Aftermath
A sidestory of Awakenings
(Part 3, if you will)
By: Loralei Fairhill
Rated: R (read: If you can't handle mature material, you
shouldn't be here.)
Genre: AR
"For some autumn comes early, stays late through life where
October follows September and November touches October and then
instead of December and Christ's birth, there is no Bethlehem
Star, no rejoicing, but September comes again and old October and
so on down the years, with no winter, spring or revivifying
summer. For these beings, fall is the ever normal season, the
only weather, there be no choice beyond. Where do they come from?
The dust. Where do they go? The grave. Does blood stir in their
veins? No: the night wind. What ticks in their head? The worm.
What speaks from their mouth? The toad. What sees from their eye?
The snake. What hears with their ear? The abyss between the
stars. They sift the human storm for souls, eat flesh of reason,
fill tombs with sinners. They frenzy forth. In gusts they beetle-
scurry, creep, thread, filter, motion, make all moons sullen, and
surely cloud all clear-run waters. The spider-web hears them,
trembles--breaks. Such are the autumn people. Beware of them."
~Pastor Newgate Phillips, excerpt from Ray Bradbury's _Something
Wicked This Way Comes_
Music to listen to while reading: Sarah Brightman's "Deliver Me."
*hears groans* Yeah, I know I said that I wasn't going to write
any more of Awakenings. So you'd be right if you said I lied. ^_~
I never said I wasn't going to write side-stories, though, I said
there wouldn't be a resolved ending. This one isn't exactly
resolved either! ^^;
Officially, this chapter/epilogue wasn't supposed to exist. But
unofficially, even though I'm a huge fan of evil cliffie endings,
I just couldn't leave it like that, without hope. So I suppose
you could say that this isn't part of the story, it's a "side" of
what MIGHT happen when Usagi reaches the bottom. Call it whatever
you like, but I thought I'd tell minna that this isn't
necessarily what occurs after the seppuku, it's my musing . . .
anyway. I've taken up enough of your time! Read on! *grins*
"I don't exist anymore," the voice mumbled, a muffled slip
of sound against the gloom. "I don't exist. Is this what it is
like to be dead? How could this have happened? I can't even
remember what brought me here, to the caverns." A hand shot out
of the darkness, luminous against the damp void of the chamber.
The voice's owner stared at it in wonder; it was transparent. "Oh
G-d, what have I become?" Slumping to the floor, still glowing
with ethereal light, Usagi fainted.
Whispers echoing off the walls brought the skittering
shadows to life and surrounded her carefully.
"Who is the girl-child?" one asked, hissing out a breath
afterwards.
"Why has she come? It was not her time."
"She is damned."
"She is blessed."
"What are we going to do with her?"
"She does not belong here. Let us put her out into the
world."
"No, no! We cannot do that. She is dam--"
"Blessed! She is blessed."
Opposing growls began as each of the two arguing parties
tried to force its opinion on the other.
"Silence!" a voice suddenly boomed from the far corner near
one particularly large rock formation that resembled a waterfall.
"I shall decide the girl-child's fate. I am the one who knows
best what Morpheus would have intended for Selene."
"What do you propose we do?" a scratchy-toned entity
questioned.
"Send her into the world. She was obviously meant to find
him and her happiness. We must allow her to try. I believe the
other gods will attempt to stop her . . . but if the girl-child's
love is true and is destined to overcome all obstacles, she will
prevail. I have faith." It reached out a tendril of soft wind and
caressed Usagi's face, then brushed her hair from her forehead.
"Find him, Selene, as you have always been fated to!" it
whispered fiercely. "I will be watching . . . do not forget. . . ."
~^^~
The crystalline tears had long ago dried in the sun's
light, but her eyes were not yet opened to the new day. Then,
sluggishly, she raised her face to the rays beating down on her
body. Her eyes drifted open to find an arching lapis lazuli sky
above. With small, tentative movements, she started to lift
herself off of the ground.
"Perhaps I hit my head harder than I thought," Usagi mused
as she glanced around. The meadow in which she had been lying
bordered the far edge of a wisp-shadowed glade. Her surroundings
were completely unfamiliar. Dazed, she wondered aloud, "Wait, hit
my head on what and when?" With her thoughts muddled together,
she couldn't make sense of anything except that she had no idea
where she was or what her name could possibly be.
"You must not forget--" a voice screeched all of the sudden
from the deep recesses of her mind.
"Forget? Forget what?" she muttered.
"--your purpose!" it reminded her. Suddenly, the opaque
dust-clouds that were caught in her brain scattered and her
memories flooded through in a torrent.
"I am Selene . . . it's all so clear to me now . . . but
where is my Endymion?" Her heart twisted painfully as she
recalled his demise. Oh, the gods are cruel, she wept out
silently.
"You may find him again, Tsukino Usagi. He will always know
you." She could feel it smiling somehow.
"Beloved Hypnos," she sighed and shook her head, "how will
I ever be able to repay your kindness?"
Growing fainter word by word, the reply came, "Do not. This
has been woven into the cloth of life already. I wish only to
help the future into existence."
The corners of her mouth started to inch themselves into
some semblance of a smile. "Dear god of dreams, you'll never
regret the second chance you've given me this day," she said as
she dusted herself off and, humming her siren song, took up her
quest once more.
~^^~
Yes, the gods are vindictive, but not all. Fortunately,
there are those who would aid fellow immortals in need, going
even as far as resurrecting the dead to ensure that a wish was
fulfilled. Perhaps the day when darkness turns to light isn't so
very far off as one might think.
THE END
~~~~~~~~~~~@Loralei Fairhill
chapter completed 6/17/01
Perhaps this will generate more feedback? (If the nice ending
didn't already . . . I hope!)
POLL:
1] Do you like shapeshifter Endy better than vampire Endy (or
vampire Mamoru)?
a) Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! He's so much sexier when he's
a soul-eater.
b) G-d no, the thought of stealing someone's life force makes me
cringe. Give me a good ol' bloodsucker any day!
c) I don't like this kind of fiction. *hides under desk* It makes
me frightened of monsters lurking in every corner, especially
under my bed! ;_;
d) I'm a politician. No comment.
e} They're both so hot, I can't choose! @_@
2] Did you like the "nice" ending better than the "sad" one?
a) Yes
b) No
c) I'm ambivalent
d) Wait, what was the question again?
3] What did you like about this 'fic? (free response)
4] What didn't you like about this 'fic? (free response)
5] This is where the reminder to email me goes:
Loralei1300@aol.com
6] Note: You didn't have to answer all of the questions. . . .
You could've just emailed me and told me what you liked/didn't
like/thought was horrible/loved, etc. about this 'fic! I love
readers . . . yes I do! @_@ Loralei be going now . . . until next
time, minna! --luff
A sidestory of Awakenings
(Part 3, if you will)
By: Loralei Fairhill
Rated: R (read: If you can't handle mature material, you
shouldn't be here.)
Genre: AR
"For some autumn comes early, stays late through life where
October follows September and November touches October and then
instead of December and Christ's birth, there is no Bethlehem
Star, no rejoicing, but September comes again and old October and
so on down the years, with no winter, spring or revivifying
summer. For these beings, fall is the ever normal season, the
only weather, there be no choice beyond. Where do they come from?
The dust. Where do they go? The grave. Does blood stir in their
veins? No: the night wind. What ticks in their head? The worm.
What speaks from their mouth? The toad. What sees from their eye?
The snake. What hears with their ear? The abyss between the
stars. They sift the human storm for souls, eat flesh of reason,
fill tombs with sinners. They frenzy forth. In gusts they beetle-
scurry, creep, thread, filter, motion, make all moons sullen, and
surely cloud all clear-run waters. The spider-web hears them,
trembles--breaks. Such are the autumn people. Beware of them."
~Pastor Newgate Phillips, excerpt from Ray Bradbury's _Something
Wicked This Way Comes_
Music to listen to while reading: Sarah Brightman's "Deliver Me."
*hears groans* Yeah, I know I said that I wasn't going to write
any more of Awakenings. So you'd be right if you said I lied. ^_~
I never said I wasn't going to write side-stories, though, I said
there wouldn't be a resolved ending. This one isn't exactly
resolved either! ^^;
Officially, this chapter/epilogue wasn't supposed to exist. But
unofficially, even though I'm a huge fan of evil cliffie endings,
I just couldn't leave it like that, without hope. So I suppose
you could say that this isn't part of the story, it's a "side" of
what MIGHT happen when Usagi reaches the bottom. Call it whatever
you like, but I thought I'd tell minna that this isn't
necessarily what occurs after the seppuku, it's my musing . . .
anyway. I've taken up enough of your time! Read on! *grins*
"I don't exist anymore," the voice mumbled, a muffled slip
of sound against the gloom. "I don't exist. Is this what it is
like to be dead? How could this have happened? I can't even
remember what brought me here, to the caverns." A hand shot out
of the darkness, luminous against the damp void of the chamber.
The voice's owner stared at it in wonder; it was transparent. "Oh
G-d, what have I become?" Slumping to the floor, still glowing
with ethereal light, Usagi fainted.
Whispers echoing off the walls brought the skittering
shadows to life and surrounded her carefully.
"Who is the girl-child?" one asked, hissing out a breath
afterwards.
"Why has she come? It was not her time."
"She is damned."
"She is blessed."
"What are we going to do with her?"
"She does not belong here. Let us put her out into the
world."
"No, no! We cannot do that. She is dam--"
"Blessed! She is blessed."
Opposing growls began as each of the two arguing parties
tried to force its opinion on the other.
"Silence!" a voice suddenly boomed from the far corner near
one particularly large rock formation that resembled a waterfall.
"I shall decide the girl-child's fate. I am the one who knows
best what Morpheus would have intended for Selene."
"What do you propose we do?" a scratchy-toned entity
questioned.
"Send her into the world. She was obviously meant to find
him and her happiness. We must allow her to try. I believe the
other gods will attempt to stop her . . . but if the girl-child's
love is true and is destined to overcome all obstacles, she will
prevail. I have faith." It reached out a tendril of soft wind and
caressed Usagi's face, then brushed her hair from her forehead.
"Find him, Selene, as you have always been fated to!" it
whispered fiercely. "I will be watching . . . do not forget. . . ."
~^^~
The crystalline tears had long ago dried in the sun's
light, but her eyes were not yet opened to the new day. Then,
sluggishly, she raised her face to the rays beating down on her
body. Her eyes drifted open to find an arching lapis lazuli sky
above. With small, tentative movements, she started to lift
herself off of the ground.
"Perhaps I hit my head harder than I thought," Usagi mused
as she glanced around. The meadow in which she had been lying
bordered the far edge of a wisp-shadowed glade. Her surroundings
were completely unfamiliar. Dazed, she wondered aloud, "Wait, hit
my head on what and when?" With her thoughts muddled together,
she couldn't make sense of anything except that she had no idea
where she was or what her name could possibly be.
"You must not forget--" a voice screeched all of the sudden
from the deep recesses of her mind.
"Forget? Forget what?" she muttered.
"--your purpose!" it reminded her. Suddenly, the opaque
dust-clouds that were caught in her brain scattered and her
memories flooded through in a torrent.
"I am Selene . . . it's all so clear to me now . . . but
where is my Endymion?" Her heart twisted painfully as she
recalled his demise. Oh, the gods are cruel, she wept out
silently.
"You may find him again, Tsukino Usagi. He will always know
you." She could feel it smiling somehow.
"Beloved Hypnos," she sighed and shook her head, "how will
I ever be able to repay your kindness?"
Growing fainter word by word, the reply came, "Do not. This
has been woven into the cloth of life already. I wish only to
help the future into existence."
The corners of her mouth started to inch themselves into
some semblance of a smile. "Dear god of dreams, you'll never
regret the second chance you've given me this day," she said as
she dusted herself off and, humming her siren song, took up her
quest once more.
~^^~
Yes, the gods are vindictive, but not all. Fortunately,
there are those who would aid fellow immortals in need, going
even as far as resurrecting the dead to ensure that a wish was
fulfilled. Perhaps the day when darkness turns to light isn't so
very far off as one might think.
THE END
~~~~~~~~~~~@Loralei Fairhill
chapter completed 6/17/01
Perhaps this will generate more feedback? (If the nice ending
didn't already . . . I hope!)
POLL:
1] Do you like shapeshifter Endy better than vampire Endy (or
vampire Mamoru)?
a) Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! He's so much sexier when he's
a soul-eater.
b) G-d no, the thought of stealing someone's life force makes me
cringe. Give me a good ol' bloodsucker any day!
c) I don't like this kind of fiction. *hides under desk* It makes
me frightened of monsters lurking in every corner, especially
under my bed! ;_;
d) I'm a politician. No comment.
e} They're both so hot, I can't choose! @_@
2] Did you like the "nice" ending better than the "sad" one?
a) Yes
b) No
c) I'm ambivalent
d) Wait, what was the question again?
3] What did you like about this 'fic? (free response)
4] What didn't you like about this 'fic? (free response)
5] This is where the reminder to email me goes:
Loralei1300@aol.com
6] Note: You didn't have to answer all of the questions. . . .
You could've just emailed me and told me what you liked/didn't
like/thought was horrible/loved, etc. about this 'fic! I love
readers . . . yes I do! @_@ Loralei be going now . . . until next
time, minna! --luff