By: Tuxedo Rainbow

Era: Revenant Galactica, 7999 AD

With the approach of Galaxia once again looming in the Sol System, Tux and Terra take matters into their own hands.

Galaxia, the feared name, has taken over most of the universe again. Chaos, the feared name, is with her. The Galaxia Shard is close to our home galaxy, the Sol System. Last time, I could do nothing but watch. This time, I want to try and stop her.

Terra is with me on this. We want to act alone, without orders from Queen Serenity, without orders from Pluto or the Outers. We want to try and stop her before she takes a foothold in our region, before the dreaded Sailor Wars once again wash up upon our shores.

We told no one we wanted to do this. We just wanted to do this.

“She isn’t here,” I stated. Yes, Sedna is cold, quite cold, but for knights and senshi, it is a home.

Sailor Sedna, guardian of Sedna, was reported missing weeks ago. We knew that Galaxia had her through information we received from KO-35. We had to save her. She was one of the last hopes we had of stopping Galaxia, short of calling upon Saturn.

“No one’s seen her leave,” Terra replied. “All we know is that reports are coming in. Planets destroyed, Animamates taken, Star Seeds stolen.”

It was like that when Kakyuu came. It was happening again. This time, there was no Sailor Moon, only an old queen, destined to be something more. Or was that just a legend? Was that just a fairy tale passed from generation to generation to calm the masses?

Terra swore that Usagi was Cosmos, she swore that she would become the ultimate savior of the universe. I refused to believe her, even now, and even back then, I didn’t think it was possible. How five thousand years has changed our lives, and the lives of others around us…

When once we were heralded as heroes, we were now scorned for bringing the Sailor Wars back to a point even beyond when Galaxia first crossed into our Galaxy. Now that she has Chibi-chibi, she is even more powerful, even more dangerous. Even Queen Lady Serenity, the one you know of is Chibi-Usa, demanded that she stop. But, she did not. Poor Chibi-Usa, another seed in a long and forgotten garden…

We have to stop the inevitable, but that means running through the Spear itself. It’s just outside Mutter’s Spiral, so close and yet, so far away. Setsuna forbade us from using the Time Gate. But there are other ways…

“If I don’t make it,”I told Terra, “and if I become a starseed again, watch over me.”

“Do the same to me, Tux, please,” Terra responded.

I looked at the little star that was our Sun, and sighed.

“You know, we may never see this again,” I stated.

“Tuxedo Rainbow,” Terra sighed, “We will see tomorrow. We will see Cosmos arise.”

She hugged me. I hope it wasn’t for the last time.

We were going alone. No Hotaru, no Outers, no Inners. They were all preparing. We were ready. We just hoped that they were.

You all know the story of why Cosmos came back. The Spear destroyed all she had to live for. We wanted to make sure that Cosmos was not needed.

But, we knew, that by doing this, we could also be gambling with fate. No one has yet won against Fate, because fate tends to cheat a lot. We tend to cheat as little as possible.

We knew the coordinates of the Spear. We had to find Sedna, get her safely out, and then, confront Galaxia. An easy task… or so it seemed.

It was a simple matter of using some of our technology to transport us to the ship. Sailor Teleporting only works in groups, and this was a two-person job. In and out, get the target, get her to safety. That was the plan at least…

And as we all know, the best laid plans of man oft go astray…

We picked the safest spot, or so we thought, to land. It was easy to find the bracelets that Haruka and Michiru had used, and Ami disabled them, so that we would not lose our star seeds again. Now, we have to find Sedna.

Usually, I can sense if someone is in danger. But here, here, it’s like everyone is in trouble. Animamates sometimes give false readings. I should concentrate.

I do. She’s still alive, but barely so.

“She’s one of the next to be converted,” I responded to Terra. “If that happens…”

Terra nods. Sedna would tip the scales for Galaxia, for Chibi-Chibi. The Earth and the Milky Way would be easy to conquer. We pressed on, trying to stay away from the Animamate guards, making sure not to draw attention, and not using our senshi or knight powers. To do so would light a beacon in this swath of darkness, saying, “here we are.”

“KO-35, Triforia, Mirinoi, Edenoi,” Terra remarked, “All gone. Fula, Karona, Trese’, all taken.”

I said nothing. We had seen the destruction first-hand.

It just seemed too easy. Passing through these one-time senshi. Looking inconspicuous, but as they say, one’s luck does change quickly, the more one thinks about how well things are going.

“Who are you?” A guard asked.

We ran. We ran quickly. We knew we were found out.

“We have to act quickly,” I told Terra.

She nodded.

We heard a booming voice, “Next.”

That could be Sedna, I thought, so we pressed on.

When we arrived at Galaxia’s main chamber, we saw her. She knew about us, but had never seen us before. We motioned to her to stay quiet.

“So, this is the famous Sedna, first of the many of this galaxy I shall change,” Galaxia responded.

“Not on our watch,” I interrupted.

“Tuxedo Rainbow and Sailor Terra,” Galazia responded, :I knew you were coming. Animamates, get them!”

“Crud,” I mouthed, as Terra and I faced off against some of the new versions of the old Animamates.

“Tin Nyankano, Heavy Metal Papillon, Iron Mouse,” I counted.

“Lead Crow, Brass Monkey, Silver Gorilla,” Terra added, “looks like we hit the jackpot.

We were well trained, and most of the new recruits were not.

It was too easy. But, in the home of Galaxia, things are never easy.

“Make Sedna next, hurry!” Galaxia barked.

“Terra, do it,” I replied.

“Terra… rainbow… blindness!” Terra shouted. The room flashed briefly, long enough for us to grab Sedna and get out.

“FIND THEM!” Galaxia roared.

We had little time, and our luck was running out. We had to send Sedna back to the Time Gate.

“Go,” I instructed Sedna, “tell Pluto to get the Outers ready.”

Sedna nodded. She was taken away from all this. She was safe. As for us, our luck had run out.

-I call heads

We ran back to where we came in, looking for a way out.

“Trapped,” I commented.

“It was a good run, Tux. Out luck had to run out sooner or later,” Terra commented.

“So, the heroes who saved Sedna are stuck, are they?” Galaxia responded, “I should have taken your star seeds first.”

“You’ll never take mine without a fight,” I replied.

Terra looked at me, and sighed.

“Sorry, Tux, it’s time we faced the end. I give up,” Terra responded, “make me one of your slaves.”

Galaxia laughed. It boomed throughout the ship.

“Finally, the Sailor of Light makes the right choice,” Galaxia responded, “all you need to do is take the star seed of your former partner, and I will make you an animamate.”

Terra smiled. It wasn’t one of her happy smiles, it was an evil smile.

“Goodbye, Tux,” she replied.

That was the last thing I heard.

Terra took my star seed, and held onto it.

She shattered herself to save the galaxy.

“You need a new name, Terra,” Galaxia responded.

“Call me Shattered Terra,” Terra responded, as Galaxia activated her bracelets. Terra, no Shattered

Was now a part of her growing army, one that was now poised to invade Earth.

I was now a mere seed of my former knightly self. I had rolled the dice, and came up snake eyes, so to speak.

“Today, the Sailor of Light, today the seed of the Knight of Time,” Galaxia mused, and soon, very soon, the Sol Galaxcy will become mine.”

I looked at my former wife. She could not hear me, but I could still speak, in my own way.

Why did you do this? I thought, did you give Sedna enough time to put events into motion? Did you gamble our lives for the safety of Earth’s?

It was a bet, I thought, that would never pay off, the ultimate gamble: One’s life for the future. I knew she knew about Cosmos, but she would never see her now. Even I could not see her, as a star seed.

Shattered Terra looked at me, frowned at me, but protected me. She never told Galaxia where I was. She claimed that I was set adrift, no where near a Caudron (which was true, considering where we were).

Galaxia did not know that she held me in her hands, literally and physically.

She gambled, Terra did, and I wonder if it paid off…

“Report.” Pluto responded.

“As you predicted, Pluto,” the albino senshi known as Sedna responded, “Sailor Terra took Tuxedo Rainbow’s star seed and became an Animamate. She gave us the time we need to prepare.”

“We can prepare as much as we want to,” Pluto responded, looking into the future through the Time Gate, “but the result is still the same. Sedna, you and I, and the rest of the Outers, we cannot stop her this time. The Inners won’t even have the chance to stop her.”

“You mean…?” Sedna responded.

“I have looked into all the known futures, Senshi of Cold,” Pluto responded, “and the gamble those two have made didn’t make any difference. Cosmos is but a legend, thrown together during the end of the Sailor Wars, or what we thought was the end. That was when Kakyuu returned home. Some of us saw her, and Sailor Moon saw her. She told her the story, and we heard it, Terra, and the rest of us, as star seeds.

We did not believe her. We tried to be at peace, but we should have been preparing for war. The Sailor Wars never ended, Sedna, they merely dwindled. Galaxia had to regain power, and we lost it.

We gambled on peace, and we lost, and now we will lose so much more.”

She paused, Sighing, she looked back at Earth. Usagi would be coming back soon. The ancient queen, the first ruler, the obe who would make the final stand. If the legend was true, she would beat Galaxia this time.

But it was a gamble… a million to one shot, that she was indeed Sailor Cosmos, the ultimate senshi.

Sailor Pluto wished she still had a dollar to make that bet, but wrote something down, instead, and sealed it away.

“Do not open the safe, Senda, go back to your post,” Pluto responded, “one day, Usagi will find that safe, and read what I have predicted, before going back to the past.”

Sedna sighed. She would lose her life anyway. The roulette wheel of destiny was unkind indeed.

They had gambled and lost, but for what? Some fairy tale told to new senshi in Crystal Tokyo? Some legend that died down when the Sailor Wars sprung up? Some fleeting fancy that drove a fleet of ships to explore new planets? Some whispered name that drove two lovers to sacrifice themselves to save a senshi?

Why did they gamble for her?

Sedna headed for Neptune, to rest, knowing that there would be little time for that. Soon, the ultimate game would begin, and luck had to be on their side.

And the ship, that held Galaxia and Shattered Terra, began its approach towards the Sol Galaxy, and the dice were rolled again. Tuxedo Rainbow, now a star seed, sighed.

Place your bets, he thought, place your bets

He sighed, knowing now he had lost, this time, at least.

But, if even one word of what he had heard was true, if even one syllable of what he heard was true, then soon, the final player would join the game.

Sure, it was risk, sure it was a gamble. He knew what Cosmos had lost, but he also knew that she was the first to gamble, she was the first to try to change fate. And as she found out, as did he, that you do not roll dice against fate, because fate cheats.

Sighing, he watched the chess pieces move onto the game board that was the Sol Galaxy, and start the first moves of what would be a most deadly game. That was one bet Tuxedo Rainbow knew that no one would take.