Disclaimers and author's notes are at the end of chapter six - part one. "The core of Chaos, the Chaos seed, and Guardian Chaos are melted into the Cauldron. Now they have become too small to be found. They might be born again. Because this is the place where stars, and possibilities, are born…" ~ Guardian Cosmos; Volume 18, Act 52 Sleeper By: Masked Maiden Chapter Six - Part One: Enemies Rising From its home amongst the radiant constellations, the might archer Sagittarius points to the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. And inside the center, in this black hole of void and desolation, lays a veiled enigma. Its true name has been lost over time, its origin cannot be pinned down, and its existence is unknown by the masses of humanity. But there are those who once traveled there, seeking power and denomination, seeking freedom and peace. They called it Zero Star, and on this celestial body is the Galaxy Cauldron, the sacred place where stars seeds are born. Every soul possesses a star seed, the essence that harbors life and creation. The strongest, most powerful of all star seeds are known as sailor crystals. Destined to be interconnected with the planets of the universe, these unique star seeds are born for the souls of the Sailor Senshi, the source for their powers. Never fading, sailor crystals return to their birthplace and are reborn again and again, so that the universe may never succumb to the evils that will surely threaten it. But as the Galaxy Cauldron gives birth to the star seeds of light, it must give birth to stars seeds of darkness. A formless apparition floated in the expanse of outer space and stared into the vortex of the black hole. He could see a spark of light shimmering from the bottom with much vivacity. That was the Cauldron. It was calling him, wanting him to return but he did not want to go. Since the day he was created -- he wasn't quite sure when he was created -- he had protected the black star seeds. Those stars left and returned, and each one had their own stories to tell. Most of them were tormented by their own downfall, and some even groaned at the mentioning of a certain group of Sailor Senshi that destroyed their chances at victory. However, there were a few that trampled over their enemies, and they were the ones who gloated over the destruction of cities, countries, kingdoms, even planets. They were the heroes of their kind, and he wanted to be like them. He wanted their lives, or at least the bodies of human hosts. But that was never intended to be. He was Guardian Chaos, the one who missed becoming a star seed. Oh, it wasn't like Chaos hadn't tried. For brief periods of time he broke from his bondage and took the forms of Queen Metallia, Death Phantom, Master Pharaoh 90, and Nehelenia. They were shadows of his true self, and through them he raised havoc on the blue planet called Earth. His mission was always the same: to absorb the mystical Ginzuishou, the star seed of light, so that he could be free of the Galaxy Cauldron and rule the cosmos. Every time Chaos came close to achieving his goal, and every time a maiden with blonde hair and blue eyes used the Ginzuishou against him. She sent him back to the Cauldron, where he was forced to stay until he regained enough strength to try once more. Chaos vividly remembered their last meeting. Galaxia, his most deceived marionette, had captured the sailor crystals of all the guardians in the universe, including the Milky Way Galaxy, leaving Eternal Sailormoon with no allies to fight with her during the final battle. And as Galaxia stole the sailor crystals from their human bodies, Chaos absorbed the black star seeds under his protection. They empowered him, making him the most powerful star ever created. His powers even surpassed those of Sailormoon, but he knew that only the Ginzuishou could free him. Without her friends and her beloved, Chaos knew Sailormoon would eventually travel to the Cauldron. His plan was to lure her inside and snatch her sailor crystal. But in the end, Sailormoon was one step ahead of him. She begged for the stolen sailor crystals to help her, and then she literally joined him. One by one he was infested with the stars seeds of the Sailor Senshi, until the sudden surge of energy became too much for him to bear. Guardian Chaos, in a sense, exploded, but he was not completely destroyed. He was simply reduced to a grain of existence, and his bondage to the Galaxy Cauldron became even greater. Since then Chaos looked forward to when he would rise again. Even Guardian Cosmos admitted that his imprisonment was temporary. But until then, all Chaos possessed were Janus, Bodgar, and their star seeds. The apparition held out the two sparkling jewels, in awe of how something so delicate could contain the power to annihilate his enemies. With these stars Chaos would take what he longingly desired. He absorbed them, and slowly the form transformed into a being of flesh. Organs were protected by bones, bones were covered by muscles, and muscles were shielded by skin. Soon there stood a man with a snowy complexion, eyes of blazing ruby red, floor-length hair and lavish robes that camouflaged into the expanse of space, and fangs -- fangs that could puncture both a man's body as well as his soul. This new image of Chaos would surely have his revenge. "Onyx-sama…" Lord Onyx switched his attention from the Cauldron to a gust of fog floating his way. It gradually dissipated, revealing the ageless woman named Janus. She took off her shades and respectively bowed to her master. "Bodgar is ready, Onyx-sama," she stated. The vampire merely stared at his puppet. "Excellent…" he said. "Proceed with the plan." ~*~*~ Durham, North Carolina 7:00 PM EST Mamoru remembered a comment Diana made when she and ChibiUsa were living with Usagi -- there were a couple of times when the King and Queen of Crystal Tokyo became mysteriously ill, and then they would disappear right before important banquets and meetings. (There was nothing to worry about, since they always felt better the next day!) Mamoru remembered that because, at the moment, he was bored out of his mind. If he'd known the welcoming banquet was going to be such a dulling experience, he would've followed King Endymion's lead and played hooky. I wonder if Shingo knows any good American restaurants, Mamoru thought. Oh how he wanted to leave, to be anywhere except the sardine-can-of-a- conference-room. And if he actually listened to that annoying voice in the back of his mind, he would have already left. It wasn't because Mamoru hated crowds, even though he was and did. And it wasn't because the food wasn't the best. It was because the guest speaker had yet to show up. The main reason Mamoru wanted to come to North Carolina was to hear Dr. Stephen Lehmkuhl's lecture. Before his first ER rotation, Mamoru wanted to specialize in genetics. With a great interest in the field he read several articles on Stephen. He admired the doctor's work. However, he was perplexed by the man's secrecy. Only snippets of Stephen's research were released and hardly anything was published in the medical journals, for the man supposedly feared that his work would somehow be used by terrorists. That was, to say the very least, somewhat odd. Mamoru knew that many scientists (and doctors were scientists in their own right) strove for recognition and the one breakthrough wonderment that would put their names down in history. Stephen was like that; all he wanted was to make the world a better place. To Mamoru, that either made Stephen a saint or a deceiver, and it wasn't quite clear which suited him better. Perhaps tonight's speech would eradicate any suspicions. But for some reason, that seemed highly unlikely. "Ladies and gentlemen, let us welcome our guest speaker for this evening, Dr. Stephen Lehmkuhl…" The gathering of physicians politely clapped as Stephen walked onto the stage and to the podium. He put on his reading glasses and placed his notes in front of him, though he knew he would not refer to them. As the applause subsided, he looked up and stared at his audience, quite pleased to be in the spotlight for one last time. "Fellow comrades of science and medicine, thank you for coming. I would first like to apologize for my tardiness this evening. My nephew is with me this week and I wanted to spend a few minutes with him before I left, though it obviously turned out to be more than a few minutes. I think those of you with families can certainly understand that there are not enough hours in the day to spend with the ones you love…" Stephen's voice trailed as he soon came to a loss of words. Bodgar was sitting in the back row, smiling intently. He was given a security pass just in case he wanted to attend the lecture, or in case of an emergency involving C.O.M.E. Stephen never expected him to actually use it, though. He tried to decipher the meaning beneath the smile on his nephew's face, but as he came to no conclusions, a feeling he rarely experienced clouded his eyes: fear. "Um…" Stephen cleared his throat and continued. "As I was about to say, it is a pleasure to be here. This evening I plan to disclose over a decade of highly confidential research that will unlock they mysterious behind several of the well-known viral hemorrhagic diseases. Because of their noxious effect on millions of innocent lives, it has become my life's mission to see that our Earth is finally rid of the pestilence that strikes her children, so that no other person may have to suffer and become another victim…" "Is that REALLY mission, Uncle Stephen?" The voice unmistakably came from Bodgar, though it seemed to resound throughout the room. And needless to say, it brought Stephen's well rehearsed speech to an abrupt halt. He glared at his nephew with angry eyes, not caring if anyone saw through his deception for the briefest moment. Mamoru would have been the person to notice, yet he and the rest of the audience turned their heads to see whoever it was with the booming voice. His attention was immediately directed to the teenager, who now slowly walked towards the stage… and unknown to anyone else, the blameworthy victim. "Let us not forget what the mission is," Bodgar mocked. "Those are your exact words. Right, Uncle Stephen? Mother Earth has given birth for over six thousand years. Now is the time to relieve her from all her heavy burdens… even if it means martyrdom." He laughed, a deep rumble in the base of his throat, and looked down at the floor. "That's a fancy way of saying you want to kill the whole world, right?" "Now's not the time for this, Bodgar," Stephen seethed. "Mother Earth's children have taken her for granted. Us included, right?" Bodgar continued. "They have abused her, despite all her sacrifices. She is tired, depleted, and needs rest and solitude. Mother must be saved and her wretched, spoiled children must be aborted. We, the Children of Mother Earth, are now the arbiters of life, and so we chose for Mother to live. And that means…" Bodgar extended his right arm and clenched his fist. "… You must die." As Bodgar finished curling his fingers into a tight fist, he disappeared, as if slipping into another dimension. Stephen clutched his chest and gasped for one last breath. His heart stopped beating and he collapsed, his chin striking the podium and snapping his head back as he hit the floor. So was the end of Dr. Stephen Lehmkuhl. He died in the spotlight that he relished, though literally by the hand of the one young man he could have never trusted. Mamoru shot up from his chair, more or less dumbfounded. "What the…?!" He was even more shocked when a hand grabbed him by the shoulder. His defenses in high gear, he was ready to strike until he heard a familiar voice. "Prince Endymion…" ~*~*~ Shingo always hoped that he would be fortunate enough to die peacefully when he was an old man, preferably in his sleep and in his own bed. But for some reason, he never expected for fate to be so generous. He knew that his rebellious, teenage years had depleted all of his second chances. So Shingo always assumed that he would die from cancer or heart disease or some other ailment, or perhaps in a freak car accident that was his fault. However, a bullet to the head was something he had never thought of, and that was obviously the way fate intended. Atsuko fired her gun and Shingo reflexively shut his eyes as the booming noise roared in his ears. He anticipated with genuine dread and fear for that light at the end of the tunnel, for his short and rather pathetic life to flash before his eyes, and for anything else that was supposed to happen when someone was about to meet their Maker. All he could think about was Mika and his family, and how he wouldn't have the chance to see them again… But after a few seconds, Shingo realized that his was heart was still beating. He was still breathing, and there wasn't even a hole in his head. Not quite knowing what to think or expect, Shingo cautiously opened one eye, and he was shocked by what he saw. White wings…!? ====== End of chapter six - part one 03.06.03 Disclaimer: Sailormoon and the characters of "Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon" are property of Takeuchi Naoko, Toei Animation, Kodansha, etc. "Sleeper" is inspired by the novel "The Most Important Little Boy in the World" written by Dean Briggs. It is property of the author and Word Publishing. I do not have ownership and I do not make any profits from the use of Sailormoon or the novel in this fan fiction. Author's Notes Well, I bet some of you are going to want to feather and tar me. After three months of no updates, I leave all of you with another cliffhanger. I promise that I will do my best to have part two completed some time in April; however, I also have a research paper to write for my religion course, and anyone who's taken anatomy knows there's a lot of work involved with that. So really, there's no telling when part two will be finished. But just know that I don't do this intentionally! Part two will be up the minute it's completed and edited! Email: masked_maiden@hotmail.com Web Site: http://miracleromance.cjb.net/