CHAPTER 1
There weren't many things that could worry Usagi. Sure, there were school marks and saving the world and the usual everyday stuff, but she always managed to shake off her worries and fully enjoy life.
Hino Rei was a different matter. "Look, Ami, you sure she didn't want to come? She's been so down since that bastard dumped her." If she ever met Duo Maxwell, his face was going to meet her fist, as far as she was concerned. Stupid jackass. "And I've been worried about her. This weather thing has really been weighing on me, and I don't think she's done much better. It's, affecting her."
They were currently in the Crown Parlor, sitting down and enjoying the milkshakes. Or, in Rei's case, trying to. She'd been so tense the last few weeks since summer started, and she didn't know if her muscles would ever loosen again. She been getting migraines, and, was, at this point in time -
"Oh come on, Pyro, what are you so worked up about? The rest of us are trying to enjoy ourselves, you know!"
-wishing she'd never agreed to this stupid outing. She thought it would get her to loosen up. How wrong she was. "This isn't about me, baka. It's about -"
~
Being a senshi gave her so much. A future, a duty, friends, and a past. Being a senshi was essential to her life. Makoto knew that. So why...?
~
"It's nice to know someone's concerned about her." A smooth voice interrupted Rei. They all jumped.
"Setsuna!" Usagi cried, a concerned look coming to her face. Setsuna never came unless something was wrong. Kami knew what she did for a living. "Is this about the rain?"
"Yes and no." Setsuna promptly ignored Usagi, instead choosing to focus on Rei. "You look tense, Rei-san. You better pack for that holiday I'm sending you on. But...what about Makoto? Yes, she's been quite down these days...Maxwell, that's right..." She sighed. "It was bound to happen. That boy did a lot more than just dump her, didn't he?"
"What do you mean?" "Hey, what about the rain, Setsuna? Have you forgotten?"
The woman in question looked at them. "I thought you already knew that."
"Knew what?" Ami interjected. "The cause of the rain, of course. Haven't you figured it out yet?" She inquired mildly.
"No." Usagi snapped, quickly becoming annoyed. "A little help, Setsuna?"
Setsuna looked at her with some amusement. "Well, it's against the rules, but seeing as you haven't worked it out yet..." She considered. "I'll give you a hint. Ask your local nature checkpoint." She waved the matter aside. "Now. About Makoto."
~
Because you're not really needed. Mako immediately hit herself. Of course she was needed! The world depended on her.
~
"I need to ask Usagi a very important question." Setsuna said simply. "It's a question that will require cold analysis, and objective thinking. A question that could change your perspective on certain, important matters."
A question that could determine Makoto's life. She thought to herself. She didn't want to do this, but the future was at stake - and so was Makoto's happiness. Answer the question, Usagi. She pleaded to her silently. Answer it right.
Duo Maxwell should never have met Kino Makoto. In doing so, and in dumping her, he had shattered Makoto's belief in herself as a person and as a senshi. That wouldn't be so bad, it happened to every senshi, but with Makoto's abilities developing as they were, the Sailor Senshi could simply not afford a loose canon with rogue abilities. Setsuna had been given two choices, both based on the outcome of this question.
"O-okay, Setsuna," Usagi stuttered. She'd never seen Setsuna gaze at her so intensely. And that was saying something for Setsuna.
"Is Makoto essential to you as a senshi?"
Answer it, she pleaded. Before Makoto answers it herself.
"WHAT!!! How - how dare you! I'm not going to answer that! What the hell are you thinking? What are you trying to get at?"
"You have two minutes to answer, Usagi." Please.
~
But images started rising in her mind. She was always the first to die or go down in a battle. The second weakest of the senshi power-wise, but magic-wise the most restricted. Less valuable as a team member. She didn't have leadership abilities like Minako and Rei, she wasn't valuable as an information source like Rei either, and she didn't have any brains like Ami. She couldn't come up with battle plans, or analyse youma tactics and weaknesses. Her strength lay in her ability to fight - whether martial arts, fighting dirty, or just plain street fighting. But fighting like that couldn't be used against youma.
~
"Kino Makoto is the second weakest senshi, and, consequently, as Mizuno Ami is valuable as strategist and information analyzer, the least valuable as a team member. She is not strong enough to be of use to you in a major battle. She is the first to die or go down in a battle, and cannot contribute to the senshi otherwise. She does not have psychic or visioning abilities, and cannot contribute to strategies and resources. She cannot offer any unique advantages to the team. I repeat, is Makoto essential to you as a senshi?" She asked mildly.
Usagi fell silent. She knew she had to back up Makoto as a friend, but Setsuna wouldn't ask this of her unless this was very important. She had to take that into consideration. Looking at her friends, they gazed back at her. They knew it too.
"You don't have much time, Usagi. Half a minute." Hurry up.
~
There was nothing she could contribute to the senshi that they didn't already have. She was, quite simply, not essential or needed.
"No." She said finally. Pleadingly. But, she felt it was true. I'm not.
~
"Of course Mako-chan's -" "You are no longer required to answer that question." Setsuna cut her off abruptly. She felt a shifting in destiny - no, an elimination in time. Sailor Jupiter was no longer required. "Huh?" "Makoto decided herself. Certain - destinies were hanging off the answer to this question," Setsuna said finally, heavily. "I was ordered to take action concerning the answer to this question. Sailor Jupiter has just been eliminated." She paused.
"Oh, about the rain? It was a new aspect of Makoto's abilities as the nature senshi developing. The rain was in response to her depression."
Before they could recover, she'd already left.
~
You bastard. You just waltzed right into my life and played me. You were different to me than most of the other boys - special. But I wasn't to you was I? ...Why did you leave? She thought, visualising the face rising before her. Mischievous smile, hair tied back in a braid, unusual violet eyes. Not as pretty a Rei's. I bet you wouldn't be happy about that, you asshole.
It always happened. Boys came, found out about the real her, left. Makoto was no idiot - she knew she got too attached to them, and it always broke her heart when they left - knowing she'd done something wrong again... But Duo was supposed to be different. He was different from the others. There was a sadness, a maturity in his eyes. Though not the usual kind. Someone who, she thought, could see past her as a flirt and as a tomboy. And then, of course, he'd left.
~
"You're...leaving me." She said finally as she looked up to face him. "Why?"
"I just..." He faltered as he met her eyes. Angrily he waved her away. "I just don't love you. Okay?" He said angrily, as he turned on his heel and stalked off.
~
"And you said you did, you bastard." Makoto said softly. She traced the reflection of her face in the glass. That of a girl with small, well defined features and a mass of brown hair and green eyes . Open eyes, that revealed her emotions so easily, and could bewitch any living thing by it's sparkling, shifting shades. The face of an overgrown giant of a girl, who saved the world on a daily basis. Not that she really did much in that area. Just helped the others in saving the world.
~
Setsuna reflected as she stood at the Gates of Time. Kino Makoto would die in her next battle, thus killing her human half - the form she had been raised in, and lived in her entire life, and giving her rebirth in her Jovian half. And then, in a new form, with her powers running free and nothing to help her, she would be thrown randomly back into the world, to survive. And die again. She could not survive with such uncertainties. Not with OZ. They'd find her, and kill her.
This would never have happened if they hadn't met.
Duo Maxwell.
Well, Setsuna thought. How about some poetic justice?
~
"Makoto." Setsuna said as she appeared behind her. "Yes, Setsuna?" "We need to talk. Don't say anything. Just listen. As guardian of the Time Gates and the Dimensions, I am not simply a senshi. I am the servant of Destiny. And yours has been erased." A cold chill wound itself in Makoto's chest.
"As Guardian of Time, the Sailor Senshi are not my sole concern. For instance, I watch over a man named Goku Son in another dimension. In this dimension and in this galaxy, I watch over many, including those who fight wars for peace - especially peace between the Colonies and Earth."
"The Gundam -"
"Yes, Makoto. Destiny may have removed you from your place beside the senshi, but a lack of destiny and position does not change who you are. And that is the Princess and Champion of Jupiter, the planet of nature. Your powers control the weather and plant life. You have an overall sense of nature, though you wouldn't be able to use the powers of some aspects, such as the ocean. Destiny wishes for you to live a life away from the senshi, where you cannot harm them."
Makoto froze. "Harm...them?" She asked finally. "I cannot explain, but you may lure other scouts away from destiny. That must not be allowed to happen. Is that understood?" "I..." "If you love your friends and your princess, the best thing for you to do is leave their lives." For your sake as much as theirs.
Silence settled between them. "What will happen to me?" Makoto asked finally. "If I had truly followed orders, I would not know. But you were my charge, Kino Makoto." Setsuna said softly, as she watched the younger girl. "And during my time, I have come to know you. I feel some - concern for your future, and I am not quite willing to let you go." She said, to the point.
"I...You're going to help me?" Makoto asked softly.
"Yes. But what I am presenting to you is not an easy future. A new war is starting, even as the senshi prepare for their own against the negaverse. The future has changed; there may never be a Crystal Tokyo, but that is of no importance. It is the present we must save. I feel, that you have the potential to make a difference in this war. But this is your decision. By accepting this, you will forsake the human heritage your parents gave you, and assume the form of the Jovian you once were. You will always fight, and there may never be an end. You will meet many like you, a few of them my charges. You may have to work with or against them. You will forsake the chance to live a normal life."
Did she, Makoto, really want that? But the truth was, she was a senshi at heart. She had to make a difference in the world, and if not as a senshi, then in the war.
"I'll do it. But I want to be useful. Needed, if you must." She said finally.
"Of course." You'll be more needed than you'll ever know, pilot 07. Setsuna stood up. "We may as well get started. You'll need to get used to your Jovian form."
And won't Duo be surprised.
"Okay. But what about details? My apartment, school, what'll they-" "I'll handle that." "If you say so. So how do we start?" "Well." Setsuna said, as she rose and transformed into Sailor Pluto. "First we have to kill you."
With that, she very calmly pointed the Time Staff straight at Makoto's heart.
There weren't many things that could worry Usagi. Sure, there were school marks and saving the world and the usual everyday stuff, but she always managed to shake off her worries and fully enjoy life.
Hino Rei was a different matter. "Look, Ami, you sure she didn't want to come? She's been so down since that bastard dumped her." If she ever met Duo Maxwell, his face was going to meet her fist, as far as she was concerned. Stupid jackass. "And I've been worried about her. This weather thing has really been weighing on me, and I don't think she's done much better. It's, affecting her."
They were currently in the Crown Parlor, sitting down and enjoying the milkshakes. Or, in Rei's case, trying to. She'd been so tense the last few weeks since summer started, and she didn't know if her muscles would ever loosen again. She been getting migraines, and, was, at this point in time -
"Oh come on, Pyro, what are you so worked up about? The rest of us are trying to enjoy ourselves, you know!"
-wishing she'd never agreed to this stupid outing. She thought it would get her to loosen up. How wrong she was. "This isn't about me, baka. It's about -"
~
Being a senshi gave her so much. A future, a duty, friends, and a past. Being a senshi was essential to her life. Makoto knew that. So why...?
~
"It's nice to know someone's concerned about her." A smooth voice interrupted Rei. They all jumped.
"Setsuna!" Usagi cried, a concerned look coming to her face. Setsuna never came unless something was wrong. Kami knew what she did for a living. "Is this about the rain?"
"Yes and no." Setsuna promptly ignored Usagi, instead choosing to focus on Rei. "You look tense, Rei-san. You better pack for that holiday I'm sending you on. But...what about Makoto? Yes, she's been quite down these days...Maxwell, that's right..." She sighed. "It was bound to happen. That boy did a lot more than just dump her, didn't he?"
"What do you mean?" "Hey, what about the rain, Setsuna? Have you forgotten?"
The woman in question looked at them. "I thought you already knew that."
"Knew what?" Ami interjected. "The cause of the rain, of course. Haven't you figured it out yet?" She inquired mildly.
"No." Usagi snapped, quickly becoming annoyed. "A little help, Setsuna?"
Setsuna looked at her with some amusement. "Well, it's against the rules, but seeing as you haven't worked it out yet..." She considered. "I'll give you a hint. Ask your local nature checkpoint." She waved the matter aside. "Now. About Makoto."
~
Because you're not really needed. Mako immediately hit herself. Of course she was needed! The world depended on her.
~
"I need to ask Usagi a very important question." Setsuna said simply. "It's a question that will require cold analysis, and objective thinking. A question that could change your perspective on certain, important matters."
A question that could determine Makoto's life. She thought to herself. She didn't want to do this, but the future was at stake - and so was Makoto's happiness. Answer the question, Usagi. She pleaded to her silently. Answer it right.
Duo Maxwell should never have met Kino Makoto. In doing so, and in dumping her, he had shattered Makoto's belief in herself as a person and as a senshi. That wouldn't be so bad, it happened to every senshi, but with Makoto's abilities developing as they were, the Sailor Senshi could simply not afford a loose canon with rogue abilities. Setsuna had been given two choices, both based on the outcome of this question.
"O-okay, Setsuna," Usagi stuttered. She'd never seen Setsuna gaze at her so intensely. And that was saying something for Setsuna.
"Is Makoto essential to you as a senshi?"
Answer it, she pleaded. Before Makoto answers it herself.
"WHAT!!! How - how dare you! I'm not going to answer that! What the hell are you thinking? What are you trying to get at?"
"You have two minutes to answer, Usagi." Please.
~
But images started rising in her mind. She was always the first to die or go down in a battle. The second weakest of the senshi power-wise, but magic-wise the most restricted. Less valuable as a team member. She didn't have leadership abilities like Minako and Rei, she wasn't valuable as an information source like Rei either, and she didn't have any brains like Ami. She couldn't come up with battle plans, or analyse youma tactics and weaknesses. Her strength lay in her ability to fight - whether martial arts, fighting dirty, or just plain street fighting. But fighting like that couldn't be used against youma.
~
"Kino Makoto is the second weakest senshi, and, consequently, as Mizuno Ami is valuable as strategist and information analyzer, the least valuable as a team member. She is not strong enough to be of use to you in a major battle. She is the first to die or go down in a battle, and cannot contribute to the senshi otherwise. She does not have psychic or visioning abilities, and cannot contribute to strategies and resources. She cannot offer any unique advantages to the team. I repeat, is Makoto essential to you as a senshi?" She asked mildly.
Usagi fell silent. She knew she had to back up Makoto as a friend, but Setsuna wouldn't ask this of her unless this was very important. She had to take that into consideration. Looking at her friends, they gazed back at her. They knew it too.
"You don't have much time, Usagi. Half a minute." Hurry up.
~
There was nothing she could contribute to the senshi that they didn't already have. She was, quite simply, not essential or needed.
"No." She said finally. Pleadingly. But, she felt it was true. I'm not.
~
"Of course Mako-chan's -" "You are no longer required to answer that question." Setsuna cut her off abruptly. She felt a shifting in destiny - no, an elimination in time. Sailor Jupiter was no longer required. "Huh?" "Makoto decided herself. Certain - destinies were hanging off the answer to this question," Setsuna said finally, heavily. "I was ordered to take action concerning the answer to this question. Sailor Jupiter has just been eliminated." She paused.
"Oh, about the rain? It was a new aspect of Makoto's abilities as the nature senshi developing. The rain was in response to her depression."
Before they could recover, she'd already left.
~
You bastard. You just waltzed right into my life and played me. You were different to me than most of the other boys - special. But I wasn't to you was I? ...Why did you leave? She thought, visualising the face rising before her. Mischievous smile, hair tied back in a braid, unusual violet eyes. Not as pretty a Rei's. I bet you wouldn't be happy about that, you asshole.
It always happened. Boys came, found out about the real her, left. Makoto was no idiot - she knew she got too attached to them, and it always broke her heart when they left - knowing she'd done something wrong again... But Duo was supposed to be different. He was different from the others. There was a sadness, a maturity in his eyes. Though not the usual kind. Someone who, she thought, could see past her as a flirt and as a tomboy. And then, of course, he'd left.
~
"You're...leaving me." She said finally as she looked up to face him. "Why?"
"I just..." He faltered as he met her eyes. Angrily he waved her away. "I just don't love you. Okay?" He said angrily, as he turned on his heel and stalked off.
~
"And you said you did, you bastard." Makoto said softly. She traced the reflection of her face in the glass. That of a girl with small, well defined features and a mass of brown hair and green eyes . Open eyes, that revealed her emotions so easily, and could bewitch any living thing by it's sparkling, shifting shades. The face of an overgrown giant of a girl, who saved the world on a daily basis. Not that she really did much in that area. Just helped the others in saving the world.
~
Setsuna reflected as she stood at the Gates of Time. Kino Makoto would die in her next battle, thus killing her human half - the form she had been raised in, and lived in her entire life, and giving her rebirth in her Jovian half. And then, in a new form, with her powers running free and nothing to help her, she would be thrown randomly back into the world, to survive. And die again. She could not survive with such uncertainties. Not with OZ. They'd find her, and kill her.
This would never have happened if they hadn't met.
Duo Maxwell.
Well, Setsuna thought. How about some poetic justice?
~
"Makoto." Setsuna said as she appeared behind her. "Yes, Setsuna?" "We need to talk. Don't say anything. Just listen. As guardian of the Time Gates and the Dimensions, I am not simply a senshi. I am the servant of Destiny. And yours has been erased." A cold chill wound itself in Makoto's chest.
"As Guardian of Time, the Sailor Senshi are not my sole concern. For instance, I watch over a man named Goku Son in another dimension. In this dimension and in this galaxy, I watch over many, including those who fight wars for peace - especially peace between the Colonies and Earth."
"The Gundam -"
"Yes, Makoto. Destiny may have removed you from your place beside the senshi, but a lack of destiny and position does not change who you are. And that is the Princess and Champion of Jupiter, the planet of nature. Your powers control the weather and plant life. You have an overall sense of nature, though you wouldn't be able to use the powers of some aspects, such as the ocean. Destiny wishes for you to live a life away from the senshi, where you cannot harm them."
Makoto froze. "Harm...them?" She asked finally. "I cannot explain, but you may lure other scouts away from destiny. That must not be allowed to happen. Is that understood?" "I..." "If you love your friends and your princess, the best thing for you to do is leave their lives." For your sake as much as theirs.
Silence settled between them. "What will happen to me?" Makoto asked finally. "If I had truly followed orders, I would not know. But you were my charge, Kino Makoto." Setsuna said softly, as she watched the younger girl. "And during my time, I have come to know you. I feel some - concern for your future, and I am not quite willing to let you go." She said, to the point.
"I...You're going to help me?" Makoto asked softly.
"Yes. But what I am presenting to you is not an easy future. A new war is starting, even as the senshi prepare for their own against the negaverse. The future has changed; there may never be a Crystal Tokyo, but that is of no importance. It is the present we must save. I feel, that you have the potential to make a difference in this war. But this is your decision. By accepting this, you will forsake the human heritage your parents gave you, and assume the form of the Jovian you once were. You will always fight, and there may never be an end. You will meet many like you, a few of them my charges. You may have to work with or against them. You will forsake the chance to live a normal life."
Did she, Makoto, really want that? But the truth was, she was a senshi at heart. She had to make a difference in the world, and if not as a senshi, then in the war.
"I'll do it. But I want to be useful. Needed, if you must." She said finally.
"Of course." You'll be more needed than you'll ever know, pilot 07. Setsuna stood up. "We may as well get started. You'll need to get used to your Jovian form."
And won't Duo be surprised.
"Okay. But what about details? My apartment, school, what'll they-" "I'll handle that." "If you say so. So how do we start?" "Well." Setsuna said, as she rose and transformed into Sailor Pluto. "First we have to kill you."
With that, she very calmly pointed the Time Staff straight at Makoto's heart.
