Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi, with the exception of any original characters inserted by myself and others.
Rating: PG
Summary: The Sailor Star Seeds allow the senshi to be reborn again and again. But what happens when that power finally runs dry? It is now the era of Lady Serenity, and the children of the Sailor senshi are longing for answers as to why their parents disappeared...
Author's Notes: More of this story can be found on my website. (See my profile.)
Chapter 4
It was little more than a decade after the era of peace had begun. The final battle with Chaos had been won, and all the Sailor Senshi and their knights were wed and settled into their new family lives. Even Hotaru, who had just given birth to young Sakura, and was given a palace of her own. Everything was happy peaceful, and amidst all this bliss, ruled Sailor Cosmos. No longer Neo Queen Serenity, she had awakened in her ultimate form during the battle with Chaos. And with the powers she had received from the Silver Imperium Crystal, she was able to retain this form and ruled over the new century with peace and love. Yes, everything was perfect... until the day Cosmos received an unexpected visitor.
The visitor was small in size, barely coming up past Cosmos' knees. But she was able to suspend herself in midair, her dress appeared to be made of minute blue bubbles, which her long white hair somehow seemed to melt into. Cosmos recognized this fairy immediately. Eos, Guardian of the Galaxy Cauldron.
"Eos?" Cosmos asked in shock. "What are you doing here?"
Eos bowed politely to the queen, her face full of sorrow and worry, an expression that would soon bring itself to Cosmos' face if she couldn't discover the cause for this visit. For Eos to leave her post... it must have been an emergency.
"Queen Cosmos," said the fairy, bowing low. She came to her point right away. "I'm sorry, but I must ask your help. The Galaxy Cauldron... is collapsing."
"Collapsing?" Cosmos asked in shock. That couldn't be. Not ten years later. Not after everything she had done to save the Cauldron, and rid it of Chaos' evil presence. "But how?" she demanded to know. The fairy sighed then, as if she had already prepared an explanation, began to speak,
"You see, while Chaos was bonded the Cauldron, he built it up with evil energy from the inside. The Cauldron began to swell and grow on his power. And then you, Cosmos, were able to force Chaos out of the Cauldron forever and finally defeat him in that legendary battle."
"I know about the battle, I was there after all, wasn't I?" Cosmos asked, rather impatient. "But what's happening now?"
"The Cauldron was unable to handle this sudden shift in energy, the loss of Chaos' power left it suddenly empty and deprived. Chaos had dwelt there for so long, the Cauldron had forgotten how to survive on its own power. It is dying, Sailor Cosmos. And once it does..."
"Stars will no longer be born." Cosmos finished. She knew far too well what that meant. Chibiusa, her child. And the children of her friends. They would be the last generation of senshi, the last life of their planets, if the Cauldron were allowed to collapse. And then what had they fought for? All those battles that Sailor Moon and her allies had gone though. They had always fought for the future... they would not stop now.
"Eos..." said Cosmos calmly. "What can I do to save the Cauldron?" The fairy smiled with relief.
"The Cauldron needs an enormous amount of positive energy to revive after all the negative energy Chaos poured into it," she explained. "Only then will it be restored to its normal state."
Cosmos listened, clutching the crystal at her chest. Its power had led her through countless battles, it would lead her through this one as well. She stood up, ready to follow the fairy, but Eos was not quite ready to lead.
"I think you misunderstand the strength of the Cauldron, if you're thinking of heading off alone," she said. "It needs vast energy, and I fear your power may not be enough. And if the Cauldron cannot find enough power, it will suck away the very life energy you hold in your body, in the Silver Crystal." She looked sternly at Cosmos. "To avoid this, you must gather as much power as possible. I suggest you call your allies for support."
Cosmos sighed. She didn't want to burden her friends with this. Saturn and Neptune... they had both just given birth only weeks ago. Their bodies were not prepared to handle this. She would call on the others, they would help her. And the knights as well. Surely that would be enough power, she thought. Surely.
"So you see..." Cosmos explained. "There is no way to save the future without going to the Galaxy Cauldron and pouring our energy into it. Once we do that, the Caulrdon will be restored to normal, and the future will be safe." Endymion walked up and placed his hand on Cosmos' shoulder. She had known from the start he would accompany her, it was foolish to think otherwise. The Sailor Senshi all looked at each other; there was no need to exchange words to arrive at their decision.
"You can count on us," said Minako confidently. "Cosmos, Usagi-chan, whatever it is we need to do, we'll do it." The others nodded in agreement. Setsuna, however, looked disconcerted.
"The Cauldron is huge," she said. "The power to restore it will not come easily."
"I know," Cosmos answered. "Eos told me... um, a few times." She smiled, trying to make a bit of light of the situation. Setsuna returned the gesture, taking hold of her Garnet Rod.
"I'm coming with you," said Michiru standing up, but her tomboyish comrade quickly turned and motioned for her to sit back down.
"There's no way," she said. "Michiru, you're too weak. You have to stay here."
"Don't try to stop me, Haruka, I am going. You might need my power." Haruka glanced over at Nathan, with a look that begged, "Tell her she can't do this," but the knight of Neptune only shrugged his shoulders.
"If Michiru's made up her mind, you know nothing I say is going to stop her." Haruka threw up her arms with an exasperated sigh.
"Don't forget me," said Hotaru, standing up weakly.
"Now, you are staying," said Michiru firmly. "Sakura is barely a week old, you're not ready for a battle."
"Aren't you in a bad position to be saying that?" Haruka asked quietly, but Michiru ignored her. Despite the fact that Hotaru was an adult and fully independent, Michiru still thought of herself as Hotaru's adoptive mother, and she would not let her daughter run off into a ridiculous battle like this so soon after delivery. It just wasn't going to happen.
"I'm not five years old anymore," Hotaru said sternly, as if reading Michiru's thoughts. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Elias?" she asked, turning to see her husband standing faithfully at her side.
"Don't worry about Hotaru," he assured Michiru. "I'll go with her to inform the princess of what's happened, then we will follow if you need us. You should go now to protect the Cauldron before it's too late."
"Chibiusa..." Cosmos whispered. "She'll want to come with us as well."
"We can't allow that," said Urawa, standing up. "The princess is our future. If anything happens to us, she'll be the one to carry on." Cosmos turned her face to the ground.
"Yes, that's right... Sailor Saturn. Knight Saturn," her tone suddenly changed, cold and distant. The two guardians of Saturn stood at attention. "Make sure my daughter understands that she is not to accompany us under any circumstances," Cosmos ordered.
"Yes, highness," they both said in unison and with that, hurried off.
Hotaru and Elias ran hurriedly towards the palace, Cosmos' message still heavy on their hearts. How did they explain to the princess that her mother and father and all her friends were headed off to a possibly fatal battle, and that she could do nothing to help them. The situation was not lightening, and Hotaru was so engrossed in her thoughts, that she almost didn't notice that someone else was running along this path besides her and her husband.
"Diana!" Hotaru gasped, stopped short so that she didn't run into her friend's feline companion, now in human form. As Hotaru starred at the child, she suddenly got an idea. Elias noticed the nearly underhanded look to his wife's eyes, and wasn't quite sure he liked it.
"Diana," Hotaru said sternly. "I need you to deliver a message to Small Lady. Can you do that for me?"
Diana looked perplexed, but nonetheless nodded obediently. "Yes, Princess Saturn. What is the message?"
"The queen and her allies have gone off to fight a battle at the Galaxy Cauldron. We will do our best to return safely. However, no matter what happens, Small Lady is not to receive this message until midnight tonight. Do you understand?" The severity of Hotaru's voice told Diana not to argue. She only nodded fearfully and watched the two warriors disappear into the darkness.
"Come back soon," she whispered, though her heart told her they might very well be the last words she ever said to Sailor Saturn or her knight again.
The message finally reached Chibiusa, but a little before midnight. Diana was unable to keep it any longer than that. And as soon as she got the news, the small princess was quick to take up her transformation crystal once again and hurry to the Galaxy Cauldron, praying she was not too late.
But by the time she arrived, the area surrounding the Cauldron was empty. From what Chibiusa could tell, there had been a strong release of energy here. But the Cauldron itself was stable. So what could have caused this? Chibiusa had an uneasy feeling as she watched and saw a few dim sparkles rising from the darkness. Then they disappeared.
At that moment, a strange light overtook the young princess. Chibiusa gasped and looked down at her body to see she was no longer a child, but a young woman. And on top of her head was the crown that was worn by Neo Queen Serenity.
"What is this?" Chibiusa asked fearfully. Behind her came a soft glow, and suddenly four girls dressed in Eternal Sailor Senshi attire appeared. Chibiusa knew these four very well. Once the enemies of the Sailor Soldiers, they had become their allies after the defeat of Queen Nehelania, and were able to awaken to their true form - the Sailor Soldiers of the asteroids.
"Sailor Ceres! Pallas! Juno! Vesta!" Chibiusa gasped. "What are you doing here?" But the four only answered her plea with solemn gazes.
"Don't you know, my lady?" Pallas asked. "We are your four guardians. For all these years we have laid dormant until you became a true lady, a queen of the crystal millennium."
"Queen?" Chibiusa asked. What was it they were talking about? She was no queen. Her mother, Neo Serenity, Sailor Cosmos, she was the queen.
"But I'm not..." Chibiusa began.
"We mourn the loss of the former queen Sailor Cosmos," said Juno.
"Former?" Chibiusa gasped. Her mind could not lock itself around that thought. "No, Mama would never lose any battle! She isn't dead!"
"Small Lady..." Vesta said gently.
"No!" the princess screamed, turning back to the empty darkness, trying desperately to see where her mother and her allies could be hiding. But all she saw was a faint mist, and a soft voice whispered, "Be happy... Small Lady..."
"Mama!" Chibiusa screamed. "Mama, no!"