouldn't be in this situation."

"How were we suppose to do penance fi we didn't know what it was for?" He argues but was becoming aware that she was far too close and he was far too human to ignore it entirely. So he used what he could which was the conversation. "How were we suppose to show it without revealing ourselves?"

She raises a brow as if to question his sanity or lack thereof. "You have a person who's IQ is genius level, you had a Shinto Priestess to help you. You even had some sparkly crystal magic and another smart person or two there and none of you can't figure it out?" She laughs in spite of herself. "Really? Honestly is this a cultural thing or do you just not understand?"

"I don't understand." Mamoru said to her, "Were you the one sending the visions of your sister to me?"

Elation blinks and frowns looking at him and letting go of his chin. Instead, her hands rested on his chest as she stares at him with a look of confusion. "Maya..Maya appeared to you?"

He nods slowly wondering if this was a trick. "Yes, Maya appeared to me more then once and she kept pointing at me. Looking like she was saying something." He paused, "I wonder if she appeared to the others?"

"I'll have my Dreamcatchers to look into it." She said to him and rests her forehead against him. "Maya… I never saw her. I always hoped to see her just one more time. Once more.." She was not going to cry again. She had cried herself out years ago. It was over.

It was over now wasn't it?

Mamoru looks down at this girl- no young woman that had been through just as much as he had. That had done all this in the name of her sister. In the name of others that had died. Had any of it been fair? Was it fair to anyone?

Distantly he remembers the saying 'All's fair in Love and War.'

Who ever came up in that probably had never been in a war or in love. Because when those things occur at the time, it doesn't seem right nor fair at all.

Like now. This girl in his arms still grieved and pulled off an elaborate hoax to get back at them for what they had done.

Now she was watching him with a vaguely puzzled look on her face that was tinged with sorrow.

There were no winners here.

Still she rose up on her toes and kisses him tenderly.

Mamoru only wonders what the future will hold for him and this world after this night.