Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is copyright © 1992 Naoko Takeuchi / Kodansha, TOEI
Animation. English Language Adaptation © 1995 DiC Entertainment. I'm just
borrowing the characters and dialogue for a bit.
Narrated by the Senshi of Silence herself,
I Could Only Watch
By Ceila
Part 5 - Sacrifice and Promises
Rated PG, Just in case
****************************
Hotaru stared at me, eyes clouded with confusion, as she tried to process what I had just said. "I don't understand, you are who I'm supposed to be?"
"In a way yes," I said while trying to think of an easy way of explaining this situation. How do you tell a girl who has always been weak and sickly that she's to become one of the strongest women in the universe?
"So who are you?"
"I am the soldier of revolution, Sailor Saturn."
She tilted her head to the right and then to the left and finally shook her head. "I'm, no, I'm not going to be a Senshi, I'm too weak."
"You are only weak because you do not have the faith in yourself or the will to believe that I exist. Weakness is only weakness when you believe in it."
"But I'm Hotaru, how can I be you too?"
I stood up and moved in front of Hotaru. I called out my glaive and pointed it directly at her forehead where the Saturn symbol should have been. Her violet eyes grew huge and she tried to back away from me. I frowned in annoyance.
"I will not hurt you," I said as I moved the glaive to gently touch her skin. "Remember." The whispered word filled our small room and slowly Hotaru's eyes closed and I let her share in the memories I had of the past and the present. A few moments later I stepped back and let my glaive vanish. Hotaru opened her eyes and looked at me again.
"You are what I am supposed to be," she said in a voice filled with disbelief. "Is this magic?"
"Yes." I sat down next to her and tried my best to explain. "The spirit of a Senshi never dies, it is only reborn again and again, so that it may always be able to protect those in danger. In a way I am the living representative of Saturn's spirit because I am not a person, and not a Senshi, just Saturn. It is only if you accept that I am real and believe that you are as strong as the both of us combined that I, we, can live as one."
Hotaru nodded her head in understanding but her eyes still held a slightly vacant look. "Does that mean I'm dead?"
"No we are not dead. We are possessed by the Messiah now. She believes that she has control of both of us. That is her mistake and it is what we will use to stop her."
"We?"
"Yes. We need to work together or she has already won," I said as my hands picked at the hem of my skirt.
"Are you nervous?" asked Hotaru as a smile touched her face and made her eyes dance with an inner light.
"Why do you ask?"
"You're picking at your skirt. I always do that when I'm nervous."
"Oh," I felt a blush heat my cheeks as I quickly folded my hands together. "I'm not used to having people notice my habits."
"Maybe you picked it up from me?"
"Or you got it from me."
We giggled at one another's discomfort and suddenly the tension melted away as we took a good look at one another. Of course I knew what Hotaru looked like, I watched her grow up, but she was infinitely curious about me. Her eyes roamed over my figure taking in everything from my hair to the heels of my boots.
"You look just like me. How is that possible?" Hotaru asked as she studied her own hands.
"The spirit of the Senshi is molded to look like the person chosen to become the next guardian. I look this way because you do."
"It's just weird. It's like looking in a mirror that changes your clothes."
Our conversation came to a halt as the window in front of us lit up again. The picture was all shadows as if the messiah hadn't opened her eyes all the way yet. Sounds started filtering in, voices, bells, and laughter mixed to create a deafening wave of sound. Hotaru and I both covered our ears and cringed. I could hear our father's laughter in the background as the rest of the noise faded away.
"Everyone just made it," his voice was calm as he spoke, too calm.
"Is that papa speaking? Who's everyone?" asked Hotaru as she squinted to try and see better.
"Just wait and watch, it's all we can do now," I said as I sat down.
"Sailor Chibi Moon!" screamed a voice I recognized as Sailor Moon.
"Kaolinite!" the professor yelled.
"Yes," was her throaty reply and I could just imagine her flipping her long red hair over her shoulder. "The Messiah of Silence will awaken shortly with the energy from Chibiusa's pure heart!"
"No!" screamed Hotaru as she jumped up and ran to the window.
"...pure heart..." echoed through our mind as the messiah opened her eyes a bit more.
Hotaru gasped and I shook my head as the scene before us was revealed. In the dim light I could see the Sailor Senshi at the far side of the room. Our father was standing between them and a pink haired Senshi that must have been Chibi Moon. She was laid out like a sacrifice on a stone alter surrounded by ropes with bells. Her body was motionless accept for the gentle rising and falling of her chest.
"Chibiusa!" cried Sailor Moon as she tried to run to the smaller girl. She was met with a barrier of electricity, similar to the one that surrounded the walls of our home and was thrown back towards the other Senshi.
"Chibiusa?" said Hotaru as she looked down at the pink haired Senshi. "Is that really Chibiusa?"
I sat in silence watching the scene play out before me. I was berating myself for not seeing this sooner. Her heart was so full of energy and love, of course she was a Senshi, but she was more than just a Senshi. "Yes that is Chibiusa," I whispered.
"Our great Messiah of Silence," pronounced Tomoe as lights flooded over our body revealing us to the Senshi. We were slumped to the side of a throne surrounded by stuffed animals. The Senshi probably thought we were sleeping.
Hotaru and I watched in stunned silence as a black aura came up around our body and formed the shape of a hand and a spindly arm. It reached down towards Chibiusa's body and first wrapped itself around her and then plunged into her chest just below her broach. Hotaru had tears in her eyes as our friend's screams filled the chamber.
"Stop it! Stop it!" sobbed Sailor Moon as she cried in frustration. "Chibi Moon!"
"Hotaru..." came the dry voice of Chibiusa as she fought the magic of the Messiah. "I'm glad to see you..."
"Chibiusa." Hotaru replied as she reached out to try and touch her friend.
"Hotaru please," I said as I held her hand in my gloved one. "It'll be ok you'll see."
She looked at me with her eyes, years of sadness were reflected there, mirrors of my own. "How?" She didn't believe me.
"Have faith, believe in yourself, and believe in the Senshi. We will overcome this evil. Good always wins right?"
She nodded her head in silent agreement but her eyes reflected her doubts. I just hoped I wasn't leading her to false hopes of happiness. As the hand started retracting Chibiusa's body fell motionless and silent back to the alter and a shining pure heart crystal shone from it's grip.
"It's beautiful! The quality of the pure heart is suitable for the Messiah," laughed the man I had known as a father.
"No!" called the deep voice of Uranus. "If Saturn awakens, it'll be the end of the world!"
Hotaru looked to me then and I looked out across the room unwilling to believe the words that had just come from my fellow Senshi. That was why they feared me? This lie was why they acted as if I were the enemy? They believed that I was the end of the world and I was unable to contradict them.
"Saturn is that true?" asked Hotaru as she looked to me with questioning eyes. "Do you bring the end of the world?"
"It is one of my powers," I whispered, "but it is not one that I would ever choose to use. Unless nothing else had worked. It is a last resort that I fear may be the only choice some day."
"Then why do they believe that?"
"Do you remember what I showed you of the destruction of the moon?"
"Yes but."
"I believe their memories were harmed during their rebirth. The Senshi I knew on the moon knew the truth behind my powers."
"Hotaru, stop it!" pleaded Sailor Moon as the Messiah brought the crystal closer to our body.
"I'm not doing anything! That's not me!"
"They can't hear you Hotaru. We can only watch now."
"If you're really Hotaru's poppa, if you really love Hotaru... Please!" Sailor Moon inched closer to our father as she begged for mercy.
"Love? What is that?" he replied and then laughed in his insane way as the messiah used our body to swallow Chibiusa's heart crystal.
Immediately our body began to change. Our arms and legs became longer and our hair grew longer and darker in a wave of ebony. The purple highlights that we loved were gone now. The messiah's hair wrapped our body in a cocoon and then peeled away again revealing a low cut, floor length, black satin dress. The same one the messiah had been wearing when she visited me. I could only guess that her eyes were now black and a black star was resting under her bangs.
"It can't be!" shouted Uranus as if she wasn't seeing properly.
"That's not Sailor Saturn!" echoed Neptune as she too looked on in amazement.
"What?" chorused the rest of the Senshi as they looked to the Senshi of the outer planets.
"Well it's nice to know that some of my fellow Senshi don't think I'm the bringer of the silence," I muttered more to myself than to Hotaru who was quickly going into a state of shock.
"I'm the Messiah of Silence," her voice was smoother now. The hissing was gone giving her a seductive quality of voice. "Mistress Nine."
"She's a Death Buster!" said Mercury as she noted the star on our forehead. "The enemy attacked Hotaru and she became a Death Buster!"
"At least Mercury knows what's going on. Since when did the inner Senshi become a better team than the outers?" I was pacing now and Hotaru was passed out on the floor of our cell.
"We've won!" Kaolinite cried as she turned to the professor with her seductive smile.
"Thank you for your hard work Kaolinite," said Professor Tomoe as he moved closer to the Messiah.
"I am so glad to hear that, professor..."
Kaolinite's sentence was cut off as a blast of power from Mistress Nine thew her body into the electrified barrier surrounding Chibiusa's alter. I watched in horror as her body disintegrated into nothing but dust. I hated the woman but I never wanted her dead!
"Kaolinite's use is over," said Mistress Nine as she turned to what was left of our father. "Let's prepare for the next step."
"Yes!" he replied, and in that instant both of us were wrapped in her power and transported away from the labs under our home.
I looked from the black window in front of me to the sleeping form of Hotaru on the floor. I started pacing as I thought of my options. Hotaru and I would need to be strong together in order to defeat Mistress Nine. Hotaru was always weak and even here, where the limitations of her body didn't matter, she was still weak. Would she have what it takes to help me defeat the darkness?
* * *
Mistress Nine stood facing a clear cylinder connected to a machine that looked vaguely like a street light. Several hours had passed since she had taken control of Hotaru's body and destroyed Kaolinite. We were in the new home of the Death Busters and the thought that I was helpless to stop any of this from happening was setting in.
"Everything is ready," said Professor Tomoe as he moved from one machine to another. "The only thing left is for you to put the Sacred Cup in to activate it. Then the dark rays will shine from the Tausaikei."
"Tausaikei?" I said aloud as I tested the word on my tong. "It sounds alien."
"The Tausaikei rays will call and guide our great master, Pharaoh 90, to the source. The destruction of the world will begin with the appearance of Pharaoh 90...and the entire world will be covered in Silence."
With this he began to laugh in that hysterical way evil doers seem to master. Every villain I had ever fought had a laugh that ranged from mildly annoying to nails on a chalkboard. I covered my ears and cursed the fact that I could not faint into the silent oblivion of unconsciousness like Hotaru.
"The faulty Light Age will end..." a laugh and a glance at Mistress Nine did not even stop his tirade. "...and the true Dark Age will begin!"
Mistress Nine turned away from the machines and Professor Tomoe's display of evil ego and raised her face to the ceiling of the room. Her eyes closed and my room went dark. I felt her power moving away from her body and out into the city. She was searching for something.
"The Sacred Cup is coming," she murmured as she opened her eyes again.
"Sacred Cup?" asked Professor Tomoe. His tone implied disbelief.
"They're making it easy for us by bringing it."
"How convenient!"
"But I can't allow them in our nest until we establish ourselves."
Once again Mistress Nine closed her eyes and I felt her power extending from our body. A hazy red picture of Mugen High was visible and I watched as a dome shaped barrier formed around it. How were the scouts going to get through and stop these lunatics? Her eyes opened again to reveal Professor Tomoe watching us with guarded impatience.
"Sacred cup?" I repeated as the proverbial light went on in my brain. They wanted the Princess's holy grail! "If the Sacred Cup is coming to them then." The Senshi were coming here, to the very heart of the death busters, in what would surely turn out to be the final battle.
"Mugen High is now protected by dark energy and has become the Omega zone," said Mistress Nine as her voice filled the small room. "No one can enter into our purest place."
* * *
I sat down as the realization dawned on me that our father had been working for, and with, this evil woman from the very start. Mugen High was located in the Omega district. The schools name also meant Infinity. Student Uniforms were decorated with a black star, the symbol of the Death Busters. The clues had been there all along! "Serenity preserve us," I whispered as I looked to Hotaru's unconscious body. "If Hotaru doesn't accept me Saturn can not awaken in this world. I won't be able to stop them." I bowed my head in defeat. "Princess be strong for I can not assist you."
"It's time to get the Sacred Cup," Mistress Nine purred as she closed her eyes once again.
The haunting images that were the thoughts of Mistress Nine played out before me. A portal formed above the Senshi and another energy hand reached out and grabbed Sailor Moon by her throat. I watched as Mistress Nine half strangled my princess as she was pulled through to this evil dimension and deposited on the floor of a dark room. I wanted to cry.
A moan sounded from the floor of my room as Hotaru fought against whatever dreams plagued her. "Hotaru can you hear me?" I asked her as I held one of her hands in my own. A faint pressure was the only reply. "Hotaru I'm going to try something so work with me here." I closed my eyes and concentrated on finding Hotaru's conscious mind where ever it had fled to. Before I could start I felt time itself waver and stop.
"The soldiers from the outer solar system stopped time, remarkable!" exclaimed Mistress Nine as she turned to the machines once again.
"No," I whispered as a tear trickled down my cheek. I knew the cost Pluto had paid for her breech of the rules. "Come on Hotaru we have to fight." I placed a hand on each of Hotaru's temples and let my aura flow into her mind.
"But the Messiah of Silence is much greater!" crowed Professor Tomoe. His voice filled both of our minds.
"Hotaru can you hear me?" a glimmer of light caught my attention and I drew closer to it. "Hotaru you need to fight."
"It's the result from receiving Chibiusa's pure heart," echoed Mistress Nine.
"Their using you for evil Hotaru! They used you to kill Chibiusa. They used you to hurt the Senshi, and now their making you use Chibiusa's pure heart to destroy this very world!"
I sent my energies to the light that I knew was Hotaru and I felt her growing stronger. The light started getting closer and I backed off as Hotaru's consciousness came back to her. I backed out of Hotaru's mind and returned to my own body. Hotaru's body was glowing with a white light.
Mistress Nine closed her eyes and I could feel the energies clashing as Hotaru fought to gain back control of her own body. "I'm using the pure heart...for wrong..." she managed to get out before her aura faded back into her body and she was laying silently beside me once more.
"Something wrong?" asked the Professor as the obviously shaken Mistress Nine ran a hand over her face.
"Nothing!" she bit back at him. "I'm going to get the Sacred Cup. I order you to dispose of the two Sailor Senshi."
I blinked in surprise, two Sailor Senshi? Which two had been able to enter their lair? Mistress Nine had placed a barrier around the school and without all of the Senshi they couldn't teleport.
"Me?" Professor Tomoe looked stunned for the first time I could remember.
"Use the dolls that you made," was Mistress Nine's curt reply as she dismissed him. "Go, daimon Gerumatou!"
"Yes!" He hastily answered as he vanished from our sight.
* * *
Hotaru was asleep on the floor and I was pacing back and forth waiting for her to regain consciousness. Somehow I knew that Hotaru would not be waking up again but I didn't want to give up on her just yet. There had to be a way for me to work with Hotaru to take control of her body away from Mistress Nine. If only Hotaru would accept her destiny and believe that she was capable of being strong, then we would have a chance.
I felt more than heard Mistress Nine laughing at me before she appeared next to our cell. Her appearance had changed. Her body was that of Hotaru and she was wearing the Mugen uniform that Hotaru had worn every day. Mistress Nine was a carbon copy of our body right down to the purple highlights in her hair. Only the dark eyes gave her away.
"Give up," her voice was eerily like our own. "The sacrifice of a pure heart has made me invincible and soon another sacrifice will seal this world's fate."
"I will never give up as long as Hotaru is still alive," I growled back at her as I stepped protectively in front of Hotaru's prone body.
"Ahh yes the host mind. She will not be around much longer."
"What do you mean?"
"Her mind must die before I can take complete control of this body. She will be the final sacrifice to my master Pharaoh 90."
"You'll have to kill me before you can get to her," the silence glaive appeared in my hand and I pointed it at her. "I will die before I let you have her. That's a promise!"
Her laughter filled our small room and assaulted my eardrums causing me to wince. "Senshi haven't you realized that her mind is already mine? I don't need to get to her." Her hand raised in a gesture towards Hotaru's sleeping form. "Because I'm already inside of her."
"No!" I shouted as laughter once again filled my ears as Mistress Nine vanished from my sight. "No Hotaru!" I dropped my glaive and placed my hands on Hotaru's head. "Hotaru come back to me." I sent my healing powers into her mind and once again began to look for her consciousness.
Before I could get very far light filled our room. Mistress Nine was ready to act and I had a vague idea of what she was after. A faint feeling of power alerted me to the princess before I heard her voice echo in the large room.
"Where's everybody?" she called as footsteps sounded on the tile. "Hotaru!" She ran to our body and her worried face was a welcomed sight. I continued to concentrate on my task.
"Sacred Cup..." whispered the disguised Mistress Nine.
"What about the Sacred Cup?"
"I heard if Super Sailor Moon shines the Sacred Cup in there..." she pointed to a room off to one side, "...the Darkness would disappear. Better hurry because the enemy could come anytime."
"Yes. Hotaru, I'm glad to see that you're all right."
"Hurry Usagi, for Chibiusa's sake! The Sacred Cup!" her pleading cry caused Sailor Moon to pause and step away from who she thought was Hotaru.
"Hotaru, how did you know I'm Tsukino Usagi?" asked Sailor Moon as she stepped even further away. "You're not Hotaru, are you?"
Mistress Nine stood up and her eyes grew darker as her powers began to concentrate around our body. "Hotaru," her voice purred as she shook her head. "Just the looks!" I felt her powers wrapping around us as her body aged into that of Mistress Nine and spread out to reveal the machines designed to bring Pharaoh 90 into this world.
"What happened to Hotaru?" Sailor Moon asked, shock evident in her voice.
"I dissolved her into me."
"That's a lie!" I screamed but of course only I heard it.
"I'm a Ichigensai Taikei that lives within Hotaru. I'm Mistress 9."
The sound of running feet disrupted their conversation as Uranus and Neptune flew into the room. "No you'll kill us before I can get to her!" Knowing that their mission was simply to stop this mad woman who possessed our body I found myself afraid of my friends for the first time. I renewed my efforts to find and heal Hotaru's mind.
"We've finally found you!" growled Uranus as she took her fighting stance.
"We'll destroy you this time!" echoed Neptune.
"Wait!" Cried Sailor Moon as she tried to get the attention of the outer Senshi. "Uranus, Neptune, No!"
Mistress Nine turned towards the machinery behind her that was pulsing with dark power and said, "Master Pharaoh 90, please wait a moment." before turning back to the Senshi.
That's when I felt her. Hotaru was fighting back! Her consciousness was moving towards mine and I reached out to her as best I could. "Hotaru you need to work with me. Believe in yourself, believe in me, and together we can stop the evil." Her eyes fluttered open and made contact with my own.
"I will be strong for you," she whispered.
"Together we can be even stronger," I replied squeezing her hand in assurance.
"Together.yes.Saturn."
"You are Saturn Hotaru. Without you I am noting but a memory." The walls around us began to crackle with energy and Hotaru winced in pain. Mistress Nine was trying to kill Hotaru completely!
"I am Saturn," whispered Hotaru as her own aura began to fight Mistress Nine.
"Yes," I replied as my own aura flared to life and the symbol of Saturn appeared on my brow.
"I'm sorry, Chibiusa."
"Hotaru!" I cried as her body began to disappear as it was consumed by Mistress Nine's power.
"I'm sorry," Hotaru whispered as her aura leapt from her body seconds before what was left of Hotaru's mind vanished.
"Hotaru," I said to the ball of white light in front of me.
It blinked once and then formed into an eight pointed crystal star. I watched as the star hovered before me and then moved until it was touching the center of the bow on my fuku. "Hotaru?" There was no sound as the star flared into a super nova of white light. When it cleared the star was fused to the bow of my fuku and I felt stronger than before.
"Finally, you're dead!" shouted Mistress Nine as three amazed Senshi looked on in surprise.
"Hotaru!" screamed Sailor Moon as she took a few steps toward Mistress Nine.
"Stop it! She's not Hotaru." Yelled Uranus as she delivered one of her threatening looks our way.
"Yes," Mistress Nine drawled, "Tomoe Hotaru has just died!"
I watched as Sailor Moon's eyes began to shine with tears and Uranus and Neptune shared a knowing glance. They would no longer hold back. Their mission was clear, destroy the evil, and right now that evil was me.
* * *
Author's Note: Ahh yes another cliff hanger. Only one part left, the final battle for Humanity. But what about Hotaru? Arriving in May 2003, Part 6 of I Could Only Watch, Death. Sounds so final doesn't it?
E-Mail the Author at k340029@excite.com
Catch sneak peeks of all my work, and other talented authors works, at Daydream - www.scribbles.0catch.com
Narrated by the Senshi of Silence herself,
I Could Only Watch
By Ceila
Part 5 - Sacrifice and Promises
Rated PG, Just in case
****************************
Hotaru stared at me, eyes clouded with confusion, as she tried to process what I had just said. "I don't understand, you are who I'm supposed to be?"
"In a way yes," I said while trying to think of an easy way of explaining this situation. How do you tell a girl who has always been weak and sickly that she's to become one of the strongest women in the universe?
"So who are you?"
"I am the soldier of revolution, Sailor Saturn."
She tilted her head to the right and then to the left and finally shook her head. "I'm, no, I'm not going to be a Senshi, I'm too weak."
"You are only weak because you do not have the faith in yourself or the will to believe that I exist. Weakness is only weakness when you believe in it."
"But I'm Hotaru, how can I be you too?"
I stood up and moved in front of Hotaru. I called out my glaive and pointed it directly at her forehead where the Saturn symbol should have been. Her violet eyes grew huge and she tried to back away from me. I frowned in annoyance.
"I will not hurt you," I said as I moved the glaive to gently touch her skin. "Remember." The whispered word filled our small room and slowly Hotaru's eyes closed and I let her share in the memories I had of the past and the present. A few moments later I stepped back and let my glaive vanish. Hotaru opened her eyes and looked at me again.
"You are what I am supposed to be," she said in a voice filled with disbelief. "Is this magic?"
"Yes." I sat down next to her and tried my best to explain. "The spirit of a Senshi never dies, it is only reborn again and again, so that it may always be able to protect those in danger. In a way I am the living representative of Saturn's spirit because I am not a person, and not a Senshi, just Saturn. It is only if you accept that I am real and believe that you are as strong as the both of us combined that I, we, can live as one."
Hotaru nodded her head in understanding but her eyes still held a slightly vacant look. "Does that mean I'm dead?"
"No we are not dead. We are possessed by the Messiah now. She believes that she has control of both of us. That is her mistake and it is what we will use to stop her."
"We?"
"Yes. We need to work together or she has already won," I said as my hands picked at the hem of my skirt.
"Are you nervous?" asked Hotaru as a smile touched her face and made her eyes dance with an inner light.
"Why do you ask?"
"You're picking at your skirt. I always do that when I'm nervous."
"Oh," I felt a blush heat my cheeks as I quickly folded my hands together. "I'm not used to having people notice my habits."
"Maybe you picked it up from me?"
"Or you got it from me."
We giggled at one another's discomfort and suddenly the tension melted away as we took a good look at one another. Of course I knew what Hotaru looked like, I watched her grow up, but she was infinitely curious about me. Her eyes roamed over my figure taking in everything from my hair to the heels of my boots.
"You look just like me. How is that possible?" Hotaru asked as she studied her own hands.
"The spirit of the Senshi is molded to look like the person chosen to become the next guardian. I look this way because you do."
"It's just weird. It's like looking in a mirror that changes your clothes."
Our conversation came to a halt as the window in front of us lit up again. The picture was all shadows as if the messiah hadn't opened her eyes all the way yet. Sounds started filtering in, voices, bells, and laughter mixed to create a deafening wave of sound. Hotaru and I both covered our ears and cringed. I could hear our father's laughter in the background as the rest of the noise faded away.
"Everyone just made it," his voice was calm as he spoke, too calm.
"Is that papa speaking? Who's everyone?" asked Hotaru as she squinted to try and see better.
"Just wait and watch, it's all we can do now," I said as I sat down.
"Sailor Chibi Moon!" screamed a voice I recognized as Sailor Moon.
"Kaolinite!" the professor yelled.
"Yes," was her throaty reply and I could just imagine her flipping her long red hair over her shoulder. "The Messiah of Silence will awaken shortly with the energy from Chibiusa's pure heart!"
"No!" screamed Hotaru as she jumped up and ran to the window.
"...pure heart..." echoed through our mind as the messiah opened her eyes a bit more.
Hotaru gasped and I shook my head as the scene before us was revealed. In the dim light I could see the Sailor Senshi at the far side of the room. Our father was standing between them and a pink haired Senshi that must have been Chibi Moon. She was laid out like a sacrifice on a stone alter surrounded by ropes with bells. Her body was motionless accept for the gentle rising and falling of her chest.
"Chibiusa!" cried Sailor Moon as she tried to run to the smaller girl. She was met with a barrier of electricity, similar to the one that surrounded the walls of our home and was thrown back towards the other Senshi.
"Chibiusa?" said Hotaru as she looked down at the pink haired Senshi. "Is that really Chibiusa?"
I sat in silence watching the scene play out before me. I was berating myself for not seeing this sooner. Her heart was so full of energy and love, of course she was a Senshi, but she was more than just a Senshi. "Yes that is Chibiusa," I whispered.
"Our great Messiah of Silence," pronounced Tomoe as lights flooded over our body revealing us to the Senshi. We were slumped to the side of a throne surrounded by stuffed animals. The Senshi probably thought we were sleeping.
Hotaru and I watched in stunned silence as a black aura came up around our body and formed the shape of a hand and a spindly arm. It reached down towards Chibiusa's body and first wrapped itself around her and then plunged into her chest just below her broach. Hotaru had tears in her eyes as our friend's screams filled the chamber.
"Stop it! Stop it!" sobbed Sailor Moon as she cried in frustration. "Chibi Moon!"
"Hotaru..." came the dry voice of Chibiusa as she fought the magic of the Messiah. "I'm glad to see you..."
"Chibiusa." Hotaru replied as she reached out to try and touch her friend.
"Hotaru please," I said as I held her hand in my gloved one. "It'll be ok you'll see."
She looked at me with her eyes, years of sadness were reflected there, mirrors of my own. "How?" She didn't believe me.
"Have faith, believe in yourself, and believe in the Senshi. We will overcome this evil. Good always wins right?"
She nodded her head in silent agreement but her eyes reflected her doubts. I just hoped I wasn't leading her to false hopes of happiness. As the hand started retracting Chibiusa's body fell motionless and silent back to the alter and a shining pure heart crystal shone from it's grip.
"It's beautiful! The quality of the pure heart is suitable for the Messiah," laughed the man I had known as a father.
"No!" called the deep voice of Uranus. "If Saturn awakens, it'll be the end of the world!"
Hotaru looked to me then and I looked out across the room unwilling to believe the words that had just come from my fellow Senshi. That was why they feared me? This lie was why they acted as if I were the enemy? They believed that I was the end of the world and I was unable to contradict them.
"Saturn is that true?" asked Hotaru as she looked to me with questioning eyes. "Do you bring the end of the world?"
"It is one of my powers," I whispered, "but it is not one that I would ever choose to use. Unless nothing else had worked. It is a last resort that I fear may be the only choice some day."
"Then why do they believe that?"
"Do you remember what I showed you of the destruction of the moon?"
"Yes but."
"I believe their memories were harmed during their rebirth. The Senshi I knew on the moon knew the truth behind my powers."
"Hotaru, stop it!" pleaded Sailor Moon as the Messiah brought the crystal closer to our body.
"I'm not doing anything! That's not me!"
"They can't hear you Hotaru. We can only watch now."
"If you're really Hotaru's poppa, if you really love Hotaru... Please!" Sailor Moon inched closer to our father as she begged for mercy.
"Love? What is that?" he replied and then laughed in his insane way as the messiah used our body to swallow Chibiusa's heart crystal.
Immediately our body began to change. Our arms and legs became longer and our hair grew longer and darker in a wave of ebony. The purple highlights that we loved were gone now. The messiah's hair wrapped our body in a cocoon and then peeled away again revealing a low cut, floor length, black satin dress. The same one the messiah had been wearing when she visited me. I could only guess that her eyes were now black and a black star was resting under her bangs.
"It can't be!" shouted Uranus as if she wasn't seeing properly.
"That's not Sailor Saturn!" echoed Neptune as she too looked on in amazement.
"What?" chorused the rest of the Senshi as they looked to the Senshi of the outer planets.
"Well it's nice to know that some of my fellow Senshi don't think I'm the bringer of the silence," I muttered more to myself than to Hotaru who was quickly going into a state of shock.
"I'm the Messiah of Silence," her voice was smoother now. The hissing was gone giving her a seductive quality of voice. "Mistress Nine."
"She's a Death Buster!" said Mercury as she noted the star on our forehead. "The enemy attacked Hotaru and she became a Death Buster!"
"At least Mercury knows what's going on. Since when did the inner Senshi become a better team than the outers?" I was pacing now and Hotaru was passed out on the floor of our cell.
"We've won!" Kaolinite cried as she turned to the professor with her seductive smile.
"Thank you for your hard work Kaolinite," said Professor Tomoe as he moved closer to the Messiah.
"I am so glad to hear that, professor..."
Kaolinite's sentence was cut off as a blast of power from Mistress Nine thew her body into the electrified barrier surrounding Chibiusa's alter. I watched in horror as her body disintegrated into nothing but dust. I hated the woman but I never wanted her dead!
"Kaolinite's use is over," said Mistress Nine as she turned to what was left of our father. "Let's prepare for the next step."
"Yes!" he replied, and in that instant both of us were wrapped in her power and transported away from the labs under our home.
I looked from the black window in front of me to the sleeping form of Hotaru on the floor. I started pacing as I thought of my options. Hotaru and I would need to be strong together in order to defeat Mistress Nine. Hotaru was always weak and even here, where the limitations of her body didn't matter, she was still weak. Would she have what it takes to help me defeat the darkness?
* * *
Mistress Nine stood facing a clear cylinder connected to a machine that looked vaguely like a street light. Several hours had passed since she had taken control of Hotaru's body and destroyed Kaolinite. We were in the new home of the Death Busters and the thought that I was helpless to stop any of this from happening was setting in.
"Everything is ready," said Professor Tomoe as he moved from one machine to another. "The only thing left is for you to put the Sacred Cup in to activate it. Then the dark rays will shine from the Tausaikei."
"Tausaikei?" I said aloud as I tested the word on my tong. "It sounds alien."
"The Tausaikei rays will call and guide our great master, Pharaoh 90, to the source. The destruction of the world will begin with the appearance of Pharaoh 90...and the entire world will be covered in Silence."
With this he began to laugh in that hysterical way evil doers seem to master. Every villain I had ever fought had a laugh that ranged from mildly annoying to nails on a chalkboard. I covered my ears and cursed the fact that I could not faint into the silent oblivion of unconsciousness like Hotaru.
"The faulty Light Age will end..." a laugh and a glance at Mistress Nine did not even stop his tirade. "...and the true Dark Age will begin!"
Mistress Nine turned away from the machines and Professor Tomoe's display of evil ego and raised her face to the ceiling of the room. Her eyes closed and my room went dark. I felt her power moving away from her body and out into the city. She was searching for something.
"The Sacred Cup is coming," she murmured as she opened her eyes again.
"Sacred Cup?" asked Professor Tomoe. His tone implied disbelief.
"They're making it easy for us by bringing it."
"How convenient!"
"But I can't allow them in our nest until we establish ourselves."
Once again Mistress Nine closed her eyes and I felt her power extending from our body. A hazy red picture of Mugen High was visible and I watched as a dome shaped barrier formed around it. How were the scouts going to get through and stop these lunatics? Her eyes opened again to reveal Professor Tomoe watching us with guarded impatience.
"Sacred cup?" I repeated as the proverbial light went on in my brain. They wanted the Princess's holy grail! "If the Sacred Cup is coming to them then." The Senshi were coming here, to the very heart of the death busters, in what would surely turn out to be the final battle.
"Mugen High is now protected by dark energy and has become the Omega zone," said Mistress Nine as her voice filled the small room. "No one can enter into our purest place."
* * *
I sat down as the realization dawned on me that our father had been working for, and with, this evil woman from the very start. Mugen High was located in the Omega district. The schools name also meant Infinity. Student Uniforms were decorated with a black star, the symbol of the Death Busters. The clues had been there all along! "Serenity preserve us," I whispered as I looked to Hotaru's unconscious body. "If Hotaru doesn't accept me Saturn can not awaken in this world. I won't be able to stop them." I bowed my head in defeat. "Princess be strong for I can not assist you."
"It's time to get the Sacred Cup," Mistress Nine purred as she closed her eyes once again.
The haunting images that were the thoughts of Mistress Nine played out before me. A portal formed above the Senshi and another energy hand reached out and grabbed Sailor Moon by her throat. I watched as Mistress Nine half strangled my princess as she was pulled through to this evil dimension and deposited on the floor of a dark room. I wanted to cry.
A moan sounded from the floor of my room as Hotaru fought against whatever dreams plagued her. "Hotaru can you hear me?" I asked her as I held one of her hands in my own. A faint pressure was the only reply. "Hotaru I'm going to try something so work with me here." I closed my eyes and concentrated on finding Hotaru's conscious mind where ever it had fled to. Before I could start I felt time itself waver and stop.
"The soldiers from the outer solar system stopped time, remarkable!" exclaimed Mistress Nine as she turned to the machines once again.
"No," I whispered as a tear trickled down my cheek. I knew the cost Pluto had paid for her breech of the rules. "Come on Hotaru we have to fight." I placed a hand on each of Hotaru's temples and let my aura flow into her mind.
"But the Messiah of Silence is much greater!" crowed Professor Tomoe. His voice filled both of our minds.
"Hotaru can you hear me?" a glimmer of light caught my attention and I drew closer to it. "Hotaru you need to fight."
"It's the result from receiving Chibiusa's pure heart," echoed Mistress Nine.
"Their using you for evil Hotaru! They used you to kill Chibiusa. They used you to hurt the Senshi, and now their making you use Chibiusa's pure heart to destroy this very world!"
I sent my energies to the light that I knew was Hotaru and I felt her growing stronger. The light started getting closer and I backed off as Hotaru's consciousness came back to her. I backed out of Hotaru's mind and returned to my own body. Hotaru's body was glowing with a white light.
Mistress Nine closed her eyes and I could feel the energies clashing as Hotaru fought to gain back control of her own body. "I'm using the pure heart...for wrong..." she managed to get out before her aura faded back into her body and she was laying silently beside me once more.
"Something wrong?" asked the Professor as the obviously shaken Mistress Nine ran a hand over her face.
"Nothing!" she bit back at him. "I'm going to get the Sacred Cup. I order you to dispose of the two Sailor Senshi."
I blinked in surprise, two Sailor Senshi? Which two had been able to enter their lair? Mistress Nine had placed a barrier around the school and without all of the Senshi they couldn't teleport.
"Me?" Professor Tomoe looked stunned for the first time I could remember.
"Use the dolls that you made," was Mistress Nine's curt reply as she dismissed him. "Go, daimon Gerumatou!"
"Yes!" He hastily answered as he vanished from our sight.
* * *
Hotaru was asleep on the floor and I was pacing back and forth waiting for her to regain consciousness. Somehow I knew that Hotaru would not be waking up again but I didn't want to give up on her just yet. There had to be a way for me to work with Hotaru to take control of her body away from Mistress Nine. If only Hotaru would accept her destiny and believe that she was capable of being strong, then we would have a chance.
I felt more than heard Mistress Nine laughing at me before she appeared next to our cell. Her appearance had changed. Her body was that of Hotaru and she was wearing the Mugen uniform that Hotaru had worn every day. Mistress Nine was a carbon copy of our body right down to the purple highlights in her hair. Only the dark eyes gave her away.
"Give up," her voice was eerily like our own. "The sacrifice of a pure heart has made me invincible and soon another sacrifice will seal this world's fate."
"I will never give up as long as Hotaru is still alive," I growled back at her as I stepped protectively in front of Hotaru's prone body.
"Ahh yes the host mind. She will not be around much longer."
"What do you mean?"
"Her mind must die before I can take complete control of this body. She will be the final sacrifice to my master Pharaoh 90."
"You'll have to kill me before you can get to her," the silence glaive appeared in my hand and I pointed it at her. "I will die before I let you have her. That's a promise!"
Her laughter filled our small room and assaulted my eardrums causing me to wince. "Senshi haven't you realized that her mind is already mine? I don't need to get to her." Her hand raised in a gesture towards Hotaru's sleeping form. "Because I'm already inside of her."
"No!" I shouted as laughter once again filled my ears as Mistress Nine vanished from my sight. "No Hotaru!" I dropped my glaive and placed my hands on Hotaru's head. "Hotaru come back to me." I sent my healing powers into her mind and once again began to look for her consciousness.
Before I could get very far light filled our room. Mistress Nine was ready to act and I had a vague idea of what she was after. A faint feeling of power alerted me to the princess before I heard her voice echo in the large room.
"Where's everybody?" she called as footsteps sounded on the tile. "Hotaru!" She ran to our body and her worried face was a welcomed sight. I continued to concentrate on my task.
"Sacred Cup..." whispered the disguised Mistress Nine.
"What about the Sacred Cup?"
"I heard if Super Sailor Moon shines the Sacred Cup in there..." she pointed to a room off to one side, "...the Darkness would disappear. Better hurry because the enemy could come anytime."
"Yes. Hotaru, I'm glad to see that you're all right."
"Hurry Usagi, for Chibiusa's sake! The Sacred Cup!" her pleading cry caused Sailor Moon to pause and step away from who she thought was Hotaru.
"Hotaru, how did you know I'm Tsukino Usagi?" asked Sailor Moon as she stepped even further away. "You're not Hotaru, are you?"
Mistress Nine stood up and her eyes grew darker as her powers began to concentrate around our body. "Hotaru," her voice purred as she shook her head. "Just the looks!" I felt her powers wrapping around us as her body aged into that of Mistress Nine and spread out to reveal the machines designed to bring Pharaoh 90 into this world.
"What happened to Hotaru?" Sailor Moon asked, shock evident in her voice.
"I dissolved her into me."
"That's a lie!" I screamed but of course only I heard it.
"I'm a Ichigensai Taikei that lives within Hotaru. I'm Mistress 9."
The sound of running feet disrupted their conversation as Uranus and Neptune flew into the room. "No you'll kill us before I can get to her!" Knowing that their mission was simply to stop this mad woman who possessed our body I found myself afraid of my friends for the first time. I renewed my efforts to find and heal Hotaru's mind.
"We've finally found you!" growled Uranus as she took her fighting stance.
"We'll destroy you this time!" echoed Neptune.
"Wait!" Cried Sailor Moon as she tried to get the attention of the outer Senshi. "Uranus, Neptune, No!"
Mistress Nine turned towards the machinery behind her that was pulsing with dark power and said, "Master Pharaoh 90, please wait a moment." before turning back to the Senshi.
That's when I felt her. Hotaru was fighting back! Her consciousness was moving towards mine and I reached out to her as best I could. "Hotaru you need to work with me. Believe in yourself, believe in me, and together we can stop the evil." Her eyes fluttered open and made contact with my own.
"I will be strong for you," she whispered.
"Together we can be even stronger," I replied squeezing her hand in assurance.
"Together.yes.Saturn."
"You are Saturn Hotaru. Without you I am noting but a memory." The walls around us began to crackle with energy and Hotaru winced in pain. Mistress Nine was trying to kill Hotaru completely!
"I am Saturn," whispered Hotaru as her own aura began to fight Mistress Nine.
"Yes," I replied as my own aura flared to life and the symbol of Saturn appeared on my brow.
"I'm sorry, Chibiusa."
"Hotaru!" I cried as her body began to disappear as it was consumed by Mistress Nine's power.
"I'm sorry," Hotaru whispered as her aura leapt from her body seconds before what was left of Hotaru's mind vanished.
"Hotaru," I said to the ball of white light in front of me.
It blinked once and then formed into an eight pointed crystal star. I watched as the star hovered before me and then moved until it was touching the center of the bow on my fuku. "Hotaru?" There was no sound as the star flared into a super nova of white light. When it cleared the star was fused to the bow of my fuku and I felt stronger than before.
"Finally, you're dead!" shouted Mistress Nine as three amazed Senshi looked on in surprise.
"Hotaru!" screamed Sailor Moon as she took a few steps toward Mistress Nine.
"Stop it! She's not Hotaru." Yelled Uranus as she delivered one of her threatening looks our way.
"Yes," Mistress Nine drawled, "Tomoe Hotaru has just died!"
I watched as Sailor Moon's eyes began to shine with tears and Uranus and Neptune shared a knowing glance. They would no longer hold back. Their mission was clear, destroy the evil, and right now that evil was me.
* * *
Author's Note: Ahh yes another cliff hanger. Only one part left, the final battle for Humanity. But what about Hotaru? Arriving in May 2003, Part 6 of I Could Only Watch, Death. Sounds so final doesn't it?
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