"Sailor Moon!" she shouted, reaching forward. "The light in the darkness!"

"Who are you?" Sailor Moon cried out. She felt lost, again, unable to reach the girl with the gloved hand. She reached and reached but could only grasp nothingness. "Where are you?"

"You're our only hope, Sailor Moon!" The voice shouted, echoing in the darkness as it faded away.

Usagi jolted awake, knocking Luna off her lap. Usagi had been watching the news with her father and brother, who was actually doing homework and not listening, while her mother was preparing dinner. She must've dozed off while petting Luna, not listening to some news anchor prattle on about strange occurrences around town. No, she was instead focused on the dream which was becoming more and more frequent. She didn't want to let anyone see her upset. They wouldn't understand.

"I'm going to spend the night at Mamo-chan's," Usagi announced, standing up suddenly and leaving the room. Her staying over at Mamoru's had become rather frequent, so the announcement wasn't too unusual.

"Usagi!" her mother shouted. "Take some dumplings with you for that Mamoru of yours!"

...

Usagi had barely packed a bag, just shoving her school uniform and some pjs into her bookbag. Her mother handed her a bento filled with fresh dumplings which she shoved into her purse before running off, not even waiting for Luna. Heading towards Mamoru's apartment, she suddenly changed directions, making her way to a nearby park.

It was a small park nestled in between three streets that intersected, forming a triangle, filled with a slide, two swings, and a sandbox. It was empty, since night had already fallen, the children all gone home to bed. It was a school night after all. She didn't particularly make a habit of coming to the park, not since Chibiusa had gone home. Chibiusa loved the park and even fled to one when she wanted to cry or or just be alone.

Usagi sat on the swing, pushing herself back and forth. Well this was relaxing a bit, giving her a moment to clear her mind.

"Usako." Usagi looked up to see Mamoru had spoken. How long had she been sitting there, swinging back and forth as she dug her heels into the dirt? How could she have noticed he drove up in his motorcycle?

He looked casual, wearing a green sweater and some slacks. He held Luna in his arms. "Luna was worried about you. I'm worried about you. What's going on?" He'd been out of the loop lately, preparing college work and looking for an internship. He was quickly regretting not making himself more readily available for her.

"Oh Mamo-chan!" she cried. "What isn't going wrong right now? I keep having this nightmare over and over again. I keep reaching for her and I keep losing her in the darkness." She was talking faster than her mind could think. "And then there's this problem where I can't summon a weapon to fight! We even got a new friend, Sailor Sun, but I can't fight along side her yet! And there's this new threat to the galaxy, a new enemy, and I can't fight them either!"

It was troubling, really. She'd been without a weapon before but somehow luck was on her side and she received a new one, like through her love with Mamoru or her love for Chibiusa. But this time, nothing came. The Silver Crystal wasn't even helping her out. She felt lost and helpless, something Mamoru could see very clearly in her teary eyes.

After Luna leapt from his arms, Mamoru pulled Usagi off the swing and into his arms, tightly embracing her. "Everything will be okay. I promise. I'm here for you whenever you need me. Now let's go back to my place. It's getting chilly outside."

He wasn't wrong. There was a chilly breeze flowing through the area. "Okay," she sniffled, pulling away from him to retrieve her bags she'd dumped at the edge of the swingset. "Mom made us fresh dumplings too."

"Dumplings will have to wait," the deep voice threatened.

Usagi, Mamoru, and Luna all turned in unison to see Doxite step through a portal with a vial purple liquid in his hand. Behind him through the portal stepped his sister, Doxite, who also held a potion, though a pink one. Mamoru stepped in front of Usagi. These two, their uniforms were strikingly similar to the Shittenou, but they were a different style. And while Doxite did have a similar appearance to Jadeite, it certainly wasn't him. These two must belong to that new threat Usagi had mentioned.

The two blond generalites stepped forward threateningly, causing Mamoru and Usagi to step backwards until they bumped into the slide and could back up no more. Snickering, Doxite popped open the top to the vial of liquid he held, shaking it until it crystalized into a large purple blade. Dixite followed in suit. "Just surrender now, Sailor Sun, and we won't have to cut your boyfriend in two," Doxite threatened.

Doxite had been following energy signatures and data collected by Dixite while she masqueraded around as Fujitou Fujita at the high school. A strong energy signature was the sign of a galactic crystal, or so he'd surmised. The strong energy reading radiating off the girl had to mean she was Sailor Sun. There was no other explanation.

He thought she was Sailor Sun? How strange, but it wasn't the first time a bad guy mistook one senshi for the other. Usagi glanced at her bag that had been overturned with its contents spilling out on the dirt below the swingset. The box of dumplings had fallen out along with a notepad, her gameboy, and her watch communicator. With the two generalites there, reaching her communicator would prove difficult.

"Don't worry, Usako, I'll protect you," Mamoru declared. He placed a hand near his head as if he were tipping an invisible hat. He'd let Usagi carry such a burden, trying to fight a battle without power or hope. It was his turn to protect his love.

At a silent command, the top hat appeared in his hand, followed by a white mask. His clothes transformed into a formal tuxedo, then a cape flowed backwards, pushed elegantly by the wind. "I am Tuxedo Kamen, and I won't allow you to harm her."

Doxite paused. Intel had spoken nothing about a male. He didn't look like a sailor and thank god he was clothed. Doxite had enough of fundoshi. Just who was he and what sort of power did he have? Well whatever it was, Doxite had plans to destroy everything and everyone in his way, to stop the awakening of the Eclipse Senshi and to slaughter all their allies. He planned on using all his resources available to him.

"I don't care who you are," Doxite frowned. "It's time to die, fancy man." Doxite leapt forward with surprising speed, drawing his blade back to slice at Tux.

Tuxedo Kamen summoned his cane to his hands in time to block Doxite's assault. The blond general was surprisingly strong, causing Tux to use both hands to support the cane and prevent Doxite from overpowering him. Shifting his weight, Tux picked up his foot and gave Doxite a shove, pushing him backwards, but that was only a misdirect. He pushed one hand palm forward towards the two blonds, commanding "Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber!"

A large blast exploded from Tux's hand. Doxite attempted to block it by transforming his sword into a shield, yet that did little good. The shield shattered, throwing Doxite backwards and slicing him and Dixite with the shards.

While the generalites thoroughly distracted, Luna crept over towards Usagi's bag, grabbing the watch and flipping open the lid, sending out a broadcast for help. "Attack at Triangle Park! Anyone nearby please help! Please hurry!"