Okay, hear me out— a version of Stars without Kakyuu.
When Galaxia’s forces come to Kinmoku, and the planet’s senshi begin to fall, Kakyuu knows if they all stay and fight, they all die. She knows that as a princess she has a particular target on her back and a power that can be traced from anywhere in the universe. And she knows that if there’s anyone out there who can win this war, they’ll need all the help they can get. So she turns to her remaining soldiers and says “Run. We must run before we are destroyed. I will hide, but you will find me and we’ll find the light of hope together.” They will not leave her otherwise, she knows, and she must hope that if they search for her, they will find what they need instead.
She leaves, to make a good show, and to make sure Galaxia follows her and not them. She does not make it far.
The Starlights search, they sing, they call to her in the night. They will not acknowledge the possibility that she lied, that she died, not until Galaxia finds them on Earth and she cannot help but revel in their despair. They are senshi who failed. They failed their planet, they failed their princess, and now they will fail the universe.
And they are broken. They are lost. And they must make the decision that they will fight anyway, they have to find the will to face Galaxia and aid Sailor Moon on their own, now that everything they’ve lived for since their planet’s destruction has proven false. But Kakyuu was right, and they did find what they need. They’ve seen enough to believe in Sailor Moon, they see just enough of a chance that they don’t feel like they’re fighting for nothing.
After, they find a way to build their lives on earth, because there’s only so long a star seed can be separated from its host before it cannot be returned. The princess of Kinmoku will be reborn anew, and it might take a century or it might take millennia, but it will not be now. All the destroyed planets will rise from their ashes, but it will take time. The Starlights have to live with their tragedy. They have to live with being victorious and still losing everything.
SittingOverHereDreaming 