The Sailor Animamates loyally serve their mistress, the Golden Queen of the Shadow Galactica. But their mistress is not so merciful. Anime Canon. Written for the 25th Anniversary of the Sailor Animamates.
Rated: T - Friendship/Hurt/Comfort - Words: 1,077 - Sailor Lead Crow/Akane K., Sailor Aluminum Seiren/Reiko A., Sailor Iron Mouse/Chuuko N., Sailor Tin Nyanko/Nyanko S.
A/N: This fic takes place during and after Sailor Moon Season 5/Sailor Stars and before my earlier fic 'The Message'. You do not however have to have read the latter to follow this fic.
This story is a gift for Ricky Riddle a.k.a Tuxedo Rick
Her mouth spewed gibberish. Her body quivered in terror.
As her mistress' hand beckoned to the bracelets, time seemed to slow down.
Through the faintest opening of her eyelid, she could just make out the dangling phone receiver. It had been lightly swinging from its cord from the moment she had dropped it within the booth. Now its meager movement was slowing. Slowing. Slowing.
By the time it had stilled completely, all that was left of Sailor Iron Mouse was the echo of her scream. An echo that had dissipated into a tiny, high pitched squeak.
A cold, empty sensation gripped her stomach. But it was a far cry from mere hunger.
This couldn't be happening!
It wasn't fair!
None of this was her fault!
She hadn't done anything to deserve this!
If her Queen would only wait, listen to her, let her explain, she would realise she was making a terrible mist-
In the moments before her body vapourized, the closest thing to comfort Sailor Aluminum Siren felt were the hands of her beloved rival about her naked wrists.
Pain was all she knew.
Every single molecule, every single atom, of her very being was being torn apart.
And yet, the undoing of her body was not the greatest source of pain.
"Sorry, Siren."
The memory of her last words were more agonizing than anything Sailor Lead Crow experienced within the black hole.
How could her mistress betray her like this!?
How could her enslaver be this cruel!?
She was moments away from retrieving the true Star Seed for her!
She was so close to regaining her freedom!
Had all those years serving the Shadow Galactica had been for nothing?
Had all those years serving the galaxy been for nothing?
…I…
… don't…
… want…
… to…
di-
For the first time that day, Sailor Tin Nyanko found herself not of two minds.
She soared through the spaceways at unimaginable speeds, swiftly departing the Milky Way.
She had much to do, far too much. Still, she knew the very first thing she had to do.
Locating the nearest hospitable world, she entered the atmosphere and landed in a quiet field patch of farmland nearby a river. The place was really quite beautiful and she sensed the planet to be peaceful enough. It would be safe to do it here.
Extending her arm out, she beckoned with her hand. Four glittering jewels descended from the cluster around her. She positioned them in a semi-circle in front of her and lowered her arm. The motion seemed to trigger something as the jewels began to fade from sight. But as they gradually blinked from view, four women seemed to appear in their place.
The first was garbed in white, a series of bells affixed to her clothing, including a headpiece topped with pointed cat ears.
The second to appear wore thigh high boots that were of a tanned colour like the rest of her outfit, though her feathery shoulder pieces were of a darker shade.
Simultaneously, another woman materialized, her garments a soft blue-white, much like her hair and eyes.
The final, and smallest, member of the quartet ironically took the longest to fully gain substance. Like her predecessor, her attire was mostly white, though her head was topped by what looked like round mousey ears.
In turn, each of them opened their eyes and blinked.
"W-where am I?" Squeaked Sailor Chuu, clearly still dazed.
"Siren!?"
"Crow!?"
With tears in their eyes, Sailor Mermaid and Sailor Coronis locked in a tight embrace.
Sailor Mau for her part rubbed her head, Chuu clearly unnerved by the ringing of her bells as she did so. "The last thing I remember was-You!" She jumped back and shot her arm out at the woman who stood before them.
"Ah! Mistress Galaxia!" squeaked Chuu.
Mermaid and Coronis seemed to huddle closer.
"You think swapping your armour for those wings can fool us!?" Mau accused, her voice not matching the bravery of her words.
Galaxia stared back at them sadly. "Don't be afraid. You have nothing to fear from me. No one has anything to fear from me anymore… Thanks to her."
With that, Galaxia extended her wings out and took flight, the massive cluster of Star Seeds following her through the sky.
The four of them stared after her, their faces fixed in confusion and residual fear. It was well over five minutes before any of them dared move or speak a word.
"I.. I really think she is gone," piped up Chuu.
Tentatively, the others nodded in agreement.
"Wh-...What should we do now?" Asked Coronis.
"Well…" began Mermaid, "I think… we should find something to eat. I'm hungry."
Coronis' jaw dropped and her face began to contort in disbelief. However, she instead adopted a softer, more indulgent expression. "That's my rival," she muttered just loud enough for Mermaid to hear her and smile.
They at last broke their embrace and, hand in hand, made their way across the rich, green field, Chuu and Mau following a minute later.
"I'd love to know who Galaxia was talking about though?" Chuu wondered aloud nonchalantly.
Mau paused and turned around, her gaze rising up to the clear blue sky.
"I think I have half an idea who," she said softly.
With a tinkling of bells, she turned back and, along with Chuu, caught up with her companions. Together the four of them walked peacefully towards futures that shone as bright as true stars.
A/N: So I originally intended to celebrate the Animamates as part of another fic where they'd be commemorated alongside lots of other villains from the series. However, since 2021 marked the 25th anniversary of the Stars arc/Sailor Stars season and they were such a big part of it it seemed like they deserved some extra attention.
The problem was that by the time I decided to write this I had missed their respective 25th anniversaries whether we were talking anime or manga. So I compromised and decided to commemorate them today, on the 25th anniversary of the Sailor Stars LAST episode.