Back again! I'm glad to see you all like this I didn't know it would be
this enjoyable when I started this, but.wow! I'm shocked. Well, thank you
to my reviewers: Mistal:sadpoemethatreflectme, Galea, ShadowQueen, and,
without a doubt, bluephoenix. You all are so nice! Well, here you are
everyone, (sorry, bluephoenix, it's another cliffhanger) the next chapter.
Enjoy!
Chapter 2: Emotion
I analyzed every inch of the Time Stream with no luck. I could not figure out why I had not seen the death earlier. I used all of the knowledge I'd acquired over the years, yet nothing explained why the stream hadn't shown me Darien's fate. I was plagued with thoughts of the worst kind, not just thoughts that I failed, but I thought, reluctantly, that there was a disruption in the flow of time that I could not feel or see. The steam never refused to show me something I wanted to view.
The most confusing part about it was that I could still observe the futures of other dimensions and worlds. The stream wasn't just blocking off the future, which would have been a problem that I could fix. The stream was blocking me from seeing my future; the futures of those I cared about. This disturbed me in such a way that I was frightened. What if Serena died tomorrow without me being able to stop it? What if the whole planet was destroyed while I sat back, unable to do anything except watch it happened before my eyes? I would rather go blind than be so helpless. These things were not supposed to happen, but then again, neither was the death of the future prince.
"Why won't you show me?!" I screamed at no one. Even if the stream could answer me, I got the feeling that it wouldn't want to. I sighed in exasperation. For the first time that I could remember, I did not know what to do. Staring at the only window that I could clearly see, a terrible nausea washed over me. I knew instantly what it was. Something was wrong with Serena.
As soon as I thought it, I was on Earth, standing in the middle of the park. Luckily, the only person around was Serena, looking as though she hadn't slept for a while.
"What is the matter? Are you all right?" I silently prayed, to anyone who could hear me that nothing would happen to Serena without me being able to do something. The last thing I needed was my not only failing my task as Gate Keeper, but failing to keep my princess safe.
"Yes, I'm fine. Well, as fine as I'll ever be," she said softly. Then she let out a sob that seem to come from the very depths of her soul. My first reaction was to comfort her, so I held out my arms, and she fell into them, crying with her whole body. I could feel her hot tears through my clothing. We stood there for a moment, her crying, me waiting for her weeping to subside so I could inquire as to why she summoned me. It would have broken my heart to hear her cry, but my heart was long broken from the pain of so many others like her. You could almost say that there was no heart left to break, but I hated to think that way.
"I'm sorry," I whispered into her ear. "I'm sorry there was nothing I could do." She shuttered as she attempted to subdue her tears to reply.
"But-but there is something you can do," she stuttered. "That's why I called to you." I had no idea as to how she managed to call to me. I didn't think it was the right point to ask, though. I looked at her with pure curiosity playing across my face. There was no way I could help until I figured out what was wrong with the stream, and, horrible as my current progress was, that didn't look like any time soon.
"What do you mean?"
"You can bring him back! You have the power to do it!" I let out a slight gasp, for I was taken aback by the passion with which she said these words.
"Bring him back?" I repeated with more confusion than I meant.
"I know you can do it! Luna told me all about what you're capable of." I let what she said sink in. The sheer impossibility of it was almost laughable. It was true I had the power to bring him back, but I also had the power to stop time, however I never did that. It would be abusing the gift given to me.
"I-I cannot do that, Serena," I said as calmly as I could manage. In reality, my fingers were trembling as I clutched my staff. How could she ask such a thing of me?
"But why not? You control time!"
"I don't control time, Serena. Time does as it pleases. I simply monitor the stream to make sure that nothing obstructs time's passing."
"You have to do this for me!" The desperation in her voice was so thick it was radiating in the air. I couldn't bear to deny her what her heart wanted most, but I had to think about what changing the past would do to the stream.
"I cannot do it."
She grabbed my arm, gently yet firmly. "Please, Setsuna. I can't live without him." Tears threatened to overcome her again as she stared directly into my eyes. Shining sapphire met cold scarlet as she pleaded for the life of her love. My persistent emotions welled up within me, floating around in my head, distracting me from what I had to do. How could I deny her this? How could I meddle with time?
"Please, just think about it," she started to walk away, then she paused and looked at me once more. "I need him, Setsuna." I watched her go. In all the years I'd observed the time stream, I never cried. All the wars, deaths, destruction, none of it caused tears to fall. I'd been trained to be immune to human feelings, and that's how I was. But as I watched Serena make her way out of the park, I felt something drift slowly down my cheek. I reached up with a trembling hand and touched it.
I was crying. I began crying with so much vehemence that I fell to my knees. I felt like I would not be able to stop. I felt weak. I felt defeated. I felt powerless. I was feeling things that I hadn't felt in so many years.
I felt human.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Whew! How's that? Has it lived up to expectations? I hope so. Tune in next time, folks. You know where to find me! Thanks for reading! Adios.
S.Setsuna
HeliosGirl@sailormoon.com
Chapter 2: Emotion
I analyzed every inch of the Time Stream with no luck. I could not figure out why I had not seen the death earlier. I used all of the knowledge I'd acquired over the years, yet nothing explained why the stream hadn't shown me Darien's fate. I was plagued with thoughts of the worst kind, not just thoughts that I failed, but I thought, reluctantly, that there was a disruption in the flow of time that I could not feel or see. The steam never refused to show me something I wanted to view.
The most confusing part about it was that I could still observe the futures of other dimensions and worlds. The stream wasn't just blocking off the future, which would have been a problem that I could fix. The stream was blocking me from seeing my future; the futures of those I cared about. This disturbed me in such a way that I was frightened. What if Serena died tomorrow without me being able to stop it? What if the whole planet was destroyed while I sat back, unable to do anything except watch it happened before my eyes? I would rather go blind than be so helpless. These things were not supposed to happen, but then again, neither was the death of the future prince.
"Why won't you show me?!" I screamed at no one. Even if the stream could answer me, I got the feeling that it wouldn't want to. I sighed in exasperation. For the first time that I could remember, I did not know what to do. Staring at the only window that I could clearly see, a terrible nausea washed over me. I knew instantly what it was. Something was wrong with Serena.
As soon as I thought it, I was on Earth, standing in the middle of the park. Luckily, the only person around was Serena, looking as though she hadn't slept for a while.
"What is the matter? Are you all right?" I silently prayed, to anyone who could hear me that nothing would happen to Serena without me being able to do something. The last thing I needed was my not only failing my task as Gate Keeper, but failing to keep my princess safe.
"Yes, I'm fine. Well, as fine as I'll ever be," she said softly. Then she let out a sob that seem to come from the very depths of her soul. My first reaction was to comfort her, so I held out my arms, and she fell into them, crying with her whole body. I could feel her hot tears through my clothing. We stood there for a moment, her crying, me waiting for her weeping to subside so I could inquire as to why she summoned me. It would have broken my heart to hear her cry, but my heart was long broken from the pain of so many others like her. You could almost say that there was no heart left to break, but I hated to think that way.
"I'm sorry," I whispered into her ear. "I'm sorry there was nothing I could do." She shuttered as she attempted to subdue her tears to reply.
"But-but there is something you can do," she stuttered. "That's why I called to you." I had no idea as to how she managed to call to me. I didn't think it was the right point to ask, though. I looked at her with pure curiosity playing across my face. There was no way I could help until I figured out what was wrong with the stream, and, horrible as my current progress was, that didn't look like any time soon.
"What do you mean?"
"You can bring him back! You have the power to do it!" I let out a slight gasp, for I was taken aback by the passion with which she said these words.
"Bring him back?" I repeated with more confusion than I meant.
"I know you can do it! Luna told me all about what you're capable of." I let what she said sink in. The sheer impossibility of it was almost laughable. It was true I had the power to bring him back, but I also had the power to stop time, however I never did that. It would be abusing the gift given to me.
"I-I cannot do that, Serena," I said as calmly as I could manage. In reality, my fingers were trembling as I clutched my staff. How could she ask such a thing of me?
"But why not? You control time!"
"I don't control time, Serena. Time does as it pleases. I simply monitor the stream to make sure that nothing obstructs time's passing."
"You have to do this for me!" The desperation in her voice was so thick it was radiating in the air. I couldn't bear to deny her what her heart wanted most, but I had to think about what changing the past would do to the stream.
"I cannot do it."
She grabbed my arm, gently yet firmly. "Please, Setsuna. I can't live without him." Tears threatened to overcome her again as she stared directly into my eyes. Shining sapphire met cold scarlet as she pleaded for the life of her love. My persistent emotions welled up within me, floating around in my head, distracting me from what I had to do. How could I deny her this? How could I meddle with time?
"Please, just think about it," she started to walk away, then she paused and looked at me once more. "I need him, Setsuna." I watched her go. In all the years I'd observed the time stream, I never cried. All the wars, deaths, destruction, none of it caused tears to fall. I'd been trained to be immune to human feelings, and that's how I was. But as I watched Serena make her way out of the park, I felt something drift slowly down my cheek. I reached up with a trembling hand and touched it.
I was crying. I began crying with so much vehemence that I fell to my knees. I felt like I would not be able to stop. I felt weak. I felt defeated. I felt powerless. I was feeling things that I hadn't felt in so many years.
I felt human.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Whew! How's that? Has it lived up to expectations? I hope so. Tune in next time, folks. You know where to find me! Thanks for reading! Adios.
S.Setsuna
HeliosGirl@sailormoon.com
