Changed Destiny

by Black Beyond

Previously posted under the penname Black Rose on ASMR. An AU fic. The Pluto before Setsuna watches the destruction of the Silver Alliance and decides to use her ultimate weapon to change destiny. Beryl has taken control of earth and it's up to Usagi to b

1. Default Chapter

Changed Destiny
by Black Beyond

[previously posted on ASMR under the pen name Black Rose]


Alright, minna. I'm terrified someone's going to try to nab me for plagiarizing myself, but I've wrote a sequel and since I don't post on ASMR anymore I'm reposting Changed Destiny here, under my current pen name. As I've said before, I've used several pen names and e-mail addresses to write fanfiction: Lita Juno, Cosmic, Lady of the Black Rose which was later shortened to simply Black Rose, and Black Beyond.

This is an AU fic. Meaning that yes, some of the characters will be out of character, say things they don't usually say and act ways you'd never see them act. They will have some different powers, especially the ones most affected by the changes in the timeline. So nyah.

This is the two-piece version. I wrote it a while back, so it may not be as good as my newer stuff. Except the sequel soon. Ja!



It was over. The barren wastes of the once
beautiful and magic city of the Moon and the
surrounding lands looked odd. A lone woman, her
hair floating softly in the breeze, stood at the
edges of the waste-land. Tears streamed down her
scarred cheeks, unwanted memories of what had
happened just a few moments ago flooding her
mind...


A woman in red, holding a glowing mass of
black above her head, a horrid smirk on her face...

A black mass of energy speeding towards a
group of sailor fuku-clad women, it was alive, but
not.

Dead bodies littering the ground, the streams

and rivers ran scarlet with the blood of It's
victims...

A rainbow of colors...

The horrible laughter It screeched as it
killed them off, one by one...

A small girl, of about sixteen, holding a
sword to her stomach as she cried over the body of
a young man, his blood making a red pool around
them...

A lady in white, with a short wand in her
hand, crying for the soul of her daughter as she
shouted words that made the wand erupt with
light...



As she stood, she slowly pushed them away, to
put in her chest of sad thoughts.

She would go back over them when she was
feeling sorry for herself.

But she would do one last thing for her
Queen, the Lady of the White Moon, so that perhaps
the guilt would not be so great.

Maybe, if she gave herself to fight this
demon, destroy it forever, the time-lines would be
changed.

She didn't like the idea of Crystal Tokyo.
She didn't like the thought of putting her princess
through so much pain to achieve it, only to be
destroyed.

No, she would do the forbidden.

She, the first senshi of the Planet Pluto,
would give her life and title up, to change the
future.

She ran over the choices for the next Sailor
Pluto. She found it, smiling gently as she wrote a
letter to her processor.




-Meioh Setsuna. You are given this task. I
should have found you and trained you during the
Empty Times, as it was to be, but I had decided to
do the forbidden. Ask the Gates. They know all.-


She picked up the staff and looked at the
purple orb. Every senshi had a different staff, a
different color. When it was time to go on, or when
they chose to go on, the staff broke and the color
changed.

Purple would be no more.

In a swift, sudden movement, she ran through
the Gates of Time, throwing her powers here and
there. Changing the future with every blast.

At the end, when no power was left, she stood
tall, breathing heavily. She took a deep breathe,
and swung the staff towards the ground.

The orb shattered into millions of pieces.

Pain shot through her body, and her vision
disappeared, she saw hot white light.

And her soul drifted away....



Luna crept in and out of the shadows, looking
for the saviors of the planet.

It had been almost three years since the
great battle. Beryl had awoken early, and sensing
the weakness of the planet, had complete control of
it within a month. Earth's armies tried to put up a
fight, but it just wasn't even. Guns and cannons
against magic?


They hadn't even had a chance.

Oh, it wasn't that bad. Beryl was a good
queen, even if she was cold hearted and cruel. The
people could do anything they wanted, if they
weren't against her. Some people didn't even note a
difference.

Children still went to school. People still
went to work. Dogs still barked, the sun still
shone.

But it was if a gray wash had been painted
over the colors. The air was heavier. Any who had
opposed the Queen died.

It was that simple.

"It is her." Luna gasped, watching a girl
with blonde buns, the royal hairstyle of the Moon
family.

She wondered if Beryl had noticed it.

Probably not. If she had, she and her family
would be dead. Murdered, in the cold blood.

She prepared to run to the girl, beseech her
to transform, as she had already spotted two of the
other ones she was looking for.

She came to her senses. There were people
around. Agents of the Dark Kingdom. If they saw a
talking cat, she'd be fried before she could blink.

No, follow the girl, then approach her.

Approach the Savior.


********************************



Usagi walked up the stairs to her bedroom,
wondering about what she would wear the next day.
The Dark Kingdom had done away with the school
sailor fukus and made a law saying that anyone who
remotely even dressed in anything slightly
resembling a sailor's fuku would be tortured and
fed to the dogs.

She jumped when she saw the black cat on the
bed.

'How did that get in here?' She wondered. She
noticed the open window.

"Oh. You scared me, Neko-chan." She giggled,
and walked over to her closet, carelessly throwing
her bag on the floor.

"Usagi." She heard someone say. She turned.
Just the cat.

"Hmm. I could have sworn..."


"Usagi, I have something to tell you." The
cat said. Usagi stared, open mouthed.

But she wasn't really surprised. Three years
of seeing freakish creatures walk by your window
sorta prepares you for this kind of thing.

"You talk?" She asked, stupidly.

"I do. My name is Luna. Do you remember me,
my princess?" Luna asked hopefully. Her smile went
into a frown as the girl shook her head.

"No, I don't. What do you want? You aren't
from the Dark Kingdom, are you?"

"God, no! But that is why I'm here. You,
Usagi, are the Moon Princess. You are here to fight
Queen Beryl, for it is you that should rule. You
cannot fight as the princess, and it is even more
such that I don't know how to awaken her.

"You must fight as Sailor Moon. Artemis and I
created her, before he left. He is a cat, like I."

"Sailor? I can't be a sailor! Sailors are
outlawed." Usagi said incredulously.

"And you know why? A thousand years ago, a
great battle occurred and the warriors that fought
were dressed as Sailors. The Sailor Senshi. You
weren't one then, but you must be now."

"I know this is insane, but I believe you,
Luna." Usagi said, closing the closet door. "What
should I do? I've never liked Beryl, anyway."

"Take this." Luna did a back flip. Out of no-
where, a gold locket appeared, dropping to the
bunny bed-spread. "Hold it up and shout Moon Silver
Power, Make up."

"Okay." Usagi picked up the locket and looked
at it's glossy cover. On it was a silver moon, a
rose intertwined along it's side. On the edge was
many colorful symbols. She thrust it above her
head. "MOON SILVER POWER MAKE UP!" She shouted.

A flash of light blinded Luna. It was like
all the light that had been hidden away came into
the small room, encircling Usagi and lifting her
up, as she danced in the light. It hid her body
from view for the shortest of seconds.

When the light left, Usagi was no more.

A young warrior stood. She wore a Sailor Fuku
with a skirt of shimmering gold. The bows were
silver, sparkling with some unknown glitter. The
locket was in the center of the bow on her chest. A
silver tiara was on her forehead, and a dark violet
gem inside it.

"That is Sailor Moon." Luna whispered. The
words gave her hope, and filled her with a giddish
glee.

"I feel... powerful." Sailor Moon said,
looking at herself in wonder.

"You are, or rather, will be the most
powerful person in the planet. Come on, Sailor
Moon. Let's go wake your guardians."


***************************


"Study study study. That's all I ever do."
Ami grumbled, as she pulled out a science book and
took notes on Chapter 6, over the exciting topic of
land masses!

Joke, people. Joke.

She was bored with life. Everyday, she woke
up, brushed her teeth, ran a comb through her short
blue hair, walked to school, then came home, and
studying until bedtime.

Everyday.

"I've had it!" She slammed the book shut,
stomped over to her window, and threw it open. She
fell back on her bed, staring at the ceiling... not
noticing how her eyes were slowing falling shut...

...

...

...

"Ami! Wake up!" She came to, hearing her name
whispered in front of her. "Luna, are you sure
she's the one?" The voice asked.

"Of course. You doubt me?" Another voice
asked.

"Yes!"

"Wha?" Ami asked, sitting up and rubbing her
eyes. Slowly, a girl's figure came into view. Ami
scooted back against the wall as she saw the
sailor-ish costume.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

"A friend, Ami. Hurry, we need you. You are a
warrior to fight against Beryl. Luna, do your
freaky thing." The girl bent down and sat a black
cat on the bed.

"It's not, 'A freaky thing'. It's complex
move that tears open space itself and rea--" Luna
protested.

"Whatever!"

"You talk!?" Ami screeched, jumping up. "How
do you talk?!"

"I just *can*, okay?" Luna muttered, and did
her back flip. A wand, blue and silver in color with
a delicate symbol on it's tip fell to the bed.

"Go ahead, take it." the girl in the Sailor
fuku urged.

"Hold it up and yell, Mercury Prism Power
Make up." the cat directed. Ami felt her hand, as
though it had a life of it's own, inching it's way
towards the stick. Sighing, she picked it up.

It was a change.


"MERCURY PRISM POWER MAKE UP!" She yelled,
raising it above her head.

The room was filled with a sudden draft. From
the wand shot many ribbons of blue, each a
different shade, but all had the same watery look
to it. They wrapped themselves around Ami, and a
flash of light made both Sailor Moon and Luna
looked away.

When they looked back, Sailor Mercury was
gazing at the reflection in the mirror.

"Is that really *me*?" She asked, voice full
of wonder.

"It sure is, Sailor Mercury. I'm Sailor Moon.
Come on, there's one more of us to get."

******************************



'Great Fire, please tell me what my visions
mean.' Rei pleaded.

For an instant, she saw five girls in Sailor
Costumes, each one had a different meaning.
One of them was fire.

Just as suddenly, the vision broke away.
Phobos and Diemos flew away from their positions
beside her, squawking like mad.

She couldn't feel anything.

All of her went numb, and the image of the
sailor clad girl that was fire flashed over and
over in her mind.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I believe she's having visions. Sailor Mars
was the physic one, you know." A female voice with
a slight British accent made her spin around, her
black raven hair just missing the tongues of flame.

"What the...?" She asked. Two of the girls in
her vision stood before her, accompanied by a cat.

"Hello, Rei." The one that was mainly dressed
in silver said. "I'm Sailor Moon."

"You could have tried that with me." The one
in blue grumbled.

"You were asleep!" Sailor Moon retorted.
"This is Sailor Mercury. We are here because--"

"I'm supposed to fight. Yes, I know. I've
been having these visions for a while, now." Rei
got to her feet. "Ever since Beryl took over."

"Then you know of the mission." The cat said.

"I just know that Beryl is not supposed to be
on that throne." Rei said. "And I'd like to help
take it away from her."

"Oo-kay." Sailor Moon handed her a red and
silver pen. "We already made Luna give it to us. It

saves time." She explained.

"Say Mars Prism Power Make Up." Luna said.

"MARS PRISM POWER MAKE UP!" The world
exploded in fire.

***********************



"Do we just pick off a youma?" Mars asked.
They were crouched in the shadows, watching the
youma go by. There was just usually one at a time,
maybe two, at most.

"I guess. Send them a warning, or something."
Mercury said, unsure.

"Come on. There's one right there." Sailor
Moon pointed to one that was coming up the street.

"Okay. Instant death, here we come." Mercury
muttered as Sailor Moon jumped out of their hiding
spot. The youma jumped, startled, and then
recognized the fuku.

"How dare you impersonate a senshi, you
teenage brat." It growled.

"How dare *you* call me a brat." Sailor Moon
said. "And who's impersonating, you DNA mistake?

"For Love and Justice, a pretty soldier in a
sailor suit, Sailor Moon! I punish you in the name
of the Moon!" She said. Mars and Mercury came out

and stood behind her, Mars to her right and Mercury
to her left.

"For love and justice, I am Sailor Mercury!"

"In the name of Mars, I am Sailor Mars!" The
introduced themselves. The youma had taken a step
back.

"You are in violation of Act 45, part 6. Your
punishment is Death." It said in a shaking voice.

"Oh, really?" Mars asked. "What a pity. I'm
afraid we won't go quietly. MARS SPIRALING VORTEX!"
She shouted. A huge funnel of fire appeared in her
hands, which she threw at the youma.

"Ahh!" The youma screamed, and was blown
back, singed and burned.

"AQUA HALLUCINATION WHIRL!" Mercury spun
around, like a dancer, water collecting in a
rainbow mass above her head. She pointed one
finger in the air. The mass solidified into a
sphere. She pointed at the youma.

It had no time to dodge. It was trapped in a
block of ice.

"My turn!" Sailor Moon said. She pulled out a
staff that was just a few inches shorter than she.
A gold crescent moon was at the top, energy
sparkling in it's center. "Moon Lovely Rainbow
Kiss." She said, and pointed the staff at the
helpless youma. It exploded into dust.

"Somehow, I think we caught that one off
guard. They aren't always going to be this easy."
Mars said thoughtfully.

"I know. But this is their warning." A cold
glint was in Sailor Moon's eye.

***********************


A girl lay asleep in her bed, blankets over
her head.

Unbeknownst to her, a snake, with a unique
symbol on it's hood, slithered toward her bed,
climbing up the bed post until it hovered over the
girl.

Venom dripped from it's razor sharp fangs.
But it did not bite.

It just hovered there, as a shadow grew. A
shadow of a woman.

The girl sat up, her face hidden by the
shadows. A silent scream of terror tried to escape
her throat.

"Beware of the dark... the shadows are
near..." A woman's voice echoed.

"What do you want?" The girl asked. A knife
was in the hand of the woman. Lightning blazed
outside the window.

No thunder.

The room was lit up in burning splendor for a
brief second, lighting the woman's face. Her hair
was the darkest of browns, long, and flowing. Her
eyes were purple, filled with sadness and regret.

She wore a senshi fuku.

"I am so sorry." She whispered. No words
escaped her throat, but the girl on the bed sensed
her thoughts.

"Whatever for?" The girl asked.

"Run. What was true is now a lie. What was a
lie is now true. Beryl does not know of you yet,
but soon truths shall be revealed.

"I gave my life to change the future. My soul
haunts the dreams of the damned. I am here to tell
you... beware. The Dark is upon us all. You are one
of a team. Fight, please, fight.

"I thought it would be different, but I was
wrong." The woman said, a tear tracing down her
cheek.

"Who are you?" The girl asked, scared out of
her wits.

"I was a senshi."

"Who am I?"

"That is yet to be determined. Only you can
decide that."

"What can I do? I'm just a girl..." "Beware
the Dark. It is a snake... ready to bite..." The
woman faded from view. The girl spun around, coming
face to face with the cobra. Once more, the room
was lit with the fire of lightning.

The girl was Usagi.

The cobra struck just as the thunder roared.


********************


Usagi woke up, a scream stuck in her throat,
drenched in sweat.

Luna slept on. A thunder storm was at it's
peak, rain beating against the window like a drum.

Usagi stared at the wall.

It was like someone had flipped a switch in
her brain. It had been off, closed to the horrors.
Closed to the pains and terror of the rebels.
Closed off like an innocent child's. She had not
looked around. When they told her to close her
eyes, she had.

No more.

It was on. Everything that she had once found
safe and secure was gone. Her hand went up to grasp
the locket around her neck.

It made her feel safe. She loved that
feeling. She realized, that for the last three
years, she had not felt that.

Beware of the Dark.

The words echoed in her thoughts.

"It was just a dream, Usagi. Get over it."
She said, taking deep breaths.

She threw away the quilt, as the room had
suddenly grew hot. She wrapped up in the top-sheet,
and threw her hand over the pillow to fluff it up.

Her hand hit something sticky.

She sprang up, searching, reaching for her
lamp's switch.

Light flooded the room, making her feel just
a bit better. Slowly, she turned to the pillow.

She excepted to see the blue pillowcase.

She saw red. Blood soaked her pillow.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

*********************************



"Usagi?!" Luna sprang up. Usagi blinked. The
red was gone, replaced by the pillowcase. The door
burst open, her mother and father running in.

"Usagi? What's wrong?" Ikuko asked.

"Nothing, Mom." Usagi forced a smile. "Bad
dreams, I guess. I'll be fine." She noticed her
hands were shaking.

"Oh." Kenji tried to sooth his pumping heart.
Visions of youma had seeped into his mind when he
heard the scream. "Well, get to sleep, Hime-chan."
he said.

"Night-night." Ikuko gave her shaken daughter
one last glance before turning off the light and
closing the door.

Luna pounced on her protégée.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Luna, there is something bad going on...
where the hell did I put that damn communicator..."
Usagi picked up the pink object. Luna noticed how
the girl trembled as she hit the button that
summoned Mars.

After about three minutes, a very sleepy and
cranky Rei picked it up.

"Wha is ith?" She mumbled.

"Rei, get to your fire thingie! Now! Don't
look at me like that. Ask it about the youma." Rei
muttered a few 'adjectives' and the screen went
black. Usagi heard mumbling, and saw a blaze of
orange. Rei picked it back up, pale and no longer
asleep.

"Usagi, call Ami. They're doing a raid." Rei
said.




Luna nearly fell over.

Raids were what everyone feared.

Youma and loyal soldiers would break into a
home, do whatever they liked with the women, and
then beat the men until they revealed the location
of the safe or hidden money.

Then, they would be murdered.

The worst thing was, there was no warning.
The youma needed no excuse. When they felt like
torturing someone, they picked a random house and
then...

I'll spare you most of the details.

"Okay, Rei. Where at?"

"It's just a few blocks from your house, from
what I saw. The fire can be vague." The screen went
blank. Usagi quickly called Ami and told her. Then,
she held up her locket.

"Usagi-chan, that was one youma. There will
be at least three, and soldiers!" Luna protested.

"Luna, we must try." Usagi said. She
summoned her will. "MOON SILVER POWER, MAKE *UP*!"
She ordered.

Luna watched while the girl transformed, and
then jumped to the window. Like magic, the rain was
ceasing.

Was it the light? Luna wondered. Could it be
the light was returning, and the darkness was
slowly fading?

"Okay. I need you to stay here in case my mom
comes back. Put your face into the pillow and
mumble." Sailor Moon told the cat as she stuffed
pillows under the blankets until it looked enough
like a human form. "I'll be back." She flashed Luna
the V for Victory sign as she dropped out of the
window.

"I do hope so, Usagi, my Hime-chan."

************************



"It's freezing!" Mercury complained, standing
in the shadows, where they were listening for
anything unusual.

"Come on. I hear screams." Mars whispered.
Sailor Moon had her staff out, grimly running
toward the house with the crashing sounds and
yelling.

The neighbors wouldn't do anything. They
would simply lay there and pretend they didn't hear
it.

If they tried to interfere, their family
could and would be killed before their eyes and
then they would be drowned in ice.

Nice place to live, huh?

"Alright. Here's our break." Sailor Moon
murmured, and kicked open the door. A youma met her
eyes. With a swift movement, the end of her staff
connected with it's skull, making a cracking sound
as the youma fell, unconscious... or dead.

"Good move." Mars said, stepping over it.
Sailor Moon took the stairs in two leaps, Mercury
and Mars behind her. Mercury kicked open the
bedroom door. A man was tied up, two soldiers
kicking him brutally, enjoying his screams of pain.
The entrance of the girls went unnoticed to them.
In the corner, a youma was terrorizing a woman that
looked like the guy's wife. That left at least one
youma and maybe a few soldiers missing. Sailor Moon
spun around. She could take care of these, she felt
it.

"Mars, you go search for anything else. Who
knows what they're doing to whoever else is in
here. Merc, go with her. It's just a youma and some
guys. It should be a piece of cake."

Famous last words.

"Okay-- yell if you need help." Mercury
seemed unsure about leaving their leader. Mars
grabbed her wrist and ran down the hallway, kicking
open doors.

Sailor Moon turned her attentions to the
youma. She took a deep breath, and then slammed her
staff on the floor.

BAM!

"Alright, you sleaze. Let them go." She said.
"An agent of Love and Justice, I am Sailor Moon!"
She narrowed her eyes as they laughed at her. The
couple had hope in their eyes, that maybe, somehow,
this girl with the confident pose could save them.

Weird people, huh?

"A child impersonating dead warriors?" one of
the soldiers was nearly doubled over. "Beryl's
going to have a field day with this one. Frank, tie
her up while we finish here. She can watch." He
said to the other guy. Sailor Moon fought down
giggles.

'Yeah, come on. Tie me up. Take another step,
buddy-boy. Come on.' She thought, golden energy
gathering in the center of the crescent moon of her
staff.

Frank went unnoticed to her thoughts.

"Moon Beam." She murmured. A blast of white
erupted from her hand. She ignored the searing
pain she felt as the power traveled through her
body and hit Frank square in the chest, knocking
him back *through* the wall. The youma and the guy
stopped in their tracks and stared at the large
hole in the wall. They turned to her.

Sailor Moon was thankful the debris of the
wall hid the certainly dead man from her view.

"Yeah, Beryl's gonna have a field day
alright! A senshi! ALIVE!" the youma roared. "She's
gonna have a field day with our ASSES!"

"She won't have the chance." Sailor Moon
said. She quickly took out the soldier before he
was able to jerk the gun from his holster. He
landed beside his friend.

She was able to see him.

A bloody hole was though his chest, making
his insides clear to her eyes. His eyes were glazed
over, lifeless. His skin stained red by the frantic
pouring of blood. Blood burbled from his lips.


A face-off. The youma and Sailor Moon circled
each other, waiting for the other to make the first
move.

The couple watched in fascination and terror.

The youma leapt for Sailor Moon, claw
outstretched. She blocked him with her staff. She
kicked at him. He jumped away. She clunked him in
the head with her staff. He swung at her,
connecting with her jaw. She staggered back,
stunned.

The youma took advantage of the moment. With
one razor hand, he slashed a scarlet mark that went
from two inches above her navel to her side, almost
hitting where the ribs and spine connected, cutting
deep. She stumbled, then rose to her full height.

"MOON LOVELY RAINBOW KISS!" She screamed. The
youma burst into dust. She fell back against the

wall, trying to stop the blood with one hand.

"Dammit." She murmured, almost passing out
from the pain. The woman, realizing the danger was
gone, jumped into action. She was a calm, rational
woman by nature. She knew the girl was hurt.

She ran to the bathroom, grabbed some cloth
and some antiseptic and ran back, She knelt beside
Sailor Moon, who had her teeth clenched from the
pain.

"You're bleeding pretty bad." The woman
stated the obvious.

"Oh, god." Sailor Moon muttered. The woman
wiped away what blood she could, but the bodice of
the fuku was almost completely stained red. She put
the medicine and wrapped the cloth around it.

"You'll need to see a doctor."

"No! Are you crazy? The Dark Kingdom runs the
world. I walk into a hospital like this, I'm dead.
I can barely fight off one youma by myself..."
Sailor Moon moaned. She stood up, leaning on her
staff. "Thank you."

"It's okay... my god... Beth..." The woman
ran for the door.

"Mars and Mercury..." Sailor Moon followed
behind her, limping as fast as she could with aid
of the staff. Already blood was showing through the
bandage.

"AQUA HALLUCINATION WHIRL!" They heard. The
door was nearly blown off it's hinges. The woman
and Sailor Moon fell into the room. Mars and
Mercury were standing in front of a young girl,
about seven, with some minor scratches. A pile off
dust and three dead bodies lay scattered about the
room.

Murder. What they were doing was no better,
perhaps, than what the soldiers had been about to
do.

Was it?

"Usa-- Sailor Moon!" Mercury yelled, and ran
to help her friend.

"I'm okay... Come on, before the police get
here." Sailor Moon whispered.

"Ja ne!" Mars yelled to Beth and her mother,
as they helped Sailor Moon from the house and into
an alley.

"There's a hospital about a block from here.
if we dehenshin, we can get her to it and tell
them...." Mercury searched her mind. "A girl came
in with something like this. She said she'd
stumbled onto a mad dog." She powered down. Mars
followed. Sailor Moon hesitated.

"I don't know if I can... the pain's bad
enough when I'm super-human..."
"Come on, you baby." Rei teased. Sailor Moon
clenched her teeth and powered down in a flash of
light. She was in a pair of shorts and a tank top,
appropriate for the time of the year.

"Um, Ami... you better get home. You've a
mother that will probably check up on you. Luna's
saving for me." Usagi said, her teeth clenched.

"I'll go with you." Rei said. "Grandpa
doesn't wake up until I wake him."

"Okay. Call me first thing in the morning,
Usagi-chan." Ami said, backing up a few steps,
before running off.

"Damn..." Usagi let out her breath in a big
whoosh. She sucked it back in as new pain
overwhelmed her.

"Come on." Rei said, putting Usagi's arm
around her shoulder.

**************************



"I need a doctor!" Rei yelled, pushing open
the emergency room doors. By now, the blood had
soaked the bandage and was running down Usagi's
leg. She was only half conscious.

"Make the room stop swirling..." She
muttered, wondering why she barely felt the pain
anymore.

"Right!" A man, with black hair and dark blue
eyes threw aside the chart he had been looking at
and yelled some ordered at a nurse. He ran to Rei
and Usagi, picking the girl up.

"What happened?" he barked.

"We were attacked by a mad dog... it was
crazy or something." Rei said, using the alibi Ami
had provided.

"Uh-huh. How long has she been like this?"

"Just a few minutes. She's strong.. she was
totally conscious a few minutes ago... will she be
okay?" Rei worried. They lifted her on a bed.

"I think so. I'm Dr. Chiba."

"Hino ..." Can't give your real name, girl.
"Iku. Hino Iku." She supplied. "Her name is Hino
Serena. She's my sister."

'Yeah, right. And I'm her brother. And here's
no way this was made by a dog.' Dr. Chiba scoffed
to himself. He just nodded and removed the hasty
bandage. A nurse came to clean out the wound and
re-bandage it. Rei watched, not flinching.



~Ten Minutes Later~~


Dr. Chiba pulled Rei aside into his office.

He was an extraordinary case. he was only
nineteen, but had his MD, thanks to the war.
Doctors had been needed then and anyone with any
experience whatsoever was slapped with a diploma and
shoved onto the battle fields before they could
blink.

"What is it? Isn't she okay?" Rei asked.

"I know you're lying." He said. Rei opened
her mouth to protest.

"But--"

"No, it's okay. I know you're not going to
tell me what happened. I probably don't want to
know. That wound was made with a sharp object."

"I don't know how she got it." Rei murmured.

"I figured. The good news is she's fine. As
soon as she wakes up, you can leave. She won't even
have to come back for the removal of the stitches.
They'll fall out when the cut is gone. She lost a
lot of blood, so she'll need to take it easy."

'Like that's happening.' Rei thought to
herself.

"Fine, Dr. Chiba." Rei sighed.

"Call me Mamoru."

"Okay. I've got to go wake her up. Her
parents are going to kill me."

"I figured she wasn't your sister either."

"Oh, in some ways." Rei said. Mamoru looked
at her strangely, but let her exit the office. She
all but ran to Usagi's room.

"Usagi, wake up right now. We've to get out
of here before the cops come asking questions." Rei
whispered, shaking the girl.

Rei hoped that their parents wouldn't notice
the scratches and bruises they all had.

"I'm up..." Usagi moaned. "Just so tired...
and it hurts...."

"I know. But Luna can't put on your clothes
and go to school for you. Come on girl." Rei helped
her stand up. "If the cops come around asking about
any girls injured that just walked in, they're
going to point them to us. I've given them fake
names, and the way we're all scuffed up should
throw them off with descriptions." Rei explained,
as they walked to the doors.

"Okay. We live in opposite directions. I can
make it. Bye, Rei-chan."

"Bye, Usagi-chan. Tell Luna we're okay." Rei
yelled as she ran off. Usagi closed her eyes and
took two deep breathes before almost falling.

"Dammit." She murmured.

A hand was on her shoulder. She spun around,
only to look into the eyes of the doctor that
treated her.

"What do you want?" She snapped.

"Ouch. Cobra." He chuckled. "Actually, I was
wondering if you needed a ride home. I know you're
in too much pain to walk, no matter what you told
your friend."

Usagi blushed. 'He was trying to be nice,
baka, and you nearly bit his head off.'

"Okay... I guess. but aren't you--"

"Working? No, I just got off." he said. "I'm
Mamoru. My car's over there." He pointed to a black
Mercedes.



***********************


"Where do you live?" He asked, after he had
drove for a few minutes. Usagi hesitated before
giving him an address from the street next to
hers.

"That's where the old Juuban district was,
eh? My school was there. I go there everyday
almost, to see my friend, Motoki. He runs the
arcade."

"I know him." Usagi said, offhandedly.

"Uh-hmm." Mamoru glanced at her. Her hair was
tangled and filled with dust. Dirt and blood was
streaked across her face. The rest of her body
wasn't much better.

"You look like you've been in the middle of a
gang fight." He said, thoughtfully.

"Hardly."

"Then what happened? Your friend just said
she didn't know how you got it, although she tried
to throw a mad dog story at us. The same thing
happened with a girl last year. Didn't believe her,
either."

"I'm not about to tell you."

"Attitude, huh? That's what you get for
trying to make civilized conversation these days."
He shook his head.

"I just want to go home, get into the bath
without waking my parents, and try to sleep. I
stress TRY."

"You're a tough one, huh? What are you doing
at this hour, anyways?"

"Bad dreams."

"Must have been one hell of a dream."

"I wish." Usagi rolled her eyes and watched
the neon lights of the stores pass by the windows.

She was thinking. The last thing she wanted
to do was remember how she had killed those
soldiers.

Youma were one thing. Soldiers, well, they
were at least PART human.

"Wish what?"

"That is was a dream." She said, trying to
force the images from her head. "Maybe it was.
Maybe I'll wake up in a few seconds, and this will
all be one big dream. I've already had my share of
nightmares tonight."

"Nightmares?" Mamoru asked. 'Maybe if I get
her guard down she'll tell me what happened. I
don't know why, but I feel like I have to protect
her.'

"Yeah. The old, someone comes to warn you
then a cobra flies at your head. The warning scares
the crap out of you anyway, but the snake...."
Usagi shuddered.

"Warning? What warning?" Mamoru inquired.
Usagi turned in the seat to stare at him.

"She said, Beware of the Dark. The Shadows
are near." The words came back to he, floating in
her mind, like the winds on a sunny day...

"The dark? Why would anyone be afraid of the
dark?"

"Don't laugh at her, dammit. That means
something. Beware of Beryl, you fool. Don't you get
it? The evil lurk in the shadows, for they cannot
exist in the light. They are the Dark. The one who
holds the light must shine it into the corners,
destroy them. I must destroy Beryl... for I am the
only one who can." Usagi said, without thinking.

"Are you okay?" Mamoru felt her forehead,
leaving one hand to drive the car. "No fever..."

"Let me out here. I can walk." Usagi said.
"One who does not see Beryl is evil is blind. But
even the Blind know it." Mamoru shrugged as he
stopped the car, a few blocks from Usagi's house.
She jumped out of the car. "Arigato for the ride."]

**************************



"Good God, Usagi! You look awful! What
happened?" Luna was nearly beside her self in shock
and worry when Usagi climbed through her window,
looking like she did, covered in blood.

The sun was peeking up over the horizon.

"I got hit. I'm okay... really. I powered
down and got some stitches. I need a shower... God,
Luna, here's my communicator. Call Ami and Rei and
tell them I'm fine." She threw the pink thing at
the bed before disappearing into the bathroom.

The sounds of the water hid her crying from
the cat.

'What have I done?' Usagi asked herself, as
she stood under the hot water, as hot as she could
make it go. 'I nearly got myself killed, I
*killed*...'

'They would have killed you unless you did
what you did.'

'I should have found another way...'

'What could you have done? Ask them to leave,
all polite? You saw how those two soldiers reacted.
Beryl must have told them about you. It's a good
thing you left that youma alive... now Beryl will
have a huge threat. She'll panic. She'll be
furious. Those will distract her.'

'Oh, my god. I hadn't thought about that
youma.'

"Usagi? Is that you?" Ikuko knocked on the
door. "It's time to get up, honey."

'It is?' "Yeah, Mom. Decided to get up early.
I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay, honey. Just hurry, okay? You've got
that big test tomorrow."

"Kay, Mama." Usagi hurriedly washed her hair
and face and body, carefully avoiding the stitches.
She knew they probably should not be under water,
but any extra pain she got, she figured she
deserved.

Turning the water off, she dried herself. She
threw on a pair of pants, wrapped an ace bandage
around her side, and put on a bunny t-shirt.

She didn't put up her odango. They reminded
her of Sailor Moon.

"Usagi-chan, hurry up." Luna said, coming in.
"Ami's here. She wants to walk you to school. She
looks almost as tired as you do."

"Coming." Usagi threw her bag over her
shoulder and trudged down the stairs as fast as she
could without tearing her side open. Ami stood in
the living room, talking to Ikuko.

"Hey, Usagi-chan. Come on, if we hurry, we
can make study hall." Ami said.

"Bye, Mama. See you later." 'If I'm not
dead.'

"Okay. Sayonara." Ikuko called, as Usagi and
Ami walked out the door. The walked for a few
blocks in silence.

"Rei says you were pretty out of it." Ami
said at last.

"Yeah." Usagi replied. No matter what she
thought of, her thoughts always went back to last
night.

"Oh, my god!" Ami looked at her watch, then
back at Usagi. "Can you run?"

"Why? I think so."

"Because we're SO late!"

"Oh!" Usagi shrieked, at took of as fast as
she could go, which was pretty fast.

"I think we'll make it..." Usagi gasped.

"Maybe... USAGI! WATCH OUT!" Ami yelled.

CRASH!

Usagi ran right into someone. She fell back,
landing on the concrete.

"Oh, no! Dammit..." She moaned, as pain shot
up her side. "Stupid damn stitches." She muttered.

"Oh, gomen... I wasn't looking where I was
going..." A man's hand came down to help her up.
Usagi stood up.

Blue met blue.

The man and Usagi stared at each other.

"Oh, no..." For a moment, the pain was
forgotten.

"Hey, you're that girl..." Mamoru said.

"Come on, Ami." Usagi growled, trying to push
past him.

"But Usagi--"

"I said, come on."

"Uh-uh, *Usagi*. How's your side?" Mamoru
asked. Ami's eyes widened, and her jaw fell.

"I don't know what you're talking about."
Usagi pushed past him and into the school gates.
Ami followed her.

Mamoru shook his head as he walked down the
street a ways and into a building marked CROWN
ARCADE.

"Hey, Mamoru-kun. How's it going?" A blonde
man behind the counter turned to get a coffee,
black.

"Just thinking, Motoki." Mamoru said.

"Wow, there's something you don't see
everyday. Star Scholar Thinks. There's a headline."

"Not funny."

"Okay, what's up? A girl? Nah... not the Ice-
Man..." Motoki teased.

"Actually, yes." Mamoru replied. Motoki was
shocked into silence for a minute. Then, he
practically jumped over the counter and onto the
stool beside his friend.

"Uh-uh! No way! Who?"

"I think her name's Usagi... I'm not sure."

"Usagi? As in *Tsukino* Usagi? She comes in
here almost everyday. Nice girl. She hasn't been in
here the last couple days, though. I've seen her
walk by, though. Blonde hair? Blue eyes? About
fourteen..."

"Yeah. She was dragged into the hospital last
night by this girl with dark hair. They were both
scratched up pretty bad, but Usagi was bleeding
heavily, from this huge gash in her side. The other
girl tried to throw this bogus story at me. I
stitched her up and drove her home..."

"Usagi? We must be talking about different
people here. Usagi wouldn't harm a fly... let
alone come in like that. Why don't you come around
after school let's out... she'll probably be here.
I'll point Usagi out and you can tell me if it's
her."

"I'm pretty sure. She was with a girl with,
get this, BLUE hair, and she ran into me, and
knocked me down. The other girl called her Usagi."

***************************



"Tsukino Usagi, Mizuno Ami. You're tardy."
Haruna-sensei said. "That's an hour's detention."

"Haruna-sensei, may I see you in the hall,
please?" Usagi asked. She knew Ami had never had
detention and wasn't about to get her in trouble.

"Yes, Usagi?" Haruna shut the door after
them.

"Haruka-sensei, please do not hold Ami-chan
accountable for this. She was helping me. I can't
walk very fast." Usagi said.

"Why not?"

"I fell-- on a fence." Usagi lifted her shirt
up a few inches and pulled down the ace bandage, revealing the jagged
cut and the stitches. Haruka paled.

"Of course not. Did you have trouble getting
to school? That looks nasty."

"No, I just could not walk fast."

"Oh. I'll let your tardies go until it heals,
Usagi. But you might want to start earlier,
tomorrow."

"Hai, Haruna-sensei."




"Hey, Motoki. School out yet?" Mamoru walked
into the arcade for the second time that day. All
day, at the hospital, his thoughts centered on the
blonde girl. Funny, most girls most have been half
scared out of their wits if a man had came up and
offered them a ride. And again when he approached
them for the second time.

Usagi hadn't been scared. She had been ready
to fight.

"Almost." Motoki answered. He opened his
mouth to say something, but was cut off by a faint
ringing sound.

"There's the bell. Wait for it. In about ten
minutes, half the student population of Juuban will
come crowding in here." He said.

"Do you think she'll come?" He asked.

"Wow, you're really stuck on this girl. You
like her, ne?"

"Not that way, Motoki. Get your head out of
the gutter. I'm just worried about her."

"Uh-huh."

"I am!"

"Sure."

"Bite me."

"Here they come." Motoki motioned to the door
as the streets were suddenly filled with student.
walking, talking, laughing.

****************************


"Ami, Rei said she'd meet us here." Usagi
motioned to the arcade. During her lunch break, she
had gone into the bathroom and put her odango back
up.

She missed them.

"Okay. Come on, let's get a table before
they're taken." Ami smiled, and pulled Usagi into
the arcade.

"Geez! Slow down! You're going to break me."
Usagi whined.

"Come on. If you move around, maybe your cut
will heal."

"Or maybe it'll kill me." Usagi sat down at a
booth, Ami across from her. "Dammit, it hurts. I
never thought I'd be such a baby, but it hurts. I
don't mean 'Oh, mommy, the beetle bit me' hurts, I
mean, 'Oh mommy, that gun just blew off my arm'
hurts."

Ami laughed. "You should be a comedian,
Usagi."

"Get real. What's there to laugh at.
Everywhere I go, I see Beryl. Beryl Beryl Beryl."

Over at the bar, Motoki pointed to Usagi.

"That's Usagi." He said.

"That's her." Mamoru answered. She had her
hair put up, but it was most definitely her. "And
that girl's the one that was with her this
morning."

"Usagi got into a fight. I can't picture
that." Motoki shook his head. "I've watched her.
She'd come in here, play some games, order a shake,
and go out. Always smiling."

"Well, she wasn't smiling last night. She
looked like she was ready to kill."

"How strange." Motoki murmured.

"And there's that girl who brought her into
the hospital." Mamoru pointed to a girl who had
just walked in and sat down with Usagi and her
friend.

"Rei, we've got problems. I ran into that
doctor that stitched me up. He not only recognized
me, but now he knows my NAME." Usagi put her head
down on the table.

"Oh, no." Rei muttered.

"Yeah. You know, he'd be cute if he wasn't
stalking Usagi." Ami said thoughtfully.

"Stalking?" Usagi and Rei asked at the same
time.

"Yeah, he's right over there." Ami said,
pointing at Mamoru, who was talking with Motoki.

"Shit. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Usagi
asked, banging her head against the table.

"I thought you noticed."

"*sigh* How am I supposed to notice when my
back's to him?"

"Okay. He can't exactly do anything to us,
nor can he prove our names or that we were even at
the hospital." Rei said, calm. "So, we're in the
clear. And if he does prove to be a threat, we can
*ahem* dispose of him."

"Rei!" Ami gasped.

"Ami-chan, this is a war where the enemy has
the upper hand. We can take no chances." Rei
explained.

"You've got a point, Rei. Ami, watch him."
Usagi said, staring at the table.

"Oh, you'll be able to do that." Ami said,
still in her dreamland.

"Huh?"

"He's coming over here, with that cute guy
from the counter. Motoki?"

Usagi reached over and grabbed Ami's collar,
jerking her out of dreamland.

"What?!" She croaked.

"Oh, no." Rei murmured. "Will anyone mind if
I duck underneath the table?"

"Hello, Usagi-chan." Motoki said. "Can I sit
down?"

"Why not?" Usagi moaned, knowing well that
Mamoru would probably sit down too. Ami scooted
over to make room for the two guys.

"Heh heh." Rei looked away.

"What do you want *now*, Mamoru-san?" Usagi
kept her head on the table, not bothering to look
up.

"To prove to Motoki it was you at the
hospital."

"Great. Listen to me. Go away." Usagi mumbled
into the table.

"Come on, Odango Atama."

"What. Did. You. Call. Me?" Usagi sat up.

"Odango Atama. Because of your hair." he
grinned.

"Hey, dude! The TV just went on, all by
itself!!" A guy's voice, from in the back, yelled.
Motoki and Mamoru spun around. Sure enough, the TV
was on.

Freaky.

Jadeite, one of the top generals of Beryl's
army, appeared on the screen. Usagi quickly pulled
her buns out. She didn't need to look like Sailor
Moon.

"THIS IS A WARNING TO THE THREE GIRLS THAT
ARE IMPERSONATING WARRIORS. IF YOU CONTINUE TO KILL
OUR SOLDIERS, I WILL COME AFTER YOU." He said.

Usagi, Rei and Ami were on full alert.

"This is bull." Rei whispered. "Why the hell
would anyone be scared of him?" The TV flickered
out.

"Girls? They're warning girls?" Mamoru asked.
Motoki nodded.

"It was on the news. Three girls wearing
sailor fukus broke up a raid. They killed the youma
and the soldiers, saving the people. The wife said
they shot ice and magic out of their hands. I
thought it was a publicity stunt, but not if the
general's are investigating it."

"We've got to go, guys. Seeya." Rei helped
Usagi up. Motoki and Mamoru got up to let Ami out.

***********************


Dammit, I knew she'd be freaked. But a
*general*?!" Luna paced back and forth. "This is
bad. They know about how old you are. They'll send
youma to attack the schools to weed you out.

"No matter what, do *NOT* henshin in front of
anyone other than yourselves." Luna decided. They
were gathered at Rei's temple, because Usagi had a
little brother that might spy on them, and Ami's
house was probably bugged, as her mother was a
doctor and a scientist.

They hoped not.

"Okay. So, what if someone figures it out?"
Ami asked.

"Well, there is a disguise field that
protects you from cameras and videos, etc. The
magic that is associated with your fukus will keep
people from guessing. So, unless you henshin in
front of someone or tell them, you should be
relatively safe. Unless, it's another senshi.
Senshi are able to see through disguises." Luna
explained. Ami nodded, while typing on her computer
Luna had just given her.

"So, we're okay, unless one of us goofs."
Usagi concluded. "But a general? Jadeite, too. He's
probably the coldest man in the universe."

"I think he's kinda cute." Rei said, while
staring into the fire.

"Are you crazy?" Usagi and Luna asked at the
same time.

"I don't know. I'm listening to a talking cat
who is talking about magic and telling us not to
turn into super heroines who shoot fire and ice and
whatever out of their hands to kill creatures that
look like DNA mistakes. Am I crazy? I dunno. I'll
have to ask the ceiling. It usually has helpful
advise." She said, smiling.

"She's one for the loony bin." Usagi
whispered.

"What about Mamoru? If they go around asking
about anyone who was injured, because you spilled a
lot of blood in there, Usagi-chan, he'll say, 'Oh,
yeah. A girl who looks like Sailor Moon came in
here bleeding half to death. He knows your name."
Ami asked.

"We could kill him." Usagi said thoughtfully.
"But a cold-blooded murder like that is too Nega-
verse-ish for me."

"Mercury could drown him." Rei suggested.

"I would not. You've got fire. You toast
him."

"No one's going to drown or cook anyone."
Luna sighed, and did a back flip. A green henshin
wand fell to the floor.

"What's that?" Rei asked.

"This is Sailor Jupiter's henshin stick. We
must find her. Usagi, since you're the princess, I
bet you could sense her. Just reach out, during the
day where-ever, and if you feel something, it's
probably her, or another senshi. And if Rei or
Ami's not around, you just have to pin-point the
source. Then, sorta, I dunno, try to befriend her.
Find out her name. I can take it from there." The
henshin wand disappeared.

"So, we're looking for all the planets. What
about Earth, Venus, and Saturn, and all the others,
Luna?" Ami asked.

"There is no senshi of Earth. Artemis is in
England, looking for any other senshi he can find.
But the outer senshi are different. And, besides
that, we cannot access their wands anymore, which
means there is a good chance they have been
awakened."

"How could they awaken without you or that
other cat telling them and giving them their
henshin wands?" Rei asked. Usagi was listening, an
interested look on her face.

"Well, in rare cases, they awaken themselves.
The sub-conscious will give them dreams of their
past selves, and the henshin wand would appear. If
they took it, the memories would be returned.

"Or, Sailor Pluto could have done it, if she
felt there was need. Sailor Pluto is an immortal
senshi, basically. She can see into the future and
past." Luna said. "But she never interferes with
the flows. So the chance of her awakening a senshi
directly are slim."

"Oh." Usagi said. "That's funny. I had a
dream with a woman in a senshi fuku in it. That's
what made me think something was up. She said she
thought she would make things better, and
apologized. I got the impression she was a ghost.
She said, and I quote, Beware of the Darkness."

"Beware of the darkness." Rei closed her eyes
and chanted, over and over.

The fire blazed up, almost touching the high
ceiling. Rei's eyes flew open, pupils dilated. She
stared into the flames, as they continued to lick
at the air, seemingly rising higher.

"Rei-chan! Wake up!" Ami shrieked. Usagi just
watched the flames, trying to see what Rei saw. The
fire died down. Rei jumped up, startled.

"Rei! Rei! What did you see?" Luna demanded.

"I saw a woman. She said the same thing,
Beware the darkness, but she also said that the
shadows are strong. We must fight as one.

"She also told me that we must go to the
theater day after tomorrow."

************************



"This would be much easier if Beryl didn't
have control." Usagi moaned. "I don't want to go to
the theater tomorrow. It's probably swarming with
soldiers. Why the theater, anyway? The youma don't
go there. What so special about the theater?"

Dammit, if only air could talk.

"Maybe it's not the theater." An idea dawned
on her. She grabbed her jacket, scrawled out a
hasty note for her mother and Luna, and ran off,
grabbing her locket on the way out.

Who knows when you may need to kick butt?

She ran almost the whole way, but had to slow
down as she approached it; she side was beginning
to hurt again.

It was a bit strange, how fast they healed.
Maybe it had something to do with them being
senshi. But all her wound was now was a slight
scratch/scab thing. The stitches had begun to
disappear, so Usagi knew it was getting better.

The theater.

'Okay, girl. Look around for anything the
Nega-verse might want.' She instructed herself. She
wander around the street, gazing in the windows of
various shops, until she hit a curious one.

"Sarik Konik." She read aloud.

"Oh, yes! It's a very healing place to be." A
woman, who had seemingly popped out of no where,
said. "It heals your karma, makes you all peaced
out, ya know? It's a whole new you."

"No, thank you." A dark, pitted feeling in
the bottom of her stomach made her uneasy. "I have
to be home in a few, see you!" She ran off a ways
and stopped. She pulled out her communicator.

"Rei here. Sup?"

"Ami here. What's wrong, Usagi?"

"Guys, it's not the theater. It's a shop
about half a block away from that. I'm at it right
now, should we do something or wait until
tomorrow?"

"Are you sure?" Rei was skeptical.

"Yes, I'm positive."

"Okay. Um, Ami? I think she should go on
ahead, and we'll get there ASAP."

"That's okay with me." Ami said.

"Alright. Usa out." She put up her
communicator. Just as she was holding up her
locket, a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"Odango-chan. Sup?"

"Mamoru! Let me go!" She twisted from his
grasp, hiding the locket behind her back. "I'm
busy."

"Sure you are." he said.

"Go away!" She ran away, down the street and
around the corner, and then she ducked into the
alley way.

"MOON SILVER POWER MAKE UP!" She shouted,
before he could catch up to her. She ran back
retracing her steps, scaring and freaking out a lot
of people, Mamoru included.

"It's that girl from the news." he said
aloud. A tingling sensation in the back of his head
sent shivers down his back. He felt the urge to
run, and even though he tried to resist it, his
feet moved as though they were their own.

A magical aura appeared around him...

********************


"It's that girl."

"The one the generals are after."

"YOU GO GIRL!"

"Catch her! She's worth millions."

"Let her go! She'll save us all."

"Hush, Robert. Do you want to be killed?" A
chorus of voices rang out, as she ran by. Mamoru
had detained her, made her loose time.

Time was very precious.

"Alright, you disgusting piece of Nega-
trash." She opposed the woman who had tried to get
her to go in the shop. "How dare you use tricks to
steal energy. A pretty soldier in a sailor suit, I
am Sailor Moon! I punish you in the name of moon!"

"Oh, what have we here? Jadeite will love your
head, deary. On a platter!" The woman twisted and
snarled. A flash of dark light hid her from the
view of the crowd.

A youma, fierce and snarling, now stood not
even four meters away from Sailor Moon, who didn't
flinch.

'Come on, senshi. This one's a lot bigger
than the one's on that raid. It's almost like this
was...'

"A trap." She said aloud.

"Oh, goodie. The sap has a brain. How
surprising." It growled.

"Of course I do." Sailor Moon said simply,
taking out her staff. She struck it into the
ground, stalling. "You're going to die. Why don't
you give up and just go back to your 'Queen', and
tell her about me? She'll reward you if you can
give her a description, you know."

A greedy glint appeared in the youma's eye.
For a second, she thought the youma was really
going to go away.

"But a bigger reward shall come if I bring in
your dead body!" It howled.

"Oh, shit." She dodged, as it flew at her.
Dammit, just when you think Luck is on your side...

"WORLD SHAKING!" A ball of yellow energy
zoomed past Sailor Moon and rammed into the youma,
throwing it through the glass of the store.

Ouch.

Two Sailor Senshi, one with yellow bows and a
blue skirt, the other with greenish bows and a dark
blue-green skirt, came up on either side of Sailor
Moon.

"Good. Thanks for the help." Sailor Moon said
gratefully. "You're the outer senshi."

"Right, princess. Pluto has told us about
your situation. I am Sailor Neptune, and this is
Sailor Uranus."

"Princess." Uranus said shortly. Her eyes
never left the youma. At that moment, two things
were on her mind. Kill the youma. Protect the
princess.

"I'm Sailor Moon, please."

"DEEP SUBMERGE!" Neptune yelled, throwing the
youma back yet again after it tried to crawl over
the broken glass to resume it's fight.

"Break up, both sides at once." Uranus said
to her partner. She nodded, and they sprang up in
the air. Without warning, the youma jumped out of
the glass, heading for the one Beryl had ordered
must be killed, at any cost.

A rose blocked it's path.

"MOON LOVELY RAINBOW KISS!" She shouted,
taking the chance while the youma pondered over the
razor sharp rose imbedded in the pavement.

It exploded in dust just as Mars and Mercury
made the scene.

************************


A woman, leaning on a key, watched a large
mirror in front of her, worry etched into her face.

"Dammit, it's all screwed up, all happening
too fast." She whispered. "That's not right. But
they needed help, and Jupiter is not ready to
awake, and Venus is on her way. Saturn should only
be awoken in case of extreme emergency. I am not
allowed to fight unless the situation grows more
dire. Sailor Moon is remembering all, much too
fast. Their attacks are stronger than what it
should be. Tuxedo Kamen is not the way he was
supposed to be. Beryl has control." She ran through
the list of her problems.

And there was the problem of time.

Since it was so messed up, she could only see
about an hour into the future, correctly.

An hour wasn't enough.

She was Sailor Pluto, the hundredth link in a
chain that would be miles long. Her real name was
Setsuna Meioh.

The moment she picked up the staff she new it
was wrong.

It would tale a miracle to fix it.

And when you needed a miracle, you called on
a Lunarian.

*************************


"Who threw that rose?" Uranus demanded, after
making absolutely sure Sailor Moon was okay.

"It came from up there." A little boy pointed
to the roof of a building, where a man in a tuxedo
and cape, with a mask and a ridiculous hat was
standing. He gave a little wave and disappeared.

"Dammit." Sailor Moon groaned, as she felt
her side bleeding again. She must have ripped it
open when she fired her attack.

"Oh, geez. Come on, Sailor Moon, before the
soldiers get here." Mars whispered.

"What's wrong? Neptune asked.

"She's hurt." Mercury explained. "Her side
was ripped open by a youma."

"Oh." In one swift motion, Sailor Moon was in
Uranus's arms. "Let's go." She said, ignoring the
fact red was beginning to seep through the bodice
of the fuku. They ran off just as more youma began
to approach. Mars and Neptune threw their attacks
at them. In order to keep them from following,
Mercury used some of her magic to cast a fog. They
ran, Uranus going just as fast, or maybe faster
than, the others.

"We're far enough." Neptune gasped, after a
very longer time. She and Uranus weren't even
breathing hard. Mercury and Mars were a different
story.

"Dammit." Sailor Moon repeated. She
dehenshined after Uranus set her down. She
inspected her cut.

"It just tore open a little. Damn nerves."
She murmured.

"So, you're senshi too." Mercury said.

"I should hope so." Neptune said, powering
down in a flash of light.

"I know you... you're Kaioh Michiru." Usagi
said, smiling. "And you're Ten'oh Haruka." She said
to the powered down Uranus.

"Dammit, Michi-chan. There *is* a person
smarter than me." Haruka pouted.

"Her ego's very delicate." Michiru said in
mock concern.

"Okay, we've got help. That just leaves one
question."

"What's that, Rei-chan?" Ami asked.

"Who was that masked man?"



A month of terror, Usagi thought wryly, as
she marked on the calendar with a crescent moon the
One month anniversary of becoming Sailor Moon.

Days of waking up at some ungodly hour in the
morning or night to stop raids, or surprise attack
the Dark kingdom. Quickly they had learned all the
tricks of guerilla warfare.

It an odd way, it was like weaving a
difficult piece of cloth. You were the thread,
trying to avoid being tangled up in the others,
that were the enemy.

Yes, I've got a lot of spare time.

"Dammit." Usagi murmured, as she fell back on
her bed. For the last four days, she had gotten
about five hours of sleep. Max.

She knew it was taking it's toll on the
others, too, but not as bad as she. They had worked
it all out. Every other time they had to get up an
go, Uranus, Neptune, and Moon went. On the reverse,
it was Mars, Mercury, and Moon.

She had to go every time, for she was the most
powerful. Luna knew of her exhaustion, but not to
it's full extent. Usagi hid it as well as she could
from the others.

Other times, they were on the defense, when a
deliberate trap was set for them. They were harder
and harder to avoid being caught, now that Nephrite
and Jadeite worked together.

But they succeeded. And little by little, they
were winning.

Beryl was enraged. She slept not a wink,
throwing fits Satan himself feared when her minions
failed. She was losing patience.

She had just began to relax, just began to
think that nothing more could threaten her throne,
when...

Sailor Moon happened.

She did not know of a Sailor Moon. This new
senshi did not exist in the silver millennium, she
was sure of it. That's why, for the first few
incidents, she thought it was some hoax, a trick by
some computer genius that had found out about the
silver millennium.

But then she began having nightmares.
Nightmares of her ruin. She knew it was no joke
now, and was terrified.

Even the fearless fear.

A woman was at the base of it all, with an
assistant she had brought forth from the Black
Pits. Together they sent warnings, and yes, even
the nightmares. They worked all the time, for they
had no need for sleep.

One was dressed in the purest of whites, the
other in the darkest of purples.

Both were dead.

*******************



"Ooo-kay doakie. So, we're here, to decide
whether we should go risk our lives or go risk our
lives. So, who's up for risking our lives?" Usagi
asked, after a momentary lull in the conversation.
They were at an infamous senshi meeting, this time
being held at Usagi's house, Haruka and Michiru
included.

"DO we have a choice?" Ami groaned. "It's
been a month. We've barely made a dent, and now
*two* generals are after us."

"So you're saying we should give up." Haruka
sounded angry.

"No!" Ami was shocked. "Of course not! I have
not forgotten my oath, nor my mission. I'm saying
we need more fire power. Tuxedo Kamen can't always
save us. I think we need to search for the missing
senshi. Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and Pluto. Maybe
with their help we can do something."

"She's got a point." Rei said. "We're all
going to have to show, pretty soon. Sailor Moon's
power is strong, but it needs to increase at the
same speed the youma's. And since that's not
possible--"

"I can do something." Usagi looked at the
floor. "I remember something. But I'm not even sure
where it is-- or if it still exists."

"What?" Michiru asked.

"The crescent sword."

"The what?" Rei asked, but Ami had pulled out
her computer.

"The Crescent Sword of Artemis." Ami said.
"Yes, Usagi-chan, it should exist. But we will not
be able to get to it without all the senshi."

"Why not?" Michiru asked.

"Because it's on the moon. And in order to
teleport, we must have the power of all the inner
senshi." Usagi said.

"Oh. So, it's back to square one, then.
Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Pluto." Rei sighed.

"Not Saturn and Pluto." Haruka said. "Pluto
is not allowed to fight and if Saturn awakes, the
world shall end."

"What's so bad about that? At least we'd beat
Beryl." Usagi murmured. Rei looked crestfallen. "We
can't destroy the reason we're fighting, Usagi.
Duh."

"Dammit." Usagi forced a grin.

"Hey, we've been too busy, but Rei and Usagi
are able to sense power levels. So, if we split
into two groups, and go all over the area, we might
chance upon on of them." Ami said, putting away the
computer. "Haruka and Michiru will go with Usagi,
and I will go wi--"

"No, Ami. I can't sense Jupiter's energy with
another senshi around." Usagi spoke up quietly.
Haruka opened her mouth to protest, but closed it
after a pointed look from Michiru.

"Okay. Rei, do you want someone to go with
you?" Michiru asked.

"No, that's okay." Rei said. She and Usagi
stood up.

"You guys figure out some battle strategies.
If we're not back in two hours, search for us."
Usagi flashed them a V for victory sign and headed
out the door. Rei smiled before following her.

*******************



"An hour. An hour, and nothing." Usagi
grumbled, as she stomped around Tokyo. "You'd think
that someone would-- what the?" She stopped in her
tracks, as the strangest feeling made her fall to
her knees. It was not the dark feeling she got when
the Dark Kingdom was around-- this feeling made her
feel safe.

"Luna said whatever drew me or whatever
seemed out of the ordinary." She murmured, standing up and
looking around her.

A flash of blonde hair not unlike her own
caught her eye. It belonged to a girl that she
herself could have mistaken for herself. A white
cat was in the girl's arms, and the girl herself
appeared to be searching too, with her blue eyes.

Blue met blue. Usagi and the other girl
stared at each other. Neither moved a muscle.

Who would confront the other?

"A senshi." Usagi's lips formed the words.
The other girl looked startled, but the cat jumped
down and weaved through the crowd to Usagi.

"If that's a senshi, you must be Artemis."
She said to the cat, scooping it up and rubbing
it's moon mark.

Luna loved that.

Artemis purred. Then, he remembered the
mission.

"You know about Luna?" He asked. If the girl
was a minion of Beryl, she'd be surprised.

"Yes, she's my kitty. Let me, guess, that's
Venus. Luna said you were looking for her. I found
you both. Luna will be so happy!" Usagi smiled.

"Yes, her name's Minako." Artemis answered,
while trying to figure out which senshi the girl
was.

"Minako!" Usagi called. "Minako! Come here!"
the blonde girl smiled, realizing Artemis must have
told the girl her name, and if Artemis trusted
someone, so did she. She knocked two people over in
her mad dash to get to the girl and her cat.

"You're one of them?" Still, Minako thought,
you couldn't be too careful.

"And so are you. Come on, let's go. The rest
are at my house. Mercury, Mars, Uranus, and
Neptune."

"Then who are you? You don't look or feel
like Jupiter." Minako racked her brain for another
senshi. This surely wasn't Pluto... or Saturn...

"I'm Moon." Usagi glanced around. "Hush.
There is a three million yen reward on our heads."
She whispered. "Many people will turn us in, no
matter what becomes of the earth." Minako nodded,
eyes wide. That was a lot of money.

"Come on, then. I'll call Rei when we get out
of this crowd. She'll be glad to get a break. We
really need the help, Minako-chan. I'm glad you're
here."

"So am I, princess."


**********************



Beep Beep Beep. Beep Beep Beep. Beep Beep
Beep. Beep Beep Be--

"Moon here." Usagi grabbed her communicator
and looked at the clock. The blazing red numbers
stared back at her.

3:29 A.M.

"Merc had a dream. I checked the fire. We've
got a full blast raid, not too far from your place,
Usagi. Instead of the usual, Venus, can you come?"

"Already on it, Rei." Venus answered.

"And Haruka and Michiru."

"On our way." Michiru answered.

"It's pretty big, so Ami, you and I will go
too. The fire was vague, but I can see a lot of
youma and soldiers. Usagi? I'm not sure-- but you
know that shelter?" Rei asked. Her face was pale.

"Yes. But why would you ask about the shel--
Oh, my god. Rei, you're not serious." Usagi had her
locket clenched tightly in her hands.

"I am."

"Okay, Minna. Let's go!" Usagi threw the
communicator on the bed. "Luna, stay here." She
ordered, and transformed. She jumped out her
window, and began running. Up ahead of her she saw
Sailor Venus.

It was a coincidence, really, how Minako's
house was just three houses down from Usagi's. It
gave their princess added protection.

"Sailor Venus! Wait up!" She called, just
loud enough for Venus to hear. The 'ai no senshi'
stopped, and waited for Sailor Moon.

"Come on. I saw that center on my way here.
It's jammed full of people, and they've probably
over a million American dollars in that safe, not
to mention yen and pounds and God only knows what
else." Venus gasped, as they drew nearer the
shelter.

"I know... all those people." Sailor Moon
pulled her staff out. They hid in the shadows.

"Two guard youma. That would mean about
seven, eight youma inside and not to mention
soldiers, but they aren't much threat." Sailor Moon
saw the glint of steel in Venus's left hand.

"Do you want the pleasure, or should I?"
Sailor Moon motioned to the two youma.

"I will." Venus whispered. "It's been a while
since I've been Venus, and I'd like some target
practice before heading into hell." She raised her
right arm.

"VENUS ADOR!" She yelled. A beam of yellowish
white light formed a sphere in her cupped hand. The
guards foolishly looked her way. She threw it at
them.

It was faster that the eye could follow. It
went right through them and returned to her hand.
The youma stared at the holes in their chests
before falling over, lifeless.

"Good work." Moon whispered, and they
cautiously entered the wide double doors.

"It's too quiet." Venus whispered.

"This is a trap." Sailor Moon realized, about
a second too late. Nets were thrown over them, and
she saw something come down on Venus's head.
Something was slipped around her neck.

The world grew dark as it tightened...


***********************


"We're too late." Uranus whispered, when the
walked past the fallen guards and into the
building, to find a mess and Venus, some blood and
a couple of soldiers. They took out the soldiers
with a vengeance, leaving one. Neptune began to
question him mercilessly.

"Where did you people take them?" She hissed.

"I'm not telling you." He gasped in pain.
Uranus growled at him, and the next thing he knew,
he was being held up by his throat against a wall
by a very angry senshi.

"Now." She said through clenched teeth.

"Alright! They took the two senshi to a
warehouse on 56th street! They're going to torture
them until they reveal their identities or tell
them who you are." He said.

"DEEP SUBMERGE!" Neptune yelled. Uranus
jumped out of the way, The soldier had no time to
react.

Mercury and Mars ran in.

"What's up? Mars asked. "Something's wrong."

"They took Venus and Moon."

"Where?"

"A warehouse. On 56th street."

"There are a hundred warehouses there!" Mars
groaned, hitting her head against the wall.

"I might be able to pinpoint them if I'm
close enough with the computer." Mercury said, her
visor appearing as she typed away at her computer.

"Let's go."


(****************************




"I'm not telling you anything." Venus said
fiercely.

"And if you think you'll get anything out of
me, you insane." Sailor Moon hissed, as they were
dragged through the streets.

'Where is he? Where is Tuxedo Kamen?' She
yelled at herself.

"Oh, you'll talk. Jadeite and Nephrite will be
so pleased we've finally captured you." A youma
rasped in it's hoarse voice.

"Why are those names so familiar?" Venus
asked.

"I was thinking the exact thing. It's
probably just because we've heard them so often."
Sailor Moon sounded confident, ignoring the little
voice in her head telling her something else,
something just too quiet for her to hear...

"Where are you taking us?" Venus asked. She
wished she hadn't dropped her knife when they
knocked her out.

"What does it matter to you, Senshi?" A
soldier spat. Venus took a mental note to kill that
one slowly.

"I think.. that if I concentrate my energy...
I can make it go throw my tiara by itself..."
Sailor Moon whispered, her tiara giving off a
slight light. The youma and soldiers didn't notice
it.

"And if it doesn't? Your head will blow up."

"It's my magic."

"It will still kill you."

"Venus, we have to do something."

"You're the princess. You're not going to
die."

"Shut up. We've got to carry you, but we
don't have to listen to you." A youma snapped.

"Then let us walk on our own. We're not
invalids." Sailor Moon retorted. In response, she
was dropped onto the ground.

"OW!" Venus yelled, as she was dropped too.

"Good idea." The youma smiled nastily.
"Walk."

"Fine." Sailor Moon struggled to her feet.
Venus and she walked in front of the youma, so
their hands were hidden. Slowly, Sailor Moon worked
the ropes off.

"Venus?"

"Got em." Venus turned slightly so Sailor
Moon could see the loose ropes.

"On the count of three." Sailor Moon
whispered. "One... Two..."

"THREE!" they shouted together, and did a
graceful back flip over the heads of the youma and
soldiers.

"VENUS ADOR!"

"MOON LOVELY RAINBOW KISS!" They yelled their
respective attacks. there were still too many to
deal with, but they could run...

"Come on, girl. We can't take em." Venus
said.

"I'm going to kill them even if I go with
them. At least that way I can ensure they'll make
it to hell." Sailor Moon's eyes narrowed.

"Alright." Venus grinned insanely. "Artemis
and Luna are gonna kill us..."

"Who cares?" Sailor Moon asked, and swung her
staff around her, and struck into the ground with a
mighty blow. "LUNAR ECLIPSE!" She shouted. For a
split second, there was total silence. Not the,
'everyone stopped talking' silence. The 'Deaf'
silence. Even the insects fell silent. Then, a
flash of light filled the sky. A huge silver
crescent moon huge above Sailor Moon's head. She
thrust the moon on the staff in the center of it,
and mumbled a few words of a forgotten tongue. By
her command, the crescent moon zoomed towards the
helpless youma, slicing them all in half. The
soldiers simply went up in smoke, not even a bit of
dust was left of them.

"May the Moon's curse lay upon your master's
head." Sailor Moon whispered, before collapsing.






"Oh, my god. What did she do?" Artemis asked,
seeing Usagi for the first time. Two days after the
incident, Usagi had still not woken up. The Dark
Kingdom was beginning to catch on Sailor Moon was
gone. Michiru had called Usagi's mother to tell her
Usagi would be staying with them for a few days,
not to worry, they would see she got to school. It
had taken a lot of talking, but it still didn't
work. Luna had to hypnotize her to think that Usagi
had permission to stay at Ami's for a week.

I want that cat.

"I've told you a thousand times. She used a
new attack, whispered something, and fainted."
Minako said.

"She must have drained her energy." Artemis
murmured.

"It was amazing, you guys." Minako added.
"There was this hole quietness. Like you couldn't
talk even if you wanted to. Then, the sky went
light, then dark, and she threw a moon at them."

She went on, seeing it in her mind.

"What was the attack, Mina-chan?" Luna asked.

"It sounded like Moon Eclipse."

"ECLIPSE?!" shouted Luna and Artemis,
freaked.

"Are you sure?" Artemis added.

"Yes."

"Damn! Stupid, stupid, brave girl." Luna hit
her head against the floor.

"Why?" Haruka asked.

"Because she used up every single ounce of
strength and energy she had! Maybe even more than
she had! Stupid! It may take days, WEEKS until she
wakes." Artemis answered, while Luna continued to
abuse both the floor and her head. "She probably
knew what she was doing, too."

"Probably? I'm sure she did!" Luna paused
long enough to say.

"I'm a doctor." A low voice from the doorway
said. They all glanced up.

Tuxedo Kamen.

"What the hell? How'd you get in here?"
Haruka demanded.

"DO you want me to help your friend or not?"
He growled. 'Usagi-chan, you always manage to get
yourself in some kind of scrape.' He thought wryly
as Haruka reluctantly stood aside. 'At least,
that's what Motoki's told me, and that's what I can
see. Let's see your friend use the mad dog excuse
this time.'

"What's your name?" Ami asked.

"Tuxedo Kamen."

"Your real name, buster." Rei moaned. Tuxedo
Kamen took Usagi's pulse before answering.

"Buster."

"Arg!" Rei hit her head against the wall.

"She should be awake." He said to himself. "I
wonder what she did this time to get this way."

"I am awake, baka. I was just listening."
Usagi mumbled weakly, her words no more than a
whisper.

"USAGI!" Five girls leapt to the bedside. Two
cats jumped on top of her.

"Bye." Tuxedo Kamen disappeared before their
eyes.

"How does he do that?" Minako asked,
narrowing her eyes.

*********************


Usagi went around the house, straightening
things up and running a damp cloth over the wood.

Light housekeeping, her mother called it.
Usagi called it torture. But she did it without
complaining today, singing a small song that she
had learned in the silver millennium. A lady with a
staff like hers, only different, had once sang it
to her, and told her to remember it.

And so she had, through centuries.

"Far, far into the distant horizon
"Let's ride the wind on forgotten wings
"Someday we will surely meet
"As we look smilingly towards the future
"Which beckons us on
"Come let's begin our journey
"To a new world
And open the door to the legend of memory."

And that was all she remembered. There was more,
and perhaps she didn't have it right, but she liked
it that way.

"Usagi, what were you singing?" Ikuko asked,
looking up from her paper.

"Just a song someone told me." Usagi answered
truthfully.

"Uh-hmm. Why are you singing in English?"

"I was?" Usagi wondered. "I don't know. I
didn't notice."

"You didn't notice you were singing in
another language?" Ikuko raised an eyebrow.

"I've been distracted lately. And that's the
way I heard it... are you sure it's English?"

"I think so. Go ask your father. I'm not too
good at it myself."

It wasn't English. It was ancient Lunarian.
The answer came to her the moment she asked her
question.

"Lunarian." She whispered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, mom." An idea slowly crept into her
head. "Hey mom? You know those Sailor girls that
have been all over TV? What do you think of them?"
She might as well learn her mother's opinion now.

"I think they're fools to oppose Beryl.
Heaven knows we tried to fight her, but we lost.

"On the other hand, they've panicked the
generals, which was more than our armies ever
managed to do."

"So you're not against them?" Usagi asked
hopefully.

"Why would be against someone trying to bring
that witch down?" Ikuko replied. "One of my friends
saw them-- they rescued her neighbors from a raid.
She said that Sailor Moon was leaning on another
senshi as she ran out, like she was hurt."

"Uh-huh." Usagi kept the huge smile from
spreading out on her face.

"What the name of that song, dear?" Ikuko
asked, changing the subject.

"I'm not sure... she never told me." Usagi
answered.

Her communicator went off. Ikuko jumped at
the sound.

"What's that?" She asked.

"It's.... my er.... uh, beeper." Usagi's face
flushed.

"Beeper?"

"Yeah, Ruka-chan bought it for me." Usagi
lied quickly. "I've got to go, Mama. See you
later."

"Okay, Usagi." Ikuko looked worried as her
daughter ran out of the house at top speed.

*******************



"Okay, what is it?" Usagi said, standing by a
pay phone, talking into her communicator.

"it's called a challenge." Rei murmured back.
"Apparently Nephrite has killed Jadeite, under
Beryl's orders. Nephrite has taken a school
hostage. Usagi, this isn't going to be simple
dodging in and out anymore. it's full out war, from
this second on. Transform, and go to this address."
Rei told Usagi an address just outside of Tokyo.
"It's the big Mansion. I'm on my way. Haruka and
Michiru are there. You're to go get Luna and wait
for Minako to pick you up. Say good bye to your
mother." Rei said, and turned away. Tears were
threatening to fall.

"Oh, Rei, you can't mean it." Usagi cried.

"Gomen, Odango Atama. I do. Hurry. We've got
to decide about the school." the communicator went
off. Usagi put hers up.

Today was the beginning of the end.

"But I'm only fifteen." She moaned. Suddenly,
she straightened, up ashamed of her tears. She was
a warrior.

She ran home, but halfway there, almost in
sight of her door, she was nearly knocked down by a
sense of energy.

Another senshi.

"Where? Who?" She asked aloud. The only
person on the street was a girl about her age, only
much taller, with brown hair pulled up in a
ponytail.

"Sailor Jupiter." Damn. She had to run away,
and on top of it, there was a new senshi to fill
in.

Oh, well. They didn't know who they were yet,
so she might as well ruin another girl's life.

"hello? Miss?" She asked, running up to the
girl, who turned.

"What?"

"Okay, I know you're not going to believe a
word I say, but you're a Sailor Senshi. Hi, I'm
Sailor Moon. You're Sailor Jupiter, to fight
against a force that outnumbers you by about twenty
thousand times infinity. Here's your wand." Usagi
handed the girl a green stick. "Come on, we have to
go, but first I have to pick up my talking cat."

"Are you crazy?" The girl asked.

"Hey... what's your name?"

"Makoto."

"Well, Mako-chan, come on. Please. I'll
explain on the way, and if you don't want to do it,
I'll let you walk away."

"Alright..." Imagine this. The girl's
probably scared witless.

"Minako!" Usagi yelled to the blonde
approaching her house.

"Usagi! Artemis went to get Luna! You are
supposed to be inside-- Oh. Who's this?" Minako
asked.

"Sailor Jupiter. You keep her right here
while I go tell mom I'm not coming back." Usagi
said. Minako raised an eyebrow but began telling
Makoto exactly what she was to do, without freaking
her out like Usagi had.

Usagi ran into the house, grabbed Luna and
Artemis off the bed and let them climb out the
window.

"Luna, go to Minako, I found a new senshi,
and she's most likely scared to death. I sorta gave
it to her fast and quick. Minako's trying to
explain, but...."

"Oh, Usagi, you didn't!" Luna gasped.

"That's just plain cruel." Artemis added.
they went to go rescue Makoto.

Usagi quickly grabbed her schoolbag and put
in some pictures, and some clothes, and whatever
else she could fit in. She looked around the room
once more, and sighed.

She'd probably never see it again like this.

With a heavy heart she trudged down the
stairs. With each step she came closer and closer
to tears, but she held them in.

She was a senshi. Not a cry baby.

"Usagi? What's wrong? You whizzed through
here like lightning!" Ikuko asked.

No tears, Usagi told herself.

"Mama, I'm sorry, but some people are after
me. I can't stay here, it'd put you guys in too
much danger. I have to go away. Don't tell anyone
I'm gone, okay? If you did, they'd figure out who I
was..." her throat choked up Ikuko was rooted to
the spot, mouth hanging open.

"Are you serious?" She asked finally.

"Yes, Mama. I've got to go. Please, just tell
them I'm sick and can't come out. My friend's
lives, your lives, and my life are at stake. They
are very ruthless people. I'd love to tell you who,
what, when, where.... and why..." Damn tears. "But
I can't. Maybe some other time."

"But Usagi..."

"No. Bye." Usagi walked out the door. She
finally let the tears flow.

Good bye, life.
--------------------------

Ah, the first half. Hmm... I like how it cuts off. You just got to love a psychotoc, fourteen-year-old Black Beyond, ne? I'll get the other part out when I'm done formatting it. -_-;;;

If you're really impatient, you can go read it all on ASMR. (www.moonromance.com/lib.htm)

It's under the pen name Black Rose.