Chapter Text
Act 10: Eternity
Within the crystal surrounding the Earth, Platsuna was still stuck in place, seemingly straining herself immensely as the crystal around her darkened. A large area around her was now completely blackened, and deep, deep red waves of energy could be seen within the darkness. The dark area steadily grew bigger, until finally, it reached the surface of the crystal. Instantly, the crystal cracked, then exploded, freeing Platsuna along with a bunch of air.
“Those… those damn Sailor Warriors,” Platsuna hissed, catching her breath. “In spite of all this power, they still countered my attack! They even slowed down time on me in this state!”
Looking around, Platsuna attempted to regain her composure.
“On the upside, it looks like the whole planet has been trapped within the crystal, but I’m the only one who’s broken free… Finally, I have the advantage I’ve longed for! This time, they can’t defend themselves! I will delete you and this planet from the universe, Sailor Warriors!!”
Platsuna gathered her energy with dark, thundering force, creating another star-like ball of silver-coloured energy behind her.
“This time, nothing can stop my Chaos Platinum Apocalypse Star! Farewell!!”
Right as she was about to launch her attack, however, Platsuna saw three people appear out of nowhere a small distance in front of her; Cosmic Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask and Sailor New Moon.
“What,” Platsuna muttered. “Sailor Cosmos…?”
“I think I know what you’re saying,” Cosmic Sailor Moon shouted. “No, I don’t think I’m Sailor Cosmos, but you can call me Cosmic Sailor Moon!”
“Oh, really? Ha, thanks for the good news,” Platsuna yelled back. “It took a dozen Sailor Warriors just to bring this attack to a standstill, so unless you have Sailor Cosmos’ power, you might as well just sit back and watch. This’ll be over quick!”
With a maniacal laugh, Platsuna launched her attack straight down at the Earth. Acting swiftly, Cosmic Sailor Moon dashed forwards and placed herself under the energy ball, holding her hands up high.
“Rainbow Stardust Refresh!”
Beams of light in all colours radiated from Cosmic Sailor Moon’s hands in all directions, surrounded by glittering white sparkles of energy. A silvery white plume of energy appeared within the light and shot upwards, striking the Chaos Platinum Apocalypse Star and starting to grind it apart, scattering shards of silver energy across the crystalline shell around the Earth. While it was being torn to shreds, Platsuna’s attack exploded, wiping away Cosmic Sailor Moon’s attack in the process and creating a shockwave that blew Tuxedo Mask and Sailor New Moon off their feet.
“Ha,” Platsuna commented as she landed on the ground in front of Cosmic Sailor Moon, smirking but with an intense fire in her eyes. “You say you’re not Sailor Cosmos, but you sure wield power a lot like hers. You make my skin crawl in the same way as her, too.”
“It doesn’t matter what title I have,” Cosmic Sailor Moon replied.
“It matters more than you think,” Platsuna said, before throwing her hand forwards in a lightning-fast motion and launching a smoke-like black energy attack, sucker-punching Cosmic Sailor Moon in her forehead.
“Sailor Cosmos is unique,” Platsuna continued, beginning a volley of similar attacks. “If you’re not her, you may as well be a speck of dust! I’ll blow you away!”
Cosmic Sailor Moon yelped as she was pummelled by Platsuna’s attacks, getting pushed backwards. After a few steps, she managed to focus and summon her staff, shutting her eyes as she prepared to counterattack.
“Silver Moonlight Constellation Shower!!”
A spray of glittering energy droplets shot out of Cosmic Sailor Moon’s staff, washing away Platsuna’s shadow jabs as they flew towards her. Once the attack struck Platsuna, she instinctively arched backwards and held her hands in front of her face as if she was being hit by a stream of water, though she quickly snapped out of it and moved to the side.
“Oh, you really are good at making my blood boil,” Platsuna commented with a smile that could only barely contain her fury. “Then, how about this for a change?”
Platsuna began sprinting directly towards Cosmic Sailor Moon, building up pitch-black energy spheres in her hands. Cosmic Sailor Moon clutched her staff and prepared to defend herself, but Platsuna swiftly changed up her movements, making herself hard to track. Before long, Platsuna started launching her orbs of darkness at Cosmic Sailor Moon, who hurriedly defended herself by repeating the Silver Moonlight Constellation Shower move and stepping back. A cycle of attacks and counterattacks began, with some of Platsuna’s attacks making it through Cosmic Sailor Moon’s guard, and some of Cosmic Sailor Moon’s attacks striking Platsuna as well as her attacks. Tuxedo Mask and Sailor New Moon watched from afar as light and darkness took turns filling the area, trying to find a way to move closer to the action. As the cycle continued, Cosmic Sailor Moon took more hits than Platsuna, and soon, she grew winded and frustrated. Finally, she jumped high and began hovering for a moment as she gathered as much energy as she could, holding her staff to her head.
“Cosmic Angel Resuscitation!”
Large angel wings constructed from white energy grew from Cosmic Sailor Moon as she chanted the name of her attack, spreading wide, and a silver crescent moon of energy appeared behind her head like a halo. Cosmic Sailor Moon’s staff gained a strong silver glow, and when she moved it and held it high above her head, it turned into pure energy which shot out like a meteor shower in all directions over the Earth, and the halo and wings soon followed. Energy and light filled the sky entirely and rained down like a torrent, causing the whole planet to shake and slamming Platsuna down onto the crystal surface. As the light became completely blinding, Platsuna failed to stop herself from letting out a small shriek.
After a small eternity, the light of the Cosmic Angel Resuscitation faded, and Platsuna pushed herself off the ground, which was now the roof of a building, looking around. Instantly, she observed how the Earth had gone back to normal, its crystal shell wiped away. The city below was bathing in the orange light of the sunset, and life was continuing as if nothing had happened.
“The Crystal Planet has come undone,” Platsuna commented, mainly to herself.
“Thank goodness,” Cosmic Sailor Moon said in the same manner as she descended, landing on another rooftop close by. “Everything’s back to normal…”
“I suppose there’s no denying that she’s firmly on the way to becoming Sailor Cosmos, or an equivalent, after all,” Platsuna huffed, talking to herself. “The universe’s great purifier… oh, how I loathe you.”
Platsuna jumped over to Cosmic Sailor Moon’s rooftop, landing right in front of her and glaring at her.
“I assume you feel some kind of relief now that you’ve wiped away the crystal encasing the planet,” Platsuna said. “In reality, it makes no difference, all your allies already spent all their energy when they caused that crystal to appear in the first place. You’re not any less on your own than before. Still, that attitude of yours… You disgust me to my very core.”
“I already know you’re rotten to the core,” Cosmic Sailor Moon bluntly replied.
“Ha. Yes, I suppose someone like you would say that. It’s invigorating in a way.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Until now, I have avoided using my full strength, in case it would reach a level my unstable body couldn’t handle and tear my absorptions out of me to balance itself. Starting now, however, I will treat you as if you are Sailor Cosmos, it’s what you deserve… My hatred for Sailor Cosmos, for you, burns in every single fibre of my being in perfect sync! Through hate, I am whole! I am free to spend every single ounce of my power on ending your existence!!”
Platsuna shifted her stance slightly and grew a furious expression. Suddenly, the glowing lights in her hair buns faded away, and her hair colour changed from platinum blonde to light pink.
“Why do you keep looking more and more like Sailor New Moon…”
“You should see what my mother looks like. Enough talk!” Platsuna clenched her fists, and rays of pure dark energy radiated from the gaps between her fingers. “Chaos Black Hole Heart!!”
Opening one of her fists, Platsuna fired a new, larger and denser black sphere of energy at Cosmic Sailor Moon, purple sparks flying from the orb as it shot ahead. Unable to avoid the attack in time, Cosmic Sailor Moon wheezed as the ball of darkness struck her abdomen and exploded into purple mist. The attack was followed up by a dozen others, and Cosmic Sailor Moon started attempting to move backwards to buy more reaction time. Platsuna rushed after her to close the gap, however, continuing her barrage of attacks while growling and baring her teeth like a feral animal. As the Chaos Black Hole Heart spheres continued pummelling Cosmic Sailor Moon, her outfit began sustaining damage, and her body started to bruise. After a few seconds, she managed to regain her bearings enough to counterattack, summoning her staff and creating small Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss attacks at its tip which she rammed into the black orbs with a rapid stabbing motion. Once she had wiped away the closest attacks, Cosmic Sailor Moon began blasting away at Platsuna as well, and light and darkness began its dance anew in the skies above Tokyo.
“Papa,” Sailor New Moon asked, “has Mama ever spent this long fighting just one person before? I’m starting to get worried.”
“I will say this doesn’t seem ideal,” Tuxedo Mask replied, “but I have faith she can win.”
“Hmm… You’re right, I should have faith.”
“Excuse me,” a voice called from behind.
“Aah!”
After jumping in shock, Sailor New Moon turned around, being met with the sight of Ruteene.
“Oh, it’s you! Sorry, you caught me by surprise,” Sailor New Moon said. “Did you come by yourself? What about everyone else?”
“Mina-san and the others wouldn’t wake up,” Ruteene replied, “but they were breathing, at least…”
“I see,” Tuxedo Mask commented. “Fending off Platsuna’s attack took everything out of them all.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry I couldn’t help… Aah, no, talking about that isn’t why I came here! I need you to know that Platsuna’s power is endless as it is now!”
“What do you mean,” Tuxedo Mask asked.
“She’d probably kill me immediately if she heard me say this, but right now, Platsuna is fighting exactly like her mother, Empress Chaos… I mean, Sailor Chaos. Her attacks are fuelled by her hatred, and she will never, ever run out of hatred in her heart. I’m not sure who the Sailor Warrior fighting her right now is, but… You need to help her!”
“That’s Cosmic Sailor Moon,” Tuxedo Mask informed. “If Platsuna’s heart is filled with endless hatred, then hers is filled with endless love.”
“Cosmic Sailor Moon? I don’t recognise that name, but it sure sounds close to Sailor Cosmos… Love can be just as strong as hate, but it powers defence and protection more effectively than it powers offence, and there’s no other way to end this than for one of them to kill the other. Looking at how Cosmic Sailor Moon is fighting, I think she already knows that…”
“…Yeah. You’re probably right. We’re not all that strong compared to Mama, but…” Sailor New Moon summoned a staff; a smaller copy of her mother’s. “We might be just strong enough to tip the scales. Platsuna’s so focused on Mama right now that I should be able to get a shot in! Glittering Romantic New Moon!!”
Focusing her power into her staff, Sailor New Moon conjured up a large pink and silver heart of energy above its tip. Then, she leapt towards the battle with a mighty jump.
The battle between Platsuna and Cosmic Sailor Moon continued as light and dark energy clashed again and again. Right as Platsuna was about to shift to a new position, however, Sailor New Moon struck her in the head with her Glittering Romantic New Moon, and the impact was combined with Platsuna’s own jump, making her fly off to the side.
“You’re not looking so good, Mama,” Sailor New Moon commented. “How are you feeling?”
“You shouldn’t come over here, it’s dangerous! But… Yeah, Platsuna is really tough,” Cosmic Sailor Moon responded. “It feels like she could keep going like this for a year without getting tired… and I definitely can’t!”
“Ruteene-chan said something like that, yeah. Platsuna is fuelling herself with hatred, and she’s definitely got an endless supply of that. You’ve gotta do the opposite and fuel yourself with love!”
“I’ve been doing something like that, I think… I’ve been making sure none of our attacks do anything to the Earth, and I feel like I could keep doing that forever, but that doesn’t help me defeat her…”
“You have? Oh… Okay, I have an idea! If you can channel every bit of your power, including what you’re spending to protect the planet, into an attack against Platsuna, then you’ll beat her for sure. We just have to turn defence into offence! Papa! Come over here!” Sailor New Moon beckoned at Tuxedo Mask. “I’ll waste some of Platsuna’s time.”
“W-what are you saying!? That’s too dangerous,” Cosmic Sailor Moon yelled, but Sailor New Moon had already started making her way towards her enemy.
While Tuxedo Mask and Cosmic Sailor Moon talked, Sailor New Moon confronted Platsuna, who was making her way back to the battle.
“Hello,” Sailor New Moon taunted. “It really is like looking into a mirror with you now, I’ve gotta say! Shouldn’t you be a little more interested in me?”
“In due time, mosquito,” Platsuna responded, “in due time…”
“Every insult you throw at me just reflects back onto you, just so you know! Maybe that bright brain of yours was eaten up by the darkness in your heart. Sure it’s giving you power, but your mind and soul are being burnt to ashes!”
“I’m saying I’ll kill you in due time. Wait your turn.”
“I hear you’ve basically turned into your mother.”
“…What did you just say?”
“A little butterfly tells me you’re using the exact same fighting style as your mother. Not only that, but you act just like her, too!”
“Is that what Ruteene said? Then I’ll let you know the difference between her and I first-hand!”
In a swift motion, Platsuna launched a Chaos Black Hole Heart blast directly into Sailor New Moon’s abdomen, before launching herself forward and punching her square in the face. Sailor New Moon was sent flying several feet backwards, landing on her back on another rooftop.
“Ow.” Sailor New Moon wiped her face, seeing blood from her nose on her glove. “That one wasn’t powered by hatred, that was just blind fury. Thanks to that, the attack didn’t hurt even close to as much as it should have…!”
As Sailor New Moon got back up and continued to provoke Platsuna, Cosmic Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask worked on a plan.
“I’m not sure what to do,” Cosmic Sailor Moon said. “If I let up on protecting Earth, she’ll destroy it. No matter what happens after that, she’s won… but right now, I’m not making any progress either…”
“Usako,” Tuxedo Mask said, bringing out his Golden Crystal. “This is Earth, and my heart.”
“…Huh?”
“You love the Earth, right?”
“Yes?”
“And you love me?”
“Yes, of course!”
“Then, direct that power of love you possess towards this crystal. Our love, and the love you have for the Earth and everyone on it. Your desire to defend and protect it all, us all. Focus all of it, undivided, on the Golden Crystal, as I am towards your Silver Crystal. Love thrives on the bond between hearts, so as long as our hearts beat as one, I think we can bring out the full force of both our crystals.”
“Wow… Okay. I trust you, Mamo-chan.”
Tuxedo Mask held out his hand, and Cosmic Sailor Moon grabbed on. One Tuxedo Grand Entrance later, the two appeared right between Sailor New Moon and Platsuna.
“Mama, Papa,” a beat up Sailor New Moon wheezed, “go get her…!”
“Oh, good, someone I can properly focus on rather than having to swat a fly,” Platsuna commented with an unhinged expression on her face. “You’re up to something, aren’t you? You came up with some kind of plan, didn’t you!? I won’t have it!”
Platsuna launched herself backwards and into the air, building up distance to her enemies.
“I won’t give you the time to execute whatever devious plan it is you have,” Platsuna yelled. “I will wipe this solar system off the face of the universe before you have the chance! Chaos Platinum Malice Magnetar!!”
Empowering herself with as much of her hatred as she could muster, Platsuna held her arms out and formed a sphere of dark energy as wide as her body. The sphere glowed with a white aura despite its darkness, and silver jets of energy like solar flares leapt from its surface.
“Are you ready, Usako,” Tuxedo Mask smiled, looking at Cosmic Sailor Moon.
“Yes, Mamo-chan,” Cosmic Sailor Moon replied, looking back as if the world around them had ceased to exist.
Uniting their hearts, Tuxedo Mask and Cosmic Sailor Moon began to dance with each other, a slow, regal dance. Platsuna, lost in her hatred and blinded by fury, failed to register what the two were doing, instead screaming and activating her attack by converting her energy sphere into an energy wave. Tuxedo Mask and Cosmic Sailor Moon finished their dance as the attack approached, and their bodies began glowing as they completed their final steps, the two of them facing the same direction with locked hands raised to chest level. After taking a quick look at each other and smiling, they grew serious and leapt towards the energy wave. Cosmic Sailor Moon rolled sideways out of Tuxedo Mask’s arms to fly side by side with him, her left hand still locked with his right. In perfect unison, the two raised their free arms towards Platsuna and her attack.
“Gilded Moonlight Cosmic Dance!!”
An enormous wave of silver energy with golden stripes shot out of Cosmic Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask’s hands, quickly colliding with the Chaos Platinum Malice Magnetar and pushing it back. Platsuna’s attack started losing ground fast, and Platsuna herself had no response other than a frantic scream as she tried to find more power. In unison, Cosmic Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask yelled as they unleashed all their energy, washing Platsuna’s attack away. Platsuna was engulfed by the Gilded Moonlight Cosmic Dance, vanishing within its light. When the attack ended and the sky returned to normal, she was no more.
“You did it,” Sailor New Moon celebrated to the best of her ability. “It’s finally over…!”
“We did it, together,” Tuxedo Mask corrected with a smile.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Sailor New Moon nodded. “Absorbing your teammates can’t measure up to real teamwork! But never mind me, the two of you were stunning up there at the end!”
“I think that for the first time, we managed to bring out the Silver Crystal’s real power,” Cosmic Sailor Moon smiled. “Okay, let’s go check on the others!”
Cosmic Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask and Sailor New Moon began making their way back to the park, and Ruteene hurried after them. Once they arrived, they found the other Sailor Warriors scattered across the grass.
“I… did hope they’d be waking up by now,” Ruteene commented, walking over to Sailor Princess Venus and sitting down on her knees. “I’m sure they’re all right, but…”
“Hmm,” Sailor New Moon reacted. “Okay, this might not be the best idea in our condition, but Mama, will you sing the Moon Princess Lullaby with me?”
“Huh? What song is that,” Cosmic Sailor Moon responded.
“It’s the song I sang earlier to heal you after you hurt yourself when you were training. Even if you think you don’t know it, it comes from the Silver Millennium, so you’re bound to know it in your heart. I’ll start, then you join in.”
“Okay, I guess I’ll try,” Cosmic Sailor Moon nodded, still confused.
Sailor New Moon began humming her tune, and before long, a light switched on in Cosmic Sailor Moon’s head, as her subconscious recalled the song. As Sailor New Moon finished humming and Cosmic Sailor Moon finished remembering, mother and daughter began singing in unison. As they sang, misty rings of light energy flowed from their bodies and enveloped the park, reinvigorating everyone within it. The park itself was also restored, wiping away the damage caused during the earlier battles with Sailor Antichthon and Platsuna. In place of the crater formed by Platsuna crashing her ship into the Earth, a crystalline cherry tree manifested, blossoming with sparkling pink petals. Finally, the Moon Princess Lullaby came to an end, and as they sang the song’s final words, Cosmic Sailor Moon and Sailor New Moon lost their transformations entirely, having exhausted the last remnants of their power. Without the energy to stay standing, the two began to fall, and Tuxedo Mask and Ruteene rushed over to catch them.
“Are you okay? That was incredible, but please don’t overdo it,” Ruteene said, holding Chibiusa.
“They’ll be fine, don’t worry,” Tuxedo Mask replied, before turning back into Mamoru to match his family.
“Okay… though how come these two turned back to normal when everyone else is still transformed?”
“For Sailor Princess Venus and the others, it’s part of what it means to be a Sailor Princess Warrior,” Mamoru said. “They don’t need to use any power on maintaining their transformations, their civilian selves and warrior selves are one and the same. In the case of Sailor Ceres and her sisters, they never had a non-transformed side to begin with.”
“Wow… I think I understand,” Ruteene nodded.
Around the park, the other Sailor Warriors were finally starting to regain consciousness. The moment they got on their feet, they hurried over to Usagi and the others, gathering around them. The Sailor Princesses transformed back to their civilian selves to match Usagi, while the Sailor Quartet focused on Chibiusa.
“Hey, Ruteene-chan,” Sailor Ceres smiled. “Glad to see you made it. Here, let me take over.”
“Oh, um, sure,” Ruteene nodded, letting Ceres support Chibiusa.
“Hi everyone,” Chibiusa weakly said to her quartet. “We might have overdone it a little at the end there…”
“But you did it,” Sailor Vesta responded. “You did what you had to, and you defeated Platsuna! I can tell by the look in your eyes that you won!”
“Sorry we couldn’t be of more help in the fight,” Sailor Pallas pitched in, “but at least it turned out okay!”
“Don’t say that,” Chibiusa replied, “if you guys hadn’t all worked together to make an escape for us, we wouldn’t have managed to do anything…”
“Oh yeah, that’s a great point,” Sailor Juno commented. “What did you do to become able to beat her?”
“That’s probably a long story, so let’s ask the King,” Sailor Ceres said, looking over to Mamoru.
“Hm,” Mamoru reacted. “Oh, right. Let’s see, after you threw us away from the park…”
Mamoru spent a few minutes recounting everything that happened after Platsuna’s first attack.
“Wow,” Minako commented.
“Attacks powered by infinite hatred, huh,” Rei added. “What a wicked character Platsuna was, all the way to the core.”
“I almost wonder what happened to make her like that,” Makoto said, “though she was probably just born that way.”
“I think I can answer that,” Ruteene spoke up.
“Oh?”
“Yeah… I don’t doubt that she would end up with a black heart no matter what, since she was Empress Chaos… I mean, Sailor Chaos’ daughter, but… When Platsuna was born, Sailor Chaos had long since torn the universe to shreds and rebuilt it in her own image as the Chaos Empire, and had almost finished her campaign to remove all Sailor Warriors except for herself from the universe. Only Sailor Cosmos remained, and maybe her daughter if you go by rumours… No new Sailor Warriors could emerge under Sailor Chaos’ rule thanks to the Edicts of Chaos, including Platsuna who was in every way destined to become one. Sailor Chaos only had Platsuna in the first place because she thought it would grant her power, like Sailor Cosmos’ connection to her daughter seemed to have done before. She had Guld for the same reason. The moment Sailor Chaos found out she didn’t gain any power from her children, she cast them out… Platsuna lived a life filled with nothing but hatred after that. She hated and envied Sailor Cosmos’ daughter, who had lived the life she had been robbed of. She hated Sailor Cosmos herself even more, who she saw as the reason why her destiny was robbed from her. Above all else, though, she hated her mother, Sailor Chaos, who was the one who actually did it… With all of that hatred in her heart, it didn’t take long for her destiny as the heiress to the Chaos Empire to find a way to manifest itself. Instead of becoming mighty like Sailor Chaos, Platsuna became cunning and clever. I know she brought us all to this time period to use us as pawns in a plan to change history and prevent the rise of Sailor Cosmos, but I think her real goal was to discover a way to eliminate her mother… if only to take her place. Please don’t take pity on Platsuna, she fully intended to carry on Sailor Chaos’ legacy. As much as she hated her mother, she was just like her. Even if her life was perfect, I don’t think that would change.”
“That’s quite the story,” Haruka commented. “Shame about her blind hatred, otherwise I could imagine her making a temporary alliance with Sailor Cosmos to defeat Sailor Chaos.”
“It wouldn’t really improve the situation,” Michiru noted, “but maybe it would become a little more manageable.”
“What is Sailor Chaos like anyway,” Haruka asked.
“She’s a lot like Platsuna, but less cool and calculating since she’s so much stronger,” Ruteene replied. “Now that I think about it, outfit aside, she actually looks shockingly similar to Usagi-san…”
“When Chaos managed to take physical form, it most likely took on that look on purpose,” Ami theorised, “as an imitation, or maybe a mockery.”
“That, in turn, must have trickled down to Platsuna, which is why she ended up looking so much like Chibiusa,” Mamoru added.
“You’re probably right,” Ruteene nodded. “I wonder if Platsuna pretended that Cosmic Sailor Moon was Sailor Chaos in order to fuel her hatred…?”
“So what now,” Minako asked.
“So much has happened,” Ruteene said. “All the fighting is finally over, and… I don’t know what to do now…”
“You need a ride back to your own time, don’t you,” Minako asked. “Chibiusa-chan can help you with that!”
“Oh! Yes, please! I- um, I’d like to stay a little longer and experience what a world without Chaos is like, if you wouldn’t mind having me…”
“Of course we wouldn’t,” Minako grinned. “I’m sure Chibiusa-chan and the others aren’t leaving right away either, so until they have to go, let’s just relax and have some fun!”
“First of all, though, let’s get Usako and Chibiusa-chan home so they can recover with a good night’s rest,” Mamoru said.
As the moon began to rise over Tokyo, the victorious Sailor Warriors headed home.
For the next week, the whole gang spent their time enjoying peaceful days. Minako introduced Ruteene to the Crown arcade and its games, giving her a slight culture shock. Mamoru informed his university that he would not return until the week after, claiming to still be ill, typing on his computer which was still in Usagi’s room. While Usagi and the others had school, Ruteene spent time with the Sailor Quartet, and the five of them went on random excursions throughout the city to pass the time. A few times, they got help from Mamoru to visit Parle and Garnets as well. In the afternoons, they met up with the Inner Sailor Warrior gang at the Crown café, and over time, Ruteene grew comfortable with small-talk. Suddenly, the days seemed to fly by, and before they knew it, a week had passed and it had become Sunday evening. The entire group, including Parle and Garnets, gathered outside the Crown café as the sun was setting, painting the city orange.
“Everyone,” Ruteene said as she curtsied, “thank you for everything. There’s no way around it, you’ve all completely changed my life, and I’m eternally grateful for that.”
“Hey now, no need to be so formal,” Minako replied.
In response, Ruteene ran up to Minako and hugged her.
“We’ll miss you, you know,” Minako said, returning the hug. “Good luck out there, and be careful.”
“I will,” Ruteene nodded as she stepped back, wiping a tear from her eye. “I’m not gonna be able to fight Sailor Chaos or anything, I know that, but I can still help Sailor Cosmos in my own way. I’ll make as much of a difference as I can!”
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate it,” Usagi commented. “Your help might just be the boost she needs! Stay safe though!”
“Of course!”
“Okay, Ruteene-chan, are you ready to go,” Chibiusa asked.
“Yeah,” Ruteene nodded, walking over to her side.
“It was fun coming back here again, even though a lot of things happened,” Chibiusa said. “Hopefully it’ll just be as a vacation next time!”
“Please feel free to visit us whenever you’d like, we’d love to have you, no matter if it’s past, present or future,” Parle said.
“Sure, Mama,” Sailor Ceres replied.
“Safe travels,” Artemis added, waving a handkerchief towards Diana, who was sitting on Chibiusa’s shoulder.
“Where did you even get that,” Luna commented, shaking her head.
“Bye-bye,” Diana meowed in response.
“Alright, see you,” Chibiusa waved, fishing out her time travel key.
While the Sailor Quartet, Diana and Ruteene waved, Chibiusa chanted and activated her key. In a sudden flash, she and her group vanished, whisked away back to their own time as the sun dropped below the horizon.
“There they go,” Makoto commented.
“We’ll take our leave as well,” Garnets said. “Farewell for now.”
Parle and Garnets travelled back to their ship, leaving the group.
“I’ll head home,” Luna said. “See you there, Usagi-chan.”
Luna began wandering off, while Artemis jumped up on Minako’s shoulder.
“I guess we should get going too, huh? Tomorrow’s just around the corner,” Minako added.
“It sure is. See you around,” Haruka nodded, starting to walk to her car.
“Bye for now,” Michiru joined in as she, Setsuna and Hotaru joined Haruka. Soon after, the four of them drove away.
“I’m going to do a little studying before it gets too late, so I’ll head home as well,” Ami said. “See you tomorrow!”
“Personally, I feel completely at peace for the first time in a while, so I’ll just get some good rest,” Rei commented. “See you here in the afternoon, girls.”
“See you,” Makoto waved.
“Yeah, see ya,” Minako joined in.
“Bye-bye,” Usagi smiled.
The Inner Sailor Warrior gang split off and headed home, leaving Usagi and Mamoru alone.
“…It’s a little strange,” Usagi commented. “It’s been so long since it’s felt so peaceful… but it also feels like nothing changed. Tomorrow I’ll be back to school again, reading your e-mails again, going through regular days again…”
“It may look like that on the surface,” Mamoru replied, “but we’ve all changed. Maybe even more than we realise ourselves. Also, I’m going to be stopping the whole mail thing.”
“Huh? Why?”
“A flick of Tuxedo Mask’s cape and I’ll be by your side,” Mamoru smiled. “We’ll never have to be separated again, Usako.”
“Oh yeah,” Usagi exclaimed with stars in her eyes. “You’re right! Everything has changed, I can see my Mamo-chan every day again!”
Usagi jumped into Mamoru’s arms and hugged him tight, celebrating. After a few seconds, she pulled back a bit, and the two of them shared a look. With the moon rising in the sky behind them, they shared a kiss, before heading home hand in hand.
~ The End ~