Chapter 27: Limbo
I lay upside
down on the couch, watching the TV. Why I was upside down, I don't know, but my
head was hanging off the sofa and my legs were up in the air. Maybe the blood
rush was slowing my thought process down, but either way, I wasn't thinking.
Just staring off into mindless space. I come up with the strangest things when
I space out. Like when I wonder how Haruka would act around a guy if she were
drunk enough, or what Chibi-Usa would do if she used that Luna ball of hers for
a baseball… God help us all if Usagi's hair doubled as helicopter blades and
she flew around Tokyo by her odangoes…
Just then
Michiru walked in, stopping to stare at the wacko girl who hung upside down off
the couch… and I just stared back at her. This continued until I finally stuck
out my tongue at her and made a silly face. Wait… I must be really out of it,
today…like, I wanted to do every single stupid thing I could think of, as if I
would never get to do it again.
"What's with
you?" Michiru said as she walked over and sat down. I simply shrugged.
"For one
minute in my life I can't be unconditionally happy?" I said cryptically, not
wanting to converse much. In that one moment, I felt my spirits drop
dramatically, to the point where I felt hot tears brimming my eyelids. What's
wrong with me? I couldn't believe I was so emotional over a meaningless
comment, but all of a sudden I had to get out of the room. I rolled backwards
off the couch and headed in a jog towards the door.
I felt
Michiru's hand grab mine before I could leave the room, and I stopped dead as I
felt her hand gently take my own and pull me around. I looked up at her face, a
face that shouldn't hold so much sorrow and pain. I felt tears rolling down my
cheeks and I was afraid that I couldn't stop them. Michiru pulled me into a
hug, and I broke down into her shoulder, crying as if I had never cried before.
"Shh… it's
alright…" She whispered into my ear, as she smoothed my hair, trying to
reassure me. I felt a little better having someone around, but I still felt
incredibly empty, as if I was missing half of myself. And there was the other
problem of what could happen tomorrow. The attacks were becoming more frequent,
and I had a feeling that whatever happened, would happen tomorrow. I tried to
dry my tears. Now wasn't the time. Afterwards, if I survive, maybe then I might
allow myself a couple tears. If Michiru sees me crying, she'll know something's
wrong. Well, something is… but if I lose it, then god knows what'll happen to
moral support.
*****
"So… it's that
bad, huh?" Sailor Pluto of the future said. Chibi-Usa nodded.
"I had no idea
she would get so powerful… and things still haven't sorted themselves out here,
have they?" Chibi-Usa said, sounding serious.
"No. Saturn's
still in limbo… I'm sorry, Small Lady, but I can't allow you to go back just
yet." Pluto said as she turned away.
"What?!? But
Puu, I have to go back, I-" Chibi-Usa started before Pluto cut her off.
"No. We can't
have you go back and getting hurt. Things are still too blurry, and until I
figure out what's happened, I can't let you go." Pluto said in a gentle yet
stern tone.
A silence
ensued and Pluto was afraid she was too rough on little Chibi-Usa. She turned
back to the Small Princess. Could she even call her 'Small Lady' anymore?
Chibi-Usa had now grown into a beautiful 16 year old. Not one that you would call
Small, but old habits die hard.
"Alright… I
understand…" Were the unexpected words that came from the young woman.
"I know you
care about Hotaru, Chibi-Usa, but it's for the best…" She said gently, trying
to raise the spirits of the normally cheerful Princess.
"I hope you're
right…" She said quietly. Suddenly, a bright flash appeared, and a female
figure dressed all in white, except for the long black cloak on her shoulders.
"Fate. What
brings you here?" Pluto asked nonchalantly.
"Same thing
that has practically everyone in the universe biting their nails and pulling
their hair out. You have no idea what he's been doing to practically every
timeline! I can't stand it!" She said in frustration as she started pacing.
"I'm having a hard time keeping everything in order, although it's becoming
almost impossible to find a way for the past Hotaru to pull herself out of her
rut. Not that it's her fault, but that -- pardon my French -- fucking bastard
is screwing up everything!!! There's only so much I can control with Fate, the
rest is free will on Saturn's part, but if she chooses…"
"Isn't there
any way to ask Saturn what's happening? She must have some control, if not an
idea, as to what's going to happen…" Chibi-Usa said as she stared inquisitively
at the woman of undeterminable age.
The cloaked
woman stared at Chibi-Usa as if she were Einstein. "Now why the Hell
didn't I think of that?" she said as she looked from Chibi-Usa to Pluto. "I'm
slipping in my old age. Must be stress."
Pluto led them towards the part of
the Time Gates where Hotaru laid in a suspended animation. She floated upright
in what appeared to be a coma, surrounded by Pluto's power over time and her
own planet power.
"Fate, dear, I
believe this is your department…" Pluto said sardonically. They watched as Fate raised her hands
towards Hotaru, and her own white light was added to the mixture of magic.
"Three
Goddesses of Fate, daughters of Mother Night, awaken her who has been stripped
of her Past, Present and Future!" She called out, and the radiance around
Hotaru glowed with a fiercer light, until it flowed into her, giving her a
protective aura. Princess Hotaru opened her eyes, and stared off into the open
space, until she looked down upon her friends with sorrow.
"What
happened?" She asked meekly, somewhat frightened at the events which were
unfurling around her. She could see all possible outcomes of what was to happen
in the time flux, and all of them ended on a sad note.
"Pluto and I
have placed you in Limbo, a place where you can observe either past, present or
future, without actually being a part of it.
Something's happened in the past to affect your being in this time, and
as you can see, it is causing great damage to the timelines." Fate answered,
somewhat cryptically.
"Can you see
what is happening in the past? That's affecting the future, now?" Chibi-Usa
asked, worried that her friend might not last very long in her timeframe.
"Yes, but I am
not at great liberty to discuss it. But… oh, so many might die… and everything
that is here will end…" she said as she continued to stare into oblivion, tears
dripping down from her face. She knew what had to be done, but she could not
say to Setsuna or the others, as much as she wanted to. She had a feeling that
Fate knew what might happen, but the final outcome was up to herself, or,
rather, her past self. And without guidance…
"The end can
never truly be written. It is up to the players to determine the score of the
game." Hotaru said, as she gathered all her energy into one point of her
conscious. With the power Pluto was using to keep her alive in the timeline, as
well as the energy that lady Fate gave her to help her see forwards and
backwards through time, if she concentrated enough… She focused that energy
into a message, and almost all her remaining power to drive it backwards
through time, making sure it got to the intended target.
"Saturn, NO!"
Pluto cried as she realized that Hotaru was weakening the barrier in time. 'If
she uses all that energy…' Pluto thought as she saw the light fade around
Hotaru, who fell to her knees.
Chibi-Usa ran
up to support her, and gasped as she witnessed Hotaru fade completely from the
Gates of Time.
Chibi-Usa,
this is the only way. I know you can help me, but now is not the time. You are my
only hope. Cherish your loved ones, for when they are truly gone, only in
prayer can you tell them you love them… A disembodied voice sang in her ears. There was something
very cryptic about her words…something that she was trying to tell her, but
couldn't directly?
Be strong…
for me. A single tear of regret ran down her face as
she realized that she might have lost her friend forever.
*****
I slipped into a dream state, wondering if this was a
dream or a nightmare. I looked around, only to find myself in a barren area,
nothing but rocks and dirt. My friend's dead bodies lie around me in a circle,
and as I turned to the rear, I saw a mirror image of myself. But I looked…
older? Well, not really older, so much as… more experienced.
My mirror stared at me, smiling and raised her hand.
Just as the mystery person in my dreams, she raised her hand up above her head,
and, as a crystal appeared hovering inches away, a bright light appeared out of
it, washing over the land. I felt the light, a cleansing light, wash over me,
and I saw that everything it touched sprang to life. The life came from the
girl and the crystal, but was giving new life to the dead planet. As the light
faded, I saw that I was now standing in a field, a vast field, covered with
purple violets, lilacs, and lavender daisies. The girl, or rather myself, faded
away to be replaced by a firefly, one that flew up towards the sky before
disappearing. I saw my friends all getting up, and was delighted that they had
been healed by my ghost self. She sacrificed herself for them? Before she
completely vanished, I heard her whisper, in a voice not unlike my own.
"Believing in everything that I have chosen is the
power to change tomorrow." She said in an ethereal voice, and as everything
faded away, I drifted off into a resting, dreamless sleep for the rest of the
night.
