What if the Starlights Appeared in the R Season of Sailor Moon?
Act 7: Am I Not Good Enough?
Sora it is guys the moment you've been waiting for, the final act, the end of the story. This took me six years to write. : P
"Isn't it pretty obvious what my choice will be given what I just saw?" Seiya asked as he glared at Sailor Pluto. The images still fresh in his mind.
"I will come back tomorrow morning and you will give me your final answer," Pluto said firmly.
"How… how do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"You know what is about to happen yet you can't do a thing. How do you sit by and not try to stop it?"
"A thousand years ago it was better to have an entire kingdom destroyed then to let to it run its course and annihilate a universe the forthcoming year. My task is never easy but it is a necessity."
"So, you knew what Galaxia was going to do to my home planet but you didn't do anything."
"That is correct. What is done is done for the greater good."
"So my people had to die for a greater good?"
"Considering that you have the option of rebuilding your planet, yes. If you are displeased there is always the idea of a plague spreading and making your entire star system extinct."
Seiya fell silent.
Seiya lay awake for a while on the couch. The images that Pluto had shown him could not be easily forgotten. Pluto had shown him two possible outcomes of what would happen.
Many thoughts ran threw Seiya's head. If the Lights being there were disrupting time so badly then why won't Pluto just correct it? Why did she need a decision from him? Was it was test of some sort? All he had were questions and no answers.
Nothing was going to be accomplished here. He stood up and stretched. Whenever he was in jam and didn't know what to do going for a walk always seemed to help. It gave me a chance to think and a way to burn off all the anxious energy that was building.
Grabbing his jacket he left his apartment and took the stairs down two at a time instead of the elevator. The first image that kept plaguing his mind was the outcome if he left and time was restored back to the original time line.
Everything would be "normal". It would be as if the Starlights were never there. Chibi Usa would have to save her parents and stop the Dead Moon, Galaxia would be defeated, and everything would be fine. According to the time line it was essential for Usagi and Mamoru to be together. Mainly because of Crystal Tokyo. Without Crystal Tokyo the Earth could never achieve lasting peace. Usagi looked so happy in what he saw. She had a family, her friends around, heck she was even Queen of the Earth.
But then there was the other version. Then there was the not so happy and carefree outcome. It was very dark.
Usagi told Mamoru it was over once and for all. It wasn't easy for her and as a result she kept her distance from Seiya for a few days. She claimed she was over him for a while but it took a bit longer to sort threw her emotions. After all they were together in two different lifetimes.
Ami, Makoto, and Minako said they were happy for her. But even then it seemed doubtful. Their faces and emotions told an entirely different story. Rei was more distant from Usagi. She was even less patient with her. Rei snapped at her more often then usually. Their fights weren't the same. Rei no longer teased her to the extent she used. It probably contributed to how Ami, Makoto, and Minako acted as well.
Chibi Usa was gone. The few days after Usagi and Seiya were officially together Chibi Usa came down with what doctors called the flu. She became paler by the hour, until the point where she vanished. Pluto had modified the Tsukino's family's memories that Chibi Usa was picked up her Uncle and went back home. The disappearance of Chibi Usa caused Usagi to panic and ran over to the shrine to talk to Rei. Rei told Usagi that she saw this coming earlier because of her and Seiya. Usagi wanted to know how to bring Chibi Usa back, but Rei didn't know. It was too late. Seiya did his best to try to comfort her but there was only so much he could do. This put yet another strain on their relationship.
Uranus and Neptune wanted nothing more than to kill Seiya. He had to constantly look behind his back to see if the duo hid in the shadows waiting for him. Uranus and Neptune were not longer so protective of Usagi. It was as if they disowned her. They focused on something called Pure Heart crystals.
After Usagi broke up with Mamoru no one heard from him. Tuxedo Kamen was missing as well. There were battles practically every day. The Inner Senshi still showed up to help and Taiki and Yaten when Galaxia was involved.
Pluto spent most of her time with Uranus and Neptune when she wasn't inside the Time Streams. At this point it was too late for her to do anything to change the course of events. No matter what happened.
Taiki and Yaten lost all of their interest in singing now that their Princess was found. Seiya on the other hand wanted to continue to sing. His reasoning was that he had new inspiration. Taiki and Yaten finished they're remaining contracts and announced they wanted to split from the Three Lights.
Princess Kakyuu was a lot quieter than she was better. It was rare if the Three Lights and herself were together. Taiki and Yaten wanted to return home but the Princess wouldn't let them until Galaxia was stopped. She felt responsible for bringing Galaxia to Earth in the first place.
The Dead Moon seemed to vanish. After the battle at the school with Esmerado the group never surfaced again. Many speculated it had to do with Chibi Usa vanishing. The Dead Moon was from a timeline that no longer existed. This was a relief for some since there was one less group attempting to destroy Tokyo.
The Dead Circus was still in town. But that was it. They never went looking for dream mirrors. Chibi Usa was no longer around and thus Pegasus could not hide inside her dream. Rei did notice a change a mirror in her shrine. She had seen it only once and written it off as an illusion of some sort.
Galaxia did not lighten up at all. In fact, attacks from her were increasing daily as she continued her quest for pure starseeds. It came to a point where they decided to go after Galaxia because they could not keep up with all of the attacks.
The Inners starseeds were lost and they tried to protect Sailor Moon. Princess Kakyuu died as she protected the Starlights. Sailor Moon was the only one that could even hurt Galaxia. Chibi Chibi showed up and together the two of them were able to stop Galaxia. As a result Usagi died.
All the starseeds were returned to their rightful owners. Princess Kakyuu tried to revive Sailor Moon put to no avail. Sailor Pluto appeared and confronted Sailor Star Fighter and asked if she was happy with the outcome she created. Chaos was stopped put at the cost of Usagi's life.
The next few days were a blur for Seiya. Usagi died from a heart attack according to her cause of death for her funeral. Everyone showed up, even Mamoru. Mamoru kicked himself for not being there to help. But then again he wasn't sure if he could handle seeing Usagi with another man. A week later he took his own life.
Princess Kakyuu returned home along with Taiki and Yaten. Seiya on the other hand couldn't go back. He turned into an alcoholic.
After seeing both of those scenes it was rather obvious what the best choice would be. He felt helpless. He wanted to be with Usagi but he wasn't enough. His greatest fear was not being able to protect Usagi when she needed it the most. His fear came true in the second story.
A part of him wondered if it was trick of some sort created by Sailor Pluto to help rid herself of the Lights. But that did not seem like her character. She appeared to be the type that was straight down to Earth. She did not joke when it came to her job of looking after the Time Streams.
Seiya did not want to leave Usagi, but he wanted her to be happy and alive. He wasn't sure if she could have that kind of future with him. Usagi dying was not an option to him.
A part of him said that the battle with Galaxia could still have a different outcome. There was still a way he could save Usagi. But he was not about to gamble on that chance with Usagi's life. He loved her too much.
With a heavy heart he made up his might what he would say to Sailor Pluto when the time came tomorrow.
Usagi left her house saying she was going over to visit Naru. Since Naru and her family was a very close friend of the family her parents didn't question it. Usagi could be out as long as she needed to. She felt guilty but she needed some time to herself. She couldn't stop thinking of Mamoru and the conversation that they had when she ran into him as she left Rei's shrine. Why had it taken him so along to even speak with her? Why had he been so stubborn? These questions continued to haunt her. The only way they were going to be answered would be if she talked with Mamoru herself. She didn't even realize it, but her feet taking him over to his apartment.
She stopped when she saw a young child. She had hot pink hair up in pigtails. She was all alone and by herself. This seemed really odd to her considering the time of day. Usagi looked around once more in hopes of finding a trance of the young girl's family but to no avail.
She couldn't leave such a young child by herself. She walked up to her and said, "hi."
"Chibi?" The young girl responded as she titled her head to the right as she looked up into Usagi's sapphire eyes. "Chibi Chibi!" She exclaimed as she pulled down on Usagi's right pigtail.
"Ouch!" Usagi said as she jerked her hair away from the young girl. "That hurt! I was only trying to help and you pull my hair!" A few tears welled up in her eyes.
The girl clapped her hands together and once more said "Chibi Chibi!"
Usagi turned around and walked off. The last thing she was going to put up with was a strange kid that somewhat resembled her and Chibi Usa pulling her hair. She did look a lot like her and Chibi Usa, heck she even had heart shaped odangos. This made Usagi turn around again to look at the young child only to discover she disappeared.
Usagi searched her surroundings but she still couldn't find a trance of her.
Mamoru sighed. It had been another long day. Between school and work he was amazed he had any sort of free time. His sleep was often disturbed thanks to the nightmares that had been plaguing him for the past few weeks. He wondered if they would ever stop and he could finally receive a decent night's sleep. But that was probably too much to ask for.
He needed to talk to Usagi more. After talking to Rei earlier it was clear that he needed to tell Usagi what is going on. A blur or blonde caught his eye and snapped him out of his thoughts. Two long pigtails swayed back and forth as the young girl walked down the sidewalk. There was only one person with hair like that. It was his Usako. Things always seemed to work out this way. He quickly picked up his pace and was able to catch up to where within ten minutes.
She wasn't aware of his presence. In fact she didn't seem to be aware of anything at the moment. "Usako?"
Usagi jumped when she heard a voice close to her ear. She quickly turned around for the source of the voice and saw Mamoru. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding when she saw the familiar face. He wasn't sure if she was glad to see him or not.
"I'm glad I ran into you," Usagi said.
Mamoru eye's widened slightly at her comment but waited for her to continue.
"I just saw the strangest thing. There was this girl she was a little young than Chibi Usa but she had her hair up in heart shape odangos. She had this dark pink color hair. She pulled my hair and the next thing I know she's gone. I have no idea who is why she's here or where she went. The whole thing is kinda creepy."
Mamoru couldn't help but frown a little a bit. For a moment he had thought that Usagi was happy to see him. As it turned out she just needed to talk to someone that was senshi or related to them. But the thought of another girl that looked like Usagi and Chibi Usa did bring some questions to mind.
"Have any of the others seen this girl before?" Mamoru asked in hopes of shedding a little light onto the issue.
"Not that I know of," Usagi said as she looked down towards her feet. She was really uncomfortable talking to him right now. Especially since she was confused as to how she felt.
"Usako, I'd like to talk," Mamoru said looking into her eyes. He couldn't read her eyes anymore. They use to be clear brilliant blue. They seemed duller and less joyful these days.
Usagi didn't look up at him right away. "What did you want to talk about?" She asked.
"About us."
Usagi bit her lip before she spoke. This wasn't easy for her but she was frustrated and angered by him. She had been wanting to talk "about us" for months. She wanted to know what happened and what she did wrong. But would never tell her. "Why couldn't we talk about us months ago when this first happened?" She asked as she looked up to meet his gaze.
"I was going through a lot at the time Usako."
"But you couldn't even give me a reason!"
"It's not that simple. I wish it was."
"So because it's hard I won't understand it, and you made that decision about us without even letting me know what was going on Mamoru-san."
Mamoru winced at the reference to Mamoru-san rather than Mamo-chan as she used to call him. "I should have told you about it in the beginning but I was afraid something would happen."
"What made you change your mind?"
"I… I went spoke to Rei-chan since she's pretty good about…"
"You spoke to Rei-chan instead of me?" Usagi asked a look of hurt spread across her features. Then she remembered the many occasions in which Rei had tried to help Usagi and convince her that she should stay with Mamoru than be with Seiya. Exhaling a breath she asked her next question, "so what did you need to see her about?"
"I wanted her to help me to interrupt a dream I've been having."
"… what kind of dream?"
"Can we go somewhere else?" Mamoru asked as he looked around. He saw Seiya up the street. "It's rather private."
"Sure," Usagi said.
Mamoru ended up taking Usagi to the park to talk where it was much quieter. He lead her over to the bench that overlooked the lake. It was a bench that they sat at often in the past.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Usagi asked as she sat down next to him. She kept a short distance between her and Mamoru.
Mamoru took a deep breath before he spoke. He then spent the next ten minutes explaining to Usagi in great detail about the recurring nightmare that had been plaguing him for months.
Usagi sat there for a moment not saying anything. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to react to what she just told. She was quiet for a few more moments. "I still think you should have told me what happened. Do you trust me?"
"Of course I do."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I was afraid to. I was afraid something would happen to you."
"So you made an important decision about us without telling me why."
"Usako, I worry about you." Mamoru said as his left hand brushed against her cheek. Usagi remained silent.
"Usako, I still love you. I always will."
Tears formed at the corner of her eyes. She looked up when she felt a few drops of water on her head. The source of water didn't come from Mamoru but rather from the clouds. With a few seconds they were caught with a complete down pour.
Usagi used this as an excuse to retreat from her current situation. She hated thunderstorms. A cloud rumbled in the distance signaling the storm would be worse before it became better.
Before Mamoru knew it he was standing a lone in the rain. Here he had just poured his heart out to Usagi and she ran away. He asked his self just how much damage he caused. He continued to stand there as he looked at the spot where Usagi once stood. He had no idea what to do at this point.
Seiya frowned. It had started to rain. He wasn't too fond of rain. The weather matched his mood at the moment: gloomy. He sighed once more. He wished he didn't have to do what he was about to tomorrow.
In a way he wished he could get the whole ordeal over with right now. But he had to see Odango first. It would be another two years before he would be able to see her again. But he wouldn't remember it. Everything that had happened on Earth would be wiped clean from the history books. The only one that would know about it would be Sailor Pluto.
Pluto had said that this was an abnormality in the Time Streams. They are extremely rare and often extremely dangerous. Seiya sighed once more. It was just one of those days.
The rain began to come down in buckets. He was not drenched from head to toe. He looked around at his surroundings to locate a place for shelter until the rain let up somewhat. No such luck.
Seiya frowned. He continued on. A young blonde haired woman was running in the same direction he was heading. A clap of thunder sounded in the distant and she let out a wail. An all too familiar sound. There was only one person that sounded like that. It was Odango.
"Odango!"
Hearing her name called she looked up from the sidewalk which she focused on while she ran. She didn't want to look up. She was crying but because of the rain it was impossible to tell. Her eyes were a little red and puffy. She was also soaked from head to toe like Seiya.
She slowed down enough so she wouldn't crash into Seiya. She slowly raised her head to look up at him.
Upon seeing her face he immediately knew that something was wrong. "Odango, what's wrong?"
Usagi hiccupped as she attempted to respond back to him. Seiya waited a few moments before she spoke. Usagi quickly explained what had happened between her and Mamoru moments before.
Seiya had another reason for wanting to punch Mamoru in the face. Seeing the state she was in was difficult. What he needed to talk her about wasn't going to be easy either.
"Odango, I need to talk to you, but it's a bit different. I just found out about it a few hours ago from Sailor Pluto."
"…Sailor Pluto?"
The rain began to slow to a light drizzle. Down the street people were out and about again.
"… what did say?"
"It's not easy Odango, she gave me choice…"
Usagi looked at him her mouth open. Pluto told Seiya if he stayed with her she would end up dead, whereas if she stayed with Mamoru everything would turn out for the better. Deep down she still loved Mamoru but the pain caused by him was overriding it for the time being.
"I just wanted to be able to talk to you at least one more time before tomorrow."
"So… you're going to leave?"
"I don't really have a choice. You dying is not option to me."
"I've died before."
"… but this time it will be different. Galaxia is worse than anyone you've fought in the past Odango."
"But I'll have more senshi to help me in this battle."
"Odango… Galaxia has destroyed entire star systems full of other sailor senshi… just like us."
Usagi went silent. This was a lot to take in at once. "But…"
Seiya frowned; he knew this was going to be difficult. He brushed a few bangs to the side of her face. "Odango I want to look after you. Right now there's only one thing to do to guarantee that."
"But Seiya…" Usagi's voice trailed off as he looked into his eyes. Her thoughts became jumbled as she continued to stare into them.
Pluto looked around. All the necessary perpetrations were nearly complete. She had a feeling what Seiya would say. But to her it didn't matter. She had broken Queen Serenity's laws more than once. She never told her about battle with Queen Beryl that wasn't supposed to happen. She traded that battle to destroy the Moon Kingdom for the destruction of that solar system. All because of the Prince of Earth. It was all droll to her. In order to preserve the future she had to be with the prince. Only the Princess would be able to stop Chaos in the future.
Pluto looked around. She had a feeling something was off. Something was out of place. This wasn't what she need right now. She had to be fully rested for tomorrow. What she was about to do drained her to point where it would practically kill her if she wasn't careful.
Her staff dropped from her hands and clattered to the ground. The flow of time altered again because of the three Lights.
Seiya was doing his best to comfort Usagi. All of the sudden he felt a great sense of dread. Something was off. All the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up. He heard a laugh in the distance. A laugh that belonged to only one person. It was unmistakable. She was here. Sailor Galaxia.
A moment later flashes of gold appeared and she stood there. A sinister smile plastered against her face.
"How long did you really think you could run? Kakyuu was easier than expected," Galaxia jested with her right arm, and the jewel on her bracelet flashed. A crimson starseed appeared and floated inches above her outstretched hand.
Seiya felt a huge lump in this throat form. He could sense the presence of his princess from the starseed Galaxia held.
"Now that leaves me with 13 more starseeds. Then everything will be mine."
"Odango…" Seiya said as he pulled out his transformation star. Usagi nodded and pulled out her compact.
"FIGHTER STAR POWER, MAKE UP!"
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE UP!"
Galaxia waited for the two until they were done. She always had more fun when the senshi were transformed to take their starseeds. The challenge was part of the fun for her.
Usagi pulled out her communicator and alerted Mars, Mercury and Venus. The four said they would be that as soon as they could. Usagi hoped it wouldn't be too late. She took a small step back intimidated by Sailor Galaxia's presence.
Sailor Star Fighter shifted on her feet feeling uneasy. She hoped that Star Maker and Star Healer would be on their way. Sailor Moon was powerful, but not as nearly as powerful as Princess Kakyuu for the time being.
Not being able to wait any longer, Sailor Star Fighter attacked. "STAR SERIOUS LASER!"
Galaxia laughed at the attempt as she blocked it with ease. "So this is where senshi that can not defend their plants hide. You know you're not the one I'm after…" With a flick of her wrist Sailor Star Fighter was knocked fifteen feet to the right of where she previous stood. Sailor Moon was vulnerable now, easy pray for Sailor Galaxia.
Galaxia raised both of her arms up in from of her face. Her elbows bent, hands closed into small fists. The green and purple jewels on either wrist sparkled. "The Moon Princess' starseed, the brightest of this star system. A perfect addition to my collection."
Before she knew what happened two bursts of light comparable to that of the sun erupted from her bracelets. She smiled.
The two blasts flew over to where Sailor Moon stood. She attempted to dodge the two blasts, but she failed.
"NO!" Sailor Star Fighter screamed.
Mars panted hard as she continued to run. Along the way she met up with Venus, Mercury and Jupiter.
"I hope we make it in time," Sailor Jupiter said as picked up the pace taking the lead of the group. Behind her was Venus, followed by Mars, Mercury took up the rear.
The group turned another corner just in time to see Sailor Star Fighter hit and thrown to the side. There were too far away to be able to help Usagi when Galaxia's blast hit her.
Sailor Moon dropped to her knees. A luminous light emitted from her. The light formed into a pure white crystal and followed over to Sailor Galaxia. She laughed once more. Looking over at Sailor Star Fighter, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury she said, "You will be next." She vanished.
Usagi's untransformed body faded away.
A golden ball of energy flew towards an unsuspecting Sailor Star Fighter. Another blast of light from the opposite direction deflected the attack.
Out of the shadows walked Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. Pluto walked a short distance behind the duo; her facial expression grim.
To the right appeared Sailor Star Maker and Sailor Star Healer. The two did not look very pleased. Their princess' starseed was just taken out from under their nose, and they just deflected an attack meant to hit one of their own.
Inners were not a short distance between the three Outer Senshi and three Starlights. Their eyes shifted between the two groups.
"Attacking them will not help our situation," Mercury finally spoke. "We need to stick together now more than ever."
Fighter looked between the two groups. There was only one thing she could do right now to set it straight.
She turned her direction towards Sailor Pluto. "We need to talk. Now."
Pluto looked back at her with a grim face. She nodded her head and gestured with her eyes to side away from the others.
"Everyone will remain here." Looking over at Uranus and Neptune she said, "and you will not attack the other senshi. We need all the senshi we can find if want to even stand a prayer at defeating Sailor Galaxia was we are now." She looked over at the two remaining lights and said, "the same for you."
"I thought you said we would be able to defeat Galaxia but with the cost of Odango's life." Sailor Star Fighter said her focus on the ground beneath her.
"That is what I thought was to happen. I could not predict this change of events anymore than you could have. I was just as shocked by this as you were." Pluto said as she adjusted her grip on her staff.
"Fix it."
"Fix it?" Pluto asked. She needed to make sure that she heard her right. Their conversation was cut short by a red flash that came out of no where and cut Fighter on her right arm.
Alarmed both senshi looked up for the force of the attack. It was Tuxedo Kamen. He was livid.
"What have you done to Usako?" Tuxedo Kamen yelled. He quickly closed the distance between the two with his crane."
"Mamoru-san stop!" Sailor Pluto yelled out a warning. He didn't. He blamed Seiya for the death of Usagi. Minutes ago he had felt Usagi die. He wasn't there to help her. He did blame himself, but we couldn't take out the rage with himself like we could if he also blamed Seiya.
Sailor Pluto frowned. There was only one thing she could do at this point. She had to stop him herself. Freezing him would be the best solution, but drain entirely too much power from her. She went with the second idea. A reduced attack. Enough to stop him for a few minutes without seriously injuring him.
"Dead Scream …"
Tuxedo Kamen was too busy trying to hurt Sailor Star Fighter to even notice the attack. By the time he did it was too late.
Tuxedo Kamen sat up on the ground shaken and surprised by the attack from Sailor Pluto.
All eyes of the other senshi were on the three. There were in disbelief that Pluto would attack Tuxedo Kamen rather than Sailor Star Fighter.
"Killing Sailor Star Fighter is the worst thing you can do at this moment Mamoru-san. Only he save the Princess right now."
Pluto returned her gaze over to Sailor Star Fighter. "You wished me to fix time?
"If will save Odango, do whatever it will take." Sailor Star Fighter said as he looked at her.
Pluto nodded her head. The garnet orb on her staff lit up as vanished into thin air.
Pluto looked around the Time Streams. Rainbows of colors washed over the traditionally calm cool tones. She raised her staff, summoned all her strength and prayed.
To be continued….. in the traditional Sailor Moon R series.
Yes it is done, after all this time. I finally did it.