Setsuna hung up the phone and walked into the kitchen to make herself a bowl of popcorn. She put the bag into the microwave and pushed the timer just as Haruka walked into the kitchen.
"Any word from Hotaru?" She asked as she pulled out a Coke from the fridge.
"She's still over at Rei's.
"Really? Man, I like your taste in movies way better that Michiru's! Between us, she always gets sappy chick flicks. Ugh," Haruka said as she shuddered, "Can't stand 'em!" she followed Setsuna into the living room.
"I heard that. And you never once complained about them…" Michiru said, mock hurt in her voice.
"Well, it's true… I never understood how you liked movies
like Sleepless in Seattle. Or the Love Letter?
"What's with you, Setsuna? Sorry, so say this, but you seem a lot… well, happier…" Haruka said, as Setsuna hopped onto the couch and grabbed a pillow.
"I know! Isn't it great? I've never had a vacation, before, it's great!" Setsuna said, pressed the play button on the remote, and grabbed a handful of popcorn.
"Wait, what vacation?" Michiru asked. "I didn't know you had a job that you could get a vacation from…"
"Well, I've gotten a break from manning the Time Gates. So I can do whatever I want! And no matter what time you're from, that's gotta hurt…" Setsuna said, turning her attention to the movie and grimacing as James Bond fell from a hot air balloon.
Michiru and Haruka exchanged glances, but forgot about it as their attention turned to the movie.
*****
I opened my eyes to see a large battlefield surround
me. It was dark, and large explosions could be heard in the distance. Above me
was a dark sky, with few stars finding their way through the clouds. I could
hear screams all around me, but not coming from anyone in particular. They
wailed and screamed in pain, and I could tell that they must be dying. But who?
When I closed my eyes, I could almost see people, hundreds of people, laying on
the ground in agony. I thought I could see them, but as soon as I opened my
eyes, they disappeared. The screams continued though, and sank in to the bottom
of my soul. Who were they? And what had happened to make them hurt so much? I
wanted to help them, but a part of me knew that they could not be helped, that…
OhMyGosh! Were they spectres? I wanted to yell at them to stop, to cease the
screaming echoing in my head, but before I could say a word, they stopped.
Nothing was heard but an eerie silence.
I saw the scene shift, and when I gazed around, I was
in the middle of an immense explosion. Fire danced around me, but I felt no
lick of hot flames. When the fires ceased, I saw the being that caused it. A
cold feeling came over me as I stared into his empty shadow, and I was scared
beyond belief. Such an evil! I had never felt anything as cold and destructive
as that, not even when battling Pharaoh 90, but this being stirred memories of
that epic battle. The resemblance was eerie, but I could not place it. It was
like him, and yet, was the complete opposite.
A shift of the wind turned my attention behind me, and
I saw the figure of a dark Sailor, holding an undistinguishable weapon in her
hand. Was that me? The Sailor looked so cold and empty, that I shuddered as I
looked at her eyes. What had happened here to make her like that?
The dark figure raised a hand containing a ball of
glowing energy, and the Sailor raised her weapon, and the two went at it, blow
after blow. The attacks send up massive clouds of dust, and it seemed like I
was lost in then forever, until after what seemed like an eternity, the
explosions died down, the dust settled, and a lone figure emerged from the
battle field, looking no worse for wear.
The scene shifted again, and I found myself holding
Pluto in my arms on that cursed battlefield. I felt tears welling up in my eyes
as I felt the last breath leave her lips, and I softly cried to no one that
could hear me.
*****
Rei felt as if she was in a dream. 'No, not a dream… a
vision.' She remembered as she looked around. She looked out to a barren
wasteland, and down at her own self. She was standing at the foot of her own
body, which was covered in blood and bruises. 'Am I dead?' Rei thought to
herself as she looked around. The other Sailor scouts were around her, all
presumably dead. She could see the spirits of each Senshi glowing in their
respective colours above their bodies.
But her eyes… in their infinite depths of emotions:
pain, suffering, sorrow, angst, loneliness; there was a glimmer of hope. A
pureness that could only be dreamt of. And a knowledge of what must be done.
'What was she doing? 'Her eyes clouded over, and a faint lavender aura
surrounded Hotaru. Her Sailor Saturn fuku was changed into a beautiful, flowing
gown, and Hotaru seemed to glow with life and death at the same time. Hotaru
said something unheard, and a bright flash of light appeared out of nowhere, a
bright, calming light, pure and virtuous. A feather light feeling came over
Rei's spirit, and she felt herself being drawn back into her own body. When she
opened her eyes, she felt for injuries, only to find none. She sat up and
looked over at Hotaru, who lay crumpled and unmoving in the middle of the
scouts. She got up and walked over to Hotaru, and laid her hand on her cheek…
Rei's eyes suddenly flew open, and she looked around the small room where she had been earlier. She saw that the fire had completely burnt out, and that Hotaru slept on the floor beside her. The smaller girl lay on the floor, curled up in the foetal position and shivering. She looked pained in her sleep, as if suffering from some nightmare. Rei gently shook her shoulders, and her eyes slowly fluttered open. She looked around, trying to focus her eyes, and then shot up as she remembered what had happened.
"The… the … and you…?" She said, trying to figure out what had happened. Rei helped her up, then sat down across from her.
"Wow… do you see things like that often?" Rei asked her, as she leaned up against a wall.
"Yeah… but I've been seeing then a lot more frequently lately. What about you?" she asked in return. "Have you seen… dreams, too?" Hotaru asked, wondering how much Rei could know.
"Well… the odd one, but I've never had one in that much detail. You get these often? Man, that must drive you nuts." She sighed. "I wonder what it means. Past? Future? And what did you do at the end?"
"I don't know. I wonder if that's even me…" Hotaru said gently.