A/N: Oh yeah, I've gone nuts. Instead of doing the sane thing and continuing an unfinished fiction, I'm redoing one I haven't written since 1999, and hasn't been edited since 2004. It's now 2009, the first of the new year at present, no less. WHAT BETTER WAY TO KICK OFF THE NEW YEAR WITH OLD STUFF THAT PROBABLY SHOULD BE LEFT ALONE?!?
Well, in all honesty and shedding any humble pretenses just for the moment, I like this story for as corny as it is, and it holds a special place in my heart. That is why I am doing this.
Partly for old time's sake, and also for the lack of anything else to replace them with, the theme songs of "Eye Opener" by Brisk & Trixxy and "You're Shining" by Breeze & Styles will still stand. Even if I don't really listen to Happy Hardcore anymore.
You don't need a disclaimer for a fanfiction. At least, you shouldn't. But I'll say it once anyway. I don't own Sailor Moon. But I do own all other fictional characters that pop up in this story.
Stars twinkled innocently, unchanging in the millennia upon millennia of their existence, in the dark depths of the skies... no, the never-ending depths of space. They were beautifully blind to everything that surrounded them, time itself being a concept beyond their simple existence. They would carry on. They would continue.
A pair of clear blue eyes, as pale as the most majestic of glaciers, gazed almost in wonder at this tranquil night sky. Her frame was graced by a simple, yet elegant long white gown that fell about her toes like water. Even as she lay, dazed and weak upon a collapsed large marble pillar, her mere presence was unmistakable as a noble. If one could ignore the destruction that lay waste to the once unmatched beauty of the Moon Kingdom, it would almost seem like the woman was posed perfectly for what would be an awe-inspiring painting, a masterpiece meant to ensnare any who looked upon it in the beauty of the goddess with almost endless waves of silvery hair... and the heart-wrenching sorrow at the end of an era.
No, she could not bear to look at the remains of her home. She was not even sure if she could summon the strength to try, even if she had dared. It was done. In her right hand, an appendage almost completely forgotten by the ruler of the once-powerful Silver Millennium, she clutched a slender wand. It was simple in its design, its base just long enough to be held comfortably in one palm, with the top being crested by the elegant swoop of a crescent moon. It was just a tool, a tool for its bearer to channel the power of the Ginzuishou, the Silver Crystal. It was fashioned to lessen the strain on those who shared the bloodline of the Celestials, the only ones chosen to harness that power.
But even so, it had been too much of a strain. No one had ever prepared for it to be used in that fashion. There was never any need. No need that anyone, perhaps even the immortal guardian of Time Sailor Pluto, could have foreseen. Or perhaps... it was simply meant to be. A shallow sigh escaped from pale lips, and eyelids fluttered sluggishly. Yes... it was inevitable, wasn't it? All that she had hoped for, all that she had achieved... it was destined for tatters as despondent as her largest accomplishments.
Innocence. Or was it naïveté? But she could not spend her last moments in regret. She had brought peace and happiness to a millennia's worth of inhabitants, and that would have to be enough.
But it wasn't enough. If that had simply been enough, she would not have carried through the deed that doomed her life to fade at that very moment. Because, even then, when all light had been dashed asunder... she still cradled hope. Hope that her only daughter...
"Queen Selenity!"
Silver strands of hair brushed softly upon one cheek as she managed to turn her head, ever so slowly, from the twinkling stars to the light brown feline that was carefully yet urgently weaving its way through the debris. Selenity's eyes softened at the Mau, one of the few inhabitants that survived the complete annihilation of their home planet so many years ago, before the start of the Silver Millennium. It was what originally sparked the Queen into action, to draw around the cosmos a blanket of peace and kindness. No planet deserved to be torn asunder by negativity and chaos as Mau once was, and Queen Selenity swore on her Crystal that it would never happen again. The Mau, enchanted beings endowed with the ability to switch form from feline to human, and their lineage were saved just barely in those few that survived the catastrophe by many planets and societies that took them under care. Those that formed life bonds with their new home took on the mark of that royal bloodline, much like the Queen's advisors Luna and Artemis had.
This Mau, however, did not belong to the Queen. A star shape marked the forehead of this one, but was far from being a foe.
"Queen Selenity!" The feline exclaimed again, worry evident in her voice as she came more within range of the fallen royal. Its emerald eyes shone with the utmost concern at the quickly weakening image of the galaxy's most renowned and powerful figure. Her breath caught in her small throat when she glimpsed sight of the dangerously dimming glow of the Silver Crystal. "You're lucky to be alive after the attack by the Dark Kingdom. I must send for help at once!"
A mournful smile from the queen stopped the cat from a hasty retreat back across the littered ground. "Always so sweet, Twilight." Her voice flitted weakly, a sigh almost immediately dissipating into the still air. "Never change that about you."
Twilight froze in horror, stepping closer to Selenity. "Don't talk like that, Queen!" Her own voice was pitched sharply in alarm. "You must persevere so that we may have the chance to rebuild-"
"No... it's too late, Twilight. I know you see it as well as I do. This kingdom... this era... it has come to an end, as all things must. Time... life must go on without this universal stronghold. The damage that has been dealt is too great." She paused to take a shallow breath, her chest rising slightly. "But I have... salvaged what I could. My daughter, her court, and even her lover Endymion have been sent into the future... to the planet Earth. They did not deserve this ending. They... will be reborn, with the chance at finding themselves and happiness."
The Mau looked down at the ground in grief but understanding. What was done could not be undone. "At least... it's over, now." Twilight said, words of assurance she hoped would ease herself as well as Selenity.
There was silence for so long that the cat feared that the Queen had slipped away, and she turned her emerald eyes to her only to see that the Queen had returned her gaze to the heavens searchingly. "For now... but it will rise again. I am no longer a fool to believe that there will be an end-all to the many forms of Chaos. I can only hope for balance... and when it arises once more, they must be prepared. Luna and Artemis will watch from a distance until needed, and only then will their past life here on the Moon be revealed."
The brown cat with the golden sheen to its fur could do nothing but stare soundlessly, trying to absorb the weight of what Selenity had said. She had hoped... all had hoped... that what had happened to Mau would never come to pass again. Yet... a similar fate destroyed the formally indestructible Moon Kingdom... and what did the future hold? She was afraid to give light to her query. It was all too much to bear. Letting her eyes refocus on the woman in front of her, she was met by a steady gaze reminiscent of the woman who was in the prime of her kingdom.
"What will you tell her, Twilight?"
The feline wasn't prepared for that either, despite the question lingering around in the depths of her mind. She didn't know. All of it was too dreadful. Duty and common sense told the Mau that she would have to report back to her own liege the extent of the damage, but the rest of her was screaming, panicking, unfocused and trembling.
There was only one thing she could tell her. The truth.
"This too, shall pass."
Queen Serenity held her gaze for only moments longer after Twilight's reply, before closing her lids in acceptance and turning her delicate head back towards the sky. "The stars are so beautiful tonight..." she whispered to herself, despite her eyes being closed. It didn't matter if she couldn't see them, she could feel them, and she knew they were there. Letting her surroundings fade away, she wished that someday her daughter would be able to enjoy peaceful nights unblemished by the scars of this life... and at least for awhile, undisturbed by any from the future. As she sent her final wish to the heavens, the crescent moon want slipped from her fingers. She never heard it drop.
