_Rivers_ _Splendor_ by passionlily

"Even the mighty river has lost it's splendor..."

Mnemosyne let the water flow through her open fingers, eyes squeezed
shut. "If I try, maybe I can forget what has happened... what is
happening..." Opening her eyes slowly, she looked around,
disappointed. "But this river of memory will never let me forget...
no matter how hard I try..."

"My planet is fading, and there's nothing I can do..." "Not
necessarily." The girl spun around, her thoughts interrupted by this
unwanted intruder. "Lethe? What..." "Never mind that. I know how we
can save them." Mnemosyne knew she meant their planets, but was
otherwise in the dark. "How..." "Galaxia." She gasped. "No! She is
a..." "Mnemosyne, listen..." "...murderer! I'll never join her!"
"Listen!" "No! She has..."

Lethe raised one of her strong hands and slapped Mnemosyne across the
face. Mnemosyne stared. "Has it come to this? Dear sister... what
are those?" She grabbed Lethe's wrist, and her eyes widened. "You...
you never..." "Yes! Look around you, Mnemosyne. Look at what your
home has become!"

"Oh, Lethe. If you only knew... Before, this land florished. Trees
grew here, animals bred here! My river..." She turned her back on
the other girl, tears streaming silently down her face. "Look at it.
The waters no longer run crystal clear, but dark and murky. It's
dying, Lethe. And I'm dying with it."

For the first time in their tumultuous exchange, the other girl
showed a flash of emotion. "What? Mnemosyne, you can't be serious.
It's just..." "No, Lethe. I can feel it. As Galaxia destroys this
planet, she destroys me with it." "All the more reason to join with
her!" "No, Lethe, I..." "Mnemosyne! I refuse to lose you!" She yelled
furiously, then, with a touch more emotion, "Mnemosyne, my sister,
please. All I want is to keep my planet... and to keep you. Surely
you know... how much I love you."

Mnemosyne's eyes closed again, but only briefly, and she whispered,
"I love you too, sister. More than anything." "Then join us. Look,
Galaxia... she promised to stop the destuction of my planet. She
swore that I would have happiness, when this war is over. Oh,
Mnemosyne... I want happiness so badly. I want to be able to be with
you. Please." Her voice had a pleading tone to it.

The first girl hesitated. "And you're sure..." "Yes! She gave her
word." For a third time, she closed her eyes, trying to wish this all
away. Opening them, she nodded. "I'll do it, Lethe. Not for
Galaxia. Not for you. For this planet." "Thank you, sister." Lethe
offered Mnemosyne a hand, and she accepted. The deal was made.

And as their hands connected, a silent message was passed between
them. "I'm sorry, Mnemosyne. Forgive me, dear sister. I love you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AN: Lethe and Mnemosyne are the twin Sailor Senshi who guarded the
Rivers Lethe (oblivion) and Mnemosyne (memory) in the Sailor Moon
StarS manga. They also guard the desert around Galaxia's palace at
Zero Star Sagittarius. Lethe, the one who was more dedicated to
Galaxia, tried to destroy Sailor Moon, Kakyuu, ChibiChibi, and the
Starlights as they made their way to the castle, but was stopped by
her sister Mnemosyne, who said that if Sailor Moon could end the war,
they should let her live. Lethe and Mnemosyne argue for a few
minutes, but finally Lethe agrees to let them pass. Sailor Chi and
Phi then appear, and kill Lethe, Mnemosyne, and the Starlights.

This fic is just my explaination of how Galaxia could have coerced
them to her side. I don't know if this is how it _did_ happen, but it
makes sense. In the manga, Mnemosyne says to Lethe: "Have you
forgotten!? The oath by which we decided to follow Galaxia, to
achieve our own peace and happiness!? Our planets were small, and
poor. It was always chaotic, with never-ending fights. Galaxia
appeared, and death and silence came to our planets. We had no choice
but to follow her. But if there is a lasting victory to the war, and
Galaxia unites the galaxy, we will have our new future, surely!"
~Lily