A/N: Hey everyone! First of All, I want to say thanks to all you nice reviewers. It makes me feel really good when I go to check my email and I have a whole bunch of reviews filling my inbox…it's like hugging the world's biggest, softest teddy bear in a room full of puppies on Christmas. In particular, thanks to Ben for giving me the most detailed review I've ever gotten – that's the stuff authors crave right there. And yes Ben, I think they've still got their powers, actually they'd be more advanced since it's been awhile. And maybe that storybook'll pop up in the end, you never know Anywho, thanks everyone for reading, and please don't hesitate to review :)

Disclaimer: I don't own SM or KH, and they're not hiding in my closet, so don't come and steal them. Because they're not here. So don't try. :P

Chapter 5: Transformation

Serenity bolted upright in bed. For the second time in days, she was shaken from her sleep by a feeling of the deepest dread and foreboding. She got up and walked to her door, gathering her robes about her. She glanced briefly into her daughter's room, reaffirming that she was asleep and sound. She opened the door with caution, peeking out into the shadowy hallway.

As she looked out, she saw something dart around a corner. Her heart racing, she stepped quietly out into the hallway. Seeing nothing, she crept up to where she had seen…something…slide around a corner when she had opened the door.

Looking around the corner, she saw that some something slip around another corner. She followed it again, trying to see just what it was that was eluding her so easily. She followed it this way for minutes, twisting and turning her way through the palace, her feet making no sound on the green, crystal-tiled floors. The dread that had filled her when she awoke was still ever-present, but she was so consumed with her pursuit that she didn't stop to ponder it.

Once, when she came around a corner, she saw Venus. She held a finger to her lips, and when Venus nodded, she whispered softly in her ear about following something she had seen outside her door. Venus nodded and followed her. Serenity paused a moment to wish that Venus had quieter shoes as the clicked on the tiles. Ah well, she thought.

Coming around another corner, she realized she no longer saw the thing she had been silently pursuing. She looked the few doors leading down the hallway, and realized that she was in the guest quarters. Her hand reached out to touch the door immediately before her when she turned to her right. She blinked when she realized that it was the door to Sora's room. She opened her mouth and was about to remark on it to Venus when it struck her.

The hypnotic web that had held her ever since she had left her room shattered as a knife as cold as death pierced her heart. She screamed, her eyes growing wide. Venus reached to catch her as she reeled, seemingly for no reason. Serenity looked up into her eyes as Venus wrapped her arms around her, and she slid from Serenity into Sailor Moon almost too quickly to see.

Sora's door flew open, and he stood there, confused. He saw Venus holding Sailor Moon, who had just screamed loud enough to wake everyone in the palace, it seemed. Commotion began to echo down the hall, of people yelling and running around. He thought he could faintly hear the sound of weapons, but that seemed almost ridiculous until he saw the look of fear on the face of Sailor Moon, who was beginning to stand.

"Chibi-Usagi!! They've come for her!!"

"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"

"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"

"Fire!"

Commands and attacks rang out through the hallways of the palace. People were everywhere fighting the shadows materializing from nowhere, springing form the very walls. They were attacking everything in sight. They seemed like they were searching for something, like their randomness was planned somehow. They were backing off little by little, but safety seemed a long way off.

Sora ran alongside Sailor Moon and Venus, who were headed toward the royal bedchambers. Sailor Moon had yelled something about Chibi-Usa and had taken off at breakneck speed, dodging around anything in her way and attacking anything that she couldn't get around.

As they came around a corner, a man dressed in a tuxedo almost crashed into them. They skidded to a halt as Sailor Moon threw herself into his arms. He had been on his way back to the palace when the fighting broke out, and Sora could see the worry etched into his face. It was the same way he would feel about Kairi, he supposed. For a brief moment, she filled his mind, and grief swept over him. He missed her so much. His heart was longing for her face, her smile, for the innocent way she flicked her hair out of her eyes when she laughed. He wondered how she was, if she was ok. The moment passed and he was jerked back to reality as Moon, Venus, and Tuxedo Mask were pulling away toward Chibi-Usagi's room. He hurried to catch up to them.

"Nooooo!!!!"

A shrill, piercing scream filled the room. Through the haze that fills one's mind when brought to terms with horrible truths that try the soul, Serenity's eyes saw crystal clear the ransacked room that was devoid of her daughter's presence. Broken bits of furniture were everywhere, just as in her own room, and torn up sheets and pillows were scattered everywhere. Feathers from the pillows still floated lazily in the air, almost seeming to mock her. She slid to her knees, tears streaking down her dirt-smeared face, and her hands tangled themselves in her hair with a death grip.

Just before flinging the broken door out of her way, she had felt a great emptiness open up in her heart, and she had known the truth. When she looked in to the room, it was only confirmed for her; they had taken Chibi-Usa. Her daughter was gone, and knowing that her baby was in the hands of those…those things that were storming the palace made rage and despair well up within her. She cried out the name of her daughter as if it could bring her back.

A door materialized in the middle of the ruined room. The door was silver, and had a crescent moon etched into it. It opened, revealing a bright light, and Pluto stepped through. When she did, the door disappeared in a flash. Her dark green hair was in disarray, and she held her key with a tight grip. Unshed tears swam in her eyes, and great pain and anger played back and forth across her face. She knelt before Serenity, laying her key down.

She set her hands on Serenity's shoulders and forced her to look up, into her eyes. "Serenity, you must go and save her. Very soon you will revert back into Sailor Moon, into Usagi permanently unless Small Lady is rescued. Because of all these slips in time, the world may suffer if she is not recovered. She must come back to this time because she must return to the past to find you, or this world will be forever changed beyond anything even you or I could repair.

"I cannot stop time here as you well know, but I can slow it down so that when you come back, it will seem as though you had been gone only a short while. I cannot be entirely sure of the consequences, but I do know that it will cost me dearly to do this, so you must hurry. If my strength runs out time will revert back to normal and this world will forever be trapped in a time from many years ago – one that never had a Queen Serenity, and one that was never meant to continue existing as it was."

Serenity gasped for air. She felt overwhelmed with information and feelings. Everything was happening so fast that she felt like she couldn't keep up. The time between each sharp intake of breath seemed to take hours upon hours. First the shadows had come, and she had fought her way to her daughter's side, only to find she had been taken. She hadn't even had time to grieve before Pluto had come to throw her into the abyss. Once again, she was Sailor Moon, she was saving the day, and she had to throw it all away on the chance that she might succeed. Despair almost overwhelmed her in her seconds of indecision. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. Things shouldn't be happening this way. It had already been foretold that things would be peaceful and quiet. Things weren't supposed to change like this!

A quiet voice in the back of her head spoke up. It wasn't her voice, not Serenity's, but it was nonetheless familiar. Do you really mean to sit here, grieving and letting this dumbfound you while your daughter has been taken prisoner? Usagi was there, giving her the slap she needed. Usagi, though once a crybaby who was no good at doing much of anything but eating and sleeping late, had long since blossomed into a mature, decisive woman – her final battle with Galaxia had given her that. Her spirit was inside Serenity, melded with her own.

You have to step up, and you have to fight it. You're no longer Serenity. You lost that when they stole her from you. Time is short, and Pluto is once again setting down her life for you. Look at Mamoru, waiting for you to stand and take action. And Sora, your newfound friend, who you already know to be loyal and true. Are you really going to let them down, to let your own daughter down? No. You're going to fight, and you're going to do it now.

Sailor Moon stood up. She began to glow a soft golden color, very faintly. It steadily grew, filling her up, and filling the room with its light. It consumed her, transforming her. When it passed she had changed - both her appearance, and how she held herself. She seemed much more determined, more calm and collected.

Her uniform was different from any she had ever worn. Her skirts were layered blue, white, and silver, and her bows were blue, edged with silver. The one in the back had iridescent silver tails reaching to almost the floor. Her odango covers and her tiara had become silver, trimmed with white, with a brilliant gold crescent moon adorning each piece. Her chocker was blue, with a small silver key dangling form it. Iridescent silver wings seemed to sprout from her back.

She stood tall, and her eyes glittered in the semi-darkness that was filling the room. A perfect ray of moonlight had fallen on her through the one window in the room. She nodded to Pluto, who stood slowly, bringing her key close to her body and nodding back.

"I will go and rescue my daughter, and restore this world to the way it is supposed to be." Her voice, more regal than any time she had ever sat on her throne, was firm and decisive. She turned to face Venus and Sora. "Venus, gather the senshi, and tell them to run or they will be left. Sora, tell your friends that if they want to come along, they'd best hurry. It's well-past time to leave."

The four senshi stood in a circle around Moon and Pluto, along with Tuxedo Mask, Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Even Donald stood quietly, which was almost a miracle with him. Sailor Moon held a silver key high in the air, her eyes closed. Mars spoke softly to the group.

"Everyone, concentrate your power on Sailor Moon, and the key. Focus on finding Small Lady. Lend Sailor Moon your strength to open the door that will take us to another world."

Every member of the group bowed their heads except for Sailor Moon and Pluto. Pluto had her eyes closed, her hands holding her staff in a death grip. Sailor Moon's eyes opened, and her voice rang with crystal clarity as she called out to the gods.

"Chronos! Father of time, father of Pluto, guardian of the Gate, hear my plea! Open the gate so I may pass through! Open the gate so I may save my daughter! I implore you, Chronos hear my cry!" She spoke some unintelligible words, and a bright light filled the room. A golden seal manifested on the floor as pure white light enveloped them all. In a brilliant flash, Pluto was left standing alone in the room.

"Interesting." A dark-robed figure stood in the shadows, far enough from the room to be undetected. "They may prove themselves worthy warriors yet.' He looked to another dark-robed figure standing beside him. "Did you see the on in the center? Her heart shone bright as day. I could feel it from here." The other figure nodded.

A wry smile crossed his face as he felt time beginning to shift around him. He knew it was time to leave, before even he couldn't escape to another world. He motioned for the other figure beside him to follow. They walked through an empty doorway and disappeared in a brief burst of light.