~goodbye
cruel world~
I
remember Death.
I
wasn't expecting it to happen, especially not when we had such an
important person in my ferry. It was true, the guard of the Rivers
did not have such a good record with Galaxia-sama. When we arrived,
after our wars were ended, there were four others who guarded the
master's castle, and whose rivers nourished the artificial star seed
gardens that Galaxia intended to use for the new order of things.
There was also the graveyard of those whom she had killed, to serve
as a reminder to her slaves, especially those who had retained their
true personalities and thoughts, what the price of rebellion was.
The
power of their rivers were very fearful, as were the guardians
themselves. Drinking from one, for example, caused one to lose their
voice for eternity, while drinking from another could cause a person
to go insane with grief and kill themselves; that river was lined
with the bodies of the river's victims. Galaxia-sama's favorite river
would burn an intruder, but wouldn't destroy them – they would
stay alive even after their flesh had burned off. One didn't even
allow anyone by Galaxia-sama to cross – one had to drop their
blood into the stream to be allowed across. Hence, with all six of
our powers combined, Galaxia-sama's realm was protected.
Then
those four decided to rebel. Like us, they retained their original
selves under the shackles, so long as they served Galaxia-sama. And
one day they consorted with one another and decided that they would
be far more suited to shape a new order than the master. So the gang
of four left their posts – a deed forbidden to them – and
went to murder the queen in her sleep.
They
never reached her. They were killed by two of Galaxia-sama's most
loyal followers – twins like ourselves. We never knew what was
done with their crystals, for their treachery was unforgivable. All
we knew was that they were dead, for at their moment of death their
rivers dried up and disappeared.
I
wonder if our rivers dried up at our moment of treachery. Not like
now. The river burns me.....it is like our death all over again......
“Haaaaaaaaah!!!”
The
first sensation Mnemosyne felt was the slamming of her back into the
sandbar. Her eyes opened wide at this, met in kind with the cold of
the water. But her hand was till outstretched, and it was above the
surface. With a kick, she threw herself onto the shore, gasping for
air.
Lethe......Lethe!
She
gasped as sensation returned to her – pain and cold from the
icy waters, like a thousand knives. She shut her eyes to alleviate
the pain, to banish it, but it did not work, whether or not her eyes
were open or no. So she simply lay there, writhing in pain, hoping
the ache would leave her at last.
”You
must never open the door....”
Then
she saw the fog clearing in front of her. The tree that lay with it
was diseased, and brown leaves were scattered on the ground; the
grass underneath her was dead and poked her like tiny needles. But
one thing had not changed; it was there, a small path led to it, more
ancient than the planet, yet only the frame was slightly cracked from
all the years of wear and tear.
“For
it will mean the end of your worlds...and your lives.”
Mnemosyne
stared at the door for a moment. It had strange symbols on it, from a
language unknown to her, scraped into the door. Something about the
writing frightened her somewhat; it seemed to be a ward, at least in
her opinion. Yet she felt drawn to it, regardless; the forbidden acts
of the past reminded her that it would not have been the first time
she had disobeyed the rules for her personal needs and desires.
It
would not have been the first time she had betrayed someone's trust
in her.
“L....Lethe?!?!”
Mnemosyne's
eyes widened when she realized what was not on the shore, alongside
her.
Who
was not on the shore.
“Lethe!!!”
There
was no response. Mnemosyne gave a cry as she remembered what had
occurred, and she looked behind her to the all-consuming fog. The
river was behind there, as were the meteors and bare rocks and the
remains of two worlds.
And
Lethe.
“No!!!!”
Before
Mnemosyne knew exactly what she was doing, she was back in the water
and was violently kicking through the ice and the pain. She couldn't
see anything, and the waves from the meteor were still powerful
enough to knock her head underwater. But Mnemosyne forced herself to
ignore whatever she could, and to press on.
I
promised her. Mnemosyne briefly stuck her head underwater to
look, though she had problems keeping it under because of the pain.
The day we faced each other again, after those long years of
war....when you finally gathered the courage to see me again in your
shame. Your people started the war, and we grew to hate each
other....but once we talked, we said would be the ones to finish it
in peace.....do you remember....?
Mnemosyne
stuck her head in the water again, and her mouth opened in shock,
allowing water to enter. She instantly dove back up, took another
deep breath, and then dove back in, swimming down into the endless
cold abyss.
We
promised to stay together for as long as we lived. Once we put aside
our differences...
Her
vision underwater had been far clearer than it had been on the
surface, and so it was easy to see the body of her sister, limp and
motionless, under the control of the waters. Mnemosyne kept going
down, further and further until she was close enough to touch her
sister's hand. She went to grab it, and missed as it floated away
from her.
I
may have been a complainer and weak, but I would never abandon you.
Mnemosyne
threw out her hand more forcefully, grabbing Lethe's hand on the
second try. Her lungs began to hurt as she began to swim up towards
the surface, hoping she was pacing herself enough to ensure that she
wouldn't get exhausted.
You
are my sister.
Mnemosyne
finally broke through the surface, taking in the deep breaths. Seeing
Lethe's body face down, she turned her body right-side up and gave a
cry.
“Lethe!”
The green-clad soldier's face was blue, and her eyes were half open,
the pupils dilated. “Lethe!! No!!!!”
Mnemosyne
had no time to grieve, or act properly. She suddenly heard the
familiar roar of the falling stars and screamed, throwing Lethe onto
her back as she swam. She hoped she could hold on, hoped that, this
time, they would miss it, that they could make it.
*TH-OOOOOOOOOM*
There
a brief, strange sensation of intense heat as Mnemosyne heard and
felt the rock hit. The new rock hit further away from the last one,
but it still hit hard. The two were again thrown down to the bottom
of the seabed once more after a wave had overcome them, and Mnemosyne
broke into the fastest run she could muster with a girl on her back
and torso-high water. Lethe showed no signs of responding to the run;
she was completely cold on Mnemosyne, and almost every part of
Mnemosyne's soul was certain that she had died.
Please......don't
be...
Mnemosyne
shut her eyes tightly as she ran, anticipating the water to return as
she huffed her way through the shallow water. She readied her breath
for when she needed it, and held Lethe tightly to her, secretly
vowing not to let go again.
Several
minutes passed, and nothing happened as Mnemosyne made her way
towards higher ground.
How...?
Mnemosyne
pondered it, but set it aside as good luck, or at least an act of
providence. One of Mnemosyne's flaws, unfortunately, involved an
ignorance of acquired knowledge, as her planet scorned decadent
culture – at least, that was what Mnemosyne and her forested
people had specifically called the resulting cold cities and stifling
industry of Lethe's forgetful masses. As a result, she knew little of
physics, let alone what had happened to water when it wad heated
immensely.
The
rock that hit had been a very large piece of her own planet, and had,
in fact, smashed away a side of the valley and boiled the water that
had been in that part of the river. It was fortunate that the
partners had not been closer to the epicenter, as they would have
been incinerated. But Mnemosyne knew nothing of her luck as she
attempted to climb the sandbar with Lethe on her back.
Ugh.....
The ground quaked nonstop for several minutes as Mnemosyne slowly
made her way up the side of the newly-created cliff. Must.....I
must go.....Lethe.....
The
cliff began to rumble again, and several pieces of rock fell onto the
two, nicking them. Gritting her teeth as her fingers were smashed
between rocks, Mnemosyne felt one of her hands slipping from blood.
We'll...make
it to the door....together!!
Mnemosyne's
hand came up, holding a tight grip on the ground. As she held on, she
felt the needle sting of grass. She crawled up, shifting and arching
her back so she could attain the position she needed to get over the
top.
“..................mmm........”
Lethe...!
The
first sign of life from her sister lifted Mnemosyne up, and not only
within the depths of her soul. The next thing she knew, she was on
the grass, and she quickly laid Lethe on the ground, looking down at
her with both worry and hope.
“...hukuh.....”
Lethe shuddered, coughing up small bits of water as she did so.
“....me....mem.....”
“Sister.”
“I........”
Lethe's eyes widened. “....a.....”
“Lethe...?”
Mnemosyne
turned to see what Lethe was looking at, and her own eyes widened.
All around them, the fog was clearing. It was not for the sake of the
location they were in; the truth of the matter was far more sinister
when Mnemosyne saw what little was left of the planet Lethe had
protected. Felt in her lungs how little air was really left for the
first time now that the adrenaline had worn off.
Time
was running out.
“Lethe.....”
“Mne.....mnemo.......syne....”
The
loud cracking sounds, forced the two into action. Beneath them, the
ground was shaking violently, and also cracking apart.
“.....Run!!!”
With
a shout, Mnemosyne grabbed Lethe's hand and began to run for it.
Lethe, however, struggled to get up, and stumbled as if she were
blind as she was led.
“The
door!” Mnemosyne threw her free hand out. “The door-”
The
two were suddenly thrown down violently by another quake, the
strongest one yet. Behind them, they could see the remnants of the
first river's bedrock hurl into the atmosphere, no longer held
together by the rapidly weakening gravity. All around them, the
ground began to jut up, and the cracks became deeper.
Lethe
shook her head as she crawled to Mnemosyne, grabbing her hand.
“Si...ster.....”
The
two grabbed each other and stumbled closer to the door, which lay
only a few yards ahead of them. They were becoming short of breath as
they came up to the tree, which was cracking as well.
“Here.....”
The frame around the door was beginning to fall apart. “...door....”
Mnemosyne
grasped the handle of the door, which felt old and thick in her
hands, and coated with rust and mold. She stared once more at the
door, her feelings and feelings suddenly mixed.
”You
must never open the door....”
For
a single moment, everything slowed down for Mnemosyne as she
remembered her mother's words. She remembered how, in her mind and to
Lethe, she had vowed to never seek, find, or open the door. She
remembered, too, how Lethe had vehemently vowed to Mnemosyne that she
would never seek the door, particularly when she had learned that the
forbidden place was located on her planet.
They
had followed their mother's wishes to the letter. At least Mnemosyne
had, up until that moment, as her hand shaking as she held onto the
handle, her mind clinging to one last doubt as to whether they were
doing the right thing. Whether it was better to die outside the door,
or to die inside the door.
”I
have nothing to lose.”
It
was amazing, Mnemosyne pondered, how far they had fallen.
*BOOOOOOOOOOM*
Several
things happened at once. Mnemosyne felt her sister's hand gasp the
other door handle, and heard the grunting as she struggled to open
her side. She suddenly felt herself pushing as hard as she could on
the door, hoping it would budge, hoping that it would open this one
time. Behind them, the remnants of the second river was blasted by
another meteor, and the shattered remains floated off towards a body
with a stronger pull.
Sister.
The
door almost seemed to suddenly burst open in front of them, just as
the ground began to finally give way. Neither sister knew what
exactly had propelled them forward at that instant – perhaps
they had thrown themselves in. Perhaps they had pushed one another
in. Perhaps the ground had quaked so violently that last time that it
simply threw the girls in during its final heaves. Perhaps someone
else had a hand in their sin.
But
as they tumbled into the darkness, upside down, they each opened
their mouths to scream at the sight before them. It all collapsed;
the ground, the mountains, the rocks, with one final snap the rest of
the planet simply fell apart right in front of their eyes, the larger
pieces connecting to remnants of Mnemosyne and breaking them apart in
turn. Debris flew into the door with them, blown in by the amazing
force that the planet's death had placed upon it, tumbling and
floating through the void past the two girls.
Sister.
At
the sight of the natural carnage that planet Mnemosyne did to planet
Lethe, and vice versa, something suddenly died within their hearts.
The light of their power as sailors, already dimmed by years of war,
conquest and slavery, seemed to snuff out at the sight of this final
destruction. Pieces of themselves disappeared in despair –
pieces of memories, pieces of their lives.
It
was unbearable enough, seeing everything taken from them within a
matter of seconds.
It's.......gone.
The
blast was powerful, and Sailor Lethe and Mnemosyne were thrown far
into the depths of the door. They were barraged on all sides by the
rocks and the force of the blast. Neither one could withstand
it, and both soon found themselves plunged into the darkness once
more, floating away from one another once more. It was the end of
their journey, and the door was indeed their doom, just as their
mother had always warned.
--------------
Neither girl managed stay
awake long enough to see the terrible emptiness of space left by
their planets as the last rocks scattered into space, never to be
seen again. It would not have mattered it they had; their hearts had
already hardened against seeing it. The shock alone of seeing the
planet destroyed was enough to abhor them from wanting to behold that
spot again.
Neither girl saw the door
as it was silently, almost reverently closed by a hand, one as small
as a human's, wrapped in white samite up to shoulders padded in
black. Nor did they see the smile at the sight of them, or hear the
voice that commanded the door, which sealed itself up and disappeared
forever. The door's purpose had been fulfilled in their eyes, and was
no longer needed after eons of existence.
“........It is
done.” The figure, looking down upon the two new charges, spoke
quietly, as if not to wake the intruders that had invaded its domain.
After such a forced entry, the next steps could wait; there was now
plenty of time to be had for what was to come. “At last.”