And here is the next chapter! Thank you so much to the people who reviewed the last chapter and started following this story! You guys are awesome. I honestly didn't expect many people to really start reading this. Especially with how little the first chapter went into. But here's more and more is explained!
A very large thank you to Laura! Especially for this chapter. I was very surprised at how much needed editing. I think I should have read over it before I sent it to you. Haha. I'm just glad you don't judge me on how much editing needed to be done. You love me anyway, no matter how many extra words I put in a chapter.
I don't own OUAT or Sailor Moon. If I did, OUAT would be veering off in a different direction this season and Sailor Moon would have a few more movies for me to buy.
Living in Tokyo her whole life made Usagi immune to the hustle and bustle of a big city. She could dodge around shoppers, kids, and old people like a champ. Loud noises put her to sleep at night and streetlights where her nightlights.
However, since her trek across America began, she found that small towns had a bit of charm and wonder to them. She grew to like them. The laidback stroll of a couple, the giggle of running kids across a street, and the stillness of the night with only an owl hooting into the sky became her new favorite.
But the town she was now slowly driving through seemed even smaller. There was no one in the streets. In fact, if she didn't know any better, she would say she had entered a ghost town. But the pull of magic told her someone was in this town. Someone or something.
"Where is everyone?" Luna asked as she gazed out the window. She and Artemis were currently up on their hind legs with their front paws propped up on the window sill.
"I don't know," Usagi muttered as she cautiously looked around. "This is weird. I feel magic, a lot of magic, but I don't see a soul."
She slowly maneuvered her car to the side of the road, the Main Street of the town by the looks of it, and parked. Dark blue eyes studied the numerous little shops that lined the street in front of her. This looked like any other small town in America but something seemed off. And it wasn't just the feeling of magic that hovered in the air.
"There's a diner!" Artemis exclaimed.
Usagi's head whipped around so fast, her best friend Rei would have teased her about getting whiplash. "Where?"
Artemis pointed with his paw. To the right and across the street sat a diner named "Granny's". And if Usagi squinted, she could make out what looked like a few bodies.
"Good," she said with a small grin. "I'm hungry."
As she and the cats filed out of the car, she could hear Minako giggle while Makoto just chuckled. You're always hungry, Usagi-chan!
Walking into the diner was awkward. Conversation stopped, people stared, even a few seemed to choke on whatever it was they were eating.
Usagi was never one to feel really embarrassed. She was used to people staring at her; having blonde hair and blue eyes in Japan usually caused people to stare. But this was different. She was being looked at in shock, confusion, and on a couple of faces, horror.
It's a good thing she had the cats wait outside.
An elderly lady slowly made her way towards Usagi, eyebrows raised and a look of confusion clearly on her face. "May I…help you, dear?" she asked with hesitation.
Usagi fought the unnatural urge to let sarcasm color her words. "Yes, I'd like to order something and eat it at an outside table."
The woman just looked at her.
Usagi raised an eyebrow. "My cats are outside."
Silence.
Usagi was getting irritated. "May I get a menu, please?"
That seemed to snap the woman out of her daze. "Yes, yes of course," she said quickly, bustling over to the counter and grabbing a menu. She handed one to the blonde with an obviously forced smile. "I can get your drink while you look over it."
"A Coke," Usagi said. She then gave a small smile at the woman before turning around and going back outside. The burst of conversation that followed her out the door made her quirk an eyebrow before the door closed behind her, muting the noise a little.
She shook her head as she sat at one of the tables. "Weird," she muttered to herself.
"What is?" Luna whispered as she and Artemis settled on the ground beside her chair.
"They acted like they'd never had anyone new in town before."
"Well, this is a little secluded town, maybe they don't have visitors very often," Artemis stated, giving a small shrug with his shoulders.
"And they don't teach manners," Usagi muttered as the old lady came outside with a glass in her hand.
Luna shot Usagi a glare while Artemis looked away to quietly laugh.
"Have you figured out what you want to eat?" the lady asked, her voice a little nicer than before but the dazed, shocked, and slightly scared expression was still on her face.
Usagi nodded. "I'll have a hamburger and fries. Lots of ketchup, no tomato, and cooked medium well."
The lady gave a brisk nod and went back inside while the blonde just raised an eyebrow over at Luna as if to say "see?".
"Okay, that was weird," Luna said softly. "She seemed almost frightened of you."
"Exactly," Usagi said as she took a sip of her drink. "Am I really that scary looking?"
"It's the odangos on the top of your head!"
Rei's voice echoed through her head and she gave it a slight shake. And Luna noticed.
"Have you been hearing them again?"
Blue eyes met the cat's red ones but then were quickly averted. Slim shoulders gave a slight shrug.
"Usagi, why didn't you tell us?" Artemis asked softly.
"I don't know," Usagi answered, her eyes focused on the table. "I didn't want to bother you."
"Usagi," Luna said, jumping up into her lap. "We care about you. The fact that you are hearing their voices is concerning."
"Am I crazy?"
Artemis laughed. "No crazier than usual."
Usagi sent a playful glare his way then grew serious. "What do you think it means?" she asked. "Suddenly, after five years, I'm hearing them again. And it isn't just memories anymore. It's like they are hearing everything I am."
Luna and Artemis exchanged a glance. "I don't know, Usagi," Luna finally answered. "I'm sorry but I've never heard of this before."
"But of course, I don't think there has been a situation like this before either," Artemis concluded.
Before Usagi could say anything else, the old lady was back, placing a plate full of food before here. "If you need anything," she said stiffly, shooting a glare at Luna who was still in the blonde's lap. "Just let me know."
Usagi and the cats exchanged glances before the young woman picked up her burger and took a huge bite of it.
"At least their food is good here," she mumbled around the bite.
"Usagi!" Luna admonished. "Manners!"
Usagi rolled her eyes before she continued eating. And then movement up the road caught her eye. A group of people were coming toward the diner. And it wasn't just a small group, like three or four people, but a large group, like ten or twelve people. And they were all grinning and laughing. The person at the head of the group was a tall blonde, probably a little older than Usagi herself, with a red jacket on with an arm slung around a young boy's shoulders.
"Kami-sama, it's the rest of the town!"
Minako's voice echoed in her head while Usagi tried to stifle a laugh.
She watched as the group passed her without a look and entered the diner, all talking and laughing in a sort of celebratory way. As they entered the diner, oblivious to the stares of the one blonde woman and two cats, Usagi looked back at Luna.
"See, absolutely no manners."
"Even less than you!"
And that was Rei's voice again.
After a few more bites of her burger, Usagi felt it again. That burst of magic. But this time, it lingered. And it didn't feel evil or dark anymore. Or not as evil and dark. It felt sad, angry, and with just a hint of its earlier evil.
"Usagi…" Luna whispered.
"I feel it," the blonde murmured. "You feel it, too?"
Both cats nodded and that's when Usagi saw the woman walking down the street. She was taller than Usagi (of course, who wasn't?) with nice looking clothes on, short brown hair, and a regal air about her. And she walked as if she had been defeated in a battle. She looked tired, worn, and just overall depressed.
And that tugged at Usagi. She felt something she hadn't felt in over five years fill her.
"Wow, you're so smart, Ami-chan!"
"Rei-chan, you should relax! Don't work so hard!"
"Oh, wow, Mako-chan, you cooked this? It's amazing!"
"Oh my God, Sailor V! You are my absolute favorite!"
It wasn't voices in her head that time. It was memories. And it was then when she knew what she needed to do. That magic was coming from this woman slowly walking towards them, be it her magic or some she just happened to pick up. But this was what Usagi had been pulled here for.
"Luna."
The black cat didn't even wait to hear what Usagi had planned. She just stood up and jumped from her charge's lap. "I'm on it, Usagi-chan."
She was angry. But for once, the anger was the emotion she was feeling very little of. She was tired. So tired of trying so hard for what seemed like nothing. And she hurt. It wasn't just the physical hurt of absorbing so much magic but a hurt that went deeper. It touched her soul. And it seemed to want to drag her down.
It was familiar. So familiar in a scary way. She hadn't felt this hurt in years. And she couldn't see herself dragging out of this again. Watching Henry walk away from her after she saved that insufferable Snow White and Sheriff Swan, all she got was a "Thank you" from Henry. It took the sheriff actually asking about her to make her feel only slightly better.
Now, she was alone again. Walking home, alone. Always alone. And she was angry. But tired and hurt more than anything else.
"Luna!"
An unfamiliar voice broke through her troubling thoughts. She blinked chocolate eyes in shock and confusion as a solid black cat seemed to suddenly appear in front of her. And then, it just sat down and stared up at her with curious red eyes.
"Luna!" the voice yelled, closer this time.
Regina looked over toward the voice and blinked again. A young woman, one that seemed younger than Miss Swan, was running across the road towards them from Granny's Diner. Her long blonde hair was pulled up in two strange looking pigtails and her blue eyes seemed to twinkle with something.
And suddenly, she was in front of Regina, picking the cat up and cradling her in her arms.
"I am so sorry," the girl said with a sheepish grin. "She doesn't usually run away from me like that."
The cat just blinked up at the girl, as if trying to look innocent.
Regina just raised an eyebrow. There was a hint of an accent in the girl's voice but it wasn't one Regina was able to place.
"She's probably tired of being stuck in the car and just wanted to run around," the girl continued.
"And you are?" Regina asked in a droll voice.
"Oh," the girl looked even more sheepish and stuck her right hand out in front of her. "I'm Usagi Tsukino!" Her smile lit up her face.
And Regina felt slightly lighter. So, she carefully grasped the girl's hand with her own.
"Regina Mills," she answered, confusion filling her very quickly. Who was this girl? And how was she in Storybrooke? And why the hell was that cat just staring at her like that?
"It's great to meet you," the blonde said. She shifted the cat to her shoulder and Regina watched in awe as the cat very calmly climbed up and settled on the slim shoulder it was presented with. "I was feeling slightly unwelcome here after the reception I got at the diner." She jerked a thumb behind her.
Regina grimaced and shook her head. "Yes, well," she said with a sneer. "The people here aren't particularly known for their manners."
Usagi gave a small giggle. "I was thinking the exact same thing! They acted like they had seen a ghost when I walked in."
The brunette just smirked. "Well, welcome to Storybrooke."
Blue eyes lit up and Usagi's smile grew. "You are the first person to actually welcome me!"
Regina shook her head. "I certainly didn't mean it-"
Usagi cut her off. "Oh, I know. I could tell by your voice that you were being sarcastic. But everyone else has seemed so suspicious of me. It's kind of weirding me out." She grinned again, making Regina slightly uncomfortable with her bubbly personality. "You are the first one to actually speak to me."
"Well, you aren't going to gain any points with them by speaking with me."
A blonde eyebrow was raised. "Why not?"
Regina sneered. "I'm not the most liked person in town."
Usagi shrugged. "And?"
Brown eyes blinked. "And…everyone hates me."
"And?"
Regina just stared.
"I don't care about what other people think," Usagi said with a soft grin. She gently took the cat off her shoulder and sat her on the ground. "Go back to Artemis, Luna," she said softly, confusing Regina even more. The cat gave a quick meow and trotted back to the diner, meeting up with a solid white cat who had been sitting on the sidewalk the whole time.
"That's a well trained cat you have there," Regina stated.
Usagi laughed. "I think she's trained me more than anything."
Regina looked back at the blonde, not feeling any evil coming from her but not able to determine her motives. "Who are you?"
Usagi's smile slowly fell from her face and her eyes seemed to dim a little. "Someone who has been running to escape the past. But I've reached the end of my road and I'm not quite sure where to go from here."
That struck a cord with the former Evil Queen. And something about this girl made Regina feel…nice. There was a gentleness that surrounded the blonde but also a fierceness that showed that she could take care of herself.
"I think we are all trying to escape the past," Regina muttered.
Usagi seemed to be studying Regina before she opened her mouth. "Can I ask a question?"
Regina gave a hesitant nod, thrown off by the change in the conversation.
"You seem so sad. Are you okay?"
The question hit Regina like a brick was thrown at her stomach. She actually took a step back. This stranger, this girl just asked her something that her own son didn't even bother to ask. And that made her eyes start to water. She quickly blinked back the tears and pulled her mask back on. Enough.
"I am perfectly fine, Miss Tsukino," she said stiffly. "Now, if you will excuse me. I need to get home. It has been a long day."
And before Usagi could say another word, Regina had brushed by her and was walking as fast as possible down the street, her back stiff and her steps hard.
Usagi watched her go with sadness in her heart. She felt a kinship with this woman. And she was feeling compelled to help her.
"Artemis, Luna," Usagi said just loud enough for the cats to hear. "Get back in the car. "We have some research to do on a Ms. Regina Mills."
To be continued…
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