Cosmic Bane

Mina’s Tale – Part 10 -- The End of the Beginning

The next three months flew by as I was nearing the time for my little baby’s birth. Chibi was telling me that she was feeling changes in her body so she thought that her birth was getting close. I was large but I’m happy. I have been doing my exercises that the doctors has prescribed but I have to say that Lita’s food hasn’t been keeping my weight down but I’m eating for two; it’s going to be hard to get back my shape after she’s born but I will regain it. Nova has been spending every moment that he can with me and Artemis is becoming a charming companion. It’s nice to stroke him while he sleeps in my lap. The Fortress of the Warriors has become a busy place with the Sailor moving in and making it theirs. We have settled down into our domestic roles with Lita and nova doing the cooking and the rest of us performing any task that we can. Michelle is closest to me during the last two months; she sits by my side and plays her harp to soothe my nerves. Erica has “adopted” Nova and keeps him in line. I know that she loves Nova, like all the Sailors, but her training keeps Nova quiet and out of my hair at times. She has the largest potential power of any of the female Sailors but may not have the greatest power.

Terri, Sailor Saturn, scares me. She has the most destructive power that I have ever seen but Nova has develop her control over her power. Nova may be the only person that could teach her the control since he keeps his power under control at all times. Susan is a puzzle, she is nice and caring but Nova explained that she holds the key to the time gate and realized that one-day would have to be apart from the other Sailors. The cats are helping to train the Outer Sailors and developing the planetary powers. They will guard the Kingdom from forces from outside so Nova has constructed castles for them on the outer planet. In fact, he constructed castle for all of us but we’ve never been there. He must have started the castles when he was five years old to be this close to completion. I still wonder how much of the future that he has seen. Sometimes he seems so caught us in the prophecy that he can’t dwell in the present but only in the future.

Erica is a great help because she makes Nova eat right, even if she has to eat with him and me. She always has a happy look on her face so I asked her, “Erica, why are doing so much for Nova?” She sat down on my bed, “Mina, I love him, no … no, not the same way as you but when he’s not happy, I can’t be happy.” I hugged her and rested my head against her breast, “I know how you feel, and I feel the same.” Erica stayed with me until I fell asleep.

I was still in her arms when the first contractions hit. Chibi was coming out and she was scared. I grabbed Erica and she saw what was happening and laid me down on my bed. My bed, I will have my child here. It was confusion. I was shouting. Erica was shouting for Amy and Michelle. Chibi was shouting so loud that all the Sailors came running with Serena leading the charge.

Amy took control of the situation; ordering everything and everyone. Nova came to me and kissed me on my forehead. “I’m sorry, my love. I have to go outside. The Negaverse is coming and my generals and I need to protect you and Chibi.” I understood what he was saying, Chibi was the first royal birth since Serena and Nova’s and the Negaverse was not going to pass up an opportunity to hurt the Sailor Warriors. The outer Sailors wanted to join Nova but he refused them, “Please stay with Mina, she may need you and I need you here.” With those words he transformed into Sailor Super Nova and she strode out the room to meet the Negaverse in combat.

My precious one’s birth was uneventful and quick; just over four hours from the first labor pain until I held her in my arms. Chibi was a beautiful raven-haired girl who resembled Nova in all aspects from her hair to her smile when she looked at me. She was so beautiful but both of us were very tired. I didn’t put up a fight when Amy came and took her from me to check her, you know, make sure everything was in its place. I realized that Nova hadn’t returned, “Where’s Nova? Raye, Lita, please go find him so he can see her daughter.”

Lita found Nova outside the Fortress gate but soon came back to the delivery room without him. I looked at Lita, “You found him?” Lita only nodded and broke into tears, “It’s horrible, and Nova is standing by himself in the midst of hundreds of dead monsters. I can’t bear to see him in that state. You can see the anger in his stance and I never want to be on the other side of that stare.” Erica came to Lita and hugged the young woman, “I’ll go. Nova will come if I ask him”

Erica left the bedroom and as she approached the open doors to the Fortress, she saw Nova standing there guarding the doors to his home. I should say, Sailor Super Nova, as Erica described the dark-haired teenaged girl standing still among the dead but ever watchful for any more monsters. She approached her, “Nova, you must come with me. You have to see to Mina and your daughter.” The girl turned to his friend and clasped her in his arms, “Erica, thank you.”

Nova walked through the carnage of the battle, “Jadeite, find someone to clean up this mess.” Nova strode through the Fortress’s door and went to Uranus’ suite. Erica stopped Nova, “Why don’t you go see your wife and child.” Nova washed his hands, “Erica, I can’t face my family without first washing the stains of tonight from my hands.” Erica stood silently as Nova continued to wash his hands.

Slowly and methodically Nova walked the hall to his bedroom where his family was looking after his wife and child. Serena attended me and the rest of the Sailors were huddled around my precious child. My baby is the product of my love for Nova. They are the most precious things in my life. I wish my parents were here; I would love to see the looks on my father’s face when he held my baby. I was deep in thought when I saw Nova enter our room. He came to me and I grabbed his neck and gave him the longest kiss that I can remember. I held his face in my hands and kissed him again, “My love, your daughter is so beautiful. I love you.” Nova kissed me and laid a hand on my breast, “Darling, my sweet Mina, you are so special to me. I can remember ten years ago when you announced to your parents that one day that you would be the mother of my children. That day has come and I’m so proud of you.” He kissed me one last time and walked over to the mass of humanity surrounding my little girl.

As he approached, the Sailors parted and Chibi held up her hands and said, “Hold me, Daddy.” My mind was reeling but I saw Chibi, a young girl about six years old. She had aged those years in the minutes since her birth. Nova reached down to the girl and wrapped his cape around her and brought her to my side. He placed her with her head on my breast and she was slowly going to sleep with me stroking her hair. No matter what, she is my child and I will love her with all my heart. I looked at her green eyes and heard, “Mommy, I’m tired. Can I sleep here?” I held her close to my body, kissed her forehead and watched her nurse. I know that she may be a little old to nurse but she needed some food. What is better than her mother’s milk?

I realized then why Nova was so determined to defeat the Negaverse. He wants to protect all the children in the Empire as if each were the dark-haired child that I held against my breast. I think that in some ways that Nova believes that he must set himself in the front line to protect everyone.

Chibi slept most of the night; I couldn’t begin to understand how she must feel. Giving birth to her was traumatic to me but she fully experienced her birth and was comforting me during her birth. I love her so much and I love Nova. I could feel happy if all I could do the rest of my life is watching the two of them sleep by my side. I could read their dreams as they sleep and every dream was of the three of us. We are a family and we will be together, now and forever. I finally fell asleep knowing that the two people that loved me the most was sleeping by me.

Chibi stopped growing after her first transformation. She was a regular six-year-old child. Her intelligence was beyond understanding but she had all the yearning of a child. Serenity adore the little girl and would spend hours just talking to her and reading stories. Chibi was her niece and she thought the world of her and the feeling was mutual. She was worried about Chibi’s unusual growth and lack of growing up as a baby and understanding the world. “Mina, aren’t you worried about her? She should have spent the first year of life bonding with Nova and you.”

I looked at my sister-in-law, “I’m not worry, Serenity, and Chibi bonded with me while she was inside me. We had long talks together and grew to love each other.”

I looked over at Nova holding our little girl. We had to make a great decision together. Chibi was the child of two Sailor Warrior and we known that she had to have powers inside her that was waiting to get out. The problem was how do we bring those powers to the surface and teach her to control them.

Nova placed his hand on the crystal around Chibi’s neck and gave her the power of creation. I was glad, she was developing the same power as Nova but I only agreed to the ceremony if I was the person that trained her. She will need someone teaching her the use and restrictions of the powers and that person would be me. She was my daughter and I wanted to teach her right.

She developed so much in the next few months that I was actually scared that she would destroy the walls of the Fortress with her power but Nova knew what he was doing with our home and not a piece of wall was even disturbed. She is so curious about everything and has the perfect library at her beck and call. I overheard her talking to her confidant, “Artemis, why are Mommy and Daddy so protective of me?”

The white moon cat looked at his little mistress, “Princess, it started with your father’s birth. When he was born he was infused with the power of the Nova Crystal and became the Dark Queen. That day, he made a fateful decision to stabilize the universe with equal amounts of good and evil or if you wish, law and chaos. A certain amount of each is needed to ‘balance the scales’ of the cosmos. The Negaverse is gaining a disadvantage in this balance but Nova means to balance it again, even if it means a war. A war against pure evil that would take any advantage against Nova including hurting those close to him including his family.”

I saw the two of them talking in the courtyard with Chibi rubbing the cat on the back. Artemis is a good friend and protector for her; he would never allow anything to happen to her when he was around. That night, Chibi came into our room to kiss us goodnight and feel asleep in my arms. Nova placed his arms around my baby and me, “She’s growing fast, Mina. I just hope that we are up to what we have to do in this war.” He kissed the back of my head, “Promise me that no matter what happens that you will never be sad and never to give up the fight.”

I looked at him with a small tear in my eyes, “Will we … Will we be together after the war?”

He kissed me on the forehead, “I see great sorrow ahead but one day, even if it takes a thousand years, we will see peace in the universe. I see us in the far future together with the Sailor Warriors as a family.” Nova held me tighter, “The future changes so quickly; at each breathe that we take. We will always come together if we part; just remember our past because a terrible time exists between now and the future. Just keep one thought in your mind; I will love you forever.”

I didn’t worry again. Nova said that we would be together so that was good enough for me. As long as he sees peace in the future, we have a glimmer of hope.

It was hard during the first year of Chibi’s life. We began to take the offensive to the Negaverse but both sides were equally matched. Little gains or losses were realized, only the massive casualties on both side seemed to increase. Until that fateful day when I heard the name of the Unstoppable, I didn’t believe that there was a devil. Rumors poured in from the outer bases surrounding other stars concerning an unstoppable force that was decimating the unallied worlds. The rumors spread as the refuges began to come to the planet Pluto in hopes that we would take actions against the monster. It seemed to be the newest demon conjured by the Negaverse. A stone-skinned demon that could not be harmed by any weapons in their arsenals was the best description that we were able to gather. Long range scans of these planets proved devastation on a global basis. Not only was the cities destroyed, no features could be seen on the face of the planet. In fact, the planet was only, at most, ten feet from being a perfect feature-less sphere. Mountain ranges were pounded flat and oceans filled by the creature.

Nova secluded himself in the Great Library for two weeks. I could barely get him to eat during this time, let alone rest. He emerged from the Library late one day with a large book tucked under his arm. He explained that only one item existed in the universe that could defeat the Unstoppable. The weapon was called the Cosmic Bane. How do I hate that name and what it impact would be upon the Silver Kingdom. It is a blade forged in the fiery beginnings of the universe and constructed out of the first star that first shone its light upon the darkness. A sword of immense power controlled by the Nova Crystal to create a power that could destroy the universe, if needed. All, he said, was that he had to retrieve it from the Shrine of Forever. He decided that Darien would accompany him to recover it.

The night before he was to leave he was in bed with me, just holding me close to him. “Love, is everything all right?” He held me close, “Mina, I’m sorry. It’s just that I can’t see what will happen. It’s frustrating that I can’t see the outcome of the battle but I do see us together in the future so don’t worry. It’s just … well, you’re different.”

“How so?” I asked while I turned in his arms to look him in the eyes. “Well, your mind and soul are the same but you body is different, maybe more mature and I had to remind you of our life together and for some reason,” he paused, “Chibi has grandparents. It’s strange, the future is something that I have little control over and it makes me angry.” I kissed him on the lips and then on the neck. He told me things that I could not understand but as long as he saw us together, I was fine.”

It was time for our two young warriors to leave. Darien had his arms around Serena’s waist and I saw the fear in her eyes. The Shrine of Forever is a dangerous place where only a few had returned and each of them was changed. Some changed for the better from the experience at the Shrine but most for the worst. I held on to Nova as I could but soon he kissed me goodbye and handed Chibi to me. As he started to enter the ship, I grabbed his hand and held it to my chest, “Please take care of yourself. Come back safely to us.” Nova kissed his daughter in my arms and kissed me on the cheeks and lips, “I love you both with all my heart.” As the ship arose from the ground, Chibi buried her face by my neck and I heard, “It’s the end of the beginning. I wish I could see the end.”

Seven days, one week, he returned to me. I could see the changes on Darien and his face and in the way they descended the ramp. They were tired beyond understanding and I could see that Nova was sad; it was written on his face. Chibi ran to her father who scooped her up in his arms and kissed the little girl on both cheeks. I wrapped my arms around the two of them and out of the corner of my eye; I could see Serena hug Darien. All the sailors hugged the returning pair and we walked slowly to our home, arm in arm.

Darien placed the package he was carrying on the central table in the Great Hall. It was a black case wrapped banded by gold straps but you could feel the power streaming from the object. Nova placed his hands on the straps and they released the box lid that flung open. I will always remember the first time that I saw the Cosmic Bane and always dread that time. It was an ebony blade with a gold and silver handle. You could see the swirling patterns of stars blazing upon the blade of the sword. You could sense the tremendous power of the artifact but it was neither good nor evil, just there. Nova grasped the hilt of the sword and raised it above his head and it was like the universe stood still. I heard Susan screamed, “No, time is not flowing. Nova, you can’t, it is forbidden. You have told me yourself that such power could never be used.”

Nova sheathed the sword in a scabbard presented to his by Serenity and he approached Susan, “My Sailor Pluto, it has to be done. No one else can perform the task but me.” Susan nodded her head and put her arms around his waist. Nova hugged the girl back as Susan softly cried with her head on his chest. She looked straight into Nova’s eyes, since they were the same height, “I understand. I know that I can’t interfere with the present but I will save you, no matter what, I will be there for you at the end.”

Three weeks past and I have found out little from Nova about what happened at the Shrine. Serena was able to get Darien to tell her some but if the monsters and perils was half of what he told; they must have walked through the gate of hell to find the sword. He did tell Serena and me, “Mina, I can’t tell you much of what happened inside the Shrine. He wouldn’t let me enter but I saw him pick up the sword from the altar and hold it aloft. I could swear that other figures was in the Shrine with him but I could hear no voices except for Nova’s asking if it had to be this way. After a few seconds, I saw Nova fall to his knees and wept. I could feel that he wasn’t weeping for himself but the future.”

Nova called us together in the Great Hall, “My family, we must now face the Unstoppable on its own terms. We must fight fire with fire and see how it fairs against an immovable object. The battle will be dangerous but no matter the outcome remember that I will be with you always.” He hugged all the Sailor Warriors and each went to their rooms to prepare for the upcoming battle. Nova kissed Chibi and asked Amy to take the girl with her. He picked me up in his arms and carried me to our bed. Hours later, he was holding me in his arms, “Love, I wish that we could have a hundred babies. You are so beautiful when you are with child but we need to rest now. Remember, we will always be together. Your vow to me was until the end of time and time is without an end.” He kissed me on the back of the neck and silently went to sleep. My mind was racing with thoughts of him and the past ten years. I came to the moon as a young innocent girl that was trying to help her father and now I’m a young woman trying to help my love. Times may have changed but I haven’t.

Nova met the forces of the Negaverse on Styx, a small asteroid located at the edge of our solar system. Nova gripped the Cosmic Bane and shouted. “Super Nova Power, makeup.” And transformed into the young girl who I loved with all my heart. She kissed the Sailor Warriors and his generals, hugged and kissed Chibi and me, then slowly walked to the area where the unstoppable was coming. When the Unstoppable appeared, two immense cosmic forces came together in a single instant with neither gaining the upper hand in the battle. “Cosmic Nova Blast” was heard loudly over the battlefield as a wave of pure energy flew at the monster. All those around it were destroyed in the blink of an eye and the monster itself was thrown back. The monster could be stopped if Nova had enough power. I looked around to pick up Chibi but she was missing. I was frantic to find her when I notice that she was running to her father and transforming into Sailor Chibi Nova as she was getting closer. I started to run after her but Amy held me back and when I started to break from her, Erica placed herself between my loves and me.

I saw Nova and Chibi grasped the black sword and a light came forth from Nova’s crystal, in fact, two distinct lights could be seen. I realized that they were the spirits of the crystals and possessed powers beyond anyone understanding. The lights struck the Unstoppable and the area where the combatants were standing; ceased to exist. My mind recoiled from the shock. I couldn’t see or hear my family. I screamed and shouted but I knew that it was useless. Nothing remained unchanged, the universe is bond by chaos and rules. I wanted to die but Serena kept reminding me of my promise to Nova that I would continue the fight for the future but so much was taken from us that day. I still hear Nova in the night when I sleep, alone, in our bed. He says that he is still with me and will return one day. The thought that he possessed powers beyond understanding keeps me going. The last thing that I heard from Nova was, “I was waiting for you to come for us.”, and then nothing but silence.

The High Guard refused to believe that Nova was gone so they began a search for him throughout the universe. The generals grew mad with the thought of Nova’s death and disappeared one day while on Earth. Darien is still on the Moon and vows to protect it with his life. It took us a few weeks to realize what nova meant to our universe. The planets are slowly dying. Only the Earth and the Moon are able to sustain life because of the remaining power of the crystals held by the Negaverse and Serenity. Amy believed that the crystals that Nova had with him allowed life to exist anywhere in the universe so when he disappeared, I refuse to say die, the universe was without its power and slowly reverted back to the darkness.

I have to conclude this account. The enemy can be seen from my window coming to the Moon. I will defend what Nova believed in with my life. One day I know that I will join him and we will be together forever. I love you with all my heart. Take care of Chibi for me until I get there.

So ends the tale of the past. It is an endless road that they started down but as Nova said, “It’s frustrating that I can’t see the outcome of the battle but I do see us together in the future so don’t worry. It’s just … well, you’re different.” Be sure to stay tune for Mina’s Tale II.

I would like to thank all my friends that gave me the encouragement to continue and to Art who gave me a place to put the stories. Until the next part, I wish you well.

Nova