Double Jeopardy

Chapter 32: Double Jeopardy

The bright flash from the portal generator blinded Makoto, causing her vision to fill with green spots of light as the room was plunged into darkness. Burning sparks, electrical surges, and steam blasted everything around them, confusing everyone and leaving most unsure of what had happened. There were loud pops as another nearby monitor exploded, sending shards of glass into Minako's hair from the screen. Nearby, a loud mechanical screech, followed by a fuse box flapping open from the blast sent sparks pouring down from it. After several more seconds of chaos and electronic death, Mamoru could make out a few small fires that had once been consoles, computer stations, terminals, and servers.

Artemis coughed as he asked, "What happened? Is everyone all right?"

Ami yelled as she felt her way down the stairs using the handrail, "I don't know! I think something imploded! Possibly in the reactor core or the dark energy collector? It's hard to say!"

Rei coughed as she said, "It was Dark Saturn! She yelled something from the doorway and then, BOOM!" She looked toward the doorway trying to see if she was there but as far as she could tell the last Sekou was nowhere to be seen. "Where did she go?!"

As Ami reached the bottom of the stairs, there was a loud clicking sound before emergency floodlights flipped on from above. She blinked as she looked around surveying the extent of the damage, frozen in step as she said quietly, "Oh no..." She ran to the only remaining intact computer system and started banging on the case then frantically tried to get the keyboard to respond, typing any commands she could think of as she said, "Work! PLEASE work!"

Usagi helped Mamoru down the stairs while the others rushed over to Ami. Luna hopped onto the desk and asked hesitantly, "Ami… How bad is it?"

Ami gripped the keyboard with both hands and slammed it down on the desktop, then looked down and away from all of them saying nothing. Makoto walked forward and gently took hold of her hands as she tried to reassure her. Makoto could feel her trembling as she said, "Ami, it'll be OK. Come on, talk to us. We can handle it and figure out what to do next no matter what, but we need to know."

Ami squeezed her eyes closed tightly, trying not to cry from frustration as she said, "It's… It's bad, Mako." She cleared her throat as she said, "It's dead. The whole portal generator system is completely fried." She blinked back tears as she said, "It's possible a few of the pendants survived but… we're not going anywhere for a long time. We're stuck here."

Usagi said trying not to sound scared as she looked at Mamoru for encouragement, "At least we're together."

Mamoru nodded in agreement as he said, "We've been in worse situations than this. There's always a way out. We need to work together. We'll be fine no matter what. The important thing to do is to decide what to do next. One step at a time, together."

Minako bit her lower lip as she realized that it was her responsibility to get them out of this. She turned to Usagi and Mamoru, about to say something when they all felt the floor shake beneath their feet. She looked toward the doorway and said, "That must be the Sailor Scouts fighting Beryl."

They stood motionless, looking at each other at a loss for words. Another distant rumble shook the building, shaking dust from the ceiling. They could see guards and workers running past the doorway to the control room while one man yelled, "Get out get out get out! Everyone out! Go! Go!" A few others ran past, some carrying injured personnel.

There was another crash somewhere in the building. Even from a distance, they could hear steel girders being twisted and crashing through walls as the ground shook, this time hard enough that it almost knocked them over. Rei looked at Minako and said, "I know Mina said this was their fight but… They… they'll win, right?"

Minako looked at Rei and asked, "Do you believe in destiny?"

Rei looked at her and said, "We've already had this conv- no… no wait, that was with me and Mina. Yeah, Minako, I do." Another distant explosion rocked the building as she said, "And… I'm starting to think we're supposed to be here."

Usagi nodded as she listened to them and said, "So do I. We'll figure out how to get home later. Right now, we need to help them." She looked at each of her friends in turn before looking at Mamoru and said, "But you need to stay here where it's safe."

Mamoru shook his head and said, "I'm going with you Usako. I can-" His words cut off as he gritted his teeth when his weight shifted the wrong way.

Luna looked back and forth at the two of them saying, "Artemis and I will stay here and make sure he's safe."

Artemis nodded. "Right!" He felt the concrete floor rumble under his paws again as he said, "But you all had better transform and get going. We'll be safe."

Minako sighed as she said, "Right. We thought we were done but it looks like we've got work to do. Everyone! Transform!

They held their transformation wands up high, feeling their powers already beginning to surge through their fingertips.

"Moon Eternal Power!"

"Mercury Crystal Power!"

"Mars Crystal Power!"

"Jupiter Crystal Power!"

"Venus Crystal Power!"

Then they all yelled out, "MAKE UP!"

Ribbons flew from Usagi's transformation wand, wrapping themselves around her and replacing her outfit. Her large ponytails almost seemed to gain a life of their own as the energy melded with her and her Sailor Guardian uniform materialized. Sailor Moon stood proudly among her friends; confident they would win no matter what!

A spray of water accompanied Ami's transformation, momentarily soaking the floor beneath her feet as her tiara formed around her forehead. Confidence always seemed to grow within her every time, no matter how dire the situation. As she hopped back slightly, now finished transforming, any doubts Sailor Mercury had washed away.

The symbol of Mars formed on Rei's forehead as fiery embers flew! The fire wrapping around her took the shape of her red Guardian uniform as she spun around, letting the flames guide her movement within her heart. Sailor Mars stepped forward with determination swelling through her.

Electricity surged around Makoto, arching off some of the electronics around her sending a rain of blue sparks through the air! Her power felt as if it was blasting through her as if it swayed even the movement of her skirt. Even Sailor Jupiter's earrings seemed charged, ready for any fight!

Like Usagi's transformation, Minako's wand released a flurry of ribbons to wrap around her. However, as if in keeping with her personality, bright stars seemed to fly everywhere as if her transformation screamed 'extra'! Sailor Venus didn't even wait for her transformation to finish as she started making her way to the door, empowered by the strength she knew she and her friends possessed!

The Pretty Guardians in sailor suits fearlessly rushed toward their destiny together.

Sailor Mercury led the way through the maze of corridors, as the only one who knew where Queen Beryl's chambers were. It didn't take them long to start running into damage from the fight despite being away from their destination. The bright white corridors began showing signs of cracks and buckling shortly after they had left the rainbow portal control room, but as they moved deeper into the building, they encountered ruptured gas and water lines, fires, and live wires dancing about. It was as if the very structure itself was trying to fight them. No one stopped them as the palace's personnel worked to save each other and themselves as the superstructure crumbled around them.

As they stepped through the destroyed doorway to Beryl's chamber, they could hear distant explosions and falling chunks of the building as it strained to hold itself together. Even still, it wasn't lost on them that the building hadn't shaken for some time. The electricity in this part of the building was completely out, including any emergency lights, so, the only light within the cavernous room was from fires that burned and the occasional broken wiring snapping electricity within shattered walls. At first, they couldn't see anything other than the choking dust as it hung in the air.

No one dared to speak, unsure if the fight was even over. Sailor Mars squinted into the shadows trying to see, then made out a form in the rubble, and knelt, straining to lift a shattered chunk of a wall out of her way. "Mina!" She started weaving through the ruins toward the lone Scout as she said to her companions, "I see her! She's over here!"

As they drew closer, they could see Sailor Venus struggling to pry up a steel I beam that had collapsed from somewhere high above. As the others moved to help her, Sailor Mercury activated her goggles, scanned the room, and leaned over to look at what was under the beam.

Venus said, still straining, "Help me! She's trapped! I know we can save her if we can get this off her!"

Sailor Mercury placed a hand on the Scout's shoulder and swallowed before she said, "I'm… I'm sorry Sailor Venus. She's... not going to make it." She turned to look at the rest of the Guardians saying, "It's just these two left. The rest of the Scouts..." She moved to help the others lift the steel support, not wanting to finish her thought out loud.

The five working together barely managed to move the beam enough to allow Sailor Venus to drag a broken Sailor Moon out from under the debris. Once free, the Guardians stepped back, giving the two remaining Scouts space to say goodbye.

Sailor Venus cradled Sailor Moon's head gently as she said, "Come on, look at me, look at me! Stay with me, Serena!"

Sailor Moon turned her eyes toward Sailor Venus, but she was having trouble focusing as she said weakly, "Did we do it?" Sailor Venus bit her lip, fighting back tears, and started to reply when they all heard laughter from above. They looked upward into the shadows and could discern glowing red eyes glaring down at them.

Beryl said, "Welcome Sailor Guardians! Perhaps you will prove a real challenge compared to my weak treacherous underlings!"

Sailor Venus yelled up to her, "NO! You horrible monster!"

Beryl laughed as she said, "Monster I may be, but I am the monster that destroyed the mighty Sailor Scouts! BEHOLD SAILOR GUARDIANS! This will be YOUR END!" Laughing down at them, she vanished as she drifted upward through the ceiling. Her disembodied voice said, "Let us move this challenge to a place with suitable room! If you don't show, I will lay waste to this pathetic planet once and for all!"

Sailor Venus didn't even look up to her, focusing instead on Sailor Moon as she said, "It-it doesn't matter. Just lay still." She felt tears run down her cheeks.

Sailor Moon looked at her with the last of her strength and said, "Mina… You were wonderful. However this ends, I'm glad I got the chance to be your friend."

Sailor Venus closed Sailor Moon's eyes and cried for her lost friends as Sailor Mercury walked up behind her and said softly, "We're going to make our way to the roof. Possibly try to use the stairs or maybe a service elevator."

Sailor Mars knelt and hugged Sailor Venus as the Scout continued to hold Serena and said, "I'm so sorry, Mina. Stay here. Whatever happens, I swear we'll do everything possible to make this right."

Rei comforted her as long as she could but eventually, the others carefully pulled her away, leaving Mina to mourn her losses then started searching for a way to reach Beryl so they could make good on Rei's promise.

As they weaved through debris and down corridors, they stopped at a door that opened to a stairwell. Sailor Venus opened the door, looked up, and asked Sailor Mercury, "How far do we have to go to catch up with her, you think?"

In response, she sighed and said, "I'm not entirely sure. Last time I was here I oversaw construction. They're still building the palace. That's the only place I can think of that could have the space Beryl spoke of other than her throne room. I took an express cargo elevator up but suffice to say a lot." She leaned in next to Venus and peered up as she added, "And that's assuming the stairs aren't collapsed somewhere."
As she started to step in, Sailor Moon whined, "Can we PLEASE try to take an elevator? I've gone up more stairs in the last two months than I have in my entire life, and we regularly visit the Hikawa Shrine."

Sailor Jupiter rolled her eyes and said, "It's not that bad Usagi." The lights flickered as she added, "Besides… I'm not sure there would be enough power even if we can find a working elevator."

Keeping a lookout behind them in case any of Beryl's fleeing guards decided to be heroic, Sailor Mars said, "Will all of you stop complaining? This is serious!" Trying to push her concerns for Mina out of her mind for the moment, she growled then turned and looked at them saying, "I don't care what's safe. Nothing about this is safe. With what the corridors look like, I think we all know that the stairs are probably crumbling from damage to the building. And we don't need Ami to tell us that the elevators are gonna be just as unreliable and lack power. We need a real solution."

Sailor Mercury stepped out of the stairwell and said, "Well, we may be able to find that lift. It should only be three floors up from here. There's a generator at its base but given what we've seen it's probably out of commission."

Sailor Venus started going up the steps saying, "We can figure that out when we get there. It's got to be better than going up 50 flights of crumbling stairs."

The five made their way in silence, footsteps echoing off the walls. Sailor Jupiter kicked the door open after a few tries when they arrived at their intended floor.

Unlike the rest of the facility, this area was still under construction. Paths were a mix of incomplete walls and I beams where walls, rooms, and doors would eventually be. It didn't look like work had even started on the ceiling here yet, though ductwork, fiber optic cables, and power cables crisscrossed above them in a confusing pattern everywhere they looked. Lights hung from cords, and tools and building materials were scattered about, now knocked all over the place from the Scout's fight with Beryl.

After following Sailor Mercury in a zigzagging pattern that weaved through the construction, it didn't take long for them to find the lift. It was even left waiting right there. It was rather large, and a temporary setup for construction, with a pallet of wall panels waiting to go up. There was plenty of room for them to fit but as they feared, when Venus tried to activate the elevator, it didn't work.

Sailor Mars asked as she looked around, "Are you sure you're working it right? Maybe the door needs to be closed a certain way first or you're hitting the wrong button."

Sailor Venus's frustrated response was, "It's an express elevator, Rei. There's only one button. It only goes to two places. Here, and up there. The problem's got to be power."

Sailor Moon looked at Mercury and asked, "Well… what do we do?"

Sailor Mercury scrunched her mouth to one side as she mulled over their predicament then said, "I have an idea. But…" She winced, then looked at the other guardians saying, "I have to ask permission before I try it."

Sailor Jupiter raised an eyebrow as she asked, "Why's that?"

Sailor Mercury said quietly as she lowered her head, "Because I don't want to get in trouble if it doesn't work and then we need to run up 40 flights of stairs.

Sailor Moon groaned and asked, "Why does the number of floors keep going up when you mention it, Ami?"

Sailor Mars rolled her eyes as she said, "Ami, just do it! The worst that happens is it doesn't work, which means we're in the same situation we're in now!"

Ami motioned for Makoto to come with her, and the two stepped out of the elevator and moved out of sight while they poked around with the generator next to it.

Listening to them open and close panels, Minako heard Ami occasionally ask Makoto to grab her a specific tool now and then while adjusting equipment. Minako said quietly to Rei, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Rei glared at her and said, "I don't even want to think about it right now." She leaned against the wall as she said, "This whole situation's a mess. We're stuck here. Mina's the last of the Sailor Scouts, who only got to enjoy about 20 minutes of peace before getting killed by Beryl, who'll destroy the world if we don't stop her. If we beat her, we're still stuck here with no idea how long we'll be here, and Mina's lost everything. If we lose, we're dead, Mina's dead, and everyone else is—"

She stopped talking when there was a loud zapping sound and electricity wrapped around every metal part of the elevator before the lights sprang on and the door started to close. Makoto threw Ami through the doors before slipping in herself moments before the lift began moving upward with a grinding metallic groan as she said, "And we're off!"
Ami caught her balance as she said, "Yeah. I didn't think that would work." She looked between the other three and said, "I uh… had Mako zap the generator with a weak attack after making a few quick modifications. The lift sprung to life so fast I didn't think we'd make it on."

Joining the conversation with Rei and Minako, Usagi said, "I don't know how we're going to get back, but I think we'll be fine. We've beaten Beryl before, and we'll do it again."

Minako nodded in agreement as she said, "Yeah, Rei. We dealt with her 5 kings of heaven and her before when we were kids. Then there was…" She started snapping her fingers as she said, "What were those two aliens named? Oh, that's right, Ali and An. Remember them?"

Usagi nodded and said, "Yep, and then there was the Black Moon clan after that." She smiled optimistically as she said, "We got stuck in the future and found our way back eventually. We've got this."

Makoto smiled as she started counting off on her fingers, saying, "Then there was Wiseman along with them, too … he was a pain. The Death Busters, Pharo 90, the Dead Moon Circus… that was creepy. Nehelenia and… was Sailor Galaxia before or after we dealt with the Iron Kappa Trio?"
Ami said, "Oh before. We had to deal with the Iron Kappa Trio after her, and the Youma Storm Clan after that." She breathed in and asked, "Why does it always feel like the next threat is more powerful than the last? Still, we've prevailed this long. Usagi is right. We'll get through this. It's just a matter of taking it one step at a time."

Rei shook her head looking less convinced. "I know we've beaten Beryl and several threats afterward on top of that. This time, Beryl has the Silver Crystal plus Metalia's power, but that's not all that's bothering me." She looked down as she said, "It's just… this time it feels like there's more at risk. It's not just us. Mina's- hell not just her. The entire world we're in is in danger and it's not even ours. Then there's being stuck here and no idea how we're getting home… it just feels like maybe it's all almost too much this time."

Minako listened to Rei then said, "Yeah, well… we gotta do it anyway." She smiled as she said, "We're gonna beat her. You're gonna go find Mina, help her piece a life together with everything you can get your hands on, and maybe manage to find some happiness yourself. You deserve it." She looked at Ami, Makoto, and Usagi as she said, "… We all do." The elevator ground to a stop as she said, "It's fitting that we're together for this. Whatever happens, we'll face it together. We have and always will."
The lift doors slid open, greeting them with dark cloudy skies and pouring rain. Stepping out they could see the skyline of a futuristic Tokyo far below them. The sound of an air raid siren wailing in the distance added an eerie monotonous hum that added a sense of dread.

As they stepped farther out onto the roof, Sailor Jupiter wiped her damp hair away from her eyes. As she tried to ignore the feeling of her hair sticking to her neck she asked, "… I don't get it. Where is she? She's got to be here, right? She's not exactly the type to run away, is she?"

Sailor Mars turned around, just as lost as the others, but gasped at a loss for words once she noticed Beryl looking down at them from about 50 feet above.
Hearing her fellow guardian's reaction, the rest turned around, causing Sailor Venus to ask quietly, "Uh… Ami? Do you have any suggestions?"
Sailor Mercury shook her head as she looked up quietly and said, "No. No, I'm sorry, I'm terrified beyond the capacity for reasonable thought." She had just enough presence of mind to switch on her visor as she examined Queen Beryl in all her terrifying glory.

Beryl stood beside the palace looking down at them. According to Ami's visor, she was about 600 feet tall, with a power level far above 9,000. Every graph her visor flipped through was maxed out on every reading. As Sailor Mercury watched, she saw her start lifting a hand, moving faster than she expected. Ami had barely enough time to yell a warning before the palace shook down to its core as Beryl's hand came down on top of it!

Sailor Jupiter dove out of the way, covering her neck and head with her arms as chunks of the building rained down around her. As she got to her feet she yelled, "When we said we had this, I don't think any of us expected her to be taller than a damn Kaiju! I don't think we can even dent her now!"

Now that she had their attention, Beryl held her hand up high, materializing the Legendary Silver Crystal in her palm. Even under the dark overcast sky, it gleamed brightly in her grip. The Queen laughed as power began to build within the crystal, causing a loud humming sound to fill the air as she said, "I'll finish you off, this time. DIE!"

A bright light shone from the crystal as the sound became louder, blinding them as Beryl laughed. Then she screamed, quickly turning away from them, blasting a section of the city before bending over to rub at her eye.

Beryl worked frantically to pry something from her eye, then studied the minuscule offending object once she removed it. A single bright red rose, tiny and insignificant in her palm. She looked back at the rooftop and growled at them, "YOU! You're here you little irritant."

"The day that beauty and kindness are struck down by evil and corruption won't come this day, for we stand together, and you stand alone!" Tuxedo Mask, accompanied by Artimus and Luna stepped out from beside the elevator, making their way to Sailor Moon's side as the others regrouped with them. He still limped as he walked, but he and the two Mau had decided not to sit out this fight.

The Sailor Guardians regrouped together as Artimus said, "She has Metalia's power and the Legendary Silver Crystal, but if we combine our powers, all of us, we stand the best chance of defeating her!"

Sailor Mercury and Jupiter moved to stand to Sailor Moon's left, while Sailor Venus and Mars stood to her right before they placed their hands over Sailor Moon's and began channeling their energy through her.

Beryl ground her teeth as she watched them then growled, "After I kill you, nothing will remove my grip on this world, and then I'll go after yours! Everything you've ever known will be lost!" Then she raised her Silver Crystal and sent another blast of power toward her adversaries, causing a shockwave to blast forward, shattering the windows of the palace before the wave reached the Sailor Guardians!

Just before reaching them, Usagi yelled, "Moon Healing Escalation!" Sending a combined barrage of energy from her and her friends toward Beryl's attack. As both attacks collided, energy crackled and sparked before it began pushing back and forth, moving closer to Beryl, the Guardians, and back.

Beryl leaned forward, trying to add her weight to the attack as she yelled, "Why are you so determined to defeat me? You dream of a lovely future that will never come to pass. One day, you'll realize the truth as I have! That this, and all worlds are nothing but ugliness and filth!"

Usagi narrowed her eyes as she focused her efforts on defending them saying, "I believe in this world and those beside me!

Ami nodded as she added, "I have faith! Faith that good and kindness always defeat evil!" She tightened her hand around Usagi's as her Crystal seemed to gain more power, pushing back harder against Beryl's assault.

Beryl laughed before she roared back, "Faith? Faith In what? Everlasting Love? Indestructible Friendships?! Childish things that matter only to the weak and pathetic!" Dark black energy joined the power of her crystal, trying to wrap itself around the Sailor Guardians. While the wave couldn't reach them, it began shoving forward toward them again.

Makoto yelled over the barrage with a thunder of her own, "I believe in ALL OF IT! I believe in this world and the people who fought and died for it! I believe there are always good people no matter what evil exists in this, and all worlds!"

Beryl bellowed back, "Then you're a fool! There's nothing worthwhile in this putrid world for anyone to believe in! I've seen to that!"

Rei narrowed her eyes as she gave Usagi's arm a reassuring squeeze then said, "We'll beat you with everyone's combined faith in love to fight for the world we believe in!"

Beryl pushed her crystal, thrusting more energy out at them. She sent a blast toward them pressing closer as she shouted, "I won't be destroyed by the Silver Crystal! You lost before you even started!"

Usagi felt her feet slip backward as Mamoru tightened his grasp on her shoulder, trying to lend his support to strengthen his wife, along with the others. He called out loud enough to be heard as chunks of the building began to crumble around them, "Everyone, give Sailor Moon your strength, right now!"

A transparent hand lightly placed itself on Sailor Mercury's shoulder. When Ami turned, she saw a ghostly mirror of herself nod at her before turning her attention toward Beryl as Amy yelled, "Mercury Power!"

Sailor Mars noticed movement beside her and realized it was the spiritual form of the Scout of Mars just as Ray called out, "Mars Power!"

Sailor Jupiter felt a reassuring warmth surge through her before noticing Lita's smug grin before the Scout of Jupiter screamed, "Jupiter Power!"

Serena's spirit smiled at Mamoru, then Usagi before placing her hands on both of their shoulders, giving them the last of her strength as she yelled, "Moon Prism Power!"

Minako adjusted her footing as Queen Beryl laughed at them, still feeling like she would be blasted off the building at any moment. Beryl's attack grew brighter in her vision, still pushing forward despite all their combined strength. She closed her eyes, breathed in, and forced herself to stay positive, no matter what happened. Then she opened her eyes, hearing someone yell to her right.

"VENUS LOVE ME CHAIN!"

Beryl screamed in surprise, "What's that!?", as a gold thread of energy wrapped around her wrist and pulled, moving her hand ever so slightly to the right as it seared into her wrist. It was just enough of a distraction to cause Sailor Moon's Legendary Silver Crystal to send the combined energy of herself, all the Guardians, and the spirit of the Scouts bursting forward to crash into Beryl with terrifying power. A deafening explosion was heard to their right as the last of Beryl's attack slammed into the building next to Rei!

Beryl screamed as her crystal began to crumble and the energy started purifying her. But a being of such ego and evil had very little to save. The energy ripped through her as she shrieked and dissolved before the attack dissipated.

Mamoru caught Usagi as she started to fall, gently lowering her to the ground, saying with a grin, "We did it, Usako!"

Rei blinked, trying to get bright green spots out of her vision from all the light. Only after she let her hand drop did she realize that what was left of the Sailor Scouts had disappeared. She turned to her right to say something to Minako… then gasped in horror as she said, "Oh no."
The roof had been blasted away inches from where Rei stood! She could see several floors down into the palace's unfinished interior. Crumbling stone, steel, rebar, and broken power cables… but no Minako! She swallowed as she started to look around, realizing she also hadn't seen Mina.

She leaned over, trying to look down the gouge into the building to try to be sure neither of them had been blasted downward. By now the others had noticed why she was panicking and started to search for their missing companions. Turning to look behind them, she finally spotted a gloved hand covered under layers of debris and began running toward the pile as quickly as she could. Makoto joined her, arriving nearly at the same time, helping to throw large chunks aside until they both managed to unbury Sailor Venus.

Badly burned but alive, Sailor Venus groaned, barely conscious. She opened one eye, saying Rei's name weakly.

Rei said, "Ssssh don't move. You're ok. We've got you. We'll get you help as soon as we can." She brushed Sailor Venus's blonde hair aside… and tried to ignore the identical body lying beside her, slowly disappearing as the Legendary Silver Crystal's power faded.

The resulting blast from Beryl's death did more than kill the evil queen. It purified the entire planet, dissipating across the globe. As it did, Crystal Tokyo's gleaming structures looked just a bit brighter. People on the streets felt as if a weight had been lifted from them. Most of Beryl's guards who enforced her rule around the globe quickly abandoned their posts, returning to the lives they had lived before the Queen's reign.

None of this concerned Trista. She had watched the Queen's demise, safely several blocks away, laughing to herself as she pulled the hood to her jacket up over her head, despite the rain having long since stopped. Dark Sailor Saturn took stock of the situation, realizing that nothing had gone how she planned it… but in its own way, this was even better for her.

After all, no gods, no masters.

Two weeks later, Ami and Makoto looked out over the city from their apartment's balcony in the Crystal Palace, watching the flying cars zoom past and ships take off to other parts of the solar system. Makoto adjusted her green dress as she said happily, "I can't wait to learn to drive one of those."

Ami sighed and said, "I still don't know how you can smile. Our whole lives have been upended and changed. Usagi's going to be crowned Neo Queen Serenity and is still trying to get used to the political power thrust upon her after having killed Queen Beryl, while Mamoru is still trying to wrap his mind around how he's going to be crowned King Endymion. I don't think this is how either of them pictured that happening. Sure, they plan to try to act more as constitutional monarchs instead of ruling as an absolute monarchy as Beryl did. But that's going to take time and until it happens, they have a colossal amount of responsibility."

She watched the traffic fly by as she said, "Then there's Sailor Venus. She's still in intensive care, and we've no idea which one of them survived. Rei's still not left her side, or talking to anyone." She shook her head and finished, "And of course, I'm still trying to get the portal generator to work. But Mako… I can't even get the reactors to power up, let alone figure out how to fix the frame." She sighed, sounding defeated as she said, "I don't know that it's ever going to work again. And then there's—"
Ami had stopped talking, raising her eyebrows in surprise as Makoto lightly pressed a finger to her lover's lips to silence her. "Yeah yeah, I know all that. And we're just as much advisors as Guardians now, we haven't found Dark Sailor Saturn, Amy's notes on the Rainbow Portal have disappeared, yada yada yada… Ami, I know. That's why I pulled you away. You need time off to clear your mind." She turned toward her with a grin and said, "I love you. I really, really do… but you still need to learn when to stop and smell the roses." She moved her hand to lightly hold Ami's chin in her hand as she delicately brushed her thumb against her cheek and said, "Now close your eyes for a moment, take a breath, and let's just enjoy a few minutes alone together before we go back to dealing with aaaaaaaall of that."

Ami looked up and sighed before closing her eyes. She relaxed into Makoto's palm, feeling tension she hadn't realized in her shoulders slack before a small smile formed on her face. Makoto was right. They'd hardly spent a moment alone since the fight with Beryl … and she'd forgotten how much she missed this. Her smile grew when she felt Makoto's lips lightly brush hers before giving her a soft kiss.

As the taller woman pulled away, Ami opened her eyes and said, "Thank you, Mako. I know you're right, it's just I-… I…" She blinked, looking at Makoto momentarily confused.
Makoto had silently moved to kneel in front of her, waiting for Ami to open her eyes. When she did, Makoto opened a small black box holding an intricate silver ring and a light blue jewel. She cleared her throat and said, "I… ya know, I thought of a hundred things I was going to say when I did this, and now that I'm finally doing it… I'm drawing a complete blank." She looked up into Ami's eyes longingly before saying, "It's … It's all right if you say, 'no', by the way. I'll completely get it. We've not been dating all that long, after all, and that's why I wanted to do this here instead of somewhere public so that you'd feel less pressure to agree if you're not up for it, but—well …" she shook her head and said nervously, "Now I'm rambling. I …" she nodded, swallowed audibly, then said, "No. No, you know what? I need to shut up and say it." She cleared her throat and asked, "Ami Mizuno… love of my life… will you marry me?"

Ami's eyes sparkled from the smile she gave Makoto before answering.