Chapter 2
Mamoru and Usagi stood together, away from the others. He looked into her eyes and smiled. She smiled back gently and touched his face.
"Mamo-chan, what's happening?"
He sighed and kissed her hand. "I don't know. I seem to be particularly susceptible to dreams, though, and this one is the worst ever."
"Do you think it has something to do with your power?"
"Well, yes and no. I'm connected to the dream world through Elios and my past and future as Endymion. I can't escape that. So I guess enemies have a route to me that way, thought I thought that Elios was guarding the gate for me. Well," he chuckled weakly, "maybe there's a back way I wasn't aware of." He shook his head. "I just don't know, Usa-ko. I don't know if it's got anything to do with psychometry or not.
"I'm worried about you, though. No." He put his hand to her lips as she started to speak. "Listen. You're my life. I mean that. I don't say it enough, but I do love you. And, Usagi, if anything were to happen to you, I would die. This creature in my dream, it wants you, but it wants me, too. I won't let it get you, and it can't destroy us! So, I've got to figure out what to do. I'm afraid the next dream will release the creature on us. What will happen if it gets out?"
"Mamo-chan. We've fought together before; we'll fight this enemy, too. I love you, and I know we'll protect each other. By the way, you're right. You don't tell me enough." She took his hand. "But I'm always glad to hear it."
"I love you," he said again, smiling. "Kiss me, Usa." And she did.
Holding hands, they walked over to the others.
"Have you thought of anything?" he asked.
Ami shook her head. "I think we need more time, Mamoru. This is a new one for us."
"Yeah," Makoto agrees. "I can kick butt out here, but in your dreams? I don't know!"
"The danger," Rei said, "is not in Mamoru's dreams. The danger is in what happens if his dreams get out here. We need to know who's controlling the dream, who's sending it to you? And why? Until we know that we're all in danger."
"We need to be on guard," Mamoru agreed. "We need to be in constant communication. Minako, Makoto, and Luna, stay here with Rei. Could you attempt more discussion with your spirits?" Rei nodded, her face grim. "The rest of us will go to the command center and see what the computers can tell us." He smiled at the concerned girls. "Thank you all for letting me talk to you, and for getting involved. We work well together, and we'll figure this out."
~~~
Mamoru, Ami and Artemis talked all the way to the control center. Usagi listened halfheartedly, thinking furiously to herself about what was going on.
Dreams. Well, they had fought enemies over dreams before, with Elios, but in dreams? Mamoru was so sure that the danger was real, and she trusted him. After all, he was so much smarter than she was, and he knew so much more about everything. She was an idiot!
"U~~~sa~~~giiii"
She started and looked around. The others were still talking, arguing about space and time shifts, whatever that was! But there was no one talking to her.
"Huh?"
Mamoru glanced her way and took her hand absently, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. "Usagi," he murmured.
She smiled. It warmed her soul to be so important to him, and she loved the small ways he let her know it.
"U~~~sa~~~giiii~~~~ I will destroy ~~~~~ you ~~~ both!"
She stopped and looked wildly around her.
"Did you guys hear that?" Usagi asked.
They looked at her. No, their expressions all said.
"A voice." She looked wide eyed at Mamoru. "I heard someone threaten us!"
"A voice?" Mamoru looked suddenly concerned, and glanced quickly but thoroughly around them. "Was it a woman?"
"Yes."
Ami frowned and looked at Artemis.
"We have to hurry."
~~~
Minako and Makoto sat in the sun and let it warm them. Luna slept fitfully in Minako's lap.
"I would feel better if we were all together," Minako said. "Why does Mamoru want us to stay here?"
"He said he wanted Rei to do more readings. Dreams and the spiritual world are closely linked, you know." Makoto sighed and crossed her ankles. "I'd rather fight than sit around, though. Man, I hate waiting."
Rei suddenly appeared in the doorway, her eyes huge in her pale face.
"Rei!" Minako and Makoto jumped up and hurried to help her, leading her to a bench in the sun. She sank thankfully down.
"Call Usagi," she said. "We've got to get to them right away. We're all in danger!"
"Right!" Minako said. She grabbed her cel phone and dialed Usagi. Quickly she filled her in. "We're on our way to join you. Don't leave!!"
"No threat of that! Our brainiacs are surfing the internet looking answers. We'll be here all day!"
~~~
"When I do a search for dreams, I find a Queen Mab coming up a lot," Artemis said.
"Isn't that from Romeo and Juliet?"
"Yes, I think you're right, Ami." Mamoru thought hard. "She's the Queen of dreams and Mercutio tells Romeo about her and the bad dreams she causes, or something like that."
"That's weird," Usagi said. "Does she show up anywhere else?"
"Yes, she appears in many myths and stories around the world. She goes back a long time," Artemis said.
"Check for any references or connections between Mab and moon," suggested Ami. "Maybe she has it in for you because of something that happened before."
"Or something in the future," Mamoru sighed. "It's hard enough living in the present. Why do the past and future keep interfering?"
He quickly looked at Usagi. "Don't worry," he said to her. "A complicated life with you is a life worth living!"