I seem to have a, er, fascination, to say the least, with writing slightly depressing fics (see "What's Expected of Me" and "Complete" for examples). So, yes, this one is slightly depressing, although I think it ends on a rather happy note.

Anyway, I started this fic so long ago that I don't remember where the idea came from, but here it is. I finished tonight at 1 (am that is), and I know I should wait until I'm more awake so that I can edit this properly, but I'm going to be so busy for the next few weeks until Thanksgiving (when I'll have no internet access :sobs:), so I figured it would be better to put it up now. If I find anything hugely wrong I will, of course, reupload this.

I hope you enjoy it and I hope that it's not too soap operay. I always worry when I write a depressing fic that it'll be overly melo-dramatic.

And this is based on the manga, only because there's a reference to when the Senshi gave up their lives by using their henshin pens in the first arc.

Enjoy!

For those not familiar with the original (those who are, feel free to skip to the story)...

Usagi - Serena

Mamoru - Darien

Mamo-chan - Usagi's name for Mamoru

Odango Atama - means dumpling head; Mamoru's nickname for Usagi in the first season; equivalent to the dub's "Meatball Head."

Chibiusa - Rini

Rei - Raye

Ami - Amy

Makoto - Lita

Minako - Mina

Haruka - Amara

Michiru - Michelle

Setsuna - Trista

Henshin - transformation

Youma - first season monsters

Cardians - second season monsters from the Ali and En (Allen and Ann) arc

Droids - second season monsters from the Black Moon/Nemesis arc

Daimons - third season monsters (I'm pretty sure they refer to them as this at least once in the dub)

Lemures - fourth season monsters (I'm pretty sure they refer to them as this in the dub)

Phages - fifth season monsters

And yes, it is Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion, not Princess Serena and Prince Darien.

&-&-&

“Usagi, you have to calm down!” Rei pleaded through water-filled eyes.

“You don’t get it!” Usagi screamed through her own tears. “You don’t understand!”

“We do understand,” Minako protested, grabbing hold of the hysterical girl’s arm.

“No you don’t,” Usagi cried, snatching her arm out of Minako’s grasp. “How could you possibly get it? H-he’s gone. Chibiusa is gone. I’ve lost the two most important people in my life!” Usagi’s voice shook as she whispered, “Mamo-chan is gone.” She fell to her knees, sobs racking her small frame.

“Usagi…” Rei murmured, staring at the shell that used to be her best friend. Slowly, Rei sat down beside the heartbroken girl, wrapping her arms around Usagi's body and slowly rocked her back and forth.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” Rei said quietly in her ear.

“No it won’t,” came Usagi’s muffled reply. “He’s not coming back this time. We won’t get a second chance.”

Rei looked up at her fellow friends, biting her lip. She knew that they were all thinking the same thing: what on earth could they say to her? They all knew it was true. Mamoru was never coming back. He hadn’t died valiantly in battle, protecting the one he loved or the land he would one day rule. This time, fate had decided to rip him from Usagi, ending the happiness they had finally found after the defeat of Chaos, in a way that seemed almost insulting: a car crash.

Ami quickly returned to her computer, trying in what she knew was vain to find a way to bring back their prince. Makoto, meanwhile, continued to sit on Usagi’s bed, eyes empty from staring at her friend in pain.

“Usagi, you have to listen to me,” Rei finally continued, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Mamoru-san wouldn’t want you to suffer like this. He dreamed of your happiness, Usagi.”

“My happiness rested on him,” Usagi said through choked sobs. “How can you even try to comfort me? You don’t know what it’s like to see your future snatched away from you, to know that you will never have the daughter you fell in love with years before you even gave birth to her. How can you…” Usagi couldn’t finish, as once more hysterics got the best of her.

Rei said nothing in response, not sure how to explain to Usagi that she wasn’t the only one who had lost someone important. Rei knew that with the death of Mamoru she had lost her best friend, the girl who had always been so full of light even during the darkest hours - her hope.

&-&-&

“How is she?” Haruka asked as she let Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako inside.

“How do you think?” Rei spat at Haruka. There was silence as they all stood there, staring at Rei in disbelief.

“Rei-chan, you shouldn’t— ” Michiru began to admonish, but was cut off by Rei.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “It’s just so hard to watch her suffer like this…” Rei closed her eyes tightly, willing herself not to cry as Minako gave her a reassuring hug to let her know that she wasn’t alone.

“What about Hotaru-chan?” Ami inquired of Haruka and Michiru. “I can only imagine how it must feel to lose her first true friend…”

“That’s the interesting thing,” came a quiet voice from across the room. “Small Lady is still alive.”

“Setsuna-san!” the four sixteen-year-olds gasped, staring at the mysterious woman.

“What are you talking about?” Rei demanded. “How can Chibiusa-chan still exist when Mamoru-san…when he…”

“I checked on Crystal Tokyo after this happened,” Setsuna explained, her crimson eyes full of a calm none of the four had seen in many days. “I was certain that it wouldn’t exist, but to my surprise, I found that not only did it exist, but both Serenity and Endymion were the rulers and that Small Lady was still their daughter.”

“But that doesn’t make sense!” Makoto exclaimed. “How is that possible?”

“Are you saying,” Ami asked slowly, “that perhaps…perhaps Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion are the future Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san from another life?”

“What do you mean?” Minako asked frantically, spinning around to face Ami.

“I mean that maybe it’s in their next life that Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san become King and Queen. Maybe Usagi -chan and Mamoru-san remain Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san until they die, and then move on to their next life, just like Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion moved on to Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san.”

Everyone in the room looked up expectantly at Setsuna, who shook her head sadly. “I honestly have no idea. From what I had gathered, Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion were always the old Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san. I don’t understand how this is all happening.” It was clear that this wouldn’t stop the questions, but luckily the phone rang, and Setsuna rushed to get it.

“Wait a minute…” said Haruka slowly, looking from one girl to the next. “If all of us are here, who’s with Usagi-chan?”

Rei bit her lip, feeling guilty. “She said…she said she wanted to be alone,” came her croak.

“Rei-chan…” Michiru gasped. “How could you when she’s in such a state?”

“Because I’m selfish!” Rei cried out, finally letting the tears pour down her face. “Because I couldn’t stand sitting there, watching my best friend deteriorate into…into…” Rei gasped for air, unable to describe how different Usagi had truly become.

Haruka and Michiru stared as the usually composed Rei broke down in their living room. It seemed so cruel that everyone had worked so hard to keep youma, cardians, droids, daimons, lemures, and phages from destroying the world's hopes and dreams, yet a simple car crash had sent these soldiers' lives spinning out of control, with no hope of regaining order.

Before any of the girls could console Rei, a a pale Setsuna suddenly rushed back into the room.

“She’s dead,” Setsuna whispered, eyes wide in horror.

“What?” Ami asked, hardly believing her ears.

“That was Usagi-chan’s parents,” Setsuna told the others in a hoarse voice. “They said…they said that Usagi-chan...she…that they found her in her room, not moving, and when the medics got to the house, th-they pronounced her dead at the scene.”

“Did she…did she commit…” Minako’s voice shook, unable to ask the question.

“No,” Setsuna shook her head. “Apparently…her heart gave out.”

“But she’s only sixteen!” Makoto cried out, anger taking the place of grief. “How could her heart give out?”

“Maybe she just didn’t want to live any longer,” Michiru said quietly, holding onto Haruka in an effort to stay standing.

“Why weren’t we enough?” Rei screamed suddenly. “Why didn’t we matter enough to her?”

“Because Queen Serenity sent Princess Serenity to the future in the hope that she would be able to finally be with Prince Endymion,” Minako whispered as tears ran silently down her cheeks. “That's all that ever mattered.”

Silence ensued once more, until a small voice asked, “What...what does this mean then?”

The girls spun around, coming face to face with Hotaru.

“Hotaru-chan, what are you doing here?” Haruka asked harshly. “We told you not to...”

“I'm not a child, Haruka-papa,” Hotaru told Haruka angrily, her eyes full of fire. “I'm a Senshi, too. This includes me. If our Princess is dead, and our only point in existing, now that our solar system is safe from intruders, is to protect them, then what do we do?”

“We give up our lives in order to be reborn with them,” Rei whispered from the ground.

“Rei-chan!” Ami gasped. “You're not suggesting...”

“Yes,” Rei said bitterly yet firmly. “If our only purpose was to protect her, then we're useless existing here.”

“You want us to commit suicide?” Michiru asked. Rei nodded solemnly. “How do you propose we do it then? Shall I drown all of us or shall you burn us to death?”

“Michiru!” Haruka barked.

“What?” Michiru turned on Haruka. “I'm trying to be realistic. It's stupid for all of us to go our separate ways and just die.”

“You're not actually serious about this, are you?” Makoto asked Michiru, her eyes widening in shock.

“I am,” Michiru said, staring blankly ahead of her.

“We use our pens,” Rei whispered.

“What?” the others asked.

“Our henshin pens, we use them. If we give up the powers of our wands, we'll die.”

Minako took out her own pen, fingering it. “Like what we did when we wanted to save Usagi-chan in the battle against Metallia?”

“Exactly,” Rei answered, standing up with her pen held tightly in her hand. “Always for the Princess.”

One by one the others took out their pens as they organized themselves into a circle. All but Setsuna, who knew that her job would be to return to the time gate and await the arrival of her fellow soldiers.

The seven senshi raised their pens towards the sky.

“For the Princess,” Michiru whispered, tears sparkling in her eyes.

“For the Princess,” the six echoed. And one by one they called out their planets names, revoking their powers and lives until the day that they would be reborn once more with their Princess, their friend, their hope.

&-&-&

“Addie, hurry up,” Amaris whined.

“Amaris, if you don’t stop whining I’m going to hit you,” the black-haired Adelle shot at her friend angrily.

“Cara,” Amaris cried. “Addie’s being mean!”

“I’m warning you…” Adelle glared at her friend.

“When will those two stop going at it?” Cara sighed to Paige and Alicia, pushing a stray short lock of black-blue hair out of her face.

“The second Mari learns to just let Addie’s insults go,” Alicia rolled her green eyes. As she felt the wind pick up, she was glad that her hair was in its usual secure ponytail.

“In other words, never,” Paige giggled. A sudden scream and wail interrupted their discussion, and the girls, including Adelle, turned around to find Amaris flat on the ground.

“Mari…” Alicia groaned. “You didn’t fall again, did you?”

“It’s not my fault!” Amaris objected from the ground. “I tripped over something.”

“Yeah, your feet,” Adelle laughed, almost cruelly.

“Come on, Mari,” Paige instructed as she tightened the red hair bow that held together her blonde tresses. “We’re going to be late for the movie.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Amaris exclaimed, getting up and rushing frantically to her friends before realizing that she had left a shoe, which had somehow fallen off in the tumble, behind. She groaned but told the girls to go on without her while she got her shoe back on. Her friends looked at one another and rolled their eyes but agreed and went on to buy the tickets.

“Stupid shoe,” Amaris muttered, tugging it on to her foot. “I knew I should’ve worn flip flops instead of sneakers.” Finally getting her foot into the shoe, Amaris rushed to meet up with the girls, eyes still on her feet as if worried the sneaker would fall off again. As fate would have it, Amaris found herself bumping into someone.

“I’m so sorry!” Amaris apologized frantically to the innocent man. “I’m just in a rush and— ” Amaris stopped as she finally looked up at the person she had crashed into, and her azure eyes met ocean ones. “Have we…met…before?” she asked slowly, overcome by a feeling of déjà vu.

“Not that I’m aware of,” the man replied just as slowly, staring at the girl who had to be four years younger than him at the very least. “I’m pretty sure I’d remember someone with hair like spaghetti and meatballs.”

The girl blushed fiercely. “They’re not spaghetti and meatballs!” she yelled at him, attracting the attention of those around them.

“Sure they aren’t, meatball head,” the guy laughed at her. As he did so, Amaris felt as if her brain was replaying the scene.

"And I'm not Odango Atama!" the girl in the memory cried. "My name is Tsukino Usagi! Honestly! How many times do I have to tell you?!"

"Yes Ma'am, Odango Atama," the man replied, smirking as the young girl's temper flared.

Ignoring what she believed to be a ludicrous thought, Amaris stamped her foot and growled, “Don’t call me that! It’s Amaris.”

“And I’m Alex,” the guy grinned cheekily at her. He looked at his watch. “Well, I have to go. See you around, Meatball Head.” And with that the man turned around and walked away.

“IT’S AMARIS!” she called angrily after the most self-absorbed man she had ever met. “The nerve of him,” she whispered to herself, stomping down the road to join her friends, pushing thoughts of Alex aside. After all, what were the chances of meeting him again in such a big city? Instead, Amaris occupied herself with rushing to the movie theater in hopes of avoiding a verbal thrashing from Adelle.

And as the girl who would one day be a light of hope for so many ran down the streets of San Francisco, fate smiled, knowing that the greatest love of all time had been given another chance.

-Fin-

So, what did you think? Hopefully you liked it.

I'm sure many of you wondered why I didn't just use the dub names for when they were reborn in San Francisco. I just felt it would be weird to use the dub names...and a lot of people seem to really hate them, too. It was fun looking up names that had the same meanings as the original ones anyway. Heh.

Another question on your mind: why weren't they reborn in Tokyo? Because I honestly thought that the likelihood of them being reborn in Tokyo was very small, at least this time around.

"This time around?!" Yeah...heh...in this universe they'd still be reborn a couple of times. After all, it IS still Crystal Tokyo they see in the future, not Crystal San Francisco. But the point is that no matter what they'd find one another.

Please take the time to review or check out my other fics (I have two other Sailor Moon one-shots and the rest are all Harry Potter...and if you're an H/Hr shipper you're in luck :laughs:). I'd really really appreciate it!