Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Redemption ❯ Silver Reflections ( Epilogue )

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

EPILOGUE: SILVER REFLECTIONS


Two cycles of the silver orb that encircled Terra had passed
since that fateful day. The Tower remained in the Vortex,
cut off from physical reality in that place between all
places. Deep brown eyes gazed down at the dull gray stone
in his hand; Obsidian sat on his green-upholstered, black
stone throne, his mind dwelling upon the recent past.

The Senshi had been returned to the life-filled blue planet
of their current bodies' birth, escorted there by the dual
Ametrine, Kunzite and Zoisite. He had offered them an
explanation before they were whisked away, telling them his
story from the fall of Lithos to his awakening and beyond.
Though he probably hadn't deserved it, they had gracefully
accepted his apology. The faint flicker of a smile tugged
at the corners of his mouth; if anything, they had seemed to
understand and sympathize with his position. Even so, he
had sensed a continuing wariness within them as they were
ushered from his abode. He couldn't fault them for
something like that.

As for Sailor Draco... He sighed, a feeling of deep regret
sweeping over him. Working together, Jadeite and Nephrite
had attempted to undo the rending he had done, all to no
avail. Something had happened to her during her time in the
Negaverse, a something further aggravated by his unthinking
and callous mental rape. Not even the Air and Earth
Warriors could mend the tattered mind he had left behind.
In the end, it was decided that if anything could restore
her, it would be her planetary patron. Gathering her up in
his strong arms, it had been a grieving Nephrite that had
carried her home, Jadeite accompanying him to the nearly
lifeless planet from whence she had originally come.

The Northern Commander had then traveled to Terra, picking
back up the pieces of his life as Maxfield Stanton.
Determined to make good on his promise to pay back those he
had harmed while a tool of Chaos, Nephrite had concentrated
on that, though Obsidian knew that the Earth Warrior
deliberately avoided both Molly and Lita. Anything that
even hinted at companionship was, at the moment, consciously
rejected by Nephrite; he spent most of his time brooding in
his mansion, though he remained in contact with the others
of the Elemental Binding.

Jadeite, upon his return, had thrown himself into the
restoration of the Record, the vast system that was the
repository of all the knowledge accumulated by the Lithosian
race over the millennia. Though much had survived along
with the Tower, the thousand years of *de facto* neglect
needed to be made up, to have its impact erased. The
Eastern Commander also needed to look into restoring what
was lost in the fall of Lithos. Ametrine had been the Air
Warrior's constant companion, helping him in any way that
Jadeite had requested. Items had to be catalogued, files
needed to be checked for integrity, a full accounting of
what was lost and what remained was required in order to
move on to fill in the gaps that were now present.

Zoisite had remained within his quarters, continuing to
watch over the deep red stone into which his sibling had
retreated and then caring for the still-weak Garnet when the
redheaded spy was finally able to manifest again. Whatever
quirk it was that had kept the Water Warrior within her
feminine form seemed to have resolved itself; Zoisite spent
about an equal amount of time in each form, judging from the
subtle shift of the West within the web of the Binding.
Obsidian hadn't demanded the soulstone back, knowing full
well that it was better to let the Western Commander care
for his sibling.

A frown settled on his handsome face as his thoughts turned
to Garnet. Three weeks had gone by before the fallen
Gemlord could project a physical form around his stone
again. At the Water Warrior's insistence, Lady Ametrine had
been persuaded to Heal the redhead, but it had been another
week before Garnet was truly back to a hundred percent.
Just recently, he and Zoisite had been spending more and
more time on Terra; apparently Garnet was picking up his
life as a private investigator as something to do to pass
the time. At the moment, their friendship was strained, the
Guardian's pride too much to allow him to apologize to the
young spy.

Of them all, Kunzite had been the one to stay near, keeping
Obsidian company most of the time, even during those long
stretches of brooding silence. The Guardian of Space was
under the impression that the Fire Warrior was worried about
him; Kunzite actually had good cause to be concerned.
Depression and apathy had settled in, draining Obsidian of
his drive and his ability to care. Each day was a struggle
just to face, let alone try to continue on with his work,
but within the darkest of his moods, he managed to do so in
spite of it all. In those moments, the Lord of Lithos would
again hear Serenity's soft words -- "Existence goes on.
They need you, as does the Cosmos." -- and recall the feel
of her lips against his. It was enough to keep him going
despite his desire to just shut himself away in his chambers
and never deal with anything more.

In those moments after the Senshi were gone, Obsidian had
walked over and retrieved the dead stone that had been the
brave Adamant. Holding it in his hand, the echoes of the
power he had channeled remained; to his surprise, he sensed
Adamant changed slightly by the phenomenal energy, more in
tune to both the Center and the Elements as a whole. A
grief-tinged pride had settled within the dark lord's heart
as he had gently returned the lusterless soulstone to rest
next to that of Lord Quartz. Adamant's actions had been
truly inspiring. So had those of all the living Gemlords,
to be honest.

A faintly sad smile returned to the Guardian's visage while
he shifted his gaze from the stone in his hand to the low
table upon which his people slept. Out of deference to both
the dead and the living, the wooden structure was now
covered with a cloth, a symbolic burial for those still
locked within their stones by death. One day, they would
all be living again, but for now, he had to settle for doing
what he could when he could. And Beryl's shards had been
gathered up, every little piece carefully swept away from
that low table into a container that even now rested within
a safe place in Obsidian's private chamber. To have
something like that -- a virtual gateway to a Chaotic
infection -- being easily accessible was just asking for
trouble, even if he trusted those Gemlords currently alive.

Metallia bothered them all no more. Having refused to allow
her to have power over them, he and the four former generals
were well and truly free of her influence. In looking back
over the events after his awakening, Obsidian could only
guess that he had been first infected with Chaos at that
moment he had taken Beryl's stone and had shattered it.
From that point on, the dark empress had done her best to
turn his impulses and emotions against himself; that she had
succeeded so well had taught him just how truly subtle Chaos
could be. No more could he resent the Elementals for
succumbing; he truly understood how they may not have known
what was happening before it was too late.

However, he knew better than to think that Metallia had
given up. No, she would continue to further her goals,
using other methods, tactics, and tools. And he would be
there, with those of his people who were active, fighting
against her. He knew what Chaos could do to an entire
Thread of the great Tapestry that was the Cosmos; he was a
force dedicated to opposing that, to maintaining Balance in
the universe.

He gently sighed, his attention turning to the soulstone he
held. Enough energy had been gathered to bring back
another. He had stood before the table for a long moment,
the shroud covering them pulled back, before deciding upon
which one of his children he would bring forth into the
world. When he had made his choice, it was truly for
selfish reasons; still, he was sure none of those living
would fault him for his motivation.

Rising from the throne, Obsidian stepped down the three
stairs of the dais. Stopping at the edge of the
Zodiac-adorned carpet, he folded his hands over the
lusterless, bluish-gray stone. Deep brown eyes closing and
bowing his head, he drew forth what energy he had, sending
it into the dead jewel. Mirror and body alike taking on
their characteristic blackish-green auras, the Guardian of
Space willed the Gemlord in his hands to come back to life.

The pattern deep within glowed; the spark of existence
caught and held. Feeling the presence within awakening,
Obsidian set the gem down on the carpeting and took a step
back, eagerly watching the process.

From dull blue-gray to a rich-hued swirl of blue,
purple-pink, green, gray and white, the soulstone shined
with a light that shifted through those same colors. The
glow intensified, taking on the pulse of a heartbeat. *A
forceful blast, far more intense than anything yet directed
at what was supposed to be a very solid door... The heavy
panels ripped from their hinges, becoming deadly crushing
projectiles...* The swirling, multi-colored light grew as
bright as a miniature sun, casting shadows across the length
and breadth of the Hall. Then the radiance disappeared,
leaving behind the still form of a man lying upon the floor.
Of slightly more than average height and of average build,
the Gemlord there had something of an elegant, stoic and
scholarly air to his appearance. His shoulder-length
straight hair was an appealing shade of blue streaked with
purplish-pink, the locks highlighted by shifting shades of
white and light gray; his well-toned body was clad in
conservative clothing of those same colors.

A smile came to Obsidian's face as he awaited the other
man's return to reality.

*Utter disbelief and horror as two very familiar forms are
struck down, their presence extinguished like candleflames
in a stiff breeze... Twisted, misshapen forms come pouring
in, hardly noticed when all the focus of the world
telescopes down to the sight of a faceted stone changing
from deep, watery-blue sapphire to lifeless blue-gray...*
With a gasp, the Lithosian lying on the floor opened his
green eyes, the last moments before the profound darkness
clinging to him. Blinking rapidly, it took him a moment to
realize that he wasn't in the City Library anymore.
Somehow, he was now in the Hall of the Mirror, staring up
past the ring of illumination crystals to the frescoes on
the underside of the domed ceiling. "Iolite?" he called
out, part of him hoping -- praying -- that what he recalled
was some disturbing phantasm.

"I'm sorry, Lord Kyanite. I have yet to bring her back," a
voice replied, a rich baritone very familiar to the supine
Gemlord.

Part of him greeted the confirmation with a deep sense of
loss while another merely acknowledged the statement as the
truth he knew it was. Gathering his thoughts, Kyanite
struggled to his feet as swiftly as possible, offering his
ruler a salute of respect once he was standing. "Forgive
me, my lord."

"There's nothing to forgive," Obsidian assured him.
"Welcome back, Lord Kyanite."

Verdant gaze sweeping over the Hall, the scholarly Gemlord
frowned, aware of few presences in the telepathic network of
which they were all a part. "Nearly all are gone?" he
asked, his voice low in disbelief.

"Yes. Only a handful of us are in existence at the moment."

"What exactly happened, my lord?" Kyanite asked, looking
once more at the Guardian of Space.

"That, my friend, is a long story," Obsidian replied. "Rest
assured, I shall tell it to you, however..."

"Yes?"

"There's another story I'd like to tell you first."

A sudden wave of dizziness swept over the resurrected
Gemlord. Swaying slightly, the Lithosian in charge of the
resources of the grand library of knowledge and media of
Lithos pressed a hand to his forehead as he tried to will
away the vertigo.

Appearing quite concerned, Obsidian swiftly crossed the
space between them, reaching out to steady the shorter man.
Continuing to support his close friend, the dark lord said,
"Give yourself a moment. The dizziness will pass, though
you will need to rest soon."

Kyanite nodded, then opened his eyes, the light of curiosity
in their green depths. "What story is it that you wish to
tell me first?"

"Do you remember, long ago, that time when I went missing
and Captain Diamond had to assume control of Lithos?"

"Of course, my lord," the Librarian swiftly replied. All of
them could recall that time, so different from the normal
course of things. The Guardian of Space himself had
vanished without a trace; such an occurrence was not lightly
ignored.

Stepping to the side and holding the other Gemlord against
himself to better support Kyanite, Obsidian began to walk
toward the dais and the secret door that would lead to his
private chambers. As they approached it, the door swung
open of its own accord, the dark lord's baritone voice
adding, "Let me tell you what happened during that moment of
our history. It's a tale I've been meaning to tell you for a
very long time. You see, I met a woman there..."

They stepped through the doorway together. Once they had
passed, the section of obsidian swung shut behind them,
leaving them to further discuss the matter in privacy.


FIN


Author's Note: Though this story's only taken a couple of
months to convert to text and upload onto FF.net, in reality
it took me over three years to finish it, and I'm quite
proud of it and the story it tells. However, no one is an
island, and without the support of my online friends and the
interest of readers over the years, this project would never
have been completed.

Finally, I dedicate this story and the Gemlords who star
within it to Corvus, the one online friend who has been
there since nearly the very beginning. Without him, this
project would have been half as good and probably have been
abandoned long ago. He has, more than anyone else, helped
me bring to life the regal and immortal Gemlords of Lithos.
Thanks, Corv, for your continued belief in my skills and
myself.

For other stories about the Gemlords of Lithos (and
character drawings of the various Gemlords), please visit my
site at http://www.diasilv.com/tower/towerindex.html