Blood Pearls - Fall of the Silver Millennium

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, not me. This piece of fiction is purely for the amusement of the author and/or reader, and has not been created with the intent to make a profit. Me no own, you no sue!

Author's notes: This is a group of interconnected one-shots on how I speculate each of the senshi died during the Silver Millennium's defeat. It's just an experimental dip into the pool of possibilities. It does feature some characters that were probably not around (as it's my interpretation), but not prominently.

One: Princess Serenity
Princess Serenity, named after her mother, the queen of the prestigious Moon Kingdom and leader of the Silver Millennium - the inter-planetary solar alliance, was a curious girl. Her sky blue eyes shone with the kind of joy for life and everything in it that you only find rarely. Blonde hair that would have otherwise spilled around her like a gold curtain was held back in a style reserved specially for the royal family - two buns atop her head: a trait that would, in the currently distant future, earn her the nickname "Odango-atama", literally "Meatball-head". But, long before the one named Sailor Moon would awaken, here she was, fluttering anxiously around the entrance hall to see if she could catch a glance of the Prince of Earth. The word was he had been sent to sign a cease fire agreement with her mother on behalf of his parents - the Earth (or Terra, as it was known by everyone else in the Solar System) had long been on bad terms with the rest of the Silver Millennium. Hopefully now all this would change.

Hopefully.

"Princess?"

The sound of an attendant's voice dragged Serenity out of her daze and she stopped, turning her head slightly to look at the man. He was dressed in the usual castle uniform - silver and white cotton. The four people gathered behind him were what caught her attention.

Standing next to the castle attendant with a pleasant smile on her face was a young girl of about twelve, dressed in an elegant red gown. Flanking her were three more girls, all dressed in some skimpy leather variants on a normal Sailor Fuku.

The girl in the red dress took a step forwards, waving the attendant away as she curtsied to Princess Serenity.

"My name is Princess Kakyuu, I am acting as an emissary from the planet Kinmoku to Queen Serenity." the girl introduced herself, before gesturing to each of the girls accompanying her in turn.

"These are my guardians, the Sailor Starlights. Sailor Star Fighter, Sailor Star Maker, and Sailor Star Healer."

Serenity took a good look at each Starlight in turn, her eyes falling on Fighter last and longest. Though she looked to be slightly younger than Princess Serenity herself and far below her own station, there was something about her that captivated the White Moon Princesses attention, her cheeks turning a rosy shade as a smile lit her face.

"I'm.. I am Princess S-Serenity." Serenity stuttered, her eyes unable to move from the midnight blue of Fighter's, an act which Princess Kakyuu was watching with a quiet smile. The other two Starlights were trying their best not to laugh at the obvious chemistry between the Princess and Fighter, who was looking back at her just as intently. Kakyuu cleared her throat gently and Serenity was brought back to the living world with a jolt, immediately turning her attention away from Fighter and putting her business head back on.

"My guardians are on duty, but I'm sure they'd be glad to meet you some time." she said, smiling as the young Kakyuu nodded and continuing after a brief pause. "My mother is in a meeting with the Prince of Earth upon his arrival but I can direct you to her if you wish."

No sooner had she finished her sentence than the doors of the entrance hall were pulled open and the man she had been waiting to see walked through into the hallway, continuing up to the small set of stairs that led onto a dais that held the pristine marble double doors into the throne room. Prince Endymion was a fine example of everything necessary for a prince to be, tall, strong and flawless.

Once again, Princess Serenity found herself robbed of breath, her cheeks staining scarlet as Endymion paused, turning to her as he became aware of her presence. Taking her hand, he knelt and pressed his lips to her hand before looking up at her again.

"Princess Serenity."

Feeling light-headed and blissful, Princess Serenity curtsied with a gentle smile, sure this moment would remain in her memory forever.

"Prince Endymion."

The throne room doors were pulled open from the inside and the ever graceful Queen Serenity stepped out of the throne room and down the stairs of the dais to greet the Prince. Before leaving, Endymion presented Serenity with another thing she would never forget - a single red rose. It was the start of a beautiful (and deadly) romance.

There was a moment of tension that the young princess was completely oblivious to as Prince Endymion's gaze travelled across the group of people massed behind Princess Serenity - Kakyuu and her Starlights. For a moment, he and Fighter exchanged glances - both sizing each other up in terms of threat, the Starlight having been looking a little too long and too hard at his girl for the prince's liking and Fighter not particularly liking the fact he had literally just swanned in and taken away Serenity's attention, just because he was a prince.

Endymion left with the Queen a few seconds later and again the throne room doors were shut, leaving the Kinmoku emissaries to wait once more until the Queen was free.

"Serenity? Serenity?!" Along the marble corridor two sets of clicking high heeled shoes could be seen as two of Serenity's guardians walked into view. Serenity herself was staring at the closed throne room doors, clutching the rose to her heart with a rather goofy smile on her face. The first was roughly Serenity's height, with blonde hair that went to just past her waist. The skirt of her fuku and back-bow were orange, while the bow on the front of the fuku was royal blue. A crystalline sword was fastened to a silver belt rested around her waist, displaying her position as captain of Serenity's guard force. This was the senshi of love herself, Sailor Venus - otherwise known as the Princess of Venus, Aino Minako.

Behind her walked a senshi clad in varying shades of blue with a look of worry on her face that mirrored Venus' as she scanned the hall for the presence of her Princess through a clear blue visor, her gloved fingers tapping away against the keys of the super computer which rested in her other palm. She was the senshi of wisdom, Sailor Mercury, known outside of her Fuku as the shy Princess of Mercury, Mizuno Ami.

Venus breathed a sigh of relief as she laid her hand on Serenity's shoulder.

"Geez, Serenity, don't scare me like that!" she commented, red in the face after running the length of the hall to catch up to Serenity before she disappeared again.

Seeming to jerk out of her trance, Serenity smiled and nodded. "Sorry about that, Minako-chan." she replied. While Serenity and Minako began nattering to each other about plans for Serenity's 16th birthday celebration, which happened to be just under a month away, Sailor Mercury took more of an interest in the new arrivals.

"Greetings. I am Sailor Mercury, one of the four guardians of Princess Serenity. This is our captain, Sailor Venus." she said. Hearing her name, Minako grinned, making a peace sign before returning to her conversation. Princess Kakyuu introduced herself, again, but before long it was time for them to leave.

"Well, it was nice meeting you." Mercury said taking a step away from Star Maker back towards her princess, barely hearing Maker's cordial reply over her sky-high feelings as she tried to focus and plan out the rest of her schedule for the day. Venus was already halfway through pulling Healer into a bone-crushing hug, unusually friendly to say this was a first meeting. Serenity herself felt slightly more awkward. After her interaction with Endymion she didn't quite know what to say, or what she felt. So she simply nodded to Princess Kakyuu and Fighter, a long, somewhat significant glance shared with the latter, before leading her two guardians away down the corridor and disappearing from sight in the swish of a pearl sheen dress.

As she watched the Moon Princess leave, Fighter let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding as she heard Healer let out a snort next to her. Maker looked, if possible, more contemplative than normal as she stared at the spot where Mercury could last be seen.

"Some girls, huh?" Healer commented, nudging Fighter out of her trance. The raven haired Starlight nodded.

"Yeah. Think we'll ever see them again?"

Maker shrugged. "There's a chance."

Fighter smiled. "Let's go."

Without another word, though their minds were filled with thoughts of the three girls, the Starlights turned and followed their princess into the throne room.

Every Sailor Senshi under the service of the Moon Kingdom had been called back to the Moon over the week preceding that night. It was supposedly for the ball held in celebration of her sixteenth birthday, but now the Princess knew the real reason. And it didn't matter to her. It didn't matter to her that her kingdom and her people were under attack. It didn't matter that her own safety was more than compromised the moment she had left the confines of the protected space in her bedroom. All that mattered to her right now was the safety of Prince Endymion. He had been the one who left her in her bedroom to go back to the fighting and defend the Moon from the rampaging forces of darkness which were now attacking it.

The witch-Queen Beryl, infused with the demonic power of Queen Metallia, had long lusted after the power of the Moon Kingdom. And now she was leading the bewitched people of Earth against the place she hated and wanted so much. She was triumphant, and she knew it. The land outside the palace was already in ruins, screaming Moonlings running hither and thither as her soldiers picked them off; every man, woman, and child.

Even the palace itself would not hold out much longer, the tattered marble frame of the balcony on which Princess Serenity had just been stood crumbling to dust under her feet as she launched herself into the air, her scream echoing across the white expanse of the floor several stories beneath her as she lunged after an also free-falling Prince.

"Endymion!"

"Serenity!"

For a few seconds that seemed to stretch into an eternity the two strained to reach each other across the space, their hands touching. And for just that brief period, Serenity felt warm. She felt safe. She felt that somehow, the 'Powers That Be' would defeat Beryl's ambition and save her kingdom, her guardians, her subjects, and herself. Then, the touching moment ended in despair as one of Beryl's seven Great Youma took notice of the falling pair and surrounded them in a deadly storm of dark energy. A strong gust of wind pulled the two lovers apart, the energy swirling around them taking the form of some sort of twisted lightning as it struck the pair.

The pain was blinding as Serenity felt darkness encroach her senses. Dead weight was dragging her down now, though it felt as though the Moon's gravity was slowing their fall. She could not move, laid out spread-eagled on her back in the sky, her pearly white dress and golden hair flapping ragged around her as she descended, the crescent moon on her forehead, once proud symbol of her lineage was a mere mockery of what it had been, dulled and faded. As her eyes slipped closed, tears began to leak past her lashes, floating along with her body in the lessened gravity as the White Moon Princess died, her beloved Prince suffering the same fate only inches away.

Not far off among the ruined courtyard, the Moon Queen fell to her knees at the sight of her eldest and only daughter's body splayed almost gracefully across the courtyard, hovering a few inches above the ground. Her fingers tightened around the Crescent Moon Stick in her hand, tears leaking past her eyes as she fitted the Silver Crystal, an immeasurably powerful diamond, into the slot on the Stick designed to hold it. The screams of her faithful Senshi and Soldiers alike reached her ears, tainted on the edges by Beryl's sickening laughter. Her people were falling to the power of the Great Youma like flies. The only thought she had left to cling to in hope of comfort was that when this was all over, she had the power to put it right. At least to an extent. The Moon Kingdom's waste would not be the end Queen Metallia so passionately desired. With that thought, she waited amid the ruins, knowing that although she would not see the light of the next morning, some time in the future her daughter might.

Author's Notes:

Well, that's the royal family gone. Next up: Sailor Jupiter. Don't forget to R&R!