A Womans Will
Her friends were in grave danger. She knew that much, but she couldn't make the effort to wake up to help them. Her body was drained, broken and battered. Cian's powers were far greater than her own. Far greater than hers could ever be. She lost hope. There was no way she could beat him. There was no way she could save her friends, her family. Her whole world. She couldn't do it. She was only one woman. She thought she could, she thought that maybe because she had grown more mature over the past couple months that maybe something would change. Maybe she could become the warrior that everyone wanted her to be. To be the Princess and Queen that would protect them, and guide them through the years.
She couldn't. She couldn't fit the shoe's of the persona everyone wanted her to be. That woman was far better than she could ever be. She would never be strong enough. She'd never be good enough. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how hard she pushed herself, Serena knew, she absolutely knew that she could never win.
Her heart broke, knowing that she had failed everyone. Her soul was weeping for her friend, her family, her lover-knowing that she would never see any of them again. The scouts, her very best friends, even Rae who always yelled at her. The Generals, she had barely gotten to know any of them, and there was so much more that she should have been able to learn from them. Joan and Rachel, her two new friends who meant so much to her, they had been through lots together- she only wished that she would have been giving more time to show them how to live a good life, one without fear and hate. Her family, even her little brother. She would never see him go on his first date, never see him get married, to live. Her parents, her mom and dad, who were so caring and thoughtful. Who saw her through ever good and bad moment in her crazy life. And Darien. Her handsome Prince. She wished that she had been given more time with him, to show him just how grown up she had become, to show him the woman that she was now. She wanted to give him children, to give him the chance to be the father he never had. She wanted to be his wife.
Serena could feel so much pain, so much hurt and anger deep within her. She just wanted it to end.
"Stop it!" a firm voice commanded her. Serena looked at the black void around her and was suprised to see a softly glowing white light behind her. The softly glowing light was very slowly turning into the figure of a tall, regal looking woman. "You will stop thinking like that immediately!" the woman commanded Serena, her face a mixture of both love, hurt and anger.
"Queen Serenity?" Serena asked out loud, her voice soft and scratchy. She reached out with a hand and touched the cool skin on the Queen of the Moon. "Mother?"
Queen Serenity smiled gently, and cupped her daughters cheek with her hand, "Yes, my dear heart. I am your mother." she explained. "Why do you wish to die, daughter?"
Serena bowed her head in shame, fresh tears filled her blue eyes. "I am a failure mother. I've tried to become strong, like you. Like everyone else wanted me to be. I've tried to become strong and mature, everything that I thought people wanted me to be. But I've failed. I wasn't strong enough to protect my friends, my family. I'm not mature enough to control my feelings, my thoughts. I'm still the same cry baby I was before I left!" she cried, angrily pushing away the tears that fell down her cheeks.
"I left my home vulnerable for attack, and now that I'm back, I can't even do anything to help anyone. I've only gotten myself and my friends hurt in the process. I'm useless." Serena cried, dropping down to her knees infront of her Moon mother. "I'm a failure." she whispered.
Queen Serenity's eyes looked down at her daughter sadly, and slowly knelt down infront of the young woman, who looked so much like herself. Despit all that Serena had said, Serenity knew different. Her daughter was beautiful, smart, powerful, and despite what she might have thought, Serena was mature, and had matured a lot over her time away from her friends and family.
"Serena, listen to me. Look at me and hear what I am about to say to you," Serenity demanded and gently lifted Serena's chin up with a firm grip. "Daughter you are not a failure. I couldn't be anymore proud of who you are, and what you have become. The only thing you could do that would disappoint me, is to give up." She pulled her daughter into her arms, and cradled her against her chest, her own heart hurting with every sob her daughter released.
"Mother, I have nothing more to give. I tried, and I failed. What more can I do?" Serena sobbed into her mothers chest, comforted by the arms around her.
"You can be yourself. Stop trying to be someone you're not. You are strong, you are powerful, and you are mature. You don't have to stop being yourself. You are allowed to be childish and fun...thats part of you. Thats part of who Serena Tsukino is. You have to fight for you, not anyone else. Fight for yourself, for your own beliefs. What you believe is right and wrong, not anyone else's ideas or beliefs. Be true to yourself." Serenity gave her daughter a brilliant smile as Serena looked up at her mothers face, her tears stopping, her face curious. "You are my daughter, the true Queen of the Moon, future Queen of Earth, of the Silver Millennium. You're power is nearly limitless, just so long as you look inside yourself. You have, inside of you, the powers of all the previous rulers of the Moon. Even my powers. I gave you everything I had inside of me when we were attacked on the Moon Kingdom. In the Moon Crystal, that sits around your neck, dangling so close to your heart is the power of the Moon. The Moon Crystal reacts to the power of you're heart, and the strength of your emotions. If you need its powers to protect the ones you love, then it will most certainly grant you its limitless powers." Serenity explained gently to her daughter.
Serena reached into her shirt and pulled out the necklace that held the Moon Crystal. She held it infront of her gaze and felt it pulse in her hand. "All this time I could have used the Crystal?" she asked her mom, her eyes unbelieving.
Serenity bowed her head, "Yes, you could have... but you also have to remember that you will have to use and control your own powers in conjunction with the crystal. It won't fight your battle for you. You've almost died from using the crystal in the past, when you were younger. That was because the Crystal was taking power from you, it will do the same now. If you use the crystal, you must also realise that there is the chance you will die to." she whispered.
Serena's eyes widened as she returned her gaze to the pulsing crystal before her, its power reaching out and comforting her, as it always had. Resigned, she turned her gaze to her mother's and forced a smile to her lips, "I am prepared to die for those I love. If I can save even one life, then I will die happy." she explained. "You are right, as always, I can not give up. While I was away I made a promise. I promised that I would not let this evil win. For my friends and family, for Darien, for the Earth and Moon. And for myself, I promised that I would never let the evil win. I have to keep my word, my promise." she growled determinedly.
Serenity smiled brilliantly and stood back up. She reached down and helped her daughter stand up. "Thats my girl. You have made me so proud, in everything you do. I know you will continue to do so," she pulled her daughter into one last hug, then pulled back, "You will do great things, I know it! I love you, and I will always be with you. Before I go, I want you to know something that my own mother told me, years ago, when I was your age. A woman's will is unbeatable, undefeatable. Her beliefs and her determination to protect her family, her love ones is unstoppable. So show this Cian guy, show him your Woman's Will. Teach him and all others exactly what it means to challenge a woman!"
Serena smiled, almost identical to Serenity's smile, and watched as her mother started to fade into the darkness surrounding them. "I will mother. When I am finished with this bastard, he will know my will." she promised her. Serena waited until her mother's light was completely gone, then closed her eyes. She needed to wake her body up now.
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Cillian groaned as she felt her body being tossed onto a cold metal floor. Slowly, she began to wake up, and she knew that she was in deep trouble. The chances of coming out of this encounter alive was slim to none. She thought of her daughter, her young, innocent daughter who would have no future now. She had failed her daughter. Slowly, Cillian rose to her knees and opened her eyes, making note of every pain and injury in her her battered body.
She was still in Cian's personal chambers, only in the centre of the room now. She looked straight ahead of her and saw her old master sitting in a chair watching her intently with dark, angry eyes. She wondered how she never noticed the evil aura coming from him before. Or the dark swirls of both red and black in his eyes. It was hard to believe that she had let herself be so easily swayed by the forces of evil. She looked to the left and saw the young girl who had dared stand up against her old master. She girl was probably dead. The Princess of the Moon... she couldn't believe the girl was the Princess of the Moon. She had wondered where the girl had gotten so much power from. It really was too bad the Princess was dead, she would have liked to have gotten to know her.
"Lady Cillian you disappoint me," Cian started, his voice angry.
Cillian ignored him and continued to stare at the Princess's body, still imbedded in the metal wall. She wasn't sure, but she thought that she had seen the slightest of movements from the girl. Was she alive?
"I suppose you really didn't want to save you're people, did you Cillian. You didn't want to save you daughter. If you did, you obviously would have fought by my side. You would have been able to save your precious warriors. But no... you had to betray me, and I had to hurt you in retaliation. True, I did try to kill you, and I'm still not sure why you're still alive. I suppose that means that you just wanted me to kill you again."
Cillian's eyes widened she she saw the girls hands flex, and then grab onto the side of the metal wall, the parts that weren't folding in to hold her body. Cillian could barely suppress the gasp of suprise when she saw the girl silently pull herself out of the wall, her blue eyes blazing with determination and power.
"No," the girl, no the Princess of the Moon, spoke firmly taking the few steps forward to stand by Cillian's body, "No, it means that she was meant to help me kill you." she told him, a faint smile gracing her lips. She reached down with a bloody hand and helped Cillian to her feet. "Are you alright?" she asked.
Cillian nodded, a dumbstruck look on her face, "Are you for real?"
Serena grinned and nodded, "Only about as real as you. Ready to kick some ass?" she asked.
Cillian nodded, "About as ready as you are." she replied.
Cian growled and pointed his finger at both of the ladies in front of him. "Don't tell me you both liked being blasted so much that you wanted it a third time?" he asked, his evil aura flaring up.
Serena lifted up a bloody hand with her own powerful energy created a barrier infront of both her and Cillian. She could feel her ancestors powers rushing inside of her, eager for battle. She could feel her own blood rush inside her body, answering the evil aura's call for battle. For death.
Cian smirked, "You tried that I believe... it didn't work remember?" he scorned.
"I'm all about dumb luck. Try me now." she asked him, and nearly laughed when he agreed to her request. She watched, fascinated as a dark, evil swirl of green power flew at point blank range at her and Cillian, only to be effectively stopped, and converted into pure energy that the barrier gave back to Serena to use. "Thank you." Serena grinned, loving the look of shock on the old man's face.
"Serena, we need to get the Staff of Destruction away from him, he draws onto that for his own powers." Cillian explained and fell back into a fighting stance.
Serena nodded, glancing a the Staff in question. "Is it true then, old man? You really can't use your own powers to fight two women?" she taunted him.
Cian growled, "Of course I can, silly woman. But it would be more merciful of me to end your lives quickly with the staff." he told her, his nose high up into the air.
Serena rolled her eyes and with her free hand, she held her own staff up and sent a blast of power at the old man, and was suprised when she actually hit him, and watched as he went flying into the wall behind him. She looked down at her golden staff and grinned, "Cool."
Cillian agreed fully. "Come on, lets do this. I wont be able to last much longer, my body won't be able to support my movement for long. I'll need rest and medical attention." she admitted to Serena.
Serena nodded, and rushed forward with Cillian, in an effort to snatch the staff from the old man. Serena stopped short of the man, suprised when she saw blood dripping off the old man's forehead, and down his neck. His eyes were closed, and Serena couldn't detect any life from the old man. Did she kill him? She looked at Cillian, and watched as the older woman bent down beside the old man and pressed her fingers up against the wrinkly old skin of his neck in an effort to find a pulse.
"Princess..." Cillian murmured and slowly pulled away from the old man, "I think he's dead." she whispered.
"Shit..." Serena whispered, "I didn't mean to... I just meant to... god I don't even know..."
Cillian looked up at the young Princess. "This is your first time, huh? The first is always rough. Just remember that he attacked you first. It was in self defence." she told the younger girl firmly. "Your work isn't finished, you still need to get rid of the Staff of Destruction."
Uttering the Staff's true name seemed to work as an incantation of sorts and both women were immediately on guard as they watched the Staff rise up into the air on its own power.
Cillian slowly backed up beside Serena and watched in amazement as a bright green light flashed through the room, blinding them for a few seconds. When they could finally see again, a handsome young man stood in the place of the Staff. "Who are you?" Cillian asked softly, entranced by his beauty.
Serena frowned, she could feel something in the air... something evil, and entirely too sinister.
The young man bowed low to the ground and stood back up with broad smile upon his face. "My thanks ladies, you have released me from Cian Kyahon, Master of the Darkness, formally known as Cian the Great, Master of Purity. He wasn't always evil, in fact, once upon a time, he was the most pure man in all the galaxies. Defender of the innocent, destroyer of the darkness."
Cillian stared in disbelief at the old man, hearing tales of Cian the Great. "Unbelievable, how is it that Cian the Great became Cian Kyahon, Master of the Darkness?" she asked, "What could have happened?"
The young man bowed his head ever so slightly, "Well, my lady. Cian the Great finally met up with the real Master of Darkness and couldn't defeat him... only seal him. And he was slowly, very slowly over the years tainted by the seal he held. The seal slowly took over his mind, and bent Cian the Great to its own will. Cian the Great died long ago, and Cian Kyahon was born, and called himself the Master of Darkness. He was a fool." the young man smirked and looked down upon the old man's withered body. "And now he is a dead fool."
"The seal," Serena asked, finding her voice and using her brain. She was NOT some naive girl, she would not be tricked, "The seal Cian the Great used on the Master of Darkness... what was it?" she asked, her blue eyes never wavering from her new target. The negative energy that was filling the room was awesome, neatly matching her pure energy.
The young man grinned and looked up into Serena's eyes, "It was a Staff."
Serena gave him a small smile, "Hmmm, let me guess... the Staff of Destruction. Am I correct?"
"It is true, the Seal used was the Staff of Destruction. Sealed inside was me, the true Master of Darkness. You may address me as such, my lady." he bowed yet once again.
"You may address me as Queen Serenity of the Moon." Serena curtsied and passed the her staff to Cillian. "Here, use my staff to wake the others. Then you may finally rest." she commanded, and gave her a gentle shove in the direction of the huge hole in the chamber walls that led to the outside world.
"Queen, huh? You don't look like much of a Queen." the young man sneered, as he and Serena circled around each other.
"You don't look much of a Master of Darkness. But then we both know that appearances can be deceiving, don't we?" Serena replied.
"Touché, your Majesty, touché. It will be fun to fight a spirited woman such as yourself." he grinned, building up negative energy into his hands.
Serena was silent, aware that this could be the last fight she ever had. On the bright side, however, it would be the last fight the Master of Darkness would ever have too. So really... it would balance out in the end. Serious now, Serena started to harness the power inside of herself, and inside of the crystal.
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Darien knew he wasn't dead... his body hurt too much for him to be dead. He opened his eyes and found himself looking up into the dark, grey clouds of the sky. It was fitting that he die on a day like this. He knew he would die. It wouldn't be long before the old man came back to finish the job. He could hear someone stumbling towards him now, and he was suprised to see lady Cillian's head pop over his own. She looked pale, sick and tired. But she was alive. His eyes narrowed in on the golden staff she held in her hand. That was Serena's was it not?
"King Darien! Good you're up, Serena needs you!" she spoke to him.
Darien slowly sat up, holding his stomach with his right arm. Yup, things were broken. His left arm was broken, and he was fairly sure he had a broken rib or two. Muscles everywhere seemed to scream at any movement he made. "Christ!" Darien growled as slowly got to his feet, spots filling his vision. He waited for a long moment until he was sure he could see no more spots.
He looked for Cillian, and found her at Sailor Mars' side, gently slapping her face. He would leave Cillian to get the rest of the scouts up, he would gather his generals and go to his woman, she needed him.
He felt power gathering at his feet and he looked curiously down at the ground. The energy seemed to be pooling towards him. The Earth's energy? Was the Earth trying to give him energy? He let down his inner defences and nearly reeled from the amount of energy that was forcing its way through out his body.
It was healing him. Quickly. He could actually feel his bones mend, his muscles relax and heal. His wounds were rapidly disappearing, and he felt re energised. Was this the true power of his planet? It was amazing!
He felt his black armour cover his body, even though he didn't call for it. His sword was in his hand, pulsing with power. He glanced up towards the ship when he felt a huge spike in power. He watched as light flooded through the hole in the ship and then a huge bang went off, like two powers colliding. "Serena." he whispered and broke into a run.
He jumped into the ship and watched Serena tear into the young man as if he very life depended on it. Her Sailor Scout uniform was tattered and bloody, and there were bruises and cuts all over her bare skin, but it appeared as though Serena didn't notice, or she didn't care.
The young man was covered in the same and he seemed to be holding his own against Serena. It was fascinating for him, watching his woman fight. Logically he knew that he should help his woman out, but he also knew that if he came anywhere close to the fight he would only be a hindrance to Serena. He would end up distracting her.
Serena had changed over their time apart. She grew stronger, more powerful, although she still held that same sort of innocence that he was so attracted to. She was so pure, so unaffected by the evils of the world. Darien wasn't sure, but he thought that her fighting style was similar to that of Jadeites. Even though her opponient was larger, and more stronger in appearance, she fought with everything she had inside of her. He would have to remember to thank Jadeite later.
Serena could sense the Master of Darkness raising power to his left fist, so she countered by raising power to her right fist and reached out to meet her enemy. She was blasted back, only to be caught by her lover. She barely even glanced at him before she was on her feet again, her eyes firmly on her prey, who was picking himself off the ground.
"You are an amazing woman, Serenity, Queen of the Moon. Beautiful, strong, powerful, and you fight with more passion than I've seen in two millennia." he complimented his opponent, that damn grin still on his face. "I hate to say this, but I'm not going to be able to defeat you in this form."
Serena groaned and cracked her knuckles, "I can take anything you throw at me. Bring it." she taunted him, ignoring the pain piercing through her whole body. She hurt in places she didn't know could hurt!
Power, pure negative energy burst forth out of the young man's body, and gathered together to form a huge ball of pure evil energy. "This is my entire life force, it is enough to decimate an entire galaxy. You can not stop it." A low, male voice explained to Serena.
Serena stood up straight and pulled out the Moon Crystal from under her shirt. She felt her Sailor Scout uniform disappear and in its place, a beautiful white dress, made from the finest silk. Serena could feel power, fresh and new pulse through her body. The Moon Crystal was warm and Serena felt safe holding it in her hand. "I can and I will. You will not win!" Serena shouted, and her power jumped forward to meet the rush of the negative power.
The Scouts started to pour into room, answering their Queens' silent request for help. They all watched with a mixture of fear and awe at the sight of their Serena taking on the mad rush of evil negative energy. The energy was slowly pushing back against Serena's pure moon energy and they were aware of the fact that if they didn't help that they would all die.
Leta felt a familiar build up of energy coursing through her body, and she immediately let go of her powers, "My powers are yours, Serena, to help and aid you in your time of need. The power of Jupiter is yours to command." Leta dropped down to her knees as she felt the power leave her body and join with Serena. Each of the Scouts followed in suit, then watched as their Queen fought with everything thing she had.
Darien stood firmly behind Serena, holding her body up, even as her own energy was trying to push her back. He started to push his own energy into Serena's body, giving her more energy to beat this evil with.
Serena gave everything she and her friends had in one last move. She gathered all the energy up and sent it into the Moon Crystal, then forced the Moon Crystal to shoot a powerful beam of energy at the evil energy ball, smirking when she saw that the energy ball was being consumed by her own energy. "You lose, I win." she whispered, a triumphant gleam in her eyes and on her lips, just before her world went black, once again.
Darien caught Serena's suddenly limp body in his arms and gently brought her to the ground. "Christ!" he growled and immediately checked for a pulse. His fingers firmly pressed into the side of Serena's neck and he waited. A slowly, very faint pulse reached his fingertips.
"My Lord?" Jadeite asked softly, dropping to his knees beside his King. "Is she going to be okay?"
"Darien?" the Scouts asked questioningly, tears-both fresh and old evident upon their faces.
"She's alive." he gruffly replied, and held Serena's limp body close to his chest, thanking every single god he knew that she was safe. She had protected him, and his planet yet once again. She had saved everyone. Now it was his turn to put his planet back to rights. Starting with the Lady Cillian, who had valiantly fought beside his Princess.
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Well guys, here it is, the final chapter is finally up. Let me know what you think! I will be doing an epilogue, which will be up really really soon! I hope you guys enjoyed the ride as much as I did! Knight of the Wolf