Endymion stood with the limp goddess in his arms, and hurried toward the lake. He walked waist high in, and wet her with water. He moistened her lips, trying to get her to drink something.

"What's happening, Goddess?"

All his reflections watched him. One laughed, while many more looked terribly concerned. Most of his reflections were trying to talk to him, tell him what to do. The wind picked up and whispered to him.

"Lprrty."

Choose. He looked at his reflections. Was he to choose one of his reflections? Could one of them save her? The laughing one looked tempting in it's dark glory, it looked powerful, but he did not trust it. The man in the green jacket looked too ordinary, while the man in the purple looked too extraordinary. The man in the tuxedo seemed able to do something, but then his eyes fell on another reflection. His real reflection.

The goddess' whisper echoed in his mind. "Guhy dylxrat." Fate beckons.

He pointed to his real reflection. "M lprrty ire."

The lake swirled into a giant whirlpool, sucking the rejected reflections under it's depths. The chosen reflections shimmered, and came upwards in a wave. It swallowed him up, the goddess slipped from his arms.

There was water everywhere. It filled his ears, rushing past, humming. It told him things he knew not about himself, it told him what his fate could be now. His breath started to run low, and his head felt light, just as the water slipped away.

He searched frantically for the goddess. She was not on the shore, so he dove under. He searched the bottom, bit by bit, praying for her to be there. He surfaced for air and the lake moved again. Water bent in, then pushed upwards a body. The goddess. He wrapped her tightly in his arms. Her face was white, her eyes still closed. Her lips were slightly parted.

"Juxy ew," he said to her. He moved her long silver hair away from her face. "Juxy ew, Serenity."

He tilted her chin with his thumb, and dipped his head down. He met her cold lips and breathed into her. It was a one-sided kiss, but it served it's purpose. Slowly, slowly, she started to breath again. She took one deep breath and the trees swayed. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, dazed.

"You've chosen," she said. "You answered fate."

He nodded. "I've chosen who I was, and who I am now."

The Goddess turned and looked at her many reflections, and his one. Only one of her reflections paid his any mind. Who she really was. The princess. She slipped out of his arms and pointed to that one reflection. Fate held it's breath. The world silenced itself, waiting for her decision.

"M lprrty ire."

Sound erupted from everywhere. Magic sprang forth, the lake swirled and crashed. She closed her eyes and held her arms out, accepting fate. The wave crashed over her, cleansing her spirit. When it subsided she was no longer the Goddess. Her hair was in two buns, each streaming down into the water. On her forehead the crescent moon burned brightly. Her dress had no sleeves, and on her wrists were bracelets.

"Princess Serenity," Endymion breathed. He held his hand out to her and she took it.
"Fate has arrived," she said to him. A single tear fell from her eye.

"What? What is it?"

"I know what our fate is, dear Prince." She hugged his chest, burying her face into the cloth. "Just hold me now because this will not last long."

Endymion did hold her, though he was frightened. She cried softly into him and he kissed the top of her head.

"How touching." A cackle arose from the darkness of the forest. Beryl appeared and she did not look like herself. Her dress was tattered, her hair was knotted. Her face was cut, blood dripped slowly from it.

Serenity pulled herself from Endymion's chest and furrowed her brow in anger.

"You hag," she hissed. "You want to steal from me the only thing I love."

"Love is for idiots. Power is all that matters." Darkness gathered around Beryl and grew. She laughed as the sun set, and night settled. "It is night!" Beryl yelled. "The time of darkness!"

Again nature chose sides, and it was very much the same as before. The lake shimmered beneath Serenity and Endymion.

"But you are wrong!" Serenity yelled. Her eyes were once again silver. "For in the night, there is the Moon. And forever it shall shine!"

A cloud moved away and a full moon shone down upon the lake. Serenity bathed in it's light, which was doubled in the water. She knew her fate was meeting her. She and Endymion would die at Beryl's hands, but it was not useless for Beryl would perish as well.

Magic gathered around her, ready to be fired. Serenity held her hands out and was surprised when she felt the weight of a wand there. She gasped. The silver crystal was in her power.

"Fate is never written in stone. Change yours," her mother's voice came from the moonlight.

Now the magic was stronger than she'd ever controlled before, and she struggled to keep it in front of the wand. But it grew as did Beryl's fear. Endymion watched and felt something change. It felt as if his life were lengthening. Visions of the future flashed behind his eyes. He saw a pink haired little girl. He saw the Earthen Palace, and the Moon Palace. He saw Queen Selenity smiling, but it was not Queen Selenity. It was Serenity dressed as a Queen. His queen.

The magic fired from the wand and engulfed Beryl. She screamed as she slowly was ripped away from the Earth. Her soul twisted and writhered into nothingness, and her body was turned to ash.

When the light cleared only two were left. Serenity turned to Endymion and threw her arms around his neck.

"We won!" she said into his collar. "We won!" She pulled herself back and looked at his lips. She studied his eyes and found reassurance. Then she kissed him.

And fate took a new turn.

Author's Note: Okay, so it doesn't exactly live up to chapter three, but then again that was good. (Even I was impressed. And it takes a lot from me to impress me.) Please review for me. I'd appreciate it. Do I need an epilogue to tie up loose strings? I'm not sure.

Until the next time,

Ai No Senshi