Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Crying On Your Grave ❯ When Tears Won't Come ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

CRYING ON YOUR GRAVE
By Amby-chan

** Remember: amby-chan@sailormoon.com !!! Arigato!!!**

Chapter Two:

"She's coming."

She spoke not to herself, though there was no one else in the room. Standing alone in the darkness, her black eyes focused on to the two ravens perched in the shadows above her. Their dark wings glistening, they shifted slightly, one of them being so bold as to flap her wings, her caw raucous and harsh in the stillness. It was a stillness so absolute that it seemed as if one would be able to hear their own heart beating. It was a darkness so deep that it seemed as if there were no "self" … only darkness.

She liked it that way.

Tilting her head, she stretched out one gloved hand, her fingers spreading out as if reaching for something unattainable. Instead, a raven came to her, landing on her wrist, her sharp talons digging into her skin. Flapping her wings again, the raven tilted her head back and screamed again, harshly, into the silence.

She laughed.

"She's coming! Finally! She is coming…"

She turned on her heel, her black eyes staring out the only source of light in the dark room - a small, square window that opened out to look on the city below. It was night out, with wispy, thin clouds drifting aimlessly in front of a full moon that hung heavy and low in the sky. She turned her eyes to the horizon. There, where she felt as if she could reach out and snag them, were heavy, black clouds, sitting, waiting, like a vulture over a dying animal.

They were waiting for her arrival. She was as well.

Two would face of this night. Only one would survive.

She planned to be that one.

Turning again, she stretched her hand out and the raven returned to its perch, screaming again harshly. With a single, sharp movement, she opened the window, watching for a moment as the people passed by below her, unaware of how small, how puny they were. She could reach out and crush them with a simple flick of her fingers. But, no, … she was saving her power. She was waiting.

"Come, then, Princess! I await you!!" She laughed softly.

"Shi wa tsuita!!"


Usagi stared into the mirror. A woman she didn't know stared back at her… Six or seven months ago she'd cut her hair, abandoning the odango style she'd had since she was three years old. Instead she had cut it short, longer than Haruka's but shorter than Hotaru's. It was a style no one else she knew had, and it had felt good .. almost like she was someone else, someone she didn't know. And back, at that time, she had wanted to be someone else, someone who hadn't lost all of those most important to her.

Her azure eyes shifted slightly, not leaving the mirror, but leaving her reflection. Instead she found herself gazing at Hino Rei's reflection. Leaning up against the wall in back of Usagi, Rei's eyes were closed, her hands folded over her chest. She was in a state of meditation, mentally preparing herself for what they were going to do.

Rei hadn't changed. Sure, now she wore her hair in a thick braid down her back, but it was still as long as ever, with strands of her dark brown mane falling down around her face. She hadn't lost the mature, almost arrogant tilt to her chin, though her flashing brown eyes were more tempered now. She seemed wiser, more knowing in a way. It wasn't just because she seemed to contain a living inferno, fire leaping just below her skin. It was.. Something else. Something Usagi couldn't put her finger on.

Usagi shook her head slightly, letting her eyes fall down to the brush in her hands. She didn't know why she was brushing her hair. Perhaps it was just habit. When she went out, she brushed her hair. She was going out, so she was going to brush her hair. She didn't dwell on the fact that she was going out… to kill Mikazuki.

"We should go now." Usagi's head snapped around and she turned to look at Rei at this, her face pale, nervous. Yet there was a determined look, steely hard, in her sky blue eyes that said she was ready for this. She wanted this.

"Hai," was her soft reply.

Something appeared in Rei's hand that made Usagi's eyes widen slightly. It was silly, really, the memories that the simple red stick evoked in her. The light in the room ran across its surface, and Usagi closed her eyes for a moment, just remembering all the times she'd seen that stick and all the times they'd fought with it. Her hand went to her chest, feeling the hardness of her brooch underneath her simple shirt. She'd always worn it, even when she'd sworn off being Sailormoon forever.

"Let's do it," Rei said, and tilted her head back. Thrusting the stick into the air, fire leaped in her eyes as she called to the heavens. "Mars… Crystal… POWER!" Fire surrounded her, and Usagi had to shield her eyes, but she didn't stop to watch her friend turn into Sailormars. Her hand clenched on the brooch, and for one panicked moment she couldn't remember her phrase. But then it slipped to her tongue as naturally as if she was saying "konnichiwa" to a dear friend.

"Moon, eternal, power… MAKE-UP!!"

Sailormars stepped forward, the wind from Usagi's transformation phrase ruffling the dark red skirt. She was mildly surprised - she'd expected her hair to whip out from the braid she kept it in, but it hadn't. The braid reached the middle of her thighs, with wispy strands of black hair escaping it in places. She shook her head. No matter, she thought, reaching up and brushing ebony hair out of her dark eyes.

And then Eternal Sailormoon stepped out of the shadows. Sailormars stared at her for a moment, as if seeing a stranger. Where were her odangos? Now that she thought about it, she'd expected Sailormoon's odangos to grow back, despite the fact that Usagi's hair was now short. But it hadn't. Her hair was still in the same, short style even though nothing else had changed in her uniform.

Sailormars smiled grimly, reaching out both hands to Eternal Sailormoon. The other senshi didn't need to be told what to do. She took Sailormars's hands and closed her eyes. A wind whipped up around them as they concentrated, pooling their energy.

Tokyo was four hours away from Usagi's home, even by the fastest car or train.

It took them less than a second to get there.


She dropped to her knees, moaning softly as she fought to push herself up, only succeeding in falling to her elbows. Ragged breaths tore at her lungs, feeling as if she'd swallowed a gulp of fire that burned all the way down. A little whimper fought itself free of her throat, her brow furrowed as she concentrated on breathing. Raising her head took more effort than she'd ever dreamed, but she made it, looking around.

Where was she?

"Mi.. .. chi…ru?"

Her aqua colored hair flowed over her shoulder as she turned her head to the other side, her elbows still resting on the crystal smooth, cold surface of the floor. A soft light infused its way through the clear crystal walls, sending little shimmers dancing over the form laying on the floor a few feet from her.

"Haru.. Haruka!"

Sailorneptune, her uniform ripped and tattered, slowly pushed her way over to the other woman, collapsing on the floor next to her. Her hand reached out, fingers touching the other's, then their fingers intertwined. The touch seemed to give them both strength, but they simply lay their for a minute, their eyes on each other. After what seemed like an eternity, they struggled to sit up, pain lancing through them at every breath.

"What.. what happened?" Sailorneptune's beautiful, soft voice was cracked with fatigue and pain, sounding echoing and hollow in the empty room. She looked slowly around the room, shards of crystal gouged out of the beautifully decorated walls, dried blood, dirt, and scorch marks marring the shimmering surface of the crystal. Sailorneptune was confused for a minute. Why did this place seem so familiar? Then it snapped into her mind with the click of knowledge that had been there from the start: they were in the main hall of her home, the Neptune Palace.

Sailoruranus didn't answer. She didn't need to. She reached down and picked something from the floor, holding it up to the light for both of them to see. Anger danced in her eyes, rage seethed, barely contained underneath her body. At the simple sight of her find, their memories came rushing back, in an inferno of anger, pain, and desperation.

It was a raven's feather.

Sailoruranus crushed it in her hand, her eyes going to the other side of the room. There, in the shadows, Sailorsaturn was slowly picking herself off of the floor, her whimpers coloring the tone of the room, blood and burn marks marring her pale white skin. It killed Sailoruranus inside to see her pseudo-daughter in such pain..

"Shi wa tsuita…" She let the feather fall to the ground, and began to stand. "It's time for death to come for HER."


Their feet made hollow, clicking sounds in the empty hall, the sulking shadows held at bay by the weak lights seeming to grasp at them as they walked past. Side by side, they kept walking, not speaking, not needing to. The empty silence of the formerly prosperous hallway said everything for them. This had once been home to Ami. She had once walked these halls every day, from her condo to school, and from school back to her home, the condo.

Then Mikazuki had moved into the condo, into Tokyo, and into their lives. And nothing had ever been the same. They couldn't forgive her the blood on her hands, and they couldn't forget the faces of their friends. The anger burning in their eyes was identical: the anger of those who had lost everything near and dear to them. It was time for them to take their revenge.

The door loomed closer, and they didn't need to squint to know what it said. Shisouno Mikazuki. It was her home. It would be her grave as well.

They came to a stop in front of the door, their footsteps still echoing eerily in the otherwise still hall. Their eyes met, and as one they both reached out, gloved hands pressing on the door, pushing it open. It complied without a sound, revealing a darkness inside blacker than the darkness in the middle of the night. It seemed to reach towards them, seeking to swallow them whole.

Sailormars stepped in first, her eyes immediately snapping up in front of them.

Across the spacious, plush apartment there was a wall of glass which could be slid back to admit entrance to a balcony overlooking all of Tokyo. The doors were open, the curtains blowing in the breeze, catching on her legs. She stood there, her hand on the door to her right, one hand half raised to her chest.

"Who.. who are you?" At any other time, under any other circumstances, that would have been enough to stop them, right there. She looked too small, too scared, and too pale to be an enemy. No trace of wickedness shone from her black eyes, her dark hair flowing about her shoulders as she took a half step back. "What are you doing here? What do you want?"

That was easy enough to answer.

"You know who we are, Mikazuki," Sailormars said, her voice burning, eyes smoldering. The air around her shimmered like the air above a hot parking lot, a lick of fire leaping from her arms as she stepped forward, raising her hand to point at Mikazuki. "You tried to kill me. You tried, but you were hasty in your arrogance. I am the senshi of fire!! Did you really expect me to die under its flames? Fool, you've just made me even more powerful!"

"No silly speeches. No fancy tricks. Here it is, plain and simple," Sailormoon said, stepping up next to Sailormars. "We want revenge. We want you dead.. In the name of the Moon!"

The effect was instantaneous. "The moon?" Shadows fell across Mikazuki's eyes, her hand clenching on the door way. She laughed, once, a short, wicked sound that shattered the tense silence between them. She raised her head and stared at them, the light falling across her face. "The moon is what is to blame for all of this!! Your friends deserved to die, because they were protecting YOU!" She flung her finger out, pointing right at Sailormoon. She stumbled back as if Mikazuki had hit her, though she'd not touched her.

She took a step towards them, her voice no longer sweet and innocent, her stance no longer that small, frail looking girl. "You have no idea the harm you bring to this solar system. All of the enemies? All of the fighting? All of the DEATHS? They were because of you and your goddamned Moon Crystal! No other solar system has had any of the enemies, we've had, and that's because of you!"

Her voice dropped, chuckling softly. "Don't you get it? Everything is because YOU are here, Sailormoon. There would be peace if you weren't. There would be peace and order and no one would have to fight and have to suffer and have to die. They come here. They are drawn here by the power of the Moon Crystal." Her fist clenched in front of it. "I'm just doing what you couldn't! I'm going to protect the people of this Earth by eliminating what draws everyone here in the first place!!"

Sailormars slid in front of Sailormoon, her arms held out to the side protectively, as if her body could shield Sailormoon from Mikazuki's hurtful, truthful, harsh words. "You're going to fail then! You can't destroy the Silver Imperial Crystal! No one can!"

Mikazuki stared at her.

"Oh? … No one?" Her voice was feather soft, lighter than a breeze but stronger than a clap of thunder. Intense black eyes slowly raised and met smoldering dark ones, fire leaping in both of their gazes - black, unnatural fire meeting fierce, red fire. She turned to face them squarely. "You obviously haven't regained all of your memories of the Silver Millenium. If you had you wouldn't make such a rash, and truly incorrect assumption."

She laughed softly and pulled something off of her shirt. A brooch.

"Lilith Spectrum… MAKE-UP!"

Blackness wrapped around Mikazuki's frame, writhing, glimpses of light piercing the darkness like star light. Suddenly, the blackness fell away, and a Sailor Senshi stepped forward. Where Sailormoon's fuku was white, hers was black. Where Sailormoon's fuku was red and yellow, hers was indigo and navy. In every way, she was the opposite of Sailormoon, even to the fact that her gloves were fingerless, fighter's gloves. She said nothing, staring at them, waiting.

"She's a Sailor Scout?? How is that possible?" Sailormoon shook her head, as if that would reverse this horrible change in events. She kept seeing Galaxia and the Sailor Animates play over and over in her head. It was as if they'd rewound and were playing that whole, horrible saga over and over again in her mind. It was pure, unadulterated torture.

"Come now, Princess Selenity… Don't you remember?" The black scout's voice was mocking, dancing, cruel. "You're so self absorbed. Do you really think that a power such as the Silver Imperial Crystal could exist without a balance? Come now! Oh, what do they say? 'For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction'? Well, when that Silver Imperial Crystal was formed from the heart of the purest woman in the universe, it was formed with the sole want to create, preserve, and protect.

"Not even that could escape that rule. What is the opposite of white? Black. What is the opposite of light? Shadow. What is the opposite of wanting to create and protect? Wanting to destroy and tear down." Her hand stroked the black brooch on her chest as she regarded them with an almost amused expression. "And what… What, my Sailor friends.. What is the opposite of the Silver Imperial Crystal?"

"The Ending Stone."

The voice that rang through the silence was strong and familiar, striking chords in the two Sailor Senshi. They turned to see four battered figures standing behind them. Bloody cuts and burns disfigured their skin, and their fukus were torn and tattered in a dozen places, but they were most definitely alive.

The black Senshi hissed. "You're alive! How is that possible? I remember destroying the Neptune Palace with my bare hands!!"

"The Neptune Palace is my home, bearer of the Ending Stone," Sailorneptune replied scornfully, shaking her head slightly. "Did you think that it would not be prepared for such a possibility as being attacked? What you destroyed was a hologram, an illusion, a fake. You got confident. You'd dispatched all the Inner Senshi easily, so why would the Outers be any harder? And because of that you got stupid. You made mistakes, and now instead of just Sailormoon to deal with, you've got six very pissed off Sailor Senshi."

"Six very pissed off Sailor Senshi that know about your Stone, your past, and your plans for this world," Sailorpluto said coldly. "You will not find us ignorant and you will not find us easy to kill. We have withstood countless enemies and we will not fall to one of our own."

"The Ending Stone?" The four Outers turned to look at Sailormoon, who was sweatdropping slightly. "What do you mean?"

Sailorpluto smiled slightly, turning her eyes back to look at the black Senshi. "The Ending Stone was created to balance out the positive light energy of the Silver Imperal Crystal. The universe contains a balance between the light and dark energies. While this balance fluctuates, it must always return to a balanced state. When the Silver Imperial Crystal was created, there was too much light energy for the universe to be balanced. Born out of the darkness was the Ending Stone, the Silver Imperial Crystal's equal and counterpart. It was given to the monarch's of the second kingdom of the Silver Millenium: the rulers of the moon Lilith."

"My family," said the black Scout, her smile seemingly oddly pleasant for her dark appearance. "My father held the Ending Stone, right up until the time that Beryl destroyed my home." Her fist clenched in the air, her eyes stony hard with grief and anger. "She had agreed not to bother us! We would take our people off of the Moon Kingdom and not interfere while she destroyed it, and in return she would let our Kingdom stay isolated and safe."

"But she didn't keep her promise, did she?" Pluto coaxed, her eyes almost pitying as she watched the pain and anger and helplessness flit across the Sailor Senshi of Lilith's face, her fist clenched in front of her so hard that her nails cut into her skin. She didn't notice the pain, so caught up in the memories washing back.

"IIE, she didn't!" She closed her eyes, her frame trembling. "She attacked us without warning. We weren't prepared. We never thought she'd go back on her word. There was no one to fight for us. Those who did fight were ruthlessly and mercilessly slaughtered by her generals. I would have died, too, but before Beryl reached us, my mother, the bearer of the Ending Stone, shoved it into my hands and used the last of her power to send me to the Moon. When I was able to return, I found only shattered remnants of my home, my entire life. My family and everything died because of that stupid Silver Imperial Crystal and the Moon women who wielded it!" She flung her finger out to point straight at Sailormoon, tears spilling down her cheeks, rage trembling in her limbs.

"And that was when I swore.. I swore, Sailormoon, to kill you and your entire family. How many countless lives have been lost because of a power struggle for THAT Crystal? How much destruction has been caused? How much pain and hardship? How many times have your friends had to suffer and even die to protect YOU?" She shook her head slowly, holding her hands out. "You may call me a villain, but I'm not. I'm doing this because I hate to see the Earth suffer because you are here."

"That's bull," Sailormars burst out, her eyes flashing fire. "You're only doing this because you can't stand that your family was stupid enough to believe the word of a snake like Beryl!" She shook her head, standing protectively in front of Sailormoon. "Sailormoon is not the cause of the dark attacks in this Galaxy! She is the one reason this galaxy has remained free from evil!"

"Iie," Sailormoon said, her voice cracking. "She's…she's right." Tears glistened in her eyes as the Senshi turned to stare at her, aghast. Even the black Senshi seemed stunned at this admission, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly.

"I am at fault. So.. I surrender. I give up." She walked forward and knelt in front of the black Senshi, the Senshi of destruction and of Earth's second moon, Lilith. Hanging her head, she closed her eyes, tears leaking from them. "Douzo, take my life. Take it so the earth can be at peace."

Raising her eyes, she stared at Sailorlilith. "Kill me so no one else has to die!"

"Sailormoon, don't be a fool!"

"No, you can't do this!"

"Don't just give up on us, you can't just surrender!"

Sailormoon ignored the cries of protest that sprang up from her friend's throats, simply looking up at Sailorlilith, tears slipping down her cheeks. Her whole frame was trembling, her short hair getting in her face. She found herself wishing for her odangos, for her friends, and for her old life. She hated who she'd become.

"I know, Mikazuki-san, that we've never been close. I've always been put off by you, turned away by something I couldn't understand. I know now that it was just because of what you carry, not because of who you are." Her voice trembled, cracking slightly. "You try and do what you see is right, and who knows? Maybe you're seeing the one thing we've been missing." She took a deep, shuddering breath, hanging her head again, her neck bared to Sailorlilith. "I've tried fighting. Maybe this… maybe giving up will be what will save my home, the Earth."

Sailorlilith just stared at her. She hadn't expected her to agree! She'd expected to have to fight, to have to kill her by force. She had steeled herself for pain, and now.. now she was just giving up, agreeing with her! She shook her head, raising her hand. "Sailormoon, I…"

But what she was going to say was cut off abruptly as fire sprang up between her and the kneeling Sailor Senshi, sending her stumbling backwards. Sailormars let her hands lower slowly, and as her arms returned to her sides, the flames died down to nothing, leaving no trace of their existence. "I won't let you hurt her!" she yelled, stepping forward. "I don't care what she says, I'm not losing another friend!"

"STOP!" Sailormoon's voice cut like a knife through her tirade, stopping her short. She looked down at the Senshi of the moon, her eyes wide. "Rei-chan, douzo.. This is what I've decided! I don't want to fight anymore. I'm tired of fighting and I just want to ensure peace for my family. If my death will bring that about, well… Well that's a price I'm willing to pay!"

"Are you sure?" Sailormoon turned and looked at Sailorlilith, trembling as she nodded slowly. Dark eyes, filled with pain and self-loathing, met her sky blue ones, slowly. "Would you still be so willing to sacrifice yourself, if… if your friends were still alive? Would you be so willing then?"

"Nani?" Sailormoon whispered tearfully, shaking. "Douzo, Mikazuki, just get it over with. Douzo, don't be cruel…"

"I'm not being cruel, Sailormoon," she replied heavily, fatigue weighing like boulders on her shoulders. She turned away from them, staring out the window, at the balcony. "I… I didn't kill them. I had every intention of killing them, but… But as soon as I looked on Mamoru's face, and knew that I was going to shed his blood, I.. I couldn't. I couldn't kill him, any of them."

"Then… then where are they?" Sailormoon's heart was racing so fast, pounding so hard in her chest she was afraid it was going to shatter her rib cage as well as her fragile hope. She rose to one knee, reaching out slightly as if that would make the black Senshi tell her more quickly.

Sailorlilith didn't reply. Instead, she raised her hand and tiredly pointed towards her bedroom, the door shut tightly.

Sailormoon bolted to her feet, her boots hardly even touching the ground before she was at the door, slamming her shoulder into it. The lock broke without any real fight, and she fell on her side as the door opening. Climbing to her feet, she brushed her hair out of her face, her blue eyes wide as she simply stared for a moment.

It wasn't a bedroom. There didn't seem to be any walls or any ceiling, simply empty, black darkness stretching into infinity. A light shone from above, illuminating a circle right in front of the door. In that circle were four crystal coffins, not unlike the coffin she'd seen Neo Queen Serenity encased it. However, the crystal that made up these coffins wasn't a silvery clear substance. It was clear, yes, but it seemed to shimmer with darkness.

In each of those four coffins lay her friends.

"Makoto-chan!" she cried, dashing to the first coffin, looking down at the serene face of her friend. She seemed to be in the deepest of sleeps, but peaceful at the same time. "Minako, and Artemis! Ami!!...." And then she approached the last coffin, her heart thudding in her chest. There, laying separate from her by only a thin layer of crystal, was her love, her true love, unharmed, his face peaceful. "Mamo-chan," she whispered, sinking to her knees next to the coffin.

The other Senshi had followed her into the room, staring, just staring at their friends, all unharmed, safe in their deep, protected slumbers. Pluto reached out and touched the crystal with one hand. "It's an extension of the Ending Stone. Be careful not to touch it for too long, Sailormoon. It will start to hurt."

Sailormoon nodded and pulled her hands away from the crystal, just staring at her love's face. She couldn't… she just couldn't let him suffer anymore! She bent over, silent sobs wracking her body.

"Sailormoon!" Sailorneptune dashed to her side, kneeling by her. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"Iie, Iie I'm fine," Sailormoon rasped out softly, her voice cracking. "I'm just.. I'm just SO TIRED of this all. I'm tired of the fighting and the battles. I'm tired of my friends suffering and dying all because I'm too weak to protect myself. I'm sick of this, do you hear me? I'm SICK OF THIS!" She slammed her fists against the floor in front of her, her voice raising to an almost painful level.

Sailorneptune stood, stepping back, her head hanging slightly. "But they're safe now, Sailormoon," Sailorsaturn said softly. "You can be together again. They're not dead, they're alive. They're alive, Sailormoon, alive!"

"But for how long, Hotaru-chan?? How long will our fragile peace last before it is destroyed again? How long until we have to fight and suffer and hurt and even die again?? How many times are we going to have to put our lives on the line for the rest of the world??? I'm sick and tired of this! I'm not going to put my friends through this any longer!! You deserve so much better…"

Tears slipped from her cheeks, falling to shimmer softly on the black crystal floor. She slammed her fist into the ground again, her whole body trembling. Again, more weakly this time, she punched the ground, but this time she didn't raise her arm. Instead, she collapsed in to the ground, sobbing.

The Sailor Senshi said nothing, did nothing. There was nothing they could do. Instead, they just watched her sob her heart out onto the floor, unable to comfort her, unable to give her the answers to the questions that scathed her very soul. There was nothing they could do to assuage her pain, not even give her back her friends, the things that mattered the most to her.

"Sailormoon."

Sailormoon's sob caught in her throat at the sound of Sailorlilith's voice, echoing in the never-ending room. She hiccupped slightly, raising her head and looking over her shoulder to see the Sailor Senshi of Destruction standing in the door way. She was staring at Sailormoon with an expression in her eyes, one that she couldn't recognize, but knew in the depths of her soul.

Without saying a word, Sailormoon rose, her tears falling from her eyes, but not being replenished, drying on her cheeks. Haloed by light, she stood there, hands hanging at her sides, staring at her opposite from across the room.

Two ravens winged their way into the room, cawing harshly, and Sailormars gasped. "Deimos, Phobos! Where have you been?" They settled on her shoulder and arm, preening gently, seeming not to have noticed that they had been absent from their mistress's side since the fire.

"I had to borrow them, Sailormars. I return them to you now. Arigato, their counsel helped me greatly."

Sailorlilith didn't take her eyes away from Sailormoon, and Sailormars had the great and terrible feeling that she was saying goodbye. Her voice was still that same soft, almost childish tone that Mikazuki's voice had had, yet there was an undercurrent of power that resonated in the crystal room. The ravens fell silent, still, staring at the two women who hadn't moved.

And, then Sailormoon spoke softly.

"You know what this will do."

Sailorlilith nodded slowly. "I am ready. I have lived alone, and I do not fit on this Earth. Not I, the bearer of all that seeks to destroy. I do not wish to be alone any longer."

Pain flooded into Sailormoon's eyes. Pain, coupled with a steely determination. "All right then."

She raised her arms, and with a sudden rush of light, her fuku disappeared. Twisting, ribbons of light came together around her, knitting themselves into her flowing white monarch robes. Her hair looked strange, so short when it should have been long odangos, but the expression on her face was one they all knew.

She was going to use the Silver Imperial Crystal

Yet at the same time, Sailorlilith raised her own hands, shadows falling like soft ebon ropes around her, her own royal gown appearing on her, her dark eyes glittering in the light cast off by her counterpart. Her palm was raised, facing up, in front of her, and there, floating above her hand in a sphere of iridescent, dark energy was the Ending Stone. Unlike the multi-faceted Silver Imperial Crystal, it was a smooth, polished stone, a perfect sphere, absolutely clear yet seeming to contain a million pin pricks of multicolored light at the same time.

Princess Serenity stretched out her own palm, and the Silver Imperial Crystal blossomed in front of her. Slowly, she lowered her hand, but the Crystal remained where it was, hovering in front of her breast.

They stepped towards each other, and again. Again and again they took steps in time with each other, their eyes never leaving the other. As the two items of power drew closer together, it became harder to take steps, and crackling energy built in the air around them. By the time they were in arm's length of each other, the energy was so great that it was painful, nearly pushing them by force back. But with strength of will, they stretched out their hands.

Their fingers brushed, and then they seized each other's hands.

Light and dark collided in an explosion of prismatic light, a great force clawing at their skin and stealing the breath from their lungs. With a sudden rush, they were thrown back, away from the two, and for a second all was still, silent, darker than death without light or dark, without feeling or sensation, simply EXISTENCE.

And then the air sucked back in towards the epicenter, the two princesses, and they found themselves on their knees, gasping for breath, feeling as if they had, for that one second, been torn from their dimension.

As one they turned to look at the princesses, but saw only one lone figure, seeming too small amongst the great gaping nothingness. Tears streamed down her face, tears of pain, of shock and disbelief at the same time, and she slowly sank to her knees. Her gown collapsed back into folded ribbons, leaving her bare and cold.

Slowly, she fell forward, her eyes slipping shut with an almost grateful quickness.

Silence, reigned, the darkness seeming to grow tighter about them. Finally, Sailormars's voice broke the silence, hollow and shaken as she voiced the question that had clawed at their hearts.

"Where's Usagi?"



** What, you say, is that the end????

YES! IT'S THE END! IT'S OVER! NO MORE!!!

oH, wait… there's the epilogue… My bad!!

Amby-chan **