AN: (dies) After two years of not writing a word for any of my Sailor Moon fanfictions, I have finally, FINALLY finished Chapter One of one of them. And so I present to you, Sailor Moon Elementals. A completly AU Sailor Moon story, set in a world that's falling apart.

For the image gallery for this, go here- mazokuqueen. tripod. com / elementalsgallery. html

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and the concept of Sailor Senshi belong to Naoko Takechui. All senshi in this belong to me, as well as the storyline and the writing.

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It was difficult to recall a time when the Earth was alive: people bustling about their business, animals grazing in grassy pastures, and fish swimming through vast oceans. It was difficult to remember a time when someone had looked at Earth from space and still saw it as a "beautiful blue jewel." War, famine, and plague had been ravaging the land for far too long, leaving nothing but one giant wasteland.

Some people didn't even know that there was ever a time when any of that was true. The children learned it in their textbooks, but it was difficult for them to believe that this planet could be anything more than an empty wasteland. And though they learned of a time before all this, of the people who ruled, of the advancements that had been made, and the lives that had been lived... they never truly connected with any of it.

One story, however, caught their imaginations. It was their story, in a way. Even those that hadn't trouble believing the Earth was once filled with cities and large areas of green, couldn't help but look at it this way.

It was the last stand for a better world.

One that had been fought and one that had been lost.

It was this.

Sailor Moon: Elementals

Chapter One

Chicago, Illinois 2031

"Welcome to my world, Nothing is as it seems..." The words came out slowly from chapped lips. "Welcome to my world, It's breaking at the seams..." The mouth moved to say more, but instead formed into a small smile, its owners pink eyes watching as the people below her bustled about.

She was a Nomad, this girl. Anyone who saw her upon her little rooftop ledge could tell; her hair was gray, and her skin showed the tan of someone who spent a seemingly endless lifetime of wandering. A Nomadic cloak was thrown over her shoulders and her clothing was torn.

"Good morning little children," she spoke, smiling at the people below, knowing that they didn't hear her. "How are you all today? Continuing to move on in your safe haven, ignorant of the fact that the rest of the world is falling apart?"

She tilted her head to the side, sun gleaming off her gold piercings "Or is it that you know, and just refuse to admit that it is? Hm?" She questioned the people below again, her smile not leaving her face. "And yet it's happening under your very feet, too. They're almost all here, you know, all save for the Lady of Black Wings."

"Mmm..." She flopped back on the roof, staring up at the sky. It was cloudy that day, chances were that it would probably rain sometime later. "Wars, Plagues, Famines... Human atrocities of all kinds, and yet here goes on America, greatest country in the world..." She turned her head to the side, her nails picking at some of the stone. "But when will you fall? The seeds of corruption are already spreading."

"Just like at home. It was such a lovely place, you know, my home." She heaved a sigh. "Shame, shame. It was awfully cruel of them to drop the bomb on us. Just because it happens in the movies, doesn't actually mean that Tokyo can fix itself in a day."

She closed her eyes, turning her head back to the sky. "Poor little Tokyo, all gone in a flash. Tokyo and Osaka. And poor Paris and poor Cairo, that horrible plague that ate away at flesh. Rotting corpses everywhere to become a playground of death for the Whore's Daughter. And poor, pitiful Australia. No food for anyone, not man, nor animal, not even the plants. All dead, all gone."

She opened her eyes then, a drop of rain falling on her face. "And poor Russia, caught in a civil war so violent. The prisoner camps, almost like the Nazis all over again... but the Nazis had nothing to fear from the Lady of the Black Wings and her precious little demons, did they?"

The rainfall started to turn heavier, but she didn't seem to notice it, instead humming another little ditty. "Locked away, hidden from the world," She mumbled, though no one could still hear her. "The secret bloodlust lurking in the hearts of men, it was set free,"

"Watch the world as it falls now..." she whispered, her eyes closing.

---

"Whoa, Hoshi..." Sarah Baker blinked, starting down at her friend. "You look..." She chewed on her lip, trying to find the right words. "How should I put this... Totally..."

"Exhausted? Sleep deprived? Like I've been kept up all night by a harsh task mistress that doesn't know the meaning of sleep?" The red-haired girl interrupted, her dark green eyes currently surrounded by heavy bags. "Because if that's what you were going to say, then you're right."

Her black haired friend arched an eyebrow. "Sounds like you've had an interesting weekend then." She commented, pulling a hairbrush out of her bag. "You didn't even brush your hair this morning, Hoshi." She sighed, brushing it out for her. "What would you do without me?"

"I'll have something witty to say about that when I'm more awake." Hoshi let out a yawn, slumping her head down on her desk and closing her eyes. "Interesting is hardly the word."

"Hm?" Sarah blinked, glancing down at her.

"You said my weekend was interesting. Interesting is hardly the word for it..." She yawned again. "I just wanna go to sleep" She whined. "Is Mr. Kendall even here today? I wish we had a sub... I hope we have a sub."

"Why didn't you just stay home then?" Sarah arched an eyebrow. Hoshi responded only by looking up, staring blankly at the girl. "Ah... right. I forgot that your father has a no missed days policy about school. Unless you're dead or dying, that is."

"I still think he'd drag my corpse to school." Hoshi mumbled, her head falling back down against the desk. "Now lemme sleep..."

She shrugged, scooting back over to her own desk and leaving Hoshi to snooze away. Homeroom didn't start for at least another five minutes and at this point, she would take whatever sleep she could get.

It was times like these when she couldn't help but wonder if she wasn't absolutely insane. What was she doing, what was she thinking? The entire thing in itself was simply crazy and she was wondering if she shouldn't be checking herself into a loony bin right about now.

I mean, who had ever even heard of anything called a Sailor Senshi anyways? Guardians of the planet with special powers, determined to defend it against the demonic forces that were trying to tear it apart? It was absurd and even more absurd to think that she might be one of those guardians.

But as much as she tried to deny it, a part of her told her it was the truth. Whether it was the part of her that was connected with this guardian senshi or the fact that she was simply sore as all hell, she didn't know. Both were thoroughly convincing.

That didn't change the fact that it still seemed surreal, however. She remembered it like it was yesterday-in fact, it really wasn't any longer than a month ago that this all happened. She was depressed and she had run away from her home, with no real direction in mind. She had simply kept running, running until she couldn't run anymore, and had then found a nice little alleyway to just go and die in.

Of course, at the time, she didn't think that she actually might have died there. It was just a momentary phase in her life; she hadn't exactly expected that a demon would be drawn to her depression and then attempt to eat her. She shuddered just thinking about it- no horror movie could really compete with opening up your eyes to such an inhuman monster, with that awful breath in your face.

"Sometimes I really wish that demon had eaten me." She said to herself. "At least then I wouldn't have to be the charge of that... that... ugh."

Finding words to describe her teacher was difficult. At least not without dipping into the territory that would have you in line to get your mouth washed out with a good bar of soap.

Sailor Terra. She was the Solider of the Earth, who fought with a poleaxe and was supposedly the best at slaying the demons when they were in their natural forms. She was a tough, no-nonsense woman, and made for a very strict and unrelenting teacher. Hoshi had no trouble in believing that she really didn't want to have to train her, but instead was forced to by her superiors on the Light Council.

The Light Council was a collection of these Sailor Senshi. They represented all kinds of elements. Hoshi herself, as Sailor StarDust, supposedly represented life. Shikyo was death, Mystical Melody was life, Kronos was electricity, Eris was metal, Echo was wind, Mizu Tenshi was water, Raven was darkness, and Twilight was fire. Terra had made sure she memorized them all.

The Council was led by Sailor Shikyo and Sailor Mystical Melody. Hoshi had tried to find one of them that she could relate more easily too, but both of them... seemed to be rather imposing. She didn't know if this was perhaps because she had only ever met them on duty, or if they were always that way.

Shikyo did frighten her a little-the woman's blood colored eyes looked as if they could see straight through her. She always had to force back a shudder when she looked at her, afraid that everything in her past would be lain bare before her. And there were many things that Hoshi wanted to keep to herself. Forever, if possible.

Mystical Melody seemed to be a little less frightening. At least, she appeared that way. She had a very kind looking face, but when she spoke... it was something different entirely. She was very serious, and very devoted to their cause.

Their cause, as it were, was perhaps the most surreal part of this whole thing. Demons that had been running amok among humans, possessing them. Causing wars, famines, plagues... all sorts of awful things. Hoshi couldn't even begin to imagine that something like that was possible. To be quite honest, she hadn't even been aware of how much the Earth had been falling apart before she had joined the Light Council.

To think that she had thought she had problems. It all seemed just a little selfish now, knowing that somewhere in Russia, people were being herded into concentration camps. Knowing that slavery had become all but commonplace. Knowing that today's scientists wasted their money on making whore bots instead of trying to find the cure for all of these new plagues, or trying to find a way to end the famine that plagued so many countries.

It was all too depressing. There were times when she just didn't want to think about it, when she didn't want to know anymore about it. Times that she wished she could go back to her normal life, go back to being able to sleep at night, go back to not having to worry about what could go wrong if she took one wrong step in battle.

Of course, she knew she could never let her trainer know that she had those thoughts. She had risked herself to save her after all, and though she might not like the woman, the least she could do for her was just try for a little bit longer. Who was to say? She might eventually get the hang of this Senshi business.

"You know, Ms. Fumei..." An unamused voice interrupted her contemplation. Hoshi's green eyes went wide open, staring up in a mixture of horror and embarrassment at her teacher. "There is a time and a place to take a nap. My class, however, does not happen to be it."

"I'm sorry!" She yelled out, a bit louder than she intended too, now quite flustered. "I didn't mean too! I mean, Mr. Kendall!" She moved her mouth, searching for an explanation, some kind of excuse that might work. "I wasn't feeling very well last night so I didn't get very much sleep and... I'm so very sorry!"

The algebra teacher held the same unamused expression, shaking his head. "This is the tenth time that I've caught you falling asleep in my class, Hoshi. You of all people cannot afford to miss any instructional time." He sighed. "I'm afraid I have you no choice but to send you to the principal's office."

Hoshi turned redder at his words, a few of her classmates snickering behind her. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, wishing that the earth would swallow her up right now. And so she was almost eager to take the pass from her teacher's hands, quickly leaving the room.

She let out a deep breath of relief as she left the classroom, pausing in the hall to try and calm herself. She slid down against a wall, placing her heated face in her hands. She was so completely mortified at not only being caught drifting off in class, but at her teacher's comments. While it was true that algebra was her worst subject, he didn't have to go remind the entire class about it!

"I don't see how this day could get any worse..." She groaned, thumping her head against the wall. She closed her eyes, hoping that somehow when she opened them back up, she would be back at home in the comfort of her own bed, and that the whole embarrassing situation had just been a dream. A very realistic dream.

"Did you learn nothing from the last time you feel asleep like that?"

Hoshi's eyes flew open, meeting with the blank dark green ones of the woman crouching down in front of her. Her voice, though somewhat muffled through the facemask that she wore, was somewhat amused, and she had no doubt that she was smirking a little underneath that.

"I... what are you doing here!?" Hoshi blurted out in surprise. "You just spent all night training me! What more could you want from me!? And we're in school too, what if someone sees-"

Sailor Terra rolled her eyes, placing her hand over the younger girl's mouth. "They certainly will if you keep on with all this yelling. Have you ever thought of learning to be quiet? It might do you some good."

Hoshi glared at her teacher, the older woman simply arching her eyebrows and removing her hand. Terra stood up, her brown cloak shifting as she moved. She had the most unusual hairstyle-her dark green hair was put first into three ponytails, which then later joined into a braid at her mid-back. Unlike most of the senshi, who wore a variation of a skirt, Terra wore baggy brown pants.

"Now come on. If you have time to angst in the hallway, then you have time to practice." She said.

That only caused Hoshi's eyes to narrow further, and she shot straight up. "But you just spent all night training me! Didn't you hear me the first time I said that!?"

"No, I couldn't hear you past all the excuses." Terra said, her tone giving the impression that she was beginning to grow impatient already. "This is not a game, Hoshi. People's lives are at stake here, it's not for you to decide when or when not to train. Until you master your powers, then you will practice with me whenever I see fit for you to do so."

"But!" Hoshi began, but Terra placed her hand over her mouth again, cutting her off.

"But as it is, you can't even master your basic attack yet. If it keeps on blowing up in your face, all you're going to do when it comes time to battle is make a fool of yourself." She took her hand down, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Now, are you going to give me more excuses, or are we going to practice? You were kicked out of class anyways, Hoshi, it's not exactly like you have anything better to do."

Hoshi opened her mouth to protest, trying to point out that the reason she was kicked out of class in the first place was her fault to begin with, but realized then that arguing with her was really futile. She heaved a sigh, hanging her head, before giving a brief nod. "Alright... Fine. We'll practice."

Terra nodded. "Then come with me." She motioned. Hoshi sighed again, following behind the woman. Terra pulled out a silver key, placing it in the air as if there was a lock in it. She twisted the key then, a glimmering door forming in front of them. This was how they accessed the Light Council, a realm onto itself.

When she had first done this, Hoshi had been amazed, but now... after seeing it several times, it was just another part of her day. She followed Terra through the door, the portal quickly vanishing as she stepped through it.

---

Pale hands moved, stroking the black feathers of what appeared at first glance to be a large bird. At second glance, however, the bird started to show signs of a human shape. The creature had a human face and torso, but it's arms had shifted into bird's wings, it's legs into large talons. Its hair had turned into feathers, and telling whether the creature was male or female was difficult.

"Pretty thing..." A girl's voice murmured, blood-colored eyes gazing upon it. "You're such a beautiful creature..." The girl's pale arms wrapped around it, the bird creature cooing.

"Pretty creature..." The girl continued to mumble. "Pretty bird, won't you do something for mother? There are nasty people..." She whispered. "Nasty... They must be killed, because they are so nasty. Will you go?"

The bird creature let out a sound, something in-between the cry of a crow and a baby. The girl smiled, letting it go. "Then go... Punish them."

The bird creature screeched again, before it opened it's wings up, spreading them and taking off into the night sky. The girl watched it until she could no longer see it, smiling to herself as she pulled on her black and white striped sweater.

She turned around then, quietly walking through the snow of the silent camp, entering her barrack as if she had never left. No guard would notice her since she already had all of the guards in her hand. It only seemed as if she was a prisoner here, in the Purity Camps her country's new government had set up.

Though the camp went through it's daily motions, nobody but she really knew that the camp had been turned into a breeding ground for demons.