Lifelines: Makoto By MJade

Lifelines : Makoto Author: MJade fanfic@mjade.com

Prologue Statement: They had been walking. That was all. Harmless, innocent. But when you are important, sometimes no one cares what you are doing just then, but what you have done before, or maybe, what you will do...

Lifelines: Makoto

* * * *

"Usagi-chan... come on!!" Mako yelled back once more at her blonde friend.

"I'm.... coming... please... don't... run... so... fast..."

"But we were supposed to be at the park almost fifteen minutes ago!"

"I... know... but... I'm... always... late... Aw, Mako, please!?!"

Mako, annoyed, slowed her pace, "Alright, but you tell them all that it was your fault, admit it openly."

"Makoto!"

"USAGI!"

"Alright... hmph..." Mako shook her head. <How can I be friends with this flake? Ah, but you must remember that she isn't a flake all of the time...> She looked back at Usagi.

"Oh, I'm sorry I yelled, but we are going to be really late."

Usagi looked up at her, "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, too." She flashed one of her fabulous smiles, "Actually I can't wait to get to the park, I haven't been there in a long time. It's gonna be fun."

"All we're doing is going on a walk, Usagi."

"Yeah," the blonde smiled once again, "but you never know who could be taking a walk in the park, or a midafternoon exercise jog, for that matter..." She thought about that for a second, "Mako, on second thought, let's run!" She took off in a reckless sprint. Mako sighed as she started jogging to keep up. <I should have lied and told her Mamoru was going to be there in the first place... we woulde've been early!> After a couple more minutes they were in the park, and Rei was yelling.

"Where were you two, we were supposed to meet here over twenty minutes ago. Mako started to say something when Usagi began, "I'm sorry Rei, but it's all my fault. Mako-chan had to drag me out of bed and I didn't feel like running... for awhile." Mako smiled, <she actually did it!>. Usagi's frankness stopped Rei dead in her tracks. "Um, well, you just remember that you're still late... yeah, you're still late." Minako laughed. "Alright, let's go you guys."

The five turned towards the trail and, walking, formed a line. "Hey did you all hear about that concert?" "Oh yeah! I was gonna ask you all if you wanted to go, I can get tickets." "Really!" "WOW. Do I ever!"

* * *

<How could these five girls possibly be the founders of Crystal Tokyo?> It's eyes focused once again on the small group of teenagers. <They seem so ordinary...>

<DROID!>

<Yes?>

<No... I was merely->

<ENOUGH!! Take on your true form and attack!!>

<As you command.> It gave up all conchious thought as it transformed into it's true form; claws and fangs, scales and fur, all mangled together into a great monstrosity which was one of the best attack droids in the realm of the Dark Moon. It moved, running and jumping, until it sat in a tree just over the trail... just a few more seconds...

* * *

Minako laughed, "Usagi, please, he might have stayed home today! Anyways aren't you two going someplace tonight?"

"Yeah."

Rei glared at her, "Well, can you possibly be a little more considerate to us? This is supposed to be friends taking a walk, not you blabbing about and looking for Mamoru all da--" she paused, "I sense something..."

Ami looked at her, "Rei what is-" She was abruptly cut off as something dove out of the tree overhead, landing on Usagi. Before any of it had registered in any of their minds, it berought it's claws up and slashed twice, Usagi giving off a blood curdling scream from beneath it.

Rei slammed into it knocking it off of her. Minako dove for their fallen friend, pulling her away. Mako and Ami were already transforming. Minako looked at Usagi horrified. One of her arms was shredded and blood was oozing through her shirt. Minako tore it off. Her middle section was cut open. Minako almost screamed, almost convulsed, almost went into shock, but she knew she couldn't... her friend might still have a chance. She quickly jumped up, ran over to a pay phone, and called for an emergency ambulance. As soon as she got off the phone, she doubled over and vomited. Then she jolted her hand high in the air, shouted "VENUS STAR POWER... MAKE UP!!!", and was running back to fight.

* * *

Exhausted, Sailor Jupiter once again attacked the monster... "Supreme THUNDER!!!" She only succeded in making it hesitate before diving at Sailor Mercury. Mercury tried to attack but was being pinned to the ground before she could summon the words. The monster dug into her, as it had Usagi, and her bloody scream blasted through the park.

Sailor Mars cried and dove at the dark being once more now, screaming and chanting a ward as she did. This time it was prepared and batted her away like a fly. Suddenly, Sailor Venus's crecent beam lashed out of nowhere and shocked the monster, his attention diverted for just a moment... a moment enough.

"God of Jupiter, king of the cosmos; HELP ME!! JUPITER THUNDER DRAGONNNN!!" The potent green electricity consumed the monster as Sailor Mars pulled Sailor Mercury out of the way. And yet the monster still tried to fight the power. "GODDAMMIT DEMON!! You will NOT WIN!!" a rage like the hottest fire swept through her as she called upon all of the reserves she could muster... "SUPREME THUNDER!!! SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!!! FORCES OF NATURE, END THIS HERE!!!" A cataclysmic wave of energy erupted from Jupiter as she screamed. The monster was dust in a matter of seconds, but she continued to blast at it, screaming in rage.

"Sailor Jupiter!! Stop!!" Venus yelled at her. "Mako, please!" a weak Mercury pled. "Makoto!! It's over-" Mars started. But for Sailor Jupiter it was not over. She had not won. She had paid a price. The pouring forth of green energy lasted for several more seconds. And with a blinding white light, it ended. Jupiter stood for a moment staring at the spot, green eyes blazing... Then they faded as she fell to the ground... no longer breathing... no longer alive... Venus screamed and Mars rushed to her side... "nothing...not a pulse... nothing... she... she's..."

* * *

A lone soul floating in and amongst the dark emptiness of nothingness... <So this is what death is supposed to be like, huh?> Makoto found herself, hersoul, drifting in a green cloudy expanse. <I would have expected fire...> She drifted. Her life flashed through her disembodied mind. There was love, passion, friendship, joy, but then, slowly she discovered that these three emotions were felt few and far between. Mostly there was hate, rage, death, all intermingled with a strange sort-of sadness in the form of a question. Why? She fumbled with the question, now, for the first time, and discovered she had no answer. Why had her life had been so awful.

"Princess?"

Makoto could hear words floating around her. And then she suddenly found herself in a body, somewhat like her own, and wearing a light green dress that seemed to swirl around her. She gazed at her surroundings, she seemed to be in the middle of an anchient ruin... she thought she had seen this place before...

"Jupiter?"

Makoto spun to face the voice that had called her name behind her. A woman in a long white dress stood before her and as she looked at her head a certain pairing of words came to her mind... <odango atama...> She knew who it was. "Queen Serenity. Is this my old body? Are we in the Moon Kingdom?"

The queen looked confused, "Yes, you look as you did over a thousand years ago, and yes this is the Moon Kingdom... but, why are you here? I had thought maybe you were the Princess. She often finds her way here in her dreams."

Makoto found no easy way to put it, "I'm dead." She had expected the Queen to be startled, possibly shocked to tears. Instead she chuckled slightly.

"No, Jupiter... If you were dead you wouldn't be here, but there must be a purpose as to why you are here. Tell me, what happened?" Jupiter told her of the walk in the park, the attack on Usagi, their defense, and then of what she had done.

"It was uncontrollable, sheer energy pouring forth. And when it was over I was here... I assumed I had died, why else would I be here?"

"Because I couldn't let my daughter die."

Makoto spun to the sound of the new voice. Queen Serenity also turned, shocked to hear a voice. A woman floated a short ways away from them. Tall, with dark brown hair, she wore what looked to be a light green sheet, although it, and she herself seemed rather blurry... out of focus. Makoto stared at her for a moment, and then an image jumped into her conchiousness. She grabbed it, and using it, she found she could remember more and more, until at last she was sure of who it was.

"MOTHER!!!" Mako started to run towards her, but found that she was not accustomed to running in a dress. She stepped on the bottom edge and tumbled out across the ground. A beautiful laughter rang out into the air.

"AcK!! And I thought it was her daughter who was the klutz!" the woman motioned at Queen Serenity. Mako grinned as she pulled herself up. This time she pulled the dress above her feet as she quickly took the rest of the distance between them and then flung herself at her mother. For a moment she stood there... and then she looked up. It was almost as if she stared into a mirror.

"Mother, I can't believe this!! Well, then... It's hard to believe anything that has happened today. I thought you were dead... no, I know you're dead... and that means if I am truly seeing you, I'm dead too... but Serenity says I'm not... I really am having a hard time understanding things right now..."

"So am I." Makoto turned to see Queen Serenity standing not too far behind her, looking shocked and confused, and staring right at the other woman. "Juno... is that actually you?" The woman nodded. Now it was time for them to embrace as Makoto moved aside for a moment. The two women parted and Queen Serenity started, "How are you still here? What's... Why..."

Queen Juno smiled and looked from her friend to her daughter. "I'll explain to both of you... it's not that complicated, actually. You see, I was on the Moon on the night of the attack. So when everyone was taken by the crystal, I was taken too-"

"Why were you here? Why didn't I hear about it?" Serenity interrupted.

"Because I knew what was going to happen. If you recall, I had the gift of foresight... I saw the future and knew what was going to transpire-"

"Then why didn't you warn me!! Why didn't you stop it!! My daughter-"

"Both our daughters. It was too late, and the time stream cannot be altered, our fates are there. I went because... well because I knew my planet was going to be destroyed, and I knew I would have died there. The only life left, the only chance to see my daughter grow up was to be sent to the future."

"But what about-"

"My husband?" Juno smiled a wistful smile as the memory came back to her, "He wouldn't leave Jupiter, he was going to stay with his people and fight until the end. He wanted me to go... wanted someone to follow and watch over our daughter. "So I did. And I was reborn, but with no recollection whatsoever of my past life. I lived a somewhat stable life. I met a man, fell in love with him, and we married. In time, we had a child, a daughter..." Juno looked at Makoto and smiled, "Your face, little one. Your face is what brought everything back. As I first placed my eyes on you I remembered... everything. "I wanted to tell you everything... about the past, you, your friends, this time... but with my knowledge... my gift once again came back to me. I knew about the plane. Knew I had to get on it, knew I was going to die. It was as if the fates suddenly realized that I had been reincarnated too, and that I wasn't going to be allowed to help you, later, in you battle against Metalia... There was nothing I could do about it. I kept thinking about my wish... both our wishes, that you would be happy... and live the life you were meant to live. "I remembered something from long ago about leaving a part of your soul behind. So I took something very dear to me and forced a part of my soul into it. Then I left a note, a last wish, and got on that plane... and died." Juno reached a hand out to Makoto and touched the earring on her right ear. "I'm glad you still had them on."

Tears freely fell down Makoto's face. "You said to. The only thing I can still clearly remember after you died was reading that note. 'Makoto, I am sorry, and I hope you can forgive me for leaving you like this. Please, wear the roses always, and remember your father and I' I always thought that note sounded like you knew you were going to die... and you did. Dad gave you those- these earrings, didn't he." Her mother nodded. "Did you love him... once you remembered the past? I always thought you two were happy."

Juno nodded again. "Yes, I did love him, he was very good to me, and to you."

"But, mother... why am I here now? How can I still be alive?"

"Because of the earrings, I did not completely die. I've been watching you, keeping an eye on you. I thought if anything ever happened to you, I could give you an extra chance. I almost intervened several times, but her daughter," Juno once again motioned to Serenity, "saved you then. She couldn't this time though. I knew I had to grab you before you passed over to the other side." Suddenly she began to become even more blurry then she already was. Makoto leaped out and grabbed her,

"Mother!!"

"Oh, my little Makoto... I've spent my chance... It's my turn to pass over the other side now." She blurred even more.

"NO!!" Makoto cried and held onto her mother.

"Neither the expanse of time or space can keep forces apart for long... I promise you my daughter, when your time actually comes, I will be waiting for you, so do not be afraid." Makoto squeezed her eyes shut, intending to cry out again...

* * *

"USAGI!!"

"Alright... hmph..."

Mako shook her head. <Wait a minute... that was not what I was going to say...> She looked around her and suddenly realized she was no longer on the Moon. She was on a sidewalk... Usagi stood in front of her. She could have said a thousand things, all of the questions that spontaneously burst into her mind... but her mouth said "Oh, I'm sorry I yelled, but we are going to be really late."

Usagi looked up at her, "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, too." She flashed one of her fabulous smiles, "Actually I can't wait to get to the park, I haven't been there in a long time. It's gonna be fun."

<Everything is happening over again... She sent me back to set things right... I have a second chance... Oh, mother!> "All we're doing is going on a walk, Usagi."

<I've got to figure out what to do, I can't let the same thing happen again! Usagi may have died from those wounds!> In a couple more minutes they were in the park, Makoto was still thinking, and Rei was yelling. "Where were you two, we were supposed to meet here over twenty minutes ago." Mako didn't say a word, simply looked at Usagi and the blonde began to speak, "I'm sorry Rei, but it's all my fault. Mako-chan had to drag me out of bed and I didn't feel like running... for awhile."

Mako smiled, <This is actually a little fun...> Usagi's frankness stopped Rei dead in her tracks. "Um, well, you just remember that you're still late... yeah, you're still late." Minako laughed. "Alright, let's go you guys." The five turned towards the trail and, walking, formed a line. "Hey did you all hear about that concert?" "Oh yeah! I was gonna ask you all if you wanted to go, I can get tickets." "Really!" "WOW. Do I ever!"

As they started to walk, Makoto's thoughts flew through her mind. <I can't do too much different, or the monster won't attack-- What am I going to do?!?>

* * *

Makoto still did not know exactly what she was going to do... and they were at the tree... Minako laughed, "Usagi, please, he might have stayed home today! Anyways aren't you two going someplace tonight?"

"Yeah."

Makoto knew exactly what she had to do. Ami looked at Rei, and opened her mouth to say something- Makoto dove at Usagi, bodily moving her out of the way as something dove out of the tree. Then she spun back towards it, screamed, "EVERYBODY TRANSFORM!!", and then dove at it with all her might. She and the thing went tumbling forewards as she heard several, "STAR POWERS!!" behind her. She punched, kicked and fought the thing for as long as she could, but it was too powerful for her. In a minute, it had her pinned to the ground, claws poised above her-

"SHINY AQUA... ILLUSION!!" A blast of ice threw the thing off of her. She scrambled backwards and away-

"BURNING... MANDALA!!" The circles of red flame hit the creature and made it stumble back a bit furthur...

"MOON PRINCESS...ILLUSION!!!" And then the creature was no more. Four Sailor Senshi turned to look at her. "How- How did you know?"

Kino Makoto simply smiled and fingered one of her earrings. "My guardian angel told me..." <Thank you mother...thank you for a second chance...>

End.

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