Sleepless Beauty

30th Century

The teenage queen couldn't sleep. She finally got out of bed after what seemed like hours of tossing around in it. She exited her room towards her balcony quietly, and winced at the coldness of the night, but tried to ignore it as her thoughts traveled to the blue planet, thousands of kilometers away from the moon. The four remaining Sailors were currently there making a final stand against the Shadow Army.

Many thoughts crossed her mind. Most of them were filled with regret of how they had parted on ill terms after a sour argument with her. She had not lied back then when she told them she hated them, as she hated her mother and her father, for putting her in this situation but, as the days and weeks had passed, she had come to realize she mostly loathed herself.

She prayed a hopeless prayer in their name as she watched distant explosions taking place on Earth and went back inside. However, instead of going back to bed, her feet took her through various hallways without an apparent destination.

She caught herself tiptoeing and snorted at her own behavior. Other than a handful of servants, there was no one else in that palace except for Diana and her. She turned, climbed up and down, and turned again many times until she reached a dead end.

She was now in the hallway where she had caught her mother many times throughout her life, but more frequently since the beginning of the war. There was a double door at the very end, as wide as the hallway leading up to it. The intricate carving, full of shapes, symbols, and ancient writing, was a complete mystery to her. Once she had asked her mother about it, but her answer had been just as cryptic.

She approached the door until it was at the reach of her fingertips. She had only been this close once in her life and had been severely admonished for it. Like then, she wanted to know what was hidden behind those doors, but her mother, Neo Queen Serenity, hadn't answered.

All she knew was that whatever lied there had been passed down from generation to generation, and it was now her turn to guard it. It had survived the downfall of the Moon Kingdom after the attack of Queen Beryl, and had stood sealed and undisturbed for centuries until that date. Serenity had often wondered if these doors held the key to defeating Kage, but her mother didn't seem to know either. She remembered her words perfectly.

"These doors will open at the end of times, and only the one with the brightest spark can go through them. That person alone will wield the power of the stars, and by their hand only will the universe be born again."

Her mother had smiled that time, one of the secret smiles she saved exclusively for her daughter. She had dismissed that as a legend but had, nonetheless, warned her that her most sacred duty was to protect these doors and what was kept inside. "Our mission is to protect this until our last breath." She had told her. Although the actual contents of the room were unknown, the mere existence of it had been reason enough to go to war, at the cost of countless lives.

The last time she found her mother there had been at the start of the battle. She didn't dare interrupt her as she used the power of her Silver Crystal against them, in an unsuccessful attempt to force them open. She recalled her mother's anguished pleading as she hit the doors with both fists, begging them to grant her the power to end the battle. It was certain that whoever got their hands around it first would be victorious. Her eyes watered as she remembered that scene. She despised her mother's weakness, but she could understand her frustration, as she felt just as powerless. She touched the doors and gave them a little push, but they didn't budge, not even a bit. She kicked it hard, possessed by a sudden rage, but the material used to make them was virtually indestructible.

Suddenly, a faint sound behind her made her stop. She turned around and saw a short silhouette scurrying for cover. She wiped her tears and cleared her throat before speaking. "What are you doing here?!" She demanded, mortified at having been caught like that.

Her late parent's head servant stepped into the light and bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I just-"

"You know damn well no one is allowed up here!" She admonished him.

The servant cowered at the sound of her voice, and apologized profusely.

"Leave and you better not be anywhere near this hallway ever again, do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The servant bowed once again and disappeared from her sight in an instant. Serenity looked at him suspiciously but shook that feeling away immediately. He had served her family forever, there was no reason to cast doubt on his behavior now. She sighed loudly and returned to her room, hoping that this time she would be able to sleep.

21st Century

Luna entered Usagi's room after the clock struck midnight. She took a glimpse at her friend, tossing around in bed as she always did, and sighed. She wondered when the young woman that was destined to become Crystal Tokyo's queen would start behaving as such. Usagi kicked the covers off her and mumbled something unintelligible. The black cat shrugged and went to her usual spot next to the bed. She kneaded the pillow for a few minutes before lying on it.

Luna had begun patrolling the city at night ever since the attack had happened. She had an ill feeling about it, which pushed her to go out night after night even if they had not found anything at all. I wish we could all fall asleep as easily as her, she thought, feeling envious of her roommate. The more she tossed and turned the more peaceful her sleep was, as the cat found out soon after she first met her.

Luna eventually fell asleep, thinking that another day had passed in relative peace. She did not, however, realize that her friend was, at that very moment, trapped in a recurring nightmare, which assaulted her every night since the attack.

The five teenagers resumed their study plans as the date to the admission exam got nearer. They had all decided, through an unspoken agreement, to focus on something they could actually tackle, rather than spending more hours on a research that so far had turned out to be fruitless. Ami, Rei, and Makoto, all put extra effort in their studies, rarely speaking among them, except to ask a question or guide another one through the answer. Even Minako, who would have normally tried to escape these study sessions, had accepted her fate.

Although no one would admit to it, none of the four women, not even Ami, would be as invested in their studies, if they were not trying to avoid the elephant in the room: their friend Usagi. She barely looked like the girl they had come to love. Her face looked haggard, devoid of the energy and vitality proper of someone her age. Her usual happy-go-lucky attitude had all but disappeared. The sparkle in her eyes was nowhere to be found. It seemed to them like the Usagi sitting across from them was just a shell of her former self. No matter how many homemade cakes Makoto brought to their reunions, or how mean Rei's jabs at her were, or how many times Minako listed the dire consequences of them failing the exam, none of them managed to get an adequate reaction from Usagi.

"Usagi, is everything OK?" Ami, who was usually the quiet one in the group, had had enough. The other three gals put their books down and stared intently at their friend.

"Huh?" Usagi replied confused, up until that moment she had been in a trance.

"You don't look like your usual self," Makoto added, "What's going on?"

"It's nothing, I just… I haven't been sleeping well the past few weeks." She replied, forcing herself to smile cheerfully. "You know what? I'll go home and rest, that's what I'll do! I promise I'll be better tomorrow!" She threw all her books in her bag and made a move for the door.

"Wait, Usagi, don't go by yourself! With everything that's happened lately…" Minako trailed off.

"I'll go with you!" Rei stood up and grabbed her jacket hurriedly. No matter how much they fought, she cared for her friend and hoped that walking her home would give her some insights into what was going on.

"No, girls, it's OK, I can-"

"I'm going with you, so get your stuff and let's go, Usagi." Rei cut her off, putting on her shoes.

Usagi nodded in defeat, knowing that once her friend made up her mind about something, it would be next to impossible to steer her in another direction. She put on her sweater, grabbed her bag, and put her shoes on. She exited the room first without saying goodbye. Rei winked at her friends reassuringly, and closed the door behind her.

30th Century

"Damn you, Sailor Galaxia!" Kage cursed, limping towards her throne, sword in hand. "I will punish you next time for meddling in my plans, and then I will kill you…!"

She took a seat with great difficulty, the wounds of her recent battle very much fresh and burning in her skin. Her clothes were torn and bloody, her hair, normally perfectly coiffed, now tangled and covered in dust. She observed the blade of her sword, completely covered in scarlet red blood and laughed until her sides hurt. "She dared oppose me with such insignificant power!" She cackled, dropping the sword to the floor. "Even the strongest Guardian is no match to me!"

She took her time before calming down, and once she did, the all-seeing crystal orb appeared in the center of the room. The ball cast its image onto the wall, depicting the four Inner Guardians making a last stand on Earth. Their bodies made the shape of a cross, with their arms stretched out to their sides; their palms expelled energy from them, creating a barrier that so far had managed to keep Kage's Shadow Army and her generals at bay.

"Only they stand between me and the power to bend the universe at my will… Just a little more and then…" Her ominous laugh boomed once again as she savored her imminent victory.

21st Century

Usagi and Rei walked side by side, but neither of them said anything as they crossed the shopping district, busy as always. Their worried expressions contrasted greatly with those of regular people, who went about their business as usual. Rei couldn't help but envy the blissful ignorance in which they lived, carrying on with their normal lives while her and her friends fought the forces of darkness that threatened their existence.

"Hey, Usagi, do you want some ice-cream?" Rei suggested as they walked by an ice-cream parlor. Her friend mumbled something unintelligible, which the raven-haired girl interpreted as a no. "How about we go try some dresses?" She offered but Usagi remained muted. Rei sighed in frustration.

Usagi walked with a blank stare, barely looking where she was going. It was a miracle she hadn't crashed into someone yet. Rei followed behind, unsure what to try next in order to get her friend talking. As she pondered on that, she heard the voice of an old woman yelling at them from a dark alley.

"Here, here, young ladies!" She called, waving one of her hands at them. "Would you like to know your fortune?"

Rei rolled her eyes. She hated all these phony seers that cheapened the art of divination for a few yen, but Usagi loved them, much to her annoyance. "Hey, Usagi, want to hear our fortunes?" She grabbed Usagi's hand and dragged her to the scammer's tiny stall in between two massive department stores.

The fortune teller took a good look at them and smiled. "Ah, two young and beautiful ladies! Give me your hands and let's find out what the future holds… perhaps a burning love, yes?" Her mouth widened into a huge smile which neither Rei nor Usagi returned.

"I'll go first." Rei said, letting the woman run her wrinkly finger across her palm multiple times.

"Yes, I see…" The old woman said, inspecting her hand thoroughly. "A woman of your beauty and smarts has many men interested in her, but your heart belongs to only one person, and it seems like you have met him already."

"Really?! Did you hear that, Usagi?!" Rei faked excitement at the obvious scammer for the sake of her friend, but it was met with silence. "What else do you see?" She turned to the palm reader, defeated.

"I see a conflict in your future, a big one, and then the end of something." She said, taking a drag of her pipe and blowing the smoke directly at Rei's face. "And now, this line here…," She tapped it with her finger, "your life will suffer a big change soon, yes… I have some good luck charms for sale, do you want some?"

Rei withdrew her hand rapidly and shook her head. She knew how people like this woman operated. They would always say something to trigger a reaction and feed on their victims' fear, but even so, she couldn't help but wonder if those words carried some truth in them.

"OK, now let's see what the future has in store for you." She heard the fortune teller addressing Usagi, beckoning her to show her her hand. "Wow…" She whispered under her breath the second she took a good look at the blonde's hand. "I had never seen such a fortuitous palm!"

Rei got closer to see what was so good about it, but couldn't figure it out.

"All your lines speak of a prosperous future, just look at this beautiful marriage line! You'll be blessed with a man that loves you above everything and everyone!"

Usagi nodded but didn't say anything.

"And then look at the career line, it seems like you will become someone of great influence to the world… Perhaps a politician? Is that what you want to become?"

Usagi shook her head slowly. Rei, who had initially labeled this woman as a phony, paid close attention to everything she said now. This could be mere coincidences, but they were nonetheless very accurate.

"Your heart line is strong, just like your feelings for everyone you know, but you have to be careful, a deep crease like this means you're governed by strong emotions, good and bad ones. I have charms to chase away negative emotions, do you want one?"

"Are you done?" Rei cut in before the woman forced them to buy a bunch of useless trinkets.

"No, not yet… what is this?" The woman inspected the palm up close, and cursed inwardly at her bad eyesight. She looked around her little stall until she found the case she was searching for. She took out a magnifying glass and proceeded to examine Usagi's hand with it. "Just what in the name of God is this line?"

Usagi and Rei stared at each other and then got closer to see what the palm reader was talking about.

"You see this fine line?" She pointed at a nearly invisible line and traced it with her dirty fingernail. "You see how it intersects with your life line? This is not good, child. Your life line splits just below, this signifies a life-altering decision. Something major will happen." The old woman looked Usagi in the eye and shivered, her lower lip trembling involuntarily as she struggled to continue her reading.

Rei gasped as an evil aura formed around the palm reader. The magnifying glass shattered, the shards falling mostly on the stall's counter. Usagi tried to back off but the old woman held her hand in a tight grasp. Rei tried to break her friend free, but hesitated when she saw that the old woman's eyes had rolled up until just the whites were visible. Her frail body was shaking, her face was covered in sweat, her mouth opened and closed multiple times, foam came out of it.

"Rei…" Usagi whispered, absolutely terrified, still trying to yank her hand away from her.

Rei took out one of her talismans and started chanting a prayer. Is she possessed by an evil spirit?! She wondered as she finished blessing it. She threw it at the woman, who became motionless the moment the talisman stuck to her forehead.

Suddenly, The woman laughed the most evil of laughs, sinister and menacing. The talisman burned in her forehead, the color of the flames dark as the night sky. She slammed Usagi's hand on the counter, the magnifying glass shards buried themselves into it. Usagi screamed but couldn't pull away. Rei tried to fight the fortune teller but an invisible energy knocked her down.

"Enjoying your perfect little life, Sailor Moon?" The woman's voice sounded as if many different people were inside of her.

"Who are you?!" Usagi cried, unable to pull her hand away.

The old woman giggled as she squeezed Usagi's wrist. "We met at the beginning…"

Rei stood up with difficulty, a thin line of blood running down her forearm from a freshly open wound. The evil aura emanating from the old woman sent chills down her spine. Something about it triggered her greatest, most primal fears.

"... and we shall meet at the end!" The woman laughed again until she convulsed. She shoved Usagi with great force, the blonde's body hitting the ground next to Rei, before collapsing unceremoniously on top of her counter.

Rei examined her bandaged forearm for the hundredth time. The stillness that Hikawa Shrine offered, and that would normally calm her down, was not enough to make her sleep. She replayed the events of that afternoon in her head, over and over again.

The cops had been called to the scene after passersby had heard the ruckus in the alley. They arrived a couple of minutes after the old lady's body crashed on the counter. They called an ambulance immediately, but the old lady was long dead by the time it arrived. The first responders put her body in a bag as another team administered first aid to Rei and Usagi. The whole ordeal would be enough to traumatize anyone, but what kept her up had happened just before the cops' arrival.

Rei had run towards Usagi, who had begun removing the tiny shards embedded in her hand. Usagi winced when one of the bigger shards gashed her skin. The raven-haired girl helped her friend get back on her feet, keeping an eye on the old woman's body from the corner of her eye.

"Rei, you're bleeding!" Usagi pointed out, noticing the wound in her friend's arm. Her injured hand brushed against her wound as she wrapped a handkerchief around it. Rei felt an acute pain in her chest the instant that happened. The same cold voice that had just come out of the old lady, now roared in her head.

"I inhabit every being, and devour them from within…"

Usagi tossed around in bed, having yet another restless night. The sheets and covers were all on the floor, next to Luna, who was sound asleep. She hugged the pillow tightly against her chest, a deep frown on her face. She was having yet another bad dream, exactly like the one she had had the previous nights.

She was, once again, surrounded by blackness. All of her nightmares started this way. She still tried in vain to escape it, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to. She ran without direction, screaming every one of her friends' names at the top of her lungs, well aware that no one would come to her rescue. The only thing for her to do was to keep at it until the nightmare released her and allowed her wake up. She heard a malignant laugh coming from nowhere and everywhere at the same time, one she had heard every time, ever since her bad dreams had started. This signaled the end of it. She waited for her body to react but nothing happened.

Instead, a series of memories began playing in front of her, as if she were watching a movie at the theater. She saw her four friends laughing with her, followed by one of Mamoru and her sharing a kiss. The memories skipped to the day that Chibiusa returned to the future before Sailor Galaxia's invasion, and then to Hotaru's surprise birthday party at the house she shared with Hotaru and Michiru.

Tens of memories followed in rapid succession, showing the many people she had met throughout her life, in and outside of the battlefield. She recognized her family, her middle school friends, the Specter Sisters, and many more. She didn't understand the meaning of this, but she felt her trepidation rising as more familiar faces showed up.

"You love them, don't you?" The owner of that laughter that chilled her bones finally spoke.

Usagi was in complete shock at the question. The answer was obvious, but her mind was numb between the tens of memories flashing in front of her, and the ice cold voice she had just heard. Meanwhile, the visions became increasingly dark and violent. Finally, the transition stopped, the image in front of her took her back to that tragic day when she lost her friends, one by one, and her lover to Queen Beryl and her minions.

"You would do anything for them, is that right? Anything to not be left alone in this world ever again." The voice attempted to sound moved, but the mocking tone in it was too obvious to hide it. "Yes, you'd sacrifice everything for them, even…" The voice sounded closer to her now.

Usagi turned on her heels, head moving from one side to the other. She had realized two things in that split second: The first one, was that that voice belonged to a woman, and the second one was that a sinister presence, most likely the owner of that voice, had made itself noticeable. She scrutinized the darkness, her heart beating fast, terrified of what could happen next.

"... Your own life."

The teenager nodded quietly as that dreadful sensation took over her.

"... I have been a part of everything since the beginning, and I will be here when the end comes…"

Rei shivered as she recalled those words. She pictured once again the creation of the universe, a vision that had been pushed onto her the moment her blood mixed with Usagi's. The feeble light of the first stars fought a losing battle to illuminate the blackness of the space.

"... I am darker than dark…"

Horrifying visions of death and destruction came to Rei's mind. She saw thousands of decomposing bodies all around her, scattered everywhere her eyes laid upon. There were so many that someone had tossed them one on top of the other forming mounds up to twice her height. The only light in that vision came from a distant sparkle far away from her, above her head, in what she thought was the sky, struggling to survive amidst the blackness that threatened to swallow it. Her sixth sense told her that shine belonged to the moon.

"... Death does not dare touch me, for I am immortal…"

The moon shone its light on the battlefield for a fraction of a second. Her friends' bodies laid on the ground around her, limbs in awkward positions, dry blood no longer oozing from their wounds; their eyes, those who still have them, wide open, capturing what must have been one final, terrifying image. Rei identified Sailor Moon's corpse a bit further apart from the rest. A thick and dark mist surrounded it, before expanding as far as her eyes could see.

"You are terrified of being alone, but you think dying for the sake of others is any better, it is so funny!" The presence laughed at her. It felt so close that Usagi could almost feel it brushing against her skin. She was done pretending to be brave, she was absolutely terrified. She wanted to run away as far as she could, but her legs were frozen in place. She wished she could think of something, anything, but the laughter had numbed her brain.

"This makes everything all the more easy for me." The feminine voice sniggered. A chill ran down Usagi's spine. The last few words had sounded more evil, as if that were possible, than anything that voice had said so far. "I will protect them, your precious happiness, so that you never have to make that choice…" The voice said in a very serious tone, putting Usagi in full alert mode as she had finally realized what scared her so much about it.

It is the sound of death, she realized, stepping backward, trying to get as far away as possible. She put all her faith in her intuition, chose a direction, and sprinted to it, hoping to reach some sort of safety. Laughter boomed in her ears once again, clearly entertained by her reaction, but it slowly faded away as her legs increased the distance between them.

She ran for what seemed like an eternity until she finally stopped, her heart beating so fast in her chest that it was actually painful. She bent her upper body forward, resting her hands on her knees as she attempted to catch her breath. She allowed herself to calm down, certain that that evil woman hadn't followed her.

"I will protect you from all that suffering, and so…" Two claw-like hands grasped her firmly by the shoulders, sharp nails digging into her skin. Usagi screamed as the woman pushed her torso upward so that they were finally face to face. "I shall grant you your deepest wish, the one which your heart truly desires…"

Rei pulled her pajama sleeve over her bandaged arm, as if that were enough to make her forget. She looked outside her window, the full moon seemed bright and comforting, but she wondered how much longer it would remain so. The last three visions came back to her as she pondered about that: King Endymion laid on the ground, a withering rose in his hand. A dark red stain in his shirt expanded slowly, as more and more blood oozed from somewhere in his belly. His face seemed calm, almost placid, but Rei recognized it as the expression of a dying person.

The second vision was one that she had already experienced, but still shook her to her core nonetheless: Rei watched powerless as Neo Queen Serenity emptied the contents of her drawers, searching for the dagger that would end her life. She saw her friend's body hit the royal chamber's floor, bleeding out slowly, never letting go of that black rose that signified the death of her lover. She was certain that these two visions had already occurred, and, as she realized that, the third vision played once again in her mind.

A pink-haired teenager ran through a hallway, she turned and twisted many times as if searching for something. Rei thought she was lost at first, but it was clear that Princess Serenity knew exactly where she was going. She finally made her way to a dead end. There was a set of beautiful double doors at the other end of the hallway, with symbols and a scripture she did not recognize beautifully carved on them. The doors glowed eerily as if they themselves were made of a precious stone, but that shimmer increased until it was blinding. The next thing she saw was Princess Serenity's lifeless body hitting the ground.

And then, the last words, the parting threat of that evil entity thundered in her head:

"... Light and darkness will find each other, and when they do, only I will prevail."

Usagi woke up screaming, her heart running at a thousand beats per second. She was covered in sweat, her pajamas sticking to her body. She trembled uncontrollably as her breathing became more and more agitated. Her pupils were widely dilated and unfocused. All her brain did was replay the final moments with the woman from her nightmares: Her face had been just a few centimeters away from hers, allowing Usagi to finally take a good look at her. Her lips had moved slowly, rejoicing as she articulated her parting words. Usagi clutched her hands against her chest as she heard those words loud and clear in her head:

"I will kill you."

TBC

A/N: I don't think anyone is reading this story, so I'll probably just stop here :/