Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ After The Battle ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi, with the exception of any original characters inserted by myself and others.

Rating: PG

Summary: The Sailor Star Seeds allow the senshi to be reborn again and again. But what happens when that power finally runs dry? It is now the era of Lady Serenity, and the children of the Sailor senshi are longing for answers as to why their parents disappeared...

Author's Notes: I used a mix of Japanese and English names for the inner knights based on what I thought people were familar with. Just in case, Yuuichiro is Chad, and Urawa is Greg. For those of you who are solely familar with the Japanese names, Jamie is Asai and Ken is Shinozaki. The outer knights are all original characters; Taylor and Nathan both made appearances in my previous fanfics, for those caring to read the details on how they met Haruka and Michiru. I haven't quite gotten to writing a story on Hallen or Elias yet. Sorry to anyone who doesn't like any of the pairings, but the children had to come from somewhere, so I tried to pick the most likely guys from the series to fit the parts. Anyways, enjoy!

"You know well of my final battle as Sailor Moon, and my awakening in 30th century Tokyo, where I fought against the forces of the Black Moon. But what you may not know is that Chaos was never fully defeated. And at the time of my greatest happiness, he returned to wreak havoc on everything I held dear.

"Following the defeat of Black Moon, we had returned to a time of peace and prosperity. Shortly after my daughter Chibiusa was born, my friends began to settle down as well. We were pleased to learn that not only had my sweet Endymion come with me to the 30th century, but their knights had traveled through time to be with them as well."

"First there was Urawa, Mercury's intellectual sweetheart, who also possessed some psychic ability as well. Yuuichirou, ever at Mars' side, carefree but deeply devoted and loyal. Jamie, Venus' companion from all those times she spent playing volleyball, a romance which budded quickly, to our happiness. And Ken, Makoto's friend since childhood, who had always stood beside her during the hard times when others had abandoned her. Yes, they had all proved themselves full of love and compassion. And in this day and age, they were reborn not only as their lovers, but their protectors as well, the knights sworn to guard the re-awakened princesses until such time that they took their proper places as queens of their respective planets. Of course, I get ahead of myself. They were not the first ones to be wed."

"Also reborn in this time were the knights of the outer planets, Taylor, Nathan, Hallen, and Elias. Haruka and Michiru were proposed to in the same evening. And less than a year later, they were wed to their knights on the same day, symbolizing their strong bond of friendship. The ceremony was lovely, and it was soon to be followed by the wedding of Setsuna and her love Hallen."

"The outer senshi and their new husbands all resided in a large palace to the west of my own. Young princess Saturn lived with them as well, almost as an adoptive daughter to the group of them, at least until she was old enough to be on her own."

"It was then that the inner senshi were wed to their knights as well. I believe Ami came first, followed by Minako, Rei, and Makoto. Words cannot describe my happiness at finally seeing all of my friends experiencing this wonderful nectar called marriage that until recently, I had been the only one to taste of. Every morning I woke up next to Endymion, watching the beams of sunlight dancing upon his face, it was as if joy itself had intertwined with my heart."

"It was soon afterwards we received word of Helios' return. And of course, my young daughter, who had already traveled back and forth to the 20th century, was overjoyed to see him. The two were at each other's side constantly, and it warmed my spirit to see Chibiusa finally found a companion here in Crystal Tokyo."

"After that... that's when things got interesting."

"What do you mean by interesting?" Venus asked, interrupting Cosmos' talk.

"That's around the time you children were conceived," said Ami, though she wished she hadn't said it.

"What's 'conceived' mean?" Marie wanted to know.

"Umm..." Ami thought over quickly how on earth she was going to reply to that question.

"Born," said Makoto simply. "It means born." Ami looked skeptically over towards her friend, but was not about to try and correct her.

Cosmos sighed. She wanted to continue on with her tale, but she was drawing closer and closer to that one event she did not know if she could retell. Stories of happy times in the past were all well and good, but when it came to explaining to the children exactly how it was their mothers came to live in this state, and more importantly, the mysterious fate of their fathers... Cosmos wasn't quite sure if she had the strength to tell them that.

Suddenly, Cosmos fell forward, almost collapsing onto the stone floor, clinging to her staff for support.

"Your highness?" Ceres gasped. Murmurs of worry and concern circulated around the room.

"I'm fine," Cosmos assured her, getting back to her feet. "My energy is just a bit weak."

"You should rest," said Akio. "You can tell us the rest of the story another time."

"No..." Cosmos began, but angry glares from her friends told her she shouldn't object. "Very well," she sighed. "We'll see you again another time." The children all nodded and waved their good-byes. After they were gone and the door was shut, Cosmos retreated back to her staff, her fairy-like body changing to a white mist to match those of her friends.

"Geez..." Makoto sighed. "It seems like every time we awaken, the time we can spend like this is less and less."

"It's not surprising," said Setsuna. "After all, Cosmos is sustaining all of our life forces with her power. And that can be exhausting."

Haruka crossed her arms and sighed. "Well, I don't like it," she said. "This waiting here. Our bodies are destroyed, there's nothing left for us. What's the point in us lingering on like this? We can't even leave the shrine!"

"You hush!" Minako scolded. "Don't forget we're doing this for our children! That's what we sacrificed everything for, wasn't it? We don't need to hear your complaining now." She narrowed her eyes. "Or are you forgetting that it's only because of Cosmos' power that we're still here?"

Haruka was shocked by Minako's sharp reply. The child of love and beauty was usually the more calm and compassionate one. And Haruka did not take her words lightly. She turned and bowed to Cosmos. "I'm sorry, my queen," she said.

"It's alright, Haruka," Cosmos replied. "I don't blame you for your anxiousness. You were always a free-running spirit. This cold confined place doesn't suit you at all. Though I should say," she continued, her voice suddenly soft and concerned. "I'm a bit worried about how things have turned out so far."

"What do you mean?" Rei inquired.

"I mean," said Cosmos. "That my power was absorbed into the Cauldron just as yours was. My energy is weak; it should not have sustained us so long." There was a sudden hush over the group.

"Don't put yourself down, Your Highness," Setsuna said. "Your power is very strong - it has always been there for us. You should never doubt it."

"That's right," Makoto chimed in. "You just didn't realize your own power, that's all. Every battle has been like that."

"I suppose..." Cosmos mused. "But it still makes me wonder."