Epilogue

War.

Disaster.

Death.

Of everything that could possibly happen in her life time these were the three she had never hoped to see. Earth was nothing more then a smoldering planet, devoid of all life and the essentials to create again. It was barren rock now, the bodies of the living scattered or turned to ash. The rivers, lakes, and oceans were as dry as the Sahara on the hottest day of summer.

The colonized planets within the system faired no differently. One by one they had been attacked following the Earths destruction. With their protectors already lost protecting the Queen they no longer had anyone to fight for them. The other 8 went much quickly. Suffering had been minimal.

And here she stood, watching, forever afraid to stop the being she let come into existence. Afraid to take stand. Afraid to die. She was a coward. Many had given their lives- friends, family, and the innocent- to stand up against that which she lost. That which she let be born again. Deny as she might, it was her fault. If only she had been more careful.

Chaos.

Sailor Chaos to be more exact. A form taking on by a Star Seed, and not just any Star Seed, a Sailor Crystal. How the Star Seed of Chaos grew into such power she did not know.

Her place was among the cauldron. It was her duty to protect those lives, those stars, whose light would be reborn again and again. If she failed in that mission, then she will have failed the universe. As much as she had wanted to join the fight, she knew her place and stayed where she knew they wanted her to be. With her lied hope.

Hope.

She laughed at the irony of it. What hope was there with everyone dead?

It was a nickname that some called her behind her back when she had been younger. The Light of Hope. She was unsure of what that meant back then and was still unsure of its true meaning even now. She was one of many Sailors Senshi, each one with their own unique strength and powers. How and why did they deem her so special?

That answer, she would never have. Everyone who would have had an answer for it was dead. Their Star Seeds burned up and consumed by Chaos. Not only were their lives lost in the great battle to defend their planet, their solar system, but also the one thing that let them be reborn from time and time again- their Star Seed. Or in their special case, their Sailor Crystal.

So maybe it wasn't that she was afraid. Maybe she wasn't a coward. They had placed her as Guardian of the Cauldron for a reason, maybe for this exact reason, but that didn't mean she had to like it now. If Sailor Chaos came to her now, she would fight, wouldn't she? But how was she to defeat that which the Sailor Senshi could not? They were many, she just one.

It was hopeless. The so called Light of Hope was nothing compared to that of the invisible Sailor Moon, whose stories were told time and time again about her defeat of Chaos over five thousand years ago. If only she were more like the Goddess Sailor Moon. She had held the courage, the faith and the willpower, to bring down Chaos in the last stand even though she was fighting against the odds. Her team had been the first to go. But in the end, Sailor Moon won and destroyed Chaos.

But Star Seeds are reborn, for without light there cannot be dark, and Chaos represented all that was dark.

Speaking of the devil…

At last. The final Senshi. It's a pleasure to finally meet you… Mother.

"You are not my child, you perverse creature."

Oh, but I am, as are all the Star Seeds born from the Cauldron. You are the Guardian of the Cauldron, Mother of the Universe, she who allows life to be born.

"Be as that may, you are no child of mine. I did not willingly release you. Had I known what you were I would have burned your Star Seed and sent it hurtling back into the Cauldron. You have destroyed many lives, those of my friends and family. For this you shall pay."

So now you take a stand, Mother? You watch as innocents die. You watched as your own mother fought and laid down her life to protect those she held dear, and you did nothing. Pitiful. You are no better then me, no better then the darkness.

She recoiled back as if hit, stung by the very words that had been plaguing her own mind, feeling her with self doubt. Everyone was gone. What else did she have left to fight for?

You cannot defeat me. I am stronger then I was in my last incarnation. I possess a Sailor Crystal thanks to you. I have the power of Chaos and Nightmares flowing through my veins. What can you do, little lost Light of Hope?

The Senshi clad in white with a slight touch of rainbow bowed her head in despair. Yes, what could she do? She had released this thing, this monster. It grew without her knowing, consumed that which should have been born to another. The Senshi of Nightmares, that's what Chaos had called itself. Hadn't the Sailor Crystal been that of Dreams?

Sailor Moon would never…

Sailor Moon. An idea came to her suddenly. She threw her head back so quickly she was dizzy for a second. Trying not to show any weakness she glared down the form in front of her, the form that stood before her and the Cauldron.

"Sailor Moon defeated you before. She can do it again."

The figure laughed, a low deep rumble, neither man or woman. But she's dead, isn't she? Sailor Moon died a very long time ago.

She stood her ground. Sailor Chaos was right on that point. Sailor Moon hadn't been seen since the night she stood against Chaos. She had lived, as the stories go, but the history books never mentioned what happened to her afterward. Now was the time to find out.

"I don't need Sailor Moon to defeat you."

A laugh. Then what was that you just said about her defeating me?

She smiled. "If you could change your destiny, your past, wouldn't you?"

Sailor Chaos all in its dark glory seem to hesitate without an answer.

"I don't need Sailor Moon to defeat you here and now. I'll make it so you will never have the chance to be reborn again."

With that, she raised her Staff of the Cosmos high above her head. "Cosmos Power!" A swirl of rainbow exploded from the main ball of her staff, the light increasing to almost blindness. She had to close her eyes herself for a brief second to recollect her thoughts. When she opened them a second later the first thing she noticed was that the darkness had started to spill out around her, just beyond the reach of her light. Chaos was attempting to surround her, probably to finish her when the light and power waned.

She wasn't going to let it happen. She raised the staff a little more, stretching, looking up into the swirls of light, the hope that she bore. A small light near her broach started to flicker in and out. By the third flicker her Cosmos Moon Crystal had formed whole and crystalline. Using her free hand, she cupped the small jewel and raised it toward the light of her staff. The Cosmos Moon Crystal started to shine with its own power and joined with that of Cosmos.

The Cosmos Crystal. She looked upon the glowing stone in wonder. It had once belonged to her Mother its mutation then the Pink Moon Crystal, and to her Mother before that as the Silver Moon Crystal.. It held both the powers of the Moon, and now, the added Power of Cosmos. The sacred jewel was hers given to her by her Mother the day she became the Guardian of the Cauldron.

Without the aid of Pluto it would take all her power, all her strength to accomplish what she had in mind. For now, the power of the Universe was in her small hands. To protect it, she would help end it where it had begun.

"Cosmos Crystal…." With the last ounce of her energy, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the when and the where. "Power!"

The Cauldron itself seemed to explode with light, lending her its own power. The light surrounding her flickered once… twice… then she was gone.

The only light that remained was from the faint swirls of unborn Star Seeds within the Cauldron.

Sailor Chaos stood alone in the recess of the dark and screamed with fury.

***

Floating.

So warm and soft.

Sleepy.

A small girl with red heart shaped Odango hair slowly woke from her childish dreams. She yawned and blinked the sleep from her eyes a smile playing upon her face from the remembrance of her dream. Fully awake she opened her eyes. With a surprisde gasp she saw the ground rushing toward her at an alarming rate.

Raising her hand to the air as if to catch hold of something, she suddenly found she held an umbrella. Unlocking the handle, the umbrella flapped open and slowed her decent. No longer afraid, she angled herself and headed for the soft-looking yellow form below.