"My dear Reborn Child. We will act today…
"For all—our friends and our enemies—to witness."
XIII
The elders had picked out her dress: white tulle with a strapless bodice embroidered with pearls and a skirt that billowed out around her. Pearl clips had been added to her hair bangs, and the ends of her pigtails had been given soft curls; with her shoes on, she was about four inches taller. Even her skin glowed from the silvery body shimmer that had been applied.
To all the handmaidens assigned to add rose oil to her bathwater and dress her on this morning, her wedding day, she looked like a bride.
But standing alone in front of her bedroom mirrors, Serena only saw the change in her pale blue eyes.
She had woken up feeling…different—which wasn't all that surprising, but this time had truly felt different from all those other times. She felt…complete. No more of a separation between who she was, and that other knowing part that had felt so different from the rest of her.
She was Serena Tsukino, and she now knew all the secrets that had been kept from her before.
…And she knew she needed to act today.
"We see the repeat of our history in you, your words, and your actions. And it has made us…nervous to witness those things—particularly, your brazen act of rebellion and alignment with Parliament. But with Aglecta's death…and the circumstances surrounding it, the Prince of Earth…we can no longer allow this to continue." The elders' words from three nights ago, uttered in the midst of the announcement of Aglecta's death and allegations of Endymion's crime and their…closeness…came flooding back to mind. That had probably been the first time she had seen The Elders of the Moon as individuals instead of a flock that listened to everything Aglecta said. They all looked so tired and somehow lost without the belligerent elder to speak for them; their skin had grayed in the hours she had been gone.
"We cannot and will not allow that history, to repeat itself any further. If you are our protector, if you are here to do what you have led up to believe Princess Serenity could not, then do so. But let us guide you. Let our words be the reason you move our kingdom towards the future. And let us guide you away from the words of a man, an outsider, whose deception led us to harm so long ago and threatened to do so now.
"We beseech this of you. And demand it of you. And if you refuse, we promise to act against you."
Maybe it was because of that that she agreed. They didn't want things to be "different." That "different" was what had led to the attack, and everything they had done since then was to keep the pieces of the kingdom together.
But things were already different. She stared at herself, knowing that what had happened at the funeral yesterday, when the fire from her torch caught on Aglecta's funeral wrappings and she had felt her crescent-moon mark get hot, had only been the last of a chain of necessary events…
Her body had crumpled to the ground, and the world around her was spinning and darkening around the corners of her eyes…when she had spoke his name: "Endymion."
"Prince Endymion is safe." the voice said. "He sleeps now and waits for you to awaken him… He knows, as I do, that your time and your purpose is nigh."
Then there was in-between moment when she saw the sad, scary memory of Princess Serenity's from the attack on the Moon and its secret...
When the teenager had opened her eyes to see guardsmen and the elders hovering above her, she automatically knew that she was different. And they had all felt something change too: because of their hands…every last one of them had their hands pressed over their hearts and looked scared and worried. Like they weren't sure if everyone else could feel the glow burning inside their chests.
But she noticed Diamond standing outside of the circle of bodies. His own hands hung at his sides; his eyes were on hers, and their gazes held even as she was scooped up and carried back to her private quarters…
That was different, too.
Serena took in a resolute breath, and moved away from the mirror. For a moment, it just felt like she was going into battle.
And then she realized she was.
Her walk to the grand ballroom was flanked by three guardsmen on both her left and right sides. A white carpet was underfoot, and white rose petals were sprinkled across the fibers and its either side. They, like her, kept their heads straightforward in a rehearsed move, one she had been made to learn in those three days in between preparation for the Aglecta's funeral. Every time the young girl stared out the corner of her eyes to catch glimpses of them, she noticed each kept a hand on the hilt of their sword.
Her own hands tightly gripped the bouquet of flowers she had been given.
The procession turned the corner, and she was at the entry into the grand ballroom. It had gone under another change that was different form the Coronation Announcement and her debut. Chairs had been set up on either side of the carpet and angled in diagonals; tall vases of white chrysanthemums and roses placed on tall columns stood on the end of each row.
Everybody had switched places from how they were in the beginning when everything began. The royals, dressed and bejeweled in gold, sat in their assigned seats, their conversations mixing with the sounds of hearts and strings. More guards stood around the perimeter of the ballroom. The Elders of the Moon sat in the front two sections. And for the first time during her procession, Serena turned her head and saw the reporters seated on the Mezzanine.
She thought about the night of the Coronation Announcement and her dad in his rented tuxedo. I wonder if he's up there…
Everything led to the center of the ballroom where the stage stood underneath the ceiling painting of the full moon. The steps leading to the platform had ropes of flowers and ribbons in their crevices; the basin where she and Diamond were to perform the nuptial bathing ceremony, the sprinkling of water over each other's hair in the tradition of the kingdom, was in its center, framed by more ropes of roses and soft lights.
And there was Diamond, dressed in pure white. Except for his missing cape, he looked the same as he did the first time she had seen him.
The music halted at the sight of her, and then changed into "The Wedding March."
Conversations paused.
The congregation collectively turned their heads towards her and stood, one after another. Their arms opened in a welcoming gesture.
"You: You who stands before us!" The elder the others had decided to preside over everything, the rotund one, said in a booming voice. "Not born into our Moon's loving touch or imbued in the blood of our ancestors, but wedded in the purpose to further our glory into the future. Step forth into your intended's arms. He stands to receive you with his embrace; he stands to receive you.
"Your old life and old ways are done, and your life as one of our own, one of the Moon and its kingdom in this glorious year, begins with the fall of the sun and our darling Moon's rebirth in the night.
"Come forth! …Come forth!"
The tip of her heel sunk into the ground as she neared the altar. Faint clicks from cameras above, and half-murmurs from the royals in praise of the speech and her beauty and clothing hit her ears. Her heart was speeding up inside her chest and thundering in her ears. Someone murmured, "She looks so stricken—like a rabbit!"
Diamond stared at her with a soft look in his eye, and his arms stretched like the noblemen around her. Ready to embrace her.
And then came the sound.
The bell reverberating over and over into one long echo…a thousand voices rising from a space that she was connected to, yet so far beyond her.
"Do not be fearful, my Reborn Child of the Moon." the voice said. "I am nearer than your heart, and I am here to guide it on this day.
"Our time has come. Stand strong."
She stopped walking.
And dropped her flowers. "No."
The elder's eyes, so tiny in comparison with his round, rosy cheeks widened. "Excuse me?"
It seemed the sound of her refusal was traveling slow because there was a delayed reaction from the witnesses around her. So, she said it again: "No!"
Diamond blinked once, twice, the look of happiness in his eyes falling away.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Another elder sputtered.
"Diamond is the enemy." More gasps of surprise and harsh words were called out, and so she repeated herself: "He is my enemy, and he is the enemy of the Moon Kingdom. If I marry him, like he wants me to do, the kingdom will be in danger. I refuse."
"What possesses you to slander Prince Diamond's name?!" The elder that stood beside the Moon royal demanded. "Have you forgotten your reason for standing before us today?! Have you forgotten that your reign, your being queen by us, your people, depends on your marriage to him?"
He stepped forward. "Everything I have ever done has been for the purpose of honoring the Moon Kingdom." His voice was low and chilling. "I have given my lifetime in service to its royal family. And when you appeared to us, I wholeheartedly embraced my responsibility to guide you—I, even now, stand to take my place as your husband! To legitimize you as our ascending queen when no other, solid proof of who you are exists!
"…Is this because of the Prince of Earth? Prince Endymion?!" He said the name with loathing. Serena gave him no answer and he continued. "If there is anyone who is an enemy—a danger, it is he. He manipulated the princess' feelings and led to the end of peace in our kingdom!
"He was welcomed to stay by my words, my kindness towards an outsider, only to again manipulate you behind closed doors. And you have been well deceived. The truth has been revealed to you, and yet you gladly continue to believe in the lies he told you, whatever falsehoods they may be.
"So again, you are asked: what proof do you have against me to make those allegations? What evidence do you possess?"
Serena didn't speak for a few moments. "…I don't have any." The grin that spread on Diamond face faltered at the sight of her: light enveloping her body; her hair raising and floating around her. Warmth spread through her body, and forehead glowed—she was making the crescent-moon on her head glow.
And then she raised her own arms.
Everyone in the wedding pews began to gasp and exclaim; a few even fell to their knees. All their eyes were aglow, and all of them held their hands over their chests.
Except for the Moon royal.
"See what I have seen," the teen said, but her voice was different, a blend of one thousand. "See what the Child of the Moon and I bore witness to that day…"
…the room where its power washed over the beautiful walls that contained It…where It had asked to be laid in rest…where It now lay in wait…
…a change…the feeling of new, young hands cradling It…the sound of a beating heart, one that beat in fear and desperation and loneliness…this was the heart of the new queen, the ruler It had seen once before in a future that only it could bear witness to—for only It, in the perusal of "Time" itself could stand constant…the catalyst of what was meant to change for the sake of the future and all its possibilities…
"Serenity"
The Child of the Moon
…the utterance of what weighed on her heart—a wish…one that was so great it was just beyond what It was able to do in this time, in this moment—but not impossible…
not at all impossible…with the proper sacrifice
…It shattered itself for her and her wish…It halted the hearts of the other Children, and gathered the souls of The Child of Earth and The Ones Blessed By the Plants…
…the wish, the great wish for change, was granted…
It and The Child and the Blessed Ones were leaving to sleep and be strong once more, and as It made to disappear, It contemplated the ideas of death and rebirth for the first time in all its existence—
then came the other child, The One Who Served Darkness, dressed in silver and imbued with a Third Eye…
It spread its light, the light now shared between It and the Child of the Moon, and It pushed towards the future…
The grand ballroom came back to the people's consciousness once more, and it was like everyone had had their heads dunked underwater and were coming up for air: there were gasps and heavy breathing and, from a few, tears.
Diamond looked at the expressions of horror and surprise directed at him, and then turned to face the elder that stood on the stage. The aged man's need to take flight was so sudden that he tripped and fell, toppling the basin beside him as he crawled away.
Water trickled down the steps.
The guards that had escorted Serena now stepped forward, their hands on the hilt of their swords and killing intent in their eyes. Their weapons were unsheathed. Royals around them gasped and pushed themselves towards the painted walls, careful to not get caught in the fray.
He chuckled at the very sight of it all.
And then he stopped. "I suppose there is no use in hiding it anymore." The skin on his forehead stretched and tore open to reveal the eye she had seen in the memory. It was so gross as it moved side to side and focused on her. "But now that you have exposed it for all to see, what do you think yourself capable of doing to me?"
His body lunged forward and the guards responded in kind, but Diamond was faster: his hand grasped the closest man to him by the neck and pushed him to the marble floor. There was a sound of a bone cracking. The soldier didn't move. The second received a blow to the neck, one that twisted his head clear around.
That guard fell as well, silenced forever.
Everyone else in the room reacted. The other soldiers with their weapons at the ready, only to suddenly stopped in their tracks. Serena felt her heart stop and her stomach turn.
The eye moved around and glowed a sickly mix of purple and red, and their arms twisted until there was the sound of bones snapping at random intervals. They screamed and their swords dropped to the ground in disharmonious clatter. Their bodies followed, but were pushed by invisible hands into the vases and abandoned rows of chairs.
More water from the vases fell.
Diamond's footsteps reached the top of the white carpet and Serena took a step back to put space between them. Their arms rose at the same time, the Moon royal's hands framing his eye, and the sixteen-year-old's spreading like a bird's, the muscles in her arms taut. Spheres of lights formed around her.
"Now."
The spheres of light surrounded him and dissipated his attack before hardening into something like glass over his legs, pinning him. The glass spread quickly over his body and the carpeted floor in a circle, crushing petals and water. Serena's hands slowly rotated and became claws as she pantomimed raising a heavy weight overhead, but what she had wanted to happen worked: the glass shot up and grew towards the ceiling.
Her enemy was trapped.
She fell to her knees. She was already exhausted.
She came to her feet and turned to face the ageless elite. They all looked at her waiting for her to tell them what to do, caught between confusion about what was happening in front of their faces and unvoiced desire for her to save them.
Frantically, Serena kicked off her shoes. "Run," she said to the congregation. "EVERYBODY RUN!"
Chaos erupted. The guards carried off their wounded and their dead, and scores of others ran into the palace hallway as well, forming a huge circle to avoid running into the girl that stood steadfast before them. "SERENA! SE~RENA!" She turned to find herself staring at her dad, who was rushing downstairs from the Mezzanine. Unlike the other journalists who wore suits, he had worn a another tuxedo just for her wedding.
She smiled for a brief moment.
And then felt a shock run through her body.
Diamond's eye was distorting the space of his encasement and pieces of glass fell to the ground below in chunks.
And then it shattered.
"We must find sanctuary!"
Her heart was being tugged in the opposite direction of everyone else, past the arched windows of the ballroom and into the open space of the royal grounds. Grabbing fistfuls of her wedding gown and with the bare soles of her feet pressing unto the brick walkway and manicured lawn, she ran in the direction she was being called.
A crash sounded. She turned and paused long enough to watch that pillar breaking, the bits of glass covering the ballroom floor. Diamond's freed arms were breaking the glass into pieces and he twisted in the struggle to free his legs; his chest heaved with effort and anger. His clasped fists broke another piece. "YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY!" he barked. "YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY!"
She ran again, harder this time, through the grounds. Her heartbeat was racing; there was a tinkling sound behind her; she jumped each and every time something hit against her ankle or the back of her dress.
The yawning archway that led to the Mare Serenitias came up before her, and her heart burst as she reached the threshold. The moment her feet touched the marble floor, the living power in the corridor swirled around her, cocooned her, and yanked her forward.
The hallway walls and the painting across them passed by her in a blur.
The doors flew open and her feet touched the ground.
And then came the sound of tinkling glass. What had made her nervous from earlier had really been the shards from earlier following behind her and they tumbled and bounced their way inside the sanatorium's doors.
The doors shut with a resolute sound.
The teenager watched the shards trail their way towards her and swirl around her feet. For the first time, she noticed their shapes and sizes were all the same. She scooped a handful she gasped. They all felt so familiar, like they were a part of her. "These are pieces…! The crystal…"
"Yes…"
Serena looked around her. The sanatorium looked just like it had in the dream: the gold, the paintings, the statue of the Her Royal Majesty, Queen Selene, and the cushion in her hands.
And there was Endymion encased in crystal. His handsome face was calm and at peace like he was sleeping. Her hand touched the surface over his face. There were no bruises that she could see. Her fear that she had had about him and his safety was replaced with joy.
"Endymion…"
Endymion existed where time had had no meaning, where moments were both separate yet always colliding, and the future was just as much on the horizon as the past and present. The memories of Serenity's love in the past were presented to him and all around him all at once; and so, too, the events of the present that were unfolding without him, the wedding and Serena's own battle.
And yet, he was not alone.
"…Endymion…" that voice that came to him as a blend between his true love and many others called out to him, "my Child of Earth…"
Are you Serenity? Or the Silver Millennium Crystal?
"…I am no more Serenity, and yet not only myself. I am simply one constant entity, but…the light of another, The Child of the Moon, has shaped my sameness in the moments that exist both here and afar."
He considered the words but did not voice his thoughts. …Is Serena Serenity?
"Serena is herself, and yet, she is no less than who she was a time ago, a time that is no more than a second in the eternity of the past and the future. The Child of the Moon, Princess Serenity, lives within her. And yet she, Born and also Reborn, stands as her own self.
"…Your heart beats for her, The Reborn Child of the Moon.
"You, whose heart has remained steadfast and silent: can you hear your heart awaken once more? Can you feel it calling her name?"
He could. These feelings the voice spoke of, this passion to have her safe and to be with her were both new, and yet familiar. It felt like the resurrection of that moment he first looked upon Serenity and felt his whole being change and reshape itself to be with her. From where he presided in time, an image of Serena from what would be the future emerged. And he felt his heart change and reshape itself once more. She, she herself, was so beautiful: her hair was the color of moonlight, her body dressed in white, and her eyes infinitely older than they were now—like how his had become in a century of prolonged life.
And then, from that plane of existence, he felt the sensation of Serena's lips upon his own.
And he felt whole.
"There has never been a need to hide from those feelings. Just as the Child of the Moon's feelings were for you, The Reborn Child holds those feelings dear to herself for you as well."
He absorbed the words and felt a new warmth around him and a pull towards whichever direction led to her.
"Let your feelings grow, for in them you will find the salvation you seek. And with your salvation, comes salvation for the future…"
The voice receded, and he awoke, no longer cocooned in the safety of the crystal.
There she was, Serena standing before him in a wedding gown that made her look beautiful, with pieces of the crystal at her feet.
A smile broke across his face and his heart leapt. "Serena…I missed you."
"I missed you, too."
They were reunited for the first time or for the last time. "You look so different… There's something different about your eyes." Her eyes filled with tears and she could only nod. He knew there were traces of Serenity in her eyes: layers of sadness and regret and the clarity of the decision she had made in the past for all their sake. And then there he saw Serena's own to fight and her determination to be victorious. There were so things they shared: the love for their families and their people…and the love they both held love for him.
He leaned forward and she stood at her tallest.
Their eyes closed.
And they kissed. A soft and sweet kiss.
And the world grew still.
The kiss he gave her felt so right, so complete.
And then as she pulled away from his touch, he felt the power burn within him, a golden fire that seemed to never end but would not consume him.
Her power.
And he felt the power in the room change.
He opened his eyes to see her floating high above him, and the shards rising in the air. She looked down upon him, and like once before, he was staring into the universe within her eyes. The longer he stared, the more he realized that her light poured from her crescent-moon mark as well. The shards felt like they were singing, and the sound crescendoed as Serena's head tilted back and he as he saw something emerge: a misshapen glass bead. It floated higher into the air, and every shard around them reacted, floating toward the bead and cleaving to the rock.
He stared in awe.
The crystal. I'm staring at the crystal. It had been within her this whole time.
She came back down, eyes still glowing with moonlight and the whole Silver Millennium Crystal in her hand, its glow breaking through the gaps between her fingers.
The light within him burned once more and…change in a way that it never had before. It made him fall to his knees, and gasp with air with wide, surprised eyes.
She kneeled and pressed her hand over his chest, one that he covered with both his own. A ghost of a smile crossed Serena's face; he knew she felt his desire to be a part of this moment, to help shape what was happening.
He watched something…solid emerge from his chest. Serena stood and her hand clasped the object. He watched as the light within him became a scepter made of rose and yellow gold. There was the insignia of the royal family, the crescent moon, tilted on its side with four gems embedded across its curve. A red sphere rested in the gap, and a tiny crown, encrusted with rubies, was atop the shape. There was a heart at the base, framed with polished gold wings.
The crystal rose from Serena's hand and floated toward the scepter. The red sphere opened and the crystal changed shape before their eyes, its metamorphosis the appearance of a flower blooming as it entered the sphere and closed.
"My Child of the Earth and my Reborn Child of the Moon. It is with this vessel, the first to be born from your love, that the Darkness that again threatens our universe will be cast out."
Serena gasped and the color came back to her eyes.
"Now stand and protect this: our home, and the future…"
The doors of the Mare Serenitias opened and Serena and Endymion walked through the threshold hand in hand. The power in the hallway flowed past them and into the opened sanatorium, no longer needed to protect the hallowed land.
Their eyes gazed at the sight before them. The sky had darkened and grey clouds swirled overhead. Wind howled and bent and shook the trees. They stepped unto the grass, her dress' skirt and his wrinkled and bloodied dress shirt whipping in the breeze.
Serena felt the distorted space around her. Everything living rejected the concentrated power: the trees bowed and jerked, and flowers were pulled out by the root; the grass folded until it was flat.
And there Diamond stood at its epicenter, his third eye was roving and shifting from right to left and back again, as if to see the world around it shrink from its power. It remained unbothered by the wisps of the royal's white bangs or the debris from the royal grounds.
The smile on the now-fallen Moon royal's face was wide—almost demonic, but he didn't speak right away. His eyes closed and he inhaled the air around him. "The crystal has finally emerged. I can feel it near you." He pointed to the scepter she instinctively clutched. "In there." His palm opened. "Hand it over to me."
The teenager stepped forward just a bit, stopping when she felt Endymion's hand squeeze tightly around hers. "No."
"No? Again, with No? You dare to refuse me once more?!"
"I'm not giving you the crystal, and I'm not letting you harm it! The crystal is my responsibility and it's my birthright. I'm never giving it to you."
He looked insulted. "Your responsibility? Your birthright?! Your…that birthright does not exist! It has never been a birthright! It is enslavement! The crystal is, an, abomination! An insult to the natural course of life and death. It is the cause of chaos and disorder. And unhappiness! My purpose, my reason for being and aim in standing before you is to rid the universe of that thing, so that order is restored." He jutted his hand out, done with being nice. "Give it to me!"
"No!"
He frowned. "You—! Who do you think you are?! You are nothing—nothing but a shade, an imitation of the true princess that graced the palace you inhabit. You are just as much an insult as that glass ball you hold so tightly! Your face, your voice, your hair! Every bit of you stands there to remind me of that I can never have."
Their eyes locked and held until Diamond suddenly pulled away. "You even stare at me as she did, that same look. Those same eyes. As if, as if she hated me for doing everything I did to try and save her. You may think you have her memories, but you know nothing! …When she was younger, she stared upon me as though I were her champion! Before her senshi and before you, prince." He sneered. "She… As young as I was and herself even younger, she awakened what I knew to be love within me…and then one day, she changed and looked upon me as if I were to be hated…
"It was the last look she gave me before she disappeared. Even as she allowed the crystal to whisk her away, she still looked at me that way…"
Again came the look of anger. "…I won't have you look at me that way! I will not have you remind me of that day!" A purple light emitted from his hands.
He hurled the energy at them.
"That's enough!" she yelled, and with a sweep of her arm, the attacks were thwarted and burst upon impact with the ground.
"Raise your scepter in the air."
Serena raised it above her head and felt it grow warm in her palms. The swirling vacuum of air still spun around, but her blue eyes only focused on its glow. "Dear Light of the Silver Millennium Crystal," she murmured, "scattered and given to the Children of the Moon Kingdom, I call on you now, in this dark space and dark time, to return to my hand."
Her eyes closed and she could feel them around her, glowing orbs slipping from within the chests of the royals and The Elders of the Moon, the handmaiden and servers, and the guards. Even though she couldn't see them, she knew they were passing through walls and windows as if the Moon Palace was not there. Two balls of light, each no bigger than her palm, suddenly fell through the sky and hovered before her like snowflakes, ready to answer her call.
Seeing them, the first before her, made her smile. Luna…and Artemis… Behind her, with his hand on the small of her back and body also aglow, the Prince of Earth smiled as well at the two.
And then another came.
And another. And another. And more, hundreds, until she and Endymion were surrounded.
"Do you feel the power and strength you yourself possess?"
The power she felt surged within her and the sphere glowed. "Yes."
"That strength comes from your heart. It is your heart and the love it possesses that is strong.
"Remember this, your heart's strength and its conviction, for I will respond to nothing else."
Her eyes closed and she bowed her head. "I understand."
"Now say this:"
"Moon…" the breath in her chest hitched, "Healing…" she felt the power move and stream towards her raised hand. Her heart felt like it was glowing with silver-gold light. "HALA~TION!"
The lights expanded and melded with one another, growing stronger and strong in their reunion until all other color and the sight of Diamond, lunging for her once more, disappeared from view.
She felt it. She felt the darkness being cast away in the presence of brilliance.
A/N: I sincerely hope that this was well worth the wait. This version is probably the result of my third rough draft, the first two involving the elders' actual detainment of Serena and ultimatium, and Diamond confronting her about Endymion prior to the wedding. The idea of the Silver Millennium Crystal's perspective necessarily planned, but I liked it when it first came.
Kenji-Papa, as Chibiusa calls him, is really one of my favorite minor characters in the manga, and it didn't seem right for him to somehow not to be at the wedding.
I know that "Moon Healing Halation" is not the attack that goes with the Cutie Moon Rod, but it didn't seem right to have her yell out "Moon Princess Halation" like in the manga.
There's really only one more chapter to go so R&R.