We are all visitors to this time,
this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to
observe, to learn, to grow, to love... and then we return home. -
Aboriginal Austrailian
proverb
MISPERCEPTION:
Stranger
in my Bed
"Then,
I will fight. I will fight for my lost sister...."
Princess
Naru Neo-Lady Serenity lay in her bed quietly, looking out the window
to the city below. Her mind was swirling with many different thoughts
as she struggled to sleep. It didn't come easily to her; there was
too much that she was absorbing in her mind from the past week,
perhaps even from her entire life.
It
was perfectly plausible. A year and a half ago, she was just Chibi
Naru, the mistake, the one her parents cried over for not being
someone else. That had been the way it was for many, many years. Now,
all of a sudden, she was the beloved only child of Serenity and
Endymion. Yet this new, happier epoch of her life was still too
minuscule in comparison with the centuries of futile attempts to get
her parents to accept her for herself.
As
such, it was still mind boggling to her to go so far so quickly.
"Hmmmmph."
Naru wearily looked at her overgrown collection of stuffed toys,
given to her throughout the years of guilt, as they sat in the dark.
"What are you all looking at?"
She
was very tired; she had spent the entire day training with Mars and
Jupiter. It was physically punishing, with push ups, weight lifting,
cardiovascular fitness and martial arts, with two hours of meditation
in between. The two soldiers explained to her that she was a bit out
of the loop (though they had forgotten why) and so they needed to get
her in tip-top shape for the duties that lay ahead. The Black Moon
war was over, but Naru was still a defender of Crystal Tokyo; her
mind and body had to be prepared.
I
wonder when they'll send me to the past. I wonder...
Naru
still could not get her mind off of the forgotten sister, the one she
had erased with her existence. Small Lady's presence still lingered
with her, smiling and laughing in her thoughts. They had never met
one another, yet the pink-haired princess that her friends and family
had worshiped had had such an effect on her life. No one else could
remember, but somehow, she did.
She
still felt guilt over it, as if she had still murdered the child. The
thought hurt far less than before, since no one reminded her of it
every day, but it still hurt.
I'm
sorry.
Naru’s
mind began to wander. It had been a long day, and her head was
hurting. Every time she looked at her collection of toys, they looked
like they were twitching or winking at her; it was annoying.
At
this, her mind started going to what she could with the abundance of
toys she had. She had so many different toys, of different sizes,
different colors and different animals, from all over the world. She
had no clue what to do with them anymore. Some of them were very old
and very valuable. Selling them was obviously out of the question;
Naru didn't need the money.
I
could donate them.
In
front of her, a pink rabbit twitched. Naru sighed; she had been given
the pink rabbit by Jupiter on her birthday, almost as a reminder who
was really loved back then. Then it had been taken away; but after
she became Sailor Moon, it had mysteriously reappeared. That, too,
was a very valuable plush; it was part of a doll series called
Rainbow Rabbits, and was the rarest of the bunch. That alone had
people trying to buy it from her right off the streets.
Maybe...a
toy museum...
Naru's
eyes started to finally close. The more they did so, the more it
looked like the rabbit was shaking and bending, and the more it
shook. Naru chalked it up to double vision, and exhaustion. So her
lids closed fully.
The
rabbit shook and bent so violently that it almost fell off the shelf
and ripped itself apart.
Naru.
Naru's
eyes burst open at this. The rabbit's mouth opened, stuffing and
thread flying everywhere as light spread out from it, accompanied by
a single blast of wind, as if the rabbit was roaring of its own
accord, throwing the entire room into disarray on contact.
Naru-chan....
Naru
had no time to react as the wind threw her back down on the bed. Her
blue hair was tossed about, as were all of her blankets and pillows.
Her head was spinning from the impact as she struggled to get up.
An
enemy..?!?! What.!?!?
Naru
managed to sit up in her bed, but she was dazed by the hit she’d
taken. Double vision made the shadows of several thousand toys stare
back at her, revolving in front of her in circles like they were
square dancing. At the center were two brightly illuminated rabbits,
the mouths ripped open with stuffing falling out.
"Ooohhaayo!!"
Then
from the light came two relatively large shadowed figures, their
voices echoing a salutation into Naru's ringing ears. Slowly, they
merged into one smaller figure, and as they did, the light behind
this figure died down, though it still pulsed with a great deal of
power.
"..Finally."
Naru's senses fully returned as the shadowed figure spoke again, its
head turning around as it did so. "Hmm. The view of the city
outside, the room lined with crystal, the red carpet, the portrait of
the queen over the bed...and you," At this, the figure nodded
towards Naru. "Yup, this is it all right! It's even the same bed
I sleep in!"
"What
the..."
"Hey!
I found it!" The figure turned back to the pulsing plush rabbit
and talked to it with a high-pitched voice. "Guys, I found the
entrance point! Quick, keep the portal open!!"
"....hell?!?"
Instinctively,
Naru's hands flew towards the lamp and fumbled around for the switch.
Finally, she found it, and she literally threw it on to face her
intruder.
"Ugh...!!
Who..."
Naru
blinked as the light blinded her momentarily; she had to shut her
eyes tightly to help herself adjust after hours of darkness. After
blinking several times, her eyes settled onto the newcomer, first
with confusion, then in disbelief. Finally, she was staring at the
figure in total shock.
.....You.
The
face was still cherubic and square with baby fat, though the body had
significantly changed; she looked more like a short preteen than a
little girl. But there was no mistaking who it was that was standing
before Naru. There could be no mistaking it, not with the magenta
eyes, and the cotton candy pink hair tied up in two oval buns, with
strands of hair falling from them.
It
can't be.
"....Small
Lady...."
"Hello."
The girl that didn't exist smiled at Naru as she held out her hand.
"You must be the daughter of the Mom and Dad of here!"
"Mom....and
Dad....?" Naru was still numbly staring at Chibi-Usa, her mouth
open. "uh....?"
"I'm
their daughter too! Just not here.." Chibi-Usa took up Naru's
hand and shook it for her when Naru didn't respond. "So, how are
you? How's it going?"
".....Uh?"
"...That's
good!" Chibi-Usa smiled, though sweat started to appear on her
brow. "Well, we don't have much time, right? Everyone will sense
the fold in space and come here to kill me because they don't know
who I am, right? So, let's go!"
".......Uh?"
"...You're
not exactly very eloquent, are you?"
"......what?"
Chibi-Usa
sighed as she marched over to Naru's closet and took out a random
outfit from her hangers. She then fished out a backpack from the
bottom of the closet and threw the clothing in.
"Ok,
you're...almost all packed!" Chibi-Usa's eyes darted around as
she threw in other various items. "You don't happen to also keep
your toothbrush in your bedroom, do you? I don't want to attract much
more attention-"
"Chibi-Usaaaaa?!"
Naru's
eyes widened as the rabbit suddenly flashed brightly. Sparkles of
light danced on the ceiling and walls.
"Aaack!"
"Chibi-Usa-chaaaan!!"
A voice that sounded eerily like Sailor Venus' echoed from the
rabbit. "Hurry uuuuuup!! What's taaaaking so long?!"
"I'm
hurrying!!" Chibi-Usa slung the backpack on her back and grabbed
Naru's hand. "Ok, time to go now!"
"This.....can't
be....." Naru stared at Chibi-Usa's hand. "You.......don't
exist......."
"Well,
of course I don't exist here." Ignoring the fact
that Naru finally acknowledged her, Chibi-Usa managed to drag Naru
out of her bed standing up. "That's because I don't live
here. Now, did you go to the bathroom before you went to bed?"
"I'm....dead....."
"Huuuuurry
uuuuuuuuup!!!!" The voice whined. "The
censors are indicating that the soldiers there have sensed the
fooooold!!"
"I'm
hurrying!!" Chibi-Usa huffed. "I have to get her
ready."
"But
they're coming!!"
"Please,
it will take them fifteen minutes to get down here."
"And
how do you know?!"
"Because
I live in the Crystal Palace too!"
"...Fine.
But HURRY!! My thighs are chafing! Grass is growing faster! Paint is
drying quicker!! I-"
"I
get it." Chibi-Usa took Naru towards the rabbit. "It's
ok. I'm not a ghost, I promise."
"Small
Lady...."
Naru
looked at the girl in front of her, then at the glowing rabbit. Then,
she looked down at her hand, touched by Chibi-Usa. It was warm.
This
is not a dream....?
"It's
time to go."
"About
time! Cooome to the liiiight..."
"Seriously."
Chibi-Usa glared at the rabbit. "Stop it!"
"Heehee.
Sorry, I'll shut up now."
"I......"
Naru looked at Chibi-Usa. "Is this real?"
"Of
course it is," Chibi-Usa nodded. "I may not exist here, but
there are other places. Other places, and other children."
"Other..."
"It's
time to go."
Chibi-Usa
raised her hand up, and touched the rabbit. Suddenly, the rabbit
turned bright white, and the two were immersed in its light. Naru's
eyes widened as she was overtaken, unsure of what was happening. She
was hoping and praying that it was just a dream; that she'd wake up
and see that her toys weren't messed with, that her room was
untouched, that everything was as it had been when she had fallen
asleep.
"Hey,
hey!" She suddenly felt a hand squeeze hers tightly. "Don't
let go! You'll get lost!"
Naru
winced and wiggled, turning back towards the room, only to find the
light swallowing it up. She felt dizzy as the wind intensified; the
struggle to keep herself awake felt too real to be a dream. Even as
her nonexistent sister was squeezing her hand even tighter.
”Hdfsjdjkfhd.....cnvfituefiFHEISQfjdksf.....”
Voices.
There were voices all around her. Different sensations that she could
not discern from her own sense of reality. The voices, and the wind,
and the sensation of being pulled by hundreds of hands at ones,
threatened to tear her apart.
“Ydcncjhdc!!!!
JHJjkdhsfjnvdsi!!!!”
So
Naru shut her eyes tightly, hoping that whatever was happening would
end, hoping that she really wasn't losing her mind. Even as the
howling wind died down, and was replaced with a cool breeze, she
refused to look at her surroundings.
She
didn't want to see what was next, even as it became inevitable that
she would have to, eventually, open her eyes.
