End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production Author's Notes: Silly me. In all the time I'd been writing this monstrosity, I completely omitted a chapter! ^_^; If you're the first one to see this besides me, then congratulations! :D 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 8: "What makese these creatures think they can just walk up and take over?!" A young woman with long reddish waves cascading down her back shouted to the growing crowd in the caves beneath the planet. "They watch us from above, as though claiming to be gods! They think themselves better than us because they have power to scare us into submission! I assure you, that when they come to our land they will take all we hold dear! Our land, our children, our very birthrights!" The most of the crowd murmured, while others roared in agreement. "And what do you propose we do about it, Lady Beryl? What can we do against such power?" one shouted loud enough for her to hear. "We shall fight! What they fail to realize is we too have power. Power in numbers! Our royalty speaks with these creatures from above the skies, and even they are treated with all the respect of a parasite! But if we stand against those who would rob us, we can take what is theirs, and prosper!" "And how do you know this?" another voice raised. "Because I was there." a white-haired young man with eyes of the palest of morning blue spoke, coming to stand next to Lady Beryl. "I, General Kunzite, was at that very meeting, when our own king was told to be silent when our people were insulted!" More of the crowd murmured at that, some having panicked upon recognizing the general's face. "I have learned of a great power, an army that will back up our own when the time is right." The woman named Beryl continued. "Spells and techniques have been offered, as well as weapons, glory, and riches promised! We have already sent spies to some of the worlds, and the new land they have spoken of is unimaginable! They dare to mock us on our world... let us see how they handle us on THEIRS!" Cheers rang through the caverns at the prospect of conquest, the dark atmosphere of the caves already changing the thoughts of those present to that of a darker nature. "Go! Claim anything on this world that is not already yours, and convince all you come across, or destroy them! We will need all we can muster to win this war!" The crowd poured out of the caverns with an echo of a battle cry, and both Beryl and Kunzite grinned, looking to their 'other' guest. "You were right. They're so easy to manipulate when the right motivation is put into place. So it's true then, that your mistress' kin were slain by these creatures of light?" "Perhaps more than one of them." a writhing shadow whispered in a black corner of the cavern, the only indication other than the warping blackness was a shiny silver set of eyes. "Our mighty mistress Metallia will grant all who follow you great power, as long as they are worthy. This one was a fine candidate... and it was so typical of the Lunarians to speak down upon a race that seems beneath them. They made this almost too easy." "Well then," the 'candidate' General spoke. "What are the plans for eventually invading these kingdoms above the skies? From what I've seen so far, all we have are a small horde of rioters." "Metallia needs willing helpers, for even she cannot wage war against an entire alliance of worlds alone. With your skills, we have some military knowledge, but it would be better to have all we can muster." "I believe that can be arranged." Kunzite nodded. "But that doesn't answer my question." "We must break apart the alliance, turn the worlds sour one at a time, wait for weaknesses and then strike. Perhaps if Earth were to gain favor by joining with the royalty of these other worlds... but in addition, we'd need to conquer at least one world as a whole, to supply the necessary energy to set the plan in motion." "So your mistress plans to have a legion of our people wipe out entire worlds with power beyond our imagining, being hopelessly outnumbered, with the goal to eventually conquer all?" Kunzite growled, as though in a disapproving tone. The shadow and Beryl remained silent, and eventually a grin passed Kunzite's lips. "Sounds fun. But one thing I believe we may have trouble with is the guardians. Two of them seem particularly imposing and powerful, and may hinder our plans before they even begin." "Not to worry, Kunzite." Beryl assured him. "I've been told that the guardians will not pose a problem. They have no idea what's going on at all. If they did, we would have been stopped already." --------------------------------------------------------------- "I apologize, your majesty... I fear due to my brother's antics, we may not meet again." Chronos spoke to the young prince of Earth. The prince had remained in training at an unfortunate time within Elysion, the sacred realm of Earth that darkness would have difficulty finding. Because of this, he wasn't able to attend the meeting of the planetary leaders. "I hope it was not because I had to remain, master Chronos." Endymion apologized to the high priest of Elysion. "I should have finished my training before then." Chronos merely shook his head and placed his hand on the teen's shoulder. "Elysion's timeflow fluctuates differently than Earth's. Though you believe you took too long, you've made considerable progress. The path of light is not easy for mortals to take on, much less human ones, as they suffer a great deal along the way due to their equally dark nature. Soon you will be able to take the trials, and the spirit of your world will be tied to your own. You will know its every pain, every joy, every new sprout of life. But most importantly, the golden crystal of my father, the very essence of his life, heart, and power, will be yours to harness, but not to possess. You will be the first male owner of a guardian crystal." "Master Chronos... will we meet again?" "Indeed so, your majesty. I offer you a token of my friendship, something that I would only entrust to one I put my complete faith in." Chronos reached within his robes and pulled out a ticking timepiece, its star-like design with sun-and-moon rotations, sealed within glass, gave it the impression of a symbol of Chronos' power. "Keep this safe, as long as you exist, and my power will serve you when you choose to order it. Until I return, I leave you, Helios, in command." A teen who seemed no older than Endymion himself stared astonished at the high priest. "Me? But sir, I..." "No buts, Helios. You are a priest of Elsyion now. This was never my world to begin with. Continue training the young prince until I return, and guard the crystal and Elysion. I must go back to Pluto as per the queen's decree, complete the princess' training, and return to my duties as master of time. Farewell, Prince Endymion. Farewell, Helios. May the goldlen shine of the crystal of hope guide you in times of darkness." Chronos threw his hands wide and reality pulled away as though it were a drapery, the fog of the dimension of time spilling out momentarily as he stepped through, only to have it pull back in when the dimensional 'drapes' closed. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Not the longest piece of dren I've written, but one might say it's filler. :P I hate to leave things unfinished, and in haste I skipped the interaction between the darkness and Earth, as well as just how Endy got ahold of that mystical timepiece. Hope you all enjoyed this custom chapter, and be on the lookout for the rest of it soon! See you next time!