Dear Reader: The following chapter contains violence and adult language
and content. Viewer discretion advised. (Kidding). HOWEVER, this is an
extremely important chapter and the one I am most attached to. Out of all
the chapters I wrote for this story, I had most fun with this chapter.
Please, please, please enjoy. lol, watch - my luck, this is going to be the
one chapter you all hate. Hehehe. anyhoo.
*****
Change
Chapter Six: All Of Me
*****
"Serena?" Lita said, nervously.
They had all gather at Rei's temple to talk. By now, the girls couldn't stand it anymore. They missed Serena, and they were very confused.
Serena looked to the girls.
Rei bowed her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Serena. I-I didn't mean. I -"
Serena laughed. "Yes you did, Rei. I've known you long enough to know you always mean what you say."
Rei faltered. She was trying to think of something to say, but Serena's words were so foreign; she'd never heard such a tone, or such words come out of her.
Serena raised a hand. "Stop."
The girls watched, confused. Rei furrowed her eyebrows.
"You were right."
They listened closely as she told them her experience on the Moon.
".when I faded away after talking to my mother, I thought I would return to Earth. But I found myself somewhere. no. nowhere. I found myself nowhere. The Crystal began to blink furiously."
****
Neo-Queen Serenity laughed. "Are you alright, Serena?"
Serena gawked.
Sailor Moon clapped her on the back. "Oh, come on. It's not like you don't know us."
"Actually, I believe I'm with her on this," Princess Serena gestured to Serena. "This IS pretty strange."
"I've seen stranger."
Serena turned and gasped. "Y-you're talking!"
The Crystal chuckled, blinking in unison. "Of course I'm talking. I'm the most powerful thing in the Universe. IT would be rather peculiar if I couldn't do something as simple as 'talk'."
"I guess that makes sense." Serena said.
"I suspected that this would happen eventually," the Crystal continued.
"What do you mean?"
"You." Sailor Moon replied. "Us. being here."
"Why?" Serena asked.
"You need us.
...need us.
.us..." Sailor Moon, Princess Serena, and Neo-Queen Serenity's voices melted into each other.
"I-I don't understand." Serena admitted.
Neo-Queen Serenity walked over to Serena, weaver her fingers through Serena's hair. "I remember."
Sailor Moon laughed. "We're you."
Princess Serena sat down, her white dress spread out all around her. "Don't you recognize me?" She pointed to Neo-Queen Serenity. "She'll be a little harder to recognize because she's your future. But you should know me."
"And me!" Sailor Moon jumped in. "Don't you know us?"
"Of course I know you all." Serena pointed to Princess Serena and then Sailor Moon. "You're Princess Serena, and you're Sailor Moon -"
"No, no, no." Sailor Moon laughed. "That's not what we mean."
Serena stared at them, dumbfounded.
"Your innocence, purity. Your unfailing love." Princess Serena explained. "Do you think they were yours before I, first, gave them to you?"
"Your strong will and bravery. Your strength and clear mind in battle. Your knowledge of fighting, and headstrong flare for goodness and justice." Sailor Moon, as Princess Serena, listed her traits. "You can thank me for them."
Neo-Queen Serenity laughed at the other two and then she looked to Serena. "They are being very passionate about this. But, they make it sound as though you owe them. yet it would be more accurate to say that you owe yourself. because. you are them.
"These are the physical representations of who you are, who you were, and who you will be," the Crystal said.
Serena nodded.
Neo-Queen Serenity continued. "For the longest time, I remember hating the fact that I was Sailor Moon, and still, at the same time, loving it. Just as you feel now. The problem is, even when I first found out that I was Sailor Moon, or Princess Serena, I never really accepted it. Not for a long time. To me, they were more separate parts of me, like appendages or something. I never understood that the fact of the matter was, they were me."
Princess Serena giggled.
"You shouldn't use us anymore, Serena." Sailor Moon said plainly. "I'm not your defender, you know."
"The object is to know yourself." Neo-Queen Serenity said. "Know. us."
"Do you know yourself?" Princess Serena asked. "Do you know. me?"
"It is time." The Crystal blinked.
"T-time? Time for what?" Serena backed away from the group.
"Don't be frightened; trust me. do you trust me?" Neo-Queen Serenity smiled.
Serena's eyes widened. It was getting dark. Her sight faded, and when it returned, Princess Serena was standing alone before her.
She grabbed Serena's hand, and placed it over her heart. "Do you feel that?"
Serena stared, bewildered.
"My. heart." Princess Serena giggled. "Do you feel it?"
The only answer she could think of was, "Yes, I feel your heart."
The Princess removed Serena's hand, and placed it over Serena's own heart. "What now?"
Serena's eyebrows shot up. "M-my heart." Serena's eyes widened in terror. "I can't feel my heart!!"
Princess Serena embraced Serena. "Shh." Again, she giggled. "Listen."
Moments passed before Serena heard it.
"Where's that coming from? That music. Is that a piano? Who."
Serena's mind clenched as a premonition came to her. "I remember! I-I used to play."
"Shh."
She felt as though they were falling. no.. not.. falling. Skating! They were on the ice! But when she looked up to see, there was nothing. She knew that feeling, though. She knew the ice. They were friends. She knew it well.
The next thing she heard startle her. That laugh. She was familiar with that too. Darien. Her heart ached at the sound and she fought back tears.
Abruptly, Princess Serena pulled her away. "Remember." She kissed Serena's lips and burst into extraordinary yellow light. The light entered through, the two souls becoming one. Serena gasped, her hands flew to her throat. Her mind burned. Memories flooded in.
They stopped. Princess Serena was gone.
"Love is. power."
Serena whirled around. "Sailor Moon!"
Sailor Moon was idly sitting on nothing, absently playing with one of her pigtails. She was looking in the distance away from Serena. "Do you understand?"
Serena shook her head.
"It gives us strength." Sailor Moon explained. "We've conquered many a foe with it. for it. It is the everlasting circle that binds life together." she paused a length. "If a man has power, but no love, then what's the use of his strength? For.. evil? You know as well as I that evil never succeeds. Why? It can't. The only use evil works is that it makes us stronger. Strong. Because we, as weak as we may be, love. Love. Love. Love. Serena, what do you think? Why do you fight?"
Serena pondered a second before answering. "Because. because I can."
Sailor Moon nodded.
"I don't like fighting. I would prefer not to. But, I can. I can.. because I must." Serena finished.
"We fight. struggle.. daily. Because we must. Love beckons us. It calls for those who. can. It's a logical chain of events: If you can love, then you can fight. If you love, then you must." Sailor Moon concluded.
"I. I understand."
Sailor Moon smiled. She stood and hugged Serena, then pulled away and kissed her. As Princess Serena did, Sailor Moon burst into light, and melted into Serena's soul. Might, knowledge, and eternal love raged though Serena. She felt strong.
"Serena." Neo-Queen Serenity whispered as she appeared. "Come."
Serena answered the request, embracing the Queen and pulled her away. They gazed off at the Crystal blinking far above them.
"Am I so strange?" Neo-Queen Serenity asked. "Or you?"
"I've always wanted to be normal. Not a princess. Not a Sailor Scout. just. normal."
"Normal?" the Queen laughed. "Over the years, I've learned that such a term is completely circumstantial. The life you may have wanted may seem normal, but to whom? Is it not more normal for a person to choose his or her own, individual path, rather than someone else's? Thusly, the life one leads is normal, because they chose it. What is your choice then? Me -"
"- Or me?" An image formed in the likeness of Serena the very first day she became a Sailor Scout.
Neo-Queen Serenity smiled, and so did the girl. And then they faded away.
"You have the spirit of a warrior in you, Serena." The Crystal said. "And a princess' memories and characteristics. not to mention heritage. But the road you choose is your own. Simply know, that I will serve your family always."
The Crystal floated and returned to the locket at Serena's chest. Serena's legs gave out under her, and she collapsed. And there, in a fetal position, absent of tears, she fell asleep.
***
Whew. that took a long time to type up! Alright, R&R's for all the chapters after chapter three, PLEASE!!! Hehe.. I really hope you liked that one. Like I said, that was my absolute favorite chapter out of all of them. second is the last one.. which is coming up next!
*****
Change
Chapter Six: All Of Me
*****
"Serena?" Lita said, nervously.
They had all gather at Rei's temple to talk. By now, the girls couldn't stand it anymore. They missed Serena, and they were very confused.
Serena looked to the girls.
Rei bowed her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Serena. I-I didn't mean. I -"
Serena laughed. "Yes you did, Rei. I've known you long enough to know you always mean what you say."
Rei faltered. She was trying to think of something to say, but Serena's words were so foreign; she'd never heard such a tone, or such words come out of her.
Serena raised a hand. "Stop."
The girls watched, confused. Rei furrowed her eyebrows.
"You were right."
They listened closely as she told them her experience on the Moon.
".when I faded away after talking to my mother, I thought I would return to Earth. But I found myself somewhere. no. nowhere. I found myself nowhere. The Crystal began to blink furiously."
****
Neo-Queen Serenity laughed. "Are you alright, Serena?"
Serena gawked.
Sailor Moon clapped her on the back. "Oh, come on. It's not like you don't know us."
"Actually, I believe I'm with her on this," Princess Serena gestured to Serena. "This IS pretty strange."
"I've seen stranger."
Serena turned and gasped. "Y-you're talking!"
The Crystal chuckled, blinking in unison. "Of course I'm talking. I'm the most powerful thing in the Universe. IT would be rather peculiar if I couldn't do something as simple as 'talk'."
"I guess that makes sense." Serena said.
"I suspected that this would happen eventually," the Crystal continued.
"What do you mean?"
"You." Sailor Moon replied. "Us. being here."
"Why?" Serena asked.
"You need us.
...need us.
.us..." Sailor Moon, Princess Serena, and Neo-Queen Serenity's voices melted into each other.
"I-I don't understand." Serena admitted.
Neo-Queen Serenity walked over to Serena, weaver her fingers through Serena's hair. "I remember."
Sailor Moon laughed. "We're you."
Princess Serena sat down, her white dress spread out all around her. "Don't you recognize me?" She pointed to Neo-Queen Serenity. "She'll be a little harder to recognize because she's your future. But you should know me."
"And me!" Sailor Moon jumped in. "Don't you know us?"
"Of course I know you all." Serena pointed to Princess Serena and then Sailor Moon. "You're Princess Serena, and you're Sailor Moon -"
"No, no, no." Sailor Moon laughed. "That's not what we mean."
Serena stared at them, dumbfounded.
"Your innocence, purity. Your unfailing love." Princess Serena explained. "Do you think they were yours before I, first, gave them to you?"
"Your strong will and bravery. Your strength and clear mind in battle. Your knowledge of fighting, and headstrong flare for goodness and justice." Sailor Moon, as Princess Serena, listed her traits. "You can thank me for them."
Neo-Queen Serenity laughed at the other two and then she looked to Serena. "They are being very passionate about this. But, they make it sound as though you owe them. yet it would be more accurate to say that you owe yourself. because. you are them.
"These are the physical representations of who you are, who you were, and who you will be," the Crystal said.
Serena nodded.
Neo-Queen Serenity continued. "For the longest time, I remember hating the fact that I was Sailor Moon, and still, at the same time, loving it. Just as you feel now. The problem is, even when I first found out that I was Sailor Moon, or Princess Serena, I never really accepted it. Not for a long time. To me, they were more separate parts of me, like appendages or something. I never understood that the fact of the matter was, they were me."
Princess Serena giggled.
"You shouldn't use us anymore, Serena." Sailor Moon said plainly. "I'm not your defender, you know."
"The object is to know yourself." Neo-Queen Serenity said. "Know. us."
"Do you know yourself?" Princess Serena asked. "Do you know. me?"
"It is time." The Crystal blinked.
"T-time? Time for what?" Serena backed away from the group.
"Don't be frightened; trust me. do you trust me?" Neo-Queen Serenity smiled.
Serena's eyes widened. It was getting dark. Her sight faded, and when it returned, Princess Serena was standing alone before her.
She grabbed Serena's hand, and placed it over her heart. "Do you feel that?"
Serena stared, bewildered.
"My. heart." Princess Serena giggled. "Do you feel it?"
The only answer she could think of was, "Yes, I feel your heart."
The Princess removed Serena's hand, and placed it over Serena's own heart. "What now?"
Serena's eyebrows shot up. "M-my heart." Serena's eyes widened in terror. "I can't feel my heart!!"
Princess Serena embraced Serena. "Shh." Again, she giggled. "Listen."
Moments passed before Serena heard it.
"Where's that coming from? That music. Is that a piano? Who."
Serena's mind clenched as a premonition came to her. "I remember! I-I used to play."
"Shh."
She felt as though they were falling. no.. not.. falling. Skating! They were on the ice! But when she looked up to see, there was nothing. She knew that feeling, though. She knew the ice. They were friends. She knew it well.
The next thing she heard startle her. That laugh. She was familiar with that too. Darien. Her heart ached at the sound and she fought back tears.
Abruptly, Princess Serena pulled her away. "Remember." She kissed Serena's lips and burst into extraordinary yellow light. The light entered through, the two souls becoming one. Serena gasped, her hands flew to her throat. Her mind burned. Memories flooded in.
They stopped. Princess Serena was gone.
"Love is. power."
Serena whirled around. "Sailor Moon!"
Sailor Moon was idly sitting on nothing, absently playing with one of her pigtails. She was looking in the distance away from Serena. "Do you understand?"
Serena shook her head.
"It gives us strength." Sailor Moon explained. "We've conquered many a foe with it. for it. It is the everlasting circle that binds life together." she paused a length. "If a man has power, but no love, then what's the use of his strength? For.. evil? You know as well as I that evil never succeeds. Why? It can't. The only use evil works is that it makes us stronger. Strong. Because we, as weak as we may be, love. Love. Love. Love. Serena, what do you think? Why do you fight?"
Serena pondered a second before answering. "Because. because I can."
Sailor Moon nodded.
"I don't like fighting. I would prefer not to. But, I can. I can.. because I must." Serena finished.
"We fight. struggle.. daily. Because we must. Love beckons us. It calls for those who. can. It's a logical chain of events: If you can love, then you can fight. If you love, then you must." Sailor Moon concluded.
"I. I understand."
Sailor Moon smiled. She stood and hugged Serena, then pulled away and kissed her. As Princess Serena did, Sailor Moon burst into light, and melted into Serena's soul. Might, knowledge, and eternal love raged though Serena. She felt strong.
"Serena." Neo-Queen Serenity whispered as she appeared. "Come."
Serena answered the request, embracing the Queen and pulled her away. They gazed off at the Crystal blinking far above them.
"Am I so strange?" Neo-Queen Serenity asked. "Or you?"
"I've always wanted to be normal. Not a princess. Not a Sailor Scout. just. normal."
"Normal?" the Queen laughed. "Over the years, I've learned that such a term is completely circumstantial. The life you may have wanted may seem normal, but to whom? Is it not more normal for a person to choose his or her own, individual path, rather than someone else's? Thusly, the life one leads is normal, because they chose it. What is your choice then? Me -"
"- Or me?" An image formed in the likeness of Serena the very first day she became a Sailor Scout.
Neo-Queen Serenity smiled, and so did the girl. And then they faded away.
"You have the spirit of a warrior in you, Serena." The Crystal said. "And a princess' memories and characteristics. not to mention heritage. But the road you choose is your own. Simply know, that I will serve your family always."
The Crystal floated and returned to the locket at Serena's chest. Serena's legs gave out under her, and she collapsed. And there, in a fetal position, absent of tears, she fell asleep.
***
Whew. that took a long time to type up! Alright, R&R's for all the chapters after chapter three, PLEASE!!! Hehe.. I really hope you liked that one. Like I said, that was my absolute favorite chapter out of all of them. second is the last one.. which is coming up next!