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Chapter 1: Hell Destiny

Note: Despite the graphic showing the translation “Her Destiny,” the English fan-translation of the game is considered somewhat flawed. For that reason, this novelization will make corrections where applicable, including the more accurate translation of the first chapter title, “Hell Destiny.” 

Usagi slowly starts to wake up as she gets ready to leave the Tsukino residence, but a strange feeling washes through her, and she’s oddly reluctant to leave right away. This feeling isn’t the desire to just curl up in bed and go back to sleep; it’s the desire to keep everyone she cares about safe– from whatever is out there.

In an uncharacteristic display of worry, Usagi makes a beeline for her younger brother Shingo’s room, nudging the door open with her foot before she slides in. Shingo is rushing about back and forth, transferring things from one pile to another. Usagi hesitates before approaching, thinking ‘I’m just being silly’ but she can’t shake the feeling that something is very wrong. Now that she’s awake, she understands what Luna meant, but the last thing she wants to do is admit it. Especially since she doesn’t understand it much herself.

Only a second passes before Shingo notices her and he fixes Usagi with an angry glare. “What are you doing in here, Usagi? Get out of my room!”

Usagi’s mouth, already halfway open to say something —anything— snaps shut, and she turns and leaves the room without so much as a word. Shingo obviously doesn’t realize his sister is acting the slightest bit strangely, and, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, keeps on cleaning.

Usagi heads downstairs and to the place where she knows her mother will be: the kitchen. But Ikuko is busy doing the dishes, and when Usagi makes her presence known, Ikuko smiles and looks at Usagi distractedly before saying “Oh! Usagi, you’re up early today!” and then going back to her chores.

Usagi sighs. What was she expecting anyway? No one in her family could possibly
understand…

With these sorrowful thoughts in mind, Usagi trudges out the door to investigate the odd vibes in the air.

Usagi barely makes it halfway down her street before she notices something odd, but it’s not a youma. Instead, it’s a young boy wearing an odd feathered hat, carrying a brown rucksack that looks ten sizes too big for him.

Usagi stares at him for a minute before deciding to ask why he’s pacing back
and forth.

“Mmm… I seem to have lost my way,” the boy says at last, still pacing as if his feet will eventually point in the right direction. “Oh! You look pretty tired. This medicine should recover your health!” The boy smiles cheerily before handing Usagi a strange vial shaped like a crystal.

Usagi eyes it suspiciously at first, but when she uncorks the stopper, the strange liquid smells like candy, and Usagi eagerly drinks it in one swallow.

Luna stares at Usagi, boggled, but she can’t say anything, not in front of a normal person. To Luna’s astonishment, Usagi suddenly does look more awake and alert, and the vaguely sad expression on her face from only moments before is completely gone.

“Thank you!” Usagi gushes to the stranger. “If you need help finding anything in particular, you can ask me!”

The boy shakes his head vehemently, still smiling. “No, that’s fine, I’ll figure it out on my own. Besides, anyone else that offers to help me will get one of my free sample medicines. There’s always lots of tired people! Now, where’s the exit…” Usagi chuckles under her breath before sidestepping the boy and continuing to head toward downtown Juuban.

Usagi makes it three-quarters of the way through her neighborhood when a plump lady with her hair piled up in a misshapen bun stops her. Usagi recognizes her as one of the women possessed by the youma Morga -so long ago, during Sailor Moon’s first battle. The plump lady had an awful love of jewelry, so it was no surprise she’d gotten entangled in a youma’s schemes over at the Osaka family’s OSA-P jewelry shop.

“How would you like to meet my son? He’s very handsome! ♥”

Usagi, flabbergasted by the unusual request, backs away slowly, her hands raised in an odd pose of self-defense. “Er, some other time, maybe? I, uh… have to go meet my boyfriend now!” With that, Usagi dashes off, not even daring to look back.

Usagi walks at a rapid pace, nearly at the edge of the downtown district within twenty minutes. But the minute they get to the edge of the neighborhood, only blocks from the Hikawa Shrine, Luna pipes up, though she makes sure there are no “normal humans” around when she speaks.

“Usagi! Let’s investigate the rest of our neighborhood first!”

Usagi scowls before coming up with a brilliant idea: “Okay then, we’ll go to the Game Center!”

“Usagi, this isn’t the time to be playing games!”

“That has nothing to do with it!” Usagi snaps back. She grins deviously. “There are lots of people at the Game Center. So we can see if they’ve seen or heard anything weird, right?”

Luna can’t argue with Usagi’s sudden case of logic, so she nods and reluctantly trails behind the perky blonde as they head toward the Crown Arcade.

Once they arrive, there’s a young man, perhaps Mamoru’s age, out in front of the Game Center, waiting for someone. There doesn’t appear to be many people out on this cold winter morning, but this young man doesn’t seem to care, and rubs his palms together and zips up his leather jacket for added heat.

“Uh, this may sound like a silly question,” Usagi begins hesitantly, catching the young man’s attention, “but have you seen anything strange around here lately?”

“A little while ago, I saw some weird guy go into the OSA-P store,” the man admits, and then he goes back to pacing and waiting.

Usagi doesn’t even set foot in the Game Center; she takes one look at Luna and dashes off in the direction of the OSA-P store. Too many times her best friend Naru Osaka has been the target of youma attacks, and she refuses to dismiss the possibility that something like that could happen again.

The minute Usagi sets foot into the store, she hears Naru’s scream, “Kyaaaa! Somebody help!”

Naru and her mother, still clad in their pajamas, don’t notice Usagi and Luna’s entrance, but neither does the black-clothed monster looming in front of them.

“Naru-chan! She’s being attacked by that daimon!” Usagi whispered urgently. Daimon returning even after the defeat of Mistress 9 and Pharaoh 90 are no surprise; something like this happened not that long ago when a remnant of Professor Tomoe’s lab transformed into a daimon, out to steal pure hearts, but with no one to give them to. Usagi had desperately hoped that the pure heart-eating daimon was the last enemy they’d see for a long time, but apparently she was wrong. No one dared to go anywhere near the site of
the old Infinity Academy after it had been destroyed; there were just too many strange things going on there. This was just another to add to the list.

“Usagi, transform into Sailor Moon!” Luna whispers.

Usagi ducks behind a fern sitting near the doorway and whispers her transformation phrase:

“Moon Cosmic Power, Make Up!” Within moments, she stands fully transformed, and she rushes over to where the daimon is attacking Naru and her mother.

“Hold it right there!”

“Who’s there!?” the daimon turns around, and the moment Sailor Moon catches sight of her face, she suppresses a gasp. This was no daimon– it is a youma! Oniwabandana, or the Bandana Demon, to be precise. Sailor Moon faced her once before –long ago, back when her battle was with the Dark Kingdom, and not the Death Busters.

But Sailor Moon and the rest of the soldiers at the time had destroyed that youma– why is she suddenly back, attacking Naru and her mother again?

Sailor Moon swallows her unvoiced confusion and launched into her usual speech, hoping that it would buy some time for Naru and her mother to escape. “For love and justice, I am the Sailor Suited pretty soldier, Sailor Moon! Listen up, you youma that attacks helpless girls! I, Sailor Moon, in the name of the moon, will punish you!”

“What impudence!” Without any further warning, the youma launches herself at Sailor Moon. She narrowly avoids an attack from a razor-sharp scarlet bandana, but another one shot out from the side before she could miss it, and it nicks a few stray hairs from one of her pigtails.

Angry, Sailor Moon reaches for her tiara and throws it out at the enemy, calling out “Moon Tiara Action!” in a loud voice.

It catches the youma straight-on, but it doesn’t destroy her.

Then again, that wasn’t surprising; Oniwabandana had been one of the stronger youma Sailor Moon had ever faced, and she’d had to stop her with the Crescent Moon Wand and the Ginzuishou. Sailor Moon didn’t have the Wand anymore, but she has the Ginzuishou, and she has the Spiral Heart Moon Rod. But the enemy’s last attack had drained her ever-so-slightly, and Sailor Moon had no desire to waste all the energy of the Spiral Heart Moon Rod on a youma.

With surprisingly quick thinking, she launches a series of “Sailor Moon Kicks!” and dusts the youma in no time. Still, Sailor Moon couldn’t help but be relieved that it was all over so fast– and all without the help of any of the other soldiers, or Tuxedo Mask, for that matter.

“A youma’s come back to life,” Sailor Moon whispers to Luna as the creature fades away into so much dust. “So this is what you were talking about, Luna.”

“Thank you, Sailor Moon,” Naru nods in relief.

“It’s all right now,” Sailor Moon smiles, glad that her friend is safe. She is far more worried than she lets on, but she can’t risk Naru or her mother knowing her true identity. “If you’re ever in danger again, just call for me.”

“Sure! Those moves of yours were pretty clever, by the way. I’m glad I can rely on you, Sailor Moon!” Naru winks at her, and for a moment, Sailor Moon wonders if Naru already knew her secret identity.

‘No way. I’m just imagining things.’

“Thank you, Sailor Moon, from the bottom of my heart,” Ms. Osaka said.

“Anytime!” And with that, Sailor Moon dashes out of the jewelry store. Sailor Moon darts into a nearby alley around the corner from OSA-P before undoing her transformation. She yawns hugely before exiting the alley. “I think I’ll go home and take a nap.”

Oddly, Luna doesn’t protest. She is too deep in thought -and quite possibly too surprised by Sailor Moon’s adeptness at defeating an enemy so quickly.

[Maison Apartments – Mamoru’s Room]

Mamoru Chiba had yet to wake up that morning, which was unusual since he was typically an early riser. But his excuse is good one: he is deep in sleep, dreaming…

He finds himself standing in an unfamiliar place: a plaza of sorts with brilliant white marble floors and tall pillars surrounding the plaza on either side of him. He looks around, confused, searching for some sign of life, or perhaps something that could tell him where he was.

“Where am I?”

Master…

Mamoru swears he heard a voice, but there is no one there, despite his continued searching. The place looks as barren and empty as a ghost town, but the sheer beauty of the place seems to contradict any sort of haunted feeling he has.

“That voice I heard just now was…” A strange feeling ghosts up and down Mamoru’s spine, and he turns around right as a spirit -transparent but all too familiar- appears before him.

“You– you’re Kunzite!”

“Master… Destiny draws near,” Kunzite says. “An evil comet is approaching from an evil star, to return Destiny to its origins. A horrible comet with the power to return everything… Now, and in the future… and in the past. It is giving birth to an existence in which all shall be returned to what has been.”

“What!? Returning destiny… When will this happen?” Mamoru asks urgently.

“This is from the distant future,” Kunzite intones.

“Do I have something to do with it now?”

“You shall choose which future…” Kunzite looks as if he wants to say something further, but no words escape his ghostly mouth. He fades away much as he came, leaving an astonished Mamoru in his wake. Mamoru rushes to the spot where Kunzite once stood, but there is nothing and no one there.

“W-Wait, Kunzite!”

The world starts to become blurry and dark, and before Mamoru realizes it, he is sitting up in his own bed, in his own room, in his own apartment. He gets up, remembering the dream with startling clarity, Though Mamoru is known for being logical and rational, his mind is at war with his heart at the moment.

“Was that really a dream…? But I get to choose which future…?”

It doesn’t seem to make much sense. Mamoru is about the ponder the matter over a strong cup of coffee when he notices something that most certainly wasn’t there before– a glistening something shining in a box near his television set.

“The Stones of the Four Generals,” he murmurs without realizing it. He doesn’t exactly know how he recognizes the stones in the box, but he does. There is a deep emerald jade he knows is Jadeite, a creamy white jade that is Nephrite, a sparkling deep blue stone called Zoisite, and a silvery stone he recognizes as Kunzite.

But what do the glimmering stones and his odd dreams mean?

[Hikawa Shrine – early afternoon]

“Hey everyone, listen up!” Usagi dashes up the stairs to the Hikawa Shrine, faster than she normally does, if only because she knows the peace will come sooner if everyone fights to destroy the new wave of youma before they can do any real damage.

Rei and Makoto, already waiting on the steps of the shrine, turn around at the sound of Usagi’s voice astonished. She’s never been early to one of their meetings before.

“Hey, everyone, transform! Youma have appeared again! I wonder what’s going on…” Usagi chews her lip, thinking back to her battle with Oniwabandana. She wonders if she should mention it to the others.

“Have the Death Busters been revived?” Makoto wonders aloud.

Rei, ever the skeptic, turns to Usagi and asks point-blank: “Usagi, are you sure you didn’t dream that?”

“Ooh, you’re so mean, Rei-chan!” Usagi grumbles. “Ami-chan agrees with me, right?” Usagi turns around to face her classmate, but the blue-haired girl is surprisingly not there.

“Hey, where’s Ami-chan?”

Before anyone can answer, Ami herself arrives, only a little out of breath. “Sorry, I arrived as fast as I could. I was just talking to Urawa-kun.”

“Anyway, let’s go inside,” Rei says, noticing Yuuichirou on the outskirts of the shrine, edging ever-closer. It wouldn’t do to have him eavesdropping on official Sailor Soldier business.

Once the girls are all gathered inside the shrine, Makoto pipes up– but she doesn’t talk about Usagi’s battle with a revived youma.

“Hmmm, it’s been a while since you’ve met with Urawa-kun, huh?”

“He’s coming to Tokyo for the holidays,” Ami explains.

“So, where have you decided to go with Urawa-kun?” Rei asks.

“Uhm, well… there are some national exams coming up, so you see…” Ami mumbles under her breath.

“See what?” Usagi asks, confused. Surely Ami wouldn’t be thinking of going to the national exams with Urawa as a date!

“I thought we’d go to the library,” Ami says at last.

Everyone in the room sweatdrops, but this is the Ami they’ve come to know and love.

“Eeeh? You want to go to the library with him?”

“Oh reeeeeally?” Makoto asks in a conspiratorial voice. “Ami-chan, you can tell just me if you want.”

“Ah, you’re sneaky, Mako-chan!” Usagi admonishes her friend.

“So what are the date plans you have for after that?” Rei asks, blunt as ever.

“Huh!?” Ami squeaks, startled. “It’s… it’s not like that! We can’t date!” Ami blushes scarlet and turns away from her friends. “We’re still in junior high! But one day, I’ll be right for Urawa-kun… Yes…” Ami doesn’t realize she’s spoken the last part aloud, even when
Usagi enthusiastically agrees with her.

“So where are you going?”

Before Ami can answer, Minako arrives. “Hi! ♥ Sorry for making you guys wait.” Minako walks straight up to Ami and notices her friends brilliant red cheeks. “What’s wrong, Ami-chan? Your face is all red.”

“Hey, Ami-chan’s got a boyfriend,” Makoto tells Minako.”And he’s coming here soon!”

“W-Wait a second, Mako-chan!” Ami protests, the blush gradually fading to a faint pink that won’t be erased. “It’s not like that with Urawa-kun!”

But before Makoto can say anything, Yuuichirou enters the room, clearing his throat once he’s past the threshold of the door.

“Ah, hi everyone! How are you?” He walks straight up to Rei and speaks to her with unabashed affection in his eyes -well, if you could see his eyes, because they’re covered by a somewhat-shaggy mane of hair. “Rei-san, you look better than ever today.”

Flustered, Rei doesn’t look at Yuuichirou in the eye, but she says “Th-Thank you, Yuuichirou,” nonetheless.

“Take it easy everyone!” Yuuichirou smiles, and then leaves the room.

So, Reeeeiii-chan? ♥♥” Usagi leers at her hot-tempered psychic friend. She knows Yuuichirou has had feelings for Rei ever since he first met the priestess, but Rei has consistently refused to give Yuuichirou much more than the time of the day. On occasion, her fiery attitude seems to cool down, but…

“Wh-What was that Usagi?” Rei demands, trying to inject her usual angry tone into her voice. It doesn’t work the way she planned though, because her cheeks are stained a faint shade of red, and her voice doesn’t have the usual malice in it. “Why are you talking in that tone of voice?”

“Because of what just happened,” Usagi explains simply. “You and Yuuichirou are great friends, right?” It’s a simple enough statement, but Makoto and Minako both giggle, knowing Usagi means more than what her words are saying.

Rei sweatdrops, embarrassed to even be addressing the topic. “I-It’s nothing.”

Usagi looks surprised. “Really?”

“Really… really… really! It’s nothing!” Rei repeats, with more emphasis each time. “Well then, Usagi, who’s your boyfriend?” The words are out of her mouth before she even realizes what she’s saying, and once she does, she realizes the absolute stupidity of even asking.

“Huh? Me?” Usagi asks, a dreamy look washing over her face. “It seems Mamo-chan and I are the perfect couple! We’ll be like this forever… He’s kissed me already!” Usagi blushes, realizing she’s just done the unthinkable and “kiss and told.” She yelps and turns bright red, stomping her foot out of sheer frustration.

‘Me and my big mouth!’

“I shouldn’t have said that…” Usagi mumbles under her breath.

Rei rolls her eyes and grumbles “Thanks for that,” in a sarcastic response.

Minako sighs melodramatically and says “Even when you act like that, I’m still jealous.”

“True… Usagi-chan’s with Mamoru-san…” Makoto adds. “Ami-chan and Urawa-kun might be a bit separated, but they’re a couple.”

“And it doesn’t matter what Rei-chan says, she’s with Yuuichirou-san,” Minako says, pointing at Rei as if to dare her to contradict the Soldier of Love.

It’s Makoto’s turn to sigh melodramatically, and she whispers, “I want a boyfriend, too…”

Minako sighs with her and says, “Me too…”

Before Makoto and Minako can get too lost in their dream world, Luna interrupts. “Ami-chan, don’t you have to get going already?”

“Oh, yes!” Ami says, startled. “Sorry for today, everyone!” With those parting words, Ami leaves the shrine.

After a moment’s pause, Minako pipes up again. “…Hey, do you wanna follow her?”

“Huh?” Makoto stares at Minako in bewilderment. “That’s… really mean.”

“But… I really want to know,” Rei adds.

Makoto looks astonished. “W-Wait a sec, everyone!”

“Okay, then!” Usagi cheers happily, interrupting any protest Makoto may have been about to make, “Let’s go! Yaaay!”

Rei, Minako, and Usagi all start to file out of the room, but Makoto stands fast.

“Huh? Aren’t you coming, Mako-chan?” Minako asks.

“Ah… no, I stand firm on this,” Makoto says, nodding as if to affirm her words.

“I’m really worried about her,” Rei says, though no one is quite sure if she’s talking about Ami or Makoto.

Once the girls all leave the room, Makoto relents. “Oh, okay, just this once.”

[Bus stop outside the Hikawa Shrine]

“It’s been so long since I’ve met with Urawa-kun ♥,” Ami murmurs to herself.

The bus arrives a minute later, and she gets on.

Only moments later, the girls troop down the stairs of the Hikawa Shrine, staring after the bus as it disappears over the crest of the nearby hill.

“Ami-chan got on that bus, right?” Rei asks.

“That bus goes to Tokyo Station,” Makoto supplies.

“Let’s go on the bus too!” Minako says.

“Yay, I’m so excited! ♥” Usagi cheers. She glances at the bus schedule; there is another bus bound for the Tokyo Station due in a few minutes. The bus arrives on schedule, and the girls all clamor on the bus and get off at Tokyo Station.

[Tokyo Station]

“Ah! Ami-chan’s right there!” Usagi hisses the moment the girls walk into the station.

Ami looks around, as if hoping to spot Urawa somewhere in the lobby, but she doesn’t see him. Minako darts over to Usagi, hoping her footfalls are silent. “Usagi-chan, hide!”

Usagi and Minako dart behind some potted plants, while Rei dashes behind a nearby pillar. Makoto remains standing conspicuously out in the open, until Minako hisses at her too. After a second, Makoto realizes her blunder and dashes behind a potted plant herself, though the leafy fern is hardly tall enough to mask Makoto’s towering height.

Ami blushes once more before heading into the train waiting area of the station.

“I wonder how far those two have gotten ♥,” Minako whispers with a giggle.

“Even if she acts like that, those two are really close,” Makoto says with a sigh.

“I wonder how Urawa-kun is…” Rei murmurs, seemingly the least curious of the girls about the state of Ami’s love life.

[On the Bullet Train platform]

“It’s been such a long time,” Ami says dreamily. “I do hope Urawa-kun is all right. ♥♥”

People slowly begin to filter out of the train, and just outside the platform waiting area, the girls wait, hoping to see Ami and Urawa’s reunion.

“It looks like the bullet train’s arrived,” Rei says.

“Those two must be having a wonderful reunion ♥♥,” Minako smiles, though there’s the tiniest twinge of jealousy in her voice, as if she wishes she were the one having a reunion, or perhaps that she could have a better view.

“Yeah,” Makoto agrees with a murmur, but then her dreamy gaze turns sharp. “Hm? Doesn’t something seem funny?”

A second after Makoto speaks, a loud scream echoes through the platform. “Uwaaaa! A young boy dashes away from the platform, running as if the hounds of hell were after him, but Makoto manages to catch a frightened salaryman before he can escape the area.

“Hang on a second, what’s happened?”

“T-There’s a monster on the train! Get out of the way!” And with one violent shove, the salaryman brushes Makoto aside. Instead of getting upset at the man’s rudeness, Makoto exchanges a knowing glance with the other girls.

“Monster…?” Minako repeats blandly.

“The monster trapped a boy in there! Get the police!” A young man manages before he dashes out of sight.

“Everyone, let’s go check it out!” Usagi says, and the girls all nod in firm agreement before making a beeline toward the train platform.

The girls spot Ami on the platform almost immediately, and call out her name. Ami, instead of being upset that the girls have followed her here, is instead relieved. “Everyone, you’ve come to help!”

Usagi looks toward the train, an uncomfortable but strangely familiar feeling washing through her. “Huh? I can feel so many auras…”

“Everyone, transform!” Luna orders, and the girls do just that:

“Moon Cosmic Power, Make up!”

“Mercury Star Power, Make up!”

“Mars Star Power, Make up!”

“Jupiter Star Power, Make up!”

“Venus Star Power, Make up!”

Once transformed, Sailor Moon leads the other girls toward the train’s only open door. “Come on, let’s go in!”

They barely get two rows into the train before they spot a youma: a giant, hulking thing they recognized as a Combater. Immediately, Sailor Mercury activates her goggles and miniature super-computer, trying to find the enemy’s weakness.

“We can combine our powers into linked attacks in order to weaken it faster. “Mars, Jupiter– combine your Fire Soul and Thunder Dragon to make a Fire Dragon and weaken it fast!”

Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter nod, and ready their attacks.

“Ami, what can we do?” Sailor Moon gestures toward herself and Sailor Venus.

“Keep us healed and strong! This youma packs a powerful punch, so if any of us take a hit, it’ll be up to you two to keep us in this fight. If you combine your healing abilities with Venus’ Meteor Shower, everyone’s attacks should become more effective, and we’ll all stay in this game!”

With Mercury’s sage advice, all the girls attack at once– and within moments, the monstrous Combater is nothing more than dust. The girls immediately rush into the next car of the train, where they face another youma. They combine their attacks much as they did before, and the youma dissipates. Once they reach the third car, they spot something different: Urawa, lying nearly unconscious in a heap by one of the seats.

“Urawa-kun! Are you all right?”

“Mi-Mizuno-san…” Urawa mumbles. Ever since he first met Ami at Juuban Junior High, he’s been able to see right through her Sailor Mercury guise, though whether that is due to his own genius or his mysterious psychic abilities, brought on by his being a former Rainbow Crystal Holder, no one knows.

“Hang in there! Just hang on!”

The other Soldiers approach Mercury, hunched over a passed-out Urawa, with some trepidation.

“Is he okay?”

“Yes, he’s only unconscious,” Mercury murmurs.

“A youma,” Sailor Moon says. “Surely, Queen Beryl has revived…”

It was a gruesome prospect to be sure, but she felt it in her gut– especially with the way it was Beryl’s youmas, and not Professor Tomoe’s daimons that kept showing up.

“In any case, let’s get back to the Hikawa Shrine,” Luna says authoritatively. The girls all nod. Jupiter agrees to carry Urawa, and they all walk out of the train, fervently hoping they didn’t miss any more energy-sucking youma.

[Hikawa Shrine, guest bedroom]

Ami is leaning over Urawa’s bed when she notices his eyes flutter open.

“Urawa-kun, are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m all right,” he responds somewhat groggily. “Well, Mizuno-san… I had a vision in my dream. The past and the future changed places.”

“What?” Ami asks, genuinely confused.

“I don’t understand it very well,” Urawa continues, “but history… no, Destiny will change.”

“Destiny…” Ami murmurs. “So, the future has been replaced?” She’s not unfamiliar with the enemy tampering with time; the Black Moon family was all about changing their family’s destiny and altering the future. They didn’t succeed, but if there was a new enemy -or rather, an old one revived- out there, it meant that the Black Moon family’s diabolical plans were actually possible.

“No,” Urawa states firmly. “The past has also been replaced.”

“The past!?”

[Hikawa Shrine, sacred interior]

Rei stands in front of the sacred fire, using the ancient gestures passed down from countless priests and priestesses before her. Behind her, Usagi, Minako, Luna, and Makoto wait uneasily; they know that what Rei sees in the fire will tell them what is going on with the recent youma attacks.

“Haaa–! KATSU!” The sacred fire suddenly swells up and begins to roar, easily three times larger than it was only moments before. All but Rei take a hesitant step backward, unwilling to get burned by the sacred flames.

“That’s… who is it? An enemy?” Usagi whispers, staring into the flame. She imagines she can see a face there, but when she hesitantly looks at the faces of Minako and Makoto, she’s sure it’s not just her imagination. They see something, too.

The face blinks at everyone and opens its eyes- and to everyone’s astonishment,
it speaks.

“My name is Sin. This is merely a greeting!” The face contorts into what must be a flame-licked wicked smile, but before anyone has the chance to respond, there is a great explosion and the sacred fire is extinguished.

Rei, standing closest to the flames, is left charred and covered in soot, her formerly-white priestess robes colored black.

Rei coughs and grumbles about the soot covering every last inch of her.

“What was that?” Usagi asks.

“I don’t know,” Rei responds, still coughing up soot.

“Hey, Rei-chan,” Usagi says, stifling the urge to giggle at a black-faced Rei, “Your face is pitch black.”

Rei gives Usagi a look that could melt ice; Usagi, is, after all, the Queen of the Obvious. “Oh, shut up.”

Before a fight can break out, Makoto pipes up. “Rei-chan, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Rei responds, her voice considerably calmer. “My clothes are all dirty! I’m going to go take a bath,” she says, coughing still. She makes a futile effort to brush some of the soot off her, but it only spreads the black deeper into the fine fabric of her clothes.

Once Rei closes the sliding door behind her, Minako turns to the others. “Sin, huh? That’s what it said…”

“Who is it?” Makoto wonders. “A new enemy?”

Before anyone can respond, they hear Rei’s grandfather’s voice call out from the hallway. “Rei, telephone! It’s Haruka!”

Usagi’s eyes widen slightly, though they remain focused on the grate where the sacred fire used to be, only minutes before. “Ah, I’ll take the call for her!” she calls out, and then she dashes out into the hall.

“Hello, Haruka-san?”

“Ah, Odango,” Haruka says genially over the line. Her voice quickly become serious though as she continues, “Something terrible’s happened. Hotaru has fallen ill.”

“Huh? What’s happened? Is she sick?” Usagi asks worriedly. After their last battle with Mistress 9 and Master Pharaoh 90, Hotaru, daughter of the infamous Professor Tomoe, transformed into the Messiah of Silence, Sailor Saturn, and gave up her life to destroy and help Sailor Moon resurrect the world. Luckily, it worked, but Hotaru lost most -if not all- of her powers, and degenerated into a child as a result. Since then, Haruka Tenou -Sailor Uranus- and her partner, Michiru Kaiou -Sailor Neptune- had been caring for the baby Hotaru.

“No, this is…” Haruka’s voice is oddly hesitant, coming from someone who is known for exuding confidence. “The doctors don’t know either, but this could be…” Haruka clears her throat and then says, “If you don’t come here, I can’t tell you. So come to the Juuban Hospital right away.”

“What’s wrong?” Luna pipes up from beside Usagi, watching as her ward’s face goes from somewhat calm to extremely worried. Usagi hangs up the phone, trying to think of what Haruka might have wanted to say, but been unable to say over the phone. If Usagi’s instincts were right, then…

“Something’s happened to Hotaru-chan,” Usagi answers, but she can’t keep the tremble out of her voice.

“Huh? Hotaru-chan?”

“I just have to go to the Juuban Hospital for a while.” Luna nods in agreement, and Usagi heads back to the sacred interior to tell the other girls what’s going on.

After Usagi tells them of what little she knows, Minako and Makoto both agree that Usagi should go find out what Haruka was talking about, and they agree to tell Ami and Rei about the situation.

“None of this feels right at all,” Minako says. “First old youmas show up, even though we’ve destroyed them in the past, then Hotaru-chan mysteriously gets sick? I doubt she’s got a case of the chicken pox.”

“Yeah,” Makoto agrees. “I have a really bad feeling about this…”

Usagi heads out of the temple, but the moment she and Luna reach the steps outside the sliding door, Luna hops in front of her.

“Too many nasty things have been happening lately. Usagi-chan, I have to check out a few things.”

“Okay,” Usagi agrees. She knows that the Juuban Hospital probably won’t admit her if a black cat is following her, anyway.

“If anything happens, contact me,” Luna orders, and Usagi nods in the affirmative.

Usagi, despite being worried about what Haruka had been trying to tell her, and whatever’s wrong with Hotaru, takes her time walking to the Juuban hospital, on the western side of her neighborhood. She chews her lip the whole while, trying to figure out why youma from over a year ago would suddenly start appearing again, and what this “Sin” had to do with it. All the past enemies were always after something in particular, and they usually made it pretty clear what that thing was -whether it was human energy, magic crystals, or the resurrection of a messiah. But Sin hadn’t said anything of what she -or he, or it- wanted.

And to make matters worse, “Sin” probably knew who they were, if it had seen them in their civilian forms… After all, it probably wasn’t every day that random temple priestesses summoned sacred flames to tell them about mysterious youma.

Once Usagi gets to the hospital, she asks the receptionist where she can find Hotaru’s room.

“Tomoe Hotaru-san’s room is on the third floor,” the receptionist nurse responds kindly. “It’s the one on the far left.”

Usagi heads toward the elevator, but it seems as if even time is against her, with the elevator taking forever to move from the third floor down to the second. Irritated, Usagi sprints up the stairs, reaching the third floor in record time. She knocks on the left-most door on the third floor, calling out “Excuse my intrusion!” as she opens the door.

When she enters, she first sees Michiru, who greets her in her usual polite, soft-spoken tone. “Greetings, Usagi-chan. We’ve been waiting for you.” She turns to a deathly pale girl with a short crop of black hair lying in the hospital bed beside her.

“Hotaru-chan, Usagi-san has come to see you.”

Usagi moves closer toward Hotaru’s bed, and jumps out of fright. The baby she expected to see in the overly-large, stark-white hospital bed is no baby at all, but a young child, at least eight or nine years old!

“Huh? Why has Hotaru-chan grown into a child? Hotaru-chan, are you okay?”

Hotaru opens her eyes and stirs, forcing herself into an upright position. She coughs before speaking, something that causes all three older girls present to exchange similar worried glances.

“It only stopped hurting a while ago,” Hotaru responds honestly. “I’m fine since you got here.”

“What could’ve happened…?” Usagi wonders aloud.

“She just started stumbling,” Michiru explains.

“She transformed back right in front of our eyes,” Haruka adds solemnly. “Yeah, and it was painful, too. And the Infinity Academy has been recently revived, too. I think something evil is beginning to happen.” Haruka turns to Hotaru, “Hotaru, have you ever felt this kind of pain before?”

“It was like when I was under the influence of the Taioron Crystal,” Hotaru says, fear creeping into her voice. Her father had given her an amulet known as the “Taioron Crystal,” made of a mysterious substance from a nebula far from Earth. It was the same nebula that Master Pharaoh 90 came from, and the same crystal that had turned Hotaru into the vessel of Mistress 9.

“Usagi-san’s Mystical Silver Crystal seemed to help relieve the pain,” Hotaru adds quickly.

“The Taioron Crystal… then, Hotaru-chan, are you going to turn back into Mistress 9?” Usagi would have cursed herself for saying such things -to a child, no less- but Hotaru seemed to be just as perceptive about negative energies as Rei was. Having been the host of one of the strongest enemies the Sailor Soldiers had ever faced made Hotaru much more sensitive than any of the others.

“I think it’s okay now,” Michiru says before Hotaru can speak.

“Yeah, Hotaru has opened her eyes and is a Sailor Soldier now. She won’t turn into an enemy,” Haruka says firmly, leaving no room for argument.

“When I collapsed, I felt that I was enveloped by darkness,” Hotaru says quietly. “But that evil power… that evil power is an enormous power of darkness… I felt like my Destiny was being influenced by something else.”

“A strong new power…” Usagi murmurs.

Before anyone can say anything, the door clicks open, and a nurse walks in.

“Excuse me, but it’s time for her check-up.”

Michiru’s aquamarine eyes narrow, and she walks across the room until she is face-to-face with the nurse. “Wait a minute. This room should be marked ‘No Entry.’ Who –or what— are you?” Though Michiru speaks with the same calm she always does, Usagi can tell that she is angry by how stiff her posture is. Michiru, easily the most graceful of the Sailor Soldiers, isn’t usually so easy to read, but since she fought alongside the other Soldiers against Master Pharaoh 90, Usagi has gotten to know her -and Haruka- much better. The two “Outer Soldiers'” attitudes have also changed, since becoming the foster
parents for little Hotaru.

The nurse suddenly breaks out into wild laughter and then raises a shaking, sharply-pointed fingernail. “I’m going to get you troublesome Sailor Soldiers!”

She flings her nurse costume to the side, revealing her true identity -that of a droid that Usagi and Minako fought at this same hospital, many months ago, Palmacon.

“DIE!”

Haruka, Michiru, and Usagi all transform and surround Hotaru’s bed so as to not let the droid harm the girl.

“Neptune, Uranus! Mercury found out a way we can damage these guys faster -if we combine our attacks into one!”

“Sounds good,” Uranus smirks. “Well, shall we, Sailor Moon?” Uranus readies her destructive World Shaking attack while Sailor Moon twirls her Spiral Heart Moon Rod. They both call out their attacks at the same time, the Moon Spiral Heart attack and the World Shaking combining into one Spiral Shaking attack that devastates the droid immediately.

“Didn’t you once beat that enemy before?” Uranus asks the moment the droid falls. She and the other girls immediately de-transform, just in case anyone else decides to peep into the hotel room, and finds three Sailor Soldiers there instead of three hospital visitors and one patient.

“This is the second time a daimon has attacked today,” Michiru says.

“No, not a daimon,” Usagi interrupts. “A droid. And earlier today, the other girls and I fought a youma that we’d beaten long ago– over at Tokyo Station, on the bullet train. Why are enemies that we’ve already beaten being revived? I wonder what this could be…”

“If its Destiny was being changed the same way as mine, it might be possible,” Hotaru says, gesturing toward the dust remainder of the droid.

“The power to change Destiny?” Haruka scoffs. “That’s stupid! I wonder who the heck these enemies are…”

[Elsewhere…]

“Apsu-sama,” a blonde girl clad in a black jumpsuit speaks. Her hair is tied back with two crimson bows, cascades of hair falling from two ponytails. Flanking her on either side are similarly-dressed girls: another blonde with her hair falling down to her knees on her left, with a girl with short cropped blue hair on her left, and a brunette and a redhead respectively on the first blonde’s right.

The first blonde, obviously the leader of the group, steps forward and addresses a tall figure standing on a red-carpeted dais before them.

“We have completed the first stage of our strategy. In a few places, previously beaten enemies have been revived and attacked some people. The Destiny of the Juuban District of the 20th century has been changed.”

“I have put you through much,” the tall figure says. “Here is a present.”

The figure raises her arms, and suddenly the room, lit only with strange green torches, glows a brilliant white, power pulsing through every crack in the walls and every vein in the five girls’ bodies. “With this, you should become more powerful than the Sailor Soldiers. You may step down.”

“Thank you very much, Apsu-sama,” the blonde bows deeply before retreating from the stairway to the dais.

Once outside the main room, the blue-haired girl speaks. “With this, we can become more powerful than those legendary Sailor Soldiers.” Her voice is laced with derision and sarcasm, her feelings toward the Sailor Soldiers more than apparent by the tone of her voice.

The redhead, with her back-length hair tied in a messy ponytail, nods. “Ah, our Destinies shall certainly be changed.”

“That’s what I thought too! ♥” the blonde with her hair undone says with a giggle.

“Are you people satisfied already?” the brunette asks, turning to her companions. “I’m still anxious.”

I’m with Marduk,” a voice pipes in. From the opposite side of the hallway, a young boy with a mop of messy green hair appears.

“Anshar-sama,” the redhead says, nodding to him. Beside the boy is his pet, a white creature that resembles something like an Earth dog species known as a Lhasa Apso, but not quite. Still, none of the five girls are the least bit phased by the funny creature’s presence.

“It’s too early to be satisfied,” Anshar continues. “The Sailor Soldiers are still not dead.” He walks closer to the five girls, as if imparting a great and terrible secret upon them. “To turn Destiny into what we truly desire, we must retrieve the Silver Crystal from those who possess it. We shall only have a chance if we have the Silver Crystal.”

“That’s true,” the pigtailed blonde agrees. “The power of the Silver Crystal is too strong to ignore. So, we have crossed over time protected by the Silver Crystal, and arrived in this time.”

“This is our chance, our power has become strong, too,” the other blonde says happily.

“At the moment, the Sailor Soldiers are separated into two different groups,” the blue-haired one says.

“Okay, now is our chance,” Anshar says. “We can get those girls!” The four girls surrounding the pigtailed blonde all nod, and vanish in four flickers of space.

“Do not act easy toward the Princess, if you do indeed want to change Destiny,” the blonde tells Anshar. Before Anshar can respond, she too, disappears in a distortion of space.

[Juuban Hospital, Parking Lot]

“Anyway, let’s check out the town a little bit,” Haruka says.

“All right,” Michiru agrees. “Perhaps we can find a clue left behind by the enemy.”

“Yeah, okay,” Usagi says. “I can feel that something’s about to happen… Let’s go back to my house to make sure everyone is safe.” Usagi doesn’t know why she has this uneasy feeling about her home and family, but it reminds her distinctly of the bad feeling she got this morning before she even left the house. Everyone was fine then, but that had been before any dead youma or droids had started popping up.

“Okay, let’s go,” Haruka nods.

“Wait! I’m coming too!” a voice calls. Haruka, Michiru, and Usagi all turn to face the source of the voice, and are all equally astonished to see Hotaru running toward them.

“You have to rest,” Haruka says firmly, reprimanding Hotaru in her ‘parent’ tone of voice.

“I’m a Sailor Soldier, too,” Hotaru says stubbornly. “I can’t just rest while everyone else fights. I don’t want Destiny to be changed any more than it already has.”

Michiru hesitates before speaking to her partner, “Can’t we take Hotaru-chan along too?”

Haruka turns to her with a cross expression on her face, but she can’t say anything. Such is the nature of their relationship, and both Usagi and Hotaru know that if Michiru allows Hotaru to go, then Hotaru will go no matter what Haruka says.

“All right. All right,” Haruka acquiesces, “You can come with us.”

“Take care, okay? ♥” Usagi says, putting a hand on Hotaru’s shoulder. “If you ever want to stop or go home, you just say so.”

“Thanks, everyone…” Hotaru smiles faintly. The girls all gather together and leave the hospital grounds, heading west toward Usagi’s house.

It doesn’t take long before they encounter two youma -Tensy and Jumo, Sailor Moon explains, youma summoned by the former Dark Kingdom general Nephrite. She barely has time to warn the Outer Soldiers of Tensy’s lethal tennis shot and Jumo’s rocket-launching forearms when both youma attack.

“Combine your attacks!” Sailor Moon yelps, having become the unwilling bait to draw the youmas’ attacks. She keeps dodging adeptly, wanting to avoid Sailor Saturn getting involved in this -or any fights- at all.

One Spiral Reflection and two Deep Shakings later, both youma turn into dust. But it is only the first of many battles that the girls face on the way to the Tsukino residence, and Usagi has an increasingly bad feeling about the situation, the more youma they dust and the closer they get to her home.

The moment the girls set foot in the Tsukino house, they don’t see anything peculiar or out of place. Usagi sighs deeply.

“I’m so relieved. It looks like nothing’s changed here.”

Usagi’s relief is short-lived though, when they all hear a boy’s scream from down the hallway. They all turn to the source of the noise, and spot Shingo running toward them at breakneck speeds.

“Shingo! W-Wait a second, what’s wrong?”

But Shingo never answers; instead, the disembodied voice of a droid does, calling out “Waaaaaiiit!” while it swings a scythe and heads upstairs after Usagi’s younger brother.

Shingo screams a moment later, and Hotaru looks terrified. “Oh no!”

“Everyone, transform, now!” Haruka says, and no one hesitates for a second, least of all Usagi.

Even Uranus known for being as “fast as the wind” trails behind Sailor Moon as they all dash upstairs. When Sailor Moon reaches Shingo’s room, she flings open the door with a resounding slam, quickly catching the attention of the droid, leering over an unconscious Shingo.

“Don’t… don’t… don’t interfere!

Sailor Moon recognizes this droid, too: it’s the one she fought in Crystal Tokyo, not long before Chibiusa ran away and was transformed into Black Lady.

Sailor Moon, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn fight the droid, which is surprisingly stronger than Sailor Moon remembers it, but a few combined attacks of Deep Shaking and one of Sailor Moon’s now-trademark Moon Spiral Heart Attacks and the creature is defeated. Sailor Moon notices something odd about the droid after it’s been destroyed -though it had the same crystal with the reverse crescent moon in it, signature of the Black Moon Clan, the droid also left behind something else.

“A puzzle piece…?” Sailor Moon wonders aloud. She can’t tell what the greater picture is supposed to be; there’s just a small colored blob on it, but Sailor Moon stashes the piece away in case it’s a clue about the enemy.

Shingo recovers as soon as the droid is gone, but he doesn’t even see the striking resemblance between his older sister and the champion of justice standing not one meter away from him.

“Thanks, Sailor Moon!”

“It’s no problem Shin-” Sailor Moon trails off abruptly, realizing there’s no reason for Sailor Moon to know his name, even if she has saved him –at least twice now– before. “Gottatata!” Sailor Moon finishes abruptly.

“Gottatata?” Shingo repeats, confused. Sailor Moon looks as though she wants to bolt out of the room, but Shingo calls her back.

“Wait, Sailor Moon! That weird thing wanted to know about where the uh… ‘Gunzaichou’ or something is.”

“You mean the Ginzuishou… the Silver Crystal?” Sailor Moon asks, her hand inadvertently clasping over the Cosmic Brooch on her chest.

The Soldiers all exchange a glance and nod at Sailor Moon; this is her real cue to get going.

“Yeah, that’s it, the Ginzuishou.”

“Thanks for your help, Sh–” Sailor Moon trails off again and laughs sheepishly. “Sho I better go now!” she says, slurring slightly, as if she’s trying to be funny. Uranus raises an eyebrow, and Sailor Moon dashes out of the room, calling toward Shingo as she runs. “If you ever need my help again, just call!”

As soon as the Sailor Soldiers get outside, Sailor Moon hears a beeping from her communicator. She fishes it out and flips open the small lid, seeing a small digital image of Luna.

“Sailor Moon, I’ve found out some information about the enemy,” Luna says. “Come to the Hikawa Shrine immediately.”

“Okay!” Usagi nods once, closes the communicator and puts it back, and then de-transforms with the other girls. “Come on, let’s go!”

It’s not long before the girls have to transform again though; the whole route to the Shrine is littered with youma, including apparent clones of Tensy, Jumo, and the same youma that attacked Ami just before she became Sailor Mercury– Garoben, an ax-wielding youma with a grudge. Sailor Moon starts noticing more and more puzzle pieces falling when in the original battles, the youma simply vanished after being decimated into clouds of dust. Still, the pieces are nothing more than bits of color, and they’re so small that Sailor Moon knows the puzzle must be large, and won’t mean anything to her until she collects a much larger number of them.

They make it to the Hikawa Shrine soon, and as soon as they are all out of sight and earshot of Rei’s grandfather and Yuuichirou, the girls transform back into their Sailor Soldier forms.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Sailor Moon,” Luna and Artemis say once everyone arrives. The sacred fire is still out, and none of the other girls seem to be around.

“What have you found out about the enemy?” Sailor Moon asks.

“Ah, I looked up some info on the Crystal Palace’s computer,” Artemis explains. “It appears to be that the enemy has arrived from the future.”

“Huh?!” Sailor Moon exclaims in bewilderment. “But the Black Moon is…”

“No, these enemies are from beyond the time of the Black Moon,” Artemis says. “They have the power to manipulate time. They used the Time-Space Door to get here. It seems they’ve come to the past.”

“If we tell Serenity about this event, then surely the enemy will just close the Time-Space Door,” Luna adds. “They must be planning something in the future, as well.”

“This is one of the enemies that’s blocking the Time-Space Door,” Artemis says, turning around and taking a few steps backward. He raises a paw to touch a strange device that Sailor Moon has never seen before; it immediately begins to project an image: that of Sin, the blonde girl whose face appeared in the sacred fire before.

“And the next…” Artemis continues, but when he touches the device, it starts to make a strange noise.

“That’s strange, why is it making that noise?” Artemis wonders, mostly to himself.

“What?”

“Well, I guess it must be that the computer is broken.”

“Oh, let me have a go,” Luna says, frustrated. Suddenly, a disembodied voice speaks, coming from the direction of the holographic Sin.

“I am…”

“Ah! It moved! That’s really clever, Luna!”

Luna’s crimson eyes widen as she looks from the hologram to Artemis and back again. “But I haven’t done anything yet…”

“I am… the Opposito, Sin.”

“Wait!” Sailor Uranus calls out before anyone can approach the bizarre hologram. “There’s something weird about this!”

“I am the Opposito Soldier, Sin. I am one of the Soldiers who changes Destiny. I shall kill you annoying Sailor Soldiers! I completely rule ‘Her Destiny’! Take a look at this!” The Opposito Sin ‘projection’ doesn’t even lift a finger, but four very familiar unconscious figures –appearing just as transparent as the ‘holographic’ Sin suddenly appear before them.

“Sailor Mercury!” Sailor Moon cries out, recognizing the first figure.

“Sailor Mars!” Neptune would know Mars anywhere.

“Sailor Jupiter!” Uranus and Jupiter once sparred, but now they are good friends.

“Sailor Venus!” Sailor Saturn shouts.

And a fifth and final figure appears -a small child with a mop of unruly pink hair. “Chibiusa!” Sailor Moon screams before she can help herself. Sin’s hologram disappears, but her disembodied voice continues to speak.

“If you want to see Lady Serenity and the other four Soldiers back… come to Juuban Junior High School. We’ll be waiting, Sailor Moon.”

“Wait a second! Everyone… Chibiusa…” But Sin and the projections of the five girls are gone.

“Sailor Moon!” Luna shouts at her ward in an attempt to snap the girl out of her sudden stupor. “That’s definitely a trap!”

“But they’ve got everyone!” Sailor Moon protests, much in the same way she protested against walking into Zoisite’s fake Sailor Moon trap over a year ago. She knew what she was walking into, but she didn’t care– if it was for the good of everyone, if it meant that someone would be saved…

“Are we just going to abandon them?” Sailor Moon demands, the tone of her voice clearly implying that she, at least, will not.

“I didn’t say that!” Luna blusters. “We should just check out our enemy a bit more!”

“I agree with Luna,” Sailor Neptune says calmly. “We don’t understand our enemy’s strength, nor their true form. It’s too dangerous to accept their invitation.”

“No, I don’t think so,” Sailor Uranus puts in. “If there’s a trap, we can just destroy it as we go in right?”

“Uranus, but…” Neptune protests, but her words fall on deaf ears.

“I’m going to help Chibiusa,” Saturn says resolutely, leaving no room for objections.

“Sailor Saturn…” Neptune’s voice drops to a whisper; there is no going against the wishes of both Uranus and Saturn.

“Even when saving the world, I can’t just abandon my friends,” Sailor Moon says, turning away from the others. Though her voice is quieter than usual, her words almost broken, there is a strength and resolution there that all the Soldiers have come to identify with Sailor Moon -their leader, their Princess, their future Queen.

“A universe without the other Soldiers… I won’t accept it!” Any tears Sailor Moon may have cried when she saw her fallen friends dry immediately on her cheeks as she turns back to face the other girls.

“Sailor Moon…”

“What’ll you do, Neptune?” Uranus asks, knowing that she can’t force Neptune to go against her better instincts.

“…Not my loss,” Neptune finally relents.

It wasn’t exactly the kind of compromise Uranus wanted to hear, so she just harrumphs and turns away. “Okay, we’ve decided. Let’s go to Juuban Junior High!”

[Juuban Junior High, Gates]

“Everyone, we have to help the others! Let’s go!” Sailor Moon says, unintimidated by the darkness surrounding her own school. At the least, she knows these halls -probably even better than the enemy, so it would be pretty difficult to lay a trap where it wouldn’t be obvious. At least… that’s what she hopes.

[On the roof]

“How do they seem?” Sin asks of the other four girls under her command.

“They’re wandering around inside our illusions, as usual,” the blue-haired one says with a scoff. “Only… Lady Serenity continues to be protected by the Silver Crystal.”

“While ‘Lady’ is in our hands, she can’t be touched by a single finger,” Sin grouses. “We just need to be patient a little longer.” Sin chuckles under her breath and stares out at the far end of the roof, where an unconscious Chibiusa rests…

[Downstairs]

“Come on, let’s investigate!” Sailor Moon gestures toward the first classroom accessible from the main entrance, and is surprised when the door opens easily.

“We should stay together,” Uranus says under her breath. “We can’t afford to be divided when we have no idea of what the enemy can do.” Neptune and Saturn silently agree, and they all trail behind Sailor Moon as she enters the first classroom.

“Ah!” Sailor Moon’s sharp scream draws the other girls into the classroom that much faster. “Sailor Mercury!” Indeed, lying unconscious on the other side of the classroom is their fallen soldier of ice, Sailor Mercury. Hovering not more than a few centimeters behind her is a droid –the same droid that attacked Shingo!

“This child is dreaming wonderful fantasies,” the droid says in a hollow voice. “Do not intrude!”

[Mercury’s Dream…]

“Thank you very much, Dr. Mizuno!” a small boy thanks a slightly-older looking Ami, one wearing a crisp white doctor’s jacket and surrounded by pristine hospital beds.

“Thanks to your help, Dr. Mizuno, my boy is healthy again!” a woman beside the boy says, her eyes tearing up with joy.

“No, it was nothing at all,” Ami responds kindly, and she means it. She loves being a doctor and helping people; she loves the smiles on their faces when they are all better.

“Thank you, Dr. Mizuno!” the little boy reaches up to Ami and she hugs him as he enthusiastically hugs back. Ami allows herself a slight laugh– this is what she’s always wanted…

Suddenly, the phone ringing interrupts her, and she sets the boy back down on the ground. “Oh? It’s the telephone.”

“Darling? What’s wrong? Of course I’m coming home early today!” Ami smiles. “Because it’s our anniversary today, right? ♥”

Sailor Moon, completely unaware of Mercury’s fantasies, steps forward in an effort to wake her friend up from her stupor.

“If you’re going to intrude, you’ll have to face me first!” the droid says, its once hollow voice abruptly turning angry. With one angry swoop of its scythe, it comes lunging toward Sailor Moon and the others, and they are involved in a battle.

“Same formation, same attacks!” Sailor Moon shouts as she pulls out her Spiral Moon Heart Rod.

“Right!”

Within moments, the droid is destroyed, but with its final breath, it calls out to someone –who, no one is quite sure.

“Don’t forget… within that dream is the Destiny you truly desire…” The droid then vanishes without a trace.

“Mercury! Are you okay?” Sailor Moon asks worriedly, kneeling beside her friend.

“I’m… all right…” Mercury manages, still sounding groggy. “Go help the others first. I’ll catch up with you later.”

Sailor Moon reluctantly agrees, and decides to check out the other classrooms. There are no more of her friends in any of the classes in the first floor, so she heads upstairs.

But in the first classroom on left on the second floor, Sailor Moon quickly spots another droid clone looming over Sailor Mars.

“Of course you’ve come to help her, Sailor Moon,” the droid states. “Do you really want to help Rei?” Sailor Moon is initially surprised by the droid knowing Mars’ name, but then she remembers how Sin contacted them at the Hikawa Shrine– she must have known their identities since then, or perhaps even before, if she truly came from the future.

“Y-Yes, of course I do!” Sailor Moon says, flustered. Why wouldn’t she?

“You’ll lose your life trying!” the droid snarls.

One rather predictable battle later, the droid is dusted, another puzzle piece is found, and Mars remains unconscious.

“Mars! MARS!” Sailor Moon cries out, shaking her best friend’s shoulder.

[Mars’ Dream…]

“Forgive me, Rei…” Mamoru says, his back to Rei as they both stand outside the Hikawa Shrine.

He turns to face her, coming so dangerously close Rei swears he must be able to hear the loud beating of her heart.

“You’re my only true love. You love me, don’t you? You’ve always loved me, Mamoru Chiba. Now, don’t say anything. We’ll be together forever…”

“Mamoru-sama…” Rei can’t help but murmur, her cheeks colored a brilliant shade of red. But these are the words she’s always wanted to hear…

“I’m so happy… I’m not dreaming, am I?”

…an…i-chan!…

REI-CHAN!

Rei ignores the voice calling her name and allows her eyes to flutter closed as Mamoru draws ever nearer…

“Num num num… Mamoru-sama…” Sailor Mars mumbles in her sleep.

Sailor Moon overhears this and immediately stands, her face pale.

“Mamoru-sama!?!”

At the harsh sound of Sailor Moon’s voice calling not her own name, but her beloved’s, Sailor Mars wakes up with a jolt and stands, probably too quickly for her own good. She’s still dizzy, and her knees are wobbly, but she doesn’t care– all she can see is the expression of pure betrayal on Sailor Moon’s face.

“What… did you just… say?” Sailor Moon repeats, as if trying to stay calm. “Was it ‘Mamoru-sama’?” Though Sailor Moon raises her voice at the end, it’s clearly not a statement– she knows what she just heard.

“What the heck were you dreaming about?”

Sailor Mars’ knees give before she can formulate a decent excuse, and she wobbles to the ground, dizzy and nauseous.

“I’m all right now, please go help the others…”

Sailor Moon makes an uncharacteristic growling noise under her breath, but nods silently and leaves the room.

There is nothing of interest in any of the other classrooms on the second floor, so Sailor Moon and the others head up to the third floor of the building, knowing that Jupiter, Venus, and Chibiusa must be up here somewhere.

They reach the second classroom and immediately spot Jupiter lying unconscious in front of the teacher’s desk, the same droid hovering over her that had been accosting Mercury and Mars.

“Hey, don’t intrude!” the droid says, speaking with an unusually casual tone. “This girl’s dreams are coming true.”

Sailor Moon doesn’t even stop to consider the droid’s words; she wonders if Destiny is truly changing, and if they keep facing the same droid over and over again, or if Destiny has simply allowed for multiple copies -or at least similar versions of the same youma- to appear in a singular time. The first droid they crossed like this was almost timid, while the second was fierce, and the third was a smart-ass. This fourth one appears to be totally casual, and if that was its attitude toward fighting, so much the better!

“You have many dreams too,” the droid says unexpectedly, snapping Sailor Moon out of her stupor. “Dating with that boy you like…” The droid wanders down one of the aisles in the classroom, while Luna nods discretely at Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon nods in reply, and gently starts urging Sailor Jupiter’s prone form out of the classroom, with Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn’s help.

“Beautiful clothes to wear…” the droid continues, unaware.

“Delicious foods to eat, until you’re full…”

‘Just a little further now!’

“Becoming an idol singer…”

‘Okay stupid droid, just don’t turn around!’

“You want to become… prettier…”

Suddenly the droid turns around when it realizes its audience has moved much further away, and is now very nearly at the door.

Whoops! While I was busy investigating…” The droid never finishes its sentence, and comes chasing after the Soldiers at breakneck speeds, swinging its scythe all the while.

“All right, let’s do this!” Sailor Moon is surprised at her own eagerness to get into this battle, but if anything, that eagerness is borne out of her desire to stop fighting, and to save her friends from all this madness.

[Jupiter’s Dream…]

“That’s a surprise, I didn’t know you liked me. I didn’t think someone like you would like a guy like me. I’m so quick to start a fight!”

Makoto doesn’t say anything, if only because she knows that people thought the very same thing about her…

“But with no other tall guys like me around,” the upperclassman chuckles, his face looking even more handsome than before, “There probably isn’t anyone else for you, so…” The upperclassman walks closer, closer, until Makoto is sure he can count the freckles on her nose.

“Huh? T-Then… Then we’re…?”

“Yeah, well then… Could you bring along one of your home-made bentou lunches tomorrow?”

“Sure! ♥”

“Sailor Moon… you came to help me…” Jupiter mumbles weakly. “I’ll be all right in a while, you go help everyone else first.” Sailor Moon nods in understanding, and heads out the door. There are only two more floors left of the school, so Sailor Moon hurries upstairs and quickly spots an unconscious Sailor Venus lying on the floor of the second classroom from the left on the fourth floor.

“Venus! Hang in there!” Unlike the other Soldiers, Sailor Moon doesn’t immediately spot a droid looming over Venus’ prone form, though Venus’ unconscious state is not unlike the others, so she’s probably dreaming, too.

“Ohh…” Venus mumbles.

“This child is going to live in a dream world forever…” a disembodied voice speaks, and Sailor Moon knows the droid must be nearby. “Let her be…”

[Venus’ Dream…]

“Hey, Hey, Hikaru-chan, listen to this!” Minako says excitedly as she meets her best friend from Shibakouen Junior High out in front of the Crown Game Center.

“What is it, Minako?” the girl with short, dark hair cropped to her chin asks. “Who’re you chasing after this time?”

“No, no, this time it’s true love!” Minako insists.

“Really, who with?” Hikaru asks curiously.

Minako blushes and puts her hands to her warm cheeks. “Minami-sempai from the Soccer Club! ♥ I’m gonna give him a love letter today! ♥”

“Cool! You’re really going to give him the letter?”

“I’m really going to give him a letter this time. I’ve tried before, but something always stops me.”

Hikaru turns around excitedly and looks into one of the Crown Game Center windows.

“Ah look! It’s a new Sailor Moon video game!”

“Cool!” Minako exclaims. “Sailor Moon-chan’s made it all the way to a video game!”

“I’ve heard a rumor that Sailor Moon is a secret detective for the police!” Hikaru says in a conspiratorial whisper.

“Really? That’s so cool!” Minako exclaims again. “I wanna be like Sailor Moon too…”

“No! Venus, don’t die! Wake up!”

Suddenly, a droid drops down from the ceiling, staring at Sailor Moon and the Outer Soldiers with malice in its glowing eyes.

“I said not to disturb her!”

One quick battle later, the droid is again dusted.

“I really hope that was the last one for a while,” Sailor Moon mutters under her breath. As she speaks, Venus’ eyes flutter open, and she sits up.

“Thank you, Sailor Moon!” she smiles brightly. “You sure are cool, Sailor Moon!” Sailor Moon blinks in confusion at her friend, wondering if the side-effects of her dream are causing her to talk like that. Even if Minako isn’t mean like Rei, it’s still unusual for any of the girls to compliment her like that…

“Venus…”

“Chibiusa’s being held on the roof,” Venus says quickly. “Go and help her quickly, she must be waiting for you!”

“Sailor Moon, I’ll look over everyone down here,” Luna says.”You have to go get Chibiusa-chan.”

Sailor Moon quickly heads to the roof access staircase on the left hand side of the fourth floor, and flings open the door to the roof with a loud slam.

“Chibiusa!” she screams as soon as she spots her future-daughter, lying in a heap on the edge of the roof.

“Hold it right there, Sailor Moon,” Opposito Sin sneers, hovering above Chibiusa’s prone form. This time, Sin isn’t translucent in the least; this is undoubtedly the real thing.

Sailor Moon is surprised by how much of a resemblance she bears to the “Opposite Soldier” right down to the twin blonde pigtails and blue eyes. But those selfsame
blue eyes are not looking at Sailor Moon with the least bit of fondness or even surprise– just plain disgust.

“Sin! So, Chibiusa is safe for now…”

“Don’t worry,” Sin says, but the one of her voice indicates that Sailor Moon should do otherwise.

“This child is dreaming,” a new voice says. A moment later, a girl in a similar black suit to Sin’s appears, only she has messy scarlet hair and eyes to match. “And she has realized what’s happening to her. She shall have a good Destiny. And so shall you annoying brats!”

“If you want to help this child, hand over the Silver Crystal,” Sin says plainly. “This child for the Silver Crystal!”

Sailor Saturn immediately darts forward and stands at Sailor Moon’s side. “Sailor Moon, don’t! Don’t give the Silver Crystal to them!”

Two more girls appear beside the redhead and Sin; one blonde that bears a striking resemblance toward Sailor Venus, and the other with short blue hair and a scornful expression on her face.

“We shall make her dream until we get what we want!” the blonde chirps.

“And she’ll die if she keeps dreaming,” the blue-haired girl puts in. “Her happiness is only in her imagination.”

“Sailor Moon…” Uranus says from behind the pigtailed Sailor Soldier. “The enemy is trying to scare you into giving them the Silver Crystal.”

“Yeah, so don’t let them trick you,” Sailor Neptune adds.

“I know…” Sailor Moon says, the expression on her face unreadable. Still, there is something about her voice…

“It’s true, Sailor Moon,” Saturn says. “Don’t let them trick you!”

“I know…” Sailor Moon heaves a deep sigh and then looks up. “Sin. I’ll give you the Silver Crystal.”

The Outer Soldiers all gasp in astonishment; Sailor Moon didn’t listen to a word they had said!?

“Sailor Moon, stop!” Uranus calls, but it’s apparently too late– Sailor Moon is already walking forward, her hand on her brooch…

“I’ll give the Silver Crystal to you. But you must give back Chibiusa!” Sailor Moon says, a strange sort of urgency in her voice. Sailor Saturn has never heard this tone in Sailor Moon’s -or Usagi’s for that matter- voice before.

For an instant, she wonders if this is because Sailor Moon knows within her heart and soul that Chibiusa is her daughter, even if her rational mind and body both tell her that she has never bore a child before.

A fifth girl appears before Sailor Moon, this one with a sleek ponytail of silvery-brown hair. “The Silver Crystal is more important than this child,” she says, as if to reassure Sailor Moon that they truly bear no ill will toward Chibiusa.

“I have to help Chibiusa,” Sailor Moon states emphatically.

“Good,” Sin says, a wicked smile curving her lips upward. “That’s the right solution to this problem. Now, she shall wake up.” Sin raises a hand and Chibiusa’s limp form hovers over their heads, landing gently on the roof between Sailor Moon and Sailor Saturn.

“NOW! Hand over the Silver Crystal!”

Before anyone can say anything further, a needle-sharp rose, blood-red in color, shoots down from above, just narrowly missing Sin’s nose. Everyone looks up toward the left side of the school building, where a shadow moves, hidden by the height of the school’s clock tower. Sailor Moon smiles, knowing -having known, actually- before anyone else who hides there.

“Who… who are you!?” Sin demands angrily.

“It’s wrong to play around with young girls’ dreams like that!” the shadow calls out. “You have such a cold heart! Apologize!” The shadow moves, and then a black figure clad in a tuxedo and cape sweeps down from above, landing directly between Sailor Moon and the Opposito Soldiers.

“Tuxedo Mask!”

“Don’t give the enemy the Silver Crystal,” Tuxedo Mask tells Sailor Moon as he turns back to face her.

“B-But Chibiusa…” Sailor Moon stutters. She casts a sideways glance backward at her future daughter, knowing that she will either never wake up or will fall back into an eternal sleep if the Opposito Soldiers don’t get what they want.

“She’s fine,” Tuxedo Mask reassures her. “She’s being protected by the Silver Crystal’s power. Soon, she shall awaken from her sleep on her own.”

“Now… what do you want with the Silver Crystal?” he demands of Sin.

“Changing the fate of the world is very difficult,” Sin responds snidely.

“Changing the fate of the world?” Tuxedo Mask repeats. For some reason, Sin’s words sound very familiar…

“Huh? Changing the fate of the world?” Sailor Moon echoes.

“We shall change the fate of the planet,” Sin repeats darkly. “Because we want to control the future!”

“You want to control the future…? Control… Future…” Her voice trails off, and Tuxedo Mask quickly turns around to face her once more.

“Sailor Moon! They’re manipulating you! They’re trying to make you imagine things!” Usa–” All of a sudden, a wave of dizziness overcame both Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, and they both found themselves within a dream…

[Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask’s Dream…]

“Darling! ♥” Usagi calls out to Mamoru as they stand in the entryway of an unfamiliar home.

“Come home early today, won’t you? Today’s Chibiusa’s…”

“I know. Chibiusa’s birthday, right? I came home late last time, but I won’t this time,” Mamoru promises Usagi with a wink. Unspoken goes his promise from last year not to forget Usagi’s birthday either -which falls on the same day as Chibiusa’s. Still, their daughter tends to take priority in their life, so both of them have made it a point not to mention Usagi’s birthday until after the festivities are over and they can get a chance to celebrate with each other– alone.

“Well, I’m off!” Mamoru says, adjusting his tie and heading for the door.

“Darling! ♥♥ Now, what aren’t you meant to forget?” Usagi goads him with a sweet smile on her face and Mamoru quickly turns around, a confused expression on his face.

“Huh? Oh… oh yeah. I always forget this,” he says playfully, checks to make sure Chibiusa isn’t watching, and presses his lips against Usagi’s, giving her a daring taste of what is to come later that evening.

“Well then, I really should be going now…”

“Goodbye, darling! ♥” Usagi calls after him, her cheeks still colored a faint pink hue.

“Ohhh…” Chibiusa groans. She wakes up with a start, only to find Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask standing before her, both staring blank-eyed at some impossibly distant point on the horizon.

“No! You tricked those two!” She stands in front of both her future mother and future father and hollers up at them. “Wake up, Sailor Moon! Wake up, Tuxedo Mask! Everyone needs you!”

“Girls… NOW!” Sin calls out, and the Opposito Soldiers all take a synchronous jump backward, each landing in a perfect formation.

“DIE PRINCESS!” Sin calls angrily.

The blue-haired one says “DIE!” with just as much malice in her voice, as does the redhead.

“Die now!” the brunette adds, and the formerly-bubbly blonde chirrups, “Please die now! ♥”

Tuxedo Mask suddenly snaps out of his stupor and realizes both Sailor Moon and Chibiusa are in danger, and he quickly shields them from the blast that the Opposito Soldiers emit from their hands.

“Auuuugh!”

Tuxedo Mask’s cry snaps both Chibiusa and Sailor Moon out of it, but when they turn to face their hero, he is on his knees, obviously in great pain.

“Huh? Tuxedo Mask! Tuxedo Mask, are you all right?” Sailor Moon is at his side in an instant, and within seconds, Sailor Saturn also comes forward.

“BIG MISTAKE!” Sin cries out, and she and the other Opposito Soldiers raise their hands again. This time, Sailor Saturn is the target of a much more focused attack, and she cries out and then collapses to the floor completely.

The Opposito Soldiers all vanish at once, leaving the roof devoid of any presence
but the Sailor Soldiers and an injured Tuxedo Mask.

“Sailor Saturn!” Chibiusa cries out, equally astonished that her friend is not only older once more, but that she took the brunt of an attack to protect her and Sailor Moon.

“Sailor Saturn! Tuxedo Mask!” Sailor Moon echoes. This was just what she’d been trying to avoid, and now the two people she’d desperately been trying to keep safe -outside of Chibiusa herself- were now injured!

“Hold tight!”

[Maison Apartments, Mamoru’s bedroom]

“Mamo-chan…” Usagi murmurs softly as she looks over her boyfriend’s prone form, lying in his bed. “It was my fault…”

“Usagi’s not to blame,” Chibiusa puts in, as if Mamoru were awake and could agree with her. “It was my… it was my…” Chibiusa starts to cry before she can finish her sentence, and soon Usagi is crying right along with her.

“Hey,” Haruka’s voice calls in softly as she and Michiru walk into the bedroom. “Let him get some rest. Two of our friends almost died.”

“But…” Usagi protests, unwilling to leave Mamoru’s side.

“Don’t apologize,” Michiru interrupts. “It’s not what happened then, it’s what’s happening now.”

Usagi and Chibiusa both nod and sniffle, and head out of the room. Haruka and Michiru both look over the sleeping form of Mamoru and speak, though they never look at one another.

“Although our numbers are now limited, we must continue,” Michiru says firmly. “Haruka, what do you think?”

“It’s hopeless! It’s hopeless to continue!” Haruka growls angrily, turning away from Mamoru and staring instead at the wall. “We’re failures at protecting the King.”

Michiru turns to stand in front of Haruka, her pretty lips turned downward in a frown. “So you thought so too…” They both sigh and walk out of Mamoru’s bedroom.

Out in the main living room, the rest of the girls, save Chibiusa and Hotaru, are now awake and de-transformed.

“How is Hotaru?” Haruka asks.

“She’s getting better,” Ami announces. “The Black Light has worn off a little, but for the time being, she’s at the Juuban Hospital.”

“I find this new enemy very perplexing,” Rei says.

“Urawa-kun’s prediction is coming true,” Ami adds quietly.

“Sorry… Usagi-chan. I fell right into the enemy’s trap,” Makoto apologizes, and truly looking sorry, too.

“How so?” Minako asks. “What could we have possibly done to prevent it?”

Suddenly, an odd feeling washes through the room, but apparently Rei is the only one who feels it. She turns around abruptly, half-expecting to see a youma pop out of the walls, or the Opposito Soldier appearing in the apartment kitchen.

“Wha… What? Just now, what has appeared?”

Everyone looks around when suddenly, four hazy, translucent figures appear on the left side of the apartment.

“It’s a ghost!” Ami exclaims. Though she is the most scientific-minded out of all the Soldiers, she knows a ghost when she sees one– she faced one with Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars over a year ago, back when they all went to a beach side resort, and they stayed at a ‘haunted’ mansion where a little girl possessed the uncanny ability to create ghosts from her mind.

“Guardian Soldiers of Princess Serenity,” one of the ghosts speaks, and suddenly Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako all recognize the figure.

“Kunzite!” And the others beside him… “Zoisite! Nephrite! Jadeite!”

“We are now protecting Prince Endymion.”

“But aren’t you guys Queen Beryl’s…!?” Makoto asks, astonished.

“Yes, we did serve as Generals under Queen Beryl for a while,” Nephrite admits. “However, we were originally followers of the Prince of Earth, Endymion. And now we have returned to serve our former master once again.”

“Why… have you guys just appeared like this?” Minako asks, the slightest amount of trepidation in her voice. She’s faced more Dark Kingdom soldiers and agents than any of the other Sailor Soldiers combined, but she still gets particularly uneasy around these guys… or at least, one of them. “Perhaps Mamoru-san…”

“Heh heh,” Zoisite chuckles. “The reason for Master Endymion’s inactivity is Negative Energy,” he explains.

“Well, what are you guys doing here?” Rei asks, ever the skeptic. She doesn’t trust any of the four generals as far as she can throw them -physically or psychically!

“You see, the Master’s condition right now is quite abnormal,” Jadeite says. “Perhaps the enemy is in possession of Negative Energy. Perhaps in large quantities.”

“We have to force upon the opposite side, Positive Energy,” Kunzite explains. “And when that’s out of the way…”

“Mamoru-san will return to his senses!” Rei finishes.

“How will we deliver that Positive Energy?” Makoto asks.

“In this case, the Stones of Truth will be necessary,” Jadeite says.

“The Stones of Truth?” Ami asks, having never heard of the things before.

“You see this stone?” Nephrite asks, holding out a milky white stone on the palm of his hand. “This is a stone that is pure Darkness.”

“Originally, this stone,” Zoisite holds out a blue stone with many facets, “was a combination of both Light and Darkness.”

“The two elements, Light and Darkness, returned to their original stones,” Kunzite says, holding out his own silvery stone. “But this never happens by itself.”

“Our Light power is inside other stones, which are sleeping somewhere on this Earth,” Jadeite explains. “These are the stones that carry our power… All of our power. My stone is in Nepal.”

“My stone is in Canada,” Nephrite adds.

“My stone is in Switzerland! ♥” Zoisite says.

“My stone’s in Turkey,” Kunzite finishes. “You must visit these places and get the Light stones back. We’ll be waiting… with Master’s Rose Crystal, the Barazuishou.”

“The Barazuishou?” Minako repeats.

“This stone is in Japan,” Jadeite says. “Its powers are similar to that of the Ginzuishou, the Silver Crystal.”

“When our stones are gathered in the same place, the Rose Crystal shall appear,” Nephrite says.

“And when the five stones are together, the Master shall become healthy again!” Zoisite adds.

“Please find these stones!” Kunzite urges before fading away, his voice echoing. “I beg you…”

There is a faint sparkle on the ground where the ghosts once stood, and in their place are four stones: the stone of Dark Zoisite, the stone of Dark Nephrite, the stone of Dark Jadeite, and the stone of Dark Kunzite.

“…They vanished…” Rei murmurs.

“In any case, it looks as though we have to find the stones of Light,” Minako says. “Michiru-san, Haruka-san… The search for the stones is a job for the Inner Soldiers.”

“Yes, please get the stones,” Michiru agrees.

“We’ll look for the Rose Crystal and the enemy’s hideout while you guys are busy.”

“Well then, I’m off to Switzerland,” Ami announces.

“And I’ll go to Nepal,” Rei says.

“I’m going to Canada,” Makoto adds.

“For me, Turkey, right?” Minako asks the others with a wink.

“Hey, what about me?” Usagi demands.

“Usagi-chan, you stay here in Japan,” Makoto soothes her.

“Huh? Why?” Usagi asks, unused to being left out of Soldier affairs.

“Usagi-chan, both Hotaru-chan and Mamoru-san have collapsed. You need to nurse them back to good health.”

The Soldiers all sweatdrop, knowing Usagi isn’t much of a nurse, but at least it’s not Minako trying to restore Hotaru and Mamoru back to normal.

“If I stay here, then that could be to Mamo-chan’s benefit,” Usagi sighs, relenting.

“For Mamoru-san’s own good, we have to go, and you have to stay,” Rei says, putting a hand on Usagi’s shoulder.

“Huh?” Usagi asks eloquently. She hasn’t forgotten about Rei’s murmuring Mamoru’s name back at the junior high, but she wonders why if Rei was dreaming about Mamoru, why she’s volunteering to go find the Light stone of Jadeite, rather than stay by Mamoru’s side.

“You have to stay by Mamoru’s side,” Rei says in an uncharacteristically gentle voice. “We have to go for the stones.”

“Although it will be difficult, we still have to go,” Makoto says. “You have to stay and help Mamoru.”

“Yeah!” Minako agrees enthusiastically, always in favor of pushing Usagi and Mamoru closer together in the name of true love. “Usagi-chan’s power of love will revive him!”

“Yeah… everyone, thank you!” Usagi says, a small smile creeping up on her lips.

“And now, we have to go!” Rei says determinedly, not willing to spend a moment more than necessary here, breathing Mamoru’s air, surrounded by Mamoru’s things. She just wants to shake all memory of that dream out of her head completely. “When we come back, we can all go and have some crepes together.”

“Everyone, good luck!” Usagi smiles.

Unseen by any of the other Sailor Soldiers, Chibiusa waits near the doorway of Mamoru’s apartment. “I’ll bring back the Rose Crystal,” she whispers. “Then Mamo-chan will get better. Wait, Mamo-chan. Soon, I’ll bring back the Rose Crystal.”

End of Chapter 1. Continue to Chapter 2?