Chapter Fifteen
It doth repent me: words are quick and vain;
Grief for awhile is blind, and so was mine,
I wish no living thing to suffer pain.
-Percy Bysshe Shelley
Feeling high with the energy vibrating through her, Sailorathena spun around to look at the senshi trapped behind the pulsing, shimmering bubble. She lifted her hand and wagged her fingers. "Hey, guys," she said.
Sailormoon burst into fresh tears. "Jen-chan, how could you? We're sisters!"
"As if that matters," Sailorathena said, thinking of Kristin and her selfish ways. Sailormoon gasped and lifted a hand to cover her mouth. Several of her friends crowded around her, murmuring comfortingly. Tuxedo Kamen's face was dark as he put his arms around her. Beside him, Nick's expression wasn't any kinder. He looked at Sailorathena as if he no longer recognized her. Unconcerned, she flipped her hair over her shoulders and laughed.
"Jenny, that's enough," Sailorastraea said, her voice sharp. "You're already betraying her. You don't have to be a bitch about it." Sailorathena waved her off with one hand as she walked back to Lord Ahriman. He put his arms around her and she leaned back against him, seemingly content and peaceful.
"This is wrong. We can't do this," Sailormetis said, her voice strained. She looked around at the other Athene senshi anxiously. They all looked just as uncomfortable. Sailorurania was clenching her fists and looking at her boots. Sailorpandia looked like she was going to be sick. Sailordemeter's face was white. She stood so still she could have been a young doe in a forest, frozen in some hunter's path. Only Sailoranteros appeared confident.
"Just shut up and do what she says," Anteros said. She nodded at Sailorathena encouragingly.
Nick looked just as sick as Pandia when Athena's eyes flicked back to him. She could see how heavily he was breathing, how raggedly. "I'm not fighting with you," he said firmly, as if he needed to reassure himself. Sailorathena's eyes widened with astonishment.
"Fight? You? As if I need your help. What exactly were you planning to do, Kestrel-sama? Blast us with the pure power of your good looks? There is nothing you can do, and you sure as hell better know it. You've always been so damned full of yourself even when you can't win." Athena shook her head. It was so…Nick. To think he was part of what was going on. To think he had a chance equal to that of Tuxedo Kamen and the others. What arrogance. What stupidity.
Lord Ahriman snaked his arms more tightly around her. He took one of her hands and lifted it to kiss her gloved wrist. "True words, my dear. I'm glad you finally see what I have all along."
"Have I?" Athena's smile grew wider.
"Yes. You know we belong together and that he means nothing. He never has. Why don't you tell him exactly what you think of him?" Athena could feel Lord Ahriman's satisfaction. He was practically brimming with excitement. He loved watching her ability to hurt Nick. It was like a drug for him. Who was she to deny him one last pleasure? Ignoring the murmured protests from the Athene senshi, Athena stepped forward and began crossing the room to the barrier. She didn't stop until she was standing directly before Nick, watching his face shimmer and dance with the movements of the bubble concealing him.
"If you harm him…" Tuxedo Kamen started coldly, but Sailorathena shut him up with a scornful look.
"I only want to chat. Because now he'll have to listen." She looked at Nick, into his brown eyes that were distorted from the glimmering barrier. She looked at him for a long time before clenching her gloved fists.
"I hate you," she said.
Nick flinched as if her words had physically punched him. "Do you think I don't know that? Do you think that fact hasn't eaten me from inside for the last eight years? I know it's all my fault. If I hadn't been so stupid…if I hadn't thought I knew what was best for you, for both of us…but that doesn't matter now, does it? Here we are. If you want to kill me, go ahead, but don't punish the others because you're angry at me. You don't have to choose sides right away."
"I already have decided," Sailorathena said sharply. She narrowed her eyes. "You are going to listen to me now. That's all I request. You may never have the chance again, and I want you to know how I feel." She broke off and licked her lips. Nick's gaze automatically lowered to her mouth.
"I hate you," she continued. "I hate your arrogance, and the way you always treat me like a child. I hate how you think I need protection, and how you appointed yourself my personal bodyguard. I hate that you don't think of me as your equal. I hate the way you look at other girls, especially my friends. I mostly hate the way you don't trust me to make the right decisions. You're so stupid, Nicholas Kestrel."
She broke off and blinked rapidly. Only Nick was close enough to see that her blue eyes had filled with tears. He was too shocked to say anything as he looked back. Sailorathena took a slow breath to calm herself. When she had her composure back, she said, "You'll never know how sorry I am, Nick, how much I wish things could have been different. Not for the rest of your life."
"Which apparently is going to end very soon," he muttered. Athena smiled, the movement brightening up her face.
"I really am sorry. Sorry that I had to do this now," she whispered, lowering her voice so that only he could hear. Nick didn't understand. He continued to stare at her, his eyes troubled. Only when she gave him the tiniest of winks did he inhale sharply. She saw the light of comprehension enter his eyes, but his actor's training kept his lips in a frown and his expression glum. She could feel his happiness, his relief. Carefully, he gave her just the faintest flicker of a wink back.
Athena started slowly backing away from him. "I'm so very sorry, Nick," she said theatrically, raising her voice so that everyone could hear her. She started to raise her arms.
"No!" Sailormoon shrieked, assuming that she was planning to kill Nick. She thrust herself before him protectively, but Athena surprised her. She spun around and gestured wildly at her friends.
"Anteros, everyone, do it now!" Anteros stepped forward, but she was the only one. The others gaped at her, startled and confused.
"What?" Pandia asked, her violet eyes wide.
"Your powers, you idiot! Break the barrier!" Athena said with exasperation.
Urania laughed aloud. "Good girl! I knew you didn't mean it." As one, the Athene senshi raised their hands. They started pooling their powers into a ball of energy that expanded rapidly and flashed with their combined colors. Sailorathena hurried forward and joined them, adding the reddish sparkling energy of her own power to the ball. It all happened within seconds. Lord Ahriman was watching her silently, obviously not processing what was happening, but Athena saw the lips of Calcite and Azurite start to curl behind him as they understood. With protesting cries, they started forward.
"Down! Get down!" Nick yelled to the confused Sol senshi who were standing behind the barrier, watching the movements of the Athene senshi with doubt in their eyes. Fortunately, none of them questioned him as they dropped to the ground. The Athene senshi released the ball of light and it flew forward to crash into the barrier. With an explosion of light and a thrumming shockwave that pulsed through the room, the barrier broke and disappeared.
"No," Lord Ahriman said. Not angrily, not hatefully, just with disbelief. Sailorathena fought a wrenching pain as she turned to look at him. His hawk eyes were fixed on her with astonishment and raw hurt. As they looked at each other, his expression hardened.
"You mean to betray me? Me, who promised to give you everything?"
Sailorathena blinked but held her ground. "You're as selfish as Nick. Worse. You just wanted me and my powers without giving anything back. And the fact that you actually thought I was willing to turn on my friends…well, that just proves you're an idiot as well."
"Oh, Jen-chan!" Eternal Sailormoon cried. When Sailorathena looked at her, she saw how her sister's eyes were filled with love. Sailormoon started running to her with open arms, but Athena shook her head with a smile and held up a hand just before she reached her.
"Later," she promised. She looked back at Lord Ahriman and her lips tightened. "We have something to settle first."
Looking at her then, something in the dark lord's golden eyes shattered. He threw back his head and let out a strange, animal-like howl. When he lowered his head again, his eyes shone red. "If that's the way it is, then we truly are enemies."
The air around him was smoking, turning black with his fury. He thrust his hands into the air. With a thunderous roar, the ground beneath their feet began to shake. Hot, toxic steam started to rise from the cracks in the stone. Sailormoon lost her balance in the quaking of the earth and stumbled into Sailorathena, toppling them both to the ground. As Athena started struggling back to her feet, the ground began to crack with alarming speed. Great chasms formed in the stone, revealing endless dark pits. The ground separated with such rapid speed and force that Athena was shaken again from her stance. She stumbled, waving her arms for balance. With a surprised yelp, she started to fall into the gaping canyon behind her.
"No!" Eternal Sailormoon screamed, reaching for her in a panic. She managed to take hold of Sailorathena's arm, but she fell so quickly that Sailormoon was soon left grasping only her wrist. She could feel the fabric of Athena's glove sliding under her fingers as she sank further into the canyon. Sailormoon's arms shook as she fought to hold onto her. She knew it wouldn't be long before she lost the fight.
"Help me!" Sailormoon yelled desperately. She felt immediate relief when someone dropped beside her and reached out a hand to help. The fingers were strong and masculine as they took Sailorathena's arm below Sailormoon's own fingers. She assumed it was Tuxedo Kamen, and she turned to him with a grateful smile. Her lips froze when she saw not her boyfriend but Lord Ahriman crouched beside her. He looked extraordinarily pale and his eyes were wild with fright as he looked down at the dangling Sailorathena. Sailormoon was too stunned to move. She stared at him with open shock, her lips parted. Lord Ahriman turned to look at her as well. Then silently, understanding each other for perhaps the first time in history, they pulled Sailorathena out of the canyon together.
Only when her sister was safe was Sailormoon able to pay attention to what was going on around her. Pandemonium had erupted in the cavernous room. An army of demons were rushing in through the doorway. Still others were leaping up from the ugly cracks in the stone floor. There was plenty of cackling and teeth-gnashing as they started to take on her friends. Already the room was filled with bursts of color and energy as the senshi joined the fight. She could hardly see them through the resulting smoke, but she knew they were fighting on, doing their best in the surrounding danger.
Sailormoon looked back at her sister and felt another wave of concern. Lord Ahriman was leaning over Sailorathena, who looked limp as a rag doll as she lay against the stone. Her eyes were shut and her head lolled to the side. "She's fainted," Lord Ahriman observed, but Sailormoon glared at him and shook her head.
"No, she was knocked out by a falling rock. Your fault," she snapped, her fingers indicating the ugly gash at Athena's temple on the side of her head that was turned to the floor. She turned Athena's head gently so that he could see the blood matting her silvery blond hair. For a few seconds he didn't move. His lips were tight. He reached down gentle fingers to touch her cheek, but Sailormoon wrapped her arms around Athena's body and pulled her away from him with a jerk.
Lord Ahriman snapped his hand back and stood angrily. "As you please," he growled, but his expression softened as he looked down at the unconscious Athena. "Keep her safe," he requested before turning and plunging into the heat of the battle surrounding them.
Eternal Sailormoon glared in his direction until she was positive he was gone before looking down at Sailorathena and gently shaking her. The girl didn't stir at her touch. Sailormoon didn't like the amount of blood in her hair or the color of her skin that appeared much more pale than was natural. She looked up and desperately called. "Saturn, Saturn!"
"Don't worry, I'm on it," said a nearby voice. There was a flash of red and orange as someone dropped beside her. Sailormoon looked at Sailorhestia with relief.
"You can help her?"
"In theory," Hestia said. She outstretched a hand and closed her eyes in concentration. Within seconds, a slow-burning golden flame grew on her hand. Hestia opened her eyes in triumph. She lowered the ball of golden fire to Sailorathena's head and carefully pushed it into her wound. For a moment, Sailorathena's entire body glowed a healing golden-orange energy before her color returned to normal.
Sailorathena opened her eyes.
"Jen-chan!" Sailormoon cried with relief. "I was so scared."
"I wasn't. I knew it would work," Hestia said with a wink as she rubbed her hands together and blew on them.
"Modest as always." Sailorathena sat up, groaning as she brought a hand to her head.
"The blood's gone," Sailormoon observed with surprise. Sailorhestia smiled.
"Of course. My work is always complete. Come on, girl, we've got work to do."
"Stay here," Sailormoon ordered Athena before hopping to her feet and rushing after Hestia into the fray. Athena, who really disliked being ordered around, ignored her and pulled herself to her feet. She sucked in her breath as she looked around. It was a scene right from Hell, a scene out of a nightmare. All of the senshi were doing their best to hold off the monsters that surrounded them. Their eyes were hard and their teeth were bared with concentration. The colors of the various attacks lit the room like a display of fireworks. It was mesmerizing, almost beautiful. Sailorathena was oddly fascinated as she looked. It was like watching a well-rehearsed play or an intricate ballet. The experienced senshi moved as if in a dance as they threw their attacks. The rarely tested Athene senshi seemed to be holding up almost as well. Some of the senshi, Sailoruranus and Sailorurania especially, looked energized by the battle. They laughed as they fought, moving as freely as the wind.
None of the demons paid any attention to Sailorathena. She suspected that it was Lord Ahriman's orders.
In the middle of the battle, Sailorhestia was scurrying around with Sailorsaturn to heal the burns and cuts of the senshi who were not faring so well. Sailorpandia looked positively gleeful as she used a new attack that put the demons she was facing into an instant sleep before she finished them off with her Night Terror Shock. Not far from her, Sailorastraea was fighting with ice and water as she formed icicles as sharp as daggers in her hands and flung them towards the demons. She and Sailoranteros were working together to intertwine their powers into even more deadlier attacks. Sailoranteros used a great gust of wind that forced the demons into Astraea's waiting icicles. Alternately, Astraea formed puddles of water beneath the feet of the demons while Anteros sent bolts of electricity that electrified them efficiently.
Sailordemeter's attacks were interesting. One moment she was shooting vines from her outstretched hands to tangle the demons with, choking them before she shot a more potent attack to finish them. The next moment, her human form melted away and she morphed into a golden mountain lion that leapt at Azurite's throat with a fierce growl. Across the room, Sailormetis wasn't doing too much on the offensive side, but she did produce a silver flute with a wave of her hand that she played so sweetly that the demons around her stopped fighting to listen. While they stood transfixed, the other senshi used their attacks to finish them. Always polite, Sailormetis turned her head as they exploded or melted, depending on the attack.
Sailorurania was ignoring the demons completely as she concentrated her efforts on Sera. Sera had transformed into a sexy, tight black outfit that Lord Ahriman no doubt chose for her. Seeing them grapple together, their similar light blue hair whipping around them, made Athena feel strange. Sera was shooting dark beams of energy at Urania, who gracefully dodged out of the way. Urania then opened her mouth, yelled something Athena couldn't hear over the noise of the war, and multiplied into fifteen other Sailoruranias that surrounded Sera. Sera screamed in frustration as she spun around, trying to find the real Urania.
Sailorathena felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and came face to face with Lord Ahriman. "Pretty good show, isn't it?" he said. "Sister against sister. I would have preferred you and yours fighting out there, but I'll take what I can."
"Huh?" Sailorathena looked at him, feeling a strange tugging uneasiness in her chest.
"Don't tell me you never noticed it? I'm surprised at you. Yes, their temperaments and haircuts are vastly different, but everything else is the same. Sera and Alisia – you know her as Lyyli – are also sisters. Twin sisters. Doesn't that make this moment immensely more entertaining?"
When Athena only gaped at him, he added, "No? Well, I think it's interesting. As is the rest of it. Look at your friends. They're tiring quickly, even Sailormoon's bunch." Sailorathena bit her lip as she looked. She hated to see that he was telling the truth. The senshi were still fighting on, but they were clearly dragging their feet. Even Sailoruranus, Sailorjupiter, and Sailoranteros, the most athletic of the bunch, were breathing heavily.
"They're killing your demon army," Sailorathena said defensively. Lord Ahriman nodded thoughtfully.
"True, but even you have to admit that they are greatly outnumbered. As quickly as your dear friends are tiring, my army will die. In the end they'll all kill one another, leaving only the two of us, which I, personally, do not think is all that bad."
With that, Lord Ahriman suddenly reached out and pulled her to him, kissing her roughly. As she felt the strength of his arms crushing her, his hot insistent mouth against hers, Sailorathena was too shocked to move. Never before had he used force on her. She felt a rush of anger mixed with regret, thinking about what they had lost. Strength filled her limbs and she was able to pull herself out of his arms with a strong jerk that made him stumble backwards.
"Not if I kill you first," she said coldly. Her voice deadly serious, but Lord Ahriman laughed.
"Would you do that to me?"
"You keep giving me reasons."
Lord Ahriman smiled. "But could you do it? When you owe me so much?"
"I don't owe you a thing."
"I saved your life a moment ago. Without me, you would have plummeted straight into the pits of Hell."
Athena felt chilled all over. "No one asked you to save me!"
"No, but I did it all the same, even though you had just declared me an enemy. Now tell me, princess, could you honestly kill someone who just saved your life? Someone who gave you warmth, comfort, and friendship these last few months? Why don't we find out? Go ahead. Take a shot at me." He stepped back and spread his arms, open and defenseless.
"Go on," he urged when she didn't move. "Hit me with your great power. I think you might even enjoy it." His golden eyes sparkled with amusement.
Sailorathena stared at him breathing heavily. Her mind was filled with memories of Max, the way he had cared for her and looked after her. He had given her something she desperately needed. He had made her feel normal in a world that had gone mad around her. She had truly loved him. Looking at him now, even seeing what he had become, she knew she still did.
"You can't, can you?" he said seriously. "I would never hurt you, and you would never hurt me. We mean too much to each other. Why don't you give up now and accept the way things are? Take your rightful place by my side." Lord Ahriman moved closer to her. He tried to take her shoulders again, but she slapped him away. She turned and ran from him. His laughter followed her every step. Sailorathena was so confused and angry that she felt like hurting something, even if that something couldn't be Lord Ahriman. She hated that he was right. She would never hurt him. No matter what he did, the memory of his friendship would always stay fresh in her mind. She could never forget what he had been to her. No doubt that had been one of his aims all along.
Sailorathena was so furious that she decided to try out her new powers. She had been a spectator in the war long enough. She felt a deadly calm still her body as she noticed a demon that was heading towards Sailorpluto. Pluto was so busy fighting three others that she didn't notice it coming. Sailorathena felt a sort of buzzing anticipation rush through her limbs as she opened her mouth. "Atomic…" she started but was cut off when there was a burst of pain on her right leg.
"Damn it, Surya!" she yelled as she reached down to stop the bleeding on her thigh where the cercaphor had dug in his claws.
He squinted up at her, his red eyes slits. "You are not to use that attack unless as a last resort. It will drain all your power, leaving none behind. It would be very foolish to waste that power on a single demon, especially when you will be needed greatly later on."
Athena winced as she touched the ugly scratches on her leg. "You could have told me that. I didn't know."
He sniffed and turned his pink nose into the air. "Well, now you do. And I would adjust your tone, young lady, especially since I've come to offer you help. I've brought a present from Eternal Sailormoon, which came from her mother Queen Serenity, who, if you go even further back, received it from your own mother, Queen Celestia." He did a little twirl in the air and produced a shimmering gold rod, covered with diamonds and glittering firestones.
Athena blinked at the rod. "What is it?" she asked, her anger fading the longer she looked at it.
"It will amplify your power. I'm only giving it to you for protection, for I think we both agree that you should stay out of the fight. You cannot use that attack for any mere means. Heed my words, girl."
Sailorathena was so angry that she could have kicked him, but instead she took a deep breath and demanded, "Do you expect me to just sit back and watch while my friends are slaughtered?"
Surya blinked at her. "Did I say that? Surely you didn't think that you only had one attack. I only ask you to withhold from using that one."
"But…" Sailorathena trailed off, feeling silly. She should have known there were others. She shut her eyes, sending out little feelers in her mind and body. When she had the right words and motions, she opened her eyes with a satisfied smile. This would be cake.
"Cosmic Shock!" At her words, a supersonic boom burst from the bejeweled wand in her hand, and not one but all four demons Sailorpluto was fighting disappeared. Pluto turned and smiled her thanks, but Sailorathena's satisfaction was short-lived. A powerful dizziness came over her. She staggered backwards, stretching out her arms for balance. She felt drained, worse than she had running sprints in gym class. She willed herself not to faint. Her vision darkened and then slowly cleared.
"What's wrong with me? How come only I get tired after using my powers?"
"Because you're the warrior of the wild cosmos. You draw your power from the stars, from the dust particles from the beginning of time. It isn't a power that can be completely harnessed. Naturally it would affect you as it rushes through you. Haven't I explained that to you already?" Surya asked irritably.
"No."
"Well, now you know. From now on, please refrain from using your powers unless absolutely necessary, because the effect on you may not be worth blasting a few stupid demons." Surya looked around the battle scene, making no effort to hide his contempt for the misshapen creatures.
Sailorathena ignored him. She couldn't just stand around. She stepped away from Surya, eyes scanning for who was in the most trouble. Her eyes widened as she saw Sailormoon cornered with ten or more demons closing in on her. She opened her mouth, ready to yell the words, but felt another stab of pain, this time on her left leg. She couldn't waste her breath yelling at Surya again, so she opened her mouth and yelled, "Sailormoon! Someone help her!" Tuxedo Kamen perked up at her cry and immediately left Nick to start towards her. He was so far away, though, that Athena bit her lip and used her Cosmic Shock attack again. The attack took care of seven of the demons surrounding Sailormoon, but this time the effect on her was so great that she actually stumbled backwards and fell to the ground.
"Idiot," Surya hissed as he hopped onto her stomach. "Didn't I warn you? Using your powers is especially devastating because Sailorathena has never appeared before in the history of the universe. There has been no one before you to share the power with. You're it, child."
"Well, someone had to help her." Sailorathena did not regret it.
A shadow loomed over her suddenly. By the way Surya tensed, Athena knew who it was before she looked up. Lord Ahriman was holding out a hand to her. She pushed his hand away and deliberately stood by herself. She wobbled on the way up, but she made it.
"Tired, Jenny?" he asked in a mocking tone.
She raised her chin. "Not remotely."
Lord Ahriman did not seem to believe her, for he easily reached out and pulled her against him. Athena felt weak as a moth as she tried to escape him. He only laughed and hugged her to him more tightly. His hand slid easily down her back and lower, caressing. "It's a shame," he said. "I was about to suggest that you come away and rest with me. We could leave this place and let the carnage take its course. I've got a big empty bed waiting for your warmth. If we're going to be spending eternity together, we might as well start practicing."
An angry howling filled the air. Athena thought one of the demons had approached until there was a blur of gold and orange. Surya leapt at the dark lord's face, claws flying and teeth bared. Lord Ahriman hurriedly stepped back from Sailorathena as Surya dug one clawed paw into his dark hair and continued slashing and spitting in his face. Lord Ahriman swore loudly. As Athena watched in horror, he grabbed Surya around his throat. Surya's outraged howling cut off instantly. Sailorathena screamed as he flung the small golden body against the ground. With an unsettling thud, the cercaphor jerked and lay still. His red eyes were shut. His mane was pathetically disarrayed.
Athena tried to bend down to him, but Lord Ahriman jerked her back into his arms. Surya's small, still form on the ground gave her new strength and this time she was able to escape him. Tears rolling down her cheeks, she lifted a hand to hit him, but he easily caught it and kissed the back of her hand.
"You monster!" she screamed, pulling her hand back and hitting at him again. This time he made no move to stop her, and his head snapped to the side with the force of her blow. When he turned back to her with a smile, there was the red imprint of her knuckles against his cheek.
"That's it. You feel the rage now? That's what I've lived with for thousands of years. Let it out, darling. You want to get me? Here I am."
He laughed as Athena took a horrified step backwards. She looked down at Surya lying so still on the ground and brought a hand to her mouth to muffled the jagged breathing of her crying. She couldn't do it. God help her, she couldn't do it. Why couldn't she get her revenge? Why couldn't she blast Lord Ahriman into oblivion as he kept daring her to? Was she so weak that she couldn't do anything against him, no matter how many of her loved ones he hurt?
"I saw that you've been using your powers. Good. I was hoping you would. I saw you help Sailormoon only moments ago with your power and with your scream. Now her loyal knight in the top hat will stay by her side and make sure she stays safe. You've done your duty well. Only, I think you've forgotten something."
"What's that?" Sailorathena asked dazedly. Lord Ahriman smiled and his golden eyes flicked to the side. She followed his gaze and her eyes landed on Nick, standing along the sidelines unguarded now that Tuxedo Kamen had left him.
"I've waited a long time for this," Lord Ahriman said, his voice deep and slow. He lifted a hand towards Nick.
"No," Sailorathena breathed, barely believing it even when black electricity started forming on the dark lord's palm. Sensing a change of pressure in the air, Nick turned towards them. His eyes widened with realization just as Lord Ahriman's cruel smile spread across his face. The ball of energy on Lord Ahriman's hand grew greater, sucking out light from the air around it like a black hole.
"No!" Athena screamed as Lord Ahriman pulled back his hand and hurled the dark energy from him. It sailed through the air toward Nick with speed and crackling electric intensity. Its power was so great that after one touch from it, not even Saturn and Hestia's power combined would have been enough to revive Nick from Hades' sleep.
In Athena's vision, the world had darkened. Time slowed to a creep. She saw Nick's mouth drop open as the dark energy shot towards him, saw him lift his hands uselessly before him. Sailorathena felt the power build inside her before she knew what was happening. She didn't think; she couldn't think. She only knew that every cell in her body was crying out that she had to protect him. She felt the gathering pull of ions in the air as she called on the deepest powers of space and time. Her eyes flashed with resolve as her voice rose above the roaring wind.
"Atomic Obliterate!" Sailorathena screamed. It wasn't only her voice, but the voice of thousands of others before her who had fallen under Lord Ahriman's dark cruelty. A searing white light burst inside her and rushed through the jeweled rod with the force of a tsunami crashing onto land. Her power spread throughout the room, intensely sensed Athena's unleashing of power and quickly threw her Silent Wall of protection around her friends before the power reached them. The shockwave of Athena's power rushed through the room destroying everything it touched. The demons vanished as they were instantly reduced to particles, completely unmade. Although Lord Ahriman had caused her to release the flood of energy, Athena tried her best to direct the worst of it away from Lord Ahriman and Sera. Rather than disappear, they were blown backwards with incredible force. She didn't expend any thoughts or energy for Azurite and Calcite, who were unmade along with the rest of the demons.
As her supernova power spread throughout the room, reducing the demons to quantum dust and bouncing harmlessly off Saturn's wall of protection, Athena knew she was dying. Everything she had went into the attack, and as it left her she felt her life force being ripped from her body. The last thing she remembered as the remainder of her power fled her was the screaming of her friends, the rush of solar wind and light. The world was growing dim around her. Sailorathena gladly gave in to the darkness. If she had failed to protect any of her friends, she knew she would be rejoining them soon.
She was mistaken. Only minutes, perhaps even seconds passed before she opened her eyes. She lay on her back, feeling sublimely relaxed. The sky glowed silver above her, and she thought perhaps she had made it to Heaven after all. That is until someone cried out with delight and a panel of faces, rosy and alive though covered with tears and various hurts, leaned over her.
"She's awake!"
"Thank, God!"
"Oh, Jenny!"
Now profoundly aware that she was alive after all, the serene bubble of euphoria vanished and she became aware of the tightness and stinging of various burns on her arms. She winced as she tried to lift her head and a throbbing pain burst through her temples. She lay her head back and shut her eyes immediately. The earth spun beneath her, revolving in a frantic dance. A moment later she felt soft fingers brush her forehead and a cooling sensation moved along her skin and beneath it, washing away the pain. When she opened her eyes once more, she saw Saturn kneeling beside her, her eyes worried.
"Thanks," she said smiling gratefully and attempted to sit up again. A quick glance around told her that she was far from Heaven. They appeared to be at a construction site for a large building. Only the concrete had been poured, and they were sitting on top of it about fifteen feet below the surface of the earth. As Jenny looked around, Kyanite gallantly offered her a hand which she gladly took and pulled herself to a sitting position. As soon as she was up there was a blur of movement and a cry and Sailormoon's arms went around her. She was hugged so tightly that within seconds she was gasping for breath.
"You're okay, you're okay!" her sister kept repeating, crying and laughing at the same time. "Jen-chan, you saved us all!"
She felt oddly chilled even with Sailormoon's rib-cracking hug. As soon as Sailomoon's arms released her and she looked down at herself, she realized why. She was no longer Sailorathena, only plain old Jenny. A very nude Jenny.
Jenny reddened and immediately wrapped her arms around herself. The others turned their heads, politely trying to ignore her lack of clothing. Along with her uniform, the powerful jeweled rod from her mother was also missing. Even the ring that had circled her finger for months had vanished. Jenny knew that even if she still had it and tried to transform again, she wouldn't be able to. She was no longer Sailorathena. She had used up all the power that the universe had allotted for her. Surya had warned her not to use that final attack unless at a moment of dire need, and now she understood why. Sailorathena had appeared for one night of glory, but now was gone forever.
Surya. Jenny's chest tightened as she remembered the way he had lain against the ground, so bent and still. Tears started to well up in her eyes. He was also gone. Surya, the lively, insolent, lovable cercaphor. Never again would she hear his taunts.
"Put some clothes on, girl," she could almost hear him saying. She shut her eyes in misery. Surya with his red blinking eyes, scowling at her one moment and then curling up on the bed with her at night. She was going to miss him.
"Jenny, seriously. Stop bawling like an infant and put some clothes on. Naked is not a good look for you." Jenny froze and her tears subsided. That voice hadn't been her imagination, but did she dare hope…?
Slowly, she opened her eyes and let out a shriek of happiness when she saw Surya, alive and annoyed, lying in the arms of Sailorhestia who had just finished healing him. He couldn't even open his mouth a second time before Jenny's arms shot out and she grabbed him from Hestia, squeezing him so tightly that he coughed for air.
"Okay, okay!" he cried as she loosened her grip. "We get the idea."
"But you were dead," Jenny said, dangerously close to more tears.
Surya glared at her. "Did you want me to be dead? I was broken and bloody, yes, but not quite at death's road yet. It takes a lot more than one demonic asshole to kill a cercaphor." Although he scowled, his eyes were filled with amusement.
"I wasn't kidding about the clothes. Although you're really not much to look at compared to others here, some people might get excited." Jenny looked up quickly, reddening further. Tuxedo Kamen, Alexandrite, and Kyanite very cordially had their backs turned, but there was one face in the crowd that was turned towards her and unabashedly looking. Sailoranteros and Sailormars quickly moved in front of her to block her view, but it wasn't before she caught of glimpse of Nick's laughing face.
"Hey, what's the hurry? She's just as God intended." His smile lit up his features. He sounded so happy. The dark cloud that had fallen over him under Lord Ahriman's care had vanished completely. He was Nick again, the Nick she so rarely got to see. So impish, so carefree, so completely lecherous.
Tuxedo Kamen gallantly removed his cape and coat and handed them to Sailormoon to give to her. Jenny gladly accepted them. She put on his coat and tied the ends of the cape around her waist to create a temporary skirt. Both articles were too large on her small form to do much good, but at least they provided temporary relief. Wrapping the coat more firmly around her chest, Jenny stood and gently pushed between Anteros and Mars to confront Nick. She marched straight towards him, her expression hard. When he saw her coming, Nick's laugh died. His smile turned from free to uneasy as Jenny stopped before him.
"Hey, I didn't mean…okay, that was rude. I'm sorry. You just looked so cute sitting there, sweetheart, I couldn't help…"
He flinched back as Jenny lifted her arms, but instead of punching him she leapt at him and threw her arms around his neck. She held him tightly as if she was grasping a piece of driftwood in the middle of an empty ocean. She pressed her face against his shoulder, breathing in his scent. After a stunned moment, Nick put his arms around her and held her back. Jenny was unable to feel anything but slow-burning happiness. Her mind kept replaying those last few seconds before Sailorathena let loose her storm of power, of watching Lord Ahriman's dark energy speeding towards Nick and knowing that he was about to die. The power had burst from her instinctively. Lord Ahriman had thought she would never harm him, but he was wrong. There was one person for whom she would risk it all, including her own life.
"Well, if being a jerk is the key to this, then I'll never stop," said Nick.
"You will do no such thing," Jenny said fiercely. "Not when I saved your life. I just destroyed an army from Hell for you. You owe me, mister."
"Believe me when I say that I'm more than willing to spend the rest of my life paying for that debt. You've got a slave whether you want one or not." There was no laughter or joking in his voice this time, only earnest declaration.
Jenny smiled and pulled back slightly to look at him. "A slave, huh? Do I get to pick one out myself?"
Nick smiled and started to lean towards her again. Jenny, however, caught a glimpse over his shoulder and quickly sidestepped him. Her bliss cooled when she saw two girls on the ground about twenty feet from the group of senshi surrounding her. One was kneeling over another who lay quite still. Jenny hurried towards them uneasily. Sailorurania was beside the pale and still Sera, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. A single glance told Jenny that Sera was dead, but Sailorurania didn't seem to understand. She looked up wildly at Jenny as she approached.
"Help her, you have to help her!" she moaned, her voice choked with tears.
Jenny knelt beside her. "She's gone, Lyyli," she said gently. She felt a wrenching guilt, knowing that it had been her fault, her power that had done it. She had tried to shield Sera at the last moment, but it hadn't been enough.
Urania shook her head, blue hair flying, not willing to accept that. "No, no," she sobbed, shaking again. "She apologized. At the last moment, she remembered everything and so did I. She was my sister in the past. She was my best friend, until Lord Ahriman took her and twisted her mind. I don't understand why we couldn't have been born together again in this lifetime. It isn't fair. Why did I only find her now after she's gone?"
Distraught, Jenny put her arms around her. Urania didn't appear to notice as she rushed on. "We weren't supposed to be born as twins. It had never happened before. Each ruling family of the planets always had one daughter, until us. It was like our soul split into two. She was a part of me, and now she's dead!" With that, Urania's sobbing grew louder, and nothing Jenny did or said could bring her from her grief.
Sailorastraea knelt next to them, and Sailorurania immediately switched arms to clutch at her best friend. "I'll handle this. You're needed elsewhere," Astraea told Jenny softly.
Jenny just stared at Urania wrapped in Astraea's arms. "I killed her sister. I caused this grief," she said, her eyes filling with tears. Over Urania's blue hair, Astraea caught Jenny's eyes and shook her head firmly.
"Never blame yourself. You did the right thing. If you hadn't, we'd all be dead right now." Jenny just shook her head, feeling cold and empty.
"Jenny-san?" The new voice over her shoulder was self-conscious. Jenny lifted her head to see Sailorvenus and Alexandrite. Sailorvenus was wringing her hands anxiously.
"There's someone who wants to see you," Alexandrite said.
"But you don't have to if you don't want to! No one will make you see him," Venus added hastily.
Jenny blinked. "Who?"
By Venus' downcast look, Jenny knew even before she said the name. "Lord Ahriman."
"But…he's not dead?" Jenny had felt like an ice queen after kneeling by Sera's body, but now her heart leapt back into life.
"He's not dead," Alexandrite confirmed since Venus refused to speak. "But almost. He's been asking for you. We didn't want to upset you earlier…"
Jenny didn't wait to hear more. She hopped to her feet and stood on her toes, scanning the area for him. It didn't take her long to locate him. He was lying on the concrete alone, pushed into a far corner of the construction pit. None of the senshi seemed to want to get within ten feet of him. Fighting her uneasiness, Jenny hurried over to him. His eyes were shut, but the instant she approached, his eyes flew open. He looked at her with a flicker of wonder in his eyes before smiling weakly.
"You came. I didn't dare hope you would."
His skin was ashen. There was no more strength in his voice than in a dead leaf struggling to hold onto a branch in a howling wind. Jenny knelt beside him and took his hand. She wanted to feel something, either sadness or hatred, but she was filled with an inner quiet. Instead of remembering how things between them had ultimately ended, she thought about how they began. With his golden eyes fixed on her unblinkingly, Jenny thought of him not as the dark lord he had become but as the friend she had known. The thought of him, the memories of the time they had spent together, brought tears to Jenny's eyes that lingered but would not fall.
"What did you want to tell me?" she asked. She heard his dry laugh in response.
"Look at the sky." Jenny looked. The sky was streaked with silver light that glowed and sparkled, remnants of Sailorathena's power. Jenny frowned suddenly as something clicked. Shouldn't the light be far away at his castle, his dark world? For that matter, how had they found themselves suddenly transported back to Tokyo to an abandoned construction site?
As if sensing her thoughts, Lord Ahriman laughed again. "An illusion," he explained. "Of sorts. We weren't quite in this dimension. Maybe a step and a half over. You dissolved what remained of it with your power." His voice wavered and he shut his eyes for a moment, his breathing becoming heavier and more pained. Jenny reached down and placed a soft hand against his cheek. His skin was as smooth and unmarked as Sera's had been, but clearly damage done to his insides was killing him.
At her touch, his eyelids reopened. Jenny saw a faint flicker of gold, dimmed from the brilliance that it had been. It made her sad somehow, remembering how intense his gaze had been, how beautiful. His eyes opened more fully, and Jenny saw his lips set in a determined line before he spoke again. "Sera cast a spell to fool everyone who knew the real Max Gordon into thinking I was he. I killed him and his father. You can find them beside the Minerva fountain on their grounds. Their deaths were necessary. I needed a real identity if I was going to get close to you. I'm not sorry, for their deaths brought us together."
Jenny's eyes spilled over, not only because of the news that the true Gordons had been murdered, but also because the longing in Lord Ahriman's voice was so deep and pained with what could have been. It caused an aching in her own soul.
He looked again at the sky. The silver light reflected in his golden eyes. "I was so happy today when I thought you had chosen me. I thought my long years of loneliness were finally at an end. But you fooled me. You never wanted to be with me, did you? It was all a trick to free your friends from behind the barrier." He smiled wryly, as if even he thought it had been clever.
"Your mother would have been very proud of you today," he added, his expression becoming soft, almost serene. "I loved her, Queen Celestia. She was as beautiful as you, inside and out. She defended me when no one else would. She gave me a home when everyone else would have banished me into darkness."
Jenny caught his hand and shook her head to silence him. "Don't talk," she ordered. "Don't move. Let me call Saturn and Hestia…" She was cut off by a surprisingly strong grasp from Lord Ahriman's previously lifeless fingers.
"No. It's better this way. Do you really want to revive me so I can destroy you and your friends? Look at my death as a gift to you…my last gift."
"But you wouldn't hurt us. Not now," Jenny protested. Several of her tears as she leaned over him dripped onto his cheek. He smiled, a surprisingly sweet smile for him.
"Wouldn't I? I did before. When your mother and her contemporaries fought against the Darkness so long ago and sealed away my relatives, I was kept in this dimension. Queen Celestia insisted that she would raise me as her own. She believed she could find the good in me. But there was none to discover. I was from the Darkness. It was in my nature. In the end it got the better of me. I loved your mother. I loved her so much, but I killed her when she wouldn't let me have you."
Jenny felt a jolt of shock as his golden eyes glittered up at her. "I could kill you too. Did you think of that?"
Jenny swallowed and forced herself to keep looking at him. "You wouldn't," she said, and it was only after she had spoken that she realized how sure she was of that.
Lord Ahriman sighed. "I wouldn't," he agreed. "Not you. Never you." A sudden shudder came over him and Jenny's eyes widened in alarm. She opened her mouth to call for Hesita and Saturn, but Lord Ahriman stopped her again.
"No. It's better this way, for me to be gone. You can have your life back. Just…just remember me. I don't want to be forgotten."
"I promise." Jenny gave his hands a gentle squeeze. She couldn't forget him if she tried.
Lord Ahriman still looked anxious. "Take my painting. Take it and remember me."
"I will."
He smiled then, a sad, lonely smile that Jenny couldn't return. "I never meant to hurt you."
"I know." Jenny was crying freely by that time. She bent and kissed his lips lightly, wanting him to take that one bit of her into the unknown with him. She heard his little sigh and felt his shuddering breaths still as she did so. When she pulled away, he was looking at her peacefully.
"Just remember…remember that I loved you. I truly loved you, always." With that said, his shudders continued to quiet. His eyelids drooped. Jenny put her arms around him and lay against his chest, not wanting to see his final moments, wanting him to feel her as he left. Images of the past few months floated to her. Max teaching her to dance. Max laughing and posing dramatically as she sketched him. Max listening to her, comforting her when she was upset with Nick. Lord Ahriman looking at her with naked longing in his eyes, a desperate plea for her to come to him, to save him. She remembered how lonely he had looked, how devastated when he realized she was betraying him. She had been his only ray of hope in a cold universe, and now she'd killed him, just like she'd killed Lyyli's twin sister.
The pain was intolerable. Jenny felt a terrible sadness as she leaned on him, pressing her cheek against his chest. Man, demon, monster…whatever he'd been, he had loved her as much as he was capable of loving anyone. She truly believed that.
She felt a tingling underneath her body and lifted her head in surprise to see that Lord Ahriman's still figure was glowing with a strange light. She sat back and wiped her tears as his body started to fade into the light until he was no more. "Rest well," she whispered to him as he disappeared. "Wherever you are. I won't forget you."
Jenny stared at the empty spot where Lord Ahriman had been, tears becoming cold on her cheeks. She heard someone approach and kneel behind her. Arms encircled her, and Jenny automatically leaned back against Nick. He placed his chin on her shoulder and for a few minutes they just sat there together, absorbing, thinking. He had hated Lord Ahriman more than any of them, but he didn't say a word as he held her, sharing her grief. Slowly, the other senshi began to gather around them. Among them was Sailorurania, who smiled broadly at Jenny even through tears still dotted her pale eyelashes.
"I heard my sister's voice," Urania explained, her voice happy. "She told me not to be sad, that she'd always be a part of me. Wherever she is, she's happy. I feel it." Jenny smiled back at her, grateful that Urania was trying to cheer her up, and that she didn't seem to blame her for Sera's death. Jenny wished she could have the same certainty about Lord Ahriman.
"What do we do now?" asked Sailordemeter in a small voice. The senshi looked at her and then turned to look at Jenny. Jenny blinked. It was an interesting question. What did someone do after surviving a war? How did a person go on after killing a beloved friend, even knowing that in doing so she had perhaps saved millions? It was something she would have to live with all the days of her life, a gaping hole in her heart that would never heal.
Jenny's stomach growled suddenly, insistently. She realized that it had been almost 24 hours since she had last eaten. It was a surprising reminder of life, of time moving forward even after everything she had known had changed. "I'm hungry," she said. "Do you think we can find a decent Thai place open at this hour?"
At first the senshi only stared at her, but then several of them laughed. "I think we can manage that," Pluto said.
"Once we get back into our people clothes," Venus added cheerfully. The senshi and the men drifted away to detransform, leaving Jenny on the ground encircled in Nick's arms.
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked.
Jenny disentangled herself from his embrace and turned around to look at him. His eyes were anxious as he looked at her. She caught his hand and smiled at him. "I think so."
A sliver of Nick's smile returned. "Where does this leave us? You still nauseated by me? You want to hit me? Because I'll let you do it if it'll make you feel better. Do you hate me?"
Jenny shook her head, her own smile growing in response to his. "Not for a long time. Not ever. Not really."
"That's the tragic thing about you and me. No matter how much we beat each other up, we can't help begging for more."
"So let's end it here," Jenny said. "I'm game if you are. I think we can be normal people if we try."
"But where's the fun in that?" Nick asked mischievously. His eyes flicked up to the sky, which was still painted silver from the power Jenny had gained and lost. "See ow romantic ze silver twilight eez," he continued in a purposely hideous imitation of a French accent. "You want to kiss me, no?"
"You are such a dick," Jenny said, laughing because she knew Lord Ahriman would appreciate that. Nick clutched his chest dramatically, looking wounded. Almost as abruptly, he dropped his arms and his expression became serious.
"That may be, but I do love you. Every day of my life. For two lifetimes." Jenny started to smile at him until she heard the echo of Lord Ahriman's voice in her mind, speaking similar words.
I love you. I loved you truly, always.
"What is it?" Nick asked when Jenny's smile sank into a frown and she released his hand.
"I can't," she said gently. Seeing surprise and hurt flicker in Nick's eyes, she quickly added, "I don't mean never. Just not right now. It's too soon. Please understand."
Nick's eyes were warm as they filled with comprehension. "I've waited ten thousand years for you already, and I'd wait another ten thousand if it meant being with you."
Jenny grinned at him, feeling scores lighter. She impulsively leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. She jumped to her feet and reached down a hand to help him up. "Come on, then, friend. The others are waiting for us."
As Jenny and Nick rejoined the group, Jenny felt a slim arm move around her waist. She turned to look into Usagi's smiling face. Jenny grinned back before hugging her fiercely. "Come on," Usagi said laughingly as they pulled apart. "Let's go home. You're going to need something to wear if we're going out to eat." She seized Jenny's hand and started pulling her to the ladder their friends were using to climb out of the cement foundation. Jenny was the last to climb. At the top she turned around and looked back to where Lord Ahriman and Sera had lain. She felt the sadness hit her again.
"Goodbye," she whispered to them before turning back to Usagi and attempting a weak smile. She accepted Usagi's hand to help her up the last few rungs of the ladder.
Jenny was walking away when something made her stop. She spun around, heart racing. She had heard a voice, a voice she knew well and loved, whisper her name. But there was no golden-eyed man smiling behind her. She saw only the emptiness of the concrete pit under the night sky stained with silver dust. She sighed and shook her head, knowing she was imagining things. And yet, when she glanced up into the sky, she thought she saw two golden lights shining down from the mass of silver, almost like a pair of eyes. Jenny felt a calm settle into her chest as she looked. She opened her mouth to point out the phenomenon to the others, but before she could say a word, the golden lights disappeared, leaving only the silver twilight as it had been before.
"Something wrong?" Usagi asked with concern. Jenny turned to her, her face alight with happiness.
"No, everything is perfect."
Jenny reached for Usagi's hand, and together they walked down the sidewalk towards home.