Disclaimer: As usual, I disavow any rights to the characters from Pretty Guardian SailorMoon. They all belong to Takeuchi Naoko and Bandai.

The following story is based on the Live Action version of SailorMoon (PGSM). I hope you enjoy it!

Three reviews this time. Yeah! And amongst them, a first time (for me) reviewer! Welcome to Latina-Destiny! (smile) I thank you for trying to correct a mistake, but it was in fact not a mistake. As I say above, this story is based on the Live Action version, not the anime or the manga. In the Live Action, the girls look like normal (and pretty) Japanese girls, i.e., brown hair and brown eyes. Their hair only changes color when they are transformed, and their eyes never change color.

Now, everyone is going to start questioning me about Haurka and Michiru. In my story arc, they are not pure Japanese. They are Eurasians. Michiru looks mostly Japanese, but her eyes are aqua blue. Haruka looks more like her European parent, pale blond hair and silver eyes. (wink) Actually, the eye color is significant, both here and in my story Lonely Harp... See if you can figure it out. (smile)

And greetings to aserene and Serenathy! All I will say is that the story title is quite accurate. And that Ree (my beta reader) didn't even whine, much less try to kill me over the ending. But you know, I am curious why she needed three hairs from my head... (grin)

A long chapter this time! For those of you who have been patiently waiting for the introduction of the official second main character, enjoy! - Raya

Pretty Guardian SailorMoon R - Prelude

Crystal Tokyo

A young woman dressed in a long white gown walked slowly through the halls of a crystal and marble palace. Her long black hair was pulled away from her face into a partial bun near the crown of her head, and then cascaded down her back to her knees. She paused beside a window, closed her dark blue eyes, and took a deep breath of the flower scented air. With a smile, she opened her eyes and leaned her head against the side of the open window casement. The sunlight glinted off of the crescent moon sigil on her forehead and the single clear jewel in her crown as she savored the look and feel of her garden.

A smudge high in the sky caught her attention, and she stood up and stared at it curiously.

In another part of the castle, a little girl wearing a short, frilly, white dress ran crying through the hallways. Dark pigtails flapped wildly around her ears, dangling from two little buns on the side of her head as she tried to outrun the five older boys behind her.

Snickering, the one in the lead called out softly to her. "Awww… C'mon, Princess… It's just a harmless little ol' snake," he teased as he held a little black garter snake out towards her. "It don't even like rabbits!" Around him, the other boys choked on their laughter. They all knew that their punishment would be severe if they were caught, so they took great pains to keep their laughter in.

The little four year old princess turned to run down another hallway, and then gasped as she realized her mistake. This hallway was a dead end. Slowly, she came to a halt, and then turned to look at the boys. Her hands went to her face, and shakily tried to wipe away her tears.

"Little Crybaby," the lead boy teased. "What're you scared of? It's just a little baby. Just like you!" He pushed the snake closer to her.

She drew back with a squeal of fright, and bumped into a large stand. The boys watched with wide eyes as the vase of flowers wobbled, and then fell with a resounding crash. The princess squealed again, covered her ears, and continued to cry.

"Princess Usagi!" a woman called out in an impatient voice as she opened a nearby door and came into the hall. "What on earth are you doing?"

"It… It was an acci… accident," the little princess sobbed. "It… It wasn't my…my fault!"

The woman huffed angrily and began to pick up the flowers. "Not your fault? You know better than to go running in the halls! What a little hoyden you are. Why don't you try to be more like a lady? More like your mother, the Queen?"

Princess Usagi turned to glare at the boys who had been chasing her, but they were long gone. Her jaw clenched and her face scrunched up even more as she realized that she was going to take all of the blame once again.

"Honestly! Sometimes I wonder if you really are the Queen's daughter," the woman muttered as she turned to glare at the little girl angrily. "Do you know how priceless that vase was? No, of course not. You don't care."

The princess glared at the woman as new tears began to fall from her chocolate brown eyes and roll down her face. Suddenly, she spun and ran back the way she had come. "Get back here!" the woman hollered. "Come back, and clean up your mess, young lady!" The princess ignored her and continued to run.

She raced, panting and sobbing, through the halls. She rubbed her eyes angrily as more tears obscured her vision. She could barely see enough to dodge around the people in the more populated area of the palace.

Michiru's eyes widened in surprise when she saw Princess Usagi barrel out of a side hallway, dodge around several courtiers, and run down the hall. "Princess…" she started to call. Almost immediately, however, she was distracted by a silver cloud that seemed to rise up from the ground in front of her. She turned in surprise as she heard several loud thuds. The last thing she saw was the unmoving forms of the collapsed courtiers. And then, the gas made her loose consciousness as well.

Princess Usagi scrubbed at her eyes again, still sobbing, as it became harder and harder to see. All she wanted to do was get to the maze and her favorite hiding spot. No one but Mama and Papa ever found her there, and right now she didn't want to see anyone except maybe them. She was so blinded by her tears that she barely saw the people who collapsed around her, and so upset that none of them registered as more than obstacles to be avoided.

Finally, she raced into her father's library and headed for the glass doors that were the closest exit to the maze. She skidded to a halt and gasped in fear, however, as a tall, red haired man dressed in red appeared in front of her out of thin air.

Nephlite's ferociously angry scowl melted into a look of surprise as his little princess' feet went out from under her and she fell down hard on her tail. The look of fear on her face made him turn to look behind him as she scrambled backwards on her hands and feet. Seeing nothing, he turned around again and watched as she managed to spin up onto her feet and begin running away. An expression of amazement and triumph replaced the protective scowl as he faded away once more. 'She saw me!'

Neo-Queen Serenity trembled in anguish as she watched the invaders attack the helpless people in the garden. Her senshi had transformed and were fighting fiercely, but the surprise attack had caught them off guard and the enemy had been able to get in several good blows before they could react. She gasped as she saw her old friend Naru fall, and unthinkingly she ran out the nearest door to help her.

As she ran onto the veranda, she saw a tall, thin, beautiful man with glowing, shoulder length, white hair standing over Naru. She gasped and froze when his silver eyes met her midnight blue. She could almost feel the cold hatred she saw in his face.

"So, the lovely Queen has decided to come out after all," he said silkily. "And here I heard that you never leave your Palace."

"Who… Who are you?" she asked, trying hard not to let her voice tremble. Somehow, she managed it.

A cold smile lit up the man's face as a silver cloud blanketed the garden. "I am the Savior of Mankind, Prince Demand of Nemesis."

"Nemesis!" the queen gasped as the cloud suddenly billowed up and surrounded her. "But… But why…?"

"We will return to our true homeland," she heard the man say through the fog that now surrounded her. "We will return and cleanse it of your evil. We will destroy you and rescue mankind from your blasphemous reign." He laughed coldly as the silver cloud dispersed. The laugh ended abruptly when he saw that the queen was still standing, awake and unharmed. "What!"

Neo-Queen Serenity looked around and saw that almost everyone in the garden had collapsed unconscious. Only a woman with long, glowing green hair and Prince Demand were still standing. "Everyone…" she whispered faintly.

Prince Demand shook himself abruptly. "Surrender, Queen Serenity," he said coldly. "You are defeated." The green haired woman watched with a smug expression as she glided up to stand beside him. Neo-Queen Serenity shook her head slowly.

"Surrender," he demanded again, and then lifted his hand and threw a power bolt at the side of the Crystal Palace. The wall above the king's library exploded, and through gaps in the dust and rubble, Neo-Queen Serenity saw her husband collapsed in front of a communications panel surrounded by his four ethereal guardians.

"Endymion…" she gasped shaking her head in denial. "Endymion!" Through one gap she saw Kunzite raise his dark head and give her a hard look. Zoicite was bent over his king, while Nephlite and Jeadite glared at a redheaded man who stood nearby.

"Surrender," Prince Demand said again. "Or I will aim for that child next."

Neo-Queen Serenity turned her eyes to see a little girl wearing a pink dress laying face down in the garden. Her face paled as she immediately assumed the worst. "No," she whispered as her eyes suddenly hardened. She turned them back to Prince Demand. "You will not," she said sternly. He paused as something in her expression caught his attention.

From a tall window, Princess Usagi watched with wide eyes as the white haired man raised his arm and pointed towards something in the garden. Her mother seemed to go rigid, and said something that she couldn't hear. They stared at each other for another moment, and then the man threw another burst of energy into the palace walls. The little princess screamed piercingly in fear as the hall around her shook.

"Small LaDY!" she heard her mother scream. Looking out the window, she saw her mother dash into the garden, completely ignoring the man and the woman.

With an evil look, the woman threw a green knife at her unprotected back. Her expression became furious when it just bounced away harmlessly before it reached her. Princess Usagi's eyes grew wider and wider as she watched the two people attack her mother viciously with energy beams and knives. For a moment, the queen was surrounded by flashing lights, and then she faltered and collapsed.

"MAMA!" the little girl screamed in terror. On her forehead, a golden crescent moon appeared, and a wave of golden silver energy poured out of her. The palace shook.

In the garden, the two attackers looked around in shock as they struggled to keep their footing. A movement at one of the second floor windows caught Prince Demand's attention. When he finally managed to focus on it, he caught a glimpse of a little girl turning to run away. 'GET HER!' he heard a voice snarl in his mind.
Desperately, Princess Usagi raced through the palace trying to think of somewhere, anywhere she could hide. "Puu..." she sobbed softly. But she remembered. It was the one thing she never, ever forgot: she must never bring other people to her best friend's place. If she did, something bad would happen. She might forget to eat. She might forget to take off her shoes when she came in. She might even forget once in a while that her mother was the best Mama in the whole wide world. But, she never, ever forgot the promise she had made 500 years before when she had first found her way to that little dark corner of the palace. And so, hearing footsteps behind her, she raced in the opposite direction.

'Here...' she heard someone call softly. 'Come here...' Terrified, she turned and raced down a different hallway. She ducked through a small door and into a crawl space. Behind her, her pursuer cursed and followed.

'Come here...' she heard the voice again. Something about it drew her, but even in her panic, her cautious mind made her hesitate. 'Follow my voice! Come to me. This way!' it said again frantically. Reluctantly, the little princess exited the crawl space when it came to an end, and began to run to the next hiding place she could think of. She jumped up onto a black marble banister and slid her way back to the first floor. As she reached the bottom and leapt off expertly, she saw a different redheaded man reach the top of the stairs.

She was tempted to find the woman who was calling her. But, her mind remembered past tricks. One of Eiya's favorite ones had been very similar to this: tell her she could trust him, and as soon as she did, BAM, he'd surprise or scare her. Mika used to use her little brother, Kenta, to draw her out of hiding. She had never been able to resist his wails and cries for help. All of them had grown up and grown out of picking on her, but she still remembered. And so, she didn't quite trust this strange voice.

'I will help you...' the woman called. 'Please...'

"Got you!" she heard a man growl as she turned another corner. With a squeal of fright, she dove between his legs and slid along the floor. In a well practiced move, she arched her back, used her hands to push herself up again, jerked her legs in, and somehow regained her feet without tripping over her dress. The specially designed shoes gripped the slick surface as she hit the floor running once more.

The thin, blue haired man behind her cursed in surprise as he tried to turn around quickly, slick boots slipping on the glass smooth marble. He made enough noise that the three people already following her had warning to avoid him.

"Come on, Saphir!" the redheaded man yelled. "Get her! Can't you even corner a little girl?"

"Shut up, Rubeus!" Saphir retorted. "I don't see you doing a much better job!"

'Come to me. This way...' As the latest surge of adrenaline wore off, the exhausted princess finally gave in to the temptation and turned to follow the pleading voice. 'I will help you... Please... Hurry...' it whispered. As she turned the corner to run back to her father's library once more, she saw a woman surrounded by a gold/white light. With shock, she recognized her mother. As she began to fade away, the princess felt a spurt of terror. With a breathless scream of denial, she found another burst of speed from somewhere and leapt towards her mother's open arms.

As they rounded the corner, the four members of the Black Moon clan skidded to a halt and flinched away from the bright light. Around their upraised arms, they saw their prey fade away into the light, which promptly disappeared.

Princess Usagi curled into a little ball of terror and misery as she found herself floating in a world of blackness. Her mother was nowhere in sight, and she was convinced that she had been tricked once again. She shivered and sobbed as she waited for the next terrible thing to happen.

'Come to me...' she heard the voice say again. She quickly placed her little hands over her ears, closed her eyes, and scrunched up her face. "No!" she yelled. The crescent moon sigil on her forehead glittered softly in the darkness.

'Come to me. This way!'

"No!" Suddenly, a bright light burned its way through her tightly closed eyelids. Cautiously, she opened her eyes. In front of her, a little, elaborate key floated encased in a garnet colored ball of light. Her eyes widened as she recognized the shape and style. "Puu!" she exclaimed as she straightened up and looked around. Her face fell as she realized her friend was not around.

As she turned back to look at the key, she gasped and lunged. It was drifting away from her! Desperately, she tried to run after it, but there was no surface to stand on. She finally ended up swimming through the space until she caught it.

With a sob of relief, she brought the key in to her chest and curled around it. The garnet colored ball of light winked out, but as she held the solid, heavy little key she didn't care. "Abracadabra," she whispered desperately.

'Please... Where are you?' the strange voice called again desperately, sounding louder. The princess blinked as another light some distance away caught her eye. This one was the same color as the one that had brought her to this strange world. 'Follow my voice! Come to me. This way!'

The princess looked down in surprise as she felt the key tug against her hands. Slowly, she held them out in front of her, and it began to pull her towards that distant light and the strange voice. And slowly, a faint, cherry pink trail of light began to appear in front of her.

A/N: For those only familiar with the North American dub:

Rubeus - Rubeus

Esmeraude - Emerald

Saphir - Sapphire

Demand - Diamond