Written by Sean Wright

Edited by SeleneStarr

Chapter Nineteen

I

Everyone was called in to brief Endy and Queen Serenity on the events at Silver Millennium and the rescue of the Asteroid Senshi. They met in the council room. Artemis had a buffet set up in the room so that they did not have to break up the meeting for supper.

The Senshi were ravenous. Their energy had been spent after fighting on two fronts, and they hadn't time to rest since they had been caring for the Asteroid Senshi and trying to track down Ananke.

During Eros' explanation of what had occurred on the Moon, Endy had stormed out. He didn't give a damn that the attack had been swift and concentrated on the Prayer Room. He did not want to hear her excuses. All he knew was that the Senshi had not been there when their Princess needed them. And that was inexcusable in his book.

But for Queen Serenity it was not so simple. It frightened her as she realized how determined Ananke was in achieving her plans.

"I don't understand." Emmanuel was confused. "How did she get to Mom? You can't catch her off guard—it's impossible. Her instincts are so sharp."

"Manny's right," Gigi cried. She was scared and looking at each of them, desperate for comfort. "No assassin has ever been able to get close to her. She can sense when someone is approaching her and that person's intent."

"We are not sure how it happened, Princess," Xanthe told her. "We reached your mother too late. Apollo and Bellona were already engaged as were a majority of the palace guards. I think Ananke must have been lying in wait for the Princess, knowing that would be the only place that the guards would deem safe."



"How could you have not known, Xanthe?" Endy sneered at her. "Couldn't one of you witches have whipped out a crystal ball or something to check outcome of this shit? What the fuck kind of use are all of you if you can't stop a damn rouge bitch?"

Xanthe began to tell him what he could have done, but Eros held up a hand, cutting her off. Eros faced Endy and his accusation.

"Endymion," she said gravely. "We are not trying to excuse ourselves or deny our failure. We failed to guard our Princess. That will be a black mark against us for the rest our lives. But we will not be condemned by you or your Terrans. We will not apologize to you. I, as the leader of these proud and noble warriors, will say one thing, and it will be the end of this pointless argument. Our princess will be returned."

Endy was not impressed. He was still angry and it frustrated him that the Senshi could not grasp the seriousness of his rage. He wanted blood, he wanted to personally disembowel that Plutonian witch, pour burning oil down her throat, put her on a rack, and then cut her head off with a dull butter knife and then leave her corpse in a room filled with angry, cross-eyed ferrets high on crack. Since he could not have that, he would settle for the next best thing: fighting with Senshi.

Endy narrowed his eyes at Eros. "So we are back to this old song and dance routine," he bit out. "So tell me, Eros, how do you and your intrepid band of warriors, and I use that term loosely, plan on beating the woman who had bested you numerous times in the past and rescuing my Princess?"

"We are not," Eros told him. She did not miss the look of surprise on his face or his guards. "Our priority now is to understand why Ananke has betrayed the Accursed One."

The following silence from the Terrans allowed Eros to continue. After Aine Sigrun had fainted, Eros had escorted the weakened Artemis from the chamber, leaving Kris with the girl. When she returned, she found Persephone standing over Aine Sigrun with Xanthe and Nike. Upon seeing their tense expressions, Eros knew immediately that something important had occurred, but she did not know what it was or how crucial it was until Persephone translated Ananke's desperate message: six destinies became three, three are now one.



"Do you understand what this means, Endymion?" Eros asked after she explained what she and her warriors had discovered only a few hours before. "What this means for you, our princess, your family, and this star system?"

He nodded. "Aye." He ignored the incredulous looks from his friends and teachers. "But I have one question, Eros." She gestured for him to continue. "Can Dirae tell me Serena's future?"

Eros turned to the Guardian of Time, and Dirae looked to the head of the table and answered, "No, King Endymion, I cannot."

"Why not?" He asked even though he knew the answer..

"Princess Serenity destiny is bound by another's, my Lord," she told him.

"Then tell me mine."

She shook her head no, "Your future is hidden from me as well."

"How is that possible?" Xanthe asked. "The gates of the future are open to you at all times."

Dirae shook her head. "Not anymore."

"Explain." Eros said tersely.

"Four days ago an action occurred that changed the path of destiny for this Solar System and Elysium. I, with Sailor Cosmos, explored these changes and watched as multiple destinies surrounding this system converged and became one. A star was born, yet not of Silver Millennium or of Terra, but from the heart of Elysium itself. This star's light was more brilliant than ten suns. It was pure, it was strong, and it was divine. It was holy."

"Alright, what happened after that?" Kris asked her.

"I am not at liberty to divulge that information," Dirae said gravely.

"But I have no such obligations." Bella cut in. She glanced at Eros, "My sister, I apologize, but you there was one detail that you forgot to mention."

"If I was remiss in my narrative, please correct my error," Eros told her.

Bellona fixed her ruby eyes on Endy.

"What the hell are you two babbling about?" Endy demanded.



"I'm talking about your son," Bella told him. "Not your heir, nor Terra's Senshi, but your last child—the newly born god."

"Hal!" Manny cried out in shock.

"Bellona, I think all that meditating you've been doing has finally caused your mind to snap," Endy said dismissively. "Elios is not a damn God. And if he were what the hell does that have to do with you people letting my Princess being taken?"

"So you admit—"

"I am not admitting a goddamn thing." Endy surged to his feet in raw fury. "The fact of the matter is that you Senshi failed to protect Serena. Ananke has gotten into the Silver Palace, not once, but twice on your fucking watch in less than two days. But instead of coming up a plan to rescue Serena or do anything useful at all, you want to attack my son and lay your mistakes on his shoulders because he's going to be born."

"No one blaming your son," Bella told him. "If anything, Elios' existence is a blessing."

"What the hell does Elios have to do with any of this?" Kris asked in the wild hope of getting them back on task.

"When Serenity was five, Kore and Ananke were asked to look into her life and chose a path for the Princess that would continue our peace," Bella told them. The signs of assent from those who were there during Kore's first reading from the Book of the Dead showed on their faces. "There were five paths that showed the Princess becoming Queen and ruling with her husband in a peaceful kingdom that would continue for many generations. A happiness that lived and survived through each son born of a Guardian's bloodline. A line that is not a warriors' but—"

"Helios," Queen Serenity gasped.

Bella nodded. "The day would have come when darkness would return to this System. No one would be strong enough to fight it, and a newly born god, the first in many generations, would have fallen, and the Accursed One would have gained Elysium."



"No," Persephone interjected. "Cosmos would have been born, 'a daughter for the first time in generations born into the House Terra'. She would have surrendered her humanity to embrace the destiny that our Princess now bears."

"And I believed the same," Bella told her. "Until I recalled something Jamie told me about Endymion blood line."

Comprehension showed in Kore's dark eyes as she whipped her head around to look that the sullen Terran King. "Blessed Demeter, how could I have misunderstood?" she whispered.

Bella nodded, "By the nature of Endymion's bloodline, it was impossible for a daughter to be born into his family with Serenity being weaker than he. But in the timeline that you and Ananke did observe, you saw that a daughter was born after twenty generations of male rulers." Bella shook her head. "Kore, have you though as to why you and Ananke were allowed to see that far into future? Not even Chronos himself could see past Queen Serenity's life, let alone into her daughter's and her daughter's descendants."

"Bella, where are you going with this?" Artemis was well beyond confused. He was lost.

The warrior looked at each of them in turn before fixing Endy with her penetrating gaze. "Serenity was to be that Terran queen," She told him. "Cosmos would have been reborn through your bloodline."

"Why are you doing this?" Hebe couldn't help but ask as she watched Ananke smear more of Serenity's blood on her staff.

"The universe and all life within it depend on Cosmos' defeating Chaos." Ananke stopped to examine her work. If all else failed, Ananke would have to undo all that had been done in order to set all to rights. If not, then they were all going to die.

"No, that's not what I meant," the young warrior told her. "I want to know why you are pretending to be a traitor."



"I am not pretending." Ananke met the girl's troubled gaze. Her own expression was as closed off as ever. "Don't make assumptions about my actions, Hebe, or assume that you know me. I would kill you in a second if it meant completing my mission." She flashed a grim smile and said, "And before this is over, I just might."

Hebe had backed away from the merciless look in Ananke's eyes. The blood drained from her face as she was once again reminded of the deadly intent of the ancient warrior from Pluto.

"But she won't, at least not right now, Juno," Cosmos said from her place near Chaos' throne. "Chaos believes that she will be able to resurrect Beryl and revive her first sin, Vanity. She believes that you are the key to doing so." She glanced back at the pair, her silver eyes a mystery even to Ananke.

"If you are worried about Halcyon, you need not be," Ananke assured her. "Despite his easy manners and gentle nature, he is a fearsome warrior who is more like his father than he lets on." She bit back a smile when a grimace crossed the pale warrior's face.

"I was not thinking about Halcyon or my other children, but now that you brought it to my attention, why do my children keep resembling that bastard? The Gods do hate me."

Hebe jumped when Ananke began to laugh at the old joke. "Princess," she choked on a giggle that had Hebe's eyebrows shooting up into her hairline. "You know how devoted Endymion is to you."

"He's obsessive, overbearing, and bit mad," Cosmos said tartly.

"Ah, but he loves you."

"Did I fail to mention that he is trying to kill his own mother and that he hates everyone and everything that I love? What does that say about my future? About my children? I think I should be afraid for myself."

"They will cherish you just as he does."

"That's the kind of love I don't need," the Champion of Order said smartly. But she stopped when a shadowed look crossed Ananke's face. Cosmos pushed away from the window she had staring out of and hurried over to them. "Ananke!" She cried when the other gasped and fell forward.



Ananke caught herself on her staff. "I'm alright." She drew in a shaky breath and slowly released it. "Chaos is in a rage." She raised her head and looked into Serena's worried face. "The time has come, Princess. The Queen has been neutralized." She gasped as a tight pain moved through her chest. "I have managed to weaken the Outer Gates."

"Ananke!" Cosmos grabbed the other woman before she could fall on her face.

The Outer Gates…Hebe stared at the two in horror as it all begin to make a crude kind of sense. And she was frightened.

This was pure madness.

"I don't understand," Queen Serenity looked from Persephone to Bellona, her gray eyes filled with so many questions. "How could they do this—why would they…" Her voice trailed off helplessly, as her mind refused to accept what she had just heard.

"I have no answer for you, my Queen." Persephone replied quietly. "If what Bellona presumptions prove to be correct, then I too was denied the truth about Ananke's activities…"

"But someone had to know," the Queen cried. "Who would have engineered such a reckless scheme? Why would my Senshi have done this, not just to me, but to you their children and the entire Solar System. It makes no sense!" Tears stood openly in the trembling monarch's eyes as she fought to control the rage that was eating her heart alive. How dare they lie to her! How dare they…Serenity collapsed on her chair and brought her small hands to her face.

Artemis was at her side immediately. He gently eased her chair back and led her away from the table. He signaled for Umino, who came and escorted the pitifully sobbing Queen from the room.

No one spoke until the last of the halting steps had disappeared. No one seemed to be in a hurry to break the heavily charged silence. The Senshi were aware of the future offspring and the Terrans watching them.



Athena Diana finally dared speak. She opened her mouth several times before she managed, "Eros." The Venusian turned to her. Athena drew herself up and calmly said, "I have just received word from Charon that the Accursed One entered our Solar System five solar hours ago."

A sudden hush settled over the warriors as the news sank in. This was it. Chaos had made her final move against the Alliance. Even though the Senshi were armed with this new knowledge combined with the fact that Ananke was agent of Cosmos and therefore on their side, the question was: were they ready?

Artemis looked at each Senshi, seeing them as they really were, not what was projected by his memories. Despite having entered the time chamber for a day (for Eros it had been three times already), these women and men where still children, and not one of them (aside from Apollo), were over the age of eighteen. Yet here they sat, his warriors and his students redrawing the map of the universe, overthrowing an empire as they created a new one based off of their ideas. Along the way they were going to crush an ancient evil that had overshadowed their lives. They would not run because they had never run from Chaos. Artemis believed that it was because they were young and everyone knew that the young were convinced of their own immortality; therefore, they had nothing to fear.

These were the same young women who went into battle against Metallia with a third of their military strength, and less than a quarter of the physical power they had before the Fall. Never mind the magical stamina that was required to perform their more advanced, high level spells and summons. Those three little girls decimated an army of demons that was double the population of the continent of Asia on the ice fields of Anartica, stormed Beryl's fortress and leaving it in ruins, and put a Sin on the run. And less than two months ago, Artemis's warriors faced down and defeated two Alpha level Senshi. Despite their disadvantages in physical and magical prowess, Eros and the others dug in and threw everything they had into killing Ananke and Atalanta.

Artemis knew they were not afraid of physical confrontations. The fight on Io had been a dirty, knock-down, drag out contest. The razing on the ice fields showed that the Senshi were capable of 

adapting to any given situation and environment at a moment's notice, yet this knowledge did little to calm his rising fear.

Chaos was an ancient entity that had killed the Senshi of Sol, fought against Selene twice and had won that second battle when she killed the first Cosmos, and was indirectly responsible for the devastation that had been the Fall, and now she had Cosmos within her grasp. Did his six little girls believe that they were ready for this?

The sound of Eros' chair scraping over the stone floor filled the room and answered Artemis' unvoiced questions and confirmed his fears. Venus rose to her feet, the welcoming smile adorning her lips ruined by the malice at its corners. "I think it we should be good hosts and meet our fellow Senshi and give them a proper welcome to the Silver Alliance." Her lips curved into a vicious smirk, her golden eyes shinning with deadly promise. "I would hate to have the Accursed One think us uncivilized savages."

"Of course not, Eros," Terran declared with a hearty laugh. "That would be an insult to savages and mobs everywhere."

"Even a berserker knows when he's done enough killing." Mike muttered.

"And if he were facing a Senshi, he'd be nothing but dead now wouldn't he?" Nike smirked.

"We don't give up," Xanthe reminded the Terrans. "We don't stop until our enemies no longer exist."

"Yeah, I thought you all knew that about us by now," Eros finished mockingly.