"What?" I sat up in bed, looking around for the source of the authoritative voice. In doing so, my head hit someone squarely on the nose, and they gave a bewildered cry of pain. "Ooops! Sorry! Haruka-chan! How did you get into my apartment?"

Still rubbing her nose ruefully, Haruka gave me a Look. "Odango-atama has a key. She let me borrow it."

I noticed the sunlight streaming in through the windows. "Wow, what a bright day! I had such an awesome dream, like I was back in Queen Serenity's court." I smiled wistfully, remembering it quite distinctly. It wasn't fading, like most dreams do, as soon as you wake up. "What's with the wake-up call? Is all well?" I noticed that Mamoru, Michiru, Ami, Usagi, Hotaru, and Chibi-Usa were also grouped alongside my bed, looking quite concerned. Well, actually, Usagi was giggling wildly at my Hello, Kitty! pajamas. I strove nobly to ignore her laughter.

"The whole city is a mess," said Michiru. "The enemy has been attacking quite vigorously for the last two days, stealing great quantities of energy."

"Wait. Last two days?" I demanded. "How so?"

"We slept a lot better than we thought we did," said Ami. "They're right. Two days, solid."

"And yet it felt like a mere five minutes," I remarked. "This must be kind of how Sleeping Beauty felt, sleeping in her castle for a hundred years?"

"We were a bit concerned that none of you Inners were making any attempts to stop the energy draining, or to even contact us about it, for that matter," said Michiru.

"So we visited Usagi-chan's house, and woke her up, and Chibi-Usa-chan, too," Hotaru said.

"It's always quite a pain, trying to wake Usagi up, even under normal circumstances," smiled Luna.

"Didn't you realize anything was wrong when she'd been asleep for two days straight?" I demanded skeptically.

Luna hung her head. "No. I didn't think anything of it, until Hotaru, Michiru, and Haruka came barging into the Tsukino house. Nor did Ikuko or Kenji or Shingo." --referring to her parents and brother.

"We're thinking that this is the side effect produced by 'Horseshoe Nebula Reminiscing'," said Ami. "Not only do you fall into a state of perpetual dreaming, but you lose absolutely all hold on reality. You know how in some dreams, you're able to actually think, 'This is a dream' or 'I want to wake up now' or try to manipulate it in some way. Instead, your dreaming becomes your reality."

I nodded. "I remember in one conversation I had, I mentioned eating fondue, and the name 'Usagi', and neither meant anything to you guys. Or to me, either, for that matter..."

"You said you dreamed you were back in Serenity's court?" inquired Mamoru. "Funny-- I remember dreaming that I was Prince Endymion."

"I had the same dream, too," said Usagi. "No, not that I was Prince Endymion," she added, glowering at Chibi-Usa, who had very nearly made a Comment. "But that I was Princess Serenity, enjoying your company-"

"By the fountain," I said softly.

Usagi gave a little start. "You weren't spying on us in your dream, now, were you?" she inquired with a quavering laugh. "But, yes, we were..."

"And you, Ami, were by the rose hedge, with Zoisite," I added.

Ami nodded, speechless. "How do you know this?"

"Minako told me," I said. "In the dream. She was with Kunzite-"

"That's right. I remember, in my dream, they passed by and we exchanged pleasantries, and then they continued onwards."

"So we all shared the same dream?" Mamoru asked.

"Yes... and Rei and Minako are still in it. Let's go!" I exclaimed, jumping out of bed.

"Um, Makoto-chan? Your pajamas," said Hotaru.

"Oh, yes," I smiled bashfully. "If you guys will excuse me for a minute--!" I shooed them out of my room and changed in record time. Then we all raced over to the Shinto temple where Rei lived with her grandfather.

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