Chapter one: Usagi Dreams
Fog. There was always fog in her dreams – at least when the dreams meant something. Usagi once dreamed of eating four entire pizzas. There was no fog involved in that dream, though it was glorious.
But her dreams harking to the past, or the future, they were always foggy. And she had learned to pay attention to these dreams. Tonight she walked through a long corridor. It felt so familiar. She must be in her home castle on the moon. Her delicate heels clicked along the stone. The air was damp and cold. She shivered and wished for more light. She could not see more than a foot in front of her face, so she slid her white glove along the wall to steady her senses. Water dripped in the distance, plopping like a metronome keeping time with her steps. She was deep in the bowels of the castle. This was the dungeon, Usagi suddenly remembered. She remembered who she was here to see, and she suddenly hated this memory.
Part of her struggled to pull out and wake up. She didn't want to be here. She didn't want to see the tattered man in the cage. He was just a few more steps away, she knew. But the greater part of her forced herself to stay. She must remember what he said to her. This was important, though she could not think why.
The bars of the cage appeared before her. Inside was a man squatting on the floor. He was dirty and shaking and breathing heavy like a wild animal.
"I greet you in peace, Mercurial Sun General," Usagi heard her dream-self say.
"Princess. You should not be here. The beast still lives inside me. I cannot control it."
"I am safe on this side of your prison, General. These walls have been enchanted with the strongest of my mother's powers."
Usagi couldn't see his face through the shadows and the fog, but she could see his slim body wearing tattered clothes and the remnants of smudged armor. The man panted and clutched his chest. He was trying to keep the beast in its own prison. He gulped a few times before he could eventually say, "Please. My Princess Mercury? My love? Is she…"
Usagi felt the burden heavy now. Her former self struggled to get the words out.
"The Princess of Mercury is dead. The damage from your attack …" she stopped herself. "From the attack of the monster inside you, was fatal. She passed this morning. I am very sorry, my friend." She gulped down tears. Ami had been his love, but she had also been the Moon Princess's great friend.
But the General had stopped listening. The shaking of his body increased. He trembled wildly, moaning and holding his head. "I killed her," he said into his own knees as he rocked back and forth. "I killed my Ami." He screamed in rage, clutching his chest.
"It was not you! You must listen to me! It was the beast that Beryl put inside you! You must not blame yourself."
His screaming became more agonized. His body began to fade into a darkness. The Moon Princess knew that the monster inside him was winning once again. She stepped back from the cell. Despite her brave words, this beast scared her and she had some doubt whether her mother's cage could hold it.
As she turned on her heel and ran back down the corridor. She wondered if she did the right thing. The war raged above their heads, outside of the castle. The odds were that they would all join the Princess Mercury this night. She could have told him that Ami had survived and forgiven him. She could have let him die in peace. Why did she need to torture the poor man? She faintly hoped that it was for some deep down purpose of good that even she didn't understand. But she feared that it was out of her own rage and suffering for her friend that she inflicted this pain upon Ami's murderer.
"Ami-chan!" Usagi bolted upright in her bed. Her room was black except for a shining upward-facing crescent moon and two large cat eyes glowing through the darkness. Usagi's eyes adjusted as she shook her head to clear out the last of the fog.
"Luna, what's going on?" Usagi was breathing heavy as if she had actually been running down that dungeon hallway to get away from the monster who was her old friend.
"You have dreamed of the past, Usagi-chan."
"Yes. How did you know?" Luna walked up Usagi's covered legs and sat in her lap.
"I know because I activated the sun crystal tonight."
"Sun crystal? Oh no. How many freaking crystals are there?" Usagi felt a good whine coming on. But before she could get it out, there the thing was, in her lap in front of Luna as if it had always been there. A shining yellow crystal glimmered in the small light of the moon through Usagi's blowing curtains.
"I am afraid I have awoken trouble, Usagi-chan. But I did so knowingly. I hope you'll forgive me. I know how much you are enjoying this well-earned peace."
"Luna, what have you done?" Tears pricked at Usagi's eyes. No more trouble. Not now. They were all starting such lovely new lives at University. They were all finally following their dreams. Their dreams of this life. She was happy. She was in love with her Mamo-chan. She was enjoying her friends. No more…
"But if we make it through this trouble, it will be well worth it for your sailor scouts. You must do this out of love for them."
This halted her tears.
"What do you mean?"
"You were not the only princess in love in the Moon Kingdom, Usagi-chan. All five of you had your destined lovers. And you were all very happy. But Beryl hated this happiness. She was so very jealous. So she chained them to monsters – foul beasts who would go to any length to keep them from our girls."
Usagi stared at the crystal and thought on her dream. "Luna, the Mercurial Sun General, who is he? I dreamed of him."
"In this life, I don't know Usagi-chan. They were all Guardians of the Sun – Generals dedicated to protecting King Endymion, you, and most especially their assigned princesses. But just as when I found you girls, I have some memories and strong feeling towards certain people, but I cannot actually envision the Sun Generals in my mind. They are a blur to me. This crystal may help to find them, but primarily it must specifically be used to vanquish the demons that guard them. It is the only this that will destroy them for good. We must defeat their dark guardians and free the men. We have an obligation, Usagi-chan."
With a sinking feeling in her heart, Usagi knew that she couldn't turn her back on this. Her friends fought for her love. How could she not do the same for them?
"Tomorrow, Luna. Let me sleep now."
