The battle had be hard. Harder than she'd first though it would be. She worried about the toll it would take on the others. She worried most for her children. She gazed across the courtyard at where they were sitting, eating it appeared and probably talking some strategy or another. She smiled it always warmed her heart to see them like that. Then again there was no one else to stand with the other but the two of them. The royal princess and prince, the very light in Neo Queen Serenity's heart.

The memory faded as she found them again on the battle field. Terror gripped her heart as she watched her children, her babies, fighting. Not each other as they had most of their lives but an enemy that never seemed to end. The hordes came in wave after wave never seeming to stop. It was with great reservations that she even let them on the battlefield. If she'd gotten her way, they'd be off anywhere but here. They fought as a unit, well oiled and trained. They grew into the rhythm of each others movements and could without speaking a word communicate on a level that was only seen in battles like this. Her children were fine warriors, and it broke her heart.

"They never should have had to fight." She'd said one night in the room she shared with her husband.

And yet they fought. Keeping them off the field of battle was nearly impossible. Chibiusa, her sweet brat child, had fought in the past. She was a trained senshi in her own right and had powers and abilities that where only hers to command, and Haru had learned from the best how to fight and defend from attacks, even picking up a little of his father's flare, even if he didn't mean to. Or maybe that was just Serenity trying to see her beloved in the boy. Endymion had been lost some days ago, and the pain of it was still far and close to the queen's heart.

She saw the flash in the sky first. She watched, her brilliant blue eyes tracking the thing in the sky as it sped towards the ground and the battle that was below. Her breath caught as her eyes found where it would land. She was on her feet and away from Mercury and Mars so fast neither knew she was gone till it was over. She ran her red boots so well worn with years pounding on the gravel and crushed crystal under foot. She had to get there first. Running was never something she was good at unless you counted running to school, but then she was always late, she hoped that this time she would be fast enough. Her blonde pigtails flared out behind her and she skidded and turned, fell, regained her footing and balance and started her frantic race against the most powerful attack they had thrown at them yet.

The blue collar of her Senshi suit was torn, the white not longer white but a dirty gray from days at battle, the skirt torn and frayed, her oodango shields lost somewhere along the way, and her choker dark with sweat. She was missing a glove nearly to the elbow the only remaining bit was the piping from the top, and the other had missing fingers and holes, her boots where covered in dust and grim the heels long since gone. Frayed and battle worn Sailor Moon ran with everything she had.

She ran towards where the attack would land.

But more that than she ran towards her children.

Her prayers were answered and she threw her arms around them pushing both her daughter and son to the ground and in the process threw up a shield from her silver crystal. The sparkling Lotus flower formed over her heart as the bright white light engulfed the mother and her children only seconds before the attack hit. The attack that neither the princess or prince saw coming, focused as they were on the battle.

It hit and the two powers met. The light was brighter than all the suns in all the universes combined, as the powers battled for the lives of the Queen and her heirs. Silver light shot upward with such force one might wonder if it wasn't pushed out of the earth itself. The silverly light shot through the air like bullets tearing through the enemy craft still in the sky, and taking out the tanks on the ground. It shot into the space around the Earth where the enemy mother ships waited to deliver more troops to the pointless fight. The light washed over the world, then the solar system, and it took with it the enemy they had so fiercely been fighting.

CRACK

The sound echoed across the now silent battle field as the light from the battle of powers faded, leaving only the Queen and her children. Something was wrong. She wasn't standing up. Why was Lady cradling her head in her lap? Why where tears thick in Haru's eyes?

"My sweet Moonbeams." She said her voice shaking, the setting sun glinting of the broken pieces of her silver lotus crystal. "I love you both so much." She inhaled a shallow and shaky breath. "I am so proud of you both." She said her eyes closing. "You were the lights of my life, guiding me when I thought all was lost and the darkness would win. Never give up on each other." She exhaled the last word and would never draw breath again.

Lady's screams where heard across the city. The light of her transformation was seen miles away. The pale pink light shot into the sky as the sun set on one Queen. The pink light faded and where she had been Eternal Sailor Chibi Moon, she was now Sailor Moon, or as she would be known later, Neo Sailor Moon. The time had come for her to take the mantel, she'd waited for this day, trained and thought about the day she would become Sailor Moon defender of Love and Justice, but this was not how she wanted it. Never like this. She screamed till her voice gave out, but the tears kept flowing. Her body shaking from the now silent sobs tearing through her, Lady looked at her brother sitting holding their mother's hand, his tears fell silently in rivulets down his cheeks to the ground below.

The had won but the cost was far to great.

She'd rather be fighting.

That she knew that she understood on a level that was akin to her soul. She'd been fighting her whole life, she'd grown up fighting in a strange time traveling way. She understood the battlefield far more than the filed she now found herself in. She was Queen.

Her mother had seen to it that when the time came for Lady to take the throne that she would be prepared to rule. She knew the movements like they were second nature, they happened without her thinking, but they were stiff and hard. She wasn't ready.

Well ready or not here comes the Queen.

Lady sat at her vanity, her coronation gown on, the pale pink folds of chiffon hugging her body before falling to the floor to trail gracefully behind her as she walked. The dress was one her mother had made for her. It was to be her gown for the first ball before the war broke out. She'd never had the chance to wear it, and since it was one of the final things her mother had given her, aside from her life, Lady thought it was fitting to wear the gown now.

"I can't do this." She said to her reflection. She had such big heels to fill, her mother had left quite a shadow for Lady to live in. Her head fell with a loud thud that could be heard out side the door, to her vanity, sending shockwaves through her pink pigtails. "Ugh...." The sound escaped her lips as she sat there with her forehead on the vanity top her eyes closed.

"You can't hide in here forever." Her mother's voice said. "You are to be crowned Queen today." Her hallucination was cheerful, like this was indeed a happy day despite the fact it came with the premature death of the Queen. "Come on! Get up, get out there!" It cheered her on. "I know you can do this." it started to fade. "You are my daughter after all." The voice was gone as Lady raised her head to stare at her reflection once more.

"But what if I can't Mama?" She asked the voice, but it didn't respond. She was left in silence, the room around her still the only sound the rustling of her dress as she breathed.

In


Out


In


Out.

"I need you now more than ever." She said. The shards Neo Queen Serenity's silver lotus crystal had been gathered by her children following her death. Before they could take their mother way, the two of them, the reason she'd died, had picked each piece off the battlefield. In the days after the battle, the crystal had been reassembled as best it could be, still cracked and dull. A broken thing but a great and powerful reminder. It sat in a glass box on the vanity Lady now sat at. It was to become part of the memorial for her mother, along with a beautiful hologram of the woman smiling at whomever happens to be looking at it, she beams out at them from the past. The memorial would be for all fallen in the war but the Queen's Crystal would be forever set in crystal surrounded by the roses her father had loved so much. A fitting tribute for such wonderful people. Thankfully the King and Queen would be laid to their final rest in the palace, or rather a courtyard that they had loved so when they were still alive. They had spent many hours in that beautiful place. Lady and her brother only thought it fitting that they should rest where they loved to be in life.

So the final possession was today, Lady knew she would be crowned after that, her rule would start on the ashes of her mother's. She would start in fire and where would her end be? She sighed and let her head fall back to the vanity with a thud. She decided she would just stay in her room today. They wouldn't be able to crown her if she wasn't there, right? So she'd lock the door and cover her ears. She'd ignore them, and maybe she'd wake up  tomorrow or later that day to her mother's soft hand on her shoulder and that brilliant smile beaming down at her, and the voice that now haunted the Queen to be would tell her its dinner time and to not push so hard.

She lifted her head slightly, then let it fall back to the vanity.

Thud

Thud

Thud

Thud


Princess Small Lady Serenity, soon to be Queen Small Lady Serenity, was headdesking at the thought of becoming queen.

Haru was standing in front of the mirror in his room. He was gazing at himself. How he hated formal entire. He was wearing an outfit similar to his father's, but instead of purple he went with black. Haru's father had an unusual choice for fashion. He glanced at the clock on the wall and wondered if his sister was ready for the coronation. Knowing her she would be stalling so he better go check on her.

He left his room and strolled down the hallway. Lady's room was two doors down from his. Haru was about to knock on the door, but he heard a weird noise coming from inside his sister's room. He opened the door and saw her hitting her head against the vanity. 

"Woah!" Haru yelled and rushed to his sister. He grabbed her by her waist and pulled her away from the vanity. "What on Earth are you doing, Chibs?" Haru called her by his nickname for her. She hated being called Chibs, but he knew it would snap her out of it.

Lady glared at her brother at the use of a nickname he was only allowed to use, but her anger didn't as ever stay long. "Well one of two things, Haru." She said sitting up, "I'm either trying to wake up or pass out. I'm not sure which." It was no secret between them that Lady didn't want this, that she didn't feel ready or that she was greatly worried she wouldn't live up to the shadow their mother cast.

She stood swiftly taking her hands back, and with a purpose strode to the door, closed it quietly and locked it. "I just wont go." she said falling with all the grace of a flying brick onto her bed. "They can't crown me if they can't find me." She said her voice muffled by the pillows.

She knew she wasn't being fair. She wasn't being fair to Haru, the Senshi or the people, but she'd just lost her mother. So had Haru, the voice that sounded like her mother retorted. She was to be Queen, so the day isn't what she wanted but did she really think that she would be Queen if her mother was still alive?

"Come on!" The voice pretending to be Mother cheered. "Get up and put on a brave face. Do you think I wanted to play the strong brave queen when I lost your father?" It asked. "NO!" it yelled. "But I did and now my dear Chibiusa it's your turn. So get up, finish getting dressed and get out there." The voice paused as if letting Lady think about what it said. With a sigh Lady pushed herself into a sitting position on her bed. "That's my girl." The voice beamed at her.

"Do you still hear them too?" She asked her brother. Or was she going crazy?

Haru didn't blame his sister. Their mother's death was so sudden and now she has to take her place. There was no time to grief. She had to deal with the duties of being queen. He was about say something encouraging, but it looked like her sister made her mind up. 

He gave her a confused look to her question. "Who's them?"

Her red eyes were red and puffy from crying and the tears threatened to pour over again. "The voices in my head," She paused looking much more like the small lost child she was when she first met her mother in the past, "They sound like Mama and Papa." She fought back her tears. "Am I going crazy Haru?" She asked a worried look in her eyes. She hadn't slept since their mother died, she'd hardly eaten. It was no secret that the future queen wasn't in the best condition but who would be after the death of their mother?

"Haru, I-..." She faltered. She didn't know how to say she needed her brother that she didn't no could't do this alone. She couldn't take the throne without her brother at her side. She couldn't face the people alone. If she'd been alone today there would be no coronation later today, she wouldn't have gotten out of bed at all. Alone Lady would have fallen deeper into the darkness that threatened to overwhelm her at any moment. "Will you stand with me?" She asked. They were making traditions as they went for this. Their parents had become King and Queen in a strange way, they're coronation wasn't like this. Lady and Haru were the first of the next generations to rule Crystal Tokyo. They could set the traditions. "Let's start something new! Something that will last forever!" She said jumping out f the bed, rushing over and grabbing his hands. "This is the first of what we can only hope will be many generations of our family taking the throne, so let's start what will be a new tradition." She was smiling though it was weak and still sad, it was a smile. "Stand with me when they," she paused. "You know." She gasped. "Or you could do the thing!" She blurted out excitedly. "If you want, that is." She bit her lip, she just didn't want to be alone, and without Haru she would be and they would all see the redness in her eyes, and the dark circles under her eyes. Lady was afraid that they would see nothing more than a poor child playing a being queen.

If she could hardly get through this how would she ask Haru to be her advisor? Not that she didn't love Ami and trust her, it was more that she knew Haru better than anyone else in the universe. There was no one she trusted more alive today. So many things where changing.

"You've got this Moonbeam." The voice said. "I'm so proud of you both." The voice sounds as if the invisible person was going to cry, tears in their voice.

The thing? It took Haru a moment to realize she wanted him to be his adviser. He bit his lip. Haru wasn't sure if he could do such a job. He was smart, but politics wasn't his thing. Seeing how his sister was already grantee the throne he never bother to study it. He rather be her personal guard, but that job belong to the Senshi. Haru then noticed her weak smile. She really needed him right now. He couldn't turn his back on her. If he needed help Ami would probably be happy to help him.

"Of course, I will," he spoke with a kind voice. "It would be my honor to be your adviser." He then grabbed his sister and pulled her into a hug. "Things will get better, Chibs. I promise."

Lady looked at her brother and smiled. "Thank you." Her voice cracked, somewhere she knew that Haru was only accepting to help her stay strong. "I've felt like I've been falling apart since that day and I can only guess at how you're doing." She sighed. "But I want you to-" She paused. She wanted to make their own traditions to help all future generations feel equal and important she herself wanted children at some point and this would be happening again. "I want you to crown me" she muttered the last part. She wanted Haru at her side throughout the day. Where she went she wanted him not far away. She knew that Venus was it Venus, would be crowning her calling out long live the queen, but it seemed false coming from her mother's senshi. She really needed to get the girls back to earth soon, they would be needed more than ever now that she was queen. A court of her own. How many times did she dream of this as a child? How many times she she pretend to be at balls or plays wearing her mother's crown as she failed to glide around the room in a dress that was too big for her and shoes that flopped as she walked. Lady was not that child, though and neither was Haru the little boy Lady nearly bullied into dance lessons with her when they were younger.

"Haru, it wouldn't seem right to me if Venus-" She paused she was going to skirt around the words again but she couldn't. "Crowned me. I think, no I feel in my soul that it would be better present a more unified royal family if you would. And I don't think I can stand to hear Mina's voice crack as she announces me for the first time as queen." She stepped back but help his hands. "I plan on having children, Haru and I want to show them that even in the face of the hardships we've overcome and will over come that in the end the royal family is family we take care of our own and we stand with each other. I'd like you to be my personal advisor." She smiled. "I need to know if a suitor is worthy of your sister after all, so many will be coming soon, and who better to get a read than you?" She sat down at her vanity and started finishing getting ready. She felt stronger just having him in the room. "I'd like you to be captain of my personal guard but that doesnt mean do anything dumb. I can't loose you too." She smiled at him in the mirror. "But never stop being my little brother." She said wiping a tear from her eye.

She finished getting ready and stood, looking very much all the part of future queen she is and the queen she would be. "So Brother, ready to face the world?"

Oh man, Haru felt quite overwhelmed, when his sister was asking him to perform many duties for her. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about being a captain. He was still in training as knight. Kunzite told him he needed a few more years under his belt before becoming a full fledged knight. Then there was Quartet. Wasn't their duty to protect his sister? Haru just brushed off these feelings. Right now his sister needed him. She was their queen now and she had every right to change things around. He approached his sister and gave her a huge hug.

"Chibs," He spoke with a gentle voice. "I will always stand by your side."

Lady returned the hug tightly, then with a sigh she pushed her brother back. "I know I'm asking a lot and I know that things will happen in their time, I just can't help feeling like the world will crash down if I don't say everything now." She gave a sad smile. "Here we go." She said and opened the door. 

The walk down the halls was silent everyone was awaiting them at the courtyard. Lady felt strange as if they were on their way to a ball instead of her coronation. When she arrived at the entry to the courtyard fear froze her to the spot and she grasped Haru's hand. "Don't leave me." she whispered, her breath short. She wasn't ready for this.

"I won't," Haru whispered and hugged her. "Chibs, you can do this. I know you can lead this kingdom." He paused for a second. "Mom and dad believe in you too." Haru barely talked about their parents to anyone. Even his sister. After their mom died and seeing how much it effected Small Lady, Haru oppressed his feelings. He had to be strong. Nothing would get done if both of them grieved. 

The music for the ceremony started to play. "Welp, it's your time to shine now." He link his arm with hers. "I'll walk you down."