Dawn of A New Era

"Usagi wake up!" The words drifted through the darkness that surrounded her. She didn't want to wake up, it was so comfortable here. "Usagi!" The voice calling her was urgent sounding. What's the big deal anyway? Her eyes stirred beneath their closed lids.

"I think she's waking up now!" Another familiar sounding voice. Ami-chan? Images rushed back to her. Images of Ami working furiously on her hand held device when she was knocked out by Minako. What? She remembered being overwhelmed by energy, right before Koji disappeared. Koji! Her eyes flung open and she sat up suddenly, crashing her head into something hard, she fell back down to the solid crystal floor beneath.

"Ow ow ow" Rei complained, holding a hand to her head. "Honestly Usagi, you are the biggest klutz I know." Usagi rubbed her own forehead where they had collided, squinting against the brightness.

"Where's Koji?" She asked, panic gripping her.

"He's gone" Ami answered calmly. "You did it Usagi, just like we knew you could." The small blue eyed girl sighed and hung her head in relief. I strand of long white hair came into her vision, falling over her shoulder. Whose hair is that? She wondered, gently holding the fine white hair between her finger and thumb.

"It looks like all that energy surging through you changed your hair white Usagi-chan." Makoto said kindly. White?! This couldn't be happening. Not her hair, anything but her hair! I'm dreaming still, I've got to be dreaming. Wake up Usagi. She gritted her teeth and tried willing herself to wake up, but nothing changed. Her hair was still white. "I think it looks nice Usagi-chan" Makoto continued, seeing her distress. "It makes you look more mature."

"Really?" More mature. The words echoed inside her head. That's what Mamo-chan wants right? Well it wasn't that bad, most people didn't have white hair, so at least it was unique. Now that she was at a sort of peace with her new hair colour, she tried to get to her feet, but her legs were having trouble lifting her.

"Here let us help you" Minako and Makoto got on either side and hoisted her to her feet. "So what happened with Koji anyway?" Minako asked while her arm was draped over the blonde girls shoulder. Usagi furrowed her brow, trying to remember what happened.

"There was a lot of light. And noise... I remember the force of all that energy almost knocked me out. I started channeling it through the Silver Crystal and it hit Koji. I wanted to heal him, but he wouldn't accept it, so I... I..." A horrified look suddenly filled her normally soft features. "Oh no Mina-chan!" She shrieked "I sent them all to Planet Nemesis again! I said I wouldn`t do that, but I did anyway!"

Makoto rubbed her back gently with her free hand "You didn't have any other choice Usagi-chan. It was either send them away, or risk everyone else's life."

"I should have tried harder; I should have found a way to cleanse him of the evil that invaded his soul." Usagi protested. "I couldn't... I couldn't..."

"Usagi-chan" Ami interrupted softly. The now white haired girl lifted her head and stared into the soft blue eyes of her brilliant friend. "We know what the Black Moon Clan is going to do. We can make the proper preparations to stop the war that would ensue. We have the advantage of knowledge on our side. We can still save everyone before the Dark Moon Clan massacres everyone." She was right. Usagi knew she was right and smiled faintly. She recalled the words Prince Demando said to her in his final moments Try and have some understanding for us. Please be patient.

"That's right Ami-chan; we can still help them when they come back to Earth." She felt better about the situation, but she still wished she could have done more right now. Makoto, on her right side, grinned before saying.

"You know, we have a new ally now."

"Oh?" Usagi's interest was now somewhere else. Minako continued where Makoto left off.

"That's right. While we were fighting Aksuna one of her shadow creatures turned on her. She also knew that Koji would have killed her if she failed, so we saved her and now we're kind of... Friends I guess." Usagi beamed brightly from hearing the good news. Gaining new friends was always a good thing in her eyes.

The five girls made their way slowly through the empty palace. The walls no longer shone with warm pink energy of the Silver Crystal, now they were almost translucent, empty of the power they once held. As the young hero's laughed jovially they came upon the entrance to the large foyer that Aksuna was waiting in.

"Let's give her a warm welcome, ok everyone?" Usagi asked her dear friends. They all smiled and nodded.

"We wouldn't have it any other way" Rei spoke for the group.

"Alright, here we go." They walked through the final archway and entered the empty foyer. Usagi scanned the large room, and couldn't find anyone. The bright sun lit the room well, especially now that the walls were clear.

"Did you take her somewhere else?" Ami asked. Makoto and Minako were both shaking their head, brows furrowed in sudden confusion. "Perhaps she moved to a safer place, or even outside." Ami offered after seeing their reaction.

"She couldn't even stand when we left her." Makoto whispered, the realization of what happened to her sinking in.

"Then that means..." Usagi couldn't finish the sentence. She was banished to Planet Nemesis. "Why? Why would she get banished? Why didn't she accept the cleansing?" Usagi pleaded with her friends. None of them looked her in the eye as she turned from one face to the next. She choked back the tears, her heart sinking. Why would she tell Mina-chan and Mako-chan that she...?

"Perhaps she was ready to join us in her head, but not her heart. Or maybe she was lying to-"

"No!" Makoto interrupted Ami. "She was sincere when she decided to go against Koji. I saw a birth of hope in her eyes that hadn't been there before."

"I was only speculating." Ami said quietly, turning her eyes to the floor. Makoto's hard features softened before she offered her apology.

"I'm sorry Ami-chan; I didn't mean to snap at you." Ami met her friends gaze and smiled faintly.

"Usako!" A man's voice called from the large entrance of the palace. Usagi's heart skipped a beat upon hearing the familiar sound of Mamoru's voice. She watched and waited as he hurried into the palace, ragged and dirty from fighting Forsaken. His normally pristine tux was mangled and tattered, his mask gone. The top hat he normally wore was nowhere to be seen and his hair was a dirty mess. He was perfect in her eyes. He came skidding to a halt in front of her and she couldn't resist the urge to throw her arms around him. She nearly collapsed without the support of her two friends on either side, but Mamoru gently caught her in his strong and tender arms. She buried her face into his chest, relived that he was alright. His heart was beating quickly and his breathing heavy, but she only felt his warm embrace for the time being. As Usagi ran her hand up his back he winced and tensed slightly.

"Are you hurt Mamo-chan?" She asked, pulled out of her reverie, face full of concern. It wasn't until now that she noticed how tired and beaten he looked. His eyes drooped and his smile as forced.

"Nothing a good night's rest can't solve" He answered honestly. The other girls had continued on and left them alone, something Usagi was glad for.

"It's over" she whispered into his chest. His arms wrapped around her tighter, holding her close and protectively. "I couldn't save everyone. Like Sol's parents. Where is Sol anyway? Did he...?" She couldn't bring herself to ask such a dreadful question.

"No, no, he's fine. He said he would wait outside for everyone. Honestly I don't think he can stand on his own." She looked up into his deep brown eyes, and relaxed. She was relieved to hear Sol was alright. "Your hair is white now." Mamoru blurted out matter of factly. Usagi immediately felt her cheeks get hot and broke her gaze with the man she loved.

"I can dye it back to blonde" she stammered, feeling embarrassed. "It's only hair after all." Her sentence trailed off and she looked down at her feet. She felt a soft warm hand cup her chin and lift her head again. Mamoru held her in a loving stare.

"I like it. The white makes you look more mature." Her stomach began to flutter and she felt like she was weightless. Without thinking she reached up and placed her hand behind his head and pulled his mouth down to hers. His lips were dry and chapped but she didn't care. She just wanted to feel his warm presence pressed against her.

"What happened to you?!" Makoto's voice screamed from outside. With an effort, Usagi pulled herself away from Mamoru and said "We should probably see what's wrong."

"I already know what's wrong." Mamoru muttered, rolling his eyes. She let him lead the way outside as Makoto continued to ask Sol questions in a high pitched voice. The couple stepped out into the warm sun, the lush green grass underneath felt soft and welcoming under Usagi's tired feet. Sol was sitting a little ways away looking up at a mortified Makoto. He looks terrible! Dried blood soaked his clothes, and there was a gaping wound from his neck to his shoulder that still oozed a small amount of blood. His face was tired and dirty and she doubted he could stand on his own.

Makoto stopped yelling at him and held her hand to her mouth, stifling soft sobs that found their way out. "You're an idiot Sol." Usagi heard her green eyed friend whisper before dropping to her knees and pulling him in close. He grunted at first, but slowly wrapped his good arm around her. Mamoru leaned in and gestured past the group. Usagi noticed people were starting to gather.

At first she worried that they were more rioters, coming to finish them off while they were all wounded and weak. But she quickly through that notion away, seeing they were cheering and shouting praises to them.

"Queen Serenity, you've saved us!"

"Please forgive us for doubting you!"

The other words came out as a jumble as everyone began to shout. They made their way slowly towards them and Usagi couldn't help but smile. Mamoru squeezed her tight against him and leaned his head down so only she could hear.

"These are your subjects now. They've accepted you as their Queen."

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do as Queen though." She whispered honestly.

"Neither do I." Mamoru laughed. "But I know whatever you do; you'll do it with love in your heart. Things will be tough and we've got a long road ahead of us." She rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes.

"I think I can walk that long road as long as you stay by my side." She felt hot tears begin to slide down her face.

"I'll always be by your side Usako. Together we can lead this world into an era of peace and prosperity. But for now, let's just enjoy this beautiful day with our friends." Usagi opened her eyes to see Ami, Rei, Minako and Makoto holding up Sol, waving to the people as they approached, all of them smiling broadly.

"Yes, let's just enjoy this moment together."

The End