My dream is to live happily in a house alongside the ones I love…
_
Usagi beamed as she held tightly onto Haruka's hand as they walked to the park. She wished she could hold onto Michiru's hand, too, but her green-haired lover was holding baby Hotaru, so Usagi knew she could only hold one of her lovers' hands for now. "Are you excited for the solar eclipse, bunny?" Michiru asked, and Usagi turned her head to look at her. Briefly, she wondered about the nickname Michiru had used.
"Yeah! I've never seen one before! I bet it'll be super cool! Though, Michiru, why'd you call me bunny?" Usagi answered Michiru's question before asking her own, her voice curious. Even though she struggled to pronounce the English word bunny, she was no good at English. Michiru laughed, and Usagi thought it was pretty sound.
"That's because, my beautiful Princess, I wanted to give you a nickname, and 'bunny' is another word for the meaning of your name in English. Do you not like it?" Michiru asked, and Usagi started to blush and could also hear the sound of baby Hotaru's gurgling, which was cute but also terribly distracting.
"No…I like it. I was just curious…" Usagi spoke, her face still red from her blush, and that's when Haruka laughed and raised Usagi's hand, leaving a kiss on it.
"I think kitten would be a better name for our Princess here, Michiru. She's cute like one and has the same propensity for getting into trouble." Haruka spoke with a bit of a chuckle, and Usagi blushed and glared at Haruka, although her cheeks and bottom lip stuck out, so it looked more like a pout.
"Well…I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree and call our Princess different things then. After, who says we can't give our Princess more than one pet name?" Michiru spoke with a bit of a smirk on her face, and Usagi thought it was pretty, so she blushed even more than before.
"Can we just get to park and watch the eclipse already?" Usagi whined and watched as her lovers turned and smiled at her.
"Of course. We don't want to miss it after all." Michiru answered with a smile.
_
The park was crowded with people, and Usagi realized that a lot of people must have had the same idea as them. "The eclipse should be starting soon; we'll need to find something to view it with," Michiru spoke, and Usagi noted she was holding Hotaru a bit tighter due to the crowd. Usagi gave Michiru and Haruka a smile, and she pointed to a man in the distance.
"That guy seems to be giving out tinted glass panels. I'll go get some!" Usagi spoke before making her way over to the man giving out the glass panels; she smiled at the man before she spoke, "May I have three, please?" Usagi beamed happily when the man handed her three dark glass panels and started walking back over but stopped when she heard a voice,
"Serenity?" Usagi froze and turned to see Mamoru staring at her wide-eyed. She stiffened a bit at being called that name, her old name, and gave Mamoru a strained smile. She hadn't seen Mamoru since she had woken up with him by her bedside in Ami's apartment, something nobody really ever gave her a proper explanation for, but oh well. But anyway, she didn't feel quite ready to face Mamoru yet, knowing that she had broken his heart. The last significant time they spoke, Usagi had run out of his apartment in tears. So yeah, it's not a conversation she wanted to have right now. Usagi took a deep, steady breath,
"My name is Usagi. It's not Serenity anymore." Usagi said, doing her best to look Mamoru in the eye, and she watched as Mamoru quickly bowed his head in apology,
"Oh, my bad, Usagi. Please forgive me. But since you're here, would you like to watch the solar eclipse with me? As friends?" Mamoru asked, seemingly adding on the last part at the last second. Usagi took another breath,
"I'm sorry, I'm actually here with my girlfriends. I came to see the eclipse with them. I'm sorry." Usagi answered his question without outright saying no but still making it an obvious no nonetheless. She could see Mamoru wince and stiffen, and she could see the obvious pain in his eyes. Usagi briefly felt bad for a moment and tried to tell herself she wasn't responsible for his feelings.
"Oh…alright, have a good time, Usagi," Mamoru spoke, and it looked like he was backing away. Usagi simply nodded before making her way back to Haruka and Michiru.
She smiled at her lovers and watched as Michiru adjusted her hold on Hotaru to take the dark glass panel from her. "That took a minute. Did something happen?" Michiru asked, and Usagi merely smiled as she pushed the conversation with Mamoru to the back of her mind.
"No, I just ran into someone I knew. That's all." Usagi smiled as she put the glass panel up to her face and stared at the sky as the moon started covering the sun, blocking out its light. Usagi stiffened as she heard it, and at first, she thought she was hearing things, but then she heard it again.
Ring
Was that?
Ring
That sounded like the sound of a bell….
Ring
There it was again; Usagi slowly looked away from the sun, dropped the panel from her face, and turned around. Looking for the source of the sound. That's when she saw it, and her breath caught in her throat when she saw it—standing there with four golden hooves, a silk white coat, beautiful feathered wings, orange eyes, and a red teardrop-shaped crystal on its forehead. A pale blue mane and a golden horn atop its head. Was that a pegasus?
Help me, Young Maiden…Please help me, Young Maiden.
The pegasus spoke; it spoke. Was Usagi seeing or hearing things? Usagi blinked, and when she opened her eyes, the pegasus was gone. It had vanished like it was never even there.
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"Usagi?" She heard her name being called, and Usagi snapped out of the trace she was in and turned back around to see Haruka and Michiru looking at her with concern.
"I saw…a pegasus…it was asking for my help?" Usagi muttered, and a feeling of foreboding fell over her. Was something starting again?
Haruka sighed and looked at her, "A pegasus, huh?" Usagi's face fell at her lover's words,
"You don't believe me?" Usagi asked, her voice shaking a bit and watched as Haruka's eyes widened, and she quickly spoke,
"No, I believe you. Of course, I do. It's just I don't want anything to start again…let's not think about it now; let's just watch the eclipse." Usagi nodded at Haruka's words and looked back up, raising the plan of glass back up. She watched silently, the magic of the eclipse gone, as her worries now weighed down her heart. She watched as the moon covered the sun, blocking its light.
_
Minako watched as the moon covered the sun, and she smiled. Right now, she felt as if all her dreams could come true. Maybe…if…if she made a wish, her dreams really would come true. Sure, it was no shooting star, but it might do the trick. Minako smiled and spread her arms wide. "My dream is to become an idol! I want to be really popular. A famous idol, that's what I wish!" Minako could hear her friends chuckles, and the Makoto spoke,
"My dream is to become a bride! Then I want to own a flower shop or work at a cake shop! But I first and foremost want to be a happy bride!"
Minako was taken aback by Makoto's wish, and she looked at her friend, who seemed to be in her own world. Minako just stared at her friend, who had red-brown hair and thought. That wish was a little greedy, wasn't it?
"My dream is to be a doctor! I wish to be an elegant doctor!" Ami spoke next, and Minako smiled; she thought Ami would make that dream come true. Ami was smart enough to do it for sure. If anything, Ami's dream was a lot more manageable than Makoto's, at least.
"I want to follow in my grandpa's footsteps, and someday, I wish to become an elegant head priestess at Hikawa Shrine." Rei's voice was full of confidence as she spoke, and Minako hoped Rei would make that dream come true. Firstly, because Rei was her friend, but also because she thought that Rei looked really pretty in the traditional clothes of miko, and if Rei became head priestess at her grandfather's shrine, she would definitely get to see Rei wear it more. Not that she would ever tell anyone she thought that, especially not Rei. Actually, now that she thought about it, Rei looked pretty in basically everything, especially in her school uniform. Minako wondered what Rei would look like in overalls; she'd bet that would be cute.
Suddenly, Minako stopped and blushed, realizing she was staring at Rei. Agh, what was she thinking? Minako quickly shook her head, trying to shoo the thoughts from her mind. She really hoped none of her friends had seen her staring at Rei. Finally, Minako looked towards the sky and noted how much darker it was getting as the moon covered the sun.
_
Haruka watched the eclipse and could not shake her foreboding feeling after what Usagi had said and the fact that the eclipse had lasted this long. Haruka's eyes widened; a ship, a flying ship, was coming out of the eclipse.
Right this way! The circus has come to town! To collect the beautiful dreams of this city of light!
Finally, the Dead Moon Circus is here to make its grand entrance!
We've longed for this place! This city of dreams! We've waited for this for a long time!
Haruka's heart nearly stopped, and she realized something really was starting again. Then, just as it had appeared from the eclipse, it vanished as if it had never been there. Haruka turned her head and looked at her two lovers, who were staring up at the sky, "Did you see that, too?" Haruka finally asked, her voice dry,
"You mean the ship that just flew out of the eclipse? Yes, I did. Is something really starting again? Is this the new enemy?" Usagi asked nervously, and Haruka had half a mind to pull her Princess into a hug and hold her close to comfort her.
"Now, let's not worry ourselves just yet. If something happens, we can handle it. Let's go to the market to get our mind off things." Michiru chimed in; she sounded like she was fine, but Haruka could hear the agitation in her voice.
Haruka could only hope they really had been seeing things.
_
Rei stared up at the sky, her eyes narrowed. She was sure of what she had just seen: a ship flying out of the solar eclipse, but at the same time, she hoped she was wrong. "Did you all just see that?" Rei finally asked, dread building in her stomach.
"Yeah, I saw that very clearly, but what was that? It looked like a ship in the sky." Minako spoke, and Rei felt her stomach drop. Knowing that her friends did indeed see it. Could this be the new enemy? Rei hoped it wasn't; maybe they had all been imagining things. Rei's head snapped up to the sky as she heard the very familiar cawing of crows.
She looked up to see Phobos and Deimos in the sky, flying in circles around them. Rei squinted; what were they doing? Were they trying to tell her something? Suddenly, the two crows swooped down, and Rei heard a soft thud and looked down to see the newspaper and a card with two black feathers piercing through them.
Rei's eyes widened, and she recognized the newspaper as today's paper, the one talking about the solar eclipse. The card was a Tarot card, the one picturing the moon. A bad omen, this once-a-millennium solar eclipse, was it cursed? Rei looked towards her friends, "Let's go to Ichi no Hashi park! I'm worried about Usagi!"
_
Usagi was confused, looking down at the paper advertising the Dead Moon Circus had come to AzubuJuban in the Minato ward of Tokyo on their world tour. Usagi squinted; this was really strange; this was the first she had heard of such a circus. "This is strange…" Usagi muttered, and her eyes widened as the flier was pulled out of her hands; she looked up to see that Haruka had pulled the flier out of her hands, and Usagi crossed her arms, pouting a bit. She had still been looking at that.
"As strange as it might be, kitten, we're here to get our mind off things, not worry about it more. Now go look and see if there is anything you like." Haruka spoke, giving her a little push on the back towards the various stalls.
Usagi looked towards the various stalls and booths in the marketplace. Wow, it was like a festival; there were even cotton candy vendors and booths selling goldfish. A blowout sale, huh? Usagi wondered how long this took to set up. Usagi continued looking around the various stalls the shops had set up until something shimmering in the sunlight caught her eye. Usagi slowly made her way over to the stall it was at and looked down at the object in question. It was a kaleidoscope that was made entirely from glass, and it was shimmering in the sunlight. Usagi looked down at the kaleidoscope in awe; it was pretty. "Oh? Do you like that kaleidoscope, bunny? Here, I'll get it for you."
Usagi looked at Michiru, "It is pretty…but please, you really don't have to do that!" Usagi added on the second part as she processed what Michiru said. Usagi watched as Michiru laughed and adjusted her hold on Hotaru so she could get out her wallet. Er…Michiru was completely ignoring her protests, wasn't she?
"Nonsense bunny, you're my sweet, beautiful Princess, and I want to spoil you, alright?" Michiru spoke, smiling, and Usagi blushed profusely at Michiru's words. She was going to protest some more, but baby Hotaru stopped her when she spoke,
"Pin-ess!" Baby Hotaru repeated after Michiru's words, and Michiru laughed as she gave the cashier at the stand her card. Usagi stared at the six-month-old for a moment, and then Michiru spoke.
"Yes, that's right, Hotaru; Usagi's a Princess, and she deserves everything she wants and more." Michiru tapped Hotaru on the nose as she spoke, and the six-month-old giggled. Usagi thought it was cute and terribly distracting as she didn't notice the cashier hand Michiru a pink paper bag. Michiru reached into it, pulled out the glass kaleidoscope Usagi had been looking at, and handed it to her. Usagi slowly took the kaleidoscope from Michiru and looked down at it. She still thought it was pretty, but she didn't need Michiru to buy it for her.
"Oh, bunny. Don't feel bad. I wanted to buy it for you. So I did, Haruka, and I just want to spoil you, isn't that right, Haruka?" Michiru spoke as she glanced over at Haruka, who had walked over them.
Haruka smiled at her, and Usagi felt her heart flutter. "Michiru's right, kitten, so there is no need to feel bad."
Usagi sighed, "Okay, fine. But you don't need to spoil me all the time, you know?"
_
Night had fallen over the city of Tokyo, and it was quiet, as the last train had already departed, so barely anyone was wandering the streets of Tokyo. In the center of Mamiana Sague Park stood a lone crius tent, and inside, a flying eyeball carried by dark black wings landed on a staff. An old, withered blue hand gripped the staff, "Oh, Zircon, how I hate the light of day. At my age, the sun's light paralyzes me, but once the sun falls, I am calm again. I won't be able to sleep either unless we make our cirus a hit in this town. Are you listening, my girls?"
An old lady with wrinkly blue skin spoke from her seat on a throne in the middle of the tent. "Yeah, we heard ya, you old hag. We'll make sure no one can interfere with our circus." A younger-sounding woman spoke though she was obscured by darkness.
"Crown Orb!"
_
Young Maiden…
Usagi opened her eyes. Was someone calling her? She was still in her pajamas, and a world of white surrounded her. Usagi did not know where she was.
Ring
There it was again, the sound of a bell. Why did she keep hearing that sound? Usagi slowly turned to where she heard the ringing of the bell, and her eyes widened. There was that horse she saw earlier today. Was it a unicorn or a pegasus? Usagi wasn't sure.
You're the Young Madien with the beautiful dreams…
Young Maiden? Beautiful dreams? Usagi wasn't sure what this pegasus was talking about. More importantly, why was this pegasus talking to her?
Come, Young Maiden, ride on my back…
Usagi heard the pegasus's words and slowly walked towards the creature. Staring at its glistening white, soft blue hair and vibrant orange eyes. Upon reaching the pegasus, Usagi climbed onto its back, tightly gripping its mane. Wow…this mane was actually very soft.
Usagi looked below her to see the city of Tokyo below the lights of buildings glistening in the darkness. How pretty… the way the lights glistened in the darkness just like the glass kaleidoscope Michiru had bought her earlier glistened in the sun. That's when Usagi's eyes fell upon a part of the city shadowed by darkness, and she was confused. What was that darkness? Why did it fill her with dread?
"Pegasus? What is that Darkness there?" Usagi asked, and the pegasus answered,
That is the part of the city you were in earlier today…
Usagi's eyes widened at Pegasus's answer. That darkness was Juban Shopping District? Why was it all dark like that? Usagi didn't get a chance to ask any further questions because the sights of Tokyo below them faded, and they were once again surrounded by white.
Young Maiden, did you enjoy the view..?
Pegasus asked, and Usagi smiled, pushing down her doubts and worries. "Yes, I did."
Good…hold out your hands…
Usagi took a breath and did as Pegasus asked, a little bit nervous because she didn't know who Pegasus was or if he had good intentions or not. She didn't know if Pegasus was the enemy. Suddenly, a small glass bell dropped into her hands, appearing out of nowhere. Usagi stared at it. What was this bell?
Whenever you need me…ring this bell to call for me…
Pegasus spoke, and Usagi stared at it, now noticing that she was no longer on Pegasus's back. What did that mean? Did Pegasus know what was coming? What the enemy wanted? "Pegasus…who are you?" Usagi asked, finally forcing herself to speak up. She looked at Pegasus a bit warily now.
I am Pegasus…Helios and I know, Young Maiden, that you will be filled with great power in the future. I will help when you call…so in the future, I may use your power to save Elysion…
Usagi watched wide-eyed as Pegasus grew further and further away, and a cage appeared around him.
Please…I need to save Elysion…I need to find the Golden Crystal…
_
Thud!
Usagi opened her eyes and immediately noticed her head hurt. She looked around with her eyes a bit and noticed she was on the floor. Oh, she must have fallen on the floor; that was why her head hurt. Usagi then heard a smaller thud along with a soft ring and looked to see the glass bell from her dream on the floor.
So it had been real, after all? Usagi quickly grabbed the bell and sat up. So, there really was an enemy after all. Usagi sighed; she knew what she needed to do.
_
Ichi No Hashi Park was empty at this time of day, so Usagi knew she didn't have to worry about anyone seeing her transform. Though if Usagi had been paying a bit more attention, she would've noticed the black hair of the Prince of Earth by a tree. But Usagi didn't, so she just raised her hand and yelled, "Moon Prism Power Make Up!"
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.
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Nothing she wasn't transforming…why? Suddenly, purple lightning came down and shocked Usagi, causing her to cry in pain. A soft ringing was heard as the glass bell fell to the ground; as the lightning stopped, Usagi managed to open up her eyes to see Pegasus appear before her.
Young Maiden…please lend me your power….
_
"I feel it. Someone just interfered with our barrier." A girl with blue hair with short bangs that were pulled up into a bun wore a crown with silver balls that hung off of it attached to wires. A girl with green hair done up in a highly complex style of three different pigtails laughed as she peered into an open cage where a tiger with glowing eyes resided,
"Come here, little tiger, find the ones who interfered with us! Drag them back here by their tails if you have to!"
_
Usagi was confused because she couldn't transform. Also, she was still confused about Pegasus, but right now, she was most confused about the running and panicked crowd that had seemingly come out of nowhere and nearly run her over.
"This just in…" Usagi heard, and now that she was safe from the crowd, she looked up to see the news playing on one of many screens attached to skyscrapers that loomed above her. "A tiger escaped from the circus and is running amok in the city."
Usagi's eyes widened; eh, a tiger escaped from the circus? How does that even happen? Isn't this circus supposed to be worldwide famous. How does a world-renowned circus manage to lose a tiger and let it run amok in a city, let alone a city as big and as populated as Tokyo? Tokyo had twenty-three different wards; what if the tiger managed to get out of this one? Oh, that'd be bad.
Usagi quickly shook her head. No! This wasn't the time to be panicking! This sounded like something she could handle as Sailor Moon! Well, yes, she had been unable to transform a bit ago, but Usagi was sure when she was faced with danger, she'd definitely be able to transform!
Now, how to find that tiger…suddenly Usagi heard growling behind her, and she turned. Sure enough, behind her was that escaped tiger. Wow, talk about convient. Well, whatever she needed to handle this tiger before anyone got hurt! Usagi raised her hand in the air,
"Moon Prism Power Make Up!"
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.
Huh? She hadn't transformed again? Why? Why wasn't her transformation working? Usagi's attention was drawn away from the fact that she hadn't transformed when she heard growling. Usagi looked back at the tiger, though she probably should have never looked away, and saw it looked like it was about to pounce. Usagi stiffened and realized that she probably should get out of here unless she wanted to become tiger food, that is,
So Usagi quickly ran, unsure if she could outrun a tiger; probably not, but it was her best option. Luckily for Usagi, she spotted a very conveniently placed alleyway. Maybe she could lose the tiger by hiding in there. Well, Usagi thought it was better than nothing. Usagi quickly acted and ran into the alleyway and pressed herself against the wall. Much to Usagi's relief, the tiger kept running down the road.
Usagi let out a sigh of relief before pausing; she couldn't transform. Why? Usagi bit her lip and clenched her fists; how was she supposed to fight this new enemy if she couldn't transform? Ugh, why did this happen now? Why couldn't she transform? Suddenly, there was a bright light in front of Usagi, and she looked up to see the Holy Grail floating in front of her.
No, what was she thinking? She couldn't give up now. She'd just have to keep trying and trying until she could transform again. What was she thinking? She was Sailor Moon, for goddess sake. She couldn't give up now. Usagi looked down and saw that her brooch had been transformed, and she took a breath, steeling herself. She'd try again until she was finally able to transform,
"Moon Crisis Make Up!"
"Stop right there! I am Super Sailor Moon, and I will not let a dangerous beast—" Usagi, Super Sailor Moon, stopped her speech as the tiger disappeared before her eyes. Eh? First, she couldn't transform, and now the tiger disappeared? Usagi looked around, a bit confused, but snapped her head back when she heard the sound of laughter.
There were two girls, one with blue hair and the other with green, and she watched as the blue-haired girl raised an orb into the air,
"Come, Lemures! Rise forth from the darkness!"
Usagi shielded her face as these fuzzy-looking black things suddenly attacked her; she assumed these were the Lemures that the girl had been talking about.
Young Maiden…call, and I shall help…
Usagi heard a voice, and she knew it belonged to Pegasus, but she could not see him. Though she looked at her hand to see the bell Pegasus had given her, it was there.
I shall lend you my powers, Young Maiden…call my name, and I shall come. Hold the bell and shout out 'Twinkle Yell.'
Usagi took a breath and dropped her hands from her face, letting the monsters hit her. She held onto the bell in her left hand firmly.
"Helios! Please help me! Twinkle Yell!" Usagi called out desperately and hoped what Pegasus, Helios, had said was true and not a trick.
A soft glow emanated from her right hand as she stood there, catching her attention. As she looked down, she saw something materializing within her grasp. It was a glass kaleidoscope that Michiru had gifted her, but how did it end up here? Usagi's eyes widened in surprise as the kaleidoscope began to change its form, slowly transforming into a magnificent rainbow wand. The wand had a crescent moon etched into it, with delicate wings on either side. The handles were a bright yellow, and Usagi held onto it tightly.
Young Maiden, this Kaleidoscope is beginning to fill with power…Now yell out 'Moon Gorgeous Meditation'...
Usagi sucked into a breath, "Moon Gorgeous Meditation!" A rainbow light burst from the wand, and when it faded, the two girls were gone. Usagi tilted her head, confused. Not understanding how the girls disappeared like that, but she knew they were definitely part of the new enemy.
Young Maiden…that power of yours, it's just as I thought…
"Usagi?" Usagi heard somebody say her name, and she turned around quickly, wondering who would recognize her as Super Sailor Moon. It wasn't one of her friends or even Haruka or Michiru as she thought it would be; instead, it was Mamoru. What was he doing here?
Usagi was about to say something when she saw Mamoru grab his chest and grit his teeth in pain. Usagi didn't know what to do and only watched as Mamoru collapsed, "Mamoru?!" Was all Usagi managed to say as she kneeled by the Earth Prince's unconscious body.
The blue-haired girl sat atop the building, kicked her legs, and watched as the Super Sailor Moon girl kneeled over the body of some man who collapsed, worried. "I wonder what the mirror says about her." She spoke and held her hand out, and a grey mirror appeared above it floating. The girl looked into the mirror with a twisted smile and watched as Super Sailor Moon's image appeared on its surface.
Come on, Usagi…you have to get over this! He's hurt, and you're freaking out now!? You need to grow up!
The girl smiled; Super Sailor Moon thought she needed to grow up, huh? She laughed before speaking, "The truth of one's desires always lies in the opposite of one's words. Reverse Orb!"
Usagi leaned over Mamoru, and she didn't know. She didn't know what to do; she didn't know what was wrong with him. She just didn't know. Suddenly, Usagi was surrounded by smoke and coughed. But as fast as it appeared, the smoke vanished. Usagi looked down at her hands, which were small. What was that?
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Wait small? Her hands were small? She looked down again and saw that her hands were indeed small, and her uniform was starting to fall over them. What? Huh? Why were hands small? Usagi slowly put her hands on the bow of her uniform and felt and found that her chest was flat. That wasn't right; why was this happening? Had she shrunk?
Usagi only barely managed to mutter a meager "What?"
Michiru walked through the hallways of the house. Where had Hotaru gone? She had only put her down for a few minutes, and when she had turned back around, Hotaru was gone. Hotaru was only six months old she shouldn't be able to crawl yet. Maybe Haruka or Setsuna had taken her? But would they really do that without saying anything to her?
Michiru stuck her head into the doorway of the living room, hoping to see Haruka or Setsuna alongside little Hotaru, but she didn't; instead, her eyes fell upon a small toddler with dark purple hair that was almost black and purple eyes. The toddler smiled at her and reached its arms for her. "Michiru-mama!"
Michiru's heart stopped, and her brain could barely process what she was seeing. Was that child Hotaru?