Usagi was worried. One day had passed since the creature had attacked her husband and left him unconscious. A whole day since she had sent her daughter to the past and erected an energy barrier around the planet.

  She continued to pour energy into the barrier. Without the ability to take a break, to eat or drink, she allowed the light to nourish her and Mamoru instead. The constant bombardment, however, was taking a toll. Usagi was growing weak.

  Her thoughts drifted to Chibiusa. She wondered what her little girl would make of her younger self. She hoped she wouldn’t judge her too harshly for the secrets she had kept these many years.

  A single tear rolled down her face as Usagi realized her strength was fading. The light pouring from her body sputtered, then died.

  She had failed.

  “I’m…so, so…sorry…”

  Without warning, the light around her body came back to life, more intense than before. A wave of changes from the past caught up with Usagi’s present. Ribbons of pure energy wrapped themselves around her like a cocoon, and before she could comprehend the changes, she stood transformed into Sailor Moon.

  With a look of determination, she erected the barrier around the planet once more, pouring bright, warm light into the atmosphere.

  “My little Chibiusa…thank you…”

  ***

  Saphir observed his brother as he stared down at the planet Earth below. Even after millennia, his hatred for the people of Earth burned hot and bright. Not for the first time, Saphir wondered if that hatred would one day be their undoing.

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  Saphir sensed the destruction of his droid and shuddered. He knew he had to give the news to his brother. He also knew Demande did not suffer failure.

  “My prince. The droid has failed. The last image it saw…was Sailor Moon.”

  Demande did not respond. For a long time, the silence hung between them like a dangerous threat.

  Without warning, Demande raised both hands in the air. Dark, malicious energy crackled around them. The hair on Saphir’s neck stood at attention.

  Surely he doesn’t mean to kill me?

  With a primal scream of rage, Demande tore reality asunder and reopened the rift in time and space. Five figures stepped through the portal: Crimson Rubeus walked at the center, flanked on either side by two women: the Ayakashi Sisters.

  Demande collapsed onto one knee, and the portal closed. Saphir rushed to his side and helped his brother stand. In his anger, Demande had overexerted himself.

  Rubeus stood before them and smiled in his smug, arrogant way.

  “So, Spahir’s little contraption failed, has it?”

  He laughed. Saphir hated that laugh. It was the laugh of an evil man.

  Demande took a ragged breath as he struggled to regain his composure.

  “Sailor Moon has reawakened, Rubeus. The other Guardians will no doubt soon follow.”

  Rubeus fell to his knees before Demande. To Saphir, even this gesture seemed like a mockery. Saphir knew, deep down, that Rubeus was untrustworthy.

  “Never fear, my prince. Crimson Rubeus and the Ayakashi Sisters will kill the Guardians before they can awaken. This I swear on the hallowed ground of the moon.”

  Demande smiled at Rubeus.

  “Good. Wipe them out, once and for all, but never forget: the princess belongs to me.”

  Next Time on Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: Black Moon

  "Every decision I make, I wonder: 'is this the decision that gets me killed?'." - Ami Mizuno

  "What if I don't want to reawaken my powers?" - Makoto Kino

  "You lied to me all of my life! How can I ever trust you again?" - Chibiusa

  "There's somebody out there trying to stop us. I think she might be a Sailor Guardian." - Minako Aino

  "Hello, Mercury. You don't remember me, but I remember you." - Berthier