A smile, gentle and relieved, warmed Sailormoon's face. Her hand remained outstretched. "I will," she said comfortingly. "Just take my hand. It'll be okay. I promise."
The Widow's hand moved forwards again, towards hers. Their fingertips brushed once more. Inch by slow inch their hands grew closer together. Their fingers interlocked. Their palms touched. Sailormoon closed her hand slightly, squeezing the shaking hand of her opponent.
"NO!" screamed the Widow suddenly, so fierce and savage a shout that Sailormoon's heart almost stopped in her chest. The Widow tore her hand free of Sailormoon's as if it had been burned. Her head jerked away, the movement wresting teardrops from her eyes and flinging them into the air like surf from a breaking wave.
"What's the matter?" asked Sailormoon, concerned, taking a step towards the trembling woman.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" the Widow shrieked. She raised her head, and Sailormoon's heart sank into her stomach. That hard coldness had returned to her eyes. Her gaze stabbed into Sailormoon's like an icy blade. "You're lying!" she hissed. "You're trying to trick me!"
"No!" cried Sailormoon vehemently. "I'm not! I just-"
She got no further, as the Widow's cold hand lashed out and struck her full in the face. Sailormoon rocketed backwards across the room, towards the open doorway. She would have flown right through it, out of the door and down the hard wooden steps to the ground, if not for her wings. They were too wide to pass through the frame. They bent slightly under the impact but slowed her momentum enough to stop her. She slid to the ground, landing on her knees.
Her head was pounding angrily and she could see stars swirling around in front of her eyes, their shapes blurry and indistinct. She shook her head, clearing it somewhat, and willed herself to stand up. She did, just in time to see the Widow charging at her.
With a fearful yelp she dived to one side and the Widow narrowly missed her. Her momentum took her through the doorway. She tried to stop herself but failed, and with a scream she tumbled headfirst down the short flight of steps, landing with a muffled thud on the grass.
Sailormoon took her chance to escape. She quickly descended the stairs and hopped over the sprawled body of the Widow, who was already beginning to stir. She took off running, around the side of the cabin and towards the main expanse of the resort. The chilly wind in her face cleared the last of the cobwebs away and she put her mind to thinking of a solution.
She had to stop the Widow for a while, find some way to incapacitate her. If she could do that, she could summon her weapon and put an end to the fight. While her attempt to make peace with the Widow had failed, it had helped her to understand her opponent. Now, she just had to help her.
She risked a look over her shoulder and gasped as she saw the Widow emerge from around the side of the cabin, sprinting at full pelt. Her feet pounded against the grass, so fast that they were practically a blur. Her red hair streamed out behind her. She was rapidly gaining ground.
Sailormoon looked ahead, desperately scanning the terrain for anything that might help her. Her eyes came to rest upon the family swimming pool, glowing an ethereal blue in the centre of the resort. Her eyes widened as a plan sparked to life in her head.
That's it! she thought. If I can knock her into the swimming pool, it'll slow her down long enough for me to use the Tier!
Her confidence growing, she increased her pace, sprinting as fast as she could towards the distant blue rectangle. Slowly – too slowly – it grew closer. Sailormoon began to tire. Her knees felt like they full of lemonade and her heeled boots were not best suited to lengthy runs. Even without them, she'd never been much of a runner. To think that Mako-chan and Haruka-san do this for fun, she thought. Her breath was shooting out in ragged gasps, and she dared not look behind her for fear of seeing the Widow only a pace away.
Somehow, she made it to the pool without collapsing or being caught and slammed on the brakes. Rather than stopping, she continued to move, her feet sliding on the wet tile around the perimeter of the pool. It may as well have been an ice rink. How am I going to stop? she pondered.
A beach chair up ahead provided the answer. Watching as it quickly grew nearer and nearer, Sailormoon realised with a horrible certainty that she was going to collide with it. She felt like the driver of a runaway train, watching the buffers approach but unable to do anything but wait. She braced herself for the inevitable impact.
She slammed into it at full throttle and it folded beneath her weight. Her feet left the ground and for a brief moment switched places with her head, before she turned a complete somersault and landed hard on her lower back on the stiff metal frame of the chair.
"Owwww…" she whimpered, sitting up and gingerly rubbing her bruised tailbone. Her entire lower body felt like it'd been worked over by a particularly aggressive wrestler, but at least she'd stopped moving. She forced her aching feet to stand and turned around. The Widow was just arriving.
Sailormoon watched as she stopped running and her bare feet slid gracefully to a halt. That's not fair! she thought irritably. She let it go and refocused on her objective. She took a few steps backwards, positioning herself several feet away from the edge of the pool, facing its surface. If the Widow came at her, she'd have to put her back to the pool, which would give Sailormoon a chance.
"You can't run away from me!" seethed the Widow, advancing on her. Just as Sailormoon had planned, the Widow now had her back to the pool. All it would take was a good shove and she'd end up in the water.
"Then do you mind if I run towards you?" she asked, smirking. The Widow stopped, the comment taking her by surprise, and Sailormoon saw her chance. She charged towards the Widow and put all of her strength behind her right shoulder, aiming it squarely at the Widow's chest. When she was only a meter away she jumped, and sailed forwards like a torpedo.
Rather than feel the contact of her body against the Widow's, she felt nothing, save for the wind in her face. She looked down, and saw shimmering, aqua-blue water. The sensation of flying quickly became a sensation of falling, and finally, with a loud splash!, she plummeted into the pool.
Her wings kept her afloat, stopping her from sinking to the bottom like a stone, but it was a small comfort. The water was freezing and it instantly soaked through her uniform, seeping through the thin material of her bodice and her panties and chilling her to the bone. She looked up at the Widow, who was staring down at her with an amused smirk of her own.
"You look like a drowned rat, Sailormoon!" she chuckled icily. Her hands and feet began to glow with red light. "Now, let me put you out of your misery."
Sailormoon cursed the irony of the situation. She'd placed herself in exactly the disadvantaged position she wanted to put the Widow in. As the Widow readied her deadly kiss, Sailormoon turned and began to swim towards the other side of the pool, where a ladder led back up to the ground.
It was hard going. As with tennis, and running, and indeed anything that didn't involve playing videogames or reading manga, Sailormoon was not adept at swimming. Her costumes' large wings had absorbed as much water as they could carry, like two fluffy, oversized bath towels, and their combined weight hampered her progress further.
With over half the distance to the ladder covered, she turned her head to look back at the Widow. She screamed as she saw the burning, mouth-shaped light of the Widow's kiss descending upon her. She ducked and the kiss sailed over her head, narrowly missing her hair by only a couple of inches. It hit the water in front of her and sank, quickly dissipating into nothingness.
Her kiss doesn't work in water, she noted. With renewed determination and faith in her plan she took off swimming again, and quickly reached the ladder. She briskly climbed it, shuddering as her exposed arms and legs broke out into gooseflesh as they left the water, and turned to face the Widow once more. She was already charging up another kiss.
"You know," said Sailormoon, shaking herself from side to side in an effort to dry herself, "this outfit is really not comfortable when it's wet."
"You poor thing," replied the Widow snidely. She raised her hand to her lips and passed the kiss to her fingertips. "Here," she said, "I've got something that'll warm you up!"
She hurled the kiss, and Sailormoon took off running towards it. As she neared it she sprang forwards, turning a full rotation in the air before landing on her shoulder and rolling through, to end up back on her feet. A perfect commando roll. The kiss missed her entirely, sailing clear over her head as she rolled, and floated off towards the sea.
Sailormoon didn't stop. Before the Widow could even begin to charge another kiss, Sailormoon reached her. She jumped again, this time twisting to the side and extending her right leg to its fullest. "Sailormoon Kick!" she cried. The heel of her boot collided with the Widow's stomach and the girl staggered backwards, taken entirely off guard.
She stumbled back towards the edge of the pool, desperately trying to regain her balance, but to no avail. Her bare feet slipped on the wet tile and flew forwards, moving in the opposite direction to the rest of her body.
Sailormoon watched with horror as the next few moments passed in one single, fluid motion. The Widow collapsed backwards, twisting as she fell. Her head, cocked at a peculiar angle, hit the floor first and it bounced off the hard tile with a wet, hollow thud. Her body hit a split second later, and her momentum combined with the slippery surface caused her to slide right over the edge and into the pool. She landed face down in the cold water and floated there, silent and motionless.
She's dead, thought Sailormoon, a thick nausea blossoming in her stomach and rising up into her throat. I killed her. She looked down at the floating body dazedly.
"Please. Please help me."
She thought of the Widow's plea for help. Of her eyes, pained and sorrowful. Her cheeks, sodden with tears. It hadn't been an act. In that brief moment, Sailormoon had witnessed her true form. The girl who had been mistreated by everybody around her, the girl whose vulnerable heart had been broken. She had lost herself in rage and revenge to try and escape from that pain, and that rage had consumed her. It had warped her into something she wasn't.
I have to help her.
Without wasting another moment, Sailormoon dived back into the water, wincing at its icy sting. She grabbed the Widow's long hair and pulled it backwards, lifting her face out of the water. Her eyes were closed and her breathing shallow but she was alive, at least for now.
Acting quickly, Sailormoon positioned herself under the Widow, wrapping the girls' arms around her neck, and began to swim towards the shallow end of the pool. She didn't weigh much, as her slender figure would suggest, but her additional weight still made the journey a long and difficult one.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, they reached the shallow end. Sailormoon slipped free of the Widow and rolled her onto her back. The water here was only a few inches deep. She climbed out of the pool and then reached down and placed her hands under the Widow's arms. She pulled her free of the water and dragged her backwards until they had reached the grass.
The Widow's breathing had grown more and more shallow during their trek across the pool, and the rise and fall of her chest was now barely visible. Sailormoon knew she had to act quickly. She gently lay the Widow down, flat on her back, being careful to support her head. To her relief, it wasn't bleeding.
Then, kneeling parallel to her, she sucked in a deep breath, leaned down and placed her lips firmly against the Widow's, and blew into her mouth. She exhaled until her lungs were empty and then raised her head and took another deep breath, and repeated the procedure. Next, she lifted her head and placed her hands flat on the Widow's chest, and pressed down as hard as she could. Once, twice, thrice, and again, before she returned to transferring lungfuls of air from her own mouth to the Widow's.
Only a year earlier, her own brother Shingo had almost drowned while at a trip to the seaside. Thankfully, her friend Ami-chan had been with him. Her mother was a doctor and Ami-chan had dedicated herself to following in her footsteps, and she had saved Shingo's life with CPR. After such a close brush with drowning, she had taught Usagi and the rest of her friends the manoeuvre. Sailormoon blessed her for doing so.
She repeated the routine over and over, hoping desperately to see some sign of life. A full minute passed, and the horrible possibility that it might not work occurred to her, but she refused to believe it and continued on, sucking in air until her lungs felt like they were about to burst.
To her eternal relief, after another couple of breaths, the Widow suddenly jerked back to life as if zapped by electricity. She quickly sat up and bowed her head, and spat out what looked like an entire pint of water.
Sailormoon watched, relieved and glad, as the Widow retched and choked for a while, until her breathing began to ease. She gradually became aware of her surroundings, and looked around, clearly confused.
"Are you okay?" asked Sailormoon, standing behind her. The Widow span around, her eyes fearful and disorientated. "What the-" she began, before another fit of coughing overtook her. She put a hand to her chest and coughed loudly, several times, finally spitting out another mouthful of water. She looked back up at Sailormoon.
"What happened?" she asked weakly through a raw, scratched throat.
"You bumped your head and fell into the pool," replied Sailormoon softly. "You nearly drowned. I pulled you out and gave you CPR."
The Widow stared at her blankly, as if she hadn't understood a single word. "It was my fault," continued Sailormoon. "And I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen. I just wanted to knock you into the water."
Another blank stare. It lasted several moments, before the Widow finally spoke. "You… saved my life?" she asked, speaking the words as if they were foreign and unfamiliar. Sailormoon nodded, and then leaned down and placed a hand on the girls' shivering shoulder.
"I said I was going to help you, didn't I?" she said, giving the girl a wink.
"I…" mumbled the Widow, breaking eye contact with her, unsure of how to proceed. "I don't… understand…"
Sailormoon withdrew her hand and took a step backwards. "Don't worry," she said kindly. "Everything's going to be fine."
She raised her right hand into the air and mentally summoned her weapon. The Eternal Tier, a sceptre that allowed her to use her power to help others, to destroy the evil that had infested and infected their once pure hearts like a cancer.
The Widow watched with awe as the long wand appeared in Sailormoon's hand. Its head was red and gold, covered with glittering jewels. A magnificent object, worthy of a queen. She gripped it with both hands, one on the upper part of the long handle, one on the lower. "Silver Moon!" she cried loudly, raising it up above her head. "Crystal Power Kiss!"
Nothing happened.
Sailormoon waited, expecting a golden light to flow out at any moment, expecting to hear a joyous shout of "Beautiful!" as the hateful darkness inside the Red Widow was destroyed and she was freed from its curse.
But still, nothing happened.
Sailormoon lowered the Tier and stared at it, dumbfounded. How could it not work?
She brought it closer to her face, and her ears picked up a low, barely perceptible creaking sound. She frowned. And then, to her horror, the Tier split right down the middle, into two equal halves. The top half clattered to the ground at her feet, and she was left holding the useless, neutered lower section.
"I don't understand," she said quietly, staring at it dumbly. "I don't-"
She cried out in agony as her stomach suddenly burst into a hot ball of pain. She doubled over and sank to her knees, but before she could defend herself, she felt strong hands take hold of her wings. She was hurled roughly into the air, soaring through the dark night before coming to an abrupt landing on the cold grass.
She scrambled to her feet as the Widow charged at her, an animal ferocity in her eyes. "No!" cried Sailormoon, holding up her hands in submission. "What are you doing!" The Widow ignored her and swung again, another punch connecting with Sailormoon's chest. She flew backwards and slammed spine-first into the hard stone wall that ran around the perimeter of the resort. She crumpled back down to the grass, hot tears of pain squeezing themselves loose from her closed eyes.
In only a moment she could hear the Widow standing over her, her breath coming out in rasping bursts. She was pulled roughly to her feet and pressed against the wall. The stone dug into her throbbing spine. It was only waist-high and Sailormoon was acutely aware of the long drop beyond, with only the deep, dark ocean to welcome her at the bottom.
"Please…" she said, looking into the eyes of the girl. A thick layer of cloud had obscured the moon in the sky above them, and without its light the Widow's eyes were no longer green but a deep, empty black. An abyss.
"Please…" Sailormoon begged. "Don't hurt me. I just want to help you."
"You can't help me!" rasped the Widow. "Nobody can help me!"
"But I s-" began Sailormoon, but her words were silenced as the Widow's hands closed around her throat and began to squeeze as hard as they could. Sailormoon fought with all of her remaining strength, struggling and kicking, but it was no use. The Widow was too strong and determined.
Why didn't the Tier work? thought Sailormoon, barely able to think amid the sharp pain that shot through her body and the vice-like pressure on her throat. Why hadn't she been able to help the Widow, to save her?
Then, she remembered. She recalled the final battle against Sailorgalaxia, the last time she had been in combat before tonight. Galaxia was the most powerful of all the Sailor Soldiers, and she had been possessed by the root of all the evil in the universe, Chaos.
Sailormoon had channelled every last drop of power she had into the Eternal Tier and focused it all on her opponent, but it had been ineffective, and the Tier had been severed into two pieces by Galaxia's sword. How had she forgotten that?
Panic began to overtake her. Her throat was a burning ball of agony and her heart was pounding in her chest like a caged, wild bird. Her vision was beginning to fade and blur. She could feel the last of her strength rapidly draining away. She tried to speak, to beg for her life, to reason with her attacker but she couldn't force anything more than a strangled moan through her contorted throat. Somebody, please, help me, she thought desperately.
For no reason that she could discern, an image came into her mind's eye. The Crystal Moon Rose, standing proudly on the bedside table in their cabin.
Please, thought Sailormoon. The darkness was all around her now, thick and oppressive, forcing its way into her head, drowning out her thoughts. Help me. She willed herself to stay awake, for just a few seconds more, until somebody could help her.
Please. Help me.
A blinding flash of light erupted before her eyes, and Sailormoon felt the pressure on her throat lift. Freed, she fell to her knees, choking and coughing, sucking deep lungfuls of air into her chest. She reached a hand up to her throat and rubbed it tenderly. The skin beneath her choker was bruised and sore.
She looked up, into the bright light that had saved her. It was silver-white, like moonlight, so bright that she had to squint to look at it. The Widow was staring at it too, her mouth wide, her head slightly turned away and her hand partially shielding her eyes.
As her eyes adjusted to it, Sailormoon realised that there was an object in the centre of the light. She gasped as she recognised it. The Crystal Moon Rose. It hovered in the air above her, its head a burning red diamond, its stem a tapestry of citrine crescent moons.
Eyes wide with wonder, Sailormoon stood and reached up to touch it. Her fingers closed around the stem and another burst of light emanated from it. The Widow backed away slowly, watching with confusion and fright as the beautiful crystal sculpture glowed like a beacon in the dark night.
Sailormoon felt herself being filled with energy. Her injuries healed, her aching muscles relaxing and settling. Her wet hair and soaking clothes dried. Her bruised throat loosened and her breathing came easily. A wonderful energy, coursing through her body and enriching her heart. She turned to the Widow and pointed the Crystal Moon Rose at her.
"Wh-what are you doing!" cried the Widow fearfully, shrinking away from the copious light. Sailormoon smiled at her. "I'm doing what I promised," she replied. Words flowed into her mind and she shouted them aloud, her voice bursting with vigour and life.
"Moon… Singular… Efflorescence!"
As she spoke, the head of the Crystal Moon Rose opened, the glass petals unfurling. A great silver light glowed within it, and as Sailormoon completed her cry, it burst outwards. A beam of light streaked through the air, illuminating everything around it with such brightness that night, in its wake, turned to day. The beam struck the Red Widow, who screamed and stood bolt upright, her feet almost leaving the ground.
The light became brighter still, and Sailormoon could no longer see the girls' body. All she could see was the light, lustrous and sublime. And then, the light was gone and the petals of the Crystal Moon Rose's head closed. A deep sigh of relief rose from her chest and she quickly made her way over to where the Widow lay.
She lay on her back, her face expressionless and her eyes closed. Sailormoon looked down at her and smiled. It would be difficult for her, but she was finally free to move on. With the hatred and revenge in her heart abolished she could recover. Perhaps, in time, she'd fall in love again, this time with a man who truly cared for her. Whatever the case, Sailormoon would help her.
The Widow opened her eyes, and they were the eyes of a scared, helpless child, woeful and timid.
"How do you feel?" asked Sailormoon, bending down beside her.
The Widow looked at her. "I…" she said, quietly, before falling silent and looking away.
"It's okay," said Sailormoon, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "You're going to be okay now. It's all over."
"It's not over," said the Widow quietly, not looking at her. "Not until you kill me."
Before Sailormoon could even react, the girls' hands were around her throat again, their sharp fingernails digging into the tender flesh of her neck. Her eyes locked with Sailormoon's and, just as before, they were a black, frozen void.
Sailormoon frantically scrambled backwards, managing to struggle free of the girls' grip. She back-pedalled quickly, putting distance between herself and the Widow but as she did, the Crystal Moon Rose slipped from her hand.
Sailormoon watched, gasping for breath, her face alive with alarm, as the Widow retrieved the glass object from the ground. She examined it with disdain. "Useless, ugly piece of junk," she decided, and tossed it over her shoulder.
"No!" cried Sailormoon, but she could do nothing but watch as the beautiful gift soared over the stone wall that separated the resort from the sea and plunged out of sight. She shook her head slowly, tears of frustration and dismay seeping from her downturned eyes.
I don't understand, she thought helplessly. Why didn't it work?
"You've failed," spat the Widow bitterly, regarding her with such cold loathing that Sailormoon's blood turned to ice. "You can't help me, even if you do want to."
She took a step forward. "The only thing you can do for me now," she said, "is die."