Sailor Moon: The Shadow of Silver Millennium 30

Chapter 30: The Fading Millennium

With a flash of white light, Princess Serenity disappeared and I returned to the room where Sailor Saturn had appeared to me in the present.

"Princess Serenity?!" I frantically cried out her name. Sailor Saturn's transparent figure appeared in the corner of the room. I noticed my own body slumped down where Amy had examined my wound earlier. Great, now I'm having an out-of-body experience.

"Someone's coming," explained Sailor Saturn. "I thought you might want to see."

"Why are you making me relive these memories?" I asked her. "What am I supposed to see?"

" How you interpret your past is up to you," she blankly answered before Lita poked her head into the cave.

"There he is," Lita whispered behind her. Mina and Raye tiptoed into the room with her. All three of them were wearing pajamas. Lita gently lifted one of my eyelids. "He sleeps like a log," she noted.

"Perfect! I just have to make a few last measurements!" Raye and Lita jumped when Mina pulled a measuring tape bracelet out of her pocket and wrapped it around my wrist. They still cast nervous glances at each other. I wondered how worried I should be that Mina was making me something.

"Have you thought about making him a music CD, Mina? I'm sure he'd love it if you sang for him!" suggested Lita.

Raye crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Like that would be totally harmless! Remember when we all came down with the flu? Nurse Venus' "sounds of the sea" tape destroyed my cassette player - which she never replaced, by the way!"

An indignant Mina turned to face Lita. "I offered to replace that antique with something more up-to-date! Besides, you know what they say Raye, it's the thought that counts!" She returned to her work and wrapped the measuring tape around my ankle.

"Maybe we should have more confidence in you, Mina. You're getting better grades, you get most of your proverbs right, and you even scored a boyfriend!" teased Lita.

"Speaking of which, has Logan said the 'l' word yet?" asked Raye.

I hadn't said it. Mina withdrew her measuring tape and put it back in her pocket. "No. He's not the type who...uh, hang on a second...wears his heart on his...not shirt...aha! He's not the type who wears his heart on his sleeve. I know that he cares about me...though it would be nice if he said it more often." Poor Mina.

Lita put the tip of her finger on my bottom lip and gently opened it to make it look like I was talking. "Mina," she said in a mockingly deep tone, "I love you."

Raye and Mina covered their mouths to laugh. "Guys, let's go before he catches us," whispered Mina.

At first, I smiled after they vacated the room: even after 1000 years, they seemed so innocent. But looking back on the time Mina and I spent together, I really hadn't told her how much I cared about her. I wasn't the type of person to share my feelings, even before all this. ButI had so much respect for her: she went so far to make me feel welcome when I found out I was a Shadow. Her heart was always in the right place, and that was the most important thing. She was right; I needed to tell her I cared, and our date was the best opportunity for me to do so. Even if Darien and Serena were sitting across from us making goo-goo eyes as I declared my feelings in a skin-tight suit. Well, at least it would just be the four of us...

"Any idea what that was about?" Sailor Saturn snapped me out of my thoughts.

I turned red when the idea as the idea came me. Was this the dreaded skintight suit that they had proposed? I thought it was a joke! "Rini told me that Serena and Mina approached Luna about...modernizing my outfit."

"Oh." Sailor Saturn, fortunately, did not pursue the topic. "Are you ready to continue?" she asked.

Part of me wanted to say no and make it stop. I confided in Saturn: "you said you didn't want me to have any doubts, but all the doubts and ill feelings I had towards the Moon Kingdom are just flooding back. If Serena becomes Queen, how do I know that she won't make the same mistakes her mother did?"

Just when I began to doubt that Sailor Saturn was going to answer me, she did. "Maybe that is why you are here now. As you remember Charon's past, don't forget about Logan's."

She was right. I had Logan's memories too. Sailor Moon and the other Scouts...they could still be idealistic and naive at times, but they were my closest friends now. If some of them still didn't trust me, they were coming around. They even threw me a birthday party. But were we fighting for the same thing?

"I'm ready," I told her. Once again, she pointed towards me and a white orb of light formed around her finger...


I returned to Queen Serenity's throne room a thousand years in the past. This time, there were several nobles with us. Wearing dresses and tuxedos, they looked like they just came from a dinner party.

Queen Serenity addressed the crowd: "I am aware of the rumors surrounding Metalia and the so-called Queen Beryl of Earth, but we are closely monitoring the situation. The power of the Silver Crystal will protect us, as it always has."

"What if they've already infiltrated the Kingdom, your majesty?" one of the women asked.

"There are rumors of Lunarians wielding dark magic, just like Beryl's forces, your majesty," added another noble.

"There will always be a few miscreants who experiment with magic for nefarious purposes. Like any other unlawful use of magic, anyone caught using dark magic in the Moon Kingdom will be punished by the Sailor Scouts," she answered. I felt myself tug down on the sleeve covering my bracer.

"Why do we waste our time trying to guide Earth, your majesty? They're uncultured and uncivilized barbarians! Use the Silver Crystal to trap them on Earth so they can slaughter each other!" cried out one of the nobles. Queen Serenity looked baffled when most of the crowd starting to cheer. I clenched my right fist. I wanted to kill all of them right then and there...

Queen Serenity stood and raised her hand to silence the crowd. "I granted you an audience with me so that I could address your concerns. I will not tolerate this sort of discussion here! Sailor Jupiter, please escort them out of the throne room!" Her voice thundered and shook the entire moon when she shouted. I had never heard her sound so angry.

"You lied about the Shadows' existence, your majesty?" I asked after everyone else left.

"We cannot ignore the possibility that Metalia has agents here. Your second-in-command agreed it was the right call."

"I thought people were nicer here. Guess I was wrong," I noted.

"I wish we all lived up to what you expected of us, Charon. I really do," she replied sadly. "To resume our previous discussion, Jedite and the other commanders are Crown Prince Endymion's close friends as well, Charon. We cannot take action against them without more substantial proof," Queen Serenity insisted.

"Let me get you proof, your majesty! We can abduct one of them and extract a confession! By the time Endymion finds out he's missing - "

"I cannot authorize you to kidnap one of Prince Endymion's aides. Even if you are correct, it would be a violation of Earth's sovereignty."

"That stupid law again..." I snarled through gritted teeth. "You are running out of time, your majesty! It's like you're burying your head in the sand and hoping this all goes away!"

"We cannot lose the few supporters we have on Earth. Your companion understands this. I am sorry if I gave you the impression I was 'burying my head in the sand', as you put it, by not responding to your report. I am discussing what actions we might take with my advisors."

"Your advisors? Have any of them even been to Earth? I'll bet they haven't even done a round guarding the Palace! You have no idea how bad things are there!"

Queen Serenity stood from her throne. "Charon, you think that I have the power to wave my hand and make everything perfect, but that is not true. You heard the men and women who were just in here. I can change the law, but that means nothing if their minds do not change with it. I would be no different from Queen Beryl if I made unilateral decisions and enforced them with threats."

"Truth and justice are not determined by popular opinion, your majesty. This is not the same as what Queen Beryl is doing," I insisted.

"All actions have consequences, even well-intentioned ones. We must remain focused on defending our Kingdom."

"Yes, your majesty," I grudgingly acknowledged. I did not doubt there was some truth in what she said, but I felt that she was making excuses for the most part. Queen Serenity sounded empathetic, but she was still reluctant to take action. How could she be so stubborn?

I wasn't paying attention when I pushed open the throne room doors and ran into someone carrying a silver plate with a piece of white cake...which was now mush on my robes. "Hey! That was for Queen Serenity, you klutz!" And it was none other than Sailor Jupiter that I had just carelessly bumped into. I just had to embarrass myself every time I met a Sailor Scout...

"Sorry!" I quickly apologized. Only now did I realize how tall she was compared to the others...she was no more than four inches shorter than I was.

"Oh, it's you again." Sailor Jupiter's tone softened when she recognized me. "I'm the one who should apologize. I made the cake for tonight's ball and when I saw there was some left, I rushed back so Queen Serenity could try it."

I reached down with one finger to lick some off. "It tastes amazing." I tried to offer her some consolation.

"Wanna know my secret? I sprinkled a bit of moon dust in the batter!" I quickly felt bad after I instinctively stuck my tongue out and made a sour face. "I guess I should keep that secret."

"I had a bad experience with tasting moon dust in front of Sailor Mars," I admitted. "But she already told you, right?" Sailor Jupiter didn't answer me. She stared at me with a slightly gaping mouth and stars twinkling in her eyes...

Wait! Lita liked me back then?! Huh...I guess something was bound to be different. I had not gotten that vibe from her when we met in the 21st century...definitely not when we first met.

My past self took a bit longer to catch on. "Uh, Sailor Jupiter?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh...uh..." she fumbled with her words. Her face was slightly pink. Yup, she definitely liked me back then. Poor Venus had competition.

"I didn't think Sailor Scouts had time to cook," I remarked.

"Just as a hobby. It was my destiny to become a Sailor Scout so I could defend love and courage!" she proudly declared.

"You sound so sure you're in the right place. I chose to become a - a lead researcher, but I'm starting to feel like I made the wrong choice," I confessed to her - well, short of telling her what I really was - for lack of anyone else to confide with. It was hard for me to trust Queen Serenity these days, and the Spymaster was the last person in the Moon Kingdom to discuss feelings with.

"Maybe you didn't really have a choice. Maybe you're exactly where you were meant to be, so you don't need to worry about it!" Her words were meant to reassure me, but they made me wonder: what if I hadn't said that I would help when I came to the Moon Palace? Would they have respected my choice? Or found another way to make me do what they wanted?

"Hey, um..." Jupiter called to me even though I was inches away from her. This time, I was the one who spaced out. "Did we used to date?" she asked.

The random question startled me. "I'm pretty sure we didn't..."

"You look like someone I went out with." Why do I get the feeling that a lot of guys remind her of someone she dated?

I saw the Spymaster glaring at me from behind Sailor Jupiter's shoulder. I bowed and said, "I need to go. It was great talking to you, Sailor Jupiter!"

"You don't need to be so formal with us all the time! We know you now! Next time you're back, we can make something for the next ball together! I'd be happy to show you how to cook!" she offered.

"Sure, I'd love to hang out with you guys more," I said. I meant it...but deep down I knew I couldn't. Not for another thousand years, anyway.

"We told you to limit your interactions with the Scouts," the Spymaster chastised when I rejoined him.

"I couldn't avoid her. She ran into me with a plate full of cake." I pointed down at my robes.

For the first time ever, the Spymaster widened with genuine curiosity after I filled him in on my conversation with Queen Serenity.. "Queen Serenity's unwillingness to take action is unsurprising, but I never had that conversation with her."

I felt my own eyebrows rising. "Are you sure you didn't just forget?"

"Anyone attempting to spy for Beryl would be able to glean little that she did not already assume. And frankly, spying does not suit Beryl's tactics. She wants to crush the Moon Kingdom under overwhelming force and pry the Silver Crystal from Queen Serenity's cold, dead hands. The lives of her servants are hardly any concern to her."

"Maybe she just forgot," I suggested.

But the Spymaster shook his head. "Queen Serenity clearly violating the law regarding forbidden magic by employing Shadows. Revealing our existence would make her look like a hypocrite and sully her image. Meanwhile, you're too sympathetic to the plight of Earth. She had ample motive to lie to you, Charon."

No, he had to be the one lying, I thought. Yes, she kept secrets from me but lying to my face was something else. But then I remembered she flat-out lied to the nobles by telling them that dark magic was strictly forbidden right in front of me. Maybe she did...

"Charon, we are only a dozen strong and the new recruits are not ready to conduct operations by themselves. But we can stall Queen Beryl in the meantime," the Spymaster suggested.

"Go on."

"Queen Serenity has forbidden us from recruiting the people of Earth into the Shadows, but a woman named Amethyst has risen a formidable army and insisted on remaining neutral. Beryl's troops have attempted to stamp her out, but Amethyst is said to be able to call the animals of the forests to help defend her territory."

"We can be pretty superstitious," I told the Spymaster.

"I think there is something to these rumors, Charon. Before the rise of Queen Beryl, when I was merely an observer, I heard of humans claiming to wield elemental and shamanistic powers independent of the Silver Crystal, yet they were not inherently dark in nature either."

"Very well. Maybe we can convince her to fight with us. At the very least, we can make sure Queen Beryl does not get her hands on a new form of magic."


The dark forest sheltering Amethyst's base was a creepy place, but we were not attacked by any creatures. I started to wonder if we had wasted our time when we finally set foot in the marble ruins of a coliseum. It looked like it had been in use by the royal court of the Earth Kingdom before it was abandoned. A number of tanned civilians in tattered rags sat up in the stands, whispering amongst themselves while the Spymaster and I walked to the center of the grounds wearing Shadow robes.

Four warriors holding crude axes and dressed in wolf skins emerged from the pit ahead to block. I summoned a ball of black-purple dark energy and held it in my hand like an orb. The crowd cheered as the frightened guards stepped back. A hand came around one of the guard's shoulders and pushed him a way. The hand belonged to a tall and pale young woman with black hair and piercing orange eyes. She wore a tattered Sailor Scout uniform, torn at the sleeves and ripped on one side, with a faded black ribbon, a black skirt frayed at the edges, and muddied knee-high boots.

"Where did you get that outfit?" I demanded. "If you killed a Sailor Scout and wear her uniform to mock us, you will answer to Queen Serenity!" The woman gave a familiar blood-curdling, shrieking laugh that grated my ear drums. This was the same woman who I had fought and spared on several occasions! She was the Spymaster's second-in-command in the present!

"Nothing so dramatic, I'm afraid. I thought Queen Serenity would eventually send an envoy. Neutrality sounded great in theory, but it's gotten rather boring. We yearn for excitement." The audience in the stands cheered when she raised a hand towards the crowd. "After we defeated Queen Beryl's last attack, she sent her own representative. She made a good offer...but if you can defeat her, I'll listen to what you have to say!"

She left, taking her guards with her as two soldiers wearing green light armor and holding blue energy swords took their place. A figure wearing robes and holding a black staff emerged from the pit. There was no doubt that they served Metalia and Queen Beryl. When the warlock lifted her hood to reveal her face, a chill went down my spine.

"Mother?" I uttered in disbelief and removed my hood so she could see my face. Out of the corner of my eye, the Spymaster quickly turned his head to face me.

"Son," she responded blankly. "You've betrayed Earth."

"Mother, don't you remember what Beryl's forces have done? We lived in isolation for years until her troops broke down our door and killed father! They held me in a camp for weeks, but Queen Serenity rescued me! I joined her so I could save you and everyone else that Beryl is torturing!"

My mother shook her head. "You misunderstand, my son. I wanted those soldiers to take you away and undo the lies that your father told you about the Moon Kingdom. I should have called them sooner but...I loved your father. I hoped he would see that Queen Serenity destroyed our lives, but he just couldn't see how corrupt the Moon Kingdom is. Serenity and Beryl are both evil, my son. The question is who will benefit...and we will benefit greatly by serving Queen Beryl. Serenity will continue enriching the Moon Kingdom at her expense and leave you empty-handed."

She had been brainwashed. She had to be! There was no way she could believe what she was saying!

"I grow tired of this melodrama!" Amethyst shouted from a podium above the ring. "Fight!" she commanded. Everyone in the stadium cheered. Before the soldiers could draw their swords, I teleported behind one of them and struck him at close range with dark magic, sending him to the ground. The Spymaster broke the other's arm and flipped him on his back, leaving only my mother to deal with. She pointed her staff at the Spymaster and sent a flurry of dark purple needles towards him. I grabbed my mother's staff mid-attack, but she knocked me away with a burst of kinetic energy. The Spymaster concentrated dark energy in his fingers and threw a black-purple bolt of magic at her. When she yelped in pain and turned away from me, I pressed my hands around her neck and began draining energy. She grasped her hands around my wrists and uttered my name...my Earth name...as I went far beyond what was necessary to subdue her. I did not release my grip until the woman...my mother...went completely still.

"I am sorry." The Spymaster showed me a rare moment of sympathy. "But you did what needed to be done. Queen Serenity may not realize it yet, but we are at war."

"That woman wasn't my mother, not anymore. She was one of Beryl's agents, wearing my mother's face to mock me and spew lies." At least, that's what I wanted to believe. She called my name only so I would hesitate and give her an opportunity to throw me off. I knelt down beside my mother's head and closed her eyes as the crowd jeered and booed in the stadium. "If my mother was in there somewhere, then at least she's at peace with my father now."

"Don't mind them! They expected a better fight," said Amethyst. She signaled for her warriors to jump into the fighting grounds and surround us. This time there were over a dozen. "Queen Beryl already made us a pretty good offer, though. She might sweeten the deal if I offer her two of Serenity's agents!"

"We had a deal, witch!" shouted the Spymaster. I would not accept that I had just killed my mother for nothing. The wretches in the coliseum would help me get revenge on Queen Beryl, or I would slaughter them all...

To Be Continued