Author’s Note: This songfic was originally meant to be part of the manga series that I was working on, but after taking nearly two years to finish merely the S season, I don’t think I’ll be able to finish SuperS or Sailorstars as I had originally planned. On the other hand, this afforded me the opportunity to write another songfic that I had wanted to do for quite a while. I thought that the song ‘Kryptonite’ by Three Doors Down fit this scene perfectly, so I wanted to incorporate it into the story. This takes place late in the Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon Sailorstars manga right up near the end. All of the Senshi have been killed with the exception of Sailormoon, ChibiChibi (Sailor Cosmos), and Sailor Chibimoon. The Quartet survived this encounter in the manga, but were knocked unconscious by two of the Inners. I thought it would have been much more fitting had they been killed by the girl who had positioned them as ChibiUsa’s guardians in the first place, Hotaru. All of the other Senshi have been brought back by Galaxia as dark versions of themselves to halt Sailormoon’s progression into the Shadow Galactica and the Cauldron. This story is a what might have been if Saturn had been able to confront Chibimoon instead of Chibimoon simply dying when Mamoru got killed. The characters are copyright the wonderfully talented Naoko Takeuchi and whatever other parties are involved while the song is performed by Three Doors Down. I’m just borrowing all of these elements for a romance story starring one of my absolute favorite couples. ^-^ Please enjoy! // means song lyrics. Kryptonite by The Amazoness Duo amazonessduo@hotmail.com The Silence Glaive swung down in a long arc towards the pink haired Sailor Senshi. ChibiUsa barely outdistanced it, the sweep of air passing along her bare skin. Blank violet eyes met her gaze as she looked pleadingly at the girl she loved. Saturn lunged forward, again trying to cut the future princess in two. “Hotaru-chan, please! You have to listen to me!” In answer, the raven haired Senshi of Death and Rebirth merely took another swipe at her former lover. Chibimoon lifted her wand, ready to attack, but she couldn’t get herself to concentrate. Saturn took advantage of the slight hesitation, bringing herself within inches of the other girl before bring her Glaive sweeping towards ChibiUsa. The blade serrated cloth and skin alike as a biting pain flared in ChibiUsa side. Blood dripped down her side from the cut, seeping into the white cloth. //I took a walk around the world to Ease my troubled mind. I left my body laying somewhere In the sands of time. I watched the world float to the Dark side of the moon. I feel there is nothing I can do, yeah// Reeling back, ChibiUsa let out a stifled cry. She didn’t have time to fully dodge Saturn’s next attack, a sharp explosion of pain and color appearing in her right arm. Saturn was still moving towards her from the movement of her attack, but it would take vital seconds to get her Glaive ready, giving ChibiUsa a perfect chance to attack. She quickly lifted the wand with her left hand, her vision blurring with hot tears. This wasn’t Hotaru. It was her body being used by Galaxia to fight them. Hotaru was dead, her Sailor Crystal stolen. The wand fell from numb fingers, clattering uselessly to the floor. The princess couldn’t accept that. She couldn’t just give up on her best friend, her love. “Hota-chan! I know this isn’t you.. Please, please.. please...” Tears rolled down her cheeks as she kept her gaze on the cold form of Saturn before her. “Hota- chan, I love you. Please fight this. Don’t let her use you.” ChibiUsa barely had time to dodge the swipe to her legs, hopping back. “Please remember. Hota-chan, I love you. Don’t you remember me?” //I watched the world float to the Dark side of the moon. After all I knew it had to be something To do with you. I really don't mind what happens now and then As long as you'll be my friend at the end.// A stab of fear shot through her, tenfold worse than the pain in her side and arm. Hotaru had just killed the Sailor Quartet, her guardians. The guardians she’d decided to have protect ChibiUsa. What if she was wrong? What if there was nothing left of the girl she loved in there? Had she just made a terrible mistake? No. Even if she died, she knew that she could never fight Hotaru. She had to get through to Hotaru the only way she could. She -had- to. “It’s me, ChibiUsa. Hota-chan, you’re important to me. Can’t you remember that? You were everything to me. You are everything to me. Please.. I won’t fight you. I don’t care what’s at stake. I can’t. You mean too much to me.” Another slash, another cut. ChibiUsa’s lungs were starting to burn, aching with each breath. She was laboring to keep up her pace. At this rate she knew there was no way she could keep dodging Saturn. Saturn leapt into the air, bringing the Glaive down as she landed. Some wisps of pink hair fell slowly to the floor. ChibiUsa’s vision blurred further, blood mixing with her tears. Her gloved fingers brushed the wound on her head and she immediately wished she hadn’t. Pain shot through her, a wave of dizziness engulfing her. She stumbled back, catching another swipe in her side. The pain was becoming unbearable for the pink haired girl. She wanted to curl up, for this to all go away. To wake up back in her own bed back in Crystal Tokyo. //If I go crazy then will you still Call me Superman? If I'm alive and well, will you be There holding my hand? I'll keep you by my side with My superhuman might. Kryptonite// Chibimoon slowly regained her resolve as she remembered why she was there in the first place. When she’d found out in the future that something was wrong, she knew she had to come back, to help Hotaru. Finding out that Galaxia had killed her love had torn her up inside. The only thing that kept her going was the hope that Sailormoon would be able to bring her back along with the others when this was all over. Seeing Hotaru here at the Cauldron had caught her off guard. That had cost the Quartet their lives. In her moment of jubilation at seeing Hotaru alive, Saturn had attacked, killing the Quartet as they took the attack that had been meant for her. //You called me strong, you called me weak, But still your secrets I will keep. You took for granted all the times I never let you down. You stumbled in and bumped your head, If not for me then you’d be dead. I picked you up and put you back On solid ground.// Now here she was, face to face with the girl she loved, pain wracking her young body as they squared off. This was it, all or nothing. The last hurrah. She had come back for Hotaru. And now was her one and only chance. Mustering the last of her strength, the pink haired girl stood up as she locked eyes with her raven haired counterpart, her arms held in front of her chest. Those dark eyes.. so many other times she’d gazed into them, losing herself in their mysteries. This time it was like looking into those of death itself. “You can fight this, Hota-chan. I know that. I know you. You were always such a mystery, but I finally understand. You’re the strong one out of us, Hotaru. You always overcome the pain, the obstacles in front of you. You fought off Mistress 9’s control to save my life. You survived a life that I never could have hoped to live through. You’ve fought off Saturn’s control for me. You came to fight with me again, even after Elios. Hota-chan, this won’t defeat you.” A small smile crossed her soft lips. “Because I believe in you, Hota-chan. I know you can overcome this. I know you. I love you.” //If I go crazy then will you still Call me Superman? If I'm alive and well, will you be There holding my hand? I'll keep you by my side with my Superhuman might. Kryptonite// ChibiUsa’s arms opened as her smile grew, realization dawning upon her. Her sparkling crimson eyes met dark violet. “You always said you needed me, but you were wrong, it’s I who needs you. I can’t live without you. I need you.” Saturn thrust forward in a fluid motion. The future princess hadn’t the time nor will to dodge. The Glaive cut deep into ChibiUsa’s small body. Time seemed to freeze as the pink haired girl crumbled to the floor. Saturn stood over the fatally wounded princess, dark blood dripping from the end of her Silence Glaive. The color had drained from ChibiUsa’s usually warm skin. Pain burned through her entire body like a forest fire, catching everything in its path. “Hotaru...?” the future princess got out weakly, her voice sounding like it was coming from the long forgotten past. All she could see was Sailorsaturn standing over her, Silence Glaive held tightly in her hand as blood dripped down the curved blade. And even that was fading quickly. What hurt more than the searing pain that now claimed every inch of her being was the thought that she had been wrong, that there was nothing left of the girl she loved inside of her killer. But even through that sense of betrayal, even though she knew she lay dying, she couldn’t completely give up hope. There had to be something left. Coughing painfully, a small cloud of blood further blurred her vision. //If I go crazy then will you still Call me Superman..? If I'm alive and well, will you be there Holding my hand..? I'll keep you by my side with My superhuman might. Kryptonite... Yeah!!// This couldn’t be the end. There was still so much she had wanted to say, so much she had wanted to do with this dark haired girl. She wanted to spend her life with her, to follow its trail wherever it led alongside the pale woman. But now that future she had so longed for was slipping through her fingers like grains of sand. Cold tears slipped their way unnoticed down her cheek. She tried to speak again, but nothing came out as her lips trembled. Trying desperately to remember Hotaru’s words from so long ago, dismay overcame her as they eluded her. She was so tired. Fear of her own imminent death clung franticly to her heart, but it was short lived. She could already see Death coming for her. Her unseeing eyes followed Death’s movements as she came closer, a raven haired girl wearing what amounted to a white cloth. Bending down gently, Death pulled her close, her pain replaced by a warmth that flooded through her being. As the life slowly drained from ChibiUsa's eyes, she quietly let out a single word.. "Hotaru..." Driving the scythe of the goddess of death deeper into the pink-haired girl's body, the phage of Saturn finally spoke. "Farewell, ChibiUsa." She was mildly uneasy about the way ChibiUsa’s crimson eyes had been following something that wasn’t there, but she hardly had time to concern herself with it. The deed was done. Blood stained her white gloves and the skirt and bodice of her costume. The blood of her lover. She brought her fingers to her lips, briefly rubbing the still warm liquid into them. She had done Galaxia’s bidding, had been reincarnated by the Golden Senshi for this specific task, just as the other Senshi had been brought back to stop Sailormoon’s progress. But what Galaxia hadn’t counted on was that Rebirth was Hotaru’s role in the grand scheme of things. She was the one who was behind rebirth, the one who guarded the thresholds of death. One did not resurrect Saturn and expect to command her. She was no one’s tool. But to get to Galaxia, to put a stop to her mad attempt at finding a purpose in this swirling mass of confusion, she had to get to her. And the only way to do that was to appear controllable, to follow the commands of her new ‘mistress’. Which is why she had to kill the only one her lonely heart had ever truly loved, the only one that could quell the darkness that reigned over her lonely world. “ChibiUsa- chan, I’ll join you soon,” she whispered as she watched the unmoving corpse of her future princess. No, things ended here. No more games. No more enemies. Saturn’s job was to put an end to things when they got out of control. She would accomplish that task once and for all. She would follow Sailormoon and Galaxia to the heart of the Cauldron, to the heart of Chaos itself and she would put an end to everything. Let Galaxia find her purpose in death. Let Sailormoon find peace in eternity. When she brought down her Glaive this time, all life in the galaxy would cease, the Cauldron feeling the true power of the Goddess of Death. She would lead all of the souls to their final resting place. And there she would finally be able to spend forever with her pink haired princess. Her heat pained her at that thought, at the betrayal that must have coursed through her lover as the blade pierced her soft skin. But it had to be done. And she had told ChibiUsa long ago that with death came hope and rebirth. Hoisting the Silence Glaive up in front of her, the Silent Messiah turned on her heel and ran into the darkness. The end was nigh. //If I go crazy then will you still Call me Superman? If I'm alive and well, will you be There holding my hand? I'll keep you by my side with my Superhuman might. Kryptonite//