The End of the Millennium
A Xian Shade production

Author's Note: Welcome friends, to the multi-book Series, "End of the
Millennium"!  I am your host and fellow author, Xian Shade.
Periodically I will update this series with a new chapter, and I hope
it will reside amongst the few stories that will be remembered as one
of the largest.  For those in the dark, this is a crossover story of
the game series "Phantasy Star" and the Anime/manga series "Sailor
Moon".  Whilst I own neither of these series, I am writing this story
out of inspiration that's existed in me for about a decade.

Both Sailor Moon and the final 16-bit installment of Phantasy Star
both debuted in America in 1994.  Three years later I was exposed to
both in the same day, and a great big WTF ran through my brain at odd
little similarities ranging from names, to characters, to
personalities, to even events and the plot.  I had this odd feeling
that perhaps the people who did the dubbing for Sailor Moon were fans
of the game, as the similarities aren't so glaring in the original.
For years, a story would work its way through my brain, but I needed
something special to bridge the gap in my ideas.  I never believed I
could write a whole story.

Then I was introduced to 'fanfiction', and 'project: End of the
Millennium' began.

For years I wrote, planned, and revised the story again and again.
I'd planned to have it complete by the 'end of the millennium', so to
speak, but unfortunately such a thing did not occur.  It's now five
years BEYOND the millennium, and I'm just getting around to posting
the finished product.  But then again, it's FAR from finished.  A few
of you may have seen beta versions of the story a few years ago, when
my hard drive was stubborn and ate the last two chapters of the first
book.  It got about as far as the third chapter of the second book
before I pulled the whole thing down again.

This will HOPEFULLY be the final revision of the book series.

Now then, on to Book 1: Guardian's Return.  This story takes place two
years post Galaxia, when the life of the Sailor Scouts has wound down
to a crawl, and one of the most unlikely of scouts begins receiving
images of her past that might reflect the future.

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star.
If I did, this would be animated or a manga or both and you wouldn't
be reading it right now. Thanatos is © Xian Shade, and may not be used
without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken
Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit. 


Read and Review, people!


Now, I present to you: The End of the Millennium.


Prelude:

Tokyo, Mizuno residence, 3:23 AM: Ami Mizuno was sound asleep due to
the two-year peace they had created. No more nightly attacks from
their enemies meant more time for studying, and even more time for
much needed rest.

A repetitive bleep nudged her from the rest she'd been getting. She
reached for her alarm clock sleepily, hitting the snooze button, then
looking at it through half-opened eyes when it had no effect on the
beeps. 3:24 AM. She picked up her wrist communicator and pressed it.

She stifled a yawn. "Ami here..." no reply...but the beeping still
came. Slipping from under the sheets of her small bed, she began
searching and found her old communicator tucked away in a drawer, the
beeping growing loud. Its frequency was way off from the old one they
used. She pressed a few buttons on it and a garbled message came
through, with a snowy picture:

"Cehto -chkl- n benotv -blft- Otzent met -chk- se pbelont -scrhk-
orent ben -crkl- to chelta -chhhht- sobelan btro etra se milneb
-ffffttt-"

The message was so alien and broken she could barely make sense of
it, and the language was strange.  This was no static, it was an
actual signal!  But who would send such a thing on their old
frequency?



Chapter 1:

Tokyo, Hikawa Shrine, 4AM: The inner senshi had made their way to the
Hikawa Shrine after Ami's insistent call, and they all had a hard time
keeping awake around the sacred fire. The flame's heat often produced
a sleepy sensation that was probably better-used for meditation, but
it was the only proper meeting place aside from a bedroom itself. Luna
and Artemis stood by the fire, ready for any news and insight they
might give.

"What's the deal Ami-chan? Why'd you have to drag us all out here at
this ungodly hour?" Makoto finally voiced after everyone was silent
for a long enough time, obviously as annoyed as the rest. The scouts
hadn't met for almost two years as a group. After Galaxia's defeat,
the darkness just seemed to vanish from the minds and hearts of
everyone on Earth. Even the scouts.

Ami produced her old communicator and showed it to the others,
starting up the signal she received. The picture still wasn't there,
but the same message poured out, translated and only a little fuzzed:

'Attention Sailor Senshi -fft- If you're hearing this, then I have
failed to halt the attack on the Silver Millennium... -pfft-'

Ami paused the message. "The Silver Millennium died a thousand years
ago... and we went with it. At first I thought that perhaps this was a
message that didn't get to us during the war, but..."

She resumed the message. 'I pray this message reaches the -chkrl-
-vivors when the time comes -fft- I say to you, Sailor Senshi, that
your battle shall never be over until the root of evil is pulled free
and destroyed. The evil you face is like a weed, getting more powerful
each time you mow it down.  It evolves quickly, digging its roots
deeper until it's impossible to pull. If you do not become powerful
enough to stop it, then you are finished. Your enemy watches you
constantly, so make no mistake about feeling safe. First, they will
try to find energy to give them life. Find the Silver Crystal's pieces
and protect them. Guardian cats, find your charges and aid them in
battling their enemies. After you have defeated their kind often
enough, be ready: They shall track you down. Never assume it is over.
Beryl's forces may seem powerful now, but they are only the prelude to
your nightmares, for the horrible entity that powered their armies is
but a child. If you can help it, -bfftt-ay in a group, and never
venture alone. If you can survive for four years beyond the projected
awakening period, I shall return to this solar system. -CHKKHKRR-
-pefully I shall be greeted with gentle fashion, and I pray the
darkness has not swallowed this system's life completely. May the
Great Light protect you, and prepare, for the end shall soon begin.'

They all stared wide-eyed at the communicator as the message died. "If
this message is accurate, and if our enemies aren't gone, we're going
to be in deep trouble." Ami shivered, imagining the power of her mind
and her own powers, not being enough to stop their enemy.

"Well what are we supposed to do?" Makoto asked, regaining a bit of
her calm. "All we can do is train to be stronger. They're not here
yet, and hopefully we should have enough time. With this guy coming
back, maybe he can even help us?"

"This could also be a trick." Rei pointed out, her pessimism kicking
its way into the discussion. "I haven't sensed anything for a long
time. There've been no visions, nothing. Our enemies were probably
wiped clear after Sailor Moon beat Galaxia. I mean, wouldn't this
guy's image remain for the message if this weren't a trick?  And why
is it in our language?"

"I didn't understand the message at first, even when it was
unscrambled, Rei-chan." Ami explained.  "I ran up a program to translate it
from our old language to this one, and this is what I got.  Whoever it
is, they spoke the language of the Silver Millennium."

"Besides Rei-chan, I seriously doubt the enemy would warn us to get
stronger." Minako had her say now. "If you can't sense them coming,
that's all the better for us! Like Mako-chan said, that's plenty of time
to train ourselves to be stronger than our enemy. But it's going to be
kind of wierd being together all the time again."

"I doubt someone who's at least a thousand years old would be much of
an aid, girls. But why don't we take the advice and you can each spend
your nights together at one of your houses?" Luna suggested.

"I'm sure your parents won't mind if it isn't too often." Artemis
continued for her.

"We have to be careful... I nearly lost you all fighting against
Sailor Galaxia and Chaos. If evil becomes any more powerful, he'll be
right. We won't be able to stop it." Usagi mumbled, quite afraid and
for once paying attention in their meeting. Something few expected.
The others nodded.

"Tomorrow, after school, we should meet here to start training again."
Rei pointed out. "We'll stay here afterwards." They stretched and
returned to their respective homes and slept for the day to follow.
After all, tomorrow was the first day of high school in their senior
year.

As Ami slept, her dreams took a turn for the worse, as memories of the
Moon Kingdom resurfaced and played before her. A faded memory came. A
black-cloaked form seemed most prominent in her dreams...tall, but
darkened, as though she was not permitted to remember him...or was
that how he simply appeared? When the report of the attack on the
solar system from Beryl's army came, the shrouded form vanished, and
they were told to evacuate and make a stand at the moon kingdom's
castle.

Her memory blipped to the battle on the moon. She had combined her
attack with the other's to destroy the powerful monster blotting out
the sky... Metallia.  It simply shrugged it off, pointed at them,
suddenly releasing a beam of energy. Ami woke with a scream as it hit,
only to be droned out by the sound of her alarm clock.



----------------------------------------------------------------------

TBC.