The final installment of the story. ^^ Yay! Now I can work on the other stuff that I'd been meaning to work on, but I'm not giving up on SM right now...anyways, read and review!!!! ^^
~*The Return of a Promise*~
~Apocalypse of the Silence and Chaos~
Gray.
Mist.
Shift.
Chaosis' mortified face as he whirled into the gate.
The whirling ball of silence slamming into Chaosis.
Pluto disappearing into nothingness.
"Ai---"
Hotaru shifted in her sleep as she kept on living in the past events. The ruins of her former palace. The rings to the south of the setting horizon. The moons that loomed nearby.
Chaos....
The man looming towards her from the mist dead ahead.
"---I will silence you, Chaosis---"
The flings of lightning, the cries of her fellow senshi friends as she desperately fought the dark one. The clashes of the fist, the leg, the arm and the staffs. The rings of the battle echoed throughtout the planet as the battle commenced.
"Ai---"
"I must do what I can to protect this world---"
"As long as I live, there will be no peace, no silence!"
The time gate closing up in the middle of the air, trapping her formidable foe inside the trails of time. Trapped, at least, until he found some clever devised plan to get himself out of it again.
"Pluto!!!!! No!!!!"
Hotaru gasped, bolted up to her bed, her forehead sticky wet with her sweat, her bangs stuck right there with it. She looked around uncertainly; she was on her bed, her lamps shining its light to her gently. She was in a sleeveless purple shirt and shorts.
She turned to see her father jolt up with a start. He was sitting on a stool, his head was on the bed till she awoke with a gasp. He rubbed his eyes sleepily beneath his large glasses before smiled demurely. "Hotaru! Am I so glad you are awake!" He hugged his daughter tightly. "I thought you were never going to wake up like your mother there!"
Hotaru was wide-eyed, cold with wonder. He...he cares? Her mind spiralled back to her earlier questions about being alone and silent. Her classmates feared and excluded her. The senshi never seemed to want to accompany her in the searches, her father was always working....
"Hotaru!"
She turned around to see Setsuna, Rei, Usagi and the rest of the gang standing at the doorway, all smiling kindly at them in their uniforms. She looked at them wide-eyed; how long had she been sleeping? Her father excused himself and left the room so they could talk to Hotaru privately.
"Hotaru, how are you feeling?" Minako asked.
She swallowed dryly and looked up at Minako, trying to regain her composition. "Okay," she replied faintly. "I think." Her eyes averted to meet Setsuna's calm glazing ones. "Setsuna! I thought---I thought you---I thought you went away forever!"
Setsuna smiled wisely, like a mother to her child. "I was pardoned."
Hotaru didn't say anything.
"You did a pretty good job back there, Hotaru," Haruka said from the back. She was standing beside Michiru with her arms crossed, her eyes closed. "I got to admit, I didn't know you had it in you, kiddo."
Hotaru clenched her jaw, but didn't say anything.
"You were very important since the beginning," Usagi said gently, her face so much like the Neo-Queen Serenity. "I never knew you had such strength within you---I'm just sorry that you had to go through all that trouble to defeat Chaosis."
Hotaru nodded numbly as they started chattering about the battle and the little mirages that they thought were interesting till Chaosis turned it against them. They smiled at Hotaru, gave her a job well done once more before filing out her door.
Rei was still standing in the room, looking at her.
"Yes, Rei-chan?" Hotaru asked faintly.
She brushed her hair back and approached the bed. "Back there, before he...you know," she began, "I may not have been looking but I heard everything. He said 'Aishiteru'." She shook her head, her eyes wide with confusion and sadness. "He didn't really mean it---did he?"
Hotaru sighed, brushing her bangs back. "Actually, he did."
"Why?" Rei asked.
Hotaru breathed in heavily. "He---He has been enamoured by me since the Kingdom's days," she explained. "I can't recall a lot but he kept trying to flatter me, disguising himself as a courtier and trying to court me, or maybe as one of the other royalties...he never really worked hard for my affections because all the while he also wanted to destroy me. You can say he was torn between two desires, and because of that, I stopped him. Twice."
"Your task isn't over, is it?"
"No," Hotaru responded. "For now, yes. Until he gets out of his prison."
Gray.
Mist.
Shift.
"As long as I live, there will be no peace, no silence!!!!"
Gray.
Mist.
Shift.
Hotaru managed a weak smile. "Don't worry," she said gently. "There will be no wars---for now."
It was a bright sunny day as Hotaru was walking home from Mugen. She had returned to school after a few days' absence with a more enlightened spirit than before. Her classmates were still afraid of her, but she was used to that despite her fight.
She made a turn, prepared to take the shortcut in the park when she saw the other senshi. The inners were sitting on the bench with Chiba Mamoru (obviously Usagi was draped around him) and chattering about. The outers were sitting around the fountain, Haruka obviously standing up and looking towards the sky. They weren't talking at all.
Uh-oh, Hotaru said to herself. I don't want to go in there. Maybe I should---
Too late. Both Michiru and Usagi saw Hotaru standing dumb-struck at the entrance of the park and waved. "Hotaru! Come here!"
Hotaru shook her head and started running down the street.
"Hotaru!" they cried. But she was gone.
She kept running; no, no, no. They were her friends, her allies in battle. Why was she running from them? She choked back a sob, leaning heavily on a big oak in front of an ancient temple's forest and dropping her school bag, panting heavily. They didn't understand what she was going through again, like she had so many times before---who could she trust? Were they really her friends?
Her surroundings seemed to shift slightly, like a tilt.
Hotaru blinked; what was going on?
She couls see a faint figure looking at her. Dark clad, pale complextion, raven hair---She started to panic. It was Chaosis, with his ebonite eyes looking straight at her. She stood back sharply, her fists in the air, ready to fight. "Wha--what the---"
"I'll be watching you, Princess...."
Hotaru screamed as the image disappeared. Her surroundings returned to normal as she placed her hands on her ears and slid to the ground again, still screaming. She didn't notice Rei and Setsuna running towards the striken Hotaru.
"Hotaru---Hotaru, what's wrong?" Rei asked.
"Are you okay?" Setsuna asked with a worried glance.
Hotaru was cold, dead cold, and pale. Chaosis would be watching her. She looked up to the sky, hoping for heaven to open up and take her away. She fought the tears once again. This is my destiny, isn't it? she wondered. To be haunted by chaos and burdened by silence?
And from a distance, "Poor Senshi of Silence."
~End~
Ta-da! What do you think? Please R&R!
~*The Return of a Promise*~
~Apocalypse of the Silence and Chaos~
Gray.
Mist.
Shift.
Chaosis' mortified face as he whirled into the gate.
The whirling ball of silence slamming into Chaosis.
Pluto disappearing into nothingness.
"Ai---"
Hotaru shifted in her sleep as she kept on living in the past events. The ruins of her former palace. The rings to the south of the setting horizon. The moons that loomed nearby.
Chaos....
The man looming towards her from the mist dead ahead.
"---I will silence you, Chaosis---"
The flings of lightning, the cries of her fellow senshi friends as she desperately fought the dark one. The clashes of the fist, the leg, the arm and the staffs. The rings of the battle echoed throughtout the planet as the battle commenced.
"Ai---"
"I must do what I can to protect this world---"
"As long as I live, there will be no peace, no silence!"
The time gate closing up in the middle of the air, trapping her formidable foe inside the trails of time. Trapped, at least, until he found some clever devised plan to get himself out of it again.
"Pluto!!!!! No!!!!"
Hotaru gasped, bolted up to her bed, her forehead sticky wet with her sweat, her bangs stuck right there with it. She looked around uncertainly; she was on her bed, her lamps shining its light to her gently. She was in a sleeveless purple shirt and shorts.
She turned to see her father jolt up with a start. He was sitting on a stool, his head was on the bed till she awoke with a gasp. He rubbed his eyes sleepily beneath his large glasses before smiled demurely. "Hotaru! Am I so glad you are awake!" He hugged his daughter tightly. "I thought you were never going to wake up like your mother there!"
Hotaru was wide-eyed, cold with wonder. He...he cares? Her mind spiralled back to her earlier questions about being alone and silent. Her classmates feared and excluded her. The senshi never seemed to want to accompany her in the searches, her father was always working....
"Hotaru!"
She turned around to see Setsuna, Rei, Usagi and the rest of the gang standing at the doorway, all smiling kindly at them in their uniforms. She looked at them wide-eyed; how long had she been sleeping? Her father excused himself and left the room so they could talk to Hotaru privately.
"Hotaru, how are you feeling?" Minako asked.
She swallowed dryly and looked up at Minako, trying to regain her composition. "Okay," she replied faintly. "I think." Her eyes averted to meet Setsuna's calm glazing ones. "Setsuna! I thought---I thought you---I thought you went away forever!"
Setsuna smiled wisely, like a mother to her child. "I was pardoned."
Hotaru didn't say anything.
"You did a pretty good job back there, Hotaru," Haruka said from the back. She was standing beside Michiru with her arms crossed, her eyes closed. "I got to admit, I didn't know you had it in you, kiddo."
Hotaru clenched her jaw, but didn't say anything.
"You were very important since the beginning," Usagi said gently, her face so much like the Neo-Queen Serenity. "I never knew you had such strength within you---I'm just sorry that you had to go through all that trouble to defeat Chaosis."
Hotaru nodded numbly as they started chattering about the battle and the little mirages that they thought were interesting till Chaosis turned it against them. They smiled at Hotaru, gave her a job well done once more before filing out her door.
Rei was still standing in the room, looking at her.
"Yes, Rei-chan?" Hotaru asked faintly.
She brushed her hair back and approached the bed. "Back there, before he...you know," she began, "I may not have been looking but I heard everything. He said 'Aishiteru'." She shook her head, her eyes wide with confusion and sadness. "He didn't really mean it---did he?"
Hotaru sighed, brushing her bangs back. "Actually, he did."
"Why?" Rei asked.
Hotaru breathed in heavily. "He---He has been enamoured by me since the Kingdom's days," she explained. "I can't recall a lot but he kept trying to flatter me, disguising himself as a courtier and trying to court me, or maybe as one of the other royalties...he never really worked hard for my affections because all the while he also wanted to destroy me. You can say he was torn between two desires, and because of that, I stopped him. Twice."
"Your task isn't over, is it?"
"No," Hotaru responded. "For now, yes. Until he gets out of his prison."
Gray.
Mist.
Shift.
"As long as I live, there will be no peace, no silence!!!!"
Gray.
Mist.
Shift.
Hotaru managed a weak smile. "Don't worry," she said gently. "There will be no wars---for now."
It was a bright sunny day as Hotaru was walking home from Mugen. She had returned to school after a few days' absence with a more enlightened spirit than before. Her classmates were still afraid of her, but she was used to that despite her fight.
She made a turn, prepared to take the shortcut in the park when she saw the other senshi. The inners were sitting on the bench with Chiba Mamoru (obviously Usagi was draped around him) and chattering about. The outers were sitting around the fountain, Haruka obviously standing up and looking towards the sky. They weren't talking at all.
Uh-oh, Hotaru said to herself. I don't want to go in there. Maybe I should---
Too late. Both Michiru and Usagi saw Hotaru standing dumb-struck at the entrance of the park and waved. "Hotaru! Come here!"
Hotaru shook her head and started running down the street.
"Hotaru!" they cried. But she was gone.
She kept running; no, no, no. They were her friends, her allies in battle. Why was she running from them? She choked back a sob, leaning heavily on a big oak in front of an ancient temple's forest and dropping her school bag, panting heavily. They didn't understand what she was going through again, like she had so many times before---who could she trust? Were they really her friends?
Her surroundings seemed to shift slightly, like a tilt.
Hotaru blinked; what was going on?
She couls see a faint figure looking at her. Dark clad, pale complextion, raven hair---She started to panic. It was Chaosis, with his ebonite eyes looking straight at her. She stood back sharply, her fists in the air, ready to fight. "Wha--what the---"
"I'll be watching you, Princess...."
Hotaru screamed as the image disappeared. Her surroundings returned to normal as she placed her hands on her ears and slid to the ground again, still screaming. She didn't notice Rei and Setsuna running towards the striken Hotaru.
"Hotaru---Hotaru, what's wrong?" Rei asked.
"Are you okay?" Setsuna asked with a worried glance.
Hotaru was cold, dead cold, and pale. Chaosis would be watching her. She looked up to the sky, hoping for heaven to open up and take her away. She fought the tears once again. This is my destiny, isn't it? she wondered. To be haunted by chaos and burdened by silence?
And from a distance, "Poor Senshi of Silence."
~End~
Ta-da! What do you think? Please R&R!