Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ No Rest For the Weary ❯ No Rest For the Weary ( Prologue )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

No Rest For the Weary



No Rest For the Weary
By Sailor Celestial




'No, I don't want to wake up.' The soft humming invaded her thoughts, crashing the thin illusion of her waking dreams. No matter how hard she tried to fight the dawning of consciousness it came to her anyway. She woke, her iridescent blue eyes falling to the still sleeping form beside her. He had no idea. She brushed a lock of his shining ebony hair back from his forehead and envied how innocently he lay there. His dreams were not filled with images of the coming doom; he did not even know it was coming. No one did. No one, that it, except for the woman who wielded the awesome power of the Silver Imperium Crystal.
Serenity gasped as the Crystal pulsed again. Connected as she was to it, she felt it even from her bedroom. She rose silently from the twisted sheets of the bed she shared with her beloved Endymion and stepped onto the cold floor. She shivered, wishing she could lie back down and forget all that she had been seeing. The Crystal called to her, however, and she knew she must respond. Her bare feet made soft sounds on the hard marble as she made her way to the room where the Crystal sat under protective glass. She no longer wore it on her person; she had no need of it anymore. A moment passed as Serenity stood before the sparkling thing, for a thing was all the Crystal really was. It was an object, a symbol of a kingdom long dead, of a warrior long forgotten, and of the queen who had risen from the death of that warrior. Serenity was the queen, but it was her other titled that beckoned her now.
Messiah.
Sailor Saturn had been the Silent Messiah. Put into a psychic sleep inside of the sickly child Tomoe Hotaru, Sailor Saturn was never supposed to have awakened. Her mere presence in the Universe was a signal for its doom, and only the power of Sailor Pluto had stopped the disaster. Now, in Crystal Tokyo, Sailor Saturn slept again, this time in cryostasis in a place no one save the queen knew. Even the Sailor Senshi, who had always protected the world with integrity and honor, knew not of the whereabouts of the Silent Messiah.
Serenity stepped towards the pulsating Crystal, for she heard it calling again, calling her in its whispering shout. 'Messiah, one of the Light, the time is nearly at hand. You know what you will have to do.'
She knew. If only she did not.
'Please, I don't want this responsibility. I never did.'
'Responsibility always comes to those who don't want it. They are the ones who use it best.'
'Monstrous Crystal, you've always stolen from me, always the best parts of what I am.'
'I never take what is not given willingly.'
Serenity paused. Had she, not knowing, given freely of herself what when she thought she was being stolen from?
Her feet continued their tireless journey to the foot of the stand on which the Crystal lay. Autonomously she lited the glass casing, freeing the linding light within to reach across every corner of the room. She paused, breathing silently, hoping that the soundless cacophony had not awakened either the Senshi or her husband. Only the Silver Imperium Crystal could be so silent and still blare in Serenity's ears.
She had not actually touched its surface in countless centuries. She had grown so close to it in mind that physical contact was no longer necessary for use. She had grown so close to it in mind that physical contact was no longer necessary for use. Now, carefully, she reached forward and gently picked the Crystal up and cradled in most gingerly in her slender hands. A small smile crossed her delicate face as she remembered the past, all the times she called on the Crystal's seemingly limitless power in order to save Earth, or even the Universe. It was so long ago. A tiny giggle escaped her throat as she also remembered the times that she had wished beyond all hope for a chocolate sundae or other such sweet delight. Of course those were the wishes that never came true. The Crystal had always known what was important. It had always known what wishes were spur of the moment, and what wishes came from the soul.
'I wish I didn't have to do this . . .'
That wish would not be granted.
She felt the power transfer almost before it began; first soft, almost comforting, and warm. Soon, however, she was gritting her teeth against the barrage of pure energy that the Crystal was dumping into her. A myriad of colors swam before her eyes, which were repeatedly focusing and unfocusing with the stress. Along with the power and colors swirled the undercurrent of the Crystal's voice, telling her things she needed to know, information she would need on the night that was coming so much sooner than she had hoped. This was not the first time this had happened . . . but it was getting closer to the last.
When the transfer was over, Serenity set the Crystal back to its resting-place, feeling strangely weak despite the infinite amount of energy that was swarming inside her body. She stood there a few more moments, quivering sapphire blue eyes trained on the shimmering clear surface of the Crystal. Strange . . . she had always thought that the Silver Crystal was simply a transparent stone. Looking into it after more than a thousand years of knowing it, however, Serenity saw that it reflected in varied places the innumerable colors of the rainbow: red, blue, green. She sighed, seeing a pattern so wonderfully vague, amazingly simple that she knew she was the first to see it.
The Neo-queen's reverie was broken when the lights snapped on.
"Serenity?" She turned to face the bleary midnight blue eyes of her dear, beloved Endymion, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," the lie came easily, as had so many others in the past few months, "just thinking really. Reminiscing about the old days . . .missing old friends. Naru-chan . . . Umino-kun. What ever happened to them?" She knew that this was familiar to him, knew what he would say and that he would never question her true thoughts. It never would occur to him that she would not tell him the truth.
"Oh Serenity, you know that you shouldn't think about that. That's so far in the past and nothing can be done now to save them."
"I know, but I can't help but wonder. If I had had the foresight . . . I don't know . . . maybe they would be here today, so many centuries later."
"Perhaps," Endymion approached her, wrapping his comforting arms around her waist as she tilted her head to lie on his strong shoulder, "perhaps, love, but what purpose would they have here?"
"Their purpose would be to live!"
"To live . . . simply to be your friends? Serenity," he looked down at her, giving her a kind smile that was almost enough to erase the pain of his next statement, "you know that wouldn't be fair to them." She knew that he pulled her head back down to his shoulder so he would not have to see the look of hurt and mild betrayal on her face. Her eyes closed as she felt his gentle hand stroking her hair. "The Senshi, you, and I have all lived a very very long time. I think all of us are feeling the strain. Even you, my Serenity, who was always the lover of life." Serenity heard the wistful smile in his voice; she had not been that happy in many centuries. For what he spoke was true, the centuries were piling up and were a dead weight on her shoulders. She was technically two thousand years old, although she only remembered about one thousand and sixteen years of that time. "We were given our immortality for a reason, love. Not everyone could live this long and maintain their sanity."
"I know, Endymion." She spoke out loud, while her thoughts played in the background of her mind, 'I know there was a reason. Only I am needed now. The rest of you were made immortal so that I would go on. The Crystal knew I would not live a thousand years without you all, especially you my beloved Endymion.' Tears shimmered in her iridescent eyes as the realization finally struck her. "Endymion . . ."
"Yes?"
"Let's go back to bed." Serenity pulled his face downward and captured his lips with her own, letting her husband know exactly what she wanted to go back to bed for. Perhaps there was a tinge of desperation in that kiss, for when she finally released him, Endymion gave her a strange look. His eyes wavered as he gazed at her silently, and he seemed on the verge of some great epiphany. Serenity kept herself from biting her lip, hoping and wishing that he would not grasp the entire truth. In a moment Endymion seemed to decide that the matter could wait, and he bent down, picked her up and carried her in his arms back to their chambers. She held him tightly the entire way. This would probably be their last night together; she had felt the Crystal's energy enter it's lowest stage.
'Endymion . . . Mamo-chan . . . I wish we could have another thousand years together . . . but I'm afraid that we won't.'

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All seemed well the next morning. All seemed better than well. Serenity's heartache of the previous night had made for an extremely gentle and understanding Endymion. He had left her sleeping and taken care of her morning duties himself, including listening to the problems of Crystal Tokyo's people. That was something that Serenity normally did because of her innate kindness and compassion, but Endymion had a peaceful and diplomatic mind, which also worked well.
Her late breakfast had been waiting on the table when she sleepily wandered into the dining hall. Even Minako had already eaten. Serenity sighed and sat down before the large table. It was incredibly long, but also double the size of a normal banquet table in width, because Serenity and Endymion both sat at the same head. This they did because they were equal in all things in Crystal Tokyo, and they wanted this to be seen even in their every day lives. Serenity smiled a bit as she glanced to the empty seat beside her. In the past five hundred years or so she had gotten out of the habit of sleeping late, due to her morning duties. But Endymion let her sleep in every so often, when he felt she needed a break. He probably though that she would eventually tell him what was wrong. 'I'm sorry, beloved, but this you will only know when it is too late.'
After she ate, Serenity wandered out into the courtyard of Crystal Keep. There she found the four women who had been her dearest friends and closest allies in all her two thousand year existence. The Sailor Senshi. She held back, watching the four gathered there with their daughters. Each of them had one daughter as their oldest child. Serenity had never figured out how that had happened, she only knew that it had always been so with the royal families. There had always been four daughters as the oldest, four princesses, and four Inner Sailor Senshi to protect the heir of the Moon Kingdom. Four seemed to be a magical number.
'Four months, Serenity, four months since the Crystal first began this cosmic dumping of energy into your body. Four months today.' Serenity shuddered, and wrapped her arms around herself. Pushing that thought to the back of her super-charged mind, she charged forward and waved to her friends. She hoped that they would not notice the sorrow in her eyes, or the farewell in her voice.
"Hi, Serenity!" The current Sailormars trilled happily when she saw her old friend. Sailormercury nudged her in the ribs, reminding the raven-haired woman of proper behavior in the presence of royalty, "Er . . . Hello, Your Majesty." The four bowed respectfully. Then Sailorvenus burst into giddy giggles.
"I will NEVER get used to calling you, "Your Majesty," or even, "Serenity." You'll always be Usagi-chan to me!" The other three nodded in agreement with the Senshi of love. Sailorjupiter walked over to Serenity and flung a long, muscled arm around the NeoQueen's shoulder.
"It's okay! If she hasn't gotten a big head by now, I doubt that a little respect from us every once in a while will do it! Besides," she knocked Serenity on the head lightly between her twin odangos, "I doubt her head has room to grow anymore with these things always perched there!" As the four women and their daughters laughed, Serenity grimaced in an attempt to grin. Without warning her gaze met that of Sailormars, and an instant understanding was made. Serenity silently cursed the fiery Senshi's sensory abilities. Mars knew something was wrong and although she wouldn't speak of it around the others, she wouldn't let it go either.
"I just came to see how the training was going. Sina, Leiyah, Ashley, Lisa." Serenity nodded at each of the girls as she spoke their names. Each girl, named for her mother in some manner, half bowed in return. They were always flattered when their queen paid them any attention. It meant that she was following their training, and approved of them as the successors to the Senshi dynasty. "Have you all gotten better at your control?" She couldn't help but smirk when three of the girls shot an accusing glare at Leiyah, Rei's daughter. All of them had been burned in the past when her attempt at the Mars Fire Soul attack had gone haywire.
"I'm learning!" Leiyah blushed as she shouted her defense indignantly, "Fire is a little harder than your powers!"
"Hey, lightning is hard to control too!" Lisa looked at her mother, who waved a finger warningly. "But I'm certain that fire is just as difficult."
"Have any of you ever tried to direct a Crescent Beam?!?" Sina ignored her mothers look as Ashley stepped forward to try to give a logical reason as to why they should all cease such useless fighting, but she was cut off as the others started shouting back and forth. It was very reminiscent of the old arguments between Rei and Usagi. Serenity smiled weakly and waved at her friends, slipping away as three of the four mothers attempted to calm their daughters. Around the corner, however, she was stopped by a hand grasping her arm.
"Serenity . . . Usagi-chan, tell me what's wrong," Sailormars' pleading face filled the NeoQueen's vision, "I can sense that something is off, but more importantly I see it in your eyes. Tell me what it is, please."
"It's nothing, Rei-chan. I promise." She gave her old friend and ally as bright a smile as she could manage, "I've just been having nightmares again. You know, about the old days." Like Endymion, Sailormars never doubted that her queen was telling the truth, for Serenity did have nightmares every once in awhile. Mostly about Dimando and the Black Moon Family, but also about the battle with Galaxia. Those memories had never quite left her, and now she used the terrifying dreams as a cover for the real problem. Sailormars smiled at her.
"Ah, those. Well, it's all in the past. If they really start troubling you try the meditation I taught you. It worked last time, didn't it?" Serenity nodded, "Good. I have to get back there and teach my daughter a lesson about teamwork."
"Farewell, friend." Serenity felt her voice crack a bit, and hoped it was not loud enough for Sailormars to hear. But before turning the corner, the woman rotated slightly and spoke over her shoulder.
"It's ironic isn't it? Me, the queen of "I in teamwork" now have to be a model of teamwork for my daughter." A pause, then: "But you always knew I was your friend, didn't you, Usagi-chan?"
"Of course," Serenity answered in a whisper, "of course I knew, Rei-chan. Always."
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At the entrance to Crystal Keep Serenity paused and gripped the side of the doorway, closed her eyes and let a single tear slide down her face. All of her loved ones, her husband, her friends, her daughter, she would be leaving behind soon. And for what? She didn't really even know. She only knew that it must happen, it was slated, and if it didn't . . . well, then the world would die.
"Mama!" Serenity's head snapped up to face the worried visage of her daughter. "Are you alright? What's wrong?" Small Lady Serenity, all grown up and not so small anymore, reached forward to help her mother stand. The queen shrugged her off and sent her the same weak smile she had given Sailormars.
"I'm fine, Chibiusa. Really, I promise," she added when the young woman gave her a doubtful look. "Just a little tired. I didn't get much sleep last night." She took her daughter's hands and sighed, gazing at the face of a lady, when not so long ago she had seen a child. She smiled and felt the tears welling in her eyes before she knew it.
"Mama?"
"I . . . just never realized before that you grew up on me." A smile spread on Chibiusa's face as she bought into her mother's story and pulled the older woman in for a tight hug. "Wasn't it only a second ago that you were three years old?"
"No, Mama, as much as you wish it to be."

"I . . . I wish that I had more time," Serenity pulled back from her daughter, drinking in her image with the iridescent eyes that had opened in despair that morning.
"More time for what?"
"More time . . . I wish I had had more time to watch you grow up," the queen explained quickly, "My duties took me away from you too often."
"Oh, Mama, you know that that's alright. I always knew that you loved me. I know now that you still do." Chibiusa blinked in surprise when her mother took her face in both hands.
"Yes, I do love you. No matter what happens in the future, remember that. Near future or far future, always remember that I loved you, all right? Do you promise?"
"I . . . I promise." Serenity nodded, satisfied. With that she left her confused daughter standing in the doorway, watching the older woman pass with a perplexed look on her face.

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It was when she walked into the dining room again, when she next laid eyes on her husband, that the calling came.
'SERENITY! MESSIAH! COME! THE ENEMY HAS ARRIVED!'
The sheer force of the Crystal's voice drove Serenity to her knees, clutching her head. The next thing she knew she was in Endymion's arms and he was murmuring quiet assurances in her ear. A high pitched ringing sounded in her mind behind the weakening voice of the Crystal and the resonance of Endymion's voice from outside. Serenity gripped his shirt firmly, desperately trying to shut out the commands of the Crystal. She was vaguely aware of tears flooding her eyes, leaving stains on her white cheeks, and of her own voice pleading with the powers that be to just let her be. Seconds ticked away as she attempted to pull herself together, and as Endymion tried to fathom what was wrong.
"Serenity?" his voice shook as he spoke, "Serenity, what's wrong? Should I call Ami-chan?"
"No," backing away from him, Serenity stood up, "No, I'm . . ." a choked sob interrupted her statement and the queen slapped his reassuring hand away, "I'm NOT alright! I'm not all right and you're not all right! Nothing will ever be alright again!" Pain and sorrow, desperation and despair swam in the iridescent blue pools of her eyes, and she lunged forward, locking them into a kiss that seemed to last an eternity. She poured all of the misery she felt into the kiss, all of her anguish and torment. The desperation of the night before was dwarfed in all of the hopelessness she released into him at that moment. But no matter how much she time was passing, it was not Serenity who broke the embrace. It was Endymion.
"S-Serenity?" Bald fear shone in his midnight blue eyes. He knew that she had said goodbye in her kiss.
"I'm sorry, beloved." Serenity raised her hand and sent a shock of brilliant white Crystal energy into him, knocking him out. Another few precious moments were wasted when she bent over him and wiped his ebony hair from his eyes. Her fingers tenderly caressed his face as she thought, 'You never knew, but I did. And as much as I want to stay with you, my time has come, and I must assure that you, my friends, and the future generations survive. I know you will understand one day. If you ever find out why.' She placed a last kiss on his lips and stood. She left him lying there on the floor, knowing that he would be found and taken care of.
A stop to retrieve the Crystal and Serenity was ready.
Outside she met the Senshi again, and they all saw the dark, careworn expression of her face, and before they could question or contain her, they too fell by her power. 'Farewell, all of you. You have served and protected me well. Now it is my turn to protect you.'
With her good-byes said, the obstacles overcome, and her fear abated, Serenity followed the direction of the Crystal in her hands. It led her to the forest near to Crystal Keep. Dark shadows awaited her there, as well as the Enemy that was the cause of all of her dread of the past four months. The day had come, the foe waited, and the Messiah stepped forth to claim the fate that was hers.
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Endymion woke with questions swirling in his confused mind. What was wrong with Serenity? Why did she believe she was leaving forever, and WHY had she knocked him unconscious? Where were the Senshi?
A blast from Imperium Crystal power causes headaches, he discovered when he tried to rise. He grimaced and slowly got to his feet, swaying slightly when he got there. He gripped the table to keep from falling again. Pain pounded into his forehead with the force of a sledgehammer wielded by a giant. A noise in the doorway caught his attention and he looked up into the faces of the four daughters of the Senshi. All of them had expressions on their faces that revealed they had been hit by Serenity as well.
"What's going on?" Endymion rasped, squeezing his eyes shut as agony lanced through his head.
"The . . . uh . . . the NeoQueen has deigned to . . . to . . . leave," the young Sailormars stuttered, looking every bit as in pain as the king, "Without . . . without telling anyone where she was going."
"But our mothers went after her!" Makoto's daughter asserted, "As soon as they woke up!" She wrung her hands together as young Sailorvenus almost calmly stepped forward.
"We all know that our mothers will not let anything happen to the NeoQueen if they can help it." Sina stood as collected as she could be, considering that she was bleeding from a cut to her forehead, most likely received when she fell unconscious. Endymion nodded in agreement with her.
"But the key words are, 'if they can help it.' And I have a horrible feeling that they are already too late."
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Sailormars tried to ignore the sinking, knotted feeling in her chest, but the longer she and her friends searched, the worse it got. She knew that Serenity was planning something, and if they didn't find her soon, they would be too late to stop her. Tears were trying to find their way out of her eyes and down her cheeks, but the ever-fearless Sailormars kept them in check. It wouldn't do for her to sob away the time while the others were searching for their queen. It just wouldn't do at all.
She was so busy brooding over her emotional state that she nearly missed the sparkle of some silvery object deeper in the trees. Perhaps luck alone caused her to look the right way at just the right angle, or perhaps it was some lingering magic in the Crystal.
"Guys!" she yelled towards the other Senshi, "I think I've found something!" Not waiting for them to arrive, Sailormars plunged through the greenery and towards the shimmering thing. As the last branch gave way to her insistent shoving the raven-haired spiritualist stopped dead and the tears could be held back no longer.
The shimmering thing she had seen was Serenity's royal gown.
"Serenity?" Sailormars moved closer to the form that was sprawled on the forest floor. Serenity was still and pale, her eyes half closed. What could be seen of the beautiful iridescent blue of her eyes was dull now, and lifeless. Strands of silver hair fell gracefully over her face and around her body, framing the slim form of the NeoQueen. "Oh no, Serenity . . . Usagi-chan . . .no!" She stumbled forward to be at the side of her fallen leader just as the other three arrived.
"Oh no . . .no, no, no . . ." Sailormercury whispered in vain.
"W-why would she do something like this?" Jupiter choked out as Sailorvenus turned and ran off, "What . . . what was the reason???"
"Usagi-chan?" Sailormars desperately gripped her friend's shoulders and shook the lifeless woman. Never had Usagi died for real, always she had come back through some magic of the Crystal or of her and Mamoru's love, or through the love of her friends. Always she had come back. "Usagi-chan! Come back! Come back or I'll never forgive you!" Her voice rose in her agony, and cracked in despair. The words were muffled by sobs as she gazed on the slack face of Serenity, which was still losing color, fading to an ashen grey. Not a muscle jerked, not an eyelash fluttered.
Behind her, Sailormercury was on her hand and knees, weeping into the welcoming grass. Sailorjupiter's fists were balled and hard with her rage; no doubt she was angry at Serenity for doing this, and at herself for letting it happen. Sailormars was also angry, but that anger was slowly dying, giving way to something else. Something she had always upheld and now dreaded. Duty.
"We-," she paused to clear the remnants of the tears from her throat, "we must take her to the Keep. To Endymion." She heard in her mind's ear the silent protestings of the two. Neither wanted to be the one to tell Endymion, no more than she did. But it had to be done. The NeoKing had to know.
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Endymion's stomach tightened in dread when he saw the figures walking towards the Keep. The setting sun was behind them, and all that could be seen were silhouettes, but one of them was carrying a large, human shaped object. 'Serenity,' his mind cried, 'oh Serenity what have you done?'
"Papa," Chibiusa approached him from behind, "is it the Senshi? Have they found Mama? Papa?" She tried to peek over his shoulder when he remained silent.
"I'm afraid so," he finally answered, "I'm afraid they have." A stumbling step hurled him from the doorway of Crystal Keep and into the dying light of the sun. Endymion ran towards the advancing shadows in faltering strides, his eyes locked on the limp arm dangling from Sailorjupiter's grip, swaying gently with the tall Senshi's steps. 'SERENITY!' his mind cried, frantically searching for the answer that had always come. There was none.
He practically grabbed Serenity's body from the weeping Sailorjupiter. Cradling her gently he spoke to her, trying desperately to wake his wife. He felt the eyes of the three Senshi on him as he babbled on incessantly and he felt their pain adding to his own. As his ramblings continued Endymion slowly sank to his knees, words falling from his lips in incoherent jumbles. Pale flesh, limp limbs, and a still, breathless chest were all that returned his pleadings.
Her soft skin bore no mark of ill will; no place on her body was cut or bruised in any way. Death did nothing to mar her ethereal beauty, it merely enhanced the china-like perfection that had been Serenity for nearly two thousand years. Endymion's only wish was that her eyes could be the same bright blue they had been, instead of the dull grey they were fading to.
A thin scream managed to pry his attention from Serenity, long enough to look up and behind to see his daughter standing above them. Chibiusa's hands were pressed to her mouth and her shining crimson eyes were wide with fright and horror. Something, however, something wasn't right. Endymion focused on the princess, his curiosity momentarily overriding his sorrow. What was it? Chibiusa looked wrong. But her face was all right, and her hands, her eyes. Everything was the right size, the right shape, and the right color . . .
"Chibiusa!" Sailormercury cried, "Your hair!"
"Huh?" Prying her wide eyes from the vision of her mother's body, the young woman glanced to Sailormercury, and then to the long strands of silver hair that cascaded in gentle waves on either side of her own slim form.
Silver?
"NO!" Chibiusa frantically clawed at her own hair, trying, it seemed, in mournful desperation, to rip every glittering strand from her head. Her normally light pink hair. If it now was silver, that meant that the NeoQueen was truly dead, and the princess must step up. "NO! I'm not ready! I don't want to be NeoQueen! MOTHER!" The unwilling heir fell to her knees beside her father and the cold body he held, "I don't WANT to be NeoQueen! I just want you here!"
No response. Not even a flicker.
"MOTHER!" Chibiusa grabbed her mother's shoulders and violently shook the woman. The only response was the tumbling of some dark rock from the NeoQueen's hand. Every witness froze and stared as the thing rolled across the ground, its distorted shape giving no clue as to what it was. But they all knew anyway.
"The Crystal," Sailormercury murmured, "what happened to it?" All watched as Chibiusa bent over and gently placed the Crystal in her hands. At her royal touch, a small flicker of light could be seen within the coal-black surface of the drained gem. A beam of white, moonbeam-like light poured from inside and projected an image before the watchers. From within the Crystal came the vision of a woman, her long silver hair in the same style as those of the Moon queens, but she was of no relation that they could see.
"Greetings NeoQueen, NeoKing, and Sailor Senshi," the woman's voice was as clear as the crystal she inhabited had once been, "I am Crystal Imperial, the Guardian of the Silver Imperium Crystal." A gentle smile crossed her face as she continued, "I'm sorry that the life of Serenity had to end this way, but it was her destiny."
"Her destiny?" Endymion cried, his voice rising in pitch with his anguish, "her destiny to die for no reason?"
"There was a reason, Endymion. She gave her life so that all of yours may continue. Serenity made the ultimate sacrifice, and you should respect her for that."
"I respected her for being alive!" The Senshi looked away, unused to the sheer agony that ruled Endymion, the despair at the death of his wife, the only woman he had ever loved in all his two thousand-year existence. They couldn't bear to see their king and old friend racked with sobs as he held the body of their queen and old friend close to him. He was close to losing control; they all could see it.
"Endymion, would Serenity have wanted you like this? Kneeling at the mercy of creation, cursing the day she became the Messiah?" the woman who called herself Crystal smiled again, knowing that she had read his mind. The smile was kind, however, she wasn't trying to cause him more pain, she was trying to lift him from his anguish by invoking Serenity's name, "Serenity was a gentle woman, the same gentleness always in her since she was a girl. And she wouldn't have wanted to see you like this. Not you, Endymion. And especially not you Chibiusa," the image turned to the weeping heir to the throne, "You who must now take her place." Crystal's holographic hand reached to try and caress Chibiusa's cheek, much the way the young woman's mother had done so many times, "You are strong, young NeoQueen, and now you must find that strength. It is a large burden, to carry the strength of an entire kingdom, but your mother had faith in you. And so does your father." Now she turned her wandering vision to the Senshi, who all shook with their own pain, "And you, brave Senshi who have so often protected not only Earth, but your princess and queen. You wonder now why you couldn't protect her today. I tell you it was because this was meant to be, and if it hadn't happened, you all would be dead now. Serenity returned the favor, and protected all of you with her life, as you have done for her so many times. Thank her, grieve for her, and then take the gift she has given you and live your lives until it is time for you too to pass over." Crystal gave them another clear, kind smile as her image began to waver, "Unfortunately, I'm afraid that you will have to do it without the help of the Silver Crystal, because it, and I, also sacrificed ourselves in this battle. But don't worry . . ." the image, and her voice began to break up,". . .power . . .Crystal is . . .your blood. . .always with you-"
"WAIT!" Sailorjupiter cried, "At least tell us who this battle was against!"
She was greeted with silence, and the dying of the last light inside the Crystal. The magic of the jewel was dead. Chibiusa stared at it, the words of the Guardian swimming in her mind, as she was certain they were in the minds of the others. A small gasp issued from her as what was left of the Crystal crumbled in her palm. The black pile of dust sat there for a moment, before being blown away by a passing breeze. A record of two thousand years had been in those fragments. Now the Crystal, like the woman who had wielded its power, was gone forever.
It left behind it a gathering of people with a situation they had never thought they would have to deal with. They had with them, however, the words of a Guardian to carry with them. It wasn't much, but it was enough to give them the strength to carry on without the woman who had always been their rock, even if she didn't know it.
Farewell Serenity.
And life went on.