The Long Road Home
Chapter 1
Smoke rose in lazy circle from an abandoned lot of the Juban industrial district. What had earlier been billowing black cloud was now just a wisp of grey. The grey smoke made a wreath around the newly formed crater, where a warehouse had once stood. Grey wreath played mournful homage to the destruction at it's center.
One living figure in a worn and tattered sailor fuku sat curled around herself in the middle of the carnage. Apart from a few scrapes, smudges of dirt and debris-caught in her long blonde hair and over her body-and the state of her clothes, she had come from the massacre physically unscathed. Her mental state, however, was far from fit.
Held tight in her right hand was a silver jewel of untold beauty, the jewel was her life force; passed down generation after generation, along the royal line of the Moon Kingdom, to the eldest daughter when the Queen had passed on. To the owner of the jewel nearly limitless power was granted, the ability to heal, to bring back life with a wish, to defeat enemies with ease. But it had failed her, refused the one thing she needed and wanted most, and her friends weren't coming back this time. She held the silver crystal tight enough to cut into her hand and blood soon covered the jewel unnoticed by the girl.
Usagi didn't know how long she'd sat there, in the middle of the crater, surrounded by the bodies of her most trusted and loyal friends. She'd stopped crying hours ago, drained, lost. Her dulled blue eyes stared unseeing into the distance as her soul hid in a corner of her mind where it felt safe. She barely noticed when a thin black cat, who had a golden crescent moon on her forehead, started rubbing against her arms nor did Usagi look up when Luna climbed into her lap to give her as much comfort as the cat could, as Luna herself grieved.
"Oh Usagi…" came a mournful whisper, heard only by the speaker, the girl and one other person. A single tear rolled down Usagi's cheek, landing with a splash on the blood stained jewel, and, in a flash, the cat and the girl were vanished.
Tears flowed freely from Sailor Pluto's eyes as she witnessed the final battle of the Senshi and Tuxedo Mask as they fought and died valiantly to save and protect their Princess. They all knew the consequences of losing Sailor Moon and not one of them we willing to take that chance.
Signs of battle and the devastation it left behind surrounded Usagi; she hadn't moved from that spot since she'd delivered the final blow to the evil who decided to take everything she loved away from her. And all Sailor Pluto could do was sit and watch. All the portals had shut down and she'd been locked out of the system. That could mean only one thing; it had begun.
Setsuna tore her eyes from the screen to look at the items she had collected when the battle ended. The first item was a silver pendant on a heavy chain bracelet. The silver pendant was hand crafted to depict a beautiful wolf sitting on his haunches, howling at the moon. Even now, not touching it, she could feel the energy it held.
The second item was a golden heart shaped locket. It held memories.
The third and final item caused a tender smile to form around Setsuna's lips, even through her tears. It was probably the most precious item of the three, for it held hope. Setsuna put the third item into the locket and sealed it closed, ready to be opened at the right time.
Setsuna's attention was drawn back to the screen and her Princess by a faint whisper. She said a few words as the teardrop fell and the items vanished with Usagi. Setsuna took one last look at the screen before, with great reluctance, returning to her duties.
"Take care, Usagi. May luck and good fortune find you on your new journey, my Princess."