Sailor Moon
"Reflections of a Red Rose"
Rated: PG – 13
By: NeoMoon
Chapter Thirty - Six:
It was only a rental. Natsume reminded herself as she walked around the small yellow car for the fourth time. She couldn't
believe this was happening, no this couldn't be happening at all. She stopped, her dark blue eyes gazing upward at the
beautifully colored sky. In the distance the sun was setting behind the mountains, a cool wind blew up the winding road,
sending a prickle down Natsume's neck, despite the otherwise warm summer night.
Two days ago Natsume had been in the old capital of Kyoto enjoying the last days of her working vacation before she would
have to go back to her home in the new capital of Tokyo. It had been a beautiful day, she had spent most of it at the
resort's pool lounging a swimming to her heart's content, glad that for once she did not have the pressures of her position
to worry about. It was late, and the sky was the same beautiful pattern of reds and oranges as it was now, when she left the
pool, ignoring the fact that the crowd at the hotel's bar were unusually quite, as she passed by.
Her room was lit with the dim hues of orange, she didn't bother to turn the lights on as she slowly readied for the shower,
she ignored the television as she headed into the bathroom, her mind set on the wonderful feeling of warm water running over
her.
It was much later that nigh when Natsume finally looked over at her television. At first she thought it was a joke, then as
she read the headline at the bottom of the screen over and over, a kind of silent panic ran through her, like ice in her
veins. She didn't sleep that night; all she did was watch the continuing broadcast of the worst disaster that could ever be
imagined. That whole night she watched, never blinking, never moving; only one thought ran through her mind as she watched.
Ami.
As soon as the sun rose the next day Natsume left Kyoto, traveling as far as the train would take her, then renting the car
which now stood before her totaled. She hadn't sleep at all in these past days, and the fatigue had finally overtaken her.
She was lucky; she knew that she still had her life.
With a heavy sigh, Natsume grabbed the small backpack that she had kept with her in the front seat, and began her long trek
toward the ruined capital of Tokyo, and her daughter.
Rei slid slowly down the roads of the misty place, dreadfully aware that it was growing too silent, too empty. The misty
place was the realm of dreams, of the soul and mind, a place that she knew as easily as the back of her hand, and a place
most people thought of as just a fragment of a dream, because after all that was all the misty place was, a part of a dream.
Even with as many deaths as the city suffered the misty place should not have been this cold, this empty, it was connected to
every mind in the world, and in some case to minds in other worlds and dimensions. For this place to be as it was now, it
meant only one thing. Someone had closed it from the collective unconscious of the world.
In the days and weeks that she had been in the past Usa had begun to wonder if the future her mother had envisioned and
created was truly the correct path for the human race. True war was seldom, crime was nearly nonexistent, and except for the
small irritating fact that it was hard as hell to find a pack of smokes, all was good. Still though Usa had thought then,
and now; was it right?
In that time she had begun to form an answer, one that scared even her. For her being what she was her mother's future was
supposed to be wrong. "People." The Death Phantom, her first teacher had told her. "Belong in chaos, it is what they
spawned from, how they evolved, without chaos, without darkness to counter and balance the light, then life becomes stagnant,
and people will never achieve their full potential." She had always believed that, because without her own inner darkness,
without the Black Lady, then Usa would have never awakened, she would have been stuck in the form of a child for all
eternity. That fact was why she accepted the Phantom's teachings, why she had taken the mantel as the Priestess of the Dark
Moon.
Usagi had succumbed to her own darkness recently, and look what it brought. True, her powers were greater then they had ever
been, but Japan paid the price, was still paying in the lives of its children as each day since passed. That price would
never have been required had Usagi's own demon's never surfaced.
Now Usa waited at the Sato Bridge as dusk fell over the remnants of the once great city of Tokyo, her black wings folded
tightly against her back, a long cigarette hanging limply in her mouth its smoke, trailing up into the darkening sky.
Today was the final day, at least according to the histories, but so many things had happened that had never been recorded
that Usa now wondered if she could still rely on their knowledge.
"It's almost time." A cold wind whispered behind Usa. She didn't turn, she knew the voice, she knew the woman that voice
had once belonged to.
"Why are you here, Death?" She asked, her voice just as cold.
Last evening Death had come to her in the guise of her former friend, her first friend, and had told her that she would die,
this night in midst of the battle that would decide the fate of the world.
"I am here to perform my job child." Death replied her voice as cold as a winter wind.
Usa didn't move, just continued to watch the sky, waiting for the moon to rise and for the comforting darkness of night to
overcome the world. Death never bothered Usa, she knew that it would come someday, knew that it would be to protect the
world that birthed her, and the friends that had always stood by her side. This though unsettled her, to know of her time,
to have her soul, her being taken by the one person she would have thought would always be by her side.
"I am sorry, Small Lady." Death whispered, a touch of warmth passing over her voice as she spoke Usa's old nickname.
Usa's eyes heated, she didn't want that warmth from her collector, she didn't want that name to be side with such affection
and love. Damn it! Death wasn't supposed to be sorry, Death was supposed to be nothing more then a phantom slithering
through the night, taking the lives of the old and sick with not a hint of pleasure or pain of sorrow or happiness. "Don't
call me that," she whispered, her voice choked. "Please Setsuna, don't call me that."
A cold wind swept over the bridge, wrapping itself around Usa's body. She tried to wrap her wings around, tried to bring
some warmth to her freezing body, but they would not move no matter how much she struggled.
"This is me now, Usa." Setsuna whispered, as the cold wind tightened around Usa's body. "It is cold here, and believe me, I
do not ever want to bring you to this place, but I can not fight nature."
A cold rain drizzled over Usa's shoulder, and she realized what was happening. Without a thought she raised her hands and
wrapped them against the cold chill, around the arms of Death. "I don't mind." She whispered. "I was never named in the
histories."
The coldness passed, and Usa finally gathered the strength to turn to her friend, who remained hidden in the shadows of the
cloak. "Will you stay?"
Death nodded. "Till your very last breath, I will be here with you."
Usa smiled the first true smile she had given in a very long time. "Then it won't be that bad."
Wind, cold and harsh washed over Ami as she climbed the dark tower. She was so high now that she could no longer see the
base; her entire world was now encompassed by white mist and the dark tower.
Slowly she climbed every step a battle against the harsh wind. She would not give up though; something called her to this
place, something that awaited her at the very top.
And so, Ami climbed, ever higher, ever away from the depths of the misty place, away from the cries of pain and anguish that
had surrounded and crushed against her in the hospital, away from the frozen face of a young child that died far before her
time.
"So, this is what you do when it gets too hard? You run?" Ami turned; surprised that another would be climbing the route of
the dark tower. Rei stared at her, her dark almost black eyes hard and accusing, her hands resting on her hips. "It's
taking me too frigging long to find you." Rei hissed. "And I was in no mood to be playing hide and seek in the first
place!"
Ami stared at the other woman, confused, disjointed thoughts and questions running through her mind. "Why?" She finally
managed to whisper. "Why did you come here? Why?" She was screaming now, hot tears running down her face as she fought
futilely against her emotions. "All I wanted was to be left alone!"
Rei took a step forward, Ami scrambled away, putting as much distance between them as she could. "Leave me alone!" She
screamed, choking back her tears.
They stood there for a lifetime, a world of near hostile silence, the only sound, that of the howling of the cold harsh wind.
"You have a duty to your Queen." Rei said finally, her voice quiet and reserved, so low it sounded as if it were a part of
the wind. "You have a duty to your friends."
Like the wind, the silence once more washed over them. Ami closed her eyes, the little girl from the train stared back at
her, her eyes glazed over, cold and accusing. You killed me. They accused. You could have saved me, but you didn't.
"I'm sorry." Ami whispered, her voice a harsh and pleading. "Please I tried, but. . . I'm sorry!"
"We are all sorry, for the actions we take." Someone said from the shadows, a man's voice, a voice that Ami knew, a voice
that lifted her heart. "We all take actions, and sometimes they do not go the way we want." The voice continued, filling
the cold darkness that the dead girl existed in with warmth and love. But in the end it is not the actions that define us,
but how we deal with the consequences." Who was this who was speaking, why couldn't she remember his name? "Ami, you're too
strong, too beautiful to let this destroy you. You tried your best, but you weren't good enough." The voice sounded sad.
"But that is no reason for you to give up, to run. Avenge this girl and remember her by getting better, by saving hundreds
of thousands of others." Again there was only silence and the penetrating glare of the dead girl. "Ami, I wish I could have
told you how much I loved you." The voice whispered, sounding as if it was far away, descending back into the darkness. "On
how I've loved ever since we first met when you gave me your eraser." The voice faded away, leaving Ami in darkness, even
the girl was gone.
Tears rushed down her face, she couldn't control them anymore, he was dead! Slowly the world came back; Rei was standing
beside her, hugging her, whispering comforting words to her. Ami let it be, let the words sooth her, let the soft rocking
motion relax her. Ryo was dead, she'd never had a chance to tell him of her dream, never would be able to tell him that she
was shooting for Tokyo University because that was were he'd been accepted, that she only wanted to go there to be with him.
It was along time before she stopped crying, even longer till she finally spoke. "I – I'm ready." She whispered. "I want
to go home; I need to help Usagi-chan."
Rei looked at her softly, her dark eyes no longer accusing, but instead filled with understanding. "Alright."
As they faded from the misty place, from the world of dreams and spirits, Rei left Ami with one important message. Get your
butt to the Sato Bridge.
Chi had been release an hour ago. It was the first real break she had been given since the earthquake, and she was looking
forward to the nice soft couch that awaited her in the nurse's lounge. The room was dark when she walked in, the only light
coming from the nearly full moon that hung bright and clear in the cloudy night sky. With a heavy yawn she stumbled over to
the couch praying that her dreams would not be hunted with the living nightmares that had been her life for the last day and
a half, and knowing that those prayers would not be answered.
She groaned loudly as she settled her stiff body onto the couch, not noticing that another was already passed out on the far
corner. It only took her a moment to fall asleep, and it took another moment after that for her to be woken by a stifled
scream. Her eyes shot open, searching the entire room, finally settling on the shadowed form heaving at the far end of the
couch. Even in the low light Chi knew that who ever sat there was very frightened. "Are – are you alright?" Chi whispered,
hoping the girl could hear her over the anguished sobs that now escaped the other person.
The girl cried for another moment, then stopped. The room filled with a dead silence that was only broken by the two girl's
breathing. Finally the other spoke. "Chi?"
Chi almost laughed at of sheer shock. "Ami!"
Ami jumped up, running over to the far end of the couch, and grabbing Chi by her shoulders, Chi could see the wild panic that
ran through the girl's eyes. "We got to get to the bridge!" Ami hissed. "She needs us!"
Chi pushed Ami away and stood, her overly tired mind trying to figure out what Ami was saying. "What bride? Who needs us?"
Ami stared to pace around the room, every so often she would look out the window. "She needs us, Rei said so, it's important
. . . Oh Ryo, why aren't you here?"
Chi watched the girl in silence, wondering if she had broke down, if the stress of the earthquake, of the death and carnage
that surrounded the hospital had finally just crushed the girl. "Ami?"
Ami swung around to look at her. "I'm not mad." She whispered. "Just a little out of it." She stopped pacing, and looked
squarely at Chi. "Usagi is in danger, we need to get to the bridge, we all need to get to the bridge."
Chi nodded, Ami was starting to make sense. "Why does she need us?"
Ami shook her head and started to pace again, then turning quickly on her heel headed for the door. "We got to get there."
She said as she opened the door. "Time's almost up."
Chi was lost to say the least, but something was wrong with Ami, something major, and no matter what Chi was going to help
her. After all Ami had once helped Chi when all seemed lost for her, She owed it to the girl.
Minako sat quietly, leaning back against one of the many supporting wires that crossed the Sato Bridge, a cigarette rested
comfortably in her hand, slowly burning to ash as she watched the clouds swirl in ever changing patterns in the night sky.
It was quiet, and the place was dark, the majority of the fires that had burned through the city had either burnt themselves
out or were subdued by the remaining rescue forces that were in the city. It didn't really matter to her though, the city
was doomed from the start, because when something happened to Usagi it happened in big ways, and who knew how long it would
take now to rebuild the capital, or even if they would rebuild. Still it didn't matter to her, even if more then half the
government toads died during the earthquake or the ensuing chaos, even if the entire country was thrown into chaos because of
that, it just didn't matter, because tonight it all ended for her, she knew that. Tonight she would save her friends and her
Queen, would forgive herself for her crimes, and would rid the world of a great evil. All it took was one life. Her own.
"I wonder what they're talking about." Makoto whispered, as she settled down next to her.
Minako looked over at the blacked winged Usa, who stood on the other side of the bridge, her hands holding onto the railing
of the walk way, her head bowed if praying. Next to her the strange cloaked woman stood, as still and silent as a statue.
They had been like that for the past hour, neither moving, neither talking loud enough for either Minako or Makoto to hear.
"Who knows?" Minako said with a shrug as she brought the cigarette up to her mouth and took a long drag. "Oh I don't know
if Usa told you but he's alive."
Makoto looked over at her. "Mamoru?"
A small mischievous smile crossed Minako's face. "No you stupid tomboy, I'm talking about the frat boy who lights that fire
of yours."
Makoto blushed slightly before who eyes went wide. "Shinneri?" Makoto nearly yelled. "He's alive!"
Minako smiled and nodded. "Last time I saw him he was with Mamoru at some burnt out café, watching over Setsuna's body."
"Setsuna's . . . Is she all right?"
"Actually." Came a cold whisper of a voice. Both girls looked up to see the tall cloaked woman looking at them, slowly the
woman removed the cloak. "She's dead."
Far away a lone woman walked the night roads alone, a thin jacket wrapped tightly around her, trying to keep the odd chill of
the summer night away from her body. She had traveled only a few miles since her rental car had slammed into the side of the
cliff, but she wouldn't stop, it didn't matter that Tokyo was still at least a day's journey by foot, she would walk it, and
she would find her daughter alive and waiting for her outside the city limits were the strange energy shield trapped many
inside the destroyed city. Ami would smile at her wave her over and hug her, and everything would be fine, her daughter
would be safe, all would be . . .
As the night passed a woman alone on the lone back roads walked in silence till her body just could not go on and she
collapsed on the side of the road, dangerously close to wear cars would drive.
"Reflections of a Red Rose"
Rated: PG – 13
By: NeoMoon
Chapter Thirty - Six:
It was only a rental. Natsume reminded herself as she walked around the small yellow car for the fourth time. She couldn't
believe this was happening, no this couldn't be happening at all. She stopped, her dark blue eyes gazing upward at the
beautifully colored sky. In the distance the sun was setting behind the mountains, a cool wind blew up the winding road,
sending a prickle down Natsume's neck, despite the otherwise warm summer night.
Two days ago Natsume had been in the old capital of Kyoto enjoying the last days of her working vacation before she would
have to go back to her home in the new capital of Tokyo. It had been a beautiful day, she had spent most of it at the
resort's pool lounging a swimming to her heart's content, glad that for once she did not have the pressures of her position
to worry about. It was late, and the sky was the same beautiful pattern of reds and oranges as it was now, when she left the
pool, ignoring the fact that the crowd at the hotel's bar were unusually quite, as she passed by.
Her room was lit with the dim hues of orange, she didn't bother to turn the lights on as she slowly readied for the shower,
she ignored the television as she headed into the bathroom, her mind set on the wonderful feeling of warm water running over
her.
It was much later that nigh when Natsume finally looked over at her television. At first she thought it was a joke, then as
she read the headline at the bottom of the screen over and over, a kind of silent panic ran through her, like ice in her
veins. She didn't sleep that night; all she did was watch the continuing broadcast of the worst disaster that could ever be
imagined. That whole night she watched, never blinking, never moving; only one thought ran through her mind as she watched.
Ami.
As soon as the sun rose the next day Natsume left Kyoto, traveling as far as the train would take her, then renting the car
which now stood before her totaled. She hadn't sleep at all in these past days, and the fatigue had finally overtaken her.
She was lucky; she knew that she still had her life.
With a heavy sigh, Natsume grabbed the small backpack that she had kept with her in the front seat, and began her long trek
toward the ruined capital of Tokyo, and her daughter.
Rei slid slowly down the roads of the misty place, dreadfully aware that it was growing too silent, too empty. The misty
place was the realm of dreams, of the soul and mind, a place that she knew as easily as the back of her hand, and a place
most people thought of as just a fragment of a dream, because after all that was all the misty place was, a part of a dream.
Even with as many deaths as the city suffered the misty place should not have been this cold, this empty, it was connected to
every mind in the world, and in some case to minds in other worlds and dimensions. For this place to be as it was now, it
meant only one thing. Someone had closed it from the collective unconscious of the world.
In the days and weeks that she had been in the past Usa had begun to wonder if the future her mother had envisioned and
created was truly the correct path for the human race. True war was seldom, crime was nearly nonexistent, and except for the
small irritating fact that it was hard as hell to find a pack of smokes, all was good. Still though Usa had thought then,
and now; was it right?
In that time she had begun to form an answer, one that scared even her. For her being what she was her mother's future was
supposed to be wrong. "People." The Death Phantom, her first teacher had told her. "Belong in chaos, it is what they
spawned from, how they evolved, without chaos, without darkness to counter and balance the light, then life becomes stagnant,
and people will never achieve their full potential." She had always believed that, because without her own inner darkness,
without the Black Lady, then Usa would have never awakened, she would have been stuck in the form of a child for all
eternity. That fact was why she accepted the Phantom's teachings, why she had taken the mantel as the Priestess of the Dark
Moon.
Usagi had succumbed to her own darkness recently, and look what it brought. True, her powers were greater then they had ever
been, but Japan paid the price, was still paying in the lives of its children as each day since passed. That price would
never have been required had Usagi's own demon's never surfaced.
Now Usa waited at the Sato Bridge as dusk fell over the remnants of the once great city of Tokyo, her black wings folded
tightly against her back, a long cigarette hanging limply in her mouth its smoke, trailing up into the darkening sky.
Today was the final day, at least according to the histories, but so many things had happened that had never been recorded
that Usa now wondered if she could still rely on their knowledge.
"It's almost time." A cold wind whispered behind Usa. She didn't turn, she knew the voice, she knew the woman that voice
had once belonged to.
"Why are you here, Death?" She asked, her voice just as cold.
Last evening Death had come to her in the guise of her former friend, her first friend, and had told her that she would die,
this night in midst of the battle that would decide the fate of the world.
"I am here to perform my job child." Death replied her voice as cold as a winter wind.
Usa didn't move, just continued to watch the sky, waiting for the moon to rise and for the comforting darkness of night to
overcome the world. Death never bothered Usa, she knew that it would come someday, knew that it would be to protect the
world that birthed her, and the friends that had always stood by her side. This though unsettled her, to know of her time,
to have her soul, her being taken by the one person she would have thought would always be by her side.
"I am sorry, Small Lady." Death whispered, a touch of warmth passing over her voice as she spoke Usa's old nickname.
Usa's eyes heated, she didn't want that warmth from her collector, she didn't want that name to be side with such affection
and love. Damn it! Death wasn't supposed to be sorry, Death was supposed to be nothing more then a phantom slithering
through the night, taking the lives of the old and sick with not a hint of pleasure or pain of sorrow or happiness. "Don't
call me that," she whispered, her voice choked. "Please Setsuna, don't call me that."
A cold wind swept over the bridge, wrapping itself around Usa's body. She tried to wrap her wings around, tried to bring
some warmth to her freezing body, but they would not move no matter how much she struggled.
"This is me now, Usa." Setsuna whispered, as the cold wind tightened around Usa's body. "It is cold here, and believe me, I
do not ever want to bring you to this place, but I can not fight nature."
A cold rain drizzled over Usa's shoulder, and she realized what was happening. Without a thought she raised her hands and
wrapped them against the cold chill, around the arms of Death. "I don't mind." She whispered. "I was never named in the
histories."
The coldness passed, and Usa finally gathered the strength to turn to her friend, who remained hidden in the shadows of the
cloak. "Will you stay?"
Death nodded. "Till your very last breath, I will be here with you."
Usa smiled the first true smile she had given in a very long time. "Then it won't be that bad."
Wind, cold and harsh washed over Ami as she climbed the dark tower. She was so high now that she could no longer see the
base; her entire world was now encompassed by white mist and the dark tower.
Slowly she climbed every step a battle against the harsh wind. She would not give up though; something called her to this
place, something that awaited her at the very top.
And so, Ami climbed, ever higher, ever away from the depths of the misty place, away from the cries of pain and anguish that
had surrounded and crushed against her in the hospital, away from the frozen face of a young child that died far before her
time.
"So, this is what you do when it gets too hard? You run?" Ami turned; surprised that another would be climbing the route of
the dark tower. Rei stared at her, her dark almost black eyes hard and accusing, her hands resting on her hips. "It's
taking me too frigging long to find you." Rei hissed. "And I was in no mood to be playing hide and seek in the first
place!"
Ami stared at the other woman, confused, disjointed thoughts and questions running through her mind. "Why?" She finally
managed to whisper. "Why did you come here? Why?" She was screaming now, hot tears running down her face as she fought
futilely against her emotions. "All I wanted was to be left alone!"
Rei took a step forward, Ami scrambled away, putting as much distance between them as she could. "Leave me alone!" She
screamed, choking back her tears.
They stood there for a lifetime, a world of near hostile silence, the only sound, that of the howling of the cold harsh wind.
"You have a duty to your Queen." Rei said finally, her voice quiet and reserved, so low it sounded as if it were a part of
the wind. "You have a duty to your friends."
Like the wind, the silence once more washed over them. Ami closed her eyes, the little girl from the train stared back at
her, her eyes glazed over, cold and accusing. You killed me. They accused. You could have saved me, but you didn't.
"I'm sorry." Ami whispered, her voice a harsh and pleading. "Please I tried, but. . . I'm sorry!"
"We are all sorry, for the actions we take." Someone said from the shadows, a man's voice, a voice that Ami knew, a voice
that lifted her heart. "We all take actions, and sometimes they do not go the way we want." The voice continued, filling
the cold darkness that the dead girl existed in with warmth and love. But in the end it is not the actions that define us,
but how we deal with the consequences." Who was this who was speaking, why couldn't she remember his name? "Ami, you're too
strong, too beautiful to let this destroy you. You tried your best, but you weren't good enough." The voice sounded sad.
"But that is no reason for you to give up, to run. Avenge this girl and remember her by getting better, by saving hundreds
of thousands of others." Again there was only silence and the penetrating glare of the dead girl. "Ami, I wish I could have
told you how much I loved you." The voice whispered, sounding as if it was far away, descending back into the darkness. "On
how I've loved ever since we first met when you gave me your eraser." The voice faded away, leaving Ami in darkness, even
the girl was gone.
Tears rushed down her face, she couldn't control them anymore, he was dead! Slowly the world came back; Rei was standing
beside her, hugging her, whispering comforting words to her. Ami let it be, let the words sooth her, let the soft rocking
motion relax her. Ryo was dead, she'd never had a chance to tell him of her dream, never would be able to tell him that she
was shooting for Tokyo University because that was were he'd been accepted, that she only wanted to go there to be with him.
It was along time before she stopped crying, even longer till she finally spoke. "I – I'm ready." She whispered. "I want
to go home; I need to help Usagi-chan."
Rei looked at her softly, her dark eyes no longer accusing, but instead filled with understanding. "Alright."
As they faded from the misty place, from the world of dreams and spirits, Rei left Ami with one important message. Get your
butt to the Sato Bridge.
Chi had been release an hour ago. It was the first real break she had been given since the earthquake, and she was looking
forward to the nice soft couch that awaited her in the nurse's lounge. The room was dark when she walked in, the only light
coming from the nearly full moon that hung bright and clear in the cloudy night sky. With a heavy yawn she stumbled over to
the couch praying that her dreams would not be hunted with the living nightmares that had been her life for the last day and
a half, and knowing that those prayers would not be answered.
She groaned loudly as she settled her stiff body onto the couch, not noticing that another was already passed out on the far
corner. It only took her a moment to fall asleep, and it took another moment after that for her to be woken by a stifled
scream. Her eyes shot open, searching the entire room, finally settling on the shadowed form heaving at the far end of the
couch. Even in the low light Chi knew that who ever sat there was very frightened. "Are – are you alright?" Chi whispered,
hoping the girl could hear her over the anguished sobs that now escaped the other person.
The girl cried for another moment, then stopped. The room filled with a dead silence that was only broken by the two girl's
breathing. Finally the other spoke. "Chi?"
Chi almost laughed at of sheer shock. "Ami!"
Ami jumped up, running over to the far end of the couch, and grabbing Chi by her shoulders, Chi could see the wild panic that
ran through the girl's eyes. "We got to get to the bridge!" Ami hissed. "She needs us!"
Chi pushed Ami away and stood, her overly tired mind trying to figure out what Ami was saying. "What bride? Who needs us?"
Ami stared to pace around the room, every so often she would look out the window. "She needs us, Rei said so, it's important
. . . Oh Ryo, why aren't you here?"
Chi watched the girl in silence, wondering if she had broke down, if the stress of the earthquake, of the death and carnage
that surrounded the hospital had finally just crushed the girl. "Ami?"
Ami swung around to look at her. "I'm not mad." She whispered. "Just a little out of it." She stopped pacing, and looked
squarely at Chi. "Usagi is in danger, we need to get to the bridge, we all need to get to the bridge."
Chi nodded, Ami was starting to make sense. "Why does she need us?"
Ami shook her head and started to pace again, then turning quickly on her heel headed for the door. "We got to get there."
She said as she opened the door. "Time's almost up."
Chi was lost to say the least, but something was wrong with Ami, something major, and no matter what Chi was going to help
her. After all Ami had once helped Chi when all seemed lost for her, She owed it to the girl.
Minako sat quietly, leaning back against one of the many supporting wires that crossed the Sato Bridge, a cigarette rested
comfortably in her hand, slowly burning to ash as she watched the clouds swirl in ever changing patterns in the night sky.
It was quiet, and the place was dark, the majority of the fires that had burned through the city had either burnt themselves
out or were subdued by the remaining rescue forces that were in the city. It didn't really matter to her though, the city
was doomed from the start, because when something happened to Usagi it happened in big ways, and who knew how long it would
take now to rebuild the capital, or even if they would rebuild. Still it didn't matter to her, even if more then half the
government toads died during the earthquake or the ensuing chaos, even if the entire country was thrown into chaos because of
that, it just didn't matter, because tonight it all ended for her, she knew that. Tonight she would save her friends and her
Queen, would forgive herself for her crimes, and would rid the world of a great evil. All it took was one life. Her own.
"I wonder what they're talking about." Makoto whispered, as she settled down next to her.
Minako looked over at the blacked winged Usa, who stood on the other side of the bridge, her hands holding onto the railing
of the walk way, her head bowed if praying. Next to her the strange cloaked woman stood, as still and silent as a statue.
They had been like that for the past hour, neither moving, neither talking loud enough for either Minako or Makoto to hear.
"Who knows?" Minako said with a shrug as she brought the cigarette up to her mouth and took a long drag. "Oh I don't know
if Usa told you but he's alive."
Makoto looked over at her. "Mamoru?"
A small mischievous smile crossed Minako's face. "No you stupid tomboy, I'm talking about the frat boy who lights that fire
of yours."
Makoto blushed slightly before who eyes went wide. "Shinneri?" Makoto nearly yelled. "He's alive!"
Minako smiled and nodded. "Last time I saw him he was with Mamoru at some burnt out café, watching over Setsuna's body."
"Setsuna's . . . Is she all right?"
"Actually." Came a cold whisper of a voice. Both girls looked up to see the tall cloaked woman looking at them, slowly the
woman removed the cloak. "She's dead."
Far away a lone woman walked the night roads alone, a thin jacket wrapped tightly around her, trying to keep the odd chill of
the summer night away from her body. She had traveled only a few miles since her rental car had slammed into the side of the
cliff, but she wouldn't stop, it didn't matter that Tokyo was still at least a day's journey by foot, she would walk it, and
she would find her daughter alive and waiting for her outside the city limits were the strange energy shield trapped many
inside the destroyed city. Ami would smile at her wave her over and hug her, and everything would be fine, her daughter
would be safe, all would be . . .
As the night passed a woman alone on the lone back roads walked in silence till her body just could not go on and she
collapsed on the side of the road, dangerously close to wear cars would drive.