Scales Fall
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters involved in this story, but maintain that my use of them is covered under fair use, as this story is both a work of fan appreciation, and a commentary on the original story.
It had come to this. Sailor Moon stood, resolute, the souls of her friends and comrades giving her strength, her Moon Healing Escalation firing at full strength at her eternal foe, who in turn stood, blasting wave upon wave of as much dark energy as she could muster back at her. The two cosmic enemies stood, as face to face as anyone could be, despite being a good hundred meters apart. Sailor Moon focused all her energy, all her mental acuity on the task at hand, and slowly, the balance of the two conflicting forces began to turn. By inches, the Moon Healing Escalation began to creep toward the Metalia-possessed Queen Beryl, and who could only look on in horror as the battle was lost. As the attack slowly lurched forward, it began to envelop Queen Beryl, melting her flesh like snow on a warm spring morning. She cried out in pain, and fell to the ground. In that instant, Sailor Moon ran out of fortitude, and collapsed to the ground also.
She would later try and fail to recall exactly when the rumbling started. But by the time Sailor Moon made it to her feet, it was clear that the snow she was standing on was anything but stable. It collapsed underneath her, and before she could comprehend what was going on, she was falling, at first straight down, but then she began sliding, and when she stopped, the snow had collapsed around her, entombing her in a small pocket maybe twenty feet around. Furthermore, to her horror, she found that she was trapped with Queen Beryl, very much alive, but unconscious.
Now's my chance, thought Sailor Moon, reaching for her moon stick. But it was gone. Fine, she thought, We'll do it the old-fashioned way. She reached for her tiara, but found that it was also gone.
Queen Beryl began to stir. Sailor Moon panicked and backed up against the walls of her snowy prison. Queen Beryl groggily opened her eyes, and stared straight ahead, looking equal parts dizzy and shellshocked.
"Are… are you okay?" Sailor Moon asked out of instinct.
"What was that?" Queen Beryl muttered breathlessly, "What was that? That was… no… something's not right."
"Of course something's not right, we're trapped under who knows how much snow!" Sailor Moon retorted.
In response, Queen Beryl looked up at her foe, a look of abject horror breaking out across her face. She said nothing. More than saying nothing, she looked as though she couldn't say anything if she wanted to, like a million dark and terrifying thoughts were racing through her brain and to her mouth, and none of them could gain enough purchase to become words.
Sailor Moon was perturbed, but not about to pass up a golden opportunity. No matter what it looked like in the moment, this was still Queen Beryl, the evil queen of the Dark Kingdom. So she stepped forward, prepared to throttle the life out of her opponent.
"Get away from me!" Queen Beryl screamed, retreating to the walls of the enclosure. But it wasn't the defiant, combative voice Sailor Moon was used to hearing. Instead there was nothing in her voice, and her eyes, but pure terror, like a deer being cornered by a wolf. Her mouth dropped open, and she began breathing heavily, so heavily that Sailor Moon thought she might pass out again. Whatever was happening, this was clearly not normal.
"What's going on?" Sailor Moon asked, "This feels uncharitable."
"I…" Queen Beryl began to speak, but then fell silent again.
"Come on, you can do this, use your words," Sailor Moon urged.
"I… this can't be right. None of this is right," Queen Beryl continued.
"What's not right?" Sailor Moon asked.
"I… I felt her inside me," Queen Beryl answered, "Controlling me. I could feel her. Every emotion she felt, I could feel it too. And I watched as she controlled what used to be my body. But I felt… cold."
"Well of course you did, look where we are," Sailor Moon mocked.
"No, not like that," Queen Beryl responded, "She… she was so cold. I could feel her indifference to whether I lived or died. I could feel how little she cared for me, for any of us. We were nothing more than her playthings."
"You're shocked that the evil villain is evil?" Sailor Moon gawked.
"Shut up!" Queen Beryl erupted, "You can't possibly understand this! I gave my life for her, I gave everything for her! And none of it meant a goddamn thing!"
Sailor Moon wanted to say something, but everything she could think of seemed like just another potshot, which seemed unhelpful at the moment. So instead, she just sat back and watched, and listened, as her onetime mortal enemy continued coming unraveled.
"What have I done?" Queen Beryl gasped, "What have I let myself become? I kept telling myself it was all for the greater good, that something better was to become of it, but it was all lies! She never cared for any of us, and she never had any plans outside her own gain. What have I done? I devoted my whole life to this! Could it really all have been lies? Everything I've done, horrible, horrible things. Was it really all in pursuit of nothing?"
Sailor Moon, by this point, had no idea what to make of any of this. Here was her mortal enemy, her chief foe, the source of all her misery and anguish for the past several months, seemingly not only coming completely unglued in front of her, but also possibly showing psychological anguish for what she had done. She had no idea how to adequately respond, so she did the first thing that came to mind: she put a hand on Queen Beryl's shoulder. "Hey," she cooed gently, "It's okay. It's not too late to turn things around."
Queen Beryl looked up at her with an expression of pure shock. In time, the shock turned to sadness, and Queen Beryl looked away. "You think so?" she asked, staring into the middle distance.
"Absolutely," Sailor Moon responded, "I just never thought you'd feel this way."
"Oh god, I led dozens of soldiers to their deaths!" Queen Beryl gasped, "I even killed a bunch of them myself! How did I let myself turn into this? I kept telling myself that it was all for the greater good, that I had to be this fanatical and ruthless, until slowly it just became instinct. It just became who I was. I did terrible, evil things, and I felt nothing. Worse than that, I started to enjoy it. What kind of sick person am I? That I could do all those things and not feel even the slightest hint of remorse."
"Hey, you're feeling it now," Sailor Moon assured her.
"Oh my god, Thetis is dead!" Queen Beryl shrieked in horror, "My best friend, and she's dead, and it's all my fault!"
"I think I had more to do with that than—"
"No, I did this!" Queen Beryl retorted, "She never would have died if I hadn't been so monolithically focused on bringing back that horrible darkness that just consumed my body."
Sailor Moon struggled to find something comforting to say, but no words sprang to mind. Instead, she just moved her hand back and forth on Queen Beryl's shoulder.
"I never even told her how much she meant to me," Queen Beryl continued, tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes.
"Hey, I'm sure she knew," Sailor Moon suggested.
"I know you're just trying to make me feel better, but no, she didn't," Queen Beryl insisted, "I was a thankless boss. I never told any of my subordinates how much I appreciated what they were doing. I don't think I even did appreciate it, I was so lost in my own ego, so caught up in my own drama."
"It's not too late to turn it around," Sailor Moon assured her.
"Why are you trying so hard to make me feel better, anyway?" Queen Beryl asked, "I've spent years, millennia even, trying to kill you."
"Because everyone deserves a second chance," Sailor Moon answered, "Even you."
"I don't deserve anything," Queen Beryl responded flatly, "You'd be completely within your rights to just kill me right now."
"Maybe, but that's not the route I'm choosing to go," Sailor Moon countered.
"How did I let it get this bad?" Queen Beryl asked rhetorically, "I never used to be this way. I was a sorceress, plugging away, working for the Moon Kingdom alongside you and your mother. But I threw it all away, for what, for a boy? Because a boy I liked didn't like me back? God, I'm pathetic. This isn't me, this isn't how I am, how did I let this become who I am?"
"We all make mistakes," Sailor Moon offered, trying to hide her uncertainty at her own words. She'd meant most of what she'd said up to this point, but even she had to admit it was a bit of a stretch to refer to several thousand years of running an evil empire as just a "mistake".
"Do you really think there's hope for me?" Queen Beryl asked.
"There's hope for anyone," Sailor Moon answered.
"How… how do I begin to make up for all the damage I've caused?" Queen Beryl wondered aloud, "How do I begin to heal this monster that I've turned into?"
"Well, I know a little something about healing monsters," Sailor Moon responded, "And you're no more beyond salvation than any of the others."
"Do you really mean that?" Queen Beryl asked.
"Mostly?" Sailor Moon answered honestly, "You're a little different in that you became a monster through choices you made, but you've taken the first step in admitting that you did wrong. I'm sure that, if you put in the hard work and commit with your whole heart, you can save yourself."
"Thank you for seeing hope in me," Queen Beryl sighed, "I hope I don't prove you wrong."
"So… tell me a little bit about who you were before the Dark Kingdom," Sailor Moon suggested.
"Well," Queen Beryl began, "I started apprenticing to be a sorceress just around the turn of the Silver Millennium. I grew up watching the spellcasters work in my village, and I always wanted to be like them. So when the opportunity arose, I jumped on it. And I was a damn good spellcaster. Within weeks, I'd mastered simple healing magic, and a few offensive spells. That was when the Prince entered my life. He came by one day to thank my mentor for some work she'd done treating soldiers who had returned from the war. And in an instant, I was smitten. I'd never seen someone who made me feel the way he did, like I would do anything just to sit beside him, just to be part of his life. For the next three years, I worked like I'd never worked before. I studied for days at a time without sleeping. I enlisted for every mission that came up, doing one after another after another without taking a break. Physically, I know my body had to be getting tired, but mentally, it was like I had an unlimited reserve of fire. I never wanted to stop, I never felt like I had to stop. And so, I never stopped. And in some ways, I got my wish. I caught the eye of Prince Endymion. I started getting assignments working alongside him, protecting him, seconding him into battle, sometimes I was just working as his council. But he noticed me. He once told me I was the best sorceress he'd ever seen, that I was a credit to the Kingdom, that he wished he had a thousand of me. But he never loved me. Not like he loved you. I could have done the mature thing and gotten over it, but that's not the choice I made. I let it make me bitter, I let myself feel entitled to his attention, to his affection. And that's when Metalia entered the picture. She promised me I could have him if I just did what she told me to do, and in my moment of weakness, I took her up on the offer. That's when the darkness started. I'm still not sure how much of it was her directly corrupting me with her dark magic, and how much of it was just the choices I made. Truthfully, I sometimes question if she brainwashed me at all, or if I did everything of my own free will. But quickly, I became her servant. And, well, I don't think I need to explain what happened from there."
"Wow," Sailor Moon responded, "Well, I'm not going to lie to you, you have a lot to atone for, and a lot of work to do. But you know where you went wrong, and that's a start."
"I promise this isn't the end of this," Queen Beryl said with resolve, "I'm going to keep putting the work in until I find my old self again."
"Well, for what it's worth," Sailor Moon offered, "I've been fighting you for months, and I already feel like I'm not talking to the same person I've been fighting. You've already made a big change just admitting all of this to yourself."
Queen Beryl looked up at her former foe, the woman who may now be her only friend. For a moment, their eyes locked, and then Queen Beryl leaned in slowly, and kissed Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon felt her entire face go red, and Queen Beryl felt her entire body relax. Sailor Moon felt soft in her arms, and she could faintly smell the scent of flowers in her hair. Queen Beryl broke the kiss, and looked once again into Sailor Moon's eyes.
"I'm, umm… I'm not gay," Sailor Moon told her.
"Why'd you let me finish the kiss then?" Queen Beryl asked, embarrassed.
"It felt like you needed a win," Sailor Moon answered.
"Oh my god, I'm such a fool," Queen Beryl sighed, "Five minutes into trying to change myself and I'm still throwing myself at people who have absolutely no interest in me."
"It's okay, really," Sailor Moon laughed, "Actually, I'm a bit flattered."
"Well this time I'm going to do the mature thing and get over it," Queen Beryl laughed, "You and Endymion make a really cute couple. I wish the best for you."
Just then, there was a crunching at the wall. The two of them watched as a hole was punched, and two blue-skinned Youma burst through the opening.
"My queen!" the taller of them exclaimed, "I can't believe we found you! We thought you were lost forever!"
"Oh my god, Sailor Moon!" the shorter cried, "Please don't hurt us!"
"Relax, Pailor," Queen Beryl assured the shorter Youma, "We don't have to fight Sailor Moon anymore. Queen Metalia wasn't what I expected, and we don't serve her anymore. Things will be better now, I promise."
"Oh my god, really?" the taller one exclaimed with delight, "That's such great news! We really don't have to fight the Sailor Scouts anymore?"
"Really," Queen Beryl answered, "There's peace between our two kingdoms at last."
Sailor Moon stood up, resolute, and offered a hand to Pailor, who shook it diligently, and bowed deeply. She then turned to the other and offered the same hand, to the same result.
"I'm Brichor," she offered.
"Well hello, Brichor," Sailor Moon responded, "My… Youma friend. I'm sure that will get less weird to say with time."
"Let's get you out of here," Pailor proposed.
They walked up a path that had been carved in the snow, and reached the surface. There, to Sailor Moon's delight, she saw the rest of the Sailor Scouts.
"You're alive?" Sailor Moon exclaimed with joy.
"Your wish brought us back!" Sailor Jupiter informed her.
"I can't believe it!" Sailor Moon cried.
"Not to ruin the reunion, but are you aware Queen Beryl is right behind you?" Sailor Mars asked.
"It's okay," Sailor Moon assured them, "We talked it out, and she's agreed to stop the war and turn over a new leaf."
"How did that happen?" Sailor Mercury asked.
"It's a long story," Queen Beryl answered, "But the short version is, I found out the forces I was working for weren't what I thought they were. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused. I promise I'll work to make it better."
"So this is it?" Sailor Venus asked, "All of this is just… over?"
"I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth," Sailor Mars laughed, "Welcome to the team, I guess?"
"I like the way that sounds," Queen Beryl smiled. It was still strange for the Sailor Scouts to see Queen Beryl with a warm smile, but it was a welcome and almost cathartic strangeness. "I guess for my first act as part of the team, let's get you all home."
Queen Beryl opened up a portal, and the six of them stepped through it, finding themselves in downtown Tokyo. They all stood for a moment, staring at each other. For the Sailor Scouts, they felt drained from the fight, and relieved that it was over. For Queen Beryl, she felt the same, but with a renewed vigor, a new sense of energy that she hadn't felt since she was a sorceress. In front of her was a fresh start. And the only thing she could do was make it count.