One day I was trying to find some good Sailor Saturn fan fiction and I came across next to nothing. The collection is very minimal, so I got upset enough to write one of my own. After I completed my fic, I turned to browse through the Crossovers section and got REALLY inspired.
So here we are with To Sate the Thirst of Chaos, inspired by both the fic I wrote for the Sailor Moon section and Sailor Ra's Randomness. Naturally, I had to make this a ROMANCE, because there just isn't enough romance going on for Saturn. Be aware, though, that some of the politics in this fic is similar to Simple Feelings.
Let's just hope I'll update this often!
1
Ages had passed since the fall of Neo Crystal Tokyo, and centuries had gone by through fighting the darkness that was Sailor Chaos. For many seasons after, many star seeds had faded alongside the ashes of vast castles of the Milky Way. It was no surprise then, that only Eternal Sailor Moon had been the last to remain, a light so bright that even Chaos had been careful to touch. In a last desperate attempt to end it all, Eternal Sailor Moon had called upon the power of the Cosmos Crystal and wore, willingly, the helm of Sailor Cosmos and the weight of her fallen comrades. A touch to the Time-Space Door and she had flung herself back to the Twentieth Century with the determination to destroy the Galaxy Cauldron to finish, not only Chaos and herself, but the whole of life together. For she had thought, at the time, that no life was worth living when her home was in ruins and her beloved were mere ghosts whom Chaos had left to haunt her with.
But faced with her Twentieth Century self, Sailor Cosmos had been reminded why, exactly, Chaos had hesitated to destroy her when she had been Sailor Moon. Not only had her light, the Silver Crystal, been blinding to the touch, but the lights, the Star Crystals, of those she held most dear and close had made her almost impenetrable. It had been precisely why, precisely for those Star Seeds of her beloved, that Eternal Sailor Moon had selflessly tossed herself into the Galaxy Cauldron and had selflessly allowed life to continue, even with Chaos, for she had understood… there could be no life if there was no death, no light if no dark, no happiness if no pain.
Thus, equipped by the lesson she had learnt from her younger self, Sailor Cosmos returned to the distant future and braved Sailor Chaos once more. She had called upon the Star Seeds in the Galaxy Cauldron and, with her own – with the Silver merged into the Cosmos, Sailor Cosmos had slain Sailor Chaos and scattered the many fragments of the darkness into the universe could not have possibly taken all that was life away from those she loved most.
With a broken heart, a body torn and a mind worn, Sailor Cosmos had returned the Cosmos Crystal into the hands of Guardian Cosmos and, as Sailor Moon once more, she sunk into the warm womb of the Galaxy Cauldron and let herself, finally, sleep. With Chaos dissipated into the Cosmos System, she had nothing to fear, for she had known that it would take him much longer to recover than her, and that when next they meet, Sailor Moon knew she would not be alone anymore.
The rest, Hotaru Tomoe knew, was history.
She brought a hand to her sunhat when a particular strong summer breeze blew by and laughed when it threatened to take her yellow dress with it. In the distance, she could see her queen and princess dance around the daisy field, the summer sun reflecting the sapphires and the rubies in their eyes. A ways off was her king, a golden light that rivalled the sun, sitting by the picnic basket and watching the two most important women in his life twirl round and round and round.
Closing her eyes, Hotaru took in the warm summer scent of grass and flowers, and craned her neck back to let the sun bleed through. With another hardy laugh, she turned back to the dancing mother-daughter pair, and felt her heart warm when she saw four others join them, a kaleidoscope of blue, orange, red and green – and then another four Asteroids of pastel blue, crème, red and green, twirling, twirling, kicking up white petals and butterflies as they ran across the field.
"Be careful!" the three humanoid felines cried out when the princess stumbled, but no harm had been done when the cotton-pink glow of the girl stood up laughing.
Shaking her head, Hotaru giggled and sighed. She had better soon join them before the princess got too rambunctious. Looking to her right, the colours of navy, teal and maroon caught her gaze and they grinned, both at her and the lively group.
"I don't think we've had a peace like this in a long time," Michiru mused, leaning into the navy.
Haruka scoffed playfully and added, "Or one lasting this long."
"Or one so complete," Hotaru breathed happily.
At her words, the four of them set their eyes on their king and the four stones at his side, ever vigilant and ever eager to join the girls.
"The Shitennou," Setsuna considered. "They, too, deserve happiness."
Hotaru nodded and thought it incredibly generous of the Galaxy Cauldron to revive the four generals. Under the blessings of Silver and Gold, and the benevolent of the Cosmos, anything and anyone could find happiness. After all their dedication to their king, Hotaru was glad that the Shitennou were now able to be with the ones they had yearned for and unbearably loved for many lifetimes.
Brushing a few stray hairs from her face, Hotaru was thankful that, finally, they could all have the happiness they had sought for, for such a long time, for so many lifetimes. They had slept for a millennium, holding hands and sharing brief images of their happiness, in the Galaxy Cauldron. The rainbow they must had made, with their colours so bright and whole, it was no wonder that the Solar System housed the most powerful of the Sailor Senshi. And when, finally, the Galaxy Cauldron gave one last churn and planted their Star Seeds on their mother planets, one by one, the each of them woke in the ruins of their castles, but each of them had never had so much hope in their lives.
Now, centuries after, the Palaces were rebuilt – the Crystal Palace was now a beacon of hope to the rest of the Cosmos, the people had new lives, and Hotaru, personally, had never been so fulfilled before. Saturn had never been so bright, Titan Castle had never been so happy, and Hotaru had never been so complete. This was now the Golden Age of the Third Silver Millennium.
Everything was perfect.
"There is an issue I'd like to discuss with you," Setsuna said gravely.
The others tensed; Hotaru had not been expecting anything wicked to appear so suddenly.
"Setsuna?" Michiru enquired, brows drawn together.
Haruka's hold over Michiru tightened warily.
"Lately I have detected a sort of…" the Senshi of Time and Space faltered worriedly, "discrepancy in the Cosmos."
Hotaru fisted her hands and forcibly slowed her breath. She was better trained than this.
"Where?" the Senshi of the Wind demanded.
"Close," Setsuna warned grimly. "On the other side of Earth."
They inhaled sharply, painfully. It was much too close to Crystal Tokyo, to their beloved queen, king and princess to be of any comfort.
Setsuna nodded, reading their expressions as her own. "I have spoken to the Priest of Illusion and he, too, feels that there is something… strange on Earth."
"Helios?" Hotaru asked.
"Yes," Setsuna said. "I had advised him to keep quiet until we had the chance to investigate this eerie phenomenon first."
It had been the best advice, Hotaru knew, for it was the Outer Senshi's responsibility to face alien invaders first. It was the Outer Planets, after all, that were the Solar System's first line of defence, which was why Hotaru was as equally shaken as her mamas and papa when she heard that the possible new enemy resided right at the centre of their hearts. How had they slipped through?
Haruka nodded. "We must inspect the area at once."
"We must be careful," Setsuna was quick to curtail recklessness. "I have a suspicion that it might be…" They tensed. "Him."
Hotaru clenched her teeth and did not even care when the wind swept the sunhat off her head. It couldn't possibly be Him – not so soon!
"I will go alone," Hotaru decided aloud.
"What?" Haruka exclaimed, nearly bursting a vein.
"Of course not!" Michiru chided.
Hotaru shook her head at them and explained, "It would only rouse the others' attentions if all of us went. Out of the four of us, I am the most familiar with Him. He possessed me once – I can recognize his aura immediately."
"We've all been possessed by Him!" Haruka snapped.
"Not like me!" Hotaru countered heatedly. Could they not see that she did not want them to get hurt? Could they not see that they would always, always be her mamas and papa? Could they not see? Could they not see as the Senshi of Death, Destruction and Rebirth, she had the greatest chance of retreat, of recovery, of rebirth? "He had once been in me since I was a child, remember?"
Her mamas and papa flinched at the memory, of how they had once been quite avid and determined to annihilate her. Pharaoh 90 had always been their most hated foe.
"I will go," Hotaru repeated, determined, and released her fists from her dress. Smoothing out the wrinkles, she winced when she realized that her maids had their work cut out for them, and put on a brave smile. "It has to be me."
Haruka opened his mouth to protest, and most likely loudly too, if not for Souichi coming up from behind with a basket full of refreshments.
"Papa!" Hotaru called happily, her voice cutting the tension as sharply as her Silence Glaive.
"Hotaru!" Souichi returned enthusiastically, his glasses almost falling, and patted her head. One look at the Outer Queens and he sighed soberly. "I take that you've told them."
Setsuna nodded morosely.
He turned to Hotaru. "And you will be the one to go?"
"Yes," Hotaru replied. Papa always knew her best.
"I see," the professor murmured. "Well, you won't be going today. Tomorrow would be the better choice."
Haruka choked in anger. "You cannot possibly condone this!"
"Haruka," Michiru chided, but her frown showed that she, too, disliked Hotaru going alone.
"She is the most plausible candidate," Souichi reasoned. "I have faith in my daughter, don't you?"
Haruka looked ready to deck him, blood-father of Hotaru's or not.
"Enough," Setsuna cut in, placing a grateful hand on Souichi's arm and a placating one on Haruka. "She knows how to contact us if anything goes wrong."
Hotaru nodded. "Haruka-papa, please don't worry. I have been trained by the best."
The Senshi of the Wind gritted his teeth, but turned away from the group, accepting the circumstances but that did not mean he had to be very happy about it.
"All right then," Souichi said cheerfully, and offered an arm to Setsuna. "Shall we join the others now?"
The stress on Setsuna's face softened and she wrapped her hands around his forearm. "We better, before they suspect something is wrong."
"Because there is," Haruka spat gruffly.
Sighing, Michiru sent him a warning glare before dragging him down the hill to meet with the rest of their party. "Be good. We would not want to ruin their happiness, would we?"
As one, the five looked to the pretty queens and princess and ladies playing tag in the daisies. No, they would not want to spoil their happiness. After so much suffering they had all endured, the loss, the blood, the fading breaths… they could never want to be the ones to wipe their smiles clean off their faces. It was why they were the Outer Senshis – it was why they had so many secrets from the Inner Courts. They were the first in line of defence, first to face the monsters hiding under their beds – the first to keep the others safe.
They had to.
"HO-TAR-U!" Chibiusa shouted with a beaming smile, waving Hotaru's sunhat in the air. "I caught it!"
Hotaru smiled, with teeth and everything, and thought how nostalgic it was. "I'm coming!"
Bare-footed, she made her way down the hill and revelled in the feeling of grass brushing by her ankles. Sharing a laugh with her mamas and papas, she skipped down the last few steps to stand before her princess. The princess with candied hair and ruby eyes, the princess who had saved her from herself – No. Hotaru could never, ever want to make her unhappy, not to her best friend. That was why she had to face this new darkness residing so close to her friend's home.
She had to.
"Thank you!" Hotaru gasped, feeling a little out of breath.
Chibiusa snickered and then placed the hat back on her head. "C'mon! You're missing out on all the fun!"
"Be careful!" Luna repeated again when Chibiusa dragged Hotaru into the chattering girls sprinting across the field.
With her hat flying off her head once again, Hotaru ecstatically followed after Chibiusa. With the sun warm on her skin and the breeze cool through her hair – this was what happiness was. And Hotaru would never, ever let it end. She would stake her life upon it, for she knew…
Ages ago, when Sailor Cosmos scattered the dust of Chaos into the universe, she had known, they had all known, that he would return someday, but Cosmos could not have possibly taken all that was life away from those she loved the most. None, however, would have thought that he would make himself known so soon.
Hotaru turned to Usagi laughing brightly in the distance.
If her queen could do it, then so could Hotaru.
the point