Thanks for being patient. =) Heres Chapter: 6
Sailor Moon ain't mine.
================================================================
Fall From Grace
By: Emporess
================================================================
"Don't be a fool for the devil darling!" I snarled. "Unless
he treats you a damn sight better then the Almighty!"
-Spoken by Lestat
Anne Rice
The Vampire Lestat
Chapter: 6
The Righteous and the Wrong
The Senshi were lucky that their enemy had left when they
did. Nearly all of them were out or in some state of shock which
would have made them utterly useless. Mercury had been on her
knees, panting from the excersion of trying to destroy the
phantasms. Venus was trying to get to her feet, clutching the
wound at her head. Mars and Sailor Moon had bent over Tuxedo
Kamen worriedly, while Uranus had gently woken her partner.
Jupiter knelt beside the Outers, clutching her side a bit
and making sure they were all right. It seemed like things
were ok, no one seriously injured.
Until a golden light broke over Tuxedo Kamen and their
Sensei.
The hood had fallen off her face during the battle,
revealing her bronzed skin, her high cheekbones, thick
purple hair. Her eyes were closed, and her face seemed
relaxed, peaceful as the light gathered in her chest and
pulsated.
Tuxedo Kamen, in contrast, looked like he was having
a seizure. His body began to convulse, each limb shaking.
The glow had gathered in his chest as well, and got lighter
as hers got darker. As they watched in horror, his mouth
and eyes sprang open, light pouring out of them as he
tried to scream, no sound escaping his lips.
"MAMO-CHAN?!" squealed Sailor Moon, as she fought off
Mars trying to hold her back. When she touched him she
jerked back, as if shocked by an electrical current. The
other wary Senshi crowded around, not sure of what to do as
they restrained the blonde from trying to touch him again.
Mercury had taken out her computer, tapping on it
incessantly, trying to figure out what was happening. All
she could tell was what was obvious to the naked eye: Whatever
that power that flooded Mamoru was, it came from Sensei, and
it HURT. The scan showed no signs of internal rupture, or
even an evil intent in the energy. It was just searing, all
encompassing, relentless. And really really fast.
The glow died in Sensei, and she didn't look a bit
different, that serene expression still on her. Mamoru
was still burning brightly, almost like he was on fire. The
Senshi each began talking at once on what they should do,
while trying to comfort a hysterical Usagi. No one noticed
Sensei.
It was total chaos. The perfect opening for Pluto.
"I can't believe we missed them!" hissed Chibi-Moon as she
sped through Tokyo. Saturn was at her right, 4 extremely embarrassed
Asteroid Senshi trailing her. "'One little backrub' you said. 'Try
and relax' you said. Damnit, their probably in danger because of
us!"
"Gomen," the 4 said at once, red blush heating their cheeks,
especially Ceres. They really felt bad now.
Chibi-Moon sighed. "Its all right, minna. Its my fault too.
I pushed this whole 'duty' thing way to far. We should have
relaxed before now." She tossed them a weak smile. "Hotaru-chan
will fix this, ne?"
Her companion nodded, a serious look in her violet eyes.
"Hai. Setsuna-mama is at the park, with the others. I felt her
appear. She can't hide it well from me. Something must be going
on." Hotaru took in Chibi-Moon. "What will we do?"
"Whats right." Chibi-Moon would not move her gaze from
ahead of her.
The time staff glowed a dull pink as she watched the Senshi
through a portal. The Golden Crystal had finally transferred to
Endymion. They were all in a panic. It was time to move in, to
finish it. Her hands trembled.
'Iie.' She told herself, trying to regain control. 'It must
be done.' If she did it fast enough, they probably wouldn't even
know it was her. Maybe the Outers would, but they would
understand, wouldn't they? Sacrifices, it was all about
sacrifices.
"Celeste" her voice was a whisper as she stared at the woman
who lay on the ground, forgotten and unprotected. As she had
always been. Pluto wanted to wait a moment more, to see the woman's
eyes open, so she could look into that blue again, and be reminded
of what once was, and would never be again.
"I didn't ask for this," she said softly, raising a hand to
the image that floated in front of her, appearing to caress the
bronzed cheek. "Ne, I broke all the rules. I thought I would do
things differently, thought I *was* the Mistress of Time. But
there is no one who controls Time. It ravages all of us, all-"
and she choked up there, unable to continue. The pain rolled
over her, the resentment, the pity. It fell, gently, like
rain drops to leak from her eyes and splatter her cheeks. Not
a sound escaped her, the silent, remorseful Pluto. She allowed
a preview of the grief then, before the actual event occurred.
Words came to her mind, bitter thoughts of someone else she
longed to hold.
"So mote it be." She muttered.
The staff brightened as she stepped through the portal.
Makoto wasn't sure what made her turn her attention away from
her friends. Sailor Moon's grief upset her as much as the others.
She would have done anything to help them, to stop whatever was
hurting Mamoru so badly. Yet she felt something warm on her neck,
a vibration. She shifted her body to the right, wincing at
the pain it caused in her side, taking in Sensei's form as
her eyes opened. Dark blue eyes, indigo eyes stared at a
shift in the air in front of her, as if waiting.
Without the normal light or fan fare, Pluto appeared. The
black fuku and shining green hair were unmistakable. She was
moving fast, one arm snaking forward to hit Celeste in the stomach,
causing her to bend forward. Even as she clutched at her stomach,
Pluto sent another fist her way, smacking her in the jaw so hard
it made a loud "THWACK" as she toppled over.
"SENSEI!" screeched Makoto, the only one to have seen. Her
side ached as she ran towards the battle. Behind her she could
feel other fast movements, Uranus having followed. They both
hit the wall of force Pluto had thrown up, falling backwards
into the grass.
"Stop, Pluto! You don't understand who she is!" Uranus
called out to her fellow Senshi.
"It is you who does not understand." The always calm
and level voice answered her. She advanced on the woman.
"U-Usakooo..." a weak voice registered to Sailor Moon,
making her tear her eyes away from Pluto and stare at the
man cradled in her lap. "She h-h-has to live...." Golden
light still shined wildly around him, though it was fading.
"Shhh," she said tensely, thinking he meant her. "I'm
here Mamo-chan. I'm fine." She couldn't leave him like this,
but she had to help Celeste. Pluto was ignoring anyone who
called her, even Uranus taking out her Talisman and slashing
it across the force field.
Celeste was leaning against a tree, her hand still
clutching at her stomach, seeming calm. Her lips even
seemed to be turning upward into a small smile. She
looked ahead expectantly, not even trying to defend
herself as Pluto raised her time staff above her head.
Even as Makoto beat at the barrier with her fists,
she couldn't help noticing Plutos face. Expressionless,
but her eyes. Pluto had her eyes clenched tightly shut,
not looking at her target. As if she couldn't bare to
look.
And it was like a voice opened up from the heavens
then. A beautiful melody from behind them, in the woods.
No words, no real recognizable language, but still it
came out. Something sang.
That 'something' froze the Senshi of Time where she
stood.
Their approach had taken forever. Even with enhanced
speed, they still had to pick their way through the underbrush.
Michael could have moved faster, but he would have lost Aradia.
Leaving her behind would have defeated the purpose all together.
She stopped dead in her tracks, refusing to move. They
were so close to them now. "Nani?!" he asked her, hissing through
clenched teeth. Every second they wasted was a second too long.
"Pain." A simple word, almost a plea. "So much pain."
Her eyes were watering as she looked at him. "Surely you feel it?"
He felt nothing. Anxiety, frustration, a little fear, these
were all HIS feelings, his alone. No other thoughts were being
picked up, not from anyone. The other Senshi were silence to him.
Realization seemed to dawn on her then and she brought a
hand to her lips. "Oh Kami-sama-"
"Na-" He began, then was unable to finish the words. The
bare inkling she had received thundered over him, like a shockwave,
tearing, trying to decimate who he was, his core self. The cause.
He knew who the cause was. She had bottled up the energy, the
ravishing beast that had tore at her, but the apprentice knew
not how to do that. Endymion was clueless about his new burden.
And he was expressing it to the world. Latent psychics would
feel it, beings like Aradia might guess the cause, but intimates,
people linked to the royal blood could not escape the side effects.
He was brought to his knees.
"Just over these few trees," Michael heard her pleading
through his haze. "Not far, not really. Come on Mikel." She tried
to prop him up, to get him to stand. 'How funny she calls me by
that' he thought ruefully. Maybe he said it aloud.
Gold fireworks bloomed on his closed eyelids, like
staring into a lightbulb for too long, and then closing your
eyes. The pain didn't really deter the other feelings he had,
the onrushing sensation of flight, of being airborne, when
he could still feel the ground underneath him. It was as if
he was climbing the clouds, to heaven. But he was bringing
heaven down to earth, to the mortals, who deserved some of it.
'Challenge God on equal terms. Let the devil have his say as
well. We'll hold a debate, with all the power flowing.' he
thought to himself. 'All this power.'
Aradia caught a few of the images he was sending. Images
that meant nothing. "The eternal battle? Mikel, I thought you'd
put such foolishness aside. This was rubbish in our time." He
was drunk on it in away the Prince could not be. She tugged
futily at his arm one final time. "We make our own justice,
our own Gods and Devils." She left him there, continuing on
without him.
When the trees finally let her pass, and she was near the
edge of the foliage, she paused and took in the scene. The
shattered thoughts of the people around her. They were all familiar,
yes, in some terrifying way she knew them all. Makoto was there,
sobbing. The woman was there, placid about her coming death, as
they had expected. Seta-chan was-
She was there. She was breathing and alive and it was *her*.
It was Seta. Pluto. Not a facsimile with her face, but her. Doing the
impossible. Killing-
The pictures of heaven that Mikel had wished to paint
came to her mind. Angels, floating on wings, carved of marble
like the blonde who held the Prince in her arms. Like the warriors,
who protested around her. Like the one about to break divine
laws.
Aradia's mouth opened. Her eyes stared at the beauty, the
ageless wonder that was the woman in the black fuku. And she sang.
Familiar. Inviting. Delicate. Inspiring. A 1000
interpretations came to those who were listening to the siren's
call. They were all wrong.
Pluto actually heard it, could *hear* the words, the
words interwoven in the monosyllables coming out of the woman's
mouth, the accusations. They flowed like bitter acid through
her ears, where try as she might, she couldn't tune them out,
couldn't stop translaighting them.
*Why do this now? Why repeat the same mistakes for a
cause you don't believe in?*
The other Senshi would not have noticed a change. Perhaps
a pause in her swing. Most likely they were too enraptured to
even know. To even look. But inside she felt old scabs tear off,
wounds never completely healed now bleed freely again.
*Haven't you had enough betrayal, told enough lies?*
It was the word betrayal that got her, that made her whole
being want to retch. But there was still this one thing to do, this
one thing. Time to fall later. Time for grief later. Yes there was
*always* more time. No matter what, there would be more time.
But her limbs still didn't move. Refused to answer.
*Don't you feel lonely? Isn't there a better way?*
On and on her accusations would continue, and still she
did not step out of that wood. She did not come with in the
distance of an attack. If she could even throw one. If she would.
Her eyes finally opened, determined to bring down the staff,
determined to end this. She would not break in front of the other
Senshi, she would not go back on her duties. This was the end.
It had to be.
Even as the staff came down with blinding speed she heard
the song break. The voice that haunted her dreams some nights
rang out in clarity, for all to hear. "YOUR AGE! TELL THEM YOUR
AGE! TELL THEM ABOUT THE OTHER LIES! THERE WILL BE NO GOING BACK
FROM THIS!" Warnings, screamed warnings far too late.
Purple blur, darting ahead, faster then anything, couldn't
even follow it, no, couldn't be-
"SILENCE WALL!" The glaive twisting around and up even as
the small body landed. Taking all the sounds of the park, of the
watchers, of everything and laying a blanket of quiet over them.
The CLANG as the staff was stopped was even muted by the blockage.
Pluto had no choice but to look down and see her Hotaru staring
at her with sad eyes.
But she didn't have to look behind her. Shouldn't have.
Someone else heard the song. Someone else knew what it
meant. Someone with deep blue eyes, and dusty skin, like her own.
"Mother." Celeste mouthed, though that too was lost in
the attack.
And no scab could hold the torrent back. No control, no
self discipline could keep the emotions in. The outside she
remained as she was, her eyes simply closing. But inside she was
just a mad scream, echoing back at her. If it got lose, she
wouldn't be able to stop.
As always, her guardian, her talisman sprang to life.
The rays encompassed her, basking her in its light. It would take
her back to the dark, the cool place. The damage was far too
much. How right her love had been. There would be no turning
back. She would have to face them all.
But as the shadows crept up on her, she didn't have to
worry about any of that. All she had to do was scream. So she
did. For she had all the time to do so. All that time.
"Hotaru-chan?" whispered Uranus, dazed, they were all
dazed. A melody floated inside Makoto's mind, tingling together
till it was almost a full-fledged orchestra with sights and
smells and remembered tastes. Where had she heard it? What the
voice had sang. When?
Red hair, vibrant came into view, kneeling down next
to the Senshi of Silence. She watched the spot where Pluto
had disappeared almost mournfully. "Aradia?" Makoto heard
a voice ask, her voice, strained almost beyond recognition.
"Hai." A simple reply to a multi-faceted question.
"Chibi-Moon!" She turned to look at Sailor Moon,
gaping at her daughter from the future. The shock hit her
as well. The fact that she was here. And so much older! The
girl bent over her future father, who had ceased glowing
and now seemed asleep. She touched his forehead with concern,
as if she would be able to discern something from it. Perhaps
she could at that. Four Senshi stood from the direction in
which she'd came, not moving forwards. It was all a bit
too much to take in.
"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?!"
Venus finally demanded, echoing the thoughts of the more
coherent ones.
A man crawled out of the woods then. As soon as
he cleared the limbs and branches he slowly pulled himself
to his feet, flinging his hat to the side. With it gone,
his face was easy to distinguish. "Spar-san!" Again,
Makoto was shocked.
He gave no notice of her, pushing past the two Outer
Senshi's reunion to take in the fallen form of Celeste.
He watched her chest rise and fall for a few moments as if he
couldn't believe it. Then he gave a sideways glance at
Aradia, bending down to touch Celeste's hand. Aradia cleared
her throat nervously.
"I believe I can shed some light on this situation."
She took in all of them, finally settling on Chibi-Moon,
who stared back at her. "If her Highness will help me."
In a way that was completely different then Usagi,
but comparable to Mamoru at his worst, she gave a curt nod.
Her eyes swam to her future Mother as she finally embraced
her. "Daijobu, Sailor Moon. It'll all be all right."
"Our own Gods." Michael whispered.
Perhaps Makoto was the only one who heard him.
=======================================================
Questions? Comments? Arrows?
Angst88@aol.com
http://www.geocities.com/emporess888/
-Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill.
===============================================================
Sailor Moon ain't mine.
================================================================
Fall From Grace
By: Emporess
================================================================
"Don't be a fool for the devil darling!" I snarled. "Unless
he treats you a damn sight better then the Almighty!"
-Spoken by Lestat
Anne Rice
The Vampire Lestat
Chapter: 6
The Righteous and the Wrong
The Senshi were lucky that their enemy had left when they
did. Nearly all of them were out or in some state of shock which
would have made them utterly useless. Mercury had been on her
knees, panting from the excersion of trying to destroy the
phantasms. Venus was trying to get to her feet, clutching the
wound at her head. Mars and Sailor Moon had bent over Tuxedo
Kamen worriedly, while Uranus had gently woken her partner.
Jupiter knelt beside the Outers, clutching her side a bit
and making sure they were all right. It seemed like things
were ok, no one seriously injured.
Until a golden light broke over Tuxedo Kamen and their
Sensei.
The hood had fallen off her face during the battle,
revealing her bronzed skin, her high cheekbones, thick
purple hair. Her eyes were closed, and her face seemed
relaxed, peaceful as the light gathered in her chest and
pulsated.
Tuxedo Kamen, in contrast, looked like he was having
a seizure. His body began to convulse, each limb shaking.
The glow had gathered in his chest as well, and got lighter
as hers got darker. As they watched in horror, his mouth
and eyes sprang open, light pouring out of them as he
tried to scream, no sound escaping his lips.
"MAMO-CHAN?!" squealed Sailor Moon, as she fought off
Mars trying to hold her back. When she touched him she
jerked back, as if shocked by an electrical current. The
other wary Senshi crowded around, not sure of what to do as
they restrained the blonde from trying to touch him again.
Mercury had taken out her computer, tapping on it
incessantly, trying to figure out what was happening. All
she could tell was what was obvious to the naked eye: Whatever
that power that flooded Mamoru was, it came from Sensei, and
it HURT. The scan showed no signs of internal rupture, or
even an evil intent in the energy. It was just searing, all
encompassing, relentless. And really really fast.
The glow died in Sensei, and she didn't look a bit
different, that serene expression still on her. Mamoru
was still burning brightly, almost like he was on fire. The
Senshi each began talking at once on what they should do,
while trying to comfort a hysterical Usagi. No one noticed
Sensei.
It was total chaos. The perfect opening for Pluto.
"I can't believe we missed them!" hissed Chibi-Moon as she
sped through Tokyo. Saturn was at her right, 4 extremely embarrassed
Asteroid Senshi trailing her. "'One little backrub' you said. 'Try
and relax' you said. Damnit, their probably in danger because of
us!"
"Gomen," the 4 said at once, red blush heating their cheeks,
especially Ceres. They really felt bad now.
Chibi-Moon sighed. "Its all right, minna. Its my fault too.
I pushed this whole 'duty' thing way to far. We should have
relaxed before now." She tossed them a weak smile. "Hotaru-chan
will fix this, ne?"
Her companion nodded, a serious look in her violet eyes.
"Hai. Setsuna-mama is at the park, with the others. I felt her
appear. She can't hide it well from me. Something must be going
on." Hotaru took in Chibi-Moon. "What will we do?"
"Whats right." Chibi-Moon would not move her gaze from
ahead of her.
The time staff glowed a dull pink as she watched the Senshi
through a portal. The Golden Crystal had finally transferred to
Endymion. They were all in a panic. It was time to move in, to
finish it. Her hands trembled.
'Iie.' She told herself, trying to regain control. 'It must
be done.' If she did it fast enough, they probably wouldn't even
know it was her. Maybe the Outers would, but they would
understand, wouldn't they? Sacrifices, it was all about
sacrifices.
"Celeste" her voice was a whisper as she stared at the woman
who lay on the ground, forgotten and unprotected. As she had
always been. Pluto wanted to wait a moment more, to see the woman's
eyes open, so she could look into that blue again, and be reminded
of what once was, and would never be again.
"I didn't ask for this," she said softly, raising a hand to
the image that floated in front of her, appearing to caress the
bronzed cheek. "Ne, I broke all the rules. I thought I would do
things differently, thought I *was* the Mistress of Time. But
there is no one who controls Time. It ravages all of us, all-"
and she choked up there, unable to continue. The pain rolled
over her, the resentment, the pity. It fell, gently, like
rain drops to leak from her eyes and splatter her cheeks. Not
a sound escaped her, the silent, remorseful Pluto. She allowed
a preview of the grief then, before the actual event occurred.
Words came to her mind, bitter thoughts of someone else she
longed to hold.
"So mote it be." She muttered.
The staff brightened as she stepped through the portal.
Makoto wasn't sure what made her turn her attention away from
her friends. Sailor Moon's grief upset her as much as the others.
She would have done anything to help them, to stop whatever was
hurting Mamoru so badly. Yet she felt something warm on her neck,
a vibration. She shifted her body to the right, wincing at
the pain it caused in her side, taking in Sensei's form as
her eyes opened. Dark blue eyes, indigo eyes stared at a
shift in the air in front of her, as if waiting.
Without the normal light or fan fare, Pluto appeared. The
black fuku and shining green hair were unmistakable. She was
moving fast, one arm snaking forward to hit Celeste in the stomach,
causing her to bend forward. Even as she clutched at her stomach,
Pluto sent another fist her way, smacking her in the jaw so hard
it made a loud "THWACK" as she toppled over.
"SENSEI!" screeched Makoto, the only one to have seen. Her
side ached as she ran towards the battle. Behind her she could
feel other fast movements, Uranus having followed. They both
hit the wall of force Pluto had thrown up, falling backwards
into the grass.
"Stop, Pluto! You don't understand who she is!" Uranus
called out to her fellow Senshi.
"It is you who does not understand." The always calm
and level voice answered her. She advanced on the woman.
"U-Usakooo..." a weak voice registered to Sailor Moon,
making her tear her eyes away from Pluto and stare at the
man cradled in her lap. "She h-h-has to live...." Golden
light still shined wildly around him, though it was fading.
"Shhh," she said tensely, thinking he meant her. "I'm
here Mamo-chan. I'm fine." She couldn't leave him like this,
but she had to help Celeste. Pluto was ignoring anyone who
called her, even Uranus taking out her Talisman and slashing
it across the force field.
Celeste was leaning against a tree, her hand still
clutching at her stomach, seeming calm. Her lips even
seemed to be turning upward into a small smile. She
looked ahead expectantly, not even trying to defend
herself as Pluto raised her time staff above her head.
Even as Makoto beat at the barrier with her fists,
she couldn't help noticing Plutos face. Expressionless,
but her eyes. Pluto had her eyes clenched tightly shut,
not looking at her target. As if she couldn't bare to
look.
And it was like a voice opened up from the heavens
then. A beautiful melody from behind them, in the woods.
No words, no real recognizable language, but still it
came out. Something sang.
That 'something' froze the Senshi of Time where she
stood.
Their approach had taken forever. Even with enhanced
speed, they still had to pick their way through the underbrush.
Michael could have moved faster, but he would have lost Aradia.
Leaving her behind would have defeated the purpose all together.
She stopped dead in her tracks, refusing to move. They
were so close to them now. "Nani?!" he asked her, hissing through
clenched teeth. Every second they wasted was a second too long.
"Pain." A simple word, almost a plea. "So much pain."
Her eyes were watering as she looked at him. "Surely you feel it?"
He felt nothing. Anxiety, frustration, a little fear, these
were all HIS feelings, his alone. No other thoughts were being
picked up, not from anyone. The other Senshi were silence to him.
Realization seemed to dawn on her then and she brought a
hand to her lips. "Oh Kami-sama-"
"Na-" He began, then was unable to finish the words. The
bare inkling she had received thundered over him, like a shockwave,
tearing, trying to decimate who he was, his core self. The cause.
He knew who the cause was. She had bottled up the energy, the
ravishing beast that had tore at her, but the apprentice knew
not how to do that. Endymion was clueless about his new burden.
And he was expressing it to the world. Latent psychics would
feel it, beings like Aradia might guess the cause, but intimates,
people linked to the royal blood could not escape the side effects.
He was brought to his knees.
"Just over these few trees," Michael heard her pleading
through his haze. "Not far, not really. Come on Mikel." She tried
to prop him up, to get him to stand. 'How funny she calls me by
that' he thought ruefully. Maybe he said it aloud.
Gold fireworks bloomed on his closed eyelids, like
staring into a lightbulb for too long, and then closing your
eyes. The pain didn't really deter the other feelings he had,
the onrushing sensation of flight, of being airborne, when
he could still feel the ground underneath him. It was as if
he was climbing the clouds, to heaven. But he was bringing
heaven down to earth, to the mortals, who deserved some of it.
'Challenge God on equal terms. Let the devil have his say as
well. We'll hold a debate, with all the power flowing.' he
thought to himself. 'All this power.'
Aradia caught a few of the images he was sending. Images
that meant nothing. "The eternal battle? Mikel, I thought you'd
put such foolishness aside. This was rubbish in our time." He
was drunk on it in away the Prince could not be. She tugged
futily at his arm one final time. "We make our own justice,
our own Gods and Devils." She left him there, continuing on
without him.
When the trees finally let her pass, and she was near the
edge of the foliage, she paused and took in the scene. The
shattered thoughts of the people around her. They were all familiar,
yes, in some terrifying way she knew them all. Makoto was there,
sobbing. The woman was there, placid about her coming death, as
they had expected. Seta-chan was-
She was there. She was breathing and alive and it was *her*.
It was Seta. Pluto. Not a facsimile with her face, but her. Doing the
impossible. Killing-
The pictures of heaven that Mikel had wished to paint
came to her mind. Angels, floating on wings, carved of marble
like the blonde who held the Prince in her arms. Like the warriors,
who protested around her. Like the one about to break divine
laws.
Aradia's mouth opened. Her eyes stared at the beauty, the
ageless wonder that was the woman in the black fuku. And she sang.
Familiar. Inviting. Delicate. Inspiring. A 1000
interpretations came to those who were listening to the siren's
call. They were all wrong.
Pluto actually heard it, could *hear* the words, the
words interwoven in the monosyllables coming out of the woman's
mouth, the accusations. They flowed like bitter acid through
her ears, where try as she might, she couldn't tune them out,
couldn't stop translaighting them.
*Why do this now? Why repeat the same mistakes for a
cause you don't believe in?*
The other Senshi would not have noticed a change. Perhaps
a pause in her swing. Most likely they were too enraptured to
even know. To even look. But inside she felt old scabs tear off,
wounds never completely healed now bleed freely again.
*Haven't you had enough betrayal, told enough lies?*
It was the word betrayal that got her, that made her whole
being want to retch. But there was still this one thing to do, this
one thing. Time to fall later. Time for grief later. Yes there was
*always* more time. No matter what, there would be more time.
But her limbs still didn't move. Refused to answer.
*Don't you feel lonely? Isn't there a better way?*
On and on her accusations would continue, and still she
did not step out of that wood. She did not come with in the
distance of an attack. If she could even throw one. If she would.
Her eyes finally opened, determined to bring down the staff,
determined to end this. She would not break in front of the other
Senshi, she would not go back on her duties. This was the end.
It had to be.
Even as the staff came down with blinding speed she heard
the song break. The voice that haunted her dreams some nights
rang out in clarity, for all to hear. "YOUR AGE! TELL THEM YOUR
AGE! TELL THEM ABOUT THE OTHER LIES! THERE WILL BE NO GOING BACK
FROM THIS!" Warnings, screamed warnings far too late.
Purple blur, darting ahead, faster then anything, couldn't
even follow it, no, couldn't be-
"SILENCE WALL!" The glaive twisting around and up even as
the small body landed. Taking all the sounds of the park, of the
watchers, of everything and laying a blanket of quiet over them.
The CLANG as the staff was stopped was even muted by the blockage.
Pluto had no choice but to look down and see her Hotaru staring
at her with sad eyes.
But she didn't have to look behind her. Shouldn't have.
Someone else heard the song. Someone else knew what it
meant. Someone with deep blue eyes, and dusty skin, like her own.
"Mother." Celeste mouthed, though that too was lost in
the attack.
And no scab could hold the torrent back. No control, no
self discipline could keep the emotions in. The outside she
remained as she was, her eyes simply closing. But inside she was
just a mad scream, echoing back at her. If it got lose, she
wouldn't be able to stop.
As always, her guardian, her talisman sprang to life.
The rays encompassed her, basking her in its light. It would take
her back to the dark, the cool place. The damage was far too
much. How right her love had been. There would be no turning
back. She would have to face them all.
But as the shadows crept up on her, she didn't have to
worry about any of that. All she had to do was scream. So she
did. For she had all the time to do so. All that time.
"Hotaru-chan?" whispered Uranus, dazed, they were all
dazed. A melody floated inside Makoto's mind, tingling together
till it was almost a full-fledged orchestra with sights and
smells and remembered tastes. Where had she heard it? What the
voice had sang. When?
Red hair, vibrant came into view, kneeling down next
to the Senshi of Silence. She watched the spot where Pluto
had disappeared almost mournfully. "Aradia?" Makoto heard
a voice ask, her voice, strained almost beyond recognition.
"Hai." A simple reply to a multi-faceted question.
"Chibi-Moon!" She turned to look at Sailor Moon,
gaping at her daughter from the future. The shock hit her
as well. The fact that she was here. And so much older! The
girl bent over her future father, who had ceased glowing
and now seemed asleep. She touched his forehead with concern,
as if she would be able to discern something from it. Perhaps
she could at that. Four Senshi stood from the direction in
which she'd came, not moving forwards. It was all a bit
too much to take in.
"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?!"
Venus finally demanded, echoing the thoughts of the more
coherent ones.
A man crawled out of the woods then. As soon as
he cleared the limbs and branches he slowly pulled himself
to his feet, flinging his hat to the side. With it gone,
his face was easy to distinguish. "Spar-san!" Again,
Makoto was shocked.
He gave no notice of her, pushing past the two Outer
Senshi's reunion to take in the fallen form of Celeste.
He watched her chest rise and fall for a few moments as if he
couldn't believe it. Then he gave a sideways glance at
Aradia, bending down to touch Celeste's hand. Aradia cleared
her throat nervously.
"I believe I can shed some light on this situation."
She took in all of them, finally settling on Chibi-Moon,
who stared back at her. "If her Highness will help me."
In a way that was completely different then Usagi,
but comparable to Mamoru at his worst, she gave a curt nod.
Her eyes swam to her future Mother as she finally embraced
her. "Daijobu, Sailor Moon. It'll all be all right."
"Our own Gods." Michael whispered.
Perhaps Makoto was the only one who heard him.
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Questions? Comments? Arrows?
Angst88@aol.com
http://www.geocities.com/emporess888/
-Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill.
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