Ai no Tsubasa - Love's Wings
Author's Note: I was just cleaning my harddrive, when I found this little story again! It must be ages since I wrote it, so please don't be too strict with me +g+ My first Sailor Moon fic involving my favorite Sailor Moon pairing Chibi-Usa and Helios. Would be glad if someone liked it and left some positive feedback :-) It's an alternate version of the senshis' last confrontation with Nehelenia.
Disclaimer: The characters in this story of course belong to Naoko Takeuchi.
Sailor Moon opened her eyes. "Where… am I…?" The sky had cleared off, the spider webs had vanished. She could feel the warm sunbeams on her skin, yet also the results of their tough battle inside her body. The world around her seemed to be nothing more than a field of ruins. The others!! Were they alright?! She tried to stand up. Jupiter, Venus, Mercury and Mars were lying unconsciously among the detritus, Chibi-Moon just next to herself. Relieved, she smiled down at the little girl. "Well done, Chibi-Usa", she whispered and caressed the girl's cheek. She really had become quite grown-up and saved the entire world…
Suddenly there was a movement on the other side of the ruins. Sailor Moon turned around. It was Jupiter, trying to stand up. Her weak glance rested on Moon. She smiled. "Is it… over?", Jupiter asked, her voice trembling.
Moon struggled to hold her tears back. Silently, she nodded.
Eventually, the others seemed to regain the consciousness as well.
"What… happened?", Mars asked at once.
Mercury opened her eyes and stared up to the starlit sky. "It seems, the Golden Crystal protected our planet… and us as well"
Chibi-Moon slowly turned her head. "Sailor… Moon"
"Chibi-Moon!", Sailor Moon whispered happily and pulled the little girl into a warm embrace.
But suddenly, Chibi-Moon started to scream and broke free. She seemed to be fully conscious and awake again.
Puzzled, Moon turned around. Her glance came to rest on Nehelenia, who was just about to vanish inside a huge tower in the midst of the ruins.
"NO!!", Chibi-Moon screamed and rushed after her.
Shocked, Sailor Moon jumped up. Her own pain was completely forgotten. "Chibi-Moon! Wait! What are you doing?!" She started running.
The four other senshi followed. "What's wrong with Chibi-Moon?!"
"Stop!", Chibi-Moon yelled, chasing Nehelenia through the darkness of the tower. "Please wait!" In front of her was a huge spiral staircase made entirely of greyish stone. Nehelenia was no longer in sight, but Chibi-Moon could feel her dark presence. She started running again, step by step, higher and higher. "No!", she whispered.
"Chibi-Moon! Come back!!" Sailor Moon was standing at the bottom of the staircase. She could hear the footsteps resounding throughout the sinister tower. Their sources were already way up there! "Chibi-Moon! Wait! I'm coming!!"
"Sailor Moon! Sailor Chibi-Moon!" The other four senshi were trying to follow as fast as possible.
"They are inside that tower!", Mercury shouted and pointed across the ruins.
Suddenly, the ground under their boots started trembling. The tower almost gave the impression to move slightly. Eventually, it left the ground and started floating.
"What is this?!" Venus' eyes widened.
"It's being drawn into the new moon's shadow!", Mercury explained. "We have to hurry"
The four senshi rushed towards the tower. It was their last chance to save Chibi-Moon and Sailor Moon.
The tower departed further and further from the ground.
"It's getting too high for us to reach!". Mercury stopped in front of the giant floating structure.
"Venus, love me chain!!" Venus offered her hand to her friends. "Hang on tightly!"
Breathlessly, Chibi-Moon arrived on top of the tower. Nehelenia was kneeling in front of a large mirror.
Chibi-Moon stopped. The queen's black hair had turned completely white.
"Don't near me!", the queen threatened. Her voice sounded old and broken.
Chibi-Moon looked around the place, scared. Finally, her gaze came to rest on Helios, who was lying unconsciously at the edge of the tower's platform.
"Helios!", the girl whispered and fell on her knees next to him.
"Don't you dare!!", Nehelenia screamed suddenly and turned around.
Chibi-Moon shuddered. Nehelenia had aged incredibly, her hair was as white as snow now, her skin old and wrinkled.
With widely opened eyes, she looked at the queen.
"Don't look at me like that!" Nehelenia tried to cover her eyes with the sleeve of her dress. "Can't you see what I've become? My most precious possession has been taken away from me! My beauty"
Chibi-Moon felt herself unable to answer.
"I told you not to stare at me like this!", the queen cried again, trembling. In this moment, her womb seemed to crack open and a dreadful demon took Chibi-Moon's throat as a target. Chibi-Moon was pushed back, against one of the tower's pinnacles, the demon's hands taking her breath.
She tried to free herself in vain and panted for air. "I beg you… Let go off me…", she whispered weakly.
"Chibi-Moon!" Suddenly it was Sailor Moon who appeared at the end of the staircase. Shocked, she rushed towards Chibi-Moon and tried to save her from the demon's grip. "Hold on"
"Mars, flame sniper!" The other senshi arrived at the tower's top as well.
Nehelenia stumbled back, the demon was burnt away.
"Sailor… Moon…" Chibi-Moons eyes filled with tears.
"Why did you do this?", Moon asked concernedly.
Chibi-Moon turned her head. "She wants to take him with her… into the mirror"
Finally, Sailor Moon recognized the white-haired boy lying on the floor.
"Damned!" Nehelenia fell on her knees. "What do you know! You have no idea about what I suffered and how I'm feeling"
Chibi-Moon tried to stand up and walked towards Helios. Gently, she laid his head on her lap and tired to wake him up. "Helios! Helios, can you hear me? Please, Helios… open your eyes"
"Chibi-Moon…" Sailor Moon, feeling sorry for her, watched the girl, as she embraced Helios.
"You… you gave your dreams to me, remember?", the girl whispered suddenly and tried to force a weak smile. "I'll give them back to you…" With these words, she lowered her head until their lips touched and kissed him.
"Get away from him!", Nehelenia screamed furiously, and pointed at Chibi-Moon and Helios.
With raging force, Chibi-Moon was thrown away from Helios, against one of the tower's pinnacles.
"Chibi-Moon!!" The other senshi rushed towards her.
Eventually, Helios opened his eyes. "Chibi… Usa-chan…" He sit up and looked around him, puzzled.
"Helios! You're alright!" Chibi-Moon's eyes filled with tears. She tried to stand up again, but couldn't.
"Come with me, Helios.", Nehelenia murmured darkly. "Come with me into the mirror"
Helios stood up.
The queen was standing right in front of her mirror now, slowly being drawn inside. "Come with me, I beg you!" She offered her hand to the boy.
After a short while, he turned his head away from Nehelenia and walked across the ruins towards Chibi-Moon, who was lying weakly at the edge of the platform.
"NO!", Nehelenia screamed, but her hand was the only part left, which had not been swallowed by the mirror yet. "HELIOS! NO! Not the two of you! NO"
Unleashing her last powers, she pushed Helios back.
The boy screamed as his feet left the ground and he felt his body fall into the bottomless depth.
"No, Helios!" Chibi-Moon rushed towards the edge and looked down, but Helios was not visible anymore. "Impossible… A nightmare…" She felt an atrocious pain inside her chest, tears dropping from her face and shattering on the hard ground. "I don't want this to happen…" She stood up. "Never! Never, never, never, NEVER!!", she screamed and jumped down. Down into the endless darkness.
"CHIBI-MOON! NOOO!" Sailor Moon jumped up. Her eyes were frozen in shock. "Chibi-Moon…"
"Helios…" Chibi-Moon fell deeper and deeper. In far distance she recognized Helios, obviously falling a lot faster than she was herself. Her thoughts went back to all their beautiful memories. Their first meeting in the crystal forest, their endless conversations, all those times they had laughed together, their kiss…
Chibi-Moon closed her eyes. "Please… Somebody… help me…"
Helios opened his eyes. His gaze focused on Chibi-Moon, who was falling after him. His body tensed. She couldn't have possibly!
"Chibi-Usa-chan!", he cried and reached out his hand to Chibi-Moon. Their eyes met.
Chibi-Moon reached her hand out as well, but the distance between them was way too great.
Eventually, Tokyo became visible as they rushed down towards Earth.
Chibi-Moons tears were torn away. "Helios…", she whispered desperately.
She came closer to him… Closer and closer…
As their hands finally touched, Chibi-Moon embraced the boy tightly. She closed her eyes, while her tears couldn't stop running. "Helios"
"My beautiful maiden…" Helios looked at her, his voice trembling. "Why did you do this"
Chibi-Moon clutches his sleeve with her hands. "Because…" She lowered her head. "Because I can't even imagine living my life without you anymore… Pegasus-kun"
The two of them fell past the roof of one of Tokyo's skyscrapers.
Helios smiled at her and right in this moment the Golden Crystal on this forehead started to shine. A light, so bright, that it eventually covered the entire city.
Scared, Chibi-Moon widened her eyes and recognized the large white wings on Helios' back. She turned her head, realizing that she had a pair of wings as well.
"Helios…", she whispered, as their feet softly touched the ground.
"Now you've got wings of your own", Helios whispered, holding Chibi-Moon in a tight embrace. "You can fly, just like I do." Tears came running down his cheek, as he pulled the girl closer.
"Thank you, my beautiful maiden."