Disclaimer: The Sailor Moon universe belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. The Guardians (to be revealed later) and Kurai are my own creation however. ^^

It might have been 10 o'clock in the morning, but it was still much too early for the pretty young woman known as Usagi. She was sitting on the floor, cross legged, in front of the low table in the middle of Rei's room. She was nibbling on a muffing their friend Makoto had brought. It was, according to the brown haired young woman, a new recipe. But although the muffins were delicious, Usagi wasn't concentrating much on it. She really just wanted to go back to sleep, and it showed. Her eyes felt heavy, and she just the way she was leaning forward more and more showed that it wouldn't be long before she was asleep. One quick look at the other end of the table showed that Minako was in much the same state. A sleepover with only the two of them had not been a very good idea, considering the fact that they had spent most of the night playing video games instead of doing what other normal people would do: sleep.

The other three Inner Senshi—Ami, Rei and Makoto—had obviously gotten a better night's sleep. Or at least, they were better at hiding it than the two blondes were. Knowing Ami, she had most likely spent most of the night just studying. But it was Rei who seemed the most different, more worried than how she had been in the past few, well, months. She didn't look tired per say, but more like she was stressed. It was, perhaps, the only thing really keeping Usagi and Minako from actually falling asleep at the table.

"Tell us, Rei-chan" began the blue haired young woman, the first to call the 'meeting' to order. "Why did you call us all here?" She sounded just a tad more annoyed than what she usually would have sounded like. But in order to make it here, she had to pass up on a chance to go out for breakfast with her mother and some of her mother's work friends. It wouldn't have been a very exciting breakfast, but Ami always enjoyed spending time with her mother, and she enjoyed hearing everyone speak about their experiences in a hospital. But the tone Rei had used when she had called had told the future doctor that it wasn't going to be just a normal meeting between friends.

"I had a dream yesterday…" she started slowly, almost carefully. And when he friends nodded, encouraging her to go on, she did. She explained what had happened in her dream, how familiar the two names she had heard felt, how evil the person she had seen had seemed, how she had asked the fire for more answers and how it had reacted. Everyone stayed silent as she did, Usagi and Minako now fully awake and listening. Even Luna and Artemis, resting on the bed, were silent, listening to what was being said. This did sound serious.

There was a moment of silence once Rei was done, as everyone tried to process what had been said.

"Are you sure it wasn't just a bad dream Rei-chan?" started Makoto. She was speaking slowly, almost carefully, afraid of how their friend would react. "Maybe you dreamed all of this?"

"I'm sure" replied the dark haired priestess. "Look, if I had any doubts, I wouldn't have called this meeting together" she reminded them. "It wasn't a normal dream. It looked and felt more like the sort of dreams I used to have when the Death Busters were around. It was just so… real…" She trailed off, frowning slightly.

"But you don't know any of them?" asked Ami.

Rei shook her head. "Iie, I have no idea who they were. They just seemed familiar" she replied.

"Maybe Makoto-chan's right. Maybe it's nothing" finally spoke Usagi. She sounded almost nervous, though she was trying to keep that fact hidden by a smile. "I mean, it's possible that you are wrong Rei-chan. Maybe it really is nothing…"

"It wasn't just a dream!" replied the priestess, growing angrier. She didn't want to lose her calm, but there was simply something very frustrating about how her friends just didn't seem to what to believe her. "I know what I saw, what I dreamed—"

But before she could finish, Minako was speaking up as well, interrupting her. "What you dreamed" repeated the blonde. "Not what you witnessed with your own two eyes." Before the other could speak again, Minako had lifted her hands, signalling for her to stay calm and silent. "We know how real dreams, especially yours, can be. But you're the only one that saw it Rei-chan. We're not trying to be mean, but things have been silent for two years. That fight with Chaos should have ended it all, no?"

"Unless the evil was already born."

It was a new voice, deeper than anyone present in the room, but very familiar. When the Inner Senshi turned towards the newest arrival, they smiled.

"Haruka-san!" cheerfully said Usagi first.

"Odango, minna" replied the tall woman. She smiled, faintly. "I hope you don't mind my interruption. Your grandfather let me in Rei-chan" she explained.

Rei shook her head. "It's fine" she assured her. She even scooted away a little, giving the newest arrival a bit of space to sit down. No one was really expecting Haruka to join in though. The Outer Senshi were known for working on their own a lot. Just the fact that one of them was here now was a surprise in of itself.

"I didn't know everyone was having a gathering" teased the short haired blonde woman, a slight smirk on her lips. "I was just coming here to have a chat with Rei-san, but I'm glad to see everyone." And to everyone's surprise, she took a seat between Rei and Makoto, pulling one leg up towards her chest.

Whatever the reason Haruka was there, it wasn't for anything light.

"Haruka-san" began Ami, speaking slowly, almost carefully. But who could blame her? Even with the peace going on, the Outer Senshi didn't spend a lot of time with the Inner. The only exception was whenever it was something having to do with the wedding. "Why are you here exactly? And what did you mean by 'already born'?"

There was a silence for a moment, as Haruka tried to think of how to answer. She didn't want to lie to everyone, but she had hoped to only speak to Rei, to get a fire reading. The Outer had agreed that their mutual 'bad feeling' most likely had to do with a new enemy. But while Michiru's mirror was powerful, it wasn't all seeing. They had agreed, in the end, that Haruka would go ask Rei for a fire reading, in hopes that the priestess would be able to shed some light on the matter. Setsuna had to work as the school nurse, Hotaru had school and Michiru was needed at a recording studio—she had agreed to feature her talents for a song for a new upcoming singer. Haruka usually would have gone with her—they were almost inseparable—but talking to Rei had been more important. If another fight was preparing itself, then anything else would come second to it. But they hadn't planned on everyone else being there, speaking about some sort of enemy. From what the tall blonde had gathered, Rei had seen something.

"The winds have been restless lately" she began slowly. "And Michiru said the seas have has well. Hotaru-chan has been having some weird dreams about some people she says "feel familiar" yet she doesn't know why. A little like Rei-san does" she explained. "After talking together, we thought it might be some sort of new enemy, but we wanted to ask Rei-san to do a fire reading first, just to see if it was just us but… I guess not" she finished. Once she was done, she let her eyes travel the small group of people, the worried Usagi, the defensive Minako, the determined Makoto, intelligent Ami already looking as though she was processing everything with that brilliant mind of hers and Rei, so calm despite it all, nodding her head as she understood that her suspicions were true.

"Listen, it really might be nothing Ondago-chan" commented Haruka after a while. "Setsuna is already looking into it and so is Michiru. If we're lucky, it may just be a small thing." She smiled, trying to reassure their princess, who seemed a little heartbroken at the idea that the Earth might be in danger again.

"Haruka-san" spoke up Luna, surprising everyone. Although Artemis and her had been present since the beginning, they had not spoken, choosing to remain silent as the girls spoke. This was the first time either of them made a comment, though it was obvious they had been listening very well to what had been said. "You said already born…"

"It's just a hunch. If Hotaru-chan says she feels as though she knows them, they might be someone from her past. Someone Rei-san and her had in common. Or an evil that was already awake before Odango healed the Cauldron. There are a lot of possibilities" The tall woman shrugged, and came to her feet. "Instead of panicking" she commented, already regretting having spoken up about it, "You should let us look into it Odango. I'm sure Luna and Artemis will be willing to help us as well. Maybe you won't even have a part to play in it." She tried to smile, reassuringly and full of confidence, though it didn't seem to help how most of the Inner were feeling.

This was why the Outer Senshi preferred to work alone. While they had remained calm about it, the Inner Senshi already seemed worried. Haruka understood that they had already faced many dangers, but after facing an enemy like Chaos, why should they still be afraid? Why would they continue to worry about fighting? She understood that none of them liked it—she didn't either—but it was something that they would all have to live with. It was going to be part of their lives, whether they wanted it to or not. The fact that Sailor Moon had managed to helped get rid of an enemy has strong as Chaos was a good sign of just how much everyone had grown. And there couldn't be an enemy stronger than Chaos himself… right?

A couple of hours had passed since their little meeting. Usagi had taken Haruka's offer to drop her off whenever she wanted, and she had, of course, picked Mamoru's place. Haruka had driven her there and dropped her off after assuring that everything would be under control. But Usagi could not help but worry. It wasn't just that the wedding was coming up though. It was important to her, of course, but so were the dreams of all of her friends, and she knew that having to fight again would put a hold on them once more. It wasn't something she could control, but it was something she had always felt bad about it.

"Mamo-chan" she called out softly as she entered his apartment. He had given her—or rather, she had coaxed him into giving her—a key a few weeks back, and she no longer had to wait for his permission to enter his home. Still, she respected his privacy for the most part. Everything that had happened with Galaxia and Chao had matured her quite a lot, and it was showing at times. She stayed in the entrance until she heard him tell her he was in his small living room. After taking her shoes off and placing her bag on the ground, she went to him, finding him sitting on the ground in front of the table in his living room, various books opened in front of him.

She made her way to him, settling down next to him. The gesture seemed to surprise him, and he turned his head towards her, looking at her questioningly. "Is anything wrong Usako?" he asked his fiancée. He moved as he spoke, bringing one arm around her shoulders and pulling her a little closer to him. It was the first time in a very long time that he saw this worried about something. "You're not getting cold feet about the wedding, are you?" he asked her, trying to draw a smile out of her.

All he got though, as a shake her of her blonde head.

"Was it the meeting you had with the others?" he asked, frowning slightly. The frown only deepened as she nodded her in agreement this time. "What did they say?" he pushed on.

She hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether she should tell him or not. One look at his worried face and she cracked though, quickly explaining to him just what they had spoken about. Mamoru, for a while, only nodded his head slowly. "I just didn't want them to have to give up their dreams again…" she finished sadly.

Carefully, Mamoru brought two fingers under her chin and lifted it up so she was once again looking at his face. "Usako, you know they would do this for you without hesitating" he reminded her softly. "And it's a choice they made before… They know the risks" he went on. He paused again, realizing quickly that this was not helping at all. "And perhaps it won't be anything to worry about. Or maybe it'll be something easy to take care of…" Although, to be honest, it wasn't something he was very certain of either. If most of the Senshi had sensed it, it could not be a good sign.

"Come here" he told her after a while of cuddling. "Let's make something for lunch alright?" he asked her.

Finally, Usagi smiled. "Hai" she agreed, nodding her head to her Mamo-chan. "I was getting hungry…" she admitted. And she laughed, reassuring him as she did and making him smile. As long as she could still laugh—and think about food—then Mamoru would continue to have hope that this whole matter wouldn't bother his fiancée too much.

The girl was on the floor, on her side. Her hair was still messy, sticking to her face. Her eyes were closed, though she didn't really seem to be sleeping. The man next to her, taller than her obviously, with dark skin, the colour of rich chocolate, was sitting up. They were silent for a moment, before he spoke first.

"You need to try" he said.

"And if it doesn't work?" asked the girl. She didn't open her eyes, she didn't look at him. "What if Tomatsu is right? They never did try to reach us. They never tried to know more about us…" Her voice shook, as though she would cry, but she composed herself. She would not cry; she refused to. Crying brought nothing. Crying did nothing; it helped no one, and it was only a sign of being weak. It was one thing she had learned: if you wanted to survive, especially in this place, you had to be strong.

"And what if it does? What if they do remember? What if Kurai and Tomatsu have only been lying to us from the beginning?" replied the man. "I know you love him, but you need to be strong. You need to do this, you're the only one that can. Just try… try before it's too late…"

The girl sighed, softly. "I will try. But do not get your hopes up." She sounded defeated, and she didn't add anything more. The man didn't either. He looked away, nodding his head. He would not push her.

Author's Note: Wooo~ Chapter 2 already~ Haha, but don't expect such fast uploading all the time. With the whole "can't post up a new story" thing, I had a lot of time on my hands, until I stalked the forums and discovered a (crappy but it works) way to bypass the problem. Anyways, hope you liked this chapter. ^^ Comments. constructive criticism, love or hate, let me know in a review! Although I don't need flamers, thanks.