Castle in the Sky

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

As per request

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The Scouts rushed to their princess in alarm their cries mixing with Chibi Usa's as Chibi Usa caught her mom midcollapse and began easing the woman to the shrine grounds.

Ami was already in doctor mode, grabbing Usagi's wrist and checking for a pulse, fumbling for a flashlight to check for dilation in Usagi's pupils. And while the Inner Scouts fussed over Usagi the Outer Scouts were at a loss. The appropriate response should have been to threaten Soma, only...

"Soma this is your fault get your pet Chaos...!...Where?" Rei began in a fury getting to her feet and whirling around to the last location she had seen Soma.

Only there was no tall white haired teenager in a white, fluffy collared pimp coat and her instinct to yell a challenge was suddenly choked out at the disappearance of the Vampire Lord.

"Uh... Soma? What happened?"

Makoto asked that, her tone baffled and confused but that she seemed to see where the vampire was made Rei turn to look at her fellow scout. Hoping to glean a direction to shift her gaze towards she noted the baffled, almost amused, expression on Makoto's face and... that it was aiming... 'down'?

Concerned Rei turned her gaze in the same direction and found herself startled by what was standing before her. Where Soma once stood was... a plush toy that looked like Soma? One that was busy shoving a toy cellphone into its coat before looking at its hands...

"Soma?"

The doll turned to look up at Rei before switching its focus onto Makoto; a slender line that served as its mouth began to dip into a frown while the bowl shaped blue eyes turned into full blue glassy dots.

"Why are you all giants?" the doll asked in Soma's voice while question marks began to float into existence and upwards into the air before disappearing.

"Um.. we're not. You shrank into a stuffed toy," Minako explained, her tone delicate as she looked over Usagi's prone form.

Meanwhile; the 'Sailor of Chaos' as it were, had stars in her eyes as she rushed over scooping up the Soma plushy. "Don't worry Master, I'll always protect you!"

Soma's plushy limbs began flailing in desperation as though he wished to escape what was quickly turning into a suffocating hug.

"You both are a threat to all of existence... you know that right?" Haruka asked, her arms folded across her chest. She knew she should have been reaching for her transformation pen, but she wasn't a blind fool and her age against these two? Even with all the Scouts in their youth they had barely pushed 'back' Chaos. Not defeated it. Now in their age? They would mostly get killed by a particularly strong sneeze and then what would happen to the world?

Yet for all that Hotaru was as calm as ever, there was no sign of the Saturn, no indication that she was about to transform herself. But did that mean there was no chance that they could win a battle against Chaos? So was this a sign of resignation to the end of the world, or that the pair weren't going to do anything that would warrant the return of Sailor Saturn?

Sailor Chaos turned around to face Haruka stubbornly with a frown and narrowed eyed look, "I'm a natural part of the universal order, unlike you time freezing sorts."

Where as Soma's left plush hand suddenly produced a sign that held nothing but a large green check mark.

"Ahh, should I go get a glass of water?" Mina asked moving a bit to the side so she could be seen by Ami. Her hands were clasped before her in concern for Usagi and when Ami gave a brief nod and encouraging, professional, smile, Mina left to go into the residential part of the shrine.

"So what you're saying is that the Princess inadvertently worded a desire in such a way that we've been forced to remain like this?" Michiru asked, her gaze focused more on Setsuna. After all who better than the Sailor Scout who guarded the Door of Time to clarify matters like this? Through out the years as the events that lead to Usagi's ascension as Neo Queen Serenity failed to appear. It had become a strained topic of discussions during meals.

It felt almost liberating to finally get an answer out of the woman to be honest.

"I... did not wish for that to be the case," Setsuna confessed slowly as she made her way to Usagi's side, though she didn't try to penetrate the protective inner circle that shielded their princess. "I kept waiting for our Small Lady to run through the doors looking to escape her scolding..." And with that comment her eyes thoughtfully fell upon Chibi Usa.

While it was true, she was the spitting image of the Black Lady only with the kindest of eyes, and named after her mother, this woman was not 'her' Small Lady. The bond and friendship that she held with that little princess never came to be. For this princess was never raised in a palace and expected to be lady like. She never froze in age and stayed a small child, instead growing like any other natural woman would.

And yet she had all the best traits of her parents, the calm, collected maturity of her father, and the loving heart of her mother. Truly she would be a wonderful queen if but given the chance to rule. But she wasn't 'the' Small Lady, and that fact just killed Setsuna inside. Every time she looked through the timeline and saw 'this' Chibi Usa transform she felt as though she looked at a pretender, a usurper.

The shame that she would feel such thoughts against the daughter of the royal family felt like bitter poison and made leaving her usual position all the harder.

Chibi Usa looked up at her in confusion, reminding Setsuna that no one spoke of Chibi Usa's 'future' self to the young princess. That there had been a rule not to do so because they didn't want to affect her 'future' and the expectations that would lead into the Dark Moon Family. Only that never happened, thus this Chibi Usa might as well been a sister to the other, sharing only a name and appearance.

"Forgive us, we had faith that a series of events would come to pass. But when they failed to do so," Setsuna began while Usagi began to shake.

"Its all my fault... Everything, every scrape, wound... Oh sweet heart I'm so sorry I'm a terrible mother aren't I?" Usagi began curling up on herself, covering her face with her hands as she began to sob.

Replace 'mother' with 'daughter' and Setsuna felt her heart seize up as she heard her precious Small Lady crying.

"Mother! Its not your fault!" Chibi Usa protested as she hugged her mom, while the other inner scouts reacted as well.

As they all looked to Rei, wondering why she didn't dive in to help try to comfort Usagi it was the most heart wrenching expression one could ever imagine on Rei's face. Her eyes were glassy, with tears beginning to pool, her lips pinched as though holding back words. But it was all there as loud as though she was screaming the thoughts.

'Help me!'

There was this acidic weight in their stomachs as the women began to understand 'why' Rei had insisted that they meet up without Usagi. The guilt in the woman's eyes were of someone who knew this was a situation and at a loss of what to do. That she called for them, for a 'meeting' when in reality she was calling in a desperate bid for help to figure out what to do.

That Rei, the closest of all the Inner Scouts to their princess, was at a loss and 'begging' for help only reinforced how bad the situation 'was'. Her eyes began to close as she felt the tears she fought to suppress begin to slide down her cheeks. "You idiot... I told you to stop saying that..."

Her voice hitched as she rushed over and began hugging Usagi. It did no good though, Usagi's apologizes became more profuse, louder, and broken as she blamed herself for everything. She was becoming hysterical, and even when Mina arrived with the desired tall glass of water, Usagi was no longer seemed aware of her surroundings.

Ami's worried expression didn't ease at the presence of the water, though she nodded her gratitude and attempted to pull Usagi's hands from her face so she could drink. "Usagi, here why not take a sip of water?" She offered gently her professionalism the only thing keeping her from tearing up at this.

Soma barely managed to get out of Sailor Chaos' embrace as he walked over, quietly observant at how everything looked when one was a small plush toy. Despite how Rei acted towards him, Usagi was clearly a good, kind woman who didn't deserve this grief that consumed her. Despite his plush form he could smell the anguish coming off her in waves that consumed the other scouts.

"Everyone should be living in peace, happy, and instead there are still wars. People are still dying, monsters still come seeking to destroy everything we've fought so hard to protect. All because I haven't been able to ascend as queen because of what I said... Everyone is suffering because of me!" Usagi wailed and that was the statement that caused Soma to decide he had enough.

This wasn't good, this was Japan and she 'seriously' needed a mental health care provider for what she had gone through. Thing was, how did one go to 'anyone' in such a field and start 'that' particular question?

'Hi! I'm Sailor Moon and I defend the world from terrible evils. But I'm now depressed and want to talk about whats in my head.'

Yeah no, that wasn't happening anymore than it did for Soma. Though, as Soma walked closer to the group that was now wholly invested on their Princess, Soma 'did' have several luxuries she wasn't privy to. For example, he was a reincarnated evil, even if he came back without the desire for world domination, he was still capable of doing so. Thus everyone 'had' to listen to him, dissect his words and struggle to make sure that he didn't snap like a twig.

But Usagi was never evil, and given the eclectic nature of women, she seemed to have been the center of their world. And thus now the problem, because the more she struggled to say what was in her heart and mind, the more everyone discredited it. It was understandable to have them upset and not want to hear her beat herself up. But saying 'its not your fault' or 'stop crying' was not an answer. It pushed her own feelings aside, passively saying her view of the situation was wrong, that 'she' was wrong and would silence her further.

What she needed was some cold hard logic and damn it.

Because while it was true, she was taking the blame for far more than she should, by simply invalidating her feelings without supporting evidence was useless.

So if no one else was going to do it...

He moved behind Rei, because why not, and double jumped his way up onto her shoulders, resting his hands on the top of her head. The fire scout froze at the sudden sensation of someone on her shoulders and head. Before he did another leap sending himself into the air, twisting so he could face Usagi on landing.

And amid the cries of the startled scouts who weren't really sure what to do, he 'was' a plush toy now. He grabbed Usagi's hands with his plushy own and pulled them down, forcing her face to come out from behind its shield.

"Usagi, I want you to listen to me. I get that this was originally supposed to be some type of immortal utopia and that something happened to stop it from coming about when you were younger. And I understand that there 'are' people who die everyday to crimes or war or sickness that probably still would be alive had you ascended to this throne."

"Hey stop that!" Minako argued reaching for Soma to pull him away. Only she stopped when Usagi opened her eyes and looked at him, that she was 'reacting' well... that was a positive... right?

But it wasn't as though any of the scouts had experience with vampires or having their minds rolled via one right?

"But that doesn't make you a bad person, and while there are people who may have died because of this. There are far more who are 'alive' because of this change. Even if they weren't alive in the future you saw, they are still people. Their lives still have value and importance and even if they're not from this fabled future of yours. They're every bit as important as those lives, so don't just see the loss, because it wasn't all loss."

Usagi sat there looking Soma with her eyes sparkling with tears, but there was recognition of words, acknowledgment of insight and wisdom. Then a pink pigtail draped itself over his white fluffy shoulder bringing her eyes up to Chibi Usa. And the weight of his words took on more meaning because this was 'not' the Chibi Usa she knew as a teenager, this was one of those 'lives that still have value'. And she was taken back to the day in the hospital when the nurse placed the little pink haired bundle in her arms.

The precious weight that would one day become the back talking little brat that drove Usagi nuts when she was a teenager herself. And when Chibi Usa opened her pinkish red eyes for the first time Usagi fell in love. Still foolishly believing that the future was set in stone she gave her precious daughter the same name as the girl she met years before. The same nickname, the same stuff that she knew that the baby would fall in love with. Because once Usagi became queen she wouldn't have as much time to spend with this beautiful bundle.

Giving this new life a per-established identity without proper thought that perhaps this girl would be different. Until Neo Crystal Tokyo never happened and she realized that Chibi Usa was aging like a normal person. Until she found herself waiting for the Chibi Usa she met years ago and that she really didn't know 'this' girl in front of her. And suddenly she felt like she was behind the eight ball, scrambling to connect with this child and not try to connect to another child through this one.

Suddenly having private conversations with the other scouts to stop them from reinforcing the idea that Chibi Usa wasn't the person they were 'really' talking to. The gut punching horror that this 'wasn't' their Sailor Chibi Moon in the making.

It was words that resonated with all of them, making all of them look at the Pink haired member of their group. Bringing back the deep shame as the then eight year old was suddenly a girl they all hated. As though she was some evil monster that replaced their Chibi Usa in the womb and took over. But she was never the 'Small Lady' she was never given a reason to feel pushed aside because of royal duties. When they got to understand who Chibi Usa 'was' there was a sense of rhyme and reason to her.

'Small Usagi' was a call back to the time in Neo Queen Serenity's life when she was just a simple girl living her normal life. Not the hailed queen of the solar system. Instead by Usagi never becoming queen the reason for giving the girl the name was lost. Becoming nothing more than the female version of a junior or senior naming style.

And this Chibi Usa was really nothing like the future one, she was so much more like her mother. Clumsy, friendly, loving, open hearted to all and without any of the scars that burdened the one they were waiting for. Yet her scouts never appeared, instead she fought along side the older scouts with no one her own age. And her personality so in line with her mothers' made the other scouts resent her for being so wonderful.

They wanted their flawed Chibi Usa with her failed attempts to do attacks, this Usagi just seemed to prove that the future they were all waiting for wasn't coming...

Usagi reached out and grabbed her daughter, pulling Chibi Usa into a tight hug sobbing into her daughters' shoulder. All the while Chibi Usa murmured reassurances in a loving, gentle voice.

"Ack... a little help here?" Soma asked, what with Usagi thoughtlessly catching the plushed Vampire Lord and pinning him into this hug. His poor neck trapped at Usagi's elbow wedge and his hands were flailing for help. His glassy blue eyes were larger than normal and his plush hands kept making grasping gestures.

And while Sailor Chaos seemed more than happy to help she seemed a bit concerned on 'how' she could help. After all, it was a hug and hugs weren't inherently bad yet how to free the master?

Minako knelt there feeling drained and seeing Soma struggle, she reached over and pinched her fingers like a birds beak before lowering it towards his head.

"Hey... what's that..." Soma began as the hand got closer to his head. "You're seriously not trying to shove me down are you?" he asked while Sailor Chaos grabbed his hands ready to help Minako liberate the Dark Lord.

"This is Dark Lord abuse..." Soma commented before he was suddenly shoved down.