Hey guys! :) Hi Miza! :D
     Well anyway, got to writing another 'fic... yes, I know I have 50
uncompleted, but I can't help myself. ;) I would've sent this to my nice pre-
readers, but I decided to just go ahead and send it out to the whole list to
get more feedback.... I would very much appreciate C&C (although please be
somewhat kind... ^^;; afterall, this -is- only in the ruff draft/idea
stage...) I wrote this kind of in a hurry, so it might not be -awesome- but..
::shrugs:: Basically, I would appreciate it if someone could tell me if this
seems even -plausible- that this could turn into a good 'fic... One last
thing, if anyone knows any well-written "Mamoru dies" SM 'fics, I'd appreciate
it if someone could tell me where to find them to make sure I've pretty much
got that part down pat. (not that I would enjoy reading those 'fics, mind
you.. ::sigh:: I -like- Mamo-chan.. ;)
     
    BTW, I'm assuming that some youma stragglers have been left behind for the
Senshi to fight after Galaxia... if that couldn't -possibly- be the case,
please tell me and I'll change it around... thanks (in advance)! :)

~ice
--------------------------------------
A Questionable Future
Prologue
--------------------------------------
Tokyo, Japan-- 4 years after the defeat of Galaxia

      "Another youma?! What do we have to do to get rid of these things?"

      "Don't worry, Jupiter, it's as good as moondust!" 

      The triumphant voice of Sailormoon rang out among the cold, still night,
as she performed her attack. The dark-haired woman watching from the shadows
shuddered, almost absentmindedly, as if that confidence stirred up some old,
forgotten memory.

      "Good going, Sailormoon," a sarcastic voice attached to a woman dressed
in a red sailor fuku shouted, "You missed."

      The blonde in question looked cross, and muttered something under her
breath, but dodged the youma's attack deftly. "I'd like to see you do better,
Mars!"

      As the Senshi battled the youma, unperturbed, far off to their left in a
dark, abandoned alley, a light flared. Once. Twice. Only the dark-haired woman
noticed, and she gave a small, almost terrified, cry of dismay. Already.. it
was beginning.

      Back out in the open, Sailorjupiter felt herself getting unusually
winded, and she stopped a moment to catch her breath. 'What's the matter with
me?' she thought, biting her lip, as she watched Sailormars and Moon attacking
the demon. Then suddenly, something strange happened. 

      The youma grew, not in size, but in strength. Although Jupiter couldn't
see it, she could feel it, the demon's rising battle aura darkening the whole
street. 'I'm... imagining things...'

      "Sailormoon! Need a hand?" 

      The three Senshi turned simultaneously at the sound of the voice, Moon
grinning when she saw the masked face of her love. "Mam-- Er, I mean, Tuxedo
Kamen-sama! You came!"

      The man in the tuxedo pulled out a long red rose, aiming carefully at
the youma. "My pleasure, Sail--" His words were cut off abruptly as the youma,
who oddly had seemed to fixate its gaze on the young man, shot out a long,
oozing tendril. The strike was so fast, and so furious that all Jupiter could
do was gasp in shock. 

      The attack hit him dead-on, impaling him through the chest. The youma
gave a decidedly satisfied shriek, which sounded vaguely to the dazed Jupiter
like that of a woman's laughter, and vanished in a streak of tainted-white
light. 

      Sailormoon screamed.
---------------

      "We gather here to pay tribute to the man known as Mamoru Chiba, taken
from us in the prime of his life..."

      It was a private ceremony, held infront of the Hikawa Shrine. Nine
women, 1 man, and two cats huddled under umbrellas, many weeping bitter tears,
although none as grief-stricken as the lithe blonde woman crouched next to the
black coffin, sobbing desperately. 

      "Mamo-chan..."

      "Usagi..." the lone man in the group stepped forward, thinking he had to
do at least something to comfort her in her suffering, but the other women
held him back.

      "No, Motoki," the woman named Makoto said in a voice laden with
emotion,"let her grieve now. After this is over.. we must all try to give her
comfort."

      As the others murmured amongst themselves, four of the women broke off
from the group unnoticed. 
 
      "What will happen now, Setsuna?" the green-haired woman asked softly,
casting a saddened look at Usagi.

      Setsuna closed her eyes, her face pale and worried. "I..don't know,
Michiru. There has been a great disturbance in time, I can feel its ripples
even now."

      "Well, of course there has!" the sandy-browned haired woman spat out
bitterly. "Don't you think we already know that? Without Endymion..."

      "There can be no Crystal Tokyo," the youngest of the group, a woman with
luminous violet eyes, finished calmly. "We know this as well, Haruka-san. That
is why we must come up with a solution.."

      "How can you be so calm?" Haruka glared at her, but all she got in
return was a blank stare.

      "We are all in shock, Haruka," Michiru said gently. "There is no need to
take it out on Hotaru."

      Setsuna turned away from them. "A dark force has entered this world, my
Senshi, a force which could very well tear the fabric of our reality apart.
Bickering amongst ourselves will only further the inevitable... we must hinder
this, not help it." Her tone became suddenly sharp. "Look after Serenity.
She'll be the first to fall..."

      Setsuna gave them a quick nod as a farewell, and walked towards the
road, leaving an uneasy group of women to stand alone in the rain, and ponder
her words.
---------------

      Usagi Tsukino lay quietly on her bed, eyes staring blankly at the
ceiling, hands clasped together calmly on her lap. She had been doing that for
most of the day, most of every day, and Luna was becoming sick with worry.
Usagi's mother seemed to find nothing wrong, Usagi got up for breakfast,
lunch, and dinner as usual, and answered all of her family's questions
normally, yet always with the same vacant expression in her eyes. And although
she ate, Usagi had begun to waste away, her face almost gaunt, always tired. 

      'She's almost like a...zombie.' Luna sighed deeply, her thoughts
troubled. She tried the same line she had used every day to rouse Usagi from
her stupor, "Usagi? Would you like to go outside? Get some candy? ...Usagi?"
and as always, failed miserably.

      On one particular day, five weeks after Mamoru's death, Usagi rose
early, leaving the sleeping Luna in peace, and walking hesitantly out doors.
Her thoughts were almost... nonexistent, the only thing that drove her was an
insistent, familiar call that originated in the back of her head. She had to
go to it.

      The voice led her down many streets, so many, infact, that their names
blurred together as one in her head, leaving her with a distinctly
uncomfortable feeling. The feeling of being lost....

      She suddenly stopped, the voice having faded away, leaving her in a
dark, park-like area. She blinked several times, wondering how long she had
been walking.

      "Welcome, Usagi."

      A woman materialized out of the shadows, her voice deep and throaty.
Usagi looked at her dully. "Who are you?"

      "I've come to help you," the woman replied, ignoring her question. She
smiled ferally, eyes glinting. "I promise I won't let you down." She laughed,
a laugh that for one moment Usagi recognized with crystal clarity...

      And in another part of Tokyo.... two women disappeared without a trace..