Chapter 4:
The Dream:
As the flash of light faded, both Serena and Buffy found themselves in a place familiar, and very frightening at the same time. Their dream. In the black nothing. They could see each other as though they were bathed in light, though they couldn't see the source of whatever light it could be.
"What happened?" Buffy asked looking around.
When her eyes fell on Serena, and likewise, they widened in shock. "What-what are you…wearing…?" Buffy started to say, then noticing her own "dress". Serena stood before her what could easily be nightgown, yet was decorated more as an elaborate silk dress. It was pure white, with gold trimming and sequins around the bodice, and decorative shoulder sleeves. What's more, there were pearls in her hair that looked a great deal like feathers, and a strange tattoo of a gold crescent moon on the girl's forehead.
"I was about to ask the same thing," Serena said in a weak voice, trying to understand what was happening. Buffy was wearing something actually quite similar to Serena, in that it was white silk. It actually looked like some kind of Greek toga, with golden shield clasps at both shoulders. A golden silk rope was wrapped around her waist as a belt, along with sandals on her feet, also wrapped around her calves with the same gold silk rope. She noticed that she had golden arm braces on her forearms as well.
When Buffy looked back up after studying her new attire, she saw Serena's expression change to one of pure shock. "Serena?" she asked carefully.
"You-your… Your of the Moon Kingdom?" Serena finally gasped out.
"The what?!" Buffy near shouted.
"THE MOON KINGDOM," a booming voice suddenly sounded. "OF THE SILVER MILLENIUM. YOUR HERITAGE AND YOUR KINGDOM, SLAYER OF THE MOON."
"What? What are you talking about? Who…what are you first of all? Where are we? What do you want with us?" Buffy began to shout.
"ARE YOU FINISHED YET?" the voice sounded rather impatient. Both girls remained silent.
"GOOD. NOW IF YOU WOULD BE A LITTLE PATIENT, I WILL TELL YOU YOUR PURPOSE HERE, AND WITH EACH OTHER."
"YOU ARE BUFFY SUMMERS, SLAYER, THE CHOSEN ONE, GUARDIAN OF THE KEY. YOU HAVE DIED TWICE ALREADY. YOUR MOTHER DIED LAST SPRING, THREE MONTHS BEFORE YOU FACED OFF AGAINST A GOD BY THE NAME OF GLORIFICUS, OR GLORY. TO PROTECT YOUR SISTER, YOU CAST YOURSELF OFF THE TOWER AND INTO THE ENERGY THAT WOULD HAVE KILLED HER. YOU ARE A HERO."
"YOU ARE SERENA TSUKINO, PRINCESS, SAILOR SOLDIER, FUTURE NEO-QUEEN SERENITY. YOU WERE REBORN IN THIS TIME AFTER THE FALL OF YOUR KINGDOM FOUR THOUSAND YEARS AGO, SENT BY YOUR MOTHER, ALONG WITH YOUR COURT AND YOUR PRINCE. YOU ARE THE MOTHER OF PRINCESS SERINA, HOLDER OF THE KEY OF TIME AND THE FUTURE SILVER MOON CRYSTAL. YOU USE THE CURRENT SILVER CRYSTAL TO TRANSFORM INTO SAILOR MOON, PROTECTOR OF LOVE, JUSTICE, AND TRUTH. YOU TOO ARE A HERO."
Buffy and Serena turned to look at each other and from the looks on each other's face, they knew the strange voice had spoken the truth, no matter how bizarre it sounded to the other. Buffy looked back up at the voice, though she had no way of knowing where it could've originated from, and shouted, "How do you know so much about us? What are you? God?"
Sudden laughter could be heard, and if either girl didn't know any better, it was a very feminine laugh. "NO GIRLS, I AM NOT GOD, NOR WILL I EVER CLAIM TO BE. I JUST KNOW YOUR DESTINYS. I KNOW BOTH OF YOU AS WELL." It said gently. The blonds were stumped at that. They had only just met and didn't know each other, how could this voice know both of them, when they didn't even know the other.
"LET THE DREAM FINISH, AND I WILL EXPLAIN." The voice said after a moment. In the next second, the dream took it's own course, but now they both had company.
Suddenly, both Serena and Buffy were caught up in a dizzy rush, as though they were being spun around in place at high speeds. When it stopped, the two were standing side be side in the destroyed library of Sunnydale High. Though from the looks of it, it was still in pretty good condition. What's more, there were now eighteen chairs at the table, which had still not grown from what it was, but it looked as though each chair had it's own place with plenty of room.
"The Library?" Buffy couldn't stop herself from saying.
Serena looked sharply at the strange girl that had saved her from the demon just a few minutes earlier. This girl had short, neck-length hair, was only as tall as she herself was, and was dressed nearly identically to the way that her court had dress four millennia ago during the Silver Millennium. Except for three things. The gold arm bracers on her forearms, the golden shield clasps at both her shoulders, and then the one thing that drove the Moon Princess into shock. A gold upturned crescent moon tattoo on her forehead, identical in every way to her own.
"You know this evil place?" Serena bit out at her companion.
Buffy looked up at the tone in Serena's voice. She didn't particularly like it, but she could hardly blame the girl for being short with her. "Unfortunately, yeah I do. I spent the better part of three years here fighting that evil that is approximately two miles directly beneath this library. It's directly above the Hellmouth, a portal that leads straight to Hell. It's basically a mystical convergence, drawing in all these creatures and demons and a whole hell of a lot of strange things happen in this town too. All because of this place."
Serena now looked at Buffy with a new respect. She was a warrior, a protector…a hero just like her. And all the both of them wanted most out of life…was to be a normal girl. "I understand," Serena whispered beside her. Buffy only nodded, remaining impassive, despite the tears that she felt threatening to fall.
"But I don't understand," Buffy added. "There was never anymore than nine chairs here, and that was when it was crowded. I mean, maybe they represent how many people have helped me. There was Xander, Willow, Giles, Angel, then Cordelia, Oz, and…Faith. And Ms. Calender. But… I just don't understand!"
"YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO," the voice boomed once more. "NOT YET ANYHOW. THESE ARE JUST THE CLUES SLAYER OF THE MOON. YOU NEED ALL OF THEM TO COMPLETE THE PUZZLE."
"Oh, that's helpful," Buffy muttered sarcastically under her breath.
In the next instant, Buffy and Serena were suddenly assaulted by that spinning dizziness, and as soon as it quite, they were in Rei's Temple. "This is Rei's Temple," Serena told Buffy as soon as they both realized where they were.
"Oh," Buffy muttered. "I don't suppose that Rei is the Japanese name for God, huh?"
Serena gave her a look that told Buffy her answer, along with what Serena was beginning to think of her. "Well, it's…it's just that…like the big and up there voice said, I've died twice…and the last time…I swear that I was in heaven. And I just thought…when I started having these dreams…that this was a memory of heaven."
"I see," Serena said sympathetically.
"Is there anything strange here. Something out of place?" Buffy asked suddenly.
Serena studied the area around them, and realized that she too could tell that something was missing, something that was…off. Finally, she realized what it was. There were no birds. "The ravens," she muttered. "There should be birds nearly everywhere here."
"I wonder what happened to them?" Buffy wondered aloud.
In the next instant, they were attacked again by the spinning dizziness and found themselves back in the darkness. Buffy and Serena then muttered at the exact same moment, "I hate this part." And as had happened before, the next thing that they saw was a golden alter with a strange and ugly dragon figurine at the center of it. They both could feel the evil that it both represented and permeated. Then it just seemed to fade out of existence, only to be replaced by a point of intense and bright while light that shone in the distance like a star.
"What--?" the both started to scream, but they were cut off as the light became blindingly bright and in the next instance, they knew they were not alone.
"Who…?" Buffy left her question hanging while Serena instead cried out, "Mother!" and raced forward to embrace the serene figure that had appeared to the two blonds.
"Hello my daughter, hello Slayer of the Moon," the silver haired angel greeted.
To Be Continued…