Full Moon

written by: Gina Biggs (aka bunny aka haruka)
site: http://secondlight.animehunters.com/
contact: secondlight@animehunters.com
date completed: Sept. 29, 2002
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Episode 16 - Prelude to the final battle. Must we say "good-bye"?


Her eyes fluttered delicately as she entered into consciousness. There was darkness 
all around her and she realized that it was late into the night. She was disoriented and 
unsure of her surroundings, but kept herself calm. While she waited for her vision to 
adjust to the dark, her mind filled with many thoughts. A whisper escaped her, as if 
she expected to have a response back from the unending darkness in the room. "This 
darkness is so familiar, but why? I feel strange, like I've been in an unfriendly dream, 
an unfriendly place for so long."

"You're awake now," a gentle voice answered.

Calcite's eyes could not yet make out who was speaking to her, but she recognized
the voice immediately. She did not speak, only savored the sound of the melody that 
echoed in her ears. The voice sounded once again. "You have been asleep for so long, 
but now you're finally awake from that dream of darkness. Once again we are together."

"The dream was so terrible, my lady. You were dead and I dwelled in the darkness 
of space with only the promise I made to you keeping me alive. But now you're here 
with me. This must be the place people call heaven."

"Forget that terrible nightmare, and rest easy from now on," Eos comforted.

The queen caressed the soldier's hand. Her touch was like the sun's warmth through 
a shade tree. With her touch, Calcite began to come to her senses. "This place is not 
home.... I... I'm not dead?"

"Balder, my guardian soldier, you protected my very essence in your breast all this 
time, like a mother to her child. When you struck yourself down I was released as
the chosen time has come. I thank the stars that I was not too late in reviving you."

Eos squeezed Calcite's hand tightly for a moment. Her smile cut through the darkness, 
warming Calcite's heart. Suddenly, the orange haired woman became tense and tried 
to jump into an upright position. "Tektites!" she called anxiously. She immediately fell
back into the bed again from the burning pain in her stomach. However, the pain did 
not make her forget her concern. "What's happened to him? Was he hurt? Did he 
return to Obsidian?"

The queen brushed the stray wisps of hair from Calcite's eyes. "He is here, but he 
was injured as badly as you, so he is still recovering. He has not yet regained 
consciousness."

"How long has it been?"

Eos bit her lip. "Three days since the battle."

******************

Opalite stared into space through the transparent walls of her throne room with 
tired eyes. The memories she protected from even her own mind began to flow 
through her and she held her head in pain. Enraged at the emerging feelings, 
she pounded her fist against the invisible wall in front of her and she lowered her
 head in defeat. A loud rumbling sounded, but she did not respond. 

After a long silence, the chamber door creaked open and Rhodonite entered. 
The commander became alarmed at his empress who was kneeling on the 
ground, her face obscured by her long, lavender hair. "Empress Opalite-sama!" 
he whispered in the panic as he ran to her.

Before he could come close enough to touch her, a small, pathetic voice came 
from the woman, stopping him in his tracks. "Why have you not yet claimed the 
Yoakezuishou? Why is this still not over? I can't take this any longer...."

Rhodonite had no response, no excuse for his failures. He watched the woman, 
the one whom he had always known to be so put together, in such a pitiful state. 
She had finally broken down and he swore to himself, he would punish those who 
made her suffer. He pushed himself to speak to her. "My lady," he started, "I will 
not fail you again. This time I shall go and not come back without fulfilling my 
promise. It will be either the stone or my life."

Miserable eyes looked up at him through wisps of lavender. She cursed herself 
for falling apart in front of him. It had been so many long years since she began 
her mission. There were countless warriors to fight for her over that time, and 
through it all she had managed to keep her desperation hidden away from 
others. She hated herself for this and she knew he would love her more for it. 
"No!" she thought, "I will not love him."

Almost as if he had read her thoughts, Rhodonite's lips hinted at a smile. "I know
 you will never love me, Opalite-sama. But please do not deny me my love for you."

Her arms fell to her sides and she sunk lower on the ground. She was too tired 
for arguing or putting up that wall she always kept around herself. Rhodonite 
joined her on the floor and took her into his strong embrace. Opalite put up no 
fight, though she did not show any passion, but the man holding her no longer cared.

******************

Princess Serenity stood outside the infirmary's doorway. Her eyes were full 
of concern as she watched her friend sit silently over an occupied bed. 
"Calcite-san...." she thought. 

Building up enough courage, the pink haired princess quietly entered the room. When 
she was standing beside the woman, she spoke softly. "You've been sitting with him 
since Mercury gave you the okay to get out of bed two days ago. This isn't healthy."

"Princess Serenity-sama," Calcite confirmed. "I know, but I can't rest until I know 
he's going to be okay. I can't leave him again."

The princess smiled and placed her hand on the slender shoulder of the sitting 
woman. "I know the feeling. I'm sure he will be okay, Calcite-san. You two 
have gone through so much. He won't give up on you now. Get some rest if you 
can."

Calcite nodded her agreement. Serenity noticed four colorful haired heads peeking
in through the doorway and took that as her sign to exit. She joined her four best 
friends and they went on their way.

After some time, it was completely quite in the hospital room again, save the 
breathing of the woman and the man who inhabited it. Calcite reached out for 
the first time since sitting by his side. Her hand trembled slightly as her fingers 
neared his hand. If she touched him, took his hand in hers, she would know that 
this was real. She did not want to accept that he might not make it through, that 
his wound was too deep to be healed. She quickly retracted her hand, but caught 
herself and pushed forward. She couldn't be afraid anymore. His hand was 
warm. She stared for long moments, holding back thoughts she dread would 
come true. Slowly, she tilted her head so she could look at his face. When her 
gaze finally reached its destination she was taken aback by two beautiful, open 
eyes. Calcite held her breath as he opened his mouth. Her anticipation grew as 
no sound came from him at first. He tried again, and this time a quiet 
whisper pierced the deafening silence. "Calcite...." was his first utterance. 

There was a long period of silence, but Calcite felt a small amount of pressure 
on her hand as the man attempted to give her a reassuring squeeze. He was 
still weak, but it was enough for her. Tektites tried to speak again, but Calcite
 quieted him with a touch of her finger to his lips. "Shhh... It's okay now. We're 
going to be okay. I won't leave you ever again."

Her ears perked up at a familiar sound coming from outside. Calcite stood to 
her feet and slowly walked to the window at the far end of the room. A cold 
wind blew in through the narrow opening, riling the hair from off her shoulders.
She knew that the final battle had finally come to meet them. Outside, thousands
of charon were falling down on the city, as well as every other city on the Earth. 
Civilians and soldiers alike were falling where they stood as the light within 
them were being ripped away. 

******************

Those who managed to escape the slaughter were fleeing to the only sanctuary 
left, the Moon Castle at the heart of Crystal Tokyo. The four guardian soldiers
could wait no longer. Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus had made their way to 
a secret place in the castle. In the room stood a tall crystallized spike, climbing 
out of the floor. With their backs facing the cool white crystal, they joined hands,
forming an imperfect circle. Their voices were desperate, but remained powerful 
and true. "Mars Power!" "Mercury Power!" "Jupiter Power!" "Venus Power!"

A jolt of colorful light immediately came shooting up from each of the women. 
Brilliantly glowing, each of them became frozen as they concentrated 
their life energy into the power they were emitting. A barrier began to form 
around Crystal Tokyo and blocked out all the charon that tried to enter. How 
many had been saved from this? A thousand? Maybe two thousand? No matter, 
they could not think such thoughts now, only pray that the others would be able 
to defeat this force that was destroying their planet.

******************

Most of the Sailor Soldiers were already in the command center when Uranus, 
Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn entered. "The last of the surviving civilians have been 
brought through the barrier," Uranus stated, her voice slightly worn from fatigue.

The moon princess' face was filled with determination. "We can no longer wait for 
the enemy to attack us! We have to launch an attack and soon. The barrier will hold, 
but not forever."

"Lady Serenity is right," a familiar feline voice agreed. Luna, stepped forward, not 
with a cat paw, but instead with a human foot. She, along with Artemis and their 
daughter Diana, stood together in their human forms. Diana took Serenity's hand 
and smiled. 

Artemis looked to the alien soldiers and their queen, hoping that they could provide an 
answer. "The question now is, how do we get to them?"

Everyone fell silent. It was a puzzle that they currently could not answer. From 
behind them a voice rose up. "I will guide you there."

Calcite, still in her hospital gown, stood at the doorway. Despite her still healing 
wounds she held herself tall and proud. "I know the way to Obsidian. I can still 
make the wormhole appear, though not as well as I could before. We will have to 
wait just a little longer, until Opalite moves in."

"Can we possibly hold off until she makes that move?" questioned Neptune.

This caused much mumbling from the crowd of women. Finally, Eos spoke. "There
is no choice."

"Not to worry," Calcite assured, "you won't have to wait long." She lowered her eyes 
for a moment, then returned them to look upon the crowd. "This attack.... she's on her 
way and she is clearing the path for that time. By tomorrow night she will be close 
enough for us to make our move. I'm sure of it."

******************

It was late into the night when the sailor soldiers adjourned from their meeting. Not 
much sleep would be claimed that night as they all knew that tomorrow night was 
the end, or the beginning depending on the outcome of the battle. The princess was 
searching the many rooms of the castle, hoping against hope. After twenty minutes 
she found a guarded room and a powerful aura coming from it. She knew she was
not permitted to enter, but she smiled sadly as she stared at the intricate design on 
the doors. "Helios..." she cooed softly.

Hours has passed when the princess heard a small knocking on her bedroom 
door. Her bare feet tingled on the cool crystal floor as she scurried to the door. 
When she opened it she found herself face to face with a pair of golden eyes. 
"My lady," the man said quietly, "I hope I didn't wake you."

"N-no," she stammered, "I can't sleep. There's too much on my mind right now."

"May I come in?" he asked, surprised at his boldness.

She agreed and closed the door behind him. It was the first time he had ever seen 
her room and it caused foreign feelings to emerge within him. He was almost giddy 
from it, but he managed to calm himself before she sensed anything. Serenity seemed 
calm and he felt almost discouraged at her lack of excitement. Yet, oddly, he felt 
inspired by her. She was holding herself together despite what they both knew was 
to come tomorrow. She had come a long way since she had come to Elysion, truly 
grown into the wonderful lady she had always hoped she would be. 

Helios stood quietly for a while, contemplating what to say to her. He did not 
want to say anything that would jumble her thoughts. He did not want to distract 
her and he was quickly loosing his nerve. "I can't stay long, but I wanted to.... give
you my good wishes for tomorrow's battle. My prayers are always with you...."

"I want to be strong, Helios. I really do, but I am frightened," the princess cut in, 
not able to contain her own thoughts any longer. He was surprised at her words, 
but remained silent so that she might finish.

She turned slightly toward him, her eyes hidden by pink wisps of hair. She did not 
speak any more for fear that she would break down. The white haired man moved 
closer to her. He pushed himself to take that final step, and so he did. He moved 
passed the shyness that always seemed to get in his way when in her presence 
and took her in his arms. "I'm always with you, my beautiful maiden," he whispered 
in her ear. "I'll always be by your side." 

A small smile glowed on the princess' face. It was this that she wanted, needed, 
before she departed for her ultimate fate on the morrow. To have the one she 
loved, hold her and love her in return. To *know* that he loved her. "I won't lose," 
she vowed silently. "I will protect this planet. I am Sailor Moon!"

End Episode 16.


Episode Notes:   Wow, this chapter is definitely longer than some of my more 
recent ones. I'm glad about that. I think the last two chapters are going to be 
equally long. On another note, I wanted to show that Opalite is truly an impure 
woman. She has fallen from her glowing self, that self that Rhodonite spoke of 
in an earlier chapter. It is not the sex itself that is impure, as it can be a very 
beautiful act between two people. Rather, it is that she does not care what 
happens to her body. It is very void of passion and love, a dirty act to show 
what she has become as time went on.