Life's Lessons
A Sailor Moon fanfic
By Kristin Renee Taylor

Chapter 28 -

Neo-Queen Serenity laughed.

With disdainful ease, She seized control of Pluto's power, the power of Time, and by will alone strove to tear down the borders that held reality apart. White fire poured from Her left hand, the hand holding the Silver Crystal, and a red blaze sprang from the Time Staff in Her right. She pulled power from the two artifacts, merging them until She stood surrounded by a pillar of crimson and argent. Power raged throughout the Palace, shook it to its very foundations, distorted the very air with a thick, shimmering haze, and filled the ears with an unending roar like a freight train. Yet the Senshi hardly seemed to notice. Ranged in a loose semi-circle around the dais, they watched their Queen with blank, impassive eyes.

And Neo-Queen Serenity laughed.

Terri was not laughing.

All of her senses were functioning normally. She could hear, feel, and touch. She could taste and smell. And she understood perfectly what was happening around her, but she could no more affect Serenity's plans than she could move her own body.

Helpless and sick with dismay, she had watched Serenity nearly kill Minako, had felt the deaths of the Ku'dath slain by Uranus and Saturn as keenly as if she had killed them herself, and, with the reappearance of the Senshi, she had understood that Shouji and Yoko were dead. And, at every opportunity a quiet voice, Serenity's voice, urged her to give up, to simply stop resisting and to allow herself to fade into the peace of oblivion.

Locked inside of her own mind, Terri silently wailed in misery at the futility of her situation. There was no hope; nothing could save her.

And then Pluto had Called.

The sound of her name jerked her back. She had clung to her name, to the identity it had represented, and for those few brief seconds, she had regained control. She had regained freedom-

Incandescent fury nearly obliterated her. Serenity's rage forced her to the very edge of nothingness, and nearly threw her off. The light of her being guttered, almost went out-

Before she could understand what was happening, Serenity slammed her back, broke her control like it was nothing, and once again imprisoned her within the recesses of her own mind. She didn't understand what had happened, why Serenity had suddenly stopped, or why she was still alive. And Serenity ignored her as if she had simply ceased to exist.

But, deep within herself, something like hope stirred.

A shimmer of power, barely glimpsed, saved Minako from decapitation.

She had been running full-tilt through a corridor large enough to march an army five abreast when she caught the flash out of the corner of her eyes. She twisted in mid-step, wrenching her momentum to the side, as the wild sword swing cut the air where her head had been a heartbeat before. A sharp line of pain along her cheek told her she hadn't been fast enough.

She stumbled forward a few steps and spun, confronting her attacker, and stared in surprise.

The two soldiers fought viciously, swords dancing in their hands, unaware of Minako's presence. One wore a white uniform, the other gray. Lunar versus Atlantean. Their bodies flickered and wavered like candle flames; she could see walls through their bodies, but the blood running down Minako's cheek proved they were just as real as she was.

She suddenly became aware of a sound, audible over the shaking of the palace. Men shouting, fighting, dying. Chaos erupted into the space around her as the final battle of the Silver Millennium came back to life around her.

The ground heaved suddenly, and she lost her balance, crashed against a wall-

She turned to see Mercury staggering towards her. Blood matted her hair, coated the side of her face in a slick, red sheen. Her eyes were wild. "The East Tower. Mars… Oh, gods!" For a moment, whatever she had seen was so great she couldn't articulate it. She choked on her words, made frantic, terrified gestures. "Mars is dead. We were betrayed!" She fell to her knees, sobbing.

Terrified. "This. Never. Happened!"

 Paradoxes yawned around her. She was going crazy.

Coughing, gagging on the taste of blood, Minako struck the wall and fell face-first to the ground. Her muscles twitched and shook as if she were having convulsions. Her left hand throbbed hotly. Flashes of darkness ran across her eyes.

Beneath her, the ground continued to shake itself towards destruction.

What on Earth had that been? A memory? Some sort of weird flashback? Time going crazy?

Yes, that was it. Different tangents coming together, merging into one. She understood. And what she understood she could fight.

Slowly, she regained enough self-mastery to climb to her feet. Body clenched with determination, Minako pushed herself into a run. She had to hurry.

Someone called her name.

She ignored it, much as she ignored the power raging around her, or the way the walls and floor of the throne room seemed to shimmer and blur. Images flickered along the edges of her vision, ghosts from the Silver Millennium, many of whom she had known personally. But she ignored them all. Her will belonged to her Queen.

Serenity threw Her head back, ecstasy graven onto Her features. She wielded power far beyond any person's comprehension, enough power to destroy solar systems, entire galaxies if She chose. She attacked Time as if it were a personal affront against Her. Nothing could survive such an onslaught and live.

Yet, somehow, Time endured.

Eyes shining with power and fury, Serenity turned, bent Her will towards the still-captive Sailor Pluto. Time's Guardian sprang rigid in the throne, body arching until only her head and feet retained any sort of contact. Eyes squeezed shut, teeth bared in a grimace of pain, the Senshi struggled not to scream.

She ignored them. Ignored the way the air around Serenity and Pluto begin to shimmer and that the continual roar in the air suddenly scaled upwards into a shriek. None of it was important to her.

But… Her Queen-

<That's not your Queen!>

Pluto's agony was almost palatable.

The voice grew desperate. <Hino Rei, you have never submitted to anyone in your entire life. Don't you dare start now! Fight!>

Conflicting desires tore at her.

Serenity was grinning savagely.

Super Sailor Mars started to fight.

Super Sailor Jupiter stood, impassive, and watched as Pluto begin to bend beneath the pressure of Serenity's will.

It seemed impossible that one woman could hold out against her Queen, yet, somehow, Pluto refused to break.

Not breaking, not yet. But definitely bending.

Guilt raged through her and, with it, a semblance of self-awareness. My strength? If she could have, she would have laughed. My strength? I was never strong! If I had been strong then none of this would be happening now. If I had been strong- Her guilt floundered.

<If you had been strong,> the voice said, <Usagi would have never died.>

Yes. She watched impassively. Internally she was sobbing.

<No.> The voice was gentle but firm. <She would have died regardless. She chose, Mako-chan.> A brief pause while the truth of that statement sank in. Then, <Are you going to let her death mean nothing?>

Softly, No.

She did.

She refused to listen.

<It was never your fault.>

Oh, but it had been. That's what was so funny. It was her fault. Their fault. Everything that happened was their fault. Because of their doubt and mistrust. They had lacked faith in their Princess, and this was the end result. They had thought Jedite harmless, and look at what had happened! Nothing they had done had ever been enough.

No, worse. In the end, nothing they had done had even mattered. They were useless.

By Hell, that's exactly what this is about, she panted. Everything we've done, everything we suffered through, and none of it was necessary. None of it! What was the point of all that fighting? Of all that killing?

"Faith," she breathed.

Super Sailor Saturn smirked. I don't even know why you're asking me. You already know my answer.

The air rippled in front of her. She was going too fast. Unable to stop herself, she plunged into a past.

Pain erupted in Minako's right shoulder. She lost her balance, fell to the ground, and lay there, crying helplessly as her body reacted to being shot. She gasped air, trying to breathe, and distantly she realized she was going into shock. Blackness surged against her mind, urging her to fall away into easy nothingness. The entire prospect of moving, of having to face another distorted timeline, almost overwhelmed her.

I won't do it, she thought. I can't go through that again. I can't…

Slowly, painfully, Minako got to her feet. As she stood, her body shook uncontrollably. Her clothes felt sticky with blood, and she could feel the fabric stiffening already as her blood dried.

Snarling defiance, she threw herself forward, and almost immediately into the next distortion.

Super Sailor Mercury watched, impassively, as Mars started to move. The raven-haired Senshi's hands jerked, slowly curling into fists, and her eyes reflected Serenity's power like an expression of hate. To Mercury's left, Jupiter wore an aspect of intense focus, a storm just on the verge of breaking. Uranus clenched her forehead with one hand, as if she could read freedom in the bones of her face. Neptune's eyes were closed, but her mouth stretched open in a silent shout, and Super Sailor Saturn grinned, anticipating death.

But Mercury stood and watched and made no move to help them. The entire concept of fighting Serenity was absurd: the Senshi had no real power, and Serenity's might defied any sort of comprehension. A victory at this point was nigh impossible.

What she believed didn't matter. Facts were what counted, and the fact was-

Slowly, as if she were moving through air thick as tar, Jupiter took a step forward, every muscle in her body rigidly defined. Sweat ran down the sides of her face.

Yes, Mercury supposed she was giving up. The Senshi had very little chance of winning, and that chance was just as slim with her help as it was without. She was just a doctor, after all. What good was a doctor in a battle like this, where brute strength was more useful than intellect? She would only hamper the efforts of the others if she joined in.

It was better this way.

I'm stating the truth, she countered and surprised herself with the vehemence of her reply. If I were to try and help them…Images of power marched through her brain, power without consequence, and the consequences of wielding such a power. She was abruptly furious. Haven't you meddled enough? Isn't everything we've suffered through enough? I don't want to hurt anyone else!

Her anger broke, leaving behind a chill numbness that was, in its way, worse than despair. I don't want to hurt, anymore.

The appearance of Super Sailor Venus drove the question from Mercury's mind. Flickers of surprise ran across the faces of the Senshi.

Venus looked exhausted: her skin was the color of a corpse and her eyes were dull with fatigue; it was as if whatever method she had used to reach the throne room had drained her of something vital. The front of her fuku was stained red; blood seeped from a wound in her right shoulder, dripping down her arm. She was practically prostrate on her feet. She limped painfully past the Senshi, barely aware of them, and, approaching the dais, shambled to a halt. Her voice, when she spoke, was a faint whisper, yet it sliced through the shrieking air. "Serenity."

Slowly, Neo-Queen Serenity faced her, and Her dropped away. The shriek became a muted growl in Mercury's ears.

Free of the Queen's attention, Pluto collapsed bonelessly into the throne and didn't move.

Serenity's eyes narrowed as She glared down at the Senshi; the air itself paused with expectation. "Venus." She sneered. "Come to beg for your life, worm?"

"Actually, no. I've come to kill you."

The sneer was replaced by anger. "You arrogant little worm. Do you seek to intimidate Me?"

For a moment, Venus stared at the flagstones beneath her and wavered unsteadily. Then, she lifted her head and met the Queen's glare directly. When she smiled, Mercury nearly screamed at the expression on her face, at the death in her eyes. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Howling fury, Serenity hammered a spike of magic at Venus strong enough to shatter mountains.

Still smiling fatally, Venus closed her eyes.

Legal Stuff:

I don't own any of the Sailor Senshi. Er… the Descendants. Or is it the Avatars..? Whatever. I only own the original characters and the storyline.

This has been a production of Blueberry Enterprises.
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