"Time's up."
Setsuna wished this day would never come, of course it already had come, the point in time she was in simply hadn't reached it yet. She'd never understand those many other timeline versions of her fixating on this or that or what was what, when none of it actually mattered. None of it mattered to her, because SHE didn't exactly care either.
However, "You're lying, if time was up we'd all be dead before you started that sentence... "
The owner of the voice sounded apologetic, "Well, yes, you are correct of course, but it felt more appropriate saying it now, rather than in the moment it would all end."
"And the moment it will all begin." Setsuna says.
The youngish male voice said sternly, "If your Princess does what she needs to do. Otherwise, there is going to be no beginning, of anything."
"It'll save lives, several billion of them, when it all comes down to it there's no way she'll do otherwise."
"How can you be so confident? Before, you, the other senshi, your princess, they all saved lives by simply atomizing the latest Incarnation that Chaos threw at them. That's the problem with magical girls, they're not wired to know when to fold them. They're worse than Charlie Brown and the football."
Setsuna raised an eyebrow, "Don't you mean soccer ball?"
"Stupid cultural dissonance.. the point is... you KNOW she'll simply believe it's a matter of strength, power, and belief to win, and if her teammate pay the price for that, that'll just mean to her she'll HAVE to keep going on that path for her sake, and she'll lose too... because this ISN'T a matter of strength, power, or belief... "
"The Princess will make the right choice, she has to... or it's the death of everyone."
"Don't be so imprecise... it's the death of everything."
Setsuna shuddered, "You don't need to remind me of that... I've seen this play out many times in other timelines... not always for the best."
Now the male voice spoke with curiosity, "But you still have faith in your Sailor Moon?"
"I don't have a choice, no one can FORCE her to do it one way or the other... no one has that power."
"Indeed. All paths lead to the graveyard in the end, but the road taken there is purely your own devising. All of you."
"Since you clearly wanted to give us a grace period, how long?"
"... I wanted her and the rest of you to live in blissful ignorance of what she'd need to do as long as possible, selfish perhaps but ... you all live such beautiful lives, all of you. I didn't want you spend most of it fretting over what was going to come."
"How long? Exactly?"
"Midnight Tokyo Standard Time, the night after tomorrow..."
Setsuna looked at a clock, "Precisely Sixty hours eh?"
"Precisely... "
"Are you going to give the normal show and dance then at that time?"
"It's what they've come to expect..."
"I think they'd prefer a time when they didn't have to fight to save the world."
"They don't have to at all here."
Setsuna sighed, "But like you said, it's what they've come to expect."
"Yes... I've done my part, I'll leave you to decide weather or not to do yours."
"I will... thank you Death."
"Call me Ryoji.. it's a name I picked up during a visit to another world... one that also found a way to live."
"Any chance of that working here?"
"Zero. There are no loopholes here, no subversions, no technicalities, the choice will have to be by her, and there shall be no third choice... "
Setsuna let out a sad laugh, "Pity, you know how fond magical girls are of third choices..."
"I know. See you there?"
"I don't know if I could bear to watch, then again, I have a responsibility to."
"Good day then Princess Pluto."
"Setsuna-mama lunch is ready!" Hotaru came into Setsuna's study she used on the rare occasion she was with them rather than at the Gate of Time.
"Oh! Thank you Hotaru I'll be right there."
"Who were you talking to?" Hotaru asked innocently.
"Just an old friend... Hotaru, get your other Mama and Papa in the living room please."
"But I thought we weren't supposed to have food in the living room."
"Today is an exception, there's a lot of important things we need to talk about, and no time to dillydally."
+++++++++++++++++++++++
In his lab some place, Professor Tomoe looked at his notes, double checked them, triple checked them, checked the calendar, then looked out a window through a high quality telescope. "Ah crude," the former mad scientist sighed.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Across the globe, seers, telepaths, espers, prophets, and Tarot readers, almost as one suddenly said, "Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!!" That a couple of them were tried and true atheists threw their nearby friends for a loop.
In San Francisco For example,
"Ay aaaaaaaah!!!"
"Uncle?"
"She is coming!"
"Who?"
"The final ender of things!"
"But Toru's mother isn't due for-OW!"
"Not the old hag! Her! She whose very name is dreaded to be spoken!"
++++++++++++++++++++++
Rei actually fell over backwards out of her fire meditation, the first time in her life that had ever happened. She had felt something, something immeasurable, something incalculable, and something coming, one word burned into her brain, a name? "Nyx..."
++++++++++++++++++++++
A skip jump and a hop away out of the solar system, an entity whose presence had been shielded till now, continued her lonely trek towards Earth, a being of perhaps the same race as Pharaoh 90, only infinitely older, and infinitely more powerful, and massive. Unlike her distant relative, she felt no glee at the task handed her, let alone dislike of the little innocent candles she would snuff out, but she had her duty, and that duty called to her as she drew closer.
++++++++++++++++++++++
In her mansion's living room, Setsuna knew could not hesitate to tell Usagi, must not hesitate. But placing this grim task on Usagi's shoulders was something Setsuna had never wanted, 'Princess... to save the life of every human being on Earth, you must invoke the Great Freeze, or Nyx will end all life in an moment between moments when she sets foot upon Earth.'
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See other episodes by Alex Warlorn
(Posted Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:34)
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