Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Betrayal ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

It was rather late when I finally returned back to Galaxia's realm that night. "So how was it?" Crow asked anxiously the moment I walked into view.

"It was wonderful!" I exclaimed. "I can't tell you how good it felt to see him again, I..." I quickly shut my mouth. Baka, I must've sounded like a twelve year old. But Crow only laughed.

"Well, you better have had a good time!" she said. "You have no idea how much I had to cover for you! Galaxia came here looking for you a couple times."

"Oh," I said quietly. "Does she want me to go see her?" Crow shook her head.

"No, she's sleeping now. But you had better show up first thing tomorrow morning or she's gonna get really angry with you again."

"That so?" I asked with a smirk. Standing up very authoritatively with one hand on my hip, I pointed with an angry glare towards Crow. "Well, then Lead Crow," I said with perfect imitation of Galaxia's annoyingly demanding voice. "You will just have to fetch me thirty Star Seeds to make up for it!" Crow started to giggle a little bit, so I continued on, "What? You dare to laugh at me? Fifty Star Seeds then!"

At this, Crow could not help but burst out laughing, and strangely enough, I found myself doing the same. I never laughed much, even before this whole mess with Galaxia happened. I was always the more self-contained, more serious of the Sailor Senshi. Taylor and Michiru were the ones who brought out the lighter side of me.

As soon as my thoughts fell to Michiru, my laughter stopped. Somehow it wasn't the same without her here. And I couldn't go on laughing and enjoying myself while she was gone. My face slowly fell. I guess Crow noticed it too.

"You still miss that other girl, don't you?" she asked. I nodded.

"I know it's stupid. I should be happy now. But I can't stop thinking about Neptune. I wish... I could just hold her Star Seed in my hands. Only once. Maybe then I could somehow tell her how sorry I am."

"She knew," Crow answered. "She knew how you felt. I think that's what she was trying so hard to tell you at the end. She forgave you."

At Crow's words, I began to think back to that moment when Neptune was fading away. It wasn't something I wanted to remember, but the scene was still so clear in my mind. Michiru. Her hand almost transparent, her body so weak and yet still reaching out to me. Trying to tell me...

"Haruka, I want you to know... I, I for..."

"I forgive you," I whispered. Of course. That's what Neptune was trying to tell me. Her final words; she was trying to keep that hope alive in me. She didn't want me to continue my life full of that sorrow and regret and hatred for myself. At last I understood. As usual, of course, Lead Crow was paying no attention to my little realizations and continued on were the conversation had left off before,

"But if you really do want to see Neptune's Star Seed again, that's not really a problem."

"Say what?" I asked. "What are you talking about? Galaxia's Star Seeds are guarded by her power. There's no way..."

"Galaxia doesn't have energy to waste on constantly protecting the Star Seeds, you know," Crow answered. "Yes, there is a barrier there, but parts of it are weak. Weak enough that you could reach in and take a Star Seed out, maybe even two if you were careful about it."

"Then...?" I asked. "Then why on earth don't you go in and take Siren's Star Seed out? You could restore her to life again." Crow shook her head.

"No. As much as I would love to, there's nothing I can do to restore Siren, even if I did get her Star Seed. The ability to change a Star Seed back to its original form takes a great amount of energy. Galaxia is the only one I know of who can do it."

I thought for a moment. A great amount of energy. The power to take something was all but deprived of life and restore a new hope. Only one person I knew had that kind of power. "Sailor Moon could do it," I whispered.

"Who?"

"Sailor Moon," I repeated. "My princess. I know she would have the ability to do that."

"Are you sure?" Crow looked at me skeptically. I nodded, never so confident of anything in my life.

"That girl has always been the light in the storm for me and my fellow soldiers. Even when everything was against her, she still pulled through. To restore Siren or Neptune would be nothing to her. And I'm sure... I'm sure she could defeat Galaxia as well."

Crow smiled. "You say that with such confidence I really want to believe you," she said, looking off into the distance. "I've seen Galaxia destroy so much, I've almost forgotten what hope is. But you... you seem to have such a strong faith in your princess."

"And with good reason," I said. I thrust my fist into my hand. "I would just love to see Sailor Moon take Galaxia on. And finally watch her defeat." Crow nodded confidently.

"If you're that positive, then I think I have a way I can help."

* * * * *

I awaited the next day very anxiously. Crow wouldn't tell me exactly what her plan was at first. She only asked that Taylor and I meet her the next day after Galaxia had gone scouting the earth's terrain for potential new targets. Every once in a while, she did do something herself. And it was probably only a matter of time before her targets were found.

I led Taylor through the same path I had taken to come down here the first time. Crow was waiting for us in Galaxia's throne room, in front of the great array of Star Seeds she had collected. I hated to look at this place. Despite its dazzling beauty, the stain of death was heavy in the air here. And somewhere in that mass of crystals were the Star Seeds of myself, of Crow, of Siren, and Michiru.

"It's terrible..." I heard Taylor whisper. "Are you telling me that every single one of these Star Seeds used to belong to a Sailor Soldier?"

"Yes," Crow replied not looking up from the ground. "And Galaxia will not stop until she's gathered every last one. That's why the two of you need to get back to Sailor Moon and make sure she stops her."

She took a step towards the shimmering crystals, carefully holding out her hand and feeling for the barrier protecting them. As her hand drew close, I could see a golden glow reflecting on her palm from an invisible surface in front of her. The magic protecting this place was strong; to make a wrong move promised a painful retort. "It's here somewhere..." I heard Crow murmur to herself as she moved her hand along, sensing for the barrier's weak point. At last she stopped at a place where the glow on her skin was faint and the shield weak.

"Right here," she said. "Now watch carefully." With that, Crow stepped one foot inside the fortress. When she saw everything was clear, she ducked out and slowly pulled the rest of her body inside. She then straightened up proudly in front of us.

"You see?" she said, pointing to the space where she had just entered. "If you come in right there, the barrier will not hurt you. But you need to be very careful and enter slowly. Don't show a bit of your power, or the energy in the walls will lash out at you just the same." With that, she carefully stepped back out.

"Can't we just take the Star Seeds now?" Taylor asked, rather impatiently. Crow shook her head.

"Not a good idea. Even if you got the Star Seeds now, Galaxia knows these crystals well. She'd sense one was gone."

"Then..." Taylor said, gritting his teeth in frustration. "Then what can we do?"

"I will take care of Galaxia," Crow said. "I still have a little bit of the water of the River of Lost Memories. I'm sure I can slip it into her drink tonight. It should be enough to erase Galaxia memories of everything before she brought you here, Uranus. It will be just like you and Neptune's Star Seeds were never captured."

"What about you?" I asked.

"I've been Galaxia's servant for a long time," Crow answered. "Her memories of me are deeply imbedded in her mind. The water can only erase recent memories. I will have to stay."

"When you go to find the Star Seeds, you must be very careful. You can slip out of that barrier carrying only two, so you must make sure you have the right ones. Many stars look alike, but every seed's shine is unique. Close your eyes and concentrate hard on the life force of the person you are looking for. If you are closely bonded, you will feel their energy, almost like its calling out to you."

"You sound like you've done this before," Taylor commented. But Crow did not reply.

"Galaxia will be back soon," she said. "Knight of Uranus, you should leave now. Return here this evening at sunset. I will make sure Galaxia has taken the water."