Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Neptune: Year One ❯ IX ( Chapter 11 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

-Neptune: Year One-

Diclaimer: It's all Naoko Takeushi's folks, I don't own any of it.

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-IX-

The lunar rover sat on the eastern edge of the Mare Serentatis, or Sea of Tranquility. Last driven by astronaut Eugene A Cernan during the Apollo 17 mission in December of 1972, both the vehicle and the astronaut's footprints remained exactly as they were when the astronauts left on December nineteenth. Without wind or rain, there was nothing there to erode away the evidence. Along with the scorch marks of the landing site and the American flag, they all bore silent testimony to just how far the people of earth had come.

There was no atmosphere out here, and no noise to record the sound of the new footsteps being left upon the moon's surface. The only evidence of her at all was the imprint her high heeled boots left in the sedimentary moon dust. She stepped across the previous footsteps as she headed into the Mare Serentatis. The fine powdery moon dust her feet picked up quickly fell back down to the surface in the vacuum of up, she could see the crescent earth rising just over the horizon. She noted that it was waxing before turning away and continuing on her journey.

From earth, the Mare Serentatis makes one of the eyes for the "man in the moon." She can remember when things were different. Descending a hill and going farther than the astronauts dared to, she could remember when the man in the moon was a woman. Coming at last upon the ruined remains of the kingdom that once existed here, she placed a gloved hand on the remains of a column that once stood in the royal antechamber.

This was once the land of the gods, a civilization that had attained the pinnacle of glory.

It was Serenity's Kingdom of the Silver Millennium.

She closed her eyes, and remembered...

The four of them exited the Time Gate quickly. Neptune was going fast, and Uranus had one of the shorter princess' arms draped over her shoulder while Pluto had the other arm wrapped around hers. The fourth Senshi, Saturn, followed silently. The Senshi of Death had in fact yet to say a word since her fellow Outers had used their talismans to awaken her. As Pluto and Uranus dragged Neptune along, her head suddenly fell forward. Aquamarine hair acted as a curtain, hiding her face from her fellow Senshi.

"Neptune!" Uranus cried out.

Neptune weakly looked up, her eyes fluttering as she tried to focus on her love. The large gash in Uranus' side bore testimony of the Wind Senshi's own injuries. Uranus cupped Neptune's cheek.

"It's not fair to indulge in your own world like that, Neptune. Don't leave me alone..." her voice died off as she and her fellow Senshi of the Outer Solar System saw something sparkling in the air. It was Queen Serenity's Silver Crystal. The crystal suddenly shone brightly, turning the sky a bright pinkish red.

"Come," Pluto ordered as what appeared to be bubbles containing the souls of the fallen began to rise into the air, "We haven't much time." Making their way through the ruins, they at last heard a familiar voice.

"...And this crescent moon wand can only be used by a descendant of this kingdom."

The four Senshi came upon their fallen Queen giving her final instructions to her aids Luna and Artemis.

"If Metalia should return to life again in the future, give this to Princess Serenity and protect the peaceful world."

"Yes, my queen," Luna said, tears freely rolling down the cat's cheeks as she focused on her monarch's last will and testament.

The queen looked up to see the Senshi of the Outer Planets approach. Uranus sat back on her legs and cradled Neptune's head in her lap. The queen looked from the couple to Saturn and Pluto. "Saturn, do you understand what must be done?" The Senshi of Silence nodded her head. "Good..."

"Queen Serenity..." Artemis' voice was cut off as, with a wave of Serenity's hand, both he and Luna were encapsulated in small suspended animation pods. The pods rose into the air to follow the soul bubbles.

Serenity turned back to the Senshi in front of her. "One day, all will be revived again. The cycle of life, death and rebirth thus turned will begin again someday."

"All will be revived again?" Neptune asked, her eyes fluttering weakly as she looked from her Queen to Uranus.

Serenity noted the look and managed a smile. "Yes Neptune, both you and Uranus will one day be reborn as well. For neither of you are whole without the other, and were either of you reincarnated without the other you would be incomplete."

Neptune looked up into Uranus' eyes, tears running down her cheeks. Uranus looked from her beloved to the Guardian of the Time Gate. "Pluto... Promise us... Promise..."

Pluto looked from Uranus to Neptune and nodded in understanding. "I promise. When the time comes, I will do all in my power to reunite you both."

Neptune nodded her head. "Thank you," she whispered.

Queen Serenity closed her eyes and drew in a labored breath. "Princess Serenity and all of our Sailor Senshi, may your love be fulfilled in the future on earth. In the future on earth... please live happy lives." With that, she died.

Pluto walked over and brought her hand up to her queens neck, checking for a pulse. Her head hung for a brief second when she found none. Looking back over, she stood up. "It is time. The cycle of life and death must once more turn, and it must begin now. I must leave though, to return to my Time Gate, to watch and guide and plan for the day when all will be renewed." Walking over to Neptune and Uranus, she placed her hand over theirs. "Till we meet again, my friends."

"Everyone else is dead."

Pluto looked up with a start. Saturn, who had been silent until now, came over.

"The queen, the princess and everybody else is already gone," she said as she picked up her dreaded Silence Glaive. "Soon, I will fulfill my destiny, and all will be wiped clean as Uranus, Neptune and myself will join them. But you? You must go on, all alone." With a look of sadness and pity in her eyes, she shook her head. "Your fate is the saddest of all."

Pluto stared silently at the Senshi of Death, pondering her words. She gave one last parting look to Uranus and Neptune before opening the portal to the Time Gate. She stepped in as Saturn raised the Silence Glaive up over her head.

"Death Reborn Revolution!"

The Portal closed behind Pluto just before the Glaive came down and touched the lunar surface.

Pluto opened her eyes. Above her, without an atmosphere to bend light and cause a twinkling effect, the stars shone bright and steady. She had been given the task to watch and be ready for when the time came that the Senshi were to be reborn. She had promised that she would see to it that Uranus and Neptune would one day find one another again. With a heavy feeling she realized she'd failed so far. Michiru Kaioh wanted nothing to do with fate or destiny, or it would seem with a Time Senshi who once upon a time she'd called her friend.

Saturn's words came back to her, "Your fate is the saddest of all."

Her eyes watered up, the tears freezing and falling to her feet as ice crystals in the cold vacuum of space before they ever had a chance to travel down her cheeks. She opened a portal into the time gate and disappeared.

The girl was led into the tribunal chamber in chains by her two guards. The members of the ecclesiastical court were already present, and as the guards stepped back and away from the prisoner she found herself all alone before her accusers.

"Joan," one of the prosecutors spoke up, "Do you still refuse to sign this confession?"

"I do," she answered boldly.

"You claim to have heard voices," another accuser said, "And to have seen Saint Michael the Archangel."

"Was Saint Michael clothed or was he naked?" a third voice asked sarcastically, earning the laughter of the others within the tribunal.

Joan turned angrily towards the speaker. "Do you think God could not provide him with clothing?"

"Enough!" the second prosecutor shouted. "You dare to mock us, you herozera..., uh, herisor..."

"Heresiarch," Sister Tabitha said exasperatedly as she came out on the stage. "The word is 'heresiarch.'"

Michiru let out a sigh. This was the last dress rehearsal for the play. Tomorrow was opening night, and they were still having troubles with their lines. Looking over behind the stage curtain, she met Miyuki's gaze and smiled back. The two had been secretly seeing one another now for nearly a month. Miyuki was beautiful, and Michiru enjoyed their time together. She did sometimes wish though that her sempai's eyes didn't glaze over whenever she'd try to talk about art, or yawn so much when Michiru would play her classical music CDs and practice her violin.

Michiru could overlook all that, though, for one important thing; Miyuki Asami was normal. And after all that had happened to the freshman in the last few months (and the still recurring nightmares of the end of the world), she wanted, no, needed that more than anything.

"Hey, Michiru-chan."

Michiru turned to see her roommate Takayo coming over in her guard uniform with someone she didn't recognize. "Michiru-chan, I want you to meet one of my oldest and dearest friends from my old school. This is Elsa Gray, the fastest runner on two feet, and she's just transferred to our school. Isn't that neat?"

"Nice to meet you," Elsa said as she politely bowed.

"Likewise, I'm sure," Michiru answered as she bowed back.

"Hey, I have an idea," Takayo said, "My sempai Chieko has the flu at the moment, but maybe Elsa, me, you and Miyuki can go out after rehearsals today and do something?"

"That sounds nice," Michiru agreed. "We can..."

"Okay, girls," Sister Tabitha called out. "Places, please. We'll start from where we left off."

"We'll talk more after rehearsals," Michiru said before taking her place before the tribunal once again.

The snow was cascading down as Takayo, Elsa, Michiru and Miyuki left the theater hall the school had rented and strolled down to a small cafe Miyuki said she knew. They found the small restaurant downtown next to an auto repair shop. Miyuki said that she was friends with someone who worked there, and told the other girls to wait outside while she checked to see if she was in. While Miyuki went in and Elsa and Takayo reminisced about the good old days, Michiru leaned up against the garage entrance and crossed her arms as she watched her breath rise out of her mouth in white puffs and ascend into the winter sky.

"Hey Haruka-kun, where'd you get this convertible?"

"My aunt passed away recently and left it to me. Pretty cool, huh?"

Michiru froze as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end.

"Well, I don't know... It's going to need a thorough going over. We'll need to do a tuneup, check the antifreeze and the electrical system."

"Your forgetting the oil leak, Hironari-kun."

Michiru's pulse sped up as she listened. That voice. It couldn't be...

"Look, I'm not saying it's in first-class condition. But it is salvageable. And I'm willing to bet between us that we can bring her back to pristine. So let's get her on the lift."

"Is that what you told her last night?"

"Baka."

It was her, the voice from her dreams.

She's turned her back on destiny, Pluto and saving the world. She'd even given her henshin wand back. She wanted her own life, her own dreams. And now, of all times, she found the voice from her dreams.

"But Ruka-kun, you're not even old enough to drive yet."

"You're a downer, you know that?"

She was torn. She had her sempai Miyuki and her friends at school. Her music and artwork were only just beginning to get noticed outside her school. She didn't want or need to go back.

"I'm not saying it doesn't have the potential to be a dream car but..."

"Don't even mention dreams to me. You wouldn't believe the nightmare I had last night."

If she turned around to see her, she knew what would happen. She'd turned her back on all of it. If she turned around and saw who it was lurking in the shadows of her dreams, she'd be pulled back and would never be able to turn away again.

"Nightmare, Ruka-kun?"

"Hai, a real weird one all about the end of the world."

She knew what would happen.

She turned anyways.

Time seemed to freeze as she saw her. That face, that indescribable face. Her features were boyish, and her haircut only added to the effect, but to the trained eyes of an artist such as Michiru the feminine jawline clearly gave her away. It was her eyes though that were the blonde's most striking feature. They were teal green, and under the fluorescent lighting of the garage they seemed to sparkle.

Somewhere, Elsa and Takayo were talking. In front of her, the sandy blonde was leaning up against the hood of an old white convertible as she continued her conversation with her friend. Michiru heard none of it. As she continued to stare, she was only aware of the music, a music that only she could hear as she looked upon the androgynous girl before her. A warm breeze seemed to come from the garage, carrying the scent of roses...

"Michiru-chan."

Michiru looked over with a start, the scent of roses and the music disappearing almost instantly as she turned away. Miyuki was smiling at her and the other two girls. "Good news. My friend is in, so we should be able to get a deal on today's meal."

Michiru stared at her for a few seconds before forcing a smile. "That's wonderful Miyuki-chan."

"Chan?" Takayo giggled, "My, we are informal aren't we?"

"Come on," Miyuki said, choosing to ignore the comment, "My treat."

The four girls went into the restaurant. Michiru brought up the rear. She looked wistfully back over to the garage entrance as she realized that nothing would ever be the same.

"Ugh! Delays, delays," a frantic Sister Tabitha grumbled. "We're still missing several set pieces, the cast seems to have gone awol, and now this! Hey up there," she called to the balcony, "Have you got that spotlight fixed yet?"

"Don't worry," Zultan called down, "It's fixed all right."

-To Be Continued-