Oneirophobia
Chapter 000: The Weevil Prologue (the lesser of the two evils)
Rini/Chibi-Usa tossed and turned in her attic room, calling out.
"Mama! Papa!" she called out in her sleep, thrashing about wildly, throwing her covers left and right. The longer she screamed, the louder she got. Someone got up, dashed up the stairs and threw open the attic door. Ikuko's head peeked in, and then entered slowly. She reached the distressed child in a matter of steps and sat down, trying to comfort the little pink haired girl. Rini awoke with a start and looked up at Ikuko, fear still lingering in her eyes. Rini leaned into her "aunt" (or so Ikuko believed herself to be), letting a few tears trickle down her cheek. Ikuko embraced her as the little girl sobbed quietly in her arms.
"It was just a dream, little one... just a dream," Ikuko cooed, trying to soothe Rini.
"It wasn't a dream," Rini insisted, trembling. "It was too real to be a dream."
"Everything will be OK in the morning. Don't worry. Do you want a cup of tea before you go back to bed?"
Nodding silently, Rini wiped her face and slowly slid out of bed onto the floor, bare feet plodding on the cold wooden floorboards after her future grandmother.
(A/N. Please don't read this if you don't already know the story, or else you are liable to go insane. If you need explanations, just ask for it in your review and we'll explain it in the next chapter. Thank you!)
Serena/Usagi lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Sitting up, she then stared out the window. Laying back down again, she stared at the ceiling. Then she sat up again. Then she sighed, laying herself back down yet again for the fifth time that night. (A/N. We could do this to you for a while, but we'll just cut to the chase. Pretend she did that twenty or so times...)
"For goodness sakes Serena. Unlike some people, us cats need our beauty sleep. Stop doing that!" The black cat sitting by her feet glared in her direction, yawning loudly and batting at her whiskers impatiently.
"Oh I'm sorry, Luna. Its just... its just..." sighing again she threw herself back onto her bed again.
"Spit it out, or keep it in like an old furball!"
"I just have this uneasy feeling..."
Amy sat up typing tiredly at her laptop's glowing screen. Occasionally she would yawn, or take a sip of coffee. Other than that, she was completely immersed in her studies. It was twelve midnight. Oh well, she'd just have to work on her Physics homework bright and early (5 AM to be exact). Saving her work, she silently shut down her computer and cleaned up her work desk. Suddenly, she felt frozen, as though chilly winter air had just descended upon the house. But it was only September twentieth, and the night had been moist and warm just a second before.
Getting a sweater out of her closet and pulling it over her light blue pajamas, she slid into bed. Still cold. But wait, it wasn't a literal frigid feeling... it was more of an emotional frost that had come over her. What reason was there for fear?
Mina/Minako absentmindedly stroked Artemis' head. His purr of contentment soothed her. She had just awoken from a nightmare. Strangely, it had happened a lot in the past month and they were becoming ever more frequent. She hated not having enough sleep to function and tomorrow was Monday. That meant school. She sighed, turning on her radio and closing her eyes, letting the music carry her off on a silent dream ship.
Raye/Rei was up late again, meditating as usual. The fire licked hungrily at the wood as she contemplated her most recent vision. It was not comforting. A noise startled her and she was pushed out of her trance.
"Rei?" It was Chad. Smiling, she nodded in acknowledgment.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have lost track of the time again. I'll be going to bed soon, so there's no need for you to stay up worrying any longer." She laughed at the serious expression on his face, and slowly rose up from her seat. 'Oh well. I guess I'll analyze this vision again tomorrow.' she thought as she left for bed, Chad nudging her onward, still convinced that she would die from lack of sleep.
Lita sat up in bed. It was the third night in a row that she couldn't sleep. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was 1 am. Mumbling to herself, she slid out of bed into the cool night air and inched her way through the dark to the kitchen. Reading through her cook books always comforted her. She was hoping to whip up something spectacular for breakfast to keep her mind of the ominous feeling she had been having lately.
Hotaru sat at the windowsill, looking out the open window and clutching her knees to her chest. She had been having the strange dreams for so long now. There was something peculiar about them. There was always that same face, and always the same feeling connected with it. Impending disaster, ("...as usual for the Sailor Scouts, I suppose", she thought to herself). Amara/Haruka had told her that she too had been experiencing these reoccurring dreams. Lying back on her bed, Hotaru sighed, and closed her eyes. It would be almost impossible to sleep now.
Yes, something was amiss, but there was no new enemy. Perhaps it was this lull in attacks making them nervous and messing with their heads. That was it. It was just a phase. Hotaru leaned back on her bed and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. Perhaps it was this rapt contemplation that allowed her to fall into a deep and dreamless sleep.
Amara/Haruka climbed out of the pool. It had been awhile since her last swim and she was hoping the cool water would help to keep her awake. As she dried off with her towel, she began to reflect on the events of the past week. There had been so much to do, and through it all there was the ever-present fatigue.
She splashed water from the pool on her face. The fatigue was getting worse. She hadn't slept soundly in ages. Nightmares plagued her, haunted her in her sleep. She couldn't bring herself to give in, not now, not ever. She slowly walked over to one of the pool side chairs and reclined in it.
She was tired.
So tired.
Maybe a quick nap wouldn't hurt.
With those final thoughts of the day (or night), Amara fell into a fitful sleep.
Michelle/Michiru was lost in a dream of the oceans, which was not very unusual for her. She was walking along the shores, yet the ocean seemed to quiver with fear. All around her the wind blew ominously. Quiet footsteps could be heard along the sand. A feeling of ill-will rose from the sound, but Michelle/Michiru was alone on the beach. All around her there were sounds of people, yet all she could see was the seashore stretching for miles in either direction. The wind picked up, making the sea sand fly into the air, bombarding Michiru with a turbulent sand storm. She moved a hand to shield her face. The ocean knew as she knew, something was most definitely amiss.
She woke up, face glistening with sweat. The dream... it troubled her. Usually the wind never interfered with her dreams. Did it have something to do with Amara/Haruka? No, it couldn't be. She was just being paranoid. She leaned back, yet the troubling feeling in her heart would not allow her to sleep.
A tall, dark skinned woman stood within a shroud of dark lavender mist. Her hair, black as night, cascaded down past her waist, flowing gently with the breeze of an unknown source. Gazing through the gates of time, her amber eyes held a gaze of nonchalance and perspicacity. She felt a twinge of sorrow as she looked upon the scene unfolding before her.
'So, we can wait no longer,' Sailor Pluto thought, a melancholy expression creeping across her usually calm and contented features. 'It has begun.'
Authors' Notes:
15yroldfirehazard: If we've somehow gotten something incorrect within all of that nonsense, concerning facts like the color of Pluto's eyes, just say so in your reviews and we'll correct it ASAP. Okey dokey?
AlreadyGone: Reviews! Yay!
15yroldfirehazard: (By the way, if you are wanting to guess what anime my pen name is from, guess in your reviews. And no, I am not talking about any pyrokinetic senshi!!! Although she's cool too...)
AlreadyGone: Oooh! I wanna say something.
15yroldfirehazard: Yes... (impatient glare clearly implying "this is my talk show!")
AlreadyGone: What names do ya want us to use, Japanese or English? You know... Usagi or Serena, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera?
15yroldfirehazard: What are you quoting? The King and I?
AlreadyGone: Your head shall not be higher than mine! When I sit you shall sit, when I kneel you shall kneel, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...!
15yroldfirehazard: I think I like Author's Notes better than stories, don't you AlreadyGone? I mean, maybe we should just stop writing and do nothing but one line of story and fifteen or twenty of Author's Notes? Mwahahahahahahah!
AlreadyGone: What you mean like our Bio?
15yroldfirehazard: Okey. I think we should stop for now. Enough sucrose for tonight! In the meantime, please read and review. (NOOOO FLAMES!!! GAH! WE HATES IT, MY PRECIOUS!) AlreadyGone will cry and wail and stomp her little footsies. And trust me, that can cause some loud bangs and injuries.
AlreadyGone: What do you mean, loud injuries? And no, I do not stomp my...
(15yroldfirehazard covers her mouth, with an innocent evil smile. Don't you love oxymorons?)
