Chapter 23
Reenie left Kirstein's room, feeling slightly stunned by Kirstein's reply. She had never thought that that was how Kirstein felt about her, and Kirstein's confession had shocked Reenie. Earlier, Serena had told Reenie why Kirstein had saved her life but Reenie hadn't believed her. Even now that Kirstein had confirmed what Serena had told Reenie, the new Queen of Crystal Tokyo was still shocked by it. She didn't understand why Kirstein hadn't told her the truth before all of this had happened.
Maybe because nothing like this has ever happened, Reenie told herself. Or maybe it's because I never asked her why she treats me the way she does.
Reenie shrugged,
knowing that she would never get an answer to why Kirstein had never
told her the truth about how she felt. She was just starting to walk
down the hallway to exit the private bedroom areas when a guard came
running up to her.
"Your majesty!" the guard
cried.
"Uh, yes?" Reenie asked, looking at the guard.
"The two people whom you requested to have brought to the
palace have arrived," the guard informed Reenie.
Reenie smiled and
nodded. "Thank you," she said, then started to walk past
the guard. She was only a few feet away when the guard asked. "Your
majesty, would you like an escort?"
"Why would I want
an escort?" Reenie asked, turning her head to face the guard.
"You are the queen," the guard replied, as though that
should be reason enough.
Reenie smiled and shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm okay."
The guard nodded and continued on her way.
Reenie continued on hers, towards the entrance of the palace where she was going to greet her two old friends.
The limo had arrived at the palace gate a few minutes ago and was now driving up the drive towards the palace. Melissa and Kristy stared at the large palace that had always seemed so intimidating. No matter how much they tried to make sense of it, they still couldn't believe that their friend was the queen.
By the time that Crystal Tokyo had been born, a thousand years had passed since they had last seen her. During those one thousand years, the entire world had been frozen in time by a spell cast by the old rulers of Nemesis. When the world had finally become unfrozen, it had been because the Silver Emperium Crystal had finally built up enough power to thaw the entire world. Unfortunately, when the world became unfrozen that also revealed to the world the Sailor Scouts' true identities.
At the time when
the spell to freeze the world had been cast, the Scouts, Tuxedo Mask,
and Jordan had been fighting Nemesis for several hours and they were
exhausted. Crowds had gathered in the buildings surrounding the
battle area to watch the Scouts fight their longtime enemy. When the
world had finally thawed a thousand years later, the crowds had all
been there to watch as the Scouts changed back to their normal selves
against their will.
All of those moments passed through
Melissa's and Kristy's heads as Reenie's private limo neared the
palace entrance, where they could already see Sailor Pluto standing
on the steps waiting for them.
Lita sighed and stared up at the ceiling; they had been waiting there for more than an hour and no one had entered or left the princesses' private bedroom area. "If somebody doesn't come out of there in a few minutes," Lita began, "I'm going in. I don't care."
Amy smiled, knowing that Lita wouldn't hesitate to do exactly what she said.
Raye had to bite her lip to keep from saying a comment that would show that she agreed with Lita. She was sick of waiting by the doors, yet unlike Lita, she knew that this was what they had to do. Their job right now was to stand and wait for their future selves to come out of the private bedroom area. "You can't, Lita," Raye told her friend. "We have to wait. It won't be much longer."
"How the hell
d" Lita began, but was cut off by the creak of the door
opening. Surprised, all four of them turned their attention to the
doorway to see who was coming.
"Hey, guys," a tired,
older Lita said, opening the door.
Raye smiled at her friend's older self, then looked to the younger Lita and nodded. "Can I talk to you for a second?" Lita asked her future self.
The older Lita
looked to her past self and nodded. "Sure," the older Lita
replied, the tone of her voice showing that she had no idea what her
past self wanted to talk to her about.
"We'll see you guys
later," the younger Lita told her friends, then walked off with
her future self.
"Well, that's one down," Amy said.
Raye nodded.
"Now we just
have to wait for the other three," Mina sighed, sitting down and
leaning against the wall.
"I just ho" Raye began,
but stopped herself as they suddenly heard the door creak open.
Surprised once again, the three of them turned to see who was coming.
"Oh, hi guys," an older version of Raye said,
obviously not expecting to run into them there.
"Hi,"
Mina said.
"How's Kirstein?" Amy asked.
The older Raye
smiled. "Well, she's awake now. That's a good thing."
"Very,"
the younger Raye said with a relieved smile. "Uh, can I talk to
you for a sec?"
"Okay," older Raye said.
"Good," younger Raye said. "Let's go. I'll see
the two of you guys later, okay?"
"See ya," Mina
and Amy said in unison as the two Rayes walked off together.
Once
the Rayes had left, the two of them leaned against the wall and
sighed, preparing themselves for a long wait. Fortunately, they
didn't have to wait that much longer. About fifteen minutes later,
both of their future selves came out of the private bedroom areas.
"Uh, hey guys," older Mina said, obviously surprised
at seeing their two past selves there.
"Hi," younger
Mina said.
"What are you guys doing?" older Amy
asked.
"Actually," younger Amy began, "Waiting for
the two of you. Can we talk to you for a second?"
"Of
course," older Amy replied, not quite sure what her past self
wanted to know.
"Yeah, could I talk to you a sec?"
younger Mina asked her future self. Older Mina nodded and with that,
older Amy walked off with her past self, while younger Mina walked
off with her future self.
"Hello,
Melissa Austin, Kristy Kirsta," Sailor Pluto greeted the two
women as the limo approached the stairs that led up to the palace and
they got out of the limo.
"Hello, Sailor Pluto,"
Melissa greeted the tall, green-haired Sailor Scout. Kristy stayed
behind Melissa and said nothing; she only smiled her hello.
"Come
with me," Sailor Pluto said, turning towards the stairs and
beginning to climb them. "Her Majesty, Queen Serena, is waiting
for the two of you."
"Do you know why she wanted us to
come to the palace?" Melissa asked, keeping pace with Pluto.
Kristy followed the
two of them, silently.
"I can guess, but I can't say for
certain why."
"A guess would be more than what we have
now," Melissa said.
"I have a
feeling that she wants to talk to you about how the two of you helped
her and the others," the Guardian of Time and Space informed the
reporter. "I suppose that there could also be another matter
that she'd like to discuss with the two of you, but if she really
wants to discuss with you what I think it is that she wants to
discuss with you, then I shouldn't tell you what it is. I think that
it'd be better if she informed you of that."
"So, you
have no idea what it is that she'd want to talk to us about?"
Melissa asked, hoping to get Pluto to slip up and reveal some more
information.
Pluto smiled, knowing what Melissa was trying to do to her. "Melissa, I know what you're trying to do. I know that you're a reporter and one of the best in Japan. Therefore, you're good at making people slip up tiny details which may me of vital use to you. However, I am a Sailor Scout who, when in the past, kept a secret identity from the entire world. In answer to your question, yes, I do have some idea as to what she'd like to discuss with you. I've already told you what I know for certain. As for the rest, I think that it'd be better if we waited for Queen Serena to tell you."
Melissa smiled. "I guess I can't get it out of you then, huh?"
Pluto smiled back. "You can always try," the Scout said, knowing what Melissa was trying to do this time around.
Melissa had already figured that she couldn't get Pluto to say anything if she went for the direct approach, so she was hoping to try and secretly get the information out of her. The three of them continued on like that; Melissa trying to get Pluto to slip up and reveal some information; Pluto avoiding direct answers to Melissa's questions; and Kristy silently following the two of them.
Hotaru
and the Healers were several feet away from the door that led into
the private bedroom area when the door that led into the private
bedroom area suddenly opened and Reenie came out of the
hallway.
"Reenie!" Hotaru cried, trying to get her
friend's attention.
Hearing her name, Reenie lifted her head and saw Hotaru and the Healers. Seing them, she smiled and ran over. It only took Reenie a few seconds to reach them, but in those few seconds Hotaru could not help but notice that Reenie seemed a little preoccupied with her thoughts.
"Hey,"
Reenie said.
"Hello, your majesty," Audiana Trinta said
to Reenie.
Reenie smiled; she
still wasn't used to having that title. "Hey, Audiana. What's
up? Where's Josiah?"
"Actually," Hotaru began,
"That's why we were looking for you."
"Really?"
Reenie said, suddenly concerned. "Why? Is he okay?"
"Josiah's
perfectly fine, your majesty," Miceff informed Reenie. "However,
Hotaru is correct. It is because of him that we have come in search
of you."
"If he's okay," Reenie began, not quite
sure what they were getting at, "Then, what's up?"
"Okay,"
Hotaru began, "Reenie, Josiah and I like each other a lot."
Reenie nodded,
still not quite sure what Hotaru was getting at.
"Miceff and
I," Audiana began, "Gave Josiah a choice: he could either
stay here on Earth and be with Hotaru, or he could come back to
Iounda with us and leave Hotaru behind."
"And he's
made his decision?"
Audiana nodded in
reply.
"And?" Reenie asked.
"If you allow
it, Josiah has chosen to stay on Earth with Hotaru," Audiana
replied.
"Of course I'll allow it," Reenie said, as
though the idea of her not allowing it would be absurd. "Why
wouldn't I?"
Hotaru shrugged. "I
don't know," the Sailor replied a little sheepishly, "I had
a feeling you would."
"This is good," Audiana
said. "But Josiah's decision is not the only reason that we have
come in search of you."
"What else?" Reenie asked.
"We must be on our way back to Iounda," Audiana
replied. "Our time on Earth must come to an end. Others shall be
in need of us and Iounda is in the middle of the majority of most
galaxies."
Reenie nodded in
understanding; the Healers had to get back to their jobs. "When
are you guys leaving?" Reenie asked.
"In a few
mintues," Miceff replied.
"We have already stayed too
long on Earth," Audiana replied, her voice soft. "We really
must be going."
Reenie sighed, she had been hoping that the Healers could stay longer, but at the same time knew that they had other duties that they must fulfill, especially with Josiah choosing to stay behind. "Very well," she replied, "Come with me. I'll be with you to see you off."
Audiana smiled. "Thank you very much, your majesty, but it's unnecessary for you to do that. I know your friends have arrived already and are coming up to greet you. You should really be with them."
Reenie waved it off. "Audiana, what I don't think you know is that that I now consider a friend. You and the rest of the Healers are people whom I consider to be friends, and I always say good-bye to my friends when they leave. Especially when I'm not sure if I'll ever see them again."
Audiana smiled, and placed a stray strand of her long, white hair behind her ear. "Thank you," she said, clearly a little embarrassed by what Reenie had just said.
Reenie smiled and
shrugged it off. "So, you guys are leaving in a few minutes?"
"Actually," Audiana began, "We should be getting
ready to leave right now."
"Well, what do you have to
do to get ready?" the new Queen of Crystal Tokyo asked.
"We
must be taken to the balcony where we first arrived," Audiana
replied, "We shall need that height to begin our flight home."
Reenie nodded, then grasped Audiana's hand. "Come on," she said, "I'll take you there."
With those final words, Reenie led Hotaru and the Healers to the balcony where the Healers had first arrived.
"What
did you want to know, Lita?" older Lita asked, sitting on a rock
and looking at the waterfalls. The two Litas had gone back to the
little clearing in that forest where they had earlier been discussing
what had happened to Andrew.
"It's not what I want to
know," the younger Lita said, standing a few feet behind her
future self, "It's what I think you need to know."
The older Lita turned to look at her past self, a look of confusion on her face. "What do you mean?" she asked.
The younger Lita
sighed. "Raye not the Raye from your time, but the Raye from
my time had a vision," Lita explained, "The vision told
her why we had come to the future. She talked it out with Pluto and
Pluto agreed with her."
"So, what's the reason?"
older Lita asked.
The younger Lita sighed, closed her eyes and looked up the sky. She needed a moment to gather her thoughts and figure out how she wanted to word them. Finally, she decided to just be blunt. "It's not your fault that Serena died," younger Lita said.
Older
Lita sat up straight and her face went white. "Shut up,"
older Lita said, her voice trembling slightly.
"Why? Because
you don't believe it? Come on, Lita. You can't hide anything from me.
After all, I am you."
"I
don't want to talk about this," older Lita said, standing to her
feet.
"Too bad. We're going to."
Lita's future self rolled her eyes. "Like you can stop me," she said, as she started to walk past her past self.
Quickly, younger Lita grabbed onto her future self's arm.
Older Lita tried to
pull away, but some reason found she couldn't.
"I can.
You're still too tired, so right now I'm stronger than you. So, shut
up and listen. It's not your fault that Serena died. Nor is it your
fault that any of them died. You couldn't have stopped it. None of
you could. Things happen. That's life. But you have to get your act
together. If you don't, you'll get sloppy in battle and die. While
Reenie's mom may be gone, Lillian still has hers.
Yes, it was your job to protect Serena, but it was also your job to protect Crystal Tokyo. You were too far away to have done any good and even if you had gotten there in time, Serena still would have died from all the injuries that she had. Pluto's told us all of this. There's no way that you'd have saved her. Face it: that's what destiny had planned for her. She was destined to die saving the world, just like her mother did."
By now, Lita's older self had a look of defeat in her eyes. "You don't get it," she whispered, "She was my best friend. I've always protected her. Since the day we met. . . I've protected her. I don't know how I can live if I don't have her to protect."
"But you have
Lillian to protect now, Lita," her past self told her. "I
know you've lost a lot of people your parents, Serena, Andrew. I
know how you feel. Why? Because I know how I would feel."
"Can
I have some time to think about this?" the older Lita asked.
Her
past self smiled and let go of her arm. "Sure," the younger
Lita told her, "I'm gonna be heading back to the palace. I'll
see you there."
"I'll see you, Lita," the older
Lita said. With that, the older Lita ran off in the direction of the
forest, while the younger Lita ran in the direction of the palace.
Meanwhile
both Minas had been walking through the palace gardens. They had been
walking for a while now, neither of them saying anything. The older
Mina was the first to break the silence.
"So, what did you
want to talk to me about?"
"Well," the younger
Mina began, "I'm not quite sure how to say this."
"Just
say it, Mina," her future self encouraged her.
"Do you
blame yourself for Serena's death?"
Older Mina bit her lip, and looked to the ground, not saying never said a word. "What gave you that idea?" she asked quietly after a few minutes of silence had passed.
The younger Mina
shrugged, and the older Mina smiled sadly. "I do," she
confessed. Then she added, "A little."
"It's not
your fault," her past self told her, "You couldn't have
done anything to stop it, you know that, don't you?"
The older Mina shrugged, disagreeing with what her past self was saying but not really wanting to argue.
The younger Mina
sighed. "I understand why you feel that way, but it really
wasn't your fault. You couldn't have stopped it even if you wanted
to. None of you could have. It's what destiny had planned for her. I
know how painful it must have been to watch one of your best friends
die. Believe me, I know. I've gone through it several times, but each
time we were reborn. This time, that's not going to happen. You have
to learn how to get on with it and stop blaming yourself. You know
what the risk is of fighting to protect the world."
"But
our job was to protect her," the older Mina argued, not really
listening to what her past self was telling her.
The younger Mina smiled. "I know that's what your job was, but now you have a new job. You and the others must now protect Reenie and your daughters. While Serena may not be around to protect anymore, I'm sure Reenie and Kara wouldn't mind knowing that they have a little extra fire power in their corner to help when situations get sticky."
The older Mina smiled and nodded, knowing that what her past self was saying was true.
"So, do you still think that it's your fault that Serena died?" the younger Mina asked her future self.
The older Mina smiled and shook her head. "I never really thought that it was completely," the older Mina replied, "But yeah, I still do. I don't think I'll ever get over feeling guilty about her death, but you don't have to worry. I know that you're talking to me so I won't get careless in battle and kill myself. Don't worry, I'm not that depressed . . . yet. Now, if something happens to Chantal, then. . . "
The younger Mina smiled, knowing that she would have felt the same way. "I'm glad to see that we understand each other," she said, "I think it's good for us to head back then."
On
the other side of the palace the two Amys were walking in the other
palace garden. Amy's future self was wondering what her past self
wanted to talk to her about, while Amy's past self was wondering how
she was going to tell her future self what she had to tell her. After
a few minutes had passed, older Amy finally spoke.
"What is
it that you had to tell me, Amy?" she asked her past self.
The younger Amy
looked to her feet and replied, "Um, well, I have to talk to you
about Serena."
"Serena? Why?"
"Do you
feel a little guilty about her death?" the younger Amy asked her
future self.
The older Amy
sighed and replied, "I suppose I do."
"Why? I
mean, it wasn't your fault she died. I know you may feel that way but
no one could've helped her. We all know the risks of trying to save
the world. Serena and the others knew them, too. They knew what they
were getting into. Yes, she was your queen. And yes, it was your job
to protect her. But it was also your job to protect Crystal Tokyo
against Nemesis. That was Serena's job, too. You can still mourn for
her but you can't feel like you were to blame. You weren't. If it
hadn't been for the you and the others, Nemesis would have won. And I
don't mean for just a short time, either. I mean that they would have
won for eternity."
The older Amy sighed and nodded. "I know what you're getting at, Amy," her future self said, "And you don't have to worry. I won't become sloppy in battle because of what happened. I know that I still have important things to take care of here."
The younger Amy smiled and nodded. "That's good," she said. Then, looking at her future self, asked, "You sure?"
The older Amy smiled and nodded. "Yes," she said, with a little laugh, "I'm sure."
With that, the two of them continued to walk through the gardens discussing new and old times.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" the older Raye asked.
Raye's past self had taken her to the little temple that had been built inside of the palace so that they could talk. "I think you know."
The older Raye shook her head. "You want to fill me in? Because I have no clue what you're talking about."
The younger Raye sighed. "Look, what happened isn't your fault."
Hearing this, the older Raye's face went pale and she turned to look at her past self.
The younger Raye
nodded. "Now you know what I'm talking about, huh?" she
asked, knowing that what her future self knew what she was getting
at.
"I don't want to talk about this," the older Raye
replied, no longer looking at her past self, but now looking at the
ground.
"That's too bad because we're going to, whether you
want to or not."
"You don't understand," the
older Raye said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "I'm
not going to talk about it."
"Yes, you are," the
younger Raye told her future self. "Because if you don't, then
you're going to die."
"Maybe that wouldn't be such a
bad thing," the older Sailor Scout replied in a voice that was
only meant for her to hear.
"How can you say that!"
her past self exclaimed, angry at her future self for even saying
those words. "You can't honestly believe that!"
"Oh
no?" the older Raye exclaimed, lifting her head up and looking
at her past self.
The younger Raye almost took a step back when she saw that there were tears in her future self's eyes.
"Why not? Who
was the one that was the closest to Serena in the battle? Who was the
one who had sworn herself to protect her no matter what?"
"I
know what promises you made! I've made those same promises! But you
can't stop living because of what happened! Serena wouldn't have
wanted you to! And Kirstein needs you! How can you even think like
that when you know that you're own daughter is counting on you!
You're the only one she has left!"
"You don't get it,
do you!" Raye's future self cried. "Serena wasn't all she
could have become! I hadn't given her enough time to let her become
all she could have become! It's my fault! Do you get that! It's my
fault!"
Raye's past self rolled her eyes in exasperation. She never knew that she could be so stubborn. "It's not your fault! It's no one's fault! Serena knew what she was doing! Do you understand that? She KNEW! She knew what was going to happen to her! As much as you may hate to think about, she was destined to die in battle . . . just like her mother had been." The younger Raye said the last part slowly, hoping that it would sink in.
The older Raye stood looking at her past self, wondering how her past self had gotten so smart. After a few minutes had passed, the older Raye spoke. "Can I have a few minutes to think this through?"
Her past self
smiled and nodded. "Sure," she said. "I'll see you
later, okay?"
"Okay," her future self said and
nodded.
Quickly, the younger Raye left the little temple and left her future self to think about what she had been told.
Once the older Raye was sure that her past self had left, she walked over and sat down in front of the burning fire, hoping that a vision would come to her, showing her the truth.
