“My mother is going to kill me!”

  The elevator hummed as it ascended the tall apartment complex. Chibiusa leaned against the wall with a dramatic sigh. Momoko, her best friend at Juban Elementary School, stood beside Chibiusa, her red-brown hair tied back into a singular bun atop her head. Momo’s mother perched behind them, a hen ushering her chicks back to the barn.

  Momo giggled.

  “No, she won’t.”

  Chibiusa stared at the test clutched in her hand. At the top of the paper, in big red numbers, the teacher had written her grade like an accusation: 30%.

  “Maybe not. She’ll want to, though.”

  Momo placed a sympathetic hand on Chibiusa’s shoulder.

  “I still don’t understand how you fell asleep during the test.”

  Chibiusa bit her lip. She hadn’t been sleeping much. Bad dreams. Her grades were in freefall. To say her mother was unhappy would be an understatement.

  The elevator reached the 12th floor, and the doors slid open. It announced its arrival with a soft ding. Momo and her mother stepped out into the hallway.

  Momo flashed Chibiusa a cheerful smile.

  “Bye, Chibiusa! See you tomorrow!”

  Mrs. Momohara smiled at her as well. The family resemblance between mother and daughter startled Chibiusa for a moment.

  “Tell your mother I said ‘hello’, Chibiusa.”

  She returned a half-hearted smile.

  “I will. See you tomorrow.”

  The elevator doors closed and silence filled the small space. Chibiusa stared at the numbers on the panel as the elevator continued upward. Her mind wandered.

  Chibiusa had no hope of a peaceful, fun afternoon with her mother. Mama had been so distant lately, always distracted, always elsewhere in her mind. The news of Chibiusa’s poor test grade would no doubt cause an argument. Chibiusa missed the way things used to be between them.

  The elevator dinged again, and the door slid open on the 19th floor. She stepped off the elevator and looked down the long, familiar hallway. Curious.

  Chibiusa felt uneasy. The emotion confused her; this was home, after all. She had lived here her whole life. She couldn’t remember a time before the generous lights, the shaggy carpet, and the bright wallpaper of this hallway.

  Finally, she realized what felt so odd: it was the eerie silence. There were no loud television noises coming from apartment 1902, where the hard-of-hearing Mr. Ikuhara lived. There were no clattering, high-heeled footsteps in Ms. Sawai’s apartment. No low voices echoed down the hallway. It was too quiet.

  Chibiusa hesitated for a moment, then walked toward her apartment door at a fast clip. She wasn’t quite running, but she hurried to get to the safety of her own home, the safety of her mother. Something just felt off.

  When her apartment door came into sight, she gasped. It was half open and hung crooked on its hinges. The wood around the frame had splintered. Her stomach twisted. What was going on?

  “Mama?”

  She called out the question like somebody afraid of the answer. No answer came. She took another step forward and pushed the door open further.

  When she stepped into her home, chaos greeted her. Overturned furniture and shattered glass lay scattered across the floor. A cool wind blew in through a broken window. The kitchen table lay destroyed, its chairs were missing.

  “Mama?!”

  Her voice trembled as fear gripped her heart. Her small feet crunched over broken glass. Then she saw him. Her father was lying face down on the living room floor, motionless. She rushed to his side.

  “Daddy!”

  She knelt beside him and shook his shoulder. His body was so still; too still.

  “Daddy, wake up! Please wake up!”

  Tears streamed down Chibiusa’s face as her world lay shattered before her. What had happened here? Where was her mother?

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  A low hiss echoed from the shadows near the broken window. Startled, Chibiusa looked up. Hidden in the shadows, something moved. It took a step toward her and into the light.

  The creature looked humanoid, but it wasn’t human. Too-pale skin contrasted against its black clothes. Two large, black voids gazed at her from where its eyes should have been. It had no other facial features. A black crescent moon marked its forehead.

  The creature took another step toward Chibiusa and shrieked. The bone chilling sound came from deep inside of its throat. It lunged toward her. Chibiusa screamed.

  Suddenly, her mother was there, wielding a frying pan. That figured. She was a legendary danger in the kitchen.

  Her mother struck the creature with all her strength and sent it staggering back.

  “Get away from my daughter!”

  Her voice was so different from the tired, distracted tone Chibiusa had grown accustomed to hearing.

  Her mother flipped through the air with an agility Chibiusa had never seen before. She executed a perfect handspring, then landed a sharp kick that sent the creature crashing through a doorway and into another room. Chibiusa’s eyes grew wide.

  Who is this woman?

  “Chibiusa! Are you alright?”

  Her mother panted as she turned toward her daughter. Before Chibiusa could answer, the creature returned with inhuman speed. It seized her mother and threw her across the room. She hit the wall with a thud and Chibiusa screamed once more.

  A low laugh filled the apartment. It started small, like an itch in the back of Chibiusa’s mind, then grew louder and more forceful. Her head darted back and forth as she searched for the source of the laughter.

  A man stood there, dressed in black, like some kind of punk rock singer from a bygone era. He wore high boots, fingerless gloves, and a black leather jacket. Draped around his neck, he wore a long, red scarf that complemented the messy red hair on top of his head. He, too, bore the black crescent moon mark on his forehead. A pair of black crystals dangled from his ears.

  “Hello, princess.”

  He watched as her mother struggled back to her feet.

  “It’s time, Serenity. He wants to see you.”

  Her mother stood tall and proud, almost regal. This was another side of her Chibiusa had never seen before. She looked like a stranger.

  “I am not the princess anymore. My name is Usagi now, and I don’t want to see him.”

  The man laughed again, and Chibiusa shivered. It was an evil sound.

  “You have no choice, princess.”

  Usagi looked at the man with pity.

  “There is always a choice, Rubeus. Even now, there is still a choice.”

  He hesitated for a moment, surprised. Then he shook his head.

  “It’s too late for that. Come with me, or the droid will kill your daughter.”

  It was Usagi’s turn to hesitate.

  “No.”

  Rubeus shrugged.

  “Very well.”

  The creature turned toward Chibiusa. Its black, void-like eyes remained expressionless as it stepped toward her. It screeched its awful shriek. Chibiusa panicked.

  “Mama?!”

  Usagi’s voice echoed through the apartment like thunder.

  “I told you to stay away from her!”

  Light erupted around them in a silent explosion. It was bright, but not blinding; warm, but not searing. It shone on Chibiusa and her panic subsided. She looked at her mother.

  Light enveloped Usagi. She was its source; the light radiated from her body. Her expression was one of pure surprise.

  “After all this time…?”

  The creature screeched and charged toward Chibiusa. Usagi raised her hand in a single, fluid motion and the droid disintegrated into dust. The breeze from the broken window blew its remains away.

  The red-haired man, Rubeus, howled in anger.

  “Impossible! You are powerless!”

  Usagi, glowing and radiant, smiled at Rubeus across the room.

  “I guess I am not as powerless as you thought.” Her voice turned to steel. “Now leave.”

  Rubeus hesitated. Usagi filled her voice with royal authority once more.

  “Do you think you can defeat me like this, Crimson Rubeus? Is that a risk you want to take?”

  He considered for a moment, then grinned.

  “Very well, princess. Die with the other earthlings.”

  Just like that, he vanished. Usagi made her way to Chibiusa, knelt down next to her and embraced her. Chibiusa clung to her mother; tears streamed down her face.

  When they separated, she could see her mother had tears in her eyes as well. Usagi reached out and gently touched her husband’s cheek as he lay on the floor beside them.

  “Oh, Mamoru. What did they do to you?”

  In the distance, Chibiusa could hear a loud explosion and flinched. The apartment shook. She looked up at her mother. When she spoke, her voice was a whisper.

  “What was that?”

  Usagi stood, her face grim.

  “Their attack has begun.”

  She looked down at her daughter.

  “I made a mistake, sweetheart, and thought I could live a normal life. Now something terrible is coming. It could destroy everything. I can hold it off for a little while, but I can’t stop it alone.”

  She unclasped a chain around her neck and revealed a small, ornate key.

  “You need to go back, Chibiusa. Awaken the Sailor Guardians. They’re the only ones who can help us now.”

  Chibiusa’s eyes widened.

  “The Sailor Guardians are just stories.”

  Usagi smiled.

  “I wished we had more time. I have so much to explain.”

  She pressed the key into her daughter’s hands.

  “This key will send you back in time. When you go to the past, it will tether our two time periods together. Any changes you make in the past…they will skip ahead to here and now to protect your past and your memories.”

  Her mother’s tone took on a desperate edge.

  “Find the Guardians. Let them know their powers are not gone, just dormant. Tell them to find their inner light.”

  Another explosion rocked the building, closer this time.

  “I love you, my little Chibiusa. It’s all up to you now.”

  Usagi raised her hands, and light poured from them like a beacon. Through the broken window, Chibiusa saw light spreading even outside of their apartment building. She realized that her mother was trying to extend her light like a shield, to protect the world from attack.

  Usagi looked at her daughter. A single tear rolled down her face. She whispered something that almost sounded like a prayer. Chibiusa thought she heard the words “major sumo”, but that couldn’t be right.

  The key in Chibiusa’s hand radiated a strange light. Static electricity charged the air around her. The floor beneath her feet became unstable. With a loud pop, a swirling vortex of purple and green opened beneath her.

  She cried out and reached for her mother.

  “Mama, don’t send me away!”

  It was too late. The vortex pulled her in. Her mother’s figure became a blur as Chibiusa fell backwards through time.