Chapter 19
As they walked down the hospital hallway, neither Reenie or Pluto spoke a word. Pluto had no idea what her queen was feeling about meeting with Rodney Kirsta, the person who was both her family's murderer and the love of her life.
Meanwhile walking alongside Pluto, Reenie thought about what she had said to Rodney and wondered how he must be feeling. For some reason, Reenie couldn't get out of her mind the picture of her mother and grandmother standing beside her as she helped fight the evil that Nemesis had placed inside of Rodney. She knew that it wasn't possible for them to actually be standing beside her. Both of them were dead, after all. Queen Serenity had died back on the Moon Kingdom. Neo-Queen Serenity had died only two and a half years ago. Yet, she had felt them both standing there beside her, lending her their strength. She knew that they had been their with her in spirit, but what she couldn't understand was why they had been beside her. Rodney had killed Queen Serenity's daughter, Reenie's mom, Neo-Queen Serenity. So, why would they want to help her change him back?
Maybe that's why I'm not finding it that hard to forgive him, Reenie thought. If my mother can forgive her murderer, then I should be able, too.
Besides, she argued
with herself, I love him. That's why I almost killed myself trying to
save his life. Because I love him.
It didn't take the two of
them long to reach the palace hospital's doorway. About ten minutes
later, Pluto was pushing the door open for them to walk through. They
were heading towards Reenie's friends' rooms to see how they were
doing. The two of them were just turning a corner when Reenie spoke,
breaking the silence. "Pluto?"
"Yes?"
"Um.
. . I was just wondering. When I was trying to help Rodney, did you
notice anyone else there with me?"
Pluto frowned, not quiet sure what Reenie was so-awkwardly trying to ask. "What do you mean?"
Reenie bit her lip,
unsure of how to ask the question that she so desperately wanted an
answer to. "I mean," she began, "Did you see anyone
else there helping me? Before Kara and Kenneth came to my aide. Did
you happen to see anyone else standing there beside me?"
Pluto
looked at her queen, a little confused. Then, seeing the look on
Reenie's face - a look of peace, mixed with uncertainty - she
understood what the young queen was trying to ask. "Do you mean,
did I see your mother by your side?" the Sailor Scout of Space
and Time asked.
Reenie nodded. "I know that it must sound ludicrous but I swear when I was fighting to take the evil out of Rodney using the Silver Crystal, I felt, not only my mother, but my grandmother, standing on either side of me. It was as if they were lending me the strength I needed to get through what needed to be done."
Pluto shook her
head. "What you are saying is not ludicrous, Your Majesty. In
fact, your mother often confessed the same thing."
"She
did?" Reenie asked, obviously surprised.
Sailor Pluto smiled and nodded. "Yes, she did. After she became queen, she confessed quite a few secrets to me. Secrets that she had not even told Amy, Lita, Mina, or Raye." Pluto paused for a moment, then continued, "One confession that she made to me, Reenie, was that when she had been fighting her very first large battle against Beryl, she was not alone. She not only had her friends at her side, but she could also feel her mother's presence lending her strength to continue fighting the battle. Telling her not to give up."
Reenie looked at Pluto, a kind of peaceful expression in her eyes. "So I wasn't the only one," she said softly.
Pluto nodded. "No, you were not the only one."
Reenie smiled, but then said, "But you didn't answer my question, Pluto. Did you see them or was I just going insane for a moment there?"
Pluto smiled at Reenie's question. "No, you weren't going insane for a moment, but I can't tell you that I saw your mother, or your grandmother. I didn't. However, I can tell you that I did sense something in the room while you were trying to help him. It's possible that the reason as to why I sensed this is because I am the Guardian of Space and Time. You can't forget what I told you about your mother sensing her mother's presence at a time when she needed help, Reenie. It's possible that the only reason why I couldn't see your mother or grandmother was because they came to your aide, not mine. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"
Reenie nodded. "I think so," she said, slowly. Suddenly, she stopped in front of a door. Reenie was just reaching her hand out to open the door when she turned to Pluto and asked, "Before I open this door, can you tell me one thing?"
Pluto smiled and
placing a long strand of green hair behind her ear asked, "What
do want to know Reenie?"
"Since you're the Guardian of
Space and Time can you tell me, will Chantal be okay when I walk
through this door?"
Pluto smiled and
looked at Reenie. "You know that I can't tell you that."
"I
know," Reenie sighed, placing her hand on the doorknob. "But
for once, I'd like to be assured of some good news, you know?"
Pluto's only response was a sad smile and a nod. She knew. She couldn't count the times that she had seen her friends die or the times that she knew they were going to die and could do nothing to stop it from happening.
Reenie took in a deep breath then slowly, opened the door to Chantal Aino's room.
Mina heard the door to her daughter's room entering and lifted her head to see who was entering. Who would be coming to see her daughter? Had the other CT Sailor Scouts awaken yet? Was that who was opening the door? One of the other CT Sailor Scouts? Lillian, maybe? Or Megan, perhaps?
Mina looked at the
door, and was surprised to see Queen Serena enter the room. Sailor
Pluto followed behind her and closed the door. "Queen Serena?"
Mina said, obviously a little surprised.
"How is she?"
Reenie asked, the concern she felt showing, not only in her voice,
but on her face.
"Okay as can be expected. Have any of the
others awakened yet?"
"No," Sailor Pluto replied
for Reenie.
Mina blinked back tears. She was trying to hide her fear, a fear that she dared to not voice in front of Reenie. What if the CT Sailor Scouts didn't wake up?
Seeing the expression on Mina's face, Reenie looked to Sailor Pluto for answers. The young queen knew what Mina was thinking. She, herself, had been thinking the very same thoughts not too long ago but she still didn't know what to say that would comfort Chantal's mother.
Slowly, Pluto walked over to Mina Aino and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Mina," she said, trying to comfort her, "It won't take them too long to wake up. They just need to regain their strength. Don't you remember how tired and weak you felt after some of your battles in the past? How you felt after you and the others battled against Beryl? This is almost the same thing, except what you guys went through was worse. You guys actually died. Chantal and the other Scouts haven't. They're just weak. Give them a while longer, and they'll be just fine."
Mina turned her head to look at Pluto. The look in her eyes was asking You're sure?
Pluto nodded in response to the unspoken question. The look in the older Scout's eyes was one of absolute certainty.
Mina smiled a kind of sad smile and turned her attention and eyes back to her daughter.
"I'll be back, Mina," Reenie said, taking one last look at Mina, who was sitting by Chantal's bedside, holding her daughter's hand and Chantal, lying asleep on her bed.
Again, Mina nodded, not taking her eyes off her daughter. "Okay," Mina said.
Reenie was just about to turn to leave when she heard Mina add, "Your Majesty." Reenie froze for a minute, then nodded and quickly left the room.
Sailor Pluto patted Mina's shoulder once, then followed her queen out of Chantal's room.
"Miceff," Audiana began, "Statel, you guys go talk to Amia. I have to go talk to Josiah by myself for a second."
The three Healers were standing just outside of Josiah's and Amia's bedrooms.
You're sure you want to confront him about it by yourself, Audiana? Miceff thought-spoke to Audiana.
I'm sure, she replied, then out loud said, "You guys go to Amia. I can sense their confusion and it's very strong."
With those last words, Audiana opened the door to Josiah's room, entered it, then quickly shut the door behind her.
Statel shrugged and entered Amia's room. Miceff followed Statel.
Josiah heard the door to his room opening and immediately turned to see who was entering. He had no idea where he was or who could possibly be coming to see him. He knew that the others were awake because he could sense them and that also meant that they were really close by. His powers as a Healer were stronger then Amia's, but not as strong as Audiana's, Miceff's or Statel's. Because of that, he couldn't sense if the other Healers were too far away from him.
The door opened and Josiah was greeted by a very cheery and very familiar voice. "Hi, Josiah," the cheerful and familiar voice said.
Josiah smiled. "Hi, Audiana," he said, greeting the leader of the Healers as she entered his room and shut the door behind her.
Audiana could see the confusion in Josiah's eyes and smiled back at him. "You're in the palace, Josiah," the golden-haired leader of the Healers informed him, "The others went to go see Amia."
Josiah nodded. "Has Queen Serena awoken yet?" he asked, concerned about Hotaru's queen.
Audiana smiled and
nodded. "Actually, she woke up several hours ago."
"That's good," Josiah sighed, leaning against the back
of the bed.
"Um, Josiah," Audiana began, "There's
something I have to talk to you about."
Hearing the worried
and concerned tone in Audiana's voice, Josiah sat straight up. "What
is it, Audiana?" he asked, worried at the many possibilities
that the problem could be. Was Hotaru okay?
"Don't worry,
Josiah. It's nothing bad but it is something that we must discuss."
Josiah frowned.
What was Audiana talking about?
Seeing the confusion in Josiah's
eyes, Audiana walked towards Josiah's bedside and continued. "You
are correct, by the way," Audiana informed him, "What I
want to talk to you is about Hotaru Tomoe."
"Audiana,
Hotaru is okay, isn't she?"
"I already
told you that what I want to talk to you about is nothing bad,"
the golden-haired beauty replied trying to calm his worries. "Yes,
she's okay. However, Miceff and I and I'm quite sure that the
other Healers have seen or sensed it we can sense how you feel
about her, Josiah. We can also sense how Hotaru feels. Now "Audiana sat down on the bed beside Josiah, and looking directly at
him, "we must discuss what you want to do about it."
"Nothing can be done about it, Audiana," Josiah said
sadly. "Hotaru's place is with the Sailor Scouts. Mine's with
the Healers. What is there to discuss?"
Audiana smiled and gently placed one of her stray strands of golden hair behind her ear. "The fact that neither one of you will be happy in those situations."
Josiah sighed.
"That's true, but what can be done about that? Nothing. I was
born to be part of the Healers. That's my destiny. Hotaru was born to
be part of the Sailor Scouts. That's her destiny. It's unfortunate
that our destinies can't be together."
"Josiah, listen
to me. Miceff and I were discussing it. If we were in your's and
Hotaru's position, we wouldn't allow ourselves to be kept apart. If
we wouldn't allow that for ourselves, we cann't allow it for others.
So we're giving you a choice. . . to chose whether or not you wish to
remain with the Healers or stay here on Earth with Hotaru."
"Has
Hotaru chosen yet?"
Audiana smiled and
shook his head. "No, Hotaru's still sleeping."
"But
she's going to be okay, right?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Audiana looked at her hands then to Josiah. She didn't want to rush Josiah's decision. "Josiah, we'll need to know your decision before we leave," Audiana informed him, standing to her feet, "And we don't have that much time before we leave."
Josiah nodded.
"Miceff is
going to come talk to you, Josiah. I have to go talk to
Amia."
"Amia's awake?" Josiah asked.
Audiana smiled and nodded. "Yes. She woke up the same time you did."
Josiah sighed and
leaned back against the pillows. He was glad that Amia was awake and
everything, but that meant that they were going to have to leave and
head back in only a few hours.
That also meant that he would
have only a few hours to make the decision that would change his life
forever.
Without another word, Audiana walked out of Josiah's room, closing the door behind her and leaving Josiah to choose on his own.
Reenie
and Pluto left Lillian's room quietly. Reenie had her head down to
hide the tears that she was so tempted to let fall. None of the CT
Sailors had awaken yet and Reenie knew it was her fault. They had
risked their own lives to save hers, and even though Sailor Pluto had
already told her several times that they were going to be okay,
Reenie just wasn't sure. So far she had only visited with Chantal,
Megan, and Lillian. She had yet to see Kirstein and that was the one
whom she was the most worried about. She remembered everything that
had happened. She remembered the battle that had been fought inside
of her mind trying to keep her alive. She also remembered that when
Kirstein had shown up, the Scout had put her entire strength into the
attack, critically weakening her.
"They will be okay, won't
they Pluto?" Reenie asked, standing in front of Kirstein Hino's
door.
Pluto sighed. She
had already assured and reassured her queen that they would be okay.
"Yes, Reenie, remember, they just need to get their energy back
up. Their attacks took a lot out of them, but in their Sailor forms
they're a lot stronger then normal."
"Even Kirstein?"
Reenie asked, not quite sure about her.
"Even
Kirstein."
"And you're certain about that?"
"You
know I wouldn't lie, Reenie."
Reenie sighed and nodded. She
knew that Pluto would not lie. At least not about something as
important as that. "Okay," Reenie said then entered
Kirstein Hino's room.
"Hey,
Amia," Statel said as she and Miceff entered Amia's room.
"Hey, Statel," Amia said, "Hey, Miceff."
"Hi, Amia," Miceff said.
"Where's Audiana
and Josiah?" Amia asked, curious as to why the two other Healers
were not with them.
"Audiana's talking with Josiah,"
Statel replied.
"You guys both woke up at the same time so Audiana decided that she would go talk to Josiah, and we would come talk to you," Miceff explained. "She had a feeling that the two of you would be a little confused about where you guys were."
Amia nodded.
"Actually," she began, "I kind of am. Where is this?"
"We're still in the palace, Amia," Statel informed her
friend and fellow Healer. "We are in the guest area."
Amia nodded, then looking at Miceff, she asked, "Is Audiana talking to Josiah about him and Hotaru?"
Miceff looked at Amia, obviously a little surprised by her knowing. "You knew?"
Amia nodded.
"Come on, Miceff," Statel said, "You'd have to be
blind not to notice that they care about each other."
Miceff turned to
look at Statel, again surprised that the other Healers had
known.
"Statel's right," Amia said. "It's been
pretty obvious. So, what's going to happen to them?"
Miceff shrugged. "I can't tell you that, but I can tell you Audiana and I decided to let them choose."
Statel frowned.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that we're
letting them choose for themselves whether they want to be together
or not. Both Audiana and I decided that if it were us, we wouldn't
stand for being torn apart and that we'd find some way to stay
together. We're going to give Hotaru and Josiah that same choice. If
Josiah wishes to stay here with Hotaru, or if Hotaru wishes to come
with us and Josiah."
"But does Hotaru even have a
choice?" Amia asked. "I mean, doesn't she have to stay here
with the Sailor Scouts?"
Miceff shook his head. "I thought that too, but Audiana told me that if the queen gives the Scout permission, then that Scout can leave. She only has to show up if she gets called by the other Scouts on her communicator."
Statel nodded. "So, Audiana's telling Josiah that he has to choose?"
Miceff nodded.
"Yeah."
"And Hotaru gets the same choice?"
Amia asked.
Again, Miceff nodded.
Statel just sighed. "I wonder which one they're going to choose," she said.
Miceff and Amia nodded in agreement.
Reenie entered Kirstein's room and had to hide her gasp when she saw Kirstein. Kirstein was lying on her bed, her face almost as white as a sheet. Reenie also noticed Kirstein's hands which were covered by white bandages. Raye was sitting by Kirstein's bedside, staring at her daughter. She didn't even seem to notice when Reenie and Pluto entered her daughter's room. Without even saying a word, Reenie walked towards Raye and Kirstein.
Pluto hung back
near the doorway.
"How is she, Raye?" Reenie asked, her
voice soft and full of concern.
Not taking her eyes off of Kirstein, Raye replied, "Not too good."
Reenie bit her lip. Raye sounded so sad. "She's going to be okay, Raye," Reenie said, placing a hand on Raye's shoulder, trying to reassure her. "You know that, right?"
Raye sighed, but said nothing.
After a few moments of silence, Reenie said, "I have to get going. I have to talk to the Healers and everything."
Raye nodded. Reenie walked to the door and with her hand on the doorknob she said one last time, "I am sorry, but Kirstein is going to be okay, Raye."
Reenie waited a minute to see if Raye was going to say anything in reply. When she didn't, Reenie opened the door. She was about to step into the hallway when she heard a familiar voice say, "There's nothing to be sorry about, Your Majesty. Kirstein did her job." Reenie nodded, then quickly left the room. When the door finally clicked shut, Raye added, "Had I done mine, your mother would still be alive."
Hotaru turned in her bed and groaned. Her body was sore and her head was killing her.
Why can't my own healing powers work on me? she wondered as she opened her eyes and winced. She had no clue how long she had been out for but the brightness of her room hurt her eyes a lot. When her eyes had finally adjusted to the brightness, only one thought was in her head. How was Josiah? She knew that Queen Serena would be okay because they had used their powers to save her. She also wasn't worried about the other CT Sailor Scouts because she knew that they would be okay after a long rest. She wasn't sure about Josiah, though. He, like her and the other Healers, were the ones who had been with the Queen the longest, lending her their strength. Was he okay? Even though he was an experienced Healer, she knew that this battle had been harder then usual for all of the Healers, including Audiana, who was the most experienced of them all.
Hotaru sighed and stared at the ceiling. Right now she wished she had Audiana's power to sense how others were feeling.
I'll just have to wait until I'm strong enough to go see him, Hotaru reasoned with herself. Cursing herself for feeling so weak, she laid against the pillows and continued to stare at the ceiling, thinking of Josiah.
Audiana was just about to place her hand on the doorknob to open the door to Amia's room when she suddenly smiled.
Hotaru! She's awake! Audiana suddenly realized, sensing that Hotaru had awaken.
Quickly, she sent a thought-message to Miceff. Hotaru's awake, she thought-spoke to Miceff as she walked away from Amia's room. I have to go tell her that she has the choice of choosing what she wants to do. I have to go tell her that she can choose whether she wants to be with Josiah. I'll see Amia soon after.
Audiana finished her thought-message to Miceff, then quickly headed down the hall, out of the guest wing of the palace.
Lita looked at Lillian. She had been at her daughter's bedside since her daughter had been brought to her room.
I can't just sit here watching over her, Lita told herself, wiping away a tear. I have to get out of here. Go for a run or something.
She stood up, squeezed her daughter's hand then quickly left Lillian's bedroom, making sure to close the door behind her.
Serena and Darien stood on the balcony, looking out over Crystal Tokyo, their hands clasped together. They had left Reenie's room about ten minutes after Reenie and Sailor Pluto had and the two of them had come straight to this balcony. They had been standing their ever since. Ever since Pluto had told Serena that Neo-Queen Serenity and the others had died, there had been one thought nagging at her. Why couldn't Reenie use the Silver Crystal to bring them back to life?
Breaking the peaceful silence between the two of them, Serena asked her question aloud.
Darien smiled when he heard the love-of-his-life's question. "Truthfully Serena, I've been wondering the same thing. If it was right for Reenie to do so, I'm sure that Sailor Pluto would have told her to use the Silver Crystal. You have to remember that Sailor Pluto is doing what is best for all of us. It's probably Reenie's time to become Queen, you know?"
Serena nodded, then
leaned her head against Darien's shoulder. "I get it, Darien.
It's just I don't know what I'd do if my parents died, you know?"
"Yours did, Serena," he reminded her, his voice soft
and quiet. "Your mother, Queen Serenity died on the Moon
Kingdom. Your father, King Matthew died on the sun. Several thousands
of years ago."
"That's not who I meant, Darien,"
she told him in a tone that told him he should have known that. "I
meant my parents now. I hate to say it, but I can't really remember
Queen Serenity or King Matthew. I don't really remember much of the
time during the Moon Kingdom."
Darien nodded. "I know, and I knew who you meant. You'd get through it, Serena. Everyone gets through it. They don't really have a choice."
Serena closed her eyes as he spoke and patted his hand lightly to comfort him. She knew that he was probably thinking about his own parents and the car crash that killed both of them. Darien didn't really have much memory of the car crash or anything before that. She wished she could help him remember some memories. Not of the car crash, but of his parents. He had often told her during their long nighttime chats that not remembering them sometimes helped him to not be hurt when thinking of not growing up with them. But he had also confided in her that sometimes he didn't feel completely whole without those missing memories.
Silently, the two of them stared out over the glittering city of Crystal Tokyo, each one thinking about their conversation.
