Chapter Text
The end came swiftly. It always did, regardless of which side one was on.
It rarely was sudden, always heralded by the disappearance of people and emergence of monsters, but once the pieces were all lined up, it was unstoppable, merciless, thorough, and over in a matter of hours.
It surely had happened that way on Coronis. Good people, bright people, talented, kind, sensitive people vanishing without a trace, and suddenly those monstrous parodies of Sailor Senshi appearing and going on a rampage across the planet. And then the horrible realisations: first, the monsters, the Phages, were the people, twisted beyond recognition or help; and second, it was actual Sailor Senshi just like herself who were turning them and causing all that mayhem. Alien Senshi with foreign uniforms and unknown powers, but Senshi nonetheless. How could they? Why? Had they forgotten their sacred duty?
When things came to a head, Crow’s team put up a fierce fight even as the city crumbled all around them. Sailor Coronis managed to defeat the invader in the sinopia jumpsuit, shattering her golden bracelets and causing her to disappear in a flock of bright lights. In her blind rage, her companion, the one in the olive green slit skirt, took down two of Crow’s own teammates and stole their Star Seeds, before Crow managed to injure her, cracking one of her bracelets and forcing her to retreat behind a crumbling wall.
It was in that moment that she appeared. The sky turned from its familiar rusty red to a menacing shade of purple and, among black lightning, there she was, in her golden uniform.
Sailor Galaxia.
Although it was now clear her Shadow Galactica had been infiltrating Planet Coronis for months, they had only seen a first glimpse of her hours before, when she’d hijacked the global broadcasting systems to announce their time was up. A sentiment she was all too keen to reiterate.
“It’s over. Time to surrender your Star Seeds”, she said with self-importance.
Oh hell no, they were not going down without a fight. Coronis gave them a single glance and they were already in formation, ready to attack. Physical attacks, magical attacks, even their combined attack, however crippled by the deaths of Rook and Raven. Nothing could do Galaxia more than a few superficial scrapes, draw a few drops of blood at best. All the while, she looked mildly amused, and easily levelled whatever was left of the city with a flick of her hand, killing the rampaging Phages in droves.
It was just when she happened to notice her minion’s shattered bracelets, half-buried under the rubble, that she stared at Sailor Coronis with intent, a crease of annoyance on the bridge of her nose.
“How dare you? That was one of my most prized servants!”
She aimed her own bracelets at Coronis and unleashed a barrage of golden barbed lights so thick it was impossible for Coronis to escape, and so sudden neither Crow nor Jay could jump in front of their Princess to shield her. By the time the light faded, Coronis’ Star Seed had already appeared and she was on the ground, panting heavily, barely able to keep her eyes open, her body fading away.
“Jay… Crow…” she whispered, barely audible. “You did… well…”
It looked like it was taking her immense effort just not to vanish at once, let alone speak; and yet, in her final moment she had still spared a good word for them.
While Crow and her last remaining companion knelt down by their Princess’ side, tears in their eyes, Galaxia’s other minion crawled out of her hiding spot, hope reignited after watching the other one avenged. “Lady Galaxia… please…” she begged, “Please, save me…”
Galaxia looked down on her, digging her heel on the fallen Senshi’s wrist, right above her remaining bracelet. “Trash will never be a Star”, she said coldly, summoning the bracelet into her own hand and destroying it. She didn’t so much as flinch when the woman screamed and faded into sparks.
Then her eyes shifted on Crow and Jay.
Ignoring the pain, they both stood up and took a defensive stance, but Galaxia merely chuckled.
“So, it would appear I’m down two servants”, she said matter-of-factly, as if resuming an interrupted negotiation. “And you’re down one Princess”, she added, grasping emphatically Coronis’ Star Seed, the Lead Crystal. “I’ve got openings, you’ve got free time… until this planet is destroyed, that is.”
They stood there holding their breath, ready to make their last stand.
“But what if I told you this doesn’t have to be the end?”
With a half-smile and affected benevolence, she conjured one single pair of bracelets.
At their silent, horrified question, she spurred, “Entertain me. Show me which one of you has what it takes to survive.”
She was so confident, her eyes fixed on them, her smile not faltering one bit. She appeared certain they’d turn against one another and fight to the death for that chance at salvation.
Was that how she got other Senshi to abandon their mission and do her bidding? How many times had she seen that play out to be so confident?
That was disheartening – even more so than giving their all and barely making a dent.
Powerlessness was foreign to Crow – she was a damn good Senshi, for crying out loud! Her mind, her soul, every last cell in her body was rebelling, fighting against that feeling.
That wasn’t the end. It couldn’t be.
Then again, even those two blasted Senshi they’d fought before Galaxia showed up were unnaturally strong. What if…?
Her eyes landed on the bracelets and lingered there – and not just because they were beautifully shiny.
By her side, she could feel Jay stir.
“You can’t possibly be thinking about it…” she heard her mutter in disbelief.
Crow didn’t say anything, her eyes still set on the bracelets, except for brief moments when they darted to Coronis’ Star Seed, hovering above Galaxia’s shoulder.
Her Princess was dead – Crow had failed her. And her hands were already bloodied anyway: perhaps putting the Phages down was mercy after all, and it had saved other lives up until that horrible day, but the people they had once been were still innocent.
She gave Jay as much notice as turning to face her and drawing her whip. It was going to be a fair fight, but a fight nonetheless.
“Crow…”
Jay jumped out of the way at the first lash.
“Crow!”
A second, then a third lash. That’s when Jay realised Crow was dead serious.
“I can’t believe it, you traitor!”
Crow didn’t reply. She just went on attacking her fellow Senshi, her friend, who soon started defending herself and even fighting back.
Blow after blow, forearm against elbow, wrists against knee: Jay was fighting for her life, Crow for the kill. They knew one another, they had trained together, fought countless battles side by side – of course they were evenly matched.
But Jay was all out of hope, and that’s what made all the difference. One blow, then another. Jay fell on her knees, looking up at Crow with resentment, yes, but also defiance and dignity.
Crow swallowed hard, but got in position anyway.
“Feathery Tornado!”
Sailor Jay closed her eyes. She dropped her guard, accepted her fate, didn’t dodge or deflect the violent whirlwind that engulfed her.
Crow turned to Galaxia but, much to her horror, was met with a bright golden light coming her way, and then an unbearable pain that coursed through her entire body. It felt like every single layer of herself was being ripped apart – skin, flesh, bone… soul. It didn’t subside even when the flower bloomed above her forehead, disclosing her glittering Star Seed: it was like her strength was fading all at once, her body giving in… until another light engulfed her, this time only around her forearms.
And then everything stopped. The pain faded. She didn’t feel so weak anymore – in fact, it was as if none of the fighting had even taken place.
And on her wrists were the two golden bracelets.
“Go on”, Galaxia encouraged, though with a hint of impatience in her voice. “Take her Star Seed.”
It was… easier, somehow. She should have regretted it more to be honest – and she did, to an extent. But what prevailed was the cold determination, the pragmatism, her knowing she was doing the most sensible thing. Maybe there was one last chance, and she would take it.
Crow raised her wrists. Jay closed her eyes. It was over pretty soon, and next thing she knew, she was handing her friend’s warm, powerful, vivid Star Seed to Galaxia. Lady Galaxia.
“What was your name, again?” Sailor Galaxia asked.
“Sailor Crow.”
“Sailor Lead Crow”, she replied, as if correcting, after a glance at Princess Coronis’ Star Seed. There was a hint of malice in her outwardly benevolent smile, and sarcasm in her voice when she added, “You’re all that’s left now: it’s important to never forget the fallen.”
That was cruel and petty: giving her the name of her Princess’ Crystal, a constant reminder of her betrayal.
But her course was set. Her plan in motion. Now she just needed to work out the finer details.
As she spread her wings and followed her new Mistress, the end truly came for Coronis and the rest of the Kraz System.
A sight like that would soon become awfully familiar, and then just an ordinary working day, now that Crow was herself a harbinger of the end. World after world, star after star, an endless procession.
She always made sure to make it as quick and undramatic as possible.
Of course charging head on against fully transformed Senshi was impractical, especially if they were numerous and in formation: the battles could draw on and on, get tiresome and needlessly emotional. It was better to ambush the Senshi when they were untransformed – she was good at figuring the right targets out, picking them off one by one until the local Princess would intervene. Sometimes she would draw a blank, but even then, the resulting Phage would lure the Senshi out and weaken them before she went for the kill.
Methodical and undramatic – that’s how she worked. And if Lady Galaxia would sometimes look bored, even annoyed with the latter, she surely appreciated the former. Ultimately, they were both result-oriented, which made working for her all the easier.
Besides, it’s not like her Mistress didn’t have her chances for fun and joining in on the action. There would be harder planets to conquer, especially in the hands of less capable agents, and Galaxia would have her fill of causing mass destruction.
But yes, Crow would seldom leave loose ends for her to clean up, or miserable situations to relish in. At first out of some sense mercy, but soon mostly out of efficiency: she had work to get done, places to be, goods to sort out and deliver.
As ordinary Star Seeds lost their shine without their Senshi’s protection, as Phages rampaged through the cities, she departed the last planet she had conquered, leaving it to its doom with only the True Star Seeds secured in her grip.
Much like Jay, they had been valiant Senshi, strong Senshi… just not enough for what she needed.
She’d been right, that day on her own dying planet: the bracelets did amplify her power beyond her wildest dreams. Her new Galactica Tornado was more effective than its regular, Feathery version. Still, it paled in comparison to Lady Galaxia’s own power.
And so Crow had had to adjust her plan ever so slightly.
Oh, they all had their own agenda, the Animamates, as Galaxia would call them. They all were her slaves under constant threat of death, but all had their motives for joining.
Sailor Tin Nyanko, from the Felis System, was the easiest to figure out: it was just plain cowardice. She grovelled for Galaxia in a truly pitiful way, scrambling to keep herself alive no matter what. Like anybody who was painfully aware of their own mediocrity, she had a habit of trying to prop herself up by talking others down, both to their faces and behind their backs, hijacking their missions, even feeding Galaxia gossip. Gossip, like she wasn’t talking to the most powerful, fearsome being in the Milky Way.
Crow had to wonder how many former colleagues she’d thrown under the bus along the way. As soon as she figured Crow was efficient, she tried her best to rile her up and antagonise her, though Crow wouldn’t give her the time of day and went on doing her job.
Sailor Lethe and Sailor Mnemosyne came from twin planets orbiting Ran. That System’s royal line had long since gone extinct, leaving it in utter disarray. The planets were deadlocked in an endless war, and when Galaxia had shown up, the two sisters had practically begged her to end the conflict once and for all. They never said whether what they got was what they had in mind, but they’d been following Galaxia ever since.
Then there was the latest recruit, Sailor Papillon – this time, Galaxia’s slight had been labelling her “Heavy Metal”, generically, as if she couldn’t be bothered to check what her Princess’ Crystal was exactly. Planet Cocoon had been a tough cookie, the first time Galaxia had had to take over from Crow. Papillon hadn’t been her strongest opponent in terms of raw power, but she had put up the best fight, fierce, almost desperate. Perhaps it was unsurprising that, out of her large team, she’d been the one to turncoat. Whatever her reasons for joining, Papillon had kept them between herself and Galaxia, and they’d made her as ruthless at her new job as she’d been at defending her planet.
Oh well, Crow didn’t really care. She couldn’t afford to. She had her mission to carry on. Harvesting Star Seeds and bringing them to her Mistress, though not before sorting them out, seeing if there was something, anything unexpectedly powerful among them. More powerful than herself. More powerful than Sailor Coronis, even.
Sometimes it was hard to even remember why. Sometimes she felt like she really didn’t care anymore, like she was only doing that to keep going, to live another day. That was the trade off for the power amplification the bracelets gave her: small pieces of herself drifting further and further out of reach.
Non that she’d lost all sense of morality: she knew exactly what she was doing. Some part of her still felt ashamed – especially when she’d recall Coronis’ dying words, or Jay’s accusing stare as she took her Star Seed. But it was becoming easier not to see herself, and Jay, Rook, Raven in the Senshi she was taking off, or Coronis in the Princess they were trying to protect. It was just business, at the end of the day. And if she’d once been remorseful to sacrifice lives for the greater good, she now just did what she had to. Justice was becoming more and more of an empty word.
And so, she became Lady Galaxia’s number one henchwoman. Once, in a rare moment of niceness, Galaxia outright told Crow that losing Sailor Chi and Phi on Coronis had been worth recruiting her.
“Oh, they were my oldest servants. They’d pledged themselves to me of their own volition, you know? Long before the mere mention of my name struck fear in the hearts of the entire Galaxy.” She smiled with that affected benevolence that had since become so familiar to Crow. “Time will tell if I’ll ever consider you on their level, but you’re a precious asset to me, Lead Crow.”
Naturally, Galaxia never did anything for no reason. The malice simmering underneath the apparent amiability became clear when Crow noticed Nyanko right behind the door, waiting for her own audience. Face taut, hands curled into fists, tail whipping furiously. Oh, the Cat Senshi resented her for months afterwards, her confidence baldy shaken.
Not that Crow cared. Being so high on Galaxia’s radar was a much bigger concern: if Nyanko could get away with her sloppiness because her grovelling and struggling were entertainment enough for Galaxia, Crow’s own torture had become always upholding her standards. Her every move was now closely scrutinised, every setback registered, every misstep harshly reprimanded.
There was no safety around there, not even in excellence. All the results so far, the countless Star Seeds they’d reaped, they didn’t matter: one was only as good as their latest mission.
She got a fresh reminder of that when their ranks thinned out with the departure of Mnemosyne first and Lethe shortly after.
They’d been valid colleagues, each in her own way: Mnemosyne was maybe a bit too soft, but always focussed and resourceful, and she tried to minimise the carnage; Lethe was more pragmatic, at time overly aggressive, but dead-set on bringing home results.
Of course, accidents happened, and Lethe had fucked up badly on a planet called Kinmoku: although grievously injured, the Princess had disappeared, probably fled the System, and her three Guardians had soon made a run for it, leaving the rest of their world for dead.
Galaxia had been displeased: four True Star Seeds were now missing from her collection; Lethe needed to do better next time. And to motivate her, she had removed Mnemosyne’s bracelets, letting her fade into a twirl of sparkles in her sister’s arms.
The poor girl had let herself go completely after that. It was a matter of weeks before Galaxia grew completely bored with her and took away her bracelets too. It wasn’t even about the job – Crow, Papillon and even Nyanko had picked up her slack. She was just too broken to even cower in fear, too desperate to have anything left to lose. That’s why she was of no more use to Galaxia.
None of the surviving Animamates would ever admit it, but that had rattled them – Papillon more than anyone. But then again, maybe that was the point: they all knew they could be next and they had to adjust accordingly. Papillon kept her head down and did her job, Nyanko tried to steal the thunder from them both, and Crown went on bringing home results. But secretly, with every new Star System she devastated, she kept frantically looking for the brightest Star Seed in her batch, to no avail: all she could do was report back to Galaxia and deliver the goods.
Shit was getting incredibly real and time was probably running out, while no remedy was coming in sight. It was getting harder to make room for the secret resolution Crow had made on the day she’d abandoned her dying home, when nearly every moment was consumed by the mere struggle to survive.
And then, one day, she arrived.
And nothing was ever the same again.