"All I need now is that pink
brat," said Grety. "Where is she?"
"Are you
looking for me?" called out a voice. Everyone looked towards
the entrance of the mall. There stood the outlines of StarMoon and
ChibiMoon, hand on their hips.
"Well, well, well. There
she is now." Grety lowered himself to the ground. "Come
here so I can use your energy to rule the galaxy!"
StarMoon
and ChibiMoon took a step forward into the light. "I'm not
here to help you!" ChibiMoon yelled. "We're here to
stop you!"
Grety started laughing. "You mean to tell
me. . .that, even though I am now strong enough . . .to stop eight
Senshi, you two are going to stop me on your own?" He doubled
over in a fit of laughter.
"I am tired of that laugh!"
StarMoon cried out forcefully. It was so unexpected, Grety stopped
laughing.
StarMoon starting walking towards him. "I have
listened to that laugh and looked at that face and smelled that
breath for five years now and I am sick and tired. . ." She
punched Grety in the face. ". . .of having to hear it. . ."
She kicked him the stomach. ". . .and see it. . ." She
spun around and kicked him in the chest. ". . .and smell
it!"
StarMoon and ChibiMoon both started glowing her own
color. StarMoon raised her right hand up, palm facing her, elbow
resting in her left hand. ChibiMoon followed her lead. "Starlight
Eternal Power! Make Up!" yelled StarMoon, thrusting her arm
in the air.
ChibiMoon took a deep breath before doing the same.
"Moon Eternal Power! Make Up!"
"I am Eternal
Sailor StarMoon. . ."
"And I am Eternal Sailor
ChibiMoon. . ."
". . .and on behalf of the moon, we
shall punish you!" Neither of the girls had gained a new
fuku; however, StarMoon had lost her tiara and the crescent
insignia was present. She had also gained those burettes in her
hair. ChibiMoon's gloves and boots were shorter and she had her
own wings.
Grety gasped. Their power had suddenly doubled with
this power up. "I don't get it. How come you were never
able to power up before?" he asked Eternal Sailor
StarMoon.
"Because I had no real reason to fight,"
StarMoon told him. "But now, I do."
Grety growled and
rose back into the air. "You are still no
match!"
"Candra-chan. . .ChibiUsa. . ." mumbled
Moon.
"Don't worry, Serenity. I'll watch her,"
StarMoon promised.
ChibiMoon pulled put her wand. It morphed
into the Crescent Moon Wand. "Moon Hunter Attack!"
StarMoon
pulled out her own Wand. "Virgin Moon Offensive!"
Out
of habit, Grety tried to protect himself with his cape, but since
it wasn't there, it didn't work. They attacked again. This
time, he dodged.
Back at the Silver Millennium, the level of
energy started to fall. Sensing this, Grety angrily attacked
ChibiMoon. StarMoon turned to see her frozen with fear. StarMoon
ran up and pushed ChibiMoon out of the way. "ChibiUsa!"
StarMoon screamed as the attack consumed her body.
"NO!"
screamed ChibiMoon.
"Candra-chan!" yelled Moon.
Mamoru held her back, knowing it was now of no use.
ChibiMoon
began shaking StarMoon. "StarMoon! StarMoon!. . .Auntie
Cynthia!"
Grety gasped. "Wait. She is Serenity!"
he yelled, pointed at StarMoon.
Moon tried to stand up. "No,
I. . ."
"I am Serenity." ChibiMoon stood up.
"You want something, you deal with me."
"Small
Lady!" Pluto cried out.
"Y-you? A little girl?"
Grety was in total panic. "But you are suppose to be older
than Cynthia!"
ChibiMoon smirked. "Stranger things
have happened. Moon Hunter Attack!"
"AAAAAH!"
reacted Grety.
StarMoon moaned. ChibiMoon kneeled. "Auntie
Cynthia?" she whispered.
StarMoon struggled to her feet.
"I now have the power and I will use it." Her brooch
opened and her Ginzuishou drifted out into her hands.
"You
can't defeat me!" Grety yelled. "You only have a
fourth of the power. You do not have it all!"
"I
don't, but I know where the rest of it is," StarMoon calmly
explained.
"Fine. Where?" Grety demanded to
know.
StarMoon pointed to Moon, whose brooch opened and her
Ginzuishou came out.
"Wait! She. . ." Grety looked
back and forth between Moon and ChibiMoon. Pointing at ChibiMoon,
he said, "But you said. . ."
"I am Usagi Small
Lady SERENITY, Crown Princess of the Silver Millennium. I am the
daughter of King Endymion and Neo-Queen Serenity." ChibiMoon
couldn't help but smirk again.
Moon smirked as well, then
gasped as her Ginzuishou flew over to ChibiMoon. "And I can
use the Ginzuishou, too." StarMoon bent over and they started
to join the two pieces together.
"Small Lady! You are not
able to control the whole Ginzuishou!" yelled
Pluto.
ChibiMoon and StarMoon looked at Pluto, then each other.
StarMoon nodded at ChibiMoon; confused for a second, ChibiMoon
nodded back and they joined the pieces together anyway.
A pure
white light filled the room. It was so bright, even Moon had to
cover her eyes. "No one has used the Ginzuishou at full power
since before your mother was born last time, little girl!"
yelled Grety. "And that woman is dead! You will not be able
to control it now!"
The light started to die down and Moon
was able to look up as ChibiMoon ran from its source. "ChibiUsa?
Candra-chan!"
"What?" gasped Grety.
"She
might not be able to use it," said StarMoon, "but I
can!" She aimed at Grety. "Moon Crystal Power!" The
power of the light intensified again and gathered within the
Ginzuishou. It came out as a beam, Grety disintegrating in its
path. "All I wanted was love. . ." he said with his last
breath.
"You just went about it in the wrong way,"
StarMoon told him.
Back at the Silver Millennium, the container
holding the energy cracked, then exploded. All the energy flowed
out of the palace and back to Earth. At the hospital, Greg looked
on with great relief as his team started to regain consciousness.
Back at the arcade, Jim sat up and rubbed his head. He looked
around as the others did the same. "Candra, it's over,
isn't it?" he asked with tears in his eyes.
Candra hit
her knees, fell to the floor unconscious.
"Candra-chan!"
yelled Jupiter as everyone began to rush to Candra's
aid.
"Candra!" yelled Neptune and Uranus.
"Auntie
Cynthia!" cried out ChibiMoon.
Moon cradled Candra in her
arms. "Candra-chan. . .Please. Say something." She
started crying as her sister growing cold. "This can't
happen, not again. The more I remembered about the Silver
Millennium, the more I could not wait to meet you. I can't lose
you now that I've found you.. . .Please, Candra-chan! Open your
eyes!"
A light shined into ChibiMoon's eyes. She looked
to find the Ginzuishou behind a potted plant.
Jim, Greg, Ozzie,
and Lance ran into the mall. "Oh, dear Lord," breathed
Lance.
"Please don't let this be her end. She has so
much ahead of her," Greg prayed.
"Candra-chan."
Jupiter kneeled down and started to rub Candra's head. The
others began to cry. All they could think was how they had failed
their Princess, both of them.
"Puu says I can't use it."
They turned around to see ChibiMoon walking toward them with the
Ginzuishou. "But Mama says I can." Standing before Moon
and Candra, she closed her eyes and the light of the Ginzuishou
covered them. Nothing happened for a few moments. Then, Candra
curled herself in a ball.
"Cynthia, what are you
doing in my room?" asked Princess Serenity.
"The
storm scared me." Lighting flashed through the room. Cynthia
threw the cover over her head.
Serenity smiled. "You are
Jupiter's best friend and yet you are afraid of a little clap of
lighting." There was another flash of lighting, followed by
the loudest thunder Serenity had ever heard. Her eyes grew wide.
"Uh, you wanna spend the night here?" she quickly
asked.
"Yes," Cynthia whispered.
Serenity sighed.
"You are one big baby."
"I'm not a baby!"
Cynthia said from under the covers. "I am five years
old!"
Serenity pulled a book off her shelf. "Let us
read, then."
Leaning against the bed, Serenity read to
comfort her sister. When the story was almost over, however, the
storm started to act up again. Terrified of the lighting and
thunder, Cynthia scrambled into her big sister's arms. "Make
it stop!"
"But I cannot. I also cannot read the book
'cause you're blocking my view."
"Here. I'll
hold it. Agh!" She dropped it and curled into a
ball.
Serenity just smiled. "Don't worry; I'm here. I
won't let anything happen to you."
Cynthia grabbed
Serenity's arm. "When I get bigger, I'm gonna protect
you. Just like you protect me."
"And you
did." Moon rested her head on Candra's. "You sure
did."
Everyone started crying. "Finally. It's
over!" cried Jim.
"Praise the Lord!" cried out
Greg. Everyone cheered
happily.
Phobos
and Deimos flew over the roof of the temple. It was two days after
that final battle, and Rei was doing her best not to kill her
grandfather. "I know, Grandpa. I'm going!" Rei was so
behind on her chores, it wasn't anywhere near funny. She slid
the door closed and picked up her broom. "I am going. .
.Candra-chan? What's the matter?"
Candra looked at Rei.
"Have any idea what this is about?" she asked, jabbing
her thumb behind her.
Outside, there was a crowd unlike
anything Rei had seen before. "What. . .? I. . ..
Candra-chan?"
"You know how I try to come here
everyday at noon?" Rei nodded. "Well, I came, did my
thing, turned around, and. . ." Candra gestured. "All
they will state is that they are ready. That won't say why they
are here."
"What about my children?" a panicked
woman cried out. "They aren't here!"
"Nor are
ours," said a man, holding his wife's hand. The rest of the
crowd started voicing their concerns.
Candra threw her hands
up. "Hold it!" The crowd quieted. "Thank you. Now,
what is going on here?"
"It's time for the Moon
Queen to take her place on the throne." The crowd parted like
the Red Sea as ChibiUsa made her way through the crowd, followed
by Usagi, Ami, Mako, and Minako.
Candra looked at ChibiUsa.
"You mean . . ." She looked at Usagi, who had worry all
over her face. "Serenity? What. . .?"
"I don't
know what to do," Usagi interrupted. "I know this is
what I am suppose to do, but I also know that I'm supposed to be
here on Earth with Mamo-chan. I. . .I don't know what to do."
Tears streamed down her face. "Maybe I go to the Moon, then
come back later. Maybe I stay down here. I don't want to make
the wrong choice. . ." Usagi looked down. "I just don't
know what to do."
"ChibiUsa-chan? Maybe you could
tell her what to do," said Minako.
ChibiUsa shook her
head. "Mama told me not to."
"Why not?"
asked Minako.
"If she tells," replied Candra, "it
would influence Serenity's decision. That could cause many
things to change, even up to whether or not ChibiUsa is
born."
Tears ran down Usagi's face. "I don't know
what to do."
Candra put her hands on Usagi's shoulders.
"I wish I could make this decision for you. It's such a
difficult one. But you are the Crown Princess and you have to make
it. I will help if you need advice, but. . ." Her voice
drifted off.
Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru appeared over
the steps. "So, it really is time," said Haruka.
"I
wonder if she is ready," said Michiru.
"I wonder if
any of us are," added Hotaru.
Usagi and Candra sat on the
steps as the Outers joined them. "Do I have to make it now?"
Usagi asked.
Setsuna stepped forward. "This is the day
Fate has decided the Moon Queen will be crowned. These people here
were part of the Court back on the Moon. They have not remembered
anything until today. They are ready to follow the Queen back to
the Moon. Usagi, you must make this choice today."
"Or
else these people could be here all night," Candra finished,
trying to lighten the mood a bit.
"Well . . ." Usagi
had never made a decision that involved so many people before.
ChibiUsa crossed her fingers, hoping the right inspiration would
enter the scene soon.
At that moment, it did. Mamoru made his
way up the stairs. Usagi locked eyes with him. "Mamo-chan!"
she cried and ran into his embrace.
Fighting back his tears, he
said, "I will love you no matter what decision you
make."
Usagi had developed a habit of playing with her
engagement ring when she was nervous. This moment was no
exception. I made him a promise, she thought as she
realized she was playing with it again. She turned and faced the
crowd. "I choose to stay here with my true love."
Setsuna
nodded. "It has been decided, then."
Usagi's brooch
opened and the full Ginzuishou spilt in half. One half drifted to
Candra and returned to her brooch. Instantly, she was bathed in a
gray glow. The wind picked up and swirled around her. For a few
moments, no one moved. They couldn't; what they were witnessing
was history in the making.
When the glow died down, Candra's
street clothes were gone. Everyone gasped, she was now wearing,
not her Princess clothing, but a dress similar to Queen
Serenity's. Her crescent insignia sparkled as she opened her
eyes. She gaped at her clothing as it started to sink in what was
happening.
"Candra-chan?" asked Mako.
"Usagi
has abdicated her right to the throne," said Rei.
"And
since Candra-chan is her sister, she is next in line," added
Ami.
"Now, Candra is Queen of the Moon," finished
Michiru.
Usagi hadn't thought about that. She worried about
how Candra appeared to be handling it. "Candra-chan?"
Cynthia
looked up with excitement on her face. She picked up the skirt of
her dress and ran to Usagi. "Usagi! Thank you!" she
said, rapping Usagi in a hug. Usagi was a little surprised that
Candra had called her "Usagi", not "Serenity",
but it was a welcomed change.
Candra pulled away. "I had
always wanted to be Queen, but. . ." Turning her attention to
Mamoru, she continued. ". . .I never dared breathed a word of
this. Your grandfather had been a twin. His brother was born ten
minutes earlier, and therefore, the crown was his. However, your
grandfather wanted it so badly, he actually killed his own
brother. He always regretted it."
"How do you know
that and I don't?" Mamoru asked.
"I just remember
he was like a grandfather to me. I don't know why. I do know I
was the only person he ever told. He had planned the murder so
well, no one ever figured out who did it." She looked back at
Usagi. "I loved you so much, and I would never have been able
to live with myself had I done that. I knew family was more
important than some title. I still wanted to be Queen, but if I
was to be, I would have no blood on my hands or hand out hurt
feelings."
Her Queen clothing faded off. "As Cynthia,
I wanted to be Queen," she continued. "And as Candra, I
still want to be Queen. However, because of this time period, I
have other goals. I want to finish high school and college and
become an accountant and I can't do any of that if I become
Queen now."
She turned to her Court. "I'm sorry you
all came out here for nothing, but today will not be the day we
leave. I know some of you are worried about family members who are
not here; that just means they weren't part of the Court in our
past lives. They are more than welcome to come when it is time."
A
little girl stepped forward. "What if I don't want to go?"
she asked.
Candra knelt to the girl's level. "Then you
don't have to go. I don't want to force anyone to come with
me. However, if you change your mind, the invitation's still
open." Candra tapped the girl's nose and she giggled.
"How
will we know when you are ready to leave?" asked an older
man.
Candra stood and gave him a comforting smile. "Whatever
force told you to come today will tell you when it is time, I'm
sure." She gave them all a bow and began to leave. However,
she stopped as she walked past a young couple. "You've been
trying to conceive, haven't you?" she asked them.
The
couple was taken aback. "Uh, yes," said the man.
Candra
smiled again and touched the woman's stomach. There was a short
silver glow, then Candra withdrew her hand. "Well,
congratulations on the triplets, then," she said and walked
off.
They looked at each other. "But I'm not pregnant,"
the woman
stated.
Two
months later. . .
Candra and her brothers sat on one side
of the courtroom; Usagi, Shingo, and their parents on the other.
Everyone was nervous; what would the judge say?
"Well,
I'll admit that I find this case a bit unusual, but who am I to
argue? So, I declare that from this day forward, these five adults
are now the adopted children of Kenji and Ikuko Tsukino."
Usagi
and Candra looked at each other. "SISTERS!" they
squealed. Each sprang from her chair and rushed to hug the other.
Then, they clasped hands and jumped up and down squealing, "YEA!
YEA! YEA!"
"They aren't happy at all, are they?"
asked the judge with a grin.
"Oh, no," agreed Greg
with the same type of grin.
"Alright, minna! Picture
time!" yelled Hotaru.
Candra and her brothers groaned.
"What?" asked Hotaru.
"They hate having their
pictures taken," answered Haruka.
"Well, that's too
bad!" said Minako.
"Say 'Cheese!'" said
Mako.
"Cheese!"
"And
now I would like to introduce our valedictorians. Please help me
congratulate Mizuno Ami, Kaiou Michiru, and Tsukino Candra!"
The
audience stood and applauded the only three in the class to get a
perfect score. "I never thought I would hear the words
'valedictorian' and 'Tsukino' in the same paragraph, said
Shingo.
"Oh, yeah? Well. . ." Greg reached over and
gave Shingo a wedgie. "Agh!" Shingo cried out.
Kenji
and Ikuko shushed him. "You are not on my good side right
now," Shingo whispered to Greg as he rubbed his butt.
Ten
minutes later, diplomas were handed out. "Aino Minako. .
.Kaiou Michiru, Kino Makoto. . .Mizuno Ami. . .Tenou Haruka. .
.Tsukino Candra, Tsukino Usagi. . ."
Ikuko wiped her eyes.
"My baby. . .babies are all grown up!"
"This
adoption was a good idea; we've been their parents for two weeks
and already the youngest has graduated!" said Kenji.
Ikuko
hit him in the back of the head. "Honestly. .
."
Knock,
knock. Candra hopped off her bed. "Come in! Hey, Usagi!
Like the poster?" Candra pointed to the crayon-coloring now
hanging over her bed.
Usagi nodded. "Another ChibiUsa
masterpiece I see."
"She's very talented. I just
don't see where she gets it. Neither you nor I have it, and I've
never seen a Chiba Work-of-Art." Candra looked at Usagi.
"Self-taught?"
Usagi shrugged. "I guess."
She watched Candra walk to her bed to finish folding her clothes.
"Candra, I've noticed that you seem a lot more relaxed,"
she commented.
Candra looked over her shoulder. "What do
you mean?"
"Well, you don't walk as stiffly and you
speak up more. And the way you address people; you never called me
'Usagi' until. . .you know."
"I don't know; I
guess I just feel more comfortable. I really hadn't noticed it,
so. . ." She drifted off as she looked at the shirt she was
pulling out of the basket.
"What's wrong?" asked
Usagi.
Candra shook her head. "It's nothing." She
quickly folded the shirt.
Usagi crossed her arms. "I know
that look; it's something. Spill."
"Well, the last
time I wore this shirt was. . .the day that I meet the
others."
Usagi uncrossed her arms. "When was
that?"
"I was up in the tree. Remember?"
"Oh,
yeah. . . .But nothing bad happened."
Candra placed the
basket on the floor. She patted her bed, inviting Usagi to sit
next to her. "It's time I told you. . . .I've been battling
depression for awhile. . .And I have tried several times to. .
.to. . .I have. . ."
"Candra?"
"I've
tried to kill myself."
Usagi's jaw dropped.
"What?"
"Something bad would happen and it was
always my fault. Even after my father went to jail, I was just so
use to being blamed for something bad that after awhile, I just
figured it would be better if I didn't exist."
Usagi
looked at her hands, then back at Candra. "How many?"
"Um.
. ." Candra started counting on her fingers and mumbling to
herself. "There was the oven, then the knife, then. . .knife
again. . .car. . .ten times. Wait. The tree. Eleven."
Usagi's
eyes were as big as her head. "Are you serious? I mean, I
knew you were sad a lot, but. . ."
"Mama told me
that there were a few times before she met her that Candra-chan
tried to kill herself. Mama said something about not liking
herself."
"I just didn't like myself. Even
after I met you, I just. . .I saw all the friends you had and how
they didn't use you and stuff like that. I wanted that and I. .
.I didn't have it. I was tired of-of not having it and tired of
waiting for it." Candra looked up, tears in her eyes. "If
you think I saved your life, you are so wrong. You saved me. I
asked God if my life was really worth it. I asked for a sign. .
."
". . .and then I showed up," Usagi finished.
"Do Greg and your brothers know?"
"About that
one? No. They think I've only tried four times. . .Usagi, I may
not be totally cured, but I have a better outlook on life. I
finally realize that not everything is my fault, that I am worth
something. I also have something to live for: you, ChibiUsa,
Chiba, and the girls. You have to have something to live for.
Otherwise, what's the point?"
Usagi started crying.
"Promise me you'll never do that again! You do and I will
never forgive you!"
Candra held her sister in her arms. "I
promise. I love life and I don't want to miss one minute of
it."
"Again,
we say good-bye to you," said Mako.
"This is getting
kind of old," added Rei.
"But not any easier. Come
here." Ami gave ChibiUsa a hug. Minako, Mako, and Rei gave
ChibiUsa hugs, too. Then, Candra walked over. "It's too bad
we didn't get to know each other very well," said Candra,
"but I cannot wait to see you in the future."
"I
can't wait, either." ChibiUsa hugged Candra. "You are
such a cool person, Auntie Cynthia."
Candra couldn't
help smiling; she loved that name. "You just take care of
yourself, okay?"
ChibiUsa let go. "Okay. I love
you."
"I love you, too."
ChibiUsa turned to
see Usagi and Mamoru both kneeling. ChibiUsa jumped into Mamoru's
arms. He rapped both her and Usagi in a hug. For a few minutes, no
words were spoken. They all had the feeling this would be the
absolute last time they would see ChibiUsa until she was born.
That made this farewell all the more emotional.
ChibiUsa pulled
out her key. Looking back at the group, she gave them a look
telling them that everything was going to be all right. She smiled
and disappeared into a pink
light.
In
an apartment not far from the park, a woman stepped out of the
bathroom. "Honey, what does a green line mean?" she
asked.
Her husband pulled out the box. "It means. . ."
He drifted off, scaring his wife. "Honey?" she asked
again.
"It means. . .we need a bigger apartment."
The End!
