Chapter Thirty

          "Do you have to go?"

            Brooke smiled at her mother's younger self. "Hai. But you'll see me again."

            The time had come for departure. With the end of Hiroshima, it was time for the Senshi of the future to return home, courtesy of Sailor Pluto.

            All of the Chibi Cosmic Senshi were recovering but none more than Gloria. The others had been hurt immensely in the final battle and yet remembered no pain until after the power had left them. Amy guessed that with the force of their planet within them that they had been immune to pain because all their hearts had been one.

            The Crystal Senshi had left earlier. Now the Elysian and Cosmic Senshi were returning home. It was  a day of pain for the Chibi Senshi. Over the battle, they had grown very close to their future daughters. In the battle, their hearts, minds and souls had merged to become one. They knew everything about each other. There were now no secrets.

            Daisy and Gloria had ceased their insignificant arguments. They would still argue but the animosity was gone.  They were closer than before. All the Chibi Senshi were closer than before. They were stronger, more mature, braver, more confident.

            In a secret Senshi meeting, Pluto had informed the original Senshi that history had once more been set straight and that their children were now on their own for battle unless their help was requested. Raye had protested, argued that they were still children. Pluto had assured her that simply because they could fight alone did not make them adults. But it was a milestone.

            As they fought alone, their team would become stronger and the closest it had ever been. But they would still come to their parents for guidance. They simply would not need their aid with battle anymore.

            At the moment, Annika was hugging Brooke. The older woman stroked her mother's hair. She smiled sweetly,

            "I'll see you later. In a few minutes for me. Several years for you."

            Annika nodded. Brooke had been her comforter after the battle's end. Gloria had fallen, exhausted but Annika had been to weak to catch her. Daisy had made that dive. Brooke assured her she was not at fault.

            "Hey before you all go," Mina said as she walked into the room. "Gloria wanted to say goodbye."

            Gloria had been restricted to bed. She was too weak and hurting too much to get up. And she still awoke from nightmares at least four times in a week. She had become clingy. She stuck to her mother or her mentor like glue.

            The Cosmic and Elysian Senshi came over and hugged Gloria one by one. They had to be gentle due to the sensitiveness of her skin but she embraced each of them.

            Annika walked over to her mother. The others were headed towards the Time Gates.

            "Mother…you are dead in my time. But…I'm older…but am I too big to give you a farewell kiss?"

            Raye gave her grown daughter a smile,

            "You'll never be too big for that. Plant one."

            Annika chuckled and did just that. After a kiss and a hug she bid her younger self farewell and then vanished into the Time Gates.

            Annika wiped at her tears but did not burst into wails as she usually did when someone she loved departed. She smiled,

            "we'll see them again."

            Raye and Amy exchanged surprised glances. This battle had done more than beaten the enemy. It had beaten a great deal of Annika's self doubt.

Future

            Emerging from the Time Gates, the Cosmic Senshi gasped.

            Crystal Tokyo was in its prime. Everything had been restored. Hiroshima had been the personification of evil and when she had been destroyed, the evil had gone back to where it stayed, in the hearts of everyone. It was choice once more to be good or evil.

            "The youma are gone," Faith declared. The Senshi nodded.

            "Girls!"

            Their hearts froze…

            "No way…"

            "But we did…"

            "That's right…we altered time so…"

            The nine girls exchanged glances and then broke into a sprint. As they ran up to the Crystal Palace, tears filled their eyes…

            "Mother…"

            Their parents were awaiting their arrivals with broad smiles.

            Annika let tears trickle down her face. All her pain, all her sorrow vanished away. Her heart felt so full she felt it would burst.

            "Mama…MAMA!"

            Without another word, the fully grown woman flung herself into Raye's arms, sobbing like an infant. Raye stroked the violet hair,

            "I love you too Annika."

            Amy was the next. Her shoulder was being soaked with Ariel's tears. Amy laid her head against Ariel and elt a single tear fall onto the girl's hair. The girl had choked herself up twice a ready. Her voice came out, cracking and sounding like the seven year old she had been,

            "Mommy…Mommy!"

            "Mom!"

            Lita opened her arms as Daisy dove into them. Even though they were the same height now, Daisy still wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and sobbed into her chest, saying,

            "I thought I'd lost you. I thought my time in the past was…"

            "Shh, you saved us, Daisy."

            "Hai…you're alive…you're alive…Kami-sama, you're alive!"

            Gloria knocked Mina down when she embraced her. On the ground, she laid her head in her mother's lap and sobbed like a baby. She clutched her mother's shirt with tightly clenched fists as if to establish she was truly here. She couldn't believe she was really here. Mina was having just as difficult a time and pulled her daughter up, clutching her as tight as her body could allow her to.

            Hope and Faith embraced Haruka and Mirchiru and then  switched. Both were sobbing, even Faith who rarely displayed such emotion. Her eyes were red and tears had left marks down Hope's cheeks. Mirchiru embraced her daughter Faith and pressed the girl's head against her chest, kissing her forehead.

            Releasing Faith, Mirchiru embraced Hope in the same fashion. Haruka scooped Faith up, spun her around and then embraced her tightly, kissing her head, as tears made tracks down her face. Faith was murmuring,

            "Thank you Kami-sama….dear sweet spirits…thank you!"

            Hotaru and Madelyn were locked in a tight and passionate embrace. Hotaru was smoothing her daughter's hair as Madelyn let tears stream from her eyes and stain her mother's shirt.  She was saying over and over,

            "Mama…Mama…Mama…"

            "I missed you too, Darling. " Madelyn kissed her mother's cheek and then laid against her chest, letting silent and slow tears fall.

            Setsuna and Maggie were both crying. Maggie had seen little of her mother as it was. Now as she laid in her arms, she inhaled deeply, locking her mother's sweet and individual scent into her memory. Her heart and her mind would never forget this pain but at the moment she felt like she would just collapse from emotion.

            "Mom…you're alive. Kami-sama….it worked! We saved you! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

            Setsuna said nothing but a single tear fell down her face and she laid her face into her daughter's hair.

            Rini kept her arms locked around her mother's neck, sobbing like a true Moon Senshi. Her voice cracked and her nose ran but her mother made no reaction to these except she tightened her grip and let Rini weep and sob into her dress. Rini said simply,

            "Never lose you again…never."
            Nine hearts had been shattered years ago. With memories that would scare them a lifetime, they were finally beginning to heal.

The End