Neo-Queen Serenity  gazed at the bloodied forms of her
Inner Senshi. This was it! The time was now ripe for her old friends to see
the light of her reasons. She wanted them in this. And now was the time for
their baptism of evil. She sat on her throne as she awaited her Senshis’
answers.  And she knew what they would answer. She made sure of that!!!
And thus, all four Inner Senshi knelt before their new queen. A queen who
mirrored the warpness of mind and soul as the one who had been responsible
for it all. All four Senshi gazed at their queen as they took the oath to
serve her once more. An oath that bound all five of them to darkness….
                  She laughed as lightning etched the skies above with its
hot light as dark clouds began to gather in the city. The other Senshis
would soon fall. 
                [Why am I feeling suddenly Kodachi-like whenever I read that?]

* * * * * 

                  Time passed. 
                  Radler gazed sadly upon the remnants of the once glorious
city of Crystal Tokyo. Now, little of what should have been the capital city
of the world remained. Only desolation could be seen of the land. Radler
sighed as he flew back to the Forest of Silence. There they were safe.
Setsuna-san made sure of that. And even now, after nearly sixty years of
constant battle, he had not forgotten the oath he swore when this had all
begun. 
                  He would find out who was responsible and they would pay!!! 
                  It had been close to a century now since that fatal day he
had witnessed the Inner Senshis’ terrible conversion. No longer were the
Inner Senshi the same women he had known since he was a kid. They were now
servants of an Evil that only humans could ever create. Radler seethed every
time he even thought about it. But how could he not as he and the Outer
Senshi were all that was left to guard Chibi. Worse was the fact that the
Outer Senshis’ powers had visibly weakened ever since the fall of the Silver
Millennium.	 
                   Setsuna had explained that everything about themselves
mirrored Neo-Queen Serenity. Everything that was Serenity was split evenly
amongst the Senshi. And the same was true vice versa. They all teemed it as
a life link. Radler felt it prudent not to even mention something that the
Outer Senshi knew themselves. If that was true, then whatever corruption
that had twisted Serenity could also do the very same thing to the Senshi.
This explained a lot on how Serenity was able to even break one Senshi. She
had used her link with the Senshi to further her own twisted ends. 
                  Radler hated this. He could never reveal to them that he
had dreamed about this for so long. He could not bring to tell them this
since even he could not remember his own dreams until that fateful day back
at the palace for fear of what it might do. How he wished he could have
forgotten it. It would have been better that way. 
                   He gripped the sword that was fastened to his back. The
sword was easily recognizable as the same one he had summoned in his dreams.
He had fashioned it himself. Ironic that the dreams – or nightmares as he
called it – had stopped since that time. 
                  Even now, so many things about this new memories that had
flooded his mind a century ago troubled him. So many of them still did not
fit. He was so afraid. A century of fighting this unending war for
domination. He had lost too many friends. Close friends. 
                  The only useful thing about those memories were the skills
he had harnessed to efficiency in his dreams. 
	The world under him shook violently; a testament to the pain the world was
feeling at the loss of her queen. It was dying just as surely as Serenity
and her Guardians were reveling in their depravity of morality and spirit.
Everything they touched turned rotten to the core. A legacy of the darkness
that had consumed all of humanity. 
	Radler glanced up.
                   The skies were a steal gray in color. No doubt, it would
give way to heavy clouds filled with torrential rain. He glanced at his
watch. Radler grew nervous. This was not like his wife, Reimi, to be this
late. She was supposed to have reported a few minutes ago! An uneasy feeling
crept up his spine. The thought chilled him. 
	Reimi, birthed under the shinning glory of the star of Orion, was the final
Senshi. No one else would come after her and until all the Senshi died,
there were little chance at rebirth. But considering their present
condition, Radler doubt, rebirth would do that much good. He feared for his
wife. Radler’s love for her rivaled his affections for the Child Princess.
Both, he protected with all his heart, mind, and soul. For if anything
untoward happened to any of them, he could never forgive himself for his
laxness. And now, his wife had yet to answer his summons on the commlink.  
	His mind was screaming warnings at him. He knew that there was some basis
to it but hoped against hope that it would not be so. Finally, after close
to an eternity of waiting, the commlink bleeped. 
	"Radler here."
	The comm was filled with the hiss of static. But the voice was undeniably
Reimi’s!! 
	"Thank the heavens you’re okay, Reimi-chan!!" he burst out. 
	"Sorry to disappoint you, husband, but the Reimi of old had just had a
startling revelation onto herself." The voice, belonging to Reimi, dripped
with malice. Radler felt his body freeze up. His mind went through dozens of
seizures in no less than a nanosecond. He could not believe it was possible!! 
	"R..Reimi? What… What happened to you?" he wanted to know. His voice was
strained and definitely trying to sound calm. 
	The laugh on the other end of the commlink confirmed his worst possible
fears. The rage within him grew and opened once more the powers that had
been so long denied of him. The area around him melted to slag as his
white-hot aura blazed to life. 
	"Noooo!!!!!’ he shrieked to the heavens. 
	With that, he flew towards the Palace. His face a mask of rage at what had
been done to his wife. His mind seethed with anger. All rationality left him
at that moment. All that he could think of was to exact terrible vengeance
upon the Shadow Moon. To hell with the fact that he was out to kill someone. 
                  Anyone!! 
                  He did not care so long as his thirst for vengeance was
slacked. 
	He knew it was a damn trap. Like hell he cared! 
                  He was pissed real bad but a part of him remained calm and
collected. That part began the preparations that would be needed for the
upcoming battle. He was one and they were many. But what they did not know
was just what power lay dormant within this vessel. He might even have a
chance. The barest of chance. Still, even this analytical part of him was
mad at what had happened. He should have seen this coming! Reimi, Sailor
Orion, bore powers never before unleashed in the universe. Her powers easily
outstripped Saturn at her best. And now, with the fall of the final Senshi,
what hope was there at all? 
	*Trust in your own power, my child. For in you lies the hope that you
seek.* a voice within him spoke. 
	*Who are you?* he asked, slowing his flight down a bit. No sense hitting
anything while he was flying with his mind preoccupied this way. At the
speeds he was traveling, he’d make a great impression on what he would hit. 
	*My identity is of no concern to you for now. Do not lose hope. EVER!! You
must see that the Child Princess live long enough to go through the Time of
Ascension. Only then will any of you stand a better chance to do battle with
the Shadow Moon.* The voice in him paused a moment before it continued. *Do
you still wish to go through with this plan of yours, my child?* 
	Radler nodded grimly. *They took away my wife. And they will pay.* 
	*Be careful. For dying right now will help very little. Remember your oath.
Remember.* 
	Radler stopped in mid-flight. If he didn’t know any better; he could have
sworn that voice was damn too familiar. He looked back towards the city he
had just left as the more rational side of him re-exerted its control over
him. Having done so, Radler was making sulfurous curses in the air. 
	"Okay. They wanna play rough. Fine!!! But I’m not gonna play." 
He knew they were waiting for him. Like he cared right now. No! The oath was
more important. He would exact the vengeance he wanted someday. Not now.
	The knowledge within him closed once more. The power that had flowed out
from within the depths of his being withdrew; there for him to summon when
he most needed. The power that was his birthright. 
                  But, he knew he could not kill with it. 
                  Not now or ever.
	

End of this Chapter
===============
	Sigh. Well, this is it. The best I could do for a backgrounder on the
events leading up to the current power struggle. The Guardian Sisters were
thus born, with Dark Queen Serenity as the leader. I hoped you all liked the
explanation regarding the way the Inner Senshi were corrupted. 
	I know its brief. Live with it ^_^ (unless someone wants to help expound on
it ) 
	Also, the Outer Senshi are in no way invulnerable to what had happened to
the Inner Senshi. Since the link between the Outer Senshi and Serenity were
mostly a lot more distant, they will be affected. The link all the Senshi
share with Serenity is too strong. It just takes time, that’s all.
	BTW: A little reminder. Both Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are dead as I
have explained this last chapter. Their deaths will be discussed – some time
soon.  Also, I’ve tried hard not to reveal too much of the story in this
chapter. Another thing would be that mine character has taken the lead here.
Yes, it had to happen. But not really. Please understand that Radler is not
much of a main character. And so Ranma and co. (most of them anyway) are the
ones in the lime light of this. Radler is what is called ‘a character of
convenience.’
                  Also: PLEASE give me some C&C here folks. I need people
who would be nice enough to point out glaring irregularities before I
proceed to the next chapters. You're help would most definitely be needed
and much appreciated.	



===================================
Radler
      
   Eternal Worshipper of the Red-Haired Goddesses
	Nene Romanova and Icer-2   
   All praise their names!!!! Or else.....  ^  ^ 
                                           
===================================	    		 

 "What am I doing this for??"  ^_^