Five Sailor Senshi travel to Galaxia's old palace to get some much needed answers about the Shadow Galactica. Manga Canon. Written for the 25th Anniversary of Sailors Phi and Chi.
Rated: T - Spiritual/Drama - Words: 4,475 - Sailor Phi, Sailor Chi, Sailor Senshi/Sailor Scouts, OC
A/N: Many thanks to Moon for beta reading this fic for me. Please check out their wonderful work under the Ao3 username CreamMoon.
/users/CreamMoon/pseuds/CreamMoon
Two women stood amidst what was once the Star Garden of the Galactica Palace. The women might have been twins, each sporting long green hair tied up at the top of their heads with a metal ornament, with blonde bangs adorning the front of their hairlines. Whilst Chi opted for a singular long bang, Phi's were shorter but she made up for it with long tendrils of hair that fell from the back of her ornament and draped over her shoulders.
All around them, primordial energy flowed and swirled through the air. Occasionally, newborn star seeds would shoot through the sky, beginning their maiden voyage across space to settle onto their new worlds; or in some cases to become new worlds.
And yet, for all the majesty this supreme creative process held, Phi and Chi were supremely unfazed by it all. Their attention was focused upon the five tiny dots in the sky that were growing larger by the second.
"Well… here they come."
"Are you ready?" Asked Sailor Chi, swiping her long blonde bang over her shoulder
"As ready as I'll ever be," mumbled Sailor Phi, her grip tightening upon her staff
The dots made landfall several feet away from the pair, well out of their range.
Despite the distance both women could make out the bizarre menagerie well enough. It consisted of a crow, a tabby cat, a grey mouse, a yellow butterfly and a woman whose bottom bottom half ended in a silver fish tail. There was a flash of light and the five creatures vanished, their places supplanted by pentet in various different stylized Sailor Senshi uniforms. The group strode towards Chi and Phi, their bodies tense and their eyes narrowed.
"Hello Sailor Phi. Sailor Chi," said the yellow clad Senshi coolly.
Sailor Phi's grip relaxed a little and inclined her head. "Greetings Sailor Cocoon."
"And greetings to you, Sailors Mermaid, Sailor Coronis, Sailor Chuu, and Sailor Mau."
In turn, Chi gave a humble and deferential bow to the women in the silver, black, grey, and tabby uniforms. All of them remained stone faced; with one notable exception.
"Cut to the chase already, why've you called us here?" snapped Sailor Koronis.
"I must admit, this detour has distracted me from very important matters back on my homeplanet," added Sailor Mermaid softly.
"Yeah, and I had like three hot dates lined up tonight!" Chimed in Sailor Mau.
At these words, Sailor Chuu's eyes glazed over and she let out a soft sigh. "Ah, I remember my first date with my old senpai."
"Would you guys hush up for five minutes!?" Squawked Koronis. "If you two keep blabbing about your love lives we'll never get back home."
Chuu's gaze fell, shame consuming her features.
"Relax, Chuu." Mau whispered (though far too loudly), nudging Chuu with her elbow. "Koronis just wants to get back to her boyfriend Karasuichiro. You know what they say 'The Lady doesn't protest enough.'"
"No that's not it at all! Don't listen to her Chuu!" Mermaid protested feebly as Koronis went bright red.
"Ah," Chuu sighed again. "I remember baking a cheesecake for Motozumi."
"Oh, was he your old senpai?" Inquired Mau.
Chuu didn't acknowledge the feline Senshi, her eyes still glazed over, twinkling brighter than all the newborn stars. "No, he was just some boy who kind of reminded me of my old senpai."
"Jeez, would you get over that guy already?" Chided Koronis, not even trying to regain her former moral high ground. "He was a total jerk who dumped you for being too short!"
As the four of them continued to bicker, Sailor Cocoon closed her eyes, as if praying to some unseen messiah to save her from embarrassment. Finally she seemed to have had enough.
"Silence!"
The quartet fell quiet and shuffled into a neat line. Each of them were still, save for Mermaid who had taken out a palm computer and a set of swimming goggles.
"Mermaid, just what are you doing?" Groaned Cocoon weakly.
"I'm preparing to take notes. We might need a record of this meeting to study later."
Cocoon's palm flew to her face.
"Actually," began Chi, "Sailor Mermaid has the right idea."
Cocoon looked over her shoulder at the pair of Senshi. The other four were similarly intrigued.
"We invited you here to share all we know about the Shadow Galactica," announced Phi.
Five sets of eyes widened in surprise.
"But the Shadow Galactica is finished," said Koronis.
"Yeah," nodded Chuu. "Sailor Moon unleashed used all the Sailor Crystals to unleash the Lamba Power.."
"And that's what finished Chaos and Galaxia off for good!" Mau triumphantly threw her hand up in the air.
"Well, can we really be sure about Galaxia?" Mermaid interjected cautiously. "It seems every world and their Sailor Senshi were restored by the Lamba Power. It stands to reason Galaxia wouldn't be an exception."
"Hmm," mumbled Sailor Cocoon, "Maybe, to be sure, we ought to… kill her."
The quartet looked noticeably uncomfortable at Cocoon's suggestion. "Listen, I'd love to go back in time and stop her in the first place, but this is the best we can do. We can't win this war without sacrifice."
"The Sailor War is over."
Cocoon glared at Chi.
"Are you quite sure?"
"Yes we are," assured Phi. "Dying has given Galaxia a new lease on life. She won't be troubling anyone again."
"Tch. How exactly do you know that?"
"Because Sailor Koronis," replied Phi, "We have it from the highest source around."
"And besides," added Sailor Chi, "That is what it was like for us."
At this, Mermaid stopped making notes and looked up from her palm computer. "I was under the impression that you were mind controlled by those bracelet devices Galaxia created."
In unison, Chi and Phi gripped their staffs and averted their eyes, shame etched across their features.
"That isn't exactly accurate," began Phi. "In fact, that's why we called you here. You are all aware about the Shadow Galactica, but there are pieces you are unaware of."
"We believe the princess of Kinmoku knows more than the rest of you, but we felt it improper to suggest you talk to her. Not after what we put her and her people through."
Phi nodded at Chi and pressed on. "I in particular felt it appropriate to inform you five specifically."
"Not to mention, your planets are in key positions across the four quadrants of the galaxy."
"Hence why you were among Galaxia's first targets," interjected Phi.
"Right. But we thought you'd be ideally positioned to distribute our information."
The five Senshi shared cautious looks amongst one another before looking back at the pair.
"Why did you want us to meet here though, at the scene of the crime?" Chuu asked shrewdly.
"And just who is this 'highest source around'?" said Koronis, narrowing her eyes.
"It would be better if we told you the whole story. And that actually begins with the bracelets."
"The bracelets?" Mau tilted her head inquiringly.
"The first thing you should know," said Chi, "Is that the bracelets were created by Chaos, not Galaxia herself."
"Chaos created them for Galaxia to increase her power and act as a control device. They connected Galaxia to anyone else wearing a set of bracelets, making them subservient to her will and enabling a transfer of energy."
"...ummmmm….?"
Phi smiled at the blank look on Mau's face. "It meant Galaxia could imbue the wearer with some of her own power. Which, in hindsight, means they would've had a dose of Chaos' own power too; although I'm not sure even Galaxia knew that."
"She could also transfer power from a source she controlled, such as the Garden Crystal." added Chi.
"The what!?" The group of them chorused, their words echoing across the now barren grounds.
"When Galaxia recruited us she hadn't taken too many Sailor Crystals yet. The few she did have she kept on her person." Explained Chi. "On my home planet I am adept in the art of Star Gardening."
Koronis tilted her own head now.
"That is, the art of growing crystals from the soil that can act as energy conduits," Chi clarified. "Partially to safeguard my and Phi's Sailor Crystals, I suggested Lady Galaxia let me grow a Garden Crystal to store all the Star Seeds she harvested."
"In order to grow a Garden Crystal, let alone one the size that Galaxia wanted, required Chi to teach me how to Star Garden too," continued Phi. "To do that though, we needed to find a suitable garden in the first place. But Galaxia wanted the Star Garden to be right here, at the very heart of Sagittarius Alpha." Phi tapped the ground with her staff.
"Her entire Galactica Palace was constructed with the Star Garden in mind. She even went and found us some extra recruits to help out."
"Ah, those must have been Sailor Lethe and Sailor Mnemosyne right?" Chimed in Chuu.
Phi nodded. "Once we had the Garden Crystal I made a suggestion of my own. The creation of more recruits. That eventually led to the creation of the Sailor Animamates."
A haunted look crossed the faces of the five other Senshi.
"W-what are they?" squeaked Chuu.
"Well, Galaxia wanted more Garden Crystals grown a-"
"We think she wanted them to invade other galaxies or possibly to control distribution of Star Seeds once she took over the Milky Way," interjected Chi.
"Anyway, she also recognized the need to protect the one we'd already grown, especially with all the Sailor Crystals we were feeding it. To that end, there were always at least three people guarding the palace at any one time. Galaxia would always go on the hunt for more Sailor Crystals, but at times she would send either myself or Chi out into the cosmos as well."
"More usually Phi since I knew more about Star Gardening than her."
"Eventually, progress slowed further because Lady Galaxia decided it wasn't safe to have just three people guarding the castle."
"Since I was mainly in charge of the Star Garden, and Lethe and Mnemosyne weren't great fighters, it was riskier to not have Phi or herself here constantly."
"Right, I forgot about that," Phi nodded. "Anyway, she talked about trying to find new recruits, but that wasn't easy at all. By this point her reputation was preceding her and she'd found herself demonised across much of the galaxy."
"As she deserved," said Koronis coldly.
"We wouldn't disagree."
"In any case, Lady Galaxia had already been experimenting with the Garden Crystal and her bracelets, discovering the ability to create what she called 'golems'."
"Which are?" At Cocoon's words, her comrades fidgeted uncomfortably. It was clear each of them were conflicted between satisfying their curiosity and fear for what the potential answers may be.
"She could sync a pair of bracelets up with a Sailor Crystal, so the bracelets could generate a kind of recreation of that crystal's most recent host body, albeit twisted in her own image."
"Oh my… you mean Galaxia could resurrect any of the Senshi she killed?" Cocoon's eyes were wide with shock.
"No. They were glorified puppets, completely under her control. They were just puppets who resembled the genuine articles and had their powers. The Sailor Crystals were just necessary to provide templates for her bracelets to generate the golems from."
"Wait, is that what you two were then!?" exclaimed Mau. Her eyes were wide as if she were seeing the pair for the first time. "Were you 'golems' too?"
"No. We weren't golems, nor were Lethe or Mnemosyne. We all joined willingly."
The pentet stiffened, half assuming battle positions, the beginnings of disdain welling up upon their features.
"As we said, we wore these bracelets to draw power from Lady Galaxia herself. And as a mark of our loyalty to her."
Koronis raised an eyebrow "She was really alright with you taking some of her power?"
"Of course," shrugged Phi. "Her Lazurite Crystal gave her power to spare. And she got to regulate how much she allotted to each of us. It was never truly at her own expense."
"But if she could create these golems, why not send them out to harvest more Sailor Crystals for her?" Chuu inquired.
"The further her golems got the harder it was for her to maintain them. Sending them beyond even Sagittarius Zero Star risked them breaking down and the Sailor Crystal being lost."
"But the golem creation process gave me an idea. We began to experiment what would happen if we used the bracelets to create golems using common Star Seeds, ones that weren't Sailor Crystals."
A horrified look dawned upon Sailor Mermaid's round face. "You… you experimented on people like that!?"
A resigned look came across Phi's face."I'm not proud of it. And if I wasn't willing to face the consequences of my crimes I wouldn't be admitting this all now."
"Not that it is an excuse, but for what it is worth, everyone we experimented on was constantly unconscious and felt no pain," Chi added, somewhat feebly.
"And just what were the results of these experiments!?" Spat Mermaid.
"We learned that these golems were far more stable than those based upon Sailor Senshi, likely because they had no powers to begin with."
"Galaxia wasn't satisfied with that though," Phi followed up. "Even a potential army at her command wasn't worth anything to her if they didn't have Senshi powers to command."
The pentet's disdain turned into outright disgust. Mai fleshed her fingers, as if restraining herself from clawing at the pair. Koronis' face was red with seething rage.
"Our next step was seeing if the test subjects could withstand Galaxia transferring some of her power into them through their bracelets, but their golem bodies broke down almost immediately," continued Phi, clearly trying to ignore them. "However, I wondered if perhaps that was due to the destructive nature of the Lazurite Crystal itself. So I asked Lady Galaxia to instead try transmitting the power of a lesser Sailor Crystal into one of the golems."
"It worked a lot better than when they received Galaxia's own power, but they still broke down eventually."
Phi nodded. "So then we tried putting the bracelets on normal people, people whose Star Seeds hadn't been taken in the first place. Mostly, channelling Senshi powers into them had no effect at all."
"But then we, well Phi really, realised the bracelets could be applied a little differently."
"The trade off for receiving power through the bracelets was that it had a corrosive effect over time. Eventually, if you removed the bracelets your body would crumble apart."
Chuu's eyes widened in disbelief. "You mean all anyone ever had to do was remove Galaxia's bracelets and she'd have been done for!?"
"No," Chi shook her head. "The bracelets couldn't be removed unless she wanted them to be. Not really anyway. The closest thing was that their molecules would be merged within our bodies for convenience. For all intents and purposes the bracelets were a part of everyone who ever wore them, even Galaxia herself."
Cocoon's eyes narrowed. "Was Galaxia really so power mad as to throw away her own body like that?"
"We don't think she believed the corrosive effects applied to her. She, like Phi and me, chalked that feature up to a byproduct of her Lazurite Crystal being such a destructive force."
"However, now we believe that it was actually due to the bracelets being connected to Chaos because Galaxia did disintegrate when her bracelets were removed."
Mau winced. "Jeez, pretty lucky she never took them off then."
"Not luck exactly," Chi countered. "You have to understand, she was power hungry, so why would she ever part ways with the bracelets if they increased her strength."
"But how does this factor into the Animamates?"
"Well," began Chi, "we realised the bracelets could act as a kind of 'binding agent', holding the wearer's form together. At least up to a point. It wasn't like they guaranteed your body couldn't be destroyed."
"Making use of that feature, I tried placing the bracelets on a normal person, then extracted their Star Seed before syncing the bracelets with the power of a Sailor Crystal. That was our breakthrough." Phi's last word sparked a new wave of disgust across the others' features. "The test subjects weren't true Sailor Senshi, but they made for formidable warriors all the same."
"They were more intelligent and self-aware than the golems ever were in any case," added Chi. "The only downside was that they weren't all able to endure a dose of Galaxia's power when she transmitted that into them."
"Eventually we deduced the qualities that made for the most suitable candidates, most of whom were young and ambitious. Either Galaxia or myself made a point of singling out such candidates before attacking their home world. When they were vulnerable we would offer them the bracelets and then they'd be under our control, the worst parts of themselves magnified tenfold. Through trial and error, we eventually wound up with a handful of reliable and stable Sailor Animamates… specifically five."
As though as one, Koronis, Cocoon, Mermaid, Mau and Chuu gasped in horror.
"Now you understand why we felt we should explain ourselves to you in particular. Our Sailor Animamates were from each of your planets."
The pentet were silent, all save Koronis. "How!? How could they betray us like that?"
"You must not blame them," Chi urged. "All any of them needed was just enough temptation and then Galaxia could bend them to her will."
"And temptation is all too easy to give into when you are faced with a force as mighty as Galaxia."
"And is that your defence for your crimes!?" Hissed Sailor Cocoon.
In unison, Chi and Phi shook their heads.
"Our homeworlds were locked in constant war. Pettiness and envy drove our people to the most heinous of ends."
"Witnessing such horror numbed us to it. We came to welcome death. We welcomed Galaxia."
"When Galaxia offered us the chance to join her it was a moment of almost divine providence for us. She had shown us what we believed to be the only route to peace and so we gladly swore our fealty to her."
"We believed that… Right up until Sailor Moon leapt into the Galaxy Cauldron."
"Right up until she reached out to us and every Sailor Crystal within the Cauldron."
"That was when we understood that there were other, better routes to peace."
"And now, what? You want us to forgive you for your crimes?" Koronis' words were laced with venom.
"No. We make no excuses for the atrocities we have committed. Nor do we believe Galaxia would."
"So, you are surrendering yourselves to us, is that it? You want us to take you in, put you on trial or something and come up with suitable punishment?"
"Please believe us," Chi implored, "we simply wanted you all to know the truth. You were owed at least that much."
"And you need to know so you can be prepared if ever another malevolent force like Chaos or Galaxia should ever arise again."
"You can't expect us to just let you go free and live your lives as you please?" Said Mermaid.
The pair stared back at her. Then, slowly, their games moved across the faces of the other four.
"We are not free."
"Nor are we truly alive."
Not for the first time that day, confusion crossed the faces of the five Senshi.
"The reason we wished to meet you here is because… we can not venture beyond this realm."
"We chose to remain here, helping fledging stars grow to maturity for the next ten thousand years."
"Only then will it be decided if we deserve to be reborn into the wider universe."
"But… Who then will protect your homeworlds?" muttered Chuu.
"The same way the Animamates were able to draw power from Sailor Crystals, so too have we chosen suitable warriors to inherit our own powers. They shall be the new protectors of our homeworlds. And far worthier, I expect."
"And what of Lethe, Mnemosyne, and Galaxia herself? Are they serving out their penances here too?" Said Sailor Cocoon.
"Lethe and Mnemosyne were powerless to stop us or Galaxia. Their only crime was not wishing to join their homeworlds in oblivion after they had been turned into worlds of death."
"And as for Galaxia, given her fondness for the Galaxy Cauldron, it was decided her penance would be better served on her original homeworld."
"For what it is worth, she was very humble and accepted her fate."
"'Decided'? Who got to decide?" said Koronis harshly.
"The highest source."
"She who guards the Cosmos Seed, the very core of the Galaxy Cauldron itself."
"But who is-"
"We have told you all we can," Phi said, interrupting Mermaid.
Chi nodded. "We wish you the best for the future."
"Farewell."
With their final word, Sailor Phi and Sailor Chi vanished. Where they once stood was now merely two glittering crystals. The crystals zoomed into the air before falling in an arc and shooting into the swirling mass that was the Galaxy Cauldron.
The five remaining Senshi stood there for a while in stunned silence, all uncertain of what to say. After ten minutes or so, they moved off, traversing the ruins of what had once been the grounds of the Galactica Palace. Their advance only slowed when they encountered an open patch of ground covered with a faint fog. Through the fog, tall and singed stakes of wood jutted out from the ground, some of them resembling crucifixes.
It was Mau who ultimately broke the silence. "I don't know how to feel."
"This place is pretty creepy," admitted Chuu.
"No, I meant about… about those two."
Silence fell between them all again.
"They did hideous things," said Koronis numbly.
"… They are paying a price for it, though," offered Mau.
"But I'm still not sure I could ever really forgive them though," added Mermaid.
"Maybe we should put aside what we think of them and instead focus upon Galaxia?" Koronis suggested.
Mermaid nodded. "That's not a bad idea."
"Sailor Cocoon, where do you think we should start looking for her?"
Sailor Chuu's question went unanswered. Sailor Cocoon was standing apart from them, seemingly distracted by two butterflies dancing through the fog laden air.
"... I think… We should forget about Galaxia," said Cocoon. She turned around to face the four surprised looks aimed at her.
"No one knew where her home planet was to begin with. But even if we did, even if we could afford to scour the galaxy for her, I believe what those two told me." Her eyes alighted with conviction. "I believe they have changed their ways. And so I believe Galaxia has too. The galaxy has been given a fresh start. I think it is better that we embrace it."
Slowly, Sailor Cocoon's conviction seemed to spread across the faces of the other four Senshi. In silent understanding, they regrouped at the very centre of the graveyard. In unison, they closed their eyes, each of them sprouting a pair of soft white feather wings. Spreading their new angelic appendages, they took flight, soaring off of the Zero Star of Sagittarius, out of Sagittarius Alpha, and across the newly rebirthed galaxy.
Back on the ground, near the spot Sailor Cocoon had been standing in front of, the butterflies landed upon two flowers, each of which grew out of two patches of earth. The earth was fresh, seemingly turned over merely a week or so ago. At the head of each patch of earth stood two stone crosses. And at the centre of each was a solemn stone hewn face.
In time, the fog dissipated, the singed stakes of wood rotted, feeding the soil. And, in the years to come lush green life completely overran what had once been the Galactica Palace grounds. Only the headstones were spared erosion, standing as pristine as the day they were erected.
Nevertheless, they did not go unchanged. Over time the sad, solemn expressions upon the stone faces morphed into gentle smiles. Smiles filled with pride for the starlight garden that they helped birth.
A/N: I swear to God, this story doesn't exist as an elaborate joke!
The idea of of the Sailors Mermaid, Coronis, Mau and Chuu basically being the anime versions of the Inners (and Cocoon being kind of a combo of the Outers) spun out of Sailor Koronis specifically. We all know Rei was the most drastically different between the anime and the manga, so I thought it'd be funny if Sailor Koronis (who comes from the same planet as Rei's crows Phobos and Deimos) was just like anime Rei. And by extension, in the anime universe, Koronis was just like manga Rei.
When it came time to do this fic, given how we knew nothing about Sailors Mermaid, Chuu or Mau it saved me time (and amused me) to make them the anime versions of the Inners.
As for the rest of this fic, it came about because I was trying to pin down how the bracelets worked just for myself so I decided to turn it into an outright fic and Chi and Phi seemed like the perfect characters to use to deliver that info, especially since I was stuck for ideas on what to do with them.
I had to do A LOT of manga research for this fic and it did not help that there are different translations leading to different interpretations. In the end I opted to sort of 'write around' stuff that could be taken a lot of different ways and stick to what we knew for sure (e.g. removing the bracelets = death).
Also just to let you know I am involved in a discord called 'Moonlight Legends' which is dedicated to sharing all sorts of Sailor Moon fanworks, including other fanfics. If you would like to join so you can share your own work, get help with your current projects or just connect to other fan creators shoot me a PM and I'll send you an invite. All are welcome!