The non-original characters in this fanfiction are copyrighted to Naoko Takeuchi and Toei where applicable. Any original characters are considered the intellectual property of Danny Lilithborne and may NOT be used without permission.
You may want to read "The Golden Queen of Shadow Galactica" as it is something of a prelude to this fiction.
--
My name is Sailor Galaxia.
Because I lost and surrendered to Chaos, though, my name is of little import. I can only function as a catalyst of Chaos in any case. I lost everything important to me, and upon my shoulders is the burden that no true lover should ever bear — eternal life.
Forever alone in a world that I can no longer protect; I am who I am.
I've locked myself on top of the world, with a seal that keeps me from harming those outside it. And thirty years have gone by since I placed that seal on myself.
Without air or food, my focus has started to wane. It won't be long before my body surrenders to Chaos and I am forced to break the seal.
The plans of Chaos...
Am I powerless to stop them after all?
--
SAILOR MOON: CHAOS THEORY
STRING 05 – The Years After The Ruin
Princess Serenity stood on the castle outskirts, waiting for her Prince at their usual meeting place. But tonight, he was nowhere to be seen.
"Prince Endymion?" she shouted. "Where are you, my Prince?"
Then a figure materialized before her. It looked like Princess Serenity, but the hair was lighter, and she wore a Sailor Soldier uniform.
Serenity didn't see the resemblance at first. "Who are you?" she asked.
"That is not important right now," the figure replied. "Your destiny waits for you, Sailor Moon. But you must grasp it with your own two hands now. Things have changed."
Princess Serenity was confused. "Sailor Moon? Who is that? Who are you?"
"Goodbye for now," was the reply. "But we will meet again, when you are ready..." And with that, she was gone.
"Wait! Wait!"
But then Princess Serenity found herself back in her bed.
Her thoughts were in disarray. Was I dreaming...?
But then the same figure appeared before her bed.
"This is not a dream," she said sternly. "You must awaken to your destiny, Sailor Moon."
"Tell me, please!" Princess Serenity shouted. "Who are you?"
"The ultimate Sailor Soldier and the light of hope that has gone out in the universe," the figure said. "I am the 'you' of the future if you do not take action now."
"I don't understand," Princess Serenity opined, putting her finger to her lip.
"Take action... any action. Or the ones you love will be doomed. Take action, Sailor Moon!"
Then the figure was gone, and the Princess was alone.
She spent some time there, by herself, pondering the meaning of this vision. Finally, she decided the best thing to do was to talk to her mother.
Mother understands dreams... she can surely help me with this one.
--
Prometheus groaned as another stack of papers was placed in front of him.
After the events of thirty-three years ago, which the government of Earth officially called "The Ruin", King Phaon had become the de facto leader of the Upper Earth. He and King Endymion of the Golden Kingdom had quickly struck an alliance to rebuild the earth, and Phaon had made Prometheus his "Vicegerent".
In laymen's terms, it meant doing all of the King's paperwork.
Nevertheless, Prometheus' position was one of high power, one that he tried to respect as much as possible. He dotted all his "I” s, crossed all his “t” s, and made sure that everything was in ship shape. And he kept training every day to maintain his strength to battle any threat that might come his way, even though peace had returned to the land.
Still, one thought crossed his mind repeatedly.
Phaon hasn't made any effort to find his wife, Metalia, Prometheus often thought. And while I'm stuck here doing all this busywork, I have no time to conduct my own investigation. Could it be King Phaon...?
No..., I'm imagining things.
Prometheus grunted as he continued his paperwork. It helped distract him from the gnawing doubt that was eating at him every day. Phaon loved Metalia... I know, if he thought there was something that could be done, he'd look for her.
But still...
--
Sailor Mars was at D-Point, taking her turn watching over the Seal. Mercury had volunteered a plan of the Sailor Soldiers taking time off from their normal duties every day to check on the North Pole to see if Galaxia's control of the Seal had weakened.
Mars observed the area carefully; it obscured all vision past the circular area and did not appear to be weakened in the slightest. As Mars' time to watch was almost up and she had to return to her duties, she turned to leave.
"Wait," she heard a weak voice call.
"What was that?" Mars shouted, turning and striking a battle pose.
"Sailor Mars..." the voice went on. "You said you would make me pay. Now... now's your chance..."
Impossible... Mars thought to herself. That voice... it couldn’t be...
"Yes, it's me, Galaxia..." The voice seemed to respond to her thoughts. "So much time has gone on... and I can't hold the Seal anymore. So... now's your chance..."
The Seal evaporated into light, its magical barriers turning into stardust that flittered upward into oblivion. And even though Mars hated Galaxia, her heart felt overwhelmed with sorrow at the sight she beheld.
Galaxia was old. Her body did not bear any symptoms of age, looking as strong as ever, but her face, hair and particularly her eyes showed all the signs. Where her hair was once flame red and flowing, it was now silver gray and hung limply around her. The skin on her face almost seemed to drag off, and the color around her eyes a sunken black.
The onetime legendary Sailor Soldier was now a crone, a corpse who collapsed on the ice.
"Galaxia!" Mars shouted, running to her side. "Don't move! You need medical attention."
"I might be wrong... but I feel like I'm going to die soon," Galaxia whispered. "Don't bother. But listen, Mars... Chaos has won over me. My body might disappear here... but Chaos will undoubtedly take my form to use for its purposes someday."
"Don't give up," Mars urged her. "Fight it, Galaxia!"
"I've fought it for thirty years..." Galaxia responded. "It's hard to be sure. I was trying to keep track of time as best I could, but that seal twists perceptions. It's like being in a dream that you can't wake up from... kind of like life, actually." She chuckled.
She then coughed hard.
"Hang in there!" Mars shouted again, tears coming to her eyes, but she knew in her heart that Galaxia's time had come.
"Goodbye," Galaxia sighed. "Maybe death will have come for me at l..." She then sighed and closed her eyes, head falling back. She had no energy to speak any more words. Her body then lost cohesion and turned into a thick black mass of energy and, like the Seal, evaporated into air. But unlike the stardust that emanated from that magic, Galaxia's body turned into a dark, thick and dour-smelling mist.
Mars wept bitterly. She didn't care at this point about seeing Galaxia pay for her deeds. She knew that her fate was punishment enough. She wept for the memory of the proud Soldier that Sailor Galaxia once was, the woman that had inspired all of the Sailor Soldiers around the galaxy.
When she had regained control of her emotions, Mars wiped her tears and got to her feet.
I have nothing left to do... but report what I've seen.
"Sailor Teleport," Mars whispered. Although the technique normally took a substantial amount of energy, this time, Mars was able to do it effortlessly.
--
Princess Serenity struggled to take deliberate steps under the observance of her mother. As she walked slowly, one foot over the other, she also tried to keep her head up and lift her legs just so. But trying to do so many things at once was too much for the girl, and she tripped up over herself and fell on the ground.
"Oh, Mother, I don't understand..." she sighed. "Why do I have to practice walking? I already know how to walk."
"You are a Princess, and someday, you will be Queen," the Queen replied with a gentle smile. "All your action must be taken deliberately and their results must demonstrate your intent without fail. Think back, my daughter. When you're running back and forth through the castle, you're not thinking about how you look, are you?"
"No, of course not," Princess Serenity said as she picked herself up off the ground. "I'm just trying to get somewhere."
"But observers would see you, and be ready to jump on you for any mistake you made," the Queen said. "Do you see? A queen must be prim and proper in all the things she does."
"I suppose so...,” the Princess said. "I still don't understand why people would be so small and petty as to criticize me over the way I walk." The Queen just smiled.
"Mother," Princess Serenity said, suddenly remembering. "There's something I need to talk to you about."
"Yes, my dear?"
"I had a dream," she said, sitting down by a fountain pool. "And it is bothering me."
Queen Serenity gasped softly, seeming to know in her heart what her daughter was going to say.
"Mother... do you know of a 'Sailor Moon'?"
The Queen wrung her hands together and looked down.
Her daughter looked crestfallen. "You know what I'm referring to, don't you?"
"Tell me what your dream was, dear," the Queen said, trying to regain her smile.
"I... I thought I was seeing Prince Endymion," the Princess said and blushed. "It was only in the dream! But... he wasn't there. Instead, there was a figure that looked like me, but her hair was the color of yours. And she said... she was the light of hope."
"Oh, my dear," the Queen said, her nerves now frazzled.
"And she called me 'Sailor Moon'," the Princess went on. "And said I had to take an action... any action, or everyone I love would be doomed. Mother... what's going on? You look pale."
The Queen's eyes lowered, and she felt ashamed of herself. She had kept the details of the events of thirty years ago from her daughter out of fear that the Princess wouldn't understand, and now that it was so relevant, she felt guilty for placing so little faith in her. But the time for that was over. If Galaxia's star seed was taking corporeal form and visiting Princess Serenity in her dreams... that could only mean that her friend's physical life was nearing a close.
"We will talk about this later, my daughter," the Queen said. "I promise. But first, there are some things I have to do. Your dreams have informed me of an important event."
"Really?" the Princess said, her face looking as though she wasn't sure whether to smile or be sad.
"Not all dreams have meaning, but yours definitely does," the Queen said. "And in your case, it wasn't a dream at all. Please go to your room, dear. Your lessons are done for today."
The Princess obeyed her mother, but as she walked to her room, she thought back on the dream. Is there something that I need to be doing? And if so... what is it? I feel like time is against me! I don't like feeling this way! I wish someone would just tell me what I have to do, so I can do it!
--
Prometheus wandered to the outskirts of the city that night, and kept walking. He wasn't sure why. After he got off work, he suddenly felt an overwhelming impulse to walk outside of the city. Something seemed to be driving him somewhere, and before he knew it, he was in a desert. Even though he had walked the whole way, he wasn't tired or short of breath.
Why am I here?...
"Chaos!" Prometheus shouted, without being sure of why. "Death Phantom!... I know you can hear me! You may be a liar, but even a lie would be helpful now. I want answers! Where is Metalia? Where is Galaxia? Show yourself, you pawn of the devil!"
The cloaked figure materialized in front of him.
"Now, now, Prometheus," Death Phantom said. "There's no need to take such a tone with me. After all, I am the one who called you here!"
"What?" Prometheus was taken aback. "What possible reason could you have to do such a thing?"
"You want answers, but you won't believe the truth," Death Phantom said with a chuckle. "Nevertheless, I have brought you here to tell them to you since you cannot hear my voice from afar. The ruin of thirty years ago was perpetrated by none other than Sailor Galaxia!"
"I don't believe you!" Prometheus shouted. "You're lying!"
"Denial is the most predictable of human responses," Death Phantom said with a loud laugh. "But it is the truth. The fact is, when Galaxia lost to me all those centuries ago, she became my servant, her every action controlled by me. Oh, she fought against it all the days of her life, valiant soul that she was."
Prometheus' fury seemed to vanish. He was taken aback once again. "Galaxia... was controlled by you?"
"Galaxia never told you the truth about the Sailor Wars, did she?" Death Phantom said. "Many millennia ago, the first man and woman lived together on the Earth in peace. But then enmity rose up between them. Nobody knows who started it, but the fact that women ended up being the envoys of love and justice says it all, doesn't it?"
"What...?" Prometheus' confusion was apparent.
"Many battles were fought, and in the end, only one warrior remained triumphant. She did not even remember her own name anymore, and the population called her Sailor Galaxia... the Sailor Soldier of Destruction. When the slightest hint of evil appeared, she would arise to eliminate it! And that's the way it was for many years."
Prometheus narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to Death Phantom as he told the story.
"With no one left to protect, the warrior simply trained in case a future threat came. But she never imagined the people she'd sacrificed so much for would turn their backs on her. In the end, she was living on a planet of trash! The most contemptible of people, who burned their lives out into ash, seeking only their own sensual pleasures!"
Prometheus noticed that Death Phantom's form was changing... and his voice... or was it... a female voice? What was going on?
"These stars of garbage, with no shines... no, they were dead stars, like black holes. They had no memory of the Sailor Wars. They imagined that life, as they knew it simply was! They had no conception of the suffering, of the despair, the tears. And if you were to tell them about it, they would dismiss it as naught but fables of the ancients! Fairy tales told by worthless parents to their worthless children to move them towards their worthless dreams! But I knew better... because I'd seen it."
"You...!" The color drained from his face. Prometheus ran towards the fading figure of Death Phantom, but it vanished. Only the voice echoed in the air... and at this point, there was no mistaking to whom the voice belonged.
"By defeating Chaos and sealing it inside me, I became its helper. I became a devil. But even that couldn't stop my pure heart. I had to do whatever it took... to save people from suffering at the hands of evil. Even if it meant... even if it meant I became a murderer. Those people that I killed are at peace now, Prometheus. Free from the ankle chain that is a mortal body, their star seeds can regain purity as new lights for solar systems in the cosmos! At least... we can all hope."
"You're not Galaxia!" Prometheus shouted as he got to his feet. "Galaxia would know that all life had to be protected, even if… even if..."
"'...even if that life would take your own'... right?"
Prometheus was stunned and chagrined as the voice recited the primary directive of the Sailor Soldiers. But then he regained his composure. "No, it's a trick," he said. "If you absorbed Galaxia's body, you would have all of her memories. Of course you'd know that."
"Too true. Well then, let me demonstrate my power in the best fashion possible."
A form began to materialize within the space: golden boots, gloves, and the golden bracelets, which secured the body, devoid of its shine.
No! Impossible!
Her long hair now hidden and secure behind the Empyrean Helmet, Sailor Galaxia stood before Prometheus, battle-ready.
"Are you ready, Prometheus?" she asked.
"You're not Galaxia," Prometheus muttered, raising his guard.
"I possess her mind, body and spirit. Even if I'm truly not the Sailor Soldier, Galaxia, what's the difference?" she laughed. "Or do you think that her soul would take one bit of her strength from me... or even add to it? Do you care to test that theory?"
"What?" Prometheus shouted, dropping his guard. And in a moment, he felt a pressure against his chest. Galaxia had struck him somehow, without moving her body. He lost his footing as he was thrust across the desert field, landing on the ground, knocking his head against the dirt. Galaxia... no, Death Phantom gave him a chance to get up and raise his guard again. She then laughed mockingly.
"You don't seem to understand yet, Prometheus," she said. "When I take this form... there is no difference between Galaxia and myself! You want to know the truth? Find out by fighting me now! Or walk away. Then you'll never know! Never know if you can surpass Galaxia's strength! Are you really satisfied that way?"
"I don't care if you're Galaxia or sheep," Prometheus said. "Whoever you are, I'll defeat you. Besides, Galaxia would have never given me that chance you just gave me."
"Oh, really?" Galaxia laughed mockingly. "Or perhaps I am just so confident that there is nothing you can do to hurt me that I gave you a chance out of boredom. I am Sailor Galaxia, Prometheus! Until you accept that, our fight will be meaningless!"
"No, it won't be meaningless," Prometheus, said. "I'm going to beat you until your mouth is no longer capable of telling any Goddamn lies!"
"God... so you still believe in that pitiful creature." Galaxia scoffed. "I used to be like that, too. Having faith in a benevolent Lord."
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Prometheus ran forward, not thinking, driven by his anger.
"Are you forgetting who your opponent is?"
Galaxia summoned her Sword of Sealing and slashed the air in front of Prometheus. Seeing that, he halted his approach, his chest just missing the tip of the sword.
"A frontal assault is the last resort of the desperate," she said. "When you think you've run out of options and take the only one available, your opponent will see through that unless they are truly stupid! Didn't I tell you never to insult me like that again?"
Prometheus' eyes widened as he remembered Galaxia saying nearly those exact words during his training. Tears filled his eyes as the reality of the situation finally dawned on him.
She's not lying. This... this really is Sailor Galaxia.
A drop of sweat fell from his forehead.
What... what can I possibly do here, except die?
--
END OF STRING 05
--
Chaos has finally completely consumed Galaxia, and now Prometheus is confronted with a foe that he has never been able to overcome. And this time, she doesn't plan to hold back! But Prometheus has his own power. No matter how many times Galaxia strikes him down, he gets back up again; how will this battle end? Next time: String 06 - The Ultimate Battle! Galaxia of Chaos vs. Prometheus.
