Authors Notes-
Well, your old friend Shannon here again, author of the Sailor Soldiers Legacy Moon story that is posted under a different account because I forgot my log in details. Oh well, that works for me because I get to start fresh on here with my retelling of one of the best stories of all time. That's right, the first series of Sailor Moon. I've taken a lot of liberties with the base storyline and plan on molding it into a fresh take on the classic. I hope you all enjoy it because I'm writing this one as a labor of love, nothing more. Any questions or feedback is appreciated, us starving artists love it. Thrive on it. NEED IT TO LIVE!
Enjoy.
I remember that day.
It was on that day, when the kingdom of the moon burned to the ground, that I died for the first time. I remember all of it in painfully explicit detail. The smell of the bodies burning in the fires set by the traitors of the planet earth still chokes me when I breathe in. I watched from the hill overlooking the castle as the life I was devoted to protecting was ended in one swipe. Walls fell. Towers crumbled under the power of the demon Chaos. Innocent people were slaughtered like cattle.
I'll never forget that day as long as I live…
CHAPTER ONE
The skies were burning. The destroyer, Chaos as it was called throughout the universe, was descending from the heavens as the battle for the Moon kingdom raged on below. Soldiers from both sides, the valiant knights of the royal family of the Moon and the rebellious separatists from the Earth, raced towards each other in a bloodthirsty rage.
The attack began earlier that day. Within hours the once towering monuments that surrounded the castle had crumbled into concrete piles, and the serenity that had laid over the Silver Millennium was destroyed with them.
The peace talks between the two sides had fallen apart earlier in the week. Even so, no one had expected anything like this to happen. No one in power on either side of the conflict were even sure what had led to this sudden war.
The sudden uprising was led by a priestess of the Earth, a brilliant and beautiful woman by the name of Beryl. Her ferocious screams echoed throughout the chaotic air, signaling her four great army to push forward and take the last beacon of hope for the royal family.
The castle of the Moon Kingdom was the last structure that hadn't been taken or destroyed by the unrelenting forces of the Earth. Inside were Queen Serenity, her daughter, a handful of soldiers, and the royal family's military tactician, Mercury.
The doors to the grand throne room were pushed open by two armored knights. Behind them followed Mercury, who quickly made her way to the queen who sat upon the throne of peace. Mercury kneeled before her queen, a polite but unnecessary gesture in these last days of the kingdom.
Serenity nodded at her advisor.
"What news do you bring from the front lines?" she asked.
Mercury looked away. She did not need words, her face said it all.
"Venus has reported that the courtyard will be breached within minutes. The earth's army seem to be possessed. They are attacking without caution or concern for their own lives. Our soldiers are no match for their sheer numbers."
Serenity sighed as she stood up. She made her way to a window where she watched the bloodshed continue from a distance. Her eyes turned upward to the demonic formation of debris and darkened storm clouds that were consuming the horizon on all sides.
"Chaos has driven the people of the Earth to do this."
Mercury nodded.
"I believe the same. The Destroyer has corrupted the planet itself and covered it in darkness. The people fighting right now are nothing more than mindless monsters. They are being led by Beryl, the self proclaimed queen of the Earth. Second only to her are the four warlords Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite, and Jadeite. They are leading the assault on the outskirts of the sea of Serenity while Beryl herself is making her way towards the castle. Mars and Jupiter are at the sea protecting the citizens that survived the initial attack, while Venus stands guard at the gates here."
"This kingdom will fall," said Serenity in a calm voice that was forced.
"Yes, your highness. It will."
"There is nowhere left to go, my queen," called out a familiar voice from behind Mercury.
The hopeless individuals in the room turned to face one Queen Serenity's guardians, the strikingly handsome silver haired Artemis. He rushed into past the guards and hugged Serenity, who held on to him tightly with crystallized tear drops falling from her blue eyes.
"Artemis…it will finally end."
"I know," he said softly as he let her go.
"Where is my daughter?"
Artemis looked towards the hall.
"In her room. She's terrified. Luna is trying to calm her down, but…what can you say? How do you tell someone they are going to die? Especially like this."
Serenity shook her head in disbelief. How did it come to this?
The monstrous destroyer Chaos had come from the sun itself it seemed. It devoured the stars and planets themselves as it made its way towards its next victim, the center of the galaxy, the moon. It was thought to have been an unthinking creature at first, but research had shown that the monster was capable of thinking adapting. So what was its purpose? Why was it doing this!?
"This is no way for us to meet our end. There has to be a way. The silver crystal will be our salvation. I was entrusted with this incredible power to save and defend, I will not lose the fight now! Mercury, go back to the war room and hold the enemy as long as possible. Artemis, follow me. We must figure out a way to stop this monster."
"Yes, my queen," said Artemis and Mercury in unison.
In her lavishly decorated private room, the young maiden that shared the same name as all women had in her bloodline, the princess Serenity, laid crying into the lap of her best friend and personal guardian Luna.
"Have faith in your mother. She won't let anything happen to you my dear."
The younger Serenity looked up at Luna with red strained eyes. They were a painful reflection of the dread and hopelessness that had consumed a once peaceful empire.
"How can you say that? So many people are dead. People I knew! People I loved! They're all dead and I don't even know why!"
Luna was at a loss for words. She herself had no clue as to what was going on. But the girl was right. People were dying. That was all that mattered. Lives were being snuffed out as easily as candles without rhyme or reason. Though the people were resilient and continued to fight on despite the overwhelming odds, it was all for nothing. There would be no miracle this time. It was a thought that the guardian had tried to block from her mind to no avail. She put on her best face for Serenity out of compassion for the young girl, if nothing else.
"Sometimes things happen without good reason. Humanity is flawed and people do things that we cannot comprehend."
"Luna…" Serenity said with a shaky voice that showed less of her mature royal side and more of the fact that, at heart, she was just a scared little girl. "I don't want to die."
With that the young girl burst into tears. She had only cried like this once before at the funeral for her father. The princess respected her father and tried her hardest to keep her emotions inward for his memory. She never thought she'd feel pain like that again. But now her world was falling apart so fast she couldn't even keep up with the misery. She couldn't control the tears if she tried.
Serenity collapsed back into the arms of Luna, who could do nothing but pet the poor girls head as the world around them came crumbling down.
Then, like a rose of hope cutting through the darkness, his voice called to her.
"Serenity!"
Luna and the princess looked up to see the valiant prince of the Earth, the handsome young Endymion, watching the maiden with loving eyes.
"Endymion!" she called back to her lost love as she ran towards him. The seconds between them seemed like eternities to the young lovers. When she could finally touch that which was golden to her she wrapped her arms around him with the hopes of never having to let go. The two shared one last kiss that would echo throughout time.
Luna smiled. Even in what would be their final moments together they could find solace in their love for each other. It made her happy, though her heart ached. She wished she could see Artemis right now and be held just the same way. But such loneliness came with their responsibility. She just worried that she might never see him again, and that was more frightening than any other fate imaginable.
Serenity stared into the eyes of the man she loved. She was distraught but overjoyed. Terrified but calm. His eyes told a different story. He was as serious as she had ever seen him. There seemed to be no time for rejoice. No moment of release for him. He brought news that would mark the beginning of the end for them all.
"Beryl and her army has broken through the courtyard to the castle gates."
Serenity's heart sank. She backed away from her love and fall onto her bed. The moment was gone. Hope was dead.
Prince Endymion turned to Luna and drove the final nail.
"Chaos has begun to devour the Moon."
At the Sea of Serenity, the royal knight Jupiter and the lone warrior Mars held off the onslaught of the Earth soldiers with what was left of their own army. Things looked their bleakest.
Jupiter looked up at the swirling storm of Chaos and followed its form to the section that had burrowed itself into a part of the Moon that lay somewhere in the distance. Rock, buildings, and even corpses were sucked into the swirling void as it made a line across the kingdom, scarring and shattering the ground as it continued to consume.
"This is the end!" said the buxom woman in shining silver plate armor. "What a lame way to die!"
Mars glared at the girl through the raven colored locks of hair that hung over her left eye.
"I don't plan on dying here. Are you going to fight or lament?" she said as she took a defensive position and held her incredibly long sword up.
Jupiter brushed the bangs out of her eyes and smiled.
"You take the fun out of battle, you know that?"
Mars smiled back at her.
"But when you're right, you're right." said Jupiter as she raised her rapier up as a signal to what was left of their troops. She looked over the wave of enemies that was heading their way and laughed to herself. She saw the four generals of the Earth, Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite, and Jadeite in the distance. If she and Mars could battle their way through the countless soldiers in front of them they'd get a shot at the best warriors in the entire galaxy.
"This should be interesting!"
With a final battle cry she pointed her sword at the enemy and the entire platoon screamed out as they made their charge. Behind them were the survivors of the initial attack and the last living people of the Moon. If the two generals were to fall here the Moon would surely be lost. There was no 'if' in this situation though. They would fall, as would the entire kingdom. It was just a matter of time before everyone was dead. The question they had posed to themselves was would they accept their fate or fight it until the last breath was cut from them?
It goes without saying what their answer was.
Jupiter knocked back opposing soldiers with her heavy gauntlet, piercing their chests with her rapier as she ran right into the middle of the fight. Around her soldiers from both sides of the fight were falling to her feet. She dodged, parried, and stabbed to death countless people she had once fought for. She was a true warrior that had gone from a child prodigy to a legend on the battlefield. The people of Earth would have known what a mistake they were making by stepping in front of her blade if they weren't shells of what they had once been. With little to no effort she continued to slice through her enemies while heading towards the four warlords that sat atop their horses in the clear behind the battle.
The shogun Mars stood defensively and let the enemy come to her. When the fools fell into her trap she used her long curved blade to split them in half in one fell swipe. Whereas Jupiter took them out one by one, she preferred to destroy eight or nine at once. Once one wave was down she would move forward and repeat her performance. She was incredibly fast and wore little to no armor to slow her down. Her arching swing required as little resistance as possible and the minimum clothing she wore served as a bonus to her dexterity as well as a distraction to her enemies.
Mars and Jupiter cut through the Earth soldiers left and right as they made their way to the generals. What they didn't pay attention to was the fact that all of their own troops were now dead and they were the only ones left to defend the innocent.
"I want the tall one with the curly hair! Just my type!" she called out to Mars while pointing to Nephrite.
Mars shook her head in disbelief.
"This really isn't the time for your hormones! They may be mindless drones, but don't underestimate the lackeys!" she said in a moment of irony.
She didn't notice the Earth soldier that had survived one of Jupiter's piercing blows picking up his sword for one last strike. While she was trying to keep her longtime friend alive that same soldier summoned all of his strength to stand and lift his blade and stab Mars right in the back.
The dark haired beauty's eyes widened as the sword came out through her stomach. She fell to one knee, allowing another soldier to approach and run his sword through her chest and out her back. Another approached to the left and in a moment of pure rage Mars let out a painful scream, gripped her grand blade and made one last strike, beheading the soldier that originally wounded her and cutting the other two in half. She took her final breath and fell face first to the ground.
"NO!" shrieked Jupiter at the sight of her best friend laying in a pool of her own blood.
Enraged, she began to fight without sense or strategy. She hacked, slashed, and stabbed anyone that stood in her way. Dozens fell every half of a minute in her charge. She was so angry that she didn't feel one of their blades slide under her breastplate and into her chest. She didn't feel the slash to her leg that forced her to stumble as she fought. She couldn't even feel the razor sharp sword slice across her throat as she forced her way to the warlords.
She stood in front of the four of them and raised her sword to do battle.
Kunzite, the long haired leader of the four, climbed off of his horse and drew his blade.
"It's a shame your life was wasted in a place like this. I've never seen such a will to fight." he said in a deep booming voice.
"Why are you doing this?" Jupiter asked as she held her hand over the blood pouring out of the gaping wound in her neck.
"We will be ruled over as slaves no longer!" called out Jadeite.
"You immortals will no longer watch us struggle and die from your paradise!" added Nephrite.
"Beryl will create a utopia for all! Not just for her own selfish bloodline!" yelled Zoisite.
Jupiter laughed before coughing up more blood.
"You fools! Chaos will destroy you all and everyone else! If we had worked together we could have found a way to stop this!"
"Why would we want to stop it?" Kunzite asked with a grin. "This universe must be cleansed. Chaos has come to save us all. Of course the Moon would want to stop that. Why share power?"
"You're all a bunch of…fools…." Jupiter began to whisper as her life faded from her. She fell to her hands and knees and began coughing up what seemed like every ounce of blood in her body.
Kunzite walked calmly over to the prone girl and raised his sword high.
"I hope we meet again in another life. I want you to know I take no joy in this tainted victory."
With those final words he swung his sword downward, lopping off Jupiter's head. Her lifeless body fell over beside it, and the innocents that she had died for prepared themselves for the most brutal of ends.
At the gates to the castle, the first knight Venus dropped to her knees. Mercury had just told her through communicator that both Jupiter and Mars had fallen in battle. Her best friends were gone. Her home planet had already been consumed and devoid of life by the monster Chaos. The tall gates that kept the enemy out were about to fall and in a matter of moments the castle would be breached and they would all be overrun with soldiers.
"Why? Why are we being punished?" the golden haired valkryie asked rhetorically.
"Venus!" called out Artemis as he ran from the castle doors.
Venus didn't look at him. She stared forward as she lost the feeling in her hands and her legendary sword fell from her hands. She felt like she couldn't move. Had everything she fought for been pointless? Who was to blame for this? Those who have power and keep it for themselves under the promise of peace, or those who seek it to become equal?
That was the question that had burned right to her soul. That crystal was to blame for all of this…
"Venus, the queen has a plan to save us all!"
The words snapped her out of her own little world.
"What?! How can she possibly save us now?"
"The silver crystal! She's going to use entire power of the crystal to seal away Chaos and purify the souls of Earth's warriors!"
Venus couldn't comprehend the power behind that crystal. She loathed it.
"This isn't the first war to be fought because of that damned thing…is it, Artemis?"
The guardian was confused. Why was his trusted associate acting so strangely so suddenly?
"I don't understand!"
Venus stood up and gestured towards the entire scene-the gates that were moments away from coming down, the senseless killing that was happening everywhere around them, and the monstrous entity called Chaos.
"THIS! All of this! Why is this happening? Is it because of that crystal? Because of Queen Serenity? Why did this have to happen to so many innocent people! Why won't she tell us what's going on? I am not going to sacrifice more lives for her! If she has the unlimited power that she claims to have, why has she allowed Chaos to destroy my planet? My friends? MY FAMILY?!"
"You sound like you've already given up! Venus, you are the queen's royal guard and Princess Serenity's personal protector! You've used your sword to defend their beliefs for years! Don't give up on them now, not when they need you most! You've believed in them and trusted them your entire life. Don't lose that light now, I beg of you!"
Venus sighed and picked up her sword.
"You're right, Artemis. I am sorry. I just don't want anyone else to die, Earth or Moon. I want things to be like before. That's a fools dream now, isn't it?"
Artemis nodded.
"Yes. But hope isn't lost. The queen says she can save us and I believe in her. I will believe in her until my dying day. She's going to sacrifice herself to save all of us."
Venus stared at Artemis with eyes of admiration.
"You were always my great friend and ally. And before I die I want you to know that while I devoted my very soul to defending the royal family, I have loved you my entire life."
"Why are you telling me this now!" he answered in a voice that bordered on anger.
"I don't think I'll ever get another chance to say it." she said with tears in her eyes as the gates came crashing down behind her with a thunderous boom. The war cries of a hundred warriors cut through the silence as they stampeded towards the castle doors.
"Venus…."
"Tell Serenity I'm sorry. I've given my entire life to her and asked for nothing in return. This is the last time I use my sword in the name of the queen.. "
Before Artemis could say anything, Venus had turned to the army thundering towards her and charged into them with her righteous blade. She soon disappeared into a tornado of violence and screams. Artemis couldn't see the end for the holy knight, but he knew she would be dead soon. But her sacrifice would give Queen Serenity the time she needed to call forth the power of the silver crystal and finally destroy the devourer Chaos. It had to be done, at least, that's what he kept telling himself.
"You will not die in vain, Venus. Serenity will keep her promise." he said as he walked calmly back towards the palace amidst the chaos.
I will never forget my last moments. I gave my life so that others would live and tell the tale of the Moon Kingdom's destruction. I wanted my death to be the end of wars. That was my greatest wish. However, that was not the case, was it Serenity? I find myself alive again, a thousand years into the future. I don't know why I've been revived, but I'm not the only one.
High atop one of the buildings that look over the River Thames in London, England, a silent figure watches the growing storm overhead. The figure pulls the hood that hides their identity back to reveal the face of a beautiful blonde teenage girl. She looks up into the dark clouds as rain began to pour down onto her.
"Chaos is coming." she said to the man standing behind her.
Artemis, once the proud guardian of the queen of the Moon herself, stood beside the girl and looked out towards the ferris wheel that laid motionless in the distance.
"Serenity could not seal away the destroyer forever. In her final moments she sent us all forward to the future to live once more."
The girl shook her head.
"Why, to relive the pain? To die once more? I won't let it happen." she said as she stood up and pulled her hood back over her head.
"Venus, wh--"
"Don't call me that." the girl said, cutting him off. "My name is Mina. That woman is a ghost. I am no longer a knight. I am a normal girl who wants to live a normal life and not watch her world be destroyed again because of others greed."
Mina didn't have all of her memories back yet, but she knew enough. She knew what she had to do.
"What are you going to do?" Artemis asked.
"Find the queen's daughter. Put an end to this before it can start again. The crystal is the key. Chaos hungers for it, you said that's what Serenity told you personally."
Artemis nodded.
"Yes. The power of the crystal would sustain his life for an eternity and give him unlimited power. That's why it is imperative we find Serenity's daughter and keep her safe from the forces of darkness. We've been revived and Chaos has found the location of the crystal once more. We have to act quickly. Its already got Beryl and her dark kingdom looking for her right now. Reports of strange phenomenon have been pouring in from all over the world lately."
"You're right." said Mina in a subtle British accent. "We have to find her, kill her, and destroy that crystal before everyone else."
"Mina!"
The blonde girl turned towards her old friend and stared at him hatefully.
"I won't let this world end up the same way mine did. The Silver Millennium was destroyed and it should stay destroyed. If Serenity really wanted peace for us all she would have done the same. She was blinded by love for her daughter, but I am not. I will do what I must for the sake of this planet. If the princess won't give up her royal heirloom willingly I will pry it from her cold dead hands."
Artemis knew how serious she was. In a way he agreed with her. But there had to be a better way than this. Would he really have to betray his promise of protecting the princess to save the world?
"Where are we going?" Mina called out as she continued to walk across the tall building.
He had no choice. He had to find the princess. The forces of darkness were already on the move. He would have to make a decision on where his loyalties were at a later time. He couldn't let his sense of honor allow the world to be destroyed once again.
"I did some research and found that unnatural energy began to pulsate in Tokyo, Japan, but they've moved to the United States. The princess was reborn at the same time as you and isn't even aware of who she really is. Queen Serenity left the crystal to Luna with the mission of finding her daughter and giving it to her in our present time. Luna has been tracking her down and has found her location somewhere in California."
"You feel guilty about using Luna to find her, don't you?"
Artemis nodded.
"Yes. I haven't told her…your plans. If I did there is no way she would help me. She still believes in the queen."
Mina took one last look across her beloved London. She grew up here. She was going to live a normal happy life here. She was going to fall in love, go to college, and make a life for herself. But fate was always cruel to her. She was just a teenage girl now, but the fate of the world was in her hands. She wanted no part of it, but in all honesty it kind of felt natural. She could not turn her back on her destiny, no matter how badly she wanted to.
"Let's go, Artemis. If I stay here any longer I won't be able do this."
Artemis stared down at the ground. He was ashamed at himself for bringing this on the poor girl once again, especially now that she had a shot at a free life. He knew it was the only thing she ever wanted.
"I'm sorry."
Mina kept walking. She couldn't stop or turn around because Artemis would see the tears streaming down her face.
"Me too." she whispered to herself.