Chapter 1

The room was dark, with shadows swirling around menacingly. A gigantic hand forms from the shadows, reaching towards a prone figure on the ground. It lifts the slim, dark haired woman with no effort, wrapping its clawed fingers tight around her body. The woman fights back fiercely, squirming and kicking, trying to get free of the grasp. The hand ignores her struggle and tightens, causing the woman to cry out even harder as her body was crushed. Large amethyst eyes filled with tears as the woman gasped for air, forcing her final words from her mouth. "I'm sorry, Minako….."

Minako woke up like she did every morning, tears rolling down her cheeks as her screams died out. Artemis stood at the foot of the bed, keeping a watchful eye on his owner, patiently waiting for her to pull herself from the dream. He learned his lesson early, the first few times he had tried to comfort her, only to be thrown across the room by her flailing limbs. Minako slowly sat up, her eyes coming into focus. Only then did Artemis dare to get closer.

"The same dream again, Minako?" He gently placed a paw on her hand. Minako jerked away and swiftly got out of bed. "It's always the same dream, Artemis. The same torturous scene over and over, and just like before, I can't ever save her." Quickly brushing away fresh tears, Minako started rummaging through her closet to find a clean school uniform for the day. "There was nothing you could do Minako, there was no way for you to get to her."

"I KNOW!" Minako's voice resonated through the room. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she straightened her back. "I know Artemis," she said softly. "but it doesn't stop the pain. It doesn't stop me from seeing her die a million times every night." She sighed, internally bracing herself for another day of school. "I'm sorry Artemis; I know you're just trying to help. For once in my life, I actually have no idea how to fix this. It's already been 3 years since she died, and I can't move on from it. My dreams keep me trapped in my ultimate guilt, and I don't know how to stop it."

Artemis jumped up onto Minako's shoulder and rubbed against her face. "I'll always be here Minako, I've always been here. I just wish you would let Usagi and the other girls know what's going on. Luna said they've all noticed a huge change in you over the last few years." Minako grimaced, feeling slightly guilty. "They all lost a friend that day, but I lost my love. Rei and I had only months with each other, just like we did in the Silver Millennium. None of them even remember our relationship from then, so why let them know about it now? I don't need their pity; they need me to be their leader next to Usagi."

Artemis sighed, wondering how Minako was going to pull through this. "You win for now, Minako. It's getting late; you need to get to school." With a small nod, Minako hugged Artemis to her and set him back on the bed. "It wouldn't do too good for me to be late on the day of finals, would it? I'll put some breakfast out for you before I leave. Thank you, Artemis." She finished getting around and headed out the door.

Minako took the walk to school as time to clear her mind, shaking the negative feelings of the nightmare. When she got closer to school, she ran into Ami, who had her nose buried in a textbook. "Good morning, Ami. Getting ready for finals?" The small girl peered owlishly at Minako, blinking rapidly to refocus her eyes. "Good morning, Minako. Yes, I've been up since 4 this morning studying." Minako smiled, amused by Ami's insane studying habits. "Well, if you've been up since 4 this morning, I'm sure you're going to be top of the class like usual. Oh, here comes Makoto." Minako waved at her other friend. "Good morning, Makoto. I'm glad at least 3 of us were on time, I'm sure Usagi will be sprinting in around the time the test starts."

Makoto laughed, "More than likely, although I remember a time when you were just as bad as she was." Minako blushed, feeling like those days were a lifetime ago. "Well, one of us had to grow up anyway. Hey, did you here that the Starlights are going to be coming to our school? I can't believe we get to go to school with such a talented group of girls!" Ami poked her head up again, interested in the conversation. "I heard that they requested to come to this school personally, said they really liked the area it's in." Makoto was bouncing excitedly on her feet. "I wonder if I could get an autograph from Seiya, she's my favorite." Makoto's eyes were gleaming with excitement.

Minako chuckled, and then looked around Makoto. "Well Mako, if you want an autograph, you're going to have to fight for it." She gestured to a large group of boys across the courtyard. From the middle of the group burst 3 girls looking very harassed. "Look, its Seiya, Yaten and Taiki! Let's go see if we can meet them!" Another group, this time girls, skipped across the courtyard. Makoto looked at the group dejectedly. "Well, I'll catch Seiya at some point; it's not like I don't know where they are."

A loud bell starting ringing across the school yard, signaling the start of testing. As Minako and the other two made their way inside, a blonde streak ran up to them. "Good- Morning- Everyone." Usagi was panting heavily, holding a piece of toast in her hand. Ami smiled gently at Usagi. "Good morning, Usagi. I was starting to wonder if you were going to make it. It wouldn't do much good for you to miss the finals; you wouldn't be seniors with us if you did." Usagi pouted and clung to Ami's arm. "I was going to make it, Ami you're so mean! All you ever worry about is studying anyway!" Ami smiled again, ignoring Usagi's pout. "Well, you can't make a living out of reading manga, Usagi, so maybe you should study a bit more." Usagi let out a dramatic wail so loud that it almost drowned out the sound of the next bell.

"That's the bell, we better get going guys. Meet up after the tests?" Everyone nodded and went to their different classrooms, ready for the day to be over already.

A/N: In case you missed it in the summary, this is going to be a Reinako fic. If it's not your cup of tea, turn away now. Also, I know that there are a couple schools of thought about the Starlights genders depending on whether you watched the anime or read the manga. For simplicity's sake, I've kept them as women who do not disguise themselves as men, because hey, it's 2016 and girl bands are awesome! Anyway, I'm done rambling. This is the beginning of a long story, and I hope everyone enjoys riding the rollercoaster with me!