Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Sailor Stars: Chaos Theory
Act 55: I Always Want to Protect You
Sora Kazeno
An entire day passes before Sailor Cosmos is seen again. The absence places all of them on edge. They went out in groups to various parts of the city desperately trying to find and draw her out but nothing worked. Each passing minute makes then more restless.
Sailor Pluto and Sailor Charon have monitored the time stream for changes and searched for any signs of starseeds every moment they have but the area to cover is vast. Their absence made it impossible for Mamoru to speak with Setsuna.
Collectivity more memories have returned to the senshi of the previous battle against Chaos. However, the memories were not helpful, they are just painful reminders of starseeds that were lost before and lost again now. Small fragments of the battle against the Black Moon have returned. It only leads to more confusion and turmoil within the group. Their memories are staring to blur between the other timeline and the current one making it hard to determine their correct reality.
Seiya sits back in a chair with his eyes closed as he recalls another memory form his second date with Usagi at Tokyo Tower.
"Yeah… it's like everything else is a million miles away," commented Usagi in a thoughtful tone.
"Sometimes it is good to see things from a different perspective," Seiya said as he thought about all the changes he experience during the past two years of his life. "Things can be…" he paused, as he tried to think of the correct word, "Hectic."
"Yeah…" Usagi murmured. "Since I first awoken a few years ago… that is the perfect way to describe it." Usagi giggled as she thought about how clumsy she was during her first few battles. "You should have seen what I was first like."
"No one starts out with all the answers. We have to gradually figure them out for ourselves or through trial and error." Seiya noticed another large group of individuals by another set of elevators, different than the ones they rode to their current floor. "Where do those elevators go?"
Usagi turned her gaze to see where he pointed. "Oh? That is a special observation deck that was recently added."
"What makes it special?"
"It's higher and supposed to have better views."
"Then what are we doing down here?" Seiya asked. He began to lead Usagi over to the elevators to make their way to the next observation deck. They had a short wait in line until it was their turn to use the elevators.
Usagi smiled deviously as she developed a plan. "Over here," she guided to Seiya to the far side of the tower. She wanted to see how Seiya would react to the glass floor called the Lookdown Window. There were three people looking down through the thick glass. She waited from them to finish before she began to walk forward with Seiya.
"What is over here?" Seiya asked. He looked over to Usagi for an answer, but she provided none. Seiya slowly walked forward and felt his heart rate speed up when he looked down and saw part of the tower base underneath him. "Whoa."
Usagi stood behind Seiya and grinned. She remembered when the other girls first brought her onto the glass area and how she panicked.
Suddenly Seiya reached for her and pulled her toward him to stand on glass with him. "Don't think you can escape this!"
Usagi closed her eyes. She was afraid to look down again.
"Come on Odango, you can't be scared."
Usagi slowly opened one eye and looked down. She looked down slowly and opened her second eye. She gasped as she became aware of the height. "It's still scary…" Usagi said as she leaned against Seiya for support. Usagi noticed a few other people waiting to stand on the glass. "We should probably move on…"
"Yeah…" Seiya said, as he guided her to another area. They walked around the circular observatory hand in hand. Seiya paused to examine Mt. Fuji in the distance. "I always hear everyone talking about how beautiful it is but I've never gotten a chance to see it up close. When the three of us filmed the movie a while back, we were still over an hour away."
"Maybe we can go there some time," Usagi said.
"Really? Won't you get tired of seeing all of these things again?"
"You weren't tired of showing me around Kinmoku."
"Of course. I wanted to show you my home."
Usagi grinned, "Now you know how I feel."
"Odango…."
Seiya leaned forward and kissed her. He felt so lucky to have her in his life. Unfortunately, the tender moment ended as quickly as it began. A bright flash from a camera captured the moment on film.
The memory ends and Seiya finds himself back in the hotel room. He wishes he could have all of memoires back and just hold Usagi in his arms. He wishes this was over and everything was back to how it should have been. Why does he seem to be receiving more of his memories back faster than the others? Why are most of them about time he spent with Usagi? He wishes a few of them would be regarding the battle against Chaos and some clue how to weaken Chaos further. He takes a deep breath. His fists are clenched tightly and shaking.
Princess Kakyuu notices Seiya's frustration and lets him be. She is unsure if there is anything she can do to help him.
Sailor Cosmos stands in the ruins of the Silver Millennium surrounded by starseeds she collected so far. "Too many weak starseeds. I need to harvest ones from the stronger senshi but the weaker ones keep getting the way. They keep hiding behind the weaker ones. Only fifteen are left. I can try again when I have more. Perhaps then I can combine them with this starseed and the Ginzuishou will be enough."
She looks up at the Earth, from here it looks like a peaceful blue green marble and she is about to make it less tranquil. She smiles thinking of the next two senshi she will attack. They might be weak, but they can be nuisance. They stopped her from taking powerful starseeds too many times. Once the others see their comrades lost, it breaks them emotionally. Each starseed lost becomes more painful for them, a reminded of their failure to keep each other safe.
Sailor Cosmos summons energy from her staff and rings. Using that power she teleports high above Tokyo during the sunset, making it harder to see her. She scans the city with her eyes; her impatience grows until she finds them.
Akari and Nanami pause on a park bench. They have been restless and want to do anything they can to help but it seems whatever they have tried hasn't worked.
"I'm not even sure what we're doing anymore." Nanami places her hands behind her head, watching people pass by.
Akari agrees with her. "There isn't much for us to do other than try to get Sailor Cosmos's rings. I'm not sure what else we can do. It seems Prince Endymion and the one they call Seiya-kun, that Starlight, are the only ones that really reach the Princess." She pushes her bangs out of her face.
"Regardless, of which timeline we are in, at least we are no longer trapped inside the crystals?" Nanami tries to find something positive about their situation. "I'm still not sure how many centuries or more we were trapped. Earth did not look like this."
Akari smirks. "A lot has changed for sure. From what Setsuna-san mentioned, we were supposed to remain enclosed in the crystal. The alternative timeline freed us or we would have remained trapped for eternity." She turns to face Nanami. "Ironically Princess Serenity not choosing Prince Endymion grants us our freedom. If she stayed with him we would be trapped. Funny how things work out."
Nanami sighs loudly at Akari's comments. "I hate it when you are right."
"That is most of the time…" Akari teases back.
"I never thought about all of the events that way." Nanami looks around the park as people walk by on their way. Many of them look so happy without a care in the world. "Look at them, continuing on like nothing is happening, they don't even know the Earth is in danger." For a moment, she envies them.
"To them, nothing has happened or changed. They are not endangered since they do not have pure starseeds." Akari joins in the people watching. Nothing appears amiss.
Sailor Cosmos appears in the front of them. "You sound like you've already given up and as if you're not even trying to fight back."
Akari and Nanami stiffen their posture at the sight of Sailor Cosmos. They watch her carefully for any movements to indicate an attack.
Akari breaks the silence by taking an approach Sailor Cosmos did not expect. "We know we are no match for you Princess."
Nanami turns to look at Akari in disbelief but doesn't say anything.
Akari continues, "We know you can take our starseeds within seconds." She watches Sailor Cosmos stance relax slightly at her words, her grip on the staff loosened.
Akari's eyes travel down to Sailor Cosmos's fingers noting two of her fingers did not have pearl rings. She has to keep the Guardian distracted.
Nanami begins to piece together Akari's plan. It is an all or nothing move. At this point, they don't have much to lose. They are going to lose their starseeds but they might as well refuse to go down without a fight. Nanami slowly stands up and moves a few steps to the side. She turns to face Akari. "I can't believe you'd give up so easily. What kind of leader are you? I can't even stand to look at you anymore!" Nanami turns away from Akari and walks away, putting more distance between, making it impossible for both of them to be Sailor Cosmos's field of vision at the same time.
Akari draws Sailor Cosmos's attention back to her. "You could end all of this now, but you're having too much fun, aren't you?" Akari smirks. "I don't blame you. If I had powers like that I would take my time and savor it too."
Sailor Cosmos eyes her carefully. "I'm not sure what you are planning but you pretend you know how it feels to be invincible… how cute." Her gold bracelets flash as she is about to unleash energy at Akari to take her starseed.
Nanami grabs Sailor Cosmos's arms to stop her from firing a blast at Akari. While Sailor Cosmos is confused, she grabs the woman's left pinky ring trying to yank it off. Nanami refuses to go down without a fight and if she can remove a ring, it is worth losing her starseed. The ring is halfway off her finger.
Sailor Cosmos is surprised by Nanami's action. Once the surprise wears off she recovers quickly preventing Nanami from grabbing the ring that allows her to learn the history of an object. With a look of disgust, she hits Nanami point blank with the golden energy, taking her starseed. The action is followed by a gut wrenching scream.
While Sailor Cosmos waits for the flower to appear, she pushes the ring further back up her finger.
Akari let the tears fall freely down her face. She knows she is next. She can't bring herself to look at Nanami's body as it disappears. All she can think is, she failed to save her friend and failed to save the Earth.
After the turquoise starseed blooms from the orange flower, it quickly makes its way to Sailor Cosmos. The starseed hoovers over her left hand while she holds her staff in her right hand. Turning to Akari she adds, "I guess you are out of tricks to play." With a gesture of her hand, the starseed disappears to join the others.
Her eyes stare at Akari. "You're starseed doesn't have a lot of power either but I guess the smallest amount of power is better than nothing at all." Sailor Cosmos yawns as a sign of boredom.
Akari thinks over her options. Her transformation wand is in her hand but she knows she will not have enough time to transformation before Sailor Cosmos takes her starseed. She has never felt this helpless on any of her past missions or at any point in her life. Her hand with her wand lowers.
Sailor Cosmos smiles. "You tried but you just aren't strong enough. I'll be nice this time and end your misery quickly." With a flick of her wrist, she collects the starseed from Akari's body.
Akari screams and then collapses. She leaves her eyes closed as she fades away.
Sailor Cosmos stares at the tangerine starseed in her hand and smiles. She collected two more starseeds, two less distractions for the other senshi to hide behind. She waves her hand and dismisses the starseed. It vanished to join the others at the Silver Millennium.
Her focus now turns to taking more powerful starseeds. Her time is ticking away. The fight for control against Usagi and Serenity is often exhausting and a distraction from her mission. She takes to the sky, reappearing over Tokyo, searching for her next victims to take starseeds from.
Rei, Minako, and Makoto finish their dinner and leave the restaurant. They have exhausted all conversation and are lost in their own thoughts of trying to find Sailor Cosmos, take her rings, and return the starseeds. It is a comfortable silence for them.
Rei stops suddenly and gasps when she sees Sailor Cosmos standing in front of them.
"I could take all of your starseeds at once," Sailor Cosmos threatens them.
The girls don't hesitate for a moment.
"Mars Eternal, Make Up!"
"Jupiter Eternal, Make Up!"
"Venus Eternal, Make Up!"
Sailor Cosmos smiles at how quickly the girls transform for battle. "I'm glad you are putting up more of a fight for your starseeds then the last two senshi that lost theirs. Could you image they didn't even bother to transform to defend themselves? I don't know how my mother picked such weaklings to be the royal guard."
Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Jupiter exchange glances with each other. Based on Sailor Cosmos' words it is clear she took more than one starseed, both belonging to a Moon Senshi.
Sailor Cosmos grins. "Your numbers are dwindling."
Sailor Mars challenges her back. "And your time in this reality is running out." She hopes to distract the Guardian somehow, or buy for time for others show up.
Sailor Cosmos turns all of her attention to Sailor Mars, glaring at her. After a few moments, the glare turns into a smile and then laughter. "I have all the time in the world!" She boasts.
"No Usagi. Once everything goes back to what is was, Chaos will be gone and with your help we can restore things faster." Sailor Mars pleads to her, hoping for some kind of reaction.
"What do you have to look forward to in the other timeline?" Sailor Cosmos shoots back at Sailor Mars. She turns to Sailor Jupiter. "You're in about the same place." Her eyes reach Sailor Venus. "But Minako-chan your idol career was blasting off with the help of the Three Lights. That is something to look forward to!"
Sailor Venus' eyes open wide in surprise. "Idol career…" She repeats slowly. The thought of having a blossoming career makes her smile. It sounds a lot better than what she is currently experiencing. Although it was not Sailor Cosmos' intention, her words provide a boost Venus really needed. She is good enough to become an idol. She just needs her break and some luck. With sometime it will happen. Just like now, with some time they can save Sailor Cosmos.
"Usagi-chan, I know you can hear us, help us end this." Sailor Jupiter pleads with her.
Sailor Cosmos rolls her eyes in annoyance. "Let me show you how you're being heard!" She places the staff in front of her. "Luminous Hail Storm!" Her attack hits them without much warning blasting the three senshi back.
The senshi slowly get up trying to figure to how to reach Usagi. Sailor Mars refuses to give up. "Usagi stop being afraid to fight for what you want! I know Chaos is controlling you. This isn't you!"
Sailor Cosmos yawns and fans her hand over her mouth in annoyance. "If Mamo-chan didn't have a lot of luck, why would you think you would fare better?" She is enjoying their feeble attempts and will start collecting their starseeds soon.
"Usa."
Sailor Cosmos' eyes narrow when she hears his voice. Her posture becomes uneasy. Her confidence wanes. Recomposing herself she turns around to face him. She has to throw him off balance prevent him from reaching Usagi or Serenity. "Who's Usa?" She plays dumb.
Tuxedo Kamen appears disheartened for a moment and then calls her again. "Usako."
Sailor Cosmos can feel her body tense a little more each time she hears him call her name. She mentally curses the weakness she feels and will continue to deal with until Usagi and Princess Serenity are properly dealt with. Sailor Cosmos pushes the feelings to the side, redirecting her attention on her objective to gather starseeds to make Chaos permanent in all timelines.
"Tuxedo Kamen." She turns her anger at him over everything. If she is angry she has a better chance of remaining in control. "I'm surprised you haven't given up yet considering Usagi chose Seiya and not you." Her words are designed to hurt him. Much to her dismay he didn't show any signs of it.
He tries to keep his voice as even as possible. Reminding himself he can still save their relationship when all of this is over. "You're wrong. She would never do that." He walks forward. Each step closes the gap between them as he stands closer to her, the harder it is for Chaos to remain in control. He will keep using this to his advantage every time he encounters Chaos until this is over.
She takes a step back snickering. "You don't realize your position and how hopeless it is." She tries to continue to sound confident. It is a struggle to keep her voice from wavering.
"Nothing is hopeless Usa as long as we have each other." He pauses for a moment thinking of what Setsuna had told them about the alternative timeline. He refocuses on the thought of fixing whatever happened in the other timeline. A timeline where they were not married he called her Usako, never Usa. "We've always overcome everything together Usako."
Sailor Cosmos' body posture becomes tense hearing that name. She can feel herself losing her composure soon. She fights back. "Perhaps in the past you could but I seem to remember Sailor Moon defeating Chaos with the help of the Starlights and Chibi Chibi. You were removed from the battle long before it even begun."
Tuxedo Kamen shakes his head in disagreement. "I might not have been there physically but I was there in spirit." He continues to approach her decreasing the distance. The closer he moves toward her, he sees her defense drop. Her eyes soften. The icy glare decreasing.
Sailor Cosmos clenches her hand around her staff tighter. She opens her mouth to say something but no sound will come out. She bits her lip. Serenity is fighting against Chaos for freedom and taking control.
"We can face this together, Serenity."
A tear trickles down Sailor Cosmos' cheek. She brushes it to the side with her free hand and freezes, looking at the water. She frowns at the show of weakness she has displayed in front of him. She stares at the staff in front of her, trying to control the sudden influx of emotions.
Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus watched in silence hoping Tuxedo Kamen can reach her. They have visibly dropped their guard. But they monitor every moment in case something were to happen, the air around them tense. From where they are standing, they can no longer hear Sailor Cosmos and Tuxedo Kamen as their voices lower.
Sailor Cosmos continues to stare at her staff, her control fading. She attempts to draw on her remaining strength to leave like she had last time, but her control is too far gone this time. She can't look at him.
She gasps as his touch when he places his hand on top of hers that holds her staff. For a moment she feels anger that he would dare approach her in this way and looks up at him to tell him off. In that moment she looks up, Chaos lost. Serenity won control.
Sailor Cosmos' look of anger disappears into a smile. "Endymion…" she whispers, extending her other hands to lightly touch his face. "I know you will always come for me." Her eyes twinkle. The eight pointed start on her forehead is gone, replaced with a crescent moon.
He closes his eyes for a moment, enjoying the moment. But that is all it will be. They have to take measures to stop Chaos. "Serenity, we don't have much time. We need your help."
"My help with what?" She appears confused then sighs. "I refuse to work with Usagi. She keeps wanting to choose Seiya. It is wrong but she is so stubborn. I told her I will help her when she agrees to abandon him and return to you." She gushes out her frustration.
"…" His eyes are full of pain at her remarks. Princess Serenity is only a part of Usagi. Just like Sailor Cosmos is only a part of Usagi. "But if you work together, we can stop Chaos and free both of you…" He finally stammers.
Serenity is taken aback. "Endymion, I don't understand. I will not let Usagi even think about destroying us." Without realizing it the grip on her staff tightens as a wave of energy washes over her. Chaos is fighting back.
"I want to be with you more than anything…" Tuxedo Kamen whispers barely loud enough for her to hear. "But… if we don't stop Chaos… Chaos will take everyone's starseed, including mine. The Earth will be doomed… and I'll never see you again." He hates painting an image this gloomy but he needs Serenity to fully understand what is happening. "First we have to stop Chaos, and then we can work on us."
Her eyes narrow. "You sound just like Usagi." She turns her head away from him for a moment. But she knows he is right. "We can't exist together in a world that ceases to exist. When my time is up here, I will speak with Usagi again and see what we can arrange." She still appears irritated but works on keeping her composure. "What can I do in this moment to help you? I know my time is almost up. Chaos is growing stronger."
Tuxedo Kamen tries to focus as he feels so many emotions at once. "Your… your rings." He finally manages to utter.
She looks down at her the rings on her fingers, noticing them for the first time. "Oh. These?" She gestures to the pearl rings. She brings her free hand closer to her chest, resting her staff in the crook of her elbow. She tries to remove the ring around her index finger on her left hand. She pulls at it but it does not want to budge. "Hmm." She moves to her middle finger and encounters the same problem. "They do not seem to want to move." Her eyes widen when she feels Chaos ready to take control again.
Trying one more time, she yanks the ring around her pinky on her left and hands it to him. "I hope this helps."
Tuxedo Kamen looks at the ring for a moment and then shifts his attention back to her. He might now have many more opportunities. He leans down and kisses her. She doesn't hesitate, she kisses him back. But it is brief; she has to pull away within a few seconds.
"I have to leave before Chaos returns, I'm sorry but I don't want to see you or any of the others hurt." She wants to stay with him but she knows what will happen if she remains. "I'm sorry I can't do more." With a bright flash of white light, Sailor Cosmos vanishes.
As soon as the Guardian leaves, the Inner Senshi rush forward to speak with Tuxedo Kamen to ask him what happened.
He does not respond to the senshi at first as he seems to stare at the spot where Sailor Cosmos just left.
Sailor Mars notices the pearl ring in his hand. "Mamoru-san, she gave you one of her rings?"
The direct question brought his attention back to the others. "Ah." He nods his head slightly. "She tried to take off a few others but they wouldn't budge. She didn't have a lot of time left until Chaos took control again." He did not want to tell them everything she said until he spoke to Setsuna, the only other person that lived through this entire alternative timeline with their full memories intact. "I spoke to Serenity." He added. His stance becomes more uncomfortable. "I need to get going. I have a few things I need to take of." Without another word, Tuxedo Kamen left.
Sailor Venus stares at him wide eyed. "That is really strange."
"Something else happened that he is not telling us," Sailor Jupiter assumes based on his actions.
Sailor Mars doesn't comment but she knows Jupiter is correct.
Tuxedo Kamen does not waste time going to the apartment of Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna. Once he is there, Mamoru organizes his thoughts and pulls out the pearl ring he received from Sailor Cosmos. With determination he enters the building and heads to their apartment.
Mamoru knocks on the door loudly, waiting for someone to open the door.
It seems to take a long time before Haruka finally opens the door. "Hi Mamoru-san." She appears exhausted and annoyed. "You're lucky, Setsuna-san came back about twenty minutes ago with Yui-chan. They still can't find the starseeds but you're welcome to come in and talk to them."
After Mamoru takes off his shoes, Haruka leads him over to the living room to have a seat. She is about to leave the room but Mamoru stops her for a moment.
"I was able to retrieve one of Sailor Cosmos' rings today."
Haruka stops in her tracks and turns around to face him. "That is the best news I've heard all day. Do you know which ring it is?"
Mamoru shakes his head no. "I was hoping Setsuna-san would know."
"She might. I'll let her know you are here." Haruka walks off down the hallway. She has been distant to everyone since Michiru's starseed was taken.
A few minutes later Setsuna rushes into the room. "Haruka-kun told me you are in possession of Sailor Cosmos' rings?" Setsuna asks quickly wanting to confirm Haruka's statement.
Mamoru hands her the ring. "But I don't know what power it possesses."
"Hmm." Setsuna examines the ring. "There are no markings on it. Do you know which finger she removed it from?"
"It was… from her pinky… on her left hand." Mamoru recalls as he pictures the moment in his head.
"Oh my. That is wonderful news. That ring is her most unstable ability. It allows her to learn the history of an object. The previous Sailor Cosmos could barely control the ability and sealed it off for years." She hands the ring back to Mamoru. "Each ring will get us one step closer." She gestures for him to sit on the couch. "But I sense you are here to talk about more than just this."
"This other timeline that you spoke of… how I do I stop it from coming back? I don't want to lose Usa…" He voice cracks at the end. It was difficult enough to imagine the life described and harder to say it out loud.
Setsuna's eyes are downcast. "I'm sorry Mamoru-san. But based on how everything is going… we have to restore the timeline back to what it was. Then Chaos will not be able to return."
Mamoru clenches his fist. "Why can't it be reset again?"
Setsuna shakes her head. "It is too dangerous. If that were to happen and Chaos broke free a third time. I'm not sure if we would be successful stopping it."
"But Chaos would not appear. I would make sure of it."
"I understand what you are saying. But I cannot take that risk. Time as it is right now is too fragile." She frowns a little. "But when time reverts back, I can help with anything you need with Usagi-chan. She should be will you."
"But that… doesn't mean she will…" His voice trails off for a moment. "Today, Princess Serenity was able to hold off Chaos temporarily. During that time, she told she is refusing to work with Usa to stop Chaos."
Setsuna's eyes widen. "Why would she ever do that? We need her help to end this."
"Because…. According to Princess Serenity …Usa… picked him." He still couldn't bring himself to say the Starlights name. "And Serenity will not work with her until Usa agrees to … be with me." He struggles to finish the last sentence. "I just can't picture… a time when I'm not with her."
Setsuna reaches forward to place her hand on his. "The… transition was difficult for all of us. Many of us did not accept this decision…which is why we are in the position we are in now. I should have focused my energy on other methods of persuasion rather than trying to rewrite history."
Mamoru nods his head. They sit quietly for a moment and Setsuna pulls her hand back. "So… when time goes back I have to win her back."
"You did try very hard," Setsuna tries to explain to him. "I thought you'd win her back without a problem. But then we learned more about the history of Sailor Cosmos as well. A history that predates the Silver Millennium."
Mamoru's shoulders slump. "Anytime I have talked to her about our past or our future, she seemed to be upset. I've begun to see some memories from this other timeline and most of them are not… pleasant memories with Usa." An alarming thought occurred to him. "Will all of these memories from this timeline disappear? Will I never remember being married to her?"
Setsuna shakes her head no in response. "I'm sorry. For you to essentially go through this twice, it is more than anyone should ever have to bare." She wants to say something to comfort him and reassure him but she doesn't know what else she can say. She blames herself for this.
Mamoru sighs loudly. "So this time here is lost. But that doesn't mean I can't be with her again." He rubs the wedding band on his finger. "First stop Chaos, bring everyone back and then I can be with Usa." He says out loud trying to reassure himself.
They sit in silence for several minutes. Setsuna changes the subject. "Did Ayumi-san find you?"
"Ayumi-san… no." Mamoru answers thinking back to the last time he seen. "I've been a bit preoccupied. I'm not sure the last time I've seen her."
Ayumi stares up at the large buildings. She should have taken up Yui's offer to go with her to Rei's shrine but she was convinced she could make it there on her own. Though that is providing to be wrong as she realizes she is lost in Tokyo. She walks down the next block trying to get her bearings but nothing looks familiar.
She pauses as a group of high schools students in navy blue skirts with a sailor collar with a red bow run by. They are laughing about something as they pass her.
The sight of the school girls makes Ayumi cringe when she thinks about her own studies she ignored the better part of the week. But it won't matter soon. Either Chaos wins or time is reset and she is back in school. She frowns and pushes forward onto the next block.
The hairs on her arms stick up when she sees her. Standing on the next block is Usagi in a pale pink dress. Her hair is white and still in heart shaped odangos. She would recognize the hair style from anywhere. Usagi is looking right at her, waiving to her to join her.
Ayumi stops in her tracks. This is a trap, it has to be. But she is alone with no way to contact the others. She places her hand inside her jacket pocket checking to make sure her transformation pen, identical to the ones the Inner Senshi had when they first awakened on Earth, is available when she needs it. She can't transform in front of everyone and doubts Usagi would do the same.
She looks away for a moment as a large group of people walk by. When the crowd clears, Usagi is gone.
Ayumi breathes a sigh of relief that she would not have to fight Sailor Cosmos. The odds are not in her favor. She inhales sharply at the sight of Sailor Cosmos now only a few meters in front of her.
Sailor Cosmos smiles at Ayumi and lowers her head slightly. She watches the Earth senshi's movements.
Ayumi knows she is trapped. She slows her pace while approaching Sailor Cosmos, trying to buy herself as much time as possible to come up with a plan. All she knows, she has to transform to defend herself. She waits until another group passes by, blocking Sailor Cosmos' view.
She ducks down a side street. "Earth Power, Make Up!" The symbol for Earth rotates a few times in the sphere before it turns into dark green energy. The energy clusters around body forming dark green ribbons which become her fuku. She pushes the bangs out of her eyes and she is done transforming.
Sailor Earth scans the area for any sign of Sailor Cosmos. She sharpens all of her senses for anything that seems off.
It does not take long for Sailor Cosmos to find her. "It was a good effort, but you know it wouldn't take long for me to find you."
Sailor Earth inhales deeply and turns around to face her. It is just the two of them and she is certain is about to die any moment when her starseed is taken. But first, she is going to let out everything she had been holding back. Many of the things she wanted to yell at Endymion for. "I don't understand you Serenity, why did you have to drag my brother into the problems at the Silver Millennium when he was needed more on Earth."
Sailor Cosmos smirks. "Maybe he cared about the Silver Millennium more because it was the most powerful kingdom in the Milky Way." She fires back. "You've been keeping your anger in check for quite a while."
"Longer than I should have. He could have helped us protect our kingdom."
"Why? He knew a lost cause when he saw one. What could he have possibly done to protect the kingdom? The Golden Crystal was still imprisoned by Queen Serenity. He was powerless without it. In fact, he still is." Sailor Cosmos' eyes lower slightly to the ground for a moment when she thinks of when he became King Endymion in the alternative timeline. "Though… you won't be around to see the timeline change back when he did retrieve the crystal. A pity." She realizes after she made her statement she needs to stop playing around and take her starseed to ensure the Golden Crystal remains in its imprisonment.
Sailor Earth stares at her, fists involuntarily shaking. "Gaia Maelstrom!"
Sailor Cosmos raises her left hand in front of her face, stopping the attack from advantaging forward. Without another word, she discharges an energy blast from her bracelet at Sailor Earth.
She screams when the blast hits her. An orange flower appears from her chest blooming into a seafoam green starseed. She collapses to the ground, using the last of her energy to glare at Sailor Cosmos.
Once the starseed is hovering above her outstretched hand she bends over to get closer to Sailor Earth. "Don't worry; I'll take really good care of Endmyion!" She laughs for a moment. "Actually, I think he is owed a visit." She smiles and stands back up.
Sailor Earth tries to summon her remaining energy to retort but she has none. Her eyes close a final time as her body vanishes.
Mamoru returns home and closes the door. He leans on the back of the door processing everything that happened with Setsuna. He didn't find Ayumi on the way over and she was not at the shrine. He came back here hoping he would find her. Suddenly he pictures him with Usagi at Rei's family shrine.
"It's not that simple Mamo-chan," Usagi immediately replied. She gasped when she became aware that she had called him by his pet name. "It isn't that simple," she repeated as she tried to keep her voice even. "Things were so much simpler on Kinmoku…" Usagi's voice trailed off. She thought of the dream that she had. "… until I had a dream and Chibi Usa was in it."
"Chibi Usa?" Mamoru interrupted once he heard her name.
"She was yelling at me about giving up on her," Usagi tried to keep her knees from bucking under her as she discussed one of the things that have weighted on her the most. "I keep hearing Setsuna-san's words that Crystal Tokyo doesn't exist in this timeline anymore… and the crystal palace wasn't there when I traveled to the future."
Mamoru couldn't hold back it anymore. He placed his arms around Usagi and pulled her close to him. "Crystal Tokyo will only cease to exist if we give up on us." He cupped the bottom of her chin so he could look into her eyes when he said the next words. "I'm not willing to give up on us. I never will Usako." His eyes where sad and had a longing for her. "I love you."
"…Mamo-chan…" Usagi whispered as he couldn't break his eye contact. She felt as if she was drawn in.
"We can handle anything together."
Usagi was silent as she tried to find the words to respond to everything he had just told her. "I… I…" She wanted to form coherent words but she was unable.
Mamoru gestured to her left hand. "You still wear my ring."
Usagi looked down at her hands and he was correct. She didn't even remember putting the ring on earlier. It was something she had done out of habit. She looked back up at him with tears in her eyes. "Mamo-chan, I…"
"I can't wait to talk to Usagi-chan," said Minako as she slid the door to the side. Next to her was Ami and Makoto. They were in the middle of a conversation and stopped as soon as they saw the two of them together.
Footsteps were heard behind them as they heard Rei's voice, "Wait! Don't…" Rei realized she was too late. She frowned. The damaged had already been done. "Sorry…" Rei said as she tried to usher the other girls out of the room to allow Usagi and Mamoru privacy.
The noise of the other girls snapped Usagi back to reality. She broke apart from Mamoru, "I have to go," she quickly ran out of the room without another word.
The decision Usagi made was difficult on her, Mamoru notices for the first time. He had been so focused on what Usagi had said and not her posture. When he watched this memory he focused on everything with Usagi. Hoping the return of this memory could be a way to help him figure out a way to get her back.
Sailor Cosmos appears on the other side of the room with a seafoam green starseed in her hand. "You can call off your search for Ayumi-san." Her voice sounds bored as she watches the starseed twinkle in her hand.
A lump forms in Mamoru throat. His gut tells them he already knows the answer but he must confirm it for himself. "You have her starseed…"
"Yes. I'm surprised though. I thought it would shine brighter. Perhaps yours does." She flicks the starseed away and focuses her attention on Mamoru.
He knows it is harder for him to each Usagi so he has to try to reach Serenity and see it would be fortunate enough to gather another ring.
"I don't plan on staying long. Three starseeds today is a pretty good addition, don't you think? I just thought I'd be courteous to let you know she is with me now. But I'll back for some more starseeds." Sailor Cosmos brags with glee. She does not get the reaction she wanted out of Mamoru. She ups the stakes. "But I think instead of visiting you tomorrow… I think it's time I visit Seiya. I haven't spent too much time with him today. The Starlights starseeds do have such a bright shine…" She pauses to look directly at him. "Far brighter than yours."
Mamoru eye's narrow at hearing Usagi's voice say the other man's name.
A smile tugs at the corners on her mouth. She laughs and leaves.
The following morning, Seiya pulls the baseball hat further down over his head to prevent anyone from recognizing him. They didn't find Sailor Cosmos yesterday wherever they searched. Today he needed a little time to himself. A part of him wondered if this would draw her out too. Either way, he needed a break from everyone else while they were still sleeping. They would kill him if they knew he was out here alone.
He doesn't care about anything other than finding her. When he thinks about her, another memory hits him.
Seiya smiled happily at her. He rubbed the top of her hands to show affection. "I was starting to wonder… if you were running away from me," he teased her.
Usagi knew she needed to reassure him. "I'm very happy with you… and I plan to keep it that way," Usagi said. She almost felt guilty for what she was telling him. But she was happy, right? She tried to brush her doubts to the side so Seiya wouldn't pick up on her indecisiveness.
Seiya leaned closer to her. "We will face any challenges together. I know we can overcome anything."
Usagi's grin increased as she nodded her head in agreement. "I'm sorry about earlier… next time I will talk to you about everything. I feel like when I'm with you I can face the world. I just…" She had to apologize again or she might end up talking about something else. She didn't know what to do.
Usagi was interrupted by Seiya placing his fingers on her lips to quiet her. Usagi blushed at the affectionate act. He was never afraid to show his feelings for her.
"You don't have to keep apologizing Odango," he swept her into his arms and held her tightly. "I'm here for you Odango and whatever you need. Always." He kissed her lightly on the forehead.
Usagi murmured, "I don't know what I would do without you."
Seiya's tone turned serious, "Odango, there is something I've wanted to talk to you about. I've been thinking everything over since we returned to Earth… and I want to say here, with you."
Usagi's jaw dropped. She was speechless by his actions. She closed her mouth and tried to form her thoughts. "You've leave Kinmoku… for me?"
"Yes. I don't want to be without you. You cannot remain on Kinmoku. I've given this a lot of thought. I don't want to be a part from you again. The year I returned to Kinmoku… was one of the worse years of my life," he admitted. "It… was too painful."
"But…I can't ask you to make that kind of sacrifice," Usagi said with downcast eyes. "You have to protect Princess Kakyuu… how will you be able to protect her when you are on Earth?"
"Princess Kakyuu already spoke with me… the day you were asleep for a while because you… saved me. She gave me her blessing. She told me she wants me to be happy and I am happiest when I am with you. She told me to protect you. You are the Princess I am to look after."
Usagi looked on in awe at his words. A few tears trickled down her cheeks. "I…" her voice quivered. "Se… Seiya…"
Seiya gently wiped the tears off her cheeks. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. He knew Usagi needed a few moments to process everything he told her. "Besides… I think you pictured us at the Silver Millennium," Seiya winked at her. "That would kind of hard if we lived in two different worlds."
Usagi was happy at the thought of Seiya choosing to remain on Earth because of her.
Seiya leaned forward and kissed her.
The images fade, leaving Seiya in a daze. He wishes he could have all of the other missing memories back. He begins to wonder if he will have a chance to enjoy this life he had seen. Will they be able to go back to this time and will everything be like how it was in these images?
But if they don't stop Chaos, this other timeline will never come to be and he will be without her once more. He tries to remember where he took Usagi on their unofficial date. They met at a park, then to the zoo and an amusement park. He's not sure if he has everything in the right order but it is worth looking to.
Pushing the hat down over his head a little more, he begins to walk to the park. His thought drifting back to their first battle against Sailor Galaxia and the animates. How much time did they waste not working together last time? He smirks a little, recalling they would have started to work together sooner if not for Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune because they were outsiders.
His thoughts are interrupted when he can sense her presence, or rather the shine of her starseed nearby. His moves his head side to side trying to find her. Her presence is close.
She appears before him as Sailor Cosmos. "You make it difficult to sneak up on you. Somehow you seem to be able to sense when this starseed is near to you." She seems annoyed by this development.
"Consider it a gift." Seiya notices they are alone. Perfect. "I'm surprised to see you up so early Odango, I thought you would like to sleep in more." He makes an effort to focus all of his attention on Usagi, and ignoring Chaos the best he can.
"Hmph." She crosses her arms against her chest. After Sailor Cosmos realizes what she did on instinct, she immediately removes her arms. She has to remain in control.
Usagi straightens up when she hears his voice.
"Don't you even think like that!" Serenity shouts at her.
"Seiya can help get me out, something you are still not ready to do. You still refuse to work together even after Mamo-chan asked you to, to save the Earth!" Usagi shouts back at Serenity.
Princess Serenity yells something back at her but she doesn't know what was said as all of Usagi's attention is now on Seiya and how she can reach him.
Sailor Cosmos shakes her head to clear it. Chaos can feel Usagi fighting for control more than ever. If Seiya's starseed was taken, Usagi would just give up. As soon as Chaos completes the thought, Usagi struggles even harder to free herself. Sailor Cosmos' footing becomes uneven and she staggers a few steps. Her eyes soften.
Seiya takes it as a cue that he is starting to reach her. "I've been worried about you." His tone becomes more serious. "You once told me, I feel like when I'm with you, I can face the world. Do you still feel that way Odango?"
Sailor Cosmos freezes to look at Seiya. "You remember that? Bu that happened against the Black Moon…." Sailor Cosmos genuinely smiles at him and then runs over to him, throwing her arms around his waist. She cries lightly into his shirt. "I was so afraid you would never remember us…" She hiccups before continuing. "I've been trying so hard to get back to the timeline with you in it. Everything has been so hard."
Seiya hugs her back tightly. "It is going to get harder Odango. Until we stop Chaos and return the starseeds, no one is safe."
Sailor Cosmos pulls apart from him slightly and brushes the tears out of her eyes. "I have an idea but I don't know if the others will agree to it. On Nemesis there is a gas that is deadly to those of Lunar decent, if is used against me, it should weaken Chaos and give you a chance to seal Chaos."
"But won't that be dangerous for you?" Seiya doesn't like this plan.
"Please mention it to Setsuna-san. It might become your only option to seal Chaos." She quickly pulls off the ring on her ring finger on her left hand. Take this one. It lowers my defenses; it will be easier to hit Chaos."
"But Odango, every time we attack Chaos, we are attacking you. As long as Chaos is in your body." His eyes are full of pain. "I don't want to hurt you."
"Then do what you must to seal Chaos and end this nightmare for me. I beg of Seiya, Please." She grabs his shirt, pulling him closer to her, allowing her a chance to kiss him.
When they part, Seiya is breathless, his first kiss with Usagi in this timeline.
Sailor Cosmos backs away. "Remember what I told you." She vanishes.
Seiya touches his lips lightly, staring at the ring in his hand. Trying to confirm that everything he witnessed did happen and it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him. He closes his hand tightly on this ring and turns around to head back to the hotel; determined more than ever to stop Chaos.
"I'm not sure if we are ever going to find any starseeds in here." Sailor Charon can feel her impatience rising. "I feel like I've checked this location so many times… or locations that look just like this and each time we are empty handed." She waits for a response from her companion and groans when she doesn't receive one.
Sailor Pluto is lost in her own thoughts, angry at the situation she had created. She hates the idea that Seiya may have an easier time reaching Usagi than Mamoru. Mamoru can reach Serenity. She should have seen this coming. Usagi fought so hard to retrieve her abilities as Cosmos. Chaos is in control of Sailor Cosmos and Cosmos is more of a part Usagi than Serenity. If only they could become two different people. But she knows it is not possible. They cannot exist without each other. Not of the senshi can exist without their Earth counterparts. A pitfall of reincarnation.
"Setsuna-san, did you find anything?"
Sailor Pluto looks up, startled to find Sailor Charon standing in front of her. "I'm sorry. I was lost in thought and didn't see you there. No. Nothing." She looks around for a moment. "I feel like we could spend a year searching here and still find nothing. But we have no other leads where the starseeds could be kept."
"Do you think this is a trap?" Sailor Charon asks suddenly. "What if the information we received is wrong and it is what Chaos wants us think?"
"The Princess was in control at the time and she would not give us false information." Sailor Pluto immediately shoots down the idea.
"She would if she believed it was true."
The two time guardians slowly turn their heads to look down the corridor toward the source of the voice.
"And it worked. You've wandered into the time stream areas where I can reach you. So I would say it worked perfectly." Sailor Cosmos watches them, waiting to see what their next move will be.
Sailor Charon looks at Sailor Pluto for direction and receives one.
"You've learned a lot from the last battle." Sailor Pluto keeps the Guardian talking while she tries to determine if they have enough time to leave the time streams before they lose their starseeds.
"Yes. But what is frustrating is how long it took for Galaxia to finally show up. I wish she could come out more instead of wherever she is hiding with those Starlights." Sailor Cosmos pauses after mentioning the Starlights. "I guess I should be thanking them though to give me this second chance. If they weren't here… Usagi never would have chosen differently."
Sailor Charon glares at Sailor Cosmos. Anytime she hears the Princess with the Starlight, her anger rises.
Sailor Pluto keeps a neutral facial expression. "Decisions can lead to unintended consequences." She counters back.
"Can you live with the decision you made that helped free Chaos?"
"I'll manage." Sailor Pluto notices Sailor Cosmos wears four rings. "You've lost another ring."
Sailor Cosmos looks down at her hand and sneers. "I will deal with him later."
Sailor Charon assumes she gave the ring to Mamoru like before. "Amazing how you continue to let the Prince of Earth get the better of you time and time again."
"No one gets the better of me." Sailor Cosmos raises her staff to attack.
But Sailor Pluto is faster and was preparing her attack. "Pluto Chronos Typhoon!"
On instinct, Sailor Cosmos places her staff in front of herself to block the attack. "Brilliant Barricade." The shield appears but is significantly weaker, almost as if the shield wasn't there. She realizes her mistake too late. That ring was gone, and with it the powerful barrier. The attack hits her full on knocking her backward.
"… she can't block…" Sailor Pluto watches in shock. The corridor is dark; she can't see the white fuku of Sailor Cosmos in the distance. She takes a few steps forward. A sudden breeze behind her causes her to turn around. She turns around in time to see a golden flash hit Sailor Charon.
Sailor Charon screams as her starseed is stolen from her body. Like the senshi before her, an orange flower blooms from her chest revealing a charcoal grey starseed. She collapses to the ground as Sailor Pluto runs over to her.
"For the record Charon, you were wrong. Usagi willing gave the ring to Seiya. He's a problem I'm going to have to deal with sooner than I thought."
"Do whatever it takes to stop her," Sailor Charon struggles to form her final words. "You can't let this go on…" Her eyes close a final time and the rest of her body vanishes.
Sailor Cosmos smiles and looks up from the starseed to Sailor Pluto. "You're next."
Sailor Pluto did the only thing she could think of to protect herself. She jumped backward into time, the only place Cosmos cannot enter.
Sailor Cosmos lets out a long sigh. "I thought I was finally going to get Pluto today." She looks down at the starseed in the hands, the most power of the Moon Senshi. And a critical one if she wants to alter time. She decides to return to the Silver Millennium to see if she has enough starseeds to accomplish her goal.
Sailor Pluto went back in a time only an hour. She knows she will not run into herself during this hour as long she doesn't go into the time streams, she will be fine. She underestimated Seyia's role in all of this. She should have known based on how hard Usagi has tried to get back to the timeline where she was with Seiya.
Setsuna walks around Tokyo near the Juban District hoping she will find Seiya. Based on how Sailor Cosmos acted, the other ring was just lost before she entered the time stream. She can find them, once Sailor Cosmos leaves, she can speak with Seiya. Yui's words echo in her mind, do whatever it takes.
Working closely together with Seiya, Galaxia, and the other Starlights will be whatever it takes. They have the most experience dealing with Chaos. She let her pride and Haruka's comments stop her in the past but she can't waste another second. Yui losing her starseed to Chaos will not be in vain.
She looks at her watch, twenty minutes left before Sailor Cosmos entered the time streams. Where would they like meet up? A place that was significant. Of course. She rushes to the park.
Five minutes later she freezes where she is. In the distance she can see Sailor Cosmos' cape blowing behind her and she is speaking to Seiya. She is unsure if it is the beginning or the end of the conversation. She watches in the distance, too far away to listen it. She has to stay out of their sight and events play out. They talk a moment and then Sailor Cosmos rushes over to Seiya and hugs him tightly. He reached Usagi and connects with her in a way no else can. They talk a minute before Sailor Cosmos gives me a ring and pulls him closer to her. She kisses him before leaving. Setsuna checks her watch for the time. Time is almost lined up from earlier.
Seiya touches his lips lightly, staring at the ring in his hand. Trying to confirm that everything he witnessed did happen and it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him. He closes his hand tightly on this ring and turns around to head back to the hotel; determined more than ever to stop Chaos.
He doesn't get very far when he hears someone calling his name. He is hesitant at first, thinking it could be a fan, but the voice sounds familiar. Turning his head, he realizes it is Setsuna. "Good Morning." He greets her; unsure of what she has to say to him given their history.
"I owe you an apology," Setsuna starts.
Seiya's eyes widen by her words. This is the last thing he expected to hear.
"I never should have changed the timeline because I was unhappy with Usagi-chan's choice. If I would have let things be, we would not be in the mess. We need your help to save her. Your connection with her is the only way we can stop Chaos." She tries to explain everything to him quickly. She needs those from Kinmoku to work with her. She can always help Mamoru after this is over.
"I… I'm just surprised. I didn't expect to hear this from you." Seiya appears dumbfounded and tries to keep his composure.
Setsuna continues. "She just entered the time streams and in a few moments she will take Sailor Charon's starseed."
"How do you…" He stops himself. "You traveled back in time."
"I had to find you to talk. If we all work together, we can end this."
Seiya's eyes narrow. "Now you want to work together? Where have you been for the past week when Haruka-san wants to punch me every time she sees me?"
"I've been trying to keep her in line." She pauses. "It hasn't been easy with Mamoru-san either… given the circumstances of the timeline."
Seiya lets out a deep breath. The circumstances of this timeline are Mamoru is married to Usagi. "I want to end this as soon as possible."
"The ring she gave you lowers her defenses. She can no longer use her barricade shield. We can use that to our advantage to seal Chaos." Setsuna mentions to him.
"Do you know when she will return?"
"No. Is there somewhere where we can talk? I need to speak with Galaxia as well."
Seiya weighs his options for a moment. He did not expect Setsuna to come to him to work together, if anything he expected Rei, Minako, and Makoto out of those that are left. But things are different. "I'll take you back with me. There are a few things Odango told me you should probably hear as well." He begins to walk a few steps in the direction of the hotel and pauses. "Shouldn't the others hear this as well?"
Setsuna frowns. "I don't know if they will do what is needed to end this…It would be better if we talk first and then speak to the others. We can decided how much to share with them."
Seiya looks at Setsuna for a moment as if to evaluate what she is telling him. After a moment he agrees with her. If this is what it takes for them to stop Chaos and restore the timeline to what it was, so be it. For a moment he pictures Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune under Galaxia's control, and freeing themselves to try take Sailor Galaxia's starseed. This is how they battle on this planet. "Okay." He reluctantly agrees.
They walk in silence for a few minutes. "This other timeline… I keep seeing memories from it. I just wish it was from when we fought Chaos." He turns to his companion to ask her more.
"My starseed was taken long before the final battle begun. I only know what the others told me. But I feel there was more to it than what I was told." Setsuna explains. "From what I recall the last ones there were you, Galaxia, Mamoru-san and Princess Serenity. But Chaos will not make the mistake of freeing Usagi-chan's starseed from her body. Chaos knows the starseed will be used against itself again."
They walk in silence again while Seiya reflects on everything.
As soon as Seiya returns to the hotel, he is greeted by his angry teammates. "You can't just leave without telling us." Taiki pauses when he sees Setsuna behind him. "I didn't know you were bringing a guest."
"I ran into Setsuna-san… right after I saw Odango. We have a lot to talk about." His words change the atmosphere in the room from anger at him to how they can stop Chaos.
Setsuna takes the moment to speak first. "I want to work with you to stop Chaos and I am fairly certain I can keep the others in line… by telling them what they need to hear."
Yaten narrows his eyes. "You sound just like Uranus." He looks over at Seiya, and Seiya shakes his head at Yaten to tell him now it now the time. "But I would rather work with you than the others. You seem to know more what is at stake."
"Please be seated," Princess Kakyuu directs Setsuna to a couch.
After she sits down, Setsuna continues. "A short time ago, Sailor Cosmos took Sailor Charon's starseed in the time streams. I was able to escape. But a few important things were revealed. Chaos gave Usagi wrong information by telling her the starseeds were in the time streams, as way to try to take mine and Yui-chan's starseeds."
"Another thing we should have anticipated." Hikaru eyes the caldron for a moment. "If she doesn't know where the starseeds are, if we defeat Chaos, rather when we defeat Chaos, how can she summon them back?"
"She will be able to with your help like last time I'm sure. We will find them." Setsuna interjects. "But... I'm not sure how much has changed since then. There is one other important thing that happened. When I attacked Sailor Cosmos in the time streams, she was not able to put up a barrier since she no longer has that ring."
"She can't block…?" Taiki repeats slowly. "This is excellent news." He turns to Seiya, "You said you spoke to her this morning?"
"Yeah." Seiya shifts around in his seat. "I said something she had said to me from the other… alternative timeline… something from one of those memory flashes." He pauses thinking about much he wanted to reveal about the moment with her. He decides against sharing the details of that memory. "And the next thing I knew she was back, briefly. She gave me a ring to lower her defenses." He lets out a sigh. "She wants us to attack her to stop Chaos."
"How will attacking her help stop Chaos? There has to be more to it." Taiki looks at Seiya. "What else did she tell you?"
Seiya didn't want it to come to this, but they are running out of time and options. "She told me about some gas that can be used…" His voice trails off.
Setsuna gasps loudly. "Of course… but even that seems extreme…"
"What are you talking about?" Hikaru looks back and forth at the two. "You're not telling us everything."
"Let me explain," Setsuna offers since she would have to be the one to put the plan into place. "When we fought the Black Moon, an enemy in the other timeline, they weaponized a type of gas that was harmful to only those of Lunar decedent. Although Usagi-chan was reborn on Earth, she is still of Lunar decedent and the gas will still harm her, but for a shorter period of time than the Moon Senshi. As it turns out, whatever is in the gas is similar to what Usagi-chan experienced when she went to Kinmoku. Something in the atmosphere made it deadly for her to stay long. She had to return immediately. During the past battle, she became enclosed in a crystal and trapped with the same gas, which led to her gaining immunity to the gas, which also made it possible for to go to Kinmoku without any adverse effects. However, in this timeline, she does not have that same immunity."
The five from the Kinmoku star system exchange looks at each other.
"What happens when she is exposed to the gas?" Princess Kakyuu asks closely. Her eyes move over to Seiya. His fists are clenched tightly; he clearly opposes this plan even though Usagi asked for it herself.
"The gas makes it difficult for her to breathe and knocks her out for a while depending on how much she is exposed to… given the circumstances, it might make sense to try it. If she is unconscious, can Chaos be removed from her body and sealed?" She turns to Hikaru for the answer to her question.
"It is possible. However, when she is unconscious, the Chaos energy will be lower. It will take longer to drain the Chaos energy and seal it." Hikaru looks over at the cauldron. "While more time consuming… it could be our best chance."
"I don't like this idea. We are essentially poisoning her." Seiya objects.
"Do you have any other options?" Taiki shot back. "Tsukino-san told you this information for a reason. She wants us to stop Chaos. If this works, then we can return the starseeds."
"This would be the fastest way to end this. Time is running out. I'm afraid of what could happen if Chaos is somehow brought back into the other timeline and we do not recover the other starseeds." Setsuna looks at the others for any other signs of agreement or disagreement.
"I think we should try it. The sooner Chaos is sealed the better. Otherwise we are sitting around her hoping Seiya-kun will be able to get more rings, and we get to keep our starseeds." Hikaru looks over at Seiya, hoping he will not object again.
He leans back in the chair with his arms crossed against his chest. It is the closest Seiya sign will show to go ahead with the plan; he won't say it out loud.
Hikaru looks over at Princess Kakyuu for a sign.
Princess Kakyuu looks over at Taiki and Yaten. They nod their heads to proceed. She pauses when she looks at Seiya. If he refused this method from the beginning he never would have mentioned the gas Usagi spoke of. Though he might not have known all the details at the time he mentioned this option. "How would you get the gas?"
"It is stored on Nemesis, the tenth planet in this solar system, and the only one without a senshi. I will take Haruka-kun with me. We will tell the others we found something that might work against Chaos. We just won't tell them how it works." Setsuna speaks as she verbalizes the plan for the first time. "I would prefer not to tell the others since it will only delay our efforts to stop Chaos."
"You mean you won't tell them because you know they would object too?" Seiya asks.
Setsuna turns to face him. "I know you are against this, anytime there is a risk or a danger to Usagi-chan, that hasn't changed no matter what time we are in. But if you want to this end, for her to be free from Chaos this is our best chance right now. This might be want we need to do to save her."
"But at what cost?" Seiya asks angrily. "Why is she the price? What if something is goes wrong, something else you didn't anticipate?" His voice lowers as he mentions his greatest fear. "What if it kills her?"
"What happened to doing whatever it takes to complete the mission? How many times did she risk her life to prevent others from being hurt? She mentioned it to you for a reason." Yaten is now on his feet walking over to Seiya, trying to knock some sense into him.
"You're talking about doing something that could possibly kill her." Seiya is on his feet.
"This is not the first time a senshi has had to put their lives on the line to stop evil. Your feelings for this girl are blinding you again." Yaten snaps at Seiya as he points a finger at him in anger.
"Enough!" Princess Kakyuu raises her voice to get them to stop arguing. "Because of the connection Fighter has with her, three of her rings are now longer in Chaos' possession. Because of that connection, Chaos has not taken all of our starseeds and we still have chance of defeating Chaos." Her eyes are firm as she looks at Yaten.
Yaten glares at Seiya one more time before looking at his Princess. He flips of few of his bangs to the side and collapses into the chair. "So let's get this plan moving to end this."
Setsuna gives them a moment to allow everyone's tempers to lower. "I know this plan is dangerous to the Princess but it is more dangerous the longer Chaos remains in her body."
"How quickly can you leave?" Taiki asks Setsuna, ignoring the head turn he received from Seiya.
"I can leave tonight." Setsuna quickly answers.
"And you," Taiki adds turning to Seiya. "Should try to collect more rings from Sailor Cosmos. If her powers are weakened more it will easier to seal Chaos. If we can't seal Chaos by the time Sailor Pluto and Sailor Uranus return then we should use the gas." Taiki purposely framed everything this way to give Seiya chance to help Usagi that did not involve using the gas.
Seiya nods his head. He appears less angry at this thought.
Sailor Cosmos stands in the time streams. She assumed Sailor Pluto would have returned by now. She takes advantage of the Guardian of Time's absence.
The pearl ring on right pinky glows brightly as the hand grips her staff. The crystal orb at the top also glows brightly. Her eyes are closed in deep concentration. One by one the starseeds light up as some of their energy is expelled on her command. A wall of light travels up into the time streams, trying to freeze this timeline to allow Chaos' continued existence. After several minutes, nothing happens. She sighs loudly in disappointment. She will need to collect more starseeds.
What Chaos does not realize yet, no matter how many times or how many starseeds are collected, the timeline will revert to its previous form. The Crystal Key can only be used once and its power is fading.
Title is a part of the lyrics from Ai no Senshi.
Setsuna has a new plan to stop Chaos, will she be successful or with the gas do too much harm? Find out on the last early release act on Wednesday, November 30th! Act 56: We Believe in You