Sailor Moon Z: #20 - Starless Night By. Janelle Jimenez (pandora@indy.net) Official WebPage: http://www.indy.net/~pandora/sailormoon/gateway.html Blackness, it was everywhere. Sailor Jupiter slowly opened her eyes, to her surprise what she saw behind closed eyes and opened was the same. She was surrounded by cold darkness. "Where..are we? Am I dead?" she asked as she slowly stood. Around her lay the Sailor Senshi, Sailor Moon, however was standing. In her hands was the silver crystal, protecting everyone in a giant dome. Outside of the dome was the vast universe. "Sailor..Moon.." Sailor Jupiter whispered. "They're...dead.." Sailor Moon answered choking back a sob. "Who's dead, Usagi-chan?" Sailor Venus asked as she woke up slowly, one by one the rest of the Senshi were awakening. "Leo..Scorpio..Gemini..all of them.." Sailor Moon said, she stopped holding back her tears and began to cry. "I couldn't even help them, they killed themselves for us.." she whispered. "Maybe..we can bring them back to life?" Sailor Venus suggested. Sailor Moon shook her head and gestured into the universe outside of the dome. The Senshi saw a galaxy collapsing on itself, exploding, stars where blinking out, the spiral arms were folding into the center. "We left them in a Galaxy that wasn't their own. A World they so despised and hated..to die.." Sailor Moon said shaking violently with sobs. "Scorpio and Leadan...they had such a beautiful love. Leo, who actually sacrificed herself for us..she was a great leader...and the rest of them, good people...they didn't deserve that death!" she cried. "Sailor Moon...this is what they wanted...they defeated the Black Star Galaxy, they knew they had to die to keep them from invading the Golden Millenium...and Scorpio..is with Leadan.." Sailor Mars said, trying to comfort Moon, but she too was crying. In the short time the Sailor Senshi and the Zodiac Senshi had been friends, they got to know each other...not only as Senshi, but real people as well with loving families with hopes and dreams. She took Moon's hand in her own and stood up, she grabbed on to Mercury's hand. Mars didn't know what to do, but since everyone was either confused or upset..she took lead. "Let's go home.." she said to the others, who each took the hand next to them, ready to teleport back to earth. * * * * "This..isn't..Earth." Sailor Uranus replied finally, the Senshi had been in shock from the minute they landed. This world was almost barren, what was once a beautiful park in the middle of a booming city, was nothing but ruin. It was desolate for miles around. "What the heck happened to Juuban!?" Sailor Venus exclaimed. Everyone was in shock. Not a single building could be seen, only rubble which was beneath their feet. Not one sign signified there had been any life here for hundreds of years. There were no birds, no animals...not even insects. Sailor Mercury looked up from her computer, "Well...it seems some sort of nuclear explosion destroyed Juuban around 100 years ago." she replied in confusion. "A HUNDRED YEARS?!" Sailor Mars repeated in shock. "But..they didn't even have the technology!" Sailor Neptune exclaimed. "I know it sounds strange, minna (everyone). However, it is true." Mercury answered. "Well, then..if our ancestors were destroyed as well, how are we existing in this time?" Neptune asked. At that perfect moment, Neo Sailor Moon let out a little scream. "Chibiusa-chan!" Sailor Saturn exclaimed and dropped her Glaive and ran to Neo Sailor Moon's side. "I'm disappearing!" she exclaimed staring at her left arm in horror, the arm was fading in and out. "I AM TOO!" Sailor Venus shrieked hysterically as her hands began to fade out. "We need to find some life on this planet! To tell us what's going on!" Sailor Jupiter exclaimed. "There are humans here on this planet, but they all live in strange clumps mainly in Africa and the United States.." Sailor Mercury reported. "Well, let's go there then. We might as well know what the hell happened to the human race." Sailor Uranus said. The Senshi nodded, Sailor Venus swallowing her fear. They looked at Sailor Moon, but she appeared to be in a daze. "Mamo-chan is dead...too?" she whispered. The Sailor Senshi looked at one another troubled. Sailor Mars grabbed Sailor Moon's hand, and the rest of the Senshi held one another's hands. "SAILOR TELEPORT!" they shouted in unison. Minutes later they landed in a disgusting alley, a rat crawled over Sailor Neptune's foot and she stifled a scream. "This is the most disgusting place I have ever seen in my whole life." Sailor Pluto muttered. "Where are we?" Sailor Mars asked eyeing the rats and other vermin scurrying around their feet. The building around them where crumbling and old, dirty faces stared out of dirty windows. A disgusting smell of dead animals and human waste surrounded them. In the distance gun shots rang out and screams where heard. "We're in Chicago." Sailor Mercury said in confusion, "Impossible, Haruka and I just visted here last year and it looked nothing like this." Sailor Neptune scoffed. "Hey..come over here.." Sailor Jupiter called to the other Senshi, she and Sailor Venus had wandered to the end of the alley. The Senshi quickly ran to them, they where standing outside of two buildings. Barbed wire surrounded every building. Spray painted red X's were on the boarded up doors of several of the buildings. The street was littered with gun shells and bullets. "We over heard some people talking.." Sailor Venus began. "They said something about the how this world war was never going to end until the world was destroyed." Sailor Jupiter continued. "Yea..and they said something about Queen Selestia being a tyrant and she was never this bad. The person also said that she must have started this war to teach all earthians a lesson for leaving the Golden Millenium." Sailor Venus added. "Selestia?" Sailor Saturn repeated. "The Golden Millenium.." Sailor Pluto whispered. "Hey..look at this.." Sailor Mars said and bent down to pick up a wind blown piece of newspaper. "World War IV begins, Half Of the Earth's Population Already Dead." she said, reading the headline outloud. "World War IV!?" Sailor Venus exclaimed and looked at the paper, "This is dated just a few months ago too!" she reported. Sailor Uranus narrowed her eyes. "Half of the World is dead, probably more so now, the world is nothing but a wasteland..what happened here..?" Sailor Neptune asked. "The Golden Millenium.." Pluto whispered again. "Oh god we've made a terrible mistake.." she gasped as the truth hit her. "Explain what you mean.." Sailor Mercury urged, "The Golden Millenium was never destroyed..and this is what happened because of it." Pluto said, "We made a mistake in trying to save it.." "But..if the Golden Millenium was never destroyed, then there was no Silver Millenium..so how are we still alive?" Sailor Moon asked, she was still thinking about Mamoru, she wasn't really paying attention to what anyone was saying. "Usagi-chan, as you can see..V-chan is fading out." Mars snapped. Sailor Moon snapped out of her daze, "She's WHAT?" she exclaimed. "I'm fading away.." Venus replied, holding up her hand which was flickering in and out. "How can ANY of us still be existing?" Saturn asked. "I'm not sure. Perhaps we have some sort of mission..maybe to clean up the world.." Sailor Jupiter suggested. "What a job that'll be.." Sailor Mercury commented as she looked around. "Perhaps..this is..one big joke, ne? Why don't we..try another location in the world. You said Africa had large amounts of people living there..so lets go." Sailor Moon said, her voice sounded almost hysterical. Sailor Uranus shrugged, and the Senshi once again held hands and in minutes where transported to yet another part of earth. However, what they saw there was twice as worse. The city had been reduced to rubble. Make-shift homes cluttered a dirty area. Men dressed in white with a strange symbol on their armbands lead a near dead group of people towards a tiny building. They opened the door, and the line marched in. Soon the Senshi heard screams..and then a dead silence. Sailor Mercury turned pale. Sailor Saturn looked repulsed. "This is totally and utterly horrible.." Neptune muttered turning away. "Isn't that Selestia's symbol." Sailor Pluto asked, pointing at the armbands. "What if those people see us? Shouldn't we get out of here?" Sailor Venus asked fearfully. "That's the best idea I've ever heard from you V-chan." Sailor Uranus nodded. For the third time the Senshi joined hands, and once again teleported to another site on earth. Back in Japan, the same spot where Rei's temple should have been. "Because the Golden Millenium wasn't destroyed, earth is naive, half dead, and destroyed.." Saturn shivered. "I don't understand! We stopped the Black Star Galaxy! It was supposed to have fixed everything!" Moon exclaimed. "We stopped the Black Star Galaxy.." Sailor Neptune repeated. "Because we stopped them the Golden Millenium was never destroyed.." Sailor Uranus added. "..and the world turned out as bad as it is now." Sailor Neptune finished. "Don't you see? The Golden Millenium *SHOULD* have been destroyed!" Sailor Uranus exclaimed. Sailor Mercury nodded in agreement, "It would appear that way.." she said. Sailor Pluto nodded as well, "Like I said before, we made a mistake." "That doesn't make any sense! What about the Black Star Galaxy!" Sailor Venus argued. "Yea, if we didn't destroy them..they would have destroyed Earth, didn't you hear Hydraja?" Sailor Jupiter said, backing Venus up. "What if...the Black Star Galaxy wasn't the one who invaded the Golden Millenium?" Sailor Mars suggested. "Are you saying we destroyed an innocent Galaxy? I hardly doubt that." Sailor Jupiter scoffed. "No, not that they were innocent. They obviously wanted the Golden Key for some evil purpose. But I mean, what if there are two parties in this battle we've had to fight...and the Black Star Galaxy weren't the ones who destroyed the Golden Millenium..." Sailor Mars explained. There was silence. Mars' words made perfect sense...but the idea that the Senshi had been wrong all along was...terrifying...if they had made such a mistake..how many other mistakes had they made before? "That doesn't make sense! The Golden Millenium is around, it hasn't been destroyed! If there were two enemies and if we didn't destroy them then the world would be the same, and if we did, then they're dead and this is how the world turned out! And we didn't kill anyone else.." Sailor Jupiter argued. Venus scratched her head in confusion. "What...if...the Zodiac Senshi are the ones who were supposed to destroy the Golden Millenium.." Sailor Venus asked. "That's the dumbest thing ever said yet! They were FROM the Golden Millenium, they had no reason to detsroy it! They were there to protect it! It would be like us destroying the Silver Millenium!" Uranus shouted, the confusion and the fact that none of them knew what was going on was making her angry. "No..Haruka-san, don't be so quick to judge. I think Minako-chan has is somewhat on the right track. I think..the 'Invaders of the Future' are right under our noses...and always have been." Sailor Saturn said speaking up. The Senshi turned to look at her, she looked calm, she always was able to handle crisis situations with extreme tranquility, her calmness was frightening..and admirable. "You see, it all fits together now. The Prophecies even make sense. The Black Star Galaxy was, as Mars said, just another evil, but not the true 'evil' which destroyed the Golden Millenium." she began, "We know now that the Golden Millenium should have been destroyed and never been allowed to survive." Saturn continued. "Then that means we shouldn't have destroyed the Black Star?" Sailor Jupiter asked. "Not necessarily, what if..the defeat of the Black Star Galaxy made the real invaders think they succeeded in destroying what they believed to be the evil. And they never did what they should have done, which is destroy the Black Star galaxy..?" Saturn asked. "WHAT?!" Sailor Venus and Jupiter asked in unison. "Please clarify, you're saying something rather vague." Sailor Mercury requested, but she knew exactly what Saturn was getting at. "WHAT are *YOU* saying?!" Sailor Uranus demanded. Sailor Pluto stepped forward, "I know exactly what she's saying.." she said and looked at all of the Senshi carefully, "Remember the day when the prophecy about the Invaders from the Future winning their first major victory on the day of the new moon? Arseniru managed to slightly harm us, but more importantly...that was the day Sailor Moon was awakened." Sailor Pluto said solemnly. "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!" Sailor Uranus shouted once again. Sailor Neptune touched Uranus' arm gently and looked at her sadly, "Don't you see, Haruka? *WE* are the destroyers of the Golden Millenium.." she whispered. "It was US all along. It explains why Scorpio didn't know about the Black Star Galaxy invading the Golden Millenium..it explains everything! All this time we thought we had the true 'evil'..when all along it was us. *WE* are the true 'evil' who destroyed the Golden Millenium!" Sailor Saturn exclaimed with anguish in her voice, it was the first time she had broken her calm composure. The rest of the Senshi were totally silent. "So this means..that...." Sailor Mars said and then gasped as she realized what was going to eventually happen. Sailor Saturn nodded her head and gazed upward with her purple eyes, "We're going to have to destroy the Golden Millenium...and the Zodiac Senshi..all over again."