End of the Millennium
A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: This was more of a summary of events as I realized the
prequel was dragging along quite a bit... to the point where it had
achieved just how long I'd intended to make the story in the first
place. Oh well!

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star.
If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares,
Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © 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.


The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 25:

The month passed quickly for everyone upon each world. The prince of
Earth was unsure what to do when he couldn't get back, and was often
chased by Lunarians until he got to the palace, where the truth was
explained to him. He'd been suspicious of his people, and even of his
generals of late. He hardly complained, getting to spend time with his
princess... even if he had to often remain hidden from the guards.

Venus' metalsmiths forged powerful and sharp blades for the warriors
of their system, based upon the black sword of Orakio, the one-time
nemesis and then love of Queen Laya's sister. That very sword was in
Jadeite's possession, but given to Prince Endymion as a wedding gift,
as the weapon to protect the moon kingdom. It was the weapon that was
once used to seal a massive evil being Laya had twice seen herself,
called a 'Dark Force'. She helped to defeat it when it was released
from its sealed fate, and swore no dark creature would claim her
people again.

Pluto was now a frozen wasteland, the people long gone and the castle
crumbled. The troops of Mars and Jupiter scoured high and low, sifting
through its white-sand surface, with little success. The planet was
dead. No living beings. No plant life. Not even water. The air was
barely breathable, even, and the temperature was so low that the
soldiers often had to stay close just to maintain body heat. They
remained per Ares' request, investigating as to what could have wiped
an entire planet of life shy of Saturn's princess.

After Thanatos had completed the training of Saturn's princess, he had
multiple transportation pads installed on Saturn by the good grace and
acceptance of King Marcus of Mercury, and the allowance of Queen
Serenity. The people came in droves, ready to interact with their
neighbors. Indeed, the people of the silver millennium eventually
learned that the inhabitants of Saturn were good people, and the fear
of their people diminished. Trade routes began, and the rule negating
the arrival of people from Saturn upon other worlds was removed when
word spread of Samuru and Amilia's engagement.

Ares kept a close watch on Earth the whole time, watching for the
battles he knew were occurring without his knowledge. But for once,
none came, even with the borders of the moon closed. Perhaps they knew
he was watching?

The lack of people on Pluto surprised Ares, but it was not totally
unexpected if the darkness was sneaking inside. With the disappearance
of Chronos and the planet's royalty, Princess Setsuna, the planet was
virtually unguarded in terms of clairvoyant ability, as well as losing
two of its most powerful people. But with the troops at alert in the
furthermost regions of the solar system, there was no way they'd be
unprepared.

Finally the night of the ball came without much incident. The people
consisted mostly of Lunarians due to the sensitive nature of the ball,
as well as the 'quarantine', but the royalty of the inner five worlds
had come together. The masks everyone wore disguised themselves from
each other, a decoration Thanatos believed they could do without.
Their enemy could be amongst them, and he'd never even see their face.
Both he and Ares had come to keep an eye on the party, believing such
a gathering would be a dangerous place, as the enemy could strike from
within. Still, Ares had kept his communicator. If anything was going
to happen beyond, he'd be there for it. In the gathering, it was as
simple as the meeting of many: crowded, talkative, and boring. Ares'
mask did little to disguise him, as he was easily the tallest and
largest one present, being particularly large due to the armor hidden
beneath his outfit, and the darkened bronze skin he bore. But Thanatos
wore his easily, having taken on his mortal guise. The white plastic
mask borrowed from his immortal form covering his face in all but the
eye and mouth area.

The music began. He'd heard the power of music before on Mercury. Such
strength in auditory sound could only be magic... something that the
princesses of Neptune and Uranus possessed in great amounts. People
began pairing off and dancing, and before long he found himself
dancing with who could only be Amilia, one of the shortest adults
present. As they circled about, he spotted Ares being practically
dragged onto the dancing floor by Mars' princess.

"What's wrong with Ares?" Amilia asked, obviously having seen the same
thing.

"Hey, battle is one thing. Ares has had little time to indulge in
learning to dance."

They could be heard from the tiny bit away, Reianna sounding a little
ticked at the veritible giant as he stubbornly refused to budge, but
was eventually coaxed onto the floor. "Come on, what is your problem?"

Amilia giggled briefly and rested her head against Samuru's shoulder
as the music became softer and more romantic, the focus of the floor
being that of the Moon princess and Earth's prince. But for the time
being, Samuru was the one that had Amilia's focus. "I'm glad we had
time to practice when I was younger. Dancing was fun when we were
alone."

"Of course. Dancing is easy when your partner doesn't have feet to
step on." he joked. Obviously she didn't mind the comment, because she
didn't even open her eyes.

"Sam... Thanatos... what will happen when I die?"

He didn't particularly like the question, but she never asked anything
of him that he wasn't willing to tell her. "Well, depending on your
positive or negative energy concentration in life, your soul will be
sent to this solar system's cauldron, and either be sent for
reincarnation or impris..."

"No, no... I mean... what will happen to us?"

'Us...?' he thought, and she snuggled into his shoulder. He looked at
the ring on her slender finger, a beautiful blue sapphire with the
symbol of her planet hidden within its reflective surface, proof of
his love for her. He too wore a ring, something much more plain.
Gemless, but still infused with her planet's symbol. If only there
were time enough to express how he felt. "My kind can't really die
permanently. Our memories always remain. Since you are such a positive
woman, I'm sure you would be sent for reincarnation. I would try to
find you again."

She clutched at his outfit. "I love you, Samuru... Thanatos... I'm
scared that I won't make it if there is a war. Don't forget me...
please?"

"I promise never to forget you..." He smiled with a whisper and
pressed his lips to her own sweetly, a kiss that hardly lingered
before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

It was Ares.

"Thanatos." Ares' voice was focused and determined, but quiet and calm
enough to not arouse panic. Something was wrong. "We have an
emergency. Reports have come in from Pluto about a large force of
darkness, different from what I perceived. I've alerted the troops of
Neptune, Uranus, and Venus already, but Saturn and Mercury aren't
responding to the calls. I don't know how long our troops on the main
line can hold it. Not only were we wrong about how soon, but the force
is much larger than we thought."

"Nothing we can't handle together." he replied, then turned back,
pulling Amilia into an embrace. "I love you, and I will never forget,
but you don't have to worry. I'll be back, I promise."

He feared that she wasn't going to let go, because she was clutching
so tightly. "Please... be careful..."

After she let go, he turned to Ares and clapped his metal hand on his
brother's shoulder. "Go ahead. I will alert the royal family and the
forces of the Moon, pick up Saturn's princess to assist the battle,
and join you as soon as I can."

Ares nodded and disappeared in a flash of flame, which scared a few of
the people momentarily. Samuru moved quickly through the slow-dancing
crowd, over to where the queen of the moon sat, watching the
celebration, and lifted his mask so he could be identified.

"Your majesty, we have a situation. The darkness is making its move
now! Prepare your people, just in case... prepare for war." he pressed
in a firm yet soft tone, mimicking Ares in not inducing panic amongst
the people by yelling.

She and the two guardian cats nodded. The cats dashed off, shouting
the alarm, while the queen directed the people to safety areas. Samuru
took on his ghostly form and pulled himself into the black space of
his cloak, the material phasing through space at incredible speeds to
drop down on Saturn. Uncurling from the black space and speeding
through the castle, he came upon the princess' room and phased through
the door.

"Princess, the time has come."

"I know." she mumbled, her back to him. She turned to reveal an odd
outfit, standing with the glaive he had trained her in the use of. It
was a white form-fitting outfit with a purple miniskirt and kerchief,
the shoulder guards curled upward to a point, and a spiked crystal
resting upon her chest between a deep purple bow. He'd never seen such
an outfit before. "I have felt it since my transformation into Sailor
Saturn began. This solar system... will die."

Thanatos felt as though his heart dropped into his stomach. She
couldn't be right. "Come on, we must end this as quickly as possible.
With the troops of Mars and Jupiter battling the darkness on the front
lines, Uranus and Neptune covering the second wave, and Venus and
Mercury backing up the Moon Kingdom, with your own world providing
recovery, there's no way we can lose!"

"I will go with you, but it does not matter anymore. The army is
moving faster than you think. Neptune and Uranus are already gone. The
darkness is enveloping this world as we speak. I'm sorry, Thanatos. I
am." Her face and emotions were dulled. She didn't have hate, anger,
or sorrow in her features or voice. It didn't even appear that she had
awareness. "Darkness will swallow this system, and only one world will
survive."

He growled at the girls attitude and grabbed her gloved wrist, pulling
them both into the dark space of his cloak as his spectral form sped
out and floated to the battlefield.

And he only emerged in time to watch Ares in the grip of the massive
blackness that blotted out the stars themselves.

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

Holy crap! Does that mean Ares, the very spirit of war itself, may be
killed? Can an immortal die? What is that thing? All this and more
next time, on 'The Path of Finding Destiny'!