Chapter 16

For the first time in so long it is quiet. The shrine never looked so peaceful, but on the inside I know that things are far from calm. The senshi have realized just how severe things are and for once I feel sorry for what has happened. History was going to repeat itself right there and I just couldn't let that happen. It's one thing for me to experience the despair of failing, but the others; I would never wish that on them.

I stand out here with my arms crossed, leaning on the archway that is home to Phobos and Deimos. They watch my every move no matter how subtle it may be. Nephrite is inside talking with Endymion and Pluto. What happens next will be crucial, but there's something I want to do that won't go over well with the others. I've made a decision on a plan of action.

The door slides open revealing my younger self followed by Mina. They both walk towards me with their hands hanging loosely at their side.

I push off the archway. "So what's happening?"

Mina sighs. "Amy and Michelle are monitoring Serena. She doesn't seem to remember what happened earlier."

I nod. "That doesn't surprise me."

My younger self pauses. "Trista and Nephrite are discussing our next move with Darien."

"You mean, Endymion."

"Yeah."

Mina looks at me. "Why are you the only one that came back to the past? It doesn't make sense."

I turn. "The others are protecting Neo-Queen Serenity."

She nods. "But you weren't with them?"

"That's right."

My younger self steps forward. "Can we defeat the Black Moon Clan?"

I shake my head. "No." Mina goes to speak, but I raise my hand. "At least, not in this time, and not with everyone here."

My younger self senses my shift in tone. "What do you mean?"

I smile. "Mina, I want you to know that I will always trust you above everyone else, no matter what happens."

She looks to the two of us. "What are you saying?"

I sigh. "I care for Nephrite in a way that I had thought would have been impossible given everything that has happened, Endymion will always be a treasured friend, and Pluto... I know that she understands more than anyone else ever will. That is why I am going to Nemesis by myself."

Mina motions to protest but stops as my younger self steps between her and I. "I think I understand."

The princess of Venus shakes her head. "No way. That's suicide."

I nod. "It will spare lives."

"No."

My younger self puts her hand on Mina's shoulder. "Mina, please."

She turns to her. "You're asking me to condone your death."

"No, I'm asking you to trust me like I will always trust you."

I step back. "She's right."

Mina turns away. "You're both stupid, you know that?" My younger self goes to comfort her, but I hold her back. "But... I know that there's no stopping you when your mind is made up."

No one says anything for several moments. I look up at the sun and remember seeing it all those years ago with a dark aura on its surface. That's when I look to Mina. "Please express my thanks to Pluto, and don't be offended if she snaps at you." Then I turn to my younger self. "And, I would be grateful if you could tell Nephrite... that I'm happy we could make up for some of the time we lost. It'll mean more coming from you than anyone else."

There is only silence as I start my walk through the archway and down the shrine steps. My younger self just watches with Mina at her side. The air grows cold, but it doesn't matter because a storm will be coming very soon.

I have been walking the streets of Tokyo for many hours now, waiting and looking for one person. I can always sense the dark energy when I'm near. Down an alley with her back against a brick wall sits Emerald, but she is only a shadow of who she used to be. Gone is her confidence and in its place, a frail woman with her hands dirtied by the grime of battle.

"What do you want? Haven't you humiliated me enough?"

I step forward. "You need to come with me?"

She shakes her head. "And why would I do that?"

I hold out her earrings. "Because I'm going to Nemesis and I think you have unfinished business there."

"You should just kill me."

I sigh. "No, not when I see how much you're hurting."

She slowly brings herself to stand. "You'll be walking to your death."

I shake my head. "Maybe, but I'll take the planet with me. I know you're holding a grudge against Wiseman, I can see it in your eyes."

"Are you asking for my help?"

I sigh. "Yes."

She laughs and I do nothing. "The Jovian Queen, last in the royal bloodline of Jupiter, and former general of the Lunar armies is asking for my help?"

I nod. "I already said yes."

"How do you know that I won't kill you when your back is turned?"

"I don't."

She turns away and looks up at the sky. "Wiseman spoke highly of you as a woman without boundaries. Was he right?"

I smile. "There is nothing that I won't do if the results are the lives of my people. Can you say the same?"

She shakes her head. "No, I can't."

I turn. "I'm going to kill him and end this eternal struggle. You know Nemesis. I want to destroy it."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Is there something I need to know?"

She nods. "Oh yes. There certainly is."

If anyone told me that I would be willingly standing side by side with Emerald, I would have hit them. She still looks like a shadow of the person I remember. If we had walked down the street I probably wouldn't have recognized her. Her dark aura is almost non-existent now.

I close my eyes and place an earring in her hand. "You're sure about this?"

She nods. "Positive."

And just like that the two of us crush the dark crystals in out hands. I can feel the surge of energy. It burns a little less than Raye's flames. Emerald fades first and I second. The air grows thin and my surroundings change until there is nothing but darkness. Wherever I am, looks like a black version of the crystal palace.

"This way." Emerald heads down the hall to the right.

Sparks dance around my body as I run after her. That's when I hear voices. I recognize one as Sapphire's. Emerald reaches back, ball of energy forming in her hand, and throws her attack forward. Someone cries out, but my attention is solely on Sapphire who reacts slowly to the madwoman charging in his direction. I'm not sure if he even sees me, because he staggers back from a similar burst of energy before I can get close enough to strike.

I look at the two men slumped on the ground. "You left them alive?"

She nods. "They're not the one's who've wronged me."

Claps, that is what I hear behind me. I turn in time to see Prince Diamond leaning against the wall with his sword at his side. "Bravo. I must admit that I didn't expect you to be so forward, Jupiter."

I smile. "Sometimes the direct approach is the most effective."

He shrugs. "In this case, perhaps, but not always. What did you intend to accomplish? You can't take on a planet by yourself."

I nod. "I agree."

He raises a brow. "Oh?"

"It was never my intention of taking on an entire planet. You once tried to negotiate with me. I'll admit that I was stubborn and let my pride get the best of the situation, but that doesn't mean that we can't talk now."

He pushes off the wall. "Wiseman isn't here so any tricks that you might have would be futile."

"This isn't about Wiseman. It is about what is good for these people."

He laughs. "And what do you know about what is good for these people? We are outcasts left to rot on a dying rock while the rest of the universe lives a life of decadence. I will not yield for anyone."

I nod. "Nor should you, but fighting this war won't change the past."

"But it will build a future."

I shake my head. "A future built on blood. My planet lived that way for years-"

He steps forward. "Mine never had the chance to live? You think you know me?"

I clench my fists. "And do you think you know me?"

"How can I trust someone who swore to destroy this planet and its many people?"

I turn slightly. "I will admit that earlier I had every intention of killing everything on this rock, but the circumstances have changed."

"Have they?"

I bow my head. "I know that you recognize that this can be done a different way. Whether you realize it or not, Diamond, we have met before. I was younger than the girl you saw in this time and I was certainly younger than I am now. You watched your brother die at the hands of Wiseman and I think that's the only time I ever saw you cry."

He smiles. "This emotional game you're playing isn't going to work."

"I don't play games with people's emotions. What I'm offering now is simple; peace between you and Crystal Tokyo in exchange for asylum on Earth. That's what you wanted, isn't it? It will be a home close to the sun. The bloodshed can stop here with the two of us."

It seems that even Emerald is speechless. She looks to her Prince. "Diamond?"

He steps forward. "Are you trying to insult me?"

I sigh. "I'm not very good at being diplomatic, but I do understand how a monarch must put their people before themselves. If I have offended you then I apologize. It was not my intention."

He turns. "How can I trust someone who represents those that cast us out? I've wanted the fall of Crystal Tokyo for so long."

"But you are destroying the very planet you wished to give to your people. This way it can still be beautiful for them."

"What you're offering us seems too good to be true. Do you speak for Neo-Queen Serenity herself?"

I nod. "Neo-Queen Serenity represents the peace of this galaxy. I know that she would want this to end without bloodshed. I will make her listen if necessary."

Without warning, Emerald screams. I see the energy break through her torso just mere moments before her body hits the ground. I draw both swords.

Diamond steps back in confusion. "Wiseman?"

There he stands, sword in hand, with a look of pure darkness in his eyes. "Prince Diamond, certainly you aren't falling for this desperate plea. She only speaks this way because she knows that she's lost."

I laugh. "Jovians have not lost until death claims their souls."

He nods. "I can oblige."

Diamond steps forward. "Wait."

Wiseman turns. "My prince, she will kill you the first chance she gets. Allow me to finish her."

I let the lightning spark into my swords. "If I wanted to kill him then I would have done it when he first showed his face to me."

"You think you're so strong don't you, Makoto? It would be wise for you to remember who had beaten you to an inch of your life."

I draw my swords and turn my attention to Diamond. "He is a murderer. The evidence is right in front of you. If you can't see that then you're more naive than Serenity."

Wiseman lunges just like I knew he would. When our blades meet, sparks of both lightning and dark energy hit the ground. His hood falls and I find myself face to face with an enemy older than any other senshi has fought before. I never realized it, but the man in front of me has a soul that I'm not sure even Hotaru could read. His hatred runs deep.

I can feel the force behind each of his strikes, but he forgets that what I fight for means more than anything else in this world. "I don't think you realize how much I pity you."

He smiles. "It doesn't matter."

Diamond kneels down next to Emerald's body. "Wiseman, stop."

Wiseman turns, but instead of saying anything he hits Diamond with a bolt of energy. I react by kicking him into the wall, but it's too late; Diamond doesn't move. When Wiseman stands, he wipes the blood from the corner of his mouth and laughs. "This is just a game, Makoto. No need to get emotionally invested."

I lunge forward, but he disappears before my strike reaches him. "Damn it."

He laughs and appears behind me. "Where have you left my dagger? This battle is no fun without it."

Nephrite has it. I remember him pulling the blade from my side. I look at Diamond's face. His eyes rest wide open, but his body holds no life. "You turn on your own people. I can't forgive that."

"You don't have to. When the new world comes and I kill every last one of you senshi, then I will be free to accomplish the destiny that you took from me."

I flick lightning off the end of my blades. "This is a planet of people-"

"That mean nothing to me. Now come at me, Jupiter. I have a surprise for you."

Our blades meet over and over again. The target is clear and my objective is set, but this battle is far from over. Our movements mirror each other like we've known one another for centuries. I remember our first fight on the very steps of my parents' final resting place. He scarred me that day and in exchange I took his life. Now will be no different.

He backs away and summons a ball of dark energy. "I grow tired of the past. How about we return to the future and leave this pitiful world behind us?"

I watch as he throws the energy into the machine behind him. The ground starts to shake and I find myself struggling to keep my balance. The madness in this man's eyes is uncanny. "What are you-"

Gravity seems to give way, forcing me to my knees. He steps forward. "This is what you wanted to accomplish, right? The temporal generator is destroyed. There's no evidence that we were in the past. Time will fold and repair itself. I only hope that those that came with us left before I did that." He smiles. "I find it a shame though. Just like before, the others won't understand when you come back. Serenity won't even recall how you saved her from that pitiful attempt at suicide. This life is cruel isn't it?"

My weapons feel like cinder blocks in my hands. I struggle to sheath them. "Stop talking and come at me."

He raises a brow. "Oh? You discard the use of your weapons so quickly?"

I push myself to stand. "I want to feel your flesh burn in my hands."

Wiseman goes to speak, but stops as a blade emerges through his chest. It's Diamond's sword. The weapon is pulled out and Wiseman falls to his knees.

My eyes widen at the scene in front of me. "Sapphire?"

He raises his sword to finish the man in front of him, but in that split second Wiseman disappears. He turns and presses several buttons on the consul to his left. Just like that I feel ten times lighter.

Sapphire holds his side and drops the sword to the ground. "Are you really our enemy, Queen of Jupiter?"

"Not anymore."

I run as he falls to his knees and catch him before he hits the ground. He breathes, but I can't say the same for Emerald or Diamond. In that moment I support his weight onto my shoulder and head down the hall to my left. Sapphire is lighter than I thought he would be. I stop only as I realize that there are tears running down my armor. My eyes are dry. I have shed many a tear for others in the past, but this is different. Though I can feel the sadness, I don't know what to say to it.

Sapphire turns to me. "We just wanted a home."

Tears never felt heavier than in that moment.