Well, here's the conclusion...
C&C would be appreciated. Keep in mind I'll be at Otakon from
Thurs.-Sun., and can't answer e-mail.
Made of Stone
by Sean Gaffney
Sailor Moon is (C) 1997 Naoko Takeuchi. The various authors I namecheck
are (C) themselves. This fanfic is very bad for you and should not be
taken internally.
4. Life
Hotaru awoke slowly. Her entire body felt different. It wasn't the
same as her previous growth spurts, those had been painful and protracted.
With this, she felt invigorated, as if she could take on the world.
She looked for one of the mirrors Sean had packed in their duffels
and examined herself. She appeared to have gained only a few years this
time, and most observers would say she looked to be in her early twenties.
Her looks...well, she wasn't ugly. She wasn't that good a judge of herself.
Standing up, she also noticed that she had gained about six inches of height.
*Finally,* she thought. *I thought I'd always be short.*
It wasn't so much the appearance as the mood, though. All of the
fatigue, the depression that had been plaguing her had vanished. She felt
like a senshi, actually. For the first time, she could imagine that she
truly was what Sean had told her. She knew that Saturn existed deep within
herself, but now she truly felt ready to become her. A protector of
Serenity and the city of Crystal Tokyo.
She went out to look for Sean. He must be fairly concerned for her
after the last attack...
It was like an electric shock to the brain. Suddenly, what she had
done last night ran clearly through her head. She had rid herself of her
blackness, but the cost...
Beginning to panic, Hotaru quickly scanned the grounds where they had
stayed. Most everyone else was still asleep. Looking up, she realised
that it was still evening. He might not have gone far, though. Did
anybody see him leave? She had to find him. If the blackness had entered
his body, it would quickly destroy him. If that happened, she didn't think
she would ever be able to forgive herself.
He must have gone to the palace. If the blackness was within him, it
would be controlling him, whether he knew it or not. And it would therefore
go after Serenity, as the closest source of power.
It had used up a lot in its fight with her last night. That gave her
hope that she would be in time.
She ran off, heading instinctively towards the palace. Hotaru had
never been there, but Saturn knew the way to her queen.
***
The senshi watched over Sean carefully. He hadn't moved since
collapsing in Haruka's arms, but they weren't taking any chances. Usagi
and the Asteroid senshi stood off to the side, unsure of their place in the
court.
Serenity was surrounded by Rei, Makoto, and Minako. "If I could get
near him, I might be able to help him."
"No!" all three said at once. Ami looked up from where she was
getting readings on Sean's body. "Your Majesty, at the moment, the
blackness is not especially dangerous as it is inside Sean, who does not
possess any great power. If it found a way to get to you, however..."
She left the thought unsaid. The thought of a force that evil possessing
Serenity was too horrible to even imagine.
"Owwww..."
Haruka and Michiru stepped up their guard on Sean, not knowing what
he would do in this condition. He slowly rose to his knees.
"This really hurts, y'know?" He looked up at his audience. "Oh,
hi. Don't mind me, I'm just being possessed by a three thousand year-old
entity, a force so evil it doesn't have a name...why doesn't it have a
name? You'd think someone would have been able to come up with something.
Did you all just call it 'the blackness'? I think I'll call it Tim.
That'll make things a lot easier. So anyway, where was I?"
The senshi looked at Sean as if he'd gone completely mad. The
exceptions were Ami, who was intent on her computer readings, and Serenity,
who merely looked at Sean with an expression of pity and compassion.
"Oh, yeah. So Tim decides that since I can't actually Death Reborn
Revolution or Silence Glaive Surprise or any other tricks like that, he'll
just leave me to die slowly. Unfortunately, that means it'll explode in
one big poof that'll wipe out everything, but you had to expect that,
didn't you? I mean, I know I told Pluto that I wasn't planning to go mad
and destroy the world, and here I am doing it. Sucks to be me, huh?"
Rei was beginning to get very annoyed. "Can't we shut him up?"
Ami looked up. "I wouldn't. Look at his eyes. He's currently in
agonising pain, and is trying not to think about it. If anything, the
longer he talks, the better for us. If he's talking, he's not dying."
"That's the spirit! So, let's talk about me for a moment. Hey,
aren't we two senshi short? Where's the others? Oh, right, Pluto can't
leave the gate of time, I forgot. She was a lot more fun in the twentieth
century, I can tell you. Well, not that I have any actual experience. But
I've read the manga. Not that that has any bearing on what's happening
here. Am I rambling?"
He looked around. "And Saturn's not here. Probably got tired of me.
Unless..." Suddenly Sean stood up, eyes looking around wildly. "Did you
kill her? You didn't kill her, did you?"
Haruka was quick to reassure him. They did not need Sean tense and
jumpy. "No, we didn't. We don't know where she is."
"Good. Well, that makes me feel a little better. I hope she'll be
all right. Oh, god, I don't know what to do with her." He sat down again,
putting his head in his hands. "I mean, it was okay when she was a kid,
y'know? But now that she's grown up, there's all this weird stuff going
through my head, and she's kissing me, and saying she loves me. Can I
believe her?"
The senshi stared in shock. First to find that Hotaru had grown
still further, and then to hear of these feelings she apparently possessed
for Sean. Ami continued looking for any answer to their problem, but
wasn't coming up with one.
"Who knows how much of that stuff the blackness...sorry, Tim...was
putting in her head? Not to mention Saturn. Not to mention the fact that
the kid's only three days old, not to mention the fact that I'm not
exactly Mister Wonderful, not to mention...AAAAAARRGHGHGH!!"
Sean bowed backwards, clutching his head in pain. The senshi braced
themselves, reinforcing their cordon around Serenity.
Suddenly the door to the throne room slammed open, and Setsuna
marched in. Venus spoke up, stunned. "Pluto?! What are you doing here?"
"Diana is watching the gate. I need to be here now."
Serenity gazed at her unflinchingly. "Because this is the end?"
Setsuna returned her gaze. "Yes."
***
Hotaru moved swiftly through the streets of Crystal Tokyo. There
wasn't much time left. She wasn't even sure whether she'd be able to do
anything. But she had to try. Her Queen was in danger...as was the man
she loved.
There was no more room for doubt or self-examination in Hotaru's
thoughts. There was only the situation in hand.
She speeded up to a run.
***
Sean was gasping for breath now, but seemed to have recovered from
the attack.
Ami closed her computer. "The only way it can be stopped is to go
inside Sean's mind and destroy it. None of us are powerful enough to do
that. And Serenity entering Sean's mind is just what the blackness wants."
She sighed. "I wish I could come up with a better solution."
Serenity smiled. "You did your best." She turned to the assemblage.
"I must do this."
"NO!" screamed Rei, Makoto, Minako, Haruka, and Michiru in unison.
Suddenly Sean spoke up again. "I'm having trouble concentrating.
See, if I keep rambling, that means I'm not dying. But it's not easy to
keep a flow going while your head's in traction. I'd really like not to
be Sean Gaffney, Destroyer of Worlds. Does anyone mind if I sing?
Thanks...~I've had enough of living, I've had enough of dying...~"
Serenity stared calmly at the others. "What kind of ruler would I
be if I did not sacrifice myself for my people? If I can stop this so
that the rest of Crystal Tokyo can survive, then I will do it. Even if
it means my life."
Suddenly the doors of the throne room burst open again. Hotaru
stood framed in the doorway, a look of determination on her face. "No,
your Majesty. It is our job to protect you. Furthermore, it's my fault
that this evil got out in the first place. This battle is personal."
Ami shook her head. "You don't understand. None of us has the
power to stop it by ourselves."
Hotaru gazed at Ami's computer. "Your last recordings of my power
levels were in the twentieth century, right?"
Ami started, as she realised what Hotaru meant. "Yes..."
Hotaru smiled. "I've gotten much more powerful since then. I was
always the most powerful Senshi, with the exception of the Queen. That
had nothing to do with the blackness. It is my calling. I am the senshi
of Death and Destruction. Allow me to destroy that."
The only sound in the room was Sean's soft singing. Then Setsuna
stepped forward and looked up into Hotaru's eyes. "Why are you doing
this? It's an important question."
Hotaru paused for a moment, considering her response. "For myself,
for what I have suffered these millennia. For all of you, because you
have suffered even more. For this city, because it is truly a good place.
For my Queen, whom I love." She paused, and looked down. "And for him.
You know that."
Setsuna stared into her eyes for a moment longer. Then, to everyone's
amazement, she smiled, a large, happy smile of pure joy. She reached into
her costume and pulled out a henshin stick. "Thank you. That's what I
needed to hear."
Hotaru took the stick, smiled briefly, and then thrust it over her
head.
"SATURN ETERNAL POWER, MAKE UP!"
As her transformation took place, she felt the power within her. At
the tent the night before, she had been powerful enough to drive the
blackness from her mind. Now...
She strode quickly over to where Sean lay. He had finally stopped
singing and collapsed. She touched her hand to his head.
***
Despite her confidence in front of the others, Hotaru was not sure
if she could win this one. Not because of any doubts of her strength,
but because the battleground was the mind of the one she loved.
She tried to enter Sean's mind as subtly as possible, hoping to
catch the blackness off guard. Unfortunately, she hadn't reckoned on
Sean looking for her as well.
The force of his pain hit her like a hammer. His thoughts were no
longer focused, just vague impressions, and emotions, and agony. Despite
all that, she left his mind almost lurch towards her, as if seeking her
out.
This also had the unfortunate effect of alerting her opponent, who
also flew towards her. She braced herself, wishing she had her glaive.
She didn't know how prepared she was for a mental battle, especially
considering what she had been through the past three days.
The blackness stopped just short, as if to gauge her readiness. It
had no shape, but she could tell the tenor of its thoughts. It almost
seemed to be sneering at her. She felt it brush against her mind, and
stiffened her resolve.
*Leave this mind*, she thought. *Or else I will destroy you.*
It didn't seem fazed in the least. *Go right ahead. Destroy me.*
Saturn gathered her powers, then stopped. *I can't.*
The blackness began to roil around her. *Precisely. You cannot
destroy me without destroying him. At first I cursed your feelings for
this mortal, but they have become my trump card. You love him, so you
will not see him harmed. Yet he is dying now. Eventually you will have
to step in, lower your shields to attempt to save him. And when that
happens, I will resume my rightful place in your mind.*
Hotaru tried desperately to think of a way around this. Sean was
getting weaker by the moment, his mind barely functioning. The blackness
was also weakening, but not nearly as fast. If she didn't think of
something fast, she would lose him. More importantly, the world would be
destroyed.
No. She had lived this once before, and eventually had to sacrifice
herself to stop it. She would not allow it to happen again.
The blackness tried once again to get through her shields, undermine
her confidence. *It amazes me how easy this one is to manipulate. Almost
as easy as your father of a thousand years ago. Both of them feel the
responsibility for you, so they voluntarily take up your sins. He long
since stopped struggling. I imagine that he thinks he's saving you,
allowing you to live for him. Does his naivete strike any chords in
your heart, Saturn?*
It must realise its weakness as well, Hotaru thought to herself. She
had not moved from her place in Sean's mind, for fear of making matters
worse. Therefore it was going after her fears, trying to make her be
impulsive.
How could she stop it? It needed to be destroyed, but that would
kill Sean. The alternative was destroying the world. Eternal blackness,
no matter what.
Blackness...
Suddenly a memory came to her, of meeting with Queen Serenity, when
the Silver Millennium was just beginning...
#Hotaru,# she had said. #you are the senshi of death and destruction.
It is a terrible burden to give to someone. Yet is is perfect for you.
Every power has its opposite. And not only do you possess within you the
power to destroy worlds, to cloak the earth in darkness, but you also have
the power to heal, to bathe the world in light. Never forget that. It
will be your own salvation one day.#
Suddenly she knew what to do. The blackness didn't need to be
destroyed to be stopped. It could be converted.
She began to gather her powers, oblivious to the shadows outside
her. She suddenly faltered, as she felt the blackness attack her. It
knew that it was fighting for its existence.
Then there was another disturbance. Sean, whom both the blackness
and Hotaru had thought to be out of the action, suddenly pushed what
little mental force he had at the blackness. It wasn't enough to damage
it in the least, but it enabled Hotaru to make her final preparations.
As she began to gether the darkness around her, Sean came with it.
*I'll kill him!* The blackness sounded panicked now. *You'll never be
able to sit there and watch him die!*
Hotaru smiled to herself. *He won't die,* she thought right back.
*You will heal him yourself.*
The blackness howled as Hotaru manipulated it. She no longer had
any doubts about her strength, or of her love, or of her own mind. She
was Saturn, and she was also Hotaru. The two were not mutually exclusive
after all.
The blackness was beginning to change. It grew thinner, and seemed
to be lessening. Then it slowly began to shine. At first it glowed
from within, a dark light of sorts. But as Hotaru continued to exert
her powers, it slowly grew brighter and brighter, until it grew almost
as bright as the sun.
Then, with a mental command, Hotaru threw the light into Sean's
mind. It raced through, healing the neural pathways that had suffered
at the hands of the blackness. The light grew brighter and brighter,
until it finally expelled itself from Sean in a blaze. As it did so,
Hotaru finally allowed her mind to relax. She carefully checked over
Sean, to make sure that her love would fully recover. Then she followed
the light back out into the world.
***
Sean's eyes suddenly flew open, and a cascade of white light flew
out of them. He gasped, then fell back to the floor.
Saturn stood up. "It's done." Despite her new strength of powers,
she was still fairly unsteady on her feet.
She turned to face the other senshi. "Hello, everyone."
The reactions were different. Serenity and Setsuna smiled broadly.
The other four inner senshi stood with their mouths open, as if expecting
Hotaru to vanish or attack them at any moment. Usagi and her compatriots
looked confused. And Haruka and Michiru looked down, or at each other, or
anywhere except for the young girl whose life they had ended almost fifty
times over the course of the past millennium.
Serenity spoke for all of them. "How do you feel, Saturn?"
Hotaru realised that she was speaking to the senshi rather than the
girl. "I feel better than I ever have, your Majesty. I feel as if I'm
seeing everything for the first time."
Serenity looked at her carefully. "And where is the Saturn that
wiped out the remains of the Silver Millennium? That felt that the world
needed to be cleansed in order to survive? Is she still there?"
Hotaru sighed. "Of course, your Majesty. I am the senshi of Death
and Destruction. However...it will not be as easy for me to call upon
that kind of power anymore. When I first cleansed the world three
thousand years ago, I shed no tears at its passing." She stopped for a
moment. "If I ever had to do so again...I would mourn."
Serenity didn't have any response to that. She moved on. "And how
are you, Hotaru?"
The young woman smiled. "About as well as can be expected. I'm
just now three days old, in the body of a woman in her twenties. I've
got all these memories in my head that aren't mine, I've got knowledge
without understanding." She looked down at Sean's unconscious body.
"And I have love. What type of love it is...that's up to him. But it
is there, that I am sure of."
She looked back up. "We should get him somewhere where he can rest.
He'll be fine, but he may be asleep for a few more days."
Serenity nodded. "We'll put him in one of the staterooms. Makoto,
Minako...?"
The two senshi gathered Sean up (not easy, as he was practically a
dead weight) and moved him out of the room.
As they did so, Hotaru's eyes moved towards her three fellow Outer
Senshi. Only Setsuna's met hers. Hotaru knew this was going to be hard.
She just hoped the damage wasn't irreparable.
"Haruka...Michiru..."
She got no further. Haruka raced from the room, Michiru not far
behind. They didn't look back.
Hotaru began to go after them, but Setsuna stopped her. "Give them
time. They think that you blame them for your suffering."
"I don't. I never blamed them. Do they think I'll try to get revenge
or something?"
"I don't believe so. Their greatest fear is your hatred, not your
vengeance. Hotaru Tomoe was their child, for the most part, in the
twentieth century. After her father was killed, in essence by Pharaoh 90,
the two of them raised her as one of their own."
Hotaru's eyes began to tear up. "The memories of Hotaru Tomoe are
still in me, you know that. There is a part of me that will always be
their daughter."
She turned to Setsuna. "How do you feel about all this?"
Setsuna smiled again. "I have always been able to cope with my
duties better than those two. They say they value the mission above all,
but their emotions do get involved."
Hotaru gave Setsuna a penetrating gaze. "But not yours?"
To Hotaru's disbelief, Setsuna blushed slightly. "It hurt a lot.
What we had to do, what was necessary to save the future...it hurt a
great deal. I had the knowledge of our success, and the bright future
ahead. That made things a little better. But I also had the knowledge
that it could fail, that you might give in to the blackness once more
and destroy everything. There was almost an even chance of either event
happening."
Hotaru looked back at the spot by the throne where Sean had lay.
"And Sean was the difference?"
"He was present in both futures. What mattered was the way he
treated you. Sean has treated all of us, everyone in Crystal Tokyo, as
fictional characters. If he had been that way towards you...acted as
if you weren't a real person...then you would not have had the confidence
to win that first battle. The blackness would have engulfed you, and
the world would have ended."
"But Sean treated you better than I'd hoped. Certainly better than
he had ever treated anyone else here, including himself. Hotaru, if you
do plan to make a future with this man, realise what you're undertaking.
Sean has enough neuroses to keep analysts busy for centuries."
Hotaru smiled shyly. "I'll just have to see what happens then,
won't I?"
***
Hotaru stepped into the room carefully, smiling shyly at the
occupants.
Haruka and Michiru looked even worse now. It was obvious that
Michiru had been crying. The expression of fear on their face tore at
Hotaru's heart. She couldn't stand to see them like this.
She ran towards them and gathered them into a hug. "I've missed
you both so much," she managed to choke out. "Even more than the
others. I'm so happy to see you."
The women's faces wore identical stunned expressions. Haruka spoke
up. "Saturn, how can you even talk to us? After all we did to you..."
Hotaru was having none of that. "You did what you had to. The
mission was more important than personal involvement. I'm a senshi of
the outer planets too, remember. And what you did was necessary. It
would have been catastrophic for me to wake earlier than I did. I was
gaining power, but slowly. It took me up until this time to be sure
that I could defeat the blackness. I had to rely on the two of you to
get me to that point."
Michiru was still crying. "But we _killed_ you! Over and over
again, as a _baby_, for God's sake!"
Hotaru looked at her seriously. "Is that what's bothering you?
Do you still see me as your own child?"
Michiru merely looked down. "I've always felt that way. Everytime
we had to kill a child, I didn't think of her as Saturn. I thought of
her as my little girl."
Haruka started, and turned Michiru towards her. "Michiru - "
"Why do you think I've never wanted any children? Don't you
remember how that always used to be my dream? Well, that dream died
the first time we killed Hotaru-chan."
Hotaru couldn't listen to this anymore. "You didn't kill Hotaru.
Hotaru didn't exist. You killed Saturn. And, even though she was a
baby, she was prepared. She knew what you had to do. But Hotaru died
in the twentieth century, and has remained so until now. And you didn't
kill me. You couldn't force yourself to do it. Do you understand,
Michiru?"
Michiru looked up again. To her astonishment, not only were
Hotaru's eyes full of tears, but Haruka's as well. "You're not our
little girl anymore though, are you?"
Hotaru smiled. "No, I guess I'm not. But I'd like to be your
sister again. In the Silver Millennium the four of us were as close
as sisters. Can it be like that again?"
Michiru didn't think she had any tears left in her. But as she
gathered Hotaru close to her, she felt more coming. Haruka joined in
the hug a moment later.
"Sisters. Until the end of time." Haruka whispered.
After a while, Hotaru got up. "I'm going to go wait for Sean to
wake up."
Haruka raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said it'd be a few days
before he woke up?"
"Good point. Better grab a book." And she was gone.
Hotaru paused, however, outside the door to listen for a moment
more.
"Michiru, I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I should have realised what you were feeling."
"I wasn't just keeping it hidden from you. I was keeping it from
myself as well."
There was a pause.
"Michiru?"
"Yes, Haruka?"
"Do you want to have a child now?"
An even longer pause.
Then, almost sobbed: "Yes."
"Oh, Michiru..."
Hotaru grinned and left, knowing she wouldn't be hearing any more
conversation for a while.
***
Sean awoke expecting to feel miserable.
After all, he'd just recovered from being possessed by an evil
that had claimed one of the most powerful Sailor Senshi for three
millennia. Surely that at least deserved a migraine.
But instead he felt better than he had in his entire life. There
were no aches, pains, and for some really odd reason he wasn't
depressed. Just an undefinable _goodness_ that spread throughout his
body.
He decided to chance opening his eyes.
The first thing he saw was Hotaru asleep next to him. She was
laying across his chest, and appeared to have been there for some
time.
He didn't really want to wake her. Still...
"Ahem."
Her eyes fluttered, and she slowly awoke. She looked at Sean and
smiled. "How do you feel?"
"I feel really incredible. Why is that? I haven't felt this
good in my entire life." Sean wasn't _exactly_ complaining, but he
was starting to miss his angst. Only a little bit, of course.
"That's my doing, I'm afraid." She looked down. "Sean, I'm sorry.
If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't have been possessed by the
blackness in the first place."
"Hey, don't start with that. It wasn't your fault. You couldn't
have known what would happen."
Hotaru blushed. "Well anyway, in order to kill it, I converted it
into its opposite form."
Sean snorted. "What, light?"
"Exactly."
Sean sat bolt upright in bed. "Whoa, hold the phone! How were
you able to do that?"
She looked away now, towards the window. "I've always been the
most powerful senshi, except for the Queen. And I've had three
millennia to learn all about my keeper. It is far easier to convert
energy than it is to destroy it."
Sean remembered a story he'd once read. "Like love and pain."
Hotaru grinned. "Spider Robinson."
Grimacing, Sean favoured her with a glare. "That's going to take
a _lot_ of getting used to."
Hotaru decided to plunge ahead. "Sean, we need to talk."
Sean sighed. He'd known this conversation was coming. "Yeah, I
guess we do."
"I love you, Sean. I loved you as a child, and now I love you as
an adult. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
Sean sighed. "Hotaru, you're _not_ an adult. You may have some
of my memories, and Saturn's experience, but in some ways you're still
a baby."
"Do you love me, Sean? Not as you loved the little girl I was,
but in an adult way?" Hotaru had tears in her eyes.
There was a long pause before Sean replied. "I don't know,
Hotaru-chan. I know that I love you, but I've been...very confused
over what kind of love it is. I'm not all that experienced in love to
begin with."
"Neither am I."
"I know. That's why I think we should wait until we make any rash
decisions. We both know we love each other. That's good enough for
now. If we decide later we want to make it something more, then that's
fine." Sean was beginning to babble. He wasn't scared, exactly. He
was merely nervous talking about the subject at all. That was another
reason he wanted to wait.
Hotaru looked up, her eyes still wet. "I suppose I can wait. But
it's already been a week, Sean. A girl can't be an old maid forever..."
Sean snorted. "When can I get up?"
Hotaru began to look sad again. "Do you want to leave so soon?"
Sean noticed her concern. "It's nothing to do with you or anyone
here. But I'm a creature of habit. I miss my radio station. I've been
away for a week, it's sure to be clean by now."
Hotaru looked serious again. "Why do you want it messy?"
Sean thought about that for a while. "I guess I like a little bit
of anarchy in my life. Not a lot, mind you, otherwise I wouldn't be
living here. But it's the little touches, the pile of CDs on the floor,
the half-eaten sandwich, that show me that utopia hasn't entirely taken
this city."
Hotaru looked him straight in the eyes. "And who ever said that
Crystal Tokyo is a utopia?"
The question took Sean by surprise. "Ummm...I did, I guess."
Hotaru laughed. She took Sean's hand, and led him to a window.
"I don't think it's a utopia. It's merely a beautiful city. A city
that you can walk around in and not fear for anything, where you can
leave your door unlocked without worry. A city where you can count on
your neighbours to help you in times of crisis. And it's a city ruled
over by one of the most caring, compassionate people I've ever known.
And I think, deep down, you know that as well. That's why you stay
here. Not for a slice of anarchy, or even for me. For the city itself."
Sean looked out at Crystal Tokyo. The sun was just setting, and it
made the spires glitter like a million snowdrops. He noticed the towers
to the west, a contrast to the low-lying rural area in the south-east.
There were even a few farms there, tucked in the best possible place to
get light. The cars were just getting out of work, people heading back
to their homes, their spouses and children. But there was no rush-hour
bustle. Home would be there when they arrived, and for now they could
just enjoy the ride.
It was the most beautiful sight Sean had ever seen. He wondered
why he'd never noticed it before.
Perhaps he didn't want to.
He looked at Hotaru, who had nestled herself in his arms and was
staring out at the city. She looked at it with pride, knowing that she
was here to defend it, with her life if necessary. There was also an
inner peace to her gaze, knowing that she no longer had to worry about
hurting those around her with a force that she couldn't control.
Sean turned his gaze completely from the city to Hotaru, and mused
to himself that it might not take as long as he thought to make up his
mind about love.
***
Six months later.
"You'll pay for this, Gaffney."
"Oh, c'mon Rei, the chasuble looks great on you!"
Rei scowled again. Sean had asked her to conduct the ceremony, and
she'd accepted, though not without some reservations. It turned out that
the reservations were perfectly justified. Sean was having his wedding
complete with an old-fashioned Latin Mass, with Rei as the priest.
In her considered opinion, she looked ridiculous.
"I thought you went to a Catholic school. You'd think this would be
just like old times."
"Sean?" Mikado spoke up next to him.
"Yes?"
"Don't taunt the priest on your wedding day. Bad luck."
Sean sighed. "I suppose you're right."
It had taken a lot to get Mikado to be his best man. It was the
bartender's first time in Crystal Tokyo in almost a hundred years, and it
was only the fact that Sean had _no_ other friends to turn to that made
him accept.
Sean was feeling incredibly nervous. He hated being a clich�, but
nevertheless, there he was, bouncing from one foot to the other waiting
for Hotaru to come down the aisle.
Instead, Michiru came in, very late and looking very flustered.
"What's with her?" asked Mikado.
"She's having a little trouble with the number I picked for our
first dance."
"Not The Black Page?"
"Nope. BeBop Tango."
"You're cruel."
"I just want to see Serenity and Endymion doing the dance contest."
Michiru came to stand next to Haruka, currently transformed as
Uranus. "Why's Michiru the only one not senshied up?" Mikado asked.
"The fuku is not a practical outfit for pregnant women."
"Ah."
More time passed. Sean guessed that Hotaru was deliberately holding
things up so she could have a great entrance. This had the unfortunate
side effect of driving him nuts. He started to fidget again, until
Mikado grabbed his shoulder.
"You were the one who decided this, y'know."
Sean tried to relax. "I know."
The previous month, Serenity had pronounced Hotaru officially an
adult, in body and in mind. She and Sean had taken the opportunity to
announce their wedding, a fact that surprised no one.
Minako had jokingly mentioned that Hotaru should have avoided the
responsibility and stayed a child forever. Hotaru had promptly answered
that being an adult makes it more fun. For some odd reason, Sean, Haruka,
and Michiru had coughed at that.
He did want to do this. He was in love with Hotaru. He wanted to
spent the rest of his life with her. *I'm good enough, I'm smart enough,
and doggone it, people like me.*
Then the doors opened and Hotaru came in, being escorted by Endymion
and with Usagi as her maid of honor. All of Sean's self-affirmations went
out of his head, along with any remaining doubts he may have had. All that
remained was the image of his bride.
The other senshi had initially balked at Setsuna's choice of wedding
gown, until she had forcibly demonstrated to them that white, while fine
for almost all other brides, would look _horrible_ on Hotaru. Thus, she
came up the aisle in a gorgeous, black wedding gown with a ten-foot train.
On anyone else, it would have been the height of bad taste. For Hotaru,
it just seemed right.
She came up to stand next to Sean, looked at him with amusement, and
said, "Close your mouth, you're letting all the hot air out."
"Ah...right...um...geh."
Hotaru turned to Rei. "You'd better get this over with."
Rei actually smiled. "Right. Dearly beloved, we are gathered
here..."
For Sean, the ceremony itself seemed to take about two seconds. The
next thing he knew, he was saying "I do."
"Then by the power vested in me by Her Majesty Queen Serenity II of
Crystal Tokyo, I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Hotaru lifted her veil, grabbed Sean, and pulled him in for a long
kiss. In the background, he vaguely heard "You may kiss the bride."
The kiss had the added bonus of clearing his mind. This was why he
noticed the evil gleam in Hotaru's eyes. She turned towards the
congregation and flung up a hand.
"Now I can finally reveal myself! Bow down before me as I begin to
rule the world!!" She cackled.
The reaction wasn't as impressive as it could have been. Most people
looked terrified, including most of the Inners. Serenity and Setsuna, on
the other hand, were laughing their heads off.
Hotaru seemed disappointed. "They don't look amused."
"I think your reputation is still holding you back."
"You'd think they'd at least bow down before me."
"Why don't we try kissing again, that'll snap them out of it."
Hotaru looked at them. "They'll probably just think I'm possessing
your soul or something."
Sean smiled. "You had that almost from the moment you were born."
She blushed, and kissed him again.
***
It was an anachronism of the highest order. A tall building made
entirely of crystal (as, indeed, most buildings in Crystal Tokyo were), with
three gleaming spires reaching up to the heavens...and one spire made of
metal, with a pulsing red light on top of it. Coming closer, one could
see the inside of the tower, with its dilapidated offices and mess strewn
everywhere. The mess, however, looked calculated. It was as if, had the
owner not concentrated, he would have found it gone the next day.
Inside the tower, a young man in a grey jacket and black leather fedora
was just setting up a turntable, getting ready for the morning drive. He
snapped on the microphone and spoke to the denizens of Crystal Tokyo with
a relaxed, calm tone to his voice.
"Hoopla, everyone. This is Sean Gaffney as your temporary bogus disc
jockey. Welcome to the show, finally back on the air after my extended
honeymoon. I know most of you were expecting Hotaru to be along here as
well, but being a senshi and protector of the city does involve more work
than you'd think, so she's not here at the moment."
He sighed. "As for me...I'm feeling great. At first, it really
disturbed me, but it's doing so less and less as time goes by. You probably
remember my little description of what happened to me a few months ago.
Well, I went to Serenity and voiced my concerns, and she said that the light
in my body should have dissipated after a day or two. In other words, I'm
feeling great completely on my own, no magical means necessary."
"It's taking some getting used to, but I think I can deal with it. In
the meantime, remember what I told you yesterday. Today's the day you all
go into work with red and green socks. Alternating, please, one foot red,
one foot green. If we all work on this, then together, we can throw just
a little bit of chaos into this world of order."
"Normally this spot is reserved for my kvetching about the world in
general, but I just don't feel like it. So instead, let's go right to the
music. Here's the Boo Radleys."
And as he turned up the volume, he began dancing around the studio,
a mad grin on his face singing at the top of his lungs.
~Summer's gone, days spent with the grass and sun
I don't mind, to pretend I do seems really dumb
I rise as the morning comes
Crawling through the blinds
I shouldn't be up at this time,
But I can't sleep with you there by my side
Wake up it's a beautiful morning
Feel the sun shining for your eyes
Wake up it's so beautiful
For what could be the very last time
Twenty-five, I don't recall a time I felt this alive,
So WAKE UP BOO!
There's so many things for us to do,
It's early so take your time
Don't let me rush you please
I know I was up all might,
I can do anything, anything, anything
Wake up it's a beautiful morning
Feel the sun shining for your eyes
Wake up it's so beautiful
For what could be the very last time
THE END
Author's Notes:
Well, this one was a surprise. As far back as August 1996, I was stating
to the FFML that I hated authorfics, and up until April of 1997 I
thought that I hated Sailor Moon. Now here I am writing a Sailor Moon
authorfic. I hope I passed the audition.
I haven't read all too many Sailor Moon authorfics. I have, however, read
lots of authorfics, and lots of Sailor Moon. The following authors could
be said to have an influence on this story:
(Sailor Moon) Tim Nolan, Chris Davies, Jackie Chiang, Greenbeans, "Haruka
Ten'ou" (authoress of the MSTing of Sailor Moon A), Kevin Bruner, John Biles,
Jeff Hosmer, Andy Combs, Mark Latus, Frank Barr, and *especially* Jon Carp,
whose incredibly weird and surreal Secondary Characters made me want to
write about Hotaru. Plus thanks to Zoe Tsukino and Jackie Chiang for their
manga pages, which provided a ton of background for this thing.
(Authorfics) Ben Hutchins, Megazone, Rob Mandeville, Martin Rose, Chris
Meadows, Kris Overstreet, Larry Mann, and everyone else in the loony bin
that is Eyrie Productions. Brett Handy, the first person to convince me
that authorfics didn't *have* to suck. Twister, Bert Van Vliet, Hitomi
Ichinohei, Ed Becerra, and *that* crew. And Scott Jamison, for making the
whole thing cool. Though I never got into it, I'd like to think that Sean
was dragged to CT in the first place as a result of those wars.
And, of course, thanks to 'da guyz' for helping preread this monstrosity.
Zen, Nick Leifker, Sebastian Weinberg. Extra special thanks to Richard
Lawson, for prereading above and beyond the call of duty. And extra-
special thanks to Chris Davies, guest prereader, for helping me out when
I got the basic facts wrong. Chris just panned an authorfic in his
reviews. Should I be worried?
There are so many in jokes and music refs in this I'm not going to list
them here. I may do an appendix one day. If you're puzzled, e-mail me.
I do still feel vaguely guilty about writing this, but not much. Now I
think I'll go gird my loins and prepare for the flames.
Till next time.
--Sean Gaffney
--8/6/97