Well, here you are... ^_^ The chapter took awhile to come out since I wasn't 
able to access the computer for a while... Anyway, THANK YOU to any and 
everyone who sent me comments about the prologue... very positive and very 
motivating... :)

Notes (as well as an update on the rest of my fanfics) are at the bottom of 
the page...

*     *
Disclaimer: Sailormoon and all characters associated with it are the property 
of Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Kodansha; other characters are property of me, 
myself, and I, etc., etc. 

Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoy! :)

*     *  
Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon
C H I M E R A
chapter I: Prophecies


    There was a time, long ago, that she could remember as calm and peaceful. 
A time when everything was simple, innocent, and honest. A time when she and 
her brother had roamed the lovely Moon palace, oblivious to the foreordained 
future that was in store for them... A time, she now realized, that had never 
been anything more than an illusion. _This_ was truth, the here and now, the 
culmination of her existence. Everything hung precariously in the balance. It 
was up to Fate, and Serenity, to either reach out a hand or utterly abandon 
her. And strangely enough, Serafina was uncertain as to the outcome...

    The new Sailorpluto smiled emotionlessly over the Time Staff, nudging it 
ever so slightly into the other woman's throat. "I am afraid, Highpriestess, 
that there is little your otherworldly powers can do for you now..." Her gaze 
trickled back to the frightened looking crowd, and the smile drifted away. 
"There is only one..."

    Serafina suppressed a shiver, her hand tightly clenched around an object 
she had removed from her pocket. Casting a sidelong glance at an 
indeterminate point in the throng of Senshi, she whispered hoarsely, "No. 
There is no one." 

    "Either way..." Pluto murmured. "My purpose must be known." She lowered 
the staff, backing up a step from the Highpriestess. The people gave a 
collective sigh of relief, the tension in the air lessening considerably. Yet 
Hisoka gave no sign of slowing down, instead holding a hand in the air for 
silence. 

    "I feel your shock, your disbelief," she began, slow and unwavering, "and 
you must believe me when I tell you I felt the same way." She clenched her 
fist in righteous anger, and then swung it around to point accusingly at 
Serafina. "I felt the same way when I heard what this woman had done, and 
will do. The deaths she will cause. This woman is a traitor to the followers 
of Serenity!" She paused for the gasps she knew would come, and then 
continued smoothly. "She has meddled in things she can no longer control... 
attempted to shape the future into her own image! And now, I, as Guardian of 
Time, must make her pay for her crimes..."

    Serafina smiled tightly, her eyelashes brushing her cheeks as she briefly 
closed her eyes. So. Fate had made her choice. She accepted it silently, with 
no amount of visible surprise. Death would be... interesting. She felt 
resigned to the thought, her thumb idly stroking the object in her palm. Her 
eyes wandered into the crowd, and a new thought, unbidden, slipped into her 
mind. There was always hope.

--

    The Aquarius was a dank, musty room in the furthermost corner of the 
Grand Library of Mercury. The library itself had been there for centuries, 
but the room had been there even longer. So long, in fact, that most people 
had forgotten of its existence. However, one person, in particular, could not 
think of life without it. To the Lady Mizuno of Mercury, this place would 
always be home.

    The Princess sat crouched in the corner, piles of books, scrolls and 
holofeed surrounding her. She seemed especially interested in one book, her 
fingers tracing over the words as she read them aloud.

    " 'And so, the Great Neo-Queen Serenity, her kingdom torn, but her soul 
untouched, raised the shining crystal above her head, and intoned in a voice 
like blessed angels, "I fall and so you shall fall with me; your splintered 
kingdom shall break with the pressure of my absence and impending return. We 
leave you with a thousand years of suffering, yet in reincarnation, an 
eternity of bliss.' " 

    She paused, fingertips tapping the yellowed paper as she mulled it over. 
"How much of this do you believe Serenity actually said? How much has been 
altered?" She looked up, frowning at shadows. "Well?"

    Someone cleared their throat, and a dark shape detached itself from the 
darkness. Xanthus Kendrick lowered his hood, and stared across the room at 
his monarch uncertainly.

    "How would you like me to answer, Lady Mizuno? I'm sure many moments in 
history have been exaggerated..."

    "But a quote, a prophecy an entire religion is based on?" she argued 
immediately. "Perhaps the Neo-Queen instead 'intoned' that she would return 
in eleven hundred years? Or that she wouldn't return at all?" She closed the 
book roughly, scowling. "And why is it that none of these books, none at all, 
tell how she died in the first place?"

    Kendrick rubbed his temple in a familiar frustrated manner, his 
forefinger tracing down a starkly pale battle scar as he carefully chose his 
words. "The prophecy has kept hope alive in the people's hearts for 
decades... It allowed them to break away from the dark times... Whether or 
not Serenity actually uttered those words is inconsequential." He frowned at 
her dour look. "Perhaps it was not the answer you were looking for... but it 
is the only answer I have to give. And Serenity's true fate? Faline, there is 
no one left alive to--"

    "Don't." There was almost shock in her pale eyes as she stared across the 
room at him. He flinched, remembering that look once before, long ago, on 
someone else. "Don't ever call me that." She stood up slowly, all august and 
haughty, no trace of the vulnerable little girl of the moment before visible. 
"Have you forgotten your place?" she hissed. "Have you forgotten... your 
promise?"

    "Princess Mercury, my deepest apologies..." 

    The Princess turned away, regaining her full composure, calm and aloof 
again. "The truth is not a thing to take lightly. Even here, in this 
place..." She swirled around, disturbing the newly settled dust. "...there 
are enemies. There are few who I've revealed myself to... you know that, 
Advisor." She glared at him behind blue curls. "I'd like to keep it that way."

--

    Solange was beginning to feel supremely irritated, and along with it, a 
supreme itch to do battle. She found, listening to the new Pluto, that she 
was overwashed with captivation... Manipulated by an alien charisma. Solange 
did not particularly like being manipulated.

    She squeezed the Plutonian Senshi's arm, motioning him to break away from 
the group. "You obviously aren't as profoundly affected by her words as are 
the others... Are you with me?" she whispered, already unsheathing her sword 
from its scabbard.

    He looked at her oddly, a mask carefully slipping into place. "You don't 
even know my name... yet you trust me?"

    Solange raised a delicate eyebrow, not bothering to look up at him. "Who 
said anything about trust? I just assumed..." She trailed off, wondering at 
her actions. 

    "Yes, well... Lucky for you, your assumption was correct. My allegiance 
is first to Serenity, second to my planet..." He smiled slightly. "Shall I 
create a diversion?"

    "That would be helpful." She paused, smirked at him. "Thanks... hope you 
won't regret it later."

    He nodded, already consumed in his spell. A rose-colored ball of light 
rose from his hands, and he readied himself for the release. "Feels like old 
times," he whispered absentmindedly, watching Solange move into position. 

    "Ready?" she hissed, her body hunched in a sprinter's position behind a 
large shard of crystal. 

    He breathed shallowly, and got up, the fiery ball growing brighter. 
"Ready." The sharp whisper spewed forth from his mouth just as the magic flew 
from his fingertips. The entire area was suddenly illuminated in rose-white 
light, the cries of surprise doused in the sound of onrushing magic, and at 
that moment, Solange attacked.

--

    The light was blinding, and for a moment Serafina thought it was the 
divine powers come to take her to the next life. But no... it was only magic; 
a simple, yet very effective spell that she could taste sweetly at the back 
of her mouth. There was only one person who could twist something like that 
into something so potent... She stared, hard, into the group of senshi, 
trying frantically to see around the spots that danced in front of her eyes.

    A blast of energy suddenly whipped through the air, and Serafina stumbled 
backwards, watching as it knocked a strangely placid Pluto to the ground. She 
felt the urge to cry out in triumph, instead whispered a silent prayer to 
Serenity, and shoved the object she had been holding into a deep pocket 
hidden within the folds of her ebony robe. She turned to run, only to be met 
with a new strange sight. A young woman, dressed in the uniform of a Lunar 
Guardian, her sword drawn and gleaming, stood grimly before her, finger 
beckoning.

    "You..." Serafina started, recognition and disappointment colliding 
instantaneously. 

    "Go," the other woman cut in sharply, grabbing Serafina's arm, and 
shoving her in a westerly direction. She frowned impatiently as Serafina made 
no attempt to move farther. "What do you think is going on here? This isn't a 
rehearsal performance... Now, go!" 

    The Highpriestess didn't argue, self-preservation overcoming her 
indignation. She hurried beyond the brightness, behind a jagged row of 
crystal ruins, and paused a moment to sort out her thoughts. What was she 
going to do next? The rustle of footsteps caused her to look up, and she 
gasped in surprise. It was... him. Her hands, shaking, rose to her mouth. 

    "I knew it was you... I knew it... Mamoru..."

    The Plutonian Senshi stared at her, cold and unaffected. "Rejoice while 
you can... because from now we will do it my way... sister."

--

    It was just after daybreak when her escorts arrived; a man and a woman, 
appearance unusually nondescript, their faces devoid of emotion. Eune stared 
at them, trying to find some clue as to their true nature, but came up with 
only a glimpse of frightening looking weapons hidden beneath their tunics. A 
feeling of foreboding filled her, and she followed their gestured 
instructions pensively, just as quiet as they. 

    The woman had given her a large, deep blue robe, and Eune felt almost 
lost beneath it. She clung to her arms tightly through the sleeves, trying to 
regain a sense of herself, yet continued to come up with a blank. She 
continued to feel unsettled as the two soldiers, as she knew them to be, led 
her down a dimly lit corridor; their final destination unknown to her. 

    At noon, after what seemed like hours, the man suddenly stopped, staring 
up through a small window at the sun. In the new light, Eune realized what 
had been bothering her -- the female soldier, straw-haired and almost kind 
looking, had been, and continued to give her odd glances; it seemed almost 
reverence shone in those dark eyes. 

    ' Who does she think I am...? ' Eune shuddered, her fingers cramping up 
around her arms. ' Who am I? '

    "M'lady?" The man touched her shoulder, gently, as if he might break her. 
"We can only rest for a moment..."

    "But I am nothing." She jerked away from him, her voice low and 
frightened. She stared straight into his eyes, then turned to the woman, 
silently pleading. "Please, let me just leave... I will forget..." They 
cringed before her, as if she was having the expected nervous breakdown, and 
she trailed off. Thoughts swam at the back of her mind: the smiling face of 
Hara, a secret stash of jewels, and a starving family... 

    "I'm sorry, I'm just so tired..." Eune offered them a weak smile, noting 
the evident relief on their faces, and sat down heavily, facing away from 
them, unable to stop the downward slide of her mouth. ' I can never forget... 
for survival. Hara said... the world is my stage...'

    It was the chill that startled Eune from her reverie; a chill that began 
deep inside her, and traveled up and down her spine. She gasped, and glanced 
upward, just as the sun disappeared and they were plunged into darkness. 
Eune's breath caught in her throat, and she pulled the cloak tightly around 
her body, listening vainly for the sound of her two companions. She tried to 
chide herself, tell herself nothing was happening, but she knew it was. She 
had probably been abandoned, or worse...

    "Stay quiet." The whisper was fierce, directly by her ear. Eune's entire 
body froze, even as her mind registered the voice as familiar. It was the 
straw-haired soldier...
"The torches blew out... and the shutters..." She was trying to be 
reassuring, but all Eune heard was the hint of fear behind her murmured 
words. There was a rustling -- then the woman was gone, leaving only a 
stirring of air to show her passage. 

    There was a shout, abruptly, to her left; then another, to her right, 
followed by a dangerous sounding crash. Eune's head began to pound, in rhythm 
with the oncoming footsteps, just before it all faded away, and she gave 
herself to the darkness...


    "Usagi... Usagi?"
    It is beautiful, the morning...
    "Rei-chan..."
    ...but it makes me sad.
    "And Hotaru..."
    I know night will fall soon...
    "I'm so glad you joined me..."
    ...as it always must.
    "Has Setsuna told you?"
    I know what she must do...
    "Of the meeting, yes..."
    ...and I forgive her...


    Eune's eyes opened to the sight of a new woman, tall, and battle-scarred. 
She lay there without saying a word, knowing she could do nothing. But she 
felt hope dawn, staring into the woman's peculiarly soft eyes, and she 
finally understood who it was before her. The play was beginning to unfurl, 
and all she had to do was act her part...

    Tenou Haruka held out a gloved hand, her expression almost one of 
anguish. In a voice rough with emotion, she said quietly, "I've come to take 
you home.... Serenity."

-----------------------------------------
Notes:

Well, there it was... Interested? Confused? Disgusted? Absolutely appalled? 
^_^; Lemme know... as always, C&C, MSTs, suggestions, etc., all 
appreciated... 

Ok, on to updates (for anyone that cares ^^;)... Forgotten Future, Forbidden 
Past and Perfect World are both officially on hold... I'll probably start 
writing the latter of the two soon... I was able to find some notes, and it's 
still relatively fresh in my mind... FF, FP should see some life in a month 
or two... I need to re-read and re-write... I'm a little bogged down since 
school started (and I have limited comp access), but hopefully everything 
will come along smoothly... :)

TTFN ^_^
~ice