___________ Prologue The siren blared loudly piercing the night air. Suddenly the sound of trampling boots rang out as grim faced men and women ran to their posts. The once peaceful sounds of the palace abuzz with the lively sounds of gossip and conversation were replaced by the clanging of war. Swords, spears, and another assorted weapons were lifted from their resting places as their owners prepared themselves of the worst. Most had not seen sleep in days, and their last warm meal seemed like an eternity ago. Neither had been left unscathed and now for the last battle, even the most grievous wounded took up arms. In a short time that would be a moot point. One such soldier rose from his resting place against the cold marble walls of the palace. Ignoring the aches and pains registering across his body, he grabbed his spear and rushed towards the palace gates. "Arn," two harried voices called out over the clanging of weapons and armor. The soldier turned and saw the two out of place figures as his comrades rushed to battle. Pushing through the tide of bodies he made his way towards the two felines. The white cat looked over his friend. Arn looked like hell. His once proud uniform was slashed in several places and make shift bandages were visible. His short snow-white hair was matted from dirt, grim, and dried blood. The grim expression on his face was only partially hidden by the slight smile that crept over his mouth as he saw his friends. Arn felt his friends dark mood. "Hey don't worry." The cats eyes widened in surprise at his now energetic demeanor, "Drinks are on me when this all blows over." "Yeah, I'll bring the chips." Artemis added cracking a slight smile, Arn didn't drink. The soldier's attentions turned upon Luna. A bolt of pain flashed across his face to fast for Artemis to see, Luna did not. His face looked downcast. "Luna..," his voice was almost a whisper. Arn felt his eyes water, "I...just.." The women gave weary smile. "Just come back safe." She boded. An explosion wracked the building ,shaking it on its foundation. Within moments of regaining his balance, he ran off without a word weapon in hand. He was a soldier. "Come on, Serenity needs us." Artemis nuzzled her shoulder in a comforting manner with intimacy he never knew he had. * * * The wave of light swept across the battle field like a new dawn across the morning sky. The warriors of the dark kingdom stared in awe at its deadly beautiful. The wave washed over them banishing them to a desolate realm of eternal night. No cheers of victory were shouted. Silence engulfed the battle field littered with the broken bodies of the victorious men and women. The sounds of footsteps sounded like thunder on the once silent moon. A single live body lay on the ravaged landscape. Desperately he clutched at the wound that stretched across the length of his chest; his breath was becoming more ragged. Weakly he looked up upon her face. Through his delirious mind he wondered why she wore a sailor fuku. Their were only seven , and all had perished. His eyes fluttered shut. An image of a green haired angel of death etched on his mind. ___________ "Reflections from the Past" A Sailor Moon Fanfiction Written by Deunan (Deunan@aol.com) Author's Notes: Sorry to the Outer Senshi fans out their. The only SM episodes I've been exposed to are the NA dubs so no more appearances of any of the Outer Senshi outside of the rare mentioning of them one or twice in the fanfic. If your wondering where I got the figure seven from(see prologue) Sailor Moon didn't exist because she was the Moon Princess and Sailor Pluto was just a myth because she was never around. One last thing. I never liked the name Prince Darien so I decided to use the Japanese name for the Earth Prince, Prince Endymion. [ ]=thoughts < >=Dreams ( )=Memories Part 1 ____________ Looking upon the numerous apartments and house of sat a single white cat with a unique crescent marking on its forehead. Lost in thought the cat stared up at the full moon. Artemis didn't bother to turn as he heard the distinctive sounds of paw upon roof tile. It was a common enough occurrence "The Dreams again." He said not bothering to turn around. Silently, the black cat sat down beside him and too turned her gaze upon earth's satellite. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the haunted expression on her face. It matched his own. "Do you regret what we did?," he asked softly. Luna sighed heavy heartedly. "I don't know. These mental blocks... what choice did we really have. If all had access to all our memories when we awakened it wouldn't have done us any good." Artemis sighed and closed his eyes in a resigning manner, "We probably would've went insane. All that beauty and splendor...never to return.." His voice trailed off. Silence followed. It hurt to think about the past. Everyday the mental blocks installed by Queen Serenity faded slightly. Memories became clearer, but then new dreams awakened with the coming of the night. The white cat yawned loudly. He bowed his head and left the black cat alone. "I'll try not to dream," Artemis said with false hope before he leapt off the roof to the next working his way to Mina's apartment. Luna followed him with her gaze and smiled. It helped to be able to talk about her memories to tell someone without holding them in. Much later, Luna returned to Serena's home and slid under the bed sheets trying to sleep yet hoping the dreams wouldn't come again. She hated them. They held something more than memories. The feel, the touch, the sense of completeness...the emotion. It was as if she was reliving those parts of her lives all over again. For a moment she'd be whole again, but when she awoke they'd be gone. Paradise lost. * * * Luna gasped for breath as her eyes shot open. Her heart pounded rapidly threatening to burst through her chest. Leaping off the sleeping Serena, Luna made her way under the bed. It was her place. A place, like the roof top, where she could gather her thoughts. [Oh deity, I was naked.. . in the Queen's bed chambers..] She panted for breath and put her paws to her head in a human like gesture. [I was human.] She curled up into a ball. Then something vague came up into her mind calming her. Vague tendrils of memory reached up to her conscious mind. Waves of relief comforted her. (She sat at the end of long oak table. Seated at the table's head was a man garbed in ebony armor. Standing behind that man was another with snow-white hair. His face seemed so familiar.) Concentrating she dredged up a name. "Arn," she whispered. Somehow the name seemed to fit the memory. * * * (She stood upon the grassy knoll leaning up against the large oak staring at the sunset. Hanging low in the sky, the sun's rays hit the clouds creating a most beautiful scene. He didn't notice. She wore a beige riding tunic and trousers. The snug fit accented her body. Her wavy raven black hair blew gently in the warm breeze. A surge of emotion welled up, straining his self control. He quashed it and stood a respectful distance away. It took here a few moments to realize his presence. "I'm sorry. I did not hear you coming," she said with her diplomatic grace. She was a diplomat after all. A week ago she arrived on Earth being the first contact between the Earth and Moon Kingdom in centuries. At first he was opposed to the negotiations. A bitter resentment had grown between the two kingdoms. The Earthers believed the lunars were cowards for abandoning the Earth running away from its problems. Reluctantly he followed the orders issued by the King of Earth. He was assigned to be her escort. A rather demeaning assignment for a member of the elite Royal Guardsmen. His duty didn't seem so bad when he found out the diplomat was a rather attractive women. "It is all right milady. Please don't mind my presence" he responded in kind. She turned back towards the spectacular view. "A beautiful sight is it not," her voice seemed distant. His pulse began to quicken rapidly. He took a deep breath trying to slow down his heart beat. "I can almost hear crashing waves," he murmured softly conjuring up images of his homeland. "Your city is near the ocean isn't it?" she asked softly. "Atlantis, its practically surrounded by water. I wish you could see it. The sunlight has this way of reflecting off the water's surface" He couldn't hold himself back longer. She turned towards him. Closing the distance he took her into a gentle embrace. She tilted her head upwards meeting him. The yearnings the two had felt were unleashed in one passionate kiss. They parted a few moments later. "This...attraction. You feel it don't?" he said, his voice low. She nodded. "I know this isn't love...not yet at least." He cursed himself wishing he could've worded his feelings more romantically. "I can't. I am returning to the Moon Kingdom tomorrow," she answered . "The negotiations are over," she added. The news mildly stunned him. He half expected half hoped that they'd drag on. "It was nice meeting you, Luna.") He tore himself away from the memory and put his thoughts into the right place, the present. The area was perfectly suited to what he had in mind. The construction site held a partially completed office building. Only the steel girders were up giving the building a skeletal look. A large fence surrounded the area blocking all view from any passers by. Satisfied, he withdrew a large black gem from his pocket tossing it onto the ground. "I hope this gets their attention." He sat down on an empty barrel watching the gem begin to pulse rhythmically. Quickly he shucked off his large duffel bag off his shoulder. Inside was a large assortment of bladed weapons. * * * Negaverse A loud crack resonated as his fist smashed into his foes face. The body hit the wall crating it. The body slumped to the floor with a hollow thud. "Come Jadeite!!" the man hollowed, "Fight me!!" The general slowly rose to his feet. With the back of his hand, he wiped the line of blood creeping across his face. "No powers, no spells." An aura began to surge around Jaedite. With a scream of animal intensity, Jaedite unleashed an blast of dark energy. A maelstrom of fire filled the throne room engulfing the figure. "You were a fool Erimus!!!" Jaedite gloated to the ashen remains of his foe. Suddenly pain ignited every nerve in his body sending him to his knees. Eirmus stood before Jaedite unsinged his hands grasping the generals forehead. The man was a ghastly sight to behold even to a denizen of the Dark Kingdom. A thick vertical scar came across his bare scalp over his right eye. Even more grotesque was the milky white of the dead right eye. Erimus didn't bother putting in a glass replacement. He preferred the shock value of the sight of the wounds. "Jaedite, I should've let you rot inside that crystal prison of yours , but you see I needed you. Trying to usurp my throne has...angered me. Your usefulness has come to an end. Jaedite tried to rise, but the pain was too powerful. "Ho...How...," he stuttered writhing in agony. "Your mind is so easy to manipulate. I was taught by the best after all." "Malachite," Jaedite hissed falling to his hands and knees. Jaedite felt the tendrils of mental' fingers' reach into his mind. Quickly he erected a mental barrier trying to block Erimus's search. Angered the probing 'fingers' turned to talons tearing the memory out of his mind. Jaedite howled in pain. It felt as if his head exploded; He slumped to the ground. Blood flowed from his eyes, ears, and nose. "Weak minded fool," he said kicking the dead body. Focusing on his newly acquired memories he projected the image onto the wall. The faces of three teenage girls stared back. [So these are the faces of the first three Sailor Senshi.] Personally, he didn't share the intense hatred of the Senshi for killing Queen Beryl and Metallia. He could care less for avenging the fallen queen. After Beryl's death the surviving factions of the Dark Kingdom grabbed for the vacant seat of power. The bloody civil war raged for over a year with numerous taking the throne, but he had won. HIS army had taken the throne and crushed the others beneath its heel. The survivors of his shattered foes swore fealty to him. Those who did not were executed. Beryl's death and the deaths of thousands at the hands of the Senshi had cost much. The Dark Kingdom was roughly five percent of its former glory. Fighting the Senshi again would be costly to an already weakened army. Still, the Senshi had to be eliminated. Portals could only be spawned at certain regions in the world: Antarctica, England, Japan, and a handful of others. Japan was a prize, the human energy was more powerful for some strange reason. That's why he had freed Jaedite from his crystal, to steal his memories of three of the Senshi's real identities. "Silk," he called. A tall women materialized in the chamber. A mane of fiery red hair cascaded over her uniforms shoulder. "Milord." "These three our Sailor Moon, Mercury, and Mars. Kill them and the other two Senshi also." The women bowed. A portal spawned inside the chamber. Before she entered turned towards him, he brushed a stray lock of hair from her eyes. She caressed his cheek and then leapt into the portal. "Come back soon," he whispered. He paused to look at the space the portal had appeared in for a moment. He banished the emotions and turned to attend to the matters of the kingdom.