"Oh, just to thank you for that small bit of information. That woman worked perfectly well for Mother. She was quite pleased, although it didn't last very long. Funny, how that works," she addressed Urania's question with a tight smile. She had ignored whatever retort Thalia had given now with Urania here.

"I'm sure you're aware by now that our little contract is just about up," she said, her cold eyes gazing down at Thalia, pressing the blade into her shoulder. She pushed just hard enough
to break the skin. She enjoyed watching the small trickle of blood run down the girl's smooth tan skin.

She glanced at the screens. Mother had sent in her puppets already. She mindlessly put more pressure on the blade, considering the scenes before her.

"I'm sure you are up for one last task, correct? Then you are free. It's a good thing you came around to us when you did. I don't think you would have survived."

Atropos gave Urania a level look, giving one last push, the sword pushing several inches deeper.

"I believe some of your friends might need a little bit of "help".

She glanced back at Thalia as she called out her name, understandably in confusion, but she did not respond, returning her gaze back to Atropos and only motioning with her hand for her to stay quiet. She listened at the dark senshi's words, though it was hard to remain level-headed as she could see through the corner of her eye that she was hurting Thalia with her dark blade even as she spoke.

And then she started pushing the sword even further in, which was her breaking point. She could not deal with that any longer. "Scutum Luminis," she whispered the incantation as she pointed her right hand towards Thalia's shoulder. Her shield of light should materialize right around the sword, preventing it from going further in but allowing it to be withdrawn if Atropos tried.

"Thank me? Now, in front of her? Such convenient timing," she remarked. "You're quite observant, I suppose. No matter. I see why you wanted to know about Erato. Getting us to kill her aunt was a new low, even for you, but it all worked out in the end, didn't it?"

With her hand steady to keep the shield up, she continued. "One more task, huh? Offer them your kind of help, I take it? Sure," she shrugged. "If you let that one go. You see how well things go when we work together. Must you make things harder than they have to be?"

Sailor Clotho relaxed slightly as the conversation between her elder sister and this other sailor soldier continued. She didn't quite follow whatever Atropos spoke of, but she recognized easily that her sister had things well in hand. Right now she'd only be an annoyance if she interrupted. How many times had Mother herself reminded them that children were better seen and not heard? It was clear from the tension shimmering in the air, something she could sense regardless of her visual impairment. She waited, watching, ears listening keenly. If anything happened, she'd be ready with an counterattack of her own, but for now... she trusted that Atropos knew what she was doing.

Didn't she always?

Information? Mother? What was Atropos talking about? Why was she so... friendly towards Urania?

Contract?!

She screamed as the blade began to push deeper, breaking her skin, as she flailed in her attempt to free herself of the strings.

What did Atropos mean? One last task? Came around to them? Her gaze flicked back and forth between Urania and Atropos, still not understanding. As the blade forced itself in even deeper, suddenly a shield exploded around her, blocking the way. It was Urania's shield. So it was her. She was helping... right?

"What are you talking about?" she asked, shaking her head. "You gave information... about Erato? Is that how they got to her aunt?"

Denial pushed its way to the surface. No, this couldn't be right. This woman couldn't both be her Urania and... a traitor.

She was talking about sparing her in the same breath as working together with them. With the enemies!

"Urania, tell me this isn't true!" she demanded. Maybe Urania was trying to trick the enemies? Maybe she was playing a long con? But even so... she had still caused the death of Erato's aunt. And now... now she was going to help them some more?

She stared at her partner's eyes, trying to determine the truth there, begging her to tell her this was all just a misunderstanding. Or maybe it wasn't the real Urania at all.

Calliope's mind had gone as numb as her arm. This other version of her was as relentless as she remembered being. For every step Calliope had taken to maneuver herself out of the way of many blows, her double would take three. It was a battle of words-cries for mercy from Calliope-and many turbulent insults from the other. The most Calliope could do was use her only good arm and use her harp to parry the many swings and slashes of the polearm that came too close-and she still wasn't catching it every time. Calliope's arms were covered in scrapes and bruises-doubly so on her legs. Every movement ached as the battle continued.

And no matter which way one would look at it, Calliope was losing.

As Calliope landed from yet another swift strafe to the side, the crescent blades of her opponents weapon striking the ground for the umpteenth time, more screens appeared on the walls. This time, they highlighted Sailor Erato, Sailor Urania and Sailor Melpomene. Calliope's heart felt the smallest bit lighter upon seeing them; only to be replaced with shock upon the remaining members of her team-those who's lives had been claimed.

Calliope touched the screens lightly as she whispered their names. Had they truly been alive all this time, or-

Calliope felt a burning sensation as she'd been struck with a blade, this time leaving a fairly deep gnash in her side. Her fuku clearly did what it was meant to do, as this was clearly a kill-shot by the look of shock in her opponents eyes-but that did not stop the full range of the injury. Calliope nearly slid to the ground, but seeing all of her friends on-screen in the wall in front of her kept her on her feet, as unsteady as they were.

"Thy keeps getting distracted by these...women." Her opponent narrowed her eyes as she inspected the images. "Tis your team? Your raiding party?" Her face twisted into a smile. "Feast your eyes, Caecelia! For they do not care about you!" She gestured widely with her weapon at the various screens.

"For each is searching for the other! Some have found whom they have been searching, others continue! Yet doth they look for you? Hath any of them called your name, as you have theirs?" 

Calliope, her posture in a trembling state, could only watch the screens. The others were talking. They were fighting, They were calling the names of others. They were trying to reach each other for support.

Her double had made a horrific point, one that jabbed at Calliope's heart as though a blade had pierced through it. 

Nobody had called her name. Not once had someone asked if she was okay. It didn't look like they were even looking for her, either. 

And Sailor Cosmos was still nowhere to be found.

"Thee had taken thy form for them." He double continued. "Hath received magic for them. Refuse to hold a weapon for them. Yet, what shall they do for you?"

Atropos veiled eyes narrowed as she felt the shield on her blade. The little fool sure thought she was clever. Well, cleverness needed to be taught a lesson. In hidden retaliation, Atropos tightened the squeeze and increased the energy drain of her strings.

"Observant, you say?" she pursed her lip, slightly amused, "What makes you think that? Though, I supposed I am."  Urania then gave her a proposition, a silly one at that, but Atropos could humor the girl. Hearing Sailor Thalia's disbelief was pleasing. She withdrew her weapon and released the strings, the red demonic lines disappearing immediately.

"You're quite right. Why make things harder?" she said nonchalantly, "Clotho, could you please accompany our guest? We want to make sure everything is of the upmost quality."

Go ahead, kill all of your friends. It wouldn't matter in the end anyway. All that was waiting for them was the primordial darkness that Mother sought.

Quote :

The darkness of the maze suddenly lifts, allowing the senshi to make their way towards each other if they so wish, tracking each other by voice now becomes possible should anyone wish to try.

Erato threw open what felt like her hundredth door that day, only for her eyes to land on someone she thought she would never see again.

"Terpsichore," she whispered, her voice trembling. Seeing the young girl, looking so scared and alone, made Erato rush to her and pull her into an embrace. "I can't believe you're alive," Erato said, hugging her tightly. There was so much she wanted to say, to make sure Terpsichore knew how sorry she was. But how do you apologize to someone who you left alone to die?

All of that blame had been on Erato and Calliope. Calliope! Where was she? She needed to see this, to see that Terpsichore really was okay!

Erato dropped to one knee, holding Terpsichore by the shoulders and looking into her eyes. "Terpsichore, listen to me - my entire being is sorry for what happened to you. There is no excusing it, there is no justifying it. I was a coward and I should have kept you by my side. It was my fault - everything was my fault. I hope that someday, if we ever make it out of here, you can forgive me for what I've done. And if not, well...I understand."

The blonde senshi was temporarily distracted by the screens around her, her eyes floating from each one. Calliope, still alone and putting up a valiant fight against some illusion of herself. Melpomene, with...Polyhymnia?! Euterpe with Lachesis, holding on for dear life. Thalia and Urania together, as always, with Atropos and Clotho. Erato knew there was nothing she could do to help them, and she was about to tune the screens out, when Urania's words reached her ears:

"You're quite observant, I suppose. No matter. I see why you wanted to know about Erato. Getting us to kill her aunt was a new low, even for you, but it all worked out in the end, didn't it?"

For what felt like the hundredth time that day, Erato's world seemed to shut down around her. There was no Terpsichore, no screens, no walls of darkness surrounding her. It was only Erato, lost and alone in a world that had betrayed her.

No, it wasn't the world that had betrayed her. The world, and its light, had only ever gifted her with wonderful and beautiful things. Her parents, her friends, her company, her life, her senshi. It was Chaos, and the things Chaos could do, that betrayed her. It was Urania, and those wretched Sisters, who had betrayed her.

Everything Erato had ever loved or known was gone, and it was Urania's fault.

Coming back to reality, Erato slowly turned her head to look again at Terpsichore. The girl seemed to real, so alive, right beneath her fingertips. But Calliope was facing an illusion...Melpomene seemed to also be facing some twisted version of Polyhymnia. Could it be possible that Terpsichore was a fake, too? Had her apology fallen on dead ears?

Annoyed, Sailor Chaos contemplated on what damage to deal her counterpart when, abruptly she remained silent.  She was silent while Cosmos watched her soldiers struggle with her little puppets and her 'daughters'.   Her smile grew even more, focusing a little on the lovely scene with her daughters and Thalia and Urania.

That was delicious in and of itself.  Though she eyed Calliope's fight. The poor dear.  Chaos chuckled to herself, deeply, watching the soldier struggle. Oh that poor little star.  Never could outrun her past, could she?  Then again, it's not Chaos's fault for that one. After all, it was merely what was, wasn't it?  That one was steeped in such darkness and thought she could escape her grasp just because she teamed up with Cosmos.  

How rich indeed.

"Never mind anything I said, Cosmos."  Sailor Chaos glanced at her, "Since you won't listen to me anyway."

Her eyes went over to the screens.  Oh yes, she had heard the immovable senshi's utterance.  In this darkness, she heard much.   Watching her break in this way was a bit elegant in it's own right.  Her hand twitched, though, the need to do something was there. The longing to drag her claws around that pale throat and squeeze the life of it was a familiar one.   A savory flavor she recalled from some point..time?

She had done that before, but now was not the time to reminisce of lovelier times and flavors, she purred, almost, watching this.  "Your soldiers were so very useful." She said mostly to herself. She knew Cosmos didn't listen- so might as well enjoy herself. "Polyhymnia is particularly brutal, I might add. Who knew that faith removed would do such a thing?  And goodness, Urania! Well, isn't that a beautiful surprise? Such a pragmatic little star!"

Her smile widens, showing a little fang, "And little Terpsichore sobbed so-! It was heartbreaking, I tell you."  She held her hand out, "But I must admit, Clio was a true gem in all that."

The shadows parted from in front of them and the one that was once Sailor Clio appeared.  She looked normal- in fact she looked better off than the other two that had died. Easily able to pass as normal, the former Cosmos soldier looked upon them with a blank expression.  She walked forward, and went to Sailor Chaos, though she stared at Cosmos with what could only be described as a faint curiosity.  A puzzle in which she couldn't solve.

Sailor Chaos brushed the taller one's hair back, " It's cute, how you think everything I've done was at random and not strategically done thanks to her."  She turned her head and shrugged. "You've always lacked imagination, Sailor Cosmos- the Light was never very imaginative anyway."  She chuckled. Not that the other woman would reply, she had come to expect that, "What's the use of power if you don't use it?"

This time, she made it so Calliope could hear her as she spoke- well, really they all could.  "The Power of Lambda can save every one of these soldiers from their misery. You could be rejoined with them. You could end their suffering so easily, Sailor Cosmos, but you do not!  You just stand there, a coward, crying prettily for their suffering and their eventual deaths. Just like you could've saved your fallen comrades at any point and time- but you did not.  You have never made any effort to ease their suffering since they stood by your side and you continue to do so."

No, she didn't have to speak to Cosmos, she could speak and whisper to her soldiers that were going to die for her. She could, very well, speak to them of their leader's cowardice. Their leader's selfishness.

"Why, Soldiers of Cosmos, won't she come for you? Why won't she use those immense powers to help you?  You're crying for her- I can hear it, and yet she makes no effort to battle me!  She makes no effort to even convince me of saving any of you!  And for her alone, I could- no, perhaps I would- spare one of your lives if she asked.  Yet she doesn't.  Has she ever used her true powers? Truly?  You know the answer to that.  Your light, your beacon of hope has abandoned you in your hour of need."



----

Sailor Melpomene's attack struck or it worked half way as Polyhymnia recalled the terrible things she had done before the time with Cosmos and even during.  Yet, it seemed the former soldier would not be deterred from her task.  Sailor Chaos demanded blood.  If there were no gods, then it was only just to give what she could for the only person that seemed to have cared enough to bring her back. The darkness birthed her to life and it has done so once again.  The Negative emotions she felt fueled her- fueled her heartbreak and sorrow more than it should.

She wasn't paralyzed by it, but she still tried to attack her again, eyes blinded by tears. " You were right, Mel!  You were right! All those times- you told me I shouldn't have been so naive. I shouldn't have put such blind faith into gods- you were right!" It sounded bitter, angry, her voice that called to the other. "And now, there is only but one true ending for us all- the darkness beckons, Melpomene.  The light cast me aside and left me but the darkness gave me life! It revived and born me anew!"

She began to sing, a song that was dark and foreboding, trying to drown out Eutrepe's sweet song. It was hard, because she was the only one to sing, but also because it was no longer as beautiful as it once was, yet still alluring in it's own right.

"The fossilization of Time is the Universe’s graveyard
The Power of Darkness stashes Death away
The wanderings of the Darkness
have been cheated out of their end
Conceal it and make a vow
and we should accomplish our dreams

The Darkness sneaks up on the Light…
(Light and Darkness)
The Light is born from the Darkness…
(Nothing can separate)

The Darkness has nothing, that shouldn’t be!
Within the depths of us
A hot, dazzling fire is ablaze!

Proceed the Destruction! To Humanity!
Proceed the Destruction! To the Earth!
For the glory of the entire Universe!

That last was more of a screech than an actual musical note.  One that scratched her throat, obvious she was straining, trying to stop Melpomene.  Chaos will have blood.  A sacrifice would need to be made.

Spoiler:

-----


Terpsichore's eyes widened, still shiny with tears as she heard Erato's heartfelt plea.  She nodded to her words, rubbing her eyes with a sniff.  It was then she also heard the others, she heard Polyhymnia and Melpomene.  She heard of Calliope- another who had failed her.  She even heard the voice of Chaos, chilling in her tone.

And she turned her face back to Erato, innocently staring up at her. She was real, wasn't she? Warm and smelling of sweet summer as she usually did. Everything about her, expect for her paleness, should seem right.

Without another word, Terpsichore hugged Erato tightly, her lips curved slightly in a smile.  
"I forgive you, Sirena." She told her quietly, but her little hand held a wicked dagger that appeared and without pause, she attempted to stab her with it. "I forgive you for failing me so badly.  Leaving me alone, by myself in the darkness, bleeding to death."

The smile twisted into something sinister then. Eyes, that were once cheerful and delightful, became dead when any would look upon it.  

Indeed, Terpsichore was real- as real as a body could be, under Chaos's power.

Spoiler:

The carnival of sorrow could now begin. Sailor Lachesis stroked her slender fingers along the bleeding girl's face. "How tragic.." She stood up, and faced away from the blonde girl. Her crown, once a beautiful display of flora, was now a perfect representation of what the world brings - death. 

It was a shame for such a beautiful voice to be squelched out. But this, this was what she wanted. 

She grabbed the blonde siren's neck and raised her to the sky. "Is this the bright future that was promised to you by Sailor Cosmos!?" She mocked, spatting to the ground. She was disgusted that anyone could believe in such a folly. With her free hand, she raised her hand to the girl's side. She contemplated ending it all here with Mea Culpa, but would that really be fun? Was the girl's suffering sufficient enough to quench her thirst. Should she make her suffer more? Or make herself satisfied by killing her immediately in front of her comrade. 

She went with the obvious choice, the one that destiny had handed her. After all, it was up to her to decide the measure of the life one lived. And this time, she had full control without her sisters getting in her way. She was free to kill without Atropos bossing her around. She was finally in control. No one telling her what to do, no one deciding who dies, only her. It was a wonderful feeling. 


She finally struck Euterpe with her venom as she grasped her neck tighter with her long coffin nails. She drew blood, causing her to go into a trance like state. She peppered the girl's body with attacks, putting more anger and rage into the next as the last one. She wanted to destroy her beyond recognition.

Blood splatter was everywhere. She kept her hanging onto life, so she could feel each and every blast. As she felt the warmth on her face, she desired for more screams. She wanted the others to feel the anguish. Her laugh echoed throughout the dark space they were in. "Soldiers of Cosmos! Are you watching this parade of madness! Are you happy now that this is the future that you've all prayed for!? Everything you have done has been for absolutely nothing!"

With that one frenzied statement, Sailor Lachesis threw Euterpe down to the ground, and readied her attack. With one final form of disrespect, Lachesis spat onto Euterpe's face, stepping on her mid section. "Die!" Sailor Lachesis kissed Euterpe on the cheek, and placed her hand over the blonde's heart. Cradling her head on Euterpe's shoulders, she whispered into her ear. "Mea Culpa!"

The sharp strings pierced their way into Euterpe's flesh. She hoped everyone was watching. As the strings made their way into her heart. "Any last words, my beautiful flower?"

Words blurred in her head as blow after blow was dealt, her ears rang, but she knew her friends were still there. Their voices were loud and soft, but no one was screaming, so that meant they were still okay, right? Lachesis's fingers stroked her face and she cringed away from them, never knowing when to expect a soft caress or claws, but rather than dig in to her skin again the clammy hands left her. She struggled but managed to suck in a fresh breath: it was time for the chorus again.

"Give me the strength to carry on!♫" 

But before she could deliver the second line those hands were back, pulling her up by her throat, her feet dangling off the ground. Her airway blocked she couldn't continue, but she hummed the tune regardless against that hand, the sound gravelly but still somehow melodic. '♪With all our love, we can't go wrong.' Her hands reached for Lachesis's, the venom in her veins making it harder and harder to move, but still she tried to wrap her hands around the other's wrist to push down and ease the hold on her neck. Blood pulsed in her ears. She had to keep singing. If she stopped, they'd worry. Was this the bright future Cosmos offered? Cosmos never offered a bright future. They fought to earn a brighter future, no strings attached! But she couldn't speak. She could barely breathe. She choked, the hum of the next line pathetic but there. 'Only together we face the fight♪.' 

Long, uneven nails bit into her skin and what remained of any resistance in her was drowned out. Her hands fell to her side, too heavy to manage, and Lachesis struck again and again, harder and harder, with more and more rage. She couldn't feel anything anymore. Her head swam, her heart thudded dully. Everything hurt. Nothing was okay. 'Nothing can stand against our might.'

When she paused, it was to laugh and yell. Euterpe could not understand what she was saying beyond the thick fog that coated her consciousness, but she knew she was being used against them. To try to scare them, or hurt them. That's what Lachesis would be doing. 'With all our strength the battle's won.' Finally the Fate released the hold on her throat, squeezing one last time before throwing her down. She hit and bounced and struggled to catch a breath, the aching pound of her head barely lessening with the cold air that tore at her throat and lungs. Her breath hitched and she coughed, tasting blood. It was good that they couldn't see her like this. Something wet and hot landed on her cheek. 'With all our love we can't go wrong.'  

A heavy foot stomped onto her stomach, sending colors into her sightless eyes - she smiled. Colors. Her friends. Like that rainbow earlier over that city. 

'Die!' Lachesis said and relief washed over her. It'd be over soon. She got a kiss goodbye, a hand over her heart. She felt the other's head on her shoulder, like an embrace, and whispered words slithered into her ears just as the final line of the song should have been sung: 'We have the strength to carry on~'.

At the completion of the spell, threads pierced the flesh surrounding her heart, hot and sharp and somehow more painful than everything else she had endured. They seemed to roughly weave their way around her ribs, surround her still-beating heart and pause at its surface, trapping it like a vice but hesitating to pierce it. Why was soon answered - a call for last words. Part of her wanted to tell her that she forgave her; she didn't know if she meant it or if the thought came from the earlier realization, but she knew that anything she said now would come out as ringing true and that would mess with them the most, right? To show that still the light they followed forgave the actions of even Lachesis. ... or she could go out singing - repeat a line from Carry On, and serenade the Fate to the very end, just as she had sarcastically requested.

But Lachesis didn't deserve her final words. 

Her friends did. 

Picturing that rainbow and all the friends that worked together to make it, Euterpe wheezed in a breath and threw everything she had left to project her voice around her tormentor to deliver the message to the people that meant the most: "I love you guys!" 

She braced for it, squeezing her eyes shut. She wasn't alone. They were with her, and soon she'd get to dance with Terpsichore and sing with Polyhymnia and listen to Clio's long and boring stories. She'd watch over Cosmos and cheer her on! Eventually everyone else would join them - way down the line. She'd apologize to Calliope for not holding her own, and tease Urania for finally breaking down to sing a song with her. She'd hug Erato and ask her about her wedding - she was bound to get married and live happily ever after with someone when they got through all this. She'd make mischief with Thalia around the Galaxy Cauldron's huge expanse, poking their heads in where they didn't belong and escape before anything bad happened. And Mel - she'd hang on to Mel for days and days and days to make up for leaving her behind. Oh, Mel - someone'd make sure to cheer her up, right? To bring her sweet things and pull her into dances and encourage her to sing and include her by describing the stuff she couldn't see really well? Meela winced. She hoped she wasn't close enough to see her aura; she wanted Mel to think she was brave and happy up until the end. Even if she was actually scared. Even if everything hurt so much. Even if she desperately wanted to be there with everyone after all this was over. Even if she didn't want to die. 

The Galaxy Cauldron really was a place, right? They had been there, they had heard the stories - but the afterlife part - it really existed, didn't it? She'd really get to see them again, right?

Right?!

Sightless eyes staring straight overhead, her heart beat faster and harder in fear, expanding right into the sharpened threads. It continued to beat but it already bled, the panic expediting the process to the point that there was not enough pressure to pump blood through her veins. Whether Lachesis chose to violently end it or leave her to suffer and fade, Euphrosyne Philomela Rhoda, "Meela" to her friends, would die within a minute.

Erato's scream pierced through the air, vibrating off of the walls and echoing down the corridors. The blade was embedded deep, its hilt jutting out of her side. Her heart rate soared, and Erato's hands glowed a dangerous pink. "AMITY TEMPEST!" she screamed, sending the burst of strong energy at the newest addition to her list of traitors. Assuming that it had been enough to get rid of Terpsichore, Erato crumpled. Looking at the blade in her body, she knew there was no way she would be able to get it out without killing herself in the process. Her breaths were shallow, panicked, because she knew there was no escaping this.

Euterpe! Her magic could heal her, right?

In her last glimmer of hope, Erato looked to the screens for her fellow blonde senshi, only to find Euterpe on the verge of death. She had never seen a creature looking so battered and broken, yet so full of love and hope. Euterpe's last words, a final farewell, felt like a string tightening around Erato's heart. Tears flowed freely from Erato's eyes as she watched the girl dying, all alone, with no one to hold her hand and sing her a lullaby. Her tears turned into sobs, and Erato sat on the floor, hugging herself and crying for the lives that ended too soon.

Erato closed her eyes and took a few deep, shallow breaths before pushing herself to her feet. One hand held the dagger firmly, keeping it in place to prolong her imminent death as long as possible. She glared at the screens, hatred and anger burning in her eyes, before she began to run. She had an idea - maybe it wouldn't work, maybe it would - but it was all she had.

She was not going to die without killing one of them first.

Hearing the voices of the two Calliopes, Erato ran as fast as she could, blood seeping from her wound, over her fingers, and down her fuku to her legs. The brilliant white of her uniform was stained with the tragedies of the day, and those were stains she would never be able to lift. Her heart continued to pound, her hands glowing with the energy she had left. Her body began to feel weak as her vision narrowed, but Erato pushed onward, dragging herself along the walls to keep from falling. Finally, she reached the room where Calliope was. With a small battle cry, Erato released another burst of Amity Tempest at Calliope's clone, hoping to free her friend and propose her final plan.

"I hope...you're not...dead yet..." she breathed to Calliope, her back hunched over as she leaned against the wall. "Because we have work to do."

That look on Thalia's face - that look of shock and betrayal, it was too much to handle. If she had more time to explain to her, to talk to her. Maybe she would understand. No, she would never be happy with this; it's not as if Urania liked it either. But perhaps she could at least tolerate it, just like she did.

But there had no such luxury as time.

"Does it make any difference?" she asked her as means of reply. "If anything, it got us to the finish line just a tad sooner. " She turned to face the screens around them. "It was just a matter of time, no matter what we did. Is it because they're so much stronger, or because we couldn't communicate as a team in the end? Offering peace to the enemy after so many losses..." she sighed as she watched Erato's screen. "Or even being fooled by a fake ally when we had all watched her die... But it had been obvious for a long time. If the nine of us couldn't do it, why would the six of us do?"

Her lips formed a sad smile as she continued. "And Cosmos... where is she now? Catching up with her old friend that she forgot to mention to us? All along, we've been fighting this battle, but doesn't it seem like she's always been holding back? Did it really have to be like this..." her thought trailed off.

"So what do you want? Is there really pride in dying in vain, having accomplished nothing? We may have a future. Or we may not. It won't be ideal. It won't be the one we wanted. But if we can at least get a chance to continue... don't throw it away!" she yelled, with her cool pretense melting away as tears streamed down from her eyes. "Don't throw away your life like that! Maybe there's still a future, even in this dying world..."

She took a deep breath to regain her composure, her eyes to the side, looking at nothing in particular. "If we had never met that woman... Perhaps you could have lived in peace. For however long or short. It wouldn't have to be like this..."

She focused on Urania, trying not to get distracted by the sounds coming from all the screens, distressing as they might be. Although there was one voice she couldn't block out, and it was Chaos. She was speaking about Cosmos, about how she could save them all easily. Where was Cosmos, and what was she doing? Thalia hadn't heard her in a while. Cosmos had saved her when she and Melpomene faced the incarnation of Chaos in Alcestis. So why wouldn't she save them now? What was different?

Was Chaos lying? But where was Cosmos then?

She couldn't have abandoned them.

Urania had abandoned them.

That had seemed like an impossibility as well, and yet...

Euterpe was dying. Tears flowed freely from her eyes now, as she watched beautiful Euterpe being murdered by Lachesis. She was being so brave. Singing until the very end. Her last words tore at Thalia's heart, and she sobbed, averting her gaze. "Euterpe...! I love you too!"

Urania's words sounded impossibly cold to her ears, but she wondered if she had just never listened before. The way she was always so pragmatic, so practical... but Thalia never imagined she would commit the ultimate betrayal.

"So you have already given up," she said angrily, looking up at her partner in disbelief. "Have you given up a long time ago? When did it happen, Urania? When did you decide Darkness was going to win and there's nothing we can do about it?"

Was it after the loss of Clio? Terpsichore? Polyhymnia?

If Cosmos was truly holding herself back, she must have her reasons. Thalia believed in her.

Urania finally broke down and showed her emotions - a rare treat from her - but it didn't make the blow any less painful.

"We don't die in vain. We die for the Light. What kind of future do you speak of, where Chaos reigns supreme? Won't be ideal, you say? Try pretty freaking terrible! A world with nothing but death and destruction... do you really want to live in it? Because I'd rather go back to the Cauldron."

She shook her head, unable to look at Urania anymore. "If I hadn't met Cosmos, I wouldn't be here. I would have been dead. And we would have never met."

They would have not known the love that they shared. But now, seeing how it ended anyway... Was it better to love and be betrayed by the person you loved the most, or never loved at all?

"But maybe you're right. Maybe that would have been for the better."

Bitterness dripped from her words. Her eyes flicked back to the screens; she saw that sweet Terpsichore had stabbed Erato, and Polyhymnia was battling Melpomene. So who was to say she was even facing the real Urania? Sure, those two were dead, so it made sense, but...

But maybe Urania died, too, and none of them knew it. Maybe they'd replaced her with an impostor so smoothly no one even noticed. Maybe this was all a trick to break her down and make her join their side. Well, it wasn't going to work.

"My love... is dead, isn't she?"

Even if not physically so, if this was indeed the real Urania, than the woman she loved was still already dead.

Clotho nodded, preparing to step forward as her sister instructed. Whatever Atropos had worked out with Urania... She didn't know the details, but she picked up enough to understand what she needed to: this soldier of stars had betrayed her companions, sacrificed their secrets for some deal with their side. It was both the smart move, considering the obvious advantage of Sailor Chaos and her hold on the universe, but also one that coloured the pink-haired young woman's own opinion with contempt. Traitors... even to the "better" side... were worse than the most simpering sap of a Light-loving "guardian". Traitors always betrayed again. Traitors had no loyalty.

The veiled silvery eyes narrowed, obscured from the vision of the others. She'd see this one through, alright, but she wouldn't let her join in the end. Whatever deal had been made with her sister... well... it hadn't been made with everyone. They didn't need anyone else; together, she and her sisters were more than enough of a match for these fools who followed that useless woman in white.

Sailor Clotho focused her attention, summoning her weapons to her hands as the golden one and the navy one whined and argued at each other. She'd tolerate it for now, because Atropos did, but soon enough they'd have to move on. There were other "guests" to show hospitality to.

There was one thing she could do for Euterpe. Even here, trapped, tormented by the lies and assumptions of the dark form at her side, Cosmos could feel the love and faith radiating from her dear flower child. Even as the voice faded, dampening her song, Sailor Euterpe didn't give up. Sailor Cosmos wouldn't have faulted her if she did. Chaos understood how to manipulate, how to taint and twist things, and she passed this on to those who followed her. She could whisper cracks into the foundation of one's very soul, slowly exerting pressure until everything crumbled in on itself. Despite powers that might have been derided as "weak," Euterpe showed immense strength in her conviction. Cosmos felt so honored to have known her—so honored to have called her a friend.

She closed her eyes, brimming with tears for the loss, and channeled her Lambda power.

Chaos spoke of it, but the shadowed one could never understand it. She thought she knew. She thought she knew all of Cosmos' thoughts and feelings. The dark entity believed so strongly in her own worldview and opinions, projecting them onto everything around her, not even realizing that this narrowness prevented her from actual access to Cosmos. The barrier between them grew and changed as Chaos molded it herself, building it brick by brick with every decision she made about their relationship.

Sailor Cosmos adjusted the grip on her staff, although she did not need it for this action, and concentrated.

"Euterpe... Thank you... I hope we meet again, someday..." she prayed. She hoped that the blonde could hear her. Perhaps not with her ears, but maybe in her heart. She focused on guiding that beautiful, soft blue Sailor Crystal back to the only place any of them could call "home", to the Galaxy Cauldron. She carefully opened a passage for it as the wasted and tattered body slowly faded away into a shimmer of lovely blue sparkles. At least she could use this bit of her power to keep the child safe from Chaos, preventing her from conjuring another puppet.

"I am listening to you," she replied, leveling her gaze at the soldier who stood beside her, surrounded by so many visions of doom and horror, the suffering of her dear friends once again reflected before her eyes. She did not know what Sailor Chaos would allow the others to hear, probably only that which suited her own agenda. She had been here before, seen the confusion and hurt from the others as they slowly leaned towards the version of this reality outlined by the one who wished to snuff out the Light. Every action of hers would provoke a reaction. Every time she healed or protected, Chaos would renew their suffering. She did not run. She did not seek to save only herself. She hoped to keep Chaos distracted by her consuming interest, so that the woman-shaped form could not use her powers directly on those she had trapped here.

"You already know my responses. We have had this conversation before, many times, haven't we?" she replied, trying to keep her voice steady even as her eyes regarded... Clio.

Clio, who had been so fixated on recording history, and who knew so much. Clio, who complimented Urania with her serious nature, but focused on different tactics and strategies. They could always count on her to know anything about everything. She was their resource and their pillar of stability. Even Cosmos, with all that she knew, found herself impressed and fascinated by how much knowledge Clio sought to safeguard. It was a poor end for her to wind up here, in the service of those that had brought about her death and the deaths of so many others—one more notch in Chaos' belt.

"You say you would spare perhaps one of their lives if I asked, but I cannot choose one—I love them all. I would never barter or use them for my own gain. They make their own choices... and even if they make choices I don't agree with, that is their right. It doesn't change my feelings for them."

She thought of Urania when she said this, not having been deaf to the information revealed by Atropos. The poor girl... she truly thought they'd honor a deal, didn't she? She wasn't the first to have made that mistake. Whatever bargain had been struck, it wouldn't turn out well. It never did. But Cosmos couldn't feel anger or betrayal... She knew what this situation looked like: It was dire. They were losing. Chaos had conquered so much. But she also knew that surrender was not an option, not for her. Chaos would never stop shattering all of those precious things just because everyone laid down their weapons; it would only stop when there was nothing left.

Cosmos knew that Chaos paraded these blank-eyed figures in front of her exclusively to torment her. Even as the woman spoke of how great and powerful she was, even as she bragged to the poor sailor soldiers lost in this wicked maze that Cosmos could save them and had simply chosen not to do so, Chaos proved that she had not saved them. She brought back the bodies of those who had died in battle, the ones Sailor Cosmos had failed to save, and forced them to hurt those they had once loved. Chaos spoke of Cosmos dragging others into the fight, as though they could have been happy if they remained ignorant of their powers and died like so many others, even as the malevolent one actively pulled them back from the rest they deserved and assigned them to her own team, with no care for their feelings or autonomy.

She wanted to save all of them, even poor turned Clio, but she was no longer the headstrong girl she had once been. It was ages, eons maybe, since she had been that person. She didn't rush in, powers blazing, pushing herself to the edge and doubling her efforts to do it again when she reached exhaustion. She waited for the right opportunities to strike, trying to deal her blows with the least collateral damage possible. It wasn't that she didn't intend to fight Chaos; she wanted to have a chance to succeed.

It was never enough for Sailor Chaos to murder those she cared about, she wanted them as her playthings, too. Those poor dears. They had fought so hard. At the very least, they deserved to rest if they were unable to see their way to achieve the bright future they believed in. Regardless of what Chaos might have said, she did want to end their suffering, but not on her counterpart's terms.

When the white haired woman reached out a hand towards Clio, her figure began to glow with a soft whiteness, her body shimmering with that strange Lambda power. She sent forward all of the memories she could gather, all the moments of love and friendship that they had shared as a group. Everyone was represented their, with their smiles and laughter, sweet and true. The way things had been when they were all happy.

"Please, Clio," spoke the gentle voice. "Come back to us..."

OOC:

Thalia's words, her fury -- her hatred? It stung Urania to the core. But she had to push through. She had to do this for her own good, after all. "When did I give up..." she repeated. "I suppose that's a gradual process. But it is when we lost Terpsichore that made it clear. Because once more, no matter what we had gone through, everyone acted on their own impulses. The same story, all over again. We had a plan which we agreed to. And the moment Cosmos was in danger, everyone abandoned poor Terpsichore. As if Terpsichore could protect herself better. All the planning, the strategy, thrown out the window in an instant. Because we could not work as a team."

She glanced back at Erato's screen. Perhaps it was fitting that she may die at Terpsichore's hands. Perhaps it was her incompetence that initiated the countdown to the end.

And then, she all but froze at Thalia's next words.

'We die for the Light.'

She was barely listening from that point onward. Yes, she may have winced a bit as Thalia said that it may have been better if they never met, but... Was that person even Thalia, anymore? At least in the way she originally met her, back then?

She expected denial. Of course. Something like 'How can you do this to our friends? Don't you care at all about them?' That was the hardest, and she did care, and she wished she could protect them all somehow. It was certainly a choice that was haunting her. But to just 'die for the Light'?

Urania had followed Cosmos because she believed in her cause. Not because she believed she was the cause. But the way they talk about her, and her light, and everything... It sounded like preaching. And in fact, they all sounded the same whenever they talked about her. Like they had turned into mindless puppets that repeated her mantra.

She lowered her head, her expression somber. "Has that woman really brainwashed you that deeply? All of you?"

Was it hopeless? Was her mind distorted beyond repair by the woman's promises?

For one more time, Urania's brain and heart quarreled. The heart was saying that she would eventually see things for what they are, in her own accord. She just needed time. But the brain...

Perhaps the Thalia she loved was gone already, only a shell remaining, devoted to Cosmos alone. Perhaps she should just put her out of her suffering. Both of them.

Chaos rolled her eyes, " And we'll continue, many more times until either you or I shall cease to exist."  She swung her spear so it rested on her armored shoulders, leaning to the side as she watched with faint amusement at the scenes playing around her.  The cries, the swearing of loyalty to a side- it was both beautiful and yet boring in a sense. Beautiful because the moment of suffering was exquisite.  She never understood what drew her to such a sight.  Perhaps it was because a creature teared up so that felt real? Like the imminent death of another hid no falsehoods?  A person was only real at the edge between life and death. It revealed something marvelous. Their fears, their relief, their sorrows, and regrets. All in one. 

How could Cosmos not see the beauty in that?  She hummed softly at the other's words. She didn't think Lambda was hard to figure out.  A power that was as boring as its' bearer. The light was nothing in comparison to the darkness.  After all- without her, wouldn't Cosmos be nothing?  That was a thought, one she's entertained before.  What would they be without one another?   Incomplete.  That's why...

Her green eyes slid over to Cosmos and Clio, staring at Cosmos for even longer.  That's why the only way to complete contentment was for them to be one.  One in the way that she would no longer be the unfavored one.   Her lips curled as the thought came. Light was nothing but pain. It healed no one but prolonged their suffering until they come to her embrace in the darkness.  What had her children- the ones before the Fates- wanted?

Her mind rolled through the 'film' that was memory from Metallia to even that last one and others beyond them.   The thing that Cosmos would never give- no light would ever give to them:  Acceptance and completion. 

She pulled herself from her thoughts with a deep sigh. 

"You're not listening." She stated flatly, "If you did, we wouldn't be having this conversation again. And again."


Sailor Clio stared at Cosmos then lowered her eyes for the time being. Even resurrected and loyal to Chaos, she did not attack her former leader.  Did not berate her for not saving her- in fact, the soldier said nothing during the entire exchange but looked up at the screens passively with blank eyes.  Her stare continued until she felt the tendrils of power trying to purify her.  Her boy jerked back, as if to deny it- this power that was familiar and once comforting to her but felt like a burn on her skin.   Her gaze went towards Cosmos once more. 

Her voice was soft- as it had ever been- and as she spoke, one couldn't quite gauge whom she sided with from hearing her.

"It begins and ends the same."  She said, which could possibly mean anything and technically was not against Chaos at all.  "I've seen it, Sailor Cosmos. This cycle never ends. It never ends. It just continues on and on and on- for what reason? What future? Who are we saving it for?"  She shook her head, "Who are you trying to save that future for, Sailor Cosmos? For whom do you fight? Why do you fight? If you say, 'the light' then what nature is the light? Does it mean to banish and reject the darkness wholly that birthed us? What does it mean? Why do we fight at all? Why-?"

She gave a soft cry and fell to her knees. Clio was not truly a fighter- had never been in her life before becoming a Cosmos soldier, before being a Sailor soldier,  -she had been a scholar.  Fascinated with the workings and histories of the universe and complied great lengths of knowledge stored in every conceivable place. Her memory was long and good for keeping such factoids and the like. 

So, it is no wonder that she was disintegrating in pain.  Her eyes watered, not true tears but reddish ones, as she looked up at Sailor Cosmos from the floor.  She had never wanted to hurt her.  Never wanted to hurt anyone but- 

"Why?"  the soft whisper was last uttered before her body was truly gone to ash.

Chaos chuckled softly, flipping the spear to her hand, "Don't you feel pleased? Every time I summon her, she would just turn to dust after each use.  Though, to be fair, she did stick around the last few times than she had before."  She toed the dust that was once Clio, "Pity, she was rather nice to look at. Kind of like a painting, don't you agree?"

She tilted her head, "Are you ready, then? Or do you want to watch more of them suffer more for your silliness?  I mean, you could end it right now, Cosmos. Well-"  Sheepish grin, " Not end it. After all, you're nothing like her." She tsked, " That was the real one there. That one wasn't like you at least."  Soft sigh, "At least she had passion."



---


For whatever reason, or maybe it was fondness still on Erato's part for her, Terpsichore rose, injured, but angry still. A dark aura surrounded her as she pushed herself up and gave chase to Erato, finding the muse soldier had escaped her way to Calliope.   Of course.

The small soldier's eyes narrowed in disgust at the sight of them raising her hands as dark energy gathered in them.

"You left me alone to DIE!"  She shrieked, " I was by myself! Against them! And you just left me there!" Blood-like tears fell from her eyes, " And you come back, you finally came back! Then you say 'sorry' like it's supposed to fix everything?"

She tried to attack both of them again. Anger made her tiny frame tremble, thus a little less accurate than usual.  

"You left me alone, Sirena! Caeceilia! I died alone! AFRAID!" Her teeth seemed to sharpen now, " Just like you will!"

So she was blaming the others for Terpsichore's death. Thalia wondered bitterly if Urania would have done it differently if it had been her. Would she have stayed with Terpsichore? And would they have died together then?

Did any of it matter anymore?

She raised her head at Urania's next question. "I could ask you the same thing about you and Chaos. I don't know what they promised you, but you're not as smart as I thought if you believed they're not going to just lie, use, and manipulate you, then kill you anyway in the end. You have betrayed us for nothing, Urania."

She had never used this ability on an ally before, but right now Urania was no longer her ally. Thalia hummed a short tune, activating Agon, casting doubts into Urania's mind about what she was doing.

While she was distracted, she released Helianthus Tempestas at Clotho, surrounding the woman with a storm of sunflowers.

"Think about what you're doing and tell me again you're doing the right thing!" she demanded as a last ditch effort to her partner. "And when you've come to your senses, help me fight them, your true enemies!"

They would use her? Manipulate her? Of course, it was a possibility. Very likely scenario, regrettably. Of course she knew that. But it still carried better odds than the one of certain death that was the alternative. So she had to try. For her. Was that so unreasonable?

She understood what her partner did next. Agon. Having fought with her for so long, she could understand the essence of her powers. And honestly, when you are able to realize that someone is using a power to actively mess with your head, it sort of negates the effect. It can help you resist.

And so it would. But her mind was already filled with doubts. She was never certain that she was doing the right thing. The smart thing. So it was no surprise that those doubts would creep back into surface at the slightest nudge.

Perhaps Thalia was not brainwashed, after all? Perhaps it was Urania's own despair and hopelessness that led to her actions? Or perhaps she really was. Perhaps her adoration for Cosmos was way too deeply ingrained in the woman she cared for the most.

But did that matter? She was not sure if it was because of Thalia's power, or if the realization struck her on its own, but... The Thalia she knew and loved would never be okay with this. No matter how much time passed. She would never accept to live via treason, even if the blood was on Urania's hands. Sweet, beautiful Thalia... It would go against everything she encompasses.

She said it. And Urania understood that she meant it. She would rather die than live in a world controlled by Chaos.

And so she would oblige. Let them burn out together, if that was what she preferred. After all, she did this all for her. Even if she so naively thought that she would ever want this.

"If you really mean what you said..." she began speaking once more, summoning her light arrow and pointing it towards Thalia. "If you would really rather die than live in a corrupted world... Then let it be as you wish."

She held tight onto her arrow, pointing it to the heart of the woman she loved. A few more tears streamed down from her face. "I'll always love you. Even if you hate me for what I've done."

And with that, she abruptly turned on her heel and let her arrow fly straight towards Atropos.

Polyhymnia's voice haunted the emptiness around them, at once beautiful and familiar, and so very wrong. The words began to drown out Meela's song and Melpomene let the melody fall from her lips as she took in the lyrics to her once-friend's conflicted message.

It hurt. Never had she hated to hear how correct she was, and never had she wanted to hear these words from this girl. The song cut off with a screech, the words made palpable. Melpomene dodged the attack,

"This is not you, Polyhymnia. Not truly. Surely you know--" Melpomene cut the words short as her heart faltered and caught on thorns of terrible emotion.  

The petal-soft blue, so beautiful and warm and gentle even in its misery, wilted, cracked, and withered away.

Melpomene felt her heart follow suit, a part of it crumbling into dust, never to be whole again. Poor sweet Meela was gone, sharing her love with the very last of her breath. She'd fought so hard, to bring cheer and light to a darkened place. How was she to go on without the bubbling brightness of her dear friend? What hope had they, if the world could not protect such kindness? How could the universe allow some wretched and hateful thing like Lachesis to get their hands upon Meela?

The knife in her heart twisted as she knew Meela had been alone throughout it all.

The rush of resounding power of a Pyrrhic Victory mocked her suffering. It fueled her magic, strengthening her even as she threatened to break.

Perhaps if she'd simply blasted this spectre of Polyhymnia away, instead of becoming laden by past emotions and adoration for whom she once had been, afraid to truly damage her, maybe she would have reached Meela's side in time.

But tragedy is wrought by the protagonist's poor decisions, and Melpomene was no exception.

She wasn't going to make that same mistake twice. Melpomene could hear Thalia's conversation with Urania, the reveal of cruel betrayal. She could hear Erato and Calliope reaching one another and facing two of their dreaded foes. She could hear the return of even more of their fallen sisters, but their inclusion solidified her resolve. Death did not give back what it took, not without some higher power making a stronger claim.

And this was no holy place.

Polyhymnia did not seem thoroughly afflicted by her mask, and so Melpomene took it off. The Mask only amplified her own empathic sight towards what lay in front of her and, spectre or not, Melpomene did not want to feel Polyhymnia's emotions any more than necessary.

Using her growing power to her advantage, Melpomene trilled a song, quick and sharp, concentrating all of her Peripateia Chant's energy pellets straight at Polyhymnia's ghost. "Find peace once more," she said to it.

She did not wait to see if the attack found its target, she did not wait to see if the spectre disappeared. She had a different target in mind, revenge and grief strong in her heart. Meela's last song and her last burst of Pyrrhic strength pumped like fire in Melpomene's veins. "Lachesis! Come out here, you coward! Or do you only attack those who are already maimed and weakened?"

Fury built in her chest, an uncommon emotion though she'd felt it from others often enough. But this time, it was all her own creation.

Lachesis would not torture another soul, would not lay another hand on one of the people Melpomene loved. Lachesis may be sadism incarnate, but Melpomene had Death at her side, a constant companion her entire life. Surely it owed her this one favor, this one victory.

No, of course it did not owe her anything.

But she did not fear Death, knew it breathed down her neck at this very moment. She counted on its close presence, in fact, and she would welcome its cold embrace while dragging Lachesis down with her.

"NO!" Calliope shoved her double away in disgust. The couldn't have abandoned her, right? They wouldn't have dared it! Yet as she heard the final cry of love and saw Eutrope lying there, pale as porcelain on the screen, Calliope doubted her team. Her knees gave out as she fell to the ground.

None of them had made it to Eutrope-sweet, kind, playful Eutrope. If nobody was able to be there by her side, even in her final moments-what hope did Calliope have? She stared at the screens; feeling more and more empty as she saw each situation play out. Friends turned against friends, doubts of treachery, death, and the absence of the one they were truly driven by. The one who had given them hope against all despair. The one with whom they shared their forms with.

"See how they bicker like babes?" Her clone cooed, walking slowly, the metal of her weapon scraping along the ground. Calliope knew what was coming next, and she had no energy for it. 

"See how they destroy each other?" The scraping stopped. Calliope could see the shadow of her image, as shadow she'd seen hundreds of times before. A striking and horrifying image of a womanly figure, weapon raised as high as the sky, ready to be swung down forcefully onto whomever was below it.

She wouldn't dodge it. Calliope squeezed her eyes shut.


"Giving up so soon? Unsurprising. Having surrendered thy true calling for such fickle excuses of fighters-" Her double snarled and swung the polearm down. 

"-YOU TRULY DESERVE THIS, CAECELIA!!!"

Only the end did not come. A familiar voice screamed out a magical attack, and her double was sent flying to the opposite side of the room. Calliope's eyes widened in shock as an exhausted Sailor Erato slid against the wall.

Lyssarie wrote:

"I hope...you're not...dead yet..." 
"Because we have work to do."

Before Calliope could even respond, another figure darted into the room. An all too familiar figure that somehow managed to produce additional sorrow that Calliope was unaware she was capable of feeling. Bloody tears ran down her face, and her teeth grew sharp as she spat out accusations that were, in Calliopes' opinion-entirely true. 

Calliope blinked back tears, clutching her harp, and slowly stood up, facing the ball of energy in front of her. 

What her double had been saying, what Terpsichore had just shouted. Yes, it was true. All of it was true. Calliope locked eyes with Terpsichore, and turned her head gently and locked eyes with her double, who was fairly quick to return to her battle position.

"'Tis true. I did leave thee to die, a cowardly error on the field of battle-a mistake that shall never be forgiven, and will not ask to be. And I did give up baring arms to become a senshi, for those are not false. However..." She turned to Sailor Erato. "I was still desired for. Searched for. I had not been abandoned like thee hath claimed."

She pointed her harp at the black mass that threatened to engulf them both. 

"I, Sailor Calliope, will not give into despair! Moons of Basaroch, heed my cry!"

Her double stared at her, eyes wide. "You dare to call upon our planet-"but her sentence was cut off by the flash of absolute brilliant power that streamed from the jewel of the harp. 

"CALLIOPE KALEIDOSCOPE!"

Listening to the conversation unfolding between Urania and Thalia was interesting enough. The pair even seemed as if they were about to fight each other. That would have been quite delightful! Except...the pair droned on and on. Clearly, it was a tactic to buy for some time. Had they forgotten that she stood just next to Thalia where she could easily slit her throat?

While they thought they were buying some time, Atropos began quietly forming a ball of chaotic energy in her palm, which lay at her side. The palm of her hand turned just to hide the growing energy, she herself waited for the moment to strike.

Then it came. The orange suited girl began humming and sent a flurry of flowers in Clotho’s direction. Wrong move.  Atropos narrowed her eyes, noticing Urania bringing up her arrow as if to strike Thalia. As she did so, she brought her arm up, the ball of Chaotic energy still in her hand.

Foolish girls were the only words she muttered as she aimed her blast at the arrow now headed her direction. Her blast managed knock the arrow off from striking her fatally, however it embedded itself into her left shoulder. She hissed the moment the light arrow struck. Its light energy burning her flesh. What they failed to remember was that she was used to pain, and this was nothing. She had lived every single day of her life in a skin that threatened to turn her to stone and tear apart everyday. Burning, peeling and bleeding, the pain was her life.

Without another word, Atropos shifted her weight and struck out with her sword, piercing through Thalia’s shoulder. An eye for an eye, afterall. She could hear the sword squealing with delight as she felt it strike bone and come out the other side. Grinning, she pushed it until the hilt touched her skin. Once done with this Cosmos brat, she would be sure to make Urania pay, especially after attacking her sister.

Erato was panting, using every bit of strength she had to stay standing. "She's not...real," she breathed to Calliope, more confident in this conclusion now. It was all just an illusion of some sort, something that was supposed to throw the senshi off of their guard. Erato was confident in this conclusion, and any affection she had for this Terpsichore melted away.

Erato felt a wave of nausea; her body began to sway slightly as she struggled to stay upright. She just felt so dizzy and tired. Wouldn't it just be better to sleep off the pain, and escape this world of darkness and destruction for a while?

Calliope's shouted attack pulled Erato out of her haze, and she stumbled to the other senshi's side. The two had struggled in their friendship since Terpsichore's death, but part of Erato was satisfied to know that this was how their story would end. "It's only right," she said, swallowing the bile rising in her throat. "If we set her free together."

Coupling her own magic with Calliope's, she shot what would be her final blast of Amity Tempest at Terpsichore, and fell to her knees.

She had been watching Urania, waiting for the cue that they could leave, so she didn't catch the glow of Thalia's powers until the sunflowers already enveloped her body. They whirled around her, the moving colours dizzying and the sweet scent causing her head to ache. Nor were they harmless—Clotho could feel additional cuts opening on her thin, easily-damaged skin from the green leaves and yellow petals, and the few that battered against her body in this whirlwind actually hurt, as well. Still, she gritted her teeth and tried to move through it... but seemed like the more she tried to fight it, the more painful it became. The girl in navy stopped resisting, her fingers instead quickly working down her weapons. She didn't cry out when the blossoms hit her, but did her best to absorb the pain and continue her progress.

As it began to die down, her keen senses of hearing and touch helped her calibrate herself to the location of the other sailor soldiers. She caught just enough of Urania's movements to see the woman in navy fire an arrow towards her beloved older sister... already breaking the rules of whatever agreement she might have made. Sailor Clotho narrowed her eyes, aiming carefully for the traitor.

"Weighted Whorl!" she cried, channeling more energy than usual into the attack. How dare she turn against Atropos, one of the few people Clotho loved? One of the only people who ever cared about her!

Her heart ached for Clio, intensified when Chaos continued this mockery. Around her, the sights and sounds of her friends facing so many trials blended into a cacophony of voices and horror. She wished she could split herself, fracturing into multiples, able to offer a piece of herself to stand by the side of each. If only that was something she could do. They all needed her, but she could not rush to the aid of any, for who knew what would be befall any left unguarded, especially with Sailor Chaos here, waiting for her next move. Despite the jabs made about the powers that she could control, Cosmos knew that it was finite, she just didn't understand exactly where the boundaries lay. There were always consequences, if she tried too hard. It would have been one thing if the onus fell only on her; that was rarely true.

"We have this conversation again and again because we are at a stalemate," she replied, not unkindly. It was merely fact. Chaos would continue to push forward, seeking to dominate, and she would continue to push back, seeking to balance. Of course, it would not appear that way to her opponent. Whether or not they understood each other's points of view was irrelevant. Neither could back down. They fundamentally disagreed on what was "healthy" for the universe.

"I don't know whose future it is," Cosmos replied. "I just believe that they deserve to experience it. It's not about 'Light' or 'Dark'—it's about life, and love: harmony."

She could have sworn she had said these words before, but they were all she had.

"A place where they can make their own decisions and see it through."

Somewhere, some part of her mind whispered another thought. She remembered laughter, echoing in the sunlight as a group walked merrily down a path shaded with tall trees. Arms linked together, steps falling into the same familiar stride. Jokes and teasing bantered back and forth, eliciting smiles from everyone present. The days seemed endless and filled with promise. So many possibilities, just waiting for another decision or three to be made, or perhaps it was time to try something else instead. Conversations bubbled up like fountains, giving voice to ideas and prospects. There were talents to take stock of, skills to learn, people to meet, and everything opened up out in front like an epic story just waiting to be written. They were all going to be the stars.

...a dream to live happily as normal girls...

Wasn't that it? Wasn't that the dream? Hands clasped together, sharing warmth and confidence? Love, heartbreak, sorrow, joy, excitement... there was so much to experience, but it was even better alongside everyone else. They could do anything. They could be anything. No more missions. No more fighting. Life was enough—it was better than "enough".

It's what she had always wanted... for all of them...

Regardless of what offers the figure in front of her dangled like bait, Cosmos knew better than to think that Chaos had any intention of releasing her newest batch of playthings. Even if she did, how long would they be able to enjoy their freedom before the next wave came, before the encroaching darkness rolled forwards, steamrolling everything in its way. If Earth—that beautiful blue planet so precious—had been the last bastion, what could any of them expect? Where could they go? What could they do? What hope did anyone, any small voice across so many galaxies, have to taste happiness?

"She did," Cosmos admitted. She wasn't sorry for it. If that was who Chaos truly wanted, well... that wasn't someone she could be. The time for that had passed. It was over... if it had even been an option for her, anyway.

"My dear friends... I cannot stand with you... but perhaps I can lend you strength..." she thought, and the brooch on the front of her uniform began to shimmer, a reflection of the unseen illumination within her heart. For all of those who still remained, for those who still tried to keep the sparks lit in their own hearts, she channeled her power outward. She shared whatever she could, conjuring an aura-like glow around their bodies as they received it. Perhaps it could be enough to spare them in this place, even if she did not trust whatever else might await them if they survived. She was no longer the bright-eyed child who thought in absolutes, ready for "when" but never considering "if".

"Is it her you're still looking for?" she asked Chaos, blue eyes swirling like the planet she knew she would never see again.

Sailor Chaos shook her head slowly, "We're only at a stalemate because you're obstinately obtuse to what is and what will be."   The utter truth, as Chaos saw it, was that the Light was finite.  It was not as infinite as darkness was. It couldn't create things like darkness can.  It thrived only because darkness existed.  To reject that, was to reject everything.   And that's what she thought.   Wasn't it natural for it all to come under her wing? For her to rule it all? 

She clicked her tongue, then an exaggerated sigh, " Thou art a hypocrite."  She chuckled then pointed her spear at her, keeping her at arms length while around her the cries of others were almost music to dance to in a sense. Perhaps they did live up to their names as muses.   "How can you stand there and spout that you want a future where others have choices- where there's love, life and harmony but in the same breath contend it's not about light or darkness?  What childishness is that?  How can you even appreciate any of that without the other? Without realizing you need what I bring?  How do you appreciate love without hatred and jealousy? How do you appreciate even the concept of life without loss, death, and sorrow to shadow its' steps?  How do you even being to appreciate what harmony brings without discord?"

Again, she tsked, "Face it, Cosmos, you need me to exist to give you any sort of meaning at all."  Eyed her with a look that was a mixture of pity and disgust, "You just won't admit you need me.  Right now, all these horrors, all this blood shed- you needed my presence. Otherwise, what use are you? What sort of being would you be if I did not exist to destroy it all?  Just as corrupt but in a different way."

Shook her head, "Not that it matters to you, of course.  You're not her.  Maybe once, but never again, mores' the pity."

She tilted her head, finding this a bore in a way. Maybe it was truly denial? Afterall, the light she sought was brighter than this. More passionate. More- everything. Something that was truly a gem hidden on a backwater planet in the middle of nowhere.  That had been wonderful.  Truly the thing that had inspired her to push like this. 

She had believed it was Sailor Cosmos- how could it not be? Cosmos was supposed to be her counterpart, but in her eyes she now saw the woman for what she was- a fake.  She was not it. She was not The One. That light that left her long ago...

"I will always look for her." Chaos's energy began to spike, bitterness, a feeling she was both acquainted with and yet not at the same time, filled her mouth with a foreign taste that was wholly unpleasant.  "I'm disappointed, Sailor Cosmos.  I'm disappointed in you. You're not the light I sought. She was different. She knew.  She accepted even then but you?  You're nothing but a glimmer in comparison that was her light. The light I truly wanted."

Deep sigh, but the power seemed to seep in everywhere, monsters that Chaos could create began to crawl out of the walls.  Any muse left alive, would notice them. Sightless, aimless creatures that reached out for the brightness that shown everywhere.  They would not stop until they had them.

After all, they were made from failed stars too. 

"Perhaps, if you suffered more, you may gain her light."  Cat-like green eyes narrowed with a slight smile. "Maybe then you'll be worthy and not such a coward!"  

With that, she attacked Sailor Cosmos with a large power blast.


-----


Polyhymnia's body jerked at the attack by Melpomene.  Her body sagged as the previous white outfit was riddled with large holes and blood.  Yet still, the body moved with the torso much like a puppet without strings, almost lolling over to the side in an awkward way as her shoes shuffled along the dark floors, but was no longer tracking the other or rather, her body swiped at anything that came near it as her mouth continued to softly sing, over and over again, a line. 

"Light and Darkness, nothing can separate

Light and Darkness, nothing can separate…

Light and Darkness, nothing can separate

Light and Darkness, nothing can separate…"

Until the voice dwindled into noise and cries.   Polyhymnia's body shambled along among the monsters, even killing a few in her mindless pursuit now.  Whether she ever found Melpomene again or not was unclear.

-----

The problem with Terpsichore was she was both small and agile, though some of that agility had been sacrificed when she attacked Erato earlier and got hit before.  As a result, she was slower but it didn't mean she sat around for them to attack her again, flitting about to avoid getting hit again.

Only for her to be too slow to move.  One of her arms and half of her left foot was caught in the power and ripped off by it.  She cried out, clutching her shoulder where her arm had been. Blood poured and blended in with the red parts of her already stained uniform.  Her tiny body shuddered in pain though she rose again, hand already summoning another powered shard as her eyes glowed unholy.  

She paid no attention to the shadows that began crawling out of the walls. staggering towards Erato. She wasn't an illusion- no truly or at all.  

"Trying...to..kill..me again?" She glared at them but mostly fell forward, she could not maintain the power anymore and lost it in the fall. Her body became paler by the moment, "Does my death, please you?"  She couldn't stand any more, her legs were singed by the earlier attack. It smelled of cooked flesh.  She gasps, a new wave of pain but she kept pushing herself towards Erato, one hand reached out to her, "You're going to let me die alone, again, aren't you, Sirena? Caecelia?"

She stopped moving, "I hope you're dying too! I hope you're scared too!" A choked sob, "Death is scary.. I'm so alone...so alone..." The next word she was to say was voiceless but the intention was there.

Mama.

Even as her body began to turn to dust that glimmered in the darkness, she stared at Erato and Calliope, every bit a fearful child as she died.

She withstood the outburst, her heels skidding against the smooth, obsidian floor. The pain of impact almost felt welcome; in a way, it connected her again with all those other moments being experienced in this dreary place. Her fellow soldiers were all under attack, not just with words, and now so was she. This grounded her, engaging her focus and giving her something to think on. Sailor Cosmos felt the energy lick against her skin, almost curling upward like strange smoke. Despite avoiding the creation of a shield more thorough than her usual barrier, she emerged without being terribly harmed. Still, even if she wasn't battered and torn, limping and weak, she did not walk forward unscathed. This was merely necessary to keep her power centralized on the others, so that her attempt to assist her friends was not interrupted.

What kind of validation did Chaos want from her? The more she listened to the woman talk, the more it circled back to the "essential" purpose of Chaos, of darkness and evil. The need for hatred and jealousy to appreciate love; for loss, death, and sorrow to smile on life; for discord to relax with harmony... The green-eyed woman continued, each of her statements referencing the importance of herself. The dark-haired one called her names, spitting out unfavorable comparisons to those memories they both shared from different perspectives. She said that Cosmos wasn't listening, but still Chaos continued to hear only what she wanted to hear... or, more specifically, exactly what she did not want to hear.

What would Cosmos have to do to set this right? Would she have to crawl on her knees, tears in her eyes, pleading with Chaos to accept her for all her faults? Would she have to admit that she was in the wrong, that it was the Light she ushered through the Darkness that caused so much misery? Would she have to channel that former ghost, announcing proudly that love and friendship would always win the day because she believed in it, and rush forward into battle? How many battles could she "win" while still pretending that winning was ever a possibility? Did it count if the same things happened all over again, the cycle repeating? Why did they need to go through the same song and dance every time?

"I'm not searching for meaning," she replied, tinged with sadness. "Or looking for you. Or her."

"I'm searching for stability. Both Light and Dark, equally matched, without the constant struggle to overturn."

"I'm tired of fighting," she couldn't say. "I'm tired of the same battle, again and again, with the same outcome. Everyone suffers and suffers until the very end, and then a miracle restores some semblance of order, but after a brief period of rest it's time to fight again. And the battles get longer. And the hardships increase. And the period of rest shortens and shortens until the war feels eternal. Until it is eternal. Everyone is born into it... and dies in it... and they never know what it would be outside of the battle that never settles on anything."

"That's not what we have. There isn't enough of either side. It's a dull mire swirled together, moments of happiness and moments of sorrow, neither satisfying you nor me."

She watched in disbelief as even with the doubts that were surely plaguing her mind, her partner aimed her arrow at her. Was she going to kill her now? Was Thalia going to die in the hands of the woman she loved? Was this what love got her? The tears made the sight of Urania blurry, and she was grateful; she did not want to see whatever was on her expression clearly. She did not want to see the loss of love, or worse, the hatred or indifference in Urania's eyes.

How could she say that she love her even as she pointed that arrow to...?

But the painful stab of the arrow never came. Instead, Urania spun and let it fly toward Atropos. It didn't fatally wound her, but it embedded itself into her shoulder, and before Thalia could recover from her shock, Atropos' sword sliced clean through hers, assaulting her with the kind of pain she'd never imagined. She let out a pained scream, but even then from the corner of her eye she saw Clotho readying for an attack as well. She was aiming for Urania.

"No!" she cried, launching herself into the energy's path even with the grisly sword still stuck in her body. She dove in front of Urania and felt the powerful blast of Clotho's attack threw her clean across the room. She hit the wall with a painful crack - several things broke for sure - then fell limply to the ground like a rag doll, feeling like she had been turned inside out.

There was no energy left and no part of her that didn't hurt as she lay there. There was a moment when she thought she felt Cosmos' light, saw her body glow. It comforted her. Gave her peace. But she also needed something else before she went.

"Asteria..." she whispered, reaching her hand out towards her, hoping she could at least feel her one last time.

She got distracted. A fatal flaw in any strategy. Not much unlike Erato and Calliope back then, ironically, who she had judged so harshly. Atropos used her cursed sword to slice through Thalia's shoulder, and Urania could focus on nothing else but that. She prepared to summon another arrow and fire it at the oldest sister's hand in order to let go, and completely disregarded her other opponent. Atropos was not their only enemy in the room. Even if Clotho did not seem to share her sisters' pleasure towards suffering, she knew that she was not one to be underestimated.

But with her focus elsewhere, she did not see the veiled woman readying her attack. Even her voice registered in her mind with delay. She was fixated on Atropos and Thalia; she was ready to shoot again, when Thalia suddenly got up and rushed towards her. The arrow instantly disappeared from her hands, lest she risked accidentally hurting her instead, and she watched as her partner dove in right in front of her--

And then everything fell into place.

Clotho had gone on the offensive. Unsurprisingly, considering Urania pierced her sister's shoulder with an arrow only moments ago. And Thalia jumped right in front of her, and...

No.

Urania could do nothing but watch with horror as the blast which Thalia intercepted - a blast meant for her - sent her flying across the room, crashing straight into the wall. "Delphine!!" she cried out, rushing to her side.

She felt the power of Cosmos coursing through her for a moment. And, as if in direct reaction to that, monsters seemingly made of pure darkness crawled out of the walls. She quickly shot an arrow in their vicinity, aiming high, the shower of star-shaped projectiles it dropped in its path easily piercing through and destroying the creatures of darkness. Such lesser enemies were typically not a problem for them, even without Cosmos' little boost - it was when they were getting numerous that things would get dire.

They would not interrupt her now. Delphine was calling for her.

Dashing across the room, she quickly dropped to her knees and grabbed the girl's outstretched hand with both of hers. "You... you fool," she said through a pained smile. "Just because I said you can go out fighting doesn't mean you should jump at the first opportunity to do so!" she forced a grin on her face as she attempted to tease the other girl's recklessness.

But her expression then darkened. "Why would you do that... For someone like me? I don't deserve any of that! I don't deserve you... What I've done is inexcusable. I don't even know how I thought you would ever be okay with this..."

"I'm just a hopeless idiot..." she trailed off, letting one of her hands fall to the cold floor.