Fading Future

by Sailor Midnight Moonlight

Three years after the Starlights left Earth, Usagi is unsure if the future she's seen is really the one she wants. Running away from Earth to Kinmoku Usagi faces threats old and new as she fights to protect those she loves while trying to figure out what she wants from her destiny.

15. Chapter 15

Hi everyone! Sorry that I had to push this one back a week. I had a few personal things come up that kept me from being able to properly finish this chapter on time. But here it is! And as advertised it's a monster. I did think of cutting it in two but I couldn't find a good place to do it. I hope you don't mind. I hope you all enjoy it!

Music: Graveyard by Halsey

/

Something was wrong.

Miyo and Demande should have returned by now, their prizes in tow. And yet they sat — alone — in their throne room. No reward to show for all their efforts, their planning, their sacrifices. Anger, which was always there, brewing just below the surface, took hold again. Their hand slammed down on the dark crystal, bruising their alabaster skin. If only they weren't still bound to this place, bound to the dark crystal's power, they would have done this themselves. But instead, they were forced to wait and rely on a reluctant princess, her guardians, and a lovesick fool to carry out their plan.

They shifted and pushed themselves further back against the cold stone of their throne. Every muscle screamed in agony with the effort. All of the power that they'd stored away for this moment drained from their body. They'd anticipated their reservoir would be depleted but nothing like this.

Ever since the day everything began, when it nearly shattered, their full power had barricaded itself out of theirs and the darkness's reach. Not that they needed it anymore. They had already become so much more than who they once were. Each time they called on the Malefic Crystal another crack splintered through its barriers, its defenses succumbing to the darkness's will.

A cold sweat covered their body, liquid gems across their pale skin glistening with midnight as the black flames cast a shadowed hue across the room. Straightening their spine they forced their body upright. A thunderous knock rattled the doors to their chamber, echoing off the crystalline walls.

"What is it?" They snapped.

The Elorian Princess and her two Guardians stumbled into the throne room. Fiery red patches decorated their skin, small trails of blood breaking through and flowing down their limbs as they moved. In her hand, the Princess clutched the silver key that they'd given her to return... only when she had been successful in her mission. Neither Usagi nor Seiya were with them.

Their eyes narrowed, "Why have you returned empty-handed? Where is Demande? Why is he not with you?" Their voice clattered through the hall as they drew themselves up, unwilling to betray the gravity of their condition to anyone.

The red-haired Guardian teetered forward and threw herself at their feet, "Prince Demande betrayed you," she said, not raising her eyes from their shoes. Not daring to look higher, "He attacked us when we tried to bring them back for you. Please forgive Princess Miyo, she did everything she could."—

Wildfire tore out from their chest, a surge of energy and anger flared through them, exploding out into the room. Black flames, that encircled their throne, quivered and hissed as they fought against the wave. The Guardian that groveled in front of them was flung backwards, crashing into the stone wall. Their body crumpled over itself as she collapsed like a ragdoll to the ground, the stone behind them splintered. Miyo and the other Guardian ran to her.

"Defender!" Miyo cried. The Guardian's name, one they had not bothered to remember, barely registered in their ears.

Snap.

Another crack from deep within vibrated through their body as bolts of electricity encircled them. Tendrils burrowed further within them, tearing apart their power's last defenses. A chisel slowly driven through a crack in the stone, each blow deepening the gap. It wouldn't be long now.

"What. Happened." The words flew like bullets from their mouth.

Miyo stood, passing her fallen Guardian over to the blond-haired one, and walked forward. The Princess stood, pulling herself up to her full height, scraping together the last shreds of her dignity. The practiced air of royalty clung to her. A confidence that only someone whose will was never questioned or disobeyed could possess. The utter absurdity of her display almost made them laugh.

They waited, trapping Miyo in their gaze.

She was no better than they were at this point and she knew it. Not one of these Princesses were able to face up to the consequences of their choices. Instead, living in a fantasy where they were still the saviors of their worlds. It made them sick.

The rumble in their veins quelled as Miyo dropped to her knees before them, head bowed low. Maybe she's smarter than she lets on.

"Demande never meant to go along with your plan. He only wanted Sailor Moon and Seiya for himself.

"Just as I was fusing my power with your crystal, to unleash your rightful wrath on Kinmoku, we were attacked by one of Kakyuu's Guardians and trapped." The quiver in her voice as she continued was not lost on them. The taste of her fear, a sharp but delicate spice, filled their mouth. "By the time we freed ourselves and had captured Sailor Moon and Fighter to bring back to you, Demande had already betrayed us. He used your power to ensnare Sailor Moon for himself and forced me and my Guardians to carry out his will."

The Eloria Princess's voice broke, all pretenses dropped, "We tried to get them, we fought as hard as we could -"

Another blast reverberated out from their chest. Miyo slammed to the floor, her arms drawn up around her head — shaking.

"If you've only come here to give me your excuses then you have risked your lives for nothing. If he has them our deal is off and I will have to find another way to get what is mine." They waved their hand towards Miyo, dismissing her. Their mind was already focused on their next champion. One who wouldn't force them to suffer such incompetencies. One they had always trusted.

"But he doesn't have them!" Miyo raised her head, her emerald green eyes met theirs. She didn't last two heartbeats before her gaze retreated back to the floor. "Demande, he's been captured. We barely managed to escape while the others were distracted. And it wasn't just the Starlights who were protecting the palace. Four other Guardians appeared. Three of them seemed to carry magical talismans and the smallest one a scythe —"

Their ears perked up, "Did one of them carry a staff shaped like a key with a garnet orb on the end?" They couldn't be here already. It was too soon.

"Yes…" Miyo stuttered, "How did you know?"

"That is not your concern."

They pressed back into their throne. The darkness thrummed through them, the stone sparking to life under their skin, lulling the anxiety that bubbled in their chest. This wasn't what they had planned. Since the start, nothing had gone right. Everything they had done crumbled piece by piece before their eyes and they were helpless to stop it. But this wouldn't be how they let it end.

Their gaze swept across the room, landing on Miyo who had raised her head again. This time finding the courage or stupidity somewhere inside herself to not drop her eyes.

"What?"

"I know I haven't been able to fulfill my part of our bargain yet but I have a plan, another way to get you what you want. But I want your word that our original deal stands. If I get her for you, you will leave my planet and release my people." Miyo's hands clenched at her side. The whites of her knuckles blazed under her skin.

"And what use do you think I have for you and our half-baked ideas? You had your chance and you have failed. I don't see why the three of you shouldn't join the rest of your people."

A deafening bang filled the room. Smoke and shadow appeared before them as their advisor materialized, blocking Miyo.

"I do not have time for your prattle right now." They gestured to the Elorians, "Can't you see I'm busy deciding what to do with these three"—

"Forgive me for interrupting, but things have changed." Two burgundy eyes stared at them from underneath their grey hood. "They are waking up."

Their hand massaged their temple. The beginnings of a headache raged, a combination of their own exhaustion and irritation at the failures they'd been forced to endure, threatened to blind their vision And now this. They were waking up. It was too soon. All of this was happening too fast and their power was all but spent. They needed more.

Their advisor's voice caressed their mind, not wishing to share their conversation with the others in the room. You know what needs to be done. Where you can find the power to do this on your own. A power that had once almost ruled the cosmos. It still slumbers, waiting for its new master. We can do this together. It has always been your destiny.

They brushed the voice away. Things were not yet so desperate as to reawaken that power. And even if they did, they would need Demande back, and he had already betrayed them once. No, there were other ways to get what they wanted. But the temptation remained, needling in the recesses of their mind.

"It may be our only choice left." Their advisor said, their voice no longer trapped within the confines of their head.

"It is not always wise to share your opinions when you are already aware of my answer. Or would you like to be relegated to the same level as the others in this room?" Their hand swept out gesturing to the fallen Elorians.

"Of course," Their advisor said, sliding to the side.

"Please," Miyo's voice cut through the silence, "Please, hear me out. I know how we can get him back as well as Seiya and Usagi. During the battle, they were both wounded by the Malefic Crystal and—"

"They are both tainted by the Malefic Crystal? Why didn't you tell me this before?" Their voice rose.

Nothing about the evening had gone how they planned it but this, this was at least could be a consolation prize.

For now.

/

Her mother had been gone for too long.

Chibi-Usa leaned against the twin stone doors, the phases of the moon carved down the center panel of each of them. She burrowed her back further into the cold stone. The stillness of the palace weighed against her, the calm at odds with her pulse that rumbled and swelled under her veins. She'd been unable to settle herself since yesterday.

After the council meeting, she'd longed for sleep, skipping dinner with her parents. She couldn't play the role of dutiful daughter and Princess, pretending everything was fine. That her mother hadn't been ripped from her arms earlier. That, while her mother had dismissed Seiji's suggestion for an arranged marriage, maybe there was some logic to it. That this might be the one way she wouldn't disappoint those around her.

She was responsible for the suffering her people had endured when the Black Moon Clan attacked, a sin she could never absolve herself from. Maybe, this time, she could ensure their future.

Exhausted, Chibi-usa threw herself into bed. Tiny white feathers escaped the down comforter and drifted up around her as she landed. Silky sheets surrounded her and she wiggled her toes through the cool fabric. Moonlight shone through the crystal ceiling, its silver rays pranced about the room, rainbow galaxies bursting to life within the prisms of the crystalline walls.

Her eyes drifted shut, the velvet pouch tucked in by her side. Her fingers stroked the soft suede-like fabric, a promise of pleasant dreams to come. The aroma of lavender and honey drifted about the room on the evening breeze, mixing with the scents of summer, the rose garden in full bloom. She loved the smell of roses. The smell that had always clung to her father. Her heart quieted. Sleep soon found her.

But tonight, dreams would offer her little solace.

A starless midnight blanketed her, the path below her was shrouded in a damp mist. Her feet skated forward more than stepped as she moved, unsure of what she may discover underneath them.

Already tonight she had saved a five-year-old girl, with black curls that surrounded her head like springs, from a fire-breathing dragon. Together they tamed the creature and enjoyed a lovely tea party to celebrate. She'd found an eight-year-old boy with freckles scattered across his cheeks like stars hiding in a cave, afraid of the thunder, and turned the storm into a playground of rainbows. And helped twins with jet black hair, find their lost golden retriever, who was really a forest spirit in disguise.

Each child was precious to her. While she still lacked in many ways as a princess during the day both in diplomatic practice and her Guardian power, which had yet to fully mature, here, she was always able to help her people. To save them from the terrors of their own minds.

She reached down for her pouch of dreamdust mindlessly but her hands came back empty. Her hands flew around her waist, patting wildly for the velvet sack, only linen pants shifting below her fingers. The belt was empty, the pouch missing.

I must have dropped it while I was sliding down that last rainbow or maybe the forest spirit ran off with it when I wasn't looking, she cursed herself under her breath.

While she knew that back in the waking world, the pouch was still safe by her side, once something was lost in the dream world she couldn't call it back. Tomorrow night it would return to her side but until then she was trapped within her own mind. Without it, she could only enter the dreams of those she had met while awake and tonight she was only interested in rescuing helpless children from their night terrors, not spying on the innermost thoughts of those around her. Digging through their most guarded secrets.

She considered reaching out to her Mother for a moment, maybe a trip into Serenity's mind might help calm her nerves. Maybe then she could understand what she was planning. But entering the Queen's thoughts was a crime and even her daughter wouldn't get away without consequences.

Chibi-Usa abandoned her foolhardy plan, instead contenting herself to wander through the fog which settled around her. The hush stretched out, consuming the abyss as she poured over the day's events: the fracturing of her reality, everything and everyone torn from her, ripping at the seams; her Mother's refusal to let her see Pluto; and more than anything, how Serenity looked at her, eyes laced with sorrow, and had not once, but twice, called her by her childhood nickname. A name that had faded more and more from her Mother's lips with each passing year.

A light tingle bloomed in her fingertips, waking her from her daze. The sensation delicate at first, like the brush of a bunny's tail against her skin, twirled up her arm. But soon, the soft-touch hardened. Pins and needles pricked just below her skin. Reflexively she shook her arm to alleviate the dull pain. But it wouldn't leave.

She stopped. Her hand frozen before her face. This wasn't right, she hadn't created this feeling. Everything here was hers. But this shouldn't exist. Something, someone else was in her dream with her.

The fog thickened, burying her in the grey mist. Through the darkness a maroon light pulsed, a blinding beacon that both warned and beckoned to her. Chibi-Usa stepped forward, annoyed that her barriers had failed to keep this particular intruder out.

A smoke-filled orb appeared on the ground. The ruby light spilled out from its core in rhythmic pulses, the slow flashes of a dying star. Stopping not five paces away, Chibi-Usa drew in a sharp breath as she regarded the sphere. Years ago, the sight of this orb would have flooded her with panic, dredging up memories from a time when she'd been deceived and manipulated under its spell. But now she rolled her eyes, suppressing a groan. Ready to begin their tired game once again.

Do you want to know why your world is fading? Why everyone you love will soon cease to exist? I can show you, my Small Lady.

She sighed. He was here. This was not the first time he'd invaded her mind. "I know that it's you. Will you come out of the shadows or will we continue with the same charade? Your tricks are tiresome and I am not a puppet who will dance for your personal amusement."

And yet you do almost every time. The voice curled around her mind. Why must you always think the worst of me? I am one of your oldest companions. One might say we've even become friends after all this time. I've known you better than anyone ever could. All of the secrets you can keep from others are plain to me here. An open book I can pick through at my leisure.

"Your idea of friendship is the most perverted I've ever experienced. Do not think you know me." She shot back.

Your words wound me, after all of the centuries we've shared together. I would have thought I meant something to you.

"I would wound you with more than just my words given the chance. You are a nightmare from my childhood still clinging to your dying power." Chibi-Usa searched through the fog for them, finding nothing. But she could feel their fiery eyes staring back at her from the shadows. "Why are you here this time?"

Why must you assume that I'm only here to torment you for my personal gain and not for the good of the reality we share? I have only ever wanted to right the injustices of this world but now its very foundations are being threatened.

"You have never wanted anything more than power, destruction, and chaos. And I'm surprised even the illusion of doing good hasn't set what little is left of your soul ablaze. Do devils even have souls or do they shun such human luxuries?" She crossed her arms and tilted her head.

A soft feminine voice called out, as if in answer to her question. The phantom's presence was instantly forgotten. She knew that voice, the same as her Mother's and yet so different. Filled with life and love and a spark, a quiet strength that believed in the goodness of others over all else. A voice that now only ever showed itself in momentary mischievous smiles and playful glances on her mother's face. The chasm between their worlds that split so long ago, collided again as she ran forward.

"Usagi!" Chibi-Usa knew this was a trap, everything they'd ever shown her was made from twisted half-truths to meet their ends. Each one was an apple, tempting her away from the path she'd rebuilt for herself after the chaos and destruction she'd caused. But she couldn't stop. She couldn't keep away from the friend she missed so much. Chibi-Usa grabbed the glowing ball, cold and heavy in her hands, and crouched down.

Everything else around Chibi-Usa fell away as she focused on the image before her. Trying with all her might to summon forth the friend she thought was gone forever. Usagi called out again, her words muffled behind the clouds of swirling mist that slowly dissipated.

Sterile fluorescent lights rushed out of the orb, harsh rhythmic beeps sliced the air around her. Usagi sat in a metal chair with her eyes fixed on a black-haired man, asleep in a utilitarian hospital bed next to her. White gauze wrapped around his head. Her mother's hands clasped around his, running her fingers over his knuckles, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Chibi-Usa examined the man next to Usagi and felt her head tilt as she realized that the face she expected to see wasn't there. His features were longer, too sharp, his hair tied back in a long ponytail. Whoever he was, the man in the bed wasn't her father. But the way Usagi looked at him caught her off guard. Her chest tightened ever so slightly; unease turned in the pit of her stomach. Usagi's eyes filled with worry and the stirring of another emotion. That look, which her mother reserved for herself and her Father, spoke louder than any words could.

"Seiya, why did you do that? Why do you keep putting yourself in danger for me?" Usagi stood and released his hand. She brushed back the short black bangs away from the bandage. Usagi's face turned away, hidden from Chibi-Usa who stared down at the pair from above. "I'm sorry things are always so complicated between us, I wish —" Usagi's words fell away as she lowered her voice.

Usagi's face slowly bent down towards him as the mist reappeared, filling the sphere again, covering the rest of the vision behind leaden curtains. Her own reflection stared back at her against the glass, clouded with darkness.

This wasn't right. This wasn't the past she had known, that she had lived through. Her eyes narrowed, searching for another glimpse of the image, but none came. She etched his name into her mind, unwilling to let it fade away along with everything else.

I can help you stop this world from slipping away. From fading into an oblivion from which no one can return.

Chibi-Usa stood up; the ball slipped between her hands, shattering on the ground.

"I will not fall for your tricks." She called out to the darkness, uncertainty twisting inside her, "You have all eternity to yourself, can't you find someone else to bother?"

This is no trick. The same force threatens both of us. Everything will keep fading until this reality disappears from existence. She is going to choose someone else. And you will be left alone. Trapped in the same unending hell as I am.

Chibi-Usa turned her back to the orb and walked away. The cool mist swam around her ankles, small drops of dew clung to her skin. She wouldn't stand and listen to their lies. She was no longer the child she had once been. They had seen to that.

"If that were to happen, the Queen would find a way to stop it. The past is already set, nothing can change it." She forced the uncertainty from her tone.

You are still so naive my Small Lady. I thought that with age wisdom might finally find you. Of all people you know, that isn't true. You were the first to change the past. To go back and rewrite the threads of destiny. Do you really think you are the only one who the timeline morphs around?

"If things changed so much due to my visits why would our time only be affected now?"

I do sometimes wonder how you survive in the world without me to guide you. Have you never noticed how the Queen seems to shift and reform with every passing year? Parts of her fading away, others pulled forward? The world your Mother came from is not the world you lived in. Time is never constant. She has known that this could happen, that she could stop it… but she won't." He chuckled at her foolishness, "Do you really think that the Queen doesn't keep her own secrets?"

"And how would you know of the secrets my Mother keeps?" Irritated at herself for being drawn into this game again.

Yours is not the only mind I've visited to keep myself busy all these years. No one, not even the holy goddess of the Second Silver Millenium, can ever truly keep me out.

She didn't bother to reply, loathe to waste what little energy and patience she has left on his folly. She would not allow their words to gain power over her again.

Taut threads glimmered around her in the grey mist, sparkling lifelines in the night. She reached out and tapped into the core fibers of her dream, a delicate hum caressed her fingertips. Tracing her hands over the strings that held this world of demons and revelry together, she weaved a new reality for herself, away from the intruder and their lies.

Must you be going so soon? No matter how much you fight the truth, you will come to see that I am the only one who can help save what you hold dear. Don't think I do not know your heart. You will not stay away. I can see your faith in the lies you've been told is already beginning to falter. When you are ready to face the truth you know where to find me.

Besides, without me, you won't be strong enough to stop what is to come. You know where your true power lies.

Her shoulders stiffened against the darkness, doubts crowding their way through her, twirling and nesting within her mind. Her hand slashed across her body as she clutched the threads, pulling them away like a ripcord. The dream vanished and she slammed back to reality.

Her eyes shot open and she sprang up. Pink cotton candy hair flying around her as the gentle chill of the night wrapped around her body. The last remnants of the dream faded into the distance, no more than a doubt laced memory.

Summoning her crystal she let the power wash over her, cleansing herself of their essence, the sticky residue of darkness that needed to be peeled off piece by piece. The work slow and painstaking but she wouldn't let herself slip back into their world again. Satisfied that there was nothing left, she allowed herself to settle back against the crystal headboard, the silk blanket cocooned around her as she turned her head up towards the translucent ceiling. The moon's rays drifted down like stardust around her.

Two questions circled her head, refusing to let her rest: Who was Seiya? And what secrets was her Mother keeping from her?

—

Chibi-Usa hadn't meant to end up here. She was supposed to be training. But when she arrived at the fields, Hotaru already transformed, scythe draped over her shoulders, the fine spikes of her pointed star crest gleaming on her chest in the sunlight, Chibi-Usa froze. Everything about the new day was so wholly normal compared to what had transpired over the last twenty-four hours. The ordinariness of it all grated against her nerves.

Chibi-Usa steeled herself as she walked to meet Hotaru, trying to project the same air of calm which enveloped everything her mother did. The same self-assured confidence that, regardless of the obstacles before them, everything would be alright. But as she walked to meet Saturn his voice coiled in her ears, "Do you really think that the Queen doesn't keep her own secrets?

Her mind surged, as though she had been trapped underwater, the surface only inches away, relief in sight, her lungs burning for air but forced down under the waves. Captive. Something inside of her snapped, unable to maintain the same masquerade of perfection any longer.

She sprinted away. Away from Hotaru, away from the lies she knew her mother was telling her, away from the path she knew she should follow.

Chibi-Usa rounded the last corner, her feet stopping in their tracks. Before her a massive pair of light grey stone doors loomed, the phases of the moon carved down their spine.

When she had been a small child, though still three hundred years old, these doors lead to her only refuge from a palace filled with dreary days and lonely nights. The domain of her oldest and dearest friend, Pluto. The Guardian of Time, charged for a second time by her mother, just as her grandmother before her, with protecting the timestream, lay just beyond. A duty she'd only wavered from once her behalf so many years ago. She paid for her transgression with her life.

Chibi-Usa'd never asked her how Pluto returned. On a few occasions, the other Guardians had brought it up, clumsily trying to pry Setsuna's secrets from her notoriously cryptic lips. Pluto would only smile and shake her head. Her burgundy eyes overflowed with mysteries that they may never have questions or answers for.

But today it wasn't Pluto that drew her here. Or the sanctuary this place afforded her, the performance of her station discarded at the threshold of stone doors. No. She had been pulled back to where, for her, everything always seemed to start. The image of Usagi's worried face as she looked at that raven-haired man, her mother's eyes that looked at her with such sorrow, and her own need to know why this was all happening now. Each of these questions swirled and formed a tempest within her.

She cracked the door open. The stone shifted easily in her hands, as though it recognized her touch. A low groan greeted her, welcoming her back to her adopted home. The light scents of plum and black pepper wrapped around her, Chibi-Usa's body relaxing as she stepped forward.

Her feet slid across the marble floor as she tried to muffle the sound of her steps. Two voices fluttered in the air. Neither loud enough to land properly in her ear and expose their secrets, a breath too far away. She inched forward, lowering herself down into the mist.

Neo Queen Serenity and Pluto huddled together and stared out through the open doors into the timestream. Brilliant ruby-red stars flickering below them, their faces rimed with unearthly light, her mother's snow-white hair taking on the vibrant hue.

A light breeze pricked against her neck, the baby curls that stubbornly refused to be gathered up with the rest of her hair brushed against her skin. Then she felt it. A blast shot out from behind the doors of time, knocking her to her knees. Her hands shot to her mouth, stifling a yelp. She looked up, her mother and Pluto still standing at the edge of time but the stars below were gone.

Time stretched on in that darkness, an unbroken void of nothing. Slowly the lights returned moments later, illuminating the sea below.

Pluto turned to the Queen and raised her staff, closing the doors behind them. "The timeline is changing and soon our world will fade away and reform again into something new. Usagi is not making the same choices she once did."

"No," Her mother shook her head, her cerulean eyes glazing over. Entranced by visions only she could see. "No, she is not."

/

Dim sounds floated about Usagi.

She lingered between the boundary of sleep and waking, marooned in a world of cosmic potential. One moment familiar voices and images surrounded her: Haruka chatted with Michiru about her latest concert, Setsuna comforted Hotaru about something that had upset the youngest Guardian, the translucent curtains that lead out to her balcony rustled as the waves slammed against the rocks below, the liquid heartbeat of the planet. But just as quickly, their voices were swallowed and replaced by an infinite nothing. Endless silence.

A world formed around her. The ground below her burst forth into the full bloom of spring, flowers, and shrubbery of every color erupted from the earth. Their edges, like her own, soft and hazy, the boundaries of their existence undefined. Two moons hung swollen overhead. Their light melted down onto the garden below that ended in a cliff. A starlight abyss reached out over the edge and consumed the horizon, golden light swirling within it.

The silhouette of three women appeared at the edge of the garden before Usagi. Each of them overlooking the side of the cliff, their backs turned to her. Porcelain white hair tumbled down each of their backs, the ones to the right and left both donned two buns atop their heads while the woman in the middle's hair fell free. Usagi tried to go to them, to call out but her voice failed. The effort was too great.

A brilliant light broke from her chest, weaving out through space. The Silver Crystal floated to her hands. All of the colors she'd ever known glowed and reflected within the crystal's wall, breathing with life. And for the first time, she saw it. A shimmering barrier of silver that surrounded her body flashed before her, pulsing in time with the heartbeat of her crystal.

But a fleck, a black spot, behind the myriad of living colors caught her eye. A small imperfection that had never been there before. A crack slowly forming within the Silver Crystal. The barrier around her burst and the sound of shattering glass filled the night.

Usagi looked up, mesmerized by the falling shards. The barrier around her was gone. Pure moonbeams caught on their faces as they fell but before her, something had changed. The three women had shifted, each of their heads turning. The women to the side faced the woman in the middle, their faces shrouded in darkness. But the woman in the middle slowly turned her head over her shoulder, towards her.

"Usagi?" a voice so familiar, caught between the solemnity of her mother, Queen Serenity, and the tranquility of her future self, called out to her. Her voice, muffled by the waters of space and time, caressed her body, calling her forwards.

But before she could respond, the woman to the right reached out and grabbed the woman in the middle. A golden crescent moon glowed on her forehead, illuminating her face.

"No, you will not have my daughter." Queen Serenity said. She raised her other hand and called up a wave of golden stars from the pool below, flooding the garden in their glow. Usagi drifted away on a wave of stars, carried away from her Mother.

—

"Are you sure we should still tell her?" Hotaru's voice was the first to reach Usagi's ears.

The cotton sheet that covered her from the night's chill could have been made of stone, the pressure setting her body alight. Everything hurt.

"If there was a chance we could wait or handle this ourselves I would. But, even I don't know how much time we have left," Setsuna's quiet voice filled the room. The others' silence reflected their tacit agreement.

Usagi cracked her eyes open, breaking through the thin film that crusted over her lashes. The Guardian of Time stood, arms crossed, not far from her bed.

"Don't worry, our Moon Princess is stronger than she looks. She'll be alright." Haruka replied.

"That is high praise coming from you Haruka. Should I be keeping a closer eye on you and your kitten? Maybe I've underestimated my competition," Michiru teased and her voice trailed off into a gentle laugh.

Couldn't they be quieter? Usagi grumbled to herself. Her body was desperate for a few more minutes of rest. Darkness gathered in the corner of her eyes. Waves of exhaustion pulled her back with the swelling tide of rest.

Odango.

Seiya's voice reached through the soft boundary of sleep that had nearly wrapped her in its grasp again. Her memories rushed back: the ball, Demande's return, Fighter throwing herself between Demande's crystal spear and Usagi, collapsing in her arms.

"Seiya!" Usagi bolted up, instantly regretting the action. Every muscle ached with a soreness that bled into her bones. Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru all turned their heads. Their conversation cut short by her outburst.

Haruka was the first to make it to her side. She sat next to her on the bed checking her over for any injuries that might have been missed. She carefully grabbed her arm and helped Usagi up and towards the back of the bed, her torso resting against the wooden headboard.

"Go easy kitten. Your energy was almost completely drained from you. If you had held onto Fighter any longer..." Haruka's voice fell away. The unsaid words not needed.

You might not have made it.

Usagi studied her friends, worry etched into her Guardian's faces. Even Michiru's perfectly curated veneer was blemished by the dark circles that rimmed her eyes. Her complexion a shade paler than normal. They were always pushing themselves, running headfirst into danger to protect her, to fulfill their duty. They had already sacrificed so much for her, their faith in her and her power never wavering. And what had she done for them in return? She'd nearly abandoned her fate, running away from who she was meant to be.

I could never have both...

Usagi shook her head, trying to banish the war inside her mind, "Is Seiya alright? Where is she?" She glanced about the room, the Outer Guardians the only ones there with her, Kakyuu, Yaten, and Taiki missing. Her panic heightened. "Are the other's okay? What happened to Demande? Did he escape?" The words almost stepped on one another as they flew out of her mouth.

"Slow down kitten, I can only manage one answer at a time. Yes, Seiya is stable but she's still unconscious. We still don't know exactly what Demande's spear did to her. At least that's what we could get from what the grumpy one said…" Haruka looked at Michiru, silently pleading for her help with the Starlight's name.

"Yaten," Michiru supplied, giving her partner a look.

"What? She's always upset about something, isn't she?"

"Doesn't sound like anyone I know." Michiru's aqua eyes narrowed, giving Haruka a sideways glance. A sarcastic edge rolled over her voice.

Haruka turned back to Usagi, choosing not to respond to her girlfriend's playful taunts. "Yaten said that they were going to take her to the healing pools and Kakyuu would try to remove whatever it was that Demande drove into her."

"It was the Malefic Black Crystal or a piece of it…"

Haruka nodded, not understanding the significance of what she'd just said. The power and darkness that dwelled within that demonic crystal. "They are hoping that Princess Kakyuu can cleanse her and Seiya will wake up. But it's been a few hours since they left and we haven't heard anything."

It wasn't the news she'd hoped for. "I want to go see her." Usagi swung her legs off the side of the bed. But when her boots touched the ground her legs refused to hold, shaking her weight. The world flipped on its head, her blood rushing to her feet, dizziness ensnared her. A feeling that had become all too familiar since coming to Kinmoku.

Her knees buckled and the bed fell up to catch her.

"You're not in any condition to go anywhere right now kitten."

"But I need to see her Haruka. It's my fault she's hurt. And..." the words she wanted to say dried up on her lips, the emotions from the evening still too raw. Unsure of what she wanted to tell the others. Of what she was ready to admit to herself. "I can't sit by and watch while she suffers. Not when I can help."

"You cannot blame yourself. Demande's the one responsible for this mess. And any of us would have done the same. You are precious to all of us," Haruka said.

"You shouldn't have to." I can't keep having everyone get hurt or dying because I'm not strong enough.

"You are our Princess, we will always be there to protect you. Just like you have always been there for us." Michiru walked over and placed a hand on Haruka's shoulder.

Usagi looked down, shifting under the weight of Michiru's words. This wasn't the first time that those words, Our Princess, had dug a moat between her and her friends. She would always be their Princess, someone to hide away and protect.

The words like acid on her tongue.

"Here," Hotaru burst between her and Haruka on the bed. She held out a small sea-foam green glass container. "The others dropped this off a while ago. They said it should help your body heal faster."

The scent of peppermint seeped out from the grooves of the closed lid. The same cream Seiya had used to try and heal her hand. Usagi smiled and took it from Hotaru, placing it on the nightstand. The young teen took Usagi's free hand and turned it over, her fingers brushing against the deep cut where the tip of Demande's spear had broken off and fallen into her. A soft purple light emanated from her hand.

"It's still there." Hotaru's voice was quiet. The tone was far too mature than her age, "The same darkness that surrounded you last night. It wants your power. You'll have to be careful with the Silver Crystal until we can find a way to get it out."

"You should drop your transformation. It might keep it asleep longer. And your energy is drained as it is, there's no need for it now." Setsuna studied her from across the room. Her eyes widened briefly as she studied Usagi before her face returned to its usual placid state, keeping whatever she noticed to herself.

For the first time since she'd woken up, Usagi looked down at her fuku. Her gloves, if they could still be considered that in their current state, hung in shreds from her arms. The gash where Demande stabbed the Malefic Crystal into her was stained a deep brown-red from the dried blood.

The rest of her hadn't fared any better. Her skirts in tatters, the white bow on her chest ripped off, the wings on her back gone, only a few threads remained to show they had ever existed.

"Sure," Usagi reached for her broach, her finger stopping just before they brushed against the cool metal. A scalding heat rose to her face. The memory of the see-through, skin-tight, golden dress she'd worn to the ball burned in her mind and against her skin. "Actually, I'm fine… I think I'll just stay like this for a bit."

They all looked at her, confused at her hesitance.

"There's not much left of it and without your Crystal holding the transformation you'll be able to heal much faster." Michiru pointed out. Usagi cursing her logic, desperately trying to find another excuse.

"I'm good." She stammered and stared down at her hands, willing the blush out of her cheeks.

"Come on kitten. There's no reason to say in that tattered excuse for a uniform. Demande is unconscious, locked up in a cell somewhere in this castle. Nothing else is going to happen today," Haruka said, mistaking her reluctance to drop her transformation as worry that their fight wasn't over instead of utter embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it. Really, I'm good"

Michiru raised an eyebrow, "Could it be that you don't want us to see what you wore to the ball?"

"No! I… It's just…"

"It can't be that bad kitten. It's not like you were naked right before you transformed."

Usagi didn't respond, wishing for the second time in days that she could vanish into the walls.

"You weren't were you!" Haruka's voice rose as she raised her eyebrows, her face turning a fluorescent shade of red, "You and Seiya, you two weren't…"

Usagi's hands flew up in front of her, frantically waving. "No! It's nothing like that!" She sighed, realizing that she wouldn't be able to get out of this without them completely misunderstanding.

"Fine, but none of you can say anything. Promise." She looked about the room, each of the Outer Guardians nodding.

Usagi forced herself up from the bed. This time careful to make sure all the blood didn't rush down from her head. The cold metal of her broach slid under her fingers as they tapped the locket and her transformation dropped. A river of shimmering gold fabric reformed, hugging her skin. Nothing like the chaste white gown she'd doned many times before as Princess Serenity.

Usagi wanted to run to the closet and hide. The seconds stretched out as they studied her.

"You look beautiful!" Hotaru gazed up at her. She took one of the layers of her skirt up to the light, enthralled with how the setting sun rippled in the translucent fabric.

"Thanks." Usagi managed to find her voice.

"I might have to keep a closer eye on you than I thought." Michiru laughed, looking over at Haruka whose face was still a light shade of red. "You really do look beautiful, Usagi. I would even say it suits you. You shouldn't be so worried about what others think."

Usagi felt a smile creep up her face.

"Why don't you go and change quickly," Michiru gestured towards the closet, sensing her unease. "We can wait a minute."

"Thanks," Usagi darted over to the closet and disappeared behind the closed doors as quickly as her aching muscles would allow. Moments later she emerged, a white loose-knit pullover hung just to the side of her shoulder, a pair of pink silk shorts brushed against her skin. The thin liquid fabric cool against the blistering wounds that hadn't finished healing. Her body was a barrage of scars and dark bruises. The remnants of the battle etched into her flesh, like many others before it.

She returned to the bed and opened the jar of peppermint cream Hotaru had handed her earlier and began to rub it over her cuts, avoiding her wrist. Her skin burst to life as she spread the ointment, tingling under her touch. But the sensations couldn't drown out the hum of the Malefic Crystal under her skin, beating like a dark lullaby.

The mood in the room darkened, the brief levity of her embarrassment faded. The Outers glanced around each other. Silence like an iron chain tethered to each of them to the unbreakable weight of their duty.

"You mentioned Demande but what about Princess Miyo and her Guardians?" Usagi asked.

"No one knows where Miyo and her Guardians went. They vanished just before we apprehended Demande." Setsuna said.

"How is he even back?" Usagi turned towards Setsuna. "He died. We all saw it. Has something happened with the timeline? Is Chibi — Is the future alright?" She forced the question out, the words like sand in her mouth. Her stomach twisted tighter, not ready to hear the answer.

Setsuna shook her head, "The future is gone."

Two tiny hands bolted up and ensnared Usagi's heart. The organ was no longer soft but hard and brittle. Each second brought it closer to shattering under the pressure of the slender fingers. Her breath caught in her chest. The future was gone.

What have I done?

She had barely kissed Seiya and now everything was gone? At that moment, she'd chosen to step off the path that had been laid out before her. Swept away in emotions that she'd locked away from so long. She'd known what it would mean but that did nothing to soften the blow of Setsuna's words. This was her doing. This was her fault.

The waves thundered below her room, slamming over and over against the jagged cliff face. The force of them swept over Usagi. This is all your fault. The words an inescapable chorus with each arriving crash.

The others looked at her, their faces stern, frozen. As though they already knew who was to blame. Who had taken everything they'd sacrificed so much to protect away. But it was Hotaru's eyes she couldn't face. The young girl's gaze pried into her, demanding the reason why her best friend was lost forever. Why Usagi couldn't be happy with what she already had.

"So it's gone, Crystal Tokyo, Chibi-Usa… everyone is gone?" The question, a hollow echo of the chaos within her.

There has to still be time. I can set things right again. I can… Mamoru and I could… But her thoughts stopped. Not wanting to follow where they led. But look at what's already happened. Everyone else is depending on me. I have to. This wasn't what she wanted. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. She looked up at Setsuna.

"No, it's not quite like that... " Setsuna's voice faded away and she drew out her talisman, the ruby orb glowing at her touch. "Chibi-Usa is still there, somewhere lost in the void but I cannot locate her. Her lifeforce, the power of her crystal, is still alive. My hope is that I can use you, Usagi, to find her. As her future mother, her lifeforce is intertwined closely to your own."

She could have hugged Setsuna, a gesture she wasn't sure if her friend would appreciate. Chibi-Usa was out there somewhere. Safe. She wasn't lost to them yet. She still had time to set things right. "You can track her using me? I didn't know you could do that Setsuna. Can you track anyone?"

A small smile crossed her lips, "There are several gifts that I possess not just as a Sailor Guardian but as a daughter of Chronos. I just haven't had the need to call on some of them in a few millennia."

"I still don't understand. How can Chibi-Usa still be here but the future is gone? Without the timeline wouldn't everything here stop?"

"The future isn't a stone that cannot be changed. Our actions always have the possibility to impact what might be. But the future hasn't changed, it's gone. It seems to be tied to what is happening here. And now with Demande's reappearance, I am certain."

"Could this all be an accident? Maybe Neo Queen Serenity saw that her world would change and wanted to protect Chibi-Usa and something went terribly wrong." Michiru guessed.

Setsuna shrugged, "That could be, but there's no way to tell. Regardless, we need to return the timestream soon or time itself will fade away."

She raised her maroon orb, the room fading out, replaced by the night skyline of Tokyo. Millions of glittering red lights blinked against the evening sea of indigo. Everything calm and peaceful.

A sharp crack thundered through the air. Usagi's heart dropped from her chest. Her hands curled into fists, grounding her against the ghastly sight. A blazing crack tore through the night sky, ripping through the darkness. Torn in two.

Garish white light spilled onto the world below. The building below turned to crystal as the light touched them. The red beams suspended in time.

"So everything will freeze if time isn't restored?" Usagi asked, her hands still closed tight.

"No," Setsuna said.

As she spoke, everything around them shattered. Crystals rang out as they fell to the ground, filling the silence with a defining roar. Haruka and Michiru darted in front of Usagi who had lifted her arm to shield her face. And then, just as suddenly as it started, the noise stopped. The quiet of death remained.

Setsuna lowered her talisman and released the image, returning them to Usagi's bedroom.

"The world will not freeze in time, the world will cease to be."

Usagi's heart hammered in her chest and she fought back the terror that threatened to overwhelm her. Only two weeks ago she was sitting with her friends in the shade of the sakura trees for hanami, everything quiet and normal. How had everything managed to change so quickly?

You did this. You are the one who stole the timeline away from everyone. A snarling voice filled her thoughts. The red eyes of Neo Queen Serenity pierced through her. This is your fault. You should have never tried to escape your destiny. What happens to everyone now is because of you. You chose to not end this.

"What do you need me to do? So we can find Chibi-Usa and restore the timeline?" Usagi asked, ignoring the voice that drowned in her head. There must be a way she could fix this.

"Your lifeline is tied to hers, as is your Silver Crystal. If you can call forth its power I will be able to follow the threads that tie you together and find her. Regardless of where she is trapped in space and time."

Usagi stood and began to summon her crystal, the tips of her fingers tingling with its power. She had to find a way to save her future daughter, to undo the damage she'd caused.

Haruka's hand grabbed her wrist. "You cannot use your crystal now. Not until we can get the Malefic crystal out of you. I want to find Chibi-Usa as well but if you try to use your power in the state you're in, who knows what will happen."

"But…" Usagi's mind demanded they not wait another minute. She had to fix this.

Pluto nodded.

Usagi sat back down and curled her legs into her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees, "So to sum it all up, the future has vanished, Chibi-Usa is still alive but lost in time, the Dark Moon Clan is back, Prince Demande is locked up in this palace, Miyo and her Guardians have vanished and Seiya is still unconscious and we don't know how to get the Malefic Crystal out of her." Usagi inhaled deeply, all of the air squeezed from her lungs. Why could it never just be one thing threatening us at a time? It was complicated enough when it was just Seiya and I that could interfere with the future.

And look what happened. Neo Queen Serenity's voice swirled around her.

"I would say that covers almost all of it," Michiru nodded in agreement.

"What about the others, Rei and everyone, are they alright? Why aren't they here with you?"

Setsuna's red eyes turned to Haruka, waiting for her to speak. Haruka bristled and ran her hand through her short blonde hair. Her sapphire earrings flashed as they caught the light. "Everyone is fine and they know you're safe on Kinmoku. Though not as safe as I assumed," She added under her breath, "But I thought it was best to come without them. They wanted to bring Mamoru here as well." Her sky blue eyes focused directly on Usagi.

Usagi's heart was dragged to her stomach at her boyfriend's name. Instantly drawn back into the last time she'd seen him. His eyes overflowed with pain and confusion after she'd pushed him away, fleeing from his apartment.

"Mamoru knows I'm here?" Her voice was quiet.

Haruka didn't look away, "Yes."

/

Yaten raised her hand and traced the symbol onto the wall of the storage room. Three aqua lines flared against the grey rock as her fingers brushed against the stone. Unlike last time, there was no urgency, no one chasing behind her, but her heart stormed in her ears nonetheless.

The stones faded away one by one and the path appeared before her. Why she'd decided to come back here, to the point everything fell apart was lost to her. But Yaten's feet moved without instruction as she entered the dimly lit tunnels.

The after events of the battle were still a blur of dust and chaos. Usagi, Seiya, and Demande all unconscious. Miyo and her Guardians were nowhere to be found. The rest of them left to piece together what to do next.

Kakyuu seemed to rise like a phoenix from the ashes of the evening, calmly taking command. Seiya, Usagi, and Taiki were sent off the hospital wing to be examined as Demande was taken down to the dungeons. The cells in the caves under the palace were still strong but had not been used since they'd returned from Earth. Hopefully, they would be enough to hold him for now. Until they decided what to do with him.

By the time Yaten was able to make her way to the healing pools, Usagi and the Outer Guardians, who had yet to explain how or why they were on Kinmoku, had already left. With so many to tend to the nurses had sent them away after a brief examination, determining sleep was the only medicine Usagi required. Seiya, on the other hand, hadn't fared so well.

Her sister lay unconscious in the milky pool, demonic threads etched under her skin. Kakyuu spent hours bathing Seiya in the crimson rays of her crystal, inching back the darkness but unable to destroy it. Confining the black brand to the center of Seiya's chest where the spear had run her through.

She and Taiki begged Kakyuu to get some rest, they could stay and watch over Seiya for the rest of the evening, promising they would send for her at the slightest change. Kakyuu finally relented after she nearly fell into the pool herself, exhausted. Though they both knew she wouldn't stay away for long. As protective as they were of her she felt the same about them.

Taiki took the first shift, sending Yaten to get some rest. Though Yaten protested that Taiki was recovering from her injuries, her sister wouldn't hear of it. "I have already had more sleep than you with how long I was out, leaving you and Seiya alone. This is the least I can do to make up for my failings. Besides, you look like you're about to fall over. I'll get you in a few hours. I would say that everything's going to be fine but…" The aftermath of the last time she'd said those words still hung around them.

Taiki was right, she was exhausted. The marrow in her bones ached from the battle. And while she hadn't bothered to inspect herself in a mirror Yaten was sure her sister's assessment was correct. She looked and felt like hell.

But her feet had other plans.

Flecks of dust danced in front of her nose, the door to the storage room blown away, sunlight streaming in. Yaten stepped into the tunnel. The swirling darkness that overwhelmed her just hours ago was gone, a soft buzzing in its place. She turned the last corner and stopped. Her feet finally returned to her control.

A sea of black crystal shards were scattered about the floor. Yaten picked her way around the rubble, careful to not touch the dark crystals. She didn't need to end up in the same condition as Seiya and leave Taiki and Kakyuu alone.

She stopped. Back at the place where it all went wrong. The place where she'd watched Miyo and the Elorian Guardians seal the next chapters of their fate. The place where she hadn't been strong enough to stop them. Where she'd failed.

The dark crystal at the center of the room loomed over her, its glassy exterior shining in the early evening light. The only thing completely unscathed from the battle, defiantly pristine. It mocked her.

A whirlwind raged inside the stone, black and maroon merged with deep green bolts that curved around one another. Trapped in a dance of savage entropy. Alive and powerful in a way that none of them had understood.

That they hadn't been ready for. That they still weren't ready for.

Yaten couldn't take it. Her stomach twisted and dropped, the fear pressing down on her. But everywhere else her body burned. A feeling she had only known only a few times: when she'd returned to the shattered remains of their palace after Galaxia's attack, being forced to watch Sailor Moon sacrifice herself in an attempt to save them, and the universe, from destruction at Galaxia's hands, bursting into Saori's house only to find her gone, unable to save her.

She was always the bystander. For all of her power, for all of her strength, for all of her training, it was never enough when it counted. She couldn't take it.

Her palm opened. White-hot power gathered in her fingertips as she thrust her hand to the sky.

"Star Sensitive Inferno!"

Silver lighting converged on the crystal tower. Thunder clapped as the crystals around her burst into a thousand shattered stars. Shards ricocheted against the walls and sliced her skin. But she didn't stop.

The blinding light faded, every ounce of energy spent. The cavern was covered in a haze of dust. The fog hid her surroundings, unable to see beyond the edge of her nose. A drop of sweat traced her chin and fell to the floor and a thin sheen of salt covered her lips. She waited.

Inch by inch the dust cleared and the room came back into focus. The gnarled crystalline forest reduced to nothing more than rubble. A sea of black remnants scattered across the floor, a shining galaxy of her inadequacy. But the crystal at the center of the room still stood, a towering monument to her failure. Unscathed from her blow.

She sank to her knees before it. Hot tears welled in her eyes, clouding her vision. There was nothing she could do. There had never been anything she could do.

She screamed. Tears burned her cheeks as she slammed her fist into the earth below. Was this all she had ever been good for? Why had her Princess chosen her for this life if she was only meant to fail?

She raised her fist and slammed it against the crystal. A bell tolled in her bones, pulling her out from her body. Poison fingertips wrapped around her. She realized her mistake too late, dragged under and consumed by the encroaching night.

Images flooded her mind. Flying through her. Snippets of time and space torn out of place.

The world of grey rose up and pulled her in again. The soundless trees and ashen flowers lined a field of uniform crystal coffins spread out before her, reaching until the edge of the horizon. From each one, bolts of dark energy cracked, blanketing the terrain with its power.

Her heart dropped. Beneath the glass exterior, each one contained a person, trapped. Colorless starseeds floated above their foreheads, the dark tendrils clinging to them, pulling out their lifeforce.

A wind picked up and snatched the image away, replacing it with another. A man appeared, adorned in a black suit of armor. He knelt and reached out into the shadow before him. A hand extended out from the darkness and he placed a kiss on it. "I will never leave your side again." The oath flew from his lips.

He released the hand and drew his sword, presenting it to his master, head bowed. "Your enemies shall be mine. And I will protect you from all who would do you harm."

One alabaster hand took the hilt, and another hand was laid across the blade. The silver steel shimmered and faded to obsidian at their touch. Midnight captured within its curves.

The room spun and Yaten was pulled away again. This time a familiar scene was projected before her. She stood in the courtyard she'd taken Usagi to just days ago. The memorial to Galaxia's victims gleamed in the noon sun. An ear-splitting quiet hung in the air, dead and dull around her.

Clouds gathered, slashing across the sky and masking the sun. Everything was thrown into darkness. The air was thick with the on-coming storm. Thunder crashed and swollen raindrops pelted the ground, though none of it touched her. A phantom in her own home.

A flash of light swallowed Yaten — blinding her. A clap of thunder followed. The taste of metal sparked across her tongue. She forced her eyes open, white orbs floating around her as she forced her vision to clear, the ringing in her ears faded away.

The statue before her was hacked in two. Water spilled out from the pool's base onto the stone courtyard below. As her eyes traced the figure of the kneeling girl, her breath caught in her throat. The starseed that had floated above her hands was shattered, the girl's face split down the center. The same hideous mark that had marred the faces of the Elorian's now marked her as well.

A final burst of thunder sounded and the ground fell away from Yaten's feet. She fell into darkness. The girl's face staring back at her.

More images came and went. None of them held any meaning or connection to the others. A bath of golden stars overflowing into the galaxy, fading to a black emptiness. A silver crystal star, with sharp points bursting out in every direction, held safely in the hand of a small child, their face hidden in shadow. A pair of wings bursting forth from a hunched figure, their body tired and bruised. Their face hidden from her.

The hand released her and Yaten was flung back into her body. Her fist still against the dark crystal as she knelt on the floor. Her cheeks tight from the tears that had dried out. The golden light of sunset was gone, receding under the blanket of night.

How long had she been here?

Yaten pulled her hand back, unable to make sense of anything she'd just seen. The darkness trickled out of her bones and dissipated into the night air. She shifted and her muscles ached, stiff from being held in one place for too long.

Whatever had happened last night was not the end of what was to come. While they had Demande he was just one piece of the puzzle. Something, someone else was out there.

The thought weighed on her. The impossibility of standing up to such a threat after they had barely managed to stay alive last night. They wouldn't stand a chance as they were now. Her heart drummed in her chest as her hand tightened around her brooch.

The small clink of crystal falling against the floor pricked her ears. Yaten looked down. A black shard lay on the ground in front of her. A crack spiderwebbed where she'd struck the crystal tower. Its pristine face tarnished. The lights which danced in it gone.

Yaten got up and left. Her duty pulled her forward. This wasn't over.

/

Seiya floated in the darkness, her body fused with the void until she was everything and nothing. Silence cocooned her and the beating of her heart quieted to a murmur. She was tired. So very tired. But one thought still hounded her. Usagi. She had to get back to her.

The empty world began to fade. The change wasn't sudden, a soft light shone behind her eyelids, distant engines humming in her ears, rain pattering against a concrete sky. A body reformed around her. Limbs that were too large, a chest that was too broad, everything stretched and padded, her male guise surrounding her. Grey clouds swirled above her. Rain pelted her face. The nightmare restarted.

"Am I not good enough?" The words spilled from her mouth. Her body, again, an unwilling puppet shackled to her memories.

Usagi looked up at her, the rain-soaked her blond hair. Her eyes gleamed but there were no tears in them, the red that usually painted her cheeks missing.

On the surface everything was the same, nothing had changed. But the Usagi who looked back at her was not the girl who she'd known. The blonde's mouth curled into a smile. The edges of her teeth peeked out from under her lips.

"No."

Seiya stared at Usagi. This wasn't right, none of this was right. Usagi had never answered her. Her silence in this moment had tormented Seiya for years. But the silence didn't cut as deeply as that one word had.

"No, Seiya." Usagi leaned in towards her. Her warm breath caressed her cheek. "You will never be enough for me."

Usagi's arm thrust forward and Seiya's chest split open. Searing pain pierced her body. She looked down. A long green stem littered with thorns protruded from her chest, the red petals of the rose she'd thrown moments ago burst out against the grey concrete. Usagi's hands wrapped around the stem and drove it deeper in. The barbs scraped against the soft contours of her heart. The vibrant blood red faded from the petals, replaced by an onyx black.

Pale pink lips brushed her cheek, "And the fact that you ever thought you could be is laughable. You were only ever a distraction. I would never choose you." Usagi cerulean eyes flashed at her and for just a second they shifted bright ruby-red shining through.

Usagi stood and walked away, without a second glance, leaving Seiya frozen on the rooftop as everything faded around her. The harsh laughter of Galaxia's voice already reached her ear.

The nightmare had only begun.

/

Usagi's hands pressed against the smooth wooden door to the hospital wing, shoving with all of the strength she could muster. But the door refused to budge, mocking her weakened state.

"Do you need some help?" Michiru asked.

"No, I've got it." She said, taking a step back and charging at the door. Her feet slid on the floor, nearly flying out from under her. The only response was a small squeak from the hinges.

"Don't worry, I've got this Usagi," Hotaru pressed against the door and it swung open at her touch. The young girl beamed up at her.

"Thanks… I must have loosened it," Usagi said, trying to salvage the last of her dignity.

"Sure you did, kitten." Haruka patted Usagi's shoulder and the five of them entered the room. Setsuna muffled a laugh as they walked.

Heat slammed against Usagi. Humidity drenched the air, her skin slick as droplets of dew clung to her arms. Tension receded from her body as her muscles were bathed in the warm steam.

It had taken everything she had to convince the others she was well enough to visit Seiya. Haruka, in particular, had been against the idea and watched her like a hawk as they made their way through the palace corridors. She'd almost forced them to turn back when Usagi'd led them to a second dead end. But nothing she said could sway Usagi. She needed to see Seiya for herself. To know that she would be okay. The image of the Malefic Crystal's darkness growing out in spiderwebs under Seiya's skin trapped in her mind.

Diaphanous white curtains billowed around her. The room was the same as before. The marble pillars taking on a pale blue hue in the evening sky, Kana and Rena still watching over her, sweet rose and spicy cinnamon filled the thick air, but the peace she had found before was gone.

Princess Kakyuu and Taiki stood at the other end of the pool, the red light of Kakyuu's crystal imbued the opalescent water with a scarlet hue. Thick as blood.

Seiya floated — motionless — in the water. Just below her sternum, black energy pooled. The darkness contained to her chest still drummed with life. Eager to consume the rest of her.

This time, Usagi didn't restrain herself, running with what little energy she had left to Seiya's side. The Outer Guardians right behind her. She knelt down and turned her head towards Kakyuu, an unspoken question hung in the air between them. Her throat choked around the words.

Kakyuu lowered her crystal, the red light giving way to the golden rays that streamed from the candles affixed to sconces on the wall. Kakyuu shook her head.

"Demande's crystal is still inside of her. I've been able to contain the darkness for now but I don't know how long it will hold." Kakyuu paused, her ruby red eyes tinged with a deep sadness as they glided from Seiya to Usagi. "I'm sorry."

I'm sorry. The words feel like an avalanche against her. Why was Kakyuu apologizing to her? She was the one who brought these enemies here. It was her they were after. And she was the one who wasn't strong enough to stop them. Everything that had happened to Kakyuu, Taiki, Yaten, and Seiya was her fault.

Kakyuu closed her crimson eyes and turned away. The true meaning of the words hit Usagi. Her chest closed in around her, the air too thick to breathe.

No. Seiya'd promised her that she would be fine. She had to be okay. She had to wake up.

Hotaru broke the silence, "She still hasn't woken up?"

Kakyuu shook her head, "No, and I don't know if she will. The power inside her is something my healing can't remove. The longer it stays the greater the danger is that it will corrupt her completely and absorb the power of her Starseed."

"Is that what they're after? Just like Galaxia?" Michiru asked.

Taiki shook her head, "From what we have been able to gather, the force within Seiya feeds off the power of her starseed. It seemed like the same thing happened to Usagi during the battle. The darkness aimed for her Silver Crystal.

"For now Princess Kakyuu has been able to shield Seiya's starseed away and contain the darkness but unless we can find a way to get it out of her….if it gets to her Starseed," Taiki's steady voice faltered, cracking with the emotion she hid below the surface. "We all know you cannot live long without a Starseed."

"No." The word flew from Usagi's mouth.

Six pairs of eyes turned and stared down at her.

"I won't let him win. I won't let him take her. There has to be something else we can do."

"Kitten, I'm sure they've tried everything they can."

Usagi shook her head, hand clenched in her lap, her nails digging into her palm. "This is all my fault. Seiya is hurt because of me." Her hands swept up to her chest, the familiar sparkle of celestial light danced on her fingertips. The Silver Crystal emerged from her body. "I will save her."

The white light spilled out from her and filled the room. But behind it, she felt another power awaking from its forced slumber, ravenous. The Malefic Crystal burst to life under her skin. Black lightning sprang from her palm, ensnaring her. Her weakened defenses crumbled as the pain ceased in her muscles. Its singular purpose sang like a chorus of drums in her head, power, it would have her power. It would have her.

She could feel it, somewhere inside, a crack throbbed within her. The darkness was trying to break her again.

Haruka lunged for her, "Usagi stop! You can't use your Crystal. Its power is too strong for you right now. It could" —

Before the others could stop her Usagi reached her hand out and laid it against Seiya's shoulder. This time she would be the one to protect her. She would find the power. The light of the Silver Crystal draped around them. The darkness in Seiya called out to her own. Fangs dug into her hand and dragged her under as the room fell away.

Lightning flashed as a wall of sound slammed against her, thunder shaking her bones. The blood-red sky dripped with splotches of black and grey. Around her buildings, which had been reduced to rubble, were strewn across the broken earth. Barbs of contorted metal and wire jutted out from the concrete slabs, ghostly remnants of the city.

"The final blow!"

Her heart stopped; her breath frozen in her throat. Those words. Those words she'd heard a thousand times in her nightmares rang in her ears. Usagi's eyes transfixed on Galaxia, the spikes of her golden armor gleaming against the destruction as she hovered above her. She lunged at Fighter. Her sword aimed at her chest. Fighter stood fixed to the earth, a human shield against the onslaught. Arms outstretched, ready to sacrifice herself again to protect Usagi.

Usagi sprinted forward, the weariness gone as adrenaline overwhelmed her senses. Unwilling to watch Fighter throw her life away trying to sacrifice herself again. Though she knew that wasn't how this ended. It would end like it always did, Usagi shoving Seiya out of the way, Galaxia ripping the Silver Crystal, her Starseed, from her breast. Her soul snapped, shattered, suspended in an endless limbo.

Watching, Usagi willed the Sailor Moon of this reality to step forward. But she didn't move. Arms crossed against her chest, the corners of her mouth twisted upwards as she looked on.

Galaxia shifted, her attack no longer directed towards Seiya but just above her. Sailor Moon finally moved, leaping into the air, her arms open as she welcomed the sword into her chest. The steel blade speared her breast, lodged in her embrace. She fell to the ground, sprawled out before the Starlight who looked on in horror.

Usagi stopped in her tracks, unable to understand what was happening. This wasn't how it happened.

Sailor Moon reached out her hand to Seiya, "Why couldn't you protect me?"

Fighter lunged forward and gathered Sailor Moon into her arms, tears gushing down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." The phrase was trapped in an endless loop on her lips. The words spilled over one another. "I wasn't good enough."

The fallen Sailor Moon's eyes narrowed and the sneer returned to her lips. She pushed herself out of Fighter's embrace and stood, seemingly unaware of the blade in her chest as she rose. Seiya's empty gaze fixed up at her. With two hands Sailor Moon pulled the sword from her breast and inspected it. Lightning flashed off the blade's edge. She regarded Fighter with a look of disgust and thrust the sword forward into her, "You're right, you will never be good enough."

Galaxia's blade ripped through Seiya's chest. The dull crack of bone against steel split the air. Usagi screamed. Fighter fell to her knees; the indigo of her eyes faded, covered with a black emptiness.

Usagi's feet freed themselves from the paralysis that had consumed her as she threw herself towards Seiya, crashing onto the rubble next to her. Her trembling hands hovered around the sword, terrified that if she touched it Fighter would crumble to the ground, this time gone forever. But Fighter didn't move. The gunmetal blade was lodged within her though no blood fell from the wound. Fighter gasped for air struggling to fill her lungs. Usagi laid her hand against her shoulder — cold — Seiya's skin freezing below her fingers. But Fighter didn't acknowledge her presence. She was a ghost among phantoms.

Is this how she sees herself? Is this why she is always rushing to sacrifice herself? Her heart twisted in recognition of the same nightmare that haunted her as well.

Galaxia and Sailor Moon stood in front of Fighter, leering smiles plastered across their faces.

"Useless," Galaxia smirked.

"Pathetic," Sailor Moon agreed as she reached out and grabbed the hilt of the blade. With the smile still plastered to her lips, she plunged the sword deeper into Seiya's chest. Fighter cried out, her screams echoing off the shattered buildings, filling the air with her pain.

Usagi couldn't take it. Her skin sang with energy, the adrenaline from earlier shifting, anger taking its place. She wouldn't stand back and watch these apparitions torture Fighter. She grabbed Sailor Moon's arm, the silk of her glove electric at her touch. The fabric faded away as Usagi felt her body begin to fade, the threshold between them vanished. A tide ensnared her and pulled her consciousness forward, folding Usagi into the shadow reflection of herself.

Usagi blinked as her vision cleared, the dream still stood around her but everything had shifted. She was no longer kneeling on the ground next to Fighter but standing. A flash of gold caught her eye and she fought to stifle a scream. Galaxia stood like a sentinel next to her. But as Usagi waited, every muscle tensed, ready to fight, Galaxia didn't move, her body frozen.

Slowly turning her head she looked down, knowing what she would see below her. A gasp escaped her lips. It was her hands that wrapped around the hilt of the sword which dug into Seiya's chest.

She stared in horror, as a glimmer surrounded the sword, its shape-shifting in her hands, vanishing. Demande's onyx spear gleamed in its place.

This was her chance. This time she wouldn't let it slip away. Usagi's hands closed around the crystal and pulled. But the cold stone wouldn't budge, sinking deeper into Seiya. Dark tattoos latticed out under her skin, enshrouding her chest.

"Odango, I'm so sorry." Seiya's words were barely audible over the raging storm as she fought for air. The spark of joy that always danced on her voice was gone, replaced by a despair that cut at Usagi. "I keep failing you. I can't protect you. I'm sorry. I can't be good enough."

The spear dropped from Usagi's hands as she fell to her knees before Seiya. Fighter's word's echoed the other Sailor Moon's. Words she'd heard once before. "Seiya, you've never failed me and you never could." It's my fault. I'm the one who trapped you in this mess. Usagi struggled for the right thing to say, to convince her that none of this was real. That these burdens weren't hers to bear alone.

The spear stopped its slow descent into Seiya's chest as Usagi spoke. Her voice seemed to call her back from the void she'd been plunged into. Delicately, Usagi pressed her hand against Seiya's chest, the quiet rhythm of her heart humming below her fingertips. A calm that verged on sadness filled Usagi as she closed her other hand around the black crystal. "I'm the one who keeps failing everyone, who can't protect those around me." The resistance she'd met before vanished, the crystal inching out of Seiya's chest. Fighter raised her eyes, blue poking through the grey clouds that still lurked within them.

"Odango…?" recognition shone in her eyes, though still unsure. "Odango, where are —"

A burst of light flared around them and devoured the terrain. Her arms shot up, shielding her eyes from the blinding beams. Thunder crashed and the ground below her shook. The facade of the dream began to disintegrate around her. A fissure split the earth between them, sending Usagi backwards. Her back slammed against the rubble and waves of pain crashed against her. Struggling to her feet she searched for Seiya as the world collapsed. The Starlight vanished into the horizon, the crevice between them growing.

Usagi's body began to fade, blinking in and out of existence as a force pulled her away. A power she did not know coiled over her body and ripped her away despite her desperate struggling.

"Seiya, I'll find you again!" She yelled her final promise into the sky, hoping it would reach her, as everything faded to black.

Usagi's eyes shot open. Her vision no longer burned by the blinding white light of the nightmare realm. The soft dim of candlelight surrounded her, pushing back against the dark of evening. She was back in the healing pools.

The room seemed to rise and fall, her body gently swaying in rhythm with the tides. A voice cut through the fog that was still clearing from her head. "She's awake," Haruka called to the others, her hands tightening around Usagi's arms as she cradled her.

Usagi's eyes circled the room, six pairs of eyes in every shade stared back at her.

"Seiya," the name left her lips cracked and shaking, her throat raw. "I was with her. We were back on Earth, trapped back reliving the final battle with Galaxia but it wasn't the same. Everything about it was twisted and wrong."

"It's hard to imagine that it could have gone any worse," Setsuna said, her eyes glazing over with memories.

Usagi nodded, the dream version of herself sneered back at her. Galaxia's sword in her hands, plunging the blade through Fighter's chest. She shuddered, "It was. But the Malefic Crystal was there and I was able to pull it out for Seiya a bit." She could still feel the cold stone against her fingers, the dark energy alight within. "It is still trapped in her but I think if I can get back. I think I know how to remove it completely," and then she'll wake up. The last words left unsaid.

Usagi grabbed for Seiya, she couldn't waste any time here when she knew what Seiya was enduring inside her mind. The guilt that drove the Malefic Crystal further and further into her. But Haruka's arms wrapped around her, iron chains holding her back. Usagi twisted and struggled, her muscles protesting with every movement. But she couldn't stop.

"Haruka let me go. I have to go back, I can save her." Panic began to set in, her breaths shortened and her heart raced.

"Usagi," Michiru stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "When you touched her Seiya the Malefic Crystal awoke and started to attack you again. If we hadn't separated the two of you it would have drained your life force completely. It's too dangerous."

"We'll think of something else, kitten. There has to be another way." Haruka said through gritted teeth as Usagi finally stopped struggling in her grasp.

"No, there isn't time to find something else. The Malefic Crystal was halfway down through Seiya's chest and you said,'' Usagi looked at Kakyuu, "that the movement it was fully absorbed it would be able to take feed off of her starseed directly…. And she wouldn't make it if that happens."

"I won't let you sacrifice yourself on a fool's chance to save her. Didn't you hear what Michiru said, if you try again the Malefic Crystal might kill you. Please, let us find another way." Haruka begged.

"I can't just leave her there Haruka! She's…" Usagi stopped, unable to continue.

What exactly was Seiya to her? Her whole world tilted on its axis as she searched for an answer. That question had followed her since she'd arrived on Kinmoku, it pressed against her as Seiya held her in her embrace, recounting the tale of Rena and Kana; it dogged her as she stroked Seiya's cheek, terrified of what had happened to her after she'd fainted in Korin's embrace; it goaded her as she crossed the line destiny set for her and kissed Seiya. But still, she couldn't find the answer. A deluge of emotions struggled to overpower her but she pressed each of them down. This wasn't the time to answer that question.

"She's important to me, Haruka. I have to save her." Her voice was low and quiet. This was the best she could manage for now.

The others all exchanged knowing glances and Hotaru strode over to her side, soft violet light flowing from her hands as she started to heal Usagi, for what she was sure was not the first time that night.

"I know she's important to you but we can't have you risking your life on a hunch. You are ours too. We need you." Haruka said.

"I don't belong to anyone! And this isn't up for debate. I get to decide what I will do with my power. I'm going to do this Haruka, with or without your help."

Haruka flinched, the ferocity of Usagi's words surprising her. Later when she had time to rest and the fire in her breast had been extinguished Usagi knew she would regret lashing out at her friend. But now, for the first time in years, she felt a weight lift from her chest.

"Okay, okay, kitten," Haruka conceded, shaking her head. "But not tonight. We can try again tomorrow but you at least need to get some rest first and we need time to plan. If we're going to do this then we need to make sure you'll be safe and that starts with making sure you rest and restore as much of your energy as you can."

"We'll have to figure out a way to do this as safely as possible," Taiki said. "If the Malefic Crystal manages to merge with the Silver Crystal there's no telling how powerful it could become and what harm that could do to the world. I want Seiya back as much as you do but we have to be cautious."

Usagi nodded, agreeing to their terms. Even though she wanted to reach out to Seiya again and save her from the nightmare that had ensnared her, the others were right. She needed rest.

Haruka carefully helped her from the floor, still standing between her and the Starlight. Her eyes never left Usagi as she moved to the door. Each step felt like she was summiting a mountain, her legs tired and aching from overuse.

As they reached the door Usagi stopped and turned back, needing to see Seiya one last time. Seiya, please wait just a little longer. I promise I will come back and find you. I won't leave you alone to fight with your demons. She hoped somehow her thoughts would reach the stranded Starlight.

Before she could turn back, the doors to the room were flung open. Usagi jumped. Yaten, still transformed, stood in the doorway, her breaths haggard, as though she had sprinted the whole way here.

"Healer, what's wrong?" Princess Kakyuu darted over to her Guardian.

Healer slowed her breaths as everyone gathered around her. Usagi tensed, ready to transform.

"The dark crystal… I touched it…." Healer slowly managed.

"What on Earth were you thinking touching the Malefic Crystal," Haruka yelled. "Did you not see what it did to your sister or do you want to leave us more vulnerable than we already are?"

"Haruka, stop it." Usagi glared at her Guardian, who only shrugged and grunted in response. The lack of sleep clearly fraying the last of her patience.

"I don't need to explain myself to you. I can see that three years hasn't done anything to calm your attitude." Yaten snapped.

"It's done nothing for your intelligence either. And here I thought you had more sense than your hot-headed leader," Haruka shot back.

"The one who sacrificed herself to save your Princess since you weren't able to protect her?"

"What happened?" Kakyuu stepped between the two of them. Both Guardians backed down.

Yaten refused to acknowledge Haruka as she continued, "It's not just Demande. There's someone, something else that's out there. I saw visions, none of them made any sense but whatever they are they are more powerful than anything we've faced before and they are coming here."

/

Hopefully, this will really be the longest chapter of the story but who knows at this point. If they are getting too long let me know and I'll try to find better places to cut them off. I'm almost halfway done with the next chapter but it won't be out for three weeks. I'm going on vacation next week but I don't know if I'll have any time to write or I might just unplug completely :)

Thank you for the wonderful comments and messages! If you're enjoying the story I would love to hear from you. I hope everyone is having a good week and is staying safe. See you in a few weeks!