Part Nine: Angel Tears

Word Count: 320

The fallen bodies of the Moon's kingdom lie all around her as she freezes.

He falls. He dies. Blood soaks his clothes, and then her hands as she tries to revive him. His eyes close, and although her heart breaks and her mind shuts down, the carnage around her continues, and Beryl stands there, laughing, gripping her blade tightly.

The sword sinks deep into her breast-Endymion's sword-and she falls, determined to join him, wherever he is.

Instead, Serenity opens her eyes and finds herself floating a hundred meters above the ground, Endymion's head in her lap. She clutches the pocket watch in one hand, and his hand in the other. The tears come, as her awareness returns: is this the reason for her rebirth? To repeat the tragedies of the past?

"The Silver Imperial Crystal!" Someone screams, and she sees the crystal drop towards the ground. She stops it with a thought, calls it with her mind, and feels the power of the holy stone.

She can't accept this outcome. Not now, not ever again.

She fills him up with her bright white light, until his heartbeat is steady beneath her hand. Serenity is no longer crying; the darkness that plagues the earth cannot touch her or him anymore. The shield of power keeps them safe and holds them together.

For a little while.

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They watch the moon rise together, ignorant of the world. The fears she's held for so long have faded in the face of memory; the wall he's built has crumbled in the wake of her love.

Soon enough they'll have to face the world again. The whispering and the judgments, the pain and the insecurity. The darkness is out there, waiting for them still; the dark queen is no doubt watching and planning even now. Their trials are only beginning.

Their hands fit together just right; come what may, they'll face it side by side.

Finis