regular disclaimer i do not own sailor moon just my OCs and altered characters as well as shared creations
Thank you sailor silver ladybug for writing the majority of this chapter warning I CRIED A LOT
playlist for chapter
Broken dreams youtube- beautiful emotional music mix ethereal dramatic orchestral music
please listen as you are reading it adds more emotion to the chapter
Chapter 5
Four men opened their eyes ready to kill, they looked like shadows of the men they once were. They had once had friends and been in love with a girl; each did not know its caress, did not want to even feel the touch of the women they had once loved. Their bright eyes now with a gray tint to them they had lost their spark, their innocence, their prince.
Queen Metallia laughed maniacally. It had taken her weeks, months, but they were broken, so broken they didn't care who they killed. First, she would send them to their old kingdoms to gain reinforcements and kill any who stood in their way. The sun would not rise anymore and then they would go to the moon to take it over and destroy their former loves. For then she would temporarily lift the mind control and they would go insane seeing their wives and what would be their future second home in flames. And they would kill themselves
The wretched shining queen and her daughter finally would die and then she would move on to Kinmoku and beyond until every kingdom in the universe was in darkness. Then she would show her true form and show she was the only true queen of the universe.
"Go," she whispered into their minds and in a flash of light all four men disappeared now to break the last of Beryl's spirit and then her brother, yes so far everything was going to plan
On the moon
"Master Kenji," the blades master, immediately stopped cleaning his swords that had got muddy while he was training his soldiers.
"Queen, why are you out at this late hour?" the man asked.
"Kenji, it is imperative I ask you this. We need to step up the training of my daughter and her senshi. Hestia made a bit of a discovery earlier and the forcefield must be activated." Kenji was confused, then he made a sound of realisation.
"All of them?" he asked?
Serenity nodded, "apart from Hotaru, I said to their parents we would wait until rebirth to tell them, but then I remembered the shield. It might encourage them to fight harder when the time comes knowing they have something to fight for, especially the inner Senshi."
"Queen they are seventeen, eighteen and nineteen years old the forcefield would drain them." he said. He understood his friends' reasoning but they were still so young it almost was unfair. He wanted to weep.
The queen held his face in her hands and he struggled to maintain eye contact with her. She looked broken and almost defeated "Kenji, both Serenity and Tsukiyomi will be entrusted to you in the next life, I want you to love her as myself and Pontus would have if life was to remain the same."
"What about Tranquility?" the queen had already faced heartbreak once in the face of death
Tears slid down her cheeks, "he will be reborn to you," she removed one hand from his face and placed her hand on Ikukos face. "and so will Amaya," she added, her voice hardly more than a whisper, and yet resonating in his skull with the force of an oath bound to the soul.
"I cannot promise your life will be free of pain," she added, a touch of knowing in her gentle voice.
Kenji nodded silently, unable to speak through the mix of joy and pain.
D point
Metallia laughed a dark menacing laugh even now when they had no hope left both Beryl and Agate shuddered as they knelt at her mass.
So many of earths people were either dead or enslaved the shittenou had already gone to the moon to dispatch the wretched senshi if they didn't succeed this time she would push more darkness into them and then they would die as well.
With the Princess
Minako stood at the window staring at the Maboroshi tree in the courtyard. Pages and apprentices scurried through the courtyard, carrying weapons and armour for the collected warriors who had come in defence of the Silver Queen, but her eye was drawn to the tree. Master Kenji had given Minako her very first practice blade under the shade of its silver leaves and pink flowers.
Multiple battalions, from every colony, as well as the dream protectors, all of them, willing to give their life in defence of the silver queen. In agitation unseen to Minako's burning eyes they shifted. She saw without seeing the animals the sprites and the dragons, the gods and goddesses and guardians of the Earth who had come to join them.
And yet, Minako could sense the presence of something unnatural. Someone hiding from her. Someone connected to her with a bond so strong that even the miasma of evil cloaking him could not hide the pull of his soul upon her own. Eyes locked on the tiny pink flowers which always dotted the tree when a princess was in residence, Minako took a deep breath. Her princess came before even her soul mate.
Her hand moved to the hilt of the Holy Sword. She would protect her princess with her last breath. But fate was coming for Minako. Memory pulled her along as though she flowed in the river of time that her dear friend Setsuna was the keeper of. She could remember her first glimpse of the holy sword. The silver hilt and sheath had glimmered at her mother's waist since Minako's infancy, and before she had learned to walk, she had known the burden of it would fall to her.
More than that, she remembered when her mother had slipped the sword into the pedestal before the eyes of the moon kingdom, and had declared it was time for her daughter to take it up. Minako had not been ready. Or, to be more accurate, she'd not believed she was ready. A pained smile flashed across her lips before she forced herself back to stillness.
It had been Kunzite who'd helped her realize she was ready for the massive responsibility. Eyes locked on the tree, Minako sunk away from human sight and into that day, not too long before, when she'd finally taken up the sword.
She had worried herself into exhaustion wondering if she was ready. Before the end she had fallen asleep on a courtyard bench, staring at the sword, and woken cold and feverish with an angry Kunzite glaring down at her.
"If you aren't ready for the responsibility, you should just say so," he'd said, sans the normal persuasive darkness to his voice. His censure had made Minako angry and they'd begun to argue. She couldn't remember most of what she'd said, but during her rant, she had walked up and unthinkingly grabbed the sword, immediately challenging Kunzite, which had ended in both of them needing medical help and laughing about it later.
"You are the most insufferable man ever!" she said standing near the tree. Master Kenji, as much as she had loved him like an uncle, was unsympathetic to her reasons for fighting her soulmate as she did.
"But you love me," Kunzite grinned unrepentantly.
"That's no excuse," she huffed at him.
He laughed out loud.
Minako was the only one that could get the stoic man to more than upturn his lips to more than a smirk
Master Kenji, amused though he'd tried to hide it, had set them both to an entire night standing in the courtyard without sleep. The result had been a deeper relationship with Kunzite, and sore feet, hips and back. They had not been excused from their duties the following day either.
A snort of laughter broke from Minako's lips, immediately followed by a sob of agony for all she had lost.
In the Shadows
Kunzite watched the young blonde standing on the balcony, rage broiling through his nervous system. He could sense something about his target. Something that pulled at him, taught as a rope around the waist of someone rescued from a pit. It yanked at him like an anchor tied to his soul. The more it pulled at him, the higher his fury built until he was positively quivering with it.
She was controlling him, somehow. He couldn't help but hate it, almost as much as he hated the one who bound him, though not as much as he hated himself.
Soon he would strike. Soon the moon kingdom would fall and the entrancing woman would meet his blade.
Haruka's POV
Her leader counterpart and her best friend looked so broken. The prophecy to be fulfilled was going to separate them for a time, she had remembered the day they had been made leaders of the senshi following in their mothers' footsteps and although she was that little bit younger she had felt a kindred spirit in the little blonde even back then
Flashback
Two little girls were sat in the hallway with their mothers waiting to go into the office of the high queen. Princess Haruka had recognized the girl, they had played a few times together when their mothers Ninlil and Aphrodite were in a meeting with the other Senshi and the queen. But today the little girl seemed quiet and serious. "Haruka, why don't you see if Mina is okay?" Mommy had said.
Haruka nodded and her mother lifted her down off the big chairs noticing that Aphrodite was doing the same to Minako. "Are you okay, Mina?" the four-year-old asked.
The three-year-old nodded but her eyes looked doubtful. "The princess is going to be born soon" was all she had said and Haruka felt fear for the first time in a long time since mommy had saved her from her real mother, Haruka no longer recognized Hera as her mother but Hestia and Ninlil as mommy and mama and Ares as Papa.
She looked around again. Where were the other princesses? Why was it just her and Minako here? where were her sisters? She had lots of questions and she didn't know whether she would like the answers to any of them.
"We will be okay Mina. We always are okay" she said taking her hand her own voice even sounded unsure.
"I hope so 'Ruka, but I want you to be my best friend."
Haruka nodded "Okay."
The two looked up as Queen Serenity opened the door. "Ninlil, Aphrodite, Minako and Haruka, you may come in now." the four followed her into the office and saw Pontus sitting at his desk. This was serious Haruka knew and so did her three-year-old best friend.
"We have summoned you today because we have had to name leaders, while it was not the decision that wanted to be made. it was by far the easiest. Haruka and Minako have both shown great potential to be leaders of the Senshi." Queen Serenity had said
"But we are in a time of peace" Aphrodite said
The queen nodded her agreement "I know my dear cousin, but the blue crystal" she said looking at her husband "has sensed the change, I do not know when but the oracles of both earth and moon will speak soon and we will have to prepare. Haruka and Minako as the named leaders charged with the senshi will have to begin training as soon as possible."
"Is that why you called us here today queen?" Ninlil asked
The queen nodded "I will soon fall pregnant with my daughter, she will catch up to the girls in a short space of time so they are almost the same age, only months between them."
"Will I still see my sisters?" Haruka didn't want to be parted from them for such a long time?
The queen smiled "they will all be on the moon soon enough dear Haruka"
Haruka nodded, "then I want to share a room with Minako." the adults agreed the two leaders would share a room and would do so for the foreseeable future.
End flashback
Haruka came back to herself and saw a lone shadow approaching her best friend before she could shout warning Minako turned around her eyes widened and teleported away from the lone shadow that had the shape of her former love Haruka could only release the breath she did not realize she was holding and hope that Minako made it to the queen in time.
With Minako
The Venusian Senshi landed in the queen's office; after seeing the tears on Minako's cheeks, the queen had wondered what was wrong. "K, K, Kunzite he is not dead but his soul is broken by darkness. My Kunzite is dead, the one that I saw is not him, only a shell." The tears started coming hot and large. Aphrodite rushed in and took her daughter in her arms and let her cry. The young venusian had been strong for long enough. Now she needed to rest.
Ami
Ami felt a strange sort of peace being at the waters of Tranquility. It was not the sort of water that was on her home planet of Mercury, which was rivers, lakes and streams. Small compared to the vast ocean of Tranquility. Human sight drifted and Ami went into memory.
Flashback
"Zoisite," she had gasped as he kissed her neck while they swam in the water.
"Hmm," he responded. Ami's breath hitched.
"We should, we should make copies of our planets. I read something similar that the first warriors had done the same after a similar prophecy to the one we are facing now."
Zoisite nodded, "that's right, they made an ark. I think the first Mercury called it a catalogue but I completely agree. Then, one day, in the future we will revive the planets," he assured her.
"Could we find something in the archive?" Ami asked, worry filtering through her.
"Maybe Tsukiyomi will know something," her soulmate answered. "He hasn't fully taken on the responsibilities yet, but I've seen him studying. Perhaps he has an idea."
"I don't know," Ami answered, leaning heavily against him. "I feel pulled."
"Your mother," Zo suggested next, wishing he had a better answer.
Ami shook her head, and Zoicite sighed in frustration. "Then let's go look in the books of the Mercurial Senshi," he said at last.
The blue haired girl nodded. "But before then." she said with a catlike grin, turning back to her Soulmate.
End flashback
Ami came back to herself with tears rolling down her cheeks. They had indeed made the ark, and only days later, had her soulmate been taken from her and her friend's soulmates were taken as well.
Although he felt deep in his bones that he hated the blue-haired witch, Zoisite's heart tugged as he saw the girl cry. Had he caused that pain? His heart was warring with his body and mind. His mind and body wanted to pounce and kill her and dump her body in front of the mass that had filled him with so much rage and hate but his heart screamed, "She is your soulmate! She loves you, do not betray her!"
Ami turned around when she felt the tug of her soulmate, her blue eyes widened at the site of his green eyes glaring at her brandishing a sword that he would likely kill with if she made one wrong move.
"Ami," her cousin's call stopped her from moving toward Zoisite. She shook her head, first, she had to tell her Senshi sisters, and then she would meet her end. But she would fight until her breath was taken from her body. She teleported to the office of the queen.
"They are not dead," she said.
"No, their souls are just twisted by evil," Minako replied in a defeated voice very unlike the perky Venusian.
Michiru POV
Michiru released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Her little cousin had been about to meet her death had she not called out to her.
"You will bring your own doom," she forewarned the man and then had teleported just like the other witch that had been close by until she had said her name. Her eyes burned with pain for what had been done to the men. The pain the other Senshi were feeling echoed back to her. They were all connected, and she knew deep in her bones the end was coming.
As she approached the queen's chambers Haruka stepped out to meet her. Her eyes were red-rimmed. Michiru knew, without a word spoken, what ailed her Bonded.
"Minako's seen him then?" She asked, reaching out to grab Haruka's hand. Their fingers met, held, and clenched together tightly, bringing sharp pain to both of them. Their eyes locked and Michiru stepped up onto the tips of her toes to brush her lips across those of her partner, lover, and best friend. Tears threatened to fall. Her heart broke as she realized this would be their last moment alone in this life. It would be the last time she kissed these lips, coated in moonberry wine. It would be the last time she touched the soft cheek, or felt the feathery hair on her fingertips. She would never get to speak these words again. "I love you, my mate."
Haruka sobbed once, then visibly steeled herself before pulling Michiru close and burying her face in the soft neck she loved to kiss. "I love you too, my little Neptunia," She said, wishing she had some of the bright blue flowers to give to her mate.
"You understand what they must do?"
Haruka nodded. "My sisters," she gasped. As much as she loved her bonded, and her Senshi sisters, Rei and Makoto were her sisters by blood and adoption.
"Have yet to face them," Michiru replied.
"But the time will come, and it will be over a millennium before we meet again. I may not be the same person, I may not even be related to Makoto in our next life, and mother already despairs for us. Why I do not know, answers only known to our parents and Setsu."
Haruka's POV
Haruka watched her soulmate rush away to find her sisters. She had already seen Makoto and the others, but she had a mission of her own, known only to the queen. She hurried to the libraries, where the portal to Tsukiyomi's scrolls lay hidden. Her every footstep away from her wife burned her with physical pain. She knew Michiru needed her, but she knew this task was far too important to ignore.
Her heart thudded heavily. She had never known there was another secret hidden in the library. What else might she have missed? Michiru loved the library, and so the Senshi had often found herself there. She wasn't as literary minded as her mate, which was how she knew the entrance to the Chambers of the Keeper of the Chronicles lay hidden.
Hidden within her subspace pocket lay a treasure Haruka could never lay a price too. They were the scrolls containing the journals and reports of the Senshi of the past two years. They included scrolls Haruka never knew existed. How had she not known the queen and princess chronicled their daily lives, their battles, and all of their decisions, including why and how they had made them. And there were others. Books from Earth containing a thousand years of their history.
She had made a realization, In the future their memories would also be kept in these walls hidden in books in only languages they would understand. When they had started getting memories of a life that was seemingly impossible, Haruka couldn't have guessed the role she would play in creating it.
The queen had given her a crystal with a sad smile and had explained it would help her reach the only person left in the Dark Moon Kingdom. "Only she can open this door," Queen Serenity had explained. "And only you can reach her.
"Who is she?" Haruka had been shocked. The Queen's sister had brought every person in her armies weeks before. All their Children were in stasis pods, just as the children of the Silver Moon Kingdom were.
"She is the Senshi of Space."
"What?" The word had come out a strangled croak, which had drawn the eyes of others in the room. The Queen's flicked fingers held them back.
"She has no human form," the Queen whispered. "She sacrificed it long ago in the fight to hold the realities together."
Haruka had millions of questions, but before she could ask the queen had gone on. "Go into the throne room. On the panel with the history of the Moon Kingdom, find the panel with the Senshi's foundation of their own kingdoms. On Jupiter, press slightly and you will open a door. Collect everything into your subspace pocket.
"Then you must gather the scrolls of the Mau ambassadors from this very room, without notice, before going to the library to collect the Scrolls Serenity and I have made for the past few years.
"Next go to the throne room on the Dark side and on their panel of history, press the Bond of Sisterhood panel when the first Dark sister brought balance to the light and helped her find her anger. Because your mother has Dark Moon queen ancestry on her father's side, you can open the panel."
"There you will find the Dark crystal. A twin to mine. With these Crystals, you must go to the dark moon tree. Under his branches whisper "sister light and sister dark understand balance and loving spark. One who is both and clearly sees can enter in and speak to She, who protects each world, each path that be, from Shadow and Calamity."
Haruka had been breathing so heavily she felt faint, but she listened raptly as the queen continued.
"You must hide all of these things with Celeste, our oldest ancestor." The Queen swallowed hard, reached out her hand, and gave Haruka one last item. "This belonged to the mother of Queen Serenity the first. Her name was Celeste, and she gave up her human life to save every world from destruction. One day this must go to serenity. But not for many, many years. Not until her Children are grown and her hair has lost its shine. Then she will know what to do,"
Haruka swallowed again, remembering.
She had taken a few moments to say goodbye to the others. Though she knew her fate was to die among them, Haruka would never have a chance to speak to any of her friends again. "Sacrifices must be willing," she uttered. It was among the first laws of the Senshi. No one could be forced into a situation that would mean their death. But as Senshi, the Sacrifice was who they were, at their core.
She remembered when Queen Serenity had spoken those words to herself and to Minako, in the comfort of her sitting room. They were the destined leaders of the Inner and Outer Senshi, and could be required to take on even more sacrifices than others. (Minako would have to do the one thing she had been trained never to do. Let her princess go into battle unprotected by her bodyguard and double And Haruka would have to miss some of the battle, and experience the death of her soulmate. She had always adored the Queen, who loved giving cuddles, even to naughty girls who didn't do their lessons and fell out of trees. She smiled sadly at the memory, shook herself, and continued on her mission.
Tsukiyomi's POV
Hotaru was curled into him, her fingernails digging desperately into his shoulders. "Don't go ," She whispered.
"I have to."
She nodded, but didn't let go. As gently as he could, Tsukiyomi moved his arms between them and pressed down on her inner elbow, weakening her grip.
"You have your duty, and I have mine," he said sadly. He pressed his lips against hers. "I love you. I've always loved you. Since my first breath. I'll find you in the next life. I'll always find you."
His brave warrior kissed him, hard, then backed away, tears coursing down her pale cheeks. "Goodbye, my love," She spoke softly, turned, and ran, her fuku forming a few steps later.
As he passed the library he saw Haruka hurry in. He could only imagine what her task was. His mission was to die. But to take something as he did so. He walked to the fountain that held his father's last resting place, and waited for Kunzite to appear.
Umino had been very clear. If Shingo didn't clutch the Knife as he died, Kunzite wouldn't leave it behind. If Kunzite had the Knife, the poison would kill Minako within a single pump of her heart. She had one last mission to accomplish. She must utter her last words, or all would be lost.
Hotaru burst into tears, even as she henshined. She must retrieve the glaive from her mother and then she was to watch, and wait for the moment. She must watch them all die. It was the worst fate imaginable to know the hour and manner of her death. She wished all of them could have lived long and happy lives, but barring that, she wished she'd never demanded to know her fate.