Chapter 7- Innocent Girls


The scooby gang carried Willow back to Buffy's house. Tara held Willow's hand and looked at her very injured girlfriend. If Sailor Moon's power didn't work in this world, they would all have died, right there in the back alley behind the magic shop. Who would protect the world then?

"Please baby. Please wake up." Tara stroke Willow's hair, tears running down her face.

Usagi looked at her injured friend and tried to hold back her own tears. Giles was pacing around the room, wondering out loud if they should have taken Willow to the hospital instead. Anya came back with some bandages and started tending to the wound on Willow's arm.

"Wow. We are that close to having a crispy witch." Anya's comment made everyone uncomfortable. Tara glared at Anya.

"I can't do anything with her being unconscious. The burn on her arm wasn't that bad, though. Xander, do you think she will wake if we slap her?"

"An, honey, shut up." Xander tried to stop Anya from talking.

Someone gently tapped Usagi on the arm. "Here." Dawn handed some clothing to Usagi. "you are covered in soot. You can wash up upstairs if you want. And if you are tired, you can probably just sleep in Buffy's bed."

"Thank you." Usagi accepted Dawn's hospitality. She noticed that the pajamas had sushi on it. She wondered if Dawn picked this for her to remind her of home. Dawn tried to crack a smile back at Usagi but she couldn't. She looked at the injured Willow laying on the couch.

Usagi gently excused herself from the rest of the group and went upstairs. She quickly ran a bath and then changed into the pajamas. The yummy pictures were making her hungry, but she didn't want to bother her friends downstairs.

As if by magic, Dawn came up with a tray of food. "Sorry, we only have some left over pizza. Buffy said she gets hungry when she wears her yummy sushi pajamas. So, maybe you are hungry too." Tears welled up in Dawn's eyes.

Usagi took the tray of food and placed it down. She then pulled Dawn into a hug. Her heart ached for this girl.

Dawn couldn't hold it in anymore and collapsed to the floor, sobbing. "Mom is gone. Buffy is gone. What am I going to do?" Usagi held Dawn in her arms and gently rocked back and forth. "Buffy loves you. She will find her way back to you. We have to believe in her."

Usagi looked at the girl she was comforting. Dawn looked to be around 13 or 14 years old, just a couple years older than Hotaru.

Dawn looked up at Usagi and wiped her tears. "I am not real. I was never supposed to be born. My existence is putting this world in danger. When Buffy was here, she had sworn to protect me. Now, with her gone…..If I just die, then Glory won't have her key. The world would be safe."

I was never supposed to be born. That sentence resonated with Usagi. Hotaru had said the same thing. If these two innocent girls had to die in order to save the world, was the world worth saving then? Usagi shook her head and put her hands on Dawn's face. "You were given life. You have your own thoughts, your own feelings. You have family and friends that love you. They will never give up. I will never give up. I will not lose you."

Just then, Tara showed up on the staircase. "Dawnie, are you okay? Willow is awake if you want to see her."

After Dawn went downstairs, Tara turned and said to Usagi, "I heard everything."

Usagi smiled at Tara. "I just don't want to lose anybody. These girls are real. Dawn and Hotaru. We can't kill them. Even if it's for the sake of saving the world."

"I know." Tara knew how season 3 ended. She knew Sailor Moon saved Hotaru in the end. Tara shuddered at the thought that that ending might change, now that Usagi wasn't in the world anymore. "Willow is awake now and she is already in research mode. We will find out more soon. And when you get back, you are going to do great things. You will save the world, again and again, I am sure of it."