*I do not own Sailor Moon. Story is based off the original manga.*

"Queen? Neo-Queen Serenity? Wake up!"

Usagi jerked in surprise, her head toppling off her arm like a bird knocked from its perch.

"Sorry, Mars. Continue," Usagi said and yawned.

"Honestly, you never change."

Usagi snorted, then recovered and waved for Rei to keep talking. Rei was in uniform, the sailor senshi outfit pristine. It had been years since they battled any threats to Crystal Tokyo, but the skirt and bow were a symbol to the city. Usagi stared at the jewel on Rei's chest, fleeting images of her own Eternal Sailor Moon brooch flickering past her drooping eyes.

A hand rested on Usagi's shoulder and she sat straighter. King Endymion brushed his lips across her ear while he said, "Allow me. You should rest."

With as much grace as she could muster, Usagi stood. Her dress flared about her and draped to the floor. The table fell silent. Venus sat to Usagi's right and raised a concerned eyebrow while Mars stopped talking. Even Mercury paused in her detailed notes, though Jupiter's glazed eyes made Usagi smile.

"I'm fine, but M—the King is better suited for business infrastructure than I ever was." Usagi shifted her weight. After fifteen years she should have been accustomed to the cold formality they'd adopted after Chibiusa was born. No, not Chibiusa—Serenity. Usagi's name, her mother's name, and now her child's. A child who refused to grow up until, in another 890 or so years, she'd travel back to fight alongside a past Sailor Moon while she'd be encased in crystal. Helpless.

Destiny—complex and unavoidable.

"Let me escort you back to your chambers, Queen." Jupiter stood and bowed. Usagi was about to wave her off when Jupiter added, "Please."

They walked side by side through the sparkling palace. The clear sunny spring sky reflected through the transparent crystalline walls. Glimmers of light spilled into rainbows across their path. After Usagi and Mamoru had married, their power overflowed through the Silver Crystal and grew into the palace she'd only seen in the future. That's when she knew her life was on its set path, never to deviate again. It was only two years later that she lost the ability to transform. Since then, her job became to be Queen, and only Queen. Sailor Moon passed into legend, and Usagi—the girl who'd grown up with two normal parents and an annoying little brother—ceased to exist. Yet she still felt like that girl.

"Do you ever miss it?"

"What would that be?" Jupiter spoke and strolled, her long legs carrying her too quickly for Usagi to match. Jupiter noticed and slowed.

"Our old lives. Fighting together. The girls we used to be."

"You mean the too-strong freak who chased away all the boys? No. I don't miss that."

Usagi laughed. "Okay, maybe not that part."

A door creaked open from beyond and pattering steps raced down the hall. "Mama!"

Usagi knelt and swept little pink-haired Serenity into a hug, kissing her cheek. She looked the same now as she would the first time they would meet. Their timelines were tricky, and to make matter worse the Pluto guarding the vaults of time right now wasn't the same Pluto she'd fought with against Chaos, but she would be. Pluto's powers over time had never clicked in Usagi's mind, no matter how much extra her tutors crammed in there.

"What are you doing out of your studies?" Usagi asked Serenity.

"Michiru let me have a break when we heard you in the hall to say hello."

"That was very kind of her. Is she coming as well?"

"Yes, I'm here," Michiru rounded the corner and curtsied, her deep green gown fluttering over the floor with a light swish. Her hair was up today, the aqua strands bound in a loose bun. Her beauty never ceased to halt Usagi's breath, but she wished they wouldn't curtsy.

"Hello Michiru, how is Haruka?"

"She's at the Crystal Raceway as we speak. Her celebrity status keeps her busy."

A pang echoed in Usagi's chest. Haruka, out of all her old allies, seemed to detest the honorifics and royal status markers as much as Usagi did. No one else seemed to understand that her gown and crown were only a disguise for the clumsy dull girl underneath.

"Come now Princess, we must return to our studies." Michiru held out her hand and Serenity slid to her side. "My Queen," Michiru curtsied again. If Haruka rebelled against etiquette, then Michiru was her opposite.

"Mako-chan," Usagi turned to Jupiter, who startled at her name. "Thank you for joining me, but I'd like to walk alone for a bit."

"Of course," Jupiter nodded deeply, a form of bowing without bowing. "But if I may answer your previous question, the only thing I miss is your easy laughter."

Usagi only managed a sad curl of her lips before walking away. The Usagi she once was had been full of laughter and lighthearted ease, but when she was crowned it had been agreed among them for both her and Mamo-chan to fully embrace their royal selves to better serve Crystal Tokyo. This life wasn't hers, it belonged to the stranger in the mirror wearing the crown.

This future came too quickly, now Usagi was expected to rule as a perpetually youthful fraud. She'd known her path when fighting alongside her friends, but ruling over them set her apart.

Usagi's bedchamber was empty, the room echoing her steps. The ceiling was twenty feet tall, arching in a elegant sweep of beams—all crystal. A transparent castle, her life on display, and no room for mistakes.

"Buns, you need some time off, that's all." Endymion suggested when Usagi tried to admit her discomfort to him. Calling her Buns was the only concession she'd found to the formality forced upon them for the last fifteen years.

"Mamo-chan, I'm not over-tired or stressed from my burdens, this is different."

"Buns, you know not to call me that."

Heat rushed up Usagi's back and into her cheeks. "MAMORU," her voice carried through their room. "You are my Mamo-chan. I can't keep pretending like those parts of us are dead! Like my past never happened!"

His violet cloak billowed as he quickly cradled Usagi. "I'm sorry, Buns. I didn't realize how much this was affecting you."

"I don't feel like myself. I have no idea who I am anymore." Usagi inhaled the smell of roses from his royal tuxedo, the design remnant of his old alter ego.

"You've always been you. You've been royalty since before you were reborn. Give it time and this will feel natural."

Usagi pressed back so she could stare into his deep blue eyes. His hair used to be inky black, but it had lightened, as had her own upon their official coronation. Now her hair had paled to a cross between silver and gold, while his had taken on a lavender hue.

"I feel lost, but there's no one to go to for guidance," Usagi admitted.

"You could speak with Luna."

"Perhaps, but I think… I think I want to go back to the Moon Kingdom. I want to know my history beyond us. I want to see how I grew up, how I interacted with my first mother. I don't even know my father. There are so many pieces of me missing."

"Buns," Endymion kneeled with Usagi's hand clasped in his. His kissed it gently. "You haven't gone anywhere. Everything you need is already inside you, but if revisiting your past will help, then we will make it happen."

"Thank you for understanding." Usagi took his face in her hands and kissed him slowly. Endymion had stood by her side for this life and the last, she'd always be grateful for his love. "I want to feel like a normal woman for a while. Free."

"For you, my Queen. Anything."

The fabric chaffed in a delightful way across Usagi's thighs as she stood surrounded by her senshi. Her tights and miniskirt felt mischievous after her constant gowns, and the slouching sweater top was the epitome of comfort. She grinned at them all, and although she was eternally young in body, her mind still matured, and at that moment a flare of her young self brightened her smile.

"Buns, promise me you'll be careful," Endymion said.

"Only everyone here is capable of traveling to the old kingdom. I can go alone."

"No, you can't," Uranus spoke up, her deep voice dancing over Usagi's skin. "Kitten, you are too important. I'm coming with. I'll stand vigil in the darkest corner, but I'll be with you."

Usagi slumped, an action she'd never be allowed to take with her crown on. "Haruka, I'm fine. I've done plenty of things on my own."

"Not this time." Haruka took Usagi's hand and winked at Michiru, who returned a coy smile of her own. Usagi and Haruka had always been close ever since their first meeting. Usagi remembered Uranus's surprise kiss from that day and blushed, which only made Michiru and Endymion smirk. Haruka's flirting had never bothered any of them, and Usagi guessed it was because Haruka had never been serious.

Usagi closed her eyes and concentrated on where she wanted to go. She envisioned the old Moon Kingdom in perfect condition, heard the dripping fountains, and even felt the breeze cultivated like a farmer would a crop. She couldn't remember, not really, but she had clips and images stored in her mind from that time.

The Silver Crystal increased in weight as the light glimmered from it. Usagi gripped Uranus's fingers tighter and lifted her chin towards the sky.

Show me, am I only a Queen? Am I still Sailor Moon? Am I myself at all?

Usagi felt the rush of displacement, but in the teleportation surge she lost track of Sailor Uranus's hand. When she opened her eyes to find her, her gaze caught on a city of ruins. A black malevolent cloud pressed down as far as she could see, and distant screams echoed out of the crumbling depths..

Usagi fell to her knees and clamped her hand over her mouth. This wasn't the Moon Kingdom, no. This was Tokyo.

At least, what was left of it.