Bitter Memories

Description: Usagi is regaining memories of a Moon Kingdom that is not all rainbows and butterflies. What can she do when she has no one to turn to and an enemy that she cannot fight? AU, but will begin and end with the original SM storyline.

A/N This will prove to be a long fiction, not much like the last one. It's also going to be quite a bit darker and not just romance. On a happy note I just finished a 20 page lab report so my creative juices are crazy ready to go on a new story! Will be U/M in the end but I'll probably make them miserable for awhile… NYAH! So evil. Hope you stick around for the ride.

"I hate them. I hate them all." The voice is soft and lilting, almost musical. "That she would be reborn as one of them is profane." The figure is wrapped in a protective beam of light and unidentifiable.

"It was the only way to ensure their survival." The speaker cannot be seen, swathed as she is in shadows. From the voice, though, it could be nothing but a woman.

"I want them dead… all of them. Especially," the bright speaker pauses to shiver in disgust, "Especially Endymion."

"Endymion is no longer alive." The shadowed figure volleys back. "Although… if you want me to crush his soul, it will be done."

"Yes… no… Let me think. For now we must wait and watch."

The dark figure bows. "As you wish."

Usagi woke in a wild-eyed panic, much to Luna's chagrin. That was of course only because when Usagi bolted upright in terror Luna was tossed halfway across the room and luckily into a pile of stuffed animals.

"Owwww," Luna whined, rubbing the paw that had smacked into Mr. Periwinkle Piggy's hard bead eye. "What was that about?"

"Nightmare," Usagi muttered and promptly flopped back down, her snores resuming before her head had even touched the pillow. Luna looked down in consternation. Another nightmare? It was the third one this week! Padding softly to the communicator that Usagi kept by her bed, Luna shook her head. Something was up! A child of the lunar line didn't get recurring nightmares for no good reason, unless of course they were prophetic. With great care, she pushed Mina's call sign.

Promptly Artemis', Mr. Ever-happy-even-though-I'm-a-cat, face popped up.

"How do you do that?" She muttered darkly.

"Do what?" came back the way-to-chipper-for-it-to-be 1 a.m. voice.

"We're cats! How do you get your face so expressive?"

Artemis paused, thoughtfulness crossing his features, much to Luna's annoyance. He finally scratched his head and laughed. "Why does Ami have blue hair? Nothing about any of us could be called normal! Is that all?" Artemis looked down, as if distracted. Luna could hear the sound of an electric can opener start up. She rolled her eyes.

"Isn't it a little late for a snack?" Before Artemis could start, she rushed on, "Serena had another nightmare."

It was Artemis' turn to roll his eyes. "It's only the third one. It doesn't mean anything Luna."

Luna wanted to rationalize it as well but she couldn't help but feel troubled… "Something… Something doesn't feel right Artemis. Artemis? Artemis!"

Artemis' head reappeared in the viewing window, the tail of a sardine hanging out of his mouth. He swallowed quickly and chuckled in embarrassment. "Sorry Luna, what were you saying?"

"Nothing," She shook her head. "You're probably right."

Artemis was about to turn off his communicator before pausing and looking at Luna seriously. "Luna, you may be right, but right now they're only nightmares. Find out what you can from Usagi and we'll think of something."

All at once Luna remembered why life without Artemis was so much more difficult than with him. "Of course. Goodnight Artemis." She smiled softly.

He only nodded in reply. Once the communicator was off he slinked back into Mina's room. He looked at his charge worriedly as she trashed in the throes of some unavoidable nightmare. It was the third nightmare this week. "Damn," he muttered. It looked like he'd be having a conversation with his own ward very soon.

Endymion leered at her from across the fire and a chill rolled through her body. This was not the gallant knight her maids swooned over, but a dark prince intent on conquest. How had he gotten here? All teleportation to Earth had been shut off and Earth did not yet have the technology for space travel. In comparison to the planets of the Silver Alliance, Earth was extremely backwards. Perhaps that was why Mother continued to deny them entrance into the Alliance… But it all mattered not because Prince Endymion was here and it didn't look like it was for a chat…He started for her, a menacing scowl on his face. Serenity screamed.

Usagi bolted upright. She shook her head quickly in an attempt to dispel the looming image of a frightening Endymion. Was this a reaction to their recent breakup? A sob threatened to escape her throat and tears loomed but she squashed them quickly. The last thing she needed was for an anxious Luna to be hovering over her.

"Usagi?" An anxious Luna hovered next to the bed.

Figures. Usagi glanced at the clock… it was only 6:30. As much as she wanted to, she didn't dare go back to sleep with the dreams that she had been having.

"Usagi?" Luna repeated, the insistence in her voice growing.

"I'm fine, Luna." Usagi sighed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and stretched slowly, her arms above her head. "Just a dream." She finished cheerfully. As cheerfully as one can at 6:30 in the morning, she grumbled to herself.

Luna didn't seem to buy it this time. She leapt gracefully onto the bed and settled next to Usagi. "I'm not trying to get you to talk about Mamoru, so you can stop avoiding the issue. I want to know about your dreams."

Usagi slumped, her eyes closing. "I don't really remember. I only remember screaming."

Luna frowned. "That's all? That's hard to believe when they startle you so."

Usagi shrugged. "I'm sure there's more to it when I'm dreaming but once I wake up it all seems like a bad memory."

A bad memory? Luna thought. Perhaps Usagi is regaining some memories of the Moon Kingdom. What was bad, though?

Usagi hesitated, as if building courage, before saying, "Do you think I'm remembering what the Moon Kingdom was like?"

Luna nodded slowly, "It's possible you're remembering the events up to your death and that's what's scaring you… All you remember is screams?"

"Well," Usagi began, unwilling to recall an Endymion that stared at her with hatred, "Endymion was in the last one. There was a large fire separating us… He looked so… He looked like he wanted to kill me."

Luna swallowed, her eyes widening. "You must indeed be remembering your death, when he was brainwashed."

Usagi shook her head, "Brainwashed? I thought he died protecting me?"

"Only after your love for him burned Metallia's influence from his brain. I wonder why you're remembering this now."

Usagi said nothing, only stared vacantly ahead. In her heart she knew that what she was remembering had nothing to do with her death.