Title: Forgotten Memories
Part 1
Author: DarkOuters7
E-mail: DarkOuters7@yahoo.com
Rating: pg-13
This is part one of a series that is gonna have 2 parts and an epilogue. That is of course, if people think I should continue. This story is based on the Outer Senshi and this part only includes the outer senshi, but the other senshi might be mentioned.
This takes place after Stars. Maybe a few months or so. I don't know. Hotaru is 10. Can she be 10 a few months after Stars? Oh well. She is in this story.
A few things to note: When i put things in *blahblahblah* it means that it's in a dream. 'blahblahblah' is someone thinking to themself and this "blahblahblah" as u should all know is someone talking out loud. When someone is talking out loud in a dream though, i use 'blahblahblah' these. But the confusing thing is...in one part of the dream I will not put the dream in *these* and talking will be in "these" but u'll know that it's still a dream cuz it will tell you.
I hope I didn't scare you all off with that...well...read this...email me if u think it's worth continuing ...thanks
*************************************************
Hotaru sat motionless in her room, shadowed by the night. Her eyes were wide open, but she was staring beyond everything. She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice Setsuna walk in and sit next to her.
"You feel it too?" Setsuna whispered after a while.
"Yes," Hotaru replied, her voice melting into the darkness.
*******************************
*She was running. She didn't know from what, but she was running faster and faster through the gloomy mist that hung around her. She stopped, out of breath and turned around, a feeling of dread filling her body. She shivered not because of the cold, but because of the fear she felt.
"NO! STOP! I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER!" she screamed. Slowly the memory faded away, and then everything blacked out.*
Haruka woke with a start, breathing hard. She realized it was still nighttime. She saw Michiru sleeping soundly next to her. She tried to go back to sleep, but it was impossible. She knew that if she closed her eyes, she'd remember...but remember what? It was the third time she had that dream, and each time she woke up at the same part. There was something she didn't want to remember, and she was always afraid that if she fell back asleep, she'd remember it. She hadn't told Michiru. She didn't want to worry her. Maybe Setsuna would know though. Maybe...Haruka thought as her eyes slowly closed....
"NO!" Haruka shouted, trying to stay awake.
Realizing she had shouted, she looked at Michiru and found she was still sleeping peacefully.
'Michiru doesn't have these dreams by the looks of it,' Haruka thought, 'What are they trying to tell me?'
Haruka remained awake the rest of the night.
****************************
"I didn't think it would come this early. They aren't ready. You aren't ready. I'm not ready," Setsuna said sadly.
"Ready for what?" Hotaru asked.
"I don't know. All I know is something is coming and it's coming earlier than expected," Setsuna replied slowly.
"Whatever it is, I don't like the feeling it gives me. It scares me, Setsuna-mama. It makes me feel...I don't know. It makes me feel alone," Hotaru whispered.
******************************
"Haruka? Haruka?"
"Huh? What?" Haruka said sleepily as she looked at Michiru who was staring at her worriedly.
"Haruka...did you get any sleep last night? You eyes are bloodshot and you can hardly concentrate on anything. You poured the tea into your lap rather than into your cup this morning. Are you ok?" Michiru asked.
"Of course I am..." Haruka said trying to sound awake, but instead it came out as a yawn. Her eyes slowly started to droop.
"Haruka...why didn't you get any sleep last night? Tell me what's wrong..." Michiru asked.
"Stay here and keep them from coming..." Haruka whispered as she lay her head on the smaller woman's shoulder and fell asleep.
Michiru sighed, worried about her lover. She put her arms around the sleeping Haruka.
'Why won't she tell me what's wrong? What kept her from sleeping all last night? She's been like this for a few days now. I'm so worried about her. I just wish she weren't so stubborn and that she'd tell me..." Michiru thought.
********************************
Haruka woke up to see Michiru staring intently at her with a worried expression on her face.
"Haruka...please tell me what's wrong. What are in your nightmares?" Michiru asked.
Haruka sadly looked up at Michiru and said, "They scare me, Michiru. Thank you for staying by me...Thank you..." Haruka whispered as she once again fell asleep.
"Haruka, what's wrong? What do you not want to see in your dreams?" Michiru asked out loud as she stroked Haruka's short blond hair.
*********************************
Haruka woke up and once again saw Michiru staring at her worriedly.
"I'm sorry, Michiru, for making you waste your time," Haruka apologized.
"Don't apologize Haruka. Just tell me what's wrong. Please tell me," Michiru begged.
"I have these dreams..." Haruka said slowly.
"What are they about?" Michiru asked.
"I'm running from something. I don't know from what, but I know I'm running. I'm in a place full of endless mist. I don't even know if there's a ground. I stop and try to catch my breath and as I turn around I get this awful feeling of dread. I don't know why or what it's from. I start shouting, 'No! I don't want to remember!' and then I wake up. I know if I go back to sleep again after that part of the dream, I'll remember. It'll get me. I don't want...to remember..." Haruka said whispering the last part.
"Remember what?" Michiru asked.
"I don't know..." Haruka replied.
************************************
"Setsuna-chan, do you have a moment?" Michiru asked the crimson-eyed woman sitting by herself in the garden.
"Sure," Setsuna replied.
"Haruka wanted to talk to you about something," Michiru said gesturing towards Haruka who was standing behind her.
"Sit down, Haruka-chan, Michiru-chan," Setsuna said.
"Setsuna-chan, I've been having these dreams..." Haruka said, but was interrupted by Setsuna.
"You're running from something? You don't want to remember something?" Setsuna asked.
"Yes...how did you know?" Haruka asked suprised.
"It is certain...the time has come..."Setsuna whispered to herself.
"The time for what?" Michiru asked.
"The time for all the Outer Senshi to remember the truth..." Setsuna said quietly, suprised that she suddenly knew what was coming.
"Truth of what?" Michiru asked.
"I don't know..." Setsuna once again whispered, angry at herself for not knowing.
***************************************************
Haruka fell asleep easily that night, and after a while, sleep overtook Michiru too.
*She was running. The water splashed up at her everytime she took a step. She tried to run faster and faster, but it was hard to run in the water. The water was getting deeper. Soon it had come up to her waist. She slowed down and tried to catch her breath. She knew she should keep running...to make sure that it wouldn't come to her, but the water was rising and walking in it was getting near to impossible. She started to swim. She swam as fast as she could, but the feeling of apprehenshion building up in her told her it was catching up to her. She tried to swim faster, but her arms and legs ached. She stopped swimming and tried to stand up. The water came up to her chin now, and slowly it was rising.
'NO! Stop! I don't want to remember!' she shouted before to water reached her mouth.
She tried to tread water but it was rising higher and higher, and it started sucking her down into the place where she knew she'd remember...
'NO!' she tried her best to shout underwater. The water came swimming into her mouth and she desperately tried to reach the surface, but it seemed like there was no surface at all. She willed with all her might for the memory not to reach her. Her lungs ran out of breath...then everything blacked out.*
Michiru woke up gasping for air, her arms thrashing wildly about her, as though she were trying to swim...
"Michiru?! Michiru?!" Haruka shook her.
"Haruka?" Michiru asked.
"Michiru, are you ok? You scared me when you didn't wake up!" Haruka said.
"Haruka...the water was everywhere...I tried to get to the top, but I couldn't. It was getting me, Haruka. The memories...they were drowning me..." Michiru sobbed into Haruka's chest.
"It's ok, Michiru. I'm here. It's ok," Haruka said as she held Michiru.
**********************************
Neither of them went back to sleep that night, because neither of them wanted to know the memories that were haunting them...
**********************************
The first ray of light came through the window, and Haruka groaned. She had fallen asleep just several minutes ago, and she had not been dreaming anything at all.
"Time to wake up," Michiru said sleepily as she gracefully got out of bed.
"You're even graceful when you haven't gotten any sleep at all," Haruka said as she stumbled around the room.
"What are you trying to find?" Michiru asked when she walked into the bathroom to see Haruka staring in the toilet bowl with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"What should I wear today?" Haruka asked.
"The closest is right here," Michiru said, laughing, as she pulled Haruka over to the closet.
"Huh? That's where I was looking..." Haruka said puzzled.
"I hope I don't turn out like you after a few sleepless nights," Michiru said. Then in a more serious tone, "We need to figure out these dreams. They scare me..."
"Ya...I didn't have one last night though," Haruka said trying to put her pants over her head.
"That's good..." Michiru said. Then she realized what Haruka was doing. "Haruka, those are your pants."
"What? Oh..." Haruka said embarrased.
*************************************
"Haruka-papa is having those dreams you told me about, isn't she?" Hotaru asked Setsuna.
"Yes, and I'm afraid Michiru-chan has had her first one," Setsuna replied.
"Will we have those kinds of dreams, Setsuna-mama?"
"Yes, Hotaru-chan. We will..." Setsuna said staring off into the distance.
****************************
All the Outer Senshi sat silently at the breakfast table, each playing with their food, but not eating.
"Michiru-mama," Hotaru said, breaking the silence, "Did the dream scare you? Will it scare me?"
"Oh, Hotaru-chan, don't worry about it. I'm sure you won't have a scary dream," Michiru said.
"We all will have them, Michiru-mama. Setsuna-mama said so," Hotaru replied.
Michiru looked at Setsuna, giving her a *why-did-you-tell-her-that* look.
Setsuna looked back with a *she-needs-to-know* look.
"Well, we'll be there to protect you from those dreams," Haruka said while Michiru and Setsuna were still exchanging looks. "If you even need us, Hotaru-chan, just call out. We'll be there."
"Thank you Haruka-papa!" Hotaru exclaimed as she jumped up from her seat and gave Haruka a big hug. "Can I go out to play with the butterflies?"
"Sure..." Haruka started saying but Michiru interrupted.
"As long as you finish your breakfast."
"Ok..." Hotaru said sadly. She gobbled up her cereal and ran outside.
Everyone sat silently eating their breakfast. No one knew what to say. Haruka finished first.
"I'm going over to the track," she said. After kissing Michiru goodbye, and with a wave to Setsuna, she walked out the door.
"I guess I'll clean up the dishes," Michiru said clearing the table.
"Leave it to me," Setsuna said in a tone that made Michiru stop clearing the table right away.
"Setsuna-chan?" Michiru asked.
"I'll do it," Setsuna said, her voice softening.
"Ok. Thanks," Michiru said, and she walked away.
*****************************
*She was running. She didn't know from what, but she was running. Her sides cramped, and her breath came out in short shallow gulps, but she kept running. She couldn't see anything. She couldn't even see her hands when she held them out infront of her. It was deathly black all around her. She tripped over an invisible object and fell to the ground. She scrambled to get up. Her hands were covered in something wet. She felt a stinging pain. It was blood. Then she noticed where the pain was coming from. Her wrists. They were cut. They were bleeding. She was bleeding. She couldn't run. She just stood there, staring at her wrists, although she couldn't see them. She screamed as she felt something nearing her.
'It's coming. It's coming! Haruka-papa! Michiru-mama! Setsuna-mama!' she whispered the last name.
Her strength was running out. She collapsed to the floor, knowing that the memories were almost upon her.
'No... STOP!' she shouted with the last ounce of strength she had. Then everything blacked out.*
"No...STOP!" Hotaru screamed in her sleep.
"Hotaru-chan! Hotaru-chan!" Michiru shouted shaking the sleeping girl.
"Wake up!" Haruka shouted.
"Michiru-mama! Haruka-papa! Setsuna-mama!" Hotaru shouted as she opened her eyes. Tears started rolling down her cheeks.
"It's ok. It's ok. It's over now," Michiru said taking Hotaru into her arms and holding her tight.
Setsuna sat silently watching over Hotaru the rest of the night, after urging Michiru and Haruka get some sleep.
"Haruka, I'm afraid. What do these dreams mean? Hotaru's seemed so bad. The way she explained it to us, it seemed she had the scariest one yet," Michiru said.
" I don't know. If each of us keep having ones worse then the one before, then I fear for Setsuna. She has yet to have one."
"What are these memories that we are so afraid of remembering?" Michiru asked.
"I don't know," Haruka said, yawning.
"Get some sleep, Haruka," Michiru said.
"Only if you get some, too."
"Ok," Michiru said.
*She was running. It was the endless mist. She ran faster and faster until she ran out of breath. She stood there gasping. She felt it coming nearer.
'STAY AWAY!!!! NO!' she screamed. Then everything blacked out.'
She woke up gasping for air. She looked next to her at Michiru to see her sleeping but with a panicked expression on her face.
"Michiru?" she whispered...
* She was running. The water was getting deeper. It was harder for her to walk. She decided to swim. She swam faster and faster. Soon her arms and legs began to ache. She tried to stand, but the water came up to her chin.
'NO! Stop! I don't want to remember!' she shouted before to water reached her mouth.
She tried to tread water but it was rising higher and higher, and it started sucking her down into the place where she knew she'd remember...
'NO!' she tried her best to shout underwater. The water came swimming into her mouth and she desperately tried to reach the surface, but it seemed like there was no surface at all. She willed with all her might for the memory not to reach her. Her lungs ran out of breath...then everything blacked out.*
"Michiru?" Haruka was shouting now, as she tried to stop Michiru from thrashing her arms wildly.
"Haruka..." Michiru whispered as she awoke.
"It's ok, Michiru," Haruka soothed.
"I had it again...it felt worse the second time. It felt...like the memory was closer..." Michiru whispered.
"It's ok, Michiru. I had mine, too. What I wonder about is, we all black out at the end, but you and Hotaru-chan black out for reasons. I just black out," Haruka said.
"We'll figure out what this all is soon...hopefully..."Michiru said.
*************************************
Hotaru came down last to breakfast, her face paler than usual, her eyes full of fear.
"Setuna-mama, when will you have your dream?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.
"I don't know, Hotaru-chan," Setsuna replied.
"Will you be scared?"
"I don't know..." Setsuna replied.
***********************************************
"Michiru-mama, Haruka-papa, stay with me tonight?" Hotaru asked as they were tucking her in.
"Of course," Michiru said.
"Setsuna-mama, you should get your sleep," Hotaru said.
"Ya, you didn't sleep at all last night," Haruka said.
"I'm used to sleepless nights," Setsuna said.
"Well, not while you're staying with us. Get some rest, ok?" Michiru asked.
"Ok. Goodnight," Setsuna said walking away.
**********************************
*She was running. She didn't know from what, but she was running. It was dark, but not so dark that she couldn't see. She ran faster and faster without stopping. Soon she ran into a empty room. It was so empty the room wasn't even there. It was just space. Some space outside of time. She stopped and she felt something approaching.
'The memories!' she gasped. She tried to run, but there was no way out of the room. She figured the dreadful feeling of the approaching memories would get deeper, but instead they faded away and left her with a feeling of loneliness. Her mind spun with the helpless feeling. She was falling into an endless abyss of misery, even though she was standing in one spot. Then she could feel the dread of the memories along with the heavy feeling of loneliness. A vile of poison appeared infront of her. She knew what it was for. Her hand slowly reached towards it, although she willed with all her might to pull her hand away. Her hand slowly grasped the vile, and she tried to let go of it, but she couldn't. Slowly her hand came towards her mouth, and she started tipping the poison towards her. She stopped trying to stop herself, and screamed, 'NO! STAY AWAY!'. The poison filled her mouth, and then everything blacked out.
"Setsuna-chan? Setsuna-chan?" Haruka called out, shaking her.
"No..." Setsuna muttered pushing Haruka away.
"Wake up, Setsuna-chan!" Michiru called out.
"NO! STAY AWAY!" Setsuna screamed.
"Setsuna-mama?" Hotaru asked, walking in the room.
Setsuna's eyes fluttered open.
"Setsuna-chan? Are you ok?" Michiru asked.
"I'm fine...I'm ok...I..just..."Setsuna replied.
"Setsuna-mama?" Hotaru asked again.
"I've figured it out," Setsuna whispered.
"Get your sleep, Setsuna-chan, we can talk about this tomorrow. Michiru and I will stay here by your side," Haruka said.
"Me too, Setsuna-mama! I'll help!" Hotaru volunteered.
"Thank you, minna," Setsuna said as she fell asleep.
*****************************************
"I know what we have to do," Setsuna said during breakfast the next day. "We have to remember the memories."
"What? But all these dreams are of us trying to avoid them," Haruka said.
"We must remember them. That is the only way," Setsuna said. "Unless you plan to have these dreams for the rest of your lives."
"No, I'd rather be free of them," Haruka said.
"Ok, so this is what we do. From my understanding, in all our dreams, there is a way we all die. Michiru-chan, you drown. Hotaru-chan, your wrists are slit from an unknown force. Me, I drink a vile of poison. Haruka-chan, well, you just die for some unknown reason."
"Ya, ya, ya...I know," Haruka said, embarrased that she didn't die a normal way.
"Well, we all scream 'NO! STAY AWAY!' or something to that extent, before we die," Setsuna said.
"Yes, and then we wake up. How are we supposed to remember the memories then?" Michiru asked.
"Die," Setsuna replied.
"What?" Hotaru asked, puzzled.
"Just die. Don't scream. Don't struggle. Just die," Setsuna said.
"What happens if it doesn't work? Will we be dead in real life?" Haruka asked.
"No, I'm almost certain it will work. 99.9% certain. And if that's right, then I'm almost certain we'll be together when the memories come," Setsuna said.
"But we have different dreams! How can we be together?" Haruka asked.
"Haruka! Stop being difficult! Trust Setsuna-chan!" Michiru scolded.
"Sorry..." Haruka muttered, "I just...sorry Setsuna-chan. I'm just..well...nervous I guess."
"You? Nervous? We're the ones who actually have to die in some way," Michiru said.
"Well...Ugh..."Haruka said.
*********************************
*She was running. She didn't know from what, but she was running faster and faster through the gloomy mist that hung around her. She stopped, out of breath and turned around, a feeling of dread filling her body. She shivered not because of the cold, but because of the fear she felt. She didn't scream. She just let it come. It overtook her mind and then everything blacked out.*
**********************************
*She was running. The water splashed up at her everytime she took a step. She tried to run faster and faster, but it was hard to run in the water. The water was getting deeper. Soon it had come up to her waist. She slowed down and tried to catch her breath. She knew she should keep running...to make sure that it wouldn't come to her, but the water was rising and walking in it was getting near to impossible. She started to swim. She swam as fast as she could, but the feeling of apprehenshion building up in her told her it was catching up to her. She tried to swim faster, but her arms and legs ached. She stopped swimming and tried to stand up. The water came up to her chin now, and slowly it was rising.
She tried to tread water but it was rising higher and higher, and it started sucking her down into the place where she knew she'd remember...
She didn't scream. She didn't open her mouth. She let the water pull her down. Her lungs ran out of breath...then everything blacked out.*
*************************************
*She was running. She didn't know from what, but she was running. Her sides cramped, and her breath came out in short shallow gulps, but she kept running. She couldn't see anything. She couldn't even see her hands when she held them out infront of her. It was deathly black all around her. She tripped over an invisible object and fell to the ground. She scrambled to get up. Her hands were covered in something wet. She felt a stinging pain. It was blood. She screamed as she felt something nearing her. Then she noticed where the pain was coming from. Her wrists. They were cut. They were bleeding. She was bleeding. She couldn't run. She just stood there, staring at her wrists, although she couldn't see them.
Her strength was running out. She collapsed to the floor, knowing that the memory was almost upon her.
She didn't utter a sound. She just lay on the ground, and then everything blacked out.*
***************************************
*She was running. She didn't know from what, but she was running. It was dark, but not so dark that she couldn't see. She ran faster and faster without stopping. Soon she ran into a empty room. It was so empty the room wasn't even there. It was just space. Some space outside of time. She stopped and she felt something approaching.
She tried to run, but there was no way out of the room. She figured the dreadful feeling of the approaching memories would get deeper, but instead they faded away and left her with a feeling of loneliness. Her mind spun with the helpless feeling. She was falling into an endless abyss of misery, even though she was standing at one spot. Then she could feel the dread of the memories along with the heavy feeling of loneliness. A vile of poison appeared infront of her. She knew what it was for. Her hand slowly reached towards it, and she didn't try to stop herself. Her hand slowly grasped the vile, and willingly she dumped the contents into her mouth. The poison filled her mouth, and then everything blacked out.*
*******************************************************
Haruka woke up dazed and confused. She sat up to see she was floating in the air. She looked up and saw the endless sky. She looked down and saw the endless sky. She looked beside her and saw Michiru getting up too.
'This is still the dream! I'm still in the dream,' Haruka thought to herself.
"Haruka?" Michiru asked.
"Michiru, we're still in the dream," Haruka said.
"Where's Setsuna-chan and Hotaru-chan?" Michiru asked.
"Michiru-mama? Haruka-papa?" they heard Hotaru call out. "I'm over here."
Haruka stood up and walked on the sky over to Hotaru. Setsuna, who was lying next to her, was just getting up.
"It worked?" Setsuna asked.
"Yes, we're all here," Michiru said.
"Now what?" Haruka asked.
Silence answered them.
******************************
So....you're here? You made it this far??? WELL THEN....so...I guess that means u think it was interesting...or maybe you just sorta skimmed through it till u got here and decided to read this...well...should I continue this? (the story not the after-story-blabby-paragraph-thing, peoples...) Is it worthy of continuation? You decide. Yes! You ,dear reader, get to decide! And I will write. If u think I should that is. Well...darkouters7@yahoo.com ...if u don't feel like scrolling up to the top to get it...hehe...Thanks for getting this far by the way! It means a lot to me *snif snif* I'd like to thank the Academy and all of my fans! Please, please hold the applause!...ok i'm just really hyperly insane at the moment. Bye!
Part 1
Author: DarkOuters7
E-mail: DarkOuters7@yahoo.com
Rating: pg-13
This is part one of a series that is gonna have 2 parts and an epilogue. That is of course, if people think I should continue. This story is based on the Outer Senshi and this part only includes the outer senshi, but the other senshi might be mentioned.
This takes place after Stars. Maybe a few months or so. I don't know. Hotaru is 10. Can she be 10 a few months after Stars? Oh well. She is in this story.
A few things to note: When i put things in *blahblahblah* it means that it's in a dream. 'blahblahblah' is someone thinking to themself and this "blahblahblah" as u should all know is someone talking out loud. When someone is talking out loud in a dream though, i use 'blahblahblah' these. But the confusing thing is...in one part of the dream I will not put the dream in *these* and talking will be in "these" but u'll know that it's still a dream cuz it will tell you.
I hope I didn't scare you all off with that...well...read this...email me if u think it's worth continuing ...thanks
*************************************************
Hotaru sat motionless in her room, shadowed by the night. Her eyes were wide open, but she was staring beyond everything. She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice Setsuna walk in and sit next to her.
"You feel it too?" Setsuna whispered after a while.
"Yes," Hotaru replied, her voice melting into the darkness.
*******************************
*She was running. She didn't know from what, but she was running faster and faster through the gloomy mist that hung around her. She stopped, out of breath and turned around, a feeling of dread filling her body. She shivered not because of the cold, but because of the fear she felt.
"NO! STOP! I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER!" she screamed. Slowly the memory faded away, and then everything blacked out.*
Haruka woke with a start, breathing hard. She realized it was still nighttime. She saw Michiru sleeping soundly next to her. She tried to go back to sleep, but it was impossible. She knew that if she closed her eyes, she'd remember...but remember what? It was the third time she had that dream, and each time she woke up at the same part. There was something she didn't want to remember, and she was always afraid that if she fell back asleep, she'd remember it. She hadn't told Michiru. She didn't want to worry her. Maybe Setsuna would know though. Maybe...Haruka thought as her eyes slowly closed....
"NO!" Haruka shouted, trying to stay awake.
Realizing she had shouted, she looked at Michiru and found she was still sleeping peacefully.
'Michiru doesn't have these dreams by the looks of it,' Haruka thought, 'What are they trying to tell me?'
Haruka remained awake the rest of the night.
****************************
"I didn't think it would come this early. They aren't ready. You aren't ready. I'm not ready," Setsuna said sadly.
"Ready for what?" Hotaru asked.
"I don't know. All I know is something is coming and it's coming earlier than expected," Setsuna replied slowly.
"Whatever it is, I don't like the feeling it gives me. It scares me, Setsuna-mama. It makes me feel...I don't know. It makes me feel alone," Hotaru whispered.
******************************
"Haruka? Haruka?"
"Huh? What?" Haruka said sleepily as she looked at Michiru who was staring at her worriedly.
"Haruka...did you get any sleep last night? You eyes are bloodshot and you can hardly concentrate on anything. You poured the tea into your lap rather than into your cup this morning. Are you ok?" Michiru asked.
"Of course I am..." Haruka said trying to sound awake, but instead it came out as a yawn. Her eyes slowly started to droop.
"Haruka...why didn't you get any sleep last night? Tell me what's wrong..." Michiru asked.
"Stay here and keep them from coming..." Haruka whispered as she lay her head on the smaller woman's shoulder and fell asleep.
Michiru sighed, worried about her lover. She put her arms around the sleeping Haruka.
'Why won't she tell me what's wrong? What kept her from sleeping all last night? She's been like this for a few days now. I'm so worried about her. I just wish she weren't so stubborn and that she'd tell me..." Michiru thought.
********************************
Haruka woke up to see Michiru staring intently at her with a worried expression on her face.
"Haruka...please tell me what's wrong. What are in your nightmares?" Michiru asked.
Haruka sadly looked up at Michiru and said, "They scare me, Michiru. Thank you for staying by me...Thank you..." Haruka whispered as she once again fell asleep.
"Haruka, what's wrong? What do you not want to see in your dreams?" Michiru asked out loud as she stroked Haruka's short blond hair.
*********************************
Haruka woke up and once again saw Michiru staring at her worriedly.
"I'm sorry, Michiru, for making you waste your time," Haruka apologized.
"Don't apologize Haruka. Just tell me what's wrong. Please tell me," Michiru begged.
"I have these dreams..." Haruka said slowly.
"What are they about?" Michiru asked.
"I'm running from something. I don't know from what, but I know I'm running. I'm in a place full of endless mist. I don't even know if there's a ground. I stop and try to catch my breath and as I turn around I get this awful feeling of dread. I don't know why or what it's from. I start shouting, 'No! I don't want to remember!' and then I wake up. I know if I go back to sleep again after that part of the dream, I'll remember. It'll get me. I don't want...to remember..." Haruka said whispering the last part.
"Remember what?" Michiru asked.
"I don't know..." Haruka replied.
************************************
"Setsuna-chan, do you have a moment?" Michiru asked the crimson-eyed woman sitting by herself in the garden.
"Sure," Setsuna replied.
"Haruka wanted to talk to you about something," Michiru said gesturing towards Haruka who was standing behind her.
"Sit down, Haruka-chan, Michiru-chan," Setsuna said.
"Setsuna-chan, I've been having these dreams..." Haruka said, but was interrupted by Setsuna.
"You're running from something? You don't want to remember something?" Setsuna asked.
"Yes...how did you know?" Haruka asked suprised.
"It is certain...the time has come..."Setsuna whispered to herself.
"The time for what?" Michiru asked.
"The time for all the Outer Senshi to remember the truth..." Setsuna said quietly, suprised that she suddenly knew what was coming.
"Truth of what?" Michiru asked.
"I don't know..." Setsuna once again whispered, angry at herself for not knowing.
***************************************************
Haruka fell asleep easily that night, and after a while, sleep overtook Michiru too.
*She was running. The water splashed up at her everytime she took a step. She tried to run faster and faster, but it was hard to run in the water. The water was getting deeper. Soon it had come up to her waist. She slowed down and tried to catch her breath. She knew she should keep running...to make sure that it wouldn't come to her, but the water was rising and walking in it was getting near to impossible. She started to swim. She swam as fast as she could, but the feeling of apprehenshion building up in her told her it was catching up to her. She tried to swim faster, but her arms and legs ached. She stopped swimming and tried to stand up. The water came up to her chin now, and slowly it was rising.
'NO! Stop! I don't want to remember!' she shouted before to water reached her mouth.
She tried to tread water but it was rising higher and higher, and it started sucking her down into the place where she knew she'd remember...
'NO!' she tried her best to shout underwater. The water came swimming into her mouth and she desperately tried to reach the surface, but it seemed like there was no surface at all. She willed with all her might for the memory not to reach her. Her lungs ran out of breath...then everything blacked out.*
Michiru woke up gasping for air, her arms thrashing wildly about her, as though she were trying to swim...
"Michiru?! Michiru?!" Haruka shook her.
"Haruka?" Michiru asked.
"Michiru, are you ok? You scared me when you didn't wake up!" Haruka said.
"Haruka...the water was everywhere...I tried to get to the top, but I couldn't. It was getting me, Haruka. The memories...they were drowning me..." Michiru sobbed into Haruka's chest.
"It's ok, Michiru. I'm here. It's ok," Haruka said as she held Michiru.
**********************************
Neither of them went back to sleep that night, because neither of them wanted to know the memories that were haunting them...
**********************************
The first ray of light came through the window, and Haruka groaned. She had fallen asleep just several minutes ago, and she had not been dreaming anything at all.
"Time to wake up," Michiru said sleepily as she gracefully got out of bed.
"You're even graceful when you haven't gotten any sleep at all," Haruka said as she stumbled around the room.
"What are you trying to find?" Michiru asked when she walked into the bathroom to see Haruka staring in the toilet bowl with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"What should I wear today?" Haruka asked.
"The closest is right here," Michiru said, laughing, as she pulled Haruka over to the closet.
"Huh? That's where I was looking..." Haruka said puzzled.
"I hope I don't turn out like you after a few sleepless nights," Michiru said. Then in a more serious tone, "We need to figure out these dreams. They scare me..."
"Ya...I didn't have one last night though," Haruka said trying to put her pants over her head.
"That's good..." Michiru said. Then she realized what Haruka was doing. "Haruka, those are your pants."
"What? Oh..." Haruka said embarrased.
*************************************
"Haruka-papa is having those dreams you told me about, isn't she?" Hotaru asked Setsuna.
"Yes, and I'm afraid Michiru-chan has had her first one," Setsuna replied.
"Will we have those kinds of dreams, Setsuna-mama?"
"Yes, Hotaru-chan. We will..." Setsuna said staring off into the distance.
****************************
All the Outer Senshi sat silently at the breakfast table, each playing with their food, but not eating.
"Michiru-mama," Hotaru said, breaking the silence, "Did the dream scare you? Will it scare me?"
"Oh, Hotaru-chan, don't worry about it. I'm sure you won't have a scary dream," Michiru said.
"We all will have them, Michiru-mama. Setsuna-mama said so," Hotaru replied.
Michiru looked at Setsuna, giving her a *why-did-you-tell-her-that* look.
Setsuna looked back with a *she-needs-to-know* look.
"Well, we'll be there to protect you from those dreams," Haruka said while Michiru and Setsuna were still exchanging looks. "If you even need us, Hotaru-chan, just call out. We'll be there."
"Thank you Haruka-papa!" Hotaru exclaimed as she jumped up from her seat and gave Haruka a big hug. "Can I go out to play with the butterflies?"
"Sure..." Haruka started saying but Michiru interrupted.
"As long as you finish your breakfast."
"Ok..." Hotaru said sadly. She gobbled up her cereal and ran outside.
Everyone sat silently eating their breakfast. No one knew what to say. Haruka finished first.
"I'm going over to the track," she said. After kissing Michiru goodbye, and with a wave to Setsuna, she walked out the door.
"I guess I'll clean up the dishes," Michiru said clearing the table.
"Leave it to me," Setsuna said in a tone that made Michiru stop clearing the table right away.
"Setsuna-chan?" Michiru asked.
"I'll do it," Setsuna said, her voice softening.
"Ok. Thanks," Michiru said, and she walked away.
*****************************
*She was running. She didn't know from what, but she was running. Her sides cramped, and her breath came out in short shallow gulps, but she kept running. She couldn't see anything. She couldn't even see her hands when she held them out infront of her. It was deathly black all around her. She tripped over an invisible object and fell to the ground. She scrambled to get up. Her hands were covered in something wet. She felt a stinging pain. It was blood. Then she noticed where the pain was coming from. Her wrists. They were cut. They were bleeding. She was bleeding. She couldn't run. She just stood there, staring at her wrists, although she couldn't see them. She screamed as she felt something nearing her.
'It's coming. It's coming! Haruka-papa! Michiru-mama! Setsuna-mama!' she whispered the last name.
Her strength was running out. She collapsed to the floor, knowing that the memories were almost upon her.
'No... STOP!' she shouted with the last ounce of strength she had. Then everything blacked out.*
"No...STOP!" Hotaru screamed in her sleep.
"Hotaru-chan! Hotaru-chan!" Michiru shouted shaking the sleeping girl.
"Wake up!" Haruka shouted.
"Michiru-mama! Haruka-papa! Setsuna-mama!" Hotaru shouted as she opened her eyes. Tears started rolling down her cheeks.
"It's ok. It's ok. It's over now," Michiru said taking Hotaru into her arms and holding her tight.
Setsuna sat silently watching over Hotaru the rest of the night, after urging Michiru and Haruka get some sleep.
"Haruka, I'm afraid. What do these dreams mean? Hotaru's seemed so bad. The way she explained it to us, it seemed she had the scariest one yet," Michiru said.
" I don't know. If each of us keep having ones worse then the one before, then I fear for Setsuna. She has yet to have one."
"What are these memories that we are so afraid of remembering?" Michiru asked.
"I don't know," Haruka said, yawning.
"Get some sleep, Haruka," Michiru said.
"Only if you get some, too."
"Ok," Michiru said.
*She was running. It was the endless mist. She ran faster and faster until she ran out of breath. She stood there gasping. She felt it coming nearer.
'STAY AWAY!!!! NO!' she screamed. Then everything blacked out.'
She woke up gasping for air. She looked next to her at Michiru to see her sleeping but with a panicked expression on her face.
"Michiru?" she whispered...
* She was running. The water was getting deeper. It was harder for her to walk. She decided to swim. She swam faster and faster. Soon her arms and legs began to ache. She tried to stand, but the water came up to her chin.
'NO! Stop! I don't want to remember!' she shouted before to water reached her mouth.
She tried to tread water but it was rising higher and higher, and it started sucking her down into the place where she knew she'd remember...
'NO!' she tried her best to shout underwater. The water came swimming into her mouth and she desperately tried to reach the surface, but it seemed like there was no surface at all. She willed with all her might for the memory not to reach her. Her lungs ran out of breath...then everything blacked out.*
"Michiru?" Haruka was shouting now, as she tried to stop Michiru from thrashing her arms wildly.
"Haruka..." Michiru whispered as she awoke.
"It's ok, Michiru," Haruka soothed.
"I had it again...it felt worse the second time. It felt...like the memory was closer..." Michiru whispered.
"It's ok, Michiru. I had mine, too. What I wonder about is, we all black out at the end, but you and Hotaru-chan black out for reasons. I just black out," Haruka said.
"We'll figure out what this all is soon...hopefully..."Michiru said.
*************************************
Hotaru came down last to breakfast, her face paler than usual, her eyes full of fear.
"Setuna-mama, when will you have your dream?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.
"I don't know, Hotaru-chan," Setsuna replied.
"Will you be scared?"
"I don't know..." Setsuna replied.
***********************************************
"Michiru-mama, Haruka-papa, stay with me tonight?" Hotaru asked as they were tucking her in.
"Of course," Michiru said.
"Setsuna-mama, you should get your sleep," Hotaru said.
"Ya, you didn't sleep at all last night," Haruka said.
"I'm used to sleepless nights," Setsuna said.
"Well, not while you're staying with us. Get some rest, ok?" Michiru asked.
"Ok. Goodnight," Setsuna said walking away.
**********************************
*She was running. She didn't know from what, but she was running. It was dark, but not so dark that she couldn't see. She ran faster and faster without stopping. Soon she ran into a empty room. It was so empty the room wasn't even there. It was just space. Some space outside of time. She stopped and she felt something approaching.
'The memories!' she gasped. She tried to run, but there was no way out of the room. She figured the dreadful feeling of the approaching memories would get deeper, but instead they faded away and left her with a feeling of loneliness. Her mind spun with the helpless feeling. She was falling into an endless abyss of misery, even though she was standing in one spot. Then she could feel the dread of the memories along with the heavy feeling of loneliness. A vile of poison appeared infront of her. She knew what it was for. Her hand slowly reached towards it, although she willed with all her might to pull her hand away. Her hand slowly grasped the vile, and she tried to let go of it, but she couldn't. Slowly her hand came towards her mouth, and she started tipping the poison towards her. She stopped trying to stop herself, and screamed, 'NO! STAY AWAY!'. The poison filled her mouth, and then everything blacked out.
"Setsuna-chan? Setsuna-chan?" Haruka called out, shaking her.
"No..." Setsuna muttered pushing Haruka away.
"Wake up, Setsuna-chan!" Michiru called out.
"NO! STAY AWAY!" Setsuna screamed.
"Setsuna-mama?" Hotaru asked, walking in the room.
Setsuna's eyes fluttered open.
"Setsuna-chan? Are you ok?" Michiru asked.
"I'm fine...I'm ok...I..just..."Setsuna replied.
"Setsuna-mama?" Hotaru asked again.
"I've figured it out," Setsuna whispered.
"Get your sleep, Setsuna-chan, we can talk about this tomorrow. Michiru and I will stay here by your side," Haruka said.
"Me too, Setsuna-mama! I'll help!" Hotaru volunteered.
"Thank you, minna," Setsuna said as she fell asleep.
*****************************************
"I know what we have to do," Setsuna said during breakfast the next day. "We have to remember the memories."
"What? But all these dreams are of us trying to avoid them," Haruka said.
"We must remember them. That is the only way," Setsuna said. "Unless you plan to have these dreams for the rest of your lives."
"No, I'd rather be free of them," Haruka said.
"Ok, so this is what we do. From my understanding, in all our dreams, there is a way we all die. Michiru-chan, you drown. Hotaru-chan, your wrists are slit from an unknown force. Me, I drink a vile of poison. Haruka-chan, well, you just die for some unknown reason."
"Ya, ya, ya...I know," Haruka said, embarrased that she didn't die a normal way.
"Well, we all scream 'NO! STAY AWAY!' or something to that extent, before we die," Setsuna said.
"Yes, and then we wake up. How are we supposed to remember the memories then?" Michiru asked.
"Die," Setsuna replied.
"What?" Hotaru asked, puzzled.
"Just die. Don't scream. Don't struggle. Just die," Setsuna said.
"What happens if it doesn't work? Will we be dead in real life?" Haruka asked.
"No, I'm almost certain it will work. 99.9% certain. And if that's right, then I'm almost certain we'll be together when the memories come," Setsuna said.
"But we have different dreams! How can we be together?" Haruka asked.
"Haruka! Stop being difficult! Trust Setsuna-chan!" Michiru scolded.
"Sorry..." Haruka muttered, "I just...sorry Setsuna-chan. I'm just..well...nervous I guess."
"You? Nervous? We're the ones who actually have to die in some way," Michiru said.
"Well...Ugh..."Haruka said.
*********************************
*She was running. She didn't know from what, but she was running faster and faster through the gloomy mist that hung around her. She stopped, out of breath and turned around, a feeling of dread filling her body. She shivered not because of the cold, but because of the fear she felt. She didn't scream. She just let it come. It overtook her mind and then everything blacked out.*
**********************************
*She was running. The water splashed up at her everytime she took a step. She tried to run faster and faster, but it was hard to run in the water. The water was getting deeper. Soon it had come up to her waist. She slowed down and tried to catch her breath. She knew she should keep running...to make sure that it wouldn't come to her, but the water was rising and walking in it was getting near to impossible. She started to swim. She swam as fast as she could, but the feeling of apprehenshion building up in her told her it was catching up to her. She tried to swim faster, but her arms and legs ached. She stopped swimming and tried to stand up. The water came up to her chin now, and slowly it was rising.
She tried to tread water but it was rising higher and higher, and it started sucking her down into the place where she knew she'd remember...
She didn't scream. She didn't open her mouth. She let the water pull her down. Her lungs ran out of breath...then everything blacked out.*
*************************************
*She was running. She didn't know from what, but she was running. Her sides cramped, and her breath came out in short shallow gulps, but she kept running. She couldn't see anything. She couldn't even see her hands when she held them out infront of her. It was deathly black all around her. She tripped over an invisible object and fell to the ground. She scrambled to get up. Her hands were covered in something wet. She felt a stinging pain. It was blood. She screamed as she felt something nearing her. Then she noticed where the pain was coming from. Her wrists. They were cut. They were bleeding. She was bleeding. She couldn't run. She just stood there, staring at her wrists, although she couldn't see them.
Her strength was running out. She collapsed to the floor, knowing that the memory was almost upon her.
She didn't utter a sound. She just lay on the ground, and then everything blacked out.*
***************************************
*She was running. She didn't know from what, but she was running. It was dark, but not so dark that she couldn't see. She ran faster and faster without stopping. Soon she ran into a empty room. It was so empty the room wasn't even there. It was just space. Some space outside of time. She stopped and she felt something approaching.
She tried to run, but there was no way out of the room. She figured the dreadful feeling of the approaching memories would get deeper, but instead they faded away and left her with a feeling of loneliness. Her mind spun with the helpless feeling. She was falling into an endless abyss of misery, even though she was standing at one spot. Then she could feel the dread of the memories along with the heavy feeling of loneliness. A vile of poison appeared infront of her. She knew what it was for. Her hand slowly reached towards it, and she didn't try to stop herself. Her hand slowly grasped the vile, and willingly she dumped the contents into her mouth. The poison filled her mouth, and then everything blacked out.*
*******************************************************
Haruka woke up dazed and confused. She sat up to see she was floating in the air. She looked up and saw the endless sky. She looked down and saw the endless sky. She looked beside her and saw Michiru getting up too.
'This is still the dream! I'm still in the dream,' Haruka thought to herself.
"Haruka?" Michiru asked.
"Michiru, we're still in the dream," Haruka said.
"Where's Setsuna-chan and Hotaru-chan?" Michiru asked.
"Michiru-mama? Haruka-papa?" they heard Hotaru call out. "I'm over here."
Haruka stood up and walked on the sky over to Hotaru. Setsuna, who was lying next to her, was just getting up.
"It worked?" Setsuna asked.
"Yes, we're all here," Michiru said.
"Now what?" Haruka asked.
Silence answered them.
******************************
So....you're here? You made it this far??? WELL THEN....so...I guess that means u think it was interesting...or maybe you just sorta skimmed through it till u got here and decided to read this...well...should I continue this? (the story not the after-story-blabby-paragraph-thing, peoples...) Is it worthy of continuation? You decide. Yes! You ,dear reader, get to decide! And I will write. If u think I should that is. Well...darkouters7@yahoo.com ...if u don't feel like scrolling up to the top to get it...hehe...Thanks for getting this far by the way! It means a lot to me *snif snif* I'd like to thank the Academy and all of my fans! Please, please hold the applause!...ok i'm just really hyperly insane at the moment. Bye!