BEFORE YOU READ:  I recommend you check out my one-shot "Moonshadow" which explains more about Lupin and Usagi (you wont see the two of them here for awhile).  Also, "The Gathering Starlight" (LotR/SM) tells what would happen if CHAOS won this Last Battle.

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AN:  About a month and a half ago, I randomly published a one-shot fic called "Moonshadow".  It was the first Usagi/Lupin pairing I've ever heard of, and it was a success.  People kept bugging me for more, so finally, after weeks of planning, thought, and debate, we have "Spellbound", the continuation of "Moonshadow" (not sequel, cause you can't really sequel a one-shot).  Yes, this fic is separate, but it would still be a good idea to check out "Moonshadow", especially to understand Lupin's thoughts in chapter 2.

Another warning:  I have read Order of the Phoenix, and though I didn't like some of what happened, I will generally be staying true to the cannon.  If you haven't finished the book, it would be a good idea to do so before reading this fic.  Beginning with chapter 2, there will be spoilers galore.  You have been warned.

The beginning will "mirror" another new story, my second LotR/SM crossover called "The Gathering Starlight".  Actually, it's more of an Alice in Wonderland "looking glass" effect- the same sheet of glass separating two very different realities.  In other words, the event that occurs in the beginning of this fic has two possible endings and two different victors: Cosmos or Chaos.  Read on to see more.  "..." is talking, '...' is thought, [...] is AN or definition, (...) is extra info but part of the fic, ... means trailed off, -- means interrupted.  Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.  Enjoy.

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Oh the pain.  The pain beyond feeling, thought, or meaning.  The pain of loneliness, the pain of emptiness.  Nothing.

Nothing was left.

How she wished she could turn back time.  Or more correctly, how she wished the timeline still existed.

It was gone.  Everything-- past, present, and future-- was obliterated.

Yes, Chaos was finally gone, but at what cost?  She cursed his memory, cursed him for killing off her devoted senshi to spite her.  Killing them off so that she was forced to watch them die, writhing in pain, one by one, again and again, just like before...

And then she could take it no longer.

Yes, he had lured her, but it was she who caused the destruction.  She, who let loose the fury of anger at the loss of her loved ones.  She, who caused Chaos to unleash his full power to battle with her.  She, who caused the Balance to topple and such an excess of power to be exchanged that the entire universe collapsed.

The guardian of the cosmic order creating chaotic disorder.

She cried silent tears in the nothingness, with no one left to hear her.  The starseeds of the senshi remained (Chaos had been careful not to destroy those powerful crystals which he'd coveted for so long), glimmering dully in the emptiness.  With a cry, Cosmos gathered them to herself.

"There is hope," she whispered to herself as she held their crystals close, willing herself to believe it.

But even as she spoke the words, she could feel her life ebbing away.  The skeleton of the universe, slowly killing her.  The Balance, willing itself to be restored, even over this dead dimension, through her demise.  [AN: With the lack of a Cosmos or a Chaos (or anything for that matter)]

'Even after all the fighting,' she thought with resignation.  'Even after all the pain, all the loss, all the sacrifice, all the suffering... still it ends like this.'

'After all they risked for me,' said another part of her as she held the crystals tighter.  'After they gave everything for me, till the bitter end, I will give up on them like this.  I will do what they never did and stop fighting and--'

"No," she said with her whole being.  "No, I can't let it end this way.  I won't let it end this way!  We must leave.  We must get out of her before the Balance kills me!  Pluto... Puu once spoke of other worlds..."

"Ginzuishou," she whispered her final plea, "take me away.  Take us away.  Anywhere.  Take us anywhere, only somewhere where I may finally have rest."

"Forgive me for what I have done, O Fates!" she cried out in the last instant.  "But, I beg you, please let us find peace!"

In a flash, she was gone.  Dimension-6732 was no more.

But even as she disappeared, the Tapestry changed.  An entire section unraveled, the old threads falling to a heap of the floor.  But a stray golden thread and eight others shifted across the cloth to intertwine with others in a world of flying cars, half giants, and a boy with a lightning-shaped scar.

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AN: Hmm... the explanation of what happened did turn out better with Chaos conquering (and it was less cliched!).  So I encourage you to read "The Gathering Starlight" to better understand what's happening in the beginning.  And never fear: There's no LotR mentioned yet.

The last part, the image of the Tapestry, was modified from the cloth of the ages in Orson Scott Card's "Alvin Maker" series.  (Wonderful books!!)  Go read them sometime.

Please review and tell me what you think!!!!!!  Domo arigato, minna-chan!  And though the beginning seems rather cliched, the rest will be unlike any HP/SM fic I've ever seen.  Ja ne!

Calli-chan

Pairing suggestions are welcome, but I am devoted to making this the first ever full-length Usagi/Lupin fic (all the other senshi are still open!).  There will be complications and drama, of course, but that will be the ultimate pairing.  Thanks minna!