Serena groaned softly, opening her eyes. Around her the world seemed to
have disappeared, dissolving into a white nothingness. Unconsciously she
wrapped her white wings around herself as she curled into a ball, floating
in this place with no up or down. She knew that she should be worried and
scared, not knowing where she was or how she would get back, but somehow
she just couldn't bring herself to care. Emotions like fear seemed so far
away, like some vaguely understood concept that had no real connection to
her. Instead she felt lethargic, wanting nothing more than to just close
her eyes and fall back into the oblivion of sleep. She was so tired.
Didn't she deserve the rest?
But something was calling her, refusing to let her just sleep. And some part of her was insisting that she had to pay attention to that call. It was important. Sighing, Serena raised her head and looked around, searching for the source of that call. As if sensing her attention, it became louder, more insistent. She still couldn't make out any words but she knew instinctively that it was directed at her.
Then she saw it. There was something else in here with her. Someone else.
"Mother!"
And from deep in her brain, the fuzzy thought emerged that she wasn't a mother. She was pretty sure that she would have remembered something like giving birth. Right?
"Mother!"
But someone was out there, calling for her, calling her Mother. Maybe she was wrong and they weren't looking for her? But she knew they were. That thought made her frown. How did she know? Struggling, she tried to remember how she had gotten to this place but her thoughts were sluggish, refusing to focus.
"Mother!"
Serena felt a flash of irritation. She needed to think and that was hard when Rini kept yelling at her.
Wait...Rini? Rini was...her daughter. But she didn't have a daughter.
Yet.
Suddenly her memory cleared, the memories rushing back. Looking around she wondered briefly if she was dead but shook the thought off as she turned towards where here daughter was calling for her.
Spreading the huge white wings that were still with her, she shot forward, following the voice that was calling her.
"Mother!"
In front of her she saw a young woman. She was younger than the Rini that Sailor Moon had fought but older than the young girl that Pluto had described to her. She looked more like a girl in her mid-teens with long pink hair in a style similar to Serena's.
"Rini." Serena called softly as she approached.
The girl spun towards her and lunged at her, clinging to Serena's waist as huge sobs wracked her small frame.
"I'm sorry, Mama. I'm sorry." Rini kept saying while crying.
"Shh. Hush, it's okay. You're okay." Serena said quietly, petting her daughter's hair, trying to comfort her.
Slowly the sobs began to lessen as Rini gasped for air.
Rini pulled away from Serena's embrace and took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders, "I'm sorry, Mother."
Serena felt an odd tinge of regret at the formal tone that Rini took. It said something about what the future looked like. It brought up memories of her own childhood on the Moon, when there had been a clear distinction between talking to her mother and talking to the Queen of the Moon.
"Rini..." Serena tried to find the words the say what needed to be said to her daughter, this woman she didn't know at all. "This was not your fault."
"But..." Rini began to protest.
Serena cut her off, "It wasn't your fault. It was the fault of those who were supposed to be protecting you. I should never have allowed you to get into the kind of situation where you could be caught by my enemies. And it is the fault of the Wiseman who changed your memories, corrupting them. It is not, absolutely not, your fault."
Rini looked at her sadly, "You couldn't protect me Mother."
"What? Why?" Serena asked, wondering what Pluto had left out of her story of the future.
"You were hurt. And now no one can wake you up. So your inner court protected you while Pluto was trying to watch me. But I...I snuck into your room and touched the Silver Crystal. I didn't mean for it to disappear! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have run away but I was afraid they would be mad at me." Rini said, looking pathetic, "That is why this is my fault."
Serena looked at her curiously, ignoring the future for the moment in favor of the present and its oddities, "Rini, how old are you?"
Rini seemed surprised, "Nine."
Serena looked at the girl, "That's what I thought. Do you know why you didn't change all the way back to the age you are supposed to be?"
"What?" Rini looked down at herself as if noticing for the first time that she no longer has the body of a little girl of nine, "I...I don't know. But..."
"But?" Serena prompted softly when Rini trailed off.
"I'm glad. I don't feel like a little girl anymore. I don't know if I could go back to being one." Rini said quietly.
Serena nodded to herself. She understood that feeling, remembering her own youth as Sailor Moon. She wasn't really surprised that the Silver Crystal would do such a thing. It had acted independently before and would most likely do so again.
Which brought her to another part of Rini's story that puzzled her. The Silver Crystal. It shouldn't have just disappeared like that. Serena knew that there was something important that she was overlooking and yet she could quite seem to put her finger on it. Frowning, she looked off into the void surrounding them, trying to recall the recent battle.
She had been losing and then something had given her extra strength. And she had used it to...
Serena looked back at Rini. Was it possible?
Rini looked askance at her.
"I think...Let me try something." Serena said hesitantly.
Closing her eyes she reached for the Silver Crystal that was still embedded in her own heart. She found its warm power easily. Using it carefully, she searched for the dark crystal that had been in Rini, and felt a pulse of recognition from the Silver Crystal in her own heart.
Opening her eyes, she smiled, "Rini, the Silver Crystal didn't disappear. It went inside you."
"What?" Rini asked, confused.
"Look." Serena said, calling the two crystals out.
Slowly the crystals emerged from their hosts, shining like twin stars. Rini gasped, reaching out towards the crystal that had come out of her but stopping herself before she touched it.
"I don't know why, but the Silver Crystal went into you. You didn't make it disappear." Serena said.
"But...I made the dark crystal. How could it be the Silver Crystal?" Rini asked, mystified.
Serena paused a moment before answering, "I think that you did make the dark crystal, but when you let it enter your body, it also merged with the Silver Crystal which was already inside of you. There was already a tiny flaw in your dark crystal. Using this flaw, I was able to connect with you and purify your dark crystal."
Rini stood speechless, staring at the twin crystals. A single tear fell down her face as she reached out to grab a hold of it.
"I have to return this to my Mother." She said fiercely.
Serena nodded, "Then we need to leave this place."
Rini looked around, "I don't know how."
"I think I do." Serena said.
* * * * *
Helios watched the others worriedly. They were still alive, he had checked, but none of them had moved. Below, he could see the police beginning to cautiously approach the building again. Moving quickly he moved several of the larger chunks of debris in front of the only door leading down from the roof. It wouldn't hold indefinitely but it would give him some time to decide what to do.
Crossing over to where Darien lay he tried to wake him up. With a deep breath he touched the tip of his newly regrown horn to Darien's forehead. After a moment Darien groaned and opened his eyes. After a failed attempt to stand, Darien managed to prop himself up to look around as Helios continued to wake the others.
Soon all were awake. Most were leaning against someone while a few, like Rei, were still determinedly trying to stand. Helios was suitably impressed when the scout managed to stand, despite as wobbly she was. Darien seemed to be recovering quickly and turned towards him, questions that Helios didn't want to answer in the man's eyes.
Before those questions could be asked though, a small ball of light appeared, growing larger and larger till the others had to shield their eyes. Two figures could be vaguely seen inside. As the light faded, it left behind Sailor Moon and Rini, facing each other with hands clasped. The pair opened their eyes to smile at one another before collapsing.
* * * * *
It took some effort, but they managed to get off of the roof without encountering the police. They made it back to Rei's temple. There, most of them just found an unoccupied corner to collapse in once Serena and Rini had been put to bed. Neither had awakened during the trip back but Darien was pretty sure that it was just pure exhaustion. He had no idea what had happened but it appeared like everything had worked out for the best.
Laying down beside Serena, he pulled her tight against his chest and buried his face into her hair, proving to himself through touch that she was really here, with him, and okay. Closing his eyes, he drifted off to sleep.
* * * * *
AN: This is out because I felt bad about the last cliffy. Hope it comes as a pleasent surprise. As always, all error in the chapter were most likely made, quite cheerfully, by me after my poor beta (love ya Mercurial!) laborously went through and fixed all the originals.
Chibi J - hee hee. Yea, well, Helios has his own issues to work out.
crystal_moon13 - just for you, an quick, none cliffy update. Really. I swear.
Kitsune Moonstar - wouldn't want you falling into withdrawl. And I promise to work on that X-Men story. Someday. Really.
OMYSTRS - well, we can't have you dying of suspence on me now, can we.
roswellachick - hee hee, you had a lightbulb moment. And no bruising the author!
kalinda - glad you enjoyed the descriptions! Hope this a quick enough update for you.
EtrnalRhapsodi - aww. Thanks. I always worry about fight scenes. Therefore it means a lot that people liked that last chapter.
missaw - the battle is over! Woo hoo! Happy dance.
Karla - hee hee, sorry about the cliffy. Really.
Sage: The Dark Dryad - Thanks. Glad that you are enjoying your foray back into SM fanfiction. PS: Awsome name.
BenRG - Glad to see that my attempt to keep this like the anime is working. Truthfully, I kept picturing all those SM final battles as I wrote this.
Usako4life - yea, sorry about not getting back to your e-mail. Life was wicked crazy and I kept putting it off. Trust me, you were in good company. My mother finally just called me rather than trust me to respond to e-mail.
Mercurial1 - Promise, I will work on the X-Men story. You aren't getting rid of me that easily. *wink*
But something was calling her, refusing to let her just sleep. And some part of her was insisting that she had to pay attention to that call. It was important. Sighing, Serena raised her head and looked around, searching for the source of that call. As if sensing her attention, it became louder, more insistent. She still couldn't make out any words but she knew instinctively that it was directed at her.
Then she saw it. There was something else in here with her. Someone else.
"Mother!"
And from deep in her brain, the fuzzy thought emerged that she wasn't a mother. She was pretty sure that she would have remembered something like giving birth. Right?
"Mother!"
But someone was out there, calling for her, calling her Mother. Maybe she was wrong and they weren't looking for her? But she knew they were. That thought made her frown. How did she know? Struggling, she tried to remember how she had gotten to this place but her thoughts were sluggish, refusing to focus.
"Mother!"
Serena felt a flash of irritation. She needed to think and that was hard when Rini kept yelling at her.
Wait...Rini? Rini was...her daughter. But she didn't have a daughter.
Yet.
Suddenly her memory cleared, the memories rushing back. Looking around she wondered briefly if she was dead but shook the thought off as she turned towards where here daughter was calling for her.
Spreading the huge white wings that were still with her, she shot forward, following the voice that was calling her.
"Mother!"
In front of her she saw a young woman. She was younger than the Rini that Sailor Moon had fought but older than the young girl that Pluto had described to her. She looked more like a girl in her mid-teens with long pink hair in a style similar to Serena's.
"Rini." Serena called softly as she approached.
The girl spun towards her and lunged at her, clinging to Serena's waist as huge sobs wracked her small frame.
"I'm sorry, Mama. I'm sorry." Rini kept saying while crying.
"Shh. Hush, it's okay. You're okay." Serena said quietly, petting her daughter's hair, trying to comfort her.
Slowly the sobs began to lessen as Rini gasped for air.
Rini pulled away from Serena's embrace and took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders, "I'm sorry, Mother."
Serena felt an odd tinge of regret at the formal tone that Rini took. It said something about what the future looked like. It brought up memories of her own childhood on the Moon, when there had been a clear distinction between talking to her mother and talking to the Queen of the Moon.
"Rini..." Serena tried to find the words the say what needed to be said to her daughter, this woman she didn't know at all. "This was not your fault."
"But..." Rini began to protest.
Serena cut her off, "It wasn't your fault. It was the fault of those who were supposed to be protecting you. I should never have allowed you to get into the kind of situation where you could be caught by my enemies. And it is the fault of the Wiseman who changed your memories, corrupting them. It is not, absolutely not, your fault."
Rini looked at her sadly, "You couldn't protect me Mother."
"What? Why?" Serena asked, wondering what Pluto had left out of her story of the future.
"You were hurt. And now no one can wake you up. So your inner court protected you while Pluto was trying to watch me. But I...I snuck into your room and touched the Silver Crystal. I didn't mean for it to disappear! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have run away but I was afraid they would be mad at me." Rini said, looking pathetic, "That is why this is my fault."
Serena looked at her curiously, ignoring the future for the moment in favor of the present and its oddities, "Rini, how old are you?"
Rini seemed surprised, "Nine."
Serena looked at the girl, "That's what I thought. Do you know why you didn't change all the way back to the age you are supposed to be?"
"What?" Rini looked down at herself as if noticing for the first time that she no longer has the body of a little girl of nine, "I...I don't know. But..."
"But?" Serena prompted softly when Rini trailed off.
"I'm glad. I don't feel like a little girl anymore. I don't know if I could go back to being one." Rini said quietly.
Serena nodded to herself. She understood that feeling, remembering her own youth as Sailor Moon. She wasn't really surprised that the Silver Crystal would do such a thing. It had acted independently before and would most likely do so again.
Which brought her to another part of Rini's story that puzzled her. The Silver Crystal. It shouldn't have just disappeared like that. Serena knew that there was something important that she was overlooking and yet she could quite seem to put her finger on it. Frowning, she looked off into the void surrounding them, trying to recall the recent battle.
She had been losing and then something had given her extra strength. And she had used it to...
Serena looked back at Rini. Was it possible?
Rini looked askance at her.
"I think...Let me try something." Serena said hesitantly.
Closing her eyes she reached for the Silver Crystal that was still embedded in her own heart. She found its warm power easily. Using it carefully, she searched for the dark crystal that had been in Rini, and felt a pulse of recognition from the Silver Crystal in her own heart.
Opening her eyes, she smiled, "Rini, the Silver Crystal didn't disappear. It went inside you."
"What?" Rini asked, confused.
"Look." Serena said, calling the two crystals out.
Slowly the crystals emerged from their hosts, shining like twin stars. Rini gasped, reaching out towards the crystal that had come out of her but stopping herself before she touched it.
"I don't know why, but the Silver Crystal went into you. You didn't make it disappear." Serena said.
"But...I made the dark crystal. How could it be the Silver Crystal?" Rini asked, mystified.
Serena paused a moment before answering, "I think that you did make the dark crystal, but when you let it enter your body, it also merged with the Silver Crystal which was already inside of you. There was already a tiny flaw in your dark crystal. Using this flaw, I was able to connect with you and purify your dark crystal."
Rini stood speechless, staring at the twin crystals. A single tear fell down her face as she reached out to grab a hold of it.
"I have to return this to my Mother." She said fiercely.
Serena nodded, "Then we need to leave this place."
Rini looked around, "I don't know how."
"I think I do." Serena said.
* * * * *
Helios watched the others worriedly. They were still alive, he had checked, but none of them had moved. Below, he could see the police beginning to cautiously approach the building again. Moving quickly he moved several of the larger chunks of debris in front of the only door leading down from the roof. It wouldn't hold indefinitely but it would give him some time to decide what to do.
Crossing over to where Darien lay he tried to wake him up. With a deep breath he touched the tip of his newly regrown horn to Darien's forehead. After a moment Darien groaned and opened his eyes. After a failed attempt to stand, Darien managed to prop himself up to look around as Helios continued to wake the others.
Soon all were awake. Most were leaning against someone while a few, like Rei, were still determinedly trying to stand. Helios was suitably impressed when the scout managed to stand, despite as wobbly she was. Darien seemed to be recovering quickly and turned towards him, questions that Helios didn't want to answer in the man's eyes.
Before those questions could be asked though, a small ball of light appeared, growing larger and larger till the others had to shield their eyes. Two figures could be vaguely seen inside. As the light faded, it left behind Sailor Moon and Rini, facing each other with hands clasped. The pair opened their eyes to smile at one another before collapsing.
* * * * *
It took some effort, but they managed to get off of the roof without encountering the police. They made it back to Rei's temple. There, most of them just found an unoccupied corner to collapse in once Serena and Rini had been put to bed. Neither had awakened during the trip back but Darien was pretty sure that it was just pure exhaustion. He had no idea what had happened but it appeared like everything had worked out for the best.
Laying down beside Serena, he pulled her tight against his chest and buried his face into her hair, proving to himself through touch that she was really here, with him, and okay. Closing his eyes, he drifted off to sleep.
* * * * *
AN: This is out because I felt bad about the last cliffy. Hope it comes as a pleasent surprise. As always, all error in the chapter were most likely made, quite cheerfully, by me after my poor beta (love ya Mercurial!) laborously went through and fixed all the originals.
Chibi J - hee hee. Yea, well, Helios has his own issues to work out.
crystal_moon13 - just for you, an quick, none cliffy update. Really. I swear.
Kitsune Moonstar - wouldn't want you falling into withdrawl. And I promise to work on that X-Men story. Someday. Really.
OMYSTRS - well, we can't have you dying of suspence on me now, can we.
roswellachick - hee hee, you had a lightbulb moment. And no bruising the author!
kalinda - glad you enjoyed the descriptions! Hope this a quick enough update for you.
EtrnalRhapsodi - aww. Thanks. I always worry about fight scenes. Therefore it means a lot that people liked that last chapter.
missaw - the battle is over! Woo hoo! Happy dance.
Karla - hee hee, sorry about the cliffy. Really.
Sage: The Dark Dryad - Thanks. Glad that you are enjoying your foray back into SM fanfiction. PS: Awsome name.
BenRG - Glad to see that my attempt to keep this like the anime is working. Truthfully, I kept picturing all those SM final battles as I wrote this.
Usako4life - yea, sorry about not getting back to your e-mail. Life was wicked crazy and I kept putting it off. Trust me, you were in good company. My mother finally just called me rather than trust me to respond to e-mail.
Mercurial1 - Promise, I will work on the X-Men story. You aren't getting rid of me that easily. *wink*