Let this be our Last Battleground

Nova’s Tale – Part 10

The sun was just peeking over the sill of the window. It splashed its orange-yellow light over the bed cover that was draped over us. I looked down at the vision that rested her head against my chest. Her light blue gown clung to her and accented her breasts that had grown in the past year since her daughter’s birth. She is my whole life but today was the last day that we would be together. One way or the other, I would never have her rest her head against me in this place and time. If Sailor Pluto accomplished her task, I would find myself separated from my family by a thousand years and if she fails, I just hope that my death is meaningful.

Mina looks so beautiful with the orange light glistening off her long blonde hair. It’s strange but since I have been with her, my hair has grown to match hers. Maybe it’s the closeness of our marriage or the fact that I change to a female every now and then but I have grown fond of having my hair long. I don’t wear it loose like Mina but braid the hair on the back of my head down my back. The rest of the hair is kept short or a moderate length that the precious girl laying against my chest tenderly cut. I never thought that we would have grown so close and so much in love but love came swiftly for us and our love bloomed to fill the sky.

My heart screams for me to sweep her in my arms and carry her and our child to safety but my souls tell me I can’t. Souls … most people just have one in them but I have the Dark Queen, the new one by the name of Sailor War, and mine own, or at least I think it’s mine own. It’s hard to know what I’m actually thinking in these times of absolute peace but I knew in my heart that we all love Mina. We have been together for just ten years but even day I learned to love her a little more. Maybe one day she will forgive me for the heartache that I will put her through today but that may just be a pipe dream of mine.

I feel her softly breathing against my chest. I hadn’t slept one minute last night. I was too afraid that if I did I would have missed one second of just being near her. Brushing the hair from her face, I saw those features that attracted me so many years ago. The smooth skin of her cheeks, that slightly upturned nose that Serena and she shares, and her lips that just have the right amount of pout to them. Her lovely blue eyes were hidden behind her eyelids but I can see them in my mind’s eye. I drank in all her features while she slept.

My brushing must have awaked her from her slumber because her eyes fluttered open and looked at me. A smile sprang to her face as she reached up to kiss my lips. God, her kisses will be the thing that I will miss the most but I will treasure each one that we shared. She broke our embrace, “Darling, must we fight today?” I gave her a kiss on her forehead, “Yes, my love, today is the day ordained at the beginning of time for this meeting. We can’t postpone destiny.” I saw her smile fall from her face and I lifted her chin, “Mina, don’t worry about today, no matter what happens just know that we share a future. That future may be a thousand years from now but know that I will come back to you.” With those few words, the smile returned as she arose from our bed, “Well, if that’s the case, we better get started. I’ll go wake Chibi and get her dressed.”

I looked at her walking from me. Her hips sway ever so slightly as she walked from me. She always had an air of dignity whenever she was awake even when she was alone with me. I’m glad that I have had these years with her and I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the universe. I threw the covers from me and slowly walked to the closet. I open the door and walked into that vast space. Mina and I both enjoy our clothes and for some reason, even with her transformation pen, I go through a good amount of wealth just keeping her clothed but I won’t complain because all the Sailor Warriors like to look beautiful and if money was the only thing that I had to give up for them, the price of their beauty was worth the expense. I looked at the clothes that Mina had prepared for me and as I picked them up I knew that she had picked properly. My High Guard uniform was laid on my dressing table and draped over all like a shroud of honor was the mantle of the Defender of the Realm. She wanted me to show all that the Prince Nova that went into battle today was the Nova that was the Kingdom’s champion and defender.

As I put on the clothes and draped the mantle over my shoulder, I thought about all that had happened in the sixteen years of my life and decided that I would haven’t traded them for any other memories. I thought back on the day that my love’s parent was taken from her and the hatred that I felt that day. It’s strange; today I face the most destructive force in our universe but all I feel is nothing. No fear, no worry, I feel nothing towards the Unstoppable. I don’t know if this lack of feeling is good or bad. I just know that I have to face it in combat. A combat that neither one of us can win.

The only sound that I heard in the hallway was the sound of my own footsteps. The Fortress was just waking up but no morning sounds had made their way to this hall. Even Mina and Chibi’s early morning ritual was not disturbing my solitude. As I closed in on Chibi’s room, I heard the laughter and giggling of two young girls and the soothing voice of my love, “Girls, you have to get up and get dress. We have a lot to do today and we need to get some breakfast in us.” I heard the rustling of four small feet scurry across the floor and knew that Chibi and Terri was heading for the bathroom to get ready and the heavier footsteps of Chibi’s mother hurrying them along. I smiled to myself as I reached the door to the Great Hall. Inside that hall was my destiny, an ebony blade that was as black as the fabric of space.

I entered the Great Hall with no fanfare or announcement and quickly headed over to the fireplace in the center of the room. Lying on a gold shelf, looking so innocent, was the Cosmic Bane. It was the sword that will lead to victory today if the fates so ordain but it will also be instrumental in the future if my fate led down that path. The sword looked large in my hands but I realized that its power augmented mine greatly if it accepts me as its friend. The Cosmic Bane is sentient in its own fashion like the Fortress where we stood. Everything possesses a basic of understanding; it’s just that the sentience may be so small that we could never perceive it. I unsheathed the sword from the golden scabbard, mesmerized by the sword’s darkness that held light within its confines. As I placed the sword back, I heard a soft cough from behind me.

“Nova, does Mina knows what will happen today”, came the question from one of my lifelong supporter. Ami was dressed in her Sailor Warrior’s outfit; she was dazzling in her clean white leotard and the bright blue that symbolized the underground water caverns of her home world. Ami was like her planet. She has her hot and cold side as I experienced the early days of designing the Fortress but inside her heart is as deep as those waters trapped under the surface of Mercury. She sat down in her chair at the table. I eased myself in the seat next to her, “Ami, I don’t know what will happen today. So much is still not determined even at this late date. I don’t want to upset her with the possible unfortunate outcomes.” Ami just shook her head, “Nova, Mina is your wife. You know that she needs to know everything that’s possible, no, we all need to know so we can fight on if you are … I can’t … say it.” I felt her arms encircle my neck and her cheek pressed tenderly against mine, “My Lord, you may be my liege lord but you are my brother, now and forever, and know that I love you with all my heart and I will do anything to help you today.” I held her close to me as she sobbed her fears onto my shoulders.

After a few minutes, I lifted Ami’s face, “Ami, promise me that you will take care of Mina, not matter what happens.” Ami wiped the tears from her eyes, “Nova … I … promise to always be there for her.” I dried her tears with a corner of my mantle and sent her to her room to wash the tears from her eyes. She was hesitant to leave but she turned from me and headed off to her room. I wish I could tell everyone what will happen today but I just don’t know the outcome. All I know is that one way or another, I won’t return to the Fortress tonight. No outcome that I have explored leads me back to this place after this fateful meeting.

I gathered my thoughts and slowly faded through the floor of the Great Hall. I passed through the layers of the moon beneath the hall until I reached the control chamber of the Fortress, “Fortress?” I cleared my thought and heard it answer, “Nova, my friend, I know your thoughts and you know the answer.” Yes, it’s right, I know what it will say, “Why won’t you open your doors to protect my family if I’m not here?” I could almost her the Fortress collect its thoughts, “Nova, you are my ‘control rods’. Without you the power that I contain must be dissipated into my structure. I’m afraid the power that I have to transmit into the structure will destroy anyone who is inside. I can’t contain the power of a black hole here without you in residence allowing me to siphon the excessive power into you.” I started pulling at straws, “What about Chibi? She is my flesh and blood, couldn’t she be used as the power conduit?” “No, Nova, she’s your flesh and blood but she’s don’t possess the vast power storage ability that you possess. She is a beautiful and dutiful daughter but she can’t control the power that would go into her and she would die like the others. No, this solution is the best solution, even though it will break my heart if they pound upon my doors. We have to protect them from themselves.” I knew that the Fortress was right but as I started to ascend I heard, “Don’t worry my friend, I will do everything that I can to protect them. Farewell.”

I appeared in the hall as a small ball of energy came flying from my suite. Chibi, followed by Terri and Mina, bounded across the room to jump in my arms and kiss my cheek. She snuggled against my shoulder as I started to set her down and start for the kitchen, “No, Daddy, let us cook for you this morning.” Chibi sat me in my accustomed seat and with her mother in hand proceeded to the kitchen to start breakfast. Lita and Michelle soon joined them and before long all the Sailor Warriors were in the kitchen cooking except for Erica. Erica took Mina’s seat beside me and reached over to hold my hand, “Nova, are you scared?” I looked deep in her eyes. I remember the first day that I saw her, dressed like a boy to hide herself from the female hunters of Uranus. She was scared that day when she could once again could declare her sex as female without the fear that she would be captured and held captive by the males of Uranus. Uranus is a harsh world for females with only one female child born for every ten males but that’s another story.

“Am I scared? That’s a tough question, Erica. If you mean that I’m scared that we won’t defeat the Unstoppable then I’m not scared. I will use all my power to stop it before it can hurt my family but I do know fear. I fear that today will only be the start of the beginning and not the end of the war. That’s my fear; the continuation of the war past today, a fear for the future and not the present.” Erica looked like she was deep in thought over my words but soon placed a smile on her face and trotted off to the kitchen to help the others. The smell from the kitchen was pure pleasure but soon I spotted a small raven-haired girl escape from her chores and ran to her seat beside me.

“Daddy, don’t you want to come help us?” I pulled her from her seat and into my lap, “No, Honey, I have a lot on my mind.” She hugged my neck, “I know Daddy but everything’s going be alright. I will be with you today and there’s nothing that can stand against us.” I felt so much pride in my little girl; she will be there like all the Sailor Warriors supporting me in my fight. It’s a fight that I alone had to face since I don’t think that either the Unstoppable or myself will be here at the end of the day. I held my precious daughter against me trying to enjoy every moment that I had to hold her.

Our time together was interrupted by the arrival of breakfast. Huge platters of my favorite dishes were set upon the table and a lull fell over the room as we bowed our heads to give thanks for the food. Each of us had our own thanks and we all respected each other’s moment of silence. No movement occurred until my daughter and I tried to spear the largest stack of Mina’s pancakes. I had longer arms so I won the battle but I think that Chibi held back at the last moment. Mina seated herself by my side and started to prepare her food all the while telling Chibi not to stuff her face with pancakes and about the amount of syrup that she was generously pouring over her plate. I felt Mina’s toes caress my leg as she talked to Serena about some unimportant subject. Here we were preparing for a great fight that will determine the fate of the moon and all my wife can think about was to play footsies with me.

The remainder of the morning went quickly and soon we all boarded the warship that will take us to the asteroid designated by the planet Pluto as Styx. Serenity waved from the balcony of the Palace, she wasn’t joining us. She said her farewells after our dinner last night. She didn’t want to let go of me when she left. She and … I … think about her more as mother than sister. I will miss her deeply. All the Sailor Warriors and the generals were dressed in their uniforms and my little princess was wearing her High Guard uniform. I can’t remember most of the trip except for Mina’s head against my shoulder and Chibi’s against my chest. I think they had an idea what was going to happen but they wouldn’t say it because of their fears that it may come true.

I think that I will always remember my first sight of Styx. It’s a white, cold and airless lump of space debris floating menacing against the black tableau of space. The people of Pluto describe Hell not as a place of fire but a cold and desolate place. That definition surely describes the sight that I saw before me. I felt Mina tremble as she gazed at the sight of the asteroid. For a last battleground for me, this place suits me fine. There’s nothing here that would suffer from our battle.

The ship landed softly on the surface and I extended my power to establish warmth and an atmosphere to this place. I connected the Fortress with my power so it could maintain the conditions for my family, as I will need all my power in the upcoming conflict. I raised my right hand, “Super Sailor Nova, make … up”, were the words that came from my throat and I felt the power of my transformation surround me. I stood still holding my wife’s hand in the outfit that I have become comfortable with in the last years. The bows of my Sailor suit flowed back from my body as the Fortress generated a wind blowing in my face. My long hair started to bind itself in a braid that reached down to my knees. I looked at Mina and kissed her lips.

All the generals and the Sailor Warriors came to hug and kiss me and say their blessing in their own manner. Finally, I picked up my daughter and kissed both her cheeks and her lips, “Now, princess, you mind your mother and your aunts.” She quickly agreed and I turn to the one woman that I would sacrifice the universe for and all I could see was the tears in her eyes. I wiped the tears, kissed her on her lips and whispered, “Mina, you are my soul. I will always be in your heart as you are in mine. I love you with all my heart.” Mina kissed me again and whispered her love to me. I kissed her a final time, unsheathed the Cosmic Bane, and started walking to the glow on the horizon that I knew was the Unstoppable making its appearance on the asteroid.

The ebony blade throbbed in my hand like as thoroughbred waiting for a great race. As I looked back, my family grew smaller but the bright light from ahead of snapped me back to the present. I need to destroy the Unstoppable to save my family. Figures appeared in the light with a massive humanoid dominating all the monsters that was assembled before me. A great voice boomed for the midst, “Little girl, stand aside and I won’t hurt you.” Those simple words fermented my hatred for all that stood before me. The massive being started forward crushing in its steps dozens of allies. I raised my sword towards the mob and shouted with my voice to the heavens, “Cosmic Nova Blast”.

The power of the universe flowed through my body and into the darken blade. A fierce stream of pure energy reached to the mob and destroyed all the lesser monsters before me. The blast hit the Unstoppable in the chest and throws it onto its back. It started to rise. I think that I’m in trouble because that power was my most powerful. I had to go pass my physical constraints and summon the power of Sailor War. My mind reached to the depths of my soul to join the Dark Queen to summon the primal force that resides in me, “War Destruction Power, make … up” flowed easily from my lips and I felt the wings of Sailor War spring from my back. My sword swung an arc through the stars to gather the power for the final strike. As I leveled the sword towards the Unstoppable, I felt a small hand rest upon mine. I looked down and saw the image of Sailor Chibi Nova, my beloved daughter. She gave all her energy to me combining our powers in the final strike. She smiled as she looked up, “Daddy, I always knew that we were to be together at this time. My fate is yours to share. Don’t worry we will see Mommy again … in the future.”

I smiled at my little princess and screamed the words to release the final blast at the Unstoppable, “Phoenix Slashing Light”, started the final attack where all the stars of the heavens blinked and all the light, for that spilt second, concentrated within the Nova Crystal that pulsated on my breasts. With a slashing motion, the Unstoppable issued a scream of anguish that shook the skies as the light separated its left side from its right. The energy released in the death was beyond imagination. I quickly throw two bubbles of protection. One field went around Chibi and myself and the other around the immediate area to contain the force of the blast from my family and provide them protection. I held my daughter to my breast, “It’s fine, my love, everything will be fine.” The devastation started to die down outside but I knew that if we left our protective shield we would die from the radiation released but then I saw a shimmering glow and Susan step into our small domain. I smiled at her and knew that she followed my instructions completed. By her side were my niece and my beloved wife or rather the souls that will go into the future after the defeat of the Silver Kingdom. My strength was starting to fade when Mina reached my side, “I was waiting for you to come for us.” The sight of her worried face remained in my eyes, as I slowly fade into a blissful nothing.

So ends Nova’s Tale with a bang and not a whimper. We are going to take a brief interlude from the main line of the story and introduce the Sailor Warriors before they came into their power. First up, the sailor from the planet, Mercury, find out about Ami in Meetings, Part 1, “Deep Blue Sea.”