by L.M Griffin
Chapter One
Nightmares
Serena was running through the palace halls, tears streaming down her face, her white gown torn and dirtied. Beryl's troops had stormed the castle; they were destroying everything in their path. Screams of terror filled her ears, but she knew only one thought, to find her mother, The Queen. She ran blindly, and suddenly crashed through a door. There she was, Queen Serenity, her back turned to her daughter.
Serena screamed "MOTHER!!!" and the Queen turned around, but her face wasn't there..it was instead the face of Beryl, smiling maniacally. Serena covered her eyes, screaming in fear. But when she looked up again, she saw only agirl, with long red hair streaming down her back. The girl sat on her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.
Somehow, Serena knew, just KNEW, this girl was responisible for the invasion. She stood over the girl and screamed "BETRAYER!!! BETRAYER TO US ALL!!!". The girl looked up, and Serena saw her face...
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Serena wailed.
"Serena!! Serena!! Wake up!!" Luna yelled at the girl. Serena was thrashing around in her sheets, muttering "NOoooo, Not you! How could you? HOW COULD YOU???".
Luna was frightened, Serena was raving in her sleep, and there seemed no waking her from this horrible nightmare. Luna got a determined look in her soft brown eyes, and jumping quickly on th now screaming Serena, she bit down as hard as she could on Serena's leg.
Serena awoke with a jerk, and yell of pain, "YEEEEWOOOWWW!!". Luna jumped over to the table.
"Serena, are you all right?" The black cat asked with some concern. Serena, instead of yelling at Luna for biting her leg, sat with her knees drawn up to her chest. She shook uncontrollably.
"It...it was awful Luna..." Serena said in a quiet tone, filled with fear.
"What was it about? The Moon Kingdom?" Luna asked quietly, taking a wild shot in the dark.
"Yes, it was the Invasion, I was running through the halls, looking for my mother. When I found her, finally, she...she turned into Beryl. And then, there was something odd about the next part..."., Serena whispered quietly, her azure blue eyes frowning slightly.
Luna hopped unto the bed next to her, and asked softly, "What was it?". Serena lifted her head and looked at the cat.
"There was this girl..a bit older than me. She had this beautiful long red hair, and she was crying. And then I just realised she was responsible for it all, the invasion I mean. And when I accused her, she turned her face towards me...", Serena shuddered. "It was someone I knew, Luna, someone close to me. I just can't remember WHO she was."
Across the city, all the scouts had similiar dreams. Ami dreamed she had been caught by Beryl's troops, led by a smirking Malachite.
"All this fighting..just to be anahilated...such a waste...", Malachite sneered, and with a sharp gesture, said "Kill her."
Ami struggled fruitlessly in her captors grip, when she saw the girl, long red hair hung down her back, tears streaming down her face. Ami woke up screaming, "WHY??? WHY??".
Her mother came in, and managed to wake Ami up. She kneeled on the bed, and hugged Ami tightly. "Shush now, dearheart, it was a dream. Just a dream...".
Ami knew, even as she clung to her mother gratefully, that it wasn't a dream. It had happened. She had known the place, the time, even the girl. But...who was she??
Rei was fighting, her last stand before Beryl's troops. She was losing badly, but she was determined to take out as many as she could. She suddenly turned her head to hear a tortured cry.
"Forgive me!!" screamed the girl with the red hair.
Raye's eyes darkened, and she screamed, "Never!! Betrayer!! BETRAYER!!!". Just then a troop took advantage of her distraction and struck her with his sword. Wounded, on her knees, she waited to recieve her death blow. Raye's sceaming awakened her grandfather and Chad, and they held her down as she thrashed in the dreamed pain of her death, still screaming, "BBBBEEEETTRRAAAYYYEEERRR!!!"
Mina stood alone, as Jedaite and Nephylte, closed in on her. Beaten and bloodied, she was cornered in courtyard of the palace.
"This is the end for you, Salior Venus." Jediate whispered menacingly.
"And for the Moon Kingdom.." added Nephlyte with a evil smile. Mina looked around frantically for a place to run, to escape from these formerly kind and benevolent men. Looking behind them, she too, saw the girl.
Her last words before being awakened by Aremetis were, " Oh by the Goddess's, why you? Why you??"
Meanwhile, in her own dream, Lita was holding her own in the place gardens. Four troops rushed towards her, she took them out easily. Then she was hit from behind with a large bolt of energy.
"A bit slow, Jupiter..." a voice sneered above her. Lita turned over to see Zoiesite floating over her head. "And as we all know, slowness does NOT always win the race!!" Zoesite said with a manacial glee, as she lifted her hands above her head. Lita tried to crawl away, and the last sight she saw was the girl, holding out her arms to her. "Lita...." the girl cried.
Lita whispered to her "You were our friend.....why?" Then Zoesite's last beam of energy slammed into her....Lita awoke with a start from her blaring alarm. Covered in sweat, she got up and looked into the mirror. She was pale and haggard, her brown hair mussed. She looked the face in the mirror and asked herself the same questions that her friends had, "Who was that girl?"
Lying in his own bed, Darien dreamed, not of a red haired girl, but of his own blond pigtailed one. They were in the peaceful gardens, before the Invasion. Darien vaguely remembered this as one of his favorite memories. "Serena.....just one kiss?" he asked coaxingly.
"Oh no! I couldn't!" Serena said laughingly, trying to get away, but he held her arms gently. He slowly pulled her to him, as she mockingly put up a fight. Bringing her lovely face to his, he kissed her lips with a gentleness backed by pure youthful passion. As she drew away from him, smiling, laughing...the sunlight hit her hair, and turned into a golden mass of light. With a flip of her long blond tails, she ran across the garden. He started after her, but was suddenly stopped by the sight of a figure. A tall red haired man stood at a distance, and even from there, Darien could see the menacing smile....
The next day, Serena was up early for once. Truth be told, she had slept uneasily, if not at all, for the rest of the night. Morning was a welcome sight. She leaped happily out of bed. And of course, tripped on the rug and fell flat on her face.
"Owwwwffff" Serena groaned. Luna popped her head the door and smiled.
"Glad to see you're back to your normal clumsy self, Serena." Luna said dryly, as she sauntered in the door. Serena shot a dirty look at Luna and pulled herself up. Dusting herself off, she went off to get dressed.
"Ya know Luna, you don't need to be sooooooo sympathetic.." Serena commented sarcatically as she threw on her school uniform. "I mean, gosh. I feel overwhelmed with your kind and thoughtful manner at this time."
The cat considered giving Serena a rasberry, but thought this would be dropping down to Serena's level. Luna settled for a "Haruump! Well, get yourself downstairs, and surprise your mother for being up on time, FOR ONCE!".
Serena walked towards the door, and flipping her long pigtails behind her. She turned suddenly, gave an evil look to the cat, and promptly stuck her tongue out. With that, she walked downstairs. Luna sighed.
"This is the girl who is going to save the entire universe?", she muttered as she followed Serena, "God save the Earth!"
Serena did shock her mother, AND her teacher when she walked into class ten whole minutes early. Her attention span, however, was zip. She slept through a good part of Math and English. Ami was also caught napping; she nearly blew up the lab, when she nearly mixed two highly explosive chemicals. Lita nearly got herself knocked out, when she snoozed during a softball game in gym, and a ball beaned her in the head. Their mutual lack of sleep had turned them into three very drowsy Scouts of Love and Justice.
When they meet for lunch, Serena slumped to the ground, and yawningly asked, "What's wrong with you two?"
"I didn't sleep that well, Serena..." commented Ami with bags under her blue eyes, "You look like you suffered a bit of that yourself."
"Same goes for me too...." muttered Lita, as she sat the table, and put her head down.
Serena yawned again, and said "Well, I don't know about you two...but I had the WORST nightmare...". Ami looked at Serena, half interested, while Lita turned her face towards the two girls. "I was back in the Moon Kingdom...it was during the invasion..." Ami's eyes popped open, and Lita lifted her head suddenly.
Serena went on, unaware of her now attentive audience. She continued, till she got to "....and there was this girl--", before she was suddenly interupted by Lita and Ami.
"A red haired girl??", they asked in unison. Serena looked at her friends, and nodded her head, shocked by their question.
"I had a similiar dream!" Ami exclaimed.
" I did too!" Lita cried.
The three scouts looked at each other, and Serena quietly asked, "Did you two think you knew the girl? And that she was somehow responsible for the invasion?" The two girls nodded solemnly.
"I think...I think we'd had better call an emergency meeting.." murmered Ami.
"Right on Ami.." said Serena, nodding her head furiously.
"We have to see if the others had dreams like ours.." added Lita. The three girls looked at each other again, the unspoken thought on all of their minds. The girl....who was she? And how was she connected to all of them?