Sailor Moon Expanded : Aftermath
A tale of the Black Moon War
[Draft version - may change title]
by Mark Latus
Princess Usagi finished her farewells to the friends who knew her as
Chibi-Usa and raised the time key. As she prepared to activate it an odd
thought crossed her mind. It was strange to think that though it would only
be a short time until she next saw them almost a thousand years would pass
before that day came for them. It was even stranger to think that they had
known all this would happen for centuries before she was born. But the
mysteries of time were driven from her mind by more urgent considerations.
She felt her eyes getting damp, unless she left immediately she'd start
sniffling and Princesses weren't supposed to cry in public. At least that's
what she had thought. Waving goodbye with her free hand and resisting the
urge to wipe her eyes she invoked the key. This time it worked and the
column of light swallowed her. An instant later it vanished and she was
somewhere else.
She found herself in a long corridor with an ornate door just before her.
It looked more than a little familiar, indeed she had passed this way very
recently. This was limbo which meant ...
"Welcome back, Small Lady."
Usagi turned to see a familiar figure. "PUU!" Forgetting decorum she
rushed to hug the Senshi of time. Who had anticpated this moment and knelt
down so they'd be on the same level. The tears started flowing and Usagi
broke the embrace feeling embarrassed. Pluto merely smiled and proffered a
handkerchief which the grateful princess used to dry her eyes and blow her
nose. Getting herself under control Small Lady told "her" Senshi, "It's
time for me to go home and help Mommy so I need you to open the door to the
future."
Pluto nodded, the circle was almost complete. There was just one small
detail remaining she needed to fufill. "I will gladly open the gateway but
we must take different paths to the future. Mine is faster and your mother,
my Queen needs help as soon as possible. If you give me the Silver Crystal
I shall take it to her and she will be whole when you arrive. But we must
hurry for time is of the essence." A white lie for time was meaningless
here except in a personally subjective sense. She could re-enter history at
any point she chose and do the same for the Princess. But she had watched
the return unfold and knew the Queen, King and Inner Senshi must be there to
greet Small Lady. For an instant the Princess hesitated but then she nodded
and a compartment opened in Luna-P. She reached in and placed the crystal in
Pluto's hands.
"Take it to my mother. She'll be fine once she gets it." There was
absolutely no doubt in her voice. Pluto rose and bowed to her princess.
"Yes, Small Lady." The door opened soundlessly and she told the
Princess, "When you are ready just step through. You will find your parents
waiting for you." With that she faded from view leaving Usagi alone save for
Luna-P. She closed its compartment and motioned it to follow her.
"Let's go, Mommy's waiting!" She ran through the door followed by her
faithful servant. Behind them the door closed and vanished from view. Limbo
stood empty once more until its mistress returned.
Sailor Pluto materialized beside the crystal shrouded body and looked
into still features. Serenity looked so peaceful, you wouldn't dream she had
been viciously stuck down. Instead it put her more in mind of the story about
the enchanted princess awaiting her Prince Charming to wake her. A flicker
of motion caught her eye and she saw the transparent figure of the man who
fit that description. Unfortunately his condition prevented him from
fufilling the storybook requirements so she would have to provide the
awakening spark. She placed the silver crystal above her Queen's chest and
stepped back.
The Crystal glowed with silver light and moved down to Serenity's body as
if the crystal that enclosed her was as vaporous as fog. It came to rest in
its accostomed place upon her breast and the glow spread from it to illuminate
her body. For a few moments nothing happened then Serenity's eyelids
fluttered as though she were merely awakening from a deep sleep. She sat up
as though the crystal that entombed her wasn't there. Which was almost the
case as it faded into nothingness a moment later.
An instinct leftover of her days as Usagi Tsukino demanded she yawn and
stretch before opening her eyes. As soon as she had completed the ritual
her eyes opened and she saw the phantom Endymion and smiled. He was already
approaching and stepped into her welcoming embrace. Pluto noticed that though
the phantom king had no physical substance Serenity carefully held her arms
where they would have rested had he been real. His were equally carefully
positioned so they almost touched her instead of occupying the same space she
did. Even though Serenity couldn't feel the etheral lips she acted as though
the kiss was real.
Pluto wondered if she should break this moment with her news when she
realized Endymion's attire was becoming a brighter white. He was changing
from transparent to translucent and seemed to grow more opaque by the second as the crystal glowed brighter and brighter. Pluto
smiled, she had her answer. Let them have their privacy and events unfold as
they may. She wasn't needed here. She stepped back and would have seemed to
recede from view had anyone been watching.
Neither of the lovers noticed when their embrace passed from potential
to real but all good things must end and they drew slightly apart. There was
so much he wanted to say to her but she touched a finger to his lips and told
him, "We should wake the others." He nodded, the war was over. It was time
to restore the Senshi. In the blink of an eye they were elsewhere.
Unaware of the world around them the four Senshi stood with their backs
to the crystal pillar and their hands linked. They had stood like this for
over a year now as they shielded first the city and now the palace against
Nemesian attack. That attack was very unlikely but the decison had been made
not to awaken the Senshi until the last of the Nemesians were gone or Serenity
revived and could shield the city from any attack.
Not that a full scale Nemesian attack was likely. The remaining
Nemesians were cowering in their remaining bases and shuttling up to their
transports as fast as they could. Well aware that though their shields might
keep out the mobs of angry humans they wouldn't stop a second skyfall. Their
spirits seemed broken, the RN inspectors overseeing the withdrawal reported no
violations of the ceasefire. The Nemesians were leaving their weapons and
support equipement behind without complaint. At least most of them, almost
every clan had members who had joined the Bloodstars in refusing to lay down
their arms. Some would change their minds and surrender but most were
diehards who would join the Bloodstars in fighting to the end. There weren't
many of them and few Bloodstars remained, all their actions had been disavowed
by the panicked Nemesians survivors. They wouldn't last long, they had no
support, little equipment and fought without hope of victory. Only one
Bloodstar cruisers remained unaccounted for and Ferrite's people were looking
for it with orders to destroy on sight and to hell with warning shots. Still
a last ditch vengeance driven suicide assault on Crystal Tokyo couldn't be
ruled out so the Senshi had remained in place. Until today.
Serenity looked on her immobile friends and said simply, "Thank you
everyone for keeping us safe. But now it's time to wake up." It was as
though a switch had turned on and animation returned to the Senshi. Awareness
returned to their eyes and they released each others hands. In the main
control room consoles went mad as the shield wavered and blinked out. The
security force already en route for Serenity's chamber split as half its
number diverted to the Senshi's chamber.
While Minako made as much a production of yawning and stretching as
Serenity the others were a lot less flambouyant about working out the kinks.
Serenity and Endymion waited patiently until their friends woke up enough to
realize they had company. Makoto was the first to speak.
"So, I take it we won?"
Serenity smiled but before could reply the answer momentarily seemed to
be "no" as the sealed doorway burst open and armed men poured in. Things
might have got messy had the Senshi not been fully awake and recognised them
as a Crystal Tokyo security team lead by Hunter Prime (aka Starhunter and
Ami's husband Tom/Toma). The team screeched to a halt hastily lowering their
weapons and bowed as they realized they were facing the royal couple and the
Sailor Senshi. Before Toma could say anything Ami had crossed the space
between them with Senshi speed and they were locked in an embrace to rival
Serenity's and Endymions recent reunion.
Seeing Serenity's attention fixed upon the happy couple the captain of
the team saluted Endymion and explained that Internal Security had detected
an energy spike in the chamber that housed the crystallized Serenity.
Dispatched by the acting IS director and joined by the visiting Hunter Prime
they had been diverted to the Shield Generation Chamber after sensors detected
intruders had bypassed the anti-teleport field and sounded the alarm.
Ironically the same security system intended to keep intruders out carefully
scanned anyone trying to enter which was why the guards outside the chamber
hadn't been able to complete unsealing the door before and shutting down the
security team arrived. Endymion indicated he understood, praised the team
for their quick response and dismissed them. The guards left leaving Toma and
Ami as the undisputed center of attention.
All this had not gone unobserved, Rei had been observing the royal
couple as well as her fellow Senshi. Serenity had once again healed without
any sign she had ever been injured and Endymion gave no sign of being the
phantom who had greeted their younger selves. Like Serenity both Makoto and
Minako were watching Ami and Toma though their attitudes were different.
Makoto looked wistful and had glanced around as though looking for someone
though Rei couldn't think who. It had been a few years since Mako's last
serious romance and she hadn't had anyone special when they had begun
shielding Crystal Tokyo. At least not as far as Rei knew and Mako had never
been secretive about her trysts. By contrast Mina had also glanced around
and looked irked that her husband wasn't there to welcome her home. But that
irritation was giving way to growing apprehension. It was that anxiety that
drove her to interupt Ami's reunion.
"HEY!"
There was a definite quiver in her yell. Tom and Ami broke off and face
her and with a little less volume Mina demanded, "Where's Cal? Is he ..."
Tom's expression and mood changed from overjoyed to serious, Ami
tightened her grip on his arm. Looking like the bearer of bad news he
answered, "Calcite's fine ..." Minako's relief was momentary as he continued,
"but it's Titanite ..."
Serenity pushed forward, "What's happened to Ti-chan."
Wishing he didn't have to say this Tom began, "Sailor Polaris was
captured while saving the last pockets of civilians during the fall of Crystal
Tokyo. Just before the end of the war Calcite and a striketeam managed to
locate and rescue her but during her captivity she had been ..." Looking
into Serenity's eyes Tom couldn't catalogue Titanite's suffering and instead
finished, "severely abused, physically and mentally."
Serenity gasped and everyone else paled except Rei who kept her cool and
asked, "How badly is she hurt."
In a voice devoid of emotion Tom replied, "She may not make it that's
why everyone's with her. Nobody dares disturb them, they don't know you're
back yet."
Minako managed, "No way! Her healing factor's as good as Cal's!"
"Wiseman did something to her. She can't absorb mana to power it and her
body was starting to consume her own lifeforce for lack of anything else.
They stopped her self-cannibalizing but that meant her healing power shut down
and she collapsed into a coma. Worse, whatever Wiseman did is also blocking
healing magics!" Wishing he didn't have to say this Tom finished, "She's
dying and there may be no way to stop it."
With absolute conviction Serenity intoned, "There's always hope! Let's
go!" Before anyone could say a word the Silver Crystal flared and the light
engulfed them all. It faded a moment later to reveal an empty room.
A few minutes earlier in the tip of the Palace's Western spire you
could have cut the tension with a knife. Watching the medics swarm around
the ToaST tube Azurite felt a tremor in the air and clamped down on her
powers. The last thing they needed was a distraction but it was
infuriating that for all her power she was useless. One of her oldest
friends, the woman who was practically her younger sister was dying and she
couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. Right now she would trade every power
she had for the ability to heal Titanite. But she couldn't, all she could
do was watch and trust in Pyrite to pull off another miracle.
Though he stood right beside Titanite as he worked Pyrite didn't notice
his wife's gaze but that didn't concern her. Right now he was oblivious to
everything but weaving threads of golden light into a simulacra of Titanite's
body. A pure mana endoskeleton that would infuse her body with the power to
let her heal herself. Once it was in place they could finally stabilize her
condition. Assuming they could keep her alive long enough, Pyrite was working
as fast as he dared but the forces he was manipulating weren't easily
controlled. Time was the critical problem, like it or not right now Ti's
fate was in the hands of the doctors. The doctors and Margrave.
If you lived long enough, Azurite reflected, life was bound to be full of
ironies. Like right now with her rooting for her ancient ... rival? enemy?
annoyance? very occasional ally? Nothing really adequately described their
relationship except to say that they both understood it and it definitely
wasn't some weird form of friendship. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
But whatever their enmity right now Titanite needed Margrave's help a lot more
than hers. Under other circumstances she might have thought it funny how
things worked out but not today. The sight of Titanite floating in the fluid
filled healing tube had squashed all traces of her sense of humour. But bad
as it was for her, how much worse was it for the two men standing beside her?
Calcite's face was set like stone, no hint of emotion showed but his eyes
glowed with supressed rage. Their glow was the only sign of his feelings.
Iron self control kept all his powers in check else the hand gripping Topass's
arm would be exerting bone-crushing force. By contrast tears stained the
younger man's cheeks and without Calcite holding him back he would have been
hugging the tube and getting in the doctor's way. Droplets of blood stained
the hastily applied bandage on his forehead that covered the marks from his
grief crazed effort to gouge his clan mark off with his fingernails. As he
stared at his wife's mutilated figure a voice inside his mind kept screaming
that his own people had done this. Animals!
Azurite could see the thoughts written in Topass's expression, they
mirrored her own. In a quiet growl she muttered, "Whatever you did to Garnet
it wasn't enough."
"Nothing could have been and we aren't supposed to sink to their level."
Calcite's whisper dropped lower still, "But if time hadn't been pressing I
would have done a lot worse."
Azurite nodded, the rescue had been made under extreme deadline pressure.
The base was still reeling from the High Admiral's death when Ferrite's
surprise package arrived. Her gaze flicked back to the medics as Margrave
hissed instructions to a white faced nurse. She was riding them ruthlessly
and demanding perfection but she was getting it.
Margrave had noticed Azurite's scrutiny and knew her psychic scratching
post recognised that she had to depend upon her yet took no pleasure in it.
All that mattered was keeping Ti alive until Pyrite was ready. Rubbing
Azure's nose in her uselessness could wait until Ti was healed,
uncharacteristic as it might be to lose a chance to crow. Yet she couldn't
escape the irony of this situation. Unbidden the memory resurfaced once more.
Centuries ago when she had convinced Pyrite to teach her youma biology it
had been for purely selfish reasons. A way to understand and maximize her
artificial life extension, gain total control over her shapeshifting potential
and to minister to her own injuries or illness if need be. Just another way
of making herself independent. That and another chance to make Azurite's
blood boil by flirting with Pyrite for the months it took him to share his
knowledge.
Yet when then were done she was the world's second greatest expert in
youma physiology, save perhaps for Ami Mizuno. All of which meant that with
Sailor Mercury a statue and Pyrite busy trying to perform a miracle she was
the one they needed to keep her oldest friend alive. Trying not to let her
dismay at the med-scanners readouts she tapped in a new sequence of commands
hoping to but a few more minutes, even a few more seconds! Yet though she
was doing everything she could think of all Titanite's vital signs were close
to redlining. Muttering a quick prayer to Aphrodite, Eris, Ishtar, Bast and
any other diety who might smile on nymphomanical catwomen she kept working
hoping that this battered city still had a few miraculous resurections left
in it. Then she heard a nurse gasp and her ears perked up as Doctor Kobiyashi
made a near fatal mistake.
"The painblocks have failed totally! Brainwaves are spiking, she's in
agony! I'm going to sedate!" The doctor's hand darted for the panel then
froze as she registered the razor sharp claws two centimeters from her eyes.
With absolutely no trace of hyperbole Margrave told her, "Touch that control
and I will kill you."
Doctor Kobayshi nearly wet herself but she wasn't a quitter or a coward.
She swallowed hard as Margrave snarled at the rest of the team to get back to
work. They all did save for Pyrite who hadn't even looked their way let alone
paused. During this Margrave's claws didn't so much as twitch. Kobayshi
fought down the urge to run and focused on her earnest belief that nothing
came before the patient's welfare.
"Margrave-dono, she is in great pain ..."
"I know. That's the only reason she's still alive."
"But ..."
"Shut up and listen. Her healing factor is gone and her body has no
reserves left. The only reason she's still alive is willpower. She's
fighting the pain and that's keeping her going. With something to struggle
against she'll keep fighting to survive. At the core she's like her brother,
she won't go gentle in the night she'll go out raging against the darkness,
[dying of the light? -- too poetic for situation?]
fighting to the end. Her refusal to give in is the only reason she's still
with us. Sedate her and she loses her focus and it's all over. Without the
pain to drive her she'll be dead inside of a minute. And if that's too
abstract then you end her life and I end yours. Any questions?"
"No, now if you'll get out of my way I've got a patient to treat."
Margrave's claws receded back into her fingertips and she stepped aside
to let the doctor try to stimulate Ti's heartrate. Brave, for a human, but
there wasn't much she or anyone could do for Titanite anymore. It was all
down to Ti now.
"Pyrite?"
"Two minutes." Absolute certainty, it couldn't be done any faster and
he was probably risking taking the whole spire off if he made a mistake. All
she, all any of them, could do was hope Ti had that long left. Margrave
rested a hand against the tube and spoke quietly, the words almost masked by
the hum of the TOtAl Support Tube.
"Damnit Ti, don't you dare die on me! You're the only friend I've got.
If I lose my sister I'm alone forever."
If anyone heard they gave no sign. Probably no one had, the readouts
creeping towards the red had everyone's attention.
Thirty seconds left, Pyrite felt the shift in space-time and generated a
blocking field to neutralize any side-effects on the manaskeleton. He gave
no visible sign of noticing Neo Queen Serenity and her entourage materialize
and kept working.
Almost as soon as they appeared Minako was at Calcite's side. He started
to speak but she laid a finger against his lips. This wasn't the time nor
place for a reunion. She took his hand and turned to take her first real
look at her longtime sister-in-law. She stifled a gasp and squeezed Calcite's
hand tighter, feeling the tension beneath the controlled mask. Neither had
to endure the sight for much longer as silver light filled the tube and
wrapped Titanite's tortured form in a gentle embrace.
The medics stopped working and stared at the glowing figure as their
instruments went dead. If anyone had turned from awed study of the light to
Neo-Queen Serenity they would have seen the same light emanating from the
Silver Crystal she wore. The Queen would not have noticed as her eyes were
closed, her expression one of intense concentration. She neither knew nor
cared that her feet were no longer touching the floor and all eyes save
Endymion's were on Titanite. It had been a very long time since she needed
to be the center of attention. Nothing mattered besides putting things right.
The glow faded and somehow Titanite was outside the TOAST Tube, looking
freshly washed yet completely dry. The pain induced riticus was gone. Her
expression was peaceful and she seemed asleep as she floated before the tube
slowly rotated. There was no trace of injuries, old or new, upon her flawless
skin. No one dared say anything for fear of somehow breaking the spell.
Serenity's eyes opened and she studied Titanite for a few moments then
nodded with satisfaction. At which point her sense of propriety reasserted
itself. A minute earlier Titanite only a hard core sadist (a minority which
Crystal Tokyo lacked and didn't miss) would have looked upon her with purient
interest. That had changed drastically and it was a good thing there were no
tabloid reporters around. The fading glow of the Silver Crystal brightened
momentarily leaving Titanite wrapped in a modest white nightgown. That was
more like it. The queen glanced from side to side and spotted an empty bed
surrounded by medical scanners. That would do nicely. Showing no signs of
feeling any motion Titanite floated across the room and between sheets which
shifted to tuck her in comfortably.
The completed mana-skeleton hovering beside him Pyrite felt a very
peculiar sensation as he watched all this happen. He remembered that a few
centuries ago he had heard Sailor Uranus claim there was an emotion that
Serenity alone could make you feel that she had been able to engender since
her Sailor Moon days. A unique mix of relief, gratitude and thankfulness yet
with a tinge of resentment that you felt after you had struggled, sacrificed,
suffered and occasionally died only to have her wave her magic wand and make
everything okay again so while overjoyed the day was saved you were left
wondering if there had ever been any point to your own efforts. Until this
moment he had never really understood just what she meant.
What Uranus had neglected to mention was that Serenity was well aware
of the mixed feelings her miracles could produce. So he was surprised when
Serenity turned to him and said, "It wasn't in vain."
[Hospital scene - Serenity arrives and repairs physical damage. Trauma
another matter, has learned not to meddle with minds. Family, friends &
Rei best ones to help her recover.]
[Senshi & royals travel to hilltop (Mako sidetrip?). Restore physical damage.
Was winter on past-senshi visit, now it's spring- Endymion ]
[Reunion from episode R 89]
[A few days pass]
[Margrave (reading Payback on Gor : Kajira's Revenge) at bedside & Ti's
nightmares, Awakening ready to kill so can't go home yet. Serenity joins
them]
[Rei picks up communication between Palace and Nemesian spaceship]
[Topass? Contacts Cal & they confront him. Black Moon wants him back, ranks
decimated & he's a lot higher in the succession than was ever expected.
Plus he opposed war and tried to forge alliance with senshi which would have
enabled BMF to plunder Earth without serious opposition (BMF spin doctor
interpretation). Excellent figurehead for head of clan.]
[Topass idealistic, 'Nemesis ripe for change!' Fail to convince him Ti needs
him more. Doesn't want to endanger her or Hem-chan by bringing them along.]
[Visit Ti, he breaks news. Major quarrel]
[Ti orders Cal & Rei not to interfere. Doesn't want Topass staying unless
he chooses to remain]
[Rei confers with Ruby(BMF) & Opal concerning BMF offer]
[Accompany Topass to shuttle point. Still trying to convince him]
[Leaves, Rei wistful about not making shuttle crashland, Cal wondering if
they've done the right thing]
[Back in CT Ti angry but bottling it up for Hem-chan's sake. Prays for his
safety despite thinking him a fool]
[Serenity musing on if she did the right thing by making Topass immortal
without his knowledge or consent]
[End]
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