I don't own Sailor Moon.

I apologize for the long time it took for me to update. This chapter was particularly hard to write and although I'm still not quite fully satisfied with it, I managed still to finish it so I could update.

Unsurprisingly, quarentine threw my creativity out the window to die.

MINAKO

Aino Minako had been dreaming away when she suddenly gasps awake, her head hurting so much that it felt like it would split open.

Unknown to her, a crescent moon appeared between her brows before it broke away to reveal the symbol of Venus, glowing a soft orange before it faded.

Memories, so many of them rush forward and fill her head. Memories that she already knew about and new ones and God stop stop. She grasps her blonde strands and tries to keep herself from screaming because it hurts hurts hurts. Her chest is squeezing painfully and tears are rolling down her face but she forces herself to keep quiet to not awaken her mother. She'd rather not the woman be up at this hour.

And holy crap, for the memories to be awakened like this, it can only mean . . .

I hope it's not what I'm thinking.

"Minako?"

The concerned voice of her trusted advisor and friend reaches her ears vaguely and she feels the bed dip when Artemis climbs up to reach her side.

"I'm fine," she says, through gritted teeth when another wave of pain goes over her body.

"You're not," the white cat says, tail curling around himself. A few seconds pass before he admits, "And I'm not either."

Minako manages to open her teary eyes to look at her companion, "You mean . . ."

He nods, wincing and closing his eyes for a moment, "Yes, the seal on the Silver Crystal has been broken, which means . . ."

"The Princess has awakened," they finish together.

This is bad.

If the Princess has truly awakened, then it won't take long for the Negaverse to find her and the Silver Crystal.

Crap.

Minako thought she'd have more time to get ready for this. Maybe find all the Senshi first and finish what she had to finish, keeping her identity as the Princess to keep the real Princess safe and sound.

But now . . . If the seal has truly been broken, then they have to find the Princess before the Negaverse does.

The young girl takes a few breaths in and gets out of bed, reaching for her transformation pen.

"We have to find her, Artemis," she says, the pain slowly subsiding and she can focus again, eyes moving to her friend, "We have to keep her safe. And we have to be there for her and for the rest of the Senshi."

Minako stands up, her feet touching the cold floor but she doesn't seem to mind as she stares out the window, towards the full moon.

"After all," she turns around to face Artemis and the symbol of Venus appears again on her forehead when she starts focusing her power to transform, "It's my job as the Leader of the Senshi."

She reaches upwards with her pen and utters the words, "Venus Power! Make Up!"

In a flash of gold and yellow, Minako stands in the middle of her room in her Sailor Venus form, which she hasn't used in a while because she'd been using her form as Sailor V.

She and Artemis look at one another and without saying another word, they climb off the window and proceed into the night together.

Where are you, Princess?

.

.

.

USAGI

WhenI wake up, I find myself in a field of flowers and in a place that I only saw in memories, with the Earth hovering above me.

I sit up, confused and disoriented, trying to remember what happened. I had been attacked, wasn't I? By this. . . . creature who had been inhabiting Naru's mother's body and . . .

Naru.

I have to find Naru and make she's okay and—

"Usagi-chan."

At the sudden and familiar voice, I turn my head quickly to find the source of it and there she is. The girl that I look so much like. She's still in her long white dress, still stained in red and she's smiling at me. It's weird to have your image smiling at you without it being through a mirror.

"Who are you?" I ask and this time my question is said out loud.

She just shakes her head, mentioning with her head for me to follow her and not having anything else I could do, I trail behind her long white tail after getting on my feet. We go through the garden, in the direction of the huge silver palace and I'm in awe when I get close. It's so beautiful. I can't think of another word to describe it really. It's just plain beauty.

"What is this place?" I murmur to myself, turning around to catch every detail of the inside of the palace.

"It's my home," the girl says softly, sadness dripping from every word, "It's where I was born."

"On the moon?"

"Yes," she says still in her soft tone, continuing on her way without glancing at me, "My mother was born here and so was I. She was the Queen and I was the Princess."

Woah, woah, woah. Moon royalty? What now? Is my mind this fucked up to conjure up something like this?

The girl releases a giggle and I startle, eyes wide, "You're not imagining things," she says and holy shit, did she just read my mind? "This . . . My kingdom existed a long time ago on the Moon. I'm descendant of a very especial race."

"So . . ." I try to wrap my head around all of this, which is fucking impossible like what? "You're an alien?"

She covers her mouth, shoulders shaking, "Yes, I guess I am," she responds, between giggles.

It's then then I notice that as we walk, the scenery we're leaving behind is falling apart. The once beautiful pearly silver walls turn into a dark grey and in their place there's just ruins. Just broken and old ruins and the structure of the palace is no more. There's nothing. It's eary how absolutely dark and lonely this place became. I go to say something to the girl but she remains facing ahead, her face shifting between anguish and sadness. It hits me that she knows what's happening around us, even though she's not looking at it.

We reach a big door with golden edges and she opens it easily before letting me inside. The inside is a large ballroom of some sorts, but but instead of columns and large curtains, there's only an altar. An altar with a brilliant glow on top of it.

"What's that?" I ask, my eyes unable to move away from the beautiful silver glow.

"Our responsibility," the princess says, stepping even closer to it, "And the cause of my home's destruction."

Her home's... destruction? How could a small thing like that be the cause of a whole kingdom? I go to move towards her but I find that I can't move. It's like my feet are stuck to the marble floor but when I look down, everything looks normal.

Looking back up, a gasp leaves my lips when I see someone else standing beside the other me. She's tall and with the very same hairstyle as the younger girl but instead of golden, it's a beautiful silver color. Her dress is just as long but there's a downwards moon as the only decoration in her chest and between her brows there's the same golden crescent mark.

"Who are you?" I ask quietly, a shiver running down my spine when she meets my eyes.

"Many years ago, my kingdom was invaded by our allies and friends who were being controlled by an evil entity," my mirror image starts saying, hand going towards the glow and it seems to grow, "They destroyed everything, killed many of my friends and people and ultimately killed my lover when he was trying to protect me."

At her words, images seem to flash in my head and I grab onto it when it starts to throb. A mass of people, seemingly possessed with weapons in hand, the palace crumbling much like I just saw a couple of minutes ago and screams and pain. So. Much. Pain. Fuck, what the hell?

"Devastated and in agony," the princess continues softly but her voice seems to be echoing loudly in my head as I tremble in pain? Fear? I can't even tell anymore, "I turned the very sword that my lover was using to protect me to kill myself..."

With an horrifyingly familiar scream echoing in my ears, pain erupts in my chest and I fall to my knees, a whimper leaving my lips and I reach to touch the very place that is in agony but it comes back empty. No blood, no wound. Nothing. But the pain is still there, spreading over my limbs and I find it hard to breathe. I manage to look back to identical eyes to my own, mouthing but not quite voicing out loud, what are you doing?

"I loved my kingdom and my people," her voice is saying but it's getting harder to hear it with my heart beat frantically beating in my ears, "I wanted to help them and save them with the power given to me but in the end, I couldn't do anything. I was just the Princess. I couldn't fight, I couldn't protect and keep my loved ones safe."

"After my daughter died and the war had all but ended," this time is the woman that speaks but it's just as loud and painful in my ears as the princess', "I used what was left of my power and the Silver Crystal to seal away the monster that had controlled the Earth's people..."

Silver Crystal? I try to talk, to ask, to beg for them to explain what's happening but my voice won't come. I grab onto my head in pain. It feels like it's splitting open and a whimper leaves my lips before I can contain it. Black spots start to cover my vision but I tell myself forcefully to stay awake.

"But the monster found a way to return and it's threatening the second chance my daughter and all of our people were given by me," I hear the click click of her heels against the floor and suddenly, the woman's right there, a soft look on her face as she graps my hands and pulls me up. The pain, as slowly as it came, fades away and I'm forced to stare her right in the eye, "Including the Earth and you're the only one who can stop it."

Me? What could I possibly do? I'm just a normal girl. A normal girl that was someone else entirely Before although it didn't matter much. I'm just... Tsukino Usagi. What could a little girl like me possibly do?

The queen - because suddenly it hits me that this is the queen, the mother of the girl that I shared a face with - smiles, a soft motherly smile like she knew exactly what I was thinking and strokes my golden strands, "Yes, you, Tsukino Usagi. You're the only one who can seal away the very same creature that destroyed my kingdom."

No, I can't. What is she saying? Didn't they see me get absolutely destroyed by the demon that was controlling Naru's mother? I can't do anything. I have nothing. Nothing special. And I don't mind it. I can finally live my life the way I want and now all of this . . . whatever this is, honestly because I can't believe that all of this can possibly be real. Another wave of pain goes through my legs and body and I would've fallen on my ass if it wasn't for her tight grasp on my hands.

I don't want this. I just wanna live as Tuskino Usagi, the normal girl living a normal life.

"You need to protect Earth, in the way I should've protected my kingdom," the princess is saying and she also steps close to me and behind her, the glow seems to dissipate. She takes her mother's place and grabs onto my hands and hers feel so like mine, "As the heir to the Silver Millennium and Silver Crystal, as my reincarnation, you must."

As her. . . what? No no nonono— Slapping away their hands, I close my eyes, grabbing onto my head again, stabbing my fingernails into my scalp painfully because I need to wake the hell up. I need to get out of this crazy place. Everything seems to shift and the floor beneath me vanishes and I'm falling and falling—

As the darkness seems to swallow me whole, my — no, her voice still manages to reach my ears, like she's right there next to me, falling along with me,

Protect the Earth and everyone. It's your destiny.

PAIN.

That's all I can feel; cursing through my limbs, my torso and worse, in my head. It feels like it's about to explode and I can't stop it when images - too many images and feelings and people and god stop this please - begin to fill my mind to the brim of excruciating pain. It's like all those years ago, when I was begin developed in Mama's womb (weird, so weird but it's true and I don't really want to remember it). Images of a castle in the moon, with the Earth hovering above it but it's different now. They're more and more detailed—

Memories where I was called Serenity and I was a princess and there's these four girls? in suits and they're friends and guardians and I love them and want to keep them safe and this woman with silver hair and a moon crescent on her forehead as well and she was my mother. The good moments spent in the castle, the laughter and the teasing and friendship and love. Going to Earth, to the sole kingdom of Earth because thousands of years ago, it was only one sole kingdom and meeting the Prince of Earth and going in secret to meet him and falling in love with him and—

As the heir to the Silver Millennium and Silver Crystal, as my reincarnation, you must.

Her voice - my voice - is still echoing in my mind even though I'm no longer in that place and I scream because no no no no no NO. I was supposed to have a normal life, live a normal life with my new family and friends and now it feels like I'm in the middle of stuff that I don't want to be in.

Protect the Earth and everyone. It's your destiny.

Protect the Earth? Destiny? Destiny? Why should I care about any of this? Why should I believe any of bullshit?

. . . as my reincarnation. . .

As her reincarnation? But I was already someone before and I was most definitely not a princess on the fucking moon. I was a girl from the city of Lisbon, a girl that didn't get to live much but not anymore. She's gone now, given a second chance when she was reborn as Tsukino Usagi, a normal girl living in Japan. Something had rubbed me the wrong way when I realized that it was the 90's, sure, but I couldn't even explain the reason of my rebirth, how would I be able to explain the reason I was reborn twenty something years in the fucking past?

And the monster and the crystal that showed up out of nowhere.

Those are things clearly out of a fantasy book or one of those movies that I'd watch in the hospital Before.

A kingdom on the moon, things that happened a thousand of years ago. . .

Humanity doesn't know what happened all those years ago. We believe in logic and in what we see with our eyes. We believe that dinosaurs used to roam the Earth because we found evidence in bones. But life in other planets? On the moon? I believe that humanity doesn't have the complex to truly believe in life in other planets. We are still egocentric enough to believe that in the universe, in the whole spacious and never ending universe, we're the only living creatures.

I don't believe that, of course. I like to think that there's life out there, other than us. There's millions of plants and galaxies out there so there has to be living creatures too, right?

You didn't believe in reincarnation either but here you are, something seems to whisper.

Yes, that's true. I was never one to believe in the being reborn after you died thing that some people believed. Mostly because I wasn't to focused on such themes Before and because, scientifically and logically, there wasn't any proof for those things to happen and exist.

And yet, here you are.

And yet, here I am.

No, no nononono. I can't take this. I don't want to know this. I don't wanna think about any of this!

Protect the Earth. . .

Why should I? I'm just . . . Tsukino Usagi. I'm not even that girl from Lisbon anymore. I think I stopped being her many years ago, her name long lost. I've been holding onto her only to realize that I've let her go already.

I'm just . . . Usagi now; daughter to Mama and Papa, older sister to little Shingo and best friend to Natsumi and Naru and I'm happy with that.

. . . as my reincarnation. . .

And now, I'm supposed to be this other person too? A girl who lived on the moon? and that killed herself after her lover was killed trying to protect her, that was tasked to protect a crystal. Am I really supposed to be her too?

I am you and you are me. . .

It's like she's right in front of me; long golden ponytails and a crescent moon between her brows and bloody white dress-- No, I'm not. I'm not you. I'm never going to be you! You've been gone - deaddeadeadead - for a thousand of years now and I may look like you but I'm never going to be—

A voice from before, when I was a child, when I'd been hit my that car, But don't be like me.

The reflection seems to shatter; it breaks into tiny pieces and despite them flowing everywhere, they don't hit me. I don't bleed. I don't hurt. I just stare at the little pieces of glass spreading all over and glinting in the bright light that comes from the crystal that took over her place. A tear shaped crystal, the crystal that appeared before me when I was battling the monster that took over Naru's mother's body. I don't go near it. I don't want to but it seems to be moving towards me and I don't move away either.

Protect the Earth. . .

The voice is echoing louder as the crystal moves closer and the light is blinding and it hurts my eyes—

. . . but be yourself, not me. . .

And it's like when I was facing the creature. Something pulls at my hands, like a ghost grabbing them to raise my arms—

. . . just live, like I wasn't able to because of my failures. . .

And my hands are reaching for the crystal, my fingertips lightly touching its cold surface—

. . . we are the same person but we're also not. So live as yourself, not as me. . .

My hands curl around the crystal and everything fades to black.

. . . and protect the Earth and yourself and everyone dear to you.

.

.

.

I wake up.

It's anticlimactic, if I'm to be honest. No gasping as my consciousness comes back. I just blink away my drowsiness a couple of times only to realize it's still dark and feeling the soft covers over me, I know that I'm in my bed. It's like I've just been sleeping, like in a normal day. It's like I wasn't beaten to a pulp. I don't feel anything. I'm pretty sure that I broke a rib in that fight and that I'd been bleeding but there's nothing. Tiny scars, yes I can see them all over my arms when I check but there's no blood, there's no pain and I'm one hundred percent sure that my rib is no longer broken.

What happened? I wonder to myself as I sit up and that's when I feel something poking the inside of my hand and uncurling it, I'm faced with the very same crystal from my dream; the crystal that the princess and the queen had to protect.

The crystal that somehow ended up showing up in my hands in that fight.

Maybe it's the reason why I'm healed. I had felt my wounds and pain fade when it showed up.

Maybe I can use it on Naru and her mother and—

Naru!

It's like a switch was turned on. Energy seems to course through me at the thought of my best friend who had been nearly dead the last time I saw her. I throw away my covers and in two seconds, I'm on my feet and ready to leave my room. The only light source is the moon outside and it makes everything inside my room that it touches glow.

And slowly I focus my attention on the black cat sitting on my small couch.

Not sure how I'm supposed to react, I stare at it and it stares back at me with its vermillion gaze.

"Um," it's the only intelligent thing that I can think of and that leaves my lips.

"Usagi-chan," the cat says, its voice soft.

"Yes?" I say back to the cat before it suddenly hits me that I'm replying to a cat. A cat is talking to me. An actually talking cat. Excuse my language but, "What the fuck?"

Calm down, Usagi, I tell myself firmly. Maybe I'm still dreaming. Maybe I'm still inside that damn dreams cape and I'll be back in that beautiful palace with the princess.

"You've fought a monster taking over a woman's body and this freaks you out?" it says and I flinch before I can stop myself because the cat is right. It sighs, before jumping down, its tail flicking from side to side, "I've been waiting for a long time to talk to you, Usagi-chan."

"Um," is ultimately the only thing I can apparently say.

"My name is Luna," it - well, she, I suppose from what I can guess about the voice itself - tells me as she moves closer to me, "And I've been looking all over for you."

"Looking for me?" I find myself repeating her, not sure what the actual fuck was going on anymore.

She nods her little head, the crescent moon between her eyes glinting, "Yes, you."

Okay. Okay, calm down, Usagi. You can deal with this later. The cat can just stay here. First: Go check on Naru, "I need to go check on my friend and her mom first and then--"

"They're both alright," Luna tells me, her face shifting so she's smiling, "You destroyed the daemon and the crystal ended up healing the woman's body. The girl inside the store and her were taken to the hospital already."

"They were?" So they're okay? Relief rushes through me so fast that my legs begin shaking. I stumble a bit and the cat seems to move immediately to get to me but I remain on my feet, hand on my forehead, "'m fine. Just . . . tired and relieved."

The monster is gone. It can't hurt me again. I'm fine. Naru's fine. And her mother too. I'm still gonna go see them but I trust that the people in the hospital are taking care of them. I'll go check on them tomorrow. But how exactly did I get here?

"How am I here?" I ask the cat, trying to get past how ridiculous this whole thing is, "You wouldn't possibly be able to drag me home and change my clothes so how?"

And there's also the how we're Naru and her mother taken to the hospital. Was there someone watching the fight that night? I think I remember seeing a cape? but there wasn't anyone there with me. I remember the area to be completely wiped out of people.

So how?

Luna also seems hesitant to speak, "I'll explain everything, I promise. Will you come with me please?"

Explain what? Who was there? I'm so confused. And she wants to go where? I just freaking woke up but her tone . . . She sounds so serious. I wonder if it's about her. Does she know anything? The crescent moon on her forehead reminds me way too much of the princess and the queen so I'm guessing she has a connection to them but they lived a thousand of years ago so how?

Although I'm not sure what is happening anymore or what kind of a world this is.

Because it surely isn't my Earth.

"Okay," I nod my head, taking a jacket this time because I'm never leaving the house in only my pajamas ever again, "But I need to warn Mama and Papa and—"

Shit.

Mama and Papa!

Are they still asleep? The clock on my bedside table tells me that it's 3:26am in bold red and two seconds pass and I'm out of my room, going down the stairs towards the living room where I can hear my parents chatting between themselves and watching TV.

Did they . . . stay awake waiting for me?

With guilt swimming around in my stomach, I step inside and their gazes lock on me immediately.

"Did you just woke up, Usa-chan?" Mama asks me and I know she's talking about my current state, "I didn't even see you come back! Where did you go?"

"Uh," it feels like that's the only thing I can fucking say. I swallow dryly and try to come up with something because I can't exactly tell them that a monster took over Naru's mother and beat me to a pulp when I rushed over to go help her. Think, Usagi, think, "It was an emergency. Naru needed me but it's s-sorta personal so I can't really talk about it."

Mama's eyes remain on me, trying to see through my lie even though technically it wasn't a lie but she sighs, nodding, "Next time just let us know, okay? We were worried about you."

Papa nods, turning to look at me as well with a slight frown, "You can't just leave like that and just show up and not let us know, Usa. Okay? Even if it's emergencies."

And then I remember the accident I had when I was seven and I feel a million times worse for having done what I did.

Mama and Papa had to deal with me ending up in a hospital before and I didn't even think twice about what my decisions tonight could mean for them. I'm so selfish. These people, my parents, have done everything for me and I remember how distraught Mama was when she found me in the middle of road bloody and nearly unconscious. Papa had been in the same state when he came running to the hospital.

And even though I was fine, they were never really the same after the accident.

They kept me and Shingo as close to them as possible and of course, as I grew up, they let me have more freedom but even still.

I was doing it again.

I rush towards both of them and let my arms go around both of them, pulling them as close as possible. I squeeze my eyes shut tightly.

"Usa-chan?" Mama's voice sounds concerned and from my other side, Papa sounds the same when he utters, "W-what's happening?"

"I'm sorry," I whisper into my Mama's long hair and I can feel the emotions bottling up and soon, I'm sure that I'm gonna be crying, "I'm so sorry. I never meant to worry you guys and I know that after . . ." My those closes up but I force the words out, "that you guys just don't want me or Shingo to be in danger or hurt and I just—"

"Usa," Papa's hand comes to rest in my hair and the way he's running them through my strands make me feel five again and I can remember me clearly lying in his lap, laughing at one of his crazy stories he'd tell me, "Of course we were worried, we'll always be. We're your Papa and Mama. Worrying for you is kind of an automatic part of our roles as your parents."

"But Usa-chan," Mama pulls me back slightly and her hands go to my cheeks, soft and kind and I lean into them, the water in my eyes starting to slip down my face. She quickly wipes them away, "We also trust you. As you grew up, you've never given us any reason to worry about you getting in trouble. Yes, we're worried but we know that you're careful enough to keep yourself safe. Yourself and your friends too."

Nodding, I stay in my parents' embrace and continue to hold them as close as I can, opening my closed hand to reveal the crystal that I was somehow still holding onto.

Protect the Earth and yourself and everyone dear to you.

You don't have to tell me twice.

As Luna requested, I put on my shoes and met her outside, after letting my parents know that I was just going back to sleep.

I had to wait until they went to bed and since they were up because they had been waiting for me (I'msorry) it didn't take long. I heard their whispers and footsteps in the hall outside my door and when the sound of the door clicking shut, I was out of my bed, grabbed my jacket and went downstairs to go outside as quiet as I could.

Luna was already sitting by my houses gate and as I step closer to her, I realize with a jolt that she isn't alone. There's a man with her and at first, I find it weird and hilarious that he's wearing a tuxedo in the middle of the night but then I meet dark blue eyes and I'm suddenly hit with an overwhelming sense of familiarity and pain and lovelovelove that it nearly makes me sick in my stomach.

What the hell?

Watching his face more closely, I suddenly remember why he seems so familiar. His face. His face. It's hard not to recognize when the memories are still so vivid in my mind and the feelings that are going through my body are just making it feel even more real and I don't want thisnono—

It's the damn Prince from her life.

It's the damn Prince of the Earth himself.

And do you know what makes it worse? I also think he's the guy that I met earlier in the morning when I went to pick up Natsumi, the damn guy that wouldn't stop staring and . . . the boy in the hospital all those years ago.

Well, I think for myself, this is gonna be really bad, I can tell.

"Explain please," I tell Luna because I'm getting an headache and I need to not feel like punching something.

So, I feel like I should apologize for this chapter because it's not my best. I tried so hard to make it acceptable and I still feel like it could be better so I apologize if it feels weird or choppy or just plain strange.

Minako's POV at the beginning. I wanted to put a POV of one of the Inner Senshi and who's better than their leader? She's was the best option. With her knowing the most about their past lives, her being the incognito Princess and well, she's one of my favorites. I think I could've done her part a little bit better too but I didn't want to think to much about it or else I'd take it out from the final result.

Usagi, Serenity and the Queen. I wanted to create a scene for the three of them and someway exquisite for her to get the memories and know about her being Serenity's reincarnation. It was my favorite part to write by the way. I like their dynamic and I wanted Usagi to meet the Queen at least once before everything that's to come. It may seem out of place and weird but I actually kind of like it.

If it wasn't clear already, and I'm explaining for anyone that didn't quite catch it, Mamo was the one who carried her home, with Luna as his guide to her house. It may seem stupid or awkward or whatever but I doubt either him or Luna, after what they'd seen and the memories that the crystal unlocked, would just let the unconscious girl lying in the middle of the road.

Final note about the seal on the crystal breaking and their memories rushing forward. I think that's how it works. I haven't read the manga in quite a while or watched the anime but I think their memories started to resurface after the Silver Crystal was revealed. So that's why I put Minako's POV in the first place. ''

And I think that's it. Overall, I think the chapter is acceptable so that's why I'm updating it.

Once again, I apologize for the delay and I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.

Remain safe guys. This whole COVID situation isn't over yet so be careful everyone and love you guys. Thank you for supporting me.

See you next time!