Konnichiwa, mina-san! I'm doing well, 'cause this is the second chapter I've posted this week! Hope you like it!

Arigatou for the few lovely reviews that I have received, and everyone else, I want to know what you think. Is my story really that bad that you won't even review? I'd love to hear from you all! *Puppy dog eyes* Anyways, let's see what's happened to Melina, shall we?

Oh, and please note that if you see this:

***

It means that the point of view has changed, but it is still meant to be in the same scene. I did this 'cause the point of view switches around a fair bit when you get near the end of this chapter.

Disclaimer:

Sparrowflyaway: Hey, Motoki-kun, could I have a Choc-Caramel Swirl Milkshake and the rights to Sailor Moon?

Motoki: Sorry, Sparrow-san, but I can only give you the shake. You see, I don't own the rights to Sailor Moon either...

Sparrowflyaway: Noooo!!! (sips milkshake between sobs)


Melina felt extremely disappointed that Sunshine was not going to tell her anything yet.

"Don't worry, I have a very strong feeling that that day is not far off. Just be patient." Sunshine had said. Yeah, easy for you to say, thought Melina. Having to wait isn't that easy, though. She could feel Sunshine's eyes on her as she watched a shooting star fly across the sky. Make a wish, Melina thought to herself, closing her eyes. I wish that Sunshine would tell me what was wrong. She opened her eyes and stared out at the dark sky. Suddenly, Melina felt a sharp pain in her head, but before she could cry out, she had a curious feeling, like she was being thrown to the back of her own mind, and then she began to feel her body move. She tried to stop herself, but it was like someone else was controlling her body. Melina saw her hand pick up her flute, place it to her lips, and then she felt the air draining from her lungs as her body began to play the flute. And as the beautiful, sad music drifted through her ears and the sun shapes flew out of the end of the flute like fireworks, Melina could feel herself drifting off to sleep…


Melina jolted awake to find herself standing on the top of a Sailor V video game in a corner of Crown arcade. She glanced down at the flute in her hand, a little pleased to find that she could move again, but confused as to why she was here. A bolt of lightning hit the wall beside her, making her jump, and she looked up again to find a large, blob-like Youma throwing orange slime at the five girls around it. The girls (A/N: The Senshi, obviously) were darting around the slime and attacking the Youma with fire, lightning, bubbles, yellow beams of light and a boomerang-like tiara. Melina stared at the Youma in horror, just managing to leap out of the way as a large blob of slime flew in her direction, hitting the wall directly behind where she had been standing. Melina landed hard on her side on the floor, staggered to her feet and jumped again, this time the blob of slime going between her legs. She darted behind a game machine, gasping for breath as she peered around it.

"This thing's too strong, Sailor Moon! What'll we do?!?" the one in red shouted, before twirling around and shooting another fireball at the Youma, which roared and flung a huge glob of slime at her. The slime scored a direct hit, throwing her against the wall, pinning her there and beginning to drain her energy.

"Sailor Mars!!! No!!" cried the girl with meatball-like hair, (the one the Melina thought looked a lot like Usagi) before she was hit from behind with another blob of slime, which did the same thing to her as it did to Mars.

"Sailor Moon!!!" the other three girls chorused, before, one by one, they too were pinned to the wall and their energy drained. Melina bit her lip, praying for a miracle. And, as if in answer to her prayers, her brooch began to pulse with golden light. Melina looked down at it in amazement, wondering what was happening. Then she was thrown back into her mind again, and she felt herself walking out into the open to face the Youma. Melina was screaming with horror inside, but as her mind was not connected to her body anymore, the scream did not escape her lips. Melina felt her face contort into a look of fury and determination, and then her brooch gave off a huge wave of golden light. The Youma shrieked and exploded into dust, the orange slime doing the same a second after. Melina, feeling herself connect with her body again, sighed happily as the Senshi climbed to their feet. A hiss reached Melina's ears, and she looked down at the flute in her hand, which was hissing and emitting golden sun shapes again. The sun shapes surrounded her, turning her world gold. She closed her eyes and waited. After a few seconds, the light faded, and she opened her eyes to find herself back in her room, standing by the bed, with Sunshine pacing back and forth on the bed.


The Senshi whirled round when they heard the hissing from the corner, and were just in time to see a ball of golden light disappear with a flash.

"I couldn't see very well behind the glowing, but that person sure looked a lot like Melina," said the one in green, looking at Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon nodded slowly.

"Yeah, you're right, Jupiter. I'm pretty sure it was Melina," Sailor Moon said.

"You two know that person?!?" demanded Luna, walking out from behind the counter. Another cat, looking like a white version of Luna, emerged too. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon nodded. Luna frowned.

"Well, you'd better keep an eye on her. She looks familiar, and that golden glow is very strange," Luna said.

"Well, she must be on our side, otherwise we would have gotten hurt by that light like the Youma did," said Jupiter, turning and looking at all the piles of dust coating the machines and the floor. She caught sight of a figure under one of the piles, and dragged the person out. It was Motoki.

"Motoki-kun! Motoki, Motoki, are you OK?!? Speak to me!!!" cried Jupiter, shaking him gently. He groaned and spat out some of the dust.

"Eeew, Youma Dust Bunnies!!!" shrieked Sailor Moon, backing away. The Senshi laughed at Sailor Moon's disgust, while Luna and the other cat shook their heads.

"Anyway, Luna's right, you guys. That girl could be Zoisite in disguise," the white cat said.

"Oh, chill out, Artemis, I'm sure she's not," said the girl in orange.

"I hope you're right, Venus. I hope you're right," said Artemis.


"...And then the sun shapes surrounded me, and I found myself back here," Melina said, concluding the story of what had happened. Sunshine sat silently on Melina's bed, listening to her story with a thoughtful expression on her face. "S-Sunshine, do you know? Do you know why this happened?" Melina asked timidly. Sunshine turned to her and sighed.

"I have my suspiscions. Everything is pointing to it, but... but it just seems so impossible, I don't see how.." Sunshine said, before a look of realisation appeared on her face. "...Oh, of course! Queen Serenity must have used her Crystal."

"Queen Serenity? Crystal? What are you talking about?" Melina asked. Sunshine shook her head, turning away from Melina's inquisitive look.

"I'll be back soon, I have to go do something for a while," Sunshine said, before jumping onto the windowsill.

"But-" Melina started, but Sunshine had already gone. Melina sighed and looked down at her flute, still clutched tightly in her hand. She held it up to the light to examine it, and a single sun shape flew out of the end. She saw it, and threw it onto the bed as though scalded.


Sunshine sprinted up the darkening street, hardly looking where she was going. She IS Amaterasu, I KNOW it! she thought. It all fits! Queen Serenity must have used the Silver Crystal, and- Sunshine's thoughts were cut short, and she skidded to a stop as another memory began to emerge in her mind, this time one that she already had, but could only faintly recall...


"No!!!! Serenity!!!! My baby girl!!!! NO!!!!" cried Queen Serenity, clutching her chest as a searing pain spread across it, meaning only one thing: Princess Selene was dead. Queen Serenity ran through the halls of the palace, searching for her daughter. She quickly found the demolished courtyard where the bodies of Serenity and the Prince of Earth, Endymion, lay in a pool of blood. Standing above them and cackling with glee was Queen Beryl, who looked up and grinned evilly at Serenity.

"Serenity! Endymion! No!!"

"Well, look who it is. Queen Serenity. What are you going to do now, Your Highness?" asked Beryl, sneering at Serenity.

"Just this!" shouted Serenity, holding up her Crescent Moon Wand, the Silver Crystal glowing brightly. Waves of silvery white light flowed over the entire castle, throwing a screaming Beryl backwards into a portal that sealed itself behind her. The waves of light reached the battlefield (which by now had expanded to include the entirety of the Moon's surface), where they paralysed the Negaverse's seven Shadow Warriors and drew them into the Silver Crystal, which let out a huge burst of light and then shattered, the pieces reforming into seven crystals, each one a different colour of the rainbow. The burst of light generated by the crystal spread over the entire castle, enclosing the bodies of Serenity, Endymion and all of Selene's court in glowing bubbles, which flew up into the sky with the seven Rainbow Crystals and vanished in a flash of white light. Sunshine stood watching in horror as Amaterasu's body drifting away with the rest, then turned just in time to see Serenity slump against the remains of a stone pillar, looking extremely drained and sick, but calm. Out of the corner of her eye, Sunshine noticed Luna and Artemis peering timidly into the now silent courtyard.

"Queen Serenity!!!" they cried when they saw her. Sunshine walked out behind the cats, tears rolling down her furry cheeks.

"Oh, Luna, Artemis, Sunshine, you three were always so faithful to us. I'd like you to accompany the girls and Endymion to the future. They will need your guidance when their Senshi powers awaken," said Serenity weakly.

"But, Your Highness, how do you know that the Senshi in them will awaken?" asked Luna worriedly. Serenity smiled weakly.

"Because the crystal's power will not banish the Negaverse forever, not when it is separated into the seven Rainbow Crystals. And when Beryl and her generals escape, the Senshi in the girls will sense that and awaken, and they will be called to defeat the Negaverse," Serenity said. She turned to Sunshine. "Sunshine, Amaterasu's Senshi powers will be particularly difficult to awaken, since they hadn't awoken in this time. You must work hard. In time, I'm sure that she will finally awaken, and you will be able to defeat Beryl for good."

"S-Serenity... I... I'm sorry. For not training her enough to awaken her senshi powers," said Sunshine, looking down.

"You did very well, Sunshine. I and her mother would have been very disappointed if you had gone any further," said Serenity, smiling a little. "Take care, all of you. I'm grateful for everything that you've done for the kingdom," she said looking at all three of the cats. The Crescent Moon Wand in her hand began to glow softly, and, as Luna, Artemis and Sunshine drifted away in bubbles, they watched Serenity's eyes close.

"Queen Serenity!!!!!!" the three cats cried as the Crescent Moon Wand slipped from Serenity's hand. The bubbles were surrounded by a bright white light, and the three cats fell into a deep sleep as the bubbles drifted through time and space.


Sunshine stared up at the half hidden moon drifting through the night sky.

"Oh, Serenity," said Sunshine in dismay, looking at the craters that were probably the only evidence that a great battle had taken place there. A tear rolled down Sunshine's cheek as she remembered the immense sacrifice Serenity had made, and her final words to Sunshine. "Amaterasu's Senshi powers will be particularly difficult to awaken."

"I won't fail you, Your Highness. I will awaken Amaterasu's senshi powers and train her to use them wisely, and then she and the others can accompany the princess, and they can defeat Beryl," Sunshine vowed.

"Sunshine...? A-Are you OK?" said a voice timidly from behind her. Sunshine turned to find Melina crouched down in the road not far from her, looking rather concerned. Sunshine's eyes filled with tears and she stumbled towards Melina, and just one word echoed around her blank, tear-flooded mind: Amaterasu...


Melina walked in the front door carrying Sunshine, fast asleep, both of them soaked to the bone from the rain that had started on her way home.

"Melina! What were you doing out there in a thunderstorm?!?" scolded Mrs Pattini, grabbing a towel from the linen cupboard and throwing it over Melina's head.

"It was Sunshine, Mum," said Melina, her voice muffled under the towel. She pulled it off her head before continuing. "She jumped out the window and went running up the street, and I couldn't just let her run off alone. She wouldn't be able to find her way back!"

"Oh. Well, Sunshine, I hope you've learnt your lesson. Don't you go running out into thunderstorms again," said Mrs Pattini, looking at the bundle of fur half hidden under the towel.

"Shh, Mum, she's sleeping," said Melina, walking towards the stairs. She stopped halfway up them and turned. "And it's hardly a thunderstorm, Mum," she added, before running the rest of the way upstairs. She spread the towel on her bedroom floor and placed Sunshine on top of it, before grabbing her own towel from the bathroom. She shut the window quietly, changed into her pyjamas (white with gold sun shapes on them) and wrapped her towel around her hair. She gently lifted Sunshine up, and, being careful not to wake her, dried her golden fur. After Sunshine was settled into her cat basket in the corner of Melina's bedroom, Melina climbed into bed and switched off her lamp, drifting almost immediately into a deep sleep.


The clock on Melina's bedside table read 2:30 when Sunshine woke to find Melina thrashing around in her bed, sweating profusely and groaning. What is going on? wondered Sunshine, watching Melina kick and thrash. In reality, Melina was trapped in her usual nightmare.

***

"Melina! Oh no! MELINA!!!"

"Melina! Melina, hang in there, please don't... Come on Melina, stay with us!"

"Melina, can you hear us? Melina?!?"

"Melina, I-I can't do anything, it's too late..."

"Wake up, Melina, please!"

"It'll be OK, Melina, you'll be fine, we'll get help, and everything'll be all right..."

Through the black mist in the dream, two faces came into focus for a moment: Usagi and Makoto. As their faces faded back into the darkness, a bright golden light surrounded her.

***

Sunshine looked around quickly as a golden glow (the same one Melina was seeing in her dream)lit up the room, and found Melina's brooch giving off golden light, exactly the way that Melina had described. Sunshine jumped up onto Melina's bedside table next to it and stared down at the sun shape on the brooch, which now looked like liquid gold.

***

The golden light filling Melina's dream dissolved the black mist for a moment, and Melina could just make out six glowing golden spheres floating away, and a tall lady kneeling beside her clasping her hand. Melina couldn't see the lady's face, as her long ginger hair covered most of her face, and the remainder of the black mist hid the rest. Melina suddenly began to glow with golden light, and then she jolted awake.

***

Sunshine was still staring into the swirling depths of the brooch when Melina twitched quite violently, then sat up in bed, suddenly wide awake.

"Melina? Melina, it's OK. You had a nightmare. Calm down," said Sunshine, jumping onto the bed and placing her paw on Melina's hand. Melina jumped a little when she felt the light touch on her hand, but relaxed when she saw that it was just Sunshine.

"What happened, Melina? Talk to me," said Sunshine, looking up at Melina with concern. Melina just shook her head and picked up her brooch, which stopped glowing when she touched it. She held it close to her, trying to drive the horrid dream from her mind. Then she remembered that it was different from normal.

"Usagi! Makoto!" she choked out, staring at the opposite wall.

"Who are they?" asked Sunshine.

"Two girls from the high school. They came and played Dodgeball with us," said Melina, still staring straight ahead. Sunshine nodded and stared out the window as she remembered the two taller girls. "Dunno what they were doing in my nightmare, though," Melina added.

"Maybe it was just that? Just a nightmare?" Sunshine asked, sitting down in Melina's lap. Melina just sat there stroking Sunshine for a while, before she said,

"No, I've been having it for months, but that's the first time anything happened in it besides voices voices drifting through the mist." Sunshine looked up at Melina, and was surprised to find tears in her eyes.

"What's the matter, Melina? Please tell me," Sunshine asked gently. Melina wiped her eyes with her pyjama sleeve and gulped.

"I... I think that... That I... I'm... D-dying in my nightmares... And I... I think that... The dream might... Might be my f-future," Melina said slowly, her breathing becoming rather shallow. Sunshine's eyes widened. No wonder the poor girl's so distraught, thought Sunshine. She thinks she's going to die!

"Melina, I'm sure it was nothing. Just go on back to sleep now," said Sunshine, tugging the brooch gently from Melina's grip and placing it on the bedside table. Melina nodded and sniffed, then snuggled down underneath the blankets. Sunshine jumped off the bed and curled up in her cat basket, staring out at the starry sky. That dream is very strange, thought Sunshine, and it's got Melina frightened out of her wits, but I'm still sure that she's my little Amaterasu.

"Sunshine?" Melina said timidly, rolling over in bed to look at Sunshine.

"Yes, Melina?" Sunshine asked, sitting up.

"W-would it be OK if you sleep on my bed tonight?" Melina asked quietly. Sunshine smiled a little, then walked over and jumped up on the bed.

"Thank you, Sunshine," whispered Melina, before curling up in a ball. Sunshine stepped around to the other side of the bed and curled up with her back against Melina's. And soon pleasant, dreamless sleep enveloped the two.


Author's Notes: Phew, what a long day! Three chapters long, in fact. Glad I got that one out of the way, now we can get on to some other exciting stuff! Please, PLEASE review! I really, really, REALLY want to know what you think. I'm really looking forward to writing the next few chapters, 'cause I'm thinking of introducing another new character or two! That's all I'm gonna tell you, so stay tuned!