AN: *sighs* I have this most angsty pre-ending all planned out. But first, I have to get there...how utterly depressing, I finally have a done-but-not-written-down chapter and it's agonizingly far away.

Pisces199: Thank you for thanking me. ^^

HeerosSeducer: Urm...Duo's really mad at Hiiro because of the whole Perfect Soldier routine. This means that he will do anything to complete a mission. This really really pisses Duo off because the mission now involves Usagi, someone he is romantically involved with and might end up getting hurt. Cheer up, the ending is happy with...wait...I can't tell you that, can I?

Sailor Grape: You will definitely find out what happened in between, just a few chapters ahead I think.

Gackt Camui: Actually, Chiba Kivardi is NOT the reincarnated Mamoru. You'll find out what his relationship with him is later on. As for his name? Just made it up on the spot. Maybe there is a meaning to it, maybe not.

Moon Mage Goddess: *horrified gasp* The last chapter wasn't fluffy enough for you? Ah well, it was supposed to be bittersweet anyway. Plenty of fluff in the end though. Hopefully.

Twist of Fate

by

Iris

            "We're going to Sanq?"

            "Yes."

            "As in the Sanq Kingdom?"

            "Yes."

            "As in the Sanq Kingdom on the other side of the world?"

            "Yeeeees."

            "As in the Sanq-"

            "YES, ONNA! AS IN THE SANQ KINGDOM ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD WHERE PRINCESS RELENA RESIDES!"

            Usagi frowned at the huffing Wufei, "Jeesh, don't get your pantyhose all in a bundle. I was just asking."

            Wufei groaned and hit his head against the plane window several times in a row, "Why meeeeeeeee?"

            On the other side of Usagi, Duo snickered quietly at Wufei's predicament.

            "Excuse me, sir." a flight attendant approached their row.

            "What?"

            "Well, the pilot would like to ask you to stop banging your head against the window, you might crack it, and the other passengers in the middle class section would like you to keep your voice down. It disturbs some that are trying to get some sleep." the blue-clad lady said softly, a steely glint in her eyes, "The flight attendants would appreciate if you did these things so that we may have some rest before take-off."

            Duo's badly hid snickers turned into full blown laughter as Wufei switched from banging his head on the window to hitting it with the palm of his hand.

            "Good going, Usa-chan." he murmured, violet eyes sparkling with mischief, "That was classic."

            Usagi blinked ever so innocently at him, "What did I do? All I did was ask him a few 'harmless' questions."

            That sent Duo off into another bout of laughter that Usagi eventually joined in. The plane rumbled and a cheesy safety video came on, talking about keeping their seat belts on until the sign went off. The over-brilliant lights dimmed as the plane readied to take off out of Osaka, Japan in the dead of the night.

            Usagi sighed and clutched the arm rest as well as Duo's available arm, take-offs were never good for her, the flight was worse, and the landings were only mildly less disturbing than the flight. Duo chuckled as she commenced to cut off circulation to his hand.

            "Air sickness?"

            "Don't even make fun of it." Usagi choked out, clenching her eyes shut, "I assure you it won't be very funny if I decide to barf over you."

            Duo quieted for a moment, mulling over this new tidbit of information, finally, he looked over at Wufei who was pushing his chair back, "Ah, but that is what Wu-man is for."

            "MAXWELL!"

            "SIR! I'M WARNING YOU!"

            Wufei immediately shut up, sending nasty glares towards the general vicinity of the flight attendants. Duo laughed again, Usagi only swallowed, concentrating on keeping her before-plane snack down where it belonged. As the plane leveled out, she released her death-grip on Duo's arm and shifted in her seat to find a comfortable position.

            "I'm going to sleep." Usagi said softly, "Don't wake me or you'll have a very nasty, air sick companion on your hands."

            Duo nodded silently as did Wufei who turned and vowed to ignore the two next to him. Usagi gave a soft sigh as she half-curled around her seat belt and nestled her pillow on Duo's shoulder.

~dream sequence~

Usagi froze as she entered the realm of dank, grey fog.

"No."

She trembled, cerulean eyes wide with fright as she remembered the last time she had come here.

"No, not again...LET ME OUT, DAMMIT!"

The shriek cut through the silence, echoing before finally dieing out.

'Oh god, help me. Why me?'

And the figures appeared one by one. The raven-haired priestess. The blue-haired bookworm. The tall, lithe cook. The slender, curvaceous model. And lastly, the cold, calculating prince.

"Oh. my. god." Usagi scrambled away from them, tripping suddenly over a root that hadn't been there before.

"Ah, koishii..." the man loomed over her shivering form, the man with a voice so like Kivardi's yet completely different, "Remember me?"

"N...nn...nnno..." Usagi's eyes filled with panic as the figures surrounded her in a close circle.

"Remember me?"

"Remember me?"

"Remember me?"

"Remember me?"

Each of the girl's echoed his question, pale eyes glittering in the mist-filled air.

"Don't you remember us, koishii?"

"Don't you remember your friends?"

"I...dddon't knnnow who you aaaare." she stuttered, turning white when the man leaned over her.

"Are you sure, Usako?"

"Leave me alone!"

"Usagi-chan..." the blonde model smiled eerily, "can't you remember the people you killed?"

"Wwwhat?"

"You killed us." the brunette hissed, "You killed us all."

"And now look what you've done!" the blue-haired girl cried as their flesh seemingly melted off of their bones.

Soon, all that was left were rotting skeletons that reached for her with sun-bleached bones.

"Look at us now."

            Usagi swallowed and averted her eyes immediately, she soon found that she now lay on ripples of water that horribly distorted the already grotesque corpses.

"She can't even look at us." the priestess snarled, a boned hand tugging at the scraps of hair that remained on her flesh-speckled skull, "She can't stand to look at us."

'Somebody help me...'

The model, whose eyes remained unnaturally bright despite the rest of her bleached body glared at Usagi through her reflection, "I had a future."

"As did I."

"As did I."

"As did I."

"As did we."

"And you destroyed what we had without even blinking."

"And now you can't even look at your handiwork."

'Help me...anybody help me...just...help...'

The man leaned over her and brushed a shredded finger over her cheek, "Why are you scared of me, koishii?"

Usagi shuddered under his touch that was both bone and flesh.

"That is enough." a feminine voice commanded angrily as a shimmering figure appeared on the rippling water, her fingers raised in some sort of symbol, "Be gone!"

The corpses shredded into wisps of mist that a golden wind soon blew away. Usagi scrambled up and backed away from the new, more commanding figure.

"Who are you?"

The lady turned to look at her and Usagi found that she could not pinpoint any traits on her. Even her dress was a constantly shifting mess. The only thing she could see was fiery-golden eyes that softened as they focused on her.

"There is no need to be afraid, imouto-chan. I am only here to help. I'm just sorry I couldn't get rid of those things sooner." the lady smiled sadly, "As for me, I cannot tell you my name."

"I have a sister?"

"Yes. Hopefully one day you and I shall finally meet face to face."

"Aren't we doing that now?"

"Not exactly." the lady gestured around the fog-ridden place with a hand that left behind golden sparks, "This is a sort of...soul room, I guess. It contains banished memories from the past that will one day come back to you. Those figures were from the past."

"Did I really kill them?"

The lady frowned, "I'm not really sure."

Usagi paused, "When will I get my memories back?"

Again the lady frowned before answering, "For the time being, only your true form can summon them. Once you pass the test however..."

Suddenly, her head jerked up, red-gold eyes widening. Almost as swiftly as she came, she began vanish in a flurry of glimmering sparks.

"Wait!" Usagi cried, reaching out towards the rapidly fading woman, "What test? What true form?"

~end dream sequence~

            Usagi woke with a gasp, hands clenching the arm rest instinctively as her stomach heaved. She moaned softly, blue eyes fluttering as her stomach threatened to heave again. Next to her, Duo lay asleep, head bowed foreword, shadowing any visible features. Not that there was much to see, only the miniscule glimmerings that marked the path between seats showed as the plane continued to soar at over 1500 feet.

            Wufei grunted, catching her attention as she glanced his way.

            "What?"

            "You okay, onna?" he questioned rudely, obsidian eyes flicking off to the side, "You were crying out in your sleep."

            Usagi blushed darkly, thankful for the dimly-lit plane, "It was just a nightmare. About...about-" her brow furrowed, "Actually, I can't remember. There were these ghastly corpses and then everything just blurs."

            Wufei nodded curtly and turned towards the window, "Get some sleep, onna. We'll arrive in Sanq in a few hours."

            Usagi made a small noise of assent as she acknowledged his words, she unbuckled her seatbelt and brought her legs onto the blue plush seat. Curling inward slightly, she closed her eyes and silently waited for sleep to overtake her.

            Wufei quietly observed the blonde haired girl as she went to sleep, 'I hope, for Duo's sake, that this doesn't end badly.'

            But in his heart, he knew that there was no hope left.

~dream sequence~

"Imouto-chan."

Usagi turned, a thin silver dress flaring out slightly as she did so. Surprised, she glanced down and noticed that, for the first time, her attire had changed. Now decorated in a silky material that hugged her curves, she frowned at the fire-eyed lady.

"Why did you leave?"

The lady sighed, "Gomen, but they have eyes everywhere. I have told you too much as it is."

Usagi nodded ever so slightly, "Alright..."

The lady smiled sadly and waved an arm across the air, leaving behind a picture of a young adult. Black hair tumbled over the immobile girl's shoulders, spread out in an ebony fan of darkness. Darkness that contrasted so much with the brilliant metallic table she lay on.

"Who is she?"

"She is Carma, silenced until your ordeal is over. She is sealed in this room until another sees fit to release her." the lady waved her hand and the picture disappeared, "She is being punished for interfering. Only her soul may leave this room and then only into the mortal realm where she can do naught but observe."

"And you?"

"I have been banished from this system until you pass the test."

~end dream sequence~

            "Wake up, Usa-chan." Duo murmured softly, shaking the slumbering girl, "We're about to land, you have to buckle up."

            Usagi groaned softly as she swam back into consciousness, her hands moved as if they were in  a viscous liquid as she followed Duo's orders. The rapidly descending plane made her head spin as she leaned back and clenched her eyes shut.

            She barely felt the slowing of the plane as it touched down and came to a stop.

            "Hey, Usa, welcome to Sanq."

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.