I hope that this is good enough for all of you.  I hope that my
writings inspire you all to do something important like Chris Davies
writings did to me.  If you haven't read my other series called
Adventures
of Darien you don't need to at all to understand this story because
they are
not at all related.
(NOTE: Using some ideas that I got from other writers I have
constructed what happens in the future.  Please just bear with me
with the
following facts: At one point in time Serena is killed by a Dark Moon
operative but instead of dying, the sprit of the old Princess
Serenity from
the moon kingdom takes over. Serena has only met Sailor Pluto once,
when
traveling into Chiba-Usa dream about the future. During this trip she
learns
about her future.  And, as Sailor Moon, Serena's healing abilities
are
increased ten-fold.)
        

                               Etched in Stone


        "No!" yelled Serena.  "I am fed up!  I will not be Sailor
Moon any
more!"  She stared blatantly at Luna while tending a gash in her leg.
 She
tossed aside another blood soaked cloth.  While her wound was open to
the
air, a soft breeze blew through that chilled her legs.  She gave off
a quick
shiver then put a new rag around her leg.
        "Come' on Serena!" screamed Raye.  "You say that after ever
fight we
have.  SO what if you got hurt this time!! It all happens at least
once in
our lives."  Raye stood tall above Serena in her stuck up, commanding
mood.
She had already changed back from her Sailor Mars outfit and was
fixing her
hair.
        Serena was still wearing her Sailor Moon outfit. Amy had
hypothesized
that as Sailor Moon, she had advanced inner healing abilities.  With
all that
energy of the Moon crystal flowing through her, she had much better
chance
of healing than as Serena.
        They had all carried Serena to Raye's temple after the fight
with
the recent Youma threat.  They had yet determined the cause of the
recent
attacks but they also knew that it would be known as time went on. 
This
particular Youma however seemed to be able take all the Scouts were
able
to dish out.
        It was almost like it knew their attacks and had prepared for
them.
That would put it in the top 5 percentile of intelligent villains. 
But it
just seemed different to them all.  Maybe it was because Reene had
just left.
As much as Serena said she disliked her, they all knew that in her
heart
Serena cared for Reene as... a mother to her child.
        The future.  Serena just hadn't seemed herself since their
trip to
the future in Reene's dream.  Almost distant, like she never returned
from
the future.  It had shocked them all how the planet had shaped, and
what had
happened to the five of them.  Serena took it hardest though, maybe
it was
the thought of Darien under glass, or crystal as it would be.  Slowly
dying.
        "Serena," Luna broke the silence. "Why don't you get some
sleep? You
must be tired, its nearly 2 a.m." She spoke in the heart felt tone
she used
when she first returned the five's memories.  A sort of cautious tone
with
deep self-hatred in it.  She was so sorry to have returned Serena's
memories
to her, especially when she wanted nothing else than to be a normal
child
again.
        "Just remember not to transform back," interrupted Amy. "You
need all
the energy you can get.  Amy had always been there for Serena, the
first
of Sailor Moon's "sidekicks", and most definitely her best friend.
        Serena was about to tell her she knew but when she looked at
Amy
she saw that she really did care, she wasn't just repeating things
for the
things sake alone.  Amy was worried.  Another chill went down
Serena's back.
Amy wasn't worried about most things, not what most of the scouts
were
worried about.  She always had science and logic to comfort her. But
with
the look in her friends eyes, Serena knew she was in for a rough
fight
tonight.
        Serena put her hand on her good knee and used it to push
herself up.
As she took her first step her leg gave way like it was putty.  Raye
rushed
in and grabber her before she could hit the ground.  Serena looked up
at Raye
who was holding her steady.  Raye just smiled and looked away. 
"You've..."
Raye softened her tone. "You've got to be careful, Serena."  Serena
began
to feel sleepy. She looked up again at Raye to find her looking down
at
her with a tear welling up in her eyes.
        "Don't worry, Raye," she squeezed out of her tired lungs. 
"I'll be
fine tonight."  Serena didn't realize how exhausting it was to talk
before now.
Maybe she was more tired than she thought.  She reached up and
grabbed Raye's
shoulder to steady herself and took a step...
        Right into darkness.


                *       *       *       *       *       *

        Raye felt Serena get limp in her arms.  "Serena?" she
whispered in
her ear.  When there was no reply she began to get worried. 
"Serena!" she
was getting loud now.  Raye was suddenly alert.  She felt her heart
jump in
its place.  What was happening with Serena?  As she grabbed both of
Serena's
shoulders, Serena's hand on Raye's shoulder dropped dead.
        Raye felt as the world was closing in on her.  She shook
Serena to
get her to wake up.  At this point she screamed.  "SERENA! WAKE UP!" 
The
tears that were forming before began to flow out like a faucet.  She
looked
into Serena's face and saw the peaceful tranquillity of sleep, or
death.  Just
then she noticed Serena's chest rise and fall.  She was breathing,
that was
good.
        Lita walked up behind Raye, "She's just asleep Raye.  Lets
get her
home."  She walked in front of Raye and slid her arms through
Serena's and
lifted.  Raye followed with her legs.  Together, with the rest of the
scouts
following, they walked their way to Serena's house and ultimately,
her room.
        They placed the her on her bed and pulled her covers over her
sailor
uniform.  Amy sat on the bed next to the lying Serena.  She put her
hand on
Serena's chest and felt.  "She's breathing very shallow, and I think
she lost
a lot of blood."  Amy retracted her hand and placed it on her lap.
        "What do you think Amy?" Asked Raye.  She listened to ever
word as
closely as if it was her own life on the line.
        "It will be a struggle throughout the night," replied Amy.
"And even
if she makes it, she will be in a weakened form for the next week or
so. We
can't take her to a doctor, and if she changes out of being Sailor
Moon, she
will die."  They all gaped at Amy. "I didn't want to tell her these
things,"
she explained. "It would just make it harder on her.
        Raye's temper went through the roof.  She ran over to Amy and
picked
her up by her shirt.  Amy gasped as she was lifted. "Harder for HER?!
What
about us?! What if that was the last time she would ever be
conscious?! What
if we needed to say something?! Wha.... What.." Raye broke down in
tears
right in front of everyone.
        She sobbed for what seemed like eternity.  Mina was the one
to step
forward for comfort.  "It's all right." she said in a tone that
seemed like she
was convincing herself and not Raye.  Raye continued to cry.  Mina
slowly
placed her hands on Raye's arms.  Raye looked up at Mina and stopped
crying
for a moment.
        "Oh, Mina." Raye's voice poked through the crying.  She threw
her
arms around Mina and sulked for a while.  All the Sailor Scouts were
surprised
by this reaction by Raye.  They all felt sad and maybe even sorry but
Raye
looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders and had
dropped
it on her toe.
        They all were close to Serena, and they all trusted and will
trust
her with their lives.  But Raye had trusted Serena with so much more.
 Her
feelings, her promise that she would always be there for her.  It was
all
falling apart for her now, and she couldn't take it.
        Mina knew how much Serena meant to Raye, so she just let her
cry. But
while holding her, she couldn't help but wish that Darien was here. 
He would
know what to do, and if this was Serena's her last evening, Darien
would want
to be here.
        And Mina also knew something that the other scouts didn't
know.  If
Serena was to die tonight, Raye, in all her inner pain, would follow.

                *       *       *       *       *       *

        "Serena," called a soft voice in the distance. "Serena, come
to me."
It called to her again.  Who was it?  Where was she? Could she be
dead?
"Serena," she must find out.
        As she walked a dark mist surrounded her.  It was desolate
here. No
life, no things, just existence.  She wasn't even sure of the ground
she
walked on.  She remembered a place like this before, it wasn't too
long ago.
It was almost like...
        "The Plain of Time, Queen." the voice said.  The mist parted,
and
a young woman walked over to Serena.  It wasn't long ago, and Serena
remembered
the woman's name, or rather her designation.
        "Sailor Pluto?" said Serena.  "Why am I here?  What has
happened for
you to need me again?"  Questions spun in Serena's head but she stuck
with
her first two for the time being.
        "You are here because I summoned you, Queen Serenity," she
responded.
"And I summoned you because I wanted you to know how important you
are to
the future."
        "The future? But I thought that you can't tell the past about
the
future.  Isn't it just some big rule?"  asked Serena. "And you don't
have to
call me Queen, Serena will do just fine."
        "Fine, Serena, I am the keeper of time, I make all the rules
I follow
and I can break them if the need arises, and one has.  You have been
made
known of you kingdom in your distant future.  Of your problems and
how you
came to be Queen."
        "Yeah, so what?  Aren't you making things worse?"
"No, Serena, I am righting the wrong I did by letting you into
Reene's
dream in the first place." She glanced down at Serena's leg. "You
were careless
today weren't you?"
        "NO," she denied right out front. "Well, not more than usual"
she then
admitted.
        "You no longer care for yourself like you did before.  You
have changed
a lot, and it is not just my that has noticed it.  Your friends are
concerned
also, Serena."
        "My friends? They suspect..." she let herself fall short, she
was
signing her own death warrant.
        "Tell me, Why do you place such little value on you life
Serena?"
        She thought long and hard about the question posed to her.
What was
the best way to approach it?  She is a Sailor Scout after all, she is
entitled
to Serena's truth.  "I," she stuttered at first. "I know that I must
die for
my kingdom to succeed.  I know that it is my death that triggers
Princess Serenity
to take over.
        "And what's it worth anyway?  I don't care anymore about
justice, or
ancient moon kingdoms or.."
        "What about love?" purposely interrupted Sailor Pluto.
        Serena looked down at her feet for a moment.  "I also know
that my
husband, Darien, will undoubly die way before I do." The thought of
Darien
dying brought a tear to her eye.  She rose a hand to wipe it away.
"But
that is the future so it must happen any I really can't do anything
about
it." She looked away suddenly.
        "Queen... Serena, the future can be changed.  That is why I
must fix
the damage I caused.  If you continue the way you are, most likely
you wont
live thought out the year.
        "Most likely?" asks Serena, still facing away. "I thought you
were
the keeper of time, can't you just look ahead or something?"
        "Because every change you make as a very important impact on
the
future it can't be read unless you stop making changes." Sailor Pluto
looked
away then thought of something. "Serena, do you want to see the
future you
are creating?"
        Serena thought hard, she knew what psychological damage was
given to
her the first time she went to the future, but she was incredibly
interested.
She guessed it couldn't hurt anymore, she knew everything already so
why not?
"Yes." she said softly.

        *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *

        Serena suddenly gasped for breath.  The four scouts and two
cats
all stared at her.  She continued to gasp each breath, desperate for
oxygen.
She squirmed in her bed beneath her covers.  The six held their
breath in
response, as if their stopped breathing would help Serena's lack of
breath.
        They all had promised to spend the night with Serena, just in
case
she got worse or they had to take some action.  They all wore faces
like at
a funeral procession, gathering around Serena's bed.  Raye's eyes
were a
little puffy from all the crying she had done.
        Amy put her head on Serena's chest, then put her fingers on
her wrist.
Serena felt cold, almost distant, her heart was pounding rapidly, her
breath
was thready, all classical symptoms of coming death.  Inside, Amy was
crying,
but she couldn't let her feelings show to the other Sailor Scouts. 
She was
almost their sole support. Even Luna and Artemus were deep in sorrow.
        The whole room flowed with sadness and despair.  Each knowing
that
this was Serena's last night, but retaining a little hope that she
might
recover.  But that hope was dissipating fast.  Serena was getting
worse by
the minuet and each breath she took, brought her closer to death.
        Outside, the full moon began its descent behind the earth. 
Across
its face, for the first time, was the vague image of a bunny, lying
down...
to die.

                *       *       *       *       *       *

        Mist surrounded Serena again, she thought that this was just
Sailor
Pluto's way of moving.  The first time she was here, and the mist
cleared,
she found herself standing in the ruins of what was once a city. 
This time
it was different, she hadn't actually traveled this time.  Before her
was
a sort of window that showed Serena part of the future but not
actually
being in it.
        She felt almost relived at this, the more psychological
trauma she
took, the weaker she felt.  The overload of senses that would come
from
traveling through time would probably kill her.  But she wasn't far
off from
that anyway...
        The window first just cast the reflection of Serena, then she
faded
away to an image.  It was the Sailor Scouts, minus her that is, all
in their
uniforms and locked in battle.  They all looked a little older, but
not much.
She guessed about four years ahead.  Mercury had grown her hair
longer, Raye
had cut hers short, Venus was the same, and Jupiter's tied back hair
had
grown just a bit.
        Serena stared at the window, mesmerized by its images.  On
one side
of it were the Sailor Scouts, and the other... Tuxedo Mask!  Why were
they
fighting?  What had happened in four years?  How could they just
forget all
the time of fighting side by side with Tuxedo Mask, just to turn on
him and
become his enemy.
        "Pluto!" Serena called out into the mist.  A voice echoed
throughout
the plain.  "Yes, my Queen." responded Sailor Pluto.
        "I want to hear what they are saying" demanded Serena.
        "Are you sure, my Queen?" Sailor Pluto had gone back to
calling Serena
Queen, but she didn't notice.
        "Yes, I am sure.  I must know what they are doing."
        "As you wish."
        The audio came on in the middle of Mina's sentence.  "..eese!
Can't
you just look at it our way?" Venus dodged a rose that shot out in
front
of her.  "Tuxedo Mask, just listen to us!  We did all we could!"
        "Yeah," added Jupiter.  "There was nothing us or you could
have done!
Serena's time had just come."  Serena took back aghast, she breathed
sharply
for a second. "Sometimes, fate just claims people."
        "NO!!" yelled back Tuxedo Mask in a very unfamiliar tone. 
Serena got
a glimpse of his eyes.  They were blood shot red, and almost glowing
with
anger.  "YOU LET HER DIE!!"  reaching into his pocket he let a half a
dozen
roses fly at the Sailor Scouts.  They all dodged in their own way.
        But Raye was too slow in her thinking and a rose caught her
in the
center of her shoulder and pinned her to the ground.  She let out a
dry
scream before losing consciousness.  Her body fell limp on the floor.
 The
other Sailor Scouts just stared.
        "ONE HAS FELT MY WRAITH," boomed Tuxedo Mask.  "YOU WILL ALL
NOW FEEL
MY REVENGE!" He lunged at all of them from above.  His retractable
pole
extended to a phenomenal size and knocked them all to the ground.
Each let out
a cry as they hit the floor.  Tuxedo Mask began to press hard on the
pole.
Squeezing the last breaths out of them all.
        Behind the action, Serena caught glimpse of something moving.
It was
Raye, back from her short trip being unconscious.  She held up a hand
at Tuxedo
Mask.  As she spoke, her words echoed throughout the plain. "Mars,
Celestial,
Fire, Surround!"  Rings of flame wurred from her hand and headed
right for
Tuxedo Mask.  As each ring hit Tuxedo Mask, it wrapped itself around
him. Each
one brought more pain to him.
        When the last one had hit him, he stood there, screaming in
agony,
until the pain was too much and he fainted.  Shortly after the rings
disappeared.  Tuxedo Masks body smoked from the burning fabric that
he adorned.
The cape made him look dashing, but it was also easy kindling for an
eager
fire.
        Raye looked at the lifeless body of Tuxedo Mask and suddenly
wondered
if what she did was right.  But she knew, she attacked Tuxedo Mask to
save
the Sailor Scouts.  She crawled over to him as quick as possible and
placed
his head on her lap when she got there.  She brushed his hair out of
his face.
        The smell of melting flesh was around him.  It burned Raye's
nose as
she smelled it.  She looked down at him with a sense of pity, but
also
compassion.  She opened her mouth but soon closed it. It was too late
for
Darien, he was dead.  And no amount of talking would bring him out of
it.
        Raye always thought of herself as a strong person, that
nothing really
affected her.  Most of all she thought there was no reason, ever, to
cry.  But
as she looked at the burned, lifeless body of Darien, all her pre-set
rules
seemed to no longer apply.  After the first tear fell, she couldn't
stop.
        They glistened down her cheeks and joined at her chin to drop
onto
the pressed tuxedo of Darien.  Every moment that she and Darien ever
had
flashed through her mind, each disappearing with every tear.  She
felt empty
when she finished.  She needed closure.  Her mouth opened again.
        Softer than a whisper, she began to talk, "We tried."  She
took a
stagnated breath.  "God forbid, I did try.  She just didn't want to
live
anymore. I pushed air into her lungs for hours after her heart
failed, I
wanted more than anything to be able to save her.  I wouldn't have
stopped
if Amy didn't come in and stop me.  She said if I got her breathing
again
her mind would be dead anyway."
        Raye did something there that she never thought she'd ever
get the
chance to do again.  She bent over, and kissed him.  "Serena never
got to say
good-bye that day.  I know she would have wanted to, but she didn't
know
anymore than I did that it was going to her last day alive." Raye
thought for
a moment longer.  "She never stopped loving you, and I know you never
stopped
loving her.  I just wish you two could have made up your differences
sooner.
If things had just happened differently..." She never finished her
sentence.
        Before anything else could have happened the window faded
away into
the mist from which it came.

                *       *       *       *       *       *

        No more secrets.  She knew everything now.  There was no more
reason
to go on.  She was doomed no matter how she acted, she would die one
day but
have her body live on.  What would it matter though if her soul was
dead. She
wasn't Princess Serenity, she was different, she had a different way
of
talking, walking, acting, even the way she treated people.
        That day when her previous life takes over and she becomes
the princess
she had been a thousand years ago, she will, in essence and reality,
die. She
would experience pain every second she continued to live from now
till death.
All because she knew what her fate had for her.
        She made her mind up, she would be more happy if she was to
kill
herself now.  She couldn't feel pain if she wasn't alive so death was
the
only way out.
        She slowly began to detach herself from her body.

                *       *       *       *       *       *

        "NOOO!" Screamed Raye at the top of her lungs.  "Serena,
don't do it!"
        The other Sailor Scouts stared in awe at Raye.  Raye's
actions this
night have confused the heck out of them.  It was nearly 4 a.m.,
maybe she
was just increasingly tired.  It was Amy's turn to ask.
        "What's wrong Raye?" she asked in a caring voice, but really
feeling
pity for her friend.  The night has been rough for her, she might be
losing
control.
        "It's Serena." She blurted.  "She's trying to kill herself."
Raye was
looking down at Serena's face.  Amy noticed something twinkle between
Serena
and Raye.  She looked closer at Raye's face and noticed that she was
still
crying.  No, just tearing, the night had been tough.
        "How you do know that?"  asked Amy quizzingly.  She could've
guessed
the answer though.
        "I can feel what Serena is feeling.  She was just before
feeling
very depressed, then shock, and now she is trying to distance herself
from
our world."  Raye jerked up to Amy's face.  Then grabbed her, not at
as rough
as before, just at her shoulders.  As she did, she noticed Amy wince
a bit
as she felt the same thing was happening as before.
        "We can't let her do that!"  she exclaimed in Amy's face.
        "What can we do?" interrupted Lita, as she was separating
Raye's hands
from Amy's shoulders, just in case.  "Recovery is always the choice
of the
patient.  If the patient wants to die she can make herself do so
easier than
she can make herself recover."
        "Then..." Raye's voice trailed off.  She felt defeated,
destroyed,
like her insides were churning against themselves.  What could she
do?  She
was only a priest... Then it hit her.  "I can talk to Serena.  If I
can feel
as she does, then maybe I can talk to her from beyond the grave so to
speak."
        She's cracked, was the thought going through everyone's mind.
 She'll
never recover from this.  Raye continued, "I can do it.  But I'll
need all
your help.  I need the power of the Sailor Scouts to do this."  Raye
looked
into the eyes of each of them.  "If you really care for Serena, then
you'll
let me try this."
        The three remaining Sailor Scouts looked at each other. 
Should they
do it?  What could it hurt, at the most it would drain their powers
to the
point where they'd collapse.  Which was a risky thing do to at any
time.
What if they were attacked?  What if that youma returned?  What would
they
do then?
        Mina came through with the voice of confidence. "Hey guys! 
If there
is even a chance we can help Serena we must try!  She would do the
same for
us, wouldn't she?"  But they all knew the answer to that.  She had
risked all
once to save them.  Back when they were fighting the cardians, Serena
had all
of her powers drained and almost died trying to rescue them all.
        "Yes!" they all cried out.  Almost in unison they all asked
for their
powers.  Each transformed back into the Sailor Scout they had been
earlier
that night.  They all gathered around the bed again to look at Serena
one
last time.  If this didn't work, she was doomed.  By Amy's best
estimates,
she had at most four hours left before the decline in condition got
so critical
that she would just shut down.
        Raye sat down on the bed as close to Serena as possible and
shut her
eyes.  They squeezed hard with concentration.  Then one by one the
Scouts
called upon their planets' powers. "Mercury Star Power!" called Amy
then
stood at the foot of the bed.  "Venus Star Power!" "Jupiter Star
Power!"
Lita and Mina stood to either side.
        Raye harnessed the power flowing between the scouts and
pushed it into
Serena's body.  Allowing herself to travel with the flow she left her
corporal
body and entered Serena's.

                *       *       *       *       *       *

        Raye found herself standing in a thick fog bluish in tint. 
Emptiness
surrounded her.  That figures, Serena's head is empty.  Raye forced a
smile
on her face and looked around for Serena.
        She found it to be trouble to navigate in the darkened mist. 
She had
no point of reference to guide herself.  She could be heading towards
Serena
or away from her, for all she knew she could be going in circles. 
She called
out into the mist.  "Serena!" her voice echoed throughout the place.
        Something answered. "Raye?" came the reply.  In the giant
echo, Raye
could not pinpoint where the voice came from.  However she had a
general
direction in which to go so she continued walking.

                *       *       *       *       *       *

        "Serena!" cried out a voice.  It startled Serena a bit.  She
looked
off into the mist.  In her mind she turned the voice over and over
until she
was sure of who had said it.  A reply was only courteous.
        "Raye?" she returned into the darkness.  Both words echoed
off
everywhere until the mass of noise was unintelligible.  Serena waited
for
a response.  The echoes died down until they were unheard.  No voice
replied.
Serena returned to her work on disconnecting herself from her body.
        "Serena!" the same word but from another mouth this time. 
Serena
spun herself around to look into the face of Sailor Pluto.  She had a
frustrated face upon her and looked into Serena's eyes with a fiery
gaze.
"This isn't any sort of solution." she breathed out at last.
        Serena looked back into Pluto's eyes with an opposite look of
caring
and great sadness.  "Yes, it is." The words seemed to get clogged up
in her
throat.  "I've thought this through, I don't want to cause any more
suffering to my friends.  I need to do this."  Pluto's gaze didn't
change.
        "What about the pain your going to cause them right now if
you die?
You think they will just forget about you?  Do you think you mean so
little
to them?  What your doing is taking the easy way out and not caring
who you
hurt!"  Pluto's eyes have turned to daggers that cut through her
words.
        "No, I am doing what's best for them," Serena replied.  "If
they see
me die now they wont have to see it in the future.  If I die in the
future
I will lose by body to my previous life.  I think it is a greater
pain to see
someone who looks, sounds and acts like someone you know but no be
that person.
I felt that way about someone once.  It tore me up inside so much I
could
hardly bring myself up to talk to anyone."
        "When we got our memories back after defeating Queen Beryl
and Darien
didn't, when I found out he didn't remember us I cried myself to
sleep that
night.  When he began to act like he didn't even care for me anymore
when
he started having those nightmares about us, I cried myself home. I
can't go
through any more trauma like that."
        Serena was starting to cry again.  "If it isn't one thing it
will be
another.  I just want to end the suffering now and get it over with."
 She
swallowed hard and then looked back up to Pluto.  Then Serena saw
something
she never thought she would see in Sailor Pluto.  Tears.  She was
crying also.
        "Serena," she said caring.  The look of anger out of her
eyes.  "I
know how you feel.  I have existed here so long that everyone I had
once known
has changed drastically.  I don't know if even I can handle it if I
were to
leave this zone.  But Serena, you have a time to return to.  I would
give
anything to have a constant time to live in.  If I could just leave
knowing
that everything will be all right without me I would but I cant."
        Her stone dead look that Serena saw the first time she met
her
returned.  "I found something worth fighting for, that is why I am
here.  If
can change at least one life for the better it makes me feel good for
years.
You must find something that's worth fighting for.  Something to live
on for."
        "But I know my future is doomed, how can I find hope in a
desolate
future?"  Serena began to lower her head again when Sailor Pluto
grabbed her
shoulders and jerked her head up again.
        "Serena, I'm going to tell you something now that I meant to
tell you
after you returned from Reene's dream."  She looked around for the
words to
say.  "That future you saw, and Reene came from, no longer exists." 
Serena's
eyes widened.  "Your actions in the last few weeks have changed the
future so
drastically that I can't see more than a few days ahead.  Time isn't
etched
in stone, it can be and often is, changed.  You need to make a new
future."
        Serena breathed and thought about what Pluto just said. 
"What...
what about Reene?"  she asked.
        "Her time is still possible, however it is no longer certain.
 But
time flows like a river and can repeat itself if given the chance." 
Pluto
waited for a few minutes more and asked, "So, what are you going to
fight
for?"
        "Serena!" interrupted a voice.  Most surprised was Pluto, who
thought
they were alone here.  As the speaker of the voice came forward it
the mist
in front of her began to clear and her identity became clear.

                *       *       *       *       *       *

        Even through the mist and the distortions of sound that each
step she
took made she knew it was Serena.  She called out to her, "Serena!" 
The
figure, startled, turned to face Raye when she realized that it was
not one
figure, but two.  Serena wasn't alone here, could it be she was being
killed
by some Negaverse lackey?
        She approached with caution now, taking each step a little
smaller.
Through the mist she could make out what the other person was
wearing.  She
had a skirt, no, dress, wait. A Sailor Scout uniform?  Was she some
fallen
scout that had come to find vengeance?  Long dark hair.  Who was the
last
scout she had seen with long dark hair other than herself.
        Her memory failed her at that moment but it wouldn't matter. 
As she
took another step she felt her back foot stiffen.  She struggled to
move it
but when she looked down it wasn't there.  Not only had it gone but
slowly
her leg was following trend.  A voice came from behind her.
        "Raye?" Serena quizzingly said.  Raye whipped her head around
to look
at a now standing Serena.  She looked like she had been crying.
        "Serena," said Raye, as she did she felt her whole body
ripple with
exhaustion.  When she looked back at her leg it was gone and her
other leg
was also begging to disappear.  As she turned her head to face Serena
her
body fell to the misty ground.  Her torso just lying on the ground
she
flipped herself over to look up.  Serena was standing above her now.
        "Serena," Raye repeated.  "Don't do this to yourself!" Both
legs were
now missing.  "We need you.  The world needs you, it can't survive
without
you."  Now half of her chest was missing. "I never told you this,"
her left
arm was now beginning to disappear.  "I care for you, I've always
have." Both
arms were almost gone. "I can't survive without you, I... love
yoouu..." Her
last word being gobbled up by the mist taking her head with it.
        Raye opened her eyes just in time to see the three Sailor
Scouts
around the bed collapse from exhaustion.  The aura of power
disappearing with
them.  They slammed against the floor unconscious, Mercury hitting
the bed
first then rolling off to land next to Jupiter.  At Raye's feet was
the
asleep form of Venus.
        Raye turned to look at the body of Serena lying in her bed. 
She bent
over to her face and kissed her on the cheek.  Raising her head up
she spoke
the most kindly she had ever spoken to Serena.  "I hope you make the
right
choice."

                *       *       *       *       *       *

        Serena stood in awe in what had just transpired.  She had
seen the
form of Raye, she began to disappear then she told her something
about needing
her just as the bodiless head disappeared.  This was more confusing
that one
of Amy's math books.
        "You have very loyal friends, Serena," said Sailor Pluto
standing
behind Serena.  "Your friend Raye followed you here via your body. 
Your
friends care much for you Serena, they deserve the same in return."
        "But... they haven't gone through what I have... or will...
or might
someday.  Yeah, they don't deserve the pain of seeing my body live on
without
my soul."  Serena struggled for words then soon gave up.
        "Your just making excuses, you know you can't just get up and
leave
them."  Pluto continued to reason.  "YOU don't know the pain it will
cause
them to have you die because of them."
        Serena spun on one foot and looked deep into Pluto's eyes. 
"You know
what I want!" she yelled.  "I just want to be able to make my own
destiny, I
want to be in control of my own future.  I want to have the best
chance of
making this world the best it can be for my children and my friends
children."
        Pluto interrupted, "I've already told you that you do, I've
already
told you that the changes you've made in the past have made the
future unable
to predict.  I have told you everything you wanted, you just need to
ask
yourself if what your doing is really right for YOU. Not your
friends, not
your children, not the planet or time, Y-O-U.  The world can't have a
hero
that hates the bad guys as much as she hates herself."
        Pluto grinned to herself for using the words "Bad Guys" but
she at
least her point across.  She saw Serena think hard again.  As she
thought,
Pluto could see in her the princess she knew so long ago. Almost like
in that
instant, realizing what's best for everyone, she matured.  Maybe what
she
needed to grow up was to accept herself as an individual and not some
looking
glass to the future.
        Pluto asked again, "What do you want to fight for?"
        Serena was thinking hard, if Raye were around she would say
she could
see the smoke from her head as she thought.  She couldn't put them
through
that pain of her death, and rebirth as another person.  But, a part
of her
asked herself if it was her friends she was thinking of or herself. 
Inside
she didn't want to die, not now, not in the future.
        She had been told that in the end, everything that had been
what she
was before she was Sailor Moon was gone.  All of her quirks, little
things
that people associated with Serena would be gone when Princess
Serenity, her
past life took over.  But still...
        She had been told that it will happen but not when.  There
might be
many, even hundreds of years before this happens.  And each year
would be a
year she could take measures to prevent it.  If her future really
isn't set
like Pluto said, maybe there is a way to change what happens. Maybe
she isn't
doomed until she is doomed.
        Reene.  Serena really cared for her.  Even before she knew
that she
was actually her mother.  Serena couldn't imagine a future without
giving
Reene a chance, maybe even let her make amends for what she did.  She
deserves a chance, they all deserve a chance.
        "I am Serena Tsukino, I will fight for love, and justice, and
on
behalf of the moon, I will right all wrongs and triumph over evil.
And I will
guide my own future... and not let my future, guide me."
        A wave of white light flew across Serena's eyes.  As it
passed she
felt very tired and soon collapsed on the floor asleep.  Pluto looked
at her
lying on the ground, her body slowly disappearing from Pluto's realm
of time.
"The future is looking bright..."
        Not soon after she was gone, and Pluto was left in her
dimension,
alone again.  But not forever, for as surely as time flows, and
everyday
a moon rises, and an old princess can find her way again, Pluto will
have
company again.  As she walked into the darkness of her dimension she
wondered
who will it be next time. And smiled.

                *       *       *       *       *       *

        A beam of light shone through the open window of Serena's
room.  It
glowed against all the objects in her room.  First on the wall,
traveling
across her dresser, against the door, and finally, her friends.  All
huddled
in the corner of her room, all wearing their Sailor outfits, all
asleep.
        They must be exhausted, thought Serena.  A small gust of wind
flew
through the windows and chilled Serena.  She looked at the arrayment
of
blankets on her bed and her friends lack of them.  She got up, picked
up
a few of her blankets and placed them across her friends.
        They looked sort of strange under the blanket with their
uniforms
on but they have had a rough night.  "I never could have left you."
she
whispered.  She had found something worth fighting for, love.  She
loved
them all, she loved Reene, she loved Darien, and for the first time
since
she had become Sailor Moon, she loved herself.
        She turned to look out the window.  Squinting from the
sunlight that
was coming in.  The sky was a nice shade of blue, the town filled
with
people, and, she turned around, a room full of friends.
        She smiled and spoke, "The future is looking bright."


                                Epilogue

        The playground was filled with young children.  It was a
Royal
Playground abet but still filled with children.  The entire royal
family's
children were playing and enjoying the sunlight.  It had been only
three
days since the last of the pollution was sucked out of the atmosphere
and
already the children were taking it in.
        Swinging on the swing set was Reene, she was smiling and
laughing and
really happy to be with the other kids.  She was old enough to
remember the
sky before the pollution and she was, most out of all the kids,
overjoyed to
see the clear blue sky again.
        She wasn't able to get out much being the daughter of the
King and
Queen of Crystal Tokyo but today was deemed a special day by Queen
Serena
herself.  In their own little universe, the children enjoyed the
fruits of
there predecessor's labor.
        In the not to far distance, upon a hill that looked over the
play-
ground, were standing Serena and Darien flanked by their inner guard.
Serena's
dress twinkled in the sunlight and flowed billowy to the floor.  Her
streams
of hair coming down off the sides of her head ending in a small curl
less
than a foot from the ground.
        Darien stood with his arm around Serena in his tuxedo a
little taller
than her.  His face had a smile on it as he gazed at his child. 
Serena, also
looking at Reene, had a look of glee on her face.  She glanced up at
Darien.
"We should let her do this more often, muffin."
        Darien looked down at her with a straight face.  "You know we
can't,
we have too many enemies.  We should probably take her with us now." 
But
he saw that look in her eyes.  That defiant look, look he saw in her
when
they first met so many years ago.
        "No, this is her day.  Lets not ruin it for her." Serena
looked
compassionately at Darien.
        "All right, today can be her day, and it can be ours as
well." He
lowered his head to Serena and they kissed.  It was moments later
when
they finally let go of each other's tight grasp.  When their eyes
opened
they smiled at each other and turned to leave.
        The four girls around them followed with their husbands. 
They all
found a love worth fighting for.  Even with the legions of Sailor
Scouts that
make up the Royal Army, Serena had found enough love to fight for all
of them
to the end.
        Something that was once used to keep Serena alive was now the
basis
for all of Crystal Tokyo.  "Fight for the ones you love and the
future will
always look bright." Etched, in stone at the foot of the Royal
Palace, and
one day, as decreed by Serena herself, on the tomb of the one
princess that
will never die. Queen Serena Tsukino.


                --------------------------------------

        This story was my first original idea for Sailor Moon.  While
I admit
There are several aspects of this story that could use some work, I
liked it at
The time, and I got some praise about it.  A recent spell check as
discovered
Many words that, interestingly enough, do not exist.  Know what? I
left them in
There!  May the wind be at your back�
        Now for that copyright stuff...
        Sailor Moon is copyrighted by some people who I am not
familiar with
so you cant sell this to anyone blah blah blah blah BLAH!  English
adaptation
is produced by DiC of America. All thoughts are of my own creation.
Please abide by any other rules DiC or any other company might have.
All rights Reserved (c)

        "It is the unknown that defines our existence. We are
        constantly searching, not just for answers to our questions,
        but for new questions... we are explorers."
                                        -Benjamin Sisko (Avery
Brooks)
                                         -Deep Space Nine

        "The universe is a strange place..."
                                         -The Doctor (Robert Picardo)
                                         -Voyager