Sailor Moon
"Reflections of a Red Rose"
By: NeoMoon
Rated PG-13
Chapter Thirty-Two:
Rei sat leaning over the table, looking at the puzzle of her own self. She sighed as she leaned back, looking at the white mist that had become her reality. She didn't know when the room had disappeared, but it had, and now all that was left was she, the low table and the puzzle.
She looked back at the table, trying to figure out her problem, trying to see if the final piece was anywhere at all, but it wasn't, and the four pronged whole that rested between her puzzle self's breast remained unfilled.
"This is never going to work." She sighed as she buried her head into her hands, and tried to fight back the wave of tears that threatened to over take her. She knew now that was always to be lost within her own mind that there was no way that she could escape.
Mamoru was running, not caring of the pounding pain that bashed against his skull with every step he took. He had seen her, he knew he had, it wasn't a hallucination like Shinneri had told him, he had seen her flying above them, landing on the building that he had just burst into, sending a new pain running up his arm from the door he had rammed.
As he raced up the flights of stairs uncaring of the fact that the they were no longer stable he thought of her how he would hold her and how he would cry on her shoulder, and yell at her, he was her fiancée he was aloud some fussing, for doing something stupid like running off right before an earthquake.
He laughed as the scenario played out in his mind. He could see her punching him in the arm and yelling back at him because he fussed over her too much, and then they would both laugh then . . .
He stopped, his eyes widen with a painful mixture of surprise, fear, and truth. Slowly he walked over to the dead woman, careful not to step on the long greenish black hair that fanned away from the head. He knelt down next to the fallen woman, his knee resting in a small pool of blood, and as he wiped a few strands of hair from the woman's face he know what had happened on the roof, who had done this to the woman, and the city. "Setsuna." He whispered, choking back the tears that threatened him, then cursing himself for almost crying.
"It is a pity." Whispered a familiar voice from behind him.
He spun around on the balls of his feet as he stood, swaying as a new shock of pain screamed in his head, and he saw her, a dull image sitting crossed legged on the roof's edge, a soft smile on a pale face, greenish black hair swimming behind her in a wind that did not exist. "Hello, Prince." Setsuna whispered.
"You're not real." Mamoru said calmly. "You're dead, lying in your own blood behind me."
Setsuna shook her head, her hair still dancing behind her, and jumped down from the roof's edge and walked toward him. Her movement was odd as if he were watching her walk in front of a strobe light. Soon she was next to him, kneeling down, looking at her own body.
"I'm not dead." She said simply, as she placed her dead body's hands over its stomach and closed its eyes. "I still have a chance."
Mamoru tried to sallow. "Wh - What do you mean?"
"There's more then one gate dear Prince. More then one guardian." She paused as she stood, her eyes taking in the destroyed Tokyo. "I am . . . was the weakest." She started to walk away from him toward the edge of the roof. "I will be present when the end comes." She turned to look at him, her soft smile sad. "Do you love her? Truly love her?"
Mamoru felt his cheeks heat. "What kind of question is that?" He yelled at the shade. "I love her more then anything else!"
The smile disappeared. "Then believe in her, and the power that sleeps inside of her."
Mamoru opened his mouth wanting to ask more but Setsuna's shade was already gone, all that was left besides the cold body that lay behind him, was a whisper. "Protect my body." It said.
Slowly, Mamoru descended the stairs, Setsuna's cold body held close to his chest. Questions, thousands of them, rose in his mind, making the pain that pounded against his skull worsen. Still he walked, down and down, as if he himself were entering the world that the Pluto of myth had once ruled.
Ami walked through the world that rested between waking and sleeping. The place was cold, a damp mist danced around her, her breath becoming one with it. She walked ignoring the cold, the damp and the mist.
"Scholar." Ami shivered at the cold voice, but not because of the cold, but because of the familiarity of that voice.
"Usa?"
The tall pink haired woman emerged from the mist, it wrapped around the black dress that she wore.
"Hello Ami."
Ami nodded in response, and turned away, something about the woman that looked and sounded like Usa scared her.
"What's wrong?" Usa asked as she walked up to Ami.
Ami shook her head and continued on her journey through the world between waking and sleep. "I have nothing to say."
Usa no longer walked with her, yet she could feel the other woman's eyes burning into her back.
"There's no more time!" Usa screamed as Ami walked further into the damp cold mist. "She's going to dye!"
Ami stopped, turning slightly. She eyed Usa. "Goodbye," she whispered and walked off into the mist.
"Scholar!" Usa yelled behind her. "Listen to me! If you do not lend your hand then the future world, the damned universe will die!" Ami continued to walk. "Scholar!"
She disappeared into the mist, and nothing followed her.
"Who's that?" Shinneri asked as he ran up to Mamoru.
"A friend." He's voice was cold distant.
"No offence man, but your lady friend seems kinda dead."
Mamoru, looked at Shinneri, his eyes narrowed. "Shut up." He whispered.
Together in silence both men continued to walk.
Micheru curdled her body tighter, her eyes never leaving the sights of the outside world. She knew how close she had come to death, she felt it as her life slow drained away from her, and now as she watched the world outside the giant hole were the balcony of her apartment had once been, she wished she had.
"Haruka," she whispered, her voice choked from tears that no longer fell. "Haruka-chan where are you."
Something moved in the doorway. Micheru looked away from the hole in the wall, away from the outside world, a large almost hysterical smile coming over her face. "Haruka-chan!" She half screamed half choked.
Haruka leaned against the doorway, a slanted smile on her face. "I told you never call me that."
"But I like too." Micheru protested as her smile grew, "but may I ask what that horrid thing your wearing is?"
Haruka looked down at the short pink and white dress she wore, that was way too small and was most definitely, Micheru decided, not meant for her lover. "I borrowed it," Haruka said, her voice pinched.
Micheru shook her head, and tried not to laugh, she slowly rose from the sofa, and looked at her Haruka as she stood, never taken her eyes off what she considered her light. "I love you." She whispered as new tears washed over her already red face.
Haruka sighed, but still she ran over to Micheru and embraced her, holding Micheru close to her, and Micheru did not want it any other way. She was happy to be held in her love's strong arms.
"Something's going to happen." Haruka said, her voice barely a whisper, yet bringing the happy silence that Micheru had loved so much.
"How much time do we have?" She asked, her head resting against Haruka's chest.
Micheru could feel Haruka shake her head. "I don't know, the little bitch didn't say."
Micheru looked up at her lover, into her eyes, and she could see everything, every pain she had endured in her quest. "I'm sorry." She whispered sadly.
"It wasn't your fault." Haruka said as she brushed her hand through Micheru's hair. "It was never your fault."
"I'm still sorry." Micheru murmured as she closed her eyes and rested herself completely against Haruka.
"So am I." She heard Haruka say as she drifted away into the darkness of a dreamless sleep.
Haruka smiled as Micheru fell asleep against her. Moments turned in to minutes, and minutes passed, and Haruka felt happy and content, the first time either emotion had soon itself to her since before Galaxia. So she stood there taking in the feelings, loving the feel of her beloved resting against her, and she cursed softly and fully as the pins pricked through her foot.
With a sigh, she picked up Micheru and rested her between her arms, nestling her close to her chest, and carried her slowly to their bedroom, and softly placed her love into their large bed.
She watched, her sleep, content just to watch, but soon she needed more. Slowly she crawled into the bed and curled around her love, and soon she too slept.
Rei still sat, still looked of the puzzle that represented the core of herself, and still she found that she could go no further. The hole was still there, the piece still missing. She cursed, fully and silently, even here she feared people thinking strange of her, even here in a place that wasn't inhabited by any but her.
"That's your problem."
Rei looked up and gasped. Before her stood her, Rei.
"Can't you see that your stupid little fears are what's holding you here." The other version of her sighed dramatically as she threw her arms into the air. "In other words, stop worrying what others will think, and you can get the hell outta here!"
"Go away." Rei said simply. "I don't know who are what you are, but I want you out of my mind!"
The other Rei smiled. "I got bad news for you honey, were stuck together." The smile grew. "You see, we're one and the same."
"No, I don't believe you."
The other Rei nodded. "Fine suit yourself hotshot."
Rei was once again alone.
"And as dawn slowly breaks over the once great capital of Tokyo," the news anchor said. "Rescue workers and medical staff from all over Japan and the America wait outside the city, as scientist try to discover what the mysterious barrier that sounds the city is."
The TV clicked off, leaving only the soft darkness of the black tube.
"Reflections of a Red Rose"
By: NeoMoon
Rated PG-13
Chapter Thirty-Two:
Rei sat leaning over the table, looking at the puzzle of her own self. She sighed as she leaned back, looking at the white mist that had become her reality. She didn't know when the room had disappeared, but it had, and now all that was left was she, the low table and the puzzle.
She looked back at the table, trying to figure out her problem, trying to see if the final piece was anywhere at all, but it wasn't, and the four pronged whole that rested between her puzzle self's breast remained unfilled.
"This is never going to work." She sighed as she buried her head into her hands, and tried to fight back the wave of tears that threatened to over take her. She knew now that was always to be lost within her own mind that there was no way that she could escape.
Mamoru was running, not caring of the pounding pain that bashed against his skull with every step he took. He had seen her, he knew he had, it wasn't a hallucination like Shinneri had told him, he had seen her flying above them, landing on the building that he had just burst into, sending a new pain running up his arm from the door he had rammed.
As he raced up the flights of stairs uncaring of the fact that the they were no longer stable he thought of her how he would hold her and how he would cry on her shoulder, and yell at her, he was her fiancée he was aloud some fussing, for doing something stupid like running off right before an earthquake.
He laughed as the scenario played out in his mind. He could see her punching him in the arm and yelling back at him because he fussed over her too much, and then they would both laugh then . . .
He stopped, his eyes widen with a painful mixture of surprise, fear, and truth. Slowly he walked over to the dead woman, careful not to step on the long greenish black hair that fanned away from the head. He knelt down next to the fallen woman, his knee resting in a small pool of blood, and as he wiped a few strands of hair from the woman's face he know what had happened on the roof, who had done this to the woman, and the city. "Setsuna." He whispered, choking back the tears that threatened him, then cursing himself for almost crying.
"It is a pity." Whispered a familiar voice from behind him.
He spun around on the balls of his feet as he stood, swaying as a new shock of pain screamed in his head, and he saw her, a dull image sitting crossed legged on the roof's edge, a soft smile on a pale face, greenish black hair swimming behind her in a wind that did not exist. "Hello, Prince." Setsuna whispered.
"You're not real." Mamoru said calmly. "You're dead, lying in your own blood behind me."
Setsuna shook her head, her hair still dancing behind her, and jumped down from the roof's edge and walked toward him. Her movement was odd as if he were watching her walk in front of a strobe light. Soon she was next to him, kneeling down, looking at her own body.
"I'm not dead." She said simply, as she placed her dead body's hands over its stomach and closed its eyes. "I still have a chance."
Mamoru tried to sallow. "Wh - What do you mean?"
"There's more then one gate dear Prince. More then one guardian." She paused as she stood, her eyes taking in the destroyed Tokyo. "I am . . . was the weakest." She started to walk away from him toward the edge of the roof. "I will be present when the end comes." She turned to look at him, her soft smile sad. "Do you love her? Truly love her?"
Mamoru felt his cheeks heat. "What kind of question is that?" He yelled at the shade. "I love her more then anything else!"
The smile disappeared. "Then believe in her, and the power that sleeps inside of her."
Mamoru opened his mouth wanting to ask more but Setsuna's shade was already gone, all that was left besides the cold body that lay behind him, was a whisper. "Protect my body." It said.
Slowly, Mamoru descended the stairs, Setsuna's cold body held close to his chest. Questions, thousands of them, rose in his mind, making the pain that pounded against his skull worsen. Still he walked, down and down, as if he himself were entering the world that the Pluto of myth had once ruled.
Ami walked through the world that rested between waking and sleeping. The place was cold, a damp mist danced around her, her breath becoming one with it. She walked ignoring the cold, the damp and the mist.
"Scholar." Ami shivered at the cold voice, but not because of the cold, but because of the familiarity of that voice.
"Usa?"
The tall pink haired woman emerged from the mist, it wrapped around the black dress that she wore.
"Hello Ami."
Ami nodded in response, and turned away, something about the woman that looked and sounded like Usa scared her.
"What's wrong?" Usa asked as she walked up to Ami.
Ami shook her head and continued on her journey through the world between waking and sleep. "I have nothing to say."
Usa no longer walked with her, yet she could feel the other woman's eyes burning into her back.
"There's no more time!" Usa screamed as Ami walked further into the damp cold mist. "She's going to dye!"
Ami stopped, turning slightly. She eyed Usa. "Goodbye," she whispered and walked off into the mist.
"Scholar!" Usa yelled behind her. "Listen to me! If you do not lend your hand then the future world, the damned universe will die!" Ami continued to walk. "Scholar!"
She disappeared into the mist, and nothing followed her.
"Who's that?" Shinneri asked as he ran up to Mamoru.
"A friend." He's voice was cold distant.
"No offence man, but your lady friend seems kinda dead."
Mamoru, looked at Shinneri, his eyes narrowed. "Shut up." He whispered.
Together in silence both men continued to walk.
Micheru curdled her body tighter, her eyes never leaving the sights of the outside world. She knew how close she had come to death, she felt it as her life slow drained away from her, and now as she watched the world outside the giant hole were the balcony of her apartment had once been, she wished she had.
"Haruka," she whispered, her voice choked from tears that no longer fell. "Haruka-chan where are you."
Something moved in the doorway. Micheru looked away from the hole in the wall, away from the outside world, a large almost hysterical smile coming over her face. "Haruka-chan!" She half screamed half choked.
Haruka leaned against the doorway, a slanted smile on her face. "I told you never call me that."
"But I like too." Micheru protested as her smile grew, "but may I ask what that horrid thing your wearing is?"
Haruka looked down at the short pink and white dress she wore, that was way too small and was most definitely, Micheru decided, not meant for her lover. "I borrowed it," Haruka said, her voice pinched.
Micheru shook her head, and tried not to laugh, she slowly rose from the sofa, and looked at her Haruka as she stood, never taken her eyes off what she considered her light. "I love you." She whispered as new tears washed over her already red face.
Haruka sighed, but still she ran over to Micheru and embraced her, holding Micheru close to her, and Micheru did not want it any other way. She was happy to be held in her love's strong arms.
"Something's going to happen." Haruka said, her voice barely a whisper, yet bringing the happy silence that Micheru had loved so much.
"How much time do we have?" She asked, her head resting against Haruka's chest.
Micheru could feel Haruka shake her head. "I don't know, the little bitch didn't say."
Micheru looked up at her lover, into her eyes, and she could see everything, every pain she had endured in her quest. "I'm sorry." She whispered sadly.
"It wasn't your fault." Haruka said as she brushed her hand through Micheru's hair. "It was never your fault."
"I'm still sorry." Micheru murmured as she closed her eyes and rested herself completely against Haruka.
"So am I." She heard Haruka say as she drifted away into the darkness of a dreamless sleep.
Haruka smiled as Micheru fell asleep against her. Moments turned in to minutes, and minutes passed, and Haruka felt happy and content, the first time either emotion had soon itself to her since before Galaxia. So she stood there taking in the feelings, loving the feel of her beloved resting against her, and she cursed softly and fully as the pins pricked through her foot.
With a sigh, she picked up Micheru and rested her between her arms, nestling her close to her chest, and carried her slowly to their bedroom, and softly placed her love into their large bed.
She watched, her sleep, content just to watch, but soon she needed more. Slowly she crawled into the bed and curled around her love, and soon she too slept.
Rei still sat, still looked of the puzzle that represented the core of herself, and still she found that she could go no further. The hole was still there, the piece still missing. She cursed, fully and silently, even here she feared people thinking strange of her, even here in a place that wasn't inhabited by any but her.
"That's your problem."
Rei looked up and gasped. Before her stood her, Rei.
"Can't you see that your stupid little fears are what's holding you here." The other version of her sighed dramatically as she threw her arms into the air. "In other words, stop worrying what others will think, and you can get the hell outta here!"
"Go away." Rei said simply. "I don't know who are what you are, but I want you out of my mind!"
The other Rei smiled. "I got bad news for you honey, were stuck together." The smile grew. "You see, we're one and the same."
"No, I don't believe you."
The other Rei nodded. "Fine suit yourself hotshot."
Rei was once again alone.
"And as dawn slowly breaks over the once great capital of Tokyo," the news anchor said. "Rescue workers and medical staff from all over Japan and the America wait outside the city, as scientist try to discover what the mysterious barrier that sounds the city is."
The TV clicked off, leaving only the soft darkness of the black tube.