☆ she dreams of past demons 004;

[herlonelystar.livejournal.com]

[ There's always the element of disbelief that can distinguish nightmares for true fears. But this dream.. it may look like a nightmare, but to Usagi, it's reality. Scenes pass by in a flash but linger far too long for her taste.

People shatter into stardust before her; the first one being the worst. It's of a man. Tall with dark hair and beautiful blue eyes. She and him are at the airport where he hands her a beautiful ring. He's in the middle of making a promise -- something to do when he returns from his trip before he pauses. He's quickly turning into stardust, leaving a golden crystal behined before a hand shoots out clutching it tightly. The stardust dissipates and it's a warrior in gold, staring with cruel amusement as Usagi's vision darkens.

The next are two dear friends -- the ones with the blessings of Jupiter and Mercury. There had been a battle with a different woman this time. Both of them are transformed, wrapped in ice white colored hair tendrils before they're hit with a power blast that cause them to crumble into nothing. Crystals in the colors of blue and green appear where their bodies were until they're snatched away.

Again two more friends perish at the hands of the golden warrior. The scene is of a japanese shinto shrine. She's managed to destroy a warrior with dark wings dark skin and red hair. The ones blessed with the planets of Mars and Venus look so happy when Usagi appears that while the race to gather together, they're caught unawares from the back. Their faces are horrified while their bodies disintigrate and before Usagi can snatch up the crystals left in their wake, the woman in gold has them and leaves maniacal laughter behind.

The golden warrior is named Galaxia. And only a tiny child with red hair is with her as Galaxia finds a way to taunt the moon rabbit. She plays on Usagi's fears -- torturing her with the image of Neptune and Uranus meeting the same fates as those before them. "Are you sure that the future you know is the real future? Do you really think the future you know will come to pass?"

The trip to Galaxia's stronghold is a difficult one. She and her Starlight comrades aren't even out of the solar system before she's left with the afterimage of Pluto and an untransformed Saturn disintigrating into dust. Resolve and anger strengthened, Moon, the Kinmoku Princess and the Starlights all head to the Zero Sagittarius Star System. So many deaths on the way to the final battle; most of her allies fall on the way to find Galaxia.

It seems like there's hope: The future child blessed by the moon and the color of pink cotton candy and her sailor senshi appear to help fight for everyone. But it seems that everyone has other plans. Galaxia is a cruel mistress it seems and has shaped her newest fighters to Sailor Moon's weakness. "Kill Sailor Moon. Get the Silver Crystal."

The image shifts and instead of a giant castle as the backdrop, the battle ground is a cliff that leads to a mass of swirling white: The Galaxy Cauldron: where everything is born from and comes to die at. The large container holding the stars of her dearest friends are thrown in, melting into nothingness as Galaxia laughs. Moon can't even grasp the last act of sheer cruelty: The corrupted version of her soul mate is pushed in, and as soon as he melts into the cauldron, her own future daughter disappears.

Alas, it is never over. Galaxia meets her fate at the rising Chaos, a much darker power that envelopes the beautiful swirling cauldron. Everything is dark except for Sailor Moon and Chibi Chibi. She learns of the Dark Stars, how everything was Chaos' plan to bring her here. He assaults her with dark power, which her power shield is able to deflect for the time being.

Chibi Chibi speaks in a voice much older than her childish body makes her out to be. "You must destroy the Cauldron, Sailor Moon. With it, Chaos will be destroyed as well. The only way to bring peace to this Galaxy is the do this." The look of horror says everything that Usagi can't.

She can't do this -- She doesn't want to do this but with no other option as Chaos grows larger and stronger by the second, she stands with tears streaming down her face as she rushes into the darkness.



The images disappear -- scattering into stardust like all the people in the after images of those memories. What's left is that same child sitting on the edge of the center of the universe staring at where the beautiful swirling mass of white was. She has no wings. Her battle uniform is tattered and torn in different places. Even her hair is loose and almost undone from its normal twin odango style.

But Sailor Moon is alive, face unreadable as the rest of her nightmare leaves her here until she decides to awaken. ]


(ooc: So, uh, tl;dr because sob, all of STARS is her nightmare: Lots of people die. She's forced to fight her dear friends that are corrupted. And she destroys the cauldron to keep the rest of the galaxy from dying out at the hand of Chaos. Which she does. Leaving her with nothing. END TL;DR sob, death anniversaries suck.

Here's a listing of the images I used in the post: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. )

Comments

i lied, have an updated eleven.

[thatoldthatkind.livejournal.com]

[ The Doctor stands by the entrance to the Cauldron, not saying a word. He has a new coat now - green and long. He looks slightly older too, as if some of the childish glee has gone away. Or maybe that is simply because he understands what Usagi is going through. Or has gone through.

It seems like ages, but finally the Doctor steps up behind her. He doesn't say a word, simply standing beside her, arms crossed, looking out over the mass of unending blackness. ]

mmmm eleven *A*

[herlonelystar.livejournal.com]

[ She's aware that she's no longer alone in this emptiness, but she makes no move to do her normal thing; hugging, clinging of the sort.

For what seems like ever, she just sits there until she finally breaks the eerie silence with a saddened voice. ]

It never gets better, does it?

usa bb~

[thatoldthatkind.livejournal.com]

The Cauldron or life itself?

[herlonelystar.livejournal.com]

[ Slowly, she pulls her legs from underneath her and curls them up against her chest, eyes staring but not really watching the empty expanse. ]

I was just so sure that there was a better way.. that everything would end up alright in the end.

[thatoldthatkind.livejournal.com]

It usually doesn't seem that way, does it?

it's terrible. I can almost replace Eleven with Mamo in this icon >_>

[herlonelystar.livejournal.com]

Up until then I'd always found a way. It wasn't easy, but even when the Earth was being attacked we'd always...

ALL THE SHIPS.

[thatoldthatkind.livejournal.com]

The time may present itself where you can fix it, Usagi. You can't give up.

ALL THE DELICIOUS SHIPS.

[herlonelystar.livejournal.com]

It shouldn't have to be fixed. I should have fixed it when I was there years ago!

all the delicious ships? :C

[thatoldthatkind.livejournal.com]

Sometimes things just need time. It is better than it never coming back at all.

[1/2] coming in for the battle >D

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[To be dead is to be waiting. There is cold to chill even her, and a void. Her body was reduced to dust in a scream of pain; she knows nothing more than that. She does not even know herself.

Her heart beats. Her mind sorts itself into new pathways. She sits up, and her prize catches her eye, a pair of golden bracelets. That's right. This is who she is: a soldier revived by the power of Galaxia.]

[2/2]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[It's like waiting for a cue behind the scenes of a great play, a great tragedy they will break over Sailor Moon's head. She can hardly make herself be patient. Finally, they are ready: She is not alone here; all the senshi of the solar system have come to battle the foolish girl.]

Your next opponent is us!

[She is proud to reveal what will crush the girl's heart next: Endymion, on their side, giving the order to kill.

She is pleased to obey. She puts herself forward with Mars the very moment the order is given. The attack comes without hesitation or mercy.]

[herlonelystar.livejournal.com]

[ It all happens within a blink of an eye. She's already bolted forward the moment she sees her friends in the archway of Galaxia's castle. Adrenaline has rushed through her, and even if with her eyes she sees Mars and Mercury's attacks and even though she sees the Sailor Quartet down and out for the count and even more so when Jupiter attacks her, she can't believe the warnings of her future daughter.

Over and over, both she and Chibimoon are thrown around by everyone's power. Even Chibi Chibi isn't spared by the onslaught.

But somehow, Sailor Moon is able to rush past everyone and into the foyer where Endymion has retreated into -- she has to. Too much at stake to just up and be defeated. ]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[Let her try it. Like the fool she is, their prey has left its back open. The girls - she is one of them - are not slow to take advantage of it. They combine their attacks as they've done so many times to empower Sailor Moon; but there is nothing of that in their faces now, only the ugly thrill of the power itself.

They each stretch out their hands together - Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus. Their power swells and multiplies with the force of Galaxia and their sham unity.]

Galactica Gale!

[herlonelystar.livejournal.com]

[ Had she not been paying attention, the attack would have hit her back full on. But, she notices it and at the last second summons up energy to block their power before it can even come close to hurting her.

Quickly, she summons her Eternal tier once she has her footing and holds it out in front of her. ]

STARLIGHT HONEYMOON THERAPY KISS!

[ It's an act of desperation. But, in the heat of battle it's all she can do to protect herself. ]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[Mercury steps forward and gives a contemptuous snort as she easily shrugs off the attack, Sailor Moon's strongest.]

Didn't you tell me you came here to fight Galaxia and bring everything back? To get the crystals back?

How will you do that with so little power? Nothing but a tiny breeze!

[And yet the words had been spoken to an entirely different Mercury. It says at once who's standing before Sailor Moon and how much Usagi's words still stay in her mind, however she may seem to disregard them.]

[herlonelystar.livejournal.com]

[ More tears spring to her eyes as the attack is practically brushed aside. Not because it's so easily disregarded, but because of the emotional value behind it. ]

I... I can't...

[ Sailor Moon hesitates -- so very unsure of herself as in her minds eye she sees her darling friends as they were. They're smiling brightly at her with their presence a nostalgic comfort in the middle of this chaos. ]

I can't attack Ami-chan.. [ She's almost physically shaking because she can't decide what to do. ] I.. I can't attack any of you.

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[The words cut through her more powerfully than Sailor Moon's attack ever could, in the part of herself that is a girl still asleep, the part of her that had never been able to shut those words out, the part of her that's heard them so many more times than they were spoken, the part that wanted to be sought-after and called by name.

Even in the dream, there's just a second before she joins her powers to the others. But the second passes in a dream, when years still haven't driven it from her mind awake. They will destroy Sailor Moon and take the ginzuishou. That's all the galactic Mercury needs to know right now.]

Galactica Planet Attack!

[Even as she is now, she feels the thrill of powers combining, of the force that very act generates all of its own, of being joined to a a sum greater than its parts. It gives her a heightened manic energy as Sailor Moon collapses, the wings break, and the staff shatters.

Victory.]

Cloud's late - as usual.

[findmyownreason.livejournal.com]

[he doesn't understand it all.

He understands enough.

His boot steps are silent as he walks up to stand behind her.

He doesn't offer words because there are none.]

Usagi lives by a saying. BETTER LATE THAN NEVER AT ALL. /gets to shcool late

[herlonelystar.livejournal.com]

[ Usagi just knows when Cloud's entered her dreamscape. Normally, when he appears she can just relax because he's protected her from herself and everything else when he's here. But when he appears it's a bag of mixed emotions:

She's glad he's here. She's sad he's seen why she's haunted. She wants to reach out and just hide in his shirt and she's ashamed because she couldn't prevent this disaster.

But she'll deal with the silence. Somehow. In some way. ]

[findmyownreason.livejournal.com]

[after a minute, he shifts over and sits down next to her. There's very little distance between them in the way he sits. Usagi's earned her way into his personal space and, he hopes, he's allowed into hers. One of his arms will go over his upraised knee and after a long moment, his voice will very softly ask:]

That was real?

[herlonelystar.livejournal.com]

[ He's earned his spot in her personal space the moment they met. Even in this dark reliving of reality, she still is able to take solace in his presence because he has done nothing but let her just be.

In fact, it's because he's here that she's able to make one small movement. Her gloved hand raises up and clings to his elbow. It's a simple gesture, but she's sure he'll understand that she needs this. That even if it's a part of her that she doesn't like, that she's okay that he's seen this. ]

The day I destroyed this place is coming up soon for me.

[findmyownreason.livejournal.com]

[the sound he makes is quiet, a low throated hum. Something to show he's heard and understand but not something that makes a judgement on it. His head turns a little toward her at her touch but he doesn't try to shrug it off. If anything his body, somehow without seeming to move, shifts to let her in closer. She's touching the arm without the sleeve to cover his skin and so it's all right. His voice stays soft.]

What happens after you do?

[herlonelystar.livejournal.com]

Everything.. and nothing.

[ That hand of hers tightens just slightly as she says those words. Even after all this time, not knowing that the future would be happy and bright frightens her. She's still not looking at anything but the void that the cauldron encompassed. ]

I stopped Chaos from spreading across the universe and claiming everything as his and.. I destroyed the chance of new Stars being born.

[ She lets out a shudder as her free hand clutches at the brooch on her chest. Her heart is hurting -- even if she hadn't be able to save her friends, something on this level was something she never wanted. ]

[findmyownreason.livejournal.com]

[he's not going to give her words of comfort. He wouldn't know what to say in them. If he understands right, she's the only one left now. And the only one that will ever be. He thinks of Nanaki. And Vincent. And maybe even deep down where he hates the thought - maybe himself. The last and the one that will live while everything else dies. His head turns and he gently rests his chin against her hair.

He can't even promise to stay with her. Not now. Now when he finally knows that that discoloration on his arm isn't a bruise. Soft, he exhales. His voice is just as soft.]

You'll be... their living legacy.

[and even he doesn't know if it's a curse or not.]

[herlonelystar.livejournal.com]

[ It's in that small gesture that she finally turns her head just enough to look up at Cloud with tired eyes that have shed tears and are continuing to do so. ]

I just wanted to live with everyone, Cloud. It wasn't... [ She wanted to say: it wasn't supposed to be like this. but the words of Galaxia echo in her head again, causing her to bite down on her inner cheek at the words. Instead, she just lowers her head so that she can settle in against his chin. ]

... You know, my friends and I.. when we were all fifteen we traveled to the future. All of us had brought peace to the universe. Mamo-chan and I... we were supposed become the King and Queen and have a little princess. Our Small Lady.

[ This was the future she had aimed for -- the future she had worked so hard for with everyone. The unfulfilled wishes that she normally kept hidden spill from her lips now that she's here with Cloud who has become one of her lifelines, even more so after this. ]