A/N: Well...since the last update...my mom's health went through a rapid decline due to several things. If you've read chapters 54 and 55 of Golden Strands then you've heard me talk about this already so I'm not going to spend much time talking about it in this author's note. Instead, I'm actually going to go with a comedic approach this time around. You see, a about a year ago I received the following review for this story:
"Let's take a minute of silence, for people who are no longer with us and who will never be able to see the end of this story, which never seems to end."
My response to that now...yeah let's do that. A moment of silence for my dear mother, who instilled in me a love for writing and often told me to not make stories so long...not that I listened. XD I miss you mama, and I love you. Special thanks to the reviewer who wrote the above quote. It made me laugh when I first saw it, even though I was suffering from grief at that point too due to the loss of my best friend in September 2020. And then my grandmother died in January of this year. And now my mama has left this world to go be with the Lord too. Kinda been hit a lot. So if updates are slow...they're slow. We're nearing the end of this craziness though, so just bear with me. I'm grateful to all of you who have stuck around since the beginning and the new readers who joined later. As much as I miss my mom, her spirit is still here with me. I'm grateful to God that I had her for as long as I did. She was the best. Her strength remains with me, and so does her sense of humor...not that this chapter is humorous, oh no this one is full of drama...but you get the point. Thanks for reading everyone. God bless you all.
Disclaimer: After a long author's note there isn't time for a long disclaimer too.
Warnings: There has been a time skip, and I tried a different writing style for this chapter and the chapters following. You'll see what I mean further down below. Also, this chapter contains heavy amounts of gore near the end. I tried not to get too detailed with it, but it's still a little heavier than what you guys have seen out of this story so far, so reader discretion is advised concerning this. A lot of that is about to tone itself way down, so consider this a last hurrah for the messy stuff.
Chapter 118
Unravel Part 3
An eerie feeling stirs Rei Hino out of unconsciousness.
"Something...something's not right here."
With confusion filling her mind, Rei bolts upright from bed only to cringe in discomfort as bright sunlight catches her tired violet eyes. Shifting slightly to her left, the raven-haired princess stares out the nearby window. The tall, industrious skyscrapers of the Tokyo Settlement stare back at her in all their glory, glowing beautifully in the light of midday.
Breathing erratically, she looks down at her hands, which are clinging tightly to the blanket covering the lower half of her body. A paper band circles one of her wrists, and upon further inspection, she sees her name written on it in bold, black letters.
"I'm in the hospital," the young woman confirms, glancing down at the hospital gown she's wearing. "But I..."
Everything about this situation rings familiar.
It's too familiar.
Steadying her breath, Rei slowly reaches up with her right hand. She stops moving once it's hovering behind her head. Closing her eyes, she braces herself mentally. Then, with great hesitance, she touches the spot where her head had cracked open on the stone floors of E.E.'s lair.
She's shocked to just feel her hair there rather than bandages of some sort, but recovers quickly to weave her fingers beneath the thick locks. Feeling around the back of her head, she grimaces slightly. It's sore, but beyond that her skull is perfectly in tact. Perplexed by this, Rei balls her hand into a fist and gently knocks on the back of her skull. A tiny hiss breaks past her lips because her head still feels a bit tender, but in doing this she affirms to herself that there isn't any metal plating in her cranium.
"There should have been..."
A wave of panic starts to sink into Rei's mind, but she suppresses it to further inspect her body. She starts by trying to move her legs but the limbs only twitch in response to her brain's signals for them to move.
"Getting out of bed isn't an option then," she reasons, narrowing her gaze on the shape of her feet beneath the blanket. "How long have I been unconscious for?"
Glancing about the room tells the fire senshi she's alone. There's a clock on the far wall along with some medical posters with various instructions concerning cleanliness, mainly the importance of washing one's hands. Above one of the posters is a small shelf holding boxes of blue latex gloves of different sizes. There's a small counter adjacent to the cabinet and a few paces to the left is a small sink and a soap dispenser. There's a TV hoisted up on the wall in front of her, its screen empty of anything at the moment. A door stands ajar nearby, allowing Rei to see another sink and a toilet shrouded in darkness.
Blinking slowly, she stares down at her right arm where she finally notices the IV tube connected to a vein just below her bicep. If she were to bend her arm she'd feel pain from the needle, so she keeps her arm straight while following the path of the tube with her eyes. It's connected to a half-full bag of saline. After taking note of that, her violet eyes drift to the monitor tracking her heart rate. The squiggly lines on the monitor go up and down in a steady pattern.
Her gaze returns to her clenched fists.
"I shouldn't...I shouldn't be here..."
Exhaling slowly, she releases her death grip on the blanket then reaches behind her to loosen the ties of her hospital gown. Once through loosening the garment, she tugs down the the right sleeve to inspect her shoulder.
The skin is completely smooth.
Biting down on her lip, she quickly inspects the other shoulder where she'd been shot. She sees some stitches, but the wound has healed to the point where those stitches could come out today and no one would ever suspect she'd been shot.
Only after seeing the state of her shoulders does she truly become aware of her steady breathing. All at once she remembers the sensation of blood pooling up in her throat. That blood had choked her...drowned her.
"There's no way I survived that." With trembling fingers she clutches the front of her hospital gown. "It's just not possible..."
But beneath the thin cloth, Rei can't feel any trace of what had been a fatal wound.
"I have to look. I have to know for sure."
Several minutes pass before she works up the courage to peek beneath the fabric covering her body.
Whatever energy Rei had plummets to nothingness the instant she looks. A shaky sigh breaks past her lips and she falls back against the pillows.
"Holy crap..."
The senshi of fire stares up at the ceiling with an expression that mixes disbelief with horror while her mind races in tandem with the increasingly rapid tick of the heart monitor.
"Kanime Island..."
Rei's hand flies to her chest again. She can feel her heartbeat beneath her palm.
"There's no way I should have survived that Sakuradite explosion back then." Closing her eyes, she forces herself to take in a deep breath. "Mina shot me through the chest by my command...and I drowned in my own blood. I know I did. I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be alive, but...I am and..."
The heart monitor slowly ebbs into a more steady rhythm as Rei forcefully cuts off panic inducing thoughts. They would return in earnest soon enough, but for now, the fire senshi felt it was best to just be grateful for the oxygen going in and out of her lungs. Narrowing her focus, she inhales and exhales over and over. Peace and contentment eventually settle over her, and within minutes she's asleep again.
Time passes and for the first time in months, Rei doesn't dream of anything.
Eventually, though still caught in the haze of sleep, the raven-haired warrior hears the sound of feet shuffling softly through the room. Unsure of what to make of the sound, Rei opens her eyes little by little. An involuntary yawn spills out from her mouth as she fixes her eyes on the window again. The sun was beginning to set over the settlement.
Less than a second after yawning, Rei hears a low gasp. The footsteps halt.
"R-Rei...are you..."
"Serena?"
Another yawn tears itself from the fire princess as she rolls over in bed to look for her friend. Sure enough, Serena is standing a few paces away, her expression full of relief but there's something else there - something akin to dread.
The future queen's apprehensive posture rekindles Rei's panic and the missing pieces to the mystery of her survival suddenly shift into place.
"Rini told us Neo Queen Serenity died delivering her second child. She said it happened because of her Geass...a Geass she acquired as a means to save me..."
Staring at Serena, Rei recalls Rini's tears, her desperation to keep C.C. from giving her a Geass. She remembers the conversation they had immediately following the girl's display of grief.
Don't you dare do anything stupid like that. Not for my sake. For any of our sakes. We're all prepared to die for you, Serena. That's the oath we took when we became Sailor Scouts. Take that away and you take away our honor so...don't you dare accept Geass...for any reason.
Rei, you don't have to tell me that. Now that Rini's warned us about it, there's nothing to worry about. C.C. knows not to offer Geass and I know not to take it. Please, chill out will ya.
Rei's breathing turns shallow.
"I died on Kanime Island...but then I woke up at Hikawa Temple. My injuries were completely gone too, just as they are now because...because..."
Serena steps forward then, her blue eyes full of concern. "What's wrong?"
For a few fleeting seconds, Rei can't bring herself to say anything. The horror of the realization robs her of words.
"No. No. NO!"
"Rei..."
"This can't be real!" she bellows, bolting into a sitting position so fast that dizziness immediately settles over her. Serena is next to her in an instant.
"Take it easy," she orders, placing her hands along Rei's shaking shoulders. "You're still..."
"SERENA!" The fire senshi snarls out the name with an edge of horror clinging to her raspy voice. "Tell me you didn't do it!"
"Do what?"
"You know exactly what!" Rei exclaims, frustrated and scared all at once. "Don't play dumb, Serena! I know you know what I'm getting at because there's no way..."
Hot tears flood her eyes then. Serena opens her mouth to say something but soon clamps it shut. A soft scowl overtakes her features.
Rei doesn't see the grim expression on her friend's face, but she doesn't need to see it to know the truth. The silence is answer enough.
"The Sakuradite explosion...that was when..."
"Rini was too late," Serena mutters suddenly, her voice almost too low to hear. "I accepted a Geass contract long before she warned us about it."
At first, Rei can only respond by covering her face with her hands. Tears seep through her fingertips within seconds.
"I ruined everyone's future," she thinks, gritting her teeth to keep herself from sobbing. "I never should have come to the Tokyo Settlement. I never should have listened to M about saving Lelouch..."
Thinking of Lelouch made the tears flow faster. On top of wrecking the lives of the Sailor Scouts, she'd torn his life asunder by separating him from the person he loved most in the world. Even now, Rei has no clue where Nunnally could be, not that it matters. After all, he doesn't remember her, and in getting involved with him romantically she'd done so much more than just hurt their friends on the student council. She'd put him in danger over and over again.
And then there's Mina...the embodiment of her worst mistakes.
"None of that would have happened if I had..."
"Rei..."
"How did it happen?" she asks, interrupting. "What were the conditions to the contract?"
With a sigh, the future queen turns away from the fire senshi to grab a folded metal chair on the other end of the room. "It was during the Black Rebellion. C.C. and I found you dead on Kanime Island. I was beside myself with grief and...that was when C.C. gave me my Geass power. It's the ability to bring people back from the dead. There was no contract. She simply gave me the means to save you."
Rei inhales shakily, wiping her tears away in the process. "But there's a lot more to the story than that, isn't there?"
Serena doesn't answer immediately, preoccupied with unfolding the chair.
"Serena, please! Answer me!"
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!"
Shock made Rei fall silent. Serena inhales and exhales several times in quick succession, and for a few seconds the fire senshi was genuinely worried the moon princess was going to hyperventilate. However, after another second or two, Serena's breaths revert to a normal rhythm.
Having calmed down, the future queen finishes her task of unfolding the metal chair then marches over to Rei's bedside. Though in a calmer state, she practically slams the thing against the floor before sitting down in it.
"Listen to me," she says, leaving no room for arguments. "What's done is done. We have far more important things to talk about now that you're finally awake. We'll discuss my Geass power later."
"But..."
"No," Serena cut in, her sapphire gaze cold and authoritative. "That discussion can wait, Rei. I need to tell you..."
"What about Mina?" Rei questions, mimicking her friend's interruption. "What happened to her? Serena...I didn't get a chance to explain it but what happened to me wasn't Mina's fault, I..."
"I know."
"You know?"
"Lelouch told me."
That information sent Rei reeling, and then it occurred to her that Serena didn't immediately rush out of the room to spread the good news about her being alive to anyone.
"Where is he?" she wonders aloud, confusion etched in her features. "We're kinda dating...so...I'm actually shocked that he isn't here with you right now. And what about the others? Where's Ami, Lita, and the scouts? Are they okay? How long have I even been here?"
Serena, visibly frustrated, closes her eyes and takes another deep breath. She doesn't say anything for a long time, and though Rei grew tired of waiting after ten seconds, she decided to exercise some patience and wait for answers rather than fly off the handle. It was obvious Serena wasn't in the best shape emotionally, and going on a tirade right now wasn't going to help matters.
Even so, maintaining this mindset became difficult once Serena spoke again.
"Today is January 4th, 2018."
Immediate shock flashes across the fire senshi's face. Seeing that expression, Serena holds up her hand to stop her from asking more questions.
"A lot has happened in the last two weeks," she continues, her voice and expression softening. "I promise I'll explain everything, but you have to listen, okay."
Rei gives a nod, but inside her emotions are still spinning crazily.
"And Rei?"
"Yeah?"
Serena lowers her gaze for a moment. "Please don't interrupt. I'll let you know when I'm finished. Just listen...because a lot of what I need to tell you concerns things I did...things I'm not proud of."
Rei manages a chuckle at this. "As the spokesperson of doing things one isn't proud of, I welcome you to the club sista."
The joke almost draws a smile from the meatball head, but then the memories of that night in E.E.'s lair set in, reminding her of how she lost control of her feelings...of her mind.
Breathing deeply as a means to brace herself, she begins to tell her story.
"After we heard the gunshots..."
~Two Weeks Earlier~
December 21st, 2017
11:47 p.m.
"BOOM!"
The first gunshot echoes, filling my mind with terror as Joey races away from me.
"Wait!" I call out, my voice strained from throwing up before. I can still taste the acid on my tongue and my body still feels shaky all over, but there isn't time to rest. Not when...
"BOOM!"
Upon hearing the second gunshot, Joey stops in his tracks. Kara, who had been racing to catch up with him, stops at the exact same time then glances back at me. Though she doesn't move toward me, concern flashes in her emerald-green eyes. I nod back at her to let her know I'm fine, then carefully push myself up to my feet. Once standing, I quickly wipe off whatever bile is left around my mouth with the back of my hand. Definitely not the most hygenic thing, but considering everything else that's going on, it's the last thing on my mind.
Though still a little dizzy, I start to jog forward only to halt as a third gunshot rings through the cavern.
"BOOM!"
The third shot paralyzes me for a short moment.
"What horror are we going to find beyond that door?"
My feet carry me forward, but my movements are slow - far too slow, but I can't bring myself to walk any faster.
I don't want to face this.
Joey and I walked through this lair together. We saw body after body. We walked through dried pools of blood and mush.
Mina is responsible for all of that.
The level of cruelty displayed in her kills scares me.
I don't want to see any more.
The Geass Chain will revive Lita. I don't know what happened to Ami, but if she's gone, the Geass Chain will do its job to revive her too. And Rei...
"Where is Rei?"
Approaching Joey from behind, I hear Kara's murmured suggestion for him to stay out here. She says the scene will be messy whether Mina fired those shots or not.
If Joey is tempted to walk away, his expression doesn't show it. He's smiling in a way that's off-putting. The poor guy has been subjected to trauma after trauma tonight, and he's losing it a little at this point...not that I blame him.
Walking around him, I move toward the slightly ajar doorway. Light seeps through the thin space. My heart screams for me to push my way inside the room, but instead of following this instinct, I stop just inches away.
"Deep breaths, Serena. Deep breaths."
With a soft intake of oxygen, I incline my gaze over my shoulder to stare at Kara and Joey. The detective looks like she's ready for anything. Clearly she's seen some ghastly things before. What's beyond this point isn't all that different from her past experiences. Her blank expression of professionalism covers up the rest of her feelings. Though concerned about us, she doesn't have any real emotional stake in what's been going on with Mina. I'm not sure what she's doing here in the first place, and right now I really don't care.
And so, Joey is the one who ends up holding more of my attention in this moment. That unnerving smile is still plastered on his face, and...I'm not sure what to make of it.
"Ready?"
Kara gives a nod, but I don't make a move. Joey stares at me, and in his eyes I see his answer.
It's far too similar to how I feel.
Neither of us are truly ready to face what's on the other side of that door. Neither of us are sure if Mina can find redemption or any kind of salvation after all the terrible things we've seen.
But regardless of that, Joey has made up his mind to see this through to the end. In his mind, it doesn't matter how hurt or scared he is to face this. Despite everything, he's chosen her because he loves her.
I loved Mina once too. We were practically partners in crime when it came to ordinary things like playing video games, shopping, and scoping out boy-bands. And because of how similar we look, people often thought we were sisters. As a fellow Sailor Scout, Mina was one of my sisters in arms. In rough moments when I couldn't lead, Mina took up the mantle for me. Sometimes she literally stood in for me to keep enemies from finding out my identity and even convinced some of them to believe she was the Moon Princess, which often put her in more danger. Not once did she ever complain about any of it. She let go of opportunities and dreams just to fulfill her duty to the team...to the world.
But in the end I abandoned her. And now, when she's at her lowest...I'm not sure if I want to save her at all anymore.
I'm a horrible person.
Taking a few steps forward, Joey places his left hand against one of the two panels. I rest one of my hands on his shoulder to support him because I'm starting to think Rei was right.
Depending on what's on the other side of this door...Joey might be Mina's only hope.
"All done?" Kara asks, her tone reflecting a hint of impatience.
Joey responds by shoving the door wide open...
Within seconds I see Mina in all her bloodstained glory, but what truly sends me reeling is the girl lying motionless at her feet, gasping for air as crimson liquid rapidly spills from several wounds along her body.
My mind goes blank when I recognize the red Sailor Suit.
"Oh my God! Rei! REI!"
Senses blurring, I race to Rei's side and immediately press my hands against her shoulders, thinking those were the only wounds before noticing the blood gushing out from her chest. Looking up at me, she strains to talk, to draw breath as her body convulses. Thick trails of crimson slowly leak out from her mouth.
"She's choking...she's choking on her own blood."
Nearby I hear Kara mutter a curse, then she announces that there's yet another body in the room. The information barely registers because all I can focus on is how Rei is still trying to say something, but she can't manage it.
She's dying.
Mina says something to Joey while I apply more pressure to Rei's wounds. There's a stuttering in her breath as she talks. That should have worried me, but right now I couldn't care less. With only two hands to work with, I'm not getting anywhere with these injuries. Thanks to Mina, Joey is distracted and for some stupid reason Kara is still inspecting the other body in the room when she should be over here helping me.
"I can't stop the bleeding!" I snarl, glancing at both of them as blood seeps over my fingertips. "Joey! Kara! Help me stop the bleeding!"
Kara rises up from her inspection, her eyes scanning Rei's body the way a fax machine scans a document. The business-like demeanor shifts into something resembling pity when she looks back up at me.
"It's no use. That shot to the chest is fatal."
"No it's not!" I argued. "R-Rei will be f-fine. S-so will Ami a-and Lita..."
That's right...
"Why do I even care? She'll be back in no time at all."
My grip slackens against her shoulders as soft giggles slowly leak out from my lips. "I m-made sure of that! You won't die, Rei! N-no one's gonna die. Everything...everything will be f-fine..."
But that isn't true is it? Making sure Rei and the others could come back from the dead had come with a cost.
The Geass Chain keeps my friends alive...but what about all the people Mina's mom killed? I can't bring them back because I can only use this stupid power once every five years. The instant I got it I used it on Rei...and with that new lease on life she gained...she made mistake after mistake. On some level...all of this is her fault.
But how can I blame her when I'm the one who made sure she couldn't die?
Anyone she hurts...anyone who goes insane because of her actions is merely the result of my choices.
Mina's anguish and madness...I'm responsible for it.
This is all on me...
All because I couldn't stand to lose anyone.
But I still lost my dad. He's dead. I don't have the ability to bring him back. At this point, I don't even know if my mom is alive...if my younger brother is alive.
The citizens of Juban killed during the Black Rebellion...
The Japanese slaughtered thanks to Lelouch's mistake...
The mangled corpses Mina left in her wake...
There's nothing but death surrounding me these days, and I'm not sure if a world like this is worth protecting anymore. Why should my friends and I continue to suffer for a corrupt planet full of hateful people? Why not just destroy everything with my own two hands?
"If Mina can do it without batting an eye, so can I."
Hands fall on my shoulders. It occurs to me then that I haven't stopped laughing.
"Sailor Moon! Get a hold of yourself!"
"It's too late for that," I think, staring down at Rei again as her breaths begin to slow.
For the first time...I don't feel anything when she breathes her last.
That lack of feeling unravels something in me then, and power bursts from my body in a shock-wave that tears through the entire room. Warmth spreads through my whole being, and it feels so good that all I can do is throw my head back and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh...
For the first time in my life, I don't care about anything or anyone.
Serena Tsukino stops speaking for a moment, her voice catching on emotions she's hesitant to express. She closes her eyes in the hopes that doing so will keep her from crying, that the darkness will help her collect herself.
Though questions burn through Rei's mind, she says nothing. Glancing down, she notices how Serena's hands tremble.
"I can't do this. I can't tell her this..."
The thought fades into shock when she feels Rei touch her hand. She offers no words, only a soothing touch to help Serena continue with her tale.
Tears drip onto their hands.
"I'm sorry," Serena whispers, finally opening her eyes. "It just...it gets worse from here."
Rei squeezes her hand as a way to tell her friend that she understands how hard it is for her to share what happened and the things she felt. Frankly, it was difficult to listen to.
All this time, Serena was suffering alone under all their noses.
"Some guardians we are," she thinks, releasing a shaky sigh while rubbing her thumb along the back of the Serena's hand. There's a small part of her that wants to rush the meatball head along to the parts that happened after all this madness went down, but she's also keenly aware of her friend's need to confess and cry it out.
And so...she waits.
Her patience is soon rewarded. The future queen resumes her sad tale.
December 21st, 2017
11:51 p.m.
Laughing hysterically, I brush my fingertips over Rei's open eyes, closing them.
"I'm really sorry, Rei." With another giggle, I glance at Mina lying on the ground. She spits up tiny droplets of blood as she coughs.
She must be in a lot of pain.
"It's my fault," I continue, still speaking to Rei even though I know she can't hear me anymore. "All of this is my fault. I forced you to come back one time too many. If not for that mistake...none of this would have ever happened."
With a strangled gasp, Mina forces herself into a sitting position "S-Serena..."
"Did you get your revenge?" I interrupted, glaring down at her. "Was it worth it?"
Mina's gaze shifts to the body of our friend. "Rei killed E.E..."
I smile down at her. "Let me guess. You got mad, right? Felt like Rei stole your kill?"
The expression on Mina's face told me my assumption was accurate.
"You poor, pathetic creature."
"Serena, listen to me..."
"No," I answered, shaking my head. "What can you possibly say, Mina? What excuse can you hope to give for murdering ten people, including Rei!? There's no justification for that! I don't care what your reasons were anymore! You have crossed a line of no return, and the way I see it, someone needs to put you out of your misery already!"
With a violent flick of my wrist, I call my scepter to my hands...hands that are soaked in Rei's blood.
"I will end it!" The crystal within the scepter begins to glow. "Over and over and over again I watch all of you suffer and die. I can't take it anymore!"
Mina's expression shifts into a solemn smirk. "That doesn't surprise me. You get a little taste of turmoil and you completely crumble." She pauses, chuckling bitterly before adding, "Maybe if you weren't so weak we wouldn't have to suffer so much."
Instant regret fills her expression the moment the words come out, but it's too late. Statements like that can't be taken back. Some part of me had always known of Mina's resentment and jealousy, but in the old days it was easy to push that suspicion away. Saying what she said only confirms what I had known all along about her feelings, so that part doesn't hurt much, especially not now.
But the actual words she used plays on my deepest insecurity...this feeling that I'm too weak to protect what I love.
Fighting alone isn't something I've ever been good at. Having friends beside me is what makes me strong, and without that...
I'm angry enough that I could march over to Mina and tear her vocal chords out, but doing that won't change the truth. Mina isn't my friend anymore. Once Ami, Lita, and Rei find out what I did...they'll hate me for ruining the future we all fought and bled for.
Thanks to C.C., I have the power to prevent someone's death...
And the instant I got it, I used it to save myself from grief without knowing I would soon face it anyway.
Even before the Geass power...my spirit pulled my friends back from the grave. None of them can ever rest in peace because I refuse to let them go.
And in the end...this inability to let go doomed us.
Rei couldn't let go of her guilt.
Mina couldn't let go of her rage.
And I couldn't let go of my friends.
"You know what? You're absolutely right, Mina." I pause for a moment and simply allow the cold truth to sink in. "I am weak. I rely far too much on you guys."
Laughing inwardly, I narrow my gaze on the monster in front of me.
"It's way past time for me to stand on my own two feet and take responsibility for my actions, a concept you don't seem to know anything about!"
Mina, the former senshi of love and beauty, merely scoffs.
"After what you've done..." I stop speaking for a moment to focus on the magic within my scepter. "After all that's happened, I'm going to make sure none of you come back! Maybe then...maybe then everyone can finally rest in peace."
A grim smile lifts the corners of Mina's mouth. Her blue eyes brighten slightly, indicating to me that death is exactly what she wants. She doesn't deserve salvation or forgiveness after slaughtering ten people in cold blood. I know it and she knows it too.
And that's why...I have to break the Geass Chain no matter what, but before that I need to make peace with the idea of permanently losing all of my friends to the grip of death. Right now, taking Mina out with my own hands, no matter how brief her death might be, will strengthen my resolve to move forward alone.
"She's an enemy now. The person she was before died a long time ago. You have to do this, Serena..."
The sudden click of a gun registers in my ears.
"Stop it! Drop the scepter!"
The magic of the Silver Crystal immediately dissipates, but I don't relinquish my hold on the weapon.
A second later, I feel the barrel of the gun press against the back of my head. "Serena...drop it! NOW!"
"Or what?" I challenge, forcing energy back into the scepter as Mina stumbles to her feet. An expression of pure horror is on her face.
"J-Joey...hold on a minute!"
"Serena, please," he begged, ignoring Mina's plea as well as my question. "Enough is enough. It's over! Drop the scepter! Don't force me to..."
"Force you to do what?" I press, anger seeping into my words. "Go on! I want to hear you say it!"
"Serena..."
Mina takes a step toward us, her expression one of clear desperation. "Stop it! Both of you!"
"Now you want things to stop." I think, unable to contain the hysteria building up inside of me. "I'm not going to make things easy for either of you. He's not saving you unless he's prepared to actually get his hands dirty."
Without moving an inch I address Joey. "After what I went through to get you down here so you could even look at Mina, this is the thanks I get?"
Joey starts to say something, but I don't let him talk.
"You want to save her? KILL ME THEN! KILL ME LIKE SHE KILLED HER MOTHER!"
Mina doesn't acknowledge my words at all. "Joey, I'm not worth it! Please stop!"
"No," I reply inwardly, channeling even more energy into the scepter. "None of this stops. You could have put all this to an end long before now but you didn't, Mina. Now you're going to pay the price, just as I..."
My thoughts trail off for a moment as something changes in Mina's sapphire eyes. A brief glimmer of crimson flickers in her irises while her gaze darts sharply to the left. Then, in a blindingly fast movement, she flings out her right hand. Tiny swirls of golden magic spiral around her palm before transforming into a golden sword.
The magic in my scepter fades the tiniest bit. "Since when can she..."
"Bravo! Bravo! What a show! But I don't see my darling E.E. anywhere."
The sound of D.D.'s voice immediately draws my attention away from the conflict that was building between the three of us. Joey must have been in the same frame of mind because without a word he spun away from me to point the gun at the blue-haired immortal.
"D.D.!" he shouts. "What are you doing here!?"
My body shifts involuntarily once Joey puts distance between us. Looking over my shoulder, I see D.D. standing just beyond the threshold of the entryway.
"N-no. That means..."
"Yes. Little Ami is dead," D.D. exclaims jovially, waving his fingers through his hair as he takes a few more steps forward. "Now where's E.E.?" His coal-black eyes scan through the room while he makes his way in, and thankfully, he doesn't notice Kara sitting against the wall behind him. There's an expression of clear irritation on her face when she starts to make an attempt to stand. Just glancing at the wall behind her shows me she'd been thrown pretty hard by the shock-wave that burst out of me before.
"She's probably hurt," I muse, a small hint of guilt rising in me, but it's quickly replaced by the mounting sense of dread hovering in the air and within my own heart as the news of Ami's death finally hits me at full force.
"Ami..."
Anger boils in my blood. I glance down at Rei's body nearby.
So many sacrifices were made for Mina's sake...and in the end she betrayed us just as we betrayed her, but at the very least...
"E.E. is a pile of ash now." I answer triumphantly, grateful for the one bit of good that came out of this night. "The Sailor Scouts have finally put an end to her vindictive schemes, and you'll meet the same fate, D.D.!"
Joey glares at me. "Don't antagonize him!"
"Is that so?" D.D. smirks, but something in his coal-black eyes changes within that instant. A chill runs up my spine. It's eerily familiar somehow...
Clutching my scepter more tightly, I sprint into action with all my pent up rage guiding the magic within me. D.D. barely shifts in his stance as I start with a shorter burst of bright magic from the wand. He dodges it easily and in a flash withdraws a switchblade. Gritting my teeth, I grip my scepter with both hands and swing it like a baseball bat toward his head. He ducks away from it and moves to slash at me, but I manage to block the attack with the base of my staff.
With the blade pressed firmly against my weapon, he leans closer to me, whispering...
"At one time I made you happy, Serenity."
My breath catches in my throat. The low timbre of his voice slides through my ears, eliciting sensations from another life.
"I loved you once..."
Snarling under my breath, I break away from him, hoping to put distance between us, but he continues to dance around me, attacking in motions I can barely predict and counter.
"...Of course...you thought I was someone else..."
"Shut up."
The immortal only chuckles in reply as I try to hit him over the head with the scepter again. To any onlooker it would look like we were fighting on equal terms, but I knew D.D. was going easy on me. His expression was playful as he moved, using his knife to create tiny scratches along my arms and hands whenever he managed to get close enough. Through it all I kept firing off streams of white magic, hoping these blasts would prompt him to keep his distance so I would have time to charge up my Crystal Power Kiss attack, but he kept coming without any regard for himself. Some of my blasts grazed him, slashing at his pale cheek or along his thigh, but those injuries were basically nothing to someone like him.
"Getting tired already, princess?" His blade narrowly misses my face. A gunshot rings through the room, but my focus remains entirely on the immortal.
"You were always such a weak little thing. I imagine you made Sailor Mars do your dirty work for you yet again, hmm?"
I don't bother replying as I block another one of his strikes.
"Some things never change," he murmurs seductively, producing a second blade in his right hand. In a flash he's standing behind me, I pivot on my heel, ready to block the blade rushing toward my throat but...
Those eyes...
He's...
"Darien...?"
He smiles and his teeth gleam in the bright light of the room.
"This is for E.E., you wretched girl..."
"BOOM!"
Right before my eyes, a bullet sinks through skin and bone along D.D.'s wrist. Blood erupts from the wound and coats my face and chest as one of his switchblades clatters to the ground.
Tears nearly spring to my eyes for a moment, thinking that this was my...
"No...get a hold of yourself!"
"Gah! WHEELER!"
Inhaling shakily, I ignore the metallic taste of D.D.'s blood on my tongue. He's glaring at Joey, but I don't spare a glance in his direction, instead choosing to use this as an opportunity smack the immortal across the face with my scepter. He stumbles, growling at me when he moves to retaliate with his first switchblade still in his left hand, but with a snarl of my own I knock the weapon away from his grasp then bash his face with the top of the scepter again. His knees buckle. I hit him hard against the head. He falls to his knees. The scepter makes contact with his head again.
Footsteps draw near, but the sound doesn't really get through. D.D. is still trying to move and I can't let him get up...won't let him get up.
But with every impact of the scepter against his body, another piece of my life in the Silver Millennium resurfaces.
"Sailor Moon!"
More splatters of crimson splash against my body when I bring the scepter down on him again. At this point I can't see D.D. anymore, can barely hear Kara's voice in the haze of terror these old memories bring.
So I lose myself in repeating the singular motion of slamming my scepter down on D.D.'s head. The item comes back with more blood coating it with each strike. After the tenth hit, the immortal stops moving entirely, but I hit him again in the hopes that maintaining the rhythm will keep his battered body from regenerating. His skull opens up at some point. I see the tears in his skin where I've hit him. Blood oozes from broken veins. The bone beneath the skin shatters. His brain becomes visible. I mash it up more and more every time I slam the weapon against him.
I hear Kara shoot her gun once at the ceiling, but the sound doesn't prompt me to slow down at all.
She'll have to kill me.
That's the only way I'll stop because I...
I can't face the truth of these memories.
A/N: And with that, this chapter has ended. Stay tuned for the next one where we will pick up from here. I've already started work on the next chapter, although I'm not sure when exactly it'll be done due to...well obvious reasons if you read the opening author's note. Just know I'm working on it. Many thanks to all of you for reading and for continuously putting up with my whack update schedule. I really appreciate the patience. Best wishes to all of you and God bless all of you. If you have any thoughts on this chapter, you know what to do. Leave them in that review box below. See ya!