Chapter XI

Nephrite kneels before Queen Beryl in a deep bow, two weeks later.

“Give me your status report now, Nephrite.”

“Yes, my Queen. Six of the seven worlds have fallen and we have broken through the orbital defense and the air force is beginning to falter. Soon we will be on the ground.”

“Very good. You please me, Nephrite. How long do you feel this will take?”

“Perhaps a month to a month and a half. We far out number and out power them. What shall I do with the pharaoh?”

“Capture her and bring her to me. Make sure she watches the last of her people die and her beloved world destroyed.”

Neph bows again. “yes, my queen.”

“Dismissed.”

He teleports back to his commanding ship. He grins, glad to be complimented for once by his queen instead of screamed at. Grabbing a passing youma, he orders it to bring a bottle of the finest wine on the ship to his private quarters. He steps into his rooms and sits down at his desk, pulling out the Dark Kingdom equivalent to the Black Hole Worlds communication crystals. He sets them on his desk and triggers them. To his slight surprise, HLM answers herself.

She looks exhausted.

“General,” she says in that dry voice he’s grown so used to. “To what do I owe this,” she quirks a brow sarcastically, “pleasure?”

I miss the days when her voice was still gentle. I don’t like this new war persona.

“I’m simply checking up on you, Pharaoh. Your worlds, or, my apologies, worlds, isn’t doing that well, is it?”

“Thank you for the status report, Nephrite, but I already know that. Let me guess,” she assumes a posture imitating his, “ ‘Surrender your remaining people into the service of Metallia and live or fight and die.’ Honestly, it gets old fast.”

“I trust your answer has not changed then.”

He smiles charmingly at her headshake.

“Alright then. You already have the blood of trillions of your people on your hands through stupidity,” he laughs. “What of a few million more?”

Stars…that was low…

“You’re wrong there, General. If I sold my people into slavery, I’d be worse than you, traitor.” She pauses. “If there is such a thing.” Her eyes flash once, directly into his, just before she cuts the connection.

…and that was even lower…

He frowns and his own eyes flash his displeasure, startling the youma pouring his wine. He sends it a nasty look as he stands.

“Leave the wine and help the troops prepare for battle.”

The bat-winged monster bows and scurries off as he goes to launch his troops.

A month later, Cal, HLM and only a few others are left alive to fight Nephrite and his forces. The exhausted pharaoh faces a male youma about twice her size with claws on the tips of its wings. She’s coated in blood of both youma, people she fought to save and her own from injuries that healed themselves almost as soon as she got them.

She and Cal were the best warriors at hand to hand combat even before all of this happened. That’s why they’re the last two standing.

Ducking to the side to avoid a clawed hand, she lashes out with one of her claws and slices one of the youma’s wings. It roars in pain as it backlashes at her, snagging her just enough to open four shallow gashes on her chest. She ignores the pain and hot, metallic looking blood swelling up to join the rest of the gore covering her body. She ducks down and lashes out at the monster’s right knee. When her foot connects in a powerful blow, she hears a satisfying crunch. The monster lurches forward, right into her geld up claw. She shoves the weapon all the way into it and rips it out its side while cutting it the rest of the way in half with her other claw. She ends up standing with her arms crossed, wet with the monster’s innards and her own blood.

Hearing a familiar cry, she looks up just in time to see Cal being run through by none other than Nephrite himself.

“No!” she screams, bolting forward to catch her old friend as he falls, sheathing her claws. “Cal,” she whispers, holding her dying friend to her chest and looking up at Nephrite with accusing eyes. “How could you?” She utters in a harsh voice.

Neph stands there, just watching her kneeling there with her oldest friend cradled in her arms with cold eyes, bloody sword held calmly at his side. He says one word: “Orders.”

“Curse you…” She spits before looking down at Cal who weakly clutches at her torn uniform top.

“Pharaoh,” he whispers softly. “I’m sorry…I’ve failed you…”

She shakes her head and struggles to smile around her agony. “No need to be, Cal…no need to be…”

If anything…I’m the one who failed you…

“HLM,” he takes a deep breath, his lungs rattling as blood begins to flood his chest. He coughs, the thick red metallic fluid coming to his lips. “…I have always loved you…” He tries to put his arms around her, and she holds him close so he can give her one last hug.

“…and I you, Cal…” He smiles slightly as his body goes limp in her arms, his spirit free of his tormented form.

Oh, Cal…I’m going to miss you…

She gently lays her friend’s body down, covering him with the shimmering blanket from her own bed that she manifested to her. Standing, she unsheathes her claws and turns to face Neph.

“I never wanted to face you like this, Nephrite,” she tells him calmly, eyes flashing slightly.

He smiles charmingly, brings his sword up, caressing her cheek with the tip, and runs it down her neck to tuck it under one of the torn edges of her uniform top, ripping the fabric a little, exposing a bit more of one of her breasts.

“We can always face off in another arena, M-chan.” He grins, eyeing her up. “Being home seems to have…ah…added…a few inches to your bust line, my dear.”

She smirks. “Pregnancy will do that to a person,” she comments as she lunges at him.

He grabs her fist and pins her tight against his chest, holding his sword to her throat. His eyes narrow and flash. “You are with child?”

She holds her head up high, feeling the cold steel of his blade against the soft skin of her throat. “I am.”

He slides his hand down to hold her by her belly. “Whose?”

She turns her head to look him in the eye. “Yours.” With that last word, she disappears from his arms.

He stumbles back at the sudden flash of darkness from when HLM teleports away. His eyes are drawn to Cal’s shrouded body, and he stands there speechless for a few moments.

Stars…she’s carrying my child? How…how can this be? Why didn’t she tell me sooner…? I need a drink…

The first thing HLM sees as she rematerializes is Diana in profile as she converses with Prince Endymion and Queen Serenity. She tries to take a step, but collapses from the weakness and vertigo.

“M-chan!” The red-haired Earth and Moon warrioress cries as the Pharaoh of the doomed Black Hole Worlds falls. HLM’s fingers scramble for a grip on the ornamented chest plate of Diana’s armor as she catches her.

“Gone,” the distraught young woman whispers as the Queen and Prince join the two on the floor. “My beautiful home…my people….gone…”

She lets out one last heart rending sob before darkness takes over.

Nephrite is on the warship, in his private quarters as they speed back to the Moon kingdom.

A baby…

He’s getting drunk again.

I’ll be a father…

He finishes off his third bottle of wine.

…wait…no I won’t….a child can’t survive in the Dark Kingdom…

He knocks back another glass before leaning forward and resting his head in his hands.

…and the stars are saying this child will die before it can be born…

He pops the cork of his next bottle, looking down at the arm of his new throne; the same dark, sparkling throne that HLM sat in the first time he saw her after the war started.

HLM awakens as soon as she’s lowered into the soothing warm water. She sees Diana and Sailor Mercury over her. Diana gently holds the traumatized young woman’s head above the water while Ami’s hands gently prod her stomach for any internal bleeding.  The blue haired senshi looks into her black and green eyes with shock.

“Do you know about the baby?” She asks in her soft voice.

Diana’s eyes widen at HLM’s weak nod.

“I’m about four months along.”

They just stare at her for a moment as she shifts to sit up and bring her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. Diana rests a gentle hand on HLM’s shoulder and Ami softly sweeps a wet lock of hair out of the young woman’s face as she begins telling her story.

“The night before the first attacks, Nephrite came to my rooms to let me know he was back. I…I guess that we were so glad to see each other that, well,” she dips her head down to her very slightly rounded belly, “you know. I…I’d missed him so much! I don’t know if he really felt the same way, but…but I thought he did. I don’t know…all I know is that I’m carrying his child and…and it’s the heir to seven dead worlds…” Tears slide from her eyes, making little splashes when they hit the bathwater. “…that…were…destroyed…by…its father…!” She breaks down into sobs.

"Oh, M-chan,” Diana whispers softly, giving her a gentle hug. “How about you let us bathe you, tuck you into bed, let you get some rest and we can deal with all of this in the morning?”

“O…ok…just one thing…”

“Hai?” Mercury asks.

“D…don’t tell anyone just yet…N…Nephrite only found out just before I came here…I’ll tell the others myself…”

The two women nod, help the raven and scarlet haired woman out of the tub and wrap her in a warm towel with soothing hands. They gently dry her off and brush her wet hair free of snarls. Finally, they let her lie down in bed and gently tuck the covers around her.

“See you tomorrow, M-chan,” Diana says softly.

“Thank you…thank you both so much,” HLM whispers just before the two of them leave with soft good-nights. She sobs herself to sleep.

The infant gazes up at her with big, ice blue eyes as she suckles at her breast. A long fingered hand comes to rest on the baby’s velvety auburn peach fuzz hair.

“She’s beautiful, M-chan, ”Neph says, sitting down next to her in the nest of pillows she’s curled up in.

"Hai,” black and green eyes sparkle happily, cuddling close to her husband with their daughter. “I didn’t think we’d be able to raise the little one together…I mean…what with the war and all.”

Suddenly, the soft house kimono that Neph wears disappears, replaced with the dull gray uniform of the Dark Kingdom before he abruptly disappears as well. The cozy nest of pillows is replaced with desolate wreckage and the Earth slowly rises over the bleak horizon. HLM herself now wears her ragged battle uniform, and the baby is wrapped in a tattered blanket.

She looks down at the warm bundle in her arms, tears in her eyes. “What happened?”

To her amazement, the baby answers in a soft voice, “The war happened. I’m sorry, mother…I won’t be born in this lifetime.”

HLM stares open mouthed at the beautiful child cuddled close to her chest. “What…?” She whispers.

“…maybe you will see me in the future,” the baby girl whispers before she too fades away.

HLM gasps as hot blood pours out of her belly from a huge gash that suddenly appears. She looks down at her now bloodied hands and whispers very softly, “Why?”

Chapter X
Chapter XII
Life Between Worlds Index