***Hello all! I´m back with the next piece of my story! I am so happy to know you liked last chapter and the surprise I was preparing for you ;-) Hope you like this next one as much, and please continue telling me about it! Thanks for your support after all this time!***
***Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of its original characters. Although I do own the ideas, story and new characters in this my story ^_^***
CHAPTER 35 - REACTION
Hikawa shrine
"Se….SEIIIIIYA!" yelled Usagi when she saw him drop back unconscious right next to her "ChibiUsa, how can you say something like that so recklessly!" she scolded
"How was I supposed to say it?! There´s no delicate way of doing it! It was not easy for me either, you know?!" she defended herself
"Stop it you two, we have more important issues to deal with first!" said Makoto, going towards where Seiya was lying in Usagi´s arms, in order to help.
"Is he fine?" asked Minako, preoccupied
"He has just fainted from the shock, I guess" said Ami, coming to have a look at him.
"Well, that´s understandable… that was a hell of a piece of news, was it boys?" she said, grinning and looking at Taiki and Yaten. She sweatdropped the second after. They were both paralyzed, eyes wide open an jaws dropped, with a terrifying shock expression on their faces "Hey… are you two feeling fine?" she asked
"Se… Se… Seiya is a… father?" stuttered Taiki
"When… why… how…?" started Yaten "Why is always everything so strange when it has something to do with you girls?!"
"Heeey!" protested Minako
"As funny as always, uncle Yaten" giggled ChibiUsa, amused by Yaten´s brazenness
"U… Uncle Yaten?!" he said "Oh hell…I think I´m about to faint as well…"
"This is certainly awesome… for you to be here…" said Taiki, having a closer look at the girl.
"It´s great to meet your younger selves too…" added ChibiUsa casually.
"MMMMmmmmmm" moaned Seiya, coming back to his senses.
"Seiya!" said Usagi, relief visible in her eyes "You scared me!"
"What… happened?" he asked, confused and holding his head with one hand while sitting up with Usagi´s help.
"You fainted suddenly and fell back like a block of wood!"
"Uh?" he said, looking at her clear blue eyes "Oh, right… I thought I understood something really absurd about me having a daughter that has come from the future to visit us…"
All the room sweatdropped, ChibiUsa included.
"Well… that´s actually correct" said Taiki, holding the pink-haired girl from the shoulders and gently moving her towards Seiya "Here she is, your daughter"
ChibiUsa blushed and looked down timidly.
Seiya´s eyes started rolling back again.
"aaahhh….." he sighed while starting to fall back.
"SEIYA!" yelled Usagi, which brought him back immediately.
"A… a… are you kidding me?!" he said "Are you really telling me that this girl here is my daughter?"
Usagi nodded, blushing.
"My… my daughter with… you?"
Usagi nodded again, blushing deeper.
"Wow… from night to day I have turned from a lone person to a member of a large family! I now have a mother AND a daughter….!"
"Yeah… it looks like it!" said Usagi
"But… wasn´t she your daughter with your ex?"
"That´s what I thought, but she says we were mistaken!"
"But… is that really so, ChibiUsa-chan?" asked Hotaru, so surprised she couldn´t help interrupting the conversation "Is Mamoru-san really not your father?"
"No, he is absolutely not" she confirmed to her best friend.
"But that can´t be true! Or can it be…?" said Rei, still not completely believing it.
"HMMM…." Murmured Ami, her finger in her lip in a meditating position.
"Ami-chan…?" said Minako
"If you think about it…" continued the blue-haired girl "It really makes much more sense now!"
"What do you mean?" asked Makoto, as puzzled as the rest of the girls
"Well, for example, it was absolutely unnatural that ChibiUsa had such a crush on Mamoru-san… that is illogic and surely impossible if he had been her real father… but he was not, so I see the point to it now"
ChibiUsa blushed again.
"Eeeh! That´s true!" said Minako
"So you REALLY were going to steal my boyfriend, then!" protested Usagi, suddenly standing up "AH! And you even SLEPT beside him on plenty of occasions!" she yelled at the younger girl, accusingly pointing her with her finger.
"Oi! I was a little kid, you know?! And I did not know any of this at that moment, I also thought he was my father!" responded ChibiUsa
"But you liked him!"
"What do you care, you have Seiya! Do you want them all or what?!"
"Of course NOT! What are you calling me?!"
ChibiUsa responded by sticking her tongue out at her future mother, which made her pout.
"And that´s not the point!" continued the enraged Usagi "You tried to steal MY boyfriend from ME at the time! What kind of daughter are you?!"
"A very precocious one… that´s for sure" murmured Yaten under his breath
"He was not your destined man, I was doing you a favor!" answered ChibiUsa
"Wha… What?! Don't try to confuse me! You just said you did not know that at the time!" replied Usagi
"Oh, you´re finally getting smarter, are you?" she teased
"CHIBIUSAAAAA!" Usagi yelled, trying to seize the annoying little one, but Makoto and Ami grabbed her first from the arms and shoulders, immobilizing her before she reached her daughter. ChibiUsa snickered, enjoying as much as always to tease the younger version of her mother.
Seiya observed both girls with eyes open like saucers… That was the strangest mother-daughter relationship he had ever seen… and there he had thought his meeting with his own mother had been uncommon…Was all that real? Was it really happening to him? Could it be true?
"You two stop it already, my head´s going to explode with all this information!" said Rei, while Haruka and Michiru sweatdropped, utterly embarrassed.
"HMMMmmm" murmured Ami again
"Ami-chan…?" said Minako again, sweatdropping and shocked on seeing how her smart friend was oblivious to anything going on around her when she was busy thinking.
"…And also…" continued Ami with her reasoning, not aware of all the arguing around her "there are more clear evidences that corroborate that possibility…ChibiUsa-chan is not like Mamoru-san at all… He´s formal and elegant, always acting properly, whereas ChibiUsa is naughty and teasing and rebellious and passionate and completely reckless… much like…"
"Yeah, that description surely reminds me of someone…" interrupted Yaten, looking at his brother.
"HEEEY!" Seiya and ChibiUsa protested at the same time.
They looked at each other, blushed and then looked down.
"No doubt! The apple doesn´t fall far from the tree!" laughed Yaten.
"Incredible…" commented Taiki
Suddenly, Galaxia, who had not spoken a word since the younger one arrived, stood up and walked slowly towards her. Everyone followed her with their eyes. ChibiUsa fell silent, gulped and blushed when the elegant lady stopped right before her.
"This is fantastic… Beyond my sweetest dreams…" she said with her tuneful voice "Who would have thought I would ever have the chance to meet you, my dear…"
ChibiUsa looked up at her with intrigued eyes. The Star Lady looked so elegant and fascinating that she commanded respect. She somehow remembered her to her mother on her future.
"I´m glad to meet you too, Queen…" she said with a nervous thread of voice
"We have the same coral eyes" added Galaxia suddenly, smiling broadly.
ChibiUsa couldn´t move her eyes from the older woman´s, but did not quite understand why she said those things, why their eyes were so evidently equal, and why she was seeing tears forming on the Queen's.
"Ah… of course…" said Ami, suddenly realizing "ChibiUsa-chan, you should know that lady Galaxia, apart from the Queen of the Kingdom of the Stars… is Seiya´s mother, so… that makes her…"
"My… my grandmother?" said ChibiUsa, ending the sentence with wide eyes.
"That´s it, my dear" said Galaxia, smiling. The second after, she hugged the younger girl tightly while joy tears finally escaped her eyes.
Usagi covered her mouth, trying to hold her own tears back.
"Oh my… this is so complicated!" protested Yaten
"You tell me…?" said Seiya sarcastically
"Oi!" said suddenly Usagi, her face illuminating "Wait a minute!"
"Usagi… chan?" said Makoto
"So then… Chibi-Chibi is also Seiya´s daughter?! And that´s why she liked him so much?"
Everyone in the room sweatdropped and sighed with patience.
"Oh God Usagi you are such an airhead…" commented Rei, ashamed.
"Wha… why?"
"Usagi-chan…" said Ami, laughing with nerves "I thought that point was clear already…"
"What point?"
"Chibi-Chibi is not Seiya´s daughter or anyone´s… she was Galaxia-sama´s Star Seed… that means she was Galaxia herself. Now I understand why she looked so much like ChibiUsa… after all, they were family"
"Oh… right…" she said, and then her face showed how she had just realized something else "OH! WHAT?!"
"What now?" asked Rei
"So you are telling me that I slept and bathed and helped to the toilet Seiya´s mother?!"
Everyone blushed.
"And you realize now?" said Rei
"Oh this is so uncomfortable" commented Haruka, flushing.
"Usagi please just don´t make this any stranger…" Makoto pointed out.
Galaxia, who had now stopped hugging her granddaughter, smiled uncomfortably, her cheeks seen turning a little rosy.
"Sorry about that… it was the easiest for me and for my mission to take that form…" Galaxia said
"Ahahaha!" laughed Usagi nervously "It´s fine, it´s fine!"
"I am surprised myself how much like my grandchild it came out to be" she added, caressing ChibiUsa´s pink hair softly.
ChibiUsa smiled, and then turned towards Seiya. With all the mayhem, she had not had the chance to properly introduce herself.
She walked calmly towards him and stopped a few inches away.
Seiya´s cheeks flushed, and he swallowed hard. He of course had not experienced anything at all like this before, and did not know how to act.
"Hello… Papa" she said, with the sweetest smile
The early teenager that was standing in front of him was indeed very pretty and had a smart looking face. It definitely reminded him of his beloved Odango in many things: her features, her expression and moves, her loud cheerful voice, the sweetness of her look… but he did also see something else in her. She was more passionate and determined, and had a teasing shine to her eyes that he was starting to like. She had an untamed heart, just like him.
Seiya did not think. He let his feelings take control, as he usually did, and his reaction just came out naturally. He beamed, and without saying a word, he grabbed the little one between her arms, hugging her tightly. She responded eagerly to his sincere embrace.
Usagi, standing right beside them, was crying with happiness. Seiya´s acceptance and reaction towards their future daughter was better than she could ever had imagined. In fact, the whole room was touched with the sweet father-daughter first-time meeting.
"Usagi-chaaan, don´t cry!" said ChibiUsa sweetly, once she undid the embrace with her father-to-be. Seiya stretched his arm towards the blonde and lovingly wiped the tears off her face.
"Everything is so great, Odango…" he said in a whisper, only for the three of them.
"It… it is?" she said, sobbing "Are you fine with all this?"
"Of course!" he said with a wide smile "Everything has come out to be as it should. There are no impediments ahead of us for us to be together forever, and I have met the loveliest daughter I could ever have!" he added, playfully mussing ChibiUsa´s hair up and therefore making her grin "I couldn´t possibly be happier" he said, directing her a sweet romantic smile.
"Oh Seiya… It´s too good to be true! I never expected something like this, how could we all be so mistaken?"
"Yeah… perhaps ChibiUsa should tell us more about our mistake and about all that we need to know about the future in order to actually HAVE one…" said Rei
"That´s right! We are dying of curiosity here!" agreed Minako "You can continue with your lovely cheesy family reunions later!"
The trio sweatdropped.
"Ok ok…" conceded ChibiUsa "I´ll tell you what I know about all this"
Everyone kept silence in order to let her speak.
"As I told you, I caused a huge problem when I travelled to your time from my previous future a few years ago. That was because that future was a doomed one that you had to fight to avoid. But you ended up travelling there and learning about things that you should have never known, and that produced confusion in your present"
"Like Mamoru being your father?" asked Makoto
"Exactly" confirmed ChibiUsa "That was never true, but you got that idea from the false future"
"But… Endymion from the future told us himself!" said Rei "And you existed there, whereas Seiya was nowhere to be seen"
"Yeah… I don´t know about that. For me, that false future is now like one of those hyper-realistic dreams you sometimes have, that look so authentic that when you wake up you are not sure if it was really a dream or a memory. It is a very strange feeling, because since I travelled in time, I keep memories from a future that never really took place afterwards"
"….What?" said Usagi, with a puzzled look.
"It´s… kind of complicated" said the younger one
"I´ll explain it to you later again, Usagi-chan" offered Ami, and Usagi nodded agreeing. Thank God she had such a smart friend. The past-present-future story was driving her crazy.
"As I was saying" continued ChibiUsa "I only have some vague memories left of the false future, but I am sure that everyone, including me, were always told that Endymion was my father back then. Or forward then. Or whatever... I don´t know why he and my mother agreed to do such thing…"
"But he was definitely not your father, that´s for sure…" confirmed Michiru
"No, he was not. And that is why my growing stopped, making me remain a little kid forever. I could not fully develop my power and physical potential because I was missing one half… To me it seems that I never met my real father, Seiya, and that´s why I never received the power from the Stars. Something must have happened, although I don´t know what. Puu never told me about that, even though I asked"
"Yeah, that thing about not knowing too much about the future and blah…" said Haruka
"She ended up being completely right, since because you girls learned something about the wrong future, the real one was almost ruined!"
"And how´s that?" asked Taiki
"Well, if Usagi had decided now to remain with Mamo-chan thinking that like that she was saving me, I would have never been born…" she started, and then blushed "And… that means… that the future would have been destroyed"
"What?!" said all girls, shocked
"Yeah… I…" she was blushing with embarrassment "I can´t tell you much, but let´s say I play a very important role in a certain moment of the future…"
"Wow, is that so?" said Usagi
ChibiUsa nodded "Listen girls" she added, getting serious "What I came here to tell you is about this new enemy you are facing… He is not here to destroy or conquer the World, he doesn´t need to, since it would happen sooner or later if he accomplishes his true mission…"
"And what´s his true mission, then?" asked Ami
"He´s here to destroy the Imperial Couple"
Rei´s eyes widened with understanding. She had heard that before.
"And what´s the Imperial Couple?" asked Taiki
"The Imperial Couple are you two, Usagi and Seiya"
The aforementioned looked at each other in surprise.
"We are the what?" asked Seiya
"The Imperial Couple" repeated Yaten, annoyingly
"Yeah Yaten, I heard it, I am not deaf… I was asking for an explanation…" said his brother, pissed off by his comments
"In the future I come from, you two get together as a couple, and being as you are the heir to the Kingdom of the Stars and the heir to the Moon Kingdom who share the strongest power of love ever known, you rule the entire Universe together…" explained ChibiUsa
A thick silence was formed in the room.
"Se…Seiya is the King of the whole Universe?" asked Taiki with twitching eyebrow
"And… that´s the future we have to protect…?" commented Yaten, his hairs standing on end "Oh God we are going to doom all existence! The Universe is condemned if they have Seiya as their ruler!"
"YATEN, you want to get killed?!" protested Seiya
"That´s… quite difficult to digest, indeed" commented Haruka with frowning forehead
"Haruka!" scolded Michiru trying to hide a snicker.
"So that makes you the fruit of the love of the strongest couple in the Universe…" said suddenly Galaxia, addressing ChibiUsa and surprising them all
"That´s… right" confirmed ChibiUsa timidly
"You must have incredible powers…" added the Star Queen with a proud smile
"My powers are the combination of the Moon and the Stars, and I am the only one capable of using them… that´s why your enemy wants to destroy the couple before they become one and…"
"And make you" added Minako
"Minako-chan!" scolded Rei, blushing at her insinuation
"That´s what it is!" she protested
"But what is the need of being so graphic!"
"Well, it actually is just that, yes" confirmed ChibiUsa "For your enemy, it´s enough if he manages to kill one of you two… The only thing he needs to avoid is my birth"
"I see…" said Ami "Everything makes so much sense now…"
"It does?" said Usagi, her head about to explode with all the complicated facts
"It will for you, I´m more confused every second…" commented Seiya, making ChibiUsa grin.
"And that´s about all you needed to know about the future" ended the younger one.
"Wait… that´s all?" asked Ami, still intrigued
"All you NEED to know. It is dangerous for you to learn too much about the future. I learned my lesson already"
"But… that does not explain many things!" intervened Rei, also truly curious
"Like what?" asked ChibiUsa
"First of all… how come you knew we were in danger and you came to warn us?" asked Rei
"As I told you, Puu summoned me to the Time Gate… I didn´t know the future I live in was in danger, but she did. She saw it. And therefore she needed my help to warn you… she needed me to travel to your time and tell you about the real future so you did not make a mistake in the present that will change it"
"So she managed to finally recover her powers…" muttered Michiru
"What do you mean by recover?" asked Usagi, not understanding. All the girls looked in other directions, evasively
"There´s… something we didn´t tell you about, Usagi-san" said Michiru
"About… what?"
"About Setsuna…" said Haruka, helping her lover "She… she had lost her powers over Time and Space due to being too implied in the present because of being a senshi and an ordinary human"
"What?!" Usagi could not believe what she was hearing "But… but she did return to the Time Gate to save ChibiUsa! She is actually there now, and she has her powers!"
"Yes, she does" confirmed ChibiUsa
"So then…?"
"Then that only means one thing…" said Michiru "That she gave up on her human life completely in order to recover her powers as Time Guardian…"
"Gave up… on her human life?" repeated Usagi, terribly worried about what she thought she was starting to understand "What do you mean?"
"That she is never coming back…" said Hotaru suddenly, with a sad, calm voice full of sorrow and maturity that surprised everyone in the room. They all looked down sadly.
"Hotaru…chan…" muttered Michiru, worriedly looking at her young almost-daughter. She knew how much she had been suffering since Setsuna left, even if she hardly ever let her feelings show.
"But… that can´t be!" cried Usagi, deeply hurt by what she had just learned "We can´t let her sacrifice herself!"
"It was her decision, there was nothing we could do about it…" commented Haruka
"She did it for me" said suddenly ChibiUsa with a thread of voice.
"ChibiUsa-chan…" said Usagi softly, looking at her future daughter
"She gave up on everything and everyone she loved in order to recover her powers, because she thought she had to save me… and I wasn´t even in danger. That was my fault again… I messed everything up and caused so much pain to everyone…!" she started crying
"That was not your fault!" said Usagi, coming closer to her and grabbing her soft hand in hers.
"Of course it was!" confirmed ChibiUsa "She believed I was in danger because she thought my father was Mamoru, and that was caused by the confusion I created with my stupid trip in time!"
"I don´t think she´ll ever regret her decision, little one…" said Haruka, making ChibiUsa look up at her wide eyed "She would do anything for you, you know that. And if just making sure you were fine has cost her her human life, I am sure she is happy with the decision she made"
Michiru smiled at her companion. She loved when she acted like that, so mature and reliable.
"Haruka-san…" said ChibiUsa, touched
"It´s true, ChibiUsa" confirmed Hotaru "What matters most to her is that the ones she loves live happily and safely, that´s what makes her so special"
"Hotaru-chan…" said her best friend, smiling "Yes, you are right. But you are forgetting how much she also matters to me…"
"What do you mean?" asked Usagi
"That was all my fault and I am determined to fix all the problems I caused with my actions… I could not live knowing that my dear friend had sacrificed what she loves most for me… I love her too much"
"But… how can you solve that?" asked Hotaru, her eyes illuminated by a small ray of hope
Suddenly ChibiUsa´s lips adopted a mysterious half smile.
"I tried to convince her to disobey her duty and return to your present with me, but you know how she is, forever so responsible… So I have sent someone to bring her back. Someone I think can make her change her mind… She needs to remember that there are many people here that love her and want her to return"
Time Gate
Sailor Pluto stood silently before the imposing Time Gate, guarding it with firm pose and calm spirit as she had always done, as it was her duty, as it was her destiny.
The future had been hiding an unexpected surprise for her, a long forgotten fact that she had remembered the moment she had recovered her Time Guardian powers. Small Lady, her first friend, the kind and caring little girl she loved with all her heart, was not Mamoru´s daughter but Seiya´s. And therefore, she had not been in danger of never existing when Usagi decided to break up with the future king of Earth. It had even been the other way around… they had almost caused that she never existed by forcing Usagi to be with a man that she never really loved.
Pluto sighed in relief every time she thought about it… how close they had been of destroying the perfect future she was seeing now because of not believing in the power of love… the love that Usagi always had faith in, the one she always listened to. They all still had many things to learn from their future Queen… There was no one like her, for sure, with a heart so pure that always guided them all to the light…
As soon as she had learned, or more precisely remembered the truth, she had understood she needed to warn her friends, in order for them to carefreely let Usagi choose who she loved. Since she had already given up on her life on Earth and tied herself to guard the Gate forever again, and therefore could not return to them, she thought that no one better than Small Lady herself to tell them about this. They will sure have to believe it from her, since was it not true, she won´t be existing.
When Pluto had summoned the younger one to the Gate, ChibiUsa had been really surprised. She did not know anything about her future being in danger. Soon, she understood that she had been the cause of all the trouble because of her previous travelling in time, and she had eagerly offered herself to fix her past mistakes. She was becoming a very fair lady, both in the outside and in the inside, being now more mature and responsible, but keeping her happy passionate edge that reminded Pluto so much of both her parents. It was a perfect mixture indeed.
ChibiUsa had been very unhappy to know that Pluto was back to being the solitary Time Guardian and was never going to return to her life on Earth and to the ones she loved. She had even told Pluto that it was all her own fault, since Pluto had done that for her sake, to save her. Pluto had told her once and again that there was no way it could be her fault, and that she did not regret anything, and she was sincerely true. The pretty young girl had even tried to convince her to return to the present, how sweet of her. But she had made a decision, and it was forever. She was comfortable with it. Spending eternity alone guarding the Gate was for her a small price to pay compared to ensuring a bright future for those she loved and valued more than her own life. Their happiness was what made her happy. And like this, she would forever be able to watch over them.
And that was why her face showed a serene gesture. She was finally in peace with herself, with the Universe and with her destiny, which she was now gladly embracing. If any small regrets had been left, they were buried deep inside her heart. So deep that even the Gate of Time couldn´t reach them.
But all of a sudden, something happened in the idyllic cloud-filled surrounding around her.
She felt a presence.
"Who´s there?!" she shouted threateningly, standing on guard, ready for combat.
No answer came.
"Show yourself!" she insisted, louder. The Garnet Orb in her staff was starting to shine, preparing itself for battle.
Then, she discerned something.
From between the dense mist of clouds ahead of her, a shadow appeared.
She narrowed her eyes to focus her sight on the distant intruder, when she suddenly recognized what she was seeing. Her garnet eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with one of her gloved hands in disbelief.
Ahead of her, now already out of the cloud bank, an unmistakable black silhouette she knew too well appeared. It was tall, robust, and wore a top hat and a long cape. She recognized it immediately.
Tuxedo Mask.
Her heart skipped a beat. How could it be? How was it possible for him to be here? And why was he here?
She could not articulate words. She just stood still, completely paralyzed with shock, and watched him as he got closer, with one calm and elegant step after the other, until she could see his tuxedo, his shoes, his face features, and his mask. He stopped just a few steps ahead of her.
"Hello, Sailor Pluto" he just said, with his manly firm voice.
Pluto was about to cry. As soon as she heard his voice, all the feelings she had buried so deep inside her started turning trying to burst out. The Gate of Time sensed it immediately, and Pluto heard its wooden doors tremble. The white spongy clouds around them started turning dark, as if a storm was being formed.
Pluto swallowed hard and tried to recover control over herself. If the Gate attacked now in response to the feelings she should not be having, it will surely kill them both.
"How…" she started, but a knot in her throat didn´t almost let her speak. She breathed in deeply and tried again "How come you are here?"
Tuxedo Mask moved his hand to his pocket, and took something out. It was a golden chain from where an equally golden shiny decorated key was hanging. He smiled triumphantly while showing it to her.
Of course, she recognized it immediately. It was the Time Key she had given Small Lady in order for her to be able to return to her Time.
"Small Lady´s key…" she muttered "Why do you have it?"
"She gave it to me"
"She did? … And why would she do that?"
"She needed me to do her a favor… and I needed the key for that"
"But without the key she will not be able to return to her Time!" said Pluto, altered
"Don´t worry… I will hand it back to her soon, I am returning right away… but with you"
A huge thunder was heard over their heads as soon as he said those three words. A terrifying storm had formed over them, and the doors of the Gate were shaking uncontrollably. Pluto was blushing, her hidden feelings finding their way out, lured by Tuxedo Mask´s words.
Pluto closed her eyes and counted to three, in an attempt to ignore the screams of her heart, control her reactions and convince the Gate she had no feelings left from her time on Earth, but it was resulting tremendously difficult, having him in front of her, saying those things to her.
"Wha… what do you mean?" she managed to say
"That was the favor ChibiUsa asked me…" he explained "She told me everything."
"E…Everything?" Pluto was starting to shake, just like the Gate
"Yes, about the future… About me never being her father, and not being destined to marry Usagi" he said, and she could see the sorrow in his eyes. It must have been a tremendous shock for him, she knew how much he cared for the younger girl. "She also told me about what you did, sacrificing your life on Earth to try to save her…"
Pluto looked down "It is not like that…" she pointed out "This is my real destiny, my duty. I was born for doing this and nothing else. My life on Earth with them was never meant to happen. I… I disobeyed my duties and resurrected myself on Earth´s present time to live with them, but that was an improper selfish act and I am sorry. I am back to what it should always have been."
"Well, ChibiUsa does not share your point of view" he said casually "And neither do I"
Again. The thunderstorm was turning into a hurricane, and the door was about to burst open. She needed to avoid it at all cost.
"Tuxedo Mask… please…" she pleaded, her long green hair moving wildly around her with the strong wind. She needed him to leave. She needed him to stop saying those things that were making her feel again. She needed to be alone to protect him.
"I am going to keep the promise I made to ChibiUsa. For her, and for all the people on Earth who love you and miss you. And also for me. We want you back with us on Earth, we want you to live the normal life you deserve so much, together with the people you love. I don´t care anything about your duty or your destiny, I am sure Usagi and the girls feel the same and will deal with that when the time comes" he stated, with the calmest and most determined voice she had ever heard "I am not returning without you, Setsuna" he added, addressing her by her human name.
That was more than she could handle. More than she could have ever dreamed of, in her human life or in the eternity as Time Guardian. Her feelings beamed, filling her heart with their warmth.
And the Time Gate burst open.
Suddenly, a huge explosion of dazzling light flowed out of the open door, straight towards them.
"Tuxedo Mask!" cried Pluto, leaping towards him and covering him with her own body.
"Setsuna!" he yelled, feeling like his head was burning inside "What is this?!"
Pluto knew that if she did not take him out of there at once, they were both going to die. She could not control her feelings anymore, and moreover not now that she was for the first time in contact with him, her body around his protecting him from the Gate´s destructive light. The Gate did not allow them to be there, having like they did bonds with the present time on Earth.
She saw how Tuxedo Mask was holding his head with utter pain, and how his body turned numb, while he slowly lost consciousness. She didn´t think anymore, she just reacted.
She rose her Garnet Staff, and gathering all the strength she had left while she endured the intense light explosion, she made the Garnet Orb shine brightly.
A second later, they had both disappeared from the Time Gate.