Hey, Minna0-chan... been a while, ne? ::grins:: Well, I'm back... nothing major, mind you, but I hope you'll enjoy it.

Since today (the 8th of August) is my Birthday, here's my gift to all of you! Think of it as a party favor ^_^ This is a short story, a little Usa/Mamo WAFF and, onegai, I need feedback!

Btw. This fic is dedicated to my wonderful 'imouto-chan' Kawaii... because she's so cute, sweet and supportive. Arigato, my dear!^_^

Legal Disclaimer: Has Naoko-sama noticed Demando is missing yet? Noo.... Do I want to keep Demando? Yes... Do I want to call attention to myself by saying Sailor Moon is mine? Nooo...

Personal Disclaimer: As Patch-chan and TLP-kun have recently pointed out, there is an army frequently residing in my kitchen. I'll let that speak for itself. ^^;

Ps. Thanks and chocolate covered Mamo-chans go to my wonderful betas, Antigone and Shana. (sorry I didn't wait for the second reply, Shana... ^^;)

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Stand On My Own 1/1

by Meredith Bronwen Mallory

mallorys-girl@cinci.rr.com

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Only pure adrenaline gave Sailor Moon the will to keep running as she

hurried once more down the crystalline steps of the palace and into the

frozen gardens. She hadn't slept since they'd come here, to this distant,

frightening future, almost two days ago, Usagi realized with some disbelief.

There had been an opportunity for sleep, but each time she closed her eyes,

she was taken back to that horrible room, deep within the network of

Demando's palace. She would see herself there, in her minds eye, almost

having given up hope that her Tuxedo Kamen would come to the rescue, almost

*believing* Demando when he said that there was no way out. With a shudder,

Usagi wrenched her thoughts away from her nightmares. She needed to focus.

Chibi-Usa was missing, and the countless number of ills that could have

befallen the little imp flashed relentlessly in Usagi's mind. Though they

fought like sisters, she knew the truth, that she cared deeply for

Chibi-Usa, the same way the younger girl cared for her. And she knew also,

that she would never forgive herself should anything happen to her future

daughter.

"Chibi-Usa!" she called out desperately, "Please, answer me!" A cold, dead

wind was the only reply she received, as it blew through the garden of

icicle flowers. Then, she felt it. Like a heartbeat, pulsing beneath her

fingertips, a darkness brighter than light rushing towards her as she stood

there, helpless as a child caught in the sights of an oncoming train. She

didn't know what it was, but it scared her more than words could say.

She stood completely still in that dead garden, and waited for that dark,

all-knowing *something* to pierce the stillness that had consumed Crystal

Tokyo. Nothing came, there was only that horrible sense of dread and

anticipation, as though some part of her responded to the darkness'

mysterious call. And that frightened Usagi more than anything in the world.

Carefully, she took another step forward, and the sound of her feet

crunching against the ice covered walkway was like an explosion. She

listened carefully once more, becoming more and more uncomfortable with each

passing moment. Where were the other senshi? Frantically, she tossed her

gaze from pathway to pathway, hoping that one of her friends would appear,

but it was all for naught. For a moment she wished desperately that she

could just run to her Mamo-chan and bury herself in his arms, to hide from

this pulsing darkness. She wanted to yell, scream, call out to someone, but

she couldn't even manage to swallow past the lump in her throat.

Night had fallen over the frozen Earth, poisoned and choking on the dark

energy bred by the Black Moon's jakokuzuishou. The moon rose high in the

sky, closer to Terra than was natural in Usagi's time. For a moment, she

stood there staring up at it's luminous form, it's beauty only heighten by

the cold night air, imploring, begging it to help her. Something, a phrase,

floated through her mind, but when she tried to understand it, it was gone.

She heard it once. A heartbeat. Then it came again, and again, faster and

faster and faster until she was breathing in time with it, panicked and

short, gasping for air. It was wild, it drew her in towards it's frenzied

motion, until she was blindly following it, down unfamiliar pathways and

deep into the heart of the destruction that had once been the Earth's most

precious city. She saw nothing during her long flight through the gardens,

save a few brief flashes of underbrush, and the eerie sight of darkened

branches rustling above her. She was consumed, she was possessed, she was a

madwoman, she was... there.

It stood at the center of what looked to have once been the rose garden,

it's very presence seemed to mock the moon that hung in the sky, and the

towering hulk of the Crystal Palace, rising in the distance. It shouldn't

have been there, but it was. The portal to the Dark Kingdom.

***

Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter burst through the heavy door leading to the

Main Control Center, wild fear dancing in the eyes of each. Instantly, the

occupants of the room turned their heads, and Mars could see the exhaustion

written clearly on the faces of each. Luna and Artemis rested wearily on one

of the unused control panels, helping King Endymion search the surrounding

area for the power signature that would indicate Chibi-Usa's where abouts.

On the other side of the room, Tuxedo Kamen leaned against the wall, rubbing

his temples. For a moment, Jupiter swore she could see a tear gleaming

behind his domino mask, but quickly dismissed the idea.

"Did you find her?" both King and warrior asked at once. In another

situation, either of the girl's might have been amused, but now they merely

shook their heads sadly.

"Usagi's missing too now," Mars added, unable to keep the fear from

coloring her tone. From his resting place in the shadows, Tuxedo Kamen's

head shot up.

"What?"

"We can't find Usagi," Jupiter clarified, "Ami and Minako are looking for

her now, but.." she shrugged helplessly, casting her green eyed gazed from

man to man, searching for the answers in each version. Without so much as an

explanation, Tuxedo Kamen was up and moving, no doubt off to recover his

beloved Usako, but something stopped him. King Endymion's voice rang out

loud and clear in otherwise silent room.

"No," he said, then softer, more quietly, "This she must do on her own. She

needs to learn to save herself." It wasn't an explanation, it was a command,

and while for a moment it looked like Tuxedo Kamen intended to disobey, he

slowly turned around and went back to his place amongst the shadows.

***

Eyes wide with shock, Usagi gazed helplessly at the gapping hole of

darkness. It was calling her, saying that she must enter, and face what lay

within. Almost without her willing it too, her body took a step forward,

then another, and another, until she was walking inside the cave, unable to

believe what she was seeing. As soon as she fully within, her transformation

simply melted away. She could feel it, like drops of water running down her

arm, and stared in horror at the Juuban school uniform that now clothed her

youthful body. She tried to turn around, run back into the 30th century

night, but her feet were rooted to the spot, she could only move forward. In

the distance, she swore she heard the sound of her own laughter.

There were people gathered in the cave, like some type of court for

royalty. Helplessly, Usagi gazed on them all. She knew each and everyone one

of them, but it was funny how she couldn't remember what they looked like,

once she glanced away. The crowd parted for her, the further in she got,

until she was all alone, surrounded by fog and mist as her traitorous feet

led her towards some unknown destination.

And there it was, in the center of that horrifying cesspool of darkness

that ranked of nothing but death. Beryl's throne, situated at the center of

everything, so that the entire Negaverse revolved around it and it alone.

Usagi's thoughts raced along the impossibility of it all. Beryl was dead,

the Negaverse had been destroyed.. then what was she doing here?

There was someone seated on Beryl's throne, and though the area around it

was littered carelessly with shadows, Usagi could see that the figure was

clothed in a cloak of the finest silver silk. The hood of the garment had

been pulled over the person's face, so that all Usagi could see was the

flash of brilliant blue eyes, lurking in the darkness. Protectively, she

cradled her henshin brooch to her chest. Though somehow, she knew it was

useless, the ginzuishou lay within, and the figure on the throne extruded an

aura of threat she had never encountered before.

With all the suddenness of a freak hurricane, the cloak dropped soundlessly

to the floor. It was Usagi's terrified gasp that sounded in the throne room,

like thunder in her own ears. The woman who extruded such feelings of pure

evil, the woman who sat on Beryl's throne, was none other than Usagi

herself.

Usagi saw the reflection of herself, matured and beautiful as she has

sometimes wished herself to be, when she saw the lustful stares other women

directed at her beloved Mamoru. Her beauty went beyond description; nearly

six feet tall, with the kind of commanding presence Usagi had sometimes

envied Makoto and Rei for, the mouth was fuller, redder, more promising. Her

curves completely filled out and her hair a cloud of gold. Every feature was

idolized, every beauty Usagi had ever even dreamed of was raised to a

horrifying perfection.

The other Usagi was clothed in the dress Demando had put on her when she'd

been kidnapped, but she wore it proudly, like a Queen. Something black and

dangerous glittered in her aquamarine eyes.

Instinctively, Usagi took a step back, her eyes transfixed on the most

shocking detail of all. The inverted black crescent moon that lay embedded

on the Empress Usagi's forehead. Fearfully, she clutched her henshin brooch

tighter.

"Yes," the Empress said, laughingly almost, "Bring that over here, you must

give it to one of us." It was then that the shadows around Beryl's throne

disappeared, drawing back like a curtain, and Usagi could see the other

occupants of the room.

Princess Serenity sat on the floor near the throne, weeping into her hands,

heartbroken over the loose of her Prince, who lay fallen at her feet. It was

then that Usagi saw the bloody sword, hanging from a silver chain that

hugged the Empress' waist. With a sickening turn of her stomach, Usagi knew

that the Empress had killed the Prince. On the other side of the throne,

Usagi could see herself, before Luna had come to her and asked her to

shoulder the task of being Sailor Moon. The other girl lay propped up on her

elbow, staring lazily off into space, caring neither for the Empress'

commands, or Princess Serenity's tears. And lastly, Usagi saw Sailor Moon,

curled up at the Empress' feet, beaten and submissive as she had never been,

even at her lowest moment. Behind the throne, lay Mamoru, trapped in a block

of ice and embedded in the wall, like some type of decoration. He was dead,

and she, the Empress, was free of him at last. Had she been able to at the

time, Usagi would have cried.

"Bring it here," the Empress said again, her voice like smoke and honey.

Unable to disobey, Usagi took a step forward, her soul shaking within it's

moorings "You must give it to one of us," the Empress repeated, making a

mocking gesture towards the other versions of herself.

Slowly, Usagi drew the brooch away from herself, cupping it between her

hands, offering, though she wasn't sure to whom. Had she been looking, she

would have seen the expression of anticipation that grew in the eyes of her

Empress counterpart.

Who could she give it too? The other Sailor Moon was weak, beaten and

sobbing in her hopelessness... the Empress could take the brooch from

easily. The other Usagi wouldn't know what the brooch was for, and she was

too wrapped up in her own little dreams to give a damn about the real world.

Princess Serenity was still crying, and Usagi knew from experience that she

was too heartbroken to care. That left only the Empress, who wasn't even an

option. Still the Empress extended her beautiful hands, with their manicured

fingers and soft, cool skin, ready to except the ginzuishou. Almost

mesmerized, Usagi held the brooch out...

And at the last moment snatched it back. She saw herself, accompanied by

the spirits of her friends as she sent Beryl back to the depths of hell,

where the evil Queen belonged. She saw herself, fighting along side Tuxedo

Kamen, herself, running down the street and into Mamoru's arms.. and she saw

herself struggling in Demando's grasp, unable to give up though part of her

mind whispered that it was all in vain. She looked at the Empress and saw

all the petty things that her adolescent heart had ever wished for, not

really thinking that such things were granted. But in the Empress, she saw

her one most important attribute was lacking. Compassion.

Quickly, Usagi cradled the ginzuishou to herself like a mother would a

child, meeting the Empress' chilling gaze head on.

"No," she said softly. The sound carried in the large room, echoing back to

her with a force she had not imagined, "No," The Empress looked taken aback,

and Sailor Moon raised her eyes. The Lazy Usagi gave her attention, and even

Princess Serenity stopped her crying to listen. "I don't have to give it to

any of you. It is mine, to do with what I will." And with that, she turned

on her heel and walked out of the throne room, out of the cave, and into the

moonlight.

It was good to stand in the open air, even if it was stale and cold. It was

good to see the moon shinning brightly in the sky, to know that Mamoru and

her friends were waiting for her in the palace. Usagi felt her senshi fuku

reform around body, smiling. And it was good to feel the weight of the tiara

against her forehead. With a low moan, the cave crumbled behind Sailor Moon

as she kept walking. But, above the din of falling rocks and crystals, she

could have sworn she heard the Empress' laughter, floating tantalizingly on

the cool night air. But she did not look back.

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@@@THIS MEANS IT'S FEEDBACK TIME ^_^@@@