Disclaimer: As ususal, I don't own Sailor Moon. Yeah. Sucks, ne? ^^;;
Oooh....*blinkness* I'm getting some rather testy reviews, so I feel I should say something to those who have expressed....worries....alrighty! ^^ I swear, I SWEAR that there's at least a semi-happy ending to this! I swear! But it's kind of hidden, and if you're a big Seiya/Usagi fan then I suppose it depends on your take on the ending....anyway, keep reading and let me know what you think, ne? ^_~
Special Note: Doumo arigato gozaimasu to my brother, Trunks, who helped me come up with the perfect way to end this chapter. Trunks-chan, you might not be the best writer in the world but damn! You can come up with kick-butt ideas!
Sailor Moon wrung her hands together nervously, her eyes darting around the streets nearby. "Where are they? They should have been here by now...."
"It's okay," Fighter rested a hand on her shoulder, "they'll be here."
"Hai...."
It was only thirty or so minutes since Luna had contacted them, after all, and logically (assuming there was a logical molecule in Usagi's head) it would take at least that amount of time for the others to reach Tokyo Tower, where they had told Sailor Moon and Star Fighter they would meet them.
But there was something else....
Something in Luna's voice.... Sailor Moon thought uneasily, her eyes continuing to wander the deserted roads around them in search of the Tsumetai. Something that makes me think that something's happened....again....
Sighing quietly, the blonde moonchild turned to look at her companion. Fighter was only a half-step away, watching the streets the same way she was; why was it that the Star Senshi didn't appear as worried as she felt? It was frustrating, really, and Sailor Moon was beginning to wonder.
"Ne, Fighter?"
"Hm?"
"....aren't you worried?"
Fighter turned toward her and smiled slightly, her dark eyes clouded. "Of course I am."
"But-"
"I'm not freaking out?"
"Well...."
"Hai, hai." A weak chuckle, "I trust Taiki and Yaten." She paused and then corrected herself with a half-grin; "well, I trust Taiki, anyway. Taiki'll get them all here alright." She frowned, then; "Yaten might snap and blow up half the city if someone annoys him, though...."
Sailor Moon had to giggle, and Fighter smiled again. "Arigato, Fighter."
"No problem."
Turning back to the streets, the two of them again dissolved into their own personal sets of worries; Sailor Moon about the well being of everyone, her heart already broken at the loss of so many friends, and Fighter about her Starlight sisters. Okay, so they weren't actually SISTERS, just like when they were in their Earthian civilian forms they weren't actually brothers....but that didn't mean she worried about them any less. No, they had been together- fighting side by side- for far too long.
And damn it, I care way too much about them now.
It was annoying at times....
"Maker-san!" Sailor Moon's voice called, suddenly, excitedly, "Healer-san! Luna! Hotaru-chan!"
"Usagi-san...." Saturn panted, slowing to a stop only a foot away from her senshi elder; "are you and Fighter-? You're okay." She took a handful of deep breaths and looked down as Luna tugged at her boot. Picking the cat up, she glanced back over her shoulder at the two Starlights whom were just behind her.
"....." Fighter followed the young soldier's gaze. Something in Maker's eyes....something happened. But....what could have...? She was trying to think of a way to phrase the question when Sailor Moon spoke again.
"Saturn, Luna....where's Ami-chan?"
Silence.
And in that silence, Fighter could already tell what they were going to say. Sailor Moon, however, didn't seem to understand at all. Either that, or she didn't want to accept it. Frantically, she looked back at Healer and Maker.
"Healer-san, Maker-san...."
Without a word, Healer looked toward Maker. The brunette Starlight took a breath and barely met Sailor Moon's eyes before shaking her head shortly. Behind the calm and composed mask that she was wearing, Fighter could see a deep and painful void of grief....
A gasp from the blonde and Sailor Moon's hands were covering her mouth, "oh, no...."
"Gomen ne, Serenity-sama," Saturn looked down, blinking away tears; "I'm sorry. There was nothing we could do."
"No....Ami-chan...." tears welled, and the moonchild closed her eyes tightly. After a moment, she opened them again, and Fighter was shocked to see a flatness that she didn't like in her Odango's normally sparkling blue orbs. She swallowed thickly and took a deep breath, then; "Maker, what have you figured out?"
"U-sagi-chan...." Luna said slowly, "are....you alright?"
"Hai."
Flat. Nothing.
Odango.... Concerned, Fighter reached out to gently squeeze her hand. "Odango?"
"I'm....fine...."
"No you're not."
"Hai. I am."
Sighing, Fighter looked at her closely. "Odango, you're-"
"I'm fine!" Pulling away from her, Sailor Moon glared with tear-filled eyes, and although Fighter wasn't happy to see her crying, there was emotion there. The flatness had been frightening, to say the least. "Fighter, I'm fine. I just....I lost another....another friend. My best friend, this time, and...." her sentence was cut off when her throat constricted, and she shook her head before turning back to Maker again. "Maker-san, please, what have you found?"
Maker, who was in just as much pain as Sailor Moon but refused to admit it, cleared her throat. "Merc- uh, we managed to track down the Oscuridad; it's concealing itself behind the layer of smoke and ash that is currently covering the lower atmosphere."
"The Oscuridad...."
"Hai." The tallest of the Starlights nodded grimly. "So we know where it is. Do we know what we have to do, though?"
"Destroy it." Luna replied immediately, whiskers twitching.
"....but, is it even that simple?" Healer, who had until then been silent, asked. "What happens after the Oscuridad is gone? The Earth is still finished, barren, and everyone we....care about...." she paused, reaching up to again brush her fingers against the bandaging on her neck and no doubt thinking of the blonde girl that had died in her arms, "....everyone is dead." She looked around at them; "yes, I agree with you that the Oscuridad must be destroyed, but what then?"
Is it possible for Odango to look any sadder? Fighter wondered silently, her eyes drifting from Sailor Moon to Saturn and Luna, neither of whom looked much better than their princess. But....they have nothing....no one to return to once this if over with. All their friends, their families, their homes....are gone. We're fighting alongside them, but....we can go home when this is all over....
Sailor Moon looked down, "what CAN we do?" Holding her hands around the center of her bow, she mentally called the Ginzuishou from her brooch, closing her eyes as the energy and shine of the crystal came into view. "If I have any power left after the Oscuridad, I'll use it to give the Earth a new start...."
"Usagi-chan!" Luna gasped, "you can't!"
"Serenity-sama," Saturn shook her head violently, dark locks of hair flying, "if you use the Ginzuishou....if you use that much of it's energy....it'll kill you! You can't or you'll die! You know that...." trailing off, she carefully set Luna down and straightened to meet Sailor Moon's eyes. "No. As a member of the Outer Solar System, I cannot allow you to-"
"What other way is there?" Sailor Moon interrupted sadly, "besides the Ginzuishou?"
"Unfortunately...." Maker said slowly, "that was the only way I could come up with as well...."
"No." Saturn repeated.
Behind Maker, Healer snorted. "She's as stubborn as I am."
"No?" Maker echoed softly, "there is no other way, Saturn."
But the younger senshi shook her head, looking down. "There is."
"Nani?" Sailor Moon blinked, a surprised reaction that Star Maker shared. "Hotaru-chan...?"
"Hai, there is." Reaching one arm upward, Saturn called her glaive. Closing her fingers around the thin handle of the staff of death, she brought it toward herself, shutting her eyes for a short moment before looking at Sailor Moon again. "There's me."
Luna's red eyes were wide. "Saturn...."
"Hotaru-chan!" Sailor Moon exclaimed, still holding the Ginzuishou in her outstretched hands, "you know what your powers will do!"
"I do." The girl agreed, "the power of death is a double-edged sword. I will die as well. But-" she paused as Sailor Moon opened her mouth to object, and held up a hand to stave off the worried moonchild's words. "I also know what using the Ginzuishou will do to you."
"But-"
"Usagi-san...." Saturn uttered a sad sigh, turning luminescent violet eyes to the darkened sky. "Death is my gift, and it is my curse. This is a burden I have had to bear for as long as I can remember....and it is something I knew I would have to face, some day, as I have in so many lifetimes before this one."
"Hotaru, you-"
"Gomen nasai, Serenity-sama, but in my position of Sailor Saturn, I cannot allow you to use the Ginzuishou. I cannot allow you to die." Another shake of her head, "not when there is another way."
Luna turned to Sailor Moon, "despite my feelings against losing another loved one," the cat said softly, "I....have to agree with what Saturn is saying. Hotaru-chan is....a very brave young woman....but you, Usagi-chan, of all people, know how strong the will of the Outer Senshi is when it comes to defending their princess."
"But, I...."
"Now," the little soldier grasped her glaive and gave Sailor Moon a sad smile. "Please, Serenity-sama, use the Ginzuishou....not to destroy the Oscuridad, but to send me into the past." Looking up again, she took on a determined stance. "If I destroy it then, Usagi-san....if the Oscuridad is stopped in the past, then none of this-" she glanced around at the wreckage that had once been Tokyo, "-will ever happen. Life will go on....and everyone else....Minako-san....Ami-san....Setsuna-mama.....Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa....they will all still be....alive...."
There was a long silence as everyone digested what the young-but-wise girl was saying; Fighter continued to watch Sailor Moon worriedly. Yes, this seemed to be the only way- the only answer that wouldn't involve losing the Moon Princess- and it was also a solution that would save the world from the devastation it had already suffered. The Earth would live, and humans would continue on as if nothing had happened. The sailor senshi would never suffer the horrible deaths they had....
"Why are you all looking so sad?" Saturn's voice cut through the ominous quiet, trying to comfort them. "Doujobu, honto ni."
"But...."
"How?" Healer asked bitterly, "how is it all alright?"
"There's hope."
"Hope...."
"Hai." Nodding, the senshi of destruction turned to Sailor Moon one final time. "Onegai, Serenity-sama. Please, use the Ginzuishou." A soft smile, "and believe that everything will be fine. Believe, Serenity-sama. It's all any of us can do right now."
Tears, which had been threatening to spill from Sailor Moon's eyes for some time, began to stream down her face. Blinking them back, she nodded, a barely-visible motion, and held the Ginzuishou out in front of herself.
"Hotaru-chan...."
Saturn looked down, "hai, Luna?"
"Arigato. Good luck."
A soft smile from the girl. "Sayonara, Luna."
"Sayonara...." the cat looked down, then; "Usagi-chan, no-"
"How sweet." A familiar voice chuckled, interrupting. "My little daughter plans to sacrifice herself to defeat us." And as the remaining senshi of Light whirled to face the Tsumetai, Sailor Neptune continued; "I never thought I'd live to see this, not that I didn't wish to. I mean really," she laughed again, "the smallest Sailor Senshi going out in a blaze of glory?"
"To be honest," Jupiter commented from where she was standing, a few feet away, "I find it rather cliche."
"Do you?" Mars asked, smirking. "Cliche or not, she intends to die."
"You...." Healer snarled, her hand clutching her locket tightly.
"Yes," another voice said, brightly and at the same time menacingly as the senshi of Mercury stepped into view, followed by Pluto, "us."
Maker gasped, "Ami!"
"Ami-chan!" Sailor Moon shook her head, "no...."
"What?" Mercury asked, tipping her head to the side, "you didn't expect to see me, Usagi? I wouldn't miss Little Saturn's sacrifice for anything. You know how I love to see new things...."
"And," Mars added, "since she means to die in any case, we thought we'd give her a hand."
Growling softly, Saturn held her glaive in a defensive position, placing herself between Sailor Moon and the Tsumetai. There was only a split second before Fighter was doing the same, and Healer and Maker readied themselves as well.
"What, Hotaru, dear?" Pluto wondered, smiling at her 'daughter'. "You don't want your Michiru-mama and I to be here for your death? Ah, well, I suppose we can't do anything to change that. But that glare is most certainly annoying, so I suppose I'll just get on with it." Brandishing the Garnet Rod, she pointed it toward Saturn. "DEAD-"
"SILENT-"
"-SCREAM!"
"-WALL!" Throwing her glaive into the air, Saturn grimaced, "uh....U-sagi-san...."
"SILVER MOON! CRYSTAL POWER-"
"FIRE SOUL!"
"Ahh!" Jumping to the side, Sailor Moon managed to scramble behind Saturn's Silent Wall just in time to avoid Mars' attack, and leaving her own attack unfinished. Still clutching the Tier, she spun back around, "SILVER MOON-"
"SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!"
"DEEP SUBMERGE!"
"-CRYSTAL POWER KISS!"
The power of Eternal Sailor Moon, while awe-inspiring, was not enough to combat the two combined attacks. Not with only one attack of her own to block them both, anyway, and she was again forced to leap out of the way.
"Itai!" Wincing when she hit the ground and rolled, she clanced over her shoulder just in time for another attack to stream toward her. This one, coming from Mars, was of course fire-related, and the fire caught her wings, singing them as she dove forward. "Ahhh!"
"Sailor Moon!"
"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!"
"STAR SERIOUS LASER!"
Fighter's attack collided with Mercury's, creating a blinding flash of light and driving the senshi of thunder back as the raven-haired Starlight made a run for Sailor Moon's side. Snarling, Mercury lunged for her-
"STAR GENTLE UTERUS!"
Driven back once again, Mercury cursed loudly. "Shimatta! Kisama!"
Maker faced her down silently but determinedly, and the two were still for a time....
"Ah!"
A gasp from Saturn made the remaining Light senshi turn toward her; the younger senshi was struggling to fight off both Neptune and Pluto at the same time, and wasn't having very much luck. She only HAD one attack, after all, and if she used it, everything would be over for the world....
"DEEP SUBMERGE!"
"Hotaru-chan!" Luna shouted, "abunai!"
Tripping in her haste to escape the attack, Saturn landed hard on her side. Her glaive skittered out of her hand, stopping a few feet away, and she quickly pushed herself up, scrambling to re-claim it. Her hand clamped onto the weapon just in time for her to jump out of the way yet again. This time she landed a bit more gracefully, rolling, and was on her feet again, glaive ready in a short second.
"She thinks she can stop us?" A voice called from the roof of a nearby building, and a blur of black jumped down to land in front of Saturn. Flicking out his staff, Tuxedo Mask raised it, preparing to strike the senshi of destruction down.
"Sailor Moon! Now!" Luna commanded, her voice carrying across the battlefield, wavering with emotion, "the Ginzuishou! Use the Ginzuishou, now! Saturn must be sent to the past!"
"....h-hai!" Quickly calling the crystal out again, Sailor Moon held it into the air; "Ginzuishou! Please! For the Earth! For this world, and our future! Send Sailor Saturn back to combat the Oscuridad! To destroy it before it can destroy us! Ginzuishou, please! Now! NOW-!"
A flash of light sounded from the crystal, which hummed with power.
"Saturn!" Sailor Moon called to the smaller senshi, "good luck! Hotaru-chan!"
Saturn smiled sadly, "arigato, Serenity-sama. Sayonara...." Closing her eyes, she could feel the power of the Ginzuishou pull her through time and space....and when she opened them again, she was no longer standing near the other senshi, or the Tsumetai.
A barren, rocky landscape.
Shadowed crags and sharp jutting rocks.
The aura of evil was overwhelming, and she shivered.
The Oscuridad....I'm on the Oscuridad....
Far below, past the clouds and the blue of the sky, she could see the Earth.
Blue, bright....
Alive....
Alive....
And the Oscuridad was very quickly traveling toward it.
It won't be alive for long, if I don't do what I came here for.... Allowing herself a single moment to cherish the sight of the thriving Earth below, Saturn raised her glaive. Onegai....please, please....Kami-sama....let this work....
Steeling herself, she began; "SILENCE-"
And at that moment, in the Tokyo she had left behind, Sailor Star Healer stiffened, her empathy warning her that something was going to happen. She was about to spin toward Sailor Moon, a warning caught in her throat, but was interrupted by a savage kick from Mars.
Stopping, she raised her locket, an angry flash in her emerald eyes.
"-GLAIVE-"
"Sailor Moon! Watch it!" Shoving the blonde out of the way, Fighter rolled after her as Tuxedo Mask's staff slammed into the ground where she had been only seconds before. Scrambling up, Fighter glared at the former-guardian of Earth. "Bastard...."
Tuxedo Mask chuckled, "such harsh words," and leapt forward, swinging his cane downward-
"Fighter!" Sailor Moon shrieked. "Abunai!"
Caught off-guard, Fighter couldn't get out of the way in time, and winced, preparing herself for the impact; but, much to her surprise (and apparently Tuxedo Mask's as well, by the look on his face), the masked man's staff vanished only seconds before it could collide with Fighter's unprepared form.
"Nani-?!"
And very shortly after that, Tuxedo Mask himself began to fade away, followed by the rest of the Tsumetai....Jupiter....Neptune....Pluto....Mars....and Mercury....they vanished even as the senshi watched in shock.
"What's going on here?!" Sailor Moon wailed.
"Saturn!" Luna responded, "she must be-"
"-SURPRISE!"
Across the barrier of time, Saturn's glaive lowered to the ground, tipping the scale between life and death, and delivering the attack that only she had the power to possess. In a shower of sparks and a flash of intense light, the Oscuridad was reduced to tiny shreds of what it had been, which showered through the atmosphere as falling stars to burn up upon entry.
Sayonara....
A vague shimmering could be seen as Saturn's spirit escaped through space, heading for the planet it called home....
But for those in the Darkened Tokyo, things didn't pass quite that quickly; the Tsumetai were gone, and as the Starlights, Sailor Moon and Luna watched, the city also began to disappear....buildings first, then the surrounding streets....
"Ah! Fighter! Maker!"
Spinning to face Healer, the others were horrified to see her begin to vanish, too.
"Healer-san!"
Eyes wide, Healer looked around herself; "Saturn's done it!" She cried, "she's done it!" Much to everyone's surprise, she smiled. "She was right....there is hope, after all....for a new world and a second chance...."
"Healer-san...." Sailor Moon repeated, softer, "sayonara...." turning to Fighter, she tried to give a brave smile; around them, Luna and Star Maker were almost gone, turned ghostly as the dimension reverted to what it should have been. "Fighter, I...."
"Odango-"
"....you know that I...."
"I know....and I...."
"....I know...." tears glistening in her eyes, Sailor Moon reached out and pulled Fighter toward her, hugging the Star Senshi tightly. "I'm sorry....things won't be the same....Mamoru will be....and...."
"It's alright...."
"....but...."
Smiling, Fighter tipped the moonchild's head up. "I understand."
"But I really do...."
"I love you, too...."
And then there was nothing.
__________
Me: Oi, oi! ^^ One more chapter! Anyway, sorry I haven't updated a lot lately. Have you ever
worked two jobs and had a brother who (though he's good for brainstorming and coming up with
kick-butt ideas) is obsessed with MSN and won't get off the dang computer? _ Yeah. Well,
anyway, review my dear readers, and tell me what you think! One more chapter to go!
Seriously, though, when you read the next chapter, bear with it until a few paragraphs in....you'll see what I mean when it comes out....^^;; Ja!