Interregnum (part 17 of 17)

a Sailor Moon fanfiction by Desslok

Back to Part 16
[Author's Note:  Well, it's finally done.  This story seemed to 
take on a life of it's own about a third of the way through.  I 
hope you all enjoy the end as much as you seem to have enjoyed 
the rest.]

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

[Summer 2005]

"It is done.  Please return to Tokyo."

Still bound by the energies that they had all shared, each of the 
Sailor Senshi invoked their Sailor Teleport power, appearing in a 
circle surrounding their fallen queen as she lay in the arms of 
King Endymion.  Rei was the first to move forward, kneeling by 
Serenity's side.  

"Will she be all right, Mamo-kun?" she asked quickly.  Even as 
she did, though, she could sense something wrong.  Looking up, 
Rei noted the purple armor, the flowing cape, and, most 
importantly, the expression in his eyes.  This was Tuxedo Mask no 
longer.  "I'm sorry, your Majesty."  

Endymion smiled, "It's ok, Sailor Mars.  I am still who I was, 
but, more now I think."  His gaze rose into the sky and lost 
focus.  "I can sense them now," he whispered.  "We both can.  All 
of them.  So much pain and sorrow in the world."  Tears swelled 
in his eyes for a moment, but then he lowered his head to look 
upon Rei directly.  "She will be all right; she just needs to 
rest," he told her.  Rei rose silently and moved to stand beside 
Mina, their hands coming together unconsciously.  

As they all waited, still drained from the experience, Ami 
activated her goggles and scanned the King, Queen, and then the 
horizon.  "It worked, as near as I can tell," she finally said.  
"The negative energy from the sun is being reflected back into 
space."  

Suddenly, Serenity stirred.  "That's not all, Mercury," she 
murmured.  Endymion helped her to her feet, letting her rest her 
weight on his arm.  "I can feel it, the negative energy.  It is 
in everyone, everywhere."  She paused and closed her eyes, 
concentrating.  "I can... I can move it."  

The senshi exchanged puzzled glances.  Ami refocused her 
attention on the pair before her even as Serenity turned to face 
Endymion.  He locked his arms behind her waist and she leaned 
back to gaze directly into his eyes. 

"We can make them better, my love," Serenity told him. 

Now Endymion focused himself, just as Serenity had.  Makoto 
gasped as a light glow began to emanate from the two of them.    

"The negative energy," Ami announced, looking up sharply, "it is 
flowing through them and up into the sky...."  The impact of this 
hit her all at once.  Ami moved backwards into the arms of Makoto 
and let her love hold her tight.   

-----------

It had been a very strange day.  Oh, it had started out normal 
enough.  Elizabeth had snuck out of bed, careful not to disturb 
her sleeping partner.  A half hour later, she'd been in her 
office with a stack of papers that needed grading.  She'd wanted 
to get her work done early so she'd have more time to visit with 
Ami, who'd just arrived in town earlier that week. 

Her work had been disturbed by a bright light shining outside.  
It was as silver and cool as moonlight, but it made her feel 
warm, as though she were lying out on the beach on a sunny day.  
Even as she got ready to move to the window to see what was going 
on, however, she'd begun to feel lethargic.  Time slowed down and 
she couldn't seem to move. 

Normally, Elizabeth would have been quite disturbed by such a 
feeling, but something in the back of her mind told her that 
there was nothing to be afraid of, that everything would be ok.  
A memory sprung to the surface of her mind of when she had been a 
child and her mother would tuck her tight and snug into her 
blankets at night.  She felt safe, secure, and loved.

As she fell into a deep sleep, content and protected, a vision 
flashed inside her head.  It would become quite familiar over the 
long years to come.  Atop a mountain or a spire, a beautiful 
blonde woman in flowing white robes, with the wings of an angel, 
smiled at her.   Beside this woman stood a knight in shining 
armor.  In the very core of her being, Elizabeth knew that the 
Queen and her Knight would protect her and would make everything 
right with the world again.

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

"You know, for the first time in my life, I'm not hungry at all," 
Serenity observed.  

The Senshi had left the tower and returned to Haruka, Michiru, 
and Setsuna's house.  That in itself would not have been unusual.  
The means by which they got there, however, were a bit atypical.  
They had flown.

"Ami, what is going on?" Haruka demanded when they settled into 
the living room.  "I thought we were just going to freeze the 
world.  You didn't say anything about these other changes."  She 
paused and gazed up into the sky.  "I flew.  Like the wind," she 
murmured, eyes full of wonder.  Michiru drew her into a tender 
embrace.  

Ignoring the question for a moment, Ami continued to punch keys 
on her computer, occasionally leaning down to consult with Luna 
and Artemis in a fervent whisper. Eventually, she took a deep 
breath and addressed her friends.

"A lot of things have happened, in addition to what we had 
planned," Ami began.  "Though my theory was obviously sound, with 
so much energy being channeled, there were some unanticipated 
consequences."  Ami paid no attention to Rei and Mina rolling 
their eyes.  

"Though we've completed the ritual, in a very real sense, we are 
all still bound together and to the world and everyone in it," 
Ami continued.  "As I said before, there is both positive and 
negative energy everywhere.  I think that we are now all tied 
into the network of positive energy that runs throughout the 
entire planet.  This is why you aren't hungry, your Majesty.  The 
positive energy will sustain our bodies completely.  

"I believe that we have also completely unlocked all of our 
powers as Sailor Senshi.  We can fly.  I also am quite certain we 
can travel from world to world and survive in outer space. That 
is a good thing, since we now need to begin the next part of our 
mission." 

"What's up next, Ami?" Makoto asked.  There had been some vague 
discussion of what was to come after the ritual, but everyone's 
attention had been geared toward the act itself.  

"Well, what we have done is to set up a barrier that will prevent 
negative energy from reaching our world from the sun.  This will 
keep the world safe until the negative energy cycle is over.  We 
now need to construct the crystal matrix that will enable us to 
store positive energy and prevent such a crisis from ever 
occurring again."  Ami turned to Serenity once again.  

"In addition to the negative energy from the sun, however, there 
are also great stores of it on Earth already. The cycle has been 
on the swing toward the negative for hundreds of years.  While 
I'm not certain, I think it's likely that people need moderate 
amounts of all kinds of energy to survive, but over the last few 
centuries, everyone has been inundated with far too much.  
Hypercancer was just the most extreme example of that trend.  
Based on what their Majesties have said, though, I believe that 
they can use their special powers and the Millennium Crystal to 
siphon that excess away from people."

Serenity and Endymion nodded.  "We can, but it will take a very 
long time," the Queen stated.  

"Fortunately, we have a long time," Minako pointed out.  "Looks 
like you two will have your hands full while the rest of us 
gather these crystals."

Setsuna, Haruka, and Michiru shared a look and moved to stand 
together.  They were joined almost immediately by Hotaru.  "That 
job will have to go to the four of you," Setsuna declared, 
gesturing toward Ami, Mina, Makoto, and Rei.  "With the world 
frozen and the King and Queen busy healing everyone, someone will 
need to guard the solar system to make sure no one takes 
advantage of the situation.  The four of us have known for some 
time that we needed to return to our traditional posts.  Now that 
the ritual is complete, it is time."  

Queen Serenity bowed her head.  "I will miss you all so very 
much, but you're right.  It is time for all of us to assume our 
duties.   She glanced toward the bedroom down the hall where 
Chibi-Usa now lay in the same deep sleep that held the world.  "I 
will make a better world for my daughter to grow up in."

Setsuna moved to Serenity's side and laid a hand gently on her 
shoulder.  "She will be fine, your Majesty."

"But she's not a normal person," Serenity replied. "She's a being 
of pure energy as we are."

"I have done a great deal of analysis, your Majesty," Ami said, 
moving over to join them.  "She will indeed be fine.  When she 
awakens, the positive energy will linger in her body.  She will 
not age properly right away, but eventually she will.  We all 
knew that about her, now we just know why.  She'll have a long 
and loving childhood with you both."

"Is there anything we can do to prevent the events that will 
come, the Negamoon attacks?" Endymion asked.

"No, nor should we try," Setsuna warned.  "All things happen for 
a reason.  If we change the future, we also change the past and 
threaten what we will build here."

Ami sighed deeply. "I know we can't change things, but I think I 
know where they come from.  There are pockets on the Earth where 
the negative energy is most deeply concentrated.  Those who had 
the misfortune of being near those areas will never fully recover 
from the exposure.  I'm sorry to say there is nothing we can do 
for them."

"We will do what we can," Serenity said firmly.  "And we will do 
our duties."  She turned to address all of the senshi.  "The 
Outer senshi will return to their posts, but I insist that you 
each check in on Earth on a regular basis.   The rest of you will 
take Ami's detectors and harvest positive energy crystals from 
the rest of the galaxy.  You will not travel alone, however.  We 
have no idea what dangers lurk out there and I will not send you 
out by yourselves."  A slight twinkle lit her eyes as she 
continued.  "Ami, you and Minako will travel together.  Makoto, 
you are with Rei."

As jaws dropped across the room and everyone struggled to come up 
with a reply, Serenity laughed joyfully.  "Just kidding!"  
Endymion sighed and rolled his eyes as the rest of the senshi 
glared at his wife. 

Makoto moved to hover protectively over Ami, arms resting on the 
shorter woman's shoulders.  "Damn right you're kidding!  We 
wouldn't want to start Crystal Tokyo out with a revolution!"  Ami 
giggled and snuggled back against Makoto as everyone shared a 
laugh.  

------------
[Spring 2054]

"Don't you two ever get sick of each other?" Mina asked her queen 
as they moved along the pathways of the palace.  Using their 
powers, the senshi had had no trouble taking the crystals and 
building the palace that would symbolize the new era.  Though 
there was still a long way to go, the construction was making 
good progress according to Ami.  	

"I could ask the same of you and Rei," Serenity replied.  "Even 
though you've found different civilizations, the trips between 
systems must be long."

Mina looked fondly back toward the wing of the castle where their 
apartments were located.  Rei would be busy with Michiru helping 
Ami get ready, probably much more so than Haruka would be with 
Makoto.  "There is always something new to see," she replied 
carefully.  "Sure, sometimes things get a little tense, but 
that's to be expected.  Still, I never get tired of spending time 
with her."  Mina sighed happily.

Serenity chuckled and squeezed Mina's hand.  "It's the same for 
us, Mina-chan.  There is so much to do.  Besides, we have 
everyone in the world to talk to, so we are never truly alone."

Their slow meandering had finally led them to the main part of 
the palace.  Unlike the outer buildings, the core of the palace 
was complete for the most part.  The grand hall beckoned the two 
of them.   Serenity had been afraid that the size of it would 
dwarf the ceremony to come, but Mina and Makoto had decorated it 
in a way that made it seem quite cozy.  

As she examined the decorations one last time, Serenity turned to 
her friend.  "You know that they didn't want us helping them get 
ready because they were afraid we'd klutz it up, don't you?"

Minako laughed, "I know, but that's Ok.  You need to concentrate 
on what you're going to say and I'm glad to keep you company."  

"I wish I could offer them a better honeymoon than just another 
trip into the stars," Serenity noted ruefully.

"Someday you should go yourself," Mina replied with a dreamy 
expression.  "You could never guess how wondrous it is."  
Serenity simply smiled in reply, not bothering to mention the 
obvious.  She would never be leaving the Earth again.  

Up ahead, Endymion sat on some stairs chatting with Hotaru.  
Seeing his wife, he called out, "It's almost time.  Are you 
ready?"   

"Yes, I am.  I've only been waiting fifty years!" Serenity 
answered.  She kissed Mina on the cheek and shooed her away.  
"You better get going.  They'll be waiting for you.  And remember 
to take good notes.  Next year, it's your turn!"  Mina blushed, 
bowed, and headed outside. 

As Serenity joined Endymion at the back of the hall, Setsuna 
finished making the final adjustments to the flower arrangements 
around the podium.  She motioned to Hotaru and the two of them 
headed to the area at the side of the room.   Within a few 
moments, Haruka and Michiru appeared and joined them.   Just as 
the four Outers had picked up their instruments, they noted Mina 
waving frantically from the entryway.  Michiru gestured with her 
bow and the quartet began to play.  To the melody of Bach's Air 
in G String, Rei and Mina led the happy couple down the hall 
toward Serenity and Endymion.

Endymion took Serenity's hand in his own and gave it a tender 
squeeze, even as Rei and Mina placed Ami and Makoto's hands 
together and urged them forward into their places.  "We've done 
well, I think," he whispered to his wife.  

Serenity nodded, but never took her eyes from her two friends.  
Each looked absolutely radiant and as happy as Serenity could 
ever recall seeing them.  "We did what had to be done, my love, 
but I think we've all earned a little reward."  Looking around 
the hall at all of her friends and seeing their shining, smiling 
faces, she thought, "Reward indeed."  With a sense of total 
satisfaction and contentment, Serenity launched herself and her 
friends into the next stage of their lives.  






 

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