Author's Note
I don't OWN Sailor Moon…. Yet the story concept is mine…. Please don't take it without my consent…. PLEASE……….
Serena or Catarina?
Chapter 17: Last Day on Earth
"This is so strange," Catarina said as they walked the streets of Tokyo.
"What?" Lita asked.
"We're going to a place I must have loved enough to call home at one point—and yet, I don't feel happy about it."
"Well, I guess you must have hated it there too," Lita said. "Those girls—wait a second—she stole my cookies!"
"What are you talking about?"
"That Friday just before this whole mess was started, I made a batch of cookies. I left them out, but when we got back, they were all gone. I thought Artemis had eaten them."
"You thought wrong then," a voice said from behind them. They turned to see Jennifer!
"Jennifer," Lita scowled. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to take Catarina home so that her people would be safe."
She started to move for Catarina, but Lita pushed her back.
"You aren't coming near Serena."
Jennifer had a look of extreme amusement.
"Fine, I'll humor ya. We'll fight. Haven' done this in awhile ya know? Sparring, I mean."
"How dare you!" Lita said angrily. "Serena, get yourself out of here. Just be careful, all right?"
"Right," Catarina replied, and ran through the city until she found herself at the park. She started to walk once there, yet she felt strange. There was a feeling of tension. Ahead of her there was a strange pink light. Forcing herself to walk towards it, she found herself in a field, where in the center lay a white crystal. She reached for it, and picked it up. Unsure of its meaning or purpose, she placed it in a small satchel she had always carried underneath her shirt. Then she heard him.
"My fair princess," he said softly, his hand on her shoulder. Instincts made her flip him. However, he landed without harm and flung her to the ground twice as hard. "I am trying to talk to you. You could show some manners and allow me to speak."
"In hell," Catarina grumbled, and ripped her wrist free, and rolled back from him, jumping to her feet. She turned to Terrance, who held a delicate smile on his face.
"You've even gained a mouth. They've transformed you from the princess I once knew—in fact, I think I like the new you even better."
Catarina furiously tried to hide her blush.
"You—you shut up!" she shouted, annoyed.
"You're so cute when you're angry. You know, there is something about you that hasn't changed," Terrance said, suddenly pulling her close, into a "warm" embrace. Catarina was blushing furiously now. "You still love me, just as I still love you. You know deep down, that I would do anything for you, my princess. This is why I came to you now, when you were alone. I have a favor to ask of you."
Catarina could feel her heart rushing, as she felt herself now leaning against the man she considered her enemy. She hated him—so WHY IN THE WORLD DID SHE STILL LOVE HIM?
"I know princess, that this may seem difficult to ask, but please, kill me," Terrance said finally, as Catarina looked up to his eyes, her icy blues staring at his teal ones. She had never noticed before, and now, it was like she had seen them almost every day—like she had known them before. Then it hit her, what he had told her.
"Why?" Catarina asked, disbelieving.
"There is another woman—a woman who is controlling my very life with a single thread. She wants you dead Princess. I am risking my freedom for your life. Please understand. I need you to kill me before I call upon my father, Rowan. He'll come down on our people worse than anything they've ever seen before. They won't make it. Just like the Moon Kingdom, they won't make it."
"You had nothing to do with it?" Catarina asked, unsure of what she was hearing.
"Nothing at all," Terrance assured her, taking his hand and caressing her face. They hadn't separated. "But please understand, I want to repent for my crimes I have so wrongfully committed in your name. Please kill me my princess…"
"I don't get it!" Jennifer shouted, dodging Lita's furious punches. "Why in the devil's name are y'all doing protectin someone that isn' yer princess?"
"Why are you trying to kill your friend?" Lita shouted back.
"We were wrong! We apologize! Okay? How much more do ya want? A well-written apology and twenty boquets of flowers? That can be arranged ya know!" Jennifer screamed at her.
"WHY DID YOU BELIEVE THAT MAN?" Lita shouted.
"Because Catarina was in love wit' him! Because she wanted to spend her life with him!" Jennifer said softly, stopping her attempts to dodge, and grabbed Lita's fists. Lita stopped fighting her. "Because she could see the good in people! Because she thought Terrance was good! That's why we believed him! And the more we fight, the more we endanger our friend. I can' stand to see her like that no more. I can' stand to watch her mama cry every night as she sleeps. I can' stand to think that I, one of her best friends, was foolhardy enough to believe that she had betrayed us. So whatcha gonna do? Are you gonna let her keep on livin' a lie?"
Lita stopped, thinking about what Catarina had done when Terrance had attacked. She had been crying. Really crying. Did she still feel compassion for that man she seemed to hate? Lita loosened her fists.
"That's better. Come on. Let's go get Catarina."
"You mean Serena."
"Serena? Fine, whatever. Let's go and get her," Jennifer said, as the two ran through the city…
Catarina was beyond shocked. She was also beyond red. He smiled softly at her, as he kneeled to her, handing her his sword.
"Please, kill me," he begged. "I no longer wish to follow her whims, and I refuse to become her puppet."
"Terrance," Catarina whispered, as her hatred for him seemed to vanish in an instant. She looked at his sword, a feeling a power in her hands. This half-demon before her was asking her to kill him! "Who is it?"
"You know her name," Terrance said softly. "My princess, she knows that we are talking, even now. If you do not kill me, she will make me go to my father."
"Terrance, answer me this one question. Who am I?" Catarina asked.
"You are the message of the stars. My princess, my love, and my life. You have no idea what it's like to live like we have for all these years without you my princess. Our world slowly dies. I am forced to be a dark man, and blackmail my rival in your heart. Please, kill me so that I can repay the debts of those who I have helped to slaughter."
"What the hell?" Catarina thought. "This is a total change in personality from that guy who was intent on killing me and the other scouts. This isn't the same guy who wrote that venomous note to the girls. Oh Galileo, who is he? He can't be the Polaris if he's like this!"
Terrance suddenly shook violently, as he grabbed the ground.
"Princess, please kill me! She wants me to go to Rowan now! You won't be ready to fight her if I am on her side! PLEASE! I beg of you!" he shouted now. Catarina was in shock. She could stop this now. Yet—and yet—she knew what to do. She handed him his sword, and helped him to his feet.
"Terrance, if you truly wish to repent, you can fight her. You have the heart to. I believe you do. I cannot kill you, no matter the hatred that lies in my heart. In all the time I've survived, I know that no one has ever accomplished anything by killing a possible ally. Take this sword, and fight with your heart," Catarina whispered, as he looked at her hopelessly.
"Why?" he whispered, his face slowly contorting, and his features becoming harsh.
"It is as you said. I love you Terrance," Catarina said softly, walking away from him. "Please, repent. Don't ask me to kill someone I love."
And with that he was alone in the field.
"What are you doing?" a voice shouted to him. "Get to work! Get Rowan! He'll flush out the princess!"
"Of course, my lady," he scowled, as he looked to the sword he now held…
"Serena!" Jennifer shouted. "Where are ya?"
"SERENA!" Lita called, as they stopped at a park bench. The two sat down, and sighed.
"I don' know what else to do. Mandessa is back at home, getting ready to go to Imperia and all. We can' find her if she don' wanna be found," Jennifer exclaimed.
"Well, I guess we'll have to make a search party," Lita said, and turned on her communicator.
"Amy here."
"Lita here."
"What is it?"
"Catarina is gone. We've been searching the city but no signs. I'm hoping for more eyes."
"Then you're in luck. We have a full house here."
"Thanks Amy," Lita said, hanging up, before Amy could ask about her use of "we."
"You didn't say I was with you? Why?"
"Because we don't like you right now, remember?" Lita said. "And I can't explain something like that over the phone."
"Good point. I reckon they'd be pretty cross," Jennifer said with a laugh. "Where might she have gone?"
"Let's try the park again," Lita said…
Catarina found herself wandering into an electronics store. She was still red, as she looked at the machines around her. There was something ridiculously familiar about all this stuff before her. She wondered why she had never come into one of these stores before. A clerk came her way, as she sighed.
"Is there something I can help you with?" they asked. A smile came across her lips.
"No, there's nothing. I was just looking."
For a moment, she had seen a face. A face that she knew was familiar. It had similar features to her own, including her blue eyes and facial features, and pale blue hair that fell beyond her sight. It had been filled with muck and grime from working in a shop of some sorts. She was sure that was a family member of hers. Someone who loved machines and spoke to her about it all the time. In fact, she was sure that was a happy memory. Well, she quickly moved on, trying to look for other stores, something she had not done at all. In fact, she had avoided stores and malls for fear of running into either Mandessa or Jennifer. Since she knew she now had nothing to fear, she felt no harm in looking around in the places she had once deprived of her presence.
The town was calling to her at this point, as her face returned to its regular hue. However, she didn't want to go just anywhere. The only place she had ever wanted to visit ever since she could remember, was an ice rink. She found out in the early days of history that she was a very agile skater, and had a knack for movement around there. The only thing that irked her was that she was still supposed to be hiding out from Jennifer just in case she beat Lita and was chasing after her. Then her mind finally wandered back to Terrance, and just as quickly lit a crimson red.
"He would have to go and do something like that," Catarina whispered. "Now I can't stop thinking about the poor bastard."
"Fortunes are good for those unanswered questions," a voice said from a nearby machine. Catarina shrugged, and walked over. "A customer of many worries you seem to be."
She gave the machine a quarter.
"Why do I love him so?" Catarina asked quietly.
"Love is often gained through friendship, trust, and care. A man who does all of these is worthy of your heart."
Catarina mused with herself. Whoever had programmed this machine had programmed phrases according to key words. She turned to walk away.
"However, true love sees through all evil, even that of a half-demon such as Terrance."
Stopping, her face looked back at the machine.
"You love him, do you not? Well, his heart belongs with another, who will claim your throne Princess of another world. You have little time before all of the royal family is destroyed, and you will no longer have title to the crown. Run home, save those precious before all is lost."
Catarina looked at the machine, as she swore it looked at her.
"The clock ticks. You cannot save the damned."
Her face shifted to concern as she looked to the now evening sky. She was supposed to be home soon. However, she did not know the way back. She sighed inwardly, as she began her journey to Serena's house, knowing full well that machine had just told her that she was going to a lost cause. As she walked along the sidewalk, her mind wandered even more than usual, and she absentmindedly ran into someone.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said in a quick Serena voice.
"Serena?"
"Molly?" Catarina asked. "What are you doing out here?"
"I'm just getting out from mom's shop. Want me to walk home with you?"
"Yeah!" Catarina lied enthusiastically. "I have to get back soon or Mom is going to think I've run away or something…"
"We've looked through the entire park and no sign," Lita announced.
"Who's we?" Raye demanded.
"An unexpected ally."
"Right," Mina said with a smile. "It's probably Ken."
The girls just laughed, as Lita hung up.
"They're gonna make ya shish-kabob, aren't they?" Jennifer asked.
"Yup," Lita replied. "Well, we should probably go look somewhere else. You have any suggestions?"
"The ice rink that's downtown," Jennifer said. "I know that's strange, but if she'd be doin' anything, she'd go there."
"Then off to the ice rink…"
"Call for Rowan's minions. Prevent that girl from coming to this land…"
"Serena, you're sure you're okay?" Molly asked, seeing her friend with a slightly grim face.
"Yes, I'm fine," Serena replied, with a smile that seemed to even brighten Serena's spirits.
"That's better than you look Serena," Molly pointed out, as Serena just laughed.
"Sorry Molly, I really don't want to talk about it," Serena said.
"Gee Serena, you ran right into me. Are you sure?"
"Yeah," she replied, as Molly's mind was wracked with worry. Her friend didn't normally get so upset that she could not see what was in front of her. Even more disturbing, she seemed to be following Molly to her own house.
"Well Serena, me and Melvin will always be here for you. Just come talk to us about it when you feel like it, okay?" Molly said. Serena nodded, as they stopped at her house gate.
"I think it'll be fine tomorrow Molly," Serena said, as she started to open the gate.
"I'm going to call Melvin. Serena's not acting right," Molly said, watching her friend step lock up the gate again as she waved to her. "Even I know something is wrong…"
Catarina watched the girl walk away, and sighed. She wished she had a way to contact the girls. She didn't know whether it was safe to be in the open or not yet. She hid in the brush, thinking over the day's happenings. First, it came as a surreal thing, being told to run off like she had. She thought of it as a game of sorts. Then came the fight. That man, whom she knew she knew—Terrance—his comforting embrace. After running away from that "fight," she had found herself face to face with the threatening machine, and proceeded to run into Molly, who was tricked into walking her home by her ploy. She knew that Serena probably would have told Molly some boldfaced lie about a fight with a friend, but she didn't want Molly to think that friends were the cause of her troubles, when in all reality it had quickly become Terrance who she worried about most.
She looked down at her hands, getting that feeling she got when danger was nearby. It was a terrifying presence, one that shook her insides to the point that she feared her soul was shaking. She stood, and decided to walk back to the school, since she did at least know where that was from here, and the others would be sure to look for her there. She was nearly halfway there when she saw the car. Two people in a convertible stopped at the sight of her, and she was forced to look a little shocked, as a girl with blue hair stepped gracefully out of the car.
Suddenly, it was as if she were standing in a different world. This girl wore a beautiful sparkling blue gown. Catarina could see her as clear as if it was really happening. The moment however, was short lived, as the girl rushed then to Catarina, hugging her.
"Thank goodness you're all right!" she exclaimed, as Catarina finally registered that this was Michelle and Amara. "We're so glad you didn't get hurt! We have no idea what happened, but we're glad you're okay!"
"Is Lita okay?" Catarina asked.
"Never been better!" Michelle cheered. "Come on, we need to get you to the others so that you can get ready to head home tomorrow."
"But if Molly sees me outside again she's going to get super-worried about me or something!" Catarina objected. She laughed.
"I almost believed that!" Michelle exclaimed.
"Then she won't," the dirty blond, Amara, said finally, as she threw a blanket over Catarina's head. She hit the gas and the car was off again at high speeds for God-Knew-Where…
Author's Note
Next time…
"That's not Serena Tsukino."
Well, duh! Oh wait, who said that? Well, later!