Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Requiem for a Soldier ❯ Dies Irae ( Chapter 2 )

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

Part II: Dies Irae
Author: Ai-ko
E-mail:tennyo@attbi.com


What does it mean to live?

The creature believed It lived. It had thoughts, It had memories--
banished to the shadows, no doubt, but It was conscious. It remembered
that beautiful dark glory, the swirling mass the Enemy called Metallia
and It called God.

The Creator. The Perfect Evil.

So It did not breathe, or feel pain, or hurt or regret--at least not
now. It simply waited, for a moment like this, to give Its God what
She had so desperately craved. To bring forth the Ultimate Gift.

Silence.

* * * * * * * *

There is something inane about a cheery backdrop when the characters on
stage are in grim moods. This applies to life as well as drama; so that
day the normally bright pastels and sweet checkered trim on everything
from the menus to the napkins at the Crown Arcade seemed banal. Amidst
the hackneyed beeps of the games and Unazuki's merry voice, the four
Inner Senshi wanted to henshin and blow the place up.

Motoki, ever the clairvoyant (or maybe simply behind a counter for too
long), perceived this quickly. He stayed out the girls' way.

And as for the girls in question...considering that they had faced some
of the Universe's greatest evils, the relationship between one spacey,
crybaby Moon Princess and her emotionally scarred, college-age
boyfriend shouldn't have caused them so much concern.

Hence Makoto's suggestion involving the love-me chains and flame snipers.

"Bad idea," Ami had dismissed her.

"Are you sure about that?" Rei asked, wanting to jump on the bandwagon
just as badly. "Just think about it, Ami-chan . . . Usagi-chan would
never come in here crying about what Mamoru-san did to her again.
Think of your eardrums."

"Absolutely NOT," Ami said forcefully. "I have no intentions of
getting slapped with a billion-yen lawsuit. And where would we hide all
the pieces?"

"Oh, so if you weren't afraid of retribution in court you'd consider
it?" Makoto challenged. "Tell me it hasn't crossed your mind, Ami-
chan. She won't even talk about their fight."

"She's not wearing his ring anymore, either," Minako said quietly,
staring into space.

The girls paused. "Since when?" Makoto asked.

"Since their argument," Minako replied, her gaze still distant. "I
asked her about it. She said it didn't belong on her finger."

"Well, with the way he's been treating her, I'm not surprised," Rei
said emphatically. "What's the count up to now?"

"Let's see." Ami opened up a little book and flipped to a page in the
back. "He told Usagi-chan he was going to stay an extra year. He
didn't call, or write, during that period. He wouldn't speak for more
than two minutes when she called him. He came back five months early
from Harvard and didn't even bother to tell her he was home--"

"Wasn't that the day she walked in on him in when he was just getting
out the shower?" Makoto asked.

"Mm-hmm," Ami said.

"And the towel dropped?" Makoto added.

"Mm-hmm," Ami replied again, blushing furiously.

"What I wouldn't have given to see that," Makoto marveled, smiling
thoughtfully.

"It's impressive," Rei said with a dreamy smile.

Minna stared at her. "Er, according to Usagi-chan, that is," Rei added
abruptly.

"Anyway," Ami continued, still staring at Rei, "then they had an
argument. She called him seven times, all at times of the day when she
knew he'd be there--"

"Mamoru-san is a creature of habit," Rei said matter-of-factly.

"--and he did not pick up once. She went down there; they had another
argument. Went for about two weeks, then Mamoru-san apologized to her."

"Will wonders never cease?" Makoto rolled her eyes. "Why do we keep a
list, again?"

"Because no one can keep their relationship status straight any other
way," Rei scowled. "What's next? The dinner?"

"Not the dinner. The Azabu Tech formal. The one he didn't invite her
to."

"Oh yeah," Rei said slowly. "But wasn't that some big alumni-
searching-for-promising-young-minds type thing? I know my father's held
a few of those."

"I'll concede that," Ami said, "but I am of the personal opinion that
it wasn't a nice thing to do."

"And then the dinner?"

"Then the dinner. That was two weeks ago. And she stopped wearing the
ring. As far as I know, they haven't talked since."

"You're forgetting a lot of things," Minako said, staring blandly at
the carefully scripted page. "The dozen roses on her birthday last
year. The roses at school when he apologized to her. And remember when
she asked him if there was someone else? He freaked out. Strange as
it may be, he honestly didn't think he'd given her a reason to believe
that."

"Are you defending him, Minako-chan?" Rei asked in surprise.

"I'm suggesting that maybe we don't know the whole story."

"Maybe Mamoru-san's a good actor," Makoto offered cheerily.

"Or maybe Mina-chan's right for once in her life," Rei replied coolly.
"Erratic as his behavior has been, well, it's just that . . . erratic."

Mina giggled.

"Not EROTIC, hentai!" Rei scowled. "*Erratic*. Unpredictable." The
senshi of Venus blushed appropriately.

"So I guess it all comes down to what happened two weeks ago," Makoto
said, eyeing the list. "Whatever happened that night must've really
hit home for one of them. But if we go by Mina's theory that we're not
giving him enough credit, then theoretically . . . "

"Maybe she hurt him," Minako interrupted quietly.

Again, Rei balked. "Do you know something, Mina-chan?"

Minako gazed out the window. "Some loves are so strong you can reach
out and touch them in your mind," she said softly, almost dangerously,
"some loves pervade every last cell of a person. That's what Usagi-
chan and Mamoru-san have, for better or for worse. But I sense a wall
between the two--I think Mamoru-san put it up--but he's *hurting* himself
in the process, minna-chan. It's eating him alive, but *still he won't
let it fall*."

The other senshi were silent. "It never occurred to me to think of it
that way," Makoto admitted quietly. "I'm sorry, Mina-chan."

"So are we," Ami and Rei chirped.

"It's okay," Mina said, folding her hands on the table with a tiny,
knowing smile. "Sometimes I forget I'm the only one who can sense
these things. It goes along with being the senshi of Love. Now the
question is, what are we going to do about it?"

* * * * * * * *

When Usagi had given Michiru permission to use the Moonlight Denetsu to
inspire her mother's death mass, she had been in a generous mood, had
wanted to give Michiru whatever peace she would find in finishing her
mother's work.

Haruka, on the other hand, hadn't quite accepted the idea yet. The
tomboyish blonde kept dropping hints towards her lover, desperately
trying to get her to reconsider composing the piece. Michiru, on the
other hand, refused to budge on the manner, even though Usagi now
wondered if she'd acted too quickly in allowing Michiru the use of the
song.

To appease her, Michiru offered to let Usagi come over at any time and
listen to what she had produced thus far. It was difficult to
replicate, especially considering the fact it required an eight-part
chorus, but Michiru used her computer to fill in the gaps. "In this
day and age," Michiru had said proudly after playing the first movement
for Usagi, "composing music has never been easier."

And it was beautiful, which helped reassure Usagi. Having something
besides school to think about kept her mind off Mamoru. It had been two
weeks, and he hadn't called, hadn't tried to see her. She was about
ready to give up on him. How many chances had he squandered now?
Five? Ten? Haruka had comforted her with a compassion she hadn't known
the older senshi could muster, but it wasn't enough. No matter what
happened, what he did to her or even to himself, she was always going
to love him, want only him, wasn't she?

She stopped in her tracks. Could that really be what it might come to?
That the love she had once welcomed with open arms could become little
more than a gilded cage, a weapon against her, rather than a blessing
from above? Love now seemed an ugly thing, grotesque and fascinating
all at once.

In her naïveté, she had never considered this. Love indeed could be
very beautiful and wonderful and all the like, but this . . . this
horrific new light scared her; out of the blue, love seemed painful and
not worth the suffering it caused. That love could become an element of
her destruction rather than a blanket of safety.

Suddenly the world seemed very cold and harsh. It was hard to believe
in something that could be so cruel.

The wind blew and she didn't notice.

It grew dark. All around her shadows crept. Usagi trembled and
started to fear. Her pace quickened in desperation. To get away, away
from love, from . . .

"Fear?"

Something spoke, but she did not know what. The fear froze her to the
ground while a boulder formed in her stomach.

"So you fear, little one? I can smell it."

Her breathing grew short as the fear crept through her.

In her fear, she pressed the emergency button on her communicator and
started to pray.

The Shadow wrapped Itself around her, tangling her in a toxic mass of
black cords. She whimpered in fear.

"Pretty little girl," It cooed, "all alone in the shadows, afraid. She
must have lost her way." Tears fell from Usagi's eyes. "A present for
me, little one?" It may have been a tongue, for it was slick and wet;
It wiped away her tears and sent a shiver down her spine. "I like the
way it tastes."

"P-please..." Usagi frantically tried to make her lips work but was
failing. "Don't . . . h-h-hurt me..."

"Why should I wish to hurt you, little girl? I like you. I like the
taste of your fear."

Usagi shook with fear. "Please . . . " her frightened mouth formed
again, desperate and fearful.

"Silly little girl . . . you fear me, not the other way around. Why
should I fear you?"

"Fear *this*, scum-sucker! Mars Flame Sniper!"

In an instant, the darkness had spirited away from her and set off back
to Its home. Usagi sank to the ground, quivering with relief.

Jupiter and Venus rushed to their fallen Princess's side.
"Sailormoon . . . you all right?"

She nodded. "Usa," Venus said gently, "we're going after that thing.
Are you ready to henshin?" Usagi nodded again and fumbled with her
brooch.

"Moon eternal . . . make up!" Now the fear had vanished, she was
wrapped in the warmth of the ginzuishou--where she belonged.

"You got anything, Mercury-chan?" Jupiter called.

"Just a moment . . . I'm pinpointing its location . . . oh, God damn it
all."

"What? What happened?" Mars snapped to attention.

"According to my computer, it slinked down the pothole."

"You mean it's--" Venus's eyes widened.

"Yes."

"And we have to--"

"It's better not to say it out loud," Jupiter said while trying not to
gag. "Buck up, minna. The sooner we're down there, the sooner we catch
it. Let's go."

So the senshi opened the pothole and each jumped down, requesting that
Sailormoon follow them using the signal from her communicator.

Down in the dank pit, meanwhile, the senshi were having very little
luck.

"Hold me," Venus groaned. "I think I'm going to pass out."

"If you faint here," Mars hissed, "No one's carrying you back. You'll
die in a sewer and they'll never get the smell out of your hair. Now
come on!"

The girls breathed heavily through their mouths and waded through knee-
deep filth, stopping only to step around the occasional rat's nest and
remove cobwebs from hair. Mercury concentrated on tracking the demon,
while Mars whispered directions to Eternal Sailormoon into the
communicator.

Back on the top, Eternal Sailormoon, who was a little drained from her
encounter with the Shadow, flew five stories above the streets,
avoiding excessive traffic and attracting surprisingly little
attention. When she received the signal, she flew back down, and
waited in an abandoned plaza where the senshi hoped to force the Shadow
to surface.

With great effort, she lifted the pothole cover and waited impatiently,
wondering what was taking the girls so long--until she felt the same
cold fear creep in her veins again.

"Miss me?" a voice whispered, slinking back around her.

Sailormoon started to cry. "You-you're supposed to be underground,"
she sobbed softly, as if her tears would keep It at bay.

"Poor little girl. I am with your friends yet. I am everywhere . . .
even inside your bones."

"N-no," she protested as It started to drain her. She could feel
herself slipping, falling headfirst into the abyss . . .

The red abyss . . .

The one with the thorns.

Eternal Sailormoon opened her eyes and realized there was a rose at her
feet.

Tuxedo Kamen stepped forward, beads of sweat slipping down his
forehead. With shaky steps, he approached her and reached out a hand.

"Are you all right?" he whispered hoarsely, releasing a dry sob.

To his surprise, she smiled and nodded. "You're here," she answered
softly, putting her hand to his face.

He took the slender hand in his own and caressed it, delicately kissing
each white-gloved finger. Sailormoon was taken aback at his sudden
change of heart, but she did not complain, either. After all, wasn't
this what she had longed for since he'd returned?

"I was scared," Tuxedo Kamen whispered in her ear. "I could feel your
fear."

"That makes three of us," Sailormoon muttered under her breath. Oddly
enough, Tuxedo Kamen didn't ask her to explicate.

"GYAAH!!! WHAT IS THAT?!?!"

"It's a rat's nest, Venus-chan."

"Oops." A giggle. "Sorry."

"Only those four . . . " In her infinite relief, Sailormoon was ready
to lambaste her fellow senshi.

Tuxedo Kamen, on the other hand, only held onto her more tightly.

Within a minute, however, Sailormoon and Tuxedo Kamen heard the girls
scream, then jump out of another pothole not a hundred yards away.
Venus was muttering something about being held while Mars muttered at
her.

"There it is! Get it!"

"I don't see anything!"

"You idiots! IT'S RIGHT THERE!"

"Submarine reflection!"

The attack hit dead on, and the Wraith began screaming in pain.

Sailormoon, Tuxedo Kamen, and the Inners looked over where Uranus and
Neptune stood smugly. Neptune was holding her mirror.

"How did you . . . " Mars had her jaw dropped.

Neptune proudly held up the mirror. "The mirror reflects truth. You
could only tell by finding the reflection." The younger senshi were
awed.

"Are we going to sit here and let this thing wreak havoc on Tokyo or
are we going to do something about it?" Uranus demanded, snapping the
others out of their stupor.

"Right!" Mercury declared. She pulled out her visor and did some quick
calculations. "If we can't see the enemy unless with my computer--and
I wouldn't rely on it for accuracy--or Neptune-san's mirror, we'll have
to try a new technique. Neptune-san?"

The aqua-haired senshi leapt to where Mercury stood. Mercury,
meanwhile, furiously typing with her right hand all the while, used her
left hand to wrap a small wire around the base of the mirror. The
sound of screeching gears was heard while the ground began to glow a
soft blue, and faint tendrils of cyan pervaded the air. At their nexus
was a brilliant creature, which appeared to be the Wraith in question.

"What in God's name did you DO?!" Venus squeaked, staring at the
apparition.

"I projected Neptune-san's mirror onto the ground for a mile radius,"
Mercury explained. "The effect will only last about ten minutes before
the computer will crash. By the time I restart the program, this thing
could escape. Now hurry up!"

"That's plenty of time," Uranus said, cracking her knuckles. "World
Shaking!" In a flash of fire and fury, the ground trembled and the
senshi were knocked from under their feet. Tuxedo Kamen, in a moment
of sheer gracelessness, dropped the handful of Moon senshi he'd been
holding. She went tumbling to the ground, landing near the tree.

"Hime-sama!" Neptune, grounded by the power of her mirror (and by
being very used to her lover's turbulent attack) was the first to rush
to the little senshi's aid.

"My head . . . " Sailormoon groped the ground, trying to focus on
something. The vague sounds of the Moonlight Denetsu wafted up to her
ears. She reached out at the same time Neptune did and found the cool,
soft metal of the trinket and amulet they now both drew inspiration
from.

Now the Wraith, who was ethereal and had little to fear from such
earthy power, was nonetheless pissed. And that stupid tinkly music
wasn't helping It either. But It realized its cover was blown, and, in
its fury, send tendrils of electric power into the metal object.

Neptune and Moon screamed in agony, but, to their despair, found that
they could not let go of the locket. Tuxedo Kamen was the first to
react, and, with the furious wrench, tried to pry Sailormoon from the
locket, but soon realized he was trapped by the hellfire as well. His
moans mingled with theirs.

As for the other senshi, they immediately realized what would happen if
they tried a similar stunt.

"Mars! Try your anti-spirit charm!" Mercury cried, working frantically
to keep the system going even while Neptune was distracted by the
searing pain going through her.

"Akuryo taisan!" The charm flew, and, sure enough, disrupted the
Wraith, but instead of weakening the creature, the Wraith focused even
more power into the attack, in the hopes of staying focused.

So it seemed Metallia would have her Silence.

And then . . . even a shadow can fear the dark. The depths of Hell are
infinite and eternal. As this new, frightening darkness crept into Its
consciousness, It knew It would not survive.

In a final flash, the Wraith forced the entirety of Its power into the
link.

"You will not destroy me, senshi! I am the Black Fear that rests in
the hearts of Men!"

"Silence . . . "

"I am the Corruptor, the One who brings forth the Blackest Truth hidden
within the depths! I am a Messenger of God!"

"Glaive . . . "

"And you will not escape, you who *murdered* God Herself! The song you
hold in your heart will be your death march!"

"SURPRISE!!!"

And then there was Silence.

The senshi opened their eyes, still feeling hazy. Coils of smoke flew
up to their noses; the scent of burning spirit was everywhere. In the
center of the road was a great smoking crater.

Before them stood a tiny senshi, eyes cold but proud, holding an
equally smoky glaive.

"Saturn-chan!" In a rather out of character moment for her, the
delighted Uranus went to the girl, wrapping her arms around her
lightly.

Saturn placed her hand where Uranus clasped her breast, but other than
that made no move to acknowledge Uranus. Cold, empty eyes stared at
the hole. "Power is so easily abused," she murmured uninterestedly.

"You did it," Mars whispered. "You saved them."

"I have saved nothing." Saturn pulled away from Uranus. "We will see
this creature again. I can only hope my power will be of service to
hime-sama."

That's when Uranus remembered. "Michiru!" she cried, running to her
lover's limp form. Uranus rolled the girl, who was still clutching the
locket, over and shook her slightly. "Michiru?" she whispered
expectantly. "Are you alive?" The tomboyish senshi looked to be near
tears.

Before Uranus could crack, however, Neptune opened her deep blue eyes
and offered a small smile to her beloved. "How's the locket?" she
whispered, eyes half lidded.

Uranus scowled but was secretly mirthful. "Always thinking of
immortality, are we?" She lifted the Ocean senshi into her arms. "You
have years yet for that."

"I should hope so," Neptune murmured. Uranus lightly kissed her
forehead and brushed the only strand of hair that had ever been out of
place on Michiru's head in the history of the world back into place.

The Inners, meanwhile, were helping a dazed Sailormoon up. Tuxedo
Kamen was still unconscious, but Mercury had unwound the Neptune mirror
and was now checking him for injuries.

Sailormoon, with some help from Rei, limped over to Saturn's icy form.
Smiling, she placed a torn-gloved hand on the girl's head.

Instantly, Saturn knelt down, took the hand, and kissed a spot where
the edge of the index finger was jet-black in color. Sailormoon
shuddered when she did this, but it was barely noticeable.

"How can we thank you?" Sailormoon whispered, tears in her eyes.

"Always for you, hime-sama," Saturn whispered back, head still down.
Two shining droplets fell. "I have failed you now. But I will not
fail again."

"No . . . "

"I have failed you," Saturn said more persistently. "The Black Truth
now resides in your Heart."

Oddly enough, Sailormoon dismissed the comment, as did most of the
others. Only Uranus seemed troubled.

"Usa . . . Usa-ko . . . "

She was spun around and kissed more forcefully than she ever thought
possible. Tuxedo Kamen's lips were on hers, warm and wet and
desperate. "You . . . " he gasped, unable to keep his lips off her for
long. His tears fell on her cheeks unashamedly. "I thought you . . . "

Sailormoon responded just as violently, knocking off the hat and
winding her fingers through his hair. "Never," she murmured. "I'll
never--"

"I--thought you--were--"

"I--thought--"

"Well somebody must've thought something," Jupiter quipped. "Anyone
got popcorn?"

"This is too interesting for concessions," Mars replied, eyes glued to
the frenetic couple.

"Is this making you horny?" Uranus whispered to Neptune.

Neptune slapped her.

Five minutes passed.

"Um, are they going stop any time soon?" someone suddenly asked.

"Apparently not--oh, that's crossing a line."

"I think we learned about this in health class," Saturn commented.

"Do they not realize that they're in public?"

"Oh, dearie me, someone better pull them apart before they start
going at it like rabbits."

"Very funny, Jupiter."

"Uh . . . too late."

"HEY! STOP THAT! YOU SICK LITTLE MONKEYS!!! THERE ARE CHILDREN
PRESENT!!!"

Tuxedo Kamen and Sailormoon looked at their court, all of whom were
paying rapt attention to their predicament.

Tuxedo Kamen looked at his lover.

He looked at the senshi.

He looked at his lover again.

"Oh, to hell with it," he muttered. In one fell swoop, he picked up
Eternal Sailormoon, wings and everything, darted onto a building, and
vanished into the night.

The senshi just stared.

* * * * * * * *

Comments, complaints, criticisms can go to tennyo@attbi.com, but
flamers will be treated with appropriate mocking condescension. Look
forward to hearing for you!