Authors notes- Well don't get me wrong this story has been such an emotional journey for me, I've never really written pure romance/ tragedy without a happy ending. There's been stuff in drafts and things I have wanted to write as a stand-alone or a series, but I have never gone as deep as this. My co-writer has been an absolute diamond with this piece and it's sequel (moonlight romance reloaded) plus my many other stories, she's been absolutely itching to hammer a keyboard but her stories are drawing blanks so I'm going to have a look at them when this project comes to an end please be on the lookout for them and sailor silver ladybug if I don't tell you enough in chat YOU ARE A SUPERSTAR.

Anyways ramblings finished on paper (which SSL hasn't seen yet muwhahaha) chapter seven will likely be the penultimate chapter with a means to an end (my heart is breaking) and then a small epilogue to wrap it up and file away. Anyways it's early am here in the UK. So I am going to publish this and then sleep is calling my name.

Co-author notes- I don't know about any of you, but I've always had questions about the Silver Millennium. Astraearose answers them with beautiful, poignant scenes and imaginative glimpses into a completely real world. Love this chapter, this story, and this series!

Chapter 6

The heels of black boots clicked across the marble hall floor. It started as a slow walk, but as the wearer of the boots met the eyes of her soulmate the slow walk became a run and she was lifted by her love. "Lugh," she gasped.

Lugh kissed her hard, bruising her lips. "Setsuna!"

"I'm going to say goodbye to the Senshi." She paused for a moment. "I am not ready to die."

"I'm not ready either my love, but it is the last time I will hold this body," he squeezed her tighter. "The last time I will look into these eyes," they gazed into each other's eyes. "And the last time I will kiss these lips." They kissed and then Lugh put his forehead against his wife's, wishing he could draw the moment into eternity.

"The pups," she suddenly realized. Herself, Lugh, Hotaru and Tsukiyomi had recently gotten their own guardians but they were still so young.

"Are already in stasis. Queen Serenity said they were too young to fight," he tried to assure her.

Setsuna nodded and took his hands into her much smaller ones. "I love you my Sun," she whispered.

"And I love you, my keeper of time" He replied. Their final kiss was gentle but was salty through her tears. "My Everything," he added, his voice cracking.

"Our duty is our lives before hers," she said, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

Lugh nodded. "As mine is to die before you," he said, kissing her hands. As he stood to leave his wife; to meet his fate, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Makoto heading towards the gardens. "Shadow her," he said. Umino's warnings in mind.

Setsuna nodded that she would watch over the brunette. It was not her time yet and he would be waiting just as the two men beforehand had.

"I love you," she whispered and then went to follow her Senshi sister.

As much as he wanted to follow his wife, Lugh had his own duty to attend before he met his fate: the lists of life and the sun scepter had to be hidden away.

Makoto POV

Queen Serenity had wanted to keep them all together until the final moments before battle, but each of them had been given one last task to accomplish. Makoto's was to give spark to a shield that would hold the enemy back. She was very proud of it, having worked tirelessly on the project with Ami and several others. None of the Shitennou had been told. She prayed it remained a secret.

As she left the castle to cross the gardens outside the family quarters, a whisper of sound Made her shift her stance, narrowly avoiding the blade which would have torn into her chest. She didn't know how Nephrite had gotten so far, so fast.

Blade rising to counter his second strike, Makoto slipped out her dagger and slashed at the underside of his sword arm. She dared not meet his eyes, though it put her at a disadvantage. She could feel the taint of Metalia's evil staining him, and knew she could not save him. Not in this life.

But she couldn't let him kill her just yet. Taking the opportunity his distraction presented, she sliced at his hamstring, then turned and ran.

Her eyes burned as she ran, it was a scar he would likely carry over to his next life she had cut that deep. She had felt bad that she had scarred him for his rebirth in the future but she needed to do her task before the end came to pass.

Nephrite POV

The one that bound him, the one he hated with all of his being, had wounded him, how dare she?! Nephrite growled as his prey ran away. He caught a glance of her ponytail as she ran and the hair tie holding it all back stirred something deep inside him.

Flashback

A girl in a fuku stood in front of him as he corrected her stance but he lingered in places that only a lover would know. "Makoto, if you want to fight with more than magic you are going to have to listen."

She kissed him on the nose, "but I like teasing," she murmured, her long curls being caressed by the breeze.

"Second, you are going to have to keep that hair out your face," he said as he kissed her back.

"But Rei, Mina, Michiru and 'Taru have their hair down, we are princesses, Nephrite." her green eyes flashed.

"I know, but their hair is tameable and yours is beautiful. Hair this curly should be pulled back. It would show your beautiful face more," he replied, opening a box. "This is from my homelands. They call it a hair tie or a bobble. I had it made with you in mind, the two green pearls represent our bond."

"It's beautiful Neph,' thank you," she sat down in front of him and he expertly put her hair in a high ponytail with one length of hair at either side to frame her face.

"Perfect," he said. They kissed each other with all the love they had for each other and training was forgotten for the rest of the night.

End Flashback

Nephrite came back to himself. "Makoto," he whispered. But before he could run after her to apologize another sharp pain went through him and he howled in pain.

Queen Serenity POV

Serenity looked around herself at her best friends. She had known them all her life. Long before she had taken the throne herself, these women had known her. The true Serenity. The one behind the crown, or the tiara.

"My friends," She whispered, reaching out blindly as tears burst forth.

"We are with you," Athena whispered, wrapping an arm around her. " We love you." she added, squeezing tightly around her waist.

"We are prepared," Aphrodite whispered.

The others nodded in agreement. They followed their leader into one last battle with pride, love, devotion, and hope. Hope because the silver Crystal could return their children to life. So many depended on the Wish.

A great howl of pain tore through the night. "Nephrite," Serenity breathed. "It has begun."

In the Shadows

Master Kenji was not about to leave the Princess unprotected. He and Ikuko had remained close to her, even as her warriors had been sent away on tasks to preserve the future. The younger Serenity was pacing the floor of the Queen's chamber, biting her lip again. Kuko would scold her for it later, he was sure. Or, actually, she wouldn't. There would be no 'later.' This was it, their last moment alone.

He remained in the shadows, watching and waiting, though he longed to comfort the girl he had loved since her childhood. He loved her as a daughter and would fight to protect her.

Ikuko suddenly shifted and Kenji realized he could hear footsteps approaching. Two men, wearing boots from Earth. Serenity, whose hearing was even stronger than his, suddenly smiled and her shoulders relaxed. "That's Endymion, and his friend Motoki."

Endymion held something precious in his hands, something that would give his love her first best friend and the Senshi of the earth return to her rightful place as Serenity's guardian as she should have done had she and their mother not passed to the next life many years ago. "Avani," his wife whispered.

Endymion nodded although his face was solemn. "Most of the earth is gone, it will not be long before Metallia is here. Is everything prepared?"

"Almost," his wife whispered as she looked unseeing into the distance.

Rei POV

The shrine of the moon had always been a place of solace and reflection for Rei after she had left Mars to become Serenity's fire senshi. She was stupid; she knew she shouldn't be here alone. After all, her three best friends had encountered shadows of their soulmates and had almost caught their deaths early.

Jadeite could easily walk in and kill her with his sword. But she had a task to send an ember of the sacred fire of the moon down to earth so it would be blazing and knowledgeable by the time her and her grandfather were reborn.

She had removed the phoenix necklace that Jadeite had given her. "I love you," she whispered. Human sight drifted and faded into memory

Flashback

Jadeite didn't like the feeling he had in the pit of his stomach as he watched his wife sleep. He just had a terrible feeling that this would be their last night together for a long time. She would kill him, he knew it. He could feel it in her dreams as his lover slept fitfully by his side. He jumped when she suddenly sat up with tears rolling down her cheeks. She looked at him with her large dark lavender eyes, she blinked owlishly and then she threw herself into his arms and sobbed. "I don't want to kill you, Jadeite!"

"I know, but Rei, darling Rei, listen to me" he said, lifting her face so she was looking at him. "I need you to kill me when I return should I be turned evil, I want you to destroy the evil that will be manifesting in me. Because I just have this feeling, if you don't, I will not ever be free and when I am sent out by the darkness I will be the most misogynistic asshole that you will ever face (90s canon.)"

"But what if I get turned against you," Rei replied, and although he severely doubted that would happen she was pure and goodness with a fiery temper that he loved so much.

"Then I will do the same should one of us be turned against the other, the good will destroy the evil." he replied.

Rei nodded, "okay," she replied seriously. "Should one of us be turned against the other, the good will destroy the evil." As Rei reaffirmed the promise, a flash of light emerged between the two. The orb then split into two parts and one half went into Rei's chest and the other to Jadeite.

"An unbreakable vow," they both murmured. This kind of phenomena was rare even in bonded couples and soulmates.

"Now neither of us can break the promise, even if you have to kill me nine times before we get our happy ever after, then so be it," he said softly.

"I hope it's not nine times," his wife replied.

"I know sweet firebird, me too." He kissed her forehead and began to hum a lullaby his mother had sung him when he was a small boy. This may have been their last night together, but he was going to make sure his wife slept as he was positive that she would not sleep much in the coming future. Always on her guard, duty and oath bound she had always said to him they both always would be and one day they would be together again.

If you want to listen to the lullaby it is a traditional Japanese lullaby called Aikos lullaby on youtube I chose this seeing as Jadeite is commander of the east

End flashback

When Rei came back to herself with tears rolling down her cheeks, she began to hum the same tune as her husband had done not even a week before. It bought her comfort, even though he was now a shadow of the man she knew and loved.

Jadeite POV

When he heard the fire wielder hum a tune it made his soul ache, hidden in the wells of hate and despair he had been filled with. When he looked up at the vast star filled sky, he wasn't even sure why he was doing this. He felt murderous, but at the same time as he listened to the girl continue with the tune, the more he was sure he shouldn't be doing what his body and mind were telling him to do. He looked down from the sky and saw her watching him now with those dark lavender eyes that pierced his dreams. She looked broken and forlorn. He was about to unsheathe his sword when the girl spoke. It was so quiet he barely heard it, but it made him want to weep.

"The prophecy has to be fulfilled," she said and then in a flash of light another guardian appeared and took his target away. Jadeite growled as the two disappeared. The dark being was going to be pissed that he didn't kill her when she was vulnerable and in meditation.

He sighed and went back to what was left of earth. The pull of his prey, almost gone now, now he could only feel his anger and bitterness towards the moon beings. It was their fault the earth was almost destroyed.

Ares POV

He would kill him if he made one step toward his pride and joy. Ares watched over the moon shrine as his daughter completed her task of sending an ember down to the earth. The boy hadn't even seen him when he looked up and was thankful Setsuna had pulled his girl away.

"Ares you know Rei has to kill him," the voice of his second wife, also the voice of reason.

"I know, but it still seems unfair that each of them have to kill their soulmates," he replied wrapping his arms around Ninlil.

"It will always seem unfair, my love. They are soulmates after all."

"Just as we are," he replied, kissing the top of her head.

She nodded and took his hand. "We may not be reborn as their parents next time, but we will find them."

"I know," he said.

In the courtyard

Luka stood guard with his brother Link outside the family wing of the castle. They knew, as did every other citizen of their world, that this was the end. Soon all would crumble into dust. But first, there were things that had to be done. As he watched, the Prince and Princess each made their final preparations.

Umino's warning had said the strike would start soon. Luka wished he had explained it better. They only knew that they were needed here. In this moment.

"I see something," Link whispered.

Luka turned his gaze and saw nothing ... then there was a strange ripple in the air. Before he could react, a knife pierced his ribs. Link gave a hoarse cry as Luka fell.

Inside, the Princess turned, her sensitive ears catching the sound and he watched, Shadows growing at the edge of his vision, as she lifted the tiara from her head and launched it with the grace of a dancer through the window and into the skull of the assassin youma.

It was too late for Luka, or for Link, who was lying next to him on the hard cobblestones, but their sacrifice had saved the princess, and given all of them hope for their future.

Metalia

The time drew near when she would have the Moon Queen chained at her feet. The woman had been a thorn in her side for three-hundred years. She would not be a problem much longer. Ethereal laughter rebounded ather, making her anticipation rise. She would send those worthless Shittenou out again to distract the Senshi and then she would unleash her greatest creation. The crystals hovered in the chamber, the stolen souls screaming for release. They knew what she planned to do. Soon they would become her monster.

The Silver Queen could fight all she wanted. Her death was inevitable. The Seven Great Youma would destroy her, and any resistance to Metalia's domination of the solar system. She would finally have all that she deserved to have.