The Final Chapter
~1500 words
Sorry this took so long, life got in the way for a bit. But here it is, and a masterpost will be up right after this.
There was a noise, a loud noise. It took Haruka a long moment to register it had been a scream. She surfaced to full consciousness slowly. Blood on the floor. Not hers, none of it was on her. She turned her head. The shopkeeper was on the floor too, now, but he wasn’t breathing. Haruka’s limbs felt too heavy for her to try and help him. And they weren’t alone.
The blood had seeped into Serenity’s gown, dyeing it dark red around her ankles and in splatters up to her chest. She leaned back in one of the vinyl chairs, the silver crystal sitting casual on the table next to her in its own little pool of blood.
“It could heal you, you know.”
Her voice was cold and flat. Haruka might have shuddered if she’d had the energy. “Oh?”
Serenity poked at the crystal’s points. They dug into her already scratched fingers, but she didn’t seem to even feel the pain. “All I’ve asked of it today, and it says it’s willing and able to heal you. What good are you? You’re not my daughter, my husband, my best friend. What makes you worth saving?”
Haruka couldn’t argue, but agreeing would get her nowhere either. “Usagi. I’ve been through some of this too.”
“Your children grew up.” She bared her teeth like an angry wolf. “You knew what would happen when you had them, you got exactly what you signed up for. This is not what was supposed to happen for me.”
“It still hurts.”
“That’s your problem. Maybe in the next life, you’ll get more time with them.” Serenity kelt to the floor, suddenly gentle. Haruka almost pointed out that she was getting her dress dirtier, silly kitten, she had to be more careful, but she caught herself. Serenity brushed the hair out of Haruka’s face. “You do want another life, don’t you? You want Minako to have a happier ending than this? And Setsuna?”
They danced across her mind. Setsuna in the kitchen, carefully teaching Hotaru how to make Chibiusa’s favorite cake. Minako in karaoke bars, charming strangers but always trying to catch Rei’s eye. Setsuna’s quiet smiles, Minako’s infectious laughter. They were so much more than two cold corpses on a lonely rooftop. Maybe in another life, Minako could have the life she wanted. Haruka could find her, fight so that she could stay an ordinary girl. Or Setsuna could take Mina’s place amongst the inners, be a part of the big circle of friends she’d never quite managed to break into. She’d been happy in their family, but she’d always felt a little out of place in the group as a whole. They could fix that. The next life could be perfect for the two of them.
“I just need your help convincing Hotaru.”
Haruka opened her mouth to agree. But there was a whisper in the back of her mind. Our family was the best life I could have asked for. And Mina would never trade what she had with you and the girls for anything. Haruka could feel the quiet smile, too. We were happy, Haruka, not all the time, but as happy as people can be in a life. You don’t need to do this for us.
“Setsuna…” But her presence was gone. Haruka felt the weight of her death a second time. “I can’t,” she whispered. “I can’t help you.”
“You’ll help me. Just in a less gentle way.” The crystal disappeared from the table and reappeared in Serenity’s hand just as the bell over the door rang. Michiru and Hotaru stopped. Haruka knew at once what was coming.
Hotaru swallowed hard and grabbed Michiru’s hand. There was no point in that, though. This was the end. Serenity had out played her.
“I don’t have to do it,” she said. She lifted Haruka’s head into her lap. “It’s painless if you end things. Just like putting everyone to sleep.”
“No.” Hotaru felt Michiru look down at her, but she refused to meet her eyes. “You could just let her live. I’m not going to do this for you.”
“Hotaru.” Haruka lifted her head weakly. “Never give in. I love you, you might not believe it but I do. And Michiru–”
A crystal choked off her words, piercing straight through her throat. Her eyes bulged. There was not final breath, only blood, blood in her mouth, blood running down onto her chest, blood on the floor coating every tile in red. Hotaru wanted to scream, Hotaru wanted to run, cry hide, forget all of this as best she could, but she knew she would be stopped.
Michiru let go of her hand.
Hotaru fought back her tears. Two parents dead, and one who would destroy the world to bring her wife back. She braced herself. Would Michiru fight her outright, or use words? She was too skilled with both kinds of weapons for Hotaru to be able to guess. “Mama…”
A wave of energy took the front wall out. Michiru aimed her mirror not at Hotaru, but at Serenity. “You didn’t think I would let that slide, did you?” Serenity stood, and Michiru blasted her into the street. “It’s an eye for an eye, princess.”
Serenity’s hair came loose. Messy strands framed her cold eyes. “You can’t tell me you don’t want her back.”
Michiru’s smile was even colder. “I used to think Haruka was the only part of this world worth saving. And she’s still one of the few.” She walked towards Serenity in slow, measured steps. “But Setsuna was also part of my family. She’s gone. The children Haruka and I had are gone, and their descendants want nothing to do with us.” She stood before Serenity, their faces inches apart. “You’ve left one person we both loved, and I’ll take you with me to hell before I let you force her into anything.”
The crystal lashed out, but Michiru leapt away. She sent a wave of energy that crashed down on Serenity. The crystal shielded her. Hotaru watched through bleary eyes. She’d prepared for anything but this. She hadn’t imagined that anyone could matter as much as Haruka to Michiru, and certainly not herself. They’d killed her once. They’d tried before that. But maybe the hundreds of years after that hadn’t been an empty appeasement to their guilt. She’d genuinely loved them, at least some of the time, and maybe they’d loved her too.
Michiru took a crystal through her right shoulder. Her arm hung limp even as she launched another attack.
Not maybe. Hotaru’s heart ached for their lost time. They’d been a happy family, but she could have made it better. Easier. She’d hurt Haruka the most, she knew. She should have said something before she died, should have said more long before that.
Michiru slammed against a wall across the street. She’d taken another hit right above her hip. There was no way she’d be fighting much longer. Serenity strode towards her, breathing hard but mostly unharmed. Hotaru saw her chance. When Serenity turned her back to her, she moved.
“The moon controls the tides, Neptune. You can’t win.”
Michiru lifted herself from the wall, shaky on her feet. “Arrogance is a deadly flaw, Serenity. I haven’t stopped breathing yet.” She raised her mirror one last time. A crystal struck it dead center and shattered the glass. The resulting blast blew Serenity backwards.
Straight onto Saturn’s glaive.
Hotaru felt it break through bone and muscle. Serenity’s body went limp on the end. With a shudder Hotaru dropped it and ran to Michiru.
“Thank you, Hotaru.”
She’d slid down the wall. Hotaru knelt next to her. “Mama, I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
“And I love you.”
Michiru smiled. “I know that too.”
“You’ll tell Papa and Setsuna-mama for me, right? That I love them?”
“Oh Hotaru, they already know.” She leaned forward and kissed Hotaru’s forehead. “But I will. And I’ll tell you that we all always loved you.”
“I know, Mama.” She sobbed into Michiru’s good shoulder until she felt her pulse stop. She gently guided her head to the ground and closed her eyes. Hotaru wiped her eyes.
She turned. There, in the middle of the road, sat the crystal, bloodstained but still beautiful. Part of her wanted to destroy it, but there was no telling what that would do to the world or if it was even possible. She picked it up gingerly.
Thank you, Hotaru, said a soft, friendly voice she couldn’t be sure was just in her mind. And know that I always loved you too.
Hotaru smiled in spite of her tears. She’d continue on in Chibiusa’s name, in the name of all their departed companions.
She walked out of the ruined city and into the light of the sun. The quartet was still out there somewhere. She’d find them, and they, in turn, would find the crystal’s new holder. Not a queen, not a princess. Just someone who was, and always would be, an ordinary girl.
SittingOverHereDreaming 